Businessmirror November 02, 2018

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Friday, November 2, 2018 Vol. 14 No. 23

PHL bent on improving ‘doing business’ rating A

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

FTER the country’s dismal performance in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 report, the government is employing a two-pronged strategy to improve Manila’s rating in the next cycle, even as two agencies have lodged a strongly worded protest disputing the data gathering in one survey area.

The Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and of Finance (DOF) on Wednesday night declared the government will be aggressive in implementing ease of doing business (EODB) measures for the 2020 survey. This was af-

ter the Philippines fell 11 notches to 124th among 190 economies in the World Bank’s survey on EODB. It was the second straight year the country declined in the annual report that assesses the life of businesses among economies. Manila

placed 113th in the 2018 edition, which was also a slump from its 99th-place finish in the 2017 cycle.

“Thus, for the 2020 Doing Business report, our strategy is twopronged: one, we shall continue to pursue regulatory reforms, [such

For the 2020 Doing Business report, our strategy is two-pronged... continue to pursue regulatory reforms, [such as] streamlining of processes, repeal of outdated/redundant and obsolete rules and regulations that create undue regulatory burden; and two, implement an effective communication campaign.”—DTI-DOF See “PHL,” A2

Can ‘Jagger’ meet Customs goals? DOF chief says yes

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HE Department of Finance (DOF) has expressed confidence that the new commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) can fulfill the President’s wish to rid the country’s second-largest revenue collector of corruption.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters that he is confident Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo “Jagger” B. Guerrero will be able to rid the bureau of corruption, strengthen trade facilitation, as well as collect the necessary revenues needed for the government’s various projects and programs.

“Jagger absolutely is up to the Continued on A2

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B.S.P. WARNS BANKS VS. OVERSEAS-REGISTERED FOREX TRADING FIRMS

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reminds banks to only deal with foreignexchange brokerage and trading companies that are duly registered with the Central Bank, in an effort to protect the banking system from operational risks from such activities.

In an advisory released this week, the BSP gave notice to all banks that deal with foreignexchange brokerage and trading companies, particularly those operating overseas.

“Many of these online foreignexchange brokerage and trading platforms are organized abroad or have their principal offices domiciled abroad. Hence, these are neither regulated by the Bangko Sentral nor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission,” the BSP said.

The BSP added that such companies are not governed by the requirements aimed at protecting the interest of investors, such as the conduct of client suitability assessments and the adoption of the consumer protection framework.

“It has been observed that companies operating online foreignexchange brokerage and trading platforms use the banking system

to collect funds from investors.

They open deposit accounts in Philippine banks to facilitate transactions with their investors or facilitate their operating requirements,” the BSP said.

“In this regard, the Bangko Sentral reminds all banks to deal only with companies involved in or operating online foreign-exchange brokerage and trading platforms that are authorized/licensed by or registered with the appropriate government agency duly empowered by law or its charter to license or authorize entities or businesses to engage in such activities,” the BSP added.

According to the advisory, banks should conduct the appropriate level of due diligence in assessing the propriety of opening the deposit accounts.

Also, the BSP reminded banks to have appropriate risk management systems to identify, measure, monitor and manage the risks posed by such companies.

“The failure to provide relevant information, or the provision of false or falsified information or documents by the customer, or unsatisfactory results of the validation process, shall serve as grounds for denying the banking relationship, pursuant to Subsection X806.1 of the Manual of Regulations for Banks,” the BSP said.

PHL economy strong vs storms, Dominguez assures credit raters

By Rea Cu

T REST IN PEACE In a scene echoed in public and private cemeteries across the country, people flock to the Eternal Gardens in Caloocan City on Thursday as the nation starts the yearly tradition of visiting their dearly departed on All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day. NONOY LACZA

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 53.6060

@ReaCuBM

HE Philippine economy is strong enough to weather the storms looming on the horizon, given that the Duterte administration has already taken aggressive measures to tame domestic inf lation and sustain the country’s growth momentum, the Department of Finance

(DOF) has pointed out.

The DOF explained that, amid global risks such as the prolonged United States-China trade tensions and the oil-price volatility in the world market, the Philippine economy remains strong as the Duterte administration is implementing measures to sustain the growth trajectory even though

n JAPAN 0.4740 n UK 68.1279 n HK 6.8346 n CHINA 7.6937 n SINGAPORE 38.7131 n AUSTRALIA 38.0871 n EU 60.8160 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.2919

Continued on A2

Source: BSP (31 October 2018 )

News

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A2 Friday, November 2, 2018

‘Trabaho’ bill turning off oil, gas investors–Gatchalian

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

HE chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs aired serious concerns that potential investors in the vital energy sector were turned off by the reported removal of key incentives in the second round of the Duterte administration’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion package or TRAIN 2, dubbed “Trabaho” bill in the House of Representatives.

Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian warned against the backlash over the weekend, suggesting that the existing incentives be retained, if the government is serious in tapping the country’s resources.

“Dahil ang gusto natin meron tayong sariling enerhiya, sariling langis, sariling kuryente, importante na ang private investors ay tuloy-tuloy ang exploration at pagnenegosyo sa atin, [Because we want to have our own sources of oil, power and energy, private investors should be able to continue their exploration activities and do business in the country],”Gatchalian said. “ Pe r o l u m a l a b a s n a i t o n g TR A IN 2 ay nag ig ing issue sa kanila dahil ang mga incentives

na ginagamit nila para magnegosyo at kumuha ng mas maraming langis at enerhiya ay mawawala na, [It turns out that this TR AIN 2 is a thorn in their side because the incentives they need may be removed],” he added.

This prompted the Committee on Economic Affairs to strongly recommend to the Duterte administration the retention of existing incentives in TRAIN 2 in order to attract more investors in the oil and gas sector.

Gatchalian said TRAIN 2 included renewable energy and oil and gas exploration “that we badly need because almost 70 percent of coal is imported and 90 percent of oil is also imported.”

He said it was also noted at the hearing that when the price of oil and coal increase, public transport fares and electric bills also go up.

“So isa sa rekomendasyon ay i-retain ’yung mga incentives, oil and gas ang pumasok sa atin, kasama na renewable energy at oil and gas exploration na kailangang-kailangan natin dahil almost 70 percent ng coal ay imported at 90 percent ng langis ang imported,” he said. “Lumalabas din sa hearing na pag tumaas ang presyo ng langis at coal tataas din presyo ng kuryente at pamasahe, [One of the recommendations is to retain the incentives so the Philippine oil and gas sector can attract more investments, which we badly need because we import 70 percent of our coal requirements and 90 percent of our oil requirements. During the hearing, it was revealed that if the price of oil and coal increases, power rates and fares also go up].”

The senator affirmed the consensus at the Senate hearing, shared by industry players, to retain the status quo on incentives granted by the government to the oil, gas and renewable-energy sector.

“Ang gusto ng industry proponents status quo, ’wag nang galawin.

Dahil maganda na ang batas, ’wag nang galawin. Ang aking proposal ay ’wag nang tanggalin ang incentives na binibigay sa oil and gas at sa renewable energy dahil ’yan ay importante

para sa energy security [Industry proponents want to maintain the status quo. My proposal is to retain the incentives given to the oil, gas and renewable-energy sector because these are vital to ensuring the country’s energy security],” he said.

Gatchalian admits even industry players found it difficult to predict what would happen if the incentives are taken out.

“A c t u a l l y, hindi na s a b i ng Meralco, but definitely makikita natin na this year alone tumaas ng 25 percent ang crude oil based on international prices at domestically tumaas din ng almost 30 percent ang presyo ng gasolina at diesel, so may direct impact talaga ang presyo ng crude oil sa international market sa domestic prices, [Actually, Meralco did not mention this, but definitely international crude oil prices alone went up by 25 percent this year. The price of local gasoline and diesel went up by almost 30 percent. The international price of crude oil really has a direct impact on local pump prices],” he said.

Gatchalian added, in a mix of English and Filipino: “If we will retain the incentives then the private investors can proceed with oil exploration. They will set up more renewable-energ y sou rces t hat w i l l help br ing down the importation levels.

W hat we want is not to just keep importing, because we are being hurt by prices in the international market.”

Can ‘Jagger’ meet PHL economy strong vs storms, Dominguez assures credit raters Customs goals?

DOF chief says yes Continued from A1

Continued from A1

challenge and I am fully confident in his ability to deliver on all fronts. The DOF team will provide our utmost support,” Dominguez said.

The finance chief pointed out that measures such as the need to eliminate corruption in the bureau, stop smuggling and strengthening revenue collections were discussed at the first BOC command conference of Guerrero.

“Yes, we discussed the way forward to implement the President’s wishes, the urgent need to completely eliminate corruption and smuggling particularly illegal drugs, the trade facilitation function of the BOC, and the target of collecting an average of P55 billion per month in 2019,” he added.

At turnover at the BOC headquarters on Wednesday, outgoing Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña reported that, “Based on the latest preliminary record of the BOC financial service, from January to October 29, 2018, the bureau has already exceeded its collection target for the period” by P15.03 billion.

The preliminary figure was also pointed out to have breached the bureau’s target collection for the 10-month period of P466.69 billion.

The BOC’s collection from January 1 to October 29 this year already represents 82.9 percent of the collection target for 2018, according to Lapeña, whom the President “promoted” to a Cabinet rank position as director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) following his admission, that, indeed, the magnetic lifters discovered in a Cavite warehouse had been used to smuggle in shabu, with a worth variously estimated from P6.8 billion to P11 billion.

Lapeña turned over the helm of the BOC to a retired military general, Guerrero, who had a successful stint as chief regulator at the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), after he stepped down as chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“As I take the helm of the BOC, expect that the efforts against corruption will be both decisive and unrelenting as I focus on addressing systemic weaknesses, implementing stronger internal safeguards, enhancing integrity systems, and building capabilities and capacities of our law enforcement,” Guerrero said. Rea Cu

key sectors have complained about inflation dampening their business.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the government has been addressing the issue of rising inflation as early as May this year with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) having increased interest rates by a combined 150 basis points. The Executive branch has taken strong nonmonetary measures to temper price increases this year largely as a result of food supply issues and the soaring global oil prices.

“We are confident that we can weather the storms but we are not complacent,” Dominguez said on Thursday.

The finance chief said a protracted USChina trade dispute would eventually have an adverse impact on the Philippine economy, but emphasized that the country is in a very good position to overcome the challenge because of, among others: its healthy gross international reserves which as of September this year can adequately cover more than seven months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services; a robust banking system; the implementation of the first tax-reform package and improved

2 Cabinet. . .

Continued from A12

Now we shall try what is still essentially a civilian takeover because soldiers are still civilians but with iron spines and a lot more integrity.”

Vince Ong tweeted: “The president has to try something that hasn’t been done before. Otherwise no change happens. You join the armed forces to fight for your country. Along the way some ended up corrupt, but by and large, if you want to get rich while in the government, joining the AFP is not a top choice.”

Locsin replied: “Absolutely. I crushed under my heel this prejudice against officers in government posts by saying: Soldiers are civilians too but with iron spines and discipline; the best Roman officials led legions and the best US officials were/are Air, Navy, Army, Marine Corps.”

On the administration’s campaign against drug and sovereignty, Locsin said: “Sovereignty is the exception; the responsibility to protect the nation from lawlessness is the first and foremost the states. Constitutions are not constitutive of states and do not make states which antedates them; constitutions are self-limitations of sovereignty until they are not. “

tax administration; and the vigorous implementation of the centerpiece “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) infrastructure program.

“We are going to use that, our domestic spending, as a countercyclical measure to sustain our growth. We are very confident that our BBB program is countercyclical and that we can afford it,” he added.

In recent separate meetings with credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings, S&P Global and Moody’s Investor Service in Bali, Indonesia, Dominguez assured them that the Philippines had prepared for the global uncertainties now besetting economies across the globe by implementing tax reform and maintaining fiscal discipline.

“The one good thing is that we are all working together. Monetary and fiscal policy are rowing in the same direction rather than at cross purposes,” he said.

Dominguez further pointed out that funding support from the first package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), and official development assistance (ODA) from China, Japan and South Korea, among others, have enabled the government to mount its infrastructure modernization initiative.

More critics MEANWHILE, more people have weighed in against the feared militarization of the BOC. Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald U. Mendoza described the President’s order as “another shortcut attempt at a solution which changes nothing in the underlying structures that propagate rent-seeking opportunities and corruption in this agency.” Mendoza argued that this has done before and nothing has changed.

“The military should be wary of taking on this role if there is no clear systems-oriented reform game plan.

Merely replacing officials -simply sends more good people into bad systems,” he said in an e-mail interview. “A clear and evidence-based reform road map is needed for the Bureau of Customs. Greater transparency, less human contact, more automation and e-government, and increased professionalization offers more potential for success if international evidence and experience is considered.”

Critics argued that the Charter does not allow a member of the military to be appointed or designated in a civilian post. The Constitution also states that the President can call out the AFP in order to “prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.”

There may be corruption in the BOC but this does not count as lawless violence, critics said.

Reports by Bernadette D. Nicolas and Recto L. Mercene

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‘Independent foreign policy,’ in the view of DFA chief Locsin

By Recto Mercene

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@rectomercene

EWLY installed Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. met the rank and file of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and revealed his interpretation of the independent foreign policy being pursued by the Duterte administration: “It is not independent foreign policy if you simply switch the master that you are kneeling before.”

“Independent foreign policy means getting off your knees, on your feet to stand up for our country. That is what I call independence,” the Secretary said when he met with DFA employees for the first time last week.

“I am fortunate and humbled to serve with the best in the government,” he told them as he shared his management style with DFA personnel, asserting that working conditions should be the same for all.

“If the air-con does not work in any part of this building, I will shut down the air-con everywhere, especially in the 11th floor,” he said, referring to his office.

“Either we are all cool or we are all hot. And [on] this I’m pretty serious, it may sound like a joke.”

The secretary, a former press secretary and presidential legal counsel, publisher, lawyer-journalist and three-term Makati City congressman, had served for the past 18 months as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He was offered the DFA portfolio when Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano resigned to run for a congressional post representing his home district

PHL. . .

Continued from A1

as] streamlining of processes, repeal of outdated/redundant and obsolete rules and regulations that create undue regulatory burden; and two, implement an effective communication campaign,” the DTI and DOF said in a joint statement.

“The DTI and DOF, in coordination with other agencies concerned, will launch an aggressive communication campaign in the next three months so that the planned regulatory reforms that the agencies have started to implement will be credited in the 2020 Doing Business report cycle,” they added.

The government is determined to also popularize Revenue Memorandum Order 19-2018 and Revenue Memorandum Circular 302018 issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Under these regulations, registration of the book of accounts can be done 30 days and the authority to print receipts should be given together with the certificate of registration. It also reiterated the removal of the requirement to submit books of accounts as condition for issuance of a certification of registration.

Digitizing titles

THE government will also “encourage citizens to have the titles digitized.” It argued there is a need to scale up the implementation of the Land Titling Computerization Project, which should convert almost 25 million certificates of title into digital form.

To be included in the massive information campaign are the provisions of the EODB and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act, as well as the Personal Property Security Act. The government believes these two laws will directly impact on the country’s competitiveness ranking.

“Each year, the government strives to improve the ease of do-

in Taguig.

“I’m not just praising you. Your reputation really precedes you— the most professional in the government,” Locsin told officials and rank-and-file employees who welcomed him at the DFA’s Bulwagang Apolinario Mabini hall.

“In addition to your reputation, I have had one-and-a-half years of personal experience of your professionalism; your brilliance and your hard work; and not such a good pay after all,” said Locsin.

“In your daily work, especially in the delivery of frontline services here, in all our embassies and consulates, you proactively work for the welfare, protection and well-being of all overseas Filipinos.”

It was the first time Locsin met with the rank and file since he succeeded former Sen. Alan Peter S. Cayetano at the helm of the DFA. On Saturday he met with senior officials shortly upon his return from New York.

In addition to your reputation, I have had one-and-a-half years of personal experience of your professionalism; your brilliance and your hard work; and not such a good pay after all.”—Locsin to DFA personnel ing business by implementing significant reforms that will bring us closer to the frontier. Last year we have been relatively aggressive in instituting regulatory reforms,” the DTI and DOF said.

The government’s declaration of an aggressive policy on instituting EODB reforms was carried in the same statement it contested the results of the survey.

Manila is demanding that the World Bank review the rating it gave to the Philippines, as it accused the world’s largest lender of utilizing “grossly inaccurate and understated findings in the getting credit indicator of the report.” The Philippines scored a dismal 5 out of 100 on getting credit, placing it 184th for that indicator.

The DTI-DOF letter disputed this score. “Considering that higher borrower coverage is associated with larger share of adults with credit cards and borrowing from financial institutions, we find the report grossly inaccurate and the coverage severely understated,” the joint statement read.

The Philippines, said the DTIDOF, should have received a higher score if the WB included data from all the credit bureaus—the BAP Credit Bureau Inc., TransUnion Information Solutions Inc. and the Microfinance Information Data Sharing Inc. The government accused the WB of obtaining figures only from the BAP Credit Bureau Inc., which reportedly has the smallest database of 1.7 million borrower-entrepreneurs.

“The Philippines could easily have hurdled the 5-percent coverage if the World Bank selected the largest credit bureau, as its methodology prescribed. The major credit bureaus with high coverage were included in previous year’s survey,” the joint statement read.

Manila argued if the scores are adjusted, particularly on getting credit, the country should have scored at least 60—and not 57.68—putting it in the range of 101st to 108th.

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Ex-Pasig mayor may lose CamSur congressional bid on residency issue

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

OR failing to comply with the mandatory residency requirement, former Pasig Mayor Maria Belen Andaya-Eusebio may no longer be allowed to run as representative of the second district of Camarines Sur in the 2019 elections.

This, after the Commission on Election’s Registration Board (ERB) issued a ruling disapproving the transfer of Eusebio’s voter registration record from Pasig to Camarines Sur when she failed to prove she was

residing in her home in Barangay Puro Batia, Libmanan, Camarines Sur. The board also noted that Eusebio was unable to establish her intent to live in Puro Batia and “abandon” her

home in Pasig City.

“We, therefore, conclude the applicant bought herself another house in Barangay Puro Batia, and rented a ‘staging place’ at Barangay Libod 2. But these structures are not ‘residence’ contemplated by law,” the 15-page ERB resolution stated.

The decision, which was promulgated on October 29, 2018, was based from the testimony of Wilma P. Carios and Feliscismo Caudilla Jr. The two opposed the transfer of Eusebio’s voter records to Camarines Sur since they never witnessed Eusebio living in her supposed residence in Puro Batia.

The ERB also considered Eusebio’s admission during its hearing on the case that she never slept in her home in Puro Batia even after she acquired it in January.

Under Republic Act 8189, or the Voter Registration Act of 1996, a Filipino citizen should have resided in the place where they proposed to vote for at least six months preceding the elections before they may register as a voter there.

The invalidation of the transfer will bar Eusebio from running against incumbent Second District Rep. Luis Raymund “LRay” F. Villafuerte Jr., who is seeking a second term in the 2019 polls.

Eusebio, however, could still appeal the case.

Eusebio served as mayor of Pasig City from 2013 to 2016. After her term ended, she was replaced by her husband, Robert “Bobby” Eusebio as the mayor of the city.

Eusebio is also the sister of Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr.

Over 1 million visit dead at Manila North Cemetery

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LL Saints’ Day crowd at the Manila North Cemetery already reached over a million people, the Manila Police District (MPD) said on Thursday.

“Possibly the peak ng pagpunta ng tao ay until past 6 p.m., dadami pa ang mga tao sa tantsa namin kumpara sa nakaraang taon kung saan nagkaroon ng pag-ulan [of people visiting is until 6 p.m., we estimate that the crowd will

increase compared to last year when there was rain],” MPD Station 3 Commander Supt. Julius Cesar Domingo said in an interview with newsmen.

MPD’s latest tally showed that a total of 1,060,753 visitors have gone to the cemetery to pay tribute to their deceased loved ones as of 1 p.m.

Domingo said they implemented security measures as planned but they had to make changes in the entrance

procedures with the consent of the cemetery’s administration. “ The bulk of people entered around 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. nasa labasan na ng Blumentritt. Meron diyan halos mag-away na sa pila kaya nagdagdag ng pasukan, priority lane for PWDs and senior citizens, sa ngayon [at the Blumentritt exit. There were some who almost engaged in a fight because of the long queue so we added lanes,

priority lane for PWDs and senior citizens] 10 lanes,” he said.

He said they started with only two lanes from October 28 to 30 and then six lanes on Wednesday.

Despite their continuous information drive about the prohibited items in the cemetery, Domingo said many people still tried to smuggle in knives and pointed objects, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and illegal drugs. PNA

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, November 2, 2018 A3

Senator pushes for ‘holistic’ approach vs drug addiction

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EN. Nancy Binay is pushing for the establishment of a comprehensive program for the prevention, intervention, evaluation, treatment and continuous care for tobacco, alcohol and other drug abuse in all high schools, colleges and universities.

In the explanatory note of her Senate Bill 2077, entitled “An Act Establishing a Comprehensive Substance Abuse Educational Program in Every School,” Binay called on concerned government agencies to formulate a program that would address drug problem in all schools nationwide.

“There is a need to establish a comprehensive program for the prevention, intervention, evaluation and treatment for student alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse…[to ensure] the future of our youth’s intellectual, physical and social well-being,” Binay said in a news statement.

The Department of Education (DepEd) has said the proposed mandatory drug testing would also entail additional expenses for parents, who are already complaining of costly school fees.

Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, only mandates random drug testing for secondary and tertiary levels.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency earlier recommended mandatory drug testing for all students and teachers, including those from Grade 4 and above as part of

the government’s drive against illegal drugs.

However, the DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and other agencies rejected PDEA’s proposal requiring surprise drug testing to grade-school students. Binay’s measure mandates the CHED, DepEd, the Department of Health and the Dangerous Drugs Board to establish a program of prevention and intervention for student alcohol and substance abuse in all secondary and tertiary schools.

The prevention component of the program is aimed at keeping students from using alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; reduce or eliminate the incidence and prevalence of abuse; and, actively involve staff, parents and other community members in the development and implementation of prevention program plans, among others.

The purpose of the intervention, referral for evaluation and referral for treatment component of the program is to identify students who are at risk for, or who have exhibited, alcohol, tobacco or other drug-abuse problems.

This component is also aimed at helping students or their parents who have requested assistance for alcohol, tobacco or drug abuse problems.

The measure also requires that each school should assure confidentiality of records of students found positive of alcohol and drug abuse. Butch Fernandez

A4 Friday, November 2, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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DOTr chief orders study on implementation of parametric formula for PUV fare setting

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

Smoking ban on Boracay Island hailed

RANSPORTATION Secretary Arthur P. Tugade on Thursday said he will instruct the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to come up with a “parametric formula for fare adjustments” that will automatically calculate public-utility vehicle (PUV) fare adjustments.

Fare adjustments—whether upward or downward—takes weeks and sometimes months to implement, he said, and sometimes, adjustments implemented due to the long period of deliberations become unnecessary. PUV fare adjustments are done through petitions and hearings conducted by the LTFRB. “What we need is a predetermined matrix,” Tugade said. “I don’t want a state wherein the fare adjustment becomes no longer necessary because the situation that existed during the time of appeal is no longer there.”

He cited for example the matrix being used by airlines, wherein tariff adjustments for fuel surcharges are based on the price of jet fuel and consumer price index. This was implemented a few months ago.

“When the price of gasoline per barrel or the consumer price index per barrel increases, then they can increase a certain amount. If it goes down, then the price adjustment goes down, as well. If you don’t follow, then we will implement a penalty,” Tugade said.

The matrix, he said, will be subject to discussions and deliberations before it will be implemented.

“That matrix is not unilateral, that is the one subject to hearing.

When agreed upon, it will be smooth sailing,” Tugade said.

He also asked the LTFRB to review the recently approved fare hike for public-utility jeepneys (PUJs), which raised the base fare for jeep to P10 in the National Capital Region, Region 3 and Region 4.

LTFRB Chairman Martin B. Delgra III committed to assess the fare hike, but noted that pending the review, the new base fare will continue to be implemented.

Jeepney drivers with new fare matrices can start charging the new fares starting today, November 2.

“We will follow the guidance and instruction of Secretary Tugade.

The review will be done. It will include a formula by which fare hike is reviewed, and correspondingly adjusted based on consumer price index and movement of fuel prices,” Delgra said.

Senator compels airport authorities to justify additional terminal fees

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

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HE Senate Committee on Public Services is poised to look into the latest imposition of additional fuel tax on an estimated 42 million air travelers passing through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), on top of other fees passengers pay apart from the travel tax.

Sen. Grace Poe, committee chairman, is questioning the imposition of new fuel charges on Filipino air travelers, noting the “multiple taxes and fees” already embedded in a traveler’s ticket, including travel tax, separate from the so-called terminal fee passengers pay before boarding.

At the same time, Poe said she wanted airport authorities to inform the Senate Committee on Public Services on the status of multimillionpeso terminal-fee refunds awaited by airline passengers that passed through the airport.

“There are multiple taxes and fees embedded in a ticket, including travel tax,” the senator observed, adding: “We must also not forget that there are still millions in unrefunded terminal fees that have yet to be returned to the passengers. What happened to these?”

Describing terminal fee as “the popular term for Passenger Service Charge,” Poe said: “I take it that the most important words are “passenger” and “service.”

In a news statement issued, the senator observed that “the dust hasn’t settled yet from the Xiamen incident that paralyzed Naia for at least 36 hours.” She recalled, for in-

stance, the testimonies given to the committee by stranded passengers who testified at the Senate hearing the airport terminal’s sound system was not working well, so they were not properly advised about boarding time and boarding gates during the breakdown.

“I was informed by a group stranded passengers who testified during our Senate hearing that there was a malfunction in the airport’s sound system and that they were not informed about their boarding time,” she said.

The senator suggested that, “before focusing on the charge part, maybe it is best for the Manila International Airport Authority and Naia to first focus on passenger service.”

“What are they doing right now with the existing passenger service charge or terminal fee?,” Poe asked.

“What are they going to do if ever it increases? We can’t simply take it hook, line and sinker and give it to them. Where’s the part that passengers should be accorded with prompt and reliable airport service?” she added in a mix Filipino and English.

Poe pressed concerned agencies to conduct “real public consultations” before implementing the higher travel tax.

“There should also be real public consultations because of the sheer number of people—42 million— who will be affected,” the senator said, noting “this is the number of passengers who flew through Naia last year.”

Poe pointed out that another reason holding public hearings is a must was “the recent imposition of fuel charges on Filipino air travelers.”

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

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FAN BOY A young entrepreneur in Divisoria unloads his shipment of palm fans and reed grass brooms from the uplands for distribution to local retailers and peddlers. NONIE REYES

Philippines, Japan to sign loan deal for MRT 3 rehab next week

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HE governments of the Philippines and Japan will sign a loan agreement for the rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) on November 7, a Department of Transportation (DOTr) official said.

“We have finalized the signing of the exchange of notes and the loan agreement. Both governments agreed that this will be on November 7,” Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John R. Batan said a recent news briefing.

The signing will pave way for the entry of Japanese firm SumitomoMitsubishi Heavy Industries as the new maintenance provider of the MRT 3. The Japan International Cooperation Agency has offered to provide a loan amounting to ¥38 billion, or P18 billion, for the MRT 3 maintenance and rehabilitation.

The Japanese maintenance provider has deployed its engineering teams as early as October 15 to inspect the facilities of MRT 3 that need to be fixed to expedite the

rehabilitation process.

“They are looking at the condition of the MRT 3 subcomponents so that, once the exchange of notes, loan agreement and contract are signed, they will hit the ground running. This complies with the agreement of DOTr Secretary [Arthur P.] Tugade and the government of Japan to fast-track the MRT 3 rehabilitation,” Batan said.

In August the National Economic and Development Authority Board’s Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee has approved the P22.061-billion MRT 3 maintenance project.

The rehabilitation is expected to increase the number of train sets in operation from 15 to 18 train sets per hour, increase the maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour and decrease headway to 200 seconds.

Meanwhile, the MRT 3 has started last weekend its gradual deployment of trains purchased from CCRC Dalian with one train set consisting of three train cars.

The DOTr targets the Dalian trains to be initially deployed for 150 hours during off-peak hours and weekends to test their reliability and performance on the MRT 3 revenue line. The 48 Dalian light rail vehicles (LRVs) were delivered in 2016 but were not deployed to the MRT line due to compatibility issues.

Supplier CCRC Dalian eventually agreed to absorb the costs for adjustments of the trains. The other 45 LRVs are currently undergoing a battery of tests and validations before they will be deployed to the MRT 3 system.

The screening process of the trains consists of a 1,000-kilometer (km) test run; and functionality test to examine its features like its doors, lighting and braking system, among others; examination by German company TUV Rheinland and Japanese firm Toshiba Infrastructure Systems; and a validation by the Philippine National Railways.

To date, a total of 14 trains have completed the 1,000-km test run. PNA

HE HealthJustice Philippines Inc. has lauded the pronouncement of government officials to declare Boracay a smoke-free beach.

“The smoking ban is consistent with the directive of the President, who is a tobacco-control advocate himself, to develop more stringent measures to promote a smoke-free environment,” Mary Ann Mendoza, president of HealthJustice Philippines Inc. said.

As Boracay reopens for tourism, civilsociety groups called on the government to strictly enforce the smoking ban on its beautiful and world-renowned beaches.

Just last month, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat said that she has coordinated with both Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu and Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año on the imposition of a smoking ban on Boracay’s beachfront and other public areas.

Millenials Philippines (MPH), a youth advocacy group, noted that the smoking ban in public places, especially at thebeach, will offer the best protection to the youths who will be visiting Boracay.

“We appreciate the government’s efforts to give us young people a cleaner and smoke-free Boracay to hang out, relax and have fun in.” Marjon Fenis, executive vice president of MPH, said.

In May 2017 President Duterte issued Executive Order 26 “to minimize access, particularly of minors, to tobacco products.”

The tourism, local government and environment departments should strictly implement this policy,Mendoza said.

Aside from being an environmental hazard, Dr. Rene Ofreneo of Climate Change Congress of the Philippines said that cigarettes also have a tremendous public health and environmental impact. Over 10 billion cigarettes are being disposed of everyday, and cleanups of coastal and urban areas showed that around 30 percent of items collected are cigarette butts, which take at least 10 years to rot and five centuries to a millennium to fully decompose.

“By implementing the smoking ban, cigarette butts should not litter the beach anymore. The DENR must ensure that the gains in the six-month closure of Boracay will not be reversed by the failure to strictly enforce the president’s no-smoking policy,” added Ofreneo.

UNEP encourages govt, informal sector tie-up in waste mgmt

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REATING a sustainable wastemanagement program in the Philippines and elsewhere in the region requires governments to collaborate with the informal sector, according to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

In a report, titled “Air Pollution in Asia and the Pacific: Science-based Solutions,” UNEP, Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership, and Climate and Clean Air Coalition said recycling is common among the informal sector.

UNEP said that apart from the Philippines, market-based recycling by the informal sector is also common in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

“Recycling is often associated with the large informal sector in developing economies,” the report stated. “Thus, to promote recycling systematically in the region, there is a need for governments to collaborate with the informal sector.”

The report stated that most AsiaPacific countries would often resort to burning waste and refuse because it was “relatively easy and low-cost.”

The report stated this was common among households with limited access to waste-management facilities and landfill sites, which are prone to spontaneous combustion.

UNEP and its partner organizations said this was despite the introduction of laws forbidding waste burning, as well as the imposition of fines and other sanctions for those caught in the region.

The report cited the Philippine’s Ecological Solid Waste Management Act includes provisions that forbid the practice and stipulate penalties.

“Awareness and enforcement of these legal prohibitions are often limited or altogether lacking. Not surprisingly, the most effective solutions tend to combine technical solutions with information campaigns,” the report stated.

Burning of waste and refuse contribute to air pollution. The report estimated that about 4 billion people or 92 percent of Asia and the Pacific’s population are exposed to levels of air pollution that pose a significant risk to their health.

According to the report, effectively

implementing the 25 measures would result in a 20-percent reduction in carbon dioxide and a 45-percent reduction in methane emissions, preventing up to a third of a degree Celsius in global warming. Resulting reductions in ground-level ozone would reduce crop losses by 45 percent for maize, rice, soy and wheat combined.

Approximately 7 million people worldwide die prematurely each year from air pollution-related diseases, with about 4 million of these deaths occurring in the Asia Pacific.

“It is an unfortunate fact that breathing clean air, the most basic of human needs, has become a luxury in many parts of the world. But there are numerous tried and tested solutions that we can put in place now to solve this problem. Implementing these airquality measures is not only good for health and the environment, it can also boost innovation, job creation and economic growth,” Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment, said.

UNEP, Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership, and Climate and Clean Air Coalition urged countries to resort to conventional emission controls focus-

ing on emissions that lead to the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

This includes activities like increased emissions standards and controls on vehicles, power plants, and large and small-scale industry.

They also encouraged governments to resort to next-stage air-quality measures to reduce emissions that lead to the formation of PM2.5 and are not yet major components of clean air policies in many parts of the region.

This includes activities like reducing the burning of agricultural and municipal solid waste, preventing forest and peatland fires, and proper management of livestock manure.

Further, the report encouraged that measures contributing to development priority goals with benefits for air quality should be undertaken in the region.

This includes activities like providing clean energy for households, improving public transport and promoting the use of electric vehicles, using renewable energy for electricity generation, and working with oil and gas companies to stop flaring and reduce methane leaks. Cai U. Ordinario

News

BusinessMirror

Friday, November 2, 2018 A5

New RFINL to boost PHL’s bid for global competitiveness

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday said the new Regular Foreign Investment Negative List (RFINL) would help the local work force to be ready for the fourth industrial revolution dominated by robots and automation.

The DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) said the relaxed provisions allowing foreigners to teach in the country would help in the global competitiveness of Filipino students.

Under the 11th RFINL or Executive Order 65, foreigners may now teach at higher education provided their subject matter will not be “professional,” or those included in the board or Bar exams.

BLE Director Dominique Rubia Tutay said the provision will encourage more local academic institutions to tap foreign experts in teaching new fields like robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).

She earlier said the country is still lagging when it comes to producing workers who are competent in using new technology due to the lack of local experts on it.

“What we need in the education sector is to bring in global experts to our current pool of educators so there will be fresh, current and relevant methods in teaching and learning,” told the BusinessMirror via SMS. In the past, Tutay said academic institutions have a hard time getting foreign experts since they have to apply for permits from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

With the new RFINL, PRC Chairman

Teofilo S. Pilando Jr. said foreigners would now only have to get a special permit from them if they will teach elementary, high school or professional subjects.

As an additional perk of the RFINL, Pilando said it will also entice more countries to include a reciprocity clause in their agreements with the Philippines in recognizing the qualification of professionals.

The reciprocity clause allows foreigners the opportunity to practice their profession in the Philippines, if their countries also offer the same privilege to Filipinos.

“This [RFINL] new development would show the liberalization of our economy... this will further open up opportunities for our professionals [abroad],” Pilando told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

In the latest RFINL, there are currently five professions which are banned for foreigners: radiologic and x-ray technology; criminology; law; marine deck officers; and marine engine officers.

Pilando said there is a pending bill which is expected to also open up criminology to foreigners.

“The negative list cannot go beyond to what the law provides, so to a certain extent, it is also limited [in its reforms],” Pilando said.

8,701 aspiring lawyers to take Bar exams beginning Sunday

By Joel R. San Juan

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@jrsanjuan1573

WO days from now, a total of 8,701 aspiring lawyers will gather at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in España, Manila, to take the 2018 Bar Examinations.

Deputy Clerk of Court and Bar Confidant Ma. Cristina B. Layusa said the number of Bar examinees this year is the highest in recent years, although based on the record of previous Bar exams, it is not expected that all of them will be able to hurdle the grueling four-Sunday exams, which will be conducted on November 4, 11, 18 and 25.

The 2018 Bar Examinations Committee Chairman is Supreme Court Justice Mariano C. del Castillo.

Based on the Bar Bulletin issued by the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC), this year’s examinations will consist of 100 percent essay-type questions.

On November 4 examinees will take the exams on Political and International Law and Labor Law and Social Legislation; Civil Law on November 11; Mercantile and Criminal Law on November 18; and Remedial Law and Legal and Judicial Ethics and Practical exercises on the last Sunday of the month.

The OBC also announced contingency measures in case of heavy rains and flooding. It said the Court will provide 10 buses to transport examinees and duty personnel to the UST from several pickup points in case of heavy rains in the morning of a Bar examination day.

The buses shall be stationed as early as 4:30 a.m. and will leave exactly at 5 a.m. in the following areas: Quezon City Memorial Circle near Philippine Coconut Authority (two buses); Park and Ride,

Lawton, Manila (one bus); SC New Building Compound, Taft Avenue (two buses); Greenbelt and Glorietta, Ayala Center, Makati (two buses); and Marikina Sports Complex (one bus).

The OBC stressed that only Bar examinees and duty personnel will be allowed to ride the shuttle buses, and boarding shall be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Examinees and duty personnel are required to present their notice of admission, gate pass and/or identification cards to the bus diver before they will be allowed to board the bus.

In case of flooding inside the UST compound before the start of the exams, the OBC assured examinees and duty personnel SC’s commuter vans will be on standby to transport them from the UST gates to their respective designation.

The OBC added senior citizens, pregnant women and persons with disability (PWDs) shall be prioritized in the use of the commuter vans.

The commuter vans will also be made available outside each examination building to transport examinees and personnel to the gates in case there is still flooding after the exams. The SC shuttle buses will then transport and drop them off in the following areas: For northbound passengers, they will be dropped off at the Quezon City Memorial Circle (near Philippine Coconut Authority) while southbound passengers at Park and Ride, Lawton, Supreme Court premises, and at the Edsa Magallanes Flyover (beneath the flyover) in Pasay.

For Makati-bound examinees and personnel, the OBC said the designated dropoff area is at the Ayala Center (Glorietta and Greenbelt), while those going to the Marikina area shall be at the Marikina Sports Complex.

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Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

Friday, November 2, 2018 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Steep decline in copra prices alarms DA

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) will hold a dialogue with farmers and traders to determine strategies that will enable them to cope with the continuous decline in the price of copra.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he would meet with the owners of copra trading companies and coconut oil mills next week. This after some coconut farmers stopped harvesting their crops due to low prices.

“The meeting is intended to identif y immediate measures which could be adopted to address the very low price of copra,” Piñol said in a recent Facebook post.

“From a high of over P40 per kilograms a few years back, copra prices have plummeted to as low as P15 per kg today, prompting some coconut farmers to stop harvesting their crops,” he added.

Piñol said he would discuss with stakeholders the reported smug-

gling of copra and palm oil in the southern parts of the country that have resulted in the “slump” in the prices of coconut oil and palm oil.

“The coconut industry is virtually in the throes of death with the price of copra in the world market falling to very low levels where coconut farmers could barely survive, a dangerous situation for a sector where poverty incidence is one of the highest,” he said.

The continuous decline in the domestic prices of copra was attributed to falling world prices of coconut oil (CNO) due to the vegetable oil glut.

Earlier, preliminary data from the United Coconut Association of the Philippines Inc. (Ucap) showed

$1-B silos will allow PHL to export cereals, Dubai firm says

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DUBAI-BASED firm, which offered to finance the construction of silos costing $1 billion in major rice-producing areas in the country, said the postharvest facility will allow the Philippines to become an exporter of cereals.

B2Firms DMCC (B2Firms) CEO Marco Mattocia told the BusinessMirror that the country’s “very weak” postharvest facilities and good credit rating enticed his company to venture into the country’s farm sector.

Mattocia noted that the Philippines recently received a positive credit outlook upgrade received from Standard & Poor’s while affirming its credit rating of “BBB” for longterm and “A-2” for short term.

“Our specialists are convinced that with this investment. The Philippines will move from importing cereals to exporting them in short term, with benefit for farmers, for labor employment and for the prices of the rice in the market” Mattocia told the BusinessMirror via e-mail.

“For these reasons we trust in the possibility that the Philippines is a solid country to make this project,” he added.

The National Food Authority (NFA) Council received last week B2Firm’s unsolicited bid to extend a loan of $1 billion to the Philippine government for the construction of postharvest facilities, including big grain silos.

Under its proposal, B2Firms will construct four grain silos capable of storing up to 60,000 metric tons of paddy in five major rice-producing areas, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol. “[The proposal] fits into the program of the NFA to focus more on local procurement and leave the importation to the private sector,” Piñol said in an interview with reporters last week.

Piñol said B2Firms’s proposal was referred to the NFA for technical review.

The NFA technical team will submit its recommendations to the NFA Council (NFAC), which will then review the proposal and the recommendations made by the food agency’s technical team.

“Personally, I like the idea,” Piñol said. “Because I feel this is where our grains industry is very weak in: postharvest facilities. The NFA is still using storing rice in dilapidated warehouses.”

“We are in the process of really modernizing our grains facilities from postharvest to storage and even up to marketing,” he added.

Piñol said the $1-billion loan from an Italian bank is payable in 10 years. He said B2Firms is part of an Italian conglomerate funded by the Italian government.

“It will be a turnkey project covered by a loan from an Italian bank. It’s a business opportunity for Italian companies,” he said in a separate SMS to the BusinessMirror.

“They will bring in the technology and build the project. It will be also the first major engagement in agriculture between Italy and the Philippines,” he added. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

BLOOMBERG NEWS

that the country’s CNO exports in the first half fell by 11.10 percent to 414,089 metric tons, from 465,084 MT, due to lower shipments in the first quarter.

Ucap data also indicated that the country’s CNO exports in the

first quarter declined by 31.05 percent to 206,043 MT, from 298,838 MT recorded in the January-toMarch period of 2017.

Despite the double-digit contraction in the January-to-June shipments, Ucap is optimistic that

the country can hit its full-year export target of about 1 million metric tons (MMT), according to Ucap Executive Director Yvonne T.V. Agustin. “ We are stil l hopef u l that [shipments] would hit almost 1

million [metric tons]. In the first semester we already exported over 400,000 MT, so doubling it would easily reach 800,000 MT,” Agustin said.

“And the demand for CNO in the second half is usually higher compared to the first half,” she added.

Ucap projected that domestic coconut output this year would grow 8.67 percent to 2.607 MMT in copra terms, from 2.4 MMT recorded last year.

Agustin said Ucap is hopeful higher CNO shipments would offset the decline in the international price of vegetable oil and allow export receipts to hit $1 billion.

“For example, our volume of exports in the last three months has been steadily increasing. But revenue is affected by the low prices [of CNO],” she said.

A “great performance in terms of production and export” could offset, she said, the decline in revenue. “Last year we earned around $1.4 billion, so we hope to reach that due to higher shipment.”

The global price of CNO depends on the prices of other fats, such as palm oil, which accounts for the bulk of the global vegetable oil market, according to Agustin.

More rice available for Filipinos in 2017–report D

ESPITE the slide in the country’s rice self-sufficiency ratio last year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that there was more rice available for consumption in 2017.

The country’s daily per-capita net food disposable (NFD) of rice rose to a five-year high of 323.97 grams, from 295.45 g in 2016, according to the PSA. This means that there were 118.24 kilograms of rice available for consumption by every Filipino last year, compared to the 107.84 kg recorded in 2016, based on the PSA data.

NFD measures the volume of the commodity available for human consumption, according to the PSA. In measuring the NFD, the PSA takes into account both the locally produced supply and imported volume. The PSA deducts from the gross supply the volume of commodity used for other purposes to derive at the amount available for human consumption.

“The daily net food disposable of a commodity of each member of the population measured through an index indicates the movement of food available for consumption in a specified year

relative to a base year,” it said in its annual report, titled “Food Consumption and Nutrition 2018.”

However, the PSA report indicated that the daily NFD for rice in 2017 remained below the base level of 325.67 g recorded in 2012.

“At an estimated index of 99.47 percent, it means that the quantity of rice available for consumption was 0.53 percentage point lower than the 2012 level,” it said.

In the same report, the PSA said the country’s per-capita production (PCP) of rice in 2017 increased to 120.15 kg per annum, from 111.66 kg recorded in 2016. The volume is the highest in five years but still below its 2012 base year level of 122.20 kg per annum.

The PCP indicates the “volume of production of a particular commodity available for each member of the population,” according to the PSA. “In 2017, the annual per-capita production of rice increased to 120.15 kilograms, and it remained below the 2012 record,” it said.

“This was equivalent to production index of 98.33 percent, which means that the 2017 PCP of rice was 1.67 per-

centage points lower than the 2012 record,” it added.

Based on the estimates of the BusinessMirror, both the volume of NFD and PCP is higher than the country’s per-capita rice consumption of 109.875 kg, based on latest PSA data.

This would mean that the country’s rice supply last year was more than enough to meet up the total demand for the staple.

The PSA earlier reported that the country’s rice self-sufficiency ratio in 2017 dropped to 93.44 percent, from 95.01 percent in 2016 despite a recordhigh palay harvest last year. The PSA attributed the decline to higher volume of imports.

Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol criticized the PSA’s estimates, arguing that the agency’s formula for deriving the SSR is “flawed.”

Piñol explained that the PSA includes rice imports in computing the SSR, which would always yield results that would indicate that local production is insufficient.

He said the country’s rice SSR should have been higher than the 2016 level due to higher palay production in 2017.

The country’s palay output last year rose by 9.54 percent to 19.28 million metric tons, from 17.6 MMT in 2016. At a 65.4-percent average milling recovery rate, the country produced 12.609 MMT of milled rice in 2017.

Piñol said the 1.092-MMT increase in local palay production last year should have been enough to offset the increase in demand for the staple caused by population growth.

“At a per-capita consumption of 114 kg, that would mean we produced enough rice to feed an additional 9.5 million Filipinos between 2016 and 2017. Our population growth is 1.4 percent, meaning only about 1.4 million Filipinos were born between 2016 and 2017,” he told the BusinessMirror in an interview on Wednesday.

“The PSA computation is flawed and inconsistent. It should be higher, based on the production numbers,” he added.

Piñol said he has ordered the Philippine Rice Research Institute to come up with its own formula in determining the country’s rice SSR “to come up with a more reliable” figure. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

China’s fat pigs may not face such a strict diet after all

A PIG stands in a pen at a farm in Tianjin, China, on February 2. GIULIA MARCHI/BLOOMBERG

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HINA’S 400 million pigs may not have to go on such a stringent diet after all.

The world’s top soybean importer

is trying to reduce consumption of the oilseed after imposing tariffs on purchases from the United States as part of the ongoing trade war. One measure,

due to take effect November 1, calls for less protein in each unit of feed sold to hog farmers. But that means pigs will take longer to fatten for slaughter, cutting pork supply and causing prices to rise. This could then make it profitable for farmers to buy more feed, curbing the decline in protein use.

Of course, in a circular fashion, that results in the pigs getting fatter faster again, renewing pressure on pork prices and reducing the incentive to feed more, but it does mean the drop in soybean consumption has its limits.

“Farmers may boost the amount of feed they give to livestock to compensate for lower protein content per unit, as long as there is enough profit incentive,” said Monica Tu, an analyst at researcher Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. While China’s agriculture ministry expects the new feed norms to cut soybean usage by about 14 million metric tons a year, Tu estimates that the reduction will be closer to 5 to 6 million tons.

The country is home to the world’s biggest hog industry, and consumes more than 100 million tons of soy-

beans annually, according to US Department of Agriculture data.

The new standards reduce the minimum level of crude protein in pig feed and set a maximum amount.

The heavier the animal is, the lower the requirement. Levels for laying hens and broilers may also be cut. While set by the government, the standards have no teeth and are not enforceable.

Chinese hog farmers have been enjoying higher production margins since April, based on pork and feed prices, though they have tapered off a little recently, according to Tu. The spot price for pigs in the western province of Sichuan, the largest producing region, climbed to 19 yuan ($2.72) a kilogram last week, the highest level since January 2017, according to data from Shanghai JC. While Chinese authorities have issued new minimum requirements for soybean meal, feed makers could still choose to use more, Bunge Ltd. CEO Soren Schroder said in an earnings call this week. “So, at the end of the day, it will probably still be prices that dictate how feed formulation is made.” Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World

HONG KONG REVEALS CRYPTO RULES, JOINING PUSH TO TAME WILD MARKET

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ONG KONG’S securities watchdog unveiled new rules for cryptocurrency funds and said it may regulate digitalasset exchanges, joining a global push to improve supervision of an industry whose rapid expansion has attracted everyone from mom-and-pop investors to Wall Street banks.

Fund managers that invest more than 10 percent of their portfolio in crypto assets will need to be licensed, the Securities and Futures Commission said in a statement on Thursday. Trading platforms that serve only professional investors can opt to move into a so-called sandbox, where they will be free to experiment subject to antimoney laundering and other rules. Formal regulations may follow, the SFC said.

Hong Kong joins a growing number of jurisdictions where authorities are trying to improve oversight of an industry whose most famous creation, Bitcoin, just turned 10 years old. The moves come as institutional investors begin to invest in the asset class, with some betting that virtual currencies

and their underlying blockchain technology will find commercial uses despite this year’s collapse in crypto prices.

“The market for virtual assets is still very young and trading rules may not be transparent and fair,” the SFC chief Ashley Alder told a Hong Kong fintech forum on Thursday, explaining the need for oversight.

“Outages are not uncommon as is market manipulation and abuse. And there are also, I am afraid, outright scandals and frauds.”

Hong Kong has seen a spurt in crypto use in recent years as some of the world’s largest exchanges—including Binance, OKEx and BitMEX—based staff in the former British colony. Law firms and consultancies developed sidelines advising the sector and there has long been an expectation that local authorities would craft a formal framework.

Crypto exchanges that join the sandbox will be monitored to see how they handle risks and ensure compliance. The firms may be able to apply for a license if the trial is successful, the SFC said. Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

Friday, November 2, 2018

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Asia’s factories see contractions as trade war effects start to bite

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ANUFACTURING gauges for some of Asia’s most exportdriven economies slipped into negative territory in October, highlighting the spillover effect from the US-China trade war.

T he contract ions fol low ev idence of a broad-based s lo wd o w n i n C h i n a t h at h a s prompted t he gover nment t o prom i s e ne w me a s u re s t o s t ok e g ro w t h .

In the latest sign that trade

war pain is spreading, purchasing managers’ indexes for Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia all fell into contractionary territory during October.

Taiwan’s PMI fell to 48.7 from 50.8 in September, the lowest

reading and first contraction since May 2016. Malaysia’s index declined to 49.2 from 51.5, while Thailand dropped to 48.9 from 50, its lowest reading since November 2016. Readings above 50 signal expansion, while those below 50 signal a contraction.

“The slowdown in China as a result of the trade war is affecting smaller open economies in Asia,” Ben Emons, chief economist and head of credit portfolio management at Intellectus Partners, wrote in an e-mail.

South Korea’s dipped to 51 from 51.3 and Indonesia declined to 50.5 from 50.7. There were modest gains elsewhere: China’s

Caixin Manufacturing PMI reading nudged higher to 50.1 from 50, moving in the opposite direction from the official manufacturing report released on Wednesday.

Vietnam climbed to 53.9 from 51.5 and Japan rose to 52.9 from 52.5 a month earlier.

Asia is especially vulnerable to trade tensions given its key role in China’s manufacturing supply chain. T he region accounts for around 60 percent of global growth.

“Downside risks to the global economic outlook for 2019 are increasing,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific chief economist at IHS Markit in Singapore. Bloomberg News

Xi’s $24-trillion import pledge barely moves the trade needle with those products, according to Robin Xing, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong.

But apart from products where foreign companies have obvious comparative advantage, such as Australian beef, Chilean cherries, or integrated circuits, many industries will have to face fierce competition from increasingly sophisticated domestic rivals. Global smartphone makers, for example, are challenged

by Chinese companies led by Huawei Technologies Co. All that might partly explain why, political rhetoric aside, Chinese leaders are rational when giving out numbers. Xi’s big headline number, when spread over 15 years, implies an annual average less than last year’s total.

Imports for exports

XI JINPING

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HINESE President Xi Jinping has a long road ahead of him if his goal is to reduce his nation’s goods trade surplus by buying more from abroad.

Set to address the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on November 5, Xi is putting his personal stamp on an event geared to demonstrate China’s willingness to open its economy.

China is under pressure from Donald J. Trump and elsewhere to wind back its $423-billion goods trade surplus, and Xi has already pledged that China will import $24 trillion of goods from abroad over the next decade and a half.

Some 3,000 companies from over 100 countries are due to exhibit at the fair, to connect with buyers from the world ’s biggest market by population, and 18 heads of state or government are slated to attend.

That the event is happening at a time when China is facing higher tariffs on all of its goods sent to the US increases its importance, as the global economy is facing an escalating growth-sapping trade war with little resolution in sight.

Encouraging households and companies to buy more from abroad seems to be an obvious way to address the massive surplus. Under the hood though, Xi’s number represents little shift from what’s already happening, and the deeper patterns of the world’s second-largest economy will be hard to shift in the

years ahead, even with a big official target to aim for.

“Trade is mostly market driven and the state’s role is limited—what China imports is driven largely by the demands of households and firms and not by officials,” said Yukon Huang, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Asia program in Washington. “Thus when the US demands that China reduces the bilateral trade deficit by some amount, it makes the mistake that Beijing’s bureaucrats can do this with a stroke-of-the-pen decree.”

Already happening

COMPARED with 2017’s “Belt and Road ” initiative summit—another pet project of Xi—the import fair has a less glamorous list of attending state leaders. But interest from the business community is keen.

While no senior US officials are due to attend the opening ceremony, 180 US companies including big names, such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Boeing Co., Caterpillar Inc., Facebook Inc., General Motors Co., Honeywell International Inc., Microsoft Corp., Tesla Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. will show up.

Even though consumption has slowed this year, rising aff luence, especially in smaller cities, could stoke consumer demand for mediumto high-end imported goods, and the import fair is an opportunity for Chinese consumers to get in touch

IMPORTS in the world ’s biggest trading nation are still largely geared to its export machine.

About half of China’s imports last year came from electronics and machinery. As foreign value-added content in China’s gross exports average about 40 percent, according to BNP Paribas Asset Management, it’s clear that a lot of what gets brought into China goes back out again as part of a finished product.

That means there is a strong correlation between China’s exports and imports. When exports are doing poorly, imports taper in most cases. If the trade war significantly dents China’s exports, the nation’s imports from the rest of the supply chain will very likely suffer collateral damage.

Surplus contributors

CHINA has a huge deficit in services trade, significantly driven by outbound tourism. But in terms of goods, the Asian nation still sits on an enormous surplus, and the US is one of the biggest contributors.

Trump made that lopsided trade relationship with China a key bugbear of his early period in office, but his tariff approach hasn’t helped narrow that gap—instead it is growing to a new record as stimulus in the US drives demand for imports.

T he deeper issues at the heart of the US trade conf lict—intellectual property, China’s industrial dominance strateg y, and the overall political rivalr y between the two, aren’t something that can be addressed in an exhibition center in Shanghai.

“This forum seems to highlight the clashing trends created by China—on the one hand, it underscores the magnetic allure of China’s massive market, as European, Canadian and Asian countries all vie to showcase their wares,” said Claire Reade, a former USTR representative in China.

“But it also offers a glimpse of the darkening political clouds created by China’s industrial policies and the USChina trade conflict.” Bloomberg News

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The World BusinessMirror

Friday, November 2, 2018

S. Korea’s Moon: North Korean leader Kim to visit Seoul ‘soon’

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EOUL, South Korea—South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will “soon” visit Seoul as part of a flurry of high-profile diplomacy aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons.

During a speech before parliament, Moon said that a second North Korea-US summit is “near at hand” and that Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit North Korea soon. Moon also said he expected Kim to visit Russia soon and that Kim may meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Moon has previously said that Kim told him he would visit Seoul within this year when the leaders met in Pyongyang in September.

South Korea’s presidential office said later Thursday that it had nothing to add to Moon’s speech about Kim’s trip. His comments were in line with previous statements, the Blue House said. They suggest that Moon is determined to push ahead with diplomacy to resolve the nuclear issue.

“Now, based on firm trust among one another, South and North Korea and the United States will achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace of the

Korean Peninsula,” Moon said.

“This is an opportunity that has come like a miracle. It’s something that we should never miss.”

The prospects for a second summit between Kim and President Donald J. Trump improved after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made his fourth visit to North Korea earlier this month.

But no breakthrough has followed.

US officials have recently said a second Trump-Kim summit will likely happen early next year. Some experts have raised doubts over whether Kim’s Seoul trip would be realized by December.

Moon, a liberal who took office last year, favors a negotiated resolution to the decades-long international standoff over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. He has facilitated a series of highlevel US-North Korea exchanges, including their first-ever summit in Singapore in June.

But Moon has faced growing outside skepticism over whether

SOUTH Korean President Moon Jae-in delivers his speech on the government’s 2019 budget proposal during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday.

President Moon said on Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will “soon” visit Seoul as part of a flurry of high-profile diplomacy aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons. KIM HONG-JI/POOL PHOTO VIA AP

his engagement policy will eventually end the nuclear standoff amid ups and downs in his diplomatic push. Many conservatives in South Korea and the United States say North Korea has no intention of fully giving up its nuclear program and only intends to buy time to perfect its weapons program.

Since enter ing nuclear ta lks earlier this year, Nor th Korea has ha lted nuc lear and missile tests and dismant led its nuclear testing site. T he United States suspended some of its annua l militar y dr il ls w ith South Korea, but is reluctant to prov ide the Nor th w ith big

politica l or economic benefits unless it ta kes more ser ious disar mament steps.

The two Koreas remain split along the world’s most heavily fortified border since the three-year Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice. If Kim, a third-generation hereditary leader, visits Seoul, he would be the first North Korean leader to cross the border into the South since the war’s end.

Last year saw increased fears of a second war on the peninsula as he exchanged threats of destruction and crude insults with Trump over North Korea’s push to develop a nuclear missile capable of striking the US mainland. AP

Editor: Angel R. Calso | www.businessmirror.com.ph

Divers recover jet’s flight data recorder on Indonesia seafloor

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AKARTA, Indonesia—Divers on Thursday recovered a flight data recorder from the crashed Lion Air jet on the seafloor, a crucial development in the investigation into what caused the two-monthold plane to plunge into Indonesian seas earlier this week, killing all 189 people on board.

One TV station showed footage of two divers after they surfaced, swimming to an inflatable vessel and placing the bright orange device into a large container that was transferred to a search-andrescue ship.

“I was desperate because the current below was strong but I am confident of the tools given to me,” said navy 1st Sgt. Hendra, who uses a single name, in a television interview. After narrowing the possible location, “I started digging and cleaning the debris until I finally found an orange object,” he said, standing on the deck of a ship next to his diving mate.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane crashed early Monday just minutes after takeoff from the Indonesian capital Jakarta. It was the worst airline disaster in Indonesia in more than two decades and renewed concerns about safety in its fast-growing aviation industry, which was recently removed from European Union and US blacklists.

Navy Col. Monang Sitompul told local TV an object believed to be the aircraft’s fuselage was also seen on the seafloor. The device recovered by divers is the flight data recorder and the search for the cockpit voice recorder continues, said Bambang Irawan, an investigator with the National Transport Safety Commission.

“We will process the data contained in this FDR as part of the investigation process to find out the cause of the crash,” he said. “We cannot say how long it takes to process data in a black box, but of course we will try as soon as possible.”

The location of the find was about 500 meters (yards) northwest of the coordinates where the plane lost contact and at a depth of 30 meters, said search and rescue agency head Muhammad Syaugi.

“The currents below the sea are still strong which make it difficult for divers, but they persistently face it,” he said.

Data from flight-tracking sites show the plane had erratic speed and altitude in the early minutes of a flight on Sunday and on its fatal flight on Monday. Safety experts caution, however, that the data must be checked for accuracy against the flight data recorder.

Several passengers on the Sunday flight from Bali to Jakarta have recounted problems that included a long-delayed takeoff for an engine check and terrifying descents in the first 10 minutes in the air.

Lion Air has ordered 50 of the MAX 8 planes and one of its subsidiary airlines was last year the first to operate the new generation jet.

Investigators say a preliminary report into the accident could be released within a month but complete findings will take several months more. The Lion Air crash is the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since 1997, when 234 people died on a Garuda flight near Medan. In December 2014 an AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore plunged into the sea, killing all 162 on board. AP

Trump says border troops could hit 15,000, surprising Pentagon

W THIS photo shows signage outside the offices of Google in San Francisco with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the background on Wednesday. Hundreds of Google employees are expected to temporality leave their jobs on Thursday morning in a mass walkout protesting the Internet company's lenient treatment of executives accused of sexual misconduct. The San Francisco office is one of the offices that the walkout will take place. AP/MICHAEL LIEDTKE

Google employees to walk out to protest treatment of women

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AN FRANCISCO—Hundreds of Google engineers and other workers are expected to walk off the job on Thursday morning to protest the Internet company’s lenient treatment of executives accused of sexual misconduct.

It is the latest expression of a backlash against men’s exploitation of female subordinates in a business, entertainment and politics.

In Silicon Valley, women also are becoming fed up with the maledominated composition of the technology industry’s work force—a glaring imbalance that critics say fosters unsavory behavior akin to a college fraternity house.

T he Google protest, bil led “Walkout For Real Change,” is unfolding a week after a New York Times story detailed allegations of sexual misconduct about creator of its Android software, Andy Rubin.

The report said Rubin received a $90-million severance package in 2014 even though Google concluded the sexual misconduct allegations against him were credible.

Rubin derided the Times story article as inaccurate and denied the allegations in a tweet.

The same story also disclosed allegations of sexual misconduct of other executives, including Richard DeVaul, a director at the same Google-affiliated lab that created far-flung projects such as self-driving cars and Internetbeaming balloons. DeVaul had remained at the “X” lab after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced about him a few years ago, but he resigned on Tuesday without severance, Google confirmed on Wednesday.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai apologized for the company’s “past actions” in an e-mail sent to employees Tuesday. “I understand the anger and disappointment that many of you feel,” Pichai wrote. “I feel it as well, and I am fully committed to making progress on an issue that has persisted for far too long in our society, and, yes, here at Google, too.”

The e-mail didn’t mention the reported incidents involving Rubin, DeVaul or anyone else, but Pichai didn’t dispute anything in the Times story.

In an e-mail last week, Pichai and Eileen Naughton, Google’s

executive in charge of personnel issues, sought to reassure workers that the company had cracked down on sexual misconduct since Rubin’s departure four years ago.

A mong ot her t hings, Pichai and Naughton disclosed that Google had fired 48 employees, including 13 senior managers, for “sexual harassment” in recent years without giving any of them severance packages.

But Thursday’s workout could signal that a significant number of the 94,000 employees working for Google and its corporate parent Alphabet Inc. remained unconvinced the company is doing enough to adhere to Alphabet’s own edict urging all employees to “do the right thing .”

A Silicon Valley congresswoman tweeted her support of the Google walkout using the “metoo” hashtag that has become a battle cry for women fighting sexual misconduct. “Why do they think it’s OK to reward perpetrators & further violate victims?” asked Rep. Jackie Speier, who represents an affluent district where many of Google’s employees live. AP

ASHINGTON—President Donald J. Trump says t he number of military troops deployed to the US-Mexican border could reach 15,000—roughly double the number the Pentagon said it currently plans for a mission whose dimensions are shifting daily.

T he Pe nt a gon s ay s “more than 7,000” troops were being sent to the southwest border to support the Customs and Border Protection agents. Officials said that number could reach a maximum of about 8,000 under present plans.

The troop numbers have been changing at a dizzying pace, with Trump drawing a hard line on immigration in the lead-up to the midterm elections.

Just last week officials were indicating that about 800 to 1,000 might be sent. On Monday officials announced that about 5,200 were being deployed. The next day, the Air Force general running the operation said more than the initially announced total were going, and he pointedly rejected a news report that it could reach 14,000, saying that was “not consistent with what’s actually being planned.”

Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, the commander of US Northern Command, told reporters the number would exceed the initial contingent of 5,200, but he offered no estimate of the eventual total.

Just 24 hours later, Trump thrust new uncertainty into the picture, catching the Pentagon by surprise.

With his eyes squarely on Tuesday’s contests, Trump has rushed a series of immigration declarations, promises and actions as he tries to mobilize supporters to retain Republican control of Congress. His own Republican campaign in 2016 concentrated on border fears, and that’s his focus in the final week of the midterm fight.

“As far as the caravan is concerned, our military is out,” Trump said. “We have about 5,800. We’ll go up to anywhere between 10,000

and 15,000 military personnel on top of Border Patrol, ICE and everybody else at the border.”

Later Wednesday, Trump told ABC News, “We have to have a wall of people.”

His comments were the latest twist in a story that has pushed the Pentagon unhappily into the political space, prompting questions about whether Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was allowing the military to be leveraged as a political stunt.

“We don’t do stunts,” Mattis said on Wednesday.

Trump rejected the idea he was “fearmongering” or using the issue for political purposes, but his escalating rhetoric in the waning days of the campaign season calls that denial into question. Trump has railed against illegal immigration, including several caravans of migrants from Central America slowly moving on foot toward the US border. The caravan of an estimated 4,000 people is still nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from the border. Several smaller groups, estimated at a combined 1,200 people, are farther away.

Trump insisted the media is underestimating the caravans.

“You have caravans coming up that look a lot larger than it’s reported actually. I’m pretty good at estimating crowd size. And I’ll tell you they look a lot bigger than people would think,” he told ABC. He has also promised to end so-called catch-and-release policies by erecting tent cities to hold those crossing illegally. And this week he is asserting he could act by executive order to unilaterally end birthright citizenship for the children of non-US citizens.

Trump’s comments left some in the Pentagon scratching their heads. Officials said they had no plans to deploy as many as 15,000 troops. The number conceivably could reach 10,000, counting the 2,100 National Guard soldiers who have been operating along the border for months as part of a separate but related mission.

The number of active-duty troops

tapped for deployment stood at 7,000 as of Wednesday but could reach 8,000.

A deployment of 15,000 would bring the military commitment on the border to roughly the same level as in war-torn Afghanistan.

And it would more than double the number of people thought to be in the caravans.

Trump did not back down on Wednesday from his controversial proposal to upend the very concept of American citizenship. In a morning tweet, he said the right to citizenship for babies born to noncitizens on American soil “will be ended one way or the other.”

He also claimed that what he terms “so-called Birthright Citizenship” is “not covered by the 14th Amendment.”

Howe ver, t he te x t of t he amendment’s opening Citizenship Clause is this: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The citizenship proposal would inevitably spark a long-shot legal battle over whether the president can alter the long-accepted understanding that the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to any child born on US soil, regardless of his parents’ immigration status.

House Speaker Paul Ryan asserted on Tuesday that “obviously,” Trump could not upend that policy by executive order, drawing a tweeted rebuke from Trump. He said on Wednesday that Ryan “should be focusing on holding the Majority rather t ha n g iv ing his opinions on Birthright Citizenship, something he knows nothing about!”

Spea k ing to repor ters be fore leaving the W hite House for a campaign rally in Florida, Trump compared his plan to act by executive order to President Barack Obama’s much-maligned decision to use executive action to provide protections from prosecution and a path to work status for some people brought to the US illegally as children. AP

The Regions BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Friday, November 2, 2018

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Natl Solid Waste Commission hastens approval of LGUs’ 10-yr garbage plans

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

HE National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) is stepping up the review and approval of 10-year solidwaste management (SWM) plans submitted by local government units (LGUs).

The agency recently approved the plans of 67 LGUs during an en banc meeting on October 28, NSWMC Secretariat Executive Director Eligio T. Ildefonso told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview.

LGUs are required to submit their respective SWM plans in compliance with Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological SWM Act of 2000.

So far, Ildefonso said, around 92 percent or 1,500 out of 1,634

LGUs have submitted their 10-year SWM plans, which covers the period 2017 to 2018.

The submission and approval of LGUs’ 10-year SWM plans are often delayed because most plans lack proper waste characterization, which is important in implementing the so-called 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle), a strategy identified to effectively address the looming garbage crisis.

RA 9003 provides for a systematic, comprehensive and ecological

solid-waste management program that includes SWM activities such as avoidance, reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and proper disposal of residual waste.

Under R A 9003, LGUs are tasked to properly implement waste segregation, recycling and composting to reduce waste and dispose them at an engineered sanitary landfill. LGUs are also mandated to shut down open dumps.

In 2015 and 2016, the NSWMC, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Office of the Ombudsman have started to crack the whip against erring LGUs and filed cases against officials of at least 50 LGUs. Under the Duterte administration, however, the DENR is backtracking and is using a different tack, working closely with LGUs to identify solutions such as the use of appropriate technology and provision of financial and technical assistance.

“Now the plans submitted by LGUs have proper waste characterization,” Ildefonso said. “This is very important because, through proper waste characterization, we

will know what kind of waste the LGUs need to dispose of.”

The approved plans also identify how the LGU intends to do proper waste segregation, recycling, composting; these include hauling and disposal.

Capacity

THE commission has earlier approved the plans of at least three LGUs that intend to implement waste-to-energy projects. They are Quezon City, Davao City and Cebu City, Ildefonso said.

The commission emphasizes it supports the implementation of “noburn, waste-to-energy” technology as a solution to the garbage problem.

For an individual LGU to be allowed to implement a waste-toenergy project, the LGU should at least have the capacity to produce a minimum of 200 tons per day.

With 200 tons per day of garbage, Ildefonso said, the LGU, by rule of thumb, can already produce at least 7 megawatts to 8 megawatts of electricity.

Small LGUs, he added, are also encouraged to pool together their resources and come up with a com-

mon facility where they can dispose of their garbage and implement waste-to-energy projects.

The strategy, he said, is the same strategy adapted for LGUs with limited resources to be able to comply with the requirement of establishing a materials recovery facility (MRF) and an engineered sanitary landfill in lieu of open dumps.

The commission has been busy reviewing the submitted plans of LGUs. It has also green-lighted in August the implementation of the respective SWM plans by 15 LGUs including Quezon City. Another 20 LGUs got the approval for their respective 10-year SWM plans in September.

Policy

THE approved SWM plans include strategies on residual, recyclable, biodegradable and special wastes such as the strict implementation of the “No Segregation, No Collection” policy, recycling of single-use plastics, and composting and construction of vault for health-care wastes.

Municipal ordinances in support of these strategies were also identified.

The resolutions given to the LGUs

with approved SWM plans require the LGUs to submit to the NSWMC their final plans with a Sangguniang Bayan resolution and an annual progress report on the strategies implemented and accomplishments.

T he com m i ssion m ay re voke the approval of the plan for non-compliance with the law and the SWM plan.

The law mandates all LGUs, through their solid waste management boards, to prepare a 10-year SWM plan consistent with the national SWM framework. The plan shall be for the reuse, recycling and composting of wastes generated in their jurisdictions.

The SWM plans of LGUs shall ensure the efficient management of solid waste generated in their cities and municipalities.

The National Solid Waste Management Commission is the primary agency tasked to implement the provisions of RA 9003. It oversees the implementation of SWM plans and prescribes policies to achieve the objectives of the law.

The commission has 14 members from the government sector and three members from the private sector.

ATI backs PHL’s future sailors from Mindoro Davao City issues

QR-coded IDs to night market venders

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HE Puerto Galera Yacht Club (PGYC) and Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) are instilling the art and science of sailing among Mindoro’s youth, preparing them to become the next top sailors of the Philippines.

Listed port operator ATI said it is keeping the sailing dreams of Mindoro’s youth alive by actively supporting the Small Boats Training Program (SBTP), a community initiative of the PGYC. The SBTP teaches underprivileged Mindoreño children, aged 9 to 15, the art and science of sailing during weekends for free and, more important, provides them with a healthy leisure activity, which builds character, self-discipline and develops productive skills for the future.

For training, children use the club’s optimist (single sail) and lawin (double sail) dinghies donated by foreign patrons under the tutelage of PGYC’s seasoned sailors and trainers.

Over the weekend, the ATIPGYC Small Boats Regatta was held at the Puerto Galera Bay, ser ving as a highlight of the training program and kickoff event for the Royal Cargo All Souls Regatta, PGYC’s annual centerpiece event, happening in early November.

“We find great joy in helping develop the country’s next top

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

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THIS collage of photos shows participants of the Small Boats Training Program, a community initiative of the Puerto Galera Yacht Club and Asian Terminals Inc.

sailors from among Mindoro’s youth by actively supporting PGYC’s Small Boats Program,” ATI Executive Vice President William Khoury said. “The SBTP is perfectly aligned with ATI’s dynamic corporate sustainability program

Boracay Halloween celebration simple

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OR ACAY ISLAND—Halloween traditions in this resort island on October 31 had been made simple as the national government banned beach parties. This is a far cry from the celebrations that marked this resort island before it was closed on April 26.

Both tourists and residents enjoyed frolicking and swimming at the beach, eating and shopping. Foreigners and residents also dressed in scary costumes in line with the Halloween traditions.

Halloween costume parties were also held in bars and night clubs far from the beach.

Ramel Buncalan, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Kalibo, noted President Duterte fulfilled his promise to open Boracay after six months.

Businesses in Kalibo were also affected, some were closed, according to Buncalan. He noted that the closure of Boracay, which is several kilometers away from Kalibo, also caused the displacement of employees in Kalibo. Jun N. Aguirre

as this enables tomorrow’s leaders to develop greater interest and acquire technical skills relevant to the ports and maritime industry, an important driver of the Philippine economy.”

Considered the best juvenile

sailing program in the country, PGYC’s SBTP has produced champion sailors who have brought honor to the Philippines by representing and winning in sailing competitions loca l ly and abroad.

AVAO CITY—The city government here would begin issuing new identification cards, which has security and safety features, to venders of the night market along Roxas Avenue here.

The new IDs, which would have a quick response (QR) code system, would also indicate occupancy permit of sellers at the night market. The move is expected to heighten protection of the area after a crude bomb exploded in the same location in September last year.

Supporters or followers of the Maute Group 2017 were suspected to be behind the explosion to relieve the pressure on terrorist gunmen during the Marawi City siege.

Paul Bermejo, head of the Ancillary Services Unit, said the ASU would be the issuing office for the IDs. Bermejo added each ID “will have a QR code system so we can know and ensure that the vendors are the ones operating in their

assigned stalls.”

A QR code is a figure of arranged black squares that can be read by an imaging device such as a camera, and which contains information about the product.

Also recently, the police also required IDs from those who would enter the enclosed area of the avenue where food and used personal and household items were being sold in the makeshift stalls.

The “No ID, No Entry” policy was implemented immediately after bomb explosions in August and September in Isulan town, Sultan Kudarat.

“We should see this as a welcome development, knowing that danger is just around the corner,” Bermejo said. “It’s better to be safe and ready.”

He also assured night market goers of the safety in and around the area, with police and patrol cars roaming around the place.

“I hope that they don’t stop going to [the] night market. They should not worry because our security forces are ensuring the safety of the place.”

Groups remember victims of Duterte’s war on drugs

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OLORES, Quezon—Pro-life and pro-democracy groups on Wednesday remembered victims of the government’s war on drugs at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows here.

The Kapatiran at Alyansang Alay sa Kaunlaran ng Bayan (Kaakbay)-Quezon and ProDem-Quezon sponsored a Eucharistic celebration to pray, “especially the innocent victims considered as ‘collateral damage’ of the Duterte

administration’s war on drugs.” That is according to Kaakbay’s Jay Lim. It is timely that we pray for justice and against the deceitful Duterte administration, according to Kaakbay Spokesman and Catholic priest Fr. Warren Puno. Puno added the government’s two-year war against illegal drugs is also a war against life and democracy.

Puno added that in the violent campaign against illegal drugs, only the

poor get killed in the process while the rich and influential who are the real culprits are free and unscathed and not held responsible by the law.

The groups asked Catholic faithfuls all over the country to pray for truth and justice to all those who were slain by the bloody antidrug operations of the government in the whole country.

The groups, quoting a report from the Philippine Drug Enforcement

Agency, claim that in August alone, drug suspects who were killed during anti-illegal drug operations by the police have reached 444, or an equivalent of 14 slain daily.

Our life and souls are of no value if there’s no genuine freedom and democracy, said Lim, adding that more or less 24,000 persons have already died from the government’s anti-illegal drug operations conducted by the police nationwide. John Bello

Batangas provincial govt earmarks over ₧260M for school projects

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ATANGAS CITY—The Batangas provincial government has earmarked more than P260 million for school-building projects in several towns across the province through the Provincial School Board (PSB), according to Batangas Public Information

Office chief Jenelyn A. Aquilera.

Aquilera said on Saturday PSB Secretariat Head Evelyn Estigoy disclosed that the fund covers around 31 school buildings that are now under construction after a public bidding in August.

Estigoy was quoted as saying the

school infrastructure fund covers some 18 new school buildings, 10 open classrooms and two day-care centers.

The fund is also for the renovation and improvement of the Batangas High School for Culture and Arts (BHSCA).

The BHSCA, located in Barangay

Bolbok, this city and the Batangas Province Science High School in Calaca town, are secondary schools offering special curriculums. The BHSCA offers creative arts like theatrical arts, music and dance, while the BPSHS specializes on the science curriculum. PNA

A10 Friday, November 2, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

The peso-renminbi exchange system

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Bank of China are set to formally ratify the establishment of a system that will allow local banks to directly exchange renminbi (RMB) to peso and vice versa. One rational for this agreement is that this will allow for a “better” exchange rate of the two currencies. As such, it will make transacting business between the two economies easier and less complicated. This is a positive.

Unfortunately, there is much misinformation and ignorance about this move because people do not understand how currencies and currency exchange rates function.

No, this does not mean that the Chinese are going to more easily take over the Philippine economy, contrary to what those with Sino-phobia would like you to believe. For those that have “American-phobia,” this is not another nail in the coffin of the US dollar.

In order to buy your fix of Chicken Joy in Houston, Texas, you must first “buy” US dollars with your Philippine pesos because in the US, the peso is not a medium of exchange. Likewise, an American tourist experiencing withdrawal symptoms from not having a Big Mac for several days must “buy” Philippine peso as the US dollar is not a medium of exchange in the Philippines. That is simple enough.

The US dollar—since 1971—is the world’s “reserve currency,” meaning that all currencies are ultimately valued by its exchange rate to the dollar and not gold as before. Almost all currencies are “fully convertible,” meaning that you can exchange Philippine peso for the local currency. However, at the moneychanger in the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria, the dollar exchange rate of the Nigerian naira and the peso-dollar rate will determine the naira-peso rate. The US dollar ultimately determines the “value” of all currencies.

You can run from the US dollar but you cannot hide.

To make exchange rates less complicated, countries are making bilateral agreements to settle trade in local currencies rather than first pass through the dollar. Trade contracts can be written in local currencies rather than in US dollars, and that makes sense. For example, China buys soybeans from Brazil at a price in either RMB or Brazilian reals. Brazil buys cell phones from China and pays either in RMB or reals. There may be enough trade to provide both countries with enough currency from the other to eliminate using the dollar at all.

For the first six months of 2018, the Philippines sold $4.09 billion worth of goods to China and bought $9.99 billion, resulting to a $5.90-billion trade deficit. Under the new system of settling this bilateral trade in local currency, the Philippines could buy its goods using pesos and China could buy Philippine goods also using pesos. At the end of the year—using 2018 as the example, China would be holding $5.90 billion worth of pesos, which they could use to buy Philippine goods.

Initially, the RMB-peso will still be pegged to each currency’s exchange rate to the dollar. But in the long term, with a huge increase in trade, investment and tourism receipts between the two countries—theoretically—a RMB-peso exchange rate could be completely independent of the US dollar rates. This is what is beginning to happen between China and Russia, and it is beneficial to both economies.

Nonetheless, the current amount of bilateral trade settled in local currencies is a drop in the ocean. The US dollar dominates as the payment currency for global trade with an 80-percent share of inter-regional currency usage.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business ✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder Publisher Editor in Chief Associate Editor News Editor Senior Editors

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

SPOX

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UST the other day, a friend of mine told me that she had her purse picked while she was talking to a drugstore clerk. I immediately remembered an incident that happened about four years ago, when my mom almost suffered the same fate. I dug around for the account that I wrote of that incident and thought— it’s not voter education, but it would be still be worth sharing.

I recently went with my mom to a drugstore. There wasn’t anyone else when we arrived, so I fiddled with my phone a bit, while my mother tried to get the clerk’s attention. It couldn’t have been more than a couple minutes when I look up from my phone and see that, all of a sudden, there were two other people at the same counter. A middle-aged man standing by my mother’s right elbow, appearing to be waiting to be attended to, and a younger man, crowding my mother on the left, very loudly monopolizing the attention of the two clerks already on the other side of the counter.

To be honest, this irritated me. I don’t like people muscling in ahead of anyone in queue, and since I knew my mother got to that counter ahead of anyone (there wasn’t anyone else when we got there, remember?) I felt that at least one of the two clerks

should have been—by that time— wrapping up whatever transactions they had with my mom. As it was, however, both clerks were focusing entirely on the young man, and my mother herself seemed enthralled by the whole conversation they were having. It seemed that the man had earlier bought something, which he was trying to return. For some reason, however, the clerks weren’t having any of it and their reluctance was clearly upsetting the “customer.”

It was all very interesting, I assure you. But then, I noticed that there was a third man, standing behind my mom, not appearing to do anything, but clearly rooted to the spot.

Now, understand that this pharmacy was in the middle of a small mall, so seeing someone not doing anything but standing at the same spot for an extended period of time—well, that seemed weird to me. It didn’t help

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

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that this third man kept looking around and throwing furtive glances at me and the guy on my mom’s right.

Still unsure of what I was seeing and not wanting to stand at the counter to make a suddenly crowded situation become even more crowded, I stood about a meter and a half behind my mom, and started watching her bag, which was on the counter by her right hand. As they say, with a bit of distance from the situation, you tend to get a better perspective. It was then that I realized, while the guy on the left of her kept on talking up a storm with the clerks, the man on her right was slowly getting uncomfortably close to the bag which, from where I stood, I could see was unzipped. At that, I started to move forward, intending to close up the bag.

I guess the third man noticed my move forward, because I saw him catch the eye of the guy on my mom’s right, sharply jerk his head off to the side, and start walking away.

The guy who saw the signal coughed loudly and immediately moved off.

Certain now that these people had shady intentions, I briskly walked up to my mom and in a deliberately irritated tone, asked the clerk what was taking so long. The talker on my mom’s left was startled out of his spiel and looked at me with a sort of deer caught in the headlights look.

He immediately folded up the paper bag that contained his “purchase,” mumbled something like “di bale na,” and turned his back on the counter

S&T innovation for growth Sonny M. Angara

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

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Loud talkers

BETTER DAYS

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HERE are probably no other topics more crucial to our long-term growth that do not get enough mainstream attention than S&T innovation and R&D. Almost everything in 21st-century life—from the food we eat to the smartphones in our pockets to the type of jobs our people will have in the future— is practically underpinned by S&T.

However, in the Philippines, we’ve been slow to catch up in this regard.

Among the Asean-5 (or the founding fathers of the regional bloc), which include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines, we consistently register the least public R&D spending as a percentage of GDP. Our 2018 Global Innovation Index ranking reflects this laggard performance. We placed 73rd out of 126 surveyed economies—unchanged from last year’s showing. Such ranking places us 9th among 30 “lower-middleincome” countries and 13th among 15 Southeast Asia and Oceania countries.

In short, we’re “below average” when it comes to innovation.

This isn’t to say that we aren’t able to train competent scientists and researchers who can produce truly groundbreaking research. One major finding from a 2011 study we conducted as chairman of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education was that even with meager government support, the quality of education and research in some of our universities is indeed world-class—or at least regionally competitive.

Of course, another major finding of that study was that more resources could definitely be funneled toward

higher education and, in turn, to R&D. Thankfully, huge steps are now being taken to address this. Where the 2015 allocation for the Commission on Higher Education was only P7.036 billion, the CHED’s proposed 2019 budget is worth P50.44 billion—on top of the P65.2 billion that will hopefully be downloaded to the country’s 112 state universities and colleges.

But making the country more conducive to S&T innovation and R&D is not just a question of budgets. It is also a matter of how we spend such funds—referring to the quality of research our institutions conduct.

It’s important that our R&D results in practical benefits and contributes to extension work for the direct communities of the researchers.

According to a 2005 joint study by the Asian Development Bank and World Bank, only one out of 716 Filipino firms surveyed said that the country’s universities (as well as public research institutions) were “the most important source of new technology.”

It appears that our education and research institutions play a very small role in big business decisions made in the country.

This is a far cry from what’s happening in high-technology countries like Japan, South Korea, China, the United States (particularly in the

and a couple of flustered clerks.

I might have just been paranoid, but the way those three men melted away when they realized my mom wasn’t alone, convinces me that she was in the middle of this three-cornered formation intended to relieve her of purse or, at least her wallet.

We were lucky. Despite how easily recognizable that pattern was, I almost missed it because I was too busy with my phone. Lessons learned, right?

Be aware of your surroundings when in a public place and be wary of anyone getting too close. We Metro Manilans tend to be really cavalier about having people getting all up in our personal space. Maybe we’re used to it, or maybe we just don’t want to make a fuss, but this is a blind spot for most of us. A good rule of thumb is to simply step away when people start getting too close.

Beware of loud talkers and flamboyant people engaging in dramatics.

Anything that catches your attention diminishes your awareness of other things happening around you.

When people start acting up close to you—engaging clerks or other people in a way that makes you look—look away and look to your things. Most important, be very wary when there’s a sudden increase in people around you. This is especially true when the newcomers are just milling around.

The increase might well be coincidental, but it always pays to be more aware that you are essentially being outnumbered.

Research Triangle of North Carolina, or in Silicon Valley of Northern California) and Germany. One can clearly outline how the knowledge products of universities and research institutions go into the bridges being built, the new start-ups being rolled out, or the new products and services being offered in these economies.

The clearest example of the potential gains from such academe-industry linkages is none other than tech giant Google. Some of the research that led to Google’s groundbreaking algorithms actually came from grants funded by the US Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. The beginnings of the Internet itself came from the research work funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the 1970s.

The Philippines may be registering among the fastest growth rates in the world today, but it is imperative that more work is done to sustain this momentum. Boosting our capabilities for S&T innovation should be one priority area where we should direct our efforts and attention.

Sen. Sonny M. Angara was elected in 2013, and is now the chairman of the Senate Committees on Local Government, and Ways and Means.

E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com|Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara.

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Saudi prince starts to pay political price for Khashoggi murder

Remembering ourselves, the living, on the Day of the Dead Tito Genova Valiente

ANNOTATIONS

By Donna Abu-Nasr & Alaa Shahine Bloomberg Opinion

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HE fallout from the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi is mounting for the kingdom’s young leader abroad, if not so far at home.

After some of the investors who courted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stayed away from his glitzy gathering in Riyadh last week, the US is now signaling its position on the man feted by President Donald J. Trump is shifting.

Two top officials in Washington demanded an end to the Saudi-led war in Yemen and the start of talks in November, deploying language they’ve rarely before used publicly. Three people with knowledge of the matter, including a US official, said the Trump administration is also pressuring the kingdom to resolve the crisis with Qatar.

One Arab diplomat said Prince Mohammed is beginning to look “dangerous” for western leaders who are now rethinking doing business with a 33-year-old ruler whose loose-cannon foreign policy has surprised allies and enemies alike.

Even his supporters say privately there will now have to be a period of change as Saudi Arabia tries to rebuild the confidence of allies burned by the kind of unpredictability that had been alien to its foreign policy. And, as one senior Arab official put it, the only pressure that counts is American pressure.

Mohammed bin Salman was embraced as a reformer after he emerged as the kingdom’s de facto ruler a couple of years ago. The death of Khashoggi, an insider-turned-columnist critical of the crown prince, has put the brake on that meteoric rise.

The prince remains secure at home, not least because many potential rivals have been pushed aside after he stamped his authority in the kingdom.

But the picture now is of a diminished figure with a debt to pay on the world stage.

In Yemen the kingdom and its allies have been unsuccessfully trying to force the pro-Iran Shiite rebels they’re fighting to the negotiating table through a bombing campaign that started in 2015. The Saudi-led coalition initially included Qatar, a country that the kingdom and three other nations sought to isolate two years later, accusing its leaders of supporting terrorists. Last week Prince Mohammed shifted his tone by praising Qatar’s resilient economy. Saudi officials weren’t available for comment.

“Khashoggi’s murder has given the US greater leverage over Saudi Arabia,” said Kamran Bokhari, senior lecturer on Middle Eastern geopolitics at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute. “Therefore they are now more receptive than ever before to outside influence over their policies. To what extent the Trump administration will use this opportunity to shape behavioral change remains to be seen.”

Prince Mohammed has denied any involvement in the killing of Khashoggi, calling it a “heinous crime that cannot be justified” at the investment conference in Riyadh. Turkish prosecutors said on Wednesday the Washington Post columnist was strangled soon after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and his body was dismembered in a premeditated hit.

Senior US lawmakers previously supportive of the Saudis accused the prince of masterminding the murder and his government’s shifting narrative regarding what happened. A group of Republican senators is now urging a halt to negotiations on selling US nuclear power equipment to Saudi Arabia in response to the killing.

Away from the choreography of blame, the immutable fact is that the murder was on the crown prince’s watch—and with every blunder comes consequences. Conversations with Saudis, diplomats and people with connections to the royal family show how much capital he has lost since Khashoggi disappeared on October 2 as he sought documents for his marriage to a Turkish woman.

There have been murmurings within the House of Saud that Prince Mohammed needs to have his wings clipped, but he maintains control of the key levers of Saudi rule.

Abroad, though, there will be a step back from the aggressive foreign policy that saw the kingdom in disputes with countries like Qatar, Canada, Germany, according to a person close to the government, who declined to be identified by name when speaking about sensitive issues. It’s a chance for the prince to revamp his inner circle and bring in people who better understand foreign affairs, the person said.

While asserting himself on the world stage, Prince Mohammed has also undertaken the biggest overhaul of the Saudi economy in its modern history. His pet project, called “Vision 2030,” is underpinned by foreign investment as he reduces the kingdom’s dependency on oil.

The international outcry over Khashoggi makes that Herculean challenge more difficult, thus potentially weakening him at home, said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.

“After the Khashoggi case, the task of selling Vision 2030 has become even harder,” Soltvedt said. For investors, the balance between risks and rewards has shifted, he said. “In other words, the risk of reputational damage and negative PR now weighs more heavily.”

As a result, his father, King Salman, is taking a more active role, according to two people close to the royal family.

Little is known about the extent of the king’s role in running the kingdom’s day-to-day affairs. In addition to being defense minister, Prince Mohammed is the chairman of the country’s sovereign wealth fund and heads councils in charge of economic and security policies. He also chairs a government committee for hydrocarbons. But the king acted to remove a top adviser to Prince Mohammed while prosecutors detained 18 people involved in the Khashoggi case. The monarch also called President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, another country that may use the murder as leverage over the Saudis, and European leaders to try to defuse the crisis. He dispatched one of his own advisers to Turkey.

The king’s full brother, Prince Ahmed, who stirred controversy in September with remarks in London about potential discord in the royal family, returned to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday from the UK. The buzz in Riyadh is that he may take one of the crown prince’s portfolios or be appointed in a senior position to try to curtail his influence.

A common reaction in Riyadh is how “stupid” it was to kill a mild critic and how amateurish the whole operation was with Saudi agents flying in on planes with Saudi markings and official passports.

All the efforts Saudi Arabia made to clean up its image after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US—15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi—have gone down the drain, said one Saudi. “This has reinforced every single negative stereotype the world has about Saudi Arabia,” the person said.

For the US, the ally that has traditionally mattered the most for the kingdom, the scandal has turned it into an ally Washington should be wary of, according to Susan Rice, who was the national security adviser during President Barack Obama’s second term.

“As this litany of lunacy shows, Prince Mohammed is not and can no longer be viewed as a reliable or rational partner of the United States and our allies,” Rice wrote in the New York Times on October 29. Whether he’s punished or not, the relationship is broken, she said. “Either way, the Trump administration must assume that Prince Mohammed will continue to drive his country and our bilateral relationship over the proverbial cliff.”

Friday, November 2, 2018 A11

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HE grandniece at home is out on the porch. Her “Nana”— the name she has given to calling her grandmother—has allowed her to cut the ferns and the grasses that would go with the flowers.

It is November. The air is balmy, or I like to think it is. The world is perfect, in other words. The flowers have been readied by the soil for this day. Forget the pricing in the cities or ignore how the lowly and regular daisies have become precious commodities. Today and tomorrow will be the day for flowers. As for the candles, they are all over the place —twisted and tortured to assume curls and curves; colored in purple and pink for those who find “white” ordinary; red for the many who think of auspicious days as time for wealth accumulation.

On Wednesday, while I was being driven around the city by a cousin, on our way to picking up flower arrangements created by a lawyer-friend, we saw on the dark streets men and women masked as ghouls and ghosts.

Children of those parents with surpluses are dressed as monsters or masters of the universe. Mothers who may not have experienced Halloween (the tradition is a recent import) in their youth have ingrained in the minds of their daughters that on the last day of October and the first day of November, they can be beautiful princesses.

The informal settlers near our home in the subdivision has a way of dealing with holidays. Whether it is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, National Heroes Day, or All Souls’ Day, any hint of a holiday seems to push them to bring out—or rent—a karaoke machine.

While I write this column and trying very hard to put myself in the presence of death and life and immortality, the old voice of that old woman who, I believe, has incurred the regrets of the century, is filling the air. As usual, she laments and wails: O, tukso, layuan mo ako (O, temptation, stay away from me).

The line, however, cannot be easily translated but I can understand her. She is the laundrywoman who has fallen in love, fell with a thud out of love nd fallen in love again.

Her song, however enervating, is the only sincere and real sound this side of the anxious Earth.

All of us are not certain about our sorrow on the Day of the Dead. It does not matter what the Church teaches.

It has been learned since long ago that this institutional Church does not influence anymore the many crucial decisions of its followers or faithful. If it does, we would have a more spiritual attitude to death and the life after death, or life after life.

If we believe in this Church or any gathering under the Christian denomination, then we would not be dressing our children in horrifying costumes. If we do believe in the spirit and the release that our bodies go through when its physicality dies, then we would not be decorating our offices with bats. Ghouls not benign gods rule the festivities for the dead.

Our notion of death and, for that matter, our thoughts about those who had gone ahead are thoughts about the terror of not being alive.

I do not think we are ever assured how beautiful death is for as long as we find allure in cobwebs and condemned souls graciously gilding our walls and doors.

Perhaps, as a hint of the more rabid and frantic preparations we will put ourselves into when the birth and not the death of a Savior is remembered in the month of December, these first two days of November are symbols of our search for assurance.

Out there in those graves and tombs are the residues of those who lived with us. We sang with them once; we cried with them all the time. They knew our good deeds; they had listened to the poems we wrote about them and this world. We wondered with them the mysteries of Life when they were alive. They are now in cemeteries and memorial parks—destinations that are not and will never be natural to the quotidian, while we are in our homes, in the world of the alive.

Each day as we live, we skip thinking about these places. We only remember and visit these places, we gaze at tombs and epitaphs when they who, we assume, have their birthdays or death anniversaries.

And, on the designated days for the world to think about the dead, we

become one with the crowd, with the flood of people rushing to submerge these quiet places with our foods, noise and presences.

Strange, how we conjure the significance of the birthdays of those who have ceased their living.

Strange and sad how we memorialize the death anniversaries of those who would never really care about their passing.

But we care, we want to remember, we do not want to forget.

We bring these flowers to the grave and we light the candles for the beloved. And yet, the flowers and the candles are really for us. We pray about those who we cannot see anymore and that prayer is for us, that they may not forget us, that they may see us wherever they are.

Most of us would be looking down at the grave and musing over how badly painted the names of our loved ones when we should be really looking up, counting the stars innumerable as, each day, each month, each year, more loved ones join the clouds and the distances.

Out there in the porch, Leona, my grandniece, is finishing her flower arrangement. I could hear her grandmother telling her how she would, how she should continue to make those flowers. And they would be for us.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

Wake up, UK! You need EU workers post-Brexit

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By Therese Raphael | Bloomberg Opinion

T’S been an unsettling couple of years for an estimated over 3.5 million European Union nationals who live and work in the United Kingdom. They’ve been victims of attacks, pawns in the Brexit negotiations and, more recently, an afterthought as an army of civil servants and consultants map out contingency plans for various Brexit scenarios.

None of that augurs well for the UK’s aspiration to remain an open, global trading power. A country that won’t welcome the citizens of its closest friends, allies and trading partners will make other countries wary. Whether the EU and UK conclude the terms of Britain’s exit in the coming weeks, more needs to be done to ensure that residency issues don’t undermine UK-European relations.

Violence against EU nationals is a relative rarity, but it did spike in 2016 following the Brexit vote in June; incidents such as a student being stabbed in the neck for speaking Polish underscored the way Europeans had been demonized during the referendum campaign. There have been similar attacks since, and the police say they expect a spike in hate crimes against EU citizens in March when Britain officially leaves.

The government condemns violence, of course, but it has done too little to push back against the canard that EU workers are taking UK jobs or represent some other kind of threat. This week brought another

reminder of how anti-Europe sentiment threatens to undermine the post-Brexit UK economy.

In testimony before a parliamentary select committee on Tuesday, immigration minister Caroline Nokes said that businesses will have to conduct checks to ensure that the EU nationals they employ are entitled to work in the UK after Brexit. Only she couldn’t say how they’ll be able to do that, acknowledging only that “it will be incredibly difficult.”

This is a problem for both employers and the European nationals on their payrolls. After Brexit, EU citizens will have to prove their identity, show that they live in the UK and have had no serious criminal convictions. They will have until March 2021 to apply for what’s called settled status, and the government promised to make the process easy.

But it’s still being tested and hasn’t been fully introduced; so far only 650 of an estimated 3.5 million employed foreigners have applied. The system only works on Android devices since an agreement hasn’t been reached

with Apple.

Yvette Cooper, the Labor MP who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, sounded exasperated. “Either you’re going to have a system that in practice is unworkable because employers can’t implement it, or you’re going to have to accept that people who are arriving after March 2019 will just be covered by exactly the same rules as people who are already here,” she said.

Presumably, Nokes rushed back to her office to do some further homework. It couldn’t come too soon; even if there is a divorce agreement, Brexit is still five months away and the lack of clarity about what employers will be expected to do will affect hiring and retention plans. There are many other questions affecting this population that require answers, too.

Neglecting EU nationals also risks opening up a self-inflicted wound.

The average European migrant tends to arrive at a young, working age and has a higher level of education than the average UK native. In at least 18 industries, Europeans represent more than 20 percent of the work force. They are indispensable to hospitality and catering businesses, and are also a major presence in the National Health Service and in technology, education and finance. A survey

by Oxford Economics found that European workers bring more revenue to the treasury than British-born residents and, over their lifetimes,

pay £78,000 ($99,582) more in taxes than they receive in services and benefits. Like many statistics, these are easily ignored.

The Conservative government of Prime Minister Theresa May should be extolling the virtues of these workers and the enriching effect of their food, culture and industriousness. Instead, it has embraced a misguided policy involving crackdowns on low-skilled workers and treating EU workers no better than other nationalities, which fails to recognize the historical ties or the current economic reality of the relationship.

With or without a Brexit deal, uncertainty is going to be a fact of life long after March 29. There will, for example, be a long period in which the details of the future trading relationship are negotiated, even if a divorce deal is concluded shortly.

And after Brexit day, companies all over the UK will still employ a great number of EU nationals.

May told business leaders on Wednesday night that Britain’s future success was in their hands. At the very least, then, the government should be making clear what it expects and making compliance reasonable.

But really, its approach should be more ambitious. The first thing May should do when a Brexit deal is reached is to roll out a welcome carpet for the 3.5 million.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Friday, November 2, 2018

Diwata-2 makes first contact with receiving station in PHL

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NITIAL contact was successfully established between Diwata-2 and the Ground Receiving Station at the Department of Science and TechnologyAdvanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-Asti) in Quezon City on October 29 at 13:52 GMT (9:52 p.m., Philippine time), the Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite Program (PHL-Microsat) GRS team announced on Thursday.

Diwata-2 was launched at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan via H-IIA F40 rocket at noon on October 29.

PHL-Microsat GRS team said short telemetry data was received from the satellite. Diwata-2 was initially tracked using prelaunch orbital parameters.

As of 12:40 p.m. on October 31, the GRS could read the satellite’s status, including vital signs—such as fully charged batteries, normal power consumption and good communication link.

The PHL-Microsat GRS said: “Commands were successfully sent [to Diwata-2] and, initial check procedures will continue throughout the first week from launch. Initial image captures from the cameras can be expected in the coming days.

Diwata-2 is one of the small satellites launched piggybacked through H-IIA F40 rocket with the main payloads Ibuki-2, also known as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (Jaxa) Second Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite, and KhalifaSat, a remote sensing Earth observation satellite developed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in the United Arab Emirates.

T he ot her sma l l satel l ites are the Japanese-made Tenkou, Proiteres-2, Stars-AO and AUTcube-2.

Diwata-2 was inserted into the Sun-Synchronous Orbit at an alti-

tude of 621 kilometers, 43 minutes and 20 seconds after rocket liftoff.

The PHL-Microsat team, program collaborators and stakeholders celebrated in two major simultaneous launches of Diwata-2: one at the Tanegashima Space Center together with the Japanese partners, and one at the GT Toyota Auditorium in Quezon City with the public.

Pocket viewing sessions were also held at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Western Visayas office in Iloilo, Bicol State University, Cebu Technological State University and Caraga State University.

Japanese professors Dr. Ishida from Hokkaido University and Dr. Sakamoto from Tohoku University, and Filipino scholars Gerwin Guba, Leur Labrador, Julie Banatao, Leonard Paet and Paolo Violan, who were part of the team who built the Diwata-2 in Tohoku University, were also tuned in.

In Japan the Philippine representatives were led by Science Secretar y Fortunato T. de la Peña, Philippine Deputy Chief of Mission to Japan Eduardo M.R. Meñez, University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan, DOST-Asti Acting Director Dr. Joel Marciano Jr., Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” A. Aquino IV’s representative John Razil Paramio, DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research

MEMBERS of the Ground Receiving Station team react when an initial contact was established with Diwata-2 on October 29 at 13:52 GMT (9:52 p.m., Philippine time). PHL-MICROSAT GRS

Development Human Resources and Institutional Development Division Chief Engr. Ermie Bacarra, DOST-PCIEERD Emerging Technolog y Development Division Chief Edna Nacianceno, PHL-Microsat Data Processing, Archiving and Distribution Project Leader Engr. Mark Edwin Tupas, and media representative Lyn Resurreccion.

In Quezon C it y t he event was opened with remarks from PHL-Microsat Remote Sensing Product Development Project Leader Dr. Gay Jane Perez and from Science Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena L. Guevara.

PHL-Microsat Program Leader Dr. Marc Talampas gave an overview of the event and shared some of the milestones made while developing the microsatellite.

PHL-Microsat team members Engr. Ariston Gonzalez, Kaye Vergel a nd Delbu rg Mitc h ao guided the crowd through the actual launch.

Embassy of Japan Minister Atsushi Kuwabara, Policy Officer from Office of Sen. Bam Aquino, Jose Fernando Escalante and UP Diliman Vice Chancellor for Research and Development Dr. Fidel Nemenzo gave congratulatory messages to the team and the audience, which was composed of students from select science high

schools, media and various spectators who signed up to join the public viewing.

Diwata-2 is the Philippines’s second Ear th-obser v ing microsatellite developed and built under the PHL-Microsat Program, which is funded by the DOST, monitored by the DOSTPCIEER D, and done t hrough collaboration between the UP Diliman, the DOST-Asti, Hokkaido University, and Tohoku University. The program also conducted research studies on radiationtolerances of the locally built components at the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute.

The Diwata-2 Flight Model was completed on August 29 and handed over to the Jaxa the following day.

More than building and launching satellites, the Philippines is also committed to starting a healthy and sustainable local ecosystem for space technology.

The PHL-Microsat Program is succeeded by the Sustained Support for Local Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (Stamina4Space) Program, which aims to build a local industrial base and enhance local space science and engineering expertise, which will ultimately prepare the country in the establishment of the Philippine Space Agency. Lyn Resurreccion

Grave ‘branding’: Unique way of honoring the dead

MEMBERS of the Relleve family of Oas town in Albay remember their departed father by painting his tomb with his favorite brands: Adidas for 2013, Ferrari for 2014, Starbucks for 2015, Johnnie Walker for 2016 and Lacoste for 2017. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGEL ROA RELLEVE

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EGAZPI CITY—Most Filipinos, particularly Catholics, remember departed loved ones on All Saints’ or All Souls’ Day by cleaning their graves, painting it white, placing fresh flowers on top, then lighting candles for an overnight vigil. Sometimes, singing the departed’s favorite songs is part of the ritual.

But a family in Albay honors their dead in quite a unique way —by painting the tomb of their father with his favorite brands and colors while he was still alive. They call their own tradition “grave branding.”

Angel Roa Relleve, a nurse working in Metro Manila, told the Philippine News Agency that she recently dreamed of her father who died seven years ago. Reading it as a sign, she filed a leave of absence from her work and went to her hometown of Oas in Albay province to visit his grave.

Angel narrated that every year, just before Undas, she and her family would hire a painter who could draw and paint their father’s tomb with his favorite brands of apparel, liquor and even coffee shop. She said this has been their family tradition for six years now.

She said her father, Jose Reodique Relleve, who died in 2011, was a government employee. “We remember him as jolly, a joker, loving though disciplinarian,” she recalled.

Angel said that in 2011, her father’s grave was decorated with black, white and red stripes; in 2012, with Egyptian-inspired colors of white silver and gold, combined with stars and moon figures.

She said after 2012, they had the tomb drawn with different popular brands. “Adidas for 2013, Ferrari for 2014, Starbucks for 2015, Black Label Johnnie Walker

for 2016 and Lacoste for 2017,” Angel narrated.

She said for this year, they would have the tomb designed with the famous perfume brand “Bulgari.”

Angel admitted that their grave branding has been drawing attention, as well as laughter from other people visiting the graves of their loved ones inside their town cemetery.

“We don’t mind. What we want is a unique way of remembering our departed father. We found it most fitting to his character while he was still with us,” Angel said. PNA

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AFP, PNP in clearing ops post-Rosita; 20 still trapped in mud

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HE Philippine National Police (PNP) and the military are continuing clearing operations in areas affected by Typhoon Rosita in Northern Luzon even as the search and rescue continues for the more than 20 people still trapped inside three buildings of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Mountain Province.

The chief of the Armed Forces (AFP) Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Salamat, is personally leading the clearing operations for the military, as well as the continuing rapid damage assessments and needs analysis in provinces pummeled by Rosita.

Elements of the Army’s 54th Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Narciso Nabulneg have already cleared the roads and highway from Tabuk, Kalinga, up to Paracelis in Mountain Province.

The same team is also doing clearing operations from Paracelis up to Natonin in Mount Province, where the three buildings of the Mount Province Second District Engineering Office were buried by a landslide.

Nolcom Spokesman Maj. Ericson Bulusan said six search, retrieval and rescue (SRR) teams from the 525th Engineer Combat Battalion have been dispatched to the landslide site.

The soldiers will augment the two squads of the Cafgu’s Salloc Patrol Base and other rescuers from the military and other government agencies in the ongoing search and rescue in Sitio Sakrang, Barangay Banawel, Natonin.

Bulusan said other teams un-

der the Nolcom were into clearing operations in other affected provinces—Isabela, Cagayan, Quirino, Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya.

The operations are simultaneous with the humanitarian assistance and disaster-response activities in the affected provinces.

“The Nolcom sympathizes with all the families who have lost a loved one due to the lashing of Typhoon Rosita and will continue to sustain its utmost effort in conducting Hadro [Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response Operations] and SRR operations, as well as providing assistance for the fast recovery of victims of Typhoon Rosita,” Bulusan said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council listed 15 dead, six missing and three injured from the Typhoon as of Thursday, although it added that the report will still be subjected to verification.

A consolidated partial report received by Camp Crame from its various police regional offices in the Cordillera, Regions 2, 3 and 4A, however, reflected 56 casualties.

Of this figure, 17 died (one in Region 2, one in Central Luzon, two in Region 4A and 13 in Cordillera).

The report also indicated that at least 5,155 houses and government projects were destroyed, while 30 areas in Region 2 remained flooded.

At least 27 roads in Regions 1 and 2 and in Cordillera were still inaccessible to traffic.

T he consolid ated police report also said that 98 areas in Regions 1 and 2 were still without electricity. Rene Acosta

2 Cabinet men back bid to tap ex-soldiers for BOC

T

WO members of the Duterte Cabinet have defended the President’s verbal order to place the Bureau of Customs (BOC) under military control amid a spate of drug-smuggling and corruption scandals.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said there is nothing wrong with the President’s move, since he will just be tapping exmilitary men, which is allowed under the 1987 Constitution. The Charter only bars active-duty officers from employment in any government agency.

“Senior military officials retire as early as 56 years. It is understood that retired military officials if appointed by the President serve at the pleasure of the President, but is coterminous with the term of the appointing authority,” Diokno said.

He also pointed out that this move of the President was not unprecedented, as he recalled that the former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. has also did it before with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Although there is still uncertainty now with the status of BOC employees as the President previously placed them under “floating status,” Diokno gave assurances that there will be no pay cut for them in the event that they get transferred to another department.

“It is understood that in the event of personnel transfer, no one will suffer a cut in pay. That’s the rule in government. Presidential appointees serve at the pleasure of the President, except the career officials [Ceso]. In the case of the latter, they may be assigned in a pool of Cesos. The power to fire goes with the power to hire,” Diokno said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., in his

Twitter account, reacted to fears that putting soldiers at Customs may eventually get them corrupted, as well.

“Yes, BOC can corrupt the military; there is that distinct risk; but we cannot keep sweeping a dirty room with a dirty broom; still it’s a real concern but it can show that there can be a viable better alternative to civilian corruption.”

Duterte’s expressed wish to have the Armed Forces take over Customs—following the second major crystal-meth smuggling that breezed through Customs—has drawn flak. Last week he appointed Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) Administrator Rey Leonardo Guerrero to the BOC, in place of Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña, a retired police officer who used to head the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. Guerrero was former chief of staff of the AFP before being named to Marina.

Lapeña was appointed to head the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

Critics decry the appointment of military men to sensitive government agencies, saying that eventually, they become corrupt officials, too.

In his tweet, former Rep. Erin Tañada said: “I wonder how many employees of the BOC were killed or have died for Malacañang to have declared ‘a state of lawlessness,’ & ‘a state of lawless violence’ in the BOC.” “Is the BOC paralyzed & not functioning? It is unconstituitional! No militarization of BOC!” Locsin replied on Twitter: “Erin, Militarizing the BOC means ending 70 years of ordinary corruption of civilian monopoly of that bureau.

See “Cabinet,” A2

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies

BusinessMirror

Friday, November 2, 2018

B1

12 Filipino brands win at 2018 World Branding Awards

L

ONDON—The prestigious World Branding Awards, the ultimate global brand-recognition accolade, saw 270 brands from 33 countries named “Brand of the Year” in a glittering ceremony held at the State Apartments of Kensington Palace on October 31.

Beijing Tong Ren Tang, BMW, Cartier, Club Med, JinkoSolar, Johnnie Walker, Lego, L’Oréal, Louis Vuitton, Nescafé, Rolex,

Samsung, Schwarzkopf and Yakult were announced as global winners of this edition of the awards.

Regional w inners included

Ajinomoto, Uniqlo (Japan); Giordano, Optical 88, Sasa, Shangri–La (Hong Kong); Indomie (Indonesia); LuLu; RAK Ceramics (United Arab Emirates); MTN (South Africa); and Zara (Spain).

National tier winners from the Philippines were Ayala Land (Property Developer), BENCH (Fashion Brand), Condura (Electrical Appliances–Refrigerators), Globe (Telecommunications–Mobile), Jollibee (Quick Service Restaurants), Lucky Me! (Noodles), Meralco (Power/ Energy), National Book Store (Retailer–Bookstores), Petron (Petrol/ Gas Stations), San Miguel (Beer),

SM Cinemas (Entertainment– Cinemas), and Tanduay (Alcoholic Beverages–Spirits).

Winners are uniquely judged through three streams: brand valuation, consumer market research, and public online voting. Seventy percent of the scoring process comes from consumer votes. There can only be one winner in each category per country. “ The awards celebrates the achievements of some of the greatest brands around the globe.

With an average of just six winners per country, it is truly a great achievement to be a win-

ner of these awards,” said Richard Rowles, chairman of the World Branding Forum.

This year the awards were split into two award ceremonies, with brands from the Americas and the Caribbean awarded in a separate New York event earlier in July.

Over 230,000 consumers from around the world participated in the voting process.

“More than 4,500 brands from 57 countries were nominated this year, with 351 brands from 49 countries declared as winners—81 brands from 16 countries were awarded in New York; and 270 win-

ners from 33 countries awarded in London. Not every country was awarded, as a few did not receive enough votes to qualify,” said Peter Pek, chief executive of the Forum.

Now in its fifth year, the awards is organized by the World Branding Forum, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing branding standards. It organizes and sponsors a range of educational programs. The Forum also publishes branding news on its web site that reaches a global audience of over 23.69 million.

The event was hosted by David Croft from Sky Sports. AP

Metro Pacific may bid for MRT operations MGen seeks to hike RE output to over 1,000 MW if DOTr rejects its unsolicited proposal

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

M

ETRO Pacific Investments Corp. may consider joining the future bidding for the operations and maintenance of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, should the government move forward with its plan to reject the company’s unsolicited proposal and instead auction off some of its components to the private sector as solicited projects.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, who chairs the infrastructure conglomerate, said his group has yet to receive official communication from the office of Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade regarding its final decision on the unsolicited proposal of Metro Pacific.

Tugade was quoted by news reports as saying that his office intends to bid out the operations and maintenance component, including

the “issue of equity and loans” of the Edsa MRT Line.

While he noted that his group “did not reject” the unsolicited offer, he said the agency decided to “change” the process to “make it solicited.”

“There has been no official communication. So we just have to take his word for it, assuming the press statements attributed to him are correct,” Pangilinan replied, when sought for comment. “At the end of the day, they decide, right?”

On whether or not his group will participate in the open bidding for the MRT 3 projects, Pangilinan said his office will study first the terms of each deal.

“It depends pretty much on the terms, so we have to review,” he said.

Metro Pacific submitted a P30billion unsolicited proposal for the modernization and expansion of the train system in 2017. It in-

volves the augmentation of the capacity of the railway system to carry more cars at faster intervals, doubling its capacity to 700,000 passengers per day from 350,000 daily passengers.

The multimillion-dollar expansion was deemed as an allencompassing deal, including the improvement of the reliability of rolling stock, the upgrading of power supply, the upgrading of stations and the replacement of rails, which will allow the company to operate the new trains purchased by the government from Chinese train manufacturer Dalian.

The government awarded the original-proponent status to Metro Pacific last year.

Currently, the MRT 3 operates with 16 working trains daily, serving roughly 350,000 passengers per day. The government wants to increase this to 600,000 passengers daily.

T

HE power generation arm of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) wants to increase its planned renewable-energy (RE) portfolio to over 1,000 megawatts (MW)—mostly solar power—in the next two years to three years.

“We want to go into more RE investments and we’re looking at solar and wind, in particular. We are looking at 500 MW to 1,000 MW of solar in the next two to three years. In wind, we’re in discussion for a wind project with 150 MW of capacity,” said Rogelio Singson, president of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen).

The 150-MW wind-power project is already existing, Singson said, adding that MGen is looking at a “possible partnership” for that wind project that is not enrolled in the feedin-tariff program of the government and is located in Luzon. Singson said last May that MGen wants to put in as much as 600 MW of solar power in its portfolio in the next three to four years.

Early this week, Singson said MGen is focused on the development of a portfolio of utility scale solar-generation projects to supply the Luzon grid, and the customers of Meralco, with low-cost electricity.

“MGen believes solar generation will form an important part of the energy mix going forward, and will be a competitive source of generation without any requirement for subsidy,” he said.

In addition, MGen is developing its own portfolio of potential sites for large-scale solar projects.

“We hope to at least sign off our first project by the first quarter of next year,” Singson said.

He said these potential projects are “site specific,” as he explained there are challenges in undertaking solarpower projects.

“Most of the constraints are either limitations on transmission or limitations in terms of land availability and conversion,” he said.

Singson said MGen is still trying to figure out the best approach to its planned power projects.

“Are we going to wait for power

supply agreement approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission or are we going merchant? That’s what we’re facing right now. If merchant or hybrid, we might start with 50 MW because local banks are not used to not having PSA. So we’ve been in talks with lenders to somehow bring them in to get banks lending to either hybrid, which is merchant and contracted, and get them used to it without the PSA,” Singson said.

Last August, Singson said MGen was in talks with multilateral lending agencies, such as the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Finance Corp., for a possible partnership in building merchant power plants.

He said then that MGen is willing to put in 50 percent of the equity in building the power plant. The remaining, he said, can be shouldered by the multilateral lending agencies.

This move, he explained, is meant to “give confidence” to banks used to approving loans for power projects that already have long-term power purchase agreements to cover their output.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, November 2, 2018

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 31, 2018

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

ASIA UNITED 59 59.5 59 59.5 58.75 59.5 51360 3042857.5 BDO UNIBANK 122.1 122.4 122 123 120.3 122.4 3091460 378275249 BANK PH ISLANDS 81 82.15 79.8 82.15 79.8 82.15 1723280 140026294 CHINABANK 28 28.15 28.3 28.3 28 28 54700 1538035 CITYSTATE BANK 4.27 7 7.89 7.89 7 7 1800 13579 EAST WEST BANK 11.32 11.4 11.52 11.52 11.28 11.32 883900 10028326 METROBANK 65 65.55 64.55 65.55 64.15 65.55 4669860 301667010 PHIL NATL BANK 39.55 39.6 40.5 40.5 39.6 39.6 204700 8159200 PSBANK 73.05 77.95 78.25 78.25 73.05 77.95 100 7605 PHILTRUST 101.9 122.9 108.9 122.9 108.9 122.9 2860 338132 RCBC 28.5 29 29.4 29.4 28.5 29 8200 236785 SECURITY BANK 141 144.4 143.6 145.2 138.8 144.4 688820 97038111 UNION BANK 66 66.9 65.9 66.9 65.9 66.85 530 34951 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.34 1.39 1.34 1.4 1.34 1.34 71000 95600 BDO LEASING 2.33 2.44 2.45 2.45 2.45 2.45 15000 36750 COL FINANCIAL 15.28 15.68 15.7 15.7 15.7 15.7 500 7850 FERRONOUX HLDG 3.98 4 3.97 4 3.9 4 254000 1008740 IREMIT 1.52 1.57 1.5 1.53 1.5 1.53 124000 189600 MEDCO HLDG 0.435 0.475 0.475 0.48 0.475 0.48 270000 128350 MANULIFE 810 825 810 810 810 810 150 121500 PHIL STOCK EXCH 184 188.5 190 190 185 185 550 102990 SUN LIFE 1830 1889 1830 1830 1830 1830 5 9150

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.27 1.29 1.26 1.3 1.25 1.29 429000 536400 ABOITIZ POWER 32.9 33.7 32.6 33.7 32.3 33.7 3371800 111865770 BASIC ENERGY 0.212 0.218 0.21 0.22 0.21 0.219 90000 19180 ENERGY DEVT 6.75 6.87 6.88 6.88 6.87 6.87 36600 251692 FIRST GEN 15.6 15.62 15.8 15.8 15.58 15.62 628000 9813760 FIRST PHIL HLDG 63.7 64.05 63.65 64.1 63.65 63.7 99220 6349765 PHIL H2O 4.33 4.55 4.42 4.55 4.32 4.55 57000 250680 MERALCO 360.6 367.8 356 367.8 355 367.8 363350 132501312 MANILA WATER 25 25.4 25 25.45 24.85 25 1041700 26080365 PETRON 8.1 8.13 8.2 8.27 8.1 8.1 554900 4,516,714( PETROENERGY 4.05 4.14 4.06 4.15 4.05 4.05 53000 215280 PHINMA ENERGY 0.95 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.96 375000 360000 PHX PETROLEUM 10.8 11 11 11 11 11 16900 185900 PILIPINAS SHELL 48.55 49.5 48.5 49 48.5 48.55 154700 7543440 SPC POWER 5.19 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.19 5.2 75800 393908 AGRINURTURE 17.74 17.8 17.9 17.9 17.7 17.8 173800 3102244 CNTRL AZUCARERA 16.1 16.98 16.1 16.1 16.1 16.1 1800 28980 CENTURY FOOD 13.36 13.44 13.48 13.54 13.36 13.36 69200 930842 DEL MONTE 6.85 7 7 7 6.8 6.8 3100 21100 DNL INDUS 11 11.4 11 11.4 10.94 11.4 4446100 49838696 EMPERADOR 6.95 6.96 6.95 6.96 6.91 6.96 364500 2527112 SMC FOODANDBEV 84.95 85 85.45 85.45 84.95 85 413050 35119155 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.95 0.96 0.93 0.96 0.92 0.95 2475000 2349890 GINEBRA 24.3 24.9 24.5 25.5 24.5 25 3400 84350 JOLLIBEE 271.6 276 267.8 277 265.4 276 1466050 400244638 MAXS GROUP 10.74 10.76 11.14 11.42 10.76 10.76 267400 2893832 PEPSI COLA 1.63 1.65 1.7 1.7 1.65 1.65 345000 569800 SHAKEYS PIZZA 10.36 10.38 10.4 10.5 10.38 10.38 105700 1099494 ROXAS AND CO 2.19 2.24 2.19 2.27 2.17 2.19 143000 312020 RFM CORP 4.79 4.8 4.79 4.79 4.79 4.79 13000 62270 SWIFT FOODS 0.122 0.126 0.126 0.126 0.126 0.126 10000 1260 UNIV ROBINA 129.9 130 131 131 129 130 1228610 159660059 VITARICH 1.61 1.62 1.54 1.62 1.54 1.61 7322000 11638440 CONCRETE A 61.35 66.55 62.05 62.05 61.1 61.1 30 1852 CEMEX HLDG 2.11 2.12 2.09 2.12 2.07 2.12 2900000 6070560 DAVINCI CAPITAL 4.71 5.3 5.34 5.34 5.34 5.34 500 2670 EAGLE CEMENT 14.76 15.2 14.98 15.2 14.98 15.2 440800 6662694 EEI CORP 8.8 8.88 9 9 8.8 8.88 2031300 17877102 HOLCIM 6.16 6.44 6.44 6.44 6.44 6.44 5100 32844 MEGAWIDE 17.9 17.94 17.9 18.38 17.8 17.94 5675000 102,708,852( PHINMA 8.95 9.06 9.02 9.06 9.02 9.06 20000 180800 TKC METALS 0.95 0.99 0.94 1 0.94 0.99 352000 337550 CROWN ASIA 1.56 1.57 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.56 15000 23400 LMG CHEMICALS 4.81 4.85 4.81 4.81 4.81 4.81 68000 327080 CONCEPCION 37.8 38 38 38 38 38 100 3800 INTEGRATED MICR 10.72 10.76 11 11.3 10.7 10.76 2852700 30800250 IONICS 1.62 1.64 1.66 1.66 1.61 1.63 224000 362630 PANASONIC 5.95 6.15 6.15 6.15 6.15 6.15 5000 30750 SFA SEMICON 1.56 1.58 1.49 1.6 1.49 1.58 55000 84950 CIRTEK HLDG 38.75 39 37.35 39 37 39 661500 25394810

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.455 0.46 0.47 0.475 0.455 0.455 25630000 11878250 ASIABEST GROUP 25.05 25.35 25.45 26 25 25.35 24500 629105 AYALA CORP 918.5 920 900.5 945 899 920 461150 423446635 ABOITIZ EQUITY 46 47 45.95 47 44.1 47 2428900 111432560 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 11.32 11.36 11.54 11.56 11.34 11.36 6127200 69961516 ANSCOR 6.2 6.22 6.2 6.21 6.2 6.21 103900 644290 ATN HLDG A 1.25 1.27 1.25 1.31 1.24 1.25 17856000 22814070 ATN HLDG B 1.27 1.28 1.27 1.34 1.27 1.28 3185000 4113800 COSCO CAPITAL 6.77 6.9 6.97 6.98 6.77 6.77 1029100 7041290 DMCI HLDG 12.36 12.84 12 12.9 12 12.84 9680900 123059132 FILINVEST DEV 7.08 7.23 7.08 7.23 7.08 7.23 15800 113384 FORUM PACIFIC 0.19 0.22 0.224 0.224 0.224 0.224 10000 2240 GT CAPITAL 759 760 765 770 759.5 760 167960 127674960 HOUSE OF INV 5.82 6.01 5.83 5.83 5.83 5.83 3500 20405 JG SUMMIT 47.25 47.3 47.5 48.7 47.3 47.3 1707300 81427325 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 4.32 5.11 4.31 4.31 4.29 4.29 20000 85940 LODESTAR 0.5 0.53 0.54 0.54 0.5 0.53 41000 20610 LOPEZ HLDG 4.22 4.23 4.28 4.28 4.23 4.23 2757000 11,672,960( LT GROUP 14.24 14.5 14.6 14.6 14.2 14.5 844800 12240868 MABUHAY HLDG 0.53 0.54 0.55 0.56 0.52 0.54 1206000 641570 METRO PAC INV 4.78 4.8 4.8 4.84 4.74 4.8 48220000 231132870 PACIFICA 0.036 0.038 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037 2100000 77700 PRIME ORION 2.28 2.31 2.28 2.32 2.28 2.28 112000 258220 PRIME MEDIA 1.19 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1000 1200 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.69 2.7 407000 1098830 SM INVESTMENTS 898 900 883.5 908 883.5 900 380410 342495695 SAN MIGUEL CORP 169 171 169.9 171 168.9 171 621260 105694623 SOC RESOURCES 0.77 0.8 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.77 15000 11550 TOP FRONTIER 279.4 280 280 280 267.4 280 2330 651964 WELLEX INDUS 0.231 0.235 0.228 0.235 0.227 0.235 2600000 605030 ZEUS HLDG 0.193 0.217 0.217 0.217 0.217 0.217 300000 65100

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.57 0.58 0.61 0.61 0.57 0.58 3557000 2050230 ANCHOR LAND 11.26 11.48 11.28 11.28 11.26 11.26 14100 158780 AYALA LAND 39.45 39.65 38.25 39.65 38.25 39.65 14799300 580613845 ARANETA PROP 1.95 2.06 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.95 20000 39000 BELLE CORP 2.36 2.38 2.42 2.45 2.36 2.36 369000 878200 A BROWN 0.75 0.76 0.77 0.77 0.75 0.76 1072000 807420 CROWN EQUITIES 0.212 0.218 0.21 0.219 0.21 0.218 1130000 239860 CEBU HLDG 5.14 5.35 5.35 5.35 5.35 5.35 500 2675 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.3 4.34 4.34 4.34 4.3 4.3 45000 194360 CENTURY PROP 0.41 0.415 0.41 0.42 0.405 0.415 1530000 631500 CYBER BAY 0.375 0.385 0.375 0.385 0.375 0.385 150000 56450 DOUBLEDRAGON 19.16 19.2 19.3 19.3 18.52 19.2 420900 8046626 DM WENCESLAO 7.89 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.88 7.9 102800 812068 EMPIRE EAST 0.51 0.52 0.54 0.54 0.51 0.52 693000 354540 EVER GOTESCO 0.103 0.105 0.105 0.105 0.103 0.103 400000 41560 FILINVEST LAND 1.4 1.42 1.41 1.44 1.4 1.4 3351000 4722040 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.04 1.05 1.05 1.05 1.05 1.05 7000 7350 8990 HLDG 7 7.07 7.09 7.09 7 7.07 303600 2135979 IRC PROP 2.51 2.52 2.64 2.66 2.51 2.51 28009000 71833400 CITY AND LAND 0.91 0.94 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 2000 1820 MEGAWORLD 4.39 4.41 4.35 4.45 4.35 4.41 11617000 51194980 MRC ALLIED 0.57 0.58 0.59 0.6 0.57 0.57 14038000 8129680 PHIL ESTATES 0.4 0.41 0.395 0.395 0.395 0.395 290000 114550 PRIMEX CORP 3.43 3.45 3.36 3.46 3.35 3.45 1064000 3638760 ROBINSONS LAND 20.7 20.95 19.7 20.95 19.7 20.95 3356000 68481835 PHIL REALTY 0.4 0.43 0.42 0.435 0.42 0.43 150000 64350 ROCKWELL 1.92 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.92 1.92 13000 25260 SHANG PROP 3.15 3.17 3.15 3.17 3.15 3.17 147000 463070 STA LUCIA LAND 1.09 1.14 1.13 1.14 1.12 1.14 221000 248740 SM PRIME HLDG 33.75 33.8 33.85 34.15 33.7 33.8 27095100 918050650 STARMALLS 6.35 6.38 6.35 6.6 6.21 6.35 456400 2863592 SUNTRUST HOME 0.7 0.75 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 11000 7700 PTFC REDEV CORP 29.05 36.95 29.1 29.1 29.1 29.1 500 14550 VISTA LAND 5.23 5.28 5.28 5.28 5.2 5.28 5826000 30640541

SERVICES ABS CBN 21.4 21.5 21.5 21.5 21.4 21.5 10300 221235 GMA NETWORK 5.1 5.14 5.15 5.15 5.1 5.1 24000 122992 MANILA BULLETIN 0.4 0.42 0.4 0.41 0.4 0.4 120000 48600 GLOBE TELECOM 2032 2090 2058 2090 2002 2090 63350 131554620 PLDT 1382 1390 1355 1398 1340 1390 131710 181344080 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.039 0.041 0.039 0.041 0.039 0.041 6500000 265000 DFNN INC 7.42 8.45 7.39 7.42 7.39 7.42 1100 8159 IMPERIAL 1.81 2.05 2.02 2.02 2.02 2.02 2000 4040 ISLAND INFO 0.105 0.106 0.105 0.105 0.105 0.105 420000 44100 ISM COMM 3.19 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.16 3.2 7268000 23270000 JACKSTONES 3.09 3.24 3.1 3.24 3.07 3.24 31000 96110 NOW CORP 4.34 4.35 4.48 4.54 4.3 4.35 2014000 8796740 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.51 0.52 0.51 0.52 0.5 0.51 14264000 7340910 PHILWEB 3.5 3.56 3.51 3.56 3.47 3.5 658000 2307710 2GO GROUP 10.94 11 10.78 10.94 10.7 10.94 10000 107964 CEBU AIR 64 67.45 67.5 67.5 64 64 166900 10998179 CHELSEA 6.26 6.27 6.2 6.3 6.2 6.26 1349700 8449058 INTL CONTAINER 90.3 91 89.9 91 89.45 90.5 7582670 679673415.5 LBC EXPRESS 13.78 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 200 2880 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.81 0.77 0.8 187000 149390 MACROASIA 17.2 17.22 17.4 17.4 17.04 17.2 169200 2907518 METROALLIANCE A 1.23 1.27 1.23 1.27 1.23 1.23 60000 74560 HARBOR STAR 2.83 2.84 2.79 2.9 2.79 2.84 1644000 4704690 WATERFRONT 0.57 0.58 0.59 0.59 0.56 0.58 3405000 1921170 FAR EASTERN U 890 900 890 900 890 890 250 222700 IPEOPLE 11.24 11.96 11.2 11.24 11.1 11.24 8600 96268 STI HLDG 0.68 0.69 0.7 0.71 0.67 0.68 11589000 7914560 BERJAYA 1.68 1.69 1.68 1.72 1.66 1.69 1399000 2367400 BLOOMBERRY 8.32 8.4 8.12 8.5 8.12 8.4 11218900 93313301 PACIFIC ONLINE 10.64 10.9 10.94 10.94 10.62 10.9 13300 144910 LEISURE AND RES 3.36 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.35 3.4 322000 1086670 MANILA JOCKEY 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.4 50300 266750 MELCO RESORTS 7.1 7.15 7.09 7.15 7.09 7.15 2919900 20803445 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.73 0.74 0.75 0.76 0.73 0.74 4411000 3262300 TRAVELLERS 5.19 5.2 5.16 5.2 5.15 5.2 5124700 26506220 METRO RETAIL 2.21 2.22 2.21 2.22 2.21 2.22 491000 1088930 PUREGOLD 40.55 41.05 41 41.5 40.3 40.55 789700 32010685 ROBINSONS RTL 75.8 77 77.5 78 75.15 75.8 828550 63360204.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 102.1 105 104 105 104 105 80 8390 SSI GROUP 2.7 2.72 2.65 2.76 2.65 2.7 35631000 96569510 WILCON DEPOT 11.2 11.3 11.3 11.4 11.3 11.3 2019100 22899670 APC GROUP 0.435 0.445 0.455 0.455 0.435 0.435 450000 197850 EASYCALL 9.42 9.43 9.9 10.3 9.43 9.43 185000 1793531 GOLDEN BRIA 310 319.4 310 319.8 307.2 319.4 4360 1370064 IPM HLDG 7.6 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 12500 97500 PAXYS 2.95 3.24 3.1 3.25 3.1 3.25 18000 56310 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.345 0.35 0.34 0.35 0.34 0.345 200000 68600 SBS PHIL CORP 6.8 7 7 7 7 7 7300 51100

MINING & OIL ATOK 13.4 14 14 14 12.52 14 24900 343220 APEX MINING 1.82 1.83 1.73 1.83 1.73 1.82 7111000 12747980 ATLAS MINING 2.9 2.97 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 2000 5800 CENTURY PEAK 1.9 1.92 1.89 1.92 1.89 1.92 309000 584040 DIZON MINES 7.18 7.27 7.18 7.21 7.13 7.19 1600 11457 FERRONICKEL 1.81 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.8 1.82 463000 837520 GEOGRACE 0.205 0.208 0.206 0.211 0.203 0.211 160000 32690 LEPANTO A 0.107 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.107 0.109 340000 36600 MANILA MINING A 0.0068 0.0074 0.0069 0.007 0.0066 0.007 31000000 208600 MARCVENTURES 1.17 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.17 1.2 121000 143330 NIHAO 0.99 1.03 1.05 1.05 1.03 1.03 2000 2080 NICKEL ASIA 2.54 2.56 2.57 2.6 2.54 2.54 802000 2052650 OMICO CORP 0.59 0.6 0.62 0.62 0.59 0.6 23000 14100 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.94 0.96 0.97 0.97 0.93 0.96 702000 666520 PX MINING 3.48 3.51 3.54 3.54 3.48 3.48 1364000 4786190 SEMIRARA MINING 27.95 28 28.1 28.1 27.2 27.95 653100 18143645 UNITED PARAGON 0.006 0.0063 0.0061 0.0061 0.0061 0.0061 2000000 12200 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.013 45200000 587600 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 50700000 608400 PHINMA PETRO 4.03 4.1 4.14 4.21 4.1 4.1 141000 589290 PXP ENERGY 17.82 17.84 17.66 17.98 17.66 17.84 1498000 26730410

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 GLO PREF P LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

96 461 490 95.1 977 462 1.01 100 100 103 75.05 75.85 72.6 72.6 74.1 73.5 73.5 74.6

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

21.2 4.91

2.27

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 4.45 MAKATI FINANCE 2.66 XURPAS 1.54

106.9

-28700 -104930 -70550010 31412395 6527628 575980 1519180 -188913 74387266 -12730785 35652685 1,976,869.9997) -9678152 -131892390 125708520 92575675 -62130 -38284 50025875 -39000 -307210 -179290 -2675 17400 -120550 -406560.0003 -2833030 -4831340 32825330 569999.9998 -90850 -653620 -11053922 15600 453600 -187121195 122930 -17761943 15619530 21678035 -7217030 21850 18800 -1729600 -3234 6491401 -230085 -57063621.5 1440 -28800 134120 -404150 22799.9999 -5705280 111790 14213346 -27010 5111809 -59360 -17049163 202070 1476274.9997 -17342831 11284900 17011140 -50400 3444470 -16260 -2080 -43460 136730 -664100 3500322

98 465 492 96 1000 470 1.01 101.9 100 104.9 75.05 76.05 74.35 74.9 75 74.5 74 73.55

98 465 492 96 1000 470 1.02 101.9 100 105 75.05 76.05 74.4 74.9 75 75 74.9 74.9

98 465 492 95 1000 460 1.01 101.9 100 104.9 75.05 76.05 74 74.9 75 74.5 73.95 73.5

98 465 492 96 1000 460 1.02 101.9 100 105 75.05 76.05 74.35 74.9 75 75 74.9 74.9

300 20 50 39830 2100 1020 13000 110 500 1550 10 5010 3430 15040 605200 7800 105510 49800

29400 9300 24600 3818236 2100000 469400 13230 11209 50000 162717 750.5 381010.5 254581.5 1126496 45390000 584600 7810182 3708056

-4650 -3030 228150 740 -

21.4 5.17

- -

- -

- -

- -

- -

- -

--

2.28

2.31

2.37

2.28

2.28

114000

263410

6899.9999

4.49 3 1.58

4.53 - 1.63

4.59 - 1.72

4.45 - 1.52

4.45 - 1.54

228000 - 31597000

1024600 - 51005700

178000 -6434480

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

-6775895 -180931 -5112184 717863.5 48350256 23046090 2,561,885.9999) 12150 -5523555 31200 -185638 917382 19294350 -1635800 1089672 -5640 158042836 -391832 -531250 -1047004 -9291119 -1298360 2271690 6502276 5,163,409.9997) -3800 16419700 8918275

98 465 492 96 1000 489 1.03 101.9 102.7 105 75.9 76.05 74.4 74.9 75 75 74.9 74.9

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

2165370 20315965 5145672.5 -400885 -5078324 -61044851 -3712485 -2920 11768695 -1982.5 430 -

107.5

106.2

107.5

106.2

107.5

4100

436749

1075

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Gokongwei retail arm reports flat income in Q3

By VG Cabuag

R

@villygc

OBINSONS Retail Holdings Inc., the retail arm of the Gokongwei family, said its net income was flat during the third quarter of the year ending September despite the robust performance of its units.

The company said its income for the period was at P1.21 billion, while net sales for the period rose 13 percent to P31.35 billion, from last year’s P27.69 billion.

For the first three quarters of the year, income rose 10 percent to P3.83

billion, from last year’s P3.49 billion.

Sales rose 13 percent to P91.8 billion, from last year’s P81.18 billion, driven by robust same-store sales across all formats and the sales contribution of new stores.

High consumption was sustained

through the first nine months of 2018, coming from the rise in takehome pay among salaried workers with the TRAIN law’s implementation at the beginning of the year, the company said.

Same-store sales growth for the group was above target at 6.6 percent during the nine-month period. The supermarket segment, which contributed 46.5 percent to consolidated net sales, led with a strong SSSG of 8.6 percent.

Likewise, same-store sales growth was also up across other segments during the same period, with specialty stores at 7.8 percent, do-ityourself (DIY) shops at 6.1 percent, convenience stores at 4.5 percent, drugstores at 2.9 percent and department stores at 2.4 percent.

Blended gross margins for nine months was flat at 22.4 percent level. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin slightly declined by 10 basis points to 7 percent, due to the increase in operating expenses as a percentage of sales and the gradual ramp-up of newly opened stores.

Excluding franchised branches of The Generics Pharmacy, Robinsons Retail ended September 2018 with a total store count of 1,778, comprising 158 supermarkets, 51 department stores, 206 DIY stores, 496 convenience stores, 499 drugstores and 368 specialty stores. Gross floor area increased by 9 percent year-onyear to approximately 1.199 million square meters.

OpenSignal rates PHL at bottom of online video streaming

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

I

T seems the Philippines continues to be on the losing streak in the global digital game, after clinching the title of having the worst video experience in the world, garnering a score of 34.98 points in OpenSignal’s latest analysis on online video streaming.

While it could be noted that none of the 69 countries surveyed received an “excellent” mark from the independent mobile analytics group, the Philippines was at the bottom of the list, ranking “poor” in terms of overall video experience.

The Czech Republic won the title with 68.52 points, ranked as “very good,” a few points shy of getting the minimum excellent grade of 75 points. Trailing behind were Hungary, Norway, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates.

In Asia, Singapore topped the list with 66.94 points, followed by Taiwan and South Korea.

Closer to home, Smart Communi-

cations Inc. emerged as the winner for providing the “best video experience” in the Philippines, garnering a “fair” grade from OpenSignal with 44.2 points, ahead of Globe Telecom Inc.’s 29.2 points and the national average of 34.98 points.

The video experience metric is derived from an International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-based approach for determining video quality. The metric calculation takes into account picture quality, video loading time and stall rate.

Smart Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan noted the “feat” is attributable to his group’s network initiatives, as well as its endeavor of providing free access to YouTube to its subscribers.

“We were confident our customers would enjoy the experience because we built a world-class network that can cater to their demanding video needs,” he said.

“This report from OpenSignal validates not just our strategy, but the work put in by the entire company to build our network.”

Pangilinan explained that as of

Subcontracting firm debunks illegal contractualization

By Roderick L. Abad

@rodrik_28

Contributor

W

HILE putting an end to illegal contractualization remains in limbo given the absence of a law prohibiting this labor practice, not all subcontracting companies are run skirting legalities and ethics, according to a subcontractor firm’s top executive.

Faith in God Professional and Technical Ser v ices Cor p. (FIGRPMPTSC) President and CEO Ruby Pacis clarified the misconceptions about subcontracting, saying it becomes illicit if the subcontractor is into labor-only contracting.

This happens, she said, when a subcontracting company only hires employees and allows clients to manage and control them for five months, working along with regular employees of the principal, doing the same tasks that are directly related to their “core business” and then renew their employment contract every five months, depriving them of their rights as mandated by law.

Seeing such a norm in the labor market since time immemorial, President Duterte finally fulfilled

his election campaign promise to stop the “end of contract” or endo by signing Executive Order 51 on May 1, which disallows labor contracting or subcontracting. Since the Chief Executive does not have the power to implement a total ban on this, he urged Congress to pass a law to prohibit labor contractualization.

The recent purge of job subcontractors in the country has seen 4,580 companies downsized to 2,669 when the Department Order (DO) 18-A Rules and Regulations on Contracting was enacted, and out of those, only 1,911 have successfully acquired the DO 174-17 Certification as of June 2018.

Per the latter license, a subcontractor is legal if it uses its own method and equipment while performing the project inside or outside the premises of the principal or client. It has overall control and direct supervision to its own employees performing the tasks for a specific project and, at the same time, has sufficient capitalization of a minimum of P5 million.

E st a bl i she d i n 20 0 3, F I GRPMPTSC is one of the first few subcontractors given such certification by the Department of Labor and Employment Office.

end-September, Smart has equipped over 5,600 base stations with LTE, totalling about 14,300 LTE base stations across the Philippine archipelago. Filipinos are among the most demanding video consumers

MUTUAL FUNDS

in the world, with an average of 8.5 hours of online video streaming per week, surpassing the global average of 6.75 hours per week, according to data from content delivery firm Limelight Networks.

October 31, 2018

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 239.6 -16.12% -2.13% -0.33% -18.28% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.3715 -13.55% 2.13% 1.29% -14.11% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 3.7261 -16.38% -1.61% -1.2% -18.87% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.8495 -15.72% N.A. N.A. -16.47% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. * ********* 0.7901 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 4.9447 -14.83% -3.79% -0.97% -17.77% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * ****** 109.37 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.7914 -18.34% N.A. N.A. -20.28% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 46.3957 -15.27% -1.42% N.A. -17.73% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 484.19 -15.77% -2.66% -1.33% -17.72% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.1977 -12.7% -0.44% N.A. -14.71% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 34.8764 -12.56% -0.12% 1.63% -15.13% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 4.6642 -15.28% -0.74% 1.44% -17.8% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 778.84 -15.19% -0.99% 1.17% -17.65% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8125 -14.08% -3.05% N.A. -15.99% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 3.8566 -13.43% -0.98% -0.01% -15.8% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 0.8981 -15.42% -0.9% N.A. -17.85% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.3236 -11.45% 0.35% -0.05% -14.65% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* ***104.1484 -14.74% 0.16% N.A. -17.31% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $0.8991 -16.34% -0.68% -1.71% -18.88% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.1739 -3.6% N.A. N.A. -7.22% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.5997 -12.54% -3.77% -2.61% -14.16% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.1398 -11.45% -1.5% -0.5% -12.91% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.435 -10.35% -4.5% -3.22% -12.09% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* **** 1.2676 -11.98% N.A. N.A. -12.87% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.784 -8.72% -0.8% -0.53% -10.46% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.3673 -12.97% -2.89% -1.7% -14.06% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 15.1963 -12.53% -2.68% -1.68% -13.45% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* ******** 1.9967 -10.01% -0.83% 0.99% -10.95% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.525 -10.17% -1.58% -0.76% -11.79% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.8956 -10.16% -1.9% N.A. -12.22% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.0346 -3.97% -0.75% 1.31% -4.16% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9137 -10.95% -0.15% -2.38% -12.73% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.4525 -2.68% 2.98% 1.83% -5.48% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.0336 -5.59% N.A. N.A. -7.07% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 341.48 1.44% 1.77% 1.63% 1.3% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ******* 1.8529 -1.89% -1.31% -0.68% -2.08% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9479 5.51% 5.33% 5.24% 4.46% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1199 0.03% 0.99% 1.04% 0.84% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2125 -0.23% -0.13% 0.35% -0.17% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.5653 -3.01% -1.67% -1.58% -2.75% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.8014 -7.06% -2.18% -1.31% -6.14% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.4598 -1.1% -0.66% -0.41% -1.28% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.8745 -6.05% -2.37% N.A. -5.28% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.749 -1.08% -0.24% 0.01% -1.01% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.5278 -1.55% -0.67% -0.32% -1.41% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $446.08 0.41% 2.14% 2.87% 0.03% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є213.09 0.12% 1.19% 1.61% -0.29% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1209 -1.16% 0.66% 1.47% -1.16% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0248 - 0.8% 0.54% N.A. -0.8% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.689 -4.46% -0.7% 0.88% -4.66% 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* $1.0244 -5.01% -1.52% -2.96% -4.57% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1255 -4.87% -0.16% 1.94% -5.58% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0568591 -1.07% 0.79% 1.71% -0.6% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8762 -4.17% 0.31% 1.39% -4.53% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 120.08 2.38% 1.71% 1.46% 2.1% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1737 1.67% 0.34% 0.36% 1.41% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2118 2.49% 2.17% 1.44% 2.22% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* ***** $1.0128 N.A. N.A. N.A. 1.41%

* - 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

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Draft of pension system plan for AFP creates new unit to be run by GSIS

A

By Rea Cu @ReaCuBM

DRAFT proposal on how to implement the pension system for the military is already in the works, after the basic outline for the pension plan was approved by President Duterte, the Department of Finance (DOF) has reported.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters one of the prov isions in the militar y pension plan, which will be submitted to lawmakers for filing, is the creation of a new unit that will be managed by the Government Service

Insurance System (GSIS).

“Actually the President has already approved the basic outline of the pension plan and they are working on drafting legislation, which they will ask the members of the legislature to file,” Dominguez said.

The finance chief pointed out that the proposed pension plan was only approved by the President last month.

“The law will create a new unit and the proposal [for the management of that unit] is to be given to GSIS,” he added.

When asked if capital infusion is needed for the new unit to function, Dominguez replied, “The basic capital will be land that is owned by the military for joint development.”

In August the DOF said that the initial presentation of a plan to address the problem of the ballooning military pension was recently presented at the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), with President Duterte and other government officials in attendance.

Among the agencies represented at the meeting were the Department of National Defense in charge of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Department of the Interior and Local Govern-

ment for the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of Transportation for the Philippine Coast Guard and Department of Justice for the jails.

In February this year, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that an actuarial study was undertaken by the GSIS in line with the feasibility of running a pension system for the military, and is expected to be completed before end-2018.

Diokno said three types of pensioners are being considered under the plan, namely, existing pensioners with pensions indexed to the salary of incumbent personnel; military personnel who are in current service that will be asked to pay contribution; and new entrants.

In January the Department of Budget and Management reported that a takeover of the military pension system is seen to bear an estimated cost of P7 trillion to P9 trillion.

Customs can exceed revenue goals despite ‘militarization,’ says Diokno

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

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ESPITE President Duterte’s verbal order to militarize the “graft-ridden” Bureau of Customs (BOC), Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno believes that the agency will not just meet but exceed once more its revenue targets this year and next year.

The country’s second-largest revenue collecting agency has been plagued with corruption issues stemming from the crystal meth (shabu) that allegedly slipped past through customs inspectors, variously estimated

from P6.8 billion to P11 billion.

There remains a seeming conflict between the President’s expressed wish and the new Customs chief and former AFP Chief of Staff Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero on the military’s role in the BOC, as the latter said during Wednesday’s turnover ceremony that the current BOC employees will still be able to keep their posts. Nonetheless, Diokno told the BusinessMirror that the President’s decision will bode well for the bureau.

Diokno argued that the BOC under former Commissioner and retired Philippine National Police Supt. Isidro S. Lapeña’s leadership

was able to exceed its targets, a point that had been underscored

by Senate Blue Ribbon Chairman Sen. Richard J. Gordon during the inquiry on shabu smuggling.

Gordon said that, while Lapeña failed to check the smuggling, he deserved credit for the bureau’s meeting its revenue targets.

The BOC reported on Wednesday that the bureau has already exceeded its 10-month collection target from January to October 29 this year by P15.03 billion.

Preliminary data showed that the bureau collections reached P481.72 billion, breaching its target for the period at P466.69 billion.

Pressed on why he is optimistic about the BOC breaching its targets this year and next year despite the changes in the manpower, Diokno said it is because those who will be in charge of the BOC already know what to do since Lapeña will be communicating with his successor.

Lapeña was a uniformed man just like his predecessor at the BOC, Marine Captain Nicanor E. Faeldon.

The President had announced last Sunday that he will be placing the Customs department under military control, invoking a state of lawlessness in the bureau due to corruption.

Friday, November 2, 2018

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Moody’s sees robust insurance growth for six major Asean markets

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ROWTH prospects for insurance in six major Asean markets are supported by strong socioeconomic fundamentals, but the pace and quality of growth will vary by geography, according to the latest Moody’s Investors Service report.

The markets include Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The rating agency clarified that its report is an update to the markets and does not constitute a rating action.

According to the report, economic developments in the region will continue to support the growth of nonlife premiums.

Rising infrastructure investment in Indonesia, for instance, supports demand for property and fire insurance, said the report.

On the other hand, the Philippines’s high exposure to natural disasters has fueled its demand for catastrophic loss coverage.

In Vietnam the continued economic development and increasing risk management awareness would support premium growth.

Strong fundamentals

“THE strong fundamentals include urbanization, a growing middle class, low insurance penetration and the lack of a sufficiently funded welfare system,” said Frank Yuen, a Moody’s assistant vice president and analyst. “However, the pace and quality of such growth will vary to reflect differences in market maturity, financial depth, demographics and policies, and the insurance industry in these countries are finding different ways to overcome common growth bottlenecks,” said Yuen.

The bottlenecks, per the report, include difficulties in expanding and enhancing distribution capabilities, low protection content in mainstream products, shallow bond mar-

kets that limit investment options, and an increasing need to improve the capacity of industries to withstand shocks and support growth through tightening risk-based capital (RBC) regimes.

Asean governments are also aware of the widening protection gaps in the region, in particular among underserved segments, and have addressed these concerns through policies, said the report, which noted that economic incentives for insurance coverage are emerging throughout the region, particularly in medical and retirement coverage.

The markets examined provide some health coverage, but their ability to sustain such coverage varies, leading to opportunities for commercial insurers to fill gaps, said the report. In that regard, Thailand and Malaysia have witnessed strong premium growth for critical illness and medical products, while Singapore’s aging working population supports the steady growth in retirement annuity policies, it added.

Throughout Asean, the report observed that insurance distribution is dominated by agencies and brokers, which are uneven in quality, coverage and geographical reach.

To address the limited pools of qualified agents, for example, Singapore has been increasingly relying on financial advisers as an important channel, while Malaysia has launched tools, such as the balanced scorecard, to increase productivity for agents and bank staff selling insurance products.

In addition, there has also been a growing number of regional bank partnerships to expand client reach.

Nonetheless, Moody’s said it expects that it will still take time and investment for insurers to strengthen the distribution capabilities of their banking partners to offer higher value products.

An association as a corporation Wanted Malaysian financier Low still seeks immunity, report says F OLLOWING is the gist of an article originally published in CIC Midwest that I read from the US-based law firm, Hellmuth & Johnson PLLC: Whether you are a board member or an association executive, you have to understand one very simple but vital concept about your association—it is a “business” and needs to be run like one. It is no mistake that an association is formed as a corporation. (Associations are classified in the Philippine Corporation Code as nonprofit corporations.)

Like any corporation, the association has officers and directors who are responsible for running it in a professional manner and who can be held accountable to the members for failing to do so. Granted that an association is not in the business of making a profit or issuing dividends to members, but it is still responsible for operating a significant budget and maintaining and preserving the value of its assets. The most successful and well-run associations are those that understand and embrace this concept.

So, what does it mean to run an association like a successful business? First, it means that board members and officers must take their positions seriously and act with an eye toward what is best for the association and its members and what will enhance its assets. They act with a view to the future and what will be best in the long run for the association.

Second, this means educat-

Association World Octavio Peralta ing yourself on legal, financial, human resources and other matters that impact your association. This does not mean that your board must be comprised only of lawyers, accountants or business people. What it does mean is that those who volunteer to serve in the board must be willing to educate themselves as to what they need to know to make the association successful.

Third, an association needs to act prudently and in a fiscally responsible manner. This does not mean that you cut corners or always go with the cheapest product or service but rather that you research your options and spend the association’s money wisely to get the best option. It also means protecting your association from risk by carrying adequate insurance, working with your manager or accountant to prepare appropriate and accurate annual budgets, and having appropriate controls in place to protect the association’s money and bank accounts from fraud, unauthorized expenditures or other costly mistakes. It also requires you to maintain an adequate reserve account and wisely invest those funds.

Finally, it requires the board to understand its own limitations

and to establish relationships with trusted vendors and advisors to assist the association in situations that the board simply is not competent to manage. Boards or their managers must be able to pick up the phone and readily get information and advice on anything and everything they need to properly manage the corporation and they need to be able to rely on the advice that they receive.

If you operate your association like a business and with the above principles in mind, you will not only enhance its value and make your association easier to manage and keep things running smoothly.

You may wish also to read my column “Association and corporate management” that appeared here on April 26, 2017.

The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCA AE). PCA AE is holding its Sixth Associations Summit on November 23 and 24 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.

The event is hosted by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and supported by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).

PCAAE enjoys the support of ADFIAP, TPB and the Philippine International Convention Center.

E-mail obp@adfiap.org

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INANCIER Low Taek Jho, wanted in Malaysia for alleged money laundering linked to state fund 1MDB, is still attempting to broker an immunity deal with authorities, a report said.

Low, said to be a central figure behind the alleged embezzlement of billions of dollars from 1MDB, reached out as recently as last week, Daim Zainuddin told broadcaster Astro Awani. Daim led a council that advised Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad during his first 100 days in power.

Low is seeking immunity in exchange for assistance in finding assets linked to the scandalridden fund, Daim said in the report published on Wednesday, adding that the government hasn’t been swayed.

1Malaysia Development Bhd., better known as 1MDB, is at the heart of a scandal which allegedly saw $4.5 billion misappropriated from the fund.

Low, who previously said he did consulting work for 1MDB, is portrayed by some global investigators as the mastermind behind some of the schemes involving missing funds. He has been described as the “best witness” to provide information on alleged crimes at 1MDB. US prosecutors had painted Low as a bon vivant and a central figure who set up shell companies and arranged the transfers of tens of millions of dollars to pay Malaysian government officials, while Singapore investigators have called him a “key person of interest.”

Funds from 1MDB that were raised for development projects were used to pay for luxury real estate, art, lavish parties and more, US investigators say.

Low’s whereabouts aren’t publicly known and Malaysia has sought Interpol’s help to locate and arrest him. He has been moving around to avoid detection, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told Parliament on Monday.

The government tracked down his latest location several days ago, and is seeking cooperation from a foreign country to bring him back to Malaysia to face charges

LOW TAEK JHO in file photo.

BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

related to 1MDB, he said.

A spokesman for Low did not immediately respond to a request for comments. Low, through his lawyers, had previously maintained his innocence and said he is confident of being vindicated.

Low had also said he would not “submit to any jurisdiction where guilt has been predetermined by politics and self-interest overrules legal process.” Bloomberg News

B4 Friday, November 2, 2018

CHERRY MOBILE GETS RECOGNIZED AT ACES 2018 AWARDS IN SINGAPORE CELEBRATING CUTENESS OVERLOAD

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T’S no secret that babies are unstoppable at play. In fact, they can run the equivalent of a marathon in a week!

However, the only thing hampering their fun are wet, lawlaw diapers.

To celebrate the babies’ prowess, Southeast Asia’s biggest e-commerce portal Lazada and the world’s top-selling diaper brand Pampers are joining hands to produce the first-ever virtual #BabyMarathon. This one-of-a-kind feat is part of the Pampers x Lazada Super Brand Day, which took place on August 29. Customers had the best of what the brand offers for only a day, which includes exclusive vouchers, limited-edition products at its best prices and even offline events.

To help babies enjoy their weekly marathons free from wetness and the discomfort of lawlaw diapers, Pampers put together a series of exclusive offers up to 35 percent off on following items:

Pampers Baby Dry Diaper New Born 40s, two packs for P367.58; Pampers Baby Dry Diaper Pants Medium 34s, four packs for P1,011.84; Pampers Baby Dry Diaper Pants XXL 42s, three packs for P1,257.90; Pampers Baby Dry Diaper Pants XL 52s, three packs for P1,347.75; and Pampers Baby Dry Diaper Pants Large 30s, six packs for P1,512 The 42-minute #BabyMarathon video montage, which was also aired on the same day, featured hundreds of babies and toddlers in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore, all running in a relay race. In the final video, parents found their children racing along with Seve, the son of Filipino celebrity and Pampers ambassador Toni Gonzaga.

There were five winners in the Philippines who got a chance to win a sixmonth supply of Pampers diapers, plus a

grand winner of P30,000 cash.

Lazada Philippines Chief Executive Officer Ray Alimurung said, “We are proud to be partnering with Pampers, one of the world’s leading diaper brands.

This #BabyMarathon video collaboration excites us as this allows both brands and our customers to connect in the online and offline space. The campaign also strengthens Lazada’s continued commitment to be a one-stop shopping destination for all baby’s needs.

“The #BabyMarathon is part of our My Baby Can Do That campaign, where we hope to show how babies can do nakakawow and amazing things when they have the freedom to move, especially in a less lawlaw diaper. Lazada, given its massive footprint across Southeast Asia, is the ideal platform to amplify our efforts,” Said Akhil Meshram, Pampers Philippines brand manager.

ENSURE A HASSLE-FREE ‘UNDAS’ EXPERIENCE WITH AKARI For families planning to camp out at the cemetery on All Souls’ Day, the country’s leading lighting brand Akari provides some tips to make it as convenient and comfortable as possible. Aside from preparing an appropriate amount of food and wearing comfortable clothes, Akari reminds the public to bring the essentials, such as garbage bags, first-aid kits, and rechargeable lamps and fans. Akari offers a 14-inch rechargeable fan that can last up to five hours. It oscillates like a regular fan with two-level speed control (low/high). For personal use, you can also opt for the handy Akari rechargeable 5-inch LED cooling fan. Akari also has a selection of rechargeable lights, from pocket-sized flashlights to wall-mountable lanterns to high-powered searchlights.

Keep these tips in mind to ensure a hassle-free undas experience this year. To know more about Akari, go to http://akari.com.ph/.

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EADING local mobile-phone brand in the Philippines Cherry Mobile has been cited as one of the winners in the prestigious Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability (ACES) 2018 Awards. The award was given on October 11 in Singapore, under Asia’s Best Performing Companies category.

“It’s truly an honor that the brand’s effort to uplift the lifestyle of the Filipino market through game-changing products has been recognized globally. It brings pride not just to the brand but to our country as well, because this means that homegrown companies, like Cherry Mobile, can compete head-on with global giants. This is one solid proof that we are making a difference in the mobile industry—a legacy that Cherry Mobile would want to impart and has been making for almost a decade now,” says Maynard Ngu, Cherry Mobile chief executive officer.

The prestigious award-giving body is organized by a Malaysian-based MORS group, and it recognizes leaders and companies who are game-changers in Asia’s business world.

“We are not resting our laurels and will consider this recognition as another feather on our cap. From a simple vision of providing a Cherry device to everyone in every market that we serve, we have expanded our horizon to building an ecosystem of innovations that will further serve the Filipino people.

Through this continuous success is also the sincere ability to give back to our underserved countrymen,” Ngu added.

Cherry Mobile senior manager for Public Relations Agnes Conopio also shared her thoughts on this recognition from the global award-giving body. “Cherry Mobile has always been about providing our consumers a quality mobile experience and uplifting their lifestyles with handsets at value-for-money price points. Being recognized at such prestigious awards is truly rewarding, and this serves as a reminder that we are on the right track with what we have been doing. Along with this award, we take pride in knowing that we have touched a lot of lives through our products. We are proud to say that Cherry Mobile will always be made by the Filipinos for the Filipinos. Tatak Cherry, Tatak Pinoy.”

Cherry Mobile joins the ranks of other big Filipino companies who have been awarded in previous ACES ceremonies, like Ayala Land, Energy Development Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. Cherry Mobile also proved its undefeated stance in the local scene as it once again took the No. 1 spot on the list of leading smartphone vendors in the Philippines. This was based on the International Data Corp. report for the first half of 2018.

METROBANK FOUNDATION HONORS 2018 OUTSTANDING FILIPINOS

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ORSE-MOUNTED cop, P/S Inspector Dennis S. Ebsolo, PhD, has initiated the use of horses in patrolling the 12 hinterland barangays covered by his station in Cagayan de Oro Police Station 8 (CDO PS8) in 2015.

With a total land area of about 12,000 hectares, these barangays are composed mostly of uphill regions, marshlands, farms and untouched rainforests, which could not be accessed by automobiles. Roughly 80 percent of the residents living in the barangays are disadvantaged lumads (indigenous peoples from various tribes). The mounted horse patrol, hence, became the solution to fix the issue of access to these barangays.

The regular implementation of the horse-mounted patrol paved the way for successful police operations thereafter. It was instrumental in the arrest of suspects of robbery and murder cases.

It also led to the crackdown of illicit activities, such as illegal mining and illegal logging operations, and the suppression of ridos (tribal wars) and other local conflicts in the area.

By tirelessly patrolling the barangays, Ebsolo said he and his personnel were able to forge close community relationships.

Witnessing Ebsolo’s dedication to his work enabled the residents to be empowered and regain their respect and confidence in the police and the government.

Now on his 20th year of devoted police service, Ebsolo, 42, is currently the chief of police of the Villanueva Municipal Police Station in Misamis Oriental, where he plans to replicate the use of horses in patrolling.

Meanwhile, science education innovator Aimee Marie C. Gragasin, PhD, lets her students at the Philippine Science High School Cagayan Valley Campus immerse themselves in actual research and working contexts. Since 2010 the school has required its students to undergo the annual summer internship program (SIP) with the aim of giving junior students a preview of the field—also became an immersive experience—which exposes the interns to the realities and inner workings of science application in the country.

The two-week internship program is being done in various government and private institutions in Nueva Vizcaya, neighboring provinces, and as far Metro Manila, where established national institutions reside, such as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) and National Physics Institute in the University of the Philippines Diliman, among others.

SIP provides students a glimpse of their possible future as scientists but, early in this stage of their careers, they get to establish networks of field experts and potential colleagues from other schools and institutions.

Ebsolo and Gragasin were two of this year’s ten (10) Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos awarded with a cash prize of P1 million each (net of tax), a gold medallion and a trophy in conferment ceremonies on September 7 as part of Metrobank’s 56th anniversary celebration.

Guided by the theme of “Beyond Excellence”, a Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipino is recognized for rendering service above and beyond his/her call of duty. His/ her accomplishments must have inspired and influenced their peers as well as the people in their respective communities.

Their works must have transformed a community with a lasting positive impact on people and to the country.

Joining them are (teachers): Mary Jane S. Ramo, master teacher II, Tonggo Elementary School (Tudela, Misamis Occidental); Alma S. Janagap EdD, master teacher II, Pavia National High School (Pavia, Iloilo); and Carla B. Dimalanta, PhD, Professor X, University of the Philippines Diliman (Quezon City); S/P Officer 1 Aida Awitin, assistant police community relations police non-commissioned officer, Davao Occidental Police Provincial Office (Malita, Davao Occidental); P/S Superintendent Pascual Muñoz, PhD, Chief, Supply Chain Management Division, Directorate for Logistics of the Philippine National Police (Camp Crame, Quezon City).

Meanwhile, the soldier awardees are Major Francis Señoron, PA, assistant division chief, Logistics Management Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, OJ4, Armed Forces of the Philippines (Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City); Lt. Colonel Danilo Facundo, PN(M), director, Mobile Training and Exercise Unit, Marine Corps Force Development Center (Philippine Marine Corps, Taguig City); Lt. Colonel Thomas Ryan R. Seguin, PA, Squadron Commander, seventh tactical fighter squadron, Fifth Fighter Wing, Basa Air Base Philippine Air Force (Floridablanca, Pampanga).

In photo are the 2018 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos: (top row, from left) Ramo, Janagap, Aimee Marie Gragasin, PhD, (bottom row, from left) Señoron, Seguin, Facundo, P/S Superintendent Pascual Muñoz, PhD, Ebsolo and P/S Officer 1 Aida Awitin.

Leony R. Garcia

riday, November 2, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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Sports

BusinessMirror

BOSTON Red Sox fans line the parade route, waiting to celebrate the team’s World Series championship over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. AP

OSTON—Confetti cannons boomed and huge crowds of fans cheered wildly on Wednesday as the Boston Red Sox rumbled through downtown aboard duck boats to mark the team’s fourth World Series championship in the past 15 years.

One of the team’s championship trophies and team manager Alex Cora were hit by flying cans of beer that Boston fans have made a practice of offering their sports heroes during recent victory parades. Neither was seriously injured and it didn’t take any varnish off the shining celebration.

The rolling rally set off from venerable Fenway Park and wound its way through major city streets lined by fans numbering in the hundreds of thousands, some who arrived before dawn.

Bits of red, white and blue paper rained down as team officials, players and their families waved from the amphibious, World War II-era vehicles.

Some autographed balls and drank beers tossed to them from the jubilant throng.

Many in the sea of Red Sox jerseys and ball caps took advantage of the fact that the parade

Connolly told the arresting officers, according to the Globe: “I love Cora. I didn’t mean to hit him.”

Police Commissioner William Gross said there were five other parade-related arrests, including a 17-year-old charged with illegal firearm and drug possession.

Security was tight along the route, which took the team past the site of the deadly 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Public drinking, in theory, was banned, but many fans still liberally swigged from small vials of liquor and cans of beer.

Throughout the day, spontaneous anti-Yankees chants rang out, a nod to the long-running rivalry between the American League squads.

Countless

Boston-area youths skipped class to take in the parade.

“I heard there were six people in my history class today. Everyone is here,” said Max Colognesi, a 16-year-old from nearby Chestnut Hill who joined friends near the ballpark. “I have a lot of homework when I get back, but it’s worth it.”

During a pre-parade ceremony at Fenway, Cora thanked fans for supporting the team as it won a team-record 108 games before beating the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs.

“I’ve been saying since Day One, this is crazy, this is madness,” he said.

Boston fans learned even more good news on Wednesday when pitcher David Price announced before the start of the parade that he planned to stay in Boston, declining a contract option that would have enabled him to become a free agent.

On Tuesday the team announced they were exercising their $15-million option for next season to retain another star pitcher, Chris Sale.

Though some fans were enjoying their first

championship parade, many others, like 23-year-old Derek Safford, were veterans.

The North Attleborough, Massachusetts, resident and his family have attended every parade since 2004, including celebrations of titles for the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.

“I know people had doubts at the start of the season with Cora being a first-time manager, but he really made a family-like atmosphere and brought this team together,” Safford said from his prime vantage point on Boylston.

Bob Gardner traveled up from Newtown, Connecticut, with his wife and their 17-year-old grandson, Andrew. They took in the spectacle from near Fenway.

“It’s an incredible thing because the team itself reflects so many good things—redemption, pride, teamwork—especially at this point in our country’s history,” he said.

Andrew agreed, saying: “It’s just a special team.

I’ll tell my kids about this team. My grandkids.

“I’ll never forget this moment.” AP

DAVID PRICE’S deal with Boston remains the richest contract ever for a pitcher. AP

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OSTON—Three days after a World Series victory that transformed him from a postseason flop to an October hero, Red Sox left-hander David Price said at the team’s victory parade on Wednesday that he would stay in Boston rather than opt out of his contract and become a free agent.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Price said on the field at Fenway Park before boarding a duck boat for the ride through the city. “I came here to win, and we did that this year.

That was very special and I want to do it again.”

Price will earn $127 million over the next four years, the remainder of a seven-year, $217-million contract he signed before the 2016 season that gave him the right to opt out after the third year. It remains the richest contract ever for a pitcher.

“There wasn’t any reconsideration on my part, ever,” Price said.

The 2012 American League (AL) Cy Young Award winner, Price has gone 31-19 with a 3.74 ERA in three seasons in Boston but until this year never had any success in the playoffs. He had never won a postseason start in his career—a 0-9 record in his first 10 tries—and was booed off the field after recording just five outs in the Division Series against the New York Yankees.

But he was the winning pitcher in the AL Championship Series clincher against Houston, and then he won his first career World Series start, Game Two against Los Angeles. He pitched in relief in Boston’s 18-inning Game Three loss, then started on three day’s rest and delivered seven innings of three-hit ball in the finale to help eliminate the Dodgers.

“We were hoping he would stay,” Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said. “He’s ready to go back-to-back.”

In all, Price was 3-1 with a 3.46 ERA this postseason and 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance against the Dodgers. The Boston Herald reported that Price lost a 3-2 vote to first baseman Steve Pearce for the World Series MVP. “In my mind, he was the co-MVP of the World Series,” Red Sox owner John Henry said on Wednesday. “He was ready to pitch every day, no matter the situation. The bigger the game, the bigger the performance.”

Henry called it “great news” that Price had opted in. Reminded that the ballclub itself, like Price, has had a bit of a turnaround after a long history of postseason failure, Henry said: “Boston is a great place to get the monkey off your back.”

This is the fourth title in 15 years for the Red Sox, who went the previous 86 years without winning it all, and the 11th championship for the city since the New England Patriots won their first of five Super Bowls in February 2002. The Bruins and Celtics have also won one title apiece this century, celebrating with the increasingly routine parade of amphibious vehicles known as duck boats.

Price, who shared a neon yellow ride with pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, was cheered through the city on a sunny day with temperatures in the mid-40s. In addition to the usual cheering and waving banners, the fans threw beers and small bottles of liquor to the players. AP

PRICE: I’M STAYING WITH BOSTON

coincided with Halloween.

Young children dressed up as comic-book and Disney characters, 20-somethings from the city’s numerous colleges sported full-body panda and dinosaur outfits, and fans took selfies with a doppelganger of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan roaming the crowd.

“It’s been nothing but love. We’re out here having a good time. We’re turnt up,” said Jarrick Fidalgo, a New Bedford, Massachusetts, native with his face painted in the diabolical red, white and black of the Joker from Batman.

But it wasn’t all carefree fun. Team manager Alex Cora, one of the team’s four World Series trophies and a bystander were among those hit by errant beer cans. Cora and the trophy were barely scathed, but the bystander was urged to get treatment for a gash on her nose, The Boston Globe reported.

Patrick Connolly, a 19-year-old from Sandwich, Massachusetts, was charged with assault and disorderly conduct for allegedly hitting Cora with an unopened beer.

ALL CAREFREE FUN! B

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C2 Friday, November 2, 2018

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ARIS—Returning from one injury to play at the Paris Masters, Rafael Nadal pulled out with another one.

This time it wasn’t the troublesome right knee which had sidelined him since the US Open semifinals in early-September, but rather an abdominal injury which just crept up on him.

Given his history of injuries, Nadal listened to advice and did not play his secondround match against Fernando Verdasco on Wednesday.

“The last few days I start to feel a little bit the abdominal, especially when I was serving,” Nadal said. “The doctor says that is recommended to not play, because if I continue the abdominal maybe can break and can be a major thing.”

This latest injury will cost him his No. 1 ranking, which goes back to longtime rival Novak Djokovic next week.

Djokovic lost his top ranking to Andy Murray at the Paris Masters two years ago.

As he then struggled to come back from a lingering elbow injury, the 31-year-old Serb’s ranking plummeted to No. 22 in May this year.

But Djokovic has completely turned his form around, winning four of the last five tournaments he has entered, including Wimbledon, the US Open and most recently the Shanghai Masters. The 14-time Grand Slam champion’s brilliant comeback makes him the first player to reach No. 1 after being ranked below 20th in the same season since Marat Safin in 2000, according to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour.

Djokovic faces Damir Dzumhur in the third round, the first time they have played each other.

For Nadal, it is the second straight year he has withdrawn from the Paris indoor tournament and he is not sure if he will play at the season-ending ATP Finals in London, starting on November 11.

“I cannot answer. I just go day by day,” the 17-time Grand Slam champion said. “The most important thing for me is to be healthy,

NADAL TO LOSE NO. 1 RANKING be healthy and have the chance to compete weeks in a row. Something that I was not able to do this year, playing only nine events and retiring in two.”

Nadal has dealt with off-and-on knee problems for years and the 32-year-old Spaniard prefers to be cautious. At the US Open, he retired during his match against Juan Martin del Potro. He then skipped the Asia swing to recover, missing tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai.

“It has been a tough year for me in terms of injuries so I want to avoid drastic things,” Nadal said. “The doctor says if I want to play the tournament, I want to try to win the tournament, the abdominal with break for sure.”

Nadal is optimistic his latest injury will pass, providing he does not rush back.

“It would not be fair to say it’s a real injury today but what is sure, if I continue it will be a real injury,” he said. “When you come back after injuries, and you push a little bit, the body at the beginning some issues can happen.”

Lucky loser Malek Jaziri replaced Nadal and beat Verdasco, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-3, and next faces defending champion Jack Sock.

Roger Federer also advanced to Thursday’s third round after big-serving Milos Raonic retired before their match with a right-elbow injury.

Raonic injured himself during a three-set win against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Tuesday.

“In the middle of second set, I overextended my elbow and it did some kind of pain,” he said. “I went and I did an ultrasound and MRI, and they found some kind of a lesion in the tricep.”

Federer, who won his 99th career title at the Swiss Indoors last Sunday, will next face 13th-seeded Fabio Fognini. He leads the Italian 3-0 in matchups.

Sock and fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev

reached round three in straight sets.

The 16th-seeded Sock won, 6-3, 6-3, win against Frenchman Richard Gasquet, while Zverev advanced 6-4, 6-4 over American Francis Tiafoe.

Sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem won, 6-4, 6-2, against Gilles Simon, beating the Frenchman for the eighth time in 10 meetings.

No. 7 Kevin Anderson, the Wimbledon

DERRICK ROSE plays his heart out. AP

runner-up; No. 8 John Isner, No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov, No. 10 Kei Nishikori and No. 15 Diego Schwartzman also advanced.

Isner and Nishikori are competing with No. 5 Marin Cilic and Thiem for the last two ATP finals places. Cilic faces Dimitrov on Thursday.

No. 11 Borna Coric completed secondround action with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Daniil Medvedev and next faces Thiem. AP

By Tim Reynolds

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IT’S an abdominal injury that just creeps up on Rafael Nadal this time. AP

Williams sisters, Stephens, Keys out of Fed Cup final

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HITE PLAINS, New York—Four of the top 5 United States women in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings will skip the country’s Fed Cup final against the Czech Republic, including both Williams sisters and Sloane Stephens.

Instead, the roster announced for the defending champions by captain Kathy Rinaldi on Wednesday includes No. 35 Danielle Collins, No. 48 Sofia Kenin and No. 63 Alison Riske in singles, along with Nicole Melichar, who is ranked 15th in doubles.

No. 6 Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion and 2018 French Open runnerup, is sitting out the November 10 and 11 matches on an indoor hard court at Prague, as are No. 15 Serena Williams, a 23-time major champion, and No. 40 Venus Williams, who owns seven Grand Slam singles titles.

No. 16 Madison Keys, who lost to Stephens in last year’s final at Flushing Meadows, also will miss the Fed Cup final.

The Czech Republic seeks its sixth title in eight years with a roster that includes two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 2016 US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova, who are both ranked in the top 10. The team also includes Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Strycova.

The Czech Republic, on the other hand, will have its top 10 players available for the Fed Cup final.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who is ranked seventh, and No. 8 Karolina Pliskova have been named to lead the Czechs in their sixth final in eight years.

They won all five of those finals.

In doubles, Czech Republic captain Petr Pala selected Katerina Siniakova, a member of the No. 1 doubles pair, and Barbora Strycova for the best-of-five series on indoor hardcourt in Prague on November 10 and 11.

Pliskova lost to Sloane Stephens of the United States 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 at the WTA Finals in Singapore last week. Kvitova lost all her group matches at the tournament. AP

ROBINS

F

OILED twice over, Mitch Robins aims to strike gold this time, armed with a confidence and a training he hopes will help fuel his drive for the elusive crown in the Black Arrow Express 5150 on Sunday in Subic.

He came in five minutes behind Sam Betten in his second straight bridesmaid finish to his fellow Australian campaigner last year but the Port Macquarie native, who has posted multiple Ironman 70.3 victories, feels he’s ready to take on the best and this

The Associated Press

URING the 2017-2018 regular season, Derrick Rose didn’t score 50 points in all of January.

Or February.

Or March.

Or April.

He was hurting, always in and out of the lineup, never in rhythm. Those problems, all his years of problems, seemed so long ago on Wednesday night, when Rose was better than ever—finishing with a career-high 50 points that lifted the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz, 125-122.

“I played my heart out,” Rose said. “My teammates told me before the game, just play my game. And tonight was a hell of a night.”

That it was, by every possible measure.

Rose became the fourth player already this season—it’s barely two weeks old—to score at least 50 in a game, joining Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

And if the 50 wasn’t enough, Rose sealed the win by blocking Dante Exum’s threepointer with about two seconds remaining.

Moments later, Rose walked off the floor in tears. The game had made the 2011 NBA MVP cry before. Only this time, the emotion was all joy.

“I know the person that he is, the character that he has,” Wolves Coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And it shines through.”

Rose has dealt with four knee surgeries, needed to take time away last season to figure things out while dealing with ankle issues, was forced to sit out nearly two full seasons when he should have been in his prime.

A night like this showed what is still possible.

“In every story, there’s a beginning, a middle and an end,” Thibodeau said. “And I think the end is going to be great for him.”

Rose tried to play it cool afterward, then acknowledged that he was still “jittery as

O

AKLAND, California—Steve Kerr scratched of his head when asked why Stephen Curry is shooting the ball so well at the start of his 10th National Basketball Association (NBA) season.

“It’s, um, I don’t know,” Kerr said.

No question Golden State’s coach is getting a thrill watching No. 30’s hot hand—as in 52.9 percent from three-point range through nine games.

Curry scored 37 points with seven threepointers for his sixth 30-point game of the season and dished out nine assists, and the Warriors beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 131-121, on Wednesday night for their sixth straight win.

“I’ve always said I want to continue to try to improve my shooting and get more efficient,” Curry said. “Obviously a good start to that but got to sustain it and stick to the program of what I’ve been doing.”

Kevin Durant added 24 points and eight assists, and Draymond Green

‘A Hof NIGH hell”—and that was about an hour after the game.

“It means everything,” Rose said.

The Wolves mobbed Rose on the floor when it was over. They doused him with water in the locker room. And around the league, players couldn’t get to Twitter quickly enough to show love.

“Every Basketball fan in the world should feel good for DRose,” wrote Miami guard Dwyane Wade, Rose’s teammate in Cleveland when last season began. “Tonite was an example of never giving up on yourself and when others believe in you. Amazing things can happen. I’m smiling like i scored 50!

Congrts to a good dude!”

Houston star Chris Paul weighed in, as did Bulls great Scottie Pippen.

“Hard work is undefeated,” wrote Portland’s CJ McCollum.

An outburst like this seemed, at best, improbable for Rose, considering he hadn’t even topped 35 points in any game since that MVP season.

Thibodeau coached Rose in Chicago, and has seen

ANOTHER DA contributed 16 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for his first double-double of the season.

Green has 50 assists in the last five games and is a big reason the Warriors are passing so well this season. They finished with a season-high 39 assists.

“Probably the best player on the floor tonight,” Kerr said of Green. “... We are only as good as Draymond is on many nights.”

Anthony Davis returned from a two-game absence with a sprained right elbow and shot just six of 16 for 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Pelicans, who lost a five-game Western Conference semifinal to Golden State last postseason.

“I thought he was a little winded,” Coach Alvin Gentry said. “They weren’t going to let him catch the ball and go one-on-one against anybody down there.”

Klay Thompson scored 18 points with one three pointer for the Warriors two days after setting an NBA record with 14 threes and scoring 52 in a

ROBINS TRIE 4-YEAR 5150 time emerge better.

The 30-year-old champion of last year’s Bali, Indonesia triathlon and former winner of Ironman 70.3 Japan and Port Macquarie, will also be trying to duplicate his victory in Subic in 2013, when as a firsttime Philippine visitor, he beat a stellar field.

But Betten is also keen on extending his reign in the country’s triathlon capital after completing a threepeat last year with Jakub Langhammer of the Czech Republic, American Tim Linn and Dan Brown, also of Australia, firming up the cast in the men’s Elite pro side of the event set over the Olympic distance of 1.5-km swim, 40-km bike and 10-km run.

Like Robins, Langhammer, Linn and Brown are all coming into the event all-geared up and all focused on stopping Betten, guaranteeing a spirited battle for top

orts

sMirror

Friday, November 2, 2018

VILLANUEVA SUSTAINS CHARGE

James’s free throw lifts Lakers past Mavericks

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L

HELL a GHT’

OS ANGELES—LeBron James scored 29 points and made the game-winning free throw with 2.1 seconds left as the Los Angeles Lakers held on for a 114-113 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

The Lakers led nearly throughout and were up 111-98 with 3:42 to go before the Mavericks went on a 15-2 run to pull even with seven seconds remaining. Luka Doncic tied it at 113 on a jumper from the corner, but James was fouled

by Wesley Mathews while shooting a jump shot.

James missed the first free throw but made the second, and the Lakers (3-5) stopped a two-game skid.

JaVale McGee added 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Kyle Kuzma scored 18 for the Lakers.

Matthews led Dallas with 21 points and Harrison Barnes scored 19. The Mavericks (2-6) have lost five straight.

The Lakers scored the first eight points and led by 18 in the first quarter as they went 15 of 23 from the field and made six three-pointers.

Dallas trimmed the margin to 66-59 by halftime. Matthews’s driving bank shot pulled the Mavericks to 70-64 before the Lakers went on a 17-4 run—which included 10 points

by James—to open their largest lead at 87-68 with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter. AP

him at his best and his worst. He knows the adversity, the struggle, everything Rose has gone through for the better part of the last decade.

“The only thing that really matters to him is that you win,” Thibodeau said.

It’s been a rocky season already for the Wolves, who have been dealing with the Jimmy Butler saga since before camp—Butler didn’t play on Wednesday, with the team calling it a break for needed rest. Butler requested a trade prior to the season but remains on the roster.

None of that seemed to be on anybody’s mind when the final horn sounded against the Jazz.

Rose was all that mattered.

And a night like this, he said, was worth the wait.

“It’s all just coming together,” Rose said. “But it took six, seven years.”

AY IN OFFICE blowout road win against the Bulls.

Curry scored 16 points in the third quarter with four threes. He wound up 12 for 20 and 7 of 11 from deep.

Two-time defending champion Golden State’s lone loss came in the third game of the season by two points at Denver on October 21.

Jrue Holiday had 28 points and nine assists, while Nikola Mirotic added 26 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, which has a quick turnaround playing at Portland on Thursday night.

The Pelicans lost their third straight.

The Warriors had 12 assists on 16 baskets with five three-pointers in their 43-point first quarter. AP

STEPHEN CURRY scores 37 points with seven three-pointers for his sixth 30-point game of the season and dishes out nine assists. AP

ES TO END 0 DROUGHT

honors in Black Arrow Express’s first foray in triathlon, which also caps Sunrise Events Inc.’s milestone 10th staging of the tri-sport races in the country.

The same tight finish is expected in the women’s pro category of the event where Dimity Lee Duke, also from Down Under, will be facing Guam’s Manami Iijima and Leanne Szeto of Hong Kong with an eye on winning a second straight crown.

The event, backed by venue hosts Subic Bay and ACEA Subic Bay and major sponsors David’s Salon, Pioneer Insurance and Wicked Active Gear, has also drawn participants from Great Britain, Japan, France, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Guatemala, India, Italy, New Zealand, Malaysia, Norway, Russia, Portugal and Vietnam.

It also features the Asian Elite and various

age categories and the relay events for male, female and mixed put up to encourage more athletes to take up the tri-sport. For details, visit www.blackarrow express.5150philippines.com.

The Sunrise Sprint will again serve as a fitting side event to the 5150 race with 265 participants clashing for top honors in a shorter distance series featuring a 750-meter swim, 20-km bike and 5-km run.

C3

DINO VILLANUEVA says he needs to toughen up in the last two days to clinch. AP

By Doug Ferguson

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The Associated Press

IM FURYK never quit his day job. It just seemed that way.

During the 31 tournaments he played over 20 months, his identity was no longer US Open champion, FedEx Cup champion or 17-time winner on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour. He was the Ryder Cup captain responsible for everything from team dinners to uniforms, all the while keeping an eye on how the US team was shaping up.

What surprised him about a text message on Monday afternoon was not the request for his time, but the topic.

“It’s been a while since anyone asked about my game,” Furyk said.

His role as Ryder Cup captain defined him the last two seasons and ended September 30 in a loss to Europe outside Paris.

Now it’s time for the re-entry.

Furyk gets back to his real job this week in Las Vegas, part of a field at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open that includes four of his Ryder Cup players—Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau.

It’s doesn’t feel as though he is starting over. Furyk, 48, last played 10 weeks ago at the Wyndham Championship. He shot 63 in the final round and tied for fourth. But it’s never easy for a player in his late 40s to devote two years to one job and then move on.

“I’m excited about trying to get my game back in shape,” Furyk said. “I’m going to try to play three in a row, and use those three events to evaluate where I’m at. That will give me a little body of work to see what I need to improve, see where things are at.

“I don’t have any expectations,” he said. “I expect to be rusty.”

Furyk was No. 37 in the world when he was appointed captain, the best ranking of a US captain since Tom Watson was selected to lead the 1993 team. Watson was only 42, no longer in his prime but ageless enough that he won twice more on the PGA Tour and nearly added a sixth British Open title at 59.

Ryder Cup captains now tend to be at the end of their careers, typically serving in their late 40s, though Furyk would hope he has plenty left.

His world ranking is now No. 251.

That tie for fourth at the Wyndham Championship at least allowed him to move up 30 spots to No. 141 in the FedEx Cup, giving him conditional status so he can save his two exemptions still available from career money.

But while the Ryder Cup is a month behind him, it figures to linger.

Curtis Strange has been down that road, though he spent half his time as the lead golf analyst for ABC Sports. He missed the cut at the Michelob Championship when the 2002 Ryder Cup ended. Strange played 12 times over the next two years without cashing a check.

“It’s different, because everybody continues to talk about the Ryder Cup and you’re trying to get into your everyday job,” Strange said. “It would be more fun and engaging if you won. In his case and mine, you put your heart and soul into this. The second-guessing bothers you a bit. You know deep down you did your very best. It’s a great honor, but it’s also a responsibility and somewhat of a negative if players don’t play

INO VILLANUEVA went on a birdiespree at the back early and sustained his charge all the way to the finish, producing a six-under 66 and gaining solo control by four with half of the field still to complete play halfway through the Summit Point World 18 Challenge in Lipa City on Thursday.

The 34-year-old journeyman from Cagayan de Oro ran off four straight birdies from No. 10 to keep the momentum of his lead-sharing 67 fashioned out in harsh conditions in afternoon play on Wednesday. He traded two birdies with the same number of bogeys in the next eight holes then capped his 34-32 card with birdies in the last two par-5s in near-ideal conditions at the Summit Point Golf Club.

With erstwhile coleaders Erwin Arcilla and Thai Sutijet Kooratanapisan among the late starters, Villanueva took the clubhouse lead with an impressive 11-under 133 aggregate with Janne Kaske of Finland matching the Filipino leader’s six-under card to seize the provisional second spot at 137.

“Nothing special, but I hit my wedge shots pretty solid,” said Villanueva, who moved 36 holes away from finally nailing the elusive win in an 11-year pro career.

“But I need to toughen up in the last two days

to clinch it. A victory will really make our Christmas happy,” added Villanueva, whose solid wedge shots set up birdie putts inside 4 feet in the first four holes. He banged in another on No. 16, then overcame a bogey-bogey mishap linking both nines with birdies on Nos. 2 and 5 before tapping in on the ninth after missing an eagle-putt from 20 feet off a 4-iron shot from 239 yards.

Like Villanueva, Kaske brandished a new putter and pressed his bid early with a long 25foot eagle putt on No. 3 off a 6-iron second shot from 200 yards and three birdies against a bogey for a 32. He then birdied three of the last five holes to negate his other bogey on the 17th for a 32-34 card, putting him in title contention after missing the cut at the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Asia Asia Forest Hills.

“I changed my putter and it clicked. The wind picked up a bit at the back but I was able to hold on,” said the Helsinki native, who birdied the other four par-5s.

Jobim Carlos, two down at the start of the day with a 69, birdied two of the first three holes, also at the back, then survived a roller-coaster round of 70 that featured an eagle and four more birdies against four bogeys and a double bogey.

The PGT Order of Merit winner this year pooled a 139 for third but fell six strokes off Villanueva.

Taiwanese Wang Tsung Chieh charged back

with three birdies in the last six holes at the front to shoot a 69, catching former PGT Asia leg winner Justin Quiban, carding a second 70, at 140, while Aussie Jack Sullivan, out to rebound from his final-round collapse in the CAT Open at Luisita last week, fought back from an opening 74 with a 67 for a 141.

Keanu Jahns shot a second straight 71 for a 142 in a tie with American John Michael O’Toole and Taiwanese Yang Fei Hao, who turned in identical 70s, while Rolando Marabe Jr. rallied with a 68 to tie Ferdie Aunzo, who matched par 72, and Finland’s Teemu Putkonen, who bounced back with a 69, at 143.

A couple of fancied players, however, hobbled in morning play, including PGTA Forest Hills leg winner Jhonnel Ababa, who limped with three bogeys in the last six holes for a 75, and Michael Bibat, who double bogeyed No. 17 and bogeyed the last for a 74, for 146s.

The top 50-plus ties will advance to the final 36 holes of the $100,000 championship sponsored by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. serving as the seventh of the second season of the region’s newest circuit with Villanueva moving closer to a dream victory after botching his bid in the ICTSI Players Championship also here last year.

FURYK GOES BACK TO FULL-TIME JOB

well. But you know that going in. It’s all good.”

Paul Azinger also returned at Las Vegas after his Ryder Cup captaincy in 2008—his team won at Valhalla—and missed the cut. He played nine times the following year and made one cut, once in 2010 and that was the last time he played.

“My competitive edge got blown out after that,” Azinger said.

Hal Sutton played 10 times the year after his captaincy at Oakland Hills in 2004 and missed the cut in all but three events.

Tom Lehman was a rarity. He was No. 58 in the world when he was appointed captain and No. 38 in the world when the 2006

Ryder Cup ended. He withdrew from his first event back—a World Golf Championship in England—because Byron Nelson died and he wanted to be at the funeral. The following year, Lehman ended a streak of 15 consecutive years inside the top 75 on the money list.

Furyk doesn’t have any expectations for Las Vegas this week. History would suggest he shouldn’t have big expectations going forward.

Time isn’t on his side. Then again, Furyk has been bucking the odds since that unusual swing first showed up on the PGA Tour some 25 years ago.

Las Vegas is where Furyk won for the first time in a career marked by a high level of consistency

that eventually will take him into the Hall of Fame.

He moved into the top 100 in the world in October 1995 and stayed there for 23 consecutive years, reaching as high as No. 2 behind Tiger Woods. He qualified for the Tour Championship 13 out of 14 years, missing only when he had surgery on his wrist and missed five months in 2004.

He has amassed $68.4 million, fourth on the career list.

“Jim is still very relevant,” Strange said. “He’s an interesting personality. I’ve said for a number of years, he’s arguably the most consistent player of his generation. He’s still got the game to come back and play. And that’s his peaceful existence.”

Sports SLIM VICTORY BusinessMirror

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| Friday, November 2, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

NEYMAR FACES UP TO 6 YRS IN JAIL

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ADRID—A Spanish judge says fraud and corruption charges brought against Neymar could merit a prison sentence of up to six years when the Brazil forward stands trial.

Prosecutors were seeking a two-year sentence for the Paris Saint-Germain player for alleged irregularities related to his transfer to Barcelona five years ago, but the court said on Wednesday that a sentence of four to six years could be handed down if Neymar is found guilty.

The decision is a setback for Neymar because in Spain sentences of two years or less for first offences are usually suspended, meaning he would avoid any jail time.

The charges were brought after a Brazilian investment group said it received a smaller compensation because part of Neymar’s transfer fee was concealed by those involved.

Neymar’s parents, Barcelona President Josep Bartomeu, and former President Sandro Rosell also faced charges, along with Barcelona and Brazilian club Santos.

They all denied any wrongdoing.

The trial’s date has not been set.

Adding 16 teams to the 2022 World Cup, meanwhile, is about far more than sports.

The head of world soccer thinks the proposal can help solve the bitter diplomatic fight between host Qatar and a Saudi Arabian-led coalition trying to isolate the tiny nation.

Fifa President Gianni Infantino has visions of the World Cup uniting the region. He says the World Cup should expand from 32 to 48 teams by playing some of the matches in stadiums in the very nations who have cut ties with Qatar and closed land, air and sea passage to and from the oil-rich nation of 2.6 million people, all but about 300,000 of them foreign workers.

Qatar will have eight stadiums to host 64 games in an already-congested 28-day window. The World Cup was moved from June-July to November-December because of the extreme heat in the Persian Gulf, and the tournament schedule was condensed to minimize the disruption to the top leagues around the world.

Adding 16 more nations would mean 80 games, and that would require more stadiums. Infantino asked the emir of Qatar if he would consider allowing matches to be held in other nations, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, all are part of an economic and travel boycott against his country.

“This is something that would probably be a nice message,”

Infantino said.

When the joint bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico won the right to host the 2026 World Cup in June, a trade fight was rumbling among the North American nations. Eventually, a new trade pact was negotiated.

At the time of the 2026 vote, “the relations were a little bit tense right between these countries,” Infantino said. “It’s something that’s comparable with the Gulf region. But for me, you know if there is a possibility [of sharing games], if there is a chance at least to even discuss, we should try.”

With travel to Qatar currently blocked by its neighbors, Infantino cautions that “maybe it will never happen.” He says he brought it up with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, and the emir was open to the idea.

“When we speak it remains between us of course,” Infantino said. “What is, I think, important is that he told us, ‘Let’s continue the discussions together and see if this can [work].’”

Qatar’s World Cup organizing committee is wary about changing plans almost a decade in the making, and having already irritated European soccer leagues with the Fifaimposed switch to start in November.

“We need to know pretty soon,” said Nasser Al Khater, deputy secretary-general of the organizing committee. “So we need to understand basically we’re looking to change the format, increase the number of days. Can we do it with eight [stadiums] and increasing the number of days?”

The Fifa membership has already voted on expanding its showpiece even to 48 teams in 2026. Infantino has been saying since March he is considering fast-tracking those plans by four years and acknowledged there has been little progress since then.

“Obviously we cannot even start discussing anything like that in a serious way without Qatar,” Infantino said. “I was discussing with [Qatar] federation officials and also with the Emir of Qatar and they want to look at it together with us and what kind of options...sharing some matches with some other countries or not...and these kind of things. These are topics that first, of course, the Qataris, of course, have to be comfortable with. Could they do it on their own? No.” AP

RUSSIA’S Artur Dalaloyan wins men’s all-around gold medal on tiebreaker. AP

PROSECUTORS are seeking a two-year sentence for Neymar for alleged irregularities related to his transfer to Barcelona five years ago. AP

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By Will Graves The Associated Press

OHA, Qatar—Artur Dalaloyan ended the men’s team final at the world gymnastics championships in tears—and not the good kind. A mistake on parallel bars by the 22-year-old played a factor in Russia’s narrow runner-up finish to China.

Though Dalaloyan skipped training in the runup to Wednesday’s all-around final in an attempt to decompress, his mind kept drifting back to the fivehundredths of a point that proved the difference between gold and silver for the Russians.

“It was scrolling through my mind,” Dalaloyan said.

It proved to be the fuel he needed to keep the opportunity to stand atop the podium from slipping through his grasp twice. Dalaloyan drilled his high

“I want to be No. 1, yeah, but this result, I’m still happy,” Xiao said.

The victory marked a redemption of sorts for Dalaloyan, who came off the parallel bars shortly after his mount during the team final, the deduction one of a handful of miscues by the Russians that helped China return to the top of the sport for the first time since 2014.

There were few miscues for Dalaloyan two days later.

He put up the top score on rings and was second on vault, floor and parallel bars and third on high bar while becoming the second Russian to win the world all-around title, joining Nikolai Kryukov in 1999. Alexei Neimov captured gold for Russia at the 2000 Olympics.

“It’s amazing,” Dalaloyan said in English after joining exclusive company.

Dalaloyan’s teammate Nikita Nagornyy took third.

China’s Sun Wei was fourth.

American Sam Mikulak was in medal contention heading into the final rotation, but the five-time national champion lost his grip with one arm during his high bar routine, a mistake that dropped him to fifth.

Teammate Yul Moldauer came in 12th while dealing with a biceps injury and back issues. There were no such problems coming in for Mikulak, which only added to his frustration.

“I’ve never been so [mad] in my life,” he said.

And for good reason. Mikulak dazzles with his talent but has developed a habit of coming up just short when on the world stage. Five years ago, he was second going into high bar in the 2013 all-around final but had a similar problem to the one that popped up on Wednesday night.

“I was feeling so good,” Mikulak said. “Felt all the confidence in the world. There were no nerves. No doubt. I’d practiced that exact scenario a million times back in the gym.”

Practice, however, did not make perfect. His mistake wasn’t disastrous, but on a day when the top gymnasts in the world left little room for error—a marked improvement over a sloppy team final—Mikulak couldn’t quite summons the crispness he needed.

“You’ve always got to fight until the end,” Mikulak said. “But man that just hurt. That hurt real bad.”

Mikulak will have a chance to pick up the first world championship medal of his otherwise outstanding career later in the meet. He’s in four event finals. Yet he has poured himself into chasing an all-around medal for the better part of a decade.

At 26, he’s well aware that his opportunities are dwindling.

“I’m going to keep kicking,” Mikulak said. “It’s not over. The [Olympic] Games are always where the goals are, but I was really hoping this was my chance.”

It was until it wasn’t.

a pair of England players and sprinted toward the opposing goal. He then beat two more opponents, fought off another and faked Shilton before shooting the ball into the net.

Sculptor Jorge Martinez said that “goal that all Argentines shouted” was the inspiration for his Maradona statue.

“It was a milestone for Argentina’s history,” he said.

The 9-feet statue was placed in a terrace near a mural where Maradona is depicted wearing the red uniform of

Argentinos Juniors. Maradona did not attend the unveiling ceremony. He has been coaching Mexican second-tier club Dorados de Sinaloa.

“Sculptures are usually made for the dead, and Diego is alive,” said Alberto Perez, who heads the historical committee of La Paternal, the small Buenos Aires neighborhood where the statue.

“You need to pay homage when you’re alive, and everyone should know that his neighborhood will always remember him.” AP

PEOPLE stand beside a statue of Diego Maradona during its presentation in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. AP

Buenos Aires unveils first Maradona statue B UENOS AIRES, Argentina—Argentines celebrated the 58th birthday of Diego Maradona on Wednesday by unveiling a bronze statue of the soccer legend that recreates his goal against England that was voted the greatest of the 20th century.

Maradona’s birthday was October 30, but the

bar set, watched 2017 world champion Xiao Ruoteng of China do the same and then fought back tears— the good kind this time—after becoming the first Russian to win a world or Olympic all-around title in nearly 20 years.

Though Dalaloyan and Xiao both finished with a score of 87.598, Dalaloyan was awarded the gold on a tiebreaker after the officials dropped the lowest score for each competitor.

“I do feel a little pity about that,” Xiao said. “But respect to the judge and respect to the rival.”

Xiao went last in the 24-man final, and the 14.233 he needed to get to pull even with Dalaloyan was plastered in bright yellow letters on the video board inside the Aspire Dome. When his score flashed—14.233—there was a brief moment of confusion before the tiebreaker was announced. Xiao didn’t exactly hang his head in disappointment.

unveiling was postponed a day due to rain. The statue is near the Argentinos Juniors club stadium in Buenos Aires, where he made his career debut in 1976.

A decade later, Maradona captained Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title and scored two of the most memorable goals in the game’s history. The first was the

“Hand of God” goal, in which the tiny Maradona jumped with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and punched the ball into the net. The sleight of hand gave Argentina a 1-0 lead.

But the real magic came just minutes later when Maradona received the ball in his own half, ran through

Prayer for all souls

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LMIGHTY ever-living God, who rule both the living and the dead and are merciful to all, we humbly beseech You, that those for whom we pour out our prayers obtain pardon for their sins through Your tender mercy, rejoicing together, blessed in Your sight and praising You without end. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 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

GAB FAB: CRANKING UP THE K-POP HEAT D4

Friday, November 2, 2018

HE WILL ROCK YOU.

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HE HOPES.

BY CARA BUCKLEY New York Times News Service

OS ANGELES—This story was supposed to begin differently, but Rami Malek stole my line.

After spending more than an hour chatting with him on the Fox Studios lot here, I had to ask why he had been so jumpy at the interview’s outset. He had twitched, hugged himself, crossed and uncrossed his legs, scratched his arms and jiggled at a terrific frequency that suggested advanced jitters or vast amounts of caffeine. What had all that been about?

Malek replied that his nervous energy was par for the course, that it once caused someone to ask, “Is Rami OK?” “I have my flourishes,” he continued, then threw me a sly grin. “Rami Malek couldn’t sit still,” he said, in an exaggeratedly stentorian voice. The line wouldn’t have been the greatest way in to this tale,

but it would have done, especially since he proved extremely reluctant to dish about himself during the course of our talk.

Attempts were definitely made. Was Malek, who was raised Coptic and went to Catholic school, still religious? “That’s such a personal issue,” he deflected.

How does he decompress during production of Mr. Robot, in which he plays the paranoid protagonist Elliot Alderson? “It’s so personal!” Malek, who is 37, exclaimed, revealing only that he unwound in his “own private way.”

Finally, he offered a scintilla of self-disclosure.

Malek’s preexisting predilection toward privacy had been strongly reinforced, he said, by his performance as Freddie Mercury, the bombastic and brazenly carnal frontman of the rock group Queen, who died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991, and whom Malek plays in Bohemian Rhapsody (which is now in Philippine theaters, including IMAX cinemas, distributed by 20th Century Fox—Ed.). “It’s nice to be able to own

privacy, some bit of anonymity,” Malek said. “That’s a Freddie thing.”

Freddie Mercury, private? Onstage, he was a preening cock of the walk with a majestic voice.

Offstage, he was a cheeky Dionysian who told an interviewer that one of his hobbies was “a lot of sex.”

But in studying the singer, Malek concluded that Freddie, as he calls him, had mastered the art of the verbal parry, never giving a jot of information more than he pleased, no matter how much an interviewer pressed.

“What you see in the moment is what you get,” Malek said. “It’s up to him to decide.”

Bohemian Rhapsody comes to the screen after a decade of fits and starts, with plenty of infighting and a rotating cast of key players. First Sacha Baron Cohen was poised to star, though nothing was shot, and Cohen later claimed he dropped out after the band sought to sugarcoat Mercury’s hedonism, prompting Queen’s lead guitarist, Brian May, to call

him “an arse.” Then word came that Ben Whishaw was onboard, but that didn’t last either.

The script was written by one prestigious writer, (Peter Morgan, The Queen, Frost/Nixon), rewritten by another (Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour) and laboriously revamped. “This is why it took so long to bring the movie to life,” said Graham King, one of the film’s producers.

Dexter Fletcher was tapped to direct, then left the project. Bryan Singer took over, until he was fired late last year, with scant weeks of shooting left, for failing to show up on set. (Singer said he had to tend to one of his parents, who was ill.) He and Malek had also quarreled at times, which Malek was elusive about— “there were artistic differences,” he said—and that King scoffed at when asked. “You’re making a film at this level, there’s always tension,” King said. Fletcher ended up directing for the last leg of production, but,

CONTINUED ON D4 RAMI MALEK’S preexisting predilection toward privacy had been strongly reinforced, he said, by his performance as Freddie Mercury, the bombastic and brazenly carnal frontman of the rock group Queen, in the much-anticipated biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. RYAN PFLUGER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

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Society BusinessMirror

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Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Marisol Nichols, 45; David Schwimmer, 52; k.d. lang, 57; Stefanie Powers, 76.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Pay close attention to what others do this year. Emotional confusion can lead to problems that will affect your day-to-day interactions.

Keep an open mind, and you will bring about positive change that will enhance your relationships instead of destroying them. Being sensitive to the needs of others without neglecting what you need will be your challenge. Your lucky numbers are 2, 13, 19, 22, 28, 33, 46.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Personal changes will require thought and planning.

Don’t let your enthusiasm push you to act too quickly. Time is on your side and will end up saving you money if you are patient enough to wait for a better deal. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Set your sights on what you want, and go through proper channels to ensure you get things right the first time. What you gain will make a difference to the way you live, work and how others treat you. HHH GREENFIELD President and Chairman of the Board Jeffrey Campos (third from left) with Dr. Joven Cuanang (second from left), Dr. Mitos Cabral (third from right), and Ottoman’s Ricardo Ottomondi (right) with Ottoman models

DESIGNER Sherwin Otto Sacramento with broadcast journalist Julius Babao

In support of traditions P INTO X Aura: Inabel recently brought together renowned homegrown designers Edgar Madamba, Niña Corpuz and Sherwin Otto Sacramento in an exhibition featuring their creations using cotton inabel fabrics from Ilocos.

In this partnership between Pinto Art Museum and SM Aura Premier, the exhibit aims to revive a dying tradition.

With weavers getting older, fewer young people willing to learn the intricate patterns, and raw materials like handspun cotton thread, and natural vegetable dyes getting scarcer, the exhibit not only aims to create awareness on traditional weavers and inabel, but also introduce the concept of sustainable fashion to the market.

The iconic inabel is a traditional woven cloth from Northern Luzon, particularly in the Ilocos Region and some areas in the Mountain Province.

Commonly made from yarns of cotton and dyed from the sap of a plum, called sagut, the inabel is known for being colorful and strong. Manually woven through a wooden loom, an abel fabric is made from pure creativity, imagination, positivity, respect, discipline and keenness.

Dr. Joven Cuanang, Pinto Art Museum owner and one of the founders of House of Inabel, is an active supporter of the Barangay Lumbaan Weavers Association. His interest in inabel started after hearing about Magdalena Gamayo who, at 88 years old, was given the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or National Living Treasure Award in 2012.

He was saddened when he found out that at the time there were only three active weavers and the farmers had already stopped planting cotton, preferring instead to plant tobacco.

Dr. Cuanang then pushed for the revival of the

cotton industry and, in 2015, encouraged farmers to plant cotton again. He provided them with a pump, the initial seedlings, and a two-hectare tract of land.

Today, they now have a 22-hectare plot dedicated to cotton farming. They were also able to encourage more locals to try weaving. Currently, there are now 18 weavers of inabel.

Guests at the exhibit included art collector and philanthropist Dr. Joven Cuanang, Greenfield President and Chairman of the Board Jeffrey Campos, Kannawidan Foundation’s Betty Factora Merritt, curator Rene Guatlo, broadcast journalist Julius Babao, and travel-writer Gabby Malvar and wife Ginngay.

Miss Earth Philippines 2018 Silvia Celeste Cortesi, Miss Earth Eco-Tourism Philippines Halimatu Yushawu and Miss Water Philippines Berjayneth Chee, and Barcino’s Teresa and Jordi Rostoll also attended the event. n

These ain’t your grandma’s paper flowers CELEBRATING Tiffany & Co.’s newest collection, Tiffany Paper Flowers, the façade of Rustan’s Makati was transformed recently with paper flowers and their signature Tiffany Blue. The iconic jeweler treated guests and customers with a glimpse of New York by featuring Tiffany Blue park benches and potted paper flowers, as well as a branded ice cream cart which served vanilla bean ice cream. In attendance were Maxene Magalona-Mananquil, Jasmine Curtis Smith and Jess Wilson, who all wore pieces from the Tiffany Paper Flowers collection. Erika Rabara and Lissa Kahayon were present as well.

The weekend takeover was inspired by the launch of the same collection in New York, where the campaign painted the city Tiffany Blue and lined the streets with signature-colored taxis, paper flowers, and coffee carts.

The Tiffany Paper Flowers collection is about the idea of a flower, its archetypal outlines cut from paper, the perfect pure canvas where anything is possible. These are flowers of the imagination, as though a bloom had been scattered by the wind and pinned back together again—a simpler, poetic version of its former self. Each blossom is constructed of abstracted, layered petals. Each is a balance of femininity and industrial modernity. Each arranged randomly with the unassuming freedom of nature.

Style these versatile pieces as an accent piece paired with subtle jewelry from the Tiffany T or Tiffany HardWear collections, or pair each item with colored diamonds.

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Truth can be stranger than fiction. Listen carefully, but don’t take anyone’s word as gospel. Consider the consequences if you make a mistake, and investigate the possibilities. HH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Engage in events or activities that offer something new and exciting. Getting involved in the creative process of pulling things together and being a part of something that excites you will give you something to look forward to. HHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Look for the good in everyone, but don’t be too generous trying to buy friendship. Think before you let someone take advantage of you. Make improvements at home and to yourself. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Make a point of addressing issues that are bothering you before they escalate into something unmanageable. You may discover those you have grievances with have problems with you as well. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Finish what you start. Don’t let emotions disrupt your plans.

Hard work will pay off, and trying to get others to do the work for you will not bring good results.

Choose to cut costs, not incur them. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t let the past hold you back. Let it go, and you’ll be able to take advantage of something new and exciting. You have plenty to offer, so stop wasting your time on someone or something that isn’t worth your while. HHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t trust what you hear. Someone will mislead you intentionally. An emotional situation will get blown out of proportion, leaving you confused and disillusioned about someone you thought you could trust. HH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take a moment to plan out your schedule to ensure you get the most out of whatever comes your way.

A financial deal, joint venture or personal improvement can be made with confidence as long as you stick to a set budget.HHHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Clear the way for better days. Make personal changes that will boost your confidence and encourage you to trust and believe in yourself and your abilities. Turn your back on those harboring bad habits or trying to coax you into overspending. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Don’t be too quick to share your feelings with someone who opens up to you. Be a good listener and consider how much is fabricated before you jump on board with the actions he or she may want you to take.

HHH MAXENE MAGALONA-MANANQUIL, SSI Group Inc. President Anton Huang, and Rustan’s Marketing and Communications Head Dina Tantoco

JASMINE CURTIS SMITH and Rustan’s Commercial Corp. President Donnie Tantoco

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are practical, assertive and adaptable.

You are sensitive and helpful.

‘drenched to undrenched’ BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Distinguished Hindu men 6 Digital money 11 Extra-year degree 14 Officially bring into the family 15 Type of elephant?

16 Lifeboat need 17 Quite the downpour 19 “Brutal” suffix 20 Wipe away, as memory 21 “Valse ___” 23 Sum finders 26 Prepared an arrow shot 27 Was rude after food 28 Office furniture piece 29 Ottoman Empire governor 30 Some royal Indians 32 Small branch 35 Engrave relative 37 Oil-rich place 39 Beach washer 40 Power from the sun 42 Nine singing 44 Buddhist doctrine

5 Rolled natural 4 47 Most revealing 49 Gizmo kin 51 Calls off, as a launch 52 Gretel’s companion 53 Pansy part 55 U-turn from WSW 56 Try to be seductive 61 Neither partner 62 Spiral-horned springer 63 Antique shop showcase 64 Bro? No, the other 65 Newton’s 100,000 66 Accepts visitors DOWN 1 Some undergrad degs.

2 Noisy commotion 3 Scarfed-up snake?

4 Maintenance cost 5 Coffee mixer 6 Units of work 7 Nuclear center?

8 Palindromic Eastern title 9 Gentleman caller

0 Units of inductance 1 11 Skin cream 12 Moisten while cooking 13 Carrying, in slang 18 AMEX alternative 22 Lacking skill 23 Clerics in Caen 24 On account of 25 They have pressing business 26 South Korean city 28 Drum major’s object 31 One legendary Jackson 33 That is, in Latin 34 Chivalrous dudes 36 Obeys a sentry 38 Money-back gimmick 41 Darned over 43 Spicy sauce 46 In a despicable manner 48 Opposite of unfurl 49 “___ the last time you...”

50 Asian capital 53 Corn concoction 54 Concludes

7 Sunning result 5 58 Anger 59 Bowling ball target 60 Wet “Emergency!”

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

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FORMER Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. receives his Lifetime Contributor Award for the Public Sector during the Asia CEO Awards 2018. He is flanked by members of the board of judges.

SMIC’S Teresita Sy Coson receives the Lifetime Contributor Award for the Private Sector, the same recognition her father, Henry Sy Sr., also received in 2014.

Honoring the finest CEOs SOMETHING LIKE LIFE

MA. STELLA F. ARNALDO

@akosistellaBM

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HAT makes a great chief executive officer (CEO)?

In my many years as a business journalist, I have met numerous CEOs of major companies here and abroad, and those in the public sector, who could be considered outstanding.

These CEOs have ranged from the smartest to the what’s-the-point variety; from the most articulate and smooth-talkers, to the quiet workers; from the laugh-out-loud types to the most humorless; from the kindest and most pleasant, to the most arrogant braggarts. Not all of them were successful in terms of company profitability, and it was noticeable that being a workaholic didn’t make them outstanding in their fields either.

Last year Harvard Business Review (May-June 2017 issue) published a piece where researchers were able to summarize the qualities of an excellent CEO. Not all of the successful leaders have all these traits, but researchers found they had at least more than one of the characteristics: n DECIDING WITH SPEED AND CONVICTION. A successful leader knows he’s racing against time to get things done. So he doesn’t wait for 100 percent of the information he needs to make a decision; about 60-70 percent of the data is enough for him to commit to a decision. It is better than hemming and hawing, or not doing anything at all. More importantly, “good CEOs realize that a wrong decision may be better than no decision at all.” n ENGAGING FOR IMPACT. CEOs who are able to take the goals of his board of directors, and translate these into a concrete executable plan by getting all stakeholders on board make for a successful leader.

While not everyone will agree to certain strategies, these CEOs are able to manage the conflicts in the team and resolve the differences in opinion without making negators left out.

“When tackling contentious issues, leaders who are good at engagement give everyone a voice but not a

vote. They listen and solicit views but do not default to consensus-driven decision-making.” n ADAPTING PROACTIVELY. Great CEOs think in the long-term. And as such, they’re able to gather and read data or information seemingly unrelated to their business, that will prepare them for any future actions or market behaviors. This helps them quickly adapt to changes in their industry. “Adaptable CEOs also recognize that setbacks are an integral part of changing course and treat their mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow.” n DELIVERING RELIABLY. A steady, consistent delivery of results is often what is essential for any successful CEO. While it’s true there are miracle workers who can surprise their company boards and employees with a successful project, will the same results hold true if the CEO is given another project?

“CEOs who ranked high on reliability employed several other tactics, as well.

“Three-quarters of them were rated strong on organization and planning skills. They established business management systems that included a cadence of meetings, dashboards of metrics, clear accountability, and multiple channels for monitoring performance and making rapid course corrections.

Most important, they surrounded themselves with strong teams.”

Certainly, there is no one-size-fits-all characteristic of a great leader, or a successful CEO. It sometimes depends on the company or industry he belongs to, or the people he constantly engages in. But I find that it’s usually a combination of certain traits, behaviors and attitude not just toward work but life in general.

The Asia CEO Awards 2018 recently recognized former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. as Lifetime Contributor in the Public Sector, while Teresita Sy Coson, was recognized as Lifetime Contributor for Private Sector.

Consistently rated as among the best central bank governors in the world, Tetangco, in the two terms he held as BSP chief, had managed to steer the economy to unprecedented growth and lower inflation rates.

But Richard Mills, chairman of the Asia CEO Awards, spoke of his own personal brush with Tetangco. “When I was new to Philippines years ago, I attended small gathering of young people studying for their CFA [Chartered Financial Analyst] exams—CFA is a respected financial designation that has become a global standard.

“The then-Governor Tetangco spent a lot of time striking up sincere conversations with everyone, encouraging them to study hard since it would help

Friday, November 2, 2018

advance the country’s financial sector.... I can say with great certainly that he is the only central banker in the world who would take out his entire evening on a work night to tell young people to finish their studies because it was important for the nation.”

Sy Coson, meanwhile, has steered BDO to become the country’s largest banking group in a crowded market. As vice chairman of SM Investments Corp., she has played a key role guiding other businesses to become dominant in diverse industries: retail, shopping center management, real-estate development, tourism, and on and on. As the nation’s biggest business group, SMIC’s contributions to capability building, wealth creation and employment (and tax payments) for Filipinos are awe-inspiring.

“Tessie is a tremendous example to others that women perform at the highest levels. Her sincere efforts at promoting the Philippines for investment are similarly exemplary,” said Mills. Sy’s own father, Henry Sy Sr., similarly received recognition at the Asia CEO Awards in 2014.

Both CEOs, as well as other awardees in their respective sectors, received their awards on October 16, in the presence of their family and peers. The board of judges included: former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Director General of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority Charito Plaza, former President of the American Chamber of Commerce Don Felbaum, economist Dr. Bernardo Villegas, former Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia, Arch. Jun Palafox, former Convergys Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa Marife Zamora; former CEO of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines Oscar Sanez; and Mills.

The other awardees included Chevron Holdings (Wellness Company of the Year); Christian Lim, Microsoft Philippines (Young Leader of the Year); Dohle Seafront Crewing (Heart for OFWs Company of the Year); Bounty Agro Ventures (Most Innovative Company of the Year); Philippine Urban Living Solution-MyTown (SME Company of the Year); Toshiba Information Equipment (Technology Company of the Year); HSBC Global Service Centre (Green Company of the Year); Unilever Philippines (CSR Company of the Year); Teletech (Service Excellence Company of the Year); Dioceldo Sy, Ever Belina (Entrepreneur of the Year); Craig Reines, Sitel (Expatriate Executive of the Year); Jeffrey Go, Johnson & Johnson (Global Filipino Executive of the Year; Integrated Micro Electronics (Top Employer of the Year); and Megaworld (Executive Leadership Team of the Year).

Congratulations to all the winners. n

CLINICAL STUDIES LAUNCHED FOR THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE

THE field of medicine is constantly changing and evolving with new technologies, practices, and innovations to provide better patient diagnosis, treatment and care. For medical professionals, every day is a new learning experience—an opportunity to advance their skills and gain new knowledge on their respective specialties.

True to its mission to provide patients a premier healthcare experience, Makati Medical Center (www.makatimed.net. ph), a top hospital in the Philippines, is continuously working to discover new ways to deliver medical innovations in the industry.

Recently, MakatiMed started accepting patients and individuals willing to undergo clinical trials, as well as doctors and practitioners interested to join the studies. Clinical trials are studies or experiments on humans aimed to evaluate health-related interventions.

People who participate in these studies are not paid and the decision to take part in the studies should be based on their own informed personal choice. Clinical trial volunteers play an integral role in the process as the human trial is considered the most critical and important step in the discovery of new medicines and treatments. MakatiMed’s Clinical Research Center (CRC), a unit under the hospital’s Medical Education and Research Division, manages various clinical trials that may change the lives of the current participants and help other patients on a greater scale in the future. Some ongoing clinical trials in oncology include studies on new therapies for various types of cancer, such as lung, breast, thyroid and liver cancer. The center hopes to encourage more fellows as well as attract new doctors and researchers to conduct new studies and discover treatments for various diseases in the coming years.

Clinical trials being carried out by MakatiMed are all subject to critical review and the approval of the MakatiMed Institutional Review Board (IRB), an independent ethics committee under the Office of the Medical Director which conducts technical and ethical reviews of research studies involving human subjects. The MakatiMed IRB ensures the protection of the rights, safety and well-being of human participants. IRB Chairman Saturnino P. Javier, MD, says that clinical trials are the heart of all advances and breakthroughs in the health-care industry. Many people get a second chance in life because of the treatments or medications which have been proven safe and effective in clinical trials.

BIGIW-BUGSAY ON ITS 3RD YEAR TO honor the traditional culture and heritage of seafaring and navigation, the third Bigiw-Bugsay held its event highlighting a five-day expedition and a regatta in Cebu recently.

Island Buzz Philippines, a water sports and adventure company aiming to promote the use of non-motorized watercrafts to protect the environment and to revive the “paddling and sailing” lifestyle, spearheaded the event in coordination with Pioneer Epoxy.

With over 60 registered participants, the event kicked off with a Bigiw expedition featuring three Bigiw sailors led by Buzzy Budlong, a renowned Visayan paddler who holds the record for paddling 3025 kilometers from south to north of the Philippines in 88 days. During the said activity, there were free paddling and sailing clinics for the locals which also served as venues for environmental talks

and tree-planting activities.

Meanwhile in Moalboal, the Bigiw Regatta was held where participants across the region witnessed the unveiling of the innovative Hybrid Bigiw, a more compact, lightweight and efficient sailing canoe. The watercraft is considered more environment-friendly as making it does not require to cut tree.

Bigiw canoes are still used by fishermen and sailors from the region. “We don’t want this tradition to be forgotten. We shall continue with our advocacy of promoting the Bigiw and we will keep on improving its design without losing the local touch.

With the help of our sponsors, local government units and the Department of Tourism Region 7, the use of the Bigiw, its pointed and slim hull, triangular sail, plus traditional methods of navigating can be passed on for generations to come, as a source of pride and most especially as a lifestyle,” Budlong concluded.

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EUGENE DOMINGO, 8th EdukCircle Awards’s Best Game Show Host award for Celebrity Bluff.

GMA AGAIN WINS TOP HONORS FROM ACADEME, STUDENTS

Cranking up the K-pop heat GAB FAB JET VALLE

@jetvalle

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HEN I grow up, I want to be a Korean superstar. I’m actually obsessed with anything Korean. I’m even glad that Westerners now have started to notice and really fueled it into becoming a global phenomenon. My snarky friend, whom I shall call Kim Me Dora, is hardly impressed though. “It’s just cultural appropriation of US pop culture and they’re making money,” she said. “Isn’t that a good thing?” I wanted to shoot back. Instead, I just shouted, “Tse!” Anyway, I first stumbled upon Korean pop culture through Quentin Tarantino. The brash filmmaker was talking about Asian Cinema and he singled out Park Chan-wook’s Joint Security Area (JSA).

Joint Security Area is a biting drama that tells the story of soldiers from North and South Korea who learn not hate their supposed enemies. The movie crackles with so much energy, with an entertaining whodunit angle. After watching the movie many years ago, I immediately went to my suki source in Metrowalk to get other Park Chan-wook movies available. It was also through him that I discovered other Korean auteurs, such as Bong Joon-ho, Kim Kiduk, Kim Jee-woon and many more.

And because I got hooked with Korean movies, I also got curious about Korean TV shows. It may be super-fluffy but I don’t care. It became my guilty

pleasure. Naturally, I progressed to Korean music and I really admire the K-pop stars with their glossy music videos and their high fashion styling.

I really think we can learn something from Koreans. They got the formula down on what makes an impact on pop culture. It’s no secret that there is a K-pop mill to create the next heartthrobs. I will do anything to sit in one of the lessons actually.

I know this is impossible so I’m glad to know that Viu, a leading pan-regional OTT video service by PCCW Media Group, together with Globe Telecom, has produced the first Viu Original reality show of its kind in the country, Hello K-Idol. The show is aimed in finding the next K-pop superstar. Initially only available on the Viu platform, the reality show now airs on MYX Channel every Saturday night at 9 starting on November 3.

After a series of online and on-ground auditions held by Viu and Globe, 10 male finalists aged between 18 and 27 have been selected to be featured in the show’s seven episodes.

The final winner will be awarded the coveted prize of a four-month, all-expense-paid scholarship to learn K-pop vocals and dance at a prestigious entertainment talent school in Korea.

The webisodes will follow K-Idol finalists Girbo, Yohan, Yuki, Guion, Renz, Mike, JP, Kheene, Benedict and Stephen, as they undertake the seven-week challenge to hone their talents in singing, dancing, performing, styling and teamwork. A star-studded cast will critique their performances, while providing them with much-needed guidance on their quest for stardom. K-idols Yook Sung-jae from the awardwinning K-drama Goblin and Jung Joon-young from the variety show 2 Days & 1 Night will serve as inspirations for the K-Idol finalists. Mentors on the panel include singers Jinho Bae and Morissette Amon and Korean professional dancer Dasuri Choi. Kring Elenzano-Kim, who actually founded two of the

biggest K-pop fan organizations in the Philippines, will be hosting the show.

In the launch, Helen Sou, senior vice president for Digital Media of PCCW Media Group, said, “With a regional presence in 16 markets, we continue to enhance Viu’s core value proposition of delivering the best and most popular Asian content to ‘Viu-ers,’ including original productions in local languages. In this process, we also nurture and innovate with the local creative talent pool by giving them a platform to showcase their work. We believe Hello K-Idol is the ideal place to grow future talent and to create resonance with our audience in the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, Arianne Kader-Cu, country manager of Viu Philippines, said, “We are happy to announce that through this collaboration with ABS-CBN, we will be able to share our content with viewers both online and offline. Viewers will be able to follow our K-Idol finalists either via our Viu app, Viu.com or through MYX Channel. We hope that Hello K-Idol will just be the first initiative of its kind as we continue to build a stronger contemporary Filipino content segment, bringing Viu closer to the local audience.”

I personally saw all 10 finalists at the press conference and they all look hot. All of them actually stand a chance to win since they all look good and can sing and dance.

But personally, I think the most persevering among this group should win this contest. Like the way Sandara Park overcame all her fears and homesickness when she trained in Korea. I mean, she could have gotten back to the Philippines where she was actually already a star but she wanted more. She told me stories of how she would practice at home all alone to perfect a dance move or for her to hit a note.

She remembered crying all the time but she kept reminding herself that this was her dream. And look at her now. Bongga si Sandara, ’di ba?

Anyway, to all the contestants, good luck. n

SEVERAL GMA programs and personalities, both for the television and radio categories, again reaped recognition at this year’s Alta Media Icon Awards and 8th EdukCircle Awards. The University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, through the Alta Media Icon Awards, named GMA’s flagship AM radio station Super Radyo dzBB 594 as the Best AM Radio Station. GMA News anchor Jessica Soho was accorded the Best Magazine Show Host for Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, which was also honored as this year’s Best Magazine Show.

Fellow GMA News presenter Howie Severino was conferred the Best Documentary Program Host award for I-Witness. Respected economics professor Winnie Monsod was hailed as Best News Talk Program Host for Bawal ang Pasaway kay Mareng Winnie. Suzi Abrera, on the other hand, was named as Best Showbiz-Oriented Talk Show Host for Mars.

GMA’s award-winning environmental and wildlife program Born to be Wild won as Best Travel Program, while lifestyle show Pop Talk was chosen as the Best Lifestyle Program. Entertainment television personalities were also recognized at the Alta Media Icon Awards. Pepito Manaloto lead stars Michael V. and Manilyn Reynes were cited as Best Comedy Program Actor and Actress, respectively.

Award-winning comedienne and actress Eugene Domingo took home the Best Game Show Host award for Celebrity Bluff. Actress Kyline Alcantara emerged as the Most Promising Female Star for TV. Chlaui Malayao, on the other hand, was honored as Best Child Performer for TV for Daig Kayo Ng Lola Ko. Various GMA artists and television programs also won at the 8th EdukCircle Awards. Soho was recognized anew as Best Magazine Show Host for Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.

Unang Balita news anchor Ivan Mayrina was commended as Best Male News Anchor. GMA documentarist Atom Araullo won as Best Documentary Journalist for his GMA documentary special Philippine Seas, while Connie Sison was regarded as Best Health Show Host for Pinoy MD. Meanwhile, Drew Arellano was awarded as Best Travel Show Host for GMA News TV’s Biyahe ni Drew, while versatile actress Glaiza de Castro was hailed as Best Actress for Contessa. Comedian Jose Manalo bagged the Best in Comedy in the male category award for Sunday Pinasaya, while the Best in Comedy in the female category award was given to Celebrity Bluff host Eugene Domingo.

GMA stars Marian Rivera and Maine Mendoza were included in the list of 5 Most Influential Female Endorsers of the Year, and Maine was also named as Best Female Variety Show Host for Eat Bulaga. Alden Richards, in turn, was included in the list of 5 Most Influential Male Endorsers of the Year. GMA’s prime-time star Dingdong Dantes was awarded as one of the 5 Most Influential Film Actors of the Year for the film Sid and Aya.

He will rock you. He hopes.

CONTINUED FROM D1 per Directors Guild of America rules, will not get a directing credit.

The reaction to the early trailers for the film has meant that the drama around it would not soon die.

Glimpses of Malek’s sinuous embodiment of Mercury overlaid with the singer’s soaring voice left some fans in tears, while others fretted that Mercury’s queerness—he was closeted—might have been “straight-washed.” “It’s nothing we don’t address,” Malek said, “That’s another thing our film is good about. I don’t think it’s exploitative or salacious.”

Either way, the film will open to heaps of anticipation, with much of the weight resting on Malek, who had to work through conflicts of his own before throwing himself into the role.

Malek was born a twin—his brother, Sami, is younger by four minutes; they also have an older sister, Yasmine—to Egyptian immigrants, and grew up in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, sheltered and largely unaware, he said, of the Hollywood that teemed beyond the Santa Monica Mountains. His parents dreamed of him becoming a lawyer, until a high school debate teacher told him he was more adept at dramatic interpretation than verbal sparring.

After studying theater at the University of Evansville, he began landing roles: a guest spot on Gilmore Girls, a pharaoh in the Night at the Museum films, and a counselor in the indie hit Short Term 12. He also played a few Middle Eastern terrorists, until he could no longer stomach the stereotyping.

By the time Malek auditioned for the lead role of the tortured hacker Elliot in Mr. Robot, Sam Esmail, the show’s creator, had seen about 100 actors and was on the verge of rewriting the part. Elliot was too cold, standoff-ish and unlikable, Esmail concluded, and that was why no audition had clicked. But Malek brought a level of vulnerability and pain that made

Elliot quiveringly human. “It opened my eyes to who Elliot really was,” Esmail said.

He also learned that Malek was rarely satisfied with his work, even after finishing what Esmail felt had been a perfect take. The actor kept wanting to add a different shade or nuance, even though it wore him out. “I don’t want to leave until I know it’s been executed as best as possible,” Malek said. “I know my limits, but I do reach them quite a bit.”

Mr. Robot would prove a hit, making Malek a star and an Emmy winner. (The series will end after its coming fourth season.) And it eventually compelled an executive producer on the Queen project to come knocking. The prospect of portraying Mercury delighted Malek but also kicked up qualms. He said he believed there was something utterly naive about those who thought that they could depict a real person on-screen. “Why would you want to alter anyone’s perception of their hero?” he recalled wondering.

The reason, he decided, would be to tell parts of Mercury’s story that weren’t widely known—his shyness, his struggle to find his identity, his aching loneliness—and to make younger people aware of the man, and band, behind songs like “We Will Rock You” that still echo through sports arenas worldwide.

Of course the part carried enormous risk; bad biopics invite a particularly gleeful type of schadenfreude. “It’s not lost on me that this could go terribly wrong, that it could be detrimental to one’s career should this not go the right way,” Malek said.

But this was an opportunity actors dream of. He knew he had to grab it, and give it his all.

And to do that, he had to get himself new teeth.

Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara to a Parsi family in Zanzibar, and went to boarding school in India. His classmates nicknamed him Bucky; he had four extra upper back teeth that pushed his front teeth into an extreme overbite, and also, he believed, gave his voice extra resonance.

To embrace Mercury’s physicality, Malek had a costume designer create a set of Freddie teeth that he carried around in a little black plastic container, and popped into his mouth to practice every night. He also flew to London and persuaded King to pay for a dialect tutor and a movement coach, who had him study the inspirations for Mercury’s peacocking: Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Aretha Franklin and Liza Minnelli in Cabaret. “It was almost more useful at times to watch Liza than it was to watch Freddie himself,” he said. “You found the inspiration and birth of those movements.”

All of this happened before the film was even greenlighted. Malek wanted to be prepared if the film was a go, which turned out to be a wise move. The first scene shot was a reenactment of Queen’s appearance at Live Aid in 1985, considered one of the best rock performances in history.

For the singing, Malek’s voice was mixed with Mercury’s and that of the Canadian singer Marc Martel. “No one wants to hear me sing,” Malek said.

But he had to, at the top of his lungs, in front of the cast and crew for every onstage scene.

Filming Live Aid early slam-dunked the cast members into their roles. Malek’s performance particularly astonished Mercury’s bandmates, who felt the actor was not merely portraying Mercury, but inhabiting him. “We sometimes forgot he was Rami,” May, the guitarist, wrote in an email.

Watching the film, I sometimes forgot, too, and found myself among those left nostalgic and mistyeyed by Malek’s onstage scenes. I also found myself asking him to do a Freddie strut, or pose, or anything, something I had never wanted to ask of an actor before. Of course, I shouldn’t have been surprised when he demurred. Malek said he had never devoted himself as intensely to anything as this role. But, he said, “I can’t be Freddie-on-command for the rest of my life, right?” n

EVEN before the production was green-lit, Malek flew to London and persuaded King to pay for a dialect tutor and a movement coach, who had him study the inspirations for Mercury’s peacocking: Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Aretha Franklin and Liza Minnelli in Cabaret.

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

Editor: Tet Andolong

Friday, November 2, 2018

TWO of the three initial Isuzu modernized PUV units handed over to Grab Philippines

PATRICK JOSEPH TUGADE of Coolaire (from left), Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary Manny Gonzales, Laurence Bahia of Grab Philippines, IPC President Hajime Koso, Almazora Motors Corp. Executive Vice President Conrad Almazora and Alex Paguio of Isuzu Pasig during the turnover ceremony

COMPLIANT to Philippine National Standards (PNS 2126:2017) with enough space for passengers to move easily

LAND Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Martin B. Delgra III

E1

Moto

Business

E2 Friday, November 2, 2018

OF CONCEPTS AND MODERNIZATIONS T

Story & photos by Randy S. Peregrino

HIS year’s Seventh Philippine International Motor Show was equally sensational as the previous show’s presentations of spectacles two years ago. Visitors flocked the World Trade Center in Pasay City anew not only to see and appreciate the vehicles of the future on display but also witnessed how the motoring scene has evolved.

TOYOTA TJ Cruiser concept vehicle

HONDA Small RS concept vehicle

From numerous luxurious and high-performance vehicles, to the concept models and iconic cars.

Themed as “Future Mobility,” it was a continuing campaign about sharing to the motoring community the automotive revolutions, as well as what the future has in store for us.

The rolling toolbox

TOYOTA Motor Philippines’s main attraction this year was one of the concept vehicles displayed at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show last year— the TJ Cruiser. The eye-catching design characterizes what the global automotive giant considers as a balance between the spaciousness of a cargo van and the commanding design of an sport-utility vehicle (SUV). True enough that the interior showcased its ability to transform the cabin into a spacious cargo bay with all the seats (including the front passenger’s) collapsed forming a loading platform.

Likewise, this new crossover genre concept is perceived to be an essential partner in life—achieving the combined ease of use as a tool with the fun-to-drive factor of a car.

Interestingly, it is expected to be propelled by a 2.0-liter class hybrid powertrain.

Sporty DNA in a small package

HONDA Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI), for its part, surprised the crowd with its very own Small RS concept vehicle. This sporty subcompact made its debut at the Indonesia International Motor Show last summer. Honda’s integration of its sporty DNA in a hatchback conceived a standout aggressive design for a small car. It has design cues indicative to Honda’s other known high-performance cars, particularly the Civic Type R. While there’s no information yet in terms of what powertrain to be utilized, we

already know that this concept car is a preview of the next-generation Brio.

HCPI also made an interesting announcement that because of BRV’s great success and acceptance in the local market, the seven-seater small SUV, along with the City, will now be manufactured locally. Also highlighted was the top spec CRV’s advanced safety and driver assistive feature, the Honda SENSING. These are the Adaptive Cruise Control with Low Speed Follow, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Keep Assist System, Road Departure Mitigation, Forward Collision Warning, and Lane Departure Warning.

TOYOTA TJ Cruiser’s cockpit

BMW M5 sedan

Bimmer glimmer

THIS year’s pack of BMW cars on display needed no further introduction as spectators feasted on each of the stunning models. Leading the pack was the luxurious and high-performance M5 sedan. Its V8 petrol motor is capable to generate 600 hp and 750 N-m of maximum torque. Next was the 630d Gran TurismoLuxury powered by a diesel motor producing 265 hp and 620 N-m of maximum torque. Also displayed was the sporty M2 Coupe motivated by an inline-six petrol mill generating 370 hp and 465 N-m of maximum torque. ​There was also the X2 xDrive20d M Sport X with a 2.0-liter diesel mill producing 190 hp and 400 N-m of maximum torque. Then the all-new X4 xDrive20d M Sport X sharing the same powertrain with the X2 on display.

Blue Power and modernized public-utility vehicle

THE enormous success of Isuzu’s passenger vehicles, such as the mu-X and D-Max, can easily be translated not only by the sheer units sold but also in terms of its

ISUZU VT02 light truck concept

ISUZU Centro modernized PUV

evolution. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen numerous design upgrades, including the introduction of special variants that suit our picky taste. But it didn’t stop there, as the truck manufacturer even introduced its breakthrough RZ4E engine to these models. This 1.9-liter turbodiesel mill changed what we believed about no replacement for displacement. Its power-

ful yet proven efficient.

Also showcased was the light truck concept vehicle dubbed “Isuzu VT02,” representing the company’s future of urban business mobility. This full-fledged lightweight truck is newly developed by Isuzu through adopting commercial vehicle technologies with the aim to maximize loading efficiency, tight turning per-

formance and fuel efficiency for customer convenience.

Meanwhile, Isuzu’s truck body builder partner,Centro Manufacturing Corp., also introduced four new models. Three of these were the results of Centro’s fruitful partnership with Nippon Fruehauf of Japan. The biggest among the lineup was the 20-footer version of the NF wing van powered by

a hydraulic system and fitted on an FRR truck platform. Another was the seven-footer reefer van mounted on a D-Max pickup truck and a 10-footer reefer van fitted on N-series light truck. But the most interesting model was the Modern public-utility vehicle Class 2, Gen 2 with Centro’s own passenger cab design fitted on a QKR light truck platform.

oring

sMirror

Friday, November 2, 2018

E3

NISSAN display at the World Trade Center

THE Nissan 370Z NISMO

MITSUBISHI e-Evolution Concept

EXECUTIVE Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea (fourth from left) and Campi President Rommel Gutierrez (third from left), together with other executives and official guests, present the CMANC’s modern PUV.

CAMPI BRINGS TOMORROW TODAY Story & photos

by Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes

W

ITH thousands of spectators who attended the successful Seventh Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) recently held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, we can’t help but applaud the organizers— most especially the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) for a job well done.

However, we all know the country’s unsettling automotive scene— thus far. So, before we move forward any further, it’s better to take a look back at how Campi “brought tomorrow today” with the recent staging of the PIMS spectacle.

In fact, it was no less than their guest of honor, Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea who set the tone for what transpired during the five-day affair.

“The seventh PIMS’s theme of ‘Future Mobility,’ which aims to showcase the latest innovations in the automotive industry that feature technological and environment-friendly advancements in transportation from different global brands within this 14,000-square-meter building, is a glimpse of what the Philippines can become,” Medialdea said in his speech during the opening day.

“Let us all work together to make this administration’s dream of making the Philippines into a city of the

future a reality,” he added.

Hence, this writer puts on the spotlight on the latest trends and “things to be” which somehow put the theme of the show in a better perspective.

Push for modernized PUVs

AUTOMAKERS are working hand in hand with the government in their program to replace around 180,000 jeepneys nationwide with new and cleaner vehicles. The said PUVs will have Euro 4 engines or electrically powered engines with solar panels as roofs. Also, each vehicle should be equipped with speed limiters, a GPS navigation system, dashboard cameras, automatic fare collection system, Wi-fi and closedcircuit TV cameras. Hence, aside from pioneer Isuzu, other brands were putting their own PUVs to the fore of the show.

Columbian Manufacturing Corp.

(CMANC), for one, featured the BS120SN, a 42-seater bus with a Euro 5-compliant engine. Other than this, they also flaunted their own version of the jeepney. According to CMANC, this jeepney’s platform can utilize different modes of propulsion, whether diesel, electric or hybrid.

Foton, meanwhile, featured two Euro 4 jeepneys designed to keep up with the stringent requirements of the government’s public utility.

Fuso also had their shuttle models from their Light Bus lineup.

The government’s scheme is be-

ing planned for a 2020 implementation and will not only be limited to jeepneys but will also be applied on buses and vans.

Cleaner movers

FURTHERMORE, with the government keen on their “Build, Build, Build” projects, local truckmakers are not only making sure they have the ready supply but are also fussy about their effects on their surroundings. Green technology nowadays are not just available in the typical small sedan, like the Nissan Leaf—or at most MPVs such as the TJ Cruiser—but with bigger bulk movers as well.

Take for example CMANC’s ETruck, which is 100 percent Pure Electric. Iron phosphate technology is at the core of the new E-truck and it can drive up to 250 km between charges. Their Maximus MCV truck, on the other hand, is equipped with a Euro 5 engine that produces 276 hp.

Foton had their cleaner Tornado M5.2C light-duty truck, the EST-400 4x2 Tractor Head, GTL 6x4 Mixer Truck, Hurricane ESTM 6x2 Cargo, and GTL 8x4 High Roof Dump Truck on display.

While Tata highlighted their Euro-IV Tata Super Ace Mint with a 1 ton payload.

Blue is the new green

BLUE here, there and everywhere— since the goal for engine technology is “to get more from less: more power,

more torque and more miles from less fuel, less weight and less space.”

It started with the display of Isuzu’s RZ4E engine, followed by Foton’s Blue Energy-powered lineup and Volkwagen’s BlueMotion Technology that significantly improves fuel economy of the Santana 1.5 MPI automatic transmission Trendline and Comfortline, Santana GTS 1.5 MPI AT Comfortline, and the Lamando 280 TSI DSG Comfortline and Highline—which were all up center stage.

The usual SUVs, crossovers and workhorses

SINCE the Philippines is an SUV country, usual front-runner Toyota had their year-to-date end-September sales of the Fortuner (17,322 sold) overtake the Mitsubishi Montero Sport (13,237 sold). With this, a number of car brands had their SUVs and other similar vehicles at the limelight of the spectacle. Not to mention this year as the pickup’s time to shine.

In so doing, Nissan had their Terra, Terra S, Navara, Navara Warrior X and the X-Trail—among others.

Mitsubishi, meanwhile carressed the Filipino’s love for SUV’s with the Mitsubishi e-Evolution Concept, the all-electric high-performance concept SUV that made its world premiere at the Tokyo Motor Show last year.

Suzuki pulled off a showstopper with the Jimny.

And being the “year of the pickup,”

SsangYong thought that it’s about time to reintroduce the Musso.

Chinese rise

NOTE that the “honorable mentions” for this year so far are Nissan (41.1-percent positive growth), Suzuki (6.2 percent) and, surprisingly, Foton (4.1 percent).

With this, the Chinese automaker was able to climb a spot to ninth place of Campi’s top 10 local carmakers.

This only shows that their qualities are improving and they’re slowly clawing their way up the caliber of the Koreans and the Japanese. Together with contemporary BAIC, they get to enjoy the attention at the recent PIMS. Their new Foton Gratour IM6 and the Gratour TM even seem promising.

The need for speed

DESPITE high fuel prices today and the required call to be thrifty drivers, one can’t deny the fact that one may need to satiate his longing for that pure-spirited push on the pedal from time to time. That’s why Mazda had its award-winning MX-5 packing another 20 horses and Honda unveiled its Small RS Concept.

While Nissan put on a delightful swagger with its new 370Z NISMO with 3.7-liter V6 motor that produces 350hp and 365 Nm of torque, new Juke Nismo with a more potent 1.6-liter turbo powerplant that puts out 190 hp and 240 Nm and ticks in

7.5 seconds from 0-100 kph. Not to mention the mighty 600-horsepowered GT-R NISMO.

The Pinoys’ love affair—like water

THE Filipinos love affair with cars started in the 1950s. And the fairly good number of attendance at this PIMS somehow similarly showed that.

In fact, according to recorded history, the Philippine auto industry used to be on the pedestal in 1960s as the number one in Southeast Asia— before eventually finding ourselves drop further lower than our neighboring countries at the turn of the millenium.

We then reached a sales milestone of about 470,000 sold units by the end of 2017—before eventually dropping again by 12.5 percent by the middle of the year. Blame it on higher excise tax, inflation and fuel prices.

Vision 2020

DESPITE this, Campi President Rommel Gutierrez is confident that the local car industry will reach its goal of selling 500,000 vehicles by 2020— or the year when the next PIMS will again be staged.

“The market is already picking up,” the Campi head honcho doled out, referring to the slight upturn in September sales. “We see a bright future for us.”

And with this, Medialdea wouldn’t be any happier.

Motoring BusinessMirror

E4 Friday, November 2, 2018

‘Darkness yielded to the coming of a new day’

B

ELOW is the continuation of the classic sea saga of Jose “Boyet” Lim III, the owner of multiple Toyota dealerships in Mindanao, who recently suffered what appeared like a freak accident in the waters of Davao Gulf that left his family, friends and even Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte deathly worried.

Second of three parts

THE vessels took that direction, correctly at that moment. They must have figured out that the current carried me eastward.

Now, I was behind them. By the time they were returning westward slowly, the current from where I was started taking me south southeast about 4 to 5 miles from the Talikud shores.

From my surface interval indicator, the time was 9 p.m. The cold northwind was beginning to blow hard. I forced myself to pee to fight the cold. I had been afloat for four hours. Just eight hours more to go with two pees in between and I should be able to manage hypothermia.

At about 11 p.m., the rescue boats were leaving the area, with one navigating in dead reckoning westward that missed me by less than 10 meters! I could smell her fumes! It was the same red vessel that avoided the cargo ship, I guess. I just yelled out and waved at them with a “Hoy, bukas ulit!” Of course, they could not see or hear me.

Another omen

THAT miss signaled another omen for, in a few minutes, the pummeling of waves for two hours had begun. It will come to

pass, I was assuring myself. But sensing that I could be hit by large floating objects, I quickly went underwater, mouthpiece first, mask second. There was still 700 psi in my tank and that kept me safe drifting 10 feet below. I would exhale into my inflator to occasionally surface, and inhale from it to deflate and submerge, to save air. By the time I survived the turbulence, my air was deep in the red at 300 psi.

At around 1 a.m., the current was still there, but waves gentler this time, slapping me on my face again and again to keep me awake. But laying on my back was an ease, with my hood converted to a nice pillow, on the biggest waterbed in the world, beneath the star-decked heavens.

I counted more than a dozen shooting stars. W ho else could be accorded this luxury, I thought. Awed by the sight above, rare these days, I noticed how clear the chemistry of the universe was, stars connected by brown honeycomb bridges.

Night and day

NATURE-LOVERS and scientists would probably pay anything to be where I

was, with a laugh, of course. I tried explaining to myself the science of night and day. That it’s dark at night and the stars are out not only because the sun has set, but because there is no heat to condense the cold air, which form the white clouds that in turn brighten the day and defeat the brilliance of the stars.

Correct or not was not important to me. These were conjectures I needed to buy time with and keep me sane and thinking.

Then I started to Sing.

First, “Vincent, then “Sunrise, Sunset,” and “If I Had Only One Friend Left”—songs I sing for my children. I also sang “Pag-uwi,” which I plan to add to my repertoire when I next sing with the big brother.

I also told my late dive buddy that, “No, just not quite. I’m not joining you yet.”

But outside the levities, I was very bothered by the concern the incident must have raised among my family, teammates and friends. How dumb of me not to bring a flashlight on that 4:09 p.m. second dive!

Full force anytime

I SOBERED up from the worries after a while, confident that they will come to an end. It will soon be light, just a few hours more and the current will turn inward, I knew.

It was low tide when I left the marina at about 1pm the day before.

Tides change every six hours, and it was going to be the high tide’s turn to come in full force anytime,

maybe between 5 to 6 a.m. I kept on assuring myself it was over and made an objective: As soon as the currents transition to those of the high tide, I’ll start swimming back to Talikud, never mind if it was 20 miles away or so.

At 3 a.m, the sea turned neutral, no currents. The lull of the transition had begun. I upped my objective: Be found at first light to at least preempt any massive search and save everyone the trouble.

I started to swim northward for an hour. At 4 a.m., a glimpse of the breaking dawn turned the east horizon white as the heat from the sun started condensing the cold air from the night. It was a beautiful sight as darkness yielded to the coming of a new day. I was lost somewhere in the middle of the gulf between Sigaboy and Malita. To be concluded

PEE STOP If you just had a virtual

seamless trip to either up North or down South, credit it to the SMC Tollways Group’s Oplan Undas 2018 that blasted off on October 31 and is set to end today, November 2. The SMC’s South Luzon Expressway, Skyway, Ninoy Aquino International Airpo expressway, Star Complex and Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway have combined to meet the challenge of the surge of vacationers trooping to the country as they observe the nation’s traditional observance of both the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Additional traffic and security personnel and ambulant tellers have been, and

will be, deployed on Skyway C5 to Alabang Sucat interchange to Dr. Santos Avenue, Naiax Main Toll Plaza A and B, Slex Santa Rosa to Calamba Toll Plaza A and B and Ayala Toll Plaza, STAR Tollway Santo Tomas Entry, Lipa Exit, and Balagtas to roundabout during the pilgrimage.

SMC will extend the services on November 3 to 5, with road-map stations set on said areas. To ensure smooth operations, the SMC Tollways will also closely coordinate with the Metro Manila Development Authority, Philippine National Police–National Capital Region Police Office, local police in the vicinities of the toll roads, Highway Patrol Group, Toll Regulatory Board, toll service facilities and concerned local government units. Emergency medical service providers and accredited towing services will be posted at strategic locations to promptly respond to any emergency. For further information, download the traffic navigator, Southern Tollways, or check the official Twitter accounts of Skyway (@SkywaySOMCO) and Slex (@OfficialSLEX). For 24/7 emergency assistance and traffic updates, call or text (02) 318-TOLL (8655). Other contact numbers: Skyway: Globe-09175398762, Smart-09998860893 and Sun-09328546980; Slex : Globe-09176877539; STAR Tollway: Globe-0917-5117827 and Smart-0908-5117827; and TPLEx: Globe-09178880715.