BusinessMirror July 30, 2019

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS

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n Tuesday, July 30, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 293

DOLE drafts Cabinet version of SOT bill T

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HE next legislative battle on the passage of a Security of Tenure (SOT) bill—after last week’s veto by the President—might not be on its provisions limiting contractualization, but over those that could make it widespread by granting employers more leeway in determining positions they can outsource.

On Monday, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced it is now drafting a new “balanced” version of the bill to be presented at the scheduled Legislative-Executive Devel-

opment Advisory Council (Ledac) on August 5. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III gave assurances the new bill will retain the provision in the vetoed SOT bill for an Industrial

Tripartite Council (ITC), vested with the authority to determine positions directly related to a company’s core business, and which cannot be outsourced. However, he did admit there are

For him [Duterte], he maintains an employee cannot be outsourced if the service he will render is directly related to the business of the principal.”—Bello

proposals for employers to be the sole determiner of what positions are directly related to their companies. See “SOT bill,” A2

L

See “Inflation,” A8

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WITH EYE ON ‘TRIPLE A’ RATING, HOUSE SPEEDS UP WORK ON TAX BILLS By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

I

@joveemarie

N a bid to secure the country’s highest credit rating by 2022, lawmakers are moving to fast-track the passage of tax reform bills, one of which is strongly opposed by multinationals and exporters. House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Salceda said he would strictly implement the House’s onehearing-only rule on tax measures that have been approved on third and final reading by the 17th Congress. Salceda said the panel will resort to Rule 48, which requires only one hearing for such bills. With this, Salceda said the Philippines will be in a position to secure an A credit rating by 2022 by S&P Global Ratings.

“It’s time to do the work needed to make the Philippines more competitive in encouraging domestic investments and more competitive in attracting foreign investors to create business opportunities, generate jobs and increase incomes,” the lawmaker said. “We do this by reducing corporate income tax from 30 percent to 20 percent by 2029, or 2 percent every two years,” he said. Salceda already filed the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentive Reform Act or Citira, formerly known as Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill. The measure seeks to encourage investments by bringing down the corporate income tax rate from 30 percent to 20 See “Tax bills,” A2

Win: Limit govt to PCSO collection job, privatize lotto and STL operations

‘Inflation in July likely hit 2.3%’

OCAL inflation is likely to have decelerated further to 2-percent territory, as various factors align for the tamer prices of consumer goods and services in July, a local economist said. Security Bank AVP and chief economist Robert Ran Roces said inflation likely hit 2.3 percent in July this year—continuing its deceleration path after being disrupted by a one-off blip in May. Inflation started decelerating in November from its 6.7-percent peak in 2018. This deceleration trend was snapped in May this year, as inflation rose from 3 percent in the previous month to 3.2 percent. In June, inflation went back to decline mode to 2.7 percent. Roces said inflation will continue its deceleration trend in July, mainly because base effects from last year’s high base will start to kick in. The Security Bank economist discussed in his inflation commentary that in the heavily weighted food and nonalcoholic beverages index, there was an observed downtrend in prices from last month. “The restrictions and resulting supply pressures in pork imports from African swine flu [ASF] highrisk countries might not have affected the index as much when these were offset by lower prices in other major foodstuffs, notably rice,” he said.

2018 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

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LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III fields questions from the media during a press conference on the DOLE’s next moves following President Duterte’s veto of the Security of Tenure bill. His agency will present a draft at next week’s Cabinet meeting. ROY DOMINGO

‘Citira’ or ’Trabaho’–the name’s not the issue By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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@alyasjah

CONOMIC zone locators on Monday said lawmakers should not busy themselves with renaming the second tax reform bill, and should in-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

stead focus on reducing corporate income tax (CIT) to 20 percent while retaining the current menu of incentives. Philippine Ecozones Association President Francisco S. Zaldarriaga, speaking for locators, said legislators should push for a tax measure that

will trim CIT to 20 percent. However, this should not be at the expense of tax perks enjoyed by economic zone firms, as proposed under the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill filed in the 17th Congress. See “Citira,” A2

HE former chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, citing President Duterte’s allegations of corruption at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, is mulling over options to craft remedial legislation to privatize a key segment of the PCSO’s mandate. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian suggested, by way of simplifying the setup, an arrangement where the government is limited to collection, while the operation of lotto and small town lottery (STL) and Perya ng Bayan is privatized. The government, however, will retain “monitoring, supervision and collection,” with the fund collected directly turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the agency mandated to extend aid to needy constituents. Gatchalian said the new setup would make it easier to audit and monitor the fund. “Para sa akin, mas madaling i-audit at imonitor dahil sa ngayon ang dami sa gobyerno pinagtatakapan at ginagamit yung mga tiga-loob ng PCSO [In my view, that’s easier to audit and monitor because right now many people in government are covering for and using some PCSO insiders].” The senator also affirmed his support for President Duterte’s

move to shut down the PCSO’s gaming operations, including the very popular Lotto, over corruption and mismanagement issues, among others. “Unang-una, sumusuporta tayo sa ginawa ng Pangulo na isara ang PCSO para matigil ang korupsyon dahil matagal na natin naririnig ang korupsyon na ito at hindi lang korupsyon kung hindi mismanagement [First of all, we support the President’s move to shutter the PCSO in order to stop corruption, as we’ve long been hearing of corruption there—not just corruption but also mismanagement],” Gatchalian said in a radio interview on Monday. On Sunday, President Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo said the President lost his cool on hearing allegations that the agency had been shortchanging the government—by as much as 60 to 70 percent—in terms of income, especially from the STL operations. Citing its P60-billion annual income, Gatchalian is of the view that the PCSO, given its P15-billion aid fund, should instead simplify the process for extending assistance to needy constituents. “Ang pananaw ko dito ay dapat simplehan ang proseso dahil ang PCSO malaki rin ang kinikita, almost 60 billion pesos a year ang kinikita nito See “PCSO,” A2

US 51.1570 n JAPAN 0.4708 n UK 63.3324 n HK 6.5429 n CHINA 7.4356 n SINGAPORE 37.3545 n AUSTRALIA 35.3239 n EU 56.9275 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6419

Source: BSP (29 July 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, July 30, 2019

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OCA checks status of PCSO court cases T

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) is now looking into the status of cases involving the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) following President Duterte’s order to stop all its gaming activities due to massive corruption involving its officials and stakeholders.

Tax bills. . .

Continued from A1

percent, and modernize investment tax incentives to enhance fairness, improve competitiveness, plug tax leakages and attain fiscal sustainability. The bill or the second package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program also aims to ensure that the grant of fiscal incentives helps bring in the greatest benefits, such as higher and more dispersed investments, more jobs and better technology. According to Salceda, the bill is projected to generate 1.4 million new jobs from domestic enterprises during the said period. “We rationalize incentives so they could be targeted to investments that could generate more investments and more jobs,” he said. “This measure is at best revenueneutral...the key to this reform is to get done quickly and remove any uncertainty from the business atmosphere,” Salceda added. Despite President Duterte’s endorsement of the Citira, Philippine Ecozones Association President Francisco S. Zaldarriaga vowed to dialogue with senators and ensure its nonpassage. See related story on page A1, ‘Citira’ or ’Trabaho’ —the name’s not the issue.

‘Pifita’

ALSO, Salceda said another key tax reform seeks to make taxes on the financial sector simpler and neutral, thus improving its efficiency in mobilizing capital. “It is called Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Tax or nicknamed Pifita.” The measure seeks to make taxation of the sector simpler, fairer and more efficient. It also reviews the taxes imposed on financial intermediaries and the products they offer: on savings and investments; and debt and equity instruments. According to the Department of Finance (DOF), this measure aims to harmonize the country’s current 80 financial tax rates to 41 in efforts to deepen the capital markets, among others. Salceda also refiled HB 1026 or the Package 2 Plus, which proposes additional excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products. HB 1026 seeks to increase the excise tax rates on alcohol products and the indexation rate to 10 percent to account for inflation and income. Salceda said revenue gainers will be higher taxes on alcohol and also, most probably, higher tax on luxury cars above P5 million. Salceda also refiled HB 305 or the valuation and assessment reform bill, designed to address issues plaguing the current valuation and assessment system in the country, to maximize and optimize local revenue generation. The low revenue collection of real- property tax may be attributed to a number of factors, he said. For his part, Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said the House will now go full-blast in fast-tracking the passage of the priority measures following the election of lawmakers to key positions in the House. “We are now organized to deliberate President Duterte’s priority measures. The plenary has already elected our colleagues to the major positions,” said Romualdez.

In his Circular 133-2019, Court Administrator Midas Marquez directed all trial court judges and clerk of courts to submit a list of their cases involving PCSO filed beginning January 2018 up to the present. Marquez said the list should include all pending and terminated case and should be submitted on or before August 15, 2019. “In view of serious allegations of massive corruption involving

small town lottery and other gaming franchises issued by the PCSO, some of which have supposedly reached the courts, and after discussion with Chief Justice Lucas, all judges and branch clerks of court are hereby ordered to inform the Office of the Court Administrator of all their cases involving PCSO and their respective status, if any, whether pending or terminated, filed beginning January 28 until the present…,” the order read.

Govt set to issue rules on motor vehicle emissions

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HE government is tightening its regulatory measures on emissions of motor vehicles—both private and public utilities—as it is close to issuing the procedural guidelines of the National Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program (NMVIMP). In a draft joint administrative order (JAO), the Departments of Transportation (DOTr), of Trade and Industry (DTI) and of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) delineated their roles in the implementation of the NMVIMP. The Clean Air Act, passed two decades ago, mandates implementation of the program. Under the draft JAO, the DTI’s Consumer Protection and Advocacy Bureau is mandated to formulate the rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the NMVIMP. It is also tasked to update existing rules and regulations on the accreditation of service and repair shops, and to develop and implement an advocacy campaign on the regular maintenance of motor vehicles to ensure safety. On the other hand, the DTI’s Philippine Accreditation Bureau is obliged to certify public and private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (MVICs) based on applicable international standards. The DTI’s Bureau of Philippine Standards will issue Philippine National Standards for motor vehicles. The Fair

SOT bill. . .

Continued from A1

DOLE said it is crafting a new SOT bill, upon the orders of Duterte himself, that will retain the ITC provision. Also on Monday, Senator Joel Villanueva, the principal author of the Senate version of the SOT bill that was vetoed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last week, re-filed his measure on contractualization.

Limitless contractualization

FORMER University of the Philippines economist Rene Ofreneo, however, said if the veto message of President Duterte last week will become the thrust of the government policy on contractualization, there will no longer be any limit to the practice of the controversial work arrangement. In his message, Duterte said businesses “should be allowed to determine whether they should outsource certain activities or not, especially when job-contracting will result in economy and efficiency in their operations, with no detriment to the workers, regardless whether this is directly related to their business.” Focusing on the last line of the message, Ofreneo said it will contradict the existing provision of the Labor Code, particularly on illegal labor-only contracting (LOC). LOC is the only prohibited form of contractualization. Among its salient qualities is, if the positions to be contracted out are directly related the principal business of the employer. “So they would want outsourcing without any limits. No country allows this,”Ofreneo told

Citira. . .

Continued from A1

“We would very much welcome keeping the status quo on current incentives and welcome any improvements on CIT and, therefore, its reduction,” Zaldarriaga said in a text message. Zaldarriaga’s statement came after Albay Rep. Joey S. Salceda said he filed the Trabaho bill that comes with a new name: Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (Citira). Economic zone firms, which are opposed to this measure, had said it will put them on the receiving end, while some economists warned that a perception of a government that keeps changing its mind on incentives offered might dampen enthusiasm of would-be investors and drive away existing ones.

Trade Enforcement Bureau and the Regional Operations Group, for their part, are mandated to accredit private service centers for maintenance and repair in accordance with existing rules and regulations. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) is tasked to train and certify teachers who will educate inspectors and technicians on motor vehicle emission control and vehicle systems. The Tesda is also responsible for the training and accreditation of competency assessors who will evaluate motor vehicle emission technicians, vehicle inspectors and automotive experts. It is further obliged to award a national certificate or certificate of competency to technical personnel who have been found competent in automotive servicing, including motor vehicle emission control. The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will formulate and enforce rules and regulations for the authorization of private MVICs. It is also mandated to inspect private in-use motor vehicles, vehicles with enhanced engines whose chassis are pre-registered with the LTO and public-utility vehicles (PUVs) prior to renewal of registration. The LTO will also conduct periodic monitoring of all private MVICs to check compliance. The DENR is tasked to develop,

BusinessMirror in an email. The former labor undersecretary said some companies are already circumventing this restriction by citing “management prerogatives” in determining positions, which are directly related to their operations. Citing existing jurisprudence, he said management prerogatives are limited by existing laws’ provisions on fair play and good faith, which is usually subjected to court interpretation.

New version

IN a press conference, DOLE chief Bello, however, said the public misunderstood the veto message of Duterte in thinking it could lead to more widespread contractualization. “For him (Duterte), he maintains an employee cannot be outsourced if the service he will render is directly related to the business of the principal,” Bello said. Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo M. Benavidez said they are studying how to limit the discretion of management on the said matter. “We are looking at the extent of the management prerogative on their power to outsource...There has to be some specific or parameters to determine this. This is what we will do when we revisit the [vetoed] version,” Benavidez said. Benavidez together with Labor Undersecretary Ana C. Dione will make the draft of the Cabinet version of the SOT bill. Bello said they will collaborate with lawmakers, who have filed their own SOT bills in the 18th Congress, to make the draft. “We will get their inputs from their version and from that, we will come up with a version that I think will serve the cause of the workers and businessmen,” Bello said.

Just 1 hearing

LAWMAKERS from the 18th House of Representatives earlier agreed to conduct only one committee hearing for measures that were already passed on third reading in the previous Congress. This means the Citira, as a substitute version to the Trabaho bill, will need to undergo only one committee hearing, as it got passed by the House last year but got stuck in the Senate. Salceda said the Citira will remove uncertainties in the investment sector, and will help recover the declining capital inflow to economic zone regulators. The corporate income-tax reduction aspect of the bill is necessary, officials had argued, because the Philippines has the highest corpoprate income tax in the whole region. However, the rationalization of incentives under the Trabaho bill has been criticized by economic zone firms as anti-job generation—in spite of its

adopt and update standards for emission, as well as regulate the specifications of the emission-testing equipment to be used by all public and private MVICs. The MVICs are mandated to conduct mandatory inspection of motor vehicles based on existing LTO rules and regulations as prerequisite for their renewal of registration. They must also ensure that all machines and equipment used for inspection are properly calibrated. Under the draft JAO, MVICs are required to possess these minimum test equipment: testers for headlight, roller, sideslip, speedometer, emission, among others, for light vehicles and motorcycles. Motor vehicle owners are mandated to enroll their in-use units in a mandatory inspection process to be undertaken by the LTO or any authorized private MVIC within 60 days prior to renewal of registration. The inspection points shall include but are not limited to odometer and sealing of diesel fuel management system. Units that passed the inspection will have their motor vehicle registration renewed, while those that failed will undergo repair in a DTI-accredited service and repair shop and will be returned for inspection after.

Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Certified as urgent again? THE country’s largest labor group appealed to Duterte to certify as urgent the re-filed SOT bill to reiterate his commitment to end widespread contractualization. “If we read and examine the bill carefully, the SOT Bill that President Duterte already vetoed, the proposed measure already contains the provisions that he wanted to have,” Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said. For its part, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) said it hopes the new SOT bill will contain not only the Senate version but its twin bill at the House of Bill 6908, which has “stronger” provisions. These “stronger” provisions include provisions on prohibition of multiple contracting and fixed-term employment as well as the inclusion on the specific fine of P30,000 per head for violation of the law. “We need to put ‘flesh and blood’ to SOT,” FFW President Sonny Matula said. Duterte drew flak from labor groups after he vetoed the SOT bill last Friday. Duterte said he vetoed the bill due to its definition of its expanded definition of LOC, which could lead to labor displacement. Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), however, called the reasoning “hogwash.” On Monday, several labor groups including the Kilusang Mayo Uno, Partido Manggagawa (PM), Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) and Alliance of General Unions, Institutions and Labor Associations (AGUILA) held their demonstrations to condemn Duterte’s alleged retreat from his campaign promise. name—given that it could cause locators to move out of the Philippines, which, in turn, will result in the displacement of thousands of workers. The semiconductor industry earlier disclosed it may be forced to shed over 140,000 workers in a stretch of five years once the Trabaho bill is passed. Several multinationals are apparently planning to locate their expansions in another Southeast Asian economy largely due to the government’s plan of rationalizing incentives. The Citira seeks to gradually lower CIT to 20 percent by 2029, from 30 percent at present. On the other hand, it will overhaul the current menu of tax perks enjoyed by economic zone firms, including the 5-percent tax on gross income paid in lieu of all local and national taxes. These incentives are what keep the Philippines competitive against Southeast Asian competitors in the face of high logistics and energy cost here, critics of the bill have said.

Earlier, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the government is ready to face any suit that would arise from the President’s decision to shut down PCSO gaming operations. Guevarra, however, maintained that the President has a legal justification for issuing the order. Guevarra said he has the authority to order the suspension, even the termination of these games, upon prima facie proof that licensees have failed to comply with their

PCSO. . .

Continued from A1

at almost P15 billion para sa pagtulong sa ating kababayan kaya malaki din ang ambag na naibibigay nito sa mga mahihirap natin mga kababayan [They should simplify the process because PCSO is earning much, almost P60 billion a year and P15 billion is used to help the needy... So it contributes a lot to helping our poor countrymen],” Gatchalian said.

Charity work goes on

IN a related development, despite Duterte’s suspension order on all gaming activities under the PCSO, the government-owned and -controlled corporation assured the public it will still continue to provide charity works, especially its medical assistance. PCSO General Manager Royina M. Garma said on Monday they take the President’s order very positively and vowed to abide by the last instruction of the President to them, which is to give their funds to the poor. “Our charity assistance will still continue. We will still provide this because this is really for our countrymen who need help and this is the last instruction given by the President, which is to give the money to the poor. That is what our office will do today and in the succeeding days,” Garma said in a Facebook live video. See related story in Nation, page A3. “The PCSO supports the decision of our dear President in eradicating corruption and illegal gambling activities. The Agency programs, projects and activities are aligned to the objective and goal of our national government,” read the statement. In a video message late Friday night, the President ordered the stoppage of all gaming activities under PCSO, including lotto, Small Town Lottery and Peryahan ng Bayan due to massive corruption. Panelo revealed on Sunday that the President discovered the massive corruption involves a “grand conspiracy of all players and participants of all gaming operations.”

Unfair, illegal

A DEPUTY minority leader on Monday questioned the wholesale shutting down of PCSO operations.

BOC. . .

Continued from A8

Earlier this month, the DOF said the BOC had collected P5.9 billion in tariffs slapped on 1.43 million metric tons (MMT) of rice imported by local traders from March 5 to June 30. Maronilla clarified, however, that the P5.9 billion was collected from rice shipments made in January to June. He said the BOC’s report to the DOF was on the bureau’s performance for the first half of the year and not just for the March-to-June period, when the new law was already in effect. “[The collections] from March 5 to June, when the rice tariffication law is already in effect, were for 966,690 metric tons,” he said. Tariffs assessed on 966,690 MT of rice reached around P4 billion to P4.5 billion, according to Maronilla. Basing computations on Maronilla’s clarification, tariffs collected from rice imports from July 1 to July 15 amounted

legal obligation to remit the correct amount of the government’s share in revenues or that their operations are tainted with corruption in the PCSO and its various gaming operations. He has also directed the NBI to file charges against those found responsible for such illegal activities. Aside from Lotto, also covered by the President’s order are Small Town Lottery (STL) and Peryahan ng Bayan.

In a news conference, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate described the President’s move as unfair and illegal. According to Zarate, the House Committee on Legislative Franchise should interfere to see if there is a violation of the PCSO’s franchise law. Zarate challenged President Duterte to fire and file cases against PCSO officials involved in the alleged corruption. “If the corrupt people involved are President Duterte’s appointees, then he should have sacked these officials and overhauled the said office. But what is happening now is that he is punishing everybody, including the people who rely on PCSO for help for their medical needs,” said Zarate. “The question now is who will benefit from this uncharitable sweep operations?” asked the Davao-based solon. Last year, Bayan Muna filed House Resolution 1599 to investigate the anomalies in the PCSO, including the millions spent from the agency’s funds for PCSO’s Christmas party at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel on December 19. Zarate also asked Congress to investigate reports that the agency only allotted P2 billion for the charity fund, out of the P18-billion revenues from STL. “STL operators only declare 15 to 20 percent of the actual revenues, and 80 percent of these revenues are used to pay off highranking officials of the PCSO; and the interest of the people is being compromised by PCSO officials hiring their children as staff and consultants. These should be investigated,” he added. “But again, Malacañang did not do an overhaul of the office and maintained its military appointees, just like now. Just last Sona, President Duterte said that his military and police appointees are not corrupt,but the incidents in the BOC, PCSO and other agencies are telling otherwise,” said Zarate. For his part, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano defended Duterte’s decision to stop the operations of the PCSO due to “substantial corruption.” He, however, said the President would not allow the public to suffer due to the suspension of the PCSO activities. Butch Fernandez, Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz and Bernadette D. Nicolas

to around P600 million. The BOC official also expressed confidence that the bureau’s collection of rice tariffs will surpass P10 billion, the amount that should be allocated annually to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), under the new law. Section 13(c) of the rice tariffication law states that 10 percent of the P10billion RCEF shall be made available in the form of credit facility with minimal interest rates and with minimum collateral requirements to rice farmers and cooperatives. The rest of the RCEF will be set aside for farm machinery and equipment; rice seed development, propagation and promotion; and rice extension services, as provided under RA 11203. On top of paying tariffs, rice importers are required under RA 11203 to secure sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances from the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry, which assumed the food safety regulation function of the NFA under the rice trade liberalization law.

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PCSO exec says medical aid for poor will continue By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

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HILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO ) General Manager Royina M. Garma on Monday said that the controversyridden gaming agency is now addressing allegations on franchise “agents that caused the delay or decrease” in revenues after President Duterte ordered the shutdown of all its betting operations. Garma, who refused to be interviewed by the media, instead, gave a statement via Facebook live and assured the people that the medical aid for the poor will still continue despite the President’s order. “We are studying point by point what our beloved President had said so that we can put order to the services we are giving to the people,” Garma said as she also appealed for the public’s understanding. She added that they are still looking at the problem or their current situation in a positive way. “We know that we can give solutions [to these challenges], especially the problem on the delay or decrease in the revenue,” Garma assured, adding, “ I hope the people will continue to trust us.” The PCSO official, however, could not yet determine the possible amount of income that it may lose after the closure. In a separate statement, the PCSO management said that, as a government-owned and -controlled corporation directly under the Office of the President, it will continue to abide by the directive of President Duterte to suspend all its gaming activities, until further notice. “The PCSO immediately implemented the suspension last Saturday, July 27, 2019, wherein all Lotto and Keno terminals were automatically disabled at the main data center of our system providers,” the PCSO statement read. The PCSO’s individual Medical Assistance Program (Imap) services at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City and all PCSO branch offices nationwide will still be available “unless otherwise instructed.” “For those who are holding winning Lotto and Keno tickets, prizes can still be claimed at the PCSO Head Office, Conservatory Building, Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City, from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday,” the statement added.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, July 30, 2019 A3

Military vows to eradicate ASG by year-end, at most By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

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HE military is looking at neutralizing the Islamic State (IS)-affiliated Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Sulu within three months or even at the end of the year, as earlier ordered by President Duterte. “We’re giving them [ASG] three months, three months to six months or the rest of the year…,” Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana told

CNN Philippines. The military currently has a division-sized unit deployed in Sulu that is running after the local terrorist group, including the group of ASG sub-commander Hadjan Sawadjaan, the acting head of the IS in Mindanao. Earlier, the military said it would further intensify its operations in the province since the ASG is no longer holding any kidnap victim. Lorenzana said there is imperative to contain the ASG in Sulu so

that they could not move to other areas and conduct terrorist activities. “We hope to contain them in Jolo, where they are now, so they cannot move to Basilan or Cotabato or Central Mindanao or even other places like Visayas and Metro Manila,” he said. “That’s what we are guarding against,” he added. Lorenzana said they were also confirming a report that about 100 foreign fighters have slipped into Mindanao, although he believed the

report was not true. “We are still confirming that. It’s still a news or a report, but according to our troops, our commanders in Central Mindanao, they cannot see where these 100 people are hiding because if there are so many of them, then they will be very obvious,” he said. “There is none actually, they cannot detect them we have fielded a lot of our intelligence people there, plus talking to the civilians, especially the MILF [Moro Islamic Liberation

Front] because they are with us now, and there is no confirmation of the 100,” he added. Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command commander Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana earlier said that there are only about seven foreign fighters in Mindanao, and they have been embedded, either with the ASG or the MILF. He said they were also monitoring at least 40 foreigners on suspicions they could be members or associated with the IS.

Rights groups appeal SC dismissal of writs San Juan congressman and mayor of amparo, habeas data vs security officials laud opening of West Crame school By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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UMAN-RIGHTS groups led by Karapatan on Monday asked the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) dismissing their petition for the writs of amparo and habeas data it filed against government officials led by President Duterte. “The dismissal of our petition for the writs of amparo and habeas data was already tantamount to the CA’s complicity on the attacks perpetrated against us. We now urge the Supreme Court to grant our petition for review, which challenges the CA’s decision. We maintain that our petition is urgent amid the spate of intensified red-tagging, illegal arrests and killings perpetrated against us by this government,” the petitioners said. Joining Karapatan in filing the petition are Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) and Gabriela. It can be recalled that last May 6, 2019, petitioners Karapatan, Gabriela and RMP filed a petition for the writs of amparo and habeas data before the SC. Acting on the petition, the SC issued an order on May 24, 2019, directing the CA to conduct hearings and resolve the petition. On June 18, 2019, the CA’s 14th Division held a three-hour summary hearing on the petition filed by the groups, but the court justices disallowed the petitioners to present testimonial evidence and other documents to prove the allegations and incidents cited in the petition. Ten days after, the appellate court dismissed the said habeas data and amparo petition. “The dismissal of our petition by the CA is outrageous. It is a decision that will worsen the impunity in the country and will further enable state forces to continue terrorizing communities and individuals critical of the government. The court justices’ refusal to hear our testimonies was truly disappointing,” the petitioners said. “They disallowed us to present testimonial evidence and they struck down the petition on the basis of technicalities. This was not an impartial procedure determined to hear the

aggrieved party, but a ruling that favored the perpetrators and masterminds behind the policies that has led to the crackdown on humanrights defenders,” they added. The petitioners are seeking court protection against threats to the lives, liberty and security of their members through a writ of amparo. Writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security has been violated, or under threat, while the writ of habeas data is a remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security has been violated or under threat by the unlawful gathering of information about the person, his or her family and home. They asked the government to disclose and destroy all files or records gathered against their members through a writ of habeas data. Aside from Duterte, the petitioners named National Security Adviser Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal, AFP Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr.; National Security Council Deputy Director General Vicente Agdamag, Philippine National Police Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management Senior Supt. Omega Jireh Fidel, Undersecretary and Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security Joel Sy Egco, Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat Undersecretary Severo Catura and Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary for New Media and External Affairs Lorraine Marie Badoy, and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director General Alex Paul Monteagudo as respondents. The petitioners lamented that labeling them as fronts of the communist movement by the current administration has resulted to numerous killings and other human- rights violations against their human-rights workers. The groups cited the killings of its human-rights workers and paralegals from 2002 up to the present administration. The petitioners said from 2001 to 2019, at least 48 human-rights defenders of Karapatan have been killed allegedly by state forces.

Govt, PRC continue to render assistance to Batanes quake survivors

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HE Department of Health (DOH) on Monday dispatched a mental health and psychosocial support team to Itbayat, Batanes, following moderates quakes that rocked the island last Saturday, July 27, 2019. Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said that the team, composed of a doctor, four nurses and one social worker, came from the Mariveles Mental Hospital, headed by Dr. Ruby Lynda Reyes. The team boarded the C-130 aircraft from Clark at 9:30 a.m. to Basco, Batanes. Over the weekend, Duque said that the DOH has activated the Code Blue Alert in the province of Batanes and White Alert at the DOH’s Cagayan Valley Center for Health Development (CHD) Operations Center for 24-hour duty in the aftermath of the earthquake. Based on the DOH record, more than 200 aftershocks were recorded as of today, Monday. A total of 911 families or 2,963 persons were affected in five barangays in Itbayat, Batanes, and are currently accommodated in one evacuation center at Itbayat Plaza.

ter for over 2,000 individuals who are displaced in an open ground in front of the municipal hall. “We are assessing as we are giving. Right now we are focused on their immediate needs, but eventually, we will provide their long-term needs, such as houses,” said PRC Chairman Richard J. Gordon. He added, “The operation is extra challenging as the remote island of Itbayat is a two- to three-hour boat ride from Basco and can only be reached using small boats. But this will not slow us down. We are working with different organizations to ensure that aid will be given as fast as possible.” PRC National Headquarters partnered with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to deploy resources for indepth assessments. Among the items deployed are radio equipment, satellite phones, and water purification assets. The humanitarian organization also sent thousands of ready-to-eat meals, temporary roofing materials, and water treatment units for the affected population.

Red Cross on the move

‘Trauma’

TO help address the immediate needs of the people, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is providing psychosocial support, food, water, and temporary shel-

INITIAL assessments show that there is a need for welfare and psychosocial support, especially for Ivatans who experienced trauma following the major shakes.

“The ground shaking was traumatic for Ivatans. Our welfare team is there to help people get rid of their trauma,” Gordon added. PRC welfare teams also provided psychosocial support to injured patients at Basco General Hospital. PRC volunteers also distributed hot meals to 600 individuals on Saturday.

Deaths and injuries

ME A N W HILE, the DOH said that there were eight deaths and 63 injured reported in Itbayat, Batanes. Of the injured victims, six severely injured were referred and are currently admitted at the Batanes General Hospital. An undetermined number of injured were also transported for further medical management from Itbayat to Manila via Philippine Air Force C-295 aircraft. The majority of the injured cases suffered trauma due to falling debris. Of the deaths reported, six were deadon-the-spot and two died at the Itbayat District Hospital. Damage to health facilities include cracks in Itbayat’s District Hospital and its Municipal Health Office. Due to the continuous aftershocks, its District Hospital and the Rural Health Unit is no longer functional with estimated damages worth P47,000,000.

REP. Ronaldo Zamora and son, San Juan Mayor Francisco Javier Zamora, inaugurate the opening of the 20-room West Crame Elementary School three years after 20-story building was completed. NONIE REYES

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CHOOL and local government officials of San Juan City formally opened on Monday the four-story West Crame Elementary School in Barangay West Crame, San Juan, three years after it was completed. “For three years, schoolchildren have been deprived of its use,” said San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, who had funded the construction of the 20-classroom school out of his priority development assistance fund. “It was a building built to a world class standards,” he said. “You can never see any school building in Metro Manila like this. It’s the first.” Zamora was elated over the opening of the school, which was constructed in the amount of P43.8 million, saying it has finally breezed through the issue of politics. The school building, located right beside the compound of Camp Crame, the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police, was inaugurated on December 8, 2015, a year after its construction began. However, it was never allowed to open by the previous administration of San Juan, allegedly on a concern that the school is not safe from bullets coming from the firing range of Camp Crame. The former officials of San Juan even allegedly claimed that the school is even hit by stray bullets from the firing range, which is close to the building, something that school officials and Zamora belied. “That’s what they have said. But after all the investigation, nothing came out to that effect,” Zamora said, insisting that the school was only politicized by the former Estrada administration. Zamora was not a political ally of the Estradas. His son, Francis, is currently the mayor of San Juan, beating Janela Estrada, daughter of former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, during the elections two months ago.

Dennis Bacle, principal of the Pinaglabanan Elementary School in San Juan, who would temporarily supervise the West Crame Elementary School, likewise dismissed the issue of security over the school’s opening. “The fact that it has been allowed by the Department of Education to open, that means it is safe,” he said, as he led other school officials during the opening event, which was graced by Zamora, his son and other officials. “There’s the assurance of officials, even by the Philippine National Police,” Bacle said. In 2017, then-PNP chief and now Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones issued a certification to the safety of the school. Zamora and his son visited PNP chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde, who assured both of them that aside from other safety precautions that have been in place since 2017, additional safety precautions will be set up and that the “children who will be studying here will all be safe.” While the safety issue had been addressed, Zamora said the previous administration of San Juan just refused to allow the operation of the school. Former San Juan officials even eyed to operate it as a rehabilitation center for drug addicts, or as a housing unit, and not as a public school which is the very purpose on why it was built in the first place. Zamora said the elementary school building would benefit children from Barangay West Crame, as the nearest public school in the area was the Pinaglabanan Elementary School, which is about 3.2 kilometers away. Aside from the elementary school, Zamora is eyeing to construct a high school building out of his congressional funds, also in West Crame. Rene Acosta

Lawmaker warns death penalty may spur ‘horrific abuses’ by rotten cops

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OLICE scalawags are bound to exploit the hazard of the death penalty to commit “horrific abuses” against citizens, Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza warned over the weekend. “There are many corrupt officers everywhere. In fact, no less than President Duterte himself, at one point, tagged the police as ‘rotten to the core’ and reckoned that 4 out of every 10 officers are engaged in all sorts of criminal activities,” Atienza said. “Once Congress revives the death penalty, these police crooks will surely brandish the death penalty as the Sword of Damocles to hang over the heads of their potential victims of kidnapping, extortion and evidence-planting,” Atienza said. “Abuses are guaranteed to inflame once twisted officers have the ‘death trap’ at their disposal. They will have a heyday shaking people down with false

or fabricated evidence,” Atienza, former threeterm mayor of Manila, said. Besides the kidnapping-for-extortion and murder of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo by anti-narcotics agents, Atienza cited the case of a police officer in Manila who raped a 15-year-old girl in exchange for the freedom of her parents who were nabbed for alleged drug offenses. Atienza said Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s proposal to also inflict the death penalty on officers engaged in evidence-planting would not deter police rascals from perpetrating abuses. “As demonstrated in previous cases, shady officers operate like syndicates and connive not only in committing abuses, but also in protecting themselves against possible discovery,” Atienza pointed out.

A4 Tuesday, July 30, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

After lifting of ban, Philippines eyes hike in Manila hemp export to India By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE country is eyeing to increase its abaca shipments to India after the South Asian country lifted the import ban on Manila hemp after laboratory results showed that earlier exports were free of disease, Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFida) said. In a Facebook post on Monday, PhilFida Executive Director Kennedy T. Costales announced that India has formally lifted the import

ban on Philippines which stemmed from shipments that were allegedly affected by Moko disease. India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage Director Rajesh Malik wrote to Bureau of Plant Industry OIC-Director George Y. Culaste to convey the lifting of the ban. At present, the country exports an average 100 metric ton (MT) of abaca to India, Costales said. “But with this recent develop-

ment, we expect import from the India’s rope factories will slowly rise in the years ahead,” he told the BusinessMirror in a separate interview. In his letter dated July 25, Malik said the pest risk analysis conducted on Manila hemp were redone and yielded negative results on the presence of Ralstonia solanacearum Race 2. Malik added that the Philippines would be required to certify future abaca shipments that they are free from Moko wilt Ralstonia solanacearum Race 2 to prevent in-

troduction of the dreaded disease to India’s fiber industry. The import ban on Philippine abaca was in placed since September 11 due to one shipment, which contained first-class rope-grade abaca fiber, which allegedly lacked proper documentation and had Moko disease. While India is not a major importer of Philippine abaca, Costales earlier said a prolonged ban could hurt the country’s stature as the world’s top producer and exporter of the natural fiber, known over the world as Manila hemp.

PHL gets $2.4-billion ODA grants as of Dec. 2018–Neda By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

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HE Philippines received a total of $2.4-billion official development assistance (ODA) grants as of December 2018, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). Neda data showed the project that received the largest grant was the Growth with Equity in Mindanao III (GEM III) Rebuild project worth $150.07 million from the United States. The project focused on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan)affected areas. The project is being implemented by the Mindanao De-

velopment Authority (MinDA). “Rebuild, reconstruct and rehabilitate Typhoon Haiyan-affected areas. Rebuild restores access to education and health services, and promotes livelihood activities,” Neda said in a document. Other big-ticket projects that received the largest grants included the Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) Program worth $107.75 million from Australia and the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, $74.15 million from China. The BEST program of the Department of Education helps the government implement the K to 12 program, which covers kindergarten and 12 years of basic education. This is composed of six years

of primary education, four years of Junior High School and two years of Senior High School. The grant for the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge from China involves the construction of steel arch bridge, basket type supporting a four-lane deck of approximately 734 lineal meters to connect the Intramuros side and Binondo side of the Pasig River. The list includes the Access to Sustainable Energy in the Philippines, which received grants worth $68.45 million from the European Union and the Education Pathways to Peace in Mindanao (Pathways) project worth $64.65 million also from Australia. The Access to Sustainable Energy in the Philippines project helps the country generate more

electricity from renewable energy, increase the efficiency of energy use, make the power sector more disaster resilient and increase access for the poor to affordable energy. The Pathways project helps the country improve equity and performance in basic education by children in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that will contribute to more resilience, stability, peace and prosperity in the region. The largest ODA grants came from the United States, Australia, and the United Nations System worth $886.47 million, $476.19 million, and $349.28 million, respectively.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Moro region adapts cash-based budgeting By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

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AVAO CITY—The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region i n Mu s l i m M i nd a n ao (BARMM) has adapted the national government’s annual cashbased budgeting process, saying this would ensure “implementation readiness” of its programs. Minister Eduard Guerra of the BARMM’s Ministry of Finance and Budget and Management (MFBM) said the Bangsamoro government “recognizes the modernization of the national budget process to improve the efficiency of the processes, such as planning, procurement, cash management and payment systems.” He said the annual cash-based budgeting system would ensure the “implementation-readiness of proposals through better procurement planning, programming of projects and activities, and coordination among ministries and offices.” The decision was announced during the first Bangsamoro Budget Forum on Monday in the bid of the BARMM “to lay down guidelines, priorities, policies and budget preparation forms for fiscal year 2020.” The forum was organized by the MFBM, and Guerra said the forum would like to make its budgeting process responsive “to the systems, mechanisms and strategic implementation of priority programs” established during the transition period.

“We need concrete plans of our budget proposal for the year 2020,” Guerra said. Guerra added that said it would be the members of the BARMM parliament who would deliberate on the budget proposals “unlike in the previous regional government which had to present and defend its budget before members of the Senate and House of Representatives.” Barmm Chief Minister Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim said the activity “is an important event not only for our offices in the government but also for the people that we are serving.” Ebrahim was represented by Asnin Pendatun, Barmm Cabinet secretary, in the event. The MFBM said consultations and coordination with local government units would be conducted by different ministries and offices “to guarantee the Bangsamoro priorities are responsive to the local needs.” Guerra said the budget proposal must be anchored on the priority agenda of the Barmm administration: integration of development plans; establishment of appropriate bureaucracy; continuity of existing government services; special programs for transitioning combatants; support for the on-going Marawi rehabilitation; development of enabling policy environment; activation of job-generating industries; enhancement of security; maximizing synergistic partnerships; ensure environmental compliance; and, exploration of the Bangsamoro economic potentials.

Collective action in anti-corruption

By Henry J. Schumacher

N anti-corruption collective A action involves a coordinated and sustained effort from business and other stakeholders to jointly tackle shared corruption challenges, particularly systemic corruption, where it is difficult for one company to engender long-term change on its own.

The concept is centered on the notion that, by working together, companies can achieve greater results in anti-corruption and more effectively promote positive change in the business environment than could not be accomplished when acting alone. In recent years, collective action has increasingly been recognized and practiced by companies seeking to move beyond their internal systems and toward a broader approach through aligning with competitors and other private-sector actors. It provides an effective method for companies to highlight best practices in anti-corruption compliance, promoting a form of “race-to-the-top” and removing the notion of compliance being a brake to business activity or reduced to a tick-the-box exercise. Civil society can provide a practical safeguard against allegations of antitrust when industry competitors gather together, as well as being the inspiration and support for companies considering anticorruption collective action. By involving civil society in a collective action initiative, businesses offer greater assurance to the general public as to the credibility of their unilateral declarations, helping to reduce public skepticism. This can often be an issue in self-regulatory activities, whereby

doubts arise as to the authenticity of practitioners’ motives. Voluntary commitments that are dependent completely on self-enforcement mechanisms and devoid of civil-society participation are particularly susceptible to such concerns. The inclusion of civil-society helps to assuage these concerns. More robust forms of civil society participation, however, can go even further, providing certification of participants’ anti-corruption compliance programs, monitoring to ensure that commitments are upheld, and even sanctioning mechanisms for instances of a breach of the agreement. One form of collective action initiative that incorporates these elements to a significant degree is the integrity pact. IPs were pioneered by Transparency International in the 1990s and consist of agreements between a government or government agencies and a company, or group of companies, frequently in the context of public procurement processes. Under the agreement, parties commit to refrain from bribing in any form and from colluding with competitors, with procurement contracting authorities from the public sector similarly required to sign on to such commitments. An added benefit of civil society involvement that is evidenced by the IP is the ability of civil society to foster cooperative linkages between business and government, promoting broader multistakeholder coalitions against corruption. Government and public-sector involvement is often essential to successful joint anti-corruption approaches yet this can also prove challenging. Mistrust between the private and the public sector is one element that can stymie effective cooperation. In addition, a purely private sector-driven entreaty to engage with the government may be dismissed as a lobbying exercise. Effective civilsociety participation can help to bridge this gap between the public and private sector, working to build trust and elicit effective solutions. In conclusion, civil-society participation in business-driven anti-corruption collective action is essential to allay internal and external trust issues in a collective action initiative, enabling a neutral third party to convene the meetings, act as secretariat and expert to guide the discussions and to keep the members focused on a positive outcome. The neutral facilitator, can also play an essential part in eliminating antitrust and anticompetition concerns; while antitrust laws do not prohibit competitors’ discussion of compliance best practice, some are nervous about meeting their peers unless the environment is carefully controlled. Civil-society facilitators can reinforce this by ensuring that discussions among members party to a collective remain focused on anti-corruption and compliance. In the Philippines, I would like to see the Integrity Initiative take this active civil-society role. Feedback is welcome and should be directed to schumacher@eitsc.com.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Tuesday, July 30, 2019

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Diplomats recommit to saving Iran deal

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IENNA—Diplomats from Iran and five world powers recommitted on Sunday to salvaging a major nuclear deal amid mounting tensions between the West and Tehran, since the US withdrew from the accord and reimposed sanctions. Representatives of Iran, Germany, France, Britain, China, Russia and the European Union (EU) met in Vienna to discuss the 2015 agreement that restricts the Iranian nuclear program. “The atmosphere was constructive, and the discussions were good,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told reporters after the meeting ended. “I cannot say that we resolved everything, but all the parties are still “determined to save this deal,” he added. Fu Cong, the head of Chinese delegation, said that while there were “some tense moments” during the meeting, “on the whole, the atmosphere was very good. Friendly. And it was very professional.” Both diplomats said there was a general agreement to organize a higher-level meeting of foreign ministers soon, but also that preparations for such a summit needed to be done well. A date has not been set. Iran is pressuring the European parties to the deal to offset the

sanctions US President Donald J. Trump reinstated after pulling out. The country recently surpassed the amount of low-enriched uranium it is allowed to stockpile and started enriching uranium past a 3.67 percent limit permitted, to 4.5 percent, saying the actions could be reversed if the Europeans came up with incentives that compensated for the impact of the sanctions on the Iranian economy. Iran’s recent moves—which it defends as permissible after the US withdrawal—are seen as a way to force the others to openly confront the sanctions. Araghchi told reporters in Farsi after the meeting that Iran would continue decreasing its commitments until the Europeans meet its demands. Experts warn that a higher enrichment level and a growing uranium stockpile narrow the one-year window that Iran would need to have enough material to make an atomic bomb, something Iran denies it wants but that the deal prevented. So far, Iran’s exceeding of the

THE European Union’s Political Director Helga Schmid and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, (center, from left), wait for a bilateral meeting as part of the closed-door nuclear talks with Iran at a hotel in Vienna, Austria, on Sunday, July 28, 2019. AP photo

agreement’s stockpile and uranium enrichment ceilings have been seen as violations likely to prompt the European signatories to invoke a dispute resolution mechanism. Weapons-grade uranium is enriched at a level of 90 percent. Both of Iran’s actions were verified by the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. In recent weeks, Iran broke past the limit on its stockpile of lowenriched uranium, but did not say by how much. The nuclear accord has a stockpile limit of 300 kilograms. However, it also permits Iran to enrich uranium and export it, as it has to Russia in past years. The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on Sunday that the country has enriched 24 tons of

uranium since it reached the 2015 nuclear deal with the other countries and the EU. Atomic Energy Organization head Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by state TV as saying Iran “did not enrich 300 kilograms of uranium, but enriched 24 [metric] tons of uranium,” or what is 24,000 kilograms (nearly 53,000 pounds.) At the Sunday meeting, Fu said, the Europeans urged Iran to come back to full compliance and Iran urged the European Union, France, Britain and Germany to implement their part of the deal. Fu said all sides expressed strong opposition against the unilateral imposition of sanctions by the US, especially the extraterritorial application of the sanctions. They also voiced support for

China’s efforts to maintain normal trade and oil relations with Iran, Fu added. In addition to trade with China, Iran is especially keen on the activation of a barter-type system, set up by the Europeans, that would allow the continent’s businesses to trade with Tehran without violating the US sanctions. Araghchi said the European system was “not functioning yet, but it is in its final stages.” In the meantime, Iran has taken increasingly provocative actions against ships in the Gulf, including seizing a British tanker and downing a US drone. The US has expanded its military presence in the region, and fears are growing of a wider conflict. A Royal Navy warship arrived on Sunday in the Gulf to accom-

pany British-flagged ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the HMS Duncan will join the Frigate HMS Montrose in the Gulf to defend freedom of navigation until a diplomatic resolution is found to secure the key waterway again. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani penned an open letter to new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that was published on the president’s web site on Sunday. Rouhani extended congratulations and said he hoped the diplomatic ties between their countries would be stronger under Johnson’s leadership. Rouhani said he hoped Johnson’s “only one visit to Tehran” while serving as UK foreign secretary in 2017, and now his, tenure as prime minister lead to a “further deepening of bilateral and multilateral relations.” Under the provisions of the 2015 accord, signatories provided Iran with economic sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on the country’s nuclear program. Trump withdrew the US and put sanctions on Iran back in place, saying he wanted to negotiate a better agreement. The US sanctions have had their intended purpose of hurting Iran’s economy while highlighting the inability of the Europeans, as well as Russia and China, to keep their commitments. At the same time, Europe is under pressure from the US to abandon the Iran nuclear accord entirely and is also being squeezed by Iran to offset the ever-crippling effects of American economic sanctions. AP

US, China revive trade talks Oil trades near $56 amid Hormuz tensions with low hopes for progress O B EIJING—Two months after US-Chinese talks aimed at ending a tariff war broke down, both sides are trying to temper hopes for a breakthrough when negotiations resume on Tuesday on an array of disputes that has grown to include tension over Chinese tech giant Huawei. Rhetoric on both sides has hardened despite the agreement by Presidents Donald J. Trump and Xi Jinping in June to revive efforts to end the costly fight over China’s technology ambitions and trade surplus. “I don’t know if they’re going to make a deal,” Trump said on Friday. “Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. I don’t care.” He repeated his claim that the United States is prospering by “taking in tens of billions of dollars” from his tariff hikes on Chinese products. In reality, those are paid by US companies and consumers who buy Chinese goods. Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are due to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, in Shanghai, with a delegation led by China’s economy czar, Vice Premier Liu He. Chinese leaders are resisting US pressure to rollback plans for government-led development of industry leaders in robotics, artificial intelligence and other technologies. Washington complains those efforts depend on stealing or pressuring foreign companies to hand over technology. Some American officials worry the US is losing its lead. For their part, American negotiators have resisted Beijing’s demand that they remove all punitive tar iffs immediately. Washington wants to keep some in place to ensure China keeps its promises. “The same issues that caused the ta l ks to brea k dow n are still there,” said Julian Evans-

Pritchard of Capital Economics. “Neither side seems any closer to offering major concessions,” said Evans-Pritchard. “It’s very hard to see how they can reach a deal this time if they were unable to do that in March.” US priorities include “industrial policy issues, such as intellectual-property rights, forced technology transfer and subsidies for [Chinese] state-owned enterprises,” said Jeff Moon, a former US diplomat and trade official who specialized in China. “Enforcing any agreements is also a top priority.” The June agreement to resume negotiations helped to calm jittery financial markets despite warnings by economists that with both sides still far apart on critical issues, the fragile truce likely will soon fall apart. Tensions worsened when, after talks broke down in May, the Trump administration imposed curbs on US technology sales to Huawei, the biggest global maker of network gear for phone companies and the No. 2 smartphone brand. US officials view Huawei as a national security threat and warn that its equipment could be used for cyber espionage. B e i j i n g r e t a l i at e d b y a n nouncing it wou ld create its ow n list of “unreliable entit ies” subje c t to u n s p e c i f ie d controls. Authorities have yet to announce which companies might be targeted. Tr u m p h a s s u g g e s t e d he would consider easing up on Huawei if it meant getting a better trade deal. “ Tr u mp ­— i n h is eager ness to find negotiating leverage— linked nationa l secur it y and trade with regard to Huawei to create a new bargaining chip,” Moon said. Members of Congress from both parties likely

would object to any concessions on Huawei. The tariff hikes are battering exporters on both sides and disrupting trade in goods from soybeans to medical devices. China’s imports of American goods fell 31.4 percent in June from a year ago, while exports to the United States fell 7.8 percent. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is usually upbeat in public about the talks. But he tried to temper hopes when he announced plans for the Shanghai meeting, telling broadcaster CNBC that negotiators face “a lot of issues,” and he expects to hold more talks, probably in Washington. “China and the United States will face tough negotiations. The gap between their current positions is very big,” said the Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Par t y newspaper People’s Daily. Washington “still hopes to force Chinese concessions,” the newspaper said. It rejected “destr uctive surger y on China’s economic system” and called on Washington “not to deny the legitimacy of China’s demands.” China agreed earlier to narrow its multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the United States by purchasing more American soybeans, natural gas and other exports. But it revoked that pledge after one of Trump’s tariff hikes last year. Chinese leaders have grown more skittish, saying any agreement must be “balanced,” reflecting frustration that American officials would portray the talks as a victory for Washington, with China bearing the costs. “If the responsibilities all come from China, it is not an agreement but a surrender,” said Tu Xinquan, director of the China Institute of International Trade and Economics. AP

IL traded near $56 a barrel as the UK deployed a warship to the Strait of Hormuz to help escort commercial ships, while United Stated-China trade talks are set to resume amid tempered expectations for a breakthrough. Futures eased in New York after rising 1 percent last week. The UK has sent one of its Type 45 warships to the region after Iran seized a British oil tanker as the US seeks to build a coalition to protect vessels traversing the strait. Chinese and American negotiators meet in Shanghai this week with neither showing an urge to compromise in their dispute that has dented demand. Oil is heading for its second monthly loss this year as a gloomy economic outlook eclipses concerns crude flows may be disrupted from the Middle East. Hedge funds added

to bets on a slump in New York futures at the fastest pace in almost a year after disappointing manufacturing data out of America and Germany last week bolstered fears of declining demand. “Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East will stay elevated for some time as the US continues to ask other countries to join in protecting ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz,” Kim Kwangrae, a commodities analyst at Samsung Futures Inc., said by phone in Seoul. “For now, oil’s reacting to wider economic concerns and the trade talks between China and America.” West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September lost 17 cents to $56.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 7:46 a.m. London time. The contract rose 18 cents on Friday, rising for the fifth time in six days.

Brent for September settlement fell 34 cents to $63.12 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange. It capped a 1.6 percent weekly gain on Friday. The global benchmark crude traded at a $7.10 premium to WTI. The UK frigate, HMS Duncan, will operate alongside the Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose Type 23 to shepherd British-f lagged ships through the strait, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The air defense destroyer will operate until late August, it said. Two days of talks are scheduled to restart Tuesday after a truce reached by Presidents Donald J. Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, last month. Deep tensions remain, though, and recent days have brought mixed signals from both sides, with neither showing an urge to compromise. Bloomberg News

Shooting at California festival kills 3

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ILROY, California—Three people were killed and, at least, 15 others injured Sunday after a shooting that sent panicked people running at an annual food festival in Northern California. Also dead is the shooter, who used a rifle and gained entry to the packed festival by cutting through a fence to avoid the tight security, including metal detectors, police said. Some witnesses reported a second suspect, Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said, but it was unclear whether that person opened fire. Police confronted the gunman within a minute of shots being fired. Witnesses reported confusion and panic as shots rang out at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in the city of 50,000 located about 80 miles (176 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. The shooting occurred during the three-day celebration featuring food, cooking competitions and music that attracts more than 100,000 people. Sunday was the final day of this year’s event. The band Tin Man was just start-

ing an encore when shots rang out. Singer Jack van Breen said he saw a man wearing a green shirt and grayish handkerchief around his neck fire into the food area with what looked like an assault rifle. Van Breen and other members of the band dove under the stage. Van Breen says he heard someone shout: “Why are you doing this?” and the reply: “Because I’m really angry.” His bandmate Vlad Malinovsky from Walnut Creek, California, said he heard a lot of shots and then it stopped. Later, law enforcement came by and told the band members and others hiding with them to come out with their hands up. Stanford Medical Center has two patients being treated from the shooting at the festival, spokesman Julie Greicius said. She had no details on their injuries or conditions. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center received five victims, spokesman Joy Alexiou said. She also had no information on their conditions. Evenny Reyes of Gilroy, 13, told the Mercury News that she spent the day at the festival with her friends and relatives.

“We were just leaving and we saw a guy with a bandana wrapped around his leg because he got shot. And there were people on the ground, crying,” Reyes said. “There was a little kid hurt on the ground. People were throwing tables and cutting fences to get out.” Reyes said that she didn’t run at first because the gunshots sounded like fireworks. “It started going for five minutes, maybe three. It was like the movies—everyone was crying, people were screaming,” she said. Todd Jones, a sound engineer, told the newspaper that he was at the front of the festival’s Vineyard stage when he heard what sounded like a firework. “But then it started to increase, more rapidly, which sounded more like gunfire, and at that point people realized what was happening,” Jones said. Natalie Martinez, a Gilroy Resident, told the Mercury News that she had gone to get food and separated from her two daughters. “I ran to find the girls, and we basically ran into each other. I thought, We’re open prey. It was awful,” she said. AP

A6 Tuesday, July 30, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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editorial

Best defenders against poachers

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ESPITE intensifying global efforts, our government agencies are having a hard time tackling the growing poaching crisis that threatens to wipe out our critical wildlife species, like the Philippine pangolin and marine turtles. According to a recent story published in this paper (See, Philippine Marines: Easier to find rebels than pangolins,” in the BusinessMirror, July 17, 2019), the population of the Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis) has plummeted as much as 95 percent since the 1980s, making it critically endangered—one step above extinction. There were 667 illegally trafficked Philippine pangolins apprehended by authorities from 2001 to 2017, with 10 live animals recovered at a checkpoint in Tagaytay City in June. In April 2013, a Chinese poaching vessel rammed into the Philippines’s famed Tubbataha Reefs. Found aboard were 2,870 dead pangolins. There are only eight known pangolin species in the world—four are in Africa and four in Asia, including the Philippines. The Palawan or Philippine pangolin is the least studied among pangolin species in the world. As its name suggests, it is endemic to Palawan Island, considered the country’s last ecological frontier. Hunted for their meat, scales and internal organs, pangolins are believed to be miracle cures for various ailments, with China and Vietnam being major buyers. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has also received numerous reports about the resurgence of marine turtle poaching, particularly in Palawan and Mindoro. The Philippines is a migratory pathway of marine turtles and hosts many of their nesting sites. Five of the seven known marine turtle species are found in Philippine seas. These are green, hawksbill, olive ridley, loggerhead and leatherback turtles. Most marine turtles are on the list of threatened species, according to the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Hawksbill turtles are in demand by jewelers for their shell. Green turtles are hunted for meat, while olive ridleys (also known as Pacific ridley sea turtle), which are abundant in the West Philippine Sea, are also hunted for their meat, shell and internal organs. Republic Act 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, prohibits wildlife trade, especially wildlife that are on the brink of extinction. The Philippines is also a party to several international treaties aimed at protecting and conserving wildlife, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals or the Bonn Convention, an environmental treaty under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Program. But poachers and illegal traders are taking advantage of poor law enforcement and are conniving with locals to skirt these laws and regulations. Congress should provide government agencies mandated to protect our wildlife and marine environment with more funds to do their jobs well. More funding would not only provide for better law enforcement and regulation but also boost our resource managers’ capability to help propagate endangered species and protect their habitats. Poaching is no longer a small-time activity confined to locals looking to make a quick side income to tide things over. As the confiscation of multimillionpesos worth of marine and wildlife contraband has shown, poaching has gone big-time, an export industry in itself, and the big businesses behind it seem unafraid of our laws with their measly fines and penalties. The government needs stronger laws and policies to deal with the illegal and organized activities of these big-time transnational poachers. It needs to detect and document their environmental plunder with the objective of seeking their conviction either in local courts or even internationally. However, the No. 1 enemy of all conservation efforts is poverty. It is said that hungry people don’t care about conservation. It’s no coincidence that most crimes against the environment take place in poor communities. Every effort should be made to ensure that the people in these communities, especially those living in or near the biodiversity areas, stand to gain economically and socially from conservation efforts, thus providing them incentives to protect local wildlife and marine species. They are our best defenders against poachers.

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THE ENTREPRENEUR

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OW quickly sentiments can change. Nearly a year ago, when the inflation rate accelerated to 6.7 percent in September and October, investors and consumers turned pessimistic on their outlook on the economy. Household consumption last year was slowing down in anticipation of higher prices ahead amid the perceived rice supply lack, the stock market index was just above 7,000 points and the peso was trading below 52 to a US dollar toward the end of 2018. The tit-for-tat trade tariffs between the United States and China were weighing down investor’s sentiment further, while doomsayers and other critics of the Duterte administration were already predicting the collapse of the Philippine economy. Our economy, however, recovered fast from the inflation blip. I see more stability now, with rising inflation already a thing of the past. Real estate prices are going up—an indication of strong demand and greater purchasing power—while Philippine stocks have just entered the bull market territory after the

benchmark index pierced through 8,200 points on July 15, 2019. The peso, on the other hand, has slowly appreciated, hovering near 51 against the greenback. I have noticed that Filipino businessmen and investors tend to be optimistic and spend more when real-estate prices and the stock market rise. The strong policy response of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to address the creeping inflation toward the last quarter of 2019 has also helped stabilize the economy and calmed investors. The Monetary Board’s calibrated move to reduce interest rates and lower the reserve requirements of banks in a bid to thwart further inflationary pressures also added to the positive sentiment of businessmen. Reducing the reserve requirements of universal and commercial banks by 2 percentage points will release about P190 billion in additional

PHL: 2020 and beyond

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John Mangun

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Stable prices lead to optimism in PHL

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HE ignorance coming from even the educated elite that are our “thought-leaders” can sometimes be astounding. One example is the idea that the Philippines could compete with Vietnam in rice production. There is a great potential in the improvement of per-hectare yield where the Philippines has failed miserably in comparison to the rest of Asean. However, real-world conditions cannot be changed. Vietnam sits on one of the most fertile growing regions on the planet—the Mekong River Delta. The Philippines sits on a volcanic rock in the middle of the ocean. Likewise, Thailand has its Chao Phraya River system that stretches some 372 kilometers, which is farther than from Manila to Kalibo, Aklan. As a result, Vietnam produces 39 percent of its much cheaper electricity from hydroelectric, against 9 percent in the Philippines. Thailand

has cheaper electricity because of its own natural gas sources in the Gulf of Thailand, which produces 65 percent of its electricity supply. You cannot successfully fight “Mother Nature”. While there have been some great “short” professional basketball players—Isaiah Thomas is 5'9"—the average height is still 6'7". The turning of the economic cycle in 2020 is inevitable because it is nothing more than a long-term and complex global plotting of the normal business cycle that creates booms and busts, and shifts between the public and private sectors. While governments and central banks have been trying to ignore or control the normal economic cycles, they have

liquidity into the financial system. This implies lower interest rates and serves as an incentive for businessmen to expand. The central bank’s policy reaction and government’s move to liberalize rice importation through the enactment of the rice tariffication law have indeed neutralized the inflationary trend. The central bank in a report for the second quarter said the inflation rate dropped to 3 percent from 3.8 percent a quarter ago. The figure brought the average inflation in the first half to 3.4 percent, which is within the official target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for the full year. Businessmen, as a result, have become more bullish in the second quarter, boosted in part by electionrelated spending in the run-up to the elections in May. The latest business expectations survey conducted by the central bank showed that the overall confidence index in the second quarter increased to 40.5 percent, from 35.2 percent in the first quarter. This means the number of optimists increased and continued to be greater than the number of pessimists. “Respondents attributed their more upbeat outlook to expectations of the usual uptick in demand during summer [in view of the foreseen increase in the number of local and foreign tourists], enrollment and harvest periods, election-related spending in the run-up to the

elections in May 2019, sustained increase in orders and projects leading to higher volume of production,” according to the BSP survey. The survey showed that businessmen turned bullish because of the continued rollout of government infrastructure and development projects with the approval of the 2019 national budget. “They were also optimistic that their business operations would benefit from the favorable macroeconomic conditions in the country, particularly the easing of inflation in 2019,” the BSP noted. The BSP said the sentiment of businesses in the Philippines reflected the more positive business outlook in Canada, France, Greece, Hungary, Israel and South Korea. Business sentiments in Brazil, Chile, the euro area, the Netherlands and the United States, however, were less buoyant. With President Rodrigo Duterte reaffirming his resolve to complete more major infrastructure projects through the “Build, Build, Build” program in his latest State of the Nation Address, coupled with his high approval ratings, I expect more investors to come and see for themselves the Philippine growth story. Our strong economic fundamentals are enough to make businessmen optimistic on the economy.

always failed. You cannot successfully fight Mother Nature. However, even during the different cycles, there are always “winners” and “losers”. The rainy season increases the sales of umbrellas and decreases the sales of sunglasses. Further, there are instances of “cycle inversion” where one nation or asset class goes against the general cycle trend. While again simplistic, the Shanghai stock market has gone into a “bear market,” while the US markets are still making historic highs with a strong uptrend. The new cycle in 2020 is calling for a strong inflationary period, fueled particularly by an increase in food costs globally. Rising food prices sparked the Arab Spring rebellions in 2011 and beyond. This will not be a factor in the Philippines. A continuation of the trending global economic slowdown will see a fall in oil prices because of decreased demand. That is a positive for the Philippines. Nations dependent on exports to the West will lose national income. The Philippines is not part of that export group. Automobile sales are falling globally and 12 percent of Thailand’s economy comes from manufacturing cars and parts. Most of the world has screwed

up their interest-rate policies beyond repair. Many economies need lower interest rates to push economic growth and that is hard to do when rates are historically low. Many nations—think Indonesia—are scared to death that lower rates will damage their currencies. The Philippines has great interest rate maneuverability and yet capital flows are balanced to keep the peso stable. Regardless of what certain quarters may say, the economic ship of the Philippines is secure. Growth is being fueled by many sectors, including capital expenditures, public/private spending, and capital inflows. The economy is balanced enough to withstand some disruptions, such as a reduction in remittances. Business confidence is actually rising. Consumer confidence is coming back to normal after the inflation shock of last year. Perhaps, the best that the future holds is this: Global money never sleeps and is always looking for opportunities. It will see that in the Philippines in 2020 and beyond.

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

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

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Tuesday, July 30, 2019 A7

Not all greens must go because ‘Turning backward toward the barbarous and cruel past’ they might be stuffed with shabu Manny F. Dooc

Cecilio T. Arillo

TELLTALES

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OR the first time since 2003, the United States federal government will resume the execution of death-row inmates, ending a 16-year moratorium. Attorney General William Barr said “the Justice Department upholds the rule of law and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system.” President Donald J. Trump has been a strong proponent of the death penalty long before he took office at the White House. Thirty years ago, Trump took out full-page ads in New York newspapers following the rape of a jogger in Central Park, which gripped the city at that time. This recent action in the US, a country that has been looked up to as the global bastion of civil liberties and humane treatment of criminals, will definitely influence the Philippines, which is seriously considering the reimposition of the death penalty. In fact, after the President mentioned it in his Sona, a number of solons like Senators Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, Ronald dela Rosa, Panfilo Lacson and Cristopher “Bong” Go have filed separate bills to reinstate the death penalty in our statutes. This will be one of the most contentious and divisive issues that will confront the 18th Congress. The bone of contention is whether capital punishment serves as a deterrent to the commission of serious crimes or not. Those in the administration who advocate its revival argue that death penalty deters crimes, saying that criminals would think twice before committing a serious offense like drug trafficking and plunder if they know that they would be executed if caught and convicted. Those against it cited studies that show that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent. They also stressed that the death penalty is anti-poor as statistics showed that only those who cannot afford to hire good defense lawyers get convicted and suffered the penalty of death. In 1924, the world’s attention was riveted on the trial of two young men in Chicago—Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb—who murdered a boy named Bobby Franks simply to see if they could get away with it. The defense was handled by the greatest criminal lawyer at the time, Clarence Darrow, who claimed that putting the accused to death, instead of deterring crime, would lead to a more uncivilized and inhumane society. Instead of imposing the death penalty by hanging, the judge sentenced the two accused to life imprisonment persuaded by Darrow’s concluding argument as follows: “I am not pleading so much for these boys as I am

for the infinite number of others to follow, those who perhaps cannot be as well-defended as these have been, those who may go down in the storm, and the tempest, without aid. It is of them I am begging of this court not to turn backward toward the barbarous and cruel past.” This is valid today as it was a century ago. nnn

IT is providential that we live in the same age as Manny Pacquiao. Our generation is blessed that we are living witnesses to his indomitable courage and unparalleled saga in the history of boxing. Like Pacman, he gobbles up everyone who comes his way to challenge his boxing prowess —both contenders and pretenders to his throne alike. He has demolished rated and feared boxers around the world. He has tormented undisputed titleholders who have not tasted defeat until they engaged him. And he has held eight different crowns. The only boxer, living or dead, who ever held such a distinction the like of whom the world may never see again. But his true greatness does not lie in his outstanding feat as a pugilist. He is a great human being who has proven to all that one can rise above the harshest circumstances and achieve one’s dream. He is God-fearing, generous, magnanimous, and humble. He is truly a model and inspiration to the Filipino youth. nnn

SENATOR Manny is lucky that his aspiration to excel as a boxer was not ruined by undesirable influence. Abandoned by his father, he persevered and gained the support of boxing professionals who steered his career to success and glory. He grew up in the waterfront in General Santos City, but unlike the fictional Terry Malloy, the lead character in Elia Kazan’s acclaimed movie, On the Waterfront, who threw a fight upon advice of his own manager-brother, which destroyed his career, Manny’s shot to fame and fortune was phenomenal. He won’t ever repeat Malloy’s swan song, which is one of the most famous quotes in movieland: “You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.” To us, you’re the greatest Sen. Manny Pacquiao! Mabuhay ka!

DATABASE

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OT all greens must go—they might be stuffed with shabu; it’s not our porous borders either. It’s about our border control managers.

In traffic, all greens must go—except when doing so will likely hit a bystander, a vehicle, a traffic officer or anything that stands in the way of the green lane. “It’s almost similar with the customs selectivity scheme in customs operation. A shipment tagged as green gets a virtually free clearing procedure; while yellow will require documentation check; and, red—actual physical inspection,” said lawyer and former Customs Bureau Director Ramon Cuyco in an interview. “But the smugglers, especially those specializing in bringing in antisocial goods, know better— they will not stuff their hot items into shipments that are likely to be tagged as ‘red’ by the customs bureau selectivity mechanism. In other words, they’ll make sure that their shipments will not elicit or invite unnecessary attention from the border control officers manning our ports. And there are many ways to do this,” Cuyco said. For example, sometime in May 2017, the shabu-in-cylinders were cleared through the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

Stuffed in steel cylinders used in printing operation, the crystal meth were believed to be street valued at around P6.4 billion. These cylinders were tagged with a “GREEN” selectivity mode, hence, no inspection was necessary, and in fact, none was ever done. This cost the job of Customs Chief Nick Faeldon, who was relieved of his customs post and was transferred to the Office of the Civil Defense of the defense department. Faeldon was barely a year in office then. In almost a year after, Gen. Sid Lapeña also lost his customs assignment because he reportedly bungled the P11-billion “magnetic shabu” when this shipment of crystal meth stuffed in construction magnetic lifters was assigned to a low-ranked intelligence officer who tripped along the way as he shepherded the clearing process of this meth shipment. The P11-billion shipments entered by way of consignee-for-hire; and, so, no way of checking who the real importer was. This slipped past the MICT too. In April 2019, P1 billion worth of tapioca was declared but turned

TAX LAW FOR BUSINESS

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AXES are considered the lifeblood of the government. Without taxes, the government would not be able to carry out its functions and achieve its purpose. However, despite the importance collecting taxes, our government also provides assistance to the public by giving some sort of incentives, such as exempting some entities from the payment of taxes. Section 30 of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended, provides a list of 11 organizations/ entities that are granted exemption from payment of income taxes. Being nonstock nonprofit corporations, these organizations basically have nothing to subject to income taxes, since they have no income to

speak of. That’s because funds these corporations receive are primarily coming from donations or grants. However, these entities cannot also avoid investing the funds they receive in other businesses. The question now is, are these funds flowing from other sources, other than from activities within the purpose of their

port authorities—they tag the shipments as GREEN, which means no inspection need to be done; or, they resort to fictitious consignees—the way the missing 2,000 containers were brought in; or, they assign a lowranking officer to husband a big deal such that he can become readily expendable when things go wrong; or, blatantly misdeclare shipments and let PR divert attention to the spike in volume, albeit no corresponding hike in collection. And, there are many more ways up in their sleeves—be they careermen, technocrats, businessmen or military men in customs. “Beneath all these high-profile smuggling cases, the unreliability of our importers registry is at the core of the problem,” Port & Freeports Trade and Security analyst lawyer Ramon Cuyco said. “Unless you reboot your Importers Registry, and adopt a Merit and Demerit System that will make importers’ classification dynamic, coupled with a periodic revision of red flags that shall influence the selectivity mechanism, sneaking in and clearing out of antisocial goods, as well as undeclared, misdeclared and undervalued commodities will continue to be done not through our porous borders but through the noses of our border control managers,” Cuyco said. Safe trade through our ports? Tall order! There’s nothing new in modus, just new faces copying old ways and making millions or billions of pesos in evil money. The question is, how can they live with their conscience? To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

How India’s dollar bond made too many enemies By Andy Mukherjee Bloomberg Opinion

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N abrupt reshuffle at the top of India’s finance bureaucracy makes it unlikely that the country’s inaugural issue of a controversial sovereign bond overseas will happen now. It’s just as well. Borrowing in a foreign currency, possibly dollars, would have set back New Delhi’s attempt to drum up more global interest in rupee debt. An unexpected meeting of minds formed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s core Hindu nationalist supporters and his more internationalist critics to put the bond’s future in question. Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg was presumably the author—and is now the fall guy—of the foreign-debt adventure. In an unusual move for a senior Indian civil servant, he requested retirement after he was marched off to the power ministry. That’s enough for investors to speculate that the government wants to back off—as indeed it should. Now that $10 billion in subscription checks won’t be coming in October, the domestic Indian bond market will feel the pressure of higher borrowings

locally by the government. There’s a way to ease it, though: masala bonds, or rupee debt sold overseas to global investors. India has deliberately eschewed foreign-currency sovereign borrowing and instead turned to its diaspora to tide over the occasional hard-currency shortage in the past. That was a prudent choice. Unlike export-led East Asian countries that routinely save more than they invest, India’s private-sector has a chronic dependence on foreign money, particularly to pay for energy needs. But as long as the government only borrowed locally, any risk of a 1980s Latin American-style blowup because of externally financed twin deficits was kept at bay. The government’s sudden U-turn on that long-held consensus, driven by poor growth and depleting fiscal resources, has now backfired. Nationalists saw a dollar bond as subjugating India’s interests to a global order they deeply mistrust. Internationalist technocrats, led by former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, rejected the idea that sovereign borrowing in foreign currency would be a cheaper option. After accounting for customary rupee depreciation and the occasional currency meltdown, dollar debt can suddenly

Revisiting Section 30 of NIRC–tax exemption Atty. Kara Louisse B. Eramis

out to be meth. It was cleared, again, through the country’s biggest international container port—the MICT. If curiosity still bears significance, the P6.4-billion shabu-in-cylinders, the P11-billion meth-in-magnetic lifters, and the P1-billion shabu-intapioca were all cleared through the country’s most sophisticated containerized port run by professionals and operated by highly regarded businessmen in the country. Lately, the 641 missing containers were reportedly shuttled or shuffled between the country’s premier collection district—the POM, and the country’s premier economic free port—the SBFEZ, at the former US military facility in Subic, Zambales. We used to justify lapses in border control to our country’s porous borders. Indeed, the Philippines has the fifth longest coastlines in the world, with 36,289 kilometers, next only to Canada’s 202,080 kilometers. Attributing the country’s inadequacy to its porous borders appears plausible. Human trafficking in the southern backdoor may be a problem, especially in places where Indonesians look more Filipino than some Filipinos, or where some Filipinos are endowed with more Indonesian features than real Indonesians. But not necessarily so in the field of intertrade or commercial transactions. A deeper understanding of how things have been shaping up lately will tell us that smuggling is not done in unmanned territories—they are entered and cleared through our sophisticated ports. And these are done in various ways, modes that are unknown to

establishment, within the contemplation of income subject to tax? Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) 38-2019 was issued to clarify the nature, character and tax treatment of corporations under Section 30. This is in support to Revenue Memorandum Circular 64-16, which already provides for the clarifications on the nature and tax treatment of corporations and associations. These issuances made clear what organizations/corporations would fall under the exemption of Section 30. Basically, it answers the questions on whether the organization is exempt from income tax or not. Exemption from the payment of taxes means a diminution of the collection of funds by the government. Hence, this is generally construed against the taxpayer. The latter has the burden to prove that it is entitled to the exemption. The Memorandum Order provides for a test that would guide the tax author ities to deter mine what

organization would fall under such provision. First, the organization must show in its documents that its primary purpose of incorporation falls under Sec. 30 (Organizational Test); and Second, that its regular activities be devoted exclusively to the accomplishment of the purposes specified in Section 30 (Operational Test). Further, it made also clear that the income tax exemption is not absolute, though this could already be gleaned from the last paragraph of Section 30, which states that income of whatever kind and character of such organizations from any of their properties, real or personal, or from any of their activities conducted for profit regardless of the disposition shall be subject to income tax. Therefore, interest income from currency bank deposits and yield or any other monetary benefit from deposit substitute instruments and from trust funds and similar arrangement, and

grow expensive. Granted, in a world where yield is so hard to find, there’s no dearth of appetite. Even skeptical institutions would be forced to buy the Indian paper, knowing that Asian private banks’ rich clients—especially those of Indian origin—would love to snap up the note. Even if the opportunity exists, however, should India take it? Moody’s Investors Service rates Indonesia and India at the same Baa2 level. Indonesia sold a 2029 dollar bond last month at a shade under 3.5 percent, slightly cheaper than the 3.6 percent yield at which the existing 10-year note was trading. Assume the same cost, and add the roughly 5 percent annual drop in the rupee against the dollar based on the trend in the past 30 years. The financing works out to be more expensive than the local Indian 10-year bond yield of 6.5 percent. But cost isn’t the only issue. A bigger problem is credibility. As I wrote at the start of Modi’s second five-year term, the new government needs to rebase its fraught relationship with investors on truth and trust. A former chief economic adviser from Modi’s first term believes the actual GDP growth rate is more like 4.5 percent than the published 7 percent.

The Economic Times has reported that the federal budget deficit for the year that ended in March 2018 was almost 5.9 percent, according to the comptroller of government accounts, rather than the disclosed 3.5 percent. Instead of acknowledging that growth is sub-par and domestic fiscal resources are nearing exhaustion, the new Modi government upset many of its supporters in finance and business by jacking up tax rates, introducing new levies, and announcing the dollar bond as an expedient solution. With an honest appraisal, the government could have nudged banks to borrow in foreign currencies – on expensive terms – from the diaspora. That’s exactly what it did during the Fed’s 2013 taper tantrum. However, since the problem this time is of a domestic resource crunch rather than a hard-currency shortage, India can alternatively raise money overseas with rupee-denominated debt: a first-ever sovereign masala bond, as the category has come to be known. The masala markets in London and Singapore aren’t liquid enough to get New Delhi $10 billion in one scoop. (The state of Kerala recently became the first subnational government to raise about $305 million.)

royalties derived from sources within the Philippines of organizations under Section 30 are subject to the 20 percent final withholding tax. Moreover, Section 30 is specific and covered under Title II of the Tax Code, entitled “Taxes on Income”, hence the exemption provided under such provision pertains only to income tax. Thus, any purchase of goods or properties or services and importation of goods by a corporation organized and operated under Section 30 may be subjected to VAT. The latter being an indirect tax, it can be passed on to the purchaser of the goods, properties or services. Note that this memorandum order is applicable to all organizations/ corporations under Section 30, except corporations established under paragraph (H), which is governed by another issuance (RMO 44-16). It is worthy to note that under this memorandum order, it transferred to the Revenue Regions the issuance of

Certificate of Tax Exemptions. Thus, with the interpretations made under this issuance, we hope that this clarifies some of the nonstock, nonprofit corporations’ questions as to their tax exemption and applicability. In the end, these types of corporations and organizations were established to help the country’s socioeconomic development, which in the end will benefit not only the corporation/organization itself, but also the government. The author is a senior associate of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at karalouisse. eramis@bdblaw.com.ph or call 403-2001 local 170.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, July 30, 2019

BOC may start audit of rice traders next month–official

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) said it is ready to start its audit of rice traders next month in line with its probe to determine if there was undervaluation of rice imports. The Department of Finance (DOF) also announced on Monday that the BOC has collected a total of P6.479 billion in tariffs from rice imported by traders as of July 15 following the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11203. “We are preparing the audit notification letters. Yes, we will issue [by the first week of August],” Vincent

Maronilla told the BusinessMirror. The BOC official said earlier that the values of the rice shipments declared by traders were “inconsistent.” He said the BOC has the power to collect duties and taxes if there were deficiencies in the assessment made on imported rice shipments. He noted that shipments

are open for post-clearance audit for up to three years. The BOC will conduct the audit after the Federation of Free Farmers Inc. said rice imports made after RA 11203 took effect were undervalued. However, in a statement issued on Monday, the BOC denied the allegations of the FFF. The BOC said its Assessment Operations and Coordinating Group (AOCG) revealed that it is the office of the Import Assessment Service (IAS) that provides Reference Values on rice import as guides when the veracity of the declared values are disputable. “All Ports abide with the said published data except when the Commercial Invoice of a rice shipment is supported by genuine and validated Proof of Payment such as Bank Telegraphic transfer of Payment, Sales Contract and other similar legitimate instru-

mentalities that indicated actual sales transaction between the seller and the buyer,” the BOC said. The bureau said the system it uses is recognized by the World Trade Organization of which the Philippines is a member and is prescribed under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

Collection

THE BOC reported to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III during a recent executive committee meeting that it collected P6.479 billion in duties from traders who imported rice after the law took effect on March 5. The DOF said the government also collected P3.103 billion in payments from traders for import permits issued by the National Food Authority since January. See “BOC,” A2

‘3,000 rice mills nationwide stopped operation’

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T least 3,000 rice mills nationwide have stopped operation due to the influx of cheaper imports, the Philippine Confederation of Grains Association Inc. (Philcongrains) said on

Monday. Of the 10,000 rice mills nationwide, Philcongrains President Herculano Co Jr. said only 60 to 70 percent are currently operating after the rice trade liberalization law,

LOW PRESSURE AREA (LPA) ESTIMATED AT 380 KM WEST OF DAGUPAN CITY, PANGASINAN SOUTHWEST MONSOON AFFECTING THE COUNTRY as of 4:00 am - July 29, 2019

or Republict Act (RA) 11203, took effect on March 5. Co said the figure includes six rice mills in Luzon worth a total of P600 million. Co said the sudden drop in unhusked and milled rice prices due

to the increase in imports forced the mills to stop operations as they bought palay at a much higher price. “They were caught in a losing position because they bought palay at higher prices last wet season harvest. Suddenly, rice prices went down. So no one would buy their rice at higher prices,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the launching of SL Agritech Corp.’s Masaganang Ani 300 program in Quezon City on Monday. In Febr u a r y, st a keholders warned that the deregulation of the rice industry could hurt banks more than the default of South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.Philippines as thousands of millers could go bankrupt. Coalition of Farmers’ Organizations, Unions, Retailers and Rice Millers to Protect the Philippine Rice Industry (C-FOURR PROTECT) argued that the underutilization of rice mill facilities could lead to eventual closures and worse, the default of P300 billion in loans borrowed by millers from commercial banks. Based on the group’s estimates, a complete rice mill facility costs about P30 million to P50 million, which would mean that the whole Philippine rice milling industry is valued at about P200 billion to P300 billion.

Higher ‘darak’ prices

WITH fewer mills operating, the price of darak or rice bran, which is used in animal feeds, has gone up to P17 per kilogram from the usual P7 to P8 per kg due to the shortage. Rice bran is a by-product of rice milling and a decline in milling operations would mean a drop in the production of the animal feed component, Co said. He added that the increase in rice bran prices pull up the cost of animal feeds and eventually the price of meat. United Broiler Raisers Association President Elias Jose Inciong confirmed this development and described the higher prices of darak as “unusual” since it is normally lower than palay prices. Due to this, poultry raisers have lost a cheaper alternative for feeds when corn prices are high. The prices of yellow corn and rice bran are now in the range of P17 to P20 per kg. The average farm-gate price of palay as of July second week declined by 17.3 percent to P17.87 per kilogram from P21.61 per kilogram recorded last year, Philippine Statistics Authority data showed. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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PAMPI FILES CASE AGAINST B.O.C. OVER RETROACTIVE COLLECTION OF TARIFFS By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) has filed a petition with the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) questioning the constitutionality of the Bureau of Customs’s (BOC) order to retroactively collect tariffs on some shipments of mechanically deboned meat (MDM). In its petition, Pampi said its right to due process was violated when the BOC issued Customs Memorandum Circular (CMC) 1312019, which ordered the immediate reversion of the tariff rate on MDM to 40 percent from 5 percent without even publication, as required by law. “Such unexpected move from the BOC gravely jeopardized our business operations considering we already planned our costing based on the 5-percent duty rate. Our products were already sold to consumers based on the lower rate,” Pampi said in a statement on Monday. Pampi said neither Republict Act (RA) 11203 or the rice trade liberalization law nor the Executive Order (EO) 23 of President Duterte granted the BOC the power to impose the 40-percent tariff. The group argued that taxes cannot be imposed by implication. Furthermore, Pampi also questioned in its petition the continued imposition of the 40-percent tariff and the collection of the differential rate of 35 percent despite the President’s issuance of an EO maintaining the lower rate of 5 percent last June 13.

“BOC’s act is also contrary to the very essence of EO 82, which is to prevent the increase of prices of affected commodities,” it said. “The continued imposition of the 40 percent rate, as well as the collection of the differential rate of 35 percent is definitely against the purpose of the Executive Order,” it added. Pampi said the filing of the case before the CTA was their only alternative as the BOC did not respond to their letters. The group filed the case last July 8. “We really cannot beat the immediate imposition of the 40 percent, please understand that we already sold our products based on the 5 percent rate, and if the BOC will insist in collecting the differential rate we will no longer be able to recover our losses,” the group said. “Aside from that, the 40-percent duty rate is too burdensome especially for the small importers. If this will continue we fear that most of us will be forced to restort to costcutting measures and this will affect the jobs of thousands of employees all over the country,” it added. Pampi President Felix O. Tiukinhoy told the BusinessMirror that their members have decided not to pay the back taxes pending the resolution of their case at the CTA. Pampi earlier estimated that the amount of back taxes that the BOC could collect from the shipments may reach up to P1 billion. The BOC earlier said it expects the Manila International Container Port to net an additional P400 million from the collection of the back taxes from importers and processors.

DOLE to help workers affected by lotto closure By Samuel P. Medenilla

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@sam_medenilla

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday said it is ready to provide aid to workers who were displaced by the closure of the gaming schemes of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III told reporters in a news briefing that the agency is ready to give affected workers alternative employment, as soon as the DOLE could verify their numbers. “We are ready to provide emergency employment to those who were affected by the closure of Lotto and other STL [Small Town Lottery], and Peryahan ng Bayan,” Bello said. DOLE also advised affected workers to avail themselves of the unemployment insurance from the Social Security System (SSS). “Workers who were displaced involuntarily by reason of economic reason, could avail of the

Inflation. . . Continued from A1

Roces also noted that electricity prices have gone down, as Meralco slashed rates by around P0.107 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in July, or a downward adjustment of P0.57 per kWh from May on the back of lower transmission charges for residential consumers. Moreover, pump prices of gasoline went down with falling global prices due to fears of weakening demand and supply surplus, he noted. Adding to those factors are the benefits of a strong peso throughout the month, which made imported raw materials cheaper to buy. According to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the local currency averaged

unemployment insurance,” Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo M. Benavidez said. Republic Act 11199, or the Social Security Act, provides unemployment insurance to qualified workers, which is worth 50 percent of their average monthly salary credit for a maximum of two months. To apply for the said benefit, Benavidez said applicants must first get the required certification from the DOLE. “They need to get certification from the DOLE to prove they were retrenched because of involuntary termination like closure or cessation of operation,” Benavidez said. He said the DOLE is coordinating with the SSS to fast-track the processing of applications for jobless insurance. Workers hired by lotto outlets lost their jobs after President Duterte ordered the PCSO to cease its gaming activities during the weekend due to the alleged massive corruption in the governmentowned and -controlled corporation. at 51.155 to a dollar in July. This is more than half a peso stronger compared to the 51.803 average value of the peso against the dollar in the previous month. In their most recent monetary-policy meeting, the Monetary Board said they see a further moderation of inflation pressures toward the end of the year as reflected in their new inflation forecasts. In particular, they announced that they have scaled down their inflation forecasts to 2.7 percent on average for 2019 from the 2.9-percent projection made in May. For 2020, the projection was also scaled down to 3 percent from the 3.1 percent in the previous meeting. The BSP is set to meet on August 8 to review their monetary-policy settings, along with their inflation forecasts for this year and the next. Bianca Cuaresma

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Senate to probe PhilHealth, DOH ‘irregularities’ By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

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HE Senate, prompted by Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s exposé, moved Monday to open a joint inquiry into alleged assorted anomalies involving Philhealth and the Department of Health (DOH). Senate President Vicente Sotto III, acting on a motion of Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, promptly referred Lacson’s findings for public hearings to be conducted jointly by the Blue Ribbon, chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon, and the Health Committee, chaired by Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go. Taking the floor during Monday’s session, Lacson reminded the Senate that the Duterte administration is poised to fully implement Republic Act 11223, or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, which, he said, will give a full spectrum of health services to all Filipinos. “With it comes a big chunk of our annual budget,” Lacson said, adding: “The budget appropriated for this law is pegged at P257 billion for this year. In fact, the National Health Insurance Program, in which every Filipino shall be a member under the UHC, had appropriations of P52.2 billion and P60.6 billion in 2017 and 2018, respectively. For this year, P67.35 billion has been allocated for the program.” The Senator reminded that government “cannot afford to lose P1 from policy failures, insurance frauds, and conflict of interests.” Besides, he added, “these are the country’s PhilHealth and Department of Health that we are talking about, not PhilWealth and Department of Wealth.” Still, Lacson said, he had refused to believe that “the agency is rotten to the core.” In fact, the senator said he heard of many honest and well-meaning PhilHealth officers and employees who braved the odds and blew the whistle on these various anomalies in the corporation. “But they all found themselves thrown under the bus and harassed with concocted, fabricated offenses,” the senator said. “They may now find comfort under the new leadership. I urge them to report everything they know and present their evidence to their new PhilHealth president.” Lacson added that “amid these shenanigans, it behooves public servants, let alone the secretary of health, to rid himself of conflict of interest and put the interest of the people above everybody else. Nothing else will suffice. Falling short of this will compromise his office, principles and integrity.” “I speak of the disease that besets our health sector, starting off from the state-run firm that provides public-health insurance and healthcare services for all Filipino citizens—the corrupt and corrupting system of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., or PhilHealth,” the senator said. He noted that while President Duterte acted with firmness and dispatch by assigning retired Army Maj. Gen. Ricardo “Dick” Morales, whose reputation as a no-nonsense and principled military officer precedes him, the senator admitted he “still finds the need to expose shenanigans within PhilHealth.” “PhilHealth is ‘bleeding dry,’ and the Commission on Audit [COA] has raised red flags to call our attention,” the senator said. Lacson lamented that “it seems to me that year in, year out, its financial deficit spirals out of control” noting that from 2013 to 2017, the net operating income of PhilHealth continues to be at the negative level: P5 billion in 2013; P1.8 billion in 2014; P5.7 billion in 2015; P6.1 billion in 2016; and P10.5 billion in 2017. In a privileged speech, the senator disclosed findings that the fund viability, membership, collections and investments of the agency are “not looking good, and the PhilHealth’s Actuarial Valuation Report of 2016 shows us a clear picture. The report exhorts, and I quote, “PhilHealth will go through difficult times and will encounter crisis if the recommendations will not be implemented,” Lacson said, adding that the agency’s performance is also dismal, noting that its 2017’s Performance Scorecard shows that it gained an overall score of only 47.82 percent from the Governance Commission for government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCC) Scoreboard. “This is disturbingly lower than the target score of at least 90 percent for its appointive members to be granted Performance-Based Incentives.” According to Lacson, “more disturbing is the fact that the GOCC scored PhilHealth’s prosecution rate at 0 percent; arbitration rate at 0.14 percent and claims processing rate at 0 percent. Ironically, PhilHealth’s collection efficiency rate, meaning its ability to collect contributions from its members—is quite impressive at 79 percent.” He added that “this is pain in the chest, especially of paying members of PhilHealth and that would include people in this hall and the gallery, and the rest of the 18,207,555 Filipinos who pay mandatory contributions every month.”

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 A9

DOT allots ₧600M to develop, place ads targeting ‘opportunity markets’ By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

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@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

DVERTISING company DDB Philippines has been shortlisted as consultant for the crafting of advertising materials targeting opportunity and emerging markets of the Department of Tourism (DOT). The disclosure was made available on the Philgeps web site, which publishes bidding opportunities by government agencies. The contract for content production for opportunity and emerging markets is P100 million. Duration of the contract is on October to December 2019. In an e-mail to BusinessMirror’s queries regarding the government agency’s advertising campaign, DOT Spokesman and Undersecretary for Tourism Development Planning Benito C. Bengzon Jr. said there will be “at least five TVCs [television commercials] that will be produced this year for the fourth quarter onwards, and they will be airing in traditional and digital platforms. They are targeted to our emerging market regions. The products to be featured will depend on the travel

needs of the target audience.” Emerging or opportunity markets are those from which the Philippines receives tourist arrivals of 100,000 or less. As per the terms of reference (TOR) for this project, the DOT aims to “achieve at least 14-percent growth rate for these regions in [fiscal year] 2019 versus the previous year.” The targeted markets are: the Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, Israel, Turkey);������������ Western Europe (Austria, Norway, Germany, France��������������������������� , the Netherlands,��������� Switzerland); Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam); the Middle East (Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia); as well as Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (Moscow, Saint Petersburg����������������������� , Novosibirsk, Yekateringburg, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk,

Kazakhstan, Ukraine). The production of content for each opportunity market is budgeted at P20 million each. As per the Philgeps web site, the opening of technical bids for this project is on July 31, 2019. Separately, the DOT is bidding out a P500-million contract for a media placement agency for the ads above. Contract duration is from September to December 2019, with additional media values until February 2020), according to the project’s TOR. Bids will also be opened on July 31, 2019. This developed as the DOT has finally started rolling out its new TVC to international markets, beginning with a placement on the news network, CNN. Titled, “The Call,” the TVC “is the culminating omnibus AVP (audiovisual presentation) resulting from the crowd-sourcedinspired refreshed campaign of ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ launched last February 2019,” said Bengzon. Asked to explain the concept behind “The Call,” he said: “The campaign mainly focuses on positioning the Philippines as one of the pioneering countries for sustainable tourism while maintaining the famous tagline.” The ad begins with the sound of a phone ringing in the background, then video shots of beaches, lush green mountains and placid river waters in the

Philippines are shown onscreen. The call is answered by a female saying, “Hey you! Sorry you can’t make it to the Philippines,” who proceeds to enumerate what she and her group have been doing. As she continues to speak, more video of different scenes in the Philippines are shown, including foreigners’ street dancing, lazing in a bamboo hammock on the beach, etc. It ends with an invitation to viewers to “Be Part of the Fun,” the words appearing on the screen. The TVC may be viewed on the DOT Facebook page. The TVC was crafted by advertising agency BBDO Guerrero, which edged out four other advertising companies to land the P250-million contract to create the refreshed Philippines brand campaign for the DOT. The same agency also undertook the first campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign launched in 2012 under former Tourism Secretary Ramon J. Jimenez. Touch XDA, a unit of advertising firm DDB Philippines, was earlier awarded a P250-million contract for media placement. (See, “DOT to premier ‘refreshed’ ad campaign in March,” in the BusinessMirror, January 25, 2019.) DOT officials didn’t want to say in which CNN edition the ad was airing, the frequency of the airing, nor the duration of the government agency’s contract

with the international news network—basic information released by previous DOT administrations, as payment for the ads and their placement are funded by taxpayers through the annual General Appropriations Act. Those who have seen “The Call” locally say it has been airing the past month every morning in Manila during the programs Anderson Cooper 360 or Cuomo Prime Time. Bengzon said the TVC is also currently being aired “in various networks and platforms targeting our top source markets such as National Geographic and CNBC… to name a few. It will continue to air until fourth quarter [this year] when new materials will be developed.” While the TVC has yet to be shown in any of foreign travel and trade fairs aboard, he assured “the material will be used in promotional tours and events the DOT and TPB [Tourism Promotions Board] will be participating in thereon.” TPB is the marketing arm of the DOT. Separately, the TPB is expected to procure the services of a media planning agency to place the current TVC in key tourism markets media for the rest of the year. TPB handles the promotions in top source markets for tourists, such as South Korea, China, the United States, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and India.

‘Lowly’ bamboo takes center stage in Iloilo climate-change confab Bamboo R&D

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

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FTEN ignored and set aside with preference for hardwood, or good lumber, it is now time for the lowly bamboo to rise and shine. This giant grass species is now the subject of various research and development to enhance its potential as a viable alternative to expensive wood species often imported by the Philippine wood industry players to sustain business activity. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) gears up for the country’s hosting of the First Asean Bamboo Congress for Climate Change Adaptation towards Environmental Sustainability and Economic Resiliency from August 12 to 16, 2019, at the Iloilo International Convention Center in Iloilo City. To be spearheaded by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) of the DENR, the event will convene more than 200 researchers, academics, policy-makers, professionals, and representatives from business groups within the Asean region to discuss and exchange information on bamboo and sustainable environmental strategies. The congress will also be attended by officials from International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) based in Beijing, China, and World Bamboo Organization, as well as representatives from other non-Asean countries, like Australia, US and China. ERDB Director and National Coordinator of the Bamboo Plantation Development Project (BPDP) Dr. Sofio B. Quintana said the international confab recognizes the importance of bamboo in adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change.

Valuable economic resource

“BAMBOO is considered as a valuable economic and environmental resource, and ERDB hopes to continue to innovate ways on increasing awareness on the promising potentials of bamboo especially in attaining environmental sustainability and economic resiliency,” Quintana said in a statement. Through the congress, ERDB hopes to strengthen partnership with other countries in enhancing science-based research and development on bamboo to support the bamboo industry, and how the industry can contribute to sustainable economic growth and environmental sustainability, according to Angelito B. Exconde, assistant national coordinator of BPDP and the lead

BAMBOO grass species thrives in most parts of the Philippines.

coordinator for the event. Known for its resilience, versatility, beauty, and strength, bamboo has been used for different purposes for ages.

Construction material

FOR one, bamboo is a popular construction material in the countryside. It can be used for poles, scaffolding, rafts and bamboo splits. Recent developments made it possible to have panel boards, plywood, plyboard and laminated board made out of bamboo. Aside from construction purposes, it is also used for furniture like sala and dining sets, cabinets, benches, tables, beds and chairs. The culms can also be made into handicrafts like brooches, wall décors, vases, fans and lampshades. Novelty items like the bambike (bicycle made of bamboo) and motorcycle were also crafted out of bamboo. As a source of food, bamboo shoots of kawayan tinik, giant bamboo, machiku, and oldham are healthy sources of protein and carbohydrates. With the integration of bamboo in agroforestry, it can also contribute to poverty reduction and help address the issue of hunger in the countryside.

Defense vs calamity, carbon sink

BAMBOO forests are a natural defense against calamity, as well as a carbon sink. During windy and stormy conditions,

bamboo serves as a windbreak because of its well-developed system. Moreover, it helps prevent soil erosion and has a high capacity for catching and conserving water which makes it an ideal preventive measure for flash floods. Bamboo is also recognized for its potential in sequestering carbon. In 2013 to 2014, ERDB assessed the carbon sink potential of bamboos for mitigating the effects of climate change. The study revealed that bamboo can store 39.8 percent to 44.3 percent of carbon in its total biomass. The study is the first local attempt to determine the biomass and carbon sequestration of at least three economically important bamboo species in the country—kawayan tinik (Bambusa blumeana), giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) and bolo (Gigantochloa levis). Bolo (Gigantochloa levis) effectively stores carbon in its biomass, and the poles are used for building construction, basketry, scaffolding and fish pens. The carbon sequestration ability of bamboo is almost comparable to trees, which make it an ideal element in the reforestation efforts of the government. It makes bamboo ideal carbon storage for greenhouse gases. The recommended way to use bamboo as a carbon sink is to harvest poles and turn them into useful products like furniture and handicrafts for continuity of carbon storage.

THE ERDB has been doing research on bamboo since 1987. It has developed various technologies on bamboo, including propagation methods, plantation establishment and harvesting techniques. In 1990, ERDB established a Bambusetum at the Los Baños Experimental Station to conserve and preserve more than 40 different rare and endangered bamboo species. ERDB maintains the Bambusetum to serve as an avenue for spreading knowledge and sparking people’s interest in bamboo conservation, propagation and utilization. Additional Bambusetums have also been established by ERDB in Baguio City, Bukidnon, Davao, Albay, and in some other parts of the country. Under Executive Order No. 26 dated February 24, 2011, the National Greening Program (NGP) targeted 300,000 hectares to be planted with various bamboo species in different parts of the country from 2011 to 2016. In 2017, under the expanded NGP, ERDB was assigned to lead four BPDP that focused on rehabilitating degraded areas, riverbanks, watersheds, and open public areas using appropriate bamboo species to support the development of Philippine bamboo industry. To further promote the importance of bamboo, the Bureau also established the bamboo and rattan gallery at the ERDB Main Office in Los Baños, Laguna. To date, it contains a collection of more than 250 bamboo products showcasing the Philippine native bamboos, and their production and influence to the Filipinos’ way of life.

Promising future

THE future of the bamboo industry is very promising. With its economic and ecological potentials, the demand on bamboo has increased in the domestic and international markets resulting in a scarcity of its supply. The ERDB has been at the forefront of discovering research and information in developing bamboo plantations to help address the scarce supply of bamboos. “We foresee this [Congress] as a relevant and leading avenue for the improvement of bamboo information not only in the Asean region but globally. Climate change is a pressing issue, but there is strength in numbers. I believe that if various stakeholders will strongly collaborate, we can respond fully to this problem,” said Dr. Quintana.

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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

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Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Santa Maria accepts Tan’s challenge as PAL’s chief

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

HEN taipan Lucio C. Tan said that the new president and chief operating officer of legacy carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has a whirlwind of challenges ahead of him, he was not joking. The airline has, indeed, a myriad of headwinds that it has to brave, and having an able leader piloting the company is essential. Gilbert F. Santa Maria, described in a company press release as a “handpicked nominee of PAL Chairman and CEO Dr. Lucio C. Tan” whose nomination was “unanimously approved” by the 15man PAL Board, is expected to work toward improving the profitability of the company, which for the past two years has been in the red due to several factors, but mainly about fuel costs. “He will definitely face headwinds that mainly revolve around profitability, which is also affected by regulatory issues, infrastructure challenges and costs of oil,” Astro C. del Castillo, managing director at First Grade Finance Inc., said via phone. “He needs to equip himself with the necessary staff to steer the airline towards being profitable again.” Del Castillo, noted, however, that Santa Maria has to leverage on the strengths of his executive team and make sure that the airline will benefit largely on the government’s airport infrastructure development thrust. Santa Maria’s predecessor Jaime

J. Bautista, who served at PAL for 26 years, said the appointment of a new company president is a welcome development. “PAL needs a good leader, so his appointment is a very welcome development,” Bautista said. “He can depend on the people of PAL, and he should take advantage of the expertise of the employees, especially the senior vice presidents.” Santa Maria has no background in the airline industry, but comes with an impressive track record in starting and managing business-process outsourcing and technology outfits. For the past three decades, he sat as an executive for various industries including outsourcing, finance and technology. “He has to learn the ropes. It’s not easy managing an airline company. Even the veterans are having a hard time at it,” del Castillo noted. But what he lacked in industry background, he makes up for in strong executive management and leadership skills.

“The search group found his management experience very admirable. His executive management and leadership skills—those two are what he will bring to the table,” PAL Spokesman Cielo C. Villaluna said. Santa Maria has on his belt three decades of executive management and leadership experience across various industries globally. He held different C-level positions for outsourcing companies based in the US, such as Ibex Global, IQ BackOffice, Stream and eTelecare Global Solutions. He also helped setup Singaporebased Internet start-up called Similan and was an executive director for Argosy Partners, which was organized by Filipino business leaders in the wake of the Asian currency crisis in 1998. Santa Maria, who has a master’s degree from Yale, also held various strategy and operations consulting engagements for global clients like P&G, J&J, BOC of the UK and BHP of Australia. He started his career as a management trainee in production and engineering at Unilever in Manila. During his confirmation, Santa Maria accepted the challenge of flying into uncharted destinations and steering Asia’s pioneering carrier to higher altitudes with a clear focus on two things: Improved customer service levels and profitability. “PA L is t he a irline t hat meets the needs of local and global travelers by showcasing our brand’s main strength—the passion for safety and service. Maintaining the current level of service is important and, of course, profitability. Let us do our share to make PAL reach greater heights,” he said.

PSEi on track to hit 8,600 pts by year-end; bull run seen sustained By VG Cabuag @villygc

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NLINE brokerage firm COL Financial Inc. said the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) may end the year at 8,600 points and that the current bull run of the local stock market is sustainable. COL’s chief equity strategist April Tan said several factors that pulled the market down in 2018 have reversed, including the spike in inflation, hike in bond rates, and the exit of foreign funds. This year interest-rate cuts and other monetary-easing measures have already been implemented in both the United States and the Philippines, while the

passage of the national budget is seen to boost the local economy. “However, the bull market will most likely be volatile,” said Tan. A bull market term is used when the market rises by at least 20 percent. The global economic outlook remains poor, while the Philippines will continue to suffer from an above-average budget deficit and a current-account deficit which could lead to a weaker peso. Tan said stocks could also be weak in the next coming months due to the MSCI Emerging Market rebalancing and disappointing second-quarter earnings of select companies. “Given expectations of heightened volatility, we advise investors to man-

age size, invest only long-term money and focus on attractively valued stocks,” she said, advising investors should wait for pullbacks to buy. “Pullbacks into support [levels] may pan out to offer better entry windows as momentum runs will be infrequent and likely non-lasting,” COL chief technical analyst Juanis Barredo said. “The second half of 2019 should present its own trading options but will come with its share of risk and volatility. But we proceed to keep our eyes pinned on the prospects ahead despite the long and winding road,” he added. The benchmark PSEi gained 4.53 points to 8,188.52 points on Monday, from Friday’s 8,183.99 points.

Oil firms back govt’s fuel marking program

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GROUP of oil companies has expressed its full support to the government’s fuel marking program in a bid to curb smuggling and deter revenue leakages. The Philippine Institute of Petroleum (PIP) said it has been working closely with the Department of Finance (DOF) to ensure the program’s proper and effective implementation. “We support the government’s efforts to curb smuggling, which continues to undermine the industry and the government in general,” the PIP said. Members of the PIP include Chevron Philippines Inc., Isla LPG Corp., Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., PTT Philippines Corp. and Total Philippines Corp. The DOF consulted PIP membercompanies on the draft Implementing

Rules and Regulations (IRR) in June. Initial visits were also conducted by the DOF, along with implementing bodies Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue, and fuel marking provider Sicpa/SGS in several PIP-member facilities. Sicpa/SGS will provide a unique chemical marker capable of being embedded at a molecular level in petroleum products—gasoline, diesel and kerosene—thereby enabling authorities to test, identify and distinguish fuels being sold in the market. “From the formulation of the IRR to the issuance of the implementing guidelines to conducting tests and visits to the facilities of PIP members, we have been generously lending our time and expertise as a unified body fighting the same fight,” the group said.

Prior to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, the government was losing approximately P40 billion in revenues due to petroleum smuggling, according to various independent studies. PIP said the program would address the shortfall in revenue collection provided that it is done on a level playing field. It has consistently stressed that the program has to be implemented across all industry players in order for it to be fully effective. “The success of this program would mean a significant increase in tax collection and the opportunity to utilize these for much-needed social services and infrastructure. Consumers would also be assured of the quality of fuels in the market coming only from reputable sources,” the PIP said. Lenie Lectura

B1

Meralco sees ’19 profit at ₧23B By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

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HE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) sees profit this year to reach “at least” P23 billion after the utility firm posted P12 billion in net income from January to June. “I would say at least P23 billion this year to be safe,” said Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan after the company presented its first-half financial and operating results. In 2018, the utility firm posted P23.1 billion in net income from P20.5 billion in 2017. Core profit last year also jumped to P22.4 billion, 11 percent higher than the P20.2 billion in 2017. At end-June this year, Meralco’s core income stood at P12.31 billion, up by 14 percent from the same period last year. Net income was flat at P12 billion, from P11.97 billion. On a quarterly basis, Meralco’s secondquarter net income was down by 5 percent to P6.33 billion, from P6.66 billion. Core profit was up by P6.71 billion from April to June this year, from P5.93 billion in the same period a year ago. Revenues for the first six months of the year reached P164.95 billion, up by 10 percent from P150.54 billion in the same period a year ago. This was mainly due to increased generation charge, peso depreciation and increase in energy sales volume. The company’s second-quarter revenues stood at P89.57 billion, up by 12 percent from last year’s P79.73 billion. For Meralco to post P23 billion in net income this year, its net income would have to reach at least P11 billion in the second half.

Despite conservative projections, Pangilinan is optimistic that this year would be “better” than last year, buoyed by higher electricity sales volume due to strong demand. “It will be volume-driven. For July, it was pretty strong, 3.3-percent increase. We are quite optimistic we will be better from last year,” he said. Meralco sold 22,823 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity for the first half of the year, up by 5 percent from the same period last year. It recorded 6.7 million customers at end-June, or a growth of more than 4 percent year-on-year. “Even while the year started slow with energy sales volume growing only by 2 percent in the first quarter, the grid was soon saddled with a series of red and yellow alerts starting March as a result of maintenance and forced outages,” said Meralco President Ray Espinosa. “The supply capacity was further challenged with the increased consumption as temperature rose to 30.1°C, the highest average temperature for the month of June, in the last five years. Given this, we are focused on sourcing at the best possible least cost and on ensuring adequate stacking to minimize, if not avoid, power interruptions,” Espinosa added. Meralco’s cost and expenses at end-June stood at P149.6 billion, higher by 9 percent than the figure recorded a year ago. Meralco spent P10.7 billion in capital expenditure for the first six months. The Meralco board approved a cash dividend of P5.46 per share to all shareholders of record as at August 28, payable on September 20.

LBC to spend ₧200M for gear, branch expansion, shuns head-on competition

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OURIER LBC Express Holdings Inc. said it is spending about P200 million in capital expenditures for the year to expand its business and automation, and not to compete head-on with the delivery services of Grab or Lalamove. Miguel Angel A. Camahort, the company’s president and CEO, said the amount will be spent on branch expansion and some purchase of equipment. Last year, the company aggressively expanded its remittance business, which comprised only 7 percent of its revenues, by acquiring more remittance firms. “We’re still looking at opportunities for acquisition. We don’t have a set figure yet,” he said. Its logistics business is more focused on expanding its branches instead of competing head-on with the on-demand service offered by Grab, a company once based in Malaysia and now based in Singapore, and Hong Kong’s Lalamove. Camahort said LBC is not an on-demand company, and that the said segment is merely 1 percent of the total logistics business in the country.

“We have been seriously studying the on-demand service for the last two years. Unfortunately, all the studies that we have made has shown us that the amount... the investment to be made for this particular small segment... only represents 1 percent of the total logistics segment in Philippines. For us to compete [entails] a huge amount and the return of such investment is 10 to 15 years,” he said. “As they [Grab and Lalamove] burn money we will watch them,” Camahort added. He said, however, that the company is watching the segment “very closely” in the event of a change in the behavior of customers. “We feel that the investment to be made is not yet of matured level for us to recover in the next few years. And we have priority projects,” Camahort said. “In short, we’re watching it, we’re monitoring it. We’re continuously doing market studies. In due time when the market matures, maybe eventually we will take a look at that segment,” he added. LBC plans to put up 100 branches per year for the next 10 years. Each branch costs about P700,000 to P1 million to set up. VG Cabuag

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Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

July 29, 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 PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE BDO LEASING COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

58.5 148.3 89.5 26.9 12.4 75.25 13 21.5 49.85 59.1 30 185 60.1 1.15 2.25 18.6 4.67 1.34 0.455 1.15 186 1760

58.9 148.5 89.95 26.95 12.42 75.5 13.2 22.9 49.9 59.2 30.1 185.2 60.15 1.17 2.35 18.7 4.72 1.35 0.46 1.16 191.7 1800

58.1 148.5 90.6 27.05 12.3 75.5 13.2 21.5 50.3 59.6 28.5 185 60 1.15 2.38 18.6 4.66 1.34 0.46 1.15 192 1770

58.5 149.7 90.6 27.15 12.48 75.8 13.2 21.5 50.5 59.6 31 185 61 1.15 2.38 18.7 4.72 1.34 0.475 1.16 192 1770

58.1 147 89.25 26.9 12.3 75.15 13.2 21.5 49.9 59.1 28.05 182.1 60 1.15 2.18 18.6 4.66 1.34 0.46 1.1 192 1760

58.5 148.5 89.95 26.9 12.4 75.25 13.2 21.5 49.9 59.1 30 185 60.1 1.15 2.25 18.7 4.72 1.34 0.46 1.15 192 1760

3100 1296750 1861720 67000 291700 1204640 188400 500 131300 5920 747300 200980 23280 2000 1353000 1300 11000 1000 80000 1198000 110 80

180934 192282758 166979080 1809645 3616742 90883050.5 2486880 10750 6570825 350375 22274545 37130264 1398889 2300 3046250 24240 51570 1340 37100 1358650 21120 141200

INDUSTRIAL

175681 -29420431 22534747.5 -1231095 -397548 -5321204.5 -1862731.5 -1011000 18288717 -933654 -2972210 1870 11200 -

ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PETROENERGY PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER VIVANT AGRINURTURE CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT GINEBRA JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP MG HLDG PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP 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 CROWN ASIA EUROMED PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

1.31 36.45 0.27 26.35 87.2 372 23.55 5.59 4.86 2.52 11.8 38.6 6.78 16.1 14 15 6.38 10.38 7.55 102 0.77 60.3 252.6 29.3 8.8 14.16 0.187 1.72 13.7 1.38 5 0.127 169 1.23 2.48 79.95 88.8 2.97 5.19 14.42 10.98 14.02 18.96 8.6 1.13 1.31 2.03 1.6 5.22 41.75 2.19 9.56 1.66 5.44 1.06 16.16

1.32 36.5 0.275 26.45 87.25 373 23.7 5.6 4.87 2.53 11.98 38.75 6.8 16.88 14.18 15.1 6.39 10.4 7.58 102.5 0.78 60.85 252.8 50 8.99 14.18 0.196 1.74 13.8 1.42 5.04 0.133 170 1.24 2.58 80 93.3 2.98 5.4 14.46 11 14.04 19 9.09 1.14 1.32 2.08 1.69 5.46 42 2.2 9.6 1.7 5.5 1.08 16.3

1.31 36.6 0.265 26.8 87.05 375 23.55 5.61 4.76 2.54 11.94 38.9 6.7 16.12 13.9 14.84 6.27 10.44 7.45 100.4 0.77 59.1 254.8 50 8.85 14.18 0.187 1.68 13.84 1.49 5.09 0.127 171 1.25 2.48 80.9 93.3 2.81 5.19 14.7 10.9 14 18.7 9.05 1.13 1.28 2.03 1.69 5.08 41.75 2.22 9.47 1.69 5.51 1.08 16.4

1.32 36.65 0.275 26.85 87.85 379.4 23.8 5.65 4.86 2.63 11.96 39.2 6.99 16.12 14.28 15.1 6.48 10.48 7.55 102.5 0.79 60.9 257 50 8.99 14.18 0.187 1.72 13.84 1.49 5.09 0.127 171 1.25 2.48 82 93.3 2.98 5.19 14.7 10.98 14.1 19.06 9.05 1.14 1.32 2.08 1.69 5.22 41.75 2.22 9.6 1.7 5.53 1.08 16.44

1.31 36.35 0.265 26.1 87 370.6 23.45 5.59 4.75 2.5 11.76 38.5 6.7 16.12 13.8 14.84 6.27 10.36 7.45 100.1 0.77 58 242 50 8.85 14.14 0.187 1.63 13.64 1.35 5.05 0.127 167 1.22 2.46 78.1 93.3 2.81 5.19 14.42 10.66 13.98 18.64 9 1.13 1.26 2.03 1.69 5.08 41.75 2.16 9.45 1.65 5.5 1.06 16.12

1.31 36.5 0.275 26.45 87.2 372 23.7 5.59 4.86 2.52 11.96 38.75 6.75 16.12 14.26 15 6.39 10.38 7.55 102 0.78 60.85 252.8 50 8.99 14.16 0.187 1.72 13.7 1.42 5.05 0.127 170 1.23 2.48 79.95 93.3 2.97 5.19 14.42 10.98 14.04 18.96 9 1.13 1.32 2.08 1.69 5.22 41.75 2.2 9.6 1.7 5.5 1.06 16.3

382000 911100 820000 1026600 66930 176260 1376500 651800 54000 35079000 12000 51300 76700 500 1019300 71000 103800 718200 163000 75740 813000 120610 2056700 10 2000 197700 200000 4690000 102800 719000 70200 10000 745770 1121000 95000 5640 20 18458000 60000 1391100 585300 399400 940100 52700 209000 4360000 3000 1000 1900 500 11458000 208200 160000 194400 429000 121300

500450 33254960 218750 27120945 5837529.5 65652392 32443170 3654702 261290 90406530 143328 1985080 524225 8060 14306952 1061528 663129 7477268 1228368 7639830 633790 7236521.5 515965352 500 17728 2797894 37400 7851800 1407756 1006900 354914 1270 126244416 1374560 233780 442766 1866 54123340 311400 20173794 6345380 5597198 17757674 474800 236210 5659060 6140 1690 9729 20875 25152930 1985749 266620 1070108 456820 1969000

-377310 -15295545 12022780 -561449.5 -14201388 -5160910 -287037 1333320 -468025 1352 422152 155788 -385621 2321556 362092 288135 -355554 93079422 1207556 -2234100 643242 111300 -303909 -31845095 -63590 226340 11511040 -5139548 4059070 531464 3972778 90500 -24510 6053350 948150 16500 10800 113400

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

1.04 16.96 963 55.5 15.72 4.28 7 0.71 1.32 1.33 6.99 10.32 13.8 3.95 0.225 960 6.4 66 4.52 14.62 0.7 4.78 0.039 1.49 2.83 1.36 1000 175.7 0.84 2.48 258 0.233 0.28

1.05 17.02 964 55.6 15.78 4.3 7.1 0.73 1.33 1.35 7 10.48 14 4.48 0.23 967 6.41 66.95 4.53 14.88 0.71 4.79 0.04 1.5 3.05 1.4 1020 175.9 0.86 2.69 260 0.235 0.285

1.04 17.2 971 56.5 15.8 4.28 7.02 0.71 1.3 1.32 6.99 10.38 14.06 4.48 0.226 965 6.43 66.05 4.52 14.96 0.7 4.75 0.039 1.42 2.92 1.37 1015 174.8 0.85 2.7 260 0.233 0.28

1.09 17.6 980 56.5 15.8 4.3 7.02 0.74 1.33 1.35 7 10.52 14.06 4.48 0.23 968 6.43 66.95 4.53 14.96 0.71 4.8 0.039 1.51 2.92 1.4 1020 176.5 0.86 2.7 260 0.233 0.285

1.03 16.92 959.5 54.25 15.6 4.24 7 0.71 1.3 1.32 6.97 10.2 13.8 4.48 0.224 941 6.41 65.15 4.52 14.62 0.68 4.7 0.039 1.39 2.92 1.37 998.5 174 0.85 2.7 259 0.233 0.28

1.05 17 963 55.5 15.74 4.28 7 0.72 1.33 1.35 7 10.48 14 4.48 0.23 967 6.41 66.95 4.52 14.88 0.7 4.78 0.039 1.5 2.92 1.4 1020 175.9 0.86 2.7 260 0.233 0.285

70794000 134500 213690 1080020 2204900 6676000 360000 777000 1981000 185000 941200 2081400 10400 1000 240000 91620 20000 455870 366000 2336300 1879000 15537000 8000000 2203000 20000 103000 264335 366060 336000 1000 60 200000 1470000

74814770 2286592 206441560 59573173.5 34539984 28,586,010( 2520140 558710 2619570 246530 6577658 21599360 145546 4480 54080 87979860 128300 30092401.5 1654870 34411122 1308910 74044570 312000 3231480 58400 141160 267378505 64229327 288020 2700 15570 46600 412250

-257500 -37930425 -48209040.5 -9568924 6,472,919.9997) -1120140 174630 870095 -7846908 -15280 -1364295 -115440 -5654393 -691670 -22331676 27182280 341790 27400 51415392.5 4734183 -

HOLDING & FRIMS

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 1.11 1.12 1.06 1.13 1.04 1.12 25903000 28391360 -67740 AYALA LAND 51 51.3 51.4 51.65 50.95 51.3 2742030 140303653 -39073583 ARANETA PROP 2.02 2.15 2.13 2.17 2 2.17 127000 260120 BELLE CORP 2.23 2.25 2.2 2.26 2.19 2.23 1943000 4280300 14860 A BROWN 0.83 0.85 0.86 0.86 0.83 0.85 296000 247200 850 CITYLAND DEVT 0.89 0.91 0.89 0.91 0.89 0.91 41000 36970 CROWN EQUITIES 0.239 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.238 0.239 290000 69300 CEBU HLDG 6.1 6.16 6.16 6.16 6.16 6.16 5500 33880 -6776 CEB LANDMASTERS 5.1 5.11 5.1 5.13 5.09 5.1 667100 3404567 25550 CENTURY PROP 0.61 0.62 0.61 0.61 0.6 0.61 10224000 6189040 3050 CYBER BAY 0.455 0.46 0.455 0.455 0.45 0.455 1990000 897600 DOUBLEDRAGON 23.95 24 24.45 24.45 23.8 24 227200 5467040 1379030 DM WENCESLAO 10.5 10.54 10.46 10.56 10.3 10.5 724000 7597064 -105000 EMPIRE EAST 0.47 0.475 0.47 0.475 0.47 0.475 1100000 518500 EVER GOTESCO 0.124 0.13 0.124 0.124 0.124 0.124 210000 26040 FILINVEST LAND 1.92 1.93 1.95 1.96 1.92 1.93 25055000 48368040 -2889270 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.4 1.37 1.38 1632000 2253010 8990 HLDG 15.8 15.82 15.8 15.86 15.6 15.82 221200 3488942 156678 PHIL INFRADEV 1.73 1.74 1.76 1.76 1.71 1.73 2470000 4277440 317140 CITY AND LAND 0.8 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.82 3000 2460 MEGAWORLD 6.2 6.21 6.24 6.24 6.12 6.2 7244300 44824697 -9961343 MRC ALLIED 0.34 0.345 0.345 0.345 0.335 0.345 7280000 2464800 10150 PHIL ESTATES 0.45 0.48 0.45 0.48 0.45 0.48 340000 154000 PRIMEX CORP 2.04 2.05 2.11 2.12 2.02 2.04 1556000 3201610 ROBINSONS LAND 27.5 27.8 28 28 27.1 27.8 1333700 37047080 16486715 PHIL REALTY 0.405 0.415 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 650000 260000 ROCKWELL 2.49 2.5 2.43 2.52 2.41 2.5 4477000 11126430 177510 SHANG PROP 3.2 3.28 3.19 3.28 3.19 3.28 681000 2210620 -228900 STA LUCIA LAND 2.16 2.17 2.12 2.18 2.1 2.17 990000 2127100 -21600 SM PRIME HLDG 37.9 38.2 37.55 38.2 37.5 38.2 6651100 251190575 -50271765 STARMALLS 6.02 6.1 6.06 6.16 6 6.1 159000 963881 SUNTRUST HOME 0.81 0.83 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.81 21000 17010 -8100 VISTA LAND 7.66 7.74 7.82 7.82 7.66 7.74 5045400 38990784 -13166394 SERVICES ABS CBN 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 18.4 18.4 123600 2299082 GMA NETWORK 5.37 5.38 5.37 5.4 5.37 5.38 75000 402957 MANILA BULLETIN 0.51 0.52 0.53 0.53 0.51 0.51 543000 278430 GLOBE TELECOM 2192 2260 2210 2260 2190 2260 26095 58509050 -11705290 PLDT 1134 1135 1139 1148 1133 1134 77615 88352445 -41867675 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.048 0.049 0.048 0.049 0.046 0.049 36900000 1737500 -9400 IMPERIAL 1.9 1.91 1.84 1.9 1.84 1.9 13000 24640 ISLAND INFO 0.112 0.113 0.112 0.113 0.112 0.113 300000 33800 ISM COMM 5.38 5.39 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.39 1850600 9966686 139608.9999 NOW CORP 2.53 2.56 2.56 2.64 2.5 2.56 3413000 8755910 24450 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.36 0.365 0.365 0.37 0.355 0.365 2890000 1049050 PHILWEB 3.95 3.97 3.94 4.05 3.82 3.95 14409000 56470040 1040010 2GO GROUP 10.6 11 10.7 10.7 10.6 10.6 2400 25510 ASIAN TERMINALS 19.02 20 19.9 19.9 19.9 19.9 300 5970 CHELSEA 7.48 7.49 7.5 7.58 7.44 7.49 690400 5167861 683934 CEBU AIR 95.5 95.55 95.5 95.65 95.2 95.5 112350 10725628.5 3168411.5 INTL CONTAINER 129 129.5 132 134 128.2 129 886000 114866188 -40103827 LBC EXPRESS 14.14 14.68 14.14 14.14 14.14 14.14 300 4242 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.9 0.92 0.91 0.93 0.9 0.93 266000 245600 MACROASIA 19.44 19.54 19.78 19.9 19.42 19.44 243000 4765422 -2365608 METROALLIANCE B 1.45 1.57 1.45 1.45 1.45 1.45 5000 7250 PAL HLDG 8.99 9 9 9.1 8.99 8.99 48400 435799 HARBOR STAR 2.05 2.06 2.11 2.13 2.03 2.05 1646000 3411220 174250 ACESITE HOTEL 1.45 1.52 1.49 1.52 1.45 1.52 13000 19170 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.064 0.065 0.066 0.066 0.065 0.065 10780000 701030 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.08 2.3 2.07 2.1 2.07 2.1 6000 12480 WATERFRONT 0.77 0.79 0.81 0.81 0.77 0.79 5658000 4396660 -90860 CENTRO ESCOLAR 7.14 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 3300 23727 IPEOPLE 9.5 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 300 2910 STI HLDG 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.76 0.74 0.74 4253000 3161730 1720650 BERJAYA 2.39 2.44 2.3 2.46 2.2 2.44 3250000 7616140 66470 BLOOMBERRY 11.46 11.64 11.5 11.64 11.4 11.64 833200 9573668 1612814 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.53 2.54 2 2.58 2 2.54 2458000 5836910 -140560 LEISURE AND RES 3.62 3.63 3.66 3.7 3.5 3.62 3078000 11041520 142930 MANILA JOCKEY 3.39 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 2000 7000 PH RESORTS GRP 5.03 5.3 5.59 5.59 5.02 5.3 392500 2178092 1968930 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.7 0.71 0.68 0.7 0.65 0.7 39649000 26880590 1695920 TRAVELLERS 5.5 5.52 5.46 5.52 5.46 5.52 470100 2583636 -537110 METRO RETAIL 2.6 2.64 2.69 2.69 2.6 2.6 1633000 4280070 -118040 PUREGOLD 45.8 46 46 46.4 45.25 46 504400 23156125 -12101350 ROBINSONS RTL 77.9 78.05 78 78.75 77.75 78.05 415000 32385924 -1505661.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 150.3 159.7 159.9 160 145.2 150.3 3450 523822 -70697 SSI GROUP 3.17 3.2 3.16 3.2 3.16 3.17 1339000 4247360 82230 WILCON DEPOT 15.92 15.96 15.94 15.96 15.92 15.96 317200 5058228 3007476 APC GROUP 0.49 0.5 0.51 0.52 0.5 0.5 1074000 538150 EASYCALL 9.64 9.9 9.61 9.96 9.61 9.64 6600 63909 -19280 GOLDEN BRIA 412 424 425 425 411.6 424 180 74806 IPM HLDG 5.55 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.6 16500 93150 PAXYS 2.91 3.06 2.91 2.91 2.91 2.91 1000 2910 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.8 0.81 0.79 0.81 0.78 0.8 7285000 5782690 69640 SBS PHIL CORP 9.2 9.4 9.27 9.4 9.18 9.4 31400 289870 -276840 MINING & OIL ATOK 12.22 12.82 12.98 12.98 12.4 12.82 14600 185094 APEX MINING 1.22 1.23 1.22 1.24 1.2 1.23 4783000 5832530 330880 ABRA MINING 0.0016 0.0018 0.0017 0.0017 0.0016 0.0017 129000000 212000 BENGUET B 1.14 1.29 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.14 202000 230280 -230279.9997 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.275 0.28 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 820000 221400 CENTURY PEAK 2.74 2.8 2.75 2.75 2.74 2.75 347000 951120 DIZON MINES 7.6 7.68 7.7 7.79 7.56 7.6 77300 588506 FERRONICKEL 1.45 1.47 1.47 1.48 1.44 1.45 2008000 2934410 612420 GEOGRACE 0.223 0.227 0.223 0.231 0.222 0.226 420000 93970 LEPANTO A 0.107 0.108 0.107 0.108 0.107 0.108 370000 39600 MANILA MINING A 0.0073 0.0075 0.0073 0.0073 0.0073 0.0073 1000000 7300 MARCVENTURES 1.07 1.1 1.09 1.12 1.06 1.1 660000 717360 NIHAO 1.04 1.07 1.1 1.1 1.04 1.07 27000 28870 NICKEL ASIA 2.5 2.54 2.52 2.55 2.47 2.5 5767000 14411090 4146300 OMICO CORP 0.51 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 3000 1590 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.84 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.83 0.84 1884000 1590770 10010 PX MINING 3.46 3.48 3.44 3.5 3.44 3.48 379000 1313820 -186340 SEMIRARA MINING 23.9 24 23.8 24.2 23.45 23.9 1517600 36230380 699875 UNITED PARAGON 0.0063 0.0066 0.0062 0.0062 0.0062 0.0062 2000000 12400 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 7500000 90000 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.013 400000 5200 -1300 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 2700000 29700 PHINMA PETRO 6.06 6.07 5.44 6.07 5.35 6.07 1999400 11561920 3504 PXP ENERGY 8.99 9 8.64 9.06 8.62 9 4007600 35785216 881391.9997 PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 96 99.7 99.65 99.75 99.65 99.75 420 41888.5 AC PREF B2 495 498 495 499 495 499 1010 500350 -49900 DD PREF 99.8 99.9 99.8 100 99.8 99.8 5610 559905 SMC FB PREF 2 980 989 985 985 985 985 550 541750 FGEN PREF G 103.1 105.2 105.3 105.3 105.1 105.2 82100 8636831 GLO PREF P 480 490 490 490 490 490 10 4900 4900 LR PREF 1.04 1.06 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.06 1982000 2092380 PNX PREF 3B 106 107.4 107.4 107.4 107.4 107.4 20 2148 PCOR PREF 2A 990 993 990 990 990 990 500 495000 PCOR PREF 3A 1010 1011 1005 1012 1005 1010 13860 14018110 2224150 SFI PREF 1.38 1.75 1.38 1.38 1.38 1.38 1000 1380 SMC PREF 2B 75 75.75 75 75 75 75 600 45000 SMC PREF 2C 76.65 77.75 77 77 76.6 76.6 2290 175998 SMC PREF 2F 75 75.2 75 75.2 75 75 33030 2480762.5 SMC PREF 2G 74.5 75.35 74.5 74.5 74.5 74.5 13400 998300 SMC PREF 2H 75 75.45 74.95 75 74.95 75 8320 623634 SMC PREF 2I 75 75.3 75 75 75 75 662150 49661250 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

17.58 5.29

17.6 5.37

17.6 5.28

17.6 5.48

17.6 5.28

17.6 5.48

37500 23000

660000 121798

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.75

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 6.5 XURPAS 1.05

1.81

1.72

1.74

1.72

1.74

69000

119060

-

6.52 1.06

6.61 1.05

6.61 1.06

6.36 1.03

6.5 1.06

2078000 2078000

13420944 2167330

628410 -583600

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

122.4

-484000 -11814

122.6

122.6

122.6

121.8

122.6

9440

1156688

-

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Anchor Land eyes ₧4.5-B take from Binondo project

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

OUTIQUE property developer Anchor Land Holdings Inc. on Monday said it launched the company’s ninth residential project which will rise along Masangkay Avenue in Binondo, Manila. The 50-story high-end development called Cornell Parksuites is designed to have only seven residential units per floor, it said. The company said it expects some P4.5 billion in revenues from the project. Each unit will vary from studiotype residences to those with two to four bedrooms, offering very spacious homes, it said. “Like the rest of our developments, we continue to partner with reputable industry leaders to ensure

world-class living experience at Cornell Parksuites,” company CEO Steve Li said. “Tailored to families looking for a new level of living experience, we offer expansive cuts of premium residences,” he added. The development offers modern amenities including a business center and reading lounge, multipurpose rooms, theater room/KTV room, fitness center, game room, kiddie room, an open lounge, and an outdoor play area.

Meralco gets 22 offers from gencos for CSP on 3 deals

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HE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has received 22 offers from various powergeneration companies (gencos) that are interested to participate in the competitive selection process (CSP) of three power contracts with a total capacity of 2,900 megawatts (MW). Meralco will bid out the following contracts: a five-year contract for 500 MW, a 20-year contract for 1,200 MW and a 10-year contract for 1,200 MW. “There are seven bidders for the 500 MW, 11 bidders for the 1,200 MW contract that will start in 2020, and four bidders for the 1,200 MW contract that will start in 2024,” said Meralco Utility Economics Head Lawrence Fernandez during a press conference on Monday. Company officials did not identify the interested bidders. However, they confirmed that Meralco PowerGen Corp., the power-generation arm of Meralco, has submitted a letter of interest to bid for the 1,200 MW contract that starts in 2024. Earlier, San Miguel Corp. and MGen said they were looking at participating in the CSP. Aboitiz Power Corp. and First Gen are also expected to participate. Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) Chairman Isidro Consunji had said that the published requirements “carry very difficult conditions.” When sought for comment, Fernandez said the terms of reference were strictly reviewed by the thirdparty bids and awards committee.

“In fact, some of the terms in the contract, particularly the penalty for outage, came from DOE. The prices also adhere to the DOE’s terms,” said Fernandez. The CSP requires distribution utilities (DUs) to hold competitive bidding for their supply requirements as against securing power deals via bilateral contracts. This is meant to ensure transparency and fair competition. Meralco earlier inked seven PSAs with several power-generation companies, including two from MGen, which is building power plants under Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. and Atimonan One Energy Inc. The remaining five are with St. Raphael Power Generation Corp., Meralco’s joint venture with Consunji-led SMPC; Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. (CLPPC); Mariveles Power Generation Corp. (MPGC); Panay Energy Development Corp.; and Global Luzon Energy Development Corp. CLPPC and MPGC are under SMC Global Power Holdings, the power arm of SMC. However, these PSAs, with a total capacity of over 3,500 MW, were not implemented following the Supreme Court order arising from allegations that the Energy Regulatory Commission gave due preference to Meralco by extending the deadline for compliance with the CSP rule. The SC decision requires all power-supply agreements forged after June 30, 2015, to undergo the CSP. Lenie Lectura

GCash ties up with Starbucks

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CASH, operated by Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), has partnered with Starbucks to expand the latter’s payments options and improve efficiencies on the coffee chain’s processes. Under their deal, GCash will equip Starbucks stores across the Philippines with its scan-to-pay QR system, which will allow customers to pay their orders via mobile. To use the new product, customers simply have to generate their own QR unique codes and scan them on the store’s point-of-sale device, which will act as a conduit to process the payment in less than a few seconds. This, Mynt President Anthony Thomas said, “creates a convenient payment process by eliminating multiple steps and adding to a more positive customer experience.”

“Starbucks offers locally relevant digital payment options to its customers, and GCash complements the experience in every Starbucks store through the convenience and features of our mobile wallet, further enabling Starbucks to create positive customer experience is also exactly what we envisioned for this partnership,” he said. In the Philippines, Starbucks has about 373 licensed stores, all of which are now equipped with this new payment system. “As a fintech company, our goal is to promote a cashless lifestyle that will make financial transactions less complicated for more people. Just as Starbucks is committed to innovative digital experiences, we too, are committed to bringing convenience with mobile innovations like our scan-to-pay via QR scanner,” Thomas said. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Additional amenities located at the penthouse include a 25-meter lap pool, kiddie pool, deck seating and lounge area, viewing deck and a function room. Strategically located at the heart of Manila Chinatown, Cornell Parksuites will stand close to Binondo’s business and logistics areas, and commercial and bargain centers, such as 168 Shopping Mall and 999 Shopping Mall. The property is also within walking distance to Binondo’s premier private Filipino-Chinese schools, such as Chiang Kai-shek College, St. Stephen’s High School and Hope Christian High School. Given its proximity to these institutions, Cornell Parksuites is the third high-end residential project of the developer in Manila’s Filipino-Chinese school belt that offers learning-driven amenities. Cornell Parksuites is another addition to Anchor Land’s portfolio of upscale and high-end developments that have changed the

MUTUAL FUNDS

landscape of Manila Chinatown. It is the first of the six upcoming projects of the developer scheduled for launch in 2019. Anchor Land has 10 completed and ongoing projects and five upcoming projects in Binondo, ranging from residential to commercial, warehousing facilities and office developments. The company said it has allotted P35 billion for capital expenditures until 2021 as it tries to triple its recurring revenues to P2 billion by 2022. The capex will be financed by a combination of internally generated funds and bank loans, Li said. Anchor Land, a developer focused on the Filipino-Chinese market, expects recurring revenues to reach P1.5 billion in 2020 from about P600 million this year. Recurring revenues, income that comes from rent, will grow to at least P2 billion by 2022 after the firm completes 272,000 square meters of leasing space by 2021.

July 29, 2019

NAV ONE YEAR THREE YEAR FIVE YEAR Y-T-D PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 271.63 4.08% -0.61% 1.46% 7.7% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.6603 12.28% 6.14% 3% 15.23% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 4.2209 1.84% -1.42% 0.47% 8.15% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9841 8.51% N.A. N.A. 9.22% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.9019 4.84% N.A. N.A. 9.89% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.616 3.51% 0.21% 1.39% 6.5% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.9038 2.39% -4.17% N.A. 8.02% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 120.85 11.07% N.A. N.A. 4.03% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 53.936 6.45% 0.2% N.A. 9.57% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 562.32 6.51% -0.72% 1.37% 9.24% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3666 7.66% 1.08% 3.29% 8.98% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 40.071 8.03% 1.69% 3.02% 9.39% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0765 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.4735 7.36% 1.16% 3.5% 10.38% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 914.02 7.43% 0.87% 3.47% 10.33% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9621 10.27% 0.43% N.A. 11.87% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.478 8.07% 1.12% 3.02% 10.33% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.05 6.9% 0.81% N.A. 10.03% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.843 6.64% 2.37% 3.83% 9.77% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 122.3578 7.84% 1.7% 4.52% 10.48% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $0.9918 -5.86% 4.28% -0.78% 6.75% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.3261 1% 8.71% N.A. 19.99% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.7845 5.75% -1.44% -0.87% 8.07% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.3684 3.18% -0.54% 1% 7.21% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.714 3.46% 0.04% -0.82% 6.72% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3726 2.26% N.A. N.A. 5.24% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9727 5.8% 0.27% 1.68% 7.03% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.8365 6.15% -0.82% 1.07% 8.7% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 17.2656 7.02% -0.59% 1.06% 8.54% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.19 4.21% 0.58% 2.15% 5.84% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.9753 7.64% 0.32% 2.04% 8.87% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 1.0424 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 1.0421 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 1.0388 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 1.0193 8.4% 0.62% 1.82% 10.59% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.0375 6.26% 1.46% 2% 6.23% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $1.0072 -0.43% 2.99% -0.92% 10.23% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.8087 2.82% 6.08% 2.95% 15.12% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.1184 3.78% 3.74% N.A. 10.73% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 351.87 3.63% 2.07% 2.27% 2.45% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A,1 1.9043 2.26% -0.06% -0.14% 2.43% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0619 5.4% 5.26% 5.3% 2.88% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.2 3.79% 0.95% 1.98% 3.33% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.3282 5.08% 1.15% 1.48% 5.58% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6068 2.13% -2.05% 0.11% 2.71% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.2379 7.82% -0.15% 1.51% 8.12% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.7043 6.54% 0.47% 1.5% 5.32% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9446 5.08% -0.69% N.A. 5.99% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 2.9916 8.82% 1% 2.35% 8.16% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.6613 8.84% 0.53% 1.91% 7.88% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $460.31 3.75% 1.68% 2.71% 2.66% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є218.83 2.59% 1.27% 1.55% 2.9% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.187 6.4% 1.85% 2.45% 5.45% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0257 3.63% 0.79% N.A. 3.63% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7147 1.13% -2.14% 0.49% 1.45% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.087 5.06% -0.63% -1.93% 4.89% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.3543 8.26% 0.78% 3.2% 8.45% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0594107 4.7% 1.51% 1.83% 4.23% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.0914 7.17% 0.11% 2.66% 7.64% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 124.01 3.93% 2.52% 2% 2.59% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0171 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2241 4.57% 1.99% 1.21% 3.57% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2484 3.84% 2.71% 2.09% 2.4% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0297 2.19% N.A. N.A. 1.36% 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.

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

B3

Pagcor treads slowly on ‘takeover’ of PCSO

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said on Monday it will have to review first the system of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) if it is asked to take on the responsibility of the agency in line with helping its beneficiaries. “There is no instruction yet on Pagcor helping PCSO beneficiaries. If Pagcor will be instructed to take on this responsibility, we will need to study the present PCSO system, then we will come up with the appropriate system of taking over. In the UHC [Universal Health Care] law, 50 percent of Pagcor’s contribution to the national treasur y

will be allotted for UHC,” Pagcor Chairman and CEO Andrea D. Domingo said. When asked if the functions of both agencies can be merged, Fi n a nce Sec ret a r y C a rlos G. Dominguez III said that since two separate laws created both agencies, the merger of their functions may not be allowed. “My understanding is that two

separate laws created these organizations and I am not certain that the laws allow the functions of one to be transferred to the other. The DOJ [Department of Justice] may have the answer,” Dominguez said. In a text message to the fin a nce c h ie f, D OJ S e c re t a r y Menardo I. Guevarra said that it was not the transfer of responsibilities of the PCSO to Pagcor that President Duterte meant, but the notion of tapping Pagcor to provide medical assistance—normally given out by the PCSO—as a result of the order of the President to close lotto operations. “I do not think that the President has any intention of transferring the PCSO’s entire mandate to the Pagcor. He only meant that the Pagcor may be tapped in the meantime to continue providing for health- and medicalcare assistance, among others,” said Guevarra in a text message to Dominguez.

UHC funding

AS for the UHC program, Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II

said the PCSO’s estimated share of P3 billion in the funding requirements of the UHC program was just 1.2 percent of the total budget needed—at P257 billion for 2020. “Of the P257 billion required for UHC in 2020, the estimated share from PCSO is P3 billion, less than 1.2 percent of the total budget. Of the estimated P1.4 37 t r i l l ion requ i red for five years, P16.6 billion from PCSO—also less than the 1.2 percent of the total budget,” Lambino said. He explained that bulk of the UHC’s funding requirements is

JPMorgan, UBS among banks facing $1-billion FX-rigging suit J PMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS Group AG are among five banks being sued over allegations of foreign-exchange rigging in a class-action lawsuit seeking more than £1 billion ($1.2 billion). Barclays Plc., Citigroup Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. are the other three targets of the UK suit that will say pension funds, asset managers, hedge funds and corporations lost out because of market manipulation between 2007 and 2013, and should be compensated. The lawsuit centers on collusion on foreign-exchange trading strategies, for which the European Commission fined Barclays, RBS, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. a total of €1.07 billion ($1.2 billion) in May. UBS escaped a fine because it was the first to tell regulators about the collusion. Mitsubishi UFJ isn’t being sued in the civil case. Traders ran two cartels on online chat

rooms, the European regulator said. Many of them knew each other, calling one chat room “Essex Express n’ the Jimmy” because all of the traders but one met on a commuter train from Essex to London. Other names for rooms were the “Three Way Banana Split” and “Semi Grumpy Old Men.” It’s the latest development in a case that’s already triggered regulatory probes around the world, and billions of dollars in fines, as well as $2.3 billion in settlements in the US last year. JPMorgan and UBS declined to comment. The other banks didn’t immediately reply to calls or e-mails seeking comment. “The message is really clear—we want markets to work fairly,” said Michael O’Higgins, a pension fund chairman who’s spearheading the UK suit. “People involved in markets will argue the case for free markets. They’ve got to make sure they’re fair, as well as free.” The case was filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London on Mon-

day by Scott+Scott Europe, a spokesman for the law firm said. Its US arm Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law Llp. led the class action that ended with $2.3 billion in settlements. O’Higgins, who chairs the Local Pensions Partnership, a UK public-sector pension fund, and the Channel Islands Competition & Regulatory Authorities, said that on a conservative estimate the banks may have to pay out £1 billion if he wins. The lawsuit could take three to five years, he said, and thousands of institutional investors could be in line for payouts if it succeeds. It’s one of the first cases to be brought under 2015 UK legislation that paves the way for US-style collective actions. The Consumer Rights Act rules mean any UK-based investors who lost out will automatically become part of the claim. Investors based outside of the UK— except those in the US, Canada and Australia—can opt in. Bloomberg News

LandBank turns over 354,783 hectares of land for agrarian reform beneficiaries

SantosCityonJune13,2019.Atotalof13,585ARBsfromSultanKudarat, North Cotabato, South Cotabato and Sarangani Province benefited from the land distribution. LandBank serves as a financial intermediary for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), with tasks such as computing the value of lands acquired by DAR for distribution to ARBs.

Boosting support to ARBs

FILE PHOTO

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HE Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) recently turned over to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) 208,895 certificates of land ownership awards (CLOAs) covering a total of 354,783 hectares of land for distribution to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). “LandBank is committed to serve farmers and fishers, including ARBs, in fulfillment of our mandate and pursuit of promoting growth in the countryside. We fully support DAR in the issuance of CLOAs and helping ARBs to gain more liberty and control over their lands, through which we hope to increase agricultural productivity,” said LandBank President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo. At least 3,566 of these CLOAs cover an area of 6,679 hectares, which were included in the 24,000 hectares of land distributed by President Duterte and DAR Secretary John Castriciones in General

TO boost agricultural productivity of ARBs, LandBank initially allocated P5 billion for a newly enhanced direct lending program which specifically caters to them. Under the Accessible Funds For Delivery to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (AFFORD-ARBs) Program, ARBs may avail themselves loans to finance production of rice, corn, and high-value crops, as well as the acquisition of small farm implements. LandBank will focus on lending to individual ARBs with emancipation patents (EPs)/ CLOAs, leaseholders with existing leasehold contracts or any title under agrarian reform programs, identified through a list to be provided by DAR, the Bank’s program partner. “Together with DAR, we would like to reach and serve more ARBs. We have a focused approach for this program which involves knowing them better—who they are, where they are and what crops they will plant. So that when DAR gives the CLOAs, LandBank will be there ready to provide credit assistance to finance their farming needs, enabling them to become even more productive and efficient,” Borromeo added.

expected to be sourced from the excise tax increase from “sin” products, and not the PCSO contributions. A newly enacted law raised excise tax on tobacco products further under Republic Act (R A) 11346. Another measure to be proposed by the DOF increases excise taxes on electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and vapor products, as well as alcoholic beverages. “We will focus our efforts on passing the alcohol and e-cigarettes tax package for UHC, with initial estimates of P15.8 billion in the first year and a total of P111.5 billion over five years based on the version approved

by the House [of Representatives] in the 17th Congress. Actually, we can aim for even higher since the previously approved version only included alcohol,” he added. Over the weekend, President Duterte suspended the lottery operations of the PCSO, citing alleged corruption. Ordinary Filipinos rely on the medical subsidy provided by the PCSO through its charity operations. The President’s Spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said the President lost his cool over the massive a l leged shor tchang ing— at the rate of 60 percent to 70 percent—by PCSO of the national government when it declares its income, but offered no details of this. Despite the DOF saying that it will study the impact of the sweepstakes ban on the UHC, Malacañang stood by the President’s decision, saying it would rather get its revenues for medical assistance for PCSO beneficiaries from other sources, like the Pagcor or the Office of t he P resident, wh ic h h a s discretionary funds.

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AH MAH’S SPONGE CAKES COME HOME TO THE PHILIPPINES

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AMOUS Malaysian restaurant Ah Mah finally lands on Philippine soil on July 21 in Robinsons Magnolia. Ah Mah, which translates to “grandmother” in Chinese, specializes in fluffy eggsponge cakes that is meant to invoke the warm, reassuring love of our grandmothers. The cakes are made with flour, milk, eggs and oil, then baked to soft, fluffy perfection. Ah Mah’s recipes do not use any preservatives, which makes the cakes not only fluffy, but healthy as well. Apart from their original sponge cake, they also offer a variety of cake flavors, such as pandan, chocolate and ube. The ube cake is a newly developed

recipe just for the Philippines and is made with local ube halaya. To officially welcome customers, Ah Mah is offering free original sponge cakes to the first 100 customers who purchase any flavored cake. The offer will begin at 11:30 a.m. every day and is limited to only two free cakes per customer. For hard-core fans of Ah Mah, they are welcomed to join Ah Mah’s Cake Club. Members will receive benefits, such as a surprise gift after the third purchase and a free original sponge cake after their tenth. Ah Mah will also be opening in SM North and San Lorenzo Place Makati on a later date. Stephanie Joy Ching

B’LAAN TRIBAL MUSEUM GETS LCF AWARD

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HE Lamlifew Village Museum, the first community tribal museum in the country, recently won the Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility Project in Arts and

Culture of the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) Guild Awards. The top tourist spot of Malungon town in Sarangani province bagged the prestigious award with the support of ABS-CBN Foundation’s Bantay Kalikasan, which helped craft the museum’s eco-cultural experience for tourists who want to immerse with the B’laan way of life. It also has a National Commission for Culture and the Arts-recognized B’laan School of Living Traditions, where the mabal tabih, considered as the crown jewel of Sarangani’s cultural resources, is woven by the members of the Lamlifew Tribal Women’s Association. The community project was also named among the 10 socialenterprise awardees of the BPI Foundation’s Sinag Accelerate in 2017, where it received businessincubation training and seedfunding grants. Launched in 2007 at the National Museum, it was also hailed by the Department of Tourism Region 12 as the Best in Tourism Product: Heritage Conservation at the first SOX Awards in 2016.

K-LIFT INDUSTRIAL CORP. TO SHOWCASE MITSUBISHI-SUPPORTED PRODUCTS AT THIS YEAR’S TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS PHILIPPINES

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-LIFT Industrial Corp., part of the Kilton Motor Group of Companies, will be joining the Transport and Logistics Philippines at the World Trade Center from August 15 to 17, to showcase their electric-battery products that are being supported by Mitsubishi Logisnext Singapore. “One of our highlights during the show will be our warehouse products brand Mlift, which targets the warehouse/logistics and manufacturing industries that are currently heavy users of this segment,” said Benjamin A. Bueno, K-Lift Industrial Corp. general manager. “With the constant improvements that Mitsubishi Japan is doing on our current line of products, visitors can expect more changes and developments with regards to the safety, efficiency and design of our material handling products in the next 3 to 5 years.” Kilton Motor Corp. is also actively selling products in heavy equipment, power generation,

material handling, mining construction, commercial trucks and racing development in the country. With diverse offerings that the company has with other industries, Kilton Motor Corp. is your one-stop-shop needs on industrial machines and equipment. In photo are (from left) Robert Y. Trinidad, machine sales executive; George Michael G. Rayala, machine sales executive; Ramil A. Cancel, machine sales executive; Eugene Q. Espiritu, machine sales executive; Alfie L. Felicio, machine sales executive; Ariel S. David, machine sales executive; Jupiter G. Sabulao, product manager (electric); Jenina Malit, assistant project manager, Global-Link MP; Benjamin A. Bueno, general manager; Estela Grace V. Conocono, executive and sales assistant; Maria Agatha Faye M. Abrigo, machine sales executive; Marco P. de Guzman, product manager (IC); Alfred Edru M. Sayao, machine sales executive; and Thowens John C. Granito, machine sales executive.

ESTANCIA MALL SUPPORTS COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

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ILIPINO dream advocates who called themselves the “Ambitious Tribe” recently spearheaded a monthlong activation on community empowerment through a series of talks and free interviews featuring personalities with inspiring stories and thoughts to share. With the posh Estancia Mall at Capitol Commons in Pasig as the venue host, these empowerment talks are bound to fuel the drive for success of those who attended the free sessions. Some of the topics discussed included “How To Write A Book and Self-Publish“, “Make Your Wardrobe Work” and “Leadership for Millennials”.

For this undertaking, LinkedIn-based group The After Six Club is collaborating with the global renown transformational education company Mindvalley, known for offering products focusing on the subconscious, personal and spiritual development. National Bookstore Foundation provided learning kits for its part; MyKuya, an app-based platform, served and matched jobs on demand, while copywriting expert Copywriting Dojo, Estancia at Capitol Commons and The Study Co-Working by Enderun Colleges came into the picture as crucial collaborators. Offline community events began on July 13 and will end on July 27.

10 OF 10 THRILLING DEALS, DISCOUNTS AWAIT AT SHERATON STARTING AUGUST!

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HERATON Manila Hotel throws a perfect 10/10 list of amazing deals starting August, in celebration of the 10th year of Resorts World Manila (RWM). The hotel joins the grand celebration with 10 special offers from dining, me et i ng s, we dd i ng s a nd room accommodation. First on the list are new food items in S Kitchen, such as the 10-dish platter and 10 scoops of ice cream. 10 well-loved Filipino grubs are put together for P910 only. On the platter are deep-fried shrimp fritters (okoy), orange-battered quail

eggs (kwek-kwek), fresh lumpiang ubod, lumpiang shanghai, tsitsaron, barbecue, pansit palabok, chicken wings, leche flan and caramelized fried rice balls (kariyoka). And for P710, get a huge bowl of 10 assorted ice-cream scoops, like ube, chocolate, mango, strawberry and their original kare-kare flavor. These merienda favorites are available from 3 to 6 p.m. until September 30. At The Lounge experience extended happy hour that both kids and adults could enjoy. Top of the morning are freshly baked pan de sal in 10 assorted flavors for P110 only, available from 8

to 10 a.m. They got creative with new flavors like herb focaccia, cheese garlic, ube, pesto and monggo. For something refreshing, limited 10-ounce ube latte and milk tea are being blended for P210. Happy hour starts early with a P10 draft beer on the second order, from their special beverage menu. Specifically on August 28, the official opening date of RWM, a P10 wine per glass will be offered to a group of 10 persons dining in S Kitchen for lunch or dinner buffet. Also, 10 percent is discounted on all food and beverage orders of guests checking in on August 28 and to those who have availed themselves of the best available rate on the hotel’s official web site. But that’s not all! Follow them @sher aton m a n i l a on Faceb ook , Instagram and Twitter for their 10 surprise giveaways all throughout the month of August. They added more inclusions to their event packages, like discounts on dining, 1 in 10 freebies, and supplementary Marriott Bonvoy Rewarding Events points. Special meeting package should be booked by September 15, while weddings should be booked by October 15 to qualify. Join the festivities of RWM by scoring the perfect 10/10 deals of Sheraton Manila. Reservations are highly recommended. For more details and updates, visit www.sheratonmanila.com.

MONDELĒZ PHILIPPINES SUCCESSFULLY CLOSES UNION DEAL FOR EMPLOYEES

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HE Mondelēz Philippines Inc. Workers’ Union (ALU-TUCP) was founded 30 years ago, in 1989 by the manufacturing-plant employees of the snacking company. The company, together with the union, has marked many milestones in labor-management cooperation, including creating a platform for communication between the company and the union, and effective collective bargaining agreement (CBA), concluding within above industry’s standard periods. This year the company and the union have harmoniously closed another CBA in few days, strengthening the progressive

relationship between the two parties. “Our CBA has been instrumental in improving our employees’ working c o nd it io n s a nd t ot a l re w a rd s mechanisms, which help us in driving productivity in our plant,” shares Mondelēz Philippines plant lead Atul Kulkarni. “Through a strengthened l abor -m a n agement cooperat ion, which we fondly call as our “Ugnayan” [relationship], we have been able to establish a platform for collaborative and stronger communication with our union. This has greatly contributed [in] driving a higher level of people engagement and

better partnership.” ALU-TUCP President Henry Roman echoes the same sentiment: “Nabuo sa amin ang pagmamahal na ma-i-angat ang aming planta at kilalanin kami bilang Best in Class Manufacturing sa buong mundo... Kaya’t tinignan namin ang longterm impact sa business, at naniniwala kami na ang pag-suporta sa productivity ng planta ang makapag-aangat sa amin. Ang pagtanaw sa konsepto ng respeto at pagkakaroon ng “win-win solution” ang naging susi para mapangalagaan namin ang industrial peace.” One of the company’s core values is to Grow Every Day, and that’s a promise they will live up to move forward. “We will continue to invest on our people’s growth and development. We will continue to increase our productivity and uphold our high-performance work-system values. So, as one team, we will uphold our new high standard of combined business and people focus,” Kulkarni ended. Present at the signing are (from left) Stevenson Go, manufacturing lead; Roman; Ashish Pisharodi, country director; and Kulkarni.

#BECYBERSAFE PROJECT RECEIVES PHILIPPINE OPENGOV EXCELLENCE AWARD

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HE Department of Education (DepEd), together w ith its partners Stairway Foundation and the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (Immap), receives an excellence award for the #BeCyberSafe Project at the Third Annual Philippine OpenGov Leadership Forum. Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones expressed her appreciation of the said recognition, which she believes will bolster the efforts of the department in ensuring the best interest of the learners. “I am, likewise, grateful to [the] Immap and Stairway Foundation for their unwavering commitment to help DepEd in safeguarding the cyber safety of our children.” T he sa id recog n it ion honors gove r n me nt a ge nc ies for t he i r outstanding achievement in using information and communications technolog y (IC T ) to engage and empower c it i zens; simpl if y a nd

improve the clientele’s experience; enhance people’s collaboration with the government; and integrate and update existing systems. Mohit Sagar, group managing director and editor in chief of the OpenGov Recognition of Excellence 2019, f ur t her touted t he award as a celebration of the Philippine government agencies that are striving toward excellence in strategies, policies and initiatives. Launched last November, the #BeCyberSafe Project aims to further educate learners, teachers, parents, the school and the community on how children can be safe in the online world. Consisting of three major components, namely, Project for Keeps, Dalir-Eskwela and Chatbot, the #BeCyberSafe project also ensures that the scope of child protection extends to the cyber sphere. The Project for Keeps is a social-

media movement and the awareness raising component of the program, while the Dalir-Eskwela features a range of educational materials that include videos, brochures and posters discussing issues on cyber safety. The Chatbot, which is still on its development phase, is a social-media page with a messaging feature, which will be used as a helpline where childprotection issues faced in the cyber space may be reported and addressed. “Through the #BeCybersafe Project, we teach children digital-life skills. We cannot build impenetrable fences around children in a borderless cyber world, which they enter on their own. Instead, we equip them with defenses. We empower children to be responsible and equipped netizens themselves. That is the best tool to promote the best interest of the child online,” officer in charge Education Undersecretary for Legal Affairs lawyer Josephine Maribojoc said.

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ARIS—The skies over Paris were yellow, ignited by a glorious golden sunset. The partying fans’ shirts were yellow, Colombians making themselves at home on the ChampsÉlysées. But the yellow that counted most was the iconic jersey that fit so snugly on the slim shoulders of Egan Bernal. His crowning Sunday as the Tour de France’s youngest post-World War II champion, and its first from South America, heralded the birth of a new supernova in the cycling universe. Winning a Tour for the ages at the unusually young age of 22 immediately prompted the question: How many more might he win? Get this: He’s younger than the Tour’s greatest champions—five-time winners Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain—all were when they were first crowned. Pity those in the peloton who also hope to win future editions of cycling’s greatest race: They could be in for quite a wait. “I am the most happy guy in the world. I just won the Tour de France, and, yeah, I can’t believe it,” Bernal said, looking bemused on the podium in the race winner’s jersey and silhouetted by the splendid sunset. The slightly built Colombian with a killer instinct on the road proved to be the strongest of the 176 strong men who roared off from the start in Brussels, Belgium, on July 6 on their 3,366-kilometer odyssey that delivered the most absorbing, dramapacked Tour in decades and confirmation that the prodigy Bernal is the real deal. Riding a yellow bike, and cheered by Colombian fans who were partying even before he rattled up the cobblestones of the Champs-Élysées, Bernal crossed the line with his teammate Geraint Thomas, the 2018 champion who this year finished second. Steven Kruijswijk completed what Tour organizers said was the tightest podium in the 116-year history of the race, with just one minute and 31 seconds separating first and third places after three weeks of racing. The 21st and final stage was won in a sprint finish on the famous avenue

A STAR IS BORN!

by Australian Caleb Ewan, the dominant sprinter of his first Tour with three stage wins. Keeping with race tradition on its final day, the 155 riders who survived the Tour rode at a pedestrian pace and in a joyful atmosphere before hitting the ChampsÉlysées. Bernal chatted with French rival Julian Alaphilippe and raised a glass of champagne as he rode. At the finish, Bernal fell into the arms of his family. “I cannot believe it. It’s just incredible. I am sorry. I have no words,” he said through a translator. “I still can’t understand what is happening to me.” Tearful Colombians celebrated their new hero. “When I saw that he won, I said, ‘I need to go with my music to support him,’” said clarinet-playing Colombian fan Sebastian Cortes, who traveled from Strasbourg in eastern France for the celebration. But millions of French fans who had lined the roads through east, central and southern France, and up into the thinning air of the Pyrenees and Alps, were ruing a bittersweet Tour. First, their hearts soared with fabulous racing from French riders Alaphilippe, who held the iconic yellow jersey for 14 days, and Thibaut Pinot, who won on the first of seven 6,500-feet peaks scaled by the highest Tour in history. But joy turned to sorrow when Alaphilippe and Pinot’s prospects of becoming France’s first winner since Hinault in 1985 were cruelly dashed just two days before the grand finale in Paris, on an epic Stage 19 where Mother Nature became a party-pooping guest. An almighty dump of torrential rain and hail severed the Tour route just as Bernal was succeeding in ripping the race lead off Alaphilippe, who’d clung to it like a kid with a favorite toy. “Julian Alaphilippe made us dream,” said Celestin

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| Tuesday, July 30, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

The slightly built Colombian with a killer instinct on the road proved to be the strongest of the 176 strong men who roared off from the start in Brussels, Belgium, on July 6 on their 3,366-kilometer odyssey that delivered the most absorbing, drama-packed Tour in decades and confirmation that the prodigy Egan Bernal is the real deal. Simon, a Parisian who cheered his hero on the Champs-Élysées in a pointy hat of French red, white and blue. “Unfortunately, there’s no victory at the end.” Alaphilippe, more than anyone, first ignited and then stoked what will long be remembered as a Tour of fireworks. With his goatee beard and can’t-catch-me attacks that rivals couldn’t match, Alaphilippe embodied “panache,” the old-school class so cherished by Tour fans. Alaphilippe’s enterprise first put him in yellow in Champagne country on Stage 3 and then, after he lost the lead on Stage 6, got him the jersey back on Stage 8, which he held through the Pyrenees and into the Alps. And it was there that Bernal, raised at altitude in Colombia and at home in thinner air, struck. Bernal flew up the Tour’s highest climb, the dizzying Iseran pass at 2,770 meters (9,088-feet) above sea level, demolishing what remained of Alaphilippe’s lead on Stage 19 and building a sizeable one of his own. The watch was then stopped, with Bernal way ahead, when the hailstorm suddenly coated the route with ice, amid fears that

THE yellow that counts most is the iconic jersey that fit so snugly on the slim shoulders of Egan Bernal. AP

FUTURE, STILL, LOOKS BRIGHT FOR FRANCE P

ARIS—”Now or Never.” That was the headline running across the front page of France’s biggest-selling sports newspaper L’Equipe three weeks ago, amid nationwide hopes that a homegrown rider could finally win the Tour de France. In the absence of many big names— including four-time champion Chris Froome— France’s top contenders Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet were expected to make the most of this year’s climb-heavy route, and even finally end the 34-year drought. Three weeks later, neither Pinot nor Bardet stood on the Tour podium and the wait for a French winner continues. The future of French cycling looks bright, though, and a successor to Bernard Hinault—the last Frenchman to win cycling’s marquee race back in 1985—is likely to emerge sooner than later. Although Bardet, twice a podium finisher, was never an overall threat and had to be

content with the polka-dot jersey for best climber, Pinot was magnificent until a left-leg injury reduced him to tears on the side of an Alpine climb, and forced him out of the race within touching distance of the Champs-Élysées. With Bardet nowhere to be seen, another Frenchman, Julian Alaphilippe, surged to the fore, gaining pop-idol status in the space of just three weeks. And five French riders finished in the top 15 for the first time since 2011. A classics specialist, Alaphilippe exceeded all expectations, wearing the yellow jersey for 14 days after playing havoc with traditional race strategies. Despite his pedigree in one-day races, Alaphilippe was not among the pre-Tour favorites, and many spectators had hardly heard of him when the race started. But he took the Tour lead by storm during the first week of racing with a bold attack. After losing the yellow jersey, he reclaimed it and fought to stay in yellow with a living-the-moment humble

riders on tires barely wider than their thumbs could skid off into the rock- and ravine-scarred Alpine décor. Compounding the misery for France, Pinot abandoned the race in tears, hobbled by a leftthigh muscle tear. And that was that. The Tour that had been careening to a rock ‘n’ roll finish instead had the plug pulled on it. Landslides also truncated the last Alpine Stage 20, which still proved too long for the by-now exhausted Alaphilippe, who slipped off the podium entirely, despite getting words of encouragement in a call the previous night from French President Emmanuel Macron. Thomas used the last Alpine climb to secure the runner-up spot in Paris, giving the Ineos team a podium 1-2 with Bernal. Third-placed Kruijswijk, a Dutch Mr. Steady, pulled off the feat of being wholly unremarkable during the three weeks, while Alaphilippe, Pinot and Bernal and others rocked. Quite remarkably, none of the top four riders won a stage. Alaphilippe, in fifth, won two. “Honestly, I prefer having won two stages and 14 days in yellow than doing nothing and finishing third,” Alaphilippe said Sunday. So instead of a redwhite-and-blue celebration, Paris got painted in Colombian red. AP

attitude that excited fans and impressed his rivals. “It’s incredible how he stepped up and improved,” said 2018 Tour champion Geraint Thomas, who finished runner-up this year behind his Ineos teammate Egan Bernal. “A big, big well done to him. He fought until the very end. He deserved to be on that podium.” In scenes sometimes reminiscent of the “Wiggomania” in Britain when Bradley Wiggins won the 2012 Tour, Alaphilippe was feted in every village crossed by the peloton. Each morning, fans chanted his name near his team bus, asked him for selfies and stopped him for autographs. The excitement was such that at some point Alaphilippe had to be escorted by police officers to the start of the stage. With his team not strong enough to protect him in the mountains, Alaphilippe worked alone in the Alps and ultimately paid for his exhausting efforts, cracking under the pressure of Ineos and Jumbo-Visma teams to drop to fifth place overall.

But Alaphilippe’s impressive victory in the individual time trial ahead of Thomas—a specialist in the race against the clock— combined with his natural flair and the bold attacks that helped him seize the limelight in the short and punchy climbs he loves so much, bode very well for the coming years. “He should certainly have a go at the general classification when he’s ready,” Ineos Manager Dave Brailsford, who has won seven of the last eight Tours with four different winners, told The Associated Press. But Brailsford believes that Alaphilippe’s transformation into a potential Grand Tour winner would require a different approach to the Tour and a different style of racing, certainly less flamboyant. “Fighting for the overall title is different mentally,” Brailsford said. “So he’s got to be ready for that. For now, he enjoys riding his bike. If he takes that flair and enthusiasm away, and gets really focused on the three weeks, rides in maybe a different way, that’s something that he ought

to see three years down the line.” Pinot’s situation is slightly different. A confirmed climber with a team capable of supporting him in the mountains, he arrived at the Tour in the form of his life after focusing on the Giro d’Italia last year. Having spent weeks based in the Alps with all the big mountain stages in mind, Pinot showed from the start he would be a force to be reckoned with when he jumped on Alaphilippe’s wheel during the hilly Stage 8 to Saint-Etienne to gain time on Thomas and Bernal. Pinot also showed a newly found mental fortitude later in the race, quickly bouncing back after the loss of one minute and 40 seconds in crosswinds. An emotional rider, Pinot responded with a display of class and power in the Pyrenees. In the southwestern mountain range, he stood out from the rest, even putting the pure climber Bernal on the back foot with devastating acceleration which earned him a prestige win at the Tourmalet summit. But Pinot’s fragile health overtook his challenge. His Tour abruptly ended Friday in the arms of William Bonnet, the teammate who rode by his side in the last meters before his withdrawal, his left leg badly

affected by a muscular injury sustained earlier in the final week. A third-place finisher at the 2014 Tour, Pinot has not finished his home race since 2015. On Saturday morning, he still had to choke back tears when speaking to a TV crew about his withdrawal. But he has promised to come back in 2020. “The confidence I have in Thibaut Pinot is enormous. He is a great rider and will remain a great rider,” FDJ-Groupama Manager Marc Madiot said. “He always gets back on his feet, I believe the best is still to come.” And maybe not just for Pinot. “There are some really good French riders at the minute,” Brailsford said. “Obviously, the Bardet and Pinot generation. But underneath there is a new generation of young French riders coming through.” Brailsford, who said a few years ago he would love to develop a French winner within his team, has intriguingly not given up on the idea. At Ineos, riders are split in two main groups depending on their age. “We’ve been working hard with the younger group in their preparation,” he said. “That’s where potentially having some very talented French riders in that group would be fantastic.” AP

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ONE night after becoming the first swimmer to win three golds in one night at a worlds for the second time, Caeleb Dressel’s haul includes six golds at the biggest meet after the Olympics. AP

US water polo player recalls balcony accident

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NE moment, Kaleigh Gilchrist was celebrating an unprecedented third straight world championship for the US women’s water polo team. In the next moment, she was headed to a hospital in South Korea. Gilchrist was partying with teammate Paige Hauschild and other competitors from the world swimming championships when a balcony at a nightclub near the athletes’ village collapsed early Saturday morning, killing two people and creating a chaotic scene in the southern city of Gwangju. “We were having the best night ever celebrating our win, and somehow, a freak accident happened,” Gilchrist told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Gilchrist, a 27-year-old attacker from Newport Beach, California, who also was part of the US’s gold medal-winning team at the 2016 Olympics, sustained some deep lacerations on her left leg and got some stitches for cuts on her left thigh. But she said she had no broken bones or nerve damage. Gilchrist had surgery later Saturday morning. She remained in the hospital Monday while doctors monitored her recovery, but she hoped to return to the US on Tuesday. She was counting her blessings, too. “We are the lucky ones and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who have lost loved ones,” she said. Gilchrist, who also has traveled the world as an accomplished surfer, remembers only parts of the harrowing night. Hours after the Americans’ 11-6 victory over Spain in the final, Gilchrist was on the balcony with Hauschild, US men’s attacker Johnny Hooper and other athletes when it went down. “It was all pretty quick, I think,” Gilchrist said. “But I remember falling and I talked to Johnny and we kind of thought the same thing: It’s like, we felt like [we were] falling for 10 seconds, which it probably ended up being one or two seconds. But everything kind of slowed down.” Gilchrist said the railing of the balcony was lined with glued-down beer bottles that shattered when it collapsed. She thinks she was helped up before she made her way out of the nightclub with Hauschild. When Gilchrist got outside, she realized the extent of her injuries and laid down on the sidewalk. She then got some help from some players on the US men and Australian water polo teams, and Christopher Bates, a trainer for the US men’s team, joined the group. “Chris was kind of just the biggest blessing,” Gilchrist said. “He came, he’s a trainer, he put his belt around my leg as a tourniquet and he came in the ambulance with me.” AP

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IMA, Peru—Every dawn, on every day, surfers in wetsuits paddle out to take on the famed Peruvian waves. Back on rocky beaches bearing Hawaiian names like Makaha and Waikiki, instructors can be seen training students. Some here speak about the country’s world surfing champions. Others lay claim to being home to the world’s longest waves, offering a top destination for surfers worldwide. That includes professionals from across the Americas who will compete on huge waves on a reef break 60 kilometers south of Lima when the sport is featured Monday for the first time in the Pan American Games. “As a Peruvian, I’m so proud that the Pan American Games are being held in Lima, and that for the first time, surfing is included as a sporting discipline,” said Alberto Lopez, who runs one of the dozen or so schools at Makaha beach in Lima’s upscale neighborhood of Miraflores. “Peru really is a gem. All Latin Americans know that Peru is the region’s best surfing destination.” Surfing is a way of life in Peru, which has been called the Hawaii of Latin America. Sure, millions have marveled at the famed Inca citadel of Machu Picchu and tasted the cuisine that fuses indigenous traditions with European, African and Asian influences through fresh ingredients, including an abundance of seafood from the Pacific Ocean’s chilly Humboldt current. But Peru also is synonymous with surfing.

DRESSEL WINS RECORD 8TH GOLD AT WORLDS

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WANGJU, South Korea—This time, Caeleb Dressel stands alone. The American won his record eighth medal at the world swimming championships Sunday, helping the US to silver in the 4x100-meter medley relay after anchor Nathan Adrian got overtaken for gold in the closing meters. “Part of me is very happy,” Dressel said. “Part of me wants to cry that I’m done with it. I’ve got pimples on my face from just the stress of the meet. I’m probably losing some hair.” One night after becoming the first swimmer to win three golds in one night at a worlds for the second time, Dressel’s haul included six golds at the biggest meet after the Olympics. “It was a very tough week,” he said. “I knew I was going to have to come with fire, passion and

pride in every single race.” Two years ago in Hungary, Dressel tied Michael Phelps’s record of seven golds at a single worlds, including three in one night. Dressel hauled the US from fourth to first on his butterfly leg with a split of 49.28 seconds. Adrian found himself in a three-way fight with Britain and Russia coming down the stretch. Brit Duncan Scott surged ahead approaching the wall and got there first with a split of 46.14 to Adrian’s 47.60. “That last 15 meters, it’s tough,” Adrian said. “I was trying to be strong, I was trying to hold on, but this time I couldn’t do it.” Luke Greenbank, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Scott took gold for Britain in three minutes and 28.10 seconds. Ryan Murphy, Andrew Wilson, Dressel and

MUHAMMAD BREAKS 400-M HURDLES RECORD

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ES MOINES, Iowa—The running joke between Dalilah Muhammad and some of her competitors goes like this: She orders the wet conditions. Because she reigns in the rain. On a drizzly Sunday night, Muhammad broke a 16-year-old world record in the 400-meter hurdles by finishing in 52.20 seconds at the US championships. “I’m just shocked,” Muhammad said. “I broke the world record.” With puddles formed on the track, the defending Olympic champion sloshed her way around the track to eclipse the mark of 52.34 set by Yuliya Pechonkina of Russia on August 8, 2003. Running out of the fourth lane, Muhammad didn’t let the raindrops deter her. She looked at her time and was almost taken aback. No way that can be real, right? It was. Muhammad smiled, briefly put her hands on her hips and then slumped down when her time flashed on the screen at Drake Stadium. Third-place finisher Ashley Spencer emphatically celebrated behind her and teenager Sydney McLaughlin came over to hug Muhammad after finishing second. It was also lightly raining when Muhammad won the Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Games.

Adrian finished in 3:28.45. It was just the second silver, and first since 1998, in an event the Americans have won 13 times. “There’s a time to get silver in relays and it’s at a world championships, that’s for sure,” Adrian said. Russia earned bronze. Dressel’s golds came in the 50 and 100 free, 50 and 100 butterfly, mixed 4x100 free relay and 4x100 free relay. His other silver was in the mixed 4x100 medley relay. He was named the Fina male swimmer of the meet. “He’s a phenomenal talent,” South Africa’s Chad le Clos said. “He seems to get better throughout the days.” The US team finished atop the medals table with 27, including a leading 14 golds. Australia was second with 19 and five golds. Simone Manuel completed a sweep of the

Phelps doubts doping protests will bring change

DALILAH MUHAMMAD reigns in the rain. AP

Her competitors might want to start looking at the weather reports for the Tokyo Games, which are a year away. “Ashley said, ‘You’re the one that brings the rain,’” the 29-year-old Muhammad cracked. “I don’t know what it is.” In workouts, Muhammad has often been on world-record pace. She put it all together for real. To think, Muhammad fell in a training session two weeks ago and suffered a mild concussion. She missed three days of workouts to heal. She lost none of her speed. Then again, the level of the competition brought out the best in her. Muhammad believes the mark may not last too long. It may even fall again at the world championships this fall in Doha, Qatar. Defending world champion Kori Carter didn’t even compete at nationals in the event since she has an automatic bye into worlds. “That 52 is going to get broke,” Muhammad said. “If not by me by the other women.” McLaughlin finished in 52.88. “It was a really fast race and I could feel the pace being pushed,” said McLaughlin, who turns 20 next month. “I’m happy to be a part of a world-record race.” AP

50 and 100 freestyles, the first American woman to achieve the feat. She won four golds and six medals overall in the eight-day competition. She came back later to anchor the US to an easy victory in the 4x100 medley relay. Regan Smith, Lilly King, Kelsi Dahlia and Manuel won in 3:50.40, lowering the mark of 3:51.55 set two years ago in Hungary. Manuel outdid Australia’s Cate Campbell on the Final leg, with the Americans winning by 3.02 seconds. Smith set a world record of 57.57 on her opening 100 backstroke leg. She won the 200 back in world-record time, too, but didn’t qualify in the individual 100 back. “That really pumped us all up,” Manuel said. The Aussies settled for silver and Canada took bronze.

MICHAEL PHELPS: No one cares. AP

Adversity hits Ledecky hard

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WANGJU, South Korea—Adversity finally found Katie Ledecky and when it did, it hit hard. Headaches, irregular pulse, elevated heart rate, sleeplessness, nausea. The symptoms she experienced struck the American star out of nowhere at the world swimming championships and derailed what had promised to be a stellar meet. She suffered a loss in an event she’s dominated, withdrew from two others and spent seven hours in a Gwangju hospital enduring a battery of tests that never produced an exact diagnosis. She still managed to win one gold and two silver medals. “I know I can tough it out now if something like this comes up,” she said. It’s a lesson she never had to learn until now. Ledecky has been on an upward trajectory ever since she won the 800-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics as an unheralded 15-year-old. In 2013, she won four golds at the worlds

Surfing: A Peru way of life debuts at Pan Am Games SURF instructors line up boards against a wall after a lesson at Barranquito Beach in Lima, Peru. AP

in Barcelona, setting a pair of world records. Two years later in Kazan, Russia, she swept every freestyle from 200 to 1,500, setting two more world records. Then came the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and she knocked off two more world records. Her accomplishments, coupled with Michael Phelps’s retirement after Rio, made Ledecky the star of the US team. “The external expectations are just outrageous,” her coach, Greg Meehan, said. Still, Ledecky came into Gwangju more prepared than ever to meet or exceed them. Until she started feeling poorly. She settled for silver in her first event, the 400 freestyle, won by 18-year-old Australian Ariarne Titmus. Ledecky then withdrew from the 200 free heats and the 1,500 free final. “We’re pretty sure it was some sort of viral thing or other illness,” she said. She got back in the pool in time to help the US take silver in the 4x200 free relay. She was still feeling the lingering effects of her illness during the 800 free preliminaries. AP Some Peruvians go as far as claiming that surfing’s origins can be traced to their homeland, with the pre-Inca Chimu civilization, near northwestern Chicama. Fishermen from the beach town of Huanchaco, 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Lima, still ride the waves back to shore with the day’s catch on the same reed boats used by the Chimu, called “caballitos,” or little horses. Surfing, which also debuts at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was long the preserve of Peru’s wealthiest. But the tides changed. Many credit surfing’s popularity and its ability to transcend Peru’s class lines with easier access to inexpensive boards and a homegrown 2004 world surfing champion, Sofía Mulanovich, who ignited a wave-riding fever. “We’re considered the Hawaii of Latin America because of the frequency of our waves,” said instructor Fernando Vidal, who on a recent morning arrived at Makaha in a rusty van with boards on top. “With our world champions Felipe Pomar and Sofía Mulanovich...[and the] internet and Facebook, we’ve become well known.” The first World Championships staged by the International Surfing Federation were held in 1965 on the same Punta Rocas beach where surfers will now compete in the Pan Am Games. They were won by Pomar. Mulanovich learned to surf when she was a young girl at Waikiki and became the women’s world surfing champion. Her victory brought with it a wave of surf

In the 50 free, Manuel raced one length of the pool in 24.05. She held off Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, who took silver in 24.07, and Campbell, who earned bronze in 24.11. In the 100 free, Manuel topped Campbell and Sjostrom finished third. Manuel’s other medals came in relays: gold in the 4x100 medley and mixed 4x100 free, and silvers in the 4x100 free and 4x200 free. Sjostrom made a mark of her own. She became the first woman to win five medals in individual events at a single worlds. She won the 50 butterfly, silvers in the 100 fly and 50 free, and bronzes in the 100 free and 200 free, and earned Fina female swimmer of the meet. Lilly King won the 50 breaststroke, giving the American two victories over Russian rival Yuliya Efimova. AP

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ICHAEL PHELPS is watching the world championships from afar, enjoying his evergrowing family while tackling the challenges of life after swimming. But the winningest athlete in Olympic history is still passionate about the sport that meant so much to his life. And, yes, he still gets angry when the subject turns to the scourge of doping. “No one cares. No one wants to do anything about it,” said Phelps, his voice rising on the other end of the line Friday when reached during breakfast at his Arizona home. The issue has taken on a new sense of urgency at the Fina world championships in Gwangju, South Korea, where Chinese star Sun Yang was allowed to compete—and collect a couple of gold medals— even after reports that he smashed a vial of blood with a hammer when drug testers showed up to take a sample. Fina decided to let Sun off with a warning, which essentially meant no punishment at all for what should be an egregious violation of doping rules— especially since the swimmer already tested positive in 2014 for a banned substance. Sun still faces a hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport that could lead to major sanctions, but the lack of action by a governing body that has long been viewed as laughably inept and mainly concerned with making sure all the checks clear prompted two swimmers to take a bold stance in Gwangju. Australia’s Mack Horton, a longtime rival of Sun, refused to take a spot on the medal stand after finishing second to him in the 400-meter freestyle. Britain’s Duncan Scott did the same after settling for a bronze medal in the 200 free, also won by Sun. Phelps, who has said he never felt like he swam a Final that didn’t include at least one doped-up swimmer, can understand the frustration expressed by Horton and Scott. On the other hand, he doubts their dramatic gesture will have any real impact. “I love how people are standing up and voicing their opinion,” Phelps said. “But at the end of the day, there’s only one person, only one group of people who can really change this. That’s Fina. When Fina wants to do something, wants to change how this sport is seen after all these positive drug tests that are occurring, after all this controversy, maybe they’ll do something about it. It’s in their hands, in their control.” AP schools that opened on Lima’s coast. “Surfing in Peru had long been an aristocratic boys-only club. Demographic change had already begun filtering into Latin America’s beaches and lineups, but Mulanovich—compact and sloe-eyed, with a low, fast, tightly coiled wave-riding style— greatly accelerated the process,” the Encyclopedia of Surfing says. “By the late 2000s, roughly half of Peru’s surfers were from the expanding middle class, and among this new generation there was a small but fast-growing number of females.” These days, teenagers in board shorts, jet-setting surfers, locals and curious tourists share the breaking waves. In his black wetsuit, a barefooted Hector Vega recently bobbed like a penguin next to a highway carrying his board to a rocky break. Thick fog blanketed the horizon, but he was undaunted. “It’s very addictive. In a way, it’s like flying,” said Vega, a 61-year-old who began surfing at age 15. “In this country we’re lucky that any day of the year, we have one beach, one spot that will yield good waves.” One big bonus: The breaks along Peru’s 1,500-mile (2,400-kilometer) desert coast hit all year long, fed by the Humboldt current and uninterrupted by land masses. That has brought fame to the northern Chicama beach, home to some of the world’s longest waves and a top destination for the most daring surfers—even before the Beach Boys sang about the “shores of Peru” in their 1962 hit “Surfin’ Safari.” AP

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SPORTS WITHOUT BORDERS VINCENT JUICO @VJuico Instagram vpjp_j vince.juico@gmail.com

Father time EUROPEAN Union Ambassador Franz Jessen (center) pedals 50 kilometers in Bohol and participates in a mangrove activity in Panglao. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By Recto Mercene

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Blazers eye share of srs hoops lead

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OLLEGE of Saint Benilde goes for the share of the top spot when it tackles San Sebastian College in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. Sporting a clean 3-0 card, the Blazers aim for the lead owned by the San Beda Red Lions (4-0) when they battle the Golden Stags (2-1) at 4 p.m. Letran (4-1), meanwhile, tries to extend its streak to five as it faces winless Mapua (0-4) at 12 noon. Sandwiched in the triple-header is the 2 p.m. encounter between Arellano University and University of Perpetual Help, which have identical 1-3 records. Third-year Head Coach TY Tang has the assets to hurdle San Sebastian but reminded his players to focus on the mission. “It’s going to be another tough game. I couldn’t really say that it’s going to be an acid test, but again we’re taking it one game at a time. That’s our mentality right now,” Tang said. Cameroonian big man Clement Leutcheu and veterans Edward Dixon and Kendrix Belgica are expected to step up for the team as forward Justin Gutang remains a question after he sustained a leg injury in the Blazers’ 71-67 win over the Cardinals last week. The Golden Stags, on the other hand, are coming from a 59-73 loss to the Red Lions last Friday. San Sebastian led most of the way but the defending champions nibbled on the deficit in the fourth quarter. Coach Egay Macaraya will rely on the wits of Allyn Bulanadi, Alvin Capobres and Arjan de la Cruz. In the first game, the Knights are raring to make it five in a row against the lowly Cardinals. But it’s easier said than done, according to Head Coach Bonnie Tan. “Mapua is another well-coached team with a lot of good rookie. There is not a team we can take easy this season,” Tan said. Letran recently escaped Emilio Aguinaldo College, 91-89, with Jerrick Balanza, Bonbon Batiller and Ato Ular leading the charge.

AQUINO IN FORUM

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ILAS Pilipinas women’s team Coach Pat Aquino takes the limelight in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday at the Amelie Hotel-Manila. Aquino was gracious enough to grace the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. despite coming off the William Jones Cup in Taiwan. The champion coach is expected to talk about the team’s first-ever stint in the annual tournament, as well as its coming bid in the Fiba Women’s Asia Cup in India in September. The meet is the first qualification for Fiba Asia and Fiba Oceania for women’s basketball tournament at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The session starts at 10 a.m.

RACTICE what you preach. So does European Union (EU) Ambassador Franz Jessen who gets on his bike to champion the cause for lowering carbon emission to the atmosphere and counter climate change. Jessen said the EU has made a commitment to lower carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 as compared to 1990 levels. Together with First Secretary Jerome Riviere of the EU Delegation and Marc Rooijackers of the Asian Development Bank, Jessen biked 50 kilometers around Bohol over the weekend alongside local bikers. This was the first time that Jessen pedaled around the premier tourist island destination. Together with other ambassadors and diplomats, he previously biked more than 200 kilometers in Guimaras and Palawan to propagate his campaign for clean air. To further stress the importance of the environment, Jessen participated in a mangrove activity in Panglao, where he was welcomed by Atty. Kathyrin Fe Pioquinto of the Office of

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Governor Arthur Yap and discussed vital issues affecting Bohol’s several islands. He also met with Tagbilaran Mayor Baba Yap and Governor Yap himself with Riviere and Rooijackers receiving a similar warm welcomed by officials of the Holy Name University. Riviere talked about EU Philippines relations with the university’s political science students and management officials, who expressed interest in participating in the upcoming European Higher Education Fair. Riviere had a chance to see the quality products of Escuella Taller as he commended

the institution for providing educational opportunities for the youth.

CYCLING AND THE ENVIRONMENT

EUROPEANS regard cycling as the most energy efficient mode of transportation with a great potential to reduce fuel consumption and enhance living conditions in any city, municipality or province. It can also become a high impact measure to foster energy-efficient transport patterns in countries without an active or stable cycling culture. It introduced the concept of Velomai, a campaign to promote the use of the bicycle as a

healthy—and sustainable—mode of transport to commute to work. Cycling is the best way to exercise and to remain fit, and at the same time, it reduces pollution through noise and exhaust emissions—and reduces congestion problems. The concept of bicycles originated in the EU. The prototype of the bicycle was developed by French craftsman, Comte Mede de Sivrac in the 1790s, while Baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn, a German nobleman patented his Draisine in 1817. The concept called bicycle evolved through the years until the current period.

RED-CARPET WELCOME FOR ROYAL GUESTS IN SEAG POLO

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AN architect’s rendering of the Bamboo Pavilion at the Miguel Romero Polo Field in Calatagan, Batangas.

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ULTI-TITLED age-group campaigner Justin Ghosh takes a crack at the big boys of triathlon as he leads the roster of newbies vying in the second Regent Aguila Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championships presented by Philam Vitality on August 11 in Mactan, Cebu. Course familiarity won’t pose much of a problem for the 24-year-old Aussie who reigned at the Shangri-La Mactan Resort & Spa back-to-back from 2014-2015 in the 18-24 age division, making him one of the bets to watch in the men’s pro category of the 1.9-kilometer swim/90-km bike/21-km run event organized by Sunrise Events Inc. Also out to steal the show from the likes

Green Warriors blast Unicorns by 20 points AZCHEM started its Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Foundation Cup on a high note, beating fellow debutant Nailtalk-Savio, 98-78, Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Raymark Matias powered the Green Warriors with 24 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block in the dominant win as all but two players in the squad scored at least two points in the victory. “He’s the go-to guy. He motivates the team,” said Coach Manuel Torralba of Matias. After nearly losing a 15-point second quarter lead, the Green Warriors surged back in the third quarter, unloading a 9-0 blitz en route to a 66-47 advantage with 4:44 on the clock. Nailtalk-Savio, however, again fought back and

E.U. PEDALLING FOR CLEAN AIR

got to within eight, 80-72, with 6:20 left in the game before Matias and Marvin Morraga nailed back-to-back baskets to restore order and cruise to the huge win. Morraga added 11 points, six assists and two rebounds, while Mark Anthony Trinidad got nine in the conquest. “The team is barely three weeks old. We’re not sure if we could sustain the momentum. But credit goes to the players and the staff for this win, not to me,” Torralba said. Normel de los Reyes led the Unicorns with 19 points. RR de Leon supplied 15 points and seven rebounds, as Jasper Boac chimed in 10 points and 11 rebounds.

of veterans Tim Reed, a former three-time world titlist from Down Under, and defending champion Mauricio Mendez from Mexico and Aussie veteran Sam Betten, are Lindsey Lawry, another emerging star from talent-rich Australia, and Blake Kappler. The chase for the women’s pro tiara is also tipped to go down to the last burst in the closing part of the premier endurance race with Francesca Sanjana of Great Britain and Aussie Courtney Gilfillan setting out to upend last year’s winner Radka Kahlefeldt, and regular Philippine campaigners Swiss Caroline Steffen and Dimity Lee Duke of Australia. Completing the men’s cast are Bahrain’s Eric Watson; Czech Jakub Langhammer;

WAY from the main hub of the 30th Southeast Asian Games—the New Clark City Sports Complex in Capas, Tarlac—work at the Miguel Romero Polo Field in Calatagan in Batangas are going at feverish pace. While the field looks great, the Bamboo Pavilion—from the architect’s rendering—is fabulous with its majestic design that will cater to royalties from Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia and the rich and famous in the region who are expected to watch the matches. United Polo Players Association (UPPA) Chairman and Rep. Mikee Romero (1-Pacman Party-list) on Monday said that Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and Malaysian King Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah are expected at the venue for the games. “We’re now excited because work is now in full blast. We want to have a first-class field and a first-class competition,” Romero said. “We want to show that we, Filipinos, are capable of hosting an event as big as the SEA Games.” Romero is hoping that the field and other facilities will be completed weeks before the November 25 opening matches for polo.

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JEREMY LIN thinks the National Basketball Association (NBA) has ”given up on him,” according to cnn.com. Jeremy Lin, who became the first AsianAmerican player to win an NBA title while playing for the Toronto Raptors last season, says he is struggling as a free agent. “Every year it gets harder,” the 30-yearold said during an emotional interview at an event in Taiwan. “There’s a saying, and it says, once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up, but rock bottom just seems to keep getting more and more rock bottom for me.” He continued: “So, free agency has been tough. Because I feel like, in some ways, the NBA has kind of given up on me.” I’m not a professional athlete but I see the sacrifices they make and the workouts they do to continue performing at a high level. To sustain the hard work and motivation to perform in front of a national and world audience wears them out, that is why they use the off-season to rest, relax and decompress both physically and mentally. I expected Jeremy Lin to be more mentally tough than this especially that he just won an NBA title. A lot of players will be more than happy to trade places with him just to win a ring. I don’t think the league hasn’t given up on Jeremy Lin, I don’t think basketball has given up on him. He has a standing offer from European basketball powerhouse CSKA Moscow. He should take the offer. Maybe a change of basketball environment might do him and his game some good. He can assert himself more both offensively and defensively in Europe, which will increase his market value as a player.

Aussie Ghosh leads roster of newbies in Mactan Ironman Aussies Tim van Berkel, Luke McKenzie and Mitch Robins; and New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone while boosting the women’s pro roster are Lauren Wood and Amanda Wilson of Australia and Hungary’s Anna Eberhardt. The 20 pros make up the 2,190 entries from a record 57 nations bracing for another duel of power and stamina in the biggest assembly of elite triathletes at the country’s premier triathlon hub. This is actually Cebu’s eighth hosting of Ironman 70.3 with Mendez and Kahlefeldt ruling their respective divisions to complete back-to-back feats

F2, Petron tackle separate rivals 2 LOGISTICS and Petron try to protect their blazing streaks when they tackle separate foes in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City. The Blaze Spikers battle Sta. Lucia at 4:15 p.m., while the Cargo Movers collide with Marinerang Pilipina at 7 p.m. After hiring Filipino-American Kalei Mau, the Cargo Movers have yet to lose, piling up 10 straight wins to spark speculations that they have what it takes to sweep the double-round preliminaries. But in their previous game against Generika-Ayala, the Cargo Movers displayed traces of vulnerability as they flirted with disaster before eking out a 25-19, 25-27, 2522, 18-25, 15-13 victory over the weekend at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Romero is also confident that with the election of Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino as president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, polo will continue to flourish. “Philippine sports is now in good hands because unity is Tolentino’s foremost goal,” said Romero who once headed the shooting and cycling association. “Confident in the leadership and management prowess of Rep. Tolentino, I make explicit my support to the new officials of the POC,” Romero said. “I urge my colleagues in the Olympic movement and sports community in the country to cast aside, cast away all animosities so we can forge forward with a solid program to bring us to our Olympic medal dreams.” The former “godfather” of amateur basketball also challenged all heads of various national sports associations to focus on winning the overall championship in the SEA Games. “This year is our time to shine in the sporting arena,” he said. UPPA is headed by Coco Garcia with Jun Juban as secretary-general, Tonio Veloso as executive general and Jun Eusebio as vice chairman.

IN the history of professional sports, father time is undefeated. There have been times though that athletes have dug deep within their reservoir of experience and intestinal fortitude to win. Last July 20, Manny Pacquiao showed all of us once again that he can beat the best the welterweight division has to offer in Keith Thurman. He turned back the clock with great hand speed and footwork bamboozling and discombobulating Thurman from all angles. From here on out it’ll be tough fights for Pacquiao whether it’s Terence ”Bud” Crawford or Errol Spence Jr. or Shawn Porter. In my opinion, I think he should fight Bud Crawford with the winner facing the victor of the Porter-Spence tussle on September 28. July 20 was also the 50th anniversary when man first walked on the moon. It’s probably what Pacquiao felt after beating Thurman, the feeling of walking on the moon. One small step for Pacquiao, one giant leap for gracefully aging professional athletes.

Mau led the offense and Majoy Baron and Dawn Macandili imposed their will at the defensive end, but F2 Logistics still had a hard time putting down the pesky Lifesavers, who lost skipper Angeli Araneta to injury in the crucial stretch of the deciding set. “Our game against Generika-Ayala should serve as a big lesson for the team,” F2 Logistics Coach Ramil de Jesus said. “You just can’t go to the venue and play the game. You also have to be prepared and respect your opponent.” Against Marinerang Pilipina, F2 Logistics is expected to go hard to gain momentum needed for the tough grind ahead. The Lady Skippers will be coming in without injured spiker Chiara Permentilla, but the crew of Ivy Remulla, Caitlyn Viray, Rhea Ramirez, Dimdim Pacres, Cesca Racraquin and Judith Abil are expected to step up to claim their first-ever victory.

following their triumphs in Davao. Spicing up the event are the Herbalife IronGirl 5k run on August 9 and Alaska IronKids on August 10. For details, visit www.ironman. com/philippines70.3 with official hashtags #IM703Philippines, #AguilaIM703 with socialmedia accounts (Facebook) aguilaIM703PH, (twitter) aguilaim703ph, (Instagram) aguilaim703ph.

MULTI-TITLED age-group campaigner Justin Ghosh challenges the big boys of triathlon.

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OCKENHEIM, Germany—The wetter and wilder the German Grand Prix became, the more it suited Max Verstappen’s nerveless driving. The 21-year-old Red Bull driver’s brilliant performance came alongside a rare collapse from Mercedes. Verstappen mastered Sunday’s treacherous conditions on a rain-soaked track to seal a second win in three races, and seventh of a career which appears destined to take the ice-cool Dutchman to the top of Formula One (F1) before too long. Verstappen raised his fist triumphantly as he took the checkered flag at the Hockenheimring, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat. A jubilant Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described his driving as a “master class.” While Verstappen’s long-term future looks as dazzling as the orange jerseys of the devoted Dutch masses following their national hero, he is not yet a championship contender. Although that’s more to do with his car than with him. Victory moved Verstappen to within 22 points of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas overall, but Lewis Hamilton is 63 points ahead of Verstappen after 11 of 21 races. A rare blip from Mercedes, concerning both Bottas and Hamilton, happens as rarely as the 41 degree Celsius (106oF) heat which turned Hockenheim into a furnace on Friday. Hamilton finished 11th after starting from pole position, while Bottas crashed near the end failing to overtake Lance Stroll. However, Hamilton improved to ninth place—earning two points—after stewards handed time penalties to Alfa Romeo drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi, who were demoted from seventh and eighth to 12th and 13th respectively, for an issue relating to their clutches at the start. “They’re still miles ahead in the championship. It’s still quite a lot, isn’t it? More than two victories,” Verstappen said of Mercedes. “[But] we want to close that gap and fight for victory at every single race.” Verstappen has four podiums in 11 races and has been outside the top 4 positions only once—proof of his consistency but also that Red Bull lacks outright speed to challenge Mercedes every race. Still, this was an imperious performance from Verstappen, who simply thrives in the rain. He credits his father Jos Verstappen—a modest F1 driver—with helping him develop the skills required. “A lot of practice from when I was young, in the wet, working many hours with my dad—who was also pretty decent in the wet,” Verstappen said. “He provided tips. It’s also about making decisions in the wet, not just driving but noticing what is going on around you.” Wet weather caused havoc as drivers took up to six pit stops for new tires and several crashed on a section of notoriously slippery tarmac. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was in contention for a podium, despite starting from 10th, but switched for quicker

ICE-COOL DUTCHMAN TRIUMPHS

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THE 21-year-old Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s brilliant performance comes alongside a rare collapse from Mercedes. AP

| Tuesday, July 30, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

tires and slid off the track there, going over the gravel and into the barriers. Remarkably, Hamilton had the same mishap there moments later, mangling his front wing. He came in for a new wing and tires, but it took Mercedes by surprise and a painfully long stop cost him any chance of victory. For Vettel it was a remarkable turnaround, and almost the opposite to last year—when he crashed near the end after leading the race from pole position and Hamilton won, having qualified only 14th. The red-clothed Ferrari mechanics and engineers mobbed the four-time F1 champion, doubtless relieved after the team’s botched qualifying on Saturday. Vettel could not even set a time and Leclerc’s qualifying bid was undone late in the session, forcing him to start 10th. “Starting last, we can certainly be very happy recovering,” said Vettel, who is fourth in the standings, 21 points behind Verstappen heading to next weekend’s race in Hungary. “We are making mistakes and we’re not where we want to be, but we need to keep believing in ourselves and I think our day will come.” AP

MERCEDES driver Lewis Hamilton gets a pit service during the German Grand Prix. AP

Rare sight: Mercedes struggles in German GP H OCKENHEIM, Germany—On what was supposed to be a day of celebration, the rarest of sights in Formula One saw both Mercedes drivers struggling badly at Sunday’s dramatic German Grand Prix. World champion Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in 11th—despite starting from pole position—and Valtteri Bottas crashed chasing a podium finish. “What a crazy race. This has been one of the most difficult races we’ve had as a team for a long time,” Hamilton said. “I’m just glad it’s over.” Hamilton was later promoted to ninth place and earned two points after stewards handed post-race time penalties to Alfa Romeo drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi— demoting them from seventh and eighth to 12th and 13th respectively—for an issue relating to their clutches at the

a miserable day at the Mercedes motor home, where celebratory smiles turned to frowns and stern faces. The five-time F1 champion with 80 career wins took treacherous Turn 16 too wide and damaged his car’s front wing clipping the barriers. “It was like ice out there,” the British driver said. “I made a mistake and paid the price.” Hamilton was not helped by his usually slick team, either. When he came in for repairs, mechanics were rushing around in a state of panic. One even sprinted to get a tire, grabbed it and sprinted back like he was running in a relay race and the heavy tire was a baton needing to be passed quickly. Pandemonium at Mercedes? This team is the winner of every drivers’ and constructors’ championship since 2014. AP

KOEPKA WINS, SANS DRAMA By Teresa M. Walker

The Associated Press

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EMPHIS, Tennessee— Brooks Koepka knows everyone wanted to see a tight finalround duel with Rory

BROOKS KOEPKA and Rory McIlroy walk down the 18th fairway during the final round of the World Golf Championships. AP

start of the race. Still, what a way for Mercedes to celebrate 125 years in motorsport and 200 F1 races. “This was our Armageddon weekend,” the team’s head of motorsport Toto Wolff said with Hamilton in 11th. “This one hurts us to the core: it was a disastrous result today.... You add incidents, crashing out, tricky conditions, the wrong calls and in the end you’re left with zero points.” For the second straight year, the skies opened up and drenched the Hockenheimring circuit on race day. This time Hamilton struggled, however, having won in similar conditions and despite starting from 14th on the grid in 2018. “I thought I had the race under control,” Hamilton said. “But we took a risk going out on slick [tires] and the race fell apart from there.” A rare mistake from Hamilton also contributed to

McIlroy. “That would have been incredible for the fans, for everybody that showed up and I’m sure that’s what everybody wanted,” Koepka said. Too bad Koepka drained all the drama Sunday on the way to his first World Golf Championships title. Koepka had three birdies in a fourhole stretch on the front nine and cruised to a three-stroke victory in the FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Playing with McIlroy in their first finalgroup pairing, the top-ranked Koepka closed with a bogey-free five-under 65 at TPC Southwind for his seventh Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour title. He finished at 16-under 264. McIlroy followed his third-round 62 with a 71 to drop into a tie for fourth at 11 under. McIlroy declined to talk to reporters after the round. “Rory didn’t play the way he wanted to today, but still it’s so much fun to watch him play,” Koepka said. “You kind of get glued watching him hit balls. I mean, it’s mesmerizing watching him hit. You know it’s always nice to squeak out a victory over probably the best player right now.” Webb Simpson had a 64 to finish second. Marc Leishman (67) was third, four strokes back. Tommy Fleetwood (66) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (69) joined McIlroy at 11 under. Koepka wrapped up the regularseason points title a week early and claimed a $2-million bonus from the Wyndham Rewards program. He is

assured to going into the FedEx Cup playoffs as the No. 1 seed. Koepka became the sixth player to win a major championship and a World Golf Championship in the same year. He won the PGA Championship for the second straight year in May. After tapping in for par on No. 18, Koepka celebrated with a little fist pump before hugging McIlroy. Koepka had been so close in recent weeks, coming in second at the US Open in June and tying for fourth last week at the British Open. He also had a pair of top-10 finishes in this event when it was held at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, and he also won for the first time at the TPC Southwind, where he tied for third in 2015 and tied for second in 2016 when this course hosted the former St. Jude Classic. Koepka says he feels he knows this course better than any other on tour, and finally winning here and a WGC title, too, is special. “It’s a thinker’s golf course,” Koepka said. “I probably don’t get enough thought process going through my mind sometimes, just get up and hit it. It gets very routine. A lot of times it’s drivers, but out here you’ve really got to position yourself off the tee depending on where the pin is.” Now Koepka has come from behind in three of his seven victories, though this time, teeing off only a stroke off the lead. When they teed off, Koepka was among 10 players within four strokes of leader McIlroy. After a couple of pars, Koepka took control. Koepka rolled in a 9-footer for birdie and a share of the lead on the par-5 third he bogeyed in each of the first two rounds for a nice confidence boost. McIlroy missed his own 4-foot birdie chance a couple inches left after chipping from

behind a green-side bunker. Then Koepka hit his second shot on the par-4 fifth from 185 yards to 5 feet for his second birdie and the outright lead, while McIlroy’s second was on the left fringe with his attempt 5 feet short on yet another par. Koepka birdied his second straight on the par-4 sixth, rolling in a 20-footer for a twostroke lead. Koepka padded that lead after the turn, hitting his second from 143 to 8 feet on the par-4 10th. Koepka rolled in the birdie putt to go to 15 under with a three-stroke lead making the only question left whether anyone could get close. He created the last of the drama by scrambling for par on the next two holes. He put his second into the intermediate rough on the edge of the green on No. 15, forcing him to hole a 9-footer, with a poor chip on the par-5 16th leading to another par. But he clinched the win with a 12-footer on No. 17. McIlroy had won three of his previous four when shooting at least a 62 in an event. The Northern Irishman who missed the cut at the British Open by a stroke last week just couldn’t keep up with Koepka. Simpson eagled No. 3 and added a birdie on No. 6. Then he added four birdies on the back nine and tied the best round of the day with his best round since winning the 2018 Players Championship. “Knowing that Brooks Koepka and Rory are out in front, I knew it needed to be a low round,” Simpson said. “I didn’t have a number in mind.... Very happy with how the day went.” Divots: Koepka, who won the CJ Cup in South Korea last October, also is the first on tour with three wins this season.... Justin Thomas, who won this event in Ohio last year, tied for 12th. Johnson, who won the FedEx St. Jude Classic here last year, tied for 20th.

Justice and love

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EAR God, Your justice and love, extend far beyond human understanding. In awe we pray: Lavish Your love upon us, oh God. Heal the sick, comfort the afflicted and restore wholeness to the brokenhearted. Inspire speakers who will deliver Your word at Christian life seminar with a mission to live, share and shine Christ with others. Show mercy upon those who suffer mental illness and give patience to those who care for them. Give joy and gladness to those who embrace the single vocation. May God grant us to comprehend with all the holy ones the breadth and length, and height and depth of Christ’s love for us. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

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BRITISH designer David Harber’s Torus sculpture, which is crafted of highly polished steel, and can be made in different sizes. The striking effect: reflections of Torus’s surrounding environment— grass, trees or water—seem to make the piece transparent.

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CIRCLES: AMBIE ABAÑO PONDERS THE RAIN, TIME AND THE NATURE OF BEING D4

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CEO and Head of Curriculum Arch. Gerard Dy and COO Edeline Payawal are the “founding founders” of the school.

CLIVE NICHOLSDAVID HARPER VIA AP

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HARBER began his storied career creating armillary spheres, like the one shown here, and he still loves creating them. Homeowners can order the bronze, steel or brass spheres etched with favorite quotes, names, home coordinates or other bespoke engravings. CLIVE NICHOLS/DAVID HARPER VIA AP

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Outdoor décor that’s ‘out there’ and edgy

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By KiM COOK The Associated Press

HE outdoor furnishings market has been dominated for years by wicker-look resin furniture and beachy prints. Spindly folding lawn chairs have given way to deep, comfy seating, and fabric choices have grown from sweaty, rough plastics to weatherproof linen, soft cotton, even velvet. The living room has most certainly moved outdoors. But for those whose design sensibility skews toward the avant garde, there haven’t been a lot of options. Until now. More and more designers and makers are producing cool, imaginative pieces for backyard and balcony. If you’re into artsy décor, there’s no reason why your outdoor space can’t reflect that, as well. British artist David Harber has developed a global following for his innovative outdoor sculptures, which play with light and landscape. In his Oxfordshire studio, Harber and his team create sculptures, water features and sundials out of metal. Sunlight filters through a piece called Mantle, made of bronze petals fused together and gilded on the inside; the light transforms the middle into molten gold. One of his most popular pieces, Torus, is a circular expanse of superpolished steel that reflects the landscape or water in front of it. It’s there in front of you, yet

THE MoMA Design Store shows the M’Afrique Shadowy Armchair. MOMA DESIGN STORE VIA AP

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appears transparent. Armillary spheres were the first thing Harber learned to make, and he says the marriage of art and science drew him to the form. “I’ve made [them] for tiny cottage gardens, and for hotels; they have a universal appeal,” he says. Available in brass, steel and bronze, the spheres can be custom engraved. Some people have commissioned phrases with personal meaning; others have had their spheres etched with family names, house names, latitude and longitude, or distances to significant destinations. In his Brooklyn, New York, studio Opiary, sculptor Robert Remer takes a more freeform approach to his artful outdoor pieces. His sculptures, planters and seating, made of steel armatures and resin-fortified cement, look otherworldly. The Archaic planter collection of abstract, organic shapes resembles pieces of a dinosaur skeleton or water-eroded rock. Little niches throughout the pieces can be planted with moss, alpines and succulents. The Drillium chair and chaise were inspired by aircraft construction and bones. Curvy, sensuous lines with circular cutouts and little crevices for plants contrast with the hefty presence of the concrete material. You could see these pieces on an interplanetary patio. The Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) store is carrying Moroso’s M’Afrique collection of colorful outdoor furniture, handmade in Senegal with woven materials and painted steel. M’Afrique showcases the region’s innovative weaving craft; Moroso teamed with designers like Tord Boontje to create the collection. Among the pieces: the Banjooli table, with bright yellow polyethylene cords woven to evoke overlapping feathers and inspired by the courtship dance of the ostrich. The Shadowy armchair has a Seussian exaggerated profile with high back, curvy canopy, and eye-popping colorways like black and white or orange and yellow.

LANDLITE SPONSORS PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS (PIID) GENERAL MONTHLY MEETING FOR PIID’s general monthly meeting for the month of June, Landlite Philippines Corp. (LPC) sponsored and organized a Mamma Mia-themed event hosted by its brand ambassador, Marc Nelson. Interior designers gathered at Lux Décor showroom in BGC where they had a tour on the latest line of products that Landlite has to offer. Faro Barcelona decorative lightings and Uozu Italian minimalist downlights were the highlights of the showroom tour. During the night, three lucky raffle winners took home Lux Décor gift certificates worth P10,000, while other attendees received Landlite LED bulbs and other Landlite products for the games and survey. During the event, LPC was named Premier Sponsor of PIID. Present during the event were (from left) PIID National President Lilia de Jesus, Landlite Philippines Corp. CEO Jocelyn Li, brand ambassador Marc Nelson, and PIID Vice President for Internal Affairs Marcelo Alonzo.

Thomas Heatherwick’s Spun chair, made by Magi for Herman Miller, looks like a giant child’s spin top. Placed upright, it’s sculpture. Tipped on its side, it’s a playful, comfortable seat. Spun comes in black, white or red. Loll Designs’ Rapson chair at Perigold is a futuristic plastic version of a traditional wing chair; it comes in a bunch of colors, including leaf green, apple red and sunset orange. Finally, for fans of a certain HBO series, Amedeo Designs’ Throne chair, available at Houzz.com, might be just the thing. Intricately carved and substantially sized, the piece is actually made of lightweight resin—the perfect place from which to have a commanding view of whatever the backyard games might be. n

THE MoMA Design Store shows the M’Afrique Banjooli table. If you want something a little more avant garde, designers are coming up with some cool, imaginative pieces for the artsy backyard and balcony. MOMA DESIGN STORE VIA AP

PROMINENT architects in attendance during the Foundree launch: Archs. Gerard Dy (from left), Nikki Boncan-Buensalido, Ed Calma, Don de Vera, Jason Buensalido, Royal Pineda and William Ti Jr.

Foundree launches progressive learning hub with biggest names in architecture A PROGRESSIVE learning center for architecture and the built environment, Foundree formally opened its doors with an illustrious crowd of Filipino architects and designers as guests. Among those in attendance were Arch. Ed Calma, one of the most in-demand luxury architects in the country; Arch. Buck Sia, who has been shortlisted for this year’s World Architecture Festival; and Arch. Sudarshan “Sudar” Khadka, a noted advocate for sustainability and two-time winner of the World Architecture Festival Small Project of the Year. Celebrated architects AJ Javier, Royal Pineda, Jason Buensalido and Nikki Boncan-Buensalido rounded up the room full of talent. In addition, interior designers, landscape architects, expert design curators, members of the academe, and architecture students joined the celebration, making for an eclectic mix of creatives. But the talent wasn’t confined to the guest list alone. Fittingly, Shamcey Supsup-Lee, Miss Universe 2011 third runner-up and Architect Licensure Exam (ALE) top-notcher, hosted the event. The fourth of July launch—very in line with Foundree’s goal of being a space where one can freely learn, share, collaborate and be creative—introduced the public to the learning center’s unique philosophy. “We realized that innovations in learning and the learning environment are unfortunately lacking, and with Foundree, we want to change the game, including the mindset of students on enrolling,” CEO and Head of Curriculum Arch. Gerard Dy said in his welcome remarks. “We want real and relevant learning to occur, so the knowledge they’ve acquired here will stay with them when they return to their practice, and well into their careers.” Foundree’s courses have already propelled some students to success. Dy announced at the launch that one of their first “founders” (students), Miko Angelo Balverde, placed Top 5 in the recent ALE. Architects looking for further education will also benefit from Foundree’s curated network of experts and authorities in architecture, design and other related fields who can lead learning sessions. “We want to foster and sustain a circular economy of talent—everyone who joins Foundree gains access to a great network of mentors and practitioners, and we hope they join the same pool someday,” COO Edeline Payawal explained. With such a promising launch event, one can’t help but anticipate Foundree’s exciting future. Foundree (�b.com/foundree) is located at the fourth floor of Elements Building, 560 Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

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Laura Lippman’s new stand-alone novel is superb By Oline H. Cogdill The Associated Press

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VERYONE wants to feel that he or she has an impact on the world, or to have just one other person believe—no, know—that what he or she does is important, which is featured heavily in Laura Lippman’s new superb stand-alone novel, Lady in the Lake (William Morrow). Elegantly written, the novel moves with an eye to how people adapt to changes in culture, or maybe how an evolving culture causes shifts in people. Lady in the Lake works well on several levels—as a look at the mid-1960s and a view of racism, sexism and the intersection of ennui and ambition. It is also a paean to newspapers and the struggle of women reporters during that time. Lippman has wisely chosen an unconventional mystery with Lady in the Lake, focusing on the internal rage that drives many of its characters. That internal rage certainly propels Madeline “Maddie” Schwartz, a 37-year-old Jewish housewife who leaves her well-to-do husband, Milton, and the couple’s perfectly decorated Baltimore home. At one time, Maddie had goals that reached beyond marriage, mothering their only child, Seth, and keeping a kosher home. But this is Baltimore during the 1960s and Maddie is forced to see how difficult the world

can be. She moves into an apartment in a sketchy neighborhood and begins an affair with a black cop. But she hadn’t planned this move carefully. She left behind most of her valuable possessions and relies on Milton for money. Eventually, she lands a lowlevel newspaper job but isn’t taken seriously, even when she tries to investigate the murder of Cleo Sherwood, a young black woman whose body was found in the Druid Hill Park fountain. Her editors don’t see the importance of the death of a black woman, whom Maddie calls the “lady in the lake.” Nevertheless, Maddie persists. While Lady in the Lake revolves around Maddie, Lippman also richly delves into the personas of those in Maddie’s orbit—people she may never have thought about while living in that comfortable home. As part of her maturation, Maddie finds a link to each person and a deeper connection to Cleo. Maddie isn’t always the most likable of characters, but Lippman makes readers care deeply about her. The author shows each character in the context of the era’s culture that is on the cusp of change. Gender and racial roles are influx, but the changes aren’t coming quickly enough. Lippman again proves she’s a sharp observer of people, with an affinity for shaping complicated people in a refined plot. n

Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Simon Baker, 50; Terry Crews, 51; Lisa Kudrow, 56; Laurence Fishburne, 58. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: How you plan and prepare will make a difference this year. Change needs to be considered carefully, and rushing into anything that can influence your status, reputation or long-term goals is not encouraged. Time is on your side. Focusing on maintaining balance and playing as hard as you work will help you make superior life choices. Your lucky numbers are 4, 15, 24, 26, 33, 39, 44.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Winging it won’t be good enough. Preparation and clear-cut plans need to be put in place before you proceed. Much can be accomplished if you have done the necessary research and legwork. Personal physical improvement can be made. HH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If you feel you need a change, make it happen. Don’t forgo something you really want to do because someone is giving you a hard time or trying to push you in a direction you don’t want to go. Follow your heart. HHHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Listen carefully, get the facts and forge ahead. Personal gain is within reach if you are willing to do the work. A change of heart can be confusing for others if you don’t explain the reasoning behind your actions. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Emotions will be close to the surface and will need to be channeled into something constructive. A creative project or doing your part to improve a strained relationship you have with someone will help turn a negative situation into a positive one. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Uncertainty and inconsistency will be your downfall. Refuse to let what others do confuse you. Where there is a temptation, there is also a choice. Do the right thing to experience no regret. HHH

NINA STIBBE TAKES READERS ON COMING-OF-AGE JOURNEY FOR some people, life begins when you turn 18. Whether you choose to leave the nest or you’re kicked out, it’s a time when you’re expected to experience the world. In Reasons to Be Cheerful (Little Brown and Co.), author Nina Stibbe offers an intimate look at this uncertain time as the protagonist becomes a young adult. In this story, Lizzie Vogel ignores the part

JEFF MERKLEY BOOK ON REFUGEES TO BE PUBLISHED IN AUGUST NEW YORK—A book by Sen. Jeff Merkley on the treatment of refugees at the Texas border is coming out next month. The publisher is calling America Is Better Than This a “cry of outrage.” Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, made headlines when he traveled to Texas in 2018 and streamed his efforts to gain entry to a migrant facility. He has become a prominent critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, and has introduced the Shut Down Child Prison Camps Act. America Is Better Than This will be published on August 20 by Twelve, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing. In a statement on Tuesday, Merkley said the country is at a moment when it might abandon its dream of “opportunity for everyone” or renew its commitment for “a better nation and better world.” AP

US Sen. Jeff Merkley (from right) from Oregon, speaks to the media along with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Reps. David Cicilline and Mark Pocan, in front of the US Customs and Border Protection’s Rio Grande Valley Sector’s Centralized Processing Center in McAllen, Texas. AP

of an advertisement that asks for a “mature lady” and applies for a job working in a local dentist’s office. She doesn’t feel the need to mention that she doesn’t have any knowledge of dentistry. (Lizzie is a quick learner.) Plus, the position includes an apartment above the practice. The dentist is gruff and firm. He insists that Lizzie’s hyper coworker, Tammy, holds his cigarettes so his fingers don’t smell like nicotine. While Tammy and her boss’ odd relationship provide daily entertainment for Lizzie, she also manages to learn a few light dentistry skills. When she’s not assisting in the surgery room or answering the phones, Lizzie watches for Andy Nicolello. Andy is peculiar, but Lizzie doesn’t mind. She develops a friendship with him, and as the months pass, she falls head over heels for him. She’s not sure if Andy notices, but he sure hangs around a lot for someone who may not be interested. At times, she considers herself Andy’s girlfriend. In other instances, she’s mystified about their status. Along with navigating through teen romance, Lizzie learns to maneuver other milestones that are part of becoming an adult. She learns to drive, hosts her first dinner party and takes her first step into maturity when challenges arise. Stibbe proves she can channel the mind of a young woman and takes the reader on a coming-of-age journey that plucks at the heartstrings of every emotion. AP

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A change will inspire you to do things differently or to make plans to spend more time with people who lift you up instead of bring you down. Engaging in activities that improve your emotional state of mind is favored. HHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Focus less on what others do or say and more on how to improve who you are, your life and your future. Recognize what isn’t working for you anymore, and make the adjustments necessary to ease stress and encourage happiness. HH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Walk away from disruptive situations. Use your intelligence and experience to navigate your way through anything detrimental to your health or physical well-being. HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Handle joint ventures with care. If a deal sounds too good to be true, start looking for hidden details or false information. You can make gains and get ahead, but only if you stay on top of every transaction made. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It’s up to you to make the changes that will improve your life. Don’t count on others to do things for you. Evaluate your current personal or partnership situation, and make the necessary adjustments. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You don’t have to follow what someone else does or give in to the temptation someone dangles in front of you. Fend for yourself, channel your energy into physical fitness and self-improvement, and avoid excessive behavior and unnecessary expenses. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Use experience and knowledge to help you make necessary adjustments. Refuse to let anyone interfere or push you in a direction that you have doubts about. Call in favors and offer incentives to those who have something worthwhile to contribute. HHHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are charismatic, entertaining and vigorous. You are physical and brave.

‘i fold’ BY DAVID ALFRED BYWATERS The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Smile shape 4 Shocked 10 Maze solution 14 Language resembling Thai 15 “Evidently” 16 Woodwind once called the hautboy 17 Employee who prepares clothes for air-drying? 19 Norse father of Hel 20 Musical orphan 21 Palindromic body-positive model 22 ___ Saint Laurent 23 Clamor 24 Employee who uses an iron? 26 Unveil 28 Georgia airport, on luggage tags 29 Baba or MacGraw 30 Imitated a lamb 34 “Pleased to meet ya!” 38 Motto for this puzzle’s labor union? 41 Horrified exclamation 42 Sailor’s work environment 43 POTUS on a five

4 Anthem preposition 4 46 Many reggae artists 48 Employee who fixes a washer? 54 Cabinet dept. concerned with food safety 55 Sod 56 Letters, collectively 57 Make curly 59 Fried cookie at a fair 60 Employee who transports a load to the laundromat? 62 City near Tahoe 63 Whole 64 WSW opposite 65 Encounter 66 Save the life of 67 Muddy farm area DOWN 1 Penne-vodka connector 2 Baseball bummer 3 Machiavellian 4 Life ___ know it 5 Viscous stuff 6 Advertiser on Monster.com

7 Sign on a librarian’s desk 8 Comes off as 9 Mother canonized in 2016 10 Multilingual person 11 Too good for 12 Arcade disk 13 Crime film subgenre 18 “___ Kleine Nachtmusik” 24 Think ahead 25 Goddess who helped Odysseus 26 Lori Lightfoot predecessor Emanuel 27 Obeyed, with “by” 31 In the past 32 And similar things, for short 33 Stag party attendee? 35 “How come?” 36 Legal exclusion 37 They’re in veins but not arteries 39 Walk 40 Tootsie star Teri 45 Trendy men’s jumpsuit 47 South Asian garment 48 Violent weather 49 Thick tomato liquid

0 Lead Belly’s Goodnight ___ 5 51 Captain Queeg’s ship 52 Leans 53 Acid in olive oil 57 Canadian tribe 58 Field mouse, to an owl 61 ___ Hill (1990s R&B group)

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

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BRAD PITT (left) and Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood, which pulled in at the North American box office $40 million on its opening weekend, a second-place finish but still a couple of million dollars more than the director’s previous outing in 2009, Inglourious Basterds.

MEGHAN GUEST EDITS ‘UK VOGUE,’ FOCUSING ON TRAILBLAZING WOMEN

LONDON—Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has guest edited the September issue of British Vogue with the theme “Forces for Change.” Royal officials say the issue coming out on August 2 features “changemakers united by their fearlessness in breaking barriers” and includes a conversation between Meghan and former US First Lady Michelle Obama. The magazine cover features 15 women, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, actresses Jane Fonda, Jameela Jamil and Gemma Chan, model Adwoa Aboah and climatechange campaigner Greta Thunberg. Meghan, who is on maternity leave from her royal duties, said she hopes readers will be inspired by the magazine’s focus on the “values, causes and people making impact in the world today.” Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, was featured on the magazine’s cover in 2016. AP

‘Lion King’ reigns above box office for second week

PETA’S WORKSHOP WEEKENDS

THE Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) invites theater enthusiasts, budding performers, and creatives-atheart to take a break from the hectic schedules, traffic jams, never-ending deadlines, and the daily stress of the work week with Peta’s Workshop Weekends, starting this August 10. The 12-session workshop is suited for the busy lifestyles of adults and college students (ages 18 and up), and is facilitated by some of the country’s most outstanding thespians and theater practitioners. Choose from three exciting course to release your creative passions: Theater Arts, Basic Acting and Creative Musical Theater. Immerse in a true artistic experience with Theater Arts. This beginners’ class teaches the fundamental knowledge, skills and attitudes in theater acting, dramatic improv and theater production craft. Discover the disciplines of acting in Basic Acting. Level up acting skills in this workshop, and explore different acting styles and techniques. Musically inclined? Creative Musical Theater provides an understanding of the harmonization of the different elements of musical theater performance, composition and production. Peta’s Workshop Weekends will be held weekends from August 10 to October 6, at the Peta Theater Center, 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. To learn more, contact Jill Raz (0917-8042618 or 725-6244). You can also schedule your enrollment interview at bit.ly/PetaWorkshops.

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By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—The Lion King rode its circle of life into a second weekend atop the box office and Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood, while not quite doing fairytale numbers, gave director Quentin Tarantino his biggest opening ever. Disney’s photorealistic remake of the Hamletthemed tale of Mufasa, Simba and Nala, featuring the voices of Donald Glover and Beyoncé, brought in $75 million in North America, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Its domestic total of $350 million makes it the year’s fourth highest-grossing film after just 10 days of release. Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood finished a distant second with $40 million in its opening weekend for Sony, but it bested the 2009 opening of Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds by $2 some million and made a strong showing for an R-rated, nearly-three-hour film that was not a sequel or remake and was aimed solely at adults. The film with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and

Margot Robbie as denizens of a 1969 Los Angeles where old Hollywood was fading and the Manson family was rising was more star-powered than Tarantino’s previous eight movies, though the director himself was as big a draw as anyone. “In our fan survey, over 40 percent of the audience went to see the movie because of the director,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “That’s incredible. You almost never see that. Sony did a great job of putting that cast and certainly Tarantino at the front of the marketing. That collective star power just paid huge dividends.” It’s also the sort of film that’s unlikely to experience a major drop-off in the coming weeks, and its long legs could walk it into awards season given Hollywood’s persistent love for movies about itself. But with all of that, the film’s opening take was still nearly doubled by The Lion King and its broad appeal. “Lion King has appealed to everyone, that’s a second-weekend gross that would be the envy of most films on their opening weekend,” Dergarabedian said. The two-week take is also a sign that audiences are not yet feeling fatigue for Disney’s live-action remakes in a year that has already seen Dumbo and Aladdin. “The idea that remake burnout would be in effect for The Lion King has not proven true,” Dergarabedian said. “Some brands are inoculated from that kind of negative speculation.” That’s even more good news for the ever-dominant Disney, with a live-action Mulan slated for early next year and more remakes in the planning stages. The rest of the box office top 10 remained essentially unchanged from a week earlier. Sony’s Spider-Man: Far From Home was third with $12.2 million in its fourth weekend and has earned a cumulative $344 million, Toy Story 4 was fourth with $9.8 million and Crawl fifth with $4 million.

The Lion King could reign for a third week. With major summer releases slowing as fall approaches, the only real competition it has opening next weekend is Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. 1. The Lion King, $75.5 million ($142.8 million international) 2. Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood, $40.3 million 3. Spider-Man: Far From Home, $12.2 million ($21 million international) 4. Toy Story 4, $9.8 million ($19.4 million international) 5. Crawl, $4 million ($3.4 million international) 6. Yesterday, $3 million ($3.6 million international) 7. Aladdin, $2.8 million ($7.2 million international) 8. Stuber, $1.7 million ($1.6 million international) 9. Annabelle Comes Home, $1.56 million ($3.7 million international) 10. The Farewell, $1.55 million. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the US and Canada), according to comScore: 1. The Lion King, $142.8 million 2. Ne Zha, $83.1 million 3. Spider-Man: Far From Home, $21 million 4. Toy Story 4, $19.4 million 5. Looking Up, $17.3 million 6. Aladdin, $7.2 million 7. The Secret Life of Pets 2, $7.2 million 8. Dancing Elephant, $5.2 million 9. Annabelle Comes Home, $3.7 million 10. White Storm 2: The Drug Lords, $3.68 million. n

Jennylyn Mercado renews exclusive contract with GMA AWARD-WINNING actress Jennylyn Mercado continues to be a loyal GMA star as she renewed her exclusive contract with network on July 26. Present during the contract signing were GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Felipe S. Yalong, Senior Vice President for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable, Vice President for Drama Productions Redgie A. Magno, Vice President for Business Development and Department III Darling de Jesus-Bodegon, Senior Assistant Vice President for Alternative Productions Gigi SantiagoLara, Assistant Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy, Senior Program Managers Ali Nocom Dedicatoria, Cathy Ochoa Perez, and Charles Koo; and Jennylyn’s manager Katrina Aguila. “Iba magmahal ’yung GMA. Parang pamilya, nararamdaman ko ’yung pagmamahal nila at suporta nila. Sa loob ng 16 years na ’yun, ang dami kong ups and downs, pero talagang nandiyan sila at hindi nila ako pinabayaaan. Pakiramdam ko hindi ko masusuklian

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’yung pagmamahal at suporta nila sa akin,” Jennylyn shared. The GMA star is grateful to everyone who has been supporting her for many years, “Hindi ko ma-explain, kakaiba ’yung pakiramdam pag nakikita mo sina Mr. Gozon, Ms. Lilybeth at Mr. Yalong. Parang magulang talaga. Iba ’yung yakap. Parang na-miss ko ’yung nanay at tatay ko, ganoon ’yung pakiramdam. Pag nandiyan sila, nararamdaman ko ’yung pagmamahal nila. Ibang klase ’yung warmth. Matagal ko na silang kasama and hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin sila nagbabago.” As the first winner of GMA’s longrunning talent search StarStruck, Jennylyn exemplifies what a true homegrown star of the network is. The multitalented and award-winning actress shows no signs of stopping, as she is also known to be an engaging host, in-demand product endorser, entrepreneur and effective influencer. From her lovable role as a teenage superhero in Super Twins, and her bidakontrabida character as a woman with multiple personalities in Rhodora X, to her comical portrayal of Steffi in the Pinoy

remake of My Love from the Star, Jennylyn has proven her versatility as an actress. At present, she plays the role of Raffy in GMA’s hit prime-time series Love You Two and is also the host of the seventh season of StarStruck. During the contract signing, Gozon expressed his deep appreciation of Jennylyn’s unwavering loyalty to GMA: “We are so proud that as the first winner of StarStruck, you have reached the pinnacle of success in your craft as a Kapuso. Your passion and dedication are admirable, that is why you are now known as the Ultimate Female Survivor. We are grateful that you have chosen to remain a Kapuso.” Meanwhile, Yalong expressed his genuine support: “Si Jennylyn talaga ’yung tinatawag nating homegrown talent. She started as the winner of StarStruck 1 and up to now, despite the efforts of other companies to get her, nandiyan pa rin si Jennylyn and that shows na she has grown with the network. When GMA started, hindi naman kami kalakihan, but now I can say that one of the biggest media companies in the Philippines is

GMA and the same applies to Jennylyn. Kung titignan niyo, we love Jennylyn so much that I think she will be with GMA forever.” Rasonable has nothing but praise for Jennylyn and considers her as one of the talented and versatile artists of the network: “Ngayon kasi parang na-meet niya na ’yung pinnacle of success as an artist but because she’s so talented, she can

do more roles, more projects not only for drama. She’s such a good comedy actress, she’s a great host, she can sing, she can do anything. So nakakatuwa, it’s so gratifying and fulfilling for us who saw her growth from the time she won StarStruck. Ang layo-layo na niya, ang dami na niyang na-achieve as a multimedia artist. So basta may talent ka, alam mo ’yon na mapapalago mo pa ’yan.”

Art

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Tuesday, July 30, 2019

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Ambie Abaño ponders the rain, time and the nature of being CIRCLES JT NISAY

jtnisay@gmail.com

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HEREAS most sink in melancholy at the sight of gray sky, the feel of a cold embrace by swooping winds and the ticking of raindrops against the pavement, graphic artist Ambie Abaño springs in peace. Abaño is a noted printmaker who specializes in woodcut, the earliest-known relief-printing method that originated in 5th-century China to decorate textiles. The artist keeps the practice alive in the workshop of the Association of Pinoyprintmakers, or A/P, formerly the Philippine Association of Printmakers, located at the back of Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas in the CCP Complex, where the sunset is perfect and the opportunity for Abaño to dance in the rain is never missed. “I always love the rain,” the artist said. “In the studio, whenever it rains, we go out because it’s an opportunity to fulfill nature, as it has come to touch us. There, we just scream or sing or just be quiet.” Abaño headlines an ongoing solo show at Galleria Duemila, titled...in the constant rain..., on view until August 31. The exhibit’s title, however, has less to do with the artist’s penchant for precipitation than the philosophical ruminations it inspires. She asks, through 24 featured artworks, that if countless raindrops comprise rain, then what constitutes the self? How does the “self” figure in the “Self?” Is the self time-bound? The musings make Abaño’s show not just a presentation of her artistry, but an invitation for the viewers to pause and reflect. From the ensuing stillness, she said, is to raise a chance “to experience the core of one’s being beyond the context of the physical world” and “to marvel about the wonder of our being.” Abaño’s metaphysical views stem from her conquest to better understand the self, being human and other concerns, in the face of her depression. Her pursuit of answers led to a conversation with a Colombian priest, who introduced her to the concept of psychosynthesis. Propagated by Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli in the early 1900s, the approach is referred to as the psychology of Self, or the “realized Self,” which is beyond the bodily existence of the self. The idea states that the realms of human experience, as psychosynthesis.org puts it, also include matters of the soul and spirit. Thus, by taking on the aforementioned aspects of the human experience absent in physical-centric Freudian theories, psychosynthesis equates to a more inclusive and holistic perspective on humanity. “Our being is related to a part of this bigger universe,” Abaño said. It is not the first time the artist has gone existential for an exhibition. In 2016, Abaño confronted the temporal nature of our being in a show titled beyond my body, from which the premise of...in the constant rain..., her ongoing exhibition, takes cue. She calls the current show as a continuation of her long inquiry about the nature of the self, as she asks: “If I am beyond the body, is the self time-bound? Can I only exist in the context of time?” Time, along with its effect (or non-effect) on

INTROSPECTION (2A), Ambie Abaño, 2019, woodcut on handmade paper mounted on canvas, 59.04” x 21.02” x 2.75”

beings, is a central figure in Abaño’s debut exhibition at Galleria Duemila. Showcased are several pieces of clocks, or the mockery of it, that are inspired by Salvador Dali’s iconic melting watches, as well as Fibonacci numbers, to carry the artist’s message. The image of a butterfly is also spread out in the space and in the pieces, which represents a being’s growth and progression relative to time. Abaño said she used to believe that her memories and experiences strictly belong to her past. But the artist realized that if nothing is time-bound, then all parts of our being still resides in us, including our past and future. The artist presents the idea in a series of selfportraits, titled Re�lective Nature of Consciousness. Through masterfully engraved wood, the artist depicts herself at three different points in her life: Her past as a child, her present and her future as an elderly woman, using her mother as aesthetic model. “We have to look at the bigger picture, because we do not exist within fragmented moments in time,” she said. “You cannot say that your childhood has nothing to do with who you are now, in the same way that, even if we don’t know, our future already exist in us

INTROSPECTION (1B), Ambie Abaño, 2019, woodcut on handmade paper mounted on canvas, 59.04” x 21.02” x 2.75”

now. It cannot be disconnected.” Abaño recreated the subjects in woodcut on handmade paper, from full-size renders in a two-set, six-piece series, titled Introspection, and in works that frame only her eyes in Self-Gaze. The works come to life in peculiar dimensionality, one that is as unique as the process involved. Abaño teaches techniques to Fine Arts students at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where she underscores the importance of the relationship between writing materials and the ground on which the image will rest. She said one has to know the components to be used to understand the effect. For example, the visual quality of pencil on paper will differ from that of pencil on, say, stone. One material Abaño used for the show is incidentally called rain paper, known for its soft yet rigid quality, but is quite difficult to print on. The paper, however, allows Abaño’s ink to go through, producing the effect of a mirror image. It’s that limitlessness of printmaking, of woodcut, that drew Abaño to the medium. The artist used to paint under the tutelage of impressionist artist Ibarra de la Rosa, who taught

PORTRAIT ARTISTS SOCIETY OF THE PHILIPPINES MANILA CHAPTER HOLDS FIRST EXHIBIT AT GATEWAY GALLERY THE Portrait Artists Society of the Philippines (Paspi) Manila Chapter holds an exhibit, titled Portrait of Nature, from August 7 to 21, 2019, at the Gateway Gallery in Araneta Center. It is the first exhibit of the Paspi Manila Chapter spearheaded by Paspi Chairman Romulo Galicano and Chapter President Cee Cadid. This exhibit features natural landscapes and still life as captured through the artists’ eyes. The endeavor is the society’s response to the growing concern to care for the environment. Paspi is a group of Filipino visual artists involved in portrait and figurative painting who have banded together to share knowledge, organize events to further their art and use portraiture as a platform for discussing important issues.

The society’s beginning dates back to 2005 when artist Romulo Galicano won the top prize at the annual Portrait Society of America competition in Washington, D.C., with his portrait of collector Eddie Chua. Competition judge Robert Liberace, an American realist artist, approached Galicano to ask if there was a portrait society in the Philippines. Finding out that there was none, Liberace encouraged Galicano to organize one. In 2010, Galicano led in the formation of Paspi with several Cebu artists as members. Since then, the local practice of traditional portraiture and figurative art has gained headway through programming of at least one major exhibit per year. Galicano personally reviews and advises Paspi members on how to improve their

painting skills. In October of 2018, the idea of forming a Portrait Society was also suggested to Galicano by the members of the Visual Artist Guild, a group of artists that meets every Saturday in Makati. Galicano did not want to form another group but was amenable to the idea of creating a Manila Chapter that will be affiliated to Paspi of Cebu. After several meetings to iron out the Membership Guidelines of the group, and determining a venue where the Manila group will meet on a regular day every week, Paspi Manila Chapter was born. On its first meeting day last January 16, 33 artists signed up for membership with an additional three members accepted the following week.

INTROSPECTION (1A), Ambie Abaño, 2019, woodcut on handmade paper mounted on canvas, 59.04” x 21.02” x 2.75”

her the technical aspects of painting, as well as philosophy. Abaño eventually found her niche in oil painting and turned out to be exceptional in color grading. But her interest plateaued, grew “monotonous” and she craved for something more, something that would allow her to do more expressions with her subjects and to distort images. “Printmaking made it possible for me, woodcut made it possible for me,” Abaño said, adding that she was influenced by one of the pioneers of contemporary printmaking in the country, Pandy Aviado. “The visual qualities that you can attain from woodcut are very unique to itself. There’s directness, a certain kind of impact.” The artist said a woodcutter doesn’t work on the material, but with the material, where nothing can be done if one part of the wood is dark and another is light. One just has to allow the wood to be the wood, she said. “I just finished the show and I wanted to relax. And the way to relax, I wanted to go to the studio to do some playful cutting,” Abaño added. “The excitement gives me endless ideas, endless possibilities. It’s not enough for a lifetime for me to execute all this.” n

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Logistics A BusinessMirror Special Feature

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Tuesday, July 30, 2019

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Entrego enables business growth with tech-driven fulfillment and logistics solutions in a digitally-transforming nation

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HILIPPINE e-commerce is estimated to grow to USD 10B by 2025, approaching 8-10% share of the market’s total retail spend. E-commerce growth means parcel growth,” said Entrego President Constantin Robertz in a recent interview. This growth has changed consumers’ behavior and outlook towards the marketplace. “Digital transformation is changing the requirements of traditional

smoother across the board, we will always maintain this customer focus as our north star at Entrego,” he said.

Enabling and Empowering Business

business supply chains” Robertz further emphasized. Entrego, a technologydriven end-to-end fulfillment and logistics solutions provider in the Philippines, establishes

its stronghold amidst this ever-changing industry and transformative growth. Entrego’s experience in fulfilling the logistics requirements of the online retail platform, ZALORA has given it an advantage in understanding the needs of a digitally-shifting market. It began operations in 2013 as ZALORA Philippines’ inhouse logistics platform. Entrego emerged as an independent company in 2017 as a joint venture between AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., a fully owned subsidiary of Ayala Corporation and the Global Fashion Group, an affiliate of ZALORA.

Customer Experience

BACKED with years of service, it has always kept its customer’s

experience and needs as the core of innovation. “In e-commerce, the delivery experience is a core of the customer experience. It’s almost the most critical part of the customer journey because it’s usually the only touchpoint they have,” Mr. Robertz shared in an interview. “The customers of our customers, safeguarding this relationship is just as important to us as safeguarding the cargo. When you entrust to us not just your cargo but also your customers, we promise to keep it safe.” Entrego continually strives to provide tech-driven solutions for its digital-savvy clients and customers. Today, it offers management of parcel, documents, and bulk deliveries

for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) clients, as well as freight forwarding, and warehousing. The company brings together talent and technology to deliver tailored logistics solutions that are apt to the ever-changing needs of the Philippine market. “From offering cash on delivery when the company first started, to advanced delivery notifications via text message and push notifications to inform customers when their parcels are going to arrive, to things like same-day delivery, pick-up, and returns, it’s always been the needs of the customer that drove our service offering and our purpose. And while we definitely still have a long way to go to make logistics

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HERE is no slow down for the e-commerce in the Philippines. Over the years, there is continuous demand for buying products online and having it delivered at your doorsteps. That’s shopping with ease, thanks to trusted e-retailer companies and their logistics partners. The e-commerce industry is expected to enjoy the growth, remain healthy and bullish for years. According to a report from Statista, the Philippine e-commerce market grew $840 million or about P44 billion in 2018, from $688 million or about P36 billion in 2017. This number is expected to grow about 10.5 percent annually, leading to a market volume of $996 million or about P53 billion by 2019. Small and medium businesses are now expanding their marketplace, accepting orders and payment online which makes their businesses stay up-to-date with the dynamic retail environment and changing consumer preferences. According to Nagesh Devata, General Manager for Southeast Asia cross-border markets for Paypal, the Philippines, e-commerce is multilateral. As consumer purchasing power expands and digital infrastructure becomes more sophisticated globally, businesses

need to identify emerging markets with the right potential. Accessing these evolving consumer markets helps businesses diversify their revenue streams, which, in turn, helps build greater resilience and stability when growth slows in other markets. Key developments expected this year include the rise of regional trade clusters, which businesses can capitalize on to navigate the challenges within the current climate of uncertainty. There is a growing cross-border e-marketplace in Asia Pacific. There are tremendous opportunities for the cross-border e-commerce sector to expand, and Philippine merchants should look to capitalize on the growth potential of these emerging markets. In a survey in Asia Pacific, price is not the only driver for online purchases. Almost half of consumers shop internationally as it allows them to purchase higher quality goods (49 percent) and gain access to items not found in their own country (48 percent). Filipino e-commerce businesses should push for its full potential not only in the country but throughout the region by quality products, reliable delivery service and providing great customer experience to complete the cycle.

PIXABAY.COM

As e-commerce booms, logistics firms rise to the challenge

Seamless logistics solution

AS e-commerce gears up for expansion, logistics solutions are also expected to set up. Local businesses need to think beyond the narrow dimensions of their own product and ensure that they integrate seamless logistics solutions for the delivery and return of goods as well as uphold high standards of customer service to capture market share, according to Devata.

The Philippines has been ranked among the strongest clusters of emerging markets in Southeast Asia, thanks to business-friendly conditions and core strengths, according to a logistics survey of 50 nations globally. The increasing use of mobile technology and online platform for businesses has been a great move in the industry. Logistics companies, through mobile app, provide reliable total logistics

technology solution in just a touch for e-commerce businesses and customers. They now ensure that their clients and customers will have the safe, fast and reliable e-commerce delivery experience with online real-time tracking system, an integral part on creating and keeping customers. Logistics companies also help their customers realize a more practical and efficient express service for online business, also

IN line with its goal to provide fast and reliable nationwide deliveries with value-added services at competitive costs, Entrego has widened its reach to at least 95% of the e-commerce serviceable market, expanding its network to 64 hubs that service 32,744 barangays across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Entrego aims to empower businesses and connect them to areas across the Philippines with its extensive nationwide coverage, robust technology, and on-ground platform. Logistics solutions are now made more efficient given the visibility and control provided by digitalization and automation, ensuring the best support for our customers’ business and our customers’ customers. Since its launch, the fulfillment and logistics solutions company has established itself as a reliable partner to various companies from industries including banking and finance, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, retail, automotive, fast-moving consumer goods, educations, and construction. It also offers its newest logistics solutions platform, myEntrego which is aimed to enable micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME). myEntrego is a logistics solution aimed to help MSMEs reach their customers from the National Capital Region to areas across the Philippines that are covered by the Entrego network. To learn more about Entrego, visit www.entrego.com.ph.

to effectively encourage the development of their partners to be bigger and stronger. Major players in the country like Entrego, a technology-driven end-to-end fulfillment and logistics solutions provider, is one of the game-changers in the industry. The Ayala-led logistics solution company last year said that they are investing heavily on technology to cater to clients and customers to drive its operation. Started as Zalora’s in-house delivery service, Entrego grew to be one of the biggest in the industry offering reliable delivery nationwide, connecting businesses and customers all over the country. J&T Express officially launched in the Philippines this year in a bid to extend its services to the growing local market. Coming from Indonesia, J&T Express has forged a partnership with Shopee, which strengthens its business operations and encourages it to deliver quality services for the increasing number of online sellers and buyers in the Philippines. To further improve the delivery services, logistics solution companies are also moving forward by offering tailorfit solutions for B2B customers. Value-added services like warehousing and inventory are often part of customized solutions for companies’ need to enhance productivity and efficiency. As the explosive growth of e-commerce continues, logistics solutions companies are expected to expand too by delivering goods and connecting the country through logistics and technology. By Jonathan Enriquez

E2 Tuesday, July 30, 2019 | www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHILIPPINE RETAIL INDUSTRY POSTS POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR 2019

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By Leony R. Garcia

ETAILING accounts for about 23 percent of the total services industry. And while the growth of retail trade slowed down in 2018 amid less positive sentiment of household consumers, it has been a major growth driver of the services sector with total gross value added (GVA) in real terms increasing by 1.8 times to P1.22 trillion in 2018 from P686.3 billion in 2009. This is according to the report of NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon during the Philippine Retailers Association's (PRA) annual Retail CEO Briefing in conjunction with its First Quarter General Membership Meeting for 2019, held on March 19, 2019. Edillon added that the Philippine retail industry grew by 5.8% in the fourth quarter of 2018, with a full-year expansion

of 5.9% in 2018. “Notwithstanding the risks, retailing in the Philippines is expected to remain positive alongside the continued expansion in the economy as strong macroeconomic fundamentals and favorable demographics provide a solid base for investments in the country,” Edillon said. Likewise, the National Economic Development

Authority (NEDA), Department of Finance (DOF), and Nielsen reported positive prospects for retail businesses in the country for 2019, as economic growth and domestic demand remain strong, amidst some challenges. Nielsen Managing Director Patrick Cua said that 2019 will generate more jobs and higher spending power for consumers given that it is an election year. He added that growth will be driven by food as well as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in general which covers 40-50% of consumption. He also shared tips on strategies to do in response to challenges and trends in 2019, including leveraging on e-commerce, providing convenience and communicating with the younger generation. Department of Finance Director Euvimil Nina Asuncion said that the robust double-digit growth in sales and the highprofit margins of publicly-listed retail giants and real estate companies in the Philippines in 2018 prove that Filipinos have significantly increased their spending power as a result of

last year’s implementation of the TRAIN Law. She added that as a complementary measure to TRAIN Law, the Tax Amnesty Law Package 1B will allow errant taxpayers to affordably settle their outstanding tax liabilities allowing for a “fresh start” for taxpayers.

26th NRCE slated on August 15-16

GLOBAL and local experts in the industry are expected to grace the 26th National Retail Conference and Stores Asia Expo (NRCE) slated on August 15-16, 2019, at SMX Convention Center, MoA Complex, Pasay City, to give insights and provide updates on the latest developments and trends on the retail industry including sustainability, disruptions in retail, cashless payments, market segments and consumer behavior, and customer experience, among others. The NRCE is the biggest and the longest-running retail industry event in the country, organized by the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA), the national organization of retailers

and suppliers in the country. This is the definitive event for retailers looking for solutions and strategies to cope with the various disruptions caused by the digital age. The 2019 NRCE edition is pegged on the theme “Retail Reimagined” to help retailers and the industry as a whole seek strategies on how to make retailing relevant amidst disruptions and changes in the digital age. “With the continuous emergence of new digital innovations and e-commerce businesses, the retail sector should be able to find ways on how to adapt and utilize these new platforms for the customers, who want fast and efficient service and at the same time, crave for human and genuine interactions from brands,” NRCE Overall Chairman Fredrick D. Go said. “We want this year to be bigger, more advanced and of course, it should cater to the total needs of the time,” Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) President Rosemarie B. Ong said. Aside from the main

conference, there will be “Retail Spotlights” or more focused discussions on Supermarket and Digital transformation niches for Day 1 and 2. Side-by-side the conference is the Stores Asia Expo, which will feature solutions and stateof-the-art technology needed by retailers in this digital age, including Retail Solutions, E-Commerce & M-Commerce, Shop Fittings & Store Design, Digital Marketing, Commercial and Real Estate Developers, Web Developers, Non-traditional Advertising, Financial Services, Storage and Distribution, HR Solutions, and Billboard Locations, among others, to help them enhance and expand their business operations. There will also be on floor seminars billed as “Retail Labs” inside the exhibit area, featuring discussions on essential and new tools and strategies for the industry. For more, information, contact the PRA Executive Secretariat at 6874180, 6874181, 6874985, or email: marketing@ philretailers.com/ specialprojects@ philretailers.com.

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RETAIL A BusinessMirror Special Feature

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Tuesday, July 30, 2019 E3

WILCON FINDS OPPORTUNITIES IN DIGITAL AGE

Providing great shopping experience for customers By Jonathan Enriquez

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ITH the current growth and developments in the Philippines, retail industry continues to enjoy commanding growth. With new technologies, changing the lives of Filipinos - from booking a cab, flight, buying food movie tickets, technology advancements also help to fuel the growth and change the retail landscape in the country. For Wilcon’s SEVP and COO Rosemarie Bosch-Ong, the future is bright and promising the emergence of technology has drastically changed the shopping manners of Filipino customers. “We have seen and experienced the innovation of many retail industries in coping up with the technology acceleration through the presence of various online shops— recognizing that even the social media platforms are used to do businesses online,” according to Ong, who is also the president of Philippine Retailers Association. Different challenges are posted with the emergence of technology but Wilcon is unfazed and is future-ready. As an industry leader, Wilcon defies the standard norm and cross the boundaries to achieve exceptional success in this fast-paced industry through

motivating themselves and fostering competitiveness in the workplace, which ultimately manifests in our daily business transactions and operations. “To stay on top of our game, Wilcon always strives to face, embrace, and adapt to integration and innovation. Wilcon has paved continuous growth and improvement in which served as our stepping

stone to lead and top-bill the construction retail industry,” according to Ong. “I think today we are faced by the digital transformation and we stand on the boundary of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. Many retailers are adapting to changing technologies to stay up-to-date. Technology

has given the customers more access and ways to automate their shopping,” she added. There is also challenge in how Filipinos shop now. Filipino customers are seeking for retail stores that offer easy, hassle-free, shopping. Because mobile shopping is now being considered as an industry standard, a mainstream, more and more retailers are focusing

on innovation to learn their customers’ behavior and interest. In the digital era, maintaining physical stores is a challenge. Not for Wilcon Depot. In order to meet shifting market demands, the company is actively working to expand our thinking from what is traditionally done by gradually embracing the digital platform without compromising our daily business transactions and operations in our physical stores. Ong mentioned that they are not only committed to delivering products and solutions of superior quality, but we are also committed to create the best shopping experience possible and make it available to meet our customers’ need and be able to improve our customer service. “This year, we have launched our digital store. Wilcon Depot has decided that it is the right timing to embrace the evolving world of digital sales through introduction of our online shopping site – marking the first time that our wide array of product categories ranging from Appliances, Automotive, Building Materials, Electrical, Furniture, Hardware, Home Interior, Housewares, Outdoor Living, Paints and Sundries, Plumbing, and Sanitary wares are now available to purchase online,” she added. With the launch of online

store, Wilcon Depot is ready in bringing an exciting and innovative shopping experience for our valued customers. Wilcon’s wide range of home improvement and construction supplies by visiting shop.wilcon.com.ph. “With the speed of digital transformation and emerging technologies, Wilcon needs to cope up with this phase and we are certain that this initiative is a vital component to boost our productivity. we are now in the phase of a gradual transition to embracing e-commerce through designing our mobile application,” Ong boasted. As the leading home improvement and construction retailer in the country, there is no other way for Wilcon Depot but to move forward to success. The company is committed to give customers a great customer experience for both virtual and physical stores.

PAY FEES VIA ANY PREPAID, DEBIT, CREDIT CARD, OR THROUGH PAYMAYA E-WALLET

PayMaya powers PRC to go digital for easier gov’t transactions

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ILIPINO professionals can now conveniently pay fees to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) wherever they are and anytime they want, as the commission now accepts online payments powered by digital financial services leader PayMaya Philippines.

PRC has tapped PayMaya to provide an online payment portal that is in line with the government’s thrust to simplify and make public services responsive to the needs of the Filipinos. Through PayMaya’s platform, Filipinos can now pay using their prepaid, credit, and debit cards as well as their mobile numbers linked to their PayMaya e-wallet account. PayMaya is the only digital financial services company with an integrated suite of solutions for consumers and merchants complemented by the widest remittance partner agent network. It is the fintech arm of Voyager Innovations, the leading technology company in the country backed by PLDT, KKR, Tencent, World Bank’s IFC, and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund. “This partnership with PayMaya attests to our

commitment to make access to PRC services easier, more convenient, and faster for every professional," said PRC Chairman Teofilo S. Pilando Jr. PayMaya has powered PRC’s website with an online checkout page that will allow Filipinos to pay for their examination, initial license registration, renewal of Professional Identification Card, and for certifications of board rating and passing electronically. The portal accepts payment from any debit, credit, and prepaid card from schemes such as Visa, MasterCard, and JCB. PayMaya accountholders can also pay using only their mobile number linked to their e-wallet. Soon, payments for PRC transactions will also be accepted through the PayMaya mobile app, expanding the reach of the government agency. For his part, Orlando B. Vea, PayMaya Philippines Founder and

THE Professional Regulation Commission taps PayMaya for an online payment portal, allowing Filipino professionals to now conveniently pay fees online. In photo: PayMaya Business Head for Government Sector Marvin Santos; PayMaya Head for Enterprise Business Mar Lazaro; Voyager Innovations and PayMaya Founder and Chief Executive Officer Orlando Vea; PRC Chairman Teofilo Pilando, Jr.; PRC Commissioner Yolando Reyes; PRC Commissioner Jose Cueto, Jr.

CEO said: “This is very timely as there is an increasing demand for digitalization in the public sector space as government agencies are now automating their processes. We’re proud to be the partner of the Professional Regulation Commission in enabling all kinds of digital payment acceptance that will bring ease to the Filipino

people and will enhance operational efficiencies in the government.” The tie-up between PRC and PayMaya to digitalize payment acceptance for the commission is in line with the national government’s efforts. In his State of the Nation Address this month, President Rodrigo Duterte emphasized that

government agencies need to make transactions for every Filipino simple and easy. Last year, he signed the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act aiming to fight corruption and improve government services. “With this in place, Filipinos no longer have to go to PRC’s

physical offices to pay for their transaction. It reduces their travel time and expenses as they can avail of PRC’s services within the comforts of their home. This is the first of many partnerships to connect government institutions with millions of Filipinos through our all-in-one payments platform for public service,” Vea added.

5 13 in

T

HE broader look at today’s business is obviously well appreciated.

The country’s leading national business daily was named “Business Newspaper of the Year” for 2018-2019 at the Rotary Club of Manila’s Centennial Journalism Awards. It is the fifth time the Rotary Club of Manila has recognized the BusinessMirror in its short—13—years of existence. In 2006, on its first year as a business daily, BM was adjudged “National Newspaper of the Year,” an honor it would receive again in 2011. In 2013 and 2017, the RCM named the BusinessMirror the “Business Newspaper of the Year.” Five Rotary awards in 13 years of bringing the best in business reporting. Certainly the best way to cap multiple triumphs from the most prestigious institutions of Philippine journalism in 2018 and 2019. The business broadsheet was recognized in October 2018 as the “Business News Source of the Year” by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (Ejap), the country’s premier organization of business reporters, editors and wire agencies. It also swept half of the individual categories at the Ejap awards, with its seasoned reporters adjudged as best in their respective coverages: Bianca Cuaresma for Banking; Cai Ordinario for Macroeconomy and the National Economic and Development Authority; Catherine Pillas for Trade and Industry; and Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas for Best Business Feature. The BusinessMirror was also distinguished as the inaugural “Data Champion” of the Philippine Statistics Authority’s first awards rites, as Arcalas bagged the individual category award for “Best Data Reporting.” It was quickly bestowed yet another honor in the Institution category for print in the first “Bantog Science for the People” awards for media from the Department of Science and Technology, where Science Photojournalist Stephanie Tumampos captured the grand prize in the individual category.

Thereafter, BM also shone brightest at the 12th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards where, for the first time in its history since 2007, a single news outfit won two awards in two consecutive years. Arcalas bagged the “Best Agriculture Feature Story (National)” and with Ordinario the “Best Agriculture News Story (National).” The streak continued with Environment Reporter Jonathan Mayuga getting the Luntiang Aligato award by the Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit organization founded by Nobel

Laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore. The most recent awards before the Centennial Rotary Journalism rites came from the Philippine Agricultural Journalists-San Miguel Corp. (PAJ-SMC), which bestowed eight trophies on BM at the 2018 Binhi Awards. Multi-awarded Agriculture/ Commodities reporter Arcalas repeated his feat in 2017 and was again named Agricultural Journalist of the Year (1st place) for 2018. Arcalas also ranked third in the Agribeat Reporter of the Year

category, tying up with Madeleine B. Miraflor from the Manila Bulletin. Veteran and multi-awarded Environment reporter Jonathan L. Mayuga was adjudged the second top Environmental Journalist of the Year. The BusinessMirror’s Agriculture/Commodities Section edited by Associate Editor Jennifer Ng was named the Best

Agriculture/Environment Section of a National Newspaper. The BusinessMirror has won this award for the fourth consecutive year. Six prestigious award-giving bodies, unanimous in their choices.... At “13 and forwardlooking,” the BusinessMirror not only gives a broader look at today’s business: It provides the best in business journalism.

The BusinessMirror @13

FORWARD-LOOKING