BusinessMirror June 26, 2019

PHL LOOKS TO EXPORT MIRAGE G4, VIOS TO JAKARTA TO CUT TRADE GAP

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

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HE Philippines is eyeing to export Mitsubishi Mirage G4 and Toyota Vios, as well as automobile parts, to Indonesia to trim the trade gap between the two economies.

On the sidelines of 34th Asean Summit last week, Indonesia agreed to import more TRADE Secretary Ramon Lopez presides at a press briefing on the sidelines of the recent Asean summit in Bangkok. PNA PHOTO BY AVITO C. DALAN

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agricultural products and automobile parts from the Philippines. The deal was reached after Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez raised before Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita the widening trade gap between Manila and Jakarta.

Lopez also noted Indonesia is one of the Southeast Asian powerhouses in vehicle production and that even the Philippines imports the Toyota Fortuner from it.

With this manufacturing capability, Indonesia should source some of its automobile parts from the Philippines, Lopez said. In the

long term, Jakarta can import Mitsubishi Mirage G4 and Toyota Vios from Manila once it becomes the regional production center for these vehicles.

Mitsubishi Mirage G4 and Toyota Vios are enrolled under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program of the government.

The program, allocated with P27 billion, provides time-bound and performancebased fiscal support to selected vehicle assemblers for the local manufacture of their enrolled units.

See “Trade gap,” A8

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A broader look at today’s business n

Wednesday, June 26, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 259

BSP poll: People don’t share bizmen’s cheer 40.5% L

By Bianca Cuaresma

economy improved for the second consecutive quarter in the Aprilto-June period this year.

The BSP’s Business Expectation Survey (BES) showed that local firms’ confidence index (Cl) in

the second quarters rose to 40.5 percent from 35.2 percent for the first quarter of 2019.

The confidence index is computed as the percentage of optimistic respondents minus the percentage

Local firms’ confidence index (Cl) in the second quarter, up from 35.2 percent for the first quarter of 2019, per BSP’s Business Expectation Survey (BES) of pessimistic respondents on the local economy. A higher confidence index means the optimists outweigh the pessimists during the survey period.

Local businesses attributed their more upbeat outlook to expectations of the following: (a) usual uptick in demand during summer (in view of the foreseen increase in the number of local and foreign Continued on A2

NG budget surplus hits P2.6B in May

See “Budget,” A2

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Stronger partnership and more productive PHL-Russia relations Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE Toast remarks by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. on the occasion of the Day of Russia, Rizal Ballroom, Shangri-La Hotel, Makati City, June 7, 2018.

Y

OUR Excellency, Ambassador Igor Khovaev, Excellencies of the Diplomatic Corps, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of the Philippines, I extend my warmest greetings and congratulations on the occasion of the Day of Russia.

Continued on A6

131 applications to set up IT centers impacted

by NCR ecozone ban

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HE national government reported a budget surplus of P2.6 billion for the month of May, reversing the budget deficit of P32.9 billion recorded in the same month in 2018, as revenues outpaced expenditures, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

Broken down, revenues for the month amounted to P317.2 billion, or an increase of 22.5 percent from the P259 billion recorded in May last year, while expenditures of P314.7 billion represented an increase of 7.8 percent from the P291.9 billion level last year.

Under revenues for May, tax revenues amounted to P265.4 billion, or 17 percent higher than the

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OCAL businesses expressed confidence that their businesses thrived in the second quarter of the year given the improving economic dynamics of the country, but consumers’ expectations of their financial situation indicate a less sanguine view of the period.

In the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) quarterly survey of business and consumer sentiment, the country’s central monetary authority reported on Thursday that the outlook of firms on the

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RESIDENT Duterte’s ban on economic zone development in Metro Manila will stall 131 applications to build information-technology centers and parks that will house mostly businessprocess outsourcing (BPO) firms.

This will put the BPO industry, one of the country’s leading dollar earners, in an office space crunch.

Industry players said the existing economic zones in the capital are not enough to provide roof to potential investors, as the requirement stands at 450,000 square meters this year.

In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines President and CEO Rey E. Untal said “there is going to be a near-term detrimental impact” on the BPO industry from the moratorium.

“A lot of the growth are poised to happen in Metro Manila this year.

We [had] said there are potential

new locators, so the question is whether the existing availability of [economic] zones in Manila are going to be sufficient in comparison to the demand picture that we are anticipating,” Untal said.

The industry expanded 420,000 square meters last year, and needs 450,000 square meters this year to accommodate incoming investors.

With a headcount of 1.23 million workers as of last year, the BPO industry is one of the largest takers of office spaces. Consultancy firms say at least 32 percent of office spaces in the Philippines are housing BPOs.

Peza’s plea

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), in response, is asking the Office of the President to expand the exemption coverage and extend the transitory period of the ban.

See “Ecozone,” A8

US 51.4980 n JAPAN 0.4800 n UK 65.6188 n HK 6.5940 n CHINA 7.4894 n SINGAPORE 38.0565 n AUSTRALIA 35.8478 n EU 58.7077 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.7317

Source: BSP (25 June 2019 )

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A2 Wednesday, June 26, 2019

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DOH chief backs probe into PhilHealth scam

H

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

EALTH Secretary Francisco T. Duque III on Tuesday assured his full cooperation as Philippine Health Insurance Corp. chairman to the expanded investigation being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) into the alleged ghost claims filed with PhilHealth.

Duque met with Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday.

In a statement released following the meeting, the health chief said

he had volunteered to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the NBI that he be included in the probe to really determine those responsible

“I pledge my full commitment to cooperate with the DOJ led by Secretary Guevarra to put an end to these nefarious activities. I have asked the DOJ to include myself in the conduct of a full-blown, unbiased investigation.”—Duque

for the multibillion anomaly.

“I pledge my full commitment to cooperate with the DOJ led by Secretary Guevarra to put an end to these nefarious activities. I have asked the DOJ to include myself in the conduct of a full-blown, unbiased investigation,” he said. “The DOJ has my full support in this top-to-bottom investigation so that once and for all the concerned in-

dividuals are made accountable for their actions.”

PhilHealth has been in hot water in the past few weeks over fraudulent claims allegedly made

by WellMed Dialysis Center.

“I strongly denounce and condemn in no uncertain terms all forms of fraud that threaten the sustainability and integrity of our social health insurance system,” Duque said.

Guevarra refused to identify those to be summoned by the NBI as the agency “will first examine the relevant documents pertaining to payment of fraudulent claims and then determine who will be summoned for investigation.”

Guevarra earlier directed the NBI to expand its fact-finding probe

‘Duterte just making known his preference for speakership’

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

A

@BNicolasBM

LT HOUGH P resident Duterte earlier said he doesn’t want to interfere with the House Speakership issue, Malacañang now says the President is merely making his preference known and is not interfering with the functions of another branch of government.

Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said on Tuesday that publicizing the President’s choice will not affect the House decision on who to support as the next House Speaker.

“No. Expressing a preference,

I don’t think that’s interference.

And the interference would say, ‘I want this man to be the Speaker, whether you like it or not.” That’s a different story,” Panelo said.

He said ideally, Congress should not wait for the President’s decision for the House Speakership as they are “supposed to be knowledgeable of the candidates.”

Despite earlier pronouncements from senator-elect Christopher “Bong” T. Go that the President will make his choice known on June 28, the Palace spokesman stood firm that it is not the President’s style to interfere.

“Ever since naman, members of Congress court the President. Yun naman ang history natin eh. Nabago

lang kay Presidente dahil hindi siya mahilig na mag-interfere, ‘di ba last time wala naman siya, hindi naman siya nakialam? Pati pagtanggal ni hindi nga niya alam. Hindi niya kasi style. [Ever since, the members of Congress court the President. That is our history. It only changed when the President assumed office because he does not like interfering, like last time, he did not interfere.

He was not even aware of the coup because it is not his style,” he said, referring to former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s removal as House Speaker on the day of the President’s State of the Nation Address in 2018.

A month before the election of the House Speaker, Duterte’s

political party PDP-Laban has already solidified its support for the speakership bid of Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.

At least 30 party members signed a manifesto backing Velasco’s candidacy for the highest position in the House of Representatives.

But Malacañang said this manifesto does not necessarily mean that the President will choose Velasco as the next House Speaker.

At least 153 votes are needed to secure the Speaker position.

Besides, Velasco, Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales and Alvarez, other candidates for the race are Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano.

Duque: Stop BSP poll: People don’t share bizmen’s cheer cheating health-care insurance Continued from A1

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

T

Correspondent

HE chief of the Department of Health (DOH) warned health-care providers, state workers and health officials against cheating the social health insurance system, vowing that the government will run after and prosecute fraudsters.

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, who is also chairman of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), also said he will have zero tolerance for corruption.

“I strongly denounce and condemn in no uncertain terms of all forms of fraud that threaten the sustainability and integrity of our social health insurance system,” Duque said.

“As we are about to implement a landmark legislation, the Universal Health Care Act, I appeal to all of you—the media, officials in all levels of government, our health professionals/health-care providers to unite in the cause of fighting for better health care for all,” he added.

Duque himself had been in the spotlight recently after Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson had said he will see a Senate probe into the health chief’s “conflict of interest” when the 18th Congress opens in July. Lacson made public a document showing Duque allowed PhilHealth to rent in 2018 a family-owned building in Dagupan for over P529,000 a month.

“Let us not get distracted. The issue is not about me. The issue here is about corruption and fraud. My duty is to act on President Duterte’s anti-corruption campaign, and all forms of corruption in the department and its attached agencies, most especially where the social health insurance funds are siphoned. It must stop and end now,” he said.

tourists), enrollment, and harvest periods, as well as the electionrelated spending in the run-up to the elections in May 2019.

They also attributed their rosy view to the sustained increase in orders and projects leading to higher volume of production, the expansion of businesses and new product lines during the quarter and the continued rollout of government infrastructure and development projects with the approval of the 2019 national budget.

The BSP said the businesses were also optimistic that their business operations would benefit from the favorable macroeconomic conditions in the country, particularly

SC. . .

Continued from A8

Edsa, but city buses and private motor vehicles. The measure will address the traffic problem along Edsa and other thoroughfares, according to Salceda.

He noted that while 6,000 northbound and southbound provincial

Budget. . .

Continued from A1

P226.9 billion last year; nontax revenues hit P51.8 billion, a growth of 61.3 percent from the P32.1 billion last year. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) raised P204.8 billion for the month, a 19.1-percent increase over last year’s P172 billion. “[It’s] the highest growth attained by the agency in the first five months of 2019,” the BTr said.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) also posted a 10.3-percent increase in its revenues for May, at P58.2 billion, slightly higher than the P52.7 billion posted in May 2018.

As for nontax revenue collections, the BTr generated P35.7 billion for the

the easing of inflation in 2019.

The sentiment of businesses in the Philippines mirrored the more positive business outlook in Canada, France, Greece, Hungary, Israel and South Korea. However, business sentiments in Brazil, Chile, Euro Area, the Netherlands and the United States were less buoyant.

THE broader buying public, however, does not seem very happy with the recent economic developments in the country.

The BSP’s Consumer Expectation Survey (CES), meanwhile, showed a contrast from the optimism held by businessmen in the country, as consumer outlook declined to a confidence index of -1.3

percent for the second quarter of the year from the -0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019.

Among the consumers’ concerns that pulled down their confidence altogether are their expectations of higher prices of goods and household expenses. Concerns cited by consumers on poor health and high medical expenses as well as water crisis is also seen to have contributed to their pessimistic sentiment.

Last quarter, both businesses and consumers felt an improvement in the country’s economic conditions. Both local firms and consumers alike showed a marked improvement in their respective confidence index for the Januaryto-March period.

buses will be banned from plying Edsa, the LTFRB is expected to allow some 14,000 new black-painted Premium Taxis to transport the more than 50,000 passengers daily from the stop-off points.

This would be on top of the 2,000 new P2P Buses at both stop-off points to enter Edsa and thousands of new UV Express vans also to and from both stop-off points.

Salceda said the MMDA should have managed the 800,000 utility vehicles, 400,000 cars, 120,000 trucks and 1.4 million tricycles fighting for every available space in the streets of Metro Manila, instead of banning the provincial buses from plying Edsa. The three petitions pointed out that there were no public consultations before the MMDA regulation was issued.

month, showing growth of 66.8 percent from the P21.4 billion last year.

“Growth was propelled by higher dividends on shares of stocks, growing by 89.5percentfromMay2018collections amounting to P30.8 billion, wherein Pagcor [Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.] contributed P16.2 billion for the month,” the BTr added.

expenditures for the month settled at P295 billion, a 9-percent increase from the P270.8 billion last year.

“Expansion for the period was attributed to the implementation of the last tranche of salary increase of government personnel, release of mid-year bonus, and the execution of new programs in line with the approval of the 2019 GAA [General Appropriations Act] in mid-April,” the BTr explained.

Netting out interest payments from expenditures, the primary surplus for the month amounted to P22.2 billion, a recovery from the P11.8-billion primary deficit recorded in May 2018.

Unhappy public

Other agencies

REVENUE collections from other government agencies amounted to P16.1 billion for the month, increasing by 50.4 percent from last year’s P10.7 billion.

Under expenditures for the month, interest payments amounted to P19.7 billion, a decline of 6.8 percent from the P21.1 billion recorded in May last year. Primary

5-month period

F ROM t he Ja nu a r y - t o - M ay

to other hospitals and clinics with suspicious claims for dialysis treatment paid by PhilHealth.

The DOJ has indicted for estafa and falsification of documents the executives of WellMed led by physician-businessman Bryan Sy for their involvement in the P154billion bogus claims.

The other respondents are Dr. John Ray Gonzales, medical director; Claro Sy, chairman; Alvin Sy, corporate treasurer; Therese Francesca Tan, purchasing officer; Dick Ong, administration officer; and Drs. Porshia Natividad and Joemie Soriano.

Also charged were whistle-blowers Edwin Roberto and Liezel Aileen Santos.

However, the DOJ chief said

Roberto and Santos may apply as prosecution witnesses and may be placed under the government’s witness protection program.

The controversy also prompted the resignation of PhilHealth board members and executives led by its President and Chief Executive Officer Roy Ferrer.

Other board members who resigned were Jack Arroyo, elected local chief executive; Rex Maria Mendoza, independent director of the Monetary Board; Hildegardes Dineros of the information economy sector; Celestina Ma. Jude de la Serna of the Filipino overseas workers sector; Roberto Salvador of the formal economy sector; and Joan Cristine Reina Liban-Lareza of the health-care provider sector.

GMA Network faces DOLE probe over Eddie Garcia’s death

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HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said GMA Network may face fines for possible violation of occupational safety and health (OSH) rules in its worksite accident, which caused the death of veteran actor Eddie Garcia last week.

In an interview on Tuesday, Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) Executive Director Noel Binag said they found some OSH-related infractions based on the uploaded online video of Garcia’s accident.

“We observed there was no first-aider and medical supplies and equipment on the set like a stretcher. We saw how he [Garcia] was carried by personnel using bare hands,” Binag said.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, however, stressed that such observations will still be verified meeting between labor officials and GMA executives on Wednesday.

“I understand that Dir. Binag together with undersecretary [Ana] Dione and GMA will meet tomorrow,” Bello said.

This comes after Bello issued a memo instructing Binag to conduct a fact-finding inquiry on the incident.

Aside from the meeting, Binag said they will also be looking at the OSH incident report that GMA Network should have filed with DOLE 48 hours after Garcia’s accident as

Anti-ASF. . .

required by the Occupational Safety and Health Law. “We are still finding out if they already sent communications about [the incident]. The report is required if there is any injury, illness or death in a company,” Binag said.

Binag said GMA Network could be penalized with at least P100,000 if Garcia’s death is proven to be a result of OSH violations.

“Penalties for every noncompliance based on our occupational safety and health standards ranges from P20,000 to P50,000. Since there are a lot of rules to follow and to complied with, it could amount to even more, to P100,000,” Binag said.

Garcia died last week after succumbing to a cervical spine injury while filming a new teleserye in Manila.

In a related development, Bello said they will also look into the reported incident of a factory worker, who died last Saturday in Iloilo after falling into a meat grinder.

Binag said there might also be some OSH violation in the incident since there was no “machine guard” or railing surrounding the meat grinder.

He said the machine guard is critical to prevent workers from having close contact with large deadly machines like meat grinders and power saws. Samuel P. Medenilla

“When originating from non-Asian countries where duration of transport takes at least 20 days, the feed product may be utilized following clearance by quarantine officer from the port of entry upon arrival at the consignee’s warehouse,” the circular read.

“When originating from Asia, where the duration of transport is less than 20 days, a 10-day holding/quarantine period shall be applied at the consignee’s warehouse

following its arrival which shall be certified by the deputized feed control officer,” it added.

The dreaded ASF was recently detected in Laos, the third Southeast Asian country struck by the fatal pig disease that could wipe out a nation’s swine stocks.

Vietnam has already culled over 2.5 million pigs as it seeks to contain ASF outbreaks within its borders.

China, which has the largest swine herd in the world, has killed at least 1 million hogs due to the ASF outbreaks, but estimates by industries and banks indicate a much higher figure.

period, the government reported a budget deficit of P809 million, lower by 99.4 percent than the P138.7-billion budget gap recorded for the comparative period last year, and mainly caused by the delay in the approval of the 2019 budget.

Total revenues for the fivemonth period amounted to P1.313 trillion, posting an increase of 10.7 percent from the previous year’s P1.186 trillion.

The government’s expenditures amounted to P1.314 trillion for the five-month period, or a decline of 0.8 percent compared to the P1.325 trillion disbursed in the same period last year.

The government reported a primary surplus of P150.2 billion for the five-month period, higher by

5,433 percent from the P2.7-billion surplus reported in the same period last year.

In May, the economic managers of the Duterte administration pointed out that with the nonpassage of the 2019 GAA, at least 420,000 Filipinos were not lifted out of poverty, as government programs and projects that needed funding from the 2019 GAA were derailed.

The Philippine government operated on a reenacted 2018 budget during the first four months of 2019, amid the standoff on the budget bill between the House of Representatives and the Senate, which accused House leaders of manipulating the bicameral version of the money measure even after both chambers had ratified it in plenary. Rea Cu

Continued from A8

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

A3

Marina inaugurates central-office building, celebrates 45th anniversary

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HE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has formally inaugurated its first and newly constructed centraloffice building at Bonifacio Drive corner 20th Street, Port Area, on June 5.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade led the inauguration of the 12-story government building with a total land area of 12,000 square meters and with an actual cost of P382 million.

The event was also witnessed by Angkla Party-list Rep. Jesulito Manalo, IMO maritime ambassador Carlos Salinas, Netherlands Ambassador to the Philippines Saskia de Lang, Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines Bjorn Yahnsen, members of the Marina Board, and former Marina administrators Marcial Amaro III and Vicente Suazo Jr., among other significant guests.

“You have the facility that is called a building. You have the people that is ready to work and be patriotic for the cause of the government, and you have the businesses and processes that will sustain the sustainable effective operation. And this is what today is all about,” Secretary Tugade said.

The Marina was first housed at the Philippine President Lines Building in United Nations Avenue, Ermita, Manila, for 35 years.

In 2007 the Marina transferred to YIC Building, then to Parkview Plaza building along Taft Avenue in 2008 and, eventually, to its present site in 2019.

The building’s ship-inspired architecture is symbolic to the agency’s fullsteam sail toward its mission of providing leadership in transforming the Philippines into a major maritime nation.

Its crew, the men and women of the agency, stay true to their mandate as they work in a culture of quality, competence and dedication, anchored on the shared values of professionalism, integrity and excellence.

In unity with its valued stakeholders, Marina continues to build a better nation for the Filipino people through an empowered maritime industry.

Marina celebrates 45th anniversary

ASIDE from the inauguration of the central-office building, the Marina celebrated its 45th anniversary with the recognition of the remarkable performances of its employees and offices.

In the event, the Marina also recognized the invaluable contributions of interagency partners and private stakeholders in enhancing the country’s ship-building and ship-repair sector, the domestic-and overseas-shipping industries, as well as the education and training of maritime manpower.

Marina officer-in-charge (OIC) Vice Admiral Narciso A Vingson Jr. also shared the major accomplishments of the Marina since 1974 and highlighted its impacts in the maritime industry, such as the reduction in the recorded average death toll, from 207 fatalities annually from 1966 to 2015 to 13 fatalities from 2016 to 2018; faster processing time of seafarer documents from five days to just 30 minutes; as well as the application for the seaman’s book from eight hours to just 15 minutes.

Furthermore, the Marina OIC assured maritime stakeholders of greater growth in the country’s maritime industry with the intensified implementation of the 10-year maritime industry development plan (MIDP) that aims to upgrade the domestic shipping in support of the nautical highway development; to promote of maritime tourism; to establish the country’s coastal inland-waterway transport system; to enhance the safety in Philippine-registered fishing vessels and to establish the Philippines’ first-ever global maritime hub, enhance the country’s maritime safety, modernize maritime security, and to establish a maritime innovation and knowledge center.

Philippines Joins the World in Celebrating the Day of the Seafarer

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S the world’s foremost supplier of seaborne manpower for the global merchant marine fleet, the Philippine maritime industry once again actively joined the entire world in celebrating the Day of the Seafarer yesterday.

It will be the eighth holding of the Day of the Seafarer, which was first celebrated worldwide on June 25, 2011. The event originated as a result of the decision of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2010 to have one day in the year to give thanks to seafarers for their contribution to the world economy and the civil

society. Since then, every 25th day of June is regarded worldwide as the Day.

For this year’s celebration, IMO synergestically tied the theme of the Day of the Seafarer with that of the IMO World Maritime Day theme for 2019 which is ‘Empowering Women in the Maritime Community.’

As such the theme for the 2019 Day of the Seafarer celebration worldwide is “I am onboard with gender equality’ which also recognizes in part the women behind the grit, determination and continue success of seafaring men, both young and old.

The Marina is also focused in the reinforcement of its modernization campaign through a vessel retirement program and in the Philippines’

reelection to the IMO Council in the 31st General Assembly in November this year.

Finally, Marina OIC emphasized

that aside from the MIDP, the Marina is also continuing to chart its path guided by long-term national provisions such as AmBisyon Natin 2040

and the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 while remaining keen to the country’s compliance to international maritime conventions.

News

BusinessMirror

A4 Wednesday, June 26, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Online demand for Filipino talent jumped 17% in May

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE online demand for Filipino talent remained robust and posted a 17-percent growth in May 2019, according to the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI).

In a news statement issued on Tuesday, Monster.com said the highest demand for Filipino workers came from the consumer goods/fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), healthcare and advertising sectors.

Internet-based hiring of workers in the FMCG sector grew 35 percent year-on-year in May; health care, 29 percent; and advertising, 20 percent,

the sector’s first double-digit growth since February 2019.

“The online demand for talent in the Philippines has been consistently positive for quite some time now, despite the PSA’s recent Labor Force Survey report showing a decline in the number of Filipinos looking for jobs, as well as GDP [gross domestic product] growth

deceleration to 5.6 percent in Q1 2019 from 6.2 percent in 2018,” said Abhijeet Mukherjee, chief executive officer of Monster.com for Asia Pacific and Middle East.

Industries that posted the lowest growth in May were observed in business-process outsourcing (BPO)/ information technology and IT-enabled services (ITES), 11 percent; education, 9 percent, respectively; and engineering, construction and real estate all at 7 percent.

In terms of occupations, Monster.com said human resource and administration professionals continued to lead annual growth in online hiring demand for the second consecutive month, charting a 28-percent growth in May. This was followed by finance and accounting with a growth of 25 percent in May; hospitality and travel,

23 percent; purchase/logistics/supply chain, 23 percent; and marketing and communications, 22 percent.

“The Filipino government has been working toward improving economic openness for quite some time now, and foreign investment pledges are on the rise. This is a positive sign of the country bracing itself for a strong recovery from the first quarter performance which will boost all aspects of the local business landscape, including hiring,” Mukherjee said.

The MEI records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity locally.

It is based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of online career outlets.

PNP disputes UNHCHR’s casualty figures in govt’s illegal drugs war

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

T

HE Philippine National Police (PNP) said that the figures presented by the of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) on the casualties in the drive against illegal drugs was “bloated” and does not paint the campaign’s correct picture.

“As we have explained, the varying numbers reported to UNHCHR by the special rapporteurs and its other sources were not consistent with truth,” said PNP Spokesman Col. Bernard Banac on Tuesday.

“Their bloated figures don’t add up and cannot support any further need of the UN body to see the true and accurate picture of the Philippines’s lonely crusade against the global prob-

27K

The total number of Filipinos killed in the PNP’s war against drugs as of May this year, according to the UNHCHR lem of illegal drugs,” he added.

The UNHCHR claimed in a report that there had been about 27,000 Filipinos killed as of May this year in the antidrugs campaign that is being waged by the PNP. The number had been cited by the US-based Human Rights Watch,

also in its report.

But Banac said there were only about 5,375 who died in the operations from July 2016 up to May 2019 based on their official data, although the unofficial number was put at 6,600. These deaths also arose from encounters between drug suspects and policemen.

The PNP spokesman maintained that the operations against illegal drugs were legally carried out and were based on lawful orders, and “judiciously conducted within the ambit of regular police procedures.” “[Respect for] human rights is perfectly in place, exercised and protected in the Philippines in accordance with the constitution. Respect for human rights is deeply embedded in all police systems and procedures as a matter of organizational policy,” he added.

“If at all any irregularity had been found, these were immediately investigated and corrected with punitive action against the errant police personnel,” Banac said.

In fact, he stressed that at least 322 policemen have also been dismissed from the service for using illegal drugs and another 119 have also been axed for coddling and protecting drugs suspects.

Banac also said that 49 policemen have been killed while on anti-illegal drugs operations and 144 others were wounded in the line of duty.

“So we do not say that just because there were casualties that we will not investigate them anymore. All of the incidents where there are casualties, deaths on both sides are being investigated and we are only asking for a little time in order to render justice to all the victims,” Banac said.

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briefs PANABO CITY OKs P22.3-M FLOOD CONTROL, OTHER PROJECTS DAVAO CITY—The city of Panabo, home to one of the earliest banana plantations in the country, has approved six drainage projects and two additional undertakings that include the installation of flood sensors worth P22.3 million in a bid to boost the city’s resiliency against recurrent flooding of its barangays.

The projects were included and approved this month for funding in the Annual Investment Plan (AIP) for 2020 by the City Development Council. The council is composed of barangay captains, heads of nongovernment and other private organizations and association.

The drainage projects fall under the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Program-Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Manuel T. Cayon

AIRLINES SIGN PLEDGE TO DECONGEST N.A.I.A. TODAY THREE major local carriers will lead the signing of commitment today (June 26) for the transfer of some of their operations from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) to Sangley Airport in Cavite during a brief ceremony at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is the lead government agency that will preside over the meeting, along with some airline companies operating at the Naia.

The air carriers will sign a “Pledge of Commitment” to support Naia decongestion, develop Sangley Airport, and improve passenger convenience, according to airport Manager Ed Monreal.

The meeting is scheduled at the PICC meeting rooms 2 and 3 at 8:30 a.m.

Recto Mercene

MOLASSES IMPORT PROPOSAL STILL NEEDS SOME REFINEMENTS

THE proposal of some local ethanol producers to import molasses to hike their feedstock supply and be able to venture into exporting the fuel component has been stalled as the government is still figuring out on how to streamline the procedures.

The government has not issued any formal guidelines two months after officials attending a House of Representatives hearing disclosed that Roxas Holdings Inc. (RHI) may import molasses for its plans of exporting ethanol to Asian markets.

At a news conference on Tuesday, officials from Department of Energy and Sugar Regulatory Administration pointed at each other on the developments of RHI’s import proposal.

DOE officials said they are still awaiting for the SRA to initiate a policy recommendation on the RHI’s proposal to import molasses since the commodity is within its regulatory jurisdiction. Jasper Y. Arcalas

D.T.I. TO HOLD 2ND NATIONAL HALAL CONGRESS IN CLARK CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will hold the 2nd Philippine National Halal Conference on July 2 and 3 at the Quest Plus Conference Center at the Clark Freeport.

The event is in line with the DTI’s chairmanship of the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Board and in cooperation with other line agencies of the government.

The two-day activity is themed: “Leveraging on Unified Opportunities for All-inclusive Growth in the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion.”

Expected to attend the conference are 400 global and local stakeholders in the halal industry to share best practices and strategies and to promote and develop the halal market worldwide. Ashley Manabat

Sumag River in Quezon eyed as next potential PSA report cites lack of first-aid water-supply source for ‘thirsty’ Metro Manila responders in typical work place

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

T

O address water shortage in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, Quezon province, a potential source of water, will propose to President Duterte the resumption of the construction of the Sumag River Diversion Project.

In a n inter v iew fol low ing a House oversight hea r i ng on water shor t age, Minor it y L eader a nd incom ing Quezon prov ince Gov. Da ni lo Su a rez sa id t he prov ince is w i l l ing to f u nd t he project, wh ic h may cost a rou nd P1 bi l l ion.

According to Suarez, Quezon province provided additional supply in times of shortage since the term of President Benigno Aquino III. “The province has the money to fund

the project [and] several contractors in the province have committed...[to] build the tunnel,” he said.

Suarez said if the construction resumes now, the diversion tunnel will be finished in just one and half years.

According to Suarez, the Sumag River Diversion Project shall supplement the water coming from Umiray River going to the Angat Reservoir. It is expected to provide Angat Dam 1.8 million liters per day of water.

The lawmaker said construction of the Sumag River Diversion Project in Quezon was halted in 2016 because of an accident that took the lives of six individuals who were working on the project.

Moroever, Suarez said, the proposal is now with the provincial government of Quezon. “ This Sumag Project will be part of my talking points with President Duterte, I will bring the proposal to him,” he added.

“We recommend revisiting the benefits of this project, which was stalled back in 2016. Of course, the firm and non-negotiable terms of this project should also be revisited, to assure strict and faithful compliance with the Constitution, environment and safety laws,” Suarez added.

“No doubt, we need long-term solutions and these solutions are right in front of us. As a country surrounded by bodies of water, however, we shall be a living contradiction of this water shortage continues,” he said.

Short term

DURING the oversight hearing, Local Water Utilities Administrator (LWUA) Jeci Lapus urged the water concessionaires to seek additional water supply from nearby provinces, such as Laguna, Cavite and Bulacan as part of the shortterm solutions.

For his part, Manila Water President and Chief Executive Officer Ferdinand dela Cruz said the water firm will support any additional supply to address the deficit in Angat Dam. His counter part at Maynilad, R amoncito Fernandez, said he will also support the proposal.

Lapus then raised that a short-term solution could be to direct the water districts in the country to apportion their resources to the affected areas.

Lapus, however, noted that the major concern would be the actual transportation of water supply.

Meanwhile, dela Cruz vowed to help the government in looking for ways to transport water to Metro Manila.

In the meantime, LWUA has already been closely coordinating with the water districts, according to Lapus.

Dela Cruz also reported that the current rotational water interruption had already been shortened from 23 hours to 16 hours per day.

Manila Water is able to supply 135 to 140 million liters per day to its consumers in Manila.

The leadership of the lower chamber called for a special committee meeting on Tuesday to look into the ongoing water crisis in Metro Manila as the Angat Dam drops below its 160-meter critical water level.

Department of Water

MEANWHILE, Speaker Gloria MacapagalArroyo said she will endorse to the 18th Congress the proposed creation of a Department of Water as long-term solution to the water shortage.

Arroyo, the author of House Bill 8068, is seeking to establish the Department of Water, Irrigation, Sewage and Sanitation Resource Management, and is pushing the passage of the measure as a longterm solution to the water shortage.

T

HE lack, or total absence, of first-aid responders was the top violation of firms in terms of health and safety in the workplace, according to the latest report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released on Tuesday.

Based on the latest Statistics on Safe Work Environment, PSA said around 19.3 percent of firms had inadequate first-aiders. This was followed by the nonregistration of establishments and failure to keep medical records at 18.6 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively.

Other top health and safety violations were the absence of accident reports, 14.2 percent; non-submission of annual medical report, 13.8 percent; and the absence of a safety committee, 11 percent.

“To further strengthen the enforcement of labor standards, enacted in 2017 is RA 11058 or an ‘Act of Strengthening the Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health [OSH] Standards and Providing Penalties for Violations, thereof, which stipulates that the State shall ensure a safe and healthful workplace for all Filipino workers by providing them full protection against all hazards in their work environment,” the PSA stated.

However, the PSA noted that the shares of establishments with violations declined to 46.7 percent in 2017 from 50.1 percent in 2016. The agency said this could be due to increased labor inspections general labor standards, or OSH standards starting in 2015.

In terms of general labor standards, the most common violation of establishments was no record keeping/non-presentation of accounting records for 21 percent of total establishments with violations on the required labor standards in 2017.

PSA said other general labor standard violations were wage-related violations such as underpayment of minimum wage at 14.1 percent; non-remittance of Social Security System (SSS) Premium, 13.2 percent; nonpayment/underpayment of regular holiday pay, 10.7 percent; and nonpayment/underpayment of overtime pay, 10 percent.

Meanwhile, PSA data for 2015 showed that the incidence rate of fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 employed persons in 2015 was recorded at 3.8 percent. This was lower than the 6.4 percent recorded in 2013.

“This means that there were around four cases of occupational injuries with workdays lost per 1,000 workers during the year. In comparison with the 2013 figures, the incidence rate declined by 2.6 percentage points from the 6.4 incidence rate reported in 2013,” PSA said.

PSA data showed that the agricultural sector recorded the highest rate of fatal occupational injuries at 10.9 percent in 2015 followed by the industry sector at 3.8 percent and the services sector, 3.4 percent.

Agricultural establishments posted the highest decline in the incidence rate of fatal occupational injuries from 48.8 incidence rate in 2013 to 10.9 in 2015. The industry sector declined from 6.3 percent in 2013 to 3.8 percent in 2015.

However, PSA data showed that there was a 3.4-percentage-point increase in the fatal incidence rate for the services sector in 2015.

Meanwhile, due to injuries, an average of 6.5 days were lost to workers in 2015. This was an increase of 1.1 day compared to the recorded 5.4 average days lost in 2013.

The average days lost due to temporary incapacity of workers in the agricultural sector rose to 5.8 days in 2015. Data also showed that the average days lost for both the industry sector and services sector grew to 6.5 days and 6.7 days, respectively in 2015.

The Statistics on Safe Work Environment is part of the PSA’s data series on Decent Work. The strategic pillars of the Decent Work Agenda include employment opportunities; adequate earnings and productive work; decent hours; combining work, family and personal life; work that should be abolished; stability and security of work; equal opportunity and treatment in employment; safe work environment; social security; and social dialogue, workers’ and employers’ representation. Cai U. Ordinario

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Editor: Angel R. Calso • Wednesday, June 26, 2019 A5

Trump signs order imposing sanctions on Iran’s Khamenei

PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump listens to a reporter’s question after signing an executive order to increase sanctions on Iran, in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, June 24, 2019, in Washington. Trump is accompanied by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (left) and Vice President Mike Pence. AP PHOTO/ALEX BRANDON

W

ASHINGTON—President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order on Monday targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his associates with financial sanctions, the latest action the US has taken to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting militant groups.

The sanctions follow Iran’s downing of a more than $100 million US surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump pulled back from the brink of retaliatory military strikes on Iran last week but is continuing his pressure campaign against the nation.

“These measures represent a strong and proportionate response to Iran’s increasingly provocative actions,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“We will continue to increase pressure on Tehran until the regime abandons its dangerous activities and its aspirations, including the pursuit of nuclear weapons, increased enrichment of uranium, development of ballistic missiles, engagement and support for terrorism, fueling of foreign conflicts and belligerent acts directed against the United States and its allies.”

Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear pact that world powers made with Tehran in 2015. Other nations stayed in the deal, which eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbing its nuclear program. Trump called it a one-sided deal in Iran’s favor and reimposed sanctions but says he wants to negotiate a different deal. Iran, which calls the sanctions “economic terrorism,” has shown no interest in negotiating.

Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht-Ravanchi said US-Iran talks are impossible under current conditions, adding, “You cannot start a dialogue with someone who is threatening, who is intimidating you.”

Ravanchi, who spoke with reporters while the UN Security Council held closed consultations on the rising tensions between the US and Iran, said Washington should stop its military activity in the region, withdraw its naval forces and end what he called “economic warfare” against the Iranian people.

The latest round of sanctions denies Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior military figures access to financial resources and blocks their access to any financial assets they have under US jurisdiction.

“For people who say these are just symbolic, that’s not the case at all,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “We’ve literally locked up tens and tens of billions of dollars.”

Trump said the new sanctions are not only in response to the downing of the drone. The US has blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers this month near the Strait of Hormuz. Citing those episodes and intelligence about other Iranian threats, the US has sent an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region and deployed additional troops alongside the tens of thousands already there.

All this has raised fears that a miscalculation or further rise in tensions could push the US and Iran into an open conflict 40 years after Tehran’s Islamic Revolution.

“The supreme leader of Iran is the one who is ultimately responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime,” Trump said. “He is respected within his country. He also oversees the regime’s most brutal instrument including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.”

Iran’s naval commander has warned that Iranian forces would not hesitate to act again and shoot down more US surveillance drones that violate Iranian airspace. The US said the drone was flying over international waters.

“We confidently say that the crushing response can always be repeated, and the enemy knows it,” Rear Adm. Hossein Khanzadi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The sanctions came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is holding talks in the Middle East with officials in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia about countering the military threat from Iran by building a broad, global coalition that includes Asian and European countries. Pompeo is likely to face a tough sell in Europe and Asia, particularly from those nations still committed to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Germany, France and Britain, as well as Russia and China, remain part of the nuclear accord that lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for set limits on its uranium enrichment levels. The three European countries have sent envoys to Tehran recently, signaling they remain committed to diplomacy and dialogue. They cautioned against moves that can lead to conflict between the US and Iran. AP

Malaysia shuts schools after chemical pollution sickens kids

K

UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysia’s government has shut more than 100 schools in a southern state after chemical pollution sickened dozens of students for the second time in three months.

The education ministry ordered 111 government schools and dozens of private educational institutions in the Pasir Gudang district in Johor state to close for three days from Tuesday after many

students complained of breathing difficulty and vomiting. The source of the pollution has not been identified.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday that authorities are still trying to identify the companies behind the pollution and warned stern action will be taken.

In March, schools in the same area were shut for days after toxic waste illegally

dumped into a river sickened more than 5,000 people. Authorities say the waste from that event was cleaned up and the two incidents are unrelated.

Mahathir said the recurring pollution was “unfortunate.”

Four people, including two Singaporeans, from a tire processing factory in Johor have been charged in court over the earlier pollution incident. AP

Iran says new US Cambodia charges 7, including sanctions mean Chinese, in building collapse diplomatic path S closed ‘forever’

I

RAN said the path to a diplomatic solution with the US had closed after the Trump administration imposed sanctions against its supreme leader and other top officials, ramping up tensions further in the Middle East.

President Donald J. Trump on Monday put sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and eight senior military commanders, that deny him and his office access to financial resources.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said financial restrictions would be imposed on Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif later this week.

“The futile sanctions against the Iranian leader and thecountry’schiefdiplomatmeanthepermanentclosure of the diplomatic path withthegovernmentoftheUnited States,”ForeignMinistrySpokesmanAbbasMousaviwas quoted as saying by semi-official Iranian Students News Agency. “The Trump government is in the process of destroying all the established international mechanisms for maintaining global peace and security.”

Treasury futures pushed higher and most Asian stock markets slipped as increasing tensions rattled investors. Trump last week abruptly canceled planned air strikes against Iran for shooting down a US Navy drone, and the administration also blames Tehran for recent attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gulf— a strike Iran has denied. Bloomberg News

IHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia —A court in Cambodia said on Tuesday that seven people, including four Chinese nationals, have been charged with crimes related to a building collapse that killed 28 construction workers who were sleeping in the unfinished structure that doubled as their housing.

The Preah Sihanouk provincial court said the Chinese building owner was charged with unintentional homicide, involuntarily causing injuries and aggravating circumstances that cause injury. The Chinese builder, two Chinese building site managers and three other people of unspecified nationalities were charged with conspiracy to commit those crimes.

The four Chinese nationals were put in pretrial detention. The aggravating circumstances charge carries a penalty of five to 10 years in prison and the unintentional homicide charge carries a penalty of up to three years in jail.

A court spokesman, Lim Bunheng, said authorities were still looking to arrest the other three people.

The unfinished seven-story condominium collapsed early Saturday as the workers slept on the second floor. Survivors said they heard loud noise and felt the building vibrate just before it fell.

Authorities haven’t said what caused the collapse, and the provincial court did not explain the basis of the charges in detail.

Rescuers found the last two survivors and the final victims on Monday. In addition to the dead, another 26 workers were injured.

The project was in Sihanoukville, a thriving beach resort town that has seen a boom of Chinese-funded projects as part of a wider wave of Chinese investment and influence in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.

Chinese businesses have invested several billion US dollars in sectors, such as tourism, real estate, agriculture, seaports and casinos. Several skyscrapers and other big property developments in the capital Phnom Penh and in Sihanoukville and the island Koh Kong have been financed and constructed by Chinese companies.

But Chinese investors have attracted criticism in recent years as their influence in the country grows. Cambodia has become increasingly reliant on Chinese aid and investment, and at the same time has become a close political ally of Beijing, supporting its positions in regional and international affairs. AP

A6 Wednesday, June 26, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

A Christmas gift we can all enjoy

A

LTHOUGH the Philippines holds the world record for having the longest Christmas season, we don’t do Christmas countdown in June. However, recent developments such as the El Niño and outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in other countries could have an impact on the way we celebrate Christmas 2019, particularly the much-anticipated Noche Buena meal.

Noche Buena is Spanish for “good night,” but in the only Catholic country in Asia, Noche Buena is steeped in cultural and religious significance.

For Filipinos, Noche Buena means the feast before Christmas day. More specifically, it is the meal eaten after hearing the midnight mass to welcome Christmas Day. In fact, there’s a lively Christmas song —“Noche Buena [Kay Sigla ng Gabi]” —about the big dinner that Filipino families look forward to on Christmas Eve. The song talks about the feast partaken by families, which include traditional dishes like tinola, lechon (roast pig), bread and cheese.

Sadly, the scene described in the song is not the reality for many poor families in the Philippines, particularly for the bottom 30-percent income households. Not many families can afford to buy lechon to feast on even on Christmas. And the cost of making chicken dishes, like tinola, could go up in the coming months given the high cost of animal feeds.

El Niño and outbreaks of ASF fever in other countries could make it challenging for local traders to ensure affordable food, particularly during the holidays. The dry spell, for one, destroyed corn crops and caused a shortfall in the supply of yellow corn—a main ingredient for making animal feeds. Consumers usually bear the brunt of this development because producers have no choice but to pass on the additional cost.

Apart from the high cost of animal feeds, the reduction in the output of growers in previous months helped raise the farm-gate prices of dressed chicken.

This could result in more expensive poultry in the coming months, particularly in December when demand shoots up due to the release of bonuses and 13th month pay. The October-to-December period is usually the time when Filipino employees step up their purchases of consumer items, particularly food products.

Also, while the latest official data showed that the country’s pork inventory is up by nearly a fifth, the outbreak of AFS fever in China’s hog farms have made markets jittery. These fears have forced even Manila to impose limits on imports to ensure that the fatal hog disease will not enter the country and cripple the P200-billion domestic hog industry. Unfortunately, more stringent trade rules are threatening to make local pork prices more expensive.

The decision to disallow meat traders from purchasing pork from countries contiguous to areas where ASF outbreaks were declared could also hit small processors and sellers of cooked food items like grilled pork belly or liempo. These small processors do not have the capability to import and they rely on traders who can pay for the necessary fees (tariffs, shipping cost). They cannot buy from raisers because they require special pork cuts.

Food items usually become more expensive when the holidays roll around.

However, the government must see to it that price hikes do not spiral out of control because of local and international developments. This is because traders can always make use of these events to take advantage of hapless consumers, particularly the bottom 30-percent income households that spend 70 percent of their pay for food (see, “Bottom 30% expenses swell on costlier food,” in the BusinessMirror, June 25, 2019).

Ensuring stable food prices especially during the holidays is something that poor Filipinos will surely appreciate. We hope that the Duterte administration will make good on its promise to make food prices affordable and accessible. That’s a good gift that 105 million Filipinos can truly enjoy this coming Christmas.

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Stronger partnership and more productive PHL-Russia relations Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE Continued from A1

P

HILIPPINE relations with Russia long antedate the current administration. It might be said to have started in 1917 when the Russian Revolution sent White Russians—across the widest stretch of land in the most forbidding climate on Earth—to seek safety and find it ultimately in the Philippines. My wife’s family married into one of them; a Jewish-Russian family; one of whom, in typical Russian fashion, returned at great peril to what was then Stalinist Russia, for the honor of defending rodina, Mother Russia, as he told me when I visited him in Moscow following Glasnost.

But following the assumption of President Duterte in 2016, Philippine relations with Russia expanded in breadth and scope, precisely at the time when her historical enemies again threatened Russia—and have tried to isolate her. An isolation our friendship stoutly ignores.

But reaching out at this time was merely consistent with the country’s independent foreign

We need a new international airport

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua

Susan V. Ople

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policy: friend to friends, enemy to enemies; a worse enemy to false friends. Russia has made the most generous offers to help our country in that at which Russia is best: the national defense from enemies external and internal. Although we have yet to concretize this cooperation in significant ways, I see it as a natural alliance in the best balance of power tradition.

Since 2016, close to 30 agreements have been signed covering cooperation in the areas of agriculture, trade, energy, transport, tourism, defense, security, higher education, intellectual-property protection, science and technology, as well as culture and the arts.

I promised the Russian ambassador, my good friend, Igor Khovaev, to have all of them in his hands well before he leaves us, much to my regret. I know it is taking forever but, while governments cannot live with bureaucracies, they cannot live coherently without them.

The contact between our leaders at the highest level is another matter; it is one of the greatest warmth and sincerest friendship. Not only does it reaffirm and sustain our vibrant bilateral relations, but it also gives to our mutual commitments the strength of genuine mutual affection. A common enemy interrupted the much awaited and meticulously worked out—by Ambassador Khovaev—state visit of President Duterte to Russia. The urgency of that emergency, which demanded nothing less than the instant personal presence of the Commander in Chief himself in the conflict area no less, is familiar to Russia herself:

W

E need a world-class international airport. I dare anyone to refute that statement. Lucky is the Filipino traveler who has yet to experience a delayed flight because of an extremely congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). I doubt if such a passenger even exists.

After a recent surprise visit to Naia Terminal 2, an appalled President Duterte ordered the Department of Transportation to fast-track improvements in Sangley Airport.

The DOTr is now in the midst of constructing a new passenger terminal building, hangars, a new tower, night operations equipment and a 2,300-meter runway. Nevertheless, the Sangley Airport will only be able to cater to a few domestic flights given its single runway.

The DOTr also approved an Ayala-led Naia Consortium’s offer to upgrade Naia. The consortium promised to increase capacity to 65 million passengers from its originally designed capacity of 35 million passengers. Naia has gone above the safe capacity zone by as many as 10 million passengers. This is one of the reasons why the US government

has warned its citizens about the security hazards surrounding Naia’s terminals. The ratio between airport security and passengers continue to grow apart every single day.

You also cannot build an additional runway at Naia without disrupting the lives of millions of businesses and homeowners. Common sense dictates that you need a whole lot of empty, unclaimed space to build one or more runways. Space is not in abundance within Naia given its proximity to hundreds of subdivisions.

Imagine this: You’ve gained weight and became the fattest you’ve ever been. The solution is not to force yourself into the skinny jeans you bought at the age of puberty. You need to shop and wear bigger clothes.

The same principle holds true for an international airport.

The logical solution is clearly the building of a world-class airport in Bulakan, Bulacan, as proposed by San Miguel Corp. (SMC). The proposed New Manila International Airport (NMIA) is closer to the metropolis than the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, Pampanga.

San Miguel now owns thousands of hectares legally purchased from residents along the coastal area of Bulakan town. The provincial government led by Governor Daniel Fernando and Vice Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado vowed their full support to the construction of this new airport.

The quiet town of Bulakan, Bulacan, represents a blank canvass to build a modern, world-class airport in a historic province that is most accessible to key urban centers across the entire Central Luzon. The airport will be built in phases, with millions of jobs to be generated. The coastal areas of Bulacan will be rejuvenated with accompanying flood control projects that would spare lives and accelerate economic progress. The airport, as designed, will have four runways, a huge and modern airport terminal building equipped with amenities for our overseas Filipino workers, tourists and people with disabilities.

I have seen the area where the airport would be built. With my good friend and former staff, Joey Meneses Rodrigo, we took a one-hour boat ride along the river that would

the scourge of terrorism.

The historic goodwill visit of our Naval Task Force to the Russian Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok in September 2018 demonstrated our firm commitment to forge stronger ties with Russia, which is, by virtue of geography and an instinctive affection between our peoples, a natural and logical ally.

Our cooperation goes beyond defense to trade. I welcome the accreditation of fisheries companies, which opens the door for the Philippines to export fish products not only to Russia but to the rest of the Eurasian Economic Union.

In the coming years, we will continue to enhance collaboration between our government agencies, expand trade and investment flows, and encourage people-to-people exchanges.

On this note, I propose a toast.

To the health of President Vladimir Putin, who has restored the pride and power of Russia—a power never used except in self-defense.

To the peace and prosperity of the people of the Russian Federation.

And a stronger partnership and more productive relations of our two countries.

Mabuhay!

span the airport’s length. Traversing through the waters, I saw the skyline of Roxas Boulevard, which means that ferries can easily bridge the distance from Manila to Bulakan.

Judging from the scenic route, the NMIA has the potential to become one of the world’s most scenic airports that can combine modernity with that warm, hometown feeling.

We need a new airport because our population keeps growing and we are also attracting more tourists to our shores. We cannot afford to be known as the flight delay capital of the world. We are already gaining notoriety for abrupt, temporary airport shutdowns due to lightning alerts.

My friend, RJ Nieto of Thinking Pinoy, wrote in his blog that Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez appears to have been hindering the progress of the Bulacan airport. During a Senate hearing, it was Dominguez who raised this query: “How will the Bulacan airport affect the Clark International Airport, given the government’s investments in Clark?

Your honors, all airport projects are real-estate projects.”

I wonder if it was the businessman in him that was raising this question or was it him as the alter ego of our President? I ask this because it is not the job of a Cabinet Secretary to pit one province against another. It is his job, however, to look at how to combine the strengths of adjacent See “Ople,” A7

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Here’s why oil’s outlook could be even bleaker than expected

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By Bloomberg News

A

S storm clouds gather over the world’s top oil-consuming region, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies would be advised to pay close attention as they prepare to make a key decision on output curbs early next month.

While the Saudi Arabian-led efforts to restrain supply amid surging North American shale production have hogged headlines, a sense of malaise is quietly creeping across Asia. With the US-China trade war now almost a year old and showing no signs of ending, its impact is manifesting itself in everything from profit warnings by Japanese car makers to sagging Chinese diesel consumption.

From Ulsan in South Korea to Mailiao in Taiwan, the region’s big oil processors are cutting run rates as weak demand for fuel products erode their margins. To make matters worse, a wave of Asian megarefineries is coming on stream this year, flooding the market with cheap fuel and setting off a price war.

It’s a bleak reality that could confound the Opec and its partners as they try to figure out how best to balance the market. Geopolitical tension and supply-side disruptions are supporting oil prices for now, but a failure by the group to properly gauge demand for their crude in the biggest markets risks undermining their efforts.

“It feels like demand is very, very weak,” said Michal Meidan, head China analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd. “On the supply side, the consensus really was Opec rolling over the supply cuts,” so it’s quite surprising that prices haven’t risen further, especially with all the geopolitical stress, she said.

Chinese fuel demand appears weak since the start of the year, the International Energy Agency said in its June report, and Japanese and South Korean oil consumption dropped more-than-expected in March and April, respectively. Indian oil demand growth fell to 25,000 barrels a day in April from a year earlier from 225,000 a day in the first quarter, the IEA said.

Double-digit drops in Chinese diesel demand in March and April have been partially due to a sharp slowdown in industrial output.

As refiners in South Korea and Taiwan struggle to break even, new plants that were commissioned in better times are starting up. Hengli Petrochemical Co.’s. 400,000 barrel a day refinery in Dalian is already at full capacity. Rongsheng Petrochemical Co.’s similar-sized plant in Zhoushan, has begun partial operations, while Hengyi Petrochemical

Ople. . .

continued from A6

provinces with the clear development goal of creating a new growth corridor.

During the same Senate hearing, Dominguez also said: “We take this opportunity to categorically say we have not caused the delay in the Bulacan airport.”

Mr. Secretary, please put those words into action. Make sure the New Manila International Airport gets built, and built soon.

The Department of Transportation

Co. is set to start a smaller refinery in Brunei in the third quarter.

In an attempt to grab market share, Hengli offered gasoline in midJune at about 5,300 yuan ($770) a ton after taxes, said Maggie Han, an oil analyst at consulting firm JLC in Beijing who is tracking offers from the plant. That’s more than 10 percent lower than other independent oil refiners in the region, she said.

“The start-up of Rongsheng’s refinery in Zhoushan, near major oil-consuming cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou, will intensify a price war among coastal refineries hoping to market fuel into urban areas,” said Li Li, an analyst at commodities researcher ICIS-China. This will further squeeze the independent refineries and potentially lead to industry consolidation, she said.

The IEA cut its 2019 forecast for worldwide oil demand growth for a second straight month in June, to 1.2 million barrels a day, citing the slowdown in global trade. Wall Street is more pessimistic, with Morgan Stanley seeing an expansion of 1 million barrels a day and JPMorgan Chase & Co. projecting 800,000 barrels.

While the IEA predicts growth will improve to 1.4 million barrels a day next year, it also sees supply jumping by 2.3 million barrels.

Not everyone is bearish though.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a June 17 note that infrastructure spending and interest-rate cuts in response to the trade war were setting the stage for a rally in investment and manufacturing next quarter that would boost commodity prices. Citigroup Inc. is more bullish, and forecasts Brent crude may rise to $75 a barrel—from around $64 now—over the northern hemisphere summer.

Against this backdrop, the Opec+ coalition will meet in Vienna on July 1 and 2 to decide production levels for the rest of the year. The consensus is the current output curbs will be extended, but with Opec’s total crude production already at the lowest level since 2014, the question is whether that will be enough.

The ratcheting up of tensions between the US and Iran has added another dimension to the situation, complicating Opec+’s rebalancing task. The risk is the group focuses too much on the Persian Gulf and not enough on the negative demand signals coming from Asia and elsewhere. granted SMC “original proponent status” in October 2017. So what’s holding it up?

Our modern-day heroes have been dreaming of a world-class airport for decades now. They are banking on Tatay Digong’s political will to turn this dream into a reality.

The completion of NMIA can be the President’s enduring legacy and one of our proudest moments in history.

Susan V. Ople heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that deals with labor and migration issues.

She also represents the OFW sector in the InterAgency Council Against Trafficking.

Atty. Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

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OTH life and nonlife insurers can issue health insurance policies. Together with the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) industry, they comprise the providers of private health insurance in the Philippines.

From the life insurers FOR 2018, a total of 25,706 standalone health insurance policies were issued by life insurance companies.

It insured a total of 745,800 lives at a generated premium income of P7 billion (P7,208,370,000). This means that most of the health insurance policies were group policies. For comparison, in 2017, a total of 17,406 health insurance policies were issued to indicate an increase of 47.68 percent from 2017 to 2018. In all, 605,309 lives were insured to indicate a 23.21-percent increase from 2017 to 2018. Finally, premium income in 2017 was P5.6 billion (P5,695,560,000) to indicate a 25.56- percent increase from 2017 to 2018.

The top 10 life companies providing health insurance (in terms of premium income) are: 1) United Coconut Planters Life—P3.55 billion (49.28 percent); 2) Asian Life—P2.53 billion (35.15 percent); 3) FWD Life Insurance—P336 million (4.67 percent);

Bloomberg Opinion

F

OR years, Russia has been the world’s biggest sovereign gold bug: Even while gold prices were in the doldrums, it doggedly kept increasing its reserves. Now that gold is at the highest level since 2013, the tactic appears to be paying off.

The US dollar’s dominance as a global reserve currency is commonly thought to result from the dearth of

safe assets. Russia, however, recently has provided an example of how a sizable economy with the world’s fifth biggest international reserves can minimize dollar assets and still do well. So far, it doesn’t have many followers, but gold buying by central banks is going up.

Since being hit by sanctions for its aggression against Ukraine in 2014, Russia has had good reasons to rethink the composition of its international reserve. While the European

4) Philippine AXA Life—P289 million (4.01 percent); 5) Insular Life— P204 million (2.83 percent); 6) Sunlife Grepa—P122 million (1.70 percent); 7) Fortune Life—P89 million (1.24 percent); 8) Pioneer Life—P38 million (0.53 percent); 9) BPI Philam— P20 million (0.28 percent); and 10) Philam Life—P13 million (0.18 percent). As can be seen, United Coconut Planters Life is the industry leader in health insurance with almost half of the premiums earned. Asian Life is at second place in 2018.

From the nonlife insurers

FOR 2018, a total of 121,209 standalone health insurance policies were issued by nonlife insurance companies. They insured a total of 302,081 lives at a generated premium income of P1.3 billion (P1,315,720,000).

For comparison, in 2017, a total of 141,941 health insurance policies were issued to indicate a decrease of 14.61 percent from 2017 to 2018; and 527,795 lives were insured to

indicate a 42.77 percent decrease from 2017 to 2018. Finally, premium income in 2017 was P1.9 billion (P1,988,420,000) to indicate a 33.83 percent decrease from 2017 to 2018.

Clearly, the life insurance sector leads the nonlife sector in health insurance.

The top 10 nonlife companies providing health insurance (in terms of premium income) are: 1) Pacific Cross Insurance (Blue Cross) —P783 million (59.53 percent); 2) Philippine British Assurance— P266 million (20.28 percent); 3) QBE Seaboard Insurance—P86.5 million (6.58 percent); 4) Paramount Life & General Insurance— P67.6 million (5.14 percent); 5) PGA Sompo—P27.6 million (2.11 percent); 6) Insurance Co. of North America—P24.5 million (1.86 percent); 7) New India Assurance— P21.9 million (1.67 percent); 8) FPG Insurance—P13 million (1 percent); 9) Prudential Guarantee—P13 million (1 percent); and 10) Pacific Union Insurance—P5.9 million (0.45 percent).

As can be seen, Pacific Cross (Blue Cross) is the industry leader in the nonlife health insurance with more than half of the premiums earned.

From the HMO industry

SINCE the regulation of the HMO industry was transferred to the Insurance Commission, the reporting of the number of persons covered by HMOs will only be started during the 2019 reporting period. The statistics gathered in 2018 pertained

only to the Membership/ Enrollment Fees collected. It is the counterpart of premiums earned. For 2018, the total Membership Fees earned was P45.57 billion; certainly much more than the P8.5 billion in premium earned by both the life and nonlife sector combined.

The top 10 HMO companies for 2018 (in terms of Membership Fees) are: 1) Maxicare HealthCare—P13.8 billion (31.76 percent); 2) Intellicare—P11.8 billion (27.26 percent); 3) Medicard Philippines—P8.1 billion (18.77 percent); 4) Caritas Health Shield—P2.4 billion (5.53 percent); 5) Philhealth Care—P2.22 billion (5.10 percent); 6) Value Care Health System—P1.68 billion (3.88 percent); 7) Eastwest Health Care—P877 million (2.01 percent); 8) Avega Managed Care—P648 million (1.49 percent); 9) Insular Health Care—P433 million (0.99 percent); and 10) Pacific Cross Health Care— P250 million (0.57 percent).

Combined figures

IF we combine the total premiums generated by the life, nonlife, and HMO industry for health insurance, we can see an industry that is worth a total of P54.07 billion.

This, however, pales in comparison to the total health expenditure in the country, which was estimated in 2017 at P684 billion.

Dennis B. Funa is the current insurance commissioner. Funa was appointed by President Duterte as the new insurance commissioner in December 2016.

E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

Trump and Xi to seal a deal? Traders aren’t holding their breath

By Bloomberg News

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UND managers are sticking to their positions ahead of this week’s meeting between Presidents Donald J. Trump and Xi Jinping, saying they don’t expect much progress to be made.

A common view among China investors: there’s little chance the two leaders will suddenly reach an agreement and resolve a trade dispute that has weighed on markets over the past year. Most are keeping an emphasis on domestic-focused defensive stocks, though much potential downside is already priced in, while foreign-exchange traders expect a slight weakening in the yuan.

Here are a few snippets of views on the Trump-Xi meeting: “Nobody is really expecting anything concrete”—Caroline Yu Maurer “There’s a very slim chance that we’ll get a solution to the trade issue”—Frank Tsui “The market has already discounted bad news for a worst-case scenario”—Claudia Calich “Our position is to take a wait and see approach”—Daniel Gerard “We’re waiting for things to get worse on a much larger scale before buying the dip”—Brian Chen Trump caught some people off guard last week when he tweeted that he was optimistic about the meeting with China’s president, with traders rushing to bet on a stronger, more volatile yuan. The Chinese currency ended with its biggest weekly gain since February, while the Shanghai Composite Index climbed to the highest in nearly two months.

Then over the weekend the US said it was putting more Chinese technology companies on a blacklist, following a similar move on

Putin’s big bet on gold is paying off

By Leonid Bershidsky

Wednesday, June 26, 2019 A7

Union hasn’t toughened its sanctions for almost five years, the US has been doing it all the time. The Kremlin and the Bank of Russia consider the risk of further restrictions unpredictable and dependent more on US domestic politics than on anything Russia does. In the 12 months since the end of September 2017, the central bank has more than halved the dollar’s share in its international assets and sharply increased the shares of the euro and the renminbi.

telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. last month. This ebb and flow in terms of reaching a detente hasn’t helped investors shape a concrete view on where talks may go.

“It’s very difficult to decisively bet on one way or another in the market right now, given the lack of clarity on both the trade talks and the economy,” said Caroline Yu Maurer, head of Greater China equities at BNP Paribas Asset Management Ltd. “While some progress will be made at the meeting, it’s unlikely that both leaders reach an agreement and make the concern go away. So you can’t really turn bearish or bullish.”

the talks. Daniel Gerard, Asia Pacific head of investment and risk advisory at State Street Bank and Trust Co., said downward price action wasn’t too severe as the trade dispute escalated because institutional investors hadn’t piled into the emerging-market rally in the first quarter.

“While we would not advocate fully allocating back into high beta, EM equities and risk-on given the real risks to growth and the fundamental story, nothing is screaming out to us to be fully defensive either,” Gerard said. “We remain firmly neutral.”

Yuan direction

establishing a stable domestic demand base over the longer term to push the economy toward a gradual reduction of its reliance on exportdriven growth,” added Shao-Ping Guan, head of Greater China equities at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Like others, Guan favors investment opportunities catering to growing domestic demand, such as health care and insurance due to a rapidly aging population, banking needs driven by rising incomes and urbanization, and home appliances as consumers demand more sophisticated products.

Deal time?

THE general consensus is that Chinese equities won’t come under too much pressure, whatever happens at

SINGAPORE-BASED Gerard said the yuan is also likely to stay in a narrow range for now, as it wouldn’t be in China’s best interests to let the currency weaken much further, while it’s also hard to see it strengthening much. Ken Cheung, senior Asian FX strategist at Mizuho Bank Ltd., said investors may trim yuan exposure before the “key risk event” of the summit. But, given built-in short positions, they may buy back the yuan against a weakening dollar.

The yuan fell 0.1 percent to 6.8802 per dollar on Tuesday after strengthening 0.9 percent last week.

The currency is near the same level as at the start of the year.

Faced with the increasingly fiery trade dispute, China has taken steps to loosen liquidity, boost lending and support its weakening economy, which should help the bond market.

Jason Pang of JPMorgan Asset Management said a negative outcome to talks could push central banks in the region to cut rates. He likes Chinese government and policy bank bonds of three- and five-year tenors.

“With heightened uncertainty on the trade front, we believe that China will increasingly focus on

These data, the latest available from the central bank, show the share of gold slightly dropping, even though Russia added 274 metric tons of the metal to its reserves in 2018, bringing its total reserves to 2,113 tons. That’s because other assets also increased as Russia sought to insulate itself from Western pressure —and because in those 12 months, the price of gold dropped by almost 7 percent.

Generally, though, the metal’s

market performance has, for the most part, justified Russia’s stubborn trust in it.

And so far this month, as the price of gold has soared by about 7 percent, it has added about $7 billion to Russia’s international reserves (assuming no new purchases since the end of the first quarter of 2019).

If the price increase holds, gold will account for some 20 percent of Russia’s half a trillion dollars in international reserves, approaching

the dollar’s share.

The dollar, of course, remains the world’s biggest reserve currency, and gold and other currencies aren’t exactly displacing it worldwide. But then, the World Gold Council has noted an upward trend in net gold purchases by central banks that goes way beyond the Russian effort— even though Russia remains the biggest buyer. In the first quarter of 2019, central banks bought a record amount of gold, 715.7 metric tons.

Stock picks

MAURER likes consumer and healthcare sectors as they are domestically driven. Frank Tsui, a fund manager at Value Partners Hong Kong Ltd., also likes those businesses, as well as education companies. He expects the planned meeting between Xi and Trump won’t yield much progress and “doesn’t feel an urge to adjust” after shedding some tech names in the past year.

“There were occasions in the past year or so that we boosted cash positions by a few basis points, but we never went to beyond 10-percent cash level, which would be a risk-off scenario,” Tsui said. “Right now over 90 percent of our stock positions are firms relying on domestic demand to drive earnings.” The Shanghai Composite Index is up 19 percent in 2019 thanks to a strong start to the year, though it’s now down nearly 10 percent from an April high.

Worst over?

CAUTION still pervades given the uncertainty over the timing of any deal.

“We don’t have a 100 percent clue about what is going to be reached in the G-20 meeting, but we still believe in the medium term that there will be some constructive agreement being reached, but we don’t know if its going to be within this week,” Lilian Leung, Greater China equities portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, said on Bloomberg Television on Monday.

Brian Chen, a fund manager at Shanghai Leader Capital Co., said the G-20 will have “just a small wrinkle” of an impact on markets.

“We wouldn’t be surprised whatever the outcome, be it the restart of talks or that the two leaders don’t have a private meeting at all.”

Chen, who’s lowered equities exposure to just 30 percent to 40 percent since March, said certain buying opportunities will only emerge when the slowing economies of China and the US cause a global debt crisis. “We are waiting for things to get worse on a much larger scale before buying the dip,” he said.

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PHL’s anti-ASF measures now cover plant-based feeds

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) has issued guidelines to ensure that imported plant-based feed products do not carry the African swine fever (ASF) virus which could cripple the P200-billion local hog industry.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol issued Memorandum Circular 8 dated June 3, outlining the quarantine measures for plantbased feed products from countries struck by ASF. “ T here are scientific find-

ings that ASF can be transmitted through plant-based feed products,” Piñol said in the order, a copy of which was distributed to media on Tuesday.

“A series of consultations with the stakeholders and private sec-

“There are scientific findings that ASF can be transmitted through plant-based feed products.”—Piñol

tor were conducted to discuss the safeguard/biosecurity measures for plant-based feed products, categorized as medium risk, imported from ASF-infected countries,” the circular read.

Under the circular, importers will be required to include an ASF declaration form from an independent third-party surveyor

stating the last date of ASF outbreak from the country in their shipping documents.

If the last outbreak date from the country of origin is more than two months, the product would be automatically cleared upon arrival, especially those sourced from nonAsian countries, according to the circular.

However, if the country of origin had an ASF outbreak in the past two months, then the shipments would be put on quarantine for about 20 days, starting from the day the feed products were brought to the carrier vessel. After the prescribed quarantine period, the shipments will be cleared for use.

See “Anti-ASF,” A2

DA pitches PHL fisheries fleet modernization

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OLLOWING the recent Recto Bank incident where a Chinese vessel hit a Filipino fishing boat then abandoned the 22 Filipinos onboard as their ship sank, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is pushing for the legislation of a fisheries modernization program to improve the fleet of Filipino fisher folk.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanu-

el F. PIñol disclosed that the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is now drafting a bill legislating a Philippine Fishing Boats Modernization (PFBM) program.

The bill, PIñol added, will be sponsored by lone Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato in the 18th Congress.

The agriculture chief said the PFBM program is much like the

TROPICAL DEPRESSION “DODONG” 590 KM EAST NORTHEAST OF APARRI, CAGAYAN SOUTHWEST MONSOON AFFECTING WESTERN SECTIONS OF LUZON AND VISAYAS as of 4:00 pm - June 25, 2019

Duterte administration’s jeepney modernization program.

“The PBFMA, which has long been in the hatching stage in the DA-BFAR, was highlighted by the recent incident in the Recto Bank where a Philippine wooden fishing boat was damaged when it was rammed by a steel-hulled Chinese vessel on June 10,” he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

PIñol explained that the envisioned PBFMA will provide incentives for fishing boat owners who volunteer to modernize their fleet.

“This is expected to improve the efficiency of the Philippine fishing boats and increase productivity in the fisheries sector,” he added.

PIñol said the BFAR has just started to install transponders on fishing vessels so that their movements could be monitored by government through its vessel monitoring system program.

PIñol earlier proposed the modernization program, an idea he got from one of his Facebook followers, to the government’s Cabinet-level Economic Development Cluster.

“Admittedly, our fishing boats are old and made of wood. There are now modern fishing boats. Why don’t we replace with steel-made boats complete with modern equipment our current fishing boats that are made out of wood,” he said in an interview with reporters on June 17.

“We look at this crisis as a window of opportunity - a wake up moment for us that it’s time modernize our fisheries sector,” he added.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Trade gap. . .

Continued from A1

The Mirage G4 and Vios are the enrolled units of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. and Toyota Motors Philippines Corp., respectively.

On top of automobile and its parts, Indonesia plans to procure larger volumes of farm goods from the Philippines, particularly bananas and shallots.

It was also reported that Indonesian PT Mayora in April started its importation of Philippine desiccated coconuts. The producer of the popular instant coffee Kopiko committed to put up a coffee manufacturing and processing plant in the Philippines that is projected to employ 3,000 workers once completed.

Two-way trade between the Philippines and Indonesia improved 10.32 percent to $7.8 billion last year, from $7.07 billion in 2017, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Exports to Indonesia jumped 21.78 percent to $881.99 million, from $724.21 million.

However, the bulk of the end-to-end trade was largely accounted for by shipments from Indonesia that grew 8.97 percent to $6.92 billion, from $6.35 billion.

The government vowed to consider Jakarta’s moves to buy more from Manila in its review of the special safeguard duty of P203.74 per kilogram that it imposed on coffee imports.

“President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing for the Philippines to narrow its trade imbalance with Indonesia. Thus, we hope that openness from both countries will result in a mutually beneficial trade relationship between the two countries,” Lopez said in a statement on Monday.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SC TO MMDA: JUSTIFY BAN ON PROVINCIAL BUSES ALONG EDSA

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

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HE Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to justify the implementation of its new regulation banning provincial buses from Edsa (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) as part of its measures to ease traffic congestion in the metropolis.

The order was given at Tuesday’s regular en banc session of the 15-man high tribunal which tackled the three petitions filed by AKO Bicol party-list Reps. Ronald Ang and Alfredo Garbin Jr.; Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda; and Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares and House members identified with the Makabayan Bloc.

The MMDA was given 10 days from receipt of the copy of the SC’s resolution to file its answer to the three petitions questioning the legality of MMDA Regulation No. 19002. The implementation of the regulation, however, has reportedly been shelved to allow a further study of its impact on the commuting public as well the traffic problem in Metro Manila.

The regulation—passed on March 26, 2019 by the Metro Manila Council (MMC) for implementation in July—prohibits all provincial buses from using Edsa and revokes all permits issued for the operation of bus terminals and other public utility vehicles.

The regulation also designates Sta. Rosa, Laguna (South Station) and Valenzuela (North Station) as the endpoint for PUBs. T he pet it ioners a rg ued that Republic Act 7924, the

Ecozone. . .

Continued from A1

Under Administrative Order 18, the President instructed the Peza to no longer accept, process or evaluate applications for the establishment of economic zones in Metro Manila until the moratorium is lifted. However, it exempted applications with complete documents that are with the Office of the President.

On the other hand, applications on the President’s table but have insufficient documents were provided until July 22—or 30 days after the order was published in a national newspaper— to be completed.

Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza said she will appeal to Duterte to extend the period of document completion. She will also seek an expansion of the exemption to cover applications approved by the Peza Board but have yet to be endorsed to the Office of the President.

She said 131 applications for the putting up of IT centers and parks in Metro Manila were given the green light by the Peza Board but have yet to reach the President’s table, and will never reach it if the order stays as is.

“This [provision] excludes all applications that were already approved by the Peza Board but were not endorsed yet to the Office of the President. [My] intention is to write the Office of the President to allow for a longer transition period,” Plaza told reporters.

6,000

Northbound and southbound provincial buses that will be banned from Edsa. Critics of the ban noted the LTFRB will allow 14,000 new Premium Taxis, 2,000 new P2P Buses and new UV Express vans to and from both stop-off points on Edsa law that created the MMDA, does not give the agency police power or legislative power to implement.

T hey c l a imed t hat t he MMDA “exceeded its powers” when it issued the regulation “because it does not possess legislative nor police powers.”

W hile the ban on PUBs from EDSA was based on the order of President Duterte, the petitioners said its implementation should be based on existing law.

Furthermore, the petitioners pointed out that the MMDA regulation would violate the PUBs’ existing franchises as issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the existing lease agreements between the operators of the PUBs and their terminal owners.

They said the issuance of the regulation is tantamount to an exercise of police power which the MMDA and the Metro Manila Council (MMC) do not possess.

They also insisted that provincial buses are not the main cause of traffic congestion on See “SC,” A2

“It will be unfair [for developers that] just got this notice quite recently and their projects were already approved, but they will not be given a chance anymore to fight for a presidential proclamation of their zones,” she added.

Peza officials will meet with industry stakeholders this week before writing an appeal to Duterte.

Plaza is thinking of asking for a six-month extension of the transitory period to provide applicants until the end of the year to complete their requirements, which are apparently time-consuming to get, such as land titles.

Plaza also argued that the government must improve Internet infrastructure in rural areas before pushing investors to locate their operations outside of Metro Manila.

Untal, for his part, said the government should reassess its economic development plan of dispersing industries to rural areas to spur growth there. Industry players believe it is crucial to maintain the capital’s economic strength to be able to develop the regions.

“As we continue to grow in the metro cities, it becomes easier for us to also expand in the countryside,” Untal said.

Investments in the IT industry from January to April declined 7.08 percent to P4.63 billion, from P4.98 billion during the same period last year. This was reflective of the overall slower investment inflows to the Peza, which slumped 24.54 percent to P29.49 billion, from P39.08 billion, in the four-month period.

Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Petron Corp. lists ₧20-B preferred shares on PSE

By Lenie Lectura

P

@llectura

ETRON Corp., the country’s largest oil refining, on Tuesday listed P20 billion worth of preferred shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Of the amount, P15 billion represents the base offer and P5billion oversubscription. This is the company’s biggest preferred

shares offering to date.

Dividend rates per annum on the preferred shares is 6.8713 percent for Series 3A, and 7.1383

percent for Series 3B. “We thank the investment community for their warm reception and strong desire to be part of our continued growth.

The success of this fund-raising exercise highlights our position as the leading oil player and as a viable investment option,” Petron President Ramon S. Ang said.

Part of the proceeds will be used for the redemption of Petron’s outstanding Series 2A preferred shares issued in 2014. The balance will be utilized for shortterm debt repayment and general corporate purposes.

“We will continue to pursue our strategic goals and follow through with our investments despite volatility in the global market.

We remain committed to fueling economic growth and to bringing greater value to our shareholders,” Ang added.

Petron has partnered with BDO Capital and Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp. and PNB Capital and Investment Corp. as joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners, and First Metro Investment Corp. as colead underwriter.

DOE lawyers to handle oil firms’ TRO petitions vs price unbundling

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HE Department of Energy (DOE) said on Tuesday that government lawyers would handle the petition for temporary restraining order (TRO) filed by oil firms against the enforcement of the agency’s fuel price unbundling circular.

“We referred the case to the Office of the Solicitor General,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.

This developed after Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. filed a separate case against the DOE in a local court.

Shell is a member of the Philippine Institute of Petroleum Inc. (PIP), which earlier filed a Petition for Declaratory Relief with Application for a TRO and/or Preliminary Injunction to question the DOE’s Department Circular DC2019-05-0008.

Aside from Shell, PIP is composed of Petron Corp., Chevron Philippines Inc., PTT Philippines, Total Philippines Corp. and Isla LPG Corp.

When sought for comment, Cusi said, “This is part of the democratic process in the exercise of rights.”

In a statement, Shell “is questioning the validity of DOE Department Circular DC2019-05008 and will exercise all legal remedies to address this issue” to protect its assets, operations and stakeholders.

In a nutshell, the circular requires oil firms to submit a detailed price computation of fuels and household LPG, per liter, per product and on a weekly basis.

“While the DOE’s mandate is to monitor oil price movements, we believe the Circular leads the industry back to the path of regulation.

Further, it restricts the timing of price adjustments and requires the submission of critical unaudited information that could be prejudicial to the industry players. The Circular is also unclear and administratively impossible to comply with,” Shell said.

IP’s motion, meanwhile, pointed out that the DOE circular contravenes the dynamics of a deregulated oil market.

“The relief sought is necessary to protect the industry and the public, and to foster market-

Chelsea ties up with Japanese firm to supply ‘Roro’ ship

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HELSEA Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. has tapped Japanese company Fukuoka Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. for the supply of a passenger roll-on, roll-off (Roro) ship that will be used to serve destinations in Visayas and Mindanao.

Under their contract, Fukuoka Shipbuilding will build a 123-meter ferry ship that can carry 1,085 passengers, 24 buses and 11 trucks. The vessel shall be delivered by June 2021.

“Our thrust of improving the shipping and logistics industry, together with Fukuoka’s more than seven decades of shipbuilding expertise, will allow us to accommodate the growing number of passengers in Visayas and Mindanao while employing a significant number of Filipinos onboard,” Chelsea President Chryss Alfonsus V. Damuy said.

Based in Fukuoka Prefecture, the Japanese company has been building various types of vessels for the past 72 years.

“We are certain that we can count on Fukuoka’s leadership and look forward to joining hands with them as we continuously create long-term value for our stakeholders,” Damuy said.

As of end-March, the Filipino shipping and logistics company, controlled by Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy, has a fleet of 40 vessels that range from tankers, ropax and cargo vessels. Lorenz S. Marasigan

driven competition. As the DOE Circular becomes effective on June 29, 2019, petitioners are likewise seeking injunctive relief to stop its implementation until the case is heard and decided on the merits,” it said.

The DOE clarified that the unbundling circular takes effect July 2. The agency will pursue the implementation of the circular unless the courts grant the oil firms’ petition for TRO. “Ganun na nga po ang mangyayari, according to legal procedure, habang hindi pa nagdedesisyon ang korte, itutuloy namin,” Energy Assistant Secretary Robert Uy said. “We belong to a democratic society. Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion.We welcome this.”

Another DOE official said the agency welcomes comments, constructive criticism, and even legal challenges to the unbundling circular as it provides the DOE with an opportunity to further learn and strengthen future administrative issuances of the department.

“However, we are quite confi-

dent that the unbundling circular is on firm legal ground considering the express provisions of the oil deregulation law authorizing the Energy secretary to require virtually all kinds of information from oil companies,” DOE Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido said.

A lawmaker said last week the government and the private sector “must strike a balance” in order to arrive at a win-win solution.

“If the government forces them to disclose all of these then, the oil firms are worried that sensitive information could be leaked and thus, it would be unfair to investors. But the government does not want the oil companies taking advantage in times of supply disruption,” Senate Energy Committee Chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said.

The committee may review the Circular further “so the government may not be encroaching too much on the operation of their business and also not to pry into the proprietary aspect of the business.”

Lenie Lectura

Aqua Planet records most participants in largest swimming lesson in Clark

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

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LARKFREEPORT—On June 20, a total of 1, 819 participants officially joined the “World’s Largest Swimming Lessons” (WLSL) here, exceeding the current Guinness World Record set in Florida, USA, with 1,309 swimming participants.

Only the announcement from Guinness Book of World Records is keeping Aqua Planet (AP) from claiming the record held in a single venue.

Aqua Planet is now awaiting the official confirmation from the World Waterpark Association and Guinness Book of World Records for the record-breaking feat.

Themed “Swimming Lessons Save Lives,” Aqua Planet, in partnership with Bert Lozada Swim School, provided simultaneous free swimming lessons highlighting different basic swimming techniques which includes breathing, f loating, paddling and proper swimming strokes to children from pub-

lic schools in Angeles City, Mabalacat City and San Simon town.

Children from the indigenous Ayta communities and even physically challenged kids were given the opportunity to join the recordbreaking event.

“We have a bigger number of participants this year and we are trying to beat the Guinness World Record of World’s Largest Swimming Lesson. We have enough lifeguards and coaches to make sure this event is safe and fun. We are doing this because we believe that swimming is very important and it can save lives,” AP General Manager Simon Jiang said.

Through the years, Aqua Planet has evolved and broadened its scope to include helping children through education, disaster response and other related programs.

Dr. Irineo “Bong” Alvaro Jr., president of BB International Leisure and Resort Development, said the event is more than the prize of a Guinness World Record be-

cause the mission to teach the children how to swim is equally important.

“We want the children to be at peace with water. Learning how to swim can save not only your life, but you can save the lives of others, too.

This is a yearly event and every year, we want to do better, greater and bigger. With what’s happening now, we want to do more and we want to continuously improve, “he added.

Aside from learning the survival skills on swimming, the children were also given safety reminders on what to do during earthquakes, especially if they happened to be inside the water park.

“We are proud of this project. We want to show the world that in the Philippines, we have one of the best water theme parks. Aqua Planet is an international site with international standard. This event is part of giving back to the community. We don’t mind spending millions as long as we do our mission,” Alvaro said.

B1

PayMaya: Pinoys looking for more noncash deal payment alternatives

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

F

ILIPINOS are now more adaptive to financial technology (fintech) and are demanding from businesses noncash payment options they “trust,” an official of PayMaya Philippines Inc. claimed on Tuesday.

Without disclosing figures and rates, Mar Lazaro, who heads PayMaya Philippines’s enterprise business, said businesses must also adapt to the growing digital landscape, where people demand for payment options other than cash.

“More Filipinos are using digital payments as their preferred payment method, that’s why businesses—from street vendors to Top 1,000 companies—should equip themselves with cashless options to provide better services to customers and grow their top line,” he said.

Citing data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Lazaro

said only a fourth of registered businesses in the Philippines have card or mobile point-of-sale terminals to accept electronic payments.

The same businesses do not offer digital payments even in their online stores.

This, he said, makes the majority of businesses “miss out on potential customers.”

“Financial technology is accelerating cashless adoption among enterprises,” Lazaro said.

He added that PayMaya equips all kinds of businesses with relevant solutions to accept all types of cashless payments whether through PayMaya QR, prepaid, debit, or credit cards, WeChat, or online through its proprietary PayMaya Checkout gateway.

“Our ‘One Payment Platform’ approach has made us the largest mobile and online acquirer in the Philippines, servicing most of the country’s biggest e-commerce players today,” Lazaro said.

EWS seeks to sustain stronghold of Philippine seed industry

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28

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Contributor

UTCH company East-West Seed (EWS) continues to dominate the domestic market as 65 percent of smallholder farmers in the country use its over 100 improved vegetable varieties.

EWS Public Affairs Lead Dr. Mary Ann P. Sayoc said the country has the biggest share of the local seed industry as compared to its peers in Southeast Asia where the firm also operates.

“Like in Indonesia and in Thailand, we are also the market leader there, but at a smaller percentage of around 40 percent, not more than 50 percent,” she told reporters after their recent media briefing held at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City.

Despite its commanding presence nationwide, EWS remains not complacent to sustain its leading position in the market. It is keen on expanding further in Visayas and Mindanao, where there are still many pockets of farming that are way behind the times.

“The geography of the Philippines makes that even attractive for us because there are so many isolated spots in the country where local farming has always remained traditional,” said Dr. Simon Groot, founder of EWS. With their farm development project, he is confident that vegetable farming in those areas can be brought to a higher level of competence and profitability.

“If we see an opportunity, even on a small scale, that a lot of farmers can make money from vegetable farming, that is a chance for us to go in there and start talking to them,” said Groot, who is also the 2019 World Food Prize Laureate and the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines this year.

Rice farmers in the country are encouraged to diversify into highvalue crops due to their high-potential income. It is estimated that 1 hectare planted with rice would earn less than a 2,000-square-meter plot planted with vegetables.

“That is one way of contributing to increase GDP [gross domestic product] by improving the lives of farmers, especially in rural areas, with increased income through vegetable farming,” Sayoc noted.

EWS stands to benefit from the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) initiative of streamlining the seed procurement process, wherein farmers are given more freedom to choose which variety or kind that they would want to use.

“The DA has become more aware that farmers no longer accept any kind of seeds and any kind of varieties that are giveaway seeds. They become choosy partly because of our efforts,” Groot said of their development and improvement of tropical vegetable varieties here and even abroad.

Such recent memorandum issued by the DA, per Sayoc, will really work well for EWS being the market leader here, whose “seeds are preferred by the farmers.”

Given the upbeat seed industry prospects in the Philippines, the firm hopes to sustain, if not surpass, its current stronghold of this sector.

“It’s not easy to increase market share unless we would like to penetrate the pockets of farming areas where we are not present yet,” the public affairs lead of EWS said.

She added that their modest outlook is due to lowest per-capita vegetable consumption in the country and stormy weather conditions.

“Unless we ask Filipinos to consume more vegetables, we get more demand. And then if we are not visited by a lot of typhoons, that would also improve the situation,” Sayoc said.

In 1982, Groot and Filipino seed trader Benito Domingo founded EWS in Lipa, Batangas. At present, it is one of the 10 largest vegetable seed companies in the world. The company employs around 5,000 employees. It has 14 Research and Developments (R&D) establishments in six countries, and 10 seed processing facilities in seven nations.

It serves more than 20 million smallholder farmers in over 60 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America with its over 900 improved vegetable varieties. Through its Knowledge Transfer program, it trains tens of thousands of farmers each year in agricultural best practices for vegetable production.

The firm has its headquarters in Thailand.

In the Philippines, EWS has three R&D establishments in Bulacan, Batangas and Bukidnon. Its local head office is located in San Rafael, Bulacan.

B2 Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Companies BusinessMirror

Nissan vows to mend Renault alliance as new board is voted in

N

ISSAN Motor Co. pledged to put more focus on mending its troubled t wo - decade alliance with Renault SA as the Japanese carmaker’s shareholders voted to give the French partner more say over its future.

At Nissan’s annual meeting in Yokohama, shareholders approved a governance structure designed to boost oversight and prevent the concentration of corporate power in one individual, seeking to address the lapses that led to the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn. Renault, which owns 43 percent of Nissan, got a bigger representation in key board committees.

CEO Hiroto Saikawa, who got his position reaffirmed though he hinted at a potential exit in the future, emphasized the Renault alliance’s value and signaled that Nissan will speed up talks to strengthen it. That’s a change of stance from the past few months,

when Nissan insisted that getting its own internal business in order was a top priority.

“Postponing the talks could result in speculation and undermine the alliance’s day-to-day operations and affect Nissan’s recovery efforts,” Saikawa said. “It is critical to create opportunities with Renault to discuss our future relationship while we continue to improve our performance.”

Ghosn’s arrest late last year fractured the carmakers’ partnership, and Nissan’s failure to support a proposed merger between Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV this month put more strain on the pact. Saikawa reiterated that he isn’t in favor of a merger between Nissan and Renault, and said an “imbalance” in the companies’ cross-shareholdings needs to be addressed—Nissan only owns 15 percent of its French partner.

“Having an alliance definitely increases our competitiveness, and the challenge is how to define the alli-

ance,” Saikawa said.

Shareholders approved creating three board committees: nomination, audit and compensation. Renault CEO Thierry Bollore will be on the audit committee and Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard on the nomination committee—key positions at the heart of decision-making. The nomination committee will be overseen by Masakazu Toyoda, the lead, independent outside director.

A majority of the new board isn’t affiliated with Nissan, with new directors including the chairman of Nihon Michelin Tire Co. and the former head of Sony Interactive Entertainment. Yasushi Kimura, an adviser to oil company JXTG Holdings Inc., will be chairman and Senard will be vice chairman. Outgoing directors include Nissan veteran Toshiyuki Shiga, who once was Ghosn’s right-hand man.

With fewer Nissan insiders, the new board potentially could take a more benign view on any attempt

by Renault to resume deal talks with Fiat. The European carmakers’ talks ended in early June after a lastminute intervention by the French government, which suggested the deal was being rushed and that more time was needed to gain Nissan’s approval.

Senard, speaking at the Nissan shareholder meeting, said a deal between Fiat and Renault would also have been beneficial for Nissan. There was “no aggression against Nissan,” he said.

Saikawa, Ghosn’s protégé-turnedaccuser, held on to his job thanks to Renault’s support. He faced shareholder criticism for not reacting to Ghosn’s alleged wrongdoing early on, with some calling for his resignation at Tuesday’s event.

The 65-year-old CEO said he isn’t in a position to say when a successor will be named for him, but wants the nomination committee to speed up a search for one. Bloomberg News

Asian stocks sink ahead of Trump-Xi meeting at G-20 summit

B

EIJING—Major Asian stock markets fell on Tuesday as traders looked ahead to a meeting between the American and Chinese presidents amid hopes for renewed trade talks.

Benchmarks in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong,

Seoul and Sydney declined.

Traders looked ahead to a planned meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at this week’s Group of 20 (G-20) meeting of major economies in Japan. Forecasters expect the leaders to reassure financial markets by agree-

ing to revive trade talks without a timeline or committing to any details.

The top US and Chinese negotiators, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Vice Premier Liu He, spoke on Monday by phone, according to their governments. No details

were released.

The conflict over Beijing’s technology ambitions and trade surplus has fed fears it will depress global economic growth. Tensions worsened after Washington tightened sanctions on Chinese tech giant Huawei.

“Both presidents have a very low bar of merely agreeing to resume trade talks, without having to iron out any of the sticking points at the G-20,” Chang Wei Liang of Mizuho Bank said in a report.

The realities of achieving a settlement “will probably be relegated to the backseat as the ‘feel good’ factor of the G-20 displaces caution,” Chang said.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.8 percent to 2,985.32 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.5 percent to 21,176.13. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 1.3 percent to 28,155.24.

Seoul’s Kospi lost 0.2 to 2,121.64, while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 shed 7.4 points to 6,658.00. India’s Sensex rose 0.3 percent to 39,226.52. Taiwan also declined, while markets in Southeast Asia and New Zealand advanced.

On Wall Street, smaller company stocks had their worst day since May, helping to erase some of last week’s gains after the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at an all-time high.

The S&P 500 index slipped 0.2 percent to 2,945.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1 percent to 26,727.54. The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.3 percent to 8,005.70.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slid 1.3 percent to 1,530.08, its biggest single-day loss since May 31.

Investors have been reassured by statements from the Federal Reserve this month that suggest the central bank is prepared to cut interest rates in response to a slowing global economy. Even so, traders remain concerned that corporate profits might suffer should the kind of economic slowdown that would prompt the Fed to cut rates take hold.

The US-Chinese standoff was triggered by complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology.

Lighthizer and Liu wrapped up their latest round of talks in May with no date to meet again. China laid out conditions for a settlement in early June, saying it must be “balanced,” reflecting complaints Washington is pushing for a onesided deal and to retain punitive tariffs on Chinese goods.

ENERGY: Benchmark US crude fell 45 cents to $57.45 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract gained 47 cents on Monday to close at $57.90. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 42 cents to $63.75 per barrel in London. It shed 27 cents the previous session to $64.18.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to ¥106.94 from Monday’s ¥107.29. The euro slipped to $1.1396 from $1.1400. AP

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

June 25, 2019

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

ASIA UNITED 58.4 58.5 58.4 58.5 58.4 58.4 4,450 259,980 140,160 BDO UNIBANK 141 141.9 141.8 143.2 138.4 141 2,491,810 353,785,476 97,732,800 BANK PH ISLANDS 79.75 79.8 80.25 80.8 79.8 79.8 2,320,990 185,951,776.5 (52,691,929) CHINABANK 27.9 27.95 27.9 28 27.85 27.95 950,900 26,615,905 514,450 EAST WEST BANK 11.54 11.66 11.52 11.66 11.48 11.66 319,100 3,689,648 (1,152,292) METROBANK 72.95 73 74.4 74.45 72.15 73 2,725,710 199,344,821.5 (21,676,039) PB BANK 13.2 13.3 13.2 13.2 13.2 13.2 103,700 1,368,840 PHIL NATL BANK 49.3 49.75 50 50.3 49.25 49.75 778,800 38,767,160 5,730,150 PSBANK 57.25 57.55 57.65 57.65 57.2 57.2 1,030 59,092.5 RCBC 28.1 28.3 28.8 28.8 28 28.1 346,000 9,787,415 (6,285,630) SECURITY BANK 169.3 170 169.5 170 168.8 170 193,120 32,809,417 24,443,756 UNION BANK 62 62.05 62.05 62.05 62 62 24,410 1,513,545.5 510,764.5 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.19 1.2 1.21 1.24 1.14 1.19 322,000 378,230 BDO LEASING 2.35 2.4 2.32 2.36 2.32 2.36 108,000 254,720 COL FINANCIAL 18.6 18.68 18.6 18.6 18.6 18.6 11,900 221,340 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.92 4.99 5.08 5.1 4.92 5 219,300 1,100,308 (59,060) FILIPINO FUND 7.7 8.6 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 400 3,080 IREMIT 1.36 1.39 1.36 1.36 1.36 1.36 38,000 51,680 MEDCO HLDG 0.48 0.51 0.49 0.51 0.48 0.51 378,000 184,580 30,600 MANULIFE 760 790 760 760 760 760 10 7,600 NTL REINSURANCE 0.96 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.96 0.99 279,000 271,600 (0) PHIL STOCK EXCH 191 192 191 192.8 190 191 330 63,214 VANTAGE 1.12 1.21 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.12 20,000 22,400

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.38 1.39 1.39 1.39 1.38 1.39 106,000 146,450 ABOITIZ POWER 35 35.2 35.3 35.7 34 35 1,278,500 44,717,850(15 ,103,254.9999) BASIC ENERGY 0.275 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.275 0.28 3,800,000 1,047,700 FIRST GEN 26.4 26.45 25 26.45 24.9 26.45 7,230,900 187,750,995 86,175,165 FIRST PHIL HLDG 79.75 79.8 78.75 79.75 78.25 79.75 134,370 10,647,696 (958,458) MERALCO 376.8 380 382 386 376.8 376.8 171,850 65,299,118 (11,542,700) MANILA WATER 24.45 24.5 24.5 24.5 24.15 24.5 593,000 14,515,180 814,240 PETRON 5.94 5.95 6 6.02 5.95 5.95 1,144,300 6,842,240 (662,902) PETROENERGY 4.63 4.65 4.57 4.63 4.57 4.63 26,000 119,490 PHINMA ENERGY 2.73 2.74 2.62 2.82 2.6 2.73 54,849,000 149,797,040 (310,660) PHX PETROLEUM 12 12.18 12.1 12.18 11.98 12.18 109,900 1,335,768 PILIPINAS SHELL 38.25 38.4 38.25 38.55 38.25 38.25 176,600 6,777,220 (891,265) SPC POWER 6.44 6.58 6.59 6.59 6.43 6.58 249,600 1,617,078 11,790 AGRINURTURE 14.2 14.36 14.28 14.4 14.2 14.36 711,800 10,209,954 339,876 BOGO MEDELLIN 89.05 95.95 90 95.95 90 95.95 660 59,519 CNTRL AZUCARERA 15.32 16.44 16.48 16.48 15.3 15.3 1,000 15,654 CENTURY FOOD 15 15.2 15.14 15.14 15 15 76,800 1,155,182 149,692 DEL MONTE 5.81 5.82 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.82 66,000 386,667 (10,487) DNL INDUS 10.5 10.54 10.44 10.58 10.44 10.54 2,525,400 26,577,984 18,454,196 EMPERADOR 7.65 7.69 7.58 7.7 7.58 7.65 1,811,700 13,812,938 (139,082) SMC FOODANDBEV 107.1 108 109.5 109.5 107.1 108 84,750 9,148,799 (732,671) ALLIANCE SELECT 0.75 0.76 0.78 0.78 0.75 0.75 805,000 609,900 (18,750) GINEBRA 57.85 57.95 60 60.5 57 57.95 413,110 24,352,300.5 2,145,020.5 JOLLIBEE 286.8 287 287.2 288.8 284.2 286.8 800,460 229,245,472 (64,561,280) LIBERTY FLOUR 40.05 50 50 50 50 50 30 1,500 MACAY HLDG 9.3 9.4 9.15 9.49 9.13 9.3 4,900 45,622 MAXS GROUP 14.14 14.28 13.82 14.28 13.82 14.28 664,500 9,361,204 3,181,792 MG HLDG 0.186 0.187 0.186 0.187 0.186 0.187 220,000 41,090 PEPSI COLA 1.45 1.47 1.4 1.47 1.38 1.47 8,022,000 11,576,600 17,070 SHAKEYS PIZZA 13.82 13.9 13.98 13.98 13.7 13.82 664,300 9,172,444 (2,526,294) ROXAS AND CO 1.39 1.4 1.38 1.41 1.37 1.4 527,000 732,900 RFM CORP 4.85 4.99 4.85 4.85 4.85 4.85 4,000 19,400 ROXAS HLDG 1.9 1.96 1.97 1.97 1.89 1.89 25,000 47,480 UNIV ROBINA 177 177.4 175.9 178.5 175.6 177.4 1,586,430 281,077,101 99,131,902 VITARICH 1.24 1.26 1.26 1.27 1.24 1.25 1,900,000 2,379,550 68,220 VICTORIAS 2.6 2.82 2.59 2.59 2.59 2.59 7,000 18,130 CONCRETE A 72.2 75.9 67 78 64 75.9 106,060 7,413,244.5 CONCRETE B 90.25 92.8 73 94.65 69.9 92.8 20,440 1,752,305.5 (3,980) CEMEX HLDG 3.13 3.14 2.91 3.14 2.91 3.13 37,279,000 114,409,520 14,032,930 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.22 5.25 5.27 5.3 5.25 5.25 113,800 597,840 (210,000) EAGLE CEMENT 15.92 15.94 15.9 15.96 15.9 15.96 49,800 792,880 EEI CORP 10.88 10.9 10.82 10.98 10.82 10.88 771,200 8,433,016 1,684,654 HOLCIM 13.6 13.64 13.56 13.76 13.52 13.64 625,100 8,497,644 3,226,942 MEGAWIDE 19.48 19.5 19.54 19.76 19.5 19.5 5,104,200 99,944,394 1,978,964 PHINMA 9.05 9.3 9.28 9.3 9.28 9.3 12,000 111,440 TKC METALS 1.23 1.24 1.24 1.26 1.23 1.24 1,020,000 1,269,110 VULCAN INDL 1.49 1.5 1.54 1.55 1.45 1.5 35,115,000 52,627,980 316,880 CHEMPHIL 105 114 105 105 105 105 80 8,400 CROWN ASIA 2.11 2.12 2.12 2.14 2.1 2.12 917,000 1,947,740 (338,670) GREENERGY 2.51 2.52 2.48 2.52 2.4 2.52 14,693,000 36,493,850 5,680,030 INTEGRATED MICR 10.18 10.2 10.1 10.2 10.08 10.2 148,300 1,504,628 525,460.0003 IONICS 1.69 1.7 1.65 1.7 1.65 1.7 217,000 364,820 PANASONIC 5.9 5.97 5.97 5.98 5.9 5.9 15,100 89,483 SFA SEMICON 1.15 1.19 1.2 1.2 1.15 1.19 197,000 229,900 CIRTEK HLDG 20.55 20.6 21.4 22.1 20.5 20.6 103,000 2,153,265

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.86 0.87 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.86 123,342,000 106,164,200 24,494,330 ASIABEST GROUP 13.36 13.38 12.94 13.74 12.88 13.38 194,000 2,576,746 (93,490) AYALA CORP 897 898 900 902.5 892 897 387,750 347,975,515 (66,125,575) ABOITIZ EQUITY 55.15 55.4 55.5 55.8 54.9 55.4 557,970 30,964,348.5 7,980,527 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 15.38 15.4 15.42 15.5 15.3 15.4 3,503,100 53,972,696 (8,244,774) AYALA LAND LOG 3.82 3.83 3.64 3.9 3.52 3.83 36,069,000 130,841,090 (1,154,230) ANSCOR 6.7 6.73 6.73 6.73 6.7 6.7 34,900 234,874 234,204 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.74 0.75 0.74 0.76 0.74 0.74 554,000 414,420 ATN HLDG A 1.37 1.38 1.34 1.38 1.34 1.37 1,849,000 2,497,430 ATN HLDG B 1.36 1.39 1.37 1.39 1.35 1.39 422,000 579,510 210,900 BHI HLDG 1,251 1,469 1251 1,481 1,251 1,481 30 42,130 COSCO CAPITAL 6.83 6.85 6.8 6.88 6.76 6.83 550,000 3,753,985 1,189,639 DMCI HLDG 10.46 10.5 10.5 10.52 10.44 10.5 7,839,600 82,260,738 (45,173,540) FILINVEST DEV 13.74 13.8 14 14 13.72 13.8 59,700 827,088 (67,808) FORUM PACIFIC 0.235 0.248 0.243 0.25 0.224 0.248 3,450,000 803,380 GT CAPITAL 920.5 921 941 941 911 920.5 128,720 118,532,310 (66,460,595) HOUSE OF INV 6.24 6.39 6.24 6.24 6.24 6.24 4,800 29,952 JG SUMMIT 66.45 66.9 65.95 66.9 65.5 66.9 1,595,380 106,007,418 2,403,686.5 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 6.03 6.55 6.01 6.55 6.01 6.55 76,300 481,500 LODESTAR 0.48 0.495 0.5 0.5 0.475 0.495 60,000 29,350 LOPEZ HLDG 4.1 4.14 4.16 4.2 4.09 4.1 999,000 4,130,340 (1,226,280) LT GROUP 15.2 15.3 15.14 15.32 15.14 15.2 1,399,100 21,267,886 (8,757,412) MABUHAY HLDG 0.63 0.64 0.65 0.65 0.62 0.63 7,750,000 4,928,730 31,500 METRO PAC INV 4.83 4.84 4.88 4.89 4.8 4.84 31,480,000 152,333,460 20,968,600 PACIFICA 0.038 0.039 0.038 0.039 0.038 0.038 4,900,000 186,300 PRIME MEDIA 1.24 1.27 1.21 1.27 1.2 1.25 572,000 707,990 SOLID GROUP 1.35 1.38 1.38 1.38 1.34 1.38 29,000 39,820 SYNERGY GRID 427.4 460 427.2 460 427.2 460 70 31,672 SM INVESTMENTS 960 969.5 964 972 956 960 119,440 114,957,375 29,540,820 SAN MIGUEL CORP 175.1 175.5 178.7 179 175 175.1 240,030 42,146,937 (15,973,990) SOC RESOURCES 0.86 0.87 0.86 0.88 0.84 0.87 1,691,000 1,456,290 WELLEX INDUS 0.233 0.24 0.235 0.235 0.235 0.235 600,000 141,000 (47,000) ZEUS HLDG 0.31 0.315 0.31 0.315 0.305 0.315 5,770,000 1,810,000 (504,350)

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.83 0.84 0.86 0.87 0.82 0.83 6,406,000 5,409,280 28,600 ANCHOR LAND 11 11.2 11 11 11 11 4,100 45,100 36,300 AYALA LAND 50.55 50.8 51.8 51.9 50.5 50.55 9,625,940 490,128,192.5 (46,071,479) ARANETA PROP 2.02 2.08 2 2.08 1.97 2.08 114,000 225,340 BELLE CORP 2.31 2.32 2.3 2.33 2.3 2.32 377,000 873,220 (71,700) A BROWN 0.84 0.85 0.8 0.85 0.79 0.84 7,484,000 6,178,100 (219,010) CITYLAND DEVT 0.93 0.94 0.93 0.94 0.93 0.94 9,000 8,450 CROWN EQUITIES 0.237 0.239 0.243 0.243 0.236 0.24 1,590,000 377,550 CEBU HLDG 6.06 6.15 6.15 6.15 6.03 6.15 106,400 644,620 (22,755) CEB LANDMASTERS 4.79 4.82 4.9 4.92 4.78 4.79 420,000 2,019,790 426,310 CENTURY PROP 0.59 0.6 0.58 0.6 0.58 0.6 25,398,000 14,987,870 186,350 CYBER BAY 0.455 0.46 0.46 0.49 0.445 0.46 11,880,000 5,562,650 DOUBLEDRAGON 25.2 25.25 25.95 25.95 25.1 25.2 355,800 9,085,150 (648,715) DM WENCESLAO 9.75 9.8 9.7 9.94 9.65 9.8 1,077,200 10,515,193 3 ,969,120.9998 EMPIRE EAST 0.475 0.48 0.475 0.48 0.47 0.48 2,360,000 1,116,200 (598,500) EVER GOTESCO 0.125 0.132 0.125 0.125 0.125 0.125 60,000 7,500 FILINVEST LAND 1.72 1.73 1.74 1.78 1.72 1.72 40,967,000 71,260,370 (42,776,330) GLOBAL ESTATE 1.29 1.3 1.27 1.29 1.27 1.29 873,000 1,119,310 (129,000) 8990 HLDG 15.92 15.96 16 16.3 15.82 15.96 1,851,200 29,820,328 (543,582) PHIL INFRADEV 1.81 1.82 1.85 1.85 1.81 1.81 6,296,000 11,465,730 217,660 CITY AND LAND 0.83 0.84 0.81 0.84 0.81 0.83 85,000 70,300 MEGAWORLD 6.01 6.02 6.1 6.15 6 6.01 9,345,200 56,610,217 5,144,096 MRC ALLIED 0.325 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.32 0.33 13,200,000 4,292,750 371,450 PHIL ESTATES 0.47 0.475 0.475 0.475 0.47 0.47 280,000 131,700 PRIMEX CORP 2.1 2.12 2.12 2.12 2.09 2.1 846,000 1,778,870 (203,680) ROBINSONS LAND 26.2 26.3 26 26.5 26 26.2 1,220,800 32,156,205 22,607,840 PHIL REALTY 0.405 0.41 0.41 0.42 0.405 0.405 570,000 231,400 ROCKWELL 2.09 2.1 2.15 2.16 2.08 2.09 319,000 670,700 (372,930) SHANG PROP 2.97 3 2.98 3 2.98 3 60,000 179,440 STA LUCIA LAND 1.91 1.95 1.95 1.99 1.95 1.95 828,000 1,622,540 (5,910) SM PRIME HLDG 38 38.2 38.5 38.9 38 38 10,669,700 407,392,215 (189,502,750) STARMALLS 6.55 6.57 6.62 6.62 6.4 6.57 309,900 2,022,380 SUNTRUST HOME 0.75 0.77 0.76 0.76 0.75 0.75 74,000 56,000 (38,000) VISTA LAND 7.06 7.12 7.05 7.12 7.04 7.12 2,914,100 20,687,334 (12,539,035)

SERVICES ABS CBN 17.1 17.2 17.2 17.22 17.08 17.1 71,100 1,217,206 GMA NETWORK 5.38 5.39 5.39 5.39 5.35 5.37 124,300 668,136 MANILA BULLETIN 0.53 0.54 0.54 0.54 0.52 0.54 296,000 157,690 MLA BRDCASTING 14.42 15.48 14.4 15.48 14.4 15.48 200 2,988 GLOBE TELECOM 2,200 2,208 2208 2,228 2,192 2,200 39,070 86,106,030 8,132,860 PLDT 1,299 1,300 1299 1,302 1,288 1,299 102,040 132,351,600 68,203,735 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.044 0.045 0.043 0.045 0.043 0.045 16,700,000 743,400 13,500 IMPERIAL 1.76 1.81 1.76 1.76 1.76 1.76 7,000 12,320 ISLAND INFO 0.118 0.119 0.118 0.12 0.118 0.118 1,170,000 138,350 ISM COMM 6.89 6.93 7.11 7.18 6.86 6.93 14,363,800 100,411,806 (4,493,670) JACKSTONES 3.04 3.17 3.01 3.33 3.01 3.2 443,000 1,393,700 NOW CORP 2.51 2.52 2.62 2.65 2.5 2.52 3,455,000 8,887,250 (63,490) TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.39 0.395 0.385 0.39 0.38 0.39 7,270,000 2,801,550 19,250 PHILWEB 3.53 3.55 3.44 3.55 3.38 3.54 2,790,000 9,667,080 149,010 2GO GROUP 11.14 11.2 11.24 11.36 11.2 11.2 20,700 232,672 2,244 ASIAN TERMINALS 20.6 21.3 20.6 21.5 20.6 20.6 3,900 82,725 CHELSEA 8.28 8.3 8.5 8.74 8.24 8.3 10,261,500 87,073,223 1,623,517 CEBU AIR 89.8 90.05 90 90.9 89 90.05 115,400 10,384,835.5 (1,727,583.5) INTL CONTAINER 143.1 144.8 143.6 145.8 143 144.8 656,780 94,793,648 18,229,501 LBC EXPRESS 14.32 14.88 14.88 14.88 14.88 14.88 1,200 17,856 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.81 0.83 0.83 0.84 0.81 0.83 111,000 90,220 MACROASIA 19.7 19.72 19.8 19.9 19.72 19.72 618,900 12,250,840 967,164 METROALLIANCE A 1.6 1.64 1.58 1.81 1.56 1.6 421,000 712,530 METROALLIANCE B 1.62 1.68 1.62 1.84 1.62 1.63 44,000 72,860 PAL HLDG 9.25 9.3 9.25 9.35 9.2 9.35 16,700 154,339 HARBOR STAR 2.23 2.24 2.23 2.26 2.22 2.23 1,493,000 3,329,890 ACESITE HOTEL 1.38 1.43 1.4 1.43 1.38 1.38 54,000 75,570 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.055 0.056 0.056 0.056 0.055 0.056 53,310,000 2,952,120 55,000 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.05 2.15 2.18 2.18 2.18 2.18 1,000 2,180 WATERFRONT 0.76 0.77 0.79 0.79 0.77 0.77 3,379,000 2,616,940 38,500 CENTRO ESCOLAR 7 7.21 7.01 7.05 7 7 14,200 99,920 70,500 FAR EASTERN U 890 895 890 890 890 890 16,000 14,240,000 IPEOPLE 9.96 10.1 10.12 10.2 10.1 10.1 5,700 57,590 (51,510) STI HLDG 0.76 0.77 0.74 0.77 0.73 0.76 13,516,000 10,219,460 2,651,700 BERJAYA 2.85 2.86 2.89 2.91 2.84 2.86 466,000 1,335,240 (65,780) BLOOMBERRY 11.3 11.34 11.2 11.42 11.18 11.3 4,533,100 51,092,696 (18,821,930) PACIFIC ONLINE 3.08 3.09 3.07 3.12 3.05 3.09 216,000 663,190 (43,490) LEISURE AND RES 4.16 4.19 4.22 4.22 4.14 4.16 589,000 2,452,320 71,000 MANILA JOCKEY 3.16 3.21 3.16 3.16 3.16 3.16 1,000 3,160 PH RESORTS GRP 5.4 5.41 5 5.45 5 5.41 543,900 2,899,930 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.79 0.8 0.79 0.8 0.78 0.79 2,794,000 2,206,060 (224,030) PHIL RACING 8.21 9.19 9.19 9.19 9.19 9.19 3,200 29,408 TRAVELLERS 5.3 5.34 5.26 5.42 5.22 5.3 4,342,600 22,946,266 (14,669,580) METRO RETAIL 2.63 2.64 2.64 2.66 2.63 2.64 3,046,000 8,061,980 52,800 PUREGOLD 44.5 45 45.1 45.1 44.35 44.5 439,700 19,697,845 987,705 ROBINSONS RTL 76.5 76.65 76 76.7 76 76.65 2,443,100 187,070,500.5 (9,644,113) PHIL SEVEN CORP 139 139.5 140 141 134.6 139 30,760 4,205,146 1,550,692 SSI GROUP 3.6 3.62 3.64 3.64 3.57 3.6 4,681,000 16,855,480 4,313,800 WILCON DEPOT 17.28 17.3 17.3 17.36 17.18 17.28 1,514,800 26,152,612 5,308,118 APC GROUP 0.47 0.475 0.48 0.485 0.47 0.47 2,600,000 1,226,400 EASYCALL 10.1 10.22 10.2 10.26 10.1 10.1 47,500 481,960 GOLDEN BRIA 398 407.8 397.4 409 397.4 407.8 2,200 895,212 IPM HLDG 5.85 6 6 6 6 6 2,000 12,000 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.83 0.84 0.82 0.86 0.81 0.84 30,279,000 25,400,620 (2,033,110) SBS PHIL CORP 9.3 9.4 9.4 9.4 9.38 9.4 17,000 159,580

MINING & OIL ATOK 11.44 12.38 12.3 12.38 12.2 12.38 1,300 16,000 APEX MINING 1.27 1.28 1.23 1.29 1.23 1.27 5,591,000 7,112,190 (590,140) ABRA MINING 0.0018 0.0019 0 0.0019 0.0019 0.0018 0.0019 124,000,000 227,100 ATLAS MINING 2.7 2.8 2.78 2.8 2.65 2.65 275,000 736,300 BENGUET A 1.18 1.2 1.18 1.18 1.18 1.18 13,000 15,340 BENGUET B 1.14 1.33 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.14 7,000 7,980 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.285 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 1,240,000 347,200 CENTURY PEAK 2.8 2.82 2.8 2.8 2.79 2.8 222,000 620,540 (19,600) DIZON MINES 8 8.01 7.58 8.09 7.45 8.01 34,900 266,495 FERRONICKEL 1.49 1.5 1.46 1.49 1.44 1.49 21,088,000 31,404,610 1,178,010 GEOGRACE 0.219 0.226 0.233 0.233 0.22 0.226 460,000 102,450 (2,250) LEPANTO A 0.115 0.117 0.115 0.118 0.111 0.115 4,700,000 540,950 LEPANTO B 0.122 0.128 0.125 0.128 0.116 0.122 3,090,000 377,200 (169,580) MANILA MINING A 0.0079 0.008 0 0.0076 0.008 0.0076 0.008 17,000,000 133,500 MANILA MINING B 0.008 0.0082 0 0.0079 0.008 0.0079 0.008 10,000,000 79,700 MARCVENTURES 1.02 1.06 1.03 1.03 1.02 1.02 154,000 158,280 65,780 NIHAO 0.98 1.02 1.01 1.02 0.98 0.98 75,000 75,910 NICKEL ASIA 2.26 2.27 2.18 2.26 2.15 2.26 4,356,000 9,574,620 (868,250) ORNTL PENINSULA 0.86 0.87 0.86 0.87 0.85 0.86 221,000 189,850 PX MINING 3.79 3.8 3.69 3.8 3.65 3.8 3,098,000 11,648,040 (169,730) SEMIRARA MINING 22.4 22.45 22.1 22.5 22 22.4 3,215,400 71,886,180 (31,167,570) UNITED PARAGON 0.0064 0.0068 0 0.0063 0.0067 0.0063 0.0064 15,000,000 97,100 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 5,800,000 67,800 ORNTL PETROL B 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 5,300,000 58,300 (36,300) PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 14,900,000 154,000 PHINMA PETRO 4.69 4.7 4.27 4.9 4.25 4.69 1,834,000 8,461,790 PXP ENERGY 7.8 7.85 7.7 7.88 7.67 7.85 960,300 7,465,263 58,600

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B2 DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 FGEN PREF G GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2I

94.1 487 98.6 963 105.6 902 903.5 0.98 100.1 99.9 986 1,000 990 1,001 74.8 75.75 73.5 73 73.25 72.95

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

16.8 5.16

96.95 490 99.9 979.5 108.8 910 950 0.99 100.3 101.8 998 1,019 1,000 1,010 75.2 76.2 73.85 73.85 74.3 73

95.1 486 99.9 963 108 900 902 0.99 100.4 101.8 998 1000 985.5 1000 74.65 75.9 73.5 73.9 73.25 73

95.1 490 99.9 963 108.8 900 950 0.99 100.4 101.8 998 1,000 992 1,010 75.5 75.95 73.5 73.9 73.25 73

94 486 99.9 963 105.5 900 902 0.99 100.1 101.8 998 1,000 985.5 1,000 74.65 75.6 73.5 73.9 73.25 73

94.1 490 99.9 963 108.8 900 950 0.99 100.1 101.8 998 1,000 990 1,010 75.5 75.6 73.5 73.9 73.25 73

3,380 820 250 40 820 500 1,960 84,000 15,310 100 1,100 15 2,000 1,600 290 12,100 35,000 1,000 360 6,640

319,108.5 401,000 24,975 38,520 88,245 450,000 1,861,040 83,160 1,534,611 10,180 1,097,800 15,000 1,978,245 1,612,750 21,784.5 917,540 2,572,500 73,900 26,370 484,720

9,630 (17,820) (1,097,800) 49,500 487,175 131,484 73,900 48,910

17 5.5

16.84 5.48

16.84 5.48

16.82 5.48

16.82 5.48

33,700 11,100

567,064 60,828

(555,290) -

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.94

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS XURPAS

4.88 1.08

1.98

1.95

1.95

1.91

1.95

290,000

560,430

-

4.9 1.1

4.96 1.1

4.97 1.1

4.9 1.07

4.9 1.08

386,000 3,379,000

1,899,730 3,652,690

121,360

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

120

120.5

121

121

120.5

120.5

7,820

943,693

439,084

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Should you buy your own club share?

F

OR many executives, being a member of a country club has become part and parcel of their perks and privileges. Making use of country club facilities to entertain customers, government officials and business associates is quite common and has even become an expectation. There is also a great deal of prestige in companies to have their senior executives play golf in the more exclusive golf clubs.

Without a doubt, being a member in an exclusive country club is a plus in promoting the business interests of both the company and the executive plus has many advantages for his or her family, relatives and friends. The big question is, should you buy your own club share? Many people may take this for granted and just enjoy being the corporate representative or assignee of the said share. Why not? You don’t have to spend for acquiring the share and all the monthly dues and expenses are charged to the company!

There are a number of things you should think about. First is, unless you own the company yourself, it is a certainty that regardless of how high your position is in the company, your services will not be forever. In due time, you will have to retire from your job or some unfortunate event may end your employment with the company. This means that your membership in the country club will also end. A double whammy!

Second, there is a membership hierarchy that you may not be aware of. While there may not be any differences in membership rights, country club management and staff know your membership status. At the peak is the Proprietary Member, where the owner and member is the same person. Followed by the Corporate Member, where the company is the owner and the member is one of their directors or officers. Finally, we have the Assignee Member, where the owner of the share has assigned his rights to a third party to use the club facilities.

Third consideration is the appreciation of the country club share.

While it is true that the price of any asset could go up or down, it would be nice if you can discern if

FINEX FREE ENTERPRISE George Chua something is undervalued and has a good upside potential. What this means is that you would be better off buying your own country club share if the share price will go up.

More than 30 years ago I bought my Alabang Country Club share for P125,000 and the last transaction was at P7,500,000, which yields an annualized rate of return of 200 percent for the last 30 years!

Is it too late to buy a country club share? You do the math yourself.

Typically, you just need to determine the current market value of the properties/assets owned by the country club, which will probably be mostly real estate and deduct all the liabilities and encumbrances. Divide this by the total shares issued and outstanding and you get a rough idea of what the country club share price should be. If you see that the current share price is in multiples less than the calculated per-capita share value, then you may want to consider buying that particular country club share and become a Proprietary Member.

Finally, having your own share allows you uninterrupted membership regardless of your employment or career situation. There are also many prestigious clubs that offer life membership for Proprietary Members that have kept their uninterrupted membership in the club for 30 or so years, so by the time you retire, you could transfer your share to your children or even sell it and still be able to use the club facilities you have grown accustomed to! Of course depending on the club, terms and conditions will vary.

This is potentially a great way to enjoy your investment and make a lot of money in the process as well! I wish all of you happy hunting and hope to see you in the golf course! Comments may be sent to georgechuaph@yahoo.com.

Makati’s P12-B collection for 5 months is 71% of revenue goal for entire 2019

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HE city government of Makati has collected a total of P12.1 billion in revenue as of May 31, which was equivalent to 71 percent of the P17.12-billion revenue target for the entire year, Mayor Abigail Binay announced.

Binay also expressed confidence that the city will again surpass its revenue target for the year, as it had done in the past three years.

“At the rate we are going, we expect to surpass our full-year revenue target before this December. With our stable financial standing, we will be able to implement new initiatives and enhance current programs and services for Makatizens,” Binay said.

Major projects that the mayor has vowed to pursue as she starts her second term this July include the upgrading of public school facilities to befit the digital age, continuing modernization of the Ospital ng Makati in Pembo and the completion of the new state-of-the-art hospital in Malugay, and the establishment of a public columbarium offering free cremation and inurnment services to city residents.

In a report to the mayor, City Treasurer Jesusa Cuneta stated that as of May 31, 2019, the city collected P12,155,881,631.06, and has attained 66 percent of its target collections from Business Tax and 95 percent of its target for Real Property Tax. From January to May, collections from Business Tax reached P6.4 billion out of the P9.8-billion target, while Real Property Tax payments generated P4.5 billion of the almost

P4.8-billion goal.

According to the Business Permits Office (BPO), the city has registered 2,477 new businesses as of June 21, with combined capital investment amounting to P23.3 billion. In the same period, a total of 34,542 businesses renewed their permits, reporting a combined sales of P1.4 trillion.

The city has also derived income from other sources, including Fees and Charges, P531.1 million; Economic Enterprises P76.8 million; Interest Income, P106.5 million; and Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), P494.1 million.

Meanwhile, the mayor has announced that 31 satellite realty tax payment centers will be opened by the Office of the City Treasurer on scheduled dates in various barangays starting July 2, Tuesday, for real property owners with taxes due this third quarter.

“Real property owners in the city are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity, as it would help them save time, energy and transportation expenses,” she said.

Through the Realty Tax Division under the finance department, the city government ensures the efficiency of services at the satellite payment centers, where each transaction usually takes a maximum of five minutes. Taxpayers only need to present their previous receipt and pay the taxes due to receive an electronic receipt.

The payment centers will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to accept payments.

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Liquidity prompts investors to remain betting on T-bills

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HE Bureau of the Treasury has awarded the full amount offered in its latest auction for Treasury bills (T-bills), as liquidity is still in the market with inflation remaining tepid.

Deputy Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza told reporters the auction committee decided to award the full P15 billion for the T-bills up for auction on Tuesday.

“We’re very happy [with the result] but we think the market is still, to some extent, on a waitand-see [mode]. For one, there’s

the talk between [US President Donald] Trump [and Xi Jinping] during the G-20 [summit],” Almanza said. “And the result of possible revision of the June inflation target of the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] also they will be releasing it this week, their forecast for June. And the easing mode for

both the Fed [Federal Reserve System] and the BSP.” The 91-day T-bill was awarded the full P4 billion on offer with tenders for the security amounting to P11.140 billion.

The average annual rate for the security settled at 4.385 percent, lower by 6.8 basis points from the previous rate of 4.453 percent.

Bids for the 183-day T-bill amounted to P16.850 billion with the auction committee awarding the full P5 billion on offer.

The average annual rate for the security settled at 4.723 percent, posting a decline of 13.3 basis points compared to the previous auction rate of 4.856 percent.

DOF begins steps in disposal of government’s idle assets

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HE Department of Finance (DOF) has ordered the Privatization and Management Office (PMO) and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) to discuss with the Commission on Audit (COA) how to dispose of the government’s idle assets.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has directed the PMO and the PDIC to discuss with state-run banks, as well as the COA ways on relaxing stringent auditing rules that officials believe have long hobbled government efforts to dispose of its idle assets.

“I want a meeting organized with the COA, mainly with the two [state] banks we have; the Central Bank may want to participate. [We need to] tell them that this COA requirement that we sell at market value isn’t working because we just keep on adding to the titles particularly with the PDIC, and we’re just getting overwhelmed,” Dominguez said at a recent meeting of the DOF’s Executive Committee.

According to the finance chief, COA Circular 89-296 requiring the sale of unproductive state assets at their appraised values has hampered, rather than facilitated, efforts by the government to dispose of these idle properties.

The PMO, which is an attached agency of the DOF, said the PDIC, Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) are among the state agencies that have been unable to sell many of their idle but serviceable properties because of the COA circular.

The COA circular states that such assets should be divested either through public auction, negotiated sale, barter, or transfer to other government agencies based on their “appraised value[s].”

Chief Privatization Officer Gerard L. Chan reported to Dominguez that the PMO alone has some 28,000 land titles to dispose of, while the PDIC has around 23,000 more.

Chan said the PMO is not covered by the 30-year-old COA circular.

“This was made clear by the state audit agency in a memo issued on November 20, 2017, which states that COA Circular 89-296 does not apply to foreclosed assets held by PMO and sold in the ordinary course of business and the assets/properties held by the PMO pursuant to Proclamation 50 and sold in the regular course of its business are not within the purview of COA Circular 89-296,” Chan said.

The finance chief explained that rather than continuing the imposition of an ineffective set of rules to dispose of idle assets, the government would be better off selling them at discounted prices that would attract more buyers, which then would be able to redevelop these properties for productive or commercial use.

“The objective is to ask COA to cooperate with us and propose ways of turning these assets into cash, because cash helps the economy,” Dominguez added.

“Selling it even at a discount allows [these assets] to be redeveloped and used. Right now, it’s just an expense.”

Unproductive or idle state assets were pointed out to only add to the state’s financial burden, considering that taxes have to be paid and personnel have to be hired to keep these properties serviceable.

Dominguez instructed Chan to determine the number of land titles and properties held by the DOF, LandBank, DBP and other state agencies and government-owned and -controlled corporations in preparation for the planned discussions with COA officials. Rea Cu

The 364-day T-bill was also awarded the full P6 billion on offer as bids for the security amounted to P22.016 billion.

Its average annual rate settled at 4.986 percent, recording a 6.4-basispoint reduction from the previous auction rate of 5.050 percent.

In May, monetary authorities moved to cut the deposit requirement on smaller banks in the system, after earlier cutting the rates for the universal and commercial banks reserve requirement ratio (RRR).

The Monetary Board also decided to cut the RRR of thrift banks by 2 percentage points to 6 percent.

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Customs exec: Hacking an attempt to derail BOC’s computerization

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USTOMS Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero considered the hacking of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) web site on Monday evening as an attempt by criminals to derail the bureau’s computerization program.

Guerrero said in a statement issued on Tuesday “the computerization program of the bureau is designed to promote efficiency, transparency and eradicate graft and corruption.”

The BOC said it has already coordinated with the country’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-PH) under the Cybersecurity Bureau of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the agency hosting the web site of the BOC. CERT-PH is mandated to provide proactive government countermeasures to address and anticipate all domestic and transnational incidents affecting the Philippine cyberspace and any cyber-security threats to the country.

The BOC web site header was defaced with “Hacked by Ultimate Haxor” when it was hacked last Monday evening.

On June 17, the BOC launched six computer information programs in line with its modernization efforts, a move that is also seen to enhance the ease of doing business with the bureau and all ports nationwide.

Guerrero said in a forum that the modernization of its computer systems, which aims to eliminate

or lessen human interaction in line with BOC processes, is also meant to cut the opportunities for corruption.

The Customs chief explained that with the systems put in place, customs clearance, for example, can be processed in just around three hours if all documentary requirements are submitted.

Guerrero added that the computer information systems upgrade forms only the first part of its plan to completely modernize the bureau with the help of multilateral agencies.

The BOC launched these programs: n Customer Care, to provide quick answers to inquiries submitted by stakeholders; n Document Tracking System, to efficiently track documents being processed in the different offices of the bureau; n Goods Declaration and Verification System, which is a queuing management system that enables the real-time tracking of goods by its stakeholders; n National Value Verification System, which serves as a guide for assessment personnel to determine the accuracy of the declared value of goods in shipments, enabling the bureau to collect accurate duties and taxes; n Alert Order Monitoring System, to track the status of alert orders; and n BOC Dashboard, a one-stop platform showing the real-time updates about the operations in the bureau and all ports nationwide. Rea Cu

Ty family’s insurance company posts 23% TPI growth in 2018

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HILIPPINE AXA Life Insurance Corp., a subsidiary of Ty familyheld GT Capital Holdings Inc., said it posted robust growth in 2018.

In a statement, AXA Life said it attributes its 2018 accomplishment to the consistent performance of its distribution channels, especially agency sales.

The company claims to have outperformed its peers among the top 5 players in the industry while registering faster growth in key contributors to total premium income (TPI) versus industry, according to the 2018 rankings recently released by the Insurance Commission.

To note, the ranking, which was based on net premiums written, gross premiums written, assets, net worth and net income, released in the last week of May excluded AXA. AXA’s agency sales performance registered the highest TPI growth at

23 percent, thus making it the fastest-growing agency among its closest competitors for the second year in a row.

“We thank the men and women, the dedicated sales teams of our agencies for their hard work and commitment,” said Philippine AXA Life Insurance President and CEO Rahul Hora was quoted in the statement as saying. “Without them, AXA Philippines would not have been able to propagate our mission of empowering people to live better lives by securing their financial future.”

The company said its sales also received a boost with the opening of seven new agency branches in strategic locations in Binondo, La Union, Greenhills, Fairview, Vigan, Daet, Malolos and Marikina, bringing its agency network to over 40 branches, housing more than 5,000 exclusive agents.

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SM MEGAMALL IS P.R.A. SHOPPING CENTER OF THE YEAR FOR LARGE CATEGORY SENSODYNE HELPS GEN Z OVERCOME TOOTH SENSITIVITY

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ESEARCH has shown that as many as one in three people may suffer from tooth hypersensitivity, or pangingilo, with prevalence peaking between 30 and 40 years of age. But in a study, two out of five younger adults, between 18 and 25 years old, otherwise known as “Generation Z”, now experience the onset of tooth sensitivity.

Tooth sensitivity is a common,

irreversible problem caused by dentine exposure brought about by attrition from tooth grinding or jaw clenching, erosion from dietary acids or abrasion from brushing too vigorously. However, it can be managed with proper dental hygiene.

In a recent event dubbed “Face the Race”, leading oral health-care brand Sensodyne launched the new Sensodyne Rapid Relief toothpaste, which provides

sufferers with speed and efficiency in beating tooth sensitivity. “With Sensodyne Rapid Relief, those who suffer from pangingilo can experience immediate relief from the first time they brush so they can continue enjoying their food-bonding experiences with minimal distraction from their teeth,” says Ritesh Pandey, GlaxoSmithKline Philippines consumer health care general manager.

When used as directed, the unique technology in Sensodyne Rapid Relief toothpaste offers fast relief and longlasting protection to beat sensitivity. It has an active ingredient called stannous fluoride, which enables faster blockage of the tubules. It also has an optimised polymer system that creates a gel-like scaffold, which holds the stannous fluoride in place, preventing it from being washed away in the mouth. The Sensodyne Rapid Relief toothpaste retails at P208 SRP and is available at leading stores nationwide.

In photo are (from left) GlaxoSmithKline consumer health care detailer manager Robelle Venzon, expert sales manager Michael Mallari, Pandey, oral health category lead Leanne Jacinto, sales director Dhanica Tiu, trade marketing head Katrina Mangubat and trade marketing manager Katherine Sayon.

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M Megamall was named the Shopping Center of the Year for the large category at the recent 21st Outstanding Filipino Retailers and Shopping Centers of the Year Awards held at the Makati Shangri-La Rizal ballroom.

The 474,000-square-meter shopping center was honored in the large category. It is home to over 1,000 stores and has average foot traffic of 500,00 during weekend. True to its promise of “Endless Shopping, Endless Discoveries”, SM Megamall offers a complete and comprehensive tenant mix.

Widely known to have spearheaded the malling phenomenon in the Philippines, when it opened in 1991, SM Megamall is known to have revolutionized many exciting retail and leisure concepts. Earlier these included the Artwalk and Art Center’s gallery in the mall, which brought art closer to shoppers; the Mega Trade Hall; and an ice-skating rink highlighted the Filipino’s fire on ice by winning many world championships.

In 2008 the Mega Atrium was built, bridging the gap between Mega A and Mega B with exciting restaurants and retail concepts, as well as the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord.

SM Megamall Building C, which was built in 2011, has the biggest Department of Foreign Affairs satellite branch for passport applications and renewals, BPO locator Convergys, and six levels of parking to serve customers.

More recent, it has become a premier shopping, dining and lifestyle destination with the opening of the Mega Fashion

Hall, its game-changing wing in 2014. Known as the home of global flagships, it is the space for big-format high street fashion and lifestyle brands, as well as exciting international dining concepts, including Michelin star restaurants.

The Mega Fashion Hall is also the base of upgraded leisure and entertainment offerings, such as the Olympicsized ice-skating rink, a fully computerized 14 lane-bowling alley, an Imax and Director’s Club cinema.

SM Megamall continues to grow with the opening of the Mega Tower in 2020, which will include offices, six levels of parking, retail shops, an Edsa driveway and digital art.

As a responsible member of the community, SM Megamall has spearheaded many corporate socialresponsibility projects, such as handicap-friendly facilities; and environmental endeavors, like a sewage-treatment plant and the Trash for Crash recycling programs.

The annual search for the Outstanding Filipino Retailers seeks to recognize Filipino retailers who have epitomized the model of a successful retailer in terms of growth and good ethical business practices.

Philippine Retailer’s Association introduced the Shopping Centers of the Year category in 2002, which recognize the Philippines’ world-class shopping centers’ part in promoting the growth and development of the retail industry.

BOOK ON PHILIPPINE JESUITS BAGS GOLD QUILL

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COFFEE-TABLE book on the mission of the Jesuits in the Philippines has earned for the country a Gold Quill (Award of Merit) from the prestigious International Association of Business Communicators this year.

On the March, with Fr. Jose S. Arcilla, SJ, as principal writer, edited by John Nery, and copublished by Manuel P. Engwa and Ramoncito Ocampo-Cruz of Media Wise Communications/Muse Books, was recognized for “exhibiting high-quality writing and superior production values,” according to the IABC awards committee.

The book chronicles the Jesuits’ ministry of education and the many aspects of their apostolate in the Philippines as they bring the faith to the most remote corners of the archipelago.

“On the March presents memories of the struggle and glory of the Jesuits who came by boat, hiked up the mountains, rode rickety rafts, went on horseback and then on foot to reach distant and sometimes treacherous missions,” said copublisher and Media Wise President and Chief Executive Officer Ocampo-Cruz.

While there were setbacks and unexpected twists and turns, there was always a sense of constant movement in the Jesuit mission, Cruz added.

Cruz received the award on June 11 at the 2019 IABC World Conference in Vancouver, Canada.

On the March is a fund-raising project for the Philippine Jesuit Aid Association, which helps elderly, retired and infirm Jesuits. PJAA is headed by Fr. Jose Quilongquilong, SJ. “This honor is not just ours alone,” Cruz said. “It shows that Filipino firms, even small ones, have the talent and the discipline to deliver world-class results.”

Media Wise is one of only five Filipino teams to have been given the Gold Quill by IABC: Jollibee Foods Corp. and Stratworks Inc., Aboitiz Group, PAGEONE Group and the

Center for Health Solutions and Innovations Philippines Inc., and ABS-CBN Corp.

This is Media Wise’s second Gold Quill from the San Francisco-based IABC, with this year’s winners coming from 10 countries.

Two years ago Media Wise received its first Merit Award for Jesuits In Mindanao: The Mission, yet another book on the Jesuits. This book also won the Philippine Quill Award of Excellence for Publications under the Communications Skills Division at the 2013 Quill Awards, and another at the IABC Asian Pacific Silver Quill Awards held in Singapore in 2017.

IABC’s Gold Quill Awards have recognized excellence in strategic communication worldwide for the past 40 years. Since 2008 there have been 4,451 projects entered in the Gold Quill Awards.

“Only exceptional work earns an IABC Gold Quill Award,” said Cindy Schmieg ABC, IABC fellow and chairman of the awards committee. “[The] Gold Quill award winners demonstrate a mastery of all elements of strategic communication and have measurable business results to prove their success,” said Stephanie Doute, CAE, executive director of IABC. This year On the March is the only entry from the Philippines under the Publications category, which falls under the Communication Skills division.

“The book is well-organized, consistent...from the beginning to end. It flows well. It’s clear that [Media Wise] brought together the right mix of interviewers, writers, designers and publishers to produce a high-quality communication vehicle,” the committee said.

“Its heavy use of photography, art work and postproduction treatments make most of the spreads in the book­, an invitation to dive in and learn. This book is easy to flip through and dive into the stories on every page.”

US health officials eye Mutombo’s help for Ebola outbreak in Congo

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EW YORK—Unable to send disease fighters to help battle one of the deadliest Ebola outbreaks in history, US health officials are turning to basketball hall of famer Dikembe Mutombo for help.

Mutombo, regarded as one of the greatest defensive players in National Basketball Association (NBA) history and a well-known philanthropist in his native Congo, recorded radio and video spots designed to persuade people to take precautions and get care that might stop the disease’s spread.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began posting the spots on Monday on its YouTube channel and on the agency’s web site. Officials are trying to get radio and TV stations in the Democratic Republic of Congo to air them.

More than 2,200 people have been reported ill—and about 1,500 have died—since an Ebola

outbreak was declared in August in eastern Congo. It is the second deadliest outbreak of the lethal virus, which jumps from person to person quickly through close contact with bodily fluids.

Rebel attacks and community resistance have hurt Ebola response work in Congo. A World Health Organization doctor was killed in April, health centers have been attacked and armed groups have repeatedly threatened health workers. Because of safety concerns, the US State Department last year ordered CDC disease specialists to stay out of the outbreak areas.

Mutombo, who moved to the US in the 1980s intending to pursue a medical degree, told The Associated Press he understands where the distrust comes from.

“Someone who doesn’t look like you, who doesn’t think like you, who is not from your village, who is from other places, just walk to your village with a nice

DIKEMBE MUTOMBO records Ebola messages for US health officials. AP

Sports

beautiful white truck and telling you...‘inject this chemical into your body to protect you from this deadly virus.’

That’s where there’s a fight. This is where we’re having a conflict,” he said.

“How do you build that trust? That’s the big problem we’re having in the Congo,” he said. “I believe as a son of Congo, I think my voice can be heard. Because everyone in the country knows my commitment to the humanity and the health.”

The idea for the PSA was sparked in February when Mutombo, a member of the CDC Foundation’s governing board who lives in Atlanta, was talking with Dr. Robert Redfield, the CDC’s director.

“We are deeply appreciative of his interest to try to get accurate information to the community,” Redfield said.

Mutombo, who turns 53 on Tuesday, previously did public service announcements focused on polio and yellow fever. A dozen years ago, his foundation established a 300-bed hospital on the outskirts of his hometown of Kinshasa.

The new spots were recorded in Kiswahili, French and Lingala. They talk about recognizing the early signs of Ebola, early treatment and prevention measures. AP

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| Wednesday, June 26, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

GIANNIS S

By Beth Harris The Associated Press

ANTA MONICA, California—The Milwaukee Bucks fell two games short of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.

They won big at the NBA

Awards.

A tearful Giannis Antetokounmpo earned Most Valuable Player honors, Mike Budenholzer won Coach of the Year, and Jon Horst took Executive of the Year on Monday night in Santa Monica.

Antetokounmpo, a 24-year-old forward from Greece, beat out Paul George of Oklahoma City and James Harden of Houston, who won last year.

Antetokounmpo was a resounding winner.

He received 941 points and 78 first-place votes in the balloting—165 points more than Harden.

Harden finished second with 776 points and 23 first-place votes.

“MVP is not about stats and numbers, and obviously James Harden had unbelievable numbers and Paul George also, but obviously it’s about winning,” Antetokounmpo said backstage. “We created great habits throughout the season and were able to stick by them, and that’s why we were able to have a chance in every single game we played and were able to win 60 games.”

The show had an international flair, with three international players besides Antetokounmpo winning.

Antetokounmpo averaged 27.7 points and 12.5 rebounds while earning All-NBA firstteam honors this season, his sixth with the Bucks. He led the franchise to the best record in the regular season and the Bucks reached the Eastern Conference finals.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as Antetokounmpo thanked his mother Veronica and brothers in the audience at Barker Hangar. He credited his late father for pushing him toward his goals and his teammates and coaching staff for their help.

“We started from nothing as a family,” he said, “and we are going to be in every stage that we can be as a family.”

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO is a resounding winner. He receives 941 points and 78 first-place votes in the balloting—165 points more than James Harden. AP

Antetokounmpo said backstage that he had vowed to his family he wasn’t going to cry.

“When you hear your name up there on the stage and then you realize these years of hard work, what you did in the past, then you start getting emotional,” he said.

Budenholzer also got choked up while thanking his family after his second coaching honor. He earned the trophy for the first time with Atlanta in 2015.

He guided the Bucks to a 60-22 record in the regular season in his first year with the franchise, leading them to the Eastern Conference finals, where they lost to eventual NBA champion Toronto.

“What they did on the court this year, including the playoffs, was special,” Budenholzer said backstage. “We weren’t good enough in the end, but we certainly feel like we have enough talent, we have enough character to be a team that’s playing in the finals and winning a championship.”

Budenholzer also coached Team Giannis in the All-Star Game last season.

He beat out Denver’s Mike Malone and Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Horst was honored in voting by his fellow NBA executives, while the six biggest awards were determined in voting by a global media panel.

Lou Williams was voted the Sixth Man of the Year for the second season in a row and third time in his career, tying former Los Angeles Clipper guard Jamal Crawford.

The guard won for the first time in 2015 with Toronto.

Williams beat out teammate Montrezl Harrell, with whom he formed the highestscoring bench duo in NBA history last season, and Domantas Sabonis of Indiana.

Williams became the career leader in points off the bench during the season.

“This one was different because I kind of went into the season wanting this one. In years past I always just played and lived with whatever happened,” he said. “I felt like this one was going to be a legacy piece.”

Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz won Defensive Player of the Year

! for the second straight season.

The 26-year-old center from France beat out Antetokounmpo and George.

“I never thought I would be able to do that when I started basketball playing in France,” Gobert said backstage. “I didn’t know an NBA player, I didn’t know nothing about basketball. I was just having fun.”

Pascal Siakam of the NBA champion Toronto Raptors earned Most Improved Player.

The 25-year-old from Cameroon averaged 16.9 points and started 79 of 80 regularseason games for the Raptors in his third year with the team.

Siakam had 26 20-point outings after scoring 20 points in a game only once in his first two seasons. He then scored 32 points in Game One of the NBA Finals.

Siakam beat out De’Aaron Fox of Sacramento and D’Angelo Russell of Brooklyn.

Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks easily won Rookie of the Year.

The 20-year-old small forward from Slovenia accepted his trophy from RJ Barrett, who went to the New York Knicks as the No. 3 pick in the NBA draft last week.

Doncic was the No. 3 pick last year.

The other finalists were Deandre Ayton of Phoenix and Trae Young of Atlanta.

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson shared the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The former rivals took turns holding their trophies while each other spoke.

Bird said the NBA is in good hands with today’s talented athletes and he urged them to keep the game the same so it continues on for future generations.

Johnson starred for the Los Angeles Lakers and Bird with the Boston Celtics.

Mike Conley Jr., newly traded to the Utah Jazz, claimed trophies for Teammate and Sportsmanship of the Year.

Conley earned the awards for his 12-year tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies.

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WATCH OUT FOR BARTY!

Simple ceremony kicks off NCAA Season 95 on July 7

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HE National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is preparing a simple yet elegant opening ceremony to usher in Season 95 of the league two weeks from now.

Peter Cayco of host Arellano University said the NCAA Management Committee of which he is the chairman, has decided to do away with a special guest speaker during the July 7 opener and instead will just have the games declared open by the league’s Policy Board President Francisco Cayco.

“We’re deviating a little from the usual. We will have no special guests or even guest speakers. Our Policy Board president will only declare the season open,” said Cayco in detailing the program preceding the opening day doubleheader at the Mall of Asia Arena starting at 12 noon.

“Each of the 10 presidents of the 10 universities or schools will have their time to give their messages to be played during the opening ceremony,” he added.

Instead, the host school has prepared a colorful setting that centers on Filipiniana and pistahan tradition of the Filipinos.

“That’s the theme showcasing all the member schools and not just the host school,” stressed Cayco in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday at the Amelie Hotel-Manila where he appeared as guest along with commissioner for basketball Tonichi Pujante.

The games remain the staple attraction of the country’s oldest collegiate league, with the centerpiece event of basketball kicking off hostilities for the new season.

Letran battles back-to-back runner-up Lyceum in the 2 p.m. curtain raiser followed by the main game between Arellano and three-time defending champion San Beda at 4 p.m.

Globe backs cerebral palsy football day

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LOBE supported athletes with cerebral palsy (CP) through the recent First CP Football Day where kids with cerebral palsy from Metro Manila and nearby provinces gathered for a friendly game of football at the La Salle Greenhills in Mandaluyong City.

Around 50 CP individuals ran and kicked the football to their hearts’ content despite the scorching afternoon heat.

“The mothers told me to bring my child and just try it out. I was surprised that my child can kick the ball,” said Marinela Kaabay whose eldest child Kenneth has cerebral palsy among other disabilities.

“I didn’t expect that he can do it because he was never involved in any sport before. I realized that I should have brought my child before to this kind of activity,” Kaabay added.

The First CP Football Day is just one of the efforts to have more children with CP get into sports. It received a big boost when Globe Telecom entered into a partnership with the Henry V. Moran Foundation, the Philippine Sports Association of the Differently Abled and CP Football Philippines, the prime movers of CP football in the country.

Globe gave the foundation and its beneficiaries the much-needed communications platform to reach individuals with CP who live in various parts of the country who may be interested in football.

The program also complements Globe Telecom’s “TM Sports Para sa Bayan,” a longterm program that helps kids develop and grow in a sport that they love.

“We want to use the power of sports to make a difference in the lives of individuals especially those who belong to the marginalized sectors of society. Over the past several years, Globe has gone beyond business by offering basketball and football development programs to underprivileged kids,” said Miguel Bermundo, head of Globe Citizenship and Advocacy.

“This time, we want to extend our support to individuals with cerebral palsy and help them pursue their dreams,” Bermundo added.

CP Football is similar to a regular football game but the rules were tweaked to make the sport more attractive, accessible and fit for those with cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions. The playing field is smaller and game time lasts for one hour with a 15-minute half-time break.

Aside from having fun, the event also ushered CP football in the Philippines, as well as the search for CP individuals with the potential to become members of the “CP Rascals,” the team that will represent the Philippines in the 2022 Asian Para Games.

With the exception of Arellano, San Beda, Lyceum, and Letran are the teams to beat in men’s basketball this season, according to Cayco in the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Aside from basketball, other sports at stake this season include volleyball, swimming, athletics, taekwondo, lawn tennis, chess, football, beach volleyball, soft tennis, badminton and table tennis.

This season, the women’s lawn tennis will finally become a regular part of the league calendar to be followed by cheerleading next year.

Also starting this season, the NCAA will start handing out a Perpetual Trophy to the school, which will win the seniors general championship three straight years.

A special trophy has been crafted for the school that will achieve the special feat.

NEW world No. 1 Ash Barty’s rapid rise could be just a start. AP

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MANAGEMENT Committee Chairman Peter Cayco of host Arellano University and basketball commissioner Tonichi Pujante address question’s in Tuesday’s forum.

SH BARTY never had been ranked inside the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) top 10 until April. As of Monday, she is No. 1.

The 23-year-old Australian never had been as far as the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam tournament until January. As of this month, she is the French Open champion—and as of next week, she’ll be among the favorites to win Wimbledon.

“It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for me,” Barty said. “A whirlwind year.”

Sure has. Given the skills and all-court capability she’s displayed, along with the strong head on her shoulders thanks in part to a hiatus from the tennis tour while playing professional cricket, there is little reason to think this rapid rise will be anything but the start of a long run for Barty.

GREEN MAKES WEBB PROUD C

HASKA, Minnesota—In the middle of the night before the most important round of golf in Hannah Green’s life, a storm rolled through that produced a crack of thunder loud enough to shake the house she was staying at with a handful of fellow Australians.

Green didn’t stir, as housemate Karrie Webb was glad to find out the following morning.

“If you get a good night’s sleep sitting on the lead going into the last day,” Webb said, “then you’re going to carry yourself really well.”

Though there were some stormy holes for Green in the middle of the final round of the Women’s Professional Golf Association Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club on Sunday, the 22-year-old Australian used a steely performance down the stretch

to secure her first career victory with a nine-under 279 that made her the third wireto-wire winner in the history of the event.

Just as her demeanor at the Aussie house suggested she would.

“The way she carries herself on the golf course and how she is mentally, she was made to win golf tournaments on the LPGA, made to win majors,” said Webb, who was the last Australian to win a major at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in California in 2006.

Green was in front after the first round.

She pushed her lead to three strokes on Friday, only to have it cut back to one after the third round. Then on this cool, gray on Sunday with an occasional light drizzle, Green posted three bogeys in a four-hole stretch to see her lead over Sung-hyun Park dwindled to one with six holes to go.

She birdied the signature lakeside 16th

hole, though, and saved par on the 18th with a masterful blast out of the bunker to get within 5 feet for a no-problem putt. Once Green calmly knocked the ball into the cup, a handful of her friends with inside-the-ropes access and Australian-flag-adorned apparel rushed onto the green and doused her with shaken-up cans of Budweiser. Green ranked 114th in the world entering the week.

“Just watching the video of them coming and pouring beer all over me just really makes me tear up and makes me so happy to, I guess, have them here this week,” Green said, glancing at the back of the interview room where Becky Kay and Grace Kim stood, beaming. “I think they really made a big difference to me winning and, yeah, they just kept me really cool. Can you come every week?”

Kay and Kim were guests at the

She will head to the All England Club—where she exited in the third round a year ago—on a 12-match winning streak, after following up her breakthrough championship at Roland Garros on June 8 with a title on Sunday at the grass-court tune-up tournament in Birmingham, England, where she didn’t drop a set.

That assured Barty of overtaking Naomi Osaka, the reigning champion at the US Open and Australian Open, atop the WTA rankings.

“You always dream of it as a little kid, but for it to become a reality is incredible,” Barty said about getting to No. 1, something only 26 other women have done since computer rankings were introduced in 1973. “This year, we were aiming for top 10, and now to be where we are is a testament to all of the people around me.”

Barty began 2019 at No. 15 and with one fourth-round showing in her 17 appearances in singles at major tournaments. Look at what she’s done so far this season: tour-high 36 wins (in 41 matches), tour-high three titles (each on a different surface), debut Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, then the trophy in Paris.

It was almost exactly three years ago that Barty returned to tennis, without a ranking at all, after a one-and-a-half year absence because she needed time away from the grind of the tour. She stepped away at age 18, briefly switching sports to join a cricket team in Australia.

Her ability to play tennis was never an issue; she was, after all, a junior champion at Wimbledon in 2011, and reached three Grand Slam doubles finals.

tournament, amateur golfers who were awarded last year the scholarships from Webb’s development program for Australian women that she created in 2007. Green was a recipient in 2015. That made the results at Hazeltine all the more special for Webb, who missed the cut herself with a 6-over par 150 through the first two rounds.

“It couldn’t have happened at a better time as far as for the growth of women’s golf in Australia,” Webb said.

The scholarship money that Green received helped fund the travel to amateur events that paved the way for her arrival on the professional tour. Though she’s only 22, well, she’s naturally begun thinking about paying the gift forward one day the way Webb did to her.

“As soon as I see a young girl out there, if I have the opportunity, I want to give them a high five or smile or say hello,” Green said, adding: “It only takes a second, and it can change someone’s life.”

The relationship with Webb that was spawned four years ago has proved to be far

“She was just overwhelmed with everything.

She was so young. Expectations were high on her back then. And she wasn’t handling that stuff very well. So it was the best thing she ever did, was step away from the sport and just reassess her life and see what she wanted to do,” her coach, Craig Tyzzer, said the day Barty won the French Open. “For someone to be able to walk back in and play tennis at the level she’s been able to do in three years is pretty amazing. And she’s grown in that time, as well. The growth is continuing. It’ll still be ongoing.”

Away from the court, that includes Barty’s work with Ben Crowe, a performance coach who helps her with the mental side of things.

“I have become a better person,” Barty said, “and with that, I’ve become a better tennis player, as well.”

On the court, Tyzzer helps Barty in a constant search for improvement and variety. Her slice backhand, big serve and forehand and strong net game are all part of a formula that give her a chance to win, no matter the surface or the opponent.

The confidence with which Barty is playing now is a big factor in her current form, too. One that there shouldn’t be any reason to doubt will continue.

“This game doesn’t get any easier. The fact that you won a Grand Slam doesn’t mean you go out and win every match from now on,” Tyzzer said. “And she’ll know that.”

At the moment, Barty does go out and win every match. That won’t go on forever, of course, but she does seem well-situated to keep adding to her list of milestones. AP

more valuable to Green than the $10,000 scholarship.

“Being able to stay in a house with her, literally, I guess, breathing on her, watching everything she does in a tournament, majors, and watching outside the ropes, it definitely gave me a big insight into what it was like,” Green said, adding: “I’m very grateful to her.”

Staying with Webb for the week only cemented that friendship. There was a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle—featuring the US map—that served as a house project for the week. Then there was the barbecue on Saturday night, featuring rissoles, a spiced-up, pan-fried ground beef patty known as an Aussie favorite.

“It was really nice to just have all the Australians there, and there really wasn’t much golf talk at all,” Green said. “We didn’t stay up that late. Having some good chats toward the end of the night. It was really fun. I think it was perfect. It was definitely how I want to spend a Saturday night.”

KARRIE WEBB (below) is just too happy about housemate Hannah Green. AP

Coca-Cola extends Olympic sponsorship until 2032 with Chinese dairy producer

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OCA-COLA will take its sponsorship of the Olympic Movement into an unprecedented second century under a restructured deal that will see it share ownership of the worldwide beverage category with a Chinese dairy producer, China Mengniu Dairy Co. The deal, which extends Coca-Cola’s support for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a further 12 years until 2032, was announced by IOC President Thomas Bach here early this morning.

The odd timing of the announcement, on the day when the host city of the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics is due to be chosen, suggests that those concerned may have been bounced into going public by suggestions the story was about to break in China.

Bach said the partnership was “unique in different respects.”

“Getting these two companies together from

these two countries at this moment in time is another example of the unifying power of sport,”Bach said.

The valuation of the deal has been put at anything between $1.5 billion and $3 billion, depending on whether the value of media spending agreed to by the two partners is included. James Quincey, chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola, said the deal represented “tradition and innovation.”

“I look forward to many more years of this fantastic partnership,” he said.

The American drinks giant had found a “kindred spirit” in Mengniu, he added.

Jeffrey Lu, chief executive of Mengniu, said the Chinese company’s vision “to bring health and joy to the consumer” was “the same as our partner here through sports.”

He said that Mengniu products were consumed in 87 percent of Chinese homes.

Bach acknowledged that the partnership “was not easy to establish.”

The Caixin web site reported that China’s largest dairy producer, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, had “threatened to pull its sponsorship of the Games because its rival China Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd. has allegedly infringed on its status as the sole sponsor of dairy products for the [Beijing] 2022 Winter Olympics.”

Insidethegames

CIGNAL-ATENEO WINS

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IGNAL-ATENEO was crowned Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League champion after dominating Centro Escolar University (CEU), 98-66, in Game Four of the best-of-five championship series on Tuesday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

It was the Blue Eagles’ first title in the league, winning the cup in only their first foray. The Cignal banner also won its third championship, the first two banking on the San Beda back in the 2016-17 season.

Cignal-Ateneo wasted no time blasting CEU, starting off hot with a 27-5 opener as it shot 75 percent from the field to grab a 38-10 advantage after the first 10 minutes of play.

That set the tone for the rout that was about to come, with the Blue Eagles waylaying the Scorpions as they held a lead as many as 37, 79-42, thanks to Gian Mamuyac’s three-point play late in the third quarter.

Ivorian slotman Ange Kouame dropped a double-double in the clincher with his 18 points, 16 boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Will Navarro also scored 13 of his 16 points in the squad’s explosive first quarter, while Thirdy Ravena uncorked 15 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists in an all-around effort for Cignal-Ateneo.

Conference Most Valuable Player Isaac Go contributed seven points and seven rebounds in the victory.

Rich Guinitaran starred for the valiant CEU squad in the bridesmaid finish with 20 points, four rebounds and three steals.

orts

sMirror

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

JUVIC EYES 3RD STRAIGHT TITLE F

ULLY rested, Juvic Pagunsan decided to pursue his drive for a third straight championship on the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT), bannering another crack international field in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Iloilo Golf Challenge which unfolds on Wednesday at the Iloilo Golf and Country Club in Santa Barbara.

Pagunsan had earlier hinted at skipping this week’s event after sweeping the Bacolod legs in Binitin and Marapara the last two weeks to take a much-needed break. But the ace Negrense made a change of heart and took the first flight from Negros to Iloilo on Monday to resume his hunt for another crown.

“I have rested and my wife is

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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A FULLY-RESTED Juvic Pagunsan brings his act to Iloilo.

Beermen battle tough foe Bolts

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AN MIGUEL Beer and Magnolia tangle on Wednesday in a rematch of the Philippine Basketball Association All-Filipino Finals where the Beermen bled to get their fifth-straight Philippine Cup title.

With the all-Filipino series reaching seven games, both teams looked weary and went down to consecutive losses to start the Commissioner’s Cup. The Beermen (2-3) and Hotshots (3-2) slash at 7 p.m . at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. NorthPort (7-1) tries to extend its winning streak to five for the solo leadership away when it takes on Phoenix (2-4) at 4:30 p.m.

Veteran guard Alex Cabagnot and import Charles Rhodes towed San Miguel to a 119-107 victory over Alaska on Friday to bounce back from an overtime loss to Barangay Ginebra.

Cabagnot erupted for 31 points that went with four rebounds and six assists, while Rhodes had a double-double of 23 points and 11 boards.

Beermen Coach Leo Austria knew they needed the 12-point win over the Aces to get back on track and avoid getting dragged to the bottom of the standings.

“It’s a very important game for us as we don’t want to be in the bottom,” he said.

Magnolia also took a two-game slide and the team now runs third behind coleaders Phoenix and TNT. Paul Lee unleashed 27 points to power the Hotshots over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 99-96, on Saturday which also marked the return of veteran forward Marc Pingris in active role after a long layoff following an injury.

The stretch of games concerns Coach Chito Victolero, but he credited how his players worked to gain back the rhythm.

“It’s very hard because we have a tight schedule.

But the good thing is the rhythm is back. Hopefully we can continue the momentum in the following games,” Victolero said. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Army, Perlas gals try to build momentum

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ACIFIC Town Army and BanKo-Perlas try to build some momentum heading to their crucial face-off on Saturday as they take on separate rivals on Wednesday in the penultimate eliminations playdate in the Premier Volleyball League Season 3 Reinforced Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

But while the Lady Troopers set out against a powerhouse Creamline side at 3 p.m., the Perlas Spikers will have less pressure and worry when they collide with the also-ran BaliPure Water Defenders at 5 p.m.

Pacific Town and BanKo-Perlas are in hot pursuit of the No. 3 spot in the crossover semis with the former having the inside track with a 4-4 card. But the Lady Troopers have a tough block to hurdle in the Cool Smashers, who are on a seven-game roll capped by a four-set win over erstwhile unbeaten Petro Gazz Angels on Saturday.

In contrast, the Perlas Spikers, in fourth with a

HE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) will hold special elections on July 5 for all positions that were rendered vacant during Tuesday afternoon’s general assembly meeting that was deemed invalid on technical grounds.

What was expected to be a fiery confrontation in a divided POC turned out otherwise as the major protagonists— Chairman Abraham Tolentino and President Jose Romasanta—agreed to resign from their current posts and hold elections instead.

“The extraordinary general assembly was invalid on the basic reason that such exercise should have been conducted 10 days after its announcement,” Tolentino, also the cycling association head, told a press conference at the GSIS Gymnasium.

“But I suggested for a July 5 elections— which is 10 days from today [Tuesday]—and the members agreed,” added Tolentino, who as chairman presided over the meeting attended by 45 national sports association heads or their representatives.

Romasanta called for the extraordinary assembly right after he ascended to the presidency when Ricky Vargas resigned on Tuesday.

All except three members of the executive board who were absent—Prospero Pichay of chess, Robert Mananquil of billiards, and

okay,” said Pagunsan, referring to his spouse, who fell ill last week that also prompted him to reconsider his decision to play and defend his crown in Negros Occidental Golf Classic.

“Now, I can fully concentrate [on my game] although I don’t want to sound so confident. But as always, I’ll give it my best shot,” added the smooth-swinging shotmaker who’s aiming to duplicate Tony Lascuña’s three-peat feat at Eagle Ridge, Forest Hills and Bacolod in 2016.

That makes the 41-year-old Japan Philippine Golfers Association (PGA) Tour campaigner the top favorite in the 72-hole championship wrapping up the Visayan swing of the circuit sponsored by ICTSI, kicking off his bid for another crown at 7:55 a.m. on No. 10

with Elmer Salvador and Teemu Putkonen of Finland.

But a host of others are also going flat out to foil his bid, including James Ryan Lam and Nilo Salahog, runner-up and joint third placer, respectively, last week, along with Jhonnel Ababa, Tony Lascuña, Jay Bayron, Michael Bibat, Keanu Jahns, Ira Alido, Joenard Rates and Justin Quiban.

“I think I’ll go for the reachable par-4s but I have to play it smart,” said Lam, who actually threatened within one off Pagunsan after 36 holes in Negros but faltered in the third round with a 71 before rallying with a 69 to snare runner-up honors.

Salahog, who also moved within one off Pagunsan in the third round but blew

ALL POSITIONS VACANT, P.O.C. POLLS SET JULY 5 PHILIPPINE OIympic Committee Chairman Rep. Abraham Tolentino (center) and board member Clint Aranas (left) and President Jose Romasanta agree to the conduct of special elections. NONOY LACZA

TRAINING HARD Sen. Manny Pacquiao is relentless in training at the Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, on Monday

morning for his fight with Keith Thurman for the World Boxing Association super welterweight belt on July 20 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. COURTESY WENDELL ALINEA

3-5 slate, are tipped to repeat over the winless Water Defenders with a victory not only to bolster their Final Four chances but also stall the Motolite Power Builders’ bid for a playoff for the last semis seat.

Motolite is in fifth with a 3-6 mark but faces tall odds against final elims rival in Petro Gazz this weekend.

Though assured of one of the two semis spots in the season-opening conference of the league organized by Sports Vision is still expected to go all out against Pacific Town, which it swept in the first round, 25-21, 25-16, 25-18, to fuel its own drive for the top seeding.

Pacific Town is also coming into the match reeling from a shutout loss to Petro Gazz with Coach KungFu Reyes hoping to draw firepower from imports Olena Lymareva-Flink and Jenelle Jordan and from his veteran local crew headed

by Jovelyn Gonzaga, MJ Balse-Pabalo, Nene Bautista and Royse Tubino.

his bid with a closing 73, also exudes confidence despite that shaky finish although he stressed the need to endure the pressure to be posed by the elite field and the short but tricky course.

“I just have to play pressure-free and stay focused in all four days. Just make sure to hit the fairways and greens, and make the most of the birdie chances,” said Salahog, seeking a breakthrough in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. Lam drew American Pete Vilairatana, who tied Salahog at third in Negros, and Rates in the 7:35 a.m. group, also on No. 10, while Salahog starts at 7 a.m. on the first hole with Arnold Villacencio and Thai Tawan Phongphun.

Other foreign aces tipped to contend for

Jeff Tamayo of soft tennis—and wushu’s Julian Camacho who said he will think it over, tendered their resignation to give way to the elections Romasanta described as an exercise that will give the POC a “fresh start with a new and fresh leadership.”

Romasanta, 74, and vice president of the volleyball association, said he is not seeking any position while Tolentino hinted at aspiring for the presidency.

Former International Olympic Committee Representative Frank Elizalde and lawyer Al Agra were named to the elections committee.

A third member will be culled from the NSA ranks for the elections set at the Golden Bay Restaurant in Pasay City.

Board members Clint Aranas of archery and Jonne Go of canoe-kayak voluntarily resigned saying they, too, wanted “fresh mandates and faces” in the organization.

Aranas, currently chairman of the GSIS, joined Tolentino and Romasanta in addressing the press conference where he clarified his intention to focus on his task as archery head.

Romasanta wasn’t adversarial as he was expected to be during the assembly.

“We cannot go on like this forever because we had a divided POC,” he said. “This is a damaged organization and this is an opportunity to correct all the mistakes.”

Aranas and Romasanta also confirmed that because they are resigned, they could no longer represent the POC in dealing with the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee.

They also clarified that the preparations for the country’s hosting of the 30th SEA Games won’t be affected by the POC leadership issue.

MARINERANG Pilipina’s Seth Rodriguez shows fine form on the receive.

POWER HITTERS STAY UNBLEMISHED P LDT Home Fibr turned back Marinerang Pilipina, 25-21, 25-20, 18-25, 25-14, for its second straight win in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Grethchel Soltones had a strong start and a stronger finish as the Power Hitters kept the Lady Skippers winless in the women’s club tournament.

Soltones, the former San Sebastian College star, delivered 19 kills and two blocks for a 19-point performance for the Power Hitters, who joined idle Generika-Ayala at the third spot with a 2-1 win-loss slate.

Aside from Soltones, who also had 12 digs and 10 excellent receptions, Aiko Urdas was also impressive with 15 points while setter Jasmine Nabor did a marvelous job controlling the tempo with 21 excellent sets.

Despite the victory, however, PLDT Head Coach Roger Gorayeb wasn’t satisfied.

“It seems that they are out of focus. That’s not the game I wanted to see after months of practice and a year of togetherness” Gorayeb said.

“There’s no steam, we’re lacking of intensity. I’m thankful for the win but

they always need a wake-up call before picking up a victory.”

The Power Hitters lost steam in the third set that allowed the Lady Skippers to extend the match.

But PLDT caught fire in the fourth set with a 15-5 start off an ace from Joyce Sta. Rita before Soltones buckled down to work, delivering four straight points that put them at match point, 24-13.

Judith Abil saved a point but she committed a crucial service error.

Abil had an all-around effort with 11 points laced with 19 digs and 17 excellent receptions while Chiara Permentilla delivered 10 points on top of 11 digs off the bench for Marinerang Pilipina, which suffered its fourth straight loss.

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the crown in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and MY Shokai Technology Inc. are Aussies Tim Stewart, runner-up to absentee Jobim Carlos here last year, Fidel Concepcion and Calum Juniper, Americans Lexus Keoninh, Greg Gonzalez, Charles Lee and Sean Talmadge, and Japanese Ryui Hashimoto, Kei Matsuoka, Kanata Nakagawa and Yudai Suzuki.

AL MENDOZA alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

When will Semenya see daylight?

I JUST could not restrain myself from commenting again on the plight of Caster Semenya, the South African Olympic champion twice in the women’s 800-m run.

Hers is the compelling story of an athlete too much superior over her rivals that officials of her event’s governing body wanted to change her anatomy in a bizarre bid to balance the level of competition.

In laboratory tests, Semenya was found to have high testosterone (male hormones), giving her additional power and energy not found among normal females.

When she was 18, Semenya said she was subjected to gender verification tests that included an intrusive physical examination in the buildup to the 2009 world championships without being told of or apprised the nature of the tests.

After emerging champion in Berlin, Semenya said she was taken to a hospital again where the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) conducted another test.

Semenya told The Associated Press’s Gerald Imray that the IAAF did not ask her if she wanted to undergo the tests.

After her harrowing experience in 2009, Semenya said she reluctantly agreed to take testosterone-suppressing oral contraceptives from 2010-2015 recommended by the IAAF so that “I could continue running.”

As a result, she said she gained weight, she felt constantly sick, she had regular fevers and she suffered abdominal pain.

Last May, the Court of Arbitration for Sports voted 2-1 allowing Semenya to continue running but only if she chooses one of three medical options to reduce her testosterone: A daily contraceptive pill, a monthly hormone-blocking injection or surgery.

She fought back and elevated her appeal to the Switzerland Supreme Court, which ruled in Semenya’s favor on human-rights grounds.

But Semenya’s victory is only temporary as the Swiss Supreme Court will still have to hear her “full appeal.”

Still, Semenya is ecstatic even as she said she was “insulted and hurt” when told that IAAF documents had labeled her as “biologically male” and “telling me that I am not a woman.”

Now 28, the holder, too, of three world crowns, Semenya vowed she would not allow the IAAF to use her as a “lab rat” again.

Experts label the IAAF method as unethical, bolstering Semenya’s stand to refuse to take medications to alter what she calls her genetic gifts.

Indeed, if Semenya was born different from the rest, why take that against her?

Why deny what God has given her?

Why alter what God has made of her?

Is there a better tailor than God?

THAT’S IT Did I read the latest news correctly?

That Joey Romasanta said that Alan Peter Cayetano is the rightful man in charge of overseeing the preparations of the SEA Games in Manila in November-December? That the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) will just handle the technical aspect of the Games when the events are finally on, in accordance with what Romasanta said was the mandate given to the POC by the SEAG Federation? What a huge turnaround.... And, as I write this, POC Chairman Bambol Tolentino was supposed to call an election yesterday for the POC president following the stunning resignation last week of Ricky Vargas. If Tolentino fulfilled his promise, did the General Assembly accede to Bambol’s motion? Was Romasanta, the acting POC president, allowed to run for POC president even if the POC Charter only allows presidents of national sports association to run for POC president? Romasanta being only the vice president of volleyball, he is disqualified outright. The plot thickens.

U.S. GETS ACID TEST

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Wednesday, June 26, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

THE United States’s Megan Rapinoe scores the opening goal from a penalty spot during their match against Spain on Monday. AP

PLAYERS CRITICIZE COPA FIELD R

PARAGUAY’S Santiago Arzamendia and Richard Sanchez stand on the pitch at the end of their Copa America Group B match at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, on Sunday. AP

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ALENCIENNES, France—After all the rage and rebellion in the stadium, England players received a far more convivial reception back at their hotel they shared with Cameroon.

It came remarkably from Cameroon supporters who were far more graceful than some of their dissenting national team players earlier on Sunday evening in the humid cauldron of Stade de Hainaut.

England players who had denied their country a place in the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals by winning 3-0 were applauded back into the Royal Hainaut Spa and Resort Hotel.

The England traveling party led by Phil Neville welcomed the unexpected reception.

The manager had concerns the moment he was informed by the team operations manager that they were sharing with the opposition in the small city of Valenciennes.

“I thought, ‘No, that’s not right,’” Neville said. “Then we went to hotel and it’s been amazing. We saw them go out to training [on Saturday] and they had a ghetto blaster and the kit man went out singing and dancing.

“My players joined in dancing in the corridors. Our meal and meeting rooms were side by side. That’s the spirit of football.”

But what unfolded on Sunday in the last-16 game was far from the “carnival atmosphere” Neville enjoyed

IO DE JANEIRO—Coaches and players including Lionel Messi are unhappy with the condition of soccer fields at four of the six Brazilian stadiums hosting Copa America games.

Matches at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana, Belo Horizonte’s Mineirao, Porto Alegre’s Arena do Gremio and Salvador’s Fonte Nova stadiums have come in for criticism over the bumpy surfaces.

Soccer great Messi became the latest to complain on Sunday night after Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Qatar in Porto Alegre. “[The ball] bumps a lot on the field. All the fields we played on were very bad. It is hard,” Messi said.

Argentina had already played in Salvador and Belo Horizonte, two of the most criticized pitches at the tournament.

Before Sergio Aguero scored

Argentina’s second against Qatar to effectively put the team in Copa America’s knockout stage, Messi wasted a clear opportunity only meters from goal after the ball took an unexpected bounce.

Many other players appeared to struggle with an uneven surface with bare patches at Arena do Gremio.

After Uruguay and Japan drew 2-2 at the Mineirao Stadium, striker Luis Suarez said it wasn’t an excuse for a disappointing performance “but the pitches of the stadiums are not in good shape. We also saw the Maracana [on TV], it was very bad. But we have to adapt to these situations.”

Bolivian players said they had problems on the Maracana after the 3-1 defeat to Peru.

Copa America organizers have been asked to comment by The Associated Press. Top executives

of the organizing committee will give a news conference on Tuesday after the tournament’s group stage ends later Monday with two Group C matches.

Administrators of Arena do Gremio blamed the bumpy pitch on unexpectedly high temperatures in Porto Alegre, days after winter began in the Southern Hemisphere. They also said regular use of the pitch between June 14 and 23, including training sessions and three Copa America matches, has slowed the recovery.

The pitch at Fonte Nova Stadium was criticized by coaches, including Venezuela’s Rafael Dudamel, Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni and Colombia’s Carlos Queiroz. Brazil Coach Tite refused to comment on it when Brazil drew 0-0 against Venezuela. But after Saturday’s 5-0 win against Peru, Tite had nothing but praise for São Paulo’s Arena Corinthians.

“With a field like this one here, with this quality, the match flows and you can give great passes,” Tite said. He also extended his praises to Morumbi Stadium, where Brazil beat Bolivia 3-0 in the tournament’s opening match. “With a good pitch it all gets easier,” he added.

Two months before Copa America began, the Arena Corinthians pitch had a fungus infection, which was sorted out. Stadium executives blamed a monster truck race in December. AP

Cameroon faces demands for punishment the previous day in the newly opened hotel on a site of a former hospital.

By revolting against VAR decisions and contemplating not resuming play, the Cameroon players left Neville “completely and utterly ashamed.”

The Cameroonians were convinced of a plot against them by the refereeing team.

In the dressing room at halftime, trailing 2-0 after Ellen White had been awarded a second goal initially scrubbed out for offside, Cameroon Coach Alain Djeumfa inflamed the anger.

“The referee wants England to win today,” Djeumfa said, according to an account of midfielder Raissa Feudjio.

As Cameroon seethed and wept at times on the field, there was at least one high-profile advocate of the petulant behavior: The head of the Fifa administration.

Fifa Secretary-General Fatma Samoura tweeted the Cameroon players “inspired many young girls,” with “passionate and talented play on the field that made your fans proud and your country is proud of you.”

The view from the Confederation of African Football was very different.

Isha Johansen, president of CAF’s women’s committee, said the match “reflected badly not only on African women’s football but African football on the whole” and wants punishments imposed.

“It is an issue which will be addressed and dealt with at the appropriate levels of governance,” she added on Monday.

But Samoura endorsed the conduct of players who openly undermined the authority of referee Quin Liang by forcing delays to restarts as they huddled to protest against England goals.

Instead, Liang was just following the laws of the game by allowing White’s goal to stand and then denying Ajara Nchout a chance to pull it back to 2-1 for another offside call that went against Cameroon on a video review. Nchout was in tears as angry teammates delayed the restart once again.

England players seemed more clued up about the application of VAR and the laws after pretournament briefings before flying out.

“Maybe [it’s] why you’ve seen our players in a little more control,” defender Lucy Bronze said.

As the opposition anger boiled over, the English just waited for it to subside.

“As soon as you get caught up in that, or get worried about it,” defender Millie Bright said, “you will lose momentum in the game. We stayed away from it.”

Unlike some Cameroon fans in the stadium, who moved into seats right behind the benches where the coaches and fourth official sit. It led to issues which Fifa tried to explain away in a contorted statement after Neville reported hearing of fighting in the stadium’s area.

“A number of Cameroon fans had moved to the seats behind the team benches during the match in order to create a ‘fan block,’” Fifa said. “This required management by stadium stewards who, in the interests of all spectators, moved other ticket holders into hospitality seating.

“Although there was some verbal exchange between Cameroon supporters and stewards, there has been no report of any physical confrontation.”

Fifa was silent on action against the team itself, or any criticism of disobedience that led to the most chaotic scenes in Women’s World Cup history. AP

By Anne M. Peterson

R

The Associated Press

EIMS, France—Spain tested the United States like no other team at the Women’s World Cup. The US looked disorganized at times facing Spain’s aggressive and physical style before pulling out a 2-1 victory on Monday night.

It could have been just what the Americans needed: France is waiting.

Megan Rapinoe converted a pair of penalty kicks to set up the United States’ much-anticipated quarterfinal rendezvous with the hosts.

The tense match was knotted at one until Rapinoe’s second penalty put the defending champions ahead in the 75th minute.

“I think we showed just a lot of grit and experience, to be honest, in this game,” Rapinoe said. “Obviously as we get into these knockout rounds it’s more stressful, there’s more pressure, the games are more intense. Every team lifts its level.”

Rapinoe’s first came in the seventh minute to the cheers of the US supporters melting in temperatures that reached nearly 90 degrees at the Stade AugusteDelaune. They were quieted a short time later when Jennifer Hermoso tied it up for Spain with the first goal the Americans had allowed in France.

Video review was used to confirm a foul on Rose Lavelle that gave the pink-haired captain the game-winner, spoiling Spain’s spirited effort in its first knockout-round appearance at a World Cup. The three-time World Cup winners now head to Paris to face France on Friday night.

The French defeated Brazil 2-1 in extra time on Sunday night, with Amandine Henry scoring the game-winner in the 107th minute.

“I think this is the game that everyone had circled,” Rapinoe said, referring to France. “I think it’s going to be a great match. I hope it’s wild and crazy, I hope the fans are crazy and there’s tons of media around it and it’s just a big spectacle. I think this is incredible for the women’s game, when you have two heavy hitters meeting in the final knockout round.”

The game at the home of Paris SaintGermain has been anticipated since the tournament draw in December. France is vying to become the first nation to simultaneously hold both the men’s and women’s World Cup titles. The French men won in Russia last year.

The United States skated through its group with a stage record 18 goals. The team also didn’t concede a goal in the group stage for the first time at a World Cup. Until Monday, the Americans had not allowed a goal in eight straight competitive matches dating to the 2016 Olympics, outscoring opponents 44-0. It was the first goal that the United States had allowed this year since a 5-3 win over Australia in an April friendly.

“This tournament isn’t supposed to be easy and Spain was a great team,” midfielder Samantha Mewis said. “I think these are the kinds of things that let us know that we’re strong and that we can grind through something. So I think we’re gonna take a lot from this and it gives us a lot of faith in ourselves.”

La Roja had not scored in its previous two games but still finished second in its group to Germany to get the matchup with the Americans.

The US and Spain last met in a friendly in Alicante in January, part of a European exhibition trip for the United States. Christen Press scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory.

That match was a confidence-booster for No. 13 Spain because it was able to hang with the world’s top-ranked team. Spain’s profile on the international stage has grown under Coach Jorge Vilda, who took over following the team’s World Cup debut in 2015. Spain won the 2017 Algarve Cup and last year won the Cyprus Cup. Spain pushed the US hard on Monday.

“I actually think we deserved it more, but you know sometimes football is like that. I’m so proud of the team,” Spain midfielder Vicky Losada said. “I’m so proud of the effort of the team and I think now we have to think about it, and think about the future, which I think is going to be so good.”

Rapinoe’s first penalty kick was the result of Maria Leon’s tackle on Tobin Heath after a pass from Abby Dahlkemper.

Less than three minutes later, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher’s pass to Becky Sauerbrunn was stripped by Lucia Garcia and the ball wound up at the feet of Hermoso, who sent her shot from the penalty arc into the top right corner. It was Hermoso’s third goal of the tournament to lead Spain.

Alex Morgan was set to take the penalty after Lavelle was tripped up by Virginia Torrecilla, but after the review Rapinoe stepped forward and slotted the ball just under the outstretched arm of Spain goalkeeper Sandra Panos.

Sauerbrunn was grateful.

“She’s never going to have to buy another drink for the rest of the time. I will supply her with whatever she needs,” she said.

Morgan, who leads the field in France with five goals, took a beating throughout the game and was seldom a factor. She stayed down for a long while in the second half after a hard tackle by Irene Paredes.

God of our salvation

D

EAR God, You lead us through unknown paths to unimagined delights. In trust we pray: Give us courage, oh God. For those making difficult decisions, seeking vocational direction or experiencing transition; for those currently diagnosed with cancer, undergoing treatment for serious illness or face imminent death; for those awaiting the return of a loved one, enduring grief and sorrow or suffering depression, may God console us in our sadness and turn our mourning into dancing, through Jesus, crucified and risen. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life

JOHN LITHGOW, ANNETTE BENING AND MORE STARS TO PERFORM MUELLER REPORT D3

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

D1

CYBERCRIMINALS USE SMARTPHONE CALENDARS TO DISTRIBUTE SCAM OFFERS

UN panel: Connect half the world, and $20 phones can help By eDitH m. leDerer The Associated Press

U

NITED NATIONS—An independent UN panel called on Monday for much greater cooperation to bring digital technology to roughly half the world’s people, and a senior Google executive said mobile phones with Internet access are being created to sell for about $20 that can help make this possible.

Google Vice President Vinton Cerf said at a news conference after the panel’s report was officially launched that “it’s going to cost a lot of money” to end the digital divide.

But without driving down costs of phones and communications, he said, “we won’t succeed in getting the other 4.5 billion, or 3.5 billion, people online.”

Nonetheless, Cerf was optimistic. “I think that we’re going to see the investment made primarily out of pure, simple incentive on the business side and demand on the consumer side,” he said.

He said the new cheaper cell phones won’t have all the features of a $1,000 smartphone, “but they have enough to be useful—they have enough to get access to the content of the Internet and the applications that it offers.”

Cerf is one of 20 members of the panel established

by Secretary-General António Guterres in July 2018 to advance a global dialogue on how the world can work better together to realize the potential of digital technologies to advance the well-being of all people while mitigating their risks.

It is led by Melinda Gates, cochairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and by Jack Ma, executive chairman of China’s Alibaba Group. “We are living at the dawn of a new digital era,” Ma said in a statement.

“Global cooperation among all parties—private sector, government, citizens, academics and civil society—is needed to use technology to achieve more prosperity, more opportunity and more trust for people around the world.”

Cerf, who is also Google’s “chief Internet evangelist,” said the most significant places without access to digital technology are in rural areas, not only in countries in Africa but in the United States, where perhaps 10 percent to 15 percent of the population doesn’t have reliable Internet access.

In addition to costs, he said, having Internet applications that are useful is also a problem. It’s not helpful if on the Web “you can discover a plumber in New York but you happen to be in Bogota,” and you can’t find much in the language you speak, Cerf said.

Norway’s minister of digitalization, Nikolai Astrup, also a panel member, said he strongly believes new technologies can help developing countries make “that quantum leap” to achieving UN goals for 2030, including ending extreme poverty while protecting the environment.

“Digital technology is no longer a luxury,” he said.

“It is essential for development, also for a developed country like Norway.”

Whatever the cost, Astrup said, it will be overshadowed by the benefits of improving people’s lives, solving some major global challenges and using big data, for example, to predict and prevent famine.

But Gates said in a statement that “digital technologies can help the world’s poorest people transform their lives, but only if we are willing to address the inequalities that already keep them from fully participating in the economic and social lives of their countries.”

The report recommends that every adult in the world have affordable access to digital networks and digital financial and health services by 2030.

But the panel also cautioned that growing opportunities from digital technologies “are paralleled by stark abuses and unintended consequences.” It noted the serious problem of harmful content on social media and challenges to privacy, and it called for more effective action to prevent the erosion of trust by the proliferation of irresponsible uses of cyber capabilities.

The panel also urged Guterres to conduct a global review of how human rights apply to digital technologies.

Panel member Nanjira Sambuli of Kenya, who is a senior policy manager at the World Wide Web Foundation, said a key recommendation is that technology companies “shouldn’t only consult on the human-rights element as an afterthought.”

“They have to start figuring out among themselves the proactive steps to engage at every step of the way on the human-rights implications,” she said.

Guterres said that every day he sees how digital technology can advance the UN’s mission to promote peace, human rights and development—but also “news of the disruption digital technology can cause and the threats it can bring to that mission.” n

SECURITY expert Kaspersky (www.kaspersky.com) experts have detected multiple cases of a sophisticated scam targeting users through fraudulent, unsolicited Google Calendar notifications and luring them into giving away their personal information. The attacks happened throughout May. This scam abuses a specific feature of a free online calendar service which adds invitations and events to users’ calendars automatically.

Spam and phishing that exploit nontraditional attack vectors can be lucrative for criminals, as they can catch experienced users who might not fall for a more common threat. This is particularly the case when it comes to trusted legitimate services, such as default e-mail calendar features, and these are exploited through so-called calendar phishing.

The detection of multiple, unsolicited pop-up calendar notifications during May turned out to be a result of a blast of sophisticated spam e-mail sent by scammers. The e-mails exploited a common default feature for people using Gmail on their smartphone: the automatic addition and notification of calendar invitations. The fraud occurs when the perpetrator sends an unsolicited calendar invitation carrying a link to a phishing URL. A pop-up notification of the invitation appears on the smartphone’s home screen and the recipient is encouraged to click on the link.

In most of the cases observed, the user was redirected to a web site featuring a simple questionnaire with prize money on offer. To receive the prize, the user is asked for a “fixing” payment for which they need to enter their credit-card details and add some personal information, such as name, phone number and address. This data goes straight to the scammers who exploit it to steal money or identity information. “The ‘calendar scam’ is a very effective scheme, as currently people have more or less gotten used to receiving spam messages from e-mails or messengers and do not immediately trust them. But this may not be the case when it comes to the Calendar app, which has a main purpose to organize information rather than transfer it. So far, the sample we’ve seen contains text displaying an obviously weird offer, but as it happens, every simple scheme becomes more elaborate and trickier with time. The good news is that one also doesn’t need any sophisticated precautions to avoid such scam—the feature that enables it can be easily turned off in the calendar settings,” says Maria Vergelis, security researcher at Kaspersky.

To avoid falling victim to malicious spam, Kaspersky researchers advise users to: n Turn off the automatic adding of invites to your calendar. To do so, open Google Calendar, click the settings Gear icon, then click Event settings. In the “automatically add invitations” option, click on the dropdown menu and select “No, only show invitations to which I’ve responded.”

Below this tab, in the View Options section, make sure “Show declined events” is NOT checked, unless you specifically wish to view these. n If you are not sure whether a web site you are redirected to is real and safe, never enter personal information. n Use a reliable security solution for comprehensive protection from a wide range of threats, such as Kaspersky Security Cloud.

Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G unveiled to connect more Filipinos FROM left: Globe Telecom Chief Technology and Information Officer and Chief Strategy Officer Gil Genio, Globe President and CEO Ernest L. Cu, Globe SVP and Head of Globe Broadband Business Martha Sazon, and Globe Telecom Chief Commercial Officer Alberto de Larrazabal

THE Philippines became the first country in Southeast Asia to experience commercial fifthgeneration (5G) fixed wireless broadband after Globe Telecom launched the Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G postpaid plans.

Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu revealed that the Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G will enable the company to connect more Filipinos at home given the external challenges of rolling out fiber optic cables in the country.

“The arrival of 5G has caused excitement in the global world of telecommunications.

Today, we made a crucial step in fulfilling our goal of connecting more Filipino homes, and our vision of bringing first-world Internet to the Philippines,” Cu added.

The Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G postpaid plans which offer fiber-like speeds up to 100 Mbps and super-sized data packages of up to 2 terabytes will be initially available in select areas in Pasig, Cavite and Bulacan.

Cu said that the Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G will reinforce the efforts of achieving the company’s goal to connect 2 million homes by 2020. “Prior to Air Fiber 5G, we have aggressively utilized fixed wireless solutions to connect more homes and businesses to the Internet over airwaves. This strategy resulted

in home broadband subscriber base increasing by 55.1 percent to 1.7 million in the first three months of 2019 from 1.1 million in the same period in 2016,” Cu revealed.

Globe at Home Air Fiber 5G will be available to eligible customers in July 2019. Plans come at P1,899 per month for up to 20 Mbps, P2,499 for up to 50 Mbps and P2,899 for up to 100

Mbps. All come with up to 2 TB data capacity.

“Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G makes use of fixed location wireless radios instead of fiber-optic cables which enables the company to go over the circuitous approval process of deploying a fiber-optic cable—a task which proves to be arduous and involves securing multiple permits from local government units,” Cu said.

“The right of process can sometimes take years to obtain, causing drastic delays in fiberoptic rollout completion,” he added.

Cu said that the company has been spending over 21 percent of its annual total revenues to upgrade and expand its telecommunication and IT infrastructure since 2012. “We have been ramping up our capital spend from P20.3 billion in 2012 to P43.3 billion in 2018, in order to provide our customers better broadband services,” he said.

5G technology enables the use of Internet of Things for today’s intelligent homes. Internet connection that is faster, more secure and with lower latency brought by 5G significantly enhance entertainment and security systems at home, promising a digital experience that is more seamless, reliable and intuitive for the modern Filipino household.

THE Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G modem

D2

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Pet Corner BusinessMirror

New York poised to become first state to ban cat declawing DR. Richard Goldstein, chief medical officer at the Animal Medical Center, checks on one of his patients at the hospital’s clinic in New York. AP

A

z

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Ariana Grande, 25; Ryan Tedder, 39; Derek Jeter, 44; Chris O’Donnell, 48.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Don’t limit what you can do. If you want to make your mark, no matter how big or small, having a stick-to-it attitude will help you complete your journey. The best way to move forward is to have a clean slate to work with. Don’t underestimate what you are capable of doing. Your lucky numbers are 6, 13, 20, 29, 31, 33, 46.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t let emotional manipulation rule you. Follow what you feel is the best route for yourself, regardless of what anyone else is trying to coax you to do. Trust in yourself and what you feel comfortable doing. HHHHH

By David Klepper The Associated Press

LBANY, New York—New York would be the first state in the United States to ban the declawing of cats under legislation approved by lawmakers at the request of cat owners, animal welfare advocates and many veterinarians who call the procedure cruel and needless.

The bill, which would subject veterinarians to $1,000 fines for performing the operation, now heads to the desk of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, whose representatives said he will review the bill before deciding if he will sign it.

“Cats of New York: Show me your claws” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, who pushed the bill for years despite the opposition of the state’s largest veterinary society. She called cat declawing “barbaric and inhumane.”

Declawing a cat is already illegal in much of Europe and in several Canadian provinces, as well as in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver, but no other US state has voted to ban the procedure, which involves amputating a cat’s toes back to the first knuckle.

Unlike human nails, a cat’s claws are attached to bone, so declawing a feline requires a veterinarian to slice through tendon and nerves to remove the last segment of bone in a cat’s toes. Supporters of the ban cite estimates that a quarter or more of all domestic cats in the US have had the procedure.

The New York State Veterinary Medical Society had opposed the bill, arguing that declawing should be allowed as a last resort for felines that won’t stop scratching furniture or humans—or when the cat’s owner has a weakened immune system, putting them at greater risk of infection from a scratch.

“Medical decisions should be left to the sound discretion of fully trained, licensed and state supervised professionals,” the society said in a memo opposing the legislation.

Under the bill, which easily passed the Democratled Senate and Assembly, veterinarians could still perform the procedure for medical reasons, such as infection or injury.

Veterinarian Michelle Brownstein stopped

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Alter your life for the right reason. Don’t let anger or stubbornness cause you to walk away from one situation and into another. You are better off sitting tight, observing and seeing what develops before making a decision. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Pick up the pace and take an active role in making a difference to your surroundings. Moving things around or changing your routine to better fit your lifestyle will help you accomplish more and feel better about future prospects. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Avoid loss by limiting your investments. If you follow someone else, you’ll have regrets. Channel your energy into whatever benefits you most. A challenge should be looked at carefully. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Pamper yourself.

Make plans with your kids, your lover or a colleague who shares your favorite pastimes. You’ll have a tendency to overdo it, so set guidelines regarding costs before you head out.

Preparation will be essential. HHHHH

f performing declawing operations 15 years ago at her Rochester-area animal hospital when she said she became convinced that the procedure leaves cats with lifelong problems. Some declawed cats exhibit behavioral issues, she said, while others struggle with chronic pain at the amputation site.

“The end result is a barbaric procedure that results in the mutilation of the animal,” she said. “Frankly, if you’re worried about your furniture, then you shouldn’t be getting a cat.”

Now, when a cat owner asks about the procedure, Brownstein said she discusses alternatives, such as routine nail care, scratching posts or even tiny plastic caps that can be placed over a cat’s nails.

There was little vocal opposition in the Senate, which passed the bill 50-12, or in the Assembly, where the preliminary vote was 92-27. But some lawmakers spoke out against the measure, saying declawing should be kept legal for rare cases in which cat scratches could pose a hazard to owners with weakened immune systems or other medical issues.

Opponents also said they are worried that more cats might be given up for adoption or euthanized because their owners would no longer be able to get them declawed.

“I don’t think the government should be involved.

I think we should leave it to the vets and the owners,” said Sen. Robert Antonacci, R-Syracuse. n

Chicago suburb bans retail sale of dogs, cats, rabbits BUFFALO Grove trustees said they expect to pass an ordinance banning the sale of cats, dogs and rabbits at retail pet stores.

Proponents say the move targets puppy mill operations.

BUFFALO GROVE, Illinois—A northwestern Chicago suburb has banned the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores, citing poor treatment and unprepared owners. The Buffalo Grove village board voted unanimously on June 17 to prohibit the sales and rabbits were the primary focus of the board’s discussion, the Daily Herald reported.

Board Trustee Joanne Johnson pointed to research that shows rabbits are sold in small, dirty cages and often don’t have access to proper nutrition or veterinary care. She said baby rabbits are weaned early, at just three to four weeks old, which leads to underdeveloped immune systems that make them prone to illness. “In pet stores, baby rabbits are marketed as cute, low maintenance children’s pets,” she said. “Purchases are often made on impulse, and the owners are ill-equipped to care for rabbits’ complex needs over a six-to-12-year life span.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Find out the truth before making a decision. Acting prematurely will result in emotional stress.

Nurture important relationships and plan your day carefully. Having a plan in place will help you avoid being led astray by someone trying to manipulate you.

HH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t stop when you should be moving forward and taking care of business. Someone will complain if you aren’t specific about your duties or what your expectations are. HHHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Let your creative imagination run wild. You will discover something about yourself that will help you draw a line between desire and indulgence.

Choose your battles wisely and concentrate on discipline and steady progress. HHH

i j

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Look back and consider your mistakes, as well as your victories. You will find a way to cut out the negativity in your life that is a constant deterrent to reaching your goals. A change will do you good. HHH CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): See past any negativity you are facing; strive to put what you want to achieve in place. A change will do you good as long as it’s within the limits of what’s acceptable. Play to win, but do so fairly. HHH

Johnson added that when rabbits display hormonal behaviors at adolescence, many unprepared owners abandon them to overburdened shelters or release them into the wild to fend for themselves.

The board heard testimony from Naperville resident Lorianne Kloss, who works with Chicagobased Red Door Animal Shelter. She said pet stores don’t educate owners on the importance of spaying and neutering rabbits.

“When someone impulse purchases a baby rabbit, and that rabbit gets to be a teenager, if it is not spayed or neutered, that is when the destructive behavior and possible aggression starts,” Kloss said. “That’s one of the main reasons that so many are being abandoned.”

Kloss notes that rabbits are dumped outside at an alarming rate. Between Easter 2018 and Easter 2019, she said she helped catch more than 165 pet rabbits abandoned outside in the Chicago area. AP

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Get involved in something that moves you. Being a part of something you believe in will help you overcome the daily temptations that lead you down difficult paths. Physical and emotional health and fitness should be your preferences. HHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Don’t let your emotions get in the way of a good thing. Not getting along with the people you need in your life will lead to disappointment. Find a way to make whatever situation you face work for everyone involved.

HH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are curious, adaptable and determined.

You are imaginative and intuitive.

‘on the double’ BY LEE TAYLOR The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 “black-ish” network 4 Uses a long lens 9 Do a mole’s job 12 Rorschach test feature 14 Long-plumed wading bird 15 Havana “Hi!” 16 Per item 17 Leafy retreat 18 ___ Bator (Mongolian capital) 19 Very hot water (think twice to interpret each starred answer!)

21 Four-person nuptials 23 Coal layers 24 Least possible 25 Mollycoddled 28 Bike without pedaling 31 Ark groupings 34 Genetic messenger, briefly 35 Grilled Italian sandwich 36 Cul-de-___ 37 1980 Lennon/Ono collaboration 39 Competed in a marathon 40 Build, as interest 42 Happy times

3 Hung on to 4 44 City on the Seine 45 Cape ___ Island, Nova Scotia 47 Elephant’s kiddie lit partner 49 Exterminator’s target 53 Characteristic that complicates understanding 55 Stiff drink 57 ;) 58 Overhead storage space 60 Turkey ___ (November race) 61 Eyebrow shapes 62 “Here’s to you!” is one 63 Himalayan Bigfoot 64 “Stop it!”

65 “Hop on Pop” author 66 Stage construction DOWN 1 Helps with a heist 2 Sound loudly 3 Popular apres-ski drink 4 Gusto 5 Grimm bad guy 6 Scepter topper 7 Requested Fancy Feast, perhaps

8 Scatter 9 Oxymoronic card game 10 Make arrangements 11 Yin counterpart 13 All ___ (clumsy) 15 The Tappan Zee Bridge spans it 20 Eagle’s org.

22 Radioactive process 24 Extended cinema offering 26 Scottish hillside 27 Country lodge 29 Flip out 30 Dark window feature 31 Ivan the Terrible, for one 32 Baylor University location 33 Like many hotel rooms 35 (I need some answers!)

37 Mold and mildew 38 Donkey Kong or King Kong 41 Signs again 43 Difficult 45 Water-testing digit 46 Hockey legend Bobby 48 Pesky swarm 50 Buenos ___

1 Hundo 5 52 “Strike up the band!”

53 Air kiss sound 54 Blarney Stone land 55 ___ Alabama (“Bachelorette” Hannah Brown’s title) 56 Book after John 59 Torque’s Greek letter Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

NOT ENOUGH

SO after being a recluse for so long, the actor is now back at his job of being, well, an actor. Everyone thought he was ready to retire but apparently that isn’t true. So why? Last we heard, the actor doesn’t have the full approval of his partner’s rich family so he still has something to prove. While the actor has been working for awhile and made sizable investments, he still isn’t half as rich as his partner’s family. They’re a bit scared that he won’t be able to support her and they’re also apprehensive about his alcohol and drug issues. So far, he is so in love with her so he is at his best behavior. For how long is anybody’s guess.

NO ONE LIKES HIM

(TOP row from left) Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mark Hamill, Zachary Quinto, Annette Bening and (bottom row from left), John Lithgow, Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline and Michael Shannon will participate in a live reading of passages from the Mueller report for The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts, which will be streamed on the Law Works web site. AP

John Lithgow, Annette Bening and more stars to perform Mueller report L

By Katie Campione The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—Former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of the President Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign is getting the theatrical treatment.

A cast of Hollywood A-listers are set to participate in a live reading of portions of the Mueller report on Monday, called The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts. It will be performed before a live audience in New York and streamed on the Law Works web site beginning at 9 pm Eastern.

Viewers can expect John Lithgow as Trump, Kevin Kline as Mueller, Joel Grey as Jeff Sessions, Jason Alexander as Chris Christie, Alfre Woodard as Hope Hicks and Annette Bening as the narrator. Mark Hamill, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Sigourney Weaver recorded video appearances.

Others joining the cast include Alyssa Milano, Zachary Quinto, Ben McKenzie, Michael Shannon, Justin Long, Piper Perabo, and more.

The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts was created by Emmy-nominated playwright, screenwriter and actor Robert Schenkkan. He received a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his play The

Kentucky Cycle, and his play All the Way won a Tony award in 2014.

The Law Works is an organization that advocates for bipartisan legislation and educates the public on the workings of the United States judicial system, including the role of the special counsel.

Mueller wrote in his report released in April that there was not enough evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, but said he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. The report examined several situations in which Trump attempted to influence or curtail Mueller’s investigation. n

WHO is the newly elected public official who reportedly told a highly placed figure that she and her party should support him or he would change political allegiance? It is for this reason that he will never get the position he has been aspiring for since the highly placed figure is today’s kingmaker and anybody she dislikes gets the figurative “kiss of death.” The highly placed figure may not be perfect but she has more political conviction than the newly elected official, whose loyalty has always been for sale. Every group/ person that the newly elected official has been aligned with has become his sworn enemies/enemy once he’s done with them.

MAY-DECEMBER AFFAIR

WHO is the public official who has the eyes and ears of a powerful figure because she is his new love? If you want something from the powerful political figure, you should talk to her because she is the most effective mediator. The public official had a longtime boyfriend but the relationship is over and she has since moved on. While others may think that she’s with him for money and/or power, the truth is that she is enamored of him and his personality. She thinks he is a great guy. And what about the powerful figure? He’s just happy to be with someone younger and beautiful.

CAREER MOVE

SO the starlet, who is known to be a one-hit wonder, is single and she isn’t lying when she says so. She really is. She used to secretly date a married man, who is also a public figure due to his showbiz and political affiliations. Even sadder is that the starlet dated the public figure mainly because he is moneyed and not because she loves him. She is lucky his wife didn’t hear of the affair but her management did and they warned her that if she didn’t end it, she’d be sorry. For now, the public figure is with his family while the starlet is concentrating on her career, as she should be.

Screenwriters can play key role in gender parity, actors say LOS ANGELES—Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis says achieving gender parity on screen is simple, and it could happen overnight.

“Just go through [the script] and cross out a bunch of male first names and put female first names. That’s all you have to do,” Davis told the audience during a panel on Saturday at AT&T’s Shape media conference in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank.

Davis joined fellow actor Mayim Bialik on stage at the conference to discuss how gender parity in media can create social change. The conversation revolved around the need for diversity on screen to break stereotypes and encourage young people to pursue careers they might otherwise have felt were off limits to them. “Of course, why wouldn’t we need to see people who are like us to be able to imagine what we could become?” Bialik said.

The panel was born from a study conducted by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media that found women felt

GEENA DAVIS (left) speaks at the AT&T’s Shape: The Scully Effect is Real with Mayim Bialik on June 22 in Burbank, California. AP

encouraged to pursue scientific, medical and engineering careers because of X-Files character Dana Scully, an FBI agent and medical doctor. Of the women surveyed in the study, 63 percent of those working in a STEM field said Scully served as a role model for them growing up.

Bialik, who also holds a doctorate in

neuroscience and recently wrapped her time playing the role of neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, said seeing characters like Scully onscreen and having real-life mentors is crucial for young women to pursue careers in STEM. “I was raised in a climate where if you didn’t learn things as fast as the boys, it meant that it

wasn’t for you,” Bialik said. It’s important “to have a mentor, to have someone that you can see is living the life of a scientist and also has a social life—all the things that the lone scientist in the laboratory stereotype doesn’t give us.”

“You’re seeing the full, complicated, amazing woman living life as a scientist,” Bialik said of characters like Scully and Fowler. “That’s what I needed as a young girl that wasn’t there for me.”

This doesn’t just apply for gender, either.

The panelists said that all forms of diversity onscreen are necessary, pointing to films like Hidden Figures, which is about the key role a group of African-American women played in the US space program, as leading the way for more complex stories on people of any gender or race.

“As much as people think Hollywood is liberal and open-minded and progressive thinking, they’re doing a worse job of reflecting society than the abysmal numbers in real life,” Davis said. “If we show it, it will happen in real life.” AP

Audition for the biggest K-pop cover competition starts THE biggest annual talent search competition for Filipino K-pop performers and cover groups begins as Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines launch the online auditions for the 2019 Pinoy K-pop Star.

The 2019 Pinoy K-pop Star is the Philippine finals for the Changwon K-pop World Festival in Korea. This competition will have two categories—vocal, a singing competition; and performance, which is both a singing and dancing

competition. Interested parties, preferably 18 years old and above, need to upload audition videos on YouTube and send it to the KCC on or before June 26.

Former grand prize winners of the Pinoy K-pop Star competition who already represented the Philippines in Korea for the Changwon K-pop World Festival are no longer eligible to join the contest. The announcement of finalists is on July 10. The grand finals will be held on July 27 at

Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier, Taguig City.

The grand prize winners of these two categories will represent the country in the first round of semifinals of the Changwon K-pop World Festival, which will be held online.

If the Philippine representatives qualify for the grand finals in Korea, they will fly to Korea to join the grand final competition on October 11.

More information is available at phil.korean-culture.org.

QUEZON’S GAME lead actor Raymond Bagatsing (right) guests in the June 30 episode of Art 2 Art, hosted by Lisa Macuja.

Raymond Bagatsing in ‘Art 2 Art’ ACTOR Raymond Bagatsing, who has been reaping critical praise and awards for his lead performance in the historical drama Quezon’s Game, guests in Art 2 Art in its episode airing on June 30.

Bagatsing recounts being invited to an unexpected audition where he was asked to read excerpts from a speech by President Manuel Quezon, and how he would later prepare for the role of a lifetime. A scion of a well-known political clan, he recalls his start in action movies before establishing himself as a dramatic and character actor. Bagatsing also shares his other interests as a certified yoga instructor and martial arts practitioner.

Produced by the Manila Broadcasting Co. and hosted by “Ballerina ng Bayan” Lisa Macuja, Art 2 Art airs every Sunday, 3:30 to 4 pm, on dzRH, on cable television via RHTV, and livestreaming at dzrhnews television.tv.

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Image BusinessMirror

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

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FROM left: Tennyson Paras, Philam Life head of Products; Nico Bolzico, Wil Dasovich, Mond Gutierrez; Kats Cajucom, Philam Life head of Vitality; and Bernadette Chincuanco, Philam Life head of Branding and Communications

HOW TO STAY ONE STEP AHEAD

You will also discover during these team-building activities the members who have the potential to become future leaders. There are those who take the initiative to rally people to the activity and, inadvertently, lead the group. This could be a good indicator of their leadership capability. They don’t realize it but the activities also bring out their inclinations for group work—whether they become active participants or silent supporters. This is a good opportunity for you to observe how people react to each other and find ways of minimizing friction because of personality differences.

All of these benefits boil down to one thing: increased productivity. When there is better communication, increased trust, boosted morale and enhanced creativity, the whole team benefits and work gets done better and faster. While they may involve cost and the direct financial benefits may be vague, the benefits to your team’s productivity are obvious.

Your team will help you succeed and it is up to you to give them opportunities to work seamlessly with one another to get the job done. Team building does not always have to be expensive, but it needs to be purposive and enjoyable so your team can learn while having fun because, in the end, you can only go so far as your team does. n

DATA shows that the average cost of critical illness is about P2 million, but when it comes to actual claims made by its customers, Philam Life shared that the average in 2018 is only about P350,000. This leaves a big question on where the remaining balance to cover the expense will come from.

In the 2018 Healthy Living Index Study conducted by AIA Group, Philam Life’s Hong Kong-based parent company, the survey revealed that a staggering 78 percent of Filipinos surveyed are expecting the government to shoulder the cost of treating critical illness.

These numbers will mean more from the point of view of actual people who have battled critical illnesses. Regardless of what age critical illness hits, it wreaks havoc on carefully laid out plans, making the future uncertain for most people, especially those who have a history of illness in their families.

This is why Philam Life is committed to create innovative products that help protect Filipinos against the uncertainties of critical illness such as the newly launched AIA Critical Protect 100.

“Being diagnosed with cancer at such a young age was a huge scare for me. Illnesses like cancer is supposed to come when you’re old and you’ve lived life to the fullest, not when you’re just starting to have fun,” said Wil Dasovich, Philam Life brand ambassador. “It was such a wake-up call for me to start thinking and preparing for my future, now that I’ve been given a second lease in life.”

“Most couples our age are probably more concerned about saving up to invest in property or splurging on trips. As brand ambassadors of Philam Life, Solenn [Heussaff] and I have become more aware of the importance of life insurance and protecting ourselves from illnesses or untoward events in the future. Investing and saving for the future are important, but we’ve come to understand that protection is the most basic need that we have to address first. Living a healthier, longer and better life comes easily when you know you’re protected,” added Nico Bolzico, another Philam Life brand ambassador.

AIA Critical Protect 100 offers comprehensive health and protection benefits from zero to 100 years old, offering coverage for up to 100 minor and major illnesses including cancer, heart attack or stroke. There’s an option to include riders which give increased coverage for gender-specific cancers like ovarian or prostate, as well as financial benefits during recovery period and plan protection for loved ones.

Best of all, the product is powered by Philam Vitality, Philam Life’s game-changing wellness program that helps encourage the right behavior by incentivizing customers with rewards for knowing and improving their health.

“As a Philam Vitality member, I’m not just protected by life insurance; I’m also rewarded for living a healthier, longer and better life. The program can help prevent the onset of critical illness by challenging and motivating me to meet my weekly fitness target and rewards me for living healthy,” said Philam Life Brand Ambassador Raymond Gutierrez.

Philam Vitality’s enhanced weekly rewards include free coffee or tea from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, SM Cinema tickets, GrabCar vouchers, Globe postpaid and prepaid credits, on top of preferential discounts from program partners like Toby’s Sports, Garmin, Gold’s Gym, UFC Gym, Hi-Precision Diagnostics, Makati Medical Center, Enchanted Kingdom, Philippine Airlines, Seda Hotels and SM Cinema.

Find out more about AIA Critical Project 100 and the Philam Vitality by visiting the Philam Life web site at www. philamlife.com.

renting and has “never looked back,” he says. “Now, I live in a well-managed apartment building, and all of that is taken care of for me.”

YOU CRAVE AMENITIES. Renting can give you access to perks like an on-site gym or a rooftop swimming pool. But some buildings go well beyond the basics, offering next-level amenities, says Sophie Morrison, a real-estate broker in downtown Chicago.

“We’re seeing things like bowling alleys, boxing rings, golf simulators, massage rooms, salt saunas, basketball courts, movie theaters, recording studios and wine cellars,” Morrison says, noting that many of her clients can afford to buy but choose to rent in part because of the amenities new buildings offer. “These luxuries are significantly more common in rental buildings than condos.”

YOU LIKE FINANCIAL PREDICTABILITY. Average rents in a city may fluctuate, but once you sign a lease, your rent is fixed for the duration of the lease, if not beyond.

The same cannot always be said for homeownership.

Yes, your mortgage payments remain stable, but maintenance costs can be unpredictable. Property taxes can also fluctuate, and not just because your home value increases. Cities can impose higher

property tax rates, and laws can change (and have changed) how much you can deduct from your taxes.

Buying a home comes with a lot more upfront costs, too. First, there’s the down payment, which might be anywhere from 5 percent to 20 percent of the home price. Then, there’s closing costs.

All of that can leave you feeling cash poor. So it’s not surprising that 34 percent of first-time homebuyers said they no longer felt financially secure after purchasing their current home, according to a survey conducted this year by The Harris Poll for NerdWallet.

YOU HAVE A GOOD THING GOING. Another great reason to keep renting? You love where you live.

If you have a great house or apartment with a reliable landlord and below-market rent, follow the adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” You aren’t throwing money away by renting. In fact, you may be saving money if you live in a city where renting is cheaper than owning a home. “Everyone needs a place to hang their hat, but there’s no law that says you need to own that place,” Bolognino says.

“Find a place that meets your needs, that provides you flexibility or value or piece of mind.” AP

Team building for better work dynamics SUI GENERIS CARLO ATIENZA

biblisko@gmail.com

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OUR success as a leader depends in not inconsiderable days on your team members. It starts with hiring people with the best set of skills to execute your vision, and then developing them to get to the next level of their career. You know that you are a good leader if you have produced other leaders in your organization by mentoring and giving them opportunities and challenges to make their potential a reality.

One of the most overlooked aspects of developing people and a team is providing engaging activities that go beyond the corporate walls—literally. I am talking about team-building activities which allow people to let their hair down and just enjoy the company of their peers. A company-sponsored team-building activity signals to employees that the organization is willing to spend time and effort to the holistic development of employees and teams. If a company does not have this, you can still create opportunities for team building through shared interests or just setting a common time to just be together and getting to know each other better. This is especially important when there are new members in the team, or when the organization is undergoing major changes which could affect the team later on.

There are numerous benefits of a team-building activity.

One of the most obvious is the improved communication among team members. We recently had our team building and I can immediately see the change in work dynamics in my team. It now seems easier for them to ask help from other team members, and offer help to the same. The games in our team building helped them break down barriers to communicating freely with others because they were doing something fun for a common goal. That shared experience

helped them see others as trustworthy.

This is another benefit of team-building activities—it builds trust among the team members. While team-building activities need to have an agenda or objective which benefits the organization, it does not mean it has to be direct in its application. Team-building activities that successfully meet their objectives are those which the team enjoys doing but are not directly related to their work. One of the games we played was a charade relay where, instead of a person saying the message from one person to the next, they had to act it out.

This activity was so much fun because people had to come up with creative ways of acting out the message, but it also helped them understand how the other person can figure out the message by understanding how the other person thinks.

This helped them understand that people may not always get what you mean but with persistence and looking for other ways to make them understand, they will eventually get it. But they have to try and try until the other person understands.

Team-building activities also encourage creativity and fun in the workplace. Looking back at the charade relay game, team-building activities help team members in looking for other ways to make it work. Because of the increased trust with one another, team members are also more open to risks and experimentation because they know their team will support them. Taking this to the organization, this will spur more innovations and process improvement initiatives because they can rely on their colleagues to support them in their initiatives. It helps them think beyond what they are familiar with and look at how things can be better so the other person can do what they need to do.

The shared experiences in a team-building activity also help foster collaboration and smoother work dynamics. By asking team members to do a game or a fun activity, they invariably deal with everyone regardless of role, position, or expertise, and bring whatever they can to win. This, in turn, helps them see everyone as having something to contribute toward the goal. This would not have been the same if team members just sat down and I presented them with a new project and asked for their opinion on how we should go about it. A team-building activity helps them see their colleagues having individual strengths and personalities, and working with them to achieve a common goal. This also helps team members adjust accordingly to another’s opportunities for improvement.

When there is better communication, increased trust, boosted morale, and enhanced creativity, the whole team benefits and work gets done better and faster.

5 reasons to keep renting

By KelSey SHeeHy | NerdWallet YOU have a stable job and a solid nest egg. Time to buy a home, right? Not necessarily.

Although homeownership can offer financial benefits like equity, appreciation and tax deductions, there may still be good reasons to keep renting even when you can afford to buy, including more mobility and financial flexibility.

“It’s really just not as cut and dried as the famous ‘throwing money away on rent,’ especially if renting is buying you something you value, such as flexibility or consistency in terms of cost of living,” says Charlie Bolognino, a certified financial planner at Side-bySide Financial Planning Llc. in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Here are five reasons renting might make sense for you: YOU WANT FLEXIBILITY. Buying a home could easily tie you to a place for years, if not decades. You can always sell, of course, but there are associated costs— and you could lose money if you sell too soon or are forced to sell in a down market.

Renting, on the other hand, gives you more freedom to relocate as desired. Sure, you have a lease

to consider, but those typically last just 12 months, and you may have the option to sublet if you can find a new tenant. So you can more easily jump at a career opportunity across the country or simply try a different neighborhood on for size.

That level of flexibility can also provide relief if your financial situation changes. “When you’re renting, you have a light at the end of the tunnel where, if you’re stretched thinner than you thought you would be, you can pick up and move when your lease is up,” says Kelly Ennis, a certified financial planner and founder of Infinity Financial Strategies Llc. in Granby, Connecticut. “With a house, you have to pay it off or sell it, and hope you get at least as much as you paid or enough to cover your mortgage.”

YOU DON’T HAVE TIME FOR MAINTENANCE. Homeownership is work. Yardwork. Housework.

Maintenance work. All of that can be a drain.

“Owning your own property just takes more time,” says Kenny Kline, an entrepreneur in Brooklyn, New York. “Dealing with maintenance, the co-op board, the occasional construction project all takes more time and stress than you realize.”

Kline previously owned a home, but went back to

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, June 26, 2019 • Editor : Tet Andolong

AERIAL shot Courtyard Hall with view of DLSU Laguna

ARTHALAND LAUNCHES FIRST LEED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

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By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

FTER completing its first green building in Bonifacio Global City, major green developer ArthaLand recently raised the bar in green development when it launched the Sevina Park—the first development in the country that will aim for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Neighborhood Development and LEED Home Certifications.

TYPICAL dormitory unit

FOUR-BEDROOM Villa

“We are excited to launch our highly anticipated first horizontal project that will serve as a testament that neighborhood developments designed to protect and preserve the natural environment, while simultaneously enhancing quality of life can be done in the country,” said Jaime C. González, vice chairman and president and CEO of ArthaLand during the press briefing held in Biñan City in Laguna.

“And as with all next generation of ArthaLand projects, Sevina Park reinforces our commitment to world-class sustainable development,” added González.

Being a green project, González

stressed that ArthaLand will allocate a 60 percent open space for Sevina Park that will have generous areas for walkways, pathways, swimming pools and other amenities to ensure that future residents will have the convenience just to walk to get to their destinations.

“Once development is completed, you will have a seven-minute walk to your destination,” González pointed out.

ArthaLand tapped Bostonbased global design firm Sasaki Associates Inc. Sevina Park to develop a community master plan to the 8.1-hectare project that is envisioned to become a sustainable, close-knit neighborhood that

will be conveniently located a few minutes from the soon to open Laguna Boulevard interchange of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway.

Christopher G. Narciso, executive vice president for project and business development of ArthaLand described that Sevina Park will be a modern-day community that will have an array of diverse and exceptionally designed components with the commercial portion consisting of neighborhood retail and landmark green offices.

Furthermore, its residential portions will consist of a comfortable dormitory that will cater to nearby schools, a set of idyllic lowrise apartments and lofts, and a townhouse villa component with limited-edition designer homes by the famous firm Leandro V. Locsin and Partners.

Scheduled for turnover in the second quarter of 2021, Sevina Park will be composed of masterfully crafted two, three and fourbedroom villas that will open up to expansive courtyard gardens within each block.

“The villas will have each own courtyard garden. It will be a first of its kind garden in the development of horizontal homes,” Narciso said.

“Sevina” is a coined word that means life as a foundation for new beginnings. Meanwhile, the word “Park,” stresses the design and emotional aspect of a quaint, mixed-use community with open

areas, shared gardens, enveloping courtyards, scenic streetscapes, and an abundance of lush greenery for interaction, convergence and community engagement.

ArthaLand will equip Sevina Park with the conveniences of modern living as all the villas will be equipped with an energy efficient building envelope; efficient lighting, energy and water fixtures; and will be Wi-Fi enabled and home au-

tomation ready.

Meanwhile, the exclusive fourbedroom Villa 170 unit type will have additional sustainable features such as a provision for solar power systems, enhanced indoor air quality by mechanical exhaust and the use of FSC-certified wood, which qualify them to become the first LEED Certified Home in the country.

“We are a boutique developer

CHRISTOPHER G. NARCISO (from left), executive vice president for Business and Project Development of ArthaLand, Christopher T. Po, director of ArthaLand, Leonardo Arthur T. Po, executive vice president and treasurer of ArthaLand, Jaime C. González, vice chairman and president/chief executive officer of ArthaLand, Leandro Y. Locsin Jr. of Leandro V. Locsin and Partners, Gabriel I. Paulino, senior vice president for Technical Services of ArthaLand, Sheryll P. Verano, senior vice president for Strategic Funding and Investments of ArthaLand, and Ferdinand A. Constantino, chief finance officer of ArthaLand

not in relation to size, but because of our attention to detail and desire to push the envelope in green development. We are proud to say that Sevina Park is a carefully and thoughtfully curated sustainable community that will be the first of its kind in the country,” said Leonardo T. Po, executive vice president and treasurer of ArthaLand.

“Sevina Park pushes further the development on sustainability which means optimized consumption of water and energy and recycle waste,” Po added. Lots sizes in Sevina Park are 100 square meters, 137 sq m and 160 sq m.

During the launch, officials of ArthaLand also inaugurated the Sevina Park tree nursery and composting facility.

Moreover, ArthaLand and the World Wide Fund for Nature conducted a tree-planting activity of endemic and endangered trees. It was participated in by management and directors of ArthaLand, VIPs from WWF, LV Locsin and Partners and directors of the Philippine Green Building Council.

ArthaLand also announced the partnership with the WWF to help them in improving the environment and community around Sevina Park. Under the partnership, WWF will assist ArthaLand in adding more lush greenery; promote biodiversity and helping save threatened plant species in the Philippines.

“This is our commitment to the environment,” said González.

Business

E2 Wednesday, June 26, 2019

INDOOR LANDSCAPING RISING TREND IN REAL ESTATE Amor Maclang

FIRST DIBS IN REAL ESTATE

THE Dahon Lang family; Cecille Punzalan (from right), Ar. Gem Marielle Lim EnP., RMP, Leed Green Associates, Ar. Christopher Cuenca and Ar. John Elritz Gallo, EnP.

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OST of the projects in real estate I am involved in take pride in their (outdoor) landscaping but a recent trend in indoor or interior landscaping has taken Metro Manila by storm for fullblown projects to table escapes that are intended to take the stress out of urban life.

As people get lost in the hustle and bustle of the concrete urban jungle with their day-to-day activities, little realize the negative impacts on their psyche. We try to find escape in the world of constant notification, fast food, social media and addictive TV series. We find ourselves burned out with the taxing daily routine. It has been said that “routine is the enemy of time, and we urban dwellers would want to have a feeling of routine and get trapped in the high-strung lifestyle and lose time.” The only time to get back to nature is on paid vacations—brief escapes spent at overdeveloped tourism destinations. Ar. Chris Cuenca, Ar. Gem Lim, Business Dev. Cecille and Ar. EnP. Elritz Gallo can personally attest to this circumstance as they have first-hand experience in the Metro—a good example of a bad working environment due to the excessive daytime population, influx of vehicular traffic and air pollution.

Hiking has been a usual activity that they, as urban planners and architects, do as they go on-site visits for their projects all over the Philippines. It has also become an annual recreational event for most of them in the office. From all these immersive activities in nature, they found their inner calling—a more meaningful purpose—aside from the profession they are currently practicing.

One day, Ar. Chris, who spe-

cializes in Architectural Interiors, randomly purchased a Tillandsia Ionantha Fuego, a colorful and little type of air plant, and brought it to the office. Since he was still a novice at taking care of indoor plants, the plant died in less than three months. Instead of giving up, he became more curious and eager to tend plants. He started buying more plants, and ferociously studied the intricate art and science of indoor gardening. Eventually, he was able to successfully keep them alive; and began selling them to aspiring “plant-parents.”

Sample of air plants ‘Tillandsia’ display tray

HIS display of plants on his work desk made everyone in the office ecstatic about his hobby and inspired some of them to start their own. As the requests for plants increased, Christopher needed assistance in his weekly plant shopping, and so he invited Ar. EnP. Elritz to join.

Ar. Gem and BD. Cecille eventually joined in the hobby and eventually took part in the “plant-hunting.”

Officemates and friends tagged them as “plant-hunters” as they would buy the plants that were requested, most of them rare or hard to find just like treasures. Their passion for filling up their workspace with greenery spread like wild fire in the office, until more and more workmates desired to have a plant on their own desks, too. At first, it started with simple air plants that

BEFORE and after photo of a condominium console table with air purifiers

sat on thin wires. Now, almost everyone has potted succulents or cacti on the corners of their desks.

Sometime in 2019, these four plant addicts found themselves together, jovially humming to pop songs while getting their hands dirty during one of their “potting sessions” (transferring their newly bought plants to new pots) and they realized that this activity brought them together as friends and they have bonded as a group just because of this shared interest in plants. The following weekend they were making their way to a local flea market at 3 in the morning. It was at this point that the plant hunting became a serious business. More officemates desired to be plant-parents; while some wanted plants to give away as gifts. The demand for potted plants grew as more of their officemates desired to be plant-parents, and for some, they just wanted to present as gifts. What started out as a stressrelieving getaway turned into an exciting business idea for this group of “potheads.”

Dahon Lang is an online plant shop and design consultancy with a purpose of promoting a healthy urban lifestyle by enhancing indoor air quality. Living or working in an energy-efficient modern building can have unintended side effects such as less air flow. This leads to indoor air pollution to build up and cause health issues like asthma and having sick building syndrome

SUGGESTED air purifiers and low maintenance plants for indoor living

(a condition affecting office workers, typically marked by headaches and respiratory problems).

The plants that come in new pots and fresh soil are purchased from local businesses from different provinces in the country like Laguna, Benguet and Davao provinces. Through the plant hunts, the group was able to personally meet fellow plant lovers and sellers alike who were kind enough to share their knowledge in taking care of these potted treasures. Despite the advent of the Internet, and the amount of information that can be sourced being limitless; truly, the love, commitment and experience nurturing these plants are still the best teachers. With this knowledgebase on hand, they have mastered the selection and the characteristics of the plant species and its respective optimal environment which they can thrive in.

Some people are hesitant to buy plants because they think they don’t have a green thumb and that they don’t know how to take care of them.

Actually, it is easy and simply. There are just rules of thumb to follow.

Here are tips they shared in finding the perfect plant for your home or office: n Ask yourself on how committed you are to become a “Dahonnanay.” If you are too busy, you should go for low maintenance plants. n Check your environment. Is it

hot, moist or cold? n Research on the plants that are perfect for your environment. There are some low maintenance plants such as Peace Lilies, Snake Plants, Fiddle Fig Trees, Rubber Plants, Monstera Alogmena, Chinese Evergreens, and Spider Plants. These plants usually thrive at almost all weather conditions, plus they are air purifiers. n More than watering, location is the key to a plant’s development so make sure to check the orientation of the window. n Enjoy on the benefits and happiness that the plant will bring to your home or office.

Eventually, Ar. Chris, Ar. Gem, BD. Cecille and Ar. EnP. Elritz were able to close the loop between indoor gardening and architectural space planning. They found a common ground where their hobby and present professions intersect—and that is interior plant styling. Greenery is an integral component of Tropical Architecture Planning and Design. This style involves the incorporation of planning and design solutions into the development to keep the interior temperature cool despite the hot and humid climate.

As people tend to spend a lot of time indoors, the interiors play an important role in health and wellness. A natural way to enhance the quality of air and to keep the interior spaces cool is to go for indoor plants. In a way, plants bring the outside in by

creating visual depth.

The nature surrounding your building becomes part of the room, making it seem larger. It is also a known fact that when we see the color of nature, we have this sense of relaxation that is incomparable and a direct contrast to our urban spaces. It is scientifically proven that it is because of the color green that lets our eyes relax.

Aside from the aesthetic and functional values, plants also offer the following benefits: increased humidity, reduced energy costs, improved health, better concentration and decreased stressed, among others. Thus, interior plant styling can be used for showcasing healthier living or working spaces. Having attractive plants as interior design elements can help set a good first impression. Plants can also give a sense of scale to a room, such as the height of a ceiling, and serve as a focal point by filling up empty spaces like tabletops or corners of the room.

The joy of what Dahon Lang brings to them pushes them to share the healthy lifestyle with the rest of the working community. As environmental advocates, Dahon Lang’s ultimate goal is to enhance urban living by incorporating nature into the interior spaces. In a modest way, Dahon Lang also helps local plant businesses to thrive, while promoting awareness of our indigenous plants that are native to our country.

MÖVENPICK BORACAY OFFERS BPI CARDHOLDERS DISCOUNTED STAY

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28

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ÖVENPICK Resort & Spa Boracay has tied up with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to offer its cardholders discounted rates and additional perks until the latter part of the year.

“At Mövenpick Resort & Spa Boracay, we are always seeking new ways to make stays more rewarding for our esteemed domestic guests,” said André Brulhart, general manager of Mövenpick Resort & Spa Boracay.

“BPI is one of the Philippines’s largest banks, so this partnership will make it even easier for thousands of card-

holders to enjoy blissful beachfront breaks in Boracay,” he added.

Per the agreement, members of BPI’s various credit-card programs will get a 30-percent discount on the best available rate for all rooms and suites at the international branded resort and spa at Punta Bunga Cove in Boracay.

With the markdown price, guests can stay at the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Boracay for as low as P6,500 plus per room a night.

Extra amenities and services will also be offered to BPI cardholders.

These include late 2 p.m. checkout, 20-percent off signature massage treatments at the Sagay Spa, and 20-percent off food and beverage at

The Market, Brezza and Ssäm.

Guests will, likewise, avail themselves of a 15-percent discount on private airport transfers from Caticlan airport. Shared transfers are offered free of charge.

Last, a 50-percent discount will be offered on the third night of any stay to BPI’s Visa Signature credit cardholders.

“With a generous 30-percent discount and an array of added extras, we look forward to welcoming BPI’s cardholders to our resort in the coming months,” said Brulhart.

This promotion is valid for online reservations made directly with the hotel, for bookings and stays taken until December 15, 2019. Other terms

and conditions apply.

Launched in December 2017, Mövenpick Resort & Spa Boracay houses 312 rooms, suites and villas, with dining options and world-class facilities, including the 3,300-square-meter multilevel swimming pool.

After Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu, this is the second Philippine-based property of global upscale hotel management firm Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts.

The Swiss hospitality chain manages over 83 hotels, resorts and Nile cruisers across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. It is on track to meet its target of operating 125 properties by 2020.

sMirror

Wednesday, June 26, 2019 E3

A grand celebration at Evia Lifestyle Center

By Leony R. Garcia

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HE southerners have all the reasons to be happy. They have this wide, green space, fresh(er) air and an almost laid-back vibe community compared to the densely populated Metro Manila.

They have this mall along Daang Hari, Las Piñas—Vista Mall—touted to be the country’s most beautiful mall.

Highly esteemed entrepreneur Manny Villar is the man behind Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. The Philippines richest man couldn’t help but boast about his company’s business developments in recent years.

He said that aside from the houses his company built, he has always wanted to build malls and establishments that are comparable with other malls abroad. “We already have many malls but Vista Mall is different. Currently, it’s the prettiest mall in the country. And we will keep it that way, make it more beautiful. So Filipinos don’t really need to travel to taste top-notch mall experience and world-class experiences.”

“Bakit tayo naiiwan? So sabi ko why don’t we build things that will already take into consideration what the Philippines will be five years from now, 10 years from now,” he said.

Founded in 2012 with the main goal to bring shopping mall near the Vista community, Vista Land now has 33 Vista Malls nationwide.

Aside from the malls nationwide, the company has been aggressively expanding its retail businesses that include All Home, which is expected to reach 40 stores by year-end; Market Liberty, which offers a platform for local entrepreneurs to expand their businesses; Coffee Project, dubbed as the most Instagrammable coffee shop in the Philippines, and which will soon house bookstores in select branches; Bake My Day;

All Toys; All Sports; Kinder City; and All Day Supermarket, which has Paluto and Gastroville. Even the IMAX at Evia Lifestyle Center is claimed by the Villar group to be the most advanced IMAX technology in the Philippines.

Evia, short for Pontevia, or Bridgeway, is a reference to the location of the heart of Vista Alabang, set on a central bridge point that joins all the parts of Vista Alabang.

Evia Lifestyle Center, is today’s South premier shopping destination, serving as urban Alabang’s premier retail, entertainment and dining destination. Tagged as the most beautiful and Instagrammable

mall by its patrons, Evia’s recently unveiled North wing is a fitting expansion to the main mall.

“We’re very proud of the retail business. We faced many challenges early on—people were telling us we cannot do it, that it cannot be done, or it has not been done before. But I never accepted these. It even became more challenging because we wanted to offer our mallgoers something that is beautiful but also affordable.

But we have done it, and we have a lot more in store for you,” Villar said.

The former senator led his company’s Supplier’s Appreciation Night on June 6 coinciding with the expansion celebration of Evia

Lifestyle Center and formal opening of the newest branches of Villar Group of Cos.’ All Home and All Day Supermarket at the Center’s North Wing, the establishment’s newest mall expansion.

Aside from that, the Forbes list’s top Filipino business tycoon also launched the first stand-alone store Bake My Day, which has branches found within or right beside Villar’s own supermarket brand. The bakery is home to delicious bread and pastries like its famous sweet potato cake and unique Okonomiyaki bread Market Liberty, an experimental venture aiming to help local entre-

preneurs expand their businesses, also opened its second store at Evia.

The store serves as a home to numerous well-loved brands in the country, especially those found online.

Shoppers can expect a wider collection of fashion and beauty items, as well as newly added categories such as organic and sustainably sourced food items in the new store.

Villar also shared that the wellloved Coffee Project, his own coffee shop brand, will also open its first integrated bookstore café at Evia.

He also plans to produce a total of 100 Vista cinemas with advanced IMAX features by the end of the year.

At present, Vista Land, through

its residential business, has the widest geographic reach with projects currently present in 147 cities and municipalities in 49 provinces.

It has six business units namely, Camella Homes, Community Philippines, Crown Asia, Brittany and Vista Residences which are focused on residential property development while Starmalls is involved in commercial property development.

Vista Land intends to focus on the development of Communicities, an integrated urban development combining lifestyle retail, prime office space, a university town, health care, themed residential developments and leisure components.

Seda BGC unveils second tower to meet community’s surging demands

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HE growth of Seda Hotels over almost seven years from a homegrown boutique chain to a dynamic nationwide brand is best captured by the expansion of its flagship hotel in BGC. With the addition of its second tower, the hotel which first launched the Seda name in 2012 now offers a ballroom that can seat 300, a restaurant that can accommodate 220 and a chic lobby with contemporary lines that would be right at home in any global capital. When completed in the next few months, the hotel will have increased its room inventory to 521, consisting of guestrooms, suites and serviced residences.

Once the lone hotel targeted toward business executives in what was then an emerging Metro Manila business district, “Seda BGC was expanded to keep pace with the surging demand for premier accommodations and facilities in the area,” according to Andrea Mastellone, senior group general manager who opened the hotel in 2012.

Now with two towers joined together by the expansive ground floor lobby, the hotel has retained its con-

A CHIC lobby with contemporary lines that would be right at home in any global capital connects both towers of the expanded Seda BGC now with 521 rooms.

ONCE the lone hotel targeted toward business executives in what was then an emerging Metro Manila business district, Seda BGC will offer 521 rooms upon completion to keep pace with the surging demand for premier accommodations and facilities in the area.

temporary design theme and added accent colors and pops of greenery to infuse warmth and a welcoming vibe.

Overall, Seda BGC’s look is uncomplicated chic, a highly appropriate backdrop for contemporary art pieces by Filipino artists such as Ayala Chairman emeritus and photographer Jaime Zobel de Ayala whose mural animates the Front Desk. Ann Pamintuan’s familiar art pieces also adorn the lobby.

Guests, as well as BGC denizens and visitors, are also expected to converge at the nearby Misto, which means

will continuously showcase creative innovations to its offerings.

One floor up is the ballroom, a likely venue for important business meetings and social events owing to the hotel’s strategic location at the heart of BGC. It can accommodate up to 420 persons, theater-style, with a spacious pre-function area and is divisible into three smaller function rooms. Nearby are four meeting rooms that can accommodate from 12 up to 50 persons.

All these have increased the number of function spaces to a total of 11 from

“mixed” in Italian and indicates the restaurant’s international selection which can be enjoyed on its daily breakfast and lunch buffets. Its focal points are a show kitchen, a private dining room for 10 persons and a semi-private area for up to 30 persons.

“Misto is one of the new building’s highlights,” beams Mastellone, who states that the restaurant can now accommodate more than 200 persons or six times more than could the original restaurant. The new Misto offers a more sophisticated selection of dishes and

the two towers combined.

The Seda BGC client, nevertheless, will most appreciate the hotel’s bright and airy deluxe guest rooms furnished with modern pieces in warm tones.

He may first notice the absence of the usual rectangular desk only to realize that this has been replaced by a more functional glass-topped round table flanked by an executive chair for serious work, and a banquette for dining or lounging.

Mastellone explains that soon, some facilities and amenities will be

transferred from the original to the new tower. These include the Club Rooms and Club Lounge, Straight Up roof deck bar, the gym and pool.

“All will be bigger than the original,” says the hotelier of Italian nationality.

He adds that new room categories will be the Executive Suite and the top-of-the-line Seda Suite, as well as studios and one-bedroom serviced residences which will open within the next few months.

Over and above its rooms and amenities, the expanded Seda BGC is expected to remain an institution for decades to come in this vibrant business community because of its topnotch service. Staffed by locals, the Seda name has become synonymous with genuine Filipino hospitality that meets global standards as exemplified by its high rate of repeat and satisfied guests that average a high 42 percent, surpassing the industry standard.

Seda Hotels owned by Ayala Land now has nine properties in key capitals of the country and includes northern Quezon City’s first five-star property and a top-end resort hotel in the Lio Tourism Estate in Northern Palawan favored by global tourists.

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

E4 Wednesday, June 26, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Edi Tekeli brings authentic Italian food at affordable prices to Pinoys

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By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

Contributor

TALIAN cuisine has long been a part of the Filipino palate consciousness —from the sweet-style spaghetti served during children’s parties to thin crust pizzas—that may have fueled the proliferation of numerous restaurants across the country.

The Filipinos’ love for Italian food pushed Edi Tekeli, a longtime Philippine resident from Italy, to establish a dining place that will serve genuine authentic Italian food at affordable prices.

Tekeli, a fashion mogul as he is the man behind bringing clothing brands Mango and Guess to the country, established Pizzeria Mozza & Mercato at the Century Mall.

“I want to deliver the taste of northern Italian food at affordable prices to Filipinos,” Tekeli said in a recent interview with the BusinessMirror.

The native of northern Italy is patiently building the business and waiting for the right time to seize

the growth opportunity. “There’s going to be growth opportunity once Century Diamond and Armani Spires are completed,” Tekeli beamed.

Bravura

WITH the two structures estimated to have 5,000 employees, Pizzeria Mozza & Mercato can provide the needs of the two buildings during lunch break and meetings.

Possessed with the typical Italian bravura, Tekeli plans to expand by putting up 10 branches outside Metro Manila. He said the expansion of Pizzeria Mozza & Mercato will be inside malls because of the high volume of foot traffic. “We

China’s biggest start-ups ditch Oracle, IBM for homemade tech

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OR years, companies like Oracle and International Business Machines (IBM) invested heavily to build new markets in China for their industry-leading databases.

Now, boosted in part by escalating US tensions, one Chinese upstart is stepping in, winning over tech giants, start-ups and financial institutions to its enterprise software.

Beijing-based PingCAP already counts more than 300 Chinese customers. Many, including food delivery giant Meituan, its bike-sharing service Mobike, video streaming site iQiyi Inc., and smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. are migrating away from Oracle and IBM’s services toward PingCAP’s, encapsulating a nation’s resurgent desire to “Buy China.”

PingCAP’s ascendancy comes as the US cuts Huawei Technologies Co. off from key technology, sending chills through the country’s largest entities, while raising questions about the security of foreign-made products. That’s a key concern as Chinese companies modernize systems in every industry from finance and manufacturing to health care by connecting them to the Internet.

“A lot of firms that used to resort to Oracle or IBM thought replacing them was a distant milestone, they never thought it would happen tomorrow,” said Huang Dongxu, PingCAP’s cofounder and chief technology officer. “But now they are looking at plan B very seriously.” IBM, which gets over a fifth of its revenue from Asia, declined to comment. Oracle, which gets about 16 percent, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

China has long tried to replace foreign with homegrown technology, particularly in sensitive hardware— it imports more semiconductors than oil. That imperative has birthed global names like Huawei and Oppo, and even carried over into software in recent years, as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. expand into cloud services. That effort has gained urgency since Washington and Beijing began to square off over technology.

“China has always wanted to use domestic tech and, in areas like cloud, it’s been very successful,” said Julia

Pan, a Shanghai-based analyst with UOB Kay Hian. “While it wants to use Chinese chips, its technology is just not there, but when it’s mature enough, they very likely will replace overseas chips with domestic ones.”

Now, a coterie of up-and-coming start-ups are encouraging Chinese firms to go local. Customers use PingCAP to manage databases and improve efficiency, allowing them to store and locate data on everything from online banking transactions to the location of food delivery personnel.

Backed by Matrix Partners China and Morningside Venture Capital, PingCAP is competing in a sector traditionally dominated by companies such as Oracle and IBM. The market is expected to grow an average 8 percent annually to $63 billion globally in the seven years through 2022.

The start-up is one of the newest members of a cohort of open-source database providers such as PostgreSQL and SQLite that are upending the market. Researcher Gartner forecasts that 70 percent of new, inhouse applications worldwide will be developed on open-source database management systems by 2022.

PingCAP—mashing the term for verifying a Web connection, ping, and the CAP computing theorem— was founded by three programmers whose former employer, a mobile apps company, was acquired by Alibaba. Inspired by Google’s Cloud Spanner, which pioneered the distributed database model, the trio— Huang, Liu Qi and Cui Qiu—began creating an open-source database management system that would allow companies to infinitely expand their data storage by simply linking more servers to existing ones.

“Think of traditional database mangers like a fixed glass container, every time you run out of storage you have to get a bigger one,” said Huang.

“What our system does is that you can link as many cups together as you want.”

Their idea caught on with investors and venture fund hot shots including Matrix agreed to invest about 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) in 2015. To date the company has raised more than $71 million and has about 190 employees. Bloomberg News

TEKELI

also have a plan to open a branch in Guam,” he said.

“My partner from Guam is bullish on the opening of Pizzeria Mozza & Mercato because it has a lot of visitors from different parts of the world,” he said.

Moreover, clients of Paper Moon, an Italian restaurant in Milan, which Tekeli opened in the Philippines through franchise, have also thrown their support to his latest business venture because they are aware he will deliver the same quality and service. “So far, the response of clients have been very warm,” Tekeli pointed out.

The offerings of Pizzeria Mozza & Mercato has expanded. From pizza, pasta and soup of the day, Tekeli has added rib eye, lamb chops and osso buco in the main course menu. Moreover, the desserts, such as tiramisu, panna cotta and strawberry cheesecake are also perfect after a sumptuous lunch or dinner.

“We also offer good quality coffee,” he said.

Expanded offerings

TEKELI also said Pizzeria Mozza & Mercato has plans to offer breakfast and al fresco dining. “Slowly but surely, we will be expanding our

offerings,” he pointed out.

“I recently opened a deli to serve the needs of the clients. With the restaurant’s big size, I realized I can serve more food,” he added.

With his Mango connection, Tekeli is optimistic that he can build the Pizzeria Mozza & Mercato brand in other areas. Moreover, the boom in the property sector is also contributing to the growth of establishments such as restaurants.

Tekeli came to the Philippines in the early ’80s after meeting his Filipina wife in a fashion show in 1980.

In the Philippines, Tekeli created a name in the fashion industry when he introduced the Guess brand in the country in 1992.

Later, he brought the Mango brand in the country, which was accepted by Manila’s fashion market. During the peak of Mango’s popularity, Tekeli decided to close Mango’s operations in Manila and moved to Los Angeles in 2006. He opened several Mango retail stores in the United States. Aside from opening Mango stores, Tekeli decided to live in Los Angeles to join his children.

Now that he is back in the food business, Filipinos are guaranteed to experience the real la dolce vita in Italian cuisine courtesy of the affable and jolly Italian entrepreneur.

Trade dept ignites ‘entrepreneurial revolution’ through village services

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LOILO CITY—Eighty-seven barangays (villages) from 17 fourth to fifth class municipalities of Iloilo province were chosen for the “Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay” program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) this year.

Ermelinda P. Pollentes, DTI assistant regional director and concurrent director for Iloilo, said they hope to embark on an “entrepreneurial revolution” by opening the eyes and minds of the project recipients on starting a business through information dissemination.

“We go to barangays because we want them to become entrepreneurs.

We want to create entrepreneurial revolution because that’s the only way we can compete with our neighboring countries in the context of

Asean economy,” she said in recent news conference.

Pollentes said that after the training, those who are already engaged in business could have them registered with DTI so they could later on transact with more suppliers and buyers.

For start-ups, they can probably think of a product or service that is not yet available in their barangays, then embark on it, the official said.

DTI’s Industry Development Division Senior Trade and Industry Development Specialist and Negosyo Center Account Officer Mutya D. Eusores said they target 100 participants for every batch of Negosyo Serbisyo activity.

During the session, they will be made aware of the services available at the DTI and Negosyo Center, as

well as their other partners in business development.

DTI hopes to cover 87 barangays

by November as they target to commence the activity this July.

The villages listed for the Negosyo Serbisyo are in the towns of Guimbal and Tubungan in the province’s first district; San Miguel, Leganes, New Lucena and Zarraga in the second district; Badiangan, Bingawan and Mina in the third district; Anilao, Banate and Dueñas in the fourth district; and Balasan, Batad, Lemery, San Dionisio and San Rafael in the fifth district.

Pollentes said the DTI provincial officer choose the recipient barangays, and residents who are interested to avail themselves of business services may just approach their village officials. PNA

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL showcases best of its coconut food products in Washington, D.C.

By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

T

HE Philippine Embassy showcased the best of Philippine coconut products in the first ever “Taste the Philippines: D.C. Filipino Food Festival” held at the District Wharf on June 22, 2019.

More than 10,000 visitors gathered at the District Wharf in Washington, D.C., to try out unique Filipino dishes catered by various Filipino restaurants.

The event was participated in by catering organizations, and vendors from all around the area.

There was also cultural presentations and musical performances by Yo-Yo Inc., SNRG, Mabuhay Inc., Aira Renee Curameng, Pinakatay Arnis, SUAV and the Migrant Heritage Commission Fil-Am Dance Ensemble.

The Philippine Embassy, through the Office of the Agriculture Attaché, hosted the event to showcase the best of Philippine coconut products during one-day event.

Among those products that were sampled are Magnolia Macapuno Ice Cream sourced from Ramar Foods by Tito Al’s 2A Marketing; Trader Joe’s coconut water with pineapple juice; Kirkland coconut water sourced from the Philippines; Nuco coconut wraps of original, moringa, turmeric and cinnamon flavors.

These are available from organic food stores, such as Wegman’s in Alexandria; Ludy’s coconut jam, Florence coconut jam and Lady’s Choice tuna spread that were best paired with the coconut wraps; Nuco coconut crunch cereals; Butter Cream Macaroon flavored biscuits; and North Star’s buko pancit.

Free samples of Carrington Farms’ virgin coconut oil ready-to-go packs sourced from the Philippines were also given out to the festival visitors.

Visitors to the Philippine booth were encouraged to post photos of them enjoying the Philippine coconut products, or any dish with coconut ingredients, from the participating restaurants for a chance to win a $100 dollar gift card from Kaliwa restaurant.

The winner will be drawn on June 26, 2019, National Coconut Day. Some of the dishes by participating restaurants that also made use of coconut were Kaliwa’s pastry with coconut and ube, and Kuya Ja’s lobster laing.

“National Coconut Day is celebrated in the United States every June 26, and the D.C. Filipino Food Festival is an excellent platform to raise awareness and promote the Philippines’s very own coconut products and other agricultural exports that are readily available in the US market,” said Agriculture Attaché Dr. Josyline C. Javelosa.

Vape entrepreneurs raise concern in global nicotine forum

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EY issues affecting Philippine entrepreneurs engaged in selling e-cigarettes, or vapes, have been raised during a global forum in Poland.

Fair regulation and taxation on ecigarettes and other “safer” nicotine products which can help smokers quit was pushed by a Filipino consumer advocate who participated in the sixth Global Forum in Warsaw recently “What do consumers want? For me and the people who are trying to quit smoking, it is fair regulation of safer nicotine products. There should be accessibility, affordability and availability of these products,” Clarisse Virgino, a member of the Coalition of Asia-Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, said in one of the discussions during the forum.

More than 650 public-health experts, academicians, industry executives and consumer advocates from 70 countries, including the Philippines, gathered in Warsaw to push for safer nicotine products in place of conventional cigarettes that are associated with many diseases.

Virgino, a law student, said she has been vaping for almost a decade after she discovered it to be the best way to quit cigarette smoking. She is now engaged in educating smokers on alternative products, as well as the benefits in switching to these alternatives.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that in 2015, 16.6 million adults or 23.8 percent of the Philippine population were smokers. Of the total, 76.7 percent planned or were thinking about quitting, but only 4 percent were able to successfully quit.

“We want reasonable tax system and tax implementation so as not to impose a de facto ban on e-cigarettes, as well as HNBs [heat not burn],” said Virgino. A proposal to tax e-cigarettes like tobacco products, she said, could prevent more Filipinos from quitting smoking.

Vape shops are currently allowed to operate stores inside and outside shopping malls in the Philippines and some sellers conduct business online.

The Department of Finance, however, proposed to tax “vapor products” progressively in line with the “sin” tax for Universal Health Care. Under a bill approved by Congress and now awaiting signature of President Duterte, the government will impose an excise tax of P10 on 10ml of e-liquid and lower. The tax will increase P10 for every additional 10 ml.

The Department of Health also maintained that e-cigarettes should be treated and regulated no differently than other tobacco products until these alternatives to smoking were proven safe for consumption.

“You see that there is already an

issue because vape products are basically categorized as tobacco products,” Virgino added.

She said there is still hope because some senators aim to tax e-cigarettes lower after being informed that it helps people wean away from regular cigarette smoking.

An Australian doctor who also participated in the forum said safer nicotine products have the potential “to save hundreds of millions of lives.”

Angeles Muntadas-Prim, a vaping consumer advocate from Spain, said new technology in the form of e-cigarette device, “has liberated nicotine from smoke.”

Dr. Neal Benowitz, a professor of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco, said the long-term nicotine use through e-cigarettes is much less harmful than cigarette smoking.

Dr. Peter Hajek, a professor of Clinical Psychology at Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in Queen Mary University of London, cited the results of a study showing the potential of using nicotine to help people stop smoking.

“It has tremendous potential for public health,” he said.

Smoking prevalence has declined in countries where smokers switched to safer nicotine products such as electronic cigarettes, according to

public-health experts.

“We are moving away from the world of combustion. From internal combustion engines and cigarette combustion, we are moving to new ways of delivering energy and delivering pleasure,” said Prof. Gerry Stimson of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the program director of the sixth Global Forum on Nicotine.

The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction Report 2018 states that the arrival of electronic cigarettes (vape) and HNB devices, as well as the renewed interest in Swedish snus have disrupted the tobacco industry.

E-cigarettes are estimated to be 95 percent less harmful than smoking cigarettes, and they proved effective in making smokers switch, Stimson added.

Stimson said smokers are switching because cigarette smoking is the most dangerous and harmful way of consuming nicotine as the combustion process releases highly dangerous toxins. “The cigarette is a very dirty nicotine delivery system,” he said. It is the tar and gases from smoking and not nicotine that contains dangerous chemicals, he added.

“Half of those who smoke will die prematurely from smoking-related diseases. This means that about 6 million people die from smoking-related diseases every year,” he said.