BusinessMirror July 24, 2019 by BusinessMirror

AMRO CUTS PHL GROWTH FORECAST By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T FLOODED, AGAIN A resident on Boracay Island captures the flooding along the main road on Station 1 at the back of Ambassador in Paradise Resort and Hennan Prime Resort. Boracay Island and its environs experienced massive flooding in December 2017. Recently, Tropical Storm Falcon induced torrential monsoon rains, flooding the same areas that used to be inundated before it was closed for six months last year. Story on page A12, “Despite rehab, flooding continues in Boracay.” CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

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HE weakness of the country ’s manufacturing and export sectors prompted the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro) to cut its growth outlook for the Philippines. In its July update, Amro adjusted downward its GDP forecast for the Philippines in 2019 and 2020 to 6.3 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. In May, Amro projected that GDP growth in 2019 will reach 6.4 percent and 6.6 percent in 2020. Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the country’s export performance contracted 1.3 percent in the January-to-May period in 2019. However,

the country’s earnings from exports have started improving in April and May. “Amro staff have revised baseline forecasts downward, following continued weakness in manufacturing and export outturns,” Amro said. “The region’s export value continued to contract in May, with the exception of some countries, i.e., Vietnam and the Philippines.” In manufacturing, PSA data showed that the output of factories in terms of volume declined by 4 percent in May. While this was a turnaround from the 13-percent contraction recorded in April 2018, the increase was slower than the 13-percent hike posted in May 2018. The Amro report also indicated that

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Wednesday, July 24, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 287

Bizmen count SOT bill’s cost: ₧49B more yearly

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE manufacturing industry will spend an additional P49 billion annually on labor cost if firms were to absorb the over 300,000 contractual workers as a consequence of President Duterte signing the security of tenure (SOT) bill. In a computation done by businessmen obtained by the BusinessMirror, the employers projected an additional labor cost of P48.83 billion yearly for manufacturing should it absorb all of its agencyhired workers. This is estimated to climb to as much as P52.53

billion when the 13th-month pay is accounted for, and has yet to cover incentive leave, overtime pay, night differential and holiday and weekend pay. Using Metro Manila as a basis since the capital hosts over onethird of manufacturing firms in

the Philippines, employers will need to shell out P11,814 on salary and P1,242.44 on share for contributions on social security, health, housing and contingencies per worker monthly. Based on records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA),

₧52.53B The total cost that employers are projected to shell out in additional labor cost yearly for manufacturing should it absorb all agency-hired workers. The P52.53 billion covers monthly salaries, as well as 13thmonth pay, and has yet to cover incentive leave, overtime pay, night differential and holiday and weekend pay

there are 311,722 contractual workers in the manufacturing industry as of 2016. If firms were to absorb all of them, this will amount to P4.06 billion in additional monthly labor cost covering salaries and contributions for social protection. See “SOT bills,” A2

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) urged lawmakers on Tuesday to consider the President’s call to pass the remaining packages under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) this year. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said completing the CTRP will ensure that the government will have funds for its infrastructure and human capital development programs. “We are hoping that the President’s latest pitch for tax reform in his 4th Sona [State of the Nation Address] would serve as a strong impetus for the members of the 18th Congress to act on the remaining CTRP packages along with the

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

new excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products before the year is over,” Dominguez said. He thanked the House of Representatives, led by newly elected Speaker Alan Peter S. Cayetano, for refiling the Duterte administration’s remaining tax-reform bills before the opening of the 18th Congress on July 22. “We will go to the Senate and hope they will also file the same bills so that we can get these passed and benefit the economy as a whole,” Dominguez said. The remaining packages under the CTRP are the lifting of bank secrecy laws in fraud cases, the automatic exchange of tax information, and adjustments to the Motor Vehicle Users Charge under Package 1B; the increase in the excise taxes See “Tax reforms,” A2

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EX-OFFICIAL MAKES PITCH FOR ‘LANDBANK ON WHEELS’ By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

HE Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) should revive a program launched in the 1970s that catered exclusively to farmers and create village-level units which will focus on their credit needs, according to a former top official of the bank. Economist Pablito M. Villegas, a former LandBank vice president, suggested that the state-run financial institution relaunch its LandBank sa Bukid program, which was in place from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, and then introduce innovations to it. Under the program, LandBank had offices in rural areas where residents, especially farmers, are underserved by financial institutions. Villegas said the operational cost and capitalization of the agri-agra arm of LandBank should be subsidized by the national government and cater primarily to Filipino farmers. He added that the offices of LandBank in the provinces could

DOF asks Congress: Pass other tax reforms

sovereign bond yields in the Philippines declined to below 5 percent. In terms of 10-year sovereign bonds, rates declined 3.9 basis points in July, bringing the total contraction in January to July to 217.8 basis points. Based on the Asia Bond Monitor, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said from March 1 to May 15, most emerging East Asian markets witnessed a decline in yields on 10-year local currency (LCY) government bonds, with the Philippines recording the largest decline. ADB said, however, LCY bond markets in emerging East Asia continued to expand despite the trade conflicts and slowdown in global economic growth. See “Amro,” A3

house the rural units of other government institutions that would help farmers, such as the Development Bank of the Philippines. “During our time we were practically managing two banks in one: we have the commercial bank and the agri-agra bank, where we have separate and distinct field offices and network in the countryside,” Villegas told the BusinessMirror. “We have to reconfigure LandBank. A countryside bank and financial center in the rural areas must be established. This is like a bank on wheels,” he added. Aside from serving as VP, Villegas also became president of Masaganang Sakahan Inc., an agribusiness subsidiary of LandBank, from 1984 to 1988.

No violation Farmers’ groups welcomed the President’s pronouncement last Monday during his fourth State of the Nation Address that he wants LandBank to fulfill its mandate of helping Filipino planters. See “Landbank,” A2

Cabinet men share plans on Sona bills By Cai U. Ordinario

PRESIDENT Duterte strikes a pensive pose after delivering his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday. His Cabinet officials on Tuesday outlined to media the steps being taken to carry out the mandates embodied in the Sona. NONIE REYES

@caiordinario

F the Philippines does not amend the Constitution to allow more foreign investments in the country, neighbors like Vietnam will continue to overtake it in terms of economic growth, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said. In a briefing on Tuesday, the officials gave assurances, however, that the government is committed to meeting the targets set by the President in his zero- to 10-point agenda. Pernia said allowing 100-percent ownership of businesses was the secret to the economic success of countries like Vietnam. See “Cabinet men,” A3

US 51.1120 n JAPAN 0.4739 n UK 63.7827 n HK 6.5445 n CHINA 7.4272 n SINGAPORE 37.5630 n AUSTRALIA 35.9522 n EU 57.3068 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6288

Source: BSP (23 July 2019 )

News

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A2 Wednesday, July 24, 2019

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Business to work with red tape-tagged offices

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

USINESS groups will work closely with the government agencies directed by President Duterte to improve their services in their efforts to facilitate of Ease of Doing Business (EODB). Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. President Sergio R. OrtizLuis Jr. said traders are more than willing to present to the government their proposals on how to simplify processes to make doing business cheaper and more efficient. Cutting red tape will speed up the flow of trade, he argued, which should boost the export sector’s

chances at recovery. “The ease of transacting with the government,” he said, was on the export sector’s list of Sona wishes. “We are satisfied he addressed that, and even ordered some agencies to shape up. This will provide us the necessary boost to complete our recovery this year,” Ortiz-Luis said over the phone.

Duterte in his Sona on Monday said he signed the EODB law to “improve service delivery and fight corruption.” He then reprimanded the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Social Security System (SSS), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Land Registration Authority (LRA), as well as the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), for their alleged poor performance. “Based on complaints received by the Contact Center [ng] Bayan that is in my office, the LTO, SSS, BIR, LRA and Pag-IBIG are the top 5 agencies that need to drastically improve their service,” the President said. “I reiterate my directive to the government and instrumentalities, including the LGUs and the government corporations: simplify,” he added in a frustrated tone. “Simplify just like the others. You

can do it electronically. You do not have to go to the office.”

Customs, too—Barcelon

GEORGE T. BARCELON, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) should also be on the list. In the 2019 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, the United States Office of the Trade Representative said customs barriers and port facilitation in the Philippines are huge concerns for American exporters. The report called out the BOC for alleged corruption and red tape, as well as inconsistencies in its reference prices used for valuation. “Reports of corruption and irregularities in Customs processing persist, including undue and costly delays—irregularities in the

Duterte urged to convene Ledac to update common agenda

AWMAKERS on Tuesday asked President Duterte to convene the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) to update the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA). Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco said there must be an agreement among the Executive, the Senate, and the House of Representatives on which bills in the CLA will be prioritized so these can be enacted into laws at the soonest possible time. “I suggest that the [Ledac], which is chaired by the President himself, be convened at the earliest possible time so that both the Executive and the Legislative branches of government can arrive at a Common Legislative Agenda, similar to what we did during the 17th Congress,” he said. “As expected, the President was astute and sharp in reporting to his constituents the current state of the nation. Sharing his clear vision for the remaining half of his term, President Duterte laid down his legislative agenda which centered on several measures aimed at fighting corruption, improving the peace and order, boosting the economy, and uplifting the lives of the Filipino people,” he added.

Tax reforms. . .

Velasco said he already filed three of the priority measures of the President, namely, postponing the barangay elections from May 2020 to October 2022, institutionalizing the ROTC and rightsizing government bureaucracy. Earlier, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said House members will hold a regular monthly meeting with their counterparts in the Senate and Executive Department to ensure faster approval of the legislative agenda of the 18th Congress. At least 2,500 bills and resolutions are now pending on first reading at the plenary. Once a measure has been introduced and given a number, it is read and referred to an appropriate committee.

Swift action DEPUTY Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur said the House of Representatives should now buckle down and work on the priority initiatives that the President has spelled out to buttress his legacy of “improving the life of every Filipino.” Villafuerte said that in support of the President’s must-do list in the

Continued from A1

on alcoholic drinks and electronic cigarettes under Package 2 Plus; the proposal to broaden the tax base on property taxes by reforming the property valuation system under Package 3; and rationalizing capital income taxation to address the multiple rates and different tax treatments and exemptions on capital income, and other financial instruments under Package 4. “Passing the remaining packages of the comprehensive tax reform program will enhance the modernization of our economy. Completing the entire tax reform program, as endorsed by the President in his fourth Sona, will also ensure a sustainable revenue flow for the government’s infrastructure modernization and human capital development programs, while securing our long-term fiscal stability,” he said.

Digitization

IN response to the President’s order to curb corruption in government and improve frontline services, Dominguez said the DOF will fast-track the digitalization of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs. In line with the President’s directive to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) to focus more on rural credit, Dominguez said the institution has sufficient funds to accomplish this mission, while pushing through with its acquisition of shares in the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDHSC). “I’m in regular contact with the executives of LandBank and have been assured that they are making every effort to finance projects in the agriculture sector. The size of the resources of the bank as main depository of government accounts makes it necessary for them to deploy their funds to commercial and industrial projects, as well as agriculture projects,” Dominguez said. The LandBank, he said, is working closely with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in speeding up the distribution of individual land titles to agrarian reform beneficiaries as a means to improve the bankability of small farmers. Dominguez also said the government has funds to support the creation of a Department of Overseas Filipinos, Department of Disaster Resilience, and Department of Water Resources. “We fully support the initiatives of the President to improve services to the OFWs, to properly manage our water resources, and to prepare for natural disasters. Funds will be provided for these priority programs,” he added.

Sona, the House should consider the restoration of the death penalty; the creation of the Department for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Department of Water Resources and the Department of Disaster Resilience; postponement and synchronization of next year’s Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls with the 2022 national elections; passage of the Magna Carta for barangays; and a new fire protection code. He said the House should also work fast to craft a new Land Use Act; a salary standardization law; a much better version of the earlier vetoed bill on the use of the P100-billion coconut-levy fund; and passing the remaining packages of the comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP), particularly the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill primarily for the benefit of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the higher excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products.

Double time HOUSE Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said, “We will work doubletime to act on the President’s prior-

LandBank. . . Continued from A1

They also noted, however, that the LandBank is not violating its current mandate of performing its role as a commercial bank with social function or responsibility, as stipulated in its charter. LandBank offers a menu of credit programs for conduit banks and microfinance institutions, which in turn re-lend to various microenterprises. These loans finance various economic activities, such as hog farming, duck and poultry raising, retail trade, and tricycle and other land transportation operation. Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (PhilMaize) President Roger V. Navarro said the LandBank should be assessed through a set of parameters that is different from the one used for commercial banks. This, Navarro noted, would give LandBank more elbow room to extend financial assistance to the agriculture sector, which has been deemed unbankable due to high risks. “Congress must now initiate change and amend the

Cha-cha. . .

Continued from A12

“We may not always see eye to eye with the President on certain issues, but in terms of legislation that will benefit the country, we are always ready to support him,”said Drilon. The minority leader added, for instance, that he supports the proposed salary standardization law, the increase in teachers’ salary and the creation of a water department. Drilon earlier filed two bills calling for the increase in the salary of teachers and the creation of the Philippine Water Commission to manage and regulate the country’s water resources. At the same time, Drilon recalled Duterte backing plans “to raise “sin” taxes anew.” Drilon, who authored the Sin Tax Reform Law, said his four-man bloc had supported the additional excise tax on tobacco in the 17th Congress and the enabling

ity bills, especially those aimed at improving the lives of our people.” He assured the economic managers that “Congress will align its legislative agenda with President Duterte’s priority economic bills, which aims to cut poverty almost by half in 2022.”

Government agencies MOREOVER, Villafuerte said the concerned government agencies should also do their part by attending to Duterte’s other proposals, such as the faster rollout of infrastructure projects under “Build, Build, Build;” the elimination of corruption in agencies like the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth); the delivery of better frontline services by the Social Security System (SSS), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Land Registration Authority (LRA), Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF or Pag-IBIG Fund); the channeling of more credit to farmers by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank); and the full implementation of the rice tariffication law.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

ruling of the Monetary Board (MB) and Central Bank on assessment as to banks’ grading, performance index, financial and managerial soundness of the bank,” he told the BusinessMirror. “The MB and Central Bank should adopt a performance index or matrix relevant for agri banking to make LandBank more responsive to the needs of farmers,” he added. Duterte’s pronouncement on LandBank on Monday came five months after it was discovered that the bank extended $85 million to South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines (HHIC-Phil). In January, Navarro wrote to Duterte urging him to investigate the involvement of LandBank in the default of HHIC-Phil. To allow more farmers to avail of loans, Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said LandBank should relax its requirements. “The Department of Agriculture and the government as a whole must support farmers so they can become profitable and bankable, and can repay their loans,” Montemayor told the BusinessMirror. bill is currently on the President’s desk for approval. He recalled that the original sin tax law that raised the excises taxes of tobacco and alcohol products in 2012, generated funds for the country’s health-related programs while reducing the prevalence of smoking in the country.

Death penalty

MEANWHILE, he noted that while Charter change was laid to rest, the death penalty is being resurrected, receiving a big push from the President during the Sona. Duterte asked Congress to reinstate the death penalty for heinous crimes as part of the administration’s efforts to boost anti-corruption measures during his term. “The drugs will not be crushed unless we continue to eliminate corruption that allows the social monsters to survive. I respectfully request congress to reinstate death penalty to heinous crimes related to drugs, as well as plunder,” Duterte said.

valuation, 100 percent inspection and testing of some products, and Customs officials seeking the payment of unrecorded facilitation fees,” the report read. On the other hand, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines vouched its support for government efforts to eliminate red tape and corruption in the bureaucracy. ECCP Executive Director Florian Gottein said the group will be in close coordination with agencies, particularly the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta), in coming up with EODB reforms. “[The] ECCP looks forward to further working closely with concerned government agencies, including those mentioned by the President, as well as [with the] Arta in order to facilitate ease of doing business,” Gottein said in a text message. Red tape was one of the many

SOT bills. . . Continued from A1

Computation with Palace A HIGHLY placed source said the Office of the President (OP) last Friday requested the business sector to provide its assessment of the SOT bill, particularly on its impact on investments and employment in the Philippines. The computation was transmitted to the OP, the source said, and was reviewed by President Duterte before he delivered his State of the Nation Address on Monday. The President was expected to approve the SOT bill on Sona day, but he did not do so. Duterte made no mention of the measure in his 93-minute address, and disclosed in an interview with reporters afterward that he is undecided on whether to sign or veto it, or even allow it to lapse into law on July 27—that’s 30 days after its transmission to his desk. The source claimed the President will most likely veto the SOT bill after getting advice that it could work against the government’s investment promotion and job generation efforts. In spite of the information, employers are holding their breath, as Duterte can still approve the measure depending on his cost-benefit analysis.

Veto possible “WORD inside the Palace is he will veto it. This was apparently the reason he made no mention about the measure in his Sona speech. However, he could change his mind anytime and may still approve the SOT bill at the end of the day if he believes this is the best for the country,” the source said over the phone. The computation submitted to the OP also reported over 230,000 assembly line contractual workers are at risk of losing their jobs if the SOT bill is signed into law. Under the measure, it is prohibited to contract out activities that are directly related to the principal business of the contractee. Directly related jobs shall be determined by industry tripartite councils, or by the labor chief in the absence of an appropriate industry council. According to PSA figures, there are 236,697 agency-hired workers tasked to do assembly line jobs in the Philippines as of 2016. If assembly line work is concluded as a directly related job to manufacturing, then these contractual

Coco-levy bill. . . crop diversification; fresh coconut processing/value-adding; among others,” the FFF said.

Veto

Last February, Duterte vetoed a priority bill which sought to establish the Coconut Farmers and Industry Fund. The President said the bill passed by Congress had provisions that violated the Constitution. It was the second time that the President exercised his power to veto a bill in its entirety. He had earlier vetoed a related bill that sought to strengthen the PCA, as it lacked the proper safeguards against corruption. While the coconut-levy trust

issues the President touched on in his 93-minute fourth Sona. Utilizing his usual theatrics, he even, at one point, threatened to execute government officials who will not simplify the processes of their respective agencies. Duterte in May of last year approved the EODB law that seeks to cut red tape by standardizing processing time for transactions with the government. However, the law started to become fully operational only last week. The Arta chief, who has the sole authority to sign and issue the implementing rules and regulations, was only appointed in early July. Under the EODB law, simple transactions should be completed within three days; complex transactions within seven days; and highly technical transactions within 20 days.

workers “will potentially lose their jobs since these are contracted out, and not all workers could be absorbed and regularized by the contractee.” Commitments secured by the government from Japan in March are also imperiled by the potential signing of the SOT bill.

‘Future jobs at risk’ JAPANESE firms, mostly engaged in manufacturing, pledged to invest a total of $1.24 in new projects and expansions to the Philippines. The commitments, secured by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in a business mission to Tokyo, will generate at least 16,000 jobs. “Future employment, such as the Japanese pledges of 16,000 [jobs] from new investments, will be compromised since some of them are in the manufacturing industry,” the business sector said in its analysis of risks brought about by the SOT bill. Further, yearly investments of members of the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC), amounting to between $5 billion and $50 billion, may be downgraded as employment and economic activities are reduced. The JFC is a strong critic of the SOT bill, and has repeatedly appealed to the Chief Executive to veto the measure. In a letter dated July 1, the JFC, along with local business groups, pleaded with the President to veto the SOT bill, saying the bill’s objective of banning the end-of-contract scheme, popularly known as “endo,” was supposedly already achieved under Executive Order (EO) 51 and Department Order (DO) 174 of the Department of Labor and Employment. “Both DOLE’s DO 174, which took effect in early 2017, and EO 51, which took effect in mid-2018, already [prohibited] endo. If endo is dead, therefore, the SOT bill is superfluous,” the letter read. Endo is the practice of hiring and terminating workers after every five months to circumvent the law’s requirement of regularizing them on the sixth month of their employment. Business groups also argued that passing the SOT bill could work against the Philippines at a time the world of work is changing. Under the future of labor, there will apparently be a surge in the number of independent contractors and telework, among other Internetenabled firms.

Continued from A12

fund is one of the priority bills of the Duterte administration, the President concluded after much deliberation that the bill is “lacking in vital safeguards to avoid the repetition of painful mistakes committed in the past.” During his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday, the President urged Congress to pass a measure that will set up the coconut-levy trust fund. “I also have not forgotten my commitment to uplift the lives of coconut farmers and further develop the coconut industry through the urgent utilization of the coconut-levy fund,” he said.

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DOJ chief: Death penalty may deter serious crimes By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

& Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday said that the reimposition of the death penalty may deter the commission of serious, or heinous crimes, in the country. Guevarra made the statement in reaction to President Duterte’s call for Congress during his Fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) to pass the death penalty bill. Duterte said he wants the revival of the death penalty for crimes related to illegal drugs, plunder and other heinous crimes.

‘Squeaker’

IN the Senate, meanwhile, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said renewed efforts to pass a law reimposing death penalty for big-time drug traffickers has “a good chance” of early passage after being frontloaded in the Senate agenda along with other priority bills. “If it is confined to high-level drug trafficking, it stands a good chance,” Sotto said, adding that “it could be a squeaker, but it could pass in the Senate.” This, as the Senate leader aired concerns over the inclusion of plunder proposed to be covered in the list of crimes punishable with death sentence. “Now, because of the mention of plunder, it would not look good on us, senators and congressmen, to disapprove its inclusion,” Sotto said. “Kailangang isama [We have to include it], otherwise, takot kami sa [our action might be misconstrued on] plunder.”

Deterrence?

“I BELIEVE that the imposition of the death penalty may somehow deter the commission of serious crimes,” Guevarra said. While it is “difficult to measure or prove a negative proposition,” particu-

larly on how many crimes were prevented or did not happen because of capital punishment,Guevarrapointedoutthat“ordinary human behavior indicates that fear of being put to death for the commission of a crime will naturally prompt a criminally minded person to think twice.” The DOJ chief, likewise, pointed out that the Congress has the authority to impose capital punishment for compelling reasons under the 1987 Constitution. “It is, therefore, up to the Congress to determine the parameters of what constitutes a heinous crime,” he said. The imposition of the death penalty was abolished in 2006 with the signing by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Republic Act 9346 (an act prohibiting the imposition of the death penalty in the Philippines) after repeated appeals from the Vatican. RA 9346 repealed RA 7659 or the death penalty law passed during the time of former President Fidel V. Ramos.

Committee decision

THESenatePresidentadded:“Therefore, aside from high-level drug trafficking, pwedeng isama pa rin ang[we may include] plunder. But again, as of now, it is going to be a squeaker as far as the Senate is concerned. Merong mga kontra sa amin niyan, [there are those who are against] so we will try to get 13 votes.” Asked if the bill will now be listed in their priority measures for early consideration after President Duterte mentioned it, Sotto said they are leaving it up to the committees to which it will be assigned, likely to be spearheaded by the Committee on Justice and Human RightschairedbySen.RichardJ.Gordon. “It depends on the chairmen of the committees, if they can report it out right away [for plenary deliberations],” Sotto said, assuring that “definitely it will become a part of priority in the Ledac,” referring to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.

Amro. . . continued from a1

Aside from Amro, the ADB also revised downward its 2019 growth and inflation forecast for the Philippines this year. In its Asian Development Outlook Supplement, the ADB cut its GDP forecast to 6.2 percent, from 6.4 percent, while inflation is expected to further slow to 3 percent from 3.8 percent. However, the ADB retained its 2020 growth and inflation outlook for the Philippines at 6.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. The ADB said it maintained the GDP growth forecast for 2020 at 6.4 percent due to expectations that the Philippine government’s infrastructure projects will boost growth, particularly

“This is why Vietnam is really zooming past the Philippines in terms of economic growth and will soon probably overtake the performance of [our] economy in terms of per capita gross national income if we do not ease up on foreign restrictions. So I think we should make legislators aware of that situation,” Pernia said. In the President’s zero to 10 point agenda, the Duterte administration aims to increase foreign direct investments by easing economic restrictions in the Constitution and other Philippine laws. Pernia said the government has been able to ease restrictions to foreign capital primarily through revising the Regular Foreign Investment Negative List (RFINL). The RFINL contains investment areas/ activities where foreign equity participation is limited by mandate of the Constitution and specific laws. It also consists of investment areas/activities where foreign equity participation is limited for reasons of defense, security, risk to public health and morals, and protection of small- and medium-sized domestic market enterprises. The easing of restrictions and efforts to improve doing business in the country, said Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito Lambino II, led to the unprecedented $10-billion FDI inflows in the country.

Room for improvement

LAMBINO said this is double the FDI inflows attracted by the Philippines in 2015. However,

Military keeps tabs on dozens of foreign terrorists in South By Rene Acosta

Pernia said more can be done to attract foreign investments into the country. The biggest boost, Pernia said, could come from constitutional amendments, Public Service Act (PSA) and Retail Trade Act. Under the Constitution, the country has a 60-40 rule which limits foreign interest to 40 percent in many industries. The amendment of the PSA, meanwhile, will liberalize various “public service sectors” including telecommunications while the Retail Trade Act will liberalize the retail sector. “To really have a major step in terms of easing restrictions in foreign direct investments, we need Charter change in terms of the economic provisions of the Constitution. And that was also what the President has already stated and, perhaps, Congress will heed the President’s directive on revising the economic provisions of the Constitution,” Pernia said.

Congestion

IN his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), the President said the country was losing P3.5 billion per day due to Metro Manila traffic, based on the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) estimates released last year. To address this concern, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary Garry V. de Guzman said the government is focusing on the country’s mass transport projects, particularly rail projects in Metro Manila. The rehabilitation of MRT 3, to ease congestion along Edsa, is proceeding well, he

@reneacostaBM

EVEN foreign terrorists based in Mindanao have joined local terrorist groups who accord them with protection while in the country, a military official confirmed on Tuesday. Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command (Wescom) Chief Major Gen. Cirilito Sobejana also said 42 other foreigners are also being closely monitored for their possible association or involvement with the Islamic State (IS). The military official added the seven foreigners, who are members

of the IS and all expert bomb makers, have joined the Dawla Islamiya and factions of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). Sobejana said the military is still ascertaining the identities of all the foreign terrorist, but initial field reports indicated they are scattered

across Western Mindanao and in Maguindanao, and may have aligned with the IS, whose armed foray in Marawi City in 2017 was nipped in the bud by the military. “They are doing their usual thing, training members of the local terrorist groups as bombers. They were grooming suicide bombers as manifested by what happened lately,” said Sobejana, referring to the June 28 suicide bombing attack on a military camp in Indanan, Sulu. One of the two bombers in the attack was Filipino Norman Lasuca, who had been radicalized after joining the group of ASG Commander Hadjan Sawadjaan in Sulu at a young age. Sawadjaan is the leader of the IS in the country following the death in 2017 of Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the IS in Southeast Asia.

Sobejana said the foreign terrorists, whose numbers had accumulated before the Marawi siege, were with the ASG, the BIFF and the Dawla Islamiya which are operating in Maguindanao, Sulu, Basilan and in other parts of Central Mindanao. “They were embedded, especially within the Abu Say yaf, within the BIFF which are all ISinclined,” he said. As to the 42 other foreigners, Sobejana said the military is revalidating its information on them with regards to their links with the IS. “We could not still confirm it. We have criteria in validating and considering them as foreign terrorists. It’s more on the effort of our intelligence unit, which we cannot divulge,” he said.

BI authorities nab six OFWs with fake travel, employment documents By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

IX overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were arrested at the premier aviation gateway when they attempted to leave the country by disguising themselves as tourists carrying spurious travel papers over the weekend. Immigration port chief Grifton Medina said the six female passengers were intercepted in separate incidents last Saturday and Sunday by members of the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU). Tw o o f t h e w o m e n w e r e

in the second half of the year. ADB also said it had projected that inflation for 2020 will reach 3.5 percent due to expectations that global commodity prices will increase. National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie G. Edillon told the BusinessMirror that the ADB took into consideration external risks in revising its outlook for the Philippines. Edillon said, however, that the government has already considered external risks in its forecast. She maintained that GDP growth will still be within the target range of 6 to 7 percent.

Cabinet men. . . continued from a1

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, July 24, 2019 A3

Davao City. . . continued from a12

Senior Fire Officer 3 Andrino J. Atillo told the BusinessMirror there are few cases of fire in the area, and the few times these happened were mostly in summer and the first quarter. A fire officer said he could recall only three fire incidents in the last three years he has been assigned at the station. Most fire alarms though, would be about grass fires. Fire Inspector Cyrus B. Medina, chief of the public information services of the BFP regional office here, said there were other vintage trucks still commissioned but these Morita-class trucks purchased from Japan were two decades younger than the

said, adding that rail replacements for the MRT 3 have arrived from Japan. The DOTr official said the Tutuban to Clark railway is set to be partially operational by the fourth quarter of 2021, while the Metro Manila Subway’s actual excavation will start in the fourth quarter of 2019. The MRT 7, which is “almost 50-percent complete,” will be partially operational by the fourth quarter of 2021. De Guzman said three stations will be partially operational: the Mindanao Avenue station, North Avenue station and Tandang Sora station. For his part, Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año said mass transport is the solution to easing congestion. But he said the directive of the President to “reclaim private roads for public use” will also help achieve this end. He said the DILG will make an inventory of all streets turned into“private roads”by functioning as illegal parking spaces and tiangge areas. “Secondly, we also want to sign an agreement with homeowners in gated subdivisions where, during rush hours, some village roads can be used by the public to help ease the congestion by turning them into secondary or alternate roads,” Año said.

Other priorities

stopped at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (Naia 1) while about to board a Malaysia Airlines flight bound to Kuala Lumpur. Their eventual destinations are Italy and Poland, where they were hired to work as domestic helpers. The women admitted during questioning that their working visas would be handed to them upon arrival in Malaysia. From there, they will be booked for their connecting flights to Rome and Warsaw. “We paid a total of more than half a million pesos to our recruiters in return for our travel documents,” the duo said.

OFFICIALS from other line agencies also shared their efforts to respond to the President’s directives in his Sona. Depar tment of Information and Communications Technology (DICT )

On the same day, two other women were intercepted at the Naia 3 while trying to leave with fake overseas employment certificates (OECs). “We have been warning our OFW’s against being tricked into using fake OECs as these will surely be detected by our immigration officers,” Medina said. “Our system is linked to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s database, so we can verify in real time,” he added. Medina lamented that despite the BI’s warnings, illegal recruiters still resort to the scheme without regard to the plight of the victims who will suffer most

Transformers-nicknamed units. “The BFP are still keeping them tuned up and running,” Medina said. He said these old trucks have a capacity of 8,000 liters. The Cabantian station fire fighters said though, that the vintage trucks are already showing their advanced age on many occasions. “They would commonly lose their brakes almost after every fire response. Often, they have to be sent to the repair shops to be reconditioned or get rested, just like old men.” Medina said the vintage trucks were not being used for frontline firefighting operation. “They are used now as pumpers, to feed water

Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. assured Filipinos that the government is working toward the entry of the third telecommunications player. He said that no corruption was involved in the bidding for the third telco player. The DICT recently awarded the franchise to Mislatel Consortium. Rio added that under the DICT’s Vision2020, soon Filipinos will enjoy 2 terrabytes per second of bandwidth that will allow free Wi-fi connections and greater electronic government services. In the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Secretary Noel Felongco said the agency recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) allowing the use of the remaining P49 million to finance projects and programs of NAPC for farmers and fisherfolk. Felongco said the P49 million was left under the term of former NAPC Secretary Lisa Maza. The funds remain unused and the MOA will allow NAPC to tap the funds for new community-based programs. The Department of Social Welfare and Development is also updating its list of beneficiaries for programs such as the Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program. The DSWD is also working on the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the Magna Carta for the Poor, the CCT Act, and the appointment of social welfare attaches for Overseas Filipino Workers.

if they are caught. Travel control unit chief Timotea Barizo reported that in the case of previously intercepted OFWs with fake OECs, the two women had valid working visas, job contracts and passports. Two other females were intercepted Sunday afternoon as they attempted to depart for Dubai as tourists. They presented bogus supporting documents. “They tried to make it look like their sponsors were relatives,” said Barizo who added that on closer inspection of their documents, their agents noticed that the travel papers were simply manufactured by suspected syndicates.

to the new trucks.” The region has a total of 63 fire trucks across the region, that includes the provinces of Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental, and the cities of Tagum, Panabo and Island Garden City of Samal of Davao del Norte, Mati of Davao Oriental, Digos City of Davao del Sur and Davao City. More than half of these fire trucks are in Davao City. The government is now using the Rosenbauer fire trucks purchased from Austria, which have higher pressure and modern mechanism inside.

Boracay. . . continued from a12 Residents noted the key areas that were flooded: the entire D’Mall including Laketown at its back on Station 2, in front of Aqua Resort along the Circumferential Road on Bulabog Beach, the Boracay-Tambisaan Jetty Port Road by Fairways and Bluewater Resort going to The Lind Boracay on Station 1, the main road from Ambassador in Paradise all the way to White House also on Station 1, as well as the road across Hue Resort along Station 3. In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, Duterte touted his administration’s accomplishment on Boracay. “Equipped with political will, the government ordered the closure of Boracay Island for six months to prevent its further deterioration. We cleaned and rehabilitated the island and I allowed it to heal naturally. I am proud to say that it has been restored close to its original pristine state.... Kudos are also due to the PMS [Presidential Management Staff] for integrating the six-month Rehabilitation Plan, and the Neda [National Economic and Development Authority] for the recentlyapproved [Medium]-term Boracay Action Plan.”

Duterte also warned local officials and tourism stakeholders against violating environmental laws. “I am giving due notice to the [local government units] and other stakeholders, kayo po, of tourist destinations to take extra steps in the enforcement of our laws and the protection of our environment.” An interagency task force chaired by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, which recommended Boracay’s closure, is also currently monitoring other island destinations like El Nido and Coron in Palawan, Panglao Island in Bohol, Siargao in Surigao del Norte, as well as Manila Bay and Baguio City for possible environmental and tourism violations. (See, “Violations continue on Panglao,” in the BusinessMirror, July 22, 2019.) “On January 27, 2019, we officially started the Manila Bay rehabilitation,” said the President’s Sona. “Though we have a long way to go, we are encouraged by the test results of the waters near Padre Faura. We will relocate informal settlers—I hope it can happen during my time—along the waterways and shut down establishments that continue to pollute and poison our waters.”

A4 Wednesday, July 24, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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Senate ready to hear arguments of Trabaho bill critics–Sotto By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

ENATE leaders signaled readiness to hear the plea of economic zone locators to thumb down the Duterte administration’s Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill to cut down to 20 percent the existing 30-percent

corporate tax rates and rationalize fiscal incentives. But Senate President Vicente Sotto III suggested that Trabaho bill critics first wait for the Senate version before rejecting the Palaceendorsed revenue measure. “Basahin muna nila version ng Senate bago sila kumontra [Let the oppositors read the Senate version first before voicing their opposition],” the

Senate leader suggested in a text message to the BusinessMirror. For his part, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto confirmed that he had agreed to reduce corporate income taxes, which is part of the Trabaho bill. “I support calls rationalizing fiscal incentives,” Recto said, adding, “We should keep, if not improve, incentives offered to all enterprises

earning foreign exchange.” This, as Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III assured that oppositors will be invited when the Senate opens public hearings on the administrationendorsed tax measure. “We will listen to them and go over all their studies,” said Pimentel, who chairs the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship. “Then I will form my

position and discuss my views with fellow senators,” Pimentel added. At the same time, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon conveyed the minority senators’ readiness to scrutinize all tax bills endorsed by the Executive branch, after President Duterte conveyed Palace plans to raise “sin” taxes anew. Drilon recalled that the Senate minority bloc had supported

passage of higher excise tax on tobacco in the last 17th Congress, noting that the revenue measure had already been submitted to Malacañang for signing into law by President Duterte. “We are [also] willing to listen and take a look at the proposed tax-reform law, the Land Use Act and the creation of the disaster management department,” said Drilon.

Groups welcome Duterte’s RE push in fourth Sona By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

ROUPS supporting the renewableenergy (RE) push welcomed President Duterte’s policy statement to fast-track the development of RE projects to reduce the country’s dependence on traditional energy sources. Renato Redentor Constantino, executive director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, said the President’s remarks during his Fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) is the signal policy-makers need to heed. “No less than the country’s Chief Executive is echoing what and financial institutions now robustly recognize: that the Philippines is needlessly dependent on economically harmful, unreliable and heavily subsidized polluting coal and imported fossil fuels,” said Constantino. According to Constantino, the Philippines already has $21 billion worth of stranding coal plant assets in the pipeline and pay more than $200 million per year in diesel subsidies. “But we can achieve energy security and secure more affordable, cleaner power by hastening the transition to renewable energy,” he said. “As Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Managing Director Lyn Javier said last Friday in their Greening the Finance System launch with private sector groups, climate change affects the entire economy, yet the financial sector is not fully aware of the impacts of climate change to our businesses,” Constantino said. He added that Securities and Exchange Commissioner Ephyro Luis Amatong said in the same event that “providing investors with a new lens with which to view the Philippines—as a sustainable investment destination—is an opportunity that must be seized.”

“No less than the country’s Chief Executive is echoing what and financial institutions now robustly recognize: that the Philippines is needlessly dependent on economically harmful, unreliable and heavily subsidized polluting coal and imported fossil fuels.” — Constantino

For its part, the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) said President Duterte’s remarks is a recognition of “the urgent need to ensure the sustainability and availability of resources and development of alternative ones.” By that, CEED believes that President Duterte is right to order Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi to “fast-track the development of renewable-energy sources,” and to “reduce dependence on traditional energy sources, such as coal.” Gerry Arances, CEED executive director, said that while the current Philippine power landscape has been dominated by the share of coal in the power mix at 51 percent, and is set to continue to grow given the 30 coal-fired power plants waiting in the pipeline. Also a convenor of the Power for People Coalition and the spokesman of Murang Kuryente, Arances, however, noted that the influx of coal-powered energy in the country has also been supported by President Duterte himself reflected by his previous pronouncements and policies. “Most notably, through the issuance of Ex-

ecutive Order 30, energy projects ‘of national significance’ are able to speed up the necessary processes to 30 days or less, skirting processes that require significant time and public consultation. Through EO 30, heavily contested projects, such as coal-fired power plants in Atimonan and more recently, Palawan, were able to circumvent the disapproval of the public, especially host communities,” he said. According to Arances, with President Duterte’s Sona, the shift of the administration’s energy policy largely favoring coal toward one which harnesses the potential of more RE sources to lower power costs, reduce our carbon emissions and power a people-centered development will commence. He added such “hope” will be fortified if the President lifts what he calls “unjust privilege” enjoyed by coal companies through EO 30 at the expense of the environment and the rights of citizens and consumers. “As such, we urge the President and members of his Cabinet, specifically the Departments of Energy [DOE] and Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] to walk his renewable-energy talk,” Arances said. Specifically, CEED is urging the Duterte administration to revoke EO 30, cancel all pending coal-fired power plants, and subject all existing coal-fired power plants to a review which would determine whether they must be retired. “The President’s statement is a testament to the elevation of RE not just as the alternative, but the only way forward, especially with the worsening climate crisis. We enjoin all stakeholders and advocates to remain vigilant and willing to hold this administration to its word in stopping the country’s coal addiction, and starting the course toward rehabilitation,” Arances said.

PSA report shows 127 listed targets under PDP unlikely to be met in 2022 By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE Philippines may not achieve 127 targets listed under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) as of 2018, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). In a report released on Tuesday, PSA said out of a total of 307 targets, around 138 targets had a high likelihood of being achieved, while 42 only had a medium likelihood of achievement. Foremost of the targets that may not be achieved are related to agriculture, forestry and fisheries; governance; culture and values; and shelter and housing. Around 50 percent and above of the targets in these sectors may not be achieved by 2022. “The target outcomes of reduced limits to entrepreneurship and anticompetitive practices, and ecological integrity of the Philippine government for its six-year term from 2017 to 2022 were likely to be achieved given the performance of the competitiveness and environment sectors as depicted in the results of the compilation of the 2018 statistical indicators on Philippine development,” PSA said. Based on the estimates of PSA, two of the three targets set in culture and values, or 66.7 percent, may not be achieved. Based on the report, only the crafting of regional development plans with culture components would be achieved since all 17 regions already have these plans. In terms of increasing the number of documentations conducted on indigenous knowledge systems and practices to 1,341 by 2022 from 313 in 2015, only 62 have been done in 2016 and 2017. In terms of increasing the percentage of municipalities, cities and provinces with Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representation to 100 percent from a baseline of 7 percent, only 11 percent of the local government units

(LGUs) have IPMR by 2017. “Despite having development plans with culture components for all 17 regions, the number of documentations conducted on indigenous knowledge systems and practices; and the percentage of provinces, cities and municipalities with Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representation, both in 2018, showed low likelihood of achieving the target in 2022,” PSA said. In agriculture, forestry and fisheries, PSA data showed 56.1 percent of the targets may not likely be achieved by 2022. This means that of the 66 targets, 37 targets will not be achieved; 20 will be achieved; and nine only has a medium likelihood of being achieved. The growth target for the entire sector of 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent may not be achieved along with the growth of livestock to 3 percent to 4 percent; and the growth of the value of production in municipal fisheries to 1 percent and aquaculture of 5 percent. The government will likely fall short of yield increases in palay, white corn, yellow corn, bananas, pineapple, mango, sugarcane, cassava, coffee, cacao and rubber. “The yield of 11 out of 12 major commodities posted low likelihood of achieving the 2022 target. More so, the number of fisherfolk provided with production support as of 2018 was still far from the end-of-plan target of 1.4 million,” the PSA said. In terms of governance, PSA said 13 of the 22 targets may not be achieved, and only six targets will be achieved, while three only have a medium likelihood of being achieved. Targets that may not be achieved included improving the country’s percentile ranking in the World Governance Indicator-Control of Corruption Indicator to 50th; Global Competitiveness Index to 62nd; and increasing government agencies with frontline service

offices passing the Report Card Survey to 95 percent, among others. The government will also likely fall short of its target of increasing the participation of civil-society organizations (CSOs) in local development councils in provinces, cities and municipalities nationwide. “The percentage of provinces, cities and municipalities with the required NGO representation in the Local Development Council went down. Also, only 3 of 4 [75 percent] [of] national government agencies were fully compliant with the Transparency Seal as of 2018,” PSA said. In terms of housing, 50 percent of the targets are not achievable by 2022. Data showed that two of the four housing targets in the PDP will not be achievable. Data showed that the propor tion of socialized housing targets met to housing needs improved to 16.53 percent by 2022. However, in 2018, only 7.21 percent of socialized housing targets have been met. Another target that will be achieved is the number of socialized housing units delivered. The target for 2022 is 1.086 million but only 193,174 socialized housing units have been delivered. “In 2018, the proportion of low-cost housing targets met [10.95 percent] already exceeded its target of 5.5 percent in 2022. Meanwhile, the proportion of socialized housing targets met [7.21 percent] is still far from the end-of-plan target of 16.53 percent,” PSA said. The StatDev is a statistical indicator system that provides a comparison of actual sectoral accomplishments with the corresponding targets indicated in the PDP 2017-2022 Results Matrices. Updates are collected annually and released every July. The reference periods of the data vary depending on the latest available data from the source agencies.

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HK crisis escalates after mob attack on protesters

ONG KONG—An overnight attack by white-clad assailants apparently targeting prodemocracy protesters raised tensions to new levels in Hong Kong on Monday as China harshly criticized the weekend demonstration, saying “central authority cannot be challenged.” The Chinese rebuke came after its Hong Kong office was targeted Sunday night by protesters who pelted it with eggs and spray-painted its walls. It made no mention of the violent attack hours later at a subway station by men wielding iron pipes and wooden poles as they beat up people clad in the pro-democracy movement’s black shirts. Dozens were injured. The attack on China’s Liaison Office was an escalation of the weeks long protests, during which demonstrators besieged Hong Kong’s legislature and police headquarters but did not direct their ire at China itself. It came after more than 100,000 people marched through the city to demand democracy and an investigation into the use of force by police to disperse crowds at protests. As demonstrators made their way home, a gang of men descended on a group of them at a subway station. Video of the attack in Hong Kong’s Yuen Long neighborhood showed the protesters being beaten by the assailants as they retreated into the trains, intimidated by the gangs of men waiting for them out-

side the turnstiles. The attackers then entered the trains and beat the people inside as they tried to defend themselves with umbrellas. At least 45 people were injured, and 15 remained hospitalized Monday afternoon, including one man in critical condition, the Hospital Authority said. Subway passengers filmed by Stand News and i-CABLE angrily accused police officers of not intervening to protect the demonstrators, who have been critical of the police use of force. Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam said Monday that allegations that police had colluded with the assailants were “unfounded.” The Sunday night assault on Beijing’s Hong Kong Liaison Office touched a raw nerve in China. China’s national emblem, which hangs on the front of the building, was splattered with black ink. It was replaced by a new one within hours. The official People’s Daily newspaper, in a front-page commentary on Monday headlined “Central Authority Cannot Be Challenged,” called the protesters’ actions “intolerable.”

IN this Sunday, July 21, 2019, photo, two men in black shirts cover their heads as they bleed after being attacked by thugs in white shirts at a subway station in New Territory in Hong Kong. China doesn’t want to intervene in Hong Kong’s protests but that doesn’t mean it won’t, as the movement enters its seventh week. APPLE DAILY VIA AP

“These acts openly challenged the authority of the central government and touched the bottom line of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle,” the government’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said in a statement Sunday. Lam repeated the same statement to reporters Monday, adding that the vandalism “hurt the nation’s feelings.” The “one country, two systems” framework, under which the former British colony was returned to China in 1997, allows Hong Kong to maintain a fair degree of autonomy in local affairs. Demonstrators fear the pro-Beijing government in Hong Kong is chipping

away at their rights and freedoms, and the weeks long tumult has fueled fears of a more aggressive Chinese response. In Washington, President Donald Trump said he believes Chinese Leader Xi Jinping has acted “very responsibly” in allowing the extended protests to play out in Hong Kong. Asked about China’s handling of the protests, he said “China could stop them if they wanted.” “I hope that President Xi will do the right thing. But it has been going on a long time,” Trump added, without elaborating. Meanwhile, a group of pro-China lawmakers held a news conference appealing for a halt to the vio-

S. Korea fighter jets fire 360 rounds of warning shots at Russian warplane

EOUL, South Korea—South Korean jets fired 360 rounds of warning shots after a Russian military plane violated South Korea’s airspace on Tuesday, Seoul officials said, in the first such incident between the countries. Three Russian military planes— two Tu-95 bombers and one A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft—initially entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone off its east coast before the A-50 entered the country’s territorial sky, the South’s Defense Ministry said. South Korean fighter jets then scrambled to the area to fire 10 flares and 80 rounds from machine guns as warning shots, a ministry official

said, requesting anonymity due to department rules. The Russian reconnaissance aircraft left the area but it returned and violated the South Korean airspace again later Tuesday, the ministry official said. He said the South Korean fighter jets fired 10 flares and 280 rounds from machine guns as warning shots again. Each time, the Russian plane didn’t return fire, the official said. It was the first time a Russian military plane violated South Korean airspace, according to South Korean officials. The former Soviet Union supported North Korea and provided the country with weapons during the 1950-1953 Korean War, which

killed millions. In 1983, a Soviet air force fighter jet fired an air-toair missile at a South Korean passenger plane that strayed into Soviet territory, killing all 269 people on board. Relations between Seoul and Moscow gradually improved, and they established diplomatic ties in 1990, a year before the breakup of the Soviet Union. The airspace the Russian warplane violated Tuesday was above a group of South Korean-held islets roughly halfway between South Korea and Japan that has been a source of territorial disputes between them. Russia isn’t a party in those disputes. The three Russian planes had entered the South Korean air de-

fense identification zone with two Chinese bombers. But it wasn’t immediately known whether the two countries deliberately did so, according to the South Korean official. Before their joint flights with the Russian planes, the Chinese warplanes entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone off its southwest coast earlier Tuesday, according to the South Korean official. Chinese planes have occasionally entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone in recent years. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it plans to summon Russian and Chinese Embassy officials later Tuesday to register formal protests. AP

India launches spacecraft to explore water deposits on moon

EW DELHI—India sent a spacecraft to explore water deposits on the far side of the moon in a successful launch Monday after a technical problem caused a week’s delay. Scientists at the mission control center burst into applause as the rocket lifted off in clear weather as scheduled at 2:43 p.m. from Sriharikota in southern India. K. Sivan, head of India’s space agency, said the rocket successfully injected the spacecraft into orbit. The Chandrayaan, the Sanskrit word for “moon craft,” is scheduled to land on the lunar south pole in September and send a rover to explore water deposits confirmed by an earlier, orbiting mission. India would become only the fourth nation to land on the moon, following the US, Russia and China. India’s first moon mission in 2008 helped confirm the presence of water. The country plans to send its first manned spaceflight by 2022. India’s launch coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission this month. It came at a time when the world’s biggest space

THIS photo released by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) shows its Geosynchronous Satellite launch Vehicle (GSLV) MkIII carrying Chandrayaan-2 lift off from Satish Dhawan Space center in Sriharikota, India, on Monday, July 22, 2019. India successfully launched an unmanned spacecraft to the far side of the moon on Monday, a week after aborting the mission due to a technical problem. INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION VIA AP

agencies are returning their gaze to the moon, seen as an ideal testing ground for technologies required for deep space exploration, and with the confirmed discovery of water, as a possible pit stop along the way. The US is working to send a manned

spacecraft to the moon’s south pole by 2024. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country’s lunar program will get a substantial boost, writing on Twitter that the country’s existing knowledge of the moon “will

be significantly enhanced.” Sivan said at a news conference that the successful launch of the spacecraft was the “beginning of India’s historic journey” to the moon. The launch of the $141-million moon mission last week was called off less than an hour before liftoff because of a “technical snag.” Media reports scientists from the Indian Space Research Organization identified a leak while filling helium in the rocket’s cryogenic engine. The space agency neither confirmed nor denied the reports, saying instead that the problem had been identified and corrected. The spacecraft that launched Monday is carrying an orbiter, lander and rover that will move around on the lunar surface for 14 Earth days. It will travel about 47 days before landing on the moon. India put a satellite into orbit around Mars in the nation’s first interplanetary mission in 2013 and 2014. With India poised to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, Modi’s ardently nationalist government is eager to show off the country’s prowess in security and technology. AP

lence, saying it was a blow to Hong Kong’s reputation and was scaring away tourists and investors. They also urged police to tighten enforcement against the protesters, whom Regina Ip, a former security secretary, called “rebels.” “The violent attack on the Liaison Office...is a direct affront to the sovereignty of our country,” Ip said. Asked why it took at least a half-hour for police to arrive at the suburban train station where protesters were attacked, she said the police were “overstretched.” “The police have been under extreme pressure,” she said. Later Monday, the office of a proBeijing lawmaker was surrounded

and vandalized by about 100 people who believed he had shaken hands the previous day with the attackers. Protesters wrote memos and stuck them on legislator Junius Ho’s office, damaged glass panels at the entrance and destroyed a surveillance camera. No one appeared to be in the office. Meanwhile, pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said the Sunday night subway attack showed “more than apparent” involvement from the triad, a branch of organized crime in Hong Kong. “W hat happened last night doesn’t seem accidental in any way,” Mo said. “It’s all organized.” The growing crisis in Hong Kong has fueled fears that China’s People’s Liberation Army may intervene. A Chinese army brigade said Monday that it held an anti-terrorism exercise in southern Guangdong province. The 74th Army Group did not refer to Hong Kong in its social-media statement, but military commentator and retired officer Yue Gang said that troops would be dispatched to the semiautonomous territory if needed. “To deface the Chinese national emblem is like acting as an enemy to 1.3 billion Chinese people,” Yue said. “They must be deterred.” Hu Xijin, editor in chief of the nationalistic Global Times, warned against military intervention. “If the People’s Liberation Army helps to stabilize the situation, Hong Kong will benefit from law and order, but the public opinion won’t buy it,” Hu wrote in a commentary published on Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging service. The public will “accuse Beijing of undermining ‘one country, two systems,’” he said. AP

Iran says it will execute group of alleged CIA-trained spies

RAN, locked in a worsening political standoff with Western powers, has handed down death sentences to several nationals accused of being part of a CIA-trained spy network uncovered earlier this year, an official said on Monday. President Donald Trump denounced the Iranian report as “totally false” on Twitter Monday. “Just more lies and propaganda [like their shot down drone] put out by a Religious Regime that is Badly Failing and has no idea what to do,” Trump said. Beyond that, an administration official said the White House doesn’t comment on intelligence activities. In Tehran, a senior intelligence official told foreign media that 17 people had been arrested. None of the suspects are dual nationals, according to the official, who declined to be identified and didn’t say how many were sentenced to death. The announcement marks a show of force by Iran at a time of turbulent ties with the US after the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord with the Islamic Republic and reimposed crippling sanctions on its economy. The friction was made worse by a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the UK, which seized an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar earlier this month, saying it carried oil bound for Syria in violation of United Nations sanctions. Iran responded by holding a British tanker on Friday near the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping chokepoint through which about 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil travels. Asked about Iran’s arrest of spies Monday on Fox News, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that Iran “has a long history of lying.” Iran’s announcement about the arrests is “further evidence of the out-

law nature of the Iranian regime,” he added. Iran has also accused Trump and his administration of lying about its operations related to Iran, including US statements that it brought down an Iranian drone last week. The Iranian Intelligence Ministry has detected an uptick in US efforts to recruit spies in Iran since Trump’s election in 2016 and the appointment of Gina Haspel as director of the CIA last year, the Iranian official said. He said the CIA had worked with a number of countries in Europe and in Asia in establishing the spy network inside Iran. Videos released to Iranian media showed hidden camera footage purportedly of Persian-speaking CIA officers in Dubai speaking with would-be recruits. According to the official, who said his title was director-general of the anti-espionage department of the Ministry of Intelligence, the alleged spies used fake rocks hidden in mountainous areas of Iran in order to receive information. Iranian officials have identified some of the alleged officers who had recruited the suspects as diplomats based in Turkey, Zimbabwe and Finland. A program aired by state television on Monday showed clips of Trump and National Security Adviser John Bolton with Hormuz as the backdrop. The show identified the alleged members of the cell and contained what the network said were confessions by the accused, whose faces were blurred and voices distorted. The alleged spies were trained by the CIA to gather classified information from sensitive locations in Iran including military bases, nuclear facilities and economic centers, the official said. Bloomberg News

A10 Wednesday, July 24, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Can we eliminate technical smuggling?

HE Philippines is dependent on foreign sources for oil and many food products. We import huge quantities of food items such as rice, pork and chicken because local output is not sufficient to meet demand. On the other hand, the purchase of imported food items required by manufacturers and consumers has allowed the government to generate income via the tariffs slapped on these products. Tariffs and other charges imposed on imports form part of the government’s revenue, which funds its operations and programs. Rice has become one of the most expensive food imports because traders now have to pay a steep tariff rate. Meat products are also expensive, but the landed price will depend on the source because the government now allows the purchase of these items from Southeast Asia at lower tariffs. Those sourced from outside Asean are slapped steeper rates of 35 percent for pork and 40 percent for chicken. Ideally, the government should be able to collect all the tariffs imposed on imported food items. This is possible if both the importer and the origin of the food items declared the correct dutiable value. Problems arise, however, when the right amount is not declared because of collusion between the trader and the source of goods. Dubbed technical smuggling, this is a practice that allows importers to pay lower duties and taxes for their undervalued imports. Nongovernment organizations and other groups fighting smuggling claimed that the practice has been going on for many years. Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza said the government loses an estimated P200 billion a year due to smuggling. Despite this, no one has been apprehended or jailed for engaging in technical smuggling. More often than not, what the public sees is the destruction of smuggled goods. We hardly hear about smugglers getting punished for their misdeeds. Technical smuggling is a serious problem, particularly at this time when funds that should bankroll initiatives aimed at improving the competitiveness of farmers depend on the collection of tariffs from rice imports. If government can’t stop this practice in its fight against smuggling, then it should consider abolishing tariffs on the staple and other food items that the country imports in huge quantities. There’s no point in continuing to impose tariffs on these food items if the government can’t collect the right amount and traders and corrupt officials are the ones becoming richer, at the expense of local producers. Allowing duty-free imports will make food items cheaper and will altogether eliminate smuggling because there is no reason anymore to resort to such criminal activity. To offset revenues lost from the removal of tariffs, government can raise the cost of securing import permits (sanitary and phytosanitary), and also increase the rate of value-added tax. This will make it less tedious for the Bureau of Customs to monitor shipments, as they will just document incoming and outgoing cargoes. If our economic managers reject these ideas, they must find ways to vigorously implement the necessary reforms that will eliminate technical smuggling. In this day and age, when data is readily available and technology makes it possible to easily communicate with foreign governments, our officials have no reason why they can’t validate the value of incoming shipments. The President has taken the first step by firing scores of corrupt government employees, particularly at the Bureau of Customs. It is every Filipino’s duty to help the President in his fight against the scourge of corruption. Since 2005

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Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

NY race is a competition of speed. Competitors try completing a given task in the shortest amount of time. Every minute and every second counts in a race. Whoever clocks in the fastest wins. In Social Security Services, the race has a new face. The campaign called Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) is a fight for workers who have the right to social security protection. Every day that a worker is not covered by SSS is a day of loss. Anytime, an accident or illness may cripple a worker. Without SSS coverage, the financial impact of such an accident could devastate the entire family. Clearly, with every RACE operation that SSS undertakes, the workers emerge as winners. Every time that an employer complies with the show-cause order posted in their establishment for violation of the SS law, their employees become active members of the pension fund covered with seven types of benefits from womb to tomb—maternity, sickness, disability, unemployment, retirement, and death/survivor pension. Akin to a runner-up winner in a race, employers also come out as

winners in every RACE operation. After all, no one wants to go through the hassle of a lengthy judicial process or, worse, face imprisonment of a minimum of six years up to a maximum of 12 years. Violation of the SS law has civil and criminal liabilities. In the “Oplan Tokhang” version of SSS in partnership with the Philippine National Police, warrants of arrest are served to delinquent employers based on a court decision. To date, 12 employers have been subjects of this program. SS law violation could be in the form of non-registration of their business to SSS, non-registration of their employees within 30 days of employment, or non-remittance of monthly contributions on time. A 2-percent penalty per month is imposed for every month of unpaid contributions by employers. Delinquent employers who become subject of a RACE operation are given a non-extendable period

A President in pain

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Efleda P. Campos Dennis D. Estopace

Online Editor Social Media Editor

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

RACE against time

Susan V. Ople

SCRIBBLES

IDWAY into his term, President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) did not yield any big surprises, hewing closely to already familiar themes. I think it was a more mellow performance that had its own funny moments, showing the innate wit of our national mayor. The 2019 Sona showed that the presidency as an office has not changed the essential Duterte although the 74-year-old leader has certainly managed to drastically change our perception of how a president should act. It is the mayor in him that continues to prevail, and this is what will keep Malacañang’s doors open for popular and excellent local executives as future occupants. Going back to the speech itself, the message was not in its length

(more than an hour) or in the bills mentioned or proposed. The Sona is also the state of the presidency, and so allow me to lift some excerpts that best describe his current state of mind and how he feels about certain developments and challenges. The wit: “Numbers speak a thousand words and tell a hundred tales. But the landslide victory of the administration candidates, as well as the latest survey results show that my disapproval rating is 3 percent. I hope that the members

of 15 days from the date of issuance of the show-cause order to explain why no legal action should be taken against them. The first RACE operation was held in April 2017 in Greenhills, San Juan. Since then, the RACE operations were implemented in the regions, where SSS recorded 75-percent compliance from 115 pre-identified delinquent employers subjected to RACE in the provinces. After I took the helm at SSS about three months ago, three simultaneous RACE operations have been held nationwide. For every synchronized operation, three SSS teams were deployed in NCR/Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with full media coverage. In the RACE operations that I joined, I noticed the anticipation of workers in the area that we visited. Aside from explaining to the subject employers the SS violations they have committed and the 15-day grace period given to them to settle their obligations with the pension fund, I talked to their employees too. A good number of them said they have paid SSS contributions in the past years. The usual questions that workers ask during a RACE campaign are: If they can still continue paying SSS contributions when their last payment was years ago, and how can they update their records? It seems many employees are not aware that SSS membership is lifetime. Once a member, always a member. While the law does not

allow retroactive payments for SSS contributions, a member can always resume paying premiums anytime. Updating records like adding beneficiaries is also easy. The member simply has to accomplish the Member Data Amendment form, attach the marriage or birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority, and submit these documents to the nearest SSS branch. RACE operations are being held frequently because now is an opportune time for delinquent employers to settle unpaid premiums of their employees. The ongoing Contribution Penalty Condonation Program allows them to pay unpaid contributions sans the penalty. Most of the time, penalties are higher than the unpaid premiums. Under CPCP, employers can also opt to pay up to 48 months. CPCP shall run until September 6, 2019, to encourage more delinquent employers to avail themselves of the program to put their records back to good standing and be able to provide employees with the benefits due them. The RACE campaign is a race against time. There is no better time than now to do what is right for all employees. Every worker has a right to social security protection the moment they enter the work force.

of Cong ress—sana hindi kayo included as 3 percent.” The frustration: “We, in government, talk too much, act too little, and too slowly. I recall saying that before the congressional hearing when I was mayor of Davao City. I say that again to emphasize how little we have changed since then. We are long on rhetoric but short on accomplishments.” Now comes the pain: “Honestly, I have identified the enemy who dumped us into this quagmire we are in. I have met the enemy faceto-face and sadly, the enemy is us. We are our own tormentors—we are our own demons; we are as rapacious predators preying on the helpless, the weak and the voiceless. We find corruption everywhere in government with every malefactor watching his cohort’s back in blatant disregard of his oath when he assumed public office.” “Even the language has evolved to soften the wickedness of the criminal act. ‘For the boys,’ ‘sponsoring an event,’ or what-else-haveyou. No amount of euphemism can

trivialize or normalize betrayal of public trust or any other criminal offense. It is an injury laced with insult. It is both a national embarrassment and a national shame. For every transaction, a commission; for every action, extortion; and a request that goes on and on—endlessly and shamelessly.” And finally, the promise: “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 for that. As President, I cannot pass it—the blame to anybody. So it’s on me. Though we cannot change the past, we will not squander the future. I will push harder in the pursuit of programs that we have started, but always within 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.” See “Ople,” A11

Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer. We welcome your questions and insights on the topics that we discuss. E-mail mediaaffairs@sss. gov.ph for topics that you might want us to discuss.

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Wednesday, July 24, 2019 A11

Iran exposes Boris Annuities as retirement income Johnson’s Brexit bombast

By Therese Raphael | Bloomberg Opinion

ONALD J. TRUMP and Vladimir Putin may be the world masters of the tactic, but Boris Johnson also understands the appeal of diversionary foreign policy. He made a career out of picking fights with the European Union—winning validation in the 2016 Brexit referendum and, very likely, in soon becoming his party’s choice to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May. Now, however, Johnson stands to inherit a foreign policy crisis that makes an already difficult job a lot harder. Britain’s Royal Navy, once a maritime force to be reckoned with, was caught off guard on Friday as Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops in ski masks rappelled onto the decks of the Stena Impero, a UK-flagged tanker. The ship may even have been diverted off course by Russian “spoofing” —providing false GPS coordinates. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, as my colleague David Fickling notes: Iran all but gave the date and time of its retaliatory move after Britain, earlier this month, interdicted an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar, which the UK alleged was carrying oil to Syria in contravention of EU sanctions. Britain’s lack of preparation has dealt May’s successor an immediate foreign policy nightmare. In dealing with the crisis, Johnson couldn’t ask for a worse set of cards. His Conservative Party has a razor-thin governing majority (depending on the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party) that may well disappear if there are enough defections over his hardline Brexit stance. And, Brexit aside, lawmakers are already inclined to regard his statements with suspicion, given the series of gaffes he committed as foreign secretary—including one that likely worsened the plight of the British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been jailed in Iran. Johnson has a friend in Donald Trump, but he should be under no illusions that the US will grant him any favors without asking for something in return. The US is already at loggerheads with the UK government over Iran policy—in part because Johnson, as foreign secretary, opposed Trump’s abandoning the Iran nuclear deal. It doesn’t help matters that diplomatic cables critical of Trump from the former ambassador to the US were recently leaked. On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made clear that responsibility “falls to the United Kingdom to take care of their ships.” Normally in a crisis, Britain would depend heavily on the EU for political and material backup. But EU-UK relations are strained by Johnson’s determination to exit the EU on October 31 “come what may”—a promise that weakens EU security and threatens to plunge Ireland, Britain’s neighbor and an EU member-state,

Ople. . .

continued from A10 The President’s third Sona will likely go down in history as the best anti-corruption speech delivered. If only speeches could solve things. At best, a good speech can inspire individuals, if not an entire nation, to strive to change for the better. That descriptive portion of the Sona on what corruption in the Philippine context is about deserves to be printed and posted on all government edifices, together with the presidential action line 8888. Years from now, we will remember his marching orders to the Land Bank of the Philippines: “LandBank should go back to the land. Why are you mired in so many commercial transactions? Bumalik kayo where you were created for and that is to help the farmers.” We will remember this because it shows where the President’s heart lies. We never heard such an admonishment from past presidents or economists and political leaders with doctorate degrees. We heard

into a profound economic crisis. You might think Brexit would have nothing to do with defense matters. May herself has clearly stated that Brexit would never get in the way of Britain’s close security partnership with Europe. And Brexiters often argue that the EU is too dependent on British intelligence and military power to weaken those ties. But, as May has learned the hard way, nonmembers cannot plug into the EU’s security and defense policies in the same way member-states can. The UK has already been kicked off the Galileo satellite program, the EU equivalent of the US GPS navigation system. When UK Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt, Johnson’s opponent in the Conservative leadership race, proposes that Britain and the EU cooperate in monitoring the Strait of Hormuz, questions about the terms of such cooperation immediately arise. Johnson may seek to somehow use the crisis to his advantage—but where is his leverage? Brexit is being sold not merely as a way to escape EU regulations and control immigration, but also as a way to revive Britain’s global destiny, invoking an era when the Royal Navy ruled the waves. But that picture is hardly recognizable at the moment. The Royal Navy is in a state of severe decline, in number of both vessels and personnel. Even if plans for new ships are realized, the total will remain fewer than what Britain had in 2013. The outgoing government is sending the destroyer HMS Duncan to the Persian Gulf, but only to relieve the HMS Montrose, a much older ship that’s due for repairs. Less than half of Britain’s 19 destroyers and frigates are operational. This weakness cannot be laid at Johnson’s door. He can even be expected to try to reverse it over time (though it was Hunt who argued during the campaign for more defense spending). Yet, Johnson’s crash-out, no-deal Brexit would be the most costly of all Brexit options. To win support, he has promised handouts, including tax cuts for the relatively wealthy. It’s doubtful there will be money enough left to boost defense spending. For all these reasons, the Iran crisis is the opposite of a useful foreignpolicy diversion. It shows up every weakness that Johnson inherits, and highlights the new ones he brings to the job. it from a mayor-president that recognizes the huge debt of gratitude owed to our farmers. There will be critics and that’s good, too. This is a President with self-admitted flaws. He is incoherently coherent, and that, too, is part of his charm. The public trusts him because he does not talk smooth; he is rough, raw and candid. The critics and the media are there to make him accountable when presidential imperfections contravene the national interest. Democracy thrives with every meme created, sans prior censorship. The president-in-pain can take heart from the trust and approval ratings that also serve as the state of the people’s address. Let’s hope that in the next three years, our President will have enough fire in the belly to make our extraordinary dreams for this nation possible. Let’s wish him well. Susan V. Ople heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that deals with labor and migration issues. She also represents the OFW sector in the InterAgency Council Against Trafficking.

Atty. Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

ECTIONS 181 and 182 of the Amended Insurance Code provide that contracts of annuities shall be considered a life insurance contract. Articles 2021 to 2027 of the New Civil Code govern life annuities in general. The provisions on life annuities were included in the Spanish Civil Code of 1889 (Chapters II and IV of Title XII of Book IV). Article 2021 gives us a definition of annuity, to wit: “The aleatory contract of life annuity binds the debtor to pay an annual pension or income during the life of one or more determinate persons in consideration of a capital consisting of money or other property, whose ownership is transferred to him at once with the burden of the income.”

Definition PERHAPS, the earliest definition of annuity was given by Sir Edward Coke, during his incumbency as Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench (1613-1620) in England: “A yearly payment of a certain sum of money granted to another in fee, for life or years, charging the person of the granter only.”

An annuity is a financial product that pays out a fixed stream of payments to an individual, primarily used as an income stream for retirees. Annuities are created and sold by financial institutions, which accept and invest funds from individuals and then, upon annuitization, issue a stream of payments at a later point in time. The period of time when an

annuity is being funded and before payouts begin is referred to as the accumulation phase. Once payments commence, the contract is in the annuitization phase. An annuity is a type of policy issued by an insurance company designed to accept and grow funds, and upon annuitization, create a stream of income or payments. The money you pay in can be either a lump sum or a number of payments. Annuity is seen as a retirement tool, to provide regular income when one is already unable to work or chooses to no longer work. It addresses the fear that your assets will be exhausted as you grow old, or the fear of outliving your assets. It addresses longevity risks. It supplements whatever retirement plan has been built up through one’s employment. Annuities act as a safety net, usually for those in their senior years, by providing a guaranteed stream of income for life. So while life insurance will provide when the insured is no longer alive, annuities will provide when the insured is still alive.

Evolution

THE concept of annuity has been in existence since the time of the

Babylonians in a form called “rent charge.” During the medieval times, the church gave land in return for annual payments of money. This “rent charge” eventually transitioned into annuities. While annuities are regulated as an insurance product, it is not an insurance policy per se. It is, therefore, a distinctive financial product. Edwin W. Kopf has described annuity as “the step-child of the insurance business.” Examples of other form of annuities would include “pensions” from employers and Social Security benefits from government paid out upon retirement. One criticism against annuities is the high fees associated with it. There are different types of annuities. The difference pertains to the manner you put in the money and the manner payments are made to you. For example, payments may be guaranteed for life and can even cover a spouse’s life. Dennis B. Funa is the current insurance commissioner. Funa was appointed by President Duterte as the new insurance commissioner in December 2016. E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

Mahathir the victor as sex video roils Malaysia ruling party By Anisah Shukry & Philip J. Heijmans | Bloomberg Opinion

SEX scandal has laid bare tensions between the likely successors to Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad—and the victor looks set to be Mahathir himself.

The 94-year-old, who said he would hand leadership to former rival Anwar Ibrahim only once the country is on good footing, may extend his stay in power as the ruling party struggles to contain internal rifts. The spat between Anwar—the People’s Justice Party leader—and his deputy Azmin Ali spilled into the open over a series of sex videos. Neither of them look good coming out of the episode. Azmin, whom analysts view as the prime minister’s favorite for the role, is beholden to Mahathir as long as he’s possibly implicated in the videos, said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow with Singapore Institute of International Affairs. On the other hand, Anwar’s political career could be terminated if he’s found to be behind the clips. The videos, circulated in June, allegedly featured Azmin engaged in sexual acts with another man. Malaysia’s police said its analysis failed to link the people in the videos with the accused minister, and concluded that a political party leader was the

mastermind behind the clips. The police, who didn’t name the leader or the party linked to the videos, remanded the political secretary to Anwar last week.

No retreat

MAHATHIR’S response to the scandal was blunt, writing in his blog Tuesday that he will “not be used as a tool. Least of all by someone with evil intentions, using dirty politics. This is not a question of morals, it is a political problem. It will be handled as a political issue.” “My religion forbids me from deliberately snooping for other people’s wrongdoings. What happened was worse than snooping,” Mahathir said in his post. Still, the prime minister stands to benefit the most. “Mahathir also has his own political interest, which is to keep the prime minister post on his own accord without having to submit to the people’s calls to retreat,” said Awang Azman Awang Pawi, a politics professor at the University of Malaya.

Last week, Mahathir’s approval rating rose to its highest point since September, according to the Merdeka Center, a local opinion research institution. Support for the premier rebounded from 46 percent in March, an all-time low, up to 62 percent in June, while the approval for Pakatan Harapan remained unmoved at 41 percent, the report said. Before his current stint in power, Mahathir already held the title of Malaysia’s longest-serving premier. He held the top post for 22 years, played political king maker after stepping down, then continued to speak his mind on where he believed the country should go. He resigned from the Barisan Nasional party, which ruled Malaysia for six decades until 2018, amid the 1MDB scandal and joined forces with then-opposition Pakatan Harapan. The coalition, whose name translates to Pact of Hope, is composed of four disparate parties with contrasting views, including a majority ethnic Chinese party and a Malay nationalist party. With Mahathir at the helm, they mustered a shock election win last May, after failing to do so at the 2013 poll with Anwar leading the coalition.

Campaign promises

THE recent scandal came on the

heels of a key win for the government, which managed to secure a two-third majority to push through a constitutional amendment in order to lower the minimum voting age to 18. It was one of the coalition’s campaign promises. But the nonagenarian can’t stay in power forever—even though he was spotted riding a tandem bicycle around the Sepang International Circuit just days after turning 94 in July. “Eventually Mahathir would probably like for his son to succeed him, but the prospect of that is some ways off—most Malaysian politicians say maybe two general elections away,” said Aaron Connelly, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. T he pr i me m i n ister ’s son Mukhriz Mahathir, who is also chief minister for the state of Kedah, downplayed his ambitions for the top post in a July interview with Nikkei. He said the consensus in Pakatan Harapan is for Mahathir to be given enough time to fix the economy and state finances, according to the newspaper. It’s unclear whether Mahathir’s abandoned plans to transfer power to either Azmin or Anwar. “But even with the scandal, he doesn’t have many better options,” said Connelly.

China’s Nasdaq-style STAR market risks swift burnout By Shuli Ren Bloomberg Opinion

HE star that burns the brightest may also burn out fastest. Investors tempted by the blazing debut of China’s new tech board should bear that in mind. The first 25 companies to start trading on Shanghai’s STAR market posted an average gain of 140 percent on Monday. The value of shares that changed hands surpassed 48 billion yuan ($7 billion)—about 13 percent of the total trading volume on Chinese exchanges, which contain more than 3,800 listed securities and have a combined market capitalization of more than $6.6 trillion. To some extent, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Playing IPO stocks is a national pastime in China. After Terry Guo’s Foxconn Industrial Internet Co. made its debut in Shanghai in June 2018, as much as 55 percent of the semiconductor manufacturer’s shares traded daily. Seen in that light, Monday’s 80 percent turnover ratio for STAR stocks isn’t that remarkable—companies on the Nasdaqstyle board are much smaller than the $35-billion Foxconn unit. For the STAR board to be a longterm success, it needs to maintain that level of liquidity. China’s track

LI QIANG (center, left) Shanghai’s Party chief, and Yi Huiman (center, right) chairman at China Securities Regulatory Commission and the heads of 25 companies celebrate the launch of the SSE STAR Market in the hall of Shanghai Securities Exchange in Shanghai, China, on July 22, 2019. Trading started Monday on a Chinese stock market for high-tech companies that play a key role in official development plans that are straining relations with Washington. AP

record on this front isn’t good, though. After a frenzied start, trading in newly listed shares tends to collapse. There are many examples. Daily turnover for Foxconn has evaporated to about 2 percent. Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co., which withdrew its US listing to return home to China, has seen trading dwindle to minuscule levels since a high-profile IPO in October.

It’s worth asking why Chinese investors love to bet on newly listed stocks, a practice known as da xin. IPOs have been subject to an unofficial valuation ceiling of 23 times earnings, regardless of how fast companies are growing. That’s meant systematic undervaluation and a one-way bet when they come to market. But the price-earnings cap has been removed for the STAR market,

which follows the US’s registrationbased model. So why are investors still piling in? The sad reality is that China’s stock market isn’t a good place for long-term investing. Unlike the US, where investors can reliably expect a 5 percent cash yield from dividends and share repurchases, buy and hold is a losing strategy. Over the past 12 years, investors get back only 38 cents for every dollar they give to companies, data provided by Citic Securities Co. show. China Inc. isn’t into cash rewards. In other words, companies treat public investors as free ATM machines. So for investors to make money, they have to punt on shareprice gains. DA XIN is essentially a process of passing hot potatoes to the next investor. The STAR board, the brainchild of President Xi Jinping, is considered a key policy in China’s new supplyside reform. In Beijing’s view, insufficient market-based financing has contributed to China’s ballooning debt problem. Two-thirds of corporate financing comes in the form of bank loans. The STAR board is intended to spur direct financing, where companies raise money from investors through corporate bond and stock offerings.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Wednesday, July 24, 2019

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‘Congress must heed Duterte’s order to pass coco-levy bill’

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

FARMERS’ group backed President Duterte’s call for the immediate passage of a measure that allows planters now burdened by low copra prices to use the P100-billion coconut-levy fund.

“The Federation of Free Farmers [FFF] welcomed President Duterte’s urgent call for Congress to enact legislation that would unlock the P100-billion coconut-levy fund for the benefit of some 3.5 million farmers and farmworkers nationwide,” it said in a statement on Tuesday. FFF said it has been pushing for the use of the coconut-levy fund as early as 1993. Then-FFF Secretary-General and Peasant Sector Rep. Leonardo Q. Montemayor filed House Bill 10428 in the 9th Congress to im-

prove the coconut industry through the coco levy. “ T h e m e a s u r e s o u g ht t o strengthen the PCA [Philippine Coconut Authority], increase coconut farmers’ participation and benefits in their industry, and consolidate levy collections from coconut farmers into a trust fund for the development of farmers and the entire sector,” it added. The FFF said coconut farmers are now in dire need of government support as they have incurred huge losses due to low copra prices in the

past two years. The glut in global vegetable oil supply caused world coconut oil prices to sink below $1,000 per metric ton in recent years. The decline in CNO prices resulted in lower copra prices as it tracks the movement of vegetable oil prices. Filipino planters, the FFF said, could not immediately recoup their losses, as proposed measures to aid them from declining copra prices have been shelved or weakly implemented by the government. These measures include the

direct purchase of copra by companies under the UCPB-CIIF Oil Mills Group, curtailing of palm oil imports, increasing the percentage of coconut methyl ester in diesel mix, and export of more fresh coconuts or buko. “With significant financing from the coconut levy trust fund, the following activities can be immediately undertaken to improve farmers’ livelihood and incomes on a massive scale: coconut tree fertilization, planting, and replanting; See “Coco-levy bill,” A2

Drilon relieved Cha-cha ‘is out,’ ‘OPTIMUS PRIME’ AND ‘OLD SPARKS’ to back key economic reforms STILL FIGHTING FIRE IN DAVAO CITY

ENATE Minor it y Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday said fresh efforts to tinker with the Constitution were “laid to rest” on Monday after President Duterte omitted mentioning the controversial Charter-change issue during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) at the opening of the 18th Congress. “The President’s silence on federalism during his fourth Sona speaks volumes, indicating that Charter change is not a priority of the Duterte administration anymore,” said Drilon. The senator pointed out that “what is more telling in the Presi-

dent’s speech is not what he said but what he did not say.” “That speaks volumes,” Drilon added, referring to the non-mention of federalism and Charter change, one of the President’s top campaign promises. “For me, the noninclusion of federalism indicates that the Cha-cha was laid to rest yesterday. The Sona became Cha-cha’s ‘final resting place.’” Drilon said the President’s post-Sona press conference confirmed his observation, where the President conceded that Charter changes won’t happen during his time. “Hence, those who have plans to revive it this 18th Congress

should better think twice. It will be an exercise in futility,” added Drilon. In a statement, the Senate minority leader recalled that days before Congress opening, thenpresumptive House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano had said he would push to extend the term of office of lawmakers. At the same time, Drilon aired support for some of the items on the President’s “wish list” to Congress, but held off support for others, “particularly the reimposition of the death penalty in the country.” See “Cha-cha,” A2

VINTAGE fire trucks are parked at Cabantian barangay in Davao. MANUEL. T. CAYON By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

SOUTHWEST MONSOON AFFECTING WESTERN SECTION OF LUZON as of 4:00 pm - July 23, 2019

AVAO CITY—Several vintage fire trucks of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) here are still fighting fire, but the oldest three of them have been given the famous names of the “Transformers” movie characters in honor of their incessant firefighting history for the city. Two of them have been assigned to the northern interior barangay of Cabantian, 7 kilometers from downtown, and the older and tenacious one—nicknamed Optimus Prime— has been sidelined for a few days now after it lost its brakes while coming back from assisting at a firefighting operation. Davao’s vintage fire trucks were mentioned by the city’s most famous son, President Duterte, at his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday.

While asking Congress to approve funds for a Fire Modernization and Protection Program, Duterte lamented the deterioration of firefighting services in many localities. “Alam mo, ever since na-integrate ‘yan [You know, since that service was integrated] you would notice in your cities and provinces the deterioration of the service itself. Wala nang mga truck, luma na [There are few trucks, most are old]. And would you believe it, in Davao City, I’ll show it to you, we have a 1934 Studebaker fire truck. Maganda pa [It’s still good].” The President added, “So we have to...we have to do better than this. There are other cities which are utterly, utterly without the tools to respond [to] the challenges of fire. We have to come up with something that is really good. “I mean [in] this age, it would be a shame if you cannot put [out] a fire in two days, three days, my God.” A quick fact-checking exercise by

the BusinessMirror, to look for the“1934 Studebaker” fire truck cited by the President, turned up empty, but that wasn’t such a surprise, given the hyperbolic tendencies of Davao’s most famous, charming ex-mayor. The city was founded in 1937, and its possessing a 1934 fire truck to this day strains credulity. Still, the exercise turned up two vintage trucks, both still in use, though one was recently sidelined temporarily. Positioned uphill on the highway after assisting at a recent fire-fighting operation, the driver of“Optimus Prime” had to ditch the heavy-metal fire truck at a pile of gravel alongside the road, than cause damage to property, a fire officer told the BusinessMirror. Its batchmate, Old Sparks, continued to live by its name and stood prepped and ready for any fire alarm— mercifully a rarity in the five mountainous barangays under the jurisdiction of the Cabantian Fire Station. See “Davao City,” A3

Despite rehab, flooding continues in Boracay By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

HE Tourism Infrastruct u re a nd Enter pr ise Zone Authority (Tieza) promises some measure of relief from flooding to residents and tourists on Boracay Island by August this year. Tieza Assistant Chief Operating Officer for Administration and Finance, lawyer Joy Bulauitan, told the BusinessMirror the agency’s drainage project on the island is “still ongoing. The original timetable was seven years but was compressed to three years. As of now, we are just one and a half years [into the project]. The earliest completion of the project will be in 2020.” Tieza’s Architectural and Engineering Services Sector explained through Bulauitan that the drainage project is “52-percent complet-

ed only. It will be fully completed in April 2020.” The agency added, “It is not yet fully interconnected to the main road drainage of DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] and there are no working pumps.” However, “by end of August, when the pumping station at Bulabog starts to operate, changes will be felt [on the island].” Boracay Island, dubbed by many international travel publications as “one of the best beaches in the world”, was closed for six months last year, in what the administration had described as intended to give way to rehabilitation plans. These plans included the cleaning of Bulabog Beach, which was contaminated by high levels of fecal coliform bacteria; clearing of the easement zone along the main white beach; widening of the main road and construction of a circumfer-

ential road; fast-tracking of Tieza’s drainage project; reclaiming of the island’s wetlands, among others. What brought on government’s investigation into the state of Boracay Island and its environs was actually massive flooding in December 2017. After a flurry of inspections by lawmakers and national government agencies, President Duterte finally ordered the island closed to tourists from April 26 to October 26 last year. Government’s rehabilitation program came under closer scrutiny, however, when Tropical Storm Falcon induced torrential monsoon rains on the island, flooding the same areas that used to be inundated before it was closed for six months last year. Photos of the island under water, taken by frustrated residents, quickly turned into memes and spread all over social media last week. See “Boracay,” A3

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Meralco sees ‘better’ financial results for H1 on higher sales

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) sees “better” financial results in the first half of the year, mainly on account of improved electricity sales. “It’s better than last year, helped by the volume,” said Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan after the ceremonial switch-on ceremony of its Cagbalete microgrid project. He said electricity sales volume grew “better than historic average.” “It is good but not double digit,” added the Meralco executive. The country’s largest distribution utility firm will announce Monday

its first-half financial and operating results. From January to June 2018, Meralco’s core profit went up by 7 percent to P10.85 billion. Revenues, meanwhile, stood P150.54 billion, 7 percent higher compared with P141 billion for the same period in 2017. The higher revenues are seen as the result of the combined effects of the follow-

ing: 7-percent increase in volume of energy sold; increased generation charge brought about by higher fuel prices; weakening of the peso vis-a-vis the US dollar; higher local Consumer Price Index; and higher prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). During the period, electricity sales went up by 6.5 percent to 21,665 gigawatt hours (GWh). Pangilinan, meanwhile, commented that renewable energy (RE) will play a significant role in Meralco’s power portfolio, following President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) the other day. He also commented that the Chief Executive delivered a “very good” speech. He said RE would be a big part of Meralco’s portfolio. Gas and coal, he said, represent 40 percent each of Meralco’s power sourcing require-

ments to date. Duterte, in his Sona, reiterated the need for the country to develop more RE sources and reduce dependence on traditional energy sources such as coal. Meralco, through its power-generation arm, is pushing for the completion of 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable-energy projects in the next five to seven years. As part of this plan, MGEN Renewable Energy Inc. has been established to serve as the platform for the strategic push to develop renewable-energy projects, primarily solar, wind and run-of-river hydro. Meralco President Ray Espinosa said on Wednesday that the utility firm is in talks with a number of RE developers. “That’s ongoing. We will able to announce one soon on solar,” he said.

SM holding firm included in FTSE’s ESG index

M Investments Corp. (SMIC), the holding firm of the businesses owned by the Sy family, on Tuesday said it was able to become part of the FTSE4Good Index Series, an index that highlights companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. SMIC was also included in the FTSE4Good Emerging Index ranked among constituents in over 20 countries worldwide. “We are honored to be included in FT-

BCDA to pilot driverless vehicles in New Clark City for SEA Games

LARK FREEPORT—The future is now as driverless cars will soon be roaming the streets of the New Clark City (NCC) in Capas, Tarlac. This developed after the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) made an announcement on Tuesday that it is partnering with US-based mobility company, COAST Autonomous, for the pilot testing of low-speed autonomous vehicles within NCC at no cost to the government. The autonomous or “self-driving” vehicles will be used to provide transportation services for the athletes during this year’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Three electric Coast P-1 shuttles are expected to arrive in the country in mid-October for the pilot testing. Each shuttle can accommodate up to 20 passengers and will transport athletes to and from the Athletes’ Village, the Athletics Stadium and the Aquatics Center. Shuttle services will also be offered to the riding public during the duration of the Games. The BCDA said COAST Autonomous will use high-definition, 3D mapping machines for the shuttles’ route. “It is a great honor to partner with BCDA and the Philippines to deploy a fleet of shuttles to New Clark City for the SEA Games and we are grateful for this incredible opportunity,” COAST Autonomous Chairman and CEO David Hickey said in a statement. “The SEA Games is the perfect event and New Clark City, the ideal location to showcase the future of urban transportation,” he added. Hickey also said electric and self-driving shuttles are “the natural successors to the streetcar” and can be the backbone of a new, clean and more efficient streetcar system. “As the first smart and green city in the Philippines, New Clark City will adopt sustainable alternative modes of transportation that may eventually reduce people’s dependence on cars,” BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon said. “The city will have better accessibility with streets that are biker- and pedestrian-friendly,” he added. It was also announced that BCDA and COAST Autonomous will sign the memorandum of agreement for the pilot testing by August. Ashley Manabat

SE4Good. This affirms our commitment to sustainable operations and strong adherence to good corporate governance. We remain focused on our key strategies to create shared value for all our stakeholders which includes the communities we serve,” SMIC President and CEO Frederic C. DyBuncio said. FTSE4Good is managed by FTSE Russell of the London Stock Exchange Group and is designed to identify companies that demonstrate strong ESG practices against globally

recognized standards. FTSE Russell, the global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide, created the index in 2001. Meanwhile, the FTSE4Good Emerging Indexes measure the performance of companies in emerging markets that meet the recognized ESG inclusion standards used by the FTSE4Good Index Series. Investors use these indices when cre-

ating or assessing responsible investment funds and other products for their transparent management and clearly defined ESG criteria. VG Cabuag

ISUZU KAIZEN TEAM Isuzu Motors Ltd. Japan’s Kaizen Team is visiting the

Philippines for a wide range of cooperation activities with the Isuzu Gencars Group led by President and CEO D. Edgard A. Cabangon. In top photo (from left): Masato Nagahashi (Isuzu Motors Ltd.); Akihide Ito, senior manager (Isuzu Motors Ltd.); D. Edgard A. Cabangon, president and CEO (Isuzu Gencars Inc.); Kyohei Saeki (Isuzu Motors Ltd.); and Daisuke Imaizumi, assistant manager (Isuzu Motors Ltd.).

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

July 23, 2019

Net Foreign Stocks Bid Ask Open High Low Close Volume Value Trade (Peso) Buy (Sell) FINANCIALS ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK CITYSTATE BANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE BDO LEASING COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

58.5 150.4 90.55 27.5 5.01 12.4 75.95 13.2 50.5 59.25 111 28.5 183.9 59.8 1.19 2.32 18.5 4.66 1.32 0.465 755 1.07 188.6 1770

58.6 151 90.65 27.6 7.98 12.42 76.05 13.26 50.8 59.3 116 28.55 185.5 60 1.21 2.38 18.72 4.79 1.35 0.475 795 1.08 188.7 1810

58.5 149 91.5 27.65 7.98 12.48 77.2 13.2 50.95 58.95 111 28.5 185 60 1.22 2.39 18.7 4.82 1.33 0.47 790 1.12 188.7 1800

58.6 152 91.5 27.75 7.98 12.56 77.2 13.2 51 59.45 111 28.55 186.7 60.9 1.22 2.39 18.76 4.9 1.36 0.475 790 1.12 188.7 1800

58.5 146.2 90.6 27.5 7.98 12.38 75.5 13.2 49.95 58.9 111 28 183.9 60 1.21 2.32 18.5 4.63 1.32 0.465 790 1.08 188.6 1800

58.6 151 90.65 27.5 7.98 12.42 76.05 13.2 50.8 59.2 111 28.55 185.5 60 1.21 2.32 18.74 4.66 1.36 0.475 790 1.08 188.7 1800

180 2092420 2927830 105000 100 873600 1948490 1000 2486380 77620 200 306000 311910 2750 17000 235000 23200 130000 21000 140000 220 562000 870 230

10542 314227415 265790320 2893900 798 10854386 148232521 13200 125746200.5 4586877.5 22200 8679990 57843991 165118 20580 546500 433822 615290 27990 65700 173800 612110 164168 414000

INDUSTRIAL

82478810 132971837 -1013675 -1557796 -53008765 44941554.5 -86724 -4021420 5474522 -124918 -71060 3240 3774 -360000

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

1.31 37.45 0.265 26.95 89.15 384 24.5 5.7 4.76 2.74 11.8 38.95 6.5 14.1 15.2 6.2 10.38 7.5 101 0.8 57.55 272.8 9 14.22 0.191 1.74 14.06 1.47 5 2.11 167.8 1.26 2.5 84.5 91.6 2.59 5.18 14.68 11.14 13.98 18.48 9.06 1.15 1.36 2.07 1.69 5.1 40.4 2.29 9.32 1.71 1.12 18.08

1.32 37.5 0.27 27 89.8 384.2 24.6 5.71 4.88 2.75 12 39 6.51 14.22 15.24 6.22 10.4 7.52 101.3 0.81 58 273 9.39 14.24 0.194 1.75 14.1 1.48 5.1 2.23 169.7 1.27 2.51 84.7 97 2.6 5.4 14.7 11.16 14 18.5 9.19 1.16 1.37 2.08 1.7 5.22 41.75 2.34 9.39 1.73 1.14 18.1

1.31 37.4 0.27 26.9 90.5 382 24.4 5.68 4.9 2.64 11.8 39.5 6.53 14.3 15.2 6.28 10.42 7.45 103.1 0.83 59.7 275.2 9.04 14.16 0.188 1.73 14.44 1.48 5.1 2.2 168 1.28 2.5 79.25 90 2.62 5.19 15.2 11.14 14.1 18.5 9.06 1.14 1.34 2.06 1.6 5.26 41 2.34 9.45 1.7 1.12 17.7

1.31 37.65 0.27 27.2 90.9 384 24.8 5.76 4.9 2.77 12 39.75 6.53 14.3 15.28 6.3 10.44 7.57 103.1 0.83 59.7 277 9.04 14.3 0.194 1.8 14.44 1.52 5.1 2.2 169.7 1.3 2.52 90 104.9 2.65 5.19 15.2 11.18 14.1 18.5 9.06 1.16 1.38 2.09 1.69 5.32 41 2.36 9.5 1.73 1.14 18.1

1.31 37.4 0.265 26.85 89.15 380 24.4 5.68 4.75 2.63 11.8 38.9 6.5 14.1 15.16 6.22 10.36 7.44 101 0.8 58 270.2 9 14.14 0.188 1.73 14.04 1.45 5.1 2.18 166.2 1.25 2.45 79.25 90 2.58 5.19 14.7 11 13.96 18.4 9.06 1.14 1.33 2.06 1.6 5.08 41 2.25 9.32 1.7 1.11 17.62

1.31 37.5 0.27 27 89.15 384 24.6 5.71 4.88 2.74 12 39 6.51 14.1 15.2 6.22 10.38 7.5 101 0.8 58 272.8 9 14.22 0.194 1.75 14.06 1.48 5.1 2.18 169.7 1.27 2.5 84.5 97 2.59 5.19 14.7 11.14 13.98 18.48 9.06 1.15 1.37 2.08 1.69 5.08 41 2.34 9.32 1.73 1.14 18.08

54000 1719900 450000 4728600 238520 127860 651700 1361700 169000 29824000 18700 204600 269100 484800 659800 247300 1718400 518200 346760 709000 169340 875030 13900 1153300 90000 4891000 147800 8563000 2000 53000 752550 3995000 256000 21890 14590 4096000 10000 1345600 373900 584300 1835700 200 135000 1672000 334000 5000 110900 100 9782000 494100 170000 99000 587600

70740 64545480 120500 127653360 21362289 48966368 16029725 7783015 823690 80716500 222660 8045755 1751842 6911694 10039182 1553377 17863034 3874970 35126637 573600 9912055 239325004 125348 16391714 16980 8626300 2084592 12809260 10200 115900 126805166 5091920 636660 1869680 1399897 10679330 51900 19942038 4155198 8183110 33917494 1812 155270 2265480 694960 8360 580341 4100 22,541,960( 4653612 290310 111810 10558356

10884425 2700 32037855 -8506278.5 14725900 155485 -3832081 -2287650 -16720 -2254215 129004 -246232 -754113 4274572 745241 -8781124 91530 1424371.5 -121835022 10767924 -558770 -170176 -1019.9999 -16948228 -149830 455140 -2688210 -3279950 1835668 326508 1492566 -127300 5150 8,601,609.9997) 30386 143692

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

1.02 17.92 968 56.25 15.72 4.14 6.96 0.73 1.29 1.32 7.12 10.62 14 4.15 924 6.4 69.3 0.51 4.6 15.12 0.68 4.79 0.039 1.56 2.85 1.37 431 987 172.4 0.83 258.4 0.234 0.3

1.03 17.94 970 56.55 15.74 4.15 7 0.74 1.3 1.34 7.16 10.64 14.02 4.47 925 6.5 69.4 0.52 4.61 15.2 0.69 4.8 0.04 1.58 2.9 1.38 449 1000 172.5 0.84 260 0.242 0.31

1 17.26 970 57 15.78 4.19 7 0.73 1.31 1.33 7.2 10.7 14.08 4 910 6.52 69 0.51 4.61 15.02 0.65 4.79 0.039 1.63 2.94 1.37 431.2 983 175 0.84 260 0.242 0.295

1.02 18.7 975 57.2 15.84 4.25 7 0.73 1.32 1.34 7.2 10.72 14.08 4 929 6.52 69.5 0.52 4.62 15.8 0.7 4.8 0.039 1.67 2.99 1.38 449.6 1004 175 0.85 261 0.242 0.31

0.96 17.26 960.5 56.2 15.68 4.11 7 0.71 1.3 1.33 7.13 10.62 13.9 4 909.5 6.4 68.2 0.5 4.57 15.02 0.65 4.75 0.039 1.54 2.85 1.37 431 976 172 0.83 258.4 0.234 0.295

1.02 17.92 970 56.55 15.72 4.15 7 0.73 1.3 1.34 7.16 10.64 14 4 924 6.5 69.3 0.51 4.6 15.2 0.69 4.8 0.039 1.58 2.85 1.38 449.6 1000 172.5 0.84 259.6 0.234 0.305

36409000 735800 648070 5937470 2866300 15201000 362100 2674000 2783000 407000 1055600 4487500 128300 100000 124180 56500 1521670 80000 808000 2064700 16220000 12312000 1500000 4407000 269000 15000 60 164870 155800 374000 1870 690000 4430000

36276030 13352764 626968470 336598410 45095244 63504040 2534700 1945920 3628870 542600 7548501 47890344 1795670 400000 114346140 367170 105071623 40180 3720450 31399806 11094580 58966020 58500 7122070 779720 20650 26050 164251715 26887332 313260 485014 162410 1344250

319060 51252.0001 152903470 -192023001.5 6316138 -3471350 -754600 72000 266000 1629577 3683809.9996 -25148 12480980 -260799.9999 39833790.5 179950 -15736194 -109100 647970 805800 78881695 -4370602 -381450 -

HOLDING & FRIMS

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 1.02 1.03 1 1.05 1 1.03 8458000 8614810 370850 ANCHOR LAND 10.92 11 10.92 10.92 10.92 10.92 100 1092 AYALA LAND 52 52.1 52 52.45 51.9 52.1 5278510 275017022.5 -11279537 ARANETA PROP 2.17 2.18 2.18 2.18 2.16 2.17 66000 143400 BELLE CORP 2.3 2.33 2.38 2.39 2.3 2.3 2436000 5652430 -162710 A BROWN 0.85 0.87 0.88 0.88 0.86 0.87 1368000 1184920 870 CITYLAND DEVT 0.9 0.92 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 27000 24300 CROWN EQUITIES 0.24 0.243 0.24 0.243 0.239 0.243 1000000 239740 138620 CEBU HLDG 6.1 6.11 6.1 6.15 6.06 6.11 185300 1128080 -1070213 CEB LANDMASTERS 5.14 5.15 5.17 5.18 5.12 5.15 971400 5003747 287768 CENTURY PROP 0.62 0.63 0.63 0.64 0.62 0.63 11129000 7009320 -130410 CYBER BAY 0.455 0.465 0.475 0.475 0.455 0.465 5570000 2556350 161000 DOUBLEDRAGON 24.7 24.9 24.8 25 24.55 24.7 187300 4639260 214180 DM WENCESLAO 10.24 10.32 10.28 10.38 9.95 10.32 563200 5790535 180417 EMPIRE EAST 0.47 0.475 0.475 0.48 0.47 0.475 290000 137800 EVER GOTESCO 0.124 0.133 0.133 0.133 0.133 0.133 10000 1330 FILINVEST LAND 1.93 1.94 1.96 1.96 1.92 1.93 37551000 72437780 2893680 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.41 1.42 1.42 1.43 1.41 1.42 362000 511780 8990 HLDG 15.72 15.84 15.9 15.9 15.7 15.72 157300 2477864 -443524 PHIL INFRADEV 1.75 1.76 1.79 1.8 1.74 1.76 2397000 4232630 160810 CITY AND LAND 0.81 0.82 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.81 14000 11340 4050 MEGAWORLD 6.36 6.4 6.35 6.45 6.33 6.36 14263700 91221417 44004014 MRC ALLIED 0.365 0.37 0.37 0.375 0.365 0.37 8750000 3239250 -66750 PHIL ESTATES 0.495 0.5 0.51 0.51 0.48 0.5 1716000 834895 16800 PRIMEX CORP 2.14 2.15 2.13 2.17 2.11 2.15 1322000 2841690 -43400 ROBINSONS LAND 27.75 28 27.8 28.35 27.75 28 4253100 119015735 69303750 PHIL REALTY 0.405 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.405 0.405 120000 49050 ROCKWELL 2.3 2.31 2.34 2.34 2.3 2.31 195000 452320 SHANG PROP 3.14 3.18 3.2 3.2 3.19 3.2 51000 163170 STA LUCIA LAND 2.05 2.08 2.08 2.08 2.05 2.08 609000 1255100 SM PRIME HLDG 37.8 37.95 38.1 38.3 37.8 37.8 5549500 210603475 -90684485 STARMALLS 6.29 6.38 6.28 6.4 6.28 6.38 134700 850226 SUNTRUST HOME 0.8 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.8 0.8 349000 279220 VISTA LAND 7.64 7.69 7.7 7.7 7.64 7.69 3435100 26394086 314543 SERVICES ABS CBN 18.48 18.5 17.82 18.78 17.6 18.5 492500 8930162 GMA NETWORK 5.4 5.42 5.4 5.42 5.39 5.4 168400 910781 MANILA BULLETIN 0.53 0.54 0.54 0.54 0.53 0.53 141000 74760 GLOBE TELECOM 2180 2190 2180 2214 2180 2180 17355 37998550 -10672610 PLDT 1148 1150 1184 1198 1148 1148 252305 292147040 -112536565 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.049 0.05 0.052 0.052 0.049 0.05 15290000 761860 25000 DFNN INC 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 2100 13440 ISLAND INFO 0.114 0.115 0.116 0.116 0.114 0.115 3570000 411290 ISM COMM 5.65 5.66 5.66 5.71 5.65 5.66 2229900 12629855 -762198 JACKSTONES 2.95 3.05 3 3.05 3 3.05 2000 6050 NOW CORP 2.55 2.56 2.61 2.66 2.56 2.56 3069000 7948540 -400670 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.36 0.365 0.355 0.365 0.35 0.365 2240000 796550 PHILWEB 4.13 4.14 4.12 4.18 4.05 4.13 1750000 7188890 499380 2GO GROUP 11.1 11.2 11.1 11.2 11.06 11.1 14500 160966 ASIAN TERMINALS 19.92 20 20 20 20 20 3000 60000 CHELSEA 7.82 7.83 7.85 7.96 7.82 7.83 967400 7600735 -30538 CEBU AIR 96.2 96.25 96.2 96.5 96.2 96.25 208980 20130926 6793613 INTL CONTAINER 135 135.8 139.8 139.8 135 135 1804140 246477605 -38766466 LBC EXPRESS 14.2 14.7 14.14 14.86 14.12 14.86 5600 79468 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.94 0.91 0.92 789000 721030 MACROASIA 19.78 19.8 19.36 19.8 19.36 19.78 463300 9116068 2426800 METROALLIANCE A 1.5 1.55 1.5 1.55 1.5 1.55 22000 33300 PAL HLDG 9.21 9.35 9.2 9.4 9.2 9.21 12800 118039 938 HARBOR STAR 2.15 2.16 2.18 2.18 2.15 2.15 767000 1650750 232200 ACESITE HOTEL 1.49 1.55 1.48 1.55 1.47 1.5 81000 122380 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.064 0.065 0.065 0.065 0.063 0.064 30490000 1945500 31500 WATERFRONT 0.81 0.82 0.83 0.85 0.79 0.81 11424000 9271160 40000 CENTRO ESCOLAR 7 7.19 7.02 7.02 7 7 178600 1250968 30128 IPEOPLE 9.22 9.6 9.6 9.7 9.12 9.6 9500 90260 STI HLDG 0.78 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.78 0.79 913000 721990 221570 BERJAYA 2.72 2.74 2.7 2.74 2.69 2.74 243000 660250 BLOOMBERRY 11.64 11.66 11.72 11.72 11.4 11.64 14462900 166588578 -42006630 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.96 2.97 2.97 2.98 2.95 2.97 34000 100610 -62180 LEISURE AND RES 3.72 3.78 3.76 3.76 3.71 3.72 358000 1336660 -558410 MANILA JOCKEY 3.5 3.55 3.45 3.55 3.39 3.55 404000 1404050 17050 PH RESORTS GRP 5.3 5.32 5.34 5.34 5.34 5.34 1000 5340 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.76 0.76 3897000 2991690 -283670 TRAVELLERS 5.49 5.53 5.45 5.5 5.43 5.5 1687600 9253562 -3389207 METRO RETAIL 2.77 2.79 2.81 2.81 2.72 2.79 1302000 3595410 -27490 PUREGOLD 45.9 46 46 46.3 45.5 46 842700 38665880 -11642850 ROBINSONS RTL 78.5 79 79 79.15 78.55 79 391230 30890985 8227584.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 147 147.5 146 147 146 147 24590 3603405 257205 SSI GROUP 3.38 3.4 3.41 3.47 3.36 3.38 4574000 15531820 7862680 WILCON DEPOT 16.12 16.14 15.72 16.18 15.68 16.14 7145400 114560230 44580712 APC GROUP 0.52 0.53 0.55 0.55 0.52 0.53 6795000 3631680 EASYCALL 10 10.1 10.28 10.28 9.96 10.1 45200 454146 GOLDEN BRIA 415.4 423.8 424 428 424 424 350 148440 IPM HLDG 5.6 5.75 5.7 5.75 5.6 5.75 17100 97310 PAXYS 2.9 3.06 2.9 3 2.89 3 20000 58160 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.82 0.83 0.84 0.85 0.82 0.83 25165000 20922270 119520 SBS PHIL CORP 9.45 9.54 9.27 9.56 9.27 9.55 57500 544901 -22248 MINING & OIL ATOK 12.8 13 13.36 13.36 12.86 13 18900 245266 51720 APEX MINING 1.23 1.24 1.22 1.24 1.19 1.24 6629000 8042650 -1006800 ABRA MINING 0.0016 0.0017 0.0018 0.0018 0.0016 0.0016 161000000 272600 51000 ATLAS MINING 2.71 2.74 2.71 2.71 2.7 2.71 158000 427900 -306230 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.29 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.285 100000 28500 CENTURY PEAK 2.79 2.8 2.8 2.84 2.8 2.8 399000 1122260 DIZON MINES 7.87 7.88 7.62 8.09 7.62 7.88 49600 389678 -24270 FERRONICKEL 1.51 1.52 1.51 1.55 1.51 1.52 6976000 10663630 -54510 GEOGRACE 0.232 0.235 0.226 0.247 0.226 0.236 7630000 1804320 -23300 LEPANTO A 0.107 0.11 0.108 0.108 0.108 0.108 300000 32400 LEPANTO B 0.12 0.121 0.115 0.12 0.115 0.12 80000 9400 2300 MARCVENTURES 1.16 1.2 1.21 1.21 1.16 1.16 488000 572300 NIHAO 1.05 1.07 1.08 1.1 1.05 1.07 421000 444210 21000 NICKEL ASIA 2.58 2.59 2.61 2.66 2.57 2.59 6303000 16397820 113550 OMICO CORP 0.53 0.54 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 40000 21200 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.88 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.88 0.89 151000 133590 PX MINING 3.71 3.73 3.75 3.75 3.71 3.71 354000 1323020 SEMIRARA MINING 24.55 24.6 24.15 24.7 24.15 24.55 2567800 63035580 23168325 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 15900000 190800 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.011 0.012 716300000 8396900 -96300 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 1100000 12100 PHINMA PETRO 6.87 6.97 7.2 7.3 6.85 6.87 1374800 9660885 -108300 PXP ENERGY 8.61 8.62 8.78 8.98 8.5 8.62 3499400 30590895 653202 PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 98.8 98.85 98.8 98.8 98.8 98.8 90 8892 AC PREF B1 468 487 468 468 468 468 1000 468000 DD PREF 99.15 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 11000 1094500 SMC FB PREF 2 975 990 980 980 970 970 10300 9991350 4850000 FGEN PREF G 101.8 104.9 102.1 102.1 101.7 101.9 12000 1222098 40820 GLO PREF P 479 490 479 479 479 479 2000 958000 GTCAP PREF A 920.5 970 920 920 920 920 700 644000 GTCAP PREF B 921 944 920 944 920 944 510 469440 LR PREF 1.04 1.05 1.04 1.06 1.04 1.04 8123000 8473950 MWIDE PREF 100 102 102 102 100 100 14310 1431970 PNX PREF 3A 100 101 100 100 100 100 1600 160000 PCOR PREF 2A 961 993 990 993 990 993 850 844020 PCOR PREF 3A 1010 1011 1011 1011 1011 1011 3480 3518280 -10110 PCOR PREF 3B 1012 1015 1015 1015 1012 1012 2410 2445400 -253000 SMC PREF 2B 75.1 75.85 75.5 75.5 75 75 5500 412600 SMC PREF 2C 76.45 76.85 76.85 76.85 76.85 76.85 2300 176755 SMC PREF 2D 74.9 74.95 73.95 74.9 73.95 74.9 46000 3441327 -112350 SMC PREF 2E 75 75.5 75 75 75 75 510 38250 SMC PREF 2F 74.9 75 75 75 75 75 1990 149250 SMC PREF 2H 73.1 74.95 74.8 74.9 74.8 74.9 12500 935550 SMC PREF 2I 75 75.45 75 75 75 75 2800 210000 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

17 5.3

17.2 5.45

16.84 5.4

17.2 5.45

16.84 5.28

17.2 5.3

512600 42100

8731892 225458

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.82

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 6.16 XURPAS 1.1

1.84

1.81

1.82

1.81

1.82

86000

155920

6.17 1.11

5.72 1.11

6.18 1.12

5.66 1.08

6.16 1.11

6069100 3128000

36225462 3440400

-1074095 -797640

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

123.3

-8240860 -208563

123.5

123.7

124.2

123.2

123.5

8880

1100104

-45678

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Govt must work fast on ROW issues for C-5 South Link–MPT

INISHING the whole 7.7-kilometer C-5 South Link Expressway a quarter before its original deadline is doable, but it requires the government to, likewise, work double time in acquiring and delivering the needed right-of-way (ROW) to the concessionaire. Metro Pacific Tollways South Cor p. (MPT South) President Roberto V. Bontia said his group can meet the 2021 fourth-quarter deadline set by Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar for the completion of the expressway, but noted issues on easement delivery. “It is doable, but a major require-

ment is that we get the right-of-way. Construction is an exact science, so it is doable, but conditioned on the right-of-way,” he said. The company on Tuesday partially opened the expressway to the public, after completing the section that connects C-5 to Merville in Pasay and Sucat in Parañaque last week.

C-5 Link Flyover will serve as an alternate road for commuters traveling between Fort Bonifacio, CP Garcia (C-5), Taguig City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City and Pasay City. It will directly cross over, from C-5, the Metro Manila Skyway and the South Luzon Expressway, to Merville and Sucat. It aims to decongest Sales Road, the East Service Road and the West Service Road. The project’s second phase will start in November. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed the acquisition of the easement for Section 3A2, a 1.6-kilometer stretch from E. Rodriguez to Merville. “Section 3B is problematic, because it is still at less than 30 percent, while Segment 2 is at 69 percent,” Bontia explained.

Segment 3B is a 2.2-kilometer stretch that runs from Sucat to E. Rodriguez, while Section 2 runs for 1.9 kilometers from R1 Interchange to Sucat Interchange. Villar noted that the government is working toward completing the right-of-way acquisition and delivery to meet its target. “What we have are substantial enough to start construction. Ultimately, we have eminent domain, but, of course, we want to be as fair as we can to everyone, but we also have to look at the overall benefit of the road,” he said. The whole project, a 7.7-kilometer road, is expected to decongest Sales Road in Pasay and Edsa, cutting travel time from Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite to Taguig to as short as 20 minutes. It is expected to accommodate roughly 50,000 vehicles per day. Lorenz S. Marasigan

With physical prepaid card, GCash reaches wider market

CASH, operated by Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), has introduced to the wider market its physical prepaid card to strengthen its thrust of providing financial services to the underserved and unserved. Mynt Chief Commercial Officer for Transfers Fred Levy said his group has launched Mastercard on Shelf, a service that allows GCash users to transact at Ministop, All Day, Lawson and 7-Eleven with a physical prepaid card that can be linked to their accounts. “By making the GCash Mastercard available in convenience stores nationwide, we are democratizing access to yet another financial service that has been unreachable for the majority of Filipinos for

decades,” he said. GCash users may link their GCash Mastercards via the app. Once linked, they can start using their prepaid cards for physical transactions in stores that have point-of-sale units. “In the past, credit cards have been a status symbol reserved only for a small portion of the population. They allowed cardholders to access convenience and perks that many couldn’t even dream of. With the GCash Mastercard, we are breaking the barriers to these privileges and making the Mastercard convenience available to all,” Levy explained. He added that this move is GCash’s way of helping the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in push-

Meralco switches on microgrid in Quezon’s Cagbalete Island

HE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has switched on its second microgrid project that will benefit more than 800 families in Cagbalete Island, Quezon province. A microgrid is a small-scale power system able to provide stable power supply to off-grid areas by combining distributed power sources, such as diesel generators, solar power, wind power and storage batteries. It can operate independently from the country’s mainland interconnected network of transmission and distribution lines. For this project, the Cagbalete Microgrid, Meralco has installed a hybrid generating plant that features a 60-kilowatt peak (kWp) solar PV system, 150-kWh battery energy storage and two units of 30-kW diesel generators. This will provide 24x7 power to about 200 households in the 1,795-hectare waterlocked island and its two barangays: Barangay Cagbalete

I and Barangay Cagbalete II. “It is our commitment to ensure that all of the remaining 600 families in Cagbalete Island plus commercial establishments and resorts will have power by the end of the year. That is Meralco’s commitment,” said Meralco President Ray C. Espinosa during the ceremonial launch held Tuesday morning. Said to be one of the jewels of Quezon province, Cagbalete, just off the coast of Mauban, is a white-sand island paradise, teeming with a diverse ecosystem of birds, rich marine life and an abundance of unique species of plants—an allure for adventurers and nature lovers. “We also plan to bring this outside our franchise area so we can also help the DOE [Department of Energy] and government in providing electrification to other parts of the country using the same solution.” Lenie Lectura

Antonio-led Revolution Precrafted project in Cavite ‘slightly’ delayed

ANLILIO-LED Boulevard Holdings Inc. (BHI) said its local partner for the development of a mixed-use property in Ternate, Cavite, was slightly delayed on its launch due to some project revisions. In a report, J. Marcel Panlilio, Boulevard’s chairman and CEO, said Revolution Precrafted Properties Philippines Inc. was slightly delayed in its launch of the 500 to 700-unit condotel, residential and villa within the mixed-use property located on half of the Boulevard’s beach property in Cavite. The launch was supposed to happen last June. “We are pushing them to complete their launch and preselling within August. We learned they are now projecting some P1.9 billion in sales for selling 28- to 35-square-meter units,” Panlilio said. Revolution is a company led by Jose Roberto

R. Antonio, one the sons of former special envoy to the US Jose E.B. Antonio, chairman of listed firm Century Properties Inc. The said company is not included in the listed firm though Roberto sits on the board of the listed firm. “BHI’s share would be 15 percent of this after VAT [value-added tax], before income taxes over a four- to five-year period. All they need now is to come to terms with the best contractor to start this,” Panlilio said. Boulevard expects to benefit from the socalled Duterte bonanza as more foreign investors flock to Cavite with the proposal to develop Sangley Airport to accept commercial planes. Last year, Revolution said it will supply, at least, 800 units for the development of Boulevard’s 12-hectare property in its Puerto Azul Beach Club. The deal is expected to raise some P6 billion in project revenues. VG Cabuag

ing for greater financial inclusion. Today, 66 percent of Filipinos remain unbanked, while 34 percent of municipalities are without brickand-mortar banks. Since it was launched a decade ago, GCash has adopted a mobilefirst strategy in providing services to its customers. Now, with the GCash Mastercard, people no longer need to open bank accounts. Levy noted that business-wise, the market for mobile financial

MUTUAL FUNDS

services is huge, given that 78 million Filipinos have mobile phones and 80 million are online. “With the GCash app, it is also easier for Mastercard owners to control their spending because their mobile wallet balance dictates how much they can spend,” Levy said. “We want to give people not just access to financial services but the tool to manage their wealth, as well.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

July 23, 2019

NAV ONE YEAR THREE YEAR FIVE YEAR Y-T-D PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 273.96 8.49% -0.55% 1.68% 8.63% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.6755 17.11% 6.89% 3.26% 16.29% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 4.2378 6.13% -1.38% 0.6% 8.58% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9911 11.48% N.A. N.A. 10% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.9061 8.18% N.A. N.A. 10.41% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.6528 8.05% 0.41% 1.51% 7.2% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.9108 6.5% -3.75% N.A. 8.86% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 122.35 13.97% N.A. N.A. 5.32% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 54.3377 11.02% 0.12% N.A. 10.39% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 565.64 10.26% -0.84% 1.54% 9.89% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3754 11.57% 1.1% 3.62% 9.68% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 40.3112 12.11% 1.62% 3.23% 10.04% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.087 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.5145 12.03% 1.09% 3.71% 11.21% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 920.86 12.08% 0.81% 3.68% 11.16% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9601 13.65% 0.02% N.A. 11.64% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.5044 12.53% 0.98% 3.17% 10.98% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0578 11.5% 0.75% N.A. 10.85% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.8546 10.55% 2.24% 3.92% 10.11% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 123.2807 12.48% 1.64% 4.73% 11.32% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $0.9959 -2.23% 4.63% -0.43% 7.19% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.3228 1.84% 8.76% N.A. 19.69% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.797 8.27% -1.34% -0.69% 8.83% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.3715 5.44% -0.5% 1.07% 7.35% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.7241 6.41% 0.28% -0.74% 7.12% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3774 4.12% N.A. N.A. 5.6% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9761 7.55% 0.18% 1.76% 7.22% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.8386 8.33% -0.93% 1.1% 8.76% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 17.2557 8.97% -0.77% 1.09% 8.47% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.2004 6.75% 0.62% 2.26% 6.34% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.9909 10.35% 0.31% 2.16% 9.3% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 1.0452 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 1.0479 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 1.0446 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 1.0251 11.65% 0.57% 1.94% 11.22% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03752 6.56% 1.48% 2% 6.29% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $1.0059 0.96% 3.08% -0.72% 10.09% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.8006 3.36% 6.1% 3.07% 14.87% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.1161 4.12% 3.75% N.A. 10.5% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 351.51 3.57% 2.06% 2.26% 2.34% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A,1 1.9033 2.11% -0.12% -0.11% 2.37% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0607 5.47% 5.31% 5.3% 2.84% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.1982 3.69% 1.05% 2% 3.24% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.3236 4.87% 1.15% 1.47% 5.37% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6058 1.94% -1.94% 0.12% 2.65% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.1994 6.54% -0.4% 1.38% 7.13% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.6862 5.64% 0.51% 1.46% 4.81% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.942 4.54% -0.74% N.A. 5.7% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 2.9842 8.49% 1.04% 2.33% 7.9% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.6565 8.43% 0.57% 1.87% 7.57% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $459.98 3.74% 1.71% 2.73% 2.58% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є218.46 2.38% 1.31% 1.52% 2.72% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.1861 6.42% 1.8% 2.49% 5.37% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0257 4.05% 0.79% N.A. 3.63% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7146 1.06% -2.04% 0.54% 1.44% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.0875 4.92% -0.44% -1.99% 4.94% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.3542 8.46% 0.91% 3.22% 8.45% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.059383 4.68% 1.53% 1.84% 4.18% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.0892 7.04% 0.16% 2.7% 7.56% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 123.91 3.86% 2.5% 1.99% 2.51% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0167 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2206 4.27% 1.9% 1.15% 3.27% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2477 3.82% 2.7% 2.08% 2.34% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0294 2.2% N.A. N.A. 1.33% 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.

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Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

BAP to raise cybersecurity awareness

HE Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) has launched an online campaign aimed at raising public awareness on cyber security amid growing concerns of cyber attackers shifting their focus to the Asia-Pacific region. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the BAP said it expects to increase public awareness on cyber security but also strengthen the banking industry’s resilience to cyber attacks. The BAP said that apart from involving financial institutions in strengthening cyber resilience, engaging the banking public is also important in terms of building a more holistic approach to cyber security. “The world is so wired now that cyber security is everyone’s concern. The campaign is our way of raising awareness and partnering with the general public to prevent cybercrimes,” BAP President Cezar P. Consing was quoted in a statement as saying. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

(BSP) enjoined the financial institutions it supervises to participate in the BAP Cybersecurity Incident Database (Bapcid) to strengthen the banking industry’s resilience to cyber attacks. The campaign will promote cyber awareness through regular posting of online content about tips and “need-to-know” concepts, giving the public a better appreciation of cyber security. The BAP said it is optimistic the online campaign will help the public become more cyberliterate and vigilant. “Breaches in private information systems are one of the main factors that discourage Filipinos from engaging in digital payments,” the BAP said.

The BSP earlier said that cyber security remains to be one of the biggest threats in the Philippine banking industry as they become more sophisticated and pervasive, adding that the costs and possible economic impact of cybercrimes are high. “Our goal is to build a more vigilant banking community through proper and accessible education,” BAP Cybersecurity Chairman Edwin R. Bautista said. “We are optimistic the campaign will empower our customers and clients to become more conscious before clicking suspicious links online.” The BAP also released three cyber-security videos in both English and Taglish (a mix of English and Tagalog) on phishing, malware and mobile and online banking. The infomercial videos will be circulated among the membership’s bank branches and other channels. “Aside from the Bapcid and our cyber-awareness campaign, we are also developing industry projects to address the concerns of the banking public on cyber security,” BAP Managing Director Benjamin P. Castillo said. “Moving forward, we are encouraging everyone to visit the BAP web site to know more about our campaign.” Rea Cu

BOC destroys cigarette-making machines, confiscated goods T

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) destroyed on Tuesday a dozen units of cigarette-making machines, more than 1,000 master cases of various brands of counterfeit cigarettes, as well as one luxury sports car. T he BOC sa id i n a st ate ment that Undersecretary Jesus Melchor V. Quitain, officer in charge, Office of the Special Assistant to the President, witnessed the destruction of the seized items at the BOC Compound, Port Area, in Manila. T he c iga ret te -m a k ing machines and fake cigarettes were seized last February by the BOCEnforcement and Security Service (ESS) from a warehouse located in Barangay Bagacay, Tacloban City, after failing to present proof of payment of duties and taxes. Warrants of Seizure and Detention (WSD) were issued against the said cigarette-making machines, which were eventually forfeited under Sections 1401 and 1113 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), while several master cases of counterfeit cigarettes were seized pursuant to the said provisions of the CMTA and

Republic Act (RA) 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. “The seizure and destruction of the said goods serve as a warning to smugglers and manufacturers of fake cigarettes,” the BOC said. “This is in line with the directive of Secretary of Finance Carlos G. Dominguez III to the bureau to closely monitor the importation and manufacture of illegal cigarettes.” The one unit of Ferrari, initially declared as used auto spare parts, arrived at the Port of Manila on May 13 and was declared abandoned and forfeited pursuant to Section 1129 of the CMTA. “It was only upon physical examination that our customs examiner found out that the shipment actually contained a Ferrari with both doors and the hub dismantled from the main body,” the BOC added. Earlier in the month, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported that the BOC said that the Customs agency of China has committed to help the bureau in its efforts to stop Chinese exports of unauthorized cigarette-making machines from entering the country in line with

stopping illicit tobacco trade. BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero pointed out that he reiterated the Philippines’s concern over the export of unauthorized cigarette-making machines to the Chinese vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) during the 28th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Customs Directors-General Meeting held in Lao PDR from June 11 to 13. Guerrero said the Chinese customs officials agreed “to look into the matter.” Last year, Dominguez directed the BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to work with their respective counterparts in China to stop the illicit entry of cigarettemaking machines that are being used to manufacture counterfeit tobacco products in the country. The finance chief issued the order after confirming with BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay that the illegal tobacco trade has shifted from smuggling cigarettes to producing locally counterfeit brands using undocumented cigarette-making machines acquired from China. Rea Cu

Blockchain offers rural banks a way to boost loans

LOCKCHAIN technology offers an opportunity for smaller banks in the Philippines to boost lending and offer other financial services in rural areas, according to Union Bank of the Philippines Chairman Justo Ortiz. Union Bank is experimenting with the use of blockchain for remittances, allowing overseas Filipino workers to send money home quickly and efficiently and exercise greater control over who receives the funds and how they’re used, Ortiz said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. By plugging the 500 or so Philippine rural banks into the system, the lenders would get detailed information on the income individuals or families receive from remittances, he said. That would give them greater comfort to offer loans and other banking services to people who often fall outside the formal financial system, he added. Union Bank recently piloted a blockchain-based remittance between Singapore and the Philippines together with Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. It now hopes to create a “national footprint” of rural banks to use the technology, Ortiz said.

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers rose 3.1 percent to a fresh record of $28.9 billion in 2018, with gains from the US, Canada, Asia and Europe offsetting a 15.3-percent decline in inflows from the Middle East, according to central bank data. The flow of money is expected to rise another 3 percent this year. The bulk of the funds arrives back home in cash, which gives the overseas worker little control over who ultimately gets the money or how it’s used, said Ortiz. It also forces Filipino families to rely on loans from local moneylenders, often at exorbitant interest rates. Using blockchain and a self-executing, programm able token, t he over seas worker will exercise much greater control over the destination and use of the funds back home, Ortiz said. Bloomberg News

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Bohol’s 2nd generation powers tourism

HE parable is spoken in business that the First Generation provides the vision and the stability of the enterprise; the Second Generation develops it to its full blooming and the Third Generation sends it to its grievous ruins or sells it to strangers not having the same love for the mission of the enterprise. Let’s pursue some analogous interpretation of people. One always speaks of Ilocosborn late hotelier Anos Fonacier, dubbed as “The Father of Bohol Tourism” when thinking of the First Generation of tourism developers in the island. He took a gamble in the 1970s on an unknown island called Panglao and set up the Bohol Beach Club that opened Bohol to a whole new world of global tourism. It was a frontierbreaker that never looked back. Part of that First Generation club is the late businessman Nanong Lim of the La Roca Hotel, George Laoof the Gie Hardens Hotel and the Dumaluan Beach Resort and Playa Blanca of the Horas. And a few others. The Second Generation is made of bigger players—with ambitious business plans, deeper pockets and a wider worldview of things. They include Johnny Chan of the Bellevue Hotel whose landscape and five-star amenities have been praised by many visitors. Plus Henry Chosuey of Hennan Resort, the late Boholano consult Dodong Alegrado of the Bluewaters Group and Grand Benedicto of the Be Grand Resort. The latest entrants are Justin Uy of the JPark group who will be

FINEX FREE ENTERPRISE

Zoilo ‘Bingo’Dejaresco III building 1,100 rooms in a waterthemed park which can be a “game changer” in any sense of the phrase and the Modala Resort, which has a Moadto strip mall with restaurants, bars and souvenirs shops, a one-stop haven. In terms of governance, newly elected governor, former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, is entitled to call the 1995 tandem of Governor Rene Relampagos and Vice Governor Edgar Chatto as the First Generation. They developed a mission and vision blueprint of the original Tourism dream of former governor Constancio “Nonoy” Torralba of a Tourist Estate with an international airport back in 1987. Of course, the late Governor Rico Aumentado is credited with the province-wide Bohol Circumferential Road and bringing back Bohol to the world tourism map. Yap likens himself to head the Second Generation as current CEO of Bohol—out to make the expansion of tourism as a buzzword. Twenty-four years later after 1995, Bohol has become one of the country’s most desired destinations—enough to merit the establishment this year of the Panglao Bohol International Airport, the first of a kind ecotourist airport in the nation. At full capacity, the airport can host some 2 million tourists in a year, bigger in total

than the 1.3 million registered Boholano residents in the province today. The goal of the Second Generation private-sector players is to stay competitive—as they are also competing against the other islands in the country who are employing strategies to draw the third-largest dollar-earning industry-tourism—into their beneficial shores. Staying competitive means not pricing above industry level tolerance and respecting the “value for money” tenets. It also means respecting the environment and not go the Boracay way—which was closed for months for environmental violations. For governance, it means proper zoning of the island, peace and order, sanitation, cheap and stable power supply, constant potable water, fast internet connection, well-paved roads and available transportation for all types of vehicles. Not doing so would pave the way for the so-called Third Generation, a curse, actually, which will descend like a horde of rapacious locusts upon the dead carcass of the tourism industry—murdered by wrong policies and bad business moves. All Boholanos hope this need not happen in lifetimes. Bingo Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant, media practitioner and book author. He is a Life member and Broadcast Media chairman of Finex. His views, however, are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Finex and the BusinessMirror. dejarescobingo@yahoo.com

B4 Wednesday, July 24, 2019

LANDBANK INAUGURATES 401ST BRANCH IN BUKIDNON ASIAN TERMINALS INC. PARTNERS WITH D.E.N.R., STAKEHOLDERS TO CLEAN WATERWAYS

ISTED A sian Ter mina ls Inc. (ATI), the Philippines’s major trade enabler, has joined hands with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other stakeholders in support of the government’s urgent task of cleaning Metro Manila’s major waterways. ATI recently signed up to DENR’s Adapt an Estero Waterbody Program, making

the Manila South Harbor port operator, among private-sector sponsors, commit resources for the three-year project to achieve a cleaner, safer and healthier Manila Bay environment. As partner, ATI will support the program’s major activities, which include dredging, regular shore cleanups, education-information campaigns, mangrove and tree planting, construction

of communal septic tank, water quality monitoring, among others, in areas within and adjacent to Barangay 649, otherwise known as Baseco. ATI corporate secretary and Vice President for Business Support Services lawyer Rodolfo Corvite Jr. (seated, fourth from left) shows the signed agreement after ceremonies held at DENR Environment Management Bureau office in Quezon City.

AND Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo (fourth from left) leads the inauguration of the LandBank Aglayan Branch in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. This is LandBank’s 401st branch in the country and sixth in the province, complementing branch operations in Valencia City, Maramag, Quezon, Don Carlos and another branch also in Malaybalay City. The new branch will be equipped with LandBank’s latest innovation—the Digital Onboarding System, or DOBS—which eases the accomplishment of account enrolment forms, reducing account opening time from 30 minutes down to 10 to15 minutes.

Joining Borromeo are Cabanglasan Mayor Renante C. Inocando (front row, second from right), Lantapan Mayor Ernie R. Devibar (second row, right), Bukidnon provincial administrator lawyer Nestor E. Cajes, Jr. (front row, third from left), Aglayan barangay chairman Glorio D. Sajulga (second row, center), branch banking sector head and Executive Vice President Liduvino S. Geron (front row, second from left), Western Mindanao branches group head and First Vice President Khurshid U. Kalabud (second row, left), Aglayan branch head Helen L. Tubeo (front row, left) and Roberto T. Flores of the Office of the City Mayor of Malaybalay (front row, right).

COMPOSTELA TO CELEBRATE 71ST ANNIVERSARY

NOTHER milestone in the history of the municipality of Compostela is set on August 1. This event also coincides with the 13th Buganihan Festival with the theme “Kayang-kaya Basta Maghiusa, Kalambuan Maangkon ‘Ta”. This captures the indomitable spirit of inclusiveness, which is a relevant concern pervading in the Compostela Valley province at this time. It may be worthwhile to mention that Compostela successfully rose from the hopelessness and struggled between the forces of nature in 2012— with the devastation of Typhoon Pablo—and the years of labor unrest. Its people together with the continuous collaboration from entities, such as the departments of labor and employment and agriculture; Technical Education and Skills Development Authority; Oplan Pagbabago of provincial and

local government units; the Armed Forces of the Philippines; the Philippine National Police; the service providers/ cooperatives; the Land Bank of the Philippines; and the growers, land owners and workers, including leading banana exporter Sumifru Philippines Corp., have formed yet another corporate socialresponsibility project to be launched on said event, dubbed as “Compostela Tulong Pangkabuhayan.” “Compostela Tulong Pangkabuhayan” is a sustainable livelihood communitydevelopment program intended for 450 displaced workers from the recent labor dispute, which is a positive action plan of above-mentioned entities in keeping with peace building and the achievement of progress in Compostela. The initial project offers vegetable and corn planting, dressmaking/tailoring and t-shirt printing, and swine raising.

SITEL REITERATES COMMITMENT TO INCLUSION, DIVERSITY AT PRIDE MARCH

ITEL Philippines showed full support of the 2019 Metro Manila Pride March with over 300 Sitel associates from Manila, Baguio and Tarlac coming together to join thousands marching for equal rights. “This was a very important initiative for Sitel as we place a strong emphasis on being an inclusive and safe company for all,” said Jorelle Robles, Sitel culture and corporate communications senior manager. “We have several LGBTQ+ employees and rallying behind them represents what we, as a company, believe—that we are one with the LGBTQ+ community, resisting together, and supporting their advocacy against discrimination and oppression.” Inclusion and diversity has always been a pillar of how Sitel does business. From racial and ethnic minorities to women in management to LGBTQ+ to PwDs, the

company strives to equally recognize underrepresented groups in the work force. “Sitel participating [at] the Pride March really meant a lot to me,” shared Bryan Kiguchi, Sitel learning specialist. “I feel that I am not alone in this fight and that my second home and family are here to back me up.” This year marks the first time Sitel has joined the Pride March as a company. The global BPO has partnered with the Philippine Financial Industry Pride, an organization bringing together companies committed in creating workplaces free from discrimination. “Our participation [at] the annual Metro Manila Pride March is a fantastic beginning for our group and we look forward to sustain the momentum with other exciting activities in the second half of the year,” said Leo Castillo, leadership development manager Sitel Baguio and Pride Barkada head.

By John Leicester & Samuel Petrequin

The Associated Press

IMES, France—A Tour de France jam-packed with unexpected plot twists is saving its biggest surprise for last. With six riders within reach of the podium heading into the toughest final stages in the Alps, the race that resumes on Tuesday after the final off-day is tantalizingly poised. Furious racing over the first 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) through Belgium and France, and the uncertain outcome ahead of the grand finale in Paris are conspiring to deliver the most engrossing Tour in recent memory. Like a summer rain, the suspense of still not knowing who will win with just six of the 21 stages remaining is exquisitely refreshing for cycling’s greatest race after years of implacable domination by the uber-rich, super-calculating British Ineos team, formerly Sky. “Nobody is really controlling the race as such. It’s way more exciting but it’s more like chess in another sense. It’s brilliant fun,” Ineos team boss Dave Brailsford said on Monday’s rest day. “We’ve sat here on the second day of a Grand Tour so many times and people say we’ve closed the race down and it’s not been exciting. That’s not been the case this time. It’s fun to be involved in one of most exciting editions in a long time.” Either one of Geraint Thomas, Ineos’ struggling defending champion, or Thibaut Pinot, the French climber who rebounded in the Pyrenees from what had seemed a decisive loss of time on the flat before the mountains, could still ride up the Champs-Elysees in the iconic yellow jersey on Sunday. A Pinot victory would trigger delirium across France, which has had no homegrown champion to celebrate since Bernard Hinault in 1985 and suffered the indignity of many years when Lance Armstrong and other dopers hijacked the race that is as much part of the French national identity as romance and the baguette. But Thomas’s Colombian teammate Egan Bernal or dark horses Steven Kruijswijk from the Netherlands and German rider Emanuel Buchmann could put French champagne back on ice. Making few waves and avoiding the misfortunes, mistakes and big offcolor days that sank other riders’ title hopes, they’re very much in the podium picture. But their stealthy consistency could hit its limits in the Alps, where conservative riding might not be enough to win if Pinot and others attack, as expected. Just 39 seconds—practically nothing in cycling, where riders often lose minutes when they wilt on big climbs—separate Thomas, in second place overall, from Buchmann, in sixth. Kruijswijk is third, Pinot fourth and Bernal fifth. Missing from this script, of course, is the yellow jersey himself, France’s sweetheart Julian Alaphilippe.

WILD FINISH AWAITS IN PARIS Furious racing over the first 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) through Belgium and France, and the uncertain outcome ahead of the grand finale in Paris are conspiring to deliver the most engrossing Tour in recent memory.

Sports BusinessMirror

| Wednesday, July 24, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

FRANCE’S Julian Alaphilippe wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey rides in the pack with Britain’s Geraint Thomas (left) during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 185 kilometers (114,95 miles) with start in Limoux and finish in Prat d’Albis, France, on Sunday. AP

His punchy, unpredictable style has endeared him to fans bored with the by-the-numbers wins that Sky, now Ineos, secured with Bradley Wiggins in 2012, four-time winner Chris Froome and, last year, with Thomas. But in the Pyrenees, Alaphilippe started to pay for the energies he expended in taking, losing, getting back, and then extending his race lead in weeks one and two. Having built up a lead of two minutes, two seconds over Thomas at the top of the Tourmalet, the first of seven climbs to above 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) at this Tour, Alaphilippe then cracked Sunday on the last ascent in the Pyrenees. His lead shrank to 1:35 and, most important, his ride appeared to signal that the even harder climbs to come in the Alps, where what remains of his lead could quickly melt away if he can’t stay with the pace, might be beyond his limit. Another big unknown is whether uncharacteristic signs of weakness at Ineos, with Thomas off-color on the Tourmalet and his usually solid teammates not setting a punishing pace up climbs, were just blips or perhaps some sort of devilish rope-a-dope strategy cooked up by Brailsford that, in the Alps, will see the team return to its can’t-catch-us best. Thomas talked a big game on the rest day, saying he hopes for an Alpine scrap with Pinot. “I’d love it, I’d relish it. Bring it on,” he said. “The main thing is going into the Alps I feel motivated to try and finish this Tour off well. It’s been a slightly up and down race compared to last year, but the main thing is I finish strong and I’m itching to go a lot better.” But the talking that counts will be done on the road. The Alpine stages from Thursday to Saturday will see the Tour ascend six times to above 2,000 meters in the three days, with two uphill finishes. The trilogy of pain for some, joy for others, will seal the podium placings before the ceremonial run-in to Paris, where there’ll be tears of red, white and blue—either of delight or sorrow. Either way, the Tour can say something that has not always been true in recent years: there is still much more to come.

IRELAND’S Shane Lowry walks arms outstretched on the 18th green as he goes on to win the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on Sunday. AP

LOWRY MAKES STATEMENT P

ORTRUSH, Ireland—No longer in the shadows of Irish golf, Shane Lowry now has his name etched on the base of the silver claret jug. It’s on there with more than a century’s worth of the best that have conquered the links to win the British Open. Lowry gazed at the oldest trophy in golf as he tried to soak up his storybook finish on Sunday at Royal Portrush, a course wet first from rain and then from tears. “I can’t believe this is mine,” Lowry said after his sixshot victory. He earned his place with a 63 in the third round that broke the 54-hole scoring record at the British Open and staked him to a four-shot lead. And then he handled the nerves and expectations, both in abundance, and never let anyone closer than three shots. A year ago, Lowry sat in a parking lot at Carnoustie and cried after missing the cut in the British Open for the fourth straight year.

“Golf wasn’t my friend at the time,” he said. And there he was on Sunday, in rain and wind so ferocious that pars felt like birdies, never giving anyone much of a chance as he closed with a one-over 72 for the largest margin of victory in the Open in nine years. Lowry isn’t afraid to be honest, and he didn’t mind telling caddie Bo Martin that he was nervous, scared and worried he would mess up for a raucous, rollicking crowd that wanted nothing more than to celebrate with him. “I suppose I didn’t even know going out this morning if I was good enough to win a major,” Lowry said. “And look, I’m here now, a major champion. I can’t believe I’m saying it, to be honest.” So many others in the Irish golf community can. Graeme McDowell recalls a story from famed swing Coach Pete Cowen, who long ago traveled to Dublin to scout the Irish Boys golf team. They were curious about his views on the obvious star—a teenager named Rory

McIlroy—except that Cowen saw more. “The guy said, ‘Who do you like?’ And he said, ‘Rory McIlroy looks pretty good, but that slightly overweight kid with the glasses on...he looks good,’” McDowell said. “So he’s always been talented.” That kid was Lowry, so talented that he was still an amateur 10 years ago when he won the Irish Open at County Louth. McDowell remembers something else about that Irish Open, the first time he met Lowry. “I just shot 61 at Baltray, and he came in and shot 62,” McDowell said. “And he didn’t even introduce himself. He said, ‘I can’t believe you beat me by one out there.’ And I’m like, ‘Who’s this kid?’” That kid is now “champion golfer of the year.” Lowry could barely contain his joy when he rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole for a six-shot lead with three to play. He knew it was over when he found the fairway on the 17th because “I knew that I could really lose a ball from there.” The cheers got louder with each step closer to the finish line, and Lowry stretched out his arms when his

second shot to the 18th was safely on the fringe. Waiting to celebrate with him was McDowell, a former US Open champion who grew up at Portrush; Padraig Harrington, who preceded Lowry as the first Irishman to win a major; four-time major champion Brooks Koepka and his caddie, Rickie Elliott, also raised at Portrush and once a promising amateur in Irish golf. Lowry was asked earlier in the week if he felt like a forgotten Irishman. The return of the British Open to Northern Ireland for the first time in 68 years was all about McIlroy, McDowell and Darren Clarke, a trio of Ulstermen with major championships. No one in these parts—the largest Open crowd outside of St. Andrews—will forget Lowry and his performance. “Everyone knows we’re all one country when it comes to golf,” Lowry said. The names on the claret jug include Harry Vardon and Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Lowry would be equally satisfied to see his name below Clarke and McIlroy, Harrington and Fred Daly. He held the jug aloft on the 18th green and said to

crowd, “This one’s for you.” Lowry was headed home for a celebration—the Irish are known for that, too. “It’s not going to sink in for a couple of days, is it?” he said. He won for the fifth time in his career, a short list that includes big wins—the Irish Open as an amateur, a World Golf Championship at Firestone and earlier this year in the Abu Dhabi Championship. “The one thing you want to do is back up your success,” Lowry said. “In the short term, I’m going to enjoy this, there’s no doubt about that. My big goal still remains the same, and that is to be on the plane going to Whistling Straits next year [for the Ryder Cup]. Hopefully, that involves a couple of wins along the way.” It will be hard to beat this one—an Irishman winning the first Open in Northern Ireland since 1951. He stood near the tunnel leading to stairs away from the 18th green with family, friends, coaches and major champions. He wasn’t the other Irishman or even the forgotten Irishman. He was a major champion. “He can create his own shadows,” McDowell said. AP

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Business

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

COSTS, TICKETS DEMAND RISING T By Stephen Wade The Associated Press

OKYO—The countdown for the Tokyo Olympics has hit 365 days. To mark the year-to-go mark, the gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals are to be unveiled on Wednesday as part of daylong ceremonies around the Japanese capital. Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics showcased bullet trains, futuristic designs and a new expressway, underlining Japan’s recovery following World War II. Those games were the first seen worldwide by early satellites, sending the Olympics into a new era. Japan’s capital has less to prove this time when the games open on July 24, 2020. Many of the venues are completed, Tokyo has abundant infrastructure and Japan is a byword for knowhow. There are, however, other matters: Expected heat (though this summer has been wet and mild), traffic

and subway congestion, costs, earthquake preparedness and ticket scarcity. Ticket demand by Japan residents alone is reported to be at least 10 times the supply. Abroad, prices are sure to soar on secondary ticket markets. Organizers have shattered records for local sponsorship revenue, which has passed $3 billion—about three times more than any previous Olympics. The main driver has been Japan’s giant advertising and marketing company Dentsu Inc., the exclusive marketing agency for Tokyo. “The fact that the talk is so much about not being able to get tickets,” Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said a few days ago, “is a symbol, a representation of the enthusiasm and expectations that a lot of people have toward the games.” Tokyo doesn’t need the Olympics to build infrastructure. It has some of the world’s best. Pressed to justify spending billions on

the games, Koike described the Olympics and Paralympics as an “accelerator” to get more things done, even if evidence overwhelmingly shows that working on Olympic deadlines drives up costs. Sports economist Robert Baade, who teaches at Lake

A “1-Year to Go” banner hangs at the Ariake Gymnastics Center on Monday in Tokyo. AP

Forest College outside Chicago and has researched the Olympics, says the games are “about marketing and branding. The most important part from a commercial standpoint is the opening and closing ceremony. Sport is the subtext.” Tokyo is building eight venues. The other 35 are defined as “temporary” or older buildings being reused, which organizers say has saved billions. But even existing venues need renovation. The centerpiece is the $1.25-billion National Stadium, which will open at the end of the year, and the Olympic Village for more than 10,000 athletes on the edge of Tokyo Bay. Tokyo will showcase four new sports—karate, skateboarding, sports climbing, surfing. A fifth— baseball and softball—is returning after being dropped following the 2008 Olympics. Exact costs—what are and are not Olympic expenses— are difficult to sort out. But Tokyo is spending about $20 billion to get ready, 70 percent of which is taxpayer money. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has repeatedly called Tokyo’s preparations “the best” in history. But there have been glitches and links to corruption. A group of anti-Olympic

Alibaba to run ticketing program of Beijing 2022, events onward

EIJING 2022 has employed the Alibaba Group to run its ticketing program for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics—a role the Chinese company seems set to fulfill for several editions of the Games afterward. The decision to appoint the Chinese e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology giant was officially announced during the fourth visit of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission to inspect preparations. It is expected they will be awarded the contract for several Olympic and Paralympic Games after Beijing 2022 as the IOC has been searching for a solution to how tickets are distributed following the most recent scandal at Rio 2016.

The IOC had launched a worldwide expression of interest as long ago in December 2015 following several high-profile ticket controversies before London 2012. Alibaba, a worldwide partner of the IOC since December 2017, plans to use its technological and data expertise to design the system, it has promised. The appointment of Alibaba has been made with the objective of securing a single provider to deliver ticketing services and operations over several Games editions, reducing costs and the complexity of hosting the event in line with the recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020 on efficient turnkey solutions. It is claimed future Organizing Committees will benefit from the opportunity to have a continuity of

Trade war to affect Winter Games

HINA’S increasingly bitter trade war with the US has not impacted preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games so far but organizers admit it could affect planning if a solution is not found. China’s economy this month slowed to its lowest growth rate in almost three decades, suggesting the trade war with Donald Trump is taking its toll. The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.2 percent in the second quarter compared with a year ago—the weakest reading since early 1992 when quarterly records began. Demand for Chinese exports has faltered in the face of mounting US trade pressure. Washington sharply raised tariffs on Chinese goods in May and, although the two sides have since agreed to hold off on further punitive action and resume trade talks, they remain at odds over key issues. The slackening of growth between April and June from 6.4 percent in the first quarter was also caused by waning domestic demand. “We claim to be a nonpolitical organization but we live in the real world so politics affect

us a lot,” Juan Antonio Samaranch, chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission which finished its three-day visit here today, told insidethegames. “For us, instability or trade wars or political international conflict affects the Olympic Games. “We have a very precious thing we need to defend—which is the Olympic values. “We have to protect that against all the possible political influence but we also have to adapt to our political world.” Samaranch added; “We try to navigate and try to get our ship in the most steady way toward the future in sometimes very troubled waters. “But what’s new?” China’s relationship with Canada is also strained following months of diplomatic rows between the two countries. Relations between the two countries began to falter in December when Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, a Chinese multinational technology company sometimes accused by Western countries of being a surveillance arm of the Chinese government. insidethegames

service through the provision of established systems and delivery experience, alleviating the need to design, engineer and deliver a solution for each individual Games edition. “The ticketing solutions provided will drive further innovation at the Olympic Games, enhance the spectator experience and reduce costs for organizers, delivering on the commitments made by Olympic Agenda 2020,” Timo Lumme, managing director of IOC Television and Marketing Services, said. Recent Olympic and Paralympic Games organizers have managed the total sale and distribution of approximately 10 million tickets for the Summer Games editions, with approximately 2 million tickets for the Winter

Games editions. Authorized ticket resellers are appointed by Local Organizing Committees for specific countries and territories. Companies selected have to sell the tickets at face-value but many offer other services, including travel and accommodation, helping them make a profit. But British company THG Sports was accused of selling 1,000 black market tickets for Rio 2016, a scandal which led to the arrest in Brazil of IOC Executive Board member and President of the Olympic Council of Ireland Patrick Hickey. He remains on bail at home in Dublin and is still awaiting to discover whether he will have to stand trial. AP

activists, many from outside Japan, has held small protests and other events in the last few days under the Japanese title “Hangorin no Kai”—roughly No Olympics. They question Olympic spending and have raised local housing and environmental issues. Tsunekazu Takeda, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee, was forced to resign 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. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics are implicated the same kind of vote-buying bribery. Tokyo organizers were also forced to redesign their logo when the original draft faced charges of plagiarism, and an international labor union has alleged worksafety violations at Olympic venues, largely regarding migrant labor. A futuristic design for the new stadium by thelate 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.

ALL BUSINESS IN ARIZONA

Diamondbacks’ Eduardo Escobar slides into third with a triple as Baltimore Orioles’ Hanser Alberto stops the throw during the fourth inning of a baseball game on Monday. AP

RONALDO

Ronaldo won’t face rape charge in Las Vegas

AS VEGAS—Cristiano Ronaldo won’t face criminal charges after a woman accused the soccer star of raping her in his suite at a Las Vegas resort more than 10 years ago, a top prosecutor said on Monday. A new investigation by Las Vegas police failed to show that Kathryn Mayorga’s claim could be proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt, Clark County District Att. Steve Wolfson said. “Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming,” Wolfson said in a statement. The decision represented a victory on one of two legal tracks tied to the 2009 allegation against one of the most recognizable and highly paid players in sports. In a lawsuit still pending in federal court, Mayorga alleges that she was pressured to sign an agreement to keep quiet in exchange for $375,000. Her lawyers want to void the deal and collect at least $200,000 more from Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s attorneys have acknowledged that the soccer star and Mayorga had consensual sex in June 2009, but they denied it was rape. Att. Peter Christiansen was traveling on Monday and wasn’t immediately available to comment. Attorneys for Mayorga, a former model and schoolteacher, did not immediately respond to telephone, text and e-mail messages. The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but Mayorga gave consent through her lawyers to make her name public. Her lawsuit says she met Ronaldo at a nightclub and went with him and other people to his suite at the Palms Hotel and Casino, where he assaulted her in a bedroom. Afterward, she signed a nondisclosure agreement under pressure from “fixers” trying to protect Ronaldo’s reputation, her lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall, has said. The lawsuit in US District Court in Las Vegas accuses Ronaldo or those working for him of conspiracy, defamation, breach of contract, coercion and fraud for allegedly allowing terms of the settlement to become public in European publications. Her attorneys say Mayorga never wanted her name released but became worried that she would be identified after a 2017 media report apparently referred to the encounter. Her lawyers have said in federal court

documents that they were having trouble personally serving Ronaldo with legal filings. A judge has given them an October 28 deadline. Ronaldo plays in Italy for the Turin-based soccer club Juventus. He played previously for Manchester United in England and Real Madrid in Spain, where he earned a then-record sum of €94 million, or about $130 million. Mayorga underwent a medical exam to collect DNA evidence shortly after she alleges Ronaldo assaulted her. Police closed their investigation in 2009 because Mayorga neither identified her attacker by name nor said where the alleged rape took place, said Wolfson, the elected prosecutor in Las Vegas. Police have said she identified her attacker only as a European soccer player. “As a result, the police were unable to... conduct any meaningful investigation,” Wolfson said on Monday. “Detectives were unable to search for and impound vital forensic evidence. In addition, video evidence, showing interactions between the victim and perpetrator before and after the alleged crime, was lost.” The investigation was

reopened in last year at the request of Mayorga’s attorneys, shortly before they sued Ronaldo. She spoke again with police, and authorities this year obtained a sample of Ronaldo’s DNA through Italian authorities. AP

orts

sMirror

ANIELLA UY hopes to finally put up a strong finish and end a series of last-round meltdowns in pursuit of a maiden Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) crown as the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Camp John Hay Ladies Championship unwraps on Wednesday in Baguio City. Uy has had a number of cracks at a LPGT diadem the last few tournaments but couldn’t seem to pull it off in the end, winding up second to Pauline del Rosario at Royal Northwoods last April and finishing third behind Chihiro Ikeda and del Rosario at Midlands last May. The former Junior World titlist also emerged as the best-placed local in last week’s ICTSI Pradera Verde Classic topped by Taiwanese amateur Yu-Chiang Hou via playoff over Thai Wanchana Poruangrong, ending up joint third with Japanese Mayuna Furukawa. She actually gained a share of the lead with nine holes left in the storm-hit event but reeled back with a bogey-riddled start at the back although she recovered with two birdies in the last three to salvage a share of third. But those failed bids should toughen up the former Gonzaga University and Cal State stalwart, who is as eager as the rest of the compact field to get going at

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 C3

UY SETS GOAL HIGH IN BAGUIO the up-and-down par-69 John Hay layout which puts emphasis on precision and putting. Uy, however, will have her hands full in the next three days with Princess Superal also out to recall the form that netted her a record triumph where she posted a record 17-under 190 as an amateur to beat Ikeda by eight in the LPGT inaugurals in 2013. Five Thai campaigners, meanwhile, opted to extend their stay after their Pradera stint with Supakchaya Pattaranakrueang, who outlasted former three-time LPGT Order of Merit winner

Cyna Rodriguez on the third playoff hole to win at Luisita last year, spearheading their charge in the P1-million event put up by ICTSI. Tiranan Yoopan and Numa Gulyanamitta, both due for a big win, are also in the fold along with Alisana Wedchakama and Ajira Nualraksa, with Japanese Ryuji Tanaka and Brunei’s Valerie Tan boosting the cast that also includes locals Alex Etter, Gretchen Villacencio, Marvi Monsalve, Pamela Mariano, Shery Villasencio and former leg winner Sarah Ababa. Six amateurs are also vying in the 54-hole

AL MENDOZA alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc., all looking to duplicate Superal’s feat in 2013, including Chanelle Avaricio, Mafy Singson, Samantha Dizon, Arnie Taguines, club bet Kim Min Ji of Korea and Eagle Ace Superal, who won the 13-14 crown in the Future Champions Golf in California three weeks ago.

Pangs of old age

DANIELLA UY hopes for a breakthrough victory at Camp John Hay.

FINALLY, A PHL PRESIDENT SPEAKS SOUNDLY ON SPORTS Marcelino twins, Pirates rip Stags in NCAA hoops

YCEUM of the Philippines University muscled its way in the fourth quarter to turn back San Sebastian College, 80-69, in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 men’s basketball on Tuesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. Twins Jayvee and Jaycee Marcelino did the heavy lifting, with Renzo Navarro and Jayson David sharing the spotlight after giving their former school a harsh beating especially in the final period where they pulled the Pirates back to form from a 13-point deficit at halftime. Jayvee Marcelino scored 12 points, while his brother Jaycee scattered 10 of his 11 points in the second half to gift their team its third win in four games. “We’re out there to play our best no matter the circumstance in front of us. We just keep on playing,” Lyceum Coach Topex Robinson said. “We’re just lucky in the end that they started missing. Players did a great job and really gave us this win.” With the Golden Stag still holding a 59-52 lead entering the fourth period, the Marcelino twins and Navarro conspired for a 28-10 scoring assault that the San Sebastian could not overcome. Navarro, a former Golden Stag, scored eight of his 11 points in the final minutes as the Pirates clamped down on defense to foil all efforts by their opponents to turn the game around. The Pirates held San Sebastian star RK Ilagan scoreless in a 0-of-4 shooting. Ilagan had a torrid start this season, leading the team in scoring for a quick 2-0 run that is now blemished. David, another former Golden Stags, conspired with Navarro to punish their former team from beyond the arc where they scattered five triples—the most important coming in that decisive fourth quarter run. With Ilagan shooting blanks, Allyn Bulanadi took the load for San Sebastian with 13 points and six rebounds. Ramil Tero added 12, while Itchie Altamirano had 10 points.

HILIPPINE Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez expressed his elation over the creation of a National Academy for Sports for high-school students that President Duterte mentioned in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Monday at the House of Representatives. It marked the first time in distant memory that a chief executive of the country included sports a priority among his policies in the Sona. “I express my gratitude to the President for being a true leader and a hands-on chief [executive],” said Ramirez, also the chef de mission to the 30th Southeast Asian Games the

country is hosting in December. “There might be bigger priorities but President Duterte has always given sports his support,“ Ramirez said as he cited the President’s perfect attendance in the last three Palarong Pambansa opening ceremony since his assumption to office. Ramirez said the academy will not only help the country identify sports talent, but will also “elevate the sporting knowledge of every Filipino, and hopefully provide us with a deeper pool of talent for the elite [sports].” Since 2016, the PSC has initiated the promotion of sports education and science

FLAG OFF AT SANDARI BATULAO A rider is being flagged off for the Men’s Elite

individual time trial race of the PhilCycling 2019 National Road Championships presented by Standard Insurance, MVP Sports Foundation and Tagaytay City right beside the Sandari Batulao entrance in Nasugbu, Batangas, on Tuesday morning.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

OWNERS of Triple Crown third leg champion Real Gold—Jing Javier, Butch Mamon, Alex Mamon and Chloe Mamon—pose with their trophy with trainer Reymundo Henson and jockey John Paul A. Guce. They are joined by Philippine Racing Commission Commissioners Reli de Leon and Bienvenido Niles Jr. and Metro Turf Racing Manager Rudy Prado and his deputy Arthur Escala.

Real Gold foils Boss Emong, rules Triple Crown’s 3rd leg

EAL Gold got back at second-leg conqueror Boss Emong to win the third offering of the 2019 Philippine Racing Commission’s (Philracom) Triple Crown series in a thrilling night race before en enthusiastic Sunday crowd at the MetroTurf Racing Complex in Malvar, Batangas. The C and H Enterprise-owned Real Gold won the Triple Crown’s first leg by a scintillating eight lengths at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite, in May, before losing a heartbreaker in the second leg last month. Real Gold lost by half a length to darkhorse Boss Emong at the Saddle and Clubs Leisure Park

in Naic, Cavite. This time around, the horse was not to be denied. With the expert riding of jockey John Paul A. Guce, Real Gold seized the lead in the final 400 and stayed there until the finish to frustrate Boss Emong in the 2,000-meter race. “We stuck to our game plan and that is to go for the win late in the race. Some of our opponents have the speed, so we needed a strong finish,” Guce said. Boss Emong grabbed the early lead, followed by My Jopay and the two set the pace three fourths of the way. Racing on the outside, Real Gold made its move in the final 600 meters before finally

snatching the lead in the last 400 meters. The win was worth another P1.8 million for owner C and H Enterprise of Butch and Alex Mamon, Jing Javier, Joseph Dyhengco and Robert Ramirez. Together with its first-leg win and secondplace finish in the second stage, Real Gold netted P4,275,000.00 in the series, nearly half of the P9 million allotted by the sponsoring Philracom for the 2019 Triple Crown Series. “We are very happy with the result. Two out of three ain’t so bad,” said Butch Mamon, one of the owners of Real Gold, whose winning breeder Dyhengco was also rewarded with P100,000. Boss Emong, ridden by Dan Camanero, settled for the runner-up purse of P675,000 for owner Edward Vincent Diokno. Shanghai Grey (jockey JB Hernandez, owner Melanie Habla) settled for third spot worth P375,000.

for national coaches and trainers through its partnerships with the Korean Institute of Sports Science and the United States Sports Academy. The President signed a landmark law on sports, Republic Act 11214, or “the Philippine Sports Training Center Act,” which establishes a state-of-the-art sports training facility in the country that will rise in Rosales, Pangasinan, in 2022. The facility will feature numerous infrastructure for administrative, sports science and medical needs, as well as dormitories for athletes and coaches. It will cater to 39 Olympic and non-Olympic sports.

Bigger, tougher Ironman 70.3 up in Cebu

ORE than 2,100 entries from a record 57 nations gear up for another duel of power and endurance in the second Regent Aguila Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championships presented by Philam Vitality set on August 11 at Shangri-La Mactan Resort & Spa in Cebu. The huge field is headlined by 20 pros in the biggest gathering of elite triathletes in the eighth staging of the grueling 1.9-km swim/90-km bike/21-km run event that also features the Asian Elite division and 11 other age categories in what has long been considered as the country’s triathlon hub. Mexican Mauricio Mendez and Czech Radka Kahlefeldt have confirmed participation in the event organized by Sunrise Events Inc. and which they ruled in varying fashions last year following their romps in Ironman 70. 3 Davao. But the two expect a tougher, fierce challenge this time with former champions Tim Reed and Sam Betten out to restamp their class and fellow Aussies Tim van Berkel, Luke

McKenzie, Mitch Robins, Lindsey Lawry and Blake Kappler joining the title chase. Boosting the men’s pro cast are Bahrain’s Eric Watson, Czech Jakub Langhammer, New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone and American Justin Ghost. Out to foil Kahlefeldt’s back-to-back title drive in the women’s side are multi-titled Swiss Caroline Steffen and Aussie Dimity Lee Duke, Hungarian Anna Eberhardt, Great Britain’s Francesca Sanjana and Courtney Gilfillan, Amanda Wilson and Lauren Wood of Australia. The event, sponsored by Aguila Energy Drink, also lured bets from Canada, Ireland, Austria, Macao, Russia, Syria, Vietnam, Chile, China, Bermuda, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Guam, Pitcairn, Morocco, Kenya, Brazil, Brunei, Egypt, India, Kuwait, Cambodia; France, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Kuwait, New Caledonia, Romania, the US, the United Kingdom, South Korea, the UAE, Spain, Qatar, South Africa, Singapore, Turkey, Ukraine, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Taiwan and Poland.

WHILE we celebrate again the latest victory of Manny Pacquiao, almost forgotten is the forceful fact that he did it in utter defiance of Father Time. And, yes, as if by reflex, we crucified judge Glenn Feldman for making Keith Thurman the winner. But only if we delved deeper a bit into Feldman’s verdict, it would somehow reveal the screaming truth: Pacquiao is on the brink. Or crossroad, if you will. Cruel as it may seem, there is one ray of hope in the Feldman spin. While he saw Thurman the winner, Feldman’s decision was without conviction. The 114-113 score had bordered on the unsure. Line that up against the identical 115-112 tallies of Dave Moretti and Tim Cheatham, Feldman’s score would become suspect— exposing again the almost eternal possibility of a syndicate controlling professional boxing. While indeed Pacquiao came out smoking, even decking Thurman in the first round with a right to the face, he failed to sustain his momentum. He even slowed down a bit from the middle rounds and he was lucky to survive Thurman’s telling rally in the homestretch. After scoring his stunning first-round knockdown—a first for Thurman in 31 fights— Pacquiao’s next best chance for a knockout came in the 10th. But after a jarring left to the solar plexus in round 10 that sent Thurman reeling and stumbling like a drunk, Pacquiao couldn’t complete the job. If, say, that happened five, seven, years ago, Thurman would have been dead meat, so to speak. The present is cruelly honest, sometimes. So that the reality is, with Pacquiao at 40, the pangs of old age might have started to creep in. The crowd, who normally knows best, was impressed virtually for only five rounds, from the first to the fifth, when Pacquiao was at his finest: fast, powerful and skillful. However, his dance would turn from jibe to slow drag, giving the eagle-eyed Thurman the impetus to counterattack. Thus, from the sixth to the ninth rounds, fortunes had swung swiftly in Thurman’s favor. His shots found a fast fading Pacquiao, some of them genuinely dangerous. Only sheer guts saved Pacquiao, who, magically, after unearthing a second wind in the 10th, delivered that killer left that almost tossed Thurman to dreamland. But because Thurman was younger by 10 years and was superbly conditioned, he weathered the storm with flourish—even almost stealing the fight with a strong finish. Now, again, the question: Is it time for Pacquiao to retire? The handwriting on the wall had been there all this time. If the punishment administered him by Thurman wasn’t proof enough, darn. Pacquiao earned $10 million in getting banged up. Call it a day, Manny. There is work to do in the Senate. And more. THAT’S IT When it’s playoff time, teams play differently almost always. A squad can suddenly transform from mediocre to brilliant and vice versa. San Miguel Beer (SMB) had proven that again when it practically toyed with Northport, the sensational elimination pacesetter, on Sunday in Game One of their best-of-three quarterfinals. While the Beermen, a mere seventh-place finisher, bristled with hurtful shots, tournament leader Batang Pier appeared as inferior as a cellar-dweller, their game as Greek as censorship to a free nation. That is why I see no reason why SMB, behind its timely import replacement Chris McCullough, could not finish Northport off in their Game Two clash today in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup...Happy birthday to Sol F. Juvida, the poet/fictionist/professor and the pride and joy of Calauag, Quezon. Greetings, also, to Mayasoh M. Sadiwa, the birthday soulmate of Danny “Sir John” Isla, who is now based in Auckland, New Zealand. Cheers!

POC poll body convenes for weekend’s elections

HE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has started stitching together the procedure for Sunday’s special elections that will select a new president, chairman and two members of the executive board. Joey Romasanta, sitting as acting president in his capacity as first vice president, and another acting officer, secretary general Charlie Ho, met with election body members Atty. Teodoro Kalaw and Fr. Vic Calvo on Tuesday to polish the political exercise

ordered by the International Olympic Committee. Abono Partylist Rep. Conrado Estrella was absent but confirmed his availability for Sunday’s elections at the Century Park Sheraton. Fr. Calvo also nominated Kalaw as chairman of the election committee. The elections will use a similar guideline that was utilized in the special elections that saw the election of Rep. Abraham Tolentino as chairman and Ricky Vargas as president, ending Jose

Conjuangco’s 15-year administration. Vargas, Tolentino and two other board members resigned in the aftermath of a recent POC leadership row, thus prompting the second special elections in two years. The election body initially set a no-mobile phone, no-camera and no-voice recording, as well as restricting voters from divulging their choice candidates. Any violation will render the voter’s ballot invalid. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

IN this Saturday July 20, 2019, photo, Ellie Smart and Owen Weymouth pictured at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. The two high divers at the world championships fell in love not just with the sport of high diving but also with each other. They now travel the world competing together and coaching each other to new extremes. AP

Fear not a problem for couple divers at world meet

Sports BusinessMirror

| Wednesday, July 24, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

PEATY, HOSSZU DOMINANT AT SWIM CHAMPIONSHIPS

WANGJU, South Korea— Watching high divers take a nine-story plunge into the waters below is anxietyinducing enough. Imagine if that person falling through the air is your significant other. For American Ellie Smart and British diver Owen Weymouth, that fear is a regular reality. The couple fell in love not just with the sport of high diving but also with each other. Now, not only do they get the adrenaline rush of diving themselves but of watching the person they love most risk their well-being to execute a perfect dive. “Usually, I want him to watch everything,” Smart said. Weymouth is happy to oblige. “You can’t make mistakes or else you’re going to go to the hospital,” he said. “When you’re with someone, and you know the risk for them, you want to be there with them all the time.” That means the two were together when the worst happened last year: Smart crashed from the 20-meter (65 feet) platform, falling on her back and dislocating a rib. With her confidence gone, the injuries and accidents piled on. “I have come home crying, thinking, ‘I can’t do it anymore, it’s too hard, too scary,’” she said. Weymouth was the one who encouraged her to push past the fear, staying on deck for all the crashes and hard landings. “She was landing bad,” he said, “and when you land bad from up there, it hurts.” Becoming a de facto coach, Weymouth committed to watching all of Smart’s dives to help her progress. The hard work paid off and after a disappointing season Smart earned a bronze medal at last year’s Fina World Cup, punching her ticket to the world championships in Gwangju. Smart is competing in the women’s 20-meter event this week. Weymouth is diving in men’s 27-meter (89 feet) event. Despite their fearlessness, the two realize that even they have their limits when it comes to the risks they’re comfortable taking in front of each other. Recently, Weymouth decided an armstand dive that makes him nervous was simply too scary to do with Smart watching. So, they did what perhaps less adrenalineseeking couples would do in a similar situation. AP

GOLD medalist Canada’s Margaret MacNeil (center) gestures with silver medalist Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom (right) and bronze medalist Australia’s Emma McKeon to Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee following the medal ceremony for the women’s 100-meter butterfly final at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, on Monday. AP

By Beth Harris The Associated Press

WANGJU, South Korea—Adam Peaty became the first man to win a third 100-meter breaststroke title at the World Swimming Championships on Monday night. Katinka Hosszu of Hungary also added more gold to her collection. Peaty claimed the title in 57.14 seconds, a night after he became the first man to break 57 seconds in the semifinals. The British swimmer was under his own world-record pace at the turn before coming home a full body length in front and 1.32 seconds ahead of teammate James Wilby. In the semis, Peaty was timed in 56.88. He’s also the current Olympic champion. “That’ll fuel me for next year because I know how bad I want to clear 56 even faster now,” Peaty said. “I know exactly how to do it but I’ve obviously run out of opportunities here.” Wilby touched in 58.46. Yan Zibei of China was third in 58.63. Hosszu extended her dominance in the women’s 200 individual medley, claiming her record fourth title. That’s the same number of times she’s won the 400 IM. “It might seem just another gold medal but for me it’s

really special to be here and be able to win,” said Hosszu, who last year filed for divorce from her husband and training partner. “It’s been a tough journey.” Nicknamed “The Iron Lady” for her relentless workload, Hosszu won in two minutes, 7.53 seconds. Ye Shiwen of China finished 1.07 seconds back in second. Sydney Pickrem of Canada took bronze. Canada’s Margaret MacNeil, a 19-year-old competing in her biggest international meet so far, upset Sarah Sjostrom in the women’s 100 butterfly, an event the Swede had won four times. “I was really hoping just to get on the podium,” MacNeil said, “but getting a gold is just unbelievable.” Sjostrom took it out strong, dipping under her worldrecord pace on the first lap, while MacNeil was in fifth. But MacNeil roared back with the fastest closing lap—29.06—the eight-woman Final and touched first in 55.83. Sjostrom was second in 56.22, denied a record fifth title in the 100 fly. Emma McKeon of Australia earned bronze in 56.61. “Obviously, I would be more happy with a gold medal,” Sjostrom said. After receiving their medals, the three women gathered

Ledecky pulls out from 2 events due to illness

WANGJU, South Korea—Katie Ledecky withdrew from the 200-meter freestyle preliminaries and the 1,500-meter final on Tuesday at the World Swimming Championships because of illness. Her coach, Greg Meehan, said doctors were assessing Ledecky, but had no official diagnosis. “She woke up this morning and she’s not feeling well at all,” he said. “I’m hopeful that we see her racing again this week.” The eight-day meet ends on Sunday. “This is brutal for her not to be competing,” Meehan said, noting Ledecky’s famous competitive nature. Shortly after Meehan spoke to reporters, USA Swimming said Ledecky was out of the evening’s 1,500 free final. Ledecky was the fastest qualifier for the grueling event in 15 minutes, 48.90 seconds—2.68 seconds faster than the next quickest swimmer. But the 14-time world champion hasn’t been in the pool since Monday’s prelims. “If you get back into racing too early, it’s just going to make the road to recovery a little bit longer,” Meehan said. “We’re just in a kind of half-day by half-day [mode] and

hoping that she turns the corner here quickly.” US National Team Managing Director Lindsay Mintenko said Ledecky hasn’t been feeling well since she arrived in Gwangju on July 17. She was being seen by US national team medical staff at the athletes’ village. Meehan said doctors were awaiting lab results. Ledecky had been scheduled to swim in Tuesday’s morning heats of the 200 free, one of the showcase events in the pool. It would have been a rematch between her and Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, who stunned Ledecky to win the 400 freestyle final on Sunday. The event also includes Federica Pellegrini of Italy, Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden and Penny Oleksiak of Canada. Also dropping out of the 200 free were Australia’s Emma McKeon and Canada’s Taylor Ruck. McKeon was reported to be not feeling well, while Ruck instead wants to focus on her remaining events. “The three girls that pulled out are probably my top 3 challenges, so it’s a little bit easier now,” Titmus said. “But

on the top podium spot and raised their palms to the crowd, displaying a message to ailing 19-year-old Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee. “Rikako never give up” it read, with hearts decorating their palms. Sjostrom came up with the idea. Ikee announced in February that she has leukemia. She was the world junior champion in the 100 fly and had the fastest time in the world last year. She is aiming to return in time to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. “We’re hoping this will show that we’re supporting her and we’re here if she needs anything,” said MacNeil, who swims at Michigan. The US won its first-ever gold in the men’s 50 fly, a nonOlympic event. Caeleb Dressel’s time of 22.35 set a championship record and earned him a ninth career world title. Two years ago, Dressel won seven golds to equal Michael Phelps’s record at a single worlds. The 50 fly was the only event Dressel failed to win in Budapest. Dressel tied a bandana belonging to a former highschool mentor who died on the ribbon that was placed around his neck as a way to carry her memory with him. “That’s faster than two years ago and a better place than two years ago,” Dressel said. “It’s good, good for Team USA and I’m glad I can be a part of keeping that ball rolling.”

China’s Sun Yang was back in the pool for the 200 freestyle semifinals a night after winning the 400 free. He qualified second-fastest behind Clyde Lewis of Australia. The Final is on Tuesday night. Earlier on Monday, Fina’s executive board met in Gwangju to discuss Mack Horton’s podium protest against Sun and decided to send a warning letter to Swimming Australia and to Horton. “While Fina respects the principle of freedom of speech, it has to be conducted in the right context,” the board said in a statement. Horton refused to take his spot on the medals stand or shake Sun’s hand after finishing second to the Chinese star in the 400 free. The Aussie swimmer is angry that Sun, who served a three-month doping suspension in 2014, is being allowed to compete in Gwangju before he faces a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing in September that could potentially end his career. After getting upset in the 400 freestyle on Sunday, Katie Ledecky’s lone race was the morning preliminaries of the 1,500 freestyle. She breezed through the grueling race in 15 minutes, 48.90 seconds—2.69 seconds faster than secondfastest qualifier Simona Quadarella of Italy. The Final is on Tuesday night.

Pellegrini’s still in there, Sarah’s still in there, so it’s still a really tough challenge.” Sjostrom advanced to the semifinals with the fastest qualifying time of 1:55.14. Meehan said Ledecky’s illness was not an excuse for her second-place finish in the 400. However, she had the slowest last lap of anyone in the final. Titmus went 1.83 seconds faster than Ledecky over the last 50 meters. “There’s having trouble finishing a race and then there’s coming home in 31.7, and I think that was maybe a little bit of a sign,” Meehan said. “She was really having a hard time through the last third of that 1,500 yesterday. I was worried about her at that time.” Ledecky’s lone remaining individual event is the 800 free, and the preliminary heats are on Friday. “We’re heartbroken for her because she really had come in a great position,” UNITED States’s Katie Ledecky reacts after her second-place finish in the women’s 400-meter Meehan said, “and hopefully freestyle final at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Ledecky we get to see that at some has withdrawn from the 200-meter freestyle event on medical grounds. AP point this week.” AP

Just God

EAR God, You display Your faithful love to all who call on You from their hearts. In faith we pray: Turn Your ear to our prayer, oh God. Support nurses, physicians and surgeons in their efforts to tend to the sick with mercy and understanding. Watch over the homeless, runaways and young people who are at risk, and who are searching for love and attention. Grant everlasting life to all the souls in Purgatory and our beloved dead. May God bless us, protect us from evil and bring us together to everlasting life in Christ. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life

DOUBLE TAKE: CELEBRITIES TAKE MISTAKEN IDENTITY IN STRIDE D3

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Instagram expands hiding ‘likes’ to make you happier By BaRBaRa oRTuTay The Associated Press

AN FRANCISCO—Instagram is expanding a test to hide how many “likes” people’s posts receive as it tries to combat criticism that such counts hurt mental health and make people feel bad when comparing themselves to others. The Facebook-owned photo-sharing service has been running the test in Canada since May. Now, Facebook said the test has been expanded to Ireland, Italy, Japan, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand. Facebook typically tests new Facebook and Instagram features in smaller markets before bringing them to the US, if it ever does. The company would not comment on what it’s learned from the Canada test or if it has plans to expand it to the US any time soon. One group that may be affected is Instagram “influencers,” the major,

minor or micro celebrities who use social media to market products and, otherwise, influence their hordes of followers. After all, if you post a photo and no one likes it, did you really post it? People can still see how many people liked their own photos, but won’t see counts for other people’s posts. Rather, they could tap to see a list of all the accounts that liked the other posts, but would have to count the total manually. It’s a task few people would bother with. Likewise, though Instagram isn’t hiding the number of followers on an account, it still requires an extra tap or two to find that. “It makes it hard to find who the influencers are,” said Ryan Hilton, a 27-year-old Canadian who works in social media and has been part of the no-likes test for months. “It’s hard to know who to follow because everyone looks the same.” Hilton, who has a personal account, as well as one for his dog, the latter with

more than 3,200 followers, added that he understands why Instagram is doing this. Hilton said his younger sister, who is in high school, is “obsessed” with likes. “It’s mostly for the younger generation, people in high school and stuff,” he said. “There is a lot of pressure. If someone has 1,000 likes and someone has two likes, that probably makes them feel not very nice.” While Hilton said the change will probably slow down the influencer world a little bit, he pointed out that a lot of young influencers now are using live videos, not static photos, to build their following. Here, likes are still visible. Guy Avigdor, cofounder and chief operating officer of influencer marketing company Klear, said many marketers are also moving toward Story, Instagram’s disappearing video and photo feature. “If anything, now is a time for the industry to adapt more adequate metrics for measuring influencer impact and reduce reliance on likes,” Avigdor said. n

Pet Corner BusinessMirror

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

DLSU-Pusa pushes to sustain advocacy

Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Elisabeth Moss, 36; Anna Paquin, 36; Jennifer Lopez, 49; Kristin Chenoweth, 50. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Be positive, but don’t feel the need to make changes without proper research. You’ll be inclined to take on too much or to make promises that are unrealistic this year if you aren’t careful. Much can be accomplished if you use intelligence, as well as enlist the help of others. Know what you want and stick to the basics. Your lucky numbers are 4, 11, 17, 24, 29, 38, 45.

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

HANKS to Archer, De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila plans to enhance its advocacy of looking after feline creatures. DLSU faculty member Laureen Velasco, a cofounder of the DLSU-Professors for the Upliftment of Society’s Animals (DLSU-Pusa), told BusinessMirror in an e-mail interview that they plan to launch an Archer Legacy Fund in the future to enable its followers and supporters to donate funds that will be used to sustain their advocacy, acquire cat food and fund the treatment of sick cats. Archer, who recently passed away, came from a stray cat family staying at the Henry Sy grounds during the building’s construction. Before the inauguration of the Henry Sy Building, Velasco recalled all the cats were rounded up for disposal—a regular practice in many communities. However, a guard told her that one kitten was so quick that they failed to catch him. That kitten was Archer. His entire family was rounded up except for him. A security personnel fondly called Ate Jenny noticed him and started caring for him when he was still a kitten. Jenny gave him the name “YanYan.” When the North Gate finally opened, a juvenile and slim Archer frequented the area. Some faculty later on named him “Security Cat” because he frequently joined the guards there. She said the project does not receive funding from DLSU except for the social engagement project to neutering/spaying of 74 cats in the campus and the neighboring areas outside DLSU. Moreover, Chua said the long-term plan involves the neutering/spaying as many cats in the neighborhood of the Taft campus, including Quirino, Harrison, Dakota, Leveriza, Leon Guinto, Estrada, Vito Cruz streets. Moreover, DLSU-Pusa is pushing the envelope further. It plans to establish satellite organizations such as “Senior Pusa” for the senior high-school students, “Pusa Jr” (Pusa’s Undergraduate Students Association), and a satellite organization at the Science and Technology Complex in Laguna. “We hope to help other schools as well by giving them ideas on how we launched our own animal

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Being a good listener will help you avoid an emotional falling-out with one of your friends, relatives or associates. Mull over what’s being said and consider the best way to make what’s put in front of you work. HHH

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Hard work will bring about positive change. Listen to experts and come up with solutions that will benefit everyone. If you leave someone out of the mix, you will face opposition. HHH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Set the stage for success. Don’t be afraid to step into the limelight and use your home base as your building block for future endeavors. Refuse to let anyone use emotional means to deter you from moving forward with your plans. HHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Know what and whom you are up against before you step into the ring. Use your imagination and ability to visualize what it is you want to do. Having a solid plan will make it difficult for others to interfere. HHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take a close look at your options; assess what others are doing. Don’t feel you have to follow the crowd or get involved in something that is excessive financially or physically. HHHHH

f welfare organization and the challenges that come with it,” she said. Velasco said DLSU-Pusa also hopes to develop a more sustainable way to fund their advocacy. “Funding is our No. 1 problem. Cat food and veterinarian bills are not cheap. We hope to get more Pusapporters involved also. It takes a village to sustain this advocacy,” she pointed out. Velasco added DLSU-Pusa also hopes to be able

CAT WITH FIRECRACKERS STRAPPED TO PAW HAS LEG AMPUTATED PITTSBURGH—An animal rescue group in Pittsburgh says someone strapped firecrackers to a cat’s front left paw with rubber bands and set them off, causing such severe injuries the animal’s leg had to be amputated. Humane Animal Rescue says on its Facebook page that two good Samaritans brought the cat in over the weekend after finding it limping around on the mangled, bloody leg. Based on how the wound had begun healing, officials at the rescue say the injury likely happened on the Fourth of July. Jamie Wilson of the rescue group says there was barely any paw left, and veterinarians decided to remove the damaged leg. The cat, who staffers have named Pickles, is on the mend and will be up for adoption soon. AP

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THIS photo provided by Humane Animal Rescue on July 16 shows a cat being treated at the Humane Animal Rescue in Pittsburgh. The animal rescue group says someone strapped firecrackers to the cat’s front left paw with rubber bands and set them off, causing such severe injuries the animal’s leg had to be amputated. The cat, who staffers have named Pickles, is on the mend and will be up for adoption soon. AP

to rehome/adopt out as many adoptable cats. It has a communications team that’s thinking of better ways to promote adoption/rehoming. Finally, Velasco said Archer will not be dethroned or replaced as DLSU-Pusa’s mascot/ambassador even after his death. “No one among our campus cats has reached Archer’s status despite the fact there are other favorites and deeply loved campus cats. There can only be one Archer,” she stressed. n

West Virginia group opening pantry to help feed hungry pets CLARKSBURG, West Virginia—A West Virginia organization is helping to feed hungry pets and provide other necessities with its pet pantry. The Exponent Telegram reports the Progressive Women’s Association in Clarksburg is starting Peppy’s Pet Pantry to help people who have trouble affording their pets. Association Assistant Director Kelli Hagerman says the group wants to make it possible for people to keep their pets, which she says are often loved like children. She says the pantry will have dog and cat food, kitty litter and accessories such as leashes, bowls, collars and toys. The organization’s president, Rosalyn Queen, says she expects the pantry will especially help older people on fixed incomes. Hagerman says the pantry has received items from some local humane societies and individuals, as well as monetary contributions. AP

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Stop thinking and start doing. You can bring about positive changes that will make you feel more comfortable about the direction your life is heading. Listen to someone you trust; it will prompt you to move forward with gusto. HH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Deal with those who are standing in your way. Obtaining a clear passage to pursue your goals will be essential if you want to be successful. Don’t put up with complainers. Make your position known and proceed on your own. HHHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Too broad an outlook will lead to uncertainty. Tighten up your plans and look for alternatives that will allow you the freedom to make adjustments as you move forward. To eliminate undue stress, don’t make promises. HHH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Share an honest opinion when dealing with friends, relatives or peers. It’s important not to lead anyone on if you want to maintain a stellar reputation. Don’t reveal personal secrets or passwords. Diplomacy will be required to counter an unexpected reaction. HH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Your emotions will lead to positive changes. Don’t fight the inevitable when you should embrace it. If someone doesn’t like the choices you make, that’s OK—as long as you don’t let him or her interfere in your plans. HHH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Share your innovative ideas with people you feel you can assist. What you do for others will help deter an argument that can influence how or where you work. HHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Your reputation will get a boost, and a chance to get ahead financially looks promising. A partnership will put you on solid ground personally and professionally. Make special plans with someone you love; together you’ll build a stronger relationship. HHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are proactive, outgoing and charitable. You are adaptable and progressive.

‘the first shall be last’ BY STANLEY NEWMAN The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Present as an honor 6 Face peel venues 10 Touch down 14 Southeast Asian capital 15 Sample public opinion 16 Something in the air 17 Beef in some burgers 18 Prefix for “oxidant” 19 Philharmonic woodwind 20 New store’s proclamation 23 S’mores crackers 26 Esteems 27 Renaissance Faire weapons 28 Informal summons 30 Invalidate 31 Burn lightly 32 Govt. prosecutors 35 Hardly moving weather system 39 Family guy 40 Wii rival 41 T-shirt size 42 Sweeping stories 44 Keyboarder, essentially

5 Become prevalent 4 48 Portrays 49 What may top a screw 52 Cloverleaf portion 53 Cylindrical pasta 54 Some physician’s samples 58 Enthusiastic about 59 Prep school near Windsor Castle 60 Business with virtual carts 61 Try out 62 Slangy chum 63 Alternative to U-Haul DOWN 1 ___ moment (epiphany) 2 Looking pale 3 Director Lee 4 Early version of a film 5 Two-time prime minister Benjamin 6 Chronological intervals 7 Frog hangout 8 Female choir voice 9 Deceitful 10 $1 Canadian coin, informally 11 Mad Men milieu

2 Nary a soul 1 13 Bottom-of-barrel contents 21 Times when GMA can be watched 22 Mess something up 23 Etching material 24 Totaled 25 Former UN leader Kofi 28 Pandemonium 29 Manifesto man 31 Fast Money airer 32 Greek column category 33 Unsettled feeling 34 Decides to undo a deletion 36 Rusted, say 37 Bug zapper ancestor 38 Breakneck speed 42 Trap for a long fish 43 Sidekick 44 Where a hole starts 45 Get lost 46 App storer 47 Barrels of laughs 48 Batting only, for short 50 Style of some snack chips

1 Pack away 5 55 Young fellow 56 Fictional statement 57 Camera catalog abbr.

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

NEW FACE, WHO’S THIS?

SHE is a new face who got a big break via an upcoming project. Everybody is happy for the new face, of course, and people are giving her praise because of her beautiful face. Alas, someone had released a side-by-side comparison of her face before and after enhancements were done to it and everyone was shocked. The new face was not bad-looking but she certainly isn’t the beauty that she is now and the way her face was redone is certainly admirable. She looks effortlessly beautiful, so we’re not going to shame her. Instead, we say: Good for you!

MEAN GIRL JESSICA CHASTAIN (left) and Christina Hendricks

SAMUEL L. JACKSON (left) and Laurence Fishburne

Double take: Celebrities take mistaken identity in stride N EW YORK—“Hey, aren’t you...” Well, no. As famous as they are, celebrities sometimes get misidentified as another A-list face, but many told The Associated Press that they take it in stride. “I get [mistaken for] everyone, anyone who has red hair,” laughed Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, who has been confused with Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain. The culprits include a department store worker who wrongly identified her as the Zero Dark Thirty actress. “Chastain’s epic,” Hendricks said. For Chastain, the redhead double take usually involves Bryce Dallas Howard: “I remember one time being on the subway and I was looking at a magazine and there was a picture of her in it, like a small picture, and I was like ‘What am I doing in this magazine?’ I actually had that thought,” Chastain recalled. Even Howard’s dad—director Ron Howard—was once fooled, Chastain said. “I was walking by and I was like ‘Oh, that’s Ron Howard.’ And then my friend who was with me said he turned to someone and goes ‘I think I just saw Bryce.’” When the 2011 film The Help came along and the two actresses got to work together, they ran to a mirror. “We looked at each other, at our faces, and we were like ‘Yeah we look exactly alike,’” Chastain said. It’s not just about the redheads.

Sienna Miller is often mistaken for a certain fellow blonde: “Me and Naomi Watts are friends, but we often get sent each other’s headshots to sign, which I’ll take happily.” As for Watts, she gets mixed up with friend and fellow Australian Nicole Kidman, but she doesn’t really see it. “We sometimes look at each other and go, ‘It’s not the nose, is it the lips? No, it’s not that. Is it the eyes?’ I don’t know what it is.” And it’s not just women. Jake Gyllenhaal thinks it’s just good hair in general. “I think as actors we like to think that we’re special, but most of the time people really can’t differentiate any of us. We’re all sort of the same, with no real special skill besides the fact that you know our hair looks nice ‘cause somebody else did it.” If you mistake Samuel L. Jackson for another actor, don’t expect him to correct you. “I just sign what they want me to sign for whoever they think I am,” he said. There’s one actor he’s consistently confused with: Laurence Fishburne. Gabrielle Union said she gets mistaken for “every black person you’ve ever met in life, famous or not.” Among her supposed lookalikes are singers Brandy and Ashanti, and actresses Sanaa Lathan, Regina Hall and Halle Berry. Union blames the identity mix-ups on laziness. “Last night, I was walking out of a restaurant and

the paparazzi was, he might have been the laziest paparazzi I’ve ever encountered. He was like ‘Are you a singer?’ I was like, ‘Yes, I’m Ashanti.’” Pakistani-American comedian Kumail Nanjiani cites Kunal Nayyar, Aziz Ansari and Hasan Minhaj as his celebrity lookalikes, and it works both ways. “It happens to them with me,” he said. “And so, I feel, at least, we all have this weird thing in common in that we get mistaken for each other, even though we don’t really look alike.” In a more unusual identity goof, Mindy Kaling said she’s been mistaken for Nobel Prize-winning activist Malala Yousafzai : “I was once mistaken at a New Yorker party for Malala. And I said, ‘I’ll take it. She’s 19. That’s fine.’” When it comes to some British male celebs, Dark Phoenix stars Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy said they’ve both been mistaken for Ewan McGregor, while Michael Sheen has been mistaken for a host of other celebrities. The latest is his Good Omens costar David Tennant. “Someone thought that David was playing both parts, as well.” On occasion, comparisons rise above gender. Who is Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner’s famous doppelganger? “I haven’t got mistaken for them, but a lot of people say that I do look like Boy George,” she said. “It’s true. I see it too. I’ll show you pictures. It’s kind of crazy.” AP

‘ASAP Natin ’To Bay Area’ to mark TFC 25th anniversary SAN JOSE, California—On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of TFC, the international flagship channel of ABS-CBN, the Philippines’s leading media and entertainment company will bring its longestrunning weekend variety show in the Philippines to the birthplace of TFC—the San Francisco Bay Area. Come August 3, at the SAP Center at San Jose, right in the heart of the Bay Area’s Silicon Valley, ASAP Natin ’To Bay Area promises a one-of-a-kind, once-ina-lifetime concert experience that music lovers of all ages and ethnicities would not want to miss. “TFC’s gone silver: a quarter of a century in service to Filipinos worldwide,” said ABS-CBN Global COO Olivia de Jesus. “The concept behind ASAP Natin ’To Bay Area celebrates not only where TFC has been, but what it has become and where it is going. This ASAP reflects the journeys of overseas and migrant Filipinos and how they’ve evolved as a dynamic community which is diverse in composition but still identifiably Filipino.” ABS-CBN North and Latin America Managing Director Jun del Rosario added: “In previous ASAP legs in the US, we involved local talents. But ASAP Natin ’To Bay Area brings it to another level, as it features local talents including AJ Rafael, Angelica Hale, The Filharmonic, Jasmine Trias, Josephine “Banig” Roberto, Jej Vinson and the Str8jacket Dance Co., all of whom have drawn significant US mainstream attention and exposure. Moreover, ASAP has brought in two Filipino rap artists in Bassilyo and Smugglaz which is a first in the platform. All of these infusions add to the once-in-a-lifetime character of this special TFC 25th anniversary event.” Rounding up the star-studded lineup are: Angel

MORISSETTE

Locsin, Angeline Quinto, Billy Crawford, Carol Banawa, Coco Martin, Daniel Padilla, Darren Espanto, Edward Barber, Ella Mae Saison, Enchong Dee, Erik Santos, Gary Valenciano, Gerald Anderson, The Gold Squad, Iñigo Pascual, Janine Berdin, Joshua Garcia, Julia Barretto, Kathryn Bernardo, Kim Chiu, Kyla, KZ, Maja Salvador, Martin Nievera, Maymay

MAJA SALVADOR

Entrata, Moira de la Torre, Morissette, Ogie Alcasid, Paulo Avelino, Pia Wurtzbach, Piolo Pascual, Pops Fernandez, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Sam Milby, Shane Ericks, Sheryn Regis, TNT Boys, Tony Labrusca, Yeng Constantino, Zsa Zsa Padilla and the G-Force. More information, including ticket availability, can be found at www.mytfc.com/asapbayarea.

THIS actress may be the flavor of the month of netizens because of what her boyfriend did to her. What people don’t remember is that he cheated on his longtime ex with her. Also, she and her friend, another actress, are known as their network’s resident Mean Girls. No one likes her because she might have a lovely face and is quite talented but she’s not a nice person. So, yes, we feel sorry that she fell in love with a man like her ex but we hope she’d be nicer, too.

CHANGE OF HEART AND MIND

SO the actor who has denied that he got a young actress pregnant has regretted what he said and is now ready to make amends. The actor tried to see the actress and her baby and when he did, he apologized to her for everything that has happened. He reportedly vowed to support the baby. Let’s hope he doesn’t have a change of mind and heart as he has the tendency to do so. Let’s hope he really mans up and do his best for that baby.

JEALOUS WIFE

SO everybody is wondering why the beautiful girl had to leave her hosting job. It’s reportedly due to the jealousy of the wife of her coworker. The coworker, who is way older than the beautiful girl, reportedly showed an interest in her. Since the girl has a boyfriend who she is very much in love with, she ignored said interest and just treated him with respect. The jealous wife only saw her husband’s interest and not the beautiful girl’s indifference. What happened next is predictable. The wife talked to the bosses and the beautiful girl was fired. The husband, meanwhile, is waiting for his next target as he is reportedly bored with his wife.

Swedish investigation ends of man in fight with A$AP Rocky STOCKHOLM—Swedish prosecutors have dropped their investigation of a man they say was involved in a fight with American rapper A$AP Rocky. Magnus Stromberg represents the alleged victim and said Monday they are happy but not surprised by the decision. Rocky, a platinum-selling, Grammynominated artist whose real name is Rakim Mayers, has been behind bars since early this month as police investigate the fight in Stockholm. It was not clear who else was involved, but videos published on social media appear to show a person being violently thrown onto the ground by Rocky. Prosecutors have until Thursday to make a decision on the investigation. Rocky’s lawyer says they will not comment until Thursday, but his lawyer has said the rapper was acting in self defense. The case has drawn attention of celebrities including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Nicki Minaj, Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West. President Donald J. Trump spoke with Sweden’s prime minister on Saturday about the detained rapper. AP

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Wednesday, July 24, 2019

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Being gracious SUI GENERIS CARLO ATIENZA

biblisko@gmail.com

ONDAY morning. The first e-mail I receive is a detailed critique of my project from someone I barely know, and based on their title, they do not even belong to the same department as my team. How they were asked to evaluate our project, I do not know but it was full of how the material could have been improved. Some were doable but most betray a lack of understanding of how the project is designed and developed. Instinct told me to dismiss their feedback and write a scathing e-mail criticizing the blatant grammatical errors in their e-mail, and question their credibility to even assess my project. But I stopped. I realized I may be in the right, but it does not mean everything they said was wrong—even a broken clock is correct twice a day. I took a deep breath and sent the sender a thank you note together with an explanation of why we could not adopt some of their feedback. I wanted to preserve the professional relationship because I might need their help sometime later. So many times, I feel so protective of my turf that anyone who thinks they know better becomes a threat rather than a learning experience. I would have missed that had I not been gracious. Being gracious is being mindful of others in a situation at all times. If you are gracious, it means people are comfortable around you. Some people intentionally want to ward people off by putting on an authoritative air, but in most cases, being gracious allows you to expand your influence, and it becomes easier for you to ask assistance from other people. As a leader, it is especially important if you want your team to grow because people will make mistakes. Being gracious allows them the consideration and space necessary for new skills to develop, and for them to accept your criticism—whether constructive or otherwise. As Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” And to be regarded highly by your team, you need to make them feel cared for by being gracious. Here are some things you can do to be gracious. Smile. One of the easiest things you can do to be gracious is to smile. When you smile, you project a sense of openness and acceptance of others. It is an inexpensive way of projecting a calm and welcoming demeanor, not only to your team, but to other departments, as well. Even before people professionally engage you, they would know you by your smile already. A big part of being gracious is tact. It is basically putting yourself in the other person’s shoes or

treating the other person the way you want them to treat you. This is especially helpful to be gracious when receiving feedback from someone who does not have a clear understanding of how you do your work. There may be merit to their feedback but take it with a grain of salt and accept the feedback which will help your work. For the rest, tactfully explain why it will not work and move along. In meetings where there is a divergence of opinions, disagree without being disagreeable. Just because you do not agree with the other person does not mean they are wrong. They might be looking at it from a different perspective. And if there are incongruous viewpoints, agree to disagree. Take criticisms at face value and if you need to deflect, do so. Some criticisms are meant to incite rather than to help and it would do well for you to discern which ones will actually help you in your work. Otherwise, let it go. There is no use letting something inconsequential to your work get in your head. Sift through the feedback and get what you can. But if the matter needs to be resolved because it will affect your work, bring it to the attention of somebody who can make a decision on the matter, like your supervisor. They are in a better position to understand the issues from a big picture perspective. And when your supervisor has decided, follow through on their decision and support it. You have voiced out your concerns and under the circumstances, and that is the most you can do. In personal matters where there are inherently disagreeable matters which are too unconscionable for you to be on the fence with, go ahead and make a stand and then walk away. You just need to weigh if

In this time when people feel entitled and privileged, it pays to become gracious. It costs you nothing but it helps establish a good working relationship and promotes you to others as someone approachable and trustworthy.

the relationship is worth preserving for things you absolutely value. Respect and preserve the dignity of others, especially in the Filipino setting. Always give the opportunity for the other person to save face, whether in a professional or social setting. A good rule to live by is to praise in public, correct in private. When you are presenting something to a different group, always take the side of your team member. Give hints and guide them when they stray from what is right but always give them an opportunity to recover. If they are way out of line, politely ask permission from the group to talk to your team member in private so you can correct them if needed. Being gracious also entails being polite. Thank people for their effort, even in the small things— passing along a message, preparing the room for a meeting or holding the door for you. They are not obligated to do so but they did. Acknowledging these little things go a long way in making people feel appreciated. Look for the good in others and compliment them. This will help others see you in the best light possible and will make it easier for you to ask people to help you later. Being polite is smiling in action. In this time when people feel entitled and privileged, it pays to become gracious. It costs you nothing but it helps establish a good working relationship and promotes you to others as someone approachable and trustworthy. The next time you feel compelled to retaliate, take time to evaluate if the dissent and strife that will invariably follow is worth the effort. Why not try being gracious and see how far it would take you and your career. n

Lady Gaga has fibromyalgia; could you have it too? ON a good day, Lady Gaga can sing and dance up a storm, or grab attention the way she did at the 2019 Met Gala, where she revealed, in dramatic fashion, four outrageous outfits on the pink carpet. But on one occasion, the Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter was in such severe pain, she required hospitalization and had to postpone her scheduled European concerts in 2017. Lady Gaga was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a condition that affects the nervous system, and is characterized by chronic pain in the muscles and tendons. Problems in sleeping, mood swings, and headaches are other manifestations of the illness that affects mostly women (a whopping 80 percent to 90 percent, between the ages of 20 and 50). “I get so irritated with people who don’t believe my fibromyalgia is real,” Lady Gaga said in the October 2018 issue of Vogue. “For me, and I think for many others, it’s really a cyclone of anxiety, depression, trauma, and panic disorder, all of which sends the nervous system into overdrive, and then you have nerve pain as a result.” Top hospital in the Philippines, Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed, www.makatimed.net.ph) cites five things you need to know about fibromyalgia: n IT HAS MANY SYMPTOMS AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH MANY SYNDROMES.

“Irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep problems, memory, and concentration issues, mood disorders, and migraines are just some of the signs that you may have fibromyalgia,” says Merle de la CruzOdi, MD, head of Pain Management Services. The most telling symptom, of course, is chronic pain—even the mildest of touches can hurt. n THE CAUSE REMAINS A MYSTERY. To this day, doctors cannot pinpoint exactly what triggers fibromyalgia, though many trace it to a traumatic experience—whether physical (like being involved in a car accident or breaking your bone from a bad fall) or psychological (a death of a loved one

or losing all your money in a scam). In Lady Gaga’s case, the performer believes that being sexually assaulted at 19 coupled with the stresses of touring and celebrity triggered her fibromyalgia. According to Dr. Odi, “Genetics [if fibromyalgia runs in the family, chances are you might get it] and existing illnesses like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis put you at greater risk of the condition.” n IT IS HARD TO DIAGNOSE. “Given its broad range of symptoms, the lack of standard tests, and the absence of physical manifestations like swelling, rashes, or weight loss, fibromyalgia is

a challenge to diagnose,” Dr. Odi points out. Sometimes it takes as long as five years to confirm. Again, specialists use pain as their guide; specifically, if a patient has been in constant, debilitating pain for three months, with no other preexisting medical condition causing it. n THERE IS NO CURE—YET. For now, Dr. Odi explains that “patients with fibromyalgia manage their pain and symptoms with medication [over the counter, and prescription pain relievers and antidepressants], various forms of therapy [physical, occupational, counseling], regular exercise and stress reduction.” n IT IS NOW RECOGNIZED AS A LEGITIMATE HEALTH CONCERN. In previous years, fibromyalgia was regarded as “all in the head” and a mental illness. But with people like Lady Gaga putting a spotlight on this most baffling yet serious condition, more work can be done to fully understand fibromyalgia and hopefully work toward discovering a cure. “Fibromyalgia is a real condition, and there are complexities to the chronic pain that comes with it. We’re hoping that new medications and treatments being studied will eventually help more patients, while growing awareness will bring about more compassion for the people who suffer from it,” Odi says.

RAZELLE ESTAQUIO, winner of a Ford Ranger Raptor

HAVE REFRESHING DRINK, WILL DRIVE WINNING big has already become a reality for two lucky winners who each drove home with one of the millions-worth of prizes being given away in an ongoing promotion by soda brands Pepsi and Mountain Dew. A Ford Ranger Raptor was recently awarded to Razelle Estaquio, a 25-year-old medical student from Roxas, Isabela. “Sobrang excited ko nung nalaman kong nanalo ako ng Ranger Raptor, kasi una kong naisip si papa. Engineer kasi siya, at nasa wish list niya talaga na magkaroon ng sasakyan na makakatulong sa field work niya,” she shares. Meanwhile, one Ford Mustang was awarded to Berchman Rodriguez, a 42-year-old government employee from Tondo, Manila. “Isa akong government employee, ordinary citizen lang. Kahit siguro mag-trabaho ako hanggang sa tumanda ako, hindi ako makakabili ng ganitong klaseng sasakyan,” shares Berchman, “kaya beyond dream come true sa akin na nanalo ako.” There are more Ford Ranger Raptors and Ford Mustangs still up for grabs, and you can get a chance to win enjoying those specially marked Pepsi and Mountain Dew bottles. Just check under the cap, crown or label, and send the code via text or Facebook Messenger to qualify in the promo that is ongoing until July 24. Also up for grabs daily are Vivo and Huawei smartphones, 7-11 Slurpee/Gulp vouchers and data load packages. More information is available on the brands’ social-media accounts.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 E1

Miramonti wins at the Asia Pacific Property International Awards

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

TALPINAS Development Corp. (IDC), a publicly listed sustainable developer, was recently awarded at the Asia Pacific Property International Awards in Bangkok in the Best Mixed-Use Development category for its Miramonti Green Residences project.

STUART FIELD (from left), president and founder of the International Property Awards, Arch. Romolo Valentino Nati, chairman and CEO of IDC, Giovanni Gusella, IDC PR consultant, and IDC Project Director for Engineering Giuseppe Garofalo.

“Asia Pacific Property International Awards is a highly acclaimed award in the worldwide property industry. Winning Asia Pacific Property International Awards for the third consecutive time, and on all the properties we developed is a recognition of our design excellence as a sustainable developer” said Arch. Romolo Valentino Nati, the chairman and CEO of IDC in a press statement. Miramonti Green Residences, the soon-torise project is a mixed-use eco-friendly devel-

opment, is currently in full swing construction set against the dramatic backdrop of majestic Mount Makiling in Santo Tomas, Batangas. Miramonti (which means “look at the mountain” in Italian), according to Nati, is another example of the brand of designdriven sustainable architecture that IDC is bringing into the country’s emerging cities. Located in the south of Metro Manila, Santo Tomas is part of the Philippines’s new beltway of economic growth along the

expressways connecting the capital region with Batangas Port making the Calabarzon area one of the most dynamic trade zones in the country. Miramonti Green Residences project will consist of three 21-story towers and will be developed in two phases. The first phase, currently under construction, comprises of one tower sitting atop a podium structure, will occupy a 2,057-square meter area. It will offer 352 residential units, 18 commercial units, and 89 parking units alongside amenities, such as fitness center, swimming pool, playground, among others. The design of Miramonti Green Residences integrates passive and active green strategies and systems that aim to reduce

overall energy consumption in all towers reducing the overall environmental impact and resulting in long-term energy consumption savings. One of its key features is the use of passive cooling technology, such as shadow and sunlight control, wind cooling and shape performance. The project will also harness solar energy from photovoltaic panels to be installed on the roof of the towers. “The success of IDC’s first two projects, Primavera Residences and Primavera City, both located in Cagayan de Oro, has been an inspiration to us. Further reinforcing our green advocacy, our latest project Miramonti Green Residences is a milestone and another example of the brand of designdriven sustainable architecture that IDC,

is introducing to the country’s emerging cities” added Nati. “Our passion in bringing the designdriven sustainable architecture in emerging cities has always been the driving force of IDCTM. Winning the prestigious International Property Awards for Asia Pacific in all three of our developments reinvigorates not only our passion but also our commitment to bring relevant sustainable developments in the country,” said IDC President Atty. Jose Leviste III. It is the third win for IDC for the prestigious International Property Awards for Asia Pacific sealing its place as elite Award Winner for Best Mixed-Use Development in the Philippines 2019-2020.

BusinessMirror

E2 Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Editor: Tet Andolong

Real-estate investment forum beyond Manila Amor Maclang

FIRST DIBS IN REAL ESTATE

S an advocate of urban inclusion in the real-estate industry, I am very happy to see the interest spreading out to places other than Makati and BGC. Dynamism and fierce competition characterize the real-estate industry. Modern ideas challenge conventional real-estate norms and once passive regions emerge as appealing investment hot spots. That is why it is essential to be aware of the current state of the industry and to comprehend the different faces of this ever-changing market. To serve as an avenue for discourse about the most relevant real estate happenings in the country, Prime Philippines, the fastestgrowing real-estate consultancy and brokerage firm, held an engaging real-estate investment forum on July 17 at Shangri-La at the Fort, centralizing on the theme, “Beyond Borders.” Spearheaded by Prime Philippines’s founder and CEO, Jettson “Jet” Yu, this business forum was an extension of the company’s commitment to deliver real-estate service at the highest standards by providing a modern perspective about the real-estate industry. Industry experts and public sector representatives were invited as speakers during this event to share their knowledge and insights about the state of the Philippine realestate industry. Rizany Irwan Muhamad Mazlan, deputy chief of Mission of the Embassy of Malaysia, highlighted the confidence in foreign sentiment of investing in the country. Philippines’s strong economic fundamentals backed by its attractive demographic profile, puts the country’s development potential in the spotlight. In fact, Board of Investments Division Chief Lanie Dormiendo cited that foreign investors have seen this potential in the country’s real-estate industry, being the industry with the third highest recipient of inward foreign direct investments. Both speakers underscored the opportunities that can result from the promotion of

national developments like the surge of infrastructure projects and the introduction of government reforms that will ease the process of doing business in the country. In the real-estate industry, investment opportunities can arise by considering a nontraditional point of view. This is what constantly drives Prime Philippines’s direction during its humble beginnings in Quezon City in 2013, when it aggressively expanded its services in Mindanao through its operations in Davao City, and now as it is exploring a lot of opportunities in Clark. Jet Yu expects Quezon City to be the gateway of the north as it is anticipated to become the most connected city in the next three to five years, with the upcoming infrastructure projects linking the city to other areas in Metro Manila, and even to the Greater Metro Manila (GMM) area. Supporting the idea of exploring outside the established business districts, DM Wenceslao and Associates Inc. Vice President for Corporate Planning Julius Guevara, envisions the Bay Area, Aseana City in particular, to be the central business district (CBD) of the future. The Bay Area is a mix of cultural, institutional, commercial, financial, residential, and entertainment developments. Currently, it is undertaking smart city initiatives and controlling perceived risks that may be uniquely present in this area. Similarly, DataLand Vice President for Sales and Marketing Rouen Abel Raz, voiced out the value created by looking into emerging business districts for real-estate developments to promote a shared prosperity. In Palawan, DataLand is pursuing real-estate ventures that will promote the province’s ecotourism sector. I was honored to challenge the speakers of the first panel. His

AMOR MACLANG (from left), Rizany Irwan Muhamad Mazlan (Malaysian Embassy), Julius Guevara (Aseana), Jettson Yu (Prime Philippines) and Rouen Abel Raz (DataLand)

JET YU, managing director of Prime

Excellency Rizany Mazlan advocated for Malaysia’s being Truly Asia with its diverse culture. Rizany Mazlan also highlighted the trade opportunities within the Asean neighborhood which holds vast progressive potential yet to be unfold. Julius Guevara, on the other hand, promoted the interconnectivity of Aseana City in the southern region and the promise of a smart city. The uptrend in terms of commercial land value and residential selling price growth was also highlighted during the discussion. Up north, Quezon City, as Jet Yu championed during the talk, is seen to be the next business nucleus in Metro Manila. Positioned as the “Gateway of the North,” Quezon City is also initial-

ly master planned to be a capital city and is strengthened further by the volume of infrastructure developments in the city including the MRT 7 and the Metro Manila Skyway. Last, Rouen Raz encouraged the developers to be stewards of their real properties. It not only creates sustainable jobs but also enables and adds value to the area where the project is located. Promoting other real-estate investment destinations outside Metro Manila, Clark Development Corp. Marketing officer, Rodel Poy Lorenzo, shared that Clark stands as an economic haven of the Asia Pacific. Presence of various commercial and institutional facilities in the area, together with the advantage of being located near the international

airport boosts its marketability as a real-estate investment area. In Mindanao, Davao City is the largest in terms of land mass, as well as in terms of population. Citing these indicators, Jet Yu declared that Davao City is well-positioned to become a key CBD in Southern Philippines. Asec. Romeo Montenegro, deputy executive director of Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), expressed that for Davao City and for the whole of Mindanao to expedite its development, it is important to recognize the difference between the perceived negative sentiments about it and the reality of its commercial progress. This hints that enabling the progress of a city relies not just on the perceived attractiveness of its

Supply of BPO-friendly spaces to constrict by mid-2020 A FTER almost a decade of driving office market trends in Metro Manila, the BPO industry may soon face new realities like a scarcity of industry-friendly spaces triggered by the recent government move to limit Peza-approved zones in the nation’s capital. Foremost among this would be a short supply of BPO-ready office units by mid-2020, according to Phillip Anonuevo, executive director of Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), a leading real-estate services firm. Even now, a demand-supply imbalance already appears likely. The Century Diamond Tower in Makati, for instance, is the only Peza-registered building offering by the third quarter of this year ample contiguous space desired by

BPOs within the top 3 major districts of Makati, BGC and Ortigas. He explained that as of the second quarter of 2019, Metro Manila office supply has kept up with BPO demand. Studies by LPC indicate that BPOs have taken up 205,000 square meters within Metro Manila to date. There is still ample supply of Peza-accredited spaces to meet the estimated 2019 demand from IT-BPM firms of 450,000 sq.m. “The supply is likely to constrict by mid-2020 when the current crop of new office spaces accredited by Peza will have been taken up,” he said. Moreover, only select business districts like Quezon City will be offering Peza spaces in the next few years. This is in contrast to most of the last decade when BPOs could take their

pick from among the top three CBDs in addition to Bay City, Quezon City and Alabang. UP until 2017 when Peza accreditation in Metro Manila could be easily secured, the BPO industry highly influenced what type and where office buildings would be built. Anonuevo recalled, “No-frills Grade A office buildings with large floor plates and energy-saving features were the norm first in BGC, Makati and Ortigas. Then BPO firms started building in Bay City, Alabang, Quezon City and even in Cavite and Santa Rosa to attract workers in residential pools near those areas.” As expanding BPO firms began competing for Metro Manila’s labor pools, buildings with strategic locations like Century Diamond Tower in Makati were

more recently developed as a come-on to BPO work forces. A short stroll away from Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, the building offering 35,000 sq m of contiguous space is within the Makati Poblacion area, now undergoing a resurgence as a food and arts hub. Poblacion’s bars, restaurants and culture centers serve as an attraction to millennial BPO workers who enjoy unwinding after hours. Moreover, it is also a short stroll from the major jeepney route of JP Rizal making the office tower accessible to BGC, as well as the Santa Ana and other populated districts of Manila. Anonuevo said, “They are now evaluating the prospects of growth outside Metro Manila. At the same time, we are hopeful that the government will remain responsive to their needs.”

location, but more important on the commitment of maximizing development potentials and challenging notions and practices that may hinder the industry from moving forward. During the event, Prime Philippines’s Assistant Vice President for Property Advisory Cholo Florencio, also shared valuable insights about the developments in the different real-estate sectors during the first quarter of the year. Opportunities in the hotel sector continue to be bright as the growth in the number of tourist arrivals in the country increases. Industrial sector growth is also anticipated to be sustained especially in the GMM area, driven by the continuous developments in the e-commerce industry. In terms of the outlook for the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, it is expected to remain as a key commercial real-estate driver as more POGO establishments emerge in areas outside Metro Manila. Increase of POGO establishments is also expected to drive the growth of the residential sector, specifically high-end condominiums. He also mentioned that the next big thing in the real-estate industry will be the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), especially once the implementing rules and regulations have been released and implemented. There are a lot to look forward to in the Philippines’s real-estate landscape. Prime Philippines is bullish about the future of real estate in the country and as the new generation of property advisors, it is driven toward creating value to the real-estate industry’s stakeholders by its continuous pursuit of challenging traditions, by thinking beyond borders, at least certainly beyond traditional, Imperial Manila.

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

E4 Wednesday, July 24, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

www.businessmirror.com.ph

GCR founder unveils doctrine of salespreneurship

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

Contributor

wning a home is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, dream of Juan de la Cruz.

When he retired from his job as public affairs manager of Pag-IBIG Fund, Gabriel “Billy” Dominguez carried the same passion when he embarked on a new path to establish Green Circle Realty (GCR). “Having your own home is the ultimate Filipino dream. And with the help of our dedicated and hardworking salespreneurs, GCR looks forward to helping more of our kababayans reach that dream,” Dominguez said in a recent interview held at the Tower Club in Makati City. He put up GCR 13 years ago and introduced the concept of salespreneurship. As president of GCR, Dominguez used salespreneurship to enable him to fulfill his two-pronged mission of wanting to help middleand-above-middle-income earners acquire affordable, quality homes and providing income opportunities to people who want to upgrade their lifestyles. According to Dominguez, salespreneurship combines creative salesmanship and innovative entrepreneurship. It challenges the traditional sales agent mindset that is limited to setting sales quota and short-term goals. For salespreneurs, it goes beyond just selling a product or service by creating value for what they have to

offer. At GCR, Dominguez inculcates to his salespeople that they don’t just sell homes but also play a big part in the company’s noble vision to help thousands of families dreaming of having their own home.

Creative financing

Through the years, GCR has remained focused in providing access to affordable, quality housing, particularly to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), ordinary workers, starting families and business owners. It has been the leading and most trusted sales network of ProFriends and its flagship project, Lancaster New City. In an emerging market like the Philippines, acquiring a home can be a herculean undertaking. As a response, GCR crafted some measures to make homeownership more affordable through flexible and creative financing schemes. “With our payment terms, owning a house and lot ranging from P1.5 million—P1.6 million is made more pocket-friendly by having the usually 30-percent down payment scaled down to only 12.5 percent, or about P12,000, for 12 to 15 months. This way, there is no initial jolt to their finances,” he explained. This also allows homebuyers to

Enterprising Utah boy advertises ‘Ice Cold Beer’ at root beer stand

IN this July 16, 2019 photo provided by the Brigham City Police Department, Seth Parker stands at his soda stand in Brigham City, Utah. Parker is earning widespread social media attention for his neighborhood soda stand thanks to a sign he holds that reads, “Ice Cold Beer” with “root” above the word beer in tiny print. Brigham City Police Lt. Tony Ferderber said Thursday, July 18, 2019, that several residents in the northern Utah city called police concerned about a young boy selling alcohol in front of a church. Officers realized that it was just a clever marketing ploy and posted pictures of 11-year-old Seth Parker on Facebook with the comment, “a twist on a lemonade stand.” AP

ALT LAKE CITY—A Utah boy has earned widespread socialmedia attention for his neighborhood soda stand thanks to a sign he holds that reads, “Ice Cold Beer” with “root” above the word beer in tiny print. Several residents in the northern Utah city called police earlier this week concerned about a young boy selling alcohol in front of a church, said Brigham City Police Lt. Tony Ferderber on Thursday. Officers that went to check it out realized that it was just a clever marketing ploy and posted pictures of 11-year-old Seth Parker on Facebook with the comment, “a twist on a lemonade stand.” Sen. Mitt Romney, of Utah, tweeted a picture of Seth with the comment, “A lesson in reading the fine print! The future is bright for this young Utah entrepreneur.” Seth’s mother Alexis Parker said

Thursday that the family is dumbfounded and excited by all the attention. She estimated that some 60 people a day come to the stand. Seth started the stand because his parents urged him to get out more after they noticed he had struggled to make new friends since the family moved from Georgia last year, Alexis Parker said. Seth thought about a yard sale, or lemonade stand, but settled on selling the soda because he is a root beer “fanatic,” she said. He chose the sign with the tiny print as a little “wise crack.” The first day brought some scoffs and scowls, especially for people without good vision, she said. But people soon caught on to the joke. “We’re loving people stopping by and just having a good laugh,” said Alexis Parker. “It is a joy all the way around.” AP

DOMINGUEZ

avail themselves of shorter loan terms and save on interests as they pay the monthly amortization and start earning better income. To make homebuying more interesting and attractive especially to the growing young professionals and millennial market, Dominguez explained that salespreneurs can zero in on the amount of two cups of today’s favorite signature coffee, or milk tea, is already equivalent amount to the daily payment for a three-bedroom townhouse.

“I always tell our salespeople that we are given the opportunity to educate not only our buyers but other people in general about home investment. We are in the position not only to tap our target market’s purchasing power but also to guide them on how to properly invest their hard-earned money.”

Orientation

IF people want to join GCR, Dominguez said they should be goaloriented.

“Our basic requirements for those who want to join GCR is that they should be goal-driven, results-oriented and with willingness to serve. Since we don’t offer basic pay, or allowances, we are able to gauge those who have the potential to make it big in an opportunity-based profession,” he explained. “We also see those who are committed to partner with us in fulfilling our mission to help more people have access to affordable homeownership.” GCR also conducts regular training and professional development programs to ensure that aspiring salespreneurs can excel in the competitive arena of realty selling. It is also part of the transformation process of starting as ordinary sales agents to becoming empowered salespreneurs. He asserts that salespreneurship is not rocket science and can be adapted even by people who do not have a background in sales, or business management. The most important part is about having the heart of a salesman who believes in the product or service he offers, combined seamlessly with an entrepreneur’s mindset whose goal is to convert his hard work into profit or revenue. “It makes me sad seeing salespeople who have the opportunity to earn well, but they end up not financially wealthy. We also see some businessmen who started well but failed in the end. This is all about lack of salespreneurship. All salespeople must learn how to be entrepreneurial while entrepreneurs must be able to practice salesmanship at

all times. These two disciplines are inseparable. Combined consistently and beautifully, they will make any sales and business endeavor a tremendous success,” he shared. With its stellar record in developing its salespeople to become some of the most successful real-estate salespreneurs, Dominguez has earned him the monicker “Master Salespreneur,” not only from his peers in the realty business but from other industries, as well.

Spread the word

Although GCR is enjoying the success under his leadership, Dominguez is not resting on his laurels and is set to take on more challenges ahead. Moreover, he hopes to reach out to other industries that will benefit from learning the tenets of salespreneurship and to share his advocacy to more enterprising Filipinos. “I believe salespreneurship has truly come of age. It is no longer exclusive to salespeople and business people. It can be a major success factor for employees, too. For sure, employers would love to have people in their employ who are consistently selling the company and work as if they are co-owners of the company. The Filipino term malasakit describes this aptly. Even students must be taught about salespreneurship at their young age to prepare them for the real world. This is the direction that I want to pursue—to focus on advocating salespreneurship as a discipline that would eventually create a significant impact in the business sector, and in the personal lives of more people as well,” he said.

Grit, passion fuel young entrep’s drive to success

he built her business enterprise based on her college thesis with Bilbo Baggins, uncle of Frodo Baggins, the well-loved hobbit in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic Lord of the Rings as her inspiration. Five years ago, 24-year-old Frances Abesamis made the big leap by putting up Balbo Philippines. After graduating with a psychology degree from the De La Salle University in 2015, she decided to become an entrepreneur. Although being an entrepreneur sounds cool to a lot of millennials, Abesamis admitted she experienced a lot of challenges, but she pushed on. “In fact, I have to study digital marketing and other business aspects required by start-ups,” she told the BusinessMirror in a recent chat in Makati City. Balbo offers balance training boards, also known as Balbo. It is a combination of a balance trainer, core stabilizer, exercise equipment and the ultimate surf-yoga-sports and fitness partner. Balbo also makes clothing essentials for everyday and active wear. Each piece is proudly Filipino handcrafted. Aside from selling in selected markets, Balbo has also surf boards to some surf shops in Korea and Taiwan, and a boxing gym in Malaysia. In the local market, Balbo is available in Zaril in Maginhawa area, Quezon City, and at a small stall located near De La Salle University in Manila. Moreover, she told the BusinessMirror in a recent e-mail interview there are lots of potentials for growth this year as more and more people are raring to get physical to pursue a more healthy and active lifestyle. BusinessMirror (BM): What inspired or push you to put up Balbo? Frances Abesamis (FA): One of my main inspirations for starting the business is highly influenced by my college thesis; “No Grit, No Glory: A closer look to individuals who left college to pursue their passion and became successful.” Grit is basically passion and perseverance for very long-term goals (Abesamis, Gonzales, Santos, 2015). It is a crucial determinant for success. Doesn’t matter if you have perfect grades, high grades, cum laude or not—you can have grit, anyone can have grit. We interviewed some of the country’s most successful athletes, filmmakers, business owners and restaurateur. They all have grit in them. They all have passion and perseverance for their long-term goals. I was moved by the stories of individuals who gladly accepted our invite

to be interviewed for our thesis. Most had to start with almost nothing, some even had nothing at all to begin with. But still, they pursued and got to where they wanted to be. So I thought to myself why not create a job from what I love doing the most? I love surfing and I love designing. There was no doubt. I never ran out of Moleskine notebook because I’d always get a new one once I ran out of pages. They’re always be filled by ideas, designs, and I even saved my favorite math and physics theories. (I’m not good with either one of these! But they’re so interesting.) I did more research (because psychology stuff and things like these excite and really interest me) and discovered that a lot of studies (try search for Grit, Duckworth) have found out that strengthening the core does not only benefit the body, but is also toughens the mind and makes Cognitive functioning more efficient, a.k.a. mindmuscle connection (Pinilla-Hillman, 2013). When we exercise/sweat, we release hormones called “endorphins” that make us happy. So if being gritty toward something is the primary factor for being successful then perhaps there can be a physical tool that anyone can use to their…core/center. Feeding the mind with positive affirmation and giving the body proper nutrition and exercises are both intertwined with being equipped to face the world (Renoir et. Al, 2013). With a well-balanced life, we can all get to choose to be the best version of ourselves. Balance flows to an overall well-being that roots at the core. Starting from the mind, body and spirit, this strength radiates outside and holistically integrates these pillars that result to a stabilized body. Disclaimer: I am not trying to tell anyone to buy or do anything. But ask yourself two things if you are passionate about something: 1) Do you want it bad enough? 2) Are you willing to have the grit for it? However, even before our graduation, some of my friends and batchmates were already looking for jobs —some even have jobs already! I was pressured into submitting two or three CVs for application. I did get an offer from Shell and Philippine Airlines. I asked my mom for advice and she told me that I accept the offer, I will get a fixed income but my time can’t be split and I can’t do the things I’ve always wanted to do. No matter how tempting it was, I kept telling myself that what if I dedicated more of my time establishing this business (while

doing what I love), will it be worth it? Will it sustain me for the rest of my life? Maybe and maybe it won’t. I knew one fact that gets into me every time a negative thought surfaces in my head—I will never know unless I try. I then decided to apply what we learned from thesis and with the advice of some friends (Jovanne and Wilson Faraon), who are professional surfers, we developed the first batch of products. BM: What were your preparations? FA: I have always loved making illustrations. All my friends from school knew me as someone who would always bring a black Moleskine notebook to any class and just doodle, even if the teacher/professor is teaching. I never personally thought what to do with this passion for colors and drawings, but I always knew that the job that I’d be having when I grow up will be somehow related to me designing stuff. I knew I had to mentally prepare myself for starting up the business. It wasn’t easy at all. The only market that I thought I’d have as an audience was the growing surfing community here in the country. Although now, it is widely used by pro and non-pro athletes for their core training, a lot of gyms, people who do yoga, land training for surfings, wakeboarders and skimboarders, and more. I would see people tag our social media and see that people get creative with their own workout. Some even do it at their work place/office! The moment I finished school, I promised myself that I wouldn’t be asking for any more finances from my parents. But things don’t always go as we planned and want them to be. There was a time that the demand for the supply was beyond our production budget. I’ll always thank my parents for being supportive and understanding of the path I’ve decided to take. They knew investing money to my start-up will not immediately give returns. But without hesitation, they helped me. I’ll always be grateful for having this kind of support system. BM: Were you required a big capital to start your business? Who were your financiers? FA: To be honest, we (my partner and I) started with less than six figures for capital. It is after our first launch, when we got a surge of orders. We were then required to have more money invested in the business. My parents are my first financers, always there to look after me without expecting anything in return. I’m always grateful for this

kind of support system. BM: What were the initial challenges? FA: Our initial challenges are probably not having a web site, we were making the Balbo Balance Boards in Pangasinan which was miles away from Metro Manila (where we get most of our clients from). BM: How did you hurdle the challenges in the early stages of the business? FA: We were able to hurdle the challenges in the early stages of the business by being consistent in what we do. For me this is a job, and not just a hobby anymore where I draw, design and make stuff just for fun. This is the work that sustains me. We worked fulltime job operating Balbo. Quality and effective products and of course, the outstanding customer service that we provide for our clients. Balance board is not a completely new idea, but not all Filipinos are already familiar with this workout equipment. BM: Describe the current stage of the business. Has it exceeded your expectations? FA: I would have to say that the current stage of the business exceeded my expectations. I only wanted to sell enough monthly to go beyond the average salary…(basing on the year I graduated), pay my bills, fund my surf trips regularly. However, we’re blessed with so much more. Sometimes, I feel like it’s actually more than I deserve. Whenever that feeling comes, I would work even harder than I did and to avoid the “guilt” feeling that I’ve worked less. BM: What are your long-term plans? FA: My long-term plan is for Balbo to reach international market. I also vision to inspire Filipinos/individuals to become a better version of themselves through striving for a superior core strength and innovate the best product fitting. BM: Did you craft a plan B as a precautionary measure? FA: I think my plan B is not completely a plan B. I do not ever see myself moving away from this thing that makes me feel alive—designing— creating products and making online contents. I do imagine (sometimes) myself retiring by 45 years old and just basically traveling the world. That’s why I’ve also invested in insurance to make sure that I leave something for my kid in the future, once he gets to decide whether to take on the business or not. Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Financial Literacy BusinessMirror

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Making money work with sound financial know-how

By Leony R. Garcia

OR better or worse, money touches all areas of life. Financial literacy can help. People with appropriate financial literacy training make better financial decisions and manage money better that those without such training. The Philippine financial literacy program is comprehensive. It covers all sectors from policymakers, regulators, microfinance providers down to the clients. It is a continuing activity for many government institutions. The 10th Financial Literacy Summit in April 2016 said the financial literacy program cover everyone, all from ages 5 to 100. “We have financial education in the schools, lectures for overseas Filipino workers who, as a group, remit US$28 billion annually, and lectures on financial market for young people who make up 1.3 million employees of the BPO (Business process outsourcing)

sector who, as a group, generate about US$25 million in revenues annually,” it said. Financial stability fuels economic growth. Using the 50.8% gross savings-GDP average of the Philippines from 2005 to 2015 as a benchmark (World Bank data), a 10% improvement in the efficiency of financial management could boost the country’s GDP growth by 5 percentage points, the summit presentation showed.

A BSP survey

A survey done by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that 86 percent of Filipino households don’t have bank accounts, thus are unbanked. Of

those having deposit accounts were usually employees of private companies and some from government agencies. Majority of the unbanked are self-employed, or working for a private household, household’s farm, or in other informal occupations. They usually cite not having enough money to keep an account. Other reasons include: 1) They do not need a bank/cash account; 2) the bank/institution location is far; 3) They cannot manage an account; 4) service charges are too high and 5) minimum balance is too high. Some even said they do not like to deal with banks/institutions as they don’t trust them. Thus, the BSP has strengthened its partnership with local government units (LGUs) to widen the reach of its financial literacy program and help educate people on how to wisely save or invest their hardearned money. Because the country is an archipelago it is hard to fully cover all parts of the country without the help of LGUs and the private sector, BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said in an interview. She explained that local government officials “would be the first to know what's happening on the ground, or at

the surveillance level.” “The LGU would be in a position to identify the vulnerabilities in their respective areas where the BSP together with other government agencies like the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), IC (Insurance Commission) can focus on as far as fined (financial education) is concerned,” she said. While the tie-up may help raise public awareness on investment scams, there will always be people vulnerable to get-rich-quick scams, some even sell their land or farm animals in hopes of reaping huge returns on their investments.

BDO’s financial inclusion programs

THE BDO Foundation launched in February this year a financial literacy program for the Army with top officers of the Philippine Army in Camp Aguinaldo. BDO Foundation President Mario Deriquito said the program was requested by the higher authorities of the Philippine Army itself. The program comes in the form of video presentation on the importance of savings and investments in assuring a decent life for the Filipino soldiers and their families by encouraging them to set aside a portion of

their salaries for savings and investments and to encourage their families to do the same. Also launched earlier in February is financial literacy program for the country's overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). BDO turned over to the BSP and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) upbeat and danceable videos which come in three stages: pre- departure, upon arrival at host country and post arrival (or during their workstay) in that country. Aptly dubbed “PiTaKa” or Pinansyal na Talino at Kaalaman, the program symbolizes the family’s wallet that never runs out of money. Instead, it should always be full and growing in interest and earnings. BDO, in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the BSP, also launched in May 2018 the Financial Literacy Program for School which also comes in videos and various teaching aids that is meant to be integrated into the current K to 12 curriculum. As many as 24 million students and 700,000 teachers are expected to benefit from the program which is BDO Foundation’s flagship corporate citizenship initiative under its financial inclusion advocacy. The program also includes

the deployment of the financial literacy videos to more than 47,000 public schools nationwide. Video and lesson guides have been uploaded on the DepEd learning materials portal for teachers to access. Among the topics are investing, the responsible use of credit, personal budgeting and financial management. Copies via the USB are delivered to schools without access to the Internet. According to the DepEd the program has been in the agency’s pipeline for two years with the passage of Republic Act 10922, or the Economic and Financial Literacy Act, in July 2016. The education department has committed to use the videos in classroom instruction, the Teacher Induction Program, learning action cells and regular training and development programs for both teaching and nonteaching personnel.

InLife’s Wealth University goes nationwide, educates people on funds management

Financial literacy equips us with the knowledge and skills we need to manage money effectively. Without it, our financial decisions and the actions we take—or don’t take— lack an informed foundation to maximize their success. continued on F3

PHILAM SAVES: AN EDUCATION ON FINANCIAL LITERACY

HILAM Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Philam Life, continues to advocate the importance of financial literacy through the Philam Savings and Values Education Sessions (Philam SAVES) program. Its creation was motivated by a 2015 Standard and Poor study which reported the Philippines as one of the 30 least financially literate countries in the world, with only 25% of adults aware of the basics of money management. Philam SAVES is a twopart module, with a storytelling and coin bank-designing session for students, and the Financial Planning Session for parents and teachers. It aims to promote the value of saving and being thrifty to schoolchildren, and their parents and teachers. “Philam SAVES is important because being financially literate is the first step in achieving financial wellness.

Through this program, we are able to do our part in addressing a very basic problem that can make a difference in the lives of so many people,” said Max Ventura, President of Philam Foundation. Since 2016, Philam SAVES has educated over 19,123 students, teachers and parents from the Philam Paaralan school beneficiaries. The program currently has more

the centennial year celebration of AIA, Philam Life’s Hong Kongbased parent company. The program’s unique approach has been recognized

than 900 volunteers—Philam Life employees and Financial Advisors—who have clocked in 2,000 hours in financial literacy lessons to educate

Filipinos around the country. Philam SAVES aims to educate 100,000 people by July 2020, an ambitious target that the Foundation committed as part of

by various award-giving organization, landing as one of the finalists in this year’s League of Corporate Foundation’s Guild Awards in the Outstanding CSR Project in Enterprise Development category. Last year, it won an award in the Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards (AREA), a regional recognition program to honor enterprises in the field of corporate social responsibility, under the Social Empowerment Category. Aside from Philam SAVES, the Foundation has two other award-winning programs, Philam Paaralan and the Alliance for the Philippines Health and Advocacy (ALPHA). The former is its program that aims to make education accessible to more students by building schools in unserved and underserved areas in the country, while ALPHA is its consortium with the Philippine College of Surgeons and the Philippine College of Physicians, created to address the health challenges faced by Filipinos through data-driven and evidence-based health advocacies and projects. Know more about Philam Foundation by visiting the Philam Life website at philamlife.com, Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/PhilamLifeAIA/, or contact them through philamlife@ aia.com or (02)528-2000.

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Wednesday, July 24, 2019 | www.businessmirror.com.ph

For Home Credit, financial literacy is as easy as Juan, Two, Three

VER wonder what it’s like to live in a financially-perfect world? Just imagine: everyone can easily get a loan, use mobile apps to transfer money, and have credit cards ready whenever they have no cash on hand. Unfortunately, in the Philippines where 77 percent of adults still do not have formal bank accounts, this reality still seems to be in the far future. Mobile banking is still not as popular here even though Filipinos are one of the most active smartphone users in the world. Even understanding money basics like how to compute interest is something most people need help with. But there’s hope. There are companies in the finance sector that are leading the way by being both financial provider and financial educator. One example is Home Credit Philippines (HCPH) which, aside from already being the local market leader in the consumer finance industry, is also a strong advocate of financial literacy through its Juan, Two, Three campaign. The program, which was started in 2016, teaches communities financial basics in a creative way through games, comic books, and workbooks.

Fun with fundamentals

“WE are all about giving financial access to Filipinos who need it most,” says Annica Witschard, Chief Executive Officer of HCPH. “But we don’t just provide tools; we teach people how to use them. And that means teaching the very basics of handling money. That’s how Juan, Two, Three started—it’s all about empowering people through the fundamentals, and in a very fun way.” After three years of visiting communities throughout the country, Home Credit’s Financial Literacy Ambassadors already have a lot to celebrate. So far, the program has already reached close to 11,000 households, conducted more than a hundred events, and has closed long-term partnerships with both civic and non-civic organizations. Some of these are the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which signed a three-year memorandum of agreement with HCPH, and the Rotary Club of San

Fernando North. It has even been awarded a Silver Award from the Stevies, an international award that recognizes excellent communications programs across different regions and industries.

Never too young or too old

BUT perhaps its biggest achievement is discovering the exact financial knowledge that people need help with. For example, who would have thought that many parents in different communities still need help understanding concepts like interest? Reaching everyone from students to teachers, senior citizens to small children, laborers and fishermen, to its very own employees, Home Credit has definitely widened the program’s reach. It has even visited the Armed Forces of the Philippines recently to teach financial literacy to men and women in uniform. “For us, financial literacy shouldn’t be limited

to a certain age or group. You can never be too young or old to learn how to handle your money,” explains Witschard. “And it’s not just these far-flung communities that need help. For example, we learned that some of our employees need a little money guidance here and there which, I think, really shows that everybody can benefit from the program.”

Raising awareness

TO reach even more people, the Juan, Two, Three campaign is tapping as many channels as possible. Other than its financial literacy events, Home Credit has also given out flyers about financial basics to customers, and reached more than 20 million people through various media appearances. HCPH also regularly posts money advice and other tips on its social media channels. At the rate that the campaign is going, the big question is, “What’s the next step?” Witschard

shares that they are setting their sights on including technology in the conversation. “Our services are becoming more digital than ever, so for us that means teaching not only money basics but also technology basics. We want everyone to understand how to use technology in handling their finances.” This is perfectly aligned with Home Credit’s goal to be an all-around financial tool for all types of shoppers. The company, which already has a solid nationwide presence in stores and malls, is continuing to beef up its mobile app to serve its customers online. The company now has a customer base of 4.5 million Filipinos, with the My Home Credit app in the phones of more than 1.5 million users and counting. “There’s a lot that we still need to do,” Witschard says. “But with each small step we take, we get closer to our goal. And where better to begin than with Juan, Two, Three.”

BSP shares update on financial inclusion I

N its report, the “State of Financial Inclusion in the Philippines 2017,” the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) discussed milestones and trends in financial inclusion in the country. The BSP is optimistic that significant improvements in financial inclusion will be achieved in light of recent regulations that are expected to boost account ownership and acceptance of digital payments. These are the innovations made under the National Retail Payment System (NRPS); the basic deposit account framework (Circular No. 992, 1 February 2018), which meets the need of the unbanked for a low-cost, no-frills deposit account which they can open even without standard identification documents; and the branch-lite regulation (Circular No. 987, 28 December 2017), which gives banks the flexibility to determine the appropriate size and model of a banking office for a specific area or locality based on market needs. With the continuous growth of banking offices nationwide, the number of unbanked local government units declined to 554 (33.9% of the total) in 2017 from 582 (35.6%) in 2016, representing a 1.7 percentage points decrease in unbanked areas. The report also noted that the number of deposit accounts in the country increased by 6.8 % to from 53.5 million in 2016 to 57.1 million in 2017. As of June 2018, 155 banks (out of 581 head offices) have tapped 1,751

branch-lite units to expand physical outreach in 738 local government units (LGUs), of which 151 LGUs were being served by branch-lite alone. Meanwhile, the “Year-End Report on BSP’s Financial Inclusion Initiatives” underscored the opportunities presented by the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) in facilitating key multipartite agreements such as the promotion of financial literacy in schools and access to finance by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It likewise highlighted the BSP’s contributions to laws that impact on financial inclusion, particularly on the enactment and implementation of the Philippine Identification System Act (R.A. No. 11055) and Personal Property Security Act (R.A. No. 11057). The two reports continue to mark and measure the country’s journey toward financial inclusion. Building on the gains, the BSP has identified as key priority areas for this year the continued promotion of digitalization to expand access and usage of financial services, as well as strategic partnerships anchored on the NSFI to fully develop the financing ecosystem for agriculture and MSME financing. The BSP said it will continue its collaboration and partnerships on financial education and consumer protection. The BSP Financial Inclusion Reports may be downloaded at: http:// www.bsp.gov.ph/publications/regular_ microfinance.asp.

INLIFE WEALTH UNIVERSITY

DEMYSTIFYING MONEY MATTERS AND LEARNING ABOUT WEALTH: FROM CREATION TO DISTRIBUTION, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

ARIOUS financial instruments have flourished in the market; yet, when you ask an average Filipino where they put their money, more often than not, everything is in the bank. In fact, older generations may even say, it’s just there safely kept in their house, inside their “aparadors” amongst their clothes or in between their mattresses. There are many reasons why despite the overflowing information in the internet, Filipinos still choose to put their money where they are

used to. They can be confused with what the varied articles they read say, intimidated by the terminologies they meet, or perhaps doubtful whether

ASUNTO

MALIPERO

SABINO

other financial instruments will really deliver on their expectations. It is for this reason that the first and largest Filipino life insurance company, Insular Life (InLife), takes on being a voice of authority to its countrymen as it provides answers to the questions about money, wealth, insurance and investments via 3-minute videos housed in the InLife YouTube channel. “The InLife Wealth University is an educational and informative platform that provides learnings and practical application on savings and investments, for insurance, retirement, health, and education needs, and many more. This is a first endeavor for us, to use the YouTube platform as a means to educate and engage with the Filipino market. Based on the 2018 data of We Are Social and Hootsuite, YouTube tops the google search queries, so we thought if people are going there to look for answers, then InLife should be there to provide the answers. This initiative is tied to our company’s aim of providing

a lifetime for good to its customers, as well as our way of bringing goodness to Filipino families,” said InLife Chief Marketing Officer and Sr. Vice President Miriam Z. Choa. Choa explains further, “The typical Filipino has truly evolved. He/She is empowered, knows what he/she wants in life and is looking for ways to achieve them. Information technology has become accessible to all—first jobbers, newly-married couples, family starters, career builders, even empty nesters and retirees— that they turn to the internet for answers. What the InLife Wealth University aims to do, is to put these advice and information in one platform, so that these common concerns experienced by each of us, may be answered satisfactorily.”

their native tongue to be well understood by most. Applying their knowledge, experience and expertise, they converted financial concepts into information that can be easily digested which are relevant to different stages and needs in life. For instance, some of the informative topics in the channel are as follows:

WEALTH MENTORS UNMASKED

Executive Producer and Sr. AVP Johanna C. Coronado unmasks 75 of InLife’s best financial advisors (FA), bringing about Wealth University which showcases a series of videos that answer questions in the easiest and most practical way possible. Some used

nStarting to invest P100 a day Wealth Mentor Wilvette Asunto from Cebu, discusses how one can start investing with only P100 a day, belying the common notion that one needs a big amount of money to start one’s investment portfolio. nMaking Big Financial Decisions as a Couple A question young married couples ask is when to purchase a home for their family. How would they know if they are prepared to buy a home, considering the many expenses a young family has to take care of? Carol Malipero, a Wealth Mentor from Davao and a licensed accountant gives tips on what couples should consider before taking the plunge of purchasing their dream house.

ROMERO

nGetting the right kind of insurance for your business Setting up a business entails a lot. One needs to consider the products to be sold, employees who will form part of one’s team, where the business will be headquartered, etc. But more often than not, business owners forget to prepare for unforeseen circumstances within the company. Jaime Sabino, a Wealth Mentor from Davao, discusses the right kinds of insurance to secure one’s business. nBuilding Up Employees’ Retirement Benefit Meanwhile, employers who truly look after their employees’ welfare ask how they can provide the best benefits for their workers. Malou Romero, an agency leader and Wealth Mentor from Manila who has been with InLife for 38 years, talks about how employers can comply with RA 7641, also known as the Retirement Pay Law. Get to see the other topics discussed and the other questions answered in the InLife Wealth University Youtube Channel. Subscribe now, visit youtube.com/ inlifewealthuniversity.

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www.businessmirror.com.ph | Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Making money work with sound financial know-how continued from F1

The Philippines’ most trusted mutual insurance company, backed by more than 100 years of existence and service to the Filipinos, know this. That's why Insular Life (InLife) recently launched the Wealth University, a program poised to help Filipinos to take control of their funds so they can have better lives and futures for themselves and their families. Initially, we produced a series of YouTube videos featuring the InLife Wealth Mentors, who by virtue of their knowledge and decades of experience in financial planning and management, give pieces of advice and answer frequently-asked questions about money, wealth, insurance and investments. These videos provide practical applications on savings and investment, insurance, retirement, health, and education, etc. This program is tied to InLife’s commitment of providing a lifetime for good to our customers, so we’re certainly looking at growing the video base and developing its content in the coming years. The internet has become so powerful, because of the instantaneous response to many of our questions. Consumers know the power they possess. However, there is no single platform or website that tries to answer the commonly-asked questions on

finances. One of the agency’s leaders, Raul Mabanag, thought of how it would be good to use videos as a platform for educating Filipinos on financial matters. Thus, the Wealth University was born. Wealth University will initially feature 90 videos and 75 Wealth Mentors from around the country. These Wealth Mentors have diverse backgrounds, yet, their pursuit for mastery of the life insurance and wealth management field, plus the learnings they got from experience as financial advisors and agency leaders, are what make them the authority when it comes to financial education. In the videos, people will see their experiences as first jobbers, newly-married individuals, family starters, career builders, empty nesters and retirees and how they were able to come up with solutions to their concerns during those specific stages of life, were helpful as they tried to answer question on financial matters.

So how does InLife see the program in the future?

IN one of the videos, Wealth Mentor Mercy Gurrea answers an oft-asked question: How can I invest when all my money goes to bills? In our country, the idea of saving for the rainy days is not a priority. Obviously, most of the money we earn is spent

on our needs, especially the bills we need to pay, and a few items we buy to reward ourselves for our hard work. Most of the time, there is nothing left for future needs. So when emergencies happen, we resort to loans which, most of the time, are hard to pay off. Our video discusses how one can change this way of life into something your future self will thank you for. InLife hopes for Wealth University to be able to contribute immensely to educating Filipinos on the various financial concerns they may have now. Let’s face it,

many Filipinos have plenty of financially-related questions but are afraid to ask because they do not know who to approach. Wealth University offers practical answers to these questions. We also hope the videos will spark discussions among those who will be able to watch them. This way, we can be assured that more will learn about the importance of planning one’s financial future. InLife also aim to make use of the technology to further reach more people. InLife aims to be the most digitally-connected life insurer in the country.

Aside from using YouTube as a platform to educate fellow Filipinos on financial matters through the Wealth University, the company have also increasingly made use of technology to improve our services. For instance, its Automated Underwriting System (AUS) quickly renders underwriting decisions to life insurance applications in under 30 minutes. So applicants and even agents do not have to go to InLife offices in order to apply for a life insurance plan and submit these insurance applications. This may be done using the AUS. When an application is approved, payment may be made using the policyholder’s credit card, while the policy may also be delivered electronically, via the Customer Portal. Through the Leads ARchiving Assistant or LARA, financial advisors are given a platform for storing their customer data and managing their sales performance and activities. LARA enables the financial advisors to conduct leads generation activities within it by scheduling sales calls, providing a system for logging these activities and generating reports.

Philam Life: reliable partner in life’s challenges and opportunities

PHILAM Life, proud member of AIA, the largest independent

publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group, endeavor to know and provide Filipinos with the right solutions and the right plans that turn struggles into successes, fears into peace in mind, and dreams into reality. Philam Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Philam Life, continues to advocate financial literacy and savings awareness through its Philam Savings Awareness and Values Education Session (SAVES) Program. Started in 2016, the program is a two-part module—storytelling and coin bank-designing session for students and the Financial Planning Session for parents and teacher—which aims to promote the value of saving and being thrifty to children and their parents. Founded in 1997, the foundation was borne out of Philam Life’s serious intent to be a good corporate citizen and fulfil its social responsibility to the community. Through the years, Philam continues to contribute in addressing societal needs through its core programs: Philam SAVES, Philam Paaralan, which builds classrooms in areas affected by calamities and areas that are unserved or underserved; and the Alliance for Philippines’ Health and Advocacy (ALPHA), which spearheaded the expansion of the country’s first hospital-based cancer registry program.