BusinessMirror November 08, 2019

OCT. GIR UP BY $121M TO $85.7B

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) continued to build its dollar defenses in October, after a temporary dip in the previous month.

On Thursday, the country’s central monetary authority reported that it was able to raise the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) by $121 million in a month’s time in October, to end the month at $85.7 billion.

The country’s GIR is the level of foreign-exchange holdings the Central Bank has during a given period.

The GIR is a crucial component of the economy as it is often used to manage

Friday, November 8, 2019 Vol. 15 No. 29

‘Tall order for PHL to hit growth target this year’ 6.2% D

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

ESPITE the better-thanexpected performance of the country’s economy in the third quarter, economists and analysts said this will not be enough to enable the government to meet its growth target for 2019.

Economists and analysts made the pronouncement after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on Thursday that GDP expanded by 6.2 percent in the July-to-September period, exceeding market expectations.

However, GDP growth in January to September averaged only 5.8 percent, below the 6-percent percent to 7-percent target of the government for this year.

To at least hit the low end of the government’s growth target

the country’s foreign-exchange rate against excess volatility. According to the BSP’s statement, the month-onmonth increase in the GIR level reflects the national government’s foreign-currency deposits and BSP’s income from its investments abroad.

However, the increase could have been larger if not tempered by payments made by the national government for servicing its foreignexchange obligations.

At this level, the BSP said the country’s GIR provides an ample external liquidity buffer that is equivalent to 7.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and services and payment of primary income.

this year, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the economy must expand by 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

“I believe it will be tough [for GDP growth] to reach 6.7 percent in the [fourth quarter],” said University

GDP expansion in the July-toSeptember period, per the Philippine Statistics Authority.

GDP growth in January to September averaged only 5.8 percent, below the 6-percent to 7percent target of the government for this year

of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) School of Economics Dean Cid Terosa. “Two strong last two quarters may not be enough to downplay the effects of [the] weak first two quarters of the year.”

See “Growth,” A2

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 44 pages |

‘NEW REALITY’ IN FINANCE RESTS ON DIGITAL SOLUTIONS

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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INGAPORE—The world of finance has a new reality, and this involves the use of new technologies that enable crossborder transactions to be faster and cheaper, which is ultimately beneficial to end-users.

On the first day of blockchain conference Swell, payment protocol operator Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said his sevenyear-old company has seen a “new reality unfolding” in the financial sector, as countries across the globe adapt digital solutions to simplify payments and cross-border remittances.

“This speaks to the commercial traction that we are seeing.

For years, I think the industry as a whole has talked about the idea of blockchain technologies and how they can impact transactions,” he said. “Ripple’s focus on those transactions are correspondent banking—around enabling

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@jearcalas

HE Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc. (ProPork) and Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) called on the government to cap the retail price of pork as prices have remained elevated despite the continuous decline in the liveweight price of hogs.

ProPork President Edwin G. Chen said the government should intervene to address the huge disparity between prevailing retail prices and liveweight hog prices.

Chen noted that the retail price of pork has remained above P200 per kilogram even as the average liveweight price of hogs has fallen to just P60 per kg.

He said both consumers and producers are not benefiting from this

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

as pork remains expensive while hog raisers are incurring losses due to the drastic drop in farm-gate prices.

“Pork prices should only be at P160 per kg to P170 per kg because farm-gate prices are already low, at below P80 per kg. In some areas, it is as low as P60 per kg,” Chen told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

“There is really an imbalance.

Consumers are not benefiting from low [farm-gate] prices. At the same time, they are paying more for chicken and eggs,” he added.

Chen said the government, pa r t icu l a rly t he Depa r t ment of Trade and Industry, should implement the prov isions of pertinent laws, such as the Price Act of 1992, to address the price disparity.

See “Pork,” A2

faster payments and lower costs for how liquidity can be managed is that new reality. It’s no longer is the idea.”

Ripple, which hosts the conference, is a technology company that uses blockchain to offer a frictionless experience in global remittances.

It operates RippleNet, which houses a network of financial institutions that use Ripple’s standardized solutions for sending and receiving payments.

It also offers XRP, a digital asset that offers financial institutions a fast and cheap option for sourcing liquidity in cross-border payments. It is an alternative to pre-funding, which ensures “instant” settlement and lower exchange rates.

Ripple likewise operates ondemand liquidity (ODL), which leverages XRP as a bridge currency to eliminate pre-funding requirements for international payments.

See “digital solutions,” A2

Legislative franchises for water firms eyed

Cap retail price of pork, groups urge government

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

It is also equivalent to 5.5 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.1 times based on residual maturity.

It is also about $11 billion higher than the GIR of the country in the same month last year.

The GIR took a beating toward the end of the year in 2018, plunging to seven-year lows as the BSP battled to smoothen out volatilities in the thendepreciating value of the local currency against the dollar. It also came at a time when sentiment was down due to the accelerating inflation, which also peaked at 6.7 percent during those months. GIR hit its lowest level in 2018 at $74.7 billion in October.

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OFW SUMMIT Sen. Cynthia A. Villar (right), joined by migrant worker advocate Susan “Toots” Ople, briefs media on Thursday on what to expect at the 9th OFW and Family Summit to be held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City on November 12. Villar said thousands of overseas Filipino workers and their beneficiaries are expected to attend the summit, with the theme, “Kabuhayan sa Sariling Bayan,” and engage private and government institutions on concerns, such as expanded social services, reintegration and access to financial services. ROY DOMINGO

HE chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development on Wednesday said his panel will look into the possibility of requiring water concessionaires to secure legislative franchises.

Manila Rep. Manuel Lopez, the panel chairman, warned the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems (MWSS) and Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. of the possibility of requiring private water agencies to obtain legislative franchises amid the water supply problem housing Metro Manila and nearby areas.

See “Water firms,” A2

US 50.5600 n JAPAN 0.4641 n UK 65.0151 n HK 6.4600 n CHINA 7.2251 n SINGAPORE 37.1847 n AUSTRALIA 34.7954 n EU 55.9750 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4823

Source: BSP (7 November 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, November 8, 2019

Duterte releases ₧1-B fund for hog raisers hit by ASF

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By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla & Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

RESIDENT Duterte has approved the release of his remaining contingency fund for the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) indemnification program for hog raisers affected by the African swine fever (ASF), Malacañang announced on Thursday.

Tourists. . .

Continued from A12

For the DOT to hit its foreign arrivals goal this year, there should be an average of 680,000 inbound tourists every month in the last three months —October, November and December.

DOT officials are crossing their fingers the agency’s target of P564 billion in foreign visitor receipts would be reached this year, with Boracay Island now reopened. In 2018, inbound tourism receipts amounted to P406.7 billion, down 9 percent from 2017. It was also 14-percent off the DOT’s inbound receipts target of P473 billion of 2018.

Officials believe the opening of new international airports like Panglao in Bohol, and additional flights from abroad, such as those in Puerto Princesa would help improve the headcount, if not, the inbound revenue.

Meanwhile, visitors from Australia grew by 1.94 percent to 203,071, firmly putting it in sixth place among the Philippines’s top source markets for tourists.

It was followed by Canada at 226,446 (up 5.54 percent); the United Kingdom at 153,281

Growth. . .

Continued from A1

If the growth target is missed, it will be the first time in eight years that GDP expansion will fall below 6 percent. PSA data compiled by the BusinessMirror showed that the last time GDP growth fell below 6 percent was in 2011, when it reached 3.7 percent.

Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (Acerd) Director Alvin P. Ang said the country’s economy still does not have the “engine” to sustain such a high growth.

Structural changes need to be undertaken to improve the capacity of the economy to grow faster.

At best, Ang said the economy could expand by 6.5 percent in the last quarter of the year, which will bring full-year GDP growth to 5.9 percent, still below the low-end of the government’s target.

UnionBank chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said a 5.9-percent GDP growth for 2019 is “not bad at all” given the challenges encountered by the economy this year. Asuncion projected fourthquarter GDP to average 6.4 percent.

“Hitting 6.7 percent is a tall order.

This would mean a very disciplined fiscal rollout, and the absorptive capacity of economic units should be higher than average—or previous fiscal years,”he said.

“For a higher probability of hitting 6.7 percent, government spending catch-up should really catch up as touted. So far, the trade performance, particularly imports, has not improved year-on-year. A recovery of the sluggish import performance may kick in this fourth quarter,” Asuncion added.

The PSA said trade and repair of Motor Vehicles; Motorcycles; Personal and Household Goods; Construction; and Financial Intermediation were the main drivers of growth for the quarter.

Among the major economic sectors, Services grew the fastest at 6.9 percent. Industry expanded by 5.6 percent, while Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing grew 3.1 percent.

With the country’s projected population reaching 108.3 million in the third quarter, per-capita GDP went up by 4.5 percent.

Duterte gave the approval during the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday upon the request of Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar. “It is necessary because we need funds to help the hog raisers, whose livelihood have been affected by the [African] swine fever,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said during a media briefing.

In an SMS, Dar told BusinessMirror they will now be getting the full P1 billion they earlier requested from the contingency fund of the Office of the President.

He said the amount will be used to indemnify hog raisers. The DA

(up 3.36 percent); Singapore at 118,554 (down 9.28 percent); Malaysia at 106,078 (down 3.11 percent); India at 102,467 (up 10.67 percent); and Germany at 74,423 (up 13.2 percent).

Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat has expressed optimism that the profile of the Philippines is improving in the international community with the DOT’s recent tack to pursue sustainable tourism, especially in its island destinations.

The Philippines was invited for the first time to the G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting held last October 25 and 26 in Hokkaido, Japan. “A number of the Tourism Ministers approached me and said they were so impressed that we had a carrying capacity limit [for Boracay]. We are the only country [with such a cap],” the DOT chief told the BusinessMirror.

The meetings discussed proper tourism planning, how development and management can benefit visitors and local communities, and expounded on the role of innovation and digital transformation in the advancement of sustainable tourism.

On the sidelines of the G20 tourism minister meetings, Romulo Puyat also met with Japan Land, Infrastructure, Tourism and

Transportation Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba to discuss possible collaborations toward the promotion of two-way tourism between the two countries.

Japan is one of the key markets of the Philippines, with the DOT pulling all the stops—including hosting a meeting between President Duterte and Japan tourism and travel executives—to encourage more Japanese to visit. (See, “DOT chief brings her ‘Daruma doll’ to boost Japanese arrivals,” in the BusinessMirror, May 29, 2019.)

The G20 is an organization that aims to discuss and promote policy on international financial stability. It is composed of members belonging to the top 32 economies in the world in terms of gross domestic product.

Member-countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, German, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. International forums and institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank also participate in the G20 meetings.

Headwinds

it was a turnaround from the 27.2-percent contraction in the second quarter.

Private construction, Abola said, grew even faster at 19.1 percent, mainly due to big-ticket public-private partnership (PPP) projects, such as MRT 7, Calax, LRT 1 extension and the third Mactan bridge, among others.

Abola added that residential and commercial building construction also contributed significantly to the increase in private construction.

“I see the economy accelerating further in the fourth quarter and so we still expect full-year GDP growth at 6 percent,” Abola said. “[A growth of 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter is] achievable due to stronger consumption and government spending. Note the robustness of private construction.”

BPI Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri Jr. agreed with these statements and said the “breakneck speed” of 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter may not be feasible due to base effects.

Neri said growth in the last quarter of 2018 reached 6.3 percent. He added that inflation also subsided during the period, particularly in November and December when inflation averaged 6 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively.

Of “utmost concern,” he said, is the 2.1-percent contraction in Gross Capital Formation and 0.02-percent decline in imports in the third quarter, as this reflects the spending backlog in the public sector.

“This could also mean that growth in the medium term may be lackluster and may somewhat fall short if global [e.g., rising protectionism, geo politics] and domestic headwinds [African swine fever, water shortage] intensify,”said Neri.

ING Bank Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said the performance of the economy in the third quarter of the year indicated that there was a lack of investments. Mapa said investments have“languished”for two straight quarters this year. This will have an impact on the “pace of spending” in the last quarter of the year.

However, he said there may still be a chance that the government will be able to hit its target of a 6-percent growth this year. “But this will require the economy to fire on all cylinders.”

“The better-than-expected growth will, however limit pressure on the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] to cut rates again in early in the first quarter of 2020. But given the dovish rhetoric from BSP Governor [Benjamin] Diokno, we continue to pencil in further easing from the BSP in 2020,” said Mapa.

Optimism FOR First Metro Investment Corp.-UA&P Capital Market Research economist Victor A. Abola, the performance of the economy during the period showed that government spending has already bounced back.

Abola noted that public construction expanded by 11 percent. While this was still slower than the 25.2 percent last year,

Dominguez: Goal within reach FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the GDP growth target is still within reach as the government hikes infrastructure spending in the remaining months of the year.

Dominguez said the national government has managed to hit its spending targets in the latter part of the July-to-September period, cancelling out the remaining effects of the nearly five-month delay in the 2019 General Appropriations Act that spilled over into the second quarter.

“Further acceleration of state spending on infrastructure and human capital development served as a fiscal stimulus to the economy,” Dominguez said.

“This factor combined with decelerating headline inflation and its subsequent stronger consumer spending in sustaining the growth momentum in the July-to-September period despite the general international uncertainty induced in large part by the United States-China trade friction,” he added.

Citing figures from the Department of Budget and Management, Dominguez noted that the catch-up spending plan implemented by economic managers began to hit its stride as national government disbursements rose sharply in September by 39 percent—the fastest rate thus far for 2019—to P415 billion from P298.6 billion last year, or an increase of P116.5 billion. With a report by Jove Moya

said it already culled 70,000 hogs due to ASF. It committed to pay P5,000 per head to the affected raisers.

It continues to intensify its control measures against ASF as it has, now spread to Caloocan, Malabon and 22 cities and municipalities in Pampanga and Bulacan.

Dar said they plan to designate cold storage areas in the Ports of Manila, Subic, Batangas, Cebu and Davao for complete monitoring of meat products entry.

Panelo said Duterte is currently satisfied with DA’s efforts in containing the ASF.

Military aid. . .

Continued from A12

“We’ve provided significant military equipment through transfer and direct sales,” Clark said, citing “robust and growing” ties with the Philippines..

Minister Rosanna Villamor-Voogel of the Philippine Embassy in Washington said the increase in American defense assistance “is indicative of the continued interest of the US government to find ways and means to help and complement the priority of President Duterte.”

Since fiscal year 2016, the Philippines has received $554.55 million in defense assistance from the US Department of State and Department of Defense, Villamor-Voogel said.

Of this amount, $267.75 million came from foreign military financing, $73 million in fiscal year 2018 assistance, another $278.8 million in US Department of Defense Security Assistance and over $8 million in international military education and training funds. “As you know more than us—because you hear it everyday— the priority of our current government is really to ensure that defense modernization continues and in a way make up for lost time,” she said.

“And we are happy to continue to partner with the US to ensure that our friends in the Philippines receive the much-needed capability in all arms services to the extent possible.”

On the other hand, Clark said “Our nations have a bright future together. We remain dedicated to working with the Philippine government and the Filipino people to advance our shared goals of security and prosperity.”

Digital solutions...

Continued from A1

“It’s no longer just a vision, no longer just an idea—using blockchain technology, not as a theory not as a concept. What Ripple is doing with these technologies and these digital assets is actually real and is expanding quickly,” Garlinghouse said. Today, the US-based tech company has over 300 customers, and has so far recorded a 10-fold growth in transactions this year through its network of banks, financial institutions and payments providers.

“Our vision remains the same today, the internet of value is something that step by step we’re seeing come to fruition,” Garlinghouse said.“What we defined is a mission—a mission of enabling payments everywhere every way for everyone.” Enablement, he added, is achieved through strong partnerships for interoperability not just among in-country providers, but among different territories.

Just a few months ago, Ripple entered into a partnership deal with MoneyGram International Inc. to enable the latter to use ODL for remittances from the US to Mexico and, more recently, the Philippines.

“For the first time ever, we’re settling currencies in seconds, and because of these results, we’re expanding our partnership with Ripple and are excited to announce that we have started executing foreign currency trades with the Philippine peso using ODL,”MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes said.

This new reality of using blockchain to address friction in cross-border transaction can help spur commerce around the world.

Technology, according to former Reserved Bank of India Governor Raghuram Govind Rajan, then plays the role of a lever for growth.

“Institutions sit on top of technology and then the question is how to get those institutions to reach out. There are many ways that technology can play a part; one of the biggest ways is by reducing the transaction costs of doing business,” he said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Gordon praises PNP generals who testified in ‘ninja cops’ inquiry

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HE Senate chief prober has credited star-ranked officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for testifying “against one of their own” in the ongoing Blue Ribbon inquiry into so-called ninja cops linked to irregularities.

“For the first time in the history of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, retired and active generals of the Philippine National Police testified against one of their fellow officials,” said Sen. Richard Gordon in sponsoring the committee report on their investigation of “ninja cops” linked to a raid conducted in Pampanga on November 29, 2013.

At the time of the raid, Gen. Oscar Albayalde, the immediate past PNP chief was still the provincial director, and allegedly worked behind the scene to play down the cases against his subordinates when these were investigated for recyling seized drugs.

“Never in the annals of the history of the Blue Ribbon,” said Gordon, “have eight generals come to witness against their fellow officer —Oscar Albayalde.”

Gordon continued: “They all came out and seem to point out to a very serious injury to the PNP and that is, there was a dereliction of duty on the part of Albayalde unless it could be proven, as we have proven, that this was a whole conspiracy of sorts that allowed these people, led by a certain Major [Rodney] Baloyo who was the intelligence officer of Albayalde, to perpetrate their ill will upon us.”

The senator was referring to retired police general-now-Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who was then chief of the PNPCriminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG). Magalong joined seven other generals who testified during the investigation in connection with Magalong’s disclosure that the police team who

Water firms. . .

Continued from A1

Lopez said congressional oversight may be exercised on water concessionaires if they will secure legislative franchises, or a license to operate that is exclusively granted by the government.

“There must be an assessment of a water provider’s true capability. If our providers in the water sector cannot [deliver], it is time for us to declare a state of emergency. Congress can easily declare this emergency,” he said.

Lopez noted that despite the billions of pesos in net profit collected by Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services, their customers are still grappling with water supply problems.

“Unfortunately, they have not lived up to

Pork. . .

Continued from A1

If the retail price of pork would reflect the decline in liveweight price, demand for pork products could recover, which will help hog raisers.

Laban Konsyumer Inc. President Victorio Dimagiba agreed with ProPork’s proposition, saying local price coordinating councils (LPCCs) of respective local government units (LGUs) should intervene.

Dimagiba said the involvement of LPCCs will be a more efficient way of addressing the current price situation of pork.

“Price cap requires a strengthened market monitoring and enforcement. Let’s appeal to the price council as they may act promptly,” he told the BusinessMirror. “If you have the likes of Mayor [Francisco] Isko Moreno, the traders will behave.”

LKI has been pushing for the capping of pork prices since last month after observing that retail prices do not reflect the change in liveweight prices caused by the outbreak of African swine fever in Luzon.

Dimagiba, a lawyer, said the “glaring”

conducted the said raid were engaged in drug recycling or the socalled agaw-bato.

In a statement, Gordon also cited other generals who testified: Gen. Alan Purisima, then-PNP chief; Gen. Raul Petrasanta, thenPNP Region III director; Gen. Aaron Aquino, who was also appointed as Pampanga provincial director; Gen. Rudy Lacadin, then-PNPCIDG deputy director; Gen. Graciano Mijares, then-head of the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit; Gen. Manuel Gaerlan, who investigated the anomalous operation; and Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of the PNP-Drug Enforcement Group, who also made a report on the operation.

Blue Ribbon probers had originally invited Magalong to testify at the joint probe conducted by the Committees on Justice and Human Rights and the Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon) on the “abusive implementation of the good conduct time allowance [GCTA] law, which then expanded to the anomalies in the New Bilibid Prison.

Gordon recalled that during the hearing, Magalong referred to the so-called agaw-bato practiced by police officers, and subsequently made further disclosures about the issue in an executive session, which prompted the investigation into the alleged ninja cops.

The senator said Magalong’s testimony “was really an earthshaking revelation,” adding: “I have to admire this PMA graduate who dared to speak up against his fellow PMA alumnus. And that is very, very rare indeed…. Napakalaki pong risk ang ginawa ni General Magalong. Ang kostumbre natin ay ayaw nating ipapahiya ang kasama natin hangga’t maaari [Normally, we’d rather not embarrass a colleague as much as possible]. Obviously, he’s standing up for justice.”

Butch Fernandez

their commitment since they took over the water supply service in 1997. We acknowledge your investment but we also see your steady income,” the lawmaker told representatives of the firms during a hearing on the water-supply situation in Metro Manila on Wednesday.

He said Manila Water reported an annual income of P6.186 billion in 2016, P6.139 billion in 2017 and P6.635 billion in 2018.

Maynilad, the lawmaker said, reported an income of P6.17 billion in 2016, P6.8 billion in 2017 and P7.8 billion in 2018.

“There is nothing wrong in engaging in business. What is wrong is if the one engaged in business is getting greedy,” he added.

“We are also businessmen one way or the other, we understand you making money. But making an enormous amount of money, while there is a water crisis is not a nice thing to hear,” he added. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz disparity between retail and farm-gate prices for the past three months may be considered profiteering. Citing Sections 7.4 and 7.5 of the Price Act, Dimagiba said the government could impose a price ceiling to address this.

Under Section 7 of the Price Act, the President, upon the recommendation of the National Price Coordinating Council or implementing agency, may impose a price ceiling on any basic necessity or prime commodity if certain conditions are met.

One of the conditions is “the impendency, existence, or effect of any event that causes artificial and unreasonable increase in the price of the basic necessity or prime commodity.”

Another one would be“whenever the prevailing price of any basic necessity or prime commodity has risen to unreasonable levels.”

Dimagiba said these two conditions are “evident” in the current pork price situation.

Based on the market price monitoring report of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the prevailing retail price of pork liempo in Metro Manila since August until November 7 remained above P220 per kg. On November 7, the prevailing retail price of pork liempo stood at P240 per kg.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, November 8, 2019 A3

No damage reported Army reports mass surrender of NPA in intensity 4 quake rebels, supporters in Central Luzon in Quezon and Camarines Norte HE military on Thursday said it

A

N earthquake shook the province of Quezon on Thursday as relief efforts continue for thousands of families affected by the successive strong tremors more than a week ago in Mindanao.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that the quake struck at around 4:52 a.m. near Jomalig, Quezon, but the agency’s Spokesman Mark Timbal said there had been no report of damage.

The temblor was felt at intensity 4 in parts of Quezon and Camarines Norte.

While aftershocks were being expected, Timbal said they were not expecting any damage, given that what hit Quezon was a low intensity earthquake.

Meanwhile, relief efforts continued for the families affected by the successive temblors in Region 11 and 12 as the Philippine Navy deployed one of its biggest vessels, BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602), to Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao in Davao to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR).

LD-602 carried around 56 tons of assorted cargoes and equip-

ment, which include mobile kitchens, cargo trucks and towable water treatment trucks from the 10th Infantry Division of the Army, Manila Water and Maynilad.

The deployment was made after Navy chief Vice Adm. Robert Empedrad issued his directive for the deployment of one of the largest naval assets to accommodate more relief goods and cargoes from Luzon and Visayas pickup points bound for Davao, and to provide humanitar ian assistance and transport mission in the quakeaffected areas in Mindanao.

The NDRRMC said in its latest report that at least 50,930 families or 254,473 individuals have been affected by the earthquakes in 274 villages in Regions 11 and 12.

Of the number, 8,265 families or 39,128 people are housed in evacuation centers, while 8,789 families or 43,945 individuals are being served outside evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, the NDRRMC warned that Tropical Storm “Quiel” may intensify into a storm and will bring rains in the northern portion of the country although it will not make a landfall. Rene Acosta

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

has scored its biggest offensive yet against communist-led New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Central Luzon following the surrender of 77 supporters in the provinces of Aurora and Nueva Ecija on Wednesday, in what was also considered as the biggest mass surrender on a single day since the government launched its campaign of ending the local communist armed conflict.

Col. Andrew Costelo, commander of the Army’s 703rd Infantry Brigade, which has operational jurisdiction over Central Luzon, said those who have turned themselves to authorities were members of different local groups under the “Sangay ng Partido sa Localidad” and “Yunit Milisyang Bayan,” the mass base unit of the rebels where they draw support from, especially in areas where they operate.

A total of 53 rebel supporters and

followers yielded in 13 groups to members of the 84th Infantry Battalion at Sitio Lising and Pandayan in Barangay Capintalan, and Sitio Malihdi in Barangay Minuli, both in the municipality of Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, at around 5 a.m. on Wednesday.

The mass surrender, which was facilitated by village officials, was borne by the special intelligence project Operational Plan Maharlika II, which was initiated by

the 84th IB in support of the Regional and Provincial Task Forces to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (Elcac).

An M-16 rifle was also turned over by the rebel supporters.

“The communities fall victims to communist ideology making them see everything that the organization wanted them to see. By the time they realized the truth that they believed in were all lies, they find it hard to break away, hence leaving them with no other choice but continue the fight against the government,” Costelo said.

“Therefore, we must exert more effort to reach out to them and pull them back to the mainstream of society. At the end of the day, they are still our people who are just waiting to be rescued and be given another chance at life,” he added.

Eight hours after the surrender in Nueva Ecija, 24 members of the Milisyang Bayan and other mass base supporters of the rebels also yielded to the elements of the 91st Infantry Battalion and 3rd Civil-Military operations Company at Barangay Dimanayat in San Luis, Aurora, wherein they also turned over three firearms.

Costelo said all of the 77 rebel supporters are still undergoing debriefing.

Meanwhile, a barangay chairman in Masbate, who was report-

edly a member of the NPA, was killed during a firefight by his group with a combined team of soldiers and policemen.

Wolfert Dalanon, alias Ompong, chairman of Barangay San Antonio, Milagros, Masbate, was killed during a clash at around 6 a.m. on Wednesday in his village, according to Maj. Ricky Anthony Aguilar, spokesman of the 9th Infantry Division.

Aguilar said a joint team from the 2nd Infantry Battalion and the 2nd Masbate Provincial Mobile Force Company were on combat operations in response to a report about the presence of rebels in San Antonio.

“Barangay Chairman Wolfert Dalanon also known as Ompong died on the spot while one M-16 rifle, an M653 rifle, a carbine, a laptop and subversive documents were recovered at the encounter site,” Aguilar said.

In Sulu, the military recovered 16 unrigged pipe bombs following the capture of a member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), which came in the aftermath of the killing of three reported suicide bombers, two of them an Egyptian father and son team.

Lt. Col. Gerald Monfort, spokesman of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said the ASG member, who was apprehended in Indanan, Sulu, pointed to the location of the assembled bombs, which turned out to a safehouse of the ASG at Barangay Paligue, Indanan.

A4 Friday, November 8, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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DTI upbeat in achieving ₧1-trillion local, foreign capital inflow by Q4

Meralco: Higher spot market price prompts power-rate jump in Nov T

H

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

IGHER prices at the spot market led to this month’s P0.4717 per kilowatthour power-rate hike, bringing November power rates to P9.5579 per kWh. The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said Thursday that the overall rate for a typical household consuming 200 kWh increased from last month’s P9.0862 per kWh. The adjustment of P0.4717 per kWh will mean an increase of around P94 in total electric bill for those with an average monthly consumption of 200 kWh, P141 for 300kWh, P188 for 400 kWh and P235 for 500 kWh. Despite the adjustment, electricity rates this month are still almost P1 per kWh lower than last April.

The utility firm said generation charge, which makes up bulk of an electric bill, increased to P5.0317 per kWh from P4.5406 per kWh last month.

Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) increased by P3.8016 per kWh driven by tighter supply conditions in the Luzon grid. The National Grid

Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the grid on yellow alert last October 14 and 15 due to forced outages of several power plants and the maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya natural gas facility from October 12 to 15.

The share of WESM to Meralco’s supply needs was at 16 percent.

In addition, WESM charges rose as the net settlement surplus (NSS) refund— ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) last August 1 was significantly lower for November at around P21 million only.

The ERC-ordered NSS refund last September and October totaled approximately P1 billion, which greatly contributed to the lower generation charges for the two prior months. The NSS refund is expected to end this month.

Meanwhile, the cost of power from the independent power producers and power-supply agreements decreased

by P0.0476 per kWh and P0.2643 per kWh, respectively, due to higher average plant dispatch, lower coal prices, and the strengthening of the peso against the US dollar. Around 97 percent of IPPs costs and 60 percent of PSA costs are dollardenominated.

IPPs and PSAs provided 39 percent and 45 percent of Meralco’s supply needs, respectively.

Transmission charges for residential customers decreased by P0.0767 per kWh brought about by lower ancillary service charges.

Meanwhile, taxes and other charges registered an increase of P0.0573 per kWh. Meralco’s distribution, supply and metering charges, meanwhile, have remained unchanged for 52 months, after these registered reductions in July 2015.

Meralco does not earn from the passthrough charges, such as the generation and transmission charges. Payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers, while payment for the transmission charge goes to the NGCP. Taxes and other public policy charges like the FiT-All are remitted to the government.

HREE quarters done and the Board of Investments (BOI) is making a case that it can achieve its target of registering P1 trillion in fresh projects this year with capital applied to the agency now standing at nearly P765 billion.

Based on official records, investments applied to the BOI from January to September doubled to P764.7 billion, from P372.9 billion during the same period last year. Bulk of this capital inflow came from domestic sources at roughly 69 percent, while the remaining 31 percent came from foreign investors.

Investments from local firms grew 54.7 percent to P524.9 billion, from P339.3 billion, while from foreign sources improved sevenfold to P239.9 billion, from P33.6 billion.

By sector, the information and communications technology and the power sectors got the lion’s share of the total at over 85 percent. Combined, investments in ICT and power amounted to P652.9 billion during the nine-month period.

Further, investments registered in manufacturing rose almost thrice to P63.5 billion, from P21.9 billion, while in the tourism sector leaped to P9.5 billion, from P1.2 billion.

Singapore topped all overseas sources with P170 billion in capital registrations. On the other hand, South Korea surged to second with P34.1 billion, bumping off the Netherlands with P9.2 billion to third, Thailand with P8.6 billion to fourth and Japan with P6 billion to fifth.

Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ramon M. Lopez attributed the over 100-percent increase in investments applied to the BOI to the country’s economic fundamentals, as well as to the government’s reform agenda. He argued such growth in capital

inflow is but “a proof of the business sector’s strong confidence” in the Philippine economy.

Signifying this optimism, he said, is the jump in the share of foreign capital, which expanded to 31.4 percent in the January-to-September stretch, from last year’s 8 percent.

“We are particularly pleased to highlight that the share of foreign investments in BOI projects have increased from just 8 percent during January to September 2018 to already 31.4 percent this year,” Lopez said in a news statement.

On the other hand, Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said he is determined to grow the tourism sector more, as it is “among the biggest job creators in our country along with manufacturing.” He added tourism will soon experience a boom highlighted by the 110 million domestic tourists recorded last year, already exceeding the objective of 89.2 million by 2022 stated under the National Tourism Development Plan.

“So we look forward to the coming years for a tourism boom with the recent announcement of a well-known brand—Marriott—to triple its portfolio by building 21 more hotels and the aggressive expansion of more affordable hotels, like RedDoorz, in the country,” Rodolfo said.

The largest project approved in September was the P130.31-billion 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Quezon to be built by Orion Pacific Prime Energy Inc. The BOI also authorized Petron Corp. to carry on with its P10.9 billion solid fuelfired power plant in Bataan, as well as 6 Barracuda Energy Corp. with its P7.6 billion win power project in Samar. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Duterte backs legislation briefs GOVT EYES ‘IMPROVEMENTS’ ON PPP RULES, REGULATIONS to ban plastic use

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla & Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

P

RESIDENT Duterte on Thursday said he now is inclined to support legislation banning the use of plastics.

A Palace news statement said Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo made the pronouncement during the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday in response to the presentation of Vernice Victorio, president and chief executive officer of the Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC), which is an attached government-owned and -controlled corporation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“During her presentation, the President floated the idea to ban the use of plastics, which according to him would require legislative action,” Panelo said.

Victorio presented NRDC’s priority programs for environment and climatechange resiliency, as well as the harmful impact of plastics in Manila Bay during the said meeting.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said they are still working on the details for the proposal.

Among the issues they have yet to finalize, he said, is if the ban will be nationwide or at a local level.

“This is still in the discussion [phase]. There is still no policy [for it],” Pernia told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

Pernia said President Duterte is now receptive to the idea of a plastic ban due to his growing awareness on the impact of climate change.

There are currently at least two pending bills on banning plastics: Sen. Cynthia Villar’s Senate Bill 333, or the “Single-Use Plastic Product Regulation Act of 2019” and Sen. Francis Pangilinan’s Senate Bill 40, or the “Single-Use Plastics Regulation and Management Act of 2019.”

A 2015 report of Ocean Conservancy and McKinsey Center for Business and Environment tagged the Philippines as one of the top contributors of plastic pollution in the oceans, which prompted stakeholders to call for stricter government policies on plastic use.

Bet on ‘win-win’ solution to address ASF threat, group tells Cebu LGUs

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HE Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) is urging the local government of Cebu to reconsider the extension of its temporary ban on pork-related products to June 2020 and find a middle ground to address the issue.

Pampi said Cebu should consider “win-win” solutions in addressing the threat of African swine fever (ASF) by working with industry players, especially meat processors who are affected by the province’s temporary ban.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia earlier announced that she would extend the temporary ban imposed on live pigs, pork and pork-related products to June 2020 to protect the province’s hog industry from ASF. “We recognize the prerogative of Gov. Gwen for the actions that she has taken under the ASF developments in the country, specifically her decision to extend the ban to June 2020. This is based on her appreciation of the pros and cons of her choices based on the inputs of her technical and business advisory teams,” Pampi said on Thursday.

“We are also thankful that Gov. Gwen has realized that sales and marketability of

pigs in Cebu has gone down. We hope that she will see things from a wider perspective and work with industry stakeholders for win-win solutions,” Pampi added.

Pampi stood firm with its position to advance the “the meat processing industry and maintain its commitment to truthfulness in its advocacy to educate consumers and stakeholders.”

Earlier, Pampi asked local government units (LGUs), including Cebu, to follow the lead of Cavite province lifted its temporary ban and adopted national guidelines on the transport and sale of pork-related goods.

“We adhere to the empirical truth established by the OIE [World Organisation for Animal Health] that the ASF virus is killed and rendered incapable of infecting pigs when our products are subjected to 70 degrees Centigrade for at least 30 minutes,” Pampi said.

“Our commitment to the nonpresence of ASF virus in the imported pork that we bring-in from DA-approved non-ASF infected countries has been proven over and over in the tests done by DA/BAI [Bureau of Animal Industry] and in independent tests done on our raw materials,” it added. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

THE Duterte administration intends to improve on the rules and regulations for public-private partnership (PPP) projects to protect the government from lawsuits and higher costs.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told reporters on Thursday that these improvements will focus on material adverse government action (Maga).

Maga, Pernia explained, will require the government to pay the private-sector proponent if there is a part in the contract that it failed to deliver and caused a project to become delayed.

“We want to make sure that PPP projects are going to benefit the people, that is why we don’t want government guarantees, subsidies, other, you know, like anything having to do with Maga,” Pernia said.

The Neda chief said avoiding the Maga is the reason why it took the government almost a year to approve the operation and maintenance undertaking for the Bohol Panglao International Airport. Cai U. Ordinario

W.T.O. URGED TO SUSTAIN, IMPROVE DSS THE Philippines is calling on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to prioritize the preservation of its Dispute Settlement System which could boost the multilateral trading system.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said this can be done by hastening the selection process of the Appellate Body (AB) member of the WTO Dispute Settlement Board.

The statement was part of the country’s call for action in the next WTO Ministerial Conference and the modernization of trade rules, as well as the informal WTO ministerial meeting in China this week.

“We should support and maintain an open, fair, predictable, transparent and rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied in the WTO.” Lopez said the WTO is the only international organization in the world which has a DSS. He said, however, the WTO should explore the use of Dispute Settlement Understanding, particularly on mediation and arbitration. Cai U Ordinario

FARMERS GET P17.64-M RICE LIB LOAN THE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday said the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) has disbursed a P17.64-million loan that benefited over 170 rice farmers as part of government interventions to help them cope with the liberalization of the industry.

In a news statement, the DA said its Agricultural Credit Policy Council has released an initial P180 million out of the P500-million credit component that LandBank would receive under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

LandBank Assistant Vice President Edgardo Luzano said about 80 percent, or P17.64 million, has been availed of by rice farmers in 59 provinces as of October 17.

Of the amount P11.78 million was borrowed by 171 individual farmers, while the remaining P5.94 million was lent to two farmers cooperatives.

Luzano added that they are now processing about P124.66 million worth of loan applications from 751 individual rice farmers (P71.67 million) and 10 cooperatives (P52.99 million). Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

UPS PRESENTS ‘BUYING DYNAMICS STUDY’ TO CLARK STAKEHOLDERS CLARK FREEPORT—The 2019 UPS Industrial Buying Dynamics Asia Pacific Study was presented to various stakeholders who gathered at the Quest Hotel here on Tuesday.

Chris Buono, UPS managing director for the Philippines and Indonesia, presented the study to Clark stakeholders led by the Clark Investors and Locators Association (Cila) and its President Frankie Vilanueva who was also a panelist in the event.

“We focused this event in Clark for a number of reasons. One is Clark has been home to us for almost 20 years and we want to continue to see it grow,” Buono said.

“I love the investment and the infrastructure growth here as compared when I first came here in 2012 to where it is now. It’s completely different setting,” he added.

The study found that B2B (business-to-business) buyers in the region are doing much of their purchasing online, and at the same time relying heavily on offline relationships and seeking out solid after-sales service. Ashley Manabat

News BusinessMirror

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Friday, November 8, 2019 A5

CJ orders judges to speed up resolution of pending cases

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

C

HIEF Justice Diosdado Peralta on Thursday issued a memorandum reminding all courts to strictly observe session hours and hearing dates, including periods to resolve pending cases for the speedy resolution of cases.

The directive, according to Peralta, is in line with his 10-Point Program which he announced upon his assumption as chief magistrate last month.

“All lower courts are strictly enjoined to comply with the rules on session hours and hearing dates, including the reglementary or prescribed periods to resolve pending cases and incidents, as provided for under the Constitution, the laws, rules of procedure, guidelines and other administrative issues,” Peralta said in his memorandum dated November 4.

Likewise, the Chief Justice also reminded judges and court officers to strictly prohibit the use of cellular phones and other electronic communication devices while court is in session to maintain orderly court proceedings and trial. “In order to maintain orderly proceedings and trial, and in the best interest of service, the use of cellular phones while the court is in session is strictly prohibited. The use of other electronic communication devices not related to the ongoing proceedings or trial is, likewise, prohibited,” he said.

Part of Chief Justice Peralta’s 10-Point Program is addressing the backlog in courts by requiring clerk of courts to conduct periodic inventories of cases and for courts to comply with the rules on prescribe trial periods, the implementation and continuous revisions of procedural rules and the automation of court processes and incorporation of new technology.

The top magistrate also vowed to improve the security of judges and the creation of a 24/7 help desk for court users, monitoring of court performances and improvement in the procurement process by creating dedicated project management offices.

He also promised to improve strategic planning for the SC and the entire Judiciary.

Peralta also revealed a plan for the High Court to initiate investigations of cases involving judges even without a complaint in line with a bid to “weed out misfits from the Judiciary,” as well as the implementation of a Judicial Integrity Board whose functions will be “harmonized” with that of the Office of the Court Administrator.

The top magistrate has been advocating for the application of the res ipsa loquitur principle, a principle where decisions that appear irregular on its face shall be automatically investigated without the need for a formal complaint.

The SC created the Judicial Integrity Board and the Corruption Prevention and Investigation Office in October last year, to act on complaints against justices, judges and court personnel, and conduct a lifestyle check on them.

Meanwhile, Philippine Judges Association (PJA) President Felix Reyes on Thursday issued a statement condemning the killing of Ilocos Sur Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 25 Presiding Judge Mario Anacleto Bañez.

Reyes said the killing of trial court judges is “a serious concern” that has not been properly addressed by concerned agencies.

“The Philippine Judges Association deplores and condemns in the strongest possible terms, the senseless killing of Judge Bañez. This act of violence has no place in a civilized society. The recent spate of killings of trial court judges have become a serious concern which has not yet been addressed by the concerned agencies” Reyes said.

Based on PJA’s data Bañez was the 31st judge who was violently killed since 1999. The PJA officials and members expressed their

QC awards Seal of Excellence to top 55 private lying-in clinics

A

TOTAL of 55 private lying-in clinics out of 80-plus registered and located in the city were recognized by the Quezon City government, through the Quezon City Health Department, with a Seal of Excellence Award for being fully compliant to the standards of the Department of Health (DOH) and the local government requirements for health facilities rendering services for maternal and child health.

The grant of the Seal of Excellence to compliant lying-ins and birthing clinics was implemented by virtue of a city ordinance. It refers to the quality label awarded to those who have achieved all essential maternal, neonatal and child health indicators.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte lauded all the awardees and noted that the Seal of Excellence Award “promotes healthy competition, encourages innovation, fosters a culture of excellence and nurtures collaboration that leads to a win-win situation.” The award has indeed inspired many to level up, from only 23-percent compliance when it was launched in 2016, this year, 63 percent are already compliant.

The mayor posed a challenge during the summit for compliance to reach 100 percent by next year. Once the goal is met, she intends to make the Seal of Excellence as Quezon City’s entry to the Galing Pook Award, which recognizes the best practices of LGUs all over the country.

According to Dr. Esperanza Anita Escano-Arias, officer in charge at the Quezon City Health Department, both the 100-percent compliance and Galing Pook qualification are doable as long as the commitment and collaboration of all the parties involved remain strong.

But at the end of the day, she said, “Whether we will meet that goal or not is entirely up to the private lying-in clinics, because they will be the ones to implement the standards. They should embrace and own it. We are just here to support them.”

‘Good synergy’–Unilab

LEADING pharmaceutical and health-care company, Unilab Inc., is the partner of the city government and the clinics to achieve their goals. “We have a good synergy and long-standing partnership with Quezon City in terms of ensuring high quality of health care provided to the residents, particularly the mothers and their children,” said Claire Papa, Unilab’s head for external affairs and social partnerships.

“The Seal of Excellence is a joint undertaking of the Quezon City Health Department and Unilab as part of the long-term advocacy on maternal and child health.

Belmonte commended the awardees, as well as the government agencies and partners from the private sector for their commitment in working together so that the city will achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals particularly SDG 3.1 that by 2030, global maternal mortality ratio will be less than 70 per 100,000 live births.

She proudly announced that Quezon City’s ratio is now at 50, among the lowest in LGUs. “Quezon City established our maternal and neonatal health council to ensure the collaboration of the public and private sectors 10 years ago to prioritize the needs of mothers and their children,” Belmonte said.

condolences to the family of Bañez.

The 53-year-old Bañez was on his way home and driving along Barangay Mameltac in San Fernando, La Union, when he was ambushed.

In light of this, SC Spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka reiterated the SC’s call for Congress to pass a law that will create a US Marshal Service-type of security solely for justices and judges’ protection.

Instituting measures to ensure the security of the members of the Judiciary is included in Chief Justice Peralta’s 10-Point Program.

“This security system would have the objective of law enforcement which is primarily connected to judicial functions, such as but not limited to security of magistrates and court personnel, enforcement of court orders, safekeeping of evidence, and also in-

vestigation,” Hosaka said.

“Considering the powers of the Judiciary under the Philippine Constitution, as well as the intended functions of the proposed security system, it would be best that this office or law-enforcement agency be created through a law in order to prevent its powers and authority from being questioned, as it will now be clearly based on and mandated by legislation,” he added.

BusinessMirror

A6 Friday, November 8, 2019 Republic of the Philippines

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Regional Office No. IV-A 4th Flr. Andenson Bldg. II, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City Telefax No.: (049) 545-7362 November 8, 2019

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT (AEP) Notice is hereby given that the following employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s.

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MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

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BusinessMirror Friday, November 8, 2019 A7

‘Parked funds’ in natl budget worry Recto

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

ENATE President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto raised concerns over billions of pesos in “parked funds” included in the national budget for next year.

Recto prodded the Duterte administration to end the scourge of “artificial spending” by preventing the transfer of allotments from one agency to another in order to “cover up the failure to spend.”

In a statement issued last Thursday, the lawmaker noted that agencies are prone to resort to tagging budget allocations as “obligated” and passed on to other agencies to avoid the fund reverting to the treasury.

What’s happening now, funds are transferred to other agencies to justify that the allotment is obligated, Recto said in Filipino. He added this practice prevents the fund from being reverted to the Treasury.

Recto lamented that “the result is that funds are not spent, but are merely parked in another agency.”

“This subverts the very essence of cash budgeting, which seeks to accelerate disbursement,” he said adding that “this creates the illusion of

money spent when what happened was the budgetary equivalent of passing the buck.”

The senator cited as example the procurement of equipment by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) or the Philippine National Police (PNP). Recto said that rather than hold a bidding outright, the fund is passed on to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).

The senator said the result is the funds have been written as obligated in the books of the AFP or PNP “when, in reality, they have not been.”

Citing reports, Recto said the same scheme is done in the Department of Transportation. He added the DOTr sub-contracts the procurement. “And in the report card, that money has been marked as obligated.”

Recto also tagged the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) as “one favorite repository of parked allotments.”

“What is the competence of these

agencies to, say, conduct a due diligence-compliant procurement of highly specialized goods like trains, ships, planes and automobiles?”

The Senate President Pro Tempore cited another practice in previous years for a department, like the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), that is “suffering from budgetary indigestion for having more than what it can chew, transferring funds to other departments.” ”But this transfer of obligational authority to outsource procurement has not expedited the purchase of goods and services, according to COA [Commission on Audit] itself,” he added.

Moreover, Recto recalled that the PNP once engaged the services of the PITC to procure equipment amounting to P1.35 billion, but managed to deliver only P137.5 million worth of purchases by end of last year, or 1/10th of the amount.

As of December 2018, Recto noted “the PNP still has to collect about P5.08 billion worth of projects from PS-DBM intended for the procurement of common-use supplies, materials and various equipment, military and police supplies and municipal police stations.”

The COA 2018 audit report for PITC noted that the governmentowned trading firm has received about P30.63 billion worth of fund transfers from various agencies, he added.

Income from loans boosts RCBC’s end-Sept net profit

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IZAL Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) posted a 41-percent increase in its net income in the first nine months of the year, the bank reported on Wednesday. Its net income rose to P4.5 billion for the first nine months of the year, up from the P3.2 billion the bank reported in the same ninemonth period in 2018.

“Our double-digit income growth is a reflection of the bank’s prudence in tapping the right prospects in the market while expanding capacity and enhancing customer experience in the core business,” RCBC President and CEO Eugene S. Acevedo said.

The bank’s interest income from loans and receivables expanded by 24

percent to P24.1 billion during the period on account of higher average loan volume of key select markets.

Loans to consumers, which include mortgage loans, automobile loans, and credit cards, increased by 18 percent to P126.3 billion. Gross outstanding credit card receivables also grew 43 percent to P27.9 billion as of September. This is on the back of an 836,000 card base, higher by 26 percent last year’s.

The bank also reported that its loans to small and medium enterprises (SME) continued to grow year-on-year by 20 percent to P64.8 billion.

“We see more potential in the fastgrowing consumer and SME sectors.

Association sustainability

I

WILL be in Taipei upon invitation of the Taiwan Convention and Exhibition Association (TCEA) to speak at its seminar-workshop on “Transformational Developments and Challenges of Associations in Taiwan.”

The event, supported by the American Society of Association Executives (Asae), is expected to draw around 100 participants from TCEA members and association leaders in Taiwan. I will be one of three speakers from overseas and lone resource person from the Philippines as two of my co-speakers are from the United States.

The topic assigned to me was on the sustainability of associations, which I wish to share with you in advance, hoping to write more about it upon my return.

An association’s sustainability to me has two facets that are mutually reinforcing. On one hand, sustainability means the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level (organizational sustainability); on the other, it’s the ability to contribute to maintain ecological balance (environmental sustainability).

I will delve and focus my thoughts on the former.

Organizational sustainability, based on my readings from BoardSource, a US nonprofit that advocates excellence in governance and management leadership, covers programmatic and financial sustainability.

Programmatic sustainability is the association’s ability to develop, mature, and discontinue, as necessary, its mem-

Association World Octavio Peralta bership programs and services, while financial sustainability is its ability to generate resources to meet present requirements without compromising future needs. Essentially, programs and services and financial resources are the two most important and critical areas that an association has to deal with to be sustainable.

In terms of programmatic sustainability, the first imperative is to be conscious of the unique value proposition of your association. Based on Asae studies, association members find value in four broad areas: learning (e.g., online and face-to-face education, as well as certification programs); knowledge (e.g., publications, such as bulletins, newsletters, journals, books, magazines, as well as web site and research); community (e.g., volunteer opportunities, special interest groups, social networking sites, chapters); and advocacy (e.g., lobbying, formulating policy and position papers, providing specialized information).

In the context of financial sustainability, it is crucial to answer the question,“where will the money come from?”

In simple accounting terms, is it from assets or liabilities (debt)?

We expect them to be 50 percent of our customer base by next year,” Acevedo said.

In terms of its trading gains, the bank generated a total of P7.1 billion in the first nine months of the year while its fee-based income increased by 12 percent to P3.1 billion.

The bank attributed this to higher revenues from deposit and branch fees, card-related fees and trust fees.

RCBC also reported that it was able to drive up its net income amid higher operating expenses during the period. Its operating expenses, in particular, inched up to P16.3 billion for the first nine months of 2019.

This was attributed to the growth in business volume. Bianca Cuaresma

Obviously, an association would rather have more assets (especially cash) and less liabilities. In short, assets put money in your pocket, and liabilities take your money out.

Money for associations comes primarily from membership dues and non-dues revenues. Examples of non-dues revenues are sponsorships, endowments, conference and seminar registration fees, sale of publications, and merchandise. The challenge for associations is to diversify its revenue sources and not depend on membership dues alone. Many studies have shown that solely relying on membership dues will derail an association’s sustainability, if not result to outright demise.

An association’s sustainability will depend largely on its ability to understand and actualize the key details of its programmatic and financial sustainability, as both aspects work solidly hand in hand.

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 the CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives. The PCAAE is holding the Associations Summit 7 on November 27 and 28, 2019, at the Philippine International Convention Center, which is expected to draw over 200 association professionals here and abroad. The two-day event is supported by Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board and the PICC. E-mail inquiries@ adfiap.org for more details on AS7.

A8

The World BusinessMirror

Friday, November 8, 2019

China says it agreed with US to roll back tariffs in phases

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HINA and the United States have agreed to proportionally roll back tariffs on each other’s goods in phases, a Ministry of Commerce spokesman said.

The amount of tariff relief that would come in the first phase, set to be signed in the coming weeks, would depend on the content of that agreement, Spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday without giving further details. The two sides had “constructive talks” in the past two weeks, he said.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may not be able to sign a

partial trade deal until December, and two US locations have been ruled out for their highly anticipated meeting, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The two sides have been trying to negotiate a limited trade deal that would entail the US dropping some tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for Beijing resuming purchases of American farm goods and other products.

The US-China trade war that Trump began has been a drag on both nation’s economies, and the leaders had initially expected to take a step toward resolving it ahead of the 2020 US elections at an international summit in Chile this month. The summit was canceled because of protests in the capital, Santiago.

US locations for a Trump-Xi meeting that had been proposed by the White House, including Iowa and Alaska, have been ruled out, the person said. Locations in Asia and Europe are now being considered instead, the person said, asking not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public.

“Negotiations are continuing and progress is being made on the text of the phase-one agreement,” White House Spokesman Judd

Deere said. “We will let you know when we have an announcement on a signing location.”

Reuters reported earlier that the signing might be delayed and likely wouldn’t occur in the US. Tr u mp ad m i n ist rat ion of ficials in recent days have expressed optimism that phase one of a comprehensive trade deal might come together this month, helping boost equity markets to records this week.

“I think we’re in good shape, we’re making good progress, and there’s no natural reason why it couldn’t be” signed this month, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Bloomberg Television in an interview on Sunday in Bangkok.

“But whether it will slip a little bit, who knows, it’s always possible.”

Bloomberg News

Europeans eye China as global trade partner, shun Trump’s US

P

ARIS—When France’s president wants to carry European concerns to the world stage to find solutions for climate change, trade tensions or Iran’s nuclear ambitions, he no longer calls Washington.

He flies to Beijing.

President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China this week suggests that the United States risks being sidelined on the global stage under President Donald Trump. One moment spoke volumes: Chinese President Xi Jinping sampling French wines, which Trump’s administration recently slapped with heavy new tariffs.

Macron portrayed himself as an envoy for the whole European Union, conveying the message that the bloc has largely given up on Trump, who doesn’t hide his disdain for multilateralism.

Just as the Trump administration formally launched the process of pulling out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, France and China issued a “Beijing call” on Wednesday for increased global cooperation in fighting climate change and better protecting biodiversity. Both countries have deplored the US withdrawal.

“One country’s isolated choice can’t change the course of the world.

It only leads to marginalization,” Macron said.

While China’s president tasted French wines and high-quality beef at an import fair in Shanghai, Macron was pushing for a broader opening of the Chinese market to European products.

“I think he discovered Languedoc wine. He wasn’t familiar with it, he liked it. He tasted a Burgundy and a classic Bordeaux wine,” Macron told reporters.

Xi said the two leaders were sending “a strong signal to the world about steadfastly upholding multilateralism and free trade, as well as working together to build open economies.”

During his first state visit to China in January 2018, Macron vowed to return every year in an effort to establish “mutual trust.”

AIRBUS CEO Guillaume Faury (left) shakes hands with Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission He Lifeng after the signing of an agreement at the Great Hall of the People during French President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit in Beijing on Wednesday, November 6, 2019. NICOLAS ASFOURI/PHOTO VIA AP Since then, Xi has traveled to France, when China signed an agreement in March to buy 300 aircraft from European plane maker Airbus.

This time, Macron traveled east, bringing with him an ambitious agenda that includes establishing a joint stance on reforming the World Trade Organization, fighting climate change and saving the nuclear accord with Iran.

After Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 UN nuclear pact, France and China reiterated their support for the hard-fought deal both countries had helped negotiate.

In Beijing, Macron described recent Gulf tensions as “the negative impact of the non-respect of a multilateral agreement.... The American error has been to leave [the pact] unilaterally.”

“Strong multilateralism is more efficient than shrill unilateralism,” Macron said, praising China’s support for de-escalation of the tensions as the Europeans try to save the nuclear deal with Iran.

“China and France are together with the Europeans and Russians,” he said. “We are convinced that we should increase our joint efforts to bring Iran back into compliance.”

On trade, the EU often joins US criticism of China’s protectionist policies, government subsidies and other restrictive practices.

But whereas Trump has responded by aggressively imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods from China, Europe and elsewhere, bypassing rules set by the WTO, the EU considers that a trade war is not the appropriate response.

“We must get stable and cooperative trade rules at the international level,” Macron said, referring to a plan to reform the WTO. Trump complains that the WTO, which is tasked with resolving trade disputes, is weak and ineffective as China flouts its rules and it takes years to address trade complaints.

Macron said it is Europe and China’s shared responsibility to make

proposals to reform the WTO, because it would be a “fundamental error” to wait for “those who are calling into question the multilateral system.”

The White House did not immediately comment on Wednesday.

Besides the tariffs on China, the US has hit EU steel, aluminum and agricultural products with tariffs, drawing retaliation from the 28-country bloc. And the Trump administration is due to decide this month whether to impose tariffs on Europe’s massive auto exports, a move that would significantly escalate tensions that are already hurting the global economy.

Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University economist and former head of the International Monetary Fund’s China division, said “the Trump administration’s antipathy to multilateralism, its repudiation of many international agreements, and hostility toward even longstanding allies, have all eroded US economic and geopolitical influence.” AP

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Merkel’s fading power laid bare as German ministers go rogue

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the weekly Cabinet meeting of the German government at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday, November 6, 2019. AP PHOTO/MARKUS SCHREIBER

F

OR the second time in as many weeks, one of Angela Merkel’s chief Cabinet members has gone rogue.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz’s bid to break years of deadlock over European efforts to complete a banking union was announced with fanfare on Wednesday at Bloomberg’s Future of Finance conference in Frankfurt.

But he hadn’t cleared it with the chancellor, his boss.

“This contribution to a discussion has yet to be discussed within the government,” Merkel’s chief spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told reporters.

The free-for-all in a oncedisciplined government has left Germans wondering who is really in charge as Merkel approaches her 15th year in office.

The chancellor’s authority was similarly tested two weeks ago, when her defense minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, set out a peace plan for northern Syria. While Merkel was given a heads up on that occasion, the chancellery was caught out all the same when Kramp-Karrenbauer unleashed the proposal without squaring it with their coalition partners. The idea was pilloried by the Social Democrats as unworkable and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas complained he’d found out about the plan by text message.

The next chancellor

WHAT connects both episodes is the looming question of who will follow Merkel as chancellor when her term ends in 2021 at the latest. Both AKK, as the defense chief is known, and Scholz may be in the running even as they uphold responsibilities in the creaking coalition.

It’s a dangerous game though.

Both Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the SPD have suffered in the polls as the coalition limps forward. They could face serious punishment if the political maneuvers were to trigger an election.

So on the same day that Scholz made his move on banking union, he also joined Merkel at the Chancellery in Berlin to stage a show of unity as the Cabinet vaunted its policy achievements since coming together last year.

“This shows that we’re ca-

pable and willing to work,” the chancellor said.

Rift with Merkel

HER party is unhappy all the same. AKK, who was Merkel’s chosen successor as CDU leader, is already facing an open revolt over her lackluster performance and her bond with the chancellor has broken down.

Merkel left her one-time protegee to face the music after the CDU’s embarrassing defeat in the eastern state of Thuringia last week. When CDU lawmakers protested Merkel’s plans to cut a deal with the SPD over pensions at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, AKK kept silent leaving the chancellor to defend her decision alone, according to a party official who was present.

On Merkel’s other flank, Scholz is trying to win a contest for the leadership of the SPD. His rivals have signaled they could pull out of the coalition triggering a snap election and bringing down the curtain on Merkel’s political career.

No one in charge

THE mood in Berlin though is one of drift rather than revolution. While Merkel’s power has waned, neither of the contenders have succeeded in stamping their authority on the administration.

AKK’s Syria proposal, a mission to secure a swath of land to protect Kurds along Turkey’s border, was dispatched within days of its unveiling as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey carved the area between them as US forces pulled out.

Scholz’s plan to complete the banking union, while stirring promise within the 19-member euro area, had a cold reception in Merkel’s Bundestag caucus. CDU lawmaker Olav Gutting, who sits on the Bundestag finance committee, insisted Merkel’s party will stand by the conditions for a deposit insurance set out by Scholz’s predecessor, Wolfgang Schaeuble.

“Risks must first be reduced and controlled on a sustainable basis,” Gutting said in an e-mail to Bloomberg News. “Then you can have a European deposit insurance.” Bloomberg News

Iran injects uranium gas in new centrifuges as atomic deal unravels

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UBAI, United Arab Emirates—Iran injected uranium gas into centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear complex early Thursday, taking its mostsignificant step away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Tehran meanwhile also acknowledged blocking an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency from visiting its nuclear site at Natanz last week, the first known case of a United Nations inspector being blocked amid heightened tensions over its atomic program.

These latest steps put additional pressure on Europe to offer Iran a way to sell its crude oil abroad despite the US sanctions imposed on the country since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear deal over a year ago.

The gas injection began after midnight at Fordo, a facility built under a mountain north of the Shiite holy city of Qom, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said.

A UN official from the IAEA witnessed the injection, it said. The centrifuges ultimately will be-

gin enriching uranium up to 4.5 percent, which is just beyond the limits of the nuclear deal, but nowhere near weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.

Fordo’s 1,044 centrifuges previously spun without uranium gas for enrichment under the deal, which saw Iran limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The deal had called for Fordo to become “a nuclear, physics and technology center.”

Iran acknowledged Fordo’s existence in 2009 amid a major

pressure campaign by Western powers over Tehran’s nuclear program. The West feared Iran could use its program to build a nuclear weapon; Iran insists the program is for peaceful purposes.

Meanwhile, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said it had blocked a female IAEA inspector from its facility at Natanz, where centrifuges also enrich uranium.

Iran said an alarm went off while the woman tried to enter the facility, causing officials there to stop here from going in.

The state-run IRNA news agen-

cy, citing Iran’s atomic agency, said the woman was stopped “due to concerns over carrying suspicious materials.” The inspector later left Iran without completing her visit, it said.

This marks the first known time of Iran blocking an inspector amid the tensions. Iran said it planned to address its decision to block the inspector at a meeting of the IAEA on Thursday in Vienna.

Iranian officials repeatedly have stressed the steps taken so far, including going beyond the deal’s enrichment and stockpile

limitations, could be reversed if Europe offers a way for it to avoid US sanctions choking off its crude oil sales abroad. However, a European trade mechanism has yet to take hold and a French-proposed $15 billion line of credit has not emerged.

The collapse of the nuclear deal coincided with a tense summer of mysterious attacks on oil tankers and Saudi oil facilities that the US blamed on Iran. Tehran denied the allegation, though it did seize oil tankers and shoot down a US military surveillance drone. AP

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Friday, November 8, 2019

A9

Biggest Opec+ producers not pushing for deeper oil cuts

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HE biggest producers in Opec+ aren’t pushing for deeper oilsupply cuts when the group meets next month, according to delegates across the coalition.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are more likely to stick to their current output targets and encourage members to comply more fully, the delegates said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private.

The producers, representing about half of global supply, meet in Vienna on December 5 and 6.

Opec is anticipating a supply glut in the first half of next year and prices are already lower than most members need to balance their budgets. It could face further pressure in 2020 as US shale-oil supplies boom and global demand increases slowly.

Morgan Stanley, Commerzbank AG and Rystad Energy AS have said Opec and its allies need to cut deeper in response.

Last month, officials from the organization signaled they’re prepared to do this, with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman—who represents Opec’s biggest and most inf luential member—saying it was his “ job” to thwart any surplus. Yet the pain of sacrificing more sales volumes, and haggling over how to divide up the burden, may rather steer the alliance to wait and see how conditions develop.

Opec+ hasn’t started work on the different scenarios to outline the range of deeper cutbacks ministers would consider when they meet in early December, the delegates said.

“It will prove very difficult to formally agree to new, deeper

cuts,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA in London. “A rollover of current cuts for the rest of 2020, with an emphasis on compliance by all members, is the path of least resistance.”

The group signaled this week it saw less urgency to adopt new measures, with Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo saying the outlook for 2020 has “brightened” as economic growth holds up and trade tensions between the US and China abate.

A key obstacle to any new agreement is that some countries haven’t yet delivered the cutbacks they agreed to at the start of the year, when Opec+ pledged to collectively reduce supplies by 1.2 million barrels a day. Iraq and Nigeria have mostly increased output instead of delivering their promised curbs.

Another difficulty is in securing support from Opec’s principal ally, Russia, which is under less budgetary pressure to maintain high oil prices and has sounded cautious about stronger intervention. Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that oil prices of $60 a barrel show the market is stable, and producers will keep monitoring the situation into early 2020. Russia has also exceeded its output curbs pledge for several months this year.

Traders, analysts and refiners surveyed by Bloomberg on Wednesday said they mostly expect Opec and its partners

to simply extend the existing output caps—which expire in March—to the middle or end of next year. Twenty-four of 38 predicted a rollover, while the other nine forecast a deeper reduction.

Case for action

THE case for taking more vigorous action is clear. Output from Opec’s rivals will expand twice as fast as global consumption in 2020 as the ongoing surge in US shale oil is supplemented by new supplies from Brazil and the North Sea, the organization’s data show.

“We see a supply tsunami next year,” said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group and a former oil official at the White House under President George W. Bush. “If Opec did nothing, global inventories would rise by at least 1.2 million barrels a day. We assume they’ll announce a cut in December.”

Yet a new agreement may be too difficult to achieve.

Saudi Arabia, the cartel ’s biggest and most inf luential member, has already cut production more than twice as much as agreed to under the current deal. The kingdom is frustrated that others still haven’t fully implemented the cutbacks they committed to at the start of the year, according to a delegate.

“The challenge of announcing deeper cuts is that some members are still not compliant, while others are over-compliant,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS AG in Zurich.

There’s also the risk the current strategy is backfiring, by propping up prices and encouraging investment in Opec’s rivals. In a long-term outlook published on Tuesday, the organization slashed forecasts for the amount of oil it will need to pump over the next few years as US shale oil continues to grow.

Bloomberg News

Brazil’s oil tender yields $17 billion, falls short of hopes

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IO DE JANEIRO—Brazil awarded two of the four blocks on offer in its priciest oil auction since 2010 on Wednesday, securing about $17 billion but falling short of government expectations.

The highly anticipated tender had captured the attention of some of the world’s biggest oil firms, including the United States’s ExxonMobil and other companies from China, Malaysia and Norway.

In the end, few participated.

Chinese state-owned oil firms CNOOC and CNODC won the largest block, Buzios, in a consortium with Brazil’s state-controlled Petrobras. The Chinese will have a minority share of 10 percent in the joint venture.

Petrobras was the sole participant and de facto winner of the second awarded block, Itapu.

“We have to evaluate why the big [oil firms] didn’t participate in this auction,” said Brazil’s energy minister, Bento Albuquerque, adding that the government will review the auction’s methodology to improve future tenders.

The contract terms stipulated that winning bidders were to reimburse an undisclosed amount of money to Petrobras to compensate for exploratory works already carried out by the company. The fact that this sum was to be negotiated after the auction represented additional risk for

SCREENS show a map with the location of the Buzios oil field during an oil auction in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday, November 6, 2019. Brazil is holding one of the world’s biggest-ever oil auctions, with oil majors bidding on fields currently operated by state-run Petrobras. AP PHOTO/LEO CORREA

potential investors.

Brazilian energy officials after the event maintained the auction was a success, though the proceeds fell short of the $26 billion the government could have obtained if all four blocks had been auctioned.

Décio Oddone, director of Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels called it a “historic day” for the oil sector.

The tender is the result of years of difficult negotiations between the federal government, Petrobras, which had previous rights on the oil fields, and Brazilian states that also wanted a share of the windfall.

Brazil’s oil sector has been recovering from the fall in international oil prices since 2014, as

well as the sprawling “Car Wash” anti-graft probe that unveiled endemic corruption at the top levels of Petrobras and the government.

“We had a crisis here in Brazil,” Oddone said in an interview with The Associated Press before the tender. “The oil sector hit the wall. We had to do something for the market to recover.”

According to Fernanda Delgado, head of research at the Getulio Vargas Foundation’s energy department, Brazil is now considered a “hot spot” for oil investment, for its attractive geology, contract terms and stable political context.

“At this time, I think 70 billion reals [$17 billion dollars] is a very significant amount of money for the public coffers,” Delgado said.

AP

U.S.: SAUDIS RECRUITED TWITTER EMPLOYEES TO SPY ON CRITICS

S

AN FRANCISCO —Saudi Arabia, frustrated by growing criticism of its leaders and policies on social media, recruited two Twitter employees to spy on thousands of accounts that included prominent opponents, prosecutors alleged on Wednesday.

The complaint unsealed in US District Court in San Francisco detailed a coordinated effort

by Saudi government officials to recruit employees at the social-media giant to look up the private data of Twitter accounts, including e-mail addresses linked to the accounts and Internet protocol addresses that can give up a user’s location. It appeared to link Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the powerful 34-year-son of King Salman, to the effort.

The accounts included those of a popular critic of the government with more than 1 million followers and a news personality.

Neither was named.

The complaint also alleged that the employees—whose jobs did not require access to Twitter users’ private information—were rewarded with a designer watch and tens of thousands of dollars funneled into secret bank accounts. Ahmad Abouammo, a US citizen, and Ali Alzabarah, a Saudi citizen, were charged with acting as agents of Saudi Arabia without registering with the US government.

The Saudi government had no immediate comment through its embassy in Washington.

Its state-run media did not immediately acknowledge the charges.

The complaint marks the first time that the kingdom, long linked to the US through

its massive oil reserves and regional security arrangements, has been accused of spying in America.

The allegations against two former Twitter employees and a third man who ran a socialmedia marketing company that did work for the Saudi royal family comes a little more than a year after the execution of Jamal Khashoggi.

The Washington Post columnist and prominent critic of the Saudi government was slain and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia under King Salman and Prince Mohammed has aggressively silenced and detained government critics even as it allows women to drive and opens movie theaters in the conservative kingdom.

Prince Mohammed also has been implicated by US officials and a United Nations investigative report in the assassination of Khashoggi. The prince has said he bears ultimate responsibility for what happens in the kingdom’s name, though he denies orchestrating the slaying.

The criminal allegations reveal the extent the Saudi government went to control the flow of information on Twitter, said Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher with Human Rights Watch.

The platform is the main place for Saudis to express their views, and about a third of the nation’s 30 million people are active users. But the free-wheeling nature of Twitter is a major source of concern for its authoritarian government, Coogle said.

The kingdom has used different tactics to

control speech and keep reformers and others from organizing, including employing troll armies to harass and intimidate users online. It has even arrested and imprisoned Twitter users.

The crown prince’s former top adviser, Saud al-Qahtani, who also served as director of the cyber-security federation, started the “Black List” hashtag to target critics of the government. He ominously tweeted in 2017 that the government had ways of unmasking anonymous Twitter users.

“If you combine that with what we know about at least these two individuals and what went on in 2014 and into 2015, it’s pretty chilling,” Coogle said.

Al-Qahtani has been sanctioned for his suspected role in orchestrating the brutal killing of Khashoggi. His Twitter account was suspended in September for violating the platform’s manipulation policy.

Twitter acknowledged that it cooperated in the criminal investigation and said in a statement that it restricts access to sensitive account information “to a limited group of trained and vetted employees.”

“We understand the incredible risks faced by many who use Twitter to share their perspectives with the world and to hold those in power accountable,” the statement said. “We have tools in place to protect their privacy and their ability to do their vital work.”

A critic said Twitter didn’t live up to its principle of restricting access to information about private individuals to the smallest possible number of employees. AP

SOUTH KOREA DEPORTS NORTH KOREANS WHO FLED AFTER KILLING 16

S

EOUL, South Korea—South Korea deported two North Koreans on Thursday after finding they had killed 16 fellow fishermen on a boat and fled to South Korea across the sea border over the weekend.

The two North Koreans, both men in their 20s, were found aboard a boat south of the eastern sea border last Saturday, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry. It said a South Korean investigation later found the two had killed 16 colleagues aboard a fishing boat and

escaped to South Korea.

Details of the alleged onboard killings weren’t immediately known.

South Korea has a policy of accepting North Koreans who want to resettle in the South to avoid political oppressions and economic poverty at home. But a Seoul Unification Ministry spokesman, Lee Sang-min, said South Korea has decided to send the two fishermen back to North Korea because they allegedly committed “grave” crimes and

couldn’t be protected by the South Korean government.

Lee said South Korea expelled the men to North Korea via an inter-Korean border village on Thursday. He said Seoul on Tuesday had informed Pyongyang of their planned deportations and that North Korea on Wednesday responded it would accept them.

Lee said Seoul has determined the two’s acceptance to the South Korean society would threaten its own public safety. AP

A10 Friday, November 8, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Must govt take over water distribution?

A

MID the ongoing rotational water-supply interruption being implemented by Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc., two members of the House of Representatives urged the Duterte administration to take over the distribution responsibilities of the two water-supply concessionaires in Metro Manila and adjacent localities, as they chided the staterun Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) “for its failure to ensure uninterrupted and, adequate supply and distribution of water as provided by Republic Act 62344.”

The solons said the unsatisfactory performance of the two water concessionaires should also serve as a warning for the government to slow down on the privatization of water districts in the country.

Since 1997 when the water distribution services in Metro Manila were handed to Manila Water and Maynilad, the solons said “the cost of water has risen from a basic tariff of P2 and P4, to P34 and P47 in 2018. This is equivalent to an increase of 970 percent for the consumers of Manila Water and 596 percent for Maynilad.

Aside from these basic tariff, consumers were made to shoulder various charges including 12-percent value-added tax, 20-percent environmental charge, and foreign currency exchange adjustment.”

These reasons alone should convince the government to take control and supervision of the water-supply service since these involve essential services that are vital to public health and welfare, they added.

Earlier, the Water for All Refund Movement (WARM), the biggest water consumer group in Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite and other areas, has deplored Metro Manila’s very high water rates, lack of effective sewerage and sanitation, and low transparency in water rate setting.

WARM President Rodolfo B. Javellana Jr. said it is about time to examine the annual determination of the water concessionaires’ return on rate base (RORB) of 12 percent as prescribed by the Public Service law to find out if there has been any inadvertence that may have been committed by past MWSS regulators in order to reform the existing rate rebasing exercise.

He explained that in the international practice of rate rebasing for any concession agreement that affects public interests, long term or annual business plans are submitted to determine their adherence to regulatory caps. But Javellana said that “Business plans are not supposed to be used as basis for water rate setting for the year immediately succeeding or within the rate adjustment period as this forms part of the capital expenditures of the concessionaires.”

“The most important component in the computation of the annual RORB is the annual audit of the asset registry completed by the concessionaire in accordance with the business plan to evaluate the need for annual or periodic water rate adjustments,” he said.

“However, in the case of MWSS, WARM research showed that since July 30, 2004, after COA’s audit of asset used in operation, where Manila Water was discovered to have had an actual rate of return of 40.92 percent over and above the 12-percent Public Service law cap of 12 percent, there has been no annual audit of asset used in operation, and no asset registry is at hand in MWSS, hence, there has been no annual determination of the RORB where annual water rate adjustment must be based.” Javellana said “COA was excluded from doing an annual audit of assets incurred and used in operation by the concessionaires. Whatever business plans submitted by the concessionaires solely determined the basis of monthly billings and collections from consumers.”

“Whether for reasons of negligence, inadvertence or sheer conspiracy, MWSS allowed the business plans to be used as basis for water rates within the year of submission. Hence, major components of the business plans, even if not prudently incurred, not yet used in operation and have never existed have been included in the monthly billings and collections charged to consumers,” he added.

Javellana said a review of MWSS’s concession agreement with the two concessionaires revealed that Metro Manila water consumers are being billed based on international criteria that are currently being applied in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and others with similar credit ratings. However, the high water rates in these countries are justified because they employ good, effective, and sophisticated sewerage and sanitation systems.”

“In the case of Maynilad and Manila Water, they use only combined drainagesewer system and sludge siphoning through their septic tank mobile suction systems that are environmentally unsafe, hence, the spread of rats, cockroaches, mosquitos, and other water borne diseases from leptospirosis, dengue, diarrhea, and the likes even if we suffer from payment of water sewerage and sanitation under international rates.”

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Citizens (SPISC). Enacted in 2011, the program provides additional government assistance through monthly stipends.

Beneficiaries are primarily defined as senior citizens who are frail, sickly or disabled, and have no regular income or assistance from relatives. These beneficiaries would also have no Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, or any similar type of contributory pension or insurance. Though the program started with an age minimum of 77 years old, as of 2016, this was moved to 60 years old and above.

Even better, the SPISC will now have a P23.18-billion allocation for next year for 3.8 million senior

BETTER DAYS

A

who need support the most.

A study by the Coalition of Services of the Elderly pointed out that more than half of the country’s senior citizens receive no pension at all, regardless of contributory or social type. This is of serious concern, as the increasing health risks of advanced age, combined with fewer livelihood opportunities, leaves senior citizens very vulnerable, particularly if they receive little support from their relatives.

The Expanded Senior Citizen’s Act of 2010 (Republic Act 9994) that I authored while in the House of Representatives institutionalized the Social Pension for Indigent Senior

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citizens, granting them each a P6,000 annual stipend. An additional P3,600 will be added from the Unconditional Cash Transfer program, as part of a three-year safety net program that began last year. Both will be administered by the DSWD, based on a national list and a set of eligibility requirements.

But again, we are not just talking about senior citizens. These are our beloved grandparents who have worked hard and sacrificed much for the sake of future generations.

That is why I introduced SBN 133, which aims to increase the social pension monthly amount from P500 to P1,000, and to expand coverage to all those without any form of pension.

Fortunately, we are living in an opportune time, as our country has the demographic advantage: the size of the population who are of working age is relatively larger than its dependents. However, as demonstrated in the PIDS study, we are slowly becoming an “aging” country. That only means we have the opportunity to prepare for such demographic change.

We are already doing this with RA 10645, which gave mandatory Philhealth coverage for all senior See “Angara,” A11

‘Common good’ in the war against drugs?

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

Online Editor

MEMBER OF

With this in mind, the government recognizes that the welfare of senior citizens can be a challenge for many families. That is why there is a need for social pension where senior citizens can receive monetary support and benefits.

According to a September 2019 Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) paper, the country has about 7.5 million senior citizens—aged 60 and above—as of 2015. This number is expected double to 14.2 million by 2050.

What’s worrisome is that in 2015, up to 17.5 percent of the elderly are labeled “income poor,” representing roughly 1.2 million senior citizens

Sonny M. Angara

Lourdes M. Fernandez

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso

Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

HALLMARK of Filipino culture is how we treat our elderly with respect and utmost care. Indeed, it is normal for a family to have at least one grandparent living with them— and if not living with them, then frequently visiting to make sure the children and grandchildren are doing well.

Our grandparents and other elderly relatives have given their lives to make a better world for their loved ones. It is only just and compassionate that assistance for them be established, and enhanced. Support for existing programs, and further discussions and preparations for the future are needed. After all, all of us will become senior citizens ourselves.

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Senior Editors

Creative Director Chief Photographer

Social pension and our senior citizens

B

ROTHERS and sisters, amid the incessant favor of many Filipinos in the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, much like what is said among surveys, anyone who criticize this so called centerpiece program of the government will surely receive some form of backlash.

Such as the criticisms received by Vice President Leni Robredo after the recent news where she said that the “war on drugs” must be stopped because it was a failure. VP Leni cleared this out, saying she was misquoted.

She claims that the administration should review its strategy in eradicating our problem against illegal drugs.

The administration must observe if it’s way of stopping the spread of drugs is appropriate, and if not, there are things that must be changed and fixed. As our Vice President explains, if the administration started with a data of 1.4 million drug users in our country and it inflated from 7 million to 8 million, while the war on drugs proceeds, there seems to be

a problem. Why is it that until now, the supply of drugs in the country hasn’t been stopped?

It seemed that VP Leni’s statement struck a fuse in the administration. President Duterte said that he is prepared to submit his executive power to VP Leni, and challenged her to resolve the problem within six months. But like the other controversial statements by the President, his challenge to VP Leni is not seemingly serious. In the constitution, only the President may declare control among the police and military; the Vice President, in truth, does not have any mandate other than serving as a replacement for the President in case he passes away, become permanently

One principle in the social teachings of the Church is the “common good.” These teachings state that in order for everyone to have a better way of life, no one must be neglected. Everyone must benefit. There are many instances in the life of Jesus where He taught common good.

disabled, dethroned of his position, or relieve himself of it.

The more important question raised by VP Leni’s observation is if the administration’s process in addressing our problem with illegal drugs is truly appropriate. Based on the results of a survey of the Social Weather Stations, or SWS, eight out of 10 Filipinos (82 percent) say they are satisfied with the war on drugs because of their belief that it reduced criminal incidents and drug use in the country. This also reflects the latest survey of the SWS wherein the number of families saying they are victims of crime like robberies has been reduced; from 7 percent last June, it went down to 5.6 percent in September.

However, like what VP Leni said we cannot be recognized as a nation because despite our interests

in making a peaceful environment, thousands of lives, particularly the poor, are at stake. Not to mention the almost 6,000 people killed in police operations. Included are the widowed and orphaned children.

One principle in the social teachings of the Church is the “common good.” These teachings state that in order for everyone to have a better way of life, no one must be neglected.

Everyone must benefit. There are many instances in the life of Jesus where He taught common good.

When he said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these,” (Mark 12:30-31), common good is what He taught. When He said, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” (Matthew 25:40), He reminds us to take action for the common good.

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

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Road crashes have become a raging national epidemic (Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto’s sponsorship speech for Senate Bill 1122: National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims, November 5, 2019)

IVE days ago, 40 Cagayano farmers clambered aboard a truck at the break of dawn to go to Tuguegarao to claim the corn seeds the DA was giving them for free.

By nightfall, 19 of them lay dead after their rented ride plunged into a ravine in Conner town, Apayao, pinned under the sacks of seeds they will never be able to sow.

Their tragedy is no longer an isolated case in a country where road crashes have become a raging national epidemic.

Unlike polio, against which there is a vaccine, there is no inoculation against vehicular accidents.

The body count is on such a steep rise that a land transport official has recently claimed that motorcycle crashes have broken into the nation’s top 10 list of killers by claiming the No. 9 spot.

Although vehicular accident deaths have not been officially tallied by government statisticians, there is no reason to doubt that motor vehicle accidents have become a major league grim reaper.

While stats have yet to bear this out, we already see the spectacle of banged up cars and mangled bodies on our streets fairly regularly.

In Metro Manila alone—where the biggest parking lot masquerades as a road called Edsa and the rest of the roads host demolition derbies— there was one recorded vehicular accident almost every five minutes in 2018. Or 321 a day. Or 116,906 for the entire year.

These resulted in 17,891 injuries in 2018,383 of which were fatal.

And speaking of Edsa, it accounted for almost 13,000 vehicular accidents, an ignominy which supports the suggestion that it should be renamed Epifanio Todos de los Santos Avenue.

In fact, when this year’s road crash data will be released early next year, it will probably include the case of one distinguished rider, the motorcyclist-in-chief who thankfully figured in a minor mishap within the Malacañang complex, which is not his first accident entry in his motorcycle diaries that span decades.

But the figures I cited above were just the reported ones.

The conventional wisdom is that many accidents go unreported, mutually settled on the spot by the parties who are wary that letting the police intervene will create— and cost—more problems than the mishap itself.

F

Angara. . .

continued from A10

citizens, and RA 9994 itself provided for the 20-percent senior discount and VAT exemption on medical-related expenses, and other forms of assistance. SBN 133 will improve and expand on the SPISC, and make sure that it will regularly be reviewed so that the social pension can keep up with the times. It is a fitting further step that started with the original Senior Citizens Act that my father authored.

We should also absorb the key findings of the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index for 2019, which put us at the fourth lowest position among 37 nations. Our lowest score is in integrity, which means we must study how to improve governance, protection and communication with members, and operating costs. We did slightly better in terms of adequacy, which is about the benefits provided, and how efficient the pension system is. Our country, fortunately, is in the top 15 of the index when it comes to sustainability, which is

When the injury to the pride is greater than that on the body, the intrepid motorcycle riders of Metro Manila will just dust themselves off.

They will treat the incident as part of the hazards of riding a motorsirko in a metropolis recently ranked by Waze as having the worst traffic in the world because of its glacial 5-kilometer-per-hour average travel speed.

That means to drive the distance of a marathon, a Filipino in a car will navigate it in eight hours, which is more than double the time of Pia’s personal best.

The carnage on our streets results in income lost, productivity forfeited, and medical bills for people who are one hospitalization away from bankruptcy.

For the fatal ones, it leaves behind families who grieve for lives whose full potential will never be realized.

At a personal level, road crashes leave a hole in the heart and on the pocket, but at the macro level, they hurt the economy as well.

The World Bank claims that we could potentially add 7 percent to our GDP if road crashes do not happen.

Against this disheartening backdrop, the best antidote to accidents is the one inside what the helmet covers. Even the best app is no match against the safety consciousness a driver imbibes and practices.

Of course, aside from education, the other two E’s, enforcement and engineering—which are government equities in road management— must perform their roles as well.

For as long as the implementation of these two remains spotty, our roads will be hazardous obstacle courses that will challenge even the best educated drivers.

Culture also shapes behavior.

When society is blanketed with reminders to drive safe, which likewise serves as commandment to the government to create the right environment, then these practices seep into the national consciousness.

One milestone we should observe is a National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims. It can be used as an occasion to pray for the dead, but more so to push for good policies for the living.

It will also serve two other purposes: Commemorative, because each one of us has a friend or friends who have perished in road accidents.

The other is preventive, because any organized reminiscences on a national level will inculcate a fear factor that deters unsafe operation of motor vehicles.

There is no vaccine against road crashes. But the mind’s powerful ability to remember and learn from tragedies may just save lives. about the economic importance of the private pension system, and levels of funding.

The report outlined key areas on how we can improve our rankings: increasing coverage and support; setting aside more funds in the public system for future use; and providing noncash out options. SBN 133, if enacted, will address some of these concerns. The others can be used a key talking points with all departments involved, moving forward.

Our grandparents and other elderly relatives have given their lives to make a better world for their loved ones. It is only just and compassionate that assistance for them be established, and enhanced. Support for existing programs, and further discussions and preparations for the future are needed. After all, all of us will become senior citizens ourselves.

Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 15 years—nine years as representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and six as senator. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He recently won another term in the Senate.

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

Friday, November 8, 2019 A11

In Tokyo, October goes Tito Genova Valiente

ANNOTATIONS

I

T is good to be back in Tokyo in October. The air is crisp and clean. The scent from trees that are about to lose their leaves is graceful, grieving, forgiving. Or, at least those are the qualities I attribute to Autumn in late October.

The first time I was in Tokyo was in the late ’70s. I arrived late February, the month that in the Philippines lies at the cusp of an always arrogant summer. In Japan, however, that February of my arrival was deep winter. I was a young exchange student bearing goodwill to the Japanese youth while burdened with the advice from my grandfather: Be careful, Japanese people are cruel.

Tokyo in the ’70s was an approachable nation. It was not yet too rich and too techie. Tokyo was already the megalopolis it is now but, there were still dark, dank spots in the city.

Where I first lived were small stores and old houses with gray tiled roofs.

It was not the intimidating city.

I would do my graduate studies and research fellowships in Japan for several succeeding years. Each time I came back, the neighborhoods where I stayed in succession would change.

In the ’70s, the area currently occupied by Narita Airport was disputed farmlands. The farmers would not give up their centuries-old ownership of their lands for many long years.

There was only one international airport in Tokyo and that was Haneda Airport. Manila International Airport then was only “international” in name; in deportment it was a level higher than a clean bus terminal. To be greeted by a monumental version of one of Hokusai’s woodblock print series “Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji” on one of the tallest walls in Haneda Airport assured me I was indeed in Japan.

I have told these stories over and over: how the volunteer who was instructed to fetch me missed me; how when it was already midnight, a taxi driver approached me and for some reason understood I did not have a place to stay and how he used his coins to use a public phone and how I ended up staying in YMCA in Kanda Hotel, and how in the morning, Ueda Jintaro, the program coordinator came early in the morning,

annoyed at the volunteer and happy to see me safe.

Tokyo was kind to strangers then and now. Strangely out of this population came systems that later became unkind to strangers and outsiders.

In 1986, I came to Tokyo, Japan, again for a research fellowship. This allowed me to study what students would later call hard-core anthropological themes—the study of culture through buildings and homes. Earlier, Renato Antonio Pirotta, an Italian friend who was born in Switzerland and who married our Japanese language teacher at the end of our exchange program, showed me photos of Japanese farmhouses. They are known as “minka” or “houses of people,” to distinguish them as homes of farmers and artisans, the non-samurai population.

The minka were fascinating because each region—or prefecture (the equivalent of our province)— would have a different structure or form. The easy explanation was to see architecture as responding to geography and topography. Studies would reveal, however, the impact of sumptuary laws, those that pertain to regulate consumption and commodities, on these architectures. For example, even the number of “chigi” or forked roof finials was regulated in the past. There were other rules that forbade other architects or carpenters to copy other structures. Each minka was therefore unique.

My fieldsite was in one of the low mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture. In one of the “mura” or village, I stayed overnight in a farmhouse that was used as an inn. The house used to be a place where silkworms were cultured and harvested. The old woman who operated singly the inn knew I was from the Philippines. Before I left the place, she requested me to go with her to the attic of the huge farmhouse. In an old room, from the wall, she picked up a framed photo

of a young man in black uniform. He was her only brother. He died during the war in the Philippines. Toward the end of my research year, I would stumble upon an article by the journalist, Tetsuo Yamatani, who coined the term “Japayuki.” It meant “those who go to Japan.” The preponderance of undocumented Filipino laborers and Filipina entertainers who were then made to work as hostesses in clubs all over Japan defaulted the term as to mean “illegal workers” and “Filipina prostitutes,” respectively, in Japan. In the late ’80s, the term Japayuki took on a derogatory meaning. My researches took on a different direction; I started studying the phenomenon of Filipino migration to Japan.

Very few scholars, during this period, bothered with the historical source of the term, which is the “Karayuki san.” The term literally meant “those who have gone or left for abroad.” These were Japanese women who were trafficked to places like Singapore, San Francisco and even Manila to work as hostesses and courtesans.

In the hotel assigned to me in Roppongi, it was hard to imagine that, not a few years ago, Japanese women had to work in brothels in Sandakan and Singapore because life in Japan was hard and poor.

Roppongi has also changed dramatically. In the ’70s, it was a seedy place, a reminder that the area was the place for clubs and prostitution houses catering to the Americans who claimed the place as one of the spoils of war.

Currently, Roppongi is the site of a remarkable development. One dominant structure is called the Izumi

Garden Tower, with escalators that move between and among gardens.

My breakfast took place in a terrace that overlooked buildings that were on street level but were actually built on top of five levels with stores and restaurants and offices. On the first floor was the subway station, with subway trains reached through escalators and elevators that would bring you three of four floors deeper into the ground.

Each day, I commuted to Mori Towers on Roppongi Hills, where I navigated alleys and hallways that went up and down, circling over buildings that defied height and breadth. Forget about the world outside: this was another world.

In Tokyo, any shift is magical. The use of escalators at present is a discovery. The idea of the left side for those not walking and the right for those who are willing to walk up or down while the escalator moves is being changed. “Please use two sides of the escalator” is an urgent instruction in these tony places. People are being discouraged to walk on a moving escalator because, apparently, it could cause harm to those who remain stationary on it.

On the last day of my stay in Tokyo, I fulfilled my vow of making a quick visit to my university, Rikkyo University. I arrived in the university campus at four in the afternoon, with the sun dappling the walls of the old school. The leaves had already turned burnt yellow and deep red. It was Autumn in this great university, and I was a young man still dazzled by this city, and its past, I forever tried to understand.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

Let’s bring cheers to our brothers and sisters in Mindanao Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

T

HE series of temblors that struck Mindanao has caused untold sufferings to our fellow Filipinos in the region. People have left their homes and evacuated to safer places for fear of new quakes and aftershocks. The affected residents face serious shortage of food, water, and clothing in temporary makeshift shelters where they are camped.

The total death toll has now reached 22 and an increasing number of places are placed under a state of calamity. The quakes left billions worth of losses and damages to public infrastructure and private properties. This has strained the limited resources of the government as it attends to the needs of several provinces still reeling from the disaster. The calamity funds are hardly enough to meet the basic needs of the disaster victims and the devastated LGUs badly need support from the national government. The President had them in mind as he left for his Asean Summit Meeting in Thailand. He ordered government agencies to extend full support to the relief efforts of the government and to expedite the delivery of services to the quake victims. Private individuals and organizations play good samaritans giving out relief goods to the

quake victims. Other LGUs from all over the country have joined hands to help the local governments cope with the crisis.

One entity based in Manila that is spearheading relief efforts to help the people struck by the series of tragic quakes in Mindanao is the Pioneer Foundation Inc., the CSR arm of the Pioneer Insurance Group of Companies, led by its president, Atty. Betty Medialdea. PFI is supporting the relief drive of the Cabinet Spouses Association Inc. whose president is also Atty. Medialdea, the wife of Executive Secretary Bingbong Medialdea. At the moment, PFI can only accept cash donations, which you can send to Pioneer Foundation, Inc., 108 Paseo de Roxas., Legazpi Village, Makati City, or by deposit or fund transfer to Pioneer Foundation Inc., BDO Perea—Paseo Branch

C/A 005398006402. When making a donation, please identify the name, address, and contact number that should appear in the PFI official receipt. For bank deposit or fund transfer, please provide PFI the bank deposit slip or bank confirmation.

Together, we can make Christmas come early to the hapless quake victims. Let’s all help to bring cheers to our unfortunate brothers and sisters in Mindanao by bringing food on their tables, clothes on their back and shelter over their heads. As the writer John Bunyan has put it aptly: “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” nnn

THE 39 people found dead inside a refrigerated lorry in Essex, UK, on October 23 is an unmatched human tragedy. It highlights the need for all countries to step up their efforts to combat human trafficking. Investigators believed the dead victims were all Vietnamese. We should condemn human smuggling and bring to justice all the members of the criminal ring responsible for this fatal inhumane act. Risking one’s life to reach an affluent destination where they can eke out a better life, as in the case of these hapless victims, is too steep a price in exchange for a few hundred pounds to send to their families. I just came from Vietnam a week ago and the once war-devastated country is booming economically. There are vast opportunities in the fast-

developing country but Vietnam, just like the Philippines, has a huge labor surplus that cannot be all accommodated domestically. The huge inequality in income drives its poor to go out of their country and seek greener pastures elsewhere. The barriers to entry for the less educated and less skilled workers leave them with little option but to take the perilous route to find job placement abroad. Reports show that human smuggling from Vietnam has reached around 18,000 people a year to Europe, with UK as their favorite destination. Human smuggling in Vietnam has become so organized that illegal immigrants, depending on one’s budget, can now travel “ premium” or “economy.” A person paying for the premium service can travel by taking a more direct route with less risk. Oh mighty £, what crime is committed in thy name! nnn

ALL Bedan lawyers are invited to join the San Beda Law Grand Alumni Homecoming on November 9, Saturday, 5:30 p.m. at Kalayaan Hall, Club Filipino. PRRD is the Guest of Honor and Speaker. If you want to be seen with powerful people in the present regime and remind others that you once hobnobbed with them in the Mendiola campus and raised glasses with them in Daddy’s or Humprey’s whenever classes were suspended due to student demonstrations in Mendiola, don’t miss this event.

Animo, San Beda!

A12 Friday, November 8, 2019

Foreign tourists reach 6.2M in 9 mos; Koreans still top

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

V

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

ISITOR arrivals in the Philippines grew by 14.37 percent to 6.16 million in the first nine months of the year, latest data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) show.

As in previous months, most of the markets that powered the arrivals from abroad were South Korea, mainland China and Taiwan.

Accounting for 23.55 percent of the total arrivals, tourists from South Korea increased by 20.97 percent to 1.45 million.

8.2M The DOT’s foreign arrivals target for 2019, which it might miss, owing to decreased arrivals from markets like Singapore and Malaysia, and the usual downtrend in inbound tourists toward the year-end, except for slight upticks in December

In second place, arrivals from China jumped by 39.43 percent to some 1.36 million, and accounting for 22.07 percent of market share.

The United States ranked third among the top source of tourists

for the Philippines, rising by 2.31 percent to 792,619, and accounting for 12.86 percent of total arrivals for the nine months to September.

In fourth place was Japan, with a 6.82-percent increase to 518,211 arrivals and a market share of 8.41 percent. The fifth spot was taken by Taiwan, with a 35.18-percent increase in arrivals to 252,578, and accounting for a 4.1-percent market share.

With decreased arrivals from certain markets like Singapore and Malaysia, and the usual downtrend in inbound tourists toward the year-end except for slight upticks in December, the DOT is likely to miss its 8.2-million foreign arrivals target for 2019.

See “Tourists,” A2

Senate urged to approve budget realignments

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

T

@joveemarie

HE House Deputy Speaker for Finance on Thursday asked the Senate to support P9.5 billion in “institutional amendments” made by the lower chamber in the proposed P4.1-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The institutional amendments cover infrastructure, agriculture, education and health care. Deputy Speaker for Finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte again made the appeal to

the Senate, saying the increase in the budget of these sectors will stimulate the economy.

“The House proposed institutional amendments covering the sectors of infrastructure, agriculture, education and health care in its approved version of the 2020 GAA,” Villafuerte said in a statement.

“We hope the Senate will also adopt these amendments to provide additional funding for these sectors, which will help further rev up the economy and sustain its high growth rate next year,” he added.

TROPICAL STORM "QUIEL" {NAKRI} 375 KM WEST NORTHWEST OF CORON, PALAWAN TAIL-END OF A COLD FRONT AFFECTING NORTHERN LUZON as of 4:00 pm - November 7, 2019

Villafuerte said strong economic growth powered by higher state spending and low inflation will help insulate the Philippines from global headwinds, such as the United StatesChina trade war, Brexit and climate change.

I nc re a s i n g t he bud ge t for infrastructure, agriculture, education and health care will complement the resolve of the Senate and the House to avoid a repeat of the 2019 budget delay by speeding up deliberation and approval of 2020 GAA. The House approved its GA A

version in September, before the monthlong congressional break, while Senate leaders have committed to fast-track plenary deliberations on the budget bill this month in time for its approval by December.

Villafuerte said the only amendments made by the House to the proposed budget involved P9.5 billion in funds that were realigned to various government agencies.

Among these, he said, was the agriculture sector, where P3.5 billion was allocated through the Department of Agriculture (DA) to enable it to buy more palay from farmers and to set up a quick-response fund.

The Department of Education will also get an additional P800 million for the operation of schools from Kinder to Grade 12, and establishment of model day-care centers nationwide.

The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) got an additional P500 million, while the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) received P250 million for the maintenance and other operating expenses of community-based rehabilitation centers.

Other beneficiaries of realigned funds were: ■ Department of Health (P100 million to augment funds of the National Center for Mental Health and another P100 million for quick response fund); ■ Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines (which received P1 billion for their camp development funds); ■ Department of Environment and Natural Resources (P500 million for its National Resource Conservation and Development-Protected Areas and Development Management Program); ■ Department of Transportation (P274.95 million for the operating expenses of the Davao International Airport); ■ National Electrification Administration (P500 million for its sitio electrification program); ■ Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (P500 million for the special allowances of traffic enforcers and field personnel and salary increases of 4,000 job order personnel); and ■ Philippine Sports Commission (P500 million for the preparation and training of athletes for 2020 Olympic Games and 10th Asean Para Games).

Targets

SPEAKER Alan Peter Cayetano urged the Senate to approve on third and final reading the 2020 budget this month for them to start the bicameral conference committee by the first week of December.

Also, Cayetano said he will consult first the House members on whether to open to media coverage the bicameral conference committee hearing on the 2020 national budget, as proposed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

“We are talking about governance here. We are talking about getting things done here. We can’t always be playing to the gallery or playing to the media,” he said. Congress is eyeing to submit the 2020 national budget to President Duterte for signature on December 20.

U.S. OFFICIAL: MILITARY AID TO PHL STILL PRIORITY

By Recto Mercene @rectomercene

W

ASHINGTON, D.C.—Washington is increasing its defense aid to the country despite the Duterte administration’s apparent move to keep some distance from a tight American military embrace, as the security alliance between the Philippines and United States remains “stronger and robust.”

Despite previous diplomatic irritants, Filipino and American diplomats said the relationship is steadfast, having been nurtured through the 70-year-old treaty alliance, and anchored on a shared history and adherence to common values, such as rule of law and democracy.

“Our current relationship with this country is probably one of the best,” Philippine Ambassador to Wanshington, Jose Manuel Romualdez, told Filipino journalists on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

While President Duterte sought friendly ties with China, asking help to find its various infrastructure projects, the Asian giant continues to pursue its expansionist agenda in a huge part of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The Duterte administration has said it will not abandon the UN arbitral tribunal’s favorable ruling that struck down China’s “excessive” claims in the WPS, despite Beijing’s refusal to recognize the 2016 decision.

In recent years, China has asserted what it views as its territorial rights by reclaiming reefs and militarizing some of them. Its fishing fleets have used those assertions to move into areas claimed by other countries, including the Philippines.

Still, Romualdez said the US sees the Philippines as a key regional partner by conducting increased joint

military exercises even as the Duterte administration has increased engagement with nontraditional allies like China and Russia.

Duterte had declared early in his administration an independent foreign policy and previously said he wants to scale down the US military presence in the country.

However, following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Manila in April, Philippine-US cooperation has intensified and a series of joint naval drills followed, sparking Chinese concern.

Pompeo said then his government would come to the Philippines’s aid if it comes under attack by a foreign power in the disputed South China Sea, as he pledged a revitalized commitment to honor a 68-year-old defense treaty that binds America to defend its Asian ally from aggression.

“The relationship is better in my view because we can now express ourselves more freely and we try to explain to them that while we value our relationship with them, we also would like to expand our relationship with other countries,”Romualdez said.

“Washington is beginning to see that we are also trying to be on our own.”

Largest recipient MARK CLARK, director for Office of Maritime Southeast Asia at the State Department, said the Philippines is by far the largest recipient of defense aid in the region, providing support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’s modernization program.

Since 2016, Clark said Washington has provided the Philippines almost $550 million in defense assistance, a move that demonstrates the US’s commitment to its alliance with Manila. It is the largest aid recently provided by the US to the Philippines.

See “Military aid,” A2

Tagle to lead 41st CMMA; media role in boosting human relationships cited

M

ANILA Archbishop and Catholic Mass Media Awards Honorary Chairman Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle will be among the special guests at the 41st CMMA presentation on November 13 (Wednesday) at the GSIS Theater, GSIS Headquarters, Financial Center, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.

In a special message for the 41st CMMA, Tagle congratulated this year’s winners and recognized the CMMA’s purpose of honoring and encouraging the work of many media practitioners who have promoted Christian values in their use of mass media. “These remarkable men and women have shown us how social communications media can be used responsibly to facilitate the encounter between persons,” he said.

Expounding on the CMM A theme this year—We are members one of another [Ephesians 4:25].

From social network communities to human communities”—he enjoined communicators to use social media in promoting authentic human communities. Tagle echoed Pope Francis’s message for World Social Communications Day, whose theme gave CMMA its own theme for this year.

Established in 1978 by Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, then Archbishop of Manila, the CMMA is the means by which the Archdiocese of Manila recognizes “those who are serving God through the mass media.” It has become a tradition and a prestigious event joined by some of the country’s most respected personalities in the fields of television, radio, print media, music, cinema, the Internet, as well as by students from various

TAGLE

academic institutions vying for the Student CMMA. The CMMA held a year-long round of activities to mark its 40th anniversary last year. These were led by a fund-raising Dinner With the Cardinal featuring a musical concert where leading Filipino soprano Rachelle Gerodias and her husband, Korean baritone Byeong-in Park, sang several well-loved Philippine classics. There were also special presentations by top popular singers and talented church-based musical artists like The Singing Priests and prize-winning parish choirs.

The event raised funds for a Soup Kitchen for the Poor, held by the CMMA in cooperation with the Santisima Trinidad Parish in Malate, Manila, for the benefit of residents of the parish community.

The yearlong celebration culminates with the CMMA 2019 presentation on November 13.

Aside from Tagle, the CMMA is also headed by D. Edgard A. Cabangon as acting chairman of the CMMA Foundation board of trustees, and Rev. Fr. Rufino C. Sescon Jr. as executive director.

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In the ad material of Notice of filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on March 21, 2019, the Position of Mr. Wei, Zhongwei under HUA XIN GLOBAL SUPPORT INC. should have been read as IT Mandarin Customer Service Representative and not as published.

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSALM sells 3 land assets in 3 provinces for ₧934.72M

T

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM) has sold three of its land assets for P934.72 million.

The state firm said Thursday it successfully privatized through public biddings the land asset in Aplaya, Misamis Oriental, which consists of 49 lots with a total area of about 155,504 square meters for P600 million; the land asset in Toledo City, Cebu, which consists of 21 lots with a total area of about 129,589

square meters, for P250,000,000; and the land asset in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, which has a total area of about 3,530 square meters, for P84.72 million.

These land assets used to be the location of the dismantled Aplaya Diesel Power Plant and the Cebu Diesel Power Plant. In 2009, PSALM

privatized the power plant structures based on their scrap value and these are now either on ground zero or with minimal structures left.

Proceeds from the sale of these assets will be used to augment funds to settle PSALM’s assumed financial obligations.

“We are very happy that our public biddings were successful. The total bid amount of P934,720,000, once remitted to PSALM, will be used by PSALM to pay its remaining financial obligations,” said PSALM President and CEO Irene Besido-Garcia.

Two bidders participated in the biddings of these land assets, namely Pan Pacific Renewable Power Philippines Corp. and Panasia Energy Inc.

Panasia submitted the higher bids and was, thus, declared the winning bidder, subject to the post-qualification process.

The biddings were PSALM’s second attempt at privatizing these land assets. In September 2019, PSALM conducted the first round of bidding of the same assets. However, PSALM declared a failure of bidding because only one bidder submitted a bid for the assets in Misamis Oriental and Cebu, while none submitted for the Laoag City asset.

PSALM immediately sought the approval of the PSALM Board to commence the second round of bidding, which culminated in today’s successful submission and opening of bids.

AllHome on track to hit 2019 store expansion program goal

A

LLHome Corp., the home improvement retailer led by the Villar family, on Thursday said it is on track to hit its store expansion this year after opening three new stores last month.

The company said it opened stores in Starmall Alabang, Starmall San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, and Vista Mall North Molino this October, making its store network now to 30.

“We remain confident with our expansion program for the rest of the year,” AllHome Chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said.

The company hopes to close the year with additional 18 stores and add 25 more next year for a total of 73 stores.

“We are taking advantage of the underpenetrated home improvement industry in the Philippines by bringing AllHome to more

locations,” he said.

The company’s vice chairman, Camille A. Villar, said AllHome aims to at least double its market share of 7.1 percent in the home improvement industry by next year as it increase net selling space to at least double as well by end-2020.

“Expansion is focused on Mega Manila for now, but the longer-term plan is to take AllHome to the rest of the Philippines,” she said.

The company said it is also increasing its customer base as it introduced a precursor to AllHome in areas where house construction is just starting, to provide more dedicated offerings and services to builders and contractors during the construction phase.

The company will then expand these stores to AllHome as the community matures to cater to homeowners and home makers. VG Cabuag

Friday, November 8, 2019

B1

Wilcon income grows 11% in 9 months on brisk sales

W

ILCON Depot Inc., a listed home improvement retailer, said its income grew 11 percent during the nine months of the year to P1.54 billion, from last year’s P1.39 billion.

The increase was driven mainly by the sustained margin expansion due to the improving sales mix in favor of higher margin products and the growth in net sales, the company said.

Net sales grew 17 percent to P18.03 billion, from last year’s P15.35 billion.

For the July to September quarter alone, the company said its profits rose 15 percent to P549 million, from last year’s P475 million.

The depot format stores accounted for 96 percent of total net sales for the nine-month period reaching P17.28 billion, up 17 percent with a same store sales growth of 5.2 percent. It said three new depots were added in the third quarter, bringing to 48 the total number of depots and 55 stores overall by the end of the quarter.

The smaller format Home Essentials stores contributed 2.7 percent or P492 million for the period, up 6 percent from last year, with a same store sales growth of 3.4 percent. All but one of the Home Essentials branches are located in Metro Manila and are some of its oldest stores. No new branches were opened during the year.

Project sales or sales to large property developers and to the hospitality industry grew 20 percent to total P260 million for the year. Project sales accounted for 1.4 percent of net sales.

Gross profit margins maintained its growth due to the increasing contribution of the higher-margin exclusive and in-house brands, which now account for 49 percent of net sales, and from the improving margins of nonexclusive products as sales volume continued to rise and cash payment discounts are availed.

Operating expenses, meanwhile, continued to rise to P3.9 billion or a 24-percent increase from last year as new stores continue to be opened and the adoption of the new accounting standard for leases starts this year.

Capital expenditure for the nine-month period reached P2.02 billion, mainly for the construction of new stores, warehouses and extensions or renovations of a few existing stores.

“Our gross profit margin continued to improve and comparable sales growth rate increased from 1.9 percent to 6.6 percent quarteron-quarter, which partly offset the impact of our increasing operating expenses attendant to our store network expansion,” Wilcon President and CEO Lorraine BeloCincochan said. VG Cabuag

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, November 8, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

November 7, 2019

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE BDO LEASING COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE SUN LIFE

54.5 157 96.3 25.6 12.98 67.55 12.72 44.95 57.25 116.9 25.9 201.6 60.75 1.14 1.92 18.4 4.55 1.28 810 0.89 1860

55 159.5 96.35 25.65 13 67.65 13.1 45.3 58 129.8 25.95 203 60.9 1.26 1.99 18.6 4.6 1.31 825 0.9 1900

54.45 158 98 25.7 12.82 67.55 13.08 44.8 58 116.7 25.9 202 61 1.15 1.93 18.6 4.55 1.27 805 0.89 1850

55 159.5 98 25.8 13.14 67.65 13.1 45.35 58 116.9 26 203 61 1.15 1.93 18.6 4.6 1.34 825 0.89 1890

54.4 154.5 95.85 25.6 12.82 67.15 13.08 44.8 58 116.7 25.9 200 60.75 1.15 1.9 18.6 4.55 1.27 805 0.88 1850

55 159.5 96.35 25.65 13 67.65 13.1 44.95 58 116.9 25.9 203 60.9 1.15 1.9 18.6 4.6 1.28 825 0.89 1890

3240 805090 2245740 96700 2731200 3880340 4600 7900 350 20 165600 247310 2430 10000 50000 400 65000 131000 400 68000 350

177461 126788986 216406908.5 2487790 35449602 262186653 60184 355625 20300 2336 4299150 49940988 148019 11500 95650 7440 295900 168710 325700 60420 657880

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER VIVANT AGRINURTURE AXELUM BOGO MEDELLIN CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT GINEBRA JOLLIBEE MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP MG HLDG PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VICTORIAS CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA EUROMED LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

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

-3272.5 12487509 -5616605 6487324 170800568 -22635 -1873328 -121867 -

2.66 1.28 38.55 0.242 25.4 78.85 344.4 19 5 10.82 33.55 7.73 15.74 13.6 4.14 90.5 15.18 5.42 8.48 6.99 89.9 0.65 51.5 225.8 9.01 13.34 0.183 1.69 11.82 1.87 5.46 1.92 150.5 1.31 2.41 65.15 71 2.54 5.75 15.2 10.4 14.24 17.12 9.15 1.05 1.11 120 2.11 1.59 5.1 3.41 5.38 30.1 2.27 8.1 1.45 0.96 7.98

2.67 1.3 38.8 0.246 25.45 78.9 346 19.14 5.03 11 33.65 7.89 16.5 13.7 4.15 102.9 15.3 5.51 8.49 7 90 0.66 51.85 226 9.28 13.38 0.192 1.7 11.84 1.88 5.5 1.94 151 1.32 2.52 68.7 72 2.55 5.8 15.36 10.46 14.5 17.22 9.5 1.09 1.12 125 2.13 1.72 5.11 3.58 5.4 31 2.3 8.17 1.49 0.99 8

2.66 1.28 39 0.243 25.3 78.9 345.2 19.44 5.05 10.88 33.85 7.9 15.52 13.6 4.19 89 15.12 5.43 8.41 7 90.8 0.66 49.1 228 9.02 13.32 0.183 1.69 11.68 1.81 5.47 1.94 154.7 1.28 2.49 65.25 69 2.56 5.8 15.16 10.4 14.42 17.8 9.5 1.07 1.09 125 2.13 1.65 5.11 3.59 5.36 30.15 2.29 8.18 1.47 0.98 8.05

2.74 1.28 39.05 0.247 25.55 78.9 346 19.44 5.05 11 33.85 7.91 15.52 13.8 4.21 89 15.32 5.5 8.48 7 91.5 0.67 52 229.4 9.3 13.4 0.183 1.75 11.82 1.87 5.5 1.94 154.9 1.33 2.52 68.7 72 2.57 5.8 15.26 10.5 14.5 17.8 9.5 1.09 1.12 125 2.13 1.65 5.11 3.59 5.4 31 2.3 8.18 1.49 1 8.18

2.65 1.28 38.5 0.243 25.3 78.85 343.6 18.98 5 10.72 33.5 7.73 15.52 13.44 4.09 88 15.12 5.42 8.38 6.99 90 0.66 49.1 224.8 9 13.22 0.183 1.68 11.68 1.77 5.46 1.92 149 1.27 2.49 65.05 69 2.54 5.8 15.06 10.4 14.22 17.1 9.5 1.06 1.09 125 2.1 1.65 5.11 3.4 5.36 30 2.25 8 1.47 0.97 7.95

2.67 1.28 38.8 0.247 25.45 78.9 346 19 5 11 33.65 7.89 15.52 13.8 4.15 88 15.18 5.42 8.48 7 90 0.66 51.85 226 9.3 13.36 0.183 1.7 11.82 1.87 5.46 1.92 150.5 1.32 2.52 68.7 71 2.55 5.8 15.2 10.4 14.5 17.12 9.5 1.09 1.11 125 2.13 1.65 5.11 3.58 5.4 31 2.3 8.1 1.49 0.99 8

3741000 25000 2274400 880000 287700 90060 134720 4006700 724700 152500 86400 100100 100 309400 4608000 290 26300 5000 1868600 301400 81900 180000 135700 279580 3200 127600 20000 2895000 420600 2063000 58300 22000 1949910 8684000 5000 670 930 764000 26900 42500 88800 151600 2494800 2400 86000 359000 10 77000 5000 34300 25000 128300 83400 21181000 74800 38000 106000 457300

10044690 32000 88272235 213990 7319980 7104741 46535004 76381626 3635758 1661192 2907745 787447 1552 4238612 19182950 25637.5 400554 27316 15829994 2107733 7,391,779.5( 118820 6918220 63223140 28872 1702238 3660 4958920 4928508 3771200 318567 42490 293562649 11321360 12480 43880.5 65520.5 1950510 156020 643592 928884 2185458 42857952 22800 91370 397370 1250 163110 8250 175273 86510 692724 2561310 48440150 599710 56190 104630 3677757

-186550 -59877185 1028295 -6459416.5 -106540 2803196 -1346841 -753310 218556 10277430 47640 -11986 2205757 -1845503 4,027,270.0003) 549160 -20717176 509512 -1445090 175800 -115866477 -655010 12480 550900.0001 -157062 -219786 -394664 -23443932 8720 -619920 -2326385 511510 -369768 135945

0.81 12.66 865 55.15 11.28 3.58 6.58 0.74 1.12 6.85 8.05 13.14 3.52 0.212 899 5.58 77.9 5.17 0.5 4.3 13.24 0.55 4.83 0.037 1.41 2.41 1.3 1069 168.5 0.85 225

0.82 13.16 867 55.3 11.3 3.59 6.79 0.75 1.13 6.93 8.06 13.38 5.19 0.223 901 5.6 78.5 6.12 0.51 4.37 13.3 0.57 4.84 0.038 1.43 2.9 1.32 1070 169.9 0.87 225.8

0.83 13 869 54.4 11.66 3.59 6.89 0.73 1.13 6.94 8.35 13.2 3.43 0.212 914 5.61 78.65 5.3 0.51 4.32 13.26 0.57 4.83 0.037 1.43 2.6 1.3 1070 170.5 0.85 226

0.83 13.2 872.5 55.3 11.66 3.59 6.89 0.74 1.13 6.95 8.35 13.4 3.43 0.212 914 5.65 78.65 5.3 0.51 4.32 13.36 0.57 4.85 0.037 1.43 2.6 1.33 1070 170.5 0.87 226

0.82 13 864 54.3 11.06 3.5 6.79 0.72 1.12 6.87 8.05 13.14 3.43 0.212 897 5.6 77 5.3 0.5 4.29 13.22 0.55 4.78 0.037 1.4 2.36 1.3 1052 167.8 0.85 225

0.82 13.16 867 55.3 11.3 3.58 6.79 0.74 1.13 6.93 8.05 13.38 3.43 0.212 901 5.6 78.5 5.3 0.51 4.3 13.3 0.57 4.83 0.037 1.43 2.36 1.32 1070 169.9 0.87 225.8

4146000 6300 153560 537460 16353700 2219000 2100 119000 226000 2351900 11780600 6800 400 30000 34240 49100 1291990 100 31000 83000 393700 374000 13509000 2200000 81000 16000 31000 436675 42830 35000 250

3407300 82304 133141090 29560622 183537628 7850620 14339 86550 254930 16273220 95947275 90276 1372 6360 30867835 275406 101169288.5 530 15800 356910 5234832 206990 65194140 81400 114100 38610 40370 464073475 7255132 29770 56376

-473140 -33067030 -2267916 17335024 -6760 2985108 -4940341 -17394 16872205 -208191 25195004.5 -34360 -3817686 48720 4141210 33600 -41848480 -2021230 11260

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 0.89 0.9 0.87 0.9 0.86 0.9 1492000 1328860 3440 AYALA LAND 46.95 47 47.55 47.55 46.9 47 8608800 404891565 -262688300 BELLE CORP 2 2.02 2 2 1.99 2 1494000 2987880 -2180000 A BROWN 0.81 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.81 0.82 118000 95920 CITYLAND DEVT 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.86 32000 26980 CROWN EQUITIES 0.2 0.206 0.201 0.208 0.2 0.2 2990000 599540 CEBU HLDG 6.25 6.35 6.34 6.35 6.2 6.35 140600 878240 329972 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.56 4.6 4.52 4.68 4.52 4.6 335000 1559870 -46600 CENTURY PROP 0.59 0.6 0.59 0.6 0.59 0.6 9102000 5391590 -1800 CYBER BAY 0.455 0.46 0.47 0.47 0.455 0.46 2210000 1020850 DOUBLEDRAGON 20.15 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.1 20.2 294100 5941730 -1324925 DM WENCESLAO 10.02 10.04 10.22 10.22 9.8 10.02 107900 1078137 681854 EMPIRE EAST 0.46 0.47 0.47 0.47 0.46 0.47 730000 336450 9200 FILINVEST LAND 1.63 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.62 1.63 7390000 12044140 -4383670 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.24 1.25 1.24 1.25 1.24 1.25 153000 191030 8990 HLDG 14.88 14.98 14.88 14.88 14.88 14.88 112100 1668048 PHIL INFRADEV 1.53 1.55 1.53 1.55 1.51 1.55 1188000 1821680 KEPPEL PROP 4.48 4.69 4.4 4.43 4.4 4.43 2000 8830 -4430 CITY AND LAND 0.74 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 1000 780 MEGAWORLD 4.9 4.94 4.87 4.94 4.86 4.94 10929000 53587330 5311390 MRC ALLIED 0.285 0.29 0.29 0.295 0.285 0.29 7150000 2066500 2900 PHIL ESTATES 0.4 0.415 0.395 0.4 0.395 0.4 40000 15950 PRIMEX CORP 2.04 2.06 2.02 2.05 2.01 2.04 111000 224320 ROBINSONS LAND 26.4 26.5 27 27 26 26.5 825600 21721650 783835 PHIL REALTY 0.38 0.385 0.38 0.38 0.38 0.38 90000 34200 ROCKWELL 2.26 2.28 2.26 2.26 2.26 2.26 13000 29380 SHANG PROP 3.25 3.32 3.26 3.32 3.22 3.25 20000 64930 STA LUCIA LAND 2.5 2.59 2.57 2.59 2.4 2.59 7499000 18439040 377480 SM PRIME HLDG 39.95 40 39.3 40.1 39.1 40 8917300 355,822,6651 16647364.9997 VISTAMALLS 5.36 5.52 5.55 5.55 5.3 5.52 44700 240585 SUNTRUST HOME 1.52 1.53 1.53 1.6 1.52 1.52 10018000 15522820 VISTA LAND 7.68 7.7 7.72 7.72 7.67 7.7 3446500 26527098 -7745925

SERVICES ABS CBN 18.3 18.4 18.6 18.6 18.3 18.4 266200 4891744 GMA NETWORK 5.26 5.28 5.28 5.29 5.26 5.26 265800 1403398 MANILA BULLETIN 0.42 0.425 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.42 80000 33100 GLOBE TELECOM 1851 1870 1860 1870 1844 1870 16580 30876410 15791635 PLDT 1105 1110 1120 1120 1097 1110 128945 142839795 -16182180 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.04 0.042 0.041 0.041 0.041 0.041 5500000 225500 DFNN INC 5.19 5.83 5.24 5.89 5.22 5.89 62000 346480 IMPERIAL 1.7 1.8 1.71 1.71 1.71 1.71 5000 8550 ISLAND INFO 0.106 0.109 0.105 0.109 0.105 0.109 410000 43850 ISM COMM 4.74 4.75 4.77 4.78 4.73 4.75 778000 3702660 NOW CORP 3.45 3.49 3.5 3.65 3.44 3.49 6657000 23354340 2950 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.32 0.325 0.325 0.33 0.32 0.32 2420000 783550 PHILWEB 3 3.01 3.03 3.08 3 3.01 517000 1558280 -99300 2GO GROUP 10.64 10.98 11 11 10.5 10.98 13200 141450 -5350 CHELSEA 6.53 6.55 6.58 6.65 6.51 6.53 721700 4726428 -62555.0001 CEBU AIR 95 95.8 96.15 96.15 95 95.8 100980 9663025.5 -507474 INTL CONTAINER 123.8 123.9 123.8 123.9 121.1 123.8 1742630 215602239 102381463 LBC EXPRESS 13.56 13.64 13.6 13.6 13.6 13.6 600 8160 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.91 0.96 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 3000 2730 MACROASIA 19.62 19.7 19.92 20 19.62 19.7 1031600 20360390 -3773382 METROALLIANCE A 1.04 1.09 1.09 1.09 1.09 1.09 49000 53410 PAL HLDG 8.05 8.54 8.88 8.88 8 8.05 193200 1607272 97270 HARBOR STAR 1.59 1.6 1.58 1.61 1.57 1.6 1010000 1601730 ACESITE HOTEL 1.52 1.54 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.53 10000 15300 GRAND PLAZA 10.58 11.44 11 11.44 11 11.44 900 10008 WATERFRONT 0.67 0.68 0.66 0.68 0.66 0.67 258000 173380 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.9 7.02 6.9 6.9 6.9 6.9 4500 31050 IPEOPLE 7.5 8 8 8 8 8 300 2400 STI HLDG 0.66 0.67 0.67 0.68 0.67 0.67 935000 627240 BERJAYA 2.52 2.57 2.59 2.59 2.5 2.56 305000 772820 BLOOMBERRY 10.72 10.78 10.84 10.86 10.56 10.72 2383300 25681706 -18292816 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.65 2.79 2.79 2.79 2.79 2.79 4000 11160 LEISURE AND RES 3.19 3.23 3.19 3.26 3.1 3.19 1345000 4303030 -830740 MANILA JOCKEY 3.4 3.45 3.45 3.45 3.4 3.4 28000 95650 PH RESORTS GRP 4.85 5.14 4.85 4.86 4.85 4.85 29000 140670 130950 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.67 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.67 0.68 1047000 701780 -217740 ALLHOME 11.34 11.38 11.42 11.44 11.3 11.38 12846400 146116132 -26822332 METRO RETAIL 2.5 2.54 2.59 2.59 2.5 2.54 471000 1190580 -37800 PUREGOLD 39.9 40 40.4 40.4 39.3 39.9 2044200 81296445 973195 ROBINSONS RTL 76.3 77.5 76.85 77.95 76 77.5 100350 7721513 -448979 PHIL SEVEN CORP 150 151.5 149.5 150 149.5 150 4490 672940 642940 SSI GROUP 2.69 2.7 2.69 2.73 2.68 2.7 573000 1545790 58670 WILCON DEPOT 17.08 17.1 17.2 17.2 17 17.1 336600 5751330 3844048.0003 APC GROUP 0.51 0.52 0.51 0.53 0.5 0.52 2534000 1297980 EASYCALL 9.12 9.29 9 9.31 9 9.31 37700 344322 GOLDEN BRIA 423 432 416 450 416 432 22110 9575236 4320 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.48 0.485 0.485 0.495 0.48 0.485 1490000 722900 -38800

MINING & OIL ATOK 11.62 12.2 12.26 12.26 12 12.22 50400 604896 APEX MINING 1.11 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.11 1.12 745000 832200 -224000 ABRA MINING 0.0016 0.0017 0.0017 0.0017 0.0016 0.0016 56000000 92100 1700 ATLAS MINING 2.56 2.59 2.55 2.58 2.55 2.58 150000 382800 BENGUET A 1.09 1.19 1.09 1.09 1.09 1.09 1000 1090 BENGUET B 1.1 1.23 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1000 1100 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.295 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 80000 22400 CENTURY PEAK 2.56 2.57 2.6 2.6 2.56 2.56 520000 1347280 FERRONICKEL 1.89 1.9 2.06 2.1 1.89 1.89 48714000 98749140 11197290 GEOGRACE 0.207 0.211 0.212 0.213 0.211 0.211 270000 57230 LEPANTO A 0.104 0.105 0.104 0.105 0.104 0.105 1080000 113220 MANILA MINING A 0.0089 0.0093 0.0089 0.0089 0.0089 0.0089 2000000 17800 MARCVENTURES 1.1 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.1 1.12 244000 271450 56600 NIHAO 1.04 1.07 1.08 1.08 1.05 1.07 16000 16900 NICKEL ASIA 3.91 3.92 3.95 3.95 3.88 3.92 8087000 31617400 -14319950 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.83 0.84 0.83 0.84 0.82 0.84 74000 61290 4150 PX MINING 3.44 3.46 3.48 3.48 3.43 3.44 262000 900720 SEMIRARA MINING 23.25 23.45 23.3 23.45 23.25 23.45 368900 8629275 1550170 UNITED PARAGON 0.0058 0.0062 0.0062 0.0062 0.0062 0.0062 1000000 6200 6200 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 12300000 147400 PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 38100000 414500 165000 PHINMA PETRO 10.86 11 10.6 11.58 10.6 11 5919800 66251314 573398 PXP ENERGY 12.22 12.38 12.12 12.5 12 12.38 581900 7082304 460588

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A 99.5 99.7 99.65 99.7 99.65 99.7 600 59795 AC PREF B1 501 510 501 502 501 502 3000 1505000 DD PREF 100.5 101 101 101 101 101 9870 996870 FGEN PREF G 109 109.5 109.5 109.5 109.5 109.5 7000 766500 -766500 GLO PREF P 505 510 505 505 505 505 1390 701950 GTCAP PREF A 990 995 990 990 990 990 280 277200 GTCAP PREF B 971 980 971 980 971 980 110 106900 LR PREF 1.01 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.01 1.01 52000 52550 MWIDE PREF 100.8 101 101 101 101 101 7850 792850 PNX PREF 4 1032 1035 1027 1036 1025 1035 20235 20892250 -252200 PCOR PREF 3B 1068 1080 1065 1070 1065 1070 1700 1816500 SMC PREF 2C 78.15 78.2 78.5 78.5 78.15 78.2 28750 2247204 SMC PREF 2D 75.1 75.35 75.35 75.35 75.1 75.1 14490 1090716.5 SMC PREF 2F 76.1 77 76.1 76.3 76.1 76.1 44000 3352424 SMC PREF 2H 75.15 75.7 75.15 75.2 75.15 75.15 15300 1150128 SMC PREF 2I 75.7 76.5 76.6 76.7 75.7 75.7 167950 12715038 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

17.36 5.14

17.6 5.15

17.36 5.1

17.5 5.17

17.36 5.1

17.5 5.15

30600 54300

535416 279188

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.6

-525000 16480

1.66

1.64

1.67

1.64

1.66

56000

92700

-

ITALPINAS 6.88 KEPWEALTH 12.16 XURPAS 1.08

6.94 12.18 1.09

6.55 11.7 1.09

7.07 12.34 1.11

6.55 11.54 1.03

6.88 12.16 1.09

2395800 1414300 23094000

16564028 17050898 24897820

340154 -212410

FIRST METRO ETF

120.9

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS 120.2

119.9

120.9

119.8

120.9

3440

413677

-

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Rising data-linked revenues push up Globe profits by 20%

G

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

LOBE Telecom Inc. saw its profits climbing by a fifth during the first nine months of the year on the backdrop of strong revenue growth across all data-related products and services, its president reported on Thursday.

In absolute terms, Globe’s net income stood at P17.7 billion at end-September, a 20-percent rise from P14.79 billion the year prior, as its consolidated service revenues increased by 13 percent to P110.6 billion, while its operating expenses accrued by a slower 8 percent to

P52.8 billion.

“We are happy that the sustained topline and profit growths we have achieved over the past three quarters have positioned us well as we head into the fourth quarter,” Globe President Ernest L. Cu said.

Globe’s total data revenues now

account for 70 percent of the total service revenue pie, an 11-point increase from the same period in 2018.

Mobile revenues reached P83 billion, or 13 percent higher than the P73.7 billion it recorded last year, as its subscriber base improved by 5 percent to 97.4 million and mobile data traffic doubled to 1,200 petabytes from 641 petabytes.

Still, its mobile voice and text revenues were 15 percent and 22 percent lower than last year, ending the third semester at P18.5 billion and P12.3 billion, respectively, as consumers migrate to the digital lifestyle.

The telco’s broadband revenues, on the other hand, expanded by 19 percent to P16.1 billion, as its subscriber base increased by 24 percent to 1.9 million subscribers during the first nine months of the year. Earlier this year, Globe introduced its first

fixed wireless 5G product.

“We are likewise excited that, as we gear up for the rollout of our At Home Air Fiber 5G service, we are shaping the future of the nation and solidifying our leadership role in providing fast and reliable Internet in the markets we serve,” Cu said.

Globe also recorded P9.5 billion in corporate data revenues in the first three quarters of 2019, up by 12 percent from P8.4 billion in the same period last year, as demand for various data connectivity solutions and cloud-based services increased.

The company spent P32 billion in capital expenditures during the first nine months of the year. It has allocated roughly $1.2 billion in capital outlays for 2019, but expects to only spend around $900 million of the total for the year, as some commitments will be spilled over in 2020.

Higher expenses leave PLDT core income flat in 9 months

By VG Cabuag @villygc

T

ELECOM giant PLDT Inc. on Thursday said its core income was flat during the nine months of the year ending September on the effects of the new accounting standard on rents that took effect earlier this year, while the company reels from the impact of the expenses from its rightsizing of its employees.

The company said its telco core income, which excludes figures from its loss-making units, was flat at P19.4 billion, just slightly higher from P19.13 billion last year.

The said telco core income excludes losses in Voyager, which owns PayMaya, and the lower gains it made from the disposal of its Rocket Internet shares.

The company’s net income, however, fell about 2 percent to P16.03 billion from last year’s P16.36 billion.

It said it had higher cost as a result of the manpower rightsizing measures, as company officials said they had to let go about 1,000 people from early retirement alone. The lower gains from the disposal of Rocket Internet shares was also a factor.

Chief Finance Officer Anabelle

Chua said PLDT spent about P2.4 billion for the period for the rightsizing program, from just P400 million last year.

“There will be some residual expense in the fourth quarter [on the manpower rightsizing]. But we will have net hires this year to replace the people that we let go, but it will be just 20 percent to 25 percent of that number,” Chua said.

The company said it reached its highest ever nine-month service revenues, which grew 5 percent to P119 billion from last year’s P113.6 billion.

“By posting its highest-ever ninemonth revenues, PLDT is providing more evidence that it is firmly back on the growth path. It is worth noting that we have started to make inroads in recovering market share in revenue terms in the mobile business in the last two quarters, indicating that we have reached a turning point,” PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

“Our efforts are now focused on building on the momentum achieved thus far, which means continuing to level up our game to better address the rapidly evolving needs of our individual and corporate customers,” he said.

Pangilinan said some two-thirds

Phoenix Petroleum raises ₧7B in Series 4 preferred shares sale

SEEN at Thursday’s ceremonial bell-ringing are (from left): PNX Chief Operating Officer Henry Albert R. Fadullon; PNX SVP for External Affairs, Business Development and Security Atty. Alan Raymond T. Zorrilla; PNX Director Monico V. Jacob; PNX Treasurer and Chief Finance Officer Concepcion F. de Claro; PNX Chairman Domingo T. Uy; PNX President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis A. Uy; PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo; PSE Directors Ma. Vivian Yuchengco, Wilson L. Sy, Roberto Cecilio O. Lim; PSE Chief Operating Officer Atty. Roel A. Refran; and PSE Director Alejandro T. Yu.

P

HOENIX Petroleum Philippines Inc. (stock symbol: PNX) held a ceremonial bell-ringing at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday after the company raised P7 billion from the issuance of its Series 4 preferred shares (stock symbol: PNX4).

“I am optimistic that the company will continue its growth trajectory particularly as it intends to use a portion of the proceeds from this offering for depot and network expansion

and improvements. I am told that there are terminal upgrades in Batangas and Misamis Oriental, while new terminals will be constructed in General Santos and Cebu. The company will also utilize the funds to reimburse advances to its subsidiaries, including its foreign subsidiaries. As you may know, Phoenix has presence in Singapore, Indonesia, and most recently in Vietnam,” PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo said in his welcome remarks during the event.

of the company’s revenues now comes from data and broadband businesses.

The company said it spent some P53.4 billion in capital expenditures during the nine months of the year.

It has a budget capex of P78.4 billion for the entire year.

MUTUAL FUNDS

About 75 percent of its capex was used to improve its network and IT systems, which includes expansion of its fourth-generation network coverage, fiber transport for its fixed and mobile data, and international cable networks.

November 7, 2019

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 258.02 5.61% 0.68% -0.44% 2.31% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.5203 10.02% 3.27% -0.36% 5.52% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 3.9285 3.81% -1.08% -2.21% 0.65% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9414 8.19% N.A. N.A. 4.48% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.871 8.77% N.A. N.A. 6.13% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.4633 9% 2.11% -0.04% 3.6% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.8789 9.71% -2.03% N.A. 5.04% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A

113.68 3.84% N.A. N.A. -2.14% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 52.7002 11.12% 3.01% N.A. 7.06% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 547.02 10.8% 1.86% 0.11% 6.27% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3241 8.61% 2.71% 1.1% 5.59% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 38.9724 9.81% 3.6% 1.06% 6.39% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,1 1.0451 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.3603 12.34% 3.81% 2.12% 8.1% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 894.99 12.33% 3.73% 2.04% 8.03% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9064 9.43% 1.84% N.A. 5.4% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.3302 10.1% 3.17% 1.13% 6.68% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0278 11.9% 3.58% N.A. 7.7% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.7429 10.96% 4.96% 2.58% 6.92% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C 120.011 12.67% 4.49% 3.06% 8.36% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B

$1.0053 5.57% 4.67% 0.18% 8.2% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.3225 9.78% 9.17% N.A. 19.66% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.5995 -1.27% -2.54% -3.63% -3.13% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.2823 5.48% 0.01% -0.44% 3.31% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.6678 8.59% 2.09% -0.91% 4.9% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN F.O.C.C.U.S. DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A,5 0.2371 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3546 6.09% N.A. N.A. 3.86% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.977 9.71% 2.52% 1.22% 7.26% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.8359 12.29% 1.67% 0.55% 8.69% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 17.1641 11.7% 1.63% 0.44% 7.9% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.1653 7.04% 1.79% 1.2% 4.64% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.9278 10.23% 2.62% 0.92% 7.57% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,2 1.0309 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,2 1.02 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,2 1.017 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 0.9955 10.15% 2.16% 0.17% 8.01% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03806 9.94% 2.18% 2.03% 7.82% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $1.0176 8.19% 3.71% 0.5% 11.37% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.8063 8.68% 6.69% 3.5% 15.04% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A,7 $1.111 7.26% 3.92% N.A. 10.55% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 355.87 4.13% 2.58% 2.28% 3.61% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A 1.9241 4.12% 0.24% -0.04% 3.49% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0958 4.89% 5.23% 5.2% 4.02% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.2174 4.52% 1.85% 1.97% 4.14% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.3468 6.04% 1.78% 1.55% 6.43% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6086 3.04% -0.04% -0.03% 2.83% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.3412 14.16% 1.75% 1.78% 10.75% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A

3.7554 8.5% 2.5% 1.54% 6.78% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9556 9.24% 0.65% N.A. 7.23% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.055 11.51% 3.66% 2.57% 10.46% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.6872 10.88% 3.06% 2.07% 9.57% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $466.06 4.45% 2.12% 2.83% 3.94% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є219.68 3.11% 1.33% 1.4% 3.3% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.203 7.29% 2.42% 2.57% 6.87% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0258 4.03% 1.19% 1.37% 4.03% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7097 1.28% -1.21% 0.26% 1.15% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.0932 7.1% 0.03% -0.92% 5.49% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.3914 12.27% 2.19% 3.15% 10.16% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0602405 5.92% 2.04% 2.04% 5.69% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.1536 9.77% 1.68% 2.64% 9.8% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 125.15 4.15% 2.74% 2.12% 3.53% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0276 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2471 6.18% 2.5% 1.58% 5.52% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.259 3.83% 2.83% 2.25% 3.26% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0348 2.13% N.A. N.A. 1.86% A - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY. B - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO. C - LISTED IN THE PSE. D - IN NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT (NAVPU).

1 - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 3, 2019. 2 - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 28, 2019. 3 - LAUNCH DATE IS FEBRUARY 1, 2019. 4 - LAUNCH DATE IS AUGUST 1, 2019.

5 - LAUNCH DATE IS SEPTEMBER 28, 2019. 6 - RENAMING WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST OCTOBER 12, 2018 (FORMERLY, ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.).

7 - ADJUSTED DUE TO STOCK DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST OCTOBER 9, 2019.

"While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa. com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

Companies BusinessMirror

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Toyota to buy back $1.8 billion in shares as profit tops estimates

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OYOTA Motor Corp. announced a ¥200-billion ($1.8 billion) share buyback as quarterly profit topped analysts’ estimates, underscoring the Japanese automaker’s ability to keep profitability on track amid sputtering global demand for cars.

Operating income for the fiscal second quarter that ended in September was ¥662 billion, thanks to cost controls and solid vehicle sales in Japan and North America, the

company said in a statement on Thursday.

That compares with analysts’ average estimate for ¥604 billion. The shares rose 1 percent after the results.

Toyota joins Tesla Inc., Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG with better-than-anticipated results, even as vehicle sales weaken across the globe. Japan’s automakers are also getting hurt by a stronger yen eroding income brought home. Cost controls have helped Toyota maintain profits ahead of analysts’ projections, even while it is investing heavily as the industry faces a tectonic shift to electrification and self-driving automobiles.

“Sales in Japan are solid, while in the US RAV4 demand is supporting a weaker environment,” said Koji Endo, an analyst at SBI Securities. “China is solid, while Southeast Asia is showing signs of weakness, but overall,

Toyota’s global sales are doing well.”

The repurchase represents as much as 1.2 percent of shares, in line with Toyota’s past buybacks. In recent years, the company has typically announced a repurchase authorization of ¥200 billion to ¥300 billion twice a year, in May and November.

Some of the profit gains came from a change in depreciation methods, which lowered expenses by ¥80.6 billion during the first two quarters, Toyota said.

The automaker also trimmed back its global sales target by about 30,000 units to 10.7 million units. Toyota sold 10.6 million vehicles in the prior fiscal year. Bloomberg News

Emperador’s 9-mo income LA-based venture fund flat despite rise in revenues to take over Xurpas X E MPER ADOR Inc., the liquor arm of businessman Andrew Tan, said its income saw a small increase during the nine months of the year to P5.3 billion from last year’s P5.24 billion.

Revenues rose 11 percent to P33.8 billion from last year’s P29.8 billion.

“Long-term growth in international operations should help

maintain and diversify profitability. Our luxury single malt whisky Dalmore is leading our premium Scotch whisky business.

And we have a compelling brandy portfolio,” Emperador President Winston Co said.

Meanwhile, the company extended its two-year share buyback of up to P5 billion that ended in May. Emperador will repurchase

up to P3 billion for another 12 months ending on May 16, 2020.

Since the start of the buyback two years ago, about 392.65 million shares have been bought back, amount ing to approx imately P2.83 billion.

The company owns Emperador Distillers Inc., Scotch whisky maker Whyte and Mackay Group, and Bodegas Fundador in Spain.

VG Cabuag

San Miguel income down 5% in Jan-Sept

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

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ONGLOMERATE SanMiguel Corp. (SMC) said its net income fell 5 percent during the nine months of the year ending September, pulled mainly by the decrease in profit by Petron Corp. and the weak performance of its food unit.

The company said profit for the period dropped to P39.69 billion from last year’s P41.9 billion.

It chalked up revenues of P758.6 billion for the first nine months of the year, flat from last year’s P761.17 billion as higher volumes from its

beer, spirits, power and infrastructure units continue to drive growth.

Consolidated operating income, however, dropped 9 percent to P88.7 billion from P98.04 billion.

Petron, whose income fell by 70 percent to P3.62 billion from P12.05 billion previously, continues to be weighed down by volatile global crude oil prices and weak refining margins, while San Miguel Foods faced headwinds from rising raw material costs, it said. San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc.’s income was flat at P22.92 billion despite higher sales.

“The continuous recovery seen in the poultry business during the

third quarter in particular, along the steady growth of our beverage business, have been very encouraging,” SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said.

SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. posted consolidated off-take volume of 21,581 gigawatt hour during the nine-month period, 22 percent higher than in the same period in 2018.

SMC Infrastructure’s operating toll roads reported a combined 6-percent growth in vehicular traffic volume compared to the same period last year. Consolidated revenues reached P17.8 billion, while operating income amounted to P9 billion.

AboitizPower upbeat about 2020 after redressing power plant snags

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

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BOITIZ Power Corp. expects to perform better next year after enforcing corrective action measures on its power plants that encountered technical snags in the past months.

“We don’t expect these outages will continue. We’ve put all corrective actions already and so with that we expect a good performance with regard to availability in 2020,” said company Chief Operating Officer Emmanuel Rubio, who will assume a new post starting next year as the power firm’s president.

Some of these plants include the 420-megawatt (MW) Pagbilao unit 3 and GN Power Mariveles.

“We’ve been beset by plant outages, especially during the first half of the year and during summer when usually prices are high.

What I would like to highlight is most of the outages we’ve suffered from this year, we’ve learned from them and we’ve collected a significant portion of the issues that came out from these outages,” said Rubio.

The company is optimistic that 2020 will turn out to be a better year since all of its power plants would be fully operational.

“We are very bullish. For next year, we have new capacities that will be operating for the full year.

“TVI [Therma Visayas Inc.] has two units and that’s 300 MW; one unit started running April, and the other one in August. By next year that is all available by whole year.

“GN Power is 1,336 MW. One unit is expected to come in—probably April [at the earliest]. The other unit is toward the fourth quarter of 2020,” Rubio said.

He added that FiT (feed-intariff )-eligible facilities, such as the 68.8-MW hydro plant in Manolo Fortich and the 19-MW La Trinidad hydro plant, which was recently commissioned, will be operational for full-year 2020.

“I am very bullish for next year.

We have new plants coming in.

Dinginin [GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co.] at 1,336 MW plus the hydro plants,” said Rubio.

The power firm has set a target of registering 4,000 MW of at-

tributable capacity in 2020 from the current 3,200 MW. “We will definitely hit the goal of 4,000 MW by next year. We have sold 23 terawatt hours to the grid. We are expecting to hit over 30 terawatt hours by 2029,” Rubio added.

He said the company is “aggressively expanding” its energy portfolio and pursuing projects in Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, “with focus on hydro, solar” while looking at opportunities in gas. “By 2029, our mix would be 50:50 thermal and renewable energy,” said Rubio.

The company’s third-quarter earnings dropped by 36 percent to P4.8 billion after posting nonrecurring losses of P340 million.

Core profit declined by 35 percent to P5.1 billion.

“It has been a tough year for AboitizPower with the supply issues that resulted in the high cost of replacement power for our customers. The company has also generated lower revenues from the spot market due to challenges that caused some of our power plants to shut down,” said Rubio.

URPAS Inc., a once high-flying technology company, is being taken over by Los Angeles venture capitalist Wavemaker Partners US, after its owners acquire 48 percent of the listed company for P170 million.

In its disclosure, Xurpas said its board has approved the issuance of 1.7 billion new common shares at a mere P0.10 per share to Wavemaker US’s general partners Eric Manlunas, Paul Santos and James Jordan.

“Xurpas considers the background and expertise of the general partners beneficial to the company and will help Xurpas in its current enterprise business. Moreover, the use of proceeds from the subscription will be used for the purchase of all rights, title and interest of the general partners over all of their US management companies,” it said.

The company, in turn, will buy the shares of Manlunas, Santos and Jordan in the venture fund.

“Xurpas considers the issuance of the shares in favor of the general partners and the purchase of 100 percent of their rights, title and interests in the US management

companies as a long-term partnership that will help Xurpas’s financial stability and provide business opportunities in the long term,” it added. Several management companies that manage various private partnerships comprising the bulk of Wavemaker US’s assets under management will be consolidated into the holding company.

The Wavemaker US holding company will have equity interest in the following: 62.5 percent of Siemer Ventures LLC, 66.67 percent of Wavemaker Partners LLC, 90 percent of Wavemaker Management LLC and 100 percent of Wavemaker Global Select LLC, the company said.

Wavemaker US has been operating for almost 17 years as a US technology fund and has a track record of successful exits, via both public offering of shares and acquisitions.

Founded by Manlunas, the early-stage venture capital firm started in Los Angeles in 2003. According to financial data firm, PitchBook, Wavemaker US is one of the most active venture capital firms in Southern California. VG Cabuag

Friday, November 8, 2019

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DMCI won’t bid for Sangley Intl Airport project

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ONSTRUCTION and engineering firm DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI) said it is not considering joining the auction for the $10-billion Sangley International Airport project.

The construction subsidiary of DMCI Holdings Inc., in a disclosure with the local bourse, said it “has not yet secured the bid documents for the Sangley Airport.”

DMCI Vice President for Infrastructure and Business Unit Head Dwight David Ta-Ala noted that the project was “not in our radar.”

Pressed if they find it attractive, he said that “it really depends [on] how they package the project.” Earlier, Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla said the construction conglomerate bought bid documents for the development of an international gateway in Sangley Point.

Since the provincial government of Cavite is the lead proponent and implementing agency of the project under its public-private partnership scheme, approval from the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is no longer required to implement the project.

Deadline for securing bids is set on November 11. Interested bidders may purchase bid documents for P10 million. Submission of bids is scheduled on November 25.

The chosen joint-venture (JV) partner will provide the needed equity investment and credit enhancements subject to a further competitive process or price test, perform engineering, procurement and construction services for the land and airport development components.

Besides the legal, technical and financial qualifications set by the provincial government, the selected JV partner must also pass the credit standards of project lenders.

The request for proposals will require a project feasibility study, instructions to candidate JV partners and the draft JV and development agreement.

The Cavite government expects the awarding of the project by end of November and the construction commencement by January 2020. The operations and maintenance of the new international aviation facility will be auctioned off in a separate bidding.

The Sangley International Airport is expected to be on a par with those of Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea as it is positioned to be the next biggest development in air transport innovation in the country.

The proposed aviation facility is, likewise, seen as an important alternative for Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) to prevent air transportation paralysis like what happened during its closure last year when a Xiamen Airways plane crashed into the runway.

President Duterte ordered in June the transfer of domestic flights from Naia to Sangley Air Base to ease airport congestion in Metro Manila. Roderick L. Abad

B4 Friday, November 8, 2019

UP Diliman students dominated Toyota Young Marketeers Challenge

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NIVERSITY of the Philippines Diliman students William Alonzo, Samantha Ching, Hanna Laurel and Nathan Oranga are not new to joining marketing competitions for students.

So when Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) announced that it is opening its inaugural Toyota Young Marketeers Challenge (TYMC), the quartet from the state university's College of Business Administration gave it a shot - even though automotive is not their forte.

For the competition, they were given the challenge of coming up with an integrated marketing campaign for TMP's locally assembled model, the Toyota Vios.

After weeks of developing the campaign and a whole day of pitching ideas on how to better market the Vios that's already the Philippines' best-selling vehicle team UP Diliman was declared the grand champion, besting nine other colleges and universities that entered the finals round.

Aside from the judges, top Toyota executives including TMP President Satoru Suzuki were present during the grand pitch day held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Through the TYMC, TMP aimed to give the students a real-world marketing career experience by allowing the students

to go through each process.

The result was a highly charged battle of the most creative ideas from UP Diliman, second placer De La Salle University Manila, third placer De La Salle College of St. Benilde Antipolo and finalists (in alphabetical order) Centro Escolar University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle College of St. Benilde Manila, Far Eastern University, Miriam College, University of Makati, and

University of Santo Tomas.

Toyota Motor Philippines officials led by President Satoru Suzuki (3rd from left) and the competition judges present the awards to the students and faculty advisor composing the UP team. The team received a cash grant for their school, a technology package, and an all-expense paid trip to Japan for an immersion in the Toyota Way.

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REENWICH has always been a witness to barkada celebrations and it’s just right that it joins in on every Greenwich barkada’s fun by encouraging them to give their friends a virtual pat on the back with the “SAGOT KO NA” pizza party, because the treat is on those who give all-out support to you.

With the “SAGOT KO NA” pizza party, Greenwich shows its utmost appreciation to its old and new barkada for choosing to make the brand a part of their lives, moments and memories. The party takes inspiration from the All-In Overload TV commercial featuring Greenwich barkada Yassi Pressman, Robi Domingo and Enrique Gil. The

GREENWICH TEAM: Inna Gimenez Brand Director (4th from left), PJ Talosig Asst Brand Manager (5th from left), Pao Goze PR and Corporate Affairs Manager (6th from left)

FOR PRESENTING THE MOST CREATIVE, innovative and promising integrated marketing campaign for the Toyota Vios, College of Business Administration students from the University of the Philippines in Diliman bagged the grand prize at the inaugural Toyota Young Marketeers Challenge (TYMC). The team received a cash grant for their school, a technology package, and an all-expense paid trip to Japan for an immersion in the Toyota Way. Photo shows Toyota Motor Philippines officials led by President Satoru Suzuki (3rd from left) and the competition judges presenting the awards to the students and faculty advisor composing the UP team.

Insular Foundation adopted scholars, receive school materials TOTAL of 482 scholars from four schools received their school materials from the Insular Foundation’s AdoptA-Scholar Program.

Adopted students from Itaas Elementary School, Alabang Elementary School and Bayanan Elementary School from

Craving for all-in overload pizza?

Go for #GreenwichSagotKoNa!

Muntinlupa, and Balili Elementary School from La Trinindad, Benguet received school materials consisting of school supplies, uniforms, shoes, and storybooks.

“The students are adopted by Insular Life (InLife) employees and financial advisors who commit to donate a certain amount

each year to help the students finish their elementary schooling. Each year, the donations given to scholars are based on the requirements of their current grade level. This way, we are assured that the school materials will be fully used.

The top 3 scholars from each school also receive cash awards during the turnover ceremonies,” said Insular Foundation Program Manager Teresita Melad.

During the turnover ceremonies in Alabang and Bayanan Elementary Schools, InLife also presented its “Maperaan” TV commercial featuring Actor Coco Martin, and child wonder Ethan Hariot, who distributed the storybooks to the scholars.

The Adopt-A-Scholar Program is one of several educational programs administered by the Insular Foundation that seeks to improve the quality of education in the country, and help fellow Filipinos achieve a lifetime for good.

“SAGOT KO NA” revelry is packed with games, surprises, heart-pounding music and rap battles, dancing, and of course, All-In Overload pizzas – just the kind of party that all barkadas will enjoy.

The All-In Overload pizza is loaded with ham, pepperoni, burger crumbles, bacon, Italian sausage, and Spanish sausage, plus green bell peppers, pineapples, mushrooms, onions and cheese – that has an all-in flavor in one freshlymade crust! This everything-on-it pizza tastes even better when it’s a “SAGOT KO NA” barkada blowout so you can share your blessings with your barkada.

One of the best things about the All-In Overload is that it’s best shared with the barkada. It’s not because it’s too filling, or the quantity can become too overwhelming for one person, but it is just more fun to eat it when the entire barkada is in town! Sharing a pizza that’s overloaded with toppings, flavor and that unmistakable all-in goodness with friends (and loved ones) is enjoyable because it heightens the experience you have with each bite.

Can’t get enough of the All-In Overload pizza? Call #5-55-55 or visit greenwichdelivery. com to satisfy your pizza and pasta cravings.

Pioneer Group breaks ground in BGC

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HE Pioneer group of companies recently held the groundbreaking of its fifth building in the country, Pioneer House BGC. Located at the corner lot along 5th Avenue and 26th Avenue Street, Pioneer House BGC is poised to rise as one of the country’s most modern offices upon its completion in December 2022.

Aligned with Pioneer’s advocacy towards environment conservation, Pioneer House BGC is registered with a certification goal of LEED v.4 Platinum. Its design will include the low-e, double-glazed curtain glass walls, eight high-speed 24 passenger elevators, and an efficient traffic management system that will consist of multiple access to its six basement parking levels and five-level podium parking floors.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held last October 8, 2019. Among those in attendance who took part in the groundbreaking ceremony were Pioneer Group Head David Coyukiat, DMCI Chairman Isidro Consunji, DMCI President and CEO Jorge Consunji, Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano, Pioneer Insurance Chairman Ernesto Chan, Pioneer Insurance &

Surety Corporation President and CEO Atty.

Betty Medialdea, Pioneer Life Inc. President and CEO Lorenzo Chan Jr., Pioneer Head for Shared Financials Sally Ong, Arkitektii Philippines Inc. Managing Director, Architect Dong Caritativo, and Santos Knight Frank Vice-Chairman Joey Radovan.

Father Tito Caluag and Pastor Chad Williams offered blessings and dedication prayers, as witnessed by Pioneer officers and shareholders, along with the Fort Bonifacio Barangay Chairman Jorge Daniel Bacobo, and a team of project contractors and consultants.

Pioneer House BGC is the latest addition to Pioneer buildings in Manila, Makati, Cebu and CDO, proof of Pioneer’s continuing commitment to serve more Filipinos.

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dynamic and he’s a great passer,” Paschall said. “And during his [isolation plays], you can’t really touch him because he’s so smart on how he draws the fouls. As a team, we did a good job in the first half, but then he got hot and started hitting threes.”

Already reeling from injuries to Splash Brothers Stephen Curry (broken hand) and Klay Thompson (knee surgery), and the loss of Kevin Durant, the Warriors were without D’Angelo Russell (sprained right ankle) and Draymond Green (torn ligament in left index finger) for a third straight game. Russell, who sat on the Golden State bench, could return Friday, Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said.

Golden State fell to 2-6 for the first time in eight years.

Both teams struggled with their shooting for spurts of the first half, but late in the second quarter, Harden drilled a deep 3-pointer where he was also fouled. That shot fired up both Harden and the Toyota Center crowd, including rapper Travis Scott, who was sitting courtside.

Houston led 63-52 at the half, thanks in large part to Harden’s 24 firsthalf points, but also Golden State’s 38.8 percent shooting from the field.

There were seven lead changes in the first half before Houston started to pull away.

To open up the second half, the Rockets held the Warriors to just three field goals in the first seven minutes of the third quarter and built a lead as large as 23 points. They entered the fourth quarter leading 98-83.

“I didn’t like our shot selection as a team tonight,” Kerr said. “I

early shooting woes, going six of 16 from three-point range.

Since going 17 of 79 on threes in his first six games, Harden has made 13 of 32 the last two.

Harden’s 292 points through the first eight games (36.5 points per game) mark the highest point total through eight games since Michael Jordan had 303 in 1988-89.

Russell Westbrook had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

PJ Tucker had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Clint Capela added 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Austin Rivers was four for four from three with 12 points.

Alec Burks led Golden State with 28 points. Eric Paschall had 19 points, and Glenn Robinson III added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The rookie Paschall was challenged with guarding Harden for much of the game.

“It’s just hard because he’s so

OUSTON—Despite an entirely different lineup of Golden State Warriors, James Harden was still out for blood Wednesday night.

Harden had 36 points and 13 assists, and the Houston Rockets routed Golden State, 129-112, sending the shorthanded Warriors to their sixth loss in eight games this season.

Less than six months ago, a vastly different roster of Warriors ended another Houston playoff run for the third time in four seasons.

“That’s a part of the league,” Harden said about the changing faces. “It’s a part of the NBA. There’s been a lot of different faces since I’ve been here. It was bound to happen at some point and it is what it is.”

Harden again appeared to be moving past his

THE numbers are adding up quickly for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The reigning NBA MVP had 38 points and 16 rebounds to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 129-124, on Wednesday night in Los Angeles for their fourth victory in a row.

It’s what he’s done to start the season that really stands out.

Antetokounmpo became the first player in league history with 200 points, 100 rebounds and 50 assists in the first eight games of a season.

“He played the whole fourth quarter and was fabulous,” Bucks Coach Mike Budenholzer said.

Antetokounmpo had 13 points in 12 minutes during the fourth as Milwaukee repelled several threats by the Clippers, who kept getting within four only to come up short.

“Guys were physical with me but at the end of the day you’ve just got to keep doing what you’re doing,” Antetokounmpo said. “I was trying to make plays, try to stay aggressive. That’s what my teammates wanted me to do.”

Antetokounmpo just missed a triple-double with nine assists. He’s posted at least 10 rebounds and five assists in each of the first eight games this season, the first player to do that since at least 1972-73.

BUCKS EXTEND STREAK

didn’t think we played for each other. I thought we were driving to try to score instead of driving to try to move the ball to someone on the team who can make the next play.”

THE Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo tries to elude the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley. AP

November 8, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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“He’s a beast,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said.

George Hill scored 24 points off the bench and hit six of the Bucks’ 18 3-pointers.

The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard, who rested for the first half of a home back-toback. He’ll play against Portland on Thursday night.

“When he sits out we’ve just got to step up,” said Lou Williams, who had 34 points and 11 assists.

Montrezl Harrell had a career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds in his first start of the season.

“It don’t mean nothing,” he said in a low voice.

“We lost.”

Patrick Beverley added 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Clippers’ first home defeat.

Led by Hill and Kyle Korver with 14 points, the Bucks’ reserves outscored the Clippers’ bench 47-20, the first time that’s happened to Los Angeles this season. Harrell and Williams being in the starting lineup reduced much of the bench production.

Los Angeles starter Landry Shamet had just two points coming into the fourth, but made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. The last one put the Clippers within two with 23 seconds left. AP

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THE Rockets’ James Harden goes up for a shot against Warriors’ Alec Burks (8) and Omari Spellman. AP

HARDEN, ROCKETS CLOBBER WARRIORS A

MICHIGAN Head Coach Juwan Howard gives directions against Saginaw Valley State during the second half of their exhibition game in Ann Arbor. AP

NN ARBOR, Michigan—Juwan Howard was musing recently about the state of college basketball when the new Michigan coach interrupted himself.

“Guys are jumping out of the gym. I think they’re more athletic—no, no, let me hold on,” Howard said. “If I say they’re more athletic than how it was when I played, then everyone, all the past players, ‘Oh my God, you say they’re more athletic? Well, you couldn’t jump.’”

“Why waste the time? I don’t have the energy for it,” Howard continued.

“I’m trying to coach a team.”

This may become a theme during Howard’s first season at the helm: There will be plenty of talk about his past accomplishments as a player, but the former Fab Five standout will be focused on his new challenge. Brought back to Michigan after John Beilein’s departure, Howard has to replace the winningest coach in the history of the program.

While some nostalgia is inevitable, he’ll ultimately be judged on whether he can keep the Wolverines moving in the right direction—whether Juwan Howard the coach can lift his team the way Juwan Howard the player did.

Howard won his opener at Michigan on Tuesday night, 79-71 over Appalachian State. Fellow Fab Fivers Jalen Rose and Jimmy King were there to show support. The Wolverines led by 30 in the second half, then let that lead dwindle all the way to five in the final minute, presenting Howard with his first near-crisis. The team won but left plenty of room for improvement.

“I feel extremely comfortable and confident, as being the leader of this team,” Howard said after the game. “I think there’s some areas that not only just our players have to improve on, but me as a coach. That’s a part of the process. I cannot separate myself from the group.”

Beilein left Michigan to take over the Cleveland Cavaliers in May and, at that point, the college basketball coaching carousel had already gone through its usual rotations. There was no obvious choice to come coach the Wolverines, but Howard was an assistant with the Miami Heat, had strong ties to Michigan and had been considered a candidate for a head coaching job in the NBA. So Howard came back to Ann Arbor. He was emotional at his introductory news conference, and nobody can doubt his passion for this school.

“When Beilein left, it was going to be hard to fill those shoes. But, they made a great decision in picking Juwan Howard,” said Ray Jackson, another of Howard’s Fab Five teammates. “I think recruits are going to keep rolling in.”

Indeed, selling Michigan and relating to players could be second nature to Howard—and he had a lengthy NBA playing career that could give him credibility with recruits.

“I was a player here before I played at the highest level. I can understand exactly what it takes for the student-athlete on where they’re trying to go, whether it’s in basketball or to be a professional in life, as their own CEO,” Howard said. “Been there. I’ve done all that. I think the relationship is there, and they see it. They see I’m as genuine as they come, but I’m also a guy that’s going to hold them accountable at times when things are not going right.”

Howard said he drove to Cleveland recently to meet with Beilein, the coach who brought Michigan back from an extended funk and took the Wolverines to the Final Four in 2013 and 2018. Michigan doesn’t just have a new coaching staff. The Wolverines also lost Iggy Brazdeikis, Jordan Poole and Charles Matthews, all of whom left early for the NBA draft.

Howard does inherit one of the team’s undisputed leaders in point guard Zavier Simpson, as well as sharp-shooting forward Isaiah Livers and 7-foot-1 Jon Teske. There’s enough talent on hand to ease Howard’s transition—but enough question marks to keep expectations manageable, at least at first.

“He’s a big relationship guy. He talks with everyone. He’s embracing every single moment—not just about basketball, about other things. Everyone can open up and talk with him,” Simpson said. “During some bumpy roads through the season...we’re going to need that strong connection between our coaches and our players.”

When Howard played at Michigan, the focus was on his connection with another group of players. The Fab Five made college basketball history when that group of Wolverines reached the national title game as freshmen in 1992. They were national runners-up that year and again in 1993. AP

Back at Michigan, Howard begins a new challenge

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BUKIDNON TO PLAY IN MINDANAO CUP T

HE under-12 squad of the Bukidnon Football Association (FA), champion of the recent Mindanao Cup, will vie in the Luzon Cup set from November 21 to 24 at the Tarlac Recreational Park in

San Jose.

The Luzon Cup is the third of a series of under-12 tournaments spearheaded this year by the Negros Occidental Football Association (Nofa) “Football Para sa Lahat’’ program.

The two previous tourneys were the Nofa Cup held last May in Bacolod City, and the Mindanao Cup held last October 22 to 25 in Davao City.

For the Luzon Cup, Nofa has the Central Luzon Football Association (CLFA) as its coorganizer for the Luzon Cup. Nofa President Ricky Yanson began the program four years ago with the Nofa Cup nationwide tourney, and expanded it this year so teams can also play the tourney format nearer their home.

“Under Football Para Sa Lahat, we want more kids to fall in love with sports by giving them more opportunities to play football at a higher level,” Yanson said.

The format is nine-a-side with open

substitution and no offside. Kids will enjoy more playing time because matches have two 25-minute halves.

Aside from the trip to Tarlac as prize at the Mindanao Cup, Bukidnon FA also won 30,000 pesos worth of football equipment. Sixteen football teams are set to take part in the Luzon Cup. Bukidnon FA emerged as the champion of the first Mindanao Cup that was held recently at the Tionko Football Grounds in Davao City.

The football tournament was a joint endeavor of Yanson and the Davao-South Regional Football Association, headed by its president, Engineer Henry Sabate.

Sixteen teams from Mindanao took part in the competition envisioned to hone grassroots football players.

The other top finishers in the tournament included Davao-South Regional FA White, first runner-up—Davao-South RFA Red; second runner-up and Mount Apo RFA, third runner-up.

The tournament was also supported by the local government of Davao City, represented

by Vice Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, who attended the welcome dinner, and by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Executive Director Atty.

IOC, Wada hire lobbyists to discuss anti-doping bill

Guillermo Iroy Jr., who graced the games and the awarding ceremonies.

Iroy, a former national player in the late 1980s, lauded the Mindanao Cup for supplementing the PSC’s own grassroots program and for bringing together the Mindanao football associations.

“This is a good program because it realizes the importance of the participation of young children. The Mindanao Cup is also special because, for a time, there was no tournament that involved all the regional FAs in Mindanao. There was a ‘lag’ for a long time. With this program, the FAs have had a chance to band together.”

NEGROS Occidental Football Association President Ricky Yanson wants more kids to fall in love with football.

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ATOWICE, Poland—Not long after a bill that would criminalize international doping conspiracies advanced in the US Congress, world Olympic and anti-doping leaders made clear how they felt about the development.

They started lobbying for changes in Washington.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) have each devoted six-figure budgets to get word out on their issues with the Rodchenkov Act. The bill, named after the Moscow lab director who blew the whistle on Russia’s cheating at the Sochi Olympics, passed the US House last month and is now awaiting action in the Senate.

The measure calls for fines of up to $1 million and prison sentences of up to 10 years for those who participate in schemes designed to influence international sports competitions through doping. It would also allow the US Anti-Doping Agency to obtain information collected by federal investigators, which could help prosecute anti-doping cases.

Wada President Craig Reedie said the agency favored the part of the bill that calls for transferring information.

“The area which is troublesome is the suggestion that American jurisdiction would

SHAKIRA

Shakira eyes Latin tribute at upcoming Super Bowl

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ARCELONA, Spain—Colombian music star Shakira says she will pay homage to Latin culture alongside Jennifer Lopez at the 2020 Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show in Miami.

Speaking Monday in Barcelona, Spain, where she lives with her long-term partner, Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué and their two children, Shakira told The Associated Press she was fulfilling a dream which also had “a very important purpose.”

“To celebrate that culture, to showcase it in a country where Latinos have also struggled a lot,” she said. “I feel really humbled and with a great responsibility in my hands to represent the Latino community.”

The Grammy winner, who turns 43 on February 2, the day of the Super Bowl, is currently promoting a documentary and live concert album from her 2018 El Dorado World Tour, to be released worldwide on November 13.

In late 2017, Shakira left fans worried after she was forced to postpone the European part of the tour due to a vocal cord hemorrhage.

“That was probably one of the most difficult times of my life. It was really a nightmare,” she recalled. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to sing again.”

At the time, doctors recommended surgery that carried risks. Shakira chose not to have it, and her voice slowly recovered. But it meant she couldn’t speak for long periods of time—a real challenge for go beyond the United States and might create liability in other parts of the world,” he said.

Wada documents obtained by The Associated Press say the agency has budgeted “at least” $250,000 to continue the lobbying effort into next year.

The bill, according to a news release from sponsor Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., “would establish criminal penalties for participating in a scheme in commerce to influence a major international sport competition through prohibited substances or methods.”

But language that would have made athletes vulnerable to prosecution for doping was stripped out of the bill. That language, some critics felt, could’ve discouraged foreign athletes from competing in the United States.

Rodchenkov’s lawyer, Jim Walden, said the IOC’s position on the law proves they “would rather host dirty games than have anyone else police doping fraud.” AP

Gabasa joins hunt at MVPSF Riviera Am

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UNIA GABASA sets out for what promises to be another fierce showdown with Rianne Malixi as the Cebuana ace joined the title chase in women’s division of the Riviera MVP Sports Foundation (MVPSF) Amateur Championship firing off on Friday at Riviera’s Langer course here.

Gabasa nipped Malixi by one to claim the W Express RVF Cup in Canlubang last February, but the latter got back at the former by snaring the Philippine Junior Amateur Open overall title, also by the slimmest of margins, at Sherwood Hills last April.

Though they aren’t paired in first round, Gabasa, who also won the MVPSF Visayas Regional at Cebu Country Club, and Malixi, also the winner of this year’s Philippine Amateur Open Match Play at Luisita and the recent Northern Luzon Regional, are tipped to meet in the final day of the 54-hole tournament organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

But out to foil their bids are Korean Kwon Yeon Bang and Jody Castillo, who will slug it out with Gabasa in the 8:50 a.m. group, and Kwon Tae Yon and Ye Rin Kim, who will face off with Malixi at 9:10 a.m.

Also tipped to contend in the event sponsored by the MVPSF with PLDT Group, Cignal and Metro Pacific Investments as other backers are Laure Duque, Kim Seo Yun and Kwon Min Seo, who will start at 9 a.m. on No. 1, all

aiming for a strong start at the hazard-laden, wind-raked layout.

Focus will also be on the men’s side with SEA Games-bound Sean Ramos drawing Miguel Ilas and Santino Laurel at 8:20 a.m. and recent Cangolf Am winner Dan Cruz, playing out of Luisita, who will clash with David Jung and Gus Pacheco at 7:50 a.m.

a mother of two young children.

“I healed miraculously, really, because the doctors were convinced I needed a medical procedure,” she said, adding that without support from her fans she wouldn’t have been able to return to the stage.

“I felt so much gratitude, so much joy to be able to sing again,” she said. “I think at some point in my life I had taken it for granted.”

But the singer has not slowed down since releasing last month a remix of the song “Tutu” with singers Camilo from Colombia and Pedro Capó of Puerto Rico.

Shakira is also scheduled to perform at the closing ceremony of the Davis Cup tennis tournament in Madrid on November 24.

Shakira has, in the meantime, witnessed turmoil in the city she calls home in Spain’s northwest region of Catalonia.

The conviction of Catalan separatists over an illegal independence referendum has sparked massive and sometimes violent street protests.

Shakira says the issue requires dialogue between the separatists and Spain’s national authorities. Piqué backs the right to a vote on the region’s independence.

“I think that in a country where there are clearly disagreements and differences like this one, the best would be to try to build bridges and listen to each other,” Shakira said. AP

Cherrylume backs Forest Hills GC Chairman’s Cup

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OREST Hills Golf and Country Club will host and celebrate the Cherrylume Chairman’s Cup as the most highly anticipated tournament in the club’s history.

Just one week after opening registration early last month, the slots for 400 players were all filled up in two days, confirming the Forest Hills members’ enthusiasm and excitement for this year’s 17th edition set on November 16 and 17.

For starters, participants could look forward to a GAC sedan, a Texas Eagle golf cart from Turf Co., a Cobra F7 iron set complete with Cobra F7 driver and Puma golf bag from J-Ten Sports Inc., and a GPS Tracker from Silicon and Computer as holes-in-one prizes.

Add the cash prizes close to P300,000 from Taishan Insurance Brokers Philippines and Hoher Inc. that are up for grabs at the Nicklaus and Palmer courses that would spice up the annual affair organized by club Chairman Atty. Ferdinand Santos.

Fabulous items will also be raffled off during the awards night—including travel tour packages, gadgets and high-end appliances, according to General Manager Raymond Bunquin.

Besides Cherrylume, the other gold sponsors are Escala Tagaytay, Megaforce Security Services Corp., Golforce and City Advertising are title presenters. Elm’s Kapihan Group, J-Ten Sports Inc. and Luisita Golf and Country Club.

Logitech Philippines, Metro Rail Transit Corp. and Klio International Marketing are silver sponsors, while media supporters include the BusinessMirror.

Mancare, Aqua Haus, Aqua Terra Integrated Solutions, Arcadia Realty, Element Industrial Builders, Eurotel, Hydrotech Irrigation and Gen. Services, Interconnect Systems, Pixel Date, MPioneer, Waterworld, JTC, Anderson International, Piniel, Nu Steel, Jiangying Zongcheng Steel, Danielsen Transport, Jaspak Enterprises, HMR PH, Hon. Michael Duavit, Pascual Consumer Healthcare, Asia Cargo Container Line, JG Summit, Pilipinas Taj Autogroup, GS Equipment, Nippleson Group, Lola Nena’s Pichi Pichi, Splendido Taal Golf, South Forbes, Sherwood Hills, Pradera Verde Golf, Manila Southwoods, MSW Manor, Gerry’s Grill, G&W Clubshares, Fundador, Eagle Ridge, CJH Golf Club, CJH Manor, Beverly Place, LeBlanc Hotel, Courbe F&B Specialist, Asia Traders Corp., Humnan’s Fit, Ayala Land Premier, and Fasttrack Access Travel and Tours are backers.

BROKEN BAT Australia’s Darryl George

breaks his bat on a swing against Cuba during the sixth inning of a Group C match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 2019 world tournament at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday. AP

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Parks’s mettle as KaTropa gets test vs Road Warriors

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OBBY RAY PARKS JR. gets to test his mettle in a much-awaited debut with TNT as the KaTropa squares off with Ginebra San Miguel in a crucial Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup duel against Barangay Ginebra on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum The KaTropa suffered their first and only loss two weeks ago at the hands of the Road Warriors, 113126, but a lot has changed since then as they proved dead serious in contending this conference with a couple of roster shake-up that included catching the second-overall rookie pick Parks.

The playoff-bound TNT acquired the son of legendary PBA import Parks last week in a blockbuster deal with the Elite, bolstering its squad just in time for the tailend of the elimination round where it will attempt to further boost its twice-tobeat quarterfinals hopes.

Whether that gamble pays off or not will finally be determined right away as they battle fellow playoffs and twice-to-beat advantage hopeful Gin Kings (5-3) at 7 p.m.

Third-running Meralco (6-3) and dangerous Columbian (4-5) tangle in the first game at 4:30 p.m.

Parks has taken the league by storm since

PIRATES TAKE ON KNIGHTS IN ‘NC’ SEMIS SHOWDOWN

CLEANUP DRIVE IN SUBIC A month before the 30th Southeast Asian Games, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority led by Chairman and

Administrator Atty. Wilma Eisma, SBMA is conducting a cleanup drive with private companies and nongovernment organizations. Together with Philip Morris International’s local affiliate PMFTC Inc. employees, SBMA staff and volunteers collect almost half a ton of trash and two plastic bags of cigarette butts around the venue of the swim leg of the triathlon event. The cleanup activity is part of PMFTC Inc.’s “Unsmoke” advocacy.

PSC EXCEEDS TARGETS

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HE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) exceeded targets in terms of the agency’s support to grassroots development in consonance with President Duterte’s commitment to bring sports closer to Filipinos.

The PSC spent more than P500 million for sports development in 2018 and the first half of 2019 alone, despite an extraordinary commitment for the hosting of the 56-sport 30th Southeast Asian Games later this month.

PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez on Thursday disclosed that almost P340 million was spent on various grassroots programs catering to all sectors of society.

The PSC spent P170 million for grassroots in the first half of 2019, according to Ramirez.

“It is government’s commitment, as mandated to the PSC by President Duterte, to

Malazarte, Velez share Pintaflores net honors

keep the people actively involved in sports. From children to citizens as old as I am, we all should have our own access to sports as the President and most members of his Cabinet do and have, from time to time,” Ramirez said.

“It is for these projects that the PSC, through the very generous support of the Pagcor [Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.] and its chairman, Ms. Andrea Domingo, rehabilitated its major facilities, which by coincidence, will now also be used for the SEA Games after the Phisgoc had initially attempted to bring all the major sports in Clark and Subic,” he said.

“The PSC venues will be ready in time for the SEA Games and they will be available ahead of other grassroots and elite sports programs the agency has for next year. The PSC’s wholistic programs will be more active starting this month with these newly refurbished facilities,” he added.

WILLIAM RAMIREZ: It is government’s commitment to keep the people actively involved in sports.

“The PSC is not just about funding the elite competitions where the more famous Filipino athletes continue to rise,” Ramirez said. “It is President Duterte, himself, who mandated the PSC ‘to bring sports to the periphery and involve the children,’” Ramirez added.

The PSC’s programs for national athletes remained a priority.

The PSC bankrolled the Philippine National Games, the country’s national “Olympics,” for P68 million in 2018.

For 2018 and the first half of 2019, almost P19 million was given to the government’s Gender and Development, Indigenous People’s Programs, and Laro’t Saya sa Parke initiatives, on top of the Philippine Sports Institute.

The Grassroots Sports Coaching and Development Program regularly held for the past two years has reached 26 provinces, mostly rural areas.

Smart badminton open set at Muntinlupa venue

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OSHEA MALAZARTE pulled off a pair of lopsided victories over higher ranked rivals, including a 4-1, 4-1 romp over third seed Mia Gemida in the final, to capture the singles crown in the premier girls’ division in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) Pintaflores Festival national age-group tournament in San Carlos, Negros Occidental, recently.

The fourth-ranked rising star from Butuan City earlier toppled No. 2 Khymberly McKenzie, 4-1, 4-0, in the semis then sustained her form to blast Gemida, who eased out Nicole Vilar, 4-2, 4-1, in the upper half of the draw of the 18-and-under division of the Group I event held as part of the host city’s Pintaflores Festival celebrations and organized by Criston Carmona.

John David Velez, on the other hand, fought off symptoms-like flu and thwarted Cedric Bravo, 2-4, 4-0, 10-4, to claim the boys’ 16-U diadem but the top-seeded bet, now based in Ozamiz City, yielded the 18-U title to Puerto Princesa’s Raven Hitosis, who scored a 1-0(ret.) win in the event sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-MEG. Other winners were Iloilo City’s Francis de Juan (10-unisex), Kirby Ramacho from San Carlos City (boys’ 12-U), Raymund Goco from Bogo, Cebu, (boys’ 14-U), Faith Banico from Siquijor (girls’ 12-U), McKenzie from Cebu (girls’ 14-U) and San Carlos City’s Bliss Bayking (girls’ 18-U).

“With no player posting a twinkill in singles and the lesser lights shining only underscored the level playing field as new faces continue to emerge in all PPS-PEPP tournaments, further boosting our talentsearch program,” said Palawan Pawnshop President and CEO Bobby Castro.

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The PSC’s premier programs such as the Batang Pinoy that caters to young talent aged 15 and younger was funded for P220 million in less than two years. This year, the PSC spent P154 million for the program.

The Children’s Games (CG), the agency’s project in Mindanao that started in 2017 and catered to more than 24,000 children to date, received an additional P7.5 million early this year.

That is on top of the P33 million spent for the program in 2018.

More than 30 Children’s Games, and Consultative Planning and Coaches Seminars were conducted and are still set to take place.

The war-ravaged and hard-to-reach areas of Marawi, Compostela Valley, Davao region and Misamis Occidental became areas of concern for the Children’s Games this year, although Duterte has given these places his special concern.

PHILIPPINE Badminton Association Secretary-General Epok Quimpo (right) addresses the media’s questions as (from left) referee Ma. Judith Brosula and Smart Sports Manager Bajjie del Rosario look on. NONOY LACZA

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MART Communications will hold the Smart National Open Badminton Tournament from November 17 to 22 as a warm up event for the national team at the Muntinlupa Sports Center.

The tournament seeks to give the national athletes the chance to familiarize themselves with the facility that will be the venue for the badminton competitions of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

The tournament will showcase the Service Judge Device, an electronic gadget intended to help the players make accurate shot calls for a chance to improve their game.

“Sometimes, there are bad calls. But with the machines, it will lessen wrong judgement not only for the [national] open but also for the SEA Games.

It will be the first time that we will be using that device,” Philippine Basketball Association Secretary General Epok Quimpo said.

Referee Judith Brosula said the device will accurately detect all possible infractions in a match.

The open will feature competitions in men’s and women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles.

For the men’s singles are: Ros Lee Pedrosa, Lanz Safra, Pingkoy Salvado, Solomon Padiz, while for the mens doubles: Peter Magnaye, Alvin Morada, Joper Escueta and Paul Pantig.

The women’s singles cast is composed of Sarrah Barredo, Airah Albo, Bianca Carlos, Mika de Duzman. For the womens doubles Thea Pomar, Allysa Leonardo, Jeva De Vera and Chanelle Lunod.

The national athletes are coming off a training camp in Indonesia and will head to Malaysia for another camp on Sunday before they play in the open.

Ryniel Berlanga

UAAP Press Corps in Goodwill Games Final

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ORMER University of the East (UE) star Alvin Pasaol made sure he wasn’t going to let his teammates down in his University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) return as the Chooks-to-Go Collegiate Press Corps rallied past Ateneo, 102-94, to advance to the UAAP Goodwill Games Final on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The super scorer paired up with ex-Adamson University stalwart Ryan Monteclaro as the mediamen fought from a 12-point second

quarter deficit, 50-38, with a killer third quarter storm to wrest control of the game.

Game changing was the impact of Inquirer. net’s Bong Lozada, whose inspired play keyed the press corp’s 7-0 run late in the said frame to turn a two-point deficit to a 71-66 lead.

NBTC’s Anton Altamirano and National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 leading scorer Allyn Bulanadi then hustled up with short stabs to open the fourth period and extend the lead to 11, 86-75 with seven minutes left.

his arrival behind impressive averages of 20.11 points, five rebounds and 3.56 rebounds for Blackwater, which the KaTropa are expecting to ride especially after losing several key players for his services.

TNT paid dearly just to get a hand on the freshman as it let go of versatile players Anthony Semerad, Don Trollano and two future draft picks, making it a huge hole to fill for Parks with veteran leader Jayson Castro still nursing an ankle injury.

With a little time to adjust, Parks and the rest of the KaTropa will be pitted against the thirsty Gin Kings who are looking to barge back into the upper-half of the standings after a forgettable loss to Meralco last Sunday.

Then riding on a four-game win streak, the former two-time season-ending conference champion Ginebra got stunned with a 77-101 setback to Meralco, kicking the Gin Kings out of the top 4 entering the final stretch of the eliminations.

Veterans LA Tenorio, Stanley Pringle, Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter have been tasked to spearhead their revenge bid to keep within striking distance from the current top 4 squads in TNT, Nlex, Meralco and SMB with 6-3 slate.

Although Chibueze Ikeh flexed his offensive dominance inside and out in the clutch for Ateneo, the Media’s defense was simply too strong down the stretch to book a return trip to the championship.

Monteclaro led the Media with 28 points built on eight triples. Pasaol added 26 points and 12 rebounds, while fellow Davaoeño Bulanadi chipped in 20 points, nine boards, five assists and two steals.

YCEUM of the Philippines University clashes with Letran in a step-ladder semifinal clash on Friday to determine defending champion San Beda University’s Finals opponent in the National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament at the Cuneta Astrodome.

The match is set at 4 p.m.

The survivor of this no-tomorrow match will face the Red Lions in the best-of-three series starting on Tuesday.

The second-ranked Pirates hope to face the Red Lions for the third consecutive year, while the No. 3 Knights are seeking to cross paths with their bitter rivals for the first time since their seemingly improbable championship run in 2015.

Coach Bonnie Tan, who has yet to beat Lyceum this season, remained upbeat that Letran will

overcome the odds and make it back to the league’s biggest stage.

“We will do our best. It’s a big challenge for my team.

I hope we can pull through because there’s only one game remaining,” Tan said.

In their 85-80 win over San Sebastian last Tuesday, the Knights lost to the Stags in the rebounding department, 36-48, which worries Tan—especially if the Pirates’ big man Mike Nzeusseu plays at his 100 percent best.

“We have to check on that. We were always winning sa rebounding, pero ngayon [against San Sebastian], we were outrebounded,” he said.

Lyceum’s other primary concern is how to match up with Letran’s deep bench.

Against the Stags, the Knights had six players churning out double-digit numbers led by graduating forward Jerrick Balanza’s 15 points.

Ryniel Berlanga

ANGELS SEEK EQUALIZER

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UTHIT and outhustled in Game One, Petro Gazz vows to bounce back strong and reprise its feat in the Reinforced Conference as the Angels go for the equalizer against the Creamline Cool Smashers in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference Finals on Saturday.

Coach Arnold Laniog admitted his wards played below par despite coming into the match fully rested and well motivated following a long break in the run-up to the best-of-three title series at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

“We’re not able to perform what we’re supposed to do,” said Laniog after the Angels absorbed a 14-25, 22-25, 25-27 defeat in the opener of their best-of-three series Wednesday.

While stressing that they did expect the Cool Smashers to come out strong and flaunt their power game, Laniog was a bit surprise that the Angels virtually came out flat and cracked when the going got tough.

“We knew that Creamline would play to that level but the problem was we were not able to measure up. They controlled us with their attacks, particularly from the wings,” added Laniog, referring to Creamline’s 1-2 punch in Alyssa Valdez and Jema Galanza, who accounted

for 31 of the team’s 51 attack points, 19 more than the Angels.

The defending champions also baffled the Angels with their strong serves, slowing down and unsettling the latter’s offense as middles Jeanette Panaga and Cherry Nunag struggled anchoring their quick plays and finished with a combined nine-point output.

Jonah Sabete and Jovie Prado fired 12 and 11 hits, respectively, but the rest of the Angels failed to step up with Cai Baloaloa and Paneng Mercado chipping in four and two markers, respectively.

While giving credit to Creamline’s solid game in their straight-set setback, Laniog stressed the need for his wards to start out strong and level up in Game Two as they aim to duplicate their Reinforced Conference feat that saw them drop the series opener but swept the next two to score a breakthrough.

“What’s important is for us to play as good as them [Cool Smashers] or better,” said Laniog.

The Angels also need to toughen up, particularly in pressure-packed situations as evident in their meltdown in the second set, which they led majority of the way, and in the third, which they lost in extended fashion.

Roy Cayanan of Tiebreaker Times stood out with 11 points, while Altamirano had 10 points and seven boards, all from the offensive end.

The Media also got significant contributions from the Inquirer’s Cedelf Tupas, Spin.ph’s Karlo Sacamos, Abante’s Cyreel Zarate, ESPN5’s AJ Bolando, PM’s Paul Carpio and Courtside.ph’s Niel Masoy in the game, with Randolph Leongson of Spin.ph, Yo Sarmenta of ESPN5 and Matthew Li of Tiebreaker Times calling the shots.

Bacon Austria flirted with a triple-double

to carry the load for Ateneo with 29 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, while Ikeh churned out a monster double-double of 25 points and 21 boards.

This season’s hosts also fielded UAAP treasurer Erika Caitlyn Dy, Blue Eagles Assistant Coach Yuri Escueta, and ex-Ateneo players Frank Golla and Shaggy Almond in the game.

It was a sweet bounce back victory for the Media after its highly controversial defeat to the Technical Group/Stats.

Media shoots for back-to-back titles when it faces its rival Technical Group/Stats in the Finals set on Sunday, also at the Big Dome.

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RETORIA, South Africa—Telling ordinary South Africans that the victory and the trophy was for them, Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and his team have started a five-day tour where they will carry the Rugby World Cup across the

country.

On a sunny morning, Kolisi stood Thursday at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the seat of South Africa’s government, and said the support of ordinary South Africans was “the most important thing.” He told the celebrating crowd, “thank you, South Africa, this is for you,” referring to the golden trophy resting on a pedestal nearby overlooking the capital city.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was present to congratulate the Springboks. He joked he was glad it wasn’t an election year in South Africa because the Springboks “would have won.”

South Africa beat England in Saturday’s final in Japan to clinch a third World Cup title.

Tendai Mtawarira, the South Africa prop affectionately known as “Beast,” retired from international rugby on Wednesday, four days after winning the World Cup. The 34-year-old Mtawarira leaves as the Springboks’ most capped prop with 117 test appearances, and as the Boks’ third most capped player behind Victor Matfield and Bryan Habana.

Born in Zimbabwe, Mtawarira moved to South Africa as a teenager with little more than a bag of clothes, a pair of old rugby boots, and a dream of becoming a professional player.

He played for the Springboks for more than a decade and won two southern hemisphere titles, a series against the British and Irish Lions, and the Rugby World Cup in his last test—just about everything a Springboks player can win.

He also collected three Currie Cup titles in South Africa with the Durban-based Sharks, the club he’s been at ever since turning professional.

Mtawarira put in a mean scrumming display against England in Saturday’s World Cup final in Japan to help the Springboks to a third title. Mtawarira made his debut for the Boks in 2008, the year after they last won the World Cup, and had to wait until right at the end of his career for his crowning moment. He’ll spend five more days with the Springboks while they take the Rugby World Cup trophy on a tour of South Africa.

“I’ve been blessed to have been part of teams that achieved so much success over the years, and I have many memories to cherish forever,” Mtawarira said in his retirement announcement, “but I can honestly say that winning the Rugby World Cup is the perfect ending and cherry on top.”

Mtawarira was a fan favorite in South Africa for his rampaging displays and also his humble and often gentle off-field persona.

Bismarck du Plessis, Mtawarira’s former frontrow teammate with the Sharks and the Springboks, wrote a newspaper article about Mtawarira after Saturday’s World Cup final. In it, du Plessis

SOUTH AFRICA, THIS IS FOR YOU Sports BusinessMirror

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| Friday, November 8, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TEAM captain Siya Kolisi and his team embark on a five-day trophy tour. AP REAL Madrid prodigy Rodrygo’s hat trick gives notice of a fresh young talent on a night when the familiar names of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain win to take their usual places in the knockout rounds. AP

Teenager’s 3 goals, City’s 3 goalies spark Champions League G

ENEVA—A teenager’s three goals and one team’s three goalkeepers perked up the Champions League on Wednesday as three European powers advanced to the round of 16.

Real Madrid prodigy Rodrygo’s hat trick in a 6-0 rout of Galatasaray gave notice of a fresh young talent on a night when the familiar names of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won to take their usual places in the knockout rounds.

The wealthy trio was the first wave of teams to advance with two group-stage games to spare.

Manchester City missed a chance to join them as it had to use three keepers — including defender Kyle Walker in emergency duty—in a 1-1 draw at Atalanta.

Madrid is heavily favored to advance after unleashing its 18-year-old Brazilian at Santiago Bernabeu stadium to make his mark on the storied competition.

Rodrygo scored twice in the opening seven minutes of his home Champions League debut. No player has scored two goals faster in a game in 28 seasons since the European Cup was rebranded.

Tottenham was also impressive in winning 4-0 at Red Star Belgrade but has more to do in the group led by Bayern.

EARLY BIRDS

BAYERN Munich and Juventus played in the early kickoffs and became the first teams into the round of 16 draw.

Bayern’s 2-0 win over Olympiakos was a winning start for Coach Hansi Flick, the interim replacement for Niko Kovac who was fired on Sunday.

Robert Lewandowski got the opener in the 69th to score for a fourth straight Champions League game.

The Poland forward’s tally of six Champions League goals this season trails only Salzburg’s 19-year-old

breakout star Erling Haaland.

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the all-time competition record of 127 goals, and was denied adding to it by teammate Aaron Ramsey in a 2-1 win for Juventus at Lokomotiv Moscow.

Ronaldo’s third-minute free-kick squirmed through goalkeeper Guilherme’s hands and the ball was rolling over the line when Ramsey poked it into the net. The victory was secured in stoppage time by substitute Douglas Costa after a dancing run through the defense.

Juventus leads Group D by three points from Atletico Madrid — which lost 2-1 at Bayer Leverkusen—but is seven ahead of Lokomotiv and Leverkusen.

TEENAGE SENSATION

RODRYGO was just 17 when Madrid agreed in June 2018, to pay Santos a reported €45 million ($52 million) for him to come to Spain one year later.

His first Champions League action was in Madrid’s 1-0 win at Galatasaray last month, and his second was stunning.

A slick left foot shot and soaring glanced header put Madrid up early, and it was 4-0 at halftime when Rodrygo took advantage of slack defending to set up Karim Benzema for a tap-in.

Rodrygo got his third with the last kick of the game, sliding the ball past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera after more good interplay with Benzema.

Madrid should advance from Group A despite trailing Paris Saint-Germain by five points.

PSG got a fourth straight win with a 1-0 home victory against third-placed Club Brugge, which trails Madrid by five points. PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas saved a second-half penalty to preserve the win.

recalled the time when a hopeful Mtawarira arrived at a Sharks training session 15 years ago.

“He was 19 then and as far as I could see all his possessions were in a small kit bag,” du Plessis wrote.

“His boots were worn and torn. For his first two years he walked to training. Then he got himself a bike.”

Mtawarira was a “big hearted warrior,” du Plessis wrote.

Du Plessis also revealed the secret behind one of Mtawarira’s most dominant scrumming displays in the

early part of his career, when he drove experienced England prop Phil Vickery up and out of a scrum during a particularly powerful showing in the first test against the British and Irish Lions in 2009. One of the reasons for Mtawarira’s performance that day, according to du Plessis, was that his family were visiting from Zimbabwe, and had brought a girl with them to the game that Mtawarira wanted to impress.

The girl, Kuziva, is now his wife. AP

Fifa says Iraq unsafe to host World Cup qualifying games Z CRAZY GOALIES

A CURIOUS night for goalkeepers saw Manchester City use three, and Shakhtar Donetsk’s win a game-saving penalty deep into stoppage time.

City’s first-choice keeper Ederson went off injured after 31 minutes in Atalanta, with his team leading by Raheem Sterling’s goal.

Substitute Claudio Bravo was later sent off for racing out of the penalty area to bring down an attacker, leaving defender Kyle Walker to come off the bench in the 88th to put on the gloves. Walker made one save from a free kick and was protected by his defense through eight minutes if stoppage time.

Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar were level at 1-1 and both down to 10 men late in the game. Dinamo then scored twice before the 90-minute mark to go 3-1 up, but conceded three minutes into stoppage time.

Five minutes later, Tete leveled a wild match from the spot with a penalty given when his goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov—who had come up to attack a corner—was fouled in the box.

Man City leads Group C by five points from Shakhtar and Dinamo, though the Ukrainians are in second place on a head-to-head tiebreaker.

URICH—Fifa says Iraq is not safe enough to host World Cup qualifying games against Iran and Bahrain.

Fifa says it asked the Iraq soccer federation “to nominate a neutral venue” for the matches on November 14 and 19.

The games were to be played in Basra, the southern city which hosted Iraq’s return last month to playing competitive games at home.

Iraq has rarely staged home games since the 1980s because of security concerns.

Turmoil in Iraq in recent weeks has been fueled by economic problems and dissatisfaction with Iran’s political influence on its neighbor.

Iraq’s 2-0 win over Hong Kong in Basra last month left the national team at the top of its five-team qualifying group. Two teams advance to the next round of Asian qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

In Madrid, the Spanish soccer federation is offering €1.2 million ($1.3 million) to help pay for the salaries of female players and avoid a strike.

The federation says the money will allow players in Spain to earn a minimum wage of at least €16,000 ($17,800) per year. The amount would be increased to at least €18,000 ($19,900) after the current television contracts with clubs are finalized.

Players had announced the strike last month after failing to reach a deal with clubs over wages and working hours in the latest fight by female athletes worldwide for greater equality with men.

Federation President Luis Rubiales said Wednesday the minimum wage will be guaranteed to 18 players in each team.

Spain has 16 first-division women’s clubs, but only a few are fully professional. The strike was scheduled to begin this month. AP

PINBALL WIZARDS

TOTTENHAM netted the wildest goal of the night to open the scoring in Belgrade. A flurry of activity in the Red Star goalmouth saw Harry Kane’s shot strike a post and Son Heung-min’s shot rebound off the bar before Giovani Lo Celso score from close range.

Son later scored twice as last season’s beaten finalist followed up a 5-0 home win over Red Star last month.

Bayern leads the group with a maximum 12 points, five ahead of Tottenham which is four clear of Red Star. AP

ANTI-GOVERNMENT protesters block the port of Umm Qasr while Iraqi security forces try to reopen the key oil terminal on the Persian Gulf last week. AP

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Gracious God

EAR God, by Your love You save us in Christ. In faith we pray: Heal us, oh God. Comfort those who suffer mental illness or spiritual desolation.

Console those afflicted with AIDS, cancer or other serious illness. Prosper efforts to cure diseases, clean the environment and end war. May God grant us the grace to persevere in prayer, live in hope and walk in love, through Jesus our peace. 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: WHAT’S PLAYING IN CINEMA ONE ORIGINALS FESTIVAL D4

Friday, November 8, 2019

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Ewan McGregor finds ‘Sleep’ E

WAN MCGREGOR is considered one of today’s finest actors, with a diverse lineup of roles across a multitude of genres. From his breakthrough role as the heroin-addicted Mark Renton in Trainspotting, to the legendary ObiWan Kenobi in the second released Star Wars trilogy, to starring as Christian in the Oscar and BAFTA Award-winning musical Moulin Rouge!, McGregor’s career has been highlighted by a continuous string of bold performances.

Now, McGregor stars in Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, which continues the story of Danny Torrance, 40 years after his terrifying stay at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. This season’s major horror event, the film also stars Rebecca Ferguson and newcomer Kyliegh Curran, and is directed by Mike Flanagan, from his own screenplay based upon the novel by Stephen King.

Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the “shine.” Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, the True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality.

Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose.

Abra’s innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before—daring to go back and face his fears, while reawakening the ghosts of the past.

What drew you to Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep?

I think even more than the source material— King’s novel and (Stanley) Kubrick’s movie—for me, it was Danny’s story and the idea that he’s hit rock bottom. It was an opportunity to explore someone

who is an alcoholic in recovery, and I hadn’t done that before. It really interested me.

Were you a fan of Stephen King’s work prior to this role?

I’d read some of his novels. The one I remember the most was reading Christine when I was at drama school. But, I’m not really a horror or scary genre person, so I hadn’t seen a lot of his adaptations or read many of his books. I like the novel Doctor Sleep very much, which I read after the script. Then, I went back and read The Shining, which I really enjoyed, as well. It is just amazing for an actor to have all of this backstory.

What happens to Danny between surviving the Overlook Hotel and becoming the damaged adult we meet in Doctor Sleep?

We get to see Danny as a troubled child, being haunted by the characters from the Overlook. Then, he learns how to trap them, to lock them away inside.

It’s similar to his alcoholism, in that he’s locking everything away inside without actually dealing with it. But it comes back to bite him in the end.

In the novel, he talks about his mom’s passing in terms of where he’s been in-between then and now.

Witnessing her death probably tipped him over the edge. He doesn’t have a dad. He’s an orphan, on his own. That’s when he starts slipping, sliding. He becomes a drifter from town to town. He takes jobs as orderlies in hospitals. He does whatever he can to be able to just drink his feelings away.

Addicts eventually hit rock bottom—for Danny, his is the night he spends with Deenie, a woman he meets in a bar. He wakes up and has no idea who this woman is. She’s passed out. He gets dressed and goes to his wallet and his money’s all gone. There’s coke on the table, and he flashes on buying it, using all of his own cash. So, he goes to her wallet and is taking her

money...when a baby crawls into the room.

That’s when his only friend from the Overlook, Dick Hallorann, appears. He asks, “Doc, is this what you’re going to do? Is this where your life has brought you?” He takes the money anyway. He leaves without knowing if she and her child will be okay. And it haunts him, even into his recovery. It takes him years to admit it.

Danny’s not only trying to drown out his past, but also his ability, his shine. Once he’s done with alcohol, how does he now cope?

That’s when Abra comes into his life, and she gives him a reason to begin to deal with his shine, reinhabit that part of himself. It’s like facing your worst fears, I suppose. And, in order to combat Rose the Hat and the True Knot, and the dangers that they pose, he has to allow that psychic part of his being to live again...and he doesn’t want to.

He does allow himself to use his abilities at work.

He realizes that when he’s working in this hospice, that he can help people in the time when they pass away. He can use it as a comfort for them. He becomes Doctor Sleep.

She knows Rose and the True Knot have been preying on children with shine, and she asks Danny for his help. How does that go?

He doesn’t help Abra initially. He meets her and he’s impressed by the fact that she’s found him, and he can feel the power of her shine. But he tells her to just forget all of it. These people are going to sense her and come after her. She should ignore it, try to live without her shine, to do what Danny has done...which hasn’t led him to a better life, actually. Afterwards, his friend Hallorann appears again. He tells Danny this will be the last time he sees him. He says, “You’ve got to help this girl.” It’s like Danny’s conscience speaking to him. He realizes Abra is right and that they have to do something. It’s related to his life—he’s spent eight years in recovery and he’s getting better, but he’s still not living his true life. Part of his true life is his shine. He realizes that it’s like another recovery. He’s got to be able to live accepting who he is, every part of himself. And now, he’s going to use that part of him to help Abra conquer Rose the Hat and the True Knot.

And the shine that both he and Abra have...

The thing is like a psychic power, isn’t it? And it’s a little bit different for everyone. Abra’s is a different level, very powerful, but they also have distinct skills in that realm. There are also varying strengths and weaknesses. She’s the strongest that Danny’s ever come across. Rose the Hat is also incredibly powerful, but her powers go in a different direction.

How was it working with Mike Flanagan?

I liked working with Mike a lot. When I first met him, he was editing his series, The Haunting of Hill House. I think he wrote Doctor Sleep while shooting the series. He just doesn’t stop...or sleep much, obviously.

(Laughs) He’s an editor first, so he thinks in shots. He’s a good storyteller, knows exactly what shots he needs.

It was exciting watching him and his Director of Photography (Michael Fimognari) drawing from the cinematic language that Kubrick used. It was not only how they used the camera, but that they rebuilt the Overlook Hotel. We got to work on those amazing sets.

It was really cool.

Abra first reaches out to Danny by writing messages on a wall in his apartment. Then, she takes a bus from home and finds him.

■ In Philippine cinemas on November 7, Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep is distributed in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures.

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Society BusinessMirror

Friday, November 8, 2019

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When sparkling wine isn’t Champagne CLOCKWISE from upper left: Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2006; Zonin Prosecco Cuvée 1821 paired with Ravioli Primavera; Freixenet Ice paired with smoked gindara and capers; Tonon Magia Fiore Secco paired with tinapa and salted egg spring rolls.

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jack Osbourne, 34; Parker Posey, 51; Courtney Thorne-Smith, 52; Bonnie Raitt, 70.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Take everything in and consider your options before you decide to make a move this year. Don’t let anyone upset you or pressure you to do something that you aren’t ready to pursue. Timing is crucial when dealing with matters of a personal nature.

Know what you are up against and strategize the best way to come out on top. Your lucky numbers are 9, 17, 26, 32, 34, 40, 46.

FERMENTATION CECILE MAURICIO

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Be secretive about your plans. An important relationship can be taken to the next level if you are willing to make a couple of changes. Speak up and clear up any misunderstandings you might have regarding joint money, possessions or expenses. ★★★★★

cecile.mauricio@gmail.com

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I

T had to be said again. “Not all sparkling wine can be called Champagne.” The repetition can get boring but it is still a helpful reminder, said one wine instructor I know. At one tutored tasting session, the lecturer put it another way. If you called your wine Champagne, but you didn’t make it in the Champagne region of France, you’ll end up in jail, she said. Misappropriation of the name can lead to a lawsuit, protected (fiercely) as it is by the Comité Interprofessionnelle du Vin de Champagne. And the CIVC always wins, she added.

But the label “California Champagne” is perfectly legal because of a little (big, really) loophole in the treaty regarding wine trade between the US and the European Union. That’s an interesting story but the real score is that most consumers still say “Champagne” to refer to all sparkling wines. And this holiday season, when the festivities call for that bottle of bubbly, not all will be Champagne.

It’s not just because of the price of Champagne is prohibitive—at least P3,000 for a standard Brut—but because other excellent bubblies will be crowding the shelves of wine stores, too. There will be crémant from the rest of France, cava from Spain, spumante from Italy, sekt from Austria and Germany, Cap Classique from South Africa, and just plain “sparkling” everywhere else where wine is made. And these will all come in a wide range of colors, from white, red and the palest of pinks; and in varying degrees of sweetness or the absence of it—from just a whisper of sweetness to really sweet.

And then there are the bubbles to consider. The finer the bubbles, like in Champagne, the finer the wine (and the more expensive). Franciacorta, from Lombardy, Italy, has the fine, long-lasting bubbles of Champagne. Most cava and crémant have fine bubbles too. But most non-Champagne sparklers will have more aggressive bubbles that fizzle out quickly, like Italy’s Prosecco.

For semi-sparklers called frizzante in Italy, look out for the softly fizzy and slightly sweet

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Reinforce your position and your claims. Know what you want. Show interest, as well as concerns. The best way to deal with situations is to be direct, fair and willing to compromise. ★★★

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Discussions will help clear up a misunderstanding. Expect someone to meddle in your affairs. Take steps to keep personal information and decisions secret for the time being. A personal or professional gesture will be difficult to resist. ★★★

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Review your plans and present what you would like to see happen. Open up a dialogue with someone you have worked with in the past, and they may offer interesting suggestions that will help you pursue your plans. ★★★

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Make a change and make a difference. Interact with people who share your goals. Network with people you see as leaders and self-starters. Much can be accomplished if you are sincere and passionate about what you want to see happen. ★★★★★

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Take a stance and follow through. You can bring about important change if you are willing to stand up for your beliefs. A meeting, a conference or reaching out to people who have something to offer will help your progress. ★★★★

■ ITRULLI: Ground Floor, LRI Design Plaza, Nicanor Garcia Street, Makati City: for Italian bubblies, including Franciacorta, Prosecco and Lambrusco.

■ SÄNTIS DELICATESSEN: main store at WIC Building, 7431 Yakal Street, San Antonio Village, Makati City; Prosecco, Cap Classique, Batasiolo Brachetto d’Acqui.

■ TERRY’S BISTRO AND GOURMET STORE: main store at the Ground Floor BCS Prime Building, Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City: Cava Masachs Blanc de Blancs Brut, Rosat Trepat Cava Torello.

■ WINE DEPOT: main store on Nicanor Garcia Street, Makati City, near the LRI Design Plaza: Brachetto d’Acqui, sparkling Shiraz, Prosecco.

Moscato d’Asti. Red sparklers—most a tad sweet—are largely overlooked, like Lambrusco and Brachetto d’Acqui, both from Italy and sparkling Shiraz, a specialty of Australia.

How best to enjoy these sparklers? Well-chilled, with almost anything and definitely with good company.

VINOFILE: WHERE TO FIND BUBBLIES ■ HAPPY LIVING TASTING ROOM: Warehouse 16A, La Fuerza Compound, Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City: Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs Brut, Schramsberg J. Schram, Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut (Napa Valley, California); Valdivieso Brut (Curico, Chile).

“At Gap, denim is in our DNA. As we mark our 50th year, we see it as both our heritage and our future,” says Gap’s Head of Adult Design John Caruso.

“For fall, we revisited iconic styles and highlighted the brand’s evolution with the Denim Through the Decades. During this half century, we’ve been dedicated to designing iconic pieces that are a staple for every wardrobe, and will continue to create clothing that empowers people to express their individual style.”

The launch of the new denim collection around these parts drew an assemblage of style aficionados, denim fans and brand loyalists.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t jeopardize your ability to get ahead or to hold on to what belongs to you.

Someone will use underhanded tactics if you are too accommodating. Keep your personal information a secret, and refuse to let anyone bully you. ★★★

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Being secretive will be in your best interest. The less others know about your plans, the easier it will be to reach your goal. Arguing or dealing with excessive people should be avoided. ★★★

i j

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep your story straight. If you get mixed up, you will give the wrong impression. Your focus should be on yourself, not others. Personal changes will lift your spirits and make you feel good. ★★★

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t take anything for granted. Just when you least expect it, someone will throw you a curveball that will send you on a tailspin. Stay on top of what’s going on around you and the people you deal with daily. ★★★★

Gap celebrates 50 THE cultural American clothing brand, Gap just launched the Denim Through the Decades collection in celebration of the brand’s 50th anniversary.

Don and Doris Fisher opened the first Gap store in 1969, on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco, as a reference to the “generation gap.” As equal cofounders, Don and Doris believed in equality, inclusivity and creativity, with the founding principle to “do the right thing” continuing to guide the brand to this day. For this momentous occasion, Gap is revisiting its heritage, denim, highlighting how it is styled in today’s day and age, and introducing key styles to a new generation.

g

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): How you handle your finances should be changed to suit the economic climate. Don’t fret over what others are doing. Keep your personal matters separate and safe. Walk away from anyone trying to persuade you to take a risk. ★★

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Listen carefully, but do not react. Someone will try to coerce you into something you shouldn’t do.

Excessive and indulgent behavior should be avoided.

Focus on gaining stability, not upsetting what you’ve worked so hard to achieve. ★★

MIGUEL WYCOCO (from left), Ida Anduyan, Janeena Chan, Hezron Peralta, David Guison and Deegee Razon

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are sensitive, aggressive and possessive.

You are secretive and instinctual.

‘shortening’ BY PAUL COULTER The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Military meal 5 Mustang accelerator?

9 Worried words 14 Madonna’s “La ___ Bonita” 15 Zipped along 16 ___ Rae (Sally Field film) 17 Subversive groups that research challenging academic subjects?

19 Olympian on a sled 20 Little hitters’ sport 21 Chinese flower named for a hot drink 23 Less wobbly 25 Fleur-de-___ 26 Led an international relief agency?

31 WWI battle site 35 Dallas baller 36 Didn’t have enough 37 “This is no joke!”

40 Time to close the books 42 Canine’s canine 43 Backstabber 45 Bothersome 46 Elite Navy member who’s ready for action?

50 51 55 59 61 62

Spray paint container Asian shrines Stir-fry tidbit Channel changers Kind of wave Tactic to prevent weapons treaty negotiations?

64 Dior creation 65 Crunchy barbecue side 66 Prefix for “freeze” 67 Is inclined (to) 68 Proof goof 69 Branch headquarters?

DOWN 1 Atomizer output 2 Blue Bloods star Will 3 Cold shower?

4 Brazilian dance 5 Name that Stanley yells in A Streetcar Named Desire 6 Common allergen 7 WWW address 8 Take a nap 9 Like parquet floors 10 Eighty, in the Gettysburg Address

11 12 13 18 22 24 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 38 39 41 44 47 48 49 52 53 54 55

As a result Iowa State site Pink, as a steak Guys who drive taxis Student, in Strasbourg Lamb’s rhyming relative Part of LGBTQ Amazes ___-a-car Wee whirlpool Prepare flour Rubaiyat poet Khayyam Actress Suvari Stick that may “summon” a rabbit “Goodnight” girl of song Bit Self-assurance Cooking meas.

Where pizza was invented Winter cap attachment Terrible time?

Former finance expert Ken or Daria Make amends Factions “Now,” on a medical drama

56 57 58 60 63

River by the Great Pyramid of Giza King of Asgard Kind of D.A. Short comedy sketch Raisman in the 2016 Olympics’ Final Five

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

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Relationships BusinessMirror

Friday, November 8, 2019

McDonald’s CEO’s ouster reflects trend on workplace romances

BY ALEXANDRA OLSON & DEE-ANN DURBIN The Associated Press NEW YORK—Workplace couples are often romanticized— think Bill and Melinda Gates or Michelle and Barack Obama.

But when the relationship involves two people with unequal power, it can also be fraught with peril, especially in the #MeToo era.

McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook is only the latest chief executive to be ousted over a consensual relationship with an employee. Increasingly, US companies are adopting policies addressing workplace romances, a trend that began well before the #MeToo movement galvanized a national conversation surrounding sexual misconduct.

Addressing workplace romance can be complicated, but many companies have removed any gray areas by forbidding managers, especially C-suite executives, from having relationships with subordinates given the potential for favoritism or lawsuits if the relationship sours.

There are questions about whether consent is truly possible when the power imbalance is especially great. Many women who have come forward to share their #MeToo stories have said that they feared the consequences of saying “no” to a powerful person who could influence their careers.

“That power difference can create a dynamic where the relationship can never truly be consensual,” said Debra Katz, a founder partner of the law firm Katz, Marshall and Banks, who has represented women in several prominent sexual harassment cases. “The #MeToo movement has shown how quickly it can go from consensual in the beginning to a huge problem when the relationship goes awry.”

Easterbrook’s departure comes as McDonald’s steps up its efforts to stop sexual harassment after dozens of employee complaints.

Over the last three years, more than 50 McDonald’s employees have filed cases alleging sexual harassment with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or in state courts, according to Fight for $15, a labor advocacy group.

In August, the hamburger chain unveiled a program to teach its 850,000 US employees how to recognize and report harassment and bullying. Franchisees—who own 95 percent of McDonald’s 14,000 US restaurants—aren’t required to offer the training, but the company expects them to provide it.

McDonald’s said Easterbrook violated company policy forbidding managers from having romantic relationships with direct or indirect subordinates. In an e-mail to employees, Easterbrook said the relationship was a mistake and he agreed “it is time for me to move on.” He was replaced by Chris Kempczinski, who recently served as president of McDonald’s US. Time’s Up, a group that fights harassment and has been supporting workers’ legal cases, said Easterbrook’s departure should provide an opportunity for McDonald’s to do more, including making sexual harassment training mandatory.

“Under the new leadership of Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s has an opportunity, and obligation, to act to ensure that all of its locations are safe and equitable for all,” said Jennifer Klein, chief strategy and policy officer at Time’s Up. Easterbrook followed in the footsteps of Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich, who resigned last year after the chipmaker found he engaged in a relationship that violated a “nonfraternization” policy that applies to all managers.

Other CEOs who have been pushed out over consensual relationships, include Darren Huston of online travel company Priceline, Brian Dunn of Best Buy and Harry Stonecipher of aerospace company Boeing.

In 2005—the year Stonecipher was pushed out—just a quarter of US workplaces had policies addressing consensual relationships, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest group of human resources professionals.

By 2013, the number had jumped to 42 percent, according to a SHRM survey that year of 384 of its members. Of those workplaces, 99 percent prohibited romance between a supervisor and a direct report.

Many human resources professionals, however, believe it’s unrealistic to adopt a blanket ban on workplace romance.

An SHRM survey from January 2019 found that one-third of American adults have been in a romantic relationship with someone at work.

“People meet at work. It’s not an uncommon place for romantic relationships to start,” said John Gannon, an employment law attorney with Skoler Abbott in Springfield, Massachusetts.

A growing trend among small companies is to sponsor happy hours for their staffers to increase camaraderie, said David Lewis, CEO of HR provider OperationsInc, based in Norwalk, Connecticut. Those events can be fertile ground for romantic relationships, so it’s hard for a business owner to then tell staffers to break up or quit, he said.

Some companies have what are known as “love contract,” which require disclosing relationships to the company and agreeing to act appropriately.

Lewis said he has seen a big increase in business owners asking for on-site training sessions for employees to raise their awareness on what constitutes harassment. Those sessions discuss relationships between staffers and warn that both partners in a relationship must act professionally with no public displays of affection. And they’re expected to remain professional if they break up.

FORMER BSP Governor Amado M. Tetangco Jr.

FOOD CZAR takes the hassle out of party planning. From left: cofounders Ferdi Salvador, Czarina Ledesma and Eric Dee

Taking the hassle out of party planning SOMETHING LIKE LIFE

MA. STELLA F. ARNALDO

@akosistellaBM

W

ITH Christmas parties and family reunions just around the corner, even the most finicky hosts and event organizers can be stumped by an overwhelming amount of tasks on their to-do lists.

Food and drink, for one, will always be the most important aspect of every gathering. Hosts need to pay close attention to the budget, the dietary restrictions of guests, if any, and the variety of dishes that must be served.

Sure, there are caterers we usually rely on, but there are times a specific dish we, or our guests, yearn for is only available from another caterer or purveyor.

A new company, Food Czar, helps party hosts take on the job of securing the food we want from different restaurants or chefs, and delivering the dishes right at our doorsteps.

“Food Czar is a catering solutions company that aims to ease the process of party planning for both restaurants and event organizers,” says cofounder Ferdi Salvador. “We have tied up with various restaurants around the Metro, so party planners are able to order food from their favorite restaurants. We are your best friend in party planning!”

A seasoned host and party planner himself, Ferdi outlines four easy steps in organizing our parties and events through Food Czar (www.theFood Czar.com): 1) search for the restaurant or dining places we want to get our food from; 2) combine the menus from

the different restaurants; 3) set the schedule of the celebration, and decide on how we want our party and food to be styled; and last, 4) party time! Just relax and wait for the food to be delivered.

Catering packages with customized styling are available for guests 30 persons and above.

Ferdi adds Food Czar can customize also for dinner parties and gatherings for less than 30 people on a case-to-case basis.

Ferdi’s partners in this exciting new venture is restaurant entrepreneur Eric Dee, COO of Foodee Global Concepts, and Czarina Ledesma, another entrepreneur and an event styler at heart. Foodee Global Concepts is the company behind the longrunning Mesa, as well as the local franchisee of Michelin-rated restaurants like Tim Ho Wan, FOO’D

by Davide Oldani (a personal favorite), Tsuta, Kam’s Roast and Hawker Chan (a go-to restaurant when I’m lazy to cook).

“Food Czar aims to make every occasion a hassle-free and memorable one,” stresses Ferdi.

“We will provide the best quality food in every cuisine matched with standardized catering services. We are also pioneers of making every client’s event the best one yet. From food selection to waiter services, let Food Czar cater your favorite occasion with your favorite food.”

I just might take them up on this soon.

■■■ MEANWHILE, amid all the politicking, muckraking and a generally negative sentiment in the country, comes a spot of good news.

The government of Japan announced last November 3 the conferment of The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star on former governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. The award recognizes his contribution in strengthening the relations between Japan and the Philippines in the financial sector.

As the Central Bank governor, said a news statement from the Embassy of Japan in Manila,

Tetangco took the lead in drafting a bill, later signed

by President Benigno S. Aquino III into law, Republic Act 10641, allowing the full entry of foreign banks in the local banking industry. The law amended RA 7721, or the Foreign Bank Liberalization Act, signed by then-President Fidel V. Ramos in 2004.

“Tetangco strongly persuaded the [Philippine Congress] on the need for the liberalization of entry of foreign banks. As a result, the law [amendment] was enacted in 2014, allowing further participation of Japanese banks and, thereby, improving the environment for Japanese companies to operate and expand their businesses in the Philippines.”

Tetangco also helped in stabilizing the financial sector in the region “by promoting both regional and bilateral financial cooperation led by Japan to overcome the global financial crisis that occurred in 2008.” As BSP governor, he participated in the Asean+3 Finance Ministers’s and Central Bank Governors’s Meetings starting in 2012, and promoted the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI) and the establishment of the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO). In 2014, he strongly supported the creation of the “Joint Working Group on Bilateral Financial Cooperation between Japan and the Philippines” to further deepen the economic relations of the two countries.

That same year, said the Japanese government, Tetangco made huge efforts to expand the bilateral currency swap between Japan and the Philippines. As a result, the exchange limit for the Philippine peso to the US dollar was doubled, ensuring further stability of financial markets in Asia.

“The government of Japan extends its sincerest congratulations to Mr. Tetangco, and hopes that he will continue to take an active role in further strengthening the close relations between our two nations,” said the Japanese government.

Congratulations, Gov! (And advanced happy birthday!) Cheers to another feather on your now very crowded cap! ■

Oceana holds media forum on Manila Bay culture, heritage and wildlife OCEANA Philippines, an international ocean conservation advocacy group, recently held a media forum at the Manila Yacht Club, titled “A Horizon of Heritage: Culture, Heritage and Wildlife in Manila Bay.” Amid the government’s rehabilitation efforts in Manila Bay is the threat of dumping and filling in critical shorelines and habitats to pave the way for infrastructure projects.

Based on data from the Philippine Reclamation Authority, at least 22 projects in the historic and biodiversity-rich Manila Bay are in the pipeline.

Advocates defending the culture, heritage and wildlife biodiversity of this body of water agreed to take action and prevent the impending destruction that these projects will cause, and signed the

pledge to stop the ecologically destructive reclamation in Manila Bay. Hon. Rose Marie Arenas, deputy speaker and Representative of the Third District of Pangasinan, was the keynote speaker and discussed her proposed bill to impose a moratorium on reclamation in Manila Bay, with penalties and sanctions.

In photo are (from left) Patricia Licup, ICTSI Training and Capability Development program head; Emily Abrera, president, Foundation for Communication Initiatives; Atty. Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president, Oceana Philippines; Joan Orendain, author and advocate of Save Our Shores Manila Bay Coalition; Esteban Sy, supporter and advocate from SOS; and Hon. Rose Marie Arenas, deputy speaker and representative, Third District of Pangasinan.

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Show BusinessMirror

Friday, November 8, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

REGINE VELASQUEZ (left) in Yours Truly, Shirley and Alessandra de Rossi in Lucid

‘LET IT SNOW’ COMES TO NETFLIX EVERYWHERE

WHEN a snowstorm hits a small midwestern town on Christmas Eve, a group of high-school seniors finds their friendships and love lives colliding thanks to a stranded pop star, a stolen keg, a squad of competitive dancers, a mysterious woman covered in tin foil, and an epic party at the local Waffle Town. Come Christmas morning, nothing will be the same.

Based on the best-selling book by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle, Let It Snow stars Isabela Merced, Shameik Moore, Odeya Rush, Liv Hewson, Mitchell Hope, Kiernan Shipka, Jacob Batalon and Joan Cusack.

Directed by Luke Snellin, with a screenplay by Laura Solon, Victoria Strouse, and Kay Kannon, Let It Snow is based on the eponymous The New York Times best-selling book.

It starts streaming on Netflix this November 8.

What’s playing in Cinema One Originals Festival GAB FAB JET VALLE

@jetvalle

I

F I owe you money and been dodging your calls and text messages, feel free to come to the Cinema One Originals Festival 2019 and chances are you can see me there para padamputin. But before you do so, please allow me to finish all the movies in this film festival.

You see, for 15 years and counting, I have always been excited about the Cinema One Originals Festival, as it truly represents everything “original” in the local film industry. It has never failed to challenge audiences and push the envelope further.

This year, eight local narrative features will be showcased. The directors of these entries were each given a P3 million grant. The impressive selection includes J.E. Tiglao’s Metamorphosis,

which is a provocative coming-of-age drama about intersexuality; Dustin Celestino’s Utopia, a dark comedy movie starring Joem Bascon; and Eve Bawel’s Tia Madre, a gothic horror starring Cherie Gil and Jana Agoncillo. Also joining is Regine Velasquez, who stars as a widow who believes a young pop star is the reincarnation of her late husband in Yours Truly, Shirley, directed by Nigel Santos. Victor Villanueva and Kevin Dayrit, Cinema One Originals “babies” (since they made their auspicious debut in the festival) return with Lucid and O, respectively. Lucid stars Alessandra de Rossi as a woman who blurs the line between dreams and reality; while O takes on vampirism, necrophilia, and even the drug wars starring Anna Luna, Lauren Young and Jasmine Curtis-Smith. SilaSila, described by director Ginacarlo Abraham as an LGBT ghosting story, joins this exciting lineup, as well as Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo by Denise O’Hara, who makes her Originals debut.

These exciting stories were carefully chosen by the selection committee members—Ronald Arguelles, Black Sheep Head Kriz Gazmen, iWant Creative Manager Nico Hernandez, Rappler film critic Oggs Cruz, and film writers Jinky Laurel and Lilit Reyes— from over 130 entries submitted.

Meanwhile, if you cannot get enough of this exciting lineup of local entries, check out the World

Cinema films which include The Father, The Lighthouse, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Truth, Matthias & Maxine and The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao. All these films have been making the rounds of international film festivals and if you’re a trying-hard cinephile like me who sometimes pretends that I like a certain art film even if I never understood what the hell the movie was all about, it would be good to catch these movies and even post a photo on social media with a movie review you plagiarized from Rotten Tomatoes to look smart (like someone I know).

Short film entries and ABS-CBN film-restoration presentations also beef up this year’s lineup, which includes film classics, such as Mga Bilanggong Birhen, Tisoy, Minsa’y Isang Gamu-Gamo, Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit, Bulaklak sa City Jail, Misteryo sa Tuwa and Saan Ka Man Naroroon. Past entries and festival faves will also be shown and these are Hospicio, Paglisan, A Short History of a Few Bad Things, Mamu; And a Mother Too, Changing Partners and Double Twisting Double Back.

The 15th Cinema One Originals runs from November 7 to 17 at Ayala Malls TriNoma, Glorietta, Ayala Manila Bay, Gateway Mall and Power Plant Makati. There will also be screenings at Vista Cinemas in Iloilo and Evia Lifestyle, and in Cinema Centenario, Cinema ‘76, Black Maria, UP Cine Adarna, and FDCP Cinematheque Manila. ■

Betong Sumaya continues spreading good vibes SHERYL CROW AND BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN HELP RAISE MONEY FOR VETS

BY MARK KENNEDY The Associated Press NEW YORK—Sheryl Crow and Bruce Springsteen hit the stage together to help raise over $5.7 million at this year’s Stand Up for Heroes fund-raiser, which benefits injured veterans and their families.

The two musicians were joined at the Monday night event at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden by Ronny Chieng, Hasan Minhaj, John Oliver and Jon Stewart. Crow and Springsteen made a duet of “Redemption Day.” Stand Up for Heroes was first held in 2007 and is produced by the New York Comedy Festival and the Bob Woodruff Foundation. Woodruff was nearly killed during a 2006 attack in Iraq while embedded with US troops for ABC News.

MULTITALENTED comedian, TV host and performer Betong Sumaya received another blessing in his career as he renewed ties with GMA Artist Center on October 31. Present in the contract signing were Senior Vice President for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable and GMA Artist Center Assistant Vice President, and Head for Talent Imaging and Marketing Unit Simoun S. Ferrer.

Betong expressed how grateful he is to the network for continuously trusting him with significant projects, “Sobrang honored, pati sobrang blessed. Minsan iniisip ko ano ba ang nagawa ko para pagkatiwalaan nila, ’yung maka-trabaho ang pinakainiidolo ko na mga artista, ’yung craft to make people happy via Bubble Gang. Every time may nagsasabi na kahit papaano na-ibsan ko ’yung kalungkutan nila, nakakauplift ng spirit.”

The GMA talent is currently gearing up for his first-ever solo concert, Betong’s Amazing Concert: Try Ko Lang Ha? this November 21 at the Music Museum, where he is set to deliver one-of-a-kind performances.

Betong is a mainstay of the longest-running gag

FROM left: GMA Senior Vice President for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable, Betong Sumaya, and GMA Artist Center Assistant Vice President, and Head for Talent Imaging and Marketing Unit Simoun S. Ferrer

show Bubble Gang, and is also part of the GMA prime-time series The Gi�t, which is headlined by Alden Richards.

Rasonable was glad to share that she is among the

many supporters of Betong, “So many people love him. Nakakatuwa that these artists are growing in the network, and it makes us proud that we are part of their growth.”

ANNETTE BENING TO RECEIVE A.A.R.P. MOVIES FOR GROWNUPS AWARD

SHERYL CROW (left) and Bruce Springsteen perform at the 13th annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit concert in support of the Bob Woodruff Foundation at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 4. AP

LOS ANGELES—Annette Bening will receive AARP the Magazine’s lifetime achievement honor at the Movies for Grownups Awards next year.

The magazine announced Tuesday that Bening will accept the career achievement award at the ceremony on January 11, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California. The 19th annual Movies for Grownups Awards will air January 19 on PBS. The ceremony honors and advocates

for “the 50-plus audience.”

Bening won Golden Globe awards for best actress for the 2004 film Being Julia and 2010’s The Kids Are All Right. She’s also a four-time Oscar nominee, including for the 1999 film American Beauty.

Previous career achievement honorees include Shirley MacLaine, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Costner and Robert de Niro. AP

ACTRESS Annette Bening at a special screening of her film Captain Marvel in New York. Bening will receive AARP the Magazine’s lifetime achievement honor at the Movies for Grownups Awards next year. AP

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

Editor: Tet Andolong

Friday, November 8, 2019

E1

ISUZU D-MAX LS-A PARADES IN CAMIGUIN

TWO new D-Max LS-A variants at the foot of Mount Hibok-Hibok

A

Story & photo by Randy S. Peregrino

FTER a series of technical off-roading demonstrations in Cebu and Davao, the new D-Max LS-A variant, this time, paraded around the island of Camiguin. Isuzu Philippines Corp.

(IPC) flew 20 members of the motoring media to the majestic island in order to test the new pickup’s toughness and reliability.

dark panels compliment the 18inch two-tone and multi-spoke rims wrapped in 255/60 R18 TOYO tires. Even the side step boards received the same treatment along with the rocker panel, cargo extender and roof rails.

Motivation comes from the reliable, potent yet fuel-efficient 4JJ1-TCX 3.0-liter four-cylinder with Blue Power Technology turbodiesel engine equipped with VGS turbine and intercooler. It generates 175 hp and 380 N-m of maximum torque. Initially avai lable in 4x4 dr ivetrains, IPC intends to offer the variant in 4x2 drivetrains as well in the coming months. Both versions will have an option for either a six-speed automatic transmission with sequential shift or a six-speed manual gearbox with gearshift indicator.

Other handy features include an auto-climate control air-conditioning system, passive entry/ push start-stop system, 12-volt accessory socket, three USB charging ports, 15 storage compartments and 10 cupholders.

most prominent geological feature, the towering and still active stratovolcano Mount Hibok-Hibok.

There, we took advantage of the picturesque backdrop to photoshoot the two LS-A variants. After that, we went on to visit the Tuasan Falls. Roads going to these spots were mostly well paved and winding. As expected, it didn’t pose any challenge for the pickup convoy.

We then made a detour to visit the prov ince’s most popu lar Lanzones fruit farm. This time, paths were tighter with certain amounts of ascents and cur ves.

With each unit fil led w ith passengers and lug gage, the vehi-

Drive around Camiguin

IPC President Hajime Koso, and Camiguin Gov. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo ISUZU PHILIPPINES

“The Isuzu D-Max LS-A with Blue Power Diesel engine is our answer to the clamor of our customers for reliable, hardworking but fuel-efficient vehicles. This represents nearly a century of Isuzu’s experience and innovation in the design, engineering, and workmanship of diesel-powered utility vehicles. The D-Max LS-A is infused, as well, with features that address the demands of a

market that value both hard work and play, business with leisure,” said IPC President Hajime Koso.

Highlighting the new LS-A variant is several touch of dark gray exterior trims all over. Never been more commanding is the front end with darkened grille, bumper apron and a silver accent panel underneath. The new darkened trim went on to emphasize the bottom panels around the frame. These

AN island known for its mountainous terrain, Camiguin has progressed to one of the country’s favorite island adventure destinations. It also offers a rich mix of natural attractions and cultural treasures. All these are traits, which perfectly complements the D-Max’s unique combination of modern design, timeless heritage, and world-class engineering. More so, the entire drive suited the new D-Max LS-A tagline “tough-enough-for-anything” functionality.

The first day kicked off with a drive from the provincial capital Mambajao to Taguines Lagoon.

After a quick lunch break, we then proceeded to the Tres Marias Hill, a trio of domes dotting the island’s

THE convoy of D-Max LS-A units along with other variants. ISUZU PHILIPPINES

cle managed to tack le the road ahead w ith ease. W henever we needed more power, we just stepped on it and the powertrain delivered instantaneous acceleration. Next stop was the Sunken Cemeter y, which pro v ided the solemn foreground to a mag nificent sunset. T he route took us back to the main highway where the D-Ma x LS-A demonstrated its unrelenting power b y su r pa ssi ng slower vehicles effor t lessly.

We finally reached Paras Beach Resort and settled. There, no other than Camiguin Gov. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo welcomed us

and presented what the province has to offer in terms of tourism.

Sunrise at the Sandbar

THE following day, we took a break from driving to witness the serene waters and powder white sand of the famous Sandbar. When it was time to leave, we resumed our driving tasks on the way to the airport. Comfortable, stable and confident handling was evident throughout thanks to the rackand-pinion power assist, tilt adjust steering, independent double wishbone front and semi-elliptical leaf spring rear suspensions.

Continued on E4

Moto

Business

E2 Friday, November 8, 2019

THE 2019 TOKYO MOTOR SHOW

TOYOTA PROVIDES AUTONOMOUS M

A

Story & photos by Tet Andolong

T the recent 46th Tokyo Motor Show, which was held at the Tokyo Big Sight, Toyota showed a preview of advanced mobility planned for the Tokyo 2020 Games—Vision of future electrified, autonomous mobility that links people to the connected city around them.

SORA fuel cell bus E-TRANS

E-CARE Mobile Clinic

Toyota showed its progress in reshaping itself into a global mobility company built around the philosophy of providing “Mobility for All.” In speeches by senior executives, new product demonstrations, and a preview of its mobility plans for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, the company displayed its vision for integrated mobility products and services.

“Sports and making cars aren’t all that different,” said Toyota Executive Vice President Mitsuru Kawai, who welcomed several hundred reporters and guests ahead of the Motor Show’s formal opening. “For athletes to get stronger, they train to improve every single day. It is continuous improvement and a basic principle of the Toyota way. We are proud to share

our progress, and our ongoing commitment to making ever better cars.”

Toyota announced its plan to transition into a global mobility company at CES 2018, with President Akio Toyoda unveiling the e-Palette mobility-as-a-service concept and a new corporate focus on products and services designed to extend freedom of movement to all. The shift was built on an understanding that four key technology and societal trends—connected networks, automation, shared services, and electrification—were combining to unlock new possibilities for mobility that extended well beyond the limits of the traditional automobile.

Toyota’s progress toward this goal was on full display at the Tokyo Motor Show. In addition to ever-better

TOYOTA SUPPORTS GAWILAN

I-ROAD motorcycle MIRAI hydrogen fuel cell sedan

models of traditional automobiles, such as the all-new Yaris, the company’s lineup boasts a range of new electrified vehicles that are ready to hit the market. This includes the next-generation Mirai, which is set to drive fuel cell electric technology from an emerging platform to a true performance competitor, the UltraCompact BEV, a short-distance mobility solution for everyone from seniors to businesses and local governments, and a host of other battery-powered micro-mobility platforms. These new

T

OYOTA is one of the biggest sponsors of the upcoming Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. The Japanese automaker will also be the official fleet provider of the summer games and they will also be supporting hundreds of athletes from all over the world on the road to Tokyo 2020 as part of the “Global Team Toyota Athletes.” One of those athletes being supported by Toyota is Filipino Paralympic swimmer Ernie Gawilan.

Born in the boundary of Davao and Bukidnon, Gawilan has underdeveloped lower extremities. He has no legs and feet. However, that hasn’t stopped him from becoming the winning swimmer he is today. He learned how to swim at Samal Island since he was six years old. When he was 11, he was training at the Our Lady of Victory Training Center for the Youth where he was discovered by the Philippine Swimming Team headed by Tony Ong. The 28-year-old paralympic swimmer has competed in several competitions including the Philippine Olympic Festival in 2008 and 2009, Asean Para Games, and the Asian Para Games in Malaysia. He has won a total of 10 gold medals, four silver medals and

five bronze medals from various swimming events in both the Asian and Asean Para Games.

He managed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, he was not able to bring home any medals. This time around, he hopes to be able to go for the gold.

“My life changed in 2018 when Toyota started to support me,” said Gawilan. I came from a poor family where we only ate one meal a day. I only finished second year high school. My motto is “Never give up in life,” added Gawilan. The National Paralympic Committee was the one that recommended Gawilan to Toyota, and Toyota gladly made him as sports ambassador. Gawilan was given a lump sum amount of money and a Toyota Coaster.

Gawilan is just one of the many athletic hopefuls from around the world. Recently, Toyota launched a dedicated page on its global web site in order to further support and share the stories of these athletes.

The athlete page will be updated as things move closer to the Games such as those who qualify to compete in Tokyo 2020. They may also leave messages of support and words of encouragement to specific athletes in their personal pages.

sales by 2030, and even more aggressive targets for emissions reductions by 2050. These reflect our belief in the potential of electrified vehicles, as well as our commitment to overcoming the barriers that still stand in the way of widespread adoption.”

Toyota is also successfully integrating electrified powertrains with emerging autonomous and connected mobility systems to develop platforms for shared services that will see their first major test at the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year. No

LEXUS PRESENTS ITS VISION OF FU I

ERNIE GAWILAN with the author

products are backed by an expanding network of partnerships with battery manufacturers that will help to meet accelerating demand in the years to come.

“Vehicle electrification is the heart of our transformation into a global mobility company,” said Executive Vice President Shigeki Terashi, “and our full range of electrified vehicles has positioned Toyota to meet consumer needs and reduce CO2 emissions. We are proud to have set aggressive targets for electrified vehicle

longer just a concept, the e-Palette will now provide an electric and autonomous “mobility as a service” transportation option for athletes and staff at the Olympic and Paralympic Villages.

The LQ, previously unveiled by Toyota at CES in 2017 as the Concepti, will demonstrate how the powerful blend of SAE level 4 automated driving and artificial intelligence can remake the relationship between car and driver. These same core technologies will also be adapted into smaller products, including a range of robotics platforms designed to enhance people’s abilities, especially seniors or those with physical disabilities.

N its continued efforts to deliver innovative and amazing experiences, Lexus unveiled its “Lexus Electrified” vision for an upcoming generation of electrified vehicles at the 46th Tokyo Motor Show.

Since the brand’s creation in 1989, Lexus has endeavored to deliver to its customers an innovative and amazing product and brand experiences that stimulate the five senses. Since the launch of the RX 400h in 2005, Lexus has led the world as a pioneer in electrification technologies such as the two-stage reduction gear and the multistage hybrid system which leverage technology to offer excellent performance and the direct driving sensation characteristic of Lexus hybrid vehicles.

The Lexus Electrified vision targets a fundamental leap in vehicle performance, handling, control and driver enjoyment—even as mobility within our society continues to change with autonomous driving and vehicle electrification.

Evoking the original fun of driving, Lexus is developing new advanced posture control and other electrification technologies to further evolve driving pleasure, and to fundamentally transform the essence of luxury vehicles of the future. Toward this end, Lexus is drawing on the lessons learned developing the core technologies found in Lexus’s popular range of gasoline-electric hybrids, including battery management, power control modules and electric motors. In particular, the technology of Lexus Electrified enables integrated control powertrain, steering, suspension and brakes, realizing the ultimate potential of the motor control

technology cultivated in HV. With this technology, we can control the driving force to provide ideal vehicle posture according to each driving situation.

Lexus endeavors to continue providing enjoyable and safer driving vehicles.

To advance this goal, Lexus unveils its first BEV this November—broadening the response to the needs of various regions around the world including the development of HEVs, PHEVs, BEVs and FCEVs. Moving forward after that, Lexus plans to expand its electrified vehicle lineup—the first Lexus PHEV and a new dedicated BEV platform early in the coming decade. By 2025, Lexus will have available electrified versions of all Lexus vehicle models and aiming for the sales of electrified vehicle models to outplace those of conventional internal combustion engine vehicle models.

LF-30 Electrified new concept embodies the vision of Lexus electrification

FOR its exterior styling the advanced image expected of a BEV has been channeled into artistic qualities that result in a futuristic form and an interior that assertively weaves in autonomous driving and other new technologies aims to manifest Lexus’s distinctive worldview. Performance is rooted in Lexus Electrified components, adding Lexus’s latest technology in development of HEV systems. Precise electric motor control enables instantaneous adjustments to posture not possible with conventional vehicles. Furthermore, the LF-30 Electrified employs numerous advanced technolo-

THE Lexus LF-30 Electrified

gies with a look ahead to the year 2030—such a new concept cockpit based on a human-centered design philosophy and a steer-by-wire system.

Futuristic exterior foreshadows the Lexus Electrified vehicles toward 2030

IN taking up the challenge of expressing a new design that could only be achieved with a BEV powered by in-wheel electric motors, Lexus visually articulated the LF-30 Electrified’s unique energy flow. The vehicle form is meant to visually express the energy created by the wheels set at the corners of the vehicle body streaming toward the vehicle cabin and past the driver to directly flow onto the road surface.

Taking advantage of a hoodless vehicle

shape made possible by being a BEV, Lexus’s signature “spindle” form has been further evolved to span the entire vehicle architecture.

The window glass, which continually stretches from the front to rear, the muscular fenders and the wing-shaped headlights form the contours of the Lexus iconic spindle. The shape of the body is fashioned with an elegantly flowing front which transitions into a linear and sharp rear.

In addition to the wing-shaped headlights, the sharpness of the rear lights and side air intakes combine to achieve both excellent aerodynamics and cooling performance, resulting in styling fused with function.

The opacity of the side windows can be freely adjusted, providing occupants with expansive views of the surrounding scenery and a high level

oring

sMirror

Friday, November 8, 2019

E3

Toyoda talks about life in the future

MOBILITY FOR ALL H

The welcome speech of Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp. at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show

FUTURISTIC single-seat mobility service Toyota e-4me

MICRO Palette robots

“At Toyota, we understand the importance of developing new technologies to amplify human capabilities, not just to replace them,” said Gill Pratt, CEO of the Toyota Research Institute, which leads Toyota’s global research into artificial intelligence and automation. “Robots that can assist us on the job, or cars that avoid crashes when we drive, will offer direct physical benefits to individuals and society. Technology that will allow us to age in place with dignity, or to take greater joy in personal mobility, will offer enormous emotional benefits. But combined, these emotional and physical benefits will help build

a new relationship with technologies that are designed to make life more fulfilling.”

More than just showing off a collection of advanced hardware and future service plans, Toyota is using the Motor Show to reinforce its belief in the power of mobility to improve society. This philosophy is the backbone of Toyota’s partnership with the International Olympic and Paralympic Movement, and its work to provide safe, environmentally sustainable and “just-in-time” mobility for the thousands of athletes, staff and visitors who will journey to Tokyo for the Games next year. But the Olympics

are just the start, as the company is working toward a future where mobility is seamlessly integrated into a wider “connected city” in which services and support would be available on demand to everyone.

“We invite everyone to come and take a peek at what we think Toyota will look like as a mobility company,” said Toyota President Akio Toyoda.

“We are showing a vast range of forward-thinking, just-in-time products and services that we hope can help deliver what customers want, but also help to create lasting relationships and bring positive impact to society as a whole. Come and see!”

ELLO, everyone! Thank you for coming to the Toyota booth press briefing today. I’m Akio Toyoda, the VTuber Morizo. Well, today, what I want to talk about is not cars, but people. I will move around a bit as I talk.

This time, I think I want to continue on as this character. In line with my own expressions, it laughs and shows surprise. What do you think? For example, even if we are a distance away, can’t you kind of feel that I’m right beside you? People instantly process enormous amounts of information in this way and then reach conclusions. That’s exactly why, when various kinds of information are linked, one would expect communities, society and, of course, cars, to become more centered on people. That’s why we made our Toyota booth this time one in which visitors can experience a future society of mobility centered on people. Well, I think it’s about time for us to have a look.

Toyoda: This e-Palette is scheduled to debut in front of everyone at the time of next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. In the future, the e-Palette will be able to be an office, a shop, or even a hotel. It will be able to become various kinds of services, and it will go to people. Our booth this time does not feature a single car “to be launched next year.” All that is found here are forms of mobility that link to society and communities, and that provide modes of getting around and services to people. Wow, what do you think? Doesn’t it excite you to see a future filled with such forms of mobility? For example, we will even have something like this the e-Chargeair.

Morizo: Won’t kinds of mobility like these mean that cars will end up not being owned? I certainly hope not. Shared mobility will lead to people owning forms of mobility that are more personal. OK everyone, the answer is right over there!

Toyoda: This is the e-RACER! The cars in everyone’s garages will all be sports cars, like this e-RACER. Well, that’s a little overstating it, but...wanting to move about as one wishes ...and wanting to go faster and farther...are, I think, universal human desires.

The birth of the automobile led to 15 million horses being replaced by cars in the United States. But still, we have racehorses. The joy of riding a horse can hold its own against or even outdo what cars have to offer. If there is an obstacle, a horse can avoid it.

If there is a hole in the ground, a horse can make its own judgement and jump over it. Horses can communicate with people and their hearts. For people who ride them, horses are irreplaceable. Through the evolution of artificial intelligence, I think that cars, too, can also become able to communicate with people and their hearts. That’s right...I think cars of the future will be like horses. If we look at shared forms of mobility, such as the e-Palette, as if they were horse carriages, forms of mobility owned by individuals, like the e-RACER, would be “beloved horses.” I would say that this means that our future society of mobility will be a society in which horse carriages and beloved horses co-exist.

And what people want of beloved horses is heartfelt communication and the joy of moving together.

Well, here is another sidekick that offers heartfelt

E-BROOM

AKIO TOYODA

communication. I think maybe I could even call it a “magic broom.” If you visit the Toyota booth, you can hop on like this and give it a try. But it’s not yet ready to fly....

Morizo: I’ll get on the broom and give you a quick introduction to our booth.

First, at the reception counter, you make a residency card. You take it and, if you try out various things in our booth, you can accumulate points. For example, this is a future health check that can tell you how your body is doing if you get on it. And here, you can experience what it will be like to change clothes in the future. You can choose clothes that suit you even without putting them on. There are other various things that you can experience. The more you try what we have, the more points you will accumulate. And this is a Toyota convenience store. The points you’ve accumulated can be exchanged for various items, and we tried hard to make some good things.

Toyoda: Thank you, Morizo!

Our theme is life in the future centered on people. Our first objective is to deliver fun to those who visit us. We feel that it is important to have fun. That same feeling extends to the importance we place on the concept of “Fun To Drive,” even when it comes to future mobility.

My aim today was to help you get to know the

UTURE ELECTRIFICATION

of privacy at night and in other situations. The color of the front face of the vehicle and luminescence patterns help identify from the outside whether the vehicle is being operated in its normal mode or in its autonomous driving mode, reflecting Lexus’s pursuit of both a high level of styling and functionality. The exterior color “voltaic sky” employs a leading-edge metal-infused coating to achieve a unique quality tinted by a touch of blue-green.

Innovative interior that leverages autonomous driving technologies

TO manifest in a higher dimension Lexus’s fundamental human-centered philosophy, the cockpit was designed based on the new Lexus concept of “Tazuna.” Inspired by how a single rein can be

used to achieve mutual understanding between horse and rider, the steering controller-mounted switches and head-up display have been coordinated to a high degree, creating a space that enables the driver to focus on driving while controlling various functions, such as the navigation and audio system, and driving-mode selection without having to shift one’s vision or operate manual switches. As an indication of the future image of a Tazuna cockpit, the LF-30-Electrified employs next-generation interfaces, such as gesture control and enhanced presentation of vehicle information through AR (augmented reality). The resulting interior is one that provides comfort and convenience for both driver and passengers.

With the layout of the front passenger seat

echoing that of a first-class seat on an airliner, the interior is one in which a sense of openness and a sense of envelopment coexist. All switches and other controls being comfortable within reach and a gesture-control large-screen display for the passenger seat add to the achievement of interior comfort and convenience.

The rear seats are artificial muscle technology to mold to their occupant and can support various modes, such as reclining, relaxation and alert functions. A Mark Levinson audio system creates a next-generation listening environment in which minute speaker control establishes ideal acoustic spaces for music listening pleasure for the driver and each passenger, and speakers built into the headrests not only provide an optimal audio environment, but also have a noise-canceling feature that contributes to enhanced quietness.

E-PALETTE

With in-wheel electric motors, steering by wire and Lexus Advanced Posture Control

TO achieve a fundamental leap in vehicle performance, handling control and driver enjoyment, the LF-30 employs numerous state-of-the-art technologies even beyond advanced posture control. In-wheel electric motors for each of the vehicle’s four wheels and low positioning of the battery enable better handling of inertia and high-level driving performance. Autonomous driving technologies and drone support vehicle technologies look ahead to the year 2030 and the widely expanded value that vehicles can offer.

E-CHARGEAIR

E-RACER

Toyota booth. We have prepared our new cars for you to see at another place. Please go have a look.

At any rate, today, the focus is people. Society today is rapidly advancing toward automation, such as in the form of “artificial intelligence” and “robotics.” At the same time, concerns such as, “Might the day not come when robots dominate people?” are being voiced. Just how should Toyota respond to such changes in the times? I think a hint can be found in the history of our predecessors. The Toyota Production System contains a hint.

Toyota’s roots are found in the automatic loom invented by Sakichi Toyoda. The greatest trait of that invention was that, if a single thread broke, the loom would automatically stop. Of course, that helped to prevent the making of defective products.

But it was based on the thinking that we shouldn’t turn people into machine watchers. At Toyota, we call this “automation with people,” or “intelligent automation.” To this intelligent automation, Kiichiro Toyoda, who took up the challenge of producing automobiles, added the “make only what is needed, when it is needed, and in the amount needed” thinking of “just-in-time.” This means being just a bit ahead of the expectations of our customers.

This is the ultimate in manufacturing omotenashi (hospitality that sincerely and warmheartedly anticipates and fulfills people’s needs). The two pillars of the Toyota Production System ”Intelligent automation” and just-in-time. What both of these have in common is placing of people at the center.

And that’s exactly why people will continue to be at the center of the future that we envision. I believe that the more automation advances, the more the ability of human beings will be put to the test.

For example, people’s warmth and kindness...and also the hearts that feel such.... What we want to express through our booth is the concept of “people connected.” “People connected” refers to a society in which people are linked a society in which the warmth and kindness of people can be felt.

The key words are people connected. Toyota believes in the power of people. The power of people.... Please look forward to what Toyota will achieve.

Motoring BusinessMirror

E4 Friday, November 8, 2019

Lexus Electrified defines brand’s electrification vision

C

OMES now Yoshihiro Sawa after giving you Akio Toyoda last week. To those not yet in the know, I am a sucker for speeches.

And so, without further ado, here is Sawa: “Good morning. My name is Yoshihiro Sawa. I am the president of Lexus International. Welcome and thank you all for visiting the Lexus booth today at the Tokyo Motor Show.

“Thirty years have passed since Lexus was born in the United States. Since then, the brand has continued to grow with outstanding quality, hospitality and a spirit of challenge.

“Lexus has always anticipated people’s needs and rolled out numerous models, such as luxury SUV pioneer RX to provide luxury lifestyle experiences.

“However, a somewhat shocking incident did occur that helped shift our history.

“It was in 2011, at Pebble Beach, when we first showcased the all-new GS. One journalist commented, ‘Lexus is a boring brand.’ The comment shocked Akio Toyoda so much that he swore ‘we will never let anyone say Lexus is boring again.’ “ Fol l o w i n g t h i s i nc i d e nt , A kio established the Lexus International company. And he, himself, became chief branding ficer, as well as Master Driver to help drive bold brand and

product reform. Within Lexus, we realized that our entrepreneur’s challenging spirit was disappearing over time. So, this was a renewed challenge for us.

“In Akio’s heart, he wants the brand to be something our customers finally choose over other luxury brands. For that, Akio strongly believe that we need to nurture gracefulness for the brand in addition to achieve high driving performance and exquisite quality.

“The challenger mind-set is the foundation of Lexus.

“The first-generation LS was born to redefine the Luxury sedan and this model surprised with high quality, comfort and overwhelming refinement.

“Since the 2011 moment, Lexus has been relentlessly challenging to stimulate the five senses. We engaged to various activities to become a luxury lifestyle brand.

“At this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, we present ‘Lexus Senses Theater,’ a space where people can experience the ‘stimulation of the five senses.’

“In the audio theater, the sensual engine sound of Lexus LFA stimulates hearing. In the visual theater, the beauty of Lexus LC,

YOSHIHIRO SAWA PHOTO BY TET ANDOLONG

which changes its appearance according to the time of day and the viewing angle, is highlighted.

Please come and enjoy this real experience.

“In addition to providing experiences to customers, a luxury brand need to meet social responsibility for better future. “ The vision of automobiles and mobility for a better society is being redefined. We try to offer a luxury brand that provides unique values.

“The foundation of our brand activities is rooted from the concept of being ‘human-centered.’

Using advanced safety technology as an example, we constantly strive to produce higher safety

standards, including easy-to-understand interfaces between humans and cars, and develop driving behavior that brings safety, security and confidence.

“As part of our achievements, we plan to launch a model equipped with Lexus Teammate, an advanced driving assist technology, in 2020.

“The Lexus brand will continue to value the stimulation of the five senses and bond with the life of each one of us.

“In order for us to contribute to enhancing our customer’s lives, vehicles will need to keep playing a vital role. In Japan, we sometimes call our car ‘Aisha.’ which literally means ‘beloved car.’

“For Lexus, Aisha refers to our central philosophy for crafting vehicles that people are not just merely interested in and passionate about, but something that people can actually bond with.

“We aim to provide vehicles that will be enjoyed and cherished, which will exceed their expectations, thereby imparting a rich lifestyle by stimulating the five senses. Lexus is unwavering in this mission.

“Another message is about future electrification technologies.

At Lexus, we are building upon our fundamental mission, which is to deliver higher levels of driver engagement and help incite a passion for driving, and elaborate upon it further. Finally, we aim to fundamentally change the concept of future luxury vehicles.

“Lexus is already at the forefront globally as a leader in hybrid technologies. We are confident that Lexus will continue to be cutting-edge, backed by core technologies, including batteries, motors and power controls, that are essential components for electrified vehicles. Based on this idea, we came up with the name Lexus Electrified to define our brand’s electrification vision.

“The LF-30 Electrified is a concept car that embodies our Lexus Electrified vision. The concept car is a BEV with an automated driving function while also possessing the intuitive values of a car. This is one realization of our ‘YET’ philosophy.

“We created the concept car design by realizing an advanced image expected of BEVs and incorporating the advanced technolog ies of connectiv it y and automated driving.

“The Lexus LF-30 Electrified uses a new technology, we call it Lexus Advanced Posture Control.

This integrates the pinnacle of electrification technologies and movement control technologies that Lexus has been developing.

With precise control of the motors, the technologies enable us to realize drive-control that conventional gasoline vehicles cannot attain.

“As the ultimate form, the concept car is equipped with four inwheel-motors.

“The LF-30 Electrified employs various core technologies beyond Lexus Advanced Posture Control.

“To advance this goal, Lexus is developing HV, PHV, FCV other than EV to meet the needs of various regions and markets depending on their condition, such as governmental policies and energy situation. We will launch such models immediately to markets like Europe and China where the needs are particularly high.

“Concretely speaking, we will introduce the first Lexus EV model next month and start selling it in 2020. Then, PHV and pure EV will follow in the early half of the 2020s.

“Furthermore, we will continue to make advances in our core HV technologies and also continue to develop FC technology as our overall electrification strategy.

“Finally, around 2025, we expect to offer an electrified variant of each model in our lineup.

“As we mark this 30-year milestone, we plan to further accelerate the electrification of vehicles while providing customers with a richer lifestyle, and an elevated driver engagement.

“Please keep watching to see what Lexus will have to offer going for ward.”

PEE STOP A

highlight of my 14th tr ip to the 46th Tok yo Motor Show was having dinner with my fellow Toyota delegates at the Intersect by Lexus, a formembers-only enclave in vibrant Roppongi that is also known as a favorite haunt of Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota Motor Corp. I’m sure my buddy Satoru Suzuki, the president of Lexus Philippines, as well as TMP, has been at the cozy joint that boasts of an expensive single malt whiskey brand bearing the signature exclusively of Toyoda-san. An awed Carlo Ablaza describes the amazing experience as “Simply cool.” Cheers!

CATCH THE FINAL LEG OF THE 2019 VIOS RACING FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND

T

HE 2019 season of the Toyota Vios Racing Festival is about to reach its climax this Saturday, November 9, at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga.

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) is inviting racing fans, car enthusiasts and everyone who’s looking for a fun and thrilling way to spend their weekend to grab this year’s final chance to witness racers from different classes outspeed each other on the race track with their Toyota Vios.

Admission to the Vios Racing Festival is free for those who want to witness the action live.

A livestream of the race will also be broadcast via TMP’s official Facebook account— www.facebook.com/

ToyotaMotorPhilippines, while behind the scenes highlights will be posted on its other social media channels—@ ToyotaMotorPH on Twitter and @ ToyotaMotorPhilippines on Instagram.

The 2019 Vios Racing Festival is headlined by celebrity racers who will conclude their performances in this year’s Vios Circuit Championship. The third leg happening this weekend will reveal who among Vios racers Gerald Anderson, Chie Filomeno, Gretchen Ho, Daniel Matsunaga, Aubrey Miles, and Troy Montero will get to take the crown in the Celebrity Class.

Fabio Ide, meanwhile, will race against promising motorsports champions in the Promotional Class.

Seasoned racers and track veterans will also keep the Vios Racing Festival Waku-Doki spirit high with the action-packed Sporting Class considered as the event’s highlight by many race patrons.

Vios Car Club members, motoring journalists, socialmedia personalities, and Toyota socialmedia contest winners will also complete their Vios Racing Festival experience with the final rounds of the Vios Autocross Challenge.

“This event is really about celebrating the continuing rise of motorsports in the country and the discovery of more Filipino racing talents,” said Ma. Cristina Arevalo, TMP’s first vice president for Brand and Product Planning.

“We hope you can join

us for the very last time this year, as we proudly champion our racers and exhibit the power of the Vios.”

Aside from the free admission and excellent vantage point from the grandstand, attendees may also enjoy free shuttle services from SM Clark to the Clark International Speedway.

Gates open at 9 a.m. with circuit and autocross races happening the entire day, until the awarding ceremony in the evening. Both the on-site race and the livestream will be hosted by James Deakin and Apple David.

In between the racing action, families and group of friends attending the festival can enjoy side events and activities including meet-and-greet sessions and games with the celebrity racers.

ISUZU D-MAX LS-A PARADES IN CAMIGUIN Continued from E1

Moreover, there’s an electroluminescent-type instrument meters with multi-information display (MID), 8-inch full-touch monitor/CD/DVD/Tuner/

Bluetooth and iPod connectivity/Aux-in/USB/ MP3 Compatible/AV-in/ TPMS ready/USB-link/ Wi-fi display, navigation system, and three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel with hands-free

function and audio controls.

Safety-wise, the D-Max LS-A is equipped with Dual SRS air bags, child seats tethers (second row), side door impact beams, Antilock Brake System (ABS),

Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA), Brake Override System (BOS), Hill Start Assist (HSA), Hill Descent Control (HDC), Childproof rear door locks and reverse camera.