BusinessMirror December 03, 2019

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Tuesday, December 3, 2019 Vol. 15 No. 54

DOTr bullish on Naia rehab after Neda OK T

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

HE Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) should have doubled its rated capacity, while providing better air services to passengers to and from Manila, in five years, based on an indicative timeline for its rehabilitation, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Monday.

Based on such timeline, which came on the heels of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board’s approval of the P102-billion deal on Friday, the Naia rehabilitation will be implemented in three phases.

The first phase, which will start on 2021, will involve the reconfiguration of the existing airport terminals to increase their capacity to 47 million passengers annually from 31 million passengers per year currently.

This will take a year to complete.

The second phase will see the development of a new passenger terminal building, annexing the second terminal of Naia. It will also expand the third terminal, improve the apron baggage

₧102B

Cost of rehabilitating the Naia, as proposed by seven conglomerates, in three phases. The last phase involves the construction of new terminals and the expansion of the exiting ones to raise its capacity to 65 million passengers per year by 2024 and boarding areas, as well as upgrade the airside facilities through a new taxiway and modernized air traffic management equipment.

With these improvements, the capacity of Naia by 2023 should be increased to 58 million passengers per year.

P25.00 nationwide | 4 sections 36 pages |

medal tally as of december 2, 2019 | 6:00 p.m contingent

gold

silver

bronze

total

philippines

38

19

10

67

vietnam

10

20

16

46

malaysia

10

2

7

19

indonesia

6

10

10

26

thailand

6

7

14

27

singapore

3

6

7

16

cambodia

1

3

13

17

brunei

1

3

3

7

myanmar

0

5

14

19

laos

0

0

2

2

timor-leste

0

0

0

0

See “Naia,” A2

Economic managers set for rise in market jitters

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

L

@BNicolasBM

OCAL economic managers are readying measures for a possible decline in investor sentiment down the line.

The Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC), in their Fourth Quarter Meeting, assessed the possible consequences of the emerging synchronized slowdown in growth. “ Bu i ld i n g on ne w re s u lt s from the behavioral models designed by the FSCC Secretariat, evidence that the market has entered into a ‘risk-off ’ mode was considered,” FSCC said in a statement on Monday.

The FSCC is an interagency council with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Department of Finance (DOF), the Insurance Commission (IC), the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) and the Securi-

PESO exchange rates n

ties and Exchange Commission (SEC) as member institutions.

A risk-off condition describes a market situation when uncertainties have increased. As a result, some investors respond by tempering their risk appetite while more risk aggressive investors search for higher yields.

Foreign portfolio investments (FPI) toward the country have been in the reds in previous months, BSP data show.

In particular, net outflows in the first nine months of the year amounted to $1.33 billion—a stark reversal of the $75-million net inflows seen in the same Januar y-to-September period last year.

FPI are known as “hot” or “speculative” money because they are easily pulled in and out of the local platforms with a slight change in global and local sentiment.

See “Economic managers,” A2

@2019seagamesph

DOE says audit will ease fears on NGCP

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

& Butch Fernandez

T

THE WEIGHT OF HER WORD Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz delivered as promised, bagging the gold medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, Monday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Diaz lifted a total of 211 kilograms to take her first-ever SEA Games title, beating Nguyen Thi Thuy of Vietnam and Indonesia’s Juliana Klarisa. She cleared 91 kg in the snatch and 120 kg in the clean and jerk. More SEA Games stories and photos on C2, C3. NONIE REYES

@butchfBM

HE Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday said it is pushing for an audit of the transmission grid, as Senate Energy panel chief, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, targeted the holding of an inquiry by mid-December, amid national security questions surrounding the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and its partner State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC).

Only after the audit can the Philippine government put to rest issues on such national security

US 50.7580 n japan 0.4635 n UK 65.5387 n HK 6.4845 n CHINA 7.2181 n singapore 37.1391 n australia 34.3682 n EU 55.9607 n SAUDI arabia 13.5376

See “DOE,” A2

Source: BSP (2 December 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, December 3, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL manufacturing grows at slower pace in Nov

T

HE country’s manufacturing sector was one of the best performers in Southeast Asia, even as it grew at a slower pace in November due to softening growth of output and new orders, according to global think tank IHS Markit.

In its report on Monday, IHS Markit said the Philippines’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) hit 51.4 in November.

The headline index, the think tank said, was at its lowest level since June, after falling from 52.1 in October.

“Growth softened to a modest

pace in the Philippines’s manufacturing sector in November, as firms noted the weakest rise in factory orders since August,” said IHS Markit economist David Owen.

“In particular, this led companies to hold back on hiring plans, signaling reduced pressure on capacity as output growth slowed.

Meanwhile, stocks continued to rise, but at a notably subdued rate,” Owen added.

The PMI is a composite index meant to gauge the health of the country’s manufacturing sector. It is calculated as a weighted average of five individual subcomponents.

Readings above the 50 threshold signal a growth in the manufacturing sector, while readings below 50 show deterioration in the industry.

The think tank noted that total sales continued to rise in November, and at a “solid” pace, although the rate of expansion was the weakest since August.

“While domestic demand was strong, companies saw renewed difficulties in external markets, with

new foreign orders falling for the fifth time in six months. According to panelists, overseas clients struggled to raise order volumes from October,” the report read.

Weaker sales growth, the think tank said, led firms to hold off on employment plans, with the latest data signaling unchanged payroll numbers from October.

The report noted that the cost of inputs rose in November, mainly due to the increase in the prices of raw materials.

“Companies that reported a rise on cost burdens often passed this on to consumers with an increase on selling prices. That said, the overall markup was modest and only slightly faster than October’s

45-month low,” the report read.

IHS Markit said the outlook for manufacturing output improved during November. The level of sentiment rose to its highest in nine months as Philippine companies noted that plans for 2020, such as new products and factory openings, led to boosted optimism for the future.

Second best

Despite the modest hike in the country’s PMI, Philippine factories were the second-best performer in Southeast Asia, according to IHS Markit’s data. Asean’s headline PMI rose from 48.5 in October to 49.2 in November.

Myanmar was the best per-

forming of the seven monitored countries, with a PMI of 52.7. “The headline index indicated a solid improvement in operating conditions and extended the current sequence of growth to 13 months.”

Vietnam and the Philippines both reported an uptick in their PMI, data from IHS Markit showed.

“The deterioration in operating conditions [in Asean] was the softest since July, with both production and incoming new business falling at softer rates than those seen in October,” the report read.

Other Asean countries monitored by IHS Markit recorded a PMI of below 50 in November—Malaysia with 49.5; Thailand, 49.3; Indonesia, 48.2; and Singapore, 47.7.

Oil prices going up Tighter safety rules eyed vs low-quality LPG Tuesday morning

S

EN. Sherwin Gatchalian is asking Congress to frontload passage of an urgent remedial legislation to tighten the rule against poor-quality liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders to avert accidents.

In filing Senate Bill 1188, Gatchalian wants Filipino households to be spared from the consequences of having illegally refilled and poor-quality LPG cylinders once the safety measure is enacted into law.

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, Gatchalian expects to fast-track plenary consideration and approval of SB 1188, to be known as “An Act Providing for the National Energy Policy and Regulatory Framework for the Philippine LPG Industry.”

He said the measure will

DOE. . .

Continued from A1

concerns, the DOE said.

“The threat that people are talking about, to put a closure to that, and for government to put up measures that we need to protect the republic and the people, let [inspection] be done so that all our worries can be gone. That can only be done by audit, inspection.

If there is any perceived threat—real or imaginary—the government must be ready for any eventuality and we can do that only if NGCP cooperates,” said Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi at a news conference Monday morning.

During the press conference, DOE and National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) officials said they would discuss among themselves how to go about inspecting NGCP’s facilities.

Later in the day, newly appointed DOE Undersecretary Emmanuel Juaneza went to NGCP’s office in Quezon City. He reportedly asked NGCP for feedback, by Tuesday, with regards to a supposed audit agreement between NGCP and the government.

Asked for comment, NGCP Spokesman Atty. Cynthia Alabanza said, “Usec. Juaneza handed over a letter, which NGCP has yet to review as against the concession agreement. We invited him to view our systems operations, but he politely declined, saying that he does not want to disturb our operations especially during the impending landfall of Typhoon Tisoy.”

Juaneza, who was introduced

by Cusi on Monday, has been tasked “to coordinate with TransCo for the inspection of the facilities that we need to do to make sure that the interest of the republic is protected.”

“He is my representative in TransCo board. He is a mechanical engineer. He has background in power plants here and abroad,” said Cusi.

For his part, Juaneza said he has over 30 years of experience in the

govern these activities in the LPG value chain: importation, refining, refilling, transportation, conveyance, distribution, marketing of LPG and manufacturing, requalifying, exchanging and swapping of LPG pressure vessels.

It covers “all LPG industry players from the bulk suppliers, refillers, brand owners and marketers; to the dealers and retailers.”

Gatcha lian cited Department of Energy (DOE) data that in 2011, at least 53 percent, or 49,174,460 Filipinos, relied on LPG for their basic needs, such as cooking, water heating and lighting needs. The DOE also reported that in the commercial sector, LPG consumption rose at a rapid pace of 10.4 percent annually from 2007 to 2017.

The senator said he also considered the reported LPG-related

power industry here and abroad. He used to be the plant manager of a geothermal power facility in Mindanao from 1996 to 2001. From then on, he said he worked “in different parts of the world.”

40-percent stake

The SGCC has a 40-percent stake in NGCP, which took over the management and operation of the Philippines’s power grid since 2009.

TransCo still owns the assets.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman said last week that apprehensions that Beijing, through SGCC, could sabotage Philippine interests by remotely cutting off its power system were groundless. Like other state-owned firms in China, SGCC always strives to serve its business clients in excellent fashion, the ministry added.

In a statement last week, DOE said: “Given that there are aspects in the existing Franchise Agreement with the NGCP that seem inimical to the best interests of the national government and, more importantly, the Filipino people, both the DOE and TransCo continue to call for, and are fully supportive of the Senate’s interest to take a closer look at the administrative, operational, and procedural structures existing within the NGCP. “We consider the Senate hearings as a positive development toward the long overdue and much needed audit of NGCP, as well as the comprehensive reexamination of the Franchise Agreement, which is part of the Presidential directive to review all government contracts that appear to be onerous. These steps would facilitate the introduction of all necessary amendments to uphold our national security and the welfare of our citizens and consumers.”

Senate inquiry The chairman of Senate Committee on Energy left the door open to an inquiry in aid of crafting remedial legislation to address possible gaps in the existing NGCP deal.

accidents this year and in 2018, which resulted in the loss of lives, limbs and property. “Not withstanding the noteworthy contribution of LPG in addressing the energy needs of Filipinos and the Philippine economy, the regulation of the industry has failed to keep up,” the senator said, pointing to the series of accidents.

As provided in the Gatchalian bill, the DOE will be tasked to regulate, supervise and monitor the LPG industry participants. The remedial legislation, the senator notes, will also “sharpen the teeth of DOE” to implement and ensure compliance with the quality and safety standards prescribed in the Philippine National Standards (PNS).

The remedial legislation requires LPG players to secure a license to operate for a specific

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian indicated Monday senators are keen to hear details of the China power deal.

Lawmakers, he said, need to assess its implications on national interest, as well as determine the need for legislative action. “It’s normal to be paranoid in discussions of national security. We need to look at all possibilities because anything can happen in the future. We can say now that such a thing is impossible, or that it won’t be done to us, but we cannot say what happens next year, 10 years from now, or 20 years from now,” Gatchalian said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Reminded that the Chinese government had conveyed its assurance to President Duterte that Beijing will not sabotage the power grid, Gatchalian said that while the assurance was good, he will listen primarily to only two people: “first, the national security adviser because this is a national security concern...and, second, the DOE secretary because this involves power and electricity for day-to-day operations.”

He noted that Duterte listens to the National Security Adviser, Hermogenes Esperon, and the DOE chief.

While attending a recent conference of electrical engineers, Gatchalian said he spoke on the sidelines to someone who said the technology to control the transmission system exists. The imperative, he said, is to make sure such is not used as a threat against the country.

While China owns 40 percent of the NGCP, it’s the local companies that exercise majority control, and “hanggang ownership lang ang state grid ng China [the state grid of China is limited to ownership].”

This means, the senator added, “they should not have anything to do with day-to-day operations.

They can give advice. But they cannot touch the system.”

Thus, he said, what is needed is not just a “management audit, or just a financial and legal audit but a technical audit.”

activity prior to their commencement of commercial operation.

Under SB 1188, the DOE will have the “exclusive authority” to issue the license to operate which will be valid for three years.

Gatchalian’s bill lists the administrative and criminal penalties for specific violations, such as hoarding, underfilling, illegal refilling and engaging in an activity without a valid license to operate, among others.

T hey inc lude f ines f rom P5,000 to as high as P10 million, depending on the offense. Penalties also include suspension of the license to operate, permanent disqualification from engaging in any activity as an LPG industry participant, impounding of LPG products and even imprisonment, depending on the nature of the violation. Butch Fernandez

Naia. . .

Continued from A1

The third phase involves the construction of new terminals and the expansion of the existing ones to raise Naia’s capacity to 65 million passengers per year— double the current—by 2024. It will also involve the development of airside facilities and upgrading works for general utilities, a car park area, passenger connection, and miscellaneous facilities corresponding to the increased capacity.

“We will soon see much-improved air traffic handling and operations once Naia is rehabilitated,”Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said.

Boost for infra plans—Villar

Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar, who also heads the infrastructure cluster of the government, said the Neda board approval is“very positive,”as his team pushes to complete or start projects before the term of President Duterte ends in 2022.

“Approval of the Naia rehabilitation plan gives the other key government infrastructure projects that are now in the infrastructure cluster pipeline, a muchneeded boost,” he said.

The granting of the go-ahead for the Naia rehabilitation deal, submitted bythe Naia Consortium, was not all smooth sailing. Consumer rights group National Economic Protectionism Association (Nepa) claimed that the proposal is illegal, as it allegedly violates certain provisions of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) law and its implementing rules and regulations.

The consumer group said the granting of the original proponent status to Naia Consortium—a group of seven Filipino conglomerates—is “illegal” because the Naia rehabilitation proposal “does not introduce any new technology, and merely consists of the expansion of existing terminals, the introduction of commercial spaces, the introduction of vehicles that will ferry people from one terminal to another, and the improvement of airside infrastructure, such as taxiways and aprons.”

It also claimed that the proposal is “grossly disadvantageous” to the government, citing government guarantees and subsidies. Naia Consortium is composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc.; AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp.; Alliance Global Group Inc.; Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp.; Filinvest Development Corp.; JG Summit Holdings Inc.; and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

P

RICES of petroleum products are going up starting Tuesday morning.

Oil companies announced on Monday price increase of P0.30 per liter in gasoline, P0.65 per liter in diesel and P0.50 per liter in kerosene.

The price adjustment takes effect 6 a.m. of December 3.

Seaoil Philippines, PetroGazz, PTT Philippines, Pilipinas Shell, Total Philippines and Phoenix Petroleum announced their respective price adjustments Monday afternoon.

Oil firms adjust their prices every Tuesday. More oil companies

were expected to announce their price adjustments on Monday.

Meanwhile, the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) went up over the weekend.

Petron Corp. implemented a P0.25 per kilogram increase in LPG prices last December 1. Auto LPG prices also went up by P0.15 per liter.

“These reflect the international contract price of LPG for the month of December,” said Petron.

Last week, oil firms reduced gasoline prices by P0.20 per liter, P0.10 per liter for diesel and P0.10 per liter for kerosene. Lenie Lectura

Economic managers. . .

BSP Governor and FSCC Chairman Benjamin E. Diokno said economic managers are looking for possible measures to shield the economy from potential aggravated effects of this risk-off sentiment should it continue to manifest in investments toward the Philippines.

“The Philippines continues to enjoy one of the highest growth rates in the world but the FSCC is

PHL visitors. . .

Continued from A8

We will have a better indication [if we will hit our 2019 target], when the October figures come out within the next few days.” (See, “Foreign tourists reach 6.2M in 9 mos; Koreans still top,” in the BusinessMirror, on November 8, 2019.) The DOT was unable to provide total inbound receipts for the ninemonth period.

For September alone, foreign tourists spent some $686.60 million or P35.7 billion, up 20 percent from the year-ago level, according to data released by the DOT. All the key markets of the DOT spent higher in September, except for Japan, with receipts declining by 36.5 percent to $37.35 million or P1.94 billion.

Visitors from South Korea spent the most at $193.55 million or P10.06 billion (up 47 percent), followed by China at $163.61 million or P8.51 bil-

ADB . . .

Continued from A8

From 2011 to 2016, he also had frequent engagements with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, including as chairman of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs.

In the academe, Asakawa also served as a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo from 2012 to 2015, and at Saitama University from 2006 to 2009.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts

Continued from A1

taking the preemptive move of assessing the possible consequences of the global growth moderation,” Diokno said.

The Council also discussed its various communication initiatives that would raise awareness of financial stability to varied audiences.

Various audiovisual presentations are being finalized and would soon be made available to the public. lion (+21 percent), the United States at $77.99 million or P4.06 billion (+87.25 percent), Japan, and Taiwan at $30.12 million of P1.57 billion (+23.4 percent).

The other top spending markets were Australia at $27.25 million or P1.42 billion (+43.1 percent), Canada at $15.33 million or P797.16 million (+93.3 percent), the United Kingdom at $14.83 million or P771.16 million, Singapore at $14.03 million or P729.6. million (+112.2 percent), and Malaysia at $13 million or P676 million (+96 percent).

DOT data also showed foreign tourists spending an average of $139.44 (P7,250.88) in September 2019 from $106.32 (P5,528.64) in September 2018. The visitors also stayed longer at 9.52 nights in September 2019 from 8.71 nights a year ago.

Each foreign tourist spent an average of $1,327.47 (P69,028.44) in September 2019 from $926.05 (P48,145.60) in September 2018.

to eradicate extreme poverty.

In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion.

As of December 2018, the ADB has grown to include 68 members, 49 of which are from within Asia and the Pacific, and 19 outside the region.

In terms of the voting powers, regional member-countries is 65.04 percent while non-regional members have 34.96 percent.Japan and the United States have equal voting power of 12.756 percent each; followed by China with 5.442 percent; India, 5.352 percent; and Australia, 4.917 percent.

Bernadette D. Nicolas

The Nation BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Police validating ‘viral’ report of child abductions in Pasay

T

HE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it continues to validate reports on alleged kidnapping incidents in Pasay City.

PNP Spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac made the statement when asked on whether social-media posts about a white van purportedly roaming around Metro Manila to abduct children is a hoax.

The social-media posts about the white van and missing children in Metro Manila have become “viral” for several times in the past.

Recently, a video clip from a CCTV uploaded on Facebook captured how a minor was allegedly taken by a people onboard a white van in the southern part of Metro Manila.

Banac said there were allegedly nine incidents of kidnapping in Pasay, but only one is validated as proven by CCTV footage, while the other cases do not have solid evidence for these to be tagged as kidnapping cases.

“May mga report na mga missing person, pero walang validated na kidnapping, baka po mga naglayas o kaya ay nagtanan, maliban lang sa isang kaso kung saan nakuhanan ng CCTV ang ginawang pagdukot [There were reports of missing persons, but no kidnapping, the children might have ran away from home or just eloped, except in one case where CCTV was captured for abduction],”Banac told reporters when sought for a comment.

Banac, however, said those who witnessed such incident should report them to the nearest police station.

“Kung mayroon mang ganitong insidente ay mangyayari na dumulog agad sa pinakamalapit na himpilan ng pulisya upang maimbestigahan at para magkaroon ng basis ang information [If there is such an incident, we urge the public to go to the nearest police station to file a report so it can be investigated and to have a basis information],” he stressed.

Banac said National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Police Brig. General Debold Sinas has already ordered to conduct probe on the alleged abduction incident.

“These are now being subjected to validation by the NCRPO, including the rumors that there

are nine children missing in Pasay City,” said Banac.

Banac urged netizens to be wary of posting and sharing fakes news in their respective social-media accounts.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP chief of directorial staff, had launched an investigation when he was still the director of the NCRPO when the same story went viral last year.

Eleazar said that they immediately conducted verification on the alleged missing children in Metro Manila, and verified the information they gathered at the police stations and the relatives of the alleged missing children.

“All of the missing children who were reported to have been taken by a white van were all found. Some of them just ran away over misunderstanding with their parents,” said Eleazar.

There was even a case of a teenaged girl that was reportedly taken by a white van, but turned out to have eloped with her boyfriend.

“We conducted investigation before because it is already creating fear and panic in Metro Manila, and even in nearby provinces. Our investigation had revealed that those rumors spreading in social media are not true,” Eleazar said.

The problem before, according to Eleazar, was that parents who reported their children missing did not return to the police to report that their children were found, the reason why he ordered all police commanders before to visit those who reported that their children were missing.

Pasay City Mayor Emi CalixtoRubiano earlier instructed Pasay Police Chief Col. Bernard Yang to look into reports about the alleged kidnapping incidents in the city.

The mayor also reminded citizens to first report these incidents to their nearest community police precinct before posting it on social media.

Social media has been abuzz with teenagers being abducted, particularly within the vicinity of Pasay Rotonda.

Yang, who led the Special Investigation Task Group, said he has already ordered his men to prioritize these supposed abduction cases. PNA

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, December 3, 2019 A3

Flights canceled, tens of thousands evacuated ahead of Tisoy onslaught

A

UTHORITIES evacuated tens of thousands of people, canceled more flights and shut schools as Typhoon Tisoy (international code name Kammuri) maintained its strength as it came closer to land in the main Luzon island.

Tisoy is packing maximum winds of 150 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 185 kph, the nation’s weather bureau said. The 20th storm to enter the Philippines this year is following a track similar to Typhoon Glenda (international code name Rammasun) in July 2014, which killed 106 people and damaged properties worth P38.6 billion.

More than two dozen areas are on Storm Signal 3, the third-highest in a five-level warning system, before it hits land over Bicol region as early as Monday. Under Storm Signal 3, wind of as much as 170 kph—strong enough to topple coconut trees and destroy rice and corn crops—may be expected in 18 hours. Metro Manila and a dozen areas are under Storm Signal 2.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) Inc. and Cebu Air Inc. suspended more domestic flights, schools are shut in several provinces and parts of Metro Manila on Monday, while more than 4,600 people are stranded in various ports.

Flight cancellations

A TOTAL of 138 flights were canceled due to Typhoon Tisoy as of Monday afternoon, data from three local carriers showed.

AirAsia Philippines has canceled 92 flights, mostly domestic, including domestic flights to and from airports outside Manila.

AirAsia also canceled KaohsiungManila, Taipei-Manila, Incheon-Manila, Manila-Macau, Manila-BangkokManila, and Manila-Denpasar flights.

PAL canceled 26 domestic flights, while Cebu Pacific (CEB) announced on Sunday the cancellation of 20 domestic flights supposedly scheduled for Monday (December 2).

Both PAL and CEB gave rebooking and rerouting options, and CEB further announced that customers may also opt to refund their tickets, or place the ticket value in a travel fund.

AirAsia Philippines passengers, whose flights were canceled or delayed for more than three hours, were given the option to rebook their flight on the same route, get a full

refund or retain the fare value in their loyalty membership account.

Typhoon Tisoy was last seen 235 kilometers east southeast of Virac, Catanduanes, or 250 kilometers east of Juban, Sorsogon.

It is moving westward at 25 kph, and is expected to make landfall over Catanduanes or Sorsogon between Monday night and Tuesday.

More than 60,000 people were asked to leave their homes in Bicol region, authorities said.

The Philippines is hosting the 30th Southeast Asian Games that will run through December 11.

Organizers have said contingency plans are in place should the event face disruption. Windsurfing, originally scheduled for Sunday, has been reset as have other outdoor events, ABS-CBN News reported.

Ready for the onslaught

AS Typhoon Tisoy nears landfall, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Monday said Metro Manila and concerned government agencies are ready for its onslaught.

MMDA General Manager Arturo “Jojo” Garcia said both emergency equipment and responders have been stationed in the susceptible areas in Metro Manila.

“We assure, 100 percent nakaready na po tayo. ’Yung atin pong four quadrants sa Metro Manila, nakaready na po ’yan [We are 100 percent ready. In the four quadrants of Metro Manila, emergency responders are on standby],” Garcia said in a press conference at the MMDA headquarters in Makati City.

Other measures are ongoing, such as taking down billboards and giving out recommendations for suspension of classes.

“Nagsimula na rin pong magtanggal ng mga billboards natin. DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government] nag-advise na rin po sa LGUs [local government units] na mag-suspend ng klase [Removal of billboards have begun. The DILG have also given their advice to rel-

evant LGUs to suspend classes],” Garcia said.

Garcia said all 61 water pumping stations under the MMDA were in good working condition, while the sewerage systems—drain pipes, canals—have been continuously cleaned and maintained year-round.

However, improperly disposed garbage may still end up clogging the drainage systems caused by irresponsible individuals, he said.

“On sewerage, may darating mang bagyo or wala, laging nalilinis ’yan.

Roxas Boulevard maraming basura.

Iresponsableng mamamayan sanhi ng basura [If there’s a typhoon or not, sewerages are always cleaned. But in Roxas Boulevard, there’s a lot of trash. Some irresponsible individuals are causing the buildup of garbage],” Garcia said.

Based on studies, Garcia said it was found that there were 579 barangays (villages) susceptible to flooding and landslides in Metro Manila ­—majority of which are in the cities of Manila (215 barangays) and Pasay (121 barangays).

As for preemptive evacuations, Garcia said it would be up to the respective LGUs but the MMDA, and the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council would be ready to provide support.

During the briefing, Philippine Coast Guard Spokesman Capt. Armando Balilo said the PCG has deployed personnel in flood-prone areas, such as in the cities of Manila, Marikina, Navotas and Valenzuela.

He added that their personnel are making rounds at the Baseco area in Manila, and Malabon, to monitor the water level and allow for timely evacuation.

Balilo added that all maritime activities in Metro Manila have been suspended as standard operating procedure in preparation for the typhoon.

More rains seen

AS of 11 a.m. Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Typhoon Tisoy maintained its strength while moving westward at 25 kilometers per hour toward Bicol.

As of 2 p.m. on Monday, occasional heavy rains over the Bicol region, Samar provinces and Biliran were felt.

Intermittent heavy rains were also reported over northern Cebu, northern Negros Island, Dinagat Islands, Siargao Island and the rest of Eastern Visayas.

Between Monday afternoon

Next PNP chief MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE VERDICT OUT ON DECEMBER 19 should be able to eliminate drug lords–Duterte

By Joel R. San Juan

T

T

HE next Philippine National Police (PNP) chief should ensure that he could eliminate drug lords from the country, President Duterte said on Monday.

In an televised interview, he said it was not enough to be recommended with a list of contenders for the next PNP chief because he was expecting a “better deal.”

“They are all good. I want a better deal. It is not enough that you recommend to me,” Duterte said.

“Kung sabihin mo, ‘Sir, ’pag ako ang pinili mo, patay lahat ng drug lords…’ ‘Ok, ikaw’ [If you say, ‘Sir, pick me and all drug lords will be eliminated.

‘Okay, you’]. If you can’t give me that guarantee, e ayaw na [I won’t pick you],” he added.

Currently, PNP Officer in Charge Lt. Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa is one of the top candidates as PNP chief.

The other contenders for the post are Lt. Gen. Camilo Cascolan, deputy chief for operations, and Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, former Metro Manila police director and now head of the directorial staff. PNA

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) handling the multiple murder cases filed against 197 individuals, including several members of the Ampatuan clan for their alleged involvement in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, has set the date for its promulgation of judgment on December 19.

“Let the promulgation of judgment in the above-entitled cases be set on December 19, 2019, at 9 o’clock in the morning to be held at Quezon City Jail Annex, Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, Taguig City,” Quezon City RTC Branch 221 Presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes said in a one-page order dated November 29 but was made public only on Monday.

The scheduled promulgation came after 10 years of trial proceedings where the prosecution presented 200 witnesses in a bid to obtain a conviction against the accused.

The infamous Maguindanao massacre case claimed the lives of 58 individuals, including 32 print and broadcast journalists, who were accompanying a group of supporters of now Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu in filing his papers to run for the post of Maguindanao governor against

Andal Ampatuan Jr., then-Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr.’s son.

They were allegedly waylaid by suspected armed supporters of the Ampatuans and brought in the town of Ampatuan where they were slaughtered and buried in hastilydug graves.

The case should have been decided last month as it was already submitted for resolution last August, but Solis-Reyes asked the Supreme Court for additional time before coming up with a decision.

Under the rules, a court has 90 days upon which to issue judgment after a case has been submitted for resolution.

The SC granted Solis-Reyes’s request for a one-month extension and she is expected to render a decision on or before December 20.

Among those charged as principal accused in the cases are former Datu Unsay Mayor Ampatuan Jr., and his siblings, former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Zaldy Ampatuan and Sajid Islam Ampatuan.

Their father, Ampatuan Sr., who is also among those charged in the case, died in 2015 while under detention due to a lingering illness.

Of the 197 accused, 90 are in detention, including the Ampatuan siblings, 11 are out on bail, including their brother, Sajid Islam,

who was allowed to post bail by the court, eight have died, including Ampatuan Sr., two accused were discharged as state witnesses, while six others were dropped as respondents.

Mangudadatu, whose wife Genalyn and two sisters, were among those killed, has expressed confidence that the principal accused in the case will be convicted.

“We are awaiting for promulgation of judgment, and I am confident that the principal accused will be convicted,” Mangudadatu said through his lawyer Nena Santos.

Justice Menardo Guevarra welcomed the trial court’s setting of the promulgation of the cases after more than a decade of trial.

“I am glad that we have finally reached the day of reckoning. The prosecution has presented nearly 200 witnesses, and the defense over a hundred, during an intense trial that lasted several years,” Guevarra said.

“We thank the judge for her patience and diligence. We trust that she will dispense justice evenhandedly and with utmost respect for the rule of law,” he added.

Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said they are still in the processing of making arrangements for the smooth media coverage of the promulgation.

and Tuesday noon, there would be frequent to continuous heavy to intense rains over the Bicol region, Northern Samar, southern Quezon and Marinduque.

Occasional heavy rains over Romblon, Mindoro provinces, Samar, Eastern Samar and the rest of Calabarzon. Intermittent heavy rains over Metro Manila, Central Luzon, eastern portions of Cagayan and Isabela, and the rest of Eastern Visayas.

Between Tuesday noon and Wednesday noon, frequent-tocontinuous heavy-to-intense rains over Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Bicol region, Mindoro provinces, Marinduque and Romblon. Intermittent to occasional heavy rains over Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Pangasinan, Aklan, Capiz and northern Antique.

Residents in the aforementioned areas, especially those living in areas identified to be highly or very highly susceptible to flooding and rain-induced landslides, are advised to take appropriate actions, coordinate with local disaster risk reduction and management offices, and continue monitoring for updates, especially the thunderstorm or Rainfall Advisories and heavy rainfall warnings to be issued by Pagasa Regional Services divisions.

Possible storm surge of more than 3 meters over several coastal areas in Camarines Norte (Mercedes and Mandao), Camarines Sur (Cabusao, Bombon, Calabanga, Tinambac and Sipocot) and Catanduanes (Bagamanoc, Baras, Bato, Viga, Panganiban and Gigmoto); 1 to 3 meters over several coastal areas in Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and Samar.

Typhoon Tisoy is expected to make landfall over Catanduanes, Albay or Sorsogon between Monday between night and early Tuesday morning.

Storm Signal 3, meanwhile, has been hoisted in over 11 areas across Luzon and Visayas on Monday afternoon amid Typhoon Tisoy’s expected landfall over Catanduanes, Albay or Sorsogon between Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

Pagasa, in its 2 p.m. bulletin, said the eye of the cyclone was last located 195 kilometers east of Juban, Sorsogon, carrying maximum sustained winds of up to 150 kph and gustiness of up to 185 kph. The typhoon continues to move west at 20 kph and is predicted to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Thursday morning. Bloomberg News, Recto Mercene and Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Customs seizes meds, supplements at Naia

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USTOMS authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on Sunday intercepted assorted medicines brought into the country by a passenger without corresponding permits from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The passenger, who was not identified, flew in from Bangkok, Thailand, and landed at the Naia Terminal 3 on board Cebu Pacific flight 5J 930.

Airport Customs Collector Mimel Talusan said the passenger was profiled and his baggage was subjected to x-ray scanning, which yielded images of suspected medicines.

Customs agents found 67 bottles of Thai FD Supplement, one box Diane Ot 35, 70 boxes estradiol valerate injection USP, nine boxes Hyles 100, 40 packs Destrodiot Benzoate Inj., 100 packs Estrofem 2 ml, 100 packs Progynova 2 ml, 20 foils OC-35, 50 foils Duoton Fort Ampule and 25 boxes Proluton Depot, all without health permits.

Talusan said that the passenger who brought the medicine failed to present clearances or permit to import. “That is why we seized the shipment, and will turn them over to FDA for proper investigation.

Recto Mercene

A4 Tuesday, December 3, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Excise tax on single-use plastic may hurt economy, groups warn

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By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

TAKEHOLDERS on Monday appealed to the House Committee on Ways and Means to consider the economic impact of the bill imposing excise tax on single-use plastic bags produced in the Philippines.

During the hearing on the proposal imposing excise tax on single-use plastic bags, Philippine Plastics Industry Association Inc. (PPIA) President Willy Go said the proposal would hurt and eventually kill the industry.

Go said members of the industry are currently facing the negative impact of local ordinances banning the use of plastic bag in their areas.

Several local government units have already issued ordinances against the single-use plastic bags.

“We are one with the government when it comes to saving the environment but the P10 [per kilo] increase

is very detrimental to low-income earners,” Go said.

According to Go, the government can still find ways to manage the environment without imposing excise tax on plastic.

“We should instead strengthen the information, education and communication campaigns on the use of plastic bags,” he said.

“But plastics have satisfied all requirements. It is reusable-recyclable, nontoxic and biodegradable. Plastic has become a punching bag,” he added.

Go said plastic is better compared to paper bags and “the most undesirable is paper.”

For his part, Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association President Steven Cua, in the same hearing, said the proposal might hit the economy.

“We always maintained that it’s always a problem between disposable and reusable. How do you expect people to shop during Christmas?

Plastic is irreplaceable, sad to say,” he pointed out.

“There’s a way, there has to be some balance, otherwise how [would] people or consumers shop?” Cua said.

But Cua said big supermarkets can comply with the proposal but it would be difficult in the case of small stores, which uses thin single-use plastic bags.

In House Bill 178, or the SingleUse Plastic Bag Tax Act, House Committee on Ways and Means Vice Chairman Estrellita B. Suansing of Nueva Ecija said her proposal aims to impose excise tax on plastic bags used in supermarkets, malls, shops, stores, sales outlets and similar establishments.

“It is a known fact that plastic bags contaminate soil and waterways.

Based on available data, 4 trillion to 5 trillion plastic bags are utilized

Does corporate compliance impact business?

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By Henry J. Schumacher

HE most common perception of corporate compliance is compliance with regulations— the laws, rules, and other regulations from a government that spell out how an organization should conduct itself. We can call that external compliance.

Those laws and rules don’t care how a business complies with the law, so long as the company does. Consequently, compliance officers will design compliance programs to develop the “how” part. Then employees must comply with those internal policies and procedures. We can call that internal compliance.

In other words, everything about corporate compliance can be summarized in seven words: Leading people to behave in certain ways.

The point of compliance programs is to reduce the company’s compliance risk—the potential for regulatory enforcement, or other financial losses, because the company isn’t in compliance with laws or regulations.

We can define compliance risks in several ways: First, we can define compliance risk by subject.

Regulators enact rules to address all sorts of subjects, and companies need compliance programs to address those issues somehow. The main compliance risks include:

Corruption: companies must work to prevent bribery, bid-rigging and other improper business practices.

Reporting: companies may need to file financial statements and other reports to regulators, at required times and in specified formats.

Data protection: companies must keep customer and employee personal data secure and disclose any breaches of privacy according to various deadlines.

Environmental, health and safety: companies need to obey rules for environmental pollution, worker safety and related issues.

Employment: companies need to maintain ethical workplace practices, including wage-and-hour issues, antidiscrimination, anti-harassment, and more.

We can also define compliance risk by capability. That is, every compliance program first needs to understand

what its regulatory obligations are—and when companies do know which regulations apply to them, there’s also the risk that your compliance program can’t meet those requirements. For example, your due diligence program may overlook too many third parties.

All of that is part of the compliance risk that a company’s compliance program must address: knowing which regulatory requirements apply to your organization and knowing how well the company is (or is not) poised to meet them.

Compliance officers can maintain corporate compliance through several means: 1. As mentioned above, companies need to adopt policies and procedures to fulfill their regulatory obligations.

Those policies need to relate to what the regulations want a company to do, and the procedures need to reflect how employees actually go about their daily routines.

2. Companies need to manage their compliance programs—that is, to assess their performance at regular intervals, to be sure the program works well. That can involve testing controls, auditing employees’ adherence to policy and procedure, reviewing reports, and more.

3. Compliance officers need to perform risk assessments at regular intervals, too. Assessments can include a review of which regulations do or don’t apply to the company given its business activities, and how well the company’s compliance program works given all those regulatory requirements.

Now the important question is: How corporate compliance impacts businesses?

First, compliance can keep a company on the right side of the law. Even when a company does violate the rules (which is bound to happen eventually), the existence of a compliance program will demonstrate to regulators and prosecutors that the company is trying to do the right thing. That can lead to shorter investigations, smaller regulatory fines (or no fines at all), and fewer company resources spent responding to regulators’ inquiries.

Second, compliance can preserve a company’s reputation. The arrival of social media has brought about two things: unparalleled visibility into a company’s operations; and the new ability for others to hold companies accountable for their mistakes.

Together, those forces mean that companies can suffer brutal consequences for misconduct—bad headlines, consumer boycotts, business partners canceling contracts, and more.

Third, compliance can make a company a better competitor in the marketplace. A company with strong compliance makes fewer mistakes and therefore is distracted less often with fixing those mistakes. A strong compliance program can also help a company identify emerging risks earlier, which gives it more time to respond.

Above all, effective compliance programs make your business a more attractive partner to other businesses.

Remember: we are all someone else’s third party. The more effective our ethics and compliance is, the less of a risk we are to others.

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.

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 and automation assistance is available—please contact me at Schumacher@eitsc.com

worldwide each year, and billions of these end up as litter,” she said.

“These are, likewise, toxic to both humans and animals, especially, when accidentally ingested. Plastic marine debris have been documented to harm at least 267 species, among which are sea turtles and dolphins,” Suansing added.

However, House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. pushed for the total ban of single-use plastic.

“What if we ban the single-use plastics and impose a higher tax on reusable plastics?” he said.

The bill proposes an excise tax of P10 per kilo to be charged at the point of sale of goods or products for every plastic bag provided by the supermarket, malls, shops, stores, sales outlets and other similar establishments.

The measure said 50 percent of the revenues from the excise tax on single-use plastic bags shall be allocated to the solid waste management fund provided under the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

The same measure was passed on third and final reading during the 17th Congress.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said it expects all local governments to emulate Quezon City after it banned the distribution and utilization of single-use plastics in the city starting February 2020.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on October 15 signed Ordinance SP2876, which prohibits the distribution and utilization of single-use plastics in hotels, restaurants, and other similar establishments.

President Duterte earlier raised the idea of prohibiting the use of single-use plastics in the country during a Cabinet meeting early this month.

While Duterte has yet to comment on Quezon City’s move, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said he expects all local governments to follow Quezon City’s example.

“Wala pang sinasabi si Presidente [The President has not said anything yet]. But I suppose all local governments would follow suit, since the President has already made a stand on that,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing on Monday.

Asked if the President planned to certify bills on the ban of singleuse plastics in the country as urgent,

Panelo said he would leave it to the discretion of Congress.

“Well, that depends on the members of Congress. The President has already made a stand, definitive stand on that; all they have to do is to pursue that line,” Panelo said.

During the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations plenary summit in Thailand, the President issued the call to the developed countries to be “more circumspect” with their trash disposal.

He lamented that the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia have turned into “among those who become dumping grounds for hazardous shipments.”

“If we are talking about improving the ecology of the place, the environment, then we must take into account what we dump,” Duterte said.

“This is as good as any other time and any place to tell the other countries, the Western countries, to be more circumspect,” he added.

In May, Duterte ordered a total ban of waste materials from any foreign countries after a waste dispute with Canada. With PNA

DA-BFAR declares start of three-month sardine-fishing ban in Zambo Peninsula

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HE Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) declared on Monday the closure of the sardine-fishing season in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The suspension of sardine fishing this year is the ninth time since 2011 to give way to the threemonth spawning period of the fish species.

Under BFAR Administrative Circular (BAC) 255, the ban will be implemented starting December 1 until March 1 next year. The ban covered commercial fishing vessels within the waters of East Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay. In a news statement released on Monday following a speech read during the send-off ceremony for fisheries law enforcers in Zamboanga City, BFAR National Director Eduardo Gongona said the closed fishing season gives the seas ample time to be revitalized.

“It allows for our sardines fish stocks to replenish, ensuring the abundance and productivity of

our marine resources for years to come,” he said.

Gongona, citing data from the National Stock Assessment Program of BFAR Region 9, said there is a continuous increase of sardines in the last four years based on their monitored landed catch.

He said sardine catch rose to 141,658 metric tons in 2015; 148,718 MT in 2016; 165,295 MT in 2017; and 188,839 MT in 2018.

Gongona said sardinella lemuru (tamban-tuloy) tops among other sardine species with 183,884MT in 2018.

However, the DA-BFAR said the success of the Zamboanga sardine closed fishing season is not solely based on the increase in production.

The DA-BFAR has also considered the fisheries stakeholders’ cooperation and compliance as an important indicator of success.

Data from BFAR 9’s Fisheries Management Regulatory and Enforcement Division show zero violation during the closed fishing period for two consecutive years of

Angat Dam water level slightly rises as Typhoon Tisoy nears

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ONSOON rains enhanced by Typhoon Tisoy (international code name Kammuri) have slightly elevated the water level of the Angat Dam after the weather system entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) Saturday afternoon.

Based on the monitoring of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) of Bulacan, the water level of Angat Dam was at 188.82 meters on Saturday morning and slightly rose to 188.98 meters on Sunday morning, and 189.05 meters at 8 a.m. on Monday.

With Bulacan expected to experience intermittent to occasionally heavy rains due to Typhoon Tisoy, the dam’s water level is expected to rise further.

The present water level of Angat Dam is still 22.95 meters below its ideal end-of-the-year water level of 212 meters.

As of 2 p.m. Monday, Bulacan, was placed under Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal 2.

Liz Mungcal, chief of the PDRRMO said that school classes were suspended on Monday from pre-elementary up to senior high school in the towns of Bulakan, San Miguel, Angat, Pulilan, Doña Remedios Trinidad and City of Malolos for both public and private schools.

Classes in all levels for both public and private schools, on the other hand, were suspended in Santa Maria, Baliuag, Calumpit, Pandi, and City of San Jose del Monte, she added. PNA

2016 and 2017.

But last year, fisheries law enforcers apprehended two commercial fishing vessels in the areas covered by the ban. The violators were charged under Section 100 of the Republic Act 10654, otherwise known as the amended Philippine Fisheries Code, for fishing during the closed fishing period.

Gongona said the establishment of Fisheries Management Areas (FMA) in the Philippine waters is set to further improve the protection and management of fishing grounds in the country.

He said FMAs will complement already established resource management efforts to boost food security and sustainability of fisheries livelihoods.

With 12 properly managed FMAs in place, including FMA Four, where the waters off Zamboanga Peninsula are grouped, the sardines and the entire fisheries population now have higher chances at being restored, he added.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

MSME advocate blasts FDA for delay in securing permits

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N advocate of micro, small and medium enterprise development has highlighted the particular challenges MSMEs in the food industry face in securing the mandatory license to operate (LTO) and certificate of product registration (CPR) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a situation she said hinders the industry’s growth and potentials.

Renea Tan, a consultant with the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE), whose advocacies include Go Negosyo, said in a presentation that one of the major issues of MSMEs in the food sector is the burden of regulatory compliance.

“The bulk of our MSMEs in the whole country are into food industry, and the bottleneck is always FDA,” Tan said, who recently spoke at the Cutting Red Tape and the Cost of Regulatory Compliance for Small and Medium Enterprises business forum.

She added: “We talk of lost opportunities, lost markets for lack of that CPR and that LTO. So we talk of these things and we try to do what we can to assist, but at the end of the day the most we can do is just to provide mentorship.”

She also noted how online shopping platforms have become an attractive venue for small entrepreneurs to access markets, but she said the PCE consistently reminds them “to work on these [compliance] requirements however hard it is.”

Asked when she thinks the situation will improve for MSMEs, Tan said, “As to the question when there will actually be progress in the speed of processing of the FDA-issued licenses, then only time will tell.”

Tan also commented that MSMEs in the food industry based in the provinces have even more pressing concerns: “I can see that the bigger problems are for the micro and small entrepreneurs in the countryside because it turns out that the processing of the FDA permits are all centralized so all their applications would still have to be sent to the central office in Alabang and they [FDA] have just one or two officers per province and there are hundreds of applicants per province.”

Tan said they have asked the FDA to explain and “they say that they have a business plan for hiring more employees but it is yet to be really implemented.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opec+ gambles that US shale’s golden age is over

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or years, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ignored the rise of the US shale industry and came to regret its mistake.

Now, the group is making another bold gamble on America’s oil revolution: that its golden age is over.

When the Opec meets this week, ministers will discuss whether to extend their current output target, rather than reduce it, according to people familiar with the internal debate. The reason? They believe relentless US oil production growth will slow rapidly next year.

Iraq said on Sunday that Opec and its allies will consider deeper production cuts, though the comments come after the coalition has widely signaled reluctance to take such action.

Opec isn’t alone. Across the industry, oil traders and executives believe US production will grow less in 2020 than this year, and at a significantly slower rate than in 2018. On paper, the cartel has the oil market under control.

Brent crude has been trading around $60 a barrel for most 2019, about 14 percent higher than at the start of the year but well below the peak of $75.60 a barrel set in late April.

“Saudi Arabia is doing a reasonable job to balance the market,” said Marco Dunand, head of commodity trading house Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. But he has some words of warning too: “Opec will need to watch US production very closely.”

But Saudi Arabia and its allies should be wary of discounting competition from US shale and other non-Opec suppliers.

US oil production reached an all-time high of almost 17.5 million barrels a day in September, up 1.3 million barrels a day from a year earlier. That expansion is likely to continue at least into the beginning of 2020 before slowing down.

Slower growth doesn’t mean no growth, however. While the independent companies which drove America’s shale expansion are struggling, and have announced big spending cuts, Big Oil is now playing a much bigger role in key basins such as the Permian.

Companies with deeper pockets, such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. are likely to continue spending, increasing production in Texas, New Mexico and elsewhere.

Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil trader, expects US production to increase by 700,000 barrels a day from December 2019 to December 2020, compared to growth of 1.1 million barrels a day from the end of 2018 to the end of 2019.

Brazil, Guyana, Norway

Perhaps the biggest problem for Opec isn’t American shale but rising output elsewhere. Brazilian and Norwegian production is increasing, and will increase further in 2020. After several years of low prices, engineers have made many projects cheaper, and the results are clear.

Norway’s Johan Sverdrup oil field, the biggest development in decades in the North Sea, started up earlier this year, months ahead of schedule and several billions dollars under its original budget. And Guyana, a tiny country bordering Venezuela in Latin America, is about to pump oil for the first time.

“For Opec, it remains a difficult first half of 2020,” Russell Hardy, Vitol’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. “US production is growing strongly this quarter and in the first half of next year we’ll add nonOpec production from Norway, Brazil and Guyana.”

The cartel knows well that’s taking a gamble. The group’s own estimates show that if it continues pumping as much as it has done over the last couple of months —roughly 29.9 million barrels a day—it would supply about 200,000 barrels more crude daily than the market needs on average next year. The oversupply would be concentrated in the first half, when Opec estimates it needs to pump just 29 million barrels a day to prevent oil stocks building up.

Still, Opec officials, speaking privately, believe the world’s supply and demand balance could be tighter than many expect—a big change from the past three years. They see non-Opec output growth falling short of forecasts while global demand increases could be higher than expected.

And the crude market is, right now, relatively tight, giving Opec some solace that it would be able to weather the first few months of 2020 when it will loosen up a bit. The tightness is particularly acute for the kind of oil that most Middle East nations pump: lower quality so-called heavy-sour oil. Riyadh, for example, is selling its flagship Arab Light crude at a premium of 40 cents to the benchmark into Asia, one of the strongest ever levels.

The problem is that the oil market isn’t just crude: other petroleum liquids, such as so-called condensate and natural gas liquids—which are by-products of oil and gas drilling—are abundant. Condensate and NGLs are processed into refineries, and often blended with fuels such as gasoline and also used to produce petrochemical industry feedstock naphtha.

“The crude oil balance for next year shows a tight market,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Londonbased consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. “But when you add other liquids, like condensates, then the balance is looser.” Bloomberg News

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Tuesday, December 3, 2019 A5

China repeats demand for rollback of US tariffs as part of trade deal

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EIJING—China expects the US to roll back some tariffs on its exports as part of a trade deal, an official newspaper said on Monday, reiterating Beijing’s insistence that President Donald J. Trump’s administration be “flexible” and “reasonable.”

The Communist Party newspaper Global Times ran several articles on Monday that emphasized there would be no deal without a promise to phase out the tariffs imposed

by Washington.

It cited officials saying that China will buy American farm products and the amount “could be substantial, but it can-

not promise a specific number in the deal because the amount must be based on market demands.”

The comments come amid negotiations on a preliminary “Phase 1” agreement aimed at resolving the 18-monthold tariff war between the two largest economies.

“Rolling back tariffs is a must. The China-US trade war [was] instigated by the US with tariffs, so the tariffs have to be cut first,” the newspaper quoted Wei Jianguo, a former Chinese commerce minister as saying. It said China was already addressing issues such as protection of intellectual property, foreign investment regulations and opening of its financial markets independently of the trade talks.

Chinese officials earlier said the US side had agreed to gradually phase out the tariffs as progress is made on ending the dispute over trade and technology.

The US side did not confirm that.

Last week, both sides suggested that they were close to striking a deal. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said he had invited senior US officials to Beijing for further

Nearly 200 countries attend climate confab

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ADRID—Delegates from almost 200 countries have begun a twoweek international climate conference in Madrid that seeks to step up efforts to stop global warming.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is warning that the efforts so far are insufficient to overcome the “point of no return” in climate change.

“What is lacking is political will,” Guterres told reporters on the eve of the COP25 meeting, which opened on Monday.

The summit, which moved to the Spanish capital after Chile had to pull out amid anti-government protests, aims to put the finishing touches to the rules governing the 2015 Paris accord.

That involves creating a functioning international emissions-trading system and compensating poor countries for losses they suffer from rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change. AP

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Attendees queue at one of the security control at the COP25 climate talks summit in Madrid on Monday, December 2, 2019. Delegates from almost 200 countries have begun a two-week international climate conference in Madrid that seeks to step up efforts to stop global warming. AP

China’s yuan weakened to 7.0449 per dollar, the lowest level in more than a week, following the foreign ministry’s statement. The currency pared that decline to 7.0412 as of 5:20 p.m. in Shanghai.

While China has promised retaliation since it became clear that US lawmakers intended to pass the legislation, President Xi Jinping has limited options for hitting back exacerbating his own economic slowdown at home. China summoned the US ambassador, Terry Branstad, over the law, prompting speculation that its passage could weigh on trade negotiations between the world’s two largest economies.

Hong Kong has become a persistent source of friction between Beijing and Washington since historic protests broke out almost six months ago, leading to often violent clashes between police and pro-democracy demonstrators. The legislation requires annual reviews of the former British colony’s special trade status under American law, as well as sanctions against any officials deemed responsible for human-rights abuses or undermining the city’s autonomy.

“China urges the US side to correct its mistakes and stop any words and deeds that interfere in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal politics,” Hua told reporters on Monday in Beijing. “China will take

further necessary actions in light of the development of the situation to firmly safeguard Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, as well as China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.”

Three of the groups named by Hua— Freedom House, the International Republican Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy—didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Human Rights Watch declined to comment.

While signing the bills, Trump signaled that he didn’t want the broader relationship with China to veer off track. He expressed concerns with unspecified portions of the new law, saying they risked interfering with his constitutional authority to carry out American foreign policy.

Hu Xijin, the editor in chief of staterun Global Times, said last week that China was considering putting the law’s drafters a no-entry list. Hua made no mention of any such action.

Still, Zhu Feng, the dean of the Institute of International Relations at Nanjing University, called the countermeasures “very tough and unprecedented,” especially the decision to halt port visits. “For the first time in the four decades since China and US established diplomatic ties, China has suspended the review of these requests,” Zhu said. Bloomberg News

Israeli leader censures Europe for pursuing trade with Iran

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ERUSALEM—Israel’s prime minister is lashing out at European countries for joining a body that would allow some trading with Iran despite US sanctions. Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday in a video statement that European countries “should be ashamed of themselves” for seeking to trade with Iran. He says the countries were enabling Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Last week, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway

Thailand’s PM wants nation to spend in dollars

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China spares trade in first retaliation to US hina avoided measures related to trade in its first actions retaliating against the US over a law supporting Hong Kong’s protesters, instead vowing to sanction some rights organizations and halt warship visits to the city.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hua Chunying told a news briefing on Monday that US groups targeted for sanctions included the National Endowment for Democracy, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House. Hua said that China would also suspend further Hong Kong port visits by US Navy ships over the legislation, which Trump signed into law on Wednesday.

Hua didn’t provide details on how China would sanction the rights groups, which are already restricted from operating on the mainland. Similarly, China had already refused visits by a pair of American warships in August.

“This seems to be an empty threat because these groups don’t operate inside mainland China,” said Patrick Poon, a Hong Kong-based China researcher at London-based Amnesty International, which wasn’t named. “But if there are more tangible threats on staffers and representatives for these organizations operating in Hong Kong, it would be a serious clampdown on freedom of expression.”

talks. Trump said the talks were in their “final throes” of negotiations.

That was before China reacted with outrage to Trump’s decision to sign legislation supporting human rights in Hong Kong. Officials have not yet specified how or if Beijing will follow through on threats of “countermeasures.”

New US tariffs are set to kick in on many Chinese-made products as of December 15. A preliminary deal could avert that.

But promising to not implement the next tranche of tariffs would not suffice, the Global Times said.It said there was a “reasonable choice” for Trump to roll back some tariffs for the first deal and leave others for later, to “save the optics of the deal in the US political climate and save the phase one deal.” AP

and Sweden said they were joining INSTEX, a body designed to facilitate European trade with Iran.

INSTEX was created by Germany, France and Britain to coordinate import and export payments so European companies can do business with Iran despite US pressure, and thereby convince Tehran to stick to a 2015 deal that limits its nuclear efforts.

Iran has given INSTEX a cool reception in part because it doesn’t include vital oil trade. AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly Cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, Israel, on Sunday, December 1, 2019. AP

hailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha said the nation has to think about expenditure in dollars to help weaken its currency.

“We have to think how we will spend in dollars in many ways to help weaken the baht,” Prayuth said in a speech on Monday, adding the private sector needs to help with that process. A current-account surplus, capital inflows and high foreign reserves are among the causes of baht strength, he said.

The comments in Bangkok could be a reiteration of earlier government entreaties for more imports, which require converting baht to spend in dollars, economists said. Calls to a prime minister’s aide for more clarity weren’t immediately answered.

“The premier may be urging people to spend more by converting baht into dollars,” said Kampon Adireksombat, head of economic and financial market research at Siam Commercial Bank Pcl. “He wants people to import more and invest more. If we spend more, that will also help reduce our trade surplus.” The baht weakened 0.1 percent to 30.242 per dollar as of 1:32 p.m. in Bangkok. The local currency’s 8.8-percent surge against the dollar in the past year makes it the best performer in emerging markets. The central bank loosened rules on capital outflows last month, its latest effort to damp an appreciation that’s hurt exports and tourism.

Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council predicts 2.6-percent gross domestic product growth in 2019, which would be the slowest pace in five years. Bloomberg News

A6 Tuesday, December 3, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial Read this

I

N last Tuesday’s editorial, we made a case for the necessity of newspapers in a world where more and more people are increasingly getting their news from various sources on the Internet.

It turns out, however, that we can lose something more than credibility, printing costs and a traditional business model when newspapers focus exclusively on the digital delivery of news via the Web or mobile devices—when a newspaper no longer prints its product, to put it simply.

Certain findings featured in the banner story of our Science section on Sunday—“Deep reading: An endangered human activity,” written by Stephanie Tumampos—suggest that reading in the online-only environment may not be necessarily good for us, that it alters not just consumption but cognitive patterns—how our brain works, in short.

Tumampos had interviewed cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf at the Falling Walls Conference in Berlin, during the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9.

In the BusinessMirror article based on said interview, Wolf warned that people might be losing the ability to read critically in the digital age.

The following are just some of the noteworthy excerpts from the Science feature of Tumampos: n Wolf emphasized that reading is not just what one reads, but how one reads as well, because “literacy changes your brain, it changes the brain of a society and, ultimately, it changes our species.” n Wolf said screen reading “short circuits reading” and “does not give time for inference, analogy, empathy, critical analysis and insight.” n Wolf explained that the problem with technology “is that we regress to a very basic form of reading rather than use the entirety of this very sophisticated network.” (referring to the human brain) n She noted that “reading on a screen where it is transitory” causes one to move faster, making the habit become skimming. “When you skim, you are giving this basic circuit [the brain] a lot of information, you get fast and then you move on, and then the screen hastens you along but you don’t give the deeper processes time to work. So the technology is not the problem. The problem is that our circuit reflects the characteristics of the technology,” she said. n Many people—especially children—have become reliant on technology.

“The reality among our children is that they are often distracted 27 times per hour. Now, if you think about the circuit and the attention that you need to concentrate, it makes memory and consolidation of what we’re learning almost impossible,” Wolf said. n Kids understand better when reading from print. In a study mentioned in Wolf’s book titled, Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, she mentioned a study from 2000 and 2017, which involved 171,000 young people from all over the world who were given the same task—to read the same story but in different mediums, print and screen. The research showed that children who read through print understood the context better than those who read on screen. n Empathy is also formed through deep reading, as shown by a research at the Max Planck Institute by Tania Singer, which Wolf also noted. n Wolf said that if people become ever more surface skimmers, “we will be literally susceptible to fake news, false news, false fears and demagogues.

There is a direct connection between a skimming population who isn’t thinking about what they’re reading and their inability to judge truth and, therefore, [are unable to] choose their leaders wisely.”

We may be reading more than ever in this digital age, when all kinds of information are available and accessible through the Internet, but Wolfe made excellent points that reading exclusively from the screens of our cell phones, tablets, computers, and other devices may not be all that beneficial after all.

We do hope you read this editorial, preferably in our print edition. Better yet, we hope you read the entire Science feature.

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PSE 2019: A good year John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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efore you go all “Joker” on me filling my inbox with ranting and whining, hear me out. Unless Santa Claus comes with his bag filled with Yamashita’s gold—or gets hit with a surface-to-air missile—the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) will end 2019 practically unchanged from January 4.

However, it has been a good year for several reasons. In the last 12 months we have gone from “My maids all became millionaires in the stock market” to eerie silence.

Some stock market gurus might as well be posting cat videos on social media as their “guaranteed profitmaking” stocks are now dust in the wind. Other experts have been spending their moment in the sun explaining why they are right and the stock market is wrong for not being substantially higher.

Sadly, they are like Noel Brown,

PHL firms post robust earnings Manny B. Villar

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director of the New York office of the UN Environment Program, who said: “Entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000.” That was in 1989. But then again he said “could.” Unfortunately, stock market investors are not satisfied with could when it comes to their stock buying.

This factor makes PSE 2019 a good year because we needed a shakeout.

Don’t misunderstand me. I have the highest respect for all of the gurus even if I think an individual or two is

absolutely full of nonsense. They deserve respect for putting in the time and effort to make the analysis and for putting their credibility on the line every time they make a recommendation and share their analysis.

However, a loss of credibility can lead to greater success for the ones that have the fortitude to carry on.

The year 2019 also taught both experts and ordinary investors that an initial public offering does not operate like a hacked slot machine, throwing out money to any and all.

As I have said for years, buy all the IPOs on listing day or buy none and wait. You may hit the jackpot. Otherwise, trade these issues just like you would any other based on the trend.

The other positive is that companies and underwriters may be forced to be a little more contained with their drama as investors become more sensible.

The most important reason that 2019 was a good year is that stock prices ignored external factors like the Philippine economy and external conditions. We desperately want to believe ideas that “economy up; stock market up” and similar “truths” as with inflation. You might as well

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he signs of an economy performing stronger in the months ahead are now clear. One of the data that serves as a harbinger of a faster gross domestic product (GDP) rate in the near term starting from the fourth quarter of this year includes corporate earnings.

Philippine conglomerates and other listed companies in the Philippine Stock Exchange have reported healthy corporate profits in the third quarter. Many posted double-digit growth incomes in the period, presumably boosted by a strong consumer demand in a tame inflationary environment.

The strong third-quarter performances cut across the major sectors of the economy. This can only mean that the healthy corporate earnings are broad-based. I can already imagine the increased capital expenditures that these companies will undertake in 2020 and the additional workers they will employ.

A much stable inflationary regime, lower interest rates and increased liquidity released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas after trimming further the reserve requirement ratios of banks will support the bigger capital expenditures.

Perhaps, one of the more impressive reports I saw on newspaper reports was that of budget carrier Cebu Air Inc. that operates Cebu Pacific airline.

Cebu Air booked a net income of P6.75 billion in the January-toSeptember period, up sharply by 143 percent from P2.78 billion in the same period last year, on increased passenger revenues. Passenger volume rose 10.4 percent to 16.7 million from 15.1 million last year after the airline bought bigger A321 aircraft to boost its fleet. Cebu Air’s strong financial performance reflects increased consumer spending. It is obvious that local tourism is doing well and that the spending power of Filipinos is rising.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. nearly doubled its net income in the first three quarters to P46.2 billion from a year ago on the strong contribution from core businesses and the

one-time gain from the sale of power assets. Units Bank of the Philippine Islands, Ayala Land Inc. and recentlybeefed up AC Energy significantly contributed to the earnings. Another subsidiary, Globe Telecom Inc., registered a 20-percent growth in net income in the first nine months to P17.7 billion from P14.7 billion in the same period last year.

The strong profits of the property and telecom sectors indicate that GDP growth in the third quarter was sustained by strong consumer spending and brisk construction activities.

SM Investments Corp., which is also in the property business, banking and mall operations, booked a consolidated net income of P33.1 billion in the nine-month period, up 26 percent year-on-year. The strong financial performance of this conglomerate again leads me to believe that the GDP may have performed better in the fourth quarter and will continue to do so next year.

Conglomerates and other companies that booked handsome profits in the third quarter of 2019 will certainly lay out big expansion plans for next year to sustain their gains.

Philippine banks are also bullish on the prospects of the economy.

They see the Philippine economy growing between 6 percent and 7 percent within the next two years despite the risks from domestic and external fronts, according to the results of the Banking Sector Outlook Survey (BSOS) for the first semester of 2019 that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

believe that a solar eclipse is from the sun being eaten by a bear.

It is possible that eons ago bears did eat the sun—just like the stock market firmly reacting to economic data—but it is not true today. In many parts of India, people still fast during a solar eclipse believing food cooked then will be poisonous. Don’t be like them.

In 2020, investors will hopefully not get on the wrong side of the market because of economic data and will wait to see how prices react to the data rather than jumping in with blind faith.

Finally I am hoping—if not yet hopeful—that 2019 was a good year because investors might have learned not to “buy the hype.” From casinos in Boracay to third-telcos, 2019 was not a good year for irrational exuberance about press releases and “inside” information. Onward and upward in 2020, which could be great.

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.

released last week.

“The banking industry remains optimistic on the country’s economic prospect amid global uncertainties and market volatilities…. Majority of the BSOS respondents projected the gross domestic product to grow between 6 percent and 7 percent within the next two years,” it said.

The outlook on the Philippine banking system also remained stable, with most of the BSOS respondents expecting double-digit growth in assets, loans, deposits and net income.

“The bullish outlook on the banking system indicates that banks will continue to provide an environment conducive to the sustained domestic economic growth,” said the survey.

Even Japanese financial giant Nomura is upbeat. It expects the Philippine economy to achieve the low-end of its growth forecast of 6 percent to 7 percent this year. It said economic growth would be stronger at 6.7 percent in 2020 because another budget delay was unlikely.

“Compared to the 2019 budget which suffered a four-month delay and contributed to the growth slowdown in the first half of 2019, every step of this year’s budget approval process in Congress has been done much earlier, consistent with deliberate efforts to avoid a repeat of the 2019 budget delay,” said Nomura said in a report last week.

For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

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Tax obligations of permanent establishments

‘This nation-leading step will save lives’ tax on vaping products to discourage their consumption. nnn

Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES Fulvio D. Dawilan

Tax Law for Business

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he Philippines generally follows the “source of income” rule in identifying the income that are taxable to corporations in the Philippines. For a foreign corporation, whether engaged in business or not in the Philippines, it is taxable only on income derived from sources within the country. The concept of source taxation is premised on the relationship of the income and the taxing state. A state’s claim to tax a particular income is based on the state’s specific relationship with that income.

In this light, the source of income is necessary in determining if an item of income should be taxed in the Philippines or not, especially for foreign corporations. If the income is sourced from the Philippines, our tax authority has the jurisdiction to call for the payment of tax. While this is the rule, the same would yield to the provisions of a tax treaty (double taxation agreement) that the Philippines has with the country of which the recipient of the income is a resident. In so far as business profits are concerned, they may be taxed in the Philippines if the income recipient has a permanent establishment (PE) in the Philippines.

For income taxation purposes, a foreign corporation is classified into two types of taxpayers: (a) resident foreign corporation (RFC) or a foreign corporation that is engaged in trade or business within the Philippines, or (b) nonresident foreign corporation (NRFC), which refers to a foreign corporation not engaged in trade or business within the Philippines. Doing business in the Philippines makes the foreign corporation a resident foreign corporation.

The income taxation of an RFC and NRFC in the Philippines are essentially the same. Both are subject to Philippine income taxes only with respect to income derived from sources within. The difference lies in the tax base. An NRFC is taxed based on the gross income while an RFC is, in general, taxed based on net taxable income, which means that related expenses are allowed as deductions. The taxes due on income of NRFCs are paid through the final withholding tax system. It follows that an NRFC does not have reportorial requirements. The payment of taxes of an NRFC, if any, is the responsibility of the payor/customer as withholding agent. Thus, except for the one-time TIN, it is not required to register as a regular taxpayer. On other hand, an RFC has to comply with the reportorial requirements, including the filing of its own tax returns and the payment of taxes due. It is thus required to register as a regular taxpayer. Apparently, registration as a regular taxpayer requires the submission of the SEC registration documents.

Thus, to be able to register as a regular taxpayer, a foreign corporation has to register with the SEC, usually as a branch (in any of its forms). An RFC, therefore, is usually referred to as a Philippine branch of a foreign corporation.

In line with this, a usual question raised is with respect to a PE—how should a PE be classified and/or how should it comply with its tax obligations, especially PEs created by reason of short-term projects where no branch is registered? There are decisions of the Tax Court holding that PEs are still treated as NRFCs for income taxation purposes, in the absence of registration. As such, income taxes due on their income derived from sources within the Philippines shall still be subject to the final withholding taxes. Accordingly, the customer/payor of the income shall be required to withhold final tax on the gross amount of income.

Impliedly, it is not enough that a foreign corporation is doing

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 A7

business in the Philippines to be treated as an RFC for income taxation purposes. Also, the fact that a foreign corporation has a PE in the Philippines does not necessarily make the foreign corporation an RFC. It is still treated as an NRFC if it has no license to transact business in the Philippines and not registered with the tax authority.

Even the tax authority has a conflicting view on this matter. It has earlier issued a number of rulings confirming that the payments to a foreign corporation with a PE in the Philippines are subject to the final withholding tax, thereby treating them as NRFCs. But there are also issuances holding that a foreign corporation that has created a PE in the Philippines is treated as a foreign corporation engaged in trade or business in the Philippines or an RFC. In one ruling, for example, a German company, by reason of its service and maintenance contract with a Philippine entity, was found to have a PE. The tax bureau ruled that the enterprise shall be taxed in the same manner as an RFC, which should also be entitled to claim deductions for expenses incurred for purposes of the PE. But there was no guidance on how the filing of tax returns and payment of taxes should be made.

The apparent incompleteness or differences in issuances/rulings is due to the fact that there is really no specific rule governing the registration and compliance by a PE, which is not registered as a branch.

I believe that there is basis to state that a foreign entity with a PE is to be treated as an RFC, considering that it is doing business in the Philippines. Thus, it should be allowed to register as a regular taxpayer.

It is time for the tax authorities to craft guidelines on how PEs should be registered for tax compliance purposes so that they can comply with their tax obligations, even without commercial registration, especially for shorter-term projects where maintaining an entity is not viable. Also, with the reform in the international tax system on its way, including taxation of the digital economy, the concept of permanent establishment will potentially be expanded to cover activities not covered by the traditional definition. This will provide jurisdictions outside an enterprise’s physical residence the right to tax a portion of the income. Nonetheless, if there is no mechanism for these entities without physical presence to register for tax purposes, these will still provide a convenient excuse for these enterprises to escape from their tax obligations, and the income supposedly allocable to the country will remain untaxed.

The author is the Managing Partner of DuBaladad 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 fulvio.dawilan@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 310.

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RRD is not alone in banning flavored tobacco and vaping products to address a public-health emergency arising from the ill effects of using them. On the eve of Thanksgiving Day, the Massachusetts governor signed into law a statewide ban on the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes.

Other cities in the US, like San Francisco and New York, have earlier adopted a similar move but this was the first law enacted in US permanently outlawing the sale of such products in any state.

The State’s Speaker of the House, in hailing the approval of the measure, claimed that “this nationleading step will save lives.” There are at least 39 vaping-related deaths recorded by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In Massachusetts alone, three deaths and more than 200 lung injury patients have been reported since the Department of Public Health has required such reporting in September this year. In the Philippines, one such lung injury involving a Visayan teenage girl was reported by the Department of Health. There could be an alarming number of lung injuries associated with vaping, except that we have not strictly maintained such records. Anti-tobacco groups have argued that flavored tobacco and

vaping products are used disproportionately by young people and the minorities. These products are used to introduce smoking to the young, which eventually results to nicotine addiction. Similar to the position taken by PRRD and the local authorities, their consumption are banned in public places. Using them in private homes, as well as in duly licensed smoking bars and places, are allowed but they will be limited to on-site consumption only. Personally, I believe that our government is on the right track to ban the use of vaping products and e-cigarettes in public places. We need a law to enforce it. Their onsite use should also be strictly regulated to add more teeth to the law. Likewise, I support imposing a higher excise

Man-made and natural disasters have threatened the success of the 30th Sea Games that the country is currently hosting. After the pregame snafu widely reported even by foreign media due to the poor handling by the organizer of basic matters, such as transportation, hotel accommodation and even food for the athletes, not to mention the horrendous traffic that delayed the movement of the athletes, Typhoon Tisoy, an uninvited participant, has threatened to disrupt the various outdoor games of the biggest regional sports meet ever. While the great opening bash highlighted by a dazzling display of Philippine culture, arts and talent had somehow made up for the earlier snags, the embarrassing episodes should not just be swept under the rug. With several billions of taxpayers’ money coughed up to ensure the games’ success, Secretary Sal Panelo has asked Philippine Sea Games Organizing Committee “to perform better services expected of them.” He further observed that “an array of criticisms has been made on how Phisgoc has handled the logistics of this momentous event, and these should be accepted and considered in order to rectify the errors it has committed. The critics have a point.

There is indeed something wrong with the preparations.”

Meanwhile, the media hit the

Casting away coal addiction for survival

By Heherson Alvarez First of two parts

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limate Change Consciousness week is held in November through the proclamation by President Gloria MacapagalArroyo, through my recommendation as Presidential Adviser on climate change, to raise awareness and generate action to respond to global warming threats. This year, its observance becomes even more significant because an Emergency Climate Alert for a higher ambition to fulfill the Paris Accord has been underscored by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other well-acknowledge Science Research Institutes.

COP 25 is being held from December 2 to 13 in Spain, due to certain political disturbances in Chile.

Spain, with the UNFCCC secretariat, has generously provided the crucial platform to form together a resilient and responsive global will to mitigate and adapt to the deepening climatechange catastrophes.

It is imperative that the climate change commission, in defining our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), provides a doable climate program that supports the administration’s job-creation, even industrialization programs. A joint Congressional public hearing is essential for a fully transparent harmonized process with vital inputs from all concerned agencies and relevant civil society sectors.

One of the keys to the Philippines’s long-term industrial growth—sustainable development and resiliency —is a mix of energy sources which is job-creating, that become less expensive over time, and which also has fewer negative impacts on climate and the environment, threatening lives, food security, health, infrastructure and livelihood.

We are entering a new era of grave disruptions that include increasingly destructive impacts of an overheating Earth with climate change, of supertyphoons, ocean surges and super drought, raging forest fires, and landslides, consequently deepening poverty and hunger. Carbon dioxide and fossil polluting gases have been the culprit of global warming.

Fortunately, the rise of alternative clean energy technologies as solar, wind, hydro waste and geothermal are readily accessible. UN Secretary General António Guterres in the recent Asean meeting stressed the need to stop our coal addiction.

It is auspicious that the President underscored his concern for climate change in his speech in Russia. In Asean, the President underscored the value of protecting biodiversity as we address climate change. He has

also manifested political will in rehabilitating our polluted water bodies, in particular, Boracay and Manila Bay. The President also expressed his openness to address the plastic crisis that identifies the Philippines as No. 3 in the list of the most guilty polluting countries. Cop 25 is particularly directed to the blue planet concerns, confronting global warming, destruction of corals, acidification of our seas, plastic pollution, sea level rise and ocean surges.

The enormous popularity of the President can provide the opportunity for him to serve as a caring guru to protect our highly vulnerable archipelago, and seek Senate ratification of a Unesco covenant for the underwater heritage protection.

What can be realistically accomplished within the remaining 2 1/2year term of the Duterte administration focused on specific policies, actions and programs that are doable and achievable?

The twin pillars of eliminating the scourge of drugs and corruption while preventing further environmental degradation through decarbonization will lift the nation and its leadership to a rendezvous with destiny.

I. The basic problem 1. The Philippines is 1 of the top 3 countries most threatened by climate change. We need to climate proof our people against the inevitable impacts and risks, to take full advantage of new financing, technology and other job opportunities that it will create and attract green investments, clean technologies and green building.

2. We also need to manage properly the ongoing shift in energy technologies to minimize stranded costs, technology lock-in and other risks, as well so as to take full advantage of the decreasing costs, lower pollution, more green jobs and businesses, and other benefits, as well as opportunities these newer technologies will create.

To attain the administration’s

“AmBisyon Natin 2040 [Malasakit, Pagbabago at Kaunlaran]” under this new era, the Philippine energy sector faces a fundamental dilemma: n Should it continue to rely mainly on traditional sources like coal and baseload planning, which planners are already familiar and comfortable with? Or, n Should it adopt newer technologies and planning methods, such as new renewables and storage, and flexible power plant planning that are cleaner, which create more jobs, and which are becoming increasingly cheaper over time?

Our energy sector today unfortunately inherited from the previous Aquino administration a bias for the first option, despite its disadvantages especially under the new alternative energy era. The previous administration’s Philippine Energy Plan 2012 to 2030 had energy efficiency and renewable-energy targets that would have propelled the country toward this transition. Unfortunately, it failed to attain the energy efficiency and renewable-energy targets, but overachieved in its coal targets instead, revealing its hidden bias. We will work closely with the Department of Energy on a climatesmart approach to the energy transition and seek to assist in the process so that the Duterte administration does not repeat the egregious error of the Aquino administration.

II. Addresing the problem Our answer to the problem must be a two-track energy policy. One that does not disrupt our economic growth while it builds up national capacity for sustainable development through increasing reliance on renewable energy. It allows us to fulfill our commitments under the Paris Climate Accord based on climate justice and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. It also allows us the resiliency to chart a low-carbon path according to our Intended Nationally Determined Contribution of Priorities (INDCP).

This two-track policy will create jobs, pull down electricity prices, and provide ordinary people with a cleaner, healthier living environment. It will also avoid locking in our country for the next 40 years to power plants that are highly polluting and whose increasing costs can derail the industrialization efforts of the administration.

This can be accomplished by a simultaneous approach that builds on existing and committed (construction ongoing) conventional power

Sea Games organizers for blaming the journalists over the so-called negative reports. They denied the insinuation that bribe money was deployed to place the organizers in a bad light. It should be noted that the foreign press had earlier denounced the mess, which was reported to them by their athletes. For its part, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines had stated that dictating how the media should report the news has no place in a democracy.

“It becomes ridiculously unacceptable when the officials responsible for the disaster resort to bashing media as well, as if the reports on their shortcomings were to blame for the disaster.” In short, we should not blame the rooster for the late sunrise. nnn

Graham Stephan is a self-made multimillionaire who could afford to buy almost anything his heart craves but he admitted that there are two things he disdains spending his money on. The first is Starbucks coffee. He thinks it’s ridiculous to drink Starbucks and other branded coffee that charge an arm-and-a-leg per cup. He’d rather make one at home at a cost of 20 cents. His other pet peeve is designer items. He could not see the rationale in getting an $800 pair of Gucci shoes when one could get an equivalent sturdy pair from Aldo for 1/10 of the price. Now, I’m going back to my old cup of Café Puro seated in my garden while I write this column.

plants to make them more dependable, more efficient and less polluting and builds up new power capacity for sustainable growth through gains in energy efficiency and increasing reliance on renewable energy.

III. Basic Objectives: 1. To promote specific climate actions, policies and programs (APPs) to help sustain a strong economy through job growth and lower electricity prices over the next five years.

2. To use these APPs to leverage investment, technology and capacity-building in order to capture largescale mitigation and adaptation opportunities for the country.

3. To bolster biodiversity conservation through protection of the forest and oceans as carbon sinks to help reduce greenhouse gases.

4. To increase via riverbank solar or river basins another 1.5 million hectares from the 6 million existing hectares of irrigable land. Currently, only 1.5 hectares are irrigated. By irrigating 1 hectare of land, it is as if you have 3 hectares, harvesting three times a year instead of merely depending on rainfall.

IV. Proposed response A. Mitigation Initiatives: Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

The following prototypical mitigation projects can be prioritized for carbon capture and reduction to meet our international climatechange commitments. They, at the same time, help in adaptation by creating jobs, alleviating poverty, enhancing food security, and promoting biodiversity conservation, confronting vector borne and climate caused respiratory, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer and heart ailments.

1. Expand a forestation and reforestation projects by another 1.5 million hectares, with improved monitoring and evaluation component and by stopping deforestation.

Forests provide economic, social and environmental benefits. As a bonus, they also sequester huge amounts of carbon dioxide. Deforestation produces almost twice as much carbon dioxide as the energy sector.

To be continued Heherson T. Alvarez is former senator and Isabela congressman who served as secretary of environment, as well as climate change secretary. He is the founder of Earthsavers, honored as a Unesco Dream Center and is currently chairman of the Advisory Board of Climate Institute, among the oldest International NGO based in Wahington, D.C., Tel. 0917-8711161 or 0815-8983947.

A8 Tuesday, December 3, 2019

PHL visitor receipts in Jan-Sept 2019 up 26%

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

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@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

EVENUE generated by the tourism industry from foreign visitors grew by 25.8 percent to some $7.3 billion (P379.6 billion) in the nine months to September 2019.

This nine-month inbound receipts figure is 66.7 percent of the Department of Tourism’s target of P569 billion for 2019. For the

DOT to reach its year-end target, tourism earnings from October to December should reach P63.13 billion each month.

In a press briefing on Monday, DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Market Development Benito C. Bengzon Jr. noted, “This is the first time we ever reached this level. [This] may be attributed to the longer length of stay [of tourists] and higher total expenditure per visit, which is now within $1,200 to $1,300 per day per visit, depending on the nationality.”

The DOT is veering away from focusing on visitor head count, to trying to generate higher spending from tourists, in support of its sustainable

$7.3B (₧379.6B)

The nine-month inbound receipts figure, which is 66.7 percent of the Department of Tourism’s target of P569 billion for 2019 development goals. The same focus on visitor receipts was pushed by the government agency under the term of former Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., when its annual foreign arrivals targets were not being met in the aftermath of the Manila hostage

‘No deployment ban to Poland for now’ FDA backs regulation of vapes T

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

HE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Monday said it is not inclined to stop the processing of papers of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for Poland amid reports that illegal recruiters are exploiting applicants who want to work there.

Instead, POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said the government is more partial to preventing illegal recruiters from taking advantage of hapless OFWs. “Only noncompliant recruitment agencies will be penalized,” Olalia told the BusinessMirror via SMS. In a letter she submitted to Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III in November, Labor attaché Cheryl L. Daytec of

the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Geneva, recommended the suspension of the processing of papers of OFWs bound for Poland.

Daytec’s recommendation is for the restriction to take effect for Polandbound OFWs until the POEA has developed a working regulatory framework to prevent the “exploitative practice of PRA [Philippine recruitment agencies] and their Polish principals.”

This was in response to the “rising incidents” of runaway OFWs in Poland, which the Polo monitored. These OFWs suffered abuse and their employers reneged on their contracts.

As of October, the Polo said it already recorded 135 abscondees.

Last month, Daytec said in her report, four other distressed OFWs also sought aid from the Polo in Geneva, after they were deployed by Gold Icon

TYPHOON “TISOY” {KAMMURI} 155 KM EAST OF JUBAN, SORSOGON NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING LUZON as of 4:00 pm - December 2, 2019

Recruitment and Promotion Inc. to work for HR Motives in Poland.

The complainants claimed Gold Icon collected from them at least P269,000 in processing fees without any receipts. They were made to borrow money from a lending institution and sign a waiver that they did not pay the processing fee.

Upon checking with the POEA database for licensed recruitment agencies, Daytec said they learned that as of October 23, Gold Icon’s license to process documents was suspended.

Daytec also flagged HR Motives after it supposedly changed the contract of the victims upon their arrival in Poland.

She urged the POEA to investigate both companies and to help the concerned OFWs collect the fees which Gold Icon allegedly extracted from them.

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

I

NSTEAD of a total ban on electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products, health authorities are now pushing for strict regulation of the sale electronic cigarettes in the Philippines.

During the hearing of the House Committee on Trade and Industry and House Committee on Health, the director of the Food and Drugs Administration, Ana Trinidad Rivera, said the FDA is now supporting the proposal to strictly regulate the sale and use of vapes to smokers aged 24 and below.

“There is a need to establish sound regulatory strategies to protect public health. We must prohibit access to vapes to young people and allow it only to those 25 years of age,” Rivera told lawmakers.

This is softer than the earlier position of the health authorities pushing for a total ban on vapes following President Duterte’s order to ban vapes and e-cigarettes in public areas.

Also, Rivera said the FDA is seeking mandatory graphic health warning on packages of vapes. The FDA officials said the government must prohibit advertisements and promotion and flavors and characters targeting the youth.

DTI’s stand

In the same hearing, Trade Undersecretary (DTI) Ruth Castelo also pushed for strict regulation of ENDS products.

She said vapes and e-cigarettes should be regulated and that the sale and use of these products among minors must be banned.

Several bills seeking to regulate the sale of ENDS are now pending before the House of Representatives.

House Committee on Dangerous Drugs Chairman Robert Ace Barbers also supported the call to enforce strictly regulate electronic cigarettes and vapes.

“Electronic cigarettes and vape are new products which have caused significant harm to people both outside and inside the Philippines. To protect the health of the Filipino people and prevent epidemics, such as those we’ve seen in other countries, I urge that we act quickly on the matter and strongly regulate these products,” Barbers said in a statement.

Barbers, himself, has filed House Bill 5310, which seeks to regulate the use of e-cigarettes and vape by introducing graphic health warnings, and banning the products’ sale to minors.

Excise tax

Earlier this year, the House also approved on third reading House Bill 1026 filed by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Joey Salceda, which proposes a significant increase in the excise tax on these products.

“We agree that taxation is one of the tools to regulate the use of these products. Aside from this, we must also use other tools or interventions such as graphic health warnings and effective health promotion and education to raise the awareness of Filipinos on the gravity of this issue,” Barbers added.

Economic think tank Action for Economic Reforms joined calls to regulate and tax e-cigarettes and vapes.

crisis, Supertyphoon Yolanda and diplomatic rows with other countries like China.

In the case of current Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, the six-month closure of Boracay Island due to environmental distress and its ongoing rehabilitation, according to Bengzon, “really helped us develop a new set of development guidelines, it has redefined our approach to destination promotion and development.”

He added, “The Boracay experience has taught us the need for

convergence with other government agencies like the DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government] and the DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources].”

Bengzon also said the foreign tourist arrivals of 6.2 million from January to September 2019, which is 14.37 percent higher than the same period last year, “...[shows] we are within striking distance [of the 8.2-million foreign visitors target for 2019].

See “PHL visitors,” A2

FUND BREATHALYZERS, OR DRUNK DRIVERS GO SCOT-FREE, WARNS POE

S

EN. Grace Poe on Monday pushed for a P20-million funding in the 2020 national budget for the acquisition of breathalyzers to apprehend drunk drivers.

In a statement on Monday, Poe predicted, “it would not be long before the country’s traffic enforcers get armed with breathalyzers to detect drunk drivers.”

Poe pointed out that there can be “as many trained traffic enforcers on the road, but without the breathalyzers, their hands are tied in effectively apprehending violators.”

She explained that breathalyzers are instruments used to test the level of alcohol imbibed by motorists. “If there’s an accident and the driver is drunk, the enforcer cannot merely say the driver reeked of liquor. This won’t stand in an investigation or a court of law,” Poe said in a mix of English and Filipino.

The senator added that “the objective findings that can be obtained from the breathalyzers could be the missing piece to a successful prosecution of drunk drivers.”

Road safety programs need resources for logistics and equipment to be effective, Poe stressed; hence, she is pushing to have an ap-

propriation for the purchase of the equipment after finding out from the Department of Transportation about the absence of the budget for road safety programs for next year.

She noted that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which is in charge of managing traffic in the metropolis, only has a handful of breathalyzers that it uses in the field. “There has to be money for breathalyzers because they could prevent drunk drivers from plying the highways and causing mishaps that could endanger lives,” added Poe. Having breathalyzers is also in compliance with Republic Act 10586 or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013, Poe said. The law states that the Land Transportation Office and the Philippine National Police shall acquire “sufficient breath analyzers” for the use of law enforcers and deputized local traffic enforcers nationwide, such as the MMDA. “We cannot be in a situation in which we cannot enforce the law because we lack the equipment,” said Poe, airing optimism that the P20-million budget she pitched would make it to the final copy of the budget law. Butch Fernandez

Japan ex-vice finance chief Asakawa elected ADB prexy

J

APAN’S former Vice Finance Minister Masatsugu Asakawa was elected President of Manilabased multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Following a unanimous vote by ADB’s board of governors, Asakawa will be assuming office as ADB’s 10th President on January 17, 2020, a day after his predecessor Takehiko Nakao leaves office.

Asakawa, 61, who is currently Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, will finish the unexpired term of Nakao which will end on November 23, 2021.

In a statement on Monday, ADB Board of Governors Chairman Hong Nam-ki said they look forward to working with Asakawa.

“Mr. Asakawa’s extensive and diverse experience in international finance and development will serve ADB well in pursuing its vision of a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific,” said Hong, who also sits as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Korea.

Tokyo has nominated Asakawa to succeed Nakao, who expressed his intention to resign from his post after serving as ADB President since April 2013. The Philippines also backed the nomination of Asakawa.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, who is also the ADB governor for the Philippines, was quoted in the statement of the Department of Finance last October as saying that it would be in the multilateral lender “where his extensive experience in international finance, development and taxation would prove to be a valuable asset in helping the ADB continue reinventing itself and pursuing new strategies to help the region achieve inclusive growth amid a global economic slowdown.” ADB presidents are nominated from ADB’s regional members for a five-year term. Each president is elected by the ADB board of governors.

In his career of almost four decades, Asakawa has held a range of senior positions at the Ministry of Finance of Japan and gained diverse professional experience in development policy, foreign-exchange markets, and international tax policy.

He also served as Finance Deputy for the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Fukuoka, Japan.

After the Global Financial Crisis, he also participated in the first G20 Leaders’ Summit as Executive Assistant to then Prime Minister Taro Aso. See “ADB,” A2

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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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DOE rejects PXP Energy’s unsolicited bid for Malampaya Integrated Gas Hub

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

HE Department of Energy (DOE) has turned down PXP Energy Corp.’s unsolicited proposal to develop and utilize an integrated gas hub at the site of the Malampaya project in Northwest Palawan.

The Pangilinan-led upstream oil and gas company submitted last month to the DOE an unsolicited proposal for the strategic development and utilization of an Integrated Gas Hub in Malampaya upon the expiry of Service Contract 38 (SC 38) in 2024.

At present, the Malampaya gas field is being maintained and operated by a consortium led by Shell Philippines Exploration BV (SPEx), with 45 percent in SC 38; Chevron Malampaya Llc., 45 percent; and state-led Philippine National Oil Co. Exploration Corp., with the remaining 10 percent.

PXP intends to take over the operations of the gas field from the consortium once the service contract expires.

However, a DOE official said this is not possible.

DOE Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III said Monday that the agency declined PXP’s unsolicited proposal.

“We advised PXP that [we] cannot be cognizant of their proposal. The reason is very basic. We

have PCECP [Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program] and, under that legal framework, there are only two ways in order to get a service contract and oil exploration permits,” said Pulido.

Under the PCECP, investors may engage in upstream exploration or development activities in two ways: One, choosing an area from the 14 Pre-Determined Areas (PDAs) offered by the DOE, and two, proposing their own areas for exploration.

“There are only two ways. There is no third mechanism. What they are trying to do is create a third mechanism, which is an unsolicited proposal. You cannot nominate an area that is already covered by a service contract. SC 38 is already covered by an exiting contract so we can’t take cognizance of their unsolicited proposal. We have to refuse it and we already advised them on that,” explained Pulido.

Under PXP’s proposal, the Malampaya infrastructure and distribution network, which is strategically positioned in the West Philippine Sea, is envisioned to support the continued

Malampaya Phase 2-3 Photo FROM www.shell.com development of the Malampaya resources, as well as the economic development of Sampaguita field and other nearby prospects under SC 72, which is operated by PXP through Forum Ltd. PXP Energy holds a 78.98-percent operating interest in SC 72 or the contract to explore Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea through London-listed Forum Energy Plc. It

also has a direct operating interest of 50 percent in SC 75 northwest Palawan. It is also waiting for guidance from the Philippine government in respect of any future activity in the service contracts.

PXP said the use of the Malampaya facilities as the Integrated Gas Hub will support the development of a robust indigenous gas industry. This, it added, is consistent

PHL’s lone float glass maker Pioneer blames China imports for sales slump

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

H

A NOI , V iet n a m—T he country’s lone float glass maker has endured a sales decline of roughly 50 percent resulting from the widespread sale of reportedly substandard glass products from China.

Pioneer Float Glass Manufacturing Inc. President Paul Vincent C. Go disclosed the firm’s sales from January to November slumped by anywhere between 40 percent and 50 percent. Providing no figures, he attributed the decline to stiffer competition with imports from China, which he said are mostly substandard. “[Sales decline is] 50 percent as of this yearly performance,” Go told reporters here on Monday. “Now we are in the budgeting stage. Sales really slumped about 40 percent to 50 percent, and there is a slowdown generally right now.”

Go said Pioneer Float Glass is failing to benefit from the country’s surging demand for construction materials brought about by the gov-

ernment’s infrastructure program.

He added that bulk of the requirements are being sourced from importers, who ship their glass products mostly from China. However, Go claimed there’s an anomaly in this scenario: Chinese glass is exported first to Southeast Asian economies close to China, such as Myanmar, before they are transported to the Philippines—a case of transhipment, which is illegal under multilateral trading rules, if proven true.

“There are lots of imported glass in the market, imported that are not paid the right taxes, imported that are substandard,” the Pioneer Float Glass chief argued. “Importers claim their glass products are standard, but we don’t actually have any means to check except during market monitoring.” Go bared that, “Just last week, an importer shipped five containers of glass. The COO, or certificate of origin, states they were made in Myanmar, but when we opened the container, it’s from China. There are no glass plants in Myanmar. It’s like transhipment. There really are many anomalies taking place here.”

Go is hoping the Makati and

Pasay courts would lift the injunction they imposed on Department Administrative Order 19-05 issued by the Department of Trade and Industry. The DAO was imposed by the DTI in March in order to regulate flat glass products in the market by subjecting them to mandatory certification.

However, the Makati and Pasay courts, acting on the petition filed by importers, in May slapped an injunction on the DTI-issued DAO. The DTI filed its petition to lift the injunction, but to no avail. Up to now, the trade body has no superior control over the movement of flat glass in the market as long as the injunction is in effect.

“If the state of the effect on the overall institution [is looked at], we are affected. Our sales declined. We recovered overhead, but our sales is really taking a lot of damage. We are happy in spite of it all, in spite of losing profits, because we are hoping this will turn around one day totally,” Go said.

Safeguard on clear, tinted float glass

If there’s any upside, the Pioneer Flat

Glass chief said it is the provisional safeguard duty placed by the DTI on clear and tinted float glass.

The DTI in July decided to apply a safeguard duty of over P2,500 per metric ton (MT) on imported float glass to protect Pioneer Float Glass, the country’s lone manufacturer of the product. In its decision, it argued increased imports of float glass between 2013 and 2017 caused serious injury to the domestic industry, particularly in market share, local sales, capacity utilization, production, employment and profitability.

As such, Customs is charging in the form of cash bond P2,552 per MT on clear float glass and P2,835 per MT on tinted float glass.

The Tariff Commission is investigating whether there is a need to impose a definitive, or a long-term, safeguard measure on imported float glass. However, public hearings on the matter are suspended as of latest.

Pioneer Float Glass is the country’s only manufacturer of glass products with a daily production capacity of 550 MT and a labor force of over 400 workers.

AyalaLand will no longer develop ‘Plastic City’

P

ROPERTY developer Ayala Land Inc. on Monday said it mutually terminated its dea l w ith the Gatcha lian-led Wellex Industries Inc. to develop a 21-hectare former plastic manufacturing into a mi xed-

used property.

In its disclosure, AyalaLand said its middle-income unit Avida Land has terminated its 2012 deal with Wellex’s subsidiary Philippine Estates Corp. (PHES) for the development of a property

popularly known as Plastic City in Valenzuela.

“PHES and subsidiar ies of WIN have decided to reevaluate its concept and feasibility studies on the property, while Avida will focus on its ongoing and

other planned projects,” it said.

The Gatchalian family left Plastic City due to losses, partly as a result of cheap imports, but Wellex’s units still own and lease out the warehouses within the entire 60-hectare property. VG Cabuag

with DOE’s commitment to pursue national development through the twofold agenda of attaining energy independence and implementing power market reforms as contained in the Philippine Energy Plan. It is also aligned with the DOE’s cleanfuel strategy, including the reduction of dependence on coal.

Its unsolicited proposal is also seen to yield substantial foreign-

exchange savings resulting from the reduced importation of coal and other fuel supply, added PXP. The Malampaya gas facility supplies 40 percent of Luzon’s power requirements.

The gas facility fuels these gas plants: the 1,000-megawatt Santa Rita, the 500-MW San Lorenzo, the 1,200-MW Ilijan, 97-MW Avion and the 414-MW San Gabriel.

Amazon, Walmart face the ire of 70 million India shopkeepers

I

n the heart of New Delhi’s largest wholesale bazaar, merchants who normally compete with each other have united against a common enemy.

“Amazon, Flipkart!” one merchant after another shouts into a microphone from a small stage in Sadar Bazaar’s central traffic circle.

Some 50 other shopkeepers gathered around shout back in unison: “Go back! Go back!”

The sit-in, which created more chaos than usual among the rickshaws, motorbikes and ox-carts plying the market road, was one of as many as 700 protests against Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.— owner of local e-commerce leader Flipkart—that organizers say took place at bazaars across India on a recent Wednesday.

Predatory pricing

India’s shopkeepers are mobilizing against the global e-commerce giants, alleging they are engaged in predatory pricing in violation of new rules meant to protect local businesses. At stake is the future of retailing in a country with 1.3 billion consumers, where Walmart and Amazon have sunk billions of dollars trying the crack the market and capture its growth potential.

“Amazon and Flipkart are a second version of the East India company,” said Praveen Khandelwal, national secretary of the Confederation of All India Traders at the Delhi protest, referring to the British trading house whose arrival in India kicked off nearly 200 years of colonial rule. “The motive of Amazon and Flipkart is not to do business,

but to monopolize and control.”

India’s government in October announced an investigation into the allegations of predatory pricing.

Amazon and Walmart said in statements to Bloomberg News last week that their operations comply with Indian laws, and that they act only as a third-party marketplace.

The conflict comes amid a broader global backlash against the breakneck expansion of tech firms—from protests by taxi drivers against an Uber-clone in Jakarta, to couriers for a Softbank-backed delivery start-up creating a bonfire of their backpacks in Bogota in protest of low wages and poor benefits.

Worsening pain

India’s slowing economy—it expanded at the slowest pace in more than six years last quarter—and the accompanying consumption slowdown has worsened the pain of these neighborhood stores.

Representing about 70 million small merchants who collectively control almost 90 percent of India’s retail trade, India’s shopkeepers union has shown itself to be a strong political force. The traders are an important part of the voter base of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

“For a government, especially a government of the BJP, which has the support of small businessmen, it may not be prudent or politically advisable to totally ignore such demands,” said Sandeep Shastri, a political scientist at Jain University in Bangalore. “They would have to be seen taking some steps at least.” Bloomberg News

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PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

December 2, 2019

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ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE BDO LEASING COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

53.8 157 86.35 25.05 12.76 67.5 12.7 36.2 57.5 24.5 203.2 59 0.97 1.85 18.18 0.53 4.05 1.21 0.38 0.82 176.1 1805 1.05

54 158 86.4 25.1 12.8 67.55 13 36.7 58.7 25 206 59.6 1.01 1.99 18.2 0.59 4.27 1.3 0.4 0.86 178.8 1877 1.08

53.9 153 86.9 25.1 12.9 67.6 12.7 37.7 57.6 24.75 205 59.55 0.98 1.86 18.2 0.59 4.29 1.21 0.38 0.83 172.9 1880 1.06

54 158 86.9 25.2 12.94 67.95 12.7 38.45 58.25 24.75 206 59.55 0.98 1.86 18.2 0.59 4.29 1.21 0.4 0.83 178 1880 1.06

53.9 151.8 84.9 25.05 12.76 66.25 12.7 36 57.5 24.5 201.6 59 0.98 1.85 18.2 0.59 4.29 1.21 0.38 0.83 172.9 1805 1.05

54 158 86.4 25.05 12.76 67.5 12.7 36.7 58.25 24.5 206 59 0.98 1.85 18.2 0.59 4.29 1.21 0.4 0.83 178 1805 1.05

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

HOLDING & FRIMS

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 FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG KEPPEL HLDG B LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME MEDIA REPUBLIC GLASS SOLID GROUP SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

30394799 -105751531.5 -642080 -278478 71741654.5 -18968830 -39365 -24787204 -1044421.5 -17700 -

2.41 1.23 34.65 0.225 24.75 75 321.6 18.92 4.47 3.81 10.86 33.35 8.67 13.74 3.23 15.14 5.05 8.73 7.19 89.35 0.57 1.42 40.7 197.8 7.8 12.56 0.181 1.36 10.5 2.05 5.42 0.116 149.2 1.1 67.3 2.28 14.86 10.3 13.64 16.84 9.46 1 0.93 2.03 4.96 28.1 1.98 7.85 1.32 5.26 0.95 4.8

2.42 1.28 34.8 0.237 25.05 75.1 322 18.98 4.5 4 11 33.45 8.8 13.86 3.24 15.3 5.35 8.75 7.2 89.95 0.6 1.43 41 197.9 8.15 12.58 0.192 1.37 10.8 2.06 5.46 0.118 149.5 1.12 70.95 2.29 14.88 10.32 13.96 16.98 10.04 1.06 0.94 2.06 5.03 29.5 1.99 7.9 1.37 5.68 1 4.93

2.46 1.23 34.45 0.237 24.95 75.75 321.8 18.88 4.5 4.01 10.86 33.2 8.65 13.68 3.37 15.2 5.04 8.77 7.2 88.1 0.6 1.75 40 196 8.15 12.5 0.181 1.32 10.78 1.95 5.46 0.115 152.9 1.12 67.3 2.28 14.98 10.3 13.96 16.9 10 0.99 0.94 2.05 4.97 29 1.89 7.9 1.31 5.23 0.98 5.1

2.51 1.28 34.85 0.237 25.05 75.75 322 19.18 4.57 4.01 11 33.45 8.85 13.9 3.37 15.2 5.36 8.79 7.22 90 0.6 1.8 41 198.6 8.15 12.86 0.181 1.37 10.88 2.05 5.46 0.116 152.9 1.14 67.3 2.32 15 10.4 13.96 17 10.1 1.07 0.95 2.05 4.97 29.5 1.99 7.95 1.32 5.69 1 5.23

2.41 1.23 34.1 0.224 24.25 74.9 320 18.8 4.46 3.81 10.86 33 8.6 13.64 3.1 15.06 5.04 8.7 7.19 88 0.57 1.4 40 196 8.15 12.2 0.181 1.31 10.38 1.93 5.42 0.115 149 1.05 67.3 2.26 14.86 10.3 13.96 16.82 10 0.99 0.93 2 4.96 29 1.87 7.9 1.31 5.23 0.94 4.74

2.42 1.28 34.8 0.237 25.05 75 322 18.98 4.48 4 11 33.35 8.8 13.86 3.24 15.2 5.35 8.75 7.2 89.95 0.57 1.42 41 197.9 8.15 12.56 0.181 1.37 10.5 2.05 5.46 0.116 149.5 1.12 67.3 2.29 14.88 10.3 13.96 16.98 10.04 1.06 0.93 2.03 4.96 29.5 1.99 7.9 1.31 5.68 1 4.93

1922000 35000 583000 60000 2346000 158910 82720 1907800 964000 166000 13300 253700 226200 321600 3064000 179500 2800 473900 268400 40180 82000 231679000 5100 411200 1200 26600 200000 1653000 157700 2683000 2800 330000 657330 3835000 140 5330000 318600 96500 200 449500 57600 123000 650000 93000 39000 1100 3090000 12600 74000 12800 102000 745600

4663230 43100 20227055 13700 58571345 11923028.5 26629558 36217722 4348150 653190 145552 8456900 1962950 4462882 9840760 2723010 14765 4147714 1930460 3592554.5 47010 361790680 205420 81354953 9780 331472 36200 2230740 1665648 5299550 15284 38090 98310181 4213190 9422 12209290 4744870 993992 2792 7626982 576918 126160 612470 189640 193600 31950 5947880 99870 97140 68074 96680 3651878

-1463370 -2750605 25127200 -4436307.5 5610364 -5719872 -159940 3807435 98334 4250738 2503550 1392212 -1233029 -1664981 -1155443.5 1146050 -76580 -5257881 -31194 282540 -1386278 -10049.9999 -1088 -43546115 41200 10781910 -2808818 -106122 -919809.9997 -10000 3720 -57399.9999 -5800 96580 12690 24134

0.75 12.2 839.5 49.8 11.06 3.33 6.5 0.7 0.91 0.94 6.92 6.4 13.1 0.206 899.5 77.9 5.05 5.26 0.485 4.03 11.38 0.55 4.37 0.036 1.28 2.66 1.23 1065 158.6 0.78 213.2 0.213 0.207

0.76 12.32 841 49.85 11.08 3.36 6.67 0.72 0.93 0.96 7.07 6.45 13.28 0.215 900 78 5.19 5.89 0.51 4.1 11.5 0.57 4.4 0.037 1.36 3 1.25 1080 159.2 0.8 218 0.224 0.211

0.76 12.48 810 48.95 11.1 3.38 6.31 0.73 0.91 0.97 6.81 6.5 13.1 0.214 899 76.9 5.04 5.9 0.51 4.04 11.3 0.55 4.3 0.036 1.38 3 1.25 1060 159.2 0.79 219 0.223 0.206

0.76 12.48 841 49.8 11.1 3.39 6.79 0.73 0.94 0.97 7.07 6.52 13.36 0.214 904 78.65 5.05 5.9 0.52 4.04 11.5 0.57 4.42 0.038 1.38 3 1.25 1080 159.2 0.79 219 0.224 0.211

0.74 12.18 807 48.95 10.98 3.32 6.31 0.7 0.9 0.95 6.68 6.24 13.1 0.206 894 76.4 5.03 5.9 0.5 4.04 11.26 0.55 4.3 0.036 1.3 3 1.25 1060 158 0.79 219 0.213 0.206

0.76 12.3 841 49.8 11.06 3.36 6.5 0.72 0.92 0.95 7.07 6.4 13.36 0.206 899.5 78 5.05 5.9 0.51 4.04 11.5 0.57 4.37 0.037 1.37 3 1.25 1080 159.2 0.79 219 0.213 0.211

4085000 6500 280450 814600 6179600 2067000 35600 79000 805000 320000 2608400 27189700 41000 170000 54970 1548700 5400 182000 34000 167000 887400 26000 21270000 34700000 50000 110000 4000 179670 34200 4000 40 1850000 100000

3061160 79464 233263170 40490690 68207616 6961270 229159 56510 737680 304400 17813215 172895781 541256 36220 49432875 121154476.5 27202 1073800 17140 674680 10145334 14320 93060780 1276800 66830 330000 5000 192778345 5438380 3160 8760 412550 20700

-248140 108309050 20430235 4633290 -197220 256500 1195158 1351952 -536016 7683975 43860156.5 -323200 828560 11767070 214600 330000 4638250 -1944371 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.84 0.85 0.83 0.86 0.83 0.85 900000 754860 ANCHOR LAND 8.82 9.49 8.85 9.49 8.83 9.49 19300 171699 46.2 47 45.45 47 45.1 47 5839400 269080400 131317780 AYALA LAND 1.51 1.55 1.6 1.6 1.55 1.56 13000 20350 ARANETA PROP BELLE CORP 1.98 1.99 2.04 2.04 1.98 1.99 503000 998450 -390090 A BROWN 0.7 0.74 0.71 0.75 0.7 0.74 811000 579030 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.84 0.84 0.84 124000 104160 CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES 0.18 0.191 0.191 0.191 0.191 0.191 10000 1910 CEBU HLDG 6.21 6.45 6.47 6.47 6.21 6.21 136700 850759 -393460 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.7 4.75 4.66 4.77 4.65 4.7 291000 1368750 9320 0.56 0.57 0.58 0.58 0.56 0.56 11307000 6404580 122440 CENTURY PROP 0.41 0.42 0.405 0.41 0.405 0.41 570000 231200 CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON 19.52 19.6 19.6 19.8 19.5 19.52 87700 1717340 -19876 DM WENCESLAO 10.28 10.36 10.34 10.36 10.22 10.36 30300 312874 0.435 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.435 0.44 1660000 724450 EMPIRE EAST FILINVEST LAND 1.51 1.52 1.54 1.54 1.5 1.51 9900000 14977280 -5379360 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.2 1.21 1.22 1.24 1.2 1.21 273000 329330 8990 HLDG 14.84 14.86 14.9 14.94 14.84 14.84 18900 280904 -279414 1.29 1.3 1.28 1.31 1.27 1.3 585000 755870 PHIL INFRADEV CITY AND LAND 0.65 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 2000 1500 MEGAWORLD 4.42 4.44 4.41 4.47 4.41 4.43 19207000 85034820 -28603940 MRC ALLIED 0.213 0.214 0.218 0.219 0.214 0.214 10440000 2251070 -86690 0.4 0.415 0.395 0.4 0.395 0.4 270000 107750 PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP 2.01 2.02 2.02 2.02 2.01 2.01 307000 617570 ROBINSONS LAND 26 26.2 26 26.2 25.9 26 840000 21863045 -7924100 PHIL REALTY 0.33 0.36 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 350000 115500 ROCKWELL 2.12 2.23 2.12 2.15 2.12 2.15 65000 137900 19100 3.19 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.19 3.2 24000 76790 SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND 2.44 2.47 2.47 2.5 2.44 2.44 257000 638080 -14820 SM PRIME HLDG 39.95 40 39 40 38.9 40 9924000 395696880 220592215 VISTAMALLS 5.16 5.44 5.46 5.5 5.13 5.5 21100 114291 1.34 1.35 1.33 1.37 1.31 1.34 1134000 1513050 SUNTRUST HOME PTFC REDEV CORP 40 55 46 46 46 46 500 23000 VISTA LAND 7.56 7.6 7.59 7.6 7.55 7.6 488300 3705853 -2395018

SERVICES ABS CBN 17.38 17.42 17.44 17.44 17.3 17.42 29600 514752 GMA NETWORK 5.2 5.27 5.2 5.29 5.2 5.2 87200 455553 0.39 0.4 0.39 0.415 0.39 0.415 40000 15850 MANILA BULLETIN GLOBE TELECOM 1980 1981 1944 1980 1933 1980 60055 117945065 32261385 PLDT 1064 1077 1100 1100 1062 1064 62110 66351400 -34884685 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.039 0.04 0.041 0.041 0.039 0.04 2700000 110400 5.19 5.55 5.59 5.59 5.59 5.59 400 2236 DFNN INC IMPERIAL 1.65 1.83 1.67 1.67 1.65 1.65 27000 44740 13200 ISLAND INFO 0.102 0.104 0.104 0.104 0.104 0.104 800000 83200 ISM COMM 3.89 3.9 4.09 4.17 3.88 3.9 3379000 13352490 287840 2.74 2.78 2.84 2.86 2.68 2.78 2003000 5470500 307080 NOW CORP 0.285 0.29 0.28 0.29 0.275 0.285 3280000 925850 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.69 2.7 2.74 2.74 2.69 2.7 178000 481870 -29750 2GO GROUP 9.9 10 9.8 10.12 9.8 10 18900 190116 17 18.24 18 18.24 18 18.24 601800 10856640 5688000 ASIAN TERMINALS 5.56 5.57 5.75 5.75 5.51 5.56 709500 3958918 88651 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 92 92.5 92.55 93.8 91 92 23760 2189106.5 269980.5 INTL CONTAINER 123.4 124 121.5 124.5 121.5 124 1384170 171351476 20221258 13.98 14 14 14 14 14 200 2800 LBC EXPRESS LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.89 0.92 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 115000 103500 MACROASIA 17.8 18 18.1 18.1 17.68 18 263000 4732278 578462 METROALLIANCE A 0.98 1 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 2000 1960 1.02 1.15 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 10000 10200 METROALLIANCE B PAL HLDG 7.5 7.8 7.65 7.8 7.5 7.8 22800 174210 HARBOR STAR 1.14 1.15 1.14 1.15 1.1 1.14 617000 692800 ACESITE HOTEL 1.48 1.53 1.55 1.58 1.48 1.48 16000 24210 WATERFRONT 0.6 0.63 0.62 0.63 0.6 0.6 259000 156610 7.8 7.86 7.86 7.86 7.86 7.86 23000 180780 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.66 0.67 0.67 0.67 0.66 0.66 1713000 1131600 321420 BERJAYA 3.13 3.14 2.84 3.3 2.84 3.13 3289000 10015680 -162500 BLOOMBERRY 11.18 11.26 11.4 11.4 11.14 11.26 2772900 31204528 -1176706 2.49 2.58 2.5 2.5 2.48 2.5 67000 166980 -50000 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.69 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.7 2.72 524000 1425630 LEISURE AND RES MANILA JOCKEY 3.38 3.41 3.38 3.38 3.38 3.38 3000 10140 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.62 0.63 0.63 0.63 0.62 0.62 627000 388940 -155620 7.66 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1 100 910 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 11.42 11.48 11.5 11.5 11.4 11.48 3195600 36660078 -7123944 METRO RETAIL 2.24 2.29 2.29 2.29 2.23 2.29 334000 750380 144580 PUREGOLD 39.9 40.05 40.15 40.15 39.9 40.05 173800 6961445 2768600 74.95 75 78 78 74.55 75 262070 19665976.5 -7847112 ROBINSONS RTL 130.1 149.9 149.9 149.9 149.9 149.9 60 8994 -5996 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 2.55 2.57 2.64 2.64 2.54 2.57 950000 2436290 804950 WILCON DEPOT 18.48 18.5 18.6 18.74 18.46 18.5 3689600 68393804 7763730 0.46 0.465 0.465 0.47 0.46 0.46 930000 430250 92000 APC GROUP 8.67 8.71 8.71 8.71 8.66 8.67 22300 193771 EASYCALL GOLDEN BRIA 419 425 412 448 411 425 22420 9656526 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.47 0.475 0.49 0.49 0.465 0.47 4400000 2080350 161500 8.99 9.15 8.99 8.99 8.99 8.99 300 2697 SBS PHIL CORP

MINING & OIL ATOK 10.02 11 11.44 11.44 10.06 10.06 54100 544384 APEX MINING 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.05 1.05 963000 1019770 -167480 0.0015 0.0016 0.0016 0.0016 0.0015 0.0016 8000000 12500 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 2.39 2.47 2.37 2.54 2.36 2.47 128000 323880 -307190 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.27 0.29 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 270000 75600 CENTURY PEAK 2.52 2.54 2.54 2.54 2.53 2.53 462000 1172480 7.39 7.4 7.23 7.59 7.23 7.39 4600 33854 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 1.45 1.47 1.64 1.64 1.44 1.45 18661000 27941750 -18691010 GEOGRACE 0.202 0.211 0.211 0.212 0.203 0.21 120000 25140 LEPANTO A 0.099 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 500000 50000 0.098 0.102 0.103 0.103 0.103 0.103 10000 1030 LEPANTO B MARCVENTURES 0.95 0.98 0.95 0.98 0.95 0.98 245000 232780 23750 NIHAO 1 1.03 1.03 1.04 1 1.04 713000 720690 NICKEL ASIA 2.9 2.91 3 3.15 2.8 2.9 28442000 81725370 -54119660 0.46 0.485 0.485 0.485 0.44 0.485 810000 372000 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 0.75 0.81 0.79 0.81 0.75 0.81 236000 181410 PX MINING 3.17 3.36 3.38 3.39 3.17 3.18 483000 1597800 -311760 SEMIRARA MINING 21.5 21.65 21.85 21.85 21.5 21.6 2544200 54992800 -12411040 8.74 8.78 9.1 9.12 8.67 8.74 888700 7836916 -256941 AC ENEXOR 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 31500000 366000 ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B 0.011 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 652100000 8477200 PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 17800000 193000 10.52 10.56 10.48 10.68 10.48 10.52 539100 5674698 -128496 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A 97.1 98.7 97.1 97.1 97.1 97.1 20 1942 AC PREF B2R 501 503 500 502 500 502 1260 630330 -615300 100.1 100.9 100.2 100.2 100 100 6100 610123 DD PREF FGEN PREF G 109.5 112 109 109 109 109 3650 397850 FPH PREF C 470.6 490 499 499 490 490 30 14790 14790 GLO PREF P 500 508 500 506 500 506 44000 22180000 -15180000 975 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 7000 7000000 GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B 995 1005 1001 1005 1001 1005 5000 5024600 LR PREF 1.02 1.03 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 145000 147050 MWIDE PREF 100.2 101 100.1 101 100 101 60680 6119177 104.2 109 107.1 107.1 104 104 18600 1962550 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 1025 1028 1028 1028 1025 1025 330 338340 SMC PREF 2C 77.95 78 78 78 77.95 78 1710 133373 10913 SMC PREF 2F 76.6 77.4 76.6 76.6 76.5 76.5 25560 1955475 75.25 75.7 75.7 75.7 75.7 75.7 400 30280 SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2I 75.3 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 2000 151000 PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

16.7 5.03

17 5.04

16.68 5.04

16.98 5.04

16.68 5.03

16.7 5.03

30900 171800

517324 865685

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.4

-346988 -761544

1.48

1.48

1.48

1.47

1.47

2000

2950

-

ITALPINAS 4.06 KEPWEALTH 11.04 MAKATI FINANCE 2.47 0.87 XURPAS

4.1 11.06 2.7 0.88

4.3 11.3 2.5 0.85

4.3 11.3 2.5 0.89

3.98 10.88 2.5 0.85

4.08 11.06 2.5 0.88

737000 233100 15000 3182000

3005380 2568552 37500 2783650

357970 -

FIRST METRO ETF

117.9

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS 117.1

116.6

117.1

116.5

117.1

6260

730369

23320

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Bulacan airport’s Dec groundbreaking deferred on questions raised by DOF

S

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

AN Miguel Corp. will have to defer the construction of the Bulacan International Airport to a yet-to-be determined date, as the Department of Finance (DOF) has asked the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to clarify issues relating to government liabilities on the deal.

Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president, said Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade received a letter from Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, asking for clarification on the terms of the Bulacan airport contract.

“We are supposed to hold the groundbreaking this December, but they have another issue again. I just don’t want to talk about it because it was not addressed to us. The issues that they raised are the same ones that they raised before,” Ang said.

The diversified conglomerate wanted to break ground for the largest airport deal of the Duterte administration this month, after receiving the notice to proceed for the project

months back.

“They told us to wait because of the issues. The groundbreaking is now delayed,” Ang lamented.

Tugade confirmed that the finance department sought a review of the deal that has already been signed by both the government and the private sector.

“It’s not even a major concern.

They just want to clarify that the contract is in favor of the government. It’s an issue of wordings and interpretation. It includes Maga and a cap on our liability,” he said, referring to material and adverse government actions.

Tugade explained that the finance agency is concerned on government

GoWiFi seeks to expand free Internet service nationwide by 2020

G

OWIFI is beefing up its position as the most expansive free public wireless Internet provider in the country as it plans to reach out and connect more Filipinos nationwide by next year.

“We look forward to the succeeding months as we transform more locations to GoWiFi sites,” said Albert de Larrazabal, chief commercial officer (CCO) at Globe.

He bared that their Wi-fi service offering—pro bono—will soon be available to more people in the “northern frontier of Luzon, and key areas in Visayas and Mindanao by 2020” as they keep on widening their network and getting the cooperation of public officials.

At present, the public Wi-fi hot spot service of Globe has a servicing footprint of up to 2,500 locations across the country. Its services can now be used at around 25,000 access points.

Such fast-paced growth is driven by its continuous partnerships with key businesses and cooperation with local government units (LGUs).

“This has been undoubtedly one of the greatest years for GoWiFi. We are up by over 500 locations from last year with an increasingly more

diverse portfolio of access points from schools, hospitals, malls and even local government offices,” Larrazabal said.

“We would not have reached such level of pervasion in one year without the unwavering support of everyone here,” he added.

GoWiFi recently tied up with Araneta Center in Quezon City, Philippine Normal University in Manila, and Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital, among others, to provide highquality connectivity to the young and mobile-savvy population.

It, likewise, formalized partnerships with LGUs such as the cities of San Juan, Makati and Manila in line with its mission to accelerate the country’s digital transformation.

Marking another milestone of its growing partnerships with fellow industry leaders and LGU, GoWiFi held the 2019 Partners Night in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

The free Internet service arm of the Ayala-led telco will further add value to the on-the-go surfing experience of customers by rewarding subscribers of any GoSAKTO, GoSURF and EasySURF promos worth P50 and above with additional free 1GB GoWiFi access in any GoWiFi hot spot. Roderick L. Abad

Nomura CEO steps down as overseas restructuring bears fruit

N

omura Holdings Inc. named Kentaro Okuda as its new chief executive officer, turning to the architect of a turnaround in its overseas operations to entrench a recovery at Japan’s biggest brokerage.

Co-Chief Operating Of ficer Okuda, 56, will replace Koji Nagai on April 1, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement on Monday. Nagai, 60, who has been in charge for more than seven years, will become chairman.

Nagai spent most of his reign wrestling with losses abroad that prompted three

major cost-cutting exercises, the most recent of which took place earlier this year and is showing early signs of success. The turnaround has propelled the shares to the highest level in more than a year.

Okuda currently presides over the global wholesale business, which has seen revenue recover so far this fiscal year following job cuts and a jump in trading income. He now faces the challenge of reviving retail operations at home, where the population is shrinking and people are still hoarding cash savings. Bloomberg News

Artist’s rendering of the planned Bulacan airport. IMAGE FROM SAN MIGUEL CORP.

liabilities for the deal, hinting that his group would like to set the liability cap to 50 percent, mirroring the contract for the Clark International Airport.

“What they want is to have a formula like that so as to not make it infinite, the claim for liability and that is good for the government,” he said. “The liability issue is in relation to the performance and the deliverables it has nothing to do with borrowing.”

Ang’s group received the notice to proceed for the $15-billion Bulacan International Airport unsolicited

mutual funds

proposal on September 18.

To be built on a 2,400-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan, just north of Metro Manila, the airport will have four runways, eight taxiways, and three passenger terminals. It also has provisions for future expansion to sport six runways and to accommodate 200 million passengers per year.

It is touted to help raise tourism levels to 30 million annually, generate over a million direct and indirect jobs, and contribute roughly P900 billion annually to the Philippine GDP by 2025.

December 2, 2019

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 250.32 0.73% 1.31% -1.16% -0.75% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.4498 5.01% 2.34% -0.81% 0.62% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.7437 -2.77% -1.07% -3.1% -4.08% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.8961 0.53% n.a. n.a.

-0.54% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.8444 3.49% n.a. n.a.

2.89% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 5.2778 1.88% 2.29% -0.86% 0.09% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,6 0.847 2.37% -1.54% n.a.

1.23% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 108.25 -4.25% n.a. n.a.

-6.81% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 50.8652 4.38% 3.63% n.a.

3.34% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 530.09 4.04% 2.35% -0.71% 2.98% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.2826 3.23% 2.94% 0.34% 2.28% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 37.6777 3.89% 3.87% 0.16% 2.85% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.0083 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 5.1748 5.5% 4.41% 1.16% 4.36% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 863.75 5.45% 4.31% 1.07% 4.26% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.8667 1.67% 1.88% n.a.

0.78% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 4.1922 3.64% 3.65% 0.19% 3.28% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9919 5.07% 4.11% n.a.

3.94% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.636 5.38% 5.48% 2.01% 3.86% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 115.8164 5.81% 5.04% 2.06% 4.58% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.993 4.03% 4.77% -0.27% 6.88% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.3523 14.83% 9.55% n.a. 22.36% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5704 -4.54% -1.97% -4.08% -4.89% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.209 1.1% -0.07% -1.24% -0.01% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6096 4.21% 2.58% -1.35% 2.61% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,5 0.2308 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Grepalife Balanced Fund Corporation -a 1.3303 2.39% n.a. n.a.

1.99% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9535 6.68% 3.25% 0.8% 5.99% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.766 7.3% 2.5% -0.05% 6.71% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.8491 6.68% 2.26% -0.14% 5.92% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.1238 3.5% 2.07% 0.71% 2.64% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.8376 5.36% 3.31% 0.18% 5.1% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d,2 1.0057 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9858 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9831 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.9712 4.93% 2.7% -0.82% 5.37% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03813 9.44% 2.96% 1.93% 8.02% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -a $1.0054 6.67% 4.24% 0.26% 10.04% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.8552 11.91% 7.46% 3.42% 16.52% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,7 $1.1179 9.27% 4.5% n.a.

11.23% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 356.6 4.08% 2.78% 2.27% 3.82% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9275 4.5% 0.64% -0.36% 3.67% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.108 5.06% 5.21% 5.21% 4.43% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2119 3.99% 2.32% 1.78% 3.88% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.345 6.33% 2.04% 1.38% 6.34% Grepalife Fixed Income Fund Corp. -a P 1.6077 2.77% 1.31% -0.28% 2.77% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.3355 11.17% 2.74% 1.43% 10.61% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a

3.7644 7.92% 2.7% 1.36% 7.03% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 0.9549 7.34% 1.45% n.a.

7.15% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.0381 9.91% 4.74% 2.3% 9.85% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.68 9.4% 4.29% 1.78% 9.1% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $466.85 4.45% 2.61% 2.72% 4.11% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.71 3.44% 1.61% 1.35% 3.31% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2037 7.21% 3.04% 2.55% 6.93% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0258 4.03% 1.46% 1.29% 4.03% Grepalife Dollar Bond Fund Corp. -a $1.7097 1.42% -0.22% 0.14% 1.15% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -a $1.0956 7% 1.22% -0.91% 5.72% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.3962 12.02% 3.41% 2.94% 10.38% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0602487 5.85% 2.26% 1.96% 5.7% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1689 10.56% 2.85% 2.56% 10.33% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 125.45 4.19% 2.79% 2.14% 3.78% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a,3 1.0281 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.2501 6.12% 2.77% 1.62% 5.77% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2614 3.81% 2.85% 2.29% 3.46% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0358 2.09% n.a. n.a.

1.96% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,4 $0.99 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 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 - Launch date is January 3, 2019. 2 - Launch date is January 28, 2019. 3 - Launch date is February 1, 2019. 4 - Launch date is August 1, 2019.

5 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 6 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.).

7 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019.

"While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa. com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

B4 Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Poggenpohl: The flagship showroom launch

Powerful combination for enormous strength: Haier, Carrier and CSI

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ARRIER is a leading global provider of innovative HVAC, refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies. Supported by the iconic Carrier name, the company’s portfolio includes industry-leading brands such as Carrier, Kidde, Edwards, LenelS2 and Automated Logic. Carrier’s businesses enable modern life, delivering efficiency, safety, security, comfort, productivity and sustainability across a wide range of

residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Carrier is one of the world largest conglomerate which has various ventures throughout Asia, including a joint venture established by Haier Group and US Carrier in 2001. The company is committed in providing advanced energy-saving systems, including CO2 systems, for customers in the Asia Pacific region.

In the Philippines, Carrier has appointed

Continental Sales, Inc. (member of the LKG Group of Companies) to be its general distributor of Carrier commercial refrigeration equipment for Hypermarket, Supermarket, and Convenience store including those of Qingdao Haier Carrier factory and other Carrier refrigeration factory throughout Asia. For inquiries and more information, contact CSI sales hotline at 02 8362-5886 / 87 and service at 028363-7193.

In the photo, from left: Carrier Commercial Refrigeration Thailand Ltd., Jittapat Supnuangnong (Senior Manager – Business Development), George U. Lim (Chairman/CEO Continental Sales Inc. Philippines), Vichan Asatthaprut (Managing Director – Southeast Asia), Pan Hewen (Manager – Project sales Commercial Refrigeration)

Photographers organize to launch a coffee table book on PWDs

F

ROM severe to mild rheumatic heart disease/mitral regurgitation -- that’s the status of her health which had caused her learning disability.

When Marie Angeline Garcia, 16, was diagnosed at six years old, she hardly learned from the grade school and she was always caught staring at nowhere most of the time. She didn’t enjoy her growing up years with her joints either inflamed or aching. With her ailment, her motor skills were badly affected so that she hated writing. At first, Angeline didn’t seem to make progress in school.

Her pediatrician/cardiologist explained: "She's in pain from head to toe. Let's treat her first.”

The treatment continues to this day: a monthly injection of penicillin and oral maintenance of heart meds every day. At 12, she started showing her inclinations towards performing and the arts. Since then, she has developed her talents and strengths tremendously.

Along with other PWD students, Angeline has joined cultural presentations in various invitational performances. She was part of the Philippines delegates to the Rock & Arts Osaka Festival in Osaka, Japan, in August 2017. She performed at the CCP in May 2019 together with teenage students of Summer Sayaw workshop under the tutelage of the Bayanihan, the country's national dance company. She is travelling to Thailand on December 2-7, 2019, for special training on Saori weaving, the Japanese therapeutic weaving. (Follow the FB fan page, Marie Angeline).

This heart-warming story is included in the upcoming book on PWDs in the

Vico Cham

Philippines. The photo-driven hardbound titled "Inspire/Empower: Images and Stories of Persons with Disabilities in the Philippines," is a project of Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation, Inc. (FPPF) that contains several pictures and features chronicling the plight and triumph of PWDs, their families, and concerned groups.

“Through carefully selected photographs and heartwarming features, we created a picture of realism and positivity fit for today’s era of openness and much-needed change,” implied FPPF President Lito Beltran in its introduction.

Included are features about NCDA (National Commission on Disability Affairs), Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Apolinario Mabini Awards, Autism Society of the Philippines, and interesting persons: the late photography icon John Chua who initiated efforts to reach out

T

HE Holidays shine even brighter and more vibrant at the Ortigas Centre with the Marco Polo Ortigas Manila’s array of dining promotions to celebrate this cheerful season. Gourmands from all over the

himself, Jensen Go, along with Export Sales Director Bas Mol, and Dr. Andreas Grof Managing Director - Asian Pacific Market of Poggenpohl. Soon after, a toast was initiated

by Jensen Go together with Creative Director Marleen Uyecio and Poggenpohl Kitchen Consultant Mary Tan. Kuysen then engaged its guests in yet another experiential tour of its pristine showroom–– it did not fail to surprise its audience with its choice of entertainment.

Kuysen took the pleasure of inviting The Voice Season 2 Daily Winner Vanessa Monot to serenade the crowd through the night. As this went on, Kuysen Kitchen consultants took guests around the 1 storey showroom to give them an in-depth look into the brands: +VENOVO, +MODO, +SEGMENTO, +SEGMENTO Y, P’7340 and P’7350 Design by Studio F. A. Porsche and +STAGE.

Honda’s 10th year of reforestation efforts continue with 5,000 trees planted in Real, Quezon

Marie Angeline Garcia

to children with disabilities, photography hobbyist Luis Harder who now heads the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines, highly achieving architectblind Jimmy Silva, and Vico Cham, a poster boy for PWDs in the workplace.

The book’s editorial team is composed of editor-head writer Yugel Losorata (pioneer photographer profiler for Manila Bulletin’s Picture Perfect fold) and layout artist-graphic designer Bucci de Ocampo.

Many of the photographs in the book were taken by project coordinator Cris Cleofas and art director Joy Ganaden in their volunteer-work for PWDs. Inspire/Empower will be launched on December 3, 10 am at the Intramuros Museum (Arzobispo corner Andas streets, Intramuros, Manila), coinciding with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Copies will be sold at the venue.

Vibrant flavors and revelry shine bright at Marco Polo Ortigas metro can look forward a selection of flavourful feasts with Cucina, Lung Hin and the Continental Club Lounge, while partyphiles can ring in 2020 at Vu’s Sky Bar and Lounge on Level 45.

Guests dining on Christmas Eve Dinner may enjoy a special per-guest rate of PHP 3,850, while those feasting on Noche Buena may do so at PHP 1,850. On Christmas Day, Cucina offers Christmas classics at PHP 2,988 per guest (lunch or dinner).

The distinctive flavours of authentic Cantonese cuisine are waiting to be rediscovered at the award-winning restaurant, Lung Hin, located on Level 44. The restaurant’s team of Hong Kong experienced chefs, led by Chinese Executive Chef Ken Leung, present curated set menus for Christmas (available from 24 to 26 December 2019) and the New Year (30 December 2019 to 1 January 2020).

Revel in a splendid New Year’s Eve dinner at the Continental Club Lounge.

This refined experience in this exclusive location overlooking the mountains of

L

UXURY home furnishing leader Kuysen Enterprises recently launched their Poggenpohl Flagship Store at The Eton Residences, Legazpi St, Makati City on November 19, 2019. Poggenpohl is the oldest and most renowned kitchen brand in the world founded in 1892 by Friedemir Poggenpohl.

His goal was to improve the kitchen, the benchmark always are people and their needs, social change and looking towards the future, which is why every Poggenpohl kitchen offers technical expertise, materials of the highest quality, craftsmanship, and trend-setting design as seen in their factory at Herford, Germany. The perfect partner for Kuysen as the exclusive distributor of the Poggenpohl brand in the Philippines.

As a brand that is exceptionally committed to inspiring creativity and delivering solutions, Kuysen only carries the best––as seen with its recent venture into modular kitchen systems.

Stemming from years of experience in the industry, the company has a way of giving clients the best possible options, without compromising the integrity of their vision.

“We don’t just think kitchens, we design spaces for people. Poggenpohl spaces are like no other, because Poggenpohl first understands how people live in order to then individually design the most personalised space. Compatible with every lifestyle.”

As with any Kuysen event, guests were given a warm welcome by the Kuysen President

Rizal allows guests an awe-inspiring view—ideal for those looking forward to the possibilities of 2020.

There is no better way to welcome another year than at the top of the metro.

Located on Level 45, Vu’s Sky Bar and Lounge invites night owls and revellers from all over the metro to take part in “20|20: The New Year’s Eve Countdown Party.” Doors open at 8 PM, with tickets available at PHP 1,850 per guest, inclusive of one Bottega Gold Prosecco (200 ml) as a welcome drink. Crowd favourites Real Groove Band take the Main Stage at 9 PM, while DJ Jade will be on deck at the Rizal area. Table reservations are also available for what promises to be another memorable night.

Explore, discover, and experience a grand holiday season with a well-deserved bottle of champagne at the Marco Polo Ortigas Manila. Reservations for the aforementioned dining promotions may be made via (02) 7720 7720 or through restaurant.mnl@marcopolohotels.com.

H

ONDA Foundation, Inc. (HFI), composed of the Honda Group of Companies (Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Honda Philippines, Inc. (HPI), Honda Parts Manufacturing Corporation (HPMC) and Honda Trading Philippines) recently conducted its Tree Planting activity with 5,000 tree saplings planted in Real, Quezon.

Honda has been actively contributing in the restoration of the Philippines’ rainforests through this effort. Not only does the activity help restore communities and ecosystems, the tree planting activity also contributes solutions to environmental problems such as climate change and air pollution.

Done in partnership with Haribon’s Forest For Life Movement, Honda aims to restore damaged rainforests through planting various native tree species such as Narra, Apitong, and Lauan. “For 10 years now, we have been doing tree planting with Haribon and our commitment to leave blue skies for our children goes stronger.” Mr. Hirotake Shimosaka, HFI adviser mentioned during his

opening remarks. Since 2010, around 50,000 trees have already been planted across 36 hectares of damaged forests in the provinces of Laguna, Quezon and Rizal.

According to a biophysical survey conducted

by Haribon to check the health of the reforested areas, about 28 species of birds were found in the various restored habitats. 18 of these species are endemic to the Philippines. Some of these birds are the Philippine Magpie-robin (Copsychus mindanensis), the Blue Headed Fantail (Rhipidura cyaniceps), the Lowland White-eye (Zosterops meyeni), and the Sulphur-billed Nuthatch (Sitta oenochlamys).

The presence of these birds highlights the progress of reforestation as efforts continue to make a better ecosystem for local communities and wildlife conservation.

In line with Honda's 2030 vision of providing a sustainable society for the next generation, the project offers options for sustainable livelihood to nearby communities, while recovering biodiversity, clean air and water, resilience to climate change and natural hazards.

The many firsts and surprises of Love Is Love

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HE long wait is over! Finally, after playing Natalie Alcantara in Wildflower, Roxanne Barcelo, now dubbed as the Sexy KontraDiva stars in her first lead role in the romcom/ heartwarming movie, Love Is Love, the first movie venture of Royal King Bren International Pictures or RKB Productions.

Roxanne costars with powerhouse cast and award-winning actors like Jc De Vera ( Best Actor in 2016 QCinema International Film Festival for the movie, Best. Partee. Ever), Jay Manalo ( Bayaran, Prosti, Aishite Imasu (Mahal Kita)), seasoned and award-winning sexy comedienne, Rufa Mae Quinto and Raymond Bagatsing, of Quezon’s Game fame who plays as the fabulously brilliant La Greta!

In the movie, Roxanne plays the unconventional Winona who happens to be Wacko’s(Neil Coleta) fiancée. Skeptical that his bestfriend, Wacko, would fall in love with a woman like Winona, Anton (JC) is forced to deal with her eccentricities and soon is shocked to find himself in his bff’s shoes! Anton realizes that Winona is the woman destined to end his “auto-pilot” kind of life and insignificant affairs.

But what if Winona is nothing like the woman he imagined or known her to be?

Love is Love is directed by GB Sampedro who returns to the big screen after doing several concerts for major music artists, TV series, corporate events and movies like Mang Kepweng Returns, Separados and the award-winning flick, Astig. Direk GB also line-produced the movie under his company Five 2 Seven.

Love Is Love also boasts of Marco Alcaraz’ charming performance in the film where he, for the first time plays a handsome “paminta” or straight –looking gay, the loveable Neil Coleta with special participation of the fascinating Johnny Revilla in his first gay-dad role and of course, the funny Keanna Reeves.

Indeed, the movie offers so many firsts and surprises--- first RKB Productions’ plunge into the movie industry, first Roxanne and JC de Vera team up, first kilig movie of Jay Manalo and Raymond Bagatsing, surprise twist, surprise ending and so much more.

This story of Winona & Anton is showing on December 4 at your favorite theaters!

GOLDEN HARVEST! Sports BusinessMirror

JOHN DERICK FARR and Lea Denise Belgira sweep the downhill events in Laurel, Batangas, while Monica Torres pedals and runs her way to the duathlon crown in Subic. NONOY LACZA

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| Tuesday, December 3, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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OHN DERICK FARR and Lea Denise Belgira pedaled down the hills of Laurel in Batangas in daredevil speed to sweep for the Philippines cycling’s MTB downhill gold medals in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Farr and Belgira did not disappoint a passionate crowd that gathered in the MTB tracks called Tatlong Bungo by its original builders, winning golds for cycling that started off with a 2-3 finish in men’s cross country and a bronze in the women’s side the day before.

Belgira, 23, is more of the silent type. But her ride down the 1.5-km track that featured 75- to 80-degree drops was enough to put her atop MTB cycling pedestal with a time that looked unbeatable.

The sixth rider to be flagged off in a field of nine from the start hill situated 700 meters above the finish on Aguinaldo Highway connecting Tagaytay City and Laurel, Belgira clocked three minutes and 9.781 seconds—seven seconds faster that silver medalist Tiana Andini Prastika (3:16.986) of Indonesia and bronze winner Vipavee Deekaballes (3:17.607) of Thailand.

“It was the ride of my life, but I didn’t expect to win the gold,” said Belgira, who during training often sobbed as she feared she might not overcome the final jump to the finish—a 10-foot high ramp that only the brave could muster.

The cheers and applause from the big crowd turned wilder in a matter of an hour or less.

Farr, already a veteran at 23, topped the men’s category with Eleazar Barba Jr. making a remarkable 1-2 finish for the Philippines which started its MTB campaign with a silver-bronze performance in the men’s category and a bronze finish in the women’s side of cross country on Sunday.

“Yesssssss!!!!!” Farr and Barba yelled as they stood on the Team Philippines pickup truck parked at the edge of the finish straight of the course designed by Cebuano track builder Nanelito Perez.

The Filipino downhillers were a class of their own in the event. Farr

clocked 2:41.143 and a little over one second separated him from Barba. Bronze finisher Andy Prayoga of Indonesia was almost seven seconds off.

“It’s all of hard work paying off,” PhilCycling President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, also the POC head said.

Monday’s MTB events were almost canceled because of Typhoon Tisoy, but surprisingly, there were no rains only strong winds early in the morning that resulted to the panel of commissaires skipping the seeding run.

Cycling clinched at least one medal in each of the four MTB events with Niño Surban and EJ Flores finishing with silver and bronze medals around their neck and Avegail Rombaon making up for Ariana Dormitorio’s disappointing performance with her bronze in women’s category.

With the MTB competitions over, focus will now be on the road events—the individual time trial races on Wednesday, women’s massed start on Thursday, men’s team time trial on Friday and men’s massed start on Saturday.

The BMX races and freestyle flatland are set on December 9 and 10.

TORRES WINS DUATHLON GOLD

Asian elite champion Monica Torres sustained her energy despite an upset stomach to clinch the women’s duathlon on Monday at the Subic Bay Boardwalk.

Torres ruled the 10km run-40km bike5km run after finishing in two hours, eight minutes and 44 seconds.

“Expected ko na malakas ’yung bike ko pero ’yung totoo naisuka ko lahat ng nutrition and gels ko,” Torres said.“Malaking tulong po ’yung mga tao na sumusuporta kaya inisip ko nalang na I will not let them down,” she added.

The three-time Asia Duathlon Champion was followed by Pareeya Sonsem of Thailand, who clocked 2:11:18.

Thi Phuong Trinh Nguyen of Vietnam delivered the first duathlon medal for her country by finishing with bronze medal in 2:14:20.

The run-bike-run event is returning to the SEA Games for the first time since the 2007 edition in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Joey de los Reyes added a silver to the country’s campaign, clocking 1:53:04.

Indonesia’s Jauhari Johan clinched the gold medal with 1:52:51, while Thailand’s Nattawut Srinate settled for the bronze.

Torres and de los Reyes go for the mixed relay gold medal on Friday.

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Tuesday, December 3, 2019

After initial snafus, Philippines now ready for bigger events–international sports exec

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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ESPITE the initial problems that marred the Philippines’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games, the vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia, Wei Jizhong, was pleased enough to tell the organizers that the country is ready to host larger-scale sporting events.

Speaking on Monday along with Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) officials at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Wei said he is satisfied with how the organizers are running the show—from attending the early glitches to the lavish opening ceremonies at the Philippine Arena.

“To have some problems at the beginning of the Games, in all the other events...it

happens,” Wei said. “But the apology of the President and the Speaker [of] Parliament...it is the first time.”

He added, “It means the high authority is very keen to provide the athletes the best condition.”

In a television interview aired Monday morning, however, President Duterte still expressed dismay that the preopening mishaps happened, given the huge budget—P6 billion from the budget and P1.5 billion in sponsorships—that the organizing committee was provided with.

Duterte and Phisgoc Chairman Alan Peter Cayetano, who is also House Speaker, issued apologies after the mishaps that happened to foreign and local delegations days before to the opening rites last Saturday.

The opening ceremony, which Wei witnessed at the gigantic indoor Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, is a cut above the rest, according to him.

“The opening ceremony, perhaps, is unique at the biggest indoor arena in the world. We saw the enthusiasm of all the athletes, you allowed all the athletes to walk in, because in other Games they limit.

The parade is for the honor of the athletes,” Wei said.

With all these happening before his eyes, the high-ranking official of the continental Olympic body saw enough reason to commend the host nation and rally behind another huge task for the country in the future. “[The] Philippines is capable to organize bigger games,” he said.

Duterte raps ‘negligence’ in SEA Games hosting, but says he’ll keep quiet for now

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

P

RESIDENT Duterte sees “negligence” and lack of foresight on the part of the organizing committee following initial mishaps in the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

The Chief Executive himself also wondered aloud how come the unfortunate events still happened given the “huge” budget allotted by the government for the hosting of the biennial athletic meet. The budget for the SEA Games hosting is P6 billion. Since the proposed budget by Philippine Sea Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) for the event is P7.5 billion, the remaining P1.5 billion was reportedly raised through sponsorship.

The chairman of Phisgoc is House Speaker and Taguig 1st District Representative Alan Peter Cayetano, who was Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 presidential elections.

“I am not attributing it to anybody. But you know it’s a huge fund and there ought not to have [been] problems like even logistics and things. Because you can do it, not really with precision, but had you made most [use] of the money then you could have avoided the critical situations, the mishaps [they’re talking about],” Duterte said in a television interview aired in a morning show on Monday.

He said he hopes this would be the last time he would be talking about the controversy while the SEA Games is ongoing, but reiterated his sentiments about the inconvenience that the national teams had to go through despite the organizers being given years of preparation.

“Actually, I’m not saying, I don’t know if it’s true. But it’s not time to be talking about it because...the SEA Games is going on. And I hope this would be the last time that I’d be talking about it during the entire...athletic meet. So it is not good preparations,” he said.

“It was a huge sum. You do not wait for the bus companies to send their buses to help you out. You had so many years to prepare for it. So how come na ganyan ang nangyari? (So how come these happened?) And even [with] the food, and in the billeting of the hotel na hindi nila alam kung saang hotel [where they do not know which hotel to bring the athletes to.) These things could have been avoided if you used the money correctly,” he added.

Duterte was referring to the incidents when Timor-Leste and Myanmar football teams had to wait for hours at the airport before they were brought to the hotel. Timor-Leste team also said they were even brought to the wrong hotel after the long wait.

The Cambodian team had to sleep on a conference floor because their accommodation wasn’t ready, though the hotel in question later explained that the earlier arrival of the team was not relayed to them by organizers.

Singapore Chef de Mission Juliana Seow also wrote a letter to Phisgoc, complaining that their SEA Games delegation had to suffer from insufficient halal food and transportation problems.

Thailand’s football contingent also had problems with food and water.

FINALLY, SEAG H

idilyn Diaz emerged as the star of the show for Team Philippines on Monday when she finally bagged her first Southeast Asian Games gold with a dominant performance in women’s weightlifting.

Diaz, 28, a silver medalist in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, lifted a total of 211kg in topping the women’s 55kg division before an animated crowd at the newly renovated Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Diaz added her breakthrough SEA Games gold to her growing collection of medals that also include a gold in the Asian Games and a bronze in the world championship.

Arnis also shared the limelight

Edmar Tacuel tops the men’s seni tunggal event. NONOY LACZA

Farmer’s son bags pencak silat gold P encak Silat delivered its maiden gold for the Philippines in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games on Monday through Edmar Tacuel, who topped the men’s seni tunggal event at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.

The 20-year-old from Tubongan, Iloilo, impressed the judges in his games debut and scored 470 points, edging Muhammad Iqbal Bin Abdul Rahman of Singapore who bagged the bronze with 461 points and Dino Bima Sulistianto

of Indonesia who settled for the bronze with 460 points.

Tacuel, sixth of the seven children of a farmer and a housekeeper, couldn’t contain his emotion after adding to the Philippines’s golden run.

“I’m happy that I won a gold medal,” he said. “I want to thank all the coaches, my teammates, my province-mates, to the whole Philippines, many thanks.”

Tacuel said his knowledge of arnis, his first sport since 2012, helped him in his transition to

pencak silat. He became a member of the national team last April and trained rigorous in Singapore and Thailand.

Philippines takes gold in lawn bowls

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he Philippines captured the first gold medal in lawn bowls competition after ruling the men’s pairs on Monday in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Friendship Gate in Clark, Pampanga.

Rodel Labayo and Angelo Morales turned back the pair of Woramet Singkeaw and Uthen Ontong of Thailand, 19-11, to

add to the gold medal tally of the Philippines.

Singkeaw and Ontong settled for the silver while Rais Muhammad Abdul and Rusli Muhammad Soufi of Malaysia took the bronze medal after beating Amli Muhammad Arrif and Omar Abd Rahman, 22-9, of Brunei.

Malaysian lawn bowlers took the gold medal in the men’s triple

after posting a 14-8 win over the troika of Elmer Abatayo, Homer Mercado and Christopher Dagpin of the Philippines.

Singapore placed third after Leong Khim Hoong, Melvin Kwang Yong Tan and Noui Ming Fook Matthew trounced Pollangeon Saman, Pongsiri Kunanon and Manakitpaiboon, 23-14 Sonthi of Thailand.

as it churned out five more gold medals to keep the Filipinos on top of the medal tally.

After winning 13 as of press time, Team Philippines improved its two-day gold medal tally to 35 on top of 19 silver and 10 bronze medals, and continued to pull away from closest pursuers Vietnam (10-17-14) and Thailand (10-2-7).

Basketball and mountain bike made Monday more special after completing a sweep of the 3x3 and downhill events, respectively, while pencak silat, duathlon, and triathlon also added a gold each.

Led by Elmer Manlapaz, the Filipino arnis warriors dominated the men’s padded stick by winning three of the gold medals at stake while two others in the distaff side topped their

respective events on the second day of action at the Angeles University Foundation.

Manlapaz ruled the featherweight class, Jesfer Huquire was tops in bantamweight, and Carloyd Tejada in the welterweight category. Sheena del Monte won the women’s bantamweight padded stick and Jedah Mae Soriano in the women’s featherweight padded stick.

The surge sustained arnis’ first day romp which saw the country’s national sport won a total of five gold medals. In all, the arnis warriors had won a total of 10 gold medals, matching the same output of dancesport athletes last Sunday.

In basketball, the quartet of CJ Perez, Mo Tautuaa, Chris Newsome, and Jason Perkins

TYPHOON OR NO TYP TEAM PHL RIGHT ON Carloyd Tejada bags gold in welterweight action of arnis’ padded stick category.

ROY DOMINGO

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

S

torm signals were raised, classes were suspended, but the Filipino athletes could care less as they continued to give the host nation shining moments after two days of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

As Typhoon Tisoy threatened on Monday, athletes in all fronts made impressive efforts to

keet the country atop the medal standings.

The Filipinos came blazing in cycling, arnis, pencak silat and 3x3 basketball even as sunlight was hardly felt because of the effect of the typhoon that crossed Eastern Visayas.

The numbers are now eye-popping: 38 gold, 21 silver and 14 bronze medals.

Those haul are more than enough to surpass the 24-33-64 gold-silver-bronze tally the Philippines made in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Games.

3x3 BASKETBALL

THE Gilas men’s and women’s 3x3 teams wouldn’t be denied of a sweep in a sport the Filipinos are really passionate about.

The men’s squad of CJ Perez, Moala Tautuaa, Chris Newsome and Jason Perkins turned Vietnam to minced meat,

orts

sMirror

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

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Blu Boys and Girls off to rousing start

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BELIEVE it or not, but Hidilyn Diaz’s weightlifting gold on Monday is her first in the Southeast Asian Games. NONIE REYES

G GOLD FOR DIAZ sparked Gilas Pilipinas to the inaugural men’s 3x3 gold by whipping Indonesia in the finals 21-9, capping its unbeaten campaign. The women’s side of Afril Bernardino, Jack Animam, Janine Pontejos, and Clare Castro got back at elimination round tormentor Thailand to win the gold 17-13.

Cyclists John Derick Farr and Lea Denise Belgira scored a twin kill in the mountain bike downhill that set the tone earlier for another gold rush for the Filipinos.

Edmar Tacuel delivered the first gold for pencak silat with a win in the men’s seni tunggal singles event, while Monica Torres topped the women’s duathlon individual event.

Triathlon contributed its third gold medal as Kim Mangrobang and Claire Adorna teamed

PHOON, N TRACK 21-9, to get the gold at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Gilas built a 13-5 lead as Perez led an early attack. He finished the game with 10 points to singlehandedly outscore their opponents.

The women’s side of Afril Bernardino, Jack Animam, Janine Pontejos and Clare Castro scored revenge over Thailand with a 17-13 win.

The Filipino dribblers were on the wrong side of events when they absorbed a 20-22 setback from the Thais in the elimination round.

Bernardino was too tough to handle when the team broke free from a five-all deadlock. Thailand attempted to hold ground, but Gilas was just determined to take the gold mint in front of a sizable crowd inside the arena.

CYCLING

IN Laurel, Batangas, John Derick Farr and Lee Denise Belgira dominated the downhill mountain bike event for cycling’s first two golds.

Farr timed two minutes and 41.143 seconds to top the men’s downhill to duplicate morning’s success of Belgira who clocked 3:09.781 in the women’s category.

It was a 1-2 finish for the host nation in the men’s side after Eleazer Barba Jr. timed 2:42.503. Andy Prayoga of Indonesia claimed the bronze at 2:47.868.

Indonesia’s Tiara Prastika (3:16.986) and Thailand’s Vipavee Deekaballes (3:17.607) completed the podium in the women’s division.

up with Fernando Casares and John “Rambo” Chicano to rule the mixed team relay at the Subic Bay Boardwalk. It was the second gold for both Mangrobang and Chicano, who ruled the men and women’s triathlon, respectively, on Sunday.

There were silver medals along the way, too.

Billy Joel Valenzuela emerged a win short in the men’s padded stick (lightweight) of arnis,

Celedonio Tayao settled for a runnerup finish in the benchcrest air rifle as shooting competitions got underway at the Marine Corps Center, and so did Eleazar Barba who finished second in the men’s mountain bike downhill race.

If weather cooperates on Tuesday, the Philippine team

hopes to launch its gold medal bid in the 0-2 goals division of polo competition in the 30th SEA Games in grand fashion at the beautiful Miguel Romero Polo Field in Calatagan, Batangas.

Polo officials are hoping the Romero Field will remain playable despite the threat of Typhoon Tisoy which is expected to slam Bicol region, particularly Virac in Catanduanes, today.

“We’re praying that it will not rain so hard here so we can start our event,” said Philippine team captain and Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero. “We’re all excited to play.”

If the field is not playable, the four-day event will be moved tomorrow with the final on Sunday.

CJ Perez, Mo Tautuaa, Chris Newsome and Jason Perkins come out unbeatable in 3x3 action. NONIE REYES

BAMBOL: WE’RE ON TRACK

FEELING the surge of success, Philippine Olympic Commitee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said the country is carving its way to the top of the standings.

In a press conference at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Tolentino stressed his trust that the Filipino athletes are equipped to erase the sloppy performances in previous Games.

“There’s the adrenaline. My prediction for the first day was 25 golds. We fell short because of the incident in cycling,” he said. “But there’s the momentum, 100-plus golds is doable.”

YULO TARGETS MORE GOLDS

World champion Carlos Yulo could add three more gold medals to his individual all-around mint when he sees action in the finals of men’s vault, parallel bars and high bar on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Coliseum at 4 p.m.

Billiards also opens at the Manila Hotel Tent, with all eyes on last hurrah of Filipino legend Efren “Bata” Reyes.

Bowling is set to kick off at the Coronado Lanes of Starmall Edsa, while fencing starts at the World Trade Center.

THE powerhouse squad of individual gold medalist Kim Mangrobang, Fernando Casares, Claire Adorna and men’s titlist Rambo Chicano are good as advertised. NONOY LACZA

Other members of the team are Coco Garcia, Nicole Eusebio, Jam Eusebio and Santi Juban— all raring to go all the way to the Promised Land after the country’s final defeat to Malaysia in the 4-6 goals division on Sunday.

“Everybody is determined to contribute to the country’s bid to win the overall championship and we are all inspired after the explosive first day,” said Romero.

The draw was scheduled late yesterday with Team Philippines ready whoever it meets first.

Apart from Malaysia, also out to beat the Team Philippines are Indonesia and the powerhouse team of Brunei.

Prince Jefri and Prince Qawi—both members of Brunei’s royal family—will spearhead Brunei’s gold-medal bid.

HE Philippine softball teams stormed the field with dominance right on the first day of competitions on Monday in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at The Villages at the New Clark City.

The Blu Girls scored easy win over Singapore, 6-0, and Malaysia, 8-1, to jumpstart their quest for a 10th title in the biennial meet.

The Blu Boys also jumped right in, fashioning out an 11-0 rout of Thailand.

“We like our chances but we have to continue working very hard to achieve our goal,” Blu Girls Coach Randy Dizer said.

The women’s team scored two runs each in the third and fourth innings to dominate Singapore.

Malaysia managed to score in the first inning, but the Philippines stepped on in with four runs in the second frame to preserve the victory.

Made up of veterans and members of the team that finished second in the Asian Youth Championships two years ago, the Blu Boys scored away with five runs in the fourth frame and four in the fifth.

Sports

Alaphilippe wins Velo d’Or award

BusinessMirror

P

ARIS—Julian Alaphilippe capped a successful season during which he wore the Tour de France’s yellow jersey for 14 days by winning the Velo d’Or award as the best rider of 2019 on Sunday.

Alaphilippe, who rides for the Belgian Deceuninck-QuickStep team, became the first Frenchman to receive the award since Laurent Jalabert back in 1995.

The 27-year-old Alaphilippe amassed 12 victories in 2019, including prestigious trophies at the Milan-San Remo classic, the Strade Bianche and the Fleche Wallonne.

“I am very happy with the incredible season I’ve had and to receive the Velo d’Or is a beautiful way to conclude this amazing year,” Alaphilippe said. “It’s a great honor. It was an unforgettable campaign, with many beautiful moments.”

Alaphilippe played a key role in one of the most exciting Tour de France editions in decades this summer, challenging race favorites with flair and panache. He won two stages before eventually cracking during the final week of racing but his showmanship and unpredictable style gained him many admirers.

“I want to perform well at the start of the next season, then June and July will be big,” Alaphilippe said about his goals in 2020. Next year’s Tour starts on June 27 from the city of Nice.

The Velo d’Or awards are decided by an international panel of cycling journalists. Alaphilippe was voted ahead of Tour de France winner Egan Bernal and Primoz Roglic, who won the Spanish Vuelta this year. AP

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| Tuesday, December 3, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Supatchanin Khamhaeng

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Julian Alaphilippe is the first Frenchman to receive the award since Laurent Jalabert back in 1995. AP

HAMILTON TO FERRARI? LEWIS HAMILTON: I love where I am, so it’s definitely not a quick decision to go and do something else. AP

A

By Jerome Pugmire The Associated Press

BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates—Six-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton appeared to open the door for a possible future move to Ferrari when he refused to deny meeting with its Chairman John Elkann.

Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Saturday that the Mercedes driver has met Elkann twice this year, and that they discussed Hamilton potentially replacing Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari from 2021 onward.

Both four-time champion Vettel and Hamilton have yet to renew contracts expiring at the end of 2020.

Hamilton was asked after winning Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix—the 11th win of another dominant season and 84th overall—if he did meet Elkann.

“Naturally, everything that happens behind closed

L

OS ANGELES—Luka Doncic dribbled up to LeBron James, stepped back and coolly drained a 3-pointer from well behind the line. The Dallas Mavericks’ driving force then threw a telling stare toward Dirk Nowitzki at courtside before he headed off to wrap up a major win.

When the Mavs visited Staples Center a year ago, Doncic was nervous before he faced his boyhood idol, and he sought an autographed jersey afterward.

Although the Slovenian youngster still admires the veteran star, Doncic is showing he belongs in the same galaxy.

Doncic scored 21 of his 27 points in a dynamic second half, and the Mavericks snapped the Los Angeles Lakers’ 10-game winning streak with a 114-100 victory Sunday.

Doncic also had 10 assists and nine rebounds in Dallas’ seventh victory in eight games. The Mavs erased a halftime deficit with a 28-5 run in an excellent third quarter led by Doncic, who had 16 points and five assists in the third after going two for nine in a self-described “awful” first half.

“It’s a great win that means a lot to us,” Doncic said. “It shows that we can play against big teams, too. We just need to keep it rolling.”

The Mavs comfortably maintained their big lead in the fourth, and Doncic provided some late showmanship by hitting that fourth 3-pointer over James and staring toward Nowitzki, who had center court seats.

“He hit a couple of hellacious shots,” Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle said. “There’s just a small handful of guys in the whole world that can hit them. LeBron James is one of them. He’s one of them. Those step-back 30-footers, it’s hard to describe how difficult the shot is, and how easy he makes it look.”

Delon Wright had 17 points and nine assists, and Kristaps Porzingis added 15 points as Dallas underlined its status as a likely title contender with an inspired second half on the road against the NBA-leading Lakers, who had lost only once in 18

THAI LIFTER STRIPPED OF GOLD FOR DOPING

doors is always private with whoever it is you end up sitting with,” Hamilton said. “For many years, I’ve never ever sat down and considered other options, because we [Mercedes] have been driving straight ahead, on the same path. We’re still on that path, and there’s very little that’s going to shift it.”

Hamilton started to add “But there’s no harm in....” before saying “I know [Mercedes team principal] Toto [Wolff] is also looking at his options, in terms of his future, and only he will know what is best for him.”

Hamilton’s stint at Mercedes has brought the Silver Arrows unprecedented success.

Under the stewardship of Wolff, he has won five world titles to add to his first with former team McLaren in 2008. But Wolff’s future is also undecided, amid reports he could possibly move into another role within Formula One. “I love where I am, so it’s definitely not a quick

decision to go and do something else,” Hamilton said.

“But it’s only smart and wise for me to think about what I want, if it is the last stage of my career.”

Ferrari’s team principal Mattia Binotto called Hamilton “an outstanding driver” on Friday and tantalizingly added “knowing that he’s available in 2021 can make us only happy.”

“I think it’s the first compliment I’ve had from Ferrari in 13 years.... Thank you. I’ll take it,” Hamilton said Saturday after clinching a record-extending 88th pole position. “It’s taken all these years for them to recognize me. I’m grateful.... It’s positive. I think it’s never a waste of time to ever be nice to someone.”

The 34-year-old British driver added: “[Ferrari is] a team I’ve always appreciated. To earn the respect from them is obviously very high up.”

Wolff was asked after Sunday’s race how he rates Hamilton’s chances of staying.

“I would rate it at 75 percent,” he said. “There is a 25 percent chance that we are not in control of. So we’ll see how the next months pan out.”

Wolff has not yet begun talks with Hamilton over a new contract, although previous negotiations were also kept fairly low-key and casual.

“We haven’t given ourselves a date,” Wolff said. “Come back at the end of January, February, define a schedule on when we want to discuss it.”

Wolff experienced uncertainty before when Nico Rosberg stunned Mercedes by retiring from F1 after beating Hamilton to the 2016 title.

“When Nico decided to quit, my initial reaction was actually the opportunity provided to us, and I think the choice with Valtteri [Bottas] proved to be the right choice,” Wolff said. “So I still very much hope that our relationship continues. But I’m not entirely in control of that. If one important member breaks out,

Luka, Mavs snap Lakers’ 10-game winning streak

THE Lakers’ LeBron James recovers a loose ball against the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic. AP

teenage Thai weightlifter has forfeited her gold medal from the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires last year.

Supatchanin Khamhaeng won the +63kg event— the super-heavyweights for youth lifters aged 15-17—by 18 kgs, the biggest winning margin of all the girls’ events.

But her name no longer appears on the official web site results of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

Although no reason can be given for the change in finishing order because of Khamhaeng’s age, insidethegames can reveal that it is because she tested positive for a banned substance.

Khamhaeng, 17 at the time, becomes the 12th Thai weightlifter to have tested positive in the past 14 months, and the ninth female Thai teenager to fail a doping test since 2011.

Of the 18 Thai doping violations since 2011, not one featured a lifter older than 24.

The news comes at a time when the Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association (TAWA) is trying to overturn a self-imposed ban from international competition.

After eight of its team at the 2018 IWF World Championships tested positive, including two reigning Olympic champions and three gold medalists at those Championships in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, TAWA voluntarily withdrew from international competition.

But in the past few months, TAWA has tried to argue that its youth and junior lifters are being unfairly punished for the past crimes of others, and it wants its younger lifters to compete internationally as soon as possible.

TAWA’s argument is central to a proposal from some members of the 21-strong IWF executive board for a change in its anti-doping policy.

Mohamed Jaloud, general secretary of the IWF, has a number of supporters for a proposal to scrap the existing independent panel that decides on sanctions for nations with multiple offences, such as Thailand.

The proposal will go before the executive board at an extraordinary meeting in Lausanne in December 5.

Thailand—represented on the executive board by Intarat Yodbangtoey, first vice president of the IWF—is not the only nation currently excluded from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Egypt, which has also had multiple teenage doping violations, was excluded by the sanctions panel when it was banned for two years recently.

The 2020 IWF Junior World Championships were due to be hosted by Cairo, but will now be moved to a new venue, to be agreed by the executive board at the Lausanne meeting.

The upgraded gold medalist at the Youth Olympic Games is Dilara Narin of Turkey, with Dalera Davronova of Uzbekistan promoted to second place.

New Zealand’s Kanah Andrews-Nahu, her nation’s flagbearer in Buenos Aires and the Oceania 76kg junior and senior champion, moves up to third. Insidethegames

that certainly provides risk and opportunity at the same time.”

Hamilton reportedly earns more than $50 million a year at Mercedes. But Ferrari might be prepared to beat that, especially since the Italian manufacturer has not won the drivers’ title since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and the constructors’ title in 2006.

Wolff said he and Hamilton have “talked very openly” about Ferrari’s grand stature within F1, and he understands the temptation for Hamilton to end his outstanding career in the famed red of Ferrari.

“There will be components such as financial incentives that will play a role...I still think a driver of that level will always know that he can make an impact on a team,”Wolff said. “When he left McLaren to Mercedes, it was said that it wasn’t the right move, and it proved to be right [move]. So I don’t think I want to make a mistake of underestimating Ferrari’s potential.” games since their season opener.

“It means that we had a good day and did a lot of good things, but we need to stay humble,” Carlisle said. “Every time we have a game like this, people are more than ever throwing their best game at us. There’s a certain responsibility you have when you get on a roll like this. We need to understand it and keep our eye on the ball.”

James had 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers, who dropped to 17-3 by losing this matchup between two of the NBA’s highest-scoring teams. The Lakers’ longest winning streak in 10 years ended with their largest defeat of the young season.

“It’s one game,” said Anthony Davis, who had 27 points and 10 rebounds. “We’re not going to get down over this loss. We know what type of team we are, we know now. We played well.

And they beat us, but we beat ourselves with the rebounding, so we know what we’ve got to do better.”

Los Angeles had won six straight over Dallas, but neither team much resembles the rosters that played the last few seasons in these jerseys. After a year of impressive moves by both franchises, the Mavs and Lakers are positioned to be back among the NBA’s best.

Exactly one month after the Lakers earned an overtime victory in Dallas, the Mavs responded with an impressive all-around effort at Staples Center. The Lakers had their worst day of the young season—or at least their worst quarter while Dallas outscored them 35-17.

“They scored a few buckets, and we had a couple calls that went against us,” said Lakers Coach Frank Vogel, who got a technical foul along with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for arguing in the third.

“I think our guys got consumed with that a little bit. But we didn’t really have an offensive pop the whole quarter, coming out of halftime. We’ve been really sharp and really consistent, but during that stretch we weren’t, and it cost us the game.” AP

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Creating God

EAR God, You made us and we belong to You. In hope we pray: Bless Your people, oh God. Help us to stop the proliferation of war and assault weapons and the escalation of violence especially at school compounds. Sensitize us to be with those who need our support, and help us to offer encouragement to the weary. Gift Your Church with wise and holy servant leaders, and open our ears, minds and hearts to listen to Your Word. May God fill us with good zeal for living the Gospel and for loving our neighbors as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

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Life

CIRCLES: PRESERVING ‘HERSTORY’ D4

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

CAVITE TOUTED AS PRIME CHOICE FOR PROPERTY INVESTORS

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❹ ❶ LOWE’S pink

artificial wreath puts a pop of playful holiday color on the front door or mantel, in keeping with the trend toward 1970s and 1980s home décor.

PHOTOS: AP

❷ WEST Elm’s

slim pop-up cone tree, clad in silver tinsel and dressed in multicolored paillettes. It’s a good size for a small apartment or entryway.

❸ LOWE’S gold

sequined stocking to dress up the home with some sparkle and color that evokes the festive party aspect of the 1970s and 1980s.

❹ WEST Elm’s

playful Fringe Disco Ball, which is covered in brightly hued metallic confetti.

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Glam holiday décor that gets the party started H

BY KIM COOK The Associated Press

AD enough of all that serene winter wonderland décor, the birch trees and reindeer and sleighs?

Ready to change it up this year and boogie down?

Then consider digging out the leg warmers and Donna Summer CDs before you start decorating.

British retailer John Lewis, known for Christmas décor and evocative holiday commercials, has declared “Party” to be one of the big themes for 2019. Flamingo, cassette tape and balloon animal ornaments join holographic ribbon bows and sequined tassels in their collection.

Home Depot’s trend and design director Sarah Fishburne sees the look as a twist on vintage holiday décor. “Christmas is about embracing the over-the-top, and no other era says over-the-top like the 1980s,” she says. “We’re seeing a resurgence of flocked trees and larger, multicolor light strands. To incorporate the iconic retro vibe, think about a bright, rainbow palette and layering metallics across ornaments, trees and tabletop décor.”

Etsy’s trend expert Dayna Isom Johnson echoes the call for color: “One of the biggest trends on the rise is using neon tones to deck the halls, a bright look inspired by city

lights and billboards.”

What’s great about the glam look is that you can have fun decorating with it regardless of how you celebrate the season.

Just bear in mind that you’re aiming for Dance Floor rather than North Pole, so forgo any rustic cabins or woodsy red and green plaids.

Home Depot’s Twinkly 600-light, 7.5-foot-tall Swiss Mountain tree lets you use an app to program whatever colored-light gymnastics you’d like. And for the front of the house, there are multicolored laser lights that project eight holographic moving patterns like swirls, fireflies and starbursts.

Turn a traditional green tree into a playful decorative element by adding several strings of hot pink or purple lights; Walmart and Target have options in mini and regular sizes.

For a small living space or entryway, check out West Elm’s slim pop-up cone tree, which is enrobed in silver tinsel and trimmed with multicolored metallic dots. If you’ve got a little more room, go with one of their bushy gold or blush pink tinsel trees. You’ll find pretty glitter-encrusted, mirrored glass, and gilded-beads ball ornaments here, as well as glass rainbow and confetti balls.

Target has mini champagne bottle and glass ornaments to set the festive tone. And there are boxed sets of mirrored

glass disco-ball ornaments in loads of colors.

Feeling crafty? Consider making your own party tree by hot-gluing those shiny ornaments onto a tree-shaped wire frame, available at big-box craft stores. Or make a jazzy wreath out of them, using a circular wire frame. String mini versions onto satin ribbons, or use sparkly black ornaments on hot pink, lime or candy-red ribbon.

Neon-bright paper, felt and crocheted ornaments and garlands can be found on www.etsy.com.

At Pier 1, there are sparkly teal, champagne or pink glitterencrusted curly picks and red faux-fur pompon picks— party favors for the tree. Also here, pretty pink flamingo ornaments with glitter-encrusted beaks and real feather wings. And at The White Company, there are snowy, whitefeathered bauble ornaments.

Cassette tape and 1980s cell phone ornaments can be found at the Ornament Shop, and personalized if desired.

Smoked-glass balls filled with dark sequins, inky wood garlands, cheetah- and leopard-print ornaments, and glass balls that look like black marble all add evening drama to CB2’s holiday collection. Dress up the base of your tree in Horchow’s satiny pink faux-jewel-encrusted tree skirt, or perhaps a ruffled, multicolored one that seems to say, “You should be dancing.” ■

BOASTING proximity to business and commercial districts even as it features verdant greeneries, the province of Cavite has steadfastly grown to be a prime choice of local and foreign property investors.

To begin with, Cavite is highly accessible. Motorists can use the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, Daanghari, the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange to go to and from the province.

Commuters, on the other hand, are served by a vast number of passenger buses, jeepneys, UV express vehicles, and even the highly favored mode of transportation—the point-to-point (P2P) system.

Only 18 to 20 minutes away from the industrial parks of Region 4A or Calabarzon, Cavite is also regarded by local fun-seekers as a cool weekend getaway. Just consider Tagaytay City, and its attractions, Cavite’s famed cuisine, and the province’s fine resorts.

All these resonate with Amiala Land’s objective of offering modern residential communities to aspiring homeowners who prefer laid-back living in an urbanized setting.

Its latest project, Amaia Series Vermosa, is one perfect example. Located along Patinding Araw Road in Imus, Cavite, it is part of a master planned Ayala community, Vermosa Estate which features Ayala Malls Vermosa, and places residents near Ayala Land office buildings, a sports and lifestyle complex, De La Salle Zobel, and beautiful interconnected parks.

Amaia Series Vermosa is close to more than 40 financial institutions and businesses involved in automotive, food, and garments. Imus also has a variety of retail establishments that include Robinsons Place, S&R and The District.

Other Amaia projects in Cavite are Amaia Scapes General Trias and Amaia Scapes Trece Martires, properties that offer contemporary house and lot units. Residents in these developments enjoy sleek common areas and recreational amenities like swimming pools, basketball courts, village pavilions and playgrounds.

And because Amaia Land acknowledges that Filipino individuals and families have ever-changing needs, these properties offer provisions for expansion.

Amaia (www.amaialand.com) continues to serve prospective homeowners with affordable and sustainable developments that aim to elevate the Filipino living experience in a well-secured environment.

Breathe better indoors

BY PAULINE JOY M. GUTIERREZ NICK GITSIS (from left), Trina Gitsis, Antony Papageorgiou, Dr. Cristalle Belo, Dr. Vicki Belo, Dr. Hayden Kho, Suzie Lobdell and Vinny Lobdell

THE air in your home and your office may be more polluted than the outdoor air in most polluted cities, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The entry of US-based air purification systems company Air Intellipure in the local market aims to improve air quality indoors by introducing its patented Disinfecting Filtration System (DFS) technology which has been proven to be “40 times more effective” than high-efficiency particulate air (Hepa) filters now used in hospitals and laboratories.

“The immediate benefits of using an Intellipure machine include a significant reduction of airborne particles in the space.

In less than one hour, your environment will have better air quality readings,” Air Intellipure Founder Nick Gitsis said.

He added, “As for long-term benefits, these include better sleep, the alleviation of symptoms linked to allergies and asthma, lower risk for respiratory infections, and a decreased risk of heart and lung diseases.”

Indoor air pollution in the home come mostly from daily domestic activities like cooking and heating, or when outside air that is contaminated with vehicle emissions and

smoke is trapped when doors and windows are kept tightly shut.

Utilizing technology developed through a US military grant, the professional line of Intellipure air cleaning products is the only system to effectively address pollutant categories, such as microorganisms, volatile organic compounds and particles. It has also been proven to capture 99.99 percent of particles as small as .007 micron in size, such as viruses, molds and bacteria, through its multistage filtration.

Dr. Lou Ver Leigh Manzon-Reyes, a

pediatrician and a specialist on allergy, asthma and immunology, said that before Intellipure, she used to recommend air purifiers with Hepa filters, which is commonly considered as the industry standard, because it was the only one available for the home.

Meanwhile, Dr. Vicki Belo, founder of the Belo Medical Group, stressed the importance of clean air when it comes to health: “People say you are what you eat, but the truth is you are what you breathe—because you only eat three times a day, but you breathe 20 times a minute.”

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The Belo clinics will be the first Certified Pure Wellness clinics in Asia with the first location slated to open in Bonifacio Global City this month, as part of Intellipure’s Pure Wellness program.

The program is based on a patented surface and air purification technology that removes air pollutants from any indoor space and maintains a high sanitary state with regular service. It eliminates and protects against 98 percent to 100 percent of viruses, bacteria and other irritants to create an environment for people seeking healthy indoor spaces.

Aside from Belo, Air Intellipure has also signed a deal with City Garden Grand Hotel in Makati, Fitness District gyms, and KMC Solution’s coworking spaces.

Vinny Lobdell, the company’s cofounder, admitted that their devices don’t come cheap (their portable air purifier models cost P47,000 to upwards of P89,000), and that is why they’re planning to tap business process outsourcing companies in Metro Manila, where a significant number of Filipinos work.

Lodbell added that Air Intellipure also has its sights set on potential partnerships with the Department of Health, Department of Tourism, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to capture a bigger customer base.

AIR Intellipure Ultrafine

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Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Pages BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Philip Pullman’s latest book is adventure for an anxious age L

By Jill Lawless The Associated Press

ONDON—The line between fantasy and reality is blurry in the world of Philip Pullman. Which, he thinks, is how it should be.

The British author’s latest book, The Secret Commonwealth, is set in a world of mystery, magic, witches and daemons—as well as untrustworthy politicians, manipulative charmers and “fake news.”

“If you’re interested in the world, the world is bound to affect what you write,” Pullman says.

The Secret Commonwealth brings back the indomitable Lyra, whom millions of readers have followed in four previous books from infancy through an adventure-filled adolescence—and now into troubled young adulthood.

In the latest book, Lyra’s studies at Oxford University are interrupted by a personal crisis and a journey in search of mysterious Central Asian roses and their dangerous power.

It’s a rollicking adventure with a philosophical undertow, set in a fantastical universe. But it’s also shadowed by the specter of current events.

Like his heroine, Pullman is troubled by the world around him.

A chat with the 72-year-old author inevitably turns to Brexit, as many conversations in Britain do these days. Pullman thinks Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is a big mistake. He considers ex-Prime Minister David Cameron a “complacent fool” for calling the 2016 referendum on the country’s EU membership.

Like many people looking at the state of politics on both sides of the Atlantic, he worries about “the decay of truth...the idea that nothing is real, nothing is true, life is a tissue of improbable lies spun over nothingness.”

“You can say anything, and if you say it with enough effrontery, you can get away with it,” Pullman told The Associated Press from his home in Oxford.

“We see this very clearly in Donald Trump and in Boris Johnson. And that’s a very dangerous state of affairs.

If you allow the idea to develop that it doesn’t really matter what you say because no one will believe it anyway, we’re on very shaky ground,” he added.

Questions about truth, lies and the limits of knowledge ripple through The Secret Commonwealth, the second volume in a planned trilogy The Book of Dust, and a follow-up to the three-

volume saga His Dark Materials.

His Dark Materials introduced the world to Lyra, an imaginative, unmanageable child being raised by scholars of Oxford’s Jordan College.

The world of the books is a familiaryet-uncanny blend of old-fashioned technology—gas lights, airships— and advanced science, of everyday worries and fantastical creatures, including witches and armored bears.

In Pullman’s most striking act of imagination, every human has an inseparable animal soul mate known as a daemon (pronounced demon).

Like its predecessors, The Secret Commonwealth brims with perilous trips to far-flung locales, including Geneva, Prague and Istanbul.

But there is also a new, adult sense of unease. Lyra is no longer a child, but a troubled young adult who finds herself estranged from her daemon Pantalaimon—effectively at war with herself.

“If we are estranged temporarily or permanently from part of ourselves, it’s a terrible situation to be in,”

Pullman said. It’s also one many people who have made a rocky transition from adolescence into adulthood will recognize.

The first volume of His Dark Materials was published in 1995, so Pullman is on his second generation of readers. Reviewing the new book in The Guardian, University College London English Prof. John Mullan said that “Pullman seems to be writing for those who read the HDM [His Dark Materials] novels as children, but are children no longer.” He called it “a book for getting older with.” It rankles with Pullman that because of publishing industry categories his work is categorized as children’s literature. Such has been the success of the series—17.5 million copies sold around the world—that Pullman says he is “quite often asked to sign a book for somebody’s little baby that they’ve just named Lyra.”

“I always sign it ‘For the real Lyra,’” he said.

As she faces a personal crisis, the book also pitches Lyra into conflict

z

with an oppressive religious hierarchy, the Magisterium, which has an intense interest in those mysterious Central Asian roses.

Pullman is an atheist, and his unflattering depiction of religious authority has drawn criticism in the past from some Christian groups. His books have been pulled from some Catholic school library shelves in Canada and the United States over the years.

Pullman remains convinced that “when religious power acquires political power, terrible things happen.” But the book also takes aim at a strain of hyper-rationalism that the author regards as equally dangerous.

The title of The Secret Commonwealth refers to the realm of the mysterious, inexplicable and magical.

“I’ve always been associated with the rationalist side of things, with science and with evidence-based [thinking],” he said. “But you can have too much rationality. You can have too much reason. You can be reasonable that you’re crazy.

“The one aspect of the world that science has looked at since Galileo is the parts that you can measure...

That’s the domain of science. But what science leaves out is the things you can’t measure, the things that we most treasure in our daily lives: affection, love, grief, longing for something, nostalgia.

“If we were being really reasonable about everything in our lives, we’d never fall in love.”

A new contingent of fans is discovering Pullman’s world through an eight-part HBO/BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials. It stars the sparky 14-year-old Dafne Keen as Lyra, with a supporting cast that includes James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and LinManuel Miranda.

Pullman is an executive producer on the series—“a title I’m very proud of—I want to put it on the back of a chair.”

A third volume in The Book of Dust will wrap up Lyra’s story, though Pullman says work on it is still at the stage where “I lie on the sofa staring at the ceiling, I read a lot about the places and the ideas I want to write about.”

“I haven’t actually written the words ‘Chapter One’ yet,” he said. “I can’t tell you very much except that we’re going to Central Asia, and there’s a desert in it and there are roses.

“I have many pictures in my mind, both of events and of places and of people, but I don’t know how it’s going to get there. I can see where it’s going but I don’t know how to get there till I write it.” n

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Amanda Seyfried, 34; Bruno Campos, 46; Holly Marie Combs, 46; Julianne Moore, 59.

Happy Birthday: Look for answers. Question what appears to be faulty or overrated. Turn this into a year of discovery. Take an interest in what’s happening in your neighborhood and community. Protect your assets, reputation and integrity. Pave a path that is conducive to the beliefs and values you feel are justified. Walk away from temptation. Keep promises. Your lucky numbers are 3, 18, 22, 28, 31, 39, 44.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Be a good listener. Learn about your family history from older relatives. Ask an expert when in doubt, and consider your options before you make a change.

Put more energy into a meaningful relationship. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A change will inspire you to learn more and try something new. Expand your friendships, and look for ways to bring in more cash, take better care of your health or update personal documents that are about to expire. HHHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Emotional matters will surface quickly, leaving you in a precarious position. If you feel pressured, take a pass.

Time is on your side, and no decision will be better than the wrong one. HH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Speak up, be innovative and take action. Bring about a positive change that will help raise your profile and push you to the next level of whatever challenge or goal you set for yourself. HHHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Offer those you live or work with the same freedom you want in return. Go about your business, and focus on what will help you get ahead. A financial change will be the result of an unexpected decision someone makes. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Get together with people who share your interests.

Someone will offer insight into a situation you are going through. A chance to do something beautiful for someone you love will improve your relationship. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Look at the possibilities and what you can do to make life better. Refuse to get locked in an emotional situation that is holding you back. Express your feelings, and discuss your plans with anyone who will be affected by your actions. HHHHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take a break. Do something that brings you joy.

Make personal alterations that will help you relax and ease stress. Make your feelings, intentions and plans clear to someone you want by your side. A unique lifestyle will inspire personal growth. HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Observation will help you avoid being used or misled. Question whatever you feel is farfetched or being used to manipulate you. A steady pace, practical outlook and wait-and-see attitude will help you avoid making a mistake. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’ll thrive on change, doing things differently and using all your skills and talents to manipulate your way into a critical position. An opportunity that presents itself will change the way you live. HHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Listen and observe. Gather information, verify your findings and look at your options.

Refuse to let someone from your past disrupt your life, a meaningful relationship or the goals you have set for yourself. Follow your dream, not someone else’s. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Be creative in the way you express your ideas. A change to the way you handle your money will result in greater freedom. Invest time in something you enjoy doing. A romantic gesture will bring you closer to someone you love. HHH Birthday Baby: You are imaginative, sensitive and outgoing.

You are expressive and adventuresome.

‘cheers!’ by evan kalish The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Have at a lollipop 5 Tiny bit 9 Satisfied a debt 13 Subj. dealing with markets 14 All-electric car company 16 Netflix alternative 17 Cloud-like line behind a jet (see letters 3-6) 19 Scandinavian capital 20 Kinda sorta 21 Hemmed in (by) 23 Pens for touch screens 24 Tchotchkes (letters 4-6) 28 Come after 30 Arrive at 31 Advanced degrees, for short 34 Movie setting?

37 Fib 38 Romano of comedy 39 Enter like you own the place (letters 5-7) 40 Cards checked by bouncers 41 “___ all good!”

42 Really enjoying something

43 Low voice 44 Got together 46 Loosen, as laces 48 Do a district attorney’s job (letters 2-5) 51 Shoe’s traction aid 55 “Evita” surname 56 Body of work 57 “Just joshing!”

59 Napa Valley, e.g., or a feature of each starred answer?

62 “Coolio!”

63 ___ fright (actor’s problem) 64 Peak 65 Extremely small-scale: Prefix 66 “Get out of here!”

67 Baseball card figure DOWN 1 Some jeans 2 “Sorry, have plans” 3 Out-of-pocket medical cost 4 Beyonce’s last name, at birth 5 ___-bitty 6 “___ the ramparts...”

7 Airport org.

8 “Couldn’t have been me” rationale 9 TV friend of Rachel and Monica 10 Queensland’s country 11 Sick 12 “Dynamic” pair 15 Baldwin frequently seen on SNL 18 Drops from the sky 22 ___ Wrap 24 Constructed 25 Lease, as an apartment 26 Amino ___ (building blocks of proteins) 27 Game with grand masters 29 Digitize a document, say 31 Carefully groom 32 Constant critic 33 Like some science fiction 35 Online-only mag 36 Catcher’s catcher 39 Windshield cleaner 43 Whales known as “canaries of the sea” 45 No longer startled by 47 Frozen beverage option 49 Pasture animals

0 Dram and gram 5 52 Kick out 53 Chocolate shop attraction 54 Core belief 56 Black-and-white treat 57 One may advertise its free Wi-Fi 58 Mauna ___ 60 Opposite of “yeah” 61 Narcissist’s issue Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

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Tuesday, December 3, 2019

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‘Frozen 2’ ices competition again with record Thanksgiving Knives Out, the innovative whodunit from writer and director Rian Johnson, rode great reviews and strong social-media buzz to a $27 million weekend and a fiveday domestic total of $41.7 million that easily earned back its budget. AP

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By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—Frozen 2 kept a wintry wind at its back in its second week, setting a Thanksgiving record with a whopping boxoffice bounty, while newcomer Knives Out found its own broad audience.

Disney’s new set of adventures for Anna, Elsa and Olaf brought in $85.3 million in the US and Canada over the weekend and earned an unprecedented $132.7 million for the holiday frame of Wednesday through Sunday, according to studio estimates.

The first Frozen opened on Thanksgiving in 2013, but the sequel opened a week prior to the holiday, making it poised for a huge second week, with out-ofschool kids happy to see it a second or a third time.

“Having the opening weekend falling a few days ahead of Thanksgiving really set it up perfectly,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for the boxoffice tracker Comscore.

That came on top of a record-burying opening weekend of $127-million debut domestically and $350.2 million worldwide that made it the highestgrossing global debut for any animated film globally, and the largest opening for any Walt Disney Animation Studios release.

The original film and its world-making song “Let It Go” became a pop-culture phenomenon, earning $1.27 billion worldwide and selling countless Elsa and Anna dresses. The sequel has more than showed that the six years since has brought no thaw. It has already earned $739 million globally and should certainly surpass the original’s totals. “Disney is usually immune to the waning interest that audience have with some sequels,” Dergarabedian said.

Knives Out, the innovative whodunit from writer and director Rian Johnson, rode great reviews and strong social-media buzz to a $27 million weekend and a five-day domestic total of $41.7 million that easily earned back its budget. The film’s vast and eclectic cast included Ana de Armas, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette and Chris Evans.

Johnson, the director of Looper and The Last Jedi, had been the target of some Twitter fanboy outrage for the direction he took the second episode in the newest Star Wars trilogy, whose final chapter opens next month.

The Knives Out opening showed his name value was unharmed and might even have been strengthened by

the online noise, and its reception could mean awards season consideration for Johnson and the cast.

“First and foremost, this starts with Rian Johnson,” said David Spitz, president of domestic distribution for Lionsgate. “He wrote a screenplay we all loved and executed it to perfection.”

In response to the strong showing, Johnson on Sunday morning tweeted “Wow-THANKS to everyone who came to #KnivesOut this weekend, and for all the lovely tweets, you guys are the best.”

While put on the calendar to draw in adults while kids were watching and rewatching Frozen 2, Knives Out proved to be more than a niche picture.

“We set it with the counterprogramming expectation, this is a good adult dramedy,” Spitz said.

But, he said, it turned out younger audiences had even better reactions than older ones.

“It’s playing to everybody,” Spitz said.

While the weekend showed that there is nothing like a franchise to bring in blockbuster bucks, it also reflected that tentpoles aren’t the only means to attract audiences.

“When it comes to adult fare, it seems that audiences want more originality,” Dergarabedian said.

Knives Out also opened strong internationally with a weekend of $28.3 million.

The weekend’s other newcomer, Queen & Slim, finished down in fifth with $11.7 million, but with

a limited number of screens and a modest reported budget of about $20 million, it was still a successful opening for the Bonnie-and-Clyde-meets-BlackLives-Matter story.

Ford v Ferrari rolled along in its third weekend of release, finishing in third place with $13.2 million.

Tom Hanks’s Mister Rogers story A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood also hummed along in its second weekend, earning $11.8 million to put it fourth at the domestic box office.

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. Frozen 2, $85.3 million ($163.8 million international) 2. Knives Out, $27 million ($28.3 million international) 3. Ford v Ferrari, $13.2 million ($10.2 million international) 4. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, $11.8 million 5. Queen & Slim, $11.7 million 6. 21 Bridges, $5.8 million ($1.9 million international) 7. Playing with Fire, $4.2 million 8. Midway, $4 million ($2.7 million international) 9. Joker, $2 million ($4.6 million international) 10. Last Christmas, $1.99 million ($8 million international). n

Kris Bernal wins top acting plum at 2019 Gawad Amerika Awards

Kris Bernal with the Most Outstanding Filipina Actress in Television plum from the 2019 Gawad Amerika Awards.

VERSATILE GMA actress Kris Bernal took home the Most Outstanding Filipina Actress in Television plum at the 2019 Gawad Amerika Awards, held on November 23 at The Celebrity Centre Franklin Avenue in California.

Kris personally flew to California to accept the recognition for her remarkable performance in GMA’s afternoon drama series Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko. Humbled by the honor, Kris expressed her gratitude to the award-giving body and to all her avid supporters. She said, “Thank you Gawad Amerika Foundation for this recognition. Never in my wildest dream did I ever think that I would be coming here in California to receive such a prestigious award. I am truly honored to be here alongside other brilliant awardees who best exemplify the talent, pride and excellence

of the Filipino people. I am deeply humbled and inspired. Sending hugs and kisses to Filipinos all over the world. Thank you for your undying love and support, for watching my shows, and appreciating my efforts. Maraming salamat po!”

Gawad Amerika Awards is an annual celebration which recognizes the excellence of individuals and entrepreneurs who have gone above and beyond their area of specialty. It is an independent award-giving body mainly composed of newspaper publishers and selected reputable community leaders.

Organized by the Gawad Amerika Foundation in California, it aims to create an environment where Filipino-Americans can validate their importance in American society and construct innovative projects to continually endorse fresh ideas and talents.

‘CHRISTMAS CONCERT AT THE PEN 2019’ GOES TO THE MOVIES

THE Peninsula Manila, SSI Group Inc. and HSBC usher in the holiday season with music from well-loved movies that headlines the talents of Gerphil Flores, Miguel Lobato, the UST Singers, and Coke Bolipata, with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) under the baton of Maestro Ruggero Barbieri.

This holiday season, The Peninsula Manila Lobby will be drawing in record crowds to its annual Christmas Concert at The Pen with a repertoire celebrating music and songs from some of the most beloved movies of all time. This is a heritage production of hotel along with partners SSI Group Inc. and HSBC, in cooperation with cosponsors the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Lexus Philippines.

Christmas Concert at The Pen—one of the most enduring holiday traditions in Metro Manila—will take place on December 8 with the PPO under guest conductor Maestro Barbieri striking up music at 5 pm. This concert doubles as a fund-raiser for the Hope for the Philippines advocacy of the hotel that continues to benefit the educational and livelihood projects of the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Village in Tanauan, Leyte. The 2019 lineup stars Flores, who was dubbed “Asia’s Golden Girl” for winning accolades in the inaugural season of Asia’s Got Talent, before joining 16-time Grammywinning musician, record producer, composer, songwriter and arranger David Foster on his David Foster and Friends Asian Tour in 2015 and 2016. Also featured are Spanish tenor Lobato, as well as one of the world’s best choirs, the University of Santo Tomas Singers. Freddie Santos is the concert director.

Another guest artist at this year’s concert is one of the country’s leading violinists, Bolipata. He will perform the violin solo from Cinema Paradiso.

“Part of our holiday musical repertoire this year includes music from The Godfather, Evita, Ben-Hur, the James Bond series, The Wizard of Oz, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and many others played live by the PPO,” says The Peninsula Manila General Manager Masahisa Oba. “I am sure this will add a new energy to the concert, and engage our guests and patrons in a different way, allowing them to realize how key music is to a film. Of course, we haven’t forgotten to include Christmas carols to this year’s concert. This is our Pamaskong handog, after all.”

There is a P2,300 consumable fee per person (with a set of festive merienda) or P32,000 for a table of 10 (with a set of festive merienda menu and two bottles of Moët & Chandon Champagne). More information is available at diningpmn@ peninsula.com or www.peninsula.com.

Gabrielle Union speaks out amid reports she’s off NBC show LOS ANGELES—Gabrielle Union thanked supporters for defending her amid reports she was fired from America’s Got Talent after complaining about racism and other alleged on-set issues.

“Just when you feel lost, adrift, alone... you got me up off the ground. Humbled and thankful, forever,” the actress tweeted last week. She didn’t directly address her status with NBC’s talent show, and her representatives did not respond to requests

for comment.

According to reports, Union and Julianne Hough have been dropped as America’s Got Talent judges after a single season.

Union, who is African American, reportedly sought network action to address a workplace environment that allegedly allowed racist jokes and comments and other troubling behavior, including judgeproducer Simon Cowell’s smoking indoors in violation of state law.

Union’s husband, former NBA player Dwyane Wade, also weighed in on Twitter, saying he’d yet to hear a good reason why his wife was being fired.

In a statement, NBC and series producer Fremantle defended what they called the show’s “long history of inclusivity and diversity.”

“The judging and host line-up has been regularly refreshed over the years and that is one of the reasons for AGT’s enduring

popularity. NBC and the producers take any issues on set seriously,” the companies said.

The judging panel has changed since the show’s 2006 debut, but most judges’ tenures have lasted at least several years, including that of Sharon Osbourne, Mel B and Howard Stern.

Among the celebrities who have rallied publicly behind Union are Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo, Holly Robinson Peete and Patricia Arquette. AP

Maestro Ruggero Barbieri

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

D4

Art

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AC DIMATATAC/ICSC

Preserving ‘herstory’: ‘Alas ng Bayan’ honors 5 Filipina heroines CIRCLES JT NISAY

jtnisay@gmail.com

W

HILE Japanese soldiers sharpened their blades and tightened their boots, a female commander of the guerrilla movement Hukbalahap, or Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon, faced the mirror.

Remedios Gomez-Paraiso, referred to as Kumander Liwayway, made sure not a single strand of hair was out of place. She polished her nails, wore perfume and applied her signature red lipstick.

She was ready for combat.

“Liwayway herself explained that this ritual gave her comrades greater confidence, seeing their commander fearless and calm,” said Ana Maria Nemenzo, national coordinator of WomanHealth Philippines, as she read her essay about the wellgroomed heroine before a small crowd at the Asean Hall in the University of the Philippines Diliman.

“She wanted to look her best in case she died or was captured in battle,” Nemenzo continued. “[Hukbalahap leader] Luis Taruc said that Liwayway once told him, ‘I was also fighting for the right to be myself.’”

Nemenzo presented her writing, titled Kumander Liwayway: A Feminine Warrior, as part of the recent launch of Alas ng Bayan, an exhibition that showcases paintings portraying five Filipina heroines who resisted national oppression and social injustice at different junctures of Philippine history.

“The project seeks to introduce and inject history and feminism as fundamental elements in the way young people respond to the worsening state of national forgetting, and the climate crisis,” said Renato Constantino Jr., chairman of the Constantino Foundation, one of the organizers of the show, along with 350.org Pilipinas and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC).

“We have been taught about the lives of Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio, while women heroes are rarely featured in history lessons,” said 22year-old ICSC Special Projects Coordinator Celine Tabinga. “Alas ng Bayan aims to correct this by promoting ‘herstory.’”

Aside from Liwayway, another featured heroine in the exhibition is Gregoria de Jesus, or Aling Oriang.

She was the founder of the women’s chapter of the KKK, and was involved in the armed struggle that overthrew the yoke of Spanish colonialism. Also presented is Apolonia Catra, the only woman named as officer under the command of Macario Sakay during the Philippine-American War at the turn of the 20th century.

The two women rounding out the set are Maria Lorena Barros, a poet and anthropologist who fought against the Marcos dictatorship; and Gloria Capitan, an environment activist and human-rights defender who resisted a coal plant project in Limay, Bataan.

The five women are painted using oil on canvas, executed in the style of sakla, or a local version of tarot cards. As such, the depictions relied heavily on muted pastel and were laden with symbolisms.

At the foreground of Capitan’s portrayal, for example, is a black cat. The feline is staring directly at the viewer, while our hero sits on a throne, holding a mic. Capitan was killed on the first day of President Duterte’s administration, making her one of the first victims of extrajudicial killings. It happened at Capitan’s own videoke cantina, where

cats are said to frequent. They stand as witnesses to the crime.

Meanwhile, the painting featuring Liwayway shows her in a dress as red as her lips. A guitar rests on her throne, symbolizing her many musical celebrations over Japanese soldiers, as a Japanese flag lays at her feet.

Behind the artworks is Johnny Guarin, a 26-yearold Filipino artist, poet and hip hop recording artist from Tondo, Manila. He started accepting commissions to create art in 2017, and joined 350.org Pilipinas as a volunteer in the same year.

“Halos dalawang taon ko rin pinagaralan ang mga bayaning ito,” the artist said, adding the tarot card inspiration reflects how the women risked their lives for the country. “Pinaghugutan ko sila ng inspirasyon sa pakikipaglaban sa mga isyu ngayon.”

According to ICSC Executive Director Red Constantino, combining the humanities with visual arts, literature, science and policy-making has always been an integral mission of their institute, especially now when the problems that society face are as deeprooted and are as complex.

“This is a time when poets and painters are needed,” Constantino said. “We’ve already seen the limits of discourse and language of science and policy-making. They are not moving the public to do what they need to do, unlike how the enemies of Oriang, Liwayway, Catra, Barros and Capitan moved them.”

“We need to visualize not only the crisis that we’re facing, but also the hope and opportunity,” he said.

The call of Alas ng Bayan to reexamine history through art hearkens back to a 2017 exhibition also spearheaded by the Constantino Foundation. Titled Hidden in Plain Sight, the show featured murals by art group TutoK, depicting Filipino heroes Macario Sakay and Lean Alejandro.

Sakay fought against the US colonial rule after the Spanish era and was hanged in 1907, while Alejandro

was an activist who led rallies against the Marcos dictatorship. He was gunned down in 1987.

Alejandro, in the words of Constantino, was a youth leader who surpassed the confines of his generation to set an example of how a committed activist, advancing the cause of national democracy, can rise above its own limitations.

Alejandro was depicted in one work clutching onto a red book. Constantino said viewers of the piece at the Ospital ng Makati, where it was once displayed, supposed it was The Little Red Book by Mao Zedong.

Upon closer inspection, the book bore the title in the same red font, Araling Panlipunan.

Another piece showed Alejandro with a white flower known in Filipino as rosal. Viewers argued, however, that a rosal had no thorns, but the one depicted in the mural did. Alejandro was killed in Cubao, along a street called Rosal.

“That’s the artist’s way of saying, ‘Move closer to history because you might see something else, apart from whatever you thought was there,’” Constantino said. “In history and memory and art, there is more than what you see. And that’s the message also with the Alas ng Bayan.”

Alas ng Bayan was first staged on November 23 at the Linangan Gallery of the Constantino Foundation with the families of Liwayway and Capitan. Last week, the exhibit ran for three days at the UP Asian Center.

Constantino said the project will be hosted by different academic institutions next year, including the University of the Philippines Manila at the Museum of a History of Ideas next March, in time for Women’s Month.

He added that the vision by 2021 is to hand out “Alas ng Bayan Awards” not only to those who have passed away, but also to young women who have contributed to the country.

“Also, by next year, we will introduce a new set of ‘Alas ng Bayan,’” Constantino said. “Maraming alas ang bayan natin.” ■

mural canvases are being rendered in Pampanga, Cebu, Bulacan, Bicol, Rizal, Bohol, Las Piñas and Iloilo.

Sarmiento said, “Sa pamamagitan nitong interaction painting, pinapakita ang pagtutulungan ng mga artists; Nagtutulungan makabuo ng isang obra para isang layunin.”

A realist painter, Sarmiento further explained that the interaction concept was agreed upon by the respective mural groups, followed by studies and sketches before implementation. Aside from the collaborative muralists, more than 100 bankable artists are individually brushing bristles or sables in

oil, acrylics or watercolor for their obra maestra of the year, donating some 200 paintings.

World-renowned artist Romulo Galicano also threw in his brushes along with his squad, Paspi, the Portrait Artists Society of the Philippines, to help achieve the P20-million target.

With brushes in their hands, the dream in their heads, painting with their hearts and praying to the heavens, the artist community from 25 to 70-plus years old are one in their Christmas wish—a Tahanan Sining in Metro Manila.

Christmas wish: Finding a home for artists

BY VERONICA V. WUSON FOR weeks now, a multi-awarded group of visual artists have been wielding brush on canvas, deftly detailing painterly strokes on 12 thematic murals across the islands to fulfill a decades-long dream of owning and building a home for their community of a thousand artists.

Call it a “Tahanan Sining,” a home to empower fellow artists, to mentor newbies, to motivate creative experiences. A gallery for artists living within and outside the metropolis whose outstanding works have never been exhibited. An office to incentivize networks with acclaimed Filipino and global artists. An educational center to evolve with digital technology and the online business of art teaching and selling. A compass for visual artists.

It will be the “permanent headquarters of the Art Association of the Philippines [AAP],” the oldest and biggest local art organization whose ambitious mission of raising funds for their “dream home” will hopefully be fulfilled by this Christmas after 71 years of homelessness.

Founded in 1948 by Purita Kalaw Ledesma, its members listed National Artists Vicente Manansala, Jose Joya, Ang Kiukok, Jerry Navarro Elizalde, Frederico Aguilar Alcuaz, Botong Francisco and more, plus living legends like BenCab. Resolute to build their dream, the current set of AAP officers struck a deal with Sacred Heart

School-Ateneo de Cebu Batch 1985 led by Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, Secretary Michael Dino, to stage a fund-raising auction and exhibit, Artabang 3, on December 7 in Cebu City.

“Tabang in Bisaya means tulong in Tagalog—ginamit namin ang sining sa pagtulong,” said Fidel Sarmiento, AAP president for the past 16 years.

“This way, we aren’t subjected to the fickleness of political patronage,” he added, referring to the shortlived Kanlungan ng Sining within Rizal Park that was padlocked after an administration change.

The three other AAP officers—artists Roger Santos, Margarita Lim, Monette Alvarez—and their equally motivated AAP members are monetizing their art for the dream house.

In an alley, on the streets, in a garage, against a block wall, in a living room; artists are interfacing, interacting, and blending their creativity on 5 ft x 9 ft and 5 ft x 5 ft canvases.

Literally sweating it out, they perch on tables, squat on stools, sit on bare floors, stand on tables, kneeling, bending with their brushes to collaboratively paint their assigned portions of the mural expressions. “My group of Female Art Addicts are privileged to be invited to this worthy cause,” said watercolorist Lim. “This will be the legacy for the future generation of artists. Finally, a permanent home for AAP.” Sam Penaso, an internationally recognized artist, leads a group in his Quezon City studio. The 11 other