Businessmirror March 22, 2019

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A broader look at today’s business n Friday, March 22, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 163

Diokno keeps waters calm, RRR unchanged B

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno announced that the Monetary Board has kept all monetary-policy rates unchanged and retained the level of the banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on Thursday’s meeting as inflation pressures eased further in recent weeks.

The newly appointed governor recently made what analysts have called “dovish comments” on handling the monetary-policy tool kit, including the possibility of multiple cuts in the RRR of banks in a year’s span.

On Thursday, however, Diokno announced to the press that they have decided to keep the interest rate on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) facility at 4.75 percent, with interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit

facilities also kept steady.

“This was the first meeting for the perceived dovish Diokno who flagged threats to the growth outlook in the form of the budget impasse,” ING Bank Manila economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said

in his commentary following the monetary-policy announcement. “[The] BSP continues however to preach ‘data dependency’ and may await further validation that inflation will settle within target.”

Diokno said the Monetary Board’s decision is based on its assessment that prevailing monetary-policy settings remain appropriate as inflation forecasts show consumer price growth comfortably settling within the 2-percent to 4-percent target range for this year and the next.

Inflation, risks

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo also said that the Central Bank has revised downward its inflation forecast for the year on account of the slower-than-expected print in February this year.

The people have absolute power Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

G

IVEN the attention and media mileage it has been getting, I want to emphasize particularly to the less discerning that the narco-list is not a party list for the drug addicts and the drug industry. The 46 public officials—consisting of congressmen, mayors and other official—are not its nominees. Malacañang believes that exposing them will stamp out narco-politics from our system, including its pernicious influence in our political life. Election or no election, drugs are evil. Period.

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Bicameral panel to hold talks as Congress races to end budget impasse

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

By Rea Cu

& Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued the guidelines for applying the excise tax on nonessential services under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

BIR issued on March 19 Revenue Regulation (RR) 2-2019, which provides the guidelines on the assessment of the 5-percent excise tax based on the gross receipts derived from the performance of services on invasive cosmetic procedures and surgeries for enhancing a patient’s appearance and not having anything to do with the treatment of an illness.

The TRAIN law states that the government shall collect such tax equivalent based on the gross receipts derived from the performance of invasive cosmetic procedures and surgeries for the sole purpose of enhancing one’s appearance, net of excise tax and valueadded tax.

The RR explained that cosmetic procedures considered to fall under noninvasive cosmetic procedures include: acupuncture

HE chair man of the House Committee on Appropriations on Thursday said he will not hesitate to recommend to President Duterte a reenacted budget should the two chambers fail to break the budget impasse dur ing t heir five-day meetings.

However, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. expressed hope that the Senate will agree with the lower chamber on its position that there is nothing illegal in post-bicameral itemization of lump-sum funds.

He also believed that the contingents from the Senate and the House can agree to a common venue to finally transmit the 2019 budget for President Duterte’s signature.

“We are given five days, the three-man committee and the Senate counterpart to resolve the impasse, if we fail, I will recommend the use of a reenacted budget for the whole year for the [government] to start pending projects,” he said.

“This is the most opportune

@ReaCuBM

See “Cosmetic,” A2

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 28 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

Continued on A2

BIR issues tax rules for cosmetic procedures

T

2017 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

T WATER SHORTAGE A farmer in Candon, Ilocos Norte, harvests yellow corn early due to the lack of irrigation water. Farmers in the province have also expressed concern that they may not be able to plant rice due to the water shortage. NONIE REYES

Comelec ban on public works starts next week

By Samuel P. Medenilla

S

@sam_medenilla

TARTING next week, all public works and social welfare projects will be temporarily suspended by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as part of its preparations for the midterm polls on May 13.

In a resolution, the Comelec en banc said all public works and so-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.8870

cial welfare projects, except those which will allowed by the poll body, will be suspended from March 29 to May 12.

Also to be suspended during the 45-day ban is the release, disbursement or expenditure of government funds for the said projects.

Workers from the affected public works should be promptly paid their complete wage upon the suspension of their respective projects.

“Any violation of the provisions of the Resolution shall be, consistent with Section 261 and 264 of the Omnibus Election Code, constitute an election offense and shall be punishable by imprisonment of not less than one year but n0t more than six years, among other penalties provided by the law,” the Comelec en banc said in its Resolution 10511.

See “Comelec,” A12

@joveemarie

time for the [infrastructure projects] because of the good weather condition,” he added.

Andaya, in a separate CNN interview, said the lower chamber will explain their sides to the Senate during their meetings, which will start on Monday.

Since 1986, the lawmaker said the process of crafting the budget has been the same.

The lower chamber already retrieved the budget books it sent to Senate for signature. It created three-man team, which include Andaya, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, to address contentious issues on the 2019 General Appropriations Bill.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III confirmed on Thursday that the House of Representatives had already retrieved the P3.7-trillion 2019 budget documents containing last-minute House insertions made even after the ratification of the final version of the annual money measure.

The Senate leader held out hopes that the P3.7-trillion budget bill would now be signed into law by President Duterte cutting short the period the government would operate on a reenacted 2018 budget.

See “Budget,” A12

n JAPAN 0.4778 n UK 69.8003 n HK 6.7374 n CHINA 7.9003 n SINGAPORE 39.2687 n AUSTRALIA 37.6291 n EU 60.3758 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.1028

Source: BSP (21 March 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, March 22, 2019

‘PHL’s LCY bond market fastest growing in East Asia’

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pegged the Philippine local currency (LCY) bond market as the fastest among growing East Asia territories.

In the Asia Bond Monitor for March of the ADB, the country’s LCY bond market grew in the final quarter of 2018 by 5.3 percent to P6.09 trillion, or $116 billion from P5.79 trillion, or $107 billion, in the third quarter. It was also 11.4 percent better than the P5.47 trillion, or $110 billion, during the same period in 2017.

Government bonds were recorded at P4.78 trillion, or $91 billion, largely due to treasury bonds.

Treasury bonds in the fourth quarter stood at P4.25 trillion, or $81 billion, while treasury bills amounted to P494 billion, or $9 billion. Bonds from other sources were valued at P34 billion, or $600 million.

Corporate bonds totaled to

₧6.09 trillion The size of the Philippine local currency bond market in the last quarter of 2018

P1.31 trillion, or $25 billion.

“Issuances of LCY corporate bonds in the fourth quarter totaled P130.9 billion, increasing more than 150 percent from the previous quarter. Metrobank and BPI [Bank of the Philippine Islands] provided the largest issuances during the fourth quarter,” the monitor read.

“Banks increased their issuance of bonds as an alternative funding source after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] relaxed its rules to allow banks to tap the domestic capital market without prior approval from

the Central Bank,” it added.

The monitor also noted the outstanding LCY corporate bonds of the top 30 issuers amounted to P1.14 trillion by end of December, and this made up 86.9 percent of the entire LCY corporate bond market. It said property giants Ayala Land and SM Prime Holdings led all issuers with LCY bonds outstanding of P112.7 billion and P93.8 billion, respectively.

State bonds also swelled as the government exploited the strong demand and issued more bonds via a tap facility.

The monitor noted the strong demand was fueled by improved investor sentiment on hopes the United States Federal Reserve would engage in fewer interest rate hikes this year and that the BSP may rein in monetary tightening.

Duterte, Misuari rattle sabers over federalism

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

P

@BNicolasBM

R ESIDENT Duter te and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman Nur Misuari exchanged threats after the latter allegedly threat-

ened to go to war if the federalism push fails.

Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo explained the exchange occurred after Duterte and Misuari met and agreed last Tuesday night to each create

their own five-man panel to discuss what kind of federalism the MNLF chairman wants, whether it would be similar to Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) or it would be another type. The Palace has since said that Misuari favors federalism over BOL.

“Whatever the product of that discussion, they will have a oneon-one meeting. And then he said, ‘After which, we will celebrate for its success; and if it fails, we will die together’—that was the response of the President,” Panelo said on Wednesday.

“In other words, what he’s saying is that ‘because the chairman said I will go to war,—which means if he goes to war, then he will be fighting the government,’” Panelo added.

“So if [Misuari] is fighting the government and the head of the government is the President, he would be—they would be fighting with each other—that is what he [Duterte] meant.”

Nonetheless, Panelo was quick to assure the public that both sides would rather avoid war.

“Both sides would want peace, and that is precisely [why] we had the BOL, and we had to deal with other Muslim rebellious groups,” he said.

While Misuari did not say how long he is willing to wait for federalism, Panelo also noted Misuari was confident that it could be done within the President’s term.

However, the administration’s federalism push was placed in the back burner as Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said in December that they are choosing to prioritize the approval of the 2019 national budget.

Some senators also said earlier that federalism is already dead and that federalism advocates should rather hope for its revival in the next Congress.

But Panelo on Wednesday added that the fate of federalism is still to early to tell as the turnout of the upcoming midterm senatorial elections in May could still be a game changer.

“As of now, there is an election, what if there will be new senators?

We still do not know! You know the political winds of this country change when leaders changed,” he said.

Asked if the President will still make an appeal to Congress and the Senate so that what Misuari wants can be accommodated, Panelo said: “The President already made his statement on this ever since.

During the campaign period, they already know that. So the senators know that. We will leave it to them.”

The Duterte administration has been pushing for federal form of government in a bid to spur economic growth across all regions, not just in Metro Manila.

It also aims to decentralize the powers of the national government under the unitary form of government.

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Diokno keeps waters calm, RRR unchanged Continued from A1

The new inflation forecasts for this meeting hits 3 percent for 2019, revised from the 3.1 percent for 2019 in the previous monetarypolicy meeting. For 2020, the BSP retained their forecast at 3 percent.

In February, inflation hit 3.8 percent—lower than the 4-percent mid-point of the BSP’s expectation during that month. The average inflation for the first two months of 2019, however, remains above the 2-percent to 4-percent target band at 4.1 percent. “ T he Monetar y Board also noted that the risks to the inflation outlook remained broadly balanced for 2019, even as it is observed that further risks could emerge from prolonged El Niño and higher-than-expected increases in global oil and food prices. For 2020, the risks lean toward the downside as tighter global financial conditions and geopolitical risks temper global economic activity and potential upward pressures on commodity prices,” Diokno said in his statement.

“Given these considerations, the Monetary Board is of the view that the within-target inflation outlook and firm domestic growth support keeping monetary-policy settings steady at this time. Looking ahead, the BSP will continue to monitor developments affecting the inflation outlook to ensure that the monetary-policy stance remains consistent with its price stability objective,” he added.

Growth, liquidity concerns

IN his statement, the new governor also mentioned that their assessment for growth continues to be firm for overall domestic activity, as supported by a projected recovery in household spending and the continued implementation of the government’s infrastructure program.

However, Diokno also said there are risks to economic growth particularly if the current budget impasse in Congress is not resolved soon.

Earlier this year, the administration’s economic managers made downward revisions to the coun-

Cosmetic. . .

Continued from A1

rejuvenation therapy, collagen induction therapy, and dermal fillers, among others.

Noninvasive cosmetic pro cedures are procedures that are conservative and which does not require incisions into the body or removal of tissues.

As part of the invoicing requirement of the government, the practitioner shall issue an official receipt for the service they have provided whether invasive or noninvasive.

Authorized agent banks of the BIR under the jurisdiction of its Large Taxpayers Service or revenue district office are able to accept the excise tax payments from practitioners within the National Capital Region (NCR) along with the accomplished BIR form 2200-C. Meanwhile, for practitioners

Water agencies. . .

The Cabinet official earlier noted that one of the provisions of the proposed EO will include the reconstitution of the NWRB under the Office of the President to ensure that all 30-plus agencies involved in water resource management are on the same page.

The NWRB is currently under the supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources by virtue of EO 123, Series of 2002.

“Currently there are 30 or so agencies involved in water resources management.

There are four agencies involved in resource assessment, four involved in policy, seven in water supply, four in sanitation, five in water quality management, and six in watershed

try’s growth prospects for this year to 6 to 7 percent—earlier it was 7 percent to 8 percent—due to the impact of the reenacted budget on domestic growth.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) also said they see a downward impact of 0.7 to 0.9 percentage points should the budget be passed in April this year. If the budget will be passed on a later month like August, however, the impact will be larger: at about 1.4 to 1.9 percent.

Guinigundo also addressed the commentaries on seemingly “tighter” monetary conditions as evidenced by the single digit in the country’s cash supply growth, saying the slowdown in M3 is a “necessary outcome” of the 175-basis- point hike in monetary policy last year.

Cuts in RRR, main rate

AS to questions with the RRR, Guinigundo said the cut has always been on the table, but the issue being discussed is the timing of the cut.

“We want to make sure that if we adjust the RRR, it is consistent with the monetary policy,” he said.

“It is important to get the timing right.”

ING’s Mapa said they continue to expect a RRR cut in the near term given that it remained omitted from the official policy statement at the March 21 meeting.

“Guinigundo, however, continued to maintain that the RRR and adjustments to it must move in line with the monetary-policy stance,” Mapa said. “But with domestic liquidity growth at single digits and time deposit rates elevated, we foresee a reduction the reserve requirement ratio from 18 percent to 17 percent at an off cycle policy meeting in the next few weeks.”

Security Bank chief economist Dan Roces said that, while cut in the RRR will be ideal to manage money supply growth in the economy, the BSP will likely be “very prudent” in cutting rates for this year, if at all.

Roces said the BSP will probably start cutting rates if inflation falls closer to the 2-percent mark consistently for about three months. who are working outside the NCR and where there are no AABs available, taxpayers are advised to submit their BIR form 2200-C with corresponding tax payments to the collection agent of the area where their businesses are registered.

For cosmetic procedures that are noninvasive and have been done by the practitioner, he/she is still required to submit BIR form 2200-C to the Excise Large Taxpayers Field Operations Division or the concerned revenue district office for those in the NCR, and the Excise Tax Area within regional offices for those outside NCR with no excise tax due.

The TRAIN law comprises Package 1 of the Duterte administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, which slashes personal income tax rates while implementing offsetting measures such increasing excise taxes on fuel, and cigarettes, among others. Rea Cu

Continued from A12

management,” he said.

“There is no single repository of water data, and no regularly updated water availability data. This is an untenable situation,” Nograles said.

On Tuesday night, President Duterte threatened to fire officials of MWSS and terminate the government’s contracts with private water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water over the water crisis.

The President has also ordered officials to submit a report on the water shortage before April 7, after which the President will decide “whether heads will roll” or “whether the contracts will be terminated.”

The Nation

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A3

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, March 22, 2019

Playing a deft diplomatic game: PHL hosts US, Russia ships as top envoy cements ties with China

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

HE Philippines became the world’s “center of gravity” in the areas of defense and security as Manila hosted ships and officials from the US and Russia in succession for defense exchange and cooperation discussions.

Over at the other side of the South China Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. was in China locked in a meeting with Chinese officials as part of the two countries’ effort to further cement their ties that had warmed up under the Duterte administration.

The visits by key defense and military officials from the world’s two superpowers were made just as the country was holding exploratory talks on its decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the US and Russia’s effort to build its defense relations with Manila.

On Monday, Admiral Vladimir Korolyov, the Russian Navy commander in chief, began its military visit in the country where it met with his counterpart, Navy chief Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad and other defense and military officials, including Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana days later.

Korolyov was specifically wel-

comed at the Navy headquarters

by Empedrad on Wednesday, the eve of the initial talks between Lorenzana and US Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Joe Felter on the MDT, whose vague provisions Lorenzana wanted to be clarified.

The meeting, whose outcome was keenly awaited by military reporters on Thursday, took place just hours after the USS Blue Ridge, the flagship of the US Seventh Fleet, left Manila after days of a port visit.

The Navy’s command and control ship sailed out of the country after its presence was relieved by the USS Chief, a US minesweeper, which marked its first voyage into the country from a visit in Indonesia and Singapore.

During Empedrad’s meeting with Korolyov, both agreed to further solidify the two countries’ navy-tonavy relations through the conduct of training, education and other di-

CA ruling affirms vindication of Junjun Binay in fraud case

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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HE Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed its decision issued almost a year ago, clearing former Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. of any administrative liability over the alleged fraudulent construction of the P2.28-billion Makati City Hall Parking Building II (MCHPB).

In a resolution dated March 18, 2019, and penned by Associate Justice Edwin Sorongon, the CA’s former Tenth Division dismissed the motion for partial reconsideration filed by the Office of the Ombudsman for its failure to raise new arguments that would warrant the reversal of its decision.

The CA maintained its ruling that the Ombudsman erred in ordering Binay’s dismissal since the condonation doctrine should have been applied in his case, which states that an erring official is considered to have already been forgiven for acts in his past term once he is reelected.

“While it is true that the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Carpio-Morales was indeed relative to this Court’s issuance of injunctive reliefs and was not about the OMB’s main findings of administrative guilt against Binay Jr., it cannot be negated that the abandonment of the condonation doctrine—declared prospective in application by no less than the Supreme Court—should not be given any retroactive effect as to the prejudice Binay Jr. for the acts he allegedly committed when said doctrine was still in effect and duly recognized,”

the CA ruling said.

The CA sustained the dismissal order issued by the Ombudsman on the other respondents, namely City Legal Officer Pio Kenneth Dasal; City Budget Officer Lorenza Amores; Civil Engineer of the Central Planning Ma n agement Of f ice A r nel Cadangan; CPMO chief Line de la Peña; City Legal Officer Giovanni Condes; Technical Working Group officer Rodel Nayve; General Services Department staff Norma Flores; Bids and Awards Committee member U lysses Orienza; CPMO staff Connie Consulta; BAC secretariat Manolito Uyaco; and BAC member Gerardo San Gabriel.

In its decision issued last year, the CA nullified the joint decision issued by the Office of the Ombudsman on September 7, 2015, insofar Binay and several other officials are concerned.

The Ombudsman, in its resolution, found Binay a long with 19 other city officials guilty of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct for the irregularities committed for alleged overpricing in the procurement of the architectural design and engineering services and construction of Phases I to V of the Makati City Hall Parking Building.

The Office of the Ombudsman, in the same decision, ordered the dismissal of Binay and his coaccused from service.

The CA noted that the alleged irregularities in Phase III to V of the MCHPB, which was the basis of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct filed against Binay before the Ombudsman, transpired before he was elected in 2013.

rect engagements of their sailors and more visits of ships.

“These are what we discussed during the meeting,” Empedrad said, adding that Korolyov’s presence in the country was in reciprocity to the trip he made to Russia last year, wherein he moved with Russian military officials to deepen the military relations between the two countries.

A cooperation agreement will be signed by Empedrad when he travels to Moscow in July this year to further strengthen the relations between the two sides, with the scheduled visit following the staff-to-staff meeting scheduled in June.

During the meeting, Empedrad said that his Russian counterpart also personally extended his invitation for the Philippine Navy to attend the fleet review to mark the Russian Navy’s anniversary celebration.

Empedrad also said that he opened to Korolyov the need of the Philippine Navy for more ships and other assets and equipment for its capability buildup.

In return, Korolyov indicated that they can donate decommissioned ships or even accord them through grants. It could also include aircraft and even equipment.

Empedrad said that Russia is continuously proposing to provide the country with Kilo-class submarines, but any decision on the proposal would be up to the higher headquarters.

Lorenzana earlier said that Russia could be a possible source for the Navy’s submarine requirement.

Group: Mindanao conflict claimed 850K casualties from 2013 to 2015

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HE Mindanao conflict has reaped at least 850,000 from 2013 up to 2015 alone, and the figure could be much higher if the casualty numbers could be collated since the start of the decades-old strife in the south, according to nonprofit organization Save the Children.

On the other hand, the Protection Cluster Philippines said that at least 88,395 individuals have also been displaced by conflict and violence since it began collecting data in 2012. The Protection Cluster Philippines is a subset of the UN refugee agency.

The figures on casualty and displacement on Mindanao’s conflict emerged during the “Barangay Walang Iwanan,” a summit that was organized by Gawad Kalinga and French non-government organization Convergences and the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development.

The summit discussed proposed actions and encouraged action on the different problems currently besetting Mindanao as it zeroes in on the challenges in achieving “3 Zero goal,” which is zero exclusion, zero carbon and zero poverty.

Mark Lawrence Cruz, director of SEED Philipines, who spoke during the summit said that sustainable peace in Mindanao may be established especially through on-ground activities that will respect the culture and multiethnicity of the region, as well as in addressing the gaps between the various groups that call Mindanao their home.

Cruz also moderated the breakout session on “Raising the Peace Generation” during the summit. Rene Acosta

A4 Friday, March 22, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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Marina tie-up with the Netherlands to boost PHL’s 10-year maritime industry devt plan

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

HE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) is looking at its counterparts in the Netherlands to help the Philippines build its maritime infrastructure to support its multibillion-peso plan to develop the industry in the next decade.

Narciso Vingson Jr., the chief of the regulatory body, said he is confident that his group’s recent meeting with the government officials from the Netherlands will bear much fruit, especially in the development of needed maritime facilities in the Philippines.

He said “the Netherlands’s

technical expertise” will “help the Philippines in establishing the infrastructure needed in the successful implementation of the agency’s plans and programs, especially those incorporated in the 10-year Maritime Industry Development Plan [MIDP].”

The MIDP is a 10-year blue-

₧95B

Joint government and private-sector investment for the Maritime Industry Development Plan through 2028 print that spells out the needs, goals, and challenges of the whole maritime industry. Under the plan, the government and the private sector will jointly invest roughly P95 billion to develop the industry through 2028.

The amount is broken down into eight components, namely: upgrading of domestic shipping in support of the nautical highway development (P45.15 billion); de-

velopment of shipping services for maritime tourism (P147 million); development of coastal and inland waterways transport system (P2.64 billion); strengthening of safety operations of registered fishing vessels (P75 million); development of a global maritime hub (P45.73 billion); enhancement of maritime safety in the Philippines (P149 million); modernization of maritime security in the Philippines (P83 million); and establishment of maritime innovation and knowledge center (P599 million).

The private sector will take on 92 percent of the total cost, while the remaining 8 percent will be from regular annual appropriations and official development assistance grants or loans from development partners, such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Asian Development Bank

and the World Bank.

Vingson noted that Lieske Streefkerk-Arts of the Netherlands’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment “assured the Philippines of their continuous support in all of its efforts to enhance the country’s seafaring and maritime industries.”

M a r i n a hoste d t he 20 t h Philippines­-Netherlands Joint Committee on Maritime Affairs meeting in Manila this week.

Both parties agreed to maintain an open line of communication to receive important reports on the country’s maritime industry until the next meeting scheduled for March 2020.

The regular meeting started in 1999 to support high-level bilateral consultations on maritime affairs, as Filipino seafarers are active contributors on Dutch-registered merchant fleets.

ERC releases 3rd draft on proposed rules on power-supply contracting

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

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HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is soliciting comments from industry stakeholders on the third draft on the proposed rules for power-supply contracting.

The proposed “Rules Governing the Procurement, Execution, and Evaluation of Power Supply Agreements Entered Into by Distribution Utilities for the Supply of Electricity to their Captive Market” aim to prescribe guidelines on default contractual provisions and minimum standard format in order to make the process of power-supply contracting clear and efficient, said the regulator.

The proposed rules will also streamline the review and approval process of power supply agreements (PSA), as it seeks to promote transparency in the selection and contracting of distribution utilities (DUs) while promoting competition among generation companies (gencos).

“The third draft contains some new features or provisions that are

meant to protect the consumers’ interests, like the inclusion of a fixed bid price in the terms of reference [TOR] and a new section detailing the prohibited acts, fines and penalties, which include blacklisting.

Another section was added on unsolicited proposal which pertains to project proposals submitted by gencos or other entities authorized by the ERC to supply electricity to the captive market, that are not in response to a formal solicitation or request issued by a DU,” said ERC Chairman Agnes VST Devanadera.

She added that the proposed rules apply to all DUs both on-grid and off-grid, gencos, Independent Power Producer Administrators, and other entities authorized by the ERC to supply power to the DUs. The ERC chief stressed that the proposed rules provide equal opportunity to all relevant stakeholders, and to achieve a reasonable and competitive pricing of generation rate to be charged to captive customers.

Industry stakeholders have until March 29 to submit their comments.

Iloilo LGUs urged to craft own tourism programs

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LOILO CITY—The Iloilo Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) encourages local government units (LGU) to have their own municipal tourism plans.

Gilbert Marin, provincial tourism officer, underscored on Wednesday the importance of the tourism plan in terms of municipalities’ promotion of local attractions.

“The tourism plan will serve as their ‘bible,’ a template on their direction and promotion of the local tourism,” he said in an interview.

Marin said the tourism plan “is a very basic requirement of every municipality” as each sector must have its own set of plans and programs.

“The LGUs had laid down its existing attractions but we are hopeful that they can soon craft their plans.

What will happen next to these attractions will depend on the plan,” he said.

Marin estimated that around 20 out of the 43 LGUs in the province still don’t have their tourism plans.

Those which already have their tourism plans need to “revisit” their plans which include the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.

The PTO last year already conducted tourism planning workshops, using the PTO tourism plan template to assist the LGUs in crafting their own, he said.

LGUs were also given their tourism manual by the Department of Tourism to guide them in the process of creating their plans.

Marin said one of the steps of the municipal tourism office is to gather all stakeholders, including the municipal mayor and head of different offices, “so that they would know their duties and responsibilities in the tourism sector.”

For municipal tourism offices, which find it hard to craft their tourism plans, Marin said the PTO is always ready and willing to help.

“They already have the manual or handbook and it will depend on them when to start using it. For us in the PTO, we are ready to assist them step-by-step,” he said. PNA

MinDA endorses 7 agro ecozones Lucio Tan’s MacroAsia and PTC Group launch Subic flying school in Mindanao ANTI-ILLEGAL ONLINE GAMING DRIVE

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrea Domingo (center) is flanked by Office of the President Undersecretary Jesus Melchor Quitain (left) and Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente at a recent news conference following the signing of a mutual cooperation agreement against illegal online gambling at a hotel in the city of Manila. ROY DOMINGO

TWO of the brand-new Tecnam P2010 planes that were unveiled during the launch of the First Aviation Academy at the Subic Bay International Airport on Thursday. HENRY EMPEÑO

By Henry Empeño

S

Correspondent

UBIC BAY FREEPORT—Two leaders in transportation logistics and services have

banded together to put up in this free port the next-generation flying school that would produce “airline-ready aviation professionals primed for flight operations.”

Lucio Tan’s MacroAsia Corp., a

leader in aviation support services, partnered with diversified maritime services operator PTC Group to launch the First Aviation Academy (FAA) at the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) complex.

Company officials said the FAA will take the lead in developing world-class Filipino aviation professionals with its comprehensive curriculum, experienced instructors and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.

The school, built alongside a hangar, was formally inaugurated here on Thursday by US Ambassador Sung Yong Kim, Philippine Airlines President Jaime Bautista, PTC Chairman Emeritus Carlos Salinas, MacroAsia Chairman Joseph Chua, Transportation Assistant Secretary Juvy Manwong, and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma.

According to FAA General Manager Raoul Perez, the FAA seeks to be at the forefront of professional development for the airline industry with the introduction of the Redbird MCX and TD2 G-1000 simulators, which are two of the most modern full-motion flight simulation systems in use today.

Aside from this, the school will field a fleet of brand-new Tecnam P2010 planes with Garmin G-1000 full-glass cockpit electronic instrumentation for actual flight training.

T he fou r - seat , h ig h-w i ng , single-engine light aircraft are designed and built in Italy and have a top speed of 259 kilome-

ters per hour (kph) and a range of 1,222 kilometers.

FAA officials on Thursday unveiled two units of the Tecnam P2010 at the academy’s hangar, and let VIP guests like Ambassador Kim try out the flight simulators after the blessing of offices and classrooms.

FAA Sales Manager Butch Reyes said that with the combination of advanced equipment and experienced staff, FAA’s modern training platform “will enable students to develop the skills set necessary to excel in international aviation.”

He said the academy’s intensive 12-month training program will integrate academic requirements for private pilot license, instrument rating, multi-engine rating, commercial pilot license and airline transport pilot license.

Meanwhile, top graduates of the flying school will also have the chance to become flight instructors, thus gaining flying hours while honing instructor skills, Reyes said.

School officials also said that over the course of their training at FAA, students will be provided with accommodations and meals, which are included in the tuitions fees.

The academy will also offer “easy financing options” for enrollees, they added.

D

AVAO CITY—The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) has endorsed seven pilot agro-economic zones (AEZs) in Mindanao to prospective local and foreign investors.

Joan Barrera, chief of the MinDA’s Development Division, said the selected pilot areas consisted of strategic production hubs and areas for possible economic activities.

“We are inviting investors to these pilot areas,” she said during Wednesday’s Habi at Kape forum at the Abreeza Mall here.

The seven piloted areas are the Agusan del Sur, Basilan, and Zambo Sibugay as agro-processing zone; Maguindanao as agro-economic zone; Zamboanga del Norte as agro-aqua ecozone; Lanao del Sur, agri-industrial and tourism; and Zamboanga del Sur as agro-eco industrial park.

Barrera said a Malaysian investor is already doing a feasibility study in Lanao del Sur. Barrera said the establishment of economic activities in the AEZs will be done through public-private partnership.

AEZs aim to position Mindanao as a single and highly integrated economy that is able to leverage and fully participate in economic groupings, such as the BIMP-Eaga, Asean Economic Community and the rest of the global economic communities, she said. PNA

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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. ANA C. DIONE, CPA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A8

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In the ad material of Notice of filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on March 9, 2019, the position of Mr. Edhie Putra under RUNNINGMAN CORPORATION should have been read as Senior Indonesian-Language Customer Service Specialist and not as published. While in the application published on March 15, 2019, the Company Name and Address of Mr. Nie, Zhenbo should have been read as CAPITAL POWER GLOBAL LIMITED located at 17B & 17D 17/F Philamlife IT Tower, 8767 Paseo De Roxas, Bel-Air, Makati, Metro Manila and not as published. While in the application published on March 5, 2019, the Nationality of Mr. Tran Minh Nhut of BOWENHILLS TECH INC. should have been read as Vietnamese and not as published.

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. ANA C. DIONE, CPA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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A9

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Friday, March 22, 2019

US agri exports to PHL seen growing by 10%

A

MERICAN traders are optimistic that shipments of agricultural products from the United States to the Philippines will expand by 10 percent this year, according to the latest Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report.

The GAIN report prepared by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila said shipments of American farm products to the Philippines expanded by 14 percent year-on-year to $2.9 billion last year.

“The Philippines’s rapidly expanding food and beverage processing industry presents robust opportunities for US exporters of agricultural raw materials and highvalue ingredients,” the GAIN report read.

“About 65 percent of total US agricultural exports to the Philippines flow through the food and beverage processing industry,” it added.

The report noted that the Philippines’s rapidly expanding production of processed foods and beverages presents “robust” opportunities for US exporters of agricultural raw materials and high-value ingredients.

Philippine food manufacturing is supported by a strong and growing consumer base, according to the report. The country’s population is young as over 50 percent are under the age of 24, and highly urbanized with sophisticated tastes and growing access to modern supermarkets.

This, plus a resilient economy will underpin consumption growth in the coming years, the report added.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Philippine food and beverage processing industry’s gross value-added output rose by 7 percent over the previous year to $32.5 billion, and grew 31 percent over the past 5 years.

“While most of the roughly 500 food and beverage processors registered under the Philippine Food and Drug Administration are micro to medium-sized businesses, food and beverage processors are also among

the largest corporations in the country,” the report read.

The GAIN report projected that exports of Philippine processed food and beverage products will rise due to the continuous improvement in quality. This will also be beneficial for American agricultural raw materials.

“The Philippines’s participation in free trade agreements also provides a valuable path for US agricultural raw materials and ingredients to grow in tandem with Philippine exports and penetrate markets throughout the region,” the report read.

Based on interviews with Philippine food and beverage processors, the top prospects for US agricultural raw materials and ingredients include poultry cuts, mechanically deboned meat, trimmings and beef offal, milk and whey powder, and cheese and other dairy products.

The report indicated that imported agricultural raw materials can be combined with locally available products, such as tropical fruits and vegetables, cacao, sugar and seafood to come up with innovative product offerings.

“The wide acceptance of food processors and consumers have for US raw materials and ingredients is a tremendous advantage for US exporters seeking to develop a market in the Philippines,” it added.

According to the USDA, the US remains as the Philippines’s largest supplier of agricultural products. The Philippines is the 11th largest global export for US agriculture.

The top US agricultural exports to the Philippines in 2018 were soybeans and soybean meal ($957 million), wheat ($628 million), dairy products ($248 million), red meats ($219 million) and poultry ($110 million).

Indonesia threatens to ban some European goods on palm curbs

I

NDONESIA threatened to ban imports of some goods from the European Union (EU) in retaliation for the bloc’s move to impose stricter limits on how palm oil can be used in green fuels.

The world’s largest palm oil producer is considering such a step to protect the interest of almost 20 million people, whose livelihood is tied to the commodity, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan told reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday. The minister hinted that jets manufactured by European companies could be among the target for boycott, saying the country would require about 2,500 aircraft in the next two decades.

“There are a lot of European products that we need,” Pandjaitan said. “We have 269 million people in Indonesia. We have a big market.”

Palm oil has emerged as a flashpoint in a potential trade war between the European Union and top producers Indonesia and Malaysia, which together account for about 85 percent of global supply. The European Commission last week restricted the types of biofuels from the vegetable oil that may be counted toward its renewable-energy goals. The proposed EU curbs have weighed on benchmark palm prices, which have fallen for five quarters in a row.

Indonesia is also planning to lodge a formal protest with the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the European Union ratifies the proposal, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution said. Palm oil was not just an export earner for Indonesia as it was instrumental in lowering poverty and, therefore, meeting a key criteria of the sustainable development goals, he said.

Scrutiny period

THE EU argues the new measure and palmoil sustainability criteria are compatible

with WTO rules. The new regulation is now set for a two-month scrutiny period when the bloc’s member-states and the European Parliament can express objections. If none is received, the measure will be published in the EU official journal and become a law.

The EU renewable energy law obliged the commission last year to set sustainability criteria for palm under its green goals. It specifies that the use of unsustainable food and feed crop-based biofuels should be limited from 2019 and a gradual phase-out should start in 2023, leading to a ban by 2030.

“We are concerned that this discriminatory act will surely affect the long-standing bilateral relationship between Indonesian and the EU, and further delay the conclusion of the Indonesia- European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement,” Nasution said in a statement.

Deforestation

THE move was required by a broader law agreed by the 28-nation bloc last year, when the European Parliament pushed for curbs on the use of palm oil on concerns that its production caused deforestation and aggravated climate change.

The EU wants to lead the battle against global warming and has toughened goals to reduce greenhouse gases blamed for climate change. It aims to cut emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, boost the share of renewable energy to 32 percent and increase energy efficiency by 32.5 percent.

Indonesia will continue to collaborate closely with other palm oil producing countries, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations framework to promote palm sustainability and establish a common position against the discriminatory action of the European Commission, Darmin said. Bloomberg News

A10 Friday, March 22, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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editorial

The plastic pollution problem

I

T is unfortunate that protecting the environment is clouded with much in the way of political agendas and fear mongering. It is often difficult to separate the hype from the reality of the problems. Further, the attitude of many of the environmental groups is: “We are right, end of discussion”.

However, none of us can deny the fact that “plastic pollution” is a growing concern that is going to require that we change our habits and attitudes. Every plastic bag that winds up in the ocean, on our streets, or clogging our waterways ultimately comes down to one person and one plastic bag.

Cities that have banned plastic grocery bags are trying to do their part to change our behavior, and sometimes it is inconvenient to change.

In the United States, it was not until the 1960s that people were brought into the light about road littering. Fines were introduced for throwing waste out of cars and the laws were enforced. Eventually the public’s mindset changed, and littering became socially unacceptable.

Social guilt about littering became common.

US President Dwight Eisenhower once said that the government could legislate behavior but that it could not legislate attitude. But over time, a different and better attitude eventfully kicks in. Right now, our attitude is that pollution is someone else’s problem, and that needs to change.

Plastic pollution is a monumental problem not only because of the amount of waste but also the variety of throwaway plastic products many of which we do not even think about. Because it is not a problem that can be solved immediately or totally, we have to break it down into pieces and take one step at a time. When we are told that we need to bag plastic bags, plastic drinking straws, and plastic sachets of products that lower economic classes depend upon, it does not—or maybe is not—look feasible all at once.

Obviously we need to expand on severally limiting the use of plastic grocery bags. These bags are big business and are an integral part of our retail businesses from supermarkets to sari-sari stores. There is also some hypocrisy when a supermarket on one side of the street in another city cannot use plastic bags while the one across the street in another city is free to use whatever it wants. There has to be some sort of national coordination of the laws as much as we also disagree often with “imperial Manila.”

Further, local and the national government must be proactive in helping businesses cope with changes in the law.

Under Republic Act 9003, or the Solid Waste Management Act, local governments are tasked with solid waste management in their respective areas. That is unrealistic given the huge differences in LGU funding, population, location and the economic status of its citizens.

When an environmental group says that there is the need to pass on the burden to manufacturers, that shows ignorance of how the real world works. Manufactures provide single-use sachets of coffee, for example, because that is only what many people can afford.

There needs to be a separate national level task force, which would include all stakeholders to formulate a long-term plan. But initially, solving the plastic pollution problems starts with each one of us.

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The trouble with goats James Jimenez

SPOX

W

ITH less than two months to go, we should all be asking each other if we’ve decided who we’re going to vote for. At the very least, you should already be starting to get into that critical frame of mind where you’re examining the candidates and their platforms to find the right one for you. And no, I don’t mean “critical” in the sense of being out to find fault, i.e., intent on criticizing; but critical in the sense of being objective and analytical in the process of forming judgments.

One of the worst things to start this process with is surveys. By definition, surveys primarily tell you one thing: how popular a particular person is. Surveys are not indicative of ability, nor are they predictive of the quality of future performance in office. They cannot vouch for the innocence of a person facing criminal prosecution, much less give any assurance that corruption isn’t a possibility (hint: it always is). Still, surveys are not entirely

useless. Surveys can be quite useful in determining which politicians has been most adept in managing their public persona—which, to be fair, is a good skill to have—but then again, surveys alone cannot tell you how honest those politicians have been in that undertaking.

And then, of course, surveys are really good at triggering the bandwagon mentality—a phenomenon that can be described by using goats as an example.

The people have absolute power Manny F. Dooc

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Continued from A1

Lourdes M. Fernandez Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

Back in 2014, when I and a few others walked from Laoag, Ilocos Norte, toward Manila in a bid to generate interest in biometrics registration, we passed by a small herd of goats, milling about by the roadside, munching on the tough grass growing there. Not wanting to take up too much road space, we basically crowded the goats and walked past their noses as they looked up, startled and perhaps more than a little annoyed. But then a strange thing happened. They started following us!

Without prompting from anyone in our group, these ungulates (look it up) just sort of began walking behind us, largely keeping pace until we were almost to the next town.

At that point, the novelty of having goats following us—the most obvious joke being that we smelled like them, so they thought we were part of the herd—had worn thin and we started worrying that they wouldn’t be able to find their way home. And what were we going to do with a bunch of goats that didn’t belong to us anyway? So we stamped our feet and shooed them away as loudly as we could.

T

HE Senate is the elitist club in our country. Since 1946, seven of our presidents were former senators. In the May polls, 152 have filed their candidacies for the Senate, but the Commission on Elections trimmed the number down to 62.

The circus virtually came to town during the filing of the certificates of candidacy of senatoriables, topped by characters who claimed they are King of Maharlika, Christ-incarnate, a former husband of a famous celebrity, etc. Despite the big number of aspirants seeking a Senate seat, the records show that like other social clubs its membership is almost exclusive to the powerful, the privileged and the pedigreed. Unless you carry a magic name like Laurel, Aquino, Marcos, Roxas, Estrada/Ejercito or Revilla, winning a Senate seat is as difficult as winning the Lotto jackpot. It seems that certain families have birthrights to reside in the Upper House. For instance, in postwar politics, fathers and sons who are namesakes had won Senate slots— FM and Bongbong Marcos, Serging and Serge Osmena, Ramon and Bong Revilla, Ninoy and P-noy Aquino, and

Nene and Koko Pimentel. The Laurels have sent three (Jose, Sr., Doy and Sotero), just like the Caye-tanos— Rene, Alan and Pia. The Estradas/ Ejercitos have contributed four— President Erap, Dra. Loi, Jinggoy and JV. The Senate is also a conjugal home for Manny and Cynthia Villar, Gaudencio and Magnolia Antonino and President Erap and Loi. It was also the abode for mother and son Tecla and Victor Ziga and again Dra. Loi and Jinggoy and grandfather and grandson Don Claro and Ralph Recto.

The Roxases have shared three generations of family members, namely Sen. Manuel, Gerry and Mar. President Roxas even served as the first Senate President after the war and holds the distinction of being the only Filipino to serve as Speaker of the House, Senate President and President of the Philippines. The other father-and- son combinations

include Lorenzo and Bobby Tañada and Ed and Sonny Angara. I might have missed other names and definitely there will be more if we extend the list when senators were elected by senatorial districts before the war. nnn

NOW that the midterm election is less than two months away, it is critical to remind voters that sovereign power resides in the people. It does not belong to our elective officials, although we allow them to usurp it as in the case of a lion tamer. A lion tamer and a lion inside a cage are always a spectacle to watch. With a leash in his hand, the lion tamer can command the beast to sit, stand, growl, walk and jump. But let me ask you this: between the two, who really has the power? It’s the lion, no doubt, but the problem is he does not know he has it. That’s the same thing with our voters. The people have the power but they don’t realize they have it, and if they do, they don’t know how to wield it. In the coming elections, let us make a difference. Let’s exercise our absolute power and give our mandate to those who truly deserve our trust. nnn

IF you are wondering why the other camp does not want to engage the Ocho Derecho to a debate, consider this: Who would want to wrestle against a mad garth or dispute figures against a math grad? Those are the political acronyms of the Ocho Derecho to aid voters to remember their complete slate when they go to

When we got to the next town, we told the locals about the goats and one of them explained that goats are motivated when they feel or see movement around them. Usually, it’s other goats in their herd, but occasionally—the local told us—goats would end up in an almost trance-like state, following slower moving cars and, yes, people. Often, startling them snaps them out of the trance, as we found out.

And that pretty much explains the bandwagon principle—it’s what happens when a bunch of people (the goats) see other people essentially moving like a herd to follow something or someone (the survey results), and without thinking too much about why they’re doing it, join the herd (people who vote on the basis of survey results).

Keeping this instinctive behavior in mind, it’s easy to understand why, unless something really terrible or startling happens, candidates that rank well on a survey are likely to attract even more followers for no other reason than that they ranked on the survey. And, as I said, that is a terrible reason to vote for someone.

their polling places. Ocho Derecho also means Eight Straight or vote straight. Somebody should come up with a similar acronym for Hugpong and/or PDP slates to help voters recall their line up of candidates. I recognize though that it’s a tall order given the number of its candidates and the various alliances it has entered into. Obviously, there is strength in numbers. Was it Amang Rodriguez who once said “politics is addition?” nnn

A FISCAL and monetary policy of “Grow, Grow, Grow” will support the “Build, Build, Build” program of the government. For instance, cutting the reserve requirements for banks shall infuse more liquidity, which can help fund the various infrastructure projects. A cut in interest rate will lower the borrowing cost, which will help us meet the funding requirements. It will be a tough challenge for anyone, but Secretary Ben Diokno has not let our people down in whatever capacity and under any administration he has served in the past. Several presidents have trusted him with sensitive positions since he has no political agenda, except to serve our people’s interests. nnn

WE had experienced isolated rains in the past few days and these have not improved the water level in La Mesa Dam, which has breached the critical level of 69 meters. Meanwhile, millions of people with nary See “Dooc,” A11

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Linking failures in governance and policies

When wars are remembered

or Lyric in Escolta. They are gone now but in this book, they were all there before they were destroyed by the war.

These are lessons in geography and hard courses in remembering.

The war came suddenly even as the politicians talked about them, even as the newsreels in moviehouses warned about their coming.

That morning was the usual morning. It is with this kind of laidback narration that, when the war did come, Elias and his family were not prepared. We, too, the reader, were not prepared as to what kind of war these young men and women had to go through.

The speeches made by statesmen, and recorded by historians and war correspondents reeked grandly of lofty scents and even more aggressive pronouncements. These accounts were made for states, the governments and fighters. Nothing of this sort appeared in the book of Ordoñez.

What the writer was describing was an ordinary day and about young men who were so eager to join the war and fight the enemies. They were no braver than those contained in epic retelling of the war; that was simply the mood of the times.

Christmas came and, with the season, the enemies. Then Jimmy had to leave for the battlefield. Then it was time to surrender.

Even without any attempt to be so, poignant was the drab description of the troops: “The retreating regular troops wore khaki uniforms, canvas leggings and steel helmets while Jimmy’s unit had maong uniforms, no leggings, civilian leather or rubber shoes, and coir helmets painted green.”

Jimmy’s troop marched toward Mayon. More places are mentioned as the family moved from one place to another: Sisa in Sampaloc, Libertad in Pasay.… When did this war happen? The places that are in the book are still here with us, changed of course, altered from the day the bombs started to be dropped over Manila, the Open City.

It took a few more days before the Japanese were finally seen by Elias.

By this time, many families started

to go back to their abandoned homes.

But life in the city was difficult. There was no explicit mention of how severe the situation then but two brothers opted to work in a homestead. From the comfort of home and school, the two brothers had to climb hills, ford streams and rivers, to reach a place where they could earn a living. What was compelling in this part of the book was not the arduous conditions the two brothers had to face but how it came easy for them to decide and to agree to the invitation to travel through terrains where trails where hidden, and labor in a place they had not seen and been before.

Marvel at how the boys survived the forest and the isolation caused by the change of the climate: “Amid the typhoon, a typhoon blew in from the Pacific and almost tore the roof away.

For days they could not leave Catmon.

They huddled most of the time inside the hut; by daytime around the fire, by night they snuggled together and told each other stories. Jimmy and Elias liked to whistle tunes they’d heard from the radio.... They would whistle themselves to sleep while a storm raged outside….”

Wartime came with songs and the declaration of the Philippine Republic. Elias narrated how, after the parade, leaflets containing lyrics of Filipino and Japanese songs were distributed. On his way home, he met a Japanese guard who, ignoring his deepest bow, still slapped him. The young boy avoided sentries and soon reached home.

Elmer Ordoñez guided us with his memories not of war but into the streets where cruelties and pain ceased. He, thus, continued the narrative: “He slipped quietly into the darkened room.… He entered his parents’ room and saw his mother with his two elder brothers sitting in the veranda in the moonlight. Jimmy had come home.”

A brother was home but the war raged on.

Snows of Yesteryear: A Family in War and a Sentimental Education was published in 2014 by the University of the Philippines Press.

worryingly, when the media asked him about the call for him to resign as a special envoy to China, he did not even think twice of showing a rude sign with his hand, idolizing his master at Malacañang.

We can’t deny that Tulfo insulted our fellow Filipino workers. For the construction workers’ sector, which is part of the Construction Industry Tripartite Council, Tulfo “tortured” workers in front of their “families, relatives and people, and he also

boasted around the world.” They were victims of Tulfo’s arrogance.

The last thing that Filipino workers should experience in their own country is to be insulted by government officials tasked to protect them. This is especially unacceptable if the insult comes from someone tasked to promote the welfare of Filipinos, like a special envoy. In Catholic social teaching, Rerum Novarum, the encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on capital and labor, it emphasizes the role of government officials, as state leaders, to respect the rights of the people, especially the poor and destitute. The wealthy, although equal in dignity with the poor, have the ability to defend themselves against threats to their rights. Those who are poor —including construction workers with below-minimum wage, should enjoy the protection of the state. Due to their condition in society, they have no sufficient ability to assert their rights. It is the government’s duty to help them—not to insult and humiliate them.

Therefore, it is the duty of our leaders to find ways to improve our workers’ ability and to give them

equal opportunity to work, not to lower their dignity by showing them we favor illegal workers in the country. Construction workers significantly contribute to the developments we now enjoy. Their strength is the primary investment to build our homes, offices, roads and bridges, hospitals, schools and other important infrastructures.

In fact, because of the low wages of exploitative contractors and the disincentives to them to benefit even though their lives may be at risk due to poor working conditions, construction workers are working in these projects while their employers are enjoying their profits.

Brothers and sisters, by insulting Filipino construction workers, our leaders needlessly focus on the injustices these poor workers experience in their own country.

This good news was followed by an announcement by San Miguel Corp. offering its unused water allocation from Angat Dam to ease the water shortages in Metro Manila areas being served by the Manila Water. Ramon Ang said that SMC can supply up to 140 million liters of drinking water to the affected areas. He added, “the situation is unfortunate and dire for many of our countrymen.... Right now the best thing we can do is to pull together and help each other.” What a fitting statement and benevolent gesture from our country’s biggest conglomerate. Ever since under the Sorianos and now the Cojuangco/Ang group, SMC has always

been one of the most admired companies in the country.

Recently, I have the privilege to learn more about this great company when I served as one of the judges in the last selection of the ING Finex Chief Finance Officer for 2018, which was won by Ferdinand K. Constantino, chief finance officer of SMC. “Service beyond profit” is what really makes a company unique.

Until SMC reverted to its present logo, for many years its logo represented four droplets of water. Water is life and that is what SMC will deliver to the hapless people of the waterless areas.

May we have more companies like

Maynilad Water and San Miguel! nnn PEOPLE have asked me: “Which is more satisfying to you—serving as the insurance commissioner, or as president and chief executive officer of the SSS? My simple answer is this. The two roles are not comparable. The former is a regulator while the latter is an administrator.

They are apples and oranges. Whenever I could pay an insurance claim unjustly declined by an insurance company, I am fulfilled. Every time I promptly resolved and settled a pension benefit of an elderly person who has just retired, I am satisfied. The position does not matter, it’s the service that counts.

Tito Genova Valiente

ANNOTATIONS

Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr.

EAGLE WATCH

W

ITH the rice shortage problem and the associated high inflation still fresh in our minds, we have been bombarded once again with a series of unfortunate events. First, the water crisis occurred surprisingly this month after official pronouncement of adequate supply in the main reservoirs. Consequently, many areas in Metro Manila and Rizal experienced limited to no water supply, with some areas having people line up for hours to get water from tankers. While the private concessioner, Manila Water, had claimed responsibility for this incident and promised to solve this crisis at the quickest possible time, the coming summer does not provide much assurance to the thousands of people affected.

Second, the budget impasse that was caused by the members of Congress incorporating additional items to a budget already ratified by the two houses of Congress. As a result, a reenactment of last year’s budget was enforced. According to the economic managers, the previous budget falls short of the needed funds for the current government programs, thereby reducing economic growth this year. Most affected will be the government workers and officials whose salaries and bonuses are not part of the old budget.

Finally, the Philippines officially withdrew its membership to the International Criminal Court due to the failure of the Supreme Court to contest the move initiated by the Executive Branch last year. President Duterte’s decision to withdraw from the ICC comes in the wake of his violent anti-illegal drug campaign. For human-rights advocates, this was “an act of desperation” on the part of the President to evade any trace of accountability. As a result, the culture of impunity is strengthened, leaving many vulnerable households to possible atrocious crimes by the state without any resort to justice.

The central question is whether these events are avoidable. In the case of the water crisis, the problem could have been evaded had the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, the state regulator, heeded the previous warnings of Manila Water regarding the diminishing water supply in the face of escalating urban population. This shows an incapacity of the state to provide systematic direction to the society and economy in the presence of a viable, legitimate and highly popular political regime.

The budget impasse is another form of governance disaster that stems from the inability to coordinate and cooperate. Unlike the water issue, this goes beyond the design of programs but could have been evaded if the rule of law matters. According to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, corruption is the motivation behind this issue as the members of Congress included additional items in the budget to increase their pork barrel, thus violating the laws imposed by the Supreme Court.

Unlike these two cases, the ICC issue represents a policy failure in the sense that this does not reach posited goals of social justice, and that the unintended negative consequences of the program are sufficiently great.

Since the state itself has ordered the crackdown on drug users, which include a number of politicians, the social and political disruptions can go unmitigated.

Without the ICC Resolution, the options of seeking justice is summarily reduced, especially for affected households with very scarce resources. Even if the justice system is “robust” and “functional,” as claimed by Presidential Spokesman Salvador S. Panelo, this judicial system is beneficial only to higher income classes. The problem could have been avoided if ICC had been faced squarely and been allowed to conduct its investigations. Any democratic country

In the case of the water crisis, the problem could have been avoided had the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System heeded the warnings of Manila Water regarding the diminishing water supply in the face of escalating urban population. with a tradition for transparency and fairness should not fear these examinations. Any form of blockage—such as the invented claim that the ICC Resolution was not publicly announced—is only seen as an admission of guilt, making a confrontation with the ICC inevitable despite the country’s withdrawal from the Statute.

But are not these events independent of one another? Surely, one can argue that these are coincidences and are to be expected from any government advocating reform. Unfortunately, the frequency of these failures has increased over time, making these not mere chances but a permanent feature in newspapers.

Moreover, governance failures reflect policy failures. For example, the abuse of power by rogue policemen (a governance failure) would not have happened without an ill-conceived drug war policy. As policy catastrophes remain, so would governance letdowns. Given the lack of foresight in preempting these failures, one wonders about this administration’s capability to manage the government and economy. Worse, the continuation of these failures places doubts on its ability to protect the welfare of its citizens.

If there is a connection, what then is the source of these failures? In cases of policy failure, policy-makers should seek alternatives to alter the situation, instead of insisting that the proposed policy is the only way.

Especially in situations in which the public sector historically has been the dominant actor, policy failures should produce significant searches for new alternatives.

The problem can be the absence of proficient, independent minded players who can “learn by doing,” i.e., effectively encourage, or force, integration of programs and policies, or perhaps control public spending on multiple programs. Seemingly what would be required is a strong center within the government that could assume principled position on issues, regardless of its political consequences. Likewise, this version of government failure will require more analytically capable players as checks and balances to slow, as well as facilitate the actions of the government.

The presence of these players is crucial, especially with a President who thinks the solution to violence is even more violence. After all, political will is only as good as a well-crafted policy and an effective governance system.

Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr. is professor of economics at the Ateneo de Manila University and a senior fellow of Eagle Watch, the school’s macroeconomic research and forecasting unit.

Friday, March 22, 2019 A11

W

ARS, more than peace, are written always in bold letters.

The accounts of wars are contained in volumes that are massive and monumental. This discourse negates the small stories. History in the traditional sense of the discipline takes over memories, and transforms the horizon into the widest area so large it could only accommodate heroes made bigger than life.

But wars are also part of memories, those bits and pieces of daily occurrences. The stories of a grandmother who did not go to the warfront but, nevertheless, remembers the days before the arrival of the Japanese can sometimes correct one’s impression about the darkness of those years. The young men and women seeing their classmates for the last time will never make it to the account of a historian. Too personal to describe a grand event like the Second World War. Where are the ordinary citizens in the wartime reports? They are either evacuating, dead or hiding somewhere. If seen, they are not talked about, with history hiding them behind more dramatic turn of events.

When one thus stumbles upon a book that is about a young man’s remembrance of the days before and after the Second World War, and the stories are not about greatness of some individuals, then one sits down, sets aside precious hours for this precious document.

It was one afternoon in the UP Press when, with Kristian Sendon Cordero, owner of the new cultural hub/independent bookstore “Savage Mind,” in Naga City, showed me the book Snows of Yesteryear. The author is Elmer A. Ordoñez, a multi-awarded academic, literary critic and writer.

Ordoñez is a retired professor of English and Comparative Literature from the University of the Philippines. He is also my “Tito Elmer,” kin on the side of the Alindogan of Sorsogon, Masbate and Iloilo.

The title puzzled me first, Snows of Yesteryear. But under that title was another title, A Family in War and a Sentimental Education. That more or less prepared me for what the book might say. I started reading the book and I could not put it down. It was written simply but simplicity is deceiving. The sentences moved on and on, the phrases fluid and fluent. The drama, if ever there was, depended now on the memories of the reader refracted mostly by the mind of the writer.

The memory begins with a chapter that announces “The End of an Era.” And yet, the morning was just beginning for young Elias. I could see the young man, waking up to a quotidian morning but finding out, even before the day had ended, that the war has already begun.

In the meantime, there was Elias’s mother cooking breakfast and the martial music playing along the street in Pasay. There was also the cool December morn and the feastday of the Inmaculada Concepcion, announced by his mother.

The memory continued: In the garage, his father was checking the car. In the mind of Elias the route to school for each day did not come back but was there. As places and names were mentioned, we started to think of them also: the Philippine Normal along Ayala, the NU High in Intramuros, the UP High in Isaac Peral, the YMCA in Arroceros and its pool. Then came the moviehouses: Savoy in Echague, Ideal, State and Avenue in Avenida, Rizal, Capitol

Insult to workers Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

B

ROTHERS and sisters, Ramon Tulfo does not seem to realize that his duty as a special envoy to China is to protect the interest of Filipinos in any government-sponsored agreement where Chinese businessmen invest in our country. However, he has great confidence in the Chinese workers, therefore, instead of investigating these illegal and undocumented foreign workers in the Philippines, he chose to insult his fellow Filipinos.

Tulfo has been criticized for what he said in a TV interview that the Filipino construction workers are lazy.

The Chinese contractors reportedly noticed that Filipino workers are slow, always having mindless chatter, and always at ease, not like the construction workers of China who work hard and put their jobs first, so they are the ones preferred for our construction projects. The truth is painful, said Tulfo, asking why he had to take back what he said. More

Dooc. . .

continued from A10

a drop of water in their faucets have complained not only about the lack of water but the acute shortage of water containers. If there is any heartwarming development coming out of this tragedy, it is the magnanimous offer of Maynilad Water to share about 50 million liters of water everyday to the critically affected customers of Manila Water in Pasig, Mandaluyong, San Juan and Rizal. This was immediately effected last week to the great relief of the “unwashed” population of the Eastern Zone.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 Ang Radyo ng Simbahan in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph and follow its Twitter and Instagram accounts @veritasph and YouTube at veritas846.ph. For your comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Friday, March 22, 2019

DOF to offer tax amnesty on delinquencies by April

By Rea Cu

T

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) plans to implement

by April this year the tax amnesty on delinquencies provision under Republic Act (RA) 11213, or the Tax Amnesty Act of 2019.

“You can implement it [the law] once the IRR [implementing rules and regulations] is out and published,” Finance Undersecretary Antonette C. Tionko said on the sidelines of the Tax Forum Series 5 on the Tax Amnesty Act of 2019 at the Senate on Thursday. “Our schedule is, by April, to implement it already.”

According to Tionko, the DOF also plans to issue next month the revenue regulations (RR) related to the law.

Under RA 11213, implementing agencies are given 90 days to ensure the issuance of the proper IRR for the amnesties, with the

government eyeing to create separate RRs for the various amnesties since President Duterte exercised line vetoes when he signed the law on Valentine’s Day. Also under RA 11213, the government is expected to provide an estate tax amnesty for one year as well as a tax amnesty on delinquencies for two years. The measure is expected to generate revenues estimated at P27.54 billion, lower than the estimated potential revenues of P63.5 billion under the DOF’s original amnesty proposal.

“It’s [tax amnesty on delinquencies] effective one year from the

₧27.54 billion

The projected revenue that the government will generate from implementing the Tax Amnesty Act of 2019 time of the issuance of the regulation,” Tionko said. “When they finish the IRR, it will be published, then it’s effective already; then you count one year from there.”

The DOF’s original proposal on amnesties under Package 1B of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) includes measures estimated to generate revenues.

These measures include estate tax amnesty (estimated to generate P6.28 billion), general tax amnesty (P13.63 billion), amnesty on delinquencies (P27.16 billion), lifting of the bank secrecy law for criminal cases, as well as the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) with P16.6 billion.

Duterte retained only the provisions on estate tax amnesty and the amnesty on delinquency taxes.

Earlier, the DOF pointed out there is an estimated P80-billion

worth of tax delinquencies pending in the books of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). According to Tionko, the DOF would issue the RR for estate tax amnesty after the issuance of the RR for tax amnesty on delinquencies.

“The regulations [for estate tax amnesty] are a bit more complex, so maybe soon after that,” she told reporters. “We just need to clarify issues like those [that] need coordinating with other agencies like LRA [Land Registration Authority].”

R A 11213 seeks to enhance revenue administration and collection by granting an amnesty on all unpaid internal revenue taxes imposed by the national government for taxable year 2017 and prior years. This is with respect to estate tax and other internal revenue taxes and tax on delinquencies. The implementation of the law is expected to widen the tax base.

“The problem with the past amnesties on estate was that it was so hard to implement, this is something that should be looked into” Tionko said. “What’s the point of passing it if you can’t implement it?”

Executive branch eyes creation of 2 water agencies

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

T

@BNicolasBM

HE Executive branch is targeting to set up two separate agencies that will regulate the Philippine water sector following the supply crisis that hounded

residents and business establishments in Metro Manila and nearby areas in recent days.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said on Thursday that several departments have already agreed to endorse for approval and submission to the Legislative-Executive

RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE AREA AFFECTING NORTHERN AND CENTRAL LUZON as of 4:00 pm - March 21, 2019

Development Advisory Council of two draft bills, which will create an agency focused on economic and financial regulation, and another which would be responsible for policy formulation and resource regulation.

“One of the proposed agencies that

will be formed will act as the apex body for the water-resources sector.

This agency will consolidate and reconcile water-related policy, planning and programming mandates of the different agencies involved in water-resource management. It will likewise ensure the efficient allocation of water resources across sectors,” Nograles said in a statement.

He added the second body will be an independent and quasi-judicial body for water supply and sanitation. The office will ensure quality performance of water concessionaires and ensure transparency and predictability in economic regulation of water-service providers.

Moreover, agencies have also agreed during the high-level interagency meeting last Wednesday that the national government should spearhead efforts to optimize water resources, which are expected to become more limited with the onset of El Niño.

“There is a need for a government-led policy for the sustainable optimization of water resources.

For instance, the water run-off used by hydro power plants to move their turbines, we are just throwing it to the river,” he said.

“What’s absurd is that the households near and along those rivers, they have no water for domestic use. Aside from households, we should find a way to make use of run-off water from hydro power plants to water farms and industries,” Nograles added.

As for the short-term measures, Nograles assured the public that the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) will be activating standby wells designated for use during natural disasters.

“There are a total of 109 of these wells in National Capital Region, and the NWRB will work with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System [MWSS] to identify which wells can be tapped, and to ensure that water quality in these wells is evaluated and constantly monitored,” he said.

He also said a draft executive order (EO) strengthening the NWRB and addressing the fragmented water sector is now being crafted.

See “Water agencies,” A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

J&T Express is the newest delivery service in PHL

(FROM left) Zoe Chi, brand director (J&T Express); D. Edgard A. Cabangon, president and CEO (Isuzu Gencars Inc.); Arron Wang, procurement director (J&T Express); Sharon Tan; and Queen Marnellie Romilla, public relations officer (J&T Express)

J

&T Express, the No. 1 e-commerce express delivery company in Southeast Asia, officially launches in the Philippines in a bid to extend its services to the growing local market.

J&T Express, with its extensive network that supports delivery services within city, intercity, interprovincial, and e-commerce customers, strengthened its operations to widen its reach across Southeast Asia. It is now present in countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and soon, in Thailand. Currently established over 300 branches across the country.

In order to serve more Filipinos, J&T Express partners with Gencars Inc.– Isuzu Makati to ensure that their clients and customers will have the safe, fast and reliable e-commerce delivery experience.

They also offer 365-day operations, no weekends and no holidays, real-time tracking system, 24/7 CCTV monitoring to ensure safety of the packages, and also offers VIP platforms for partners, as well as a fast claims system.

With “Express Your Online Busi-

Comelec. . .

Continued from A1

The move aims to prevent government projects from being used to influence voters to support certain candidates.

Only projects with Certificate of Exception from Comelec will be allowed to continue for the duration of the election ban.

Public works, which could be exempted from the election ban, include maintenance of existing and/or completed public workers; undertaken by contract through public bidding held or negotiated contract awarded before March 29; and emergency work necessitated by the occurrence of public calamity among others.

Public works contracted under a public-private-partnership (PPP) and build-operate-transfer (BOT) are also not covered by the ban.

Budget. . .

Continued from A1

This, af ter S enator Sher win Gathalian had called on the House leadership to “end the stalemate over the 2019 budget by recalling its tampered version and reverting to the version of the budget that was ratified by both chambers of Congress.”

Gatchalian pointed out that the last week of March means summer vacation is about to end and students are getting ready for another school year. “ These preparations also include construction of additional classrooms and hiring more teachers,” he said.

But the senator added, “It cannot be done” by the Department of Education until the P3.7-trillion national budget for 2019 is enacted into law.

Gatchalian had prodded Congress leaders to end the standoff on the

ness” as their slogan, J&T Express is hoping to help their customers realize a more practical and efficient express service for online business, also to effectively encourage the development of their partners to be bigger and stronger.

J&T Express applies technology development as its basic system. It offers three different types of multifunction service, which are the web site, 24/7 hot line and mobile application.

J&T Express entered the Indonesian market back in 2015, where it officially stood out and achieved different recognitions such as Top Brand award and Service Quality award. It also reached the peak of 1.5 million package deliveries in just one day.

To date, the company already has top of the list clients and thousands of customers in the Philippines.

To know more about J&T Express and its services, check out the J&T Philippines app, which is already available in both android and IOS, you can also visit their web site at www.jtexpress. ph and their official Facebook Page at jntexpressphilippines.

As of Thursday, Comelec has yet to decide on the request of the National Economic Development Authority to exempt 145 projects under the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program.

Comelec’s Campaign Finance Office (CFO) said the request is already undergoing evaluation.

In a related development, Comelec’s Election Officers (EOs) are required to release their respective Posted Computerized Voters List (PCVL).

The PCVL contains the list of the polling precincts, where voters are assigned to vote on May 13.

Legal Network for Truthful Elections warned that EOs who will not be able to release the PCVL on time could face sanctions.

“Remember. March 29. If the list of voters would not be posted, it is considered as an election offense on the part of the Election Officer,” the group said in a statement. budget law to spare the students.

“We should not let our teachers and schoolchildren suffer just because of the machinations of some members of the House of Representatives,” he added.

Fielding questions at the “Kapihan sa Senado,” Senate President Sotto confirmed that the “the door is now open to adopt suggestions” for the bicameral conference panel to end the budget deadlock.

“Hopefully, by next week we will submit [the enrolled copy of the budget bill] to President Duterte [for signing into law],” Sotto told reporters at the Senate media forum. Asked about the possibility President Duterte may still veto the money measure, Sotto said the Senate and the House—now in recess until May 13—would need to meet anew.

“If there is [another] veto, there will be a special session,” Sotto said.

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Grab wants to become biggest fintech in Asean

G

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

RAB is implementing a road map that will allow Asean micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to access the company’s financial technology services soon, as the company aims to become the region’s largest fintech firm this year.

Thursday saw Grab Financial, the fintech arm of Southeast Asia’s largest super app, launching its “Grow with Grab” road map, a plan that will provide a portfolio of financial services to Asean entrepreneurs. It will include micro-insurance prod-

ucts, postpaid installment payment services, and an online check-out payment method for online sellers.

“We believe that micro-entrepreneurship is not only an economic solution, but a social impact priority and nation-building tool. We at Grab

are excited to extend mentorship and market-access assistance to our budding Filpino micro-entrepreneurs,” Grab Philippines President Brian P. Cu said.

The road map puts Grab Financial in a strong position in financial services, as the group seeks to bring more possibilities to micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses.

“Entrepreneurship is the core spirit by which we have founded and grown Grab to be the everyday super app that it is today. We share a deep connection with our fellow Filipinos in aiming for a better and brighter future,” Cu added.

Grab Financial aims to be Southeast Asia’s largest payments and financial services platform in 2019. It also plans to be the largest insurtech policy provider and the biggest fintech lender in Southeast Asia, while having the largest merchant network.

“We are doubling down on our financial-services offering for microentrepreneurs with ‘Grow with Grab.’

This is a huge untapped opportunity for Grab Financial to support the region’s entrepreneurs who are less able to access traditional financial institutions,” Grab Financial Group Senior Managing Director Reuben Lai said.

He explained that while small and medium enterprises account for over 50 percent of the Asean’s gross domestic product, about two thirds of these enterprises cite funding as their biggest problem.

“The Grab app has served more than 9 million micro-entrepreneurs over the last six years. As a result, we can leverage our scale and data insights to bring financial services products to the market at a more competitive price point than anyone else,” Lai added.

Cebu firm offers water-purification technology to help address Metro Manila water-supply woes

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

A

CEBU-BASED firm is pushing for the application of desalination and reversed osmosis to help address the perennial water-supply shortage besetting Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Mactan Rock Industries Inc., a manufacturer of water-treatment chemicals and equipment, is offering its water-treatment technology to industrial and commercial establishments, to extract and purify raw water from the heavily polluted Manila Bay, or rivers like Pasig River and Marikina River.

The company was among the exhibitors that showcased their products and technologies during the Water Philippines 2019 Exhibition happening from March 20 to 22 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Antonio Tompar, CEO of Mactan Rock, told the BusinessMirror that desalination or reversed osmosis, basically a process to make saline or brackish water fresh and drinkable, is a viable solution to Metro Manila’s perennial watersupply problem.

The desalination technology, particularly reversed osmosis

which the company specializes in, is already “ripe” especially for a commercial and industrial area like Manila Bay. He said availing the technology, because of the need to install desalination equipment and use of chemicals, would entail some costs.

However, compared to decades ago when the technology providers and equipment are limited, desalination is much cheaper and affordable today.

“It’s like the calculator. When I was in college, it costs P1,500. Now, it is cheaper,” he said.

“We already have reversed osmosis in the Philippines. We already have 36 desalination plants all over the country. We have in Davao, Aparri, but mostly in Mactan, Cebu. We also have three in Metro Manila,” he said.

“In the Manila Bay area, like in Mall of Asia, all those big hotels, we can supply them directly,” he said.

Tompar said going for desalinated water is relatively cheaper than the cost of freshwater coming from Angat Dam because the water companies charge consumers for the cost of water treatment and distribution.

“We charge only less than P80 per cubic meter [cu m]. The usual is

more than a P100 per cu m,” he said, adding desalinated or purified water from the river is much cheaper. Water extracted from rivers, he said, can supply villages near the river.

About 96 percent of raw water supply for Metro Manila and nearby provinces like Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal come from Angat dam. Because of the increased population and expansion of service areas, the demand for water over the years had outgrown the current maximum water allocation of 4,000 million liters per day (MLD).

The water demand for the East Zone of Metro Manila, which has 6.8 million water consumers and customers serviced by Manila Water Co. Inc. spiked to as many as 1,740 MLD in February this year, exceeding the 40-percent share or 1,600 MLD it gets from the total water allocation from Angat, resulting in severe water-service interruption that affected about 1.2 million customers.

Manila Water started operating its water-treatment plant in Cardona, Rizal, on March 14, extracting raw water from Laguna de Bay. The company uses reversed osmosis to purify the water it now distributes to its customers to augment the water allocation it receives from Angat dam.

URC expands Davao flour-milling operations to reach wider domestic and Asean markets

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

D

AVAO CITY—The Gokongwei-owned Universal Robina Corp. (URC) opened on Thursday its more than P1 billion worth of expanded flour-milling operations here to reach more domestic and Southeast Asian markets.

Lance Y. Gokongwei, president and CEO of JG Summit Holdings, said its URC flour-milling operation here has added a new plant to its existing plant in Kilometer 10 in Barangay Sasa, a busy seaport and industrial zone north of downtown.

From producing 600 metric tons daily from its first plant, the expansion increased total production to 900 MT, which Gokongwei described as “strategic move for

the company to help support the growth in the area of export business for Southeast Asia.”

Naida Ebora, sales marketing and distribution director, said about 10 percent of the total production of the Davao plant is earmarked for export to Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and “soon in Myanmar.”

“The Davao plant was only recently tapped to supply the export demand,” she added.

Gerardo Magadia, manufacturing director of the URC Flour and Pasta Division, said even locally, “some provinces are still emerging markets, and the expansion of this plant would enable us to reach these markets.”

“As one of the pioneers in the country’s flour-milling industry, we have to be at the forefront,”

he said.

The Davao expansion plant is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment designed and supplied by its partner Buher using Swiss technology, URC said in a statement.

The operation is fully automated, it added, “from wheat intake to bagged flour palletizing.”

The URC flour plant is inside a 1.34-hectare area in Barangay Sasa.

It is the only flour mill in southern Mindanao and the second URC flour plant in the country, the company added. Its main plant is located in Pasig, Metro Manila. Both plants have a combined capacity of 2,15 MT daily.

The plant currently employs 247 workers. It has opened more job slots as the URC “starts commercialization of the company’s new lines.”

Friday, March 22, 2019

B1

Cathay Land eyes ₧12-B sales from Las Piñas condo project

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

R

EAL-ESTATE developer Cathay Land Inc. is targeting to earn P12 billion in sales from its residential condominium project in Las Piñas.

Cathay Land is banking on its Anantara Square brand to bring in P12 billion in revenue, as it is strategically located between two malls in Las Piñas. The location also puts future residents within reach of Alabang, Muntinlupa, considered the central business district of southern Metro Manila.

The first tower, a 20-story mixed-use building, will feature 700 units, composed mostly of studio units and one-bedroom suites.

The project is targeted to attract young professionals and starting families given its primary offer of 24-square-meter studio units priced at P2.6 million and one-bedroom units at P3.1 million.

Families that require bigger spaces can combine adjacent units at the two penthouse floors.

Cathay Land said three more towers are expected to rise in the next few years to complete the project.

Residents of Anantara Square will enjoy an aquatrium at the building’s center with a lap and kiddie pool, as well as pocket grands, a courtyard,

a social hall and a study lounge. Further, the condominium has a mini mall at the ground level up to the third floor to provide tenants with a mix of retail and service shops.

“Given our project’s strategic location in the dynamic south of the Metro, our highly attractive launch and easy payment scheme make Anantara Square an ideal investment,” Cathay Land President Jeffrey Ng. Citing a study by property research firm Knight Frank, Ng expressed confidence Anantara Square will prosper, as it is situated in Alabang. The area is tagged as the next hot spot in the property industry of Metro Manila.

The study identified the Skyway Stage 3 in particular as one such development that will further boost the appeal of Alabang as a residential and commercial hub.

The elevated highway will connect the north and south sides of the capital through the North Luzon Expressway and the South Luzon Expressway.

“We advise investors and aspiring homebuyers to position themselves now, as property values are expected to appreciate once this landmark project is completed,” Ng said.

Const r uct ion of A na nt a ra Square is penciled to break ground in April. Turnover will commence in 2023.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, March 22, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

DMCI mining unit sees tough year ahead D

March 20, 2019

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

ASIA UNITED 58.1 59 58.1 58.1 58.1 58.1 50 2905 BDO UNIBANK 131.8 132 131 132.5 131 132 2693370 355610812 -112803798 BANK PH ISLANDS 87.5 87.9 86.9 88.45 86.9 87.9 1447040 127501855 -38232248.5 CHINABANK 27.3 27.4 27.7 27.7 27 27.4 127500 3477510 -383025 EAST WEST BANK 12.44 12.48 12.48 12.52 12.4 12.44 263000 3276870 -707298 METROBANK 79.55 79.9 82 82.05 79.55 79.55 3376250 270819291 -75663031 PB BANK 13.84 13.96 13.86 13.86 13.86 13.86 27400 379764 -44352 PBCOM 21.55 22.9 21.5 22.9 21.5 22.9 2200 47580 -43000 PHIL NATL BANK 59.4 59.45 59.95 60.1 59.2 59.45 366110 21803314 8573615.5 PSBANK 58.45 58.95 58.45 58.95 58.45 58.95 1300 76511 RCBC 26.45 26.5 26.45 26.75 26.45 26.45 262300 6959860 -1268545 SECURITY BANK 172.5 172.7 165 173 165 172.7 1081400 184786096 -48131153 UNION BANK 61.9 62.2 61.2 62.3 60.6 62.2 14480 892588 -412504 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.34 1.37 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.34 20000 26800 BDO LEASING 2.27 2.31 2.3 2.31 2.3 2.31 8000 18420 COL FINANCIAL 19.08 19.16 19.02 19.16 19.02 19.16 110500 2107818 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.18 4.28 4.26 4.47 4.16 4.28 94000 396120 IREMIT 1.44 1.48 1.42 1.48 1.42 1.48 7000 10060 MEDCO HLDG 0.455 0.465 0.455 0.455 0.45 0.45 70000 31550 MANULIFE 800.5 830 815 815 800 800 240 193500 32000 NTL REINSURANCE 0.95 0.96 0.98 0.98 0.96 0.96 13000 12700 PHIL STOCK EXCH 183.7 184 184.2 184.2 184 184 290 53378 SUN LIFE 1820 1840 1820 1820 1820 1820 510 928200 VANTAGE 1.14 1.17 1.15 1.16 1.15 1.16 109000 126390

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.42 1.44 1.42 1.42 1.42 1.42 20000 28400 ABOITIZ POWER 35.1 35.4 34.5 35.4 34.5 35.4 1363800 48015595 13584515 BASIC ENERGY 0.24 0.242 0.243 0.243 0.24 0.242 310000 74480 FIRST GEN 21.5 21.65 21.7 21.7 21.3 21.65 704700 15167660 3226395 FIRST PHIL HLDG 76.2 76.6 76 78.6 76 76.5 332200 25667514 -1104893.5 MERALCO 374 374.4 374.2 377.8 373.8 374 365860 136999712 68141842 MANILA WATER 25.3 25.35 25.75 25.75 25.15 25.3 395000 10010715 7010815 PETRON 6.65 6.66 6.69 6.69 6.57 6.65 7178900 47539591 1643258 PETROENERGY 3.75 3.86 3.74 3.85 3.74 3.85 331000 1273800 PHINMA ENERGY 1.32 1.33 1.33 1.34 1.32 1.33 13444000 17952320 -7410330 PHX PETROLEUM 12.18 12.26 12.28 12.28 12.2 12.26 10600 129794 PILIPINAS SHELL 49.9 49.95 49.35 50.1 49.35 49.95 383000 19135995 -2798405 SPC POWER 6.4 6.46 6.41 6.47 6.4 6.46 19300 124599 AGRINURTURE 14.04 14.24 14.38 14.38 14.02 14.24 572200 8147194 -206904 CNTRL AZUCARERA 15.2 15.9 15.88 15.88 15.88 15.88 100 1588 CENTURY FOOD 15.6 15.98 15.5 16 15.5 15.6 118100 1865874 1733616 DEL MONTE 6.18 6.26 6.18 6.27 6.18 6.26 4700 29093 DNL INDUS 11.38 11.46 11.36 11.5 11.3 11.46 892200 10201420 2091372 EMPERADOR 7.4 7.45 7.35 7.51 7.3 7.4 170400 1250296 -903883 SMC FOODANDBEV 103 104 104 104 102.1 104 87530 9038547 -3643418 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.03 1.04 1.04 1.05 1.02 1.04 1590000 1641640 30140 GINEBRA 27.15 27.4 27.15 27.15 27.15 27.15 17400 472410 JOLLIBEE 313.4 313.6 313 315 312.8 313.6 285920 89737984 -34764542 MACAY HLDG 10.36 10.5 10.8 10.8 10.5 10.5 30100 317784 MAXS GROUP 12.3 12.34 11.98 12.5 11.98 12.36 613100 7575012 -2571904 MG HLDG 0.193 0.201 0.194 0.194 0.192 0.193 380000 73410 PEPSI COLA 1.4 1.41 1.4 1.41 1.38 1.41 6040000 8462640 -2380370 SHAKEYS PIZZA 11.92 12.02 12 12 11.88 11.92 90800 1081094 522524 ROXAS AND CO 1.79 1.8 1.8 1.81 1.8 1.8 105000 189580 RFM CORP 4.68 4.74 4.67 4.68 4.67 4.68 3000 14020 -4670 SWIFT FOODS 0.128 0.13 0.128 0.128 0.128 0.128 140000 17920 UNIV ROBINA 148 148.1 146.1 148 145.8 148 737400 108614825 18287723 VITARICH 1.62 1.63 1.64 1.65 1.62 1.63 1198000 1960270 -751419.9996 VICTORIAS 2.58 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.58 2.58 11000 28580 CONCRETE A 65.55 71.9 71.9 71.9 71.9 71.9 10 719 CEMEX HLDG 2.82 2.83 2.71 2.82 2.66 2.82 17011000 46880410 -1924250 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.74 5.8 5.74 5.8 5.74 5.8 81700 469618 EAGLE CEMENT 15.98 16 15.82 16.02 15.82 16 2697500 43135878 36097892 EEI CORP 9.09 9.1 9.05 9.32 9.05 9.1 1889300 17397372 -1403220 HOLCIM 9.65 9.69 9.7 9.79 9.62 9.65 2357200 22,765,236( 12,578,477.9999) MEGAWIDE 20.95 21 20.85 21 20.75 21 1359800 28491170 13436690 PHINMA 8.01 8.92 8.81 8.94 8.81 8.94 6100 54404 TKC METALS 0.98 0.99 0.98 1 0.96 1 103000 100700 VULCAN INDL 1.29 1.3 1.26 1.29 1.24 1.29 1555000 1972110 CHEMPHIL 109.8 119 114.8 114.8 109.8 109.8 1560 171510 1148 CROWN ASIA 1.87 1.89 1.88 1.88 1.87 1.88 40000 75160 18800 LMG CHEMICALS 4.05 4.08 4.06 4.06 4.05 4.05 133000 538980 PRYCE CORP 5.81 5.95 5.8 5.84 5.8 5.81 21400 124264 -116130 CONCEPCION 42.05 43 43 43 43 43 1100 47300 -47300 GREENERGY 2.3 2.31 2.36 2.37 2.27 2.31 6084000 14113160 226330 INTEGRATED MICR 13.2 13.24 13.3 13.46 13.1 13.2 619700 8230714 -1206592 IONICS 1.62 1.63 1.7 1.7 1.63 1.63 237000 387310 SFA SEMICON 1.34 1.35 1.26 1.34 1.26 1.34 101000 133720 CIRTEK HLDG 29.25 29.8 29.75 29.8 29.1 29.8 205600 6112805 -1445915

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL 0.67 0.68 0.66 0.68 0.62 0.68 36012000 23875810 ASIABEST GROUP 20.5 20.55 20.4 20.8 20.1 20.5 54300 1101230 AYALA CORP 926.5 927 929 930 924 927 207430 192350190 ABOITIZ EQUITY 56.2 58 58.4 58.4 56.2 56.2 843420 47880582 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 15.72 15.74 15.48 15.74 15.42 15.72 6927800 108439434 ANSCOR 6.5 6.75 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 5870600 38158900 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.73 0.76 0.74 0.76 0.74 0.76 35000 25920 ATN HLDG A 1.36 1.37 1.36 1.38 1.36 1.37 2318000 3176240 ATN HLDG B 1.37 1.39 1.37 1.39 1.37 1.39 168000 232310 COSCO CAPITAL 7.5 7.55 7.48 7.56 7.45 7.5 2278800 17116315 DMCI HLDG 12.12 12.2 11.92 12.26 11.92 12.12 1731600 21000580 FILINVEST DEV 15.92 16.1 15.48 16.1 15.4 16.1 6127900 97762068 FJ PRINCE A 4.14 4.82 4.8 4.88 4.8 4.88 3000 14480 FORUM PACIFIC 0.222 0.239 0.239 0.239 0.224 0.225 1400000 322880 GT CAPITAL 1012 1018 1000 1018 999 1018 134720 136150012.5 HOUSE OF INV 6.26 6.47 6.47 6.51 6.47 6.48 7400 47943 JG SUMMIT 60.6 60.9 61.7 62.85 60.45 60.6 4798060 291771429.5 LODESTAR 0.53 0.55 0.56 0.56 0.52 0.53 1080000 568030 LOPEZ HLDG 5.35 5.37 5.27 5.39 5.24 5.37 3543900 18897140 LT GROUP 16.52 16.56 16 16.64 16 16.52 5071200 83227750 MABUHAY HLDG 0.56 0.57 0.56 0.57 0.56 0.57 35000 19660 METRO PAC INV 4.86 4.87 4.9 4.91 4.85 4.86 12348000 60115260 PACIFICA 0.038 0.039 0.039 0.039 0.038 0.038 14800000 564700 PRIME ORION 3.12 3.13 3.13 3.14 3.08 3.13 551000 1720100 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.55 2.67 2.55 2.55 2.55 2.55 3000 7650 SOLID GROUP 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.34 1.34 59000 79160 SYNERGY GRID 443 448 448 448 448 448 20 8960 SM INVESTMENTS 949 950 956 956 931.5 950 118770 112601045 SAN MIGUEL CORP 175 175.2 176 176 172 175 361970 63066516 SOC RESOURCES 0.75 0.79 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 4000 3000 TOP FRONTIER 275 280.8 282 282 275 281 2730 764874 WELLEX INDUS 0.24 0.245 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 300000 72000 ZEUS HLDG 0.37 0.375 0.385 0.39 0.37 0.37 26940000 10188900

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.83 0.84 0.82 0.84 0.82 0.84 3215000 2661820 ANCHOR LAND 9.9 10.92 10.92 10.92 10.92 10.92 6600 72072 AYALA LAND 43.7 43.75 43.25 43.7 43.25 43.7 12432300 541972185 ARANETA PROP 1.95 2 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.95 2000 3900 BELLE CORP 2.38 2.39 2.4 2.41 2.36 2.39 795000 1897400 A BROWN 0.77 0.78 0.77 0.79 0.77 0.79 494000 384400 CITYLAND DEVT 0.91 0.93 0.91 0.93 0.91 0.93 13000 11850 CROWN EQUITIES 0.239 0.24 0.242 0.242 0.24 0.24 8790000 2110100 CEBU HLDG 6.43 6.6 6.22 6.63 6 6.6 63800 407511 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.39 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.36 4.4 967000 4239860 CENTURY PROP 0.51 0.52 0.52 0.53 0.51 0.52 11676000 6060450 CYBER BAY 0.385 0.39 0.385 0.385 0.385 0.385 1200000 462000 DOUBLEDRAGON 22.1 22.2 21.15 22.5 21.1 22.2 1494100 32966615 DM WENCESLAO 11.24 11.26 10.96 11.3 10.96 11.26 689800 7703342 EMPIRE EAST 0.495 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.495 0.5 1440000 719800 EVER GOTESCO 0.126 0.128 0.128 0.128 0.126 0.126 510000 65240 FILINVEST LAND 1.53 1.54 1.54 1.55 1.52 1.54 4465000 6842540 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.22 1.23 1.22 1.23 1.22 1.22 491000 601020 8990 HLDG 12.78 12.8 12.1 12.78 12.1 12.78 5494800 68453328 PHIL INFRADEV 1.89 1.9 1.88 1.9 1.86 1.89 1489000 2792390 CITY AND LAND 0.84 0.85 0.86 0.86 0.85 0.85 3000 2570 MEGAWORLD 5.57 5.58 5.57 5.62 5.56 5.57 7278200 40618716 MRC ALLIED 0.375 0.38 0.37 0.38 0.37 0.38 7740000 2890850 PHIL ESTATES 0.445 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.445 0.445 180000 80600 PRIMEX CORP 2.79 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.79 2.79 23000 64370 ROBINSONS LAND 23.5 23.75 23.2 23.9 23.2 23.5 7348300 173029145 PHIL REALTY 0.45 0.46 0.45 0.46 0.45 0.46 20000 9100 ROCKWELL 2.05 2.06 2.04 2.05 2.01 2.05 78000 159620 SHANG PROP 3.09 3.12 3.15 3.15 3.09 3.12 13000 40710 STA LUCIA LAND 1.6 1.63 1.6 1.64 1.6 1.6 2544000 4111550 SM PRIME HLDG 39.1 39.4 39.15 39.4 38.8 39.4 5588000 219350570 STARMALLS 6.8 6.9 6.74 7 6.73 6.85 333400 2271565 SUNTRUST HOME 0.75 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.79 0.79 16000 12650 PTFC REDEV CORP 45.05 47.9 46.9 47.9 46.9 47.9 400 18880 VISTA LAND 7.3 7.37 7.32 7.4 7.3 7.3 2929000 21506381

SERVICES ABS CBN 20.35 20.4 20.5 20.5 20.35 20.4 28900 590375 GMA NETWORK 5.72 5.73 5.72 5.74 5.72 5.73 265200 1518621 MANILA BULLETIN 0.58 0.59 0.56 0.59 0.55 0.59 1992000 1142790 GLOBE TELECOM 1937 1970 1972 1979 1937 1937 14330 27982200 PLDT 1152 1160 1160 1165 1152 1160 132395 153503860 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.043 0.044 0.044 0.045 0.042 0.044 23000000 996500 DFNN INC 6.83 6.9 6.95 6.95 6.84 6.9 56200 386471 IMPERIAL 1.92 2.01 1.91 2.05 1.91 1.93 27000 53670 ISLAND INFO 0.123 0.124 0.126 0.127 0.123 0.123 2700000 334780 ISM COMM 5.37 5.41 5.35 5.55 5.31 5.41 1680400 9126968 JACKSTONES 3.07 3.22 3.09 3.09 3.06 3.07 82000 251820 NOW CORP 2.5 2.51 2.59 2.59 2.44 2.5 4600000 11423740 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.41 0.415 0.415 0.415 0.41 0.41 4630000 1903500 PHILWEB 2.65 2.66 2.65 2.66 2.62 2.65 156000 413940 2GO GROUP 12.8 12.82 12.82 12.88 12.76 12.8 32800 420726 ASIAN TERMINALS 15.78 16.8 16.84 16.84 16.8 16.8 5900 99248 CEBU AIR 81 81.5 81 81.8 80.95 81 41740 3388812 CHELSEA 5.8 5.84 5.8 5.9 5.77 5.8 767200 4452343 INTL CONTAINER 121.8 122 122 122.5 121.2 122 2703910 330337605 LBC EXPRESS 15.38 15.76 15.36 15.36 15.36 15.36 2300 35328 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.89 0.9 0.89 0.9 0.89 0.9 21000 18700 MACROASIA 20.2 20.4 20.2 20.8 20.2 20.4 301700 6199690 METROALLIANCE A 1.72 1.8 1.78 1.84 1.7 1.8 233000 405660 PAL HLDG 10.26 10.3 10.4 10.4 10.18 10.3 9300 95914 HARBOR STAR 2.89 2.9 2.87 2.92 2.83 2.9 476000 1371670 ACESITE HOTEL 1.23 1.33 1.33 1.33 1.23 1.23 161000 205520 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.073 0.074 0.076 0.076 0.073 0.074 51350000 3805190 WATERFRONT 0.65 0.66 0.66 0.67 0.65 0.66 483000 317910 FAR EASTERN U 890.5 903 890.5 890.5 890.5 890.5 50 44525 IPEOPLE 10.7 10.8 10.7 10.7 10.7 10.7 1300 13910 STI HLDG 0.69 0.7 0.71 0.71 0.69 0.69 366000 256060 BERJAYA 2.78 2.81 2.78 2.88 2.78 2.81 446000 1254870 BLOOMBERRY 12.06 12.1 11.8 12.2 11.7 12.06 5796900 69937700 PACIFIC ONLINE 10.06 10.1 10.16 10.2 9.98 10.06 160200 1613364 LEISURE AND RES 3.35 3.36 3.31 3.37 3.3 3.36 162000 537290 MANILA JOCKEY 4.71 4.73 4.73 4.73 4.71 4.73 21000 99160 PH RESORTS GRP 4.72 4.75 4.76 4.78 4.72 4.75 79000 374990 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.91 0.89 0.9 1379000 1241340 TRAVELLERS 5.63 5.65 5.6 5.64 5.6 5.63 1953200 10990316 METRO RETAIL 3.16 3.19 3.21 3.25 3.15 3.2 1317000 4197280 PUREGOLD 48.2 48.5 48 48.5 48 48.5 799900 38628270 ROBINSONS RTL 78.5 78.9 80 80 78 78.5 666050 52201628.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 124.5 125 124.5 125 124.5 125 610 76214 SSI GROUP 2.38 2.39 2.41 2.41 2.37 2.38 1870000 4460460 WILCON DEPOT 15.48 15.6 15.4 15.7 15.32 15.6 790000 12220594 APC GROUP 0.405 0.425 0.41 0.425 0.405 0.425 260000 106250 EASYCALL 12.38 12.4 12 12.6 12 12.38 180500 2220732 GOLDEN BRIA 373 380 378 383 378 380 780 296566 PRMIERE HORIZON 1.15 1.16 1.1 1.16 1.09 1.16 107743000 121819270 SBS PHIL CORP 8.5 8.78 8.4 8.78 8.4 8.5 17000 147410

MINING & OIL APEX MINING 1.44 1.45 1.43 1.45 1.43 1.44 895000 1292710 ABRA MINING 0.0021 0.0022 0.0021 0.0021 0.0021 0.0021 1000000 2100 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.295 0.31 0.3 0.3 0.295 0.295 90000 26750 CENTURY PEAK 2.4 2.41 2.38 2.41 2.35 2.41 1408000 3362810 DIZON MINES 7.82 7.89 7.85 7.91 7.82 7.82 300 2358 FERRONICKEL 1.5 1.51 1.49 1.5 1.48 1.5 3322000 4932780 GEOGRACE 0.242 0.246 0.239 0.255 0.239 0.242 1880000 461390 LEPANTO A 0.118 0.122 0.118 0.119 0.118 0.118 2910000 343390 MANILA MINING A 0.008 0.0083 0.0081 0.0081 0.008 0.008 12000000 96200 MANILA MINING B 0.008 0.0084 0.0081 0.0081 0.0081 0.0081 1000000 8100 MARCVENTURES 1.09 1.11 1.09 1.1 1.09 1.1 116000 126560 NIHAO 1.03 1.06 1.06 1.1 1.02 1.06 317000 339630 NICKEL ASIA 2.55 2.58 2.6 2.6 2.52 2.55 2501000 6428700 OMICO CORP 0.58 0.62 0.57 0.58 0.57 0.58 271000 157160 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.94 0.96 0.95 0.96 0.95 0.95 269000 255570 PX MINING 3.71 3.75 3.67 3.71 3.65 3.71 500000 1832160 SEMIRARA MINING 22.7 23.2 22 23.2 22 23.2 3118500 71269935 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 16500000 198000 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 1300000 15600 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 1600000 19200 PHINMA PETRO 3.14 3.28 3.14 3.14 3.14 3.14 1000 3140 PXP ENERGY 13.96 14 14.08 14.1 13.96 13.96 561500 7868862

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 FGEN PREF G FPH PREF C GLO PREF P GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF PNX PREF 3A PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 2B SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H

95 465.4 100 97 975 100.7 450.8 480 880.5 886 0.98 99.5 985 998 1.31 75 76.2 71.8 74.5 72.55 72

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

19.9 5.42

LR WARRANT

1.84

-217940 -235000 -178100 12400 -675930 -832730 35552870 -938640

96 474.6 100 98.4 975 100.7 451 480 880.5 891 0.98 100 998 998 1.7 75.55 76.5 71.8 74.8 72.55 74.45

96 474.6 100 98.4 980 100.7 451 480 929 900 0.98 100.1 998 998 1.71 75.55 76.5 71.8 74.8 73 74.45

96 474.6 100 98.3 975 100.6 450.8 480 880 882 0.98 100 998 998 1.7 75.5 76.5 71.8 74.8 72.55 71.6

96 474.6 100 98.3 980 100.6 450.8 480 929 900 0.98 100 998 998 1.71 75.5 76.5 71.8 74.8 73 72

70 20 6330 260 3050 3050 440 100 120 80 150000 16930 10 10000 7000 1500 200 1800 200 350 1520

6720 9492 633000 25559 2988500 306839 198360 48000 107690 71010 147000 1693080 9980 9980000 11910 113275 15300 129240 14960 25491.5 109274

12240 -

20.05 5.6

20.05 5.65

20.05 5.65

20.05 5.6

20.05 5.6

10000 128200

200500 717930

-

1.89

1.89

1.89

1.84

1.89

3000

5620

-

ITALPINAS 5.1 XURPAS 1.35

5.12 1.36

5.06 1.38

5.2 1.39

5.06 1.34

5.1 1.36

204300 6288000

1042305 8544570

-3752140

FIRST METRO ETF

117.1

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS 117

117

117.1

116.4

117.1

3900

455525

21078

@villygc

MCI Mining Corp., a unit of publicly listed DMCI Holdings Inc., on Thursday said it sees a tough year ahead even with the lifting of the suspension of one of its nickel assets, Berong Nickel Corp., last November.

“We will be shipping mostly lower-grade nickel, which fetches a lower price in the market. Our

inventory is also nearly depleted,” DMCI Mining President Cesar F. Simbulan Jr. said.

Last year, DMCI Mining shipped 643,000 wet metric tons of nickel ore, a 22-percent improvement from the 525,000 WMT it shipped the previous year. Average nickel grade of the shipments stood at 1.7 percent, up 13 percent yearon-year from 1.51 percent. This year, the company expects to ship nickel ore with an average grade of 1.57 percent. DMCI Mining said it is still working on the reopening of its other nickel asset, Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. (ZDMC).

In an order dated November 15, 2018, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) partially granted ZDMC’s motion for reconsideration by

modifying its earlier closure order to just a suspension order on its operations, production and shipment.

The DENR declared ZDMC may be permitted to operate again once it meets certain conditions, which include continued rehabilitation and reforestation of the mine site, as well as management of environmental structures in the area. DMCI said its unit has since submitted its action plan to address those conditions.

On a stand-alone basis, DMCI Mining recorded a 93-percent surge in net income to P190 million last year from P99 million in 2017.

DNL unit receives intl certificate for biodegradable plastic products

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HEMICAL manufacturer D and L Industries Inc. (DNL) on Thursday said a subsidiary secured an international certification for its compostable biopolymer products, more commonly known as biodegradable plastics.

The company said D and L Polymers and Colours Inc. received the certification from DIN CERTCO, a Berlin-based organization that works on conformity assessment based on various international standards.

The company said two of its product lines have been certified.

These are BC 9100 series, with registration number: 7W0315, which are used for films and straws and BC 9200 series, with registration number: 7W0316, used for cutlery and containers.

“Biopolymers is an industry that we are developing in the Philippines.

The market is now aware that we are the leaders in this technology. This certification gives credibility to our brand Biorez, which opens opportunities to service not just domestic but also overseas demand. While the current contribution to our sales remains small, we are optimistic on the

-67200 -133688030 89020 8690 -107604 -884390 270400 13008240 7856 -690000 241060 4702038 20 15007771 -65279390 4080 3260 41167135 2070 -501353

96 474.6 100.4 98.3 980 104.3 475.8 494.8 930 900 0.99 100 998 1020 1.78 76 76.5 73.95 74.8 73 74.35

WARRANTS

By VG Cabuag

243090 103830.0001 -41718730 -16958139 45653460 203450 176129.9999 -2279843 3645200 1629638 12879755 -127570214 -1748817 8844938 -18071960 62600 -8960 -44099205 -28149356 -175642 -307050

-6637370 26400445 -356400 3475 42550 232359.9999 -41000 -60890 14160 42100 -419912.5 17400 110609391 504654.9997 -150800 760 29600 -5940 18880 -1474082 9074 6680 19020 -229970 -8451204 635650 -13269435 -28519122.5 62487 1473900 -955704 286 3616749.9998

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

potential of biopolymers as the world shifts towards more sustainable and environment-friendly plastic materials,” said Lester Lao, managing director of D and L Polymers.

With the certification, biopolymers under its Biorez line are now recognized worldwide as compliant with the European standard for biodegradable plastics. Its end of life is either through composting or as feedstock.

The said standard sets out the requirements for biodegradable plastics, which include, among others, heavy metal limits, 90-percent biodegradation within six months and eco-toxicity testing, which ensures that soil is still conducive for plant growth after biodegradable plastics have composted on it.

The Philippine standard for biodegradable plastics known as PNS-2102 is an adaptation of the European Standard (E13432) and US Standard (ASTMD6400).

The company said Biorez can be used in most single-use plastic applications such as bags, straws, cups, bottles and films for sachets. It has been exported to Italy for bags and cutleries application.

PHL economy expected to grow 6.4% in 2019

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HE local economy is expected to grow by 6.4 percent this year, but concerns loom for every day that the legislative department fails to fix appropriations issues, experts at a local bank said on Thursday.

In Security Bank Corp.’s Economic Forum, its chief economist Robert Dan Roces said the bank still keeps a 6.4-percent forecast for the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year, but this number is a wait-and-see stance pending developments in the national government.

Experts raised particular concern about the country’s ongoing budget impasse, as the standoff holds up public funds that are used to fuel further productivity in the country.

Roces said the country’s growth rate can fall to as low as 6 percent assuming that the budget gets passed in April. A full year of no new budget will yield a growth rate of as low as 5.5 percent for the country.

Despite the budget problems, the economist said they remain bullish about local economic prospects as factors to the growth of the country continue to improve in recent months. Among these factors inc lude the improve -

ment in the country’s inflation numbers. Inflation flew past the government’s target last year to reach a peak of 6.7 percent in September and October due mainly to higher prices of rice and oil during the year. This prompted ecnomic managers to make monetary and nonmonetary policy adjustments to bring inflation back to the 2-percent to 4-percent target range.

As of February, inflation fell back to 3.8 percent and is expected to moderate further in the coming months.

Roces said they forecast inflation to hit 3.5 percent this year, but potential headwinds loom, such as the onset of El Niño, weather disruptions and rising global oil prices.

Security Bank President Alfonso Salcedo Jr. also said infrastructure spending—which has also been affected by the budget issue—will be crucial to the development of the country in the medium term.

“We are in the middle of an economic milestone that will benefit the Philippines in the medium and long run. With 28 big-ticket projects expected to be completed by 2022, the country is at the cusp of the golden age of an infrastructure boom,” Salcedo said. Bianca Cuaresma

MUTUAL FUNDS

March 21, 2019

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 263.62 -4% 1.07% 2.2% 4.52% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.6104 2.01% 11.11% 4.35% 11.77% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 4.1053 -5.48% 1.48% 0.88% 5.18% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9366 -1.76% N.A. N.A. 5.18% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.8652 N.A. N.A. N.A. 5.42% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.4739 -2.44% 1.48% 1.63% 3.85% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 128.22 11.53% N.A. N.A. 10.1% ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC. -A 0.8719 -5.27% -3.91% N.A. 4.75% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 51.7443 -2.42% 1.71% N.A. 5.16% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 542.05 -2.07% 0.86% 1.65% 5.31% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3078 -1.31% 2.72% 4.74% 4.29% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 38.5546 -1.63% 3.4% 4.09% 5.25% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0303 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.2365 -2.08% 2.63% 4.04% 5.6% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 874.04 -1.97% 2.32% 4% 5.5% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9199 -0.01% 1.29% N.A. 6.82% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.3051 -0.46% 2.81% 3.04% 6.07% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0052 -2.45% 2.33% N.A. 5.33% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.6923 0.39% 4.55% 4.01% 5.46% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 116.8935 -1.59% 3.39% 5.07% 5.55% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $1.0238 -9.49% 7.32% 1.95% 10.19% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.2688 -2.29% N.A. N.A. 14.81% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.7126 -3.32% -0.72% -0.96% 3.72% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.3071 -2.43% 1.11% 1.16% 4.43% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.6322 -1.06% -0.44% -0.99% 3.48% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3472 -3.43% N.A. N.A. 3.29% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9078 -0.31% 1.11% 1.68% 3.51% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.6433 -2.47% -0.39% 0.67% 3.23% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 16.4771 -1.4% -0.11% 0.79% 3.58% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.1428 -0.94% 1.46% 2.61% 3.4% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.8357 0.07% 1.24% 1.96% 5.05% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 0.9915 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 0.9903 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 0.9884 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 0.9774 0.22% 1.22% N.A. 6.04% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03581 1.39% 0.24% 1.56% 1.59% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $0.9876 -8.52% 3.6% -0.07% 5.49% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.6647 -1.41% 6.25% 2.59% 10.77% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.0811 -1.55% N.A. N.A. 7.04% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 346.63 2.7% 2.08% 2.03% 0.95% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A,1 1.8703 0.26% -0.36% -0.39% 0.6% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 2.9992 5.28% 5.24% 5.25% 0.96% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.1584 2.53% 1.31% 1.79% 1.31% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.2474 1.62% 0.34% 0.81% 1.72% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.5969 -0.03% -0.87% 0.26% 2.08% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.9708 0.03% -0.93% 0.5% 1.3% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.5833 2.67% 0.76% 1.08% 1.88% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9129 0.81% -0.8% N.A. 2.27% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 2.8526 3.12% 1.02% 1.61% 3.13% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.5824 2.69% 0.48% 1.12% 2.76% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $452.66 2.34% 1.95% 2.91% 0.98% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є215.6 1.46% 1.42% 1.61% 1.39% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.16 3.8% 1.53% 2.19% 3.04% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0251 1.21% 0.67% N.A. 1.21% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7016 -1.54% -1.32% 0.78% 0.67% MAA PRIVILEGE DOLLAR FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. MAA PRIVILEGE EURO FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. ЄN.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.0558 0.9% -0.8% -2.4% 1.75% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.2309 2.21% 0.38% 2.69% 2.75% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0577894 1.7% 1.06% 1.69% 1.42% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $2.9414 0.13% -0.21% 1.95% 2.41% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 122.17 3.47% 2.14% 1.75% 1.1% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0053 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.1908 2.48% 0.96% 0.68% 0.75% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2297 3.07% 2.43% 1.78% 0.88% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0214 2.04% N.A. N.A. 0.54%

* - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY ** - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO *** - LISTED IN THE PSE.

**** - RE-CLASSIFIED INTO A BALANCED FUND STARTING JANUARY 1, 2017 (FORMERLY GREPALIFE BOND FUND CORP.).

***** - LAUNCH DATE IS NOVEMBER 6, 2017 ****** - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 08, 2018 ******** - RENAMING OF THE FUND WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST APRIL 13, 2018. ********* - BECAME A MEMBER SINCE APRIL 20, 2018. ******* - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Friday, March 22, 2019

B3

European, Canadian Trump: Tariffs will stay until regulators to do own China complies with deal review of Boeing jet B

OEING’S grounded airliners are likely to be parked longer now that European and Canadian regulators plan to conduct their own reviews of changes that the company is making after two of the jets crashed.

T he Europeans and Canadians want to do more than simply take the US Federal Aviation Administration’s word that alterations to a key flightcontrol system will make the 737 Max safer. Those reviews scramble an ambitious schedule set by Boeing and could undercut the FAA’s reputation around the world.

Boeing hopes by Monday to finish an update to software that can automatically point the nose of the plane sharply downward in some circumstances to avoid an aerodynamic stall, according to two people briefed on FAA presentations to congressional committees.

The FAA expects to certify Boeing’s modifications and plans for pilot training in April or May, one of the people said. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the briefings.

But there are clear doubts about meeting that timetable. Air Canada plans to remove the Boeing 737 Max from its schedule at least through July 1, and suspend some routes that it flew with the plane before it was grounded around the world last week.

American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, which are slightly less dependent on the Max than Air Canada, are juggling their fleets to fill in for grounded planes, but those carriers have still canceled some flights.

By international agreement, planes must be certified in the country where they are built. Regulators around the world have almost always accepted that country’s decision.

As a result, European airlines have flown Boeing jets with little independent review by the European Aviation Safety Agency, and US airlines operate Airbus jets without a separate, lengthy certification process by the FAA. That practice is being frayed, however, in the face of growing questions about the FAA’s certification of the Max. Critics question whether the agency relied too much on Boeing to vouch for critical safety matters and whether it understood the significance of a new automated flight-control system on the Max. The FAA let the Boeing Max keep flying after preliminary findings from the October 29 crash of a Lion Air Max 8 in Indonesia pointed to flight-control problems linked to the failure of a sensor. Boeing

went to work on upgrading the software to, among other things, rely on more than one sensor and limit the system’s power to point the plane’s nose down without direction from the pilots.

The FAA’s assurance that the plane was still safe to fly was good enough for the rest of the world until an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 crashed. Satellite data suggests both planes had similar, erratic flight paths before crashing minutes after takeoff.

Patrick Ky, the executive director of the European regulator, said his agency will look “very deeply, very closely” at the changes Boeing and the FAA suggest to fix the plane.

“I can guarantee to you that on our side we will not allow the aircraft to fly if we have not found acceptable answers to all our questions, whatever the FAA does,” he said.

The message was the same from Canada’s Transport minister, Marc Garneau.

“When that software change is ready, which is a number of weeks, we will in Canada—even if it is certified by the FAA—we will do our own certification,” he said.

Other countries could also conduct their own analysis of how much pilot training should be required on the Max. Ky noted that one Lion Air crew correctly disabled the plane’s malfunctioning flight-control system, but not the crew on the next flight, which crashed.

He said pilots under stress might have forgotten details of a bulletin Boeing issued in November that reminded pilots about that procedure.

The FAA’s handling of issues around the Max jet have damaged its standing among other aviation regulators, said James Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

The FAA will have to be more transparent about its investigation, and it should require that pilots train for the Max on flight simulators, Hall said, because “that is how pilots train today, not on iPads.”

John Hansman, an aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and chairman of an FAA research and engineering advisory committee, said separate approvals by Canada and the Europeans will reassure the public because those countries are seen as having no vested interest in the plane.

“It’s unfortunate because it will probably cause a delay, but it may be the right thing in the long haul,” Hansman said.

He expects that the FAA will wait until other regulators finish their reviews before letting the Max fly again. AP

Facebook-Google scammer pleads guilty in $121-M theft

A

LITHUANIAN man admitted he helped trick Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google into sending more than $100 million through a phishing scheme.

Evaldas Rimasauskas, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before US District Judge George Daniels on Wednesday under an agreement with prosecutors and will forfeit $49.7 million. Rimasauskas was extradited to New York in August 2017. He faces as many as 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 24.

Prosecutors alleged that Rimasauskas, along with some unidentified co-conspirators, helped orchestrate a scheme in which fake e-mails were sent to employees and agents of the two tech giants. The thieves pretended to represent Taiwanese hardware maker Quanta Computer. They told Facebook and Google workers that the companies owed Quanta money, and then directed payments be sent to bank accounts controlled by the scammers.

“Rimasauskas thought he could hide behind a computer screen halfway across the world while he conducted his fraudulent scheme, but as he has learned, the arms of American justice are long, and he now faces significant time in a US prison,” US Attorney Geoffrey Berman in Manhattan said in a statement.

Dressed in tan prison clothing and speaking in Russian through a translator, Rimasauskas told the judge he took part in the fraud scheme from October 2013 to October 2015, posing as a Quanta employee, creating fake bank accounts in Latvia and Cyprus to receive the scammed proceeds, and signing fake contracts and documents that were submitted to banks to support the wire transfers.

“I fully understood that my actions were fraud,” Rimasauskas said.

Daniels asked Rimasauskas why the victims wired the money and whether they were promised anything in return.

“I’m not sure 100 percent because I was asked to open bank accounts,” Rimasauskas said. “After that I did not do anything with these accounts.”

Assistant US Attorney Eun Young Choi told the judge that prosecutors don’t allege that Rimasauskas was the one who directly induced the companies to send the money.

“He created the infrastructure to further the fraudulent transfers,” Choi said.

The scheme netted about $23 million from Google in 2013 and about $98 million from Facebook in 2015, according to a person familiar with the case, who asked not to be named because the companies haven’t been publicly identified by prosecutors as the victims. Bloomberg News

P

RESIDENT Donald J. Trump said he’ll keep tariffs on China until he’s sure Beijing is complying with any trade deal, refuting expectations that the two nations will agree to roll back duties as part of a lasting truce to their trade war. “ We’re not talking about remov ing them, we’re talking about leaving them for a substantial period of time, because we have to make sure that if we do the deal with China, that China lives by the deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday before leaving for Ohio.

“They’ve had a lot of problems living by certain deals.”

The president’s comments dim hopes that round-the-clock trade negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies could lead to them removing the roughly $360 billion in tariffs they’ve imposed on each other’s imports. Beijing has pushed the Trump administration to remove tariffs as part of any deal.

US stocks extended declines on Wednesday

after the president’s remarks.

Pushing back

US officials are concerned that Beijing is pushing back against some American demands in trade talks, people familiar with the matter said. Chinese officials have shifted their stance because after agreeing to changes to their intellectual-property policies, they haven’t received assurances from the Trump administration that tariffs imposed on their exports would be lifted, the people said.

Despite his comments on the tariffs, Trump said “the deal is coming along nicely,” adding that top US negotiators leave for China this weekend for talks on an agreement.

“This is just negotiation argy-bargy” as Trump doesn’t want to give his leverage away

Fed’s policy shift opens door for Asia’s central banks to cut

T

HE Federal Reserve’s abrupt policy shift has opened the door for interest rate cuts across Asia as inflation remains subdued and economic growth slows.

That’s a stark contrast from as recently as four months ago when the prospect of further Fed hikes was pummeling the region’s currencies and pressuring current account deficits.

Now, the focus across the region is shifting to domestic concerns as the primary driver of monetary policy. Central banks in Indonesia and the Philippines—among the most aggressive rate hikers last year—meet on Thursday and are expected to keep policy on hold. If anything, analysts are watching for any hint of a dovish turn.

“The Fed’s big shift will end the tightening wave for Asia’s central banks and open the door for future easing,” said Hak Bin Chua, an economist at Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte. in Singapore.

A currency rally is also helping.

China’s yuan has led gains among emerging-Asian currencies this year, strengthening almost 3 per-

cent against the dollar and followed by the baht. That’s a turn from 2018, where only the Thai currency rose.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is expected to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 4.75 percent when policy-makers meet later on Thursday. Newly appointed Governor Benjamin Diokno’s debut meeting will be watched for any hint he intends to begin reversing 175 basis points of hikes in 2018.

Bank Indonesia is also tipped to leave the key rate unchanged at 6 percent on Thursday as investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley point to cuts beginning as early as the second quarter of the year.

Taiwan’s central bank also meets and is expected to maintain the benchmark rate at 1.375 percent.

While China’s economy is forecast to stabilize around midyear, the rest of the region continues to feel its downdraft. South Korea’s exports—a bellwether for global trade—fell 4.9 percent from a year earlier during the first 20 days of the month, data on Thursday showed. Bloomberg News

TRUMP

too early, said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors Ltd. in Sydney. “He doesn’t want a bear market in shares and rising unemployment ruining his reelection chances next year. A deal still remains more likely than not as it’s in both sides’ interest.”

One of the remaining sticking points in talks is whether the tariffs would be lifted immediately or over a period of time to allow the US to monitor whether China is meeting its obligations, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month. The US wants to continue to wield the threat of tariffs as leverage to ensure China won’t renege on the deal, and would only lift the duties fully when Beijing implemented all parts of the agreement. Bloomberg News

B4 Friday, March 22, 2019

MARIWASA OFFERS INNOVATIVE, HIGH-QUALITY TILE DEPOT TO CUSTOMERS

A

SIDE from developing products that would leave a mark on their customers, Mariwasa has a plan to revamp automation and technology, and upgrade its manufacturing line to come up w it h high-def init ion tiles, donning realistic textures and showcasing distinct designs.

To this extent, they created the Mariwasa 4.0 to showcase their new set of products that embody “digital innovation and connectivity”; that were made f rom a new trend of “autom at ion a nd tec h nolog y ” to satisfy and surpass their customers’ expectations, according to Mariwasa President Jakkrit Suwansilp.

Mariwasa 4.0 has been the company’s theme to this year’s Philippine World Bu i ld ing a nd Const r uct ion E x po (Worldbex) held from March 13 to 17 at the World Trade Center, where they have launched 106 new tile designs with timeless and elegant, yet naturallooking, displays catering to every buyer’s unique taste.

T he s e de s i g n s we re i n s pi re d by t h ree d i f ferent concepts — “ R e v i t a l i t y ”, “ Te c h n i q u e ” and “Wanderwall”—that Mariwasa’s designers have created as a result of traveling across the globe, with an

influence of contemporary features incorporated to their tiles.

Revitality tiles exhibit timeless designs with relaxing and therapeutic touch; Technique tiles give off a mix of cultural vibe and modern feeling; and Wanderwall tiles display an elegant ambiance offering a more luxurious look. These tiles will be available in a 20x20, 20x30, 30x30, 30x60, 40x40 and 60x60.

T h e l at e s t R 1 1 s t o n e - e f f e c t innovation by Mariwasa features a glossy surface but has an antislip function. “The R11 stone effect proves the company’s commitment in bringing innovative designs each year. We guarantee [that] our customers can look forward to new, innovative and high-quality designs and products that will last,” Suwansilp said.

Mariwasa has also launched its newest product addition, the Mariwasa sanitary wares, which will let Filipino homeowners decide to choose practical and affordable, yet stylish and highquality, home products.

“As a solution provider, we thought of bringing Mariwasa sanitary wares beyond our product portfolio. Our inspiration is to prov ide Filipino customers bathroom solutions with

more practical choices that do not comprom i s e qu a l it y a nd st y le,” Suwansilp added.

In addition, Mariwasa now offers Luxurio porcelain tiles that deliver l atest a nd in- dem a nd qu a l it y of porcelain tile to the consumers; and can be bought in prominent home depots and tile stores in the country.

“The primary difference of Mariwasa is we take priority on our after-sales service; this is also the reason why we [introduced] Tyler, the professional tile installer, to communicate better to our customer’s concern. We created Tyler’s hotline and e-mail to answer customer’s queries immediately.

To find out more about Mariwasa and the company’s products, visit www. mariwasa.com.

Customers may e-mail Tyler at Tyler@ mariwasa.com or contact him at 7176901 local 2278 for inquiries.

“This year we aim to focus more on providing overall solutions to our customer’s needs. Whether inserting more products in our portfolio or thinking ways on improving our aftersales services, at the end of the day, we want to make our customers happy and satisfied from the product they bought from us,” Suwansilp said.

TECHNICAL SKILLS COMPETITION CHAMPIONS Winners of the recently conducted TeaM Energy skills improvement in control analysis tournament (Sicat) at the Pagbilao Power Station receive certificate of participation in the tournament’s awarding ceremony. Sicat is a unique skills competition among members of the power plant’s operations group, sharpening the skills of power-plant engineers to ensure reliable electric supply; and testing their preparedness to deal with technical issues and emergency situations in the control room. In photo are Techie Lopez (left), assistant vice president for corporate affairs, TeaM Energy; with this year’s Sicat champions Luis Zaide III, shift manager, main plant; Juanito Cadelina III, shift supervisor, main plant; Jeffrey Boy Castro, senior control operator, main plant; Daryl Oineza, control operator, main plant; Arjay Paquilabre, plant operator, main plant; and Jo Marco Bernel Tabi, plant operator, main plant, together with Val Alcazar, manager for technical and compliance training, TeaM Energy. TeaM Energy is a partnership between Tepco and Marubeni Corp., two noted Japanese firms. It is the largest Japanese investment in the country with over 2,000 megawatts (MW)of installed generating capacity in Luzon. TeaM Energy operates two coal-fired power plants: The 735-MW Pagbilao Power Station in Quezon province and the 1,200-MW Sual Power Station in Pangasinan. It also has a 50-percent stake in the 420-MW Pagbilao Unit 3 Power Project in Quezon and a 20-percent stake in the Ilijan natural gas project in Batangas, respectively.

DLSU FELLOW RECEIVES ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN ENGINEERING, INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH

D

E La Salle University (DLSU) fellow and full-time professor Dr. Anthony Shun Fung Chiu (in photo) of the Industrial Engineering Department received

the 2018 National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Achievement Award in Engineering and Industrial Research on March 11.

The award was presented to Chiu at the annual scientific NRCP conference and general assembly, on the basis of his extensive and influential body of work in industrial ecology, and sustainable consumption and production.

Chiu’s milestone also marks the third consecutive year that a faculty member of the DLSU Gokongwei College of Engineering has won the award.

Winners from the previous years are Dr. Michael Angelo Promentilla and Dr. Kathleen Aviso, both from the Chemical Engineering Department.

They were recognized in 2017 and 2016, respectively.

The NRCP gives the Achievement Award annually, in recognition of a researcher’s outstanding body of work in his or her discipline.

CAMELLA ROLLS OUT NEW PROJECTS NATIONWIDE

C

AMELLA Homes, through its carrying brand Camella Condo Homes, augments its verticalhousing projects nationwide and rolls out 25 new condo projects this year.

Camella Condo Homes, or Coho, simultaneously launches 14 new projects in Luzon, six in the Visayas and five in Mindanao. Coho is now present in 20 provinces and 25 cities, increasing its reach in more areas outside the Metro.

Camella, which has long cemented its name in horizontal housing, aggressively expands its condo ventures this year. In Luzon the following Coho projects are in Subic, Zambales; Balanga, Bataan; Mexico, Pampanga; Baliuag, Bulacan; Rizal, Antipolo and; Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Camella further boosts its condo presence in Metro Manila with new projects unveiled in the cities of Taguig, Las Piñas and Caloocan.

Meanwhile, Camella breathes new life into various cities in the Visayas after unveiling its Coho projects in Bacolod, Negros Occidental; Oton, Iloilo; Tagbilaran, Bohol; Dumaguete, Negros Oriental; and Talisay and Mactan in Cebu.

With its extensive landbank in Mindanao, Coho is soon to rise in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental; Davao City, Davao del Sur; Tagum, Davao del Norte; General Santos, South Cotabato; and Butuan, Agusan del Norte.

As Camella moves closer to its goal of building

million homes for more Filipinos, the real-estate industry will be seeing a robust Camella brand in the coming years, along with its existing residential developments.

“We have always known Camella as the top developer in horizontal housing, so we are truly excited to bring something new, Coho to the Filipinos.

We are launching 25 projects now, and we’ll double that in the next years [as] we hope to do with Coho what we did with Camella. We hope to be a major condo developer in the country,” Vista Land chairman Manny Villar said.

Anchored from Camella’s decadeslong expertise, Coho not only offers affordable and carefully thoughtout condo units but, likewise, aims to elevate the lifestyle of its residents by introducing innovative condo-home concepts.

“We’re not just bringing Coho, we’re bringing the Coho lifestyle. We want to bring the future of housing lifestyle not only in cities but in regions, as well. Coho is a way of life, and our objective is to bring this to more Filipinos,” Villar added.

In addition to its modern building features and amenities, Coho, through its affiliate brands Vista Mall, AllHome, AllDay Supermarket, Coffee Project and Bake My Day, are all integrated together in its condo developments for a complete and distinct, newgeneration Coho lifestyle experience.

WHAT DUH...!!!

JUICING IN CARDS? P

By John Leicester

COMPETITORS play bridge at the Acol Bridge Club in West Hampstead, London.

The Associated Press

ARIS—When the top-ranked bridge player tested positive for a steroid that Lance Armstrong also used to cheat at the Tour de France, it was easy to snigger. Juicing in cards? Ha! But within the card game recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), fans and players seethed.

Whereas the eventual unmasking of Armstrong as a cycling swindler was widely hailed as a resounding victory for sports’ fight against doping, critics in bridge saw the positive drug test for Geir Helgemo as a black mark for the anti-doping system and proof that it shouldn’t be applied uniformly across sports.

“People think it’s wrong,” Boye Brogeland, a bridge professional who won two world championships with Helgemo, said of the topranked player’s test for the steroid testosterone and infertility drug clomifene.

“Nobody thinks he took this to get an edge at bridge,” Brogeland said in a phone interview.

Even the governing World Bridge Federation (WBF) that punished 49-year-old Helgemo last month by banning the Norwegian for one year from lucrative professional competitions says most of the drugs and doping methods that are prohibited in bridge because the game has signed up to World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules don’t, in fact, make bridge players better.

Testosterone and clomifene, both found in the sample Helgemo provided last September 29 at a World Bridge Series tournament in Orlando, Florida, are among the groups of substances that the WBF says in its anti-doping handbook for players are “not expected to affect performance in bridge.”

Yet the WBF prohibits and tests sporadically for them anyway, not because of any suspicion that their use is rife in the game but because that is the price the federation must pay to come under the Olympic umbrella. Accepting the Wada code and the jurisdiction of sports’ highest tribunal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), are conditions for recognition by the IOC. IOC recognition, in turn, helps secure status and funding for bridge as it fights to stay relevant in the videogame era. It also allows WBF executives to cling to the so-far fruitless ambition of one day seeing bridge played at the Olympic Games.

On bridge forums, Helgemo’s case has provoked vigorous debate and a backlash , with critics questioning bridge’s adherence to Wada rules and its Olympic affiliation. For them, further proof that being part of the IOC system does more harm than good to bridge was a

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CAS ruling last year that dealt a blow to the game’s efforts to weed out cheating at cards. The Swiss court overturned five-year bans that bridge authorities had handed down for cheating to top players Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes. The CAS didn’t completely absolve the pair but ruled that the European Bridge League failed to prove that the players used a prearranged code during games to secretly tip each other off about their hands.

“The integrity of the game is lost because we are trying to get into Olympics,” Brogeland says. “The price is just too high. You

cannot actually take the real cheats out of the game because of the Olympics, and now you actually take people out of the game who are not cheats.”

Helgemo’s case also reflects badly on the global anti-doping system, because it highlighted how unevenly Wada rules are applied across sports.

Unlike the vast majority of sports, which test athletes both when they’re competing and when they’re not, the bridge federation only tests players at major competitions.

And the WBF’s in-competition testing is extremely limited: Just 11 tests in total in 2017, the most recent year for which figures are available, and 14 in 2016.

“We simply don’t have the people to manage,” says Jaap Stomphorst, who heads a WBF anti-doping subcommittee. “At major competitions, we test around 10-12 players, that’s all.”

That Helgemo escaped with a one-year ban also underscored how anti-doping punishments are unevenly applied across sports.

He appears to have been leniently treated in comparison with athletes in active sports. The US Anti-Doping Agency, for example, last year handed a three-year ban to an amateur cyclist, Dylan Lima, only for testosterone and one-year bans only for clomifene to two mixed-martial arts fighters. For performance enhancers like testosterone, the Wada code calls for four-year bans when athletes fail to prove that they didn’t intentionally dope.

David Harris, the WBF counsel who prosecuted Helgemo’s case before a federation disciplinary panel, says the player “was unable to give a definitive explanation” of how testosterone and clomifene entered his body. Helgemo first suggested that he may have taken pills meant for his girlfriend before later blaming food supplements given to him by a friend, Harris said in a phone interview.

“The panel probably erred on the side of leniency,” he said. “They took into account the whole circumstances relating to the situation and came up with a decision that one year was the appropriate period of suspension.”

Helgemo didn’t respond to Associated Press efforts to reach him by e-mail and text message. Harris said the Norwegian is currently serving a six-month prison sentence for tax offenses in Norway that is unconnected to his doping ban.

He said that as a top professional, Helgemo had been tested before, should have been aware of the anti-doping rules and should have been more careful.

“This was an unfortunate case, but it was a careless case in many ways,” Harris said. “This is a person who is earning a considerable amount of money out of playing bridge.”

TOKYO 2020 TORCH

The Olympic torches of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are displayed during a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday. Organizers say the torch image is picked because the torch relay will begin a year from now in March when Japan’s cherry blossom trees are in full bloom across the country.

The flame will emerge from a five-petal configuration at the top of the torch. Organizers add the “torch and its emblem will feature strongly in the buildup to the games across the whole of Japan.” AP

21 athletes, 5 sports in focus as doping probe expands

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UNICH—As many as 21 athletes from five sports may have been part of a doping ring stretching around the world, German prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Austrian police arrested five competitors at the Nordic skiing world championships last month and the case has since spread to cycling. Munich prosecutor Kai Graeber said the scandal could spread further.

Graeber said blood doping has occurred in at least 10 different countries since late 2011 and “there is believed to have been a three-figure number of cases of blood withdrawal and retransfusion around the world.”

The athletes come from eight different countries, Graeber said.

Authorities aren’t naming suspects or the sports affected, but Graeber said three of the five sports are winter events.

Graeber added that doping allegedly took place in European countries such as Italy, Sweden and Croatia, along with the US state of Hawaii and last year’s Olympic host South Korea.

The US Anti-Doping Agency confirmed that it was investigating the Hawaii connection.

“We can confirm that we are cooperating with officials in Germany and Austria and have offered all assistance in this case,” the agency said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The International Olympic Committee did not immediately respond when asked whether it feared blood doping could have compromised last year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Since the five skiers were arrested last month shortly before a world championship race, another Estonian skier has admitted to doping and two Austrian cyclists who raced in the Tour de France have been suspended.

Five nonathletes have also been arrested in Germany and Austria, including a doctor, Mark Schmidt, who used to work in professional cycling.

Graeber said the most recent arrest was made on Monday in the German city of Erfurt of a person who is suspected of transporting blood for athletes and carrying out blood transfusions. That person had no medical training and “instead learned to inject on the principle of learning by doing,” Graeber said.

Austrian police earlier opened an investigation after a video was posted online by media apparently showing skier Max Hauke in the middle of a blood transfusion. AP

CRUSADERS FACE IDENTITY ISSUES

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PLAYERS offer a silent prayer for victims of a mass shooting at New Zealand before the Super Rugby match between Sunwolves and Reds in Tokyo over the weekend. AP

ELLINGTON, New Zealand—With their very identity still in doubt, the defending champion Crusaders on Saturday will resume a Super Rugby season interrupted by unimaginable tragedy.

The Crusaders will face the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney, eight days after a white-supremacist gunman killed 50 worshippers and wounded dozens more in attacks on two mosques in their hometown of Christchurch.

A scheduled match the day after the shootings, a match between the Crusaders and Highlanders in Dunedin—a South Island derby considered one of the highlights of the Super Rugby season in New Zealand—was cancelled by agreement between the clubs as a mark of respect to the dead.

The Crusaders have trained in a city where memorials to the dead and public displays of grief are now commonplace.

Senior players admit to being deeply shaken by the events,

which a week ago overtook their usually peaceful home city.

And the Crusaders have found themselves unwillingly drawn into a national debate around the forms of hatred and rhetoric that motivated the killer. The provenance and significance of the Crusaders name has been questioned, and there have been calls for the nine-time Super Rugby champions to reject the name they have carried since they first took the field in 1996.

Critics see the Crusaders name as a reference to the religious crusades of the 11th and 13th centuries, when military expeditions dispatched by Christians churches in Europe attempted to reclaim from Muslims significant religious sites in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Crusaders club management has rejected any connection to the crusades.

In a statement after the Christchurch attacks, the

franchise said “we acknowledge and understand the concerns that have been raised. For us, the Crusaders name is a reflection of the crusading spirit of this community and certainly not a religious statement.”

But the club has been hard-pressed to support that argument when critics point to the iconography which goes along with the name. The team’s symbol is a knight wearing a cross and brandishing a sword.

Comments on the Crusaders’ Facebook page have been overwhelmingly in favor of retaining the name, with many condemning criticism as political correctness or a suppression of free speech.

As criticism continued, Crusaders Coach Scott Robertson and All Blacks captains Kieran Read and Sam Whitelock gave an interview in which they said the time wasn’t right for a discussion of the team name. AP

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Abarrientos lifts FEU to NBTC semis

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AR Eastern University (FEU) continued to make the most of its wildcard entry on Thursday in the Chooks-to-Go National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) League National Finals presented by SM, while La Salle Green Hills advanced to the semifinals for the straight third year.

The Baby Tamaraws—representing Manila—battled back from 15 points down to beat Durham Crossover-Toronto, 87-84, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

RJ Abarrientos fired 20 of his 32 points in the final quarter to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists.

“That’s RJ. He will deliver when he is needed to,” Head Coach Allan Albano said.

The Canadians had a nine-point lead, 6756, after three quarters, but had no answer for the veteran guard in the clutch.

“We always start slow, but we get out rhythm later in the game,” Albano added.

Abarrientos single-handedly outscored their opponents, 20-17, in the pivotal period.

Much of his outburst came from three-point plays, including two triples.

FEU is the first wildcard to advance to the Fearless Four in the 12-year history of the national championship sponsored by Chooksto-Go, Darlington-Exped Socks, EPSON,

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AGNOLIA tries to break away from a three-team logjam in sixth place when it faces Blackwater in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

The match is set at 7 p.m., with the Hotshots (4-5 won-lost) looking to strengthen their playoff bid with a win against the already

Huawei, Freego, Purefoods, Gatorade, Go for Gold, SM, Molten and also presented by 5 Plus and Lighthouse Events.

The Baby Tamaraws will face in the semifinals LSGH, which disposed of Vancouver’s Top Flight Hoops, 99-69.

Joshua David showed the way with 23 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Inand Fornilos and RC Calimag merged for 25 points, seven boards and four assists.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association runner-up took charge from tip-off and never trailed in the win that sent them to the Fearless 4 on Friday still at the same venue.

For the Canadian teams, Kit Mramor top-scored for Top Flight with 23 points, while Brendon Ocampo got 18 points to lead four teammates in double digits for Durham Crossover.

In Division 2, Lyceum-Cavite breezed to the semifinals after cruising to a 93-61 triumph over St. Mary’s College of Tagum.

Mac Guadana had 15 points and five rebounds, while John Barba had 14 points and five boards for the Junior Pirates. They will face Italy’s Proudly Pinoy, which downed Sto. Domingo National HS from Legazpi, 83-75.

The weeklong tourney is still free of admission with fans needing just a valid ID to enter the arena.

Blue Dragons blast Bulldogs

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FAR Eastern University’s RJ Abarrientos scatters 32 points in the game.

HOTSHOTS FACE ELITE eliminated Elite (2-8).

In the first game, TNT (6-3) tries to extend its streak to five when it battles Columbian (4-6) at 4:30 p.m.

In its first of two games in three days, Magnolia beat NorthPort, 103-90, on Wednesday to join Alaska and NLEX in sixth spot.

Paul Lee was sensational for the Hotshots with 24 points, six he made beyond the three-point lane. Ian Sangalang and Rodney

Brondial manned the post and had 20 and 14 points, respectively.

Facing the already ran Blackwater, Magnolia Head Coach Chito Victolero reminded his wards to stay in attack mode.

“We will not take them for granted,” Victolero said. “They will not give the game easily, and we should take the win.”

Finishing among the top six is one of the Hotshots’ priorities.

Besides an automatic spot in the quarterfinals, landing among the best six teams will keep them from a duel with the top two squads, which are equipped with twice-to-beat advantages.

In doing so, Magnolia must win against Blackwater and NLEX on April 3.

The Elite absorbed a 101-122 thrashing from the Road Warriors last week. Allein Maliksi scored 20 points, while Mike Digregorio and Abu Tratter had 17 and 16 points, respectively, but their efforts were not enough to bail out Blackwater.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

ILIMAN College-Gerry’s Grill compounded SMDC-National University’s (NU) woes with an 82-70 victory to collect their second win in the Philippine Basketball Association D-League on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The Blue Dragons fought back from a 12-point first-half deficit as Joseph Brutas caught fire and nailed three straight threepointers with four minutes left to play to turn a 67-63 lead to a 76-64 advantage.

“I know Brutas for three years now. He’s a young player, but I know his passion,” Coach Rensy Bajar said of Brutas, who had 13 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Beninese big man Kevin Gandjeto led Diliman-Gerry’s with 16 points and 13 rebounds to hike its record to 2-2 won-lost.

Marco Balagtas supplied 14 points along with seven boards and one block, and John Mahari chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

“Defense made this win for us,” said Bajar as Diliman limited NU to just 28.2 percent from the field. “We want to prove to ourselves that we can compete.”

John Lloyd Clemente had 22 points and six rebounds to lead SMDC-NU, which fell to 0-4.

John Galinato made 16 points, and Issa Gaye had 10 points and 15 rebounds for the losers.

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LIFESAVERS TOIL G AGAINST UNITED

Lady Bulldogs in Final 4

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ATIONAL University (NU) beat University of the Philippines (UP), 4-2, to secure the last Final Four slot on Thursday in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 softball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Pearly Joy Lorca sent home Leila Tarroza in the top sixth to put the Lady Bulldogs ahead, 3-2. They never looked back from there.

Aside from that go-ahead RBI, Lorca scored a run to give NU more separation.

Elsie de la Torre pitched well in the last 3 1/3 innings for the Lady Bulldogs, fanning out two Lady Maroons batters.

NU will face defending eight-time champion Adamson University in the semifinals starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday in the same Malate venue.

The other semifinals pairing pits No. 2 De La Salle against No. 3 University of Santo Tomas at 11 a.m. The Lady Falcons and the Lady Batters earned twice-tobeat advantages in the Final Four after finishing 1-2 in the double-round eliminations.

The deciding Final Four matches, if necessary, will be played on Monday, while best-of-three championship is set on March 29.

BE AN ALL-STAR

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HAT does it take to be an All-Star?

One doesn’t have to be a basketball superstar to be one—according to one of the country’s leading insurance companies, AXA Philippines.

All you have to do is #TakeCharge of your life by creating your own game plan.

AXA recently unveiled a motivational video on what it really means to be an All-Star, featuring a set of individuals who never stop pushing the limits as they engage in basketball, dance, a triathlon and even a corporate career.

According to AXA, “An All-Star takes charge; one that takes the bull by the horns; one that bounces back from any—and all—challenges. They’re the ones who aren’t afraid to take the shot; ones who surpass limits no matter the distance. An All-Star strives for greatness.”

The insurer highlights how preparation is key— All-Stars are always equipped with a game plan not just on the playing field but also in life. AXA has always encouraged its customers to live better lives by being prepared for unforeseen setbacks.

Check out the video on AXA Philippines’s official YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/AXAPHofficial and Facebook page www.facebook.com/AXA.Philippines.

GENERIKA-AYALA’S Kanjana Kuthaisong beats the defense put up by United VC’s Kalei Mau and Arianne Angustia.

ENERIKA-AYALA survived a furious performance by Filipino-American star Kalei Mau to score a come-frombehind 25-23, 21-25, 19-25, 27-25, 15-12 victory over United VC in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix on Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Import Kanjana Kuthaisong and skipper Angeli Araneta came to the rescue of the Lifesavers, who hung tough down the stretch to eke out the thrilling win.

Kuthaisong finished with 19 points, including the match-clinching kill, while Araneta had only eight points but provided tons of leadership down the stretch for the Lifesavers, who lost middle blocker Marivic Meneses to injury.

The Lifesavers survived the 33-point performance of Mau, who is gaining a reputation as one of the country’s best attackers.

“I asked the team if they have the power to play in the fifth set. Because if they don’t have the power, we will definitely lose the game,” said Generika-Ayala Coach Sherwin Meneses, whose wards improved to 3-7 win-loss as the seasonopening conference enters the crucial stretch of the preliminaries.

“But they showed that they are in great condition and they have what it takes to win in five sets,” Meneses added.

Spiker Fiola Ceballos was also instrumental with 16 hits, while Mikaela Lopez chipped in nine point for Generika-Ayala, which drew an impressive performance from libero Bia General, who had 33 digs and 20 excellent receptions.

Still, it was Araneta who kept the Lifesavers together when the game was on the line.

“She showed that all locals are playing well. She is the treasure player who can play together with the top players in the country,” said Meneses referring to the former University of the Philippines stalwart.

With the match extending to five sets, Kuthaisong and Araneta delivered the crucial hits that put the Lifesavers ahead, 10-6.

Although Mau, Alohi Robins-Hardy and Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani forced the decider at 12-all, back-to-back crucial miscues from Mau and Bedart-Ghani’s gave the Lifesavers match point, 14-12.

Then Kuthaisong unleashed a booming kill for match point.

Besides Mau, Bedart-Ghani also sparkled with 25 points, while Robins-Hardy tallied 28 excellent sets and nine points for United VC, which missed the services of import Tai Manu-Olevao who flew to Hawaii for an important family matter.

United VC fell to 5-6.

IRONMAN DAVAO LURES CELEBRITIES M ATTEO GUIDICELLI and Piolo Pascual take time out from their hectic schedules to showcase their sporting prowess again as they head a big number of celebrities suiting up for the second Alveo Ironman 70.3 Davao presented by Petron on Sunday at Azuela Cove.

Guidicelli and Pascual have been competing in the annual event the past few years as part of their healthy lifestyle, and their presence has boosted each Ironman staging in terms of participation and popularity.

Joining them are Kim Atienza, Dingdong

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By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

LAGAN CITY—Quezon City dislodged defending champion Baguio City atop the medal tally board with victories in dancesports in the final stretch of the 2019 Batang Pinoy Luzon Leg on Thursday.

The competitive dancers from the City of Stars amassed seven gold medals in several classes of junior standard, juvenile standard and juvenile latin to emerge on top with 23 gold, 15 silver and nine bronze medals.

Laguna province came second with 22 golds, 28 silvers and 23 bronzes—a tally highlighted by 13 golds, 20 silvers and 12 bronzes in the swimming competitions.

Baguio City was previously in good position to retain the overall title but teams from the National Capital Region stole the thunder with impressive campaigns in the multisport tournament organized by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Against the blistering summer heat, Baguio City athletes landed in third place with victories in taekwondo and archery.

Used to cold weather in the mountains, the reigning titlists raked up 20 golds, 21 silvers and 46 bronzes after four days of competition.

Jins from the Summer Capital took 11 golds in poomsae and kyorugi, while Alon Yuan Jucutan led the charge with three gold medals in boys’ cub events as his team tallied seven golds in archery.

Following suit in the medal standings were Pasig City (15-17-14)

Dantes and Bubbles Paraiso, with a lot more vying either in individual or team competition of the grueling 1.9K swim, 90K bike, 21K run event.

Meanwhile, the IronGirl ushers in the Ironman weekend with 1,000 participants taking part in the 5K fun run put up by Herbalife Nutrition for 12 and above at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Still, focus will be on the centerpiece Elite division with Mexican Mauricio Mendez and Czech Radka Kahlefeldt bracing for a tougher, fiercer challenge from a slew of top-notch rivals out to foil their back-to-back title bids

in the event organized and conducted by Sunrise Events Inc. The crack Aussie side, for one, is going all out to restamp its class in the event it used to dominate with former world champion Tim Reed leading the charge along with Sam Betten, Tim Van Berkel, David Mainwaring, Matt Lewis and Fraser Walsh.

Meanwhile,

QC BETS MAKE GIANT MOVE PARAÑAQUE City’s Micaela Jasmine Modjeh gets five gold medals in the Luzon leg.

and Taguig City (11-13-12).

Parañaque City, which placed second in swimming with a 10-1-1 gold-silver-bronze tally, got the bounty from young tankers Mark Bryan Dula and Micaela Jasmine Modjeh, who each had five golds along with Aubrey Tom of Cainta, Rizal.

Justin Angelo Muñoz of Pangasinan province and Erica Marie Ruto of Calamba City became the fastest athletes in Luzon after their close wins in 100m of athletics.

Muñoz clocked 11.2 seconds—just two-tenths better than Pasig City’s John Dave Magtangob—to dominate the boys 100m.

The 14-year-old student of Virgen

Milagrosa University said his victory was fueled by his 10-month training for his first Batang Pinoy.

“Lord was with me during the race.

I’m happy because this is just my first time here,” Muñoz said.

Franz Michael Matos of San Fernando, Pampanga, took bronze in 11.76 seconds.

In the girls century, Ruto clocked 12.6 seconds to outsprint Kyla Elona (12.8 seconds) of Laguna province and Reah Bacani (12.9 seconds) of Ilagan City.

The daughter of a tricycle driver and a plain housewife dedicated her win to her parents.

“This is for them. They are always supporting me,” Ruto said.

24 squads vying in Santa Fe Open

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CRACK field of 24 teams—12 women and and as many men—will see action in the Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) On Tour Santa Fe Open this weekend.

The Beach Placid Resort in scenic Bantayan Island in Cebu will host the event for the third straight year with previous leg champions Bea Tan and Dij Rodriguez of Negros and Ranran Abdilla and Jessie Lopez of Air Force hoping to figure prominently anew for the crown.

Also competing are PetroGazz, Cebu, Visayas, National University, Bacolod, University of San Carlos, Southwestern University and Russia.

Cebu Provincial Sports

Commission (CPSC) commissioner Nimrod Quiñones is looking forward to the province’s successful hosting of event.

“The CPSC continues to support BVR on Tour because volleyball is one of the most popular sports in Cebu. Beach volleyball is also a major crowd drawer and is in line with our thrust to push sports tourism,” Quiñones said.

Last year, the Visayan-based squads ruled the Santa Fe leg, with UNO-R’s Alexa Polidario and Erjane Magdato topping the women’s side and Cebu’s Jade Becaldo and Calvin Sarte emerging triumphant in the men’s section.

PETROGAZZ’S Jonah Sabete will once again hit the sand court in the Santa Fe Open this weekend.

Kahlefeldt gears up for a showdown with regular Philippine campaigners Caroline Steffen of Switzerland, Dimity Lee Duke, Kirra Seidel and Lisa Tyack of Australia and Guam’s Manami Iijima in their side of the duel.

Bets from the United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Mexico, Ukraine, India, Malaysia, Qatar, the US, Belgium, Spain, Italy,

New Caledonia and Singapore make up the bulk of more than 2,200 triathletes vying in the event.

The other entries are from South Africa, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Korea, Norway, Thailand, Switzerland, Greece, Kuwait, New Zealand, Turkey, China, Guam, Mexico, Panama and Taiwan.

Illinois professor creates women’s NCAA simulator

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EW YORK—University of Illinois computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson has always loved data.

For the past seven years he’s had a men’s NCAA Tournament bracket simulator. After getting many requests, Jacobson decided to put together one for the women’s tournament.

It’s believed to be the first of its kind for the women’s tournament to predict all 63 games.

“People would send me e-mails, saying great data and they would start saying what about the women’s game,” Jacobson said in a phone interview. “We didn’t have the bandwidth support to develop it right away.”

This year, though, he was able to put one together using data from the past 25 years.

“We’re using advanced analytics to drive selection of each of the games,” he said. “There’s a lot of attention on the men’s game obviously, but there is the ESPN bracket challenge for the women’s game. It gives people a chance to appreciate the women’s game more.”

Jacobson said that the women’s game has been easier for the simulator to predict because there have been historically less upsets on the women’s side. Only once has a top 3 seed lost in the first round. The computer model doesn’t have any bias for a fan’s favorite team, mascot or any other thing someone might use to choose winners. Jacobson said there are over 9 quintillion combinations that the program uses.

“It’s purely data driven here, there’s no emotion in it,” Jacobson said laughing. “The data that’s most important is how the seeds have performed over last 25 years. That has enough for us to create this simulator. We bring all that together and run it through a power model.”

Jacobson first started the men’s simulator in 2012 and had over 500,000 visitors. That number has grown over the years. His web site is used by interested sports fans, as well as high school and elementary school teachers around the country.

“It’s a great teaching tool for STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] and stats classes at schools,” he said.

The Associated Press ran 64 simulations—in honor of each team in the field. A No. 1 seed won 33 of the 64 times with Baylor having 12 of those victories. Notre Dame and Louisville were next with nine each. Second-seeded UConn was champion seven times.

All four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four five times and Louisville was the winner in each of those instances. AP

NBA RESULTS Cleveland 107, Milwaukee 102 Orlando 119, New Orleans 96 Philadelphia 118, Boston 115 Utah 137, New York 116 Chicago 126, Washington 120, OT Memphis 126, Houston 125, OT Miami 110, San Antonio 105 Toronto 123, Oklahoma City 114, OT Portland 126, Dallas 118

IT’S a perfect ending to Dwyane Wade’s fiery showdowns with San Antonio, albeit an unusual one with the fans serenading him with cheers as he walked off the AT&T Center court after one final win over the Spurs. AP

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QUINNIPIAC players celebrate their win over Marist, and so do BYU players in their final game against Gonzaga. AP

WADE, HEAT SNAP SPURS WIN STREAK

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By Raul Dominguez The Associated Press

AN ANTONIO—Dwyane Wade was upset, ecstatic, tenacious and gracious in his final battle with the San Antonio Spurs.

It was the perfect ending to Wade’s fiery showdowns with San Antonio, albeit an unusual one with the fans serenading him with cheers as he walked off the AT&T Center court after one final win over the Spurs.

Goran Dragic had 22 points and the Miami Heat snapped the Spurs’ nine-game winning streak with a 110-105 victory on Wednesday night, sending Wade home a winner in what was likely his final game in San Antonio.

“We’re playing as good as a group together as we’ve played since I got back here,” Wade said. “It’s fun playing basketball with these guys this way.”

Dion Waiters added 18 points and Josh Richardson had 15 for Miami, which won its third straight game to remain

eighth in the Eastern Conference.

San Antonio saw its 11-game home winning streak come to an end but remained fifth in the West. It was the Spurs’ first loss since February 25 in Brooklyn as part of their 1-7 Rodeo Road Trip.

Wade, who is retiring after 16 seasons, has been honored in his final game at visiting arenas. This one was special, though, given his history against the Spurs, Coach Gregg Popovich and their vaunted Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Wade was key to the battles between Miami and San Antonio in the 2013 and 2014 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. The Heat rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 20.3 seconds to force overtime and win Game Six on their way to capturing the 2013 championship. San Antonio won the title the following season against Miami to avenge that defeat.

The Spurs honored Wade before the game with a one-anda-half-minute video, including their tussles in the NBA Finals.

After the video played, Popovich presented Wade with a gift box that included signed jerseys from Duncan, Parker and Ginobili.

“That’s dope,” Wade said. “I didn’t know it was going to be before the game. I like the music swag they had on it and the videos they put up. It was really cool. I’m so thankful and I’m so appreciative. I don’t expect those things to happen to me at all. I just came out and did my job every night and I’m thankful for the relationships that I have. I have a great one with Coach [Popovich] and I just appreciate what they did.”

San Antonio also gifted Miami the first half, falling behind by as many as 17 points.

The Spurs rallied from a 12-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to pull to 108-105 on Rudy Gay’s floater with 1:07 remaining, but a turnover by DeMar DeRozan and a pair of free throws by Kelly Olynk sealed the victory.

“We had a shot in the fourth quarter, but for three quarters they whipped us physically and discipline-wise,” Popovich said.

“They deserve the win for that reason.”

The Spurs had six players in double figures, but only two starters. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 17 points and DeRozan added 16. Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli added 17 apiece. AP

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Almighty God

EAR GOD, You establish the cosmos in power and love. We praise You and pray: Teach us Your wisdom, oh God. Help us to cultivate and sustain a good sense of humor. Enlighten us to know the glory and joy that You give to those who fear You. Gladden the hearts of the elderly, the infirm and all who experience transition. May the God of grace and glory purify our hearts so that we may fix our lives on Christ, now and always. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life BusinessMirror

SOMETHING LIKE LIFE: WHEN FAUCETS RUN DRY D3

Friday, March 22, 2019

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WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO

MICHAEL JACKSON’S LEGACY? A famed writer’s fall could offer clues

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By RaCHEL HOPE CLEVEs University of Victoria

HERE’S no question that Michael Jackson changed music history. But how will history remember Michael Jackson?

Since HBO released the new documentary film Leaving Neverland, which detailed allegations by two adults who say that they were molested by Jackson as children, the musician’s legacy—already complicated—is up in the air.

Jackson is not the first notable artist to be accused of sexually abusing children. Some, like Roman Polanski and Woody Allen, are still living and producing art that provokes discussion.

But there are other alleged child abusers who have died and whose works, once considered great, have faded into obscurity, in no small part because it is almost impossible to memorialize them without creating the impression of condoning their behavior.

The writer Norman Douglas is a prime example.

The subject of a biography I’m working on, Douglas had a reputation for molesting children. After his death, he became an off-limits topic for biographers, and while he had his defenders, he ultimately couldn’t escape historical erasure.

RUMORS DO LITTLE TO DIM A BUDDING STAR DURING the first half of the 20th century, Norman Douglas was a literary star. Friends with Joseph Conrad, D.H. Lawrence and Aldous Huxley, he was best known for his best-selling 1917 novel South Wind.

Virginia Woolf sang its praises in the Times Literary Supplement. Graham Greene recalled how his generation “was brought up on South Wind.” When the hero of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited arrives at Oxford after World War I, he brings with him only two novels, South Wind and Compton Mackenzie’s

Sinister Street.

But today Douglas is entirely forgotten.

The reasons why artists’ works go forgotten vary. In Douglas’s case, it’s fair to say that his erudite writing style went out of fashion.

But there’s more to the story. During his lifetime, Douglas was notorious for his relationships with children. In 1912 he lived with a 14-year-old boy in London while he was working at The English Review.

Four years later, he was arrested in London for acts of gross indecency with a 16-year-old. After his release on bail, Douglas fled to Italy, where laws regulating sex between men and boys were more lax. He settled in Florence, where his celebrity only grew.

Visitors to the city, like Huxley and Lawrence, would seek him out in the city’s cafés. The radical journalist and heiress Nancy Cunard, who met Douglas in Florence in 1923 and became a close friend, recalled the “aureole of legend” that surrounded him.

Douglas was always attended to by Italian boys who worked for him as messengers or cooks, and endless rumors circulated about Douglas’s relationships with these boys. A diary entry written by a friend of Douglas described how Douglas performed fellatio on a boy named Marcello. Brothers Sacheverell and Osbert Sitwell warned Cunard that Douglas was dangerous. D.H. Lawrence’s widow, Frieda, told her friend Dudley Nichols that Douglas was “the only wicked man I have known, in a medieval sense.”

SCRUTINY GROWS BRITAIN’S strict libel laws, the norms of politeness and the power of Douglas’s celebrity seemed to prevent people from writing publicly about his sexual relationships with boys while he was alive.

But you can’t libel the dead.

When Douglas died in 1952, debate about his

memory erupted in the press. The first signs of the battle to come appeared in the obituaries. British diplomat Harold Nicolson noted Douglas’s shocking “indulgences” in a death notice for The Spectator.

Nicolson’s article prompted 50 or 60 letters of protest from Douglas’s friends, but there was no holding back the tide. In 1954, Douglas’s former friend Richard Aldington published a book of vicious recollections about the writer, titled Pinorman, a portmanteau of Norman and his friend Pino Orioli.

Aldington didn’t mince words. He called Douglas a pederast whose path in life was “strewn with broken boys and empty bottles.”

Douglas’s friends were outraged. Cunard wrote to Aldington’s publisher accusing him of libel and threatening to wage a “collective protest.” She rallied Douglas’s friends to lambaste the book in reviews. Her own review for the periodical Time and Tide was titled “Bonbons of Gall.” Graham Greene wrote to a friend that he intended to “kill” Aldington’s book, and he penned a review for The London Magazine that was so incendiary it could not be published for fear of libel charges from Aldington, who was very much alive.

Greene maliciously sent Aldington the review and asked for permission to publish it. Naturally, Aldington refused and reached out to friends for help putting together a pamphlet attacking Douglas’s defenders. Frieda Lawrence contributed a story about how Douglas once casually offered her a boy of 14, saying that he preferred them younger.

But the pamphlet was so intemperate that a lawyer said it would run afoul of the libel laws and could not be published.

THE DANGER OF CHOOSING TO FORGET? ALDINGTON was forced to retreat. With Pinorman disparaged by its reviewers, Aldington was discredited. It seemed that Douglas’s friends had

won the battle. But Aldington won the war. The truth was out there, and Douglas’s reputation was permanently injured.

In the decades that followed, many would-be biographers tried their hand at writing Douglas’s story; time and again they failed. Douglas simply could not be remembered as a great writer in the face of the allegations against him. Only one comprehensive biography, titled Norman Douglas, has ever been published about him. It came out in 1976, during a rare moment of sexual openness; even so, the publisher almost nixed the manuscript after 10 years of work by its author, Mark Holloway.

Today Douglas is a forgotten writer. When the truth about his sexual relations with children was fully exposed after his death, he became an impossible figure to memorialize.

Over time, it’s likely that Michael Jackson’s memory will be similarly eroded. The television show The Simpsons has already pulled its 1991 episode featuring Jackson.

His name will likely be taken down from public monuments. People will be hesitant to produce new versions of his music. His influence will live on, but it will be difficult to commemorate his work. Perhaps that is for the best. But maybe it isn’t.

Reluctance to preserve the memory of the extensive history of sex between adults and children leaves society ill-equipped to recognize and handle child sexual abuse today. A culture that is caught up in narratives that identify pedophiles as monsters has a hard time recognizing when beloved figures, like Michael Jackson, are molesting children right before its eyes.

There is need for history to remember abusers and to remember them in all their complexity. If Jackson’s memory is preserved, maybe it will be easier to see the present more clearly. AP

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Friday, March 22, 2019

Society BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

z

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Reese Witherspoon, 43; Elvis Stojko, 47; Keegan-Michael Key, 48; William Shatner, 88.

VICE President for Business Development of Suyen Corp. Bryan Lim (from left) CEO of FOODEE Global Concepts Rikki Dee and Chief Operating Officer of FOODEE Global Concepts Eric Dee

RIKKI DEE (from left), Ayala Malls’ Mariana Zobel de Ayala, Beng Dee and Eric Dee

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Don’t let too many options confuse you. Most can be eliminated quickly if you keep your main objective in mind. Discipline and hard work will keep you on course, and encourage you to be reasonable when dealing with situations or people who use emotional tactics to make you second-guess what you are doing. Make this a year of progress, not divisiveness. Your lucky numbers are 4, 10, 17, 21, 33, 45, 47.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take greater interest in what others are doing, and learn through observation, asking questions and using what you learn to become more diverse. How you spend your time will not go unnoticed. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t let your emotions take over and get the better of you, especially when dealing with people who can make a difference to your future. Think and consider alternatives first to get ahead instead of staying put. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If you let someone distract you or persuade you to do something unproductive or indulgent, you will miss out.

There will be plenty of time for romance once you finish what you start. HHHHH

THE ribbon-cutting ceremony was led by (from left): Eric Dee, Lim, Mariana Zobel de MON GONZALEZ (from left), Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez, Beng Dee and Rikki Dee Ayala, Chairman of Suyen Corp. Ben Chan and Rikki Dee

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Emotional spending should be avoided. Pay off old debts and ease stress. A unique idea can turn into a savings plan. A change in the way you do things and how much you help others will lead to a better lifestyle. HH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Make positive changes at home and to your personal life.

Cutting your expenses will give you wiggle room to do things that make you happy. Planning a trip with someone you love or attending a social event is encouraged. HHHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Someone is likely to overreact if you are too caught up in your own interests. Involve the people you love in order to avoid getting into an unnecessary argument. A function that mixes business with pleasure will lead to personal and professional gains. HHH

g

IVARLUSKI ASERON (from left), Jo Ann Bitagcol and Joey Samson

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Focus on self-improvement. Someone you share expenses with will question you about money matters if you aren’t frugal. Think twice before you make an unnecessary purchase. Personal changes don’t have to be costly. Romance is favored. HHH

BIANCA BRANDNER (from left), Kidd Dee and Nicola Puno

Bench goes ‘Green’ N O other local brand carries Filipino pride quite like Bench. With a diverse product line that crosses over seamlessly from retail to food, Bench has established itself as a champion of Filipino craftsmanship, style and, this past year, culinary heritage.

As the brand’s most recent innovation, dining concept restaurant Bench Café has taken the java and the yumminess beyond its Bonifacio Global City origins, opening a second branch in Greenbelt 3, Makati City.

A partnership between FOODEE Global Concepts, one of Manila’s largest multibrand food groups run by father and son tandem Rikki and Eric Dee, and Suyen Corp., headed by Chairman Ben Chan, President Virgilio Lim and Vice President for Business Development Bryan Lim, Bench Café is now turning into a full-fledged restaurant with the opening of its second branch. With over three decades of experience under its belt, the FOODEE group created a restaurant concept that was uniquely Bench, applying Suyen’s retail philosophies to what—in just a year—has become a successful culinary venture.

Imbibing Bench’s social-media hashtag and overall thrust, #LiveLifeWithFlavor, Bench Café celebrates classic Filipino dishes by giving them a global, sophisticated twist, much like what the brand does with their retail endeavors.

The restaurant’s growing popularity is owed to a unique dining concept that delivers a sensory experience through its well-designed and inviting interiors, and a mouth-watering selection of interesting and satisfying dishes.

Of course, not a few of the well-heeled sort turned out to celebrate the occasion and indulge in some of the scrummies on offer. n

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A change will do you good. Look over your personal papers, responsibilities and relationships with others. Make adjustments that will free up time and money to do the things you love with the people you enjoy. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Tidy up loose ends before you move on to more enjoyable activities. Treat yourself to a pickme-up like a new outfit, haircut or relaxing evening with someone you love. Make a lifestyle change that will distance you from poor influences. HHHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Refuse to let an emotional incident ruin your day. Get to the root of the problem, and alter whatever is fueling the fire. A change at home will encourage you to focus more on the positive and eradicate the negative. HH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It’s up to you to make things happen. Don’t wait for someone to take over or make plans for you.

Explore the possibilities, and get involved in projects with people who excite you. HHHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Be strategic in the way you deal with superiors. Charm will lead to greater opportunities; criticism will result in struggle. Choose your words wisely to overcome any challenge that comes your way. HHH IMBIBING Bench’s social-media hashtag and overall thrust, #LiveLifeWithFlavor, Bench Café in Greenbelt 3 highlights a unique dining concept that delivers a sensory experience through its well-designed and inviting interiors.

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are insightful, proactive and heroic.

You are steadfast and efficient.

‘lowest rung’ BY SAM BUCHBINDER The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Judaism : kosher :: Islam : ___ 6 Short-lived items 14 Giraffe cousin 15 Look down, as from a balcony 16 Runway figures 18 Perch’s place 19 Black stone 20 Greek H 22 Bad-mouth 23 “See ya!”

25 Yahoo alternative 26 Sports ___ (jogger’s top) 29 Boozy brunch order 30 “What now?!”

32 Key usually opposite “\” 33 Ditch 35 Viola clef 36 Fresh way to start 38 Mount Everest’s country 39 Latch (onto) 40 Solve, medically 41 By mouth 43 City tour vehicle

4 Gestures of gratitude 4 46 “Turn on the AC!” 48 Devious 49 Civic center?

50 French greeting 51 Prefix with “binary” or “conforming” 52 Campaign-funding grp.

53 Dandelion support 56 Never 60 Ink-squirting creatures 62 “Go. Away.”

63 Ancient Mexican 64 Business cards?

65 Thumbs-ups DOWN 1 Human genus 2 “Don’t Matter” rapper 3 Historic torchbearer?

4 Challenging H.S. test 5 Small, in rap names 6 Isle of exile 7 Architect I. M. 8 Crunchy Mexican dish 9 What a spoiler might spoil

0 Soft shoes, for short 1 11 Mendes of “Hitch” 12 Bylaw, briefly 13 “Chances ___...”

17 Decides to change lanes, maybe 21 Move across 24 Ontario MLB city: Abbr.

25 Painting subject known for her smile 26 1970s fad that hints at the ends of 3-, 8- and 17-Down 27 Snitch on 28 CO2 molecule trio 29 Like some overrides 31 Dipstick wipe 32 Dash instruments 34 Hoppy brew, for short 37 Rainy 42 Handbag monogram 45 Election Day sticker words 47 Get a move on 51 ___ Scotia 52 Church seats 54 Triangular sword 55 Lecturers’ needs, informally

6 Frazier foe 5 57 2012 movie bear 58 Capture 59 Pal of Curly 61 Playing hard to get

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Relationships BusinessMirror

Friday, March 22, 2019

When faucets run dry SOMETHING LIKE LIFE

MA. STELLA F. ARNALDO

@akosistellaBM

I

WAS out of the country when the water crisis reared its ugly head. But as soon as I made my way back home to Quezon City, I checked Manila Water Co.’s Facebook page to find out our city’s water interruption schedule. Whew! I still had about 45 minutes to clean out my large water container (left over from the previous summer dry spells) and start stocking up on the precious commodity.

I literally zipped through the flat—watered my oh-so-thirsty plants that I had left behind for 10 days, brought in my luggage and plunked down my other bags in my room, went about my business in the bathroom, but as soon as I returned to the balcony where I had intended to use my garden faucet to fill up my water container, the tap was dry. Nooooooooooo!

As you can imagine, dear reader, I totally forgot my private Catholic girls’ school upbringing as my mouth unleashed a torrent of curses at Manila Water. But can you blame me? I had always considered myself lucky to be living in the north because, up until last week, Manila Water had been a most efficient utility company. During past dry spells, we could count on them to go around with their trucks, supplying us with water. And besides, our water bills were almost insignificant compared to other providers.

I don’t think the water company would have reaped so much hate from its customers if only they had prepared us for what was coming. And I don’t mean those warnings issued year or two ago in media about an eventual shortfall. I mean at least two weeks to a month’s notice: “Hey guys, we’re having supply issues. Could you please conserve water as we try address the problem?” Or something like, “Dear valued customer, due to some supply issues, we will be implementing water interruption schedules

by March [put dates here]. Kindly be ready to store water in your containers.” But as our colleague and fellow columnist Toots Ople wrote this past week, the utility firm’s advisory was issued on the same

day as our faucets ran dry. Not only that, as we all had noticed, the firm didn’t even bother to follow its own water interruption schedule—in Quezon City, it was supposed to be 5 pm to 4 am the next day.

However, my faucets stopped flowing at 4:15 pm, and would not give even just a drop until 11 am the next day. This happened for a few more days, prompting a friend to wonder aloud on Facebook what time zone was Manila Water following?!

Also, it really didn’t help at all when the company blamed the El Niño dry spell for the low level of the La Mesa Dam, when the Angat Dam, which supplies the needs of Metro Manila, was still full. In fact, CNN Philippines flew over Angat Dam to disprove Manila Water’s claims. Gah. Poor information, and outright lying—the hallmark of any PR crisis.

I will leave the nitty-gritty details of how we had ended up in this water crisis to my more learned media colleagues. But as I have always said in this space, companies, especially utility firms, need to learn how to craft proper communications plans or programs not just to alert the public when there

will be an interruption in services, but to increase customer awareness of how these companies are working to make their lives better. This all goes to fomenting good will and forming a harmonious relationship with their customers. An efficient communications plan becomes even more urgent now that everyone is on social media, and the public backlash to poor services is immediate.

(I can’t even believe that Manila Water, which is owned by the Ayala Group, would have a PR crisis of this magnitude when most of its companies have adequate communications programs and are usually forthcoming to the media on vital information about their firms’ operations.)

The situation has improved these past few days with water flowing through our taps much longer, albeit at a lower pressure. More or less, the water interruption schedule has been easier to anticipate.

But we do still need to conserve water.

Here are a few tips: n Forego those showers in the meantime. Use a pail and water dipper in taking a bath.

n Close the faucet when brushing your teeth. It’s possible to use just one glass of water for gargling and cleaning the toothbrush after brushing. n Adjust your toilet fixture so you use less water when flushing. Or if you can stand it, don’t flush the toilet until you’ve peed in it about two to three times. n Don’t let the water run when washing dishes.

Use a basin (palanggana) and put all the dishes and utensils there for washing. Rinse with hot water just to make sure no bacteria is left behind. n Use a water basin to launder and rinse clothes, instead of the washing machine. (The upside—you get to conserve electricity too!) n Use any excess water from washing and laundering (the last rinse) to water plants. Water them in the evening so the moisture doesn’t evaporate immediately. n Fix all leaky toilets and repair faucets.

We’ve been informed the water situation will normalize in June. In the meantime, we just need to grin and bear it. n

Iranian couple arrested after marriage proposal in public MISS Universe 2018 Catriona Gray visited a local Smile Train partner during her homecoming in the Philippines.

MISS UNIVERSE BRINGS SMILES TO CHILDREN WITH CLEFTS

MISS Universe 2018 Catriona Gray visited Smile Train’s local partner hospital, Philippine Band of Mercy, to help raise awareness for children with clefts in the Philippines and all around the world.

In the Philippines, it is estimated that one in every 500 children are born with a cleft lip and/or palate each year. This results in about 5,000 new Filipinos who often face a number of complications from having a cleft, such as difficulty eating, breathing and speaking. In addition, many of these children face social stigma, making it challenging for them to go to school or find a job.

In an effort to show the universe the value of spreading smiles, Gray had the opportunity to meet with some of Smile Train’s cleft patients and their families, and learn more about the organization’s sustainable model. “Through the partnership with Smile Train and the Miss Universe Organization, I am grateful to be connected with a cause that has been giving smiles and second chances at life all over the world for the past 20 years,” said Gray. “As Miss Universe, I look forward to lending my voice and a helping hand to continue to raise awareness for children with clefts globally, including my home country, the Philippines.”

Smile Train, the world’s leading cleft organization, supports local medical professionals and institutions to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to patients in need. Gray’s visit taught her that children with clefts need more than just surgery. She learned about the importance of pre-surgical orthodontics that help prepare babies for surgery and speech therapy that helps children and adults who have had cleft palate surgery improve their speech. “Over the last four years, we have been working with the Miss Universe Organization to help raise awareness about cleft around the world. We are proud to have Catriona Gray advocate for our cause. As the world has seen, she is a champion of children in need,” said Kimmy CosetengFlaviano, Smile Train’s area director for Southeast Asia. “With her help, we know that we can create a brighter future for more children affected with clefts here and across the globe.”

For more information about Smile Train’s global efforts and to make a donation, visit www.smiletrain.org.

TEHRAN, Iran—A young Iranian couple have been arrested after a marriage proposal in public that was captured on a video clip that went viral on social media.

The police say the pair offended Islamic mores on public decency but were later released on bail.

The video, which spread on social media last Friday, shows the young man standing in a heart-shaped ring of flower petals next to colorful

balloons in a mall in the central Iranian city of Arak.

He proposes, and after the young woman says “yes,” he slips a ring on her finger to cheers from a crowd of onlookers. The two were not identified.

Mostafa Norouzi, deputy police chief in Arak, told the Shahrvand daily that it is unacceptable for the young “to do whatever is common in other places of the world and disregard mores, culture and religion” in Iran.

The pair’s “offense is very clear and there is no need for explanation” about the reason for their arrest, Norouzi added.

Lawyer Isa Amini, head of the Tehran Bar Association, criticized the arrest and said he could not understand what the grounds were for such an action since the couple did not commit any wrongdoing.

However, the semi-official and hard-line Fars news agency called

the public proposal “shameful” and claimed it could promote “immorality.”

The agency demanded “harsh” punishment to stop such displays from being repeated by others.

Iranian hard-liners perceive public displays of affection as result of allegedly corrupt influence of Western culture that threatens morals in this conservative Islamic society. The Islamic Republic’s strict rules forbid gender mixing in public. AP

EMPOWERING WOMEN BY THE HAIR A BEAUTIFUL haircut offers more than just a boost of confidence; it can, in fact, also serve as an inspiration and source of livelihood for people in need.

Denman (www.denmanbrush.com), the renowned leader in hairbrushes, and Hair Aid, a nonprofit organization, headed to Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon in Novaliches, one of Quezon City’s partner communities for livelihood programs.

Early January, Denman Philippines Ambassadors Lourd Ramos and Anton Papa, along with a handful of Hair Aid volunteers headed by Lisa Polini, lent their expertise in a weeklong workshop aimed to teach participants about the proper tools and techniques in cutting hair. More than 25 participants gathered at the basketball court of Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon for the program, which offered unemployed men and women the opportunity to learn new skills for livelihood.

Hair Aid (www.hairaid.org.au), established in 2010, has been offering its services in Metro Manila, and it has been working with Denman Philippines for the past three years.

Since its inception, the nonprofit has helped over 2,300 individuals in Quezon City, and, in its recent tour, aimed to train 210 more.

Selina Tomasich, Hair Aid founder, said: “With Hair Aid, we want to go beyond mere charity and dole-outs. We want to empower men and women by providing them the skills for livelihood. We started teaching hair cutting classes here because it’s a much-needed service that can be learned, and everyone needs a haircut.”

Twice a year, Hair Aid heads to Manila to train Filipinos as their local barangay. In addition to the Philippines, Hair Aid

HAIR Aid volunteer Lisa Polini showing some tips about the proper tools and techniques in cutting hair.

also hosts programs in Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, and soon Vietnam. To date, through the help of Hair Aid Sweden, Hair Aid UK, Hair Aid New Zealand and Hair Aid Australia, they’ve been able to train an estimated 1,400 individuals a year, and Tomasich hopes to hit 3,000 a year by 2020. “We love coming back here to the Philippines, because it’s very fulfilling. We’re here because we want to help and we want to give women and other Filipinos the chance to lead dignified lives where they are able to provide for their families and themselves,” she added. “As a mother, I understand their fears and want to give them the opportunity to thrive and succeed.” Selina and Hair Aid volunteers offer their time and

DENMAN Philippines Ambassadors Lourd Ramos and Anton Papa with hair aid volunteer Lisa Polini.

expertise for free, even raising their own money and airfare so that they may share their gifts. Lisa Polini, one such volunteer, flew all the way from Australia to be one of the 20 stylistteachers at this workshop.

The multi-awarded trainer and hair dresser has made several trips to Manila, and with each trip, she becomes even more inspired and driven. “It’s all about giving back and making a difference. Hair dressing may start out as a hobby or as a curiosity, but it can be a fulfilling livelihood.” Along with her at the training workshop were Denman Philippine Ambassadors Anton Papa and Lourd Ramos and the Denman Philippines team.

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Show BusinessMirror

Friday, March 22, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

MARKKI STROEM and Cherie Gil

F.D.C.P. Chairman Liza DiÑo enjoins filmmakers to combat growing content piracy AS innovation and technology continues to change how people view and experience cinema, the Internet is perhaps the most accessible digital platform available for filmmakers now as a venue to tell stories to a wider audience. However, it is this same platform where digital theft or piracy occurs at an alarming rate.

At the recently concluded Film Ambassadors’ Night, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) together with Globe feted films, actors and producers who won various international recognition for the country’s film industry. FDCP Chairman Liza Diño also shared that the challenge of Philippine cinema right now is to develop more quality content which can be made available in various platforms. “Our local audience is getting exposed to newer platforms to consume content, and it’s not just happening here but in other countries, as well,” she said. The event was also in commemoration of 100 years of Philippine Cinema.

Diño also acknowledged Globe and its longrunning anti-piracy advocacy, #PlayItRight. During the Film Ambassadors’ Night, Diño encouraged filmmakers to support the cause by thanking the men and women at the back and in front of the camera whose lives are affected by online piracy, through a short video at the end of every movie appealing to moviegoers to respect the hard work of the cast and crew, and help them sustain their livelihood. This way, moviegoers are made aware of the reality of how the entertainment industry and its people are affected by illegal content consumption. #PlayItRight is meant to urge Filipinos to watch or download content only from legitimate sources, which started with a Piracy versus Piracy initiative during the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival. #PlayItRight took the battle against piracy in the pirates’ own grounds, plus its other efforts to educate the public on the havoc that malware and other viruses can create on their devices.

In the campaign, Globe uploaded “copies” of the festival film entries in nefarious streaming sites but once the links were clicked, viewers got the surprise after the opening credits: what followed was a heartfelt appeal of the film crew themselves, where they stated how much hard work and time they spend on a film, and how piracy has affected their livelihood.

The latest in Alexa data analysis shows that streaming piracy is significantly up with a 75-percent increase in pageviews of an average user of streaming piracy web sites between 2016 and 2017.

In terms of downloads, there is still a total of 502 million movie and TV torrent downloads in 2017. The Philippines alone has 22 million visits to infringing web sites. The new threat of digital content piracy now involves the use of illicit streaming devices (ISDs) and apps. Accessing content through these illegal means exposes viewers to various threats such as viruses and malware that can steal private information. Left unregulated, this puts consumers, especially children, at risk.

These pressing issues remain the major concern of the Coalition Against Piracy, an initiative of the Asia Video Industry Association, a collective of Asian and international entertainment companies and distribution platforms. CAP recognizes the #PlayItRight campaign as an effective move to combat digital content piracy which has an estimated $50 billion impact to the media industry annually.

Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications Yoly Crisanto also shared in-depth the company’s #PlayItRight initiative at the summit, that “whether you like it or not, piracy is part of the digital lifestyle of our customers nowadays.

In the Philippines, 52 percent of viewers access through unauthorized sources. With #PlayItRight, we saw a 53-percent decline in illegal content access.

If you’re paying a very small amount of money to get to legal content, it doesn’t really make sense for you to get into illegal sites. And that’s what we’re trying to communicate.”

Globe is the preferred partner for content distribution by global entertainment brands like Disney, Netflix, HOOQ, Turner, Astro, Sports Illustrated and Musical.ly. Other than content distribution, Globe also now produces its own original content through Globe Studios.

‘Angels in America’ spreads its wings tonight at RCBC Plaza

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By Jt Nisay

HE Manila production of Tony Kushner’s multiawarded masterpiece Angels in America takes flight tonight at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC Plaza in Makati City.

Staged by Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group to kick off its 20th anniversary, the twopart epic explores the social, political and moral complexities of 1980s Manhattan as it deals with the plague now known as AIDS. The Atlantis production focuses on Part One of the epic play, titled Millenium Approaches, as it plans to keep the audience on its toes for Part Two, titled Perestoika.

“Angels in America is about life in the face of death,” said director Bobby Garcia. “It is about despair and our interconnectedness as a community—at how we need to find a way to discuss our differences by finding common ground.”

Angels in America: Millenium Approaches follows the lives of two main couples, one gay and another straight. Prior Walter is abandoned by his lover, Louis, as he contracts the HIV virus. Meanwhile, a closeted gay lawyer named Joe Pitt struggles in his marriage to his pill-popping wife, Harper. Their fates intertwine as they explore questions of love, justice, identity, and change in a story filled with Kushner’s signature symbolisms, including characters of an angel and ghosts of ancestors.

The play won Kushner the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993, while the 2018 Broadway revival of the piece starring Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield scored 11 Tony Award nominations, the record for most earned by a play last year. It went on to win three of the top prizes: Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor in a Play and Best Featured Actor in a Play. The original 1993 and 1994 productions also received multiple Tony wins and nominations.

Atlantis’s take on the story stars what Garcia tags as his dream cast in what they deem as their dream roles. Lauded by the director for his versatility and command of the space, accomplished actor Art Acuña takes on Roy Cohn. Revered actress Cherie Gil, whom Garcia said “brings so much depth and passion to everything she does,” plays four characters, two of which are male.

Meanwhile, Topper Fabregas and Nelsito Gomez are cast as Prior Walter and Louis Ironson, respectively. The director said both actors have a deep understanding of their characters’ dynamics. Also part of the fold is Andoy Ranay as Belize, as well as indie film veteran Angeli Bayani (Harper Pitt) and Markki Stroem (Joe Pitt). Bayani marks her debut with Atlantis.

Suiting up as the angel is Pinky Amador. “She brings so much gravitas to everything she does,” Garcia said of Amador, who returns with Atlantis for the first time in six years since the musical Edith Piaf.

Gil said Angels in America is more relevant today, in a world that has come to a place where there’s more confusion beyond AIDS. “There’s more of a human plague that has hit our inner societies in the world, not just in America,” the actress said. “[This play] would hopefully lead us to a place where we could ask the question: Where do we go from here? What kind of changes do we want to make? Gil added: “Not only does it bring us to religion or whichever god we worship, but to the spirituality we are all made of—to our core as human beings, and what it is we want to hold on to at the end of the day.”

According to Jorelle Balibit, vice president for Theatrical Productions of the Atlantis Entertainment Group, the decision in choosing Angels in America to open the group’s 20th anniversary was made by Garcia. “Bobby did this show in 1995. He wanted to retell this story all over again with this wonderful cast, and to show the new intention, perspective and understanding he has developed over the years with the material of Tony Kushner.”

Angels in America runs for three weekends from March 22 to April 7. There will be one show on Fridays at 8 pm, and two on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm and 8 pm.

For tickets, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph. Angels in America contains strong language and mature content.

Due to its subject matter, this show is strongly recommended for those ages 17 years old and above. n

Court reviews arrest request on K-pop singer Jung Joon-young SEOUL, South Korea—K-pop singer Jung Joon-young was attending a South Korean court hearing Thursday on whether a warrant will be issued for his arrest on allegations he illegally shared sexually explicit videos of women taken without their knowledge or consent.

He told reporters at the Seoul Central District Court that he was sorry and apologized again to the victims and to “everyone who has showed affection for me.” People involved in scandals in South Korea often issue public apologies even as they maintain their innocence.

Jung was questioned by police last week about allegations that he secretly filmed his sexual encounters and shared them in private group chats with his friends. AP

K-POP singer Jung Joonyoung (center) arrives to attend a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea on March 21. A South Korean pop star has appeared at a court hearing to decide whether to arrest him over allegations that he illegally shared sexually explicit videos of women taken without their knowledge or consent in online group chats. AP

GMA News TV International airs 2nd National Basketball League season GMA viewers abroad who are avid basketball fans can now watch the games of National Basketball League (NBL) Philippines on GMA News TV International (GNTV-I, www.gmanetwork.com).

GMA International (GMAI) recently inked a partnership with NBL, the newest community based league which showcases homegrown talents, to air its second conference abroad via GNTV-I, the Philippines’s most trusted news source which provides Filipinos overseas the latest, most comprehensive and credible news from home.

The signing was led by GMAI First Vice President and Head of Operations Joseph Francia, and Assistant Vice President and Programming Head Cheri Domingo, together with NBL Pilipinas Corp. President and Chairman Celso “Soy” Mercado, Executive Vice President Rhose Montreal, and Vice President and Basketball Operations Head Edward Aquino.

Francia shared how Filipinos abroad look forward to watching local basketball

NBL Vice President and Basketball Operations Head Edward Aquino, NBL Executive Vice President Rhose Montreal, NBL Pilipinas Corp. President and Chairman Celso “Soy” Mercado, GMAI First Vice President and Head of Operations Joseph Francia, Assistant Vice President and Programming Head Cheri Domingo

games, and how much they enjoy playing basketball in their communities. “Hinahanap talaga ng mga Kapuso natin sa abroad ’yung basketball and according to our Kapuso values that ‘the viewer is [the] boss,’ we follow what the viewer wants. If the viewers want sports, specifically basketball, we have

to give it to them.”

“On behalf of GMA Network, it’s an honor for us to be able to take your [NBL] games to your relatives and friends abroad.

Hopefully, through this little effort of ours, muling mabuhay yung pagmamahal ng mga Pinoy sa sports lalo na sa communities

abroad,” Francia added.

For his part, Mercado said that this will be their league’s platform to show their fellow Filipinos how much they take pride on their players’ skills.

“GMA is NBL’s first-ever local TV partner and we will join forces to emphasize na maraming mahuhusay na homegrown players and talents na hindi nabibigyan ng pagkakataon to play with other leagues.

Sa season na ito, sana mabigyan natin ng kasiyahan ang mga kababayan nating nasa ibang bansa dahil ito ’yung larong Pinoy.”

Also present during the signing were GMA celebrities and basketball enthusiasts Benjamin Alves and Gil Cuerva, as well as representatives from various teams.

Participating teams for NBL’s second conference are Bulacan Starks, Cainta Titans, Camarines Sur Express, Dasmariñas Ballers, Imus Bandila, Iriga Oragons, Laguna Pistons, Nueva Ecija Ricemaker, Pampanga Delta, Pasig Rios, Parañaque Aces, Quezon City Rising Stars, Rizal Nationals, Taguig Generals and Zamboanga Valientes.

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

Editor: Tet Andolong

The all-new generation Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sports no doubt will continue to attract a lot of buyers because of its design.

Auto Nation Group executives and sales team

The dashboard now features soft-touch high-quality materials, and state-of-the-art technological features that make it on a par with other SUVs in the segment today.

Friday, March 22, 2019

E1

Moto

Business

E2 Friday, March 22, 2019

FORD EXTENDS SPECIAL OFFERS UNTIL MARCH 31 THE fleet of Isuzu modern PUVs turned over to PGT Transeco

ISUZU TURNS O

PUVS TO PGT

EVEREST

F

ORD Philippines is extending its special deals for its topselling vehicles until the end of the month.

“Extending these great offers will allow more customers to drive their own Ford vehicle in the easiest, most flexible and most affordable terms— with cash savings to keep. We invite everyone to visit a Ford dealership to check out these limited-time deals for the Ranger, Everest, EcoSport— and Explorer,” shares Ryan Lorenzo, AVP, marketing, Ford Philippines.

S

Story & photos by Randy S. Peregrino

OON, commuters in Tarlac will experience riding modernized public-utility vehicles (PUVs) to travel within the towns of Paniqui and Gerona.

Pick up P60,000 cash savings for the Ranger

THE Ford Ranger 2.0L Bi-Turbo Wildtrak 4x4 AT is available with a cash discount of P60,000 or an allin low down payment of P128,000.

The Ranger 2.0L Turbo Wildtrak 4x2 AT is available on an all-in low down payment of P118,000, while the manual transmission variant is offered with an all-in low down payment of P108,000. Both 4x2 variants also come in with a cash savings of P40,000.

The Ranger Wildtrak 4x4 runs on the new-generation 2.0L Bi-Turbo diesel engine and is paired with an advanced 10-speed automatic transmission that delivers greater torque, improved engine refinement with fuel economy improvements, and a quieter, more comfortable drive.

SUV deals extended, 0% interest for up to 4 years for the Everest still up for grabs

CUSTOMERS can still avail them-

RANGER

selvesof the special offer for the Ford Everest this month, where they can get any variant of the Everest 2.2L Titanium at zero-percent interest rate for up to four years. With a minimum of 20-percent down payment, customers can get cash savings of up to P368,000 with this deal.

On the other hand, customers who wish to get the Everest 2.2L Trend 4x2 AT can still avail themselves of an all-in low down payment of P58,000. The Ford Everest has set the standard for mid-sized sportutility vehicles in the country with its best-in-segment 800-mm water wading capability, advanced smart and safe features, and outstanding

fuel efficiency.

Those purchasing the new EcoSport 1.5L Ambiente MT can still avail themselves of an all-in low down payment of P58,000, while customers getting the new Explorer can still avail themselvesof P100,000 cash savings.

A new variant of the EcoSport, the 1.5L Titanium AT variant, is also available in all Ford dealerships. The new EcoSport Titanium variant runs on the new and powerful 1.5L Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) engine mated with the new six-speed automatic transmission and features new interiors.

Nissan Philippines has a new president

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ISSAN announced the appointment of Atsushi Najima as the new president and managing director for Nissan Philippines, effective April 1, 2019.

Atsushi will report to Vincent Wijnen, senior vice president for sales and for marketing at Nissan Asia and Oceania. He will be based in Manila.

In his new role, Atsushi will be responsible for developing business strategies to maximize Nissan’s overall performance, managing product introductions and expanding the availability of the Nissan brand in the Philippines under its midterm plan Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022.

“With his rich experience in managing teams across multiple countries, I am confident that Atsushi will continue to drive the strong growth

ATSUSHI NAJIMA

trajectory established by the current leadership team,” said Vincent.

“Under the strong leadership of Ramesh Narasimhan, Nissan has seen significant growth in the prom-

ising Philippines market. In calendar year 2018, Nissan’s sales volume in the Philippines grew by 40 percent to an 8.7-percent market share,” Vincent added.

Atsushi joined Nissan in 2016 as deputy general manager of Nissan’s regional financial management group in Japan. Prior to this, he spent 18 years at Procter and Gamble across Asia, holding various finance and general management roles in the Philippines, Singapore and Japan.

Ramesh Narasimhan, the current president and managing director for the Philippines, will be taking the role of president for Nissan Thailand.

Atsushi’s official inauguration will be after the Board of Directors Meeting in March 2019.

THE Isuzu QKR77 light-duty truck platform modern P

IPC Sales Department Head Mario Ojales (from left), IPC Sales Division Head Joseph Bautista, INTECO Group CEO and President Raymond Jarina, LTFRB Chairman Atty. Martin Delgra III, and Almazora Motors Corp. President Conrad Almazora ISUZU PHILIPPINES INCORPORATED

Recently, Isuzu Philippines Incorporated turned over to the Paniqui Gerona Tarlac Transport Services Cooperative (PGT Transeco), which is an umbrella organization of Pasang Masda. After turning over units to various transport groups in the Metro and other regions, IPC finally rolled out these Isuzu modern PUVs in the province for the first time. Since last year, IPC is in full swing in delivering its commitment to support the government in ramping up its Public utility vehicle modernization Program (PUVMP).

“We are very honored to be providing them their modern PUVs as PGT Transeco leads the PUV modernization program rolled out by the local government here in Paniqui, Tarlac,” said IPC Division Head of Sales Joseph Bautista. The turnover ceremony was also attended by LTFRB Chairman Atty.

Martin Delgra III, Tarlac Gov. Susan Yap, Almazora Motors Corp. President Conrad Almazora, and INTECO Group CEO Raymond Jarina, among others.

Delgra, for his part, believes that the role of the private sectors, particularly the auto manufacturers like Isuzu, is

SPACIOUS and air-conditioned 22-seater cabin

the key element in the PUV modernization program. “Why? Because they provide the required units that we need in the implementation of this program.

The PUVMP actually applies to all form of public transport but there is much focus on the jeepneys because this is the sector that has been left be-

BEAT THE HEAT WITH TOYOTA’S W

ITH the season for exciting road trips and unforgettable vacations fast approaching, Toyota Motor Philippines wants to make it easier for you to have the best summer vacation driving your dream car.

With Toyota’s Big Summer Blowout promo, you can now easily drive home a new Vios, Avanza, Fortuner, Innova, Hiace, Wigo, or Hilux through the easy payment term of your choice.

Toyota’s summer season promo offers three

(3) options for you to conveniently choose from.

With PAY LOW (All-in Package) you can get a new Toyota with an all-in cash out down payment as low as 15 percent.

The package comes with free first-year insurance and free three-year LTO registration and free chattel mortgage fees through Toyota Financial Services.

Under this term, the 1.3 E MT variant of the all-new Vios for example, can be yours for a down payment of just P82,800.

With pay light, you can enjoy low monthly plans at 50-percent down payment and 60 months to pay.

Under this term, you can get an Innova at P10,394 a month (2.0 J Gas MT), a Hilux for only P12,822 a month (4×2 G Dsl MT) or a Fortuner at P16,143 a month (4×2 G Gas AT).

With the savings option, you can get discounts for outright cash payment. Enjoy P80,000 savings on the Vios G and G+ variants, P75,000 savings on the Fortuner G Gas variants, P60,000 savings

oring

sMirror

Friday, March 22, 2019

E3

AUTOKID STRENGTHENS AFTER-SALES SERVICES WITH PILIPINAS SHELL

A

OVER MODERN

T TRANSECO

PUV

MORE spacious cockpit area for the driver

hind in the modernization program,” he explained. “This modernization program is not only about simply replacing the old units with new ones, but also replacing old practices with new modern system that will run our public transport system in a more efficient, affordable and predictable manner,”

added Delgra. Meanwhile, the 20 modern PUV units turned over by IPC were based on the Isuzu QKR77 light-duty truck platform—the same type of units previously delivered to other transport groups in the country. Its unified body was designed and manufactured by Almazora Motors Corp. utilizing the

Class 2 air-conditioned (Coolaire) model with side-facing bench configuration that could easily accommodate about 22 commuters. Locally assembled, the Isuzu QKR platform is equipped with a Euro 4-compliant 4JH1-TC turbo diesel engine designed to deliver excellent fuel economy. It generates 105 hp and 230 N-m of maximum torque.

Moreover, the new PUV body is compliant to Philippine National Standards (PNS 2126:2017). This translates to passenger cabin floorto-ceiling height and gangway width of 1,780 mm and 830 mm, respectively. That’s means more space for passengers to move easily inside. The passenger door, meantime, is safely situated on the right-hand side, facing the sidewalk. Other design features of the body include panoramic windows and windshields, full-body insulation with GeneQ shield, door closer, ECEcompliant headlamps, brake system, wipers, windshield washer, and side view mirrors, and provisions for persons with disabilities. As for modern features, these modern PUV units are fitted with GPS navigation system, CCTV cameras and built-in speed limiter. All these, primarily, are for passengers’ safety.

Truth be told, Isuzu has created a name for the Filipino drivers and operators as an ever-reliable partner in providing excellent after-sales support.

“Today, we are very proud to say that Isuzu continues its legacy by having these Isuzu PUVs as one of the pioneers under the government’s PUV modernization program,” said Bautista. “We would like to thank Paniqui Gerona Tarlac Transport Services Cooperative and Pasang Masda for trusting our company in providing their first fleet of modern PUVs. We are confident that these units will be able to provide them a more durable, comfortable and safe transport solution for the riding public,” he concluded.

S SUMMER BLOWOUT PROMO on the Innova G Dsl AT, E Dsl Variants and J Dsl MT, and on a lot more offers to choose from.

On top of these best value packages, Toyota also offers additional perks specifically to customers who will buy the locally manufactured Vios or the Fortuner. Fortuner G variant customers are entitled to a free Toyota Genuine Digital Video Recorder (Dash Cam) while the new Vios owners get to receive free Periodic Maintenance Service after reservation/purchase of a Vios G or E variant

during the promo period.

Inclusions of the free Periodic Maintenance Package are as follows: First 1K KM and 5K KM Basic Periodic Maintenance Package including oil filter replacement and oil drain plug replacement.

For 10K KM includes oil filter replacement, oil drain plug replacement, spark plug for gasoline.

For 20K KM includes oil filter replacement, oil drain plug replacement, air filter replacement,

and cabin air filter replacement.

Promo runs until March 31, 2019, only. To avail yourself of these great offers, inquire now at any of the 68 Toyota dealerships nationwide.

To know more about Toyota’s promos and activities, visit the Toyota Motor Philippines web site at www.toyota.com.ph or check out Toyota’s official social-media web sites at ToyotaMotorPhilippines (Facebook), ToyotaMotorPH (Twitter), or at toyotamotorphilippines (Instagram).

UTOKID Truck Solutions, a leading direct importer of brand new and Japan surplus trucks in the Philippines, is finding new ways to provide better trucking solutions and after-sales services for its customers. With this goal, Autokid has chosen Pilipinas Shell as its official lubes provider.

Through the partnership, Autokid’s growing clientele of businesses can now avail themselves of truck repair services powered

by Shell Rimula. With the Dynamic Protection Technology, Shell Rimula lubricants protect truck engines from any temperature or terrain conditions.

Leading variant Shell Rimula R4X features dynamic protection that improves wear protection by up to 30 percent, provides better acid corrosion protection by up to 50 percent, and cleans engines better by up to 50 percent compared to industry standards.

“Pilipinas Shell strives to improve its partner’s after-sales care services. We want to thank Autokid Truck Solutions for making Shell Rimula their top choice for engine aftercare for their trucks,” said Steve Quila, Pilipinas Shell general manager for Lubricants.

Autokid provides quality truck repair services through the Autokid Service Care team

ERIC LIM, vice president at Autokid Truck Solutions; Recca Menchavez, Rimula brand manager at Pilipinas Shell; Stephanie Reyes, Lubricants account manager at Pilipinas Shell; and Kevin Yao, chief executive officer at Autokid Truck Solutions

and centers. It caters to a wide variety of trucks brands like Dongfeng, Foton, Howo, Isuzu, Mitsubishi and many more. The company’s main service center, dubbed Truck City, features 80 service bays ready to service fleets of all sizes.

With the mantra, “We Drive Your Business,” Autokid allows its partners to concentrate on pushing their businesses to new heights.

Pilipinas Shell is a group of companies that

venture in oil and gas exploration, production, oil refining, distribution and sales to customers. Since 1914, Pilipinas Shell has continued to grow, employing over 3,000 people nationwide.

To know more about Autokid Truck Solutions line of products and services, visit https:// www.autokid.com.ph. Also read about different trucking solutions at https://www.autokid. com.ph/blog.

New Rolls-Royce Cullinan makes Filipino debut in Manila

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OLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars Manila is delighted to welcome the most luxurious sport-utility vehicle (SUV) to the Philippines, Cullinan. Equally at home cruising the streets of Bonifacio Global City, or traversing the mountainscapes of Tagaytay, Cullinan will take a new segment of adventurous customers to the ends of the country in ultimate luxury.

Speaking at the launch, Sven Grunwald, Asia Pacific regional product manager for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, “Cullinan has been RollsRoyce’s most anticipated new model, greeted with critical acclaim globally and perfectly equipped for the Philippines. Cullinan will be at the pinnacle of luxury here, with Bespoke capabilities that will complement the varied lifestyles of our highly successful customers.”

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is the marque’s first-ever SUV that promises to redefine luxury travel as effortless, everywhere. As with all Rolls-Royce motor cars moving forward, Cullinan is underpinned by a platform called the “Architecture of Luxury” wholly unique to the brand, which accords the car a level of performance, comfort and refinement never before seen in the SUV segment. Willy Tee Ten, president of Autohub Group, authorized distributors of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Manila said, “The Philippines is an SUV country, and we are very excited to launch Cullinan today. Cullinan is the car our customers have been waiting for, perfectly suited for this market with unmistakable presence on and off-road. This is the car that will set the new benchmark for

super-luxury in the SUV segment, an all-purpose Rolls-Royce for our captains of industry.”

Practicality by design

CULLINAN comes with two interior options. With space for three passengers in the rear, the five-seater “Lounge” seating version shown at Manila Polo Club is perfect for Filipino families.

The rear seats fold down electronically either completely, creating a flat load area or in a 2/3 and 1/3 split, increasing practicality even further.

Rear passengers can still travel with a long load, or use the carpeted seat back as an occasional table on which to rest their precious personal items.

The rear compartment or boot area offers a standard 560 liters of space, growing to 600 with the parcel shelf removed. With both rear seats folded, Cullinan offers a loading length of 2245mm and load capacity of 1930 liters—one of the largest in the luxury SUV segment.

Cutting-edge technology

WITHIN the cabin, Cullinan’s passengers are pampered by an industry-leading panoramic glass roof. On request, a studio-grade 18-channel, 18-speaker Bespoke audio system, touch-screen operated video entertainment systems, as well as RollsRoyce’s signature picnic tables underline the level of luxury present.

Cullinan’s occupants can keep their devices charged with USB-C ports strategically placed in the cabin; phones can also be wirelessly charged at the front of the cabin.

Cullinan’s safety features are peerless: Night Vision and Vision

Assist including daytime and nighttime Wildlife and Pedestrian warning; Alertness Assistant; a four-Camera system with Panoramic View, all-round visibility and helicopter view; Active Cruise Control; Collision Warning; Cross-Traffic Warning, Lane Departure and Lane Change Warning; an industry leading 7x3” High-Resolution Head-Up Display, Wi-fi hot spot, and the latest Navigation systems.

Impeccable engineering

UNDERNEATH Cullinan is the Rolls-Royce’s unique all-aluminium architecture called the Architecture of Luxury, delivering extraordinary body stiffness for exceptional “bestin-class” performance on rough terrain, while maintaining the “Magic Carpet Ride” that Rolls-Royce is famous for.

Add the latest generation of selfleveling four-corner air suspension, sophisticated all-wheel drive and allwheel steering systems, a complete reworking of the new 6.75-liter twinturbo V12 Rolls-Royce engine (850 N-m of torque at only 1,600 rpm) and the world’s smoothest eightspeed transmission, and you have the world’s pinnacle luxury SUV.

Cullinan in Manila

THE Rolls-Royce Cullinan is finished in Sapphire Black with a Cobalto Blue Double Coachline. The interior of Cullinan is upholstered with a twotone Selby Grey/Navy Blue leather combination, and an open-pore Circassian Walnut veneer.

Cullinan is now available for order in the Philippines, with first customer deliveries beginning in Q2 2019.

Motoring BusinessMirror

E4 Friday, March 22, 2019

BMW’s Spencer unleashes ‘The Boss’ or even face imprisonment.

Some motorcyclist groups plan to contest the new motorcycle law in the Supreme Court. Good luck.

New BMW X5

T

WO bills had been recently signed into law by President Duterte. One is the Child Seat Law requiring vehicles to mandatorily provide seat belts for 12-year-olds and below. The other is the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act mandating also the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to issue bigger and color-coded number plates not only for motorcycles but for three-wheeled motor vehicles as well, also known as the tricycle.

With the twin laws to further safeguard land passengers on board motorized vehicles in transit, we now have actually three major bills covering riders’ safety.

The first one to be passed many

years back was the Seat Belt Law, which was authored by no less than Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, now the Senate president.

Sadly, the Seat Belt Law, unlike in many other countries also having

Spencer Yu

such law, is not being strictly enforced hereabouts. Police are simply too lazy to accost lawbreakers on the road. In the US most especially, even non-wearers of seatbelts are fined relentlessly.

But let me zero in on the new motorcycle law.

The law now requires bigger numbers on motorcycle plates. And from two plates, it will now be four.

One each from the front and back, and also one each from both sides of the motorcycle.

The size of numbers must be so big that each must be readable from a distance of 15 meters. The LTO has been ordered to produce, release and issue the new plates by December 31.

Motorcycle owners must renew their registration not later than June 30 to comply with the required readable number plates.

Violators will be fined no less than P20,000, but not more than P50,000. For those driving motorcycles without plate numbers, the fine is from P50,000 to P100,000—

FOR its entry price of P5.999 million, the new BMW X5 unleashed last week would be a steal.

The well-attended bash was a knockout, not only because SMCBMW Asia top honcho Ramon S. Ang graced the occasion, but present too were German hot shots and the Senate president himself, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. To those not in the know, Sotto owns no car brand other than a BMW ever since he learned how to drive.

Needless to say, the new X5 drew raves from a jam-packed crowd at Rockwell’s massive fifth floor in Makati.

Let’s listen in on BMW President Spencer Yu’s speech: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

“On behalf of SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp. led by our chairman, Mr. Ramon S. Ang, we’d like to welcome you to the exclusive unveiling of the all-new BMW X5.

“I would like to acknowledge the presence of our esteemed guests: “Mr. Andree Buhl from the German Embassy, “Members of the diplomatic corps, Our partners from BMW Group Asia: “Managing Director Christopher Wehner,

“Area Manager Sue Ann Phoon, “Our BMW dealers, “Our valued BMW customers, And our friends from the media.

“Thank you all for joining us tonight.

“Ever since the X5 was introduced in 1999, the model has always been the benchmark of the SAV segment.

“And now, with the fourth generation of the X5, we again have set the standard and continue to be the leader through and through. Which is why the new car is aptly called, “The Boss.”

“We bring you tonight the 2019 BMW X5 30d xLine.

“This car is set to bring much excitement to the admittedly softening Philippine car market.

“The new X5 comes fully loaded with: “A 3-liter TwinPower turbo diesel engine with 265 hp, but more importantly 620 N-m of torque, which would allow it to go from 0-100 in 6.5 seconds.

“We have the BMW Live Cockpit Professional powered by the latest iDrive operating system 7. We also have: “Gesture Control “Har man K ardon high-end audio system “20-inch wheels “4-zone air conditioning “And even soft-close doors.

“Another highlight of tonight is that the all-new BMW X5 will come with a five-year, 2000-km manufacturer’s warranty—a first in the premium automotive segment in

Drive the Future ambassadors and media guests gear up for the hands-on activity organized by A-1 Driving School.

Racecar driver Michele Bumgarner during tire-change activity

the Philippines.

“Finally, I am pleased to announce that the all-new X5 will be offered at an extremely competitive price of P5.990 million.

“This shows SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp.’s commitment to the Philippine motoring industry and to the Filipino people by providing the best product backed by the best warranty and offered at the best possible price.

“I could not be more excited for all of you to experience The Boss.

“So, have a great evening and enjoy getting behind the wheel of the all-new BMW X5.

“Thank you.”

In case you still don’t know it, Spencer used to be a respected top gun at Lexus Manila.

Take a bow, Spencer.

PEE STOP One of the nice things about Ray Butch “Elvis” Gamboa’s STV Golf Cup Invitational is seeing friends in his tournament again.

And so, was I glad I shook hands anew with Dave Macasadia, the former president of SsangYong, in the event’s eighth staging last week at Riviera. So with Arnel Doria, the former Honda hot shot now an accomplished broadcaster.

Danny “Sir John” Isla came home from his Auckland base in New Zealand just to play. Thanks, indeed, to Elvis’s annual tournament that I get renew ties with old buddies. See you all next year, fellas—with Elvis hopefully totally healthy again. Cheers!