BusinessMirror July 23, 2019

INFRA DEVT SPREE PUSHES UP STEEL IMPORTS 3-FOLD IN 2018–U.S. REPORT

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

T

HE Duterte administration’s infrastructure program has driven the country’s steel imports by nearly threefold to 9.1 million metric tons (MMT) last year, according to the Global Steel Trade Monitor.

The report, prepared by the United States Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, showed steel imports last year grew 12.31 percent to 9.1 MMT, from 8.1 percent in 2017. This made the

WORK crews busy themselves at the construction site for the Skyway Stage 3 in this BusinessMirror file photo. A US-based industry monitor said the Philippines’s steel imports nearly trebled last year on account of the infrastructure development boom in the country. NONOY LACZA

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Philippines the world’s 17th-largest steel importer.

The trade monitor reported steel purchases from abroad over the past decade jumped 594 percent, as the Philippines more than doubled its consumption to 9.1 MMT in 2016 and 9.5 MMT in 2017.

The surge in steel appetite was recorded at the ascent of President Duterte to power. Under his leadership, the government has embarked on an infrastructure program valued at some P8 trillion, according to government estimates.

A broader look at today’s business n Tuesday, July 23, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 286

Duterte asks Congress to approve 18 Sona bills W

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

ITH the goal of providing a comfortable life for every Filipino, the President on Monday defined the agenda of his administration for the next three years and asked Congress to pass at least 18 measures, topped by a number of economic bills to raise revenues and improve the business environment.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), which lasted one hour and 33 minutes, President Duterte talked at length about corruption, efforts to improve the business climate and the Philippine

economy in general.

He also addressed some of the issues being thrown at him such as his preference for military men in his Cabinet, as well as the country’s concerns when it came to the West

Philippine Sea, which he said his administration will “definitely” address before he steps down from office.

“We are now entering a period of consequences. The consequences

“We are now entering a period of consequences. The consequences of what we did and did not do but should have done during [the] first half of my term. I assume full responsibility...

Though we cannot change the past, we will not squander the future.”—Duterte

of what we did and did not do but should have done during [the] first half of my term. I assume full responsibility. As President I cannot pass the blame to anybody, so it’s on me. Though we cannot change the past, we will not squander the future,” Duterte said.

See “Sona bills,” A2

Price of rice from farmers down 16.4%

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DESPITE RODY’S TRABAHO BILL BACKING, ECOZONE LOCATORS TO LOBBY VS. IT

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CONOMIC zone locators will challenge President Duterte’s endorsement of the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, and have vowed to dialogue with senators and ensure its nonpassage.

In i nter v iews w it h t he BusinessMir ror , leaders of various industry groups said the President’s endorsement of the Trabaho bill will not stop them from trying to persuade senators to do away with the measure. They admitted Duterte’s order to pass the measure carries weight, but its fate, whatever happens, stays with the hands of legislators.

Philippine Ecozones Association President Francisco S. Zaldarriaga said locators will keep briefing senators on the potential investment and job

By Rea Cu

@jearcalas

HE average farm-gate price of unhusked rice in end-June declined by 16.4 percent to P17.88 per kilogram, from last year’s P21.39/kg, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

However, the figure was slightly higher than the previous week’s farm-gate price of P17.85/kg, according to the PSA’s latest report.

The lowest buying price was seen in Caraga where traders bought palay at P15.05/kg, while the highest quotation was recorded in Western Visayas at P19.96/kg.

Farmers’ groups claimed that in some areas, the farm-gate price had dropped to as low as P12/kg.

Traders’ quotations for local rice have been on a downtrend after the government implemented Republic Act (RA) 11203, which eased import restrictions.

Prior to the implementation of RA 11203, the farm-gate price of palay usually picks up in June, when the country starts to prepare for the lean season from July to September, when rice harvest is usually minimal.

Farmers and other stakeholders, such as millers, attributed the drop in prices to the increase in imports this year following the implementation of the rice trade liberalization law, which removed

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losses resulting from the rationalization of tax incentives as proposed under the, ironically named “Trabaho [Jobs]” bill.

“We will continue to speak to senators and convince them to vote against the Trabaho bill. Let’s see where our efforts go and see how independentminded the Senate is in spite of the endorsement from the President,” Zaldarriaga said.

“The President’s endorsement of the Trabaho bill could be just a formality, as he is taking a cue from his finance officials who are for the rationalization of tax perks,” he added.

Danilo C. Lachica, president of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc., also said the battleground is in the Senate, where the Trabaho bill got stuck in the 17th Congress, resulting in its eventual See “Trabaho bill,” A4

Jan-June deficit at ₧42.6B, down 78% from 2018–BTr

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

See “Rice,” A4

See “Infra,” A4

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

T

Last year, the Philippines imported steel from over 50 countries and territories, with China, Russia and Japan being the top import sources.

“The top source countries for the Philippines’s imports by volume vary across types of steel products, although China was the largest source for four of the five product types,” the report read.

According to the report, Manila bought the largest share of flat products from China at 61 percent, or 2.1 MMT; followed by Japan at 16 percent,

T

PRESIDENT Duterte, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III and Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano share a light moment at the Batasang Pambansa, where Duterte delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address. NONIE REYES

SC stops QC govt from selling TechnoHub

By Joel R. San Juan

T

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Supreme Court has permanently stopped the Quezon City government from selling the University of the Philippines-Ayala Land TechnoHub property to compensate for the P117.18-million unpaid real-estate taxes of the country’s premier university.

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In an 18-page decision penned

by Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and made public on July 14, the Court’s First Division declared that UP is exempt from real-property tax imposed by the city treasurer of Quezon City on the parcel of land currently leased to Ayala Land Inc. (ALI).

The High Court voided the statement of delinquency issued by the Quezon City government on May 27, 2014, as well as the fi-

nal notice of delinquency issued on July 11, 2014, covering the said property.

“Considering that the subject land and the revenue derived from the lease thereof are used by UP for educational purposes and in support of its educational purposes, UP should not be assessed, and should not be made liable for real-property tax on the land subject of this case,” the SC ruled.

See “TechnoHub,” A2

@ReaCuBM

HE national government reported a budget deficit of P42.6 billion for the first six months of the year—a contraction of 77.91 percent compared to the P193-billion deficit reported in the same month in 2018, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

Based on the latest data from the BTr, expenditures of P1.590 trillion outpaced revenues of P1.547 trillion during the six-month period.

Broken down, the expenditures of P1.590 trillion represented a 0.83-percent decrease from the P1.603 trillion recorded during the same period for 2018, while revenues of P1.547 trillion showed an increase of 9.71 percent from last year’s P1.410 trillion.

Tax revenues accounted for P1.380 trillion of the total revenues collected for the six-month period, which showed an increase of 10.06 percent from the P1.254 trillion recorded last year.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reported revenues of P1.066 trillion, an increase of 10.56 percent from last year’s P964.5 billion.

Revenue from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) amounted to P303 billion for the period, down by 8.45 percent from last year’s P279.4 billion.

Meanwhile, nontax revenues amounted to P166.6 billion, or an increase of 6.95 percent from the P155.8 billion in 2018, with the BTr contributing P87.6 billion to the total nontax revenues for the period.

June deficit

FOR June alone, the national government’s budget deficit amounted to P41.8 billion, which is lower by 22.93 percent from the deficit recorded in June 2018 of P54.3 billion.

The government reported a budget deficit of P41.8 billion for June 2019, as expenditures amounted to P275.7 billion, higher than the revenues recorded for the month of P233.5 billion.

Broken down, expenditures of P275.7 billion for the month posted a decrease of 0.99 percent from the P278.5 billion recorded in the same month for 2018; while revenues rose 4.32 percent to P233.9 billion from P224.2 billion reported last year.

“Interest payments [IP] in June amounting to P29.1 billion were up 20.91 percent year-on-year. IP growth can be attributed to the discount for Treasury bills and coupon payment for the five-year RTB [retail Treasury bond] issued this year, as well as IP of foreign loans availed last December and higher Libor [London Inter-bank Offered Rate] rates,” the See “Deficit,” A2

US 50.9770 n JAPAN 0.4731 n UK 63.7518 n HK 6.5282 n CHINA 7.4084 n SINGAPORE 37.5024 n AUSTRALIA 35.8878 n EU 57.1707 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.5931

Source: BSP (22 July 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Steady remittance declines seen in OFW from Mideast 15.3%

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By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

ILIPINO migrant workers deployed in the Middle East are sending less money back home, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shows, as tighter labor conditions hound remittances from the region.

Remittances from the Middle East—the Philippines’s secondlargest regional remittance source— have been indicating signs of steady decline, according to the Central Bank’s latest data on the breakdown of remittances per country source.

It was in 2018 when remittances from the Middle East snapped their growth streak to register a 15.3-percent decline of money sent back home year-on-year.

This decline in 2018, however,

seems to be a brewing trend. In the first five months of the year, remittances from the Middle East were already showing a 6.6-percent decline from the level it has incurred in the same January-to-May period last year.

The struggle, according to ING Bank Manila economist Nicholas Mapa, seems to stem from the major country sources such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Data from the Central Bank

The decline in money sent back home year-on-year in 2018, when remittances from the Middle East snapped their growth streak

show that among these three countries with sizeable monthly remittances to the Philippines, Qatar posted the largest decline with 19.5 percent. Both the UAE and Saudi also posted declines in the first five months of the year.

Tighter labor conditions are being blamed for the region’s inability to generate more remittances for the country in recent years.

Mapa said the unfavorable employment developments from host countries in the Middle East, such as the Saudization or Nitaqat system—which prioritizes citizens over migrant workers in their respective countries—likely played

a huge part in the declining remittance values of the region.

“In early 2019, the accreditation of foreign recruitment agencies and number of contracts were trimmed, perhaps to help improve the working conditions for Filipinos being sent abroad. Such a move may be carried out to help ensure the safety and well-being of our OFs but the cost, of course, is less remittances sent from those areas,” Mapa said.

“Workers in the Middle East may have also been receiving irregular salaries, leading to volatile amounts of remittances back home,” Mapa added.

The Middle East is second only to the Americas in terms of regional source of remittances to the Philippines. In 2018 Middle East remittances accounted for roughly 23 percent of all cash remittances sent to the Philippines.

America accounted for about 38 percent, while Asia’s remittances account for roughly 20 percent of the total.

Duterte goes slow on federalism, Charter change

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

P

RESIDENT Duterte was mum on Charter change and the move to federalism when he made his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, as it was not the proper venue to discuss it.

Palace officials said the President would speak for 45 minutes, but his speech lasted for 1 hour and 33 minutes due to his ad libs.

He started his speech at 5:15 pm, more than hour after he was supposed to give his Sona before members of Congress.

“It is not the proper time to discuss [Charter change] now. It is better left in conferences that are not allowed to be opened to the public,” Duterte told reporters in an interview right after delivering his Sona.

The President added that an amended Charter will be presented to the public once the “package” is complete, including the pros and cons of

Sona bills. . .

Continued from A1

“I will push harder in the pursuit of programs that we have started but always with the parameters of the law. I will not merely coast along or while away my time during the remaining years of my administration. It ain’t my style. But I will not stop until I reach the finish line. Then and only then shall I call it a day. My goal for the next three years is clear —a comfortable life for everybody, all Filipinos,” he added.

Wish list

THE President also laid out his legislative wish list to both houses of Congress, comprising at least 18 measures he wants passed.

He remained tentative, however, on one key bill that he had asked the 17th Congress to pass, but which has remained pending at his office since then: the Security of Tenure (SOT) bill, or alternately referred to as the “end to Endo” measure, targeted at all forms of illegal contractualization.

Business groups, foreign and local, have warned that the SOT bill as crafted will kill many small businesses and lay off workers instead of ensuring job security. They asked Duterte to veto it.

Duterte indicated he is still undecided whether to sign or veto the SOT bill as he still wants to consult the stakeholders concerned.

The President is also not closing any doors on letting the bill lapse into law by July 27.

In an interview with Palace reporters right after his Sona, the President said: “Pinag-aralan na namin mismo [We have studied it], I have to confer with a lot of people affected, you know this is two to tango. It will also affect the employers and of course it would also greatly favor the workers. It’s too catchy for me.”

Meanwhile, his wish list for the 18th Congress contained bills led by the reinstatement of the death penalty for heinous crimes such as drugs and plunder; the creation of the National Academy of Sports for high school students; postponement of the May 2020 barangay elections to October 2022; and enactment of the Magna Carta for Barangays.

It can be noted that a bill in the 17th Congress was filed

by Hon. Mark Aeron H. Sambal to create the Philippine Sports Academy as an attached agency of the Philippine SPorts Commission.

Another bill was filed by Senator Sonny Angara last

the provisions.

“One provision alone has a lot of pros and cons.

It will make you nauseous. Better for (officials) to talk about it among themselves and present the complete package to the public,” Asked if he is still pushing for federalism, one of his key campaign promises, Duterte said: “Yes, but I said there are things that I cannot mention now.”

“Federalism is good but there are certain things that [should] be clear,” he said.

While he said establishing a federal government entails having a strong president since it is a “loose structure”, he admitted that it cannot be done within his term.

“One is that it devolves a lot of authority to local government . . . Until such time we have perfected it, there should be a strong president but I’m out of it. I think [federalism] will be passed beyond my time,” Duterte said.

The President earlier this month renewed his call to change the Constitution.

He told then contenders for the speakership, including now House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, that they should pursue Charter change while he is still the President.

In his Sona last year, the President seemed sober on his push for federalism as he did not call on lawmakers to deliberate on the draft federal constitution.

He just thanked and acknowledged Consultative Committee chair and former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno and its senior member, former Senate President Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. The Consultative Committee tasked to review the 1987 Constitution transmitted to the Office of the President its proposed changes to the Charter in July last year. Its main provision is to create 18 federated regions with more autonomy to control and utilize their revenues.

However, the results of a Pulse Asia survey last year indicated that majority of Filipinos are opposed to Charter change and federalism.

Congress which pushed for the establishment of Philippine High School for Sports to serve as breeding ground for future world-class Pinoy athletes.

On the postponement of the Magna Carta for Barangays, Senator Koko Pimentel filed a bill in the 17th Congress to declare barangay officials as regular government employees.

The proposed measure will help guarantee mandatory share of barangays in taxes, fees and other charges collected from residents or entities operating within the area.

Meanwhile, the President also threw his support behind the establishment of the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and the passage of the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and Higher-quality Opportunities (Trabaho) Bill, which economic zone locators oppose, as well as the rest of the tax reform packages in the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).

Neophyte Senator Bong Go has already filed the bill establishing Department of OFW which he said will be certified as urgent by Duterte inthis 18th Congress.

In terms of the CTRP, Albay Representative Joey Salceda is sponsoring the Trabaho bill in the current Congress.

Further, the President requested that both houses of Congress pass the right-sizing bill; create the Department of Disaster Resilience; and pass the bill on the Fire Protection Modernization program.

Reports showed that a bill was passed by the House of Representatives in Congress that would right-size the national government to improve public service delivery.

On the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience, Salceda also filed this bill in the current Congress and pointed out that it was one of the priority bills of the administration.

Senator Go also filed Senate Bill No. 204 which is known as the “Fire Protection Modernization Act of 2019,” which includes a modernization program for the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) with the DILG. The modernization program also entails the establishment of a Fire Protection Service in all LGUs with no existing fire protection services.

Meanwhile, the President again urged Congress to pass the National Land Use Act (NLUA), a request that he has made since his first Sona in 2016. Mr. Duterte, in his Sona on Monday, requested Senator Cynthia Villar to pass the NLUA. He also pushed for the passage of the Coconut Trust Fund bill according to the version supported by the administration.

The President earlier vetoed the bill, saying it lacked “vital safeguards to avoid the repetition of painful mistakes committed in the past.”

In addition, the President urged Congress to pass the uniformed personnel pension reform bill proposed by the Department of National Defense.

The bill raises the compulsory retirement age to 60 years old from 56, with at least 20 years of satisfactory active service.

The President complemented this with the passage of mandatory ROTC in Grades 11 and 12 to train young Filipinos.

He lamented that should a war occur, Filipinos do not have sufficient training to defend even their families.

He also pushed for the creation of the Department of Water Resources to avert a water crises in the country in the future.

The bill was pushed by former Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the last Congress.

Corruption

THE President opened his Sona with efforts to improve good governance in his administration by requesting the reinstatement of the death penalty for Filipinos involved in the illegal drug trade and public officials found guilty of plunder.

Duterte said this is part of the administration’s efforts to boost anti-corruption measures during his term.

The President said these efforts have already helped boost government revenues. As of July 9, 2019, the government collected P61 billion from Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs).

Duterte said about 32 percent or P16 billion of the collections came from Pagcor. This is more than the P36 billion collected in 2017.

He added that the Bureau of Customs, though corruptionridden, collected P585 billion in 2018. He said this could have been higher “if the BOC had been cleaned or less corrupt.”

5 agencies

THE President also directed the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Social Security System (SSS), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Land Registration Authority (LRA) and Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) to reform their services and simplify their processes.

He reminded them he signed the landmark Ease of Doing Business Law (EODB) law last year to make more efficient the delivery of state services, and all government agencies must abide by this.

The Chief Executive asked national state agencies and instrumentalities, as well as local governments and government corporations, to simplify their processes. He demanded that they adopt a zero contact policy and make their transactions electronic. With a report by Bernadette D. Nicolas

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Cayetano elected Speaker, vows to push PRRD agenda Continued from A8

Image

IN his speech, Cayetano vowed to prioritize passage of the legislative agenda of the Duterte administration and change the image of the House of Representatives.

“As we seek to win the campaign against drugs, crime, and corruption, we also seek to destroy and win the battle against poverty and other things that are killing the Filipino people in our nation.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, or Mayor Rody as he is fondly called, wants a safe and comfortable life for all,” he said.

“We will do what is right, so that we will have a Congress that is relevant, responsive and reliable.

United and we commit to God, our people, the work of the 18th Congress. Sa lahat po sa inyo, sa miyembro ng 18th Congress, sa lahat ng nagdadasal sa ating Kongreso, maraming-maraming salamat po sa inyong tiwala. Sana po ako’y maging worthy at sana po ay tulungan niyo ako para sa loob ng 15 na buwan ay mapagsilbihan po natin ang ating mga kababayang mabuti at lahat po ng nasa legislative agenda, ubusin na natin at ipasa na natin dahil mas magandang magawa na natin ito kaagad,” he added.

Cayetano said the lower chamber will prioritize the passage of the 2020 national budget and the remaining tax measures of the Duterte administration in the first four months of the House of Representatives.

President Duterte is expected to transmit the 2020 national budget to the Congress after his Sona.

Taxes

MEA NW HILE, the still-to-be

Deficit. . .

Continued from A1

BTr said. Under revenues, P210.5 billion was sourced from tax revenues while nontax revenues comprised P23.4 billion of the total.

Tax revenues posted an increase of 11.85 percent compared to the June 2018 level of P188.2 billion, while nontax revenues shrank 35.06 percent compared to last year’s P36 billion.

Revenues from the BIR amounted to P157.8 billion for the month, or a 15.39-percent increase from last year’s P136.8 billion.

The BOC also recorded revenues for the month amounting to P51.3 billion, showing an uptick of 2.5 percent from the P50 billion recorded in 2018.

The nontax revenues from BTr amounted to P10.7 billion, higher by 37.13 percent than the P7.8 billion recorded in June 2018.

Meanwhile, nontax revenues from other offices amounted to P12.7 billion, which represented a

TechnoHub. . .

Continued from A1

The Court, however, explained that under the contract of lease between UP and ALI, all improvements on the leased land shall be owned by, and shall be for the account of the ALI during the term of the lease.

The SC added that the improvements are not “assets” owned by UP; thus, the tax exemption under Republic Act 9500 does not extend to these improvements during the term of the lease. The Quezon City government through its treasurer earlier notified the UP administration that the property will be auctioned off to answer for the unpaid real-estate taxes.

On July 22, 2014, UP received the final notice of delinquency dated July 11, 2014, from the Office of the City Treasurer demanding payment of the amount.

The Office of the Solicitor General insisted that UP is exempt from taxes based on Republic Act 9500 or the UP Charter, thus, the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or a writ of preliminary injunction is warranted to enjoin the QC government

approved tax packages are Package 1B to reform the Motor Vehicle Users’ Charge; Package 2 for the reduction of corporate income tax reduction and streamlining of fiscal incentives; Package 2 Plus, which proposes additional excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products, as well as increase the government’s share from mining; Package 3, which covers reforms in property valuation; and Package 4, which proposes the rationalization of capital income tax.

Cayetano also vowed to push passage of bills for a better life for all Filipinos, including teachers, senior citizens, young people, OFWs, professionals, teachers, government workers, workers in the private sector, or out-of-school youth, rich or poor, young or old.

Minority leadership

MEANWHILE, lawmakers from different political parties on Monday created a minority coalition to assure a democratic legislative process in the House Quezon City Rep. Kit Belmonte said lawmakers from the minority agreed to support Abante as minority leader.

“Coming from diverse political parties and blocs, we band together today to form a coalition to offer and perform an effective fiscalizing role as Minority in the House of Representatives for the 18th Congress,” he said in a news conference.

Belmonte said the minority coalition recognized the imperative to uphold the checks and balances of power in the Legislative branch, thus, the need for an independent voice that will fiscalize and scrutinize. contraction of 55.02 percent from last year’s P28.2 billion.

ING Bank Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said that government spending continues to be a struggle despite the 2019 national budget having been already passed, which resulted in the budget deficit for June.

“The Philippines posted a budget deficit of P41.8 billion slightly lower than the deficit posted in June 2018 of P54.3 billion as spending continued to struggle, down roughly 1 percent despite the 2019 budget finally on track.

Even with the spending plan enacted and the May election ban lifted by June, spending in second quarter of 2019 actually slipped by roughly 2.3 percent from the second quarter 2018 levels. Despite the government’s best efforts to implement ‘catch up spending,’ the projected misstep coming from the government spending side coupled with possible handicapped capital formation could mean 2Q GDP struggles to get past 6 percent again,” Mapa said. from disposing the property.

Under Section 25(a) of the law, revenues and assets of the university are exempted from “all taxes and duties.” The OSG said the exemption applies to UP’s properties, whether used for educational purposes “or in support thereof.”

The UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub was developed as an information-technology hub, and a part of the larger science and technology park located along Commonwealth Avenue.

The TechnoHub is a Peza-approved Information Technology Park, with locations and amenities ideal for science and tech companies.

UP’s share in the revenues of the property, as well as the lease paid by Ayala Land, supplement the university’s budget.

The QC government insisted that the subject property became taxable when it was leased to Ayala Land, since the beneficial use of the property was granted to a taxable entity.

The Supreme Court held, however:“Republic Act 9500, however, gave a specific tax exemption to UP which covers the land subject of the present case. The City Assessor and the City Treasurer overlooked this specific exemption awarded to UP by Republic Act 9500.”

The Nation BusinessMirror

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DENR sets completion of three marine protected area networks

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HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is inching closer to establishing networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) in a bid to boost the protection and conservation of some of the country’s coastal and marine ecosystems.

So far, three areas have been identified with huge potential for the establishment of an MPA network. Establishing an MPA network will expand the MPA coverage in terms of area and strengthen protection and conservation by pooling together the limited resources of community-based organizations that manage the MPAs. “So far, we have three sites that are building networks of locally managed MPAs. We have Verde Island Passage, the network is at the provincial level; Davao Gulf and in Surigao, which are building networks of cities and municipalities with existing MPAS,” Norievill España, conservation officer of SMARTSeas Project, a foreign-assisted project being implemented by the DENR through the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB).

Interviewed at the sidelines of a three-day SMARTSeas Project-Workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation Plans for MPAs and MPA Networks in Mandaue City, Cebu, held from July 17 to 21, 2019, España said one of the criteria in establishing MPA network is the ecological connectivity of existing MPAs. Such is the case of the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape (TSPS), a national MPA covered by the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act. There are 126 locally managed MPAs within its vast area of coverage. Home to large marine wildlife like whales and dolphins, the Tañon Strait is a body of water separating the islands of Negros and Cebu in the Visayas. It is about 161 kilometers long and it connects the Visayan Sea in the north to the Bohol Sea in the south. It was declared as the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape by then-President Fidel V. Ramos under Proclamation 1234 of 1998.

The objective of SMARTSeas Project is to increase the effectiveness of MPA systems. The evaluation and monitoring will measure the

effectiveness of the management plans that were developed by MPA managers.

A total of 95 MPAs are covered by the SMARTSeas Project and managers of these MPAs are set to come up with policy recommendations on how to boost the management of their MPAs, possibly through the expansion of the individual MPAs or establishing a network of MPAs. This was identified as a solution to a major problem encountered in the management of MPAs in the past.

Many MPAs are too small that alone, they cannot adequately provide protection and conservation for the targeted species, such as fish and other seafood, or wildlife like marine turtles, whales or dolphins, or even corals that depend on the ecological connectivity within vast territories or network of marine ecosystems for them to survive and thrive.

According to España, the workshop will also aid the SMARTSeas Project to achieve one of its objectives, which is to come up with an efficient monitoring and evaluation system for MPAs. The policy recommendation to be finalized after the workshop will be submitted to the DENR, which is spearheading the crafting of a joint memorandum circular with the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Department of the Interior and Local Government and concerned local government units for the establishment of the MPA Networks, España said.

The SMARTSeas Project also promotes the establishment of biodiversity-friend enterprises in coastal communities within the project sites.

Now on its fifth year, the first three years of the project’s implementation focused on developing strategic plans now, it is more on monitoring and evaluation plans, he said.

The partners in project sites already have management plans. Now we are developing monitoring and evaluation plans to measure the effectiveness of these management plans.

Jonathan L. Mayuga

Group lobbies passage of RON bill amid Duterte admin’s infra push

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A

“There’s no better way to convey a message than that, by those who are affected themselves,” Chuasoto said.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Strategic Communications Ernie Abella, meanwhile, said the IP leaders’ speaking engagements are part of telling the narrative of what really is happening in the Philippines and what the tribal leaders are doing is very vital and very helpful especially in understanding the real story behind government’s actions.

“I believe their stories should be told not just by people in the government, but also by people who have really experienced the situation on the ground,” Abella said.

A senior official of the US Department of State on July 18, 2019, earlier vowed to look into Philippine tribal leaders’ claims of abuses and attacks by the CPP-NPA—a group declared a terrorist organization by the US in 2002.

“We’re definitely supportive of your organization and your quest to secure your rights and the privileges that you deserve,” the senior official told eight indigenous people’s leaders in a brief meeting at the Philippine Embassy here.

The official, who requested anonymity, said he will take the information given by the indigenous people’s leaders and talk with concerned people in the US government.

“We’re in very close contact with the embassy here, we have a great relationship. So we’re gonna follow up on this and do the best that we can,” he said in response to the concerns of the IP leaders belonging to the Mindanao Indigenous People’s Council of Elders about the exploitation and deception of the CPP-NPA against their tribespeople.

Datu Bawan Jake Lanes of the Mandaya Manobo tribe appealed for

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

HE Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI) is calling on President Duterte to uphold the constitutional mandate to protect natural patrimony and stop destructive development, foremost of which is the multibillion-peso Kaliwa Dam project and various land-reclamation projects in coastal areas.

The PMPI issued the call as the President delivers his Fourth State of the Nation (Sona) Address as he formally opens the 18th Congress on Monday, July 22, 2019.

“As he opens the 18th Congress, we urge President Duterte to take a decisive political action to reverse the continuing environmental degradation and the impending destruction of the environment and displacement of people brought [about] by its own development programs and the national and foreign policies that it has adopted [or the lack of it],” the group said in a news statement.

According to PMPI, the China-funded Kaliwa Dam to be built in Infanta, Quezon, would displace and further uproot the indigenous Dumagats from their ancestral land in the Sierra Madre mountains.

On the other hand, the aggressive push for the reclamation of Manila Bay to pave the way for corporate-led development will only heighten the vulnerabilities of about 3 million people in the municipalities along the bay area to the occurrences of floods and landslides, which could potentially damage agricultural, commercial, and residential areas and further, marginalize farmers and fisherfolk, the group said.

Filipino IP leaders’ ‘revelations’ lend credence to struggle vs Reds–envoy PHILIPPINE Embassy official in Washington, D.C., last week lauded leaders of different tribes for their courage in coming out to tell their stories of alleged deception and abuses committed against their communities by the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

“Your presence here is credence to the struggle that you’re fighting for. And your presence here shows the stakeholders that you are bent, you are really fighting for your cause and it’s a cause worth fighting for,” Minister Patrick A. Chuasoto, deputy chief of mission, told the eight indigenous peoples’ leaders, who were on their last leg of a speaking trip across the US, at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. Expressing his gratitude to the IP leaders during a dialogue with embassy officials and staff on July 18, 2019, Chuasoto said the group gave them a lot of information that will be helpful in their task of convincing stakeholders about the truth because it’s about time that stakeholders in the United States hear the other side of the story.

“The information they have provided us will be very helpful when we convey the message to the stakeholders. Their narrative is very compelling,” he added. “And you know the Duterte administration is very concerned about the welfare of the indigenous people because they comprised 14 percent of the Philippine population.”

It is also important, Chuasoto added, that the IP leaders met with US stakeholders such as Congressmen Steve Chabot, Bobby Scott, TJ Cox, and members of the Philippine caucus because they heard the tribal heads’ narrative.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, July 23, 2019 A3

help in exposing the legal disguise of the CPP-NPA and its network that have made them suffer during the past 50 years.

He urged to know the truth from communities directly and not from those misrepresenting tribal groups because there are pseudo organizations that are able to come up with programs that sounds to be legitimate but in fact, raise funds for the armed revolution of the CPP-NPA. “Help us clear the issues of IP killings. The one with the motive of killing IPs is not the government but communist armed groups that want to convert our ancestral domain as their guerrilla bases and have been recruiting our children to become NPA warriors,” Lanes said.

Same page, right goals

THE State Department official expressed appreciation to the IP leaders for clarifying that the attacks against indigenous people are not carried out by the government, but are actually perpetrated by NPA forces.

“The tragic stories, personal stories that you shared means to me to hear. So thank you for speaking from the heart,” he said.

He admitted, though, that he had actually met with other groups who have said the opposite of what the IP leaders said.

“And so, it’s important for us to try to follow up on these accusations and get to the truth to make sure that US-Philippine ties can remain strong and that we can stay together on the same page and fight for correct goals,” the official added.

As the discussions move forward, he said, the US government wants to help as much as possible, not to support or oppose any policy, but to support the Philippines and its people on the policies that they choose for themselves. PNA

The PMPI also scored what it called “blatant acts of aggression” of China against Filipino fisherfolk at the West Philippine Sea (WPS) despite the favorable UN arbitral award to the Philippines, which the group said, remained uncontested by the Duterte administration. Such a stance has put fisherfolk in harm’s way and open up the fishery resources to China’s unbridled exploitation.

Rights of nature

PMPI in partnership with NASSA/Caritas-Philippines, environmental nongovernment organizations and sectoral representatives from indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, farmers, women and youth, has recently concluded a three-day People’s Congress for RON, or Rights of Nature, with a common resolve to push for the adoption of the Bill on RON law.

The adoption of RON law will mean that the ecosystems and natural communities have the right to exist and flourish, and people, communities and governments have the authority to defend those rights on behalf of those ecosystems and communities.

“With our partners in the Rights of Nature PH network and our communi-

ties in Metro Manila, we shall march to Batasang Pambansa to join the United People’s Sona, to condemn the ‘government’s unpatriotic and cowardly stance on the West Philippine Sea,’ and its decisions to pursue the Kaliwa Dam and Manila Bay reclamation projects. All three issues deserve a strong opposition given the impending damages it will bring not only to human lives but to the other species within these ecosystems. Let us defend Mother Nature, the source of all our natural patrimony and life of our people and communities,” PMPI said.

The PMPI and NASSA/Caritas Philippines, a tandem of faith-based social development and advocacy network with the social development, advocacy and humanitarian arm of the Catholic Church, is campaigning for the adoption of the ecological paradigm in all sphere of society’s life and pointedly, a legislative path that will provide Mother Nature its own legal rights and be recognized as a rights-bearing entity, just like humans and corporations, through a law, titled the “Rights of Nature” bill.

“If corporations were given rights by our legal system, why not give rights to the ecosystem? Corporations did not exist naturally; they were created by humans.

Unlike corporations, environment and human persons are of the same stature, both human and nature came from the same source. They exist and coexist to fulfill their roles in the whole web of life. It is just but fitting to accord rights to nature too, just like humans,” Yolanda R. Esguerra, national coordinator of PMPI asserted.

This bill according to the group will add another layer of protection to existing ecosystems—oceans, forests, mountains, rivers, and seas that are being plundered by big corporations and humans. The current environmental laws will be strengthened and even enhanced by the passage of this bill.

A4 Tuesday, July 23, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Economist: So much land awarded under CARP

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

@caiordinario

HE Philippines may have simply “overdone” the implementation of its land reform program to such an extent that it has become impossible to achieve the objectives of the agrarian initiative, according to a former head of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

At a recent briefing, the country’s first Neda Director General Gerardo Sicat said expanding the program to more areas made it diffi-

cult for the government to manage the development of these lands.

And this has made the program “unsustainable” since there was just

“too much” lands that need to be developed, he added.

“In our case, we have achieved a lot already if we judge it by areas of lands and land reform beneficiaries already benefited through converted and transferred lands. But actually we overdid it by extending the coverage of land reform toward an unsustainable large land areas,” Sicat said.

“We kept expanding the areas of coverage that’s why it has become impossible to really achieve much in land reform because the objectives are just too much,” he said.

IBON Foundation said the government through the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has distributed an average of 2,920 hectares monthly between 2016 and June 2019.

However, IBON said, this is actually slower compared to previous administrations. Under the term of former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, IBON said, an average of 8,254 hectares were distributed between July 2010 and 2015.

Under the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, around 9,047 hectares were distributed between January 2001 and June 2020, and under the brief presidency of former President Joseph Estrada, some 11,113 hectares between July 1998 and 2000 were distributed.

The administration of former President Fidel Ramos distributed 26,389 hectares between June 1992 and June 1998, while the term of President Corazon Aquino saw the distribution of 14,142

hectares between July 1987 and June 1992.

“Lands covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program [CARP] should have been distributed by 1998. This deadline was reset twice, yet until now 100 percent distribution has not been met. To add to this injustice, distribution has been slow, and is even at a slower pace under the Duterte administration,” IBON said.

In 2007, another former Neda Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan said the CARP is very costly and that the government can resort to alternative means to reduce poverty without resorting to land reform.

Balisacan stressed the government must instead concentrate on providing infrastructure needs in rural areas that will enable the ru-

ral poor to move out of poverty, as well as increasing investments in health and education and creating market-friendly institutions that will enforce property rights and safeguard land tenure.

Balisacan also said that there are inherent problems with the CARP. He said the government, under the CARP, has distributed only collective certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) which cannot in the first place be used as collateral to access credit facilities.

He explained that apart from that, being a recipient of the CARP even acts as a disadvantage for farmers looking to tap credit facilities since banks immediately consider them “risky” borrowers simply because they are poor and may not have enough means to repay loans.

DA allows New Zealand Do you have an integrity compliance framework? meat imports until 2022 Procurement

By Henry J. Schumacher

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) has allowed New Zealand to export beef, poultry and ovine meat products to the Philippines for three more years after it complied with the country’s quarantine standards.

A g r icu lture Secretar y Emmanuel F. Piñol recently issued DA Administrative Circular 06, which granted New Zealand a system of accreditation to export meat products to the Philippines until June 3, 2022.

“The representative FMEs [Foreign Meat Establishments] in the Government of New Zealand were inspected/audited by the DA Inspection Mission [DAIM] and were found to comply with the Philippine quarantine and meat inspection systems procedures,” he said in the order dated July 1.

“After thorough evaluation, the application of the Government of

New Zealand for system accreditation to export beef, poultry, and ovine meat into the Philippines has been found to be satisfactory and acceptable,” he added.

Piñol said that New Zealand has also complied with the requirements provided under the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health for exporting meat products.

T he Phi l ippines impor ted 8,865.955 metric tons of meat products from New Zealand last year, bulk of which is beef, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed.

The figure was 17.63 percent higher than the 7,536.847 MT it imported from New Zealand in 2017.

New Zealand is the country’s fifth-top source of beef as imports reached 8,762.061 MT in 2018, BAI data showed.

New Zealand exports at least 100 MT of lamb meat to the Philippines annually, making it the country’s second-biggest supplier behind Australia.

‘Meager’ fuel-price rollback takes effect on Tuesday

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

O

IL companies announced a fuel-price reduction effective Tuesday morning.

In a separate advisories, PTT Philippines, Seaoil, Phoenix Petroleum, Pilipinas Shell, Eastern Petroleum will implement a price rollback of P0.25 per liter for gasoline products, P0.40 per liter for kerosene and P0.20 per liter for diesel. The price adjust-

ment takes effect at 6 a.m. of July 23.

“This reflects movements in the international oil market,” they said.

Other oil firms are expected to announce their price adjustment Monday night.

Last week, the price of gasoline increased by P1.05 per liter, diesel and kerosene by P0.70 per liter, respectively.

Most local oil firms adjust their prices every Tuesday morning.

Trabaho bill. . . continued from a1

nonpassage. “We have to explain to the senators the severe impact on employment and foreign direct investments [of the Trabaho bill] just as we did in the 17th Congress,” Lachica said in a text message.

Dollar earners

THE semiconductor industry is one of the country’s chief dollar earners, as their exports account for over 50 percent of Philippine shipments. Last year electronics exports grew 4.5 percent to $38.18 billion, from $36.53 billion in 2017, according to government records.

Lachica earlier told the BusinessMirror that the semiconductor industry is bound to shed off 144,000 workers in a span of five years should the Trabaho bill be passed.

The President in his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday appealed to lawmakers to pass the Trabaho bill, as well as the remaining packages of the government’s comprehensive tax

reform program.

“I urge Congress to immediately pass package two of the comprehensive tax reform program, or the Trabaho bill, which will gradually lower corporate income tax and rationalize and improve fiscal incentives,” Duterte said.

The Trabaho bill is being opposed by economic zone firms, as it will strip away most of the tax perks that they enjoy at present, particularly the 5-percent tax on gross income paid in lieu of all local and national taxes.

Locators, particularly multinationals, warned that its passage could force them to move out of the Philippines and relocate to a more competitive economy in the region. Also, the uncertainty brought about by the Trabaho bill caused investments to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) last year to decline 40.97 percent to P140.24 billion, from P237.57 billion in 2017.

Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Y

OU have? Great!!

As a test, please check the guiding principles per focus area of the integrity compliance framework and establish whether your management and your employees are fully familiar with them.

Top management

“WE firmly believe that the sustainability of our business operations can only be achieved by adopting high ethical standards and promoting a culture of integrity. Our top management internally and externally communicates zero tolerance on bribery, fraud, corruption, and unethical business practices; complies with all the requirements of government regulatory bodies; and does not tolerate any cover-ups and falsified reports that conceal improper transactions.

Management strongly supports integrity practices and allocates sufficient resources for their implementation.”

Human resources

“WE strive to instill a culture of integrity among our employees. The management maintains open lines of communication, particularly regarding ethical issues. All employees have the right to file complaints against practices suspected to be illegal or unethical. We have appropriate tools to confidentially receive, monitor, and act on internal and external complaints.

Employees filing complaints will be protected from all types of retaliation, while those involved in corrupt and illegal activities will be subject to strong disciplinary measures. We have instituted training programs on business ethics covering all levels of the organization.”

Sales and marketing

“OUR company has clear guidelines on gifts, tokens of hospitality, and charitable contributions to/from public and private organizations and their representatives. No employee is permitted to offer, promise, or give, as well as demand or accept concessions—directly or indirectly—in order to obtain, retain, or secure any undue advantage in the conduct of business.

We abide by existing laws when making transactions with government agencies as stipulated under Republic Acts 6713—Code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees and 3019—or Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act—and commit to abide by future anti-corruption and antitrust legislations.”

Finance and accounting

“WE require all our employees to ensure that all books and records they create…are responsible…complete and accurate. Our financial records conform to standard accounting principles, comply with SEC’s [Securities and Exchange Commission] requirements on disclosure and transparency, and abide by anti-money laundering laws [Republic Act 9160] and international conventions. We pay fair taxes and comply with all laws on taxation.”

Infra. . . continued from a1 or 483,000 metric tons; and Taiwan 9 percent, or 258,000 MT. China was also the largest source for long products at 78 percent, or 1.7 MMT, while South Korea shipped 153,000 MT to have the second-largest share.

Last year nearly all of the Philippines’s imports of pipe and tube originated from China at 385,000 MT. On the other hand, Russia was the largest source of semifinished steel at 49 percent, or 1.7 MMT, while Vietnam came in second at 9 percent, or 313,000 MT. China exported the most stainless goods at 44 percent, or 27,000 MT; it was ahead of Thailand at 19 percent, or 12,000 MT; and Japan at 14 percent, or 8,000 MT. This reliance on steel imports is nowhere near its end, as total production of local manufacturers in 2017 of 1.4 MMT was only 14.73 percent of

consumption that year at 9.1 MMT. Total production capacity of SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. stands at 2.1 MMT and Treasure Steelworks Corp. at 300,000 MT. SteelAsia mostly manufactures reinforcing bars, while Treasure Steelworks produces billets.

“The Philippines has three steelmaking companies, the majority of which use electric arc furnace technology to produce steel. Two of the producers—Stronghold Steel and Treasure Steelworks—are subsidiaries of the holding company TKC Metals Corp.,” the report read.

“The Philippines also has a number of rolling mills that produce long products, flat products, wire products, pipe and tube, and galvanized products,” it added.

In value terms, steel made up 5.2 percent of total goods imported by the Philippines last year.

“TRACK record of integrity and compliance with existing laws is considered when we vet third-party consultants, suppliers, intermediaries and agents. Our company has a competitive system for procurement and does not tolerate collusion between and among our employees and suppliers. Recognizing that ethical practices are widely shared within the business community, we enter into integrity pacts with our suppliers and ensure that they understand the provisions of our pact. Contracting a third party to bribe or commit corrupt practices on behalf of the company is strictly prohibited.”

Logistics

“WE comply with laws and regulations pertaining to supply-chain management. We do not tolerate any breaches in existing laws in exchange for undue advantage, illegal and unethical concessions, or favors. We pay correct duties and taxes based on transparent assessments of goods and services. We do not compel our employees to breach existing laws to meet the demands of our operations. Employees are not penalized for refusing to pay bribes or facilitation payments, or for refusing to engage in corrupt practices, even if it results in failure to meet deadlines or loss of revenue.”

How did the check go?

Rating Compliant

Conditional

Failed

Description • Complete and correct documents are available • Responsibilities clearly established • Full compliance to the requirements of all control activities • Documentation incomplete • Assignment of responsibilities not clear/not documented • Not enough transactions to conclude implementation of controls • Documentation of controls negligible • Responsibilities are not fixed and partly performed • Documentation and evidence of implementation not fulfilled

If you can wholeheartedly say that you are compliant and these guiding principles are fully implemented in your organization and are regularly audited, I strongly suggest you get your organization certified so that you can clearly demonstrate that you are ahead of your competition.

If you feel, however, that you fall under “conditional” or you “failed” and that more needs to be done within your organization to implement the guiding principles, I encourage you to contact me so that training programs can be discussed to move your organization to “compliant.” You can e-mail me at schumacher@eitsc.com.

Rice. . . continued from a1 the quantitative restriction on the staple.

The Bureau of Customs revealed that around 966,690 metric tons (MT) of rice have arrived in the Philippines from March 5 to June 30. The new law took effect on March 5.

In the same report, the PSA said both the wholesale and retail prices of well-milled and regular-milled rice declined on an annual basis in end-June.

“At the wholesale trade, the average price of well-milled rice dropped to P39.28 per kilogram or by 0.1 percent during the period, compared with its previous week’s level of P39.30 per kilogram. On an annual basis, it also contracted at a rate of 6 percent from its level of P41.78 per kilogram in the same week of the previous year,” the report read.

“The average retail price of wellmilled rice slightly declined to P42.91

per kilogram or by 0.02 percent this week, relative to its level of P42.92 per kilogram in the previous week.

Likewise, annually, it still recorded a downward trend at an annual rate of 3.8 percent from the same period of previous year’s level of P44.62 per kilogram,” it added.

Wholesale price of regular-milled rice rose slightly to P35.45/kg from the previous week’s P35.39/kg but declined by 8 percent from its yearago level of P38.55/kg.

“Similarly, at the retail trade, the average price of regular-milled rice inched up to P38.6 per kilogram or by 0.1 percent during the period, relative to its previous week’s level of P38.56 per kilogram,” the PSA said.

“Meanwhile, annually, it further moved downward at an annual rate of 5.9 percent from its level in the same week of the previous year of P41 per kilogram,” the PSA added.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

China hints at trade talks restart after making ‘goodwill’ moves

F

ACE-TO-FACE negotiations between the top Chinese and US trade negotiators could happen soon, according to Chinese state media, after a number of goodwill gestures by Beijing over the weekend.

Chinese companies asked US exporters about buying agricultural products and also applied for exemptions from China’s retaliatory tariffs on the goods, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday. That shows China’s “goodwill” and its commitment to fulfill its promises to the US, Xinhua said on Monday in a separate commentary.

The two sides have been “cau-

tiously showing each other sincerity and goodwill ” recently and may meet for discussions soon, according to Taoran Notes, a blog run by the state-owned Economic Daily newspaper. In China’s eyes, the US exclusions from punitive tariffs imposed on some Chinese goods and its push to allow American companies to supply Huawei Technologies Co. were positive signals to advance

t he ta l k s, accord ing to bot h Xinhua and Taoran.

With China’s top leadership likely to be out of Beijing from early August for their annual seaside conclave, it is highly likely that a meeting between Vice Premier Liu He and his US counterparts is not far away, according to the Taoran Notes post last night on the WeChat platform. The two sides spoke by phone Thursday to discuss “the next step of negotiations,” indicating a move toward face-to-face talks, Taoran said.

The call last week was the second since the two nations’ presidents met in Japan in late June.

Separate to the possible agricultural purchases, China announced Saturday new measures to further open up the nation’s financial sector to foreign investors. Foreign companies will be

able to take a stake in or control entities including wealth management units of commercial lenders, pension fund managers and currency brokers.

The changes weren’t announced as directly related to the trade talks with the US, but American criticism of China’s protection of various domestic markets is a core issue in the ongoing trade tensions. These changes were made by the State Council’s Financial Stability and Development Committee, which is also led by Liu. Still, there was a note of caution in the reports. Taoran said the tariffs imposed on Chinese products must be entirely removed or they would be irritants during the talks. The removal of the tariffs is one of three core conditions that China has made for any deal. Bloomberg News

May to chair emergency session on seized tanker

L

ONDON—Br it ish Pr ime Minister Theresa May will chair an emergency security session on Monday to discuss how to respond to Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

The meeting of security ministers and officials will discuss how to secure shipping in the sensitive region, which is vital to the world’s oil supply.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is also expected to brief Parliament on the Friday seizure of the Stena Impero tanker, now in a heavily guarded Iranian port.

Britain is considering a number of options to raise the economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran but officials say military operations are not being considered at the moment.

Britain is also seeking support from key European allies in an effort to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping.

The tanker crisis is unfolding in the final days of May’s leadership.

The Conservative Party plans to name her successor Tuesday, and the new prime minister—either frontrunner Boris Johnson or Hunt—is expected to take office Wednesday.

Friday’s seizure came amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran stemming from President Donald J. Trump’s decision last year to pull the US from Iran’s nuclear accord with world powers and reinstate sweeping sanctions on Iran.

Steps have been taken to prevent further incidents in the coming days while longer-range options

A SPEEDBOAT of the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard moves around a British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, which was seized on Friday by the Guard, in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Sunday, July 21, 2019. Iranian officials say the seizure of the British oil tanker was a justified response to Britain’s role in impounding an Iranian supertanker two weeks earlier off the coast of Gibraltar, a British territory located on the southern tip of Spain. HASAN SHIRVANI/MIZAN NEWS AGENCY VIA AP

are discussed. Maritime industry publication Lloyd’s List said there are currently no UK-flagged ships heading to the Persian Gulf and eight UK-flagged vessels anchored there after a government advisory to such vessels to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

Restoring the free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is of critical importance to the world’s energy supplies because one-fifth of all global crude exports pass through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.

Iranian officials say the seizure

Papua New Guinea open to Chinese and Australian investors

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ANBERRA, Australia—Papua New Guinea’s prime minister said Monday his South Pacific island nation was open to investment from China, Australia and any other country that is willing to work within the country’s rules.

Prime Minister James Marape is making his first visit to Australia since he became leader of its nearest neighbor and former colony in May. Marape said while Australia was the biggest investor in Papua New Guinea, his government treated all investors equally.

“Whether they are from China or Australia or right across the world is inconsequential and irrelevant to us,” Marape told reporters.

“We will have an equal playing field for every investor as long as they subscribe to the rules and regulations of our country,” he said. “Chinese investors will not receive any special treatment and preference, just like Australian investors will not receive any

special favor or treatment.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government wanted to ensure that each of its Pacific neighbors were “as independent and as sovereign and are in as much in charge of their future as they possibly can be.”

Marape’s visit comes as Australia attempts to counter China’s growing influence in the South Pacific by teaming with the United States and Japan to finance infrastructure in Pacific island states that the Chinese have aggressively wooed with loans and aid.

Marape said before his meeting with Morrison on Monday that China’s relationship with his nation was none of Australia’s business.

The United States, Japan, New Zealand and Australia announced in November that they will bring electricity to 70 percent of Papua New Guinea’s people by 2030. Only 20 percent of its 8 million people, mainly subsistence farmers, currently have power. AP

of the British oil tanker was a justified response to Britain’s role in impounding an Iranian supertanker two weeks earlier off the coast of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located on the southern tip of Spain.

Britain says the two incidents cannot be compared, asserting that Britain acted lawfully off the Gibraltar coast to prevent illegal oil shipments to Syria that would have violated European Union sanctions while Iran broke international maritime law by forcing the Stena Impero to change course and go to Iran.

Britain says the tanker was in

Omani waters at the time, which Iran disputes.

As the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers unravels, the US has expanded its military presence in the region, while Iran has begun openly exceeding the uranium enrichment levels set in the accord to try to pressure Europe into alleviating the pain caused by the sanctions.

European nations, which are trying to save the nuclear deal and keep Iran from isolation, have tried to come up with ways to keep trading with Iran but have run smack Trump’s sanctions. AP

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Tuesday, July 23, 2019 A5

Millions of barrels of Iranian oil piled up in China’s ports

T

ANKERS are offloading millions of barrels of Iranian oil into storage tanks at Chinese ports, creating a hoard of crude sitting on the doorstep of the world’s biggest buyer.

Two and a half months after the White House banned the purchase of Iran’s oil, the nation’s crude is continuing to be sent to China where it’s being put into what’s known as “bonded storage,” say people familiar with operations at several Chinese ports. This oil doesn’t cross local customs or show up in the nation’s import data and is not necessarily in breach of sanctions. And while it remains out of circulation for now, its presence is looming over the market.

The store of oil has the potential to push down global prices if Chinese refiners decide to draw on it, even as Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies curb production amid slowing growth in major economies. It also allows Iran to keep pumping and move its oil nearer to potential buyers.

“Iranian oil shipments have been flowing into Chinese bonded storage for some months now, and continue to do so despite increased scrutiny,” said Rachel Yew, an analyst at industry consultant FGE in Singapore. “We can see why the producer would want to do so, as a build-up of supplies near key buyers is clearly beneficial for a seller, especially if sanctions are eased at some point.”

There could be more Iranian oil headed for China’s bonded storage tanks, Bloomberg ship-tracking data show. At least 10 very-large crude carriers and two smaller tankers owned by the state-run National Iranian Oil Co. and its shipping arm are currently sailing toward China or idling off its coast. The vessels have a combined carrying capacity of over 20 million barrels.

The bulk of Iranian oil in China’s bonded tanks is still owned by Tehran and therefore not in breach of sanctions, according to the people.

The oil hasn’t crossed Chinese customs so it is theoretically in transit.

Some of the crude, though, is owned by Chinese entities that may have received it as part of oil-forinvestment schemes. For example, a Chinese oil company could have helped fund a production project in Iran under an agreement to be repaid in kind. Whether this sort of transaction is in breach of sanctions isn’t clear, and so the Chinese companies are keeping it in bonded storage to avoid the official scrutiny it would get once it is registered with customs, according to the people.

Nobody replied to a fa xed

inquiry to China’s General Administration of Customs.

Lack of clarity

THE buildup of Iranian oil in Chinese bonded storage has yet to be clearly addressed by Washington.

The White House ended waivers allowing some countries to keep importing Iranian oil on May 2.

There are currently no exemptions issued to any country for the import of Iranian oil, and any nation seen importing cargoes from the Persian Gulf producer will be in breach of sanctions, according to a senior Trump administration official, who asked not to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

“The US will now need to define how it quantifies the infringement of sanctions,” said Michal Meidan, director of the China Energy Program at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. There’s a lack of clarity on whether it would look at “financial transactions or the loading and discharge of cargoes by company or entity,” she said.

China received about 12 million tons of Iranian crude from January through May, according to ship-tracking data, versus about 10 million that cleared customs over the period. The discrepancy could be due to the flow of oil into bonded storage.

One of the Iranian tankers that appear to have loaded oil after the US waivers ended is the very-large crude carrier “Horse”. It discharged at Tianjin in early-July after sailing from the Middle East where shipping data showed it signaling its destination as Iran’s Kharg Island on May 4.

Several other Iranian-owned tankers offloaded in China or were heading there, according to ship tracking data. VLCC Stream discharged at Tianjin on June 19, while Amber, Salina and C. Infinity offloaded crude at the ports of Huangdao, Jinzhou and Ningbo.

Tankers Snow, Sevin and Maria III were last seen sailing in the direction of China.

Putting crude into bonded tanks in China also means Iran can avoid having to tie up part of its tanker fleet by storing the oil at sea for months at a time. The Islamic Republic used floating storage in 2012 to 2016 and again in 2018 as buyers shunned its crude due to USimposed trade restrictions.

Should the Iranian crude leave bonded storage and end up in the market, it could pressure oil prices, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. West Texas Intermediate plunged more than 20 percent from late April to midJune as the US-China trade war intensified. Bloomberg News

South Korea detains 6 for illegally entering Japan consulate

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EOU L , Sout h K orea— Sout h K ore an pol ice on Mond ay deta ined si x p e o ple for a l le ge d ly i l le g a l ly e n tering a Japanese diplomatic facility in South Korea and staging an anti-Tok yo demonstration there.

The incident came amid growing antiJapanese sentiments in South Korea as the two countries are locked in trade and political disputes. Last Friday, a 78-year-old South Korean man died after setting himself on fire near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

The six men and women were given temporary passes to enter the Japanese consulate in the southeastern city of Busan earlier Monday after they told staff there they would visit a library inside the building, according to Busan police officers.

They initially stayed at the library. But they later abruptly dashed out to a consulate yard, shouting that “Japan must apologize” and holding a placard that criticizes Japan’s recent decision to tighten its export controls of some high-tech materials, the police officers said.

No violence or clash was reported. But police

were detaining the six people for trespassing because they were admitted to the building to visit the library, not stage a rally, the police officers said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the matter.

While the six were being detained, activists were holding anti-Japanese rallies outside the consulate. It wasn’t immediately known whether the six people were connected to those protesters, police said.

South Korea and Japan are both key US allies in Asia that are closely linked to each other economically and culturally.

But they have often been embroiled in historical and territor y disputes stemming f rom t he Japa nese colonia l occ upat ion from 1910-1945.

South Korean off icia ls say the Japanese trade controls are retaliation for local court rulings ordering Japanese firms to pay compensation to former Korean forced laborers during the colonial period. Japan denies that, saying the strengthened export controls were taken out of national security concerns. AP

SOUTH Korean police officers detain protesters in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan, South Korea, on Monday, July 22, 2019. South Korean police say they’ve detained six people for allegedly illegally entering a Japanese diplomatic facility in South Korea. HUH KYUNG-MIN/NEWSIS VIA AP

A6 Tuesday, July 23, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Ride in the right

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CCORDING to its chairman, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the priorities of the Senate Committee on Energy in the 18th Congress would include the creation of “a national policy and framework to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles [EV] in the public and private sectors.”

Gatchalian hopes to introduce a bill with a set of incentives that will encourage investments in the EV industry, as well as other technology innovations in the transport sector.

We laud the committee’s effort and welcome the environmental, commercial and social benefits of such initiatives.

In a previous editorial (On trains, trams and tranvias, February 5, 2019, https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/02/05/on-trains-trams-and-tranvias/), we noted how electric vehicles can help lower carbon emissions and create greener, healthier cities to live in.

We also said the electrification of public transport systems is one viable mitigating option that would have a substantial impact in lessening the economic and social costs brought about by the price volatility of fuel prices.

But while we do favor introducing more electric mobility in favor of gasguzzling vehicles in the transport sector, this should be done through the right policies and regulations that benefit citizens, commuters, cities and communities.

One growing problem is the proliferation of electric bicycles and tricycles that indiscriminately ply the streets and even run on major roads.

These electric bicycles and tricycles, mostly made in China, are sold cheap, a good reason for their ubiquity. But the other reason why they have proliferated at such a rapid pace is because we don’t have laws regulating them.

Anybody, even without a driver’s license, can buy them and drive these vehicles on major thoroughfares, alongside registered motor vehicles driven by licensed drivers.

There have been many accidents involving these electric bikes and trikes, where their riders (hardly any of them wear helmets) and pedestrians have been injured, and other vehicles have been damaged.

Because they are not insured and those who use them have no license, the victims and even the police are often left scratching their heads on how to go after the erring riders. The most the police can do is impound their e-bikes and trikes, but the owners of the vehicles they damage often get no compensation. The police can only ask them to file a tedious and likely futile property damage claim.

Most of the time, these accidents happen because e-bike and trike riders think they are not subject to the same traffic rules and regulations like other drivers. Pedestrians get bumped sometimes because they can’t hear the faint whine of their electric motors.

Local governments and traffic authorities must crack the whip on e-bikes and trikes, which must also be registered with the Land Transportation Office.

Even then, they must not be allowed to run on major roads and thoroughfares.

Those riding e-bikes and trikes on major roads should be meted penalties, and their vehicles must be impounded. They are certainly not authorized to pick up passengers and be used as delivery vehicles.

The LTO, if not the local governments, should impose a mandatory registration of e-bikes and trikes, and restrict their use. They should be confined to neighborhood streets in barangays and villages.

Drivers of e-bikes and trikes must be licensed or must secure a permit and undergo testing, and education on road rules and courtesies, and of course, the proper operation of their vehicles before they are allowed to roll their purchases out of the stores. Their users should also be required to wear helmets.

For a government so ferociously keen on enforcing bureaucratic rules on road users, the use of electric bikes and trikes screams out for the same sort of regulations being followed by all drivers of motor vehicles, so that they do not become a public nuisance and to ensure safety on our roads.

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BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business ✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua

Vibrant labor market Manny B. Villar

THE ENTREPRENEUR

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ANY Filipinos are now finding good jobs without leaving the country. This is made possible by the sustained economic growth and the massive “Build, Build, Build” program of the administration of President Duterte.

I remember a few years ago that even teachers and other college graduates will leave their families to work as housemaids in the Middle East, Hong Kong and Singapore. This is no longer the case because our public school teachers, civil servants, soldiers, policemen and other government workers are now highly paid.

Although some Filipino women are still lured by recruitment agencies with false promises of high income overseas, many choose to stay in our country to work in rapidly growing sectors, such as business process outsourcing, hotel and restaurant industry, health care, and retail and services.

It does not make sense now for many Filipinos to work as a housemaid in another country just to make $200 or $300 a month when

they can earn much more in major cities in the Philippines. Armed with proper education and training, they can work in more lucrative professions and earn over P20,000 ($400) a month in Metro Manila without leaving their families.

One benefit of the sustained economic growth is the generation of thousands of jobs. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that 1.3 million jobs were created over the past 12 months, bringing the unemployment rate to 5.2 percent in April 2019, the lowest in 40 years. The underemployment rate also decreased to 13.5 percent.

Our vibrant labor market is comprised of 42.2 million Filipinos with jobs, and it is growing steadily as more young Filipinos enter the market and more jobs are created,

Is the Philippine Big Mac cheap?

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according to the PSA. The BPO sector, for one, employs 1.3 million Filipinos, most of them millennials.

Another sector that is opening a lot of job opportunities is the construction industry. Both private and public constructions are moving at a feverish pace, which is evident in the hundreds of cranes dotting the skyline of Metro Manila and other urban centers all over the country.

Many real-estate developers actually complain about the shortage in skilled workers even as they offer higher salaries to attract talents.

These companies believe that there is a talent backlog in the construction sector. I believe this challenge, which is now felt industry-wide, will be a more serious problem in the years ahead as the government pursues major infrastructure projects, such as subways, railways, expressways and interisland bridges.

Reports that Chinese nationals are already working in the local construction industry to fill the talent gap only indicate that our labor market is becoming attractive even to foreign nationals. Whether this is true of not, it only shows that we need to train more Filipinos to catch up with the rising demand.

Obviously, infrastructure spending was a major contributor to the recent expansion of our labor market. The Department of Finance

I

F you have been following the global economy for the past 20 years or so, then you have probably heard of The Big Mac Index. It was first presented in 1986 as a semi-humorous way to measure purchasing power parity between countries.

Purchasing power parity has been characterized as “macroeconomic analysis metric to compare economic productivity and standards of living between countries.” Also, it is supposed to be a way to evaluate if the currency of a particular country is “expensive” or “cheap” in relation to another nation.

The index starts with the premise that all Big Macs are created equal.

Then the assumption is made that all Big Macs should have the same price, and that the difference in price is caused by imbalances in the currency exchange rate.

The 2019 Big Mac index was released a few months ago. Based on the dollar exchange rate, a Big Mac costs $4.67 (R17.5) in Brazil, while it costs only $3.18 (S10.5) across the border

in Peru. In New York, the iconic sandwich is priced at $5.74. Therefore, a Big Mac is cheaper in Brazil and Peru than in the US, and cheaper in Peru than in Brazil.

The conclusion is that—at the time of the survey—the Brazilian real is undervalued by 20 percent to the US dollar, and the Peruvian sol is 44 percent “undervalued.” Based on a Philippine peso/US dollar exchange rate of 51.32, the peso is undervalued by 52 percent.

In truth, the conclusion is all nonsense.

Based on the index, the only currency in the world that is “overvalued”—where a Big Mac costs more than in the US—is Switzerland by 14 percent. At the other end of the scale is Malaysia, where the ringgit

For the Philippines, based on per-capita GDP in relation to the Big Mac price, the peso is about 15 percent undervalued.

For a Philippine Big Mac to “trade” at parity with McDonald’s in New York City, the peso/dollar exchange rate should be about 43.50 to $1.

is 63 percent undervalued, and Russia, where its currency is 64 percent undervalued.

The index assumes that the production and distribution costs of a Big Mac are identical across the globe.

Economists have a great problem plugging real-world variables into their theories. Russia, for example, has high government subsidies for all energy sources. The European Union nations spend almost $500 billion a year on subsidizing prices for agricultural production. Based on The Big Mac index, the euro is 20 percent undervalued against the US dollar.

However, the index has better validity when GDP-adjusted. You expect a Big Mac to be cheaper in “poor” countries where labor costs are lower.

The relationship between prices and GDP per person is a better guide to

reported that infrastructure spending doubled from an average of only 2.8 percent of the gross domestic product in the past half century to 5.5 percent in 2018. The disparity was actually starker in absolute peso terms.

The GDP also grew by an average of 6.5 percent in the first 11 quarters of the Duterte administration despite the sluggish agriculture sector and higher global oil, and rice prices that led to a spike in inflation rate last year. With inflation rate returning to the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent, the purchasing power of Filipino workers was restored. The ranks of the poor also dwindled in recent years as official data show that poverty incidence dropped from 27.6 percent in the first half of 2015 to 21 percent in the first half of 2018.

The National Economic and Development Authority expects the Philippines to graduate to the upper middle-income country status this year, which means our quality of life continues to improve. If this trend is sustained, we may even become a high-income country in the next decade, which means our workers don’t have to look elsewhere for high-paying jobs.

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

the current fair value of a currency.

If per-capita GDP is lower, then you would expect the sandwich to have lower retail price. Further, you can then “predict” what that price should be. For example, if a Big Mac costs about 20 percent less in Brazil than in the US at market exchange rates, based on differences in GDP per person, a Big Mac should instead cost 39 percent less.

This suggests that the Brazilian real is 32 percent overvalued not undervalued on the actual price based on the currency exchange rate. Using this method, the Peruvian sol is 6 percent undervalued not 44 percent.

For the Philippines, based on percapita GDP in relation to the Big Mac price, the peso is about 15 percent undervalued. For a Philippine Big Mac to “trade” at parity with McDonald’s in New York City, the peso/dollar exchange rate should be about 43.50.

The last time the peso was at that level was in January 2013 when crude oil hit $100 per barrel and the US dollar index was 18 percent higher.

Conclusion: the peso and the Philippine Big Mac are priced correctly.

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

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Opinion

Congress’ version of the 4Ps

Is the new Customs law smuggling-friendly?

BusinessMirror

Manny F. Dooc

Cecilio T. Arillo

TELLTALES

DATABASE

MAN in Cebu has not taken a bath for the last 13 years.

What is strange is that he’s a fisherman who could easily take a dip while catching fish. When asked about his allergy to water, he said that he’s too tired after a night of fishing and he just falls asleep after work. It was not reported if the hapless wife is complaining, but I suggest that failure to take a bath for a considerable period should be a ground for divorce if, and when, the divorce bill that is being refiled in Congress gets approved.

HE State declared its policy in the 2016 Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) or Republic Act 10863 “to protect and enhance government revenue, institute fair and transparent customs and tariff management that will efficiently facilitate international trade, prevent and curtail any form of customs fraud and illegal acts.”

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But this is nothing compared to the report made by the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who said: “It’s ridiculous and sad...In Brazil, we have 1,000 penis amputations a year due to lack of water and soap.”

This is the most natural and effective way of family planning and the Church may not excommunicate the person provided he does not get too close to the priest when he makes his confession or receives communion. Maybe our newly elected mayors nationwide can look into this as part of their cleanliness campaign. nnn

MANY members of Congress consider the President’s State of the Nation Address as the dressiest of occasions, a time to show their excellent fashion sense. Monday’s event was no exception, despite the previous call by the President not to don extravagant outfit. Once more the public was treated to a red-carpet show of the latest in fashion and style. It was a day of elegance and ostentatious and unwarranted display of pomp, power, prestige and privilege—the Congress’ version of the 4Ps. I trust that the people’s representatives won’t subordinate their sense of public service to their sense of vanity and glamor. Otherwise, they will be only sizzles and no steak. Sona is just a one-day annual event but they have the rest of the year to deliver the beef. nnn

IF the reports are true, I am disappointed by the decision of the majority of the elected LP representatives to co-opt with the majority and cast their votes in favor of the anointed candidate for the House Speaker. If indeed the LP congressmen have joined the House majority in the reorganization on Monday, it amounts to abdication of their critical role as the people’s sentinel against any excesses of the ruling party. They were elected by a minority of our people who believe that for our fragile democracy to survive there must be a genuine opposition who will staunchly defend the interests of the few against the tyranny of the majority. It is in this sense that I hold in high esteem the

true and vigilant opposition led

by Rep. Edcel Lagman. Lagman, as his record of public service would show, has remained true to his convictions and has not betrayed public trust. He started his public service as a technical assistant of Sen. Doy Laurel, together with another brilliant young UP lawyer and star student activist, Enrique Voltaire Garcia II, who served as the senator’s chief of staff. The two worked late into the night under the guidance of Senator Laurel and they drafted the socalled Justice-for-the-Poor laws that gave life to the noble adage that “those who have less in life should have more in law.” Garcia died for his convictions, Lagman continues to live for them. nnn

I’M sure everyone can hum the song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” a folk-style song composed by Pete Seeger and popularized by Peter, Paul and Mary. It’s considered as one of the top political songs ever recorded. It gained greater currency at the height of the Vietnam war protest and instantly became one of the era’s signature songs. Its haunting lyrics, “Where have all the young men gone, gone for soldiers everyone,” poignantly reminds us of the sorrows of war. Inspired by the song, the legendary captain of industry, Lee Iacocca, wrote his third book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone? The book lamented the loss of political leadership in America.

Iacocca wailed: “Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller?

What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populous party of FDR? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?”

We might as well ask the same question ourselves. Our hope is that from the present crop of new leaders that just assumed their places in government, we may find more leaders in the mold of Isko Moreno who will bring inspiration and hope to generations of Filipinos.

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Curiously, this new law instead provided more elbow room for abetting smuggling, or providing safe havens for antisocial goods coming into the country’s customs territory and, in the end, compromised national security.

One specific example is Section 403 of the new customs law, which was wrongly applied to accommodate illegal importation of wood products worth million of pesos since 2018.

Lawyer Reyzandro Unay, president of the Freedom of Information League, a citizens’ group demanding transparency and accountability in government transactions, wrote President Duterte through Project 8888, bringing to his attention the illegal importation of plywood by a company that is not even registered either as importer or dealer of wood materials, a sine qua non before one is allowed to import plywood under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order (AO) 99-46 promulgated on November 10, 1999.

Under this AO, only holders of “Timber License Agreement [TLA], Industrial Forest Management Agreement [Ifma], Wood Processing Plant Permit [WPP] or Certificate

of Registration as wood furniture manufacturer, agent, contractor or dealer of logs/poles and piles/lumber issued by the DENR, may import wood materials.”

Further, the said AO requires that “before availing of the privilege to import, the holder of the TLA, Ifma, and/or WPP shall first have his current local log, commercial poles and piles and/or Lumber Dealer’s Permit recorded or registered with the PWPA and then stamped by the Office of the Regional Executive Director concerned to have a valid Authority to Import wood materials;” while “existing wood furniture manufacturer, agent, contractor or dealer who is not a holder of a TLA, Ifma or WPP shall first secure the registration requirements” specified in Section 8 of the said AO. “In 2018, Globalwood Construction Supply [GCS] was never a DENRregistered importer/dealer of wood materials [plywood]. Yet, it filed and cleared some 36 Import Entries in the Port of Manila [POM],” Unay said in his report to Malacañang.

“This year—2019 [before its after-thought registration was effected in May 20, 2019], GCS had already filed 16 import entries covering 104 TEUs [51x40 + 2x20]

Tuesday, July 23, 2019 A7

involving the same commodity—the latest of which were in April 2019, hence, unpermitted importation— or, Smuggled, in plain language.”

Unfortunately, Unay lamented that “these were all released at the behest of BOC POM,” when the District Collector applied Section 403 of the new customs law as justification for processing these importations of an Unregistered importer.

In his letter to the President, Unay indicated the following 2019 data of wood importation made by GCS, including dates of entries, volumes and quality of wood product shipments.

Under normal circumstances, these regulated goods should have been seized or forfeited and disposed of in accordance with the customs rules and regulations.

It is surprising that despite filing and clearing 36 entries in 2018, and 16 entries in April 2019, with the importer yet to secure its prerequisite Certificate of Registration from the DENR, the customs authorities in the Port of Manila simply allowed these unpermitted imports to go unmolested, then cleared and discharged from customs custody.

Here’s the controversial Section 403 of the CMTA: “Provisional Goods Declaration.—Where the declarant does not have all the information or supporting documents required to complete the goods declaration, the lodging of a provisional goods declaration may be allowed; Provided, that it substantially contains the necessary information required by the Bureau and the declarant undertakes to complete the information or submit the supporting documents within 45 days from the filing of the provisional goods declaration which period may be extended by the Bureau for another 45 days for valid reasons.

“If the Bureau accepts a provisional goods declaration, the duty treatment of the goods shall not be

different from that of the goods with complete declaration.

“Goods under a provisional goods declaration may be released upon posting of any required security equivalent to the amount ascertained to be the applicable duties and taxes.”

From the clear language of the law, this provision is unavailing. “It cannot be [mis]used as a shield by anyone for her/his smuggling of wood materials [plywood]. The CMTA was not designed to facilitate smuggling,” Unay stressed.

Port & Freeports Trade Security analyst, former Customs Director Ramon Cuyco, said that the invocation of Section 403 is misplaced.

“CMTA cannot be used as a refuge for illegal importation,” he said.

“You filed and cleared 36 entries in 2018 without the benefit of DENR registration; and the ensuing year, you filed some 16 entries covering more than a hundred TEUs of the same regulated commodity sans import authorization from the regulatory agency concerned, and you still deserve leniency? If that is not misplaced tolerance, then vigilance must have lost its meaning,” Cuyco said.

“The controversial Section 403 is a new provision. It’s not found in the old Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines. But I’m pretty sure that provision was in response to our international commitments, the Revised Kyoto Convention specifically, that requires member-economies to adopt local legislations that seek to facilitate trade. And 403 is just one of those provisions that our congressional leaders saw fit to adopt.

But Section 403 cannot be stretched unreasonably to the extent of even loosening border controls,” Cuyco stressed.

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

Variable interest entities are vulnerable to China’s whims

By Tim Culpan Bloomberg Opinion

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F you hold shares in New Yorklisted Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., you don’t own a stake in a Chinese Internet powerhouse.

What you have are the American depositary receipts of a Cayman Islands company that has a contract with the Chinese firm. In fact, the country’s largest search and e-commerce provider is ultimately controlled by Alibaba Partnership, a collection of 38 people, most of whom hold senior positions in the company.

This business structure, called a variable-interest entity (VIE), became common among Chinese companies because Beijing restricts foreign investment in certain sectors, such as the Internet. It also enables firms to raise money abroad and lets early investors

get their funds out of the country. Tencent Holdings Ltd., Meituan Dianping and Baidu Inc. all hew to various versions of the VIE, allowing them to exploit a gap in Chinese law.

In total, almost $1.3 trillion in market capitalization is linked to Chinese VIEs listed outside the mainland, according to US credit-ratings provider Standard & Poor’s Financial Services Llc. For now, these companies aren’t doing anything illegal and Beijing hasn’t seen the need to close this loophole.

Keeping VIEs operating in a gray area gives policy-makers the flexibility to crack down at will. But as the trade war intensifies, China has a growing incentive to keep its tech giants, and their cash, at home. In that light, it’s not inconceivable that officials would take steps to eliminate the structure, even if it spooks foreign investors.

For years, knowledge that the Chinese government could take action at any time hung a legal cloud over VIEs. S&P previously accounted for such risk among VIEs operating in sensitive businesses, such as Alibaba and Tencent, though not for others in more mundane areas like retail.

In a report last week, analysts Clifford Kurz and Sophie Lin wrote that recent changes in China’s foreign-investment law make no mention of VIEs, after an earlier draft sought to prohibit them.

S&P interprets this to mean that concerns have diminished.

I understand their reasoning, but disagree with the conclusion.

Silence is certainly better than an explicit ban. Yet, having a gray area within an opaque legal system simply puts such companies and investors at the whim of policy-makers. There may indeed be a lack of incentive to dismantle VIEs

today, and doing so probably would hurt foreign-investor sentiment. Neither factor amounts to much if Beijing one day gets fed up with Chinese companies using overseas listings as a way to get their assets offshore.

This year alone, 31 Chinese companies chose to raise almost $6 billion by listing in the US. Not because they get better valuations there, but because founders and VCs know a public offering in China would give them illiquid assets subject to capital controls.

Beijing has tried all sorts of things to encourage its companies to list at home, the latest being the SSE STAR Market —a Nasdaq-style tech board—for which regulators eased rules to attract interest.

Yet, as my colleague Nisha Gopalan wrote recently, Chinese companies still want to raise dollars, both to fund expansion and give Western venture-capital firms a hard-currency exit.

Online crowdfunding via securities in the Philippines: An overview of the rules and regulations Atty. Jose Emilio M. Teves

TAX LAW FOR BUSINESS

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HAT is crowdfunding? It is a way to fund a project or venture where money is sourced from a large number of people through a platform, typically via the Internet.

It became popular in 2009, with the rise of online platforms, such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, among others.

Crowdfunding has a huge economic impact. In 2018 a staggering $1.04 billion was raised through crowdfunding in the United States.

Acknowledging the growth of this financial innovation in raising funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formulated rules and regulations on crowdfunding in accordance with the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), and international practices and standards, i.e., MC 14, Series of 2019. Crowdfunding is de-

fined in these rules as fund-raising for start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) usually conducted through an online electronic platform.

The rules are for the operation and use of equity-based and lending based crowdfunding by registered persons through an online platform. In relation to this, the rules provide for an exemption from registration of securities by the issuer, provided the requisites laid down

by the rules are met.

Also, note the inclusion of “crowdfunding intermediary.” Normally, there are three entities involved in crowdfunding: 1. The Project Initiator, the party asking for capital; 2. Supporters/Investors of the Project; and 3. The Online Platform in which Supporters/Investors pledge money to.

As the rules govern the trade of securities to fund an online crowdfunded venture, the SEC rules define a “Crowdfunding intermediary,” as a registered broker, investment house, or funding portal that mediates offer and sale of crowdfunding securities through the online electronic platform.

The rules provide that no person can act as an intermediary in a crowdfunding transaction unless he is registered as a broker, an investment house or as a funding portal.

Furthermore, the applicant must appoint a lead person, who shall be the contact person of the SEC. The

applicant must also prepare an Operational Framework within which will guide the standards, policies and goals of the applicant, as well as its dealings with securities.

The applicant shall be responsible for the disclosure of business activities. It shall monitor and ensure compliance with the SRC, as well as immediately notify the SEC of any breach or irregularity with respect to the SRC and the Rules governing Crowdfunding.

Note that one of the responsibilities of the financial intermediary is to implement measures to reduce fraud. Before an intermediary can transact, there should be a reasonable basis for believing that an issuer seeking to offer and sell securities in reliance to these rules through the intermediary’s platform shall not commit any form of fraud. If there are reasonable grounds to deny access to the platform as provided by the rules, then the intermediary should deny the same.

An issuer of securities in relation to online crowdfunding must

register with the financial intermediary and provide: 1. Name and other details of the intermediary; 2. Nature of its business, financial condition, historical reports of operation; 3. Business plan with respect to CF offering; 4. Risk factors of investing in its project; 5. Procedure on how to return funds if target offering is not met; and 6. Procedure to complete or cancel investment commitment.

However, the SEC can disqualify the issuer if the SEC finds that the issuer goes against the rules laid down by the Commission.

The rules also require both the financial intermediary and the issuer to keep a record, furnish copies and make reports to the SEC as its rules and regulations may prescribe. Parties must also submit yearly reports to the Commission. Furthermore, there must be a post on the intermediary’s web site of an annual report,

along with disclosures and other submissions certified by the principal to be true and complete in all material respects and a description of the financial condition of the issuer.

The creation of rules to accommodate Online Crowdfunding is a happy development. As Thomas Jefferson said, “…laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind…as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.”

The author is a senior associate of Du-Baladad

and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at josemilio. teves@bdblaw.com.ph or call 403-2001 local 150.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Cayetano elected Speaker, vows to push PRRD agenda

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

EEDING the endorsement of President Duterte, members of the House of Representatives on Monday elected Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano as new Speaker of the lower chamber, ending days of tension amid speculation that people close to the President would move to scuttle his dream despite the latter’s endorsement.

With 266 votes, Cayetano, the defeated running mate of President Duterte in the 2016 national election, secured the highest position, beating Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., who got 28 votes.

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza, Magdalo Rep. Manuel Cabochan and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman abstained.

Cayetano’s win quelled talk of a “coup” floated by Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte. Cayetano said the younger Duterte has agreed to take the post of Deputy Speaker for Political Affairs offered to him.

“I am against term-sharing agreement, however, if the Speaker

266

Votes obtained by Cayetano to bag the Speaker’s post resigns after 15 months, then we will have to elect a new Speaker,” Duterte said. Representative Duterte suddenly canceled the breakfast meeting he had called with lawmakers hours before the election of the new Speaker.

President Duterte endorsed Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco as next Speakers of the lower chamber in term-sharing agreement.

Cayetano will occupy the Speaker’s post for the first 15 months while the remaining 21 of the 36 months of the 18th Congress will

be taken by Velaso.

Meanwhile, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez was appointed as new majority leader as suggested by President Duterte.

The House also named Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte, South Cotabato Rep. Ferdinand Hernandez, Sorsogon Rep. Evelina Escudero, Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, Abono Rep. Conrado Estrella III, Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr., Kampi Party-list Rep. Roberto Puno, Cibac Rep. Eduardo Villanueva, Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Surigao Rep. Johnny Pimentel and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte as deputy speakers.

Cayetano also named Cavite Rep. Abraham Tolentino as chairman of the House Committee on Accounts and Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations.

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SKYWAY STAGE 3 SKED CAN BE MET, SAYS VILLAR

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

T

HE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) opened on Monday a portion of the Skyway Stage 3.

Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said the partial opening of the Plaza Dilao Ramp of Skyway Stage 3 will help ease traffic congestion in Buendia.

“We are opening two lanes, one of the northbound and southbound section. The 3.7-km elevated highways expand from Buendia to Plaza Dilao,” he said.

A maximum speed of 40 kilometers per hour will be maintained along the main viaduct, while a 20 kph limit will be implemented at the ramps.

Villar added that the overall status of Skyway is now at “about 60 percent, with sections 1 and 3 both more than 80-percent completed.”

“Section 1 from Buendia Avenue,

Makati City, to Quirino Avenue in Nagtahan, Manila, is now 83-percent completed, while Section 3 from Ramon Magsaysay Avenue to Balintawak is 8- percent completed,” he said.

Other sections, Villar noted, are also “being fast-tracked to ensure the Skyway’s mainline from Buendia to Balintawak meets the target completion date by the first quarter of 2020.”

Currently, Section 2A (Nagtahan to Tomas Claudio) is at 34 percent; Section 2B (Tomas Claudio to Ramon Magsaysay Avenue) is at 60 percent; Section 4 (Quezon Avenue to Balintawak) is at 51 percent; Balintawak to North Luzon Expressway is at 11 percent; and Section 2A1 (Tomas Claudio to PUP Santa Mesa) will start soon.

An 18.68-kilometer elevated expressway, the Skyway stretches over Metro Manila from Buendia, Makati City, to Balintawak, Quezon City. It will cut travel time between Makati and Balintawak to 15 minutes from two hours.

See “Cayetano,” A2

Sotto, key Senate leaders keep their posts

By Butch Fernandez

I

@butchfBM

N contrast to the long-drawn drama that characterized the choice of House Speaker, the

24-man Senate quickly picked its leader as the 18th Congress opened on Monday (July 22) hours before the President’s State of the Nation Address (Sona).

Sen. Vicente C. Sotto III was

elected Senate President anew after he was nominated for the post by Sen. Ralph Recto, who also kept his post as Senate President Pro Tempore. Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Minority Leader Franklin

SOUTHWEST MONSOON AFFECTING WESTERN SECTION OF LUZON as of 4:00 pm - July 22, 2019

THERE were contrasting scenes of “fire” and “rain” at Monday’s Sona and Congress opening. From top (clockwise), militants burn an effigy of President Duterte; thousands of umbrellas shield protesters from the rains that fell on Commonwealth Avenue hours before the President arrived; and comebacking Sen. Bong Revilla and wife, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado, arrive at the Batasan. ROY DOMINGO/NONOY LACZA/BERNARD TESTA

Drilon also kept their posts.

Twenty-two of the 24 senators were present as the 18th Senate opened. The absentees were Sen. Leila de Lima, who is detained on various charges; and Sen. Manny Pacquiao, who was prevented by doctors from taking a flight back to Manila so soon after a bruising fight with Keith Thurman in Las Vegas.

In a brief interview, Sotto listed three bills on top of their priority list including the proposed AntiTerrorism law, and bills updating the Public Service Act and the Foreign Investment Act. At the same time Sotto, acknowledged “the trust and confidence of our countrymen that were given to the 17th Congress and the Senate, and so we would like to continue that legacy.”

The Senate leader listed amendments to update the Human Security Act “which will eventually [be] called the Anti-Terrorism Act,

and then the amendments also to to the Public Service Act and the Foreign Investment Act.” “ Those are some of the bills that I know were left from the 17th Congress that we wanted to prioritize, but for lack of time,” he added.

Asked about the senators’ expectations when President Duterte delivers his State of the Nation address, the Senate leader replied: “We expect him to ask Congress to pass some of the bills that were not taken up during the last Congress, and that he will seek the support of Congress again so that programs, particularly the ‘Build,Build,Build’ program, will continue and that the other programs will be supported.”

Sotto, however, was unsure if the death penalty will be listed as a priority bill. “I really can’t tell.

Perhaps, it is a priority to debate on it. I would rather say that instead of saying that it is a priority measure, [because] it is one issue

that is very divisive.”

Nonetheless, he indicated that senators are also keen to tackle the bill. “So we’d like to, perhaps, start debate on it. I filed a bill on that, particularly high-level drug trafficking, but we have two new senators who have filed a bill encompassing all heinous crimes, so I hope it will be a healthy debate.”

Sotto, however, could not say for sure it will be promptly frontloaded as soon as Congress convenes session, saying it will depend on the committee chairmen who have yet to be nominated and confirmed by the Senate.

In the same interview, Sotto indicated that the bill would have a “better chance” of getting passed by the lawmakers, saying: “You are asking for my personal opinion; I am not speaking for the Senate in this case. If it will be confined to high-level drug trafficking, it stands a better chance of passage.”

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

B1

Vista Land obtains ₧14.5-B notes to fund capex for 2019

By VG Cabuag @villygc

V

ILLAR-LED Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. on Monday said it has obtained a P14.5-billion notes facility, proceeds of which will be used to fund its capital expenditures for the year.

The company said in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that the five-year notes will have a fixed interest rate of 7.125 percent.

“The proceeds of the corporate notes facility will be used to fund

the company’s 2019 capital expenditures for commercial property projects, and to fund other genera l cor porate pur poses,” Vista Land said in its disclosure.

It said the company has entered into a cor porate notes

faci lit y ag reement w ith PNB Capital and Investment Corp. as the mandated lead arranger and bookrunner. Its units Brittany Corp., Crown Asia Properties Inc., Camella Homes Inc., Communities Philippines Inc., Vista Residences Inc. and Starmalls Inc. acted as subsidiary guarantors.

V i st a L a nd P resident a nd CEO Manuel Paolo Villar earlier said they will be launching more residential projects this year, amounting to a market value of P60 billion from P51.7 billion in 2018.

Villar said capital expenditures this year was placed at P40 billion, lower than the P45 billion spent in 2018 because Vista Land expects less construction

of commercial spaces which are more capital-intensive.

“We are confident about the compa ny ’s prospects for t he coming year as we have delivered strong residential sales in 2018 and have a significant leasing portfolio now accounting for about a quarter of our net income,” Villar earlier said.

Income of the property developer for the first quarter of the year grew 12 percent to P2.9 billion from P2.6 billion last year, driven by the growth of its core resident ia l business and t he contribution from its leasing business.

Consolidated revenues for the period ending March reached P11.4 billion, 14 percent higher than the P10.1 billion last year.

SMC, MGen keen on joining bidding for Meralco’s PSAs

By Lenie Lectura

S

@llectura

AN Miguel Corp. (SMC) and Meralco PowerGen Corp.

(MGen) are interested to participate in the Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) three powersupply contracts that are up for bidding via competitive selection process (CSP).

SMC President Ramon Ang, in a text message, affirmed that the conglomerate’s power business unit will bid for Meralco’s power supply contracts. However, he has yet to decide which of the three contracts his company would make a bid offer for. “I will check,” he added.

Similarly, the power generation arm of Meralco is interested.

“We will probably not join all of the three,” said MGen President Rogelio Singson in a text message.

Meanwhile, Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) Chairman Isidro Consunji said he “is still thinking” about joining the auction, saying the published requirements “carry very difficult conditions.”

Meralco will bid out three power supply contracts with a total ca-

pacity of 2,900 megawatts (MW).

A 500 MW, five-year powersupply contract that starts on December 26, 2019, will be bid out on September 11, 2019. Meralco prefers mid-merit power plants, or those that can adjust the power output as demand for electricity fluctuates throughout the day, to supply this requirement.

Bidders must post a bid security fee of P2.3 million per MW of offered contract capacity.

Another power contract will be bid out on September 10 this year. This involves 1,200 MW capacity for 20 years starting September 2024.

For this contract, Meralco prefers baseload plants—one that usually provides a continuous supply of electricity throughout the year with some minimum power generation requirement.

Baseload plants w i l l only be turned off during periodic maintenance or upgrading.

The baseload power plant should achieve commercial operations not earlier than March 2024 for the first unit, with full contract capacity by September 2024. In case the plant has four units, two of these must attain

commercial operation date (COD)

by March 2024.

If there is a delay in the CDO, Meralco may terminate the PSA and forfeit the P3.6-billion performance security.

Interested power suppliers have until July 29 to submit their expressions of interest, purchase bid documents and pay a participation fee of P6 million.

Meralco requires that the capacity of the plant must not be contracted with any other plant.

Also, the power plant that will supply Meralco must not experience more than 30 days of scheduled power outage and not more than 15 days of forced outage.

The third contract involves another 1,200 MW capacity that will supply Meralco for 10 years starting December 26, 2019.

Interested bidders must pay a P2,500 fee per MW of offered contract capacity, submit an expression of interest and confidentiality undertaking and purchase bid documents until July 26.

The CSP requires distribution utilities (DUs) to hold competitive bidding for their supply requirements as against securing power deals via bilateral contracts. This

is meant to ensure transparency and fair competition.

Meralco earlier inked seven PSAs with several power-generation companies, including two from MGen, which is building power plants under Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. and Atimonan One Energy Inc. The remaining five are with St. Raphael Power Generation Corp., Meralco’s joint venture with Consunji-led SMPC; Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. (CLPPC); Ma r ive les Power Generat ion Cor p. (MPGC); Panay Energ y Development Corp. and Global Luzon Energy Development Corp.

CLPPC and MPGC are under SMC Global Power Holdings, the power arm of SMC. However, these PSAs, with a total capacity of over 3,500 MW, were not implemented following the Supreme Court order which stemmed from allegations that the Energy Regulatory Commission gave due preference to Meralco by extending the deadline for compliance of CSP. The SC decision requires all power-supply agreements (PSAs) forged after June 30, 2015, to undergo CSP.

SM Group ties up with Mayor ‘Isko,’ to host satellite branch for one-stop shop biz hub

I

N a bid to provide ease of doing business in Manila, Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso recently launched the Bagong Maynila Business One-Stop Shop (BOSS) at the ground floor of the Taft wing of Manila City Hall.

With the new one-stop shop, Manileños will now only have to go through three steps—file, pay and claim—in just one window to apply for a business permit. As long as business permit applicants file their complete requirements, the mayor said they can get their business permits and licenses in just one day.

Domagoso and the SM Group also signed an agreement wherein the activity area of SM City Manila may be used by the Manila City Hall as the BOSS’s satellite branch free of charge.

The satellite branch is set to open in January 2020 when businesses are expected to file their applications for renewal of business permits.

JOINING the mayor after the signing of the agreement are the officers of SM Group, from left: Perkin Bentley O. So, SAVP, Operations of MOA; Giuseppe P. Jahrling, regional operations manager, Central 2; Steven T. Tan, COO of SM Supermalls; and Johanna Melissa N. Rupisan, SAVP Mall Operations.

DPWH CHIEF EXPECTS NEDA OKAY FOR P22.4-B CTBEx BY END-SEPT

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

T

@lorenzmarasigan

HE chief of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) expects to get approval of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) for the P22.43billion Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway (CTBEx) within this quarter.

Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said that while he does not want to preempt the Neda Board, he is optimistic that the unsolicited proposal will see the light of day on or before the end of September.

“What remains is the Neda approval and we expect that sometime in the third quarter,” he said.

Once it gets the green light from the Neda Board, the project will then undergo the Swiss challenge.

“We’re hoping that we can do that by the end of the year—I am confident that we can do that by the end of the year,” Villar said.

CTBEx, a proposed 50-kilometer (km) expressway, will connect Cavite and Batangas, with a spur road to Tagaytay City and ultimately terminating in Nasugbu, with another spur road to Tuy, Batangas.

Metro Pacific Tollways South

Corp. (MPT South) is the main proponent for this project.

The project will substantially improve access to Tagaytay City and Nasugbu, thereby ensuring faster travel and support for the government’s tourism thrust.

Once completed, travel time will be reduced to less than an hour from the current 2.5 hours.

CTBEx will start at the Silang East Interchange of the CaviteLaguna Expressway. The alignment shall traverse the towns of Silang, Amadeo, Mendez and Alfonso in Cavite; Tagaytay City; and Nasugbu in Batangas.

Expected to handle an initial 60,000 vehicles per day, the proposed expressway will have eight major interchanges, two spur roads and a number of overpasses.

It is divided into three phases: Section 1, a 17.4-km road from Silang, Cavite, to Tagaytay; Section 2, a 9.86-km road from Tagaytay to Alfonso; and Section 3, a 22.2km road from Alfonso to Nasugbu.

The whole expressway will take about three years to complete, but the company can open the first section in one-and-a-half years.

Metro Pacific is the largest tollways operator in the Philippines.

It also has interests in expressways in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

PRU LIFE ON TRACK IN LAUNCHING ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY TO OFFER CLIENTS MORE OPTIONS

By Rea Cu

P

@ReaCuBM

RU LIFE UK has reported that it is on track to launch its asset management company before the end of this year, in line with providing its clients more diversified options for their fund investments.

During a news conference on Monday at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City, Pru Life UK President and CEO Antonio G. de Rosas told reporters that it will be launching its own asset management company in the fourth quarter of this year.

“We are on track to open an asset management company before the year ends, and by that time we’ll offer bigger solutions in terms of fund [diversification],” de Rosas said.

He explained that Pru Life UK has already secured the necessary approvals from the regulators, like the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), among others, and that it is only finalizing its own internal governance requirements before launching the asset company.

“We...announced that we have a license from the BSP already and we also have approval for several products right now; it’s more of getting ourselves ready in time for our target launch which is before the end of the year. So there’s a lot of things that we still need to be doing in terms of processes, to satisfy the requirements not only of the regulators, but also our own internal governance requirements before we can launch.

We want to do this right and we want to protect our investors also. But we are, so far, on track in launching before the end of this year,” he added.

De Rosas pointed out that the bond funds to be offered under the asset management company will also include offerings from Eastspring Investments (Eastspring), the asset management partner of Pru Life UK. “For the asset management company, there will be no life insurance cover, just pure funds, so we are flexible in the kind of products we will offer.... But our distinct advantage compared to other companies is that we already have a big menu of funds

offered by Eastspring which are offshore funds which we can feed into...” he said.

“It’s just our continuing efforts to continue to diversify our portfolio so that our clients will have more access to the different types of investments out there or which are available out there. Unfortunately, the local markets are too shallow, not offering enough diversification, so we look offshore.... And that’s just our strategy in providing more diversification for our clients.... There are many structural reforms needed... before we can deepen our capital markets. First we have to increase investor base; two, increase liquidity and reliance on the banking system,” he added.

On the same day, Pru Life UK also revealed that it is set to launch its PruLink Global Market Navigator fund, a peso-denominated multiasset fund offering higher return potential by investing funds in a diversified mix of equities, bonds as well as alternative assets from different regions.

Pru Life UK also introduced its Future Safe Rider product, which is a supplementary benefit that can be attached to the policies of clients, increasing their respective original coverage amount by 5 percent compounded annually until it reaches 50 percent.

In January, Pru 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 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-ahead of the BSP. He said the company will 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 will offer Unit Investment Trust Funds. Pru Life UK is affiliated with Eastspring, the fund manager of Prudential Plc.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

July 22, 2019

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

ASIA UNITED 58.5 58.95 58.05 58.5 58.05 58.5 680 39712.5 29250 BDO UNIBANK 149 149.4 145.8 149.4 145.6 149.4 1652300 242666624 16123255 BANK PH ISLANDS 91.5 92 91.5 92 90.15 92 1586830 145136881.5 77891695.5 CHINABANK 27.55 27.6 27.6 28 27.6 27.6 155400 4318420 -90210 EAST WEST BANK 12.42 12.48 12.48 12.62 12.42 12.48 701400 8735856 -3205184 METROBANK 76.9 77.3 76.85 77.9 76.75 77.3 1623070 125,230,427( 11,338,363.4999) PB BANK 13.2 13.24 13.2 13.2 13.2 13.2 9700 128040 PHIL NATL BANK 50.85 50.95 51.6 51.6 50.85 50.95 1750830 89358465.5 35452128 PSBANK 58.9 58.95 58.7 58.9 58.7 58.9 19390 1141505 PHILTRUST 111 116 112 112 110.8 110.8 820 91316 RCBC 28.5 28.75 27.55 28.75 27.55 28.5 113700 3217865 SECURITY BANK 186 186.9 185 186.9 185 186.9 222460 41460176 11054921 UNION BANK 60 60.9 60.05 61 59.9 60 4890 293415.5 -51601 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.2 1.21 1.2 1.21 1.2 1.21 112000 134420 BDO LEASING 2.32 2.39 2.35 2.39 2.35 2.39 4000 9500 COL FINANCIAL 18.6 18.7 18.7 18.7 18.6 18.6 500 9340 -5610 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.76 4.82 4.86 4.89 4.7 4.82 135000 649770 NTL REINSURANCE 1.08 1.11 1.11 1.12 1.07 1.11 1380000 1519400 -33300 PHIL STOCK EXCH 188.9 190 189.6 189.6 188.7 188.7 1670 315267 94350 SUN LIFE 1780 1805 1800 1800 1800 1800 50 90000

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.31 1.32 1.31 1.32 1.31 1.31 89000 116600 -52400 ABOITIZ POWER 37.35 37.4 36.5 37.4 36.5 37.4 704600 26120225 20075 BASIC ENERGY 0.27 0.275 0.27 0.275 0.265 0.27 1190000 319750 -7950 FIRST GEN 26.4 26.85 26.25 26.85 26.25 26.85 512800 13677340 10683705 FIRST PHIL HLDG 89.65 90.5 89.35 90.5 89.35 90.5 161060 14498783 -2368817 MERALCO 380 382 378.2 383.8 378.2 382 85740 32601718 -2511926 MANILA WATER 24.25 24.5 24.8 24.8 24.2 24.5 57600 1404330 229645 PETRON 5.64 5.65 5.71 5.78 5.62 5.64 5217700 29629540 -17134252 PETROENERGY 4.83 4.88 4.83 4.89 4.83 4.89 128000 622490 PHINMA ENERGY 2.61 2.64 2.6 2.66 2.57 2.61 15766000 41463180 -2691650 PHX PETROLEUM 11.78 12 12 12 11.78 12 19200 228988 PILIPINAS SHELL 39.45 39.5 39.7 39.9 39.5 39.5 502200 19929235 481320 SPC POWER 6.53 6.55 6.52 6.6 6.52 6.53 48000 313493 AGRINURTURE 14.24 14.3 14.38 14.38 14.16 14.3 927100 13251276 5876492 BOGO MEDELLIN 89 99.5 88.15 99.65 88.15 99.6 70 6400 CENTURY FOOD 15.16 15.18 15.06 15.2 14.86 15.16 152700 2298926 1029618 DEL MONTE 6.22 6.29 6.21 6.29 6.21 6.22 75000 467800 -350953 DNL INDUS 10.4 10.42 10.36 10.4 10.26 10.4 1775600 18427550 17151142 EMPERADOR 7.45 7.52 7.55 7.55 7.45 7.45 2122400 15881334 6429195 SMC FOODANDBEV 102.7 103.1 103.3 103.3 102.6 103.1 28450 2930270 -828694 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.81 0.82 0.83 0.84 0.81 0.82 572000 470750 6480 GINEBRA 59.3 59.7 59.1 60 59.05 59.7 43620 2597639.5 454282.5 JOLLIBEE 275 275.2 275.8 277.6 274.4 275 1115340 306994716 -108685804 MACAY HLDG 9.04 9.47 9.48 9.48 9.04 9.04 300 2756 MAXS GROUP 14.14 14.16 14.04 14.16 13.98 14.14 337600 4759154 2755328 MG HLDG 0.189 0.194 0.189 0.189 0.189 0.189 370000 69930 PEPSI COLA 1.77 1.78 1.79 1.79 1.72 1.77 2876000 5013330 -1663550 SHAKEYS PIZZA 14.4 14.5 14.68 14.68 14.4 14.5 15400 223580 -14580 ROXAS AND CO 1.48 1.49 1.48 1.48 1.48 1.48 198000 293040 RFM CORP 4.95 5 5 5 4.9 5 662500 3295670 -1697100 ROXAS HLDG 2.09 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.18 2.25 22000 49290 -15750 SWIFT FOODS 0.128 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.127 0.127 890000 113960 UNIV ROBINA 167.6 168 165 169 165 168 640250 107148657 -41585764 VITARICH 1.28 1.29 1.28 1.3 1.27 1.28 2215000 2838170 -7740 VICTORIAS 2.5 2.58 2.51 2.51 2.5 2.5 25000 62610 CONCRETE A 78.5 79.95 78.3 78.5 78.05 78.5 3480 272771 CONCRETE B 90 93.75 91 93.9 90 90 850 76849 CEMEX HLDG 2.62 2.63 2.74 2.8 2.57 2.62 13887000 36731630 1904990 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.19 5.4 5.19 5.19 5.19 5.19 1900 9861 EAGLE CEMENT 14.8 15 15.02 15.3 14.76 15 422300 6304576 -2606228 EEI CORP 11.1 11.14 11.2 11.2 10.98 11.14 251700 2802974 111610 HOLCIM 14.1 14.14 14.18 14.18 14.02 14.1 278500 3917450 -1475272 MEGAWIDE 18.4 18.5 18.5 18.5 18.4 18.4 137600 2536624 -1081006 PHINMA 9.03 9.19 9.04 9.04 9.03 9.03 3400 30711 TKC METALS 1.15 1.17 1.15 1.18 1.14 1.17 403000 462960 -114879.9999 VULCAN INDL 1.34 1.35 1.39 1.39 1.33 1.34 5159000 6941030 -186120 CHEMPHIL 105 115.7 115.6 115.6 115.6 115.6 120 13872 CROWN ASIA 2.05 2.08 2.05 2.06 2.03 2.05 529000 1084630 EUROMED 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 3000 5100 LMG CHEMICALS 4.22 4.58 4.22 4.22 4.22 4.22 30000 126600 PRYCE CORP 5.05 5.15 5.04 5.06 5.04 5.06 8500 42900 CONCEPCION 40.4 41 41 41 41 41 10100 414100 -41000 GREENERGY 2.33 2.34 2.38 2.4 2.32 2.34 3043000 7137930 -907430 INTEGRATED MICR 9.5 9.52 9.56 9.56 9.42 9.52 372700 3534393 -129276 IONICS 1.7 1.72 1.69 1.74 1.69 1.7 211000 362570 PANASONIC 5.58 5.7 5.76 5.76 5.5 5.76 2700 14928 SFA SEMICON 1.11 1.12 1.14 1.14 1.12 1.12 32000 35900 CIRTEK HLDG 17.58 17.6 17.6 17.76 17.6 17.6 192700 3404502 17682

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.98 0.99 0.99 1.02 0.98 0.99 16109000 16077160 199210 ASIABEST GROUP 17.12 17.18 16.52 17.4 16.4 17.12 217000 3682340 AYALA CORP 967 970 936 974 936 970 688520 664831875 283725160 ABOITIZ EQUITY 57 57.05 56.4 57 56.05 57 1145900 64691653.5 -19058452.5 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 15.56 15.74 15.68 15.74 15.52 15.74 2439300 38175416 -4714730 AYALA LAND LOG 4.14 4.15 4.05 4.16 4.05 4.15 31090000 128203050 -625330 ANSCOR 7 7.05 7 7.05 7 7 372900 2610497 -1921612 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.71 0.72 0.73 0.74 0.71 0.71 1907000 1377110 21600 ATN HLDG A 1.3 1.32 1.29 1.32 1.29 1.31 869000 1136150 ATN HLDG B 1.32 1.33 1.33 1.34 1.32 1.33 363000 480390 66000 COSCO CAPITAL 7.16 7.18 7.16 7.18 7.1 7.16 775600 5527341 3628117 DMCI HLDG 10.58 10.68 10.42 10.68 10.4 10.68 8504200 90102630 -49360300 FILINVEST DEV 14 14.06 14.08 14.08 13.92 14 164900 2310884 -170780 FORUM PACIFIC 0.223 0.238 0.238 0.238 0.224 0.238 90000 21140 GT CAPITAL 910 915 908 918.5 908 910 75940 69096690 -896740 HOUSE OF INV 6.45 6.5 6.5 6.55 6.45 6.5 83100 541106 -379395 JG SUMMIT 67.3 69.3 67.45 69.3 67.4 69.3 637520 43435253.5 -3263806.5 LODESTAR 0.5 0.52 0.53 0.54 0.5 0.5 776000 388550 LOPEZ HLDG 4.61 4.62 4.62 4.62 4.6 4.61 2462000 11345510 -533460 LT GROUP 15.02 15.06 15.28 15.32 15.02 15.02 1725300 26080586 -5511528 MABUHAY HLDG 0.65 0.66 0.65 0.68 0.64 0.65 4715000 3113160 -116140 METRO PAC INV 4.79 4.8 4.72 4.79 4.71 4.79 7750000 36965740 18123090 PACIFICA 0.039 0.04 0.039 0.039 0.039 0.039 1800000 70200 PRIME MEDIA 1.62 1.63 1.62 1.69 1.58 1.62 3210000 5218030 1580 SM INVESTMENTS 981 983.5 975 990 975 983.5 695090 682987255 498051615 SAN MIGUEL CORP 174 174.5 175 175.9 173.5 174.5 49430 8614355 -1435430 SOC RESOURCES 0.83 0.85 0.85 0.85 0.83 0.83 90000 75590 SEAFRONT RES 2.48 2.85 2.45 2.45 2.45 2.45 1000 2450 TOP FRONTIER 260 261 261 261 259.4 261 760 198286 -18196 WELLEX INDUS 0.237 0.242 0.243 0.243 0.243 0.243 100000 24300 ZEUS HLDG 0.295 0.3 0.295 0.3 0.29 0.3 6750000 1976350 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP ANCHOR LAND AYALA LAND ARANETA PROP BELLE CORP A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV KEPPEL PROP CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND SM PRIME HLDG STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

1 10.92 51.95 2.16 2.34 0.87 0.91 0.239 6.08 5.15 0.62 0.465 24.7 10 0.47 0.13 1.94 1.4 15.8 1.76 4.03 0.81 6.33 0.365 0.5 2.11 27.5 0.405 2.3 3.13 2.05 37.9 6.34 0.8 7.69

1.01 11 52 2.18 2.36 0.88 0.92 0.243 6.1 5.17 0.63 0.475 24.9 10.1 0.48 0.133 1.95 1.43 15.88 1.77 4.75 0.82 6.35 0.37 0.51 2.12 27.55 0.42 2.31 3.2 2.06 38 6.39 0.82 7.7

1.06 10.88 51.4 2.16 2.33 0.88 0.92 0.243 6.1 5.15 0.63 0.46 25.05 9.95 0.475 0.133 1.96 1.41 15.76 1.8 4.2 0.81 6.35 0.37 0.51 2.14 26.85 0.415 2.32 3.19 2.02 38.15 6.45 0.82 7.74

1.06 11.36 52.2 2.23 2.37 0.88 0.92 0.243 6.1 5.2 0.63 0.485 25.25 10 0.48 0.133 1.97 1.44 15.88 1.83 4.75 0.83 6.45 0.37 0.51 2.14 27.75 0.42 2.33 3.2 2.08 38.5 6.45 0.82 7.74

1 10.88 51.4 2.16 2.31 0.87 0.91 0.239 6.1 5.09 0.62 0.46 24.7 9.82 0.47 0.13 1.93 1.4 15.74 1.76 4.2 0.81 6.3 0.36 0.485 2.1 26.75 0.405 2.3 3.13 1.98 37.75 6.27 0.82 7.61

1 10.92 51.95 2.18 2.36 0.88 0.91 0.239 6.1 5.17 0.63 0.475 24.7 10 0.47 0.13 1.95 1.4 15.8 1.77 4.75 0.83 6.35 0.37 0.5 2.12 27.5 0.42 2.3 3.13 2.06 37.9 6.34 0.82 7.7

11157000 28600 4289060 418000 688000 426000 42000 20000 20700 923300 18531000 750000 243500 169900 5280000 20000 15863000 5757000 336600 11488000 7000 37000 19147400 10950000 923000 211000 7465500 1140000 162000 136000 3511000 9283300 179500 24000 2359000

11261950 312796 222514959.5 916370 1608690 372400 38270 4820 126270 4727258 11532250 348300 6058220 1693493 2491800 2630 30883340 8152270 5323586 20602700 30500 30050 121695973 3992400 455015 444660 204440380 466450 375290 432470 7013000 352319205 1146202 19680 18121380

158040 -33051650 -422570 880 2390 -125660 168558 -90720 -452535 63308 -2358800 4317800 564390 19598 -5526720 23570 55755909 187600 39200 90 90331100 121500 -105395170 1254 475141

SERVICES ABS CBN 17.8 17.82 17.84 17.84 17.62 17.8 201900 3585828 GMA NETWORK 5.4 5.42 5.42 5.42 5.4 5.4 103500 559427 MANILA BULLETIN 0.53 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.52 0.53 127000 68030 GLOBE TELECOM 2210 2216 2212 2238 2204 2216 18860 41782340 -3203460 PLDT 1183 1184 1176 1189 1174 1184 58350 69043650 -30125645 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.051 0.052 0.049 0.053 0.048 0.052 28250000 1447540 DFNN INC 6.01 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 3400 21760 IMPERIAL 1.83 1.93 1.8 1.93 1.8 1.93 19000 35370 ISLAND INFO 0.115 0.117 0.117 0.117 0.115 0.116 400000 46530 ISM COMM 5.67 5.68 5.75 5.75 5.65 5.67 2246600 12780284 -368360 JACKSTONES 2.95 3 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 8000 23600 NOW CORP 2.6 2.61 2.72 2.74 2.57 2.61 5706000 14988870 405530 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.355 0.36 0.37 0.37 0.35 0.355 6460000 2314650 PHILWEB 4.11 4.12 4.25 4.28 4.1 4.11 2295000 9535540 577180 2GO GROUP 11.12 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.1 11.2 5500 61526 ASIAN TERMINALS 19.92 21 21 21 21 21 4100 86100 CHELSEA 7.83 7.87 7.93 7.94 7.81 7.83 662000 5210261 472207 CEBU AIR 96.2 96.3 96.45 96.5 96 96.2 258090 24820071.5 15044354 INTL CONTAINER 137.6 137.7 139.5 143.5 137.6 137.7 751910 104066952 -18493926 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.92 0.93 0.95 0.95 0.9 0.93 1189000 1098740 MACROASIA 19.44 19.46 19.5 19.5 19.42 19.46 239000 4645846 4109890 METROALLIANCE A 1.5 1.55 1.5 1.55 1.5 1.55 38000 57530 PAL HLDG 9.2 9.38 9.23 9.45 9.2 9.21 9200 85661 -18454 HARBOR STAR 2.18 2.19 2.19 2.19 2.15 2.18 583000 1261320 ACESITE HOTEL 1.47 1.5 1.48 1.5 1.48 1.5 9000 13340 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.063 0.064 0.066 0.066 0.063 0.064 33660000 2163750 276440 WATERFRONT 0.83 0.84 0.86 0.87 0.82 0.83 8868000 7397560 -56780 CENTRO ESCOLAR 7.02 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 200 1438 FAR EASTERN U 890 920 890 890 890 890 100 89000 STI HLDG 0.79 0.8 0.79 0.8 0.78 0.8 1808000 1431570 923160 BERJAYA 2.69 2.7 2.65 2.81 2.65 2.69 948000 2607530 175780 BLOOMBERRY 11.6 11.72 11.52 11.78 11.44 11.6 3162700 36762266 7209736 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.96 2.98 2.98 3 2.96 2.98 101000 301300 -134100 LEISURE AND RES 3.77 3.81 3.84 3.88 3.76 3.76 566000 2154560 -1059500 MANILA JOCKEY 3.48 3.5 3.67 3.67 3.48 3.5 434000 1531170 35150 PH RESORTS GRP 5.25 5.34 5.25 5.34 5.25 5.34 15100 79509 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.77 0.78 0.75 0.78 0.74 0.77 11194000 8550940 587680 TRAVELLERS 5.45 5.5 5.46 5.46 5.45 5.45 37000 201690 42510 METRO RETAIL 2.79 2.8 2.82 2.87 2.79 2.79 2416000 6848960 -249820 PUREGOLD 45.5 45.8 45.9 46.3 45.5 45.8 464600 21326790 -8339155 ROBINSONS RTL 78.6 79 78 79 77.5 79 1268880 100133706.5 -2816776.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 146 147 144 146 144 146 4480 651230 638230 SSI GROUP 3.4 3.41 3.39 3.42 3.33 3.41 6222000 21018510 9231760 WILCON DEPOT 15.6 15.64 15.18 15.82 15.18 15.6 7646700 119750192 -5558712 APC GROUP 0.54 0.55 0.56 0.56 0.55 0.55 3352000 1857710 EASYCALL 9.94 10.14 10.18 10.18 9.94 10.14 18800 188820 GOLDEN BRIA 415.2 424 422 435.8 415 424 1230 516342 IPM HLDG 5.6 5.75 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 7000 39900 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.83 0.84 0.87 0.88 0.83 0.83 27414000 23255630 -398770 SBS PHIL CORP 9.27 9.45 9.27 9.27 9.27 9.27 600 5562

MINING & OIL ATOK 13.04 13.38 13.4 13.4 13 13.4 24800 324052 APEX MINING 1.22 1.23 1.2 1.23 1.2 1.22 4809000 5857840 19520 ABRA MINING 0.0017 0.0018 0.0018 0.0018 0.0016 0.0018 237000000 403700 ATLAS MINING 2.71 2.8 2.7 2.71 2.7 2.71 50000 135010 -2710 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.28 0.28 40000 11250 CENTURY PEAK 2.8 2.84 2.79 2.85 2.79 2.85 96000 270180 DIZON MINES 7.63 7.75 7.64 7.78 7.63 7.76 1900 14598 FERRONICKEL 1.51 1.53 1.57 1.58 1.51 1.51 4258000 6565030 387000 GEOGRACE 0.225 0.226 0.223 0.226 0.223 0.225 990000 222600 -33750 LEPANTO A 0.107 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.108 0.11 550000 59500 LEPANTO B 0.118 0.122 0.116 0.122 0.114 0.122 1040000 120370 -115640 MANILA MINING A 0.0075 0.0077 0.0076 0.0076 0.0075 0.0075 6000000 45100 MANILA MINING B 0.0073 0.0075 0.0076 0.0076 0.0073 0.0073 16000000 119800 MARCVENTURES 1.18 1.21 1.23 1.24 1.18 1.18 891000 1067160 23600 NIHAO 1.08 1.11 1.13 1.13 1.09 1.1 85000 94040 NICKEL ASIA 2.57 2.58 2.7 2.78 2.56 2.57 24884000 65842150 6883820 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.87 0.89 0.91 0.91 0.87 0.87 919000 813740 PX MINING 3.72 3.74 3.71 3.75 3.71 3.72 209000 777880 -178560 SEMIRARA MINING 24.1 24.15 24 24.1 23.8 24.1 1223000 29370305 -342545 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.012 4800000 58300 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 50400000 604800 -3600 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.011 4800000 54400 PHINMA PETRO 7.2 7.21 6.1 7.25 6 7.2 5102000 34561675 4830 PXP ENERGY 8.99 9 8.75 9.07 8.65 8.99 3821000 33914146 825273

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A 97.4 98.8 98.8 98.8 98.8 98.8 30 2964 AC PREF B1 462.6 487 487 487 487 487 100 48700 AC PREF B2 492 498 493 495 493 495 6090 3002550 DD PREF 99.1 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.1 99.1 3080 305925 FGEN PREF G 101.6 105.4 104.1 104.1 101.6 101.6 20000 2034018 GLO PREF P 480.8 490 490 490 490 490 6020 2949800 GTCAP PREF B 921 944 944 944 944 944 10 9440 LR PREF 1.03 1.04 1 1.08 1 1.04 11517000 11883070 -578000 PNX PREF 3A 100 101 100 100 100 100 2100 210000 PCOR PREF 2B 1000 1010 1010 1010 1010 1010 100 101000 PCOR PREF 3A 1010 1011 1010 1011 1010 1011 2845 2876150 PCOR PREF 3B 1012 1014 1014 1014 1014 1014 3735 3787290 SFI PREF 1.36 1.75 1.36 1.36 1.36 1.36 15000 20400 SMC PREF 2C 76.4 76.85 76.4 76.85 76.3 76.85 4550 347218.5 SMC PREF 2D 73.15 74 73.15 73.15 73 73.1 65900 4812795 SMC PREF 2E 75 75.5 75.5 75.5 75 75 7010 525755 SMC PREF 2F 74.6 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 490 36995 SMC PREF 2G 73.6 75 75 75 75 75 23500 1762500 SMC PREF 2H 73 74.85 74.8 75 72.7 74.9 66890 4983941 SMC PREF 2I 74.6 75 75 75 75 75 1000 75000 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS

ABS HLDG PDR 16.82 16.86 17.1 17.1 16.82 16.86 162800 2750782

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.81

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 5.6 XURPAS 1.1

1.86

1.82

1.82

1.81

1.81

424000

770330

-

5.66 1.11

5.53 1.1

5.75 1.1

5.53 1.08

5.6 1.1

1446300 1989000

8155655 2167430

-180750 -9820

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

123.2

-2750782

123.7

124.5

124.5

123

123.6

5820

718486

6165

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ICTSI inks accord to acquire Brazilian port concessionaire

I

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

NTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has signed a share-purchase agreement with Boreal Empreendimentos e Participações SA for the acquisition of Libra Terminal Rio SA, the concessionaire of a port in Brazil.

In a filing with the stock exchange, the Filipino port operator said its wholly owned subsidiary ICTSI Americas BV will soon hold the concession rights to operate, manage and develop the container terminal Terminal de Contêineres

1 after the full acquisition of Libra and other minor conditions.

T he share-purchase ag reement involves the acquisition of 85.11 million secondary shares and 186.94 million new shares, amounting to roughly P10 billion.

ICTSI won the public auction for Libra, which previously filed for bankruptcy.

“Under Brazilian bankruptcy law, ICTSI acquires Libra Rio as an isolated operation unit, free and clear of any liabilities or contingencies of any other entities of Libra Group,” the disclosure read.

The concession of Terminal de Contêineres 1 commenced in 1998 and was extended in 2011 until 2048. It is located in Rio de Janeiro City.

“ICTSI will assume the operational, development and other responsibilities under the current concession contract,” the filing read.

The transfer of the assets to ICTSI is expected to take place late 2019, once all conditions prec-

edent and all required regulatory approvals have been obtained.

Equipped with five Ship-toShore Gantry Cranes and an extensive range of yard handling equipment including more than 16 Rubber-Tired-Gantry Cranes, the terminal has a capacity of 530,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. It had a throughput of 135,000 TEUs in 2018.

Currently, it has a total land area of 18.8 hectares and 715 meters of quay wall, with a design water depth of up to 16 meters, and thus, the capability to receive global shipping lines’ largest container vessels.

Aside from Terminal de Contêineres 1, ICTSI also operates the Suape Container Terminal in Pernambuco, Brazil.

AyalaLand Logistics buys firm for its land in Pampanga

A

YA L A L A N D L o g i s t ic s Holdings Corp. (ALLHC), a unit of property developer Ayala Land Inc., on Monday said it bought a smaller company named Unity Realty and Development Corp. that has tracts of land in Pampanga. “ T he t r a n s ac t ion f u r t her strengthens the vision of ALLHC to be the leading real-estate logistics and industrial-estate developer in the Philippines,” it said in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The company said it bought the entire company, which owns about 192 hectares of property in Mabalacat in Pampanga, for P2.39 billion in cash.

According to its financial statements, Unity Realty had no income

during 2017 and 2018, and has total assets worth P30.92 million. It reported that it has a land worth of P30.64 million.

AyalaLand Logistics said the property is “a prime location for the development of a new industrial park.”

Unity Realty declared a net loss of P313,153 last year, from a loss of P12,500 in the previous year.

The company, based in Binondo, Manila, was incorporated in April 1997 as a real-estate developer.

With the said transaction, Unity Realty effectively becomes a unit of AyalaLand Logistics.

The principal officers of the company are Sy Ka Kieng as its CEO, Daniel Chan Sy as its president and manager, and Alejandro Chan Sy as its chief finance officer. VG Cabuag

Asian shares lower, Shanghai STAR tech board shares surge

T

OK YO —A si a n sh a res were mostly lower Monday, tracking losses on Wa l l St reet, t hough a newly launched technology stocks market in Shanghai soared with its trading debut.

Prices of the 25 companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market more than doubled, with one company, Anji Microelectronics Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., logging a 415 percent advance.

R eg u l ators h ave approved 25 companies in information technology and other fields for the STAR Market. The market, modeled on the US-based Nasdaq, ref lects the ruling Communist Party’s desire to channel private capital into its development plans. It gives small Chinese investors a chance to buy into tech industries that until now have turned to Wall Street to sell shares.

Elsewhere in Asia the mood was more subdued.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3 percent to 21,397.99. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 6,687.10. South Korea’s Kospi edged less than 0.1 percent higher to 2,095.28. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.9 percent to 28,522.09, while the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.7 percent to 2,903.02. Taiwan’s index rose while Southeast Asian benchmarks fell.

US stocks retreated further

from their records on Friday to cap the weakest week for the S&P 500 since May as sentiment darkened after Iran said it seized a British oil tanker in the latest escalation of tensions between Tehran and the West.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent to 2,976.61. After setting its record high on Monday, the index see-sawed mostly lower and lost 1.2 percent for the week. It’s just the second down week for the index in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 27,154.20, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.7 percent to 8,146.49.

Momentum for US stocks has slowed since early June, when they began soaring on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates for the first time in a decade to ensure the US economy doesn’t succumb to weaknesses abroad. The Fed’s next meeting is scheduled for the end of this month.

“With the markets wholly captivated by the looser the policy, the better the risk opportunities, investors could remain singularly focused on the Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank policy decision and communications as global equity markets continue to have their ups and down based on the perceived degree of accommodative central bank policy,” Stephen Innes of Vanguard Markets said in a commentary. AP

MUTUAL FUNDS

July 22, 2019

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 274.56 8.95% -0.48% 1.7% 8.87% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.6771 17.29% 6.92% 3.3% 16.4% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 4.2403 6.53% -1.36% 0.54% 8.64% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9911 11.59% N.A. N.A. 10% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.9082 8.79% N.A. N.A. 10.66% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.6714 8.78% 0.52% 1.57% 7.55% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.9136 7.18% -3.65% N.A. 9.19% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 122.45 14.52% N.A. N.A. 5.41% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 54.4911 11.5% 0.22% N.A. 10.7% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 566.96 10.66% -0.76% 1.54% 10.14% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3791 12.14% 1.19% 3.51% 9.98% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 40.4411 12.63% 1.73% 3.23% 10.4% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0901 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.5306 12.54% 1.19% 3.76% 11.53% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 923.54 12.58% 0.9% 3.72% 11.48% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9586 13.74% -0.03% N.A. 11.47% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.5182 13.07% 1.08% 3.23% 11.32% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0609 12% 0.85% N.A. 11.17% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.8676 11.01% 2.35% 3.96% 10.48% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 123.6293 12.97% 1.73% 4.78% 11.63% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $0.9987 -2.9% 4.73% -0.35% 7.49% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.3186 1.31% 8.65% N.A. 19.31% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.8024 8.66% -1.24% -0.65% 9.16% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.375 5.76% -0.45% 1.07% 7.5% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.7289 6.81% 0.34% -0.72% 7.31% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3792 4.33% N.A. N.A. 5.74% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9786 7.75% 0.22% 1.76% 7.35% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.8504 8.67% -0.83% 1.13% 9.1% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 17.317 9.41% -0.65% 1.14% 8.86% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.203 7.13% 0.66% 2.29% 6.47% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.9978 10.64% 0.37% 2.19% 9.49% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 1.0466 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 1.05 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 1.0468 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 1.0274 12.26% 0.64% 2.02% 11.47% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03751 6.68% 1.47% 2.03% 6.26% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $0.9997 -0.06% 2.87% -0.8% 9.41% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.7906 2.94% 6.01% 3.02% 14.57% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.1153 3.9% 3.73% N.A. 10.43% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 351.47 3.58% 2.06% 2.25% 2.33% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A,1 1.9025 1.78% -0.13% -0.1% 2.33% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0551 5.33% 5.24% 5.27% 2.65% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.1961 3.67% 1.02% 1.99% 3.14% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.3211 4.73% 1.11% 1.46% 5.26% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6056 1.93% -1.95% 0.11% 2.63% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.2151 6.89% -0.27% 1.43% 7.53% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.6964 5.93% 0.6% 1.52% 5.1% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9411 4.38% -0.77% N.A. 5.6% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 2.9812 8.39% 1.01% 2.3% 7.79% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.6543 8.29% 0.53% 1.84% 7.43% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $459.92 3.74% 1.71% 2.74% 2.57% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є218.38 2.37% 1.3% 1.51% 2.68% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.186 6.42% 1.8% 2.49% 5.36% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0256 3.64% 0.66% N.A. 3.23% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7147 1.11% -2.04% 0.56% 1.45% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.0885 5.17% -0.41% -1.95% 5.04% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.3531 8.58% 0.89% 3.23% 8.4% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0593844 4.68% 1.53% 1.84% 4.18% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.0878 7.03% 0.15% 2.7% 7.51% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 123.85 3.81% 2.48% 1.98% 2.46% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0164 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2202 4.25% 1.89% 1.15% 3.24% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2473 3.79% 2.69% 2.07% 2.3% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0293 2.19% N.A. N.A. 1.32%

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

1 - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018. 2 - ADJUSTED DUE TO STOCK DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JUNE 5, 2018. 3 - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 3, 2019.

4 - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 28, 2019. 5 - LAUNCH DATE IS FEBRUARY 1, 2019. 6 - RENAMING WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST OCTOBER 12, 2018 (FORMERLY, ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.).

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Govt orders LGUs to charge standard fees for services

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

INANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año signed a joint circular ordering local government units (LGUs) to follow a set of standards fees on regulatory fees and other service charges.

The issuance of Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) 201901 aims to ensure that LGU fees do not unduly burden the public but are imposed only to help local governments recover the costs of ser vices they render while making them more business-friendly. The Departments of Finance (DOF) and Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the circular is in compliance with Republic Act (R A) 11032

and as provided under the Local Government Code.

The JMC applies to all fees and charges imposed by LGUs rendering services to the public, including: business permits, mayor’s permits and barangay clearances, toll fees and billboard fees, among others.

“In order to help LGUs build strong enabling env ironment for good local governance and ser ve our constituents fairly,

particularly the business sector, we enjoin all LGUs to review, adjust and/or revise their local revenue ordinances in accordance with the rationalized procedure for setting fees and charges,” the JMC said.

Under the circular, the DOF through the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), will issue a local fees and charges (LFC) tool kit, which comprises the direct fixed cost and variable costs of rendering services.

Direct fixed cost includes depreciation of equipment and utilities, such as electricity and water use, while variable costs include salaries of personnel, cost of supplies and materials.

According to the circular, LGUs have the option to adjust the fees they impose but these should conform to the variables in the LFC tool kit, which will be used in computing the rates and should, as much as possible, applied uniform for similar or comparable services and functions offered by other LGUs.

“The revised rates shall be imposed through the issuance of an appropriate ordinance and compliance to all legal requirements including the conduct of a public hearing and publications,” the circular added.

In coordination with the DILG, the BLGF and the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA) will conduct the training and provide technical assistance programs for LGU personnel to help them review and set reasonable regulatory fees and charges by using the LFC tool kit.

Every local chief executive is advised to issue an executive order creating an oversight committee on the revision of fees and charges, which will review, gather data and compute the appropriate rates based on the BLGF guidelines in the LFC tool kit.

The BLGF will regularly monitor the fees and charges imposed

by LGUs through the DOF-BLGF online portal, and ensure that the schedule of rates and their analysis are regularly published online and readily available to anyone.

BSP assures in-depth study on proposed P20 coin

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has assured the public that an extensive and in-depth deliberation will be done regarding the proposed production of P20 coins.

In a statement, the BSP said “a total systems study on the currency cycle” in the Central Bank was

conducted recently by a team from the University of the Philippines.

“One of the recommendations is the replacement of the 20-Piso banknote with coin as it is the most used denomination for small-value transactions, causing it to be easily unfit and returned to the BSP for replacement,” it said.

The BSP said that on the back of this recommendation, the Central Bank will ensure that the coins they will mint will be studied carefully.

“As with previous currency issuances and enhancements, the design, security features and specifications of the 20-Piso coin

shall be a result of an extensive and in-depth deliberation by the BSP’s Committee on Currency Design and Enhancements,” it said. “ T he committee’s proposal shall be submitted to the Monetary Board and then recommended for final approval of the President of the Philippines,” it added. PNA

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

B3

BTr fully awards T-bills on market convergence T HE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has awarded the full P15 billion on offer for Treasury bills (T-bills) auctioned off on Monday, as the market continues to be flushed with liquidity after the cuts on banks’ reserve requirements. “[The move] shows the market expectations,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said. “First, [by the] end of July, we’ll see again a 50-basis-point cut in terms of the RRR [reserve requirement ratio].

And then there’s also [expectations] that there could be, in the part of the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas], a policy easing, and, in the part of the Fed [Federal Reserve System], the expectations that when they meet, then it would be like a 25-basis-point cut to 50-basis-point cut in the policy rate.”

She added: “So there’s really a convergence in terms of, first, the reduction in the interest rate and second, also again stronger liquidity that we’ll be seeing in the market.”

The 91-day tenor was awarded P4 billion with bids amounting to P12.410 billion.

The average annual rate for the security settled at 3.769 percent, which posted a decrease of 11.4 basis points from the previous 3.883-percent rate during the previous auction for the government security.

The 182-day T-bill was awarded P5 billion with tenders for the security amounting to P25.660 billion.

The average annual rate settled at 4.10 percent, which showed a decrease of 13.8 basis points from the 4.238-percent rate recorded in the previous auction.

Bids for the 34 -day T-bil l amounted to P36.252 billion with the auction committee awarding the full P6 billion on offer.

The average annual rate settled at 4.519 percent, showing a decline of 21.70 basis points from the previous auction rate of 4.736 percent.

De Leon said the auction committee is “pleased with the results of the auction.”

“Earlier in our survey, the comments made by the banks, particularly for the 91-day [tenor], [is that the tenor buckets] would move five to 10 basis points but, as we saw, we have two observations,” she explained. “First, all across, the tenor buckets are expelled by more than 10 basis points. Then second we only have two liners again, so they’re converging in terms of where the rates would be.”

In May, the Monetary Board (MB) moved to cut deposit requirements on smaller banks after cutting the RRR for the universal and commercial banks.

Monetary authorities decided to cut the RRR of thrift banks by 2 percentage points from 8 percent to 6 percent.

The implementation dates for the reduction are as follows: 100 basis points effective May 31; 50 basis points effective June 28; and, 50 basis points effective July 26, 2019.

The MB also cut the RRR of the universal and commercial banks by a total of 2 percentage points, as per implementation dates, about P95 billion will be released by endMay; about P47 billion by end-June 28; and another P47 billion by endJuly. Rea Cu

Yuchengco holdings firm names new CEO Bank eyes electronic trading

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HE board of directors of House of Investments Inc. (HII) has appointed Lorenzo V. Tan as its new president and chief executive officer.

HII operates as a holdings and management company of the Yuchengco Group of Cos. (YGC).

HII controls heavy-construction and infrastructure firm EEI Corp., several schools like Mapua University, Petroenergy Resources Corp., Manila Memorial Park and RCBC Realty, HI-EISAI Pharmaceutical Inc., the manufacturing and distribution of automobile firms, and other services including the trading of consumer goods and rendering of various services to consumers.

TAN A highly respected executive in the banking and financial industry, Tan became the youngest president of a universal bank in the Philippines at the age of 37.

Prior to this appointment, Tan served as managing director in Primeiro Partners, a leading independent investment bank focused in the Asia-Pacific region. Tan was also former president of the Bankers Association of the Philippines and chairman of the Asian Bankers Association. He served as president and CEO of RCBC, Sun Life Financial Phils. Inc., PNB and UCPB. According to the HII, Tan graduated from De La Salle University major in accounting and has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. He is a certified public accountant in the

Philippines and the US. HII said Tan officially takes office July 19. The company said he now carries on the task of continuing to steer HII, honoring the legacy of the company’s outgoing President Medel T. Nera.

“The positive impact of Nera’s work with the company is admired and valued by its people,” the company said. “Under Nera’s leadership, HII grew its operations into 16 significant subsidiaries, associates and divisions; strengthening and diversifying the company’s portfolio.”

HII said that with Tan at the helm, it is “taking confident strides as the decade turns, reaffirming its position as an industry leader.”

Citi retains positive outlook for PHL in H2

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ITI Philippines projects positive growth for the Philippines in the second half of the year despite continued global challenges.

According to Ramon Tejero, Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Inc. (CFSI) president, the coming months will be favorable as both the government and the private sector are expected to start spending again.

“We will see investments being made in both public infrastructure and private capital expenditures further boosting the country’s growth,” Tejero said at the bank’s annual 2019 Midyear Outlook event for its clients.

Citi forecasts gross domestic product to grow 6.2 percent in 2019 and 6.5 percent in 2020. The bank also projects an inflation rate of 2.8 percent in 2019 and 3.0 percent in 2020. Citi analysts anticipate that domestic demand could see a sufficiently strong rebound in the second half of 2019, with more potential monetary easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Tejero added the Philippines tops the list of most resilient emerging markets when looking at GDP

CITI Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed and Consumer Banking Head Manoj Varma lead the Citigold 2019 Midyear Outlook joined by BPI Investment Management Inc. President and Chief Investment Officer Roberto Martin (from left), BlackRock Director and Product Strategist Multi-Assets Strategies Group Eric Mueller, Citi Philippines Retail Bank Head Therese Chan and Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Philippines Inc. President Ramon Tejero.

growth, reserves and other key metrics.

Citi’s Consumer Banking Head Manoj Varma thanked Citigold clients for their loyalty and patronage:

“We will work hard to continue to offer the best products across asset classes, the best people through our relationship managers and robust platforms to ensure a seamless

customer experience.” “We expect the number of funds to continue to grow in the succeeding years as we continue to fully leverage the global capabilities of Citi,” he added.

solution to boost business

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NION Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) announced on July 17 it has adopted the electronic trading solution of Refinitiv Ltd. to power its business in the Philippines and strengthen its presence in both the local and international foreignexchange markets.

“In the Southeast Asian region, electronic trading has gained ground since banks require flexible trading platforms and tools that provide control over electronic pricing, distribution and hedging that meet the changing demands of their client base while improving efficiency through automation,” the bank said in a statement. “Being plugged in to rapidly growing Asian wealth opportunity, financial institutions are looking for an effective tool to increase their competitiveness.”

The bank added that through electronic trading, over 300 financial institutions across 80 countries globally are already benefiting from a next-generation e-commerce trading platform. Accessible via FXT, the single source of access to preferred foreign-exchange trading venues, electronic trading offers a powerful suite of e-commerce products to shape, configure and automate FX prices to customers while stream-

lining risk management, it added.

Refinitiv Director of Trading for Asia Pacific Luke Elliott was quoted in the statement as saying.

“As the first local bank to adopt Refinitiv’s ET system, UnionBank will have access to an efficient and digitized FX trading platform to ensure its nationwide branch network is more connected, enabling the ongoing growth of its FX business,” Elliott added.

“Our adoption of Refinitiv’s electronic trading allows us to distribute reliable and live prices to our branch network using a cloud-based platform with straight-through processing for operating efficiency,” UnionBank Chief Finance Officer and Treasurer Jose Emmanuel U. Hilado was quoted in the statement as saying. “We aim to be the first bank to provide an executable live FX platform t hat wou ld link corporate clients to the dealing room via the Internet resulting to enhanced customer experience.”

B4 Tuesday, July 23, 2019

HYUNDAI LIGHTS UP VEHICLE SUMMIT WITH IONIQ, KONA BRAND

O ATOM SOLUTIONS PARTNERS WITH BAYAD CENTER FOR VIRTUAL-CURRENCY EXCHANGE CIS Bayad Center Inc., the country’s biggest and widest bills payment-service provider, recently signed up with Atom Solutions Co. Ltd., a financial-technology company in Japan, which provides system virtual currencies and blockchain technology, as well as consultant services in virtual currency-exchange operation and management. Through this business partnership, users in the Philippines will be able to pay most of their utility bills by using Eternal Wallet, the counterpart of Atom Solutions Co. Ltd. here in the Philippines. Initially the service will be available between South Korea and the Philippines on its initial stage. Yet, Atom Solutions is aiming to expand the service over 10 countries within the year. In photo are (from left) Francispito P. Quevedo, senior vice president and chief operating officer, Bayad Center; Manuel L. Tuason, president and chief executive officer, Bayad Center; Hayashi Hirokazu, chief financial officer, Atom Solutions Co. Ltd.; and Maria Barcelona, chief executive officer, Eternal Wallet Philippines Holdings Inc.

CREBA, LA SALLE EXECUTIVE COURSE ON REAL-ESTATE MARKETING NOW ONGOING

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HE Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Association Inc. (Creba), in partnership with the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde School of Professional and Continuing Education (DLS-CSB SPACE), opened its real-estate marketing certificate course on July 20.

The course is the first of six modules under the Executive Diploma Program in Real Estate Management (EDPREM) running since 2002.

Classes were held at the ninth floor of the CSB School of Design and Arts Building from 1 to 8:30 p.m. and will run for four consecutive Saturdays, until August 17.

Creba, headed by National President Noel Tori M. Cariño, is the Philippine umbrella organization of real-estate and housing industries engaged in over 70 allied fields.

Avelina P. Acuña, program director, said that the joint program is the first of its kind in the country and remains to be the only formal real-estate education program covering the entire gamut of the highly complex and multidisciplinary field of real-estate development and management.

The four-week course covers real-estate economics, Philippine real-estate market overview, realestate market research, standards of practice for real estate under the Resa law, digital marketing for real estate, practical digital-marketing techniques, challenges in the real-estate marketing, marketing strategies, documentation and registration of land and real-estate transactions, and habits of successful real-estate practitioners.

The course is accredited as a Continuing Professional Development program for PRC-licensed real-estate professionals.

Other courses offered for the rest of the year tackle real-estate land laws and property tiling, development and environmental planning, appraisal and property management, finance and taxation, and project feasibility studies.

Participants are awarded certificates for each course attended, while an executive diploma is earned by successfully completing all six EDPREM modules.

To register, e-mail at creba_ national@yahoo.com or space@benilde. edu.ph.

N July 17 and 18 Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari) participated at the Seventh Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit held at the SMX Convention Center.

The summit was organized by the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (Evap).

Har i ’s d isplay at t he summit featured the fully electric Ioniq and Kona. Add itiona l ly, v isitors and participants had the opportunity to test-drive the Ioniq hybrid.

In a statement of support, Hari P r e s i d e nt a n d C h i e f E x e c ut i v e O f f icer Ma. Fe Perez-A g udo u nd e r s core d , “ We, at Hy u nd a i , believe that electric vehicles are the future of mobility. EVs have the potential to address the pressing concerns Filipinos are facing, in terms of energy and environmental sustainability. That’s why we are one with the government and Evap in advocating sustainable mobility through EVs, or new energy vehicles, and we are proud to participate in this important summit.”

The annual summit aims to heighten the public’s awareness of electric vehicles’ benefits and share industry success stories of EV adoption in the country.

This year’s theme is “Modernizing the Transportation Landscape, Driving

Sustainable Growth”.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez delivered the keynote address, while Sen ator Sher w i n T. Gatc h a l i a n, c h a i r m a n of t he Com m it tee on Ene rg y, s p ok e of t he prop ose d national energy policy and an EV regulatory framework.

Additionally, Asean EV experts, p r i v at e - s e c t or re p re s e nt at i v e s , a nd gover n ment of f ic i a l s f rom the departments of energy and environment and national resources

weighed in on topics, such as EV i n f r a st r uc t u re a nd te c h nolog y, in several discussions scheduled throughout the summit.

Agudo added, “Making the shift to EVs from internal-combustion engines in the Philippines requires cooperation between the auto industry, government, transport groups, vehicle owners and commuters. We look to this summit to build stronger relationships between these sectors and, thus, bring us closer to the future of mobility.”

‘THE LION KING’ IN ROYAL STYLE AT RESORTS WORLD MANILA

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ISNEY’S The Lion King was shown on a scale as grand as the African Savanna, as Resorts World Manila (RWM) transformed the Newport Performing Arts Theater (NPAT) into a movie-house like no other, for a one-night redcarpet screening on July 17.

Viewers got to enjoy the thrill of watching the live-action retelling of the beloved tale in the vast, luxurious theater with 1,500 of their fellow fans in this Grand Cinema Night. Guests were also treated to preshow and postshow entertainment featuring music from the movie played by a 10-piece orchestral ensemble at the NPAT vestibule.

Featuring state-of-the-art technology, RWM’s award-winning NPAT has been the home for numerous highly acclaimed musical productions, world-class concerts, beauty and talent competitions, and more.

With the Grand Cinema Night, the NPAT again proves its flexibility in staging a wide range of events.

SM HOTELS AND CONVENTIONS CORP. TO OPEN FIRST PHILIPPINE LANSON PLACE

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M Hote l s a nd Convent ions Cor p. (SMHCC) and Lanson Place Hospitality Management Ltd. (LPHM) signed a management agreement introducing the Lanson Place brand in the Philippines.

The first Lanson Place in the Philippines will be at the heart of SM Mall of Asia, providing guests with direct access to extensive retail, food-and-beverage and entertainment facilities. The property, which will feature a 250-room hotel and a 150room serviced suites, will also be within the flagship SMX Convention Center

Manila, as well as the iconic e-Com office buildings, making it ideal for business travelers and MICE delegates.

“We are delighted to be able to introduce Lanson Place’s contemporary lifestyle into the Philippines. This is an important milestone for our group, as we establish our first foothold in the Philippines. Lanson Place Hotel and Serviced Suites will serve as an ideal setting for guests looking for quality accommodation and attentive service, whether for a short or long-term stay.

We are very excited to be collaborating with SMHCC on this project, and we

can’t wait to receive our first guests,” Lanson Place Hospitality Management Chief Executive Of f icer Michael Hobson says.

“Lanson Place Hotel and Serviced Suites Mall of Asia will be an outstanding addition to the SMHCC portfolio. Its anticipated opening underscores the expanding footprint of SMHCC and will be an added boost in the booming Philippine hospita lit y industr y,” SMHCC President Elizabeth Sy adds.

Within 15 minutes away from t he c apit a l ’s t wo i nte r n at ion a l airports, Lanson Place Hotel and Serviced Suites Mall of Asia is near t he c it y ’s ma in commerc ia l a nd entertainment districts, as well as tourist attractions such as museums and historical landmarks.

Lanson Place Hotel and Serviced Suites Mall of Asia is slated to open in 2022.

In photo are (from left) Hobson, Wing Tai Properties Ltd. director for corporate development Karen Li, Sy and SM Prime Holdings Inc. executive committee chairman Hans Sy.

Sports TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS ONE YEAR TO GO! BusinessMirror

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| Tuesday, July 23, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TWO children pose for photographs with the Olympic Rings in front of New National Stadium in Tokyo as a robot version of mascot “Miraitowa” is unveiled by organizers to celebrate one-year countdown to the Games. AP

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By Stephen Wade The Associated Press

OKYO—Despite scandals, rising costs and doubts about the economic payoff, the Tokyo Olympics will be a must-see event—if you can find a ticket or a hotel room—when they open in a year.

Tokyo was supposed to be a “safe pair of hands” after Rio de Janeiro’s corruption and near-meltdown three years ago.

Mostly, it has been.

Local sponsorship revenue has passed $3 billion, about three times more than any previous games, driven by Japan’s giant advertising and marketing company Dentsu Inc., the exclusive marketing agency for the Tokyo Games caught in a French probe into alleged vote buying connected with Tokyo winning the 2020 Olympics.

Ticket demand is unprecedented and few Japanese can even get them. Estimates suggest up to 90 percent of Japan residents who applied were unsuccessful in the first phase of a ticket lottery in June. Ticket prices are sure to soar with scalping a certainty, though Japan just passed a law banning the practice.

“This is probably going to be the most popular Olympics, and possibly one of the most popular events of all time,” Ken Hanscom told The Associated Press. He follows ticketing around the globe as the chief operating officer of Los Angeles-based TicketManager.

Roy Tomizawa, a Japanese American who lives in Japan and published the most definitive book on Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics, said he applied for 16 tickets and got zero in the June lottery.

Organizers have quickly thrown together a so-called second-chance lottery in August, and have another lottery set for later in the year. But this will not change the reality: Demand exceeds supply in Japan by at least 10 times. And it’s a similar story for buyers outside Japan.

“I thought that putting myself down for the most expensive tickets would ensure me of winning seats, but that wasn’t the case,” Tomizawa told the AP. “I struck out resoundingly. The high demand appeared to surprise everyone, Japanese and non-Japanese alike.”

Tomizawa, whose father was a producer for NBC News at the ‘64 Olympics, said the “measured demeanor” of the Japanese hides their Olympic enthusiasm. There are great expectations. Japan is shooting for a record 30 gold medals, almost twice the previous best of 16 in Tokyo.

This is also the second of three straight Olympics in Asia, another factor driving interest.

And don’t forget: Greater Tokyo has a population of more than 35 million—the world’s largest metropolitan area.

The Olympics will be simply a sideshow for some Tokyo visitors, astounded by the cleanliness, courtesy and order.

Japan’s sprawling capital is a dense mix of the traditional and eccentric where bowing meets bustle. Small shrines or temples nestle alongside gleaming towers, passengers wedge silently into commuter trains and pedestrians meander through a labyrinth of alleyways, always lined with places to eat and drink.

“I’ve never, never seen interest in attending the Olympics like I have for Tokyo,” said Greg Harney, who works at Cartan Global, an authorized ticket reseller for much of Latin American and the Caribbean, and is preparing to attend his 19th Olympics.

Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics marked a turning point for Japan, highlighting the country’s recovery just 19 years after World War II. It was the first games in Asia and left behind breathtaking architecture—such as Kenzo Tange’s Yoyogi National Gymnasium and its suspension roof—and showcased dozens of consumer brands that became household names around the world.

Ambitions are more modest this time. Organizers are emphasizing the rebuilding of the Fukushima area northeast of Tokyo, which was devastated by a 2011 earthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors. Some

Tokyo was supposed to be a “safe pair of hands” after Rio de Janeiro’s corruption and near-meltdown three years ago.

Mostly, it has been.

ROBOTS TO SHARE CENTER STAGE IN SUMMER GAMES

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OKYO—A cart-like robot scuttles across the field to bring back javelins and discuses. A towering screen-on-wheels is designed for “virtual” attendance. The cute ones are, naturally, the likeness of the Olympic and Paralympic mascots.

Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp., a major Olympic sponsor, is readying various robots for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. The robots were shown to reporters for release Monday.

The mascot robots have moving limbs and its eyes change to the image of stars and hearts. It cannot speak at all or walk very well. But the engineer in charge, Tomohisa Moridaira, suggested various possibilities, such as getting the robot to hold the Olympic torch using magnets.

The T-TR1, developed by Toyota’s robotics institute in the US, highlights “virtual mobility,” taking the automaker’s usual business of transportation to another dimension. It’s a moving humansize display designed to represent people who can’t be there.

Think a faraway grandma at a child’s birthday party or a legendary athlete not able to attend but “virtually” taking part in Olympic festivities.

Like all the world’s major automakers, Toyota uses robotics in production plants.

But it has also designed human-like robots, including those that play musical instruments.

The Cue 3, which computes a threedimensional image with sensors and adjusts motors for the right angle and propulsion to accurately throw

basketballs, recently got listed in the Guinness World Records for making 2020 free throws without missing, a record for a robot and an homage to the Tokyo Olympics.

An earlier Toyota robot that glides around like R2-D2 is devoted to picking things up, to help the sick and elderly.

The latest “field support robot,” which looks like a cart, will also be picking things up: the javelin, discus or hammer on the Olympic field.

Its intelligence helps it avoid obstacles, as well as repetitive routes to minimize wear and tear on the grass.

The catch is: It can’t go find the objects or pick them up on its own. A person has to run in front of it. Once the object is loaded, by the human, the robot will return to its original position. AP

baseball and softball is being played there, a gesture to convince the world the area is safe.

Tokyo appears to be a watershed for the International Olympic Committee, which is recasting the Olympics and its bidding process as “cost-sensitive” after years of coaxing cites to splurge on white elephant sports venues. Rio de Janeiro is the last example, still littered three years later with moneysapping arenas, bribery trials and an organizing committee facing bankruptcy.

The IOC already has awarded the next two Summer Olympics to Paris and Los Angeles, cities that promise to control costs and use existing venues.

“The Olympics have become more sponsor- and television-driven,” David Wallechinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians, told the AP. “In Rio it was a mess, yet on television it looked fine. Let’s face it, 99 percent of the people who follow the Olympics do so on TV. So whatever you present them on TV is reality, though those of us on the ground see a different reality.”

The games will open on July 24, 2020, at the height of Tokyo’s hot, humid summer. Events like the marathon will start just after dawn. Beating the heat is a worry, which it wasn’t in ‘64 when the Olympics were held in October. That was before the demands of television.

Tokyo is building eight new venues. The other 35 venues are defined as “temporary” or older buildings being reused, which Tokyo organizers say has saved billions. The centerpiece is the $1.25-billion National Stadium, and the Olympic Village for more than 10,000 athletes on the edge of Tokyo Bay. The Summer Olympics don’t come cheaply, and even existing venues need renovation when the games come to town. Exact costs—what are, and are not Olympic expenses—are difficult to sort out. But Tokyo is spending at least $20 billion to get ready, 70 percent of which is taxpayers’ money.

Critics point out that the biggest Olympic sponsor is the Japanese government, which is picking up many of the bills.

IOC President Thomas Bach will be in Tokyo on Wednesday for the one-year countdown ceremony as the gold, silver and bronze medals are unveiled. A small group called “Hangorin no kai”—roughly translated “No Olympics”—is also scheduling seminars and protests around the date.

Scandal has also lingered.

Tsunekazu Takeda, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee, was forced to resign earlier this year when he was implicated in a vote-buying scheme to land the games.

He has denied wrongdoing but acknowledged he signed off on about $2 million that French investigators allege went to buy votes of some IOC members.

Yasuhiro Yamashita, who won a judo gold medal in the 1984 Olympics, took over recently for Takeda and acknowledged: “We have seen some scandals in sports, including the JOC. And therefore the trust and confidence is now in question. We have to grapple with these issues very seriously.”

Organizers were also forced to redesign their logo when the original draft faced charges of plagiarism, and an international labor union has alleged work-safety violations at Olympic venues, largely regarding migrant labor.

A futuristic design for the new stadium by the late British architect Zaha Hadid was scrapped when costs soared to $2 billion. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma was chosen instead with a design focused on wood lattice and greenery that will be finished by the end of the year.

Sports economist Rob Baade has written extensively on the Olympics. He says the games have reached an “inflection point” as cities realize they are expensive, the short-term benefits are scant and the long-term payoffs are unclear.

“There are fewer cities and nations wiling to compete in this international auction of the games,” Baade, who teaches at Lake Forest College outside Chicago, told the AP. “And in absence of this, the IOC is not going to be able to wring the kind of concessions from potential host cities that they did before.”

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ADAM PEATY is seeking his third straight world title in the event. AP

AN admittedly nervous Katie Ledecky has the slowest last lap of anyone in the eight-woman final. AP

LEDECKY STUNNED IN 400-M FREESTYLE

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WANGJU, South Korea—Katie Ledecky is usually there in the end, her endurance powering her to the wall well ahead of the competition.

Someone else got there first at the world championships on Sunday night.

Ariarne Titmus of Australia chased down Ledecky over the last lap to win the 400-meter freestyle and deny the American star a record fourth straight title. It was Ledecky’s first defeat in the event at a major international meet since 2013.

“This stings a little,” Ledecky said. “It’s not what I’m used to.”

China’s Sun Yang was able to do what Ledecky could not: win his record fourth consecutive title in the men’s 400 free.

As expected, it didn’t come without controversy.

Sun’s rival, Mack Horton of Australia, ignored Sun on the medals podium. They didn’t shake hands and Horton didn’t even step onto the podium; instead he stood behind it when given his silver medal.

Titmus overcame a 0.62-second deficit going into the last lap and won by 1.21 seconds over Ledecky. The 18-year-old Aussie touched in three minutes, 58.76 seconds.

“I knew that I probably had that in me,” Titmus said, “but, yeah, it’s pretty surreal at the moment.”

Ledecky finished in 3:59.97—well off her world record of 3:56.46 set at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

“She ran me right down,” the American said.

American Leah Smith took bronze in 4:01.29.

An admittedly nervous Ledecky had the slowest last lap of anyone in the eight-woman final. Titmus went 1.83 seconds faster over the last 50 meters.

“I made a move and then I came in at the last turn and felt like I could barely push off,” Ledecky said. “My legs and arms just tightened up that last 50 and she took advantage of that.”

Titmus led through the first 200 meters— dipping under world-record pace on the first lap—before Ledecky moved in front with 250 meters to go.

The American was still ahead turning for home. But Titmus pulled even midway through the last lap and surged to the wall first,

becoming the first Aussie to win since Tracey Wickham in 1978.

“There was no pressure for me,” Titmus said.

“Katie’s a true champion and I’m just happy that my swim was great today, but I’m sure she’ll be back to race me again next year.”

In the men’s 400 free, Sun worked his way from fifth to first, and then easily kept Horton at bay over the last lap to surpass Aussie great Ian Thorpe’s record of three straight wins.

“This is the greatest achievement in history for the Chinese team,” Sun said through a translator. “Personally, it’s a great start for myself and for the China team, as well.”

He touched first in 3:42.44. Horton took silver in 2:43.17, while Gabriele Detti of Italy earned bronze in 3:43.23.

Sun climbed on the lane rope and waved four fingers on each hand in celebration. He pounded the water and was the last swimmer to leave the pool. Sun got out and thrust his arms in the air to screams and cheers from Chinese fans, who hung banners featuring his face from the stands.

“I was so thankful for my fans,” Sun said. “I am aware that I have fans and also the haters in the venue, but I was just very satisfied to win.”

Sun won his other 400 free titles in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

His presence at the world meet has drawn the ire of some swimmers, including Horton and American Lilly King. The Aussie is the only swimmer to beat Sun in the last eight years, taking gold in the 400 free at the Rio Olympics in 2016. That’s when Horton called Sun a “drug cheat” for his three-month doping suspension in 2014.

Asked what his overriding emotion was, Horton replied: “Frustration. I think you know in what respect.”

Olympic breaststroke champion King was critical of Fina, the sport’s world governing body, for allowing Sun to compete at worlds.

“That’s really sketchy and pretty insane,” she said Friday.

Sun said, “I am aware of the rumors that have been going around, but I try to just concentrate on my swimming and I will keep trying to put a lot of effort in my swimming.”

On the medals podium, Sun and Detti joined together on the top spot for photos but Horton didn’t join them. AP

WORLD SERIES OF BOXING BOUND FOR DISBANDMENT

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HE World Series of Boxing (WSB) was suspended indefinitely and will be disbanded after the International Boxing Association (Aiba) confirmed it could not fulfill its agreement with the competition’s main investor.

Aiba Executive Director Tom Virgets told insidethegames the series, launched in 2010, was “inactive” and will not resume unless significant investment can be found to fund it.

This seems unlikely given Aiba’s perilous financial situation coupled with the decision from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to suspend the embattled organization as the Olympic governing body for boxing.

The removal of Aiba as the Olympic International Federation (IF) for the sport is a factor in the collapse of the WSB as the series offered 32 quotas for Tokyo 2020 before the IOC removed Aiba’s involvement in the boxing tournament at next year’s Games.

“Following the IOC’s decision to remove Aiba as the Olympic IF for Tokyo 2020 and the removal of the 32 WSB Olympic quota positions from the program, Aiba was not able to meet the conditions of its investor agreement for the WSB,”Virgets said.

“The program is currently inactive. The WSB Board continues to seek the resources necessary to reactivate this exciting, made for TV boxing league,” Virgets added.

The 2019 WSB had already been plunged into crisis when two of the main franchises, Astana Arlans Kazakhstan and Uzbek Tigers, withdrew, citing financial difficulties and the supposed “lack of relevance” of the competition

following the IOC decision.

Organizers had attempted to improve its financial stability with an overhaul of the format after Virgets admitted it had “incurred significant financial losses” and “presented no possibility of turning a profit” in its initial state.

It has been held in every year in 2010 and was launched amid considerable fanfare, with Aiba claiming that it “marked a new era in the sport of boxing, reuniting the broader boxing world and its grassroots amateur foundation by providing a bridge between Olympic boxing and professional boxing.”

It has since placed further financial strain on Aiba, which has made all but four employees redundant in a bid to preserve its future because of its debts of $17.3 million and the franchises involved.

The WSB is organized by Aiba but has its own board, of which Virgets is a director, and its main investor is Hong Kong’s First Contract International Trade (FCIT), chaired by Chinese businessman and Executive Committee member Wu Di. FCIT is considered one of Aiba’s most important creditors and the two organizations reached a settlement agreement in 2018, which agreed to turn the debt into a marketing deal with Aiba.

The company had initially demanded Aiba to repay the $19.3-million loan it provided to the now defunct Boxing Marketing Arm, which was tasked with promoting and selling rights for all Aiba products, including the WSB. Insidethegames

Peaty first man to break 57 seconds in 100 breast

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WANGJU, South Korea— Adam Peaty of Britain has become the first man to go under 57 seconds in the 100-meter breaststroke at the world swimming championships.

He won his semifinal heat in 56.88

seconds on Sunday night, bettering his old world record of 57.10 set last August in Glasgow, Scotland.

Peaty is seeking his third straight world title in the event. He also won the 100 breast at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The final is Monday night.

Equipment malfunctions, meanwhile, plagued the preliminary heats of the men’s 100-meter backstroke at the world swimming championships on Monday.

Simone Sabbioni of Italy and Dylan Carter of Trinidad and Tobago both experienced problems with the wedge, a device used to gain leverage off the wall during a backstroke start.

“This should not be happening at any meet, far less the world championships,” Carter said.

The backstroke wedge allows a swimmer to put their weight onto an angled piece of material to push off, rather than trying to grip their feet onto a flat wall at the end of the pool.

Carter was allowed to swim a second time, doing so alone. His time of 54.03 seconds was good enough to advance to the semifinals.

“When I found out I was getting another chance I had my suit off so I had to put on another suit and get ready,” he said. “It’s unfortunate and it’s not fair to me that I have to swim twice to make the semifinal.”

Compared with Sabbioni, however, Carter seemingly got off easy.

Sabbioni, speaking in Italian, said he informed officials something felt wrong with the wedge before his heat, but they checked it and assured him it was fine. After his bungled start it was obvious the straps had given out and caused him to fall backward into the water.

He was then allowed a second attempt alone in the pool, but the equipment failed again. On his third try, he finished in 53.85 and advanced to the semifinals. AP

A signature dessert in Kirk Douglas’s wake

S THIBAUT PINOT launches a ferocious attack and profits from the first signs of weakness in the high mountains from the big guns to edge closer to the yellow jersey in the overall standings. AP

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OIX, France—When one French rider starts to fade, another comes to the fore. One way or the other, France may still be on course for its first Tour de France winner since 1985.

Dancing over his saddle, his mouth wide open and gasping for air, Thibaut Pinot launched a ferocious attack Sunday and profited from the first signs of weakness in the high mountains from French race leader Julian Alaphilippe to edge closer to the yellow jersey in the overall standings.

Ascending the last uphill finish in the Pyrenees with a display of power and fluidity that signaled that he’ll also be a major contender to win the Tour, Pinot gained time on all his rivals for the second consecutive day following his triumph at the famed Tourmalet mountain in the previous stage.

Heading to the second and final rest day Monday ahead of what promises to be a climactic final week in the Alps, the race is exquisitely poised.

Six riders are all within two minutes and 14 seconds of each other at the top of the standings.

The six terrible ascents above 6,500 feet in the Alps, peppered over three mountain stages, will likely decide who will stand on top of the podium on the Champs-Elysees next Sunday.

“The high mountains have only just begun,” said Alaphilippe. “The Alps are going to be a big mouthful.”

Surging from the mist and rain, Pinot crossed the finish line of Sunday’s Stage 15 in second place, 33 seconds behind Simon Yates, who posted a second stage win after a long solo raid, three days after his first stage victory in the southwestern mountain range.

The 29-year-old Pinot was irresistible when he made his move 7 kilometers from the summit.

Only Emanuel Buchmann and defending champion Geraint Thomas’s teammate Egan Bernal could follow. But Pinot accelerated again about 2 kilometers later to drop them for good.

Pinot moved to fourth place overall, one minute and 50 seconds behind Alaphilippe.

“The weather conditions and the stage were good for me, I had good sensations, I needed to make the most of it,” said Pinot. “I need to keep

PINOT STRIKES AGAIN going up in the general classification, the most difficult stages are looming.”

While Pinot was escorted by his faithful Groupama-FDJ teammate David Gaudu in the final ascent toward Prat d’Albis, Alaphilippe was isolated without a single teammate to help him in the 12-kilometer climb and cracked, yet managed to salvage his yellow jersey.

Alaphilippe was so exhausted after his effort up the hill, where he grimaced through the rain, that he had to grip a roadside barrier afterward while he caught his breath.

AINT-SAVIN, France—It’s a Tour de France dilemma: When you’ve found a gem of a hotel with a knockout restaurant along the race route, do you greedily keep the precious address to yourself?

Then again, a pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled, and Le Viscos in the picture-postcard village of Saint-Savin—skirted by the Tour on its second weekend—is certainly a pleasure.

Hollywood actors Kirk and Michael Douglas, and late French rocker Johnny Hallyday are among those who have made the pilgrimage for the belt-busting fine cuisine of chef Jean-Pierre Saint-Martin.

His son, Alexis, has now taken the reins in the kitchen from his 70-year-old dad. The hotel that dates back to 1840, when it was a stop for travelers to stable their horses, has been in their family for seven generations.

Alexis, 39, sees himself both as a guardian of the family tradition of offering hospitality and as a culinary inventor not hidebound by that long tradition.

His exquisite dessert eclairs, filled with tangy stewed strawberries and cream as light as a cloud, neatly encapsulate his philosophy. Topped with nuggets of light biscuit that crack between the teeth, his creation is a surprising and welcome contemporary reboot of the classic custard-filled choux-pastry found in all French patisseries.

“As the seventh generation, it’s our duty to carry on this tradition and, I hope, pass it to the eighth,” Alexis says. “My job can be taught but is first and foremost a passion.” AP

“If I crack I hope he’ll carry the torch for the French,” Alaphilippe said about Pinot.

Thomas, who had already conceded time to Pinot at the Tourmalet, remained second in the general classification. He got dropped when Pinot took the lead from a reduced group of contenders but did not panic. He rode at his pace until he accelerated with 1.5 kilometers left to cut the overall gap on Alaphilippe from two minutes and two seconds to 1:35. Steven Kruijswijk of the Netherlands stood third overall, 1:47 off the pace.

Thomas said after the stage he could have

tried to follow Pinot earlier but instead opted for a conservative approach because he did not want to bring back Alaphilippe to the front. Bernal was with Pinot and the Welshman would not take the risk of chasing down their common rival. Bernal, a Colombian with excellent climbing skills, remains involved in the fight for the yellow jersey, 2:02 behind Alaphilippe.

“I felt better than yesterday but I needed to try to pace it when it all kicked off,” Thomas said. “It’s a difficult one, tactics wise. I wanted to go, I had the legs to go but I wasn’t going to chase down Egan Bernal with Alaphilippe on my wheel.” AP

Lowry has surgery on thumb

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ORONTO—Kyle Lowry has undergone surgery to repair damaged ligaments in his left thumb, an injury he played through during the last two rounds of Toronto’s run to the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship.

The Raptors say Friday that Lowry had the surgery in New York at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

The All-Star point guard was hurt May 12 during Game Seven of a victory over Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He continued to play and helped Toronto win its first title when he finished with 26 points and 10 assists in Game Six of the NBA Finals at Golden State.

Lowry averaged 15 points and 6.6 assists in 24 postseason games. AP

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CIGNAL SPIKERS TRIUMPH M

ARCK ESPEJO unloaded a 28-hit game as Cignal HD fought back from 1-2 set down and dethroned Go For Gold-Air Force, 26-24, 2125, 21-25, 25-23, 15-7, to capture the Spikers’ Turf Reinforced Conference crown via sweep at Paco Arena in Manila last Sunday.

The power-hitting Espejo came through with 25 attack points to rally the HD Spikers past the Jet Spikers, who had appeared headed to forcing a sudden death in their best-of-three series after recovering from a first set setback with victories in the next two frames.

But Espejo, who later clinched the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors, teamed up with Jude Garcia, skipper Ysay Marasigan and Rex Intal in the fourth as the HD Spikers outlasted the Jet Spikers then they took six of the first eight points in the decider on their way to the championship.

Cignal HD took Game One, 19-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-21.

It was the HD Spikers’ fourth title in the

league organized by Sports Vision and first for Coach Dexter Clamor. Cignal HD also topped the 2015 Reinforced, 2017 Reinforced and 2017 Open conferences.

Meanwhile, PLDT Home Fibr Power Hitters took the bronze after edging the Sta. Elena Ball Hammers in the quotient wars. PLDT won Game One, 25-22, 25-22, 30-32, 25-18, but yielded the next, 22-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-20, 10-15.

Bryan Bagunas tried to keep the Jet Spikers in the match with a kill for a 6-12 count but Intal scored on a quick hit then Espejo fired two backto-back kills to all but put the outcome beyond doubt.

Jude Garcia added 19 markers, while Marasigan and JP Bugaoan chipped in 13 points apiece.

Vince Mangulaban produced 35 excellent sets while Manuel Sumanguid came up with 19 receptions and 16 digs.

Bagunas led Air Force with 25 points, while season MVP Ranran Abdilla added 17 markers.

Lifesavers face Marinera gals

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ENERIKA-AYALA tries to bounce back from a loss when it clashes with listless Marinerang Pilipina in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the Muntinlupa Sports Center.

Game time is at 7 p.m. with the Lifesavers looking to claim their sixth win to solidify their spot in the upper half of the standings.

PLDT Home Fibr, meanwhile, seeks to improve its standing when it faces lowly Sta. Lucia in the first game at 4:15 p.m.

F2 Logistics, which is looking to end Petron’s two-year reign in this midseason conference, remains on top of the standings after winning eight consecutive matches.

The Blaze Spikers, for their part, is at the second spot with an 8-1 win-loss card while Foton is riding the crest of a six-game winning streak to remain at the third spot with 7-3.

Foton’s latest victim is Generika-Ayala, but Lifesavers’ Head Coach Sherwin Meneses is not yet ready to push the panic button.

“It’s not yet time to panic. We still have a long way to go. The conference is just on its second round of eliminations,” said Meneses, looking calm and composed despite suffering a three set loss to the Tornadoes, 16-25, 26-28, 15-25, last Saturday.

Meneses said they will go back to the drawing board and bank more on Patty Orendain, Fiola Ceballos and skipper Angeli Araneta on offense with Ria Meneses, Kath Arado and Bia General manning the defense.

“I reminded the team not to dwell on this loss. What’s important is that we learned our lessons and we bounce back next game,” Meneses said.

Winless Marinerang Pilipina, on the other side, is itching to get out of the slump and end a seven-game losing drought.

Veteran Ivy Remulla will again be at the helm with Seth Rodriguez, Judith Abil, Caitlyn Viray and Chiara Permentilla lighting up the scoreboard for the wards of Coach Ronald Dulay.

Volleyball champs in forum

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EMBERS and officials of Cignal which regained the Spikers Turf Reinforced Conference title lead the guests’ list in Tuesday’s session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Amelie Hotel-Manila.

The HD Spikers are expected to discuss their two-game sweep of the finals Sunday night to dethrone Go For Gold-Air Force.

The Philippine Bowling Federation led by Secretary-General Bong Coo will join the newly crowned champion in the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Coo will talk about the PBF’s campaign in the coming 30th Southeast Asian Games in the 10 a.m. forum.

Marikina sends English teachers to Japan for Tokyo 2020 Games

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HE local government of Marikina City sent 20 teachers to Sakai Town in Japan to teach Japanese English for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, according to Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro.

Teodoro said an agreement has been forged between Marikina City and Sakai Town to hire Filipino teachers from Marikina City to teach English to Japanese schoolchildren and professionals in preparation for the upcoming Olympics that will be cohosted by Nagasaki.

“To date, Marikina City already sent 17 teachers to Sakai,” Teodoro said during a Welcome Ceremony at the Sakai Town Hall recently.

Sakai Town Mayor Masahiro Hashimoto lauded the teachers from Marikina City for their fluency in English.

He also said that he will recommend Marikina teachers should other cities in Japan want to emulate their program.

“Marikina teachers are very good English teachers. If other cities in Japan wish to follow our program, we will certainly recommend Marikina City,” Hashimoto said.

“These teachers are the pride of our hometown.

This partnership is more than just helping Japan for their Olympic 2020 preparations, more than

just employment. This is testament that our teachers are exemplary,” Teodoro said.

Teodoro was given the opportunity to talk to with Youji Aoya, chairman and owner of Bandotaro, one of the biggest restaurant chains in the Ibaraki Prefecture where Sakai Town is located.

Aoya offered the opportunity for Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) students of Marikina to render their internship at his company.

“While the Marikina Local University students teach us English, we ensure that they will be receiving quality training on the standards in hotel and restaurant management. They will be well taken-care of in the program,” he said.

Teodoro said he will work closely with Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina on the impending partnership.

MARIKINA Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro and Sakai Town Mayor Masahiro Hashimoto agree to a partnership between the two local government units.

Mighty sweep for PHL cagers in Jones Cup

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CHAMP PRAYS Manny Pacquiao kneels in his corner after defeating Keith Thurman by split decision in their World Boxing Association welterweight title fight on Sunday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. AP

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O For Gold Philippines is looking to bounce back next year after missing its shot to break the Guinness World Records for the most number of people dribbling simultaneously.

“Hindi nagpapatalo ang Pilipino. Uulitin natin ito hanggang makuha natin,’’ said Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go after a foiled attempt to erase the record on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds in Pasay City.

Go said the event that gathered almost 4,000 dribblers still achieved its chief goal of supporting sports development by providing free sports equipment to the schools down to the barangays.

“We still achieved our goal,” said Go, also the vice president for marketing of Powerball Marketing & Logistics Corp., the prime mover behind the Go For Gold project.

“Those 4,000 people will bring those balls sa mga bahay at barangays nila, at hindi lang isang tao ang makikinabang dyan. Hopefully after this, more people will play the game,” Go added.

Over 200 national athletes from triathlon, skateboarding, sepak takraw, wrestling, cycling, volleyball, basketball, chess, canoe-kayak and dragonboat arrived and supported the record-shattering attempt, which is part of the country’s drumbeating for the coming 30th Southeast Asian Games.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, especially the Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force, also came in full force along with the Philippine National Police during the event that featured Scratch it! brand ambassadors Nadine Lustre and Sam Concepcion.

The most number of people dribbling a basketball simultaneously was 7,556 during an event organized by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine on July 22, 2010.

Players from the San Juan Knights-Go For Gold, the reigning champions of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, and Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League champion Go For Gold-CSB were also in attendance, as well as players from the Philippine Navy Sea Lions (basketball) and Air Force Spikers (volleyball).

GO FOR GOLD: WE WILL TRY AGAIN

IGHTY Sports-Go For Gold (GFG) Philippines completed its dominant show at the William Jones Cup Sunday by downing Taiwan-B, 8171, to duplicate its grand sweep of the championship three years ago at the Xinzhuang Gym in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

The country’s representative to the annual club tournament played minus former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) import Renaldo Balkman but MightyGFG still got the job done with little trouble.

Balkman missed the game due to a broken nose suffered in its title-clinching 97-74 win over Taiwan-A last Saturday where the team’s captain put on another solid show.

The Taiwanese refused to be intimidated as they engaged the heftier Mighty-GFG squad in several torrid shootouts to the delight of the crowd.

They even outscored the HealthCube-backed MightyGFG, 23-19, in the third period.

But when McKenzie Moore and Eugene Phelps decided that enough was enough, they came through with a pair of slam dunks before crafty Fil-Am guard Jason Brickman sealed the team’s eighth win with a beautiful drive, 77-67.

“We missed the energy and power of Renaldo but it was a good win for the team, everybody contributed,” Mighty Head Coach Charles Tiu said.

Counting its 8-0 sweep three years ago, Mighty Sports extended its amazing winning streak to 16 games.

More than that, it gave the country its sixth title since the tournament began in 1977.

“As they say, it’s sweeter the second time around. The boys really played well,” said Mighty Sports owner Alex Wongchuking. “We’re also happy because we gave our kababayans here a real entertainment.”

The Ron Jacobs-mentored Northern Consolidated ruled the 1981 and 1986 editions, the Philippine Centennial team won in 1998, Gilas Pilipinas reigned supreme in 2012 and Mighty bagged its first Jones Cup in 2016.

PARTICIPANTS try to set a new world record in simultaneous dribbling on Sunday.

NATIONAL ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS UNWRAP WITH TIME TRIAL RACES T

HE cream of the crop and the upand-coming of Philippine cycling will converge in Tagaytay City today (Tuesday) to vie for honors in the 2019 National Road Cycling Championships.

Presented by Standard Insurance, MVP Sports Foundation and Tagaytay City, the National Championships will kick off with the individual time trial and team time trial races in the Men and Women Elite and Junior categories.

The championships will conclude with the road races tomorrow (Wednesday) on an out-

and-back course from Tagaytay City covering the Batangas municipalities of Nasugbu, Tuy, Lemery, Agoncillo, Balayan, Lian, Talisay, Calaca and Laurel.

PhilCycling President Abraham Tolentino will send off the competitors along with Tagaytay City Mayor Agnes Tolentino in the race managed by Ube Media Inc.-Le Tour de Filipinas and supported by One LGC, Air21, Go For Gold, Bike X Singapore and 7-Eleven Cliqq Air21 by Roadbike Philippines.

The races will also serve as a dry run for

the 30th Southeast Asian Games cycling competitions set from November 30 to December 11. Besides the road races, Tagaytay City will also host the mountain bike and BMX events of the SEA Games.

“With close to 300 riders joining the national championships, it goes to show that competitive cycling is very much alive in the Philippines,” Tolentino said. “Cycling remains as an active and enduring sport Filipinos love to practice.”

Registration for the Men Elite and Under

23 reached 114 riders, while 22 cyclists were booked in the Women’s division.

The PhilCycling will also recognize the country’s cycling stakeholders—Alberto Lina (Air21-Le Tour de Filipinas), Ernesto “Judes” Echauz (Standard Insurance), Tagaytay City Mayor Agnes Tolentino, Jose Victor “Vic” Paterno (7-Eleven), Fernando “Dino” Araneta (LBC Ronda Pilipinas), Pablito “Bong” Sual (Roadbike Philippines), Jeremy Randell Go (Go For Gold), Paquito Rivas and Singaporean Vincent Leow (Bike X).

Top juniors vie in tough tennis series

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XEQUIEL JUCUTAN and Alexa Milliam head a crack roster of national junior players gearing up for the tough Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments in Malaysia, aiming for a strong showing in the ATF 14-and-under series in Sarawak and the ITF Grade 5 event in Selangor.

Joewyn Pascua and Marielle Jarata join Jucutan and Milliam in the Sarawak meet while John David Velez, Eric Tangub, Jose Antonio Tria, Matthew Garcia, Sydney Enriquez, Macie Carlos, Bliss Bayking and Denise Bernardo will see action in Selangor.

These juniors, making up the boys and girls’ 14-, 16- and 18-under categories, emerged on top of the selection process of the Unified Tennis Philippines from June 1, 2018, to May 31, 2019.

Arthur Pantino and siblings Michael and Alex Eala also made it to the list but begged off the Malaysia joust due to previous commitments with those ranked next to them in their respective categories taking over their slots.

Meanwhile, the UTP, made up of the sport’s stakeholders, led by Palawan Pawnshop, Cebuana Lhuillier, Micro Savings, Dunlop, Unilab, STI, Navegar, Madison Galeries Life Style Mall, Chris Sports and Toby’s, said the selection for the 2020 national junior team also started last June 1 and will last to May 31, 2020.

The criteria are still based on players who will finish in the top 2 of the boys and girls’ 14-, 16- and 18-under. However, players are now required to have at least competed in five local UTP-sanctioned tournaments.

SO MUCH CRYING AT BRITISH OPEN P

By Tim Dahlberg The Associated Press

ORTRUSH, Northern Ireland—Brendan Lowry thought his son might one day play in front of thousands of screaming fans at Croke Park in Dublin, where he and his two brothers helped lead his team to victory in the 1982 Gaelic football championships. He had a footballer’s build, after all, and the game was the family’s sport.

Shane Lowry liked golf better. But the father got the part about playing in front of thousands of screaming fans right.

Another big win for the Irish at the British Open. Tears for everyone around.

And a day unlike anything Brendan Lowry ever experienced on the pitch.

“Nothing like that,” he said as his son was walking down the final fairway. “This is so much better.”

Lowry led the cheers from a portal off the 18th green Sunday as his son came into view, emerging from a swarm of fans rushing up the fairway at Royal Portrush.

He threw both arms up in the air in celebration, tears welling up in his eyes.

Around him, other family members shed some tears of their own. There was so much crying going on that former Open champion Padraig Harrington—who made sure he was on hand along with Graeme McDowell to celebrate his fellow Irishman—nearly broke down himself.

“I’m going to start crying,” Harrington said.

They were tears of joy for a player everyone seems to love. And they were tears of happiness for a country in a complicated relationship with its northern neighbor.

Three Northern Irish players started the first Open here in 68 years as both sentimental and betting favorites. When it finished on a soggy and windy day, an Irishman from about four hours away was the winner— and a wildly popular one at that.

“I know they treated Shane like one of their own,” said McDowell, who grew up playing in Portrush. “North or south of the border. There is no border when it comes to golf in Ireland, simple as that.”

A day that began for Lowry with unimaginable pressure ended in the kind of joy that made everyone at Royal Portrush smile—if they weren’t crying at the same time. He took a four-shot lead into the final round of the British Open and survived some shaky early moments to win by six.

Alongside every step of the way was his father, who was perplexed when his son took up golf and finally decided to take up the game himself because of all the time he spent driving Shane to golf courses.

“It’s a dream come true,” Brendan Lowry said.

Two years ago his son was playing so poorly he lost his card on the Professional Golfers Association (PGA)

Sports BusinessMirror

SHANE LOWRY kisses his wife Wendy Honner and holds his daughter Iris on the 18th green after winning the British Open on Sunday. AP

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| Tuesday, July 23, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Tour. The year before, he lost a lot of his confidence when he coughed up a four-stroke lead going into the final round of a US Open won by Dustin Johnson.

Now he’s a major champion, and what they call in these parts the champion golfer of the year. The win was both career defining and life altering, for a red-haired, freckle-faced player who might have the best touch around the greens of anyone not named Phil Mickelson.

It looked like a rout. But it felt much different inside.

“I didn’t feel great out there, it was probably the most uncomfortable I’ve ever felt on a golf course,” Lowry said.

“You’re out there trying to win an Open in your home country and it’s just incredibly difficult.”

Technically, Northern Ireland isn’t Lowry’s home country, though a lot of Irish consider it so. Northern Ireland was in a bloody tug-of-war between Britain and Ireland for years before a 1998 treaty helped restore order.

The Open returned for the first time since 1951 because of that, because Royal Portrush is a great golf course and because the Emerald Isle has rabid golf fans.

Some 237,000 of them—some waving Irish flags— bought tickets this week and were treated to spectacular vistas off the North Atlantic, and the blustery weather that goes with the area.

“I think the players got sunshine, they got flat calm, they got a bit of breeze from different directions,” McDowell said. “And they got a little Portrush Armageddon.”

The wind blew so hard Sunday that Lowry’s umbrella broke on the front nine. Rain fell heavily at times, and it was only appropriate that it started again as the final twosome came up to the 18th green.

On the ground, the tears were flowing almost as hard.

About the only one not crying was the winner himself, who hugged his wife and young daughter, then walked off the green into an embrace with his father.

“Unreal,” Lowry kept repeating as he hugged family members and friends off the 18th green. “Unreal.”

Brutally hot temperature grips majors A

T Wrigley Field, misters in the back of the bleachers tried to cool the crowd. At Yankee Stadium, only one player took batting practice on the field. In Cleveland, rules were relaxed on what fans could bring into the park.

Even for a sport that promotes high heat, Saturday was a scorcher across the majors. The National Weather Service said it was part of “a dangerous heat wave” gripping much of the country.

From the Northeast through the Midwest, no player, manager or umpire was spared as temperatures soared near triple digits in big league broilers.

Hours before Baltimore played Boston at

THE San Diego Padres’ Hunter Renfroe cools off in the dugout after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago Cubs recently, while fans use umbrella hats to protect themselves from the sun in New York. AP

sweltering Camden Yards, Orioles Manager Brandon Hyde pulled aside starting catcher Chance Sisco and issued a stiff directive.

“I told Chance, ‘Do not go outside until the game starts,’” Hyde said.

Sisco went all nine innings Friday night and was in

the lineup again while backup Pedro Severino recovers from an illness.

“I told Chance, I don’t want him hustling on and off the field. I want to see him walking,” Hyde said. “When you’re a catcher in these type of games, it’s not easy.

After the eighth inning, his face was beet red.”

It was 97 degrees for the first pitch and no relief in sight, either. The temperature was forecast to top 100 for Sunday afternoon’s series finale.

At Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, where it was a sizzling 94 as the Reds played St. Louis, the stadium PA system got in the swing, sort of. The pregame songs? “Let It Snow” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” among others with winter-sounding titles.

In Chicago, where it also was 94 when the Cubs started against San Diego, there was a big ovation in the seventh inning—for the weather.

That’s when the wind suddenly shifted and began blowing in. The temperature immediately dropped and many in the crowd of 40,314 cheered the wind in the Windy City.

For those sitting in the stands with no cover, it was hard to take.

Jaclyn Jendrisak, 31, was in town from St. Louis for a bachelor/bachelorette party. Fortunately for her group, the Cubs created a cooling station in right field.

“Standing in the shade, have some air-conditioning blowing on us. We’re sticking to water and not having beer. It’s helping a little bit,” she said.

The thermometer read 94 in New York, too, the

hottest for a Yankees game this season.

The Yankees set up supplemental hydration stations in all three decks and the bleachers, and made announcements over the public address system reminding fans to keep drinking water.

Chris del Vecchio, 33, from Verona, New Jersey, and his pal Bruna Silva walked around the ballpark with bags of ice on their neck and shoulders as the Yankees topped Colorado 11-5.

“Sitting in the bleachers is where our seats are and we made it about two innings, they scored about six runs, so it kind of extended those innings and made it seem a little longer. But, it’s pretty brutal out there,” del Vecchio said.

Injured Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin was the only player who took BP on the field. In the steamy conditions, Colorado’s Tony Wolters had the bat accidentally slip from his hands on a swing and sail into the Yankees dugout.

Rockies star third baseman Nolan Arenado exited in the late innings with a leg cramp, presumably caused by the weather.

“It was fine when we were walking on the grass, but as soon as you got to the plate it was like a cone of heat.

It was awful,” Yankees catcher Austin Romine said. “It was a struggle out there.”

All over, portal bench coolers helped teams in hot spots, while umpires ducked off the field between innings to stay fresh.

At Comerica Park, where the scoreboard showed 94 degrees about an hour before Detroit hosted Toronto,

there was a message on the markerboard in the Tigers clubhouse saying the team would do its work indoors because of the heat.

“We’re not going to be silly. Just let them hit in the cages, and hopefully we’ll be ready to play the game.

I think we hit enough. We take enough groundballs,” Tigers Manager Ron Gardenhire said.

By the fourth inning, it had cooled off a bit, with heavy rain causing a delay.

At Progressive Field, the Cleveland Indians eased the regulations on what fans could carry into the ballpark.

Empty thermos bottles were permitted for the game against Kansas City.

“They didn’t have Gatorade when I played,” Royals Manager Ned Yost recalled. “No, we didn’t have the knowledge about hydration back then. It was take a couple salt pills and drink a little bit of water. We didn’t know anything about hydrating.”

The Red Sox didn’t take batting practice Friday or Saturday, and planned to skip the session Sunday in Baltimore.

“You’ve got to be smart in the way you spend your energy,” Manager Alex Cora said. “It’s that part of the schedule. We knew we were going to run into something like this. And we did.”

The weather began to break in some spots.

A day after it was 94 when Minnesota hosted Oakland—the second-hottest start in Target Field’s 10-year history—it was about 20 degrees cooler in the Twin Cities. AP

Liberating God

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EAR God, in Christ Jesus You have restored our freedom. We praise You and pray: God, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. Inspire all citizens to extend peace and welcome to immigrants, strangers and refugees. Protect military troops and all those who use their gifts for the advancement of peace and freedom. Prosper the work of the United Nations and inspire collaboration among servant leaders of the world. May God instruct our hearts by the light of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus, the wisdom of God. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life BusinessMirror

KALAMAZOO Outdoor Gourmet’s Artisan gas-fired pizza oven at a home in Napa, California. Along with a good gas-fired grill, many homeowners are adding a pizza oven to their outdoor cooking area.

PHOTOS: KALAMAZOO OUTDOOR GOURMET VIA AP

BOX OFFICE: ‘THE LION KING’ RULES AND ‘ENDGAME’ SCORES ALL-TIME RECORD D3

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

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KALAMAZOO Outdoor Gourmet’s hybrid (charcoal, wood and gas) professional grill and Arcadia series cabinetry. Homeowners can add a rolling cart or other freestanding item for storage and food prep space outside. But adding a built-in cooking and storage space around a grill, as seen here, increases the value of a home.

Outdoor kitchens keep evolving

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By Melissa RayWoRth The Associated Press

INCE the basic backyard barbecue began evolving into the outdoor kitchen, the trend has only grown. Some of today’s outdoor cooking areas can seem almost like full kitchens, with more appliances and food prep space.

Even walls, ceilings and TVs. “It’s not just where you prepare the food. It’s where people gather,” says HGTV’s Vern Yip. “Just as the kitchens inside of our homes are kind of the center of energy at a party or gathering, the outdoor kitchen really has become that, as well.”

This trend “used to be limited to the upper end of the market,” Yip says. But today “even the middle portion of the market is embracing it.”

Josu Gaubeka, founder and design director at La Cuisine Appliances, based in Miami, agrees: At all price ranges, he sees homeowners doing more outdoor cooking throughout the year.

One goal is better health—you’re not frying with oil if you’re outside grilling, or even using an outdoor

oven, Gaubeka notes.

We’ve asked Yip, Gaubeka and New York-based designer Brett Beldock for advice on what’s trending in outdoor kitchens, and how you can create one even on a relatively modest budget.

PREP SPACE WITH SINK AND STORAGE MANY homeowners begin by installing “a small island made of concrete or synthetic material,” says Gaubeka. These are usually built around a grill and offer counter space for food prep, plus the option of adding other conveniences. Among the most popular: a small outdoor sink that’s hooked up to the outdoor water system by hose, and a small refrigerator. Having these basics outside cuts down on trips into the house during cooking and entertaining.

Prices vary widely, but for those considering a larger investment, Yip points out that a built-in outdoor kitchen adds monetary value to a home.

COOKING BEYOND THE GRILL ANOTHER trend Gaubeka sees at a range of costs: adding a brick pizza oven or gas-fired pizza oven that

can be used for much more than pizzas.

“You can bake outside or you can actually sear a thick piece of meat,” he says.

While indoor ovens generally reach 550 degrees Fahrenheit, outdoor pizza ovens can reach 700 or 800. Beldock says a fire pit can also be a fun place to cook “anything from s’mores to hamburgers.”

WALLS AND CEILING TO make a backyard cooking area feel even more like a kitchen, Yip recommends covering it with something more permanent than a canopy.

“A permanent roof structure is a much better way to go because it allows you to use that room during more times of the year,” he says. “It also helps protect your investment.”

Beldock suggests adding a tile backsplash along the exterior wall when installing a built-in cooking area.

Use materials that can withstand the weather. Choose tiles that have either a fire-glazed or cement finish, she says.

Beldock has also done outdoor wallpaper that’s

printed on “the film that you put on cars or buses,” she says; it’s weather-resistant and great for the wall behind an outdoor sink.

GROWING YOUR GROCERIES MANY people already grow some herbs on an indoor windowsill. An outdoor kitchen is a great place to expand on that, says Beldock.

Add planters or pots for basics like parsley, fennel, basil and tomatoes, she says. Plant some thyme to use in recipes and enjoy the beauty of purple flowers that sprout on top.

GOING FURTHER? WALL-MOUNTED televisions are also popular for outdoor entertaining areas, though they must be outdoor-rated and protected from the elements. Many people also install ice makers, and on the luxury end, Beldock sees some clients adding dishwashers and even trash compactors.

“Everyone loves the idea of being able to hang out outside,” Yip says. “We’ve really moved toward a grilling, outdoor entertaining, casual culture.” n

Acclaimed designer Kenneth Cobonpue reveals sources of inspiration

Casas+Architects Inc. wins BCI Asia Awards CASAS+ARCHITECTS Inc., a prominent and a major player in the architectural industry, was chosen as one of the top 10 architects in the recently concluded 2019 BCI Asia Awards.

The annual award recognizes architects and developers who has greatly contributed to the local construction industry. The selection process was based on the total value of projects of the preceding year and its positive impact on the environment. BCI Asia Awards is present in seven other Asian countries.

Photo shows (from left) Charles Zhang, deputy general manager, Concepcion Midea Inc.; Arch. Carmelo T. Casas, founder and CEO of Casas+Architects Inc; and Dr. Matthias Krups, founder and chairman of BCI Media Group during the awards night.

INTERNATIONALLY renowned, multiawarded furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue revealed his secret behind what seems to be an endless source of inspirations before a crowd of young artists and innovators from around the country at the recently concluded ECO: World Industrial Design Week 2019. Hosted by the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Environment Studies Cluster and the Benildean Industrial Designers, and held at the DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts Theater, the annual four-day event followed this year’s theme of “Sustainable Development Goal #12: Responsible Consumption and Production.”

It served as a platform for the attendees to explore and maximize their craft to help save the environment.

Cobonpue, who is the mentor and senior industry fellow of the college’s Industrial Design Program, is known for his handmade and sustainable collections. He shared how he discovered vast possibilities by manipulating the form of various materials, such as rattan and abaca to the endless color options offered by a variety of textiles.

The creative pioneer recalled how he sought to search for the beauty in nature, particularly on how one can see right through the leaves of the trees in the forest. The result of this wander is his first-ever open-weave piece, the Yin and Yang Sofa Set, which renders a solid yet transparent feel to a conventional seat.

While it is undeniably visible that most of his desired collections stem from the wonders of the environment, the acclaimed innovator revealed that he is inspired by everything that catches his attention. “All that I do is about fantasy and that is one thing that makes each of us unique—we turn our dreams and aspiration into products,” he beamed.

Cobonpue has bestselling pieces based on a multitude of insights, from the shapes of the human bodies, acrobats, peacocks, tales of babies being brought by storks to

doorsteps, flocks of sheep, a library of books, parchments or tied-up old manuscripts, a microscopic view of the expanded knits of sweaters, different soda cans, a bowl of noodles, huge ferris wheels, bicycle wheels, blades of grass, and fictional characters, to fish traps and fishing boats—all from his childhood memory of his home city of Cebu.

“Design is inspiration and a discipline.” he advised.

“Sometimes, it comes from unexpected pieces and places.

But when the spark is gone, take a break.” Cobonpue elaborated on the significance and the challenge to flesh out fresh ideas from everyday items. “I look at random poems and get hooked on words like ‘corn,’ for example. Now, I try to

analyze: What makes corn beautiful? Is it the corn field, or is it how the sun shines upon it? Maybe I can create a lamp out of it that may not directly look like corn, but resonates its golden glow effect,” he imparted.

Cobonpue reminded the young artists that it is all about form and function, which means that the final output must be ergonomic, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing from every angle. “Design is a taste thing,” he explained. “Furniture should be beautiful with or without people. But I believe that furniture should make people look even more beautiful.”

Currently, Cobonpue has a wide array of pieces that go beyond the standard furniture. He has launched home accoutrements such as plates and candleholders, and has specially produced trophies for a huge triathlon event. He has also created sustainable modes of transportation, such as a retro-style bicycle rickshaw, named “Eclipse,” and a life-size car made out of bamboo and carbon fiber, called “Phoenix,” which was exhibited at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile during Milan Design Week.

“Everything I do is always a perfection of the craft of that we, as Filipinos, are good at,” he said. “Industrial design is not an end in itself, but what you learned from school is the start of everything. Remember that designing can be applied everywhere. What is important is that you know what you want, and you just have to follow that passion.”

The ECO: World Industrial Design Week was launched with exhibits, games, and competitions, and a series of exciting talks and experiential workshops headlined by industry leaders. The celebration was well-attended by student-artists coming from various institutions around the country, including De La Salle University, University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, Mapua University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Quezon City Polytechnic University and Bohol Island State University.

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‘Last Witnesses’ offers children’s memories of WWII

By Douglass K. Daniel The Associated Press

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OES anyone suffer more in wartime than a child?

All they know is at risk—parents, siblings, neighbors, homes, schools, even pets.

All too soon they learn of hunger, death and inhumanity. Those who survive carry scars on their flesh and their minds—and they have stories to tell, if they can bear it.

“I want to forget,” says Liuba Alexandrovich, who was just 11 when she watched German soldiers shoot every third person in her tiny Soviet village, a reprisal for providing support to partisans opposing Hitler’s forces after their 1941 invasion. Later the soldiers gathered those whose children had joined the partisans and beheaded them. She says, “I want to forget it all.”

Belarusian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich believes such moments must be remembered and gives scores of Soviets an opportunity to tell their stories. Her engrossing book Last Witnesses: An Oral History of the Children of World War II first appeared in 1985, but its English translation is new, the third of Alexievich’s books to come from Random House since she won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015. Readers of the late American writer Studs Terkel, the most celebrated oral historian in the US,

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The Associated Press

FULL disclosure: I am not a Harry Hole junkie. I saw the movie version of The Snowman, the seventh in the now dozen novels featuring Michael Fassbender as Nesbø’s Norwegian detective, but Knife is my first written exposure to what many consider the king of Scandinavian crime fiction. And after reading it, I kind of wish I’d started at the beginning.

Still, Knife (Alfred A. Knopf) is indeed a sharp example of its genre.

The pages turn, the violence is brutal, and the characters are well-drawn and mysterious. But let’s talk about Harry Hole. For starters, that laughable name in English is apparently a joke caused by translation—in Norwegian, it’s pronounced “Hoo-leh.”

When we meet him in Knife, Harry wakes up with someone else’s blood on his hands, no memory of the night before, and desperate enough for a drink that he’s willing to lick the floor for a drop of alcohol.

There’s a hell of a spoiler about 40 pages in that really juices the plot.

Hole fans will be (happy?) to know that Norway’s most notorious serial rapist, Svein Finne, returns and isn’t exactly

reformed after his years in prison.

The book is dense, but brisk. Harry develops theories of the case, pursues them, comes to a dead end, and then follows another thread that leads him to the next suspect. Nesbø has a great sense of pacing. Each reveal—did he do it? did she?—is meticulously laid out as he takes readers along for the ride.

I never felt like I was ahead of Harry in my deduction. The final whodunit is powerful and leaves Harry—and readers—wondering what’s next.

I do wish I could read it in its native Norwegian. It can’t be easy to translate anything, much less a crime novel, leaving us with passages like this: “A confession. The truth. Atonement.

The thought was liberating. But it was no more than a brief, soothing puff of wind under the blazing sun in a desert with an unbroken horizon of hopelessness.”

In the end, if you’re looking to start a new crime series, it makes no sense not to start with book one, The Bat, published in 1997. If you’re already high on Harry, I suspect Knife will scratch all your itches until the very end, when Nesbø does the only sensible thing an author can do after writing 12 books featuring one character—set you up for book 13.

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Daniel Radcliffe, 30; Paul Wesley, 37; Marlon Wayans, 47; Woody Harrelson, 58.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Do not make an abrupt change this year. Refuse to let your emotions lead to confusion and second-guessing what to do next. Use your intelligence and intuition to help you stabilize whatever situation you face. Living with what you know will be easier than dealing with someone foreign to you. Your lucky numbers are 4, 11, 15, 24, 32, 36, 43.

will recognize the simple but powerful prose that comes from recording ordinary people’s memories.

More than 100 people speak in Last Witnesses and many recall similar horrors—planes and falling bombs interrupting playtime, soldiers burning villages and their inhabitants, people fleeing into forests, children burying parents in frigid ground, young ones eating grass or garbage or the family cat to survive.

There are hopeful stories, too, serving as streaks of light in the darkness. Some people recall acts of kindness, such as a single woman telling two young orphans wandering the countryside, “You’ll be my children now.” Or a farm family taking in a Jewish girl in spite of fear of discovery and certain death.

Except for occasional footnotes for context, Alexievich lets these children of war speak for themselves.

One wonders why they would willingly revisit such times. Some, like Oleg Boldyreve, who was 10 when he went to work with his father in a bomb factory, weren’t sure they wanted to. “What’s better—to remember or to forget?” he asked.

“Maybe it’s better to keep quiet? For many years I tried to forget.”

For Nadia Gorbacheva, who was 7 when the horrors began, the answer was simple: “I remember war in order to figure it out. Otherwise why do it?” AP

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Deep breath in, deep breath out. Now review your situation, your options and what you plan to do. Once you’ve formulated what’s best for you, lay out a plan and present it to those in charge. Be willing to make concessions. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If someone questions what you are doing, take a second look. You may have overlooked something that could be detrimental to the results you are trying to achieve. Make personal improvements, love and peace priorities. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Put more effort into making things better at home and for those you love. A couple of adjustments that are conducive to activities that motivate you to get into tiptop shape are recommended. HHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Consider what’s right and what’s wrong before you make a choice. Base any decision you make on facts, not an emotional incident. A change is best built on solid ground, not a disagreement. HH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Concentrate on what you can achieve, and don’t let what others do disrupt your plans. You shouldn’t feel you have to take care of matters that don’t concern you. Let others fend for themselves. HHHHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Do your best to get along. Sharing burdens and responsibilities will help you reach your objective quicker and more efficiently, leaving more time to kick back with someone you love. Time spent nurturing a relationship will bring you closer together.

HHH

SUPER SLEUTH HARRY HOLE AT HIS SHARPEST IN ‘KNIFE’

By Rob Merrill

Today’s Horoscope

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Keep moving. Challenge yourself physically. Find alternative ways to use your skills, and do your best to keep the peace. An emotional situation will spin out of control should you let someone taunt you into an argument. HHH

CIVILIZATION DECLINES IN NEW EISELE NOVEL

By Lincee Ray The Associated Press WHAT would happen if the world experienced a global economic collapse?

Imagine a time when the electrical grid fails, cellphones are dormant and the flu is as dangerous as the plague. In The Lightest Object in the Universe (Algonquin Books), author Kimi Eisele explores how humanity would have to evolve, relying on hope and love to ultimately sustain humankind.

Without a school of students to educate, high school teacher Carson decides to trek across the United States on foot in search of Beatrix. Even though they had only spent a few days together before the collapse, he never forgot her.

He knows the journey will be very long and extremely dangerous, but Carson feels that facing these uncertain times with be easier with Beatrix by his side.

Along the way, Carson meets an interesting cast of characters. Gangs of ruthless children resort to violence in search of food. Forward-thinking individuals band

together on bicycles to form a letter-carrying service. He also encounters several droves of families who travel in packs, determined to make it to The Center, a place for new beginnings. Pastor Jonathan Blue uses radio airwaves to broadcast the promise of a brighter future.

As a historian, Carson is interested in Blue’s unique broadcasting method. He’s also suspicious. If The Center holds the solution for all mankind, why is it cloaked in mystery?

Beatrix wonders the same thing. She uses the resources and talents from the individuals left in her town to bombard the airwaves, just like Blue. Instead of propaganda, she presents practical advice and her own brand of hope for all who listen.

Eisele places the fate of Carson and Beatrix’s love story in the hands of a young girl named Rosie Santos. Her choices will ultimately decide if Carson’s journey ends happily ever after. Will Rosie fall into the darkness of the collapse, or will she persevere and be the lightest object in the universe?

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll learn plenty by observing the people and the changes going on around you. Digest everything before you make a judgment call. It’s best to be fully informed and leave absolutely no room for mistakes. Choose peace and love over force. HHH

i j

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A track record will be vital when engaging in a joint venture. Trust in what you know, not what someone tells you. Put in the work, do the research and avoid letting someone take advantage of you. HHHHH CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): If you don’t like something, change it. Don’t waste time fixating on an emotional issue that isn’t going to change. Remove yourself from any situation that is timeconsuming and emotionally debilitating. HH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Change should only be made if necessary. Your motives should be for the benefit of you, as well as others. Play fair, and expect the same from those you encounter. High energy and enthusiasm will lead to good results and better opportunity. HHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A chance to make a professional or financial move is apparent. A discussion with someone you have worked with in the past will lead to information about an interesting position. Networking and volunteering will lead to opportunities or a joint venture.

HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are emotional, intense and possessive.

You are sympathetic and persevering.

‘life’s a breach’ BY MAX CARPENTER The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Room that’s often a triangular prism 6 Jack Reacher star Cruise 9 MinuteClinic chain 12 Michelangelo sculpture featuring Mary 13 From the start 15 A drawbridge may cross one 16 White wader 17 Piggy makeover 18 Sled that can go 80+ mph 19 “Not doing so hot” (note each starred entry’s last word) 22 Wrinkly dog 24 Scottish boy 25 Blood type system 26 Flying Down to Rio actress Dolores ___ Rio 27 Tax cheat 29 Late notice?

31 “Everything’s fine” 33 Rajasthan wrap 34 Fallopian tube travelers 35 In that case 39 “Awesome!”

4 Raiding insects 4 47 Manfred the Mammoth’s movie franchise 48 Reluctant to give details 49 Flour sack units: Abbr.

50 Malcolm X colleague, informally 51 Chinese leader painted by Warhol 52 What the starred entries’ speaker is having by the end of this puzzle?

56 Keto or paleo regimen 57 Go bad 58 Really small 61 On the subject of 62 Sacha Baron Cohen character 63 Showstopping, once 64 Many years ___ 65 Vocalize 66 Common club closing hour DOWN 1 Gorilla, e.g.

2 Comedian Notaro 3 Inga portrayer in Young Frankenstein 4 Big-ticket ___ 5 Feline pest 6 Captured on video

7 First-year law student 8 Newspaper’s slant 9 Middle of a regretful trio 10 Comparatively unclear 11 Hard, as a gaze 14 Hit the jackpot 15 Kansas City Royals’ org.

20 Viscount’s superior 21 One stereotypically dressed in black 22 Congregation’s seats 23 Eye layer 28 Being such as Hera 29 Fishing gear brand 30 Q’s Scrabble partner, often 32 People seeking purpose 36 Rhythmic Spanish dance 37 Sonic’s game company 38 Cookie on a sundae 40 Lecture place 41 Not yet bug-free, perhaps 42 Tartan garment 43 Highest-grossing?

44 National park east of Augusta 45 Coxswain’s sport 46 “You saved me!”

0 Like some mutts 5 53 Had turducken, say 54 Cold, as agua 55 Litter box sound 59 Reggae precursor 60 ___ Kippur

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

D3

THE global box office has a new king in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame. The superhero extravaganza over the weekend has usurped Avatar to become the highest grossing film of all time, with an estimated $2.79 billion in worldwide grosses in just 13 weeks.

‘The Lion King’ rules and ‘Endgame’ scores all-time record Prince George turning 6 as UK palace releases new photos LONDON—Kensington Palace has released three new photographs before Prince George’s birthday.

The future king turns six on Monday. It’s become a tradition for the palace to release snapshots taken by his mother Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.

In two of the pictures George is seen with a big smile as he wears an English soccer jersey. The third shows him on a family holiday. George is third in line for the throne behind his grandfather Prince Charles and his father Prince William.

He is a great-grandson of Queen Elizabeth II. AP

TRUMP’S BAIL OFFER FOR JAILED RAPPER RINGS HOLLOW IN SWEDEN

BERLIN—US President Donald J. Trump said he spoke with Sweden’s prime minister Saturday about jailed rapper A$AP Rocky and “offered to personally vouch for his bail,” a hollow offer in a criminal justice system that doesn’t include bail.

Trump tweeted that during “a very good call” with Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, he also “assured him that A$AP was not a flight risk.” The platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated artist has been in custody since early this month over an alleged fight.

While not an option in Sweden, bail is common in the United States. A defendant is allowed to post an amount of money set by the court to guarantee the defendant will appear for trial if he or she is freed pending those proceedings.

Urged on by the first lady and celebrities including Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West, the president had said in a Friday tweet that he would intervene to try to free Rocky, whose real name is Rakim May. “Our teams will be talking further, and we agreed to speak again in the next 48 hours!” Trump wrote Saturday after speaking with Lofven.

The prime minister’s press secretary, Toni Eriksson, confirmed hours later that Lofven and Trump had a conversation that “was friendly and respectful, and lasted about 20 minutes.” Lofven “made certain to emphasize the complete independence of the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors and courts,” Eriksson said in a statement. “He underlined that in Sweden everyone is equal before the law and that the government cannot and will not attempt to influence the legal proceedings.”

The two leaders may have a follow-up call, “but nothing has been booked or planned,” she said.

Lofven had issued a statement earlier Saturday saying he would be glad to speak with Trump about A$AP Rocky’s detention but giving the same warning about his government’s unwillingness to interfere.

“I understand that President Trump has a personal interest in the case,” the prime minister said before they spoke. “He has expressed the desire for a conversation with me, which is certainly positive.” Rocky has been behind bars while Swedish police investigate the fight in Stockholm he allegedly was in before appearing at a music festival. Videos published on social media appear to show a person being violently thrown onto the ground by Rocky. A defense lawyer has said it was self-defense.

Other recording artists have spoken on his behalf, including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Nicki Minaj and Post Malone. AP

L

By Lindsey Bahr The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—If there was any doubt that the 2019 box office belonged to the Walt Disney Co., this weekend put an end to it. Not only did its photorealistic remake of The Lion King devour opening weekend records for the month of July and PG-rated films, but Avengers: Endgame also crept past Avatar to become the highest-grossing film of all time.

The Lion King this weekend roared into 4,725 North American theaters, where it grossed a stunning $185 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

Although reviews were mixed for Jon Favreau’s remake of the 1994 animated film, audiences still turned out in droves to hear the A-list voice cast, from Beyoncé to Donald Glover, and see the innovative technology that made the film possible.

“We’ve had a spectacular run this weekend,” said Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of distribution. “We really did know we had something special with [The Lion King] given its popularity with fans of all ages.”

Industry experts had pegged The Lion King for a $150 million opening, which turned out to be far too modest a projection. Instead, with $185 million,

Disney got a few records to boast about: It’s the ninthbiggest opening of all time, a July record (unseating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2), and a PGrating record (taking over from The Incredibles 2).

It’s the second time this year a beloved Disney brand has overwhelmed a tepid critical response.

Aladdin, which is still in the top 10 after nine weeks in theaters, has made $989 million globally.

“Certain brands have so much goodwill and equity,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “Reviews clearly didn’t matter at all.” And, having opened in China a week early, The Lion King has amassed over $531 million in just 10 days.

Audiences also embraced large format and 3D for the event film: 36 percent of that total came from 3D showings and $25.2 million from IMAX. This is just the latest in a long string of wins for Disney, which now holds five of the top 6 spots for the year. It’s evident even in this weekend’s charts. Five weeks in, Toy Story 4 is still at No. 3 with an additional $14.6 million (behind Spider-Man: Far From Home, which slipped to second in its third weekend with $21 million). The Pixar sequel has grossed $859.4 million globally. Aladdin is in seventh place, with $3.8 million. And then there is Avengers: Endgame, which didn’t make the top 10, but that hardly matters. With $1.5 million globally added this weekend, it surpassed Avatar’s all-time record, not accounting for inflation.

Avatar grossed $2.789 billion worldwide, and Avengers: Endgame is currently at $2.79 billion.

“Endgame finally did it,” Taff said. “It’s a huge achievement.”

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige previewed that this was a sure-thing on Saturday night at San Diego Comic-Con. “You have to shout-out to Mr. James Cameron, who held that title for a long time,” Feige said. “If you adjust for inflation, he still holds the title, and he’ll probably get the title again as soon as he puts out another movie. But for right now...Avengers: Endgame is the biggest film of all time.”

This weekend helped knock the year-to-date deficit from 9.1 percent to 7.2 percent.

“That’s what a massive Disney debut will do for the box office,” Dergarabedian said.

“You’ve got to give some credit to the holdovers that are doing quite well, like Yesterday. But it’s just a great weekend for the industry and absolutely a shot in the arm that was needed.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore.

Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.

1. The Lion King, $185 million ($269.4 million international) 2. Spider-Man: Far From Home, $21 million ($37.2 million international) 3. Toy Story 4, $14.6 million ($25.8 million international) 4. Crawl, $6 million ($2.7 million international) 5. Yesterday, $5.1 million ($4.3 million international) 6. Stuber, $4 million ($1.1 million international) 7. Aladdin, $3.8 million ($9.2 million international) 8. Annabelle Comes Home, $2.7 million ($7.4 million international) 9. Midsommar, $1.6 million ($584,000 international) 10. The Secret Life of Pets 2, $1.5 million ($6.7 million international).

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the US and Canada), according to comScore: 1. The Lion King, $269.4 million 2. Looking Up, $37.6 million 3. Spider-Man: Far From Home, $37.2 million 4. Toy Story 4, $25.8 million 5. White Storm 2: The Drug Lords, $15.7 million 6. Aladdin, $9.2 million 7. Annabelle Comes Home, $7.4 million 8. The Secret Life of Pets 2, $6.7 million 9. Yesterday, $4.3 million 10. Crawl, $2.7 million. n

It’s ‘On Pointé’ for Ballet Manila’s 24th performance season BALLET Manila, the most solidly trained classical ballet company in the Philippines, will once again stage a series of breathtaking shows filled with graceful dancing for its 24th season.

With the theme “On Pointé,” Ballet Manila highlights the most iconic element in a ballet performance—the pointé shoes which make a ballerina stand and dance daintily on her toes. The theme is also fitting for the ballet company’s upcoming performances as it is also a play on being “on point,” which defines something to be excellent and perfect—the kind of shows that Ballet Manila consistently gives to their audience.

According to Ballet Manila CEO and Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, the decision to go with the theme is related to Ballet Manila’s Russian Vaganova style of training and dancing. “It defines what classical ballet is—being able to dance on pointé,” Macuja Elizalde said.

This season, Ballet Manila will be staging a thoughtfully curated lineup of four shows.

The first one is the restaging of Snow White, the second installment in MacujaElizalde’s Princess Trilogy, which will run on September 7 and 8. Giselle, a romantic ballet in two acts, will follow on October 19 and 20. The Sleeping Beauty, the last installment in the Princess Trilogy, will have its world

premier on December 7 and 8. Lastly, the season’s finale will be Carmina Burana and La Traviata, a collaboration of opera, ballet and orchestra, which will be staged on February 29 and March 1, 2020.

“When I plan a season, I first program the full-length classical ballet that we need to present every year. My teacher and mentor Tatiana Udalenkova told me that I should always have a classical warhorse every season to strengthen the company,” Macuja-Elizalde said of their decision to perform Giselle.

She also wanted to revisit the earlier installment of her Princess Trilogy and present Snow White before the premier of The Sleeping Beauty, which will be the company’s Christmas production, to factor in continuity.

“I love the fact that we are opening our 24th season with Snow White because it captures the fun everyone needs to have when watching and dancing ballet,” she said.

After the first two installments of the trilogy, Macuja-Elizalde said that the best is yet to come with the final production. “I am saving the best for last. The Princess Trilogy is going to conclude with a bang!” she said.

Talking about the last show, Carmina Burana and La Traviata, Macuja-Elizalde said the back-to-back presentation is a fitting finale to their 24th season.

FOR its 24th performance season, Ballet Manila is restaging Snow White, the second installment in Lisa MacujaElizalde’s Princess Trilogy.

“I have always wanted to choreograph to the music of my favorite opera—La Traviata—and am excited to collaborate with my longtime ‘partner in crime,’ Ballet Manila Co-artistic Director Osias Barroso.

Rudy de Dios, recently retired principal dancer of the company, will be making an auspicious choreographic debut in his first full-length evening work with Carmina Burana,” she said.

With the start of the 24th season just

around the corner, Ballet Manila is all set to once again capture the hearts of their audiences and showcase a production that reflects their refined techniques, dignified artistry, magnificent storytelling and genuine passion for dancing.

All of Ballet Manila’s 24th performance season shows will be staged at the Aliw Theater, Pasay City. For tickets, visit any Ticketworld outlet, call 891-9999, or go to www.ticketworld.com.ph.

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Art

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PASILYO Carlos Francisco

OUTDOOR Mural Wall

CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR CCP 2020 EXHIBITION VENUE GRANT

THE Cultural Center of the Philippines (www.culturalcenter. gov.ph), through its Visual Arts and Museum Division, is accepting proposals for the 2020 Venue Grant Program.

The VAMD offers exhibition venues where current visual art expressions may be mounted, featured, studied and analyzed.

In support of this, the VAMD offers grants in the form of free use of exhibit space and curatorial assistance to encourage, initiate, support and sustain creativity and artistic excellence in the visual arts. It also organizes artist talks, workshops, and other public programs in conjunction with current exhibitions.

Artists, curators, art organizations and institutions are welcome to submit proposals for the following venues at the CCP Main Theater Building: Pasilyo Carlos V. Francisco (Little Theater Lobby), Pasilyo Vicente Manansala (2F Hallway Gallery), Bulwagang Fernando Amorsolo (Small Gallery), Pasilyo Victorio Edades (4F Floor Hallway Gallery) and Outdoor Mural Wall.

Proposals for exhibitions for the succeeding year shall be submitted to the Visual Arts and Museum Division from January to September 30 of the current year. All proposals submitted shall be reviewed by the VAMD and presented to the CCP Artistic Programming Committee for final approval.

Proponents of approved proposals for exhibitions shall be notified via e-mail and invited for a production meeting three months prior to their scheduled exhibit.

An Exhibition Agreement shall be prepared stipulating the terms and conditions agreed during the production meeting.

The deadline for 2020 exhibitions is on September 30.

Proposals may be sent via e-mail to ccp.exhibitproposal@ gmail.com or delivered to: Visual Arts and Museum Division, Production and Exhibition Department, Fourth Floor, CCP Main Theater Building, Cultural Center of the Philippines Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, from Tuesday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm.

TECHNICIANS and researchers check equipment set up inside a glass chamber as they begin to study Rembrandt’s Night Watch masterpiece, at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, on July 8. Researchers and restorers at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum have launched a months-long project, using high-tech imaging technology to throw new light on Rembrandt van Rijn’s iconic Night Watch. AP

Research, restoration begins on Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’ A

By Aleksandar Furtula The Associated Press

MSTERDAM—Researchers and restorers at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum launched a months-long project Monday, using hightech imaging technology to throw new light on Rembrandt van Rijn’s iconic Night Watch.

Working in a specially designed glass chamber, researchers at the museum are undertaking a painstaking examination and restoration of the huge portrait of a 17th-century civil militia.

Art lovers around the world can follow the project online.

“This is the first time that we can actually make a full body scan and that we can discover which pigments he used not only through making little samples but with scanning the entire surface,” said the

museum’s general director, Taco Dibbits.

“We don’t know much about how Rembrandt made this painting. And now we hope to discover more and really get a glimpse into the kitchen of the artist,” he added.

The 1642 painting last underwent significant restoration 40 years ago after it was slashed by a knife-wielding man and is starting to show blanching in parts of the canvas.

The painting has undergone many retouches and restorations in the past and some of the later additions are starting to fade.

Before the latest restoration can begin, experts will photograph and scan the painting to evaluate its condition.

They will build up a detailed digital picture by merging 12,000 separate images, as well as using x-ray technology to peer through the surface.

On Monday, a macro x-ray fluorescence scanner began taking a series of images, said Petria Noble, head of Paintings Conservation at the Rijksmuseum.

“Each type of technique will give us some information that we then need to put together and interpret all the information together and what that means for the painting,” Noble said.

More than 2 million people each year visit the Rijksmuseum, which has the world’s largest collection of Rembrandt works. The Golden Age master is known for his innovative use of light and rebellious compositions.

The restoration project comes in a year that marks the 350th anniversary of the artist’s death in 1669 and is part of a “Year of Rembrandt” at the museum. n The Associated Press writer Mike Corder in The Hague contributed to this report.

Painting, stolen by Nazi soldier, is back in Florence museum CCP Board of Trustee Baltazar Endriga and artist Mark Sanchez

A LANDSCAPE OF CONFLICT ON VIEW AT THE CCP

AN ongoing exhibition on the landscape by artist Mark Sanchez, titled On Conflicts and Terrains, is on display at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’s Pasilyo Vicente Manansala (second floor, Hallway Gallery). The exhibit, which opened last June 8, will be on view until August 18.

The landscape as a descriptive scene is beholden to the atmospheric, picturesque and the eternal—or perhaps the anachronistic. The landscape as both a situation and context is of jurisdiction, labor, property and sovereignty. It is traced from disputed political demarcations, drawn out from razed rice fields, carved from the mountains then dumped on innocent lives.

The exhibit is an inventory of images that tell stories of corruption, territorial disputes, environmental plunder, deprivation of basic rights and their consequences. The constructed landscape is an index of a particular social space as manufactured by feudalism, bureaucrat-capitalism and imperialism. It is a building up of a map that delineates the local node of a global network of power and oppression that is capitalism at its latest stage.

On Conflicts and Terrains is a project by artist Mark Sanchez, who finished his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. His recent works deal with the accumulation, inventory and classification of objects, images and/or information. It is through these processes that he creates representations of systems upon which identities and values are formed.

Viewing hours are from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm. Hours are extended until 10 pm on days with evening performances at the CCP Main Theater.

On Conflicts and Terrains is presented with support from Outlooke Pointe Foundation.

By Frances D’Emilio & Gregorio Borgia The Associated Press FLORENCE, Italy—A Dutch still-life painting, stolen by retreating Nazis and sent by a German soldier as a present to his wife, came back to a Florence museum on Friday, thanks largely to a relentless campaign by the Uffizi Galleries’ director, a German.

The foreign ministers of German and Italy were on hand Friday at Palazzo Pitti, a Renaissance palace that is part of the Uffizi Galleries, for the unveiling of Vase of Flowers, a masterpiece by Jan van Huysum, an early 18th-century artist whose exquisitely detailed still-life works were highly sought in his day.

Uffizi director Eike Schmidt earlier this year urged his native country to return the work. He had posted on a gallery wall three labels where the painting had hung before being taken during World War II: “stolen,” the labels read in Italian, English and German.

His homeland, Schmidt said at the time, had a “moral duty” to return the work.

Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero hailed the “civic and moral courage of a German director of an Italian museum” in pursuing the painting’s return.

As did his German counterpart, Moavero hailed the happy ending, saying it was achieved through “real Europeanism, of concrete facts” and not just words.

He revealed to reporters that the painting’s return was discussed, among other matters, during bilateral talks between Italy and Germany.

Vase of Flowers is so realistic it has been likened to a photograph. Van Huysum used a magnifying glass to study his subjects. Ripples are visible in insects’ transparent wings, to name just one striking detail on the returned painting.

The painting was acquired in 1824 by a grand duke of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, which followed the

GERMAN Foreign Minister Heiko Mass (left) and Italian Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli watch the unveiling of the Vase of Flowers painting by Jan van Huysum, at the Pitti Palace, part of the Uffizi Galleries, in Florence, Italy, on July 19. AP

Medicis in residing in the palace in Florence.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the palace’s artworks were packed for safekeeping into wooden crates and moved from villa to villa. When the Germany army was retreating, the crates were added to other war booty and eventually ended up in Bolzano, an Alpine city near Austria.

There the crate containing Vase of Flowers was opened, and in July 1944, a German soldier sent the painting to his wife in Germany.

Minister Moavero quoted the soldier as writing instructions to his wife to “put it in a gilded frame.”

The painting’s whereabouts appeared to be a mystery until a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Starting in 1991, the German family

repeatedly tried to sell the painting to Italy via intermediaries, “threatening to give it to a third party or even destroy it if a ransom wasn’t paid,” the Italian culture ministry said. The latest approach for money was made to the Uffizi in 2016, it said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass thanked Schmidt for campaigning so passionately for the painting’s return. “Here is its place, here is where it belongs,” he said.

At a time of tensions among many European Union allies over migrant issues, Maas saw inspiration in the successful artwork diplomacy.

He likened an EU “without diversity, without solidarity” to a “museum without paintings on display, a vase without flowers.”