BusinessMirror February 07, 2019

‘RICE TARIFF BILL TO TIE HANDS OF GOVT DURING PRICE SPIKES’

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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ESS than 10 days before the rice tariffication bill lapses into law, the Federation of Free Farmers Inc. (FFF) warned that the government would be “inutile” to address price spikes and market failures in the future once the measure takes effect.

FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said limiting the National Food Authority (NFA) to buffer stocking would render the agency useless at times of “market disruptions,” especially when retail prices of rice are high.

Under the rice tariffication bill, which is mostly

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UN: PHL will gain much from China-US trade row

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE Philippines is among the countries that will significantly benefit from the escalating trade tensions between China and the United States, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

I n it s K e y St at i s t i c s a nd Trends in Trade Pol ic y 2018 report released this week, the Unctad estimated that the Phil-

ippines will gain an addition of 3.2 percent of total exports due to the trade conf lict.

However, the Unctad estimated

that this would amount to less than $10 billion for the Philippines. The European Union will see the largest benefit in exports at $70 billion of

$10B The amount in additional exports that the Unctad report estimates will be gained by the Philippines

the US-China tensions.

“Other countries would capture substantially less. Although these numbers are not very large in relation to global trade [about $17 trillion in 2017], for many countries they represent a substantial share of export,” Unctad said.

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Rice policy disarmament Rene E. Ofreneo

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NLESS President Duterte vetoes it, the proposed rice tariffication bill forwarded by Congress to Malacañang late last year will lapse into law on February 17.

There are urgent reasons the proposed tariffication law should be vetoed. The bill has no constituency among the farmer organizations registered with the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF).

Continued on A7

EU envoy: Better labor policies boost PHL bid to retain trade perks

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

HE Senate on Wednesday voted to grant the franchise application of Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co. (Mislatel), boosting its bid to challenge the Smart-PLDT and Globe Telecom (Smart-Globe) telco duopoly until 2023.

With only three senators— Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Sen. Panfilo Lacson Sr. and Sen. Risa Hontiveros—casting negative votes, the franchise of Mislatel consortium led by Davao businessman Dennis Uy breezed through the Senate plenary session, paving the way for a threecornered contest to win over telco subscribers.

The majority of the senators voted to adopt House Concurrent Resolution 23 that approved “the transfer, sale or assignment of the controlling interest of Mislatel to Uy’s Udenna Corp., Chelsea Holdings Corp. and the state-run China Telecommunications Corp.

Based on documents submitted to the Senate, Udenna Corp. and Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. own 35 percent and 25 percent, respectively, while China Telecom holds a 40-percent stake, with Mislatel acting as franchise holder.

The approved Resolution 23 affirms that Mislatel has “committed to provide Filipinos with

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Senate OKs Mislatel franchise

See “Mislatel,” A2

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based on the Senate’s version, the NFA’s regulatory powers over rice imports would be removed, including its right to purchase the staple from abroad.

Also, the NFA would have to source its rice stockpile through local procurement.

“This means that cheap NFA rice will not be available anymore in the market, unless there is a declared calamity or emergency. Practically all of the rice will now be supplied by private traders and importers,” Montemayor said in a statement on Wednesday.

“If prices start going up, the government will not be able to intervene, unless it declares an emergency,” he added.

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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EUROPEAN Union Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen stresses a point at Wednesday’s BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum. ROY DOMINGO

Budget ratification seen; line-item veto backed

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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HE contingents of the House of Representatives to the bicameral conference committee are now ready to ratify the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget for this year.

During the plenary session, House Committee on Appropriations

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.3580

Chairman Rolando Andaya Jr. said that while members of the lower chamber are ready, the body is still awaiting the “word” from Senate before signing the bicameral report.

“At this point of time, the House bicameral conference committee is ready to ratify our proposed 2019 budget. But we would like to give courtesy to the Senate and wait for them,” he said without

giving further details.

The House of Representatives will stretch its session until Friday to ratify the proposed 2019 P3.757-trillion General Appropriations Act. On Wednesday, the senators agreed to also hold sessions until Friday to have time to ratify the 2019 budget bill, as well.

See “Budget,” A2

@alyasjah

OVERNMENT reforms promoting labor welfare and efforts to rehabilitate tourist destinations boosted the country’s bid to retain its trade privilege with the European Union (EU).

At the BusinessMirror Coffee Club Forum on Wednesday, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen confirmed the Philippines got a “positive” feedback from the EU delegation that reviewed its Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status. He attributed this to government efforts to promote labor rights and environmental conservation.

“I think the conclusion [of the past reviews] was quite clear that things are improving over time,” Jessen said.

“That is good. In the meetings that I attended, it did not come up directly, but clearly, the cleanup [of Boracay]—from an environmental point of view—was important,” he added. The GSP+ is a trade privilege that permits the entry of 6,274 Philippine products to EU economies at zero duty.

With this in place, exports can enter the European market at competitive prices. The country, in return, has to implement 27 international core conventions on labor welfare, human rights, good governance and environmental concern to keep its GSP+ status.

Jessen said the EU delegation that assessed the country’s com-

pliance with its commitments appreciated government measures to improve labor conditions—particularly moves to raise basic pay and ban contractualization—and protect the environment.

Last year President Duterte issued Executive Order 51 that strictly prohibits all forms of labor contracting, as well as subcontracting. It also granted the labor chief the power to declare activities, which may be considered as contacting.

Further, all 17 wage boards augmented minimum-wage rates from P8.50 to P56 in different periods last year, including an increase of P25 in the daily pay of Metro Manila workers.

The government also rolled out a six-month rehabilitation of popular island resort Boracay. The tourist destination had to be shut down for six months for the government cleanup and for hotels and resorts to comply with environmental laws.

In January of last year Jessen said about P120 billion worth of exports benefitted from the GSP+—mostly in the food and farm sectors—in 2017.

This made the EU the country’s second top export market, following Japan and ahead of the United States and China. The largest receipt improvements with the trade benefit in place were recorded in textiles at 145 percent, leather at 77 percent, footwear at 74 percent, fish and marine products at 71 percent, and animal products at 64 percent.

n JAPAN 0.4762 n UK 67.8350 n HK 6.6737 n CHINA 7.8152 n SINGAPORE 38.7493 n AUSTRALIA 37.8810 n EU 59.7771 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9614

Source: BSP (6 February 2019 )

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Health dept declares measles outbreak in NCR, Central Luzon; other regions under close watch

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco |

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Correspondent

HE Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed a measles outbreak in National Capital Region (NCR) and Central Luzon.

“We are declaring an outbreak as cases have increased in the past weeks and to strengthen surveillance of new cases and alert mothers and caregivers to be more vigilant,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

Based on preliminar y data

Rice tariff bill. . .

presented by the DOH Epidemiology Bureau, the number of measles cases in NCR from January 1 to 19, 2019, surged to 196 as compared to 20 cases reported in the same period in 2018. For the whole year of 2018, NCR registered 3,646 measles cases as against

Continued from A1

Worse, Montemayor said the NFA may find itself in “a tight spot” whenever it seeks to replenish its stockpile at times of thin local supply or output, especially during disasters.

Montemayor added that farmers may not be able to sell rice to the NFA when its warehouses are already full and when traders buy the staple at a low price.

“Even then, it runs the risk of having very little stocks left if an actual emergency like a typhoon hits the country. And the NFA may not be able to easily replenish its buffer stocks, especially if local farmers cannot or do not want to sell to the agency,” he said.

“Similarly, farmers will not be able to depend anymore on the NFA to buy their produce if palay prices are going down. Once the NFA accumulates enough for its buffer stock, it will have to stop buying from farmers. Local traders will now be free to set whatever price they want,” he added.

Due to the removal of its market powers, the NFA may no longer be able to earn money to replenish its stockpile, FFF President Ruben D. Presilda said.

“The NFA was given P7 billion for palay procurement, but that is good for only about 400,000 metric tons, or around 2 percent of total palay production,” he said. “Once the money dries up, NFA will have

to stop buying and farmers will then be at the mercy of traders.”

Montemayor said the measure approved by the bicameral conference committee made it easier for the country’s trade partners to sell rice to the Philippines.

Under the bill, the NFA would not anymore require rice importers to secure licenses before being allowed to bring in staple from abroad.

Interested importers would just have to secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry as proof that the rice being imported is safe for human consumption.

“Government agencies in countries like Indonesia and South Korea have virtual monopolies over rice imports. Almost all countries have some form of regulation over their rice markets even if they have long removed their [quantitative restrictions],” he said.

“Our trading partners in the WTO [World Trade Organization] must be laughing at us for interpreting WTO rules in their favor and making it easier for them to sell their rice to us, while they use every loophole in the rules to protect their own markets,” he added.

The rice tariffication bill was transmitted to President Duterte on January 14 and would lapse into law on February 15 if he will not act on it.

UN. . .

Risks

Continued from A1

“Substantial effects relative to the size of their exports are also expected for Australia, Brazil, India, the Philippines, Pakistan and Viet Nam,” it added.

The Unctad said the substantial share of United States-China trade will be captured by other countries whose firms are close competitors of Chinese and US companies. In the case of the Philippines, most of the benefits that the country will gain will be due to US tariffs on China.

The Unctad estimated that of the $250 billion in Chinese exports that are subject to US tariffs, about 82 percent will be captured by firms in other countries.

The UN agency also said that about 12 percent will be retained

by Chinese firms and about 6 percent will be captured by US firms.

The report said that of the $110 billion in US exports that are subject to China’s tariffs, about 85 percent will be captured by firms in other countries. US firms will retain less than 10 percent, while Chinese firms will capture only about 5 percent. “ The results are consistent across different sectors, from machiner y to wood products, and furniture, communication equipment, chemicals to precision instruments,” Unctad said.

HOWEVER, Unctad warned that while some countries are bound to benefit from the trade tensions, certain risks could have global effects.

The trade conflict could lead to “disturbances” in commodity prices, financial markets and currencies which will affect developing countries. Trade tensions, Unctad said, could “spiral into currency wars.”

Further, other countries could chime in on the “tit for tat moves” of the China and the US. This could see an increase in tariffs that could affect assembles and suppliers in value chains.

Unctad said in a statement that the ongoing trade tensions initially came to a head in early 2018 when China and the US imposed tariffs on about $50 billion of each other’s goods.

By September 2018, the US had already imposed 10-percent tariffs covering about $200 billion of Chinese imports, to which China retaliated by imposing tariffs on imports from the US worth an additional $60 billion.

The 10-percent tariffs were initially due to rise to 25 percent in January 2019.

However, in ea rly December 2018 the parties agreed to freeze the tariff increase until March 1, 2019.

351 cases registered in 2017.

Duque said that at the San Lazaro Hospital alone, there were already 55 registered fatalities aged between three months to four years old.

Meanwhile, the DOH in Central Luzon has recorded 253 suspected cases of measles.

In an interview, Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said that they are still verifying the data in Central Luzon.

He, however, described the outbreak as very alarming since the ailment is an airborne disease.

“With the vaccine, we could have prevented measles and supposedly nobody should die of

Budget. . .

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The House is scheduled to hold session until February 6 before it adjourns starting from February 9 to May 19 for the 2019 midterm elections.

Andaya said that 2019 GAA will be ready for President Duterte’s signature next week.

Senators cram

THE Senate, set to adjourn for a 14-week congressional recess, agreed to work overtime and hold marathon sessions until Friday to wrap up unfinished business and ratify the final version of the P3.7trillion 2019 budget bill expected to be submitted to Duterte for signing into law—all this in order to cut short the period that the government will have to operate under the reenacted 2018 budget.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III told reporters on Wednesday that the senators were expecting to be updated by Sen. Loren B. Legarda, who chairs the Senate panel in bicameral talks with their House counterparts to reconcile differing provisions in the

BOL. . .

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The Comelec also pointed out the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) did not report any untoward incident.

The National Plebiscite Board of Canvassing (NPBOC) will convene on Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Comelec main office in Manila to start the national canvassing of the plebiscite results.

The process is expected to be completed in four days.

Security assessment

THE plebiscite for the Bangsamoro Organic Law in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte on Wednesday was generally peaceful and orderly, capping the two-phase ratification for the law that would govern the Bangsamoro, police and military officials reported on Wednesday.

The security situation was reported by ground forces just two hours before the polling centers were to close at 3 p.m. in the two provinces.

“It’s generally peaceful. As of this time, everything is peaceful and our teachers are at their polling centers,” said Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde, a statement that was supported by the military through public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato.

Three explosions rocked the municipalities of Lala, Kauswagan and Sultan Naga Dimaporo, all in Lanao del Norte, on the eve of the plebiscite. The blasts

measles,” Tayag lamented.

Health personnel from the national, regional, and local levels, are already conducting a house-tohouse survey, active case-finding, and an outbreak response immunization activities in nearby barangays, a knowledge, attitudes and practices survey, health teachings on vaccine and vaccine-preventable diseases, and collected and sent specimens for laboratory confirmation to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

Meanwhile, Duque reiterated to parents and caregivers that measles vaccinations “are safe and have been in use worldwide for decades now.”

“Please bring your children to the nearest health center for free vaccination,” Duque said.

Duque also urged health workers to reach out to parents to provide them the best available information to allay fears, rectify misconceptions and encourage vaccination.

The NCR is composed of 16 cities and one municipality. These are the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Quezon, Marikina, Pasig, Taguig, Makati, Manila, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa, and the lone municipality of Pateros.

Related to this health threat,

other regions under tight watch by the DOH include Regions 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 5, 6,7, 8, 9, CAR and Caraga. These regions need to, likewise, scale-up their response against measles and have all unvaccinated children vaccinated against measles, a proven effective and safe measure to further stop its spread, is required, Duque said.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. It is transferred from personto-person by sneezing, coughing and close personal contact. Its signs and symptoms include cough, runny nose, red eyes/conjunctivitis, fever, skin rashes lasting for more than three days.

Senate and House versions of the annual money measure.

“Senator Legarda will report to us on the bicam talks and then we will take it [2019 budget bill] up,” the Senate President said in an ambush interview. “We will play it by year thereafter, depending on the situation,” Sotto said, hinting that senators will then decide to either “approve or disapprove” the bicameral panel’s reconciled version of the annual appropriation measure.

The Senate President disclosed that a smaller bicameral panel was earlier tasked to “facilitate the procedure” even as the members of the whole bicameral contingents will still be the one to endorse the final version of the budget bill for submission for plenary approval by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Sotto explained this was why the senators will hold another caucus to brief members on what was agreed upon in the bicameral talks, hinting that amendments may still be made in the bicameral version. “Hindi pa naman ‘yan [But that’s not yet] written in stone,” he said.

According to Sotto, the decision

to conduct sessions until Friday was prompted by a request from Malacañang to extend sessions until the budget bill has been passed.

Aremar Construction, the anomalous bidding of big-ticket projects by the DBM-Procurement Service, the P50-billion stagnant funds in DBM-PS and PITC, and now the multibillion 2017 and 2018 savings that serve as DBM’s pork barrel,” he said.

However, A nd aya sa id t he House will seek clarification from the Supreme Court should the President decide to veto parts of the 2019 budget.

“A veto message prepared by Secretary Diokno will surely perpetuate these unanswered issues, unfortunately with the President as unwitting victim. The House panel will elevate the veto message to the Supreme Court to clarify, not to defy, the veto message. We need to know the clear implications of the line items to be vetoed,” he said.

Likewise, Andaya said lawmakers will seek to intervene in the exemption being sought by the DBM from the Commission on Elections on the infrastructure ban.

“We need to be informed what types of projects are to be exempted from the election ban and the sourcing of funds for these projects,” he said. With Butch Fernandez

hurt no one, and Albayalde said these were meant to create fear or intimidate voters.

The PNP chief said the motives behind the bombings were still being investigated and the suspects have not been identified.

Detoyato said that based on the reports of the military’s Joint Task Forces Central and Zampelan, almost all of the polling centers opened at exactly 8 a.m., with the teachers reporting for their election duties.

Lambay, members of the Pantar Municipal Police Station, Lanao del Norte. They were apprehended at a police checkpoint at around 5 p.m. along C-3 Road, Tomas Cabili, Iligan City. “[The] persons failed to present a Comelec Certification for Gun Ban Exemption and Comelec Clearance to Provide VIP Security to a politician,” said the Iligan City Police Station.

Taken from the two policemen were an M-16 rifle, a Glock 17 9mm pistol, a .45 caliber pistol and an MP5 mini rifle.

50-85% turnout

HE said that based on the report of the Joint Task Force Central, as of 1 p.m., the municipalities of Aleosan, Pikit, Carmen, Midsayap, Pigcawayan and Tulunan—all in North Cotabato—have already registered a voter’s turnout of from 50 up to 85 percent.

In Lanao del Norte, the Joint Task Force Zampelan also reported a 50-percent voter’s turnout.

“No violent incidents were reported,” said Detoyato.

“The PNP security operations in Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato are well in place to make the plebiscite safe, peaceful and orderly,” noted PNP Spokesman Senior Supt. Bernard Banac.

2 cops arrested

MEANWHILE, the Iligan City Police in Lanao del Norte reported that it arrested two policemen from Lanao del Sur for possessing f irea r ms w it hout gun ban exemption clearance from the Comelec.

The policemen were identified as PO1 Johaimen Tomondog Mohamad and PO1 Rasid Arumpac

Support for veto

IN the same interview, the Senate President signaled support for Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson’s initiative to take down multimillion-peso pork-barrel allocations for lawmakers’ pet projects inserted in the 2019 budget bill. “Kung nararapat, at kung talagang maliwanag na pork, bakit hindi [If necessary, and it’s clearly pork, why not]?,” Sotto said, adding; “Dapat i-veto [It should be vetoed].”

Andaya also backed the call for the President to use his line-item veto power to remove all porkbarrel insertions in the 2019 national budget.

“There are so many questions on the 2019 budget that remain unanswered by DBM Secretary Diokno. These will render all the work done by the Bicameral Committee useless,” he said.

“These issues include the P75billion insertion in the DPWH budget, the flood-control scam, the P81-million bank deposits to

Palace condemns blasts

MEANWHILE, Malacañang deplored the three explosions in Lanao del Norte on the eve of the second leg of the BOL plebiscite as it assured that the military is in full alert to protect the citizens.

The Palace said that the blasts “stem from acts of cowardice on the part of those who resist change and want to perpetuate the climate of fear, hopelessness and poverty among the Bangsamoro people and the Christian inhabitants in Mindanao.”

“The road to lasting peace in that region is not without obstacles strewn by those who foment disunity and who purvey the status quo. We shall not be waylaid by the twin forces of obstruction and destruction,” Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement.

The recent explosions also came in the wake of deadly explosions in Sulu and Zamboanga City.

With a report by Bernadette D. Nicolas

Mislatel. . .

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unprecedented and unparalleled quality of telecommunications services, made possible only by the organizational unity, fiscal cooperation and technology transfer between and among Mislatel and its committed investors.”

The government formally declared Mislatel as the country’s provisional third telco carrier after the two other bidders—Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T) and the Singson-led SEAR Telecom, composed of LCS Group and TierOne—were disqualified.

Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Services, held at least four public hearings on the Mislatel franchise application, during which the committee sought to remove any reference to Mislatel being the third telco or the new major player as the validity of its franchise could still be questioned in courts. The senator acknowledged that even if the Senate gives the green light for Mislatel to continue operating, interested parties are not prevented from availing legal remedies.

Earlier, Drilon declared that Mislatel’s legislative franchise was deemed to have been revoked following its failure to operate one year after it was granted license in 1998, adding that Mislatel likewise failed to inform Congress of a change in its leadership.

Department of Information and Communications Technology Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr., however, suggested this could be cured by remedial legislation “because Congress gave the franchise in the first place so that’s being studied right now.”

For her part, Poe sponsored the measure after noting the public’s “desperation” to have a new telco player that promises to offer better services.

Poe noted, however, that Mislatel risks losing more than P25 billion in performance bond should they fail to meet their commitments in the first year of their operation.

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, February 7, 2019 A3

Philippine peso remains stable amid global volatilities–DOF

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Philippine peso remains stable amid growing volatilities in the global market brought about by changing fuel prices and the US-China trade war, among others, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Wednesday.

In its latest economic bulletin, the DOF reported that the local currency remains stable among Asian currencies, appreciating January 2019 by 0.73 percent to 52.17 to the US dollar.

For 2018, the Philippine peso posted a depreciation of 5.43 percent at 52.56 to the US dollar.

“The Philippine peso continues to be one of the more stable Asian currencies despite the uncertain-

ties in the world market brought about by the normalization of the Fed monetary policy, Brexit, volatile fuel prices and US-China trade war,” the DOF said.

It was reported that the Philippine peso continues to move along with 12 other Asian currencies and is one of the least volatile currencies in the world’s fastest-growing region.

“The Philippine peso is also among the least volatile with coefficient of variation at 0.32 percent YTD [year-to-date], tying with South Korean won as the third least volatile currency. In 2018, the coefficient of variation of the peso was recorded at 1.91 percent, ranking seventh among 12 currencies,” it added.

For January 2019, the Chinese

yuan reported an appreciation of 2.46 percent, the Japanese yen at 0.87 percent, the Singaporean dollar at 1.22 percent, the Thailand baht at 3.37 percent, Malaysia’a ringgit at 1.10 percent and Indonesia’s rupiah at 2.90 percent.

Meanwhile, the Asian currencies that posted a depreciation in the same month include the Indian rupee with 2.02 percent, the South Korean won with 0.16 percent, the Vietnamese dong at 0.11 percent, the Hong Kong dollar at 0.18 percent and the New Taiwanese dollar with 0.56 percent.

In October last year, the Asian Development

House panels want raps vs Aquino, Abad, Garin, others over dengue-vaccine mess

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

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HE House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability and House Committee on Health on Wednesday jointly recommended the filing of criminal and civil charges against former President Benigno S. Aquino III, former Health Secretary Janette Garin and former Budget Secretary Butch Abad over the controversial P3.5-billion Dengvaxia-vaccine mess.

In their committee report, the panels said it is apparent that there was collusion among the former public officials to ensure that a large quantity of Dengvaxia vaccines would be purchased by the government for administration to schoolchildren in the National Capital Region (NCR) and in Regions 3 and 4.

The report said these officials provided shortcuts in the bidding and award process to favor Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of a commercially available dengue vaccine.

“These officials may, therefore, be held liable for, conspiring and confederating with one another for the purpose of ‘giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence,’ under Section 3[e] of RA 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” it said.

The report added Aquino will be held liable for approving the use of the amount of P3.5 billion from the fiscal year 2015 Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund savings for the purchase of dengue vaccines for the NCR, Region 3, and Region 4A, while Abad for requesting authority to use savings and augment allegedly deficient existing appropriations of various government agencies and for the issuance of the Special Allotment Release Order for the release of funds for the procurement of dengue vaccines.

It added that Garin will be held liable for including the dengue vaccine among the vaccines proposed to be procured out of savings, despite the fact a Certificate of Product Registration was not yet been issued for the dengue vaccine and for requesting the President’s permission to use savings in the amount of P3.5 billion for the purchase of dengue vaccines for the NCR, Region 3 and Region 4A; for issuing the exemption of Dengvaxia from Executive Order 49; and for approving the procurement of dengue vaccines for the dengue immunization program.

“This was done even though the safety and efficacy of Dengvaxia had not been clearly established. These officials provided shortcuts in the process to favor Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of a commercially available dengue vaccine,” he added.

Also, the two panels also recommended

the filing of charges against Dr. Maria Joyce Ducusin for including the dengue vaccine among the vaccines proposed to be procured out of savings; Dr. Julius Lecciones, for proposing to the Department of Health (DOH) the implementation of dengue vaccination program by the Philippine Children’s Medical Center and PCMC Bids and Awards Committee member, Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go. Besides graft charges, the two committees also recommend the filing grave misconduct and technical malversation charges as the fiscal year 2015 General Appropriations Act did not appropriate funds for the acquisition of the dengue vaccine in the budget of the DOH. The panels also recommend to void the contract between PCMC and Zuellig Pharma Corp.

The committees also asked the Anti-Money Laundering Council to take appropriate action to investigate the personalities involved in the procurement of the dengue vaccines.

Dengvaxia was distributed to around 800,000 public school students during the DOH’s anti-dengue immunization program in April 2016.

However, Sanofi Pasteur, a French multinational pharmaceutical company and exclusive distributor of Dengvaxia, announced in 2017 that the anti-dengue vaccine had potential severe dengue risks among those who had not diagnosed with the disease before.

DOE’s Cusi assures Leyte industrial zone plan diligence in probing now on the drawing board troubled power co-ops

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

By Lenie Lectura

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@llectura

HE Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday assured electric cooperatives (ECs) that the department would be prudent in its ongoing performance review, which seeks to pinpoint problems besetting troubled cooperatives.

“There will be due process for all ECs. Our priority is to address the root causes of their problems and help in their rehabilitation so they may provide the quality of services consumers in their franchise areas truly deserve,” said Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi.

The energy chief warned, however, that it would not hesitate to impose sanctions on erring ECs. “For those [with] extremely dire cases, the government could no longer ignore the negative impact on citizens. Other reasonable and legal options, as provided in Republic Act 10531 or the National Electrification Administration law must be considered,” the agency said in a news statement issued on Wednesday.

It identified 17 ECs that failed many times to provide satisfactory services required by their electric distribution franchise. Included in the list are the following: Daneco (Davao del Norte), Aleco (Albay), Baselco (Basilan), Casureco III (Camarines Sur), Ficelco (Catanduanes), Lasureco (Lanao), Maselco (Masbate), Omeco (Occidental Mindoro), Ormeco (Oriental Mindoro), Paleco (Palawan), Pelco (Pampanga), Suleco (Sulu) and Zamcelco (Zamboanga).

The agency said residents of these areas have been complaining of persistent and unresolved brownouts caused by some ECs’ heavy debts and failure to pay for their power supply.

Previously, President Duterte publicly expressed his dissatisfaction over the poor electric services in Palawan and Masbate.

“We trust that ECs in these problem areas will cooperate with the DOE’s constructive efforts to get to the heart of their long running problems. We will work with the ECs in creating and implementing viable solutions for the benefit of their consumers,” Cusi said.

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@alyasjah

HE Board of Investments (BOI) is now crafting a master plan for the proposed industrial zone in Leyte seen to attract more investors in the poverty stricken province.

The master plan will serve as blueprint for the proposed Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone (LEIZ) that was envisioned to evolve into a magnet for more businesses to locate in Leyte. It is also intended to jump-start the revival of investment activities and generate more jobs in the area.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the development of the LEIZ master plan is one of the action items under the Copper Industry Roadmap.

Under the road map, the government will develop a copper industry cluster, preferably in Leyte, which may be supported by putting up an ecological industrial zone. The project is supported by local government officials.

There will be a series of consultations with stakeholders in the formulation of the master plan as part of the blueprint of developer Palafox Associates.

“The establishment of the LEIZ and development of a copper industry cluster in Leyte serves as our medium- to long-term strategic economic objective consistent with the agency’s industry development mandate.

This is a showcase project for the agency, filling in value chain gaps and missing links, and fully integrating the Philippine copper industry and its allied industries,” Rodolfo said in a news statement.

The master plan will identify suitable locations in Leyte where copper processing and allied activities could be sustained.

The identification of existing and planned industrial zones will include details on how to develop, promote and operate these areas. It will also list the necessary infrastructure needed for industries to thrive.

The industry clustering in the LEIZ, Rodolfo added, will reduce logistics cost and provide steady power supply since Leyte hosts one of the largest geothermal plants in the Philippines.

Rodolfo said the plan is to attract carbon neutral firms in the LEIZ to ensure conservation of the environment. The crafting of the master plan began in January and will be completed in February of next year.

Palafox Associates was tapped by the government to draw up the master plan.

Leyte was one of the hardest hit by Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) in 2013. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed poverty incidence in the province was at 31 percent in 2015.

Bank (ADB) reported that the high degree of uncertainty resulting from the US-China trade war could cause a “larger than expected” damage to global and economic growth.

The assessment was made by the ADB Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department Principal Economist Donghyun Park, Senior Economics Officer

Cynthia Castillejos Petalcorin and Eonomist Shu Tian in an Asian Development Blog.

The ADB team, however, said that the impact of the trade war on developing Asian countries is still limited. But if it escalates, the impact will be larger and will also hurt financial markets, the ADB economists said.

A4

TheBroa

Business

Thursday, February 7, 2019

TRAIN law a boon or ba

By Rea Cu @ReaCuBM & Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

A

@jearcalas

SWATH of sugarcane waved to passengers of the TarlacDagupan line of the Philippine National Railways; that was more than a century ago. About 127 years later—the train line opened in November 1892—passengers of a new type of TRAIN, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, are riding a bittersweet line.

For Assistant Finance Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II, the TRAIN’s effect is sweeter rather than bitter.

Lambino told the BusinessMirror the government is supportive of the agriculture sector, especially those who produce rice and sugar, among others.

“Essentially, that’s what we want to have: efficient local producers in the agriculture sector, in agribusiness and in other parts of the agriculture value chain,” Lambino, who is also spokesman of the Department of Finance (DOF), said in an interview. “That’s the priority, whether it’s in sugar or in rice, in some parts of the country rice can be produced very efficiently and we know that from the research. So that’s what we really want to support.”

Lambino issued his response after reports pointed to the TRAIN law as forcing businesses to rely on the importation of certain goods, especially sugar, for their production, putting the future of local producers in peril.

movement for various commodities as a result of the TRAIN. It’s quite obvious for the sugar,” Ofreneo, former dean of the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Labor and Industrial Relations (Solair), said. “We now have a liberalized and globalized economy, so any price adjustments for various commodities produced in the Philippines give producers and traders signals on whether it’s cheaper to import [affecting local producers] or cheaper to produce somewhere else [in the case of products meant for export]. I think the DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] should attend to this.”

Early January, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that for the third quarter of 2018, the country’s importation of sugar posted an increase of 54 percent year-on-year.

Sugar imported into the country rose to $154.37 million from $100.29 million, while shipments increased to 343,190 metric tons from the 217,320 MT recorded during the third quarter of 2017.

Sugar-sweetened beverages

Government action

LAMBINO told the BusinessMirror the DOF has made sugar a priority.

“The challenge with sugar is that there are so many difficulties in getting to an efficient market, so we’ve also made that a big priority, and I think [Budget] Secretary [Benjamin E.] Diokno has even announced that recently,” he added. “[Finance] Secretary [Carlos G.] Dominguez [III] also mentioned that the efficiency of the sugar industry and market is also very important because a lot of our food manufacturers need competitively priced sugar as an input.”

Reports said the new excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has pushed food manufacturers to shift from procuring locally produced sugar and rely on imports instead.

The TRAIN law, or Republic Act (RA) 10963, was signed into law by President Duterte in December 2017. The law slashed personal income tax rates while implementing offsetting measures, such as increasing fuel excise tax rates as well as imposing an excise tax on SSBs, among others.

For imported goods, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) applies a value-added tax (VAT) of 12 percent, while there is no tax on goods worth less than P10,000.

Under the TRAIN, a P6-perliter excise tax is slapped on beverages using caloric and noncaloric sweeteners and P12 per liter on beverages using high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Milk and 3-in-1 coffee mixes are exempted from the SSB tax.

Under pressure

RENE E. OFRENEO told the BusinessMirror that any price adjustment in commodities, like the increase in excise taxes under the TRAIN law, pushes producers or manufactures to consider cheaper alternatives.

“You can analyze the price

THE higher demand for sugar may be traced back to February 2017, when the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) issued Sugar Order 3 (SO 3), outlining the rules on the importation and release of HFCS in the country.

The rules and regulations came after industry stakeholders called on the government to act on the sinking prices of sugar due to unregulated imports of HFCS, which saw a big spike in volume in recent years. The unimpeded importation of HFCS drove sugar producers to lose some P10 billion in the process.

The SRA argued that SO 3 was an exercise of its regulatory power as stipulated under the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015, or RA 10659.

The regulation on the importation of HFCS signaled the start of the shift by industrial users and beverage makers to using more sugar in their products.

“Consumption of cane sugar should approach 2.20 MMT in MY 2016/17 from 2.14 MMT in the previous marketing year, as restrictions on the importation of HFCS are implemented, and industrial consumers react to the drop in domestic prices,” the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDAFAS) in Manila said in a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report two years ago.

“Demand for sugar in market year 2017/18 is expected to further increase to 2.25 MMT on lower domestic sugar prices, an expanding food processing and beverage manufacturing sector, and a growing population,” it added.

By the time the imports of HFCS were being regulated, the sugar industry was already losing profit from below cost-to-produce prices of the locally produced sweetener.

The situation worsened as the industry suffered a glut in supply,

SUGARCANE plantation in Negros Occidental, the “Sugarbowl of the Philippines,” which produces more than half the nation’s sugar output. Mount Kanlaon is seen in the background. AARONNEILLETIGIO | DREAMSTIME.COM

as local output reached an all-time high of 2.5 million metric tons (MMT) of sugarcane.

To flush out some of the domestic supply, the SRA in March 2017 allowed the exports of sugar to world markets or other countries aside from the United States.

Data from the SRA showed that the Philippines exported 34,611 MT and 174,789 MT of sugar in crop years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, respectively, to world markets.

Arrival of TRAIN

JUST as things were looking brighter for the sugar industry, an unintended challenge came in the form of the Duterte administration’s tax-reform initiative.

The TRAIN law imposed a higher tax on imported HFCS compared to locally produced sugar, which was indeed beneficial to the local industry.

However, the difference in tax levied on the two sweeteners signaled one thing: higher demand.

After coming from an alltime high output, the sugar industry ended crop year 2017 to 2018 with production volume of 2.083 million MT, which was be-

low the government’s and industry’s projections.

The decline in output was attributed to frequent rainfall that resulted in lower sugar content of canes. The lack of farm laborers, particularly sugarcane cutters and especially in the Visayas region, aggravated the situation.

As the TRAIN law took effect, the USDA FAS-Manila projected that the demand for sugar would remain at about 2.25 MMT, which would mean that the country would have a shortfall of about 150,000 MT based on their estimates.

“Demand for sugar in MY [2018-2019] is expected to remain at about 2.25 MMT,” the GAIN report read. “Consumption of cane sugar remains strong despite high sugar prices and increased taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, as soft-drink manufacturers increase the usage of cane sugar and shift away from high-fructose corn syrup used.”

In fact, the GAIN report projected that the Philippines would need to import a total of 500,000 MT from 2017 to 2019 to augment its local supply to meet the demand

of domestic users.

And true enough, the Philippines imported sugar of almost this same volume last year.

Rates, decrease

THE Americans’ assessment jives with the view of DOF Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran.

In his economic bulletin, Beltran explained that even before the implementation of the TRAIN law, sugar prices have been decreasing on a year-on-year basis.

Beltran explained that sugar imports peaked during the second quarter of 2016 with nearly 400,000 MT, decreasing to around 110,000 MT for the same period in 2018. By that time, food manufacturers were already urging the SRA to approve more imports, he added.

“Note that in the first semester of 2018, domestic prices surged to as high as P2,790 per 50-kilogram bag, more than double that of the landed price of their imported counterpart, at P1,300 per kg,” Beltran told the BusinessMirror. “It should have occurred to [Mr.] Ofreneo that a spike in imports would be something that was expected to occur anytime given the tightness

in domestic supply, with or without TRAIN. And supply is tight because domestic sugar cane production dropped by 16.7 percent during the crop year 2018, at the same time that imports were declining.”

Beltran emphasized that the new excise tax on SSBs is twotiered, which gives additional protection to domestic sugar producers.

“Another issue is why SRA did not allow sufficient sugar imports despite the 16.7-percent drop in domestic sugar production? Does SRA want consumers to cut unhealthy consumption and stop the spread of diabetes? Does SRA want food and beverage manufacturers who employ millions of workers to stop operating and throw them all out of work?” Beltran said. “Unfortunately, [Mr.] Ofreneo conveniently avoided these issues,” he added.

Sugar production

EMILIO BERNARDINO L. YULO, SRA board member, said one effect of the TRAIN law on the sugarcane industry was the higher excise tax slapped on fuel products. This, Yulo pointed out, led to

aderLook ane to PHL’s sugar sector?

sMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace | Thursday, February 7, 2019

A5

noncaloric sweeteners: Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines Inc.

Chua further emphasized that other companies using HFCS as beverage sweeteners still have to apply for FDA approval. Such approval is a requirement before they could shift to caloric or noncaloric sweeteners with the lower tax rate of P6 per liter.

Operational target

BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel S.D. Guballa said excise tax collections on SSBs from large taxpayers amounted to P29.74 billion from January to October 2018, while another P184.4 million was collected from other SSB taxpayers, for a total of P29.92 billion.

Dominguez said the newly imposed SSB tax has significantly contributed to the state coffers despite the shortfall of P10 billion, bringing in an additional P100 million a day in revenues or about P3 billion a month.

The DOF set an operational target for the collection of SSB taxes at P100 million a day.

In 2018, the BIR created its own task force to inventory sugar stocks and monitor shipments of the commodity into the country, amid the increased demand for refined sugar, in order to ensure that the correct taxes are paid on these imports.

The task force was tasked to monitor not only importers, but millers, planters, traders and dealers, as well as refined sugar.

The finance chief also ordered the BIR and Beltran to review the SRA’s current policy of allowing farmers and planters’ associations that were awarded import allocations to sell their rights to traders.

Dominguez said local sugar millers and planters who sell their importation rights should also be taxed as they make a profit from such a privilege.

According to preliminary data gathered by the BIR, traders pay around P500 per bag to local millers and planters who sell their rights.

Remaining confident

a domino effect on the industry, increasing the costs of production and retail prices.

“Sugarcane for that matter is driven by fuel from cultivation time until milling stage. We are using trucks to bring canes to the mills, and all of these are affected by petroleum products,” Yulo told the BusinessMirror. “Another main component of our production is fertilizer, which also increases due to higher fuel prices.”

He further explained that the industry was somehow caught off-guard by the increase in sugar demand caused by the change in the sweetener used by beverage makers.

“Hopefully we can increase production this year and cope up with the demand of the industrial users,” Confederation of Sugar Producers Spokesman Raymond Montinola told the BusinessMirror.

Montinola added it would be good if consultations can be held between sugar producers and users to discuss supply and demand. This way, sugar planters would be able to calibrate their planting intentions according to the demand of the domestic market, he added.

Existing research

LAMBINO said that the DOF is looking to collate all existing academics on the sugar industry in order to “unleash” efficiencies in the sugar market, as a lot of food manufacturers rely on sugar as a key input for the production of their goods.

“I think a lot of insight already exists; the DA has a lot of experience on this, the SRA has been around for a while, there are a number of academics who have already looked at the agricultural economy of sugar,” Lambino said.

“And so there’s existing materials, there’s existing research, we have to bring that together to a policy proposal or a set of policy proposals.”

On January 28, it was reported that the Duterte administration’s economic team is mulling over the removal of fees for importing sugar and to stop the SRA from regulating shipments to further open up the Philippine market for the sweetener.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia has said liberalizing the local sugar industry will bring down the cost of the

sweetener, similar to what the government intends to do with rice via the shift to tariffication.

Importers are charged around P200 per 50-kg bag of imported sugar.

The economic team enlisted the help of Ramon L. Clarete of the UP School of Economics to conduct a study on the impact of liberalizing the sugar industry.

To note, the Confederation of Sugar Producers said that around 200,000 people working in the sugar industry in Negros island alone could be displaced if the government will allow the unregulated entry of imported sugar.

Consumers included

YULO explained that importation is part of the regulatory powers of the SRA. “When prices shoot up, importation of sugar is one of the schemes being used to protect consumers so that prices will trickle down,” he said. “But prices will not go down if you will give the volume to biscuit makers, beverage makers and manufacturers, etc.”

This was the case for the sugar industry in 2018.

The industry admitted that

there was a tightening in local supply that led to unabated hikes in the retail prices of sugar.

It was not only the consumers that felt the impact of the shortfall on local output; industrial users also succumbed to a lack in supply.

Beverage makers, snack and biscuit manufacturers, and even the sugar planters and millers urged the government to allow the entry of imported sugar to arrest the high prices of the sweetener and augment local supply.

Last year, the SRA allowed two batches of importation: a volume of 200,000 MT in the first half and another 150,000 MT in the second half.

Industry stakeholders said some 130,000 MT of sugar were allowed to enter the country, which were beyond the allocation of the government, bringing total imported volume to almost 500,000 MT, the highest in recent years.

After all the lessons they learned from these series of events, Yulo said the sugar industry would be able to determine this year the “actual” demand for refined sugar by the domestic market, as the sec-

tor would have already adjusted to the effects of TRAIN law.

Tax payments

EARLIER in the month, the DOF instructed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to closely check the tax payments made by beverage manufacturers in the country, as a discrepancy of P10 billion was reported in the payment of taxes for SSBs as of end-October 2018.

According to Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua, the BIR has so far collected only around P30 billion in excise taxes from SSBs as of October 2018, as opposed to the programmed target of P40 billion.

Chua blamed SSB manufacturers for the shortfall, saying he suspects these businesses might not be paying the correct taxes. He said companies that are supposed to pay the P12 tax rate are only paying P6.

Data from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration showed that as of October 2018, only one company has secured an FDA approval to convert its sweetener from HFCS to sugar or other caloric or

EARLIER in January, the DOF reported that revenue collections of the government’s main collection agencies reached P41.9 billion in the nine months after TRAIN took effect on January 1, 2018.

This means that the TRAIN law attained 94.7 percent of its programmed goal of P44.3 billion for the first three quarters of 2018.

Broken down, collections from oil excise taxes hit P43.4 billion versus a P43.3-billion target.

Excise tax slapped on automobiles reached P12.2 billion versus a target of P11.6 billion. Tobacco excise tax collections hit P5.9 billion against a P3.30-billion target, while corporate income tax hit P800 million in collections as against a target of P400 million.

Collections from documentary tax stamp hit P49.1 billion against a target of P21 billion.

Meanwhile, revenue collections that failed to meet their respective target estimates under the TRAIN law include: SSBs at P31.2 billion versus a P43.3-billion target; other excise taxes, P2.3 billion versus a P3.1-billion target; valueadded tax at P3.6 billion versus a P24.8-billion target; and, financial taxes at P2.4 billion versus a P5.2billion target.

The DOF remains confident it will hit its annual TRAIN target collection of P63.3 billion for the full year on the back of the improved collection performance of the BIR and the BOC. It said the full-year impact of the TRAIN law is expected in March.

Till then, the “TRAIN riders” will just have to continue surviving an arguably bumpy ride.

A6 Thursday, February 7, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Measles outbreak and Dengvaxia

T

HE alarming number of measles cases in Metro Manila has prompted the Department of Health (DOH) to declare a “measles outbreak” in the metropolis. In January alone, over a thousand cases of measles were recorded in San Lazaro Hospital, a known facility for infectious diseases, and doctors are expecting the number to go up further in February.

Dr. Ferdinand de Guzman, the hospital spokesman, reported on Monday that 248 children and 21 adults were being treated for measles. He said seven deaths were recorded on Monday night alone.

Last week, nine children died within a day due to measles, he added.

A highly contagious viral disease, measles was once a common childhood ailment and almost an expected part of growing up. While most children recovered from measles without problems, many others did not. However, with the introduction of the measles vaccine, health authorities were able to protect more children from the disease. Measles is best prevented by the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) combination vaccine or the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) combination vaccine. Almost all people who have two doses of a measles-containing vaccine will be protected against the disease.

Measles usually starts with fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat. A rash that spreads over the body follows. Measles can spread when an infected person talks, breathes, coughs or sneezes tiny particles containing infectious agents into the air. These are called small particle aerosols. Due to their tiny size, small particle aerosols can travel long distances on air currents and remain suspended in the air for minutes to hours. One can also get the disease by contact with hands, tissues and other articles soiled by nose and throat discharges.

In 2018, the World Health Organization has advised Filipino parents to have their children vaccinated against measles, as the number of cases of the disease increased by an alarming 367 percent in the country. However, some parents refused or delayed vaccinating their children out of fear about the safety of the measles vaccine. A health scare over Dengvaxia, a pioneering dengue vaccine, is partly to blame for the decline in child immunization. The current measles outbreak could have been prevented if parents allowed the vaccination of their children, according to health officials.

The government has reported five outbreaks of measles, one of the world’s leading killers of children, since December, a period coinciding with the row over Dengvaxia, which some parents blamed for child deaths. The government suspended the Dengvaxia vaccine and threatened to sue Sanofi Pasteur shortly after the French pharmaceutical firm disclosed that it could worsen symptoms for people not previously infected by the dengue virus.

Unfortunately, government programs against other deadly but preventable diseases, like measles, became collateral damage, with immunization rates going down below 60 percent in January, according to the DOH. For concerned parents, the current measles outbreak in Metro Manila is a stark reminder of the importance of making sure your children are fully vaccinated. Choosing not to vaccinate your children only leaves them susceptible to the deadly disease.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

Stock market for ordinary investors John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Y

OU may have heard this phrase supposedly uttered by Eleanor Roosevelt: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss politics.” Maybe I copied and pasted that incorrectly, but it makes sense to me.

Over the past decade, we—and that is a global “we”—have moved from the “politics of policies to the politics of personalities.” Ideas are often challenged not on merit but by who presents them. Particularly because of the 2016 US presidential election, there has been a constant stream of “man on the street” interviews where people were given a policy quotation from a political figure.

In the run up to the election, if for example the interviewee was told it was from Donald J. Trump, for self-identified progressives and Democrats it was bad. Of course, the angle was to identify Hillary Clinton quotes as coming from Trump and

Cecilio T. Arillo

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lives that operate beyond the time frame of the morning “Consultative Period” and the afternoon “Trading At Last.” Social media does not provide that.

Stock brokerage firms do provide research. But even so, there may be hidden agendas, I am sorry to say.

Staying up to date on corporate news is important and is not timeconsuming. But many investors have a short memory span and today’s big announcement may prove not so big a month later.

If you want solid investment returns, buy shares of solid companies.

You won’t get all the excitement but you will make money. Further, trading strategies must be employed to maximize those returns, and following hot tips and social-media gurus is not a strategy.

Currently, buy issues when the price is going up with higher daily/ weekly volume than six months ago.

Buy issues with a sensible longerterm story that is showing up in the price action. Buy the market trend.

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.

Who spends more on security: US or China?

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

vice versa. It worked the same way for Trump supporters.

We complain about this phenomenon of personality politics but that is exactly what the people seem to want. Regardless, there is a great danger to a free society because of this situation. Supporters of “The Personality” seem to be able to only move their heads up and down while detractors can only shake their heads from side to side.

A demagogue is defined as “a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of people rather than by using rational arguments.” Of course, that ignores the question of “what is a rational argument?” and who

gets to determine that? Nonetheless, demagogues are not born; the people create them.

Additionally, this is all fueled by “thought leaders” and “influencers” using what may be the most disastrous human invention since nose rings and land mines—social media. This includes the variations like “Forums” and “Chat Rooms.”

For literally hundreds of millions of people, social media is the go-to place for ideas, especially in the realm of politics. This applies particularly to people under 50 years of age, and to senior citizens like us who joined Facebook in 2010 to be able to play “Mafia Wars.”

Political discussions, however, are usually dominated by “The Morons” on one side and “The Fools” on the other...or vice versa. “Ordinary” people are pretty much forced to join one faction or the other.

Ordinary stock market investors face the same situation on social media. The vast majority of investors are not interested in the huge up and down volatility with the issues that dominate individual moves on the Philippine Stock Exchange. Sure, most everyone is interested in the next “hot tip” stock. But ordinary stock market investors also have

W

HILE China is swiftly expanding its military capabilities, the United States still far outspends China when it comes to two important metrics: total spending and spending as a percent of gross domestic product or GDP, said Peter Navarro, President Trump’s trade adviser, in his best-selling book Crouching Tiger.

At the same time, China’s military spending over the past 10 years was only about 2 percent of its annual GDP while the US is close to 4 percent. “America vastly outspends China” is frequently used to discount any possibility of an emerging China threat.

“It is an argument, however, that must be tempered by more than a few critical considerations.

First and foremost, any direct comparison of total military expenditures is, in and of itself, likely to be highly misleading. While the US military must project its force globally, China focuses primarily on regional force projection in Asia,” Navarro said.

“To put this in a weapons context,” Navarro said, “American taxpayers may foot the bill for 10 active aircraft carriers. However, only several of these flattops are ever on

patrol in the Asian theater at any one time. As a second consideration, one dollar of defense spending in China goes much farther than one dollar of defense spending in the United States.

“Why is this so? For starters, Chinese military personnel earn wages and benefits far less than their American counterparts. In addition, it is demonstrably cheaper for China’s factories to churn out weapons systems—and it is not just cheap labor driving this production cost advantage.

“It’s also the lack of any meaningful environmental controls or worker protection—yes, the air and water in China are filthy and the factories are very dangerous, but it is a lot cheaper to manufacture everything from autos and home appliances to missiles and submarines.

“As an added boost to China’s cost

advantage, there is also this uncomfortable truth: China does not have to spend anywhere near as much on military research and development for new weapons systems. One key reason is the vaunted ability of Chinese hackers to steal the latest weapons designs from both the Pentagon and private-sector defense contractors.

“Another reason is that China quite illegally reverse engineers much of the foreign technology it buys. On this reverse-engineering front, Russia, not America, has been “China’s biggest victim. After Russia sold China its advanced Sukhoi Su-27 fighter, China proceeded to clone it—and then immediately began selling discounted versions of the jet on the world market, squeezing Russian sales.

“In a laugh out loud moment, when they were accused of also replicating the Sukhoi Su-33 aircraft carrier-based fighter, China’s unintentionally comical defense was that its J-15 clone of the Sukhoi was actually better than the original. That’s indeed true—and that’s one of the problems facing opponents.”

According to Navarro, China not only can steal foreign technology, it can improve upon it, as well. For all these reasons, it would be wrong to derive much comfort from the fact that Chinese military expenditures appear to fall far below that of America.

This is particularly true since the spending trends are likely to

cross in the not-too-distant future as China’s GDP growth continues to significantly outpace that of the US and as America’s economy continues to perform below historical levels.

In fact, when one looks more deeply at the defense-expenditures puzzle, it should not be reassuring at all that China is using much less budget each year to successfully grow its military.

Indeed, the economic ease with which China’s military is rapidly expanding raises this next—and quite sobering—question: Will China eventually be able to do to America what America did to Kaiser Germany in World War I, Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in World War II, and the Soviet Union during the Cold War? That is, will China be able to use its superior manufacturing might to defeat America on the battlefield?

In thinking historically about the strategic implications of China’s rise and growing size, consider this: At the start of World War II, the combined economies of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan were only half the size of the US. If for no other reason than the sheer weight of its factories and work force, America thereby held the strategic high ground. In fact, the statistical correspondence between economic power and military might in World War II was startling.

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

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Chinese invasion: Filipino workers settle for crumbs

The Holy One’s call on the unholy Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

ALÁLAONG BAGÁ

Val A. Villanueva

BUSINESSWISE

A

BANDONING his child is probably the worst thing a father can do. What is even more reprehensible is when he lets his neighbors steal his children’s bread.

For want of a better analogy, this is what I believe Malacañang has been doing to Filipino laborers who have not been offered jobs—but left with mere “crumbs”—in major infrastructure projects in the country that are funded by expensive loans from China.

Chinese workers are doing jobs that local workers are very capable of doing.

And yet, the Duterte administration sees nothing wrong in what it is doing.

The reason, according to Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo, is that “there are not enough skilled Filipino workers here.”

I don’t know where Panelo gets his figures, but taking Filipino workers out of the employment loop does not sit well with the country’s labor force, which has built bridges and skyscrapers around the world, notably in the Middle East. Panelo reasoned that this is exactly why skilled Filipino workers needed in Chinese loan-funded projects can’t be found locally: They are abroad. The assertion is of course flawed and loosely spoken to justify the unjustifiable.

Last year, the Philippine Statistics Office (PSA) noted an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent. This means that there were 2.3 million Filipinos who were jobless. Pray tell: Out of this number, this administration cannot find a single soul who is qualified to do the jobs that Chinese workers could?

Around 51,000 of 115,652 alien employment permits have been granted to Chinese nationals between 2015 and 2017, records from the Department of Labor and Employment show. If we go by the provisions of the Philippine Labor Code, an alien employment permit can be given to a foreign worker only if there were no interested or competent Filipino to do the job.

A recent report by the research group IBON Foundation claims that President Rodrigo Duterte has created the lowest jobs statistics in two years since Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s. I’m sure Duterte apologists would again raise hell and dispute this number, but it is a fact—not fake news—that Duterte’s economic strategy is wobbly.

That the country’s growth rate receded to a three-year low in 2018 is undisputable. Duterte’s economic team still trumpets a 6.2-percent growth, which, I think, is nothing to sneeze at.

But when your objective is to increase the income of Filipinos, moderating the gross domestic product is the last thing we need.

Duterte needs foreign direct investments to fund his “Build, Build, Build” credo, but these, too, are hard to come by. A slackening external sector makes it harder for us to export more Filipinos abroad to work and send remittances home. Sadly, focusing more on human capital by improving education and training has been neglected in favor of Duterte’s drug war.

The country is now swarmed with Chinese nationals, as confirmed by Senate Labor Committee Chairman Joel Villanueva who set out a formal inquiry a few months ago. The most alarming disclosure that came of the inquiry was that government officials are clueless on the quantity of illegal

Chinese workers in the country and the number of jobs they were allowed to do, which the Constitution spells out should be exclusively for Filipinos.

The Senate committee also discovered that some 119,000 mainland Chinese nationals hold tourist visas but were given temporary employment through a circumvention of labor laws. They were able to secure special working permits from the Bureau of Immigration.

The Chinese invasion would not only bring chaos to the local job market. It would also create an artificial demand in property markets. Condominium rentals in the Manila Bay area, for instance, skyrocketed by 62 percent. Sen. Villanueva noted that a post by a real-estate agent looking for 400 condo units for 3,300 Chinese workers in Muntinlupa City recently went viral. Sen. Grace Poe also narrated that some Chinese were able to purchase the entire floors of condominiums that they fancied. Such frivolous demand is inimical to local average wage earners.

According to Villanueva, some immigration agents demand P5,000 to rush a work permit without issuing receipts. He was surprised to find many Chinese citizens during a recent visit to SM Mall of Asia. “I thought I was in China,” he said.

The Duterte administration was able to generate only 162,000 jobs in 2017 and 2018, the lowest after the Marcos era. PSA records show that the annual average of 81,000 jobs is less than 1 percent of the 1 million jobs the current administration has promised to create. It is also the lowest yearly average after the Marcos regime.

PSA records also revealed that the government of the late president Corazon Aquino created 810,000 jobs between 1987 and 1992 or an annual average of 135,000, while the Ramos administration generated 489,000 from 1993 to 1998, or an average of 81,500.

Former President Joseph Estrada produced 842,000 jobs between 1999 and 2001, or an average of 280,667. His successor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, produced 764,000 from 2002 to 2010, or 84,889 a year, while former President Benigno Aquino III created 827,000 jobs, or about 137,833 a year.

Congressman Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao of Anak Pawis party-list decried the Duterte administration for preferring Chinese workers over Filipinos. “The Palace claims that Filipinos lack skills, [and] that is why it prefers Chinese migrant workers, [which] is highly insulting to us. Our workers have proven their excellence in different fields of work in so many countries, be it as a construction worker, IT technician or domestic helper. Name it, and there is an overseas Filipino worker who excels in it,” he said.

But Duterte, who believes and trusts China to defend him from ouster, has practically conceded Philippine sovereignty to our giant neighbor. It wouldn’t be farfetched to think that China will soon conquer us, without firing a single shot.

For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mvala.v@gmail.com

Thursday, February 7, 2019 A7

I

N contrast to the people of Nazareth who rejected Jesus, He was believed and followed by those who became His disciples (Luke 5:1-11). We see Jesus as the Spirit-filled who breaks into the lives of those He calls to join Him.

‘Duc In Altum’ JESUS borrowed the boat of Peter, so that, while seated on the boat, He could preach to the crowds gathered on the shoreline of the Lake of Galilee. Later, having taught the people, Jesus commanded Peter to “put out into deep water” and lower his nets for a catch. A carpenter is telling a fisherman to go fishing. The impact of Jesus as a teacher on Simon Peter is reflected in his response, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” The ensuing miraculous catch, enough to fill up two boats in danger of sinking, would push him to another level of interaction with Jesus. Awed by

the manifestation of divine power in Jesus, Peter could only blurt out, “Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” From “Master” to “Lord” is a transition from natural admiration to supernatural faith.

Peter fell at the knees of Jesus, seized with fear and overwhelmed by the sense of his unworthiness at this theophany, at this terrifying and tremendous display of the holy. Peter and his companions could not run away, so they asked for the departure of the totally other. But Jesus, literally in the same boat with them, would not distance Himself from them. So, the Lord proceeded with His own plan, His second move prefaced by the miraculous catch.

Rice policy disarmament Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS Continued from A1

I

N a deconstruction analysis made for PCAF, Raul Montemayor of the Federation of Free Farmers showed that the tariffication bill is simply pushing for the all-out liberalization and privatization of rice trading, including the importation of rice. The muchmaligned National Food Authority is being dismantled and stripped of its regulatory functions such as quedan franchising, inspection and anti-hoarding powers, registration and licensing of importers and operators of grains businesses, collection of related fees and charges, control over exports and food-security regulation. Moreover, the NFA’s core functions of stabilizing prices for rice (for consumers) and palay (for domestic producers) and buffer stockpiling are being downsized, with the NFA tasked to maintain buffer stocks only for emergency situations and disaster relief.

On the other hand, the bill gives the green light for private corporations to engage in the rice-importation business sans any government regulations.

They are merely required to get the usual sanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry, a requirement that is imposed on all agricultural product importers. No restrictions on volume and timing. In short, a big private corporation such as San Miguel or SM can import as much as 1 million tons of rice to flood the whole archipelago. It is reported that there are now around 300 private corporations raring to go into rice-importation business.

Is the rice tariffication bill the long-awaited solution to rice inflation? The farmer organizations and even the small millers and provincial rice viajeros and traders vehemently disagree. The Integrated Rural Development Foundation (IRDF) and the National Movement for Food Security (NMFS) explain: “Once the private traders are in full control without any competition and supervision from a government body such as the NFA, they can freely jack up prices, hoard stocks to squeeze the consumers and so on. Some traders are

even smugglers, who do not pay taxes at all. This monopolistic behavior of big traders was fully bared in the third quarter of 2018 when reported shortages were used to raise rice prices at stratospheric heights and at the same time were used as the justification in allowing the private sector to take over rice importation and/or meddle in the importation/distribution business of the NFA. “Incidentally, the market shortage of 2018 happened because the Nedaled NFA Council [a separate policy body from the NFA and operating “independent” of the DA] failed to give the NFA the nod for early and timely importation in early 2018. Now, this same Nedacontrolled NFA Council connived with some legislators and traders to draft the present bill that virtually abolishes the NFA and totally liberalizes rice trading in favor of the private sector. It is all consistent with the neoliberal development framework of Neda.”

What do the legislators promise the palay producers at home to get from the proposed law? The answer is a proposed rice modernization program to be realized through a so-called Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. The RCEF

“Do not be afraid”—to overcome fear at the word of God is to enter into God’s holy realm. God, who knows our sins, nonetheless wants us to go beyond our sinfulness. By ourselves, we can only remain as sinners. Staying close to God, we realize what we can actually become with Him and through Him.

Fishers of men

THE second move of Jesus with regard to Simon Peter and his companions is to summon them to become fishers of men. Once more the carpenter is telling fishermen to go fishing, but this time to fish for men, to participate in His mission. After using their boat, He now wishes to make use of their lives. To catch men means saving them out of the waters of perdition and damnation, out of the sea as the dominion of the devil. What an unexpected development! Those who feel they should be farthest from Jesus are now being invited to be most intimate with Him. And “they left everything and followed Him.” Jesus could engineer not only a miraculous catch of fish but also a miraculous catch of coworkers. He showed them total trust; He entrusted to them the keys

shall be funded by the tariff fees collected from the rice importers. Under the Asean trade arrangement, these traders shall be paying 35-percent tariff for imported Thai and Vietnamese rice.

However, the modernization program is still very much a work in progress. It is vague and undefined.

Accordingly, the RCEF funds shall not go directly to the farmers. Instead, half of the funds shall be allocated for mechanization under the supervision and guidance of the government PhilMech. A percentage of the RCEF funds shall go to seed development under the government PhilRice Institute.

The mechanization assumption is based on the reasoning that Philippine rice production shall automatically shoot up with the development and distribution of tractors, threshers and farm machinery needed by rice farmers.

In the PCAF meeting, it was pointed out that the Philippines has been discussing the mechanization challenge from the 1950s to 1960s (during the Magsaysay era), in the 1970s (during the Masagana 99 propagation days under martial law) and in the 1990s (when the Agricultural Fisheries and Modernization Act was enacted). Not much has happened. Moreover, what is sorely lacking is adaptive technology suited to a variety of land situations (upland, lowland, etc.) and farm sizes. Like in the previous episodes of mechanization drive, the proposed program might be susceptible too to problems of moral hazards given the law’s marching order that machines should be procured and distributed annually beginning 2019. A hasty proposition given the absence of a rigorous assessment of palay production all over the archipelago.

But more worrisome is the naïve assumption that mechanization is the magic bullet to liberate rice culture in the Philippines from its low level of productivity, resulting in low incomes for rice farmers. As the IRDF and NMFS put it: “The bill’s proponents are oblivious of the fact that for rice farming to prosper, we need an integrated development approach involving not only credit assistance, seed-development assistance, farm-machinery assistance, marketing assistance and so on; we

France hits out at EU’s expected veto of Siemens-Alstom deal

By Ania Nussbaum & William Horobin Bloomberg Opinion

T

HE French government raised the rhetoric against the European Union’s (EU) expected veto of a high-profile planned rail merger between Alstom SA and Siemens AG, calling for a revamp of the region’s antitrust rules and stronger backing

of its companies.

“I think it’s game over, and I deeply regret that because it’s an economic error,’’ French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on France 2 television on Wednesday. The decision goes against European industrial interests, and France doesn’t agree with the EU’s technical justification for rejecting the deal, he added.

The comments are the latest in an increasingly heated exchange between

commission officials and French and German executives and politicians over the troubled deal. Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, lashed out on Tuesday at criticism of the long-anticipated decision, saying his message was directed at “those who are saying that the commission is composed of blind, stupid, stubborn technocrats.”

EU Competition Commissioner

Margrethe Vestager may rule as soon as Wednesday on the Siemens-Alstom tie-up, which the companies said would create a European champion able to compete against an expansionist Chinese company. The German and French former rivals are already the biggest in the region, and the EU is concerned any combination would be too dominant.

“The decision the European Commission is preparing to take will serve

the economic and industrial interests of China,” Le Maire said.

The comments show how politically charged the commission’s scrutiny of the Siemens-Alstom deal has been in recent months. Public rumblings of any kind are unusual in such vetting procedures, with the commission’s antitrust officials usually operating out of the spotlight and free of political meddling.

France and Germany will make

to God’s kingdom, the leadership in the Church. Peter, to become the leader of His close associates, would time and again prove himself to be imperfect, even betraying Jesus’ trust, who however would never withdraw His trust in Peter. At the end, Peter would measure up to Jesus’ standard when he completely surrendered himself to Jesus by offering his own life on a cross, the realization of the saint Jesus saw in someone who knew himself only as a sinner.

Alálaong bagá, in the company of Jesus as the Holy One of God, His holiness and “otherness” can truly rub on us. Though starting off as unholy, we are summoned to become saints as God’s instruments in bringing His saving love to others.

But we need to believe and cooperate, to become manifestations of divine grace. Leaders and workers in the Church are called to the greatness of service, not because they are perfect but because of what they and everyone else can and should become in God’s mysterious love.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

also need a program of empowerment and capacity building for our farmers, big and small, with land or just leasing land, and so on.”

Overall, the proposed tariffication law simply disarms the government of its capacity to regulate the various aspects of rice trading, from domestic procurement to retail distribution, and from importation to distribution.

If such a proposed law is pushed in a populous country like China, there will be immediate chaos. In China, the government is on top. It supports their rice producers through a double program of subsidy and continuous technological upgrading. However, state-owned enterprises engaged in rice importation, such as Cofco abides with the guiding government policy: “95-percent selfsufficiency” complemented by a program of calibrated level of importation.

In Japan and South Korea, the government provides substantial subsidy to their rice producers because rice is very much part of their culture. Thus, rice importation is tightly controlled by the government, while rice farmers get viable incomes because of government support. South Korea is also a recordbreaker in the WTO: It accepted rice tariffication but imposed a 513-percent tariff on imports.

In Indonesia, the NFA-like agency, Bulog, handles not only the importation of rice but also of other grains such as wheat, soybeans and even sugar. It sticks to its primary function of helping stabilize prices for rice producers, a function that the proposed tariffication law seeks to abolish with the dismantling of the NFA. By signing the proposed tariffication bill into law, the Duterte administration, which proclaims that it is a pro-poor and pro-farmer government, shall be shooting itself because the bill is disarming the government of needed policy tools. Those who crafted the bill should be honest enough to tell the Philippine public that there are no governments in the world ready to leave the trading of strategic staple food such as rice to the imagined free market.

Without government intervention or regulations, this market is likely to be dominated by big traders and monopolists, and even smugglers.

proposals in the coming weeks to change EU competition rules, Le Maire said.

Those proposals could include making the EU consider global markets rather than limiting its analysis to Europe and giving heads of state a say in antitrust rulings.

“There are obsolete rules that need to be rebuilt,” Le Maire said. “On this decision, 20th-century rules have been applied to 21st-century industrial reality.”

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Thursday, February 7, 2019

BOC launches fuel marking to check vs oil smuggling

By Rea Cu

T

@ReaCuBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has formally launched the fuel-marking system that will be used nationwide to check if fuel products being distributed in the country have gone through the correct process and have paid the right duties and taxes.

During the bureau’s 117th Founding Anniversary Celebration on Wednesday at the BOC headquarters in Manila, the BOC formally launched the fuel-marking system that will be implemented by the government to stop instances of oil smuggling.

The launch was presided over

by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero alongside Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretar y A ntonette C .

Tionko and Bureau of Internal Revenue Deputy Commissioner

Arnel S.D. Guballa.

The customs chief said the bureau is eyeing full implementation of the fuel-marking system

by March this year, with random checks to be done in gasoline stations nationwide.

“March [is the] full implementation, and [random checks will be done], and we also have mandatory checks, especially at depots,” Guerrero said.

He said there will also be mandatory inspections on oil depots across the country.

“The provider has assured us as far as the security of the markers are concerned, they guaranteed that these markers cannot be copied or imitated. Even the distribution is strictly monitored,” he added.

The winning bidder for the fuelmarking system project is Sicpa SA and SGS Philippines, which provide a unique chemical marker capable of being embedded at a molecular level in petroleum products—gasoline, diesel and kerosene—thereby enabling authorities to test, identify and distinguish fuels being sold in the market.

The method will facilitate the government’s identification of contraband fuel already being sold by fuel stations.

“We also witnessed the ceremonial launch of fuel-marking program. The BOC is working with the Sicpa-SGS consortium, and we’re confident that with their technical skills and expertise, as well as the overwhelming support from the oil industry for the fuel-marking program, it will succeed,” Tionko said.

P27B-P44B lost

IT was earlier reported that the

government loses P27 billion to P44 billion in revenues due to oil smuggling.

“So with the implementation of the fuel-marking program this year, hopes are high that smuggling and misdeclaration of petroleum products will be eradicated, and revenue collections will reach greater heights,” she added.

L a st mont h , t he BOC e xpressed confidence that it can hit its 2019 revenue collection target of P677 billion on the back of reforms that the agency will implement this year.

Guerrero said the DOF has raised the bureau’s collection goal by 15.75 percent, or P677 billion, compared to last year’s goal of P584.881-billion.

He expressed confidence that the bureau can hit its target for this year, as reforms are further being implemented in the BOC, which is reinforced by his 10-point priority program.

It was also reported during the event that the full-year revenue collection of the BOC has amounted to P592.869 billion, breaching its P584.881-billion collection target for the year.

NGOs ask SEC to halt money-laundering rules

By VG Cabuag

V

@villygc

ARIOUS civil society organizations on Wednesday are asking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reconsider a memorandum circular passed late last year that seeks to place additional submission

requirements from all the nonprofit organizations, mostly details of their source of funds and the disbursement of money.

In a forum organized by Mambabatas Para Sa Karapatang Pantao, many of the groups said they were not consulted when the SEC passed its Memorandum Circular 15, Series of 2018, and they are prepared

to question the said circular up to the Supreme Court.

The SEC in November last year issued the memorandum titled “Guidelines for the Protection of SEC Registered Non-Profit Organizations from Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Abuse.”

The rule was published on November 8 last year and will take effect

six months after or on May 7.

Roselle S. Rasay, executive director of Caucus of Development NGO Networks, said they were not consulted when the ruling was passed by the agency.

“We will engage the SEC to specifically raise the issue of nonparticipation of the sector. We plan to ask them to suspend the memorandum until all these issues are clarified,” she said.

Weapon vs groups?

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING EXTREME NORTHERN LUZON as of 4:00 pm - February 6, 2019

ACCORDING to Pacifico Agabin, former dean at the University of the Philippines College of Law, the new guidelines can be used by the current administration against groups that it considered as “enemy of the state.” These may include organizations like Kadamay, IBON Foundation and several other human-rights groups.

“It is best to know what is the compelling interest of the SEC for this kind of memorandum,” he said.

According to Rasay, there are no cases of legitimate civil society organizations whose money was linked to money laundering or terrorist financing, asidefrom that of Janet Napoles, who was the person behind the pork-barrel scam. The said scam used several nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to transfer the discretionary funds of some of the legislators.

SEC explains

According to the SEC, the memorandum was released “to enhance its registration and monitoring system to obtain the necessary information of the nonprofit organizations for regulatory and risk-assessment purposes” and to ensure that the groups were not being used by terrorist organizations to funnel money.

The SEC will ask the nonprofit groups, which included foundations, to submit a form that mainly asks for all the details of the source of funds and financial disbursements. The agency will then assess each of the nonprofit group—whether they are low-, medium-, high-risk and blacklisted.

There will be more requirements for medium- and high-risk groups.

The SEC will slap a fine of between P10,000 and not more than P1 million for noncompliance.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

NO SUCH THING AS ‘D.B.M. PORK,’ DIOKNO INSISTS

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

B

UDGET Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said there is no such thing as “pork” in the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), as the department followed laws in the use of funds and declaration of savings.

Refuting fresh accusations from House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Rolando G. Andaya Jr., Diokno said it is also “not true” that the DBM utilized P370.1 billion worth of appropriations in 2017, as this has been reverted to the Treasury.

“Granted the computation of the P370-billion balance, I reiterate that such funds may no longer be used, as they have been reverted to the Treasury,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. “There is no such thing as DBM pork, as the DBM follows pertinent provisions and laws in the use of funds and declaration of savings.”

Diokno also argued that the President’s veto message in fiscal year 2017 stated that, in general, funds must be obligated not later than December 31, 2017.

“To quote the President’s veto message in fiscal year 2017, I am placing Section 60, General Provisions, ‘Availability of Appropriations’, Volume I-B, pages 646-647 under conditional implementation and hereby direct all agency heads to ensure obligation of all programs, activities and projects funded under this Act [2017 General Appropriations Act] not later than December 31, 2017,” read the statement.

The DBM also explained that the P370 billion was computed by deducting P18.3-billion appropriations, which were extended for 2018 from P388.4 billion in unreleased appropriations and unobligated allotments.

“The bulk of these extended

“Granted the computation of the P370-billion balance, I reiterate that such funds may no longer be used, as they have been reverted to the Treasury. There is no such thing as DBM pork, as the DBM follows pertinent provisions and laws in the use of funds and declaration of savings.”—Diokno

appropriations were for Constitutional offices with fiscal autonomy.

Unreleased appropriations and unobligated allotments comprised unused appropriations,” the statement added.

Andaya on Tuesday said they have documents that show that the DBM had savings of P370 billion in 2017 and a supposedly bigger amount in 2018, which he said were more than enough to sway the outcome of the 2019 elections.

This development came after Malacañang said there is no need to report the 2018 savings as demanded by Andaya.

The lawmaker even threatened earlier that there will be no bicameral report for the 2019 budget if no budget department report on the 2018 savings will be submitted.

However, Andaya later retracted the statement as he vowed that the House panel is focusing on passing the budget this week.

Due to Congress’ failure to pass the budget by year-end, the government is operating under a reenacted budget at least for the first quarter. The National Economic and Development Authority earlier said that full-year reenactment of the budget will result in a reduction of 1.1 to 2.3 percentage points in the country’s gross domestic product.

In addition, no new infrastructure projects can start until the 2019 General Appropriations Act is approved.

Voters at second BOL plebiscite defy threats

By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

& Samuel P. Medenilla

P

@sam_medenilla

ARTICIPANTS of the second part of Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite defied expectations of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) by still casting their votes despite threats to their safety.

Citing their initial field reports, Comelec Spokesman James B. Jimenez said some areas in Lanao del Norte reported an over 75-percent voter turnout. “It is very high considering our concern that the turnout will be depressed because of concerns and fear,” Jimenez said during a press conference.

This despite two separate explosions in Kauswagan and Lala in Lanao del Norte the day before the plebiscite on Wednesday.

“People still came out to vote.

They came in smaller batches compared to the previous [plebiscite], but the stream of arrivals has been steady,” he added.

He did note, however, that they would still have to wait for the conclusion of the plebiscite before they can come out with a conclusive overall voter turnout for the second plebiscite.

The Comelec earlier said they are anticipating a lower turnout in for the second round of the plebiscite due to security concerns and the lower stakes.

Unlikely rumors

JIMENEZ also addressed concerns

over rumors, which circulated in Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato, claiming that those who will not participate in the plebiscite will no longer be allowed to vote in the May 13 midterm polls.

He said the statement is untrue, since they have already finalized the list of registered voters for the 2019 polls.

The poll official also noted plebiscites are not considered as regular election, but a special election.

“You see, under the rules, if you missed two regular elections, you will be deactivated, and the effect of being deactivated is to not be able to vote in the succeeding elections,” Jimenez said.

He said this might explain the high voter turnout for the second plebiscite.

“A high turnout is good, but we don’t agree with the means.

This is a wrong way of generating a high turnout, since it involves deceiving the public,” Jimenez said.

Smooth operations

AS of 2 p.m. yesterday—an hour before the end of the plebiscite— Jimenez said they deemed the activity a success, at least in terms of all the covered clustered precincts in the Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato that operated without any issue.

“By 8:30 a.m., we received the report [that] 100 percent of the precincts of Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato opened and [are ] functioning,” Jimenez said.

See “BOL,” A2

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, February 7, 2019

B1

₧15.5-B Nlex segment linking Port Area to Valenzuela City completed A

AC Energy to get over 50% stake in Phinma Energy

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

M

@lorenzmarasigan

ETRO Pacific Tollways Corp.

(MPTC) has completed the construction of a significant segment of the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) that will connect the port area of Manila to Valenzuela City.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, who chairs Metro Pacific Investments Corp., said his group is just await-

ing the schedule of President Duterte for the ceremonial opening of the Nlex Harbor Link Seg-

ment 10, a P15.5-billion initiative seen to help decongest the roads of Metro Manila.

“We hope to open the Segment 10, which is from Valenzuela City all the way to the Manila Harbor area this month. We’re just awaiting [the] word from Malacañang for the availability of the President, but we’d like to open this month, hopefully,” he said in a chance interview.

Before it was completed, the 8.81-kilometer road project saw several delays in construction, as the government failed to deliver on time the needed right-

of-way to complete the construction. It was originally targeted to be completed last year.

Nlex Harbor Link Segment 10 is envisioned to alleviate traffic congestion and drive commerce between the Harbor area and Central and North Luzon.

It is seen to advance transport logistics and facilitate efficient delivery of goods by providing an alternative entry to Nlex, bypassing Edsa and other busy streets of Manila.

Once opened, travel time from the Manila port to the Nlex will take only 10 minutes.

Meralco bags deal to supply power to New Clark City

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

T

HE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) bagged the contract to supply power to New Clark City.

“We received the notice of award. We’re going to comply with those condition precedents so we can already sign the jointventure [JV] agreement,” Meralco utility economics head Lawrence Fernandez said.

The notice was awarded on January 18, he added.

“The next milestone is [the] signing of the JV agreement, but we have to submit other documents

Canadian chat solutions launched to boost online trade in PHL

C

ONCERT 8 Solutions (Philippines), a wholly owned local subsidiary of Concert 8 Solutions Inc. Canada, has launched YourChatTeam on the back of bright prospects for online trade in the Philippines.

Citing a report from ecommerceiq.asia, Christian Perkins, president of both the Canadian and Philippine companies, said electronic commerce (e-commerce) in the country is growing and seen to hit nearly $10 billion by 2025, “outsizing Singapore and Malaysia.”

This 24/7 real-time proactive live chat staffing service is fit for businesses in the Philippines, especially those with online footprints.

While they have established their presence on the Web, some lack the needed human resources to do online transactions with their customers, or if ever, have chatbots that are sometimes annoying to engage with. “[So] imagine someone walks in your place of business and finds there is no one to help them. It’s no different when a visitor lands on your web site and finds they can’t get ahold of anyone. They will click around your site for a while and then simply drift away, disappointed and unserved,” said Alan Yong, CEO of the Canadian and Philippine operations.

This scenario, more often than not, will result to loss of potential clients and, eventually, sales. “[But] imagine if you could proactively reach out to those customers on your web site at exactly the right moment, engage with them directly, and close the sale or answer their inquiry before they slip away. That’s where YourChatTeam comes in,” he said. Roderick L. Abad

to the Bases Conversion [and] Development Authority [BCDA].

We’re compiling those, along with our consortium partners,” Fernandez said.

The Meralco-Marubeni Consortium composed of Meralco, Marubeni, The Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. and Chubu Electric Power Co. Inc., submitted the lower tariff bid of P0.6188 per kilowatt hour, besting the P0.9888/kwh proposal by the Aboitiz-Kepco Consortium of the Olongapo Energy Corp. and Kepco Philippines Holdings Inc. The 9,450-hectare New Clark City, located within the Clark special economic zone that spans Angeles

City in Pampanga and the towns of Capas and Bamban in Tarlac, is the country’s first smart, disaster resilient, and sustainable city.

The first phase of the development covering 60 hectares features the National Government Administrative Center that will house backup offices of various government agencies and a worldclass sports complex now being constructed in time for the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

The new metropolis will also have mixed-use residential, commercial, agro-industrial, educational institutions and information-technology developments.

Meralco has yet to come up with an investment cost, saying it is awaiting from the BCDA the forecast load in New Clark City.

“Our commitment is to provide service in time for the SEA games.

The requirement for us is to have a substation ready to receive power.

We’ll need to agree with [the] BCDA, which is the JV partner, what the forecasted load will be and then we’ll match the requirement based on the forecasted load,” he said.

“We have an initial forecast, but as a JV partner, we will need the agreement of BCDA on the forecast that we will adopt. We will discuss this first with BCDA,” he said.

Manila Water consortium signs P1.5-B deal for Tanauan project

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ARLIER this week, the consortium of Manila Water Co. Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Manila Water Philippine Ventures signed a joint venture agreement with Tanauan Water District to implement a project that will improve the provision of water supply and sanitation services in the City of Tanauan, Batangas.

With an estimated capital expenditure of more than P1.5 billion, the 25-year deal involves the design, construction, rehabilitation, maintenance, operation, financing, expansion and management of the water supply and sanitation facilities and services of the water district.

Manilla Water Philippine Ventures President and CEO Virgilio C. Rivera Jr. said this partnership aims to assist the water district in increasing service coverage by delivering as much as 27.5 million liters of water per day by year 2043 to the 48 barangays it serves.

Tanauan Water District Board Member Manuel Lascano said with the developments in the city, coupled with the growing requirements for a reliable water supply and sanitation services the water district sees the need to acquire reliable skills and competencies, as well as sufficient capitalization.

“Hence, we have to look for a tested and experienced company with

superior expertise over the others of similar interests. We firmly believe that Manila Water is the best in the industry to help us achieve,” Lascano said. He expressed high hopes the partnership will be a model of successful joint venture for water projects in Batangas and nearby provinces.

Manila Water, through its subsidiary Manila Water Philippine Ventures, brings its brand of expertise to more locations outside the East Zone of Metro Manila, including various cities, municipalities, and communities in Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Laguna, Cebu, Boracay, Davao and Zamboanga.

Nidec Subic plans PHL expansion

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IDEC Subic Philippines Corp. (NSPC) is branching out into the production of reducer gears for robotics application, a testament to its trust in the future of the country’s economy and its potential for business growth and development.

Sen. Richard J. Gordon hailed NSPC’s trust in the growth of the Philippine economy during the recent launch of the Japanese company’s new production line.

Gordon said it also shows that Nidec is greatly impressed with the skills and work ethic of Filipino workers, many of whom were sent to Japan for further training prior to their expansion.

“Now we are creating another frontier. It shows the trust and confidence of companies like Nidec in the capacity and the capability of Filipinos, in our government’s consistency in our rules and regulations,” said Gordon, the founding chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

“This is one of the things we prepared for when we converted this military facility into a commercial facility. This is not just about generating employment, this is not just about creating precision robotics to supply the whole world, the world’s hunger for quality instruments. I am happy that the Japanese people and the Filipino people could work together

and create fantastic products that will be used mightily in other corporations in the world, in Germany and other parts of Europe,” he added.

Gordon also expressed confidence that Nidec’s expansion would show that other countries can also start exploring possibilities in the Philippines.

“This should encourage more Japanese companies to come here. They will spread the word about our work ethics and expertise,” he said.

NSPC registered as a Subic Bay Freeport enterprise in 1998 after Gordon, who was then SBMA chairman and administrator, opened the Subic Technological Park Japan. It was initially engaged in manufacturing of precision electronic equipment, direct-drive spindle motors, baseplate, micro motors, for computer peripherals, VCR and home appliances, optical heads for CD/ DVD-ROMS/RAMS, magnetic card readers for bank systems and such other high value added specialized digital core parts for multimedia.

Its parent company, Nidec Corp., a Japanese company based in Kyoto, is considered one of the world’s leading manufacturers and top sellers of small precision motors, automotive motors, home-appliance motors, commercial and industrial motors, motors for machinery, electronic and optical components, and other related products.

C Energy Inc. and Phinma Energy Corp. are set to sign a definitive agreement that will give the power arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp. a 51.48-percent stake in PHEN valued at P3.42 billion.

“We expect to sign the definitive document fairly soon, within the next few days,” AC Energy President Eric Francia said.

Both earlier signed a mutually strategic agreement that states AC Energy will acquire Phinma Corp.

(PHN) and its parent Philippine Investment Management (Phinma) Inc.’s (PHI) combined 51.48-percent stake in PHEN. The deal will be finalized pending regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), and compliance with applicable tender-offer requirements.

Francia said they will seek PCC’s approval after the definitive agreement is signed.

“Soon after that, we will file for PCC approval. PCC can take as fast as 60 days to 90 days. This could be anywhere between three months and six months. So, we’re looking at the middle of the year in terms of getting PCC approval,” Francia said.

The next step, he said, is to execute the mandatory tender offer.

After the sale, PHEN will focus on its education and constructionmaterials business.

PHEN has a n att r ibut able generation capacity of 472 megawatts (MW). It is the third-largest

stand-alone retail electricity supplier serving 378 MW of customer demand.

It holds interests in the following entities: Phinma Power Generation Corp. (100 percent); Phinma Renewable Energy Corp. (100 percent); CIP II Power Corp. (100 percent); One Subic Power Generation Corp. (100 percent); One Subic Oil Distribution Corp. (100 percent); Phinma Solar Corp. (60 percent); Phinma Petroleum and Geothermal Inc. (50.74 percent); Palawan Exploration and Production Corp. (30.65 percent); South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp.

(45 percent); and Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (25 percent).

Francia said AC Energy is not inclined at the moment to pursue the oil and gas activities of Phinma Petroleum which has been awarded service contracts by the Department of Energy.

“The upstream oil and gas business is not our core. We’ll need to study what to do with those after the deal closes, but we have no intentions of going into oil and gas exploration,” Francia said.

AC Energy, he said, is focusing on growing its renewable-energy portfolio.

Based on its equity interest in power-generation businesses, it owns approximately 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity in operations and under construction. In 2018 AC Energy generated 2,800 GWH of energy, of which 48 percent was from renewable sources. Lenie Lectura

Amdocs to help Globe modernize platforms

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OFTWARE provider Amdocs is equipping Filipino telco Globe Telecom Inc. with a network solution that will help the latter modernize and automate its platforms and processes for its enterprise business more efficiently.

As part of its five-year deal with Globe, Amdocs is now integrating its network functions virtualization (NFV) orchestration solution into Globe’s network, allowing the telco to provide its enterprise clients with “highly flexible and scalable cloud-based network services.”

This means Globe will be able to automate the operations and management of its Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) product for a range of network services, including Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN),

security services, bandwidth on-demand, mobile core network related services (vEPC and vIMS), and other value-added applications. “Globe Telecom is accelerating their enterprise business growth by addressing their customers’ needs to better serve the digital society of tomorrow,” Amdocs President Anthony Goonetilleke said in a statement. Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer Gil B. Genio said his group will benefit largely from the “flexibility and scalability of NFV” as it can streamline the way the company interacts with its enterprise clients. “It will allow us to empower our enterprise customers with simpler and faster ondemand provisioning of network services that they can customize to better serve their end-customers,” he said. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Companies www.businessmirror.com.ph

B2 Thursday, February 7, 2019

NBS to lay off 70-80 workers

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HE National Book Store (NBS) is set to shed at least 70 to 80 jobs as it struggles against the onset of online stores, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said on Wednesday that an executive of the bookstore and office-supplies store chain will be meeting Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo M. Benavidez on Thursday to discuss the looming displacement.

He said NBS sought their advice as it plans to phase out one of its departments.

“I told him to avoid any legal complication in the future and to first confer with Assistant Secretary Benjo,” Bello said.

“I am very happy with the attitude of National Book Store of conferring with us first, and we appreciate the gesture,” he added.

Benavidez said he would be meeting on Thursday afternoon with NBS Chief Financial Officer Adrian Ramos.

“Based from our initial reports, the department they are considering phasing out is their warehouse department,” Benavidez said.

During the discussion, he said the DOLE would check if the ground of NBS for the retrenchment is valid.

“Their initial cited reason is the declining sales of books. But I still need to verify this and know the specific reason, because the grounds [for retrenchment] are limited. An example would be redundancy,” Benavidez said.

Benavidez said they are anticipating similar cases of retrenchment as new labor-saving technology and labor schemes such as online stores become more prevalent in the coming years.

The DOLE earlier said it is anticipating more retrenchment from such trends in the next five years.

Benavidez said they hope to get a concrete estimate on the possible protection of workers affected by the so-called Fourth

Industrial Revolution (FIRe) once they fully implement Republic Act (RA) 11165 or the telecommuting law.

He said they might include protective mechanism for affected workers in the implementing rules and regulations of RA 11165.

“We are now preparing for this phenomenon like online stores and other future trends in employment,” Benavidez said.

“That is why we are meeting with the sector that is into telecommuting or online business so we could get data,” he added.

Federation of Free Workers Vice President Julius Cainglet said a possible intervention for workers affected by the FIRe is the creation of unemployment insurance.

“This is what is missing from the pillar of our social protection system,” Cainglet told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

He noted components of the international standard for unemployment insurance exist from job facilitation and skills training. There is also proposal from the Social Security System to give a certain amount for displaced workers.

Cainglet, however, said these services are still not institutionalized and are only available to workers who would “invoke” it.

“There is also a problem of supply and demand. Since skills training would usually vary depending on the region, its implementation will not be the same for every area unlike it is institutionalized,” Cainglet said.

He noted these should be integrated so that displaced workers could easily access it.

“This should be part of the government’s just transition policy [for displaced workers,” Cainglet said.

Tiger Resort nominees take over Asiabest board seats

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HE nominees of Hong Kongbased Tiger Resort Asia Ltd., which owns the local operator of Okada Manila, on Wednesday said it has taken over the board of directors of Asiabest Group International Inc. The nominees are composed of seasoned accounting lawyers and representatives of Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp. (UEC).

Wilfrido Sanchez was appointed as independent director. The other directors were Manuel M. Lazaro, Masamitsu Fujime and Hajime Tokuda, who replaced Edgardo G. Alimango as chairman and president; Manuel G. Ong; Emmanuel B. Ganzon; and Isabelo A. Mariano.

Sanchez, a lawyer, has worked with accounting firm Sycip Gorres Velayo and Co. for almost 30 years as a tax consultant, then headed the SGV’s tax practice, before his retirement. Sanchez is a tax counsel at Quiason Makalintal Barot Torres Ibarra Sison and Damaso Law Firm. He currently serves as director of firms, such as LT Group Inc., Asia Brewery Inc., Tanduay Distillers Inc. and Universal Robina Corp.

Lazaro has vast experience in government service, having served as the Government Corporate Counsel from 1976 to 1986; and Presidential Assistant for Legal Affairs, the counsel of the President of the Republic of the Philippines from 1982 to 1986, among other positions.

Fujime graduated from Chuo University Tokyo Japan with a degree in accounting. He is currently the vice president for accounting of Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc., the operator of Okada Manila.

Tokuda, meanwhile, worked in Sumitomo Bank Ltd. from 1981 until 2006, serving as board director until his departure in 2006. Tokuda joined UEC in 2006. He is currently the chief operating officer and a director of UEC. Tiger Resort on Monday said it was successful in its backdoor listing bid at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) after it concluded the share purchase agreement of certain shareholders of Asiabest Group.

“The share purchase agreement is deemed concluded as of today, February 4, 2019, based upon the information received by the corporation that the shareholders who signed the share purchase agreement with Tiger Resort Asia Ltd. on September 10, 2018, have transferred/crossed their shares to Tiger via a special block sale,” it said.

“As a result, Tiger now owns 200 million shares or 66.67 percent of Asiabest,” it said.

The deal is worth P646.5 million.

Japan’s gambling magnate Kazuo Okada earlier asked the PSE to block the backdoor listing of Tiger Resort, saying that allowing it would be detrimental to the interest of the investing public. VG Cabuag

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World

Bangkok’s battle against toxic air is a bonanza for some firms

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VERY time Bangkok fruit seller Veerachai Roopsuwanakul tries to buy an air purifier, he gets the same response: “Out of stock.”

“We never imagined the air could get so bad,” said Veerachai, who now wears a facemask to filter out dust. “We can’t find a purifier in shops or online.”

The Thai capital is grappling with a second year of spiking seasonal air pollution, prompting people to snap up so many filters and masks that supplies are dwindling. Residents fear a long battle lies ahead to keep the toxic smog at bay, signaling growing opportunities for purifier makers such as Sharp Corp. or mask manufacturer 3M Co. in the city of roughly 10 million people.

“As you can see from our web sites and stores, our air purifiers are all sold out,” said Yol Phokasub, president of Central Group, which owns Thailand’s top developer of shopping malls.

Other local retailers, such as Berli Jucker Pcl. and Home Product Center Pcl. are also unable to keep up with demand. Berli’s Chief Executive Officer Aswin Techajareonvikul said the firm is looking for new suppliers of pollution masks.

Last week, Thai authorities shut hundreds of schools after a sharp drop in air quality. Bangkok at one point had the fourth-worst smog globally among major cities, based on an index compiled by start-up monitoring firm IQAir AirVisual.

Millions concerned

WHILE the pollution problem isn’t as bad as in places like New Delhi, haze awareness spread rapidly among Bangkok’s residents this year. More than 2 million people are tracking Bangkok on the IQAir AirVisual app, compared with about 80,000 for the Indian capital.

“The surge of interest from Thailand started around January 21,” said Kelsey Duska, the startup’s marketing manager. “Since then, Thailand has been the country generating the most interest in terms of app usage and sales of air quality monitors.”

A rattled Thai military government is stepping up oversight of the worst polluters, such as factories. Weather patterns, vehicle fumes, construction dust and the burning of both trash and crops have also been blamed for the haze.

“Manufacturers are going to be under pressure to do better on pollution,” said Chayo Trangadisaikul, executive director of the Federation of Thai Industries.

“Firms offering technology for environmental upgrades may see huge opportunities.”

While some businesses may benefit from demand for products that fight smog, the metropolis as a whole is at risk of being the big loser. Bangkok is the world’s mostvisited city and relies on tourism for economic growth, but the haze may repel visitors. Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

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“I am asking you to defend our very dangerous southern border out of love and devotion to our fellow citizens and to our country,” he said, painting a dark and foreboding picture of the risks posed to Americans by illegal immigration.

The 72-year-old Trump harkened back to moments of American greatness, celebrating the moon landing as astronaut Buzz Aldrin looked on from the audience and heralding the liberation of Europe from the Nazis. He led the House chamber in singing happy birthday to a Holocaust survivor sitting with first lady Melania Trump.

“Together, we represent the most extraordinary nation in all of history.

What will we do with this moment? How will we be remembered?” Trump said.

The president ticked through a litany of issues with crossover appeal, including boosting infrastructure, lowering prescription drug costs and combating childhood cancer.

But he also appealed to his political base, both with his harsh rhetoric on immigration and a call for Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the “lateterm abortion of children.”

Trump devoted much of his speech to foreign policy, another area where Republicans have increasingly distanced themselves from the White House. He announced details of a second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, outlining a February 27 and 28 summit in Vietnam.

Trump and Kim’s first summit garnered only a vaguely worded commitment by the North to denuclearize. But the president said his outreach to Pyongyang had made the US safer.

As he condemned political turmoil in Venezuela, Trump declared that “America will never be a socialist country” — a remark that may also have been targeted at high-profile Democrats who identify as socialists.

The president was surrounded by symbols of his emboldened political opposition. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was praised by Democrats for her hardline negotiating during the shutdown, sat behind Trump as he spoke. And several senators running for president were also in the audience, including Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Another Democratic star, Stacey Abrams, delivered the party’s response to Trump. Abrams narrowly lost her bid in November to become America’s first black female governor, and party leaders

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Trump to meet North Korean leader Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam

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ASHINGTON—President Donald J. Trump said on Tuesday that he will hold a two-day summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam to continue his efforts to persuade Kim to give up his nuclear weapons.

Trump has said his outreach to Kim and their first meeting last June in Singapore opened a path to peace. But there is not yet a concrete plan for how denuclearization could be implemented.

Denuclearizing North Korea is something that has eluded the US for more than two decades, since it was first learned that North Korea was close to acquiring the means for nuclear weapons.

“As part of a bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Trump said in his State of the Union address.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told Congress last week that US intelligence officials do not believe Kim will

IN S.O.T.U. ADDRESS, TRUMP CALLS FOR END OF RESISTANCE POLITICS ASHINGTON—Face to face with emboldened Democrats, President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Washington to cast aside “revenge, resistance and retribution” and end “ridiculous partisan investigations” in a State of the Union (SOTU) address delivered at a vulnerable moment for his presidency.

Trump appealed for bipartisanship but refused to yield on the hardline immigration policies that have infuriated Democrats and forced the recent government shutdown. He renewed his call for a border wall and cast illegal immigration as a threat to Americans’ safety and economic security.

Trump accepted no blame for his role in cultivating the rancorous atmosphere in the nation’s capital, and he didn’t outline a clear path for collaborating with Democrats who are eager to block his agenda. Their opposition was on vivid display as Democratic congresswomen in the audience formed a sea of white in a nod to early 20th-century suffragettes.

Trump is staring down a two-year stretch that will determine whether he is reelected or leaves office in defeat. His speech sought to shore up Republican support that had eroded slightly during the recent government shutdown and previewed a fresh defense against Democrats as they ready a round of investigations into every aspect of his administration.

“If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation,” he declared.

Lawmakers in the cavernous House chamber sat largely silent.

Looming over the president’s address was a fast-approaching February 15 deadline to fund the g ove r n m e nt a n d avo i d a n o t h e r shutdown. Democrats have refused to acquiesce to his demands for a border wall, and Republicans are increasingly unwilling to shut down the government to help him fulfill his signature campaign pledge. Nor does the GOP support the president’s plan to declare a national emergency if Congress won’t fund the wall.

Wary of publicly highlighting those intraparty divisions, Trump made no mention of an emergency declaration in his remarks. He did offer a lengthy defense of his call for a border wall, declaring: “I will build it.” But he delivered no ultimatums about what it would take for him to sign legislation to keep the government open.

Thursday, February 7, 2019

are aggressively recruiting her to run for US Senate from Georgia.

Speaking from Atlanta, Abrams calls the shutdown a political stunt that “defied every tenet of fairness and abandoned not just our people, but our values.”

Trump’s address amounted to an opening argument for his reelection campaign. Polls show he has work to do, with his approval rating falling to just 34 percent after the shutdown, according to a recent survey conducted

by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

One bright spot for the president has been the economy, which has added jobs for 100 straight months.

“The only thing that can stop it,” he said, “are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations”— an apparent swipe at the special counsel investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign, as well as the upcoming congressional investigations.

The diverse Democratic caucus, which includes a bevy of women, sat silently for much of Trump’s speech. But they leapt to their feet when he noted there are “more women in the work force than ever before.”

The increase is due to population growth and not something Trump can credit to any of his policies.

The president also defended his decisions to withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan over the opposition from national security officials and many Republican lawmakers.

“Great nations do not fight endless wars,” he said, adding that the US is working with allies to “destroy the remnants” of the Islamic State (IS) group and that he has “accelerated” efforts to reach a settlement in Afghanistan.

IS militants have lost territory since Trump’s surprise announcement in December that he was pulling US forces out, but military officials warn the fighters could regroup within six months to a year of the Americans leaving. Several leading GOP lawmakers have sharply criticized his plans to withdraw from Syria, as well as from Afghanistan.

Trump’s guests for the speech included Alice Marie Johnson, a woman whose life sentence for drug offenses was commuted by the president, and Joshua Trump, a sixth-grade student from Wilmington, Delaware, who has been bullied over his last name. They sat with Mrs. Trump during the address. AP

eliminate his nuclear weapons or the capacity to build more because he believes they are key to the survival of the regime. Satellite video taken since the June summit has indicated North Korea is continuing to produce nuclear materials at its weapons factories.

Last year, North Korea released American detainees, suspended nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantled a nuclear test site and parts of a rocket launch facility without the presence of outside experts.

It has repeatedly demanded that the United States reciprocate with measures such as sanctions relief, but Washington has called for North Korea to take steps such as providing a detailed account of

its nuclear and missile facilities that would be inspected and dismantled under a potential deal.

At the second Trump-Kim summit, some experts say North Korea is likely to seek to trade the destruction of its main Yongbyon nuclear complex for a US promise to formally declare the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War, open a liaison office in Pyongyang and allow the North to resume some lucrative economic projects with South Korea.

“Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped and there has not been a missile launch in more than 15 months,” Trump said. “If I had not been elected president of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea.

“Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one,” he said in announcing their second meeting.

Stephen Biegun, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s special representative for North Korea, is hopeful, but acknowledges that many issues make it especially complicated for the two countries to “embark on a diplomatic initiative of this magnitude.” Biegun was in Pyongyang on Tuesday.

The Vietnamese city where the two leaders will meet was

not announced. T he countr y, however, is keen to project itself on the world stage. It is a single-party communist state that boasts of tight political control and a tough security apparatus similar to Singapore’s.

Where Singapore leans West, generally appreciative of US influence in Asia, Vietnam leans East.

Even with its edgy relationship with China, it has a long fraternal history with Asia’s communist states. This is friendly ground for Kim and closer than Singapore.

On a related issue, the State Department said this week that the US and South Korea have reached a tentative agreement on sharing the costs of keeping 28,500 American troops in South Korea, but no final deal has been signed to replace the existing agreement, which expired at the end of 2018. South Korea pays more than $800 million a year, but Trump has demanded that Seoul pay 50 percent more.

News that a tentative agreement has been reached offers relief to those who worried Trump would use the lack of a deal as a reason to pull US troops out of South Korea as part of negotiations with Kim. North Korea has claimed that the presence of American troops in the South is proof that the US has hostile intentions in the region. AP

B4 Thursday, February 7, 2019

QUEST PLUS CLARK CONCIERGE SUPERVISOR CONFERRED WITH ‘GOLDEN KEYS’ SHARE SHOES AT THE SM STORE

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IVE the less fortunate children and families a gift of new pairs of shoes this year thru The SM Store’s Share Shoes campaign.

Shoes are essential in our life’s journey. And for less fortunate children, a new pair of shoes will allow them to walk safely as they perform their daily chores and go from home to school. Good shoes also inspire us to work hard because, with new pairs of shoes, we can start taking little steps toward achieving our dreams.

In this joint project of The SM Store and SM Shoes Department, booths have been set up in all The SM Store branches nationwide.

Shoppers may now donate preloved and brand new pairs of shoes from February 15

to April 15.

Each donation entitles a customer with a P50 discount coupon, which can be redeemed for every minimum P500 singlereceipt purchase of any regular-priced shoes or footwear from The SM Store.

Coupons are valid until April 15, 2020.

All donated shoes will be for the benefit of Caritas and SM Foundation beneficiaries.

Share Shoes is one of the ways The SM Store and its customers work together to share blessings to the less fortunate. These donations will certainly bring hope and smiles to all beneficiaries nationwide.

Other upcoming projects of The SM Store this year are Donate A Book, Give the Gift of Wellness and Share A Toy.

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HE executive team of Quest Plus Clark confers Miguel Anton Bituin with the honorary Golden Keys from Les Clefs d’Or. Quest Plus Conference Center Clark interim general manager Ria Jareno and room director Richard Cajucom bestowed the honorary Golden Keys to him on January 16.

Bituin, concierge supervisor of Quest Plus Clark, is the first in Pampanga, as well as in Central Luzon, to be recognized by Les Clefs d’Or. A candidate must have years of

experience and attain the highest quality of service to earn his or her pin.

Les Clefs d’Or is an international elite association of hotel concierges, officially found in France in 1929.

An elegant mix of business and style, Quest Plus Clark is a choice destination for meeting functions and luxurious staycations. For inquiries, visit https://questhotelandresorts. com/clark/ to enjoy the best available rates.

In photo are (from left) Jareno, Bituin and Cajucom.

KRITIKA 2019 FELLOWS, PANELISTS INTRODUCED

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IX fellowships have been awarded for the Ninth Kritika La Salle national workshop on art and cultural criticism, which will be held from February 7 to 9 at the Philippe Jones Lhuillier conference room, 14th floor, Henry Sy Sr. Hall, De La Salle University (DLSU).

The 2019 fellows are Cecille N. Baello (film); Jose Justin P. Mojica (film); Chris David F. Lao (literature); Christine Marie L. Magpile (food and popular culture); Denise Angela S. de Vera (popular culture); and Jose Reylan B. Viray (visual arts).

DLSU Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center associate for criticism Rolando B. Tolentino is this year’s

workshop director. He is joined by an estemmed panel of judges: art critic and artist Cid Reyes; critic and poet Shirley O. Lua, historian and dramatist Jose Victor Z. Torres, and critic and poet Carlos M. Piocos III. In line with contemporary critical practice, Kritika retains interdisciplinary ways of approaching artistic and cultural texts. This practice is enriched by the creative integration of concepts and approaches from diverse disciplines.

Kritika is organized by the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center and is supported by the DLSU Angelo King Institute for Economics and Business Studies, and the DLSU Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.

SOUTHEAST ASIA’S PREMIER TRADE FAIR TO MOUNT WIDE DÉCOR OPTIONS THIS SUMMER

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NOWN as the “Milan of Asia”, the Philippines has registered a strong reputation for innovative and original, yet ground-breaking, ideas and design.

From March 7 to 9 the Philippine International Furniture Show (PIFS), one of Southeast Asia’s premier trade fairs, will once again offer an extensive range of furniture products, accessories and décor at the SMX Convention Center, jointly organized by the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc., Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines and the Pampanga Furniture Industries Foundation.

“It is where we show the world the ingenuity of our local manufacturers and designers, how we interpret the latest industry trends, and in many cases, take the lead in

design innovation,” said Eduardo Zuluaga, overall event chairman for PIFS and president of the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines.

Among the highlights is the iDisenyo, a contest for teams of interior-design students and professionals, and their corresponding furniture manufacturer as partner, showcasing their final furniture pieces at the event.

Each team will be designing a furniture piece that fits their manufacturer’s mission and vision, taking into consideration the increasing limitation of space without sacrificing function, comfort and aesthetics.

“This year we decided on portraying different kinds of lifestyles and stories behind our featured furniture pieces, furnishings and fixtures,” says Christina Gaston, event chairman for the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. “[The] PIFS remains to be a curated venue that is truly a feast for the senses—you’ll see different styles, techniques and textures from different designers and manufacturers.”

For more information and preregistration, visit www.pifs.ph.

Visitors are encouraged to register online to get a complementary oneday pass.

CALTEX BAGS THIRD ANVIL FOR SOCIAL-GOOD CAMPAIGN

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ALTEX, marketed by Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI), bagged its third Anvil and second Silver at the 54th Anvil Awards.

CPI received the recognition for its multi-awarded social-good campaign “Caltex Fuel Your School” (FYS), which won in the Public Relations Program on a Sustain Basis category, under the Education subcategory. The campaign, in which P1 is donated in every liter fueled up at participating Caltex stations, involves teachers, students and communities that have helped Caltex promote its campaign. “...We are humbled by the continued success of the FYS in helping STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] schools and students in more areas of the country, and this award is the icing on the cake,” CPI Policy, Government and Public Affairs manager lawyer Raissa Bautista said.

The Caltex FYS 2018 drove all the way up north to help 30 of the highest-need public high schools in Region 1 and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

With the help of the American Chamber Foundation

Inc. in procurement, STEM equipments were granted to selected schools by the Department of Education.

With the support of branded marketer Northern Star Energy Corp., the Caltex FYS 2018 was able to raise P3 million for 51,248 students. The fund was used to purchase robotics apparatus, LED projectors, smart TVs, laptops, tablets, calculators, microscopes, lab equipment and other teaching tools to help make learning more interactive and interesting.

The Caltex FYS is part of CPI’s Energy for Learning initiative, which aims to help local communities across the country by providing new information, developing new skills and encouraging different ways of thinking. The initiative started in 2015 and is expected to benefit more than 3,000 teachers and 1.21 million students in 118 public high schools in the next six years.

The Anvil Award is awarded to outstanding public-relations programs and tools after a careful screening by select PR professionals and judging by a distinguished multisectoral jury.

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Thursday, February 7, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

RAMS FOCUS ON FUTURE

THE New England Patriots’ Tom Brady rides a duck boat during the Patriots parade through downtown Boston on Tuesday. AP

Sean McVay professes to love few things more than his next challenge, and the coach is already hitting the Rams’ off-season tasks with extra motivation from the humbling experience of Los Angeles’s 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Atlanta.

Party atmosphere in Boston on unseasonably mild day B

OSTON—With cheers of “We want seven!” and “Next year, right here!” hundreds of thousands of jubilant fans jammed downtown Boston on Tuesday for a parade celebrating the New England Patriots’ sixth Super Bowl title.

A party atmosphere enveloped the city on the unseasonably mild day. Red, white and blue confetti rained down and music blared as fans packed along sidewalks hoping to catch a glimpse of quarterback Tom Brady, Coach Bill Belichick and the rest of the beloved team.

It’s a familiar feeling in Boston. The city’s teams have now won twelve championships since 2001. Just four months ago, the city feted the Red Sox for their World Series victory over another Los Angeles team, the Dodgers.

Boston resident Tom Collins was beaming as he took in the spectacle across from the city’s historic Common,

his ticket from this year’s Super Bowl dangling from a lanyard around his neck.

After celebrating in Atlanta, Collins said he and his wife drove nearly nonstop to get home for the parade.

“We had to be a part,” he said as he smoked a cigar and held up a homemade Vince Lombardi trophy. “We had to bring the trophy back to Boston.”

Leigh Hickman, of Swanzey, New Hampshire, drew cheers as he stalked the crowd wearing a rubber goat mask, a Tom Brady shirt and a sign that read: “We’re Still Here.”

“I wanted to represent the G.O.A.T., the greatest player of all time,” he said. “I’m the same age as him and I can’t imagine doing any of the things he does. It’s unbelievable.”

Fresh from Sunday’s 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl title match held in Atlanta, team members and their families took a 3-kilometer swing through the city aboard Boston’s

iconic World War II-era amphibious “duck boats.”

Brady held his pigtailed daughter, Vivian, as they waved and grinned at the crowd. Other players, Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft took turns holding aloft the Lombardi Trophy.

Star tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has talked about retiring after this latest National Football League title, whooped it up with his brothers and father. He and several other players removed their shirts and spent much of the parade bare-chested.

Players also waved large signs that read, “We Got Everything”—a twist on the team’s motivational hashtag, “Everything We Got,” that had become a theme this season.

Boston Police Sgt. John Boyle said the crowd of roughly 1.5 million was one of the largest the city has seen for a championship parade.

The regional transit system reported record ridership as

revelers basked in dazzling sunshine and temperatures that peaked above 60 degrees (15 degrees Celsius).

Police made at least a dozen arrests and emergency medical officials transported 34 revelers to area hospitals.

Five of those arrested were involved in a brawl that happened near the parade’s end and at least seven of the arrests were juveniles, Boyle said.

Fans seemed to mostly honor Mayor Marty Walsh’s pleas not to throw anything at the team. Errant beer cans slightly damaged the Red Sox World Series trophy last year.

Unlike in past years, there was no post-parade rally with speeches from Brady and others. Regardless, Patriots fans made it clear they weren’t ready for the good times to end.

“Go for No. 7,” Lauren Mills said when asked what she’d say to Brady. “He still has how many fingers left? You know, four more rings to go.” AP

RUNNER CHOKES LION TO DEATH

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ENVER—A mountain lion lunged at a runner on a Colorado trail and bit his face before the man fought back and choked the animal to death, wildlife officials said on Tuesday.

The unidentified man was running alone at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space near Fort Collins on Monday when he heard a noise and turned back. That’s when the mountain lion attacked, according to an account from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The man was hospitalized with serious injuries and

was expected to make a full recovery. The agency said the runner’s movement apparently triggered the young lion’s hunting instincts. The animal bit the man’s face and wrist before he was able to break free and kill the lion.

Authorities are not identifying the man and say he needs time to decompress and decide if he will speak out.

The man told investigators he choked the lion, and an examination of the animal confirmed that, said Rebecca Ferrell, a spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The lion was less than a year old and tested

THE runner does exactly what experts recommend in a rare encounter with a mountain lion—fight back as hard as possible.

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By Greg Beacham The Associated Press

HOUSAND OAKS, California—The Los Angeles Rams have plenty of off-season work to do.

Thanks to their run to the Super Bowl, they have a relatively short amount of time to do it.

Sean McVay professes to love few things more than his next challenge, and the coach is already hitting the Rams’ off-season tasks with extra motivation from the humbling experience of Los Angeles’s 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Atlanta.

“If you can’t handle getting gut-punched and responding, this business probably isn’t for you,” a typically energized McVay said on Tuesday at the Rams’ training complex. “That’s the only way that I know how to respond as a coach. I know our coaching staff feels that way. I know our players feel that way, and that’s what’s powerful.... If things are always easy, you never get a chance to get tested and find out.”

McVay said he isn’t ready for a vacation, and he already has a lengthy to-do list.

The Rams must replace quarterbacks Coach Zac Taylor, who took over as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday. McVay is heading to the National Football League (NFL) scouting combine in three weeks, and he will play a role in General Manager Les Snead’s numerous roster decisions to be made within the compressed time frame of evaluation before free agency opens next month.

“When you do go this late into the season, which is certainly a blessing, we’re really far behind with a lot of the things that typically take place,” McVay said.

The National Football Conference champions were mostly upbeat while they cleaned out their lockers on Tuesday, but the Super Bowl defeat will take weeks to fade.

Andrew Whitworth is contemplating retirement, yet the left tackle was in the Rams’ training complex working out on a bike within hours after the team returned home. Jared Goff had already watched film of the Super Bowl, taking a close look at his offense’s numerous failings.

“It definitely stings,” said Goff, who will have his fourth position coach in four seasons. “It’s hard. You can’t ever really get over it, maybe. It’ll be tough, but it’ll be definitely something that will motivate us, and something that we’ll use. It’s hard saying this when we know, had we won, right now we would probably be in the parade, and how fun that would be, and how many different things go along with winning the Super Bowl. It’s hard to put that in perspective, really, but there was a lot of good things that came out of this season.”

With McVay and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips still leading a roster stacked with elite talent, the Rams appear to have a foundation for a prolonged stretch of championship contention. Veterans of the Rams’ bad old days don’t take this success for granted, even if the ending currently stings.

“This season is a truly great accomplishment by this team,” left guard Rodger Saffold said. “Sean McVay did an unbelievable job being able to turn this team around from a 4-12 team to a 13-3 team with a chance to win the Super Bowl. You can’t ask for anything better than that. It hurts right now, but these guys are resilient.

These guys show great poise. I expect everybody to come back and have another victorious season, whether it’s with me or without me.”

With that final phrase, Saffold underlined the uncertain nature of any NFL off-season. The stalwart offensive lineman is among several Rams whose futures are undecided.

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, edge rusher Dante Fowler and safety Lamarcus Joyner all were not available on Tuesday to discuss their futures as unrestricted free agents.

Veterans with hefty salary cap hits in the upcoming season include defensive tackle Michael Brockers, linebacker Mark Barron and cornerback Marcus Peters.

Suh’s $14-million contract is up, and the 32-year-old veteran gets to choose his career’s direction again after he gambled on the Rams’ prospects for providing his first career playoff success.

Aaron Donald wants Suh back next to him, but while Suh appeared to thoroughly enjoy playing in LA, he probably could make bigger money elsewhere.

Fowler improved his stock with solid play after his midseason arrival from Jacksonville. He wants to stay, but could be targeted with multiyear offers due to the valuable nature of his position.

Joyner played this season on the franchise tag, and the Rams’ hesitance to give him a top-dollar, multiyear deal could be foreshadowing.

Cornerback Sam Shields played in every game after missing the past two seasons while recovering from repeated concussions. Shields said he “most definitely” wants to play football again next season.

“I beat all odds, and I feel like myself again,” Shields said.

Running back C.J. Anderson provided an enormous late-season boost, and the Rams could be interested in keeping him longer than five games. Backup running back Malcolm Brown, whose injury led to Anderson’s arrival, is also a free agent.

“One thing you can say about this team is they’ll be back,” Anderson said. “McVay and some of the key players have the talent to get them over the hump.”

negative for rabies.

Ferrell said the runner did exactly what experts recommend in a rare encounter with a mountain lion—fight back as hard as possible. They also advise trying to get back up on your feet if knocked over, look as big as possible and use anything handy as a weapon, such as a backpack or keys.

But the man who was attacked did not have any gear to help him.

“He did this just out of sheer will and defense of himself,” Ferrell said.

Mountain lions rarely attack because they tend to avoid people. The animals have killed fewer than 20 people in North America in more than 100 years.

In Colorado, where their population is strong, mountain lions have injured 16 people and killed three since 1990. AP

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ON BLATCHE’S SHOULDERS LIES TEAM PHL’S CHANCES

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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EAD Coach Yeng Guiao believes that naturalized player Andray Blatche remains as the cornerstone of the national team that is cramming in training for the sixth and last window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Guiao praised the 6-foot-11 big man for his “abilities” he described as “a great help” for his squad that faces a do-ordie situation in two road games against Qatar on February 21 and Kazakhstan on February 24.

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EFENSE was the key for Mighty Sports-Philippines which overcame a rugged Syrian side Al Wahda, 85-81, on Tuesday night to complete a four-game sweep of the group stage of the 30th Dubai International Basketball Championships at Shabab Al Ahli Club gym in the United Arab Emirates.

Justin Brownlee, banged up and all, finished with 27 points and nine rebounds while sparkplug Roosevelt Adams caught fire in the final period where he pumped in 10 of his 21 points. But it was Mighty Sports’s collective desire to play lockdown defense that enabled the Philippine side to recover from a 76-70 deficit with four minutes left.

The hard-earned victory, carved in front of a sizeable and raucous Syrian crowd that virtually matched the noise created by the ever-usual fervent Filipino supporters, assured Mighty Sports of the top seed in their group ahead of the knockout stage that starts with the crossover quarterfinals on Thursday.

“I’m just happy with the win,” Mighty Sports Coach Charles Tiu said. “I’m happy with what we did defensively more than anything, because like I said, offensively, we have gifted players.”

“We don’t have to do anything too complicated. We stick to everything, keep it simple, play to our strengths.

“He’s lifting the morale of the team just because of his abilities. He’s bringing in a lot of confidence,” Guiao said. Blatche joined two straight practices since he arrived on Monday.

The NLEX Road Warriors coach was pleased with Blatche being injected into his system after the former National Basketball Association sat out the last two windows of the World Cup qualifiers.

Guiao noted that Blatche’s ability to score from inside and out will give their opponents major problems.

“He’s going to demand a double team definitely. I don’t think anybody from either Qatar or Kazakhstan could stop

him one-on-one,” Guiao said. “He’s a very versatile player.”

The Philippines must bounce back from consecutive defeats in the last window that resulted to a 5-5 won-lost record for fourth place behind World Cup-bound Australia (9-1), Iran (7-3) and Japan (6-4).

Kazakhstan (4-6) and Qatar (2-8), meanwhile, are running fifth and sixth in Group F behind the Philippines.

A loss would send the Philippines crashing out of the qualifiers. Blatche knew that its crunch time for the team.

“It’s do or die for us. I’m going to give my all,” Blatche said.

Joining Blatche are June Mar Fajardo, Poy Erram, Troy Rosario, Marcio Lassiter, Paul Lee, Scottie Thompson, Roger Pogoy, Gabe Norwood, Marc Barroca, Raymond Almazan, Thirdy Ravena, Jayson Castro and Japeth Aguilar.

ANDRAY BLATCHE is lifting the team's morale.

MIGHTY WIELDS BROOM IN ELIMS Offensively, it will take care of itself. But defensively, we got stops when it mattered,” he added.

After National Basketball Association veteran Jordan Adams drilled triple that stretched Al Wahda’s lead to six, Mighty Sports, co-owned by Alex and Caesar Wongchuking, came back to life behind its rejuvenated defense and sparked a decisive 11-0 run, highlighted by Brownlee’s go-ahead triple and Jason Brickman’s 10-footer for an 81-76 lead, with a minute to play.

The apparel and accessories team backed by SMDC, Go For Gold, Oriental Group and Healthcube, however, held its breath when Brownlee went down hard after rejecting Adams’s layup and lied on the floor for a few minutes.

The medical staff tried to put Brownlee on a stretcher but the well-loved Ginebra import politely refused and drew cheers from the Filipino crowd. He, however, was taken out for good by Tiu as Adams and the rest of the team put on the finishing touches.

“It’s a good thing he seems to be okay. Hopefully he’ll be able to shrug it off come Thursday,” Tiu said. “It will be a very

NBA RESULTS Boston 103, Cleveland 96 Indiana 136, LA Lakers 94 LA Clippers 117, Charlotte 115 Detroit 105, New York 92 Memphis 108, Minnesota 106 Oklahoma City 132, Orlando 122 Toronto 119, Philadelphia 107 Miami 118, Portland 108

Pacers’ 3-point flurry buries Lakers in James’s worst defeat

big rest day for us tomorrow. We’ll do some team activity together, but come Thursday, we have to be prepared.”

Adams, who saw action for the Memphis Grizzlies for two seasons,

finished with 22 points while Al Wahda’s 7-foot-1 center Abdulwahad Al-hamwi registered 13 points and 12 rebounds but was posterized by Mighty Sports wingman Jeremiah Gray with a vicious tomahawk dunk in the second period.

GenSan dribblers extend win streak

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ENERAL Santos pulled off a gripping 8076 win over the Parañaque Patriots for its fifth consecutive win that fortified its place in the top 4 of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.

The Warriors improved to 12-9 won-lost, just half a game behind third placer and inaugural champion Batangas City Athletics, in the tournament put up by Sen. Manny Pacquiao.

“We just want to maintain the energy level that we showed in our previous wins. We just have to stay consistent,” General Santos Coach Ramon Pido said.

Pido got a steady game from John Orbeta, who came away with a double-double performance of 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors team supported by Golden State College.

Orbeta came out big especially in the crucial stretch where he knocked in two free throws in the 40-second mark of the final quarter to shatter the game’s final deadlock.

Meylan Landicho added 16 points, including his team’s last three free throws that sealed the win for General Santos.

Zamboanga defeated host team Pasay, 91-74, to get back on the winning track and moved to eighth spot in the southern division. The Family’s Brand Sardines-supported squad improved to 9-12.

Harold Arboleda, the league’s double-double machine, came away with yet another solid performance for Zamboanga and was three assists shy of a triple-double. He had 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Four other players finished in double figures for Zamboanga—Ivan Vilanueva (15), Reed Juntilla (14), Robin Roño (11) and Allan Santos (10 points) he laced with 13 rebounds.

THE Lakers’ LeBron James (23) shoots over the Pacers’ Myles Turner. AP

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NDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Pacers have suddenly found a new winning combination.

Not even LeBron James could slow it down on Tuesday night.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 24 points and the Pacers tied a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise-record by making 19 threepointers in a 136-94 rout over the Los Angeles Lakers—the most lopsided loss James has endured in his 16-year career.

“They scored 33 points off our 19 turnovers and that was from the beginning of the game.

We can’t play from behind like that,” James said.

“I think it [the jet lag] hit us. That first game flying across the country looked like it had a lot to do with it, but we didn’t come out with the defensive mentality we had the last time we played them and they made us pay for it.”

Twice previously James’s teams had been blown out by 36 against Washington in April 2008 and in the 2013 NBA Finals against San Antonio. But this was might go down as the most embarrassing of the three.

Indiana led wire-towire and never allowed the Lakers to get within single digits after the first basket of the second quarter despite playing without All-Star

guard Victor Oladipo and on the tail end of a back-to-back following a four-game trip.

At one point, the Pacers led by 46.

And after James left with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter, Coach Luke Walton wisely kept the four-time Most Valuable Player him on the bench for the rest of the night.

James was not himself either after missing 17 of the previous 18 games with an injured groin. He missed three of his first five shots, was beaten three times early on defense and had five first-half turnovers before finishing with 18 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and six turnovers.

JaVale McGee added 16 as the Lakers lost for the sixth time in eight games amid the continuing swirl of trade rumors, something Pacers fans noted by repeatedly chanting “LeBron’s gonna trade you.”

“I know it has to be tough on a lot of our guys—especially our young guys,” James said.

“They’ve just never been a part of it and they’re hearing it every single day. I know that the worst thing you could right now is be on social media and I know all young guys love social media. So, that definitely can’t help.”

The Pacers, meanwhile, remained focused on regrouping.

After losing four straight immediately following Oladipo’s season-ending knee injury, they’ve rebounded with three straight wins. On Tuesday, they produced a season-high 69 points in the first half, a season-high single-game total and their widest victory margin of the Eason. AP

YOUTH FOOTBALL ON Kids enjoy the beautiful game

during Philam Life-7s Football League that kicked off its third season last Sunday at the McKinley Hill Stadium in Taguig City. The league is founded by former Azkal Anton del Rosario. The league’s youth division is played on Sunday afternoons while seniors play are set in the evenings.

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Thursday, February 7, 2019

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JUNE MAR FAJARDO is fast turning out as the best Filipino to ever play basketball.

UST-Adamson U in football opener

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AST year’s runner-up University of Santo Tomas (UST) will take on Adamson University in the featured Sunday afternoon match to open the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 men’s football tournament on February 17 at the Far Eastern University (FEU)-Diliman pitch.

The Growling Tigers-Falcons showdown is set at 3 p.m.

The other opening day matches pit De La Salle against National University at 1 p.m., and Ateneo against University of the East at 9 a.m.

University of the Philippines and FEU, meanwhile, will make their season debut on February 28.

The back-to-back title-seeking Fighting Maroons go up against the Red Warriors at 1 p.m., while the Tamaraws begin their redemption from last year’s seventh-place finish when they take on the Blue Eagles in the morning match at 9.

The one-game juniors championship between FEU-Diliman and NU is set on February 21 at the Moro Lorenzo Field.

Women’s action will commence on March 2 at the Circulo Verde with the FEU-Ateneo duel at 1 p.m., and the UST-UP clash at 3 p.m.

The Lady Archers drew an opening day bye and will open their three-peat bid against the Lady Eagles on March 6 at 3 p.m.

P.S.A. INDIVIDUAL AWARDS FOR FAJARDO, 3 OTHERS

UNE MAR FAJARDO leads three others who will be recognized with special individual titles in the San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night on February 26 at the Manila Hotel.

The 6-foot-11 Fajardo is again the recipient of the Mighty Sports Mr. Basketball award, marking the fifth straight year the San Miguel Beer main man is going to be feted with the honor by the country’s oldest media organization.

Fajardo, 29, won a fifth straight Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last year following yet another dominant season that saw him steer the Beermen to a record-tying fourth straight Philippine Cup championship and winning back-to-back Best Player of the Conference plum.

The Cebuano big man, also a regular fixture

LIAA MARGARETTE AMOGUIS swims her way to the gold medal.

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FORMER TOUR CHAMPS IN THE MIX

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JR. ALTAS EYE ‘5-PEAT’

for Team Pilipinas, will be joined by Jaja Santiago, Marck Espejo and Neil Etheridge who are going to be distinguished for their individual feats in their respective fields during the event presented by Milo, the Philippine Sports Commission and Cignal TV. Santiago will be accorded the title Ms. Volleyball title for the first time while Espejo will be hailed Mr. Volleyball for the second straight year. Etheridge meanwhile, is the 2018 Mr. Football.

The 6-foot-5 Santiago won the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 MVP trophy, while steering the National University Lady Bulldogs to a Final Four stint. She was also a member of the national team to the Indonesia 19th Asian Games and Asia Cup and is the first Filipino import to play in the Japan V. Premier League.

Espejo meanwhile, bagged a fifth straight MVP also in Season 80 of the UAAP and guided the Ateneo

DAVAO BETS SHINE IN POOL

RIDERS of Philippine Army-Bicycology Shop are ready for battle. They are (from left) Pfc. Marvin Tapic, Sgt. Reynaldo Navarro, Robinson Esteves, veteran internationalist Sgt. Alfie Catalan, Warren Bordeos, Mark Julius Bordeos and alternate Kenneth Lacuesta. The team, coached by Bong Curtan and assisted by Joel Duenas, is sponsored by Sports Director and Manager Eric Buhain, the former swimming champion, and Assistant Sports Director and Manager John Garcia.

OUR former champions including two-time winner Santy Barnachea of Team Franzia are in the mix when the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2019 unfurls on Friday at the City Health Office in Iloilo City.

The 42-year-old Barnachea, who won the first edition in 2011 and repeated in 2015, will try to defy father time and lead the charge for the Filipinos alongside fellow Ronda winners Ronald Oranza and Jan Paul Morales of NavyStandard Insurance and Irish Valenzuela of 7-Eleven Cliqq.

Oranza is the reigning champion, Morales won it twice in 2016 and 2017, while Valenzuela topped the race in 2012.

Mark Galedo, the 2013 title-holder, was supposed to lead a team of under-23 riders but pulled out in the last minute after his sponsors decided not to push through with their planned participation.

“It will be tough for sure but I still feel I still have what it takes to compete against the best,” Barnachea said.

Barnachea will represent Team Franzia squad also composed of Alvin Mandi, Kentz, Kentz Krog, Dennis Gabaldon, Ryan Tugawin and Allan Benito with Benis Caw as manager.

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“We have an energetic team and we’re optimistic of our chances,” he said.

Aside from Team Franzia, the host Philippines will field in a competitive group of riders spearheaded by Continental teams Go for Gold and 7 Eleven Cliqq.

The other local squads are Bike Xtreme, Army Bicycology and Team Tarlac.

Foreign teams seeing action in the International Cycling Union-sanctioned five-stage race, which stakes qualifying points to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, are Terengganu, Matrix, Nex Cycling Team, Korail Team Korea, Custom Cycling Indonesia, Cambodia Cycling, PGN Road Cycling and Sri Lanka Navy Cycling Team.

The race opens with the 197.6-kilometer Iloilo-Iloilo Stage One on Friday and will proceed with the 101.8-km Guimaras-Guimaras Stage Two the next day.

The cavalcade will then go back to Iloilo for the 179.4km Iloilo-Roxas City Stage Three on February 10 followed by the 146.9-km Roxas-Roxas Stage Four on February 11.

It will conclude with the 148.9-km Roxas-Antique Stage Five on February 12. The awarding ceremony will be held in Boracay on the same day.

Noel Kampton (9) and the University of Perpetual Help Dalta Junior Altas gun for their fifth-straight juniors volleyball title against the Letran Squires in Game Two on Friday of the 94th National Collegiate Athletic Association of the Philippines championship series at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

ISTERS Liaa Margarette and Lora Micah Amoguis turned the pool into their own playground and collected three gold medals in the Batang Pinoy Mindanao leg on Wednesday at the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex in Tagum City.

The younger Liaa dominated the girls’ 12-under 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley, while Lora made waves in the girls’ 13-15 200-meter individual medley to jack up Davao City’s medal haul in the competition for athletes aged 15 and below.

Liaa registered one minute and 11.2 seconds to grab the gold in the 100-meter butterfly before storming back to rule the 200-meter individual medley with a clocking of 2:39, a performance that was a fitting follow up to her golden haul of six mints in the Davao Region Athletic Association meet last week.

Liaa still has a chance to match that feat as she sees action in four more events in the next two days.

Lora, on the other hand, clocked 2:35.06 to clinch gold in the 200-meter individual medley before settling for silver medal with a time of 33.97 seconds in the girls’ 13-15 50-meter backstroke. Gene Heart Quiambao of Bukidnon beat her for the gold with 33.69 seconds.

Still, the performance drew attention toward the sisters, who are looking to test their mettle against prominent athletes from Manila in the national finals in October either in Tagbilaran City or Ormoc City.

“We motivate each other. When

Blue Eagles to a runner-up finish behind National University. Like Santiago, the 21-year-old hitter from Marikina is also in Japan playing for local club Otta Miyoshi Weisse Adler.

Etheridge made history last year by becoming the first Filipino and Southeast Asian player to play in the English Premier League after hooking up as goalkeeper of Cardiff City.

Highlight of the affair also presented by the Philippine Basketball Association, NorthPort, Rain or Shine, ICTSI, SM Prime Holdings and Chooks To Go is the awarding of the coveted PSA Athlete of the Year Award.

The honor will be bestowed on an all-ladies cast composed of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, golfers Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go and skateboarder Margielyn Didal.

Olympian Bea Lucero-Lhuillier will be the special guest speaker of the affair.

she feels down, I motivate her. When I feel down, she motivates me, as well. That’s how close we are,” said 13-year-old Lora, who still has four more events.

“I’m excited to play in the national finals and race against other swimmers. Even though there are other swimmers from other regions, my goal is not to win medals. I just want to beat my time.

That’s it,” Lora added.

“My dream is to beat the Palarong Pambansa record,” said Liaa, 11-year-old kid wonder from The Abba’s Orchard School who already represented the country in the recent BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games in Brunei Darussalam.

Also emerging victorious in swimming were Rain Tumulac, Blu Cabilete and Yuan Taojo of Davao and Albren Dayapdapan of Dipolog.

Cabilete clocked 29.91 to shine in the boys’ 13-15 50-meter backstroke, while Taojo registered 40.85 in the boys’ 12-under 50-meter backstroke. Dayapdapan tallied 32.65 seconds in the boys’ 13-15 50-meter breaststroke and Tumulac timed 1:14.68 in the boys’ 12-under 100-meter butterfly.

In archery, 15-year-old John Carlo Loreno harvested five gold medals for Koronadal City with victories in the cadet boys 30-meter, 40m, 50m, 60m and single Fita events.

“I hope to win more,” said Loreno, who is in his third Batang Pinoy appearance.

Precious Micah Basadre also shared the podium with victories in the cadet girls 30m, 40m, 50m and single Fita, while younger brother Jeremiah Adrian ruled the cub boys 20m, 30m, 50m and single Fita.

Youngest sibling Justin Matthew reigned supreme in the bowman boys Olympic round and single Fita.

In cadet boys taekwondo, Cagayan de Oro City snared three gold medals courtesy of Lee Young Hwan (welterweight), Carlos Pizana (heavy) and Von Xedric Faller (fin).

Kier Carlos Buico (middle) and Carl Andrew Cagas (light) won two golds for Butuan City, while Davao City also went home with two golds from John Louis Zaballero (bantam) and Arnold Alesna (feather).

In arnis, Tacurong City harvested 13 gold medals at the City Mall in Tagum courtesy of Maria Veronica Ilagan (cadet girls traditional individual 1 weapon), Althea Charmene de los Santos (cadet girls traditional individual 2 weapons and nontraditional individual 1 weapon), Jeko Jan Heyres (junior boys traditional individual 1 weapon), Princes Sheryl Valdez (junior girls traditional individual 2 weapons and nontraditional individual 1 weapon), and Cristian Dave Bucio (junior boys nontraditional individual 2 weapon).

TESSA JAZMINES tessa4347@gmail.com

PART OF THE GAME

Jr. NBA going places

AND just like that the Jr. NBA Philippines program presented by Alaska is 12 years old. Three of its participants on its first year are now professional basketball players in Asia’s oldest pro league—Aljon Mariano is with the Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings, Ael Banal is with Blackwater Elite and Kiefer Ravena is with the NLEX Road Warriors. A participant from the second batch—Mark Javen Tallo—has also joined the pros and is a Road Warrior, as well. Kristoffer Porter, a former Atenean, was acquired by NLEX in last December’s draft.

Later batches of Jr. NBA All-Stars have lorded and are still lording it over the collegiate leagues: Thirdy Ravena, Tyler Tio and Gian Mamuyac at Ateneo de Manila; Jarrell Lim, Janjan Jaboneta, Ricci Rivero and Kobe Paras at the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons; Kib Montalbo and Aljun Melecio at De La Salle University (DLSU); Hubert Cani at Far Eastern University (FEU); Dawn Ochea at Adamson University; Lorenzo Navarro at Lyceum of the Philippines University; Rhayyan Amsali at National University and now, San Beda University.

In the juniors division there are more waiting to make big names for themselves when they join the big boys: Sam Abuhijle, the San Beda Red Cubs star who has been recruited by the University of Santo Tomas; former Bull Pup Rhayyan Amsali who is now in the Red Cubs’ den; Jeffy Mailim, Harold Alarcon and Janjan Felicilda of the Bullpups; Ian Espinosa, Andrei Lechoncito, Daniel and Kai Sotto of the Ateneo Blue Eaglets.

Even those who were not chosen All-Stars but who have been part of the Jr. NBA Program are impacting their respective leagues and teams in big ways: Dave Wilson Yu of NU, Zachary Huang and Renzo Subido of UST; Jaydee Tungcab of UP, Justin Baltazar of DLSU. Introduced to the Philippines in 2007 by the National Basketball Association, the first Jr. NBA consisted of basketball clinics held in various campuses. Camp director was former Detroit Piston Norman Black, who was then Blue Eagles coach. The clinics were followed by a three-day tournament participated in by 16 Metro Manila schools. A two-day training camp rounded up the first ever Jr. NBA program, and the first Jr. NBA All-Stars were rewarded with a four-day trip to San Francisco where they attended a basketball clinic at the Golden State Warriors’ practice session, then watched a Warriors-Clippers game as the high point of their visit.

The following year up to 2018 the Jr. NBA followed a Coaches ClinicsSchool and Open Clinics-Regional Selection Camps-National Training Camp format and fanned out to various key cities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. The program blossomed when Alaska Milk came on as partner, particularly in 2014 when the Alaska/Campina partnership allowed the program to include other Jr. NBA participants from Asean countries. Filipino Jr. NBA All-Stars interacted with Indonesian, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai All-Stars in basketball training, friendly games, tours and NBA game-watching on their NBA experience trips starting that year.

This year the program is taking on a slightly different tack. A lot of focus is being given to the coaching aspect, which is why the start of the program is an intensified Train The Trainers Program. Jr. NBA Coach Carlos Barroca from NBA Asia heads the Jr. NBA coaching staff and is ably supported by other NBA coaches and Alaska coaches led by Jeffrey Cariaso and Tony de la Cruz. This year Jr. NBA Philippines 2019 presented by Alaska did a two-day live-in training for over 50 coaches on.

Coach Carlos, a bright-eyed, energetic teacher-coach who is heading the program for the second straight year, loves what he’s doing and is crazy about Pinoy basketball. “Every time I get off the plane in the Philippines, I breathe basketball. It’s like I’m home. Because there’s no other place in the world where people love basketball the way they do here,” he says.

He tells the story of his first time here. “I arrived late at night and I took a regular taxi from the airport. I don’t know the name of the [old] gentleman.

He was driving slowly. So my first question for him was “What is the sport in the Philippines?” And he looked at me and said, “Basketball.” And I said, “What else?” He answered, “Basketball.”“What else?”“Basketball.” And I was like “Oh everybody is playing basketball? ‘Yeah! Everybody play basketball.’ ‘You play basketball?” He looked at me and said “Of course, I play basketball.” He stopped the car, got out and started teaching me how to shoot the ball. This shows you how much love for basketball is in this country.”

“This year, we’re going to be all over the place,” said Coach Carlos and coaches will reach out deeper into communities as well as schools. As before, the Regional Selection Camps will start in February and end in April, with the National Training Camp happening in May. Although the last part of the Jr. NBA Program is still the Experience Trip to a foreign country, there’s a “surprise” this year. The program has expanded to provide youth in the region the chance to represent the Asia Pacific in the second Jr. NBA Global Championship, a youth basketball tournament for the top 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls teams from around the world. It will be held in August at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.

The first ever Jr. NBA Global Championship Asia Pacific Qualifiers to the World Championship will be held in Jakarta in June and as many as five boys and five girls from this year’s National Training Camp may be selected to be in it. They will pit their talent against other young players from Asean and Australia. If selected, the road will lead them to the World Championship.

“I was there last year,” Coach Carlos said. “It was really impressive. The American teams were fantastic. The African team was very good. The teams that we brought in from Australia were very competitive. I expect this year to be even better...”

“There will be lots of skills challenge with kids from different parts of the world and lots of other things going on.... The NBA team works not just to make a great competition but also to provide a level of experience like no other. I remember one day the kids were called to the breakfast room for an emergency meeting and didn’t know what to expect. Suddenly, Dwyane Wade showed up and he took pictures with all of the teams.”

Coach Carlos is excited about how far the Jr. NBA Philippines program has come. “I’ll say that the baby became like a teenager now. It’s a big baby.

But what we want is to inspire more people and drive more kids to be better players and better people.”

Interested participants aged 10 to 14 can register now at www.jrnba.asia.

BAD RULES. BAD TEMPER. BAD START.

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Thursday, February 7, 2019

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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SERGIO GARCIA takes out his anger on a bunker during the second round in Saudi Arabia. AP

By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press

EBBLE BEACH, California—Golf barely made it out of January when it was hit with what must feel like a two-shot penalty.

Odds are the negative attention on the new set of modern rules will have subsided before those four glorious days in April during the Masters— unless, of course, the next man in a green jacket makes his final putt with the flagstick in the cup.

As for Sergio Garcia?

More bad luck. His latest and most serious tantrum—damaging greens out of frustration at the Saudi International—comes in a year when the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship is held at Bethpage Black, where ruthless galleries can make even the fans at the Phoenix Open blush.

Any discussion, confusion and consternation over the new rules—particularly caddies standing behind their players—will pass soon enough. Expect some clarification as early as Wednesday on when and where a caddie can stand, no matter the part of the golf course.

Garcia won’t get off so easily.

The Spaniard took out his anger on a bunker during the second round in Saudi Arabia. That’s nothing new for Garcia, but video of it got even more attention because it was all anyone had to show in lieu of the real crime.

The next morning, without any camera crews following his group, Garcia went after the greens. That led the European Tour to disqualify him for “serious misconduct” covered in Rule 1.2.

According to the digital newsletter “Morning Read,”

players behind Garcia noticed “clearly intentional” damage on at least two greens that would affect play for the rest of the groups. Javier Erviti is the caddie for Renato Paratore, who was playing with Garcia, and he watched it all unfold. He told the newsletter, “We are used to the passion because we are Latin, but I had the feeling that his anger level was too out of hand.”

Garcia apologized in a European Tour statement announcing his disqualification. He later told Juan Luis Guillen, a Spanish reporter working for Morning Read, “Sometimes you lose your head and later you realize what you have done.”

European Tour chief Keith Pelley did not sound as though Garcia would face more punishment when he told The Scotsman: “The incident is over. We have dealt with it.

Sergio has apologized and we move on.”

Suspending him seems appropriate. Then again, Garcia figures to be punished even more by playing, for he will be reminded of his actions the rest of the year, maybe the rest of his career, depending on the gallery.

In some corners, an equal volume of outrage was reserved for the first big flap over the new rules.

Li Haotong of China was docked two shots in Dubai when his caddie was walking away as Li was stepping into his final putt on the last hole. It didn’t look like the caddie was lining him up, and the penalty appeared harsh because it took him from a tie for third to a tie for 12th.

Golf can be cruel, and Rickie Fowler could attest to that watching his ball roll into the water in Phoenix.

In Li’s case, the rule was applied according to the book.

Five days later at the Phoenix Open, Denny McCarthy was penalized two shots when his caddie was standing behind him for a wedge over water to

VONN: I’M TOO OLD FOR THIS A

RE, Sweden—One of the hallmarks of Lindsey Vonn’s career has been the way she bounces back from major crashes time and time again.

So perhaps it’s fitting that the most successful female skier of all time will enter her last race before retiring following yet another tumble into the safety netting.

Vonn straddled a gate mid-air during the super-G at the world championships on Tuesday and ended up sliding down the hill face first.

“I’ve got a bit of a shiner. I feel like I’ve been hit by an 18-wheeler, but other than that I’m great,” Vonn said with a laugh. “My knees are the same as they were before the race. I think my neck’s going to be sore. I got the wind knocked out of me, my ribs are oddly sore. It’ll be fine. Sunday will be great.”

Vonn quickly got up after the fall and skied down the hill under her own power after being tended to by medical personnel. Then she sat and happily answered reporters’ questions during a half-hour news conference.

The 34-year-old Vonn, the all-time leader in women’s World Cup wins, announced last week that she will retire after racing the super-G and downhill at the worlds— meaning that Sunday’s downhill is her final race.

“Don’t count me out,” Vonn said. “I’ve got one more chance. Maybe I’ll pull off a miracle, maybe I won’t....

I’m going to try my hardest. Just because I get knocked down, it doesn’t mean I don’t get back up.”

Vonn’s long history of crashes has included frightful

McIlroy launches program for fans who love to play golf

falls at the 2006 Turin Olympics and 2013 worlds and injuries to virtually every part of her body—from a concussion to a sliced thumb to a bruised shin. But she has always bounced back by winning titles and medals.

“That’s defined her career and that’s why she is as successful as she has been,” US Head Coach Paul Kristofic said. “You have to respect that. That’s a true competitor and champion, and that’s their mindset.”

Vonn’s legs are so battered that she will have knee surgery for the seventh time soon after she retires—to repair the left knee ligament she tore during training in November.

“I need complete reconstruction.

That will be fun. Hopefully my last surgery,” Vonn said.

Vonn was planning on retiring in December but moved up her last race upon realizing last month after failing to finish a super-G in Italy that her knees just can’t handle anymore pounding.

She has discussed the long-term health risks for her body with her doctors. AP

RORY MCILROY launches “GolfPass,” a direct-toconsumer subscription program that will deliver more than just exclusive content from the fourtime major champion. AP

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LINDSEY VONN is assisted after crashing during the women’s super-G in Are, Sweden, on Tuesday. AP

the green as McCarthy was making casual swings.

The caddie moved away. McCarthy backed off, lined himself up and hit the shot.

By the strict wording of the rule, he was penalized.

The difference in the two cases is that a player can avoid penalty if he restarts his pre-shot routine on the putting green (Li). That doesn’t apply to other areas of the course (McCarthy). Even under the old rules, the putting green was treated differently.

The problem is that more videos surfaced of similar cases that week in Phoenix, and officials had to take a closer look. They consulted with the US Golf Association (USGA) and R&A and decided to rescind the penalty until they figure out how to administer the rule evenly.

Even when trying to simplify the rules, it can get complicated. And golf—especially its rules—is an easy target for criticism.

So is the USGA, which became the target on social media of PGA Tour players looking to assess blame. Yes, the USGA and R&A set the rules for golf worldwide. In this case, however, top rules experts from the PGA Tour, European Tour, Ladies PGA Tour and others had a seat at the table in the biggest overhaul of rules in golf history.

It is not a “stupid rule.” That was a popular phrase after the McCarthy ruling. Remember, this new rule was a product of years of criticism that caddies were lining up their players (mostly on the LPGA Tour). The problem was not the rule, but writing it to make sense.

No one should have expected them to get everything right after such a massive project. The key is to fix mistakes when they arise. The players can do their part, too, and it’s really simple.

Have their caddie stand somewhere else.

EBBLE BEACH, California—Rory McIlroy can’t imagine what his life would be like without golf, and now he wants to cultivate his joy of the game with as many people as possible through a partnership with NBC Sports Group.

McIlroy on Tuesday launched “GolfPass,” a direct-toconsumer subscription program that will deliver more than just exclusive content from the four-time major champion. The idea is to get customers more involved by using the vast resources at NBC Sports Group with tee times, instruction, its video library, travel and shopping.

“Whenever I started to talk to guys with Golf Channel to do a partnership to try to make people’s experience in golf better, I was all for it,” McIlroy said before a media blitz in New York. “I’ve had nothing but good times and good

experiences playing this game.”

GolfPass costs $9.99 a month or $99 a year, and there are plans to make it available in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. The membership is built around five pillars—play, learn, watch, travel and shop. One of the immediate perks for members is a free round of golf each month at any of the 7,000 golf courses in 26 countries that are part of the “GolfNow” program at Golf Channel. Those courses include Royal Portrush, Pasatiempo Golf Club in California and the TPC Deere Run. Members will have access to more than 4,000 on-demand instruction videos involving elite coaches and players, a video library at Golf Channel that ranges from David Feherty’s golf shows to competitions that NBC originally broadcast, along with deals for travel through “Golf Advisor” and discounts in equipment and apparel through TaylorMade, which is a GolfPass partner.

“We’re creating a product that’s going to make it easier and more fun to play the game,” said Mike McCarley, president of golf for NBC Sports.

McCarley said the discussions began two years ago when McIlroy’s management team had a technology-based idea, and before long officials figured out how to interconnect Golf Channel properties like GolfNow (a tee time service), Revolution Golf (video instruction) and Golf Advisor, which involves rating golf courses and travel destinations.

What impressed McCarley was how the 29-year-old from Northern Ireland made a connection between this product aimed at consumers and Arnold Palmer’s vision of starting Golf Channel in 1995.

“To try to carry forward what Arnold started 25 years ago, bring it into the 21st century with GolfPass...you can never fill shoes that big, but to try to carry the torch in some way is a great honor,” McIlroy said.

“It’s about me trying to give something back to a game that has given me so much.”

Palmer left indelible memories with McIlroy when he first played at Bay Hill in 2015 as No. 1 in the world. McIlroy approached The King’s table at lunch, and Palmer asked if there was anything he needed. McIlroy replied, “Mr. Palmer, thanks to you, I have everything I could ever need in my life.” According to those at the table, Palmer began to get tears in his eyes.

McIlroy won the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year.

It’s the second time in two months that a prominent player began a direct-to-consumer product. Tiger Woods signed a deal with Discovery’s “GolfTV” for exclusive access to Woods and original content.

McIlroy is doing a docuseries called “My Roots” on his rise in golf, and he plans to co-host a podcast with Carson Daly. But it’s not all Rory all the time. Other content includes players, analysts and celebrities discussing how they play some of the toughest holes in golf, along with other athletes talking about their daily routines.

“I’ll be on there a lot,” McIlroy said. “It will be hard to miss me.” AP

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God of peace

EAR God, You blessed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Your spirit of unity and love. We humbly pray to You: Oh God in Your justice, hear our prayer. Embolden Your Church to shed the light of the Gospel on practices rooted in racism and discrimination. Sustain all who work to secure human rights especially in hostile environments. Free Your people from every form of oppression that plagues human lives. May Christ our true freedom, strengthen us to live as children of the light, in company with Saint Agnes and all holy men and women of peace. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY, SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

IN this March 1, 2017, file photo, the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, appear in the sky over Bifrost, Western Iceland. Police in Iceland say tourists are often putting themselves at risk searching for the Northern Lights, whose spectacular streaks of color light up the winter skies at night. AP

Life

MOMMY NO LIMITS: ARE WE BORN WITH LUCK? D3

BusinessMirror

Thursday, February 7, 2019

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WHY THIS STORYBOOK JAPANESE LOCATION SHOULD BE YOUR NEXT DESTINATION

Iceland’s Northern Lights: Beautiful sight, risky drives

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By EGiLL BJaRNasON The Associated Press

KUREYRI, Iceland—Police in Iceland have a warning for visitors: Beware our roads in the winter.

Spending a clear winter night under an Arctic sky lit up by spectacular streaks of color from the Northern Lights is an often-cited “bucketlist” experience among the reasons more people are visiting Iceland, especially its northern region.

The remote region on the edge of the Arctic Circle is one of the best places in the world to spot the colorful phenomenon.

But police say many foreign visitors lack the experience and expertise to handle Iceland’s wintry road conditions. They are increasingly worried about visitors scanning the sky for the Northern Lights and not looking at the road, which may be icy, twisty or narrow—or all three conditions at once.

“The weather in Iceland changes every five minutes, so to speak, and road conditions change accordingly,” said Supt. Johannes Sigfusson of the Akureyri Police Department, the largest in the northern region. “In a matter of minutes, a dry road can turn icy and slippery.

“The risk is compounded in the middle of the night, when an inexperienced driver is deprived of sleep and with one eye on the sky.”

Of the 18 people who died in traffic crashes in Iceland in 2018, half of them were foreigners, continuing a trend that started the year before, when more foreigners than residents died for the first time on this volcanic island in the North Atlantic.

The aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, occur when a magnetic solar wind slams into the Earth’s

magnetic field and causes atoms in the upper atmosphere to glow. The lights appear quite suddenly and the intensity varies—the most amazing are bright green with streaks of purple and yellow.

Northern Lights sightings depend on a mix of luck and effort. The Icelandic Met Office operates a 9-scale Northern Lights forecast every day, based on solar winds in the past three days, that pinpoints the best spots in the country each night to try to see the lights. But traveling away from city lights is most often necessary, and that has led some drivers to take hazardous mountain roads.

Police say they have encountered sleep-deprived drivers cruising into the night, as well as vehicles driving without lights on to prevent light pollution.

Police say some accidents even happen on main roads, when tourists hit the brakes quickly because of a sudden Northern Lights sighting and then get hit from behind.

It doesn’t help that, in Icelandic winters, the sun in Akureyri can rise as late as 11:39 am and set as early as 2:43 pm, meaning that tourists are spending most of their day driving in the dark.

Authorities note that the capital, Reykjavik, Akureyri and other areas have tourism companies that offer nightly Northern Lights bus tours neardaily in the winter so tourists can leave the driving to professionals. Iceland’s road infrastructure also lags behind its boom in international tourism. The national Road No. 1, which runs for 1,337 kilometers (830 miles) as it connects coastal towns and villages on this volcanic island of 350,000 people, still has narrow lanes and many one-lane bridges.

Last month, a sport-utility vehicle carrying seven British tourists plunged off a one-lane bridge on Road No. 1 in southern Iceland, killing three people and

critically injuring the others.

In the winter, tourists from warm countries—who may never have driven in snow and ice—have been more likely to get into accidents, according to the Icelandic Transport Authority.

“Driving on Icelandic winter roads it is tough.

Definitely,” said Jeremy Tan, a financier from Singapore who was about driving his rental car halfway around Iceland. “Dark roads and strong winds are something that I am not used to.”

He was parked at Godafoss, a landmark waterfall in northern Iceland, hoping that the clouds might pull the curtains on a winter Northern Lights show. The Icelandic Met Office’s Northern Lights forecast for that night listed their strength as “moderate” but Tan was prepared to wait, with warm cloths and snacks for the night.

But midnight passed without any signs of green, purple or yellow dancing lights above the horizon.

The accuracy of aurora forecasting could soon improve, however.

The Chinese Polar Research Institute is opening Iceland’s first-ever aurora research station in a remote valley about a half-hour drive from the northern town of Akureyri. The futuristic three-store building, set to go into operation later this year, is part of China’s broad ambitions in the Arctic.

Gunnlaugur Bjornsson, astrophysicist at the University of Iceland, is among the local scientists involved in project. Speaking to The Associated Press, he said much was still unknown about the Northern Lights and the vast electromagnetic system that unleashes them.

“Weather prediction is difficult. Aurora prediction is even more so,” he said. “We just have to wait and see, like with the earthquakes.” n

AMONG Japan’s many urban cities packed with world-famous sites and landmarks to marvel at, here’s one as equally exciting and possibly even more beautiful: Sapporo, the most magical city of them all. Nestled in the northern island of Hokkaido (yes, like the famous milk-tea flavor) are sprawling storybook hills that make up the fifth largest—not to mention one of the most livable—cities in the country. Discover why it’s found its way to be Japan’s hidden gem when it comes to beer, skiing and celebrating the winter months.

Imagine experiencing winter in a city that loves the season so much, it created a festival around it. After the warmth of a full-service Philippine Airlines flight onboard the new A321 Neo, explore Sapporo’s snowy mountains and witness a winter wonderland that is nothing short of enchanting. From its humble beginnings of six high-school students building ice carvings in 1950, the festival has grown to bewitch locals and tourists alike through the years. Bask in chilly amazement at over 400 ice sculptures (some even life-sized) and thrilling ice slides; navigate your way through ice mazes; catch top musical acts onstage; even cheer for your favorites at the Queen of Ice beauty pageant. Not bad for simply ticking the Sapporo Snow Festival off your bucket list, isn’t it?

It’s not all snow-covered roads for this city, though.

Visitors can be sure that Sapporo has enough year-round excitement to keep everyone entertained. In the spring, which comes a few months after the rest of the country, visitors can enjoy cherry blossoms in full bloom, without the rest of the tourist crowds. Come summer, the city brims with lavender fields, music festivals, and beach events—best enjoyed with decadent ice cream crafted with the world-renowned Hokkaido milk. And finally for autumn, when nature turns into a beautiful palette of orange and yellow hues, people indulge in a grand gastronomic feast at the Sapporo Autumn Festival.

Also, drop by Japan’s only Beer Museum—it’s where the country’s world-famous beer brand gets its name. Love Royce’s Chocolate? Make sure to stop by Royce’s Chocolate World and witness chocolate artisans work their magic. Trade train rides for a picturesque view aboard a street car with old-world charm. Slurp down a bowl of Hokkaido’s specialty dish, miso butter corn ramen and don’t be shy about asking for seconds.

Sapporo is a majestic mix of nature and urban living, a timeless display of Japan just a bit different from what the rest of the world is used to. It is a sight to behold: its lush flower farms filled with vibrant hues, quaint canals to pass through on a boat, charming architecture barely over a century old. It is no wonder many have carefully stepped into this place only find themselves falling deeply in love with the city.

Head over to Japan’s northern paradise and discover firsthand how it has cast its spell on everyone who has paid it a visit. Philippine Airlines (www.philippineairlines.com) flies to this magical destination thrice weekly aboard the new Airbus A321 Neo, nonstop from Manila to Sapporo’s new Chitose Airport.

HII, ACEA Subic Bay team up for relaxing family staycation experience ONE of the country’s premier hospitality management companies, Hospitality Innovators Inc. has been recently engaged to take over the management and operations of ACEA Subic Bay Resort (www.aceasubicbay.com). HII is a local hotel and property management company with 20 properties in its portfolio and another five in the pipeline.

Ranked as one of the best destinations in the country, ACEA Subic Bay is a tranquil escape from the busy city. It offers the best beachfront in Subic together with breathtaking views of crystal-clear waters, exciting activities, and complete state-of-the-art facilities to accommodate individual travelers and big families. In addition, it has outstanding corporate and wedding facilities, with a variety of

conference rooms and ballrooms.

As ACEA’s new managing partner, HII is responsible for the resort’s overall management, including its day-to-day operations, financial results, sales and marketing, facilities upkeep and maintenance, and people management.

“We are very glad to have HII on board, and we are excited to see how we can work together to propel ACEA to greater heights starting this summer,” says resort owner Kenneth Sytin.

“Considering HII’s rich portfolio and reputation in the hospitality industry, we’re certain they can help us reach our goals as a company and offer unparalleled beach resort experience to all our guests,” adds Rommel Sytin, another of ACEA’s owners.

Exuding a calm and refreshing

ambiance, ACEA Subic Bay pampers its guests with generously sized, beachfront rooms overlooking the sea, exciting resort activities, and amenities such as a playground for children, fitness gym, and a complete range of water sports and activities. All these topped with overflowing drinks and mouthwatering international dishes at the resort’s restaurant, while taking in the view of the stunning Subic Bay, will make any holiday extraordinary.

“We believe that ACEA has everything it takes to become the top resort destination in Subic,” says HII Founder and CEO Luis Monserrat. “HII’s role is to bring our management, operational and service expertise to be able to realize the potential this property has.”

ACEA Subic Bay is a tranquil escape from the busy city, offering the best beachfront in Subic together with breathtaking views of crystal-clear waters, exciting activities and complete state-of-the-art facilities to accommodate individual travelers and big families.

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Thursday, February 7, 2019

Entertaining BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Ashton Kutcher, 41; Chris Rock, 54; Garth Brooks, 57; James Spader, 59.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Take on something new this year.

How you wheel and deal will keep you in the running for a big change you’ve been working toward for years.

Trust yourself and believe in your abilities to make gains that will allow you to enhance your lifestyle. Romance is highlighted and will encourage you to relax and enjoy life. Your lucky numbers are 6, 14, 21, 26, 30, 38, 43.

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Look at every angle before making a decision. Don’t count on anyone for help. Empty promises will leave you in a predicament. Concentrate on personal changes that will make you feel good. Don’t share secrets or plans prematurely. HHH TENYA All Star Tendon

TENYA A la Carte Tempura

Tenya goes east, opens 9th local branch at Tiendesitas The global brand known for its affordable tempura tendon continues to expand its presence in a market crazy for everything Japanese and fried.

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By Jt Nisay

F you have guests hankering for scrumptious Japanese, go east.

Japan’s top tempura tendon chain Tenya reaches the eastern part of the Metro with the launch of its ninth Philippine branch at Tiendesitas in Pasig City.

With branches located mostly in the central and southern parts of Metro Manila, the Tiendesitas presence is the brand’s largest in the country to date, which can accommodate around 80 guests within two floors, with the second floor available for private functions for up to 40 people.

“Tenya is the No. 1 tempura tendon restaurant in Japan,” said Tenya Philippines General Manager Edmundo Ramos during the recent launch of the Tiendesitas branch. “We think the brand can also be the No. 1 tempura tendon restaurant here in the Philippines.”

Known for its battered seafood, meat or vegetables that are deep-fried to infrared-heat precision and quality, Tenya entered the Philippine market in 2015 through the Rack’s group, Cavallino Inc. Tenya is regarded as the most successful Japanese tempura tendon chain with more than 200 stores across

several Asian countries, mainly in Japan in the metropolitan Tokyo area.

The brand started in 1989 at the Yaesu underground mall in Tokyo Station as the answer of Founder Yoshio Iwashita to the lack of affordable tendon, or a bowl of rice topped with tempura. He offered the popular dish at one-third of its average price at that time, and Tenya has enjoyed great popularity since.

The quality and consistency of the dishes, of course, deserve credit, as well. For one, Tenya’s signature tempura on its tendon is fried with 100 percent heart-healthy canola oil on a brand-exclusive conveyor belt-type fryer, powered by infrared-heat technology that ensures product consistency. The result every time is a golden crisp, with a batter from specially formulated flour kept light and crispy— complementing, and not masking, a prawn that is thick and chewy.

The tempura tendon goes with a bed of steaming Japanese rice, drizzled with the brand’s signature dontare sauce, or a special blend of sweet and umami flavors that goes perfectly with the tempura.

Tenya’s other popular dishes are the All-Star Tendon (P325) and Teishoku set (P395), which has a mound of seafood tempuras, including black tiger prawn, squid, salmon, kani, green beans, and shimeji

mushroom topping on a bed of rice and also drizzled in Tenya’s original dontare sauce. There is also the TempuRamen (P345), a dish born out of customer demand, which is tonkotsu ramen broth topped with ground pork and paired with black tiger prawn, green beans and eggplant tempura.

According to Denise Ramos, director for operations of Cavallino Inc., the group goes through audits under their Japanese partners every two months to ensure overall operations are up with global standards, from food quality to store cleanliness. This, she said, allows Tenya Philippines to provide customers top-level quality and service.

“There are so many horror stories where a Japanese brand comes in, all guns blazing, the Japanese chef is at the back, then he’s out after about a month.

After that, quality takes a hit,” added Chukri Prieto, Cavallino Inc. managing director. “I think our main driving force is providing the best quality day in and day out at an affordable price.”

As for Tenya’s next location, the group said they’re looking at Quezon City, Makati City and the Manila area. Tenya is present in Market! Market!, BGC Stopover, SM Megamall, SM Southmall, SM Mall of Asia, Aseana City, Festival Supermall, Paseo de Magallanes and Tiendesitas. n

Relish love over a Valentine dinner special RICHMONDE Café’s Viva Amore!, an Italian-inspired semi-buffet featuring plated entrée of grilled rib eye or panseared salmon.

MAKE February 14th an extra special day for you and your significant other and celebrate the love holiday with an exquisite dinner at Richmonde Café in Richmonde Hotel Ortigas (www. richmondehotelortigas.com.ph).

Turn on the romance as you perk up your palates with the flavorful offerings at the Viva Amore! Valentine’s Day Dinner. Hefty servings of delectable Italian-inspired cuisine are sure to delight and take you on a gastronomic journey to the streets of Italy. The buffet spread of tasty starters of seafood and cold cuts at the antipasto tavolo

(appetizer table), the assorted insalata (salads), pane (bread) and zuppa (soup) are sure to whet your appetite for the plated entrée which is a choice of either grilled rib eye with mushroom sauce, or pan-seared salmon with lemon cream sauce that comes with your preferred accompaniment of either Greek-style roasted potatoes or saffron rice pilaf.

Divine dolci dalla pasticceria (cakes from the bakery) overflow at the dessert counter to give a perfect ending to a sensuous feast.

The Viva Amore! dinner is inclusive of a glass of red or white wine.

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Use your imagination to come up with a plan that makes sense and will take care of any concerns you have moving forward. A personal change will give you the push you need to pursue something you want. HHHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Be careful who you trust. Someone will offer you something that isn’t feasible. Ask questions and get to the bottom of any situation that could end up costing you emotionally or financially. Walk away from indulgent situations.

HHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Let your creativity lead the way. Don’t be shy when it comes to expressing your feelings and what you would like to see happen. A make-or-break situation should be handled with care. HHHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You’ll thrive on change. Don’t let boredom set in when it’s up to you to make your life better. Satisfy your needs by taking action and finding positive alternatives to your current situation. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Follow through with your plans. Now is not the time to waffle or to give someone the wrong impression. Be precise and make your move with confidence. You can have what you want if you take a stand and make it happen. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t rely on someone who complains all the time. You need to surround yourself with positive people who are willing to help, not criticize. Change begins within, so stop procrastinating or waiting for someone else to make a move. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Follow your heart and pursue creative dreams. A chance to revisit something or someone that used to be a big part of your life will be revitalizing.

Love and romance will enhance your personal life.

HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Trust your knowledge and ability to get to the bottom of things, not what someone tells you. If you want to make a change, do the legwork and research and follow through on your own. HH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Stick to what you know. Don’t take a risk or follow others.

Do your own thing and focus on personal improvements and financial gains. A physical change will boost your confidence and result in unexpected compliments. HHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Keep moving forward. Refuse to let anyone get in your way or talk you into something you don’t really want to do. Emotional manipulation can lead to loss. Focus on what you want and how you can improve your life. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Offer help, and you will impress someone skeptical of what you are trying to achieve. A change will turn out to be more favorable than you anticipate. Don’t lose sight of what’s important or become involved in excessive behavior. HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are steadfast, ambitious and intelligent.

You are benevolent and imaginative.

‘going postal’ BY PAUL COULTER The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Goethe’s soul-seller 6 Volume knob, e.g.

10 Apiece 14 “You already told me” 15 Wander 16 Flat-topped hill 17 *Ambassador’s group (note every starred answer’s initials!)

20 Fairy-tale opener 21 One small bite 22 “At Seventeen” singer Janis 23 Open ___ night 25 Off the mark 27 *Path on steep terrain 33 Web address, for short 34 Marketing lure 35 Blue-green hue 38 Dog park game 40 First 30-day mo.

41 $$$ 42 Aluminum wrap 43 US Open champ Andre 45 Apt rhyme of “caught”

6 *Nickname of Biloxi’s home 4 49 66-Across vessel 51 “Girls Like ___” (2018 hit) 52 Behave 53 Sure winner 57 Pet name?

61 *Shrimp and grits, etc.

64 “Blondie” boy 65 Ram, for a ewe 66 Oolong alternative 67 Get out of bed 68 Coin opening 69 Popular Twitter topic DOWN 1 Classic dog name 2 Analogous 3 Like sexist jokes, briefly 4 Very serious 5 Dos, in English 6 “Darn!”

7 I, to Icarus 8 Budget competitor 9 Speaker’s stand 10 Mood music?

11 Exercise regimen involving a hammock 12 Senate hearing airer 13 ___ a clue (is lost) 18 Asian gambling center 19 Michael of “Molly’s Game” 24 Back scratcher target 26 Puerto ___ 27 Bungle 28 Cookie in some sundaes 29 Final demands 30 Adult insect 31 Kathmandu’s country 32 They have rock-hard abs 36 “Thanks ___!”

37 “Great” kid-lit detective 39 Applaud 41 Japanese soup 43 Country music?

44 Decline a request 47 “Gee willikers!”

48 Tanya who sang “Delta Dawn” 49 Electric dart shooter 50 Raw meat danger

4 Face-to-face exam 5 55 Burst ___ the scene 56 “Rhyme Pays” rapper 58 Nature walk 59 Aware of 60 Elderly 62 Boot tip 63 Choose Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Parentlife BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, February 7, 2019

FROM left: A Happy Year of the Pig installation in Tsim Tsa Tsui, Kowloon, in Hong Kong last January; with Princesse Lim Fernandez at a past annual Chinese New Year’s Eve celebration of The Yin and Yang Shop of Harmony, which I attend every year; my sister Joan with my kids at a previous Chinese New Year dinner; and a “fu” (luck) cake that Meagan and Marcus baked

Are we born with luck?

VERY Chinese New Year, many people “check” their luck for the coming year.

Many go to their choice feng shui expert to know their luck forecast for the year and how to improve their luck and prevent ill tidings.

Others will purchase feng shui forecast books similar to how we would look at economic forecasts in business. More often than not, feng shui is tapped to find “money luck.”

For many Filipino-Chinese families, feng shui starts the minute parents search for the right “candidate-partner” for their child. They look at signs that are free from conflict with their child’s Chinese horoscope. The tradition continues to when the new couple decides to conceive and then later on chooses an auspicious day and time when the new baby will actually be born. When a Dragon year is near, birth rates especially in oriental countries surge.

All of the important dates like house blessings and celebrations up to burial dates are consulted. People who are into feng shui believe that choosing a wrong date might affect not just the individual, but the whole family, as well.

The feng shui practice that has expanded more widely is about finding the balance of Yin and Yang at important places in our life. This starts at home, our office and property investments. Both international and local property development companies also

have their own feng shui consultants to ensure these projects’ financial success, which is an added plus to buyers. I grew up in a very feng shui-engrained environment. A Chinese monk gave my Chinese name. He later explained that the choice of a Chinese name should serve to supplement what your Chinese horoscope lacked. Our family adhered to most of the feng shui rules on choosing dates, our home’s orientation and other major decisions in the family.

So when I got older, I followed these practices like familial customs and traditions. The same Chinese monk chose my kids’ Chinese names.

In feng shui, each person has a specific eight characters that defines one’s lifelong “luck,” both good and bad. Based on this, I guess one can say that one is “predestined” with their “luck.” However, I also believe that “luck” is no different from raising kids.

There is a joint element of nature and nurture. One may have a positive luck for one’s career. However, if one does not decide on their choice of craft or is willing to put in the work, the luck remains to be a potential and may never be realized. I also believe that consulting feng shui is not a guarantee. I know of a family which chose the partner for their daughter based on feng shui. The union lasted for barely a year. In another aspect, I love how a feng shui master friend puts it. In the end, if one is a good person and continuously does good things for the right purpose, then one’s potential positive luck gets ushered in with more fluidity.

As I learned more about feng shui, I became more convinced it has strong scientific basis. However, it is for me not the sole path to that “perfect and lucky life.” I believe it is more about providing tools to find balance in all aspects of one’s life. More than this, I believe feng shui should fit our choices and not the other way around.

What do I mean by “fit”? Fit presupposes that we have decided on the hierarchy of importance with regard to the various aspects of our life. These may

include love, family, work, financial, relationships, health and so on. By knowing what is important to us, we would ensure that these chosen aspects are “worked on.”

I stand by the premise that one can aim to want everything, but also know how to be grateful each day for the daily “luck” we receive in each aspect of our life. So when luck finds us, we would actually recognize it. How many times did we pass up an opportunity and regret afterward because we didn’t know that was what we wanted? How many times did we actually have something but took it for granted, later on realizing that was what we wanted all along?

Below are my views on luck, which I shared last 2017 and still stand by today: n LUCK BEGINS AT BIRTH AND IN THOUGHT. I believe the blessing of our birth is the beginning of our luck.

It is good to let our kids be aware of that “luck of me” early on. n LUCK IS THE VIEW FROM OUR OWN LENSES. Beyond optimism, luck is the eyes of relativity that is always in our control. It is our choice to spot luck or miss it.

This takes years of practice. It is good to start our kids early by the example we show them. n LUCK IS THE RECOGNITION OF KNOWN WANTS. Luck can only be present if there is a self-awareness of wants. We can’t experience luck if we don’t know what we want. This is why I feel it’s so important to go through the journey of our own definition of “prosperity.” n LUCK MULTIPLIES WITH GRATITUDE. I always believe life sees our gratitude. It is like us as a parent.

When we see our children grateful, we work even harder for them. n LUCK IS A GIFT WE CAN ALSO GIVE. I believe the point of receiving luck is to be able to share it. Good thoughts beget good thoughts.

Next week, I will share my thoughts on how selflove brings forth “self-luck.”

Happy Year of the Pig, everyone. n

CELEBRATE Chinese New Year with this huggable pig-inspired pillow available at Miniso.

KEEP a positive vibe around you with this endearing pig plush toy in dinosaur costume.

THIS comfortable and fluffy piggy pillow will keep you company as you travel this year.

Behind kindness lies a determined nature that always follows their goals, but acts gently and tactfully without offending the dignity of others. Pig girls are gentle, kind and caring. Pig boys, on the other hand, are valiant knights with a good heart. He reads a lot, knows countless interesting stories and strongly achieves his goals with dignity.

Channeling the positive, joyful vibe of the Year of the Pig, Miniso has adorable and fluffy pig plush toys in dinosaur and bunny costumes, as well as huggable pillows, creative eye masks and novelty neck pillows.

This is one way you and your family can pig out minus the guilt.

SLEEP in style this New Year with this piggy-inspired eye mask, available at Miniso.

MOMMY NO LIMITS

MAYE YAO CO SAY

mommynolimits@gmail.com

Study: Many small kids are using too much toothpaste NEW YORK—Too many young kids are using too much toothpaste, increasing their risk of streaky or splotchy teeth when they get older, according to a government survey released on Thursday.

About 40 percent of kids ages three to six used a brush that was full or half full of toothpaste, even though experts recommend no more than a peasized amount, the study found.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention findings were based on a survey of parents of more than 5,000 kids ages three to 15.

Health officials recommend that all people drink fluoridated water, and that everyone two or older brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.

But the amount is important. Children under three are only supposed to use a smear of toothpaste the size of a grain of rice. Kids three to six are supposed to keep it to a pea-sized amount.

“Fluoride is a wonderful benefit but it needs to be used carefully,” said Dr. Mary Hayes, a pediatric dentist in Chicago.

Young kids may push for independence in brushing their teeth, but kids’ toothpaste tastes sweet. “You don’t want them eating it like food,” Hayes said. “We want the parent to be in charge of the toothbrush and the toothpaste.”

Fluoride is a mineral found in water and soil.

More than 70 years ago, scientists discovered that people whose drinking water naturally had more fluoride also had fewer cavities. That led to efforts to add fluoride to tap water, toothpaste, mouthwash and other products. Experts say fluoride had helped drive down rates of tooth decay in US teens and adults.

But too much fluoride when teeth are forming can lead to tooth streaking or spottiness—known as dental fluorosis. In extreme cases, teeth can be pitted by the mineral, though many cases are so mild only dentists notice it.

Past studies have suggested fluorosis has been increasing for at least three decades, and can affect as many as 2 out of 5 adolescents.

The new study did not follow the kids through time or try to determine how many developed streaked or spotty teeth as a result of using too much toothpaste.

The authors acknowledged other limitations.

Parents might have misremembered how much toothpaste kids used when they were younger.

Also, the survey didn’t ask specifically about what kinds of toothpaste were used; not all kinds of children’s toothpaste have fluoride in them.

The study found about 60 percent of kids brushed their teeth twice a day. It also found that roughly 20 percent of white and black kids, and 30 percent of Hispanic kids, didn’t start brushing until they were three or older. AP

E

It’s the Year of the Pig JAPANESE fast fashion brand Miniso welcomes the Year of the Pig with a wide collection of cheerful and huggable pig plush toys that will surely give you and everyone in your family good luck and positivity this year.

Children born in the Year of the Pig, after all, are distinguished by a rare cheerfulness, optimism and they never lose heart. It is impossible to find a sad child of this sign, as he finds happiness in small things: communication with close people and friends, favorite toys, delicious food. He believes that life is given for happiness, problems are easily solved, and the main things are health and a positive attitude.

D3

D4

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Passion in ‘Cold War’ JOANNA KULIG and Tomasz Kot star in Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War, which received three nominations in the 91st Academy Awards.

REELING

TITO GENOVA VALIENTE

titovaliente@yahoo.com

T

HEY are crude songs, raw melodies. They sing of a simple love and a simple life. They sing of marriages and a beloved. Taken in tight shots, the faces of the singers are unwelcoming even as the melodies coming from their playing draw us in. Then the singers are now on makeshift stage, amid public rituals like marriage.

They continue singing.

The next frames introduce us to the go-betweens: a man and a woman deep into field work. They are recording folk songs about life, love and death in rural Poland, in territories far from the rising ideologies of communism.

They comb the woods and villages, stopping where the singers of the songs are, as if listening to them in the homes of the music where the notes are stringed, where the rhythms are rooted in.

It is deep winter in communist Poland. It is the late-1940s and the ideologies of communism have not yet seeped into distant territories. Two researchers are tasked to record these folk songs, perhaps to find in them the identities of a nation that have been elusive through years and centuries of occupation by other empires, and through shifts in boundaries common to landlocked countries.

What power and exotic appeal do these songs contain? The driver of the truck ferrying the two researchers through the cold landscape seems to know something. The two music experts are interested in their beauty. They are in it for passion.

As the truck rumbles on, the story of what seems like a staid tale of discovery promises no love and no thrill. There is, however, the chill and the dreariness of the cold season caught in the blackand-white poetry of the cinematography, in frame after frame of loveliness and loneliness. It is not even the sadness brought on with the tracks of human feet and presence; it is that gentle but persistent attraction to pulchritude, almost of pathological source, most seductive and alluring, and infinitely fraught with danger.

The two researchers find themselves part of a plan.

They are to set up a folkloric group of singers and dancers. That is accomplished. The group performs and is well-received.

But the government has something else in mind—the group has to sing about peace, and land reform and many other things the Communist Party wants to communicate to the people. If the film Cold War stayed with this theme about artists for art and artists for the nation, you would not have been reading this review.

But the filmmakers have something else in mind.

The conflict is not in communism vis-à-vis the culture fettered by capitalism or liberal traditions. The conflict is in that most complex seat of ideologies—the human heart.

The other part of the research team, the man who c0nducts the orchestra, has a liaison with one of the performers. She is this young girl with the charm of a farm girl, with that “raw” and uncultured voice

beloved by cultural workers of all persuasions. For the man, she has a tenderness.

She has also a past: she was jailed for some years because she attempted to kill her own father. The reason: to show her father his failure with the knife he tried to use against his wife, her own mother.

The man asks the young girl to run with her to the “free” world. But as with this kind of love, the escape is never perfected.

The screen turns black. The music changes. Jazz comes in and “Poland” disappears. It is Paris and the musician now plays the piano in a trio.

As with this kind of love, the lovers, against stars that cross the sky path of their devotion, meet again.

The girl, however, is still with the troupe.

But they find a way to meet again. The girl has left Poland.

The screen darkens. When the lights come back, the Polish woman is an exotic jazz singer. The man is at the piano and when the music plays on, it is the folk ballad about eyes that cry and those eyes that never meet again. The folk song drawn one wintry day in some unknown Polish town is now a torch song. The girl sizzles. Her dress is cosmopolitan. She is a new woman. She is not some rural lass aimed to construct the dreams of ideologues; she has become this sultry singer. Whatever stories about that folk song is now gone. The song is packaged for the new turmoil, for the passion that conjures the breaking of hearts.

In their frenzied lovemaking and in the days they spend as a couple, the woman tells the man he has changed. The world has changed because they have changed. The song has changed because their world

has changed.

Cold War uses only the trope of that political period but it does not share the boring premises of politicians, nor does it promise to be a p0litical film in the ponderous sense of the form. What the film has is the celebration of human agency and how when one is free and freed can there be real love. But this real love, this emotion unbridled and going wild does not use the template of the happy ever after.

As with real love, the burden of loving is not in the context nor in the society, but in the two beings in love. They realize that for love to be love is to pursue it to its end, which is the vow to stay forever. Nothing more. Nothing less.

In the last minutes of the film, the woman and the man travel on a bus. The film is in its beginning. They go into the ruins of what turns out be a church. We have entered this earlier, during the trips with the researcher. The wall bears the faded fresco of Christ, with the eyes almost gone but still apparent. They go to the front of the altar and recite the vows to stay together. Then they are back outside, on a bench, beneath a solitary tree. The world is theirs. They wait and when they feel the time is near, the woman asks the man to cross and go where the view is better.

On screen is a landscape that has become beautiful because it is bereft of human presence. It is an allure that lingers because we know a man and a woman were there. The vanishing point of all feelings is there guiding us to understand the narrative about love and kinship that have traveled through sociological paths and times. Politics is there but the story is never

grounded in historicity. Old-fashioned as this may be, the story of the man and the woman transcends all the pains that infidelity, notions of art and limited sensualities can cause. In the end, it is not really nihilism or tragedy but that consuming passion—the hunger for a person and the body—for each other that explains the seduction of leaving a geography—or of life—in exchange for what lovers feel is the closest they could approximate eternity.

As the two lovers, Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot as Zula and Wiktor, respectively, grace the screen with faces and bodies that go through shifts without the need for prosthetics. They seem to transform the period with their own presence. The cinematography of Lukasz Zal could be the reason for this artifice that is not artificial. Every frame with its images seizes us not so much with the movement but with the stillness; each confrontation and violent gesture stay with us for the silences they fill each pause and each glance.

Those contradictions distinguish this film whose heat is coddled in its title about the Cold War. Cold War (Zimna wojna) is directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, who is credited with Janusz Glowacki and Piotr Borkowski for the screenplay. The film competed in the 2018 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme D’Or and won for Pawlikowski the Best Director prize. The film is distributed by Kino Swiat (Poland), Diaphana Films (France) and Curzon Artificial Eye (United Kingdom).

It is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director and Best Cinematography in the 91st Academy Awards. n

MEGHAN PUTS NOTES ON BANANAS SENT TO NEEDY WOMEN IN BRITAIN

REBEL WILSON

BRITAIN’S Got Talent continues to draw eyeballs for AXN.

EVERYTHING’S EERILY PERFECT IN A ROM-COM WORLD

SONY PICTURES TELEVISION NETWORKS ASIA CONTINUES DOMINANCE WITH AXN

STARRING Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Liam Hemsworth and Priyanka Chopra, Isn’t It Romantic launches on Netflix on February 28.

New York City architect Natalie (Rebel Wilson) works hard to get noticed at her job but is more likely to be asked to deliver coffee and bagels than to design the city’s next skyscraper. And if things weren’t bad enough, Natalie, a lifelong cynic when it comes to love, has an encounter with a mugger that renders her unconscious, waking to discover that her life has suddenly become her worst nightmare—a romantic comedy—and she is the leading lady.

Isn’t It Romantic also stars Liam Hemsworth as Blake, Natalie’s handsome client; Adam DeVine as her earnest best friend, Josh; and Priyanka Chopra as yoga ambassador, Isabella.

SONY Pictures Television Networks Asia, the leading operator of ad-supported channels, announced top ratings for its flagship channel AXN in 2018.

English general entertainment (GE) powerhouse AXN continues to be the No. 1 English GE channel in both full day and prime time in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore on StarHub respectively in 2018, according to Kantar Media Research.

Collectively in these four countries, AXN doubled the ratings of the second English GE channel with strong performances driven by exclusive, express-from-the-US titles including Hawaii Five-O, MacGyver, reality programs America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent, American Ninja Warriors, as well as Hollywood blockbuster movies.

“We are proud to continue our run as the reigning preferred content destination for our audience,“ said Virginia Lim, senior vice president and general manager for Sony Pictures Television Networks Asia.

“Knowing what our audience craves for and delivering premium, compelling content attributed to our success in 2018, we have exciting plans for 2019 and we can’t wait to unveil them in the coming months.”

Fans of Asia’s Got Talent can look forward to yet another exciting season, which premiered on February 7.

Returning to judge for the third season are 16-time Grammy winner and producer David Foster, internationally acclaimed singing sensation Anggun, and multiplatinum recording artist Jay Park.

LONDON—Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has written personal messages to women being helped by a charity that seeks to help sex workers break free from prostitution.

Prince Harry’s wife took the unusual step of writing the messages on the skins of bananas destined for the food parcels that would be handed out to the women on Friday.

Meghan wrote sentiments such as “You are strong,” ‘’You are special,” and “You are brave!” with hearts next to them.

She was visiting the One25 organization in Bristol, southwest England. She said the messages were inspired after she learned of a program “this woman had started in the States on a school lunch program when on each of the bananas she wrote an affirmation or something to make the kids feel really empowered.” AP

BRITAIN’S Prince Harry, behind, looks on as Meghan, Duchess of Sussex helps prepare food parcels during her visit to the One25 charity kitchen in Bristol, England, on February 1. AP

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Thursday, February 7, 2019 E1

Culture, tourism top agenda for PHL-French connections

F

By Recto L. Mercene

@rectomercene

RANCE consistently ranks as a leading travel destination around the world.

Case in point: In 2018 the European country welcomed around 89 million visitors, with tourists easily outnumbering its citizens, according to Ambassador Nicolas Galey.

(As of February 2019, the United Nations estimates visitors’ figures at 65.3 million.)

The envoy shared during his guesting at the BusinessMirror Coffee Club France’s objective: To reach, by 2020, the symbolic milestone of 100 million foreign tourists.

The good ambassador was asked about the elements that make his country singularly unique to the citizens of the world. Perhaps, the attractions of Paris are too obvious, or he has become accustomed to what foreigners find as exotic in his motherland. Or maybe, it’s the Europeans’ natural inclination not to blow their own horns—though people across the globe continue to rave about France’s diverse tourist draws.

Although to a local like Galey (pronounced “gah-ley”), his instincts would tell that these are simply common currency: “The City of Lights,” as Paris is known for, or the haute cuisine that was once served only for royalties and potentates. Or even, he is simply too cautious to say that his people are one of the friendliest inhabitants of the planet (albeit, appearing to be snubs at first glance).

But deep within their Gaelic armor are folks imbued with the same passion for la belle vie.

Galey marched into our office for the interview armed with a ready

smile, attired in a well-fitting suit and carried the air of a proper French patrician. He was warm and animated as he went around the room, shook everyone’s hands and greeted, “Manigong bagong taon to all.”

“Everybody wants to go to Paris once in his or her lifetime. That’s certainly [a goal] for a lot of tourists,” the envoy shared.

He noted that in the 1970s to 1980s, many visitors wanted to get married in the French capital city and get glammed up for the occasion, as couples tied the knot aboard boats docked at the Seine River.

“You will very often see Asian couples [donned in formal] whites.

We have agencies in Paris which specialize on [these types of occasions],” meaning the instant nuptials.

He offers one possibility of France’s seeming magical attraction to the world’s travelers: its gastronomic delights. For a long time, the country has been synonymous with its haute cuisine served in ultrachic establishments, gourmet restaurants and luxury hotels. The meals are characterized by meticulous preparation and careful presentation of food, which commands a high price.

The French diplomat also noted that their international airport could be one of the attractions to travelers. He is referring to the airfield dedicated to Charles de Gaulle, also known as Roissy Airport, the name of the local district where it is located. The biggest international airport

in France and the second largest in Europe, it handled 72 million passengers and 480,945 aircraft movements in 2018.

“France is a nice country, and the French are nice people,” he pointed out, then referenced that many visitors of faith also trek to its numerous religious sites, including the famous Lourdes. “It may also be one reason [people arrive in] France.”

(The small town in the south of France has been the site of pilgrimages since a 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, prior to being canonized as a saint, saw the Blessed Virgin Mary in a cave. A total of 67 miraculous healings have been attributed to the area since 1858.)

Galey also ascribed the increased number of tourists to the hordes of Chinese who, armed with newfound wealth, are exploring the world.

(Statistics from the China National Tourism Administration claimed 131 million Chinese tourists traveled overseas in 2017.)

“The fact that more and more Chinese are traveling, with their population of 1.3 [billion] or 1.4 billion, will benefit every [country]. A simple increase of 1 percent every year [about 1.3 million tourists annually] has an impact on everything, including tourism.”

Visa, tourism matters

FRANCE’S top diplomat to the country noted that, although Italy and Spain probably host some 100,000 Filipinos, he said, “France has maybe about 20,000 to 25,000 Filipino residents.”

When queried that perhaps some more Pinoys are actually making a living in his country, the Frenchman gave his side: “Most of them are working in homes and families.

There’s a small group of Filipinos in the fashion industry. They are very

good [designers. They are] also in animation and cinema, and some other niche [industries].”

Galey said it only takes about two days to get a French visa, as long as documentation is complete. Deficiencies, such as the lack of some papers, could delay the process.

“If everything is OK, [processing is] 48 hours; but very frequently, one [document may be] missing or outdated, so we have to request more [time].” Compared with other Schengen or non-Schengen countries, “We’re doing well.”

He admitted that three years ago, the Philippines and France signed a tourism agreement, where one of the stipulations is to establish a joint committee on tourism.

The French envoy said the Department of Tourism (DOT) should be able to announce the progress of that agreement, since it would be set up in the Philippines. He added however that hopefully, in the coming months, this agreement would come to fruition, “not mainly to develop tourism flow, but to exchange knowledge and expertise in the field of tourism.”

He said that, although the World Tourism Organization is based in Madrid, Spain, France is still a prime draw for tourists, and that “Paris remains in the [top 3 of the most visited cities in the world], including Bangkok and New York.”

As was the norm, his country offers its scenic spots or beaches, “but tourists today ask for more,” he revealed, citing that the demand of a Chinese tourist is different from that of a Brazilian.

With that knowledge, he said the Philippines, which is blessed with so many assets for tourism, could certainly receive twice, or even three times more, the number of tourists than it is accommodating now.

On the other hand, Galey knew that the absence of direct connections between Manila and Paris is a major drawback to the increasing tourist flow from both sides. He hopes that flag carrier Philippine Airlines is looking at resuming trips to Paris, as it has in its fleet the A350 long-range plane to make a nonstop journey.

The ambassador proposes that a direct link to France from the Philippines would be profitable if the flight could connect to Palawan, “and not only from Paris, but the other cities of France.”

“This is really something that we can discuss together to better organize tourism—to adjust very quickly to a growing market, and preserve the environment.”

Environmental efforts

SPEAKING of such, he praises the Philippines for being one of 195 countries that signed the Paris Accord, or the Paris Agreement, within the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, which deals with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance, and will be in-force in 2020.

“We remember that when the Paris Accord was signed, the Philippines was very helpful [in bringing] many Asian and Pacific countries, and you remain a very strong advocate of this agreement.”

The envoy said France was appreciative of the country’s move to preserve the environment, and gave as an example the closure of the famous Boracay Island.

“Preserving the environment is very positive, because if you don’t pay attention to this, you’re destroying your own assets,” he advised.

“Everybody in the world knew [almost] overnight that it was closed, but it would take months…to restore the great reputation that Boracay had

15 years ago,” Galey warned. “It’s the same for a country, and…for a destination in general, so that’s the subject we will discuss [with the DOT] in terms of tourism flow.”

‘Positive developments’

IN terms of trade, Galey pointed out that because of his country’s membership in the European Union (EU), the French, Europeans and Filipinos have benefited from recent agreements across the European bloc.

He noted that since France and the Philippines both adhere to the Generalized System of Preferences agreement, or GSP, which facilitates export of goods into the EU, it gave the opportunity for Filipino businessmen to increase their exports by 60 percent.

Among the country’s shipped products to the said region are electronics, food and optical items; while on the other hand, the EU reciprocates with medicine, wine, chemicals and also items for consumption.

The top French representative to the country said the recent deliveries of Airbus planes to Philippine carriers are “positive developments,” although he admitted: “You don’t sell an A350 every day.”

He was full of praises for the country’s robust economic growth: “We are very jealous of [it]: more than 6 percent—nearly 7—in the last 10 years. It’s very steady and stable, according to most, if not all, economic institutions. Solid [numbers], with so-called fundamentals, which appear to be…very good.”

This healthy growth, he offered, “obviously attracts interests from economic partners. He emphasized: “There are not many places in the world where the economy is growing that fast.”

Continued on E2

Envoys& BusinessMirror

E2 Thursday, February 7, 2019

Lunar New Year ushers ‘golden era’ of China-Philippines bilateral ties

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INCE resuming friendly relations with China three years ago, the Philippines has benefited from the Asian giant as one of this country’s top foreign investors.

Investment numbers are now at P48.7 billion—a gargantuan increase of 8,364 percent—from a mere P575.8 million in 2017.

“China has since been the Philippines’s No. 1 trading partner and import origin, and the fourth-largest export market,” claimed Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua at an early Chinese New Year celebration on January 29 in Makati City.

The envoy said Philippine companies sold $124 million worth of goods and services during the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November 2018.

On the other hand, he revealed China has imported more than 2 million tons of tropical fruits from the Philippines, which generated more than $1.5 billion in revenues for 40,000 Filipino farmers.

The Chinese diplomat disclosed it has provided numerous aids in the form of grants or soft loans for the building of rehabilitation centers in Bulacan, the construction of two bridges spanning the Pasig River, the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, as well as other infrastructure efforts currently underway. “[In] the past two years, under the guidance of our two leaders, ChinaPhilippines relations have achieved an overall turnaround, enjoyed a sustained growth with strength and

depth, and surged forward along a fast track.”

“This progress could not be achieved without the support and facilitation provided by the friends of China from all walks of life, [as well as] the Chinese communities in the Philippines,” he noted.

Zhao took the opportunity to express his sincere gratitude to all those who contributed their time and diligent work to make the relationship a success.

China’s top envoy extended the warm greetings of his fellow Chinese and members of the Chinese communities in the Philippines “for another prosperous year and success in…[every undertaking].”

According to him, since the 40th anniversary of his country’s adoption of reform and opening-up policy, which was celebrated last year, “China has forged ahead with determination, and taken the great leap—from ‘catching up with the times,’ to ‘leading the times.’”

“Our gross domestic product rocketed to $13.6 trillion, from $148.2 billion. GDP per capita soared to nearly $10,000, from only $156.”

Development: Top priority

ZHAO proudly claimed that the former “sleeping dragon” has become the world’s second-largest economy, the biggest manufacturer, the

AMBASSADOR Zhao Jianhua delivers a speech and leads a toast to the furtherance of relations between China and the Philippines at a local celebration of the Chinese New Year. RECTO L. MERCENE

top trader of goods and the country with the largest foreign-exchange reserves.

In the last four decades China has kept on improving its people’s lives and their well-being, according to Zhao.

“More than 700 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty. The world’s largest social-security system has been built in China, covering old-age pensions, health care, allowances and welfare housing.”

Today Zhao said the Chinese people are striding proudly toward the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects.

“What’s behind China’s remarkable achievements?” we asked.

The good ambassador said the key factor is “its firm commitment to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, under the vigorous leadership of the Communist Party of China.”

“This is also a path based on [our] national conditions. We have emancipated the mind, sought truth from facts, kept up with the times, boldly promoted innovation both in theory

and practice, and successfully [founded] our own model of development, in the light of our national conditions and people’s needs.”

As a Communist country, China forbids the practice of religion. His country has since adopted the scientific approach to address their multifaceted concerns, which Zhao said was the means “with development as its top priority.” “ T he Chinese people have, standing side by side, conquered various difficulties and achieved brilliant progress in the national development.”

Zhao also said it is China’s path with openness that was its impetus.

His country “has kept its door open to the world, and will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, striving to build a community with a shared future for mankind.”

Speaking of the good fortune of its people, it was reflective of their active movement as global tourists.

China’s envoy noted that last year, the Philippines received more than 1.25 million of his compatriots, thus

achieving a 29.6-percent year-onyear increase in their numbers.

Out of its 130 million “newly minted” rich citizens who are expected to go out of the mainland this year, China has promised to send-in more than 2 million tourists to the archipelago.

‘Comprehensive strategic cooperation’

THE Chinese diplomat said there was sustained improvement and growth of China-Philippines relations.

“Last November, President Xi Jinping successfully paid his first state visit to the Philippines, and elevated our relationship into one of comprehensive strategic cooperation.”

Zhao said during the high-level meet, the two leaders witnessed the exchange of 29 documents in the fields of trade, finance, infrastructure, agriculture, education and culture among others. These efforts, he maintained, have injected new momentum to Chinese-Philippine relations.

Come April, he disclosed that the second “Belt and Road” Forum for

International Cooperation will be held in Beijing, and that China has invited President Duterte to attend.

“We are looking forward to the seventh meeting between the leaders of our two countries, which will chart a more magnificent blueprint for bilateral relations.”

As 2019 marks the 70th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, Zhao is elated that for the past seven decades, China has been constantly creating “development miracles” through the untiring endeavor of generations, one after another.

“Today Chinese people will write a new chapter of reform and opening up in the new era. 2019 is also the first year after our relationship has been elevated into one of comprehensive strategic cooperation.”

As the event concluded, Zhao exhorted: “Let us work hand in hand to implement the important consensus reached by our two leaders, promote the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in a comprehensive manner, and forge an even brighter ‘Golden Era’ of bilateral ties.” Recto L. Mercene

Culture, tourism top agenda for PHL-French connections Continued from E1

Global, local economy

THE ambassador, who holds a diploma from Institute of Political Studies in Paris, and a was former student at the École Nationale d’Administration, advances the idea that even some countries that have been observed to be very optimistic economies “are threatened by some clouds.”

Galey might be alluding to China’s economic slowdown in the wake of its trade war with the United States, including the problems besetting one of the former’s major telecommunications companies.

Going back to the Philippines, he said EU exporters, investors and expatriates who want to experience the Philippines should come over to discover our newfound emergence as a sort of “economic miracle,” “because you have started to become an Asian dragon.”

Only, he rued the historical reality that the Philippines is not as close to France like the US or Spain, “but of course, we knew each other.” Such is held true, since the Philippines and France established diplomatic relations only 70 years ago.

Galey then took stock of what had been realized in the last 10 years through his predecessors, and noted that the relationship has been “growing year after year.”

He appreciated the huge market of 100 million citizens the country represents, and the current “strong, solid growth of the economy, including the high level of education, the ability of practically every one to [converse] in English, which he noted bodes “extremely well in most cases” as a positive advantage over our Asian neighbors.

“All of these [facts] are starting to be known in [all of] Europe—including France.”

Galey estimated there are about 40,000 nationals of EU countries in this country—

AMBASSADOR of France to the Philippines Nicolas Galey

about 3,000 of them, French—whose numbers are increasing gradually, consisting of “young people, investors, and start-up [proponents].”

Culture sharing

WE also touched on the subject that France is very well known for: its distinct culture.

Galey offered to aspiring Francophiles that they could learn “something French” at the Alliance Française in Makati City, where it holds the Les Jeudis culturels (Cultural Thursdays) and offers shows highlighting France’s popular music, among others.

(The last week of January had a tribute to the late Charles Aznavour, the “Frank Sinatra of France.”)

The diplomat is of the opinion that culture promotes knowledge and understanding of the feelings of “those on the other side of the border,” and that it “comes in handy on many occasions; when there are hostilities among nations.”

“At our modest level at the French Embassy, we also have that mission, which is to make our culture, language and art activities known. We certainly believe it is [now] more important than before, in the globalized world, that we sustain that kind of policy.”

He noted that in the past, cultural exchanges were more or less reserved to the elite. “Those people [had no problems ex-

changing] among themselves, as that had been the case for centuries.”

The French ambassador also commented on the influence of modern technology, “with everybody [now on their] smartphones.

Through the Internet, you can see where this disease of fake news started.”

Thankfully, he said, there still exists responsible media that is able to let truth prevail, then advanced the idea that “it’s much easier to do it, after one had established cultural links with people who spontaneously understand what you’re saying, because they have heard about you before.”

Citing their media such as movies and radio that were able to help amplify their cultural elements, the envoy believes his country succeeded in reaching out to various peoples in the world, including the Philippines.

As one of the first BusinessMirror Coffee Club guests for 2019, Galey told us he arrived in Manila in December 2017, following his posting in the Middle East.

The 59-year-old envoy was France’s Deputy chief of mission from 1999 to 2002, assistant director of Egypt and the Levant, directorate for Middle East and North Africa between 2002 and 2004, and counselor to the Minister’s Office in 2004.

He started his stints as an ambassador in Cyprus from 2007 to 2009, as envoy to Egypt from 2012 to 2014 and Interministerial delegate for the Mediterranean between 2014 and 2017.

Galey said that after his Middle East stationing, he likes the experience of his current Philippine assignment “because the country has plenty of European background by culture, history and language.”

Aside from that, the French diplomat found the Philippines easy to work in, its people as nice and gentle, and its nature innately beautiful.

&Expats

envoys.expats.bm@gmail.com | Thursday, February 7, 2019 E3

ARTS AND CULTURE

‘Hibla ng Lahing Filipino’ showcased in Frankfurt

Sweden fires up Fashion Revolution: The Future of Textiles

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RANKFURT—Showcasing the rich textile and weaving tradition of the Philippines, the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino exhibit recently took center stage at the Design Offices in this city in Germany.

T he monthlong activ it y in Frankfurt was a joint project of the Office of Sen. Loren B. Legarda, the National Museum of the Philippines and the Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt. It featured lectures, weaving and embroidery demonstrations, as well as workshops.

Guests were provided the opportunity to see selected pieces of the piña-seda cloth from the National Museum’s collection. They also witnessed weaving and embroidery performed by artisans from Kalibo in Aklan and Lumban in Laguna.

Incoming Consul General to Frankfurt Evelyn Austria-Garcia, Philippine Honorary Consul to

Diplomatic reception features Ballet Manila

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ET against the backdrop of the majestic National Museum of Natural History, the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs (DFA-Aspac) capped off a successful year with a well-attended diplomatic reception, which featured performances by Ballet Manila.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Meynardo L.B. Montealegre opened the thanksgiving event and year-end diplomatic reception with a message of gratitude and appreciation to all of the DFA-Aspac’s partners in the diplomatic community, government service and private sector who had contributed to make 2018 a year of fruitful collaboration and achievements that pushed Philippine relations with regional partners forward.

In a tour de force performance, Ballet Manila showcased the piece “Sayaw sa Pamlang,” an inspired interweaving of traditional Mindanaoan dance elements, ethnic and contemporary beats, and Vaganova School ballet movements.

Choreographed by dance icon Agnes Locsin and set to inspired music by Bob Aves, it was “truly, storytelling on tiptoes, at its finest,” according to DFA officials.

Under the artistic direction of celebrated prima ballerina Lisa MacujaElizalde, Ballet Manila’s dancers, who are young scholars from different parts of the Philippines, are being molded into a new breed of world-class Filipino performers. The hours of training were on full display in the masterful artistry of movement in “Sayaw...”

Held at its majestic atrium, the event sought to promote the Museum of Natural History to Asia-Pacific diplomats based in Manila, both as a window into the Philippines’s natural heritage, as well as a new venue for cultural and diplomatic gatherings.

For the members of the diplomatic corps and officials from various partner-government agencies who graced the event, DFA-Aspac’s year-end reception was “more than just a fitting way to celebrate the year that was; it was also a memorable night in tribute to the arts, [as well as the country’s] artistic excellence in dance, music, architecture and fine cuisine”—all under the breathtaking canopy of the museum’s iconic Tree of Life.

Hesse Torsten Griess-Nega, National Museum Assistant Director Ana Maria Theresa P. Labrador, joined by Malaysian Consul General Mukundan Madavan and Indonesian Consul General Toferry Primanda Soetikno, officially opened the exhibit.

In her welcome remarks, Garcia commended the National Museum for its initiative in mounting the exhibit, which had conducted successful stints throughout North America and Western Europe.

She also thanked Senator Legarda for her support and leadership in promoting the artistry and tradition of weaving and embroidery in the Philippines with the global audience.

MEMBERS of Frankfurt’s Filipino-German community, consular corps, academe and business sector graced the opening ceremony

Labrador, in her speech, highlighted the unique qualities of the country’s famous pineapplesilk cloth. She cited the National Museum’s efforts to preserve and promote the weaving practices of Philippine traditional textiles. She also emphasized that the exhibit is a symbol of Philippine culture that Filipinos throughout the world should be proud of.

For her part, Legarda, in her

message read by Labrador, underscored the Hibla… exhibit’s objective of showcasing the indigenous artistry of Filipinos through traditional textiles. She noted that people’s fascination with Hibla has enabled the exhibit to grow and include traveling exhibitions. They have allowed people from other countries to gain a better appreciation of Filipinos’ culture, including its weaving traditions.

Pinoy talent creates art piece for Dubai emirates

AMBASSADOR Harald Fries speaks at the opening of the expo

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HE Embassy of Sweden in Manila, recently launched Fashion Revolution: The Future of Textiles expo at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, spearheaded by Ambassador Harald Fries.

Curated and produced by the Swedish Institute, with the help of researchers and sustainabilityminded fashion experts, the exhibition highlighted Sweden’s active role in promoting sustainability in fashion, as well as the major environmental challenges facing it as one of the most polluting industries of the world.

Running until April 30, the exhibition is supported by major Swedish brands H&M Philippines, BabyBjorn and Houdini Sportswear. H&M Philippines features key pieces made out of sustainable textile from their Conscious Collection, while Houdini and BabyBjorn exhibit clothing and baby carriers that are all made out of recycled or up-cycled products.

According to the embassy of

Sweden, the world’s population consumes about 62 million tons of clothing per year—equivalent to a small suitcase full of clothes per person—and only 20 percent is reused or recycled. Since 2000 global clothes production has more than doubled, and the average person now buys 60 percent more items of clothing every year, and keeps them for about half as long as they did 15 years ago.

It also said that it takes 10,000 to 30,000 liters of water, and 2 to 4 kilos of chemicals, to produce 1 kilo of treated cotton. Fifteen to 30 percent of the plastic pollutants in the oceans consist of microplastics, and 35 percent of those come from washing synthetic textiles.

Fries expressed hope for consumers to become more conscious and mindful of their consumption of fashion: “The better informed people are, the greater the pressure that can be exerted on companies to act sustainably.”

Japan signs historical museum renovation grant contract EMIRATES group Chairman and CEO H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (left) led the unveiling of From the Heart of Zayed, an artwork designed and created by Dubai-based Filipino artist Ely Graf

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MIRATES Group Chairman and CEO H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum recently unveiled a specially commissioned art piece, entitled From the Heart of Zayed, in honor of the founding father of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ely Graf, a Filipino artist based in Dubai, designed and created the artwork. The painting was commissioned by the Emirates Group to pay homage and celebrate the legacy of the late UAE founder H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who continues to inspire present and future generations of Emiratis. It will be on permanent display in the company headquarters’ atrium and is part of the initiatives for this year’s celebration of the “Year of Zayed.”

From the Heart of Zayed is comprised of three elements: The first establishes the face of Sheikh Zayed, father of the Emirati nation, gazing firmly to the future. His golden bisht, a traditional Emirati garb, symbolizes honor and nobility, and follows the outline of the UAE as a map, which

he united. An Emirates’ aircraft and extensive network that connects Dubai to the world highlights the outline flow out of the bisht.

The art piece, which took Graf 20 days to complete, used a variety of techniques and materials to portray Sheikh Zayed, particularly acrylic paint on stretched canvas. Its color palette was inspired by a spectrum of earthy tones found throughout the UAE, complemented by the use of a gold leaf symbolizing the regal embroidery that accents the traditional Emirati bishts.

Graf is a well-known Filipino artist who has been living in Dubai for the past 10 years. Known for taking inspiration from architecture and futuristic developments of the UAE, he has conceptualized and has been behind numerous artistic works in the city, such as H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s book cover for The Journey, along with 12 illustrations of Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed within the book. He was also commissioned to create the UAE Ministry of Educa-

tion’s 2018 curriculum book covers.

The artist is just one of the many Filipino talents who have been making a name for themselves in Dubai while contributing to the UAE city’s art scene, joining the likes of Nathaniel Alapide, known for his intricate sand art; as well as fashion designers Michael Cinco, Ezra Santos, and Furne One, who have been designing fashion pieces for some of the biggest names in Hollywood, to name a few.

The UAE has become a second home to more than 650,000 Filipinos. About 450,000 live in Dubai, where they prosper and pursue career opportunities.

Owing to the UAE’s businessfriendly environment and its melting pot of more than 200 nationalities, the country is a fertile ground for inspiration. The Arab state’s creative industries: graphic design, fashion, fine arts, music, web site creation, animation and even architecture, all employ talented Filipinos who have contributed to the growing sophistication of its business sectors and competitiveness on the world stage.

RET. Judge Antonina B. Escovilla (second from left) and Japan’s Davao Consular Office Counselor and Director Yoshiaki Miwa (third from left) lead the signing of the grant contract

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HE embassy of Japan has signed a ¥10 million (approximately P4.7 million) grant contract with the Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai Inc. (PNJK), a nongovernment organization based in Davao City.

The grant, which comes through the Grant Assistance for Cultural Grassroots Projects, will be used for the renovation and preservation of the Philippine-Japan Historical Museum in Davao. In particular, it will facilitate the repair and replacement of damaged museum structures, the upgrading of existing displays and the acquisition and installation of new materials and devices.

Japan’s Davao Consular Office

Counselor and Director Yoshiaki Miwa signed the grant contract on behalf of his government, while Ret. Judge Antonina B. Escovilla represented PNJK as its president.

The Philippine-Japan Historical Museum was built in 1994 in Calinan, Davao City. It features exhibits on the historical ties between the southern Philippine city and Japan, which portray its beginnings in the 1900s when Japanese immigrants first arrived there.

The museum’s restoration, made possible through grant assistance, is seen to contribute to the further enhancement of mutual understanding and deepened relations between the Philippines and Japan.