BusinessMirror November 18, 2019

3 BRIGHT LEAF HONORS FOR ‘BM’ JOURNOS T

The BusinessMirror’s (from left) Elijah Felice E. Rosales, Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas, photojournalist Laila Austria and Jonathan L. Mayuga show their trophies at the recent Bright Leaf Journalism Awards. MAU VICTA

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HE BusinessMirror won three prizes—two of them in major categories—in the 13th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards.

The BusinessMirror bagged major awards for Tobacco Story of the Year and Tobacco Photo of the Year in this year’s run of the Bright Leaf awarding which was held on Friday (November 15) in Makati City.

It also took home the Best Agriculture Feature Story-National, providing the news outlet its eighth award in a span of one month.

The newspaper’s special report “Tax thrust threatens tobacco tillers’ take,” authored by Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas and Elijah Felice E. Rosales, was awarded Tobacco Story of the Year.

The story, published in the BusinessMirror ’s Broader Look page in August, tackled the plight of tobacco farmers, as well as their future, in the face of higher cigarette taxes to be applied next year. Arcalas and

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Rosales traveled to Candon City, Ilocos Sur—the country’s tobacco capital—to gather insights on the ground on the prospect of the tobacco planting sector.

BusinessMirror correspondent Laila Austria sealed her second Tobacco Photo of the Year with her capture titled “Golden Leaves.”

Another Broader Look story, titled “Women of Bacoor’s embattled mussel industry struggle for survival” penned by Jonathan Mayuga, was named Best Agriculture Feature Story-National.

It narrated the lives of five women working in different areas of the mussels trade, as their source of income is faced with different man-made and natural challenges.

In a stretch of three years, the BusinessMirror obtained eight accolades from the Bright Leaf, of which five were secured by Arcalas, the newspaper’s Agriculture and Commodities reporter.

Monday, November 18, 2019 Vol. 15 No. 39

‘Farmers’ huge income loss to affect GDP goal’ T

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) will review the study released by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) on the impact of the decline in farm-gate prices on rice farmers, as experts warned that such huge income losses, if sustained, would dent the country’s economic growth and poverty reduction goals.

At the same time, however, the experts said continuing to implement the rice trade liberalization law was still the way forward, while

calling for measures to cushion the impact on farmers.

The study, which BusinessMirror reported on last Friday

The awards were also the BusinessMirror ’s sixth, seventh and eighth in a span of one month. The Makati-based newspaper in October was awarded Business News Source of the Year for the second consecutive year by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (Ejap) after its coverage on agriculture and mining, banking, telecommunications and transportation, and trade and industry were recognized.

The BusinessMirror’s Agriculture and Commodities page, edited by Jennifer Ng, comes out on weekdays, while the Broader Look page, edited by Dennis Estopace, is printed every Thursday.

Launched in 2007, the Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards is a yearly award-giving body that celebrates the country’s most outstanding and relevant stories in print, radio and TV. It also honors photos that capture the essence of tobacco planting and the agriculture sector.

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 28 pages |

GOVT CAUTIONED: CAR TARIFF HIKE TO IMPAIR ASEAN FREE TRADE

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

₧61.77B T The income loss to farmers from the steep decline in farm-gate prices for rice, according to a study by PhilRice, an attached DA agency

(November 15), showed that farmers lost P61.77 billion due to the steep decline in farm-gate prices for rice.

See “Farmers,” A2

HE government has to rethink its move to raise the tariff rates on vehicle imports, as this might breach the region’s deal on free flow of goods and services, a business leader has warned.

Vicente S. Socco, chairman of GT Capital Auto Dealership Holdings Inc. (GTCAD), said the plan to apply a safeguard measure on vehicles could be an infringement of the free-trade agreement between Southeast Asian economies. He argued that a safeguard is “very much contrary to the spirit of the Asean economic zone, which promotes

Tensions, oil economics weigh on remittances from HK, UAE Filipinos

By Bianca Cuaresma

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@BcuaresmaBM

NTER NATIONA L developments are putting pressure on Filipino migrant workers’ remittances in September this year, an economist said, as concerns pull down the total dollars sent home to the Philippines during the month.

Overseas Fi lipino workers (OFWs) based in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong sent fewer dollars to their families back home in September, compared to the volume of remittances they sent in 2018.

ING Bank Manila economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa warned t hat t he cont inuous dec l ine in these countries, which host sizable numbers of Filipino workers, could affect the overall growth of remittances in the country in the coming months.

“The September growth was recorded despite hefty contractions seen from traditional sources of

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

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9-month growth of 4.2%

See “Remittances,” A12

See “Car tariff,” A2

More agri workers quit jobs in Q2–PSA

OF remittances: Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates,” Mapa said.

OF remittances sent home from Hong Kong dipped by 7.5 percent as civil unrest stymies business activities, while remittances from UAE plunged by 36 percent with oil prices subdued.

“Taken together, remittance flows from these two key jurisdictions total 8.2 percent of total OF flows and could likely weigh on growth going forward,” Mapa said.

This bucks the trend of the overall growth in total remittances sent

by OFWs across the world, which grew 6.3 percent in September 2019 from the volume sent in the same month last year.

The January to September stock of remittance, meanwhile, also grew in 2019 by 4.2 percent—faster than the 2.5-percent growth in the same nine-month period last year.

the free movement of goods.”

The trade deal allows Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-states to export automobiles, among many products, within and around the region at zero duty.

“I think the Asean free trade is premised on free flow of goods and services,” Socco said in an interview with reporters last week. “Any kind of barrier that might infringe on the Asean spirit, I think we have to be very mindful.”

He added the government has to understand that firms are opting to import units than making them here in order to bring to the market the most competitively priced vehicles.

NATIVITY IN A BOTTLE On its 12th year, Belenismo sa Tarlac features a Belen by first-time participant, the youth of the Saint Catherine of Alexandria Parish in Gerona, Tarlac. Their Belen comprises 10,300 plastic bottles from garbage collectors, church goers, believers, students, altar servers, youth ministries, teachers and laymen. The mother-and-daughter tandem of Isabel Cojuangco Suntay and Isa Cojuangco Suntay, founders of the Tarlac Heritage Foundation Inc., have been tirelessly bringing together individuals, barangays, municipalities, schools, religious, NGOs and businesses to put together Tarlac’s greatest attraction for the holidays. NONIE REYES

ORE workers in the agriculture sector left their jobs in the second quarter of the year compared to the first quarter, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Preliminary data showed more workers decided to terminate their employment in the second quarter, causing the labor turnover rate (LTR) in the sector to contract 0.2 percent in the April-to-June period.

The LTR is the percent difference between the accession rate, which is the rate of hiring workers, and the separation rate, or the rate of the combined employee resignations and layoffs.

The PSA said the accession rate in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was at 3.9 percent while the separation rate was at 4.1 percent, leading to a negative LTR in the second quarter.

See “Agri workers,” A2

US 50.8260 n JAPAN 0.4688 n UK 65.4690 n HK 6.4937 n CHINA 7.2402 n SINGAPORE 37.3254 n AUSTRALIA 34.4905 n EU 56.0153 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.5533

Source: BSP (15 November 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, November 18, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Filipino HSWs shunning HK as street clashes turn violent

Rice planters’ loss is Pinoy consumers’ gain–MB member

ILIPINO domestic helpers are shunning the Hong Kong labor market as violent protests accelerate, while 30 countries have issued advisories against going to the Special Administrative Region (SAR).

HE losses incurred by 2 million rice planters due to the plunge in farm-gate prices could be considered as a form of “tax” once shouldered by consumers who had to buy more expensive rice in previous years.

Monetary Board (MB) member Bruce Tolentino, who is also a former Agriculture undersecretary for policy and planning, made this pronouncement after the BusinessMirror reported on Friday that planters lost P61.77 billion due to the drop in the farm-gate price of rice.

“I’d say that the ‘loss’ incurred by some 2 million rice farmers is a tax on 105 million consumers who for decades have been paying two [times] to three [times] more for rice compared to consumers in Thailand and Vietnam,” Tolentino told the BusinessMirror.

A policy brief prepared by Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) revealed that rice planters lost at least P61.77 billion due to the drop in the farm-gate price of rice.

PhilRice also said the plight of local planters may even worsen as their losses could balloon to nearly

F

By Recto Mercene

Household ser v ice workers (HSWs) applying for jobs are reportedly worried about the situation in Hong Kong and have expressed fears of the risks of working in the violence-wracked city.

Alfredo Palmiery, president of the Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines (SHARP), said the disruptions, especially to mass transit, from the monthslong protests have affected the normal Sunday day offs of Filipino domestic helpers, who are now discouraged from going out for social events.

Majority of them opted to just stay homes with their employers, he said.

Though many overseas Filipino

Farmers. . .

Continued from A1

Relatedly, a senator said the government must find a way to reimburse the farmers for their huge losses. See “Reimburse farmers for P61-B income loss—Kiko,” on page A12.

Neda Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon told the B usiness M irror that the oversight agency will not comment on the matter pending a review of the study.

“We’re not ready to comment on the study sans a full review. Bottomline, we are aware that there will be negative transition effects, hence the RCEF [Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund],” Edillon said.

Edillon added that in order to help the sector, the government is planning to provide unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) to farmers affected by the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law.

Risks to GDP, poverty targets

FOR his part, Ateneo Eagle Watch Senior Fellow Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr. told the BusinessMirror these losses would undermine the country’s GDP growth, especially if these continue.

He added that these also threaten the achievement of the country’s poverty targets as well as efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Lanzona said that while these losses were expected, the government still failed at distributing the subsidies to help farmers.

He added that there is a need to provide

@rectomercene

workers (OFWs) still manage to meet in other designated places in Hong Kong Central District, which has been the scene of violent protests, it is now a place Filipinos want to avoid, he added.

Palmiery said fewer applicants have expressed their desire to choose Hong Kong as their destination and would rather work in other Southeast Asian countries.

Meanwhile, recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani reminded the Philippine government that if the Hong Kong SAR declares the Emergency Regulations law, “many Filipinas will have to be repatriated due to the rippling effect and downward trend of the economy of effective programs that can help farmers transition to alternative forms of livelihood.

“The kind of government-driven growth experienced in the last quarter will not be sustainable unless we address these problems,” Lanzona said. “I don’t think the economic managers realize how important it is to support our agricultural sector.”

PIDS, too

THE study released by PhilRice is not the only one that showed the negative impact of the decline in farm prices on farmers.

Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow Roehlano M. Briones said in a recent presentation that the long-term impact of the RTL includes a significant decline in farmer incomes.

Between 2019 and 2030, Briones said, farmers incomes are expected to decline by P10.075 billion.

The largest decline will be felt between 2025 and 2030 at P12.589 billion. The decline in farmers’ incomes would reach P7.56 billion between 2019 and 2024.

Briones estimated that in terms of a percentage point decline, farmers’ incomes will see a 21.9-percent point reduction in income this year alone. This is the smallest percentage decline compared to other years until 2030.

The declines are expected to continue widening until 30 percentage points by 2024 and, eventually, a 37.6-percentage point income reduction by 2030.

Consumers, winners

HOWEVER, Briones said the benefits from a

Project. . .

Continued from A12

A n g a ra a c kn ow l e d g e d there could be a “variety of reasons for the delays,” and that pinpointing these would require a closer scrutiny of the processes involved.

He noted that from the initial proposal submitted either by the agency, a foreign-funding source or a local proponent, these projects would have to go through a feasibility study and evaluation by the different bodies within the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board.

However, Angara suggested on Sunday that “improvements may be needed to address delays” even as he hastened to clarify that Duterte’s Build, Build, Build could not be considered “a failure” as claimed by administration critics.

In spite of some issues in the prioritization of a number

Hong Kong, which has now suffered a 3-percent loss in the last quarter.”

According to the latest dispatch of Bloomberg, the value of Hong Kong’s retail sales tumbled 18 percent year-on-year in September, based on the latest official data available, while visitor numbers dropped 34 percent. The government is due to release final third-quarter economic data on Friday afternoon, and a 2.9 percent contraction is expected.

Hong Kong tourism is down by 29 percent due to the effects of the daily protests, and transportation has been shut down on many occasions.

Hong Kong ran ked as t he world’s most visited city last year, according to research company Euromonitor, with 29.8 million international visitors.

SAR government officials have struggled to send their message abroad that violent clashes between police and protesters affect only limited areas of town, reiterating, “Hong Kong remains a welcoming city for tourists and investors, a safe place for travelers from around the world.”

Still, more than 30 foreign governments have issued advisories to their citizens warning

of potential dangers.

Recession is creeping in as retailers, hotels, restaurants and the stock exchange have slipped so the overall effect may mean massive loss of jobs in the former British colony, Geslani said.

The direct effect of these on Filipina HSWs is that many of them have to be laid off by their employers. Expatriates, mostly Americans and Europeans who work in the financial district, have begun to leave due to the unstable working conditions and the foundering economy.

Although the Philippine consulate has assured families of OFWs working in Hong Kong that there are no large-scale terminations of employment for domestic helpers, there is no assurance that the situation will not get any better by year’s end, added Geslani.

Filipino maids receive on average more than P35,000 in monthly salary and the labor market is the third-highest destination for HSWs compared to the Middle East markets, which are also experiencing large deployment losses in the skilled sector.

Only Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are the consistent markets for our HSWs, he noted.

consumer point of view, are also significant and would lead to large benefits for Filipinos over time.

The change in consumer welfare would reach P23.509 billion between 2019 and 2030. The larger benefit would be accrued to consumers between 2025 and 2030 at P279.55 billion, while the smaller benefit at P197.467 billion would be realized between 2019 and 2024, per the PIDS projections.

“To realize the long term benefits for society as a whole, government should continue to enforce RA 11203 (RTL),” Briones said.

“Focus efforts on providing offsetting compensation for losers from the reform (such as) cash transfers (and) participatory value chains in rice trading,” he added.

rice in the market, it must remove QR rather than just trimming the tariff rate,” the Philrice said in its 2014 paper.

On Friday, BusinessMirror reported that a Philrice study estimated farmers lost at least P61.77 billion due to the continuous drop in the farm-gate price of unhusked rice, which hastened in recent months when imports rose significantly.

The plight of local planters may even worsen as their losses could balloon to nearly P130 billion if prevailing farm-gate prices continue to fall below production cost, the PhilRice paper added.

Given the losses incurred by rice planters, the paper noted that the P10-billion RCEF created by RA 11203 may be insufficient to offset farmers’ losses.

The surge in rice imports driven by the opening up of the domestic market has been identified by industry stakeholders as the culprit to the double-digit decline in palay prices.

Industry groups like the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) earlier estimated that rice planters have already incurred losses of at least P40 billion. The group projected that losses could reach as much as P60 billion due to the decline in farm-gate prices.

The PhilRice paper, titled “How to make farmers winners under the rice tariffication regime,” was authored by Alice B. Mataia and Aerone Philippe G. Bautista.

The paper is one of the policy advocate materials of PhilRice under its Rice Science for Decision-Makers publication. PhilRice is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture.

2014 study

IN 2014, Philrice came up with a study on the possible impact of the RTL on producers and consumers.

The study showed that at a 35-percent tariff with a quantitative restriction (QR), farmers’ gross incomes are expected to reach P63,836.04 per hectare.

However, the same study said that at 35 percent and removal of the QR, farmers’ incomes were lower at P46,548.29 per hectare.

The study also estimated that farm-gate prices would not drop as much. PhilRice estimated that dry palay prices could average P12.59 per kilo without the QR at a 35-percent tariff rate.

Wholesale prices at a 35-percent tariff without the QR, meanwhile, will decline to P27.43 per kilo.

“If government therefore prefers cheaper

of flagship programs of the administration, Angara said over the weekend he “does not agree with the observation that the Build, Build, Build program has been a failure.”

He noted that, in fact, the Duterte administration even “managed to step up its spending on infrastructure,” seeing this as “a positive development.”

Stressing that “it [BBB] is definitely not a failure,” the senator cited the simultaneous projects under way. “With so many projects, with so much resources going into infrastructure; if we compare the yearly infrastructure spending, that certainly posted an increase. So to me, it cannot be a dismal failure.” Angara recalled that criticisms over the President’s touted Build, Build, Build were aired in the wake of reports that of the 75 flagship projects listed in the Neda web site, “only nine were implemented already.”

The senator noted, however, that both Presidential Adviser on Flagship Programs and Projects Vince Dizon and Public Works Secretary Mark Villar promptly issued clarifications that the list was not updated and was “just a small part of a bigger list of projects under the BBB.” According to Angara, he was informed that the Duterte administration has “since amended” its list of flagship projects that now contains “a total of 100 items.”

Dizon, he said, has confirmed the list has been updated to “remove those that would no longer be feasible during the last years of the administration and to include only the ones that will actually be started between now and the early part of 2022.”

The senator disclosed that the report submitted by Dizon “indicated that 35 are already ongoing, 32 will commence construction in six to eight months, 21 are already in the advanced

stages of approval and 12 are in the advanced stages of feasibility studies.”

Villar, over 9K kms of roads, 2,709 bridges completed

AT the weekend, Public Works Secretary Villar noted that since President Duterte assumed position in June 2016, a total of 9,845 km of roads, 2,709 bridges, 4,536 flood control projects, 82 evacuation centers and 71,803 classrooms have already been completed under the Build, Build, Build program.

“The Build, Build, Build program is composed of thousands of projects meant to improve connectivity, facilitate growth in every province across the country. In DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] alone, we are currently implementing at least 20,000 projects under the Build, Build, Build program,” Villar noted.

“In 2018 alone, the DPWH disbursed P590 billion with an absorptive capacity of 92.6 percent. This is the highest recorded disbursement in the history of the department,” he added.

The Build Build Build program is in furtherance of the mediumterm goal to increase infrastructure spending— from 5.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2017, to 7.3 percent by the end of President Duterte’s term in 2022.

Historically, the Philippines has only allocated an average of 2.4 percent of its GDP for infrastructure in the span of six administration in the last 50 years.

“The 100 flagship projects, which is a subset of the BBB program, are the most important, game-changing projects that will have the biggest impact for many Filipinos,” Villar added.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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Car tariff. . .

Continued from A1

“At the end of the day, what’s paramount is that we also understand that we’re trying to bring in the most competitively priced vehicles to the market. I think the government is also very much cognizant that the safeguard is very much contrary to the spirit of the Asean economic zone, which promotes the free movement of goods,” Socco argued.

However, Socco said it is the prerogative of the government to raise the tariff rates on vehicles, and gave GTCAD’s commitment to comply with whatever the decision will be.

“We have to operate as part of the community, that’s the most important thing, because we’re a signatory of the Asean economic community. Whatever the final decision, I think we have to be very respectful of that,”the GTCAD executive said.

“If the government believes there’s some need to impose safeguard duties [on vehicles] or use this as a retaliatory measure with Thailand, the government of course has that prerogative, and we will comply as the government decides,” he added.

GTCAD manages the Toyota dealerships under listed GT Capital in the Philippines.

GT Capital Holdings Inc. has interests in the automotive industry, as it is the 51 percent owner of Toyota Motor Philippines Corp., the

Agri workers. . .

Continued from A1

“While employment increment occurred in agriculture, forestry and fishing sector (6.3 percent) and industry sector (2.4 percent) in the first quarter, notable job losses in the same sectors were registered in the second quarter at -0.2 percent and -0.9 percent, respectively,” PSA said in a statement.

Data showed that overall, the first two quarters of 2019 showed positive growth in the labor turnover rate at 0.5 percent in the first quarter and continued to improve to 0.7 percent in the second quarter.

PSA said the accession rate for the first and second quarters were unchanged at 9.3 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.

With this, PSA said an average of 94 workers per 1000 were employed in the first

Chicken. . .

Continued from A12

Ubra weekly price monitoring showed that farm-gate price of regular-sized broiler as of November 15 was down P3 to P109 per kilogram from the previous week’s average quotation.

This was the fourth straight week that the average farm-gate price for regular-sized broiler declined after average quotation hit P116 per kilogram in October 11.

P130 billion if prevailing farm-gate prices will continue to fall below production cost.

Citing the results of its Ricebased Farm Household Survey, PhilRice said 10 percent of total rice farmers “have hesitated to plant rice if price of dry palay would only be at an unprofitable P12 per kilogram.”

“Many of those who would still plant would rather consume instead of sell their produce,” the PhilRice paper read. However, Tolentino noted there are rice farmers, who have adopted modern planting technologies which could hike their output and make up for the reduction in the output of other farmers.

“Certainly some planters— those who are unable to compete due to low productivity and high production costs—will be discouraged from rice production,” he said.

“But there are many farmers who have adopted high-yielding seeds, mechanized, adopted better methods who are competitive and, thus, have the opportunity to expand,” Tolentino added. He said the government is already rolling out various safety net measures to help affected Filipino rice farmers cope with the plunge in farm-gate prices caused by surge in rice imports. country’s leading vehicle assembler.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is seriously considering the imposition of safeguard measure on imported vehicles, targeting mostly those originating from Thailand and Indonesia, where the Philippines is largely sourcing its cars.

Trade union’s plaint

THE move was triggered by the petition filed by trade union Philippine Metalworkers’ Alliance, which lamented the declining employment in automotive, particularly in manufacturing.

According to the DTI, the PMA lodged the petition to apply a safeguard on automobile to stop the alleged import surge of the product.

Carmakers are reportedly choosing Thailand and Indonesia as their investment destinations in Southeast Asia, as they can just export units to the Philippines at zero duty under the region’s trade deal, leading to a drop in capital inflow and consequently, employment, here. Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the country’s vehicle imports from 2014 to 2018 reached a total 1 million units. Of this, shipments from Thailand accounted for some 428,000 units, while those from Indonesia, 312,000.

Direct workers in the motor vehicle manufacturing sector stood at 7,784 in 2014 before slipping to 6,842 in 2015 and dropping further to 6,614 in 2016, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. two quarters of the year, and were hired for business expansion or replacement of separated workers.

The separation rate, meanwhile, indicated that 88 workers per 1000 employed were either laid off or quit their jobs during the first semester.

Employment declines were seen in mining and quarrying, to -10.8 percent from 6.1 percent; and electricity gas, steam and airconditioning supply, to -1 percent from 0.6 percent.

The employment decline in the manufacturing sector continued with a contraction of 1.3 percent from 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, employment gains in water supply, sewerage waste management and remediation activities and construction moved at a slower pace from 5.3 percent to 3.9 percent and 9.5 percent to 0.4 percent, respectively. Cai U. Ordinario The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) earlier reported that ASF spurred the production of chicken meat and eggs in the third quarter.

Output of the poultry subsector, which accounted for 19.44 percent of total farm production, expanded by 8.41 percent yearon- year.

Chicken production grew 8.48 percent to 465,150 MT due to the higher demand for broiler chicken in Central Luzon and Calabarzon, as poultry served as substitute for pork after reports of ASF outbreaks came out.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, November 18, 2019 A3

Duterte to convene anti-communist group

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RESIDENT Duterte will convene key officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) and preside over the joint command conference of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) today (November 18), apparently to assess the progress of the campaign against communist insurgency.

The scheduled meeting was disclosed on Sunday by National Security Adviser Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr., the vice chairman of the NTF-Elcac. Esperon added that the President is also expected to issue additional orders to officials, including those from the PNP, and the PNP to accelerate the anti-communist strategy.

Duterte had been eyeing to end the insurgency by the end of his term through the Elcac, which is being implemented at the local level through various task forces.

Esperon added that the meet-

ing will be attended by Cabinet officials responsible for development and security, the heads of regional peace and order councils, the regional development councils and top officials of the PNP and the AFP. “The joint NTF-Elcac and the AFP-PNP Command Conference will serve as a platform for the President to provide guidance on strengthening convergence efforts among all the instrumentalities of the government in his ongoing directive to enhance existing mechanisms of good government,” Esperon said.

“The President had repeatedly called on members of his administration to address the economic and security concerns in conflictprone and conflict-affected areas,” he added.

The national security adviser said the President was ver y committed in ending the atrocities of the communist group t hrough t he whole- of-nation approach.

M e a n w h i l e , t h e A r m y ’s 703rd Infantry Brigade said that elements of the Army’s 91st Infantry Battalion clashed with 20 members of the Kilusang Larangang

Gerilya Sierra Madre at Barangay Dimanayat, San Luis, Aurora, on Saturday, wounding several rebels and recovering an M-16 rifle and 4 gallons of rice.

The encounter followed a similar firefight between the 84th Infantry Battalion and rebels at Barangay Estrella, Rizal, Nueva Ecija, wherein two rebels were killed and an unknown number were captured.

The soldiers also recovered five firearms, two Motorola radios, 17 magazines for various types of firearms, mobile phones and rebel documents. Rene Acosta

Economy BusinessMirror

A4 Monday, November 18, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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PHL planters to plug sugar shortfall in 6 years

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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LANTERS and other sugar industry stakeholders are targeting to craft a road map that will outline interventions for increasing annual output to meet all the requirements of the domestic market for the sweetener.

The blueprint is being crafted in view of the proposed liberalization of the sugar industry by the Duterte administration’s economic managers, according to Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Board Member Emilio Yulo.

Yulo, who represents the planters’ sector at the SRA board, said stakeholders will craft the road map together with government officials and lawmakers.

“Our national domestic consumption is about 2.4 million metric tons to 2.6 MMT. We’re producing roughly 2 MMT and if we can increase our production by 10 percent every two years, in six years we will wipe out the shortage of about 400,000 metric tons to 600,000 MT,” Yulo told reporters

in a recent interview.

One of the proposed solutions is to increase the yield of some 90 percent of the country’s sugar farmers, who produce only 30 MT to 40 MT per hectare, by 10 percent every two years.

Planters and millers said it is easier to increase the production of low-yielding farms than push big producers to churn out more sugar.

“If we reach 2.5 MMT to 2.6 MMT, we don’t have to talk about importation anymore. We will just have to talk about pricing,” said Dave Alba, member of sugar industry group Tatak Kalamay.

Yulo said a multisectoral Sugar Summit will be held in February 2020, where the blueprint will be discussed. After the summit, the road map will be presented to government officials and lawmakers.

Stakeholders said they will seek funds for the implementation of strategies under the blueprint starting crop year 2020 to 2021 by endAugust next year, Yulo added.

“We hope to come up with a consolidated plan. We will take a look at productivity, efficiency,” he said.

PHOTOGRAPHER: VINCENT MUNDY/BLOOMBERG

“We want short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions with the end view of at least

being in parity with our Asean neighbors because that’s always t he benc hma rk used aga inst

Philippine sugar,” Yulo added.

Last month, the BusinessMirror reported that economic

managers have agreed to shelve plans to ease restrictions on sugar imports for now, as they will focus instead on slashing the domestic price of the sweetener.

“We will not liberalize the sugar industry yet [as] we will give time to doing something about the very high prices of sugar here,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told the BusinessMirror in an ambush interview last October 23.

Asked until when the economic team will stick to this stance, Pernia said: “We will observe it [sugar industry] for six months to one year.”

Pernia issued his statement almost a month after the Department of Finance formally proposed the liberalization of the sugar trade industry.

The DOF had wanted to replace quantitative restrictions with tariffs and safeguard measures (for subsidized products) “to allow for more transparent, competitive pricing, and allow downstream industries to become more viable and grow as fast” as their counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Solon keen on special emergency fund for rice planters MinDA to set

A

LEADER of the House of Representative will file a measure that will allow the national government to use all tariff collections in excess of P10 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) as direct

cash transfers for planters.

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte said he will file a joint resolution this week to create a special emergency fund for farmers affected by the drop in farm-gate prices.

Villafuerte said the joint resolution will authorize Congress to designate an “immediate special fund” that will enable the Department of Agriculture (DA) to provide direct cash transfers to rice farmers.

He noted that total rice tariffs collected since March 5, when the rice trade liberalization took effect, until October 30, has already reached P11.4 billion.

The excess P1.4 billion, which could be increased, should be used for a direct cash transfer program. He said this is allowed by the rice trade liberalization law.

“Rather than wait for excess amount to be appropriated under the national budget for the following year when this was collected, Congress should act now and do its share in helping our distraught rice farmers survive this temporary drop in palay farmgate prices,” said Villafuerte in a statement.

Under Section 13 of the law, the excess of P10 billion for RCEF shall be earmarked by Congress for rice farmer financial assistance, titling of agricultural rice land, expanded crop insurance program on rice, and crop diversification program “and included in the General Appropriations Act [GAA] of the following year.”

“There is an urgent need to immediately set up the Rice Farmer Financial Assistance as a supplementary and transitional safety measure to serve as compensation to rice farmers who are farming 2 hectares and below for the reduction or loss of their farm income arising from the tariffication of the quantitative import restrictions on rice,” Villafuerte said.

He said the National Treasury can declare the import tariff collections beyond the P10-billion RCEF as excess or surplus income, which Congress can then authorize to be funneled into his proposed Rice Farmer Financial Assistance program.

The lawmaker made a pitch for the special fund after the BusinessMirror reported on Friday that farmers have already lost some P61 billion due to the drop in the farm-gate price of unhusked rice. This was based on a paper prepared by the Philippine Rice Research Institute. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Group: Shorter working hours to improve productivity

By Samuel P. Medenilla

I

@sam_medenilla

NSTEAD of reducing the number of work days, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) said on Sunday it is now more partial to shortening working hours as a way of improving workers’ productivity.

FFW President Sonny Matula said government should consider reducing the working hours if it really wants to

improve the condition of Filipino laborers.

Matula cited Toyota in Gothenburg, Sweden, one of the companies that pioneered a six-hour workday.

“With its 15 years or more of experience, they’ve had higher profits, better production and quality. And most worthy to note, thecompanyhadhappierandmoreefficientemployees,”hesaid.

The labor leader said similar models can also be seen in other companies in France, Denmark, Sweden, and other Scandinavian countries.

FFW is opposing the proposal of House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. to reduce the prevailing five-day workweek. Employees will have to work beyond eight hours under the proposed scheme.

Abante said private firms and non-frontline government agencies should consider implementing a four-day workweek during the holiday season to help ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila.

Matula said the proposal will not only violate International Labor Organization Convention 1 on the eight-hour industrial convention of 1919, but it could also pose a danger to the health of workers.

“Working 12 hours plus traffic of five hours or total of 17 hours of toil a day for four straight days a week will take a toll on the body,” he said.

The FFW chief said the proposal to extend the workinghoursofemployeesunderashorterworkweek scheme could create other social problems.

“If at present of eight-hour work, one arrived at home at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. [because of heavy traffic on the road], with the increase of two or four [working] hours, [it] will make child care difficult or no longer possible,” said Matula.

up community farms in areas hit by quake

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

C

@BNicolasBM

OMMUNITY poultry and hog farms will soon be established in earthquakehit areas in Mindanao via a program which will be rolled out by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and its partners, which incude Thailand’s biggest agricultural and food company.

Apart from Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) Philippines, MinDA Chairman Emmanuel F. Piñol said the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and a Mindanao agri-business firm will also participate in the program.

Piñol said he met last week with CPF excutives Sakol Cheewakoset and Udomsak Aksorphakdee, who committed to establish at least two model farms—one for hogs and another for poultry—in the earthquake affected areas by the first quarter of 2020.

“Under the program, MinDA will organize earthquake victims into cooperatives or associations, some to run the MinDA Tienda Outlets and the others to operate the poultry and hog farms to be established in their communities,” Piñol said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

CPF Philippines will provide the piglets, chicks, feeds and veterinary services for the farms after which it will buy hogs and chicken while a South Cotabato company, iFreshCorp., will provide the tolling services for the feeds, hatchery and slaughter and, dressing plants for the produce, Piñol said.

After deducting the cost of the piglets, chicks and feeds, CPF Philippines will turn over to the farmers’ cooperative the profits gained from the project.

“We are willing to do this in other disaster affected areas so we could help people recover while at the same time contribute to the growth of Philippine agricultural economy,” Piñol quoted Sakol in their meeting in Manila.

The poultry and hog farms will be located in a specific area where the cooperative members could go to everyday and work on their community projects, he added.

Piñol said farms will also be established in other areas especially for earthquake victims who had to be relocated because of landslide risks in their mountain villages.

He said MinDA and DBP are targeting to extend loans for the establishment of a common service facility needed for the poultry and hog projects.

Piñol said MinDA, CPF Philippines and iFresh Corp. will present the project proposal to the DBP president and directors.

The project, dubbed “Livelihood Opportunities in Villages for Economic Upliftment” (LOVE-U), is designed to help calamity victims recover and become self-reliant.

The LOVE-U Project may also be implemented in other villages in Mindanao that have very high poverty incidence levels.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, November 18, 2019 A5

Think tank’s Leni takeover just ‘wishful thinking’

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

‘W

@BNicolasBM

ISHFUL thinking.”

This was how Malacañang dismissed Londonbased think tank Capital Economics’ outlook that Vice President Leni Robredo taking over from President Duterte would be a welcome change for investors.

Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo also accused the think tank of intruding into the country’s sovereignty.

“First of all, that is wishful thinking. They are intruding into the country’s sovereignty and the voice of the nation that elected the President overwhelmingly. They are interfer-

ing too much on how our government runs the country,” Panelo said in a radio interview on Sunday.

In its November 15 report “Duterte health worries, Sri Lanka election,” Capital Economics Senior Asia Economist Gareth Leather pointed out Robredo’s “fierce opposition to Duterte’s authoritarian tendencies, including his willingness

to undermine political institutions,” would bode well for the country’s investment climate.

“If President Duterte is forced to leave office through ill health, Vice President Leni Robredo, who leads the main opposition party in the Philippines, would take over as president. We don’t know much about what Ms. Robredo’s economic agenda would be if she took office, but given her fierce opposition to Duterte’s authoritarian tendencies, including his willingness to undermine political institutions, a change in president would probably be welcomed by investors,” the report read.

It also noted that approved foreign investments since Duterte took office have also been much lower than the previous years.

The report comes as Robredo was recently appointed by the President to be cochairman of the InterAgency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (Icad).

In a related development, Duterte recently threatened to fire Robredo if

she will disclose classified information of the Philippine government to foreign individuals and entities.

On Sunday, Malacañang also warned Robredo that she may be “treading on dangerous grounds” as the latter demanded access to all documents, including classified data related to the government’s program on the illegal drug trade including its funding, and indicated plans to invite foreign personalities who have criticized Duterte.

“Even the prosecutor of the rejected Rome Statute ICC [International Criminal Court] that has no jurisdiction over the country has been welcomed by the anti-illegal drug czar. She may not realize it, but she could be treading on dangerous grounds. It could be an overreach of the granted authority; hence, the reminder,” Panelo said in a statement.

He stressed that ensuring that all the alter egos of the President are working within the scope and ambit, if the law is also within

the constitutional duty of the Chief Executive. “The President is merely reminding VP Leni of the

imperatives, as well as the limits of her appointment lest she transgresses it,” he added.

A4 Monday, November 18, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso A6

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

US, China trade negotiators discuss concerns of phase one U

NITED STATES and Chinese trade negotiators held “constructive discussions” in a phone call on Saturday to address each side’s core concerns of phase one of the trade deal.

China’s Vice Premier Liu He, the country’s key negotiator in the trade talks with the US, spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer, according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry. The call

was held at the request of the US negotiators, and the two sides agreed to remain in close communication, it said in a statement.

The phone call came after President Donald J. Trump’s administration signaled talks with China over the first phase of a broad trade agreement are entering the final stages.

That’s when the most contentious and complex issues are debated, with no guarantee that another breakdown will be averted.

White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters late Thursday in Washington that “we are coming down to the short strokes” and are “in communication with them every single day.” Still, he acknowledged a deal was close though “not done yet.”

The last stages of trade agreements are often where talks break down, and Trump still hasn’t publicly indicated his approval. The two sides were close to conclud-

ing a pact about six months ago, only for the US to claim that China backed away from verbal commitments when the time came to sign the deal.

The two sides have held workinglevel video conferences focused on issues ranging from the details and timeline of Chinese purchases of US agricultural goods, such as pork and soybeans, to commitments to curtail theft of intellectual property that Trump is demanding from China,

according to people familiar with the discussions.

US stocks rose to all-time highs and Treasuries edged lower on Friday following Kudlow’s comments. The S&P 500 reached another record and gained for the sixth week in a row, the longest streak in two years. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which past 28,000 for the first time, and the Nasdaq Composite also hit all-time highs.

HK officer hit by arrow; police fire water cannons H ONG KONG—A Hong Kong police officer was hit in the leg by an arrow on Sunday as authorities used tear gas and water cannons to try to drive back protesters occupying a university campus and surrounding streets.

Police said the arrow struck a media liaison officer, who was taken to a hospital. Photos on the department’s Facebook page show the arrow sticking out of the back of the officer’s lower leg through his pants.

Water cannon trucks drove over bricks and nails strewn by protesters and sprayed them at close range in a bid to drive away protesters on the streets outside Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The push came in an hours-long standoff that followed intense clashes the previous night.

A large group of people arrived in the morning to try to clean up the road, but were warned away by protesters. Riot police lined up a few hundred meters away and shot several volleys of tear gas at the protesters, who sheltered behind a wall of umbrellas across an entire street and threw gasoline bombs into nearby bushes and trees, setting them on fire.

The water cannons arrived in the early afternoon, one using blue-dyed water to drench the protesters.

The daytime face-off came after a pitched battle at night in which the two sides exchanged tear gas

and gasoline bombs that left fires blazing in the street. Many protesters retreated inside the Polytechnic campus, where they have barricaded entrances and set up narrow access control points.

Protesters have largely retreated from occupations of several major campuses last week, except for a contingent at Polytechnic. That group is also blocking access to the nearby Cross-Harbour Tunnel, one of the three main road tunnels that link Hong Kong Island with the rest of the city.

Opposition lawmakers criticized the Chinese military late Saturday for joining a cleanup to remove debris from streets near Hong Kong Baptist University.

Dozens of Chinese troops, dressed in black shorts and olive drab Tshirts, ran out in loose formation and picked up paving stones, rocks and other obstacles that had cluttered the street The military is allowed to help maintain public order, but only at the request of the Hong Kong government. The government said that it had not requested the military’s assistance, describing it as a voluntary community activity.

T he Education Bureau announced that classes from kindergarten to high school would be suspended again on Monday because of safety concerns.

Classes have been canceled since

P

ally funded study found.

The results challenge medical dogma and call into question some of the most common practices in heart care. They are the strongest evidence yet that tens of thousands of costly stent procedures and bypass operations each year are unnecessary or premature for people

Protests grip major Iran cities over 50-percent gas price hike

D

A PROTESTOR prepares to fire a bow and arrow during a confrontation with police at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong on Sunday, November 17, 2019. A Hong Kong police officer was hit in the leg by an arrow as authorities used tear gas and water cannons to try to drive back protesters occupying a university campus and surrounding streets. AP PHOTO/KIN CHEUNG

Thursday, after the bureau came under criticism for not doing so earlier.

The city’s anti-government protests have been raging for more than five months.

They were sparked by a government decision to submit legislation

that would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to the mainland. Activists saw it as an erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy under the “one country, two systems” formula implemented in 1997, when Britain returned the territory to China.

The bill has been withdrawn, but the protests have expanded into a wider resistance movement against what is perceived as the growing control of Hong Kong by Communist China, along with calls for full democracy for the territory. AP

Big study casts doubt on need for many heart procedures

HILADELPHIA—People with severe, but stable, heart disease from clogged arteries may have less chest pain if they get a procedure to improve blood flow, rather than just giving medicines a chance to help, but it won’t cut their risk of having a heart attack or dying over the following few years, a big feder-

The dialog on Saturday followed a phone call between the trade negotiators earlier this month, where the two countries signaled they’re getting closer to agreeing on the first phase of a dea l a i med at reduc i ng tensions in a trade war that’s slowed the global economy. The three spoke by phone at the time and separately released statements descr ibing the ca l l as “constructive.” Bloomberg News

with stable disease.

That’s a different situation than a heart attack, when a procedure is needed right away to restore blood flow.

For nonemergency cases, the study shows “there’s no need to rush” into invasive tests and procedures, said New York University’s Dr. Judith Hochman.

There might even be harm: To doctors’ surprise, study participants who had a procedure were more likely to suffer a heart problem or die over the next year than those treated with medicines alone.

Hochman co-led the study and gave results on Saturday at an American Heart Association conference in Philadelphia.

“This study clearly goes against what has been the common wisdom for the last 30, 40 years and may lead to less testing and invasive treatment for such patients in the future,” said Dr. Glenn Levine, a Baylor College of Medicine cardiologist with no role in the research. Some doctors still may quibble with the study, but it was very well done “and I think the results are extremely believable,” he added.

About 17 million Americans have clogged arteries that crimp the heart’s blood supply, which can cause periodic chest pain. Cheap and generic aspirin, cholesterol-lowering drugs and blood pressure medicines are known to cut the risk of a heart attack for these folks, but many doctors also recommend a procedure to improve blood flow.

That’s either a bypass—openheart surgery to detour around blockages—or angioplasty, in which doctors push a tube through an artery to the clog, inflate a tiny balloon and place a stent, or mesh scaffold,

to prop the artery open.

Twelve years ago, a big study found that angioplasty was no better than medicines for preventing heart attacks and deaths in nonemergency heart patients, but many doctors balked at the results and quarreled with the methods.

So the federal government spent $100 million for the new study, which is twice as large, spanned 37 countries and included people with more severe disease—a group most likely to benefit from stents or a bypass.

All 5,179 participants had stress tests, usually done on a treadmill, that suggested blood flow was crimped. All were given lifestyle advice and medicines that improve heart health. Half also were given CT scans to rule out dangerous blockages, then continued on their medicines.

The others were treated as many people with abnormal stress tests are now: They were taken to cardiac catheterization labs for angiograms.

The procedure involves placing a tube into a major artery and using special dyes to image the heart’s blood vessels. Blockages were treated right away, with angioplasty in three-fourths of cases and a bypass in the rest.

Doctors then tracked how many in each group suffered a heart attack, heart-related death, cardiac arrest or hospitalization for worsening chest pain or heart failure.

After one year, 7 percent in the invasively treated group had one of those events versus 5 percent of those on medicines alone. At four years, the trend reversed—13 percent of the procedures group and 15 percent of the medicines group had suffered a problem. Averaged across the entire study period, the rates were similar

regardless of treatment.

If stents and bypasses did not carry risks of their own, “I think the results would have shown an overall benefit” from them, said another study leader, Dr. David Maron of Stanford University. “But that’s not what we found. We found an early harm and later benefit, and they canceled each other out.”

W hy might medicines have proved just as effective at reducing risks?

Bypasses and stents fix only a small area. Medicines affect all the arteries, including other spots that might be starting to clog, experts said.

Drugs also have improved a lot in recent years.

Having a procedure did prove better at reducing chest pain, though.

Of those who had pain daily or weekly when they entered the study, half in the stent-or-bypass group were free of it within a year versus 20 percent of those on medicines alone. A placebo effect may have swayed these results—people who know they had a procedure tend to credit it with any improvement they perceive in symptoms.

Dr. Alice Jacobs, a Boston University cardiologist who led a treatmentguidelines panel a few years ago, said any placebo effect fades with time, and people with a lot of chest pain that’s unrelieved by medicines still may want a procedure.

“It’s intuitive that if you take the blockage away you’re going to do better, you’re going to feel better,” but the decision is up to the patient and doctor, she said.

The bottom line: There’s no harm in trying medicines first, especially for people with no or little chest pain, doctors said. AP

UBAI, United Arab Emirates—Protesters angered by Iran raising government-set gasoline prices by 50 percent blocked traffic in major cities and occasionally clashed with police on Saturday after a night of demonstrations punctuated by gunfire, in violence that reportedly killed at least one person.

The protests put renewed pressure on Iran’s government as it struggles to overcome the US sanctions strangling the country after President Donald J. Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

Though largely peaceful, demonstrations devolved into violence in several instances, with online videos purporting to show police officers firing tear gas at protesters and mobs setting fires. While representing a political risk for President Hassan Rouhani ahead of February parliamentary elections, it also shows the widespread anger among Iran’s 80 million people who have seen their savings evaporate amid scarce jobs and the national rial currency’s collapse.

The demonstrations took place in over a dozen cities in the hours following Rouhani’s decision early Friday to cut gasoline subsidies to fund handouts for Iran’s poor. Gasoline in the country still remains among the cheapest in the world, with the new prices jumping up to a minimum of 15,000 rials per liter of gas—50 percent up from the day before. That’s 13 cents a liter, or about 50 cents a gallon.

A gallon of regular gasoline in the US costs $2.60 by comparison.

But in a nation where many get by as informal taxi drivers, cheap gasoline is considered a birthright. Iran is home to the world’s fourth-largest crude oil reserves. While expected for months, the decision still caught many by surprise and sparked immediate demonstrations overnight.

Violence broke out Friday night in Sirjan, a city some 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of Tehran. The staterun IRNA news agency said “protesters tried to set fire to the oil depot, but they were stopped by police.” It did not elaborate, but online videos circulating on Iranian social media purported to show a fire at the depot as sirens wailed in the background. Another showed a large crowd shouting: “Rouhani, shame on you! Leave the country alone!”

Mohammad Mahmoudabadi, an Interior Ministry official in Sirjan, later told state television that police and demonstrators exchanged gunfire, wounding several. He said many protestors were peaceful, but later masked men armed with guns and knives infiltrated the demonstration. “ They insisted on reaching the oil depot and creating cr ises,” Mahmoudabadi said.

The semi-official ISNA news agency later quoted Mahmoudabadi as saying the violence killed one person.

In Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province, online videos purported to show police firing tear gas on crowds. The province’s city of Khorramshahr also saw gunfire, as could be heard in a brief clip played on air by state television. The region has long been a political tinderbox, with its ethnic Arab population that feels disenfranchised from the country’s Persianlanguage majority. AP

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Monday, November 18, 2019 A7

Bolivian interim leader meets UN envoy amid violence fears S

ACABA, Bolivia—A UN envoy met with Bolivia’s interim president on Saturday to find a way out of the country’s political crisis, while the world body expressed concern that the situation could “spin out of control” amid a rising death toll.

On leaving the meeting with Interim Leader Jeanine Áñez, Envoy Jean Arnault said the UN hopes it can contribute

to an “accelerated pacification process” leading to new elections following the resignation and exile of Evo Morales.

Meanwhile, another international body, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, condemned Áñez’s government for issuing a decree that says “exempts from criminal responsibility” soldiers who took part in efforts to break up protests and unrest

that have left at least 23 people dead.

The norm was approved before the most violent day since the crisis began, when at least eight pro-Morales coca growers were killed when security forces opened fire during a demonstration.

“It is not a license for the Armed Forces to kill,” Presidency Minister Jerjes Justiniano told a press conference. He said the decree is based on

the Criminal Code, which states that “if one defends oneself in self-defense, there is no penalty.”

Earlier on Saturday, UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet issued a statement calling the deaths “an extremely dangerous development.” “I am really concerned that the situation in Bolivia could spin out of control if the authorities do not handle it sensitively

and in accordance with international norms,” she said.

Protesters said police fired Friday when demonstrators tried to cross a military checkpoint in Sacaba, a town near Cochabamba. Many of the protesters were coca leaf growers loyal to Morales, who had been Bolivia’s first indigenous president before being pressured to step down by Bolivia’s mil-

itary chief after weeks of widespread protests over a disputed election.

Witnesses to the clash described seeing the bodies of several protesters and dozens of people rushed to hospitals, many covered in blood. On Saturday, Bolivia’s national Ombudsman’s Office raised the death toll to eight. It said that overall 23 people had been killed in the violence. AP

Green Monday BusinessMirror

A8 Monday, November 18, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Land reclamation: Bane or boon?

F

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

ISHERMEN from Cavite belonging to the militant Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) trooped to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last week and filed a complaint against the ongoing land-reclamation activities in the coastal areas of Bacoor City and Sangley Point in Cavite City.

This came after DENR officials issued statements promising to stop a multibillion land-reclamation project being pushed by local officials of Bacoor City for the establishment of its would-be central business district along Manila Bay. The Bacoor land-reclamation project covers a total of 420 hectares. It will displace around 100 hectares of mussel farms and cause the eviction of hundreds of coastal families, whose way of life is tied to fishing and mussel farming.

Urban expansion

UR BA N ex pansion through massive land reclamation, also known as dump-and-fill, is a highly contentious issue.

By expanding local territories that will translate to increased land asset, land rec lamation prov ides muc h-needed space for development projects, which include residential, commercial and industrial areas.

Such development tack to expand land territories of local government units (LGUs) is happening in various parts of the world, including the Philippines.

‘Battle for Manila Bay’

THE Manila Bay, a historic water body and one of the most economically important water bodies in the country is being eyed for massive land reclamation.

Incidentally, Manila Bay is currently the subject of massive rehabilitation efforts by the interagency Manila Bay Task Force led by the DENR headed

by Secretar y Roy A. Cimatu.

In l au nc h ing t he “Bat t le for Manila Bay,” a campaign w ith a whopping P4.7 bi l l ion budget,

C imat u c ited a decade - old Supreme Cou r t cont inu ing ma nd a mu s ord e r i n g 1 3 go v e r n ment agenc ies, inc lud ing t he DENR , to rehabi l it ate Ma ni l a Bay a nd restore its water to its pr istine state, mak ing it sw imm able a nd c lea n enough for ot her recreat iona l act iv it ies.

The rehabilitation of Manila Bay has sent the DENR and the Laguna Lake Development Authority tightening their watch on the environmental compliance of business establishments, as well as government offices occupying buildings along Manila Bay. Cease-and-desist orders have been issued to erring business establishments whose wastewater discharge fail water quality standards.

The DENR, together with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, has mobilized LGUs, including barangays, and tapped private-sector partners to clean up esteros leading out to Manila Bay. The Manila Bay Task Force is preparing to relocate informal settlers living in so-called danger zones around the bay, including rivers, river tributaries, esteros and creeks as part of the rehabilitation effort.

Strong opposition

THE Philippine Reclamation Authority (PR A) has listed a total of 23 land-reclamation projects covering at least 23,000 hectares that are currently in various stages of development and awaiting the green light from concerned authorities.

However, land-reclamation projec ts a re bei ng met w it h strong opposition by various

THE resort Palm Jumeirah, an artificial archipelago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is photographed by Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao from the International Space Station in 2005. The resort was then under construction on reclaimed land in Dubai’s Persian Gulf coast. Advertised as “being visible from the Moon,” this man-made palm-shaped structure displays 16 huge fronds framed by a 12-kilometer protective barrier. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

stakeholders, particularly fishermen, coastal dwellers and environment groups, because of its destructive nature and potential environmental, economic and the sociocultural impact.

Fishermen and people living in coastal communities are often the first to feel the adverse economic impact of land reclamation.

Besides catching fish, fishermen and those living in coastal communities depend on gathering shells, crabs and other near-shore seafood, for sustenance, income and livelihood.

Worse, those living in coastal communities are often evicted from their homes to pave the way for land reclamation.

Threats to ecosystems

LAND reclamation completely destroys and kills ecosystem-forming species, such as mangroves, seagrass and corals that are essential to sustaining marine life.

Besides being feeding grounds and playground of small fishes, mollusks, shellfish and other marine organisms that are essentially the seafood that feeds millions of people and provides income and livelihood to people i n coa st a l com mu n it ies, t he mangroves, seagrass and corals help mitigate the impacts of climate change and reduce the risk of disaster.

The marine habitats are the natural defense of coastal communities against sea-level rise. They also cushion the impact of storm surges and tsunamis.

Climate-change impacts

ACCORDING to Oceana Philippines, the environmental threats of dump-and-fill activities are aggravated by climate change, thereby, endangering more lives and threatening the destruction of properties and loss in investment.

Climate-change impacts Manila Bay in many ways, according to Oceana, which called for a moratorium on land reclamation pending the conduct of environmental impact studies for every project.

The increased rainfall yearround by 2050 w ill result in worse f looding, while more frequent supertyphoons will trigger storm surges in coastal areas.

On the other hand, the rise in sea level will worsen land subsidence, resulting in the faster sinking of land.

Oceana Philippines Vice President Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, in an interview by the BusinessMirror, said land-reclamation projects are illegal because “they violate the Constitutional right of Filipinos to a balanced and healthful ecology.”

Threaten rich biodiversity, fragile ecosystems

OCEANA added that the proposed land-reclamation projects in Manila Bay would threaten the rich marine biodiversity of the bay and disturb the already fragile ecosystems.

Fishes, wetlands, mangrove forest areas and water birds will be adversely affected by land reclamation in the bay.

KABUL’S AIR POLLUTION MAY BE EVEN DEADLIER THAN WAR

K

ABUL, Afghanistan—Yousuf fled with his family from his home in eastern Afghanistan eight years ago to escape the war, but he couldn’t escape tragedy. In the capital, Kabul, five of his children died, not from violence or bombings, but from air pollution, worsened by bitter cold and poverty.

At the camp for displaced people they live in, they and other families keep warm and cook by burning the garbage that surrounds them. One by one over the years, each of the children got chest infections and other maladies from the pollution and never made it to age seven, he told The Associated Press. The 60-year-old has nine surviving children.

“We didn’t have enough money for the doctor and medicine.... I can barely feed my children,” said Yousuf, who works as a porter in a vegetable market earning barely a dollar a day. Like many Afghans he uses only one name.

Afghanistan’s pollution may be even deadlier than its war, now 18 years long.

There are no official statistics on how many Afghans die of pollution-related illnesses, but the research group State of Global Air said more than 26,000 deaths could be attributed to it in 2017. In contrast, 3,483 civilians were killed that year in the Afghan war, according to the United Nations.

Kabul, a city of some 6 million, has become one of the most polluted cities in the world— ranking in the top of the list among other polluted capitals such as India’s New Delhi or

China’s Beijing. Decades of war have wrecked the city’s infrastructure and caused waves of displaced people.

On most days, a pall of smog and smoke lies over the city. Old vehicles pump toxins into the air, as do electrical generators using poor quality fuel.

Coal, garbage, plastic and rubber are burned by poor people at home, as well as at the many brick kilns, public baths and bakeries. Many apartment buildings have no proper sanitation system, and garbage is piled on roadsides and sidewalks.

The large majority of victims are poisoned by the air in their own homes, as families burn whatever they can to keep warm in Kabul’s winters, with frequent sub-zero temperatures and snow.

Children and elderly are par ticularly vulnerable. At least 19,400 of the 2017 deaths were attributable to household pollution, which also contributed to a loss of two years and two months of life expectancy at birth, according to the State of Global Air survey.

Yousuf’s camp, home to more than a hundred families, has no proper water or sanitation system and is surrounded by garbage dumps.

His and other families’ children search through the garbage for paper, cloth, sticks or plastic, anything that can be burned for fuel.

“We are so poor, and we have lots of problems, we don’t have enough money for medicine, wood or coal for heating, so this is

our life, my children collect garbage from dump yards and we use it for cooking and heating to keep the kids warm,” he added.

Decades of war have worsened the damage to Afghanistan’s environment and have made it a huge challenge to address them.

Environmental issues are far down the list of priorities for a government struggling with basic security issues, rampant corruption and a plunging economy.

Three or four decades ago, “it was a wish for people to come to Kabul and breath this air,” said Ezatullah Sediqi, deputy director for the National Environmental Protection Agency (Nepa). But in the wars since, “we lost all our urban infrastructure for water, electricity, public transportation, green areas, all these things,” he said.

Kabul’s environmental department has launched a new program to control old vehicles, one significant source of pollution.

“Fighting pollution is as important as fighting terrorism,” said Mohammad Kazim Humayoun, the department’s director.

Authorities warn that this winter is expected to be colder than usual and fear that will only increase the use of pollution-creating fuels to keep warm.

The Kabul municipality has also called on residents to stop burning garbage for heat and instead use fuel.

“If everyone follows the instructions laid out by Kabul Municipality, the pollution could be controlled,” the municipality’s spokesman, Nargis Mohmand, said. But if not, “then we

might live with this untreatable wound for years to come.”

But fuel is either too expensive or not available for many in Kabul. Electrical heaters are too pricey for most, and power outages are frequent.

Doctors at Kabul’s Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital say they’ve seen the numbers of patients with pollution-related illnesses increase, though they could not give exact figures.

In the winter, hundreds of children a day come in, suffering from respiratory illnesses, according to hospital officials.

Dr. Saifullah Abassin, a specialist trainer at the hospital, said his ward has a capacity of 10 patients but often has three times that number.

Th e g o ve r n m e n t h a s l a u n c h e d a n environmental awareness campaign. Ads on TV, programs at schools and universities, and sermons at mosques talk about pollution’s harm to society and tell listeners about steps to reduce it.

But there are steps the state needs to take, like encouraging the planting of trees and creating green spaces, as well as implementing a city master plan to stop unplanned development around the capital, often a source of pollution because of their lack of services.

Sediqi, of the Nepa, said that ever since the first post-Taliban government was created in 2001, there was no planning on urban infrastructure, which left individuals to build on their own. AP

The Manila Bay is a productive fishing ground. Pamalakaya National Chairman Fernando Hicap said that despite the dwindling fish catch, it is able to support the livelihood of small fishermen.

Assorted fish and other seafood can still be caught from the bay.

Sardines, mackerel mullet, threadfin, bream, squid, blue crab, round scad and fusilier are just a few of the commercially viable fish caught in Manila Bay, Oceana Philippines reported.

“Sixty-seven percent of Manila Bay’s total value is accounted for by the fisheries industry alone.

Reclamation will decrease fish population due to the loss of breeding grounds,” Oceana Philippines warned.

Laws prohibiting land reclamation

RAMOS, an environmental lawyer, also cited numerous laws that prohibits the wholesale destruction of coastal ecosystems.

These include Republic Act 10654, or the Amended Fisheries Code, which prohibits the gathering or transporting of coral sand, fragments and other substances which make up marine habitat.

In the case of Manila Bay, a historical site because of the presence of the Spanish-era Walled City of Intramuros in Manila, land reclamation violates Republic Act 10055, or the National Cultural Heritage Act, specifically the modification and alteration of a national landmark.

On the issue of biodiversity

protection and conser vation, land reclamation violates the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act. The Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park, formerly called the Las PiñasParañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area, a Ramsar Site, stands to be affected by proposed dump-and-fill projects.

Land reclamation violates national law and plebiscite requirement for the substantial alteration of boundaries of local government units, particularly Section 10 and amount to illegal International Revenue Allotment disbursement to local government units under Section 285 of the Local Government Code, or Republic Act 7160.

“They should stop these projects because they are destructive and violates the right of every Filipino to the Constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology,” Ramos said in an earlier interview.

Also, Ramos cited the fact that Manila Bay is a productive fishing ground that sustains the livelihood of small fishermen.

On top of this, a new species of sardine was recorded by scientists to occur and spawn in Manila Bay.

Bane or boon?

ACCORDING to the PRA, almost all land-reclamation project applications were submitted by LGUs and their private-sector partners.

With urban expansion through land reclamation, the LGUs’ territory increases, which, also means that their share in Internal Revenue Allotment will most likely increase, as well.

With increased land territories, the LGUs’ land assets and value will likely increase, thereby luring more investment. This will translate to robust economic activity and more revenues for the local government, as well as national government.

More important, with more land area for development, LGUs can identify a potential area for land development for public or private housing projects, the construction of local government complex housing vital LGU offices, establish a new business district, or possibly, a vast economic zone for industries that will be a boost to the local economic development.

On the other hand, the warning signs that the threats of climate change are real and may happen sooner than expected, might bring tragic loss of lives and destruction to public and private properties, and huge losses in investment.

RENEWABLES ARE BOOMING, BUT NOT FAST ENOUGH TO CAP GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS

T

HE International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual report into fuel supply and demand shows a pickup in the rate of growth for wind and solar power.

B u t t h a t ’s n o t e n o u g h t o c u r t a i l greenhouse-gas pollution, which is on track to grow through 2040.

The findings are a blow to the international effort to rein in climate change and contrast with expanding awareness of the impact humans are having on the environment.

The IEA’s report tracks the different paths the world can take, with government policies shaping the energy industry. While clean energy leaves some reason for optimism, the gap is widening between what scientists say is necessary to protect the environment and how industry’s energy needs are evolving.

Following are from the IEA’s report that shows the key trends:

Offshore wind is booming

THE global market for offshore wind turbines grew 30 percent from 2010 to 2018, driven primarily by nor thern Europe. Now, the technology is entering new regions.

China added more capacity last year than anyone else. By 2040 the offshore wind market will become a $1 trillion business, the IEA says.

Wind and solar power will push renewables past coal in terms of share of the power market

by the middle of the next decade. By 2040, those clean energy sources will provide more than half of the world’s total electricity.

But emissions continue to rise

GLOBAL carbon-dioxide emissions rose for a second year, and the outlook is for continued increase to 2040 unless governments take radical action to hit targets set out in the Paris Agreement.

The report shows that efforts to shift the world away from the most polluting fuels are moving too slowly. The developing world’s thirst for energy is also lifting consumption of coal and other fossil fuels, pushing more pollution into the atmosphere.

Coal is the dominant power generation fuel

G LO B A L coal demand rose for a second consecutive year in 2018, with three-quarters of that demand coming from Asia-Pacific.

If global coal policies remain unchanged, then demand will keep expanding for two decades, the IEA said.

However, growth will flatten out in that period if countries implement the promises they have already made. Over the past 20 years, Asia has accounted for 90 percent of all coal-fired capacity built worldwide and many of those new plants still have three decades of burning the dirtiest fossil fuel. Bloomberg News

Biodiversity Monday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Monday, November 18, 2019

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

DENR reviewing program to conserve tamaraw

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

T

HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is reviewing the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) in order to strengthen the conservation of the critically endangered tamaraw, or Mindoro dwarf buffalo.

Environment Assistant Secretary for Staff Bureaus Ricardo Calderon, the concurrent director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), said the TCP needs to be reassessed, along with the policy to protect and conserve the Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park (MIBNP), a protected area covered by the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act. “We want to review the existing policy [on protected area] and the program. I will be talking to the PAMB [Protected Area Management Board] of Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park about it,” he said.

The DENR and its partner in implementing the TCP recently launched fund-raising programs for the conservation of the wild buffalos, more popularly known as the Philippine tamaraw.

He said the TCP is running short of fund, a reason why two fund-raising events were held last month. Incidentally, October is declared as Tamaraw Month.

The fund-raising events are the 3-kilometer charity race on October 19 in order to augment the funds to conserve the tamaraw and empower the rangers directly protecting the species held October 19, and the showing of a documentary, titled Suwag o Suko: Saving the Tamaraw from Extinction on October 30 at the National Museum of Natural History.

Besides raising funds, Calderon said he wants to popularize the largest land mammal in the Philippines similar to the status now enjoyed by the Philippine

eagle, the largest bird of prey in the world which is also endemic to the Philippines.

The tamaraw can be found only on the island of Mindoro and nowhere else in the world. Like the Philippine eagle, Calderon said its extinction is a loss not only to the Filipino people but the rest of the world.

Started in the early 1990s, the TCP is originally a captive-breeding program, primarily to increase the population of the country’s largest mammal.

Apparently, however, the program, which produced only a single tamaraw, a bull named Kalibasib, failed to meet expectations.

Eventually, the captive-breeding component of the program was discontinued, but other components to protect the tamaraw population against hunting for food and trophy, and illegal wildlife trade remained.

Meanwhile, as a protected area, the MIBNP is managed by the Protected Area Superintendent who answers to the PAMB, the highest policy-making body of a protected area under the Nipas law. It also has its own budget and a separate set of rangers that protect the park.

Calderon said it is high time to harmonize the program with the ecosystem-based conservation effort of MIBNP. “In the first place, the MIBNP became a protected area because of the Philippine tamaraw,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

According to Calderon, enhancing the protection of the MIBNP, and possibly expanding its coverage, will not only protect the Philippine tamaraw from being hunted for food and trophy or illegal wildlife trade, but also boost breeding through natural selection.

“What we are looking at is ecosystems-based protection and conservation measure for the tamaraw,” he said.

Big chunk of world’s scallops died in mysterious circumstances

A9

ACB: Keeping biodiversity intact a boon for farmers and tourism

P

RESERVING the natural landscape and biodiversity improves the sustainability of farm operations and, in turn, farmers’ incomes, the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) said.

“Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, provides the resources and supporting functions for farming and tourism. Thus, safeguarding biodiversity is essential to achieve sustainability in farm tourism for present and future generations,” ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim said at the Sixth Philippine Farm Tourism Conference in Cebu City last week.

Speaking before an audience of agriculturists, farm and farm tourism business owners, representatives from government and nongovernment agencies, and researchers, Lim shared how biodiversity-friendly practices can boost farming and farm tourism.

She cited the “innovating farming method” of the farmers of Agusan Marsh in Agusan del Sur as an example of adapting to the natural landscape.

Since water in the marsh often inundates farms during rainy season, farmers decided to plant rice and other crops in floating bamboo paddies instead.

“Instead of trying to control the marsh, the locals have learned to adapt and build their farms according to the nature of the marsh,” Lim said.

She explained that keeping the Agusan Marsh healthy contributes to the local tourism and provides additional income from community members who run boat tours.

Lim also encouraged farmers to make the most of the natural landscape.

“Instead of cutting down trees, plant crops that thrive under

the shade of trees like coffee,” Lim said.

Forests are important to the health of watersheds, which supply water for the irrigation of farms and serve people’s daily needs.

The ACB executive director pitched multicropping, crop rotation and other natural pestmanagement methods, instead of using pesticides, which threatens pollinators like bees.

Seventy-five percent of the world ’s food crops and nearly 90 percent of w ild f lowering species depend on pollination, according to an Intergover nmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report.

A Europea n Union-f unded study estimated the value of pollination services to be approximately $169 billion per year.

Lim emphasized the need to strike a balance between fulfilling the needs of the business and of tourists, and maintaining the natural condition of the area.

Citing the principles of sustainable tourism from the United Nations World Trade Organization, Lim explained, “Farm tourism should fulfill the social, aesthetic and economic needs of the farm owners and the tourists, while maintaining the life support systems, ecological processes and cultural integrity of the area. These systems and processes and their benefits come from biodiversity, so we need to protect biodiversity.”

Meanwhile, protecting iconic and charismatic species can also

FLOATING bamboo paddies is an innovative farming method in Agusan Marsh in Agusan del Sur. DENR-BMB

be a source of tourism-based livelihood.

Lim pointed out that in Cambodia, farmers practicing biodiversity-friendly agricultural methods, such as chemical-free cultivation, help protect the critically endangered giant Ibis, the country’s national bird.

“Because Ibis birds are rare, tourists want to see them,” Lim said. “Farmers also become tour guides, and it becomes additional income for them.”

Reacting to Lim’s presentation, Mina Gabor, former Tourism secretary and current chairman and president of the International School of Sustainable Tourism, affirmed the importance of integrating biodiversity in farm tourism planning.

“Mahogany trees are water suckers,” Gabor said. “And for some time now, we have noticed that any farm or anything that is planted near mahogany trees look undernourished, and farmers do not get the same healthy harvest as areas without mahogany.”

Gabor asked farmers to refrain from planting mahogany, and to alert the Philippines’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources should mahogany be growing in their farms.

By applying biodiversity considerations, like natural pest management, planting the right crops and trees, and adaptation to the natural environment to farm tourism, Lim said she is hopeful for the future of the farm tourism industry. She also emphasized the importance of working together.

“If we from the different sectors—agriculture, tourism and biod iversit y—work toget her, share our knowledge, and maximize resources, we can achieve sustainable farm tourism,” Lim said.

Farm tourism is the business of attracting visitors and tourists to farm areas, generally for educational and recreational purposes, encouraging economic activity that can provide both the farm and the community additional income.

T he ACB, establ ished in 2005, is A sean’s response to the challenge of biodiversit y loss. It is an intergovernmental organization that facilitates cooperation and coordination among the 10 Asean memberstates and with regional and international organizations on the conser vation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of these natural treasures.

US, PHL troops hold 2nd installation of artificial habitat reefs

U

FISH harbor in Boulogne sur Mer, in France, on February 1, shows the Saint Jacques shells. MARLENE AWAAD / BLOOMBERG

A

SC A LLOPOC A LY PSE is laying waste to the popular delicacy in the Yellow Sea. Giant Chinese seafood supplier Zhangzidao Group last week said it found more than 80 percent of scallops at a farm in the sea between China and Korea had died due to “unidentified” causes.

The book value of the affected mollusks is 300 million yuan ($43 million), the company said in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange. It’s still assessing the damage, and the cause of death is unknown though believed to be natural, it said.

Zhangzidao’s “ocean ranch ” supplies more than 50,000 tons of scallops a year, according to its official web site.

Just over 100,000 tons of the bivalve were traded globally in 2018, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with China accounting for one-third of both

imports and exports.

T he ecological env ironment in the Nor th Yel low Sea is complicated and constant ly chang ing, Zhangzidao said in its statement.

Scallops accounted for 6 percent of total revenue in the first nine months of this year, it said.

Shenzhen-listed Zhangzidao Group, which calls itself an “undersea bank,” has come under fire in the past for its declining scallop output.

The average yield for the mollusks that started seeding in 2018 is expected to have dropped to about 3.5 kilograms as a result of the deaths, down from 25.61 kg per mu (about 1/6 of an acre) in the first 10 months of this year, the company said.

Zhangzidao’s shares tumbled by their daily trading limit of 10 percent in Shenzhen on Tuesday.

They’re down 17 percent this year.

Bloomberg News

NITED States and Philippine military personnel, loc a l gover nment representatives, nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and local residents partnered together for a second time to install artificial habitat reefs in Maragondon, Cavite, last month.

A total of 60 jackstone-type artificial habitat reefs were installed off the coast.

In August, the group also installed 30 artificial habitat reefs in the coastal area of Calatagan, Batangas.

Coral will eventually cover the sunken structure, revitalizing marine life and improving fishing livelihoods in the coastal communities of Cavite.

The project, named “Operation Pamama la k aya,” inc luded support by more than 500 personnel from the Philippine Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, Philippine National Pol ice, Munic ipa l Env ironment and Natural Resources Office, DV Boer Farm, Magsasaka, municipality of Maragondon and Cavite LGU and residents, as well as US ser vice members.

More than 40 military divers and barge crew members from the Philippines Air Force, A r med Forces of t he Phi l ip pines Special Operations Command (AFP Socom), and United States Armed Forces assisted in the deployment of the artificial habitat reefs.

THE United States and Philippine divers partnered together for a second time to install artificial habitat reefs in Maragondon, Cavite, on October 8. US EMBASSY

“[Operation Pamamalakaya] aims to protect, develop, conserve and promote biodiversity in the marine environment for su st a i n able f i sher ies i n t he area, including adjacent fishing grounds,” said Dexter Villamin of DV Boer Farm.

“Currently, Philippine coral reefs are threatened by pollut ion a nd destr uct ive f ishing techniques like the illegal use of explosives, trawling methods,

and general overfishing,” said Maj. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo, AFP Socom commander.

To address this reality, Pabayo said there needs to be an international approach between governments and NGOs dedicated to preserving and protecting these coral reefs, “which are a natural treasure. Great events like this with our US partners contribute to supporting not only the environment but also the local economy,”

For his part, Maj. Ryan Bone, a participating United States Armed Forces diver, said: “Marine biodiversity is vital for a sustainable ecosystem. It’s wonderful to be able to assist in an endeavor that helps preserve this environment for generations to come.”

The US, as a longstanding friend, partner and ally of the Philippines, continues to provide support to Filipino communities with marine conservation projects.

A10 Monday, November 18, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Institutionalizing Islamic banking practices

I

N August, President Duterte signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11439 or “An Act Providing for the Regulation and Organization of Islamic Banks.” Most of us chose the financial institution that we do business with as a matter of convenience.

We might shop around for the best loan and credit-card terms, but the primary consideration is the location of the bank branch. In fact, a study two years ago showed that one of the biggest hindrances to the average Filipino having a bank account was the scarcity of branches in the more remote areas of the country.

However, a sizable portion of the Philippine population may not have a bank account because of religious concerns.

Islamic banking is a banking system that is based on the principles of Islamic or Shari’ah law and guided by Islamic economics. Two fundamental principles of Islamic banking are the sharing of profit and loss, and the prohibition of the collection and payment of interest by lenders and investors. Islamic law prohibits collecting interest or riba. Islamic banks make a profit through equity participation, which requires a borrower to give the bank a share in their profits rather than paying interest. Some commercial banks have windows or sections that provide Islamic banking services to customers.

The new law allows the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to follow its regulatory mandate for supervision over the operations of Islamic banks, and to issue the implementing rules and regulations on Islamic banking.

According to BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno, “RA 11439 will unlock the full potential of Islamic financing in fostering inclusive economic growth. With a well-defined regulatory framework now in place, the BSP looks forward to seeing greater participation in Islamic financing by both domestic and foreign banks. This is expected to widen opportunities for Muslim Filipinos, including those from the Bangsamoro Region, in accessing banking products and services.”

Currently, the country has only one Islamic bank, Al Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines. A subsidiary of the state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines, AAIIBP had total assets of P797.3 million at the end of last year. Oxford Business Group, an economic intelligence firm, recently analyzed this development. “The new law could also help drive investment and diversification in the domestic Islamic banking segment.”

The traditional banking system is simple. A bank “borrows” money from depositors and pays those depositors interest. The bank then loans that money to borrowers and charges interest on the loan, the difference is the bank’s gross profit.

Banks, though, do not only offer deposit and lending services to their clients. Both investments and insurance are a major part of banking services. In Islamic banking, the models of Takāful—a type of Islamic insurance wherein members contribute money into a pool system to guarantee each other against loss or damage—and Quad—commonly defined as an interest-free loan—are basic and critical considerations.

With the BSP now formally able to issue implementing rules and regulations, we should see an increase in the amount of Shari’ah-compliant financial services, therefore more financial inclusion of Filipinos. Further, according to Oxford, “The government has in the past flagged the possibility of using sukuk [Islamic bonds] to diversify its investor base. The development of Islamic finance could attract significant capital from Muslim-majority countries around the world.”

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

How to create your organization’s sustainability program Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

H

AVING a sustainability program is not just a nice-to-have for companies, big or small. These days it has become a requirement for greater efficiency, acceptance and loyalty of customers, a more positive image and effective PR, satisfaction of employees and stakeholders, among other things.

Businesses are more serious about matters like their carbon footprint and the environmental costs of their operations. They do realize it is actually more profitable now to be sustainable than to keep on doing what everyone has been accustomed to. This movement has taken flight many years ago in other countries.

In the Philippines, expectedly, we are beginning late and the efforts are only starting to build up now.

Statistics show that a sustainabil-

ity program can improve profits by 51 percent to 81 percent within three to five years. If there are no changes made toward social responsibility, profits are likely to decrease by 16 percent to 36 percent.

Running or implementing such a program is going to change almost every aspect of business. It changes the way things are done and there will be additional tasks or steps that may be quite tedious at the beginning, like detailed monitoring efforts and

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Another challenge would be getting everyone’s buy-in. For people to actually embrace the new systems and processes, there needs to be a change in mindset and, ultimately, some change of heart.

This is easier said than done, as we all know. But the hard truth is that the efforts toward sustainability cannot merely happen on the corporate level but should cascade down to affect every individual’s life and habits.

Once there is a buy-in, an organization can go ahead and form a team, headed by a suitable leader or an experienced consultant. This team will be setting the sustainability goals,

Facebook found Andy Bautista

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

Statistics show that a sustainability program can improve profits by 51 percent to 81 percent within three to five years. If there are no changes made toward social responsibility, profits are likely to decrease by 16 percent to 36 percent.

M

ORE than a year ago, I wrote in this column “Andy Bautista: Out of Sight, Out of Mind!” (November 12, 2018). It has been a year since, and sadly two years since all papers, documents, and passbooks discovered by his wife, Patricia, were turned over to Atty. Minnie Retral of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) who was assigned to investigate possible plunder charges against Bautista and his cohorts. A full report of the Presidential Commission on Good Government recommending the filing of charges against Bautista (as then-chairman of PCGG), Atty.

Nilo Divina, Luzon Development Bank for alleged anomalies in the PCGG was also submitted by the PCGG to Retral. To date, nothing has been filed, nor any action taken despite several follow-ups by Patricia and/or her counsel(s).

Bautista, perhaps complacent that the State authorities are no longer looking for him after he evaded his two warrants of arrests by the Senate, has now gone viral in Facebook (#TheKingMaker at #DocNYC)—FB entry “Opening at the Quad this Friday and screening on Showtime next year. Tonight’s New York premiere had a Q and A with Director Lauren Greenfield and former PCGG/Comelec Chairman Andy Bautista.”

An earlier FB post showed him at the Vogue Theatre in San Francisco watching a screening of a documentary about Mrs. Imelda Marcos (https://www.facebook. com/1002198943/posts).

Apparently, Bautista is just roaming around the US in comfortable self-exile. This notwithstanding that he has not fully supported his family (his brother settles the association dues, utilities and sometimes tuition fees) since he quietly fled the

Andy Bautista, come home and submit yourself to our justice system. Now is not the time to watch screenplays in New York or San Francisco, or wherever you might be!! If our State authorities can’t find you, Facebook can! country in November 2017; despite the magnitude of the shocking revelations made by lawyer Glen Chong and other resource persons about election anomalies and the integrity of the automated election system used in the two elections conducted under Bautista’s watch (See: The Manila Times “Where is Andy Bautista”

by Antonio P. Contreras, August 11, 2018); despite the betrayal of public trust and actual evidence that points to tampering not only with the results but also with the process itself (See: The Manila Times, “Again, where is Andy Bautista?,” by Antonio P. Contreras, January 19, 2019); despite the transfer of confiscated public funds from sequestered and surrendered companies from government banks, Land Bank and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to Luzon Development Bank,

engagement strategies, process establishment, measurement and analysis of results. An important initial work is defining baselines. This means current operations need to be measured.

When baselines are established, only then can the group design the strategy. This includes the setting of VMGs. Naturally, what follows would be the discussion (and eventual decision) on possible strategies and initiatives to be able to achieve the goals that were set. These initiatives must be specific, realistic and measurable.

Finally, when the plans are all laid out, it is crucial to involve everyone in the program. Understand that there is a bigger chance for your program to succeed when stakeholders are engaged from beginning to end.

If you wish to learn more about setting up a sustainability program and strategy for your company, the Institute of Corporate Directors is holding a Sustainability Strategy and Reporting seminar on November 26 and 27 in Makati City. Visit their web site if you’re interested to attend.

a private development bank where his wife discovered that he kept 35 accounts ostensibly in the name of family members totaling at least P1 billion.

So, again, we ask, why is Andy Bautista free to roam around in New York, or San Francisco and other places in the US when he should be here in the Philippines where he said he would clear his name in the proper courts of law?

Worse, why does it seem that nobody is looking for him—not the Senate nor House, not the Department of Justice and certainly not the NBI? As I said in my column last year (“Out of Sight, Out of Mind”) this is not a domestic fight between a husband and wife. This is a matter of national interest—the integrity of our electoral process and the plunder of public funds. We urge Secretary of Justice Menardo Guevarra to demand a report from the NBI on its plunder investigation against Andy and his cohorts. Two years is too long, especially since the NBI had all the documents it needed as early as November 2017.

Andy Bautista, come home and submit yourself to our justice system. Now is not the time to watch screenplays in New York or San Francisco, or wherever you might be!! If our State authorities can’t find you, Facebook can!

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Monday, November 18, 2019 A11

’Tis the season to be jolly Product standards and ‘The Big One:’ Are we ready?

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

Joel L. Tan-Torres

DEBIT CREDIT

MAKE SENSE

S we celebrate the Christmas season this year, I note that this is also the season to be jolly for a great number of alumni of various schools. Many of them will be reuniting with their former classmates and going back to their alma matter for their alumni homecoming. The stars of these homecomings are normally the alumni comprising the Diamond, Golden and Ruby Jubilarians who will celebrate their 60th, 50th and 40th year, since graduating from their schools.

HE series of earthquakes with intensities ranging from 5.1 to 6.5 magnitude that rocked Mindanao and the Visayas regions recently may well justify the government’s preparations for “The Big One,” a major earthquake that could reach intensity 8.

A

I am a member of the Ruby Jubilarian class of the 1979 Accountancy class of the University of the Philippines College of Business Administration (now renamed as the UP Virata School of Business or VSB). I am doubly proud that I will be celebrating this milestone in my school at the same time that I have been selected as the dean of my alma mater, the VSB. I was selected by the UP Board of Regents to be the dean of the VSB on October 11, 2019.

On December 7, 2019, the alumni of the VSB will be proceeding to the annual homecoming to be held in a new venue at the UP campus, the Promenade. This is located near the Main Library with access from the Palma Hall parking area. The Promenade provides a wonderful venue for our homecoming since this is the newly constructed park with a grand plaza and greenery full of trees and flowers that can accommodate a greater number of our VSB community. We expect more than 300 alumni, their families and guests to come.

Our homecoming will have a fiesta motif. We will have a grand event amid the folk song of “Liron Liron sinta” and other favorite songs that are popular now and in the not too distant past. Liron is used instead of the original name of Leron since this is the acronym of my program as dean of “Looking in Reaching out Now na.”

We start the homecoming with the celebration of the Holy Mass.

After the mass, our alumni and guests can tour the school premises with student exhibits in the various areas of our building. They can also take a guided bus tour of the UP Diliman campus with its new buildings and facilities.

Registration for our fiesta homecoming starts at 10 a.m. in the Promenade. Upon registration, the alumni will be given PayMaya VSB commemorative cards that will serve as their e-wallet for spending in the homecoming. Upon entering the venue, there will be a festive drum and bugle band and, colorful banderitas hanging in poles to welcome the guests.

The alumni can while away their time visiting the many food stalls, tiangge and gift shops, and game booths scattered throughout the Promenade fiesta park.

There will be tents selling UP VSB souvenir items and exhibiting various alumni corporate products and services.

Of course, the alumni will be there to relive good times with their batch mates and their families, and

Our homecoming will have a fiesta motif. We will have a grand event amid the folk song of “Liron Liron sinta” and other favorite songs that are popular now and in the not too distant past. Liron is used instead of the original name of Leron since this is the acronym of my program as dean of “Looking in Reaching out Now na.” to enjoy networking with their fellow VSB alumni.

The formal program will start at 12 noon. We will recognize the honoree classes consisting of Batch ’59 (Diamond), Batch ’64 (Emerald), Batch ’69 (Golden), Batch ’74 (Sapphire), Batch ’79 (Ruby), Batch ’84 (Coral), Batch ’89 (Pearl), Batch ’94 (Silver), Batch ’99, Batch ’09, Batch ’04 and Batch ’14. We will know during the program who will be the Distinguished Alumni Awardee/s.

Of course, all other alumni of the school are welcome to attend. I, as the new dean, will share with the VSB community what my Looking in Reaching out initiatives are all about Be prepared to be entertained and to have fun. Listen to your batch mates as they compete in the “Mr. & Ms. Videoke” contest.

Watch our brave alumni test their brains and wit in the “Q&A” competition. Enjoy the grand entertainment musical show that we have prepared for the alumni, their families and friends who will be going to our Liron Liron sinta fiesta homecoming in the UP Promenade on December 7.

Please enjoin your batch mates and the rest of the VSB community to confirm their attendance to Marielle Cruz by e-mailing her at marielleanncruz@gmail.com, or calling 892-97991 or contacting your batch representatives.

Let us all enjoy our alumni homecoming during this season to be jolly.

Joel L. Tan-Torres is the dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business.

He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy from 2014 to August 2018, and a partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co., CPA, from 2011 to October 2019. He is a certified public accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979.

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.

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Drop, cover and hold drills are already being done regularly by the government as part of its disaster preparedness program. However, while the drills could raise the Filipinos’ level of awareness on what to do during earthquakes, are the houses and buildings where they live ready, as well for the big temblor?

Were they made out of standard materials? What we saw of the houses that collapsed during the recent intensity 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Mindanao may have awakened our legislators that a member of the House filed a resolution, in aid of legislation, to review the country’s product standard laws and rules.

The House resolution was timely, not only because of the recent earthquakes, but also due to what seem to be “unFilipino” trade and industry policies of the government. Take, for instance, the enforcement of mandatory testing and certification of steel products.

Up to this writing, I still cannot understand why a shipment of 5,000 metric tons (MT) of imported steel bars that were unloaded at the Port of Subic were released by the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Provincial Office, through the issuance of a provisional Import

Commodity Clearance (ICC), even if only one steel bar was tested for compliance to mandator y standard.

The testing is a requirement for the issuance of ICC, which is also a customs prerequisite for the release of regulated shipment like steel bars. The rule prescribed by the Bureau of Philippine Standards to local steel bar manufacturers is to test one steel bar for every 20 MT of bars that rollout its production line.

Obviously, this is to ensure that all locally made steel bars are compliant to set standards. Can the testing, therefore, of one imported steel bar be a representative sample of a 5,000 MT shipment for compliance to Philippine standards?

Is this type of bigotry in the mandatory testing of steel bars not unfair for local manufacturers? I still cannot understand why we are so stringent in the enforcement of mandatory standard on locally made steel bars, and yet, lenient on imported bars.

Perhaps, I should review the sampling methods that I learned in my statistics class in college.

To facilitate the release of the steel bars from the Port of Subic, a provisional ICC was issued by the DTI Provincial Office after testing

Bloomberg Opinion

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HINA hawks are chastising President Donald J. Trump’s “phase one” trade deal because it focuses on increasing US exports while ignoring Beijing’s subsidies for favored industries. Instead of seeking to coerce China into abandoning policies that both sides agree benefit its economy, the US should seek to emulate them.

In one typical critique, experts at the Peterson Institute, a Washington think tank, lamented that Trump hasn’t explained “how his deal would tackle the Chinese subsidies that were the impetus for launching this trade war in

the first place.” That’s a view shared by many in Washington. Though Trump himself often appears more concerned about bilateral deficits, it’s worth asking whether the concern over subsidies actually makes sense.

Until recently, mainstream economists and policy-makers largely dismissed state-led industrial policy—a form of government intervention in the free market—as wasteful and ineffective. Government bureaucrats, the argument went, lack the ability to effectively pick winners among companies or industry sectors. The task is better left to venture capitalists and stock market investors. Moreover, a politicized process of distributing public money is

hard time competing with counterparts in the global economy. I told the chairman that the industry sector’s bane is because we allow substandard imported products to unfairly compete with locally manufactured goods, even in the local manufacturers own backyard or domestic market base.

How can they compete globally when even in their own base market, local manufacturers are struggling with the unfair competition posed by the unabated illegal importation of substandard goods. And all these are happening because of technical smuggling through misdeclaration, misclassification, undervaluation and under-declaration, including the government’s weak regulatory rules to protect consumers and the local economy.

This is creating unfair competition for local manufacturers in the domestic market. A big setback for local manufacturers to compete in the global market, for even in their domestic base market, they are struggling with the unabated smuggling of cheaper but lower quality imported goods, and a big challenge to the government’s disaster preparedness program. Drop, cover and hold. But will the buildings and houses hold?

Who would be answerable for the lives and properties lost in disasters?

We can’t stop earthquakes from happening, but we can certainly fortify our structures to withstand them by making sure all construction materials meet the government-set standards.

Dr. Arranza is the chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries and Fight Illicit Trade, a broad-based, multisectoral movement intended to protect consumers, safeguard government revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill effects of smuggling.

Attacking not just traffic but pollution as well Thomas M. Orbos

STREET TALK

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OMETIME last year, we were pleasantly informed of an international report that cited 11 of our cities as among the cleanest in Southeast Asia. It was short lived as it turns out.

According to Greenpeace, such rankings stemmed from the lack of proper monitoring systems in the country. Metro Manila is a heavily polluted city and we who live here know it. We don’t need such air monitoring equipment to tell us, otherwise.

A big source of these harmful air particulates come from the transport sector. And being named by traffic mobile app, Waze, as the country with the worst traffic congestion, we can expect a high percentage of such harmful particulates present in our environment. According to the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, 65 percent of total carbon emissions in the Philippines comes from our motorized vehicles with close to 30 percent of that from our jeepneys. If this continues without any form of intervention, there will be an increase of 200+percent of these harmful emissions by 2030.

This will have a tremendous impact on our national state of health.

And we are not in good standing already. As of 2010, national health costs, mostly respiratory illnesses from degrading air quality was 1.5 percent of our gross domestic product. In 2018, the World Health Organization reported that the country had the third-highest number of deaths globally due to air pollution.

Good that we have the Clean Air Act to set forth the road map for our country to protect our environment from harmful air pollutants. This law laid the foundation for several directives from various government departments including the Department of Transpor-

China’s industrial policies work, so copy them

By Gabriel Wildau

only one bar. We, however, thank the fast action of Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez when he corrected DTI’s testing procedure, if only to be fair in its statistical method of determining the compliance or noncompliance probabilities of products to set standards.

Another case in point is the current issue regarding the reimposition of mandatory standard on glass products. Glass products, whether imported or locally made, used to be under mandatory standard, until it was amended to voluntary during the height of the port congestion in 2014, to help decongest the ports and to facilitate faster trade, without prejudice to public safety.

But when imported substandard glass started to flood the local market, the DTI issued an order reimposing mandatory testing on glass products, be it imported or locally made. But some glass importers questioned the order and filed a petition for injunction with the court to stop its implementation, and the petition was granted while the legal issue is still being resolved. In the meantime, glass importers continue to enjoy the privilege of voluntary testing for their glass imports.

But who do you think would submit their glass importation to the supposedly mandatory testing, when glass importers have the discretion to submit their glass imports to testing or not. This, indeed, is bad news for consumers and the local glass industry. Product standards are imposed principally for public safety and economic security.

In one of my meetings with Philippine Competition Commission Chairman Arsenio Balisacan, I was asked why the local manufacturers growth is stunted and is having a

inherently susceptible to rent-seeking and corruption. If this view is correct, then the US has little to fear from Chinese industrial policy. Let Beijing waste public resources and distort capital allocation, while Washington sticks to its free market principles, confident that this approach will produce a more competitive economy in the long run.

Today, however, appraisals of China’s trade and commercial practices implicitly grant that its industrial policies are effective. And many economists now agree that this approach can succeed in promoting national leadership in strategic industries. If so, then it’s unreasonable to demand that China abandon policies to promote indigenous development—

especially when the US government is actively blocking key Chinese companies, like Huawei Technologies Co. from accessing American-made technology.

At this point, it’s worth distinguishing between two categories of industrial policy. Traditional objections focused on commodity industries, such as steel, where government support mainly leads to expanded production, without much innovation or value-chain advancement.

Subsidies that mainly spur excess capacity produce negative-sum outcomes, and efforts to reduce such aid is worthwhile.

China recently withdrew from an international forum designed to cooperatively manage excess steel capacity, claiming it has already achieved significant cuts,

tation. Among the programs of the department is the Motor Vehicle Inspection System and, of course, the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program that would modernize not just the jeepneys but all the other modes of mass road public transport. A key component of this program would be the shift from Euro 2 to Euro 4 engines. I had a telephone conversation with the LTFRB Chairman two weeks ago and he is confident that we will hit the targets and meet the deadline to modernize the present jeepney fleet, as set by President Duterte.

That would be next year. And although, I myself, would believe a more realistic date of completion of two more years, nevertheless, it would still be good news for all of us.

We can do more. One way is to really push policies on low-carbon urban mobility. This would include, as I mentioned in my previous column, providing more incentives, such as in the form of tax exemptions to manufacturers and users of such alternative transport.

The government also needs to spearhead and redirect our current transport policies from a highly motorized orientation, such as roads and highways to more basic mobility. I am basically referring to providing more adequate and secure walking and biking areas.

Walking and biking are last mile endeavors. Hence, if this is the direction that we need to take, then government infrastructure programs should also provide for adequate bike lanes and pedestrian walkways that would connect to main transport arteries, such as rails, bus and jeepney lines.

When I was still in government, we mapped out a Metro Manilawide network of exclusive pedestrian walkways and bike lanes that would connect all the 17 LGUs of Metro Manila. The network would include all the riverbanks and government lands. It can still be done.

The areas are still there. And it is not expensive at all.

Fighting air pollution and global warming is an undertaking that we all need to work on together with the government at the helm. It starts with improving our state of current motorized transport conditions. But it also means lessening our dependency on such motorized transport and going back to providing infrastructure to accommodate our basic form of mobility.

though the US and Europe disagree.

In the current trade war, however, US complaints mainly focus on a second category of subsidies: those targeted at “emerging and foundational” technology. “Made in China 2025,” is the most high-profile of Beijing’s initiatives to help its national champions win market share in strategic industries. US objections implicitly concede two points: first, that the national identity of world-leading companies and research institutions, along with their employees, matters significantly for both security and economics; and second, that Chinese industrial policy is likely to succeed in tilting the balance toward Beijing. Yet, if these premises hold, then China’s use of industrial policy is

wise, and Washington’s refusal to adopt a comparable approach is foolish.

China’s recent launch of a second state-funded semiconductor development fund valued at $29 billion, following an earlier $20 billion fund for the same purpose, prompted a former US assistant trade representative to complain that “China is doubling-down on the state-led practices and policies that led to the trade war.” But China’s strategy resembles what Mariana Mazzucato, economist at University College London, calls the The Entrepreneurial State. Her 2013 book chronicles how state investments were crucial in fostering industries that the US still leads, such as IT, biotech and fracking.

Thomas Tim Orbos was former DOTr undersecretary for roads and general manager of the MMDA. He is currently undertaking further studies at the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University. He can be reached via e-mail at thomas_ orbos@sloan.mit.edu

A12 Monday, November 18, 2019

Higher output, imports trim farm-gate price of chicken

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE farm-gate price of chicken meat has started to decline by as much as P3 per kilogram as local supply, driven by higher output and imports, starts to outpace market demand, the United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) said.

Ubra President Elias Jose Inciong said there has been increased output driven by anticipated higher demand for Christmas and the

shift to chicken meat by Filipino consumers as they stay away from pork due to the African swine fever (ASF) scare.

₧3

Per kilogram decline in farm-gate price of chicken, according to industry group Ubra This, Inciong pointed out, was coupled with higher chicken meat imports. These rose 14 percent year-on-year during the Januaryto-September period.

However, Inciong said it is quite hard to estimate if the price trend would continue downward due to the so-called ASF factor. In recent

months, Filipino consumers have shifted to other protein sources like chicken meat due to the ASF scare.

“It’s hard to read becase we have an unusual year because of ASF. Normally, in the past few years, the price trend would be downward due to higher production and imports,” he told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

“Farm-gate prices are usually challenged in November and December due to a confluence of events: increased output in imports. But due to this ASF scare, we don’t know yet how it will affect demand in the coming months,” he added.

See “Chicken,” A2

Senate calls officials over big project delays

By Butch Fernandez

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@butchfBM

HE Senate has summoned ranking Executive officials to appear on Monday’s inquiry to explain “delays” bugging early completion of multibillionpeso “Build, Build,Build” projects lined up under the Duterte

administration.

This, even as Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance spearheading scrutiny of the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020, indicated over the weekend that a “reconfiguration” of the list of flagship projects “would mean all the projects will either

TROPICAL STORM "RAMON" {KALMAEGI} ESTIMATED AT 415 KM EAST OF CASIGURAN, AURORA NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING NORTHERN LUZON as of 4:00 am - November 17, 2019

commence or be completed before the end of the Duterte administration.”

Angara saw it “as a positive development because only those projects that will actually be started under the current administration were included in the list.

Many of these projects will not be completed in 2022, but what is im-

portant is that work on these will start already and will be continued by the next administration,” Angara said, adding: “Ang importante hindi nasasayang ang pera.

Nagagamit ito para sa kapakanan ng kababayan natin [what’s important is, money is not wasted. It’s used for public welfare].”

See “Project,” A2

Reimburse farmers for P61-B income loss–Kiko

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INORITY Sen.Francis Pangilinan has prodded the Duterte administration to reimburse farmers for their P61.77billion in estimated losses from the sharp plunges in the farm-gate price of unhusked rice, as a surge of rice imports ensued with the passage of the rice trade liberalization law early this year.

“As we call for cash compensation, we repeat our demand to review the Rice Tariffication Act leading to its repeal or suspension, until government has actually done its duty to prepare them for global competition,” Pangilinan said over the weekend.

Economic managers, however, have said the law should be given enough time to take its course, as enough safeguards had been included there to offset the farmers’ losses.

The senator suggested that affected farmers “must begin receiving cash compensation now to reimburse them for what they have already lost.” Pangilinan pointed out that “the money will not only help them—and consequently help us rice consumers—continue farming, but in fact just survive.”

‘Act now’

He stressed that the crucial matter is that the government must act now. Speaking in Filipino, he added, “The poor condition of the sector that feeds us reflects aptly the saying, ‘Of what use is the grass if the horse is dead?’”

In a statement, the senator cited the case of the wife of a farmer in Nueva Ecija who now works as a domestic helper in Metro Manila. “Imagine the hardship and sacrifice she endures—a mother who left her children to care for themselves so she could augment the furtherreduced family income caused by the flood of rice imports,” said Pangilinan, adding: “The farmer’s problem is a family problem. Let’s redress the loss in farmer incomes as a true Filipino family.”

Pangilinan recalled that “since August, when we anticipated the misery that would befall our farmers, we have proposed an immediate government response.”

Now, he added, three months hence, news reports are“validating our calculations: farmers have lost at least P61.77 billion due to the continuous drop in farm-gate price of palay.”

He was apparently referring to a PhilRice study providing that estimate of farmers’ income losses, as published by the BusinessMirror on November 15, “Planters lose P61.77 billion due to rice price drop.” Butch Fernandez

Australia’s support in counterterrorism expanded into ‘Edca’

By Rene Acosta

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@reneacostaBM

USTRALIA will transform its counterterrorism support to the Philippines into a defense cooperation arrangement, thus further widening the partnership on defense and security between the two countries.

The shift was announced jointly by Australian Minister for Defense Linda Reynolds and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana at the sidelines of the ADMM-Plus meeting in Bangkok, on Saturday, according to a statement released by the Department of National Defense (DND).

The DND said that both leaders issued that Australia’s support under Operation Augury-Philippines will transition into Enhanced Defence Cooperation Program by next month. The Philippines has an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) with the United States. The defense cooperation will reinforce the two states’ long-term commitment in countering regional terrorist threats and in further boosting their well-established bilateral defense relationship.

“Minister Reynolds and Secretary Lorenzana recognized that af-

ter the siege of Marawi in October 2017, Australia’s contribution under Operation Augury-Philippines has provided counterterrorism capacity training to over 10,000 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” the statement said.

“This training cooperation has included essential land-based activities focused on urban combat and joint coordination skills; air training focused on enhancing air coordination in the urban environment; and maritime training activities,” it added.

The DND said that Reynolds and Lorenzana agreed that the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Program will allow the Australian Defense Force to continue delivering the capacity-building support for counterterrorism cooperation requested by the Philippines.

The program will also provide funding certainty and greater flexibility to meet the broader needs of the Australia-Philippines bilateral defense relationship.

“Minister Reynolds and Secretary Lorenzana underscored that long-term engagement under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Program will strengthen their shared commitment to regional security and stability,” the DND said.

ELIZABETH, ‘HEART AND SOUL’ OF GOKONGWEI FAMILY, FOLLOWS JOHN

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A L AC A ÑA NG on Sunday mourned the passing of Elizabeth Yu Gokongwei, who died just one day after her husband of 61 years, industrialist John Gokongwei Jr., was laid to rest on Friday.

At 85, Elizabeth died on Saturday, just one week after the death of her husband.

Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo remembered the Gokongwei matriarch as the “other half who helped in realizing the vision and dream of one of the greatest business leaders of our time.”

Panelo said in a statement: “Mrs. Elizabeth, like Mr. John, was known for her philanthropy, being a member of the board of trustees of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation. She was, in the words of only son, Lance, ‘the heart and soul of the Gokongwei family.’”

Elizabeth was a founding member of the Robinsons Department Store and headed its merchandising department from 1980 to 1992. She went to Saint Stephen’s High School a nd g radu ated f rom C a se Western Reserve University in Ohio, with a degree in Medical Technology. “ We e x press ou r dee p

Remittances. . .

Continued from A1

Overall, Mapa said remittances have been able to provide the Philippines a stable source of foreign currency to shore up dollar liquidity, and in turn boost the peso purchasing power to help drive the engines of domestic consumption.

“With a 4.2-percent year-to-date increase in these flows, the current account deficit will likely narrow as the trade balance has shrunk due to

ELIZABETH

JASON "JAMIR" MIRAPLES

condolences to—and relay our commiseration with—the family, particularly her children, Robina, Lance, Lisa, Faith, Hope and Marcia, friends, colleagues, employees, and loved ones, Mrs. Elizabeth left behind,” Panelo said.

John, who died at the age of 93, was described as a “visionary” and a “pillar” of the Philippine economy. His Gokongwei Group of Cos. covered a wide range of sectors from food manufacturing (Universal Robina Corp.) to real estate (Robinsons Land), air transportation (Cebu Pacific), retail (Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc.), banking (Robinsons Bank), and petrochemicals (JG Petrochemicals), among others. Bernadette D. Nicolas import compression. This development has helped provide some support to the peso, which continues to be bolstered by financial market flows given the relatively high real yields of the Philippines,” Mapa said.

“Going forward, we expect OF remittance flows to be sustained for the balance of 2019 and into 2020, which will in turn boost growth momentum and cushion the peso from possible pressure should import demand become resurgent in 2020,” he added.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, November 18, 2019

B1

Meralco nixes bid to compensate net metering customers at full rate

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By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

PROPOSAL to compensate the residential net metering (NM) customers at full rate will lead to higher power rates for all Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers, the utility firm has warned.

“The proposed higher compensation for exported energy of net metering customers will be recovered from all other customers through the generation charge. A higher rate of compensation for exported energy automatically means a higher generation charge for all captive customers of the DU [distribution utility],” said Meralco Vice President and Utility Economics Head Lawrence Fernandez, in a position paper submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Under the net metering program, electricity end-users with renewable-energy installations—such as solar, wind or biomass—can sell electricity they generate in excess of what they can consume directly to their DU. It is a nonfiscal incentive provided

in the Renewable Energy (RE) law by way of granting credits earned from electricity produced net of consumption. A net metering customer is only charged for his net electricity consumption and is credited for any overall contribution to the electricity grid.

Based on the DOE’s latest draft circular—“Policies to Enhance the Net-Metering Program for RE Systems and other Mechanisms to Ensure Energy Security”—the DOE proposed that excess generation from a billing period be valued as energy per kilowatt hour and kept as credits that offset consumption in subsequent billing periods. The remaining credits at end of the year, if any, are forfeited.

Fernandez explained that the monthly electricity bill consists of

various components—generation, transmission, supply, metering— that reflect the full costs of providing electric service, as well as taxes and public policy changes, such as universal charges, feed-in-tariff allowance and lifeline subsidy.

In contrast, NM customers’ excess solar PV production contributed only the generation component.

“More and more regulators and policy-makers in other countries that implement net metering have determined that it is only fair that NM customers share in such costs because, for example, they use distribution facilities to import energy from and export energy to the grid,” said Fernandez.

The Meralco official said the Electric Power Industry Reform Act explicitly states that DUs charge based on cost service. Thus, to ensure equity and fairness, Fernandez said NM customers which still use DU’s lines should be charged with DU costs. This is also consistent with the DOE’s Causer’s Pay Policy, he added.

Meralco also told the DOE to carefully consider the potential impact of allowing those with facilities more than 100 kilowatts to export their excess energy generation into the grid. “The anticipated benefits to the few large customers of the proposed

measure should be weighed alongside the burden that the rest of the customers will have to carry to support the program,” said Fernandez.

A net-metering agreement (NMA) serves as a proof that the DU will take in excess generation from the customer’s solar PV facilities and compensate the customer for it. Fernandez said this compensation becomes part of the generation charge that is collected from all.

Unlike a regular PSA that will go through a Competitive Selection Process, Fernandez noted that the NMA is pre-approved by the ERC; it has no expiration and will continue to be in effect until the participant is no longer a captive customer of the DU. “This proposal means allowing nonresidential customers [such as manufacturing plants and warehouses] with large-scale solar PV facilities to enjoy the benefit of a pre approved NMA, whose costs will be passed on to other customers, particularly residential end-users, of the DU,” Fernandez pointed out.

As of September 2019, Meralco’s NM customers reached 2,303, with an aggregate capacity of 16,089 kW. The DOE is still collating comments from other industry stakeholders in connection with the draft circular.

PMFTC to launch IQOS by June next year, bats for government regulation

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

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HILIP MORRIS-FORTUNE Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) is gearing up for the Philippine launch of its smoke-free product, IQOS, in the first half of 2020.

This was announced by PMFTC President Denis Gorkun during a press conference at the sidelines of the 13th Bright Leaf Agricultural Journalism Awards held in Makati City on Friday, November 15. He said they were confident that IQOS will offer Filipino smokers “a much, much better alternative” to unsmoke.

Initially, the target market in the Philippines are cigarette smokers who buy cigarettes in packs. These account only about 14 percent of the estimated number of cigarette smokers in the country. Majority of cigarette smokers buy per stick in retail stores. In the future, however, he said the company will find a way to make IQOS accessible to those who buy per stick.

“We are hopeful to launch it sooner than later. I would like to see it in the first half of the year,” Gorkun

said. IQOS, a tobacco heating system, will sooner or later replace PMFTC’s cigarette products in the Philippines, as the company embarks on the path to a smoke-free future.

Big challenge: tax

A BIGGER challenge faced by IQOS at the moment is the Philippine government’s plan to tax the electronic or e-cigarette industry.

Still, Gorkun is hopeful the tax increase will be gradual so as not to discourage people from making the shift from smoking cigarettes to using smoke-free products.

“Taxation is nothing new. Taxation has to be taken with a gradual approach. The key is to make sure that the tax increases are in line with GDP goals and inflation,” he said.

“The problem with cigarettes is combustion. The tobacco is burned at a very high temperature which releases an enormous amount of chemicals,” he added. IQOS, on the other hand, uses an electronically controlled heater. Like most e-cigarette devices, IQOS has a button that turns on the heater, giving the user a real taste of heated tobacco.

According to Gorkun, research and development of the product succeeded in allowing heated tobacco to minimize the release of chemicals, while insisting that the best thing for nonsmokers is not to start smoking; and for those who want to stop, the best option is still to quit smoking.

IQOS is billed as the most successful smoke-free product, with more than 12 million users around the world. Around 9 million IQOS users have completely stopped smoking.

Philip Morris has 50 markets around the world, and it claims 13 million users have successfully stopped smoking.

MEANWHILE, Gorkun said the transition to a smoke-free Philippines will not adversely affect Filipino farmers, as Philip Morris’s smokefree product works “very, very well with Filipino farmers.”

Real tobacco leaves will still be in demand with IQOS, he said.

“It is the same tobacco leaves used in cigarettes,” he said.

According to Gorkun, taxation on e-cigarettes, or smoke-free products

like IQOS, must be proportionate to the risks, citing studies by the US Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of Health of the United Kingdom declaring IQOS safe.

Filipino smokers, he added, should be encouraged to switch to a much, much better alternative. This means, he said, the taxation must be risk-proportionate so as not to make the alternative to cigarettes expensive.

“The taxation must be lower than cigarettes,” he reiterated.

Gorkun supports the idea of regulating e-cigarettes, like all other tobacco and nicotine products, so as to ensure the safety of the products and its use by Filipino consumers.

“The key for all nicotine and tobacco products is to be regulated. A good example is the United Kingdom.

There are millions of people who use this product. They need to be regulated appropriately. But if we want to make the Philippines smoke-free, we need to make sure that the regulation allows us to talk to smokers and explain the product to them. That is the key,” he said.

70-meter China-built coastwise RoRo ferry, with a GRT of 2,107 tons and classed by the Bureau Veritas of France.

Set for deployment on a pioneering status

by the Marina to the Jagna, Bohol, to Cagayan de Oro City route in January 2020, it can house 400 passengers and 17 10-wheeler trucks, and has a service speed of 12 knots.

Farmers won’t be dislodged

Lite Ferries to launch new vessel

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S part of its fleet expansion, Lite Shipping Corp., one of Cebu’s leading shipping firms, will launch its latest acquisition, the M/V Lite Ferry Five at the Port of Cebu today (November 18).

Completed in 2019 in China, the new vessel is a brand-new 75-meter roll-on, roll-off (RO-RO) passenger coastwise ship with a GRT of 2,895 tons and classed by the prestigious Registro Italiano Navale (Rina) of Italy. It has wide passenger deck passageways and a spacious cargo deck that can accommodate 540 passengers and 23 10-wheeler trucks. It has a service speed of 13 to 14 knots, and can run up to 15 knots.

The vessel was granted Pioneering Status Protection by the Maritime Industry Authority

and will sail from Oslob to Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte. The ship, which will temporarily dock in Dapitan City pending the dredging completion of the Dipolog Port, will have a fourhour voyage, linking Northern Mindanao closer to Cebu. Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte will lead the ceremonial ribbon cutting, assisted by House Committee on TransportationChairman Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento and Marina Administrator Narciso Vingson Jr. The launch will be headed by Lite Ferries President and CEO Lucio Lim Jr., COO Fernando Inting, VP for Operations Jonathan LimImboy and Commercial Operations Head Jethro Nathaniel Lim-Imboy.

Now on its 29th year, Lite Ferries will also acquire this year a second brand-new vessel, a

Italpinas to focus on emerging locations for its next projects

B

OUTIQUE property developer Italpinas Development Corp. said it will still focus on emerging locations for its projects to keep ahead of its much larger competition.

“We want to expand in other locations and consider broadening our scope in real-estate products offered, according to opportunities presented in delivering our unique development philosophy with key markets,” Romolo Nati, the company’s chairman and CEO, said.

“We focus on emerging locations ahead of competition,” he said.

The company, whose current main projects are high-rise developments, said it is now considering going into horizontal developments.

These projects will still carry its core design of environment-friendly and ways to save on energy costs.

“In whatever market we serve, and with any style of project development such as high-rise, or horizontal, these core values remain constant,” company President Jose D. Leviste III said.

The company, meanwhile, has declared up to 35-percent stock dividends. The payment will come from retained earnings as of December 31, 2018, and will be issued to shareholders as of November 20 with payment date on December 16, 2019.

“This is the second time in less

than five years that we declare stock dividends. Our stock has really grown a lot,” Nati said.

The company gave 45-percent stock dividends in 2017 and 35-percent stock dividends this year, in 2019. Nati said since 2013, its net income has been doubling every year, even if it is coming from a small base.

“Our net profit has been doubling in the last years. Our target is to continue achieving steady and well-considered growth every year,” he said.

From a net income of P5.3 million in 2013, the company’s profits reached P120.56 million last year.

Nati said as of September, the company has sold more than 95 percent of residential condominium project called Primavera City in Cagayan de Oro. The company also launched its Citta Bella at Primavera City Phase 2, and opened up residential units for sale.

It is also preselling its Miramonti Green Residences, its third project in Santo Tomas in Batangas.

“To date, the combined revenue of these two condo projects has reached more than P1.45 billion,” Nati said.

The company currently only has two major projects.

Primavera City in Cagayan de Oro is a cluster of seven buildings to be developed in four phases. VG Cabuag

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, November 18, 2019

MUTUAL FUNDS

November 15, 2019

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 255.81 8.13% 1.97% -0.53% 1.43% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.511 11.18% 3.29% 0.15% 4.87% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 3.867 5.77% -0.04% -2.18% -0.92% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9187 9.38% N.A. N.A. 1.96% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.8631 12.02% N.A. N.A. 5.17% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.4046 11.23% 3.14% -0.16% 2.49% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.8686 11.62% -1.03% N.A. 3.81% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A

112.61 3.76% N.A. N.A. -3.06% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 52.1124 13.85% 4.36% N.A. 5.87% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 541.7 12.95% 3.03% 0.01% 5.24% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3128 10.9% 3.71% 1.31% 4.69% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 38.5851 11.94% 4.68% 0.99% 5.33% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,1 1.0319 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.3011 15.17% 5.2% 2% 6.9% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 885.13 15.18% 5.11% 1.93% 6.84% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.8935 11.02% 2.82% N.A. 3.9% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.2809 11.59% 4.35% 1.07% 5.47% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0164 14.72% 4.92% N.A. 6.51% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.7116 13.02% 6.28% 2.55% 6.02% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C 118.6451 15.49% 5.85% 2.94% 7.13% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B

$0.9813 4.54% 4.82% -0.33% 5.62% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.3213 10.57% 9.03% N.A. 19.55% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.5857 -0.43% -1.72% -3.72% -3.97% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.2592 6.28% 0.6% -0.53% 2.26% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.6477 10.45% 2.92% -0.98% 4.11% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN F.O.C.C.U.S. DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A,5 0.2345 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3466 7.09% N.A. N.A. 3.24% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9691 10.67% 3.43% 1.19% 6.84% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.8129 13.55% 2.8% 0.45% 8.04% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 17.0593 12.34% 2.58% 0.36% 7.24% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.1514 8.88% 2.46% 1.11% 3.97% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.8931 10.88% 3.76% 0.85% 6.62% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,2 1.0232 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,2 1.0082 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,2 1.0055 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 0.9868 10.11% 3.19% 0.02% 7.06% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03782 9.15% 2.44% 1.88% 7.14% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $1.0011 7.08% 3.8% 0.12% 9.57% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.793 8.87% 6.86% 3.41% 14.64% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A,7 $1.1066 7.23% 4.07% N.A. 10.11% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 356.03 4.1% 2.72% 2.28% 3.66% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A

1.9254 4.04% 0.72% -0.14% 3.56% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.1036 5.07% 5.27% 5.23% 4.28% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.2124 4.2% 2.31% 1.92% 3.91% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.3438 6.4% 1.91% 1.48% 6.29% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A

P 1.6086 3.12% 1.2% -0.07% 2.83% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.3354 12.83% 2.58% 1.63% 10.6% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.7543 8.07% 2.74% 1.51% 6.74% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9541 8.32% 1.34% N.A. 7.06% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.0437 10.73% 4.77% 2.45% 10.05% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.6805 10.28% 4.16% 1.95% 9.13% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $466.15 4.4% 2.49% 2.81% 3.96% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є219.51 3.01% 1.43% 1.38% 3.22% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.2022 7.18% 2.74% 2.58% 6.8% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0257 3.63% 1.47% 1.21% 3.63% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7077 1.16% -0.03% 0.25% 1.04% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.0909 6.7% 0.69% -0.95% 5.27% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.3831 11.75% 3.45% 3.05% 9.78% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0602115 5.82% 2.15% 2.02% 5.63% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.1422 9.32% 2.83% 2.56% 9.4% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 125.25 4.15% 2.74% 2.13% 3.62% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0278 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2475 6.1% 2.52% 1.58% 5.55% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2599 3.82% 2.84% 2.27% 3.34% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0351 2.11% N.A. N.A. 1.89%

Cebu Pacific to end 2019 as capacity leader in Clark and Palawan

L

EADING Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific will close 2019 as the largest carrier in terms of capacity at the Clark International Airport, as well as the Busuanga and Puerto Princesa airports in Palawan.

A - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY. B - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO. C - LISTED IN THE PSE. D - IN NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT (NAVPU).

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

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

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

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

The increases in capacity share come on the heels of the commencement of direct commercial service between Clark and Guangzhou, China; Clark and Puerto Princesa; and between Puerto Princesa and Hong Kong. By end-2019, Cebu Pacific will hold 28-percent capacity share at the Clark International Airport. CEB has been continuously operating flights in and out of the Clark International Airport since 2006, with the latter serving as its hub for North and Central Luzon. From Clark, CEB operates 190 flights weekly to Bacolod, Bohol, Caticlan (Boracay), Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Narita (Tokyo) and Singapore.

“Cebu Pacific has taken a measured pace of expansion in Clark, but we have always believed in the potential of Clark. Over the past 12 months, our capacity growth in Clark hit over 90 percent. With the growth in passenger traffic in Clark, we are bullish that the new routes we launched over the past few months will continue to perform strongly,” said Alexander Lao, chief strategy officer of Cebu Pacific.

Meanwhile, CEB will cap 2019 with a 46-percent total capacity

share in Puerto Princesa, the main gateway to Palawan, and the Busuanga Airport, which caters to Coron and the rest of northern Palawan.

CEB operates 190 flights weekly to and from Palawan, equivalent to over 1.1 million seats.

Aside from Hong Kong and Clark, Cebu Pacific has direct flights to Manila, Iloilo and Cebu from Puerto Princesa. From the Busuanga Airport on the other hand, Cebu Pacific operates direct flights to Manila and Cebu.

“We remain confident that Hong Kong will bounce back, and despite current concerns, there is continued demand for travel between Hong Kong and the Philippines. We are confident in the potential of Palawan to grow tourism sustainably, and we will continue to work with our stakeholders in Palawan to better connect the province to the rest of the Philippines and to key tourist catchpoints in Asia,” said Alex Reyes, vice president for Commercial at Cebu Pacific. As of end-September 2019, Cebu Pacific ramped-up capacity by 23 percent, totaling 19 million seats.

The carrier flew close to 16 million passengers on 121 routes with more than 2,600 weekly flights.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

November 15, 2019

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

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

53.85 155.6 95.6 25.35 13.18 67.8 43.25 57.3 116 25.7 198.1 60 1.13 18.2 4.37 0.38 805.5 0.85 173.1 1826 1.09

54.5 156 96 25.4 13.4 67.9 43.5 63.4 116.3 25.85 200 60.1 1.2 18.6 4.45 0.405 849 0.86 176 1899 1.11

54 156 95.4 25.5 13.26 68 43.9 57.9 116.3 25.7 195.9 60.1 1.2 18.6 4.37 0.405 840 0.85 175 1861 1.09

54.5 157 97 25.5 13.4 68.15 43.9 63.5 116.3 25.85 205 60.1 1.2 18.6 4.46 0.405 849 0.86 175 1861 1.09

53.85 155.2 93.6 25.15 13.02 67.6 43.05 57.25 116.3 25.7 195.9 59.6 1.2 18.6 4.32 0.38 805 0.85 173.1 1825 1.09

54.5 156 96 25.35 13.4 67.9 43.25 63.5 116.3 25.7 200 60 1.2 18.6 4.45 0.39 849 0.85 173.1 1825 1.09

3070 685510 2827590 33800 517200 2643530 127000 6010 10 414100 634710 3470 5000 200 104000 500000 1100 127000 1500 370 50000

165859 107068340 268919422.5 856195 6853122 179467814.5 5513080 361810 1163 10642385 126824733 208164.5 6000 3720 452970 196450 887750 107970 261645 682585 54500

-3784 -17500754 24770603.5 -283915 3495934 89425011.5 -1710840 -18925.5 -10590970 49042313 -43873 26100 -0 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER AGRINURTURE AXELUM CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT GINEBRA JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VICTORIAS CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS PANASONIC SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

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

2.59 1.24 36.85 0.238 24 78.35 337 19.12 4.9 4.06 10.9 32.4 7.8 14.52 3.68 18 15.12 5.06 8.8 7.23 90.3 0.6 44 202 45.25 8.82 12.68 1.45 11.52 1.87 5.46 1.9 0.127 151.1 1.19 2.41 65.05 68.05 2.55 5.35 15.04 10.3 14.24 16.78 9.18 1.16 1.04 5.1 30.5 2.13 8 1.45 5.19 1.03 7.27

2.6 1.25 36.95 0.243 24.1 78.4 338 19.26 4.91 4.2 11.08 32.45 7.89 15 3.69 18.6 15.14 5.35 8.81 7.24 91 0.61 44.9 202.6 49.35 9.13 12.74 1.46 11.66 1.92 5.48 2.01 0.13 153.1 1.2 2.46 67.8 72 2.56 5.36 15.34 10.4 14.4 17 9.6 1.17 1.05 5.25 31 2.18 8.03 1.46 5.68 1.06 7.29

2.65 1.23 36.7 0.24 24.7 79 337 19.18 4.95 4.2 11.08 32.45 7.89 14.2 3.85 18.6 15.1 5.35 8.87 7.25 90.5 0.6 46.8 202.6 45.4 8.8 12.8 1.53 11.7 1.88 5.4 2.01 0.131 152 1.29 2.42 65.2 69 2.64 5.38 15.34 10.7 14.24 17.2 9.8 1.1 1.07 5.15 30.05 2.2 8.1 1.45 5.17 1.05 7.9

2.7 1.25 37.35 0.243 24.7 79 340 19.28 4.95 4.2 11.08 32.55 7.89 15 3.85 18.6 15.12 5.35 8.87 7.35 91 0.62 46.8 208.8 45.4 9.17 12.8 1.55 11.7 1.95 5.48 2.01 0.137 154.8 1.3 2.46 67.85 72 2.64 5.38 15.36 10.7 14.4 17.2 9.8 1.21 1.07 5.25 31 2.2 8.2 1.46 5.3 1.07 7.99

2.56 1.23 36.7 0.237 23.95 78.35 335.8 19.14 4.9 4.2 10.92 32.2 7.78 13.92 3.66 18.6 15.08 5.35 8.75 7.2 90.3 0.59 44 202 45.4 8.8 12.68 1.44 11.52 1.86 5.4 2.01 0.127 150.5 1.2 2.41 65.05 69 2.54 5.35 15.02 10.3 14.24 16.72 9.4 1.1 1.03 5.1 30 2.1 8.02 1.44 5.17 1.02 7.2

2.59 1.25 36.95 0.243 24.1 78.35 338 19.26 4.91 4.2 11.08 32.4 7.89 15 3.68 18.6 15.12 5.35 8.8 7.24 91 0.61 44 202 45.4 9.13 12.68 1.45 11.52 1.92 5.47 2.01 0.127 151.1 1.2 2.46 67.85 69 2.55 5.36 15.04 10.3 14.4 17 9.6 1.17 1.04 5.25 31 2.18 8.03 1.46 5.3 1.06 7.28

26593000 270000 1082100 610000 2646200 78750 195350 502900 760000 1000 12500 494700 38300 290300 3207000 600 64600 300 1218300 583200 5590 1714000 156700 1104080 700 6900 47900 13563000 40900 419000 104400 1000 14720000 667800 12606000 20000 650 280 4232000 49400 40200 811700 122300 2430500 48300 5601000 2101000 32900 3100 6664000 31700 51000 7000 563000 1677800

70156400 -768120 337400 -331250 39938230 -14006240 145680 63960265 -33861875 6170332 -5680445 66011298 -5237204 9658280 -3857380 3732660 -2086460 4200 138424 16049335 -1354595 300031 4211678 1668196 11934030 -332520 11160 975682 348800 1605 10725408 -5335559 4230327 -3933446 506440.5 -172929.5 1030040 7005645 2021695 225016248 -73678924 31780 61597 609126 -188048 20056910 49220 475990 -62370 782250 567865 -342961 2010 1929200 -2710 101040970 -53243601 15616760 -3117410 48340 42350 19380 10867250 6828090 265134 606034 156330 8426800 -5495756 1754396 -518010 41,268,094( 23,055,826.0001) 455408 6528380 -43389.9998 2190940 -4220 171753 25140 95710 -74400 14261840 1193420 256803 51968.9998 73520 36255 581180 102000 12703970 -202052

0.82 12.24 828 52 11.52 3.61 6.56 0.72 1.03 1.08 6.95 7.52 13.24 0.203 897 77 5.1 5.3 0.495 4.15 11.98 0.55 4.64 0.036 1.3 2.6 1.22 1060 162.2 0.84 2.25 217 0.213 0.23

0.83 12.46 830 53 11.54 3.62 6.8 0.74 1.04 1.1 6.96 7.59 13.4 0.21 900 77.8 5.75 5.64 0.51 4.16 12.16 0.57 4.65 0.037 1.31 2.88 1.23 1062 162.5 0.86 2.48 225 0.224 0.231

0.84 12.72 821 52.5 11.58 3.66 6.8 0.72 1.08 1.1 6.95 7.62 13.32 0.206 898 77.9 5.1 5.8 0.51 4.17 12.44 0.54 4.63 0.037 1.32 2.6 1.22 1070 163.4 0.86 2.25 226 0.219 0.25

0.84 12.74 838 53 11.66 3.71 6.8 0.74 1.1 1.1 6.96 7.68 13.4 0.211 900.5 77.9 5.75 5.8 0.51 4.18 12.48 0.57 4.69 0.037 1.33 2.9 1.23 1070 163.4 0.86 2.25 226 0.225 0.25

0.81 12.22 820 51.7 11.4 3.62 6.8 0.71 1.04 1.1 6.92 7.44 13.12 0.206 889 76.1 5.09 5.7 0.495 4.15 11.98 0.54 4.63 0.036 1.29 2.6 1.22 1050 162.1 0.85 2.25 225 0.219 0.23

0.83 12.46 830 53 11.54 3.62 6.8 0.74 1.04 1.1 6.95 7.59 13.4 0.211 900 77.8 5.75 5.7 0.51 4.15 11.98 0.57 4.65 0.036 1.3 2.9 1.23 1060 162.5 0.85 2.25 225 0.225 0.23

10947000 25300 561380 1389390 6660800 2493000 600 203000 6112000 167000 3162900 21202800 94400 50000 106100 7166270 4300 1500 30000 162000 2739000 229000 15587000 54100000 665000 58000 17000 332730 80310 36000 57000 150 460000 3380000

9025330 -1718000 311998 465873855 -51628095 72670929.5 -41274766.5 76858384 4275650 9121570 4125350 4080 145460 6430410 183700 -27500 21981751 11572141 160076548 -74795527 1255062 -1217606 10350 95411370 27552915 556647195.5 -2539731.5 22101 8610 14880 674510 -187900 33034458 -5121136 127160 72643370 -280260 1965900 866280 151400 20900 1220 352236125 -19527365 13,047,881( 10,469,396.0001) 30700 128250 33760 102090 795390 4740

PROPERTY

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK LAST WEEK

SHARE prices dropped last week, snapping five straight weeks of gains, as investors decided to sell, sending the main index to the 7,000-point level on thin trading.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 132.80 points to close at 7,932.96 points.

“Investors continued to take profits which started last week after it hit a four-month high of 8,216.92. Sellers were in control of the market, desperately getting out of the market as they don’t believe this market can go higher,” Christopher Mangun, research head at AAA Securities Inc., said.

The main index was down almost all week long, except on Tuesday when it gained a measly 2.96 points.

Volume of trade was thin, only valued at an average of P4.52 billion as against the yearto-date average of P6.27 billion.

Foreign investors were net sellers at P2.43 billion.

“This also marks the end of five consecutive weeks of foreign inflows,” Mangun said.

All of the subindices ended in the red, led by the broader All Shares index that fell 71.99 points to 4,752.81 points. The Financials index dropped 25.90 to 1,920.85, the Industrial index plunged 395.99 points to 10,082.34, the Holding Firms index retreated 122.90 to 7,810.42, the Property index was down 51.05 to 4,119.84, the Services index declined 4.49 to 1,547.47, and the Mining and Oil index decreased 350.47 to 8,742.14.

For the week, losers edged gainers 136 to 79, and 31 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers were Republic Glass Corp., Synergy Grid and Development Philippines Inc., Phinma Petroleum and Geothermal Inc., Omico Corp., Philippine Savings Bank and Italpinas Development Corp.

Top losers, on the other hand, were IPM Holdings Inc., Nickel Asia Corp., Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc., Ginebra San Miguel Inc., Now Corp. and Xurpas Corp.

THIS WEEK

SHARE prices may try to bounce back to the 8,000-point level this week, following its return to the 7,000-level.

Many analysts, however, doubt if the PSEi can remain at the 8,000-level for long.

“We may see it bounce from this level and try to target 8,000 in the short term.

However, if we have a situation like last week—low trading volumes and massive foreign outflows—the main index will continue lower and test the next support at 7,800,” Mangun said. Broker 2TradeAsia said the fall of the main index last week may be viewed as a technical breather, or a drop after a series of ascents, rather than a fundamental shift even if fund managers decided to sell.

“Year 2020 will be a period of continued stimulus, both for monetary and fiscal policies, aligned to keep the stable growth trajectory in place,” it said.

The broker advised to buy during market price fall, and sees the main index support level at 7,900 and resistance level at 8,150.

STOCK PICKS

BROKER Regina Capital and Development Corp. advised to buy the stock of DMCI Holdings Inc. but only when its support price of between P7.41 and P7.17 holds.

“A spike in selling pressure had the stock closing just a few points above its support at P7.43. Both volatility and momentum are continuing to increase, and it looks like these may be enough to weigh down on the stock. Indicators are hinting at a continued downward bias,” it said.

DMCI shares closed Friday at P7.59 apiece.

Meanwhile, the broker gave the same recommendation on the stock of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) with its support price of P120.04 and P114.10 per share.

“With the closest support positioned at 120.04, it seems as if ICTSI may come to challenge this, especially with indicators now starting to support a downward bias,” the broker said. ICTSI shares closed last week at P122.20 apiece. VG Cabuag

ARTHALAND CORP 0.88 0.9 0.91 0.92 0.88 0.9 2681000 2416240 ANCHOR LAND 8.87 9.2 9.2 9.97 8.86 8.87 2500 23087 AYALA LAND 45.95 46.05 46.8 46.8 45.95 45.95 6893400 317917450 -174328100 ARANETA PROP 1.64 1.7 1.72 1.72 1.64 1.64 66000 108770 BELLE CORP 2.02 2.03 2 2.03 2 2.02 869000 1754090 830059.9997 A BROWN 0.79 0.8 0.79 0.8 0.79 0.8 449000 356200 CITYLAND DEVT 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.87 0.84 0.87 15000 12720 CROWN EQUITIES 0.197 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.196 0.197 1600000 318360 118800 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.83 4.85 4.82 4.9 4.82 4.83 116000 565320 CENTURY PROP 0.58 0.59 0.61 0.62 0.58 0.59 58993000 35255320 1770 CYBER BAY 0.44 0.445 0.445 0.445 0.44 0.44 1170000 518450 DOUBLEDRAGON 19.82 20 20 20.2 19.8 19.82 232400 4645638 304066 DM WENCESLAO 10.2 10.22 10.18 10.24 10.02 10.22 116700 1190282 1022024 EMPIRE EAST 0.45 0.455 0.455 0.46 0.455 0.46 520000 237600 22750 FILINVEST LAND 1.55 1.56 1.62 1.62 1.54 1.56 35806000 56294560 -11960020 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.23 1.26 1.24 1.26 1.23 1.26 550000 685200 -3720 8990 HLDG 14.84 14.94 14.98 14.98 14.84 14.84 34300 510272 -4452 PHIL INFRADEV 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.47 1.4 1.41 2259000 3204820 -709330 CITY AND LAND 0.73 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.76 1000 760 MEGAWORLD 4.76 4.78 4.85 4.85 4.74 4.78 13691000 65420780 -27368460 MRC ALLIED 0.27 0.275 0.275 0.28 0.27 0.27 7510000 2038600 PRIMEX CORP 2.02 2.03 2.02 2.03 2.02 2.03 170000 343440 -20200 ROBINSONS LAND 26.45 26.55 26.25 26.55 25.6 26.55 17293600 453990670 -1869560 PHIL REALTY 0.37 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.37 0.37 250000 93050 ROCKWELL 2.2 2.27 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 46000 101200 -4400 SHANG PROP 3.12 3.22 3.28 3.28 3.28 3.28 2000 6560 STA LUCIA LAND 2.48 2.5 2.49 2.54 2.41 2.49 1088000 2661750 SM PRIME HLDG 39.7 39.9 39.5 39.9 39.4 39.9 7417900 295375500 143066940 VISTAMALLS 5.4 5.49 5.54 5.54 5.33 5.49 27200 147662 SUNTRUST HOME 1.5 1.51 1.58 1.6 1.47 1.5 20907000 31814480 VISTA LAND 7.64 7.69 7.67 7.69 7.64 7.69 1311000 10058641 -5340505

SERVICES ABS CBN 17.6 17.62 17.66 17.8 17.62 17.62 84200 1485404 GMA NETWORK 5.24 5.25 5.3 5.3 5.25 5.25 92500 486297 GLOBE TELECOM 1909 1917 1935 1935 1904 1917 32380 62053010 2013120 PLDT 1104 1105 1100 1108 1097 1104 54240 59802405 -12517465 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.039 0.04 0.038 0.04 0.038 0.04 5500000 215600 ISLAND INFO 0.106 0.107 0.105 0.11 0.105 0.106 1410000 150590 ISM COMM 4.67 4.68 4.69 4.72 4.61 4.67 1351000 6317420 -319960 JACKSTONES 2.42 2.48 2.42 2.42 2.42 2.42 2000 4840 NOW CORP 3.1 3.13 3.22 3.3 3.1 3.1 5107000 16130250 14840 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.32 0.325 0.335 0.34 0.325 0.325 9930000 3304050 -1000 PHILWEB 2.9 2.91 2.98 2.98 2.81 2.91 1246000 3593570 -70010 2GO GROUP 10.12 10.4 10.42 10.8 10.4 10.4 13300 139588 CHELSEA 6.5 6.51 6.61 6.64 6.5 6.5 349400 2284876 -223856 CEBU AIR 91.95 92.3 94.3 94.3 91 91.95 162250 14964572.5 -10176848 INTL CONTAINER 122.2 122.3 120.5 122.8 120.5 122.2 1242200 151383307 -9649779 LBC EXPRESS 13.52 13.96 13.98 13.98 13.98 13.98 100 1398 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.91 0.93 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 139000 126490 -5460 MACROASIA 18.6 18.62 19.06 19.08 18.58 18.6 735600 13789328 -416843.9997 METROALLIANCE A 1.02 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.05 1.05 17000 18000 PAL HLDG 7.9 8.1 7.9 8.19 7.85 8.19 12500 98459 HARBOR STAR 1.46 1.47 1.51 1.53 1.45 1.47 2614000 3893120 7400 ACESITE HOTEL 1.53 1.67 1.52 1.68 1.52 1.68 48000 74790 DISCOVERY WORLD 1.97 2.04 1.95 2.04 1.95 2.04 4000 7890 WATERFRONT 0.64 0.67 0.66 0.67 0.64 0.64 3197000 2068650 320000 IPEOPLE 8 8.3 8 8 8 8 3300 26400 STI HLDG 0.67 0.69 0.68 0.69 0.67 0.67 899000 609600 BERJAYA 2.59 2.6 2.58 2.6 2.58 2.59 223000 576380 -2590 BLOOMBERRY 11.28 11.3 11.38 11.38 11.24 11.28 3720000 41962710 -3931724 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.68 2.69 2.72 2.72 2.69 2.69 40000 108020 LEISURE AND RES 3.01 3.05 3.01 3.08 3 3.02 150000 451750 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.65 0.66 0.66 0.67 0.65 0.65 1001000 660610 -304130 ALLHOME 11.44 11.48 11.36 11.48 11.36 11.48 32318500 369336050 -4664260 METRO RETAIL 2.35 2.36 2.4 2.4 2.35 2.35 1707000 4030540 -1027880 PUREGOLD 39.55 40 39.5 40 39 40 138700 5474580 -3544520 ROBINSONS RTL 75.1 75.45 75.8 75.8 75.1 75.45 608750 45937328.5 -16971619.5 SSI GROUP 2.78 2.8 2.8 2.86 2.78 2.8 3561000 9,989,270( 3,950,820.0001) WILCON DEPOT 18.28 18.3 18.3 18.38 18.26 18.3 3940600 72132368 36409624 APC GROUP 0.49 0.5 0.49 0.5 0.485 0.5 2537000 1244480 -27930 EASYCALL 8.94 8.95 8.94 9.14 8.94 8.95 26700 239010 GOLDEN BRIA 419.2 424 431.8 432 419.2 419.2 340 144632 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.445 0.45 0.465 0.465 0.44 0.45 8930000 4042250 -526300 SBS PHIL CORP 8.96 9.02 9.01 9.01 8.97 8.97 10000 89900

MINING & OIL ATOK 11.6 11.96 12.02 12.26 11.56 11.96 10200 120178 APEX MINING 1.1 1.12 1.11 1.11 1.1 1.1 882000 976370 -451880 ABRA MINING 0.0016 0.0017 0.0016 0.0017 0.0016 0.0017 113000000 192000 ATLAS MINING 2.55 2.59 2.55 2.55 2.55 2.55 21000 53550 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.295 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 70000 20300 CENTURY PEAK 2.53 2.55 2.54 2.55 2.54 2.55 300000 764000 FERRONICKEL 1.82 1.83 1.86 1.86 1.8 1.82 2595000 4729940 292270 GEOGRACE 0.207 0.211 0.213 0.213 0.207 0.211 150000 31300 LEPANTO A 0.104 0.105 0.104 0.104 0.104 0.104 680000 70720 LEPANTO B 0.105 0.108 0.108 0.108 0.108 0.108 20000 2160 -2160 MARCVENTURES 1.02 1.05 1.03 1.05 1.03 1.05 221000 229990 NIHAO 1.03 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.03 1.06 43000 44380 NICKEL ASIA 3.31 3.32 3.55 3.55 3.32 3.32 10052000 34038060 36920 OMICO CORP 0.495 0.53 0.5 0.53 0.5 0.53 7013000 3506720 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.81 0.83 0.81 0.83 0.81 0.83 55000 44610 PX MINING 3.36 3.37 3.45 3.45 3.37 3.37 899000 3044440 67400 SEMIRARA MINING 23.55 23.9 23.7 23.9 23.4 23.9 1122700 26708010 1264090 UNITED PARAGON 0.0058 0.0059 0.0058 0.0058 0.0058 0.0058 1000000 5800 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 26300000 313400 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 8900000 106800 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 1100000 12100 PHINMA PETRO 12.5 12.52 11.8 12.5 11.58 12.5 1106700 13514252 -435296 PXP ENERGY 12.14 12.2 12.28 12.28 12.04 12.2 178600 2167092 324826

PREFFERED

AC PREF B1 503 508 508 508 503 503 2120 1069140 DD PREF 100.5 101 101 101 101 101 9900 999900 SMC FB PREF 2 1000 1005 1000 1000 1000 1000 1460 1460000 GLO PREF P 506 508 506 506 506 506 320 161920 GTCAP PREF A 975.5 1000 995 995 975.5 975.5 520 512525 GTCAP PREF B 970.5 994 990 994 990 994 270 267780 LR PREF 1.01 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 15000 15300 MWIDE PREF 100.1 101 102 102 100.1 100.1 200 20210 PNX PREF 3A 101.9 102 102 102 101.9 101.9 19860 2023735 PNX PREF 3B 108 109.5 109.5 109.5 109.5 109.5 190 20805 PNX PREF 4 1024 1030 1029 1029 1021 1024 5720 5859460 -51100 PCOR PREF 3A 1029 1050 1050 1050 1050 1050 60 63000 PCOR PREF 3B 1060 1079 1060 1060 1060 1060 100 106000 SMC PREF 2C 77.9 78 78.3 78.3 77.9 78 16240 1266561 SMC PREF 2F 76.5 77 76.15 76.5 76.15 76.5 5000 381187.5 SMC PREF 2G 75.2 75.25 75.25 75.25 75.25 75.25 16500 1241625 SMC PREF 2H 75 75.1 75.05 75.05 75.05 75.05 18000 1350900 SMC PREF 2I 75 75.25 75.5 75.5 75 75.05 60260 4520983 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

17 5.09

17.02 5.23

17.4 5.12

17.4 5.12

17.02 5.09

17.02 5.09

35100 158200

599600 808536

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.52

-592719.9998 -

1.58

1.53

1.53

1.51

1.52

46000

70170

-

ITALPINAS 5.55 KEPWEALTH 13.24 XURPAS 0.97

5.59 13.26 0.98

5.23 14.02 1.03

5.88 15.02 1.03

5.23 13.26 0.97

5.59 13.26 0.98

4213100 4133100 13563000

23481789 59041256 13501950

-23762 78160 2000

FIRST METRO ETF

118.7

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS 118.6

118.8

119

118.5

118.7

6720

798371

4748

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Monday, November 18, 2019 B3

French group to fund middle-market firms

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE infusion by Paris, Francebased Proparco SA in a private equity fund in Manila is expected to bankroll the local operation of several middle-market firms and allow thousands of workers to stay employed.

Proparco, the French Development Agency’s private-sector financing arm, has poured in $15 million (about P758.643 million) in private equity firm Navegar Fund II LP. The capital inflow is expected

to finance the growth of six to eight middle-market firms in the country and sustain the employment of above 10,000 workers, half of who are women.

The investment is said to be

Proparco’s first ever in the Philippines. The money will contribute to Navegar Fund II’s first close of nearly $130 million on the way to a target final closing of $150 million.

The Navegar Fund II is geared toward bridging a financial gap that remained a challenge for small-scale and medium-sized firms. The fund manager also targets sectors that benefit from steady domestic demand and operations that contribute to inclusive growth, including health, education and logistics.

Manila-based Navegar is a Philippines-focused private equity firm that provides growth capital to established private entities.

Established in 2012, Navegar manages Navegar Fund I and Navegar Fund II with total assets

in its portfolio of over $250 million. It invests in both primary and secondary share offerings, and actively seeks to maximize the value of its portfolio firms by providing financial, operational and strategic guidance, according to its web site.

On the other hand, Proparco has been investing in businesses and financial institutions—such as Navegar—in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Middle East to support sustainable economic, social and environmental development.

Proparco is a limited liability

Perspectives

Capturing the benefits of simplification

F

INANCIAL services executives know they need to simplify their organizations to support sustainable growth and to adapt to secure a successful tomorrow. But are they approaching simplification in the right way to thrive in the longer term?

Everybody knows that most financial services organizations, apart from the most recent disruptors, are far too complex. There is a huge amount of legacy that is impairing the ability to adapt and meet the rapidly evolving needs, requirements and expectations of customers. Customers want convenience, efficiency, information, education and seamless, frictionless experience across multiple channels at a time that suits them.

They expect rapid deployment of new tools and innovations, which are not just relevant, but also engaging. They are looking for transparency and trust.

Simply put, they want their banking, insurance and investment transactions to be simple. And most of today’s financial services organizations are anything but simple.

Nothing simple about it

IT’S not for lack of trying. Most financial services firms are now executing on dozens—sometimes hundreds—of different initiatives that, ultimately, should simplify the business. Some of these efforts represent unprecedented change agendas, with all of the associated bear traps.

KPMG member-firms are seeing some banks and insurers replace key elements of their core systems and consolidate their ancillary systems in an effort to rationalize their information-technology (IT) estate, modernize their capabilities, reduce costs and,

at the same time, provide the capabilities to adapt and evolve their business models to secure future growth. Others are working on more focused pain points and complexities. Some are rethinking the fundamentals of their products and their wider portfolio of products. Others are examining their current financial, business and operating models, and outsourcing arrangements. Many are working on simplifying specific client and risk pain points like KYC (know-your-customer), claims and remediation.

Simplification is as much about creating and applying the capabilities to support improved customer experiences, innovative propositions, speed and automation, scalability and increased visibility as it is about cost efficiencies.

However, dig into the investment case behind many of these initiatives and—interestingly—most are founded on return and efficiency metrics such as Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return, and cost and head count reductions. Of course, these are important metrics: Shareholders expect returns and competitors are differentiating on cost and efficiency, but these should not be the only drivers.

Go beyond efficiency

COST efficiency is far from the only benefit that can be accrued from simplification. Simplifying what you do today doesn’t necessarily set you up for future success if the market is changing rapidly and business models are being disrupted. Simplification also has to support changing what you do tomorrow.

A simplified architecture can also support innovation, for example, developing, testing

and launching new propositions and getting to market faster and cheaper. For example, a simplified core banking system would allow firms to make upgrades and integrate new technologies in a fraction of the current time. Entering into new alliances and partnerships will be more feasible and viable for a simpler business.

It should also support scalability, reduce future cost, increase the speed of change and provide improved risk management and resilience. Straightening out the spaghetti bowl of systems and processes also creates better visibility which, in turn, should allow financial services firms to get much closer to customers, improve operational resilience and control over performance, and better understand and anticipate risks.

Simplified control environments and processes should help organizations adapt quickly to future regulatory changes.

Perhaps, most important, simplification of the business allows decision-makers to focus their scarce capital on investments that actually matter to the business and its customers. Just imagine the clarity of mind that would come from overseeing a vastly simplified financial services operation; IT budgets would be focused.

The excerpt was taken from the KPMG article Frontiers in Finance Issue #61 Reshaping financial services. © 2019 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG network of independent member-firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in the Philippines For more information on KPMG in the Philippines, you may visit www.kpmg.com.ph

Civil servants told: Settle cash advances promptly

T

HE Civil Service Commission (CSC) issued a statement reminding government officials and employees to promptly settle and liquidate cash advances to avoid liability.

The CSC issued the reminder after issuing its Resolution 1900929, which is a revised guidelines on the settlement or liquidation of cash advances and sets varying penalties based on the nature of offense and existing circumstances.

According to a statement from the CSC, an Accountable Officer may be absolved of any administrative liability only if he or she fully liquidates, settles or pays the cash advance within the period stated in the formal demand letter by the Resident Commission on Audit (COA) Auditor, with a valid justification and no aggravating circumstances present.

“If no valid justification is presented, the Accountable Officer shall be liable for “Simple Neglect of Duty” with the penalty of suspension from the government service for one month and one day,” the CSC said.

“If, aside from having no valid justification, there are aggravating circumstances present and no mitigating circumstances that can offset the former, the penalty of three months shall be imposed.”

The CSC said that, on the other hand, an Accountable Officer who, after receiving the formal demand from COA, partially liquidates the cash advance and presents a valid justification, shall be held liable for Simple Neglect of Duty punishable by

suspension for one month and one day. In such instance, the CSC said the there are three conditions the Accountable Officer must comply to.

One condition is that the partial liquidation of not less than 50 percent of the total unliquidated cash advance was made within the prescribed period. The second condition is that the Accountable Officer has the intention to fully liquidate the cash advance through means, such as salary deduction or execution of promissory note to pay the unliquidated portion of the cash advance.

The third condition is that no aggravating circumstances are present.

If there would be aggravating circumstances, suspension shall be stretched to three months, the CSC said.

The most serious offense of Gross Neglect of Duty with corresponding penalty of dismissal from the service on the first instance shall be imposed when the Accountable Officer, despite receiving a formal demand from COA, fails to make partial or full liquidation of the cash advance within the prescribed period stated in the demand letter, the CSC explained.

“Alternatively, the offense of Gross Neglect of Duty applies when the Accountable Officer partially liquidates the cash advance but fails to present any valid justification and shows no intention to fully liquidate.”

The CSC said the “same offense may be imposed when the Accountable Officer makes partial liquidation and shows intention to fully liquidate, then defaults in the payment

of the unliquidated cash advance.”

CSC Resolution 1900929 dated August 13, 2019, circularized via CSC Memorandum Circular 23, Series of 2019, amended an earlier policy, CSC Resolution 1200103 dated January 12, 2012. The latter states that the failure of an Accountable Officer to render an account in full within the periods prescribed shall be meted the administrative offense of “Gross Neglect of Duty” punishable by dismissal from the service on the first offense.

The CSC resolution cites COA Circular 2012-001 as basis for the period within which to liquidate CA. Salaries, wages, honoraria and other similar payments must be liquidated within five calendar days; field operating expenses, within 20 calendar days after the end of the year or replenished as frequently as necessary; petty cash fund, replenished as soon as the disbursements reach 75 percent or as needed; traveling expenses, within 30 calendar days after the official/employee returns to his/her official work station for local travel and within 60 calendar days in the case of foreign travel; and special purpose, as soon as the purpose of the cash advance has been served.

CSC Resolution 1900929 took effect on September 22, 2019.

company (SA) and a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency).

It bankrolls firms whose activities help create jobs and decent incomes, as well as provide essential goods and services, and support the fight against climate change.

Last year France was the country’s third-largest source of foreign

investments among European Union member-states, behind the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Based on Philippine Statistics Authority records, French investments in the Philippines jumped to P2.56 billion, from P99.3 million in 2017.

The Netherlands and the UK poured in P4.05 billion and P3.81 billion to the country, respectively.

B4 Monday, November 18, 2019

US military and Philippine security forces conduct medical mission in Tawi-Tawi

U

S service members, Philippine National Police (PNP) officers, local government employees, and local health practitioners conducted a joint medical outreach project on Banaran Island, Municipality of Sapa-Sapa, TawiTawi on October 23, 2019.

The medical mission provided health services, ranging from preventative medical and dental checkups to minor surgical procedures, for more than 500 local residents of Banaran Island and other surrounding communities.

US Indo-Pacific Command and US based non-profit organization Spirit of America funded the medical mission, which involved more than 85 personnel from the PNP Special Action Forces

51st Special Action Company, PNP 1st Maritime Group-Special Operation Unit, Tawi-Tawi Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), Sapa-Sapa Municipal Office, Sapa-Sapa Health Office, Barangay Banaran Health Workers, Bongao Doctors, and US Special Operations Command Pacific soldiers.

"The medical mission that was conducted here in Sapa-Sapa, Tawi-Tawi is a great opportunity for the people to receive medical assistance. We are deeply thankful for the partnership that led to the success of this event. Our partnership with the United States is getting stronger and we hope that this event will not be our last joint activity,” said Police Lieutenant Ernie Moises B. Cacdac, Public Community

Medical mission participants unload supplies.

Relations Officer, 1st Special Operations Unit-Maritime Group.

“We have for a long time supported our partners here in the Philippines in combating and countering violent extremists through a variety of community outreach programs and projects. We are here to support our allies in doing the hard work of increasing resiliency amongst the local populace in what are historically conflict-prone areas,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ramil Leslie, US Army.

"As a longstanding friend, partner, and ally, the United States will continue to work closely with our Philippine counterparts to strengthen community resiliency in remote areas through medical outreach and other programs," he added

Mission participants pose for a group photo in Tawi-Tawi.

Goldilocks introduces Floral Fantasy Cake!

F

LOWERS are often associated with different characteristics in order for the recipient to clearly receive the message that the sender is trying to convey. Love is universally signified in the form of Roses; Daisies are seen to embody innocence, while Violets are intertwined with the essence of faithfulness or devotion.

As different flowers continue to bring smiles to the people that receive them, Goldilocks, the country’s number one bakeshop aims to embody this sort of spirit with the latest addition to their famous greeting cake lineup. Introducing Goldilocks’ Floral Fantasy Cake!

Add some color to your next celebration with Goldilocks’ Floral Fantasy Cake, This new and refreshing cake, which is composed of a decadent marble base and is meticulously adorned with intricate Floral decorations, not only caters to party goers with a sweet tooth, but its aesthetic design is perfect for the coveted “food shot” on your social media, and with multiple cake designs and branches nationwide, there will always be a Goldilocks store around the corner for any of your celebration needs.

Five Filipinos, five Chinese artists show harmony on collaborative painting in China

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ARTICIPATING artists from the Philippines and China finish a collaborative painting during the opening of "In Harmony with Nature" in Shenzhen. From L-R: Phyllis Zaballero, Norberto Carating, Ding Jie, Cai Zhixin, Rico Lascano, Manuel Baldemor, Hao Ping, Jonahmar Salvosa, Liu She, and Kuku Chai.

At the China leg of "In Harmony with Nature," five Filipino artists and five Chinese artists showed how different visions can come together in harmony for a bigger objective. Much like the counterpart exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, the 10 artists

once again collaborated on a painting during the exhibit opening at the Art Wharf in Shenzhen. Under the theme, the focus of the collaborative piece, as well as the many artworks shown, was environmental awareness, stewardship, and green living in both countries.

Organized by Bank of China Manila, together with the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (MET), the Chinese Culture and Art Association, and the China Daily Asia Pacific, the art exhibit is part of a cultural exchange program that seeks to enhance people to people understanding and connectivity between the Philippines and China.

VIOLENCE IN SPORTS Sports BusinessMirror

C1

| Monday, November 18, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

V

IOLENCE is part of the game in many sports but Myles Garrett crossed a line that attracts the attention of authorities sometimes from within their sport and, in other cases, from criminal prosecutors.

The Cleveland Browns’ star defensive end ripped the helmet off Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and hit him in the head with it in front of a national television audience Thursday night.

The National Football League swiftly suspended Garrett for at least the rest of the 2019 season and playoffs, the longest suspension for an on-field infraction in league history.

Garrett is not the only player to face stiff punishment.

Here are some others:

JUAN MARICHAL

AUGUST 22, 1965: Juan Marichal hit John Roseboro in the head with a bat. After a high and inside pitch by the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax, Roseboro’s return throw whizzed close to Marichal’s ear. Roseboro, his mask still on, moved toward the Giants’ Marichal, who then swung his bat and hit Roseboro on the head. The attack opened a bloody, 2-inch gash. Roseboro grabbed Marichal, both benches emptied and a 15-minute scuffle ensued. Marichal was ejected and apologized the next day. Roseboro left the game at Candlestick Park with a blood-soaked towel pressed against his head and returned to the lineup three days later.

Penalty: Marichal was suspended for eight games (he missed two starts) and fined $1,750 by the National League. Roseboro later sued Marichal for $110,000 in damages. The case was settled in 1970, with Roseboro reportedly receiving $7,500.

THE BATTLE OF BOET ERASMUS

JULY 13, 1974: British and Irish Lions played one of the most violent rugby matches ever. Lions players adopted a “99 call,” a policy where all members of the team would gather to retaliate if they felt the opposition were being too physical and trying to injure players. Lions fullback JJ Williams at one point ran halfway down the field to launch himself at Johannes van Heerden.

Scuffles all over the field ensued.

Penalty: No Lions player was ejected during the tour and the visitors returned home with a 3-0 win in the test series.

KERMIT WASHINGTON

DECEMBER 9, 1977: Rockets forward Kermit Washington punched Rudy Tomjanovich in the face during a fight at midcourt in a game between the Los

MIKE TYSON biting into the ear of Evander Holyfield in 1997, Zinedine Zidane headbutting Italy’s Marco Materazzi in 2006, and lately, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett hitting Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph with a helmet. AP

Angeles Lakers and Houston. Tomjanovich ran in to try to play peacemaker. Instead, he took a hard right-hand punch from Washington that knocked him out. Tomjanovich eventually needed multiple operations to repair facial fractures.

He also suffered a concussion and other serious injuries. Tomjanovich returned the next season, though was never the same player again.

Penalty: Washington was fined $10,000 and suspended at least 60 days (26 games). At the time, the suspension was the longest in National Basketball Association (NBA) history.

him to the ice and breaking his neck during a game.

Penalty: Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely four days after the incident, and missed 20 NHL games during his 17-month suspension, the final 13 regular-season games in the 2003 to 2004 season and the Canucks’ first-round playoff loss. He wasn’t allowed to play anywhere during the NHL lockout the following season.

RON ARTEST

NOVEMBER 19, 2004: Pacers-Pistons fight spilled into the stands. The most infamous brawl in NBA history started when Indiana’s Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace) fouled Detroit’s Ben Wallace late in the game. Wallace shoved back, other players got involved and Artest wound up lying on the scorer’s table. He put on a pair of headphones at one point, while others on the court continued a battle of mostly words for over a minute. Then a fan threw a drink on Artest, prompting him and teammate Stephen Jackson to head into the stands. “Someone started trouble,” Artest said years later, “but I ended it.”

Penalty: Nine players were suspended for 140 games.

Artest got 73 games and Jackson received 30 games.

ERIC CANTONA

JANUARY 25, 1996: Manchester United’s Eric Cantona already had a checkered record when he was ejected for a retaliatory kick at a Crystal Palace defender who had pulled his shirt. As he walked along the sideline, Cantona suddenly jumped feet-first over the advertising boards to attack Palace fan Matthew Simmons. The pair traded punches before Cantona was hauled away and escorted toward the tunnel by teammate Peter Schmeichel.

Penalty: Cantona was arrested by police and convicted of assault, although he successfully appealed a two-week jail sentence and instead completed 120 hours of community service. United suspended Cantona for the rest of the season and the Football Association extended the ban to eight months, a punishment that was made worldwide by Fifa.

Cantona also lost the captaincy of the France national team over the incident and never played for his country again.

The player later said he was wrong to attack Simmons but acknowledged that it had given him “a great feeling.”

MIKE TYSON

JUNE 28, 1997: Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear in the third round of their heavyweight rematch. The attack led to his disqualification from the match and suspension from boxing, and was the strangest chapter yet in the champion’s roller-coaster career.

Penalty: Tyson was suspended permanently and fined $3 million. He appealed his suspension and was reinstated one year later.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE

JEFF VAN GUNDY

APRIL 30, 1998: Knicks Coach Jeff van Gundy, trying to play peacemaker during a brawl, grabbed Heat center Alonzo Mourning by the legs and was tossed around like a rag doll until the fight ended.

Penalty: Larry Johnson and Chris Mills of New York and Mourning were suspended in one game. Mourning was fined $20,000, Johnson was fined $10,000 and Mills $2,500.

MARTY MCSORLEY

FEBRUARY 21, 2000: Bruins enforcer Marty McSorley hit Vancouver’s Donald Brashear in the head with his stick.

McSorley swung his stick using both hands and hit Brashear in the head. Brashear fell backward and hit his head on the ice, was unconscious for a brief time, and had a concussion and memory lapses. He returned to play several weeks later.

Penalty: McSorley was suspended indefinitely by the National Hockey League, missing the final 23 games of the season. On October 4, 2000, a Canadian court found him guilty of assault and placed him on probation with no jail time. After the conviction, the suspension was extended to a full year, and

NEW LOOK, NEW FORMAT DAVIS CUP UP M

ADRID—The famous face behind the biggest overhaul in Davis Cup history can’t hide his anxiety.

The men’s international team tournament that begins Monday in the Spanish capital will look nothing like the first one in 1900, nor any other edition after that.

“To tell you the truth, I’m a bit nervous,” said Gerard Piqué, the Barcelona soccer star who is one of the founders of the group behind the new look tournament.

For the first time, teams will compete in the same venue and at the same time in a World Cup-style format that organizers hope will be more attractive—and lucrative—than the headto-head confrontations that took place in the past.

There will be more attractions for fans off the court, too, with high-profile artists providing entertainment at the “Caja Mágica” (Magic Box) tennis complex, including Colombian singer Shakira—Piqué’s wife.

“I want everything to go well, and I know that everything will go well. I’m a very optimistic and positive person,” said Piqué, one of the founders of the Kosmos group that is organizing the new Davis Cup in a partnership with the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Eighteen nations and 90 players—including top-ranked Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray—will be in the Spanish capital for the inaugural Davis Cup Finals.

McSorley never played in another NHL game.

ROY KEANE

APRIL 21, 2001: Roy Keane, one of soccer’s most colorful characters, was punished for a foul and then punished again.

Keane launched a two-footed, knee-high challenge on Alfie Inge Haaland.

Penalty: Initially, Keane was banned for three matches. But the English Football Association charged Keane with bringing the game into disrepute in September 2002, when Keane later admitted to deliberately setting out to injure Haaland. “I’d waited almost 180 minutes for Alfie, three years if you looked at it another way,” Keane said in his ghostwritten book. “I’d waited long enough. I hit him hard. The ball was there [I think]. Take that.” Under a ruling that the vicious tackle was “improperly motivated,” in October 2002, Keane was banned for a further five games and fined a record 150,000 pounds (then $234,000).

JULY 9, 2006: Zinedine Zidane, seemingly without provocation, turned toward Italy defender Marco Materazzi and gave him a headbutt to the chest.

Penalty: Fifa banned Zidane for three matches but he had already retired. Zidane instead agreed to spend three days working with children as part of a Fifa humanitarian project.

Zidane said he knocked Materazzi to the ground because he had insulted his sister. Materazzi later confirmed Zidane’s version of events.

ALBERT HAYNESWORTH

OCTOBER 1, 2006: Albert Haynesworth of the Tennessee Titans stomped on Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode’s head, knocking off his helmet, then kicked and stomped his face. Gurode needed 30 stitches to repair the cuts left by the tackle’s cleats.

Penalty: Haynesworth was suspended for five games without pay.

NIGEL DE JONG

MARCH 2, 2004: Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi suckerpunched the Colorado Avalanche’s Steve Moore, knocking

JULY 11, 2010: Nigel de Jong kicked Xabi Alonso in the chest in the 2010 World Cup final.

Penalty: English referee Howard Webb handed out only a yellow card to de Jong. AP

“It will be a spectacle,” Spain player Feliciano López said.

“We have to thank everybody for making this happen. The atmosphere will be incredible this week.”

Organizers said 100,000 tickets have been sold for the season-ending tournament that will attract more than 700 journalists to Madrid, and will be broadcast to more than 170 countries.

“The competition will be much easier to follow for all kinds of audiences as the title will be decided in just one week,” Kosmos Tennis CEO Javier Alonso told The Associated Press.

The 18 teams will play in six groups of three, with the group winners advancing to the knockout stage along with

the two best second-place teams. The nations will play within their groups Monday to Thursday, with the knockout rounds Friday to Sunday. The matches will take place on hard courts in three stadiums in morning and afternoon sessions that will include two singles matches and a doubles match.

In past years, the competition featured head-to-head matchups played at varied sites over four weekends throughout the year, a tradition some critics—and some players—didn’t want to see changed.

But the ITF said the 25-year partnership with Kosmos was key to increasing revenue and aiding the local tennis federations worldwide. AP

TODD BERTUZZI

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Monday, November 18, 2019

FEDERER BRACING FOR NEX-GEN IN ’20

Former No. 4 Berdych retires

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ONDON—Former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych announced his retirement from tennis on Saturday after a 17-year professional career.

The 34-year-old Berdych confirmed the decision at the Association of Tennis Professionals Finals, saying his body no longer allows him to compete at the highest level after struggling with a back injury for much of the last 18 months.

The former No. 4 said he made the decision shortly after losing in the first round of the US Open in August. He hasn’t played since, and is currently ranked 103rd.

“I said, ‘OK that’s it. That’s enough.’ In terms of just my body doesn’t allow me to do so, and it’s very unpredictable,” Berdych said. “There is no real point to continue.”

The Czech said the highlight of his career was reaching the 2010 Wimbledon Final, beating Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic along the way before losing to Rafael Nadal.

“Even the final that I lost, it was a very, very special moment,” he said.

He also reached the semifinals at least once at each of the other three Grand Slams and earned 13 career titles—including the 2005 Paris Masters— with a career-high ranking of No. 4.

Berdych said he doesn’t have any immediate plans for what to do in retirement, but will focus on resting up and spending time with his family.

“The plan is actually not to have any plans,” he said. “The last 15, 20 years was so hectic and so demanding that I just need to just breathe out easily after all those years.” AP

‘Bazooka’ Harden’s 49 pts powers undermanned Rockets vs Wolves

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INNEAPOLIS—Undermanned and playing for the second consecutive night, the Houston Rockets still had plenty of reason to be confident.

“I would think it would give you confidence,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “You’re playing with a ‘bazooka’ out there.”

A bazooka named James Harden.

Harden unloaded Saturday night, scoring 49 points on a whopping 41 shots from the field to lead the short-handed Rockets to their seventh straight victory, 125-105 over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With Russell Westbrook resting and several key contributors injured, the Rockets needed Harden to shoulder an even bigger scoring load than usual. The 41 attempts are the most in his career, and the most in the National Basketball Association this season, surpassing the 37 Golden State’s D’Angelo Russell took in an overtime loss November 8 in the same building in Minnesota.

“It was a collective effort,” Harden said.

“We’ve got six, seven guys out. So it could have been an easy game, where we just chalked it up and got ready for next game. We wanted to come here and win this game, and we showed it.”

Harden made 16 of the 41 shots, going eight for 22 from three-point range. He was nine of 11 on free throws.

“He scored [49] on 41 shots,” Timberwolves forward Robert Covington said. “That’s what we want. But it’s just the other guys hurt us. We followed the game plan with him.”

ROGER FEDERER: We are not getting any younger. AP

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ONDON—After dominating the tennis world for so long, Roger Federer thinks the sport’s Big Three could face their toughest challenge yet from a new generation in 2020.

Federer’s 2019 season ended with a semifinal loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Finals, having seen Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal eliminated in the group stage of the tournament this week.

Tsitsipas, a 21-year-old Greek who is playing at the Ben McLemore scored 20 points. Undrafted rookie Chris Clemons scored a career-high 19 off the bench for the Rockets, who broke open the game with a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter. Austin Rivers also scored 19 points.

In addition to Westbrook, the Rockets were without center Clint Capela, guards Eric Gordon and Gerald Green, and forward Danuel House Jr. And they were playing the second game of a back-to-back following Friday night’s win over Indiana in Houston.

“There was a lot of heart,” D’Antoni said. “I think that’s what we’re more excited about, just the heart and the effort and what went into playing a back-to-back. That’s a character win.”

Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who also were short-handed. Andrew Wiggins missed his second consecutive game for personal reasons.

Jake Layman made his first start of the season for Minnesota and scored a season-high 21 points. Covington had 17 points.

“I’m a no-excuse person,” Timberwolves Coach Ryan Saunders said. “Who’s on the court is on the court. But we have to do more things to make teams like that uncomfortable. James Harden is a heck of a player. He’s one of the best scorers you’ll ever see. And he took 41 shots. I thought we made him work for some of them. But some of them, we didn’t.”

Harden scored 18 of his 30 first-half points in the first quarter. It was his highest-scoring first quarter of the season. Harden took 17 of

ATP Finals for the first time, is among a handful of up-andcoming talents looking to finally end the unprecedented era of dominance by that trio. Other youngsters at the season-ending tournament include defending champion Alexander Zverev at 22 and US Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev at 23.

However, it’s not the first time that the 38-year-old Federer has faced talk about a talented crop of youngsters, even though none of them have so far been able to break the Big Three’s iron grip on the sport. ”It’s the same question every year at the end of the year,” Federer said about the new generation. “But does it feel like this year might be the best year yet? Possibly.... But then I look at the list of who finished World

No. 1, who has been World No. 1 all these years, and it’s just crazy that it’s always one of us. But we are not getting any younger. So chances increase not because we are getting worse but because they are getting better.”

Nadal clinched his fifth year-end No. 1 title this week, putting him level with both

Federer and Djokovic. Since 2004, the only other person to finish the year atop the rankings was Andy Murray in 2016.

In addition, the Big Three have won the last 12 Grand Slam titles between them. And until one of the youngsters ends that streak, any talk of a generation shift is premature. ”Definitely, it’s that next

step they need,” Federer said. ”The only issue is that it seems like me, Novak and Rafa are healthy, healthier than maybe in previous years, as well.”

Zverev, for his part, is convinced that the new guard is ready to compete for majors.

“I think next year will bring a new Grand Slam champion.

We’ll see who that will be, because I think the young guys are playing incredible tennis,” Zverev said after losing to Dominic Thiem in the second semifinal at the O2 Arena. “You know, it can be Daniil, it can be Stefanos, it can be Dominic. I’m in the mix, as well, I hope. We’ll see what next year brings. But I think for the young guys, it’s going to be an exciting year.”

The third-ranked Federer ends the year with four ATP titles, but failed to add to his record haul of 20 Grand Slams when he lost an epic Wimbledon final to

Djokovic, despite holding two match points in the fifth set.

He also fell short of a recordextending seventh ATP Finals title after converting just one of 12 break points against Tsitsipas, losing 6-3, 6-4.

As long as he stays healthy, though, Federer is confident he’s still good enough to compete for more majors next season.

“I’ve got to keep on playing at the level like I have this year, and then I will create some chances,” he said. “Then when the matches come, it’s not maybe as easy as it was maybe 10, 15 years ago where you’re just going to play very good, day in, day out....

[Opportunities] were there today.... They were there in other moments, as well this season, maybe Indian Wells or Wimbledon, or whatever. That can change an entire season around, the confidence around, the flow of things.

But I’m happy how I played this season, and I’m extremely excited for next season.” AP

Tsitsipas vs Thiem in ATP Finals

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HOUSTON’S James Harden shoots on against Minnesota’s Keita Bates-Diop. AP

his team’s first 25 shots. He and the Rockets led by two at halftime, despite trailing by as many as 11.

“We can’t take any game for granted,” Harden said. “We showed that tonight. I think

the first half we gave up too many points.

Second half we locked back in. They barely got over 100 points. That’s pretty much the goal every single game. Guys didn’t look around.

We manned up and got a win.” AP

ONDON—The first time Dominic Thiem played at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Finals, he was handed an unknown Greek teenager as a hitting partner in training.

Three years later, Thiem is facing that same player in the final of the season-ending tournament.

Thiem beat defending champion Alexander Zverev in the semifinals on Saturday after Stefanos Tsitsipas ousted six-time winner Roger Federer, setting up a title match between two players who first met each other at the O2 Arena under very different circumstances. ”I just saw a picture before that I practiced with him the first time I played here 2016,” Thiem said after beating Zverev 7-5, 6-3. ”He was a hitting partner here. It’s an amazing story for both of us....

We didn’t think that only three years later we were going to face each other in the final.”

The now 21-year-old Tsitsipas had the most eye-catching win on Saturday, saving 11 of 12 break points to beat Federer 6-3, 6-4. He also took advantage of an error-filled performance from Federer, who continually put his opponent under pressure only to come up short when it mattered.

“I’m proud of myself, how hard I fought today, how concentrated I stayed in the breakpoints,” said Tsitsipas, who reached the biggest final of his career.

“Didn’t crack under pressure. I was very composed and very mature in my decisions.”

In the evening match, Zverev double-faulted on set

point to hand Thiem a 1-0 lead, and was then broken for the second time to make it 4-2 in the second set.

Thiem saved two break points in the next game to h old for 5-2, and then served out the match on his first attempt, clinching the victory with a forehand winner on match point.

The final pairing also ensures that the tournament will have a first-time champion for the fourth year in a row. AP STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I was very composed and very mature in my decisions. AP

DIMENSION DATA TRANSFORMS INTO NTT PRO CYCLING TEAM N

TT Pro Cycling, an International Cycling Union (UCI) WorldTour team based in South Africa, unveiled its team for the 2020 season as it rebrands from Team Dimension Data.

The announcement, made at the home of NTT in Tokyo, was accompanied by a jersey reveal and insights into the technology solutions driving rider recruitment and race strategy within the team.

The new kit will grace the WorldTour and the sport’s biggest races throughout 2020. It’s a brand that riders will wear with immense pride,

while, at the same time, continuing to showcase the impact that bicycles have in changing lives through NTT Pro Cycling’s work with Qhubeka, which has recently distributed its 100,000th bike.

NTT Pro Cycling for 2020 features nine new riders to supplement the current pool of talent as the team looks to race with a goal of establishing itself among the top 10 teams in the world.

The 2020 lineup includes Carlos Barbero (Spain), Samuele Battistella (Italy), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway), Victor Campenaerts (Belgium), Stefan de Bod (South Africa), Nicholas Dlamini (South Africa), Benjamin Dyball

(Australia), Enrico Gasparotto (Italy), Amanuel Gebregziabher (Eritrea), Ryan Gibbons (South Africa), Michael Gogl (Austria), Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (South Africa) and Ben King (US).

Also on the team are Roman Kreuziger (Czech Republic), Gino Mäder (Switzerland), Louis Meintjes (South Africa), Giacomo Nizzolo (Italy), Ben O’Connor (AUS), Matteo Sobrero (Italy), Andreas Stokbro (DNK), Dylan Sunderland (Australia), Jay Thomson (South Africa), Rasmus Tiller (Norway), Michael Valgren (Denmark), Max Walscheid (Germany) and Danilo Wyss (Switzerland). Each of the riders was selected

with the help of a technology solution that was co-innovated by NTT and NTT Pro Cycling.

The solution leverages advanced data analytics that helps the team to select riders, prepare its race calendar and assign the right riders to the right races. Technology also helps the team monitor the health and wellness of its riders through a mobile application, and businessfocused applications, such as asset tracking, vehicle tracking and monitoring, help the team to function as a well-organized global business.

“Thanks to all of our partners, and in particular our title sponsor NTT Ltd. We strive to

Chinese swim star defends failure to take doping test

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ONTREUX, Switzerland—One of China’s biggest Olympic stars fought Friday for his right to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Games during a rare public hearing that turned combative at times, as champion swimmer Sun Yang defended his refusal to complete a doping test last year.

During a 10-hour session marred at times by translation problems, Sun maintained that inspectors drawing blood and urine samples failed to have proper identification papers.

The interpretation issues in both English and Chinese brought a halt to the landmark Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing several times, frustrating lawyers for both sides during Sun’s opening crossexamination. Sun’s mother later took the stand, at one point admonishing lawyers, “I haven’t finished, yet.”

One lawyer said he could not tell if Sun was being evasive or if it was simply a case of misunderstood translation.

The case stems from the three-time Olympic

champion’s refusal to cooperate with three antidoping officials during a random test that became a confrontation in the early morning hours at his home in China in September 2018.

“During inspection, I realized they don’t have any authorized papers to prove their identification,” Sun testified Friday.

A World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) expert disputed Sun’s account, saying the inspectors’ credentials were in order.

be the benchmark within the sport through being a performance-driven, technology-enabled team that is underpinned by our unique purpose-led approach in support of the Qhubeka charity,” Doug Ryder, NTT Pro Cycling team principal, said.

“We’re delighted to be continuing our partnership with Doug and the team under the NTT brand in 2020. As headline sponsor, we help NTT Pro Cycling to leverage technological innovation to realize its ambition of being ranked among the top 10 cycling teams in the world,” Ruth Rowan, NTT Ltd.chief marketing officer, said.

A tribunal appointed by the swimming world body Fina initially gave Sun only a caution, but Wada appealed the case to CAS. Its judges are not expected to hand down a verdict until next year. If the ruling goes against him, Sun could be banned from the 2020 Olympics.

The 6-foot-7 Sun became a star in China as the country’s first man to win an Olympic title in swimming. He won gold medals in the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle races at the 2012 London Olympics. He added gold in the 200 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The 27-year-old Sun, who also has 11 world championship titles, has been a polarizing figure in the sport. AP

SUN

PBAPC CONTEST UP

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HE Philippine Basketball Association Press Corps (PBAPC) is inviting Metro Manila schools to join its sportswriting contest—a project the group is reviving on Friday.

Limited slots are available on a first come, first served basis for college and senior high-school students. Each school is allowed to enter two writers and one photographer.

The innovation of including a contest for photographers is in line with the 25th anniversary celebration of the competition first held in 1994.

Participants are required to submit valid school IDs and should be a bonafide member of their respective school publications.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners during the contest which will be preceded by a short seminar. For further details, please contact Hazel Ancheta of the PBA office (0956-8717835) or Gerry Ramos of the PBAPC (0915-2034869).

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Monday, November 18, 2019

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National U repeats as cheerdance champion

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INOY Pride” meant finesse under pressure and the National University (NU) Pep Squad showed tons of grace to top anew the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Cheerdance Competition at the jam-packed Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.

Performing last in the eight-team contest and hounded by superb performances from last year’s podium finishers Adamson University and Far Eastern University (FEU)—which both ended up on the same spots—the Bulldogs saved their best for last and

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ATIONAL University (NU)-Nazareth School completed its quest for back-to-back titles after taming top seed Far Eastern University (FEU)-Diliman, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23, in Game Two of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 82 boys’ volleyball Finals on Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

It was the Bullpups’ fourth championship in five seasons.

“We are very happy because we made it from scratch—from fifth seed to the championship,” NU Coach Edgar Barroga said. “The boys peaked at the right time.”

Back-to-back Finals Most Valuable Player Mac Bandola led NU with 15 points on 13 attacks. Michaelo Buddin, on the other hand, delivered 17 points and 14 receptions, while Bryan Jaleco unloaded six blocks to wind up with 10 points for the champions.

Season MVP Rans Cajolo was the lone Tamaraw in double-figures with 10 points.

COACH BOYET CRIES ‘FOUL’

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AN Beda University leveled the seniors’ basketball Finals with Letran of Season 95 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Friday, but Red Lions Head Coach Boyet Fernandez called for better officiating as the series go down to a winner-take-all Game Three, on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Fernandez said the referees were trigger happy at slapping fouls on his Red Lions.

“I just hope that it would be a fair game. For me, just make the right [calls],” said Fernandez in the post-Game Two press conference.

Fernandez said his Cameroonian player, Donald Tankoua, became a target. The best foreign player of the season was handicapped

FERNANDEZ

McEwen back for bike event

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RICK OLIVARES bleachersbrew@gmail.com

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HE Philippines’s Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons beat Hong Kong’s Yeung Wai Yan and Koo Yung Yung, 21-14, 21-10, to punch a ticket to the women’s Finals of the 2019 Rebisco Beach Volleyball International Open on Sunday at the Sands at SM By The Bay. Aside from her smart plays and attacks, Rondina made two solid blocks in the opening set to frustrate Hong Kong.

“We always communicate, that’s our game plan,” said Rondina after her partnership with Pons remained perfect in the tournament presented by Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. in cooperation with Beach Volleyball Republic.

Rondina and Pons are the country’s best medal hopes in the 30th Southeast Asian Games set next month in Subic.

period, 88-69. All that had to be settled was the final score.

And for the third straight finals, Ravena has elevated the level of his game. He is simply amazing.

Take a look at how Ateneo defense (switching, their defense on and off the screens, not giving much daylight to UST’s shooters) worked on the Growling Tigers.

BLEACHERS’ BREW

Ateneo’s Game 1 victory over UST ANY concerns of court rust were quickly dispelled by not only Ateneo’s blistering start and second wind in a 91-77 win over University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Game One of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Finals.

That leaves the Blue Eagles with one more win to snatch the trophy and complete its quest for a three-peat.

The Blue Eagles presented another near masterpiece on their hardcourt canvass with their teamwork, defense, and countering what UST gave them.

To wit, Renzo Subido ended the first period with a long bomb. It would be the only thing of significance he would contribute all game long.

At the 7:15 mark of the second period, the score was 38-22, Ateneo. UST answered with a 14-0 run behind two triples by Mark Nonoy. The lead was cut to five, 38-33, at the 4:54. It took UST four minutes to make a game of it, while Ateneo misfired on six attempts to go with one turnover.

Thirdy Ravena scored on an and-one to give Ateneo a breather, 41-33, but Nonoy canceled it out with a triple, 41-38.

Sophomore Blue Eagle SJ Belangel answered with three triples; the last one a turnaround shot coming from about 25-feet out to beat the buzzer, 54-39. Run answered. Subido’s dramatics canceled out.

Come the third period, Ateneo saw its biggest lead of the game at 23 points, 66-43, after a Ravena drive.

UST would whittle it down but it hardly mattered as following a Matt Nieto lay-up at the 2:45 mark of the final

ATENEO top man Thirdy Ravena tries to score against University of Santo Tomas’s Renzo Subido.

Filipino spikers in beach volley final

THE top Philippine pair of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons have fun on the sand.

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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with three fouls early in the game and finished with only two points, three rebounds and one steal.

“They [fouls on Tankoua] were ‘baby’ fouls,” Fernandez said. “But if [Letran’s] Larry Murang dunks on Donald, a bit of a scratch and he is called for a foul.”

The San Beda coach also asked Commissioner Antonio Pujante to clamp down on erratic calls made during Game Two. Fernandez cited as example a shot clock violation on Letran that prevented his team from completing a fastbreak play in a crucial stretch of the fourth quarter.

“I hope the Commissioner understands where I am coming from,” Fernandez said. “I am not questioning the calls of the referees I just want them to review their calls. I’m not sourgraping, I just want a fair share of the officiating.”

San Beda racked up 23 fouls in Game two— four in the first quarter, six in the second, seven in the third and also six in the fourth. Letran, meanwhile, had 17 fouls—four in each first three quarters and five in the fourth.

“I just want to protect my players because they are young,” he said. “They have to teach the boys to play a fair game, a fair officiating.”

Ryniel Berlanga

YCLING newbies and enthusiasts get another chance to ride side by side with three-time Tour de France green jersey winner Robbie McEwen and local celebrities in the Sun Life Cycle PH set on Saturday at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

More than a thousand participants are taking part in a weekend of fun, wellness activity and family bonding through cycling with the event featuring the tricycle ride (100 meter distance for two to three years olds), kids’ride (500 meters for four to five years old) and the family ride (30 minutes ride for six to 15 with adult companion). Other categories on tap are the solo ride (30-minute ride for six to 15), short distance ride (20-km for 10 and above) and long distance ride (40-km for 10 and above) where riders will pedal alongside McEwen and Star Magic artists, led by Piolo Pascual.

McEwen, an Australian cycling legend and Olympics veteran, has cited the big improvement on the local cycling scene as he rode alongside former junior national cycling team members and celebrities in last year’s inaugurals of the event organized by Sunrise Events Inc., now part of the Ironman Group.

“Looking at them at times riding along at 40-km an hour and they look completely comfortable, it’s obvious to me that the level of Filipino riders over the last four years has really improved. I can see them more at ease with the bike and riding faster, looking stronger,” said McEwen, now in his sixth visit in the country.

SunPiology Founder Pascual is also thrilled over the huge turnout in the second edition also held to further promote awareness on keeping a healthy lifestyle, diabetes prevention and helping less-privileged kids sustain their education, the event also being staged as a fund-raiser.

on paid off. We missed some occasions and events, we sacrificed our personal time for this championship,” she added.

The Bulldogs earned P50,000 for winning the crown, while the second and third placers received P30,000 and P20,000, respectively.

It was a double celebration for NU when it also clinched the Group Stunt contest with 237 points. The result was also as identical as FEU (223 points) and Adamson (206 points) completed the podium.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

ATENEO’S THIRDY SECOND TO NONE

NATIONAL University has won six of the last seven cheerdance crowns. ROY DOMINGO

NU jr volley champ

scored 722 points for their second straight title—and sixth overall.

Grooving on a Filipino-themed routine, NU cornered the stunts (81), tosses (89.5), pyramids (96) and dance (369.5) departments to run away with the crown. The Tamaraws (706 points) and Soaring Falcons (658.5 points) again finished second and third, respectively.

“There’s no such thing as an easy journey for NU, it was a hard and exciting journey,” NU Coach Ghicka Bernabe said.

“Everything that we worked

Player Mark Nonoy Brent Paraiso Soulemane Chabi Yo Renzo Subido CJ Cansino Rhenz Abando Sherwin Concepcion Dave Ando Zach Huang

1st Half shots 6/8 2/5 4/10 1/5 0/2 0/2 0/2 1/1 0/1

2nd Half shots 3/10 3/8 2/4 2/6 1/4 1/3 1/3 No attempts No attempts

Player Mark Nonoy Brent Paraiso Soulemane Chabi Yo Renzo Subido CJ Cansino Rhenz Abando Sherwin Concepcion Dave Ando Zach Huang

Points 18 5 9 3 0 0 0 2 0

Points 8 9 4 5 4 3 3 0 0

Ateneo raised the level of its game. From the time they played UST in the D-League where the lost, 112-98, Ateneo has marked them as a dangerous opponent. The Blue Eagles piped them, 71-70, in the first round of Season 82, then blitzed them 66-52 in the second round. Have they gotten UST’s full measure? So far, yes. But they do need to close it out.

Everyone thinks that UST jacks up a lot of triples (and they really have in the last two years). But since Tab Baldwin took over four years ago, it is Ateneo that has really gone to that long range bomb

The other Filipina pair for the SEA Games, Dij Rodriguez and Dzi Gervacio, also improved to 5-0 after tripping New Zealand’s Renei Ursem and Olivia Macdonald, 21-14, 21-14, to face Rondina and Pons in the Finals.

It will be also an All-Filipino championship in the men’s side, with KR Guzman and Jaron Requinton battling it out with Efraim Dimaculangan and Rancel Varga for the crown.

Guzman and Requinton continued to roll following a 21-16, 21-19 conquest of top-ranked Edmar Bonono and Jude Garcia in the semifinals.

Dimaculangan and Varga topped DMMThailand 2’s Chaiphichit Khongin and Chairat Hanrasa, 21-17, 21-18, in the other semifinal encounter. The championship matches were played late Sunday.

S broad and chiseled as his body, Thirdy Ravena is built for tough games. No wonder his explosion for Ateneo and his brilliance in the Finals are common sights.

Ravena chalked up a season-high 32 points on 14-of-18 shooting from the filed in the Blue Eagles’ 91-77 victory over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers in Game One of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines best-of-three Finals last Saturday.

The graduating forward—younger brother of former Ateneo star and now pro Kiefer—made sure to make impact where it matters most.

It’s his last tour of duty for the Katipunan-based squad before bringing his talent to the bigger league. He won two titles in the previous seasons and a third one would make it a sweet exit.

“I guess one of the reasons is the fact that it’s my last year. I don’t want to say at the end of the season that I didn’t give my all. So I’m just laying it all on the line for my team and the Ateneo community,” the 6-foot-3 wingman said.

Ravena is making it a habit to deliver the best performance on the championship stage. In the last five Finals games, he averaged, 25.6 points, seven rebounds and 5.4 assists.

His biggest production in the three-year stretch of the Finals came in Ateneo’s title-clinching Game Two win over University of the Philippines last year where he unloaded 38 points—a career-high for him.

“Well for me I just take it strong to the basket. There’s a chance to make the basket, get a foul. If I missed, Ange [Kouame] or the other players would get the rebound.

That’s my mentality, to take it strong,” he said.

Ravena played under the radar in the elimination round with 12.9 points and 6.7 rebounds on his stats sheet. In Game One, he fired 11 quick points to help Ateneo build a 20-4 start that grew to 36-17.

Mark Nonoy, the long-range shooter for UST, led a spirited rally that cut the lead to just three, 38-41, with 2:43 left before the half.

Yet, Ravena wouldn’t let his team down when he commanded a 13-1 counter that practically dimmed the road for the Growling Tigers.

For Aldin Ayo, the coach behind UST’s magical run in the Final Four, said Ravena is part of the bigger challenge of facing the powerhouse Ateneo.

“It’s not about Thirdy, if we want to stop them, we have to stop the whole team,” Ayo said after the loss. “If you focus on Thirdy only, the other guys will step up also.”

“Yes, he played well, this is his last year, and we hope to cover him on Wednesday,” he added.

as a major weapon. However, UST has simply blown out that number out of the water this season.

Season Season 79 Season 80 Season 81 Season 82

Ateneo 109-388 (28%) 158-473 (33.4%) 142-500 (28.4%) 114-438 (26%)

Next team w/most triple attempts DLSU 85-306 (28%) Aldin Ayo-coached team DLSU 131-449 (29%) Aldin Ayo-coached team 121-426 (28.4%) Aldin Ayo-coached team 197-659 (30%) Aldin Ayo-coached team

In UST’s last four matches, this is how they how shot from three-point range:

n 14-45 against Far Eastern University (FEU) n 11-36 in Game One versus University of the Philippines n 7-39 in Game Two versus UP n 14-41 in Game One versus Ateneo Speaking of shooting, Ateneo shot 52 percent in Game One. Their season high is 53 percent that they garnered in their second round, 86-64 win over UP. The season high in terms of accuracy rate belongs to FEU in their 81-60 win over De La Salle University where they knocked down 54 percent of their attempts.

We’ve always asked the Blue Eagles to pound the ball inside and they did so versus the Growling Tigers with a 58-29 advantage; double UST’s output. All UST really had going for themselves are their three-point shots where they dropped 14 of 41. Ateneo was 9-26 from downtown so they somewhat blunted UST’s shots.

Now they will attempt to close it out in Game Two. Should Ateneo rest on its laurels?

Not at all.

How crucial was Game One? Since the UAAP went into a Final Four format in 1994, the team that has won the first match of the series went on to win it 19 out of 25 times.

In the Final Four era, UST has risen from the grave (after losing game one of the finals to win) three times. They accomplished that in 1994 and 1995 against La Salle, and in 2006 against Ateneo. Conversely, they were also on the losing end after taking game one but falling in the next two matches against La Salle in 1999 and 2013, while National University also turned the trick in 2014 versus FEU. Then again, the league has never seen anything like Tab Baldwin’s Blue Eagles.

MAJOR SHAKE-UP SEEN IN CHINESE FOOTBALL B Sports

EIJING—China’s football association pledged Friday to reshuffle the squad and “deeply reflect” following its loss to Syria in a World Cup qualifier that prompted the resignation of Coach Marcello Lippi.

A statement issued by the association described the team’s performance in the 2-1 defeat in Dubai as “just passable” and said Lippi’s resignation had been accepted.

The statement was widely derided online

BusinessMirror

C4

| Monday, November 18, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

and even in state-controlled media as seeking to minimize the degree of failure. China is now five points behind Syria, only halfway through the group stage of Asian qualifying.

The statement posted early Friday on the association’s official microblog expressed “deep apology.”

“The Chinese Football Association [CFA] will deeply

reflect, reshuffle the men’s squad and fight hard in the upcoming group of 40 competitions,” the statement said.

China’s men have qualified for only one World Cup and is currently ranked No. 69 in the world, alongside Canada and the Saudi Arabia. In its only World Cup appearance in 2002, China lost all three

CHINA’S Wu Lei competes the defense put up by Syria during their Group A in Dubai, on Thursday. AP

H

ELSINKI—Flag-waving Finland fans poured onto the field, embracing each other and mobbing the players as fireworks exploded outside the stadium.

A party decades in the making finally erupted in Finland after its national soccer team qualified for a major tournament for the first time on Friday.

The Finns beat Liechtenstein 3-0 in Helsinki, to secure a place in next year’s European Championship and end decades of embarrassments, disappointments, and near misses on the international stage.

“Many of us have been waiting for this for years, some even for decades,” read a post on the Twitter feed of Finland’s national team.

“15.11.2019 will be remembered as the day when the Dream of Generations came true. And we did it together.”

Jasse Tuominen scored in the first half and fellow striker Teemu Pukki, the team’s most celebrated player, added two goals after halftime in front of Finland’s jubilant fans at the Telia 5G-areena.

The victory guaranteed second place behind Italy in Group J of Euro 2020 qualifying, with a game to spare.

Better known for its ice hockey team, rally driver and javelin throwers, Finland—a nation of around 5.5 million people—was the only major Nordic country to have failed to reach a World Cup or European Championship in soccer.

The class of 2019 achieved what Finland’s so-called golden generation—including Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypia—failed to do around the turn of the century. Litmanen, the former Ajax, Barcelona and Liverpool playmaker, was in the stadium on the historic night.

The team is coached by Markku Kanerva, a former primary school teacher who inherited a side that had gone all of 2016, without a competitive win. He has made Finland hard to beat and defensively strong—and has a potent scorer in Pukki, who has nine goals in nine games in qualifying.

The win sparked wild celebrations in the team’s dressing room and across Finland, where soccer has been high on the sporting agenda this year because of the team’s success. Hundreds of people—many half naked despite belowfreezing temperatures—gathered round the famous Havis Amanda statue and its fountain in central Helsinki, to celebrate the achievement, like sports fans did after Finland won the men’s

hockey world championship this year for the first time since 2011.

“Oh Finland is, oh Finland is, oh Finland is finally in the men’s soccer championship!”

Finland’s Prime Minister Antti Rinne, tweeted.

Finland, which is the 34th different national team to qualify for a European Championship, has been in great form for the past two years under Kanerva. It also finished top of its group in the UEFA Nations League last year, guaranteeing a playoff spot for Euro 2020, that will not now be necessary.

Meanwhile, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Croatia have qualified for the 2020 European Championship.

Germany advanced with a 4-0 win over Belarus on Saturday, with Toni Kroos scoring twice and steering the side top of Group C. Second-place Netherlands also qualified despite a 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland in Belfast.

Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis missed a penalty in the first half.

Austria joined already qualified Poland from Group G with a 2-1 triumph over visiting North Macedonia.

Croatia booked its place as Group E winner with a 3-1 victory at home over Slovakia. AP

Party time: Finland in first major soccer tournament

FINNISH fans join players to celebrate their victory in the Euro 2020 Group J qualifying match against Liechtenstein in Helsinki, on Friday. AP

BRAZILIANS CELEBRATE F1 GREAT SENNA S

A MURAL depicts legendary Brazilian F1 driver Ayrton Senna on a business front near the Interlagos racetrack in São Paulo, Brazil. AP

games and failed to score a goal.

That has made them perennial underperformers compared to the women’s team and the country’s other medal winning athletes.

President and head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping has made boosting the level of play a national priority and the CFA has sought new strategies, including adding foreign born, nationalized players to the squad.

In his farewell remarks, Lippi, who guided Italy to the 2006 World Cup title, said he took “full responsibility” for the loss.

“For any team, players should give their all once they are on the pitch and execute what the head coach had planned for,” said Lippi, who returned for a second spell in charge of China, in May. “If they are afraid and lacking motivation, will and courage and failed to execute what we had trained for, I will take responsibility for that as head coach.”

“They played better than us and deserved this victory,” he added.

Osama Omari opened the scoring for Syria after 19 minutes, and Wu Lei equalized on the half hour. China went behind again after Zhang Linpeng’s own-goal with 14 minutes left.

Japan maintained its perfect record by beating Kyrgyzstan, 2-0, in Group F, and South Korea stayed first in Group H though it dropped points after drawing with Lebanon 0-0 in Beirut. Due to anti-government protests in the city, Lebanese authorities played the qualifier behind closed doors.

Takumi Minamino gave Japan the lead in Bishkek from the penalty spot four minutes before halftime and Genki Haraguchi added a second after 54 minutes.

Japan, with four wins out of four, moved six points clear of second-placed Kyrgyzstan at the top of the group.

Iran, trying to reach a third consecutive World Cup, fell to Iraq, 2-1, in Amman, Jordan.

Iran’s second straight loss dropped it four points behind Group C leader Iraq after substitute Alaa Abbas scored the winner in the second minute of injury time.

Iraq moved two points of clear of Bahrain, which drew against Hong Kong, 0-0.

Australia won 1-0 at Jordan thanks to a first-half goal from Adam Taggart. Australia is now five points clear at the top of Group B. Elsewhere, Vietnam took sole lead of Group G by three points after beating the United Arab Emirates, 1-0, in Hanoi, while previous coleader Thailand lost to Malaysia, 2-1, in Kuala Lumpur.

The Saudi Arabia came from behind to defeat Uzbekistan, 3-2, to go top of Group D. Only the winner of each of the eight groups and the four best second-place teams progress to the next stage of qualification. AP

ÃO PAULO—With little at stake at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix (GP), the Formula One (F1) race is an opportunity for fans to remember and celebrate home favorite Ayrton Senna, 25 years after his death.

Lewis Hamilton—a huge fan of the Brazilian F1 great—and his Mercedes team have already secured this season’s driver and constructor titles, with second places also going to Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari, respectively.

A Brazilian TV helicopter painted in the yellow and green colors of Senna’s racing helmet has flown around Interlagos since Thursday. Banners at the track say “Obrigado, Senna” (Thank you, Senna) as part of a social-media campaign to raise money for the children’s institute that carries his name.

Three-time F1 champion Senna died after a crash at the San Marino GP in May 1994. His title-winning McLaren car will take pride of place on the track before Sunday’s race. Bruno Senna will be driving it and is set to stop the car to take a Brazilian flag from a steward, as his uncle famously did after winning in São Paulo.

Many of the 60,000 fans expected for the race will wear shirts and flags bearing Senna’s

face. With no Brazilian driver on the grid, local broadcasters are focusing on the charismatic driver who won the championship in 1988, 1990 and 1991.

Six-time F1 champion Hamilton is once more wearing a helmet paying tribute to his childhood hero. Hamilton has been asked about his relationship with Senna in every interview and news conference in São Paulo.

Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari is also paying his own tribute to Senna, with a wristband in yellow and green colors. He visited the Brazilian driver’s institute, which focuses on helping educational projects for poor children.

Hamilton has won the Brazilian GP twice, including last year, and Vettel three times.

Home fans at the track, like 37-year-old Elton Campos, said Saturday they will cheer for Hamilton because the British driver clearly adores Senna.

“I didn’t like him much at first because Hamilton stopped [Brazilian] Felipe Massa from winning the title here in 2008,” Campos said, wearing a cap that read “Senna forever.”

“But Hamilton is very respectful to Ayrton, he genuinely loves him and now Brazilian fans feel like paying back a little.”

The commemorations started a week ago at a sponsor’s event when two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi drove Senna’s

1985 Lotus on the streets of São Paulo, causing some fans to cry.

Senna drove that same car to win his first F1 race at the Portuguese GP. “I am speechless, there’s too many emotions, too many memories,” Fittipaldi said in tears after hugging Senna’s sister Viviane.

Veteran Brazilian journalist Flávio Gomes, who covered Senna in F1, says the driver wouldn’t necessarily agree with all the attention.

“It is looking as if Senna was the only good thing that Brazil produced in F1,” said Gomes. “Six drivers have already won races.

Two others, Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet, have won titles. Reducing Brazilian history in F1 to Senna is very unfair, and I think he wouldn’t agree with that either.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, meanwhile, took pole position on Saturday, for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

It’s the second career pole for Verstappen, who beat Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by just 0.123 seconds at Interlagos.

Verstappen’s first pole was at the Hungarian GP in August. He won the Austrian and German GPs this season.

Hamilton will start from third position.

The 2018 winner at Interlagos finished 0.191 seconds back and promised to be “a bit more aggressive” on Sunday. AP

God of the living

D

EAR God, in Jesus You renew our strength each morning. With hope we pray: Hear our prayer, oh God. Imbue elected servant leaders and all who seek public office with integrity, honesty and a desire to serve for the good of all mankind especially the needy. Help us to nurture confidence, self-esteem and honesty in young people. Heal the sick and strengthen those who are undergoing chemotherapy, radiation or physical therapy. May God renew us in hope, enkindle in us the fire of Christ’s love and make our steps firm in faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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

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

Life

AND THEN SOME: ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT ALWAYS GOLD D4

BusinessMirror

Monday, November 18, 2019

D1

‘Angels’ of mine E

VERY generation since the 1970s deserves its own Charlie’s Angels. The current one, taking flight but not really soaring in theaters, stars erstwhile vampire Kristen Stewart as rebel/heiress Sabina Wilson, newcomer/ noble blood Ella Balinska as former MI-6 Jane Kano and former Power Ranger Naomi Scott as recruit/ scientist Elena Houghlin.

The 2000s had Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu in action-packed, rambunctious versions, with Demi Moore as a former Angel-turneddemon in the 2003 sequel Full Throttle. There was a short-lived TV reboot with Annie Ilonzeh, Rachael Taylor and Minka Kelly in 2011, but we hardly knew them. And over the years, there were Hispanic, German and Taiwanese unofficial Angels.

I’m fortunate to have witnessed my childhood princesses become generals, such as Robin Wright (The Princess Bride to Antiope in Wonder Woman) and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia to Leia Organa in Star Wars). So I’m also happy that today’s youth get to see their Disney princesses (Kristen as Snow White and Naomi as Jasmine, and Ella can totally be Princess Tia) turn into badass crime-fighting women.

The special press screening of the new franchise offering at the Century City Mall made me nostalgic for the original Angels—Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett. The show (1976-1981) was a staple of my growing-up years, alongside Wonder Woman, Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest and Knots Landing.

Not to mention Remington Steele and Cover Up. These shows comprised the pop culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

“A warmer model of female friendship was embodied in Aaron Spelling’s blockbuster Charlie’s Angels TV show, which was denounced by feminists as a ‘tits-and-ass’ parade, but was in fact an effervescent action-adventure showing smart, bold women working side by side in fruitful collaboration,” wrote Camille Paglia, in a 2015 essay on #GirlSquads for The Hollywood Reporter.

The Angels, as brave undercover detectives, had a massive influence on their audience. Little girls were seriously considering future careers in law enforcement, while women were more assertive of their financial independence. They were also more audacious in their fashion choices, as the Angels wore outfits that were heavily copied at that time. Their wardrobe reportedly had a budget of $20,000 a week, with the esteemed designer Nolan Miller, who later on gained greater fame in Dynasty, at the helm.

THE original Angels: Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith, on the cover of Time for the November 22, 1976 issue. DOUGLAS KIRKLAND

Kate (Sabrina Duncan) is credited with the title Charlie’s Angels when she saw a poster of three angels in Spelling’s office. The original title was supposedly Alley Cats (a play on the characters’ original names Allison, Lee and Catherine). Jaclyn (Kelly Garrett) auditioned for a role originally written as a redhead. But producers liked her so much that the role was rewritten for her. Farrah (Jill Munroe) spawned a phenomenon with her poster in a red swimsuit (the biggest-selling of all time), as well as her feathered hairstyle that spurred a million imitations.

Kim Basinger and Priscilla Presley were reportedly offered roles.

Cheryl Ladd (Kris Munroe) came in as Jill’s little sister in Season 2 when Farrah left the series. When Kate left before Season 4, a bevy of beauties were considered—Barbara Bach, Connie Sellecca, Shari Belafonte and a newcomer named Michelle Pfeiffer.

But it was the statuesque Shelley Hack who was cast as Tiffany Welles, a metaphysics, clairvoyant and policewoman from Boston. Shelley was a real-life supermodel who was famous as the Revlon Charlie

THE current Angels: Ella Balinska, Kristen Stewart and Naomi Scott

perfume girl, thus the headline that Spelling relished: “The Charlie Girl Becomes a Charlie’s Angel.”

Even if she gave the show much-needed gloss and glamor, Shelley left after only one season. As gossip would have it, producers’ favorite Cheryl didn’t like her. Cheryl also didn’t bond with Kate.

Cheryl also didn’t get along with the new recruit, commercial model and dance instructor Tanya Roberts (Julie Rogers, a streetwise model). Tanya has the distinction of being an Angel and a Bond Girl (A View to a Kill in 1985).

In some media interviews, the new Angels have admitted that they didn’t watch the original TV series.

Fans have found it disrespectful. Should they forgive that slight and watch in droves to increase the box office take of this female-centered movie, they’ll find more pleasures are in store for them.

Spoilers! We know that the Charles Townsend Agency has gone international, so Angels of all nationalities will make pleasantly surprising appearances. Also a great delight are the cameos of accomplished women who turn out to be Angels

responsible for training the new recruits: IndyCar race champion Danica Patrick, wrestler Ronda Rousey and trailblazing transgender activist/actress Laverne Cox. The wannabe Angels, besides Naomi, are Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman and TV’s Betty Cooper, Lili Reinhart. And, grasping at a Filipino connection here, Hailee Steinfeld (whose maternal grandfather is from Bohol) is also an eager recruit.

In case bashers still argue that the Angels answer to a male voice on a speakerphone, the new Charlie is no other than Kelly Garrett herself.

Jaclyn Smith, who has blockbuster fashion lines at Kmart and Sears stores, the first celebrity to market her name, said in an interview with Parade magazine: “If we were that salacious, then we wouldn’t be talking about it 40 years later. People saw something else, whether it was the relationship of the girls who had each other’s backs, or the fact that we were financially or emotionally independent and had a work ethic. There was something on that show for everyone, and you could tell we really loved each other.” n

Finish the year with glam

PHOTOS: WORLD’S GLOBAL STYLE NETWORK

END 2019 in style as this season urges everyone to be brave and daring as it caps off the glorious days of athleisure and normcore.

While some trends continue to reign over the racks and ramps, one trend is certain: glamor is on the rise.

Industry expert Christine Benet, the chairman of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)’s Fashion Design and Merchandising Program, highlighted the must-haves that are tailor-fit for Filipinos following the international standards from giant trend forecast web site World’s Global Style Network (WGSN).

With the seamless blend of the flamboyance of the 1980s and the street fashion of the 1990s, individualism retains the crown with a bold, expressive and distinct attitude that depicts Gen Z. “This is a reflection of how they look forward to the future. They express themselves, but reflect their childhood and organic inspirations by mixing pieces from the past,” she stated.

“Everything is still voluminous and loud. The main addition will be the neutrals in terms of colors, vintage in silhouette, disco in lifestyle and more plastic-type accessories.”

It is now all about elevating what is

traditional and updating the usual: shifting the attention from the cuffs to the collars with distinct details, disrupting classic shapes with exaggerated proportions and Art Decoinspired trimmings, and seeking for attention with embellished patchworks, geometric appliqués and stunning cutworks.

Streetwear also embraces a more global aesthetic through an unexpected mix and match of sophisticated pairings: sportsenthused pieces adapt to a more glamorous look, oversized hoodies don luxe-inspired adornments if not kimono flare sleeves, and track tops are now in jewel hues. The casuals are revamped with double-layer boxy and slightly cropped tops that channel the comfy ‘90s vibe with its overlay of checked and striped long sleeves.

The classic suit-up also takes a contemporary turn with unconventional, yet, chic combinations: the 1980s strongshouldered blazer gets a subversive take when worn with shorts, bra tops and heels; the old-school check tops and ensembles are back in playful patterns and spliced applications; and check trousers with high-rise waist pants that fluidly fall with loose-fitting wide legs.

For those who go for extra comfy can try the pajama in opulent fabrics, or the deconstructed pullovers with an asymmetric button-down that finishes with a clean side-slit on the sleeves. Ideal for the holiday rush, boiler suits with embroidered patches and two-in-one jumpsuits with a ruched top and delicate floral lace sleeves are also go-to looks.

The Philippines, being a tropical country, Benet still believes the Filipinos follow the end-of-the-year season since the locals are very much influenced by the Western choices.

“We apply it as much we can,” she clarified, “and since the global trends rely nowadays on online platforms like Instagram, the niche in the Philippines of individualistic Filipinos is growing, as well.”

With over 250 trend experts and data scientists catering an immense number of insights and inspirations on fashion, lifestyle and retail, WGSN has become one of the best trend forecasters in the world. With globally available information on hand, the DLS-CSB continues to be the leading fashion school in the country as it provides only the best learning tools and most innovative learning experience for its students.

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Style

BusinessMirror

Monday, November 18, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Luxe finds for the holidays and beyond W

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Damon Wayans Jr., 37; Chloe Sevigny, 45; Owen Wilson, 51; Oscar Nunez, 61.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Express your thoughts and feelings. Letting others know where you stand will help you cut through any uncertainty that might stop you from recognizing what’s best for you. Changes need to be thought through from beginning to end before you take action. Motives have to be honorable, and transparency will be essential if you plan to get ahead.

Your lucky numbers are 6, 13, 19, 22, 26, 37, 48.

ITH the holidays approaching, have a taste of the luxe life—at lower prices—at The SM Store’s branded watches, eyewear and jewelry sale from November 21 to 24 at all branches nationwide.

Dazzle and sparkle with fine jewelry pieces: from sophisticated necklaces to trendy bracelets; from stylish earrings to fabulous rings. There are also elegant timepieces, both classic and sporty, as well as a selection of eyewear which includes chic sunglasses, hip wayfarers and casual aviators.

Be it as a treat for yourself or a wonderful gift for your loved one, there is definitely a luxe find for everyone at the the upcoming sale. Up to 30-percent discount on luxury brands of jewelry, eyewear and watches can be had, with an additional 20-percent off for SM Advantage, SM Prestige and BDO Rewards cardholders. n

ELEGANT 18-karat yellow gold earrings and chain set from F&C Jewelry

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Participate in something that excites you. Stop worrying about something you cannot change. Be kind to yourself and willing to wholeheartedly embrace the changes going on around you. Personal gains, romantic adventures and physical improvements are encouraged. ★★★★★

HEART charms with chains in 18-karat yellow gold from F&C Jewelry

â?ś THE Prismatic

Galaxy Three-Hand Blue Leather Watch from Fossil

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Look for the obvious, and make adjustments that will help you take advantage of an offer. A steady pace forward may not sit well with someone close to you. Make suggestions that encourage loved ones to join in. ★★

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Reveal your feelings and what you plan to do. It’s best to keep your plans out in the open to avoid accusations that you are sneaky or unfair. A positive change at home will bring you closer to someone you love. ★★★★

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Pick up speed and keep the momentum going. Share your vision, and you’ll encounter someone who wants to be part of your plan. Don’t sugarcoat or exaggerate. ★★★

â?ˇ LACOSTE

12.12 Chronograph Watch with Green Silicone Strap

â?¸ ARMANI

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Explore new avenues. When one door closes, another one will open. Transform into whatever works best for you. Look for creative ways to use your attributes to get what you want. ★★★

Exchange Lady Drexler in rose gold-tone stainless steel

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Someone will hide important information. Observation will give insight into what others are thinking or planning to do next. Make a decision before it’s too late.

Don’t let someone’s uncertainty ruin your plans. ★★★

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Focus on what you can do to improve. Take time to unwind and relax. Refuse to let someone monopolize your time or cost you emotionally or financially. Make a change, purchase or decision that will enhance your life. ★★★★

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RAY-BAN’S Justin sunglasses in blue mirror lens for casual days

TORTOISE shell sunglasses from Longchamp

Ferrari to launch fashion collaboration with Armani ITALIAN designer Giorgio Armani acknowledges applauses at the end of his Pre-Fall 2020 collection fashion show, unveiled in Milan, Italy, on November 14. AP

MILAN—Sports car maker Ferrari has announced a fashion collaboration with Giorgio Armani as part of its long-promised strategy to squeeze more value out of the storied company’s allure.

CEO Louis Camilleri told analysts that Ferrari aims to earn 10 percent of earnings before interest and taxes within a decade from three defined brand extension areas: apparel, entertainment and luxury services.

The Italian company aims to both increase and retain a greater portion of the â‚Ź800 million ($892 million) in products bearing the prancing horse logo, the CEO said.

That will include jettisoning

licenses that don’t properly represent Ferrari. “This is not just about profit, this is about enhancing our brand equity and the vitality, and vibrancy of the brand,�

Camilleri said.

Ferrari has long had one of the world’s most recognizable brands, but it has only recently translated that into value. Its brand’s value grew from $4 billion in 2014 to $8.3 billion in 2019, according to London-based consultants Brand Finance. It is now seventh on Brand Finance’s list of most valuable luxury brands, from 350th five years ago.

As part of the new strategy, Ferrari will focus the use of its brand, reducing

licenses by half and eliminating a third of the product categories currently available.

Besides the apparel line to be produced in Italy through a longterm deal with Armani, Ferrari will expand its entertainment offerings, which currently comprise theme parks in Abu Dhabi and Barcelona, and two museums in Italy, with driving simulation centers to leverage its Formula 1 racing heritage.

The third category, luxury services, will include a new restaurant with Michelin-star chef Massimo Bottura to open next year at the Maranello headquarters, which already has a Ferrari-themed hotel. AP

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Spend time planning what you want to pursue.

Preparation will play an important role when dealing with emotional situations. Less overreacting and paying more attention to facts, along with direct communication, will be in your best interest. ★★

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Look at the possibilities, as well as the challenges.

Mapping out the best way to deal with a situation that involves other people will ease your mind when it comes time to present what you have to offer. ★★★★★

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A physical change to the way or where you live should be welcome. Someone close to you won’t agree with everything you want to pursue. Presenting a detailed layout will help you gain the confidence, support and hands-on help you require. ★★★

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Keep moving forward until you are satisfied with the results you get. An emotional situation will depend on your ability to discuss your feelings. Don’t assume others are aware of what you are going through.

Romance is on the rise. ★★★

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A decision you have to make will leave you in a quandary.

Don’t let uncertainty overrule what you know has to take place. Stick to your script, and make it clear what has to be done. ★★★ BIRTHDAY BABY: You are passionate, intense and unpredictable.

You are dedicated and persistent.

‘party crashers’ BY ADAM VINCENT The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Ritalin target, for short 5 Mexican money 9 Wanders aimlessly 14 Farewell, in Venice 15 Cuba’s Castro 16 “It’s raining cats and dogs,� for one 17 Shared on a certain social-media site (first 2 letters + last 2) 19 “Napoleon Dynamite� candidate 20 Come out 21 Vegetable tray features 23 Mickey Mouse headband part 24 He “went to town/A-riding on a pony� (first 2 + last 2) 27 “That’s so cute!�

30 Hubbub 31 Angry Birds, e.g.

32 Better Call Saul star Seehorn 34 Close by 37 ___ Allen furniture 41 Get-togethers that each starred answer’s middle letters “interrupt�

44 Beauty business 45 Low in fat

46 Music staff symbol 47 Winter bug 49 Uncertain factors 51 “That’s so gross!�

52 Symbol of UK rule (first 2 + last 3) 58 Rowboat implement 59 Cook scallops, perhaps 60 Is dishonest with 64 Highly capable 66 Fellow musicians (first 2 + last 3) 68 Singer’s scope 69 Slurpee competitor 70 Bronzes in the sun 71 Fear greatly 72 Defeated in boxing 73 Burst ___ the scene DOWN 1 About a third of a baseball field 2 Per ___ (daily) 3 Really, really dislike 4 Marriage custom in some cultures 5 Fussing over oneself 6 Dig in 7 Soft shoe material 8 Song such as “Yesterday�

9 10 11 12 13 18 22 25 26 27 28 29 33 35 36 38 39 40 42 43 48 50 52 53 54

Tears the wrapping off Lofty poem Helped “Look before you leap,� for one Camp treat “Great Scott!�

Smooch in the street, e.g., briefly Prepare to be knighted Sight-related Parentheses’ shapes Exclamation of awe Healthy In the sky Roses-red link Show again One of three in many bowling balls Once more “Too racy for the office� initials Joined the military Spread out, as a map Operate Dog-paddle or crawl Pinterest collection Storm-tracking device Singer Cara

55 56 57 61 62 63 65 67

Nun’s garment Give in to pressure “Nifty!�

Overzealous fan, slangily Fair shelter ___ buco Org. for Mickelson and McIlroy New: Prefix

Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

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Show BusinessMirror

Monday, November 18, 2019

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Viva Entertainment set to roll out its year-end aces CLOCKWISE: Aga Muhlach and Xia Vigor for Miracle in Cell 7, Indonesian actors Shandy Aulia and Dodit Mulyanto of Cinta Itu Buta and the Del Rosarios of Viva Entertainment.

A

ROUND 40 years ago, Vic del Rosario made one of his best business decisions when he collaborated with then-Pasay City Mayor Pablo Cuneta, who was looking for a business partner to coproduce a film for his daughter Sharon, who was then a promising pop singer.

The film, P.S. I love You became a blockbuster and catapulted Sharon Cuneta to stardom and elevated Del Rosario to mega-producer status.

Del Rosario named his movie production outfit Viva Films, and he has never stopped churning out movies, despite the many political and economic turmoils that the Philippines has faced, and the insurmountable personal challenges that his family and businesses have encountered over the last four decades.

This year has been a good one for many of the Viva Entertainment business interests, and it looks like the film arm’s year-ender offerings would bring more success to this family-owned enterprise.

Many are looking forward to the Philippine remake of the 2013 Korean blockbuster hit Miracle in Cell No. 7, a heart-tugging tale about a mentally challenged man wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, who built strong friendships with his cellmates who helped find ways to reunite him with his daughter.

The film of the same title is an entry to the upcoming annual Metro Manila Film Festival, and A-list actor Aga Muhlach heads the roster of stars who play key roles in the film, including Mon Confiado, Joel Torre, Soliman Cruz and Jojit Lorenzo. Child discovery Xia Vigor gets her biggest role to date in this movie directed by the well-loved box-office filmmaker Nuel Naval.

Vincent del Rosario, a schoolmate of ours in San Beda and who now holds the position of president and

chief operating officer, helps his dad call the shots for Viva Entertainment. He shared that his family’s hopes are high for their festival entry this December. “We have been participating in the year-end festival for many years now, and we’ve had our share of hits and a few misses. But Miracle in Cell No. 7 excites us so much, and that’s why we are going all out in the marketing and promotions efforts to ensure that the film draws in the most number of audiences when it opens on Christmas Day.” Viva recently collaborated with Indonesian companies to produce Cinta Itu Buta, a remake of the original Filipino movie Love is Blind, directed by

Rachmania Arunita, and starring Indonesian actors Shandy Aulia and Dodit Mulyanto. Vincent also added that they are actively licensing their library of films on streaming services like iFlix, Netflix, Apple, Amazon and HOOQ to make available the company’s local content to many territories globally.

Adan, a sexually-charged movie between two women, is also set for release soon. With new actors Cindy Miranda and Rhen Escaño, the film is written, photographed and directed by Roman SantillanPerez.

Then there is the Paul Soriano movie Mañanita, which got very good reviews at the Tokyo

‘150 years of Berlioz’

By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez INSIDE the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), a select few hundreds gathered at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo, where the institution hosted Berlioz and Friends, a concert held in honor of Hector Berlioz, organized in partnership with the Embassy of France to the Philippines and Stores Specialists Inc. The spectacle was as huge as the artist, with no less than the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and master conductors Michaël Cousteau and Yoshikazu Fukumura helming the concert as a tribute to one of the boldest pioneers in new orchestral sonorities—a radical who, even 150 years after his death, remains relevant in the musical pantheon.

“Twenty-nineteen marks an important milestone in classical music: the 150th death anniversary of Hector Berlioz, regarded as the inventor of the modern orchestra. He counted among the heroes of romanticism in France, together with Victor Hugo and Georges Delacroix,” said Ambassador of France to the Philippines Nicolas Galey, during the show’s opening.

The ambassador added, “It is also an important year for the Philippines as it marks the 50th anniversary of the CCP, the institutional home for the arts and a lot of classical performances. The

French Embassy is very happy to bring Berlioz and Friends to Manila, and we look forward to further developing this partnership in the promotion of cultural appreciation and exchange between our two countries.” Berlioz and Friends frames the French composer’s works written for his contemporaries, such as masterpieces like “Harold in Italy, op. 16” and “Romeo and Juliet: Love Scene,” as well as Richard Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod” and Franz Liszt’s “Les Preludes.” Harold in Italy, based on a poem by Lord Byron, is a symphony in four movements for solo viola and an orchestra. Berlioz wrote the piece in 1834 on commission from the Italian violinist Niccolò Paganini, who found the solo part too reticent.

Paganini wouldn’t hear the piece until four years later at the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire in 1834. By that time, tuberculosis of the larynx had robbed his voice, but he made his appreciation for the work clear, kneeling and kissing Berlioz’s hand after the performance.

Berlioz shared a long and sincere friendship with Hungarian composer Liszt, who transcribed “Symphonie fantastique” in 1830 into a cohesive piano version; as well as Wagner, who found inspiration in Berlioz’s works for his own compositions.

Pierce Brosnan’s sons named Golden Globe Awards ambassadors

ACCLAIMED conductor Michaël Cousteau

‘OGIE AND THE HURADOS’ TAKE NPAT STAGE AGAIN THIS TIME WITH REGINE WITH the success of his first performance together with the esteemed “Hurados” at the award-winning Newport Performing Arts Theater (NPAT) in Resorts World Manila (RWM), OPM president Ogie Alcasid returns this Christmas season on December 1 with a new set of music icons and special guest Hurado who will surprise audiences.

In time for RWM’s Grand Fiesta Manila and 10th anniversary celebrations, Ogie and the Hurados 2 is again bringing the house down with a roster of awesome performances and grand champion-worthy numbers that rivals the first concert’s sold-out caliber.

Due to insistent public demand, Ogie will once again perform the best numbers from the first show

International Film Festival recently. Written by local film auteur Lav Diaz and starring Bela Padilla as an ex-military officer on the path of revenge against the killers of her parents, it is set to have its theatrical release in early December.

“We will continue to produce films as long as there are good stories to tell, and brave, bold, brilliant filmmakers to tell these stories. I’m blessed to have my four children Vincent, Veronique, Valerie and VR running our companies, and the grandchildren are slowly blending into the business, creative and digital aspects of our ventures, as well,” enthused the 73-year-old mega producer Vic del Rosario. n

with added surprises and the new set of Hurados in Erik Santos, Jaya, Mitoy Yonting and Jolina Magdangal, plus Regine Velasquez-Alcasid as the special guest Hurado who will delight concert fans.

Ogie and the Hurados 2 also features the creative talents of Musical Director Nikko Rivera and Concert Director Paolo Bustamante.

Catch Ogie and the Hurados 2 for one-night only this December 1, 8 pm, and enjoy a night of fantastic OPM and international hits.

The concert is presented by Resorts World Manila (www.rwmanila.com) in cooperation with Ultimate Shows Inc. Tickets are now available at the RWM Box Office and all Ticketworld outlets.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California—Pierce Brosnan’s sons have been chosen as the Golden Globe ambassadors to assist with the glitzy awards ceremony.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced on Thursday evening that 22-year-old Dylan and 18-year-old Paris Brosnan will assume the ambassador roles for the 77th annual Golden Globes Awards in January.

An ambassador is traditionally the child of a celebrity who assists with award presentations, handing out trophies to winners and escorting them off stage.

The Brosnan brothers said they are more excited than nervous to appear on stage at the awards.

“We watched the Globes growing up...and I’ve gone with him a few times. So it’s truly an honor to be here in this capacity and pay homage to our father’s legacy,” said Dylan Brosnan about his father, a two-time Golden Globe nominee.

Dylan and Paris are the first male ambassadors after the HFPA rechristened the role, formerly known as Miss Golden Globe, in 2017. The association wanted to expand the role to help recognize the HFPA’s philanthropic efforts throughout the year.

The brothers will be partnering with the organization named FEED to deliver nutritious meals to school-aged children throughout the world.

“Our effort is to end child hunger and for parents to help keep their kids in school,” Paris Brosnan said.

Previous ambassadors include Idris Elba’s daughter Isan Elba and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s daughter, Simone Garcia.

The Golden Globes ceremony will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 5. Nominations for the show, which honors achievements in film and television, will be announced on December 9. AP

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Style

Monday, November 18, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

All that glitters is not always gold NARS Philippines ambassadors Raymond Gutierrez and Liz Uy

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Y best beauty memory of Nars is that for nearly a year, the only lipstick I wore was the brand’s iconic Schiap. Named after the late designer Elsa Schiaparelli, Schiap is a neon fuchsia. I dare say it takes a lot of courage to wear Schiap, particularly if you’re dressed in ordinary clothes.

It is this same spirit of boldness and courage that I see in Nars’s Holiday 2019 collection, which is called Studio 54, inspired by the infamous nightclub of the 1970s and 1980s.

“Nars gives beauty lovers exclusive access beyond the velvet ropes of Studio 54 with limited-edition pieces inspired by the famed nightclub’s sparkling scene. Shimmering finishes and unexpected formulas are featured in a collection of provocative lipsticks, scintillating eye and cheek palettes, explicit mascara and mesmerizing must-have accessories. Partygoers will find endless possibilities for expression with iconic shades, seductive bolds and cult classics, all arriving just in time for the holidays. Disco. Decadence. Step inside the Studio 54 for Nars collection—once in, anything goes. Excess yourself,” Nars said in a press release. #ExcessYourself is the hashtag for the collection, and it’s about being out of the box.

For the campaign, Nars Philippines chose Raymond Gutierrez and Liz Uy as its ambassadors.

Nars Philippines Brand Manager Sam Gallardo said Gutierrez and Uy were chosen because they embody the brand’s philosophy of being bold and audacious.

“I think makeup is a tool that we can use to express ourselves,” said Gutierrez.

Uy shared a tip on how she works with fallout from glittery eyeshadow: “I just use petroleum jelly. The glitter sticks to it, and when it falls, I just use lint remover or masking tape.”

The Studio 54 collection has glitter everywhere, from the packaging to the actual products. We looked at the products and picked the best out of a collection that’s already beautifully curated. n NARS VELVET ROPE VELVET MATTE LIP PENCIL BOX. Liz Uy picked this as one of her favorites and her choice is justified. Housed in a lovely glittery purple case (with a built-in sharpener) are four lip crayons. The shades would make a great introduction to Nars: Bad Girl (a cool-

toned dusty pink), Dolce Vita (a wonderful nude), Dragon Girl (a beautiful red that’s famous for being Taylor Swift’s favorite) and Sex Machine (a pink mauve). n NARS STUDIO 54 AUDACIOUS LIPSTICK IN CARMEN. Every year, I become obsessed with lipstick and for 2019, it happens to be Carmen.

This is actually part of the regular Nars Audacious line, but in Studio 54 packaging.

Anyway, Carmen is described as a “geranium” but to me, it is a neutral bright red. n NARS OUTSHINE LIP GLOSS SET. I am not the type who applies lip gloss over lipstick, but I do appreciate the look, just not on me.

I love how this lip gloss comes in a sequined pouch so it’s perfect for gifting. You can also divide the glosses—Star Love, On the Radio and Triple X—and give one each as a Christmas gift to three people you love. It’s not an inexpensive gift, but this is Nars and it’s a really good brand. n NARS FREE LOVER CHEEK PALETTE. This palette has six pans containing blushes and a highlighter. The blushes are mostly matte corals and pinks. There are two with shimmer. This would work for those who know how to combine blushes. It would also make a great gift for a makeup artist.

The Nars Studio 54 Holiday 2019 collection is available at Adora Greenbelt, SM Megamall, Central Square, Power Plant Mall, Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Shangri-La, Rustan’s Alabang and Rustan’s Cebu. n

BusinessMirror

DOES YOUR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAVE USERS’ BEST INTERESTS AT HEART?

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By Mike Walsh

THICAL decisions are rarely easy.

Nowadays, even less so. Smart machines, cheap computation and vast amounts of consumer data not only offer incredible opportunities for modern organizations, they also present a moral quandary: Is it OK, as long as it’s legal?

Algorithmic bias can take many forms—it is not always as clear-cut as racism in criminal sentencing or gender discrimination in hiring.

Sometimes too much truth is just as dangerous. In 2013, an academic paper demonstrated that Facebook “likes” (which were publicly open by default at that time) could be used to predict a range of highly sensitive personal attributes, in-

cluding sexual orientation and gender, ethnicity, religious and political views, personality traits, use of addictive substances, parental separation status and age.

When they published their study, the researchers acknowledged that their findings risked being misused by third parties to incite discrimination, for example. However, where others

saw danger and risk, one of the authors’ colleagues at Cambridge University saw opportunity. In early 2014, Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm, signed a deal with that colleague for a private venture that would capitalize on the work of the trio of researchers.

A quiz was created, thanks to an initiative at Facebook that allowed third parties to access user data. Almost 300,000 users were estimated to have taken that quiz.

It later emerged that Cambridge Analytica then exploited the data to access and build profiles on 87 million Facebook users. Arguably, neither Facebook nor Cambridge Analytica’s decisions were strictly illegal, but in hindsight— and in context of the scandal the program soon unleashed—they could hardly be called good judgment calls.

Over the past decade, Apple has been criticized for taking the opposing stance on many issues relative to its peers like Facebook

Monday, November 18, 2019 E1

MIDSIZE COMPANIES ARE GROWING, BUT STRUGGLING TO EARN PROFITS

A PAVLO I | DREAMSTIME.COM

www.businessmirror.com.ph

and Google. Unlike them, Apple runs a closed ecosystem with tight controls: You can’t load software on an iPhone unless it has been authorized by Apple.

While Facebook’s actions may have been within the letter of the law, and within the bounds of industry practice, at the time, they did not have the users’ best interests at heart. There may be a simple reason for this. Apple sells products to consumers. At Facebook, the product is the consumer. Facebook sells consumers to advertisers.

Your customers will expect you to use their data to create personalized and anticipatory services for them while demanding that you prevent the inappropriate use and manipulation of their information. As you look for your own moral compass, one principle is apparent: You can’t serve two masters.

Mike Walsh is the CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy.

WE NEED A GLOBAL STANDARD FOR REPORTING CYBER ATTACKS

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By Marc Barrachin & Algirde Pipikaite

YBER threats are a seemingly impossible challenge. By their very nature—fast-changing, borderless, asymmetric—they’re ridiculously difficult to predict and manage. We focused on the main challenge in managing cyber security: the data gap. Very little cyber data is broadly available, making it difficult to objectively evaluate the potential impact of incidents. Through our work we propose an approach to identifying what to measure, how to capture the required data and how to make it useful.

Share information

INFORMATION is power and,

in cyber security, it’s the power to prevent other similar events.

If a breach occurs in one organization, we can be reasonably confident that the same malicious tactic will be used on another organization in the near future. If the data about that first known breach is made available, other organizations can prepare themselves. Shared knowledge also allows regulators and law enforcement to objectively manage incentives to guide corporate cyber-security governance, data gathering and information sharing.

The first step is to figure out what exactly should be measured. To do this, we must agree on a standard taxonomy of cyber events so that we can track and

© 2019 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate)

understand the consequences of any attack. To encourage breachrelated information sharing, it is important to guarantee anonymity to the organizations reporting incidents.

The cyber threat landscape is constantly evolving, as are regulatory requirements. Cyber preparedness has to be reviewed and adjusted regularly.

Compliance and communication

REGULATORS across the globe require companies to disclose incidents, but our research shows that too often these regulators share too little of the data publicly to be of use, if they share any at all. In our research we observed that while reporting on cyber risks is a purely compli-

ance-based exercise, companies do elaborate in greater detail after they suffer a publicly disclosed incident.

We’re just as worried that there are no incentives for organizations to share what data they may have about cyber breaches and vulnerability. To remedy this, we suggest a public-private partnership to give organizations the operational support they need to both monitor their security and share information via a trusted resource.

Marc Barrachin is a managing director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Algirde Pipikaite serves as a project lead at the Centre for Cybersecurity, World Economic Forum.

By Vijay Govindarajan, Anup Srivastava & Luminita Enache

CCORDING to our research, a midsize firm today is approximately four times bigger and has been around 7.6 years longer, on average, than a similar firm in 1999. In the same period, however, we’ve also seen a decline in the number of medium firms, due to the large-scale delisting of precarious companies, first during the dot-com bust of the early 2000s, and then during the Great Recession of 2007-2008. The decrease in the number of medium firms, coupled with the increase in their aggregate market capitalization from $434 billion in 1996 to $2,083 billion in 2017, means that average firm size quadrupled, despite adjusting for inflation.

Our data also show that the gross margins of medium-size firms steadily rose from the late 1990s to 2017. At the same time, these companies showed a steady decline in sales growth. It seems that medium-size firms now pursue less aggressive growth strategies than they did in the late 1990s, and this could indicate a growing maturity of firms’ business models.

So what’s happening with these medium-size firms? Are they enjoying the quiet life now or are they more unstable than ever?

The data show that today’s medium firms are larger and older than at any other time in the past 35 years. Yet, an increasing percentage of midsize firms incur losses and have lower profits and lower growth, despite spending larger amounts on experimentation and innovation.

These findings have several implications. First, despite their larger size, midsize firms appear to be struggling and must constantly reinvent themselves to survive.

Second, the role of experimentation, normally associated with smaller start-ups, must increasingly be taken up by medium-size, middle-aged firms. Their business leaders must increasingly manage like they’re steering a start-up, with relentless innovation, just to keep their heads above the water.

There’s little hope now for living the quiet life of a maturing firm.

Vijay Govindarajan is a professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. Anup Srivastava is an associate professor at the University of Calgary, where Luminita Enache is an assistant professor.

Using artificial intelligence to understand what causes diseases

By Sema Sgaier & Francesca Dominici

H

EALTH-CARE leaders are embracing artificial intelligence.

But after an extensive review of case studies and research literature, we’ve found that their AI initiatives are predominantly focused on developing algorithms that can predict a problem. Rarely are organizations devoting resources to AI efforts aimed at understanding why diseases occur.

To intervene as effectively as possible, both kinds of algorithms are crucial.

In health care, the default approach to understanding causality is to conduct a randomized controlled trial.

But such trials are expensive, timeconsuming, not fully representative of different types of patients and often just not feasible. Causal AI algorithms can infer causal relationships from observational data, telling us how different factors interact with each other and which one is causing what. New approaches for causal AI are being developed and validated. Some areas where we especially see value are: discovering mechanisms of disease; treatment optimization; and identifying social determinants of health.

How do we make causal AI more central? First, we should understand the breadth of what it can offer. Healthcare leaders must take the time to identify problems in their work that would most benefit from it, partner with companies and academics with expertise in this area and conduct a few case studies.

Second, the ability of causal AI to provide trustworthy conclusions must rely on having accurate and representative data. We can train models to be intelligent only if we give them data of excellent quality that represent the right populations, can be merged with other data sets and have been compared with a good control group.

Organizations must invest in building the data infrastructure needed for these algorithms.

Creating algorithms that can ask “why?” is harder than creating ones that can make predictions. But it’s not only a worthwhile endeavor, it’s a necessary one.

Sema Sgaier is a cofounder and the executive director of the Surgo Foundation. Francesca Dominici is a professor at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

Education BusinessMirror

E2 Monday, November 18, 2019

Poll: Many American youths say high-school diploma is enough

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LTHOUGH most young Americans believe in the value of higher education, many still consider a high-school diploma alone to be enough for success, according to a survey of teens and young adults by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

INSTRUCTORS from Raphael House lead a classroom discussion about consent and healthy relationships with a class of sophomores at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon, on April 15.

AP/GILLIAN FLACCUS

The findings alarm some experts who say young Americans don’t seem to be getting the message that college pays off.

Federal labor data shows a wide earnings gap between Americans who do and do not have a college degree, and unemployment rates are far lower for those with a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

More than half of Americans ages 13 through 29 do see college as a path to economic success, but about 4 in 10 believe a bachelor’s degree prepares people only somewhat well, or even poorly, for today’s economy.

Meanwhile, about half said their high-school education has provided the skills they need to get a good job right after they graduate. And 45 percent say a highschool diploma is good preparation for future successful workers.

Researchers disputed that notion, saying it has been decades since a high-school diploma was enough to earn a good living.

“With a high-school diploma alone, it’s very hard to earn the kinds of wages one would need to support a family,” said Thomas Brock, director of the Community College Research Center at

Columbia University. “There’s just such a strong association between employment rates, as well as earnings, and education.”

In 2018, the median earnings for workers with only a highschool diploma was $730 a week, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For those with a bachelor’s degree, it was $1,200, while those with a master’s degree typically made $1,400 a week.

Teens are especially likely to think high school is a good path to success in today’s economy, while young adults were less likely to say so, 51 percent versus 42 percent.

And there were stark differences by race: At least half young black and Hispanic Americans said high school is a good path to success, compared with 41 percent of young white Americans.

More than any type of degree, 73 percent of young Americans said they think job experience is good preparation for success.

Their esteem for practical experience is shared by the Trump administration, which has pushed to expand apprenticeship programs.

Experts say it ref lects today’s economy, in which more employ-

ers require internships or other work experience.

While 6 in 10 said a bachelor’s degree is a route to success, an equal number said they see vocational school as good preparation, and about half see the same value in an associate degree.

The finding was a surprise to some researchers who say students—and their parents—often think of college only as a bachelor's degree.

“That’s not what I would expect to see,” said Heather McKay, director of the Education and Employment Research Center at Rutgers University. “It’s really great that young people are thinking of these alternatives, because there are some really good nondegree credential options out there.”

The survey also found disparities in the types of colleges young Americans choose. Overall, 3 in 4 said they plan to attend some type of college or have already done so.

For about half, their plans included a four-year university, while about a quarter opted for community college or vocational school. Another quarter had no college plans.

Wealthier Americans were more likely to pursue four-year universities, while those from poorer families leaned toward other options or no college at all. Those from wealthier families were also more likely to say their parents were helping pay for tuition and many forms of college preparation.

McKay said the findings suggest students are steering toward education choices they think they can afford.

“It’s a little bit saddening,” she said. “We need to do a better job of educating students and parents on that lifelong learning pathway, and the value of different kinds of education.”

A common thread among many young Americans is a concern over the cost of education. Nearly 8 in 10 said they think college affordability is a very or extremely serious problem, and a majority said they were at least somewhat concerned about debt.

Of those with college plans, a majority said they were borrowing or planning to borrow loans to pay for tuition.

In some ways, young Americans are right to be worried, said Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. The transition to adult independence is taking place later in life, he said.

Education requirements for good jobs have grown, and there are fewer available to young people.

Still, he said, there’s evidence that investments in college pay off.

“Eighty percent of four-year college degrees do bring sufficient earnings to pay for the cost over a career,” Carnevale said. “The truth is, it’s very hard for colleges at the four-year level to build programs that aren’t worth the loan.”

Debate over student debt and college affordability has come to the fore recently as Democratic presidential candidates court young voters with promises to make college free and erase debt.

And many young Americans say they like those ideas, the poll found.

Overall, 65 percent of young Americans said they support making tuition free at community colleges, an idea that has been adopted by some states and is being proposed nationally by Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, 60 percent support plans to make tuition free at all public colleges and universities, a proposal that’s supported by Sen s. E l i z abet h Wa r ren a nd Bernie Sanders.

Both ideas have wider support from Democrats, but each one had backing from nearly half of young Republicans.

Young Americans also widely support plans allowing student debt to be refinanced and plans to forgive debt for households earning less than $100,000 a year, the poll found.

Despite t heir reser vations about debt and affordability, young Americans ultimately see value in college. Only about a quarter said attending a four-year college brings more disadvantages than advantages. More than 7 in 10 said college brings more benefits or that the balance is equal.

The AP-NORC poll of 2,573 teens and young adults ages 13 through 29 was conducted from August 7 to September 9 using a combined sample of interviews from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population, and interviews from opt-in online panels.

The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. The AmeriSpeak panel is recruited randomly using address-based sampling methods, and respondents later were interviewed online or by phone. AP

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Robots meet favorite Pinoy sports in Tagisang Robotics

STUDENTS from Rizal National Science High School measure resistances and voltages of circuits using multimeters included in their kit-of-parts during their training for the Tagisang Robotics Competition. SEI

T

O say that Filipinos love basketball may be an understatement.

The truth is, we are crazy about it, albeit being vertically challenged.

But this year, a different type of hoops battle will defy not height but robotics’ might among young students.

The “Tagisang Robotics: Design, Build and Play Competition” makes a comeback featuring a new game inspired by basketball, which will surely capture the creativity and team spirit of young Filipinos.

The competition, which followed football in its previous runs from 2011 to 2014, will now see robots shooting sepak takraw balls in a trajectory toward their respective goals.

The robots were designed and built by high-school students who will also maneuver their creations on the playing field during the tournament on November 19 and 20 at the Forum 2 of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

The varsity-type robotics competition, organized by the Department of Science and TechnologyScience Education Institute (DOSTSEI), is now on its fifth run.

Dubbed as Tagisang Robotics 2.0, DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette Biyo explained why it took the institute five years to bring back the competition after its last tournament in 2014.

“We needed to give way to other science-promotion projects, but we’ve always planned on bringing it back as we’re aware of the increasing role of robotics in education, business, health care—in the Fourth Industrial Revolution in general,” Biyo said.

The DOST-SEI, besides spearheading the DOST scholarships, implements science and mathematics teachers’ training and youth science-promotion programs.

“The hiatus also gave us the opportunity to reconfigure the game to best match the interests and talents of our students,” Biyo added.

T he competition started in

September with a five-day Technical Training and Workshop, and Game Reveal.

Kits containing robot parts were distributed to the teams during the training. They were given two months to design and build robots that could withstand the challenges in the playing field and shoot the most number of balls to win.

The 16 schools set to face off against one another are: Bangkal High School, Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino High School, Caloocan National Science and Technology High School, Makati Science High School, Malabon National High School, Manila Science High School, Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School, Muntinlupa National High SchoolMain, Pasig City Science High School, Philippine Science High School-Main Campus, Pitogo High School, Rizal High School, Rizal National Science High School, Senator Renato “Compañero” Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School, Taguig Science High School and Valenzuela School of Math and Science.

Each team is composed of four junior high-school students and one teacher-coach. They will go through seven rounds of elimination matches to determine which teams will advance to the semifinals and finals.

Winners of the Best Team Award will receive P100,000 cash prize, while winners of the Best Alliance Award will bring home P150,000.

The winning team’s coach will receive P30,000. Winning alliance coaches will also get P15,000 each.

“We hope to spark students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics [STEM] and in information and communications technology through Tagisang Robotics. We also look forward to having them apply as DOST scholars. But mostly, we’d like to make students see robotics as fun and engaging. It’s a good start in ensuring our country will have more robotics experts in the future,” Biyo said.

S&T Media Service

Cities of Iloilo, Quanzhou agree on youth exchange program

I

DOCUMENTING FLOODED CROPS Campus photojournalist Nonie puts what he learned into practice as he takes photos of flooded rice farms in Santiago City, Isabela. The flood was caused by continuous rains which flooded Cagayan Valley and the rest of Northern Luzon last week. CEASAR M. PERANTE

LOILO CITY—A memorandum of agreement for a youth exchange program was inked by Iloilo City and China’s Quanzhou City in Fujian province last week.

Vice Chairman for Foreign Affairs Zhu Tuan Neng signed on behalf of Quanzhou, while Mayor Jerry P. Treñas signed for the city government of Iloilo during a ceremony held at the city hall penthouse.

Both cities in July 2018 signed a letter of intent for the establishment of a friendly relationship to enhance “the understanding and friendship between the people of Iloilo and Quanzhou, and to consolidate and develop friendly cooperation.”

“Promoting the sustainable development of friendship, during the visit of the Quanzhou in November 2019, both sides decided to make youth exchange a regular exchange program under the support of governments or councils,” part of the agreement said.

The two cities agreed to organize youth delegations to visit each other regularly with themes to include but

ILOILO City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas (left) and Vice Chairman for Foreign Affairs Zhu Tuan Neng sign a memorandum of agreement for the youth exchange program at the city hall penthouse on November 12. The exchange program was an offshoot of the friendly relationship between Iloilo City and China’s Quanzhou City in Fujian province in July 2018. ILOILO CITY PIO/PNA not limited to youth exchange, Chinese education and training, among others.

Treñas said the city government is happy with the friendly relations as the local government “encourages personto-person visits.”

“It is very important that people

also learn about Iloilo, especially because China is a very big market for tourism,” he added.

The mayor said it is important to encourage them because it is important to “establish friendship with different people.” Perla Lena/PNA

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Monday, November 18, 2019 E3

How can I be more productive?

I

N last week’s column, we answered the letter of Nina C., who, like many of us, seems to be overwhelmed with having to cope with deadlines, meetings and assignments. Not to mention the personal stuff she has to constantly deal with.

Rather than get swamped with these, she asked how she could be more productive.

We got a lot of help from Geoffrey James, who has a theory: “The Average Worker Spends 51 Percent of Each Workday on These 3 Unnecessary Tasks,” which he discusses in an article in inc.com.

He believes that “the reason most people are stressed for time is that they are wasting more than half of each day working on time-wasting tasks.” And he lists three culprits and simple solutions “to recapture the time that you’re, otherwise, destined to waste.” These include: n Unnecessary commuting (13 percent) n Unnecessary meetings (16 percent) n Unnecessary e-mails (23 percent) In this week’s column, we go further in the pursuit of productivity, which has been called the key to progress. According to Workplace Research as compiled in inc.com, “Productivity is a prized attitude among business professionals because time is money, money is time and everyone wants to get home after a long weekend without compromising their work.”

However, as Scott Mautz points out in “4 Ways to Eliminate Pointless Tasks from Your Daily Work,” another article in inc.com, there comes a time when “you suddenly realize you’ve drifted into spending your time at work on much too much stuff that doesn’t matter and far too little that does.

You’re caught in a work plan that isn’t how you planned to work at all.”

And then we realize “other people’s agendas take hold, urgent shoves important aside, you’re forced to work with arcane work processes, and the fact that it’s just easier to say ‘yes’ than ‘no’ adds a mountain of meaningless activity.”

Can you relate to that?

Mautz, who has helped many over a 30-year career “get off the low value treadmill,” suggests four steps to replace pointless work with poignant work.

BRAND & BUSINESS: ADSPARK, ADCOLONY AND GLOBE BRING HOME SILVER AT MMA SMARTIES APAC 2019 WITH ‘GOYO: ANG BATANG HENERAL’

GLOBE’S nationwide digital campaign for the movie Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral leveraged on mobile to engage with and excite Filipino moviegoers. A strategically designed interactive mobile creative loads the video in zero-buffer HD quality, and on the dynamic end card, users were prompted to tilt their mobile phones to scroll through the movie characters across the panoramic interactive end card where they could tap on hot spots to read more on the character’s profiles. Users were then led to GMovies to purchase movie tickets online. The highly interactive and immersive mobile experience enabled the movie Goyo to

successfully reach box-office status along with phenomenal results.

This proved that the power of mobile serves as an effective platform to reach and raise awareness but more important, engage with the target audience.

The Most Engaging Mobile Creative Category awards the best mobile creative on its overall performance in capturing user attention and keeping them engaged through an interactive campaign.

MMA SMARTIES Apac 2019 handed out 53 awards, with winners across the Asia-Pacific region highlighting excellence in mobile advertising.

EVENTS: THE STORY BEHIND SUPERMANILA 2019, ONE OF THE LARGEST GATHERINGS OF PHILIPPINE COMIC CREATORS

IN the past 10 years or so, the word “super” has been almost inextricably tied with the word “hero,” thanks in large part to films based on comic books. As the source material for some of the most successful motion pictures of all time, comics and the superheroes

Give a different ‘yes’ to low-value requests.

Color-code your work plan

MAUTZ recommends that we mentally categorize our work into three colored buckets—red, green and gold. Red is work that simply must go, bothersome, but simply must go.

Green, “is your core work, how you add maximum daily value, the heart of your job. You know it when you see it here, as well, and it shouldn’t be weighed down with distracting inducing work.”

Gold “is the work that will help build your legacy in your job, the most important projects that will leave the biggest longterm impact.” If you don’t have legacy-worthy projects, you can look at projects that you would be proud to tell others you lead.

Otherwise, it’s not delegating, it’s dumping.”

Now, “you can finally deprioritize that marginally valuable work that remains as long as you’re honest with yourself that it does really need to be done, but not immediately.”

Illuminate the cost of doing the low-value work.

COMMUNICATION is essential when you’ve identified and decided on the work you’re going to delete. This involves

“aligning with the stakeholders of that work that you won’t be doing it anymore,” and may we add, explaining this to them.

Mautz gives an example of being tasked to write a weekly summary report to send out to the team at the request of your boss, but discovering that no one reads the report as they prefer to get updates informally. Useless work.

At this point, Mautz says it is best to go to your boss and explain why the work is wasted time. Also, include what high-value work you

MAUTZ urges us to stay mindful of the quantity and quality of the work we take on.

He suggests adopting a one in, one out policy—for every new work you take on, one piece of lower value work should go (presuming you’re at full capacity).

If you struggle to say no, you can give the requestor of the low-value work a different “yes.” For example, you can suggest a different way of achieving one’s goal that won’t require this work.

All in all, Mautz believes “it takes a ‘little work ’ to give the little work away. But don’t hesitate. Clean house.”

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdombased International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie F. 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.

Delete, delegate or deprioritize—in that order

MAUTZ observes that “people start by deprioritizing elements of their work plan, feeling good about shifting the work to the bottom of the pile.

But there it still sits, staring at you from the bottom of your to-do list.”

He suggests to start “ by brutally deleting that ‘red work ’ you identified in step one.” Then, when work has to be done, but not by you, delegate.

Mautz has some words of wisdom on delegating. “When you decide to delegate,” he says, “invest the time to give the recipient proper direction, training, and resources required to do the job right.

that are prevalent in their pages have become ubiquitous and have invaded popular culture.

As such, two Filipino comic book stores: Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey, have been at the forefront of promoting the medium to a very hungry and receptive Filipino audience. Both specialty stores have been selling comics and related merchandise in all of their branches, while also facilitating comic signings and meet-and-greet events with Filipino talents whose work can be seen in American comics.

It would be easy to look at Comic Odyssey and Filbar’s as competitors, each hungry to grab the market and keep them away from each other. Yet, during the past few months, Comic Odyssey owner Sandy Sansolis and Filbar’s owners Jacob Cabochan and Ivan Guerrero found themselves working together on some projects. It was this cooperation that led to their most ambitious project to date, SuperManila 2019.

SuperManila secret origins

IN an adobo Magazine exclusive,

VIACHESLAV IACOBCHUK | DREAMSTIME.COM

By Millie F. Dizon

will be doing instead.

When you involve stakeholders, there are more chances low-value work will be eliminated.

BARAMEE THAWEESOMBAT | DREAMSTIME.COM

PR Matters

Part Two

Sansolis recently shared that the genesis for the pop culture convention stemmed from Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey working jointly on the production of a cover featuring Marvel Comics’s first Filipina superhero, Wave. Cocreated by writer Greg Pak and superstar Filipino artist Leinil Yu, Wave a.k.a.

Pearl Pangan, hails from Cebu and has recently been featured in titles like New Agents of Atlas. With Wave about to be featured on a variant cover for Aero No.1 with a cover

by Yu, Comic Odyssey and Filbar’s agreed to release limited numbers of their variants in their stores.

The cooperation between both parties proved to be so successful that when another opportunity came up, both wanted to go even further. With Aero No.3, a cover was going to be made, this time with legendary Filipino artist Whilce Portacio, who made a name for himself drawing The Punisher, X-Factor and Uncanny X-Men in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Not only was Wave going to be on the cover, but two other Filipino heroes, Red Feather and Sea Hunter, would join her.

Rather than just have one sign-

ing event in one or two of their branches, Sansolis, Cabochan and Guerrero wanted something bigger to bring Filipino comic lovers together. The result was SuperManila.

Filipino creativity in the spotlight

TO shine a light on both current and past Filipino artists who have been making their mark in comics, SuperManila 2019 was held at The Podium from October 18 to 20, 2019, and organized by the combined resources of Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey. Since Portacio was already in touch with fellow Filipino artist Rafael Kayanan in the US, he suggested also bringing the latter home for the first time in decades.

Kayanan, who previously provided art for The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man, Conan the Adventurer and Amazing Spider-Man, has mostly been involved in recent years with teaching the Filipino martial art of Sayoc Kali, as well as being a fight coordinator for both TV and movies.

SuperManila 2019 also allowed Portacio to reunite with some of the Filipino talents that he helped

nurture over two decades ago. At a house on #55 Balete Drive, Portacio set up Starfire Visuals to search for Filipino talents in the hopes of teaching them and getting their art published for a global audience. As one of the cofounders of Image Comics, Portacio’s name carried weight and his experience with American publishers would prove invaluable in tapping the talents of a new generation of artists in Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Jay Anacleto, Gilbert Monsanto and Ed Tadeo.

A panel moderated by filmmaker and comic writer Jay Ignacio of DaPulis fame had these artists reuniting and reminiscing about those days when the fame that would follow was but a mere dream for them. Each of these artists has since received a measure of fame both here and abroad thanks to the hard work they put into their craft. Yu and Alanguilan in particular are the current artistic team on the relaunched X-Men title after recent celebrated runs on Captain America, Secret Invasion, Star Wars, Superman: Birthright, Superior and Avengers.

E4 Monday, November 18, 2019

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HE WAS TRUMP BEFORE TRUMP: VP Spiro Agnew attacked the news media 50 years ago

A CIVIL Rights march, September 1963, protesting the Alabama church bombing, an act of white supremacist terrorism which occurred at the African-American 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963. Agnew opposed such marches and demonstrations. U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

By Thomas Alan Schwartz | Vanderbilt University

A

THE CONVERSATION

MERICANS witnessed an unprecedented event 50 years ago: live television coverage on all three national networks of a speech by the vice president of the United States.

Speeches by vice presidents never received such attention. But the address on November 13, 1969,

by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew to the Midwest Regional Republican Committee Meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, blandly titled “The Responsibilities of Television,” set off a public uproar.

Almost overnight, it made Agnew one of the most significant conservative political leaders in the country.

‘Querulous criticism’

AGNEW argued that the television network news programs, and the “tiny and closed fraternity of privileged men” who produced them, had acquired “a profound influence over public opinion,” with few checks on their “vast power.”

He then attacked their treatment of President Richard Nixon’s recent speech on the Vietnam War, known now as the “Silent Majority” speech.

According to Agnew, after the president finished the “most important address of his administration,” a “small band of network commentators and self-appointed analysts” subjected it to instant and “querulous criticism,” demonstrating their outright hostility to the president’s policy.

VICE President Spiro T. Agnew in 1972

In Agnew’s view, their opposition was at odds with how the majority of Americans viewed the speech.

Although he said he was not calling for any censorship, Agnew posed the question of whether it was “time that the networks were made more responsive to the views of the nation and more responsible to the people they serve.”

Suspicious of the media

IN many respects, Agnew was Donald Trump before Donald Trump.

He was a polarizing political figure, beloved by conservatives, hated

and mocked by liberals, yet favored as the likely Republican nominee to succeed Richard Nixon.

In his attacks on television news, Agnew struck a chord with conservatives who had long regarded the media with suspicion.

Nixon later called Agnew’s speech a “turning point” in his presidency.

He described how “within a few hours telegrams began arriving at the White House; the switchboards were tied up all night by people calling to express their relief that someone had finally spoken up.”

The networks themselves calculated that the messages they were receiving were running almost five to one in support of Agnew.

Why did Agnew speak out when he did?

The immediate background to the speech involves the intersection of two developments, both connected to the long, bloody war in Vietnam that appeared to have no end.

The first was the rise of adversarial journalism during the Vietnam War. Before Vietnam most news coverage “tended to be bland and deferential to government.”

The government’s lies and false optimism about the war, revealed most dramatically after the losses of the Tet Offensive, fundamentally changed the relationship.

Vietnam, as the historian of journalism Matthew Pressman argues, “established a baseline level of antagonism between the press and the government.”

Most famously, Walter Cronkite, the anchor of CBS News and the “most trusted man in America,” delivered an unusual editorial in February 1968 calling on the Johnson administration to negotiate an end to the war.

In the weeks before the Agnew

Agnew argued that the television network news programs, and the “tiny and closed fraternity of privileged men” who produced them, had acquired “a profound influence over public opinion,” with few checks on their “vast power.” speech, television news provided extensive and overwhelmingly positive coverage of the large antiwar protests, including the October “moratorium” against the war.

The second development was the failure to end the protracted war. Nixon and his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger tried a variety of military threats and enticement to convince North Vietnam to negotiate. They even launched a secret nuclear alert to intimidate Hanoi.

Nothing worked, and Nixon’s Silent Majority speech was a plea to the American people to give him more time to achieve a “peace with honor” in Vietnam.

The absence of any dramatic new steps toward peace in Nixon’s speech was the main reason the network’s “self-appointed analysts,” including the former Paris negotiator W. Averell Harriman, engaged in the “instant” and “querulous criticism” that Agnew described. Their abrupt dismissal of the speech infuriated Nixon and his aides and motivated them to respond forcefully.

Justified aggression or ‘appeal to prejudice’?

PATRICK BUCHANAN, Nixon’s ultra-conservative speechwriter, encouraged the president to launch an attack on the networks, and drafted the speech for Agnew. Buchanan later remembered that as Nixon read his proposed draft, he

heard him mutter, “This’ll tear the scab off those bastards.”

The networks reacted strongly, with NBC’s President Julian Goodman calling it “an appeal to prejudice,” implying that Agnew’s focus on the small group of “privileged men” living in New York was a code for anti-Semitism.

Both Goodman and CBS President Frank Stanton accused Agnew of trying to undermine the freedom of the press, especially in the attempt to “intimidate a news medium which depends for its existence upon government licenses.”

Some journalists saw this as an overreaction, and viewed Agnew’s attack as part of the larger challenge to the country’s traditional institutions that the war in Vietnam had catalyzed.

Richard Harwood and Laurence Stern wrote in the Washington Post that “the issue of media performance is not going to evaporate in this country simply because publishers and network presidents wrap themselves in the First Amendment and sneer at Spiro Agnew. For the facts are that the media are as blemished as any other institution in this society and that there is growing public concern over their performance.”

But CBS’s renowned news magazine, 60 Minutes, devoted an hour-long special to rebutting Agnew’s criticism, featuring Walter Cronkite speaking at a Chamber of Commerce function in his home-

town of St. Joseph, Missouri.

Cronkite rejected the idea that the media overreacted, and maintained that “What we’re defending is the people’s right to know, and we have to be at the frontline of that battle at all times.”

Populist attacks

THIS early version of a government war on the news media did not give Agnew what he and the president wanted. Although the networks eventually abandoned the “instant analysis” of presidential speeches in favor of giving the opposition “equal time” to respond, TV network news continued to retain the trust of most Americans as the most objective source for their news well into the 1970s, particularly during the Watergate period.

And when Agnew himself resigned in disgrace, brought down by his own greed in a bribery scandal, his assault on TV news seemed discredited as well.

But Agnew had demonstrated the vulnerability of the mass media to populist attacks, firing some of the first shots in a culture war that persists to this day.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: http://theconversation. com/he-was-trump-before-trumpvp-spiro-agnew-attacked-the-newsmedia-50-years-ago-122980.