Businessmirror January 18, 2019

DEPT. OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

www.businessmirror.com.ph

n

Friday, January 18, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 100

Figures from the BSP showed that FPI to the country hit a net inflow of $1.204 billion by the end of last year. This is a stark reversal from the $194.5 million in net outflows seen at the end of 2017. FPI are known as “ hot” or

“specu lative” money because they are easily pulled in and out of the local platforms should there be slight changes in global and local sentiment. This type of foreign investment is usually a measure of

GOVT NIXES SHORTAGE FEARS, PUTS 4% DUTY ON CEMENT IMPORTS By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

@BcuaresmaBM

HE Philippines proved to be an attractive destination for shortterm foreign investments, as foreign portfolio investments (FPI) returned to the inflow territory in 2018, according to the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

the global economy’s investing sentiment to the Philippines in short-term prospects for yields, in contrast to foreign direct investments (FDI), which are placed in the Philippines in the search for long-term yield.

T

HE government on Thursday decided to protect domestic cement manufacturers by imposing a provisional tax of P8.40 per bag on imports in a move that could result in a shortage of the construction commodity. Trade Secretar y Ramon M. Lopez said a safeguard tax of 4 percent, or equivalent to P8.40, per bag will be imposed on cement imports starting February. He argued the surge in imports in the past five years injured local players, and there is a need now to protect them. Lopez pushed on with his decision to place a safeguard duty on cement in spite of warning from importers that doing so could lead to a shortage, as domestic manufacturers are apparently

The FPI net inflow in March 2018, a surge attributed to a billion-dollar inflow in the first week of the month via large investment in a holding company Hot money investments during the year came mostly to the country’s stock market, as 71.4 percent went to listed companies. Philippine government securities were the second destination of hot money inflows during the year with 20.2 percent of the total during the period, while other peso debt instruments got the remaining 8.3 percent. See “Hot money,” A2

Hanjin could be naval base, govt supplier of ships–Lorenzana By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

& Cai U. Ordinario

T

@caiordinario

HE Department of National Defense favors the proposal for the government to take over the shipbuilding facility in Subic of the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines (HHIC-Phil) Inc. so that it can use its site as a major naval base while supplying the government’s requirement for military and civilian ships. A court in Olongapo City this week granted HHIC-Phil’s petition for receivership, which it filed last January 8 in a bid to seek protection from creditors to which it owes a total $412 million. Local economists, however, sounded a warning against any government takeover of the facility, saying the state had no business taking over an enterprise that can be efficiently run by the private sector. “Wholly, the government will take over. We will settle their liabilities with the banks and then after that, we will bid it out to interested parties for them to assume as majority [owners]

PESO EXCHANGE RATES

Continued on A2

incapable of supplying the country’s requirement. “With the elements of surge and injury established, [the] DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] is mandated to impose a safeguard duty. In determining the amount of duty, however, the DTI balances the interests of all stakeholders—and has given particular attention to ensuring that supply remains steady and that prices will not increase,” Lopez said. He said the government found the P8.40-per-bag duty the right amount that will ensure prices and supply are stable while the protectionist measure is in place. According to Lopez, imports will still be allowed and should continue to promote competition. He also claimed domestic capacity is at 35 million metric tons and can meet the demand estimate of about 25 million MT. See “Cement,” A2

JFC bullish on 4 sectors, but warns vs tax perk loss

F

“We will have a naval base there, and then we will have shipbuilding capability to build our ships, anyway [Vice] Admiral [Robert] Empedrad said we are ordering 20 ships in the next 10 years, and it does not still include the Coast Guard there, which also needed ships.”—Lorenzana

and the government becoming a minority owner so that we will have control [over the facility],” said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday. The government’s takeover of Hanjin was the most feasible solution seen by Lorenzana and even by some senators in order to ensure that it will not fall to China, which reports said was very interested in acquiring Hanjin. Lorenzana said the takeover was among t he options t hat he and the country’s economic managers, inc lud ing Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, discussed when they met with President Duterte and Hanjin’s case was raised.

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

PHL attracts $1.204B in ‘hot money’ last year $1.132B T By Bianca Cuaresma

2017 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

NEWLY built high-rise buildings mark the skyline of the Fort Global City in this 2018 file photo. Foreign investors said they are bullish about the growth of four sectors this year, but warned this growth could be thwarted if the government insists on overhauling tax incentives. NONIE REYES

DA usec, stakeholders seek veto of rice tariff bill By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

A

DAY after the rice tariffication bill was transmitted to Malacañang, rice industry stakeholders, including a top official of the agriculture department, urged President Duterte to veto the measure, particularly provisions that seek to deregulate the National Food Authority (NFA). Agriculture Undersecretar y

Segfredo R. Serrano said he supports the call to remove the provision under Senate Bill 1998 that removes the regulatory power of the NFA to control the entry of imported rice in the country. Serrano pointed out that what the President certified as urgent legislation is a bill that would convert the country’s quantitative restriction (QR) on rice imports into tariffs and not a law, like SB 1998, that would fully

liberalize the sector. “That’s just how I look at it. Unless they interpret that when you tariffy you fully liberalize [the sector]. But, of course, that is not the case,” he told the BusinessMirror in an interview. “At least at my level that’s how I look at it. And this is in consultation with farmers and stakeholders and even our experts, including trade lawyers,” he added.

OREIGN investors are bullish that four sectors will accelerate at a solid rate this year, but warned this growth could be thwarted if the government insists on overhauling tax incentives. The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) said it expects the “creative, infrastructure, manufacturing and tourism sectors to grow in 2019 at a solid rate.” It dubbed the creative economy, comprised of media, publishing and the arts, as “the country’s newest sunrise industry.” A report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) recently listed the Philippines as a leading exporter of creative goods globally among developing economies. “Creative goods exports increased from $776 million in 2005 to $915 million in 2014. Design goods accounted for the largest share of exports with fashion goods at $279 million, interior design at $221 million and toys and jewelry combined at $116 million for 2014,” the report read.

Continued on A2

n US 52.1660 n JAPAN 0.4785 n UK 67.2055 n HK 6.6514 n CHINA 7.7192 n SINGAPORE 38.5017 n AUSTRALIA 37.4135 n EU 59.4432 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9080

See “JFC,” A4

Source: BSP (17 January 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, January 18, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Hanjin could be naval base, govt supplier of ships–Lorenzana Continued from A1

Another option was to offer it to other countries, including the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia. “But I said, I still have one suggestion, we have a suggestion from the Navy— why not let the Philippines take it over?” Lorenzana said. “We will have a naval base there, and then we will have shipbuilding capability to build our ships. Anyway, [Vice] Admiral [Robert] Empedrad said we are ordering 20 ships in the next 10 years, and it does not still include the Coast Guard there, which also needed ships,” the secretary said. Lorenzana said that even the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources will also benefit once the government operates the Hanjin shipyard. “BFAR is buying patrol boats from France, so I think there are enough jobs for this shipyard for the Philippines,” he said. Lorenzana said that while Hanjin owes local creditor banks $432 million, a debt that forced it to declare bankruptcy, the amount only translates to roughly about P22 billion to P23 billion, which the government can cover. “Senator [Panfilo M.] Lacson [Sr.] said we

Hot money. . . Continued from A1

The BSP said the bulk of the hot money investments during the year were seen flowing into the Philippines in the first quarter of the year. “This may be attributed to the large investment in a holding company registered this year accompanied by investors’ optimism

have money, the one that we got from the DPWH, which is P75 billion,” he said. The defense chief said the takeover is already being studied by a technical working group, which is rushing in order not to lose the 33, 000 Filipino workers who are considered shipbuilders. “We don’t want to lose them,” he said. THE government’s poor track record in taking over firms makes the takeover of embattled HHIC-Phil a bad idea, according to local economists. Local economists such as Action for Economic Reform Coordinator Filomeno Sta. Ana III said the government has no business running a company that can be easily be operated by the private sector. A government takeover, Sta. Ana said, is not the answer, even if there are sectors that say the troubles of Hanjin was also caused by market failures. He stressed that “shipbuilding is not a public good.” “The question is: Why should government take over a business that can be capably run by the private sector? If the industry is crucial or strategic for development, government can still help in other ways [responsive

industrial policy] without taking over the business,” Sta. Ana added. Unionbank Bank Chief Economist Ruben Asuncion said taking over Hanjin will also lead to lost revenues, especially given the government’s poor track record in taking over firms. Asuncion said having white knights is the best option for Hanjin right now. The government does not have experience in running a shipbuilding facility, and such could potentially lead to “regrettable results.” One such company is Philippine Airlines (PAL), which was sequestered by the national government in the 1970s. It was seized by the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos from businessman Benigno Toda Jr. The GSIS acquired 92 percent of PAL shares from majority PAL owner Benigno Toda, returning ownership and control back to the government. Capital increased from P25 million to P250 million. However, in 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rehabilitation plan designed to return PAL to financial viability, following a capital infusion of $200 million by Chairman Lucio C. Tan. PAL exited receivership in 2007. “[There is a] long history of bad outcomes

over the passage of the first phase of the government’s tax reform program,” the BSP said in a statement on Thursday. It was in March when the FPI recorded a net inflow of $1.132 billion, owing largely to a billion-dollar inflow in the first week of the month. The BSP said the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Netherlands and Hong Kong were the top 5 investor-

countries during the year. These countries accounted for a combined share to total of 72.8 percent. The US continued to be the main destination of outflows, receiving 78.8 percent of the total. In December alone, FPI hit a net inflow of $278.11 million, as the total $1.58-billion total inflow was enough to cover for the $1.3-billion total outflows for the month.

Takeover shunned

from government mismanagement of firms. I would rather continue to leverage foreign investment and know-how,” Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald Mendoza told the BusinessMirror. At the very least, National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary for Regional Development, Adoracion M. Navarro—currently the agency’s officer in charge—said the government can use the facilities of Hanjin to modernize the Philippine Navy. Some economists, however, recommend that if the government takes over the shipyard, this should not be a long-term arrangement to allow a good investor to come in and take over the facility. “It’s [government takeover] okay as long as it’s for a limited period of time, e.g., one to three years until a new investor comes in. Ideally, it should be auctioned off, [at the] soonest possible [time]. It’s an important manufacturing facility where the Philippines has a future,” University of Asia and the Philippines economist Victor A. Abola told the BusinessMirror. Navarro said there is a need to examine measures that the government can take on the matter of Hanjin because if workers

Feasible option—IBON

IN a forum on Thursday, IBON Foundation Inc. executive director Sonny Africa said a government takeover of Hanjin is a feasible option to minimize the damage of the troubled firm on the economy. Africa said this can pave the way for the Philippines to industrialize. However, the “takeover” should not only mean a bailout of the firm from its debts to local and Korean banks. He said the government should look at this takeover as a chance to introduce government intervention in manufacturing to usher in a real

manufacturing resurgence in the country. Africa said that while it was true that manufacturing has been growing and there seemed to be a resurgence, the growth is still shallow and still not on a par with the manufacturing growth in the 1970s. “In principle, it [takeover of Hanjin] can help, but the devil’s in the details. Hopefully, its not just a bailout for creditors including foreign creditors and is not just being done for show but should be part of a plan for a major industrialization drive,” Africa said. On Wednesday, Federation of Free Workers Vice President Julius Cainglet said the Nagkaisa labor coalition presented two options to address the Hanjin issue. The first would have to involve a government takeover where the government can work closely with the worker’s union. Under this takeover, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Trade and Industry and the labor union will come up with the best way to operate the facility. The second option, Cainglet said, is for the government to negotiate with shipbuilders in countries that do not have security concerns or territorial disputes with the Philippines. This includes firms in countries like Norway or The Netherlands.

DA usec, stakeholders seek veto of rice tariff bill Continued from A1

Before leaving for Germany to present the success of the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Project on Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol emphasized that he supports the rice tariffication bill except for the deregulation of the NFA.

Protests

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING THE COUNTRY as of 4:00 pm - January 17, 2019

will be out of jobs, this could increase unemployment. The local government is also challenged to not only provide employment opportunities to those affected by Hanjin but also improve the business environment that will be conducive for new investors. “No, the DND proposal is not a takeover but to look at the shipyard as an opportunity for responding to Philippine Navy modernization needs. They are looking at partnerships with [the] new investor, whoever that is. the government [will be a] shareholder only,” Navarro told the BusinessMirror.

INDUSTRY stakeholders, including rice farmers, retailers and even NFA employees, held a rally in Mendiola on Thursday to call on Duterte to veto the rice tariffication bill, which they said was “anti-poor.” Alyansa ng Industriya ng Bigas (Anib) Founding Chairman Robert Hernandez said they want the provision under SB 1998 that deregulates the NFA to be scrapped. Hernandez argued that deregulating the NFA would mean unregulated entry of imported rice, which would flood the market and depress palay prices. “We want the regulatory function of the NFA to be restored. What will happen is an import-

Cement. . .

Continued from A1

This figure is contradictory to the annual accomplishment report of the DTI that puts cement requirement last year at 32 million tons and is estimated to jump to 50 million tons by 2025 on the back of stronger infrastructure spending and private investments on construction. “At the same time, it [safeguard duty] will encourage existing and new players to build additional facilities to attain a healthy level of domestic capacity that will address our perennial trade deficits and ensure long-run supply of cement needed for public infrastructure projects and for building homes for Filipinos. More important, [it will] generate more jobs here in the country instead of helping job generation in other countries every time we import,” Lopez argued. The trade chief said the provisional duty is effective for 200 days in the form of cash bond on imported cement, as the Tariff Commission undertakes its formal

all-you-can scenario,” he told the BusinessMirror. “Plus, somebody should regulate the entry of imported rice in terms also of food safety. And who is the expert on that? That’s the NFA,” he added. Under SB 1998, interested rice importers would have to secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance, a document that certifies the safety of the commodity, to bring in the staple. At present, the NFA regulates rice imports by licensing interested traders and could even control the volume that would enter the market. Anib on Thursday also issued a resolution opposing SB 1998, which would be submitted to the President and to Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, as well as House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Federation of Free Farmers Inc. (FFF) also joined the call for the veto of SB 1998 and pointed out that there should be a “proper and substantive” consultations with farmers and stakeholders before a rice tariffication bill is enacted. “I think the senators are putting the President in a precarious

and dangerous political situation where the government will be inutile if and when another rice crisis arises,” FFF National Business Manager Raul Q. Montemayor told the BusinessMirror. Montemayor, who also chairs the Committees on Food and Staples, as well as International Trade at the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, said under the proposed rice tariffication bill the government has no sufficient power to respond to market disruptions. “We are also not satisfied with how the RCEF [Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund] has been configured, particularly its rigid preallocation of funds, which may not respond to the priorities of different localities and at different periods of time,” he said. “[We are also against] the direct appropriations of large funds to small agencies, which do not have the personnel and logistical capacity to properly handle the funds, and the lack of stakeholder participation in the crafting of policies on RCEF usage and monitoring of the usage of RCEF,” he added.

investigation on the matter. In a news briefing on Wednesday, importers lamented they cannot afford to pay additional taxes on cement. They said the average price of imported cement is P165 per bag, while the cash cost of it is at least P156.75—a margin of P8.25 separating the landed cost from the selling price—and will be diluted now with the P8.40-per-bag duty. Philcement Corp. President and CEO Eduardo A. Sahagun also claimed cement supply could fall short if the DTI places a safeguard duty on imports, as he argued local producers are incapable of supplying the country’s requirement. Domestic players produced 24.04 million tons of cement in 2015, but the demand was at 24.36 million tons, Sahagun said, citing data from the Cement Manufacturers’ Association of the Philippines, the DTI’s Bureau of Import Services and the Bureau of Customs. The requirement in 2016 expanded to 25.96 million tons, but production slowed to 23.49 million tons. The gap further widened in 2017,

as demand accelerated to 28.55 million tons, while domestic supply was at 25.57 million tons only. If this be the case, Sahagun predicted the Philippines will suffer from a shortage in cement in the next months if the government decides—which it did—to place a safeguard duty on imports. He admitted there was a surge in imports the previous years, and that it was needed to fill in the gap left by local production. Cement importers explained to Lopez in their dialogue this week that local manufacturers also imported heavily since 2016 to reinforce the supplydeficit situation. In 2016 Holcim Philippines Inc. imported 1.35 million tons of cement; Apo Cement Corp., 195,000 tons; Goodfound Cement Corp., 62,000 tons; and Republic Cement Iligan Inc., 45,000 million tons, Sahagun claimed, citing government data. The following year, Holcim imported 725,000 tons of cement; Apo Cement, 212,000 tons; Goodfound, 104,000 tons; Republic Iligan, 19,000 tons; and Republic Mindanao, 12,000 tons.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Duterte relents on purchase of US Blackhawk choppers–Lorenzana By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

D

EFENSE Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana on Thursday said President Duterte has agreed to acquire Blackhawk for the military’s combat utility helicopter requirement upon recommendation of the Air Force, contrary to that Chief Executive’s earlier pronouncement that the government should leave out the US as equipment providers for the Armed Forces modernization program. “We talked to him sometime. Sir, this might be in violation with your pronouncement that you are not going to buy from US, but the Air Force wants that. He told us is that what you really want? The Air Force chief was there, and he said, yes sir. Okay, if that is what you want, go ahead,” Lorenzana, recalling the recent meeting they had with President Duterte. Duterte, who has pivoted the country toward Russia and China, is against the acquisition of major military equipment from the US, and this is one of the reasons the Armed Forces has been considering Israel, South Korea, Europe and other countries as sources for its

weapons and armaments. But Lorenzana said that in the case of the Blackhawk, which is considered as one of the best combat military helicopters manufactured by Sikorsky which is under American defense maker behemoth Lockheed Martin, the President acceded to the wish of the Air Force as the end-user. Lorenzana said that they told Duterte that the aircraft will be coming anyway from Poland wherein Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin have an assembly and manufacturing plant there. “I think he approves that. Maybe this is an exception…because he said whatever the end-user’s want, we will buy it.” The Blackhawk emerged as aircraft of choice for the Air Force, which also evaluated other aircraft for its need for combat utility choppers, including the Bell 412, the Russian MI-17, the Korean-made Surion and the Agusta 139. As narrated by Lorenzana in December last year, the Air Force is eyeing to acquire 16 Blackhawks under the allotted budget of $240 million. Aside from the Blackhawks, the Air Force will also acquire eight Turkish-made ATAK choppers for its attack helicopter requirement.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, January 18, 2019 A3

Senate probe sought into ‘risky’ ₧20-B video surveillance system By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

S

ENATE President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, citing the need to mitigate “potential risks” to national security and public interest, pressed for a Senate inquiry into the China-funded P20.3-billion video surveillance system proposed to be installed by the Duterte administration in Metro Manila and Davao. In filing Senate Resolution 990, Recto asked the Senate to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the so-called Safe Philippines Project, “with the end in view of mitigating potential risks to national security or public interest arising from the foreign-assisted projects contracted by the Philippine government.” This developed even as Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV did not rule out the possibility that the Senate may move to abort the multibillion-peso project bankrolled by China if it is shown to be disadvantageous to Philippine interests. “That is possible,” Trillanes

told the BusinessMirror. The Recto resolution acknowledged that the video surveillance project was billed as a “seamless integration of emergency, crisis and disaster management system; law-enforcement system; traffic and fire management system; peace and order, and public safety management system that is shared among key government agencies that could provide swift, timely, accurate and life-saving interventions,” among others. As earlier announced by its proponents, the Safe Philippines Project vowed to use available modern information and communications technology-driven subsystems and solutions in operating a video surveillance system linked via dedicated communications infrastructure that involves “an integrated operations and command center for National 911 Public Safety Answering Point” with 18 city-level command centers in Metro Manila and President Duterte’s Davao City bailiwick. Initial implementation phase of

the project, the Recto resolution noted, was estimated by its proponents to cost P20,313,920,000, to be funded and implemented through official development assistance (ODA) from China. It added that the Chinese Embassy on July 19, 2018, transmitted a “short list” of Chinese companies recommended by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce to carry out the project, including Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.Huawei Technologies Phils. Inc. and China Electronics Technology Group Corp., China Machinery Engineering Corp. and China International Telecommunications Construction Corp. (CITCC). The Recto resolution recalled that the Department of the Interior and Local Government had already transmitted to the Department of Finance last September 20, 2018, an approved budget cost for the Safe Philippines Project to “facilitate the loan application and negotiation” for the project, after which a Notice of Award was issued on November 16, 2018, in favor of CITCC and a supply

contract was signed by the DILG and CITCC on November 19, 2018. It noted that a portion of the implementation cost for the project was already appropriated under the Unprogrammed Appropriations in the National Expenditure Program for fiscal year 2019. At the same time, Recto warned that the primary equipment supplier of the winning contractor for Phase 1 of the Safe Philippines Project, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd “has been increasingly embroiled in issues concerning national security and data protection.” Moreover, the senator stressed that “the National Security Policy for 2017-2022 highlighted the need to safeguard the Philippine classified action plans and programs, government intentions, and State secrets from espionage and other hostile actions, and the need to shield the country from computer-generated attacks that could cause massive crises in our economy, banking and financial institutions, communications and other critical infrastructure.”

A4 Friday, January 18, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Govt sets launch of fuel marking system in March

T

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) is targeting the initial implementation of fuel marking system in March as part of the government’s revitalized bid to curb fuel smuggling into the country.

Finance Undersecretary Antonette C. Tionko said the system is already undergoing the final phase of testing among different oil refineries across the country. “For the fuel marking, the [DOF] team that’s doing it is actually going already to the refineries. So that’s ongoing now. They are testing the marker itself, the acceptability of the marker... so once it’s accepted, we will

do our first marking,” Tionko said. She explained that the system may be fully implemented in March since clearances are still being processed with the Department of Energy. The government has earlier tapped Sicpa SA and SGS Philippines to provide a unique chemical marker capable of being embedded at a molecular level to petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel and kerosene,

thereby enabling authorities to test, identify and distinguish fuels being sold in the market. The method will enable the government facilitate the identification of contraband fuel already being sold by fuel stations. According to Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua, the funding for implementing the fuel marking system will subsidized by a

P2-billion funding for the first year. “The first year is subsidized [and] there’s a P2 billion allocation. In the succeeding years, it will be passed on to the industry, and they may pass it on to the consumers. So if the price is P.06 per liter, and if a full tank, it’s 40 liters...they’re paying P2.40,” Chua said. Chua earlier reported that the government loses P27 billion to P44 billion in revenues due to oil smuggling.

Ceza tripled revenue to ₧706.51 million in 2018 By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

R

EVENUE collected by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority jumped more than triple to P706.51 million last year, an affirmation that Ceza’s venture into financial technology (fintech) is paying off. The Ceza on Thursday reported its revenue in 2018 reached P706.51 million, from P233.06 million in 2017. The figure is the agency’s all time high in terms of total revenues collected. Further, investments committed to the Ceza for the whole of last year peaked $8.13 billion, which the agency attributed to the influx of

Bill raising service charge for hotel, resto workers up for Senate okay By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

HE House of Representatives has endorsed for Senate approval a measure increasing the share of employees from service charge of hotels, restaurants and similar establishments. The lower chamber has recently approved House Bill 8784 seeking to increase the benefits of rank and file and supervisory employees from service charges by amending the Labor Code of the Philippines. The bill seeks to raise from 85 percent to 90 percent the share of rank and file and supervisory employees in the total service charges being collected by hotels, restaurants and similar establishments from their receipts. Under the bill, the share of the regular rank and file and supervisory employees shall be fully and equally distributed among them. It added the management shall receive the remaining 10 percent of the service charge collection to cover pilferages and breakages, and for distribution to local managerial employees. In the event the minimum wage is raised by law or wage order, service charges paid to the covered employees shall not be considered in determining the employers’ compliance with the increased minimum wage. Currently, Presidential Decree 442 limits to 85 percent the shares of employees from service charge. Rep. Dennis Laogan of Ang Kabuhayan Party-list, sponsor of the measure, said that for the longest time, rank-and-file employees of various establishments, which collect service charges from clients and customers, have been receiving only 85 percent of such charges, pursuant to the limit set by PD 442. In an effort to further aid rankand-file employees, Laogan said, the proposal will ensure that the workers will be better compensated compared to their managerial counterparts, because rank-and-file employees are the ones who deal with clients and customers most of the time and have wages that are barely compliant with minimum wage statutes. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., principal author of the measure, said the service charge paid by the customers in hotels, restaurant and other similar establishment should be distributed among their covered employees and staff in line with the Constitutional mandate to protect the rights of all workers and to promote their welfare.

registrations from fintech firms. Processing fees made up more than half of the revenues, as collection leapt to P476.31 million from just P1.16 million. On the other hand, income from licensing fees fell 8.56 percent to P189.59 million, from P207.36 million. Lease paid by locators in the Cagayan economic zone was the third largest source of revenue for the Ceza last year, as it improved 22.09 percent to P11.33 million, from P9.28 million in 2017. Ceza Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Raul L. Lambino is expected to carry on with his investment strategy of turning the economic zone into a fintech

hub this year. Moreover, he is planning to transform a portion of the area into a new satellite city that will feature tourism and entertainment projects. The Ceza has a pending $4.5 billion joint venture with Italian firm Mercurio Design Lab and Singaporean Longrunn Capital Pte. Ltd. on the putting up an integrated city in Cagayan. Construction will begin this year, and the 500 hectare project could be inaugurated in early 2021 if financier Longrunn will not be bugged by any delays. The integrated city will feature resorts, hotels, golf courses, theme parks, retirement village, private villas, condominiums, among others.

Lawmaker to DBM: Explain ₧37-B deal with ‘consultants’

T

HE majority leader of the House of Representatives on Thursday asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to explain the P37-billion contract for consultants that the agency it bidded out last year. In a news statement, Majority Leader Rolando B. Andaya Jr. said the DBM is not only procuring multibillion big-ticket infrastructure projects, but it has also mor phed into a “one-stop megamall ” where consultants can bid for billions of pesos in contracts. Andaya said documents, now in possession of the House Rules Committee, show the DBMProcurement Service was responsible for bidding more than P37 billion in government contracts for consultants in 2018. “The biggest contract, worth P14.3 billion, is for Project Management Consultancy for the PNR South Long Haul Project of the North-South Railway Project. It was awarded on October 31, 2018,” he said. He added almost P11.7 billion was also awarded for General Consultancy for Metro Manila Subway Project Phase 1 (Valenzuela-Parañaque).

Tower firms. . . Continued from A8

The main culprit behind this inadequacy, at least according to telco officials, is the bureaucratic red tape for permits.

2-tower-providers cap shunned

RIO noted that his office veered away from the proposed common tower policy—limiting the players to two providers—as having multiple infrastructure builders and operators is a common practice in neighboring nations. “In other countries, there are about 10 tower companies. Other have around four. So we are in the median. Indonesia, an archipelago like the Philippines, has about 50 tower companies that have 100,000 towers in total—and they are all viable,” Rio said. He explained that to make it economically viable for each company to operate, the memorandums of understanding are the

JFC. . .

Continued from A1

Further, the JFC is banking on the government to sustain its efforts to complete big-ticket public infrastructure under the “Build, Build, Build” program, without which, it argued, “the economy will regress.” Foreign chambers also took a swipe at the government for embarking on an industrialization plan at a time it is moving, too, to rationalize incentives. They said the country could be a beneficiary from the trade war between the United States and China, but this prospect is dampened by the move to restructure the menu of incentives granted to economic zone firms. “In manufacturing, which is being prioritized, there are new opportunities from rising costs in China and the US-China trade war to attract significant new investors to locate in Philippine export zones, depending on the future menu of tax incentives that compensate for the country’s lagging basic infrastructure,” the JFC argued in a statement. Foreign investors also said tourism is growing at a steady rate, but is hampered by airport and road congestion. They added the Philippines is still trailing the tourist arrivals of its Southeast Asian competitors

It was awarded on October 18, 2018. Andaya said another General Consultancy worth P11.7 billion was bidded for the Metro Manila Subway Project Phase 1 awarded on October 31, 2018. “The P37-billion contracts for consultants were part of the P168-billion fund that the Department of Transportation obligated to the DBM-Procurement Service [PS] for bidding purposes,” he said. According to Andaya, the documents on the multibillion-peso contracts bidded out by the DBM were turned over to the House Rules Committee by the executive director of DBM-PS, Bingle Gutierrez. “This is quite alarming. A copy of the 2017 COA report on DBM-PS clearly spelled out the mandate of this office. To quote: The issuance of Administrative Order 17 dated July 28, 2011, reiterated to all government agencies that their procurement of common use supplies shall be done through PS and that the PhilGEPS shall be used in all their procurement activities, including publication of all their bid opportunities and posting of all their awards and contracts, in accordance with Republic Act 9184,” the lawmaker said. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz “same for all in terms of wordings.” “We made sure that the playing fields are level,” Rio said. “We will let market forces such as competition dictate the viability.” The draft policy, being championed by ICT Adviser to the President Jacinto, essentially limits the number of tower providers in the Philippines to two, citing commercial viability issues. Likewise, the proposed policy will essentially infringe on the capability of telcos to build their own infrastructure, as tower companies will have the first dibs on the construction of infrastructure. However, telcos will have the option to build their own towers, should the tower company refuses to build an infrastructure in an area identified by the telcos. “Will the next ICT secretary be supportive of this proposal and fight the industry stakeholders for Jacinto?” is what Rio is wondering about. Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan II is expected to replace Rio as ICT chief anytime soon. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—all of which host at least twice as many visitors annually as the country. On the other hand, information-technology and business-process management firms face the year with challenges on rapid automation, availability of talents and incentives that could soon be rationalized, the JFC claimed. For the growth to be realized, legislators should ensure the swift passage of liberalization measures that are seen to bring in additional investments and generate more jobs, the group said. It also told senators to take a second look at the proposed rationalization of incentives and make sure it will not discourage exportoriented investments. The overhaul of incentives is a main component of the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and HighQuality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, which is awaiting further deliberation in the Senate. “Overall, we are hopeful that with continued [socioeconomic] and regulatory stability, 2019 will be a year of more high growth, tempering inflation and high FDI for the Philippines. We invite foreign firms that have not located in the country to come, take a look and join us,” the JFC concluded. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Friday, January 18, 2019 A5

slips as US record output World Economic Forum warns Oil weighs against Opec+ curbs of darkening economic outlook O

L

ONDON—International tensions and nationalist politics can further weigh on the global economy this year and hinder efforts to deal with big issues such as climate change, the organizers of next week’s Davos forum warned on Wednesday. In its annual Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum said the world is evolving into “a period of divergence following a period of globalization.” A “darkening” economic outlook, in part fostered by geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, “looks set to further reduce the potential for international cooperation in 2019,” it said. “With global trade and economic growth at risk in 2019, there is a more urgent need than ever to renew the architecture of international coop-

eration,” said Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum, which hosts an annual gathering of business and political leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. “We simply do not have the gunpowder to deal with the kind of slowdown that current dynamics might lead us towards.” In 2018, the global economy slowed more than most experts had predicted and stock markets posted their worst year in a decade. Much of that has been blamed on the standoff

between the US and China over trade that has led to both sides imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of goods. The report, which is based on the views of around 1,000 experts and decision-makers from around the world, found that 88 percent of respondents expect a “further erosion” of global trading rules and agreements that will hold back growth. The US-China relations will be one of the main talking points at next week’s gathering in Davos, with a number of high-level representatives from each side due to attend, including US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and China’s vice president, Wang Qishan. Britain’s upcoming exit from the European Union will be another key issue after British lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected the Brexit deal Prime Minister Theresa May had negotiated with the EU. The 2016 vote to leave the EU had been driven in large part by a belief that Brexit would restore

decision-making powers to Britain. US President Donald Trump has used similar justifications to employ his “America First” policies on a range of international issues, such as climate change. One area identified as being affected by the more fractured geopolitical environment is the need to modernize critical infrastructure projects around the world, such as roads, bridges and power networks, firstly and foremost to avoid accidents such as the collapse of a bridge in Genoa, Italy, last summer that killed 43 people. John Drzik, president of Global Risk and Digital at Marsh, which helped with the preparation of the report, said the “more protectionist economic environment” is increasing costs and causing delays. The introduction of steel tariffs by the United States, he noted, raised the costs of an infrastructure project in Detroit by approximately 13 percent. AP

IL retreated near $52 a barrel as investors assessed surging US production against output curbs pledged by some of the world’s top suppliers. Futures lost as much as 1 percent in New York, trimming gains of 3.6 percent over the past two sessions. American crude output jumped to a record last week, countering signs of shrinking supplies from the Opec+ coalition. Saudi Arabia reduced shipments to US refiners by a third last week, while Russia’s deputy energy minister said the country will meet its target for curbing production by April. While crude has bounced over 20 percent from last year’s low on Christmas Eve, it’s still below a fouryear peak in October. Whether prices will remain in a bull market largely depends on effectiveness of the curbs planned by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in the face of booming US supply. At the same time, concerns persist in global markets over a slowdown in growth, hurting appetite for risk assets. “For investors these days, the overall atmosphere in the oil market,

which is driven by wider financial markets, matters more,” Ahn Yea Ha, a commodities analyst at Kiwoom Securities Co., said by phone from Seoul. “While oil’s closely tracking the rest of the global financial markets such as equities, the market’s also paying close attention to how well Opec follows through on its commitment.” West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery lost as much as 51 cents to $51.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $51.99 at 1:01 p.m. in Seoul. Futures settled 20 cents higher at $52.31 on Wednesday, extending its advance for a second day. Brent for March settlement fell 32 cents to $61 a barrel on the Londonbased ICE Futures Europe exchange, after closing 68 cents higher on Wednesday. The global benchmark crude was at an $8.73 premium to WTI for the same month. In America, crude production rose 200,000 barrels last week to 11.9 million barrels a day, the highest level in weekly figures since 1983 compiled by the Energy Information Administration. Bloomberg News

British Prime Minister battles to keep Brexit on track after no-confidence win

L

ONDON—British Prime Minister Theresa May is reaching out to opposition parties and other lawmakers on Thursday in a battle to put Brexit back on track after surviving a no-confidence vote. European Union countries are also

debating on how to move forward now that the UK Parliament has rejected May’s Brexit withdrawal deal with the bloc and with the prospect of an abrupt “no-deal” departure on the March 29 exit date looming. Parliament overwhelmingly re-

jected the deal on Tuesday night, in a crushing defeat for May, who suffered the worst parliamentary defeat in modern British history. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party immediately called for a no-confidence vote, but May’s minority government

survived it on Wednesday night, with crucial backing from the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. May invited opposition leaders for talks about how best to avoid leaving the EU without an agreement. But Corbyn has so far declined to meet with May

unless she takes the “no-deal” possibility off the table. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, a longtime Labour Party leader, told BBC on Thursday that it would be “sensible” for Corbyn to meet with May to better define the type of Brexit that Britain

wants. He warned that a no-deal Brexit would do substantial harm to Britain’s economy. EU countries have generally reacted to the Brexit political crisis unfolding in the UK by putting the onus on the British government and its lawmakers to decide what they want to do. AP

A6 Friday, January 18, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Talking without thinking

W

E live in a time when there is great concern about individual privacy. The stories of identity theft are frightening. Nowadays, a person’s life can be ruined or destroyed by a con artist. We all know of situations when bank accounts are cleaned out through “ATM skimming.” But we also grow frustrated when there is no ATM to be found. We hear stories of “fake” social-media accounts being set up to harass a person. Yet, we share information and pictures on that same social media that a short time ago would be considered private. Experts tell us that our smartphones are recording, tracking and, perhaps, forwarding to third parties our locations, communications, and all about the pizza we ordered through a phone app. But we would not even think about leaving home without them. The Department of the Interior and Local Government has entered into a contract with a Chinese firm for the installation of surveillance cameras. The plan is to install 12,000 cameras in Metro Manila and Davao City. It is estimated to be a P20-billion deal, with Huawei Technologies Co. supplying the hardware and state-owned China International Telecommunications and Construction Corp. offering to loan the money and installing the network. The intrusion into our personal privacy by a closed-circuit television network is something that none of us really likes. Who wants to be followed around all day under the watchful eyes of the government? However, when a criminal is identified and caught because of a nearby CCTV that recorded the crime, no one cares about privacy. The murder case of Kian de los Santos was pursued in part because of the barangay’s CCTV footage showing something suspicious happening even if not directly related to de los Santos. Nonetheless, one person on social media objects to the government CCTV contract because it is a “threat to civil liberties” and is being “implemented by a regime that has trampled on due process, a regime that has made lies a policy of governance.” Ignoring the politics, we have three options. Government control of CCTV is fundamentally a constant threat to civil liberties and should be banned or used in extremely limited situations and places. Possibly, CCTV cameras should be turned on or off depending on who holds the power of government. But perhaps this surveillance technology is a vital part of protecting modern city life and we must depend on the legal system—with all its flaws—to insure our privacy and liberty. Tough choices to make, but only after thinking the issues through completely. In addition to the privacy concerns, one senator said, “Don’t you think there is a security threat when China telecoms and Huawei will do surveillance system in Metro Manila?” Another voiced the opinion that “public interest requires that inquiry be made as to the threats to the Philippines’s national security contracts entered into with foreign companies whose questionable track record raises international concern.” These are all valid comments. Every Chinese company doing business abroad is, in effect, an extension of the Beijing government. However, what these elected officials miss and fail to offer is an alternative solution. There is only one non-Chinese manufacturer of CCTV cameras. From the land of Electrolux, Ikea and Volvo comes Sweden’s Axis Communications, the only competition to Chinese CCTV equipment. Axis CCTV cameras sell for six to 10 times more than the Chinese brands. As with privacy, sometimes financial considerations mean making hard decisions. Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

Bloodier James Jimenez

SPOX

I

T’S a disturbing development. Starting from the 2010 elections, all the way to the 2018 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, we’d been seeing a definite downward trend in the number of election-related violent incidents—ERVIs—plaguing our democratic process. Even in barangay elections, which conventional wisdom tells us can often be more violent than national elections, we witnessed record-low levels of politically motivated violence, let alone killings. Since then, however, something seems to have changed. In the municipality of Daraga in Albay, a former member of the House of Representatives was murdered late last year. The following day, two more dead bodies were discovered. Understandably, the killings set alarm bells ringing and, in a rare occurrence, the local election office recommended placing Daraga under

Leonid Bershidsky

BLOOMBERG

Founder

Editor in Chief Associate Editor News Editor Senior Editors

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Efleda P. Campos Dennis D. Estopace

Online Editor Social Media Editor

Ruben M. Cruz Jr. Angel R. Calso

Creative Director Chief Photographer

Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes

Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines. Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025. (Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807. (Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Printed by BROWN MADONNA Press, Inc.–San Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila MEMBER OF

checkpoints. Also on the same day, a couple of motorcycle-riding men tried to speed past a checkpoint, ignoring the police officer who flagged them down. The police gave chase and, before the sun had even risen on the first day of the gun ban, the two men lay dead by the roadside. Three days in, the tally of the killed stands at five. “Legitimate operations,” the police allege, asserting that the dead had decided to shoot it out with the police; “they were criminal elements, plotting to do evil acts.” The florid language aside, it still isn’t clear whether these deaths were of people planning to violate election laws. Nevertheless, the fact that these incidents happened incidental to the operation of Comelec checkpoints all but assure they will eventually be recorded as electionrelated violent incidents. At the rate we’re going, I fear that—with still a little over three months to go before the midterm polls in May—we are already well on our way to stretching the definition of peaceful elections.

The EU isn’t sure McDonald’s sells Big Macs

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

Comelec control—weeks before even the start of the election period. Like at least three other politicians slain since 2018, this particular assassination is now allegedly been planned as a direct consequence of the victim having filed a certificate of candidacy for the 2019 polls. And soon after the year turned, a

bomb went off in front of a mall in Cotabato City. Reports have linked the explosion to the upcoming plebiscite for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, scheduled for next Monday, January 21, 2019. Political killings, terroristic bombings—it appears that some people are convinced once again that violence can sway electoral outcomes in their favor. Now the Commission on Elections has placed both the municipality of Daraga and the city of Cotabato under Comelec control—a drastic move that the election management body has always been loathe to use. Worse, with the Philippine National Police reporting that there are “validated threats” in seven out of 19 hot spots, these two might not even be the last. But then again, you have to figure that it’s been quite awhile since things have been this bloody. And from all indications, things might get even bloodier. The election period kicked off on January 13. On the same day, the gun ban went into effect, and with it the establishment of Comelec

D

OES McDonald’s sell Big Macs? The European Union’s Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) isn’t so sure, and has stripped the company of the BIG MAC trademark. This is but the latest example of an EU allergy to US multinationals that officials always deny but somehow keeps erupting. The EUIPO ruling, which McDonald’s says it plans to appeal, reads like it was written by someone who has never been to a McDonald’s. It maintains that the US corporation has been unable to prove that it actually sells Big Macs, even though the fast-food chain had presented what it considered to be definitive proof, such as affidavits from employees in the United Kingdom, Germany and France, pictures from the corporate web site and even a printout from Wikipedia that describes the Big Mac as “a hamburger sold by international fast-food restaurant chain McDonald’s” since 1967. The intellectual property authority, however, appeared to mock the US company by remarking in the ruling that the employee statements weren’t independent evidence, that no proof had been presented that anyone ever visited the McDonald’s web site (and

anyway, pictures on the web site don’t mean actual sales), and that Wikipedia isn’t a reliable source of information. The EUIPO wrote: Taking into account the submitted evidence as a whole, it is concluded that the documents do not provide conclusive information that the products marked with the EUTM [European Union trademark] are offered for actual sale, as there is no confirmation of any commercial transactions, either online or via brick-and-mortar operations. Even if the goods were offered for sale, there is no data about how long the products were offered on the given Web page or in other ways, and there is no information of any actual sales taking place or any potential and relevant consumers being engaged, either through an offer or through a sale. The ruling deserves to be a meme on a par with the “Le Big Mac”

episode from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. It also makes McDonald’s look like a shoo-in: The company can muster endless outside data (including that Pulp Fiction episode) proving that it sells a sandwich called the Big Mac. So why did the EU make this seemingly ridiculous ruling? The matter ended up before the EUIPO’s Cancellation Division via a complaint by Supermac’s, a fastfood chain with about 100 stores throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It owes its name to its founder and managing director, Pat McDonagh, who took on the moniker Supermac after he helped his school win an important Gaelic football game. McDonagh has claimed that McDonald’s has been hampering his Ireland-based company’s plans to expand in the UK and other EU countries, claiming that its name is too similar to Big Mac. Supermac’s has accused McDonald’s of “trademark bullying” and appealed to the EUIPO, arguing that the Americans had registered the BIG MAC trademark for too many uses. BIG MAC was, indeed, registered for a long list of goods and services, including “services rendered or associated with operating and franchising restaurants and other establishments or facilities engaged in providing food and drink.” That overly broad language created the obstacle to Supermac’s proposed expansion. The Irish company

argued that the BIG MAC trademark should be confined to sandwiches; it just got a bit more than it asked for from the EUIPO. McDonagh has celebrated the battle as a David vs. Goliath victory, and cited the ruling as evidence of the EU’s usefulness to smaller companies. It’s quite likely (though impossible to prove) that the EUIPO reasoned along those lines and that the officials’ goal was to teach McDonald’s a lesson for using its trademark portfolio against legitimate competitors. After all, the EU office didn’t really throw open the use of the trademark to anyone who might want it: Apart from BIG MAC (in capital letters), which will soon be canceled, the EUIPO had also registered “Big Mac” and “Grand Big Mac” in the same classes. From a layman’s point of view, it’s patently unfair for McDonald’s to hinder Supermac’s expansion; no reasonable person would confuse the two. But EUIPO is using its limited powers in an overly creative way to deliver this common-sense message. The EU does something similar when its attacks on multinationals’ tax-avoidance schemes based on its state aid rules or applies competition regulations to pester the dominant, often arrogant US Internet giants. Fairness is served in most of those cases, but the aggressive US corporations’ complaints of bureaucratic overreach are, at times, legitimate too.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

VAT-free medicines

‘Gloomy Sunday,’ or the song that kills

BusinessMirror

Sonny M. Angara

Tito Genova Valiente

BETTER DAYS

ANNOTATIONS

J

UST before 2018 ended, the Department of Finance, the Department of Health (DOH), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Food and Drug Administration issued a joint administrative order that basically allowed many Filipinos to greet the New Year on a more positive note.

Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumberless Dearest the shadows I live with are numberless Little white flowers Will never awaken you Not where the black coach Of sorrow has taken you —From “Gloomy Sunday”

Said order—with the corresponding BIR revenue regulation—comprised the implementing guidelines for the value-added tax (VAT) exemption on the sale of maintenance drugs and medicines for diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension starting January 1, 2019, as mandated by Republic Act 10963. This is a welcome development, especially since the health problems mentioned above are far too common among Filipinos. The Philippines has been described as a diabetes “hot spot” in the region, based on the fact that the number of Filipinos diagnosed with diabetes has been ballooning. The World Health Organization even predicted that the number of diabetics in the country would reach about 8 million (7.7 million) by 2030. Hypertension is similarly prevalent. According to a 2017 DOH survey, over 12 million—or roughly one out of four—Filipinos are already hypertensive. Furthermore, more than half are unaware of their condition since, according to experts, hypertensive patients often don’t display any symptoms. What’s alarming is that cases of hypertension are no longer limited to the older population. For instance, last year, the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center had a 13-year-old hypertension patient—their youngest so far. Meanwhile, in 2016, a study by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute revealed that almost half (46.9 percent) of Filipinos aged 20 and above have borderline to high cholesterol—with many similarly unaware of their condition. It has long been established by experts that high levels of cholesterol can result to illnesses, which, if left unaddressed, can lead to death. In fact, cardiovascular illnesses—which result to 170,000 deaths each year—can be attributed to high levels of cholesterol.

Grim is the picture painted by Philippine Statistics Authority data, which shows that the big three— diabetes, hypertensive diseases and heart ailments brought about by high cholesterol—are among the top leading causes of death in the Philippines. This is partially explained by the fact that, due to the high cost of medicines for these illnesses, poorer patients often find it difficult to follow their doctors’ prescriptions. They can hardly afford the maintenance medicines they need. And this could either delay their healing, or worse, spell a bigger problem for them and their families. That’s why the VAT exemption on the sale of drugs and medicines for these health problems is incredibly necessary, life-saving even. Not only will the exemption help unload the burden of costly medicines. The expected savings can also kick start a healthier lifestyle. It should be noted that the three health problems are also often referred to as “lifestylerelated diseases” since most cases can be attributed to poor nutrition, unhealthy eating, vices and inactivity. Coupled with the passage of the Universal Health Care bill, which includes free checkups and laboratory tests for all Filipinos, we hope that in making critical medicines VAT free, our countrymen are given a fighting chance to become healthier and more productive members of society. Looking forward, it is our dream that through the government’s strong drive toward a better health-care system, Filipinos could see the value of good health in their day-to-day actions and, in turn, follow healthier lifestyles. Sen. Sonny M. Angara was elected in 2013, and is now the chairman of the Senate Committees on Local Government, and Ways and Means. E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com|Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara

Do you trust Facebook to police the Internet? By Marietje Schaake Bloomberg Opinion

L

AST April, when 34 technology companies announced their membership of a Cybersecurity Tech Accord, it was portrayed as proof that the private sector was, at long last, taking responsibility for protecting civilians online—something governments had conspicuously failed to do. Since then, the ranks of signatories to the self-imposed cybersecurity standards has more than doubled. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the Chinese tech giant, is not among them, but its cofounder and executive chairman, Jack Ma, certainly agrees that companies should rush in where governments have so far feared to tread. To wit, his plan to create an Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), which will facilitate online trade across borders. “Innovation always develops much faster, and I think future laws should not be driven only by governments; they should be driven by the private sector and all stakeholders together,” Ma said. Another example of this is the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, backed by Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Samsung Electronics Co.—and announced by President Macron last year—which underlines the companies’ ambitions to draft standards in the fight against election tampering, compromised electronic components and software hacks. I am entirely in favor of companies acting responsibly: For too long, they have been negligent about protecting the

data of their users and customers. But when the most powerful tech companies take on the responsibility of global rulemaking and cross-border governance, to set and enforce standards, that is deeply problematic for democracy and the rule of law. There’s no question that governments have been laggards in setting norms and rules online—take that from a politician who has been involved in some of these cumbersome efforts. While Microsoft has been pushing for a Digital Geneva Convention, intergovernmental discussions on norms of behavior in cyberspace during peacetime are stalled at the United Nations. Even as Ma’s eWTP initiative takes off, negotiations between states on e-commerce at the World Trade Organization are going nowhere fast. Indeed, governments and courts have offloaded some of their responsibilities to tech companies. For instance, the European Court of Justice ruled for companies to remove web sites from search results in respecting “the right to be forgotten.” Similarly, in the NetzDG law in Germany, tech companies must take hate speech, fake news and illegal content offline within 24 hours. Both cases underline how much impact tech companies already have on the content people see, or don’t see online. But by leaving the policing to the companies, rather than to regulators and governments, there’s a great risk that the public interest will be captured by the private sector, and that norms will be made without transparency, accountability or the mandate of the people.

Friday, January 18, 2019 A7

S

INEAD O’CONNOR has sung it; Bjork wallowed in the sorrow of its lyrics, creating gutturals as if the melody were not depressing enough. But it was Billie Holiday, the jazz great, who popularized the song. The song was “Gloomy Sunday.” It was also known as “the Hungarian Suicide Song.” Composed in Resző Seress, a Hungarian pianist in Paris, the song is pure melancholia if one thinks of the music of the 1930s. And yet, the song has been tied to many suicides the year it was released. It was reported that many bodies found in the Danube were clutching the lyrics sheet of “Gloomy Sunday.” The hysteria about the effect of the song was so great that radio networks banned the playing of the song, with some of these bans lifted only as the new millennium arrived. The song in its original form is still available via the video-sharing web site of YouTube. The video comes with a warning how the song was the reason behind the death by suicide of many people in the past. As an ominous sound plays in the background, words of strong caution appears on the screen: “The song will play in 10 seconds. Exit now if you choose not to hear.” There is a case that has gone viral online, and it is about the suicide of a popular musician. The latest suicide is most unusual and thus elicits more curiosities and interest: the man jumped from a building to his death after talking to those who cared to listen to him. He enabled the camera to record his fall. With the greatest respect to the person who committed suicide, that act he committed could never be ignored. I am not proposing any thought from him because I never knew him. Let me ask this question not for him but for those who are left forever obsessing to find the video: Did he want us to view that last act? Was viewing that the respect he asked us to offer? Many will offer their responses to

my questions. But many, especially those who loved him sincerely and without any condition, will condemn me for asking the questions. How dare this writer exploit the topic of suicide? How cruel is this newspaper to publicize death? But suicides are as public as any ceremonial. The suicide—for that is what we call the person who commits the act—creates the steps and the processes that would cause the self to fall off a building, burn the body to ashes and to nothingness or wait for the mouth to froth until the paroxysms take over and the soul, as we believe so, leaves the body. How dare I indeed talk about something that is now the immeasurable loneliness of those left behind. How vicious I am indeed to mock their sadness by my desire to objectify the death of someone I will never understand. I know what will happen next. TV networks will invite once more that female psychologist with hair rebonded to perfection, with a voice that reeks of textbooks, who will offer advice that could be given by anyone. Then more experts will come in. The fact is, there are no psychologists, no historians, no social scientists before death. There is no expert when life is dissipated. No philosophies can ever make sense of death. Not Derrida, not Plato. No logic can shelter suicide from those who will obsess how he arrived at the finality to end his own life. The video has been taken off by Facebook. What is left is an annotated presentation without the dreaded “act.” And yet, I am certain, thousands are searching the ether to catch the vestiges of the artist’s last image as he plunges down. I know, the kin of the artist will hate me, the

‘Justice for a few?’ Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

M

Y brothers and sisters, “life has become so cheap.” This is a message from House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after the murder of her fellow congressman, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, found having been killed by a riding-in-tandem two days before Christmas in Albay. And within only two weeks, the police were able to capture the six suspects involved in the murder. Immediately then, a subpoena was delivered to the accused mastermind, Mayor Carlwyn Baldo of Daraga, Albay. According to the authorities, the confession from one of the gunmen who surrendered was a big help to the investigation. They added that politics was the motive; particularly, Mr. Batocabe would be running this coming election, becoming the opposing candidate for Mayor Baldo. The mayor denied these accusations. The investigation is still ongoing to fully know the truth and give justice to the fallen congressman.

The fast action of the police to put the suspects to justice is something new. They became scared after the forceful order of President Duterte to solve the case immediately. There is also a P50-million reward for anyone who will point out the mind behind the crime. Along with this is the political pressure from the heart-rending message from Speaker Arroyo. What if this is the sort of aggression of the President as well as the Congress in solving close to 23,000 death under inquiry cases, or DUI, recorded by the Philippine National Police from July 2016 until May 2018? Within this period when the Batocabe case was solved, 33 people

self-righteous advocate of privacy when such principle can be used for his own causes will curse me to stop. The student of psychology will tell me no psychobabble can work against suicide. Well, no religion, no science ever works with death. We have created a world where words and actions become viral. Here we are at the threshold of our own progress looking into the dark pit of evil instead of looking up to the heavens of stars as we contemplate the power of the Internet. Perhaps, we should stop using the term “social media,” because “social” has stopped being positive. Besides, the concept of social media has been understood without alacrity and such adeptness by politicians, it is time to move to the next universe where man takes over the machine again. Man against the machine. Man with the machine. When was it that we have become terrified of social media and the online relationships nurtured by it? The logarithms of the universe should still serve humankind because that is the will of the universe. But I still have more questions: What happens when one is already falling? Does one forget the world? Does one see the gods of one’s faith? When a young priest some years ago pulled the trigger to end his life with the Church, many of the faithful rushed forward with their faith. They clutched on to their rationality and explained that, during the moment the young man was about to press the trigger, God was ready

about his forgiveness. I do not know about you, but hearing those words scared me as much as the act of killing itself. The storm in those voices pleading that the suicide video should not be circulated is unnecessary. Think again because the Internet that has served our rants is now the same instrument we are condemning. The social media that helped us to let freedom bloom is now the monster we are asking everyone to murder. Suicide is about the suicide. It is not about us, but we like the act of suicide to be of us. That is the real selfishness in suicide, not the person who committed it, who willed that he will not live anymore. We cannot understand him. We should not understand him because, if we wanted to, we could have done that when he was still around. “I will be always here with you” are words we love to say. Look again, we say them because “we are always not there with you.” And that is painful. No one is in a position to give any advice now. But, to those who loved the man (and there are many), the online messages are not how he conducted his passing but how he lived his life. Those words can make the kin and those who cared about him feel good. That is the irony of death— the living are the ones searching the universe for answers why one has left when they should be listening to the heavens for answers as to how to continue living.

were reportedly found dead. Many of these cases were related to the government’s campaign against illegal drugs. According to the PNP, from October 2017 until May 2018, around four people die each day from ridingin-tandem related cases, much like what happened to Mr. Batocabe. It is saddening that the life of the people of this country has “become so cheap.” The foundation of the important teachings of the Church is the sacredness of the life of man, and we believe as Christians that it is never right to commit murder. The greatest sacrilege to the good ways of God for us all is murder or committing murder. There is no acceptable reason—whether political or for the safety of the people—for us to take the lives of our fellowmen. It is also absurd to believe that the essence of humanity of drug addicts, pushers or anyone not abiding by the law is reduced. The lack of justice is worsening with the continuing rise of the culture of cruelty and murder in our country. We see this in the case of Mr. Batocabe along with the 23,000 Filipinos murdered without true reason. On one hand, we are pleased with the fast action taken in the case of the murdered congressman. On

the other hand, the action of the ones appointed to give justice to the thousands of Filipinos denied of the proper process of law is scarce. Most of these people come from the poor—no position in government, no connections, not even a say in society. However, this does not erase the truth that their dignity is no different from that of a congressman’s. We are also taught by societal teachings of the Church that justice is at the heart of what is right for our fellowmen. Ergo, if the government will not hold itself liable for those behind the killings because of the war against drugs, it becomes an instrument to the absence of justice and rights. Brothers and sisters, we are part of those calling for justice for Mr. Batocabe. But we must all call for justice, especially to our leaders, for the thousands wanted and let murdered by those in power and their allies. Justice and rights are meant for all. Everyone’s life is significant.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

Make it a habit listening to Radio Veritas 846, “Ang Radyo ng Simbahan” in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph and follow its twitter and instagram accounts @veritasph and YouTube at veritas846.ph. For your comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Friday, January 18, 2019

DICT’s Rio says deals with tower firms could top $6B J By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

UMP-STARTING the construction of so-called common telecom towers in the country—through the six tower companies that the government is making deals with—could lead not only to better services, but also translate to roughly $6 billion in new investments.

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. said his group has so far signed four common tower deals, and another one is set to be struck on Friday, and yet one more is scheduled for next week. The zeal in forging several deals could, however, pit Rio further against presidential adviser Ramon P. Jacinto, who has been insisting on a common tower policy limited to just two players. The ICT chief said these deals will aid the government in drafting the common tower policy— something that has been ongoing

for roughly two years now. “This will help in coming up with the final policy, which I will not sign if it will limit the number of tower companies to two,” Rio said. “Imagine, each of these six will invest an average of $1 billion each, so that’s about $6 billion at the very least,” he told the BusinessMirror in an interview. These investments—mainly for the construction of telco towers— will also lead to job creation, he said. “They will also free up the capital expenditures of telcos, which currently build their own towers. And so, with a freed-up capital, telcos can now use the capital

“They will also free up the capital expenditures of telcos, which currently build their own towers. And so, with a freed-up capital, telcos can now use the capital to buy radios that transit signal and improve their networks.”—Rio

to buy radios that transit signal and improve their networks,” Rio explained. Thursday saw Rio leading the signing of memorandums of understanding with IHS Towers—the largest mobile telecommunications infrastructure provider in Africa, Europe and the Middle East by tower count—and Edotco, a Malaysian tower company that also has operations in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Pakistan. It has signed two other deals with Isoc Infrastructure, a Filipino company that previously submitted an unsolicited proposal to the ICT department for the development of telco infrastructure across the country, and Singaporean company iSON Towers, which has operations in the Middle East, the Asean and Africa.

Today, Friday, the ICT department will sign another deal with China Energy. “Next we we will sign another one with American Towers,” Rio added. “That’s a total of six—and they are not just any other tower company, but they are top tower companies globally.” He explained that signing these agreements with the tower companies will help the Philippines improve its telco services. Telco towers—infrastructure where radio transmitters are housed—remain inadequate in the Philippines, with the country having one of the lowest tower density scores in Asia, based on data from TowerXchange. “We badly need more towers, and the more tower companies who will be allowed to build will be better for us. These are new investments and will lead job to creation,” he said. T he Philippines has about 19,000 towers spread across the archipelago. However, these are not enough to meet the demand for quality service, which requires the country to have about 75,000 towers. See “Tower firms,” A4

www.businessmirror.com.ph

French firm Gemalto bags voter verification system By Samuel P. Medenilla

A

@sam_medenilla

FR ENCH technolog y firm won the contract to supply the Commission on Elections its 35,000 units of Voter Registration Verification System (VRVS), which it will be piloting in the 2019 polls. Comelec Spokesman James B. Jimenez announced that Gemalto Philippines Inc., in a joint venture with NextIX, beat three other bidders, including Comelec’s perennial supplier, Smartmatic International Holdings, for the VRVS contract. Comelec has yet to announce Gemalto’s winning bid, but the poll body announced last year the contract has an approved budget of P1.6 billion. Jimenez said the VRVS will be pilot-tested during the mock election for the 2019 polls on Saturday. He said it will be used in precincts in Manila, Quezon City, as well as in select municipalities in Pangasinan, Cavite, Cebu, Negros Occidental, Zamboanga del Sur, Davao del Sur and in all of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“One RV machine will be used in each of the selected [clustered] precinct,” Jimenez said. Comelec will deploy 35,000 VRVMs during the 2019 polls. Two thousand of these units will be held as a contingency. VRVMs will be used to automatically check the biometrics of a voter, as part of Comelec’s attempt to “clean” the voters’ list, fast-track the voting process and eliminate flying voters. It will replace the manual identity verification conducted by members of the Board of Election Inspectors using the Election Day Computerized Voters List before a voter is given a ballot. For the mock elections at least, Jimenez said they expect the VRVS will initially prolong the voting period per person by a few minutes since voters will still have to get used to the system. However, ultimately it will even lead to a shorter voting time, he said. Jimenez added they expect the VRVS will reduce the processing time for a voter before he is handed a ballot from the usual 10 minutes to just two minutes.

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Moody’s upgrades rating of Coco Planters to ‘Ba3’

M

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

OODY’S Investors Service on Thursday afternoon reported an upgrade to its rating of United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), on the back of expectations of better bank solvency and internal capital generation.

the next 12 to 18 months. Moody’s has also upgraded UCPB’s Baseline Credit Assessment and adjusted BCA to B2 from Caa1. Moody’s said the upgrades were driven by the improvement in the bank’s solvency, and their expectation that the bank’s internal-capital generation will strengthen. “Over the past 10 years, the annual amortization of the bank’s P29billion deferred credit charges from legacy problem assets substantially eroded UCPB’s retained earnings and, as a result, internal capital generation was weak,” Moody’s said. “Internal capital generation will increase substantially beginning in

2019 because 2018 marks the last year of amortization of those credit charges and, as a result, retained earnings will rise,” it added. While the credit watcher assigned a stable outlook to the rating, Moody’s said they could upgrade UCPB’s BCA and consequently its deposit rating, if the bank displays an ability to increase its profits, improves its core capitalization and maintains strong liquidity. Moody’s said it could lower UCPB’s deposit rating if (1) its already weak loss-absorption capacity further deteriorates; (2) the bank’s liquidity weakens; and/or (3) the likely systemic support from the government falls.

The rating agency hiked the local bank’s long-term foreign currency deposit rating to Ba3 from B2 with

a stable rating outlook. A stable rating outlook means the rating is unlikely to be changed in

Pru Life to set up own trust company in PHL

RedDoorz eyes triple expansion of rooms in PHL

P

RU Life UK said it is eyeing to open its own asset and trust company this year, to cater to the different financial needs of its clients. Pru Life UK Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Allan M. Tumbaga told reporters on Thursday that the British life insurer is looking to build its own asset and trust company in the Philippines this year. It is only awaiting the go signal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). “We have the approval of the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission]. Our target is this year,” Tumbaga said. He said the company would be named Pru Life UK Asset Management and Trust Co., headed by Pru Life UK Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Antonio L. Garces II. Tumbaga said the trust company would be offering Unit Investment Trust Funds. Pru Life UK is affiliated with Eastspring Investments, the fund manager of Prudential Plc. “The idea there is to be able to address the needs of our custom� ers. We want to make sure we are there for our customers and their financing needs,” he said. The company said it will be rebranding as it launched its “We DO” campaign, reinforcing its commitment to its clients of “Listening. Under� standing. Delivering.” The campaign will be rolled out in 10 markets in Asia, including the Philippines. “���������������������������������������� We DO means we are a part of our custom� ers’ world. Our brand commitment—Listening. Understanding. Delivering—reinforces our focus on human connections, simplicity and innovation for our customers. In this highly digital, inter� connected world, we will continue to deliver to them the same excellence in care and service we are known for and enhance their experience and long-term relationship with us,” he said. Rea Cu

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

B

UDGET accommodations platform RedDoorz targets to triple the number of its rooms and properties within the year, as demand for the service continues to increase with revenues from the local hospitality industry expected to grow to $663 million in 2019. RedDoorz COO Rishabh Singhi said his group aims to add 150 properties to its existing 100 properties, which translates to about 7,500 rooms in total from only 2,500 rooms today. The company essentially part-

ROMANTIC BABOY dishes.

ners with property owners to convert their existing rooms to standardized RedDoorz branded rooms. “We are an asset-lite hotel chain, and we are a low-touch and high-tech hotel chain, which allows us to expand really fast. Since we do not have to wait for an investment to mature, we can expand really fast,” he said. The company’s expansion, Singhi noted, would mean opening in more cities in the Philippines, including tourist-heavy destinations such as Boracay, Iloilo, Bohol and Baguio. “We have plans to start expansion into new cities in the second half of this year,” Singhi said.

Currently, RedDoorz properties are available in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Davao, Pampanga and Tagaytay. “We’re trying to solve the problem of this unnamed, unbranded, small, mom and pop hotel, and there are lots of them. We are solving the problem for them, trying to give them the brand, technology and training to be more open to the new-age millennial customer and to have the kind of services customers are expecting,” Singhi added. Aside from the Philippines, RedDoorz is present in Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore.

A newly opened Romantic Baboy Unlimited Korean Grill along Timog Avenue in Quezon City serves a variety of pork-based

NONOY LACZA

Friday, January 18, 2019

B1

AboitizPower starts rehab work of Naga, Cebu plant By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

A

BOI T I Z Power Cor p. (AboitizPower) has started rehabilitation works on one of the four units of the Naga Power Plant Complex (NPPC) in Cebu. “We started the rehabilitation, and with that, one unit will be available before the end of February,” Aboitiz Power COO Emmanuel Rubio said. The NPPC is composed of diesel and coal power units with a combined capacity of 153.1 megawatts (MW). However, when AboitizPower took over the facility, there was no more coal plant, thus the capacity was reduced to 40 MW. Rubio said last year the company would have wanted two units to be operational in February 2019 and the remaining units by the second half of next year. A capital expenditure of P892 million was set aside for the rehabilitation. There are no immediate plans to expand the NPPC capacity, since another of the company’s power facility, also in Cebu, will be operational soon.

“I want to make sure we service the ancillary service requirements, and I am commissioning a 300-MW plant down the road. So, I want to make sure that NPPC serves a different purpose than the one in Toledo,” explained Rubio, who was referring to the 340-MW Therma Visayas baseload power plant in Toledo City, Cebu. NPPC, once the subject of a legal dispute, was physically turned over and accepted by AboitizPower subsidiary Therma Power Visayas Inc. (TPVI) in July last year. NPPC was turned over to TPVI after it offered a bid of P1.088 billion. However, 
SPC Power Corp. exercised its right to top and matched the bid with an additional P54 million or a total of P1.143 billion. The government, through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), awarded the contract to SPC, despite TPVI’s objections. A petition with the Supreme Court was then filed seeking to enjoin PSALM from awarding the Naga plant on the grounds that SPC’s right to top was void. The SC reinstated the notice of award to TPVI.

Puregold raises ₧4.7B from Lucio Co’s overnight share sale By VG Cabuag

@villygc

P

UREGOLD Price Club Inc., the grocery-chain operator led by businessman Lucio Co, on Thursday said it raised P4.7 billion from a top-up placement deal. The company said in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it sold 104 million common shares at P45 apiece. The price is equivalent to a 6.8-percent discount from its last close of P48.30 on January 16. The company said it completed the placement upon approval by its board of directors. The shares represent about 3.8 percent of the company’s total issued and outstanding stock. “The deal was done via an overnight book built offering with Mr. Lucio L. Co as the sole selling shareholder,” it said. The shares sold by Co represent part of his indirect holdings at the company lodged with Deutsche Re-

gis Partners Inc. Co signed a subscription agreement to subscribe to the same number of Puregold shares and price per share. The company said it will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, capital expenditure and potential acquisitions. Deutsche Bank AG acted as the placing agent for the transaction. Puregold reported a consolidated net income of P4.62 billion for the three quarters of 2018, an 18-percent increase from last year’s P3.9 billion. Its stores registered stronger than expected same store sales growth of 5.8 percent during the period, while S and R registered an SSSG of 8.8 percent. “We are optimistic we will be able to sustain our SSSG in the last quarter of 2018 to be driven by higher consumer spending fueled by higher levels of take-home pay as a result of the tax reform law,” the company said.

Manila Water’s wastewater management consistent with ‘Used Water Master Plan’ By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

M

ANILA Water, the private water contractor and agent of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the East Zone, said it is constructing more treatment plants and more sewer networks to further increase sewer coverage within its concession area. Manila Water said construction is ongoing in the Ilugin sewage treatment plant (STP) in Barangay Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City, the centerpiece of the North and South Pasig Sewer System Project. All three STPs have a combined capacity of treating up to 275 million liters per day (MLD) of used water, targeted to benefit a total of 1.6 million people. The company’s statement was released a day after the Department of Environment and Natu-

ral Resources (DENR) held its first-ever stakeholders’ meeting in preparation for the massive rehabilitation of Manila Bay. As part of the rehabilitation, the DENR targets to make the waters of Manila Bay, particularly fronting the Bay Walk along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, between the Manila Yacht Club and US Embassy, safe for bathing by preventing the direct discharge of untreated wastewater in three esteros (waterways) leading out to that particular portion of Manila Bay. This means reducing the coliform level to conform with an “SB” water-quality standard, which requires that the water supply must not have more than 100 most probable number per 100 milliliters. The highest coliform level recorded by the DENR in Manila Bay is 333 million MPN/100 ml. MWSS Administrator Reynaldo Velasco, during a press conference

after the stakeholders’ meeting, said he will ask the two private water contractors and agents of MWSS to step up measures in compliance with a decade-old Supreme Court continuing mandamus ordering various government agencies to restore Manila Bay’s water to its pristine state. Manila Water said it continues to implement proper wastewater management with its service area consistent with its Used Water Master Plan. The company targets full sewer and sanitation coverage of its entire concession area by 2037 as far as its used water service is concerned. In a statement, Manila Water said as of November 30, 2018, it has installed an aggregate of 140,245 sewer connections within the East Zone since the start of its concession period, serving a total of 191,784 households.

“From January to November 2018, 5,135 new sewer connections were installed, benefitting 5,849 households, while a total of 855 kilometers of sewer pipes were cleaned within the same period,” Manila Water said. The latest additions to the company’s numerous wastewater facilities are two of its largest sewage treatment plants namely the Taguig North and Marikina North Sewage Treatment Plants. The Taguig North STP has a capacity to treat up to 75 MLD of used water from communities in Taguig and the Makati Central Business District. It was constructed underneath the Liwasan ng Kagitingan at Kalikasan, a public nature park that showcases milestones in Philippine History with seven mural installations created by artist Jose Giroy. The Marikina North STP has the capacity of cleaning up to

100 MLD of used water and was constructed to specifically withstand flooding as it sits right at the banks of the Marikina River. Both STPs employ Sequence Batch Reactor biological treatment process, an innovation that enables facilities built on limited land areas to more effectively treat larger volumes of used water. Manila Water currently operates and maintains 38 STPs and two septage treatment plants, to ensure that used water collected from its customers is treated and cleaned before being discharged back into Metro Manila’s waterways. The company said the discharged water from these treatment plants has consistently passed DENR eff luent-quality standards, averaging 99.8-percent compliance over the past five years as against the required 95-percent compliance set by the agency. Meanwhile, Manila Water also

continuously promotes its desludging services to its customers, offering scheduled cleaning of septic tanks with no additional charges. In helping rehabilitate Metro Manila’s major three-river system—Marikina, San Juan and Pasig Rivers—Manila Water said the help and cooperation of all concerned sectors are necessary. Designed to promote proper used-water management, the company launched its advocacy program in 2012 dubbed “Toka Toka” to encourage each individual to accomplish four simple tasks, or “toka” to help revive the city’s waterways, namely proper solid-waste management and segregation; active desludging of household septic tank every five years; connecting to existing sewer lines; and educating the community on proper wastewater management and on the environment.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, January 18, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 17, 2019

Net Foreign Stocks Bid Ask Open High Low Close Volume Value Trade (Peso) Buy (Sell) FINANCIALS

ASIA UNITED 59.5 59.8 58.5 59.8 58.5 59.8 9700 576638.5 BDO UNIBANK 130.5 131 129.2 131 128.1 131 2251680 291870138 BANK PH ISLANDS 92.9 93 94.35 94.35 92.5 93 2024980 189106282.5 CHINABANK 27.65 27.8 27.95 28 27.65 27.65 34000 947790 EAST WEST BANK 12.32 12.4 12.3 12.42 12.26 12.4 2314400 28687914 METROBANK 82.45 82.5 80.95 82.6 80.55 82.5 4102560 335406234.5 PB BANK 12.4 12.42 12.4 12.42 12.34 12.4 13000 160898 PBCOM 19.12 23.4 19.1 21.1 19.1 21 3600 74205 PHIL NATL BANK 44.7 44.75 44.95 44.95 44.5 44.75 38300 1709280 PSBANK 60.15 60.3 59.3 60.4 59.3 60.3 14190 854756.5 RCBC 27 27.2 26.5 27 26.4 27 82700 2214345 SECURITY BANK 178.1 178.5 179.8 181.4 178 178.5 329860 59181989 UNION BANK 64.5 64.95 65 65 64.5 64.95 6520 421260.5 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.44 1.47 1.47 1.47 1.44 1.47 32000 46190 BDO LEASING 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.38 2.32 2.34 39000 91260 COL FINANCIAL 15.82 16.2 16.2 16.2 16.2 16.2 100 1620 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.83 4.89 4.98 5.03 4.8 4.9 610000 3014330 IREMIT 1.45 1.49 1.49 1.49 1.45 1.45 4000 5840 MEDCO HLDG 0.45 0.475 0.475 0.485 0.45 0.45 1620000 735800 MANULIFE 760 825 800 800 800 800 150 120000 NTL REINSURANCE 1.01 1.04 1.06 1.06 0.99 1.04 1411000 1429340 PHIL STOCK EXCH 182 182.5 180 182.5 180 182.5 80 14555 SUN LIFE 1795 1849 1800 1800 1800 1800 585 1053000 INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.41 1.38 1.39 363000 506670 ABOITIZ POWER 36 36.05 36.75 36.85 35.4 36.05 1483200 53435090 BASIC ENERGY 0.245 0.249 0.243 0.25 0.243 0.249 270000 66400 FIRST GEN 19.98 20 19.98 20.35 19.98 19.98 1817600 36517893 FIRST PHIL HLDG 73.1 73.8 73.4 74.55 72.75 73.1 554580 40799979.5 MERALCO 377 378 390.8 393 376 378 421830 161270142 MANILA WATER 27 27.4 26.9 27.4 26.55 27 755800 20484080 PETRON 7.68 7.7 7.69 7.75 7.68 7.68 1873700 14433107 PETROENERGY 3.76 3.8 3.79 3.82 3.76 3.76 148000 560190 PHINMA ENERGY 1.32 1.33 1.3 1.34 1.3 1.32 7480000 9900400 PH RESORTS GRP 6.8 6.85 6.75 7.23 6.68 6.85 2876300 19813134 PHX PETROLEUM 10.88 10.98 10.98 11 10.9 10.98 154600 1699708 PILIPINAS SHELL 47.6 47.7 48 48 47.6 47.6 1046800 49891200 SPC POWER 6.31 6.33 6.29 6.38 6.29 6.33 387000 2457541 AGRINURTURE 16.26 16.38 16.36 16.42 16.24 16.38 902300 14786214 CNTRL AZUCARERA 16.56 17.5 17 17.5 17 17.5 2900 50650 CENTURY FOOD 15.38 15.6 15.6 15.6 15.22 15.6 617800 9613528 DEL MONTE 6.6 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.69 6.7 9100 60955 DNL INDUS 11.74 11.78 11.78 11.78 11.72 11.76 2444900 28741976 EMPERADOR 7.25 7.27 7.3 7.32 7.21 7.25 12234600 89251014 SMC FOODANDBEV 87.3 87.5 85.4 87.5 85.25 87.5 1327570 115792175.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.06 1.07 1.13 1.14 1.06 1.07 14712000 16072460 GINEBRA 26.2 26.45 25.7 26.5 25.7 26.2 58600 1534825 JOLLIBEE 313 313.2 308 314.6 308 313 440750 137890010 MACAY HLDG 10.12 10.5 10.1 10.22 10.1 10.1 9100 92550 MAXS GROUP 11.88 11.9 11.3 12.1 11.3 11.88 1998600 23520564 MG HLDG 0.177 0.185 0.183 0.186 0.182 0.185 650000 119290 PEPSI COLA 1.35 1.36 1.44 1.45 1.32 1.35 13588000 18723880 SHAKEYS PIZZA 12 12.08 12.4 12.4 12 12 404700 4946286 ROXAS AND CO 1.86 1.87 1.86 1.9 1.85 1.86 1418000 2656370 RFM CORP 4.7 4.8 4.88 4.88 4.8 4.8 98000 470560 ROXAS HLDG 2.76 2.99 3 3 2.73 2.9 77000 223930 SWIFT FOODS 0.13 0.133 0.131 0.131 0.129 0.131 760000 98080 UNIV ROBINA 139.3 140 143 143 138.9 140 1772270 249396519 VITARICH 2.06 2.07 2.12 2.14 2.05 2.06 9696000 20187820 VICTORIAS 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.39 2.31 2.33 104000 241460 CONCRETE A 59.5 60 60 60 60 60 100 6000 CONCRETE B 70.05 78 78 78 78 78 800 62400 CEMEX HLDG 2.11 2.12 2.14 2.16 2.07 2.11 8453000 17884500 DAVINCI CAPITAL 6.5 6.66 6.69 6.7 6.5 6.5 22500 150330 EAGLE CEMENT 15.2 15.3 15.2 15.3 15.2 15.3 85500 1305778 EEI CORP 8 8.02 8.1 8.1 7.99 8 569900 4567619 HOLCIM 6.05 6.06 6.06 6.06 6 6.05 337800 2030802 MEGAWIDE 17.08 17.1 17.2 17.96 17.06 17.1 5375700 94692092 PHINMA 9.09 9.29 9.07 9.1 9.07 9.09 4400 39984 TKC METALS 0.88 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.92 1000 920 VULCAN INDL 1.57 1.58 1.6 1.61 1.56 1.58 1891000 2994950 CHEMPHIL 133 140 135 140 133 140 580 78720 CROWN ASIA 1.78 1.79 1.79 1.79 1.79 1.79 32000 57280 LMG CHEMICALS 4.31 4.4 4.32 4.36 4.3 4.36 54000 232620 MABUHAY VINYL 3.08 3.15 3.14 3.15 3.14 3.15 10000 31420 PRYCE CORP 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 50000 290000 CONCEPCION 39.5 41.05 40.05 40.05 39.45 39.45 1100 43965 GREENERGY 2.16 2.17 2.17 2.21 2.11 2.17 6195000 13453810 INTEGRATED MICR 12.74 12.76 12.8 13.18 12.52 12.74 1950000 24916524 IONICS 1.87 1.89 1.86 1.9 1.86 1.87 271000 506380 PANASONIC 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.69 5.7 91000 518699 SFA SEMICON 1.49 1.5 1.52 1.52 1.36 1.51 163000 235350 CIRTEK HLDG 30.75 31.3 31.3 31.3 30.7 31.3 101800 3163695 HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.68 0.69 0.69 0.71 0.67 0.68 26054000 17920870 ASIABEST GROUP 25.45 25.5 26.95 27 25.5 25.5 150700 3902600 AYALA CORP 923 924 921 928 920.5 923 598270 552761315 ABOITIZ EQUITY 65.1 66 64.8 66 63 66 1112350 72731861 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 13.96 13.98 13.5 14.1 13.46 13.96 22299500 310247466 ANSCOR 6.5 6.55 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 24500 159250 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.78 0.8 0.77 0.8 0.77 0.8 26000 20570 ATN HLDG A 1.42 1.43 1.42 1.44 1.41 1.43 3059000 4355200 ATN HLDG B 1.43 1.44 1.43 1.46 1.43 1.43 508000 730800 COSCO CAPITAL 7.08 7.1 7.2 7.21 7.02 7.1 1062600 7552465 DMCI HLDG 12.3 12.5 12.4 12.54 12.14 12.5 6447300 79636826 FILINVEST DEV 12.72 12.78 12.72 12.82 12.7 12.78 769700 9848660 FORUM PACIFIC 0.213 0.239 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 10000 2400 GT CAPITAL 1006 1018 1000 1018 1000 1018 104905 106341405 HOUSE OF INV 5.91 6 5.9 6.05 5.9 6 12900 76649 JG SUMMIT 65.25 65.3 65 65.5 64.8 65.25 2098700 136939287.5 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5.42 5.83 5.42 5.45 5.42 5.45 5100 27792 LODESTAR 0.6 0.61 0.6 0.61 0.59 0.6 83000 49810 LOPEZ HLDG 5.68 5.7 5.41 5.98 5.41 5.68 8900100 51242113 LT GROUP 15.2 15.26 15.3 15.4 15.2 15.2 3398200 51900158 MABUHAY HLDG 0.61 0.62 0.63 0.63 0.61 0.62 1355000 836660 METRO PAC INV 4.93 4.97 5.08 5.12 4.9 4.97 28923100 145209814 PACIFICA 0.037 0.038 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037 2900000 107300 PRIME ORION 2.58 2.6 2.62 2.62 2.58 2.58 457000 1189760 PRIME MEDIA 1.17 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.17 1.17 261000 306060 SOLID GROUP 1.38 1.4 1.38 1.42 1.38 1.4 37000 51360 SYNERGY GRID 474 517 474 474 474 474 20 9480 SM INVESTMENTS 953 963 959 970 947 953 270820 259170430 SAN MIGUEL CORP 151 151.3 150.9 151.5 149.5 151 279060 42100076 SEAFRONT RES 2.28 2.57 2.27 2.27 2.27 2.27 5000 11350 TOP FRONTIER 250 255.8 251 251 245.2 251 110760 27797682 WELLEX INDUS 0.25 0.255 0.255 0.255 0.25 0.255 1090000 273200 ZEUS HLDG 0.213 0.223 0.228 0.228 0.213 0.213 110000 23580 PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.87 0.88 0.93 0.94 0.85 0.88 8556000 7610030 ANCHOR LAND 10.56 11.78 11 11 10.6 10.6 24900 265228 AYALA LAND 44.65 45 43.3 45 43.25 45 25486100 1135221845 ARANETA PROP 1.65 1.67 1.67 1.67 1.65 1.67 244000 403700 BELLE CORP 2.39 2.42 2.41 2.44 2.4 2.4 1721000 4141220 A BROWN 0.82 0.83 0.83 0.84 0.82 0.83 1711000 1412810 CITYLAND DEVT 0.89 0.9 0.89 0.89 0.86 0.89 25000 21800 CROWN EQUITIES 0.26 0.265 0.26 0.275 0.26 0.265 53930000 14467900 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.18 4.27 4.22 4.27 4.16 4.27 192000 811210 CENTURY PROP 0.43 0.435 0.435 0.435 0.43 0.435 5380000 2320850 CYBER BAY 0.375 0.39 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.375 160000 60000 DOUBLEDRAGON 20.8 20.85 21.95 22.2 20.8 20.85 1020000 21669130 DM WENCESLAO 8.62 8.63 8.6 8.8 8.6 8.63 530000 4596532 EMPIRE EAST 0.5 0.51 0.51 0.51 0.5 0.51 1089000 554800 EVER GOTESCO 0.113 0.118 0.118 0.118 0.118 0.118 10000 1180 FILINVEST LAND 1.46 1.47 1.46 1.47 1.45 1.46 4973000 7272260 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.16 1.17 1.19 1.19 1.16 1.16 1420000 1652820 8990 HLDG 8.66 8.78 8.79 8.8 8.69 8.78 838300 7351525 PHIL INFRADEV 2.14 2.15 2.19 2.19 2.05 2.15 17021000 36231350 CITY AND LAND 0.81 0.82 0.86 0.86 0.82 0.82 707000 584380 MEGAWORLD 5.27 5.28 5.08 5.31 5.08 5.27 66556500 347633481 MRC ALLIED 0.44 0.445 0.465 0.465 0.44 0.44 65490000 29212700 PRIMEX CORP 3.53 3.55 3.55 3.56 3.51 3.55 1599000 5642430 ROBINSONS LAND 22.7 22.9 22.8 23.1 22.35 22.9 2699600 61559470 PHIL REALTY 0.415 0.42 0.415 0.425 0.415 0.42 660000 276300 ROCKWELL 2.04 2.05 2.05 2.07 2.04 2.04 288000 589830 SHANG PROP 3.1 3.15 3.15 3.15 3.12 3.12 32000 99910 STA LUCIA LAND 1.36 1.37 1.31 1.37 1.31 1.37 2364000 3201830 SM PRIME HLDG 38.15 38.3 36.95 38.3 36.85 38.3 28642100 1081457765 STARMALLS 6.23 6.24 6.16 6.25 6.08 6.23 375500 2324248 SUNTRUST HOME 0.7 0.73 0.71 0.71 0.7 0.7 49000 34480 PTFC REDEV CORP 39 43.8 43.8 43.8 43.8 43.8 1000 43800 VISTA LAND 5.82 5.84 5.86 5.97 5.84 5.84 4115900 24161954 SERVICES ABS CBN 21.25 21.3 21.25 21.45 21.05 21.3 57800 1230075 GMA NETWORK 5.87 5.88 5.84 5.89 5.83 5.88 206600 1213139 MLA BRDCASTING 16.02 17.96 17.96 17.96 17.96 17.96 100 1796 GLOBE TELECOM 2062 2080 2040 2100 2040 2080 59330 124070480 PLDT 1237 1238 1230 1247 1225 1237 112635 139346475 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.041 0.042 0.042 0.045 0.042 0.042 69500000 3006900 DFNN INC 7.16 7.46 7.49 7.49 7.2 7.47 25600 188016 IMPERIAL 1.88 1.95 1.96 1.97 1.96 1.97 6000 11770 ISLAND INFO 0.136 0.138 0.139 0.139 0.136 0.138 4260000 583850 ISM COMM 6.39 6.4 6.4 6.51 6.37 6.4 5156700 33199162 JACKSTONES 3.11 3.21 3.16 3.18 3.11 3.11 53000 166050 NOW CORP 3.71 3.73 4.19 4.2 3.7 3.71 16134000 62908940 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.43 0.435 0.44 0.44 0.43 0.435 11780000 5124400 PHILWEB 3.19 3.2 3.4 3.43 3.15 3.2 2304000 7525240 2GO GROUP 13.9 14 14.22 14.58 13.84 13.9 170300 2386968 CEBU AIR 80.45 80.5 80.1 80.75 80.1 80.5 69820 5614979 CHELSEA 6.82 6.83 6.77 6.95 6.77 6.83 1230500 8481456 INTL CONTAINER 104 105 104.8 106 104 104 1257470 131705255 LBC EXPRESS 12 14.88 14.88 14.88 14.88 14.88 1500 22320 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.82 0.84 0.83 0.83 0.81 0.81 182000 149010 MACROASIA 17.8 17.92 18.36 18.36 17.8 17.8 367100 6576768 METROALLIANCE A 2.16 2.2 2.15 2.23 2.15 2.2 389000 849500 METROALLIANCE B 2.12 2.3 2.14 2.14 2.14 2.14 20000 42800 PAL HLDG 8.51 8.79 8.89 8.89 8.52 8.52 8500 73602 HARBOR STAR 3.07 3.1 3.07 3.14 3.07 3.07 555000 1718290 ACESITE HOTEL 1.33 1.38 1.39 1.39 1.38 1.39 30000 41530 WATERFRONT 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.77 0.74 0.76 1958000 1474360 FAR EASTERN U 893 940 900 900 900 900 700 630000 IPEOPLE 10.62 11.5 10.6 11.3 10.6 11.3 900 9610 STI HLDG 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.79 0.77 0.78 5074000 3940230 BERJAYA 3.21 3.27 3.39 3.41 3.2 3.21 2040000 6713710 BLOOMBERRY 10.64 10.66 10.8 10.82 10.48 10.66 6513200 69405386 PACIFIC ONLINE 9.52 9.71 9.6 9.6 9.56 9.56 8300 79356 LEISURE AND RES 3.31 3.35 3.44 3.44 3.3 3.31 1938000 6474680 MANILA JOCKEY 5 5.22 5.01 5.23 5 5.22 64200 322235 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.91 0.92 0.92 0.93 0.91 0.92 6833000 6258620 TRAVELLERS 5.5 5.53 5.5 5.54 5.47 5.5 150400 830054 METRO RETAIL 2.69 2.7 2.7 2.73 2.69 2.7 2341000 6321540 PUREGOLD 45.9 45.95 45.75 47.3 45.3 45.9 7666600 353663025 ROBINSONS RTL 85.5 86.5 86.2 88.8 81.05 85.5 1084440 93209118.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 116 118.9 115 116 115 116 58110 6740750 SSI GROUP 2.37 2.39 2.34 2.39 2.31 2.37 19047000 44863230 WILCON DEPOT 13.2 13.4 13.06 13.3 13.02 13.2 4219600 55389120 APC GROUP 0.435 0.44 0.45 0.455 0.435 0.435 5510000 2430300 EASYCALL 16.8 16.82 17.5 17.6 16.8 16.82 351200 5976232 GOLDEN BRIA 323.2 330 323.2 330 323.2 330 160 52354 PAXYS 3.4 3.61 3.65 3.65 3.38 3.61 121000 415460 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.4 0.405 0.365 0.405 0.36 0.4 15880000 6154900 SBS PHIL CORP 7.7 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.7 7.8 28400 221030 MINING & OIL APEX MINING 1.6 1.63 1.63 1.63 1.6 1.6 3785000 6112390 ABRA MINING 0.002 0.0021 0.0021 0.0021 0.0021 0.0021 207000000 434700 ATLAS MINING 2.64 2.68 2.65 2.65 2.64 2.64 64000 169570 BENGUET A 1.29 1.48 1.26 1.49 1.26 1.49 303000 411120 BENGUET B 1.36 1.52 1.21 1.36 1.21 1.36 6000 7710 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.295 0.305 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 10000 2900 CENTURY PEAK 2.01 2.02 2.02 2.02 2.01 2.02 504000 1016580 DIZON MINES 7.81 7.85 7.75 7.86 7.7 7.85 3200 24829 FERRONICKEL 1.67 1.68 1.65 1.71 1.65 1.68 22110000 37387350 GEOGRACE 0.218 0.222 0.218 0.222 0.216 0.218 240000 52670 LEPANTO A 0.119 0.121 0.12 0.122 0.118 0.12 3830000 461040 MANILA MINING B 0.0071 0.0089 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.007 15000000 105000 MARCVENTURES 1.21 1.24 1.25 1.25 1.21 1.24 56000 67970 NIHAO 1.02 1.09 1.09 1.09 1.01 1.09 37000 38390 NICKEL ASIA 2.6 2.62 2.5 2.67 2.5 2.6 10205000 26589950 OMICO CORP 0.65 0.67 0.62 0.68 0.62 0.63 14000 8820 ORNTL PENINSULA 1.03 1.04 0.97 1.04 0.97 1.03 2902000 2953300 PX MINING 4.16 4.18 4.16 4.33 4.15 4.16 6775000 28718350 SEMIRARA MINING 24 24.25 24.25 24.45 24 24 1091700 26333450 UNITED PARAGON 0.0069 0.0073 0.0069 0.0069 0.0069 0.0069 7000000 48300 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.013 61000000 778000 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.013 9800000 121300 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.013 400000 5200 PHINMA PETRO 3.72 3.9 3.94 3.94 3.94 3.94 1000 3940 PXP ENERGY 15.44 15.52 15.62 15.7 15.38 15.5 1636500 25367902

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

95.6 452 495 97.5 973 103 490 890 1.01 100 99.8 105 75.3 76 72.6 74.1 74 74 73.3

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

18.68 5.63 1.98

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 5.07 MAKATI FINANCE 2.7 XURPAS 1.54

117.4

-263720 -136746635 19359727.5 223312750 65000 -1430 672924 -22043410 643948 46154330 90918868 2302157 -7619306 -40870342 -106517880 14773056 -2452 96300 31920 329288605 -1182680 -1492450 -117450 -139450 79602.9999 -471240 229830 -57999.9999 968374 1082450 205470258 688050 -330160 39285125 -107758650 -7815644 43773110 -14630865 8600 11770 -1026758 -118980 -339300 -371410 8340 1122399 -28812 65930648 -7440 -967168 -37010 -343200 -285910 28231524 374100 -55670 -73260 -98676705 -20902722.5 5800 652640 -32077702 130500 -169320 -22550 -3220140 -100499.9999 -21470 -1358690 -1658360 -6252500 511176

96 471 495 98.45 972 104 480 900 1.01 100.5 100.2 105 75.4 76 72.6 74.45 74.8 74 73.3

96 472 496 98.45 973 104 490 900 1.02 100.5 100.2 106 75.4 76.1 72.6 74.45 74.8 74 73.5

96 470 495 98.4 972 104 480 899 1.01 100.5 100.2 105 75.35 75.85 72.55 74.45 74.8 73.5 73.3

96 472 496 98.4 973 104 490 899 1.02 100.5 100.2 106 75.35 76.1 72.55 74.45 74.8 74 73.5

10 350 1080 3410 800 1010 7480 100 16000 580 310 780 7240 68580 750 550 14300 21540 27050

960 164970 534650 335699.5 777900 105040 3664020 89910 16220 58290 31062 82500 545559 5211400 54422.5 40947.5 1069640 1593706 1986807.5

-24120 10500 -4664880 -

18.7 5.67

19.1 5.68

19.1 5.68

18.3 5.68

18.7 5.68

182000 14000

3364960 79520

-1445764 -

1.99

2.01

2.01

1.99

1.99

312000

622560

-

5.09 2.87 1.55

5.06 2.92 1.6

5.23 2.92 1.61

5.06 2.85 1.54

5.09 2.85 1.54

164200 11000 7247000

834343 31970 11351020

-2060560

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

-16605605 6629156 15422025.5 -58147432 -3014810 -8408679 113700 -158600 -160800 -24098 -31344315 -837795 389850 -1507938 -50920 7912984 -88222713 74057408 -184109.9999 1320630 43979036 1015368 -2649860 -1749746 -1870 -259200 32517250 -181800 -62400 1365890 -74780 -2973780 628200 -19974434 -49440 35800 -922310 14913656 7600 -200015

96 472 497.8 98.4 985 104 500 900 1.02 100.5 100.1 106 75.35 76.2 73.45 74.45 74.8 74.25 73.5

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

467243.5 -41262309 15452855 -233625 -6134870 169527329.5 8990 -6015 1049200 5294198 -325331 -178550 120000 48000 450000

118.1

117.2

118.1

116.6

118.1

8270

971900

-

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Infor Inc. receives $1.5-billion investment from shareholders By Roderick L. Abad

Contributor

I

@rodrik_28

NFOR, a global software company, plans to tap the equity market to raise funds for its capital requirement. It reached an agreement with shareholders for a new investment of $1.5 billion as it aims to bring the business to greater heights with improved operations and latest offerings across all locations, including the Philippines. “Manila is our second-largest location. With more capital, we will be expanding via investment in new markets, products and acquisitions. All those eventually lead to more employees in our Manila office since they become part of new product teams and integration efforts,” Infor CEO Charles Phillips told the BusinessMirror on Thursday in an e-mail interview. Apart from expanding their office here as a result of the growth, he said Infor is “building a new campus to accommodate this next wave of growth.” He did not divulge, though, the amount that Infor will be spending for such initiatives in

the Philippines. The capital infusion from Koch Equity Development Llc. (KED) and Golden Gate Capital (GGC) comes ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO) the company considers this year or in 2020. Such move, though, is subject to market conditions. “Koch and Golden Gate Capital have been phenomenal partners for Infor, and all of our 17,300 employees are excited about this milestone as we prepare for the next stage of growth,” the top executive said. The enterprise software provider has leveraged on its alliance with Koch as an opportunity to

To get cheaper fares, PAL passengers urged to book in advance By Jun N. Aguirre Correspondent

K

ALIBO, Aklan—Themanagement of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) urged passengers to book in advance in order to avail themselves of cheaper plane prices. Jose Enrique Tagle, vice president of Corporate Communications, in a press conference here on Tuesday said PAL is currently studying the effect of the increase in excise tax in the airline industry. PAL, together with its partner the Mabuhay Maritime Express, held a press conference in order to relay its massive investments in the province. “Last year, especially in Kalibo, there were complaints of a high rate of plane tickets. This was due to the limited airline landings allowed by

the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines,” he said. To prevent passengers from taking expensive tickets, Tagle said they can instead purchase tickets in advance in order to enjoy cheaper rate. During the press conference, PAL said it bought 15 new airplanes last year. It also anticipating the arrival of six more airplane units this year. “We are also increasing more destinations abroad. We will double our flight to Kalibo and by March, we will also be having a direct flight to Caticlan,” Tagle added. Meanwhile, Charina Danas of Mabuhay Maritime Express’s Marketing and Sales said their anticipated vessel trip from Kalibo to Caticlan will be held sometime during the first quarter of this year.

ISO renews certification of D&L’s lab-testing capabilities

C

HEMIC A L manufacturer D&L Industries Inc. on Thursday said it has boosted its export capability with the renewal of its ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation from the Philippine Accreditation Bureau. The accreditation refers to the international standard for competence in laboratory testing and demonstrates that the company’s laboratory-testing capabilities and management system follow global best practices, it said. “With the accreditation, analyses performed by D&L’s analytical laboratory comply with international standards. This supports the facilitation of trade and entry of Philip-

pine products into foreign markets,” it added. The renewal also allows D&L to offer its laboratory-testing services and to serve as third-party laboratory to a wider range of customers from the following industries: industrial oils, edible fats and oils, plastics, packaging, pipes, paints and coatings. Some of the tests that D&L’s analytical laboratory is capable of doing include material identification and profiling, detection of impurities and contaminants, and reverse engineering. Other companies with the ISO/ IEC 17025 accreditation include 3M, BASF Corp., ExxonMobil and Givaudan Flavors. VG Cabuag

co-innovate across the wide range of industries where the latter operates, KED Senior Managing Director Brett Watson said. “This investment is the result of a shared vision to continue creating innovative solutions that help companies operate more efficiently and effectively,” he said. Seeing the firm’s remarkable evolution over the years, GGC constantly backs up Infor’s endeavors. “We remain strong supporters of the company’s strategy and leadership team as they pursue their next phase of growth and continue to enhance the operations of businesses across a range of sizes and industries,” said David Dominik, managing director of GGC. Since the partnership among the three organizations came into being, Infor has invested around $2.5 billion in product design and development over the last five years and delivered more than 475 new products, 1,870 integrations and 20,700 industry features in its CloudSuite product line. The company was the first to move mission critical ERP application suites to public clouds for entire industries. Its CloudSuite

MUTUAL FUNDS

is currently the only fully multitenant ERP suite spanning front and back office applications, as well as logistics with global support in terms of languages, currencies and localizations. Pivotal to Infor’s strategy is its capability to engineer each CloudSuite for a specific industry. The firm eliminates the need for expensive customizations and runaway consulting engagements. In fact, customers routinely lower costs by 25 percent or more by retiring mods, eliminating bigbang upgrades and mitigating infrastructure costs after moving to CloudSuite. Hence, it serves as the foundation for digital transformation of over 9,500 customers in 110 countries. “Companies see the value in shifting their enterprise applications to the cloud, but can’t make that transition until critical industry features are replicated there. Infor built these previously bespoke features as standard cloud services and now has access to valuable data across business functions to build predictive analytics and insightful correlations on our Coleman AI platform,” Phillips said.

January 17, 2019

NAV ONE YEAR THREE YEAR FIVE YEAR Y-T-D PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 263 -12.82% 4.58% 3.65% 4.34% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.4879 -9.24% 12.62% 3.67% 4.33% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 4.0731 -13.96% 6.65% 1.91% 4.29% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.9427 -7.74% N.A. N.A. 5.83% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC.* 0.8567 N.A. N.A. N.A. 4.13% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 5.5168 -10.51% 4.51% 2.84% 4.8% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * 120.78 2.99% N.A. N.A. 2.38% ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.8746 -14.21% -3.62% N.A. 4.73% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 51.7566 -11.31% 6.08% N.A. 4.91% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 538.18 -11.67% 4.4% 2.87% 4.49% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.3011 -9.61% 5.89% N.A. 3.56% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 38.2739 -9.58% 6.89% 5.4% 4.32% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC.* **** 1.0262 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 5.2227 -11.05% 6.99% 5.53% 5.08% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 872.57 -10.85% 6.9% 5.59% 5.08% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8943 -10.33% 3.82% N.A. 3.87% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 4.227 -10.76% 6.31% 3.83% 4% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 1.0045 -11.18% 6.73% N.A. 5.02% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.6358 -8.4% 8.06% 4.26% 3.87% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* *** ^ 116.6489 -10.51% 8.07% 6.68% 5.1% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $0.9491 -18.34% 5.49% -0.06% 2.54% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.1665 -11.21% N.A. N.A. 6.99% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.712 -10.1% 1.19% -0.35% 3.53% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.2758 -9.05% 3.87% 1.59% 3% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.6395 -6.03% 1.8% -0.48% 3.82% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* 1.346 -9.37% N.A. N.A. 3.05% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.8929 -6.71% 3.19% 2.62% 2.62% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.5816 -10.77% 1.55% 1.51% 1.3% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 16.251 -9.54% 1.93% 1.61% 2.12% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* 2.127 -6.94% 3.33% 3.36% 2.68% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.7633 -8.01% 3.17% 2.25% 2.99% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.9489 -8.99% 2.43% N.A. 3.01% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.03546 -1.91% 0.07% 1.77% 0.77% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9533 -12.36% 4.4% -0.74% 3.01% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.4417 -8.34% 5.04% 1.31% 4.42% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.0363 -8.42% N.A. N.A. 3.05% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 344.05 1.97% 2.17% 1.95% 0.2% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ^^ 1.8559 -1.97% -0.62% -0.43% -0.05% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9794 5.48% 5.41% 5.28% 0.31% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1368 1.31% 1.66% 1.68% 0.31% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2212 0.05% 0.33% 0.48% 0.56% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.5842 -1.85% -0.08% 0.05% 1.3% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.8601 -4.81% -0.85% -0.06% -1.52% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.5598 1.94% 1.06% 0.98% 1.32% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.9059 -1.95% -0.18% N.A. 1.5% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.801 0.63% 1.59% 1.23% 1.31% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.5592 0.3% 1.26% 0.79% 1.32% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $449.18 0.67% 2.28% 3.08% 0.21% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є212.72 -0.49% 1.07% 1.54% 0.05% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1317 -0.08% 1.09% 1.98% 0.57% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0249 - 0.4% 0.82% N.A. 0% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.6918 -4.59% -0.52% 1.1% 0.08% MAA PRIVILEGE DOLLAR FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. MAA PRIVILEGE EURO FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. ЄN.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC* $1.0389 -2.85% -0.57% -2.26% 0.49% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1897 -2.72% 1.02% 2.81% 0.87% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0570755 - 0.14% 0.93% 1.85% 0.15% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8892 -4.13% 0.41% 1.77% 0.61% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 121.13 2.9% 1.93% 1.61% 0.26% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1801 1.78% 0.71% 0.48% -0.12% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2211 2.73% 2.3% 1.65% 0.21% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* $1.017 1.8% N.A. N.A. 0.14% * - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY ** - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO *** - LISTED IN THE PSE. **** - RE-CLASSIFIED INTO A BALANCED FUND STARTING JANUARY 1, 2017 (FORMERLY GREPALIFE BOND FUND CORP.). ***** - LAUNCH DATE IS NOVEMBER 6, 2017 ****** - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 08, 2018 ******** - RENAMING OF THE FUND WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST APRIL 13, 2018. ********* - BECAME A MEMBER SINCE APRIL 20, 2018. ******* - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Confiscated meat products test negative for ASF–BAI By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

T

@jearcalas

HE Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) on Thursday said meat products, such as bacon, confiscated from tourists at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport tested negative for the African swine fever (ASF) virus. “As of now, negative result for samples from confiscated bacon from China,” BAI OIC-Director Ronnie D. Domingo told the BusinessMirror. The BAI and other concerned agencies have confiscated meat products brought into the country by tourists from China and other countries to protect the Philippine pork industry from the highly contagious viral disease. The dreaded ASF virus, which could wipe out the country’s P200billion hog industry, could thrive even in processed meat products, such as siomai and hot dogs.

The BAI started collecting and testing samples from confiscated meat products to determine the presence of the ASF virus last week. Domingo also said the recently reported ASF incident in Mongolia poses no risk to the Philippines. “The report is of negligible risk to the Philippines because we don’t import meat from Mongolia.” Mongolia reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on January 15 that it has confirmed its first-ever ASF case. Around 85 hogs in a backyard farm in Gahain bair, Rashaant bag, Bulgan soum, Bulgan, died from

ASF, according to Mongolia’s report. The Mongolian government has also killed and disposed 214 more hogs to contain the disease. Last month the Department of Agriculture (DA) has implemented “more stringent” border security measures —including mandatory inspection of fishing boats from the West Philippine Sea where Philippine seafood is routinely bartered with meat from abroad—to avert the entry of ASF in the country. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol earlier instructed BAI officials to intensify its actions against the dreaded ASF virus, with the additional measures outlined in a memorandum order he issued on December 28. Under the order, the BAI will install human foot baths across all entry points of the country, including those arriving via cruise ships, to ensure that the virus would not spread through humans, according to Piñol. The BAI in coordination with other concerned government agencies will also mandatorily inspect all vessels “in Philippine ports with meat supplies.” The inspection also covers Phil-

ippine fishing boats returning from the West Philippine Sea, due to the reported barter of seafood products with meat from abroad, according to Piñol. Piñol added that the government will also conduct a “rigid” inspection of checked-in and handcarried luggage of all incoming passengers from ASF-affected countries at all airports and seaports. The BAI will also confiscate and destroy within 24 hours all intercepted pork products coming from ASF-affected countries, according to Piñol. According to the OIE, the ASF is a severe viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs. The transboundary animal disease can be spread by live or dead pigs, domestic or wild, and pork products. Transmission can also occur via contaminated feed and fomites (nonliving objects) such as shoes, clothes, vehicles, knives and equipment due to the high environmental resistance of ASF virus. The OIE noted that there is no approved vaccine against ASF. The OIE said ASF outbreaks have been reported in Africa and parts of Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Friday, January 18, 2019

B3

Cacao tops list of agri goods backed by PRDP

C

OTABATO CITY—Cacao has emerged as the top agricultural commodity being supported in Mindanao by the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), cornering 22 percent of the total allocation for agriculture and fisheries ventures of recipient groups. The PRDP approved P85.02 million in funding for cacao enterprises, more than double the P44.13-million granted to coconut enterprises and activities. As of this year, the PRDP has supported enterprises engaged in the production and manufacture of products covering 12 commodities across the Mindanao regions. It has shelled out P387 million to support these commodities. Rice came in third, with P40.54 million, followed by abaca, with P38.91 million. Also banana farmers and cooperatives were allotted P37.19 million for their various ventures. Cassava and rubber came close, with P36.19 million and P36.15 million, respectively. Seaweed ventures that were mostly cultivated in the Zamboanga Peninsula and the southwestern island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, got P26.70 million. Coffee also came close with P25.57 million. Non-crop ventures also received financial and technical support from the PRDP. These are goat production which was given P11.13 million; swine production, P4.76 million; and bangus production, P1.16 million. “This high-value crop remained to be on top of the list in terms of capital investment as more proponent

groups, association, and farmers recognized the value of this commodity in terms of local and international market demand,” said PRDP Deputy Project Director Danilo T. Alesna. Program officials also disclosed that Mindanao received the secondbiggest financial support under its Investment in Rural Enterprise and Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity (I-Reap) component. Under I-Reap, Mindanao was allocated P621.22 million, representing 28 percent of total allocation. North Luzon obtained the biggest support under the I-Reap component. “The I-Reap component of the PRDP aims to elevate agricultural production by installing production and market support facilities, establishing enterprises and upscaling product at the appropriate commodity value chain,” Alesna said. It said two projects were already completed under this program component. These two projects cost P9.57 million and had 18 proponent groups comprising of 477 direct beneficiaries. Some 24 subprojects are still being implemented and are worth P213.99 million with 88 proponent groups and 9,543 beneficiaries, while another 58 subprojects worth P177.97 million are in the procurement stage. The 58 subprojects were proposed by 63 groups and will have 6,838 beneficiaries. In terms of regional shares, the PRDP said Region 12 has the largest investment worth P250 million. This amount was 40 percent of the total I-Reap cost. Manuel T. Cayon

Friday, January 18,17, 2019 January 2019 B4 Thursday,

P.R.A. JOINS SELECT I.S.O.-CERTIFIED TOP-NOTCH AGENCIES BUILDING SOLID FOUNDATION

F

O

UT of 2,783 government agencies in the Philippines, around 200 are duly registered with the latest International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 certification, with the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) in the list. The ISO is an international agency composed of the national standard bodies of more than 160 countries. Having been adjudged compliant with international quality management-system standards, the PRA successfully passed the audit for its ISO 9001:2015 certification that covers the provision of marketing and enrolment services to the special resident retiree’s visa (SRRV) program encompassing PRA’s registered sites—its main office in Makati City, as well as its four satellite offices in the cities of Baguio, Clark-Subic, Cebu and Davao, effective until November 26, 2021. PRA general manager and Chief Executive Officer lawyer Bienvenido K. Chy received the certificate, which was awarded to PRA by AJA Registrars Inc. managing director and President Paul Bagatsing at the agency’s yuletide celebration for retirees last December 14 at the Philippine International Convention Center. AJA Registrars is the thirdparty ISO-certifying body that performed the audit on PRA. Chy extended his gratitude to the

agency’s stakeholders and marketing partners, and he commended the PRA employees for nailing the ISO audit. “This is undoubtedly a trailblazing achievement for us,” Chy said after receiving the certification. “I cannot fail to acknowledge the efforts and manifold contribution(s) of all of our personnel and employees.” With the spiraling number of foreign retirees flocking into the country, the ISO certification ensures excellence in the delivery of services to the authority’s stakeholders. “For barely two years since I assumed into office, we have witnessed a dramatic increase in our retirement enrolment. Now, with our coveted certification of ISO’s latest standard version, we would like to demonstrate or assure our clients and stakeholders that, indeed, we are not only aggressive in our marketing efforts or in increasing the number of our enrolees, but more so in improving or attaining a standard of excellence in our systems and processes, as well as enhancing the capability and competence of our employees,” Chy emphasized. The PRA, created by the virtue of Executive Order 1037, is mandated to develop and promote the Philippines as a retirement haven to foreign nationals and former Filipinos, with the SRRV as its main product.

ROM document preparation, capital-equipment importation, methodical calculation, transport-engineering studies to lifting and installation procedures, Royal Cargo, Inc. (RCI) relies on its engineering team to complete projects to the highest quality standards. The leading projects and heavy-lift logistics-solution provider underscores the competence of its engineering team, as they continue to actively take part in major infrastructural developments in the country, particularly in the construction of power plants across the Philippine archipelago. RCI’s engineering team oversees several critical facets of every operation to make sure every phase of the project follows the most efficient and safest method. “Our engineering team is a group of dynamic, innovative, and collaborative civil and mechanical engineers with skills and competency at par with other multinational companies. It is our mission not only to provide topquality service to our clients but also, and more important, to help elevate the lives of Filipinos. This is why we make sure that our people are knowledgable and apply only the best practices of the industry,” Royal Cargo founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Raeuber said. Over the years the RCI engineering team has successfully completed various power-plant projects, such as coal, wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, natural gas and combined cycle-power plants. Among the company’s vast portfolio of power plant projects is the 4x150-megawatt GN Power Kauswagan coal-fired power plant, which is also one of the most challenging projects

finished by the company. T he 4 x 150 -M W GN Power Kauswagan coal-fired power plant was constructed at the height of the martial law imposed in Marawi. Although the battle zone was approximately 35 kilometers from the project site, the team had to be escorted by the military. They experienced a lockdown and had to follow a curfew schedule in the delivery of materials, which presented the team with challenges. “All projects handled by the team encountered issues that really tested our expertise and capabilities. But all these problems seem less daunting, knowing that the construction of power plants increases not only the number of powered local communities, but also the number of jobs generated in the areas,” Royal Cargo Vice President for Projects and Heavylifts Division Rodrigo de Roma said. “Providing 24/7 electricity and employment will

ultimately help families raise their living standards, which is the bigger purpose that motivates us do our work.” Royal Cargo is also part of several notable nation-building projects, such the new Bohol Airport construction a n d s u s t a i n a b l e e n v i r o n m e ntprotection project, which led to the construction of the country’s first international eco-sustainable airport. The Panglao International Airport uses solar panels to power a part of the passenger terminal building. Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, Royal Cargo is looking forward to undertake more power plant and infrastructure projects, in particular to support the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build program. The company is also working on securing other power plant projects in Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan.

SM ENDORSES BILL-PAYMENT TIEUP TO LOCAL COOPERATIVE

S

HOPPERS at SM’s northern stores and malls can now make payments for the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative Inc. (Inec) with the recent SM-Inec tieup. Inec bills are now accepted in SM bill-payment counters at The SM Store Baguio (from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily), and SM Hypermarket Laoag, Savemore Market Laoag, Savemore Isabel Cinema Laoag and Savemore San Nicolas (from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily). It also accepts payments for credit cards, PLDT, Smart, Globe, SSS, Philhealth and Pag-ibig. Ilocos Norte Electric President Enrico Pacifico Ruiz graced the signing of a memorandum of agreement, toget her w it h Genera l Ma nager Fel ino Herber t A gd igos and SM Mart Inc. Senior Vice President for Controllership Elizabeth Yu with SVP

Eugene Saw. The Inec bill-payment acceptance is one of the many services SM extends beyond shopping to its customers. T h is w i l l a l low shoppers to

conveniently pay their bills as they shop, have fun and do their errands. In photo are Inec President Enrico Pacifico Ruiz (third from left) and Agdigos, along with Yu and Saw.

CHINESE NEW YEAR TRADITIONS AT MARCO POLO ORTIGAS

C

ELEBR ATE auspicious beginnings as Marco Polo Or tigas Manila ushers abundance with the coming of the Ear th Pig. Welcome a f low of

luck, for tune and happiness on this festive season. Indulge in to auspicious and staple glutinous rice cakes for that stroke of luck. Choose between the gold bar, which is available in boxes of one and two pieces, and in brownsugar flavor; or the traditional round variant, which is available in orange and brown-sugar flavors. These nian gao are available starting at P798. Feast over festive dishes

that bring abundance and the promise of all good things to come with two special authentic Cantonese set menus by Chinese Executive Chef Terry Lai at Lung Hin. Suckling pig cold-cut combination, steamed live garoupa with minced garlic in supreme soy sauce, and braised abalone with fish maw in oyster sauce (10 heads) are some of the dishes crafted for a fine celebration. The classic Salmon Yu Sheng prosperity toss is also available in special a la carte menu to bring in more luck. There are also scheduled events to welcome the Year of the Earth Pig at Marco Polo Ortigas Manila. Witness and receive good luck with the presence of Feng Shui master Chau Kam Shing with the ceremonial blessing ritual, followed by the dragon and lions to dance their way to bring prosperity on February 5 at 11 a.m. on the hotel’s ground-floor level.

Editor: Jun Lomibao • mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Sports BusinessMirror

Friday, January 18, 2019

C1

MASSIVE MATCH-FIXING

SCANDAL HITS TENNIS FRANCE’S Alize Cornet reacts after falling during her secondround match against the United States’s Venus Williams. AP

FRANCE’S Lucas Pouille plays a shot back between his legs to Germany’s Maximilian Marterer. AP

B J L The Associated Press

P

ARIS—The crooked tennis players knew him as “Maestro.” To European investigators, the Armenian based in Belgium is emerging as the suspected ringleader of an organized gambling syndicate suspected of fixing hundreds of matches and paying off more than 100 players from around Europe. As Roger Federer and other stars at the top of tennis compete in the Australian Open, players far lower down the sport’s food chain are being questioned this week by police in France on suspicion of fixing matches for Grigor Sargsyan, 28-year-old known as the Maestro, investigators said. Sargsyan is being held in a Belgian jail. The picture emerging from months of digging by police working across Europe is of a massive match-fixing scheme, organized via encrypted messaging, involving dozens of low-ranked players in small tournaments with little prize money. Police say Sargsyan employed mules, people hired for a few euros (dollars) to place bets for the syndicate that were small enough to slip under the radar of gambling watchdogs. Sources close to the investigation, all speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss details publicly, said four French players were in police custody on Wednesday and at

AUSTRALIA’S Alex de Minaur celebrates after defeating Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen. AP

THE PICTURE EMERGING FROM MONTHS OF DIGGING BY POLICE WORKING ACROSS EUROPE IS OF A MASSIVE MATCHFIXING SCHEME, ORGANIZED VIA ENCRYPTED MESSAGING, INVOLVING DOZENS OF LOWRANKED PLAYERS IN SMALL TOURNAMENTS WITH LITTLE PRIZE MONEY. least one of them told investigators that he fixed around two dozen matches for Sargsyan. They named the players as Jules Okala, 21; Mick Lescure, 25; Yannick Thivant, 31; and Jerome Inzerillo, 28. None operated in the

highest spheres of tennis. The careerbest singles ranking of any of them was 354, reached by Inzerillo in 2012. The arrests of Okala and Lescure were first reported on Wednesday by French sports newspaper L’Equipe. A dozen or more other French players are expected to be questioned in coming weeks. An investigator said France was one of the countries “hardest hit” by the syndicate, which targeted lower-level pro tournaments. Okala and Lescure were detained before they were to play in a modest tournament in Bressuire, Western France, this week that offers a total of $15,000 in prize money. Investigators have also questioned players in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, and Bulgaria and are looking to question others, including both players and managers, in the United States, Chile and Egypt. In all, more than 100 players are suspected of having worked with the syndicate, fixing matches, sets or games in exchange for payments of €500 to €3,000 ($570 to $3,400). “The impression we’re getting is that it is very commonplace,” one official told The Associated Press. Another said several hundred matches are thought to have been fixed.

Investigators fear that players used by the syndicate could suck others into the scheme and could go on to infect bigger tournaments if they climb higher in the rankings. “In time, they could be managers of other new players or trainers so we have to get them out of the system, or they could corrupt others in a few years,” one official told The Associated Press. Sargsyan was swept up in a wave of arrests in Belgium last June and faces organized crime, match fixing, money laundering and forgery charges. A suspected banker for the syndicate also faces money laundering and organized crime charges, while four others are being investigated for illegal gambling and finding mules, who are thought to have been paid for placing modest bets for the syndicate on matches that it fixed. Because the bets were small, the risk of detection was “almost zero,” but the profits could still be considerable if many bets were placed, one official said. Still unclear is whether the Belgium-based syndicate was linked to another match-fixing and gambling operation, also involving Armenians, unraveled in Spain. Spanish police last week announced that 28 professional tennis players, including one who participated in last year’s US Open, were linked to that ring, taking bribes to fix results that the group bet on using fake identities.

Raonic nips Wawrinka in four tiebreakers

MESS IN AUSTRALIAN MEN’S CAMP M M

ELBOURNE, Australia—The situation seems mostly nasty these days in Australian men’s tennis. Compared with the genteel nature of past stars like Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall and more recently, the likes of Pat Rafter overruling line calls and giving points to his opponents long before video replays existed, Australian men’s tennis is filled with Twitter rants, calls by one player for Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt to resign, embarrassing on-court comments. And, to make matters worse, few decent results. The exception, in a big way, is Alex de Minaur, who advanced to the third round at the Australian Open and will play 17-time major winner Rafael Nadal on Friday. And John Millman gave a top performance before losing on Wednesday in five sets to Roberto Bautista Agut. After that, it’s not pretty. Sure Hewitt wasn’t always the consummate “good bloke”—as Australians like to say—in his day, arguing with chair umpires and fellow players and media, but he seems mild mannered compared with the likes of the self-imploding, dynamite-like duo of Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios. After Tomic lost in the first round, he called on former No. 1-ranked, two-time major winning Hewitt to resign as Davis Cup captain. The two have been feuding for more than a year after Tomic claimed that Australia couldn’t win without him and Hewitt

countered by saying Tomic wouldn’t be chosen for further international duty as long as he was in charge. Tomic’s form wouldn’t see him chosen anyway for Australia’s Davis Cup first-round tie against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Adelaide in February, but Tomic went a bit further, suggesting Hewitt has a personal interest in players he is promoting. “No one likes him anymore,” Tomic said of Hewitt. “We have a lot of issues that not a lot of players are happy about. We all know who those players are. Myself, [Thanasi] Kokkinakis, [Nick] Kyrgios.” Hewitt wasn’t about to get involved in a stoush with Tomic, saying it was “Bernie being Bernie, and losing and going on and complaining.” After Tomic’s comments, Kokkinakis and Kyrgios denied that they had any issue with Hewitt, but Kyrgios’s Twitter comments on Wednesday night during de Minaur’s match appeared to suggest otherwise. Kyrgios posted a screenshot on Instagram of Hewitt doing television sideline commentary from de Minaur’s players’ box during the Australian player’s five-set win over Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen. Kyrgios posted a poll to his followers, asking whose match Hewitt was watching. He provided two options: “Demon” (de Minaur’s nickname) and “No one else.” Australian No.2 Millman and No.3 Matt Ebden were playing second-round matches at the same time as de Minaur. Kyrgios appeared to suggest that

Hewitt only is interested in de Minaur, the teenager who Hewitt has been mentoring along with his Spanish Coach Adolfo Gutierrez. Tomic and Kyrgios reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals as teenagers—Tomic in 2011, Kyrgios in 2014—but neither has been past that stage at a major since. Kyrgios, who is Australia’s fourth-ranked player now, removed his Instagram post not long after. He also criticized Hewitt during the Brisbane International for not watching him or Kokkinakas play. John Newcombe, who won seven Grand Slam singles titles in the 1960 and 1970s, including Wimbledon three times, urged Hewitt not to get involved in the argument. “I said to Lleyton the other day: ‘Things that are being said and all that, take the high ground,’” Newcombe told the Australian Associated Press. “You don’t have to defend yourself. Everyone sees what you’re doing out there.” “The general public can see what Lleyton’s doing, but every time Bernie [Tomic] gets a microphone he attacks Tennis Australia or someone in it.” Millman said after his loss to Bautista Agut that he’s felt “quite well-supported by the captain, by the coach, by the support staff,” but said he liked Tomic, describing him as “larrikin,” and Kyrgios, a “top bloke.” Perhaps Millman has the best solution. “This stuff,” Millman said, “it’s in one ear, out the other.” AP

ELBOURNE, Australia—Already up a set, Stan Wawrinka was just two points away from taking the second in his Australian Open match against Milos Raonic. Couldn’t do it. About an hour later, 2014 champion Wawrinka was a single point from grabbing the third set. Denied again. And another hour after that, Wawrinka was two points from seizing the fourth to force a fifth. Nope, not on this afternoon. Wawrinka kept coming oh-so-close, and Raonic kept hanging in there and toughing out the most important moments along the way to a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (11), 7-6 (5) victory on Thursday that put the 16th-seeded Canadian into the third round at Melbourne Park for the eighth time in nine appearances. “It feels like 4 hours passed by in about 15 minutes.... The adrenaline takes over,” said Raonic, the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2016. “I was very fortunate to stay alive in that fourth set.” The match was interrupted for about a half-hour while the roof at Rod Laver Arena was shut because of rain at 4-all in the third set. Raonic thought that helped him quite a bit. “I do a little bit better indoors than outdoors,” he said, “so thank you for raining up there.” Raonic delivered 39 aces, part of an impressive ratio of 84 total winners to only 44 unforced errors. This was a matchup probably better suited

to the second week than the second round of a Grand Slam tournament, given both men’s credentials. But Wawrinka, a three-time major champion once ranked as high as No. 3, dropped out of the top 250 last season, when he had surgery on his left knee. His signature one-handed backhand is as dangerous as ever—he had a 16-2 edge in winners on that shot on Thursday—and he hit 28 aces of his own. But as even as the match was in many respects—Raonic only won two more points overall, 163-161—Wawrinka couldn’t come through when he really needed to. Raonic had plenty to do with that, of course, including in the third-set tiebreaker, when he served his way out of trouble. Wawrinka’s three set points there came at 6-5, when Raonic delivered a serve at 129 mph (208 kph) followed by a forehand volley winner; at 8-7, when Raonic’s 125 miles per hour (201 kilometers per hour) serve drew a missed return; and at 10-9, when an ace at 132 mph (213 kph) did the trick. A 123 mph (198 kph) service winner gave Raonic that set. In the last tiebreaker, Wawrinka was up 5-4 before Raonic closed with three consecutive points to avoid heading to a fifth set. In other men’s action on Day 4, 2014 US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori withstood 59 aces from 39-year-old Ivo Karlovic en route to a 6-3, 7-6 (6), 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (7) victory. AP

C2

Friday, January 18, 2019

PETER SAGAN wins the third stage of the Tour Down Under cycle race for the second straight year.

SAGAN WINS STAGE 3 OF TOUR DOWN UNDER

A

DELAIDE, Australia—Triple world champion Peter Sagan won the third stage of the Tour Down Under cycle race for the second straight year on Thursday but New Zealander Patrick Bevin finished fifth to retain the overall lead by a single second at the tour’s midpoint. Sagan reproduced his ride in the same stage last season to snatch a split-second victory over Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez. Last year’s race-winner, Daryl Impey of South Africa, was third with Danny van Poppel of the Netherlands fourth. The 146.2-kilometer stage was grueling, finishing with seven laps of an undulating 14-km circuit through the Adelaide Hills centered on the finish line in the small town of Uraidla. Organizers met with rider and team representatives before the stage began to discuss whether it should be shortened because of heat wave conditions in South Australia. While riders were eager for the stage to be reduced, a majority of teams voted for it to remain unchanged. The undulating nature of the stage, which featured 3.3 km of climbs and similarly steep descents, made the stage highly technical and resulted in a series of breakaways. Sagan knew best how to position himself for the finish which featured two tight corners before the line. He dashed away and grabbed the stage win by barely a wheel width from Sanchez while Impey rode a superb stage to keep himself in tour contention, in fifth place on general classification. “My team...they kept me in the front and took care of me with a bottle of water and then in the end it was just a very great finish,” Sagan said. “When we passed the last climb I said it’s going to be the same like last year, let’s concentrate. “Then it just happened, like a copy paper result.” Sagan said that he expected to be less aggressive on the 129.2-km fourth stage on Friday, which features a corkscrew climb. “For sure not,” he said. “My bet is on Sanchez.” Thursday’s stage again featured an early breakaway, this time by six riders including the first stage winner Elia Viviani. Italy’s Viviani claimed time bonuses on the first two intermediate sprints and his leading group stayed away from the peloton until there were only 31.5 km remaining. At that point another group, featuring some of the original leaders, tried again to put a break on the bunch but with 20 km remaining there was a single leader. The final break occurred 3 km from the finish but was quickly reclaimed and Sagan was perfectly placed at the final corner to hit the line first. AP

Spo SOCCER...ER...POLITICAL CRISIS IN U.A.E. ASIA CUP A

Business

BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates—Traveling to the Asian Cup should have been a simple flight lasting barely an hour for Qatar’s soccer players. Instead, it involved a circuitous route to the UAE via Kuwait, lasting more than five hours. The journey demonstrates how the Persian Gulf diplomatic crisis crisis is impacting sports and could have ramifications for Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup. Having cut diplomatic, economic and travel ties with Qatar in June 2017, the UAE made no exemptions even to smooth the journey of one of the Asian Cup teams it is hosting. It doesn’t bode well for hundreds of thousands of fans planning World Cup trips. The diplomatic fight has affected travel and business in the region for more than a year, and the two biggest rivals will meet on Thursday in a match that means much more than seeding in the tournament’s knockout stage—both teams have already clinched advancement. The players and coaches have tried to ignore the dispute, even though evidence is everywhere. Around the Sultan Bin Zayed Stadium, Qatari players walk by portraits of members of the UAE ruling family, which has tried to isolate Qatar. “As the Qatar FA we believe that football is a message of peace,” Spokesman Ali Hassan Al-Salat said. “The slogan of the competition is, ‘Bringing Asia Together.’” The federation has barred players from discussing anything that touches on politics, and both sides have avoided the topic. “We are against mixing sports with politics,” said Turki Al-Awad, a Saudi Arabia Football Federation board member. “It’s a football game and shouldn’t be anything else.” Saudi Arabia engineered the regional boycott of Qatar along with the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. The Qataris have held firm, denying accusations that they support extremists and refusing the demands. Soccer is not just a sideshow as the other nations squeeze Qatar. Sport has been a crucial part STEPHEN SCHROCK nails a penalty kick against Kyrgyzstan. AFC.COM

SAUDI Arabia’s midfielder Hussain Al-Mogahwi (background) reacts after he scored against Lebanon. AP

the pursuit of supremacy in the Persian Gulf, and the fate of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup hosting and even broadcasting rights are at stake. Qatar state-owned broadcaster beIN Sports is the exclusive Middle East rights holder of the Asian Cup. But many viewers across the region will not be watching the official broadcast featuring commentary from recently-fired Manchester United Manager Jose Mourinho. Instead they will get a pirated version hosted from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia-based BeoutQ has been broad-

casting bootlegged feeds of beIN since 2017, but Saudi officials say the government does not condone the practice. “TV rights and copyrights should be respected,” Al-Awad said. “The Saudi government is working hard to prevent piracy by launching a campaign to fight against piracy of sports.” beIN published fresh evidence on Wednesday of what it claims to be Saudi-backed illegal broadcasts. The Saudi government has not responded to questions about beIN’s renewed push for soccer organizations to close BeoutQ. beIN also

asked Italian soccer’s Serie A leadership not to play its Super Cup between Juventus and AC Milan in Jeddah on Wednesday night in a protest against BeoutQ. Bringing soccer stars to Saudi Arabia is an attempt to gain some of the international prestige Qatar has garnered hosting sports events, including the world championships of track and gymnastics. Tiny but energy-rich, Qatar’s global status was elevated in 2010 when it pulled off an improbable victory to bring the World Cup to the Middle East

SCHROCK GIVES PHL ONE AND ONLY GOAL S

TEPHEN SCHROCK’S goal late in the game provided the consolation that the Philippines badly needed in bowing out from its Asian Cup campaign with a 1-3 loss to Kyrgyzstan at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Wednesday night. Schrock’s goal from a distant free kick in the 80th minute made him the lone star in the Azkals’ short but meaningful stint in the continental arena as he became the first Filipino to score for the Philippines that made its

Asia Cup debut. It wasn’t enough, however, to pull the country from elimination in the race to the Round of 16 as Kyrgyzstan’s striker Vitalij Lux produced a hat-trick to give his squad a chance to earn a slot in the knockout stage. The loss sent the Azkals packing home winless in three matches in Group C. Entering the match with a slim chance to qualify for the next phase, the Azkals found instant trouble as

the 29-year-old Lux scored in the 24th minute to the top right corner of the net. He again scored in the 51st minute, then was again successful in the 77th minute for a commanding 3-0 lead for the Kyrgyz side. Needing a strong and gallant finish to give the country a goal to remember as the lead proved to be out of reach, Schrock’s free kick bounced in to the rejoice of the Filipino fans in Dubai. Patrick Reichelt and Javier Patino

3-PT RECORD FOR CURRY O

AKLAND, California—Stephen Curry stepped back time and again and released the ball from way back. Most of the time with at least one defender in his face, too. “It’s insane what he does,” Coach Steve Kerr said. Curry scored 41 points with nine three-pointers to become the first player in National Basketball Association (NBA) history to make eight or more threes in three straight games, and the Golden State Warriors held off the New Orleans Pelicans 147-140 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight win. “When you get hot like that, you really don’t see anything but the rim,” Curry said. “You just try to stay on balance and get to your spot, wherever that is. Again, these are shots I work on, I have confidence in them, I know my teammates do.” Pelicans star Anthony Davis went down hard beneath the Warriors basket with 2:22 left but was able to walk off after a few minutes and quickly returned.

for the first time. Qatar has never even qualified for a World Cup but will in 2022 as host. Winning the Fifa vote, which has remained tainted by corruption allegations, threw a spotlight on human rights and labor conditions in Qatar and across the Gulf. And the sense of regional jealousy has fueled calls from the blockading nations for Qatar to be stripped of the tournament, which seems unlikely this late. “All of our World Cup preparations by the end of 2020 will be in place,” said Nasser Al Khater, assistant secretary general of the organizing committee. “It gives us a good two years to test them and get ready for the tournament.” Fifa President Gianni Infantino has attempted to carve out a role of peacemaker. Infantino wants to use the World Cup to help reunite the region. Infantino asked the Emir of Qatar to contemplate allowing neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, to help host some matches. “Maybe, if football makes dreams come true, in 2022 we could also experience a World Cup in Qatar, as well as, why not, some games in other countries of the Arabian Gulf,” Infantino said. “But this is another story, hopefully with a happy end.” So far, Qatar has refused. “The decision will be between us and Fifa,” Al Khater said. “It’s not a unilateral decision.” Qatar can call on some high-profile international players, including Neymar, to champion its hosting of the World Cup. The nation owns his club team, Paris Saint-Germain. In protective hats, members of the squad toured the Al Wakra stadium this week. Qatar’s game against three-time Asian Cup winner Saudi Arabia will go some way to showing how the squad’s progress as it tries to avoid being rolled over by teams more accustomed to the World Cup. Officials from both teams said the tensions between their countries won’t show up on the field. “We never thought that we wouldn’t shake hands,” said Al-Salat of Qatar’s soccer association. “We respect all the teams.” AP

Davis had 30 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in nearly 41 minutes for New Orleans, coming off a 46-point and 16-rebound gem on Monday night despite starting 0 for 5 with just four points in the first quarter. Nikola Mirotic scored 29 points, Jrue Holiday added 25 points and seven assists, while Elfrid Payton dished out 12 assists. The Pelicans and Warriors combined for an NBA-record 43 threes, breaking the mark by two that Sacramento and Golden State accomplished January 5 at Golden 1 Center. Kevin Durant hit a key threepointer with 5:53 to play and finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds, while Klay Thompson scored 19 points with four threes. Draymond Green had two Curry has 28 three-pointers in his past three games while the Warriors made 18 or more from deep in a franchise-record fourth straight game. The 24 made threes matched a franchise best. “The shots that Steph made were

not wide-open shots,” Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry said. “They’re challenged shots, and he made them.” The two-time MVP scored 23 of his points in the third quarter, hitting four threes over the final 2:37, as the twotime defending champions rallied, taking a 110-109 lead into the fourth after Andre Iguodala’s driving finger roll and ensuing free throw. “It’s once-in-a-generation, once-ina-lifetime talent,” said Durant, who could only shake his head in joy. Golden State found its rhythm in the second half playing the second night of a back-to-back. The Warriors won 142-111 at Denver on Tuesday night and this was their lone day at home during a grueling 17-day stretch, with seven of eight games away from the Bay Area. Golden State won’t play at Oracle Arena again until January 31. “I’m more like the director at the YMCA than I am coach. ‘You guys are shirts and you guys are skins, now go play,’” Kerr said.

On Friday at the Clippers, All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins is scheduled to start and make his Warriors debut for his first game in nearly a year since tearing his left Achilles tendon and undergoing surgery. In Houston, Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and the Brooklyn Nets spoiled James Harden’s 58-point night with a 145-142 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Harden had his second straight season high after scoring 57 in a victory over Memphis on Monday night, but was only 5 of 19 from three-point range. The Rockets shot an NBA-record 70 threes, making just 23. Harden has scored at least 30 points in 18 straight games and has reached 40 in nine of the last 12. He was 16 of 34 overall from the field, made 21 of 23 free throws and had 10 rebounds and six assists. Dinwiddie forced overtime, mak-

had failed bids for a goal in the waning minutes. The Azkals could not sustain their momentous start in the tournament after just conceding just a goal to powerhouse South Korea in the opener. Things got sour against another giant, China, as the country allowed three goals while losing rhythm and pricey possessions down the stretch. It’s back to the drawing board for Swede Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson after their bitter exit. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Detroit 120, Orlando 115, OT Boston 117, Toronto 108 Brooklyn 145, Houston 142, OT Milwaukee 111, Memphis 101 San Antonio 105, Dallas 101 Portland 129, Cleveland 112 Golden State 147, New Orleans 140 Utah 129, LA Clippers 109

ing three three-pointers in the last 30 seconds of regulation. In the extra period, he hit the go-ahead basket with 28 seconds left. Houston had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but Gerald Green’s shot clanged off the rim. After Houston blew an 11-point lead, Harden’s threepoint attempt bounced off the rim to send it to overtime. AP

orts

sMirror

PEREZ MAKES PRO DEBUT WITH DYIP

I

T’S D-Day for CJ Perez as the top pick in the Rookie Draft gets to showcase his court wits when Columbian Dyip takes on defending champion San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome. Perez, the former National Collegiate Athletic Association Most Valuable Player selected first overall by Columbian, sets his league debut against the Beermen at 4:30 p.m. Rain or Shine and new-look NLEX take the floor at 7 p.m. The 6-foot-1 Perez is expected to fill his duty as the go-to guy for Columbian with the top-pick tag under his name. The then Kia Picanto squad finished the previous All-Filipino conference with a league-worst 1-10 won-lost record. Under Head Coach John Edel Cardel, Perez will team up with backcourt duo Rashawn McCarthy and Jerammy King, Jackson Corpuz, fellow rookie Jeepy Faundo and forward Glenn Khobuntin. The Beermen, the all-Filipino champions for four straight seasons, will have Terrence Romeo as their new weapon. He is expected to blend well with five-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, veterans Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross and Arwind Santos. San Miguel Beer looks serious to win its fifth Philippine Cup title when it also added Jimmy Alapag to the coaching staff. The Elasto Painters, meanwhile, will welcome the return of Raymond Almazan who was AWOL in the middle of the Governors’ Cup last year after a misunderstanding with the team. Almazan’s return, however, would only provide relief inside the paint for Rain or Shine as the squad bid goodbye to guard Chris Tiu, who retired just before the 44th season. They will have their hands full against the retooled Road Warriors who will parade newly acquired center 6-foot-7 Poy Erram. NLEX got Erram from Blackwater and his presence will greatly affect the lineup that consists of Kevin Alas, JR Quiñahan, Larry Fonacier and Asi Taulava. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Friday, January 18, 2019

DUTCH TAKES TURN

TO BREAK RECORD G

UIDO VAN DER VALK charged back from way down at 35th to the top of the heap with a new course record in as many days, churning out an eagle-spiked eight-under 64 to grab a one-stroke lead over Keanu Jahns and Thai Tawit Polthai halfway through the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Pradera Verde Classic on Thursday in Lubao, Pampanga. Reeling to the middle of the 78-player field with a two-over 74 on Wednesday, the Manilabased Dutchman hit a pitch-in eagle to kick off his backside bid then recovered from a bogey mishap on No. 11 with seven birdies, including five in a scorching frontside finish to take charge at sixunder 138 as the erstwhile leaders stumbled with over par cards on a wind-raked Pradera layout that punishes wayward shots and rewards solid ones. Van der Valk’s 31-33 also bested Andreas Gronkvist’s 66 that netted him the first-round lead but the Swede lost his touch in hot, blustery condition and hobbled with a 74, dropping to third with Mars Pucay and Thai Namchok Tantipokhakul at 140 with 36 holes left in the $100,000 event serving as the eighth leg of the second season of the Philippine Golf Tour Asia (PGTA) put up by ICTSI. “I played really good. Everything’s in place, especially my irons and putting,” said van der Valk, who saw his 58-degree wedge shot from 60 yards roll and disappear into the cup on the par-4 No. 10.

Jahns actually looked headed to seizing control with a five-under card after 14 holes for a running seven-under total, but the Fil-German shotmaker bogeyed Nos. 6 and 7 on his way home and settled for a 69 and a 139, which Polthai matched with an eagle-spiked 66. Pucay, seeking to snap a long title drought, turned in a second 70, while Tantipokhakul firmed up Thailand’s drive for a breakthrough PGT Asia victory with a 68 as the duo caught up with Gronkvist at fourth. “I struggled with my putting, and couldn’t handle my game the way I did yesterday [Wednesday],” rued Gronkvist, who failed to his 33 frontside effort in the first round with a 38. Jhonnel Ababa, who launched his bid for a fourth PGTA diadem with a 68, fumbled with a 73 but stayed within striking distance at 141 in a tie with Clyde Mondilla (70), Sam Gillis of the United States (69) and Thai Piya Swangarunporn, who started the day just one shot behind Gronkvist but limped with a 74 and dropped to joint seventh. Fifty-five players advanced to the last two rounds with Omar Dungca (77), Anthony Fernando (76), Rolando Marabe Jr. (77), Thai Puk Pradittan (74), Niclo Salahog (72) and Orlan Sumcad (75) barely making the cut at 149. Out of the chase for the top $17,500 in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. are Philippine Masters titlist Jerson Balasabas

FACE-OFF Manny Pacquiao (left) and Adrien Broner pose for photographers during a news conference on Wednesday in Las Vegas. Pacquiao will defend his World Boxing Association welterweight title against Broner on Sunday at the MGM Grand. WENDELL ALINEA/MP PROMOTIONS

ACES’ UYTENGSU GETS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD

C

LASS organization, winning tradition, “We Not Me.” A mere mention of the words and the Alaska franchise comes to mind, qualities with which the Aces have thrived on in their 33-year stint in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). And certainly, it’s a reflection on the way team owner Wilfred Uytengsu handled the ballclub through the years which saw it win a total of 14 championships—tied for second most in the league—capped by a grand slam in 1996. As the PBA Press Corps (PBAPC) celebrates the silver anniversary of its yearly Awards Night, Uytengsu will be recognized for what he has done for the proud franchise. A former member of the national swimming team and an active triathlete, the Alaska Milk executive is going to be the recipient of a first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the group of men and women who regularly cover the PBA beat. In a 25-year span since the PBAPC first staged

WILFRED UYTENGSU

the affair in 1993, the Aces bagged 13 championships with Uytengsu—who’s been with the team since its debut season in 1986—as the single influential force behind the organization. During the 1994 to 1998 seasons, the franchise claimed eight out of the 16 conference titles at

stake, including the 96 grand slams, and produced two of the five most valuable players in that stretch in Johnny Abarrientos (1996) and Kenneth Duremdes (1998). Tim Cone, the most accomplished coach in PBA annals, was responsible for 12 of the 13 championships the Aces had in the last 25 years. And even after Cone left the franchise, Alaska remained competitive and consistent in winning a championship (2013 Commissioner’s Cup under Luigi Trillo) and being in the finals (five times in the last 12 conferences), a true testament to the handiwork of management under Uytengsu. The Lifetime Achievement honor is one of the 12 awards to be given out during the event presented by Cignal TV. The awarding of the coveted Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan Coach of the Year serves as the highlight of the affair, which will also hand out the Danny Floro Executive of the Year, and the President’s Award (PBA Board led by Chairman Ricky Vargas).

(75-151), PGTA Orchard leg winner Damien Jordan of Australia (77-151) and PGTA CAT Open winner James Ryan Lam (80-156). But the day belonged to van der Valk, who ended a long winless spell on the local circuit with a victory at PGT Eagle Ridge last year. Coming off a birdie-less 74 start, he eagled No. 10 and birdied Nos. 15 and 16 to negate his lone bogey on the 11th. With his long game, iron play and putting clicking, he came away with a pair of back-to-back birdie feats from Nos. 1 and 5 then birdied the par-3 eighth to spike his blazing windup.

GUIDO VAN DER VALK sets a new course record in as many days by churning out an eagle-spiked eight-under 64.

C3

PERPETUAL HELP

WIELDS BROOM

U

NIVERSITY of Perpetual Help System Dalta swept both the juniors and men’s divisions by trouncing Jose Rizal University (JRU) to claim outright finals spots in the 94th National Collegiate Athletic Association volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. The Altas smashed the Heavy Bombers, 25-21, 25-21, 25-13, while the Junior Altas flattened the Light Bombers, 25-13, 25-17, 25-11, to complete a nine-game sweep of the elimination round that catapulted them straight to the best-of-three finals set on February 1 Ronniel Rosales led his team with 14 points while last year’s rookie most valuable player Joebert Almodiel scattered 12 points to push Perpetual Help two wins closer from booking their second straight men’s title and 12th overall—two short from tying Letran’s league-best 14. Perpetual Help will face either No. 2 College of Saint Benilde (8-1), No. 3 Arellano University (7-2) or No. 4 Emilio Aguinaldo College (5-4), which will go through the stepladder semifinals starting on Tuesday. Power-hitting Noel Michael Kampton led all hitters with 12 points to help push the Las Piñasbased school two triumphs away from claiming a “five-peat” feat and 11th high school championships. They will face either Letran, Lyceum of the Philippines University or EAC which will also figure in a stepladder semifinals. In the women’s division, Perpetual Help turned back JRU, 25-13, 19-25, 25-21, 25-14, to claim the last ticket to the Final Four with a 6-3 record. The Lady Altas also arranged a duel with College of Saint Benilde, which grabbed the top seeding after finishing tied with the Arellano University Lady Chiefs, last year’s titlists, and the San Beda Lady Red Spikers on 8-1 cards. No. 2 Arellano University and No. 3 San Beda face off in the other Final Four match. Saint Benilde and Arellano University need a win to advance to the finals, while Perpetual Help and San Beda will have to win two straight to advance.

C4

Sports BusinessMirror

Friday, January 18, 2019

EXCLAMATION POINT! MINI driver Stephane Peterhansel and codriver David Castera, both of France, work on their vehicle after an accident during stage nine on Wednesday. AP

L

IMA, Peru—Nasser Al-Attiyah won the penultimate stage to extend his Dakar Rally lead to nearly an hour on Wednesday, and rider Toby Price finished with his main rivals to keep the motorbike lead in Peru. Once again, Al-Attiyah avoided the trouble his other rivals found on the 313-kilometer, four-hour loop in the dunes around Pisco. Stephane Peterhansel, the most successful driver in the world’s toughest rally, quit 26 kilometers in when codriver David Castera hurt his back. It’s the first time in 10 years that the 13-time champion has abandoned the race, and only the fourth time in 31 years. He was fourth overall at the time. Sebastien Loeb, third overall, was gunning for a fifth stage win until his transmission broke about 60 km from the finish. Then his spare broke 40 km out. He lost more than an hour and remained third on the stage, but overall fell two hours behind Al-Attiyah. Cyril Despres took over the stage lead but flipped his car about 20 km from the finish. By the time help came, he’d lost 39 minutes. That left Al-Attiyah able to play it safe, and he won the stage by five minutes from Nani Roma to extend his lead over in the general standings to 51 minutes. He looks set to celebrate a third Dakar victory on Thursday after the short drive into Lima. “Every day we work very hard to be fast and not make mistakes,” Al-Attiyah said. “Me and Mathieu [Baumel, codriver], the team, work very hard to keep our car fit. The buggy is a good car. We’ve followed our strategy from the beginning. We’ve been leading since stage three and building up the [gap] every day. We’re quite happy.” The motorbike drama started before the stage. British rider Sam Sunderland, the 2017 champion in title contention at fourth, was penalized an hour. Argentine rider Kevin Benavides, in the top 10, was penalized three hours. Then Adrien van Beveren, fifth overall, suffered a broken engine with 16 km to go and was out. That left a clear top three of Price, Pablo Quintanilla, and defending champion Matthias Walkner, all within six minutes of each other. But nobody attacked. From a mass start, they rode together and finished together—behind stage winner Michael Metge of Argentina—and retained their overall positions. Walkner said there was chaos when the first rider got lost, and the race leaders followed him. Nobody then wanted to take a risk. “It seemed an easy day, but it wasn’t. There was more to lose on a day like this than to win, so I just tried to stay with the top guys in front and do nothing stupid,” Walkner said. “The chance for the podium is quite good.” Price was content. The 2016 champion is nursing a sore right wrist. AP

SHANE LOWRY posts a threestroke lead in the European Tour’s opening event of the year. AP

www.businessmirror.com.ph

JUSTIN ROSE makes 2019 debut with the No. 1 ranking.

FRESH START

FOR ROSE L

A QUINTA, California—The timing couldn’t be better for Justin Rose, or for the Desert Classic. Rose played so much golf toward the end of last year that he wasn’t quite ready to fly from his home in the Bahamas to Hawaii to start 2019 against a winners-only field at Kapalua. Instead, he decided to start at the Desert Classic, an event he has not played since 2010. Because of the tight race at the top of the ranking, Rose returned to No. 1 in the world two weeks ago. That gives the Desert Classic the No. 1 player in its field for the first time since the ranking began in 1986. “My original plan was to play in Maui and keep the momentum going, and then maybe take a bit of a break in February,” Rose said. “But it just came around too quick.... I also felt like it was important for me to play before getting to San Diego. So this fitted in perfectly.” It’s a fresh start indeed for Rose, who won last year at Colonial and captured the FedEx Cup at the end of the season. He has signed a new equipment deal with Japan-based Honma, which could include a new putter. He also will be starting the year with a new caddie, at least temporarily, because longtime looper Mark “Fooch” Fulcher is to undergo a heart procedure on Thursday. Rose will be using Gareth Lord, a prominent European Tour caddie

who most recently worked for Henrik Stenson. That’s a natural fit as Rose and Stenson are close, having playing Ryder Cup matches together and even the team event last year in New Orleans. “Always felt like my pairing with Henrik wasn’t just a two-man pairing, it was a four-man pairing with Henrik, with Fooch and Gareth Lord, as well,” Rose said. “So he’s a guy that I’m very comfortable on the golf course with and he’s a great mate of Fooch’s, and I’m happy that he’s doing us both a favor, me and Fooch.” The defending champion is Jon Rahm, who last year went four extra holes before beating Andrew Landry in a playoff. Rahm started his year two weeks ago with a tie for eighth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. His previous start was a victory in the Bahamas at the Hero World Challenge, which seems like a long time ago. Rahm went home to Spain and rarely touched a club, “so that kind of negates a little bit what I did at Hero.” “My swing hasn’t changed in so long,” he said. “I haven’t changed my game plan or anything in my game, so it doesn’t usually take too long to get back to a good level. But hopefully, it’s good enough. I feel good. Swing feels good. Hopefully, I can show it again.” No one has successfully defended since Johnny Miller in 1976.

Phil Mickelson makes his 2019 debut at the tournament he has won two times, but not since 2004. The Desert Classic dates to 1960 and with typically ideal conditions in the California desert, it is known for low scoring. This is the only Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour event that has produced two sub-60 rounds—Adam Hadwin shot 59 two years ago, and David Duval more famously closed with a 59 when he won the tournament 20 years ago. Rose, meanwhile, will have to play well to stay at No. 1. The player he replaced, Brooks Koepka, is playing against a stronger field this week in Abu Dhabi. Tiger Woods, meanwhile, is starting another year at Torrey Pines, this time with higher expectations. Woods announced on Wednesday that he will play in the Farmers Insurance Open next week. He has won the tournament seven times, and Torrey Pines is where he won the US Open in 2008. Woods tied for 23rd a year ago when no one—himself included—was sure what to expect. He was coming off a fourth back surgery, this one to fuse his lower spine. This will be his first PGA Tour event since he won the Tour Championship last September to cap off a comeback year. AP

Lowry shoots 62, leads in Abu Dhabi A

BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates—Irish golfer Shane Lowry is looking to reignite his career after losing his card on the Professional Golfers Association (PGA)Tour last year. Beginning 2019 with a 10-under 62 is pretty much the ideal way to start. Lowry rolled in 10 birdies and did not drop a shot in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Championship on Wednesday, giving him a three-stroke lead in the European Tour’s opening event of the year. Down to 75th in the rankings and now three-and-a-half years without a win, Lowry is adjusting to life back as a fulltime European Tour player after failing to successfully juggle his commitments on both sides of the Atlantic in 2018. He appears to be reaping the rewards of a lengthy spell of practice in Dubai at the start of the new year after not playing competitively since November. “I feel good about my game,” Lowry said after tying the course record at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. “It’s probably the best preseason I’ve ever done.” Pablo Larrazabal, the 2014 champion in Abu Dhabi, finished eagle-birdie-birdie to complete a four-way tie for second place at 65 with Louis Oosthuizen, Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Richard Sterne. Three-time winner Martin Kaymer was in a five-man group a further shot back, while second-ranked Brooks Koepka shot a bogey-free 67. Tommy Fleetwood, who is seeking a third straight victory at

the year-opening tournament, and No. 3 Dustin Johnson had 69s. Lowry only hit four fairways in his 62, which matched the course record set by Henrik Stenson in the inaugural edition of the event in 2006. It was his iron play that set him apart, an approach to within 2 feet of a pin tucked away at the front of the 18th green—on his ninth hole of the day—possibly his highlight. He bent over in dismay after coming up short with a 20-foot putt at his last hole, failing to get the birdie that would have clinched the lowest round of his career. Instead, it tied the 62 he shot in winning the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009. “I’ve just gone out with not much expectation but knew I was playing OK,” Lowry said, “and yeah, everything clicked.” Lowry has faded since winning the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in 2015, which helped lift him to No. 17 in the rankings. He didn’t make Europe’s last two Ryder Cup teams and, after six missed cuts and not a single top-10 finish, lost his playing privileges in America. While missing the cut at the British Open at Carnoustie last year, he said he was not enjoying his golf but seems to have embraced a return to the European Tour. Lowry’s initial aim is to get back into the world’s top 50 so he can play in golf’s showpiece events in 2019. The appointment of a fellow Irishman—Padraig Harrington—as European captain ahead of the 2020 Ryder Cup has given him another source of motivation. AP

Y

God of Love

OU desire our happiness and peace. In trust we pray: Oh God, make haste to help us steer adult and young people from the path of violence, and sensitize us to the needs of both troubled young and adult people.Secure safety and peace for refugees, migrants and political exiles. Help us to know the plight of immigrants and prosper just immigration policies. May God grant us a peaceful rest and a happy death, through Christ our hope for eternal life. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

Life

SOMETHING LIKE LIFE: SO YOU’RE A BOOK LOVER AND DON’T WANT TO KONMARIE YOUR LIBRARY D3

BusinessMirror

Friday, January 18, 2019

Art imitates life

D1

‘Roma’ actresses drew on personal lives for inspiration

YALITZA APARICIO and Marina de Tavira in a scene in director Alfonso Cuaron’s widely acclaimed film Roma, which has emerged as a front-runner for Best Picture and Best Director in the awards season.

BY BERENICE BAUTISTA The Associated Press

M

EXICO CITY—Playing Cleo in director Alfonso Cuaron’s Spanish-language film Roma was for Yalitza Aparicio much more than putting herself in the shoes of another woman. For the lead actress of Mixtec origin praised for her moving portrayal of a domestic worker, it was personal: that was her mother’s occupation. “For me it has been very important to grow up knowing about my mom’s work and that she was always at every moment supporting me and teaching me to have this strength,” she said in a recent interview. Her mother raised Aparicio and her siblings alone after their father left the family when the actress was about 15 years old. Aparicio had never seen a Cuaron movie or acted. She had to look for photos of the director online to be able to recognize him when they met for the first time. Up until that moment, she planned to be a preschool teacher. She accompanied her sister, who was the one originally interested, to the audition in the southern state of Oaxaca. Aparicio ended up being the one called back. Her mother accompanied her to subsequent meetings, worried that it could all be human trafficking ruse. Once she had the part, Aparicio recruited her friend and fellow teaching student Nancy Garcia, who plays domestic worker Adela in the movie. Cuaron had embarked in a quest to find a woman who reminded him most of Liboria Rodriguez, his

childhood nanny to whom he dedicated the film. Rodriguez is also from the southern state of Oaxaca, one of the poorest of Mexico and also one with the biggest indigenous population of the country, but she is of Zapotec origin, while Aparicio is Mixtec. The film includes dialogue in Mixtec. If Roma ends up winning the Oscar for best foreign language film, it would be also a victory for the 68 indigenous languages spoken in the country. In the movie, Cleo and Adela are scolded by one of the children for speaking their language. “I tried to make a tribute to that job that I feel is so important,” Aparicio said. “I see it as what many women do in real life: they enter a home to work and give their hearts and their all as if it were their own family even though they have their own lives and sometimes difficult ones.” In spite of her lack of acting experience, Aparicio has dazzled audiences. She leads a list of best performances of 2018 in Time magazine and was also included in a similar list from The New York Times. On Sunday, she competed for the Critics’ Choice best actress award alongside Emily Blunt, Glenn Close, Toni Collette, Olivia Colman, Lady Gaga and Melissa McCarthy. (Glenn Close for The Wife and Lady Gaga for A Star is Born shared the award in a tie. Roma also won the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography.—Ed.) The role of the domestic worker, which in many movies is secondary, takes on a whole new dimension in Roma. Aparicio achieves scenes of great expressiveness in spite of having little or no dialogue. From the first scenes, she maintains an enviable

complicity with the children she cares for while facing the complaints of her employer and a profound romantic failure. In her acting debut, Aparicio meshes perfectly with Marina de Tavira, who plays Sofia, her employer and a mother of four who is abandoned by her husband. De Tavira, whose roles in the television series Las Aparicio, Capadocia and El Senor de los Cielos, made her the most experienced hand in a cast where many actors had no credits. One thing the whole cast had in common was Cuaron’s decision to break with his previous practices and try a new and different tactic: he never gave the actors the whole script. The director filmed the scenes in chronological order, and gave the actors instructions for the day that sometimes contradicted each other. That was the case in the scene where Sofia asks her children to write a letter to their absent father. Cuaron told de Tavira that it was especially important for her character that her son Tonio (Diego Cortina Autrey) write a letter. But before filming started on the scene, Cuaron whispered to the young actor that he should leave without writing anything. The result was genuine reactions to unforeseeable situations. Cuaron has said he did it that way because that’s the way real life is. Just as Aparicio connected to the script through her domestic-worker mother, de Tavira had a personal connection: she lived through her parents’ divorce in real life in the 1980s, a decade after the era depicted in the movie. Even then, divorced women faced stigma in conservative Mexican society and normally had

to take over full responsibility for child care, de Tavira said. “The way I remember it, and the way Alfonso talked about with me too, the woman felt guilty and she was also blamed by society for the breakup of the marriage, and you had to look at the children with pity, not empathy, as if they were going to grow up twisted, as if something was wrong,” said de Tavira. “It was even the subject of religious condemnation. If you were Catholic, for example, a divorced woman could no longer take communion. There is this big stigma attached to it as a woman’s failure.” Despite the differences in their backgrounds and social class, in the movie Sofia and Cleo grow close in their disappointment after their husbands and boyfriends abandon them. In an era marked by movements like Time’s Up and #MeToo, for gender equality and against sexual harassment, both actresses hope that situations like the ones depicted in Roma can change. “The role of fatherhood has to be strengthened,” de Tavira said. “We talk a lot about the empowerment of women, but we don’t talk much about educating to be a man, how much they are harassed and society demands they be violent and very strong, and that being very manly also means abandonment.” “We hope things will change little by little,” Aparicio said. “Just because you are a woman doesn’t mean you have to suffer more. We have to get that idea out of our heads.” n Alfonso Cuaron’s highly praised Roma is available for streaming on Net�lix.

D2

Friday, January 18, 2019

Society BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

z

Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jason Segel, 39; Jesse L. Martin, 50; Mark Messier, 58; Kevin Costner, 64. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Trust only what you know to be fact. You’ll meet individuals who will tempt you by coloring situations and using persuasive tactics. Don’t be too eager to initiate change unless you first analyze what’s required. When in doubt, back away from whatever situation you encounter. Don’t let others choose for you, regardless of how helpful they appear to be. Your lucky numbers are 6, 10, 21, 29, 31, 33, 42. ROBINSONS Land Corp. President Frederick Go (from left), Bonifacio Landmark Realty President Hans Hauri and The Bellevue Manila Managing Director Patrick Chan

LEXUS Manila Inc. President Raymond Rodriguez (from left), Israeli Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau and wife Madam Lizia Lu

The grandness of the Middle Kingdom D IPLOMATS, businessmen, and other VIPs flocked to the Grand Hyatt Manila for an elegant dinner hosted by Bonifacio Landmark Realty President Hans Hauri at the hotel’s fine dining Chinese restaurant, No.8 China House. Welcomed by Grand Hyatt Manila General Manager Gottfried Bogensperger, the guests enjoyed a wide array of refreshing cocktails as well as muchloved Chinese specialties including Chinese barbecue, homemade dim sum and Cantonese seafood, all prepared before their eyes in several cooking stations. They especially marveled at the meticulous preparation of the Peking duck, which was expertly explained and demonstrated by Chef Victor Yuan. After the main course, the guests were treated to a special Grand Dessert platter, which featured fresh fruits and sumptuous confections presented on a dry ice display, creating great visuals and spreading a wonderful scent around the room. It was a wonderful celebration of the best culinary gifts the Middle Kingdom has to offer. No.8 China House (bit.ly/2DcPKzn) is on the fifth level of Grand Hyatt Manila. n

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make a decision and finish what you start. What you accomplish will make you feel good about who you are and what’s yet to come. Learn from an expert and poise yourself for a new beginning. Personal gains are heading your way. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Pay closer attention to important relationships. Someone you come in contact with cannot be trusted. Do your homework and verify any information you are given. Romance is on the rise, along with changes to the way you live. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Look over your personal documents and make sure you have everything in order. You are likely to find a discrepancy between the assets you thought you had and what you do have. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Participate in activities that will challenge you physically. What you achieve will make you feel good and bring you closer to people you find stimulating. Love and romance are in the stars, and special plans to celebrate should be made. HHHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Participate in programs that interest you. Mingling with people who can challenge you as well as spark your imagination will motivate you to strive for something you’ve never considered in the past. HH

g

SEATED: Amos Timothy and mother Wilcon SEVP-COO Rosemarie Ong. Standing: Grand Hyatt Manila General Manager Gottfried Bogensperger

MADISON GALLERIES’S Joy and husband Joel Rustia

Conti’s opens newest store under Enderun management CONTI’S Bakeshop and Restaurant recently welcomed foodies and families to its newest branch, its 22nd, at Gateway Araneta Center on January 8. “We at Conti’s are committed to bringing food delight closer to Filipino families, and we are happy to share that we will continue to strengthen our presence in the country and grow Conti’s nationwide. We want to be part of every family’s celebrations, and share joy and happiness,” says Conti’s Bakeshop and Restaurant CEO Joey Garcia. Also present during the store blessing were Punlaan School Director Nanan Jacinto, former MTRCB Chairman Atty. Toto Villareal, Conti’s Bakeshop and Restaurant owners Carolina Sumulong and Angela Martinez. Conti’s Bakeshop and Restaurant was established in 1997 by three sisters—Carol, Cecille and Angie. It began as a home-based food order business serving customers in BF Homes, Parañaque, Las Piñas and Alabang. Over the years, the brand became known for its desserts and delicacies and eventually ventured into catering, take-home orders and functions for special occasions. Udenna Corp. recently acquired a 70-percent

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Choose a physical outlet and blow off steam. Put disappointments on the back burner for the time being. Once you have had time to rethink your strategy, you will come up with a much better plan of attack. HHHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Stick close to the people who are willing to help you or stand by your side. Making a couple of personal changes will help you realize what it is you want to do next. HHHHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Follow your creative dreams. Set up a special place at home where you can work on a project that sparks your imagination. A reunion will bring back memories and a renewed interest in something you used to love to do. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Avoid any sort of indulgent behavior if you want to stay out of trouble. Stick close to home and rearrange your surroundings to accommodate a project you want to take on. Take better care of your health and your personal relationships. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Friends and relatives will try to coax you to participate in joint ventures. Don’t feel obligated to participate in something that you don’t feel is beneficial. Physical activity should be fun, not risky. HHH

k THE opening of the 22nd store of Conti’s in Gateway Araneta Center with Conti’s Bakeshop and Restaurant CEO Joey Garcia (fifth from right), Punlaan School directress Nanan Jacinto (sixth from right), former MTRCB Chairman Atty. Toto Villareal (sixth from left), Enderun Colleges Vice President for Finance Fortune Jose (first from left) and Conti’s Bakeshop and Restaurant owners Angela Martinez and Carolina Sumulong (third and fourth from left).

stake in the company, which is managed by Enderun Hospitality Management (EHM) under its holdings company, Enderun Eight 8 Ate Inc. EHM is a hospitality management solutions provider in the Philippines that primarily engages

with local independent hotel and restaurant owners. It is one of the fastest-growing management groups in the country which now services hotels and restaurants in Manila, Bicol, Bohol, Boracay and Davao.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take care of business, and move on to pleasurable endeavors. Your ability to get others to see things your way will help you get what you want. A romantic plan will bring you closer to someone special. Personal improvements are favored. HHHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Be careful who you are dealing with. Someone will offer incorrect information or give you a false impression of what’s being offered or what’s known. Rely on resources you can trust before you get involved in a joint venture. HH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are aggressive, steadfast and reliable. You are opportunistic and a self-starter.

‘look before you leap’ BY JAKE HALPERIN The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Home, in Rome 5 Spanish request for a kiss 11 Soybean holder 14 Needs to repay 15 Key with four flats 16 Peyton Manning’s brother 17 Bookie’s scam 19 “To a...” poem 20 How aircraft carriers travel 21 “Fewer personal details, pls” 22 Show anger, cat-style 23 Be a deciding factor 27 Special anniversary 30 Mister Ed’s Mrs. Right, e.g. 31 Heroic story 32 Hungarian’s neighbor 35 Rummage (through) 38 Nascar additive 39 Lose concentration 41 Rowboat need 42 “Me too” 44 Air impurifier 45 Millennial’s exclusion anxiety 46 Actress Hayworth

8 Hints at, with “to” 4 50 Newcomers in an area minus those leaving 54 Garfield’s foil 55 Enable 56 South American range 60 QBs’ successes 61 Motto for the cautious, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 23-, 39-, and 50-Across 64 Black ops org. 65 Palm line 66 Simplicity 67 Rooster’s mate 68 Comic character Pee-wee 69 Sign on a school bus DOWN 1 Groomer’s tool 2 Up, up and ___ 3 Schedules, as an alarm 4 Hardly self-indulgent 5 Bud for life 6 Broken-up British label 7 Half of a third 8 Japanese cartoon style

9 Philosophy of oneness 10 Work unit 11 Dog bowl rarity 12 Any Beatles song, now 13 Cuts back on carbs, say 18 Signal, as a cab 22 Draped Indian garment 24 Argentinian coin 25 WWI decade 26 Luggage vehicle 27 Zooey’s New Girl role 28 No more than 29 Supported by both sides 33 Dream sleep letters 34 Heckle, in a way 36 Injured, as a leg 37 Wielder of love arrows 39 Hollow pasta 40 Lumpy citrus 43 Silent performer 45 Comic strips 47 Blindingly bright 49 Pumpernickel purchase 50 iPhone XS screen feature 51 Oscar winner Redmayne

2 Send to a specialist 5 53 Starting squad 57 “Darn!” 58 Edmonton gas brand 59 Dance move 61 Stanford, e.g.: Abbr. 62 Org. concerned with air bags? 63 Kyoto coin Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Relationships BusinessMirror

Friday, January 18, 2019

D3

So you’re a book lover and don’t want to KonMarie your library BEST-SELLING author Marie Kondo continues to spread the decluttering revolution via the new Netflix hit series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.

SOMETHING LIKE LIFE

MA. STELLA F. ARNALDO

@akosistellaBM

A

COUSIN hilariously commented the other day, “I wish it was possible to Marie Kondo our politicians.” Yep, especially with the upcoming elections in May, it is a bit challenging to find enough electorables that, uhmmm...“spark joy.” So good luck again, Pilipinas! Indeed, best-selling author Marie Kondo has finally entered the global lexicon as we discuss ways how to even KonMarie people out of our lives. Discussions about this brilliant Japanese lady, an advocate of decluttering and organization, has entered social media, taken over opinion spaces and news reports, that it has given rise to over thousands of memes, both positive and negative. A few didn’t even talk about her method at all but her physical appearance; I saw different memes both praising and criticizing her bangs, for instance. (I personally like those bangs. And if I could handle it, I’d probably go for it.) I cited her method in this space back in 2015, when her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up hit our local bookshelves. Her way of helping us put order back into our lives by getting rid of items we no longer need, sparked a quiet decluttering revolution. (See, “Declutter...but how?,” in the BUSINESSMIRROR, December 10, 2015) Since then, Kondo has moved to the United States with her family apparently, and now, with her Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, is impacting more lives. In this series, she helps American families take on the often-overwhelming task of going through their clothes, papers/documents, kitchen and garage, along with mementos in an effort to pare these down to the barest essentials. Of course, it has set off some backlash, as well, especially when she suggests that we keep our books to a maximum of 30. Suddenly, Kondo, kawaii in her very conservative schoolmarm attire, has become an enemy and agent of evil. Take a chill pill, book lovers! As in all things, Kondo is about organization, and what she says are mere suggestions. If you can live with your thousands upon thousands of books, keeping them clean and organized, then no worries! Keep them. But if you’re like me, with a sudden need to downsize as I live in a small apartment, and suffering once in a while from dust-induced asthma, I had to let go of many books I’ve accumulated since my preadolescent days. For one, it has made my househelp happier as she doesn’t need to exercise the feather duster too much! Seriously, whittling down one’s books can be a lifesaver and give one a sense of the really important things in life. For instance, it was imperative for me to keep all my Dune novels by the late great Frank Herbert. The magnificent science fiction series on feudal lords and

kingdoms ruling distant planets, with a messianic figure being awaited by a mysterious organization of nuns, is among my treasured possessions. That was a nonnegotiable for me. Of course I had to keep my recipe books. I love cooking at home and, often to de-stress, experiment on dishes. Those recipe books have kept me sane so many times, as I learn to treat meats, seafood and produce in far different ways than I can think of on my own. (My favorite recipe book of all is Le Cordon Bleu’s Quick Classics for the relatively easy procedures.) I also kept classics that made an enormous impact during their time and reverberated through the years, like John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere (The Social Cancer), Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and Herman Hesse’s Siddharta (inherited from my parents and grandparent, respectively), Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Sylvia Path’s The Bell Jar, while among the enriching fiction/nonfiction I’ve kept are Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Con�idential and Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone (both about working in the kitchen and memories of growing up with and around food). The rest of my books, as well as glossy magazines like Vanity Fair, Esquire, Asian Dragon, Metro and the hundreds of travel magazines I’ve brought home from the different air carriers I have been flown from one country to another, I have donated. Many of these are now on the shelves of humble libraries of privately funded schools in far-flung areas like

Mount Pulag and Benguet, as well as Palawan, Batangas, Sulu, etc. According to lawyer Angelo Valencia (a.k.a. as Kuya Pultak), who helped build these schools, the magazines will be appreciated by the teachers. So, yes, while many of us book lovers tend to keep books even after we’ve read them because we’ve learned much from them, or they have inspired us in some form, it gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction to share the same experience with others, especially those who normally may not be able to afford or have access to these. Unproductive stuff in our homes that have been gathering dust from neglect, for sure, need to be tossed in the trash bin. And the New Year is the best time to rid our lives of people just screwing our groove, and material possessions that are damaged, not being used, and just taking up valuable countertop or garage space. But books—and clothes—may be reduced to the ones we truly treasure, while the rest may be donated to those who are most in need and to those who must be inspired to reach beyond their environs. After all, Marie Kondo is all about sparking joy. If we can do this for others, I think she would approve. A final note: To those who have loved their books, and want to spark the same joy they’ve experienced in reading them with others, you may donate these to Atty. Valencia through Klasrums ng Pag-Asa. Call 0917-5681303 or visit their Facebook page. n

FEU CHAIRMAN HONORED AS 2018 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI FAR Eastern University Chairman and former Bank of the Philippine Islands CEO Aurelio “Gigi” Montinola III (right) receives the 2018 Citi Distinguished Alumni Awardee for Leadership and Ingenuity from Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed. Gigi, who worked at Citibank in the 1970s and early 1980s, was honored for his contributions to the banking industry and for taking leadership roles in the fields of education and the environment.

Rebuilding Leyte through music and arts TO commemorate the fifth year anniversary of Supertyphoon Haiyan (local code name Yolanda) and reintroduce tourists to a rehabilitated Leyte, top Pinoy and international artists, together with artisans and master craftsmen of Leyte, got together for a two-day music and arts festival, billed as “For the Love of Leyte.” Organized by the Philippine Foundation in partnership with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), One Love Festival-UK, and Tabo-an Ha Ginsiyaman, the festival sought to empower and create change in the community through sustainable tourism and development in the region, as well as attract new advocates for Leyte’s creative industries. Ensuring the festival’s successful run were For the Love of Leyte Founders and organizers King and Kay Palisoc, Department of Tourism Region 8 Director Karen Tiopes, San Miguel, Leyte Mayor Chekay Esperas, Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso, Department of Trade and Industry Region 8 Division Chief Ma. Delia Corsiga, Tabo-an Ha Ginsiyaman Curator and Creative Director Tipay Caintic, One Love UK’s Matt Porter and Dan Wiltshire, Philippine Foundation’s Carla Laus, and TPB’s Milo Oropeza gracing the event. Despite the rain, more than 2,000 people trooped to The Farm at Ginsiyaman in San Miguel, where the festival was held, to show their love for Leyte. All proceeds of the festival will be used to rebuild Leyte arts, culture and tourism.

FOR the Love of Leyte cofounder and organizer Kay Palisoc, One Love Festival’s Matt Porter, Tabo-an Ha Ginsiyaman curator and Creative Director Tipay Caintic and Philippine Foundation’s Carla Laus

IRIE SUNDAY

LEYTE Rep. Vicente Veloso

DEPARTMENT of Tourism’s Karen Tiopes, Tourism Promotions Board’s Milo Oropeza, Department of Trade and Industry’s Ma. Delia Corsiga and Arlene Dacuycuy

SAN Miguel, Leyte Mayor Chekay Esperas

D4

Show BusinessMirror

Friday, January 18, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

UNKNOWN RACHEL ZEGLER IS MARIA IN SPIELBERG’S ‘WEST SIDE’

RYAN CAYABYAB

LOS ANGELES—Steven Spielberg has cast an unknown 17-year-old from New Jersey to play Maria in his remake of West Side Story. Deadline first reported on Monday that the director picked Rachel Zegler after auditioning more than 30,000 hopefuls. The high-school student from Clifton posted photos of herself and other cast members on Instagram as she expressed her gratitude. She says she never could imagine she’d get the role after playing Maria onstage a few summers ago. Zegler wrote, “As a Colombian-American woman growing up in this day and age, strong roles like Maria are so important.” Ansel Elgort has been cast as her love interest in the adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical that retells Romeo and Juliet with New York street gangs. Filming is set for this summer. AP

A tribute to the maestro IN this September 14, 2018, file photo, singer Rihanna arrives at the Fenty Beauty by Rihanna one year anniversary party in New York. AP

Rihanna sues father over use of their last name for business LOS ANGELES—Rihanna is suing her father over his use of their last name for a business. In the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles, Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, says that her father, Ronald Fenty, and his partner have violated her trademark and falsely suggested that their business, Fenty Entertainment, is affiliated with her. The 30-year-old singer says in the lawsuit that she has used the name for her cosmetics brand and other businesses since 2012. Fenty Entertainment, which advertises itself as a talent and production company, was founded in 2017. The lawsuit asks the court to order Ronald Fenty to stop using the brand name, and it seeks damages to be determined later. An e-mail sent to Fenty Entertainment seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned. AP

GAB FAB JET VALLE

@jetvalle

W

HEN Ryan Cayabyab writes a song, everyone listens. That is not an exaggeration, so it’s actually no surprise he was conferred the National Artist medal recently. If you want to know what he has achieved, just Google his name and a long long long long list of achievements will come out. From receiving this award to writing that popular song and that, Ryan Cayabyab has done it all when it comes to music. In fact, more than a National Artist, he is a National Treasure. That is why I am so happy I can burst into one of his songs upon learning that Ryan will be given a thank you concert tonight, January 18, at the Globe Auditorium, Maybank Performing Arts Theater, BGC Arts Center. Titled Ryan, Ryan: Musikwentuhan, this is a one-night-only concert in which a slew of excellent musical performers will offer their personal tributes to the maestro’s genius and character through renditions of Ryan’s music that span various genres.

The performing artists include Pilita Corrales, Celeste Legaspi, Mitch Valdes, The Company with Beth Martin, Cocoy Laurel, Rony Fortich, the Ryan Cayabyab Singers, the UP Singing Ambassadors, the Festival Choir, Ben&Ben, Audie Gemora, Acapellago, Ariel Rivera, Martin Nievera and Regine Velasquez. A little birdie even told me that there will be surprise performances, as well as stories from his good friends in the industry with whom he has worked since he started. “We wanted an intimate coming together of friends in music who are just brimming with happiness that Ryan is now National Artist for Music,” says Moy Ortiz, founding member of the popular vocal group The Company who is part of the core group that organized this tribute. “After the success of the six-day Pinoy Playlist Music Festival at the BGC Arts Center last October, where Mr. C was our imprimatur, a little over a month later, he became National Artist for Music. It was already December but we all wanted to do this more than anything, so we started planning,” says Noel Ferrer, talent manager, writer and producer, and also a core team member in this tribute concert. The Bonifacio Art Foundation Inc. (BAFI), a nonprofit organization that runs the BGC Arts Center, is honored to produce this tribute with its copresenter, the Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC), with special thanks to NutriAsia. BAFI’s flagship project was the first ever successful Pinoy Playlist Music Festival (PPMF), which was curated by Ryan Cayabyab, Moy Ortiz and Noel

Ferrer. The experience of PPMF 2018 was supremely inspiring that the foundation committed to making it an annual event led by the three curators. The proceeds from Ryan Ryan: Musikwentuhan will go help PPMF 2019 become another Pinoy musical watershed event of the year. “We really wanted this tribute to have the feel of Ryan Ryan Musikahan—cozy and intimate with great music. So we came up with Ryan, Ryan Musikwentuhan because we also want stories intertwined with Ryan’s music as performed by the participating artists,” added Moy. BGC Art Center’s Head of Content Maria Isabel Garcia summarizes the link running through the mission of the BGC Arts Center, the role of artists and this tribute: “BAFI through the BGC Arts Center is in awe of Filipino artists—their creativity, mettle and imagination. The power they unleash all find their way in our lives in ways that do not move stock markets or bank accounts. Instead, they take sublime paths. They reshape our souls so that we can bend and ride the seasons of our lives. That is a running debt we owe our artists. Without them, we will decay long before it is time. That is why ‘Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika’ is a currency of the Filipino soul. That is why Maestro Ryan Cayabyab is a national treasure. That is why we are extremely honored to produce this tribute for him.” Try to score some tickets (although I heard they are already sold-out but no harm in trying, ’di ba?) at all TicketWorld outlets and www.ticketworld.com.ph. n

KO eyed in upcoming Pacquiao vs Broner bout BOXING enthusiasts already have their bets as the bout between Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Adrien “The Problem” Broner draws near, which can be seen in the Middle East via pay-per-view (PPV) on January 20, brought exclusively by Showtime and The Filipino Channel (TFC, emea.kapamilya.com). The eight-division titleholder Pacquiao will defend his WBA (Regular) Welterweight title against the fourdivision titleholder Broner, with boxing fans expecting a

knockout result. Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 knockouts) is training again at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles owned by his long-time coach and now consultant Freddie Roach. His trainings are closely monitored by Roach and Pacquiao’s Head Coach Buboy Fernandez, ABS-CBN Sports reported. On the other hand, Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs) has never been this focused and is giving his 100 percent in the training for the bout, said his Coach Kevin Cunningham in an article by

Independent.co.uk. As the opponents show grit just days before the match, spectators look forward to witnessing a gripping and all-out fight from the two boxers. The Pacquiao versus Broner fight airs on January 20 at 5 am (KSA) and 6 am (DXB). Watch it live via PPV on TFC Online (www.TFC.tv) by subscribing for only AED 40. Also available on OSN, eLife and Ooredoo.

Julie Anne, Christian all ready for concert series POPULAR balladeer Christian Bautista and charttopping singer Julie Anne San Jose kick off 2019 with world-class music and performances as they banner a GMA concert series, with its first leg set to highlight Iloilo’s Dinagyang Festival. Dubbed The Sweetheart and the Balladeer: Fun Night Only, the maiden concert offering reunites Julie Anne and Christian onstage on January 27 at the Iloilo Convention Center, Mandurriao, Iloilo City. Joining them is the comedic duo of Donita Nose and Super Tekla who will definitely leave Ilonggo GMA fans laughing with their funny repertoire. Meanwhile, treating her fans with sweet voice is special guest The Clash winner Golden Cañedo. The concert series is a collaboration between the network’s regional arm GMA Regional TV (RTV), GMA Entertainment Group and GMA Pinoy TV. “Twenty Ninteen is definitely a big year for us here in GMA,” says GMA RTV Vice President and Head Oliver Amoroso. “We are excited to share GMA Regional TV’s major project together with GMA Entertainment Group and GMA Pinoy TV. This year we are bringing the biggest and the brightest performers closer to our Kapuso viewers as we mount a series of concerts not just all over the country but also abroad. And bannering the first leg of world-class shows are no less than Asia’s Pop Sweetheart Julie Anne San Jose and Asia’s Romantic Balladeer Christian Bautista. And we will see them perform live during Iloilo’s Dinagyang

FROM left: Kapuso Concerts Program Manager Mae Zambrano, The Clash alumnus Josh Adornado, Super Tekla, Donita Nose, The Clash Grand Champion Golden Cañedo, GMA Regional TV Department Vice President and Head Oliver Amoroso, GMA Senior Vice President for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable, Julie Anne San Jose, Christian Bautista and GMA Senior Assistant Vice President for Alternative Productions Gigi SantiagoLara.

Festival, a sure treat to our Kapusong Ilonggos.” “We want our Kapuso viewers to enjoy quality concerts closer to where they are,” shares GMA Vice President for Business Development Department III Darling de Jesus Bodegon. “This is why we have partnered with GMA Regional TV and GMA Pinoy TV to mount Kapuso concerts with our first leg bannered by two of the country’s best singers—Julie Anne and Christian. Both of them have proven their power to mesmerize

the concert audience either during their solo shows or concerts where they share the stage. Kapuso concertgoers should definitely look forward to The Sweetheart and the Balladeer,” she says. The Sweetheart and the Balladeer: Fun Night Only will have another run this February 10 at The Atrium, Limketkai Center, Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro. The The Clash alumnus Josh Adornado will join Christian, Julie Anne, and Donita Nose and Tekla. Tickets are available via SM Tickets.

CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA and Julie Anne San Jose kick off 2019 with a concert series.

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

Editor: Tet Andolong

Friday, January 18, 2019 E1

Lexus presents the all-new UX on its 10th anniversary

(FROM left) LMI President Raymond Rodriguez, TMP Executive Vice President for Marketing Services Kei Mizuguchi, Lexus Asia Executive Vice President Vince Socco, TMP President Satoru Suzuki, TMP senior Executive Vice President Dr. David Go and TMP Senior Vice President for Marketing Services Jose Maria Atienza

Story & photos by Randy S. Peregrino

L

EXUS Manila Inc. recently celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Lexus Manila showroom in Bonifacio Global City where executives from both LMI and Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), members of the media, valued customers and other guests attended the momentous event. Gracing the celebration were none other than LMI President Raymond Rodriguez, Lexus Asia Executive Vice President Vince Socco and TMP top executives, namely: President Satoru Suzuki, Senior Executive Vice President Dr. David Go, Senior Vice President for Marketing Services Jose Maria Atienza and Executive Vice President for Marketing Services Kei Mizuguchi. During his speech, Socco expressed his appreciation for the customer’s trust and support for the brand in the last 10 years. “It was such a pleasure for us to take care of you and we look forward to continuing to do so in the coming 10 years and way beyond. As importantly, I look forward for more of you to join the Lexus family so that you can help craft amazing experiences and moments for each and every one of you, as well,” he said. Indeed, we have seen how Lexus cars have evolved tremendously in the last 10 years, as well as how it has established its own identity in the field of manufacturing luxury vehicles. “Our design language has become bolder and more distinctive. And we have also brought a significant change to our driving performance that pairs seamlessly with our world renowned driving comfort,” he added.

The all-new UX 200 subcompact crossover

OFFICIALLY launched late last year, Lexus also finally presented the all-new UX 200 for us to take a closer look. This latest addition to the brand’s lineup of exceptional cars is also considered as the gateway to Lexus luxury vehicles, as well as owning one. According to Lexus, the UX is a free-spirited SUV, expressively crafted for the modern Urban explorer. “We developed the new UX around the mindset of a ‘Creative Urban Explorer.’ It was intended to excite the open-minded, and encourage them to discover the world of possibilities,” as regarded by UX Deputy Chief Engineer Mitsuteru Emoto. “While the exterior of the Lexus UX adapts all the universal design cues of Lexus, it still maintains its outstanding personality within the Lexus lineup of SUVs,” said Socco during his presentation. True enough that all of the UX’s exterior design elements are pretty much faithful to what the brand is known for nowadays. Striking and imposing are the best way to regard its overall look starting off with the signature three-dimensional and pronounced spindle grille along with the sharp-looking headlamps. Angular and athletic profiles are also all over the frame with matching black trims defining the bottom panels particularly the wheel arcs. Even the rear end has its own striking element coming from the united sleek taillights, as well as sharp profiles. Continued on E2

Moto

Business

E2 Friday, January 18, 2019

Continued from E1

The interior, meantime, highlights what Lexus regard as the Takumi craftsmanship. For the most part, the layout conveys the same as that of the RX and NX models with familiar elements, such as the analog clock, center console track pad, and others. Premium materials were utilized with the strictest attention to detail denoting that it is luxurious yet athletic. From the steering wheel, dashboard panels, console and seats, you’ll also find yourself cocooned with absolute opulence. Then there’s the 7-inch heads-up audio display (10.3-inch electro multi vision display for the F Sport variant) along with optitron meters with multi-information display, among others. Propelling this new luxury small crossover is a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Twin Cam, 16-valve naturally aspirated motor dishing out 168 hp at 6,600 rpm and 205 N-m of maximum torque at 4,800 rpm. It is paired to a Direct Shift Continuous Variable

THE all-new UX 200 F Sport variant

THIS 2.0-liter naturally aspirated motor is fitted to both UX 200 variants.

TAKUMI-CRAFTED luxurious cabin of the standard UX 200 variant

T

HERE’S nothing more thrilling than welcoming the New Year with a new you. The bigger the change, the better, because it proves that you have the power to reinvent yourself and lead the life you want. The good news is, you can blow everyone’s minds away with your biggest change yet this 2019: driving in a brand-new Hyundai. And what better way to own one than with Hyundai’s “JANpacked” promo that’s fully packed with even simpler, easy-to-own packages to get you hitting the city and the outdoors with style in no time. With Hyundai JANpacked, promo, you

Transmission, which transfers all that power to the front wheels. Just to name a few from the long list of safety and security features, the all-new UX 200 is equipped with drive start control, traction control, vehiclestability control, antilock braking system with electronic distribution, brake assist system, and multiple air bags and curtains. Interestingly, Lexus utilized the new Global Architecture Compact for

high structural rigidity and improved stability. Exclusive to the UX 200 F Sport variant are the parts and add-ons, such as different bumpers, front mesh grille, jet black plating, fender emblems, front seats, shift lever, gauges, 18-inch gunmetal multispoke alloy wheels and aluminum pedals, to name a few. The standard UX 200 variant is priced at P2.478 million, while the F Sport version is valued at P3.048 million.

can enjoy the first two monthly amortizations under the 36-, 48- and 60-month terms for free. Low monthly installment options are also available. Imagine driving your very first crossover, the Kona, at P12,727 a month, or taking your SUV lifestyle up a notch with the Tucson at just P12,532 a month, or go big and bring the whole family in a Grand Starex at only P24,530 a month. What’s more, there are low down-payment deals with lighter financing terms that afford you greater convenience in owning a Hyundai fast and easy. The peak of motoring excitement is definitely within your reach, and Hyun-

dai makes it possible in so many ways! So get moving and make it happen this 2019 with Hyundai JANpacked. This explosive January promo is made possible by Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the Philippines, in partnership with BPI, Security Bank, RCBC, PNB, Chinabank, Maybank, EastWest Bank and UCPB. Hyundai’s JANpacked promo runs from January 2 to 31, 2019 only, so rush to your nearest Hyundai dealership now! For more details, visit hyundai.ph or facebook.com/hyundaiph.

oring

sMirror

Friday, January 18, 2019

A

THE equally striking rear-end design of the standard UX 200 variant

MEASURE aimed at protecting infants and young children from deaths and serious injuries arising from road crashes and other traffic-related incidents is a just a step away from becoming a law after the Senate ratified the bill mandating the use of seat belts for children in motor vehicles. With the affirmative votes of all 16 senators present, the harmonized version of Senate Bill 1971 and House Bill 6938, or “An Act Providing for the Special Protection of Child Passengers in Motor Vehicles,” is now ready for enrollment before it could be sent to Malacañang for the President’s signature. Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, principal author of the measure, said it’s about time to implement and craft laws that will protect the lives of the people, especially the children. The measure provides that “drivers of private vehicles are mandated to secure a child 12 years old and below in a child restraint system while transporting a child on a road, street or highway.” “Child restraint system” refers to a device capable of accommodating a child occupant in a sitting or supine position designed to diminish the risk of injury in the event of a collision or of abrupt deceleration of the

E3

vehicle by limiting the mobility of the child’s body. These children are also prohibited from sitting at the front seat of the vehicles, unless the child is at least 150 centimeters or 56 inches in height and capable to properly fit in the regular seat belt in the front seat, the measure stated. “The child restraint system shall be appropriate to the child’s age, height and weight and approved in accordance with safety standards for child restraint system,” Ejercito said. Even if they are wearing child restraint systems, drivers are prohibited from leaving the children unattended inside the vehicles, the bill stated. “This act should not be acceptable as this might endanger the health and life of the child,” said Ejercito, chairman of the Subcommittee on Special Protection for Child Passengers under the Committee on Public Services. For the protection of children using public utility vehicles, the Department of Transportation is mandated to adopt safety measures and issue regulations for the safe and secure transportation of children. A driver found violating this law shall be fined P1,000 for the first offense, P2,000 for the second offense and P5,000 and the suspension of the driver’s license for one year for the third and succeeding offenses.

Motoring BusinessMirror

E4 Friday, January 18, 2019

Divine 10 confident of big rebound this year

F

ROM last week’s Magnificent 7 to this week’s Divine 10—that’s what I have for you today. If you think you’ve had your share of expert opinions from the so-called industry captains the last time out, think again. For, there’s more incisive insight coming your way in the year of the Earth Pig from the latest batch of automotive oracles. Here: JOSE “JING” ATIENZA, Toyota Senior Vice President of Marketing Division “AFTER the anticipated slowdown in 2018, we see signs of market recovery in 2019. The stable demand coupled with expected further improvements in the overall economic situation will drive a moderate market growth this year.” GREG YU, Mercedes Benz mogul “I am cautiously optimistic about 2019. We have quite a number of facelifts and new models that will be introduced, which should generate a lot of interest. We hope world and economic events will stabilize.” SPENCER YU, president of SMCBMW PHL “2019 is looking to be an exciting year filled with opportunities for the Philippine automotive industry. It will be even more thrilling for BMW, as we will be having quite a number of new model introductions for both cars and BMW Motorrad as early as the first quarter. We expect business to pick up and grow steadily throughout the year.” RENE SO, Toyota dealer in Dagupan, San Fernando (La Union), Baguio and Laoag

GEORGE BLAYLOCK

RAYMOND RODRIGUEZ

SPENCER YU

ROMMEL SYTIN

GREG YU

JING ATIENZA

CESAR LEE

RENE SO

ATTY. ALBERT ARCILLA

year in the first quarter but with a little improvement by the second semester. I expect though that the growth will be more pronounced in the pickup, SUV and AUV segments and the regional areas will spur the growth. We are also expecting major promos and financing packages to bring back the excitement in the industry. Introduction of new models and reintroduction of new brands will further enhance the appetite of the market.” GEORGE BLAYLOCK, Top gun of Diamond Motors “FLAT tingin ko sa PC (passenger cars). If there should be growth, only because of new models…Light commercial vehicles will grow though because of improved business prospects and the jeepney modernization… Medium and Heavy trucks will also grow because of the 15-year phase out scheme… Interest rates will also play a major role.” ROMMEL SYTIN, president of Foton “COMING from a difficult year, 2019 will be better. Government projects are expected to go full swing this year and it will boost

private demand for all types of vehicles. As the government focuses on developing emerging cities with better infrastructure, vehicles are needed to move people and goods.”

cluding election spending may be some factors that will help us recover in 2019. We will be able to enjoy full year sales of our newly introduced Lexus ES and UX models. Sales of Lexus hybrid models continues to increase and customers are now more familiar with the hybrid technology. NX, RX and our flagship LS models are all now available in hybrid variants.” So there. Thank you all guys, and all the best in 2019!

ROMMEL GUTIERREZ

“I think 2019 will be better than year 2018 as there will be more consumer spending due to the midterm elections. And since business volume will increase on virtually all fronts, the car industry will follow suit.” ATTY. ROMMEL GUTIERREZ, President of CAMPI “YES, 2019 will be a better year for the auto industry. We are optimistic sales will continue to grow. With continued government support, our common objectives under the CARS program will be achievable.” ATTY. ALBERT ARCILLA, President/ CEO of The Covenant Car Company Inc. “WE will continue to see the overall market performing much the same as last

CESAR LEE, President of Toyota Alabang Inc. “SA dami Sir ng problema dito sa atin— politics, currency, inflation, unemployment, super traffic, unstable fuel prices and then you also have the trade war between the U.S. and China—struggling tayo. Pero tingin ko, baka gumanda ng konti sa bandang second quarter. Salamat po at ingat Sir.” RAYMOND T. RODRIGUEZ, President of Lexus PHL “2018 was a challenging year for us. Sales was down significantly due to the forward purchases made by some of our customers in 2017 (anticipating the new excise tax of 2018). 2019 looks promising and we are hoping to recover on our new car sales. Inflation is expected to slow down and increased investment on infrastructure, in-

PEE STOP More models coming up in 2019? That could only mean the auto business would be back on its feet in no time, indicating happy days will soon be with our motoring moguls after absorbing a big sales decline in 2018?...Lexus president Raymond T. Rodriguez will host the Pacquiao-Broner TV fight presentation on Sunday, Jan. 20, keeping intact a cherished tradition started by founding Lexus prez Danny “Sir John” Isla in 2009…Erratum: Last week, “photocup” came out instead of “pick-up” in Vince Licup’s analysis. My apologies…Birthday greetings to RSA, the low-key owner of SMC-BMW PHL. More to come, Sir!

F1 2019 CHANGES PRODUCED ‘WORST POSSIBLE OUTCOME’

F

By Scott Mitchell & Edd Straw

ORMULA One (F1) 2019 rules changes cost “a few seconds of laptime” and produced “the worst possible outcome” when the Racing Point team completed its first simulations. Simplified front and rear wing regulations will be introduced for 2019 with the aim of improving ontrack action by reducing front wing sensitivity in turbulent air and minimizing the difficulty of following another car closely. While the jury is out on whether this will result in better racing and more overtaking, Racing Point technical director Andy Green said the “relatively small” rules change impacted the car’s performance and balance “a lot”. “It’s been a big hit,” he told Motorsport.com. “And when we first put it in the tunnel a few months ago, we’re talking a few seconds of laptime, and a poorly balanced car as well. “It was the worst possible out-

come. Hopefully, it has some positives with respect to closer racing. “We, like everyone else, have been trying to crawl our way out of the hole that we jumped into with these new regulations. “It’s significant, and it is right

up there with, not-quite a complete change of car, but it is pretty close.” Teams have predicted a development race at the start of 2019 specifically in a bid to recover the downforce lost by simplified aero components. Green argued that the develop-

ment curve is “really steep,” and that during the design of the 2019 car, they have been “bringing updates all the time to try and keep on top of the change in performance of the model.” Racing Point is the reincarnation of the Force India team that fell into administration last summer, and Green is not sure that the team would have coped well with the rule changes in its under-resourced previous guise. “It’s a big challenge,” said Green. “I wonder if old Force India would have really struggled. “Significant architectural changes would need to keep being developed throughout the season, we would be struggling. We’re in a much better place now, it’s going to help us.” While the impact on car performance has been clear to see during development work, Green warned that F1 will “struggle to see a big different following another car.” “I hope I’m wrong, I hope all this work will result in some positives in following another car,” he said. “But for the analysis we’ve seen, it looks relatively small.”