BusinessMirror July 25, 2019

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‘S.O.T. BILL STILL NEEDS TWEAKING’

24 years with the wtO: is it still relevant tO Phl?

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS

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OCIOECONOMIC Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said on Wednesday the security of tenure (SOT) bill on the President’s table still needs some “tweaking” to balance the interests of employers and employees, and ensure that investors do not flee the country.

Pernia said this was the comment of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) submitted to President Duterte after he recently asked for the agency’s view on the SOT bill.

However, Pernia did not go into details when pressed on what specific provisions of the measure should be “tweaked” to satisfy the needs of both employers and employees.

“Essentially there is a need for tweaking to address some of the provisions. It has to benefit not only the workers but also the employers,” he said in a news briefing on Thursday.

“Because if investments are deterred, [investors] shy away from investing because of the SOT, then it’s not good for the workers. There will be less job opportunities,” he added.

Pernia did not categorically state if he recommended that Duterte veto the SOT, but described the measure as “not perfect.”

“Like I said before, it has to be fair between workers and employers...if you want jobs to be made available through investments,” he responded when asked if Neda’s comments are in favor of businesses.

“Because if capitalists and industrialists shy away because of something they don’t like...the workers would suffer. We have a very high labor force growth.

We really have to keep up with so many workers coming into stream,” he added.

See “SOT bill,” A8

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Duty-free capital gear importation extended E T

SB 1826 becoming a law: End of the ‘Endo’ issue?

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

NTERPRISES registered with the Board of Investments (BOI) may continue importing capital equipment, spare parts and accessories at zero duty for three more years after President Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) 85.

In signing EO 85, the President approved the recommendation of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) to continue the grant of the incentive after the effectivity of EO 57, which allowed its implementation for one

year, ended on July 6.

“Considering that importation of capital equipment remains as one of the major cost burdens of business enterprises in their startup and expansion, there is a need to again extend the grant of zero

percent duty on capital equipment, spare parts and accessories, currently being enjoyed by BOI-registered enterprises,” read the EO signed on July 19, but released to the media on July 24.

The incentive is expected to

Considering that importation of capital equipment remains as one of the major cost burdens of business enterprises in their startup and expansion, there is a need to again extend the grant of zero percent duty on capital equipment, spare parts and accessories ...enjoyed by BOI-registered enterprises.”—EO 85

enhance the attractiveness of the Philippines as an investment destination and improve industry competitiveness, in line with the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.

Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS

RADE unionists and HR managers are intrigued: Why was the President’s Sona silent on the “Endo” issue? Senate Bill 1826 on security of tenure got the support of the House in the 17th Congress and was transmitted to Malacañang on June 27. If not acted upon by the President, the said bill lapses into law on July 27.

If this happens, will this be the end of the endless debates on the Endo issue and the supposed provisions of the Labor Code governing “independent job contracting” and “prohibited labor-only contracting” (LOC)? The answer: Unlikely.

Continued on,” A7

See “Duty-free,” A2

Agri accounts for biggest chunk of LandBank loan portfolio–official

By Rea Cu

L

@ReaCuBM

OANS extended by the Land Bank of the Philippines to the agriculture sector as of June reached P177.32 billion, accounting for the lion’s share of the bank’s total loan portfolio of nearly P800 billion during the period, a bank official said, a claim validated by the Department of Finance.

LandBank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo said the farm sector accounted for 22.17 percent of the bank’s total loan portfolio of P799.64 billion.

“This is our report [to the President] and we will also include that we will further increase our exposure [to the agriculture sector],” Borromeo told reporters in an interview on Tuesday.

She said the increase in LandBank’s exposure to the farm sector is included in the plan that will be presented to the President before the end of this month.

Borromeo made the statement after the President, during his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday, threatened to abolish LandBank if it cannot present a plan to “reconfigure” its operations so it could better

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

Biz execs name BSP best agency

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

“Compared with other banks of any size, [LandBank] has the largest proportion of loans to the agriculture sector.“—Dominguez

serve farmers and fishermen by the end of July.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said LandBank is the only bank that has set aside the largest proportion of its loan portfolio to the agriculture sector. LandBank is a governmentowned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) attached to the Department of Finance.

“Compared with other banks of any size, [LandBank] has the largest proportion of loans to the agriculture sector,” Dominguez said. “[LandBank] is the fourth-largest bank. Its size is due to the fact that it is the main depository of the government. It performs a lot of functions,” he added.

Dominguez noted that the bank is the distributor of funds to beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and the Pantawid Pasada Program.

See “LandBank,” A2

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and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority as members.

“The spirit of the law is to assist rice farmers in increasing their productivity.

The farmers are expecting the interventions, and we must deliver and so you have to work fast on this,” Piñol said.

The agriculture chief made the statement after rice farmers in Luzon reported to him that the farm-gate price

ALFWAY into the Duterte administration, privatesector leaders ranked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as the best performing agency, while the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) got the lowest satisfaction rating.

In the 2019 Executive Outlook Survey of the Makati Business Club (MBC), the BSP received a satisfaction rating of 97 percent from business executives, from 95.4 percent in 2015.

Behind the Central Bank are the National Economic and Development Authority with 84.5 percent ,and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration with 84.2 percent, from 80.3 percent and 89.4 percent, respectively.

Rounding out the best five performing agencies for business leaders are the Department of Trade and Industry with 82.8 percent, from 84.8 percent; and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) with 81.1 percent, from 76.3 percent.

The BSP was one of the agencies that took on the Herculean task of managing inflation, which

See “Rice farmers,” A2

See “BSP,” A2

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s main facility on Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, is seen in this BusinessMirror file photo. Private-sector leaders have ranked the BSP as the best performing agency in the 2019 Executive Outlook Survey of the Makati Business Club (MBC), with a satisfaction rating of 97 percent, up from 95.4 percent in 2015. NONOY LACZA

Rice farmers in dire need of govt aid–Piñol

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) should immediately release the P10 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to help farmers affected by the influx of cheap imports, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol.

Piñol told members of the RCEF program steering committee (PSC) on July 22 that time is running out for the government to roll out the necessary interventions for farmers now reeling from the steep drop in the price of unhusked rice.

The PSC, chaired by Piñol, also includes the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Land Bank of the Philippines,

@alyasjaht

US 51.1600 n JAPAN 0.4728 n UK 63.6430 n HK 6.5504 n CHINA 7.4367 n SINGAPORE 37.4799 n AUSTRALIA 35.8325 n EU 57.0690 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6412

Source: BSP (24 July 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Thursday, July 25, 2019

Higher tobacco excise tax to be signed this week–DOF

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

P

@BNicolasBM

RESIDtENT Duterte will sign into law this week the bill imposing higher excise tax on tobacco products, with the inclusion of heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes.

In a Palace briefing on Wednesday, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the enrolled tobacco tax hike bill was transmitted to the Malacañang last June 27, which means that it will lapse into law after 30 days or on July 27, Saturday.

“I was told it would be signed this week because that is a priority measure certified urgent by the President in the previous Congress

and mentioned by the President in the Sona (State of the Nation Address),” Chua told reporters.

At the close of the 17th Congress, the House adopted the Senate version of the bill in order to do away with a bicameral conference given the tight deadline.

Seen to boost funding for Universal Health Care Law, the bill imposes an increase of P45 to P60 per pack in excise tax starting next year

until 2023 for regular cigars and cigarettes and a 5-percent yearly hike effective Jan. 1, 2024.

With the inclusion of heated tobacco products and vapor products in the measure, the excise tax on tobacco products will bring an additional P2.1 billion to the projected P15-billion revenues.

Portions of the revenues collected shall also be allocated and divided among the tobacco-producing provinces and utilized exclusively for programs to promote economically viable alternatives for tobacco farmers and workers.

The schedule of increases follows: P45 per pack increase effective Jan. 1, 2020 until December 31, 2021, P50 on Jan. 1, 2021, P55 per pack on Jan. 1, 2022 and P60 per pack effective Jan. 1, 2023.

From the current zero excise tax, heated tobacco products or ecigarettes will also be levied P10 per pack beginning Jan. 1, 2020 with a 5-percent yearly increase effective

Jan. 1, 2021.

Vapor products, individual cartridge, refill, pod or container of liquid solutions or gel will be charged P10 per ml. If the product is being sold at more than 50 ml, it will be charged P50 excise tax plus P10 per additional 10 ml. Likewise, there shall also be a 5-percent annual hike effective Jan. 1, 2021.

Stiffer penalties against illicit tobacco trade are also carried under the bill along with imposition of higher monetary fines. The maximum penalty of imprisonment has also been adjusted from 12 years to 14 years.

Under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law which took effect in January 2018, the existing excise tax rates on cigarettes packed by hand and by machine are as follows: P37.50 per pack beginning Jan. 1, 2020, P40 starting Jan. 1, 2022; and a 4-percent increase every year thereafter.

Charter-change measure refiled in the House

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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MEASURE amending certain provisions of the 1987 Constitution has been refiled in the House of Representatives.

In House Concurrent Resolution 1, Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the clamor and sentiment from a broad cross-section of society seeking a review of certain provisions in the 31-year-old Philippine Constitution, to make it more attuned and responsive to the demands of present conditions, have not only been sustained but affirmed with the growing number of people who support the platform of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

According to Rodriguez, he considered the version of the Consultative Commitee in filing the measure.

The Consultative Committee, chaired by former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno and its senior member, former Senate President Aquilino Q. Pimentel

LandBank. . .

Continued from A1

Loans to agri

THE LandBank’s loans to the agriculture and fisheries sector as of June were 16.82 percent higher than the P151.78 billion recorded in the same month last year.

Of the amount, loans extended to agribusiness accounted for the lion’s share at P119.52 billion; aqua-business, P2.59 billion; and agri-aqua related projects of local government units (LGUs) and GOCCs, P55.21 billion.

“We also support other national government priority programs including the expansion of loans to MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises] and we have a total of P94.3 billion, probably the highest

Jr., tasked to review the 1987 Constitution transmitted to the Office of the President its proposed changes to the Charter in July last year. Its main provision is to create 18 federated regions with more autonomy to control and utilize their revenues.

Moreover, Rodriguez’s resolution seeks a presidential bicameral-federal system of government.

He also wants the two chambers to convene into a Constituent Assembly to consider the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution.

“The recent events show that it is imperative that reforms be introduced in the present Constitution for it to be responsive to the exigencies of the times, including the need to provide a long-term solution to the decadesold conflict in Mindanao and to spur economic regional development in the countryside, and provide impetus to much needed socioeconomic and political reforms,” he added.

Under the resolution, by a vote of

in the banking industry,” she said.

Data from the bank showed that P42.31 billion went to its mandated sector as of June, 5.8 percent higher than last year’s P39.96 billion.

Broken down, small farmers including agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and their associations were provided P42.17 billion, while small fishers and their associations were allocated P140 million. Aside from supporting the agriculture sector, the LandBank said it also funds the priority programs and sectors of the national government.

Loans to this subsector reached P524.86 billion, 13.27 percent higher than the P463.35 billion recorded in June 2018.

Under the subsector, the support for MSMEs amounted to P94.30 billion; communication, P49.11 billion; transportation, P53.45 billion; housing, P60.82 billion; education, P9.70 billion; health care, P22.75 billion; environment-related projects, P11.47 billion; tourism, P23.49 billion; utilities, P135.10 billion; livelihood loans, P25.94 billion; and other programs including public-private pa r t nersh ip projec t s, P36.73 billion.

“So that’s P524.86 billion in total outside of the mandated sector. [Together with] the mandated sector, [loans] amount to almost P744.5 billion, [or] 93 percent of our loan portfolio,” she said.

three-fourths of all its members, each House voting separately, and pursuant to Article XVII of the Constitution, to propose amendments to Articles VI (Legislative Department), X (Local Government), XII (National Partimony), XIV (Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports) and XVI (General Provisions) of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines.

The resolution seeks to amend the provisions of the Constitution, particularly Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Section 7, Section 10, Section 11, of Article XII or the National Patrimony and Economy by inserting “unless otherwise provided by law.”These amendment seek to relax the restrictive foreign ownership to attract more foreign direct investment.

27 senators THE resolution said the Senate shall be compossed of 27 senators who shall be elected at large by the qualified

Duty-free. . .

Continued from A1

The zero-percent duty shall be applied to importation by BOI-registered new and expanding enterprises of capital equipment, spare parts and accessories, upon issuance by the BOI of a Certificate of Authority, provided that these equipment and materials comply with certain conditions.

The EO indicated that the equipment and spare parts should not be manufactured domestically in sufficient quantity, of comparable quality, and at reasonable prices; and that these should be reasonably needed and will be used exclusively by the enterprise in its registered activity.

The BOI-registered enterprise is also prohibited from selling, transfering or disposing of these capital equipment, machinery, spare parts and accessories

SCS. . .

Continued from A8

It will also support partner countries in upholding and asserting their sovereignty, while protecting US interests.

The US Coast Guard commander noted that many countries in the Asia Pacific do not have the full capacity and capability to guard their sovereign waters, making them vulnerable to narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, piracy, and terrorist activities.

“In the face of coercive and antagonistic behavior, the United States Coast Guard offers transparent engagement and partnership,” he said.

voters of the Philippines, as may be provided by law.

The bill said three senators each shall come from the National Capital Region, Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

Meanwhile, the bill said the composition of each region shall be determined by law.

Term limits

THE resolution said the term of office of the senators shall be four years (from the current six years). The bill said no senator shall serve for more than three (from the current two) consecutive terms.

It added the members of the House of Representatives shall be elected for a term of four years (from the current three years). No member of the chamber shall serve for more than three consecutive terms.

without prior BOI approval, within five years from the date of importation.

Erring enterprises will pay twice the amount of the duty forgone or P500,000 whichever is higher, without prejudice to other applicable penalties under EO 226 or The Omnibus Investments Code of 1987.

The BOI, in coordination with the Tariff Commission, shall promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations on the implementation of EO 85.

Under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), the President has the power to increase, reduce or remove existing rates of import duty, upon the recommendation of Neda.

The EO shall take effect immediately after its complete publication in a newspaper of general circulation and shall be valid for a period of three years or until a law amending EO 226 is enacted, whichever comes earlier.

“Our specialized capabilities and expansive international relationships enable us to build partner-nation capacity and model the rules-based values and behaviors that we want to see in the region. Through engagement, partnership, and presence, we are a maritime bridge between the Department of Defense’s lethality and the State Department’s diplomacy,” Shultz said.

Shultz emphasized their aim was to become a model for maritime governance.

“What we think we bring is appropriate behavior. Following international protocol and following a free and open rule-based mindset, and we’re hoping the Coast Guard presence here will reinforce that as important. The national US interest and really how the international norms should be established and reinforced,” he said.

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Exempt newly-hired OFW from immediate SSS payment–DOLE

By Samuel P. Medenilla

T

@sam_medenilla

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now pushing for the temporary exemption of Filipino workers, who are bound for abroad, from immediately paying premium to the Social Security System (SSS).

Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said he is proposing for the “modification” of the Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 11199 or the Social Security Act. The labor chief proposed that the SSS premium be collected only three months after the Filipino worker is already deployed in his or her country of destination.

“By that time, they are already earning could be considered and OFW [overseas Filipino workers],” Bello explained to reporters.

He maintained that new-hires are technically still not considered OFWs, who are covered by Republic Act (RA) 11199 or the Social Security Act. “I already informed them of the legal contemplation: a worker, who has not been issued an OEC (overseas employment certificate) is not yet an OFW, and therefore cannot be covered by the compulsory coverage by the law,” Bello said.

Rice farmers. . .

Continued from A1

of palay plunged to P12 per kilogram recently due to the influx of cheap rice from other countries.

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

“The situation could worsen if we don’t deliver our commitment. For now, there is so much unrest among farmers especially in Luzon so we cannot afford not to deliver [interventions],”Piñol said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Farmers’ groups, including the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), have been urging the government, particularly the DBM, to release the RCEF as farmers have already started planting for the wet season.

Economic managers announced earlier that money for the RCEF could be released as early as the third quarter

BSP. . .

Continued from A1

hit a record high of 6.7 percent in September and October 2018. The Central Bank raised interest rates by a total of 175 basis points to counter inflation.

After peaking at 6.7 percent, inflation started settling within the government target range of 2 percent to 4 percent, and eased to 2.7 percent in June, according to data from the PSA. However, the BSP suffered a leadership loss when Governor Nestor T. Espenilla passed away in February after battling tongue cancer for nearly one year. He was succeeded by then-Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno.

MWSS worst

BECAUSE of the water supply problem seen this year, private sector leaders gave the MWSS a satisfaction rating of 21.9 percent, the worst among 69 agencies included in the survey.

Joining the MWSS in the cellar are the Bureau of Customs with 27.6 percent, House of Representatives with 28 percent, Department of Agriculture with 28.4 percent, and the Presidential Communica-

The recruitment industry and migration advocates earlier rejected the Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) of RA 11199 making the SSS premium payment a prior requirement for the issuance of the OEC. An OEC is a document issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to allow a Filipino to work abroad.

“We will issue the OEC with the condition that three months after the worker has been deployed, we will start collecting his contribution,” Bello said.

Bello said his proposal has already drawn unofficial approval from the SSS management.

Last month, POEA, after consulting with its stakeholders, recommended to Bello the postponement of the rule making SSS premium a requirement for OEC issuance until the matter can be discussed by the appropriate agencies.

In an SMS, POEA administrator Bernard P. Olalia told BusinessMirror Bello’s proposal will be among the issues to be tackled in the joint committee meeting of the Department of Foreign Affairs, DOLE and SSS on Thursday.

“It will discuss all issues related to [RA 11199] coverage of OFWs,” Olalia said. of the year.

The DBM maintained that it will release only P5 billion and not P10 billion, as it had already released P5 billion for the RCEF last year.

The set up of the P10-billion RCEF is mandated by Republic Act (RA) 11203 to improve farmers’ productivity and cushion the adverse effects of the rice trade liberalization law.

Under RA 11203, P5 billion of the RCEF is allocated for farm mechanization, P3 billion is for the distribution of inbred rice seeds and P1 billion is for credit assistance and farmers’ training.

FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said his group will said pursue the filing of a case against the DBM before the Ombudsman if it will not release P10 billion for the RCEF this year.

He said his group will make good of its threat to file legal charges against the DBM for “willful violation of RA 11203, or the rice trade liberalization law.”

“We may file the case next year because the DBM has until the end of the year to release the full P10 billion for 2019,” Montemayor told the BusinessMirror.

tions Operations Office (PCOO) with 32.3 percent.

“Last year rice prices spiked, fueling inflation after the government failed to import sufficient rice. This year parts of Metro Manila experienced a water shortage,” the survey read.

At the height of the water crisis in March, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s largest business network, demanded more accountability from east zone concessionaire Manila Water for its failure to prevent and manage the water shortage in Metro Manila. Business groups also demanded that government secure a secondary water source for the nation’s capital. Metro Manila sources 96 percent of its water supply from Angat Dam. In spite of high approval ratings from the public, business executives are divided on the performance of President Duterte’s office, as shown in the survey. The Office of the President received a satisfaction rating of 49 percent, and was among the 27 agencies that got a negative score from the respondents.

The survey covered 100 respondents from 100 firms. The respondents were asked whether they are satisfied with last year’s performance of 69 agencies.

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News BusinessMirror

DOJ chief: Let’s just firm up the merits of sedition raps vs VP, co-respondents

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday shrugged off reports that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) was behind the filing of a sedition complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against key opposition figures, led

by Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo and several other individuals, for allegedly trying to discredit and destabilize the Duterte administration.

In a news statement, Guevarra said the preliminary investigation on the case would focus on whether there is basis to file the case in court and not on who drafted the affidavit of Peter Joemel Advincula, which became the basis for the filing of the complaint against Robredo and her co-respondents.

“What is of utmost importance is whether or not the complainant PNP-CIDG’s [Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group] evidence will support its allegations and establish probable cause against all the respondents, regardless of who drafted the complaint-affidavit,” Guevarra said.

Guevarra said he has directed a special panel of prosecutors to immediately commence with the preliminary investigation on the complaint.

The DOJ chief has assigned Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Olivia L. Torrevillas, Assistant State Prosecutor Michael John M. Humarang and Assistant State Prosecutor Gino Paolo S. Santiago to handle the preliminary investigation.

Meanwhile, the OSG defended its participation in the filing of the complaint, saying that it is within its authority as government chief counsel to represent and assist government agencies in cases.

“By law [Executive Order 292, Instituting the “Administrative Code of 1987”, Section 35, Book IV, July 25, 1987], the OSG is the principal lawyer of Republic of the Philippines, and all

its agencies and departments, which includes, among others, the PNP-CIDG,” the OSG said in a separate news statement.

Also named as respondents, aside from Robredo, are Senators Ana Theresa Hontiveros-Baraquel and Leila M. de Lima, former Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV, Otso Diretso candidates Gary C. Alejano, Florin T. Hilbay, Romulo B. Macalintal, Jose Manuel I. Diokno, Paolo Benigno A. Aquino, Samira GutocTomawis and Lorenzo R. Tañada III; Archbishops Pablo S. Virgilio S. David and Socrates B. Villegas, Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani and Honesto F. Ongtico, Bro. Armin Luistro, and clergy members Robert Reyes and Albert E. Alejo.

Also named as respondents were former Integrated Bar of the Philippines President Abdiel Dan Elijah S. Fajardo, incumbent IBP President Egon Q. Cayosa, lawyers Minerva Ambrosio, Theodore O. Te, Serafin Salavdor and Philip Sawali.

They are being accused of being behind the release of a series of videos online, titled “Ang Totoong Narcolist,” featuring Advincula, alias Bikoy, the hooded man in the video clips which linked President Duterte, his family members and several associates in the illegal-drugs trade in the country.

Advincula is among those charged but he is likely to be used as state witness for the prosecution.

In his affidavit, Advincula said the release of the videos was part of the so-called Project Sodoma hatched by the respondents.

Project Sodoma allegedly sought to publicly discredit the President and destabilize his administration by implicating him, his family and other government officials in drug syndicates.

The project, which was planned as early as August 2018, was also intended allegedly to derail the senatorial bid of the candidates under the Hugpong ng Pagbabago in the last elections and, at the same time, prop up those from the opposition Otso Diretso.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, July 25, 2019 A3

Jakarta police: Indonesian couple carried out Jolo cathedral suicide attack last Jan

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AKARTA, Indonesia—The police said they believe an Indonesian husband and wife, who had taken part in a government deradicalization program, carried out the suicide bombing of a cathedral in the southern Philippines in January that killed more than 20 people.

Indonesia’s National Police Spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told a news conference Tuesday that an Islamic militant arrested in East Kalimantan last month had confessed that he’d recruited Rullie Rian Zeke and his wife, Ulfah Handayani Saleh, for the Philippine bombing.

The arrested militant, identified only as Yoga, and the couple he recruited for the bombing were part of Jemaah An-

shorut Daulah, a banned Islamic extremist organization in Indonesia that allies itself with the Islamic State group, according to police. Yoga also had contacts with IS militants in Afghanistan.

Prasetyo said Zeke and Saleh had previously failed in an attempt to reach Syria with their children, and after returning to Indonesia underwent a government deradicalization program

before being released.

The couple’s alleged role in the bombing of the Roman Catholic cathedral in Jolo highlights links between militants across Southeast Asia. Authorities are concerned about Indonesian, Malaysian and Philippine citizens who joined IS in Syria and Iraq returning home and carrying out attacks in Southeast Asia.

The Indonesians’ involvement in the cathedral attack was initially suspected from the interrogations of five militants caught by authorities in the Philippines after the bombings who described their accents and habits, Prasetyo said.

Some Indonesian militants had tried to reach Afghanistan after the defeat of IS in Syria and Iraq, Prasetyo said, including a man arrested in a Jakarta satellite city who planned a suicide bombing during protests in May against the results of Indonesia’s presidential election. AP

Suspected ASG bomber nabbed in joint police-military ops in Zambo Sibugay

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SUSPECTED Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bomber was arrested on Wednesday during a joint law enforcement operation carried out by policemen and soldiers in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Isnaji Hasim was arrested by policemen and members of the Army’s 44th Infantry Battalion at around 9 a.m. at Barangay Bangkaw-bangkaw in the town of Naga, said Capt. Clint Antipala, spokesman of the First In-

fantry Division.

Hasim had operated under Furuji Indama, the commander of the ASG based in Basilan, and was a close associate of Hashim Saripa, one of the bombers of a military checkpoint in Lamitan, Basilan on July 31, 2018, where 10 people died and nine others were wounded, said Lt. Col. Don Templonuevo, 44th IB commander.

Templonuevo said Hasim was also

involved in the Jan 23, 2015 Guiwan Bus Terminal Bombing in Zamboanga City, that resulted in the death of two people and the wounding of 52 others.

Hasim yielded .30 BAR rifle, a hand grenade, an improvised explosive, blasting caps and other bomb paraphernalia.

In North Cotabato, two members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters surrendered to the elements of the Seventh Infantry Battalion. Rene Acosta

TheBroa

Business

A4 Thursday, July 25, 2019 | www.businessmirror.com.ph

24 YEARS WITH THE WTO: IS

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas & Cai Ordinari @cuo_bm

HE temperature was 15 degrees Celsius outside the 93-yearold Centre William Rappard in Geneva, Switzerland, when Jose Antonio S. Buencamino walked into the atrium of the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters and presented a warm future for the Philippines within the multilateral organization.

get bullied into concessions or making allowances that do not protect their sovereign rights.”

Menon explained that “these things can happen only with a multilateral institution.”

He also noted that the WTO has pushed for the aid for trade initiative to bring rich and poor countries together to find ways to improve trading capacity of developing and poor countries.

Menon said the aid for trade initiative helps developing countries address bottlenecks in trading that prevents them from accessing markets or bars international markets from trading with them efficiently.

These initiatives, he said, address both hard and soft infrastructure as well as “behind--theborder issues” that have blocked trade flow between and among countries.

Complaints, cases

WTO spokeman Keith Rockwell. PHOTOS BY JASPER EMMANUEL Y. ARCALAS

It was the 15th of May and Buencamino, Philippine Mission to the WTO Special Trade Representative, had just come out of a meeting, his last for the day.

The issues surrounding the WTO are real and should be addressed, he told the BusinessMirror after the perfunctor y introductions. “[The] WTO has to adapt to the times. Twenty-four years is a very long time for a very dynamic issue that is trade policy,” Buencamino said from a red chair, an olive tree at his back.

Buencamino would know: he was part of the country’s negotiating team when the Philippines was acceding to the WTO in 1995.

“It remains very relevant but there’s a need for few adaptations or reforms to make sure it functions even better,” he added. “But a complete overhaul of the WTO treaty, I don’t think that’s we’re talking about.”

A lost cause?

What was once viewed as a beacon of hope for countries like the Philippines to spur trade in the global arena is now being seen as a lost cause.

The dream created by the WTO when it was established in 1995 has slowly become a mere fantasy with the stalemate at the Doha Round. No resolution is in sight for the talks, which began in 2001.

The collapse of the talks in 20 08 forced m a ny cou nt r ies to intensif y ef for ts to car ve their own corners in the world

through regional and various bilateral trade agreements. This has left many to believe the WTO has lost its effectiveness; hence the question to Buencamino, economists and stakeholders on the relevance of the WTO.

Real hopes

FOR Asian Development Bank (ADB) Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department Lead Economist for Trade and Regional Cooperation Jayant Menon, the hope created by the WTO remains real, despite the disenchantment created by the collapse of the Doha Round.

The ADB executive told the BusinessMirror the WTO remains the curator of the multilateral trading system, which is the only one that allows developed, developing, and poor countries to sit at a table as equals.

“We have to imagine a world without the WTO to recognize its importance. The WTO is an organization where every country has an equal seat at the table.

This does not exist in bilateral and regional negotiations taking place right now,” Menon said.

“More countries can be bullied in so many different implicit ways into agreeing to all kinds of things in these agreements.”

He added that “with the WTO, which is consensus-based, every country must be on board, different countries can form coalitions to protect their special needs and they can use that as a way of ensuring that they don’t

THROUGH the years, Menon said the WTO has helped developing countries expand their trade horizons. The WTO has been instrumental in bringing down tariffs and removing nontariff barriers worldwide.

Menon added that under a multilateral trading system, countries can resort to the trade dispute mechanism at the WTO to fight for their sovereign rights. This is a result of the rules-based system enforced by the WTO. The WTO considers dispute settlement as one of its core activities. The institution said that a dispute occurs when a member gover nment believes another member government is violating an agreement or a commitment it has made to the body.

WTO said that since its establishment, over 500 disputes have been brought to the WTO and over 350 rulings issued.

Menon said the Philippines has used the WTO’s dispute mechanism. Based on WTO documents, the Philippines has been a complainant in five cases.

The country has also been a respondent in six complaints filed against it by several countries.

(See sidebar) “So, all of these agreements, bilateral and regional, still have to comply with a broad set of rules set by the multilateral system and governed by the WTO as institution. And I think that remains important despite the proliferation of bilateral agreements and now major regional agreements,” Menon said. “It remains important and plays a very useful role in keeping a rules based world order and providing an effective dispute settlement mechanism.”

A slew of issues

ASIDE from dispute mechanisms, other key issues hounding the WTO involve: member-countries’ obligation to report relevant information such as subsidies; special and differential treatment; and, the Appellate Body.

The US has raised its concerns on the noncompliance of membercountries with a requirement to report to the WTO information in relation to fulfillment of obligations under the treaty.

The US has tabled a proposal for a stronger transparency among member-states by imposing “administrative” punishments for noncompliance.

Among the sanctions for member-countries failing to notify the WTO in a timely and transparent manner is the non-election to committee chairmanships.

Buencamino said he supports the call for a “strong, transparent, timely and full” notification of member-states’ obligations to the WTO.

WTO Atrium

However, he said “he cannot go along with the punitive measures” proposed by the US. Buencamino explained that member-countries have valid reasons for not notifying or reporting to the WTO their obligations, such as administrative and logistical concerns.

For example, countries are required to notify licensing requirements that they implement to provide other members predictability in trade. However, it is tedious to do this as it entails dealing with a lot of government agencies.

“See, you have capacity constraints. Agencies are weak, data collection is weak. And those are real problems across all members,” Buencamino said.

“The solution there is to ask for technical assistance. But you should be forgiven for not notifying. What should be sanctioned is willful non-notification of commitments,” he added.

Large, small economies

BUENCAMINO said the issue of special and differential treatment shouldn’t be a case of categorization. He explained that what matters most in trade negotiation is that a country fulfills its commitments and obligations under the WTO treaties.

Proposals have been tabled at the WTO to provide clear-cut guidelines on how to determine if a country is a developed or developing one.

One proposal pointed out that countries that belong to the G20,

or are applying for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, are classified as high-income class and accounts for more than 0.5 percent of global merchandise trade should be considered developed country.

Large economies, such as China and India, would be adversely affected by such proposal as they are still considered developing countries at the WTO arena.

At present, W TO membercountries are just asked to classify themselves as either developed or developing countries.

Under WTO agreements, developing countries enjoy a longer timetable to implement the body’s agreements and commitments.

They can also utilize trade measures to safeguard their interests.

“For me, it should be pragmatic.

We do not need to judge if a country is developing or not,” Buencamino said. “What matters most is that they comply with the rules and commitments.”

Appellate body

THE WTO’s appellate body, which serves as its Court of Appeals, has been under scrutiny by big member-countries, especially the United States, in recent years.

The US’s concerns include the appellate body’s noncompliance with the mandated 90-day release of reports on disputes, and its alleged projection as if it were the sole interpreter of the WTO treaty.

The US pointed out that the appellate body has interpreted WTO rules beyond what was negotiated

at the Uruguay round in 1986.

Due to these concerns, the US has repeatedly blocked proposals to fill in the vacancies for appellate body judges.

The appellate body has seven judges but it has gone down to three, the minimum number for it to be able to act on disputes.

“The vacancies in position must have been filled yesterday—not next week, tomorrow, or whenever, but yesterday,” Buencamino said. “What is happening now is the threat of the future of dispute settlement. If the appellate body ceases to exist, then disputes could forever stay in appeal, hence, there’s no victory.”

Sending officials

WTO officials told the BusinessMirror that the multilateral organization remains a relevant arena for to the Philippines, especially for issues it is interested in, such as agriculture.

“This is a place that provides the Philippines an avenue to express their views and make things work to provide a better life for Filipinos,” WTO Spokesman Keith Rockwell said in an interview in May at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

“And if this organization is placed in a position that is under threat, that forum in which the Philippines has thrived and prospered over the years runs the risk of not being there for the Filipino people,” Rockwell added.

He pointed out that the Philippines’ sending of officials to

aderLook

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A5

S IT STILL RELEVANT TO PHL? non-food products.

He added this also forced millions of Filipinos to seek greener pastures abroad to earn a living as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

The PSA said that based on the 2018 Survey on Overseas Filipinos, there were 2.299 million OFWs. This is composed of 1.016 male and 1.284 million female OFWs. “ T he Philippines after the WTO has become a service and labor export-dependent economy more than a producing economy.

This keeps job creation low, unemployment and underemployment high, incomes poor, and productivity and dynamism stif led,” Africa said.

Apart from these, Africa said the multilateral trading system is still not inclusive since it prevented the Philippines from “undertaking vital national industrial policies such as subsidies, protection, technology transfer and other regulation of foreign investment.”

However, Africa said bilateral and regional trade agreements are also “not necessarily any better” than the WTO for the same reasons cited by Menon that make these agreements difficult to undertake, especially for developing and poor countries.

Discipline is absent

represent it to the WTO shows how the archipelago deems the organization important. “[The WTO] offers a place where you can stand, you can fight your corner, you can express your views, and you can iron out problems before they get too big,” Rockwell said.

“It’s a place where the utility of it is obvious to the people in Manila because it keeps sending top-quality people here. It’s most obvious that this is a place that they hold dear,” he added.

Opening up

THE Philippine economy started opening up to the world even before the WTO came into existence, according to Ibon Foundation Executive Director Jose Enrique A. Africa.

A f r ic a sa id t h i s occ u r red through the efforts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as far back as the 1980s.

As a result of nearly 40 years of trade openness, Africa said the share of trade in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew to 130 percent in 2017 from 88 percent in 1994.

He lamented, however, that this openness to global trade and foreign players did not lead to Filipinos and domestic firms mak ing it big. T he countr y’s openness to foreign locators only increased the country’s imports instead of exports.

Africa added that local firms found it difficult to compete with

cheap imports and this has been observed, especially in recent years, with the country’s widening trade deficit.

In the past three years alone, the country’s merchandise trade deficits based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reached as much as $43.533 billion at the end of 2018.

On a monthly basis, the country’s trade deficits would run anywhere from $1.554 billion in April 2017 to $4.415 billion in October 2018.

“The Philippines is more open and trade accounts for a much larger share of the economy than before,” Africa said.

Regional agreements

HOWEVER, Africa said that “the economic forces of trade have, unfortunately, weakened rather than developed domestic production and the share of agriculture and manufacturing in GDP have fallen to lower levels today than in the 1990s before the WTO.” “Domestic producers have not been and are not able to compete with cheap imports, and have not and are not able to export commensurate to the opening up of the domestic economy,” he added. “Our chronic and recent record trade deficits expose the country’s trade and development failure under the WTO.” The failure to compete, Africa explained, also led the country to become a more service-oriented economy rather than an economy that produces food and

THINGS could have been worse for the Philippines, particularly to its small-scale farmers, without the WTO, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor believes.

“A rules-based trading system is beneficial to small countries like the Philippines who can end up being bullied by large trading partners in the absence of rules,” he told the BusinessMirror.

“For example, the absence of disciplines on domestic support and export subsidies would have allowed our trading partners to continue subsidizing their exports and protecting their producers without limits to our disadvantage. Or other countries could easily block our exports with arbitrary changes in their tariffs,” he added.

Montemayor said the rulesbased system is far from perfect and the impasse in the Doha round negotiations have made it difficult for member-countries to reform the WTO. For one, the consensus approach that W TO undertakes should be changed as it seems to be unworkable in this time and age, he explained.

“So, it might be better to negotiate and come to an agreement on specific issues, much like a legislative system where Congress passes bills on particular issues from time to time,” Montemayor said. “The disadvantage here is that there will be limited room for trade-offs.”

He also noted that the impasse in WTO negotiations has led to the proliferation of free trade agreements to advance the interests of countries in global trade.

Impasse effect

THE impasse in Doha round negotiations also meant a halt in the reforms that could have led to an improvement of the Philippines’s agriculture sector.

Montemayor pointed out that uncompetitive sectors of agriculture were adversely affected by the accession of the Philippines to the WTO due to influx of cheaper imports.

“While we have tended to focus on our defensive interests by blocking/managing the inf lux of imports, we have not devoted enough attention to promoting our agricultural exports. As a result,

I think we have consistently had agricultural trade deficits in the last 25 years,” he said.

“Although rules have been set to put a cap on subsidies and arbitrary tariff changes, these are far from perfect and many large economies continue to provide large subsidies to their farmers and exporters and use various trade barriers on imports. The country has also become more vulnerable to price and supply volatility in the world market,” he added.

If there was one big mistake that gover nment negotiators made in acceding to the WTO, it would be the lack of consultations with private stakeholders, Montemayor said.

“The lack of stakeholder involvement in the formulation of negotiating positions led to doubts on the motives of government in pushing for the country’s accession to the agreement,” he added.

Not right time

SEGFREDO R. SERRANO, formerly the Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy and Planning, told the BusinessMirror in an interview in 2018 that it was not yet the right time for the Philippines to accede to the WTO in 1995.

Serrano, who was still with Philippine Rice Research Institute during the 1994 negotiations, pointed out that the country had every reason to delay the ratification.

“We are a developing country!” he said.

“We wanted government to frontload domestic support measures for farmers before ascending. But what happened is that our negotiators fast-tracked the ascension,” he added.

If Serrano had been the chief trade negotiator then, he would have decided to postpone accession to the WTO for two years.

“If I [were] the one followed, we should have conducted consultations first. And then promised to the people that domestic support would be frontloaded two years prior to accession,” he said.

Serrano became part of the country’s trade negotiating team in 2000s and served as one of the top negotiators for agriculture when he assumed position as Undersecretary in 2005. It was a position he likened to an operator of a vulcanizing shop.

“Lagi ko sinasabi sa stakeholders na iyong gulong natin nabili na. Ako ho taga-vulcanize na lang kasi yung gulong maraming butas yung interior,” he said. [I always tell stakeholders our tire has been sold. I just perform the vulcanizing because our tire has too many holes.]

“Wala na tayo magagawa para maibalik iyon kung hindi magpatse-patse na lang. Ang magagawa na lang natin ngayon, how do we extract the best deal for the benefit of our country. [We can’t return to 1995 and, hence, we can only plug the holes. What we can only do today is find out how we can extract the best deal for the benefit of our country],” he added.

An opportunity

WHILE Menon and Africa may have different perspectives on the WTO and its role in the growth of developing countries like the Philippines, they both believe that what is happening right now to the multilateral trade system is an opportunity.

Menon said that with the countries’ disenchantment with the WTO and its ability to promote free and fair trade worldwide, the institution must now recalibrate its efforts.

He said the WTO should move forward and consider the Doha round of talks “dead.”

According to Menon, what is

happening right now is countries and regions have “sliced up” the Doha into pieces that serve certain countries and regions.

This is not ideal in the sense that it removes the ease by which certain concessions and agreements are reached with just a single undertaking. Menon said it also removes the opportunity to reach an agreement where countries or regional players would all “give up something for a mutual benefit.” “[These] will be lost if you carve it [Doha] up into sectoral agreements because you’re dealing with each on its own rather than trading them off in search of an overall better outcome. That’s the cost of slicing up Doha in this way, but that seems to be the only way forward, unfortunately, at the moment though. This kind of cherry picking that starts with the easiest, the trade facilitation agreement, is the only way forward without losing everything that was negotiated in Doha,” Menon explained.

Reforms, reforms

AS a multilateral institution, Menon said, the WTO should also reform especially given the current trading milieu.

He said when the WTO was created, there were no global value chains (GVCs) that existed and there were still countries producing goods from start to finish.

Today, Menon said, no single product is solely produced in just one country and every product now enters a GVC or a regional value chain where it is assembled and completed.

Further, more economies are now service-oriented. Menon said this was also not the circumstance in 1995 when many economies were either purely agricultural or industrial or a combination of both.

“I think the WTO also has to reform. It’s a very different world today that we trade in that is dominated not by arm’s length trade as was the case when it was set up, but by global value chains,” Menon said.

Intellectual property

FOR Africa, the “crisis of multilateralism” is also a good time for countries to reflect on the economic challenges that came along with the birth of the WTO in 1995.

He said the WTO should reform and “become more democratic” by limiting the influence of “small groups of powerful nations” in terms of policy and direction.

However, Africa said, he was not too optimistic about this kind of reform being done in the WTO. But it was noteworthy that “ big powers” in the institution like the US want the Doha discarded.

“The US, EU and Japan for example want stricter intellectual property rights, restrictions on government support for industry and state-owned enterprises, and limits on special and differential treatment (SDT),” he added.

Optimism on changes

STILL, WTO Deputy DirectorGeneral Alan Wolff said the WTO’s purpose remains relevant to the Philippines as it ensures fairness and predictability in global trade.

For one, the organization ensures that a product produced by the Philippines would be treated fairly by other member-states and would not be prejudiced, Wolff explained.

Secondly, WTO offers predictability in trade and business. It provides countries a platform to ensure that their goods would be able to enter or not other global markets, Wolff added.

“WTO provides rules for international trade and administers them. The WTO is essential for all members including the Philippines,” he said in an interview with the BusinessMirror in Geneva in mid-May. On the issue of the W TO reform, Wolff said it is the responsibility of all member-countries to follow suit the mandate of the G20 to engage in efforts that would improve the organization and resolve the issues surrounding it.

For Buencamino, the W TO needs to be “modernized” based on “today’s realities” as the global trade system has evolved beyond what was imagined in 1995. “ Twenty-four years ago, we did not have a powerful unit like China. Now you have a powerful unit like China, which doesn’t play fair.” he said.

Despite the different opinions on which road the WTO should take, it is clear that the current challenges faced by the multilateral trade system should bring about reform.

And the WTO, being the curator of such system, may not have any choice if it seeks to remain relevant in the lives of billions of people worldwide—especially developing and poor countries.

The Doha may be dead, but all hope is not lost. It is up to the WTO to keep the dream alive.

FIVE WTO CASES WHERE THE PHILIPPINES IS INVOLVED AS COMPLAINANT: n Against Brazil on the measures affecting desiccated coconut (1995) n Against the United States on the import prohibition of certain shrimp and shrimp products [with a] request to join consultations (1996) n Against Thailand on customs and fiscal measures on cigarettes from the Philippines (2008) n Against Australia for certain measures affecting the importation of fresh fruit and vegetables (2002) n Against Australia for certain measures affecting the importation of fresh pineapple (2010)

SIX COMPLAINTS WHERE THE PHILIPPINES IS A RESPONDENT: n By the United States for a case on measures affecting pork and poultry filed in 1997 (two complaints for this case) n By the United States for a case on measures affecting trade and investment in the motor vehicle sector (filed in 2000) n By the United States on taxes on distilled spirits (filed in 2010) n By South Korea on anti-dumping measures regarding polypropylene resins from Korea (field in 2000) n By the European Union on taxes on distilled spirits (filed in 2009)

A6 Thursday, July 25, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Will the mayors heed the President’s call?

C

ONFIDENCE builder. That’s how leaders of the country’s most influential business groups— Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport), and the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI)—described President Duterte’s threat of cracking the whip on slow-moving local officials. The President earlier said the country is losing much from making it difficult for aspiring businessmen to set up shop because of red tape in the issuance of permits.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday, the President directed all mayors to cut down the processing period of business permits: “I am directing you publicly. All clearances, permits emanating from your office that would also need your approval, must be out, at the very least in three days.”

PCCI Chairman Emeritus Francis Chua said he is convinced the President is dead serious about putting a stop to corruption in government, as well as making life easier for those engaged in business activities.

Philexport President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the President’s directive that business permits and other government licenses be issued within three days sends a strong signal to lazy or corrupt bureaucrats that it is time to shape up. He said the snail-paced movement of the bureaucracy is a heavy burden to the export sector, which is now caught in the crossfire of the US-China trade war.

FPI Chairman Jesus Arranza said the constant delays in the issuance of business permits and other licenses reflect the level of corruption in government agencies, both in the national and local levels.

By forcing slow moving government offices to hurry up, he said the Chief Executive is doing businessmen a big favor. Arranza, however, appealed to the President to take a closer look at corruption at the barangay, which is also tasked with the issuance of various permits.

“The culture of patronage and corruption is very strong at the barangay level,” he said, adding that public spaces, such as sidewalks, are often used as private parking lots or occupied by vendors under the protection of barangay officials.

The World Bank’s latest Ease of Doing Business report ranked the Philippines at 124th out of 190 economies. The government contested this, claiming that the World Bank failed to include new reforms in the tally. Specifically, the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act, a significant piece of legislation to improve service delivery and fight corruption that the President signed in May 2018.

Under the Ease of Doing Business Act, simple transactions of business entities with government should be processed within three days, seven days for more substantial transactions, and 20 days for highly technical transactions. However, in his Sona, the President admitted the need for improvement, as he reminded all mayors to streamline their process of approving or rejecting permits. “I am directing also DILG Secretary Eduardo [Año] to see to it that this is honored,” Duterte said.

The President’s efforts to make doing business easier for entrepreneurs by cutting red tape in government is definitely in the right direction.

The business community hopes for more comprehensive socioeconomic reforms in the last three years of the Duterte administration to spur faster, sustainable and more inclusive economic growth. We hope that all mayors and other concerned government officials will do their part by heeding the call of the President.

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B

OUTSIDE THE BOX

EGINNING in the middle of 2015, I started speaking of the turning point and change in cycle that would bring “political chaos” in the following years. Created by Martin A. Armstrong, the economic confidence model (ECM) tracks the shift of money flows between the private and public sector.

For example, he writes, “The wave that peaked in 1929 was a private wave where people had great confidence in the private sector.

When the crash came, we turned toward the government creating a more conservative wave of public investment where bonds do better than stocks.” However, there are numerous other cycles that trail from the ECM. Historically, economic problems are followed by political upheavals, followed by “economic chaos.” The French Revolution was not about “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” (liberty, equality, fraternity). It was about liberty from high taxes, equality of economic opportunity and the fraternity of the “have-nots.”

The American Revolution was

not about freedom; it was about “no taxation without representation.”

Even in “good” economic times, if the people feel that they are being cheated by their government through corruption, favoring special interests, and economic elitism, political chaos ensues. Since 2002, Ethiopia has had 10—out of 16 years of higher than 10-percent economic growth. Yet, this period has seen violent protests against the government, demanding social and political reforms.

The cycle will change again in January 2020 to a period of “economic chaos.” We are now in the final stage of the political problems.

France has seen many months of protests against the government that started as an objection to economic reforms that has become a

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general discontentment with the government.

The ongoing protests in Hong Kong are unprecedented in size.

Also, the original focus on the possibility of an extradition treaty with Beijing—now abandoned by the government—has evolved far beyond that issue. While still opposed by 56 percent of the voters, Japan’s leader Shinzo Abe is the first to actively campaign to change its “pacifist” constitution and his political coalition was voted a majority in the legislature.

This political upheaval does not mean a situation of “blood in the streets.” The “chaos” comes from a break from the conventional wisdom of the “experts.” President Duterte’s performance approval rating is an example. Boris Johnson, whom past Prime Ministers and the press called “a weak character,” “a circus act,” and “unsuitable for high office” was recently elected in a landslide.

The most recent poll shows that Donald J. Trump’s—who was never going to be president—chances of reelection are virtually the same as former President Barack Obama’s were at the same time in his presidency. Fifty-two percent said they approved of his handling of the economy.

However, the cycle will change

The President’s oath of office

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Economic chaos: 2020

‘I

DATABASE

WILL end my term fighting,” said President Duterte in his speech at the second half of his six-year term in office on Monday and vowed “it will be a period of consequences.”

I have no doubt that what President Duterte had in mind when he uttered those fighting words was his presidential powers prescribed by his oath of office: “…to preserve and defend the Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man and consecrate myself to the service of the nation.”

In addition to his being the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, the President has four important agencies to back him up: the Commission on Audit (COA), the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Office of the Ombudsman, all with sweeping judicial and quasi-judicial powers to prevent the commission of corruption and plunder.

Although the three branches of

government—Executive, Legislative and Judicial—are separate in character, they are actually coordinate and support one another in the service of the nation.

In analyzing these important variables, though, one must understand that human behavior has two important elements: antecedent and consequence.

For instance, the controversial multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel issues in the past were just the consequence and unless you look at the antecedent, you’ll only end up wondering why it happened again instead of being prevented to recur by putting important people in jail for corruption and plunder.

Let’s look at the antecedent of

how the crime was committed and how and why it should have been prevented in the first place by officials of the four independent commissions established by the 1987 Constitution with vast powers to safeguard public funds, to choose the upright and dedicated people involved in governance, to monitor the three branches of government against corrupt officials, and to control and supervise employees in government against immoral and criminal acts.

Looking deeper into the scams that broke out one after another involving some members of Congress before Duterte came to power, it can be legally and morally argued that some officials from these four constitutional agencies may have also committed criminal negligence in the performance of their duties. The basic principle that one does not only commit a crime by commission but also by omission largely applies to them.

Worse, many of them, particularly from COA, the agency mandated by the Constitution to strictly audit and account public funds getting in and out of the National Treasury, appears to have colluded with those involved in the scams.

The question is who will now

to “economic chaos” in January.

The degradation of economies will be a process much like the political changes.

Two major trucking companies in the US have closed shop because of the lack of goods to transport, in part because of the China/US trade “war.” Others have significantly reduced prices and margins.

Historically low and zero/negative interest rates (Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Japan and the EU) have made personal saving and retirement nearly impossible. Global government (and personal) debt has never been higher and still rising. Nearly 1/3 of Sovereign bonds are now at negative yields.

China just posted its lowest economic growth in 27 years. Automobile manufacturer Nissan is cutting over 10,000 jobs globally, 7 percent of its entire work force.

Global economic slowdown will push oil prices much lower or gut the major oil producing nations, including the US. And what about the Philippines? All good and I will explain later.

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investigate these impeachable officials? Under the Constitution, the House initiates and investigates impeachable officers and if evidence is established, the Senate tries and punishes the culprits.

But you have a situation where most members of the Senate and House were themselves under public scrutiny for possible involvement in the pork barrel scam.

Will the Ombudsman do it and finish the job? But isn’t it also under scrutiny for gross negligence before Ombudsman Justice Samuel Martires was appointed by President Duterte on July 27, 2018?

Under the Constitution, the office of the Ombudsman independently monitors all three branches of the government, with powers to prevent, investigate and prosecute grafters and plunderers in the government.

T he Come le c p e r io d ic a l ly screens out candidates for more than 17,000 elective positions, including those running for president, vice president, senators and congressmen and, make sure that the Omnibus Election Code is followed.

Curiously, and this has not been corrected up to this writing, the See “Arillo,” A7

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Thirsty still

The Christian prayer

BusinessMirror

Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

Val A. Villanueva

BUSINESSWISE

I

’M amazed at how many of my readers seem to have not gotten over the issue of water shortage. They ask me to comment on the proposal put forth by President Rodrigo Duterte in his recent State of the Nation Address (Sona) to solve this crisis that has been gripping Metro Manila for months now.

A reader from Bulacan, Alfonso Capili, wrote to say that heavy rains these past days have flooded parts of the province, and yet most of their faucets remain dry.

Another reader from Paco, Manila, Generoso Jose, said that the rotational water supply service that Maynilad Water Services Inc. has implemented has been keeping his family awake the whole night. Water service in that area of Manila is from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. “We have to buy drums and fill them up during these unholy hours just to survive a waterless life. This is just another hardship we have to endure, aside from many others.”

Water, indeed, is something all of us can’t live without. It is lamentable that such a basic service has been wanting, with no quick solution in sight.

I must admit that I skipped watching the Sona because of some health issues, but I did find time to read the transcript of the President’s speech. Other than his directive to create a Department of Water Resources and a Water Regulatory Commission, Duterte did not discuss at length how the government plans to alleviate the water crisis: “We weathered one damaging effect of climate change this year. The El Niño were [sic] wreaked havoc in the agricultural sector and caused water shortage in the greater Metro Manila area. We need to pass bill [sic] creating the Department of Water Resources and Water Regulatory Commission.”

A brief reprieve is to be expected, but not because a speedy solution has finally been found.

The full effect of the rainy season is likely to substantially increase Angat Dam’s water reserves to acceptable levels.

A long-lasting solution definitely could not be had in the near term. Building dams takes years. While these dams are being built, I believe that the government should seriously consider leading a nationwide water conservation campaign. Even before pursuing expensive new options for bolstering water supplies, it is critically important, I believe, that we minimize the volume of water used in our homes, farms and industries. When viewed as a water budget-balancing strategy, water conservation—both in cities and farms—typically costs one-third to one-tenth of the expense needed to develop new water sources. Another interim measure that the government should consider is halting water privatization until such time that dams from which these private water firms could draw water are built. At present, all these private water firms get their supply from only one water source.

The government should also make sure that the dams to be built are economically beneficial, and no communities will be displaced.

The construction of the Chinafunded Kaliwa Dam is supposed to start this month. Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Administrator Reynaldo Velasco says that the Kaliwa Dam in Infanta, Quezon, presents a long-term solution to address the water supply problem.

The engineering design should have been completed by now if the MWSS timetable were to be strictly followed. According to Velasco, Phase 1 of the New Cen-

A long-lasting solution definitely could not be had in the near term. Building dams takes years. While these dams are being built, I believe that the government should seriously consider leading a nationwide water conservation campaign. tennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam project will take four to five years to complete, but the government is pushing for a two-year completion. A 27-kilometer tunnel will connect the water source from General Nakar-Infanta in Quezon to a water treatment plant in Antipolo-Teresa in Rizal.

The initial phase of the dam project is expected to provide 600 million liters of water per day (MLD). This will be equally shared between the Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad. The second phase, the Laiban-Kanan Dam, is expected to churn out 1,800 MLD. Construction of the dam has been getting stiff opposition from the Dumagat tribe, which fears that townsfolk living in the area would be displaced. No matter, Velasco says, because the project is signed, sealed and delivered.

“It has been committed. This is a done deal.”

But a Dumagat tribe leader is crying foul over the alleged lack of proper consent for dam project. Marcelino Tena, president of Samahan ng mga Katutubong Agta/Dumagat, laments that the MWSS did not seek free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the tribe that will be affected by the project.

“They did not follow the right process to secure FPIC, they already assessed the water, marked the construction site and constructed an access road going to the site. They said they recognize the FPIC of indigenous peoples and that they should knock on the door before entering our homes, but it’s not what’s happening; they are forcing, even kicking, us.” According to Tena, the project will displace an estimated 10,000 members of the Dumagat tribe. He added that the water regulator has also not provided them with documents regarding the project, such as the engineering design.

Under the official development assistance (ODA) grant from China signed in November 2018, China pledged to provide P12.2 billion or around 64 percent of the P18.7-billion project cost for the Kaliwa Dam. The shift in funding mechanism— from a public-private partnership (PPP) to an ODA grant from China—worries Vice President Leni Robredo. Under the PPP, the country would not shell out any amount, she says. She finds it absurd that 15 percent of the project cost would be shouldered by the government and we still have to borrow the 85 percent from China: “Why would we borrow, when under the PPP, we’re not going to spend a cent?”

All things considered, it seems that we can’t expect anything fresh and refreshing in the foreseeable future; we just have to moderate our thirst.

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

ALÁLAONG BAGÁ

A

DISCIPLE of Jesus lives a life of service reaching out to anyone in need, loving God with one’s whole self and others as oneself.

Such apostolic life flourishes in the context of a prayerful existence, in a life of communion with God in Jesus. (Luke 11:1-13).

The prayerful Jesus

ST. Luke loves to portray Jesus in prayer. A prayerful man, Jesus prayed right after His baptism at the Jordan (Luke 3:21), before selecting close friends and apostles (6:12), before asking for the confession of faith from Peter, and before predicting His own passion (8:18), at His transfiguration on the mountain (9:28), during His agony in the garden (22:41), and as He was dying on the cross (23:46).

Jesus at prayer personified dependence and total trust in God. A man of faith and deep hope, in praying Jesus stands in the presence of His loving Father. “The Lord’s Prayer” illustrates how Jesus prayed and what He prayed. That is why it is a summary of the Gospel, the prayer that Jesus wanted His own people to be

characterized with. In it they are on the same wavelength with Him and aligned with His priorities. St. Luke’s shorter and probably more original (than St. Matthew’s longer) version of the prayer starkly highlights in its only five petitions the essentials of Christian existence.

The opening direct address “Father” is the very heart of the entire prayer. Abba in Aramaic corresponds to our tatay or papa, revealing a familial loving relationship between Jesus and His Father. He invites His followers to join Him in this intimacy. This communion entails absolute confidence and trust in God. Expounding on this, Jesus says we are to pray because God is love and is so good. If an earthly imperfect father knows how to give good things to his children, how

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much more will our heavenly Father give His love and blessings to those who believe in Him. Our faith in God cannot go unfulfilled or unanswered: “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

With and for others, glorifying God

SUCH deep adherence to God explains the two initial petitions, “hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come.”

Where God’s name is glorified and held holy, there His reign comes into our human reality; where His kingdom is come in the world, there His name is hallowed and He is adored. In God’s presence, the Christian affirms God’s primacy and asks for the fundamental shift of the ages: the advent of the divine reign in fulfillment of God’s own design for the world. And this is something certain and definitive, like in Jesus’ parable of the importuning “friend at midnight” who gets what he needs because of his shameless persistence, not merely because of hospitality; he believes that his friend inside would not deny him.

St. Luke emphasizes that Jesus assures His disciples that the Father in heaven will actually give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. The Spirit is the greatest gift of the Father and the

Son to us. With the Spirit sent into our hearts, we cry out “Abba, Father!” and so we are God’s children and heirs (Galatians 4:6-7), joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16), and therefore together with Jesus a prayer full of confidence before God. The Holy Spirit empowers Jesus’ followers to believe and love God with their whole self, and to love others as themselves. In the unity of the Holy Spirit, the believers survive the temporal problems of life, and in compassion and forgiveness preserve their communion with each other, aware of “their Father’s” mercy toward their own sins.

Alálaong baga, in the Holy Spirit the reign of God is already present and presses on to its fullness. In prayer before God, the Christians as followers of Jesus already live in joy and in the hope of His return, assured that “their Father” in heaven would not allow them to be vanquished by the trials of faith. In “the Lord’s Prayer” we realize that the Christian’s essential and first vocation is to be a “prayer” before God. In the firm conviction that God is our loving Father, we are challenged to believe and live what we pray.

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

SB 1826 becoming a law: End of the ‘Endo’ issue?

co-ops have emerged as the biggest third-party agencies deploying short-term workers in various companies, including some government offices. As entities registered with the Cooperative Development Authority, they take advantage of incentives under the cooperative law.

As labor-deploying agencies, some manpower cooperatives are able to escape coverage from labor laws such as the minimum wage by arguing that they, being cooperatives, are exempt from the Labor Code.

On the other hand, a number of trade unions are still unhappy over the proposed law because they believe it does not go far enough to stop the Endo phenomenon. They fear that the proposed new rules are still weak and can easily be circumvented by unscrupulous agencies and principals. The proposed law is also silent on other forms of casualization and the hiring of short-term workers, such as the direct hiring of unlimited number of temporaries, probationaries, interns, trainees and apprentices, including K to 12 understudies. The unions also want a blanket prohibition of certain forms of contracting.

Clearly, the debate will continue.

How will this be resolved?

For this writer, the answer is through the accelerated growth of industry without sacrificing workers’ rights and making labor hiring “flexible” in the name of competi-

tion. In labor economics, external labor market flexibility means the ease to hire and fire workers. This ease evaporates once workers become regular or permanent.

What is the situation in our neighboring countries on labor flexibilization via subcontracting and LOC routes? In Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, the LOC phenomenon is hardly discussed.

The primary reason is that these countries have labor shortages, as reflected in the huge number of migrant workers. In Singapore, they even have a program on continuous skills development and tripartite job redesigning program so that workers can continue to have productive work life up to retirement age and beyond, up to the early 70s.

Of course, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, all once behind the Philippines in manufacturing during the 1960s, grew their industrial base rapidly in the 1970s-1990s to become the industrial leaders in the Asean region.

So the comparable countries for the Philippines are Indonesia and Vietnam. These two countries have been pursuing industrialization aggressively and appear to be outdistancing the Philippines in the manufacturing race. All three countries happen to be still in the labor-intensive production modality (e.g., electronics assembly and auto parts manufacture). So one would expect that all the three countries would tend to relax the rules on job contracting and LOC-type arrangements.

But no, this is not the case. In 2012, a regulation (MOMT No. 19) released by the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration limits manpower outsourcing to the provision of support services such as cleaning, catering, security and transport services. Yes, “noncore” functions can be outsourced but there are strict guidelines to be followed, such as submission of a flow chart indicating that the functions

being outsourced have no direct impact on the production process and are distinctly separate from the principal’s core business. In the Philippines, in contrast, manpower agencies, so long as they are compliant with DO 174 and soonto-be SOT law, can deploy workers virtually in any section of production or business.

In the case of Vietnam, similar rules adopted by Indonesia are in place. Under Decree No. 55 (2013), outsourcing is allowed only in the following conditions: meeting a sudden increase in labor requirements for “a definite period of time”, temporary replacement of workers on sick bay or on maternity leave, and during the interim search for highly skilled workers that are difficult to find (there is a long list of technical jobs).

So what is the point in citing the above five Asean countries? These are the countries that the Philippines is usually being compared in terms of industrial development.

Yet, history and economics are not exactly on the side of those who are proposing economic and industrial parity with these countries by maintaining weak rules on job contracting and giving Philippine labor limited protection while the country is not yet fully industrialized. The obvious rationale: keeping labor is a comparative advantage for a country still climbing the industrial ladder. The experience of China, and now Vietnam, shows that there ought to be a different way, unless the Philippines wants to be compared with the industrial laggards in Asean, South Asia, Central Asia and Africa.

It will be good for the President to sign Senate Bill 1826. Additionally, it will be good if he can ask the 18th Congress to develop new approaches on how to grow industry and labor welfare together, in a synergistic manner. This, in the end, will help end or minimize the long-running debate on LOC.

a presidential candidate to spend close to P1 billion for a position that has a maximum salary in six years of about P3 million? It’s a joke to spend so much to run for president with this measly salary.

The implication is that when you get elected, the first order of the day is to recoup or recover your expenses and along the way, comes pork barrel of every size, shape and color.

For its part, the CSC, with the new Administrative Code of 1987 (EO 292), is constitutionally mandated to promote morale, efficiency,

integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness and courtesy in all branches of government.

Arguably, PDAF scams happened because of the breakdown of morale and discipline in the bureaucracy, and this is largely traceable to criminal negligence.

Briefly, the government accumulated budgets for the past 25 years alone (1989-2019) stood at approximately P25 trillion with over P2 trillion of this going to pork barrel scams beginning with President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino’s administration up to

Benigno Aquino III. Before Duterte came to power, it was not just the president, the budget secretary, the senators, and the congressmen who have allowed the likes of Napoles to thrive but the constitutional oversight people as well, and as a consequence, finger-pointing and buck-passing became the order of the day.

Indeed, I have no doubt that President Duterte will make good his promise to end his term fighting.

Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS Continued from A1

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UT why the hesitance of the President to sign the Senate bill, a product of nearly three years of on-and-off Senate deliberations under the baton of Sen. Joel Villanueva? The answer is plastered in the media.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines have launched a high-profile media campaign asking the President to veto the bill. Accordingly, the proposed bill, by restricting the rules on job contracting, weakens the competitive position of Philippine industry vis-à-vis other countries in the region. This position is supported by Gerardo Sicat, Neda’s first DG and one of the advisers of the Foundation for Economic Freedom.

Said he: The bill, if it lapses into law, “will make it very hard for employment to rise” and “will restrict the entry of new foreign investment”.

What are the provisions of the proposed bill that elicit opposition from the employers?

There are at least two. First, the proposed bill allows the outsourcing of jobs to third-party manpower agencies so long as they are able to show proof that they have the needed business capital and equipment, OR that the workers hired are under their control doing activities directly related to the business of the agency.

The “Or” conjunction makes it easy for unions or workers to file with DOLE an LOC complaint based on the perceived or alleged violation of any of the two conditions.

Another important proviso of Senate Bill 1826 is the coverage of manpower cooperatives. In the last two decades, the manpower

Arillo . . .

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Comelec itself appears to be encouraging the commission of corruption and plunder, particularly under Section 100, which allows a presidential candidate to spend P10 per voter and another P5 if he or she is running under a legally recognized political party.

A senatorial candidate is allowed to spend P3 per voter and a congressman a little bit lower.

Can you imagine a law allowing

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

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‘Chinese military ships in SCS breaching maritime norms’

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

HE activities and behavior of Chinese military and paramilitary ships in the South China Sea (SCS) have not been transparent and are not consistent with maritime norms, the commandant of the United States Coast Guard has admitted, as he encouraged Coast Guards in the region to unite and make a push back against Beijing’s inappropriate demeanor.

“I think we are seeing behaviors out of the Chinese Coast Guard, out of the maritime militia, that are not consistent with the rules-based order,” said Admiral Karl L. Shultz during a telephonic interview with

Asia Pacific journalists on Tuesday.

A transcript was released by the US Embassy in Manila on Wednesday.

“I think the Coast Guard voice, the US Navy voice, allied partners, regional partners, neighbors, I

think there needs to be an international push-back to say, you know, we reject the types of behaviors, the antagonistic, aggressive behaviors that are not consistent with the rules-based order,” Shultz added, who spoke from Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands.

The US Coast Guard commandant, like other officials in the Indo-Pacific, noted the bloated presence of Chinese ships in the South China Sea, including from Beijing’s maritime militia, but whose activities have not been consistent with or do not observe proper maritime decorum.

“The Chinese Coast Guard is grossly manifested, [it] increased its number of ships. There’s the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] Navy, central government Navy. There’s the Chinese Coast Guard—used to be under civilian authority, it is

now through the People’s Military Police, a direct report to the CCP government. You look at the maritime militia,” he said.

On June 9, a ship from the Chinese maritime militia said to be masquerading as a fishing vessel struck a Filipino fishing vessel while it was anchored in the Recto Bank in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The Chinese ship left the Filipino crewmen to the mercy of the sea before they were rescued by a Vietnamese fishing boat.

Shultz said the US Coast Guard will be more active in the region’s waters in support of the activities of the US military’s Indo-Pacific commander, while showcasing good behavior and maritime governance that supports a rules-based order and free and open access to the sea lines of communication.

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DOF sees rest of tax reforms enacted in 2019

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

T

@BNicolasBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) is confident all remaining packages under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) will be passed within the year.

The Duterte administration has so far managed to pass two packages under CTRP during the first half of its term.

Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua on Wednesday said he sees faster passage of the rest of the tax reforms this time around under the 18th Congress, especially

SOUTHWEST MONSOON AFFECTING WESTERN SECTIONS OF SOUTHERN LUZON, VISAYAS AND MINDANAO as of 4:00 pm - July 24, 2019

after the President delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona).

“I think, first we need to work with Congress. And they have given their support following the President’s Sona directives, to get all the tax reforms passed hopefully within the year. Because, like

what I said, this already passed a round of hearings and passage in the House, so, I think, it will be faster,” Chua told reporters in a Palace briefing.

Meanwhile, Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II added that passage of the remaining packages this year was upon the “marching orders” of Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. “We believe it can be done,” Lambino said in a text message shared with reporters.

Under the 17th Congress, the House of Representatives was able to pass all the remaining packages under CTRP; however, most of this, especially the controversial Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, failed to hurdle the Senate.

This bill aims to reduce the corporate income tax rate from 30 percent to 20 percent and rationalize tax incentives by making them performance-based, targeted, time-bound and transparent.

Some sectors, including economic zone locators, have pointed out the severe impact on employment and foreign direct investments of the Trabaho bill.

Asked what are their strategies for easier passage of remaining tax reform packages, Chua said Dominguez thought that it would be better if the DOF conducts weekly meetings with members of Congress.

“That is exactly what I am doing for the tax reforms, and what my colleagues are doing. So that already started. There’s also the proposal to have more frequent Ledac [Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council] either at the technical level so that all the bills will undergo vetting, and when we present our position to Congress, it is more unified,” he said.

Aside from the Trabaho bill or Package 2, 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 User’s Charge under Package 1B; the increase in the excise taxes 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.

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‘RICHER’ FILIPINOS GIVE CITIBANK PHL 2ND RANK IN S.E. ASIA GROWTH

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

F

ILIPINOS are getting wealthier, Citibank says, as the country ranks the second fastest- growing segment of the international banking giant in terms of deposit volume.

Data obtained by the BusinessMirror showed a strong double-digit year-todate growth in Citibank Philippines’s deposit volume expansion—the second strongest country performance in Citibank’s operations in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines is only topped

by Citibank Thailand—whose deposit volume growth hit 15.24 percent in the first six months of the year. Citibank Philippines’s deposit volume growth hit 11.96 percent. This is followed by Citibank Hong Kong, whose growth rate hit 10.9 percent, and then by Citibank Singapore with 6.1 percent; while Citibank Malaysia trails with 2.25 percent.

Meanwhile, both Citibank Vietnam and Citibank Indonesia posted declines in their deposit volumes during the period, with Vietnam declining by 5.65 percent and Indonesia by 1.72 percent.

Citibank Philippines’ s11.96-percent growth is also almost twice the Asian deposit volume growth average of 6 percent for the first six months of the year.

Demographic factor IN an interview with the BusinessMirCitibank Philippines Consumer

ror,

Banking Head & Country Business Manager Manoj Varma said among the major distinctions that give Citibank Philippines an edge over its counterparts in the region is the size of its young and working demographic.

“The Philippines has entered into that demographic sweet spot, right?

The number of people from an age and income perspective in the work force is a very, very strong supporter of continued growth even for the next 15 to 20 years. So we are at the beginning of that demographic growth cycle. And that’s what we’re seeing,” Varma told the BusinessMirror.

The Citibank official also said Citibank Philippines’s deposit growth is not going to stop soon, and expressed optimism of further expansion in the medium to long term.

“There is so much more opportunity because still a lot are not in the formal banking sector, that will continue to increase. So that’s the reason we feel extremely optimistic in the next few years,” he said.

Citibank has approximately 200-million customer accounts worldwide and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions.

Citibank Philippines is the largest foreign commercial bank in the Philippines in terms of assets, revenues and profitability. It provides corporate banking, treasury, transactional banking and consumer banking services.

‘Patience’ needed to plot monetary policy path, says BSP chief

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is not looking to jump at the opportunity of cutting rates immediately now that inflation is back on the downtrend, as macroeconomic factors are also to be considered in their next policy move, the governor said.

In recent various speaking engagements, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said patience and prudence will be the name of the game in calibrating monetary policy in the near term as they await signals on the pace of the country’s economic growth.

“I have to emphasize that the BSP prefers to be patient and prudent in calibrating monetary policy,” Diokno said in a recent speaking engagement.

Hence, on the question of whether further monetary easing is needed at this juncture, we will first have to see how macroeconomic conditions will evolve in the coming weeks.”

Diokno further said that the need for further monetary accommodation will depend, in part, on how strongly the Philippines’ growth drivers “kick into higher gear.”

Following a 25-basis-point rate reduction in May this year as inflation fizzles out, the BSP opted to “pause” the cycle and retain its monetary settings unchanged in their latest meeting in June.

In another speaking engagement, Diokno said their June decision

SOT bill. . .

Continued from A1

According to business groups, the 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 Duterte signing the 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 agency-hired 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.

gave them breathing room to gauge economic conditions and the effect of their recent moves to the local stream.

“This ‘pause’ allows us in BSP to assess the potential impact of previous monetary policy adjustments, including the phased reserve requirement reduction for banks and non-bank financial institutions,” Diokno said.

In their last monetary policy setting, Diokno called this pause a “prudent” move, but vowed that they will continue to monitor emerging price and output conditions to ensure that monetary policy remains in line with the BSP’s price stability objective while being supportive of economic growth.

The current monetary policy setting is at 4.5 percent for the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) facility. Inflation, meanwhile, is back to the declining gear at 2.7 percent in June after a slight uptick in May to 3.2 percent.

Growth, meanwhile, proved to be lackluster in the first quarter of the year as it posted a disappointing first-quarter GDP print of 5.6 percent due to the government’s inability to pass a budget on time.

The BSP’s next meeting is scheduled on August 8. This will be the monetary board’s fifth monetary policy meeting for the year.

Bianca Cuaresma 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 (Sona) 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 SOT bill 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.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

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Jollibee makes its largest US purchase, buying CBTL

By VG Cabuag

L

@villygc

Holdings. “The acquisition of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf brand will be JFC’s largest and most multinational so far with business presence in 27 countries,” it said.

This coffee franchise will add 14 percent to its global system-wide sales, 26 percent to its total store network and will bring the contribution of international business to worldwide sales to 36 percent.

JFC vision

IT said the transaction “will bring JFC closer to its vision to be one of the top 5 restaurant companies in the world in terms of market capitalization.”

CBTL will now become its secondlargest business after Jollibee brand, while coffee business will account for 14 percent of its worldwide system sales.

“Our priority is to accelerate the growth of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf brand particularly in Asia, by strengthening its brand development, marketing and franchise support system,” it said.

The members of the family that owns Viet Thai International Joint Stock Co.—Jollibee’s partner in the SuperFoods Group of business which owns and operates Highlands Coffee

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

B

OCAL fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) on Wednesday said it will buy the operator of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL) brand, marking the company’s largest multinational acquisition.

In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company said it is buying the entire company that owns the CBTL brand for $350 million on a debt-free basis, or the acquired company will have no debts upon acquisition.

The company, through its international unit Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd., will first invest $100 million in a new Singapore-based holding company called Java Ventures Llc. that will acquire the CBTL from its owners based in Los Angeles, California, including International Coffee and Tea. Java Ventures will eventually own the CBTL brand.

Jollibee’s $100-million investment will represent 80 percent of the equity of the holding company as CBTL will be consolidated into JFC’s financial statements immediately upon acquisition. The balance of $250 million will serve as its advances to the new holding company.

This holding company plans to issue within six to nine months preferred shares worth $250 million, which will be used to repay JFC’s advances, it said.

The CBTL sellers include Advent Coffee Holdings Corp., Alexandria II Corp., CBTL Holdings Corp., The Sassoon Group and ICT Incentive

Austal PHL opens new Cebu facility, hopes to get Navy deal to make OPVs

and Pho 24 with business mainly in Vietnam—will subscribe to the capital of the new holding company that will own CBTL with an equity share of 20 percent.

The Highlands Coffee was supposed to go public in three to five years after it was acquired by JFC or in July 2019. The company said the said IPO plans is now being “delayed and restudied in the light of the acquisition of CBTL.” Founded in 1963, CBTL had, by the end of last year, 1,189 outlets: company-owned at 336 and franchised 853. At least 284 are in the

US; 447 in Southeast Asia, 139 in the the Philippines, 101 in Indonesia, 99 in Malaysia and 61 in Singapore; 336 in other Asian countries including 292 in South Korea and 122 in other countries, such as Kuwait (36), Qatar (28) and India (27).

CBTL’s total revenue last year was at $313 million and total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $23.7 million.

CBTL uses hand-roasted coffee beans and hand-blended teas from farms in various countries like Costa Rica, Colombia, Kenya, Indonesia, Jamaica, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

ALAMBAN, Cebu—Regional shipbuilder Austal Philippines has improved its chances of securing the contract to assemble offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Philippine Navy after completing the construction of its $20-million shipyard expansion.

Austal Philippines on Wednesday inaugurated here the John Rothwell Assembly Bay, which is designed to accommodate large vessel projects for hull assembly, final outfitting and painting capacity. The assembly bay is a massive structure standing 120 meters long, 43 meters wide and 41 meters tall.

As the shipyard has recently secured a license to build naval vessels, Austal Philippines can now deliver on major naval vessel projects, such as the OPVs required by the Navy.

Austal Philippines is bidding for the contract to assemble six OPVs for the Navy as part of the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The ships that the manufacturer can make are a larger variant of the Cape class patrol vessels used by the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Border Force.

Speaking before Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, as well as Navy officials, Austal CEO David Singleton said the firm is hoping the government seriously considers its offer to build its patrol ships.

Think tank prods Duterte to issue EO on RE devt

By Lenie Lectura

US firms eyeing PHL as alternative E amid trade war with China–envoy

By Recto L. Mercene @rectomercene

T

HE Philippines will gain from the fallout of the US-China trade war as some American companies are relocating to the country, while those already in the country are expanding their operations, the country’s envoy to Washington said.

Ambassador Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, said Cargill, an animal nutrition supplier, and consumer goods multinational Procter and Gamble are expanding their operations in Manila.

“If I’m not mistaken, there [are]

Cargill and Procter and Gamble companies that, instead of investing more in China, have decided to expand their operations here,” Romualdez told reporters Tuesday.

Although Cargill has been in the Philippines since 1947, Romualdez said the company will be investing $250 million in its expansion plans.

Several other US firms have also expressed interest in the Philippines because of its strategic location in the center of Southeast Asia, Romualdez added.

“We have a list of companies that have indicated their intent to move to the Philippines or expand their

operations,” he said.

However, he added, more foreign companies would move to the Philippines if it will relax its restriction on foreign ownership like Vietnam, which has benefited largely from the trade war with many businesses relocating there in recent times.

“We really have to fast-track many of these reforms that we have, economic reforms.” He said the “main reason they are turned off” is the provision in the Constitution “that you cannot own more than 40 percent. That’s a big negative for us. So the minute they see that they lose interest.”

He added that Indonesia and Malaysia have no restrictions to land ownership.

“In Vietnam there is no limit that’s why they are getting a lot from the fallout from China. They have incentives. It’s so easy,” he noted.

The US and China are locked in a bitter trade war with President Donald Trump accusing Beijing of unfair trading practices.

Washington imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese products in 2018, a move that angered China, which retaliated in kind, imposing tariffs on $200 billion of American agriculture products, among others.

Seeing ‘vibrant, fast-growing’ market, YouTube expanding PHL investments

C

ALIFORNIA-BASED videosharing platform YouTube views the Philippines as one of the most “vibrant and fastestgrowing” markets in Asia, and it plans to continue on investing into the local market in the next few years, as it shifts its focus from Metro Manila to more “rural” areas.

Vishal Sarin, director for Content Partnerships of YouTube Southeast Asia, said his group sees a huge potential for the Philippine rural market, whose residents have shown interest in accessing the platform.

“The Philippines is an important market for YouTube. Over the years,

we have seen an immense growth not only in the number of people watching videos but also in creators starting their own channels and brands going digital to engage their consumers,” he said. “We want to expand beyond Metro Manila and we are seeing a lot of interest in accessing YouTube in non-Metro areas.”

YouTube has seen immense growth in the Philippines over the last three years. From 2016 to 2019, the number of creator channels with more than 100,000 subscribers has grown by 20 times.

Today, there are over 750 channels with more than 100,000 subscribers.

In three years since 2016, the number of media channels with more than 1 million subscribers have increased by 10 times. Now, there are over 20 media channels with more than 1 million subscribers.

The number of videos uploaded

by Filipinos also doubled from 2017 to 2018, and Sarin expects this momentum to continue throughout this year. “YouTube has become a lot more mainstream, and we have a huge growth opportunity outside Metro Manila,” he said.

The online-video sharing and streaming platform has become one of the most used apps in the Philip-

pines. It has partnered with various companies, such as Smart, Cebu Pacific, and television networks to mutually drive revenue growth and usage locally.

“As we are committed to the Philippines, we plan to further grow the YouTube ecosystem by forging more local partnerships and developing creators outside of Metro Manila,” Sarin added. YouTube hosted its first-ever Brandcast event in Metro Manila on Wednesday, where various content creators, merchantpartners, and executives shared new insights on video sharing and streaming. Lorenz S. Marasigan

“I hope that what you see makes you think in the future, [that the] Philippine Navy [vessels] can be constructed in this country and [the Navy does] not need to go offshore for its needs. We have what you need,” Singleton said.

Executives argued the Navy should choose Austal as its OPV supplier, as it will be easier to maintain and service the units given the ship builder’s local presence. They added that securing the contract will result in generating more employment opportunities for Filipinos.

At present, over 900 Filipino engineers, design staff, skilled laborers and production tradesmen are employed at the Cebu shipyard. With the $20-million shipyard expansion completed, Austal Philippines is targeting to employ more locals to fill in the labor requirement of the John Rothwell Assembly Bay. According to Singleton, the expansion is part of Austal’s running program to make the Philippines its manufacturing base for commercial vessels in Southeast Asia. The shipyard here has so far delivered 17 ships to 10 operators in nine countries globally.

Expanding its capability, Austal Philippines recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Aboitiz Construction Inc. that will allow cooperation on steel fabrication between the two firms. The large vessels Austal Philippines will assemble over the next months will require steel hulls, which Aboitiz has the expertise to produce.

@llectura

NERGY and environmental think tank Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) has strongly urged the Duterte administration to issue an Executive Order (EO) focusing on the development of more renewableenergy (RE) sources.

This after the Chief Executive, in his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), reiterated the need for the country to develop more RE sources and reduce dependence on traditional energy sources such as coal.

“We welcome the positive remarks uttered by the President during his Sona, responding to the clamor of the public against dirty, deadly, and costly energy from coal and fossil fuels,” said CEED Executive Director Gerry Arances. “His statements are significant given that existing energy and power policies largely favor coal.”

Arances said coal’s 51-percent share in the power mix will continue to grow given the 30 coal-fired power plants still in the pipeline.

The Department of Energy (DOE) also projects that coal will only increase for, at least, two decades more, according to the Philippine Energy Plan.

“We urge the President to formalize in an Executive Order the marching orders he gave during his speech to provide clear policy directions to the DOE and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR],” said Arances.

The group also urged Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to improve the permitting process concerning energy projects. We do not want the offices mainly mandated to pursue this transition to be the ones contradicting the President’s com-

mitment to the people, said Arances.

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said the other day that the DOE is on track in promoting RE in the country. “The regulation of DOE already promotes for that in the RPS [renewable portfolio standards]. We’re just waiting for the IRR [implementing rules and regulations] to come out,” said Meralco President Ray Espinosa.

RPS mandates energy distribution utilities to source a minimum portion of their energy from eligible renewable sources.

“All power generation companies are looking at a time when they will decrease dependency on coal. Also, the grid has to be ready for this type of power. We have to ensure this,” added Espinosa.

Earlier, Cusi announced that his office and the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) are crafting a new program that seeks to build an RE portfolio of 2,000 megawatts (MW) in 10 years.

“We want to build 2,000 MW of RE in 10 years. DOE has already asked NREB to review the concept of giving an allocation to RE. DOE will make a green energy tariff rate that will be auctioned among them. We will put a ceiling and then [they will] compete [in bringing down rates]. It’s not per technology, but rather per type of power if peaking or mid-merit,” explained Cusi.

NREB is the advisory body tasked to recommend policies, rules and standards to govern the implementation of the law, which granted fiscal and nonfiscal incentives to RE projects.

Cusi said the NREB will further study this and is expected to submit a report. “We will finalize the policy after NREB has submitted its recommendation. What DOE will do is to allocate 2,000 MW in order to develop the RE industry.”

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, July 25, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

July 24, 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 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 NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

58.5 147.4 89.8 27.2 12.44 74.95 13.2 50.6 59.55 111.3 28 184.6 59.55 1.19 2.24 18.68 4.69 1.32 0.465 1.07 188.6 1760

58.9 147.5 90 27.3 12.46 75 13.24 50.8 59.6 115.9 28.1 184.7 60 1.2 2.31 18.72 4.78 1.36 0.48 1.08 190 1805

58.9 150 90 27.6 12.42 76 13.2 50.8 59.4 111.1 28.55 185 59.7 1.19 2.3 18.7 4.68 1.36 0.465 1.08 190 1800

58.9 150.9 90.5 27.6 12.58 76.05 13.22 50.8 59.6 115.9 28.6 185.5 60.1 1.21 2.31 18.72 4.79 1.36 0.485 1.08 190 1800

58 147 88.5 27.15 12.42 74.85 13.2 50.3 59.4 111.1 27.65 182 59.55 1.19 2.2 18.68 4.67 1.36 0.46 1.05 190 1800

58.9 147.5 90 27.2 12.46 75 13.2 50.8 59.6 115.9 28 184.6 60 1.21 2.31 18.72 4.78 1.36 0.465 1.07 190 1800

1790 1320080 2116730 160500 645800 1946810 36400 1152790 10730 1060 58800 271720 1880 24000 69000 20100 23000 4000 980000 948000 3120 850

104879 195005024 189364413.5 4413675 8058496 146169717 480482 58464636 639086 122235 1653185 50137004 112441.5 28580 154860 375572 108780 5440 461550 1008230 592800 1530000

76450 -70676404 63211933 -343550 -1122324 -36860842 34679309.5 -210984 -27940 5433971 7761 38150 494000 -

INDUSTRIAL 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 PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VICTORIAS CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA EUROMED LMG CHEMICALS PRYCE CORP GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

1.31 36.9 0.265 26.8 89.05 377.8 23.95 5.63 4.8 2.51 11.8 38.1 6.59 14.04 14.8 6.33 10.38 7.52 101.5 0.79 57.7 250.8 8.85 14.4 1.73 13.68 1.49 5.05 2.12 0.13 171.8 1.26 2.48 81.6 91.8 2.66 5.19 14.7 10.94 14.04 18.48 9.07 1.12 1.31 105 2.1 1.6 4.17 5.36 2.26 9.23 1.7 5.5 1.09 17.5

1.32 37 0.27 26.9 89.1 378 24 5.65 4.88 2.52 12 38.15 6.6 14.1 15.18 6.44 10.42 7.56 103 0.8 58 251 9 14.42 1.75 13.74 1.52 5.1 2.2 0.134 171.9 1.27 2.55 84.7 94.95 2.67 5.4 14.8 10.98 14.14 18.5 9.1 1.13 1.32 116.5 2.11 1.69 4.3 5.41 2.27 9.26 1.73 5.7 1.1 17.6

1.31 37.4 0.265 27 89.1 381.4 24.25 5.71 4.8 2.81 11.96 39.3 6.51 14.12 15.2 6.2 10.4 7.52 101 0.8 58 272.6 9 14.22 1.74 14.06 1.48 5.08 2.23 0.128 170.1 1.27 2.48 86.2 97 2.6 5.19 14.72 11.14 13.98 18.5 9.1 1.15 1.36 116.9 2.09 1.69 4.28 5.4 2.29 9.3 1.74 5.76 1.12 18.18

1.32 37.4 0.27 27 89.15 384 24.25 5.74 4.89 2.85 12 39.3 6.59 14.2 15.2 6.45 10.42 7.59 103 0.83 59.4 272.6 9 14.44 1.78 14.14 1.58 5.1 2.23 0.13 172.6 1.28 2.49 86.2 98 2.69 5.19 14.92 11.2 14.3 18.5 9.1 1.15 1.36 116.9 2.1 1.69 4.28 5.9 2.32 9.4 1.75 5.76 1.14 18.46

1.31 36.9 0.265 26.7 89.1 378 23.9 5.63 4.73 2.5 11.8 37.9 6.5 14.04 14.9 6.2 10.34 7.52 100.9 0.79 57.1 251 9 14.22 1.73 13.66 1.46 5.02 2.2 0.128 170 1.26 2.47 80 91.05 2.6 5.19 14.7 10.82 13.98 18.44 9.07 1.13 1.3 116.9 2.09 1.69 4.28 5.3 2.27 9.1 1.7 5.7 1.09 17.1

1.31 37 0.265 26.9 89.1 378 24 5.63 4.81 2.52 12 38.1 6.59 14.1 14.9 6.33 10.42 7.52 103 0.79 58 251 9 14.4 1.73 13.68 1.52 5.1 2.2 0.13 171.8 1.27 2.49 84.7 91.8 2.66 5.19 14.7 10.94 14.04 18.5 9.1 1.13 1.31 116.9 2.1 1.69 4.28 5.36 2.27 9.26 1.73 5.7 1.09 17.6

717000 1602200 350000 1940300 94360 143880 855100 6881000 153000 80511000 36700 566600 473500 779500 1364300 185800 1525600 711400 150310 739000 51740 5746140 3200 888000 2619000 422700 5829000 199600 10000 750000 966820 3037000 5000 5040 3700 4293000 16300 221100 575200 267100 282600 3008400 325000 4926000 30 576000 4000 500000 529900 4281000 731700 81000 45000 361000 594100

944260 -21120 59265740 -10452755 93150 52191095 -5807275 8408576.5 -4864637.5 54601220 -36046456 20552770 -7186865 38932175 -1243458 735540 216350400 7921540 439172 21,572,205( 14,665,789.9996) 3093277 -26040 10994098 4773474 20454420 2714686 1192256 -215490 15867398 7089538 5357648 -2301634 15390611 2536596 591400 128210 3007287 -481778.5 1500886250 -423439448 28800 12784404 10557928 4587820 -237910 5847292 17248 8823540 30000 1012359 -607510 22030 97420 165700702 -1831380 3852410 475210 12400 4940 416767.5 341593 9170.5 11447380 -1632680 84597 3259608 -458198 6310060 3329060 3743984 -626828 5224154 -1459632 27286347 368440 6542080 -3460 3507 1209030 6760 2140000 2980765 4425 9835360 352750 6752148 -1847503 138980 256800 401870 10561832 187872

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 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 SEAFRONT RES TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

1.01 17.08 965 56 15.6 4.2 7 0.73 1.27 1.31 7.02 10.38 13.82 921.5 6.41 68.1 0.495 4.64 15.06 0.7 4.79 0.039 1.51 2.98 1.37 431 990 170.3 0.84 2.48 258 0.232 0.295

1.02 17.1 967 56.1 15.64 4.21 7.1 0.75 1.28 1.32 7.05 10.48 14 924 6.55 68.3 0.51 4.65 15.08 0.71 4.8 0.04 1.52 2.99 1.4 449.4 996.5 170.4 0.85 2.72 259 0.239 0.3

1.02 18 962 56 15.72 4.15 7 0.74 1.3 1.35 7.15 10.64 13.9 915 6.4 68.65 0.52 4.6 15.08 0.7 4.77 0.039 1.56 2.95 1.37 431.2 990 173.7 0.84 2.8 259 0.234 0.305

1.06 18.48 969.5 56.95 15.72 4.21 7.1 0.74 1.3 1.35 7.15 10.7 14.06 936.5 6.55 69.5 0.52 4.68 15.12 0.73 4.8 0.04 1.6 2.99 1.4 431.2 1007 174 0.85 2.8 259 0.243 0.305

1.02 17.1 962 55.3 15.46 4.07 7 0.73 1.26 1.31 7 10.38 13.82 910 6.4 68.1 0.51 4.6 15.06 0.68 4.77 0.039 1.51 2.85 1.37 431.2 988 170.4 0.84 2.48 259 0.232 0.295

1.02 17.1 967 56 15.6 4.21 7 0.73 1.28 1.32 7.05 10.38 14 924 6.55 68.1 0.51 4.64 15.08 0.7 4.79 0.04 1.51 2.98 1.4 431.2 990 170.4 0.84 2.48 259 0.232 0.295

48285000 314700 302550 483360 3183700 5816000 553000 1131000 5758000 1023000 687600 3406300 65000 256130 67100 1106470 2000 8425000 1459500 11966000 10486000 800000 3515000 69000 2000 20 174615 129390 128000 6000 500 770000 770000

50016350 5510376 292187905 27098855 49647588 24174900 3871104 833710 7370150 1354560 4828553 35804010 908336 236535635 435940 76095390.5 1030 39139470 22003040 8426140 50206660 31400 5394610 203250 2770 8624 173526850 22246211 107840 16260 129500 180490 230900

HOLDING & FRIMS

777170 23384 91621355 -7004111 -6913030 599530 -358487 958010 87066 -8179890 -19454 517400 -155600 11063202.0001 -10124010 -7238922 4465160 -15700 44179155 3745404 -106190 -

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 1.08 1.09 1.03 1.09 1.03 1.09 19318000 20557840 -247770 AYALA LAND 51.7 52 52.1 52.15 51.4 52 9303770 482990579 -70663853.5 ARANETA PROP 2.13 2.16 2.16 2.17 2.12 2.17 67000 142970 BELLE CORP 2.31 2.33 2.33 2.34 2.31 2.32 141000 327560 -41750 A BROWN 0.83 0.84 0.86 0.86 0.83 0.84 3729000 3143090 CITYLAND DEVT 0.9 0.92 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 10000 9000 -9000 CROWN EQUITIES 0.239 0.24 0.24 0.243 0.24 0.24 910000 218430 24000 CEBU HLDG 6.09 6.16 6.1 6.1 6.09 6.09 96800 589722 -487410 CEB LANDMASTERS 5.03 5.04 5.15 5.16 5.04 5.04 1773400 9040103 348933 CENTURY PROP 0.61 0.62 0.63 0.64 0.61 0.62 34033000 21006740 132000 CYBER BAY 0.455 0.46 0.455 0.465 0.455 0.465 280000 127500 DOUBLEDRAGON 24.55 24.9 24.7 25 24.55 24.9 213700 5311160 2089210 DM WENCESLAO 10.28 10.44 10.32 10.56 10.2 10.46 693600 7248490 3060 EMPIRE EAST 0.47 0.475 0.47 0.475 0.47 0.475 180000 84800 EVER GOTESCO 0.124 0.131 0.124 0.124 0.124 0.124 20000 2480 FILINVEST LAND 1.92 1.93 1.92 1.97 1.92 1.92 20316000 39420510 12489380 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.39 1.4 1.42 1.42 1.4 1.4 1937000 2715570 8990 HLDG 15.74 15.8 15.84 15.84 15.7 15.8 107100 1683996 -286174 PHIL INFRADEV 1.68 1.69 1.76 1.76 1.66 1.68 10201000 17400450 -9780 CITY AND LAND 0.8 0.82 0.81 0.81 0.8 0.8 7000 5630 MEGAWORLD 6.25 6.26 6.29 6.37 6.25 6.25 11078600 69896871 -5830518 MRC ALLIED 0.355 0.36 0.365 0.37 0.36 0.36 20190000 7322350 -18000 PHIL ESTATES 0.475 0.48 0.5 0.5 0.48 0.48 762000 371780 PRIMEX CORP 2.14 2.15 2.15 2.17 2.14 2.15 439000 948120 -62760 ROBINSONS LAND 27 27.1 28 28.1 26.95 27 2148700 58771290 16951755 PHIL REALTY 0.41 0.415 0.415 0.415 0.41 0.415 40000 16550 ROCKWELL 2.37 2.38 2.32 2.38 2.29 2.38 1457000 3427550 SHANG PROP 3.1 3.22 3.19 3.2 3.19 3.2 715000 2287850 44800 STA LUCIA LAND 2.01 2.05 2.08 2.08 2 2.04 70000 143930 SM PRIME HLDG 37.5 37.55 37.75 38.25 37.5 37.5 7293500 275030405 -125192335 STARMALLS 6.22 6.24 6.35 6.37 6.24 6.24 105500 661505 3120 SUNTRUST HOME 0.8 0.82 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 169000 135200 PTFC REDEV CORP 42 48.8 45 45 45 45 500 22500 VISTA LAND 7.67 7.69 7.69 7.7 7.63 7.69 3501200 26907794 1993525

SERVICES ABS CBN 19.66 19.7 18.56 20.5 18.5 19.7 1471100 29097810 GMA NETWORK 5.35 5.4 5.42 5.42 5.34 5.35 221000 1182734 MANILA BULLETIN 0.51 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.51 0.51 530000 275310 MLA BRDCASTING 14.2 15.14 14.2 14.2 14.2 14.2 1200 17040 GLOBE TELECOM 2190 2194 2180 2200 2174 2190 32240 70583500 -4544760 PLDT 1120 1123 1155 1165 1120 1120 123975 140719100 -61705890 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.048 0.05 0.049 0.05 0.048 0.05 15160000 733180 14400 DFNN INC 6.03 6.4 6.04 6.04 6.04 6.04 126000 761040 IMPERIAL 1.82 1.92 1.93 1.94 1.93 1.94 15000 29090 ISLAND INFO 0.114 0.115 0.114 0.115 0.114 0.114 3160000 360260 ISM COMM 5.51 5.52 5.66 5.66 5.51 5.51 5134600 28627726 162178 JACKSTONES 2.93 3 2.95 2.95 2.94 2.94 20000 58820 NOW CORP 2.43 2.44 2.56 2.61 2.42 2.43 3557000 8939590 350430 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.355 0.365 0.365 0.365 0.355 0.36 4150000 1497100 PHILWEB 4.18 4.2 4.15 4.25 4.15 4.18 1813000 7612500 -89940 2GO GROUP 10.9 11 11.2 11.2 11 11 17100 189154 1102 ASIAN TERMINALS 19.8 19.9 19.92 19.92 19.9 19.9 600 11950 CHELSEA 7.56 7.57 7.83 7.84 7.56 7.57 2978300 22795065 257598 CEBU AIR 96 96.05 96.2 96.45 94.95 96 346730 33194967.5 12199310 INTL CONTAINER 134 135 135.3 138 131.8 135 1077580 144322932 -2765158 LBC EXPRESS 14.18 14.7 14.14 14.6 14.14 14.18 1200 17432 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.91 0.93 0.92 0.94 0.91 0.93 44000 40140 MACROASIA 19.9 19.92 19.72 19.98 19.72 19.92 385100 7662036 3900570 METROALLIANCE A 1.49 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 8000 12000 PAL HLDG 9.1 9.34 9.21 9.35 9.18 9.18 28200 261177 HARBOR STAR 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.16 2.11 2.15 1363000 2897280 385340 ACESITE HOTEL 1.45 1.47 1.5 1.5 1.47 1.47 18000 26600 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.061 0.062 0.063 0.064 0.062 0.062 19000000 1193550 WATERFRONT 0.81 0.82 0.81 0.83 0.81 0.82 3663000 2994200 CENTRO ESCOLAR 7.1 7.18 7 7.19 7 7.19 47200 330438 20300 IPEOPLE 9.37 9.59 9.6 9.6 9.59 9.59 500 4798 STI HLDG 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.78 2059000 1617250 491510 BERJAYA 2.69 2.7 2.74 2.8 2.7 2.7 663000 1818940 BLOOMBERRY 11.7 11.74 11.66 11.74 11.66 11.74 1064500 12470080 -1948684 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.96 2.97 2.95 2.96 2.93 2.96 88000 259670 -59100 LEISURE AND RES 3.71 3.72 3.71 3.83 3.69 3.71 1115000 4164910 -1752170 MANILA JOCKEY 3.43 3.49 3.56 3.56 3.43 3.49 241000 834090 PH RESORTS GRP 5.16 5.21 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.21 108900 567908 5200 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.76 0.77 0.76 0.77 0.75 0.76 3175000 2425580 -191610 TRAVELLERS 5.48 5.5 5.45 5.52 5.44 5.49 2908900 15953056 -9513820 METRO RETAIL 2.69 2.7 2.76 2.81 2.69 2.69 5576000 15131240 -61880 PUREGOLD 45.3 45.7 46 46.5 45.4 45.7 1048200 47968310 19395845 ROBINSONS RTL 78.7 79 79 79.2 78.5 79 1060330 83724865.5 45726749.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 150 161.5 148 164 148 163 9440 1416120 1210245 SSI GROUP 3.38 3.39 3.38 3.41 3.37 3.38 2433000 8235020 3161010 WILCON DEPOT 15.94 15.98 16.2 16.26 15.62 15.98 4848800 77340622 44219212 APC GROUP 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.52 6439000 3348300 -15600 EASYCALL 9.96 10 10.2 10.24 9.96 9.96 35100 351409 GOLDEN BRIA 415.2 420 415.2 420 415 420 630 261572 PAXYS 2.91 3.03 2.91 3.06 2.91 3.06 5000 14700 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.81 0.82 0.83 0.84 0.81 0.81 29268000 23903820 571180 SBS PHIL CORP 9.28 9.49 9.45 9.49 9.27 9.49 13900 130472

MINING & OIL ATOK 12.6 12.88 13 14.5 12.6 12.88 126400 1672912 -53120 APEX MINING 1.21 1.22 1.24 1.24 1.21 1.21 3347000 4092950 -306540 ABRA MINING 0.0017 0.0018 0.0017 0.0017 0.0016 0.0017 150000000 254800 ATLAS MINING 2.71 2.74 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2000 5400 BENGUET A 1.15 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.22 1000 1220 BENGUET B 1.14 1.29 1.15 1.15 1.14 1.14 12000 13750 -12609.9998 CENTURY PEAK 2.77 2.78 2.8 2.8 2.78 2.78 525000 1465530 DIZON MINES 7.64 7.7 7.62 7.93 7.62 7.64 2200 17121 FERRONICKEL 1.5 1.52 1.5 1.54 1.49 1.5 1438000 2159640 294620 GEOGRACE 0.236 0.237 0.245 0.245 0.231 0.236 1260000 296010 LEPANTO A 0.107 0.108 0.108 0.11 0.108 0.108 1470000 160060 LEPANTO B 0.118 0.12 0.121 0.121 0.121 0.121 10000 1210 MANILA MINING A 0.0074 0.0075 0.0075 0.0075 0.0075 0.0075 10000000 75000 MANILA MINING B 0.0074 0.0076 0.0074 0.0074 0.0074 0.0074 20000000 148000 MARCVENTURES 1.12 1.13 1.16 1.2 1.13 1.13 1028000 1181750 217649.9999 NIHAO 1.05 1.07 1.08 1.08 1.05 1.07 111000 117440 NICKEL ASIA 2.61 2.62 2.6 2.64 2.55 2.61 7457000 19355060 10189030 OMICO CORP 0.51 0.56 0.54 0.54 0.51 0.51 718000 374980 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.88 0.89 0.88 0.89 0.87 0.89 723000 635480 PX MINING 3.64 3.65 3.7 3.71 3.6 3.65 398000 1466920 370000 SEMIRARA MINING 24.55 24.6 24.55 24.6 24.4 24.55 3472100 85180565 11741255 UNITED PARAGON 0.0062 0.0065 0.0065 0.0065 0.0065 0.0065 7000000 45500 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 7700000 89300 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.011 0.012 2093200000 25129500 85100 PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 8500000 93500 PHINMA PETRO 6 6.01 7.1 7.46 5.9 6 5456000 36392551 180300 PXP ENERGY 8.3 8.35 8.6 8.65 8.3 8.3 2239200 18810306 1098466

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A 95.1 99.7 98.85 99.7 98.85 99.7 5350 530142 AC PREF B1 486 487 487 487 486 486 2300 1118110 AC PREF B2 495 498 495 495 495 495 60 29700 ALCO PREF B 100 101 100 100 100 100 90 9000 DD PREF 99.3 99.75 99.5 100 99.5 99.8 16990 1694902 SMC FB PREF 2 981.5 988 989 989 970.5 970.5 3510 3406640 FPH PREF C 421.6 456.4 420.4 481.2 418 481.2 230 97656 GLO PREF P 480 485 490 490 485 485 110 53400 GTCAP PREF A 928 970 970 970 970 970 10 9700 GTCAP PREF B 920 943.5 944 944 944 944 10 9440 LR PREF 1.04 1.05 1.04 1.05 1.04 1.04 5044000 5250670 PNX PREF 3A 99.5 101 100 100 100 100 20000 2000000 PCOR PREF 2A 970 1012 993 993 993 993 500 496500 PCOR PREF 3A 1010 1011 1010 1011 1010 1011 1055 1066395 -50500 PCOR PREF 3B 1014 1015 1012 1015 1010 1015 13885 14090215 -146435 SFI PREF 1.4 1.45 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1000 1400 SMC PREF 2B 75.2 75.75 75.05 75.75 75 75.75 40120 3009102.5 SMC PREF 2C 76.5 76.85 76.85 76.85 76.5 76.5 1010 77268.5 SMC PREF 2D 73.6 74.5 73.55 73.65 73.5 73.6 26050 1916420 SMC PREF 2E 75 75.45 75 75.5 75 75.5 40020 3001510 SMC PREF 2F 75 75.3 75 75 74.9 75 47440 3557740 SMC PREF 2G 74.9 75.25 75.45 75.45 75.25 75.25 13500 1015935 SMC PREF 2H 74.9 74.95 74.95 74.95 74.9 74.95 19150 1434535 SMC PREF 2I 75 75.2 75 75.2 75 75 1670 125280 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

17.8 5.3

18 5.37

17.56 5.3

19 5.37

17.56 5.3

18 5.37

1030000 4879400

19239998 26104306

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.83

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 6.03 XURPAS 1.05

1.84

1.82

1.84

1.82

1.84

126000

231370

-

6.05 1.06

6.16 1.11

6.42 1.11

5.81 1.06

6.05 1.06

4949500 7465000

30376440 8027730

145858 -1737900

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

122.2

-12748866 -26041141

122.8

123.8

123.8

122.8

122.8

3030

372998

-2483

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Megaworld expects ₧2B in sales from new office tower in Iloilo

P

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

ROPERTY developer Megaworld Corp. on Wednesday said it expects to generate some P2 billion in sales from its new office development in Iloilo.

The company said it launched the office tower in Iloilo Business Park, with 301 prime office units for sale to businesses, start-up companies and established enterprises that want to set up operations in Iloilo.

The tower will be completed

in 2024.

The 19-story International Corporate Plaza offers office spaces ranging from 26 square meters to 65 square meters. With an average price of P155,000 per square meter, the tower will house “managed facilities”

ICTSI gets new quay crane, 8 gantries to boost MICT ops

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

I

NTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has received a new quay crane and eight new hybrid rubber-tired gantries (RTG) for the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), cementing the facility’s position as one of the most modern container-handling port in the Philippines.

Christian R. Gonzalez, ICTSI global corporate head, said his group now has 18 such cranes and 58 gantries for its flagship terminal in Manila, all of which could help the company further promote trade in the Philippine capital.

The new quay crane is part of the company’s $80-million investment in 2018. Manufactured

by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co. Ltd., the new equipment has a reach of up to 16 rows across twin and can serve the largest feeder vessels calling the Philippines.

The eight gantries, on the other hand, are manufactured by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. and will be used for faster and more fuel-efficient landside activities in the port. These new equipment are more eco-efficient and will help the company achieve its goal of reducing its carbon

footprint in Manila. “ The new quay cranes and rubber-tired gantries, along with other improvements, will push a notch higher our terminal ’s a lready ef f icient tur naround times—quayside and landside.

This should redound to economic benefits for the Philippine supply chain. At the same time, we are proud of the push that we are undertaking to attain carbon neutrality at our flagship,” Gonzalez said.

ICTSI made a fresh order of 16 new RTGs from Mitsui, and they will be delivered in 2020.

“On top of what has already been done, a number of initiatives are currently in place or are being put in place across the ICTSI Group to improve productivity and reduce port emissions,” he added.

These include gate automation and gate system upgrades to reduce queuing times, fleet changes to introduce faster and more fuelefficient equipment, and utilizing machine learning and analytics to improve and automate yard strategy to reduce truck stay times.

“Taken altogether, these are expected to have an even greater material impact on indirect emissions from ICTSI port operations, seen to reduce cycle times of more than 20 minutes per truck visit,” Gonzales explained.

Pryce Gases set to drill well in southwest Palawan Basin

P

RYCE Gases Inc. (PGI), a distributor of liquefied petroleum gas, is set to drill a well in the southwest Palawan Basin.

“Pryce Gases Inc., along with a consortium partner, has decided to enter Sub-Phase 5 of Service Contract 55 [SC 55], which will be effective on August 26, 2019,” said PGI. PGI’s entry into Sub-Phase 5 will mean the drilling of one ultra-deepwater well at the cost of at least $3 million.

PGI acquired a 25 -percent interest in SC 55 via a farm-in agreement with Otto Energy Philippines Inc. SC 55 consortium is composed of Otto Energy Philippines; Otto Energy Investments Ltd.; PNOCExploration Corp.; and Palawan55 Exploration & Production Corp.

(Palawan55).

PGI said the drilling activity

is without prejudice to the consortium exercising its option to enter the appraisal period on or before August 26, 2019.

“Alternatively, the consortium may opt to enter an appraisal period, which will require the implementation of an appraisal work program. This program has to be approved by the Department of Energy, and may involve the drilling of an appraisal well,” it added.

PGI is a subsidiary of Pryce Corp. and is principally engaged in the importation, distribution and retail sale of liquefied petroleum gas.

SC 55 is a deepwater block located in the southwest Palawan Basin, covering an area of 9,880 sq. km. It is in the middle of a proven regional oil and gas fairway that extends from the productive Borneo offshore region in the southwest, to the offshore Philippine production assets northwest of Palawan. Lenie Lectura

at the 6th level, which include two boardrooms, three meeting rooms, coworking and breakout areas, an executive lounge and a garden.

Another garden will be found at the tower’s rooftop.

“So far, this will be the most modern and state-of-the-art office tower in Western Visayas, where companies, including entrepreneurs, can own their office spaces and enjoy its generous facilities never been seen before in any office building in the region,” Jennifer Palmares-Fong, vice president for sales and marketing of Iloilo Business Park, said.

The development will rise within the township’s 9-hectare commercial and boutique hotel district. It

MUTUAL FUNDS

will have a four-level parking podium, retail spaces and arcade area at the ground floor. Keycard-enabled turnstiles will provide security for the building’s main lobby, and RFID cards will be used to secure the parking areas.

The new office tower will also be fiber optic-ready, and equipped with its own seismic detection and monitoring system, building management system, 24-hour Security and Fire Command Center, fire security system and a backup power facility.

“One of the main highlights of the tower is its enhanced security and safety features, another first in Western Visayas,” Palmares-Fong said.

July 24, 2019

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 274.08 8.81% -0.54% 1.57% 8.68% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.6737 15.58% 6.85% 3.15% 16.16% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 4.2451 6.31% -1.32% 0.58% 8.77% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9887 11.21% N.A. N.A. 9.73% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.9071 8.78% N.A. N.A. 10.53% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.6584 8.33% 0.44% 1.53% 7.3% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.9112 7.05% -3.73% N.A. 8.9% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 121.63 11.34% N.A. N.A. 4.7% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 54.361 11.44% 0.14% N.A. 10.44% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 565.75 10.53% -0.83% 1.49% 9.91% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3751 11.81% 1.09% 3.52% 9.66% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 40.3246 12.32% 1.63% 3.14% 10.08% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0866 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.5175 12.45% 1.11% 3.65% 11.27% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 921.35 12.5% 0.82% 3.62% 11.22% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9642 14.15% 0.17% N.A. 12.12% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.5078 12.63% 1% 3.13% 11.06% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0584 11.92% 0.77% N.A. 10.91% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.8613 10.52% 2.3% 3.93% 10.3% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 123.3279 12.88% 1.65% 4.67% 11.36% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $0.9945 -3.64% 4.58% -0.62% 7.04% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.3196 1.4% 8.68% N.A. 19.4% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.7985 8.6% -1.32% -0.69% 8.92% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.3748 5.54% -0.46% 1.07% 7.5% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.7276 6.81% 0.32% -0.67% 7.25% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3777 4.29% N.A. N.A. 5.63% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9776 7.8% 0.2% 1.75% 7.3% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.8425 8.72% -0.9% 1.1% 8.87% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 17.2701 9.27% -0.74% 1.07% 8.56% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.1956 6.66% 0.55% 2.15% 6.11% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.9904 10.31% 0.31% 2.12% 9.29% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 1.0465 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 1.0488 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 1.0455 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 1.0229 11.08% 0.49% 1.87% 10.98% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03745 6.15% 1.42% 1.97% 6.09% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $1.0021 N.A. 2.95% -0.87% 9.67% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.7935 2.93% 6.03% 2.95% 14.66% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.1157 3.84% 3.74% N.A. 10.47% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 351.5 3.57% 2.06% 2.24% 2.34% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A,1 1.9039 2.05% -0.11% -0.09% 2.4% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0602 5.39% 5.3% 5.3% 2.83% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.1975 3.74% 1.04% 1.98% 3.21% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.3265 4.97% 1.19% 1.5% 5.51% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6059 1.85% -1.94% 0.11% 2.65% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.2088 6.96% -0.32% 1.4% 7.37% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.6917 5.89% 0.56% 1.5% 4.96% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9433 4.86% -0.7% N.A. 5.85% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 2.9856 8.42% 1.06% 2.33% 7.95% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.6593 8.5% 0.63% 1.89% 7.75% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $460.06 3.74% 1.72% 2.7% 2.6% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є218.5 2.46% 1.32% 1.52% 2.74% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.1864 6.44% 1.81% 2.46% 5.39% 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 1.1% -2.04% 0.51% 1.44% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.0879 5.04% -0.43% -1.93% 4.98% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.3531 8.48% 0.89% 3.19% 8.4% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.059397 4.69% 1.54% 1.83% 4.21% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.0899 7.08% 0.17% 2.67% 7.58% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 123.94 3.88% 2.51% 1.99% 2.53% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0169 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2222 4.41% 1.94% 1.18% 3.41% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2479 3.82% 2.71% 2.08% 2.35% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0295 2.19% N.A. N.A. 1.34%

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.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Thursday, July 25, 2019

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IMF sees weaker global economy but upgrades US economic growth forecast

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ASHINGTON—The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is downgrading its outlook for the world economy because of simmering international trade tensions.

But, at the same time, the fund is boosting its forecast for the US economy this year, citing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.

The IMF said Tuesday that it expects the global economy to expand by a “sluggish” 3.2 percent in 2019, down from 3.6 percent in 2018 and from the 3.3 percent growth it forecast for this year back in April. The 189-country lending organization

Boris Johnson chosen as new UK leader, faces Brexit test

China says it won’t rule out using force to reunify Taiwan

NEWLY elected leader of the Conservative Party Boris Johnson arrives at Conservative Party HQ in London on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. Brexit-hard-liner Boris Johnson, one of Britain’s most famous and divisive politicians, won the race to lead the governing Conservative Party on Tuesday, and will become the country’s next prime minister in a little over 24 hours. AARON CHOWN/PA VIA AP

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ONDON—Boris Johnson, Britain’s blustering Brexit campaigner, was chosen as the UK’s next prime minister on Tuesday, with a resounding mandate from the Conservative Party but conflicting demands from a politically divided country.

Johnson is set to become prime minister on Wednesday after winning an election to lead the governing Conservatives. He will have just over three months to make good on his promise to lead the UK out of the European Union by October 31.

Famed for his bravado, quips in Latin and blond mop of hair, Johnson easily defeated Conservative rival Jeremy Hunt, winning two-thirds of the votes of about 160,000 party members across the UK. He will become prime minister once Queen Elizabeth II formally asks him to form a government, replacing Theresa May. The embattled May announced her resignation last month after Parliament repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement she struck with the 28-nation bloc, leaving Britain stranded in Brexit limbo.

The UK’s departure from the EU was delayed from its long scheduled exit in March.

Johnson radiated optimism in a brief victory speech to hundreds of party members and lawmakers, pledging to “deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn,” leader of the opposition Labour Party.

“I say to all the doubters: ‘Dude, we are going to energize the country, we are going to get Brexit done,’” said Johnson, a former London mayor and British foreign secretary.

In a sign he hopes to move beyond the largely white, male and affluent Conservative Party members who chose him as their leader, Johnson’s office said he will put together a “Cabinet for modern Britain,” with a record number of ethnic-minority lawmakers.

Hunt, a stolid politician compared to the flamboyant Johnson, said he was sure his rival would “do a great job.”

“He’s got optimism, enthusiasm, he puts a smile on people’s face and he has total, unshakable confidence in our amazing country,” said Hunt, who is likely to be removed as foreign secretary by the new prime minister.

Johnson wooed Conservatives by promising to succeed where May had failed and lead the UK out of the EU—with or without a divorce deal.

Johnson insists he can get the EU to renegotiate, something the bloc insists it won’t do. If not, he says Britain must leave the EU by the October 31 deadline, “come what may.”

The EU is adamant that the deal with May will stand, saying Britain has to take it or leave it.

Michel Barnier, the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator, said he looked forward “to working constructively” with the new Conservative leader “to facilitate the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement.”

Economists warn that a nodeal Brexit would disrupt trade and plunge the UK into recession.

Fears that Britain is inching closer to crashing out of the bloc weighed on the pound once again Tuesday.

The currency was down another 0.3 percent at $1.2450, nearly a two-year low. AP

blamed the lackluster growth on heightened trade tensions and specifically a tariff war between the world’s two biggest economies, the United States and China. The fund said it expects the US economy to grow 2.6 percent in 2019, down from 2.9 percent last year but up from the 2.3 percent it forecast in April.

The Fed improved prospects for US growth by abandoning plans to keep raising interest rates. It is easing its

policies partly to offset the economic fallout from President Donald J. Trump’s trade wars. The Fed is widely expected to cut rates at its meeting next week.

The IMF expects the 19-country eurozone to record modest 1.3 percent growth this year. It forecasts 6.2 percent growth for the Chinese economy, slowest since 1990 when China faced sanctions following the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy

demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. And the lender predicts that the Japanese economy will eke out a 0.9 percent gain.

US-China trade friction and the prospect of Britain’s messy divorce from the European Union are disrupting global trade. The IMF expects trade to expand 2.5 percent this year, slowest pace since 2016 and a sharp downgrade from the 3.4 percent growth it forecast in April. AP

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EIJING—China said it will not renounce the use of force in efforts to reunify Taiwan with the mainland and vowed to take all necessary military measures to defeat “separatists.”

In a national defense white paper released Wednesday, China listed among its top priorities its resolve to contain “Taiwan independence,” and combat what it considers separatist forces in Tibet and the far west region of Xinjiang.

The paper, published every few years, is an outline of China’s national defense policy. Wednesday’s report highlighted China’s “defensive” approach, but also pledged to “surely counterattack if attacked.”

Defense Ministry Spokesman Wu Qian said the threat of Taiwan separatism is growing and warned that those who are seeking Taiwan independence will meet a dead end.

“It anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will certainly fight, resolutely defending the country’s sovereign unity and territorial integrity,” Wu said.

Taiwan, a democratically governed island, split from the Communist Party-ruled mainland China amid civil war in 1949. China maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory and seeks “complete reunification.”

The US has repeatedly raised Bei-

CHINA’S Defense Ministry Spokesman Wu Qian leaves as journalists are asking question on Hong Kong’s recent protests after a press conference at the State Council Information Office in Beijing on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. China says it will not “renounce the use of force” in efforts to reunify Taiwan with the mainland and vows to take all necessary military measures to defeat “separatists.” AP PHOTO/ANDY WONG

jing’s ire by selling arms to Taiwan.

While the US does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, US law requires that it provide Taiwan with sufficient defense equipment and services for self-defense.

Earlier this month, the US tentatively approved a sale of $2.2 billion in arms to Taiwan—a proposal which had prompted China to threaten sanctions against the

US. Taiwan’s defense ministry said it made the request in light of a growing military threat from China.

The white paper also pointed to US, Japanese and Australian moves to beef up their military presence and alliances in the Asia-Pacific as bringing uncertainties to the region.

The US deployment of a missile defense system in South Korea has severely undermined the

regional strategic balance, the report said. It further noted Japan’s reinterpretation of its post-World War II constitution to allow its military to operate farther from its shores.

China’s military expansion in recent years has prompted concerns among other Pacific countries in a region long dominated by the US Navy. AP

South Korea, Russia differ over warning shots fired at jets

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EOUL, South Korea—South Korean air force jets fired 360 rounds of warning shots Tuesday after a Russian military plane twice violated South Korea’s airspace off the country’s eastern coast, Seoul officials said in an announcement that was quickly disputed by Russia.

South Korea said three Russian military planes—two Tu-95 bombers and one A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft—entered the South’s air defense identification zone off its east coast before the A-50 intruded in South Korean airspace. Russia said later that two of its Tu-95MS bombers were on a routine flight over neutral waters and didn’t enter South Korean territory.

South Korea said it was the first time a foreign military plane had violated its airspace since the end

of the 1950-53 Korean War. According to South Korean accounts, an unspecified number of South Korean fighter jets, including F-16s, scrambled to the area, and fired 10 flares and 80 rounds from machine guns as warning shots.

Seoul defense officials said the Russian reconnaissance aircraft left the area three minutes later but later returned and violated South Korean airspace again for four minutes.

The officials said the South Korean fighter jets then fired another 10 flares and 280 rounds from machine guns as warning shots.

But the commander of Russia’s long-range aviation forces denied both that the planes had violated South Korean airspace and that shots were fired.

“If the Russian pilots had identified such a threat to themselves, they would have immediately given

an appropriate response,” Lt. Gen. Sergei Kobylash said, according to Russian news agencies.

He said South Korean military planes escorted the Russian planes over neutral waters, which he called “aerial hooliganism.”

South Korea’s presidential national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told top Russian security official Nikolai Patrushev that South Korea views Russia’s airspace violation “very seriously” and will take “much stronger” measures if a similar incident occurs, according to South Korea’s presidential office.

Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent Russian military analyst, told The Associated Press that he believed the incursion could have been a navigation mistake. He also suggested the incident would not have serious consequences because “South Korea right now is not very

interested in pressing this into a kind of long-term worsening of relations.”

The former Soviet Union supported North Korea and provided the country with weapons during the Korean War, which killed millions. In 1983, a Soviet air force fighter jet fired an air-to-air 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 that South Korea says the Russian warplane violated is above a group of South Korean-held islets roughly halfway between South Korea and Japan that have been a source of territorial disputes between the two Asian countries. Russia isn’t part of those disputes. AP

Esper sworn in as defense secretary to succeed Mattis

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ASHINGTON—It took seven months, but President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday finally got a Senate-confirmed secretary of defense to succeed Jim Mattis.

Mark Esper, an Army veteran and former defense industry lobbyist, won Senate confirmation by a vote of 90-8 and was sworn in at the White House

by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in a ceremony attended by Trump and several members of Esper’s family.

“He’s going to be a great one,” Trump said.

Esper’s swearing-in ended the longest period the Pentagon has gone without a confirmed leader in its history.

The turmoil atop the Pentagon began when Mattis stepped down last New Year’s Eve after a series of policy disputes with Trump. He offered to stay two more months to get a successor in place and ensure continuity, but Trump said no.

The president was high on Mattis at the start of his administration. He liked to call the retired Marine general

“Mad Dog,” but the affection waned and shortly before Mattis quit Trump referred to him as “sort of a Democrat.”

Even with Esper now in charge, the problem of leadership instability at the Pentagon is not fully resolved. There still is no Senate-confirmed deputy secretary of defense, though David Norquist on Tuesday was nominated for the post and is scheduled to have a confirmation hearing Wednesday.

Norquist has been filling in as deputy since January; his regular job is Pentagon budget chief.

The senior leadership vacancies increased again last week with the departure of David Trachtenberg, the Pentagon’s second-ranking civilian policy official.

Beyond that, the No. 2-ranking military officer, Gen. Paul Selva, is retiring Friday as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. No Senate confirmation hearing has been set for the man picked by Trump to replace Selva: Gen. John Hyten, who has been commander of US nuclear forces as head of US Strategic Command. AP

MARK ESPER (left) is sworn in as the secretary of Defense by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, (right), as his wife Leah Esper holds the Bible, during a ceremony with President Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. AP PHOTO/CAROLYN KASTER

B4 Thursday, July 25, 2019

ELDAR THE WIZARD IS CELEBRATING HIS MAGICAL BIRTHDAY! OKADA MANILA EXPANDS VENUE PORTFOLIO

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K ADA Manila, the largest integratedresortinthePhilippines, is at the forefront of introducing extraordinary offerings. Catering to clients’ “land” requirements with the hotels’ various ballrooms, including a capacious grand ballroom, the hotel is now expanding its venue portfolio with the introduction of “At Sea” venue via its yacht and “Air” travel through its private jet—coming full circle to meet clients’ diversified needs.

From commemorating life’s major milestonesandgrandweddingstoexceptional corporate events and conventions, Okada

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HAT better way to celebrate Eldar the Wizard’s birthday than spending it with you? Your wellloved iconic character is inviting you for one big birthday bash in the magical world of Enchanted Kingdom. On July 27 kids and kids at heart are all in for this whimsical fete. Fun activities and surprises are

prepared for everyone at the Enchanting Events Place from 1:30 to 6 p.m.

Avail yourself of the four-plus-one promo for only P3,600, and get a glimpse of the fanciful parade of characters and have a photo-op with them after the event.

For more information, visit www.enchantedkingdom.ph.

SUN LIFE LAUNCHES ANOTHER AFFORDABLE INVESTMENT-LINKED INSURANCE PRODUCT

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N an effort to offer Filipinos more affordable options in securing their future and providing lifetime coverage, Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. (Slocpi) launches Sun MaxiLink 100, the company’s first investment-linked life-insurance product that has coverage up to 100 years old and comes with manageable premium payments.

Sun Life was inspired to create Sun MaxiLink 100 after learning that 44 percent of Filipinos see life insurance as an added expense rather than a useful tool in their financial journey. This was revealed in a study commissioned by the company and conducted by Kantar Milward Brown.

“We understand that Filipinos are preoccupied with funding their needs in the present, that preparing for the future is often set aside,” Sun Life Chief Marketing Officer Mylene Lopa said. “By offering them products that provide peace of mind and security for their family at more affordable prices, we hope to enlighten them on the benefits that life insurance offers. Sun MaxiLink 100 is one such product.”

Sun MaxiLink 100 provides one with a guaranteed lifeinsurance benefit of at least 200 percent of the policy’s face amount. In the event of an untimely passing, one’s family may avail themselves of the said benefit safeguarding their

Manila makes a perfect setting for that unforgettablecelebration.Thegrandballroom, renowned for its elegant interiors, high ceiling and state-of-the-art colored LED lights, can accommodateupto1,300guestsforabanquet setup; and up to 2,200 for cocktail setup. On theotherhand,thetastefullyappointedgolden ballroom can accommodate up to 300 guests for a banquet setup. Soon to open is the glass ballroom, a sophisticated and exclusive venue good for 200 guests.

Also nestled in Okada Manila is the newly opened The Garden, dubbed as “a slice of paradise in the city.” Measuring up to

dreams and goals, so these can still be fulfilled.

Premium payments are easy on the pocket with options to pay annually, semi-annually or quarterly on a regular basis. There is also an option to increase the fund’s value anytime through top-ups, or excess payments on top of your regular premium, while supplemental benefits that provide additional protection for emergencies such as accidents, disability or illnesses are also available with the plan.

The Sun MaxiLink 100 also helps one build savings over time via investment fund options that cater to a variety of risk appetites and investment objectives. Furthermore, one can take advantage of potential returns from their chosen investment funds through partial fund withdrawals while keeping the policy intact. Reaching milestones in turn, such as building funds for a child’s education, owning a home or preparing for a comfortable retirement, is well within reach.

“With Sun MaxiLink 100, we hope that Filipinos will be more open to utilizing financial instruments, such as life insurance, in their financial journey,” Lopa said. “This way they can make their financial goals come true and look forward to a brighter future.”

To know more, consult a Sun Life financial advisor or visit sunlife.com.ph.

30,000squaremetersofmanicuredgreenery with a breathtaking view of the Manila Bay, The Garden makes a perfect setting for a romantic wedding, accommodating up to 600 guests for sit-down dinner and 1,300 for cocktails. The expansive space also is ideal for concerts/music festivals, fashion shows, sports events, and team building.

The Crystal Corridor, the indoor 1.2-kilometer retail row with the magnificent view of Okada Manila’s iconic The Fountain at its center, the world’s largest multicolor dancing-water feature, also offers ample space for fashion shows, fairs and cocktail parties.

And Cove Manila, Southeast Asia’s largest and grandest entertainment space, features an impressive indoor beach club and nightclub. Enclosed in a 30-meter-tall and 100-meter-wide UVA and UVB-protective glass dome, this venue can, likewise, host private functions up to 3,500 guests in a 9,000-square-meter space perfect for corporate events and concerts.

Set in 44 hectares of prime land on the foreshore of Manila Bay, Okada Manila is a $2.4-billion integrated resort in Parañaque City’s bustling entertainment city. Envisioned to put the Philippines on the map as a premier entertainment and gaming destination, it offers the finest hotel rooms and dining options, the largest and most exciting gaming floors, a $30-million multicolor dancing-water fountain and oneof-a-kind indoor beach club and nightclub.

ZILINGO TIES UP WITH PNB FOR EASIER, MORE REWARDING SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

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ILINGO, the leading e-commerce platform for fashion and lifestyle today, ties up with the Philippine National Bank (PNB) to make online shopping easier and more rewarding for customers.

Fashion enthusiasts across the country can now enjoy a site-wide discount of up to 30 percent when they make purchases on the website or through the mobile app using their PNB credit and debit cards.

Recognizing the continuous growth and potential

of the online retail market and the need to constantly provide customers with new and exciting options, Zilingo aims to provide a unique shopping experience to its customers and enable brands to expand their reach to customers across the region.

“PNB recognizes that Zilingo, as a fashion and lifestyle e-commerce, is a unique channel that complements existing businesses that link customers to merchants and vice versa. Through this partnership, we

not only incentivize the customers of Zilingo and PNB, but also expand the profitability and reach of Zilingo merchants,” says Johann Gan, PNB senior assistant vice president.

Zilingo customers who are using PNB cards can enjoy this exclusive deal from now until September 30 using the promo code ZILINGOPNB, with free delivery nationwide, no minimum purchase, and multiplepayment methods including cash on delivery.

SECOND BATCH OF HYUNDAI DREAM CENTER SCHOLARS ARE NOW DEGREE PASSERS

THE PHILIPPINES MARKS WORLD POPULATION DAY ON JULY 11

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HE Philippines joined the World Population Day on July 11, with its theme “25 Years of the ICPD”, looking back at the country’s gains and challenges since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt.

In 1994 Filipinos made up 1.21 percent of the world population. 25 years after it has increased to 1.40 percent.

With some 108 million people, the Philippines is now the 13th most populous country in the world. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) indicate that the country’s population continues to increase in numbers, approximately three babies born per minute, but the rate of growth has declined to 1.76 percent annually since the 2015 population census. Under this growth rate, the country’s population is expected to double in the next 39 years.

Significant progress has been made from 1994, for instance, in total fertility rate (from 4.1 in 1993 to 2.7 in 2017) and modern contraceptive prevalence rate (from 25 percent in 1993 to 40 percent in 2017). Gains were due to continued government efforts in advocating for family planning, despite hurdles from various groups.

Moreover, policies pursuant to the ICPD agenda in the country were also implemented, including the full implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health law as one of the priority socioeconomic agenda; issuance of Executive Order 12 to achieve and sustain zero unmet need for modern family planning by 2022; and the approval by President Duterte of the intensified implementation of the National Program on Population and Family Planning.

25 years after ICPD the country still needs to address sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including gender-based violence. While significant strides have been made, particularly in the area of civil rights as girls acquire more education and enter the workforce, they continue to face challenges in the private sphere

of their homes, where their decisions and actions are often questioned and sometimes met with coercion and violence. These are the stark inequalities that hold back women in realizing their full potential.

26 percent of ever-married women of reproductive age still experience violence from their husbands or partners, whether in the form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse (National Demographic and Health Survey, 2017).

The 2019 State of the World Population report placed emphasis on gender issues as one impediment in the advancement of SRHR. As undersecretary general and executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Natalia Kanem stated, “We must push back against forces that would see us return to a time when women had little say in reproductive decisions or, for that matter, in any area of their lives. The fight for rights and choices must continue until they are a reality for all.”

Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) Undersecretary Dr. Juan Antonio A. Perez III believes that attitudes toward gender roles have consequences on how individuals and couples form their families, perceive female employment, run the workplace and other institutions like church and school. “Peoplecentered development where individuals are empowered has been the core of our advocacy, from educating girls, engaging men and women, to recognizing the role of the bigger society we all live in.”

The ICPD in Cairo, Egypt, set forth a program of action signed by 179 countries, embarking on a long and difficult journey to reproductive health, including voluntary family planning and safe pregnancy, women empowerment and gender equality.

Popcom and UNFPA are proud to have been part of the 25 fruitful years of the ICPD, taking on extra significance this year, when both agencies mark their 50th anniversary.

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N June 13 the Hyundai Dream Centre Philippines (HDCP) held its second graduation ceremony for automotive technology scholars at the Hyundai Logistics Center in Calamba, Laguna. 43 young men and women received their graduation certificates after receiving a world-class education in automotive technology and servicing, customer communication and work preparedness.

The HDCP, inaugurated in 2018, is an automotive training and education hub established by Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (Hari), in partnership with Hyundai Motor Co. and global humanitar ian organization Plan International. The HDCP celebrated the graduation of its first batch of 45 scholars on November 29, 2018.

Hari President and Chief Executive Officer Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo congratulated the 43 scholars for completing the program.

“We, at Hari, are so proud to see our second batch of Dreamers complete their comprehensive training program. After

being launched a little over a year ago, the HDCP has already seen 88 scholars flourish and graduate. Almost 80 of these graduates have already been deployed to Hari dealerships to begin careers as technicians and service professionals.”

Hyundai has established Dream Centres in collaboration with local vocational schools in Ghana, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam. This is the first time Hyundai has partnered with a distributor to design and implement the training courses for a Dream Centre.

Hari and Plan International cooperated to implement a training program made up of three courses adapted to the scholars’ diverse educational backgrounds.

Notably, about half of the scholars were referred by Plan International from their program areas, including Samar, Leyte, Cotabato and Maguindanao.

Bennydick James Caliao graduated top of his class in two courses designed for college students. When asked how he felt after graduating, “Because of Hyundai, I was able to distinguish what

path I should take. They taught me how to be technically and mentally prepared for the automotive industry.” Working for Hyundai North Edsa, Caliao says he plans to continue developing his skills in the industry and to share his knowledge with his colleagues.

Francisco Suyom Jr., meanwhile, finished ahead of his peers in the third course, which is crafted for high-school graduates. Asked to share his thoughts, “Hyundai molded me into a professional technician. The Dream Centre taught not just technology or science, but the attitude that technicians must possess in their chosen career."

In photo are the Hyundai Dream Centre Philippines’s second batch of Course 3 automotive technology graduates while showing off their diplomas with Hari Chief Finance Officer and Chief Operating Officer for the Corporate and Trade Operations Support Services Group Ladislao Avila and Plan International program deputy country director Ryan Lander.

EWAN WINS STAGE, THOMAS FUMBLES Once again, Thomas was lucky enough to escape with bruises and scratches, but the timing of his crash in the rural hinterland of the antique Roman city of Nimes was unfortunate.

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Thursday, July 25, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

AUSTRALIA’S Caleb Ewan (center) celebrates as he crosses the finish line with Slovakia’s Peter Sagan to win the 16th stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 117 kilometers (73 miles) with start and finish in Nimes, France, on Tuesday. Defending champion Geraint Thomas, meanwhile, crashes for the third time. AP

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WANGJU, South Korea—Sun Yang was in the middle of controversy at the World Swimming Championships again. Only this time, it wasn’t his doing.

The Chinese star with a history of doping still got shunned on the medals podium.

Sun won the 200-meter freestyle on Tuesday night after Danas Rapsys of Lithuania finished first and got disqualified for an apparent false start.

Sun touched second, but was elevated after Rapsys had already celebrated in the pool.

Sun appeared surprised, clasping his hands to his face, but quickly sat on the lane rope and raised both arms in the air as a mix of cheers and boos rang out.

Katsuhiro Matsumoto of Japan took silver. Martin Malyutin of Russia and Duncan Scott of Britain tied for bronze.

On the podium, Scott wanted no part of sharing the moment with Sun. Scott kept his hands clasped behind his back and refused to shake Sun’s hand, standing off on his own while the other medalists joined Sun to pose for photographers.

Sun, who served a three-month doping ban in 2014, is being allowed by Fina to compete in Gwangju ahead of a Court for Arbitration in Sport hearing in September that threatens Sun’s career.

After Sun won the 400 free, silver medalist Mack Horton of Australia refused to step on the podium or acknowledge Sun during the medals ceremony. Fina, swimming’s governing body, sent warning letters to Swimming Australia and Horton for his actions.

“Fina has currently done more to reprimand Mack Horton than they have done to reprimand Sun Yang,” said American Lilly King, who won the women’s 100 breaststroke.

In a statement, Fina said its executive board met to discuss the situation involving Sun and Scott, and decided to send warning letters to both swimmers.

“Both competitors had an inadequate behavior on this occasion, which is not acceptable,” Fina said, citing a specific rule in its constitution.

Sun has been accused of smashing vials of his blood with a hammer during a clash last year with testers, and faces a lifetime ban if found guilty.

By Samuel Petrequin

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The Associated Press

IMES, France—Crashing is becoming a bad habit for defending Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas.

After hitting the ground twice over the past two weeks, the Welshman fell off his bike one more time on Tuesday as a heat wave engulfed the race ahead of grueling days in the Alps when the Tour will reach its climax.

Once again, Thomas was lucky enough to escape with bruises and scratches, but the timing of his crash in the rural hinterland of the antique Roman city of Nimes was unfortunate. Although Thomas quickly got back on his bike and did not lose time, crashes always have a lingering effect on riders’ bodies. It’s generally after 48 hours that the soreness reaches its peak, and that’s when he will be fighting in high altitude with rivals trying to take him off his perch.

Lagging one minute, 35 seconds behind race leader Julian Alaphilippe with the race now going into its five last stages, Thomas was caught off guard under a

scorching sun about 40 kilometers into the stage won by Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan.

The peloton was not riding at full speed, but Thomas was surprised.

“I just had one hand on the bars, and the gears jumped and jammed, and I got thrown off my bike on a corner,” he said. “I knew the race wasn’t on so I just got back into the group. It’s just frustrating. It was such a freak thing.”

Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang, who stood ninth overall, was not as lucky and was forced to abandon the Tour with a left hand injury after falling late in the stage as the peloton pedaled past the picturesque town of Uzes.

Thomas, a former track specialist who transformed into a Tour de France contender after years spent working in support of four-time champion Chris Froome, has always been prone to crashing. Just last month, his preparation for the Tour was cut short by a spill during a race in Switzerland.

But he has also shown in the past that he can soldier on in pain. Six years ago when riding the Tour as Froome’s loyal teammate, Thomas fell off his bike

on a Corsican road in the opening stage and broke his pelvis. But he kept racing for 3,000 kilometers to reach the finish.

He will need to be at the top of his form on Thursday for the start of an Alpine trilogy of stages including six climbs over 2,000 meters. This is when the race—the most exciting in the last decade—will be decided before Sunday’s ceremonial ride to Paris.

Sixteen stages out of 21 have been completed, but the suspense remains intact, with six riders separated by little more than two minutes. Behind Alaphilippe and Thomas, Steven Kruijswijk remained third, 1:47 off the pace and three seconds ahead of Thibaut Pinot. Thomas’s Ineos teammate Egan Bernal lags 2:02 behind and Emmanuel Buchmann has a 2:14 deficit.

Bernal, a Colombian and one of the best pure climbers in the Tour, played down Thomas’s crash and said the race in the Alps will suit him more than the Pyrenees, where both Ineos leaders conceded time to Pinot.

“He crashed but with no consequence and I don’t think he’ll suffer from it in the coming days,” Bernal said.

“We’re approaching the Alps. The climbs there are longer and steeper. They’re more of the Colombian style of

Controversy haunts Sun at world swim championships

BRITAIN’S bronze medalist Duncan Scott (right) refuses to stand with gold medalist China’s Sun Yang (second from left) as silver winner Japan’s Katsuhiro Matsumoto (left) and joint bronze medal winner Russia’s Martin Malyutin pose on the podium following the men’s 200-meter freestyle final at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, on Tuesday. AP

“He does quite a good job of making sure everyone continues to know about it,” Scott said, referring to Sun’s pending doping case. “So I guess that’s all I’ve got to say about that.”

Sun spread his arms apart and looked at Scott as the Brit turned to come off the podium.

“You’re a loser,” Sun told Scott. “I’m a winner.”

Sun and the other two medalists stopped for

photographers on the pool deck, but Scott kept on walking.

“The athletes are starting to stand up for themselves and stand up for what they believe in, so I commend them,” King said. “That’s incredibly brave.”

There were more boos—and cheers from Chinese fans—in the crowd at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center.

“If people are booing him it’s for a reason,” British swimmer Adam Peaty said of Sun. “He should be asking himself now, should he really be in a sport when people are booing him?”

Peaty said Scott’s action was “completely right.”

“The most important thing as a sports person is you have a right to a voice,” Peaty said. “Duncan shared his voice and so did the crowd, so it’s completely fair.”

climbing. I’m ready and I feel good.”

Ewan said he suffered from the heat throughout the stage—temperatures soared as high as 40 degrees Celsius (40 oF)—but it did not slow him down in the finale. The Australian Tour debutant edged Elia Viviani and Dylan Groenewegen to post his second stage win following his maiden success in Toulouse last week.

Earlier riders tried to cool down with bottles of cold water against the backs of their necks as they pedaled on the Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge set against a dramatic landscape of rocks, trees and water. Alexis Gougeard, Lukasz Wisniowski, Stephane Rossetto, Paul Ourselin and Lars Bak organized the day’s breakaway and had a maximum lead of two minutes.

After the group was caught 2 kilometers from the finish, Viviani was set up by his teammates and launched the sprint about 200 meters from the line but could not resist Ewan’s comeback.

“To be honest, I felt so bad today during the day.

I think the heat really got to me,” Ewan said. “I was really suffering but I had extra motivation today because my daughter and wife are here. I’m so happy I could win for them.”

Sun, the current Olympic champion in the 200 free, earned his third straight medal in the event at worlds and second gold in a row.

He was timed in one minute, 44.93 seconds.

In contrast to their run-in at the Rio Olympics, King and Russia’s Yulia Efimova kept all the drama in the pool in the 100 breaststroke.

They were neck-and-neck down the stretch before King got her hand on the wall first, touching in 1:04.93.

Efimova was second in 1:05.49. Martina Carraro of Italy took bronze.

King is an outspoken doping critic who is upset that Sun is competing in Gwangu.

Efimova served a 16-month doping ban in 2013 and failed a drug test in 2016, but wasn’t punished. King called out Efimova in Rio, saying she wasn’t a fan.

However, the intensity between them has clearly dissipated.

King and Efimova clasped hands over the lane rope.

Later, Efimova clapped as King took the top spot on the podium, and they embraced and kissed after the ceremony.

Without three-time defending champion Katie Ledecky in the field, Simona Quadarella of Italy won the 1,500 freestyle in 15:40.89—well off Ledecky’s world record of 15:20.48.

Earlier on Tuesday the American star withdrew from the final because of unspecified illness. Ledecky also dropped out of the 200 freestyle heats.

Sarah Kohler of Germany earned silver and Wang Jianjiahe of China took bronze.

Olympic and defending world champion Ryan Murphy was upset in the men’s 100 backstroke.

Xu Jiayu of China won in 52.43 seconds.

Evgeny Rylov of Russia took silver and Mitch Larkin of Australia got bronze.

Murphy, who was under his own world-record pace at the turn, faded to fourth. Fellow American Matt Grevers was fifth.

In the women’s 100 back, Kylie Masse of Canada won in 58.60.

Minna Atherton of Australia took silver and American Olivia Smoliga earned bronze.

Kathleen Baker of the US, the world record holder, tied for sixth after being tied for the lead at the turn. AP

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Thursday, July 25, 2019

RUSSIA EYES COMEBACK...

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OSCOW—Russia’s sports minister thinks the country will emerge from the shadow of doping scandals before the Tokyo Olympics open in exactly one year, and become a force in the medals table again.

Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov says “we’re not thinking about lawsuits or arguments,” adding that “in most sports, even in sports where we didn’t have great results a while back, we will be competing for medals.”

Russia won just 19 gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, its lowest count since Soviet days.

That was partly down to measures imposed in the wake of Russian doping cases which meant Russia was allowed to field only one athlete in track and field and none in weightlifting. Those measures will be relaxed for next year. AP

IN this May 24, 2016, file photo, an employee of the Russia’s national drug-testing laboratory holds a vial in Moscow, Russia. A year into the Tokyo Olympics, Russia is confident that the country would return as a global powerhouse, even as one of its former athletes, wrestler Artur Taymazov, was stripped of his second gold medal after testing positive with a banned substance. AP

...BUT LOSES 2 MORE GOLDS TO DOPING

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RESTLER and Russian politician Artur Taymazov has been stripped of a second Olympic gold medal for doping.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday that Taymazov, who already lost his 2008 gold medal for doping, has now been stripped of the 2012 gold in the 120-kilogram category.

The IOC said he tested positive for the banned steroid turinabol when his sample from the

Female fighters to get inducted

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ANASTOTA, New York—The International Boxing Hall of Fame is making changes to its voting process, shortening the retirement time for consideration and creating two categories for female fighters.

The categories for female boxers are Trailblazer, boxers whose last bout was no later than 1988, and Modern, those whose last contest came no earlier than 1989. Both female and male boxers must be retired for at least three years before the end of the calendar year in which voting takes place, meaning that boxers who last fought in 2016 are now eligible for consideration.

Similar to Major League Baseball, the post-retirement waiting period had been five years since the first inductions in 1990. The Hall of Fame will determine the number of honorees in the Modern category at the start of the election process.

The amendments announced Tuesday were approved by the International Boxing Hall of Fame board of directors in April and will take effect for the 2020 election. AP

DADASHEV

2012 games was retested using more modern lab technology.

Documents from the IOC hearing show Taymazov tried to claim turinabol had remained in his body from his earlier positive test in 2008. However, the IOC’s disciplinary commission said a second positive test “rather indicates that the athlete may have in the meantime remained undetected in other occasions.”

Even if Taymazov’s argument were true,

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OS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to welcome the All-Star Game back to Dodger Stadium with a $100-million renovation of their landmark ballpark.

The Dodgers unveiled the logo for next year’s Midsummer Classic along with their latest modernization plans on Tuesday for their 57-year-old home, the majors’ third-oldest park.

“We want to stay traditional with regard to baseball, but we also want to have up-to-date renovations for the next generation of fans,” said Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president and CEO. The primary addition will be a Centerfield Plaza area spanning nearly 2 acres behind the outfield fences, creating what Kasten described as a “front door” to the famously tough-to-access hillside park.

The plaza will include food, entertainment and a statue of Sandy Koufax, which will join a statue of Jackie Robinson already on the property.

The Dodgers also are constructing new elevators, escalators and bridges to allow easier movement around the park. Fans have traditionally relied on lengthy staircases to move between levels.

The entire park will be connected by the bridges between the new pavilions and plaza, allowing fans to walk all the way around the ballpark on the same level for the first time.

Kasten also assured fans that the park’s iconic view of the San Gabriel Mountains beyond the outfield fences won’t be affected in the slightest.

While most of the renovations will be completed by opening day, the new statue of Koufax will be formally dedicated at some point during the season.

“We’re going to take every minute we need to get it done, but it’s going to be done by opening day,” Kasten said of the renovations,

the commission ruled, it would still be fair to disqualify him from the 2012 event. It also noted Taymazov couldn’t explain why turinabol was in his system in the first place.

The silver medalist, Davit Modzmanashvili, was already disqualified back in January. That leaves the event with only its two bronze medalists—Iranian Komeil Ghasemi and Russian Bilyal Makhov—until the IOC decides whether it will reallocate the medals.

Taymazov won a total of three gold medals

and one silver between 2000 and 2012, all for Uzbekistan, before pursuing a political career in his native Russia. He has been a member of the Russian lower house of parliament since 2016 and is a deputy chair of its sports, fitness, tourism and youth committee.

Taymazov isn’t the first Russian politician to fall foul of doping rules. In 2017, senator and former track and field athlete Tatyana Lebedeva was stripped of two silver medals for doping. She denies using performance-enhancing drugs. AP

Dodger Stadium to face major rehab

LOS Angeles Dodgers’ Joc Pederson (right) rounds third after hitting a two-run home run as Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jordan Yamamoto steps off the mound during the third inning of a baseball game on Sunday at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. AP

which will commence in November.

A collection of past and present Dodgers greats gathered in center field for the announcements at a news conference led by Vin Scully, the club’s 91-year-old retired broadcaster. Tommy Lasorda, the 91-year-old former Dodgers’ manager, also braved the 92-degree heat in his jersey.

Kasten said the Dodgers aren’t doing these improvements specifically for the 91st Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game, scheduled for July 14, 2020. It will be only the second AllStar Game held at Dodger Stadium, and the first in four decades.

“We haven’t been here since 1980,” MLB

BOXER DIES FROM BRAIN INJURY

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OSCOW— Boxer Maxim Dadashev died on Tuesday, four days after suffering a brain injury in a fight in Maryland. He was 28.

The Russian Boxing Federation said Dadashev suffered a brain swelling in Friday’s light-welterweight fight with Subriel Matias at the Theater at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. He

IN this June 11, 2019, file photo, Justin Gatlin competes in the men’s 100-meter final during the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland. AP

underwent surgery but his heart stopped on Tuesday, the federation said.

Dadashev was hospitalized at UM Prince George’s Hospital Center shortly after the fight, which was stopped by his corner following the 11th round after Dadashev took numerous shots to the head.

Footage from the fight shows Dadashev shaking his head in his corner as his trainer, Buddy McGirt, pleads with him to stop the fight, telling him: “You’re getting hit too much,

Max. Please, Max, please let me do this.”

Shortly after, the referee stopped the bout at McGirt’s request.

The Russian Boxing Federation’s secretarygeneral, Umar Kremlev, said the federation would investigate whether anyone was at fault for Dadashev’s death.

“We need to know the truth about what happened,” Kremlev wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “I believe that some human factors intervened, that there was

Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “It’s long overdue.”

Only Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are older than Dodger Stadium among active ballparks in the majors, but the Dodgers have refreshed their famous property from within while still attracting more than 3.3 million fans annually and enjoying steady success on the field. AP

some kind of violation.”

He added the federation would give Dadashev’s family financial support.

Both fighters were 13-0 before the bout, which offered the winner the right to challenge IBF titleholder Josh Taylor. Dadashev had been viewed as a rising star after beating two former world lightweight champions Darleys Perez and Antonio DeMarco last year.

Before Friday’s fight, he had won 11 of his 13 fights by way of knockout.

In a statement, promotor Top Rank called Dadashev “a talented fighter inside the ring and a loving husband and father outside the ropes.”

GATLIN FEELS FRESH AT 37

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ES MOINES, Iowa—Sometimes after a particularly grueling workout, sprinter Justin Gatlin will turn to his younger training partners and inquire: “Are you sore, too?”

It’s just an age check. He doesn’t feel 37 except on rare occasions. Like at big races when he sees so much youth on the starting line and not the familiar faces from years gone by.

Missing, of course, is his biggest rival, Usain Bolt, the Jamaican standout who rewrote the record book before saying goodbye to track nearly two years ago.

Arriving on the scene, a slew of 20-somethings such as Americans Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles who present another challenge for Gatlin, the defending 100-meter world champion.

“I don’t think about age. I don’t think about being old,” said Gatlin, who will compete in the 100 at the US championships this week in Des Moines, Iowa. “I just feel like a time traveler in a way. I’m still here, still running, still putting down good times, still training really well. Just staying focused on what the goal is.”

And that goal is to show the kids he’s still young at heart. At a Diamond League race in Monaco on July 12, Gatlin won the 100 in 9.91 seconds, holding off Lyles by 0.01 seconds.

“These young athletes, they make me feel young,” said Gatlin, who doesn’t consider the Tokyo Olympics next summer his finish line as he contemplates racing through the 2021 world championships in Eugene, Oregon.

“They’re running super-fast times that I ran before so it gives me a target. It gives me a sounding board to know where I have to be and how I’m going to have to compete.”

Throughout his career, Gatlin has been a polarizing figure. With his doping past— his four-year suspension ended in 2010—Gatlin’s been booed (like the night he beat Bolt for gold at the 2017 world championships in London) and

hounded (he gestured toward a heckler bothering his mom in the stands during the medal ceremony at the 2015 worlds in Beijing). He’s never let it bother him.

Instead, he lets his performances do most of his talking.

“I’m an enigma,” Gatlin said. “I’ve had my dark times and I’ve gone through an area where normally someone who’s been away from the sport or had a ban would never come back from.... I defied those odds to a point where I think that it made people uncomfortable because not only did I come back, but I came back better.”

He said the younger generation doesn’t judge him. An up-and-coming sprinter once joked with Gatlin that he happened to be in first grade when Gatlin won the 100-meter title at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

“Those kinds of things always shock me, how time really works. But it still doesn’t make me feel old,” said Gatlin, whose best 100 time is 9.74 seconds in Doha on May 15, 2015. “I’ve gained so many more followers just off of the respect of me working hard, me climbing, keep fighting for it no matter my age, no matter how many times I lost to Usain. It was all about staying the course, which was my course, and not veering from and trying to be something that everyone wanted me to be.

I just wanted to be Justin.”

Gatlin surprised the track world at worlds in 2017 by beating Bolt in Bolt’s final major 100 race. Gatlin also edged Coleman, who came in second that night with Bolt taking third.

Not having Bolt at the world championships this fall in Doha remains hard to fathom for Gatlin. They’ve had so many epic races over the years, like at worlds in 2015 when Bolt eclipsed Gatlin at the line.

But this thought keeps Gatlin working: The next Bolt is out there. It could be Lyles. Or Coleman. It could be Andre De Grasse of Canada or Matthew Boling, the teen from Texas who is headed to Georgia for college and who became a viral sensation this spring when he ran a wind-aided 9.98 in the 100 (Bolt’s world record is 9.58).

It could be anyone. AP

He was originally from the Russian city of St. Petersburg but had fought exclusively in the US since turning pro in 2016.

“He was a very kind person who fought until the very end,” Dadashev’s wife, Elizaveta Apushkina, said in a statement issued by the hospital. “Our son will continue [to] be raised to be a great man like his father. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone that cared for Maxim during his final days.”

The Russian embassy in the US said in a statement on Facebook it is “ready to provide any necessary assistance for [Dadashev’s] repatriation to Russia.” AP

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HIHIRO IKEDA recalled the form that snapped a long title spell in Tagaytay last May, shooting a bogey-free six-under 63 to seize a huge five-stroke lead over Princess Superal at the start of the ICTSI Camp John Hay Ladies Championship in Baguio on Wednesday.

Ikeda sizzled in hot but soft conditions with solid driving and superb iron play that produced six birdies, including four at the front of the upand-down layout that stood out in the early going of the P1-million tournament serving as the ninth leg of the seventh Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) put up by ICTSI. Though she slowed down a bit with just two birdies at the back, they proved enough to put the former Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, who edged Pauline del Rosario in a playoff to win at Midlands, way ahead of the pack with nobody able to match Ikeda’s fiery start she anchored on steady putting.

“I struggled with my putting during the pro-am [Tuesday] but it clicked today [yesterday] and that

Thursday, July 25, 2019 C3

F2 Logistics, Foton clash in mega duel

IKEDA LEADS BY 5 complemented my driving and iron game,” said Ikeda, whose scorching start actually carried the momentum of her strong finish at Pradera Verde last week where she closed out with a 71 to finish tied at 24th after barely making the 50-player cut.

Unlike Ikeda, Superal struggled with her irons, bogeying half of the six par-3s, although she birdied Nos. 8 and 14 then eagled the par-five 16th to move to solo second at 68 on a course where she reigned in the last stop of the five-stage LPGT inaugurals in 2013 as an amateur.

Despite her shaky start, Superal said she was satisfied with her game, particularly off the tee, an aspect of her game that has been hampering her campaign especially against the long hitters on the international stage.

“My game’s okay especially my driving where I’ve added

some yardage, so I’m quite excited,” Superal said. “I will just focus on my game and won’t mind other players’.”

Thai Ajira Nualraksa missed joining Superal at second with a last-hole bogey, dropping to joint third at even-par 69 with Daniella Uy, the best-placed local at joint third at Pradera who blew a two-under card with two bogeys in the last five.

Amateur Chanelle Avaricio birdied

on the long par-3 closing hole with fellow amateur Sam Dizon carding a 73.

Tiranan Yoopan and amateur Eagle Ace Superal birdied the first two holes but the duo lost their touch and poise, and limped with bogeys and a triple bogey each to limp home with 76s in a tie with Marvi Monsalve in

the last two par-5s (Nos. 16 and 17) to save a 70 and join Thai Numa Gulyanamitta and Pamela Mariano at fifth with Sarah Ababa recovering big from a five-over 40 start with four birdies in the first seven holes at the back.

But the former LPGT leg winner bogeyed the last to drop to 71 in a tie with amateur Mafy Singson, who also stumbled with a bogey

the 54-hole event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. and backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Empire Golf and Sports and M.Y. Shokai Technology Inc.

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CHIHIRO IKEDA looking good with a fine start

GALEDO WINS ITT TITLE J

OHN MARK LEXER GALEDO stayed on the Men’s Elite throne, Nichol Pareja drew the spotlight in Men’s Under-23, and the girls of Standard Insurance wielded the broom in the Women’s category of the individual time trial (ITT) races of the PhilCycling 2019 National Road Cycling Championships on Tuesday in Tagaytay City.

Galedo, 33, clocked 27 minutes and 26.12 seconds to rule the 18-km Men’s Elite ITT that started at Sandari Batulao in Nasugbu, Batangas, and finished at the Praying Hands Monument in Tagaytay City of the race presented by Standard Insurance, MVP Sports Foundation and Tagaytay City.

Go For Gold’s Jonel Carcueva clinched silver after finishing 9.75 seconds behind than the 7-Eleven Cliqq Air21 Roadbike Philippines rider Galedo, while Marcelo Felipe (28.43 behind), the national champion’s teammate, bagged the bronze.

Pareja, 19 and also of 7-Eleven, stunned the field with his gold medal-winning time of 26:57.60 in the Men’s Under-23 to finish atop the podium over Ismael Gorospe Jr. (Go For Gold, 28:24.20) and Daniel Ven Carino (Go For Gold, 28:28.30).

Tagaytay City Councilor Athena Tolentino welcomed the athletes and officials, and awarded the medals to the winners along with Ube Media Inc./Le Tour de Filipinas Head Donna Lina and Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go in the wellattended awarding ceremony at

the Sambong Hall of the Tagaytay International Convention Center.

But the day also belonged to the Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance women’s team, which underscored its supremacy in the races serving as dry run for the 30th Southeast Asian Games set November 30 to December 11.

Kate Yasmin Velasco topped the Under-23 category, Maritoni Krogg ruled the Women’s Junior race and Jermyn Prado was the fastest in Women’s Elite, gifting Standard Insurance team owner Ernesto “Judes” Echauz, who watched his riders vie in the championships, three gold medals.

Velasco clocked 21:33.10 in the 12-km ITT, shoving Mhay Ann Linda (22:20.60) to the silver and Shagne Paola Yaoyao (22:59.70) to the bronze, while Krogg timed 20:14.19 to win gold and top Nicole Quinones (22:03.40) and Marlen Marasigan (22:29.00).

Velasco also made her own statement with her winning time of 19:24.50, edging 2015 SEA Games ITT champion Marella Salamat (19:39.00) and Avegail Rombaon (20:56.40) in the race that saw the Highway Patrol Group of the Philippine National Police Region 4A command displaying their expertise in handling road cycling races.

Macryan Lago (17:41.23), John Patrick Pagtalunan (18:07.16) and Efren Reyes (18:15.46) finished 1-2-3 in the Men’s Junior ITT that was raced on the same 12-km route as the Women’s events.

The races resumed on Wednesday with the road races.

F2 Logistics is sure to rely on the explosiveness of FilipinoAmerican Kalei Mau.

WOMEN Elite champion Jermyn Prado (right) and her Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance teammates (from left) Marella Salamat (runner-up Women Elite), Kate Yasmin Velasco (Under 23 titlist) and Maritoni Krogg (Junior winner) on stage.

Tribal leaders, professors to attend IP Forum in Palawan

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INDANAO State University (MSU)Marawi City Professor Henry Daut along with one local speaker will headline the Indigenous Peoples (IP) Forum set at 8 a.m. on Saturday to be held at the VJR Hall of the Provincial Capitol in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

Daut, also a Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) consultant who led all four previous forums last year, will tackle “Restoring the Heritage, Reliving the Past and Rekindling the Spirit.”

Joining him is retired Professor Dr. Paul D. Jagmis Sr. of the Municipality of Aborlan.

He will discuss the Palawan IP Culture.

PSC Commissioner Charles Raymond A. Maxey bared that some 50 participants are expected to attend the IP Forum, comprised of social sciences professors, as well as tribal leaders.

“We sent out invitation letters to the Palawan State University and Western State University for educators, as well as students

‘PRESIDENT GIVES 100% SUPPORT TO SEAG HOSTING’–MEDIALDEA

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NITY. We win as one. Go For Gold.

This has been the battle cry of Team Philippines for the upcoming 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games which will be hosted by the country from November 30 to December 11.

Some 300 national athletes and sports officials called for unity on Wednesday at the Heroes Hall, Malacañang.

“This meeting is called within the walls of Malacañang Palace to show that President Duterte is giving his 100-percent support to the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games,” Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said during his speech.

He added that, “the preparation for the hosting and the training of our athletes should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind. We call all NSAs [national sports association] to support the hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.”

Former Special Assistant to the President and now Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go also graced the occasion extending the support of President Duterte to the Filipino athletes.

“We must ensure that we’ll give our athletes and aspiring athletes the best support we can to achieve their goals. The future of sports in the country is in your hands. Nakikiusap po ako sa inyo,

2 Logistics and Foton put their respective winning streaks on the line when they collide in a highly anticipated second round battle in the Philippine Superliga AllFilipino Conference on Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Action fires off at 7 p.m. with the Cargo Movers and the Tornadoes riding the crest of their impressive winning streaks in this prestigious women’s club tourney bankrolled

by Team Rebel Sports, SOGO, Eurotel, PCSO, Cocolife, UCPB Gen, Mueller, Senoh, Asics, Bizooku and One Sport.

Meanwhile, reigning champion Petron also guns for its seventh straight win when it tackles PLDT Home Fibr at 4:15 p.m., while struggling Sta. Lucia and Marinerang Pilipina seek to end their miseries when they clash in the 2 p.m. appetizer.

After acquiring Filipino-American Kalei Mau in the offseason, the Cargo Movers have yet to drop a single game as they raced to an 8-0 start in this battle that also has ESPN5 and Kapatid TV5 as broadcast partners.

Although the Blaze Spikers also have a winning streak of their own, the Tornadoes are still regarded as the hottest team behind the Cargo Movers with six straight victories after starting the season with a 1-3 win-loss card.

In their first match, F2 Logistics greatly struggled before running away with a tough 25-9, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16 win, no thanks to the improved performance of towering sisters Jaja Santiago and Dindin Manabat, as well as the support crew of Elaine Kasilag, Maika Ortiz, Gyzelle Sy and Shaya Adorador.

“Foton is such a tall team. They are a tough team because of sister Jaja and Dindin, who have experiences in the national team and in Japan club league,” F2 Logistics Head Coach Ramil de Jesus said.

“So we have to be well-prepared and look for Foton’s weak point. If we’ll be able to follow our game plan, we could be successful in the game.”

For Foton Head Coach Aaron Velez, they shouldn’t simply rely on two players alone to counter the Cargo Movers’ star-studded roster of Mau, Ara Galang, Aby Marano, Majoy Baron, Kianna Dy, setter Michelle Cobb and libero Dawn Macandili.

“Up against F2 this is just going to be a game of how organized a team is, I have a lot of respect for F2. We have to do our homework, we have to do extra hard work and be more tactical,” Velez said.

“I want them to have the right mindset first and that is to strive for excellence since it’s still a long way to go for us. So we have to be more consistent and to be more aggressive.”

one goal, one team, go for gold.” Go said.

Also present during the gathering were Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman and Team Philippines’s Chef de Mission William Ramirez and Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Chairman Alan Peter Cayetano.

“As the chief of the government’s sporting arm, I am heavily invested into ensuring that whatever the situation and political climate, our athletes are shielded and given the support they need to focus on their goals of victory.” said Ramirez, who was also the PSC chief during the

2005 Manila SEA Games when the country bagged its first overall championship in history with 113 gold, 84 silver and 94 bronze medals.

Ramirez also believes that unity is the key to make Team Philippines’s dreams come true with four months to go before the largest biennial multisport in the region, “I have to admit that we can keep dreaming but without everyone else here agreeing and putting their head and hearts together, it will remain a dream.”

Meanwhile, Cayetano is opening his doors for athletes and NSA officials to extend their helping hands during the last phase of the preparations

who are Social Science majors,” Maxey said.

Maxey added he hopes that the tribal leaders attend the forum to be educated on how to effectively continue the concept of the program in their respective communities.

The IP Forum is the education aspect of the Indigenous Peoples Games project. for the Manila meet. “Hindi po ito masasayang Secretary [Medialdea].

May disagreements man, may konting pitikan man, in the end, as Senator Bong Go said, one country tayo, one team, we will go for the gold. So, let us win as one and we can only win as one if we plan as one so please join us in the last phase of the planning and we have room for everyone’s opinion.”

Cayetano said.

A total of 530 events in 57 sports will be played during the November 30 to December 11 the biennial event.

TOKYO REVEALS MEDALS

Sports

By Stephen Wade

BusinessMirror

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The Associated Press

OKYO—Gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals were to get their first public viewing on Wednesday as Tokyo organizers marked exactly a year until the games open.

Fans, sponsors and politicians were celebrating the day around the Japanese capital, displaying placards and clocks showing 365 days to go until the opening ceremony on July 24, 2020.

A fencing gold medalist at the 1976 Olympics, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach showed off his skills in a demonstration with school children. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was also scheduled to take part during the daylong festival.

Tokyo is spending about $20 billion to prepare the city to host the games, though exact Olympic spending is disputed and difficult to track. Five of the eight new venues are already finished, and the centerpiece, the $1.25-billion National Stadium, is to open by the end of the year.

“The excitement is growing,” John Coates, who heads the IOC inspection team for Tokyo, said.

“You’ve seen the unprecedented level of interest in ticket sales.”

Ticket demand by Japanese residents appears to be at least 10 times above supply—maybe more—with demand also surging abroad. A recent law banning unauthorized ticket resales in Japan is sure to be tested despite glaring loopholes.

Organizers are also preparing for Tokyo’s typically hot summer weather, though this summer has been wet and cool. Traffic and subway congestion is also a concern, as is earthquake preparedness.

“This year Tokyo is chilly rather than hot,” Yoshiro Mori, the president of the organizing committee, said. “It’s quite different from what we experienced last year.”

Mori said Japanese Emperor Naurhito had accepted a role “as honorary patron” of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. He will be expected to announce the opening of both the Olympics and Paralympics.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike was asked a few days ago to justify spending billions on the

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| Thursday, July 25, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (left) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a One Year to Go Olympic Ceremony Event in Tokyo on Wednesday. Gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals were to get their first public viewing as Tokyo organizers marked exactly a year until the games open. AP

Olympics. Organizers have been under pressure to cut costs, and they say they have cut billions by using existing venues. Tokyo is building eight new venues, but using 35 “temporary” or older venues.

Koike described the Olympics and Paralympics as an “accelerator” to get things done, though research shows that the Olympic deadlines drive up costs. And Tokyo is famous for building things—with or without the Olympics.

“I’d like the legacy of the 2020 Games to be something more intangible, a new way of thinking for people and for society,” she said. Koike described the Paralympics, which open August 25, 2020, as a “springboard” to make the city more accessible to people with disabilities.

Queensland eyes bid for 2032 Olympics

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RISBANE, Australia—Australia has moved closer to launching a bid for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympic Games after the Queensland state government announced it would help fund a study into how much the events would cost taxpayers.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday said she would chair a task force which will assess venues, transport infrastructure and economic viability.

Australia last hosted the Summer Olympics in Sydney in 2000, which was the first time since Melbourne was the host city in 1956.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last month announced radical changes to how and when Olympic hosts are picked. The IOC wants to avoid negative headlines and angering local taxpayers following referendum losses on bids and excessive spending on white-elephant venues.

Also, stung by recent public votes in Europe and Canada, the IOC agreed that future bidders could need to win a referendum before entering a race.

Palaszczuk said although the Olympic bid would primarily involve the southeast region of the state—the capital Brisbane and the nearby coastal cities of the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, all of the state would need to benefit. The Gold Coast successfully hosted the Commonwealth Games last year.

“The rules have changed, in terms of we don’t need these megastructures anymore,” she said. “I need everyone to be working together. I need everyone on board, I don’t need people sniping at the sidelines.”

Palaszczuk said she expects a decision on whether to progress to the next stage will be made early next year.

Her government will match the A$10-million ($7.1 million) contribution the federal government has already committed for the study. AP

The goals for next year are more modest than they were in 1964 when the Tokyo Olympics showcased bullet trains, futuristic designs and a new expressway to document Japan’s recovery following World War II. A group of anti-Olympic activists, many from outside Japan, have held small protests and other events in recent days under the Japanese title “Hangorin no Kai”—which translates roughly to No Olympics.

They oppose Olympic spending, which they say cuts into budgets for local housing and environmental issues. They also call for more money to rebuild Fukushima prefecture located northeast of Tokyo.

“For us, the Olympics are a disaster,” Misako Ichimura, a spokesman for the anti-Olympic

group, said on Tuesday. She said the billions spent on the Olympics should be used instead in to rebuild Fukushima, which was devastated by a 2011 earthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors.

“The Olympics is scary entertainment for us,” she added.

Tokyo organizers have shattered records for local sponsorship revenue, which has passed $3 billion—about three times more than any previous Olympics.

IOC President Bach has repeatedly described Tokyo preparations as “the best” in history. But there have been glitches and scandals.

Tsunekazu Takeda, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee, was forced to quit earlier this year when he was implicated in a vote-

US tipped to dominate Tokyo Games–forecast

IN this August 17, 2016, file photo, gold-medal winner Brianna Rollins (center), silver-medal winner Nia Ali (left) and bronze-medal winner Kristi Castlin, all from the US, pose with their country’s flag after the 100-meter hurdles final during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AP

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.

The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics are implicated in 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 work-safety violations at Olympic venues, largely regarding migrant labor.

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

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OKYO—If the Tokyo Olympics were opening on Tuesday, the US would top the overall medal count and the goldmedal count.

That’s the forecast released by Gracenote Sports, which supplies statistical analysis for sports leagues around the world.

Simon Gleave, the head of sports analysis at Gracenote, said his model has the US winning 51 gold medals, 34 silver and 41 bronze for 126 overall. China is picked to finish second with 38 gold and 81 overall.

Host nation Japan is third, which would be a strong showing for a country with a much smaller population than China or the US. Japan is predicted to win 29 gold medals, 67 overall and take advantage of the “home-field advantage” that almost always goes to the host nation.

Spain got a boost back in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, China jumped in 2008 in Beijing, as did Britain in London in 2012.

The Tokyo Olympics open on July 24, 2020.

The next seven countries ranked in order of overall medals are: Russia (65), Britain (43), Australia (43), France (41), Germany (38), the Netherlands (34) and Italy (32).

This is fifth forecast Gleave has put together and the record is solid.

“Sometimes countries overperform, or underperform, and that’s not to do with our model,” Gleave told AP in an interview. “That just happens in sport.”

Three years ago in Rio de Janeiro, Gracenote picked the order of the top three countries correctly, and picked eight of the top 10 medalwinning countries. In the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, it correctly picked Norway to win a record number of medals and finish ahead of No. 2 Germany. It also picked the top 4 countries correctly, and in the correct order. Its predictions for seven of the top 10 countries were within one or two medals of their final totals.

Russia is a major headache. Its track and field athletes are still banned from Tokyo following a widespread doping scandal. The governing body of track and field, the IAAF, has had a ban on the Russian athletics federation since 2015. Russia’s medal total of course will be impacted by any change in eligibility.

“If just before the Olympics, Russia is allowed to enter again it’s going to be a bit of an issue,” Gleave said of the medal predictions. AP

God of the cosmos

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EAR God, You give breath to all living things. We praise You and pray: Gracious God, hear our prayer. Inspire world leaders to be good servants to their countries as they dialogue about sustainable practices for the good of future generations. Strengthen those who are burdened by hardships, struggles, trials or relationship wounds due to meanness and cruelty. Uphold religious and societal efforts to defend and promote the dignity of life in all its stages, from conception to natural death. May Pro-Life Movements continue to flourish so the unborn will see the light of the world. May God favor us with our heart’s desire and fulfill every one of our plans, through Jesus, by the working of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY, SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life BusinessMirror

Swiss celebrate once-in-a-generation winegrowers’ festival

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BY JAMEY KEATEN The Associated Press

EVEY, Switzerland—Swiss residents and tourists alike are partying like they haven’t since 1999.

The town of Vevey has kicked off the 12th “Fete des Vignerons,” or Winemakers Festival, the latest installment in a centuries-old tradition of celebrating vineyard workers—which nowadays takes place only once a generation.

Festival organizers have pulled out the stops for the celebration in Vevey, a lakeside town near Switzerland’s famous terraced vineyards that are listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. In 2016 the UN cultural agency classified the festival itself as part of the “intangible cultural heritage” of Switzerland.

Among the big-ticket items in the 100 million Swiss franc ($100-million) budget for the festival is a purpose-built arena—big enough to hold 20,000 people, or more than the entire town’s population.

Towering over Lake Geneva, the venue is hosting an Olympics- or Super Bowl-style show with dancers, music and other festivities. As many as a million

people are expected in Vevey while the festival runs through August 11.

Above all, it’s a colorful, timeless celebration of Swiss-ness tied up in a festival for winegrowers.

People dress in costumes to represent facets of life in the vineyards: insects like ants and grasshoppers; or pests like raisin-pecking starlings; young lovers frolicking among the vines; droughts and storms that confound winegrowers.

During the recent kickoff parade, kids in butterfly or ladybug costumes marched through town, while marching band players took a break from the Swiss sunshine with glasses more often filled with cold beer than wine.

This year, organizers are going high-tech with what’s billed as the world’s largest outdoor LED-lit stage.

“It’s been 20 years that we’ve been waiting for this moment now, and it’s crazy!” said Vevey native Fanny Rupp, a 31-year-old physical therapist wearing a widebrimmed hat and traditional dress.

With an arm draped over her father’s shoulder, they sang a few bars of the festival anthem “Ranz des Vaches”—a nostalgia-rich Alpine song popularized

by 18th-century Geneva philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Some 5,500 dancers, actors and extras are working at the festival, which features parades, music and lots of alcohol consumption. But the centerpiece is the awards given to winegrowing standouts.

The festival has its roots in a competition that began in the 17th century to ensure quality wines from the region, with a grading system that often got censorious—with some winegrowers who didn’t pass muster all but shunned. The festival began a more upbeat approach by “crowning” standout winegrowers in the first formal festival in 1797.

A show playing nightly represents a “year in the life of the vineyard,” with 20 scenes culminating with the harvest.

While the winegrowers are the honorees, the festival is really a celebration of Switzerland and its amazing natural environment, featuring each of the country’s 26 cantons, or regions.

Frederic Hohl, the festival’s executive director, said many Swiss living abroad have booked tickets to attend the celebrations.

“Honestly, we can say that Vevey will be the capital of Switzerland for one month,” he said. ■

REELING: THE ENDURING ENCHANTMENT OF ANITA LINDA D4

Thursday, July 25, 2019

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PREMIER Bayview Suite

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LET your wandering feet take you to the city that lives and breathes a colorful history, rich culture and vibrant attractions. Experience Manila in a different way and discover true Asian hospitality.

New World Manila Bay Hotel (manilabay.newworldhotels. com) offers gateways to Manila’s must-see attractions like historical Intramuros and the famous Rizal Park, and provides getaways to families looking for an extended summer respite; to business travelers making the most out of time; to couples building memories together; and to adventurers exploring new places. Centrally located in the scene of action, New World Manila Bay Hotel invites you to an exciting journey of discovering Manila at its finest. With its ongoing getaway room package that’s on offer until August 31, stay in a warm and welcoming suite that sees through the beauty of the magnificent Manila Bay. The well-appointed guest rooms and suites are informed by a luxurious aesthetic and feature creature comforts that make for a perfect wind-down after a day in the city. Head over to the Pool Bar and get some refreshing drinks to cool off, or better yet take a plunge in the pool for a splash of extra fun.

Book the getaway room package and save up 20-percent off on best available rates. The room promo comes with breakfast buffet for two, 25-percent discount in dining outlets, and 20-percent off on massage service and spa treatments.

Young and ready to see the world? Juan for Fun is back GET ready to whet your passion for travel and adventure as Cebu Pacific again puts the spotlight on Juan for Fun 2019. Now on its eighth year, Juan for Fun is the most exciting and rewarding backpacking trip that enables today’s generation of passionate travelers to pursue their interests through traveling.

This year’s Juan for Fun (www.juanforfun.ph) takes on an inspiring route to bring personalized travel experiences to young Filipinos with #MyHashtagTrip.

From foodies going on gastronomic adventures, thrill-seekers searching for the next adrenalinepumping activity, to eco-warriors participating in environmental projects, many young travelers are driven by their hobbies and advocacies when exploring destinations. In this all-new Juan for Fun 2019, participants will journey around the Philippines—visiting new places, trying unique activities, and unlocking memorable travel milestones to enrich their personal passions and stories.

“Through Juan for Fun, Cebu Pacific has enabled students to go out of their comfort zones and bring them to local communities where they can gain meaningful first travel experiences. Last year Juan for Fun participants took home valuable insights on being a responsible traveler. This time, we’re encouraging them to bring out their bucket lists

JUAN for Fun 2019 travel coaches (from left) Joyce Pring, Mikael Daez and Kyle “Kulas” Jennermann talk about their travel experiences around the Philippines.

and make life-changing adventures happen,” said Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for Marketing and Distribution.

During the recent launch of Juan for Fun 2019 at the Glorietta Activity Center, Cebu Pacific gave the public a sneak peek at the trips and thrills that await this year’s winners. Guests and mall

CEBU Pacific announces the eighth run of its exciting backpacking trip, Juan for Fun 2019, with Cebu Pacific Vice President for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog (center) together with Daez (from left), Tourism Assistant Secretary Robert Alabado, Jennermann and Pring.

goers were treated to interactive and Instagramworthy booths such as those that featured mustsee local destinations. The launch event also introduced the travel coaches for Juan for Fun 2019: BecomingFilipino’s Kyle “Kulas” Jennermann, travel writer Jude Bacalso, TV host and socialmedia personality Joyce Pring, and celebrity and

vlogger Mikael Daez. Juan for Fun 2019 winners will participate in an exclusive one-day travel workshop, learn all about immersive travel experiences and receive mentorship from the coaches.

Stay tuned for updates and announcements on Juan for Fun’s official Facebook page (www.facebook. com/CebuPaci�icJFF).

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Entertaining BusinessMirror

Thursday, July 25, 2019

How to make a traditional tandoori chicken—at home

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BY AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN The Associated Press

RADITIONAL tandoori chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices, and roasted in a superhot tandoor oven to produce tender, flavorful meat and a beautiful char. To make it at home, we built a fragrant paste, blooming ginger and garlic in oil before adding garam masala, cumin and chili powder.

We used this paste twice, applying some directly to the meat, which we slashed so the flavors penetrated, and stirring the rest into yogurt for our marinade.

Arranged on a wire rack set in a baking sheet, our chicken roasted gently and evenly in a moderate oven; a few minutes under the broiler delivered char.

A quick raita cooled things down. If you are using large chicken breasts (about 1 pound each), cut each breast into three pieces. We prefer to use our homemade Garam Masala (recipe follows) and Everyday Chili Powder (recipe follows), but you can substitute store-bought spices. Serve with rice.

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: James Lafferty, 34; D.B. Woodside, 50; Matt LeBlanc, 52; Illeana Douglas, 54.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Make adjustments to the way you handle money to ensure greater gains and savings in the future. Taking charge of the way you earn your living and how you invest will help you avoid unnecessary debt. Live within your means; you will begin to reap the rewards later this year. Give back to your community; you will encounter new beginnings. Your lucky numbers are 3, 16, 23, 26, 30, 38, 42.

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll be enticed by change but reluctant to make a mistake. The stress that goes along with uncertainty can lead to anger if you are too quick or too late. Look at the big picture and do what’s realistic. ★★★★★

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Ask an expert, learn all you can and consider every angle before you make a move. Verify what you hear before you do anything. Ulterior motives are apparent if someone can benefit by swaying your opinion. Do what feels right. ★★★

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CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your imagination will serve you well when you are faced with challenges that can alter your reputation or position. Coming up with alternative means and methods to help move forward will pay off. A positive change is heading your way. ★★★

e gently rub with garlic-lime juice mixture until all pieces are evenly coated. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325°F. Set wire rack in aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.

Pour yogurt marinade over chicken and toss until chicken is evenly and thickly coated. Arrange chicken pieces, scored sides down, on prepared rack; discard excess marinade.

Roast chicken until breasts register 125°F and drumsticks/ thighs register 130°F, 15 to 25 minutes. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Remove pieces from oven as they reach correct temperature.)

Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Return chicken to wire rack in pan, scored sides up, and broil until chicken is lightly charred in spots and breasts register 160°F and drumsticks/thighs register 175°F, eight to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving platter, tent with foil, and let rest for five minutes. Serve with raita and lime wedges.

GARAM MASALA: The warm, floral, and earthy flavor profile of garam masala (warm spice blend) makes it a welcome addition to most curries or a great seasoning for meat.

3 tablespoons black peppercorns

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8 teaspoons coriander seeds 4 teaspoons cardamom pods 2 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds 1 1/2 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks Process all ingredients in spice grinder until finely ground, about 30 seconds.

EVERYDAY CHILI POWDER: This balanced all-purpose powder is mild but has perceptible smoke and heat. We prefer the robust flavor of Mexican oregano, but you can substitute any dried oregano.

2 ounces (7 to 8) dried New Mexican chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into 1/2 inch pieces (1 1/2 cups) 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano 1 tablespoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper Working in batches, process New Mexican chiles, cumin seeds, and oregano in spice grinder until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Stir in paprika, garlic powder and cayenne. ■

BRANDY giant Emperador has launched a new “lighter” drink for the global market, called Emperador Double Light.

Made for brandy drinkers who are fastbecoming mindful about pursuing “healthier lifestyles,” Emperador Double Light is a premium “lighter” described as having a “rich, smooth and fruity” character. It is made using imported brandies from Spain that have spent time in sherry casks and bottled at 23.5 percent ABV (alcohol by volume).

Available nationwide in 750mL and 1L bottles, Emperador Double Light has been designed to be enjoyed neat, over ice or as a long drink on a tall glass filled with ice.

Kendrick Tan, head of innovation at

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Change can be exactly what’s needed to motivate you to try something new. A modification to your lifestyle will be revitalizing. ★★★★★

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Size up what others are doing, and take care of your own interests. Put your energy and thought into reaching your goals instead of worrying about what others think or do. ★★

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t challenge someone else when it’s you who needs to be challenged in order to take stock and get moving in a positive direction. Let your intuition lead to bigger and better opportunities. ★★★★

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Walk away if you think someone is using you.

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Going Double Light for a ‘healthier lifestyle’

EMPERADOR Double Light

By Eugenia Last

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Raita: 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro 1 garlic clove, minced Salt Cayenne pepper

For the raita: Combine yogurt, cilantro, and garlic in bowl, and season with salt and cayenne to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Raita can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours).

For the chicken: Heat oil in 10 inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in garam masala, cumin, and chili powder, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Transfer half of garlic mixture to bowl and stir in yogurt and 2 tablespoons lime juice; set marinade aside. Combine remaining garlic mixture, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice and salt in large bowl.

Using a sharp knife, make two or three short slashes in each piece of chicken. Transfer chicken to large bowl and

Today’s Horoscope

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’ll need stamina and patience when dealing with colleagues and authority figures. Listen carefully, but don’t make hasty decisions without doing your homework. Acting on a premature assumption will be costly emotionally, financially or legally. Slow down and think matters through. ★★

TANDOORI CHICKEN WITH RAITA Servings: 4 Start to finish: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Chicken: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 6 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 1 tablespoon Garam Masala (recipe follows) 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons Everyday Chili Powder (recipe follows) 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt 1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes), plus lime wedges for serving 2 teaspoons salt 3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half, drumsticks, and/or thighs), skin removed, trimmed

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Emperador, which also owns Fundador Brandy, said: “We continually look at trends in drinks and listen to our consumers globally. We see a unique drinking lifestyle emerging and Emperador Double Light is developed to capture this lifestyle occasion.”

A significant portion of consumers around the world, mostly the younger generation of drinkers, are gradually preferring lower alcohol drinks as they grow a lot more mindful about certain health and wellness trends.

This has opened up exciting new opportunity for Emperador, which then paved the way for the creation of Emperador Double Light.

“With Emperador Double Light, we’re using our expertise to deliver a product that meets the

growing number of consumers who wants a better drink and are keeping an eye on their alcohol intake. The global trend indicates consumers with a healthier lifestyle prefer lower alcohol, along with drinking better quality products,” Tan added.

“Emperador Double Light is a product created from the same DNA of the world’s No. 1 selling brandy, Emperador Light. The Double Light is lighter than Emperador Light in alcohol and calories. It may be the lowest calorie spirit available in the market. The product is very smooth yet delivers a full-flavored brandy experience that is very enjoyable. It tastes fantastic—either straight, over ice or served with lots of ice for a refreshing long drink. No need for sweet mixers and unnecessary sugar-intake.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Discipline will pay off. If you want something, pursue it and don’t give up until you get what you want. Your persistence will pay off, giving you a better chance to do your own thing. ★★★

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Put your heart and soul into achieving your goal.

Refuse to let anyone lead you astray or waste your time with lofty ideas or excessive partying.

Keep your mind clear, and focus on what you are trying to accomplish. ★★★

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Make room for something new. Don’t let an opportunity get away from you. Call in favors or discuss possible changes that will give you free rein to explore your options. ★★★★ BIRTHDAY BABY: You are assertive, enthusiastic and playful.

You are intelligent and outgoing.

‘team spirit’ BY ERIK AGARD The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 “Favor” lead-in 4 Write-up of last night’s episode 9 Good poker hand 14 “___ noticed” 15 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-___ 16 Drawing with numbered balls 17 Big beer container 18 New York giants 20 Opera solo 22 Mexican coins 23 Cheese-loving pest 24 With 52-Across, Miami heat 27 Hallowed place 29 Prey chaser 30 “Time flies” and “money talks” 31 Little ___ (tots) 32 Shinbone 35 Pollinating insects 36 Las Vegas aces 39 Leer at 42 Sticky substance 43 Washington airport code 46 Bump, as a TV episode

49 Spies of feudal Japan 51 Orchard worker 52 See 24-Across 54 ___-quoted 55 “Royals” singer 57 Protein with a “stinky” variety 58 Los Angeles dodgers 62 Rowing stick 63 Unsettling 64 “___ not” (“Sorry, no dice”) 65 Three, to Giada 66 Pit-of-the-stomach feeling 67 Flies off the shelves 68 Third-person version of 14-Across DOWN 1 Detective in a 2019 Pokémon movie 2 Besieged 3 Map sections 4 Motorhomes and such 5 “That’s scary!”

6 Burial place 7 Liability’s opposite 8 Prominent muscles for Terry Crews 9 Swagged out

10 11 12 13 19 21 25 26 28 30 33 34 36 37 38 39 40 41 43 44 45 47 48 50

Cut all at once Womb-related Bizarre Maker of Twinkies Dia de San Valentin flower Portray a character Modern low-carb diet Killmonger’s first name BBQ fare Drains Ernie’s partner Enraged feeling Surreptitious glance Melon exterior “Will do” Not in favor Con artist A student may fall asleep during one Spinner’s spot at a party Money for a taxi Gives peace of mind Went from solid to liquid Item in a play One might be tough to crack

52 53 56 59 60 61

Love very much Kathmandu’s country Sports arbiters Long in “Friday” Country-rap star ___ Nas X Manuscript refiners, for short

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Parentlife BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

FROM left: Prudence Foundation Executive Director Marc Fancy, Philippine Red Cross Chairman and CEO Sen. Richard Gordon, Turner Asia Pacific President Ricky Ow, and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Regional Director for Asia Pacific Xavier Castellanos show solidarity for the launch of Safe Steps Kids; the safety awareness program to be rolled out across Asia, which is comprised of a series of videos on disasters, first aid and road safety; and Ow hands over the token of recognition to Safe Steps Kids partner Fancy.

Parent alert: Teaching kids ‘safe steps’ during emergencies MOMMY NO LIMITS

MAYE YAO CO SAY

mommynolimits@gmail.com

T

HE primary concern among parents for their kids is safety. From the time they are born, we worry about providing them the safest environment possible—from the best way to sterilize feeding bottles, to safe hygiene and safe-proofing our home, we move to find ways to protect our kids as they go out to their external environment.

It is great to know that Prudence Foundation in partnership with the Cartoon Network, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) teamed up, not only to educate parents but also to teach kids on safety information in a fun and innovative way.

Last July 5, the foundation officially launched Safe Steps Kids at Manila Ocean Park. The campaign is a new safety awareness program, which aims to equip millions of children across the country with actionable information designed to save lives in the event of first-aid emergencies, disaster situations or road-safety issues.

Five years ago, boxing champ Manny Pacquiao

helped launch the successful, more adult-focused Safe Steps program which sought to enhance disaster preparedness and awareness by providing vital survival tips in response to natural disasters. Now, Prudence Foundation’s Safe Steps program has expanded to reach a younger generation with the help of Cartoon Network’s well-loved cartoon characters.

Safe Steps Kids includes a series of kid-centric, practical and easy-to-understand tips through a medium they know and love.

Marc Fancy, executive director of Prudence Foundation, said, “The Philippines is one of the countries in Asia most prone to natural disasters, such as floods, fires, earthquakes and typhoons.

What this program aims to achieve is to equip the most vulnerable group of our community with information on how to stay safe and react to emergencies, thus helping build a more resilient community and future generation.”

The initiative comprises a series of 12 50-second public service announcements. Each video features a set of characters from a well-known Cartoon Network series who will anchor the storytelling process to raise awareness and provide educational information.

The messages addressing three key life-threating issues are approved by IFRC. The first category of videos to launch focuses on Disasters, featuring the irrepressible superhero trio, the Powerpuff Girls.

Later in the year, the First Aid episodes will be rolled out, featuring We Bare Bears, followed by videos on Road Safety featuring characters from The Amazing World of Gumball.

“Safe Step Kids program is a great opportunity to build a culture of safety in the Philippines, which

we carry out through school safety or humanitarian education on disaster risk reduction and health promotion. This initiative does not only educate but also enables children to be proactive when it comes to saving lives at an early age,” said PRC Chairman Richard Gordon.

“For the Department of Education, finding the right partners, with the same dedication to learners, and as committed to Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones’s vision of providing Quality, Accessible, Relevant and Liberating Basic Education for all is always key. Being able to effectively reach our learners, and in a format and manner they enjoy, is a welcome bonus,” added Undersecretary Alain del Bustamante Pascua.

The videos will be hosted on the Safe Steps Kids web site (www.safestepskids.com) and complement a series of collaterals that will be distributed to schools and communities across the country. Leslie Lee, vice president of Cartoon Network in Asia Pacific, added: “This unique partnership uses characters from shows that are really well-loved in the Philippines. As the leading kids’ channel in the Philippines, Cartoon Network can create content that helps make this important message resonate with kids and their parents. Once again, the day is saved thanks to the Powerpuff Girls.”

These videos will air on Cartoon Network on Cignal Digital TV Channel 220 (HD), Sky Direct Channel 15 (HD), SKYcable Channel 178 (HD), and Destiny Cable Channel 178 (HD Digital), and on Cartoon Network’s social and online video platforms, web sites and apps, including Cartoon Network Watch and Play. ■

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Why every parent should invest in a home security tool SECURITY is a crucial aspect of any happy home, a space where families grow together and nurture each other. It is a haven where one can play freely and rest comfortably. A home is a nest where family members should feel safe and secured.

However, the reality is different. In 2018 a Q1 survey revealed that more than 500,000 families reported break-in in their own homes. Despite this figure representing a decline compared to the previous year, break-in among other crimes is still a major cause of concern to many Filipino families.

While it is impossible to predict what might happen, a home security tool can certainly provide parents and homeowners an extra layer of security and added peace of mind.

To address the home security need of every Filipino family, leading digital services provider PLDT brings the Advanced Fam Cam (www.pldthome. com/famcam), a home monitoring tool with improved features in visual coverage, motion and sound detection and high-definition (HD) quality images.

The product is a 180-degree wireless HD camera with a speaker and microphone that allows parents to visually check on their kids and communicate with them.

Advanced Fam Cam is designed for on-the-go and working parents who wish to check their children even when they are away from home. The device can be linked to smartphones through the MyDlink application. This gives every parent the ability to access and monitor their children in real time. You can also use this security tool if you simply want to monitor your home.

For only an additional P399 per month, this advanced home monitoring tool is exclusively available to existing PLDT Home Fibr subscribers with Plans 1299 and up.

❷

❶

D3

❶ EXPERIENCE

a thrilling race with Disney Cars 3 Lightning McQueen capsule.

❷ PRINCESS

Jasmine Slumber party playset.

❸ MY Little

Pony Pinkie Pie swimming pony

❹ ENJOY

an exclusive discount for this Buzz Lightyear action figure.

Toy Fair 2019 happens in August GET the kids ready. Enjoy amazing discounts and exciting promo items in Toy Kingdom’s Toy Fair from August 1 to 4 at the SMX Convention Center at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. Both kids and those kidsat-heart can also have a first look at the newest toys in the market as Toy Kingdom (www.toykingdom.ph) will also release new items during the duration of the fair.

Little girls would surely love to have Fingerlings’ adorable items and various play sets from My Little Pony, Littlest Petshop, Shimmer and Shine, and Disney Princess which will be on sale during the fair.

Boys, on the other hand, can also enjoy discounts on Lion King and Buzz Lightyear mini figures, Cars 3 capsules, as well as some exciting Star Wars items At the same time, there will be a monthlong toy sale from August 1 to 31 at all Toy Kingdom branches nationwide.

❸

❺ LION King action figure

❻ GRAB this

adorable Fingerlings Baby Dragon.

❹ ❻ ❺

D4

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Show BusinessMirror

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The enduring enchantment of Anita Linda REELING

TITO GENOVA VALIENTE

titovaliente@yahoo.com

‘M

AY I save this pie?” Anita Linda was addressing me and Gigi Alfonso, a fellow Manunuri, one quiet and afternoon. The actress was referring to a buko pie brought

over by Gigi.

“No, please enjoy it,” Gigi implored Anita Linda as the latter was gently, so carefully wrapping the sliced pie. “We have one box for you,” Gigi assured her.

It was that afternoon when I first encountered, up close and terribly personal, Anita Linda or Miss Alice Lake. We were about to begin the interview, which was part of the Manunuri project to document thoughts and memories from the more senior and accomplished filmmakers in the country.

I happened to have picked the name of Anita Linda from the list. I was honored. Without telling Gigi and trying hard to hide it, I was terrified for the responsibility at hand.

“Are you going to use that notebook?” Gigi asked, pointing to my small green book which contained data about Anita Linda. I have been reviewing them, memorizing them even, but I was not prepared to drop my own script. The look on Gigi’s face said, “No, they will ruin the film.” She was, after all, the director of this project.

I dropped the notebook, prepared for what seemed like an eternity of an afternoon. In the end, it was indeed an eternity of gazing at that face, with just slight, almost intruding wrinkles on her face, and a memory that was there intact not despite her age but because of her age. Months later, I would proudly tell my friends and kin that I had the privilege to look at Anita Linda’s face and finding the beauty there still.

Anita Linda was, that afternoon, at an age that could remember anything and everything. That eternity on her side proved almost fatal to me: just getting warmed up, I bravely told her the year she was discovered. She corrected me. I was wrong with the date.

But the most fatal and sincerely dangerous moment was yet to come. I was guiding her through a reminiscence of her great films. We reached the Brocka period. Hello, Soldier, an episode based on a play by Sis. Mary Angela Barrios. This was one of the three small stories compiled under the title Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa. Anita Linda plays Lucia, a woman who bore the daughter of an American soldier stationed in the Philippines. Gina, the daughter played by Hilda Koronel, has the American dream. She wants to go the US. She hates the squalor around them. The day begins with Lucia and Gina waiting for the arrival of her father. There is much preparation and Gina is bent on traveling back to the US with her American father.

We do not know what is in the mind of Lucia but, during that day, she gets drunk and is kept in the room by Gina.

She wakes up when the American visitors are already in the house, the father with his American wife. Lucia becomes violent and the next scene shows her waking up to a very quiet household. She stands and starts to look for her daughter, Gina.

Anita Linda recalled that scene where Lino Brocka asked her to come down the stairs and look around. Brocka wanted a single take because it was already late in the afternoon. The director asked her to look at one direction and, in seconds, register a look that will tell the audience she saw something that surprised her, brought joy to that face while retaining that look of disbelief. Anita Linda was not narrating that difficult moment; she was acting it out. I looked at Gigi and was she wiping her tears? I moved a bit so the camera would not catch me, also in tears.

Last July, I would see Anita Linda again. She was 94. The location was far, very far from the hovel of the loving mother and virago named Lucia. We were at the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). Liza Diño-Seguerra was giving her a tribute, an event leading to the celebration of the centenary of Philippine cinema.

UNCOVER A FAMILY’S SECRET IN ACCLAIMED DRAMA ‘AFTER THE WEDDING’

Upon entering the lobby of the FDCP, I was told Anita Linda was in the holding room. I entered the room, greeted her with a “Good afternoon, Miss Alice Lake,” and introduced myself. She looked at me and, I like to believe, recognized me.

Nevertheless, I sat down and reminded her of the interview some four or five years ago. I brought also a small piece of cake telling her I could not find a buko pie and, thus, this substitute as a tribute to that afternoon. She held my hand and continued to do so throughout our conversation, gripping my fingers every now and then.

Before leaving to allow her to eat, I showed her a picture we had together in one Gawad Urian night. She squinted at the photo—one showed her with my sister Lilibeth, who flew in all the way from Japan to be there that night—and then she looked at me. It was a milder version of that “Lucia” gaze.

Then she posed the query: What can you say about us? “We both looked good!” I responded quickly as if I would lose the magic of that minute.

Magic, when it comes from the wellspring of real enchantment, never disappears. That is what I learned when I had the privilege to watch Anita Linda in her latest film, Circa.

Adolfo Alix Jr., the director, was generous enough—and brave—to share with me the raw (because the filmmaker said it was still a film in progress) version of Circa.

It is the story of an aging film producer, Doña Atang, played by Anita Linda, who asks her family to organize a party where she would meet again those who have worked for and with her. No one in the family is keen about filmmaking as a business or as art except a grandson.

The actors who play Anita Linda’s daughters and sons are all stalwarts of the film industry. The late Eddie Garcia has a cameo role and in one scene, eerie because of the premonition, Doña Atang cautions him to be careful when walking because he might have a bad fall.

Circa—with due respect to all the great actors in it, from Gina Alajar and Elizabeth Oropesa to Enchong Dee and Jaclyn Jose, who serves as a caregiver—is really the film for and of Anita Linda.

The narrative about an aging producer wishing to relive the golden memories of the yesteryears is almost a metaphor

of our own film industry aiming for another shining hour. But Circa is more than a producer’s biography. It is the alchemy of arts, the bewildering dreams of an old lady whose only true remembrance is about how film captured everything, including the unseen.

Doña Atang, the producer, can be cruel and vicious when her memory fails her. Witness Anita Linda rant and shout and be convinced that this is not an old, senile, senior citizen acting her age and the creeping dementia. Here is an actor, the virtuosity compelling and the capability for nuances even sharper.

The wrinkles, Miss Lake, are gaining their small victories but Miss Anita Linda still bears the countenance that urged the late Lino Brocka to call her “The Face.”

The version I have seen is still struggling between the realities the children of the producer stand for and the fascinating illusions held on to by the character of Doña Atang. The thing that will make this film unforgettable is when we come out of the movie house with the scene of Anita Linda as Doña Atang looking up at the top floor of her rambling house. It is said that, one night, this fierce woman caught or cajoled the enchanted figure of the tikbalang,—half-man, halfhorse—to live forever with her.

Adolfo Alix, in the version showed to me, reveals toward the end that indeed there is a figure of sorcery and love living in that room, with only the voice of Doña Atang/ Anita Linda/Alice Lake able to summon it, command it, and, who knows, love it.

Would, before the credits roll, this elemental appear? Or will the director rely upon that searing, stilling gaze of Anita Linda to let us conjecture or conjure the presence of the otherworldly among the mundane?

Many things depend on those eyes and mouth and chin, on a spirit that is short of six years to be in the same age as this wondrous cinema of ours. Those many things are in the able hands of Anita Linda, the actor, the lover, forever lovely before the camera that fell in love with her the first time it focused upon her, years before the Great War, years before any other wars that brought pains and joys to this land. ■

TWO women’s fate are intertwined and the path they are treading soon leads to shocking revelations with irreversible consequences in A�ter the Wedding, starring Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Billy Crudup and Abby Quinn.

A poignant drama with a powerhouse, femaleled cast, A�ter the Wedding tells the story of Isabel (Williams) who’s running an orphanage in Calcutta, India, that also faces potential suspension due to dwindling funds. Soon enough, a potential donor comes knocking at their door, philanthropist Theresa Young (Moore) who insists that Isabel travels to New York to deliver a presentation for her orphanage.

Arriving in New York, Isabel finds herself uncomfortable in the presence of the orphanage’s possible benefactor. Theresa welcomes her from the glittering skyscraper where she runs her business.

While Isabel thinks she’ll soon be returning to her beloved orphanage after the meeting, Theresa has other plans. She insists Isabel attend Grace’s wedding at the family’s estate. The joyful event becomes a catalyst for a revelation that upends the lives of both women, and the people who love them most.

Based on the Academy Award nominated film by Susanne Bier, producer Joel Michaels and director Bart Freundlich immediately addressed a critical aspect of the adaptation—Bier’s film had two male leads. But for his adaptation, the director went for gender-reverse casting. Michaels felt that the film would work significantly better with the leads being played by two women. Freundlich took a beat, and then whole-heartedly agreed with Michaels that between the dearth of significant, multifaceted leading roles for women, and the country’s current climate regarding power dynamics and gender, the switch made the story more current. Freundlich got to work adapting the script.

“The original story was like nothing I’d worked on before,” he said. “It had many layers, and a plethora of different, three-dimensional, character perspectives.

So, it was an exciting opportunity to tell a story that takes on what it means for these women to make certain high-stake choices, and then have to deal with the many consequences of those actions.”

Discover what lies ahead after secrets are revealed in A�ter the Wedding when it opens in Philippine cinemas on August 14, released by Go Asia Entertainment.

DINGDONG LEADS ‘PROJECT #BESCENE’ TO SPREAD AWARENESS ON SAFETY AMONG LOCAL STUNTMEN

DINGDONG DANTES

MULTI-AWARDED actor and YesPinoy Foundation Inc. Chairman Dingdong Dantes spearheaded a training program for the local stunt actors and directors in the country in collaboration with the Stunt Association of the Philippines (SAP) and the Seoul Action SchoolKorea for its first-ever international project, dubbed as Project #BeScene or Be Seen.

Dingdong partnered with the Seoul Action School, a renowned training association in Korea that teaches martial arts and other physical training for film and television. They are the people behind awardwinning and critically acclaimed films and television programs, such as Goblin, Netflix’s Kingdom, Mr. Sunshine, The Battleship Island, Train to Busan and Okja, among others.

An advocate of youth empowerment and nation-

building initiatives, Dingdong convened together all stunt actors and directors in the country for a series of extensive trainings and seminars from July 15 to 21.

The vigorous yet instructive program concluded with a graduation ceremony and exhibition program for the participants on July 21 at GMA Network Studio 4.

Dingdong expressed his appreciation for the courage of stunt performers: “Our projects will not be successful without our stunt actors who put their lives at stake. It’s about time that we honor them, who we consider as unsung heroes of the entertainment industry, and help them advance their skills, welfare and safety.”

The timely project will not only educate action stars, budding stunt actors, and even the out-of-school youth but also uplift the safety and welfare of the

audio-visual industry by further developing the skills of stunt people in the country.

Trainees of the program also underwent coaching from the Philippine Red Cross and were certified by the organization to provide emergency response and basic first aid. Moreover, FWD Life Insurance Corp. Philippines, one of the leading insurance companies in Asia, discussed financial literacy among the stunt people.

Present during the graduation rites were Film Development Council of the Philippines Executive Director David Fabros, Seoul Action School-Korea Action Director Bruce Sunwoong Kim, Brian Poe Llamanzares, Mark Lapid, Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas, and SAP officials Ian Ignacio, Ralphe Roxas, and Erwin Tagle.

BILLY CRUDUP (from left), Abby Quinn, and Julianne Moore

Envoys&Expats

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Thursday, July 25, 2019 E1

#BECOMINGFILIPINO

‘Kulas’ conquers the Cordilleras—on a scooter

K

YLE “Kulas” Jennermann has been traveling around the Philippines for quite some time already.

Currently based in Cagayan de Oro City, the Canadian has a firm, genuine belief that he could introduce the country to the rest of the world in a positive light.

As a resident for five-and-a-half years, immersed well into the “Pinoy” way of life and already fluent speaking in Filipino, Jennermann now considers himself a local.

The one-time visitor would go to places, such as Ifugao, particularly in its world-famous rice terraces, in awe of its beauty, tourist attractions and works of art.

In 2016, he was able to visit and explore the Cordilleras. For four days,

he enjoyed staying in that part of the country to see up close what it is like.

Prior to his sojourn in the Cordilleras, he had been to almost all Philippine provinces already (unlike most Filipinos!), with only the Bicol region left for him to discover.

Jennermann shared his profound experience up in the highlands with the BusinessMirror in this exclusive interview:

ENVOYS&EXPATS: Tell us about your climb to the Cordilleras.

We learned that you traversed it just on a scooter.

JENNERMANN: I had driven a

scooter around 70 provinces (of the archipelago) in the past five years. I had it shipped to Manila, then took it around the country and in every kind of environment imaginable in the Philippines. It was pretty amazing, because it was quite an unconventional style of going around.

I started from Manila and went to Baguio, where I stayed for the night. Thereafter, I took off and ended up going through every single province in the Cordilleras: in Benguet, Mountain Province, Kalinga, Apayao, Ifugao and Abra.

In the Cordilleras, the ride was actually very comfortable because the temperature is a lot cooler there.

Everywhere I went, there were these incredible mountain roads, gardens of valleys and amazing sunrises. Environmentally, you could never be bored, as you can simply stare at the scenery as you drive.

When I went around, I did not announce on social media where I

was going, unlike how I would usually do it in my previous trips in advance. I just really traveled around, going here and there, following Google Maps. I was just some random white dude on a scooter!

I bumped into a lot of local people who did not know me from the Internet. It was really pleasant to see the diversity in the mountains, just as you travel from province to province.

I would have probably spent four or five days in each province.

It was crazy. You can dedicate a whole month of your life for local exploration, but it would just barely scratch the surface.

Speaking of the people whom you met in your travels, how would you describe your interactions with them?

When it came to the people, I was blown away. In the mountains, I tried to speak in Tagalog, because

I figured I was in Luzon.

Surprisingly, people in the highlands actually preferred that I speak in English, if not in their local language, rather than in Tagalog, which I found quite unique. I had a lot of fun trying to pick up the local languages, like in Kalinga or in Apayao, where they speak in Isnag.

One thing that shocked me was that, everywhere I went, I would always be offered with coffee. This is very much a “mountain thing,” and that coffee would actually lead me to some very deep and emotional conversations.

I found out that several people in the mountains would actually open up to me about their feeling of discrimination by people in the lowlands. They felt that people there thought they were uncivilized. But actually, the locals were undoubtedly so friendly. It was interesting listening to them. Thus, it came as a shock that so many Filipinos would

just say they felt discriminated.

The experience was also inspiring. The residents spoke about how they should not be discriminated against. They are a bit saddened of the view that mountain people are not friendly, yet they continued to open up their homes, while they continued to offer me coffee.

What have you discovered about the diversity in the area?

I was very impressed, especially when I visited Apayao. I went to the capital where they have these two incredible underground rivers with massive caves, remarkably clean water, and some incredible rock formations just within the same municipality.

The locals cooked trout in bamboo with no seasoning, but it tasted like some master chef prepared it.

Continued on E2

Envoys& BusinessMirror

E2 Thursday, July 25, 2019

Igorot house completes 2-decade journey

L

ONDON—After more than 20 years, the journey of an Igorot house and granary from the Philippines to the United Kingdom, and back to its native land, has officially come full circle.

This occurred after a symbolic turnover from the Horniman Museum and Gardens to the Philippines through the Philippine Embassy in London and the Pooten family in June.

Consul General Senen T. Mangalile said that the embassy in the European country has taken the promotion of the Philippines’s culture as a “serious duty,” not only “for the benefit of the British and other nationalities living there, but... [also for] second- and third-generation Filipinos born and raised in the UK who know very little about their rich cultural heritage.”

Mangalile emphasized the embassy’s efforts to collaborate with the Filipino community in promoting Philippine culture in the UK, and in cultivating a deep understanding and appreciation of the tapestry of cultures that exist in the archipelago.

Richard Pooten, former president of Igorot UK and current custodian of the house and granary, related that “for me—a migrant from the Philippines—to have been a part of an exhibit showcased in the British Museum among the backdrop of humanity’s greatest finds, was a huge honor and a great privilege. I am so proud to have been a part of that history and to be here thanking the museum, and the Philippine Embassy for their coordination and consideration selecting our Cordillera culture to be featured as an exhibit.”

Following his speech, Pooten delivered an oggayam—an Igorot prayer—as an expression of gratitude to all those who made the British Museum exhibition a reality, and for the safe journey of the Igorot house and granary back to the Philippines.

Brief history

ACCORDING to Pooten, a certain Timmikpaw Bantullay, who was known as an influential figure in the Cordilleras, originally built the Igorot structure in the 1920s solely to function as a granary. Bantullay was a mumbaki, or Ifugao spiritual leader. He built the house and granary, one of several, and was handed down to succeeding generations in his family.

In World War II, the house and granary was used as a home for an American soldier who had fled Japanese captivity in Bataan. After the war, it was converted into a house with a fireplace and a rear shelf.

“As you can see, the Igorot granary has both a colorful and rich history,” said Pooten. “It [had a] functional and practical use, but was also significant, [as] it served as a conduit shelter for soldiers during the [war].”

The journey THE Igorot house and granary was the pièce de résistance of the embassy and British Museum exhibition on Philippine rice culture in 1996 called Stairways to the Sky: Rice and Life in the Philippines. It was considered a fine example of the country’s indigenous architecture and provided a valuable glimpse of an important part of daily life in

THE Igorot house and granary was displayed during the 1996 British Museum exhibition. AVERIL POOTEN WATAN/DFA

the Philippines’s Cordillera region.

The Duke of Gloucester formally opened the exhibition on April 25, 1996. Its run was extended for one more year as it drew crowds of diplomats, Filipinos, scholars and culture enthusiasts from all over the UK. Following the conclusion of the exhibit, the Igorot house and granary changed hands from the British Museum to the Horniman

RICHARD POOTEN, former Igorot UK president, with Consul General Senen T. Mangalile. STACY GARCIA/DFA

Museum because of the lack of archival space to properly store the structure. It was then kept in storage until 2003 when thenAmbassador Edgardo B. Espiritu thought of having it featured at the embassy grounds in Kensington Gardens for people to view and appreciate.

However, when the embassy moved its chancery to Suffolk Street in 2007, the lack of an ample

space to showcase the abode led to the decision to turn it over to the family of Pooten, who then served as Igorot UK president.

To protect the Igorot house and granary from the ravages of the fickle British weather, the Pooten family decided to finally bring home the Igorot house and granary, as it currently stands as a key feature in the family’s resort in the Cordilleras. DFA

#BECOMINGFILIPINO

‘Kulas’ conquers the Cordilleras—on a scooter Continued from E1

These were all in the same municipality. It is amazing what the mountains have to offer.

These reminded me of how the Philippines is not just coconut trees and volcanoes, but there’s this whole new side to it.

At one point, I ended up in a random village in Kalinga, way-off in the mountains. A man invited me into his home with open arms. When I left his home, he sent local kids from the village to follow me everywhere I went, to ensure I would not get lost until I safely returned.

It was really amazing how the people in the mountains and in these provinces in the Cordilleras were very open to having conversations, and in helping me with my way around.

Any realizations with your journeys around the Cordilleras?

The mountains have taught me to appreciate its “other side:” the livelihood of the locals.

The people there work all-day long, and all-year round, just to maintain their region’s attractions.

When I was in Bontoc, someone fell from one of the rice terraces while he was working, and had to be stretchered out. It gave me a big reminder that people there have tough lives and

CANADIAN Kyle Jennermann

was able to witness the people’s very difficult lives. The fact that these areas make up the locals’ very homes and lives, we always have to respect them.

My message to my fellow voyagers, and even for Filipinos who have yet to explore their country: Always travel with an open mind, and respect the locals. As long as travelers have that mindset, they will have many enlightening experiences—whether as expats or simply as visitors of this country.

I hope that the posts that I share online would lead to a “transformation of sorts,” not only in the lives of the locals in the uplands, but also to a positive shift on the way the entire world views them.

I spent a long time up there in the Cordilleras, yet feel I barely hit a small percentage of what one could possibly experience.

The Philippines is like a hundred countries in one. You can spend your whole life exploring around, but hardly understand it, as there are tons of new experiences that await everyday.

Kevin Ryan A. Ong (Intern, De La Salle University)

work really hard for us to appreciate the beauty that they have created.

A few things that struck me were the many beautiful experiences; but, at the same time, I

Follow Jennermann through his social-media accounts—Facebook: Kyle Jennermann, Twitter: @KyleJennermann, Instagram and YouTube: Becoming Filipino.

IN this photo from his Facebook account, “Kulas” arrives at Km. 53 of Halsema Highway in Atok, Benguet

&Expats

envoys.expats.bm@gmail.com | Thursday, July 25, 2019 E3

EMBASSIES, EVENTS, ETC.

SoKor wants access to ‘Build, Build, Build’

S

EOUL—South Korea has reiterated its interest in actively participating in the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program to help an “old ally’s” development, while boosting the country’s infrastructure sector.

Philippines “agreed to expand [their] Economic Development Cooperation Fund up to $1 billion to further strengthen mutual cooperation in [the sectors of] transportation, infrastructure, energy, water management and information technology.”

Lee described the Philippines as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world: “Its annual GDP [gross domestic product] growth reached 6.5 percent in 2018, and is expected to keep its pace this year, according to the IMF [International Monetary Fund].”

The BBB program is expected to boost the national infrastructure spending of the Philippines to 7.3 percent of the country’s GDP by 2022.

“Against this backdrop, we organized the Investment and Market Research Mission in January, [as

we brought in 13 Korean companies which were looking for infrastructure-based] business opportunities in the Philippines,” Lee recalled.

He said, “During the Philippines-Korea Investment Forum on Infrastructure, relevant stakeholders such as the Philippines’s Department of Trade and Industr y, Public-Private Partnership Center and Build, Build, Build Committee shared information on legal framework for foreign investors, [as well as the] national agenda in infrastructure development and projects.”

In fact, Lee pointed out: “Six participating companies had one-onone business meetings with Filipino infrastructure private firms. Some agreed to have a memorandum of understanding and continue to have follow-up meetings after the program.” Ben Cal/PNA

T he A sea n-K orea Cent re’s Secretary-General Lee Hyuk disclosed this information during an exclusive interview with the Philippine News Agency.

Lee was an ambassador of South Korea to the Philippines for three years. Envoy Han DongMan presently holds that post.

The former said South Korea

“has shown high interest to actively participate in this [BBB] program.”

“For instance, the two countries signed five bilateral agreements when President Duterte visited Seoul for the first time in June last year,” Lee stated.

T he secretar y-genera l a lso explained that Korea and the

KSA searches for ‘most beautiful voices’ to recite Qur’an, prayers

MCCI bullish on PHL’s economic gains

MCCI Vice President and Cofounder Eric Yam (standing) moderated their organization meeting’s Q&A segment. Reactors included Makati City Business Permits and Licensing Office Assistant Head Atty. Restituto Ancheta (seated, from left), Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo, The Wallace Business Forum Chairman Peter Wallace and Anti-Red Tape Authority Assistant Division Chief Carolina Velasco.

I

N its second general membership meeting, Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industries Philippines Inc. (MCCI) President and Cofounder Edward Ling expressed his optimism in the economic growth of the Philippines.

Ling quoted a recent report of HSBC, which stated the country will continue to be the fastest-growing economy in Asia, and is projected to become the 16th largest economy in

the world by 2050.

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s officials, such as Chief Minister Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim, Finance Minister Eduardo Guerra and Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo attended the event.

Special Envoy of the President to Malaysia Atty. Wencelito Andanar, Malaysian Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Rizany Irwan bin Muha-

mad Mazlan and Malaysia Trade’s Commissioner Siti Azlina Ali Hanafiah also graced the event.

Members of MCCI’s Board of Directors, as well as Cofounders Azhar Mahmood and Alimatar N. Garangan II were also present.

Malaysia was the first Asean member-country to create a business chamber in the Philippines through the MCCI, which was established in February 2017.

Envoy hails Pinay nurse vested with royal UK award

A

MBA SSA DOR of t he United Kingdom to the Philippines Daniel Pruce recently congratulated Filipina nurse Joy Ongcachuy, who was conferred with a royal decoration by Prince Charles.

“Many congratulations, Joy. It was an enormous pleasure to meet you and your family earlier this year,” Pruce said.

Ongcachuy was given the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her work in treating the victims of the London Bridge terrorist at-

T

HE Australian Embassy in Manila has committed an additional P140 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people affected by the 2017 conflict in Marawi.

“My announcement reflects Australia’s commitment to the recovery and reconstruction of Marawi City,” Ambassador Steven J. Robinson AO said in a statement.

“We will continue to support the Philippine government and the people of Marawi as they work to rebuild their lives and their city,” Robinson added.

The additional funding—which brings to AUS$30 million, or P1.2 billion, the total assistance of Australia to the Lanao del Sur capital— will be used to support displaced families in rebuilding their lives through counseling, securing civil birth certificates, as well as other proofs of identity, and providing items, such as tricycles, sewing machines and refrigerators to start small businesses.

Robinson made the announcement during the signing of a memorandum of partnership between the Australian Embassy and the Community and Family Services Intl., which manages and implements the Marawi Recovery Project.

THE Prince of Wales and the Filipina nurse (JOYCE ONGCACHUY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT/PNA)

tack in 2017.

During a conferment ceremony in April, Ongcachuy met with Prince Charles, who told her: “You did a great job during the incident.”

T he Br itish diplomat a lso tweeted: “I was delighted to welcome Joy Ongcachuy, OBE to the residence earlier this year. A remarkable, outstanding, compassionate professional…”

The Filipina nurse was quoted by an online news report on July 17 as she said, “I cannot express how grateful I am.”

On the night of June 3, 2017, when a terrorist plowed into a crowd and stabbed pedestrians on London Bridge, Ongcachuy was among the first responders at the Royal London Hospital.

Ongcachuy was recognized along with 42 others who were involved in the responses to major terror incidents in 2017.

The OBE is given to persons with “major local role in any activity, including people whose work has made them known nationally in their chosen area.”

Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA

According to the embassy, the Marawi Recovery Project will benefit 6,500 displaced families in the city and the municipalities of Butig, Ditsaan-Ramain, Lumbayanague, Marantao, Masiu and Piagapo in Lanao del Sur; as well as Iligan City and the municipality of Munai, Lanao del Norte.

The Australian program is being implemented in partnership with Marawi City and its local government units, the province of Lanao del Sur, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Task Force Bangon Marawi.

The assistance is in line with Canberra’s commitment to the development, peace and stability in the southern Philippines and its partnership with Manila in combatting terrorism in the region.

When the Marawi conflict broke out in 2017, Australia was among the foreign governments that extended technical assistance to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It deployed two AP-3C “Orion” aircraft, which were used in intelligence, surveillance, as well as reconnaissance missions, and helped Filipino forces eliminate terrorists in Marawi City.

Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA

US grant boosts local drive vs plastic pollution

T

T

HE Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in Manila, which is also known as the Embassy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, recently announced that its country’s General Entertainment Authority has launched two competitions for the most beautiful recitation of the Holy Quran and the most beautiful voice in call for prayer (Adhan) for all Muslims around the world, “with a total prize of SR12 million [$3.2 million].”

In addition, the embassy said the winner of the call to prayer “will be given the opportunity to perform Adhan in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina.”

The hosting of these competitions, according to the Embassy of Saudi Arabia, demonstrate their importance and implications in reflecting the historic depth of the Kingdom, as well as the extent of its good leadership’s attention to religious content.

The competition will have various stages, which will continue until October 25, 2019.

Qualified and interested competitors are advised to coordinate with the embassy through Fahad Mohammed Al Qarni to facilitate the issuance of appropriate visa to travel to Saudi Arabia for the said competitions. Recto L. Mercene

Australia announces additional aid for Marawi

HE United States government is helping the Philippines battle marine debris, as it awarded local environment advocate Mother Earth Foundation and public interest network EcoWaste Coalition grants which totaled to about P20 million to support projects the groups had committed to undertake.

“We’re proud to work with the Philippines in finding and funding solutions to the plastic waste problem in our oceans,” US Deputy Chief of Mission John Law said at the grantsigning event in Quezon City.

Law raised the urgency for action, noting that the invasion of plastics in marine waters is already harming ecosystems and biodiversity, aside from threatening people’s health.

“Every year, 8 million tons of plastic waste are [being dumped into] the world’s oceans,” the US embassy official said, and added such waste material ends up inside the bodies of people who eat fish that ingest the debris.

The grants are part of the Municipal Waste Recycling Program (MWRP) of USAID, the lead US government agency for international development and disaster assistance.

The MWRP “supports solid waste management and water recycling efforts by local and national governments, civilsociety organizations and academic institutions in the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam,” the US Embassy in Manila said in a statement.

According to Mother Earth Foundation Chairman Sonia Mendoza, the group will use part of their grant to transform the 30 barangay units in Batangas City into zero-waste villages.

“We’ll do a house-to-house information and education campaign there to [educate] people,” Mendoza said during the sidelines of the grantsigning ceremony.

She noted that achieving

zero waste will help mitigate the flow of debris—particularly plastics—into marine waters.

The foundation, the chairman told reporters, will undertake its project in the next 18 months.

EcoWaste National Coordinator A ileen Lucero said their share of the total grant will fund research on plastics pollution in Manila Bay and waste collection efficiency in the area.

“Data we’ll generate will serve as baseline for the national action plan on marine litter,” Lucero confirmed.

She also said such information will help the Environment Department assess its marine debris-relevant policies, so the agency can either enhance or change them within the oneand-a-half-year duration of EcoWaste’s research project.

Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda thanked the US government for awarding the grants, as he noted the support would boost efforts in addressing the country’s marine-debris problem.

Earlier, the Asean Center for Biodiversity (ACB) called for increased cooperation on mitigating plastics pollution in oceans to avert the further environmental degradation and biodiversity loss there.

“Saving our oceans is not the responsibility only of our governments and marine scientists. Each one of us can do our share to protect our rich marine heritage,” ACB Executive Director and the Environment Department’s former Biodiversity Chief.

Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim said.

“By working together, we can protect our shared oceans,” Lim pointed out.

The ACB official made the call as she noted that landbased activities and waste, particularly plastics, already account for more than 80 percent of marine pollution. Catherine Teves/PNA

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

E4 Thursday, July 25, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

CULTURAL TAPESTRIES

UK showcases elements of VisMin cultures

L

ONDON—The Philippine Embassy in London proudly supported the annual Philippine Studies Conference at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) on July 5 and 6.

The conference gathered scholars, artists, policy-makers, cultural workers and researchers for a series of talks, exhibits and performances on the theme: “Mindanao: Cartographies of History, Identity and Representation.”

The annual two-day conference explored many of the region’s complex and dense issues, including the coexistence among its diverse ethnolinguistic communities, its complicated history and the interactions among the different societies staking out claims on cultural capital, resources, territory and opportunities.

“Mindanao is an important crossroads of Philippine and Southeast Asian culture,” said Ambassador of the Philippines to the United Kingdom Antonio M. Lagdameo. “The region is rife with opportunities, but in order to seize [them], there is a need to first understand the people, the history and the culture that have shaped what has often been referred to as the ‘Land of Promise.’”

The conference concluded with a series of cultural performances that featured the traditional dances of Mindanao’s different indigenous and ethnolinguistic communities.

“We want to have a space where we can have dialogue; where we can be open to ideas, to critique, to discuss,” said SOAS-Philippine Studies Program Executive Director Dr. Cristina Martinez-Juan. “For academics from the Philippines, we hope we were able to provide you with a space to share your knowledge and expertise on a global platform.”

According to Martinez-Juan, next year’s conference will focus on the Visayas region.

Panay Bukidnon exhibit

BETWEEN March and April, the embassy unveiled the portraits of

the Panay-Bukidnon in the first solo exhibition by Filipino portraitist Rosalima Lamey called Mountain Spirit.

The Panay-Bukidnon is one of only two indigenous communities in the Visayas, the other being the Iraynun-Bukidnon. Also known as the “Tumandok” or “Suludnon,” the Panay-Bukidnon communities are scattered across the hinterlands of Panay, particularly in the interiors of Tapaz, Capiz.

Because of this isolation, several of the community’s pre-Hispanic practices persist to this day. The community of around 18,000 speaks its own language called Ligbok or Igbok, a language related to Panay’s Kinaray-a language.

“I was inspired to mount this exhibition because of my desire to show people the beauty and uniqueness of my cultural roots,” said Lamey, who descended from a Panay-Bukidnon binukot in Nayawan. She returned there decades after leaving the Philippines to reconnect with her community.

In Panay-Bukidnon culture, a binukot, or kept maiden, is a woman who is placed in seclusion since childhood. She is raised to be the bearer and keeper of Panay-Bukidnon culture. Lamey’s mother was selected at an early age to play this role until she left the community after marrying her father.

Apart from this mystic practice, the Panay-Bukidnon are known for their panubok embroidery, which is steeped in symbolism; the Sugidanon epic, one of the longest in the Philippines, which takes more than 20 days of continuous chanting; and for the binanog dance, a ceremonial ritual dance that mimics the flight of an eagle. “[Lamey] has become a bearer of the community’s culture by carry-

‘Hibla ng Lahi’ expo in Thailand features Philippine piña-seda

MUSEUM Siam Director Kusra Mukdawijitra (from left), National Discovery Museum Institute Director Rames Promyen, Office of Knowledge Management and Development Executive Board Committee member Associate Professor Boonsanong Ratanasoontragul, Ambassador of the Philippines to Thailand Mary Jo A. Bernardo-Aragon and National Museum of the Philippines Assistant Director Dr. Ana Maria Theresa P. Labrador BANGKOK PE

B

ANGKOK—Ambassador to Thailand Mary Jo A. Bernado-Aragon joined officials from the National Museum of the Philippines and Museum Siam on July 4 at the opening ceremony of the Hibla ng Lahi Traveling Exhibition entitled “Piña-Seda, Pineapple and Silk Cloths from the Tropics.”

The ongoing exhibition, which features a lecture series, weaving demonstrations and embroidery workshops, is a joint project of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) and the office of former sen. Loren Legarda. The Bangkok staging was made possible through

the cooperation of the National Discovery Institute in Bangkok.

The traveling exhibition highlights the unique qualities of the piña cloth and the efforts of the NMP to preserve and promote the weaving practices of the country’s traditional textiles, as well as Philippine artistry.

Piña-seda weavers from Balete, Aklan, and embroiderers from Lumban, Laguna, are also featured in the exhibition, as they demonstrate their special skills.

The exhibition is housed at Museum Siam in Bangkok and will run until July 27. DFA

CULTURAL anthropologist Cherubim Quizon discusses the botanical practices related to indigenous textile production in Mindanao. STACY GARCIA/DFA

TRADITIONAL attire and portraits of the Panay-Bukidnon STACY GARCIA/DFA

AMBASSADOR Antonio M. Lagdameo and Rosalima Lamey flank a mannequin with a cloak decked in panubok embroidery. STACY GARCIA/DFA

MADAME Linda F. Lagdameo (center) explains the complex process of weaving the t’nalak. ERIC RICAFORT/DFA

ing its rich traditions with her to wherever it is that the fates bring her: be it to New York, San Francisco or London. And she carries the Panay-Bukidnon culture with her through her art,” Lagdameo declared.

“The embassy is honored to host Mountain Spirit, [Lamey’s] solo exhibition, not only because it affords us a glimpse into the unique culture of the Panay-Bukidnon, but also because it highlights the many layers and complexities of Philippine culture. If this exhibit would make our citizens proud of their cultural heritage, it would have already met the embassy’s expectations,” the ambassador added.

Alongside the portrait exhibition, the embassy also mounted a parallel display of Panay-Bukidnon embroidery, which has drawn fash-

ship of the Asean-London Committee, which ran the London Fashion Week event.

Her talk was the first in a series aimed at raising awareness on Philippine design, heritage, cultural significance, as well as the traditional and contemporary uses of Philippine textiles.

According to Madame Lagdameo, the woven cloth is “both practical and spiritual, ordinary and symbolic, and it contains markers of a community’s identity, culture, history and dreams.”

Third Secretary and Vice Consul Stacy Danika Alcantara-Garcia led the discussion about T’boli culture and the t’nalak, then shared with the guests the common threads that bind t’nalak and the process of weaving it with other similar Southeast Asian weaving traditions.

ion and textiles enthusiasts since the exhibition opened.

T’nalak in fashion week

“WEAVING is not only a treasured skill handed down from generation to generation in the family; it is also a community endeavor, whose end product is a visual and tactile representation of the collective experience of a particular society.”

Thus said Madame Linda F. Lagdameo, spouse of the Philippine ambassador to the UK, in a speech delivered to an audience of Asean diplomats and diplomatic spouses, as well as representatives of UK-based cultural and fashion institutions during the T’nalak: Unraveling the Secrets of the Dream Weavers exhibit.

Madame Lagdameo hosted the talk under the Philippine chairman-

“If there is one take-away from today’s conversation that I would want everyone to have, it is the realization that the Philippines’s textile and weaving heritage is not an isolated design tradition, but one that is interwoven in the greater tapestry of Southeast Asian design,” AlcantaraGarcia said.

Apart from the talk, the embassy, through its Cultural Diplomacy Unit, mounted a capsule exhibit that juxtaposed the traditional and contemporary interpretations of the t’nalak and the traditional attire of the T’boli.

Featured brands included T’nalak Home and VESTI—both Mindanaobased brands that continue to work closely with the T’boli community in incorporating t’nalak and T’boli cultural elements in contemporary designs. DFA

Ambassador prods weavers to tap into linkage program

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OKYO—At the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Traveling Exhibition in March, Ambassador to Japan Jose C. Laurel V and the Asean-Japan Center SecretaryGeneral Masataka Fujita encouraged Filipina weavers and embroiderers to tap into the AJC’s Women Entrepreneurs Linkage Program, established to empower women entrepreneurs in the region.

In his remarks at the opening ceremony, Laurel welcomed the revival of the piña industry, which has allowed weavers and embroiderers—many of them women—to practice their craft anew.

He also expressed gratitude to the National Museum of the Philippines and former sen. Loren Legarda for allowing the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo to share with its community the beauty of the piña cloth, the famous pineapple silk cloth unique to the Philippines.

Legarda, through her message read

by National Museum Assistant Director Dr. Ana Maria Theresa P. Labrador, recalled that “Hibla ng Lahing Filipino” was born in 2012 with a vision to

create a Philippine textile gallery that showcases the indigenous artistry of Filipinos through traditional textiles.

In 2018, the exhibit was incorporated in the cultural and diplomacy program of Philippine foreign-service posts, which allowed the exhibit to travel through several countries. The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo was the first Philippine diplomatic post in Asia to house such.

Guests from the diplomatic corps were given a firsthand look at the piña-seda cloth collections of the National Museum, a foot loom or tanhaga, and a collection of fibers from the Philippines.

Piña-seda weavers Raquel R. Eliserio and Carlo R. Eliserio of Aklan, as well as embroiderers Lolita J. Pereza and Loreto D. Maestre Jr. of Laguna, assisted guests as they tried their hand at looming and embroidery.

The embassy also invited members of the Filipino community, as well as Japanese and Filipino students in Tokyo, to weaving demonstrations and embroidery workshops, where they were given the chance to embroider a piece of piña cloth under the supervision of the expert weavers. DFA

ASEAN JAPAN Center Secretary-General Masataka Fujita (from left), Ambassador Jose C. Laurel V and Dr. Ana Maria Theresa P. Labrador at the opening ceremony of the traveling exhibit. TOKYO PE

MEMBERS of the diplomatic corps watch a looming demonstration. TOKYO PE