BusinessMirror November 12, 2018

DEPT. OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

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Monday, November 12, 2018 Vol. 14 No. 33

Failing cyber security test to cost Mislatel ₧26B P

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

ROVISIONAL third telco player Mislatel Consortium—an alliance between President Duterte’s ally Dennis A. Uy and Chinese state-owned China Telecom Corp. Ltd.—may lose P25.7 billion at the minimum should it fail to deliver on its commitments or if it is found to have caused cyber security breaches that infringe on national security or sovereignty, a Cabinet official said.

Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Mislatel, should it officially bag the third telco spot, will be wasting time and money if it breaches—in any way—its contract with the government.

“We have a provision in the

terms of reference that the new major player must affirm or certify that their network will never be a source of threat to our national security. If it becomes so, then their performance bond will be confiscated,” Rio said via phone.

He explained that, based on Mislatel’s commitments, it will

have to shell out roughly P25.7 billion—or 10 percent of its total capital and operational expenditures through its five-year debut—if it fails to do so.

“The third telco player, just like incumbents, has to get a third-party cyber security expert for their cyber security audit. These experts

A

@joveemarie

S Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo vowed to carry out the legislative agenda of President Duterte in the lower chamber, the House of Representatives is expected to resume its session on Monday with focus on several priority measures.

Arroyo said the House will focus to finish the administration’s legislative agenda, topped by the national budget, as the midterm elections in May 2019 is seen to cut their time frame.

Topping the list of pending key measures on the agenda for deliberations and approval are House Bill 8169, or the proposed “Fiscal Year 2019 General Appropriations Act,” and HB 8400, or “An Act

NORTH-SOUTH COMMUTER RAILWAY WILL REQUIRE P5-B SUBSIDIES–NEDA

By Cai U. Ordinario

F

will inform the government of the ingress and egress of data, so that will take care of our cyber security,” he said.

Rio was responding to online reports that China Telecom has been found to have breached cyber security protocols—in these cases, digital hijacks—in different territories, such as Canada and South Korea.

See “Mislatel,” A12

See “Railway,” A2

2019 power supply meets demand–DOE

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

P

The total taxes, fees and royalties the government collected from the mining industry in 2016, based on Department of Finance data

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.6350

See “Budget,” A2

@cuo_bm

ILIPINO taxpayers need to extend an average of P5 billion worth of subsidies for the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System approved by a Cabinet panel, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Apart from the subsidy, the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) Cabinet Committee (CabCom) last week also recommended to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) the generation of additional revenues on account of the 76-percent increase in the project’s cost.

With the change in scope of the project, the total cost of the NSCR, a project of the DOTr and Philippine National Railways (PNR), increased to P777.55 billion, from P440.88 billion. The project is funded by loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“The government will subsidize an average of P5 billion per year to cover capital, operating and renewal costs of the project—an investment that is expected to generate substantial economic activity, create more jobs, increase incomes and deliver a more comfortable commuting experience,” the Neda said in a statement.

“The DOTr was instructed by the Committee to implement measures that would allow the national government to maximize non-farebox revenues, such as incremental taxes from increased property value through revenue-sharing arrangements with

“The third telco player, just like incumbents, has to get a thirdparty cyber security expert for their cyber security audit. These experts will inform the government of the ingress and egress of data, so that will take care of our cyber security.”—Rio

₧33.43B

Establishing The Fiscal Regime For The Mining Industry.”

House members have already approved on second reading HB 8169 or the Fiscal Year 2019 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which provides for a national budget of P3.757 trillion for next year.

The House leadership said the timely approval of the budget ensures there will be no budget reenactment next year.

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Budget, mining reform to top House agenda

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

2017 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

E-COMMERCE ALIVE, KICKING This is the sprawling warehouse of Lazada PH in Cabuyao, Laguna, as it kicked off its preholiday online sales on Sunday. The No. 1 e-commerce market in the Philippines is gearing up for the Christmas shopping spree of Filipinos. It boasts a 54,000sq-m automated facility with a 5 million storage capacity, its single largest fulfillment center in Southeast Asia. Story on A2. STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS

OWER supply in 2019 will be adequate next year given an additional capacity of about 2,375 megawatts (MW) that will come from new power projects across the country.

“The DOE [Department of Energy] is confident in our projections for 2019 that we will be able to meet the demand considering the incoming capacities in Luzon, the Visayas and, of course, Mindanao,” said DOE Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola.

For Luzon, he said peak power demand is expected to reach 11,200 MW, from the 10,800 MW recorded in May last year.

See “2019 Power,” A2

n JAPAN 0.4618 n UK 68.7466 n HK 6.7258 n CHINA 7.5909 n SINGAPORE 38.2772 n AUSTRALIA 38.1762 n EU 59.8039 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.0323

Source: BSP (9 November 2018 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, November 12, 2018

‘Trabaho’ bill delay in Senate to fuel uncertainty–DTI chief

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

S

@alyasjah

ENATORS should pass the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill by December, or else the scheduled reduction of corporate income tax (CIT) will be delayed, the country’s trade chief has warned.

In a recent interview with reporters, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez admitted time is not on the side of the government, which is pushing for the legislation of the Trabaho bill.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is still deliberating with the Department of Finance (DOF) proposed changes to the measure, he added.

“Let’s just say [the discussions are still] ongoing because we do not want to discuss the details [in public]. That is really part of internal government discussions on how we can craft and fine-tune the provisions of the Trabaho bill for minimal risk,” Lopez said.

Asked what will happen if the bill fails to get the Senate’s nod by December, Lopez said the timetable for CIT reduction “will be delayed.”

He added delaying passage of the Trabaho bill will only extend the uncertainty surrounding the country’s investment regime.

“We want to create also the certainty because the investing public, at least, will be sure of the new provisions once it is enacted into law. The new investors just want to know what will be the final structure,” Lopez argued.

Under the Trabaho bill, CIT, which is currently at 30 percent, will be trimmed gradually to 20 percent in 2029.

Budget. . .

Continued from A1

Mining

ALSO expected to be passed on third and final reading is HB 8400, seeking to establish the fiscal regime for the mining industry to ensure the government gets its rightful share in profits.

Arroyo led the list of the bill’s coauthors.

She closely followed deliberations on the bill both in the committee and the plenary.

Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Estrellita Suansing of Nueva Ecija, citing Department of Finance data, said the government collected total taxes, fees and royalties from the mining industry in the amount of P32.76 billion in 2014, P30.07 billion in 2015 and P33.43 billion in 2016.

Presently, for large mines, mining contracts offer varying fiscal regimes and therefore fiscal burden is differentiated, Suansing said.

“Under this measure there is no more distinction on whether mining exploration is conducted outside or inside a mineral reservation and whether it is large scale or small scale. Equity dictates that fiscal burden should be shared equally by all

2019 power . . .

Continued from A1

Delola said Luzon could experience tight supply because the 650-MW Malaya thermal plant in Rizal province is no longer designated as a must-run unit.

But with additional capacity that will come from the first unit of GN Power Dinginin coal plant, which Delola said is around 300 MW, and the 335-MW Masinloc plant, there will be enough supply for the expected growth. Delola said the 2019 forecast peak demand in Luzon is considered a “normal growth.”

“If we will have problems next year, there won’t be a red alert, only yellow alert,” said the DOE official.

A yellow alert notice means operating reserves have dropped below the required 647-MW contingency in Luzon, or equivalent to the largest unit in Luzon, which is the 647-MW coal-fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan.

A red alert notice is issued by the grid operator when the power reserve left on the grid is regulating reserve or equivalent to 4 percent of the current demand. Power interruption may occur.

In the Visayas, Delola said peak demand is expected to hit 2,300 MW next year from 2,100 MW this year.

He said the department expects Therma Visayas Inc.’s (TVI) 340-MW power plant

who explore the natural resources of the country,”said Suansing.Suansing said the bill shall significantly impact the government’s revenue generation effort, the mining industry’s growth, and the environment, which is under tremendous threat from certain destructive mining practices.

Federalism

MEANWHILE, House Committee on Constitutional Amendments Chairman Vicente Veloso of Leyte said the lower chamber will still work hard toward federalism despite opposition of senators.

He said House leaders gave him the go-ahead to continue the Charter change deliberations as part of their job.

The lower chamber earlier adopted House Resolution (HR) 2056 authored

by Arroyo, stating, “There is an urgent need to convene the Senate and the House of Representatives as Constituent Assembly in order to consider the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution.”

House members support a Constituent Assembly (Con-ass), saying convening Congress into an assembly will shorten the time needed for Cha-cha.

Arroyo also vowed to facilitate discussions on Cha-cha at the House of Representatives once Congress sits as a Con-ass.

It will also rationalize tax incentives granted to locators in economic zones, which is why the measure is opposed by several industries. Locators said they will have to cut down their labor force if the government proceeds with its plan to overhaul the country’s incentives regime.

The trade chief, for his part, is still holding on to hopes that the second package of the tax-reform program will hurdle the Senate within the year. “Hopefully, we can still pass it by December with the provisions that we want that we are discussing with the agencies,” he said.

A n informal poll taken by the BusinessMirror last week showed most senators doubting if the chamber can find time to approve the House-labeled Trabaho bill, given the expected lengthy deliberations on the 2019 national budget, and the still outstanding issues about Trabaho bill’s predecessor—the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN). Senators want the DOF to resolve these, given the widespread blame heaped on the TRAIN law for deepening the impact of inflation, which reached 6.7 percent in September and again in October.

Under the legislative calendar for the third regular session of the 17th Congress, Congress is expected to resume its session on November 12 and adjourn on December 14 for Christmas holidays.

The session will again resume on January 15 to February 8. But it will take another break on February 9 to May 19 for the midterm elections.

After the 2019 midterm elections, Congress will resume from May 20 to June 7 before its sine die adjourment from June 8 to July 21, which is the end of the 17th Congress.

For Senate approval

THE House approved on third and final reading and endorsed for Senate approval a total of 125 bills. These comprise 33 national and 91 local measures, and one joint resolution.

After the Senate approves these measures, bicameral conference committee meetings will be conducted to reconcile the differences between the Senate and House versions of the said bills.

Meanwhile, already pending at the bicameral conference are eight measures —five national bills and three local bills.

The national bills are HB 7652, “The Mobile Number Portability Act”; HB 6769, “Prohibiting Discriminatory Acts Against

in Toledo, Cebu, to become operational within the year.

“TVI will come in this year, plus HVDCC [High Voltage DC Coupled Charging],” he said.

In Mindanao, Delola said peak demand could hit 2,200 MW. The department expects some 1,400 MW of excess power.

Luzon is the biggest power user, with a peak demand that is five-fold that of the Visayas and Mindanao.

“Out of the three major grids, the biggest growth is happening in Mindanao.

But they have a smaller base, so in terms of capacity, [the increase is bigger] in Luzon and in the Visayas.

“It’s really [the] influx of economic development and we’re looking at the possible effects of the electrification program because if we will be able to serve more areas then consumption will increase, as well,” said Delola.

Last week a partial blackout in Mindanao isolated Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and the Zamboanga Peninsula and affected parts of Butuan City, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos and Davao City.

The DOE is still validating the cause of that partial blackout.

The NGCP reported that the tripping was caused by an “intentional toppling” of vegetation to the lines in between the Baloi-Agus 2 138-kV transmission line, which led the NGCP to call the red alert status in the Mindanao Grid.

Longer ITH

A DOCUMENT obtained from a highly reliable source, meanwhile, showed the DTI appealing to the DOF to stretch the income tax holiday to five years from three years under the Trabaho bill. It also moved that similar incentives be extended to five years from two years to keep the country’s investment regime on a par with its Southeast Asian counterparts. “[The DTI] proposed that income tax holiday to be extended to five years instead of three years, and other income-based tax incentives to five years instead of two years.

“This is to make our income tax-based incentives competitive with other [Southeast Asian] countries, more specifically, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore,” the document read.

Lopez said the government is optimistic senators will pass the Trabaho bill before the year ends to conclude the issue on tax and incentives.

“For us [in the government], of course, we want this issue to be settled already. [We want the bill to be] passed with the corrected provisions as soon as possible,” he added.

Women on Account of Sex”; HB 5615 and SB 1716, “Establishing the National Sports Training Center”; HB 7449, “Appropriating the Sum of P1.161 billion as Supplemental Appropriations for Dengvaxia Vaccinees” which has been certified as urgent; and HB 5162, “Separating General Santos City From the First Legislative District of South Cotabato.”

778 processed measures

THE House of Representatives has processed a total of 778 measures, or an average of 31 measures per session day, before Congress adjourned its session on October 10.

This translates to a total of 3,707 measures processed by the House from the opening of the 17th Congress on July 25, 2016.

Of the 778 processed measures during the third regular session, a total of 32 were enacted into law, eight of which were of national significance and 24 of local significance.

Meanwhile, 41 more measures are awaiting the President’s signature to become additional laws.

Apart from these landmark measures, the House ratified 10 bicameral reports, nine of which are of national importance and one of local significance.

Railway. . .

Continued from A1

concerned LGUs and through the development of national government properties in the project area,” it added.

The increase in project cost is attributed to three factors as determined by the detailed engineering designs, such as the shift to elevated viaducts instead of at-grade structures to improve operational efficiencies and safety.

The Neda said factors pushing up costs include the adoption of standard gauge instead of narrow gauge, in compliance with government standards to ensure seamless operations for all sections; and the increase in the number of trains and change from single to double tracks for the Malolos-Clark Railway Project (MCRP).

The cost will also cover resettlement activities, meeting the social and environmental safeguards of the ADB and Jica. This will also

ensure proper housing and welfare support for around 12,901 affected informal settler families.

The project will bring together the NSCR Phase 1 (Malolos-Tutuban), the PNR South Commuter Railway (Solis-Calamba) and the MCRP, creating a 147-kilometer elevated, doubletrack and seamless connection from Clark International Airport to Calamba, Laguna, with 36 stations.

The NSCR System will link with existing railway lines such as the LRT 1, LRT 2 and MRT 3, as well as with the upcoming Metro Manila Subway.

According to the DOTr, the NSCR System, compared to other railway projects in Asia, is more cost-effective.

Per kilometer, the project costs about $100 million.

The rail system is expected to be partially operational by 2022 with a daily ridership of 340,000 passengers. It will be fully operational by 2023 with a daily ridership of 550,000 passengers.

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Lazada’s shopping fest offered 50M deals to consumers

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HINA’S annual online shopping frenzy—called “Double 11” after the numbers in the month and date—that generated sales of more than $14 billion within the first two hours in China alone, has also benefited online retailers in the Philippines.

Lazada Philippines reported during the weekend that their 11.11 Shopping Festival generated sales 15 times more than their regular daily shopping orders.

Juan Pavez Spencer, Lazada Philippines chief executive officer for logistics, told the press that shopping purchases on Sunday already equaled their average 15-day sales.

He attributed this to the exponential growth of online shoppers, boosted by the remittances of overseas Filipino workers. “This is a telecommunication-driven activity as our online marketing programs result in satisfied customers coming back to Lazada,” he said.

Spencer said online shoppers in the Philippines took advantage of more than 50 million deals—including discounts of as much as 99 percent, P1 deals and vouchers— during the annual shopping event held every November 11.

Launched in 2012 and patterned after China’s Double 11, Lazada’s 11.11 Shopping Festival has become Southeast Asia’s most anticipated and biggest one-day sale.

Lazada Philippines saw a hundred-percent increase in the number of participants in this year’s shopping festival compared to last year’s edition, Spencer said.

He said the last quarter of the year is usually “shopping time” as more Filipinos avail themselves of the attractive deals and discounts.

Lazada Philippines has about 30,000 listed sellers offering more than 80 million products. It also offers thousands of brands—including Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, JBL, Philipps, Mac, L’Oreal, Dove, Olay and Levi’s—under the recently launched LazMall.

Online shoppers can avail themselves of same-day/next-day delivery. The shipping option called Premium Service is available in certain parts of Greater Manila Area, Metro Cebu and Davao City.

“Our team is prepared for the high volume of orders and deliveries, thanks to the continuous expansion of our ecosystem of warehouses and logistics partners,” said Spencer.

“As millions of orders come in during the gift-giving season, Lazada takes its operations into high gear, from picking up products from sellers or warehousing and packing items offered on its online marketplace, to delivering orders to shoppers on the same day or the next day.” Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

Green building designers key to achieving target under Paris Agreement–Alvarez

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LIMATE Change Commission Secretary Heherson T. Alvarez underscored the importance of architects and engineers in promoting sustainable buildings, or green buildings, to boost the country’s chances of achieving its ambitious targets to reduce carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2030.

At a gathering of architects and engineers dubbed Green Breakthrough 2018 at Conrad Hotel in Pasay City over the weekend, Alvarez said: “As architects and engineers, your role is to help this country achieve its commitment in the Paris Agreement to reduce 70 percent of our CO2 emissions by 2030 and help maintain global warming by 1.5˚C or below. Your sustainable designs provide one of the most vital solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change.”

Organized by the Philippine Green Building Initiative (PGBI), the event gathered architects, engineers and other stakeholders in the local construction industry to tackle the latest green building designs and initiatives, among others. PGBI promotes sustainable construction in the Philippines.

A former senator and secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Alvarez said the leading climate scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have revealed in their latest United Nations special report that global warming is worsening and occurring more rapidly than expected.

“In fact,”Alvarez said,“these climatechange experts reminded the world that we only have 12 years to limit the warming of the Earth to 1.5˚C to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change.”

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, 195 countries agreed to keep global temperatures well below 2˚C. However, he said the latest IPCC report said that warming should be limited to 1.5˚C or below by 2030.

The IPCC warned that warming of 2˚C would have a disastrous impact.

The half-a-degree difference will significantly worsen the risks of droughts, typhoons, floods, heat waves and poverty for hundreds of millions of people,

Alvarez said.

The .5˚C additional warming will completely wipe out the corals, leading to extreme hunger for the world population, he added, citing the IPCC report.

According to Alvarez, the task of keeping the warming at 1.5˚C will be most challenging.

“The Asian Development Bank has also identified the Philippines as one of the Asian countries that will double its carbon dioxide emissions by 2035.

There is a need for rapid phaseout of fossil fuels, particularly coal. There has to be a massive, drastic and immediate shift to renewables in our energy systems and the eradication of emissions from our transport systems and industrial sector,” he said in a statement released through the PGBI. Alvarez said the building sector accounts for 36 percent of the Philippines’s total energy consumption, next to the transport sector, and produces 35 percent to 40 percent of carbondioxide emissions. The McKinsey Global Institute, which has studied the issue on a global basis, estimates that four of the five most cost-effective measures taken to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions involve building efficiency.

“Your roles, therefore, as builders of sustainable buildings are critical for the survival of mankind. I challenge you to be in the frontline in our battle to curb carbon emissions,” Alvarez said.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary Analiza R. Teh of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said that, while the Philippines remains committed to its promise to reduce by 70 percent its carbon emission between 2020 and 2030, it is more focused on strengthening the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities.

“Our programs and activities are geared toward strengthening our adaptive capacity, to ensure the survival of our vulnerable communities,” Teh told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on October 9, adding the decision was made in light of the urgency of enhancing adaptive capacities and strengthening resiliency in response to climate-change impacts.

“It is more on adaptation than mitigation,” Teh said. Jonathan L. Mayuga

News BusinessMirror

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Monday, November 12, 2018 A3

GMA cites role of RCEP, but timeline doubted

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

RADE tensions between the United States and China have provided the impetus for the Beijing-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told an international forum, but analysts doubt the continually changing timeline for concluding the multilateral agreement can finally be met.

The proposed mega free-trade agreement involves member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), including the Philippines, and six Asia-Pacific states, including China.

“The trade tension with the

United States provides an impetus for RCEP. With China’s participation, the proposed RCEP will be the world’s largest trading bloc,” Arroyo, an economist and former Philippine president, said in her keynote speech at the recent Boao

Forum for Asia Youth Summit 2018 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Arroyo said that days after the United States took steps toward a trade war, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need for greater cooperation and commitment to building an open economy.

She added that with RCEP combined with the “Belt and Road” initiative, China is gearing into the next stage of its development to become a fully modern and globally relevant economy as it strives for partnership in growth and development with its neighbors and the world.

By 2019?

ANALYSTS, however, doubt that the RCEP will finally be forged by 16 negotiating countries next year.

According to a draft statement

“Trade and investments relationships, such as those governed by regional agreements like the RCEP, are like the software that provide a framework for world trade and investments to thrive. But we also need the hardware, and this is where the Belt and Road initiative comes in to provide the brick-and-mortar infrastructure without which international trade and investments cannot flourish.”—Arroyo

obtained by Nikkei, membercountries are now eyeing to conclude the RCEP in 2019. Earlier this year, negotiators vowed to conclude RCEP by year-end.

But the Nikkei report said a joint statement will be released on

November 14 after the RCEP summit in Singapore. The draft statement is also reported to warn of rising protectionism.

Former Tariff Commissioner George N. Manzano expressed doubt that the new deadline next year will be met considering the delays in closing the RCEP, which is said to be potentially the world’s largest free-trade deal.

“Well the deadline has been broken several times in the past. I would treat the announcement as aspirational only,” Manzano told BusinessMirror in a message.

The RCEP is a multilateral trade agreement involving the 10 Asean members and six of its Asia-Pacific trading partners. Besides China, they are Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

In 2016 RCEP negotiating

countries comprised almost half of the world’s population and about 30 percent of global GDP and over 25 percent of world exports.

A lthough the negotiations started way back in 2013, only five of 18 chapters were so far agreed upon. These include chapters on customs procedures and trade facilitation, as well as government procurement and also chapters on small and medium enterprises and technical cooperation.

UP-based economist Ramon L. Clarete, who specializes in international economics and multilateral trade policy, also does not believe that the countries involved can beat the deadline next year.

“On my own I doubt they can,” Clarete told the BusinessMirror via SMS when asked on his See “GMA,” A12

A4 Monday, November 12, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

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PHL to Japan: Fruits for cars under PJEPA

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

M

@alyasjah

ANILA will bring down tariffs on Japanese automobiles on one condition: Tokyo must liberalize its tariff regime on farm goods, especially tropical fruits, under the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA).

According to Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo Jr., the Philippines is amenable to lowering to 5 percent the tariff on Japanese-made automobiles. In exchange, he said Japan has to reduce tariffs on Philippine tropical fruits, particularly bananas, mangoes and pineapples.

“I think there is a need [for Japan] to reduce tariffs on some of our tropical products, such as bananas, mangoes and pineapples. It is really more for agricultural products because when Japan negotiated the PJEPA and all of their other bilaterals here in [Southeast Asia], their agricultural sector is really protected,” Rodolfo told the BusinessMirror.

“The negotiation for PJEPA was started 10 years ago. The situation now might be more different, especially since Japan has joined the TPP [Trans-Pacific

Partnership],” he added.

Japan is a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TPP. With the aggressive liberalization pushed under this agreement, the Philippines hopes Japan can pursue the same in its other trade deals, including the PJEPA. Local banana exporters pay a maximum of 18-percent import duty to Japan during winter season, and 8 percent during summer. This is in contrast with Vietnam, Indonesia, among others, that are exporting bananas to Japan at zero percent.

“Tariffs for agricultural products are still significant because they are highly protected by Japan. Our good access is only for industrial products,” Rodolfo said.

If Japan can bring down tariffs on tropical fruits, then the Philippines can reduce import duties on auto-

THE Japanese government slaps a tariff of as much as 18 percent on bananas from the Philippines. To allow Filipino banana exporters to compete with their counterparts in Southeast Asia, Manila is asking Tokyo to cut tariffs on tropical fruits under a bilateral free-trade deal. FILE PHOTO

mobiles. Under the periodic review of the PJEPA, Tokyo is appealing to Manila to cut down tariffs on automobile not exceeding 3,000 cc to 5 percent, from 20 percent, said Takahiko Shiba, trade and commercial attaché of the Embassy of Japan.

“On our part, we are open as long as Tokyo lowers the tariffs on

agricultural products, particularly bananas, mangoes and pineapples, as well as poultry products. It is fruits for cars,” Rodolfo added.

In a recent interview with reporters, Shiba said the Japanese government is asking Manila to allow its 3,000 cc and below cars to enter the Philippine market at 5-percent tariff.

This is to allow Japan-made brands to be on the same playing field with South Korea-produced vehicles, which are imposed 5-percent tariff under the free-trade agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and South Korea.

“Most of tariff goods are reduced, [but] there are tariffs on automobiles

and steel products [that are still significant],” Shiba said.

Japan can cope with the import duties on steel, as it is now oversupplied across the world due to restrictive measures imposed by the United States. However, on automobiles, it cannot afford the tariffs any longer, Shiba explained.

Rodolfo and Shiba are hopeful the two economic partners will meet eye to eye on their respective appeals to bring down tariffs on their “offensive products.” The two camps will meet again for the next round of the periodic review of the PJEPA in December.

The PJEPA is the country’s first and only bilateral free-trade agreement to date. It covers trade in goods, trade in services, investments, labor, and intellectual property, among others.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the Philippines exported a total of $10.85 billion of goods to Japan in 2017.

Japan that year was the country’s top export destination, followed by the United States, Hong Kong, China and South Korea.

Top Philippine exports to Japan last year were joinery and carpentry of wood ($1.11 billion), ignition wiring sets ($934.15 million), digital monolithic integrated circuits ($689.80 million), semiconductor devices ($629.78 million) and nickel oxide sinters ($444.30 million).

House panel scrutinizes changes in 2019 national budget

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

A

SENIOR vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations on Sunday said the panel’s small committee is still finalizing all the amendments to the proposed 2019 P3.757-trillion national budget.

With this, Compostela Valley Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora said the House of Representatives cannot pass House Bill (HB) 8169, or the proposed General Appropriations Act (GA A) this week.

“Unfortunately, we’re still quite in the thick of the amendments.

Due to the volume of the amendments requested and agreed upon during the debates over HB 8169 alone, combined with the different agencies’ concerns, we’re still going through items. We’re targeting

finishing this week, and then the budget will be readied for printing,” Zamora said in an interview.

“By the third week of November, we can have the third and final reading approval [of the national budget],” she added.

She, however, assured that the next year’s budget will be signed into law in December by President Duterte.

“The small committee has been working with the secretariat day in and out, but it’s really a consuming process. Rest assured that we will pass the national budget in time for next year,” said Zamora.

The delayed approval of the national budget stemmed from the supposed P52-billion insertions made allegedly by the previous House leadership, prompting the leadership to realign the money to other projects.

The alleged insertions were already realigned to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund for the rehabilitation of areas badly hit by Typhoon Ompong, especially Cagayan Valley, Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) of the Department of Health, DOH’s Health Human Resources Development “to stave off the mass layoff of 6,000 nurses, and doctors and dentists as well,” and capital outlay of state universities and colleges.

The fund were also realigned to technical-vocational laboratories under the Department of Education; to decongest traffic in urban areas; for roads for identified tourism areas; for roads to trade areas, economic zones, livelihood centers and markets; and for the Department of Agriculture’s farmto-market roads.

Duterte: Joint oil exploration deal must be favorable to PHL

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

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RESIDENT Duterte said he will insist on getting a bigger share of oil and gas resources that will be found in the West Philippine Sea under a planned joint exploration deal between the Philippines and China.

Duterte said the Philippine government needs more resources to solve the power problem in provinces like Palawan.

“Regarding the oil, I told China, if there is really oil there and if you are the one who will be drilling the oil there, I said, ‘I will have to insist that we will get a bigger share. Because that’s ours.’ So it’s a must that [our] share is big—how will I face Palawan?” Duterte said in a speech during the first Subaraw Biodiversity Festival in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, late Saturday.

The President said he is pushing for a bigger share because the government needs money to find a solution to the persistent brownouts in Palawan.

“I needed the money because of your situation here. You still have brownouts, which last from six to eight hours. That is not acceptable to me,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

This came after Cabinet members said last week that they are not aware of any joint oil exploration deal that will be signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit this month.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. told reporters in a text message that the focus of the visit is the country’s commitment to join China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, which was already authorized by the Cabinet in a meeting last week.

In October the government sealed a $34.35-million oil exploration deal with Israeli firm Ratio Petroleum Ltd. to drill for petroleum in the East Palawan Basin.

Manila agreed to the deal as the Malampaya gas field will dry out by 2027. This could pose a “serious energy crisis” as the gas field supplies about 40 percent of Luzon’s power needs.

As part of its independent foreign policy, the Duterte administration has sought closer ties with China amid the maritime dispute.

Critics have since pointed out that the administration is following this tack in exchange for investments and funds for its infrastructure projects.

The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration backed the Philippines when it issued the landmark

decision invalidating China’s claims to the West Philippine Sea in 2016.

However, China still refuses to recognize the arbitral ruling.

The President has also said in his previous speeches that he will bring up the arbitral court’s ruling with China “at the right time.”

Ultimatum

PRESIDENT Duterte also warned power providers in Palawan that he will expropriate their franchises and give it to other players if they will not fix the power problem of the province by the end of the year.

Power interruptions have always occurred in Palawan. The Palawan Electric Cooperative has previously explained that the interruptions were due to the power line faults and problems in the generators of their independent power providers.

“I’ll give you about toward the end of the year, a new setup that would provide energy—enough energy to run a place and so that it can develop and it can operate and it can move,” he said. “You’ll have to upgrade your source of energy. Because if not, I will be the one to look for someone with money. China really wants to get hold of developments here.”

But Duterte assured that he will be expropriating the franchise at a “fair valuation.”

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Monday, November 12, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World BusinessMirror

Saudi, Iraq seen coordinating to stabilize global oil market

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AUDI Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih agreed in a meeting in Baghdad on joint coordination with Iraq to achieve more stability in the oil market, Iraqi Oil Ministry Spokesman Asim Jihad said by phone.

Al-Falih flew into Baghdad for a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi ahead of talks between Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to discuss whether to cut production amid a drop in crude prices.

Jihad declined to comment if the two officials talked directly about the possibility of cutting oil output but said that Al-Falih and Abdul Mahdi discussed ways to increase bilateral cooperation on oil and petrochemical industries via investment and possible

joint ventures.

Al-Falih flew to Abu Dhabi for talks with Opec and other producers on Sunday, according to a statement from Abdul Mahdi’s office. Iraq, the Opec’s secondbiggest producer after Saudi Arabia, has largely rebuilt its energy industry after decades of conflict and sanctions, and has announced ambitious plans to keep expanding its output capacity.

Opec and its allies meet under mounting pressure to consider renewed production cuts after a slump in oil prices. Crude on both sides of the Atlantic tumbled on

Friday as the US reported rising stocks and Washington granted waivers that lessen the impact of sanctions on Iranian crude exports. Brent crude plunged below $70 a barrel for the first time in six months, shedding 4 percent last week. WTI futures also tumbled, losing around 5 percent.

The Opec Joint Technical Committee, which met for talks ahead of Sunday’s meeting, has given a preliminary 104-percent compliance rate to its cuts deal in October, according to a delegate. The producers’ group implemented a compliance of about 111 percent of its pledged cuts in September and has agreed to boost supply by restoring 100 percent compliance. A person familiar said the committee sees a supply surplus in 2019 if current oilmarket production and demand trends continue.

T he I nter n at ion a l Energ y Agency has repeatedly called for Opec to open the taps to ensure global demand for crude is met.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol has spoken of the market entering “a red zone” if output losses from Venezuela and exports from Iran are not offset.

The producer group and its allies has been rapidly ramping up output since May, responding to political pressure from US President Donald J. Trump and offsetting supply losses from Iran and Venezuela. Now, it’s considering a U-turn.

“The focus is on negative sentiment in oil,” said Giovanni Staunovo, a commodity analyst at UBS Group AG. “It’ll be interesting to see if some stick with their shorts over the weekend with the Opec meeting.”

Sudden reversal

MINISTERS from Opec and its allies will meet and discuss scenarios including the possibility of cutting production again next year, according to delegates. Some members are concerned that inventories are rising, they said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private.

Another reversal would seem to be a far cry from the usual Opec mantra of preserving stability and careful market stewardship. Yet, it does reflect the level of uncertainty in a market experiencing huge shifts in supply and demand.

In the United States, crude production increased to a record 11.6 million barrels a day last week and stockpiles rose by 5.8 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration. Opec’s own output in October reached the highest level since 2016, while Russia last month pumped 11.4 million barrels a day, a post-Soviet record.

On top of the danger of overproduction, there’s also the risk to demand from faltering emergingmarket economies and a trade war between the US and China.

If the group does ultimately decide fresh cutbacks are necessary, it would mark its second production U-turn this year. For Saudi Arabia—the world’s biggest crude exporter—it would be the third time in recent years that the kingdom has delivered a supply surge only to quickly reverse it.

First there are a number of challenges to resolve. The Saudis will need to once again secure the support of rival-turned-partner Russia, which has less need for high oil prices. There’s also the risk of antagonizing Trump, who has repeatedly accused the group of inflating prices. Bloomberg News

China’s annual online shopping 2 Koreas complete frenzy shatters another record the disarming of 22 guard posts

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A BOARD makes a milestone of sales passing the RMB10 billion or $1.4-billion mark minutes into the start of Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival held in Shanghai, China, early Sunday. What started out 10 years ago as a day of online promotion with $7.8 million in sales has grown into the world’s biggest e-commerce event generating $25.3 billion in 2017. AP PHOTO/NG HAN GUAN

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HANGHAI—Online shoppers spent more than $14 billion within the first two hours of China’s annual buying frenzy on Sunday, once again breaking records as the consumer tradition enters its 10th year.

The spending binge breaks from gloomy forecasts about the world’s second-largest economy, which is struggling with a tariff war with the United State, a stock market slump and slowing overall growth.

Known as Singles Day, the clamor for deals and discounts was heralded with characteristic fanfare

by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which has turned an unofficial holiday for people without romantic partners into a yearly windfall for digital retailers.

A massive screen at Alibaba’s gala in Shanghai showed the surging sales numbers in real time: At two minutes and five seconds after midnight, 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) in purchases had been made on Alibaba’s platforms. By the one hour and 47-minute mark, that number had increased tenfold.

Singles Day began as a spoof

event celebrated by unattached Chinese university students in the 1990s. In Chinese, it’s called “Double 11,” after the numbers in the month and date. The improvised holiday has since been co-opted by e-retailers and transformed into China’s version of Cyber Monday— the busiest time for online shopping in the US. The Twitter-like Weibo platform was blanketed with Singles Dayrelated posts on Sunday, from users proudly proclaiming that they had resisted the shopping urge this year to those who cheerfully listed an array of mundane purchases.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who will step down as chairman in less than a year, attended the start of the gala in Shanghai and appeared in a video message in which he wrapped up live hair crabs, a popular online purchase.

Singles Day “is not a day of discounts, but rather a day of gratitude,” Ma said in the video. “It’s when retailers use the best products and best prices to show their gratitude to our consumers.”

Chinese e-commerce platforms

have come under fire in the past for peddling low-quality and counterfeit items. Hong Tao, an economics professor at Beijing Technology and Business University, said Singles Day encourages shoppers to prioritize cheap prices over high quality, causing them to purchase items they don’t need.

“People are swept up in the festivities,” Hong said in a phone interview. “This burst of consumption, confined to just one day, can be exhausting for both buyers and sellers.”

The occasion also has big environmental implications.

While both Alibaba and competitor JD.com have pledged to use biodegradable packaging to cut down on waste, research conducted this month by Greenpeace East Asia said many plastics marked “biodegradable” and used by Chinese e-retailers can only break down under high temperatures in facilities that are limited in number across the country.

Greenpeace estimated that by 2020, “biodegradable” packaging could produce roughly 721 truckloads of trash in China every day. AP

EOUL, South Korea—The North and South Korean militaries completed withdrawing troops and firearms from 22 frontline guard posts on Saturday as they continue to implement a wide-ranging agreement reached in September to reduce tensions across the world’s most fortified border, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said.

South Korea says the military agreement is an important trustbuilding step that would help stabilize peace and advance reconciliation between the rivals. But critics say the South risks conceding some of its conventional military strength before North Korea takes any meaningful steps on denuclearization—an anxiety that’s growing as the larger nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang seemingly drift into a stalemate.

South Korea reportedly has about 60 guard posts—bunker-like concrete structures surrounded with layers of barbed-wire fences and manned by soldiers equipped with machine guns—stretched across the ironically named Demilitarized Zone.

The 248-kilometer (155-mile) border buffer peppered with millions of land mines has been the site of occasional skirmishes between the two forces since the 1950 to 1953 Korean War. The North is believed to have about 160 guard posts within

the DMZ. In the September military agreement, reached on the sidelines of a summit in Pyongyang between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the Koreas pledged to eventually withdraw all guard posts within the DMZ, but to start by removing 11 from each side as a “preliminary” measure.

The South Korean Defense Ministry official said soldiers on Saturday completed disarming 11 guard posts on the southern side of the DMZ. He said the ministry believes the North has also finished withdrawing personnel and weapons from 11 guard posts on the northern side of the DMZ. He didn’t want to be named, citing office rules.

The Koreas plan to destroy 20 of the structures by the end of November, while symbolically leaving one demilitarized guard post on each side.

They plan to jointly verify the results in December. The Koreas also in the September deal agreed to create buffer zones along their land and sea boundaries and a no-fly zone above the border, which took effect on November 1.

The Koreas and the US-led UN Command recently finished removing firearms and troops from a jointly controlled area at the border village of Panmunjom and eventually plan to allow tourists to freely move around there. AP

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Erdogan: Saudi officials, others heard tapes of Khashoggi death

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NKARA, Turkey—Officials from Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, France and Britain have listened to audio recordings related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey’s president said on Saturday, in the first public acknowledgement of the existence of tapes of the slaying.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also told reporters that Saudi Arabia had to “act fairly” and disclose those responsible for the Octover 2 killing of The Washington Post journalist to rid itself of “suspicion.”

“We gave them the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to America, to the Germans, the French, to the British, to all of them,” Erdogan said before departing for Paris to attend ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. “They [Saudi officials] also listened to the conversations and they know. There is no need to distort this. They know for certain who among the 15 is the killer or are the killers,” he said.

He was referring to an alleged 15-member assassination squad that Turkey believes was sent to kill Khashoggi at the consulate where he had arrived to obtain papers to marry his Turkish fiancée.

CIA Director Gina Haspel, who visited Turkey last month for information on the investigation, is reported to have heard the audio recordings of the killing. The existence of the recordings was leaked to the media but never openly confirmed until now.

Turkey says Khashoggi, who was critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was strangled and dismembered at the consulate as part of a premeditated killing.

Media reports have suggested that his body could have been chemically dissolved.

Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 suspects who have been detained in Saudi Arabia, so they can be put on trial in Turkey. They include the 15 members of the alleged assassination squad.

Saudi Arabia had insisted for weeks after Khashoggi disappeared that he had walked out of the consulate, before changing its account to say he died in a brawl.

Last month Saudi Arabia acknowledged that Turkish evidence indicates that Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, shifting its explanation in an apparent effort to ease international outrage over the death.

Saudi officials characterize the killing as a rogue operation carried out by Saudi agents who exceeded their authority. Yet, some of those implicated in the killing are close to the crown prince, including a member of the prince’s entourage on foreign trips who was seen at the consulate before Khashoggi’s slaying.

Erdogan accused Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor, who was sent to Istanbul last month as part of a joint probe, of employing “delaying tactics.” AP

EU’s Tusk has ‘different views’ from Trump on global order

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UROPEAN Union President Donald Tusk said he has “different views” from US President Donald J. Trump on trans-Atlantic relations and other elements of geopolitical order, pushing back after the American leader’s latest criticism of Europe.

Tusk’s remarks came after Trump called “very insulting” comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that a “strong and sovereign Europe” was needed to defend its interests against China, Russia and “even the United States.” Macron moved to smooth relations at a meeting with Trump in Paris on Saturday.

“As far as I recall, today for the first

time in history we have an American administration which, to put it delicately, is not very enthusiastically tuned in to a united, strong Europe,” Tusk said in a speech in Poland on Saturday. “And I’m talking here about facts, not about propaganda statements. And I say this as someone who has—let’s say—the satisfaction of having fairly frequent direct exchanges with the president of the United States,” Tusk said.

“Maybe he’s quite open with me because we are namesakes, and I have no doubt whatsoever that in those matters which— in my view—are the geopolitical foundation of Poland’s independence, namely a strong European

Union, close integration between Europe and the United States, even closer than today, and the trans-Atlantic community, which is the essence of the global order, I have no doubt that with regard to all of this I have different views from my most influential namesake in the world,” Tusk said.

Tusk also said that “today’s dynamic balance” between the US and China “may soon turn into a highly dynamic imbalance.” The evolution of the China-US relationship is important, he said, because “everything that happens in Washington and Beijing affects our future, both directly and indirectly.” Bloomberg News

Banking& Finance BusinessMirror Monday, November 12, 2018

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Economists share mixed views on BSP’s next move

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By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

OLLOWING the lower-thanexpected growth figures for the third quarter, analysts are now betting on what the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will give priority to in its upcoming monetary-policy meeting this week—taming inflation or propping up growth.

In its latest commentary on the Philippine economic dynamics, Fitch Solutions—the research arm of Fitch Group—believes the BSP will continue to hike rates in their upcoming meeting despite the risks of rising interest rates dampening consumer spending.

“We believe that the rate-hiking cycle in the Philippines and in the US is far from over, given the expansionary fiscal stance in both countries, which is exerting upside pressure on inflation,” Fitch Solutions said.

“Furthermore, the BSP is unlikely to keep real interest rates in negative territory, as this would remove a crucial support for the peso, particularly at a time when risk aversion is rising globally, and the US Fed is maintaining a hawkish stance,” it added.

The think tank’s forecast is for BSP to hike its policy interest rate by an additional 25 basis points to 4.75 percent by the end of 2018, and by another 75 basis points in total to 5.5 percent by the end of 2019.

The BSP Monetary Board is expected to meet on Thursday. This will be their second to the last meeting for the year.

However, ING Bank shared contrasting views for the BSP’s next move, saying it will likely halt any movement off the table to prop up its growth numbers.

“Until the Philippines GDP [gross domestic product] release, our house view had been for a 25-basis-point BSP rate hike at the meeting next week. That’s now been revised to no change, probably through the rest of the year,” ING Bank economist Prakash Sakpal said in its most recent review of central banks in the region.

ING Bank economists say the weak GDP argues for “dovish undertones” from BSP officials, prompting guesses that the aggressive rate hikes to curb inflation will be paused, at the least, on Thursday.

Following the 6.7-percent inflation print announcement, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said the October inflation data supports their view that inflation pressures are “finally” moderating.

“The Monetary Board will take into account these and other incoming data including GDP, at its next policy meeting when it determines if there’s still need for further policy-rate adjustments,” Espenilla said earlier.

The governor did not issue any statements following the release of the country’s third-quarter gross numbers.

Both Fitch Solutions and ING Bank revised their growth outlook of the Philippines downward for this year, both seeing a 6.2-percent average growth for the year.

Financial grants law seen to boost MSMEs

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ONGRESS is being asked to fast-track passage of a bill providing for a minimum P10,000 outright grant to start-up eligible MSMEs, or micro, small and medium-scale enterprises producing locally made goods all over the country.

Once passed into law, Senate Bill 2049, filed by Sen. Grace Poe, mandates the government to put up a trust fund with a P50-million seed capital, the disbursement of which will be administered by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Poe’s proposed law seeks to institutionalize the state-run stimulus program for MSMEs tapping “all cities and municipalities to promote a particular product or finished good within their jurisdiction.”

The senator adds that each city and municipality shall be made to identify one finished good that is not only well-known but also “an established product” in their locality.

According to Poe, the bill aims “to breathe life into the Constitutional provisions” by establishing a “Suporta para sa Produktong Pilipino Program,” referring to the declared policy of the government to establish programs that will provide financial incentives for local enterprises in the country.

Poe points out that “the concept of social justice is imbued throughout the 1987 Constitution,” adding that, “in fact, an entire article is dedicated to the elaboration of this concept.”

She explains that eligible MSMEs, which primarily operate within the city or municipality concerned and which produce the identified finished goods, shall be eligible to avail themselves of the said fund grant.

Poe’s bill provides that, in order to be eligible for the said program, businesses and enterprises must first provide documentary evidence attesting they have been operating within the concerned city or municipality for at least three years and have been producing the identified finished good for the same period.

The bill further provides that no business or enterprise shall avail themselves of such benefit more than once a year.

Moreover, it mandates the DTI to also put up regular trade fairs and bazaars where the eligible businesses and enterprises covered by the proposed law can promote their finished goods to potential investors, as well as consumers. Butch Fernandez

Green Monday BusinessMirror

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Monday, November 12, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Earth fast losing its soil cover

By Michael A. Bengwayan | Special to the BusinessMirror

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ASHINGTON, D.C.—A global environmental crisis is unfolding in nightmarish proportion—the rapid loss of the Earth’s pedosphere, the soil cover (blanket) of the Earth.

The pedosphere as a whole, is especially important ecologically, because the soil functions as unique habitat for a great diversity of life forms, links geological and biological substances circulating in the terrestrial ecosystems and the biosphere; and, provides soil fertility in agriculture and biological productivity.

The crisis is worsening soil erosion and loss, which the prestigious Worldwatch Institute (WI) based here said is worse than earlier thought and is the “next biggest long-term threat to world economic progress and stability after climate change.”

WI monitors changes in the global resource base—land, water, biological support systems, energy—and analyses how these affect the global economy. It provides warnings in its annual State of the World reports.

As the global population grows, farmers the world over are under tremendous pressure to produce more food and, in turn, leaves little time for croplands to replenish their lost nutrients.

The effects of the rapid deterioration of the planet’s pedosphere, according to WI can be gleaned through the following: n Farmers are obliged to build agricultural terraces up the mountain slopes negligent of the technological knowhow their forefathers once applied. These hastily built terraces often give way to landslides exacting a heavy toll in human lives. This is true in the mountain regions of Nepal, Philippines, China, Pakistan and the Andes. n Over 1 billion tons of soil flow freely from Ethiopia’s highlands each year worsening the famine situation that has become a fact of life. n The former Soviet countries lose some 2.3 billion tons of soil annually threatening the world’s largest cropland area. n In the US, erosion has been spurred by the shift to large heavy farm equipment and the enlargement of the fields, which eliminated many natural boundary constraints on erosion of soil by both wind and water.

Global inaction

WI lamented there is a worldwide inaction to arrest rapid soil erosion, that there are not enough steps being taken to conserve soil, and that humans continue with their profligate ways in the use and abuse of this valuable resource.

Howe ver ser iou s t he top soil erosion may be, it is not widely perceived unlike floods, droughts, earthquakes and other climate-change impacts, this human-made disaster is fastly unfolding. The seeming lack of perception and understanding is shrouded by bountiful harvests and deforestation.

The UN Environmental Program (UNEP) figures show almost 4 million acres of land—equivalent to 23 billion tons of soil—are lost yearly with China, the US, India and the countries making up the former Soviet Union contributing to the worst soil loss.

Both the developed and developing countries are guilty of allowing this tragic event to occur, although soil loss in developing nations is worse because continuous land use limits new soil formation.

In developing countries, the warning stage has reached crisis level as soil degradation has reached 50 tons per square kilometer loss, exceeding the international standard of 30 tons to 35 tons per sq km soil loss per year.

The Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand reports annual soil loss since 2000 in the country has reached 330 tons per sq km,

with the erosion rate higher in the mining and logged-over areas.

The unusual erosion rate— which is resulting in sedimentation of croplands due to sand and silt—is greatly affecting agricultural production, decreasing it to as much as 100 percent as practically all crops fail in onceproductive lands.

Dr. Kasem Chankeaw of the Institute of Environmental Studies of Chulalongkorn University said that in Changmai, northern Thailand, farmers could not grow anything because farms have been filled with sediments washed down from upper areas.

African oil palm no soil saver

In Malaysia and Indonesia, erosion is occurring already at an alarming pace, where large tracts of land were cleared for the African oil palm plantations, housing, and road and highway construction.

T he g roup S a h a bat A l a m (Friends of the Earth Society) said millions of tons of topsoil are lost on Indonesia and Malaysia’s steeplands planted to oil palm. Severe soil degradation happens as erosion carries away fertile topsoil and nutrients, especially at the early stage of field development.

It said soil loss in both countries is a direct and obvious outcome of the rapid clearance of forests to accommodate palm oil plantations. It warned that agricultural and forest productivity are being reduced because erosion has an adverse effect on the soil’s capability to support agricultural crops or forest regeneration.

Sahabat Alam, a critic of the Malaysian government’s environmental policies, added that millions of tons of soil continue to be eroded and washed away into rivers since 1980 Under the canopy of palm oil— Indonesia and Malaysia’s golden crop—soil is washed away at a rate of 15 tons per hectare annually. In land being cleared for planting of the crop, the losses are even heavier, officials from

the Department of Geography in the University of Malaya (UM) in Kuala Lumpur said.

Experiments conducted on one oil palm scheme in 1990 showed that about 80 tons of Earth were washed away for every hectare cleared in a year. This rate of loss was higher in croplands cleared for other crops, such as sugarcane, pineapples and cereals and grains, UM found out.

Top soil connects all life

About 93 percent of land animal species and 92 percent of all plantlife are connected to the pedosphere or topsoil. Simply said, without the topsoil, their chances of survival is slim. As more topsoil are lost, their extinction becomes more possible.

Soil scientists say it takes 150 years for nature to form just 1 inch of topsoil. This means when soil erosion occurs, it can take much longer for an ecosystem to recover than if the soil wasn’t so severely disturbed.

If an ecosystem has been very degraded due to soil erosion, it will take a very long time for its biodiversity to recover, if it even recovers in that area at all.

The loss of topsoil often results in the death of many native plants.

As a consequence, it threatens the survival of animal diversity that depends on these native plants for existence.

In some cases, the eroded soil is so disturbed that the landscape becomes completely barren, and not much plant life will even grow there anymore.

This barren landscape ultimately leads to a major decrease in ecosystem biodiversity for many organisms that can no longer live there.

Bengwayan has a masters degree and PhD in Development Studies and Environmental Resource Management from University College Dublin, Ireland, as a European Union fellow. He is currently a fellow of Echoing Green Foundation in New York.

The Earth is fast losing its pedosphere or soil cover.

Halloween cleanup for future generations

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ver 60 divers celebrated Halloween in a different manner. They had no candles nor flowers. They went underwater not to check on tombs.

Instead, they dove in Anilao in Mabini, Batangas, and collected trash in the deep in order to help clean and preserve it for future generations, and to raise awareness about the problem of plastics use, while they banded together.

Collecting about 274 pounds of mixed trash—such as discarded fish nets, PET bottles, grocery bags, cigarette butts and many others—the Halloween cleanup demonstrated how single-use plastics have been threatening the fragile oceans for decades now and is now a major global problem which needs to be addressed.

Single-use plastics, which are used by billions of people daily, is now the No. 1 source of pollution

affecting the oceans. Conservation groups abroad have found marine life and sea birds with microplastics in their digestive systems during an autopsy on them. They said wildlife animals mistakenly consume plastics as food.

It is this reason the group Dirty Hands Divers was formed by concerned divers Warren Co, Jojo Gador, John Calbalde, Eugene Te and resort manager Janneth Cubabab.

Their Halloween event not only gave reason for divers to be unit-

Members of Dirty Hands Divers make their Halloween more significant by cleaning the water off Anilao in Batangas by collecting underwater trash. Roedin Jeric

ed but also gave the ocean a voice through the efforts of more than 60 volunteer divers.

Held during the weekend of October 26 and 27, the awareness effort was not only educational but also provided a platform where different diver groups were given the opportunity to work together not just by celebrating Halloween for fun but also for many dirty hands sweeping the ocean of debris and also collectively helping build several coral nests to help replenish the declining coral population.

The Dirty Hand Divers plans to do more underwater cleanup, believing that communication must be addressed on a sustained basis.

Those interested in joining the cause, can contact Jun V. Lao at 09159473888 or follow the Dirty Hands Divers page on Facebook for more information.

A Taw’buid gatherer Gregg Yan

Wanted: New equipment for tamaraw rangers

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he Iglit-Baco Natural Park in Mindoro spans 75,445 hectares and is dominated

by Mount Baco (2,488 meters) and Mount Iglit (2,364 meters). Eight major river systems wend through its grassy peaks.

The park is famed for hosting the best-protected population of tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis), Earth ’s most endangered buffalo species. Droves of mountain climbers and birdwatchers visit— intent on seeing flying jewels like the Mindoro hornbill and Mindoro bleeding heart.

The park is also home to the reclusive Taw’buid, largest of the eight tribes collectively called Mangyan—the others being the A langan, Bangon, Buhid, Hanunuo, Iraya, Ratagnon and Tadyawan. The last time I visited the area was when the World Wide Fund for Nature, Tamaraw Conservation Programme (TCP) and National Geographic gave the tribe a shipment of solar lamps.

The Taw’buid holds a special place in my heart.

This year I was invited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to join the second Bio-Camp, an annual move to enhance public support for Tamaraw conservation.

UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (Biofin) works to mobilize resources to finance nature and sustainable development, deliver more efficient outcomes, improve spending efficiency and c hoose c u r rent invest ments, which can save money in the future. Biofin helps close the funding gap to implement critica l ly impor tant biodiversit yconservation projects.

Led by TCP Coordinator June Pined a, par t icipants Bibiana Aguha, Jes Aznar, Mitch de Juan, Kim Lim, Nella Lomotan, Bernard Magcarang, Gab Mejia, Maricor Montalbo, Celine Murillo, Angie Ogena, Kamille Rosales, Mitch Tuyan, Derald Umali and Gab Visenio a l l summited Mount Magawang, saw tamaraw in the wild and had lively discussions on how best to help rangers— the real heroes of the Iglit-Baco Natural Park.

Rangers on patrol

“If the rangers disappear, the tamaraw disappear. The Taw’buid believe that if the tamaraw disappears, their people will too. We can thus say our Tamaraw Rangers are key to sustaining the natural habitat of the tamaraw within the IglitBaco Natural Park,” Pineda said.

We were accompanied by three

kinds of rangers: Park rangers safeguard the park against poachers, tamaraw rangers lead expeditions and protect tamaraw wherever they may be, while wardens are rangers-in-training.

“Tamaraw patrols are sent out once or twice weekly and last about three days each,” explained TCP Field Operations Officer Ed Bata.

“Last August we found a tamaraw skull and the lower left jawbone of a Philippine deer—probably shot for meat by hunters. Poachers come at night, flashlights rigged under the barrels of illegally acquired long-arms like M14s.”

As I found in Borneo for a wildlife adventure years back, many wild animals stop and stare at bright lights at night, their eyes glowing a freaky red.

“Our equipment is old. Our last computer broke down recently.

Though we badly need new gear, our rangers will keep going,” Pineda promised. “It is from them that I draw strength.”

Jungle engineers

As we crossed the rickety bridge, I realized how the brave, resourceful rangers of TCP and the IglitBaco Natural Park surmounted these obstacles all the time— fording swollen rivers, patrolling against heavily armed poachers, dismantling dangerous springloaded spike traps set illegally within the park’s core zone.

Building bridges and keeping a lifeline to the lowlands has kept the park and its end a ngere d a n i m a l s a l ive a nd thriv ing. T his year, the park ’s tamaraw nu mbers swel led to 523, the highest recorded since conser vation efforts began.

“We rangers have dodged bullets and charging tamaraw. Once I slid down a mountain, for we were patrolling without lights,” said Ranger Team Leader Ronnie Estrella. “We even chased off a dozen poachers with kwitis, or fireworks, because we had no guns! This has become much more than a job for us. This is where many of us have devoted our lives.”

Making do with equipment which have seen better days, the plucky rangers are every bit as tough as the tamaraw they protect.

Mindoro’s tamaraw rangers need new GPS units, spotting scopes, binoculars, laptops and field uniforms. Any help to the Ta m a r aw Con ser v at ion P ro gramme may be course through +63977 809 1498. As I found wh i le repa i r i ng t h at r ic ket y bridge, help goes a long way.

Gregg Yan/Best Alternatives

Biodiversity Monday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, November 12, 2018 A9

Health Secretary Duque: Biodiversity affects health

H

Story by Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

ealth Secretary Francisco T. Duque III expressed alarm over the decreasing nutritional contents of food even with the increasing production of staple crops, such as rice, corn and wheat.

The increased global demand for food reflected in intensified and enhanced food production, and the continuous use of fertilizers and pesticides, harm biodiversity, he said.

Duque added that the burden of malnutrition remains a global health challenge and the single largest contributor to the global burden of disease.

Addressing malnutrition, he said that by ensuring food security and dietary adequacy, which is further enhanced by taking into account biodiversity considerations, is something that the Department of Health under his watch gives importance to in its various programs and initiatives.

Duque made these remarks as he discussed how biodiversity directly affects human health during the kick off of the Asean workshop on linking biodiversity and human health at a hotel in Alabang from November 5 to 7.

“Threats to biodiversity are

tantamount to threats to human health,” he warned.

It was organized by Asean Centre for Biodiversity, headed

by Theresa Mundita S. Lim, a biodiversity expert, in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat, and the United Nations University’s Institute for International Global Health and hosted by the Departments of Health and Environment and Natural Resources. The workshop wa s a l so suppor ted by the European Union, through the Biodiversity Conser vation and Management or Protected Areas in Asean Project.

The event convened experts from the Ministries of Environment and Health in the Asean countries to discuss national experiences and best practices on integrating biodiversity and human health.

During his speech, Duque said

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III delivers his keynote message during the opening of the regional workshop on biodiversity and health. ACB photo

besides food security, biodiversity is directly linked to human health through pharmaceutical development and traditional medicine, and the emergence and spread of infectious diseases in animals,

plants and humans.

He said biodiversity has provided animal-based and plantbased sources for the production of breakthrough pharmaceutical products like antibiotics which

Threats to biodiversity are tantamount to threats to human health.”—Duque Nicobar Islands. Over 50 million migratory waterbirds, including 8 million waders, are using the route annually.

Increased sightings

Migratory birds swarm in Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area. DENR-Strategic Communication Initiatives Service

High hopes for migratory waterbirds

A

s a news report shows an upward trend for migratory waterbirds in Africa, Europe and Asia, wildlife and conservation experts in the Philippines believe the campaign to protect and conserve these threatened species are finally paying off.

They believe the country’s efforts provided the much-needed boost in the regional and global effort to protect and conserve migratory birds as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shares the results of the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) 2018.

It included sightings of new recordings and potentially new species of migratory birds, underscoring the need to further strengthen the protection of these longdistance flyers and their temporary habitats in various parts of the country, as well as its neighbors in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines belongs to the East AsiaAustralasia Flyway, one of nine major routes of migratory birds recognized globally, and takes part in the annual bird count being spearheaded by the DENR. The AWC forms part of the International Waterbird Census (IWC), which records the global population of migratory birds.

Upward trend

The overall status of waterbird populations

listed on the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement has slightly improved over the last 10 years, according to the seventh edition of the AEWA Conservation Status Review of Migratory Waterbirds in the Agreement Area, which provides a long-term view of the changing status of migratory waterbird populations listed under AEWA. The finding was released ahead of the celebration of World Migratory Bird Day on October 13. The World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated every second Saturday of May and October.

An annual UN-backed global awarenessraising and environmental education campaign, the World Migratory Bird Day is focused in the need for international cooperation to conserve migratory birds.

“The upward trend assessed in the report is due to concerted conservation actions along the birds’ migration routes, the socalled flyways. These ranges from targeted species action plan for the most threatened species to ensure that hunting of widespread waterbird species is sustainable,” a statement posted in the World Migratory Bird Day 2018 web site.

“More than 60 percent of populations of the species covered by AEWA are stable or increasing. Pelicans, cormorants, avocets and stilts, flamingos and storks

are the waterbird families with the highest proportion of increasing populations.

However, crane and auk numbers are in strong decline. And the highest proportion of populations on the Endangered International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List are in Eastern and Southern Africa,” the report added.

However, while AEWA is successful with the recovery of threatened species, the report noted that the challenge is for the treaty to stop the decline among the more common waterbirds as they are facing habitat degradation or reduction in at least some parts of their ranges.

A global trend?

The report is a positive indication and may well reflect a global trend, including that in the East Asia-Australasia Flyway of which the Philippines is part and a contracting party, Anson Tagtag, chief of the DENRBMB’s Wildlife Management Section told the B usiness M irror.Tagtag is the country’s coordinator for the IWC and AWC. The East Asia/Australasia Flyway extends from Arctic Russia and North America to the southern limits of Australia and New Zealand. It encompasses large parts of East Asia, all of Southeast Asia and includes eastern India and the Andaman and

There is an increased sighting of migratory birds in the Philippines in the last four years from 2014 to 2017.

From a high of 405,800 birds recorded in 2013, only 287,807 birds were recorded in 2014; 301,641 in 2015; 239,923 in 2016; and 320,164 in 2017.

Slightly fewer birds were recorded during the bird count held in January and February this year as part of the Asian Waterbird Census 2018.

Based on the data provided by the DENRBMB, a total of 302,254 birds were counted in 269 sites covered by the simultaneous activity this year. This is slightly lower than the 320,164 birds recorded in 2017.

However, more bird species were recorded this year which were not readily identified by census participants, including 50 cormorants; 16,592 bitterns, herons and egrets; four unidentified storks; 110 unidentified ducks; 4,040 unidentified shorebirds; 40 unidentified gulls; 5,080 unidentified terms.

Some of these are potentially new recordings or possibly new species of birds in the migratory bird sites being monitored by the DENR and its partners.

At the Naujan Lake, a Ramsar Site, for instance, the result of the bird count on January 18 showed 5,523 birds which were fewer than the 6,907 counted last year. However, potentially two new species— garganeys and Eurasian wigeons—were spotted among the ducks visiting the lake during migration season.

The Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. also reported in June of a rare sighting of a Christmas frigatebird, a globally threatened species, while conducting a study at the Apo Reef Natural Park.

Central Luzon recorded the most number of birds with 67,549 in Pampanga province, making it the province with the most number of birds counted.

Meanwhile, the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Cebu in Central Visayas topped the individual site with the most number of migratory birds recorded, with a total of 20,086 birds in January.

Heron and egrets; geese and ducks; rails, gallinules and coots, were among the 98 species identified during the count, with little egret topping the most number of birds counted per species.

Migrator y birds help keep an ecosystem healthy. As they feed, these biological agents control the population

have healed humans, animals and even plants for many centuries.

As much as 70 percent of citizens in developing countries use and passed on traditional medicines to generations.

He explained that overharvesting, habitat alteration and climate change are among the major drivers of declines in commercially important wild-plant resources used for pharmaceutical development and traditional medicine.

With the emergence of antimicrobial resistance—a phenomenon, which threatens the ver y core of disease control interventions—there is a stronger need to conserve biodiversity to increase the natural sources for food and medicines.

Meanwhile, Duque said social and environmental changes are directly linked to urbanization, mobility and deforestation, which has created new opportunities for infection, while the rapid adaptation of microorganisms has facilitated the return of old communicable diseases and emergence of new ones.

The situation, he added, is worsened by globalization and regional integration.

Migration has resulted in a sma l ler world w it h seam less porous borders rendering fewer barriers against the spread of infectious disease.

Healthy and stable natural ecosystems can provide the backstop to the spread of zoonotic infectious disease.

Duque cited the United Nations for coming up with Sust a i n able De ve lopment Goa l s which emphasize the balance of three goals—economic, social and environmental.

He also praised the WHO for its report on health, environment and climate change, which identified the ways forward to strengthen the collaboration between stakeholders working on biodiversity and in health.

The WHO report highlighted the need for further scientific research on the links between biodiversity and health and the critical roles of the WHO, the CBD Secretariat and Asean nations.

Duque c h a l lenged pa r t ic ipants of the Asean workshop to lay the foundation for joint work programs that would mainstream health and biodiversity linkages in national strategies, policies and programs, and foster stronger regional collaboration.

Lim said the workshop was part of a series of Asean advocacy on mainstreaming biodiversity—the integration of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in development sectors, such as health, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, science, technology and education.

The advocacy also highlights the importance of biodiversity in sustainable development, poverty reduction, climate-change adaptation and mitigation, business, trade and international cooperation.

of potentially harmful insects, leave feces that fertilize the soil, help make water bodies healthy for fish to thrive, drop countless seeds of the fruits they eat that naturally regenerating degraded forests.

But over the years, the population of migratory birds continues to decline owing to numerous factors—including habitat loss, hunting for food, illegal wildlife trade or for games trophy, which is aggravated by biodiversity loss caused by drastic changes in climatic conditions.

(LGUs) hosting these migratory bird sites are gaining traction.

“This can also mean that the sites are now well protected because of increased awareness of their importance, such as for ecotourism. Some LGUs have shown interest in protecting these migratory bird sites because of potential ecotourism revenues,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.

Safe haven

The country’s strategic location provides migratory birds more than a temporary refuge during the migration season as these birds, considered as ecosystems indicator, escape the colder regions.

The DENR maintains a safe haven for these birds.

According to BirdLife International, the Philippines has 117 important bird areas covering 32,302 square kilometers that act as a refuge for as many as 115 globally threatened species of water birds.

The Philippines has seven Ramsar S i te s o r We t l a n d s o f I nte r n at i o n a l Importance, with a combined surface area of 244,017 hectares.

Besides the Naujan Lake National Park, the other Ramsar Sites are the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area, Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area, Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park. As protected areas, these sites are declared as areas set aside for conservation.

Interviewed by the B usiness M irror via phone last month, Tagtag said any upward trend in the annual bird count does not mean there is already an increasing population.

However, such “trend” is a good sign because it means the effort to monitor the annual migration is gaining support with environmentalists, conser vation advocates, bird-watchers and hobbyists helping out to do the count, hence covering more areas.

Increased number of birds or species recorded during the bird count may also be a positive sign or an indication that the conservation effort is also paying off noting that migrator y birds are considered as an indicator of the health of an ecosystem.

In such case, he said it means the DENR’s communication, education and public-awareness campaign with the help of other national government agencies, including the local government units

Regional connectivity

For her part, Theresa Mundita S. Lim, executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity, underscored the importance of protecting the network of protected a re a s t h at s u p p o r t t h e s u r v i va l o f migratory birds, such as in the East Asia/ Australasia Flyway.

“Increased sighting doesn’t necessarily translate to increase in the population of the birds. It could also mean increased effort in migratory bird monitoring in the range countries. It is nevertheless still a good indication of the increasing awareness of communities, for more people are now taking part in the annual bird count and monitoring,” she said.

According to Lim, a former chief of the DENR-BMB, effective management of protected areas or national parks in Southeast Asia that are wintering areas of migratory bird species in the region—such as the Ba Be National Park in Vietnam, the Tubbataha Reefs in the Philippines, the Sungei Buloh wetland reserve in Singapore—is vital in keeping the population of migratory birds healthy.

“In planning for infrastructure for various development projects in the region, it is important to take these areas into account, as the decline of migratory species is also an indicator of deteriorating ecosystems that serve as natural adaptation measures against climate change and for providing food security,” she said.

“Protecting these important feeding a n d wate r i n g a re a s f o r m i g r ato r y species from human encroachment and unsustainable agricultural practices also help control the emergence of diseases by minimizing contact and exposure among humans, domestic and wild birds to mutating viruses and other diseasecausing agents,” she stressed.

Whether there is an increase in the population of these waterbirds, an upward trend or even increased sighting of newly recorded or new species of migratory birds, including those that are already globally endangered are a welcome development and gives conservation advocates renewed hope for these globally threatened migratory birds. Jonathan L. Mayuga

A10 Monday, November 12, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

The judicial system is the problem

T

WO court decisions came down last week. One was in regard to criminal activity and the other was a civil case. Both illustrate the failure of the Philippine judicial system.

The Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of the K to 12 basic education program of the government. The Sandiganbayan court found former first lady Imelda Marcos guilty of graft. The civil case upheld the law passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President in 2013. The criminal case against Mrs. Marcos was filed in 1991 and took nearly three decades to adjudicate.

In the “Pirkei Avot”—the first compilation of the oral teachings of the Jewish Rabbis—it says: “The sword comes upon the world because of the delaying of justice and the perverting of justice”. The basis of much of western law—the Magna Carta of 1215—reads in Clause 40: “To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, rights or justice.”

A nation’s economy is only as strong as its banking system. A nation’s society is only as strong as its judicial system.

From the most recent Index of Economic Freedom regarding the Philippines: “Judicial independence is strong, but the courts are plagued by inefficiency, low pay, intimidation, delays and long case backlogs. Corruption and cronyism are pervasive.”

The judicial system and the application of the law is a part of every facet of society. We complain about how difficult it can be to start and maintain a business in the Philippines. Certainly, many of the problems are due to the inefficiency of the bureaucracy and too many overlapping jurisdictions.

However, of all the factors that make up the “ease,” the Philippines’s “Quality of judicial processes index” scores 7.5 out of 18, lower than Iraq and Zimbabwe. For the “Strength of legal rights index” (0-12), the Philippines scores a disastrous “1.”

Corruption is a constant discussion. However, it is supposed to be the legal and judicial system that is the most important defense and the system has failed. The people have no control over the Judiciary from top to bottom. The members of the Judiciary are unelected and are not subject to any meaningful input from the people.

Further, the self-proclaimed guardians of the people—the press and media —do not care about the system in a consequential way. Often, their political biases and narrative are more important as they prefer to blame individuals in power rather than the root causes. The Philippines’s score on “Corruption Index” from Transparency International was a disgusting “34” out of 100 in 2017, exactly what it was in 2012, with the highest recent score at “38” in 2014. All scores in the “30s” are considered “Corrupt.”

The headline reads—“PHL ranking in global rule of law index sinks under Duterte” addressing the World Justice Project “Rule of Law Index.” The Philippines’s 2017 score for Civil Law is 0.47 and for Criminal Law 0.31 out of 1.00. Yet, because politics is more important than the people, not mentioned was that in 2014, the Civil Law score was worse at 0.40, and the Criminal Law score was better at 0.36. In 2010 both scores were significantly better at 0.48 and 0.53.

Certainly these “Rule of Law” scores have gone down. But also concurrently has the evaluation of the Philippine judicial system. No amount of political spin is going to change the fact that the Philippines has a major problem in the Judiciary, as it has for a long time. The justices and judges must clean up their own house.

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RISING SUN

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ITH the changes that new technology is bringing into the economy, including the world of work, employees and workers need to upgrade their skill set (upskill) or totally learn a new set of skills to be able to cope with the changes and continue to make themselves marketable, relevant or in demand in the current environment. A huge part of the adjustment has to do with the role that artificial intelligence (AI) plays in the world today and in the future.

The World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs Report 2018” examines this issue. The web site also contains the following “growing” skills, or the new set of skills that are in demand (and will continue to be in demand) as we move toward 2022.

Here they are: analytical thinking and innovation; active learning and learning strategies creativity, originality and initiative; technology design and programming; critical thinking and analysis; complex

problem solving; leadership and social influence; emotional intelligence; reasoning, problem solving and ideation; and systems analysis and evaluation.

On the other hand, the “declining” skills, or those that continue to become redundant as AI manages to take over these, are the following: Manual dexterity, endurance and precision; memory, verbal, auditory and spatial abilities; management of financial and material resources;

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technology installation and maintenance; reading, writing, math and active listening; management of personnel; quality control and safety awareness; coordination and time management; visual, auditory and speech abilities; and technology use, monitoring and control.

It is very important for people, the report suggests, to take full responsibility for their lifelong learning and career development.

In other words, to become relevant at this time, we can’t be complacent and resistant to change and

Andy Bautista: Out of sight, out of mind!

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

It is very important for people, the report suggests, to take full responsibility for their lifelong learning and career development. In other words, to become relevant at this time, we can’t be complacent and resistant to change and development. And the changes or transformations that we need to undertake will essentially start with us.

I

N case the public has forgotten, Andres “Andy” Bautista was former chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), then moved on to become chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Sometime in August last year, Andy’s wife Patricia “Tish” Bautista made a shocking exposé of documents which alleged that her husband has amassed nearly P1 billion worth of bank assets, much more than the declared P173 million in his 2016 Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Patricia also disclosed that she had documents that showed “almost daily” bank deposits to husband Andy’s account in 2016, which was an election year. Patricia said the deposits never exceeded P500,000, which she said was done probably to avoid scrutiny of the Anti-Money Laundering Council. Patricia surrendered to then-Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 35 Luzon Development Bank Passbook Accounts and an RCBC peso account ostensibly in the name of certain family members of Andy. (Rappler.com/August 14, 2017) Also submitted to the justice secretary was an official PCGG Audit report showing the complicity of then-Comelec chairman Bautista,

Smartmatic and Divinalaw headed

by University of Santo Thomas Law Dean Nilo Divina.

Patricia’s allegations became the basis of an impeachment complaint filed in August last year by former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras and lawyers Ferdinand Topacio and Manuelito Luna for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution over allegations of ill-gotten wealth. Paras likewise alleged in the impeachment complaint Andy Bautista’s “receipts of referral fees from Smartmatic through Divina Law Offices, which is tantamount to indirect bribery under the Revised Penal Code and constitutes a violation of Sec. 3(b)

Republic Act 3019.” The Paras impeachment complaint also alleged Bautista’s “neglect of duties and responsibilities in implementing the Data Privacy Act that could have prevented the data breach in the Comelec, an incident that came to be known as ‘Comeleak.’ Bautista also allegedly failed to urgently act on the hacking of the Comelec web site, and also declined to assume control and supervision at the Task Force that was created to look into the data leak. He [Bautista] needs to be told that the hacking of the Comelec web site before the 2016 National and Local Elections— wherein the personal data of millions of voters were breached—was a serious privacy violation or personal data breach requiring swift and decisive actions. Had he acted with utmost urgency, the damage could have been minimized,” the impeachment complaint read. Bautista allegedly obstructed justice when he downplayed that a “script tweak” in the 2016 Elections was merely “a cosmetic change, which was in effect an exoneration of Smartmatic” (Inquirer.net/August 23, 2017).

A total of 137 lawmakers voted to impeach Bautista, overturning the House Justice Committee’s dismissal of the Paras impeachment complaint, which was earlier found to be insufficient in form

development. And the changes or transformations that we need to undertake will essentially start with us. That means not relying on our school system (which leaves a lot to be desired) and the trainings being offered by employers (as these may not be enough, as well). It involves a lot of starting on our own, searching for our personal learning paths, and finding new ways of gaining expertise and knowledge.

The medical advances and technological developments are related to this issue as the lifespan of man is now a lot longer than it was some years ago. We all enjoy the opportunity to live up to a hundred years, or even longer than that. With this in mind, it becomes even more important to be able to “reinvent ourselves quickly and repeatedly” as we go through our long(er) life. To be able to meet the challenges of the present, and more especially of the future, and also to effectively manage careers that are likely to increase by years, we need to be responsible for our personal development. And not only that, we need to be strategic and wise about our moves toward self-growth.

due to defective verification. In an obvious attempt to render moot his impeachment by the House Plenary, Bautista tendered his resignation on October 11, 2017, effective on December 31, 2017. He was forced to step down two months ahead of schedule after President Duterte ordered his resignation to take effect immediately.

Patricia vowed to pursue plunder charges against Bautista who, having been impeached, “could no longer hide behind his immunity as chairman of the Constitutional body. Also to be impleaded in complicity with Bautista is Divina Law, Smartmatic and the family members who made possible the stealing from the Filipino people of at the very least P1.2 billion” (The Manila Times, October 25, 2017).

In a parallel development, Sen. Francis G. Escudero, chairman of the Senate Banks Committee then investigating the bank accounts of Bautista and family members in Luzon Development Bank (“in aid of legislation” anent the current bank secrecy laws) issued a warrant of arrest for Bautista’s ignoring of the (Senate Committee) hearing at least thrice despite the issuance of a subpoena. Bautista claimed that he has been abroad since November 21, 2017, “to explore career opportunities and seek medical See “Kapunan,” A11

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Opinion

The Chemists’ War

Culture of giving

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BusinessMirror

By Theo Emery | New York Times News Service

ASHINGTON—Under a canopy of poplar and oak trees, a team of geophysicists surveyed the forest floor for century-old wartime relics. They positioned an electromagnetic scanner atop the carpet of leaves while the delicate instrument harvested data about objects in the soil beneath.

In 1918 mortars and artillery shells arched toward this spot near the Dalecarlia Reservoir, one of the main water sources for the nation’s capital. But no armies fought here and no soldiers charged up the embankment. Rather, the shells were launched from the wartime research campus to the east at American University, where scientists developed chemical weapons, explosives, bombs and gas masks to use on the battlefields in World War I. In this centennial of the war’s end, the team working in the woods was a reminder that the Great War had another name—“the Chemists’ War,” a sobriquet reflecting the crucial role of science in the conflict.

Alex Zahl, a project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers and a selfdescribed World War I buff, mused over the state-of-the-art science detecting remains of experiments dating to 1918.

“They were using cutting-edge technology 100 years ago developing chemical weapons,” Zahl, 62, said in the air-conditioned trailer that serves as the cleanup headquarters. “That was high technology at that time, and here we are 100 years later using high technology again to remediate the material left behind.”

World War I, which ended with the armistice on November 11, 1918, is infamous for its horrific battlefield conditions, its grinding, bloody clashes—the battles of the Somme, Verdun, Passchendaele and others—and the resulting human slaughter. Some 8.5 million soldiers were killed and 21 million more were wounded.

Less is remembered about the role of science. The war hastened technological progress with optics, radio and primitive sonar. The Germans’ largest siege cannon, the dreaded “Paris Gun,” heaved gigantic shells into the stratosphere that returned to Earth to pummel the French capital, 75 miles away. Lithe German submarines prowled under the waves. Aviation, in its infancy at the war’s start, roared into maturity by the end. Inventor Thomas Edison lent his scientific prowess to the US Navy.

Even before the United States entered the war, the National Academy of Sciences anticipated the need for collaboration among scientists, universities, industry and the military. President Woodrow Wilson established the National Research Council in 1916, and after the president signed the war declaration on April 6, 1917, the National Academy’s foreign secretary, George E. Hale, fired off a telegram to counterparts in Britain, France, Italy and Russia: “The entrance of the United States into the war unites our men of science with yours in a common cause.”

American scientists threw themselves into the war effort. Though few are household names today, top physicists, chemists and engineers volunteered. Many from prestigious universities were known as “dollara-year men,” paid a symbolic wage for their efforts.

“The military had problems to solve that it couldn’t solve on its own,” said Daniel J. Kevles, emeritus professor of history at Yale and author of The Physicists.

In many ways, the US Chemical Warfare Service epitomized such efforts. Germany’s chemical warfare program was the brainchild of its most esteemed chemists, and the Americans were ill-prepared.

Entering the fray two years after Germany sparked the chemical arms race with a surprise chlorine gas attack in Flanders, Belgium, the US Army had neither gas masks nor protective gear, and no capacity for producing or deploying chemical weapons. Doctors had no experience

with gassed or chemically burned soldiers. And there was little time to catch up.

To correct those deficiencies, the War Department set up a laboratory, initially under the civilian Bureau of Mines, called the American University Experiment Station. It began modestly with one building and fewer than 100 researchers.

By the war’s end, almost 2,000 soldiers, scientists and civilians worked at the campus, which soldiers called “Mustard Hill” for the blister agent sulfur mustard. The army leased nearby farmland for proving grounds, part of which the soldiers named “Death Valley.”

The service had satellite labs and outposts on campuses and factories throughout the country—an effort that some historians compare to the Manhattan Project in World War II. When the war ended, the scientists revealed they had developed a new weapon called lewisite, an arsenic-based blister agent manufactured outside Cleveland at a top-secret factory nicknamed “the mousetrap” because of its elaborate security. Though never used, the “super-poison gas” was reportedly to be dropped on the Germans in 1919 if the war had not ended.

“Although they had many imperfect successes, the rise of chemical warfare within the US military during World War I, I would say, is unparalleled,” said historian Thomas I. Faith, author of a 2014 book about chemical warfare, Behind the Gas Mask.

The experiment station reverted to American University when the war ended. Over the decades, developers turned surrounding land into an affluent residential neighborhood, transforming Death Valley into Spring Valley, in the northern section of the District of Columbia.

The WWI legacy was largely forgotten until 1993, when developers dug up a cache of mortars, triggering a state of emergency, evacuations and a lengthy cleanup. In all, 141 munitions were found at that site.

Several years later, the Corps of Engineers reopened its examination of the area, acknowledging that it had prematurely shut down the cleanup. The contamination and debris proved more extensive than originally believed, sparking an uproar from residents and a pledge from the Army for more transparency and community participation.

The corps has been a near-constant presence in Spring Valley since then. Hundreds of munitions have been hauled away, most from a handful of burial pits. Arsenic has been the most widespread chemical contaminant—the army has carted off thousands of tons of tainted soil and replaced it with clean topsoil.

Sulfur mustard, lewisite and other chemical warfare compounds—as well as traces of the constituent chemicals that remain after the warfare agents break down over time—have also been detected and removed.

In the latest cleanup phase, the Army has begun examining the soil of about 91 properties beneath the cone of the artillery range. The scanning near the reservoir was at an early stage, using new technology that pinpoints buried metal objects and compares their digital profiles against a database of military munitions, such as mortar shells or 75-millimeter artillery rounds. If the item is deemed harmless “cultural debris,” in Army parlance—a discarded soda can, for example—then it won’t be disturbed.

“We’re going to leave items in the ground that all this equipment says is cultural debris and nothing to do with World War I activities,” Zahl said.

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

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NHERENT in the Filipino culture is the giving spirit. We give whatever we have, even if what we have is not enough for us.

But I think there are two kinds of givers in this world—the one who gives in anticipation of something in return and the one who freely gives from the heart without expecting anything in exchange.

As part of their campaign strategy, traditional politicians usually give whatever to whomever they think is necessary to get elected.

This quid pro quo arrangement has been in place since time immemorial. In contrast, almost all of those who work in nongovernment organizations (NGO) give whatever they think is necessary to nourish their own hearts and souls. Regardless of the amount, I see them giving whatever they have. In the words of Mother Theresa, “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” This kind of giving is what our country needs today.

ILOVE stands for Investments in Loving Organizations For Village Economies. Its founder and prime mover, former Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez, aims to utilize Philippine biodiversity “to improve the lives of local communities, with area development and inclusive growth at its core.” When I first heard her speak a few years ago, I heard her heart not her tongue deliver one

of the most passionate PowerPoint presentations I have ever seen.

ILOVE’s basic premise is to share one’s blessings with love and only love. Ms. Lopez has been looking for investors as partners to develop far-flung areas around the country and build them into successful business enterprises, citing Ugong Rock in Palawan, for instance. This community-based sustainable tourism project has managed to eventually generate a respectable amount of income when investors, in collaboration with ABS-CBN Foundation-Bantay Kalikasan and in partnership with the City of Puerto Princesa and the Department of Tourism, financed the construction of a zip line facility near the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (Underground River). With a seed money of about P2 million, the community business venture is now earning more than P20 million annually on average for the past three years. Best of all, the locals of Ugong Rock are benefiting from this initiative with more sources of

Advocacy for <IR> Joel L. Tan-Torres

DEBIT CREDIT Part One

I

FIRST heard the term integrated reporting or <IR> in 2014.

An officer of the Philippine Institute of CPAs asked me then if I was familiar with the <IR>. I immediately responded with a vague “Yes.” I recalled hearing this term in a meeting of global accountancy leaders in 2014, which I attended as the then chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy (BOA). At that time, I vaguely knew of what <IR> was all about.

Fast-forward to the present. I am now an advocate of integrated reporting (and the mindset of Integrated thinking) and firm believer of the benefits of this discipline. In the recent World Congress of Accountants held in Sydney, Australia, that I attended from November 5 to 8, 2018, various speakers dwelled on the developments in the <IR> and thinking. It was clear from the tone of the talks that integrated reporting and thinking provides so much value and relevance to the development of not only business but also to global issues, What is <IR>? Its beginning can be traced to the Prince of Wales,

Kapunan. . .

continued from A10

assistance. Senator Escudero questioned the accuracy of Bautista’s claim. The OSAA [Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms] will try to serve it [arrest warrant] by coordinating with various law-enforcement agencies including the Bureau of Immigration and wait for it to be returned, served or unserved and will submit a corresponding report to the committee,” Escudero said (Rappler.com, February 26, 2018).

Bautista has not been heard from since November last year. Fast-forward to November this year: The DOJ has not yet “completed” its investigation on the plunder complaint filed by Patricia, this despite all passbooks, e-mails, documents

Monday, November 12, 2018 A11

Our act of giving is one of the best ways to give thanks to God for all the blessings He has given us. Good things happen to cheerful givers as they receive more whenever they give more. It may sound like an oxymoron, but those who give from the heart can only get richer!

After all, in the words of diarist and writer Anne Frank, “No one has ever become poor by giving.” income coming from tourists. From a simple limestone formation with a breathtaking view of the natural landscape of Palawan, Ugong Rock has turned into a commercially viable and community-based venture, all because of simple acts of giving, the kind that comes from the heart.

We should support ILOVE and many other social enterprises, such as the Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation and Health Futures Inc., by simply giving and sharing whatever blessings that come our way, whether it is money, talent or time. In the Bible, 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

In Philippine Airlines, our Vice President for Human Capital Maria Antonia “MeAn” Llamzon has initiated numerous “giving” projects for the benefit of PAL employees. She has selflessly devoted her time and talent in improving employee engagement and will soon introduce culture-changing habits. Aside from the usual increases in financial compensation and benefits, MeAn has spearheaded morale boosting activities, such as wellness programs in

The <IR> has emerged over the recent years with many global organizations pursuing related or aligned undertakings. The Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts of International Standards of Accounting and Reporting of the United Nations has initiated discussions on coming up with core indicators for the financial and nonfinancial reporting on the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Prince Charles, who initiated a project on Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S). This initiative was started in 2004 and aims to inspire action by business leaders to shift toward resilient business models and a sustainable economy.

In 2009 Prince Charles convened a high level meeting of United Nations representatives, financial decision makers, business executives, government regulators, accountancy standard setters and professional organizations, nongovernment organizations, including the A42, International Federation of Accountants (Ifac) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), to establish the

International Integrated Reporting Committee, now renamed Council.

This Council was mandated to oversee the creation of a globally accepted Integrated Reporting framework.

In 2013 the IIRC released the International <IR> Framework, which is the model that is generally being utilized today. In its web site, the IIRC’s vision is stated as aligning the capital allocation and corporate behavior to the wider goals of financial stability and sustainable development through the cycle of integrated reporting and thinking.

The <IR> has emerged over the recent years with many global organizations pursuing related or aligned undertakings. The Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts of International Standards of Accounting and Reporting of the

and other material evidence having been submitted to the NBI as far back as August last year. It is hoped that new Justice Secretary Maynard Guevarra will show more political will than his predecessor.

The Senate Bank’s Committee continues to be stonewalled by Luzon Development Bank’s (LDB) hiding behind the bank secrecy laws, this despite the obvious violation of Amla regulations.

No freeze order on the Bautista/ LDB’s indecent violations of moneylaundering laws has been issued by the Anti-Money Laundering Committee or by the State (motu propio) under its police powers.

Bautista has abandoned his family since November last year, this despite his avowed love for his children who now have no financial support from their father.

Bautista claims he will prove his innocence before the appropriate venue, daring Patricia and her lawyers “to just file their case in court and not try the case in media” (Kicker Daily News, October 24, 2017). Where is he now? One does not need to be a bar topnotcher to know that “flight is consistent with guilt not innocence.”

And, most disturbing (as of this writing) a reliable source has given me information that a former United States ambassador has recently helped Andy Bautista stay in the US by submitting a letter to the State Department in support of Andy’s continuous stay in the US. Apparently, Atty. Ted Laguatan, a California-based Filipino lawyer who specializes in humanrights cases and immigration, was allegedly Andy’s intermediary to

the workplace, continuous training of middle level managers, shorter if not more flexible work hours for all employees, and an employee recognition program known as Star Awards (Shining Through Appreciation and Recognition). She does these things not only because she wants PAL employees to be happy. She does these and more because, borrowing from author Ben Carson, “happiness doesn’t result from what we get, but from what we give.” Giving from the heart benefits the giver more than the recipient. I think that is the reason PAL and its owners, the Lucio Tan family, directs management, MeAn included, to find ways to give... from the Heart of the Filipino!

Culturally, it should not be difficult for Filipinos to keep on giving to their heart’s delight. Whether our employees refuse to appreciate whatever we give, or we are in a relationship where the other fails to reciprocate, we must still give—for our sake. In the Bible, 2 Corinthians 9:11 tells us that whenever we give —“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” Our act of giving is one of the best ways to give thanks to God for all the blessings He has given us. Good things happen to cheerful givers as they receive more whenever they give more. It may sound like an oxymoron, but those who give from the heart can only get richer! After all, in the words of diarist and writer Anne Frank, “No one has ever become poor by giving.”

For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

United Nations has initiated discussions on coming up with core indicators for the financial and nonfinancial reporting on the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Ifac has created an Emerging External Reporting (EER) Task Force to prepare a report on the different forms of nonfinancial reporting, integrated reporting, sustainability reporting and other reporting about environmental, social and governance. The GRI has developed the first and most widely adopted global standards for sustainability reporting and has a Southeast Asian Office in Manila since 2016. A number of large corporations in the Philippines are preparing their sustainability or integrated reports together with their financial statements.

The <IR> has emerged. Including in the Philippines.

To be continued Joel L. Tan-Torre is a Certified Public Accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations. He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010 and the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy from 2014 to August 2018.

This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

get to the US ambassador to lobby for this huge favor. My source disclosed that Andy misrepresented that the reason for his exile and inability to return to the Philippines is his “philandering” and involvement with several women, which allegedly triggered his wife’s ire. (Source undisclosed for obvious reasons).

So is this a case of “out of sight, out of mind.” We dare Andy Bautista to come back to the Philippines and prove his alleged “innocence.”

This is not a domestic fight between a husband and wife. This is a plunder case involving more than P1.2 billion of the people’s money— our money. Will we let Andy and his cohorts (who are very much around and flaunting their wealth and power) get away with plunder?

No, a billion times no!!!

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Monday, November 12, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Inflation robbed Pinoy kids of needed nutrients–study

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

IGH inflation from February to September caused children to eat less nutritious food even if households bought more food items, according to a study conducted by Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) researchers.

In a study, titled “An Assessment of the Effect of Inflation on Childhood Nutrition,” the researchers found that household consumption of food items, such as vegetables and rice, rose by 113.17 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively.

However, children’s intake of food rich in energy, protein, iron and vitamin A declined during the period. The decrease in iron intake from February to September was not statistically different.

“Food price inflation has tangible effects felt by the households.

Feeding programs may mitigate Some of the nutritional deficits,” AdMU researcher Vanessa Siy Van said in a presentation during a breakout session at the Federation of Asean Economic Associations forum on Friday.

Van said that, in order to cope with rising prices, households were forced to diversify their diet. This entailed buying lower-priced goods,

or substituting certain food items with others that may contain less vitamins and minerals.

For one, many households switched to buying National Food Authority rice instead of other types of rice, some of which may be fortified with vitamins and minerals.

The AdMU researchers found that the mean adequacy of caloric intake significantly decreased to 87.37 percent in September 2018, from 100.33 percent in February.

“Child intake decreased, though food expenditure increased. Increased dietary diversity is not always a positive development,” Van said.

The researchers recommended that feeding programs, such as the ACED Blueplace Centralized Kitchen Model, for large-scale schoolbased feeding programs, can explore ways to increase the portions of the food they give to children.

They recommended that providing an additional sixth of a cup of viand and half cup of rice to each meal would help augment nutritional deficits and ensure children get the recommended nutrients they need to avoid stunting and wasting.

Increasing portion size should also be accompanied by altering menu composition, such as lowering protein sources like meat and increasing iron sources, such as vegetables. “[There is a need to] further research into menu analysis for adequate and nutritious means that can be prepared by caregivers at home,” Van said. “[Also,] further research into how inflation affects macro- and micronutrient intake of the food poor and nonfood poor.”

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that inflation increased to 6.7 percent in September.

Negros 9’s Fr. Gore lifts hope of mourners at lawyer’s wake

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ABANKALAN CITY, Negros Occidental—One of the so-called Negros Nine detained during the Marcos dictatorship in the 80s on Sunday urged the groups fighting for human rights “not to fear” following the killing of lawyer Benjamin T. Ramos Jr. In his message during the wake service for Ramos, Fr. Brian Gore said that “it is up to God to hold the people behind this killing accountable.”

“For those persons who are behind this, there is karma,” Fr. Gore said in Ilonggo. “Let us just be strong and continue our work for the future of the youth,” Fr. Gore added.

Meanwhile, Felipe Levy Gelle Jr., spokesperson of the Paghida-et sa Kauswagan Development Group Inc., said they are seeking justice for what they see as a clearly politically motivated killing.

The 56-year-old Ramos, widely respected and loved for decades of mostly pro bono work for poor com-

Mislatel. . .

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Performance, too

ASIDE from allaying fears of a national security breach through the digital space, Rio noted that the government will give close attention to the performance of the future third telco player to ensure that it is delivering on its committed levels of service.

In Mislatel’s case, it committed to initially cover 37 percent of the whole Philippines with a minimum Internet speed of 27 Mbps through a P150-billion capital and operational expenditures budget.

Based on the terms of reference for the third telco selection, companies must exceed the following minimum levels of service for the first year: 10 percent of the population, 5 Mbps speed and a P40billion capital.

Mislatel’s five-year commitment entails P257 billion in total money spent, which should provide for an 84-percent coverage with a minimum Internet speed of 55 Mbps.

“If they did not perform what they committed, they will lose at least P25.7 billion from their performance bond, not to mention that we will confiscate the permits, frequencies and licenses issued to the third telco,” Rio said.

The government is awarding the third telco license together with a swathe of frequencies

munities in Negros, was gunned down last week, days after receiving death threats, and after being included in an apparent red-tagging campaign by certain military elements.

Gelle said that Ramos was even “maliciously linked” by the 15th Infantry Batallion in an Internal Security Operations briefing before members of the Association of Barangay Captains in the municipality of Cauayan.

Task force ACCORDING to Supt. Jonel Guadalupe, local police chief, a Special Investigation Task Group was created to conduct an in-depth investigation of the case.

“We really aim to identify the motorcycle-riding assailant who attacked Ramos and those behind this incident,”Guadalupe told the BusinessMirror in an interview. Ramos was killed while standing outside a store located on Rojas Street, Barangay 5

amounting to total of 225 megahertz of spectrum.

The winning bidder, however, has six months to remedy its failure to deliver its commitments.

Only one left standing

MISLATEL was the only bidder from a group of three contenders that successfully hurdled the third telco selection. The other two— Sear Telecommunications Inc. of politician Luis Chavit C. Singson, and Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp.—were disqualified from the process, after submitting incomplete bid documents.

At the end of a long and arduous proceedings on November 7, Mislatel was provisionally named third telco player.

The two other groups have formally submitted their motions for reconsideration, with Singson’s consortium claiming that Mislatel’s bid is illegal because TierOne Communications International Inc., through Digiphil Technology Inc., has an existing exclusive agreement with Mislatel.

Mislatel’s counsel disputed this.

“The simple fact is that Mislatel has no contract with TierOne. What Mislatel had was a terminated contract with a company called Digiphil that was meant for small projects, like very small aperture terminal technology,” John D. Coluso, the legal counsel of Mislatel, said on Sunday.

Based on documents sent by Mislatel to the media, its contract with

FR. BRIAN GORE CLAUDETH MOCON-CIRIACO on November 6.

Guadalupe said that they are looking into different angles that may help in resolving the case.

“We have so many leads that we are looking into and we are considering. We are not looking into just one angle, “ he said.

“We have to consider that he handled various cases and this incident may be related to his job as a lawyer,”

Digiphil was terminated on October 8. Despite the opposition, Rio said his group is confident that it can officially name the third telco player by this month.

“The selection committee has about a week to come up with a final decision,” he said.

The new major player is expected to break the so-called telco duopoly, Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. Rio noted that the government need not demand the same levels of service from the incumbent telcos, as the third player is setting the new standard for telecommunications services and prices in the Philippines.

“We will not be requiring Globe and Smart to do this, because they will be forced to up their game.

Mislatel offered 55 Mbps minimum speed—that’s Singapore standard already—by the second year, and we also expect them to offer services at more affordable prices,” he said.

Average mobile Internet speed in the Philippines settled at 13.83 Mbps in end-September, ranking 99 out of 190 territories surveyed

by Ookla. The global average in the same period is at 23.64 Mbps.

“If the incumbents will not follow the standard of the new player, they will lose their customers.

Globe and Smart will be forced to improve their services, else, if they don’t do anything, the third player can be the dominant player in two to three years,” Rio explained.

Guadalupe said.

Following the death of Ramos, Guadalupe said that they already beefed up the security in the city, especially establishing more checkpoints, noting that Kabankalan is a gateway going to the Negros Oriental and other parts of the Region 6 or commonly known as “CHICKS [Candoni, Hino– baan, Ilog, Cauayan, Kabankalan and Sipalay]” area. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

GMA. . .

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prospects on the new commitment of countries to conclude RCEP next year. “China and Japan, India and China, and India and Japan are big economies that do not have yet a bilateral free-trade agreement with each other. They have respectively large constituencies to please,” he said.

Meanwhile, Action for Economic Reform coordinator Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III is more optimistic that global developments will prompt the early conclusion of the deal.

“There is impetus for RCEP in light of [US President Donald J.] Trump’s protectionism,” Sta. Ana said in a message sent to the BusinessMirror.

Missed opportunities

ASKED what could be the repercussions if the deal gets delayed further, Sta. Ana said: “Missed opportunities, particularly the preference to return to international rules to govern globalization.”

He said the most important signal of closing the deal is that countries are still capable of crafting global rules that likewise serve national interests in the wake of retreat from globalization. He warned, though, that the negotiating countries should “avoid rigidity to give space to national sovereignty concerns.”

Sta. Ana stressed that RCEP by

A ‘GO’ FOR 2 PRESIDENTS President Duterte and Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III raise Christopher Lawrence T. Go’s hands to show their support for the advocacies of the former Special Assistant to the President, who is seeking a seat in the Senate. Bong Go’s legislative agenda includes bills focused on malasakit (the Filipino term for nurturing others)—with programs aimed to uplift the lives of Filipinos, everywhere. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

PHL, RUSSIA MEET ANEW TO PLAN 2019 DEFENSE, MILITARY COOPERATION

By Rene Acosta

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@reneacostaBM

HE Philippines and Russia have convened for the second time the joint working group (JWG) wherein they planned military activities and a host of other engagements next year.

The meeting was held in Moscow, Russia, last week, in accordance with the 2017 Agreement on Defense Cooperation between the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

The JWG serves as a platform for both countries to discuss military-to-military engagements or activities for both countries.

During the second meeting, the two countries finalized plans on activities and engagements that they agreed to hold next year.

These activities included high-level exchanges, port visits of navy vessels, attendance in conferences/fora, general staff consultations, cooperation and itself will not solve the current binding constraints in the country, such as infrastructure bottleneck, underspending and the rule of law.

“We have other bigger problems.

This is not to belittle the significance of RCEP but a question of where our focus should be,” he said. “Nothing wrong with a trade deficit resulting from importation of capital goods.

Export is underperforming not because of restrictive market but because of our internal problems.”

The country’s trade gap grew 124.1 percent to $3.927 billion in September 2018, from $1.752 billion in September last year. This was also higher than the $3.494 billion in August 2018.

Brick-and-mortar

MEANWHILE, in her speech at the Boaoa Forum, Arroyo said, “My view of the “Belt and Road” initiative can best be expressed in terms now popular in the computer age.

Trade and investments relationships, such as those governed by regional agreements like the RCEP, are like the software that provide a framework for world trade and investments to thrive.”

She continued: “But we also need the hardware, and this is where the Belt and Road initiative comes in to provide the brick-and-mortar infrastructures, without which international trade and investments cannot flourish.”

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Junever M. Mah-

security consultations, reciprocal visits of delegations and observers for military training activities, and education and training exchanges.

A statement released by the DND through Spokesman Arsenio Andolong said the terms of reference of the JWG on defense cooperation was also signed during the meeting.

The Philippine side was headed by Teodoro Cirilo T. Torralba III, assistant secretary for Assessments and International Affairs.

Col. Maxim Vladimirovich Penkin, head of the 5th Department of the Main Directorate of the International Military Cooperation, led the Russian side.

Russia is being eyed as a major source of assets and equipment for the Armed Forces of the Philippines in its ongoing modernization program.

Among the military supplies eyed from Russia are military unmanned aerial vehicles or drones and submarines.

Russia donated to the country last year AK assault rifles and military trucks. ilum-West said leaders gathering at the final leg of this year’s Asean summit in Singapore will call for the “expeditious” conclusion of RCEP. President Duterte will attend the Asean summit from November 13 to 15 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Center.

Visit

MEANWHILE, in the same speech, Arroyo said the Manila visit of Chinese President Xi this month will boost relations, especially trade, between the Philippines and China.

Keeping good ties with China is important to the Philippines because of, among others, its geographical location, trading partnership and proven capability in infrastructure development, Arroyo said.

Arroyo also cited vibrant Filipino-Chinese community in the country: “Domestically, the Philippines has a very vibrant Filipino-Chinese community for whom increased business dealings with China is very natural.”

According to Arroyo, China “will soon become the largest economy in the world, so of course, it is good to be friends with China.”

The Speaker cited China’s track record in infrastructure, adding: “Infrastructure will be very important for the Philippines in the coming years, and there is no country in the world that matches China’s recent track record and capability in this area.”

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, November 12, 2018

B1

Govt loses bid to compel Piatco to pay ₧300 million

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By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

HE government has lost its bid before the Court of Appeals (CA) to compel the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco) to pay the amount of $6 million, or more than P300 million, representing the cost of the arbitration proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration.

In a three-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Ramon M. Bato Jr., the CA’s Former Special Eleventh Division held that the government, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), failed to raise new arguments that would warrant the reversal of its June 4, 2018

amended decision.

The appellate court, in its amended decision, reversed its order for Piatco to pay the government $6 million in arbitration costs for the legal dispute involving the contracts for the construction and development of the Ninoy Aquino International

Airport (Naia) Terminal 3.

It held that the government violated the fundamental public policy in the hiring of “expert witnesses” or “consultants,” or local or foreign lawyers or law firm, when the OSG did not follow the provisions of R A 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) and its implementing rules and regulations.

Ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno was one of the lawyers hired to represent the government in the arbitration case from 2004 to 2009.

“After a painstaking evaluation of the motion for reconsideration dated June 28, 2018 filed by the Office of the Solicitor General…, considering that the arguments proferred by the OSG are a mere rehash of the arguments evaluated and directly resolved by the court when we rendered the assailed amended decision promulgated on June 4, 2018, finding no cogent or compelling reasons to reconsider the assailed

Megaworld founder named Property Icon in Asia

KENDRICK ANDREW L. TAN, son of Megaworld Chairman and CEO Dr. Andrew L. Tan, receives the prestigious PropertyGuru Icon Award on behalf of the tycoon from Hari V. Krishnan, CEO of PropertyGuru Group, at the Asia Property Awards in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday night. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

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EGAWORLD Chairman and CEO Dr. Andrew L. Tan received the PropertyGuru Icon Award, one of the highest regional awards at the Asia Property Awards in Bangkok on Friday (November 9) night.

Chosen among real-estate stalwarts in the Asia-Pacific region, Tan became the first-ever recipient of the award, organized by the PropertyGuru Group.

PropertyGuru Group CEO Hari V. Krishnan

recognized Tan as “one of Asia’s prominent and most active real-estate leaders” who led Megaworld to become the Philippines’s three-time Best Developer since 2016. PropertyGuru Group also highlighted Tan as a champion of corporate social responsibility through the Megaworld Foundation and Empire East Cares.

During the gala night held at The Athenee Hotel in Bangkok, Tan gave a recorded video address where he thanked the organizers for making him

the first recipient of the night’s major award. His son, Kendrick Andrew L. Tan, flew to Thailand to receive the award on his behalf.

Aside from Tan’s award, Megaworld was also recognized as the Country Awardee for Best Developer in Asia. It’s developments, particularly Iloilo Business Park was also the Country Winner for Best Township Development in Asia, and Twin Lakes Hotel Tagaytay as Country Winner for Best Hotel Development in Asia.

MWSS’s Velasco allays fears on Kaliwa Dam project as PHL, China move to seal deal on November 21

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

A

S the Duterte administration begins construction of the P12.1-billion New Centennial Water Supply Project-Kaliwa Dam, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) allayed fears of the danger it poses to would-be affected communities.

In a statement, MWSS Administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco branded as “disinformation” the reported danger poses by the project to those who oppose the multibillion-peso dam project.

“After 34 years in the doldrums, construction of the Kaliwa Dam project will finally go full blast in the coming months,” Velasco said in a statement, adding that it “will supply an additional 600 million liters of water per day to Metro Manila

and environs for the years by 2023 under President Duterte’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program.”

Environmental groups, nongovernment organizations, community-based organizations and faith-based groups under the banner Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance Inc. (SSMNAI), oppose the project, citing the imminent danger posed by large dams, particularly because of the country’s vulnerability to the impact of climate change and the risks from earthquake. The SSMNAI claimed the project went on without undergoing consultations, thus violating the right of tribesmen and communities directly affected by the project. They said the site of the project is within their so-called ancestral domain and an important food source, being part of their traditional hunting and fishing ground.

However, the MWSS chief is confident that no stone was left unturned in pursuing the proj-

ect, including consultations with stakeholders and representatives of concerned government agencies: the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), Department of Finance (DOF), National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), including one held in April this year. Velasco credited the Duterte administration with having the political will to address the possible water supply shortage in the coming years, particularly in Metro Manila, since no new surface water source was developed after Angat Dam, which supplies practically 96 percent of the water needs of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal and Cavite.

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amended decision, the motion for reconsideration is denied for lack of merit,” the CA ruled.

Concurring in the ruling were Associate Justices Rodil Zalameda and Samuel Gaerlan.

In rejecting the claim of the gover n ment , P i atco i n si sted that the Philippine government violated the country’s procurement law when the government tapped foreign counsel and legal consultants without conducting a public bidding.

Piatco assailed the payment of attorneys’ fees to the lawyers hired by the Department of Transportation and the Manila International Airport Authority amounting to $6,009,351.66.

“To rule in favor of the GRP would result [in] grave injustice on the part of Piatco. Surely, this honorable court is not a court of mere convenience but a court of law and equity,” it argued.

In the ruling penned by Associate Justice Marlene Gonzales-Sison, dated January 20, 2017, and

concurred in by Justices Ramon Cruz and Henry Jean Paul Inting, the court granted the plea of the OSG for the payment of the legal fees for all the legal counsel hired by the Philippine government.

However, acting on Piatco’s motion for reconsideration, the CA amended its decision on June 4, 2018, saying the OSG should have first sought the approval of the Commission on Audit (COA) before hiring and paying the lawyers and consultants.

The CA also said it didn’t go through the proper procurement process.

In April 2017 the Supreme Court affirmed its decision directing the government to com-

pensate Piatco for the expropriation of Naia Terminal 3 in the amount of more than $510 million as of December 2014.

The SC denied Piatco’s partial motion for reconsideration seeking an additional compensation in the amount of $107 million from the government.

However, it partly granted the motion for reconsideration filed by the government by declaring that the full ownership over the Naia 3 will be transferred to the government upon full payment of the just compensation.

The court has fixed the principal amount of just compensation at $326,932,221.26 as of December 21, 2004.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, November 12, 2018

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

November 9, 2018

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

ASIA UNITED 58.05 59.45 59 59 58.05 58.1 10250 604523.5 BDO UNIBANK 117.9 118 119 119 117.1 118 981590 116284287 BANK PH ISLANDS 80 81 82.5 82.5 79.8 80 1098370 88415008 CHINABANK 27.85 28 28 28 27.8 27.85 50900 1423590 EAST WEST BANK 10.54 10.56 10.8 10.8 10.5 10.56 734100 7774844 METROBANK 65.05 65.45 65.05 65.55 64.5 65.05 1443220 93773816.5 PHIL NATL BANK 39.3 39.35 39.6 39.6 39.3 39.3 96800 3819255 PSBANK 72.3 77.9 78.2 78.25 75 75 150 11667.5 RCBC 28 28.45 27.8 28 27.8 28 92600 2584210 SECURITY BANK 141.9 145 145.8 145.8 141 145 455040 64696966 UNION BANK 66 66.3 66 66.25 65.9 66 2140 141233.5 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.33 1.42 1.42 1.42 1.42 1.42 1000 1420 BDO LEASING 2.45 2.53 2.36 2.57 2.36 2.53 107000 271120 COL FINANCIAL 15.3 15.68 15.7 15.7 15.68 15.68 900 14116 FERRONOUX HLDG 3.85 4 3.93 4.05 3.85 4 123000 488080 IREMIT 1.49 1.58 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 35000 52500 MEDCO HLDG 0.45 0.47 0.43 0.47 0.43 0.45 140000 61500 MANULIFE 830 835 830 830 830 830 10 8300 NTL REINSURANCE 0.79 0.8 0.81 0.81 0.79 0.8 403000 320800 PHIL STOCK EXCH 180 189 180 185 180 180 7610 1370614

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.23 1.26 1.25 1.29 1.23 1.26 455000 560550 ABOITIZ POWER 32.1 32.5 32.7 33 31.75 32.5 1615600 52519455 BASIC ENERGY 0.205 0.215 0.206 0.219 0.205 0.215 4190000 864080 FIRST GEN 16.4 16.42 16.6 16.6 16.36 16.4 1046300 17201348 FIRST PHIL HLDG 63.7 63.85 64.5 64.5 63.7 63.85 25110 1603389.5 PHIL H2O 4.25 4.34 4.05 4.35 4.02 4.34 181000 750100 MERALCO 374.4 380.8 377 380.8 373.4 380.8 172690 65208870 MANILA WATER 25.4 25.5 25.05 25.5 25 25.5 74600 1884885 PETRON 8.09 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.03 8.12 1252100 10,120,073( PETROENERGY 3.9 4.1 4 4 4 4 41000 164000 PHINMA ENERGY 0.99 1.01 1.04 1.04 0.99 1 1238000 1237920 PHX PETROLEUM 10.62 10.98 10.88 10.98 10.54 10.98 148700 1610676 PILIPINAS SHELL 49.35 49.45 49.6 50.1 48.95 49.45 356900 17671690 SPC POWER 5.19 5.2 5.2 5.21 5.19 5.2 284300 1478269 AGRINURTURE 17.48 17.5 17.6 17.96 17.22 17.5 596100 10608060 BOGO MEDELLIN 91.1 93 94 94 93 93 290 26990 CNTRL AZUCARERA 14.12 15.8 15 15.8 15 15.8 3800 57080 CENTURY FOOD 13.3 13.34 13.3 13.36 13.3 13.3 54200 722962 DEL MONTE 6.8 7 7 7.08 6.8 7 3800 26128 DNL INDUS 10.96 10.98 10.9 11.02 10.88 10.96 700000 7667986 EMPERADOR 6.96 6.97 6.96 7 6.93 6.97 144300 1006215 SMC FOODANDBEV 84 84.95 82.5 84.95 82.5 84.95 1042730 87863723.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 0.96 0.98 2000000 1955650 GINEBRA 23.9 24 24 24.5 24 24.5 20000 480100 JOLLIBEE 276 278 279 279 273 278 333550 91977590 MAXS GROUP 10.4 10.42 10.08 10.48 10.04 10.42 53800 547844 MG HLDG 0.165 0.174 0.163 0.173 0.163 0.173 60000 9980 PEPSI COLA 1.53 1.55 1.52 1.64 1.52 1.57 36000 56820 SHAKEYS PIZZA 10.18 10.2 10.14 10.3 10.12 10.2 2995600 30437194 ROXAS AND CO 1.93 2.07 2.1 2.12 1.93 2.12 26000 54380 RFM CORP 4.65 4.8 4.78 4.8 4.65 4.8 80000 383370 ROXAS HLDG 2.71 3.07 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 6000 16800 SWIFT FOODS 0.122 0.126 0.126 0.126 0.126 0.126 70000 8820 UNIV ROBINA 125 125.6 130.4 130.4 124 125 392250 49084764 VITARICH 1.4 1.41 1.4 1.45 1.35 1.41 3176000 4398130 VICTORIAS 2.33 2.34 2.34 2.34 2.34 2.34 14000 32760 CONCRETE A 60.8 66.75 60.75 60.75 60.75 60.75 30 1822.5 CEMEX HLDG 2.02 2.05 2 2.04 2 2.04 797000 1602950 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.1 5.4 4.5 5.4 4.5 5.4 7000 34200 EAGLE CEMENT 14.78 14.8 14.78 14.9 14.78 14.78 55600 821864 EEI CORP 8.33 8.7 8.5 8.5 8.1 8.33 1325700 11028624 HOLCIM 6.01 6.26 6.18 6.28 6 6.26 10400 64324 MEGAWIDE 18.2 18.3 17.94 18.36 17.42 18.3 1095700 19750272 TKC METALS 0.86 0.89 0.84 0.89 0.84 0.89 7000 6150 VULCAN INDL 1.61 1.62 1.78 1.92 1.6 1.61 67259000 118057760 CHEMPHIL 171.6 199.8 172.1 172.1 171.6 171.6 180 30953 CROWN ASIA 1.56 1.57 1.54 1.57 1.54 1.57 176000 272660 LMG CHEMICALS 4.7 4.96 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 69000 324300 PRYCE CORP 5.35 5.59 5.36 5.59 5.36 5.59 9500 50943 CONCEPCION 33.45 37.45 35.6 35.6 33.45 33.45 2600 87400 GREENERGY 1.58 1.6 1.62 1.64 1.54 1.6 16787000 26532940 INTEGRATED MICR 8.92 9 9.7 9.7 9 9 5139800 46811165 IONICS 1.57 1.6 1.66 1.66 1.5 1.6 819000 1283950 PANASONIC 5.9 6 5.87 6 5.87 6 500 2967 SFA SEMICON 1.4 1.44 1.4 1.46 1.38 1.44 225000 313410 CIRTEK HLDG 35.5 36 37.5 37.8 36 36 643700 23699060

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.42 0.425 0.42 0.435 0.415 0.425 18310000 7777300 ASIABEST GROUP 24.35 24.95 24 25.45 23.1 24.95 93400 2281320 AYALA CORP 901.5 902 902.5 912 902 902 112620 101824680 ABOITIZ EQUITY 46 47 46.5 47 45.6 47 912500 42231525 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 11.12 11.18 11.48 11.62 11.12 11.12 8806800 98739320 ANSCOR 6.2 6.22 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 9800 60760 ATN HLDG A 1.36 1.37 1.32 1.38 1.27 1.36 19172000 25540680 ATN HLDG B 1.34 1.37 1.33 1.37 1.3 1.36 3736000 4982050 BHI HLDG 1004 1378 1005 1005 1005 1005 25 25125 COSCO CAPITAL 7.04 7.05 7.1 7.1 6.9 7.05 2219000 15642824 DMCI HLDG 12.46 12.5 12.64 12.8 12.46 12.5 6984000 87315214 FILINVEST DEV 7.11 7.32 7.35 7.35 7.1 7.32 143600 1046129 FORUM PACIFIC 0.193 0.217 0.21 0.217 0.21 0.217 300000 65030 GT CAPITAL 725.5 728 710 733 705 728 86990 62772325 JG SUMMIT 46.3 46.45 48.25 48.25 45.5 46.45 1682700 77972960 LODESTAR 0.48 0.51 0.52 0.52 0.48 0.51 291000 140905 LOPEZ HLDG 4.09 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.09 4.1 425000 1747440 LT GROUP 15.1 15.2 15.18 15.32 15.1 15.1 4991300 76028264 MABUHAY HLDG 0.53 0.54 0.53 0.54 0.52 0.54 753000 393090 METRO PAC INV 4.69 4.75 4.72 4.75 4.63 4.75 14590000 68573080 PACIFICA 0.035 0.036 0.034 0.036 0.034 0.035 7400000 258100 PRIME ORION 2.26 2.27 2.2 2.36 2.2 2.26 463000 1052940 SOLID GROUP 1.36 1.42 1.42 1.43 1.42 1.43 115000 164440 SM INVESTMENTS 881 888 890 914 872.5 888 136090 121066155 SAN MIGUEL CORP 171 171.5 170 175 165.3 171.5 963490 165155921 TOP FRONTIER 264.2 278.8 270 279.6 270 279.6 10020 2796714 WELLEX INDUS 0.205 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.2 0.21 2850000 577400 ZEUS HLDG 0.193 0.217 0.217 0.217 0.217 0.217 20000 4340

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.57 0.58 0.59 0.59 0.57 0.57 656000 375160 ANCHOR LAND 11 11.26 11 11 11 11 100 1100 AYALA LAND 38 38.5 38.5 38.6 38 38 7158200 273295210 ARANETA PROP 1.82 1.85 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 16000 29120 BELLE CORP 2.28 2.29 2.31 2.31 2.28 2.28 1807000 4148680 A BROWN 0.71 0.74 0.72 0.74 0.71 0.74 875000 633640 CITYLAND DEVT 0.87 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 31000 27280 CROWN EQUITIES 0.207 0.209 0.206 0.212 0.206 0.207 740000 153590 CEBU HLDG 5.7 6.06 5.66 6.06 5.66 6.06 12400 70224 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.25 4.38 4.3 4.38 4.25 4.38 1257000 5393540 CENTURY PROP 0.4 0.405 0.39 0.405 0.385 0.405 7830000 3083900 CYBER BAY 0.345 0.385 0.385 0.385 0.385 0.385 290000 111650 DOUBLEDRAGON 18.4 18.52 18.6 18.6 18.22 18.52 131800 2410666 DM WENCESLAO 7.77 7.79 7.8 7.81 7.76 7.79 257400 2006982 EMPIRE EAST 0.5 0.51 0.5 0.51 0.5 0.51 147000 73620 FILINVEST LAND 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.44 1.41 1.42 709000 1006430 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.01 1.02 1.02 1.02 1 1.01 1283000 1291570 8990 HLDG 7.19 7.3 7.16 7.34 7.16 7.34 25700 187708 IRC PROP 2.34 2.35 2.4 2.52 2.25 2.35 25006000 59582650 CITY AND LAND 0.89 0.93 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 5000 4500 MEGAWORLD 4.43 4.5 4.46 4.5 4.4 4.5 8213000 36844120 MRC ALLIED 0.36 0.365 0.365 0.39 0.36 0.36 147460000 55175750 PHIL ESTATES 0.41 0.415 0.395 0.41 0.395 0.41 550000 224400 PRIMEX CORP 3.72 3.73 3.71 3.75 3.66 3.73 713000 2649120 ROBINSONS LAND 20.3 20.35 21.2 21.2 20.35 20.35 2540800 51771705 PHIL REALTY 0.36 0.385 0.35 0.37 0.35 0.37 90000 32350 ROCKWELL 1.93 1.94 1.93 1.94 1.9 1.94 171000 331380 SHANG PROP 3.12 3.16 3.18 3.18 3.13 3.16 27000 85190 STA LUCIA LAND 1.09 1.13 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.14 5000 5700 SM PRIME HLDG 32.65 32.7 32.8 33 32.5 32.7 8047200 262816675 STARMALLS 4.2 4.22 3.81 4.31 3.81 4.22 476000 1968110 PTFC REDEV CORP 29.2 36.95 29.1 29.1 29.05 29.05 600 17445 VISTA LAND 5.15 5.2 5.15 5.21 5.12 5.2 11480500 59439793

SERVICES ABS CBN 20.8 21 21.1 21.1 20.6 20.8 76300 1594600 GMA NETWORK 5.2 5.21 5.2 5.29 5.2 5.2 91000 474430 MANILA BULLETIN 0.395 0.42 0.395 0.4 0.395 0.4 150000 59900 MLA BRDCASTING 11 15 8.32 9.11 8.32 9.11 200 1743 GLOBE TELECOM 1728 1746 1824 1860 1690 1728 175255 309295505 PLDT 1205 1220 1284 1284 1186 1220 104580 126788215 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.037 0.039 0.04 0.04 0.037 0.038 1800000 69100 IMPERIAL 1.8 1.89 1.82 1.82 1.78 1.8 31000 55780 ISLAND INFO 0.093 0.099 0.103 0.103 0.09 0.093 2270000 214710 ISM COMM 6.79 6.8 6.2 6.86 5.81 6.8 101154800 654183760 JACKSTONES 3.09 3.38 3.03 3.4 3 3.4 136000 433540 NOW CORP 3.05 3.06 2.55 3.38 2.55 3.05 42951000 129285060 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.355 0.36 0.34 0.365 0.34 0.355 57720000 20600450 PHILWEB 3.33 3.36 3.24 3.38 3.09 3.36 313000 1028940 2GO GROUP 9.8 10 10.48 10.48 10 10 25700 258968 ASIAN TERMINALS 13.06 13.44 13.06 13.06 13.06 13.06 1200 15672 CEBU AIR 65.6 65.65 68 68 65.5 65.65 85550 5616607 CHELSEA 7.8 7.81 7.7 8.1 7.1 7.8 14451800 110421273 INTL CONTAINER 92.1 92.15 92.25 93.8 92 92.15 6180360 574535688.5 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.71 0.73 0.71 0.75 0.71 0.71 234000 167610 MACROASIA 16.32 16.4 16.22 16.5 16.22 16.4 2063800 33846192 METROALLIANCE A 1.05 1.1 1.08 1.1 1.05 1.1 102000 109140 METROALLIANCE B 1.07 1.33 1.07 1.47 1.07 1.38 21000 24320 PAL HLDG 7.64 7.99 8 8 8 8 500 4000 HARBOR STAR 3.34 3.35 3.18 3.4 3.18 3.35 3653000 12207220 ACESITE HOTEL 1.26 1.47 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 3000 3900 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.02 2.25 2.26 2.26 2.26 2.26 10000 22600 GRAND PLAZA 9.54 11.7 9.03 9.03 9.02 9.02 1400 12637 WATERFRONT 0.49 0.5 0.48 0.53 0.45 0.49 2510000 1268400 CENTRO ESCOLAR 7.8 7.99 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 14000 109200 FAR EASTERN U 890 902 902 902 902 902 20 18040 IPEOPLE 11.04 11.2 11.04 11.04 11.04 11.04 600 6624 STI HLDG 0.59 0.61 0.58 0.63 0.58 0.59 4552000 2690250 BERJAYA 1.42 1.43 1.45 1.45 1.39 1.43 1338000 1880180 BLOOMBERRY 8.1 8.12 8.06 8.12 7.93 8.12 9016200 72268443 PACIFIC ONLINE 10.54 10.96 10.6 10.96 10.5 10.96 18400 200794 LEISURE AND RES 2.95 2.96 2.91 3.05 2.9 2.96 145000 426710 MANILA JOCKEY 5.5 5.68 5.34 5.7 5.3 5.7 47100 262339 MELCO RESORTS 7.12 7.13 7.12 7.13 7.12 7.12 1613000 11484569 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.65 0.67 0.67 0.71 0.65 0.65 6160000 4134330 TRAVELLERS 5.15 5.16 5.15 5.16 5.14 5.15 1147800 5911049 METRO RETAIL 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.1 2.06 2.06 807000 1675180 PUREGOLD 42.85 43 43 43.55 42.1 43 4425800 190279780 ROBINSONS RTL 75.25 76.8 76.9 76.9 75.1 76.8 32450 2470594.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 101.3 103 103.1 108 101.3 101.3 19320 1998268 SSI GROUP 2.83 2.84 2.77 2.95 2.73 2.84 17619000 50564390 WILCON DEPOT 11.62 11.64 11.4 11.8 11.4 11.62 2399000 27827840 APC GROUP 0.355 0.37 0.37 0.39 0.355 0.36 2060000 755700 EASYCALL 5.51 5.68 4.99 6 4.99 5.68 688000 3868380 GOLDEN BRIA 309.8 319 318.8 319 305.4 319 7260 2282874 IPM HLDG 7.6 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 10000 78000 PAXYS 3.03 3.5 3.42 3.5 3.38 3.5 18000 62680 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.325 0.335 0.31 0.335 0.305 0.335 1720000 552700 SBS PHIL CORP 6.83 6.97 6.97 6.97 6.83 6.83 800 5478

MINING & OIL ATOK 12.54 13.26 13 13.82 12.62 12.62 10200 129724 APEX MINING 1.77 1.78 1.68 1.81 1.65 1.78 13531000 23825740 ABRA MINING 0.0021 0.0023 0.0022 0.0023 0.0021 0.0023 38000000 81200 ATLAS MINING 2.52 2.55 2.6 2.6 2.54 2.55 52000 135040 BENGUET A 1.04 1.29 1.29 1.29 1.29 1.29 1000 1290 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.285 0.295 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 110000 31900 CENTURY PEAK 1.9 1.92 1.92 1.93 1.9 1.9 411000 787100 DIZON MINES 6.93 7.09 7.08 7.1 6.91 7.1 600 4185 FERRONICKEL 1.75 1.76 1.74 1.76 1.7 1.76 927000 1602260 GEOGRACE 0.196 0.199 0.195 0.2 0.195 0.2 70000 13900 LEPANTO A 0.1 0.103 0.099 0.1 0.099 0.1 250000 24920 LEPANTO B 0.098 0.103 0.103 0.103 0.103 0.103 100000 10300 MANILA MINING A 0.0067 0.0074 0.0067 0.0067 0.0067 0.0067 1000000 6700 NIHAO 0.99 1.02 1.02 1.02 1 1.02 3000 3040 NICKEL ASIA 2.59 2.6 2.63 2.65 2.58 2.59 5097000 13215740 OMICO CORP 0.52 0.54 0.54 0.54 0.52 0.52 133000 70420 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.88 0.89 0.82 0.88 0.81 0.88 502000 427710 PX MINING 3.2 3.28 3.22 3.35 3.19 3.2 3861000 12383130 SEMIRARA MINING 25.4 25.5 26 26.5 25.5 25.5 2426600 62862070 UNITED PARAGON 0.006 0.0062 0.0061 0.0061 0.006 0.006 4000000 24100 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.014 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.013 88100000 1129400 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 235200000 3057500 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 19500000 234000 PHINMA PETRO 3.9 3.99 3.77 3.9 3.75 3.9 176000 663360 PXP ENERGY 18.3 18.32 17.7 18.5 17.4 18.3 4973900 90484210

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

96 460 487 96.2 972 100.5 451 445 1.02 103.1 963 75.9 76.2 72.65 72.55 73.85 73

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

20.6 5.04 1.81

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 3.58 MAKATI FINANCE 2.7 XURPAS 1.28

105.1

15200 -26290 -57161735 -130570 -64240416 60760 494190 15075 -46567 -20955370 -23991925 -9461080 -302710 8441654 104000 -8555980 10600 11050 163020 -35900130 61818923 -1674800 30000 68399.9999 -96151620 -1841780 -720 58250 198167.9997 38800 141930 35350 3558520 -2629310 493350 633290 1974875 7000 102810 -38040 -78478655 -105000 20919499 -138860030 -30555765 7851242 5279270 2420050 176060 -100 310746 -1268193 226999741.5 -135300 -220440 -1654990 14000 -12407908 -21200 -14690 42250 -5188015 -33170 7002650 -540094.5 515018 12199480 -965462 -17820 -10500 -36650 4752580 -7640 -69030 7976840 -5671410 -15772000 -3055000 -24000 6298408

97 465 488 97 972.5 102 480 485 1.03 103.1 990 76.1 76.6 74.35 72.7 72.35 74

97 465 491 97 998.5 102 480 485 1.03 103.1 990 76.1 76.6 74.4 75 74 74

97 465 488 96.2 972.5 102 480 485 1.03 103.1 990 76.1 76.6 74.35 72.5 72.3 74

97 465 491 96.5 998.5 102 480 485 1.03 103.1 990 76.1 76.6 74.4 75 74 74

2420 90 120 32800 60 38150 100 20 10000 200 50 10 20 47750 31000 36400 2500

234740 41850 58620 3179970 58610 3891300 48000 9700 10300 20620 49500 761 1532 3550213 2261796.5 2653582 185000

-2579945 29600

21 5.39

21.4 5.42

21.4 5.42

20.2 5.42

20.6 5.42

35700 100

753580 542

136740 -

1.89

1.86

1.96

1.8

1.89

340000

630500

-

3.6 2.99 1.29

3.3 2.68 1.3

3.79 3 1.36

3.2 2.68 1.28

3.58 3 1.28

1442000 13000 2605000

5093170 35800 3387400

498080 -695680

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

-24300795 -5106972 385789 30028700 1049875 1,000,816.0003) -678414 -9277265 36400 3267432 133696 2463700 -117557 -8940090 45220 8032252 64480 9980 -21430 -179820 -105340 -34925128 -30850 9360 -207090.0001 -239436 237981 -4287 -4728194 -3271840 23500 402089.9999 -4535909 -89850

97 465 491 98 998 102 480 485 1.03 104.9 1008 76.1 76.6 74.4 75 74 74

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

-14523.5 -25493959 -56408709.5 159600 -4019766 -33951582.5 -3361695 -201718 -11881 -0 841760

105.5

106

106

105

105.5

18200

1914406

10510

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

NGCP breaks ground on cable terminal stations for MVIP

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By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) recently broke ground on the new cable terminal stations, which serve as a major component of the multibillion-peso Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP).

The cable terminal stations will be located in the municipality of Santander, Cebu, and Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte. These will serve as the landing points of the two 92-kilometer submarine cables

which will carry around 450 megawatts (MW) of power from the Visayas and Mindanao, and vice versa.

The NGCP assures the completion of the MVIP in 2020.

“This is just the first in a long se-

ries of small achievements toward the successful completion of this project,” the NGCP said. “We are confident that the NGCP team will exhibit the commitment and skills needed to push the project and realize the interconnected transmission network within the committed time frame,” added the company.

The MVIP, provisionally approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission in 2017, is considered the biggest power infrastructure project in the country’s history.

Apart from the submarine cables and cable terminal stations, the P52-billion project also entails the installation of 526 circuitkilometers of overhead transmission lines, high-voltage direct current converter stations, and various upgrades to substations

in both regions.

In May 2018 the Department of Energy also certified the MVIP as an Energy Project of National Significance, in order to streamline and expedite the needed documents for the construction and completion of the project.

“We call on our stakeholders, concerned government agencies and units, communities, consumer groups, and the public, to support us as we advance toward completing the MVIP, and implement a broader interisland connectivity,” said the NGCP. The NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid, led by majority shareholders Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr.

MWSS’s Velasco allays fears on Kaliwa Dam project as PHL, China move to seal deal on November 21 Continued from B1

The Kaliwa Dam project, Velasco said, went through the necessary processes and review by MWSS together with its consultants.

With the forthcoming formal signing of the contract between President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jing Pin scheduled on November 21, the construction will commence, with China Energy Engineering Corp. (CEEC) taking the lead, starting next year. The project is expected to be completed in 2023.

“It’s a done deal national project,” Velasco said, referring to the Kaliwa Dam project located in Quezon province. The water project includes the construction of a 27.70-kilometer conveyance tunnel.

“The objective of the government is to ensure water security since, admittedly, we are in a catch-up mode and as a redundant water source, thereby reducing the total dependency on the Angat Dam reservoir that also supplies water to the metropolis and nearby areas,” he said.

Velasco said that construction

of the multibillion-peso water project was first approved by the Neda on May 29, 2014. And, on June 27, 2017, the change of project financing scheme from Public, private partnership (PPP) to official development assistance (ODA) was approved.

The ambitious water project was planned 34 years ago but it was only during the Duterte administration that the Kaliwa Dam project is being implemented, Velasco said. “When completed, this will answer the nagging water security problem in Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan,” he pointed out.

The benefits include a tourism boom, the opening of new roads, employment opportunities and the economy in these areas, said Velasco. At the same time, he gave assurances that engineers and other experts will see to it that the Kaliwa Dam can withstand an 8-magnitude earthquake.

“Our experts and consultants have carefully studied this possibility and made sure it can withstand the Big One just in case it strikes,” Velasco said.

DICT’s Rio wants to complete 3rd telco process

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HE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is in the most crucial stage of the selection process for the third telco player that will soon break the so-called duopoly, and a changing of the guard at this moment may prove to be impractical instead of beneficial.

Eliseo M. Rio, the acting chief of the ICT department, said it is but logical for him to finish the selection process since he was the one who spearheaded this initiative, and any change in leadership of his agency may just jeopardize or delay the entire process. “It’s just logical for me to finish this because I know the background of the process, I know everything about it, and I am confident that I can finish it. Let me do it,” he said in a phone interview at the weekend.

President Duterte has officially offered the post to Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan II, who officially announced on Friday (November 9) he has accepted the job.

“We are at the critical stage of the selection process. We are just a few days from completing it. Why change me midstream?” Rio asked aloud.

Rio explained that while the pro-

cess is almost finished, the motions for reconsideration filed by the two disqualified parties—Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp.

(PT&T), and Sear Telecommunications Inc. of politician Luis Chavit C. Singson—may warrant close attention.

PT&T is seeking reconsideration from being disqualified, as it claimed that the National Telecommunications Commission failed to give the group a technical certification certificate, which is a major requirement for a party to participate in the bidding process.

Sear, on the other hand, is protesting the legality of the franchise of Mislatel Consortium, the provisional third telco player, claiming that the company has an outstanding and exclusive agreement with Digiphil Technology Inc., which is an affiliate of one of Sear’s investors.

“What is the urgency for Senator Honasan to enter? Is it for him to proclaim the third telco player?

That’s fine by me, but because I know everything about this process, let me finish it. It’s just logical for me to do it,” Rio said.

Duterte floated the idea of getting Honasan to sit as the chief of the ICT department in 2017. Lorenz S. Marasigan

MUTUAL FUNDS

November 9, 2018

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 239.93 -17.81% -1.83% 0.02% -18.17% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.3627 -16.16% 2.27% 1.35% -14.66% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 3.7083 -18.67% -1.47% -1.03% -19.26% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.8513 -16.13% N.A. N.A. -16.29% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. * ********* 0.7836 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 4.9258 -17.21% -3.86% -0.68% -18.08% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * ****** 109 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.7849 -19% N.A. N.A. -20.93% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 46.4926 -17.14% -1.01% N.A. -17.56% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 485.44 -17.43% -2.27% -0.88% -17.51% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.1968 -14.9% -0.25% N.A. -14.78% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 34.8964 -14.76% 0.17% 2.03% -15.08% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 4.6761 -17.15% -0.33% 1.94% -17.59% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 780.79 -17.04% -0.58% 1.73% -17.44% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8144 -15.72% -2.69% N.A. -15.79% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 3.8787 -15.1% -0.47% 0.48% -15.32% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 0.9002 -17.27% -0.49% N.A. -17.66% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.3186 -13.83% 0.59% 0.67% -14.78% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* *** 104.3732 -16.66% 0.58% N.A. -17.13% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $0.9686 -12.07% 1.83% -0.13% -12.6% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.2287 -0.78% N.A. N.A. -2.88% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.6056 -13.32% -3.31% -2.41% -13.84% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.143 -12.44% -1.17% -0.34% -12.78% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.4277 -12.07% -4.53% -3.02% -12.35% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* **** 1.2657 -13.27% N.A. N.A. -13% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.7885 -9.6% -0.52% -0.13% -10.24% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.3827 -13.72% -2.46% -1.26% -13.66% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 15.2633 -13.26% -2.28% -1.24% -13.07% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* ******** 2.0031 -10.56% -0.49% 1.23% -10.66% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.5338 -11.42% -1.23% -0.44% -11.57% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.8991 -11.24% -1.56% N.A. -11.88% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.03464 -4.12% -0.76% 1.64% -4.04% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.948 -9.83% 1.22% -1.51% -9.46% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.5458 -1.28% 3.77% 2.46% -2.92% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.049 -4.93% N.A. N.A. -5.68% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 341.91 1.74% 1.86% 1.58% 1.42% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ******* 1.8499 -2.61% -1.12% -0.76% -2.24% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9517 5.47% 5.33% 5.24% 4.6% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1223 0.74% 1.13% 0.98% 0.96% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2133 -0.07% -0.05% 0.22% -0.13% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.561 -3.25% -1.31% -1.68% -3.01% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.8253 -5.93% -1.78% -1.19% -5.55% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.4701 -0.48% -0.41% -0.33% -0.99% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.8784 -5.14% -1.92% N.A. -4.85% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.7426 -1.32% 0.01% -0.03% -1.24% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.5219 -1.92% -0.53% -0.44% -1.79% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $446.29 0.28% 2.21% 2.94% 0.08% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є213.02 -0.34% 1.16% 1.56% -0.33% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1211 -1.19% 0.76% 1.7% -1.15% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0248 -0.8% 0.54% N.A. -0.8% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.6884 -4.85% -0.59% 1.13% -4.69% MAA PRIVILEGE DOLLAR FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. MAA PRIVILEGE EURO FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. ЄN.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC* $1.0198 -5.82% -1.1% -2.84% -5% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1309 -5.03% 0.1% 2.27% -5.34% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0568772 -1.09% 0.8% 1.79% -0.56% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8734 -4.62% 0.4% 1.63% -4.63% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 120.19 2.47% 1.73% 1.48% 2.19% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1753 1.73% 0.38% 0.39% 1.55% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2128 2.49% 2.19% 1.46% 2.3% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* ***** $1.0133 1.34% N.A. N.A. 1.46%

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

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

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

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Monday, November 12, 2018

B3

Changes in Senate rice tariff bill sought

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

FARMERS group is urging the Senate to empower the President to hike applied tariff rates on rice imports when there’s an oversupply of the staple to prevent planters from incurring losses.

In a letter submitted to senators, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) said a provision that allows the President to increase rice import tariffs should be included in the Senate’s rice tariffication bill.

Senate Bill (SB) 1998, which seeks to convert the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice into tariffs, allows the President to cut tariffs when there’s a shortage.

“Notably, Section 7[a] of SB 1998 envisions only a case where the President can temporarily lower tariffs on rice imports in case of an impending rice shortage,” FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror.

“It does not contemplate a situation where the applied tariff is lower than the bound rate, and the President may deem it proper to increase the applied tariff to address, say, an abnormal surge in imports or a drastic decline in import prices,” Montemayor added.

The House version of the rice tariffication bill permits the President to cut or raise rice tariff rates, depending on the prevailing market condition. This provision, Montemayor said, would make it easier for government to protect the local rice sector from import surges.

Under SB 1998, the Philippines would impose special safeguard duty (SSG) on rice imports based on the provisions under Republic Act (RA) 8800, or the Safeguard Measures Act, which was patterned under the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), a SSG on imports could be applied when there is an import surge or the landed cost of imports falls below a trigger price.

Montemayor pointed out that there is “practically no possibility” for the country to impose a price-based SSG, as the trigger

price for rice imports was pegged at P4.56 per kilogram, lower than the P22 per kg landed cost of imported rice.

‘Ineffective’

AS for volume-based SSG, Montemayor flagged the delayed data collection on imports, which could hamper the use of such trade remedy. A volume-based SSG is applied when imports in a given year exceeds the preceding three-year average import volume for the commodity.

Montemayor said the imposition of general safeguards may not protect local farmers, as it would take time to take effect due to its “rigorous” process.

Under the RA 8800, the government could impose additional tariffs and even reintroduce QRs if there is proof that a domestic sector has been harmed by imports.

The effectiveness of this process to “promptly address problems arising from excessive or unduly cheap rice imports” is “doubtful,” according to Montemayor.

“In general therefore, we cannot rely either on the SSG or the general safeguards to promptly and effectively address problems that may arise in the future. Adjustments in tariff rates, by comparison, are much easier to implement and can have immediate effects,” he said.

“A high bound tariff, and judicious adjustments in applied tariffs, will give government the maximum leeway to handle any situation,” he added.

Bound rate

FFF is also pushing for the adoption of a 180-percent bound rate on rice imports instead of 50 percent under the Senate’s version of the bill.

Montemayor said a 50-percent bound rate or lower would limit government’s

policy options. He noted that tariff adjustments on the applied rate would be limited to the bound rate, as it serves as the ceiling of duties. The bound rate is the maximum tariff rate that a country could slap on a commodity.

Also, a low bound rate would mean lower additional tariffs as a special safeguard measure against import surge or price depression.

Citing WTO-AoA, Montemayor said a country could only impose additional tariffs equivalent to one-third of its bound rate.

This means that at a 50-percent bound rate, the country’s total applied tariff rates with SSG would only be 57 percent compared to a total tariff rate of 133 percent at a bound rate of 100 percent, Montemayor said.

House Bill 7735, or the Revised Agricultural Tariffication Act, followed the recommendation of the Department of Agriculture (DA) as it adopted a bound rate of 180-percent on rice imports.

The DA said it could defend the 180-percent bound rate, which was computed using WTO legal texts as basis, before the country’s trade-partners.

Montemayor also noted that under WTO-AoA, a country that failed to convert its QR into tariffs upon the cessation of its special treatment would have to implement a 15-percent tariff reduction.

“Depending on whether the ‘15 percent’ is interpreted in absolute or relative terms, this means that our starting tariff, if we adopt a tariff equivalent of 50 percent, will have to be either 35 percent, or 42.5 percent,” he said.

“In comparison, the DA has maintained that it has the data to support a 180-percent bound rate that is already net of the 15-percent reduction mandated by [WTOAoA] Annex 5,” he added.

Under SB 1998, the bound tariff for rice would be 50 percent, or the tariff equivalent as computed by the National Economic and Development Authority based on the formula in Annex 5 of the AoA, whichever is higher. Montemayor said this provision “is not legally tenable under WTO rules.”

“For as long as we can defend it at the WTO, it is perfectly legal and it will provide our government with the maximum policy space to react to, and address, market contingencies that may arise in the future,” he added.

Govt keen on planting sorghum in tribal lands

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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it may spend P15 billion until 2022 to plant sorghum in lands owned by indigenous peoples (IP) to meet the growing demand for cheaper animal feeds.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol told the BusinessMirror that the DA is targeting to identify 100,000 hectares for sorghum planting next year. The government’s will plant sorghum in 3 million hectares at a cost of P5,000 per hectare.

Piñol said the DA would spend P5 billion starting 2020 to hit its target of opening up 1 million hectares of sorghum plantation per year until 2022. The initiative is part of the National Sorghum Development Program, which seeks to develop idle tribal lands owned by marginalized indigenous peoples, launched by the DA on November 10.

“The sorghum program is aimed at producing an additional 10 million metric tons of feed grains to support the growing livestock and poultry industry of the country, which relied mainly on yellow corn and cassava as sources of protein in animal feeds,” he said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

“The fast growth of the livestock and poultry sector, however, is hampered by the high cost of feed materials, especially yellow corn, prompting local feed millers to import corn and feed wheat,” Piñol added.

T he ag r ic u lt u re c h ief sa id t he production of local sorghum would be a cheaper alternative to imported feed wheat, which has an estimated landed cost of about P15 per kilogram. The projected buying price of sorghum is pegged at P12 per kg, according to Piñol.

“This could drastically lower the cost of feeds, which could be translated to cheaper chicken and pork,” he said.

Piñol said Charoen Pokphand Foods

THIS file photo shows sorghum planted in a Texas field. The Philippine government is targeting to expand areas planted with sorghum to cut the cost of animal feeds. PHOTO TAKEN FROM THE WEB SITE OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Philippines Corp. has already committed to purchase the sorghum produced by the IP communities. Officials from CPFC, including its vice chairman, Sakol Cheewakoset, attended the launch of the DA’s sorghum program, according to Piñol. “[CPFC] Senior Vice President for Livestock Feed Business Sompong Rojanaadisorn signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tribal People’s Group pledging to purchase the sorghum production from the ancestral domain areas,” he said.

The DA, through its Special Area for Agricultural Development program, would provide the necessary production support to the IP communities that will participate in the program.

The DA would also establish sor-

ghum pilot farms in every region “to serve as learning sites for other farmers who would like to participate in the program,” he added. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

DA searching for areas suitable for palay

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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is targeting to open at least 300,000 hectares of new rice areas outside of typhoon-vulnerable regions next year to hike output.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol told the BusinessMirror that he has already instructed some DA regional directors to look for lands suitable for paddy production.

“I have also directed directors of regions outside of path of typhoon—Mimaropa [Palawan, Mindoro], Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas [Samar, Leyte], Caraga, Davao, Central Mindanao and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to open at least 300,000 hectares of new rice areas by 2019,” he said in an interview.

Piñol said the DA would make the necessary investments to develop new rice farms in regions not usually hit by storms using data submitted by the mayors during the recent Food Security Summit.

He added that the DA will use funds from rice tariffs once Congress enacts a measure that will lift the quantitative restriction on the staple.

“We are actually banking on the proceeds from tariffication to be released in advance,” he said.

Piñol said the government is also keen on making changes in the rice cropping calendar to ensure the continuous increase in local output.

The agriculture chief issued the statement after farm production in the third quarter contracted by 0.83 percent. The government attributed this to typhoons that ravaged major rice-producing areas in the country during the period.

This is the first time that farm output declined after expanding for six consecutive quarters since the first quarter of last year.

The last time agriculture production posted a decline was in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The crops subsector, which accounted for 45.58 percent of the total output, posted a 3.64-percent drop in production. From January to September, the subsector’s output went down by 1.38 percent.

“Palay and corn production dropped by 5.70 percent and 14.83 percent, respective-

ly,” the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

Economist Rolando T. Dy told the BusinessMirror that government must “diversify” the supply base of various crops if it wants the farm sector to recover immediately.

“For instance, diversify the supply base of vegetables. Why not Eastern Rizal to supply areas like Quezon City and Marikina?” Dy, the executive director of the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Center for Food and Agri-business, said.

As for long-term measures, Dy said there should be stakeholder-driven road maps with details on “value chain corridors” for the country’s commodities. “Coconut fertilization, intercropping and hybrid replanting are prime examples.”

Solar facility

MRC Allied Inc. will develop at least 550-kilowatt-peak (kWp) solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop system for two rice-milling plants in Northern Luzon.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the development, design, construction, installation, of at least 550-kWp solar PV rooftop system was already executed for the two unidentified rice-milling plants.

Under the MOA, MRC will be the project developer and owner of the solar facility, while a private entity, owning and operating two milling plants, will be the power off-taker.

Augusto Cosio Jr., MRC Allied Inc. president and chief executive officer, said project construction of the P34-million, 550-kWp project is expected to begin this December.

Project completion is eyed in May 2019.

MRC Allied, which aims to gain a foothold in the growing Philippine solar PV rooftop market, wants to develop 4 megawatts (MW) of solar PV rooftop projects in Northern Luzon in the next two years.

“The signing of the MOA is a significant milestone for the company, and will kick off the pilot project of the company in its current solar PV project pipeline. The company aims to develop at least 4 MW of solar PV projects within the pilot project area,” Cosio said. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas and Lenie Lectura

B4 Monday, November 12, 2018

SHERATON MANILA HOTEL TO OPEN SOON WITH HIGH-CALIBER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE LANDBANK RECEIVES PHILIPPINE QUALITY AWARD FOR MANAGEMENT PROFICIENCY

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HE Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) was conferred with the Philippine Quality Award (PQA) in the 18th Cycle of Recipient Organizations (2015-2017) for its effort to attain and sustain quality service and performance.

LandBank is one of 16 organizations from both public and private sectors recognized for attaining exemplary levels of organizational performance. The award is bestowed on organizations that have

shown excellence in quality service and management. They have been evaluated by the PQA community, which is made up of industry professionals, based on the following criteria: Leadership; strategy; customer; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; work force; operations; and results.

“We are honored to have our relentless efforts in achieving organizational performance recognized by a prestigious award-giving body. We, at LandBank,

are faithful in constantly improving our processes in reaching out to our clients, especially those in the countryside,” LandBank Chief Executive Officer and President Alex V. Buenaventura says.

“In pursuant of our goals, we aim to consistently promote excellence in our programs and remain active in establishing and sustaining our partnerships.”

Buenaventura received on behalf of LandBank the PQA conferred by President Duterte at the Malacañang Palace.

S the excitement escalates on the opening of the iconic hotel brand Sheraton in Manila, the 393room property gives a broader picture of the guest experience it will deliver with its high-caliber executive committee. Spearheaded by industry veteran Anna Vergara as it general manager, noted as the first woman general manager of a 5-star international hotel in the Philippines.

Vergara takes pride with her team saying, “I am confident with our hotel, apart from the facilities and services—it’s the incredible team we have that will set our mark as a top-preferred hotel in the country.” Vergara herself is a seasoned hotelier with more than 25 years of trusted experience in the hospitality industry. She handled all positions in the front office and was the hotel manager of Manila Marriott prior to her appointment. With her are hotelier veterans like Brendan Mahoney as director of operations, who oversees key departments with guest touch points, such as front office, housekeeping, food and beverage service, culinary and events management.

Mahoney has been with Marriott for over three decades with an impressive culinary background. He climbed up the ladder through different hotels in Hawaii, Korea and Philippines, starting from the former Cebu City Marriott Hotel. Despite his American roots, Mahoney has clearly adapted well to the Filipino culture for years now.

Leading the sales department is Ferdie de Leon III, who was recently awarded by Marriott International as Asia Pacific Elite Catering Leader of the Year. Before joining Sheraton, de Leon was with Manila Marriott for eight years, where he developed strong sales leadership that established the hotel as a preeminent corporate and social-

event venue. In his new role, he will fortify Sheraton Manila to acquire strong clientele for consistent room and banquet revenues. Another man in the team is Zaldy de Padua as the chief engineer. De Padua has two decades of expertise under his belt here and abroad. He played a key role in the successful opening and maintenance of Manila Marriott and its 8,000-square-meter Marriott Grand Ballroom. He will now ensure high-level and full compliance of engineering operations to the international and government standards.

Alfie Sotto, whose name is prominent in the hotel industry, heads the talent acquisition and associate relations as the assistant director of human resources (HR).

Admired for his firm work ethics, Sotto established himself as an HR professional at The Peninsula Manila. After more than a decade, he joined the pre-opening team of Manila Marriott in 2009 as HR manager, which has earned many accolades of being an outstanding employer. He is easily the best choice in acquiring the best talent to open a 5-star hotel. Another rose in the team is Ria Magat, assistant director for finance. Magat has over 17 years of hotel finance management in the Philippines, Australia and Singapore. Of her long list of experience with accolades, one highlight is her exemplary performance award in AIM Conference Center that granted scholarship in the same institution. Her scope in this new appointment involves procurement, audit and overall profitability analysis.

Sheraton Manila Hotel is set to open before the year ends.

Currently the hotel is a visible stunner at the forefront of the Resorts World Complex and across Naia Terminal 3. It will offer wide variety of accommodations to choose from and multifaceted facilities for all kinds of business or leisure travel needs.

WIN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS WITH UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS

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O you have a groundbreaking, innovative or unique idea that you wanted to propose as a project for the government? You don’t wait for government’s invitation to bid. Bag that government contract with your unsolicited proposals. Be ahead of the game and learn “How to Prepare Unsolicited Proposals for Government Projects” on November 22 and 23, 2018 at the Manila Marriott Hotel.

This two-day special training will comprehensively cover all the legal, technical, financial and environmental aspects in preparing unsolicited proposals.

This pioneering program is an initiative of the Center for Global Best Practices as part of its advocacy to help spur economic growth and development in the Philippines. Visit www.cgbp.org for a complete list of Best Practices programs.

This will feature lawyer Alberto C. Agra, one of the only two in the world who is both a certified PPP and regulation specialist. He drafted a proposed PPP Code/ordinance for local government unit which, to date, has been adopted by more

than 100 LGUs in the Philippines. Currently he is the chairman of the Philippine Reclamation Authority; and is a professor and Bar reviewer at Ateneo Law School.

Attending this will provide you with wealth of information and valuable information that will save you millions in consulting fees in learning how to prepare those winning unsolicited proposals. This training is open to the general public and is applicable to both private and government sectors who want to fully understand how unsolicited proposals should be evaluated and approved.

Capture more opportunities for your organization. Public officials and government employees attending training programs like this are exempted from the P2,000 limit set by the Commission on Audit, based on the Department of Budget and Management Circular 563 dated April 22, 2016.

Interested participants are encouraged to avail themselves of the early-bird and group discounts. Seats are limited and preregistration is required.

SAFETY FIRST WITH QUALIBET

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ROM the water you take to the products that you use on your body, how sure are you that these won’t cause more harm than good to your health? “Safety is not the privilege of the rich, but the right of every Filipino,” says QualiBet, a trusted partner of many companies and government agencies in ensuring product quality and safety. As its name suggests “Quality is Better”, or QualiBet, manufacturers must never compromise nor be complacent in keeping the quality of their products in check.

With the global proliferation of harmful and tainted merchandise, QualiBet is also the public’s way of having peace of mind when it comes to the products they buy.

Offering third-party product testing, QualiBet for fast food and fine-dining restaurants, over-the-counter cosmetics and more, the company is also highly trusted for conducting tests, such as bacterial analysis, nutrition facts, minerals and heavy metals, among others. It also conducts seminars and modules for proper food handling, maintaining a clean kitchen for restaurants and food manufacturers, maintaining safe water and Good Manufacturing Practice modules.

As one of the country’s more popular testing-service laboratories for food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and even veterinary products, QualiBet has extensive experience in providing its clients the certification they need in maintaining quality control. QualiBet only makes use of the newest and most modern testing facility in the Philippines, which is being managed

by US-trained chemists, pharmacists and microbiologists.

The company takes pride in its results-oriented approach to doing business, as it works closely with its clients to help them get the certification that they need to pass government safety regulations. Thus, QualiBet makes sure to not just invest in the best testing equipment but also on its employees, so they remain highly skilled and competent in meeting their clients’ expectations.

As QualiBet was founded by chemist Pinky Pe Tobiano, clients are assured that they are in good hands with such a knowledgeable team working with them. To learn more about QualiBet, you may visit www.qualibetlab.com.

WHAT’S WITH TOWEL RACKS?

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Monday, November 12, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

NOT all the players are in favor of the rack, with Next Gen Finals topseed Stefanos Tsitsipas being a particularly vocal critic. AP

A number of new initiatives are being trialed at the second edition of Association of Tennis Professionals Next Gen Finals in Milan over the past week, one of which is the towel rack, with players having to fetch their own towels from boxes stationed in the corners of the court.

By Daniella Matar

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The Associated Press

ILAN—Towels have unexpectedly become a hotly debated subject in tennis this week.

A number of new initiatives are being trialed at the second edition of Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Next Gen Finals in Milan over the past week, one of which is the towel rack, with players having to fetch their own towels from boxes stationed in the corners of the court.

This is a welcome sight for many who have been made uneasy by the way some tennis stars interact with ball kids when being handed the towel.

“We’re looking at all the elements of tennis and the show around tennis,” ATP President Chris Kermode said in an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday. “We’re looking at shot clocks, the reduced warm-ups and that’s just part of it.

“There was quite a lot of public opinion that just didn’t like the optics of ball kids and that sort of relationship with the player, of almost being ordered to do something. And so we took that into account and we think it was something we should look at.”

Not all the players are in favor of the rack, with top-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Australian teenager Alex de Minaur in Saturday’s final, being a particularly vocal critic.

“One thing that I didn’t like that much was the towel thing,” the world No. 15 said earlier in the week. “I was always, you know, had to run for the towel, always had it in my mind when I was playing.

“I think having the towels whenever you need it, it’s very helpful. It’s one thing less that you have to think about. So I believe to be playing your best game you just don’t need to think about whether you’re going to take your towel now or later. You can just call the ball kid. I think the ball kid, it’s their job to provide towels and balls for the players.”

Alexander Zverev wasn’t in Milan as he is instead preparing for the ATP Finals in London, but he had a dig at Tsitsipas and others who he thinks use the towel too much.

“I heard Tsitsipas say it’s the ball boys’ job but it’s the ball boys’ job to give you balls—that’s what I see the ball boys as,” Zverev said.

“I think you should also prevent players

from taking the towel after every single serve and every mishit return, sometimes it does get a little bit ridiculous in my eyes. So maybe it will prevent it from that.”

The towel rack is just one of the new rules being applied, along with on-court coaching, shorter sets, no-ad scoring, medical timeout limits and no lets on serve.

For the players, the most popular innovations are the shot clock, and Hawk-Eye making all the line calls.

The on-court clocks enforce the 25-second rule between points, and shorter warm-ups ensure matches begin four minutes after the players enter the court.

“Shot clocks for sure are going to soon be on [the tour], I can see that happening very quickly.

Reduced warm-ups, I think the electronic line calling...all of those things can happen quite easily I think,” Kermode said. “In the next couple of years I can see those coming onto the tour.”

The most drastic change is the shorter set, where the first to four games takes the set, with a tiebreak at 3-3.

And Kermode admitted that changing the scoring system would need a lot more consideration and analysis.

“The attractive thing of tennis is that you have different styles of play, you have different court surfaces...and how tennis currently stands is that everyone has a shot at winning,” he said. “You have the big servers and you have the baseliners who play a bit more chess-like—and we want to make sure that both elements of styles can compete.”

The idea for the tournament was first discussed three years ago with a twofold reasoning behind it: to highlight the next generation of players and to bring in a new generation of fans.

However, Kermode insists they will not be rushing into anything.

“We’re looking 10 years ahead for the sport and I’ve said right from the beginning we’re not going to rush into doing any dramatic changes but, while tennis is doing so well, from a position of strength, we want to take our time now to look to the future.

“The assurance that I want to give everybody is we will only be doing things if we think it is better. And that’s why this is a test.”

Safarova retiring after Aussie Open

P SAFAROVA

RAGUE—Former French Open finalist Lucie Safarova will retire after the Australian Open in January due to health concerns and will not play in any tournaments before then.

The 31-year-old Safarova announced her decision on Saturday in Prague before the Fed Cup final between the Czech Republic and United States.

“I had a great career but my health doesn’t allow me to continue,” Safarova said.

She helped the Czechs win four Fed Cup titles but is not in the current team.

Safarova said her decision was forced by health problems that have marred her career in recent years. She didn’t elaborate. She will play the singles

and doubles in Melbourne.

She won seven Women’s Tennis Association singles titles and 15 doubles titles, including five Grand Slams with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Safarova reached her highest singles ranking, No. 5, in 2015, and was topranked in the doubles in 2017.

Safarova reached the French Open final in 2015— losing to Serena Williams—and the Wimbledon semifinals in 2014.

She teamed with Barbora Strycova to win bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

After the French Open in 2015, Safarova had to be hospitalized with an unspecified bacteria infection.

She ended prematurely last season due to tendon inflammation. This season, a virus, bacteria infection

CZECHS LEAD U.S. GALS, 2-0

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BARBORA STRYCOVA and teammates are one win away from ruling the Fed Cup. AP

and recurring joint pain allowed her to play only 11 tournaments.

In Milan, top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas recovered from a set down to beat Australian teenager Alex de Minaur and win the second edition of the Next Gen Finals on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Greek, who had been the alternate last year, prevailed, 2-4, 4-1, 4-3 (3), 4-3 (3).

De Minaur, who was seeded second, saved two match points at the end of the sixth game of the final set to force a tiebreak.

However, Tsitsipas secured the victory—and the title—at his next opportunity, falling onto his back in celebration after de Minaur hit a forehand long.

“It feels great,” world No. 15 Tsitsipas said. “I had a chance twice to win the match, but remained calm.”

De Minaur has climbed more than 170 ranking spots since December, up to No. 31. AP

RAGUE—Barbora Strycova and Katerina Siniakova won their singles for the Czech Republic to take a commanding 2-0 over the defending champion United States in the Fed Cup final on Saturday.

Strycova rallied from a set down to defeat Sofia Kenin, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4.

Siniakova stretched the advantage by dispatching Alison Riske, 6-3, 7-6 (2), to the delight of more than 14,000 fans at Prague’s O2 Arena.

“It couldn’t be better,” Siniakova said. “But it’s not finished yet and we need to be ready for tomorrow. We need to stay focused and I believe that we will win.”

The Czechs are one win away from their sixth title in eight years.

United States Captain Kathy Rinaldi gave credit to the Czech players but said, “I really think we could have been up 2-0, too.

“It was just a day of missed opportunities in my opinion. Anything can happen in the Fed Cup and tomorrow’s another day.”

To win, the 18-time champion US would have to become the first team to come back from 2-0 down in the final.

In Sunday’s reverse singles, Kenin will go against Siniakova, and Riske will meet Strycova.

In doubles, the last match of the final, Riske and Danielle Collins are scheduled to meet No. 1-ranked pair Barbora Krejcikova and Siniakova on the indoor hard court.

Siniakova broke Riske for 6-5 in the second set but the 63rd-ranked American forced a tiebreaker.

The Czech dominated it, converting the second match point when Riske sent a backhand wide.

“I was just enjoying the moment and trying to play my game,” Siniakova said. “I was enjoying the atmosphere and everything. It was amazing for me.”

“We can only be aggressive and go after it tomorrow,” Riske said.

Riske is the only player on the US team who has previously played in the Fed Cup. The Williams sisters, Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys all withdrew.

The Czechs are weakened, too, missing their two top 10 players. Karolina Pliskova was ruled out due to injuries and Petra Kvitova due to illness.

Another mainstay on the Czech Fed Cup team in recent years, Lucie Safarova, announced on Saturday she will retire from tennis after the Australian Open because of health problems. She has won four Fed Cups.

Playing in her last tie, the 32-year-old Strycova won her match with a backhand winner at the net on her first match point to improve to 11-7 in Fed Cup singles.

“I’m so happy that I could win today in front of such a crowd,” Strycova said. “It’s funny because it’s her [Kenin] first one, and this is my last one, so for me it was a lot of emotions.”

Both players made 32 unforced errors and the American had 23 winners—two more than Strycova—but the Czech made her experience count in the decisive points.

“For my Fed Cup debut, I was pretty nervous but I was able to handle it once I stepped on the court,” Kenin said.

“The atmosphere was just incredible.” AP

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Business

C2 Monday, November 12, 2018

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AKLAND, California—Quinn Cook did an admirable job late last season for Golden State when Stephen Curry was hobbled by knee and ankle injuries.

With the two-time National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player sidelined again, Cook is ready to do it again.

Kevin Durant showed with his passing that he can do a pretty good imitation of Curry, too.

Durant had 28 points and 11 assists, Cook scored a season-high 27, and the Warriors used another big run in the third quarter to pull away and beat the Brooklyn Nets, 116-100, on Saturday.

“I just feel like Quinn thinks that he’s always supposed to be ready no matter what,” Durant said. “When his number is called, he’s able to go out there and produce, and that’s just because of the work he puts in every day. It’s no surprise to me that he can do this.”

Two days after losing Curry to a groin injury in a 23-point home loss to Milwaukee, Golden State bounced back behind Cook with little problem while their leading scorer sat at home watching.

Signed on a two-way contract a year ago when he made 18 starts with Curry out, Cook looked just as comfortable this time around. He made his first seven shots and matched Durant with 19 points in the first half, then made a shotclock beating 19-footer in the third to push the Warriors lead to 103-81.

“That’s the mark of a pro,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s a great fit for us. Always prepared and always ready. His role is going to swing wildly based on our health and what’s happening out on the floor but he’s always ready.”

Cook hasn’t played much this season but said

RIGHT BREW FROM COOK the experience he got last year was a big factor in keeping him ready when his turn came up.

“Our guys do a great job of always making you feel important, making you feel a part of the team, even when you aren’t playing,” Cook said. “I felt comfortable out there and we got it done.”

Draymond Green was also missing from Kerr’s lineup but Durant—with a lift from Cook—made both absences a moot point while ending Brooklyn’s three-game winning streak.

The nine-time All-Star had 13 points in the first quarter, scored the final six of the second then came up big again in the third when the Warriors led by as many as 20.

Golden State needed it on a night when their other Splash Brother, Thompson, had an off night shooting. Thompson made four of his first five shots but finished 11 of 20.

Joe Harris scored 24 points for the Nets.

Spencer Dinwiddie added 14 points and six assists and DeAngelo Russell had 12 points.

“You had Durant and Thompson, and [Cook] did a Curry imitation tonight,” Brooklyn Coach Kenny Atkinson said. “You could argue he made the

difference tonight. He really scored the ball well.”

In Sacramento, smoke from the raging Northern California wildfires seeped into the Golden 1 Center, giving LeBron James a headache and leading Los Angeles Lakers Coach Luke Walton to shorten his players’ stints on the court.

But the haze did little to slow James and the Lakers, who used their best defensive effort of the year to earn a 101-86 win Saturday night against the Sacramento Kings, lifting Los Angeles to .500 (6-6) for the first time this season.

James scored 25 points and recently signed Tyson Chandler had 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who began the season with three straight losses but now have won four of their last five.

The Lakers held the Kings, who entered the game averaging 118 points per contest, to their lowest scoring total of the season. It was only the second time Sacramento has been held below 100 points this season, and it marked the first time Los Angeles had held an opponent below 100. AP

PHL’s best vie in PCA Open

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HE cream of the crop of local tennis will see action in the 37th edition of the Philippine Columbian Association Open that kicks off on November 16 and winds up on December 9 at the PCA courts in Paco, Manila.

Bryan Otico will defend his crown against a strong field that includes last year’s runner-up and two-time champion John Patrick Tierro and eighttime winner Johnny Arcilla.

Also expected to participate in the so-called Wimbledon of Philippine tennis are top-ranked Francis Casey Alcantara, No. 2 Jeson Patrombon and No. 3 and 2015 Champion Alberto Lim. Reigning Ladies’ Open and five-time titlist Marian Jade Capadocia will be tested once again as she faces two-time champ Clarice Patrimonio, her victim last year, and doubles specialists and veteran Bambi Zoleta and Akiko de Guzman.

The qualifyings are set from November 26 to 29 and the main draw from November 30 to December 9. The Juniors 10-under and 12-under tournments are on November 16 and 18, while the 14-,16- and 18-under competitions are from November 23 to 26.

The Group 1 event is supported by the Philippine Tennis Association, Dunlop (official ball), Longmarch Roadlux, HEAD, Mary Grace, Stronghold Insurance, Coca-Cola, Mr. Freeze and PCA. Participants may register through text to Tournament Referee IlynHupano at 0917-794-1354 or via e-mail to philippineten@yahoo.com.ph, or register at the PCA at telephones 563-8501 local 116 and look for Chris Cometa.

QUINN COOK scores a season-high 27 for the Warriors. AP

Butler goes to 76ers from Timberwolves

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IMMY BUTLER has his wish: He’s out of Minnesota.

And just like that, Philadelphia has a new Big Three—one that could make serious noise in the Eastern Conference.

A person with knowledge of the situation said on Saturday that Butler is being traded to the 76ers in a package that will send Dario Saric and Robert Covington to the Timberwolves.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced by either team and was still pending National Basketball Association (NBA) approval, which is not expected until Monday.

Justin Patton will also be sent to Philadelphia, and Jerryd Bayless and a 2022

second-round pick are also going to Minnesota, the person said.

The Athletic first reported the agreement.

Because the trade was not official, Sixers Coach Brett Brown had little comment.

“I can’t speak much about it. I’m sorry,” he said before the Sixers played Memphis.

Sixers guard T.J. McConnell said he learned of the deal through social media.

“I didn’t think it was true until more reports started coming out,” McConnell said. “It’s kind of that feeling in your stomach of just like, I mean, you can’t really explain it. I was in disbelief.”

Philadelphia’s “Process” led it to the second round of the playoffs last season behind two of the game’s youngest, brightest stars in big man Joel Embiid and point guard Ben Simmons.

Butler, an elite wing player and outstanding defender, will join them in a quest to rule the Eastern Conference now that LeBron James is out West with the Los Angeles Lakers following eight straight trips to the NBA Finals with Miami and Cleveland.

“I think they were a contender before,” James said, giving his reaction to the deal on Saturday. “So it only enhances what they’re able to do. I mean, they’ve got Ben and Joel and now you’re adding Jimmy. I think that’s a very, very good team.” AP

JIMMY BUTLER gets his wish. AP

Leicester says goodbye to ‘The Boss’

NBA RESULTS Toronto 128, New York 112 LA Clippers 128, Milwaukee 126, OT New Orleans 119, Phoenix 99

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Chicago 99, Cleveland 98 Memphis 112, Philadelphia 106, OT Washington 116, Miami 110 Golden State 116, Brooklyn 100 San Antonio 96, Houston 89 Dallas 111, Oklahoma City 96 LA Lakers 101, Sacramento 86

MARCOS, GEN. ‘BATO,’ TO GRACE GUN SHOW F ORMER Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is set to share his thoughts on sport shooting and firearms ownership to thousands visitors of the 26th Defense and Sporting Arms Show (DSAS) Part 2 at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City set from November 15 to 19.

World shooting champ Jethro Dionisio, president of the Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers (Afad), said Marcos was invited to the DSAS event as “VIP of the Day” at 4 p.m. on November 18 to tackle on issues affecting the Filipino gun community.

Unknown to many, Marcos has been hosting shoot festivals for the country’s gun enthusiasts in his home province in Ilocos Norte not only to promote sport shooting, but also spread awareness on responsible gun ownership.

Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, who is now director general of the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor), will also share his insights on the state of penology system in the country. His talk is scheduled at 4 p.m. on November 17.

Popularly known as “General Bato,” de la Rosa is also an avid shooter who has

attended DSAS opening ceremonies during his previous stint as PNP chief.

In keeping with the tradition, PNP chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde will lead the opening ceremonies of the 26th DSAS Part 2 on November 15 at 11 a.m.

Albayalde will be joined by other top PNP officials in the event.

At the same time, Dionisio also invited owners of firearms with delinquent license to avail themselves of the “Firearms Caravan,” a joint undertaking by the Afad.

Applicants for License to Own and Possess Firearms, gun registration and Permit to Carry Firearms Outside of Residence are advised to visit the Defense & Sporting Arms Show Facebook page for the list of requirements and details on the PNP Firearms online registration system.

Also, gun show visitors may register online at www.afad.ph/dsas to avoid queueing at the entrance of the DSAS venue.

HOIKKA RULES

EICESTER, England—The soundtrack to Leicester’s sporting fairy-tale now carries a mournful melody.

On the streets where improbable success was toasted two years ago, the “Champions of England” chant reverberated again on Saturday, this time as the chorus for thousands of fans marching with players to the scene of unthinkable tragedy.

A melancholic lyric has been added to honor the owner who made one of the greatest sporting underdog successes possible: “Champions of England. You made us sing that.” It is why Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha will always be held in deep regard by the people of Leicester, where soccer returned for the first time since the Thai entrepreneur’s death.

“The Boss” was the simple message on many t-shirts as up to 20,000 people embarked on a milelong walk to the stadium, where two weeks ago the 60-year-old Vichai died when his helicopter spiraled out of control shortly after taking off from the center circle.

It is the field where Vichai lifted the English Premier League trophy in May 2016, the culmination of an incredible journey taking an unglamorous team from the second tier to the pinnacle of English soccer. That was the day when tears of joy followed as tenor Andrea Bocelli serenaded manager Claudio Ranieri.

“Time to Say Goodbye” carried a new sorrowful significance on Saturday when a recording of Bocelli was played in King Power Stadium after Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Burnley. Vichai’s son, vice chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, led the players around the field to thank fans who held aloft white scarves emblazoned with “Forever in our hearts.” Clutching a Thai flag, Aiyawatt was embraced by goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel at the end of a lap of appreciation as the team and supporters applauded.

Watching on, Ranieri looked close to tears on his return to Leicester. The Italian, s after s title win, returned to mourn the late chairman along with his predecessor and successor as manager.

“His love and his passion helped us to achieve something amazing,” Ranieri said. “Something that will be remembered forever.” AP

Jussi Hoikka (inset) of Growl Thule captures the AM Class crown of the recent GITI-Formula V1 Championship held at Clark International Speedway, beating Shane Henderson of PartsPro Racing Team.

Growl Corp. is one of the largest developers and distributors of first-class OEM in-dash Audio, Video and Navigation system. Thule Sport and Cargo Systems, on the other hand, is exclusively distributed by Tow & Stow Industries Inc., which is the importer, distributor and manufacturer of vehicle towing products under TotalHitch and TotalTrailers.

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Monday, November 12, 2018

ATENEO NO. 1 SEED IN F4 A

TENEO de Manila repelled De La Salle, 7162, on Sunday to secure the top seed in the Final Four in Season 81 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball action at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Thirdy Ravena finished with a doubledouble of 14 points and 10 rebounds and so did Angelo Kouame with 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Blue Eagles hiked their record to 11 wins in 13 games to seal the No.1 seed in the semifinals.

“Coming into the game, we’re not thinking about getting the top seed or twice-to-beat

[semifinals advantage]. We had our focus on De La Salle,” Ateneo Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga said.

“We knew that this was going to be a tough game. They’ve been performing very well in the second round so we expected them to come and play well. We’re happy we came up with the win,” he added.

Far Eastern University (FEU), meanwhile, spoiled John Lloyd Clemente’s 38-points explosion for National University (NU) and walked away with a 79-74 win the other game.

Thanks to a major second-quarter

outburst, the Tamaraws evaded the upset ax as Arvin Tolentino and Kenneth Tuffin clicked from the three-point line to help the team improve to a 7-7 won-lost record to tie the University of the Philippine Fighting Maroons at fourth place.

“We’re still in the hunt. We’re not yet in the Final Four and we need one more win,” FEU Head Coach Olsen Racela said.

Tolentino scored 16 points, all in the first half, and added six rebounds, while Tuffin added 15 points and five boards as they combined for seven of the team’s 12 triples.

RED LIONS GO FOR THE KILL! S

ATENEO’S Christian Tio (19) gets a leechlike defense from De La Salle’s Andrei Caraccut. NONOY LACZA

MAGNOLIA HOTSHOTS SHOOT FOR 2-0 LEAD VS. GINEBRA KINGS

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AGNOLIA hopes to make it two-in-a-row against Barangay Ginebra in Game Two of the Philippine Basketball Association best-of-five semifinals on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Action fires off at 7 p.m. with the Hotshots hoping to follow-up on their 106-98 Game One victory at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City on Sunday to move a win shy of the Finals.

And Magnolia Coach Chito Victolero is cautious.

“Winning Game One is not an assurance that we will surely advance to the Finals. We need to win three games,” Victolero said.

The Gin Kings were more primed and favored to win the series as the top-seeded team in the elimination round and two-time defending champions.

But Magnolia reversed the scenario with a gallant effort to subdue the giants with import Romeo Travis and Paul Lee leading their attack right from the get-go.

Travis scored a conference-high 37 points and

hauled in 16 rebounds, while Lee made 27 points including key baskets in the fourth quarter.

Behind Justin Brownlee’s 20 points, Barangay Ginebra jumped to a 39-31 advantage in the opening quarter.

But Magnolia regained its footing and behind Travis, Lee and Justin Melton slowly claw backed and take the driver’s seat.

Brownlee did manage to pour 37 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, but his effort came to waste against the resilient Hotshots.

Barangay Ginebra threatened to steal the match by closing in at 93-95 with under four minutes to go. But Lee sparked an 8-0 run to seal the deal.

Victolero admitted that they lost focus in the first quarter.

“We gave them a lot of points in the first quarter, but good thing we adjusted well. The perseverance of the players was there. We just have to control our emotions,” he said.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

PHL 5, Guiao buckle down to work

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HE 20-man Team Pilipinas pool begins practicing in earnest on Monday for two home games in the 2019 Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Team Pilipinas Coach Yeng Guiao is back on the drawing board as he welcomes some of the best pro and amateur players in a two-hour training session starting at 8 p.m. at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City.

San Miguel Beer center June Mar Fajardo and TNT’s Jayson Castro lead the pool along with Paul Lee, Stanley Pringle and Greg Slaughter.

Guiao has extended leeway to members of the pool whose teams are campaigning in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup semifinals.

Guiao has voluntarily given excuse slips to Ginebra San Miguel’s Greh Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson and Magnolia’s Lee and Ian Sangalang whose teams are colliding in Game Two of their semifinals matchup on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Training will resume on Wednesday and Friday, and Guiao said daily workout sessions will be scheduled after the Governors’ Cup semifinals.

ONE CHAMPION

The Philippines’s Kevin Belingon rejoices as the referee raises his hand in victory to snatch the ONE bantamweight crown via split decision over Brazilian star Bibiano Fernandes in the Heart of the Lion main event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday night.

Also in the pool are Alex Cabagnot, JP Erram, Arwind Santos, Troy Rosario, Beau Belga, Christian Standhardinger, Marcio Lassiter, Matthew Wright and Gabe Norwood.

Kai Sotto and Ricci Rivero, two of the most promising amateur players, were included in the pool.

The national team will have scrimmages against Jordan on November 19 and Lebanon on November 23 and 25.

Guiao will choose the final 12 for the game against Kazakhstan on November 30 and on December 3 against Iran at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Andray Blatche and Terrence Romeo are not in the pool.

AN Beda University goes for the kill on Monday as the defending champion Red Lions try to sweel the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates in Game Two of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 93 men’s Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

A victory in the 4 p.m. game will give San Beda its 11th title in 13 years.

But the task could be more difficult this time for the Red Lions with CJ Perez back for the Pirates after sitting out Game One as penalty for failing to officially inform the league of his intention to turn pro.

The Red Lions took Game One, 73-60, a victory they claimed by building enough cushion and keeping their composure to hold off a belated Lyceum comeback.

Head Coach Boyet Fernandez said he expects a gallant fight from the Pirates.

“Surely, Lyceum will come back with CJ there. We just have to be ready,” said Fernandez, whose wards are also out to win

their third consecutive title.

Without the 6-foot-1 Perez, the Pirates missed were off their offensive prowess and had to play catch-up from a distance to the Red Lions.

But Fernanzed just doesn’t want to be complacent and looked wary with Perez who has normed league-highs of 18.7 points, 3.3 steals, 8.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

“If you look at it, we only beat them by 13 points. It will be a dogfight on Monday. We must have good defense,” he said.

Lyceum’s Topex Robinson, on the other hand, wanted to shake off the stigma of the loss and move forward with Perez now on board.

“We have a game to play. As much as we want to think about it, we’re excited to have CJ back,” Robinson said. “We’re happy to be in the Finals. But we’re going to be happier if we win the championship.”

Even without the prolific Perez, Lyceum showed some fight late in Game One when it

Celebrities join bicycle fun ride

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IOLO PASCUAL and Matteo Guidicelli—along with Kisses Delavin— head the roster of celebrities joining the Sun Life Cycle PH, a novel ride for beginners and bike enthusiasts on Saturday at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Around 1,200 bikers aged two and above are setting out for the friendly ride in three categories—Kids Ride, Short Ride (20K) and Long Ride (40K)—around Taguig, Makati, Manila and Pasay. The event is also aimed at promoting family bonding and encouraging people to live healthier lives.

Participants will also get the rare chance to ride with three-time Tour de France green jersey winner Robbie McEwen. The entire family will also be kept entertained during the weekend with a wide range of fun activities lined up in the cycling and lifestyle expo in the event organized by Sunrise Events Inc. The event also serves as part of the SunPIOLOgy, which incidentally will go regional as it brings its run leg to four Asian cities while holding three other sports to highlight its milestone 10th year.

AIDRIC CHAN rallies from four shots down to win the men’s crown.

CHAN, ILAS DOMINATE AM GOLF

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IDRIC CHAN battled back from four shots down to snare the men’s crown with a 70, while Bernice OlivarezIlas held sway and clinched the women’s title despite a 78 in the Riviera MVP Sports Foundation Amateur Championship at the wind-swept Riviera’s Langer course in Silang, Cavite, on Sunday.

Chan finally put together a game expected from the very player who won back-to-back low amateur honors in the recently concluded local pro circuit, gunning down five birdies against four bogeys and turning a four-stroke deficit into a four-shot triumph over Miguel Olivarez-Ilas with a 226 total.

“So happy to turn in my best game in three days. My tempo and short game were

fought back from as many as a 27-point deficit in the third quarter.

The Pirates eventually ran out of steam and managed to come as close as 10 points before eventually losing by 13.

And it’s hard to imagine if Perez, who could have made a big difference with his high-octane offense and solid wing defense, was around.

In juniors’ play, La Salle-Greenhills also eyes to finish off Mapua in Game Two of their own Finals series at 2 p.m.

Joel Cagulangan took charge in the fourth quarter to power the Junior Blazers to a 74-69 triumph in Game One. University of Perpetual Help’s Prince Eze, meanwhile, will lift his Most Valuable Player trophy also on Monday. He will be joined former teammate and now Ginebra star Scottie Thompson, who won the award four years ago. Ramon Rafael Bonilla great and I played practically relaxed,” said Chan, who shot just three birdies in severe conditions in the first two days that saw him start at joint fourth (77) and fall to a share of fifth (79) on Saturday.

But the 17-year-old Grade 12 student from Ateneo toughened up in the final 18 holes, hit three birdies against a bogey at the front to wrest control then birdied the first two holes at the back to pull away and won by four despite bogeys on Nos. 14 and 17.

While Chan saved his best for last, Ilas lost his touch and composure, failing to recover from an opening 39 and ending up with a 78. He settled for second at 230 after storming into the lead in the second round of the event presented by the MVP Sports Foundation and sponsored by Cignal and Metro Pacific Investments.

Kristoffer Arevalo also hobbled with a 78 and finished third at 232, while Lanz Uy placed fourth at 234 after a 79 followed by Koreans Jung Jae-hyung and Kim Tae-soo, who pooled 235s after a 78 and 79, respectively, in the tournament which served as part of the PLDT National Amateur Tour.

Sean Ramos, winner of the recent Cangolf Am Open and NGAP Northern Luzon Regional, failed to check his skid and struggled with an 80 for seventh at 236 followed by Carl Corpus (77-237), Josh Jorge (84-238) and Jacob Rolida (83-240).

Like Chan, Bernice turned what was expected to be a tight battle for the women’s crown into a runaway victory despite closing out with a seven-over 78 and a 225, six strokes better than Junia Gabasa, who skied to a 45 start and limped with a wind-blown 83 for a 231.

“I didn’t expect to win because I opted to play a conservative game and didn’t gamble much. I’m just so happy to pull it off with support from my family,” said Bernice, whose big triumph more than made for his younger brother’s failed title bid in the event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Samantha Dizon charged back with a 76 and snatched third place at 232, while Mariel Tee carded a 77 for a 233 and Nicole Abelar and Korean Kang Da-yun shot identical 79s for joint fifth at 237 and last year’s winner Sofia Legaspi struggled with an 81 for a 239.

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De La Salle came out firing from the opening tip behind Aljun Melecio and Santi Santillan for a 22-18 lead in the first quarter.

But the Blue Eagles mounted a fiery run with Ravena and Kouame scoring eight straight points to complete their mastery of the Green Archers this season.

The pint-sized Melecio had 13 points and seven rebounds, while forward Justine Baltazar tallied 12 points and eight boards for De La Salle. They dropped to their fifth setback in 13 games.

RICK OLIVARES bleachersbrew@gmail.com

BLEACHERS’ BREW

The Kai Sotto conundrum KAI SOTTO in the Gilas lineup come this Fiba Asia World Cup Qualifiers on November 30 and December 3?

Literally, how huge is that?

It would be interesting to see how he fares against a more senior team.

Kazakhstan doesn’t even have anyone as tall as him. Their tallest player is Anton Ponomarev who stands 6-foot-9. He is followed by Alexandr Zhigulin (6-foot-8) and Anatoliy Kolsenikov (6foot-7).

Ponomarev is 30, while Kolsenikov is 29.

Zhigulin is 24. Sotto, on the other hand, is only 16 years old but stands at a strapping 7-foot-1.

Against Iran...if evergreen center Hamed Hadadi suits up, he will be a stern test for Sotto.

If not, there’s 6-foot-7 Arsalan Kazemi Naeini and 6-foot-10 Meisam Mirzaitalarposhti.

Although still lacking in experience and a stronger upper body, Sotto makes up for that with an innate game intelligence and an incredible reach/wingspan.

Sometimes watching Kai play, I have these flashbacks of former Ateneo center Danny Francisco who at 6-foot-6 was a reed-thin and gangly center who could dribble the ball very well, hit the outside shot, post up, throw hook shots, score off drop shots and up-and-under moves or dunk on foes. He was also a superb shot blocker and not because of his height but because of his great anticipation.

Kai is verily… the next big thing!

So it would be very interesting to see how he goes up against very good international competition.

And that brings me to the question of whether Kai Sotto should go abroad to further his burgeoning basketball career with all this talk about going to Europe. And there is that forever vexing question of will we ever see a homegrown Pinoy make it to the National Basketball Association; hence, a belief that he should go to Europe to develop his game.

I was really excited to see Japeth Aguilar, Ray Parks, Kiefer Ravena and Kobe Paras attempt to make it. Am I disappointed? Not at all. It is important to try.

However, what is my take on Kai’s situation?

I think he should finish his high school in Ateneo and maybe a year in college then go.

I know that Kai is slow and not the fastest.

It seems that all local big men are slow and plodding and do not possess the power, speed, or even heft of international counterparts who are more natural in these abilities. Luka Doncic is one of those specimens blessed with height and all that. But who knows? Is it possible? Anything is possible and all the more reason to try.

The reason I believe Kai should finish his high school and even possibly take up a year of college is for education purposes. Many of these Europeans—Doncic for example—turned pro at age of 13! What does one learn at that age?

What if things don’t work out basketball-wise?

And knock on wood here—what happens when one suffers a career ending injury? What happens to them?

For every success story like Doncic, how many are there that don’t follow his path to the NBA? And for the matter, does the NBA equate to success? The NBA is the best league in the world and for basketball-mad Filipinos, this is massive.

The lure of Real is massive. They had some pretty good centers in their history—Arvydas Sabonis and Ante Tomic—are but a few.

It would be nice to go. I think he should.

Going a few years from now instead of right away means Kai would be a little more mature and understanding of the world around him. I think that is crucial when going abroad.

But that’s for the future. In the near, future, if national team Head Coach Yeng Guiao opts to list Sotto for the Gilas lineup, the matchups with the Kazakhs and Iranians is simply tantalizing.

BRAZILIAN HOPE Sports BusinessMirror

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| Monday, November 12, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

IF Fernando Alonso wins the Indy 500 in May, it will add to his victories in the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. AP

ALONSO EYES ‘TRIPLE CROWN’

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ÃO PAULO—Two-time Formula One (F1) champion Fernando Alonso and his McLaren team will return to the Indianapolis 500 next year.

Alonso said on Saturday he wants to be the second driver in history to win the unofficial triple crown of motorsport with a victory at the historic American speedway.

Alonso and McLaren made the announcement at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Spanish driver, who qualified 18th for Sunday’s race at Interlagos, is retiring from F1 after the Abu Dhabi season-closer on November 25.

Alonso and McLaren, working with IndyCar team Andretti Autosport, competed in Indianapolis in 2017.

Alonso led parts of the race before abandoning it.

They will return under the name McLaren Racing.

If the 37-year-old Alonso wins the Indy 500 on May 26, it will add to his victories in the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I’ve made clear for some time my desire to achieve the triple crown,” Alonso said. “I had an incredible experience at Indianapolis in 2017 and I knew in my heart of hearts I had to go back if the opportunity was there.”

The only driver to win all three was Graham Hill of Britain, who got Monaco in 1963 the first time, the Indy 500 in 1966 and Le Mans in 1972.

Despite disappointing seasons with McLaren in F1, Alonso said the team was his first choice for an IndyCar return.

This year, he lags in 10th position. He hasn’t made the podium since 2014. AP

Hamilton wrests pole at Brazilian Grand Prix

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ÃO PAULO—Lewis Hamilton said this week his hunger for more Formula One glory will not stop at his fifth world championship. He’s proving it at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver clocked the lap record at Interlagos in qualifying to earn pole position for the 10th time in 20 races this year. His performance boosts his team’s chances of beating Ferrari for the constructors’ championship, too.

Hamilton achieved his 82nd pole position in a record one minute and 7.281 seconds, edging Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by 0.093 seconds.

Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes was third, only 0.160 seconds behind his teammate, and his countryman Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari was fourth.

Mercedes leads Ferrari in the constructors’ championship by 55 points. Hamilton’s pole was the 100th for the team.

The Brazilian race is the penultimate GP of the season, with Abu Dhabi closing it on November 25.

After confirming his pole position, Hamilton celebrated with local fans by punching the air and showing off the back of his helmet. It has the same colors as the one used by his boyhood hero and three-time world champion Ayrton Senna.

“I’m really happy to be in Brazil,” a relaxed Hamilton said. “I appreciate the love I get here.”

Stands at Interlagos are expected to be filled on Sunday, mostly cheering for Hamilton, as there will be no Brazilian driver on the grid for the first time since 1970.

Vettel, who led the last practice on Saturday, did not sound frustrated after losing the pole for the race he won last year.

“It was good fun,” the four-time world champion said. “It was very close [to get the pole] but just a bit too much.”

But he was later reprimanded and fined €25,000 ($28,300) for damaging the scales in a weighbridge incident during qualifying.

Vettel did not comment after the sanction.

Another incident that didn’t cause any punishments involved Hamilton and Williams’s Sergey Sirotkin, whom the world champion accused of being “disrespectful” by passing him on an out-lap. The two almost crashed at Interlagos as Hamilton was slowing his car. Sirotkin managed to avoid the Mercedes car by very little.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who won the Mexican GP two weeks ago, was fifth, and teammate Daniel Ricciardo sixth.

Ricciardo, however, will start five positions behind because of a penalty after his team had to replace his turbocharger for the sixth time this season. The Australian driver, who was on pole in Mexico, also started from the back in Italy and Russia because of penalties.

Fernando Alonso, who won both of his world championships in Brazil and will retire at the end of the season, qualified 18th.

LEWIS HAMILTON achieves his 82nd pole position in São Paulo. AP

AUSTRALIAN Daniel Ricciardo steers his car during the first free practice at the Interlagos track. AP

The standards are high for Brazilian fans who were used to cheering for racing greats such as Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna, and more recently for lesslegendary names such as Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello.

By Mauricio Savarese

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The Associated Press

ÃO PAULO—For the first time since 1970, there will be no Brazilian driver in a Formula One (F1) race in Brazil.

So fans in the racing-crazy South American nation, home to eight F1 titles by three champions, are putting all their hopes on two young test drivers who will have a bigger role in the series next year.

Pietro Fittipaldi, the 22-year-old grandson of former F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, was announced on Friday as test driver for Haas starting after the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP. Sergio Sette Camara, the 20-year-old who is the only Latin American driver in Formula 2, will be McLaren’s test driver next year.

Sette Camara is sixth in the F2 standings with one race to go this season, while Pietro Fittipaldi drove as a part-time driver in the IndyCar Series.

Both had their seasons marred by crashes that forced them to miss races.

Despite not having the same impressive

results as some of the former Brazilian drivers before they reached F1, Sette Camara and Pietro Fittipaldi are the closest the country has to F1 since Felipe Massa retired last season after a successful career in the series.

The standards are high for Brazilian fans who were used to cheering for racing greats such as Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna, and more recently for less-legendary names such as Massa and Rubens Barrichello.

“I hope these test drivers are better than fans expect. What are their names again?” said 45-year-old engineer Augusto Daniel, wearing a Mercedes cap. “I love racing regardless of seeing any Brazilian on the grid, but it is obviously disappointing not to be able to wave our flag for a local driver. It will be a strange experience this time, it will be a bit less emotional, too.”

Senna was the last Brazilian to win the F1 title, in 1991. Pique won his three world titles in the 1980s, and Fittipaldi won two in the early 1970s.

Massa came close with Ferrari in 2008, losing the title by one point to Lewis Hamilton in the last lap of the season-ending race at Interlagos.

“There are just too many reasons as to why we have no Brazilian drivers on the grid,” McLaren’s sporting director Gil de Ferran said.

“There is the lack of sponsorship deals for younger drivers, there needs to be a better organization of the local racing calendar, professionals need better pay. Also, the country is in a long economy crisis. It is just too many factors. We have to root for our test drivers to succeed for now.”

Earlier in the week, five-time world champion Hamilton said he doesn’t know what Brazil is doing to put drivers into F1, but he can see what other nations are doing well.

“Mexico is putting a lot of money to put their drivers in F1, Russia, too,” the British driver said.

Hamilton said he did not know much about Sette Camara, who had just been announced as McLaren’s test driver.

“But there’s definitely space for Brazil, this is a country of hardcore racing fans,” the Mercedes driver said.

Mexican Sergio Perez of Force India is the only Latin American driver on the F1 grid this year.

Sette Camara trusts Brazil’s traditions in F1 to end the short drought of local drivers in the series.

“This moment will pass because we had those mavericks opening the way, we are acknowledged as a country where talent flourishes, even if our economy is not as strong as Europe’s,” he said.

Pietro Fittipaldi said Brazil’s return to F1 could have happened earlier, as he was supposed to test for Haas before the Hungarian Grand Prix this year. He couldn’t because he broke both legs in a serious accident while driving in the World Endurance Championship.

He also believes the shortage of samba on the grid will be gone soon.

“There are several young pilots, including me, Sergio. I am 100 percent sure there will be another Brazilian driver in F1 pretty soon,” the young Fittipaldi said. “And there is also my brother, Enzo...”

Racing specialists see 17-year-old Enzo Fittipaldi as the biggest upcoming Brazilian talent. This year he had the best performance among all Ferrari academy drivers and ended with a Formula 4 title in Italy. He and Pietro will live together in Maranello, where the youngest will be able to learn from F1 much before he ever has a chance to fight for a cockpit.

God of marvelous deeds

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OD of marvelous deeds, You are the hope of all the Earth.

In faith we pray: Hear us, God, our Savior. By the power of the Holy Spirit, give us courage to be open and loving toward our neighbor. In the name of Jesus our Brother, help us to seek Your ways of peace and care for all creation.

Through the work of Your Church, let the poor eat and be filled and give praise to Your holy name. May God awaken our sense of awe and enrich our lives with every gift of the Spirit. Amen.

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

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

A COLEGIO de la Purisima Concepcion Sarayawan Dance Company member in a kimona, and Lapsu Pontevedra Dance Troupe members in terno, panuelo and tapis.

Life BusinessMirror

ALL ACCESS: LAURELS CELEBRATE PATRIARCH’S 90TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY D3

Monday, November 12, 2018

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PHOTOGRAPHED BY FAITH YANGYANG/ROEL HOANG MANIPON

BONTOC/ BALANGAO (Mountain Province)

Indigenous inspirations TOTA PULCHRA MISS CHARLIZE

@misscharlize

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BAGOBO MANOBO (Davao/ Cotabato)

HE moment Binibining Pilipinas International 2018 Maria Ahtisa Manalo sauntered onstage during the national costume competition of Miss International 2018, she cemented her status as one of the favorites to win. The lovely lass eventually finished in second place, undoubtedly bolstered by her Subanen-inspired attire, designed by Amir Sali, which she wore with flair and reverence.

Before she was named Miss Universe Philippines, Catriona Gray romped away with the Best in National Costume award, wearing a creation by Jearson Demavivas of Koronadal: “An authentic inaul cloth from Maguindanao is the base of the dress for which intricately incorporated sequins and rhinestone are overlaid to achieve a royal image of a Muslim princess.”

In pageants local and international, we get to see our beauty queens proudly wearing our traditional attires in their modern, fashionable interpretations.

But what of the authentic outfits that inspired them?

I got to admire them up close at the “Parada ng Katutubong Kasuotan: Showcase of Traditional Attire,” the culminating activity of “Dayaw: Philippine International Indigenous Peoples Festival 2018” in Roxas City, Capiz, last month.

The word dayaw in Waray means papuri or “praise”; in Hiligaynon, “to take pride”; in Ilocos, “respect”; and in Davao, “good, valuable, superior or beautiful.” The festival, organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), is the biggest celebration of indigenous culture, attracting 250 delegates from 45 ethnolinguistic groups here and abroad.

“It is because of and for [indigenous peoples] that we hold this festival. It is for all of us so that we can return to our roots in order to move forward and that we can experience more vividly the cultural diversity of this country, a richness that we truly possess,” said NCCA Chairman Virgilio Almario,

National Artist for Literature.

In early October, “the NCCA held an international conference on cultural statistics and creative economy. Creative economy is a recent concept brought about by the increasing roles of design, ideas and imagination in many industries in these times. It is also a belated recognition of creativity as a potent force in national economy and development,” Almario added.

At the showcase held at the Capiz Provincial Park, our inherent creativity as a people was on full sartorial display. The Ati (originating from Iloilo, Capiz and Guimaras) strutted in patadyong/tapis, a type of textile made from cotton, abaca and even polyester that is similar to malong. The difference is in the patadyong’s signature plaid/checkered patterns.

The women wear it as skirts, and is used as baby hammocks and even portable bathroom and changing rooms during olden days.

The Jama Mapun from Palawan and Tawi-Tawi wore the Badjao Sablay. “Ito ay yari sa telang makikintab na may maluwag na pagkakatahi. Ang sablay ay katulad ng salawal na may kasamang parang balabal na tinatawag na kindang na patadyong. Mayroon din itong terno na pandong, o putong sa ulo. Ang sablay ay sinusuot lalo ng kinakasal at sa iba pang mahahalagang okasyong pang-Islam,” explained Harlyn D. Edenden, the group’s cluster head.

“The traditional attire of the people of Mountain Province, the Bontoc/Balangao, is composed of tapis [skirt], bakget [belt] and wanes [G-string] for the males.

Women were topless before but later, lamma [blouse] for females were developed to be worn for protection and status symbol. These attires, colors, names, features and steps in wearing vary from town to town or even barangay to barangay,” cluster head Elamae Membrere said.

The most recognizable—and commercialized— attire belongs to the T’Bolis. “They have been noted for their back-loom textile tinalak woven from tiedyed abaca fiber. Nationally popular too are their personal ornaments made of multicolored beads, their embroidered blouses and hats.

Small household industries have grown about their cast brass bolo handles, figurines and betel-nut containers and other ornaments, using the lost-wax process,” the NCCA noted.

The festival activities were held over three days in Capiz and nearby towns of Tapaz and Ivisan, spreading the mission of our culture-bearers (steered by the Capiz Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office head Alphonsus Tesoro) about the wealth of our culture, traditions and heritage.

T’BOLI (South Cotabato)

“As the creative industries flourish, the more we take care of our traditions and heritage, which are springs of inspiration and from whose roots we blossom. People sometimes talk about the traditional and the modern as if they are two separate and opposing forces. In fact, it is just one long, continuing tradition, a tradition of creativity, a creativity with so many and diverse expressions and manifestations, and we are all differentiated and connected by it,” Chairman Almario said at the welcome ceremonies.

“Creativity actually is the impetus of human civilizations and development of societies and communities. It is at the heart of culture, and it has a very long history which we can glean from the traditions and other practices of the indigenous peoples.” n

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Monday, November 12, 2018

Style

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Adriana Lima thanks crowd at final Victoria’s Secret show MODEL Adriana Lima walks the runway during the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at Pier 94 on November 8, in New York. AP

TECHNOMARINE’S most iconic designs from the Cruise Collection: (from left) Cruise Original, Cruise Star, Cruise Monogram, Cruise Jellyfish and Cruise Dream.

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By Alicia Rancilio The Associated Press

EW YORK—An emotional Adriana Lima bowed her head in thanks and crossed her hands over her heart as she made her 18th and final runway walk in the annual holiday Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, her long white feather angel wings gently blowing as the crowd cheered.

A tribute video played on Thursday during taping of the extravaganza, declaring Lima “the greatest angel of all time” while Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” played. The show will be broadcast on December 2 on ABC and in 190 countries around the world.

The Struts, Shawn Mendes, The Chainsmokers, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey performed on the runway at a downtown Manhattan venue as 60 models walked, including sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Winnie Harlow.

Ora briefly walked hand in hand with one of the angels during her performance and a stage hand later fetched a piece of her gold jewelry that fell to the runway. Mendes was dressed in black and slung his acoustic guitar on his back as he sang “Lost in Japan,” while Gigi Hadid managed a huge parachute-shaped set of floral wings that caught the air like a massive windsock.

Jenner took to the runway in a black and silver bikini look and a set of stiff black feathers adorned with glitzy stars. For another round on the catwalk, she donned a tiny plaid kilt skirt with a mismatched plaid train and bra as she smiled. Harlow, a newcomer to the show, walked in sparkly silver with pink feather adornment.

Backstage before the show, the 37-year-old Lima, a mother of two, and other models lounged in short black robes bedazzled with gold stars. They spoke to journalists while sitting at makeup stations and lounging on couches.

“I thought over the years I would get more relaxed,” Lima, a blue-eyed Brazilian beauty, told The Associated Press as stylists worked on her long

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Anne Hathaway, 36; Ryan Gosling, 38; Megan Mullally, 60; Neil Young, 73.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Take care of matters personally.

Expect interference if others become aware of your private affairs. Staying in control will help you reach your goals and maintain your reputation. Someone you least expect will use manipulative tactics to enforce changes behind your back. Cover your tracks and keep detailed records. Traveling, communicating and updating your knowledge will keep you current and qualified. Your lucky numbers are 3, 12, 19, 25, 27, 34, 47.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Nurture an important relationship. An emotional matter will turn into a fiasco if you aren’t willing to compromise or listen to what someone else has to say.

Do your best to get along. HH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll learn through observation. Let your instincts be your guide when asked to make a choice or decision. Do what feels right, and you’ll have no regrets.

Past experience coupled with determination and discipline will help you excel. HHHHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Stay focused on what you need to accomplish. If you let someone lead you astray, you will end up falling behind. Stay on top of your responsibilities, and question anyone offering suggestions or information that doesn’t seem accurate. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Assess an important relationship. You’ll be able to make an adjustment if you share your feelings and listen to suggestions. Taking a unique approach may be questioned, but if you are willing to compromise, an agreement can be reached. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You need a little excitement in your life. A physical or mental challenge will get you moving and motivate you to make entertaining alterations to your living arrangements. Romance is on the rise. HHH

dark hair. “No, I still get nervous, just like at my first Victoria’s Secret show.”

Another angel mom, 30-year-old Namibian blonde Behati Prinsloo, smiled wide as she primped backstage. Prinsloo, who is married to Adam Levine, has been an angel since 2009 but this was her return to the show after two years off, just eight months after

the birth of their second daughter.

“It’s such an honor to just be part of it yet again after having kids,” she said.

Giving birth gave her extra confidence, Prinsloo said. “It made me work a little harder,” she said. “It made me appreciate my body so much, what it can do, create life and then, honestly, get back and do this.” n

Iconic timepieces THE top 5 signature timepieces from TechnoMarine’s best-selling Cruise Collection exemplify a vibrant dynamic lifestyle.

Infused with color and bold elements in its design with interchangeable straps and covers, each model in the Cruise Collection has a personality on its own.

The collection merges horological innovation and superior engineering with spirited design, fulfilling your aesthetic desires as much as your need for a serious dive watch. It’s an inventive collection with aspirations for more than just urban adventures.

First of the top 5 watches is TechnoMarine’s most iconic design—the Cruise Original. It features a sleek design with a wave pattern dial in either silver or yellow gold tone stainless steel case.

Keeping up with the trends, the Cruise Star is a slight makeover of the original, making it the topselling design in the collection.

It sports the same iconic wave pattern dial but in a chic stainless steel case with a 14-karat rose gold plating.

The other pieces in the collection include the Cruise Monogram, with a shark tooth pattern dial; Cruise Jellyfish, which combines sporty aesthetics with rugged construction; and Cruise Dream, guaranteed to catch the fancy of watch enthusiasts with a unique and quirky style.

z

Today’s Horoscope

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Stick to the basics. Whether you are discussing plans or making promises, don’t be misleading or make suggestions that you may not be able to live up to. Being direct and confident will help you come to a reasonable agreement. HHHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t let a change of plans stop you from doing your own thing. Added responsibilities should be handled fairly and evenly distributed to avoid a conflict with someone close to you. HH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Set up meetings. Face-to-face discussions will help you determine who is in your corner and who isn’t. Don’t let anger set in or you’ll give someone the upper hand. HHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Call in favors if you feel you need a helping hand.

Someone you have worked with in the past will offer information or show you how to do something that will help you improve your skills or qualifications.

Personal improvements are favored. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t let a last-minute change someone makes alter your plans. Adjust and move forward. Someone influential will be impressed with the way you handled the situation. HHH

New line of stylish shoes for men AFTER decades of providing highest-quality and fashionable shoes for women, Figlia, one of the country’s leading shoe brands, finally launched its first line of stylish shoes for men—Figlia Uomo.

Deriving its name from the Italian word uomo, which means man, Figlia Uomo, which has signed actor Piolo Pascual as its celebrity endorser, characterizes men’s versatility, stylishness and diversity through its impeccable designs, top-notched quality and competitive pricing. The new shoe brand marked its debut with a fashion show featuring three diverse, stylish and versatile collections: formal, semiformal and casual. As the highlight of the event, Figlia Uomo introduced Pascual its brand ambassador.

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take a moment to observe what others are up to. The knowledge you gain will help you decipher how to get others to help you move forward.

A change you make will lead to an opportunity that will result in financial gain. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A discussion will leave you feeling uncertain. If you have reservations, ask questions and find out what’s going on before you make a commitment or promise to anyone. Someone you have collaborated with in the past will offer insight. HHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are original, secretive and influential.

You are powerful and ambitious.

‘nevermore’ BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Dissolved bloc (abbr.)

5 Part of a 45 10 City near the Ganges 14 Fall tool 15 Violin bow rub-on 16 Activist Brockovich 17 They’re experimental 19 Junk-begets-junk acronym 20 Some leaders 21 Ed McMahon, for one 23 Not use entirely 26 “Pants on fire” fellow 27 Special event 30 Nonet kin 33 Old German leader Helmut 34 Cipher, as a message 36 “Who ___ you, the pope?”

37 Clusters of fish eggs 38 The Raven monogram and this theme 39 Blueprint detail, in short 40 Alias, briefly 41 Airport section

4 Get all tattered 4 45 Two less than 30-Across 47 In a suitable way 49 Emulate a falcon 50 Emporium 51 Therapist’s smear?

54 “C’mon, move on!”

58 “Bye bye” or “Later” 59 Cake or pizza toppings 62 Not tricked by 63 Like yore?

64 The Pearl Monroe of hoops 65 Extinct Nair rival 66 Get things going 67 BBs and pellets, e.g.

DOWN 1 Advocate earnestly 2 Dude from Tarsus 3 Grip the road? You wish 4 Some library transactions 5 Two-wood on the links, old-style 6 Dunk in gravy 7 “It ___” (formal “Who’s there?” reply) 8 Likes like a hippie

9 Like saved farm grain 10 Sea of Crete 11 Death personified 12 Capital near the Baltic 13 With author unknown 18 Historical periods 22 Frequent Spago’s 24 Copier cartridge 25 Sites the RV 27 Vegetables for gumbo 28 Sam the soulful singer 29 Penny-pinching ray?

31 “He’s ___ nowhere man...”

32 Strongly denounce 35 Eyeball-bending work 39 Fragrant climbing flower 41 Ducky shade 42 Thread-cutting Fate 43 Antifreeze, e.g.

46 Additionally 48 Get ready for, for short 51 Mouse clickee 52 30-Across’ number 53 Knight combat event

5 Close loudly 5 56 Microbe 57 Christiania, today 60 Document to keep co. secrets 61 Bard’s “always”

Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

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Monday, November 12, 2018

Laurels celebrate patriarch’s 90th birth anniversary DINGDONG, MARIAN SPEARHEAD THE COLOR RUN HERO TOUR

JOIN and celebrate The Color Run Hero Tour on November 18 at McKinley West in Taguig with various GMA stars led by Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera-Dantes.

Billed as the “Happiest 5k on the planet,” The Color Run, presented by GMA and organized by Runrio Events Inc., is set to paint Metro Manila with a burst of colors and exciting activities for people to enjoy.

The Color Run, a world-renowned franchise that exists in over 36 countries, will be participated in by GMA stars Kris Bernal, Rocco Nacino, Ruru Madrid, Bianca Umali, Kyline Alcantara, Sanya Lopez, Betong Sumaya, Rodjun Cruz, Joyce Pring and Juancho Trivino. Also joining them are Ashley Ortega, Ayra Mariano, Hannah Precillas, Marika Sasaki, Paul Salas, Ralph Noriega, Thia Thomalla, JBK members Joshua Bulot, Bryan del Rosario, Kim Ordonio and One Up boys Dave Bornea, Karlo Duterte, Kevin Sagra, Nikki Co, Prince Clemente, Ralf King, Yasser Marta and Jay Arcilla.

This year, the run is unleashing the hero in each and every participant, as proceeds of the event will be donated to support the “I am Super” campaign of the YesPinoy Foundation Inc. (YPF). I am Super is a disaster preparedness initiative designed to equip young people from vulnerable schools and communities with knowledge, skills and tools, such as Go Bags or emergency kits, which are developed by Supertyphoon Yolanda survivors. YPF, on the other hand, is a nonprofit organization founded in 2009 by Dantes to help empower children and youth in the fields of environment, education and responsible citizenship.

More information about the run is available at www. thecolorrun.com.ph.

ALL ACCESS RICKY GALLARDO

rickygallardoTFI@gmail.com

T

HE prominent Laurel family members will gather in full force for the 90th birth anniversary of their late patriarch, Dr. Salvador “Doy” Laurel, an esteemed politician and philanthropist who once served as vice president of the Philippines.

Come November 19, a special show, billed as Doy! A Night of Love with Family and Friends, will be staged at the Maybank Theater Performing Arts in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The musical event will also double as a benefit concert to support the Legal Aid Internship Program of the Salvador H. Laurel Foundation.

Since its founding in 2012, the foundation has been quietly giving assistance to indigent but deserving and promising young scholars to help them enter the legal profession in furtherance of the late vice president’s advocacy of according equal opportunities to our disadvantaged youth.

The foundation takes pride in its very first scholar, Atty. Mark D. Oyales, who placed second in the 2013 bar examinations, and since then it has strengthened its partnership with the University of the Philippines College of Law by expanding the program’s coverage benefits.

Recently, the partnership revived a legal aid internship program to perpetuate another legacy of the late politician: the championing of the legal cases of our poor and marginalized

fellowmen. I have known some of the Laurel family members for many decades now and music certainly glues the family together—whether in the happiest or the saddest of times.

Their love for music strengthens the deep love they have for each other.

It’s been a glorious journey for Cocoy Laurel, who debuted in Repertory Philippines’s Plaza Suite, where his mother Celia Diaz-Laurel played the lead role. During his late teens, he studied at the Academia Real de Bellas Artes in Madrid.

He also enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Juilliard School of Music in the early-1970s. Cocoy was part of the first batch of Filipino artists recruited for Miss Saigon at the West End and, after a few years, he became one of the more celebrated actors who played the role of The Engineer in the Australian tour of the acclaimed musical.

The husband-and-wife tandem of Franco and Ayen Laurel are also special to me. Since their first meeting in the musical Rama at Sita, up to the time they fell in love, got married and started a family, this lovely couple continues to maximize their God-given gifts of music and voice to bless others. “Family comes first, always, and we are excited for this special musical tribute,” shared Franco, who is currently making a comeback as an actor for film and television.

Nicole Laurel-Asensio is starting to make a name for herself in the crazy live musical performance circuit.

“It’s always a thrill to work with family. I’m grateful for this opportunity because it doesn’t happen very often.

Furthermore, if it weren’t for my mom Iwi, Lola Celia and Tito Cocoy, I don’t think I would have become a performer. I owe it to them in many ways. I’m honored to be included to pay tribute to my grandfather Doy who taught us to pursue our careers with honor, perseverance and passion,” she intoned.

Another singer-actress I dearly love is Denise Laurel, and I’m happy that she will be able to join this special event. “I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” she told us, adding, “It’s for the 90th birthday of my lolo and it will be extra special!”

Other family members that will perform are Iwi, Yanah, Rajo, Venisse and John. Supporting them are the iconic Aldeguer Sisters in a very rare appearance and some special guests from the local theater community.

The Laurels will be backed up by the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Rodel Colmenar and the repertoire will included excerpts from Camelot, South Pacific, Kismet, Evita, Man of La Mancha, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera, Carousel, Pippin, Les Miserables and The King & I, among others.

For inquiries, call 0917-1666788. n

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Loud, proud and �lashy+Powder Kiss AND THEN SOME DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

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EREMY SCOTT’S collection for H&M, Moschino [tv] H&M, can best be described as loud, proud and flashy. The capsule collection, which launched in the Philippines last week, evokes the flashy 1990s with lots of gold, animal prints and sequins. Oh, and did we say gold?

Gold is everywhere, from the bag chains to the earrings and necklaces. There’s a pair of silver sequined pants that would have looked right at home in the clubs of the 1990s but would still look perfect today.

“Whenever I design, I think about my friends. The Moschino [tv] H&M lookbook is like a party—celebrating the fun, the pop, the creativity and the energy of the people and the collection,” said Jeremy Scott, creative director of Moschino, in a press release.

“I love how Jeremy captures the spirit of Moschino [tv] H&M in the lookbook. This is a loud and proud collection for everyone to share in the fun, no matter who you are or where you are from,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s creative advisor, said in a press release.

Wearing the high energy Moschino [tv] H&M collection for the lookbook are, among others, Aquaria, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10; Amiaya, twins and influencers Aya and Ami; Sakura Bready, Jeremy Scott’s assistant at Moschino; and Pablo Olea, Jeremy’s best friend and head of Global PR and Communications of Moschino.

For the Philippine launch, H&M hosted a shopping party the night before the retail launch. Shoppers who lined up got dibs on the collection. They were divided into several groups, with each group given 10 minutes to choose their items.

Another collection (this time for beauty) that I recently got to try was the MAC Cosmetics Powder Kiss collection. Yes, I know that I have a lot of lipsticks but anything new from MAC still excites me and that’s a good thing, right?

The concept behind Powder Kiss is that if you find matte lipsticks drying, these offer the matte finish everybody loves without the drying effect. The texture is very light that it seems you aren’t wearing lipstick at all.

“Matte, totally reinvented. Delivering a romantic blur of soft-focus color, this weightless moisture-matte lipstick was developed to replicate a backstage technique: blending out edges of matte lipstick for a hazy effect. Its groundbreaking formula contains moisture-coated powder pigments that condition and hydrate lips. The result is the zero-shine look of a matte lipstick with the cushiony, lightweight feel of a balm,” said MAC Cosmetics in its web site.

Here’s what I thought of the lipstick after using it for two weeks. I have the shades Influentially It (beige) and Shocking Revelation (a cool red): 1. THE TEXTURE IS REALLY LIGHT. But on me, it goes on like a light satin lipstick, then becomes powdery matte after a few minutes.

2. MAC POWDER KISS HAS BEEN COMPARED TO SUNNIES FACE FLUFFMATE LIPSTICKS. They’re actually very different in texture. Fluffmate is still very lipstick-like in terms of coverage while Powder Kiss is really very lightweight.

3. MAC POWDER KISS IS PERFECT FOR THOSE WHO WANT THE GRADIENT/BLURRED LIP POPULARIZED BY KOREANS. I wear Best of Me first then I apply Shocking Revelation on top of that. I once tried Shocking Revelation on top of concealer (MAC Prolongwear) and it worked, too, except it was a bit drying.

4. DEVOTED TO CHILI IS MY FAVORITE SHADE AND I’M BUYING IT. In fact, I need two or three tubes.

The MAC web site describes it as a warm copper but on me, it looks like MAC’s Chili lipstick except it is more “diffused” in terms of coverage.

I heard that this shade sold out in China in, like, a day.

5. MAC POWDER KISS WASN’T REALLY MOISTURIZING ON ME BUT IT WASN’T DRYING, TOO. I really don’t need my lipsticks to be moisturizing for two reasons. One is that my lips are chronically dry, thanks to all the lipsticks that I wear everyday. Two, I wear a really good lip balm (La Mer) plus I use MAC Prep + Prime Lip so I’m covered in the moisturizing department. n

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Monday, November 12, 2018 E1

Women act more ethically than men when representing themselves—but not when representing others

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By Maryam Kouchaki

ESEARCH tells us a lot about why people behave unethically. Many studies, however, look only at the unethical actions people take on behalf of themselves. What about when we act on behalf of others?

We conducted four studies to examine whether people were more likely to lie when negotiating on behalf of others, rather than for themselves. We recruited 1,337 participants to engage in negotiations, and found that gender played a role in how we negotiate for ourselves and others. Men were more likely than women to lie when they were negotiating for themselves, but not when negotiating for others. But the reverse was true for women.

When we asked why participants made the decisions they did, we saw that women were more

likely to report feeling guilty about letting down those they were advocating for. They were more willing to engage in questionable behavior because they anticipated feeling more guilt, and worried about disappointing others.

Even though our studies focused on women, other research has yielded similar general findings that people tend to act unethically when representing others, if they believe those they’re promoting are OK with it, or prefer it.

So how can we combat the tendency to behave unethically when

Auditing algorithms for bias

By Rumman Chowdhury & Narendra Mulani

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N 1971 the philosopher John Rawls proposed a thought experiment to understand the idea of fairness: the “veil of ignorance.” What if, he asked, we could erase our recollections so we had no memory of who we were—our race, our income level, anything that may influence our opinion? Can artificial intelligence provide the veil of ignorance that would lead us to objective and ideal outcomes?

The field of AI ethics draws an interdisciplinary group of lawyers, philosophers, social scientists, programmers and others. Influenced by this community, Accenture Applied Intelligence has developed a fairness tool to understand and address bias in both the data and the algorithmic models that are at the core of AI systems. (An early prototype of the fairness tool was developed at a data study group at the Alan Turing Institute.

Accenture thanks the institute and the participating academics for their role.)

In its current form, the fairness evaluation tool works for classification models, which are used, for example, to determine whether or not to grant a loan to an applicant. Classification models group people or items by similar characteristics. The tool helps a user determine whether this grouping occurs in an unfair manner, and provides methods of correction.

There are three steps to the tool: The first part examines the data for the hidden influence of user-defined

“sensitive” variables on other variables.

The tool identifies and quantifies what impact each predictor variable has on the model’s output.

The second part of the tool investigates the distribution of model errors for the different classes of a sensitive variable. Our tool applies statistical distortion to fix the error term; that is, the error term becomes more homogeneous across the different groups. The degree of repair is determined by the user.

Finally, the tool examines the false positive rate across different groups and enforces a user-determined equal rate of false positives across all groups.

False positives are one particular form of model error: instances where the model outcome said “yes” when the answer should have been “no.”

In correcting for fairness, there may be a decline in the model’s accuracy, and the tool illustrates any change in accuracy that may result. Since the balance between accuracy and fairness is dependent on context, we rely on the user to determine the trade-off. Depending on the context of the tool, it may be a higher priority to ensure equitable outcomes than to optimize accuracy.

Our tool does not simply dictate what is fair. Rather, it assesses and corrects bias within the parameters set by its users, who ultimately need to define sensitive variables, error terms and false positive rates.

Rumman Chowdhury leads Accenture’s Responsible AI practice. Narendra Mulani is the lead for Accenture Applied Intelligence.

© 2018 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate)

acting on someone else’s behalf?

Our research suggests a few approaches: n Aim for intentionality. At the individual level, it’s important to be aware of your motivations when advocating for others. n Ask for clarification. There can be significant ambiguity in realworld advocacy situations, and that can lead to erroneous assumptions about someone’s ethics and expectations, which in turn may lead to unethical behavior on their behalf. n State your expectations.

When you’re representing someone, you should also be upfront about where you are and aren’t willing to go.

While the tendency to act unethically on behalf of others exists, the good news is that you can act to prevent such outcomes.

Maryam Kouchaki is an assistant professor of management and organizations at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.​

4 ways to pressure-test strategic decisions, inspired by the US military

By Rick Lynch & Jay Galeota

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HE ability to poke holes in one’s own strategies is something the US military has practiced and refined over centuries. While sometimes necessary, making it up as you go is more often associated with failure and is often a symptom of ineffective or inaccurate anticipation of competitive moves or environmental shifts.

The techniques the military has honed can help executives anticipate problems and change course when necessary:

n Build situational awareness.

In the business world, it’s crucial to make sense of the environments in which we operate and foresee how different factors will affect our decisions. Start by forming teams and tasking them to develop alternatives based on different views of the same situation. For example, what if a new competitor enters the market earlier than expected? The next step is to compare these hypotheticals collectively and determine what countermeasures will have the most impact.

n Develop an outside-in perspective. Think of aircraft. For a long time,

the military used planes primarily to increase visibility of topography and troop movements, but starting in the early 1900s, the military began using them to deliver ordinance and conduct warfare. What are your organization’s aircraft? Think to yourself: In future scenarios, could any of these become new lines of business? n Game it out. Another practice is war-gaming, and there is often no substitute for putting real people into the mix to see how they react. Incen-

tivizing “opposing” teams for success will help ensure a robust simulation. n Form diverse, strategic groups.

Finally, form strategic initiatives groups, and populate them with people who can analyze problems from various perspectives.

Rick Lynch served in the US Army for 35 years, retiring as a lieutenant general. Jay Galeota was the chief strategy and business development officer and president of Emerging Businesses at Merck and is now the president of G&W Laboratories, Inc.

U.S. HEALTH PLANS CAN SAVE BILLIONS BY HELPING PATIENTS NAVIGATE THE SYSTEM

By Kaveh Safavi, Jean-Pierre Stephan, Loren McCaghy, Michael Brombach & Sapna Rao

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OST people at one time or another have struggled to navigate the complexities of the US health-care system. It is costing employers and health plans billions of dollars each year. Recognizing this exorbitant cost, Accenture developed a literacy index to evaluate how well consumers can obtain, understand and navigate information and services.

Our analysis found the healthcare system is so complex that more than half of consumers are unable to navigate it on their own, triggering avoidable customer service calls and more costly care. Consumers with low

health system literacy are three times more likely to contact customer service. Our estimates found health insurers and employers spend $26 more on administration fees for every consumer with a low health system literacy.

Consumers with low literacy struggle to make informed decisions about everything from the health plan types they choose and the premiums they pay to the doctors they see and the procedures they have done. It is worth noting this issue has nothing to do with education level.

Education has a role to play in reducing costs for health insurers, but it alone will not eliminate the problem. To ease their cost burden, health plans should instead aim to simplify the user experience. Our research points to a few strategies that health

plans can implement.

n Harness digital channels. While systemic complexity won’t be eliminated in the short term, health plans can approach service differently to make navigating the health-care system feel simpler and easier. In today’s increasingly technological world, consumers expect this type of simplicity and digital access across all industries that they interact with. n Incentivize progress. Another solution to cut through complexity is incentivizing health providers and consumers to work together in navigating health insurance options. Other programs might focus on educating consumers on how to choose affordable care settings on their own.

n Shift the complexity burden off consumers. Health plans also need

to deploy new product concepts that take us closer to the goal of simplification and orchestrate service options to reach low literacy consumers on their terms.

Ultimately, the only way to eliminate systemic complexity in health care is by actually making health care simpler.

Kaveh Safavi, MD, is the head of Accenture’s global health practice. JeanPierre Stephan is managing director of consumer health engagement at Accenture. Loren McCaghy is a director of consumer engagement and product insight at Accenture. Michael Brombach is a health expert at Accenture Strategy. Sapna Rao is a health expert at Accenture Strategy.

E2 Monday, November 12, 2018 t &EJUPS &nFEB 1 $BNQPT

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With SC upholding it, K to 12 to pave way for basic education, social devtâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Briones

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HE Department of Education (DepEd) expressed confidence at the weekend that the Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of Republic Act 10533, otherwise known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013,â&#x20AC;? shall pave the way not only for the achievement of basic education objectives, but also of social development goals.

Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones expressed her high hopes for the future of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest education reform to date, as well as for the future of the country.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Supreme Court ruling empowers us to better deliver quality, accessible, relevant and liberating basic education to the Filipino learners whom we are sworn to

serve,â&#x20AC;? she said in a statement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We shall continue amplifying our efforts to produce 21st-century graduates equipped with the core values and lifelong competencies they need to contribute to societal development and nation-buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; the very goal of the K to 12 program,â&#x20AC;? she added.

Signed by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, the decision, dated October 9, 2018, ruled that the K to 12 law was â&#x20AC;&#x153;duly enacted,â&#x20AC;? as â&#x20AC;&#x153;it adequately provides the legislative policy that it seeks to implement.â&#x20AC;?

It also declared that its related issuances including RA 10157 or the Kindergarten Education Act, and DepEd Order (DO) 31, Series of 2012 entitled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of Grades 1 to 10 of the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum,â&#x20AC;? are all constitutional.

Thrust for K to 12, ALS

THE education chief also acknowledged the preliminary work carried out by her predecessor, Bro. Armin Luistro, who was at the helm of the department when the K to 12 was enacted into law by former President Benigno S. Aquino III. â&#x20AC;&#x153;His administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s determination and unwavering commitment built a strong foundation for the full implementation of this reform, especially the two additional years of senior high school [SHS] which provide graduates with four exits and life options,â&#x20AC;? Briones added, referring to employment, entrepreneurship, higher education and middle-level skills development.

With its full implementation of the K to 12 program, the Duterte administration completes the education reform as it committed to and continues to expand and in-

tensify the Alternative Learning System (ALS).

Considered as a priority education program of the administration, ALS is a step in the direction of the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to the Philippine Education for All Plan of Action for out-of-school youth and adults.

The 94-page SC decision also stated that â&#x20AC;&#x153;more than a year prior to the adoption of DO 31, and contrary to petitionersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; assertions, the DepEd conducted regional consultations and focus group discussions, participated by students, parents, teachers and administrators, government representatives, and representatives from private schools and private sector to elicit opinions, thoughts and suggestions about the K to 12 basic education.â&#x20AC;?

Milestones, challenges

WITH the graduation of the first

1.2 million SHS learners in 2018, Briones said the reform is on the right track. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As with any journey, there will always be pitfalls and gaps that need to be filled, especially given the continuously shifting sociopolitical and economic conditions of the country,â&#x20AC;? Briones cited. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But the challenges do not discredit our milestones,â&#x20AC;? she added, citing the DepEdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successful efforts to fine-tune the program, and continuous identification of ways forward together with its many stakeholders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While we acknowledge the criticisms of various groups and individuals, we continuously call on all members of the society to support our goal of being on a par with the rest of the world through the K to 12 program,â&#x20AC;? Briones said. PNA

Time to end our Bar Exam fixation

BY JUSTIN D.J. SUCGANG

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DR. Reynaldo B. Vea (left), president of Mapua University, and Dr. Dar-Bin Shieh, deputy minister of Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministry of Science and Technology, during the turnover of the mobile laboratory.

Mapua hosts Taiwan experts in forum on water quality, lake bacteria testing

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APUA University recently welcomed the delegates from Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministry of Science and Technology (T-MOST), National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and other professors from various higher educational institutions of Taiwan in the recent forum on Water Quality Assessment and Monitoring: Detection of Cyanobacteria and Odor Compounds in Water Sources for Domestic Use at the Yuchengco Innovation Center (YIC).

The forum was co-organized

by Mapua and NCKU to discuss

the progress in the water quality monitoring and cyanobacteria detection project in Laguna Lake of the Taiwan-Philippines Joint Water Quality Research and Innovation Center (TP-WQRIC).

Prof. Tsair-Fuh Lin of NCKU, director of TP-WQRIC, and Prof. Delia B. Senoro, director of Mapuaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of International Linkages for Research and Development (Ilrad) and co-director of the TP-WQRIC, spearheaded the forum and discussion.

The highlight of the event was the turnover of the mobile trailer

laboratory provided by T-MOST to TP-WQRIC of Mapua. The trailer laboratory will be used for the ongoing project in Laguna Lake and other future research projects of the joint research center. It is customized with the capability to support the conduct of on-site water quality monitoring. It contains two generators to support the power requirement during field work, refrigerator to store and preserve samples, and countertops that can carry instruments for on-site water quality analysis.

MONSANTO PHILIPPINES A company recently acquired by Bayer turned over a multipurpose hall to the faculty and students of Lozano High School at Sitio Cabuay, Barangay Sinawal, General Santos City. Present at the turnover were members of the Research and Development Team from Legacy Monsanto Philippines.

Also present were Charina Ocampo, Legacy Monsanto Corporate Engagement lead, and Barangay Chairman Rodolfo Lozano. Legacy Monsanto Philippines constructed the multipurpose hall in partnership with Outsource Asia and FP Canizares Construction to benefit more than 200 students, 80 percent of whom are from the Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;laan tribe. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

HIS call is not new.

As early as 1968, this call was made by the late Supreme Court Justice Irene Cortes, the first female dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, after embarking on a series of studies that examined the relationship among law school curriculum, teaching and assessment methods, and the Bar Exam. Some years after, in his speech at the first conference of the Philippine Association of Law Professors, Chief Justice Andres Narvasa, then dean of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law, reached the same conclusion. And this was echoed by Justice Florenz Regalado, then dean of San Beda College of Law, and still the highest scorer in the Bar Exam.

At the turn of the new millennium, the SC constituted a Special Study Group (SSG), composed of Justices Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera, Jose Feria and Camilo Quiason. The SSG, in its September 18, 2000 final report, concluded that the â&#x20AC;&#x153;very existence of the examination has stymied in a significant manner legal education.â&#x20AC;? Fortunately, to date, I still hear advocatesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; some few progressive law deans and legal scholarsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;calling for the end of our unnecessary and unhealthy fixation with the Bar Exam.

Neither is this call insignificant.

While I acknowledge that a responsible law school should place some importance on Bar Exam preparation, it is to be equally recognized that â&#x20AC;&#x153;[m]any, if not most, law schools,â&#x20AC;? as observed by the SSG, â&#x20AC;&#x153;have made of passing the Bar Examinations the principal, or even sole objective of legal education. This has without doubt impoverished legal education and constricted its scope to the possible items that may be asked in the Bar Examinations.â&#x20AC;? Indeed, this fixation has become the proximate cause of many of the problems that our legal education system has been confronting for decades. Allow me to mention some.

We have Model Curricula that are no longer responsive to the demands of a modern society.

Courses that should have been taught considering the growing complexities in legal, economic and political transactions have

not yet seen the light of the day. At best, they are offered as electives, taken by few students because they are not usually asked in the Bar Exam. On the contrary, courses that are rarely used in common daily transactions are still required to be taught. These Model Curriculaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which, to a great extent, fol low t he 1963 c u r r ic u lu m prescribed by the Department of Education Bureau of Private Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;contain all subjects as appearing in an enumeration of courses under the 1920 Rules for the Examination of Candidates for Admission to the Practice of Law. We have Model Curricula that attempt to cover all the laws there are notwithstanding the exponential growth of law and jurisprudence, and the simple fact that it simply cannot be done. And, even if it can be, not within a four-year period.

We have an overwhelming number of law professors who still prefer and use an 1870 teaching strategy (i.e., Langdellian â&#x20AC;&#x153;modifiedâ&#x20AC;? Socratic Method), born out of pedagogical assumptions culled from the 19th century. Despite the availability of newer and more enriching methods, many professors cling to the traditional one because they do not have the necessary training to employ the newer forms of teaching. And granting that they have, they simply cannot afford to use these methods, especially when they are assigned to teach Bar Exam subjects.

Until recently, we have had law students who were, surprisingly, studying to become lawyers despite not having the aptitude to satisfy the demands of law school. Furthermore, even if they are apt for legal studies, these students are being forced to adapt to the traditional mode of instruction, notwithstanding individual differences in learning. Despite research studies showing that the younger generations are becoming more and more visual, the law school pedagogy is still biased toward the traditional aural-centric Langdellian Method. This, therefore, creates a gap, which both law students and professors cannot afford to bridge, under pain of rewriting a law school pedagogy proven time and again to increase the chances of passing the Bar Exam.

We have law schools whose

hands are tied in introducing innovations that deviate from the traditional mode of instruction and existing curricula. No matter how they want to effect reforms, they simply cannot just do so lest they suffer the brunt of declining student population due to law Bar Exam passing rate.

We have a statutory regulatory body that struggles with introducing reforms because most of the problems are endemic within the educational system.

Inscribed in one of the halls of the University of Michigan Law School is a preamble of the last will and testament of William Cook, the great legal scholar on Corporate Law and its then biggest benefactor. In explaining his donation to Michigan Law, Cook highlighted the role of legal education in nation-building. He believed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;American institutions are of more consequence than the wealth or power of the country; and...that the preservation and development of these institutions have been, are, and will continue to be under the leadership of the legal profession; and...that the future of America depends largely on that profession; and...that the character of the law schools determines the character of the legal profession.â&#x20AC;? Our political history shows that we are a nation run by lawyers, fortunately or unfortunately. And if we are to progress as a nation, we need to ensure that the education received by our lawyers are responsive to the changing demands of the profession and nation-building.

Even before law school, Justin had been passionate about reforming the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legal education system, and culminated his stint at De La Salle University College of Law with a Juris Doctor thesis, entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Problem Bigger than Law Schools: Reforming Philippine Legal Education System through an Institutional Approach.â&#x20AC;?

A Sen. James William Fulbright Awardee and a Clyde Alton DeWitt Fellow, Justin is currently taking the Master of Laws program in the University of Michigan Law School.

He was a previous public servant, serving as commissioner representing the law studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sector in the Legal Education Board, and director at the Office of the President of the Philippines. Upon his return, he plans to teach law full time in his Alma Mater.

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Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Monday, November 12, 2018 E3

How important is writing in PR today?

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By Millie F. Dizon

What’s your story?

“People love stories,” says Leibowitz.

“The need for stories is hardwired into our DNA as some writers have told me.” There are fiction and nonfiction stories, but at their core, “most stories are about someone [the hero] who struggles to overcome a challenge, obstacle or enemy to reach their goal.”

What’s new or different about your story?

What fresh point of view are you lending to your subject? What distinctive perspective are you adding to the debate? What new insights have you discovered that you’re sharing? Leibowitz says that “you should challenge yourself to ask any of these questions of any piece of writing you do.”

He adds that even if you’re writing about a topic that has been well-covered—how artificial intelligence and robots are likely to eliminate jobs in a range of sectors across the economy, for instance—what twist are you putting on the subject? Today’s audience tends to be jaded, and a fresh perspective can make more people interested in your piece.

What facts, analyses and examples will bring your story to life?

Now that you know what your story is and you’ve found a new approach, what facts, analyses and examples are you using to bring your story to life?

“Your story will feel hollow and unpersuasive if you don’t back it up

Tanduay Rum bags ‘Brand of the Year’ in World Branding Awards

The prestigious World Branding Awards, the ultimate global brandrecognition accolade, has recently named Tanduay Rum the “Brand of the Year” in a glittering ceremony held at the State Apartments of Kensington Palace.

“We are elated with the recognition given once again to Tanduay. For the past years, we have continued to come up with new product innova-

tions and create memorable experiences for our consumers that further strengthened our brand equity,” said Paul Lim, chief marketing officer, Tanduay Distillers Inc. Winners are uniquely judged through three streams: brand valuation, consumer market research and public online voting. Over 230,000 consumers from around the world participated in the voting process.

Seventy percent of the scoring process comes from consumer votes.

Only one winner was chosen in each category per country.

“In June we were recognized by an international award for being the world’s top selling rum. Now, a world recognition of the brand affirms even more that we continue to provide

they will immediately inject energy and power into your sentences.”

Are you using correct grammar, usage and spelling?

WWW.FREEPIK.COM

PR Matters

n this week’s column, we will take a different approach to our usual mode of answering readers’ questions related to public relations.

This is because everywhere I go, people ask me about the importance of writing in public relations. On one hand, technology has democratized communications, making it possible for almost everyone to express herself or himself in blogs, posts and messages. In the process, there is less attention placed on the basics of good writing—good grammar and sentence construction, resulting in cringe-worthy pieces.

On the other hand, friends in the industry constantly lament the fact that it is difficult to find good writers and I myself am aghast at how practicing PRs leave everything, even writing a simple letter to an agency. And sadly, they don’t enhance their skills.

As such, the next two columns will be about writing and public relations.

Is it still important in PR today?

What are the trends? And how can we improve our writing style.

How important is writing in public relations today? In a recent PR News survey, 80 percent of senior-level communications at agencies, corporations and nonprofits identified writing as the top skill their team needs to improve. In short, writing is the biggest weakness for communicators.

But how do we become better writers? In an article for Inc-Asean. com, Glenn Leibowitz says it is simply following time-tested principles.

As someone who has written and edited “hundreds of thousands of words over the course of my career,” he suggests that one ask himself eight simple questions throughout the process of writing and editing.

These questions, Leibowitz says, should serve as a framework for organizing and writing and fleshing out the meat of your piece.

with numbers, quotes or case studies,” says Leibowitz. Research is very important and it will add more credibility to your article.

Does your story flow logically?

I was blessed to have very good English teachers in school, and we were trained to be able to express our ideas logically. During tests, we would get lower grades for essays where ideas jumped from one topic to the other, and we learned from those lessons.

We can say that our audience looks at our pieces in the same way—good ideas should be well expressed.

“Every paragraph and sentence should follow each other in logical sequence,” says Leibowitz. “If you leave out a lot of links in your logical chain, you can be sure that your reader will sense that, and will likely be confused.”

Is your story clear?

Is what you are saying immediately clear to the reader? Or are you “using vague imprecise language, making references to ideas and facts that you are not sharing explicitly in your writing, or clouding your message with industry jargon or terminology that only a handful of readers will understand?”

Leibowitz cites Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker who believes that what’s behind so much unclear—and just plain bad—writing is a phenomenon he calls the “Curse of Knowledge.” It stems from the fact that writers often known a lot more than their reader about a subject.

As such, “when it comes to conveying their ideas in writing, they fail to translate their ideas into words that are understandable by their readers.”

In his book, The Sense of Style, Pinker argues that the Curse of Knowledge is the “single best reason good people write bad prose.”

Are you avoiding technical terminology, industry jargon, and clichés?

“One of the most common mistakes many writers make occurs when they use language that makes them think their writing sounds smart, but instead confuses readers,” says Leibowitz.

“Technical terms and acronyms might be useful for communicating with other experts. But if you’re trying to reach a our consumers with a great product experience,” Lim added.

It was also this year that Drinks International magazine published a ranking of the sales of global rum brands. According to the document, based on 2017 sales figures, Tanduay has overtaken Bacardi as the world’s best-selling rum citing that the company sold 19.5 million 9L cases (versus Bacardi's 16.8 million) and showed 17-percent growth year-over-year.

The brand awards, on the other hand, brings Tanduay among the greatest and most recognizable brands in the world, such as BMW, Cartier, Club Med, JinkoSolar, Johnnie Walker, Lego, L'Oréal, Louis Vuitton, Nescafé, Rolex, Samsung, Schwarzkopf and Yakult.

broader audience, translate these into clearer, simpler language.”

The same goes for the use for words that you think may make you sound cool, but in the end, make you seem trying hard and uncool.

Also, avoid littering your prose with buzzwords when you are writing for a bigger audience.

And clichés? Just avoid them, please, says Leibowitz.

Are you writing in the active voice?

Where did the use of passive sentences originate? Academic writing? Bureaucratic documents? And why does this style continue to exercise such a powerful sway over so many people? Do they really think it helps make their writing sound better? No, it makes their writing weak and fearful.

Leibowitz adds, “use active verbs:

“English is flexible and accommodates an enormous range of syntax and styles,” says Leibowitz.

“But this flexibility still sits atop a web of strict rules about what words go where and how exactly they should be used. Understanding how to adhere to these rules confounds many people, but it’s an essential part of mastering the craft of writing well.”

He adds that, “when in doubt, Google it. Your searches might yield variations in usage or spelling of a word you’re unsure of, but at least you’ll find examples of how they’re used in context.”

We will talk more about PR and writing next week.

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world.

Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.

We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations.

Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.

E4 Monday, November 12, 2018

Perspective BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Business leaders’ breakthrough moments

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN speaks at the annual DealBook conference in New York, November 1, 2018. MIKE COHEN/THE NEW YORK TIMES

A

T the annual DealBook conference last week, business leaders joined a lunchtime conversation to talk about the state of innovation today. Before the event, The New York Times asked them to answer one of three questions about their careers. Their responses have been edited and condensed.

WHAT WAS YOUR BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT? Peggy Johnson Executive vice president of business development, Microsoft I’m naturally more introverted, but early in my career I was told that to be a leader I’d have to speak up and be more assertive in meetings. My breakthrough moment came when I decided that, for better or worse, I was going to be myself at work. That’s when my career started to take off. I learned that who I am matters more than how I’m supposed to be, and that to succeed on my terms, I had to define my own brand of leadership.

Jake Schwartz Co-founder and chief executive, General Assembly Think impossibly big. You should feel embarrassed by the size of your vision. That kind of thinking can have its own gravitational pull and, as weird as it sounds, makes you more likely to succeed. Big thinking then has to be followed up by an obsessive attention to the tiny little details that will make or break your success.

Tony Schwartz Founder and chief executive, the Energy Project

At the age of 47, eager to move from chronicling the work of others as a journalist to making a more direct difference in the world myself, I joined with a partner to launch a business that helps organizations to systematically build the capacity of their people physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I realized that contrib-

uting creatively to address a huge problem was the purest joy I had ever experienced. I still feel that way 20 years later.

Steve Stoute Founder and chief executive, UnitedMasters and Translation When I discovered the power of cultural currency, the trajectory of my career completely changed.

In 2002, I was with Paul Fireman, the founder of Reebok, who told me that Reebok was once bigger than Nike but had lost its way because young adults didn’t think it was cool anymore. I said, there is an insight you can tap into. All rappers want to be basketball players and vice versa. We’ve signed athletes, so we should partner with musicians who use Reeboks as a lifestyle shoe.

Despite everyone telling Paul this would fail (sneakers were about “performance”), he listened to me and I created a platform for Reebok called the Sound and Rhythm of Sport with Jay-Z as our first artist. Within one hour, all 10,000 pairs of the S. Carter Collection sold out. By realizing that hip-hop culture and basketball had a shared audience, we changed the landscape of footwear forever.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE TRYING TO DO WHAT YOU DID? Afsaneh M. Beschloss Founder and chief executive, RockCreek Find work you like, and passionate people who take an interest in you! They will be the mentors and positive forces in your life.

John Hope Bryant

Founder, chairman and chief executive, Operation HOPE It is not about you. Being a leader even means being prepared to take yourself out. If you can get out of your own way, repeatedly, and are the personality type that can reimagine everything, and never give up—then you will win. On the worst days, this kind of leader remembers that rainbows follow storms.

Stephanie Cohen Chief strategy officer, Goldman Sachs

If your goal is to innovate, then you have to be comfortable with failure. As a manager, that means setting the direction but allowing your people to explore, to try new things, to be creative and ask tough questions. Maybe things get done a bit differently than if you’d been making every single decision, but that’s part of the job description—teach people to think like entrepreneurs, and to own the results. It’s a more engaging way for people to work, it’s inspiring, and I think, ultimately, it leads to better outcomes.

Thasunda Duckett Chief executive of consumer banking, JPMorgan Chase

Be your unapologetic, authentic self. Build a brand that makes others want to trust you, partner with you and advocate on your behalf. Make meaningful connections with those around you. That doesn’t just mean looking up the hierarchy. Look to your left and right at your peers and to those who are up-and-coming.

Joelle Emerson Founder and chief executive, Paradigm My biggest piece of advice would be, do it! Companies have a significant impact on our world and play a powerful role in shaping our future. They influence what happens in our homes, our neighborhoods, our cities. They affect legal and policy outcomes. And they inform access to opportunity.

Now more than ever before, companies have incredible potential to

drive positive social change. But it matters who is at the table. When companies are more diverse and inclusive internally, they will drive more positive social change externally. By building more equitable companies, we can create a more equitable world.

Audrey Gelman Co-founder and chief executive, the Wing Remember, “no” is a complete sentence. I have found that this is especially challenging for women who are starting their own businesses, given the structural and systemic barriers that we face in our journeys toward success. But saying no is often an act of self-care, and setting limits and boundaries is crucial. If you can’t say no, as a leader, your yes has very little meaning.

Brad Katsuyama Co-founder and chief executive, IEX My best advice to “groundbreakers” would be to experience firsthand the problems that they are trying to solve. That experience becomes critical whenever things get more difficult, or you are faced with a very tough decision, or doubt starts to creep in. Having conviction that your company is needed and can solve a problem, big or small, is necessary to succeed and to convince others to join your mission.

Steph Korey Co-founder and chief executive, Away

If you’re looking to start a business, know that you don’t know everything, and be comfortable with taking calculated risks and embracing mistakes you’ll make along the way. Don’t be afraid of setbacks, because if you’re not failing, you’re probably not meaningfully winning either. You’ll make mistakes, sure, but you should view them as your competitive advantage—these moments will be the biggest opportunities for you and your team to iterate and improve and, ultimately, succeed.

Tom Patterson Founder and chief executive, Tommy John

The best advice I can give fellow entrepreneurs trying to build a business is to always listen to your gut, the data will only take you so far. As entrepreneurs, we’re confronted with countless decisions every single day that have the power to redefine the business. If you let it, your gut will become your most valuable asset.

Rich Pierson Co-founder and chief executive, Headspace Starting a new concept like Headspace has been a huge undertaking and has required considerable commitment, time and resilience, so my biggest piece of advice is to make sure that when you build something new, you are deeply passionate about it and make sure it solves a real problem. Our vision to improve the health and happiness of the world has enabled me to keep going through the tougher moments.

Dov Seidman Founder and chief executive, LRN

From my experience, it’s how you do things—even more than the opportunities you choose to pursue—that will determine whether you succeed long-term.

So, rather than focus only on scaling the business, think about how to scale your values so you build an organization that is focused on the mission, passionate about the work and resilient. You will be much more effective if you earn the moral authority to lead, rather than rely on the formal authority that goes with your title.

Tien Tzuo Founder and chief executive, Zuora You need to edit your relationships. Choose your people carefully. With every new employee that you onboard, every VC you decide to partner with, every new board member you bring on and especially every new customer you acquire, you are building your identity. All these decisions add up. Surround yourself with good people—not just people that you want to be with, but people that you want to be.

Edward W. Stack

Chairman and chief executive, Dick’s Sporting Goods You can’t do it yourself. You need to bring people along with you to grow the business.

David Gorodyansky Co-founder and chief executive, AnchorFree Inc. Stay loyal to your goals and dreams, and be ready to fight hard and never give up or change your values and mission—but be flexible on the plans to get there. The path to your goals and dreams will likely be different from how you plan, but as long as you stay loyal to your goals and dreams you’ll be able to reach them through ways that you might not have imagined.

Sara Menker Founder and chief executive, Gro Intelligence Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from pursuing what could potentially be the most meaningful and fulfilling work you do.

Rosie Rios Chief executive, Red River Associates; former US treasurer Never let power overtake you to the point of feeling compromised in what you value. Money and power wield a very surreal influence over some people, for better and for worse and regardless of background and political affiliation. I think Tolkien had it right.

You have to be a really good Hobbit to resist the ring of power. Be that Hobbit.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR CAREER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Andy Dunn Senior vice president of digital consumer brands, Walmart US eCommerce I would postpone the multibrand dream until after we did the deal with Walmart. By trying to do it when we were a stand-alone company, I risked the entire business.

It’s important to stay foolish, but it’s also important to know when to stay focused. The New York Times