BusinessMirror November 20, 2018

‘TURNING POINT’ PHL VISIT BY XI JINPING SEEN TO FOCUS ON BELT-ROAD INITIATIVE By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolaTsBM

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MID the maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea and just after the conclusion of the Asean summit and the Apec meetings where Beijing clashed with the US, Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in the Philippines today CHINESE President Xi Jinping listens during the IMF informal dialogue on the State of the Regional & Global Economy as part of the Apec activities at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Sunday, November 18, 2018. AP/AARON FAVILA

DEPT. OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

for a landmark two-day state visit. Malacañang said President Xi’s visit to the Philippines is a “turning point” in both countries’ histories, as this is his first state visit to the country and the first of its kind by a Chinese leader since 2005, reciprocating President Duterte’s earlier visit to China. The state visit comes days after both leaders attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Papua New Guinea. The two-day state visit will officially start today with a welcome ceremony in Malacañang in the afternoon followed by guest book signing, expanded bilateral meeting, witnessing of the signing or exchange of

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A broader look at today’s business

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Tuesday, November 20, 2018 Vol. 14 No. 41

October BOP deficit puts 10-month gap at $4.49B

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By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

HE Philippine economy continued to bleed dollars in October, widening the total deficit of the country’s dollar transactions for the year. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday reported a deficit of $458 million in the country’s overall balance of payments (BOP) position in October this year, higher

Senators allay fears over budget bill timeline

than the $368-million deficit in the same month last year. The continued deficit for October brought the 10-month BOP position of the country to a deficit of

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UPREME Court Associate Justice Lucas P. Bersamin leads the group of honorees and awardees in this year’s Gusi Peace Prize International Awards. Bersamin is currently the most senior SC Justice in the Judiciary, with 32 years of service in the third branch of government. While Bersamin ranked as the third most senior magistrate of the SC, he is the most senior justice in terms of service in the courts. The Gusi Peace Prize International Awards will be held at 6 p.m. on November 28 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). Awards will be given to honorees from Argentina, Costa Rica, Australia, Ethiopia, Germany, India, USA, Portugal, Pakistan, Turkey, South Africa and Poland for their outstanding contribution to peace in performing their profession and calling. Bersamin will be one of the two Filipinos who will receive the award this year, along with Gen. Antonio Tamayo. Bersamin entered the Judiciary right after the Edsa 2 People Power Revolution, on November 5, 1986, as a Regional Trial Court judge in Quezon City at the age of 37. In his stint in the RTC, he became the recipient of the Chief Justice Fred Ruiz Castro Memorabilia Commission with the coveted distinction of writing the Best Decision in Civil Law and the Best Decision in Criminal Law, topping all RTC judges in 1999—the only time that both awards were won by the same judge in the same year. Justice Ricardo C. Puno, Sr., as the chairman of the awarding Commission, described Judge Bersamin’s feat as “unprecedented” because no other trial judge has accomplished such.

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JUSTICE BERSAMIN

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.6800

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BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

Let us cherish our growth Manny B. Villar

The balance of payments deficit in the January-October 2017 period $4.494 billion. This is worse than the $1.735-billion deficit in the same January-to-October period in 2017. The BOP is the summary of the country’s dollar transactions with the rest of the world. The BSP blamed the October

2017 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

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$1.735 billion

BERSAMIN LEADS GUSI PEACE AWARDS

ENATORS on Monday sought to allay concerns over a looming scenario that the government will operate under a reenacted national budget in January as members of the two chambers of Congress, set to adjourn in midDecember, are not likely to approve the P3.757-trillion 2019 budget bill before going on holiday break. “A reenacted budget is not impossible,” Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III admitted to reporters on Monday. “The way the Committee on Finance [tasked to hammer out the final version of the annual money measure] is saying [it], the schedule is that there is need for a reenacted budget, but only for January.” Sotto said the Senate leadership is leaving it up to “the budget committee and all the senators [to] decide by Wednesday” confirming that the annual money measure, supposed to emanate from the House of Representatives, will still See “Budget,” A8

agreements, joint press statements and a state banquet. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. earlier said the focus of the visit will be the Philippines’s joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a massive trade and infrastructure project that aims to link Asia, Europe and Africa, covering at least 68 countries. Before leaving on Wednesday (November 21) afternoon, the Chinese leader is also scheduled to attend to a joint call of House Speaker and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Senate Presi-

THE ENTREPRENEUR

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HE fact that our gross domestic product grew 6.1 percent in the third quarter of 2018, despite the many challenges in the global economy, is something that we should cherish as a nation. While this is slower than the 7.2-percent growth registered in the second quarter of 2017, the most recent GDP figure points to a sustained expansion of the Philippine economy that will eventually translate into a better quality of life for most Filipinos. Continued on A6

Diokno cites ‘healthy’ debt-to-GDP ratio on China-loan jitters By Cai U. Ordinario

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@cuo_bm

HE President’s budget secretary expressed confidence on Monday that the Philippines’s public debt remains at acceptable levels amid alarm bells raised by US Vice President Mike Pence that Chinese loans could lead countries into a debt trap. In the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City on Monday, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno told reporters the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio was currently at 40 percent and is expected to fall to around 38.5 to 38.6 percent by 2020. He said having a debt to GDP ratio of 60 percent or lower was still considered “healthy.” The statement was a reaction to the statement made by US Vice President Pence at the 2018 Apec CEO Summit that Chinese loans, particularly those financing infrastructure projects, “come with

strings attached and lead to staggering debt.” “Our debt-to-GDP ratio is very low. Under Mrs. [Corazon] Aquino, it was 100 percent; our debt was equivalent to the size of our economy. Under Erap [Joseph Estrada], since we were coming out of the Asian Financial Crisis, it was still very high. We had about 70, 80 percent but President Duterte’s debt-to- GDP ratio is 40 percent and declining,” Diokno, who served as budget secretary for all three presidents, said. “What’s the significance of this debt-to-GDP ratio? The rule of thumb is a country whose debt, public debt divided by the GDP is 60 percent or better is in pretty good shape. So we are much lower than 60 percent at 40 percent. Other countries like Japan, for example, have a debt-to-GDP ratio of 250 percent. Their debt is 2.5 times bigger than the size of their GDP. The US has

n JAPAN 0.4673 n UK 67.5990 n HK 6.7286 n CHINA 7.5961 n SINGAPORE 38.3993 n AUSTRALIA 38.4827 n EU 60.0868 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.0435

See “Debt,” A2

Source: BSP (19 November 2018 )

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A2 Tuesday, November 20, 2018

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It’s official: NTC confirms Mislatel as 3rd telco

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

HE race for the third telco is now formally over with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issuing the confirmation order declaring Mislatel Consortium as the new major player in the local telco market. In confirming Mislatel as the third major player in the Philippines, the commission en banc said in an order that it found “absence of any of the ground to withhold the confirmation of the new major player.” Mislatel—led by Udenna Corp. of Davao -based businessman

Dennis A. Uy and China Telecom Corp. Ltd.—now has three months to complete all necessary requirements related to the post-qualification procedures for its confirmation. Under the post-qualification requirements, Mislatel has to register as an official entity through the Se-

“The ball is in their court now, and while I am confident that they can finish these in less than 90 days, if Mislatel cannot comply with these requirements, then they will also be disqualified.”—Rio

curities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it has to get necessary approvals from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC). It also has to comply with the paid capital requirement of at least P10 billion and implement the relevant provisions of the bidding agreement. Mislatel is, likewise, required to seek congressional approval for any sale or transfer of capital stock vesting controlling equity interests in another entity

as provided in its congressional franchise, in which case, the franchise holder for the group is Mindanao Islamic Telephone Corp. It also has to submit the business plan for the entire commitment period of five years, containing the capital and operational expenditures, the sources of funding, the projected cash flow, the planned technology deployment, the marketing plans and programs, indicative tariff rates, the key risks and mitigation strategies, and the existing agreement with existing technology players, if any. Mislatel also has to submit its rollout plan, which should contain the following: indicative start of commercial operations, detailed schedules consistent with its commitments, coverage, technology, equipment to be

SENATE OKAYS PALAWAN’S SPLIT INTO 3 PROVINCES

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HE Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill dividing Palawan— the country’s largest province and an archipelago of 1,800 islands —into three new provinces, namely, Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur. House Bill 8055 was sponsored by Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, and was passed with 14 affirmative votes, 1 negative vote from Sen. Risa Hontiveros and zero abstention.

Under the bill, the province of Palawan del Norte will be composed of the municipalities of Coron, Culion, Busuanga, Linacapan, Taytay and El Nido. The province of Palawan Oriental, in turn, will be composed of the municipalities of Roxas, Araceli, Dumaran, Cuyo, Agutaya, Magsaysay, Cayancillo and San Vicente. The province of Palawan del Sur, which will be considered as the “mother province,” will be composed of the municipalities of Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Sofronio Española,

Xi Jinping. . .

Debt. . .

dent Sotto and a photo opportunity with leaders of the Filipino-Chinese Community. Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement the Chinese leader’s visit “marks an opportunity to further strengthen and sustain our bilateral relations with the foreign country, which surged forward under the visionary leadership of President Duterte.” China is also the country’s top trading partner, leading export market for the Philippines and one of the largest sources of tourists to the Philippines. In the same statement, Malacañang also praised the Chinese leader’s efforts in upholding a conducive environment while dealing with the South China Sea issue. “We laud President Xi for China’s continued efforts to promote peace and stability in our region, through dialogues and consultations in handling the South China Sea issue, as we share his aspiration to bring our nations’ relationship to a higher level of collaboration. “Indeed, amity solves international disputes and even forges a more powerful alliance between both countries against threats to security, including terrorism, violent extremism, criminality and the drug menace,” Panelo said. “The Philippines and China’s shared hopes for their citizens continue to pave the way for closer bonds between the two nations. Owing to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s cautious, pragmatic and diplomatic yet independent foreign policy, we anticipate more opportunities to forge better cooperation and friendship with China,” he added.

a debt-to-GDP ratio of more than 100 percent, [for] many European countries, more than 100 percent. So we’re in pretty good shape. There is no fear whatsoever that we will fall into what is called a debt trap,” Diokno explained. Diokno added that the Philippines implements safeguard mechanisms that prevent the country from incurring more debt than it can afford. One such mechanism is the rigorous approval process implemented by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). He said when evaluating projects, the Neda looks at projects based on their economic internal rate of return (EIRR). This helps determine if a project is economically, financially and socially viable for the country. In order to be approved, projects must pass the 10-percent hurdle rate. “The rule is if the economic rate of return exceeds the cost of borrowing, it’s a go, it makes sense. If it is lower, the economic rate of return is lower than the cost of borrowing, it should be a no-go,” Diokno said. “We will not borrow if the return on invest is lower than 10

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BOP deficit. . . Continued from A1

deficit on outf lows stemming mainly from payments made by the national government for its foreign exchange obligations, NG’s net foreign currency withdrawals and foreign-exchange operations of the BSP.

Brooke’s Point, Bataraza, Balacbac and Kalayaan. The three proposed provinces will be created upon approval of the majority of the votes cast by voters in the affected areas in a plebiscite to be conducted in 2020, Angara said. Angara noted that due to the “vastness”of Palawan, an archipelago of 1,800 islands with a population of at least 1.1 million, the division of the existing province under the bill will comply with requirements for a province set forth by the Local Government Code.

He said that the three proposed provinces will meet the land area requirement, and that Palawan del Norte and Palawan Oriental are expected to satisfy the population requirement imposed by law by 2020. “If we speak of economic potential, Palawan is a powerhouse. Its local growth rate has been clocked at bristling 7 percent per annum for many years now. And this was achieved with a total ban on the exploitation of natural resources over a wide swath of its land,” Angara added.

percent. If you can borrow a loan at 3 percent [interest] and you will get 10 percent [benefits] in return, that’s a no brainer, that is feasible,” he also said. Diokno further said the stern warning of Pence must be taken with a grain of salt given the trade tensions between China and the US. He said that if the US does not want the world to end up indebted to China, they should also put up their own offensive in terms of offering funds to countries. He said the Philippine government is open to considering these kinds of assistance. Diokno said, however, that no such offer has been made on the part of the US in terms of financing the country’s massive infrastructure requirements in the medium and long term. But as far as Chinese funds are concerned, Diokno said the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping today (November 20) will be capped by the signing of an agreement concerning around 20 infrastructure projects. The largest of these, he said, is the Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long-haul from Manila to Bicol, a 639-kilometer railway to be funded by a Chinese loan. The project is worth P175.318 billion and is expected to be completed

by 2022, the end of the President’s term. The project will traverse Manila; Los Baños, Laguna; Lucena, Quezon; Gumaca, Quezon; Naga, Camarines Sur; Legazpi, Albay; Sorsogon City, Sorsogon; Matnog, Sorsogon; and Batangas City, Batangas. “If they [US] can adopt a package, why not? Like I said we have an independent foreign policy. I do not see any offer from them. If they can offer something like that, we’ll take it,” Diokno said. In August, former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito said veering away from private-sector financing in funding infrastructure projects poses risks such as a new debt crisis. Howe ver, Habito sa id t he countr y is still nowhere near debt crisis, thanks in part to the prudence exercised by previous administrations benefited the country’s finances. The country’s external debt-toGDP ratio remains healthy at 23 percent, significantly lower than its Asean neighbors. Habito said the external debtto-GDP ratio of Asean countries like Singapore is 49.4 percent; Malaysia, 69.1 percent; Indonesia, 34.8 percent; and Thailand, 32.1 percent. Nonetheless, the threat remains.

of the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea and seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas.”

“The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines,” the two Senators stressed. Moreover, Senate Resolution 943 affirms that the West Philippine Sea is part of the national territory of the Philippines under the Constitution. At the same time, the Resolution reminded that the protection of the

sovereignty of the Philippines and the integrity of its national territory is “the highest constitutional mandate of the President (Duterte), the Armed Forces of the Philippines and of all Filipinos,” warning that consequently, abdication of this mandate is “the gravest betrayal of public trust, a culpable violation of the Constitution and should be penalized as one of the gravest crimes under the law.”

The BSP said the deficit for the month would have been larger, had it not been partially offset by the BSP’s income from its investments abroad. While it is a larger deficit compared to the October 2017 level, the month’s BOP position is an improvement from the September BOP deficit of $2.696 billion. The Philippines’s BOP posi-

tion has been in deficit for the entire 2018 except in August. This has been blamed on the high importation numbers of the countr y on the back of its infrastructure push. “The higher deficit may be attributed partly to the widening merchandise trade deficit [based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s preliminary data] for the first

three quarters of the year. This, in turn, was brought about mainly by the sustained rise in imports of raw materials and intermediate goods, as well as capital goods to support domestic economic expansion,” the BSP said. The 10-month deficit is already above the $1.5-billion projected deficit for the country’s BOP by yearend.

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Oil-gas. . .

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Butch Fernandez

used, target subscribers, service rates, and a detailed description of how it ensures that its network and facilities will not compromise national security. Upon the completion of the submissions for the post-qualification procedures, the regulator has to review the documents in relation to the commitments for 15 days. Once done, the new major player has to submit its performance security—in Mislatel’s case, amounts to P25.7 billion—within 15 days. Upon verification, the commission shall issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity with a term of 15 years or until the expiry of the new major player’s franchise, whichever is shorter. It will also award the 225 MHz frequencies specified in the terms of reference. “The ball is in their court now, and while I am confident that they

can finish these in less than 90 days, if Mislatel cannot comply with these requirements, then they will also be disqualified,” Information and Communications (DICT) Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. said. He also explained that should Mislatel fail to complete the postqualification procedures, the government will have to launch another auction for the third telco license. “In this case, we do not have a second winning bidder. So, in the event that they fail, there will be another bidding,” he said. Of three parties that submitted their bids for the third telco spot, only Mislatel’s documents were found “complete and compliant.” Hopefuls that failed to qualify were Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T), and Luis Chavit C. Singson-backed Sear Telecommunications Inc.

Senate approves tax amnesty measure

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ONE-TIME opportunity to settle tax obligations that would include estate taxes, general taxes and delinquent accounts will soon be granted to those who have failed to pay for taxable year 2017 and prior years. Senate Bill 2059, otherwise known as “An act enhancing revenue administration and collection, and broadening the tax base by granting an amnesty on all unpaid internal revenue taxes imposed by the national government for taxable year 2017 and prior years with respect to estate tax, other internal revenue taxes and tax delinquencies add cross-border tax evasion and for other purposes,” has been approved on third and final reading. “We hope that this measure will encourage those in the formal and non-formal sector to legitimize, properly declare and pay the correct taxes without fear of civil, criminal or administrative penalties,” Sen. Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said. “This is our chance to have a fresh start especially in something as important as taxes. As Filipinos seek a government they can trust, let this amnesty serve as another step closer to that end,” Angara added. Once the bill is enacted into law, taxpayers can seek a reprieve from all estate taxes on covered taxable years and pay a rate of 6 percent based on the total net estate. “The difficulties and the apparent heartlessness of the process partially explain why estate taxes account for so little of our total collections,” Angara said. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the senator said, collected a little more than P4 billion in estate taxes in 2016 or only 0.28 percent of

Bersamin. . .

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In 2002, Justice Bersamin won the Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Award as Outstanding RTC Judge of that year. The award was given by the prestigious Foundation for Judicial Excellence. Bersamin was appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on April 2, 2009 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was then sitting as a Member of the Court of Appeals, to which he was appointed also by Arroyo on March 10, 2003. Bersamin penned the landmark cases of De Castro vs JBC which allowed the appointment by then President Arroyo of Chief Justice Renato Corona; the acquittal of Arroyo via Demurrer to Evidence; and giving bail to former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. He was also lead

the agency’s total collections worth P1.57 trillion. The ratio between the number of estate tax returns filed and number of registered has remained at a low average of 7.16 percent, Angara added. The grant of general amnesty which shall cover all national internal revenue taxes, including valueadded tax (VAT) and excise taxes collected by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), is also included in the bill. In lieu of the taxes supposed to be paid, only 5 percent of the total net worth or a minimum of tax depending on the subscribed capital for corporations will be collected. Those who will avail themselves will need to accompany their General Amnesty Tax Return with a notarized Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN). Discounts will also be granted for early availers. To enhance revenue collection, minimize administrative cost in pursuing tax cases and de-clog the tax case dockets pending in various courts, the bill included a provision for tax amnesty on delinquencies (TAD). Under this provision on TAD, taxpayers can avail themselves of 40 percent of the basic tax for delinquencies and assessments which have become final and executory, 50 percent for those subjects of pending criminal cases and 60 percent for cases subject of final and executor judgment by the courts. The BIR, Angara said, has more than P197.57 billion as delinquent accounts covering 2015 and prior years sitting idly in more than 58,600 cases. Those who will avail of the amnesty program will be immune from payment of all taxes and the filing of civil, criminal and administrative cases and other penalties.

in declaring unconstitutional the pork barrel of the lawmakers and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) of the Aquino administration. Bersamin placed 9th in the Bar after graduating from the University of the East College of Law. Justice Bersamin hails from Bangued, Abra, where he was born on October 18, 1949. His father, the late Dr. Luis F. Bersamin, Sr., was a World War II veteran, and was part of the infamous Death March involving captured Filipino and American soldiers. He became a provincial governor of Abra at the end of World War II. Justice Bersamin’s mother was the late Dr. Rosario Purugganan-Bersamin, a pharmacist and educator. His oldest brother was the late Cong. Luis P. Bersamin, Jr., representing the Lone District of Abra. Another brother, Eustaquio P. Bersamin, served three terms as provincial governor of Abra.

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The Nation

briefs HOUSE SPEAKER ARROYO SHIFTS TO OVERSIGHT MODE HOUSE Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday underscored the importance of the chamber’s oversight functions to ensure that the legislative agenda of President Duterte are effectively implemented. “We have to start moving to the oversight functions so that the implementation can be attended to and we would like to help the Executive department focus and to see what are the problems of implementation,” she added. In an interview, Arroyo said Congress is now at the final months as it has only six months before it ends by June next year. Under the legislative calendar of the 17th Congress, Congress is expected to adjourn on December 14 for Christmas holidays. The session will again resume on January 15 to February 8. But it will take another break on February 9 to May 19 for the midterm elections. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

312,000 WORKERS GET REGULAR STATUS IN ANTI-CONTRACTUALIZATION

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday said it has already exceed its target for 2018 of regularizing 312,000 workers in the last 11 months in its anti-contractualization drive. DOLE Assistant Secretary Benjo M. Benavidez said this was the result of their inspection covering 52,000 establishments. Seventy-three percent, or 228,000, of these workers were voluntarily absorbed by the employers, while only 84,000 were regularized through their mandatory inspection, he said. Benavidez attributed the high rate of their voluntary compliance in their shamecampaign earlier this year.

N.P.A. AMBUSH WOUNDS SIX CAMSUR POLICEMEN

SIX policemen were wounded over the weekend in Camarines Sur in an ambush staged by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels. The policemen from the Provincial Mobile Force Company have just come from a medical mission of the Army’s 9th Infantry Division, when they were waylaid by rebels at around 4:30 p.m. at Sitio Patag, Barangay Mambulo Nuevo, Libmanan, Camarines Sur. A belated report sent to Camp Crame by the Police Regional Office 5 identified the wounded as PO3 Roland Hermogeno, PO1 Vladimir Guadalupe, PO1 Roy Carbonell, PO1 Eliseo Jomar Palaroan, PO1 Mikhail Jose Concina and PO1 Daisy Bhel Genova. According to the report, the policemen led by PO3 Jason Canoto, were heading to Libmanan proper in Camarines Sur onboard a police trooper vehicle when they were waylaid. Canoto and his team came from a “joint medical mission” of the 9th ID at Barangay Bagamelon, also in Libmanan. Rene Acosta

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, November 20, 2018 A3

Govt, MILF form joint security teams vs Mindanao extremists

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By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

HE government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will be forming joint peace and security teams (JPSTs) that will tackle security challenges as Mindanao pursues greater autonomy under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). The formation of the JPSTs comprising members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the MILF was disclosed by MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim during his visit to Camp Aguinaldo on Monday. “You will notice that in the peace process, we are going to organize a joint peace and security teams, we call it JPSTs. This JPSTs will be basically handling the security aspect during the transition period,” Ebrahim said. “So this is a combination of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces. So we are hoping that with the formation of the JPSTs, then we can be more effective in countering the challenges on the ground,” he added. The MILF chairman said one of the challenges, especially on the ground, is the existence of extremist groups, but which the military and the MILF managed to dealt with on “several occasions” and “were able to counter the threat of extremist groups.”

Ebrahim’s reciprocal visit to the military’s general headquarters was made upon the inv itation of the AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., who also visited Camp Darapanan, the headquarters of the MILF, several weeks ago EBRAHIM in Maguindanao. Ebrahim said his presence at the general headquarters of the military automatically ended the “war” between the military and the MILF. “Our visit…is just a confirmation of our long…cooperation [with] the Armed Forces

under the leadership of General Galvez who visited Camp Darapanan. Then so, he invited me to visit also Camp Aguinaldo and I reciprocated,” Ebrahim said. “When he visited Camp Darapanan, officially he declared the end of war between the MILF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. So our reciprocation also is the affirmation of that statement that we also, it’s also the end of the war between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,” he added. Galvez assured the military will remain supportive of the government’s peace efforts with the MILF even after he leaves the military. The chief of staff, who will be retiring in less than a month, also said he will support the peace initiatives even in a personal capacity. “As civilian individual, I have told them that I will dedicate most of my life in really finishing what I have started, it is for peace in Mindanao,” he said. Galvez also said he had already relayed his intention to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus G. Dureza to become a consultant to his office once he retires from the service. “I already conveyed my interest with the Opapp [Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process] and I told Secretary Dureza that can I be some sort of consultant, so he accepted my request,” he said. “And then also, on the security condition, situation, we never foresee any violence considering that Chairman Murad Ebrahim have said this is…different. This is an expression of our will whether we will be against the BOL or not, and we foresee some areas [or challenges] but these are very manageable areas,” Galvez added.

A4 Tuesday, November 20, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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Govt seizes ₧17.9-billion fake goods from Jan-Sept

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE government has captured a record-high P17.9 billion of fake goods in the first three quarters of 2018, a haul that is 34.58 percent better than its previous high of P13.3 billion in 2014. In a report on Monday, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines said the record as of September is the largest nine-month seizure to date by the interagency National Committee on Intellectual Property

Rights (NCIPR), which is headed by the IPOPHL. Accord ing to IPOPHL , the nine-month haul is a whopping 840-percent increase from the P1.9 billion seized during the same period last year. This was

34.58%

The hike in seizure of counterfeit goods in the first three quarters of 2018, as compared to 2014’s P13.3 billion also the highest take since the NCIPR was established in 2008. IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago said raids on factories and warehouses stockpiling fake cigarettes made the recordhigh seizure possible. “The staggering amount of fake and counterfeit goods in the nine

Plenty anti-corruption laws around the world! However…

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NTICORRUPTION conventions and legislation have global reach and introduce compliance demands on companies to prevent bribery, here and around the world. It is important for Philippine companies and international companies doing business worldwide or intend to export from the Philippines to be aware of these conventions and legislation in order to avoid risks. Of course, having signed the Integrity Pledge of the Integrity Initiative and living up to the commitments laid down in the Pledge is an excellent foundation to doing business locally and internationally. Have you signed up?

Let me highlight some of the conventions and legislation:

UK Bribery Act 2010

THE UK Bribery Act 2010 establishes company liability for corrupt acts committed by persons acting on behalf of the company. The Act prohibits bribery of public officials and business-tobusiness bribery. With global jurisdiction, companies can be held liable in the UK for acts of corruption committed by employees, agents or subsidiaries anywhere in the world. Unlike the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Bribery Act does not distinguish between small and large bribery payments, meaning facilitation payments are prohibited.

The United Nations Convention against Corruption

THE United Nations Convention against Corruption is the most comprehensive anti-corruption convention, entering into force in December 2005. It covers a wide range of corr upt ion of fences, inc lud ing domestic and foreign bribery, embezzlement, trading in influence and money laundering. The UNCAC provisions obligate State Parties to take a number of public and private anti-corruption measures.

European Anti-Corruption Conventions Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (COE Criminal Law Convention) The COE Criminal Law Convention aims to coordinate the criminalization of corrupt practices, provide complementary criminal law measures and im-

Russian Federal anti-corruption law

prove cooperation for the prosecution of offences. It entered into force in 2002, and compliance is monitored by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).

OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

THE OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (OECD Convention), adopted in 1997, addresses bribery of foreign public officials. Its aim is to create a level playing field between OECD countries by subjecting countries to the same criminal standards. Before the OECD Convention, the US was the only OECD country that prohibited its companies from bribing foreign officials. The OECD Convention does not address private (businessto-business) bribery.

US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act THE US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 is the most widely enforced anti-corruption law. It is the first to introduce corporate liability, responsibility for third parties and extraterritoriality for corruption offences, meaning companies and persons can be held criminally and civilly responsible for corruption offences committed abroad.

Chinese anti-corruption laws

CHINA’S anti-corruption provisions are largely contained in the anti-unfair competition law of the PRC and the criminal law of the PRC. China has long-held a tradition of gift-giving, known as Guan Xi, in all types of business transactions. The country has embarked on an aggressive anti-corruption campaign, and strong enforcement is likely to continue in the coming years.

Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act

THE Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act is the Canadian legislation implementing its obligations under the UN Convention against Corruption. The CFPOA applies to persons and companies and makes it a criminal offence for persons or companies to bribe foreign public officials to obtain or retain a business advantage.

RUSSIA’S Federal anti-corruption law 273, Article 13.3 requires companies operating in the country to implement anti-corruption compliance programmes containing specific anti-corruption measures. Failure to comply carries the risk of heavy fines, the extent of which depends on a company’s willingness to cooperate with authorities. Russian law does not provide an “adequate procedures” legal defence against corruption offences.

German Anti-Corruption Legislation

GERMAN anti-corruption provisions are contained in the law on fighting corruption, the Criminal Code and the Administrative Offences Act. The Criminal Code’s provisions apply to persons, while companies face civil responsibility under the Administrative Offences Act. Corruption offenses committed abroad can be enforced in Germany.

Brazilian Clean Company Act

BR AZIL’S Clean Company Act 2014 (law 12,846) holds companies responsible for the corrupt acts of their employees and introduces strict liability for those offences, meaning a company can be liable without a finding of fault. The Act provides strict civil and administrative penalties but no criminal penalties for companies. However, the Criminal Code establishes domestic criminal offences. While government officials and businessmen have to be aware of all these conventions and legislation, we also know that in many countries around the world, including those listed above, and including the Philippines, corruption happens. Corruption happens in government and, sad to say, corruption happens in the private sector—B2B. Is the private sector prepared to make the first step and be fully committed not to bribe in B2B? Unfortunately, the private sector is not willing to do that on a large scale. Only about 3,500 companies in the Philippines signed the Integrity Pledge and only a small part of the 3,500 signatories are demonstrating that they are living up to the commitments made in the Pledge. It is high time that everybody understands that “Integrity starts with I”=me, whether I work in the government or in the private sector. “Integrity starts with I” has to be taught and lived by parents and must be emphasized threw schooling, from grade school to college. Feedback is more than welcome, contact me at Schumacher@eitsc.com.

months of the year is an outlier seizure. Several operations by the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Customs led to the raiding of factories and warehouses storing cases of counterfeit cigarette packs bearing brand names and related equipment,” Santiago said. “This is an indication of the increased vigilance of brand owners, and we urge them to continue enforcing their rights,” she added. Illicit cigarettes and alcohol took up 86.59 percent, or P15.5 billion, of the P17.9-billion haul. In a separate news briefing on Monday, IPOPHL Deputy Director General Teodoro C. Pascua listed fake Mighty cigarettes as the top seized brand. The first substantial take of illicit cigarettes and cigarette-

production paraphernalia was in February, when P5 billion of it was confiscated in a single operation. Another P1.8 billion of the same products were captured in several operations in May. Authorities in August nabbed an overwhelming P8 billion of fake cigarette stamps and other consumer items, including cigarettes, clothes and rice, in a warehouse in Quezon City. This greatly boosted the count of this year’s haul. On the other hand, fake pharmaceuticals and personal care came in second in terms of value at P1.2 billion. Pirated optical media was third at P490 million, while counterfeit handbags and wallets were next at P450 million. “Enforcement alone may not see

the end of fake goods. A change in consumer behaviors and attitudes is necessary to stamp out these illicit trade activities for good,” Santiago argued. “W hile the agency remains strong in enforcement, IPOPHL also puts great effort into educating the public about respecting IP [intellectual property] and IP rights. Moving forward, the IPOPHL is pushing for the capacitybuilding on IP for various sectors, mainstreaming of IP education in the curriculum and seeking other measures for an effective education approach, including social-media advocacy campaigns, to change consumer attitudes and behaviors for a more lasting anticounterfeiting results,” she added.

PHL and China agreement to open 10K OFW jobs, DBM’s Diokno says By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

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HE negat ive impact of China’s one-child policy in previous years is now good news for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are facing an uphill battle in securing employment in the Middle East and elsewhere on the globe. This was according to Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, who said China and the Philippines will be entering into a government-to-government (G2G) agreement on labor exports where around 10,000 OFWs can be hired by various companies in China. Diokno said this is just one of the economic benefits of the Philippines with its renewed ties with China and the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping this week. “They are planning to hire our countrymen because we’re afraid that, [with] what’s happening in the Middle East, there’s going to be an exodus of OFWs. China is willing to hire our OFWs. It’s G2G [arrangement], not through a third party,” Diokno told reporters at a forum in Quezon City on Monday. “[Because of their] one-child policy, they might be able to use our surplus labor here.” Diokno said, in order to sustain China’s development, they would need more workers, and Chinese firms are willing to pay more for this. He revealed there is already a talk that those working in Hong Kong are already thinking of transferring to China because of the higher pay and better economic opportunities. He said sending foreign workers to China is already common, adding there already a lot of expats in various Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. Insofar as Chinese workers being hired by Philippine-based companies, especially those involved in the “Build, Build, Build” program, Diokno said there was no cause for concern. The budget secretary said almost all workers, around 99 percent, are Filipinos. Only 1 percent are Chi-

nese workers who are involved in high- technology machinery. The entry of a third telco player, Diokno said, is also one part of these benefits. Mislatel, which was considered the only firm qualified to become the third telco player in the country, was a consortium between China Telecom and Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. “Of course the adoption of new technology…just the choice of the telco, for example, third telco player, that’s the joint venture between the Chinese firm, so we will benefit from this relationship in those terms, higher trade, exchange of manpower and the adoption of new technology,” Diokno said. Apart from workers and technology, Diokno said, better trade relations could result from the renewed ties between Manila and Beijing. This augurs well for the country given that China is one of its top trading partners. Based on the January-to-September data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the top 3 import sources of the country were China, South Korea and Japan. Imports from China reached $15.629 billion in the January-toSeptember period, accounting for 19.4 percent of the total $80.665 billion total imports during the period. In terms of exports, the top export destinations of the Philippines were the United States, Hong Kong and Japan. China was the fourthlargest export market, which cornered 12.9 percent of the country’s total export earnings in the January-to-September period.

No public-school teachers allowed

IN a related development, the looming deployment of Filipino teachers to China will be restricted only for those working in the private sector. According to the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Philippine-China memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed early this month, public-school teachers are barred from being deployed to China.

Applicants must also have a bachelor’s degree or above from normal universities or in education or English language from Philippine educational institutions accredited by the Chinese government. To qualify for the program, they should also possess the following qualifications: has not been charged or convicted of any crime or administrative offense; in good physical and mental-health condition; and other requirements mutually agreed upon by the Philippines and China. It will also be limited to a quota-based system, which will be adjusted from time to time. “The number of Filipino teachers of English language that can enter China under this MOA shall be based on the actual situation of market supply and demand determined through negotiation between the Philippines and China,” the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said. Qualified applicants will be employed in tertiary educational institutions in China. The measure was imposed to ensure the program will not lead to a shortage in the country’s education sector. The six-page IRR was signed on November 8, but was only made public on Monday. But even with the issuance of the IRR, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said it may still take some time before the first batch of Filipino teachers are deployed to China under the program. “We are still waiting from China the details of the first batch of applicants needed before it could be posted by the GPB [Government Placement Branch],” POEA Administrator Undersecretary Bernard Olalia told the BusinessMirror in an SMS. The DOLE earlier estimated around 2,000 workers will deployed in the first batch. According to the POEA, the number of deployed OFWs in China increased by 39 percent from 6,564 in 2015 to 9,166 in 2016. With Samuel P. Medenilla

DA chief allots ₧200-million loan to coconut farmers, workers amid copra global price drop

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HE government is set allocate at least P200 million worth of loans to coconut farmers and workers to help them recoup the losses amid falling copra prices, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol. Piñol said the Agricultural Credit Policy Council would set aside the amount from its existing loan funds of the Production Loan Easy Access program. The loan, which would bear a 6-percent annual interest, would be used as a working capital by coconut farmers groups to buy their members copra produce and sell them directly to oil

mills, according to the agriculture chief. “It is an attempt to cut out the traditional compradors who serve as the link between the disorganized coconut farmers and the copra traders or the big oil mills and who in the process make more money than the farmers,” he said in a Facebook post on Monday morning. Piñol said he would hold a dialogue with coconut oil mill owners and ask them to allow the coconut farmers groups to sell their produce directly to them. He added that he would also instruct the Philippine Coconut Au-

thority to source additional funds to provide machinery to coconut farmers, such as hauling trucks and modern drying facilities. “By mid-2019, community-level processing facilities to produce coconut oil, virgin coconut oil, coco chips, syrup, sugar and coir will also be established in the different coconut-producing regions of the country to be owned and operated by the farmers themselves,” he said. The average farm-gate price of copra has sank to P15 per kilogram from the previous year’s P40 per kg due to oversupply in the local market. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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Editor: Angel R. Calso • Tuesday, November 20, 2018 A5

Oil climbs as Opec output plan clouds US production

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IL shot back up following six weeks of losses as speculation of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) weighing bigger output cuts overshadowed signs of expanding American crude production. Futures in New York rose as much as 1.5 percent after a 6.2-percent slump last week. With US production at a record, Baker Hughes data on Friday showed working oil rigs rose to the highest in more than three years. The market is recovering after concerns over global oversupply spurred the Opec and its allies to consider reducing output. Oil’s in a bear market after slipping from a four-year high last month as the US granted surprise waivers for sanctioned Iranian crude. Trade tensions between the world’s biggest economies escalated over the weekend with US Vice President Mike Pence’s attack on China, adding to worries supply may overtake

demand. In response to those concerns, Saudi Arabia has said producers may need to cut 1 million barrels a day, while Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday an oil price of “around $70 suits us completely.” “Investors currently have their focus on the potential production cuts discussed by Opec and its allies, with Russia talking of $70 level,” said Hong Sungki, a Seoul-based commodities trader at NH Investment & Securities Co. “The market expects Opec to set the direction and play the role of swing producer again even as American production rises.” West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for December delivery, which expires on Monday,

traded at $57.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 68 cents, at 12:37 p.m. in Singapore. The contract lost $3.73 last week. Total volume traded was about 5 percent below the 100-day average. The more-active January contract gained 70 cents to $57.38. Brent for January settlement rose 55 cents to $67.31 a barrel on the Londonbased ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract has dropped $3.42, or 4.9 percent, last week. The global benchmark crude traded at a $9.93 premium to WTI for the same month. The number of working American oil rigs gained by 2 to 888 last week, the highest level since March 2015, Baker Hughes data said. US crude production has been rising, hitting a record in the week ended November 9, according to government data. Meanwhile, traders are assessing how much output reduction will be agreed when Opec meets in Vienna early next month. The group and its allies are considering cutting production by more than 1 million barrels a day as they’re increasingly worried about the potential for oversupply, people familiar with the matter said. Bloomberg News

Pope decries that ‘wealthy few’ feast on what belongs to all

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ATICAN CITY—Championing the cause of the poor, Pope Francis on Sunday lamented that “the wealthy few” enjoy what, “in justice, belongs to all” and said Christians cannot remain indifferent to the growing cries of the exploited and the indigent, including migrants. Francis invited about 6,000 poor people, as well as some of the volunteers who help them to the splendor of Saint Peter’s Basilica, where he celebrated Mass on a day the Catholic Church dedicates to the needy. Later, he sat down with 1,500 of the indigent for a lunch of lasagna, chicken, mashed potatoes and tiramisu in a Vatican auditorium. In his homily, Francis said “we Christians cannot stand with arms folded in indifference or with arms outstretched in helplessness” about those in need. He cited the “stifled cry” of the unborn, of starving children, “of young people more used to the explosion of bombs than happy shouts at the playground.” He also drew attention to the plight of abandoned elderly, the friendless and “the cry of all those forced to flee their homes and native land for an uncertain future. It is the cry of entire peoples, deprived even of the great natural resources at their disposal.” Francis said the poor were weeping “while the wealthy few feast on what, in justice, belongs to all. Injustice is the perverse root of poverty.” “The cry of the poor daily becomes stronger but every day heard less,” he said. That cry is “drowned out by the din on the rich few, who grow ever fewer and more rich,” the pontiff said. Last week, doctors, nurses and other health workers volunteered their time to offer medical assistance to the homeless and other need from morning till night in Saint Peter’s Square. The initiative reflects Pope Francis’s determination that the Vatican promotes by way of example priorities for rank-and-file faithful. Francis said during Mass on Sunday “it is important for all of us to live our faith in contact with those in need.” Later, in remarks to pilgrims and tourists in Saint Peter’s Square, Francis spoke of the futility of making riches one’s goal. He noted that at the end of each life “the power of money and of economic means with which we presume with presumptuousness to buy everything and everyone won’t be able to be used anymore.” AP

Southeast Asia’s Internet economy seen growing 37% to $72B in 2018

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OUTHEAST Asia’s Internet economy is on pace to expand 37 percent this year to $72 billion and is projected to exceed $240 billion by 2025, according to a joint research report by Google and Temasek Holdings Pte. The region’s Internet economy is being fueled by 350 million online users who are buying airline tickets and goods, ordering rides and food with their smartphones across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The annual research report covers gross merchandise value in four sectors of the Internet economy: e-commerce, ride-hailing, online media and travel. In last year’s report, Google and Temasek, Singapore’s state investment company, had estimated the Southeast Asian Internet economy would reach $200 billion by 2025.

Key insights

POPE Francis leaves after he celebrated a Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Sunday, November 18. Pope Francis is offering several hundred poor people, homeless, migrants, unemployed a lunch on Sunday as he celebrates the World Day of the Poor with a concrete gesture of charity in the spirit of his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi. AP PHOTO/ANDREW MEDICHINI

SOUTHEAST Asia’s Internet companies attracted a record amount of capital from venture capitalists, private equity firms and corporate investors in 2018, raising $9.1 billion in the first six months of the year, compared to $9.4 billion in all of 2017. The region’s ride-hailing market will expand to about $7.7 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $28 billion by 2025, underscoring the ambition of Go-Jek and Grab to become Southeast Asia’s super apps. Google and Temasek began including online food delivery in this category for the first time this year, given the growing importance of that business. Online travel is the largest and most estab-

Macron, Merkel seek common approaches to Trump, euro

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R ANKFURT, Germany—French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel consulted on Sunday on migration, fixing the euro currency, Europe’s defense, taxing digital companies and other issues as the two leaders looked to preserve their influence abroad while their authority flags at home. Macron, who came to Berlin to take part in Germany’s national remembrance day for the victims of war and dictatorship, urged European government to seize more responsibility for their own fate, especially regarding defense. Macron said that the French-German alliance “is invested with this obligation not to allow the world to slide into chaos, and to accompany it on the road of peace.” He said that Europe can’t play its role “if it doesn’t take more responsibility for its defense and security and is content to play a secondary role on the international scene.” Macron looked ahead to the European Parliament elections in May, which will give populist and anti-EU parties another chance to test their appeal with voters. “We must do a great deal by May next year to achieve a more united, more sovereign and

more efficient Europe, which we so urgently need,” he said. The two biggest countries in Europe can be a powerful force, but their leaders at the moment are hampered by falling domestic support. Macron has seen his poll ratings sag at home, where more than a quarter-million people protested on Saturday over proposed gas tax hikes. Merkel has been a lame duck since saying she wouldn’t seek another term. Merkel has offered support for Macron’s proposal for a European army someday. Both leaders have said Europe needs to depend less on others—such as the US—for its defense. US President Donald J. Trump has unsettled North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies by demanding member-countries either pay more for defense or “protect themselves,” as he put it in a recent tweet. However, ceremonial appearances and warm words offered ahead of a December summit on the euro can’t hide the persistent friction between the French and German approaches to the European Union’s economic issues. Germany and France have apparently struck a deal on a common budget for the EU countries

that use the shared euro currency, something Macron pushed for. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told the dpa news agency the proposal was to be presented to European finance ministers Monday. The size of the budget—mentioned by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire as €20 billion to €25 billion—is far short of Macron’s idea. The amount is only 0.2 percent of the eurozone economy, less than the several percentage points of gross domestic product originally mentioned by Macron. The compromise underscores German reluctance to sign off on anything seen as transferring taxpayer money from richer countries like Germany to more fiscally shaky ones such as Italy or Greece. The European summit in December is to take up limited proposals to strengthen the euro currency, such as upgrading the eurozone’s bailout fund and a long-term road map for introducing EU-level deposit insurance. The two sides can’t agree on a tax on digital companies such as Amazon and Google. The French and the European Commission have proposed imposing such a tax, but Scholz said the issue should be left with the 36-member Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. AP

lished among the four sectors of the Internet economy, accounting for about $30 billion in bookings in 2018. About 41 percent of all travel bookings made in Southeast Asia were completed online, up from 34 percent in 2015. By 2025, 57 percent of the bookings will be made online when the market is projected to reach $78 billion. Online shopping has been the fastest growing sector of the Internet economy, reaching $23 billion in 2018. It’s expected to exceed $100 billion by 2025. The year 2018 has been a “year of transformation” for the ride-hailing services in Southeast Asia after Uber Technologies Inc. exited from Southeast Asia after a deal with Grab, and Indonesia’s Go-Jek expands outside its home turf. Ride-hailing services are popular in Singapore, the second-largest market in the region by value, worth an estimated $1.8 billion in 2018. Indonesia’s Internet economy, the largest and the fastest growing in the region, reached $27 billion in 2018 and is poised to grow to $100 billion by 2025. Vietnam’s Internet economy is booming as e-commerce almost doubled from a year earlier in 2018 and online advertising and gaming growing at more than 50 percent. Online travel market has “huge headroom for growth’’ because of the lowest penetration of online travel bookings in the region. This year’s report included the areas of the Internet economy that were not covered in previous research reports, such as online vacation rentals, subscription music and video on demand and online food delivery. Bloomberg News

Yemeni rebels to stop rocket attack on Saudis

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ANA’A, Yemen—A senior leader of Yemen’s Shiite rebels says the group will halt rocket fire into Saudi Arabia for the sake of peace efforts. A Saudi-led coalition has been waging war against the rebels, known as Houthis, to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized government to power. The rebel leader, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, says the Iran-backed rebels ordered the cessation of rocket and drone attacks on the Saudis and forces loyal to coalition member the United Arab Emirates at the request of UN special envoy Martin Griffiths. The statement was carried by rebel-controlled media early on Monday. Griffiths announced on Friday that both sides had agreed to attend talks in Sweden “soon” aimed at ending the three-year war. The announcement followed an informal de-escalation last week around the key port city of Hodeida. AP

A6 Tuesday, November 20, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

A peace of equals

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EADERS from Southeast Asia, China and other neighboring countries who met in Singapore for the Asean summit last week cited the importance of keeping peace in the contentious South China Sea. Yes, we can all agree. Peace must be pursued, in every way, through diplomacy, perseverance and optimism. Nobody is arguing that peaceful negotiation is the only sustainable solution to conflict in the South China Sea or anywhere else. But such a peace must be a peace of equals, not any one nation’s. It cannot be a peace where one nation gets to display irresponsible militarism, asserting its ownership of the entire South China Sea, shooing away the civilian vessels of its neighbors while they are plying their own territorial waters, building structures on artificial islands in waters that belong to others by right. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who attended the summit, said the region has set a good example of managing territorial disputes and keeping the peace as it works toward setting a “code of conduct” to govern navigation and other activities. “We have found the way to properly manage and defuse differences, for example, on the issue of the South China Sea in the past years,” Li said. President Duterte, who promised to complete a code of conduct in three years and “at all cost,” said: “Everything’s been excellent between China and the rest of Asean except for the fact that there’s friction between the Western nations and China.” But is everything “excellent” when Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal complain that the Chinese Coast Guard routinely board their fishing boats and grab their catch with impunity? Is everything excellent when China has constructed more than 1,600 structures in the disputed South China Sea, nearly half of these in waters being claimed by the Philippines? China wants to reassure neighbors of its peaceful intentions, but its aggressive actions cast serious doubts on its sincerity. Indeed, if action speaks louder than words, then China seems to be offering and pursuing peace with the benevolence of a bully. Everyone knows that the only way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them, but what do you do if you’re the Philippines and the bully is China? “China is there. That is the reality,” President Duterte said. “Strong military activity will prompt a response from China. I do not mind everybody going to war, except that the Philippines is just beside those islands. If there is shooting there my country will be the first to suffer.” True. But the Philippines can take other types of affirmative action that do not involve the military to help dissuade serious violations of Philippine sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction. Aside from completing the code of conduct, we can also enlist stronger international and regional support by not abandoning the July 2016 landmark ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s massive claims to the disputed waters, a ruling that China does not recognize. Acting Chief Justice Antonio T. Carpio, who was part of the legal team that brought the case to the arbitral tribunal, made good suggestions in this regard: 1. The Philippine government can sponsor a resolution before United Nations General Assembly urging China to abide by the ruling; 2. It can enforce the ruling without China’s participation by entering into sea boundary agreements with Vietnam and Malaysia, delineating our countries’ exclusive economic zones; 3. It can file an extended continental shelf claim off the coast of Luzon facing the South China Sea before the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and; 4. It can ask the United States and Asean members to make Scarborough Shoal an “official red line” in the South China Sea dispute. (In international affairs, a red line is a condition set by a certain party. When that condition is violated, the offending party may suffer “severe consequences” that can range from economic sanctions to military actions.) Congress can also pass two pending maritime measures vital to strengthening our sovereignty—The Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. All these are nonmilitary measures for a peaceful resolution of the South China Sea issues, but at the same time they present a tougher, more direct diplomatic stand.

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Let us cherish our growth Manny B. Villar

THE ENTREPRENEUR Continued from A1

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ATA from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that, if not for the 0.4-percent contraction in the agriculture output in the third quarter, the economy would have grown closer to the government’s original target of 7 to 8 percent. Still, the third-quarter expansion gives us a lot of reasons to be hopeful. The gross national income, which is formerly called the gross national product, expanded 6 percent. The services sector, which now dominates the Philippine economy, grew 6.9 percent, while the industrial sector gained 6.2 percent. The economic growth in the first three quarters of 2018 averaged 6.3 percent, near the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee’s revised target range of 6.5 to 6.9 percent for the year.

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OUTSIDE THE BOX

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez

1985, 0.6 percent in 1996 and another 0.6 percent in 1998 at the height of the Asian financial crisis, data from the World Bank show. Our fastest growth over the past decade was 7.6 percent in 2010 and 7.1 percent in 2013. Last year we grew 6.7 percent, becoming one of the best performing economies among emerging markets. So our most recent expansion of 6.1 percent in the third quarter is not only acceptable but also something that deserves praise, especially as the United States adopted a more protectionist policy that is shaking the global economy. It is also a time to become more realistic and adjust our growth expectations, as we navigate our way

Everything about cryptocurrency

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

The National Economic and Development Authority said that the Philippines remains one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, next to Vietnam at 7 percent and China at 6.5 percent. I know that we used to have the fastest growth in the region, but obtaining a bronze medal on the economic stage is not bad at all. In fact, it should be a cause for celebration. Our economy used to grow by less than 4 percent in the 1980s and 1990s, and there were even times that it contracted year-on-year. Our GDP shrank 7.3 percent in 1984 and

Our most recent expansion of 6.1 percent in the third quarter is not only acceptable but also something that deserves praise, especially as the United States adopted a more protectionist policy that is shaking the global economy.

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OR the average global citizen, the overall understanding about cryptocurrencies falls somewhere between knowing the text of the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the best recipe for Ilocano papaitan. For the ignorant, the Book of the Dead is a number of magic spells to assist a dead person’s journey into the afterlife. Papaitan is a notable dish from the northern Philippines made from goat or beef innards such as tripe, liver, kidney, intestine, pancreas and heart. Don’t you feel smarter already? Likewise, on the list of life’s priorities, cryptocurrencies are somewhere between avoiding being one of the six people globally killed each year by unprovoked shark attacks and preparing for the 2100 New Year’s celebration. An assessment of cryptocurrencies runs from “Bitcoin is a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster.” That was made by Agustín Carstens, the former Mexican secretary of finance, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund and

currently general manager of the Bank for International Settlements. However, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have serious supporters, and not just like those who got into them at the beginning at a doubledigit price. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has urged central banks to look into issuing digital currencies particularly for those in countries with bad economies. The name says it all. “Currency” is a storage of wealth and a medium of exchange. “Crypto” means secret. When you use your credit card, which is usually electronic, everyone—buyer, seller and thirdparty facilitator like a bank— knows everybody else. That is why, if you buy the “unedited” video of Alice in Wonderland, you might be billed by a company called “Children Fairyland Stories” instead of

The secrecy and the ability to make anonymous money transfers is why the first cryptocurrency was “invented” in 1983 in a research paper by a 28-year-old PhD student in computer science at the University of Berkeley, California. Dr. David Chaum went on to establish “DigiCash Inc.,” and the first electronic payment was sent in 1994.

“Raw Porno Productions.” The secrecy and the ability to make anonymous money transfers is why the first cryptocurrency was “invented” in 1983 in a research paper by a 28-year-old PhD student in computer science at the University of Berkeley, California. Dr. David Chaum went on to establish “DigiCash Inc.,” and the first electronic payment was sent in 1994. Chaum’s “crypto” worked exactly the same way as Bitcoin with a completely secret and blind digital signature just like with a Bitcoin wallet and key. So promising was the idea that the Dutch ING Bank wanted to buy into the company and Bill Gates wanted to integrate DigiCash into every Windows 95 installation, willing to pay Chaum $100 million. Chaum was extremely secretive—just like his idea—and refused

through the global crisis brought about by the trade war between the US and China, the realignment of the European Union with the exit of the United Kingdom, higher global oil prices and the normalization of monetary policy in many countries. Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, a top economist, said “the Philippines remains to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the fastest-growing region, that is the Asean region, in the world.” Diokno says our country’s macroeconomic indicators “demonstrate that in spite of global and domestic challenges that the Philippine economy faces, the bigger picture suggests a solid, robust and resilient economy.” I share his enthusiasm that as economic growth continues, the Philippines will become an upper middle-income country soon, which means our people will have more purchasing power and enjoy a better quality of life. For the moment, we just need to manage our expectations, relax and enjoy our recent economic feat. For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

to let anyone know his source code unlike the open source that allows anyone with a few hundred thousand bucks to create their own crypto today. The major difference is that Bitcoin uses the blockchain technology, which makes it a bit easier to do the transaction, but the crypto and security is nearly the same as that of the 1994 DigiCash. Nonetheless, DigiCash suffered from the same problem that Bitcoin and the other 1,658 cryptocurrencies (as of March 16, 2018) currently have. It may be crypto, but it is not currency. My (and your) pesos, dollars, yen and Botswana pula can be exchanged for pork, t-shirts and even a “Ladies Drink” in the country of issue. As of now, cryptos can only—for all intents and purposes—be exchanged for pesos, dollars, yen and pulas. Until that changes, and knowing it is not going to happen anytime soon, cryptos are a nice highly speculative investment that may or may not make a profit. Maybe part of the excitement of cryptos comes from knowing your crypto wealth might be part of the nearly $1 billion stolen by computer hackers in 2018. E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stockmarket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, November 20, 2018 A7

There’s a reason stimulus China’s aggressive behavior isn’t working in China

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By Andrew Polk | Bloomberg Opinion

HINA’S vaunted economic managers aren’t infallible—and they’re currently making a familiar mistake. They are trying to accomplish too many objectives simultaneously, many of which conflict with each other. Instead of engineering a recovery, the resulting confused policy mix is only feeding a growing feeling of uncertainty among Chinese markets, businesses and households. That will continue to depress growth in China—and the global economy—in 2019. To be sure, Chinese leaders deserve some credit for their restraint. Despite credit growth that’s plumbing all-time lows, an economy growing at the slowest pace since 2009, and the intensifying trade war, they’ve resisted the kind of largescale stimulus they launched in response to the global financial crisis. The central bank has increased liquidity injections and slashed reserve requirements at banks. The Ministry of Finance has cut taxes and stepped up fiscal support, with 2.4 trillion renminbi worth of local government bonds having been issued between July and September, double the amount in the previous quarter. But that’s pretty much the extent of their pump-priming. Instead, policy-makers are looking for more targeted ways to improve the overall business environment and channel funds to the neediest companies—especially private enterprises and small businesses. Over the past month, every single top economic official has outlined new measures to channel financing to such entities. The group leading this effort is the Financial Stability and Development Committee, which recently went so far as to dispatch inspection teams from Beijing to seven different provinces to ensure that the latest policies are being carried out. The problem is that these efforts are at odds with policies the government promoted throughout 2017 and the first half of this year. At that time, central authorities were intently focused on addressing risks in the financial system by reining in speculative interbank borrowing, offbalance-sheet lending and sketchy wealth-management products. Those efforts were more successful than many analysts realize: China’s interbank assets—the nexus of risky lending in China—contracted by over RMB3 trillion in 2017. That represents the first contraction in interbank assets since 2010, when the government’s massive stimulus program led to the country’s current debt challenges. Because Chinese regulators are loath to backtrack on the progress they’ve made in de-risking the financial system, they’re instructing banks to continue improving risk management and balance sheet control, even as they push out an increasing portion of their loans to small businesses. The latter carry higher credit risk, almost by definition. During the recent inspection tours, one of China’s deputy central bank governors, Pan Gongsheng, specifically exhorted 30 small, citylevel banks to do more to aid the private sector, since such banks have a history servicing those types of

customers. The city-level banks are having difficulty fulfilling that mandate, though, precisely because they rely heavily on financing from the shrinking interbank market rather than household deposits. However sincere the government’s desire to help small business, support thus far has been anemic. The central bank’s current description of monetary policy, updated earlier this month, seems to encapsulate the confusion. Authorities describe policy, without irony, as “neutral, moderately tight and moderately loose…[with a] well-controlled money supply.” The People’s Bank of China (POC) also acknowledges how many fires it’s trying to fight when it says that “a comprehensive balance should be [established] within these multiple objectives” and promises to make “timely and dynamic adjustments and fine-tuning…according to the changing situation.” Such formulations make the PBOC’s already inscrutable statements borderline incomprehensible. They also point to why China’s monetary policy transmission mechanism has become largely ineffective, as increased liquidity support has failed to stop the now 15-monthlong deceleration in the pace of credit growth. Banks simply don’t know how to react to policy right now. Many are concerned that if they increase exposure to small businesses, as they’re being instructed to do, they’ll be punished later for having taken excessive risk. To state the obvious, managing a transforming economy comprised of over a billion people isn’t easy. But policy tends to work best in China when there’s one clear, overarching priority. That’s exactly why regulators were so successful in their initial efforts to de-risk the banking system last year. Back then, after President Xi Jinping stated at an April 2017 Politburo study session that financial risk had become a national security risk, each economic or financial agency and official knew to put their energies squarely into reducing those risks. Now, though, banks are being told to de-risk while supporting risky companies. Local governments are being asked to crank up local infrastructure projects while hardening budget constraints. Investment authorities are told the economy should simultaneously be more self-reliant and more open to foreign businesses. It all adds up to an almost palpable sense of policy incoherence. As long as that lack of clarity exists, none of the government’s competing goals are likely to be achieved, and China’s economic slowdown will continue to deepen.

Cecilio T. Arillo

DATABASE

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HINA’s aggressive behavior in building these artificial islands in the South China Sea tracks with its disregard of other norms of international law,” said retired Admiral James Stavridis, former supreme allied commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

In his best-selling book, Sea Power, published by Penguin books last year, Stavridis described “the specific on the construction of these artificial islands as staggering. Thus far—and construction continues— China has created nearly 3,000 acres of land out of the ocean. Just consider that the highly touted and massive US aircraft carrier (from which can be launched a wing of more than 70 jets and helicopters) are only about 7 acres of flattop.” “Are these artificial islands similar to hundreds of unsinkable aircraft carriers in the South China Sea? Think that shifts the balance of the two competing militaries? You bet it does,” he said. Stavridis said China’s artificial island buildup started in the past several years, and China already has built dozens of islands, mostly in the

By Bret Stephens

I

N ancient Egypt there lived a wise king named Thamus. One day he was visited by a clever god called Theuth. Theuth was an inventor of many useful things: arithmetic and geometry; astronomy and dice. But his greatest discovery, so he believed, “was the use of letters.” And it was this invention that Theuth was most eager to share with King Thamus. The art of writing, Theuth said, “will make the Egyptians wiser and give them better memories; it is a specific both for the memory and for the wit.” But Thamus rebuffed him. “O most ingenious Theuth,” he said, “the parent or inventor of an art is not always the best judge of the utility or inutility of his own inventions to the users of them.”

The king continued: “For this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember themselves.” Written words, Thamus concluded, “give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things but will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality.” Welcome to Facebook. The tale I’m citing here comes from Plato’s Phaedrus; the words, attributed to Socrates, are about 2,400 years old. They are apposite again this week thanks to a lengthy investigation by The New York Times into Facebook’s cynical and self-serving calculations as it tried to

the South China Sea with their massive and increasingly assertive neighbor.” He clarified that the history of the waterways is not only about ships passing through it, and the small and great wars on the coasts; it is about the scattered island chains that provide a means for nations to claim chunks of the sea if they can only establish claim. “This is the story of the seemingly constant conflict over the Paracel and Spratly islands, for example, as well as over Mischief Reef.” “What drives all this, of course, is the presence of hydrocarbons and fish in the South China Sea,” Stavridis said, adding that, “While most of the nations would be content with the rules and regulations generated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which came largely into force in the 1980s, what is in dispute is access to the region’s ample fisheries near the seafood markets of Asia and the seabed hydrocarbons.” “Some estimates put the total amount of oil and natural gas at levels similar to the Middle East, a mother lode of resources, especially for small players along the littoral. So it’s no surprise that there has been a constant game of occupying the island chain for nearly 50 years,” Stavridis said. To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

Ambiguities on the taxability of premium on health card

has been affirmed by several rulings and regulations issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and decisions promulgated by the Supreme Court. Note also that through rulings issued by the BIR, the exception from fringe benefits tax had been extended to withholding tax on compensation. Not only that. Also, through rulings, the BIR went further by saying that although technically a health maintenance organization is not an insurance company subject to registration and regulation by the Insurance Commission (at that time HMOs were not subject to regulation by the Insurance Commission), the services rendered by such HMOs are akin to the service provided by insurance companies. Accordingly, premium payments to HMOs for the group hospitalization benefits it provides

to its non-rank-and-file employees under a group insurance plan are not subject to fringe benefits tax. Recently, however, the BIR issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 50-2018, where it stated that premiums on health cards paid by the employer for all employees, whether rank-and-file or managerial/supervisory, under a group insurance, shall be included as part of “other benefits” of these employees, which are subject to the P90,000 threshold. As can be inferred from this latest pronouncement, the premiums on health cards paid by the employer for all employees under a group insurance may be subject to regular income tax and subsequently, to withholding tax on compensation if the P90,000 ceiling is breached. This pronouncement has been the source of ambiguities and objections from different sectors. There are even questions as to what the coverage is. Should it even include the regular group life and health insurance or only payments to HMOs? The Supreme Court, in Medicard Philippines Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (2017), held that the main difference between an HMO and an insurance company is that HMOs undertake to provide or arrange for the provision of medical services through participating physicians, while insurance companies simply undertake to indemnify the insured for medical expenses incurred up to a pre-agreed limit. In Philippine Health Care Providers Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal

Revenue (2009), the Supreme Court clearly stated that HMOs are not engaged in the insurance business. The Supreme Court ruled that a corporation such as an HMO, whether or not organized for profit, whose main object is to provide the members of a group with health services, is not engaged in the insurance business. Since the Supreme Court already ruled that HMOs are different from insurance companies, the pronouncement of the BIR in RMC 50-2018 must only apply to premiums on health cards borne by the employer and paid to HMOs and must not apply to premiums on life and health insurance policies issued by insurance companies. But there is also basis for the payments to HMOs to be excluded from the coverage of the tax, whether fringe benefits tax or withholding tax on compensation. I just hope that the BIR will consider the justifications submitted to it by various sectors in excluding all types of payments for group insurance, including payments to HMOs, from the coverage of the tax.

Part of the reason is that we tend to forget that technology is only as good as the people who use it. We want it to elevate us; we tend to degrade it. In a better world, Twitter might have been a digital billboard of ideas and conversation ennobling the public square. We’ve turned it into the open cesspool of the American mind. Facebook was supposed to serve as a platform for enhanced human interaction, not a tool for the lonely to burrow more deeply into their own isolation. It’s also true that Facebook and other Silicon Valley giants have sold themselves not so much as profit-seeking companies but as ideal-pursuing movements. Facebook’s mission is “to make the world more open and connected.” Tesla’s goal is “to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” Google’s mantra was “Don’t Be Evil,” at least until it quietly dropped the slogan earlier this year.

But the deeper reason that technology so often disappoints and betrays us is that it promises to make easy things that, by their intrinsic nature, have to be hard. Tweeting and trolling are easy. Mastering the arts of conversation and measured debate is hard. Texting is easy. Writing a proper letter is hard. Looking stuff up on Google is easy. Knowing what to search for in the first place is hard. Having a thousand friends on Facebook is easy. Maintaining six or seven close adult friendships over the space of many years is hard. Swiping right on Tinder is easy. Finding love—and staying in it—is hard. That’s what Socrates (or Thamus) means when he deprecates the written word: It gives us an out. It creates the illusion that we can remain informed, and connected, even as we are spared the burdens of attentiveness, presence

of mind and memory. That may seem quaint today. But how many of our personal, professional or national problems might be solved if we desisted from depending on shortcuts? To read The Times’s account of how Facebook dealt with its problems is to be struck by how desperately Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg sought to massage and finesse—with consultants, lobbyists and technological patches—what amounted to a daunting if simple crisis of trust. As with love and grammar, acquiring and maintaining trust is hard. There are no workarounds. Start over, Facebook. Do the basics. Stop pretending that you’re about transforming the state of the world. Work harder to operate ethically, openly and responsibly. Accept that the work will take time. Log off Facebook for a weekend. Read an ancient book instead.

Atty. Ronel Andrew R. Morano

TAX LAW FOR BUSINESS

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S the old saying goes, “health is wealth”, but it is inevitable that a person will suffer health problems during his/her lifetime due to numerous causes such as old age, accident, poverty, etc. Even the framers of the 1987 Constitution recognized this reality. As such, the Constitution provides that the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them. In line with this State policy, the government provides some types of tax incentives to organizations/corporations providing health care to the public. In Revenue Regulations 03-98, it is clear that the cost of life or health insurance and other nonlife insurance premiums borne by the employer for his employees are subject to fringe benefits tax. There are, however, exceptions to this general rule. The Tax Code itself provides that contributions of the employer for the benefit of the employees to retirement, insurance and hospitalization benefit plans are treated as not taxable fringe benefits. And as so provided in RR 3-98, the cost of premiums borne by the employer for the group insurance of his employees is exempted from the imposition of fringe benefits tax. Therefore, cost of premiums borne by the employer is not a taxable fringe benefit, provided that it pertains to group insurance. This

Plato foresaw Facebook’s foibles New York Times News Service

eastern and southern portion of the South China Sea. “Instead of stone, brick and wood, this new ‘great wall’ consists of artificial islands strung out across the South China Sea—a region Beijing claims by virtue of historical right. China’s claim is encompassed by its ‘nine-dash line,’ a radical demarcation of maritime sovereignty that takes an enormous bite out of the legitimate territorial claims of Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries ringing the South China Sea,” Stavridis pointed out. He explained that, “the crucial context of this behavior is that the South China Sea—Asia’s cauldron, as geostrategist Robert D. Kaplan calls it—is bubbling like the witches’ kettle in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.”

“The South China Sea,” he argued, “matters not only because it is contested territory, but because it’s hugely important to the smooth operation of the global economy. More than $5 trillion of the world’s annual trade passes through the South China Sea, all under the watchful eyes of the [oddly named] People’s Liberation Army Navy,” he said. “Besides the obvious geopolitical and military issues, significant ecological damage is also under way, according to many scientists. One expert from the University of Miami, John McManus, called China’s building of man-made islands ‘the most rapid rate of permanent loss of coral reef area in human history.’” Some of these provocations include lack of clarity on the claim itself—a claim that, again, international lawyers widely regard as preposterous—including an air defense identification zone over the East Asia Sea directed at the United States, Japan and South Korea, the placement of a mobile oil platform in Vietnam’s coastal waters; and the widely reported (and massive) cyber thefts of US intellectual property, industrial secrets and personal data, Stavridis pointed out. According to him, “The final leitmotif of the South China Sea over the past two decades is the geopolitical contest between an outsized China that is rising inexorably and the handful of small but dynamic nations that share the littoral of

brazen its way through a year of serial PR disasters: Russian dezinformatsiya, Cambridge Analytica and a gargantuan security breach. Now we learn that the company also sought to cover up the extent of Russian meddling on its platform—while quietly seeding invidious stories against its business rivals and critics like George Soros. Facebook disputes some of the claims made by The Times, but it’s fair to say the company’s reputation currently stands somewhere between that of Philip Morris and Purdue Pharma in the public toxicity department. To which one can only say: About time. The story of the wildly exaggerated promises and damaging unintended consequences of technology isn’t exactly a new one. The real marvel is that it constantly seems to surprise us. Why?

The author is a junior associate of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at ronelandrew.morano@bdblaw. com.ph or call 403-2001 local 170.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Tuesday, November 20, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Truck holiday, port congestion seen hiking prices

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas & Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

he added.

Unfazed

RICES of some imported meat products may go up this holiday season as the port congestion and the ongoing truck holiday, which disrupted the movement of goods, will increase the cost incurred by importers and traders. An analyst from the University of the Philippines, however, said the truck holiday was just an “alibi” used by truckers so they can raise charges in view of the government’s efforts to phase out old vehicles. Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) President Jesus C. Cham said the majority of their members are absorbing the additional costs caused by the port congestion so as not to disrupt sales. Cham noted, however, that some importers and traders would pass on the increase in cost to wholesales so they won’t incur losses. The Mita chief also said the port congestion this year is “worse” as it started as early as August. He said it now takes about three weeks to completely transport imported goods to their warehouses from the ports, compared to just three days

during the same period last year. “We now experience more shortage of stocks,” he told the BusinessMirror. Philippine Amalgated Supermarket Association President Steven Cua also expressed apprehension that consumer products may become more expensive due to the truck holiday, particularly if demand would exceed the current inventories. “This would mean a lack of supply on supermarket shelves, [with truckers] hoping that retailers will help pressure the government to hold back the requirement to retire 15-year-old and older trucks on the road,” Cua told the BusinessMirror via SMS.

Truckers’ alibi?

IN an e-mail sent to BusinessMirror

SOME of the “small, independent trucking groups” join the “Day of Rest”, organized by some truckers and customs brokers on Monday morning, to protest the phaseout of old trucks and delayed release of empty containers. In picture are trucks lined up at Road 10 in Manila. At least seven groups have agreed to hold a Day of Rest beginning from November 19 to 24 if no government representative or agency resolves their problems. NONIE REYES

on Monday, UP Professor Emeritus Epictetus Patalinghug, who also led the research team that computed the port congestion losses in 2014, said the phaseout plan of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is not viable. Patalinghug said truckers and customs brokers pushed for the holiday because replacing old trucks with Euro 4-compliant buses cost P3 to P5 million, making it difficult for truckers to comply with the regulation.

“Because trucks are more polluting than jeepneys, the crazy LTFRB is imposing the same phase out policy on trucks, but it costs P3 million to P5 million to buy a new Euro 4-compliant bus which would not meet LTFRB’s goal before the 2022 elections,” he said. “Since the replacement won’t happen in the short run, it should not affect prices during Christmas time. However, the protest and the claim of port congestion will simply be used by truckers and shippers as an alibi to raise their charges,”

₧1-B goal set for bond issue under Asean+3 setup By Cai U. Ordinario

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@cuo_bm

OCAL credit firm AEON Credit Service (Philippines) Inc. aims to raise P1 billion from its latest bond issue under the Asean+3 Multi-Currency Bond Issuance Framework (Ambif), according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In a statement, ADB said the bond is also the first in the Philippines guaranteed by the Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF). The AEON Philippines’ bond will be offered in two tranches that will mature in 2021 and 2023. “We hope that this pilot bond will pave the way for similar bond issues going forward,” said ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki

Sawada. “Vibrant local currency bond markets provide valuable alternative sources of funding for companies while borrowing in local rather than foreign currencies strengthens the overall stability of the domestic financial sector.” The ADB said the company will use the proceeds to provide tricycle loans and personal loans, as well as financial services for the purchase of consumer products, such as home appliances, furniture, and electronics. The company’s loan facilities focus on the unbanked population and those with limited access to financial services. AEON Philippines, a financing firm, is part of the AEON Group of Companies through Japan-based bank holding company AEON Financial Service Co., Ltd. “We welcome the first CGIF-

Senators to Palace: Release oil, gas draft deal with China before signing

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PPOSITION senators prodded President Duterte on Monday to provide the Senate with a “definitive draft of the oil and gas exploration agreement” before signing a deal with China. In filing Senate Resolution 943, Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Francis Pangilinan urged the Executive Department to release the draft of the oil and gas agreement before Philippine government officials formally forge the exploration deal with their Chinese counterparts. The Trillanes-Pangilinan Resolution also directs the Senate Committee on Energy to “investigate, in aid of legislation, the potential deals on oil and gas exploration with China.” Asserting that “territory is an essential element of a State,” the resolution stressed that “a State’s territory houses the soul and identity of a nation.” It added: “The national territory of the Philippines is an integral part of its patrimony, which is to be conserved, developed and utilized for the benefit of present and future generations of Filipinos.” The Trillanes-Pangilinan Resolution pointed out that under Article 1 of the Philippine Constitution, the national territory of the Philippines “comprises See “Oil-gas,” A2

guaranteed Ambif bond in the Philippines. The issuance not only supports the development of the Philippine bond market but also Asean’s efforts toward f ina nc i a l integ rat ion,” sa id Ephyro Luis B. Amatong, Supervising Commissioner for Markets and Securities Regulation at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines. The CGIF was established in 2010 by the 10 members of Asean plus the People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (Asean+3), and ADB to provide guarantees on local currency-denominated corporate bonds issued in the region. The Ambif is a set of common market practices including standard bond issuance documenta-

Budget. . .

Continued from A1

have to be approved by the Senate endorsing panel once the House does transmit it. The latest word was that the House would do so by November 28. “We should take our time and not rush it,” Sotto said. Sen. Francis G. Escudero indicated that the delay in the House transmittal of the budget bill could be attributed to the recent “change in [the] House leadership.” “[It is] impossible to pass the budget within the year,” said Escudero, explaining that “It will take us time to come to a final agreement with the House.” The senator suggested that the bicameral panel “should meet during the Christmas break and submit a final version [of a reconciled Senate-House version of the 2019 budget bill] when we resume sessions in mid-January.” Escudero explained further that the final Senate version “has to be based on [the] House committee report...but senators must vote on it before the Christmas recess,” noting that the annual budget bill “is the most important piece of legislation we will be acting upon.” In a separate interview, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon acknowledged that “we cannot finish the budget, which has not even been tackled in a Senate hearing.” Still, Drilon added: “I don’t think we should lose sleep [if] the budget is not passed in [the] first 15 days of next year. We can approve it in January. To rush it and commit mistakes . . . we will not die, the country

tion that allows borrowers to tap different markets using the same paperwork and processes. The framework was created under the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI), a joint effort by Asean+3 to promote local currency bond market development. The Philippines SEC adopted the framework in September 2015. The ADB is a contributor to the CGIF, acts as the Secretariat to ABMI, and has long worked with Asean+3 policymakers to establish Ambif. The CGIF, Ambif and ABMI were established to support development of active long-term local currency bond markets so borrowers can avoid the currency and maturity bond mismatches that caused the 1997–1998 Asian Financial Crisis.

will not collapse if we approve it in January.” The Minority Leader suggested to fellow senators that “e wait until we receive the GAA before we approve it,” referring to the annual General Appropriations Act that the House must first pass. “Next year is an election year, let’s not rush it [and instead] deliberate carefully.” Asked by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto about the implications of a reenacted budget, Escudero explained that, “insofar as items included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP), they cannot award projects.... The hands of the administration will be tied.” Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson, explaining the implications of delayed passage of the 2019 budget, noted that “by then, we will have six session days left before Congress adjourns on December 12—eight [days] if we include two Thursdays in our calendar. We are not superheroes in the Senate to finish scrutinizing the House version of the budget bill, including all the study and research prior to plenary debates, amendments, etc.” Lacson added that once the House approves the money measure on third and final reading, “it takes 10 days, give or take, to print the General Appropriations Bill prior to transmittal to the Senate. “Having said that, this early, it is not difficult to predict a re-enacted budget in 2019.” Lacson continued, “And I dare say, it’s all the fault of the Lower House that their insertions also known as pork barrel allocations, which I guess is their main reason for the delay, will not be implemented if the national government operates under a re-enacted budget. It serves them right.” Butch Fernandez

BUDGET Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno told the BusinessMirror that he is not worried about the port congestion as the harbor link project will be open for public use by December 19. “What used to take 1.5 hours going to Edsa will now take 10 minutes on the way to the North Luzon Expressway. It took several administrations for this to happen. But now, it will be opened in December 19,” Diokno said. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said it is already implementing a number of measures to ease port congestion. Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero also said on the sidelines of the Memorandum of Agreement signing with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard at the Port of Manila on Monday, that the BOC is in continuous discussions with other agencies. “We at the BOC, we are coordinating with the Department of Transportation [DOTr] and the other agencies so that we can fix these problems of port congestion,” Guerrero said. Some of the measures that have been rolled out are the transfer of some empty containers at the inland containers terminals, requiring shipping companies to open up

additional container yards, and the inventory of existing containers for immediate evacuation.

Truck holiday impact

PHILIPPINE Ports Authority general manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said the truck holiday has no effect on the operations of the ports as the membership of the group that participated in it is just 8 percent of the truckers that operate in Manila ports. “Right now, our yard utilization is relatively high due to the Christmas rush. But we are approximately at 73 percent to 75 percent utilization rate, which is still at the optimal level,” Santiago said. The DOTr said the “truck holiday” protests Department Order (DO) 2017-09, which reinforced the earlier DO 2002-030 on the mandatory 15-year age limit for busesand trucks-for hire covered by a certificate of public convenience. LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III has stressed that it was already agreed upon that truckers, even with units older than 15 years, may continue with their current franchises during the transition period. The transition period for the year model-based phaseout of trucks covered by a certificate of public convenience is from June 30, 2017 to June 30, 2020, in accordance with LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2018-007. With reports by Rea Cu and Lorenz Marasigan

Mindanao solon files resolution extending martial law for 3rd time

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MINDANAO lawmaker on Monday filed a resolution urging President Duterte to extend martial law in the south by another six months or until June 2019. In House Resolution 2302, Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao said martial law should be extended following reports of terrorist plots and in order to secure the May 2019 elections. “It is urgently imperative that government authority must ensure peaceful, orderly and honest May 2019 elections in Mindanao, including and especially in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and adjacent regions, to secure the integrity of the ballots and safety of voters and elections personnel and to ensure that the duly-elected officials are installed,” he said. Siao, a member of the House Committee on Mindanao Affairs, also cited “sporadic incidents of violence,” including an ambush in Lanao del Sur in which five agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) died. “The Isis, their collaborators among lawless armed groups, and the illegal-drugs networks operating in Mindanao want to sow terror in pursuit of their twisted objectives,” Siao said. “The masterminds and perpetrators of lawless violence either do not want the elections to happen or they prevent some candidates from getting elected into office,” it added. After the elected officials assume office, he said the martial law can end and the Philippine National Police can once again assume peace and order responsibilities in Mindanao, with the civilian elected officials by their side. For his part, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Ray F. Villafuerte said he was inclined to support the extension of military rule in the South beyond end-December 2018 if and when recommended by the military top brass and the Palace. Villafuerte, who is vice chairman

of the House committee on national defense and security, issued this statement after Armed Forces chief Gen. Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said the military might seek an extension of martial law following such a request from many local government units (LGUs) across the island. Galvez was quoted as saying that LGU officials in Mindanao want to ensure that the island will be rid of terrorist groups. Earlier, Presidential Spokesman and Chief Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said President Duterte last week convened the executive committee of the NSC to determine if there is a need to seek congressional approval for another extension of martial law in the South. Villafuerte said “the clamor of various groups to extend military rule for the third time on the island should be considered by the Congress in deliberating on whether to grant the extension—if and when the military and Malacañang asks for it.” “We should give more weight to the inputs of the people living in Mindanao in considering a request for the extension of martial law on the island. Mindanaoans are the ones experiencing what it’s like to live under martial law for a year-and-ahalf now, so they would have a better grasp of what is an acceptable option for them for continued peace and security,” Villafuerte said. Villafuerte said the people have no reason to be apprehensive over the possible extension of martial rule in Mindanao, considering that there have been no reports of widespread violations by the military or police on the island ever since it was first imposed in May last year. President Duterte first imposed martial law in Mindanao on May 23, 2017, after IS-inspired local terrorists laid siege to Marawi City. He asked for a five-month extension that lasted until December 31, 2017, after the 60-day declaration lapsed in July. A second extension was granted by Congress, continuing the period of martial until December 31, 2018. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

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Smart Padala to expand merchant network by 40%

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

MART Padala, the remittance arm of PayMaya Philippines Inc., targets to expand its network of merchant partners—touted as the largest in the country—by almost 40 percent in 2019, as it expects digital remittance to outpace and outgrow traditional means of sending and receiving money. Butch C. Conejos, channel head for domestic business at Smart Padala, said his group aims to add 10,000 more merchant partners to its network to cap 2019 off with 36,000 micro, small and medium entrepreneurs that serve as conduits for digital remittances.

“Right now, we have about 26,000 registered partner agents, and next year, we want to grow it by 10,000 more,” he said in an interview. “Our network is the largest in the Philippines in terms of partners.” Smart Padala, Conejos said, will

give prime focus on on-boarding new partner agents from the Visayas and Mindanao. “Our aim is around 30 percent to 40 percent of our target merchant partners will be from the Visayas and 30 percent to 40 percent from Mindanao,” he said. Currently, 85 percent of the total municipalities in the Philippines are covered by Smart Padala, with the company having at least one merchant partner for each municipality. Conejos added the company sees digital remittances outpacing and outgrowing traditional remittance services in the next five year, as “people buy convenience through their mobile phones.” Smart Padala serves customers with a growing suite of digital services that includes bills payment, Add Money to PayMaya accounts, loan disbursement and QR payments.

“Smart Padala is a critical ingredient in building a ‘cashless’ Philippines. Our more than 26,000 agents around the country act as community hubs for financial and digital services,” PayMaya Philippines Managing Director Paolo Azzola said. Based on the Inclusive Digital Finance Report released in 2017 by Fintq, a subsidiary of PayMaya, more than 70 percent of provinces have medium to low access to formal financial services, effectively leaving them out of the growing digital economy. Azzola said given that the majority of Smart Padala’s outlets nationwide are sari-sari (variety) stores, “the service is able to reach even far-flung communities and barangays located outside the usual city centers—enabling convenience of financial transactions for the majority of Filipinos around the country.”

DOE to retain Majestic Energy’s FiT slot By Lenie Lectura

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@llectura

NERGY Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said last week his agency would not give up the feed-intariff (FiT) slot of Majestic Energy Corp. (MEC) to the next complying solar-power provider in the list. “No. It’s not possible. I even want to remove that FiT so why do I have to give it to another,” Cusi said when sought for comment if the Department of Energy (DOE) is considering the reissuance of MEC’s certificate of endorsement (COE) to other solarpower providers.

MEC previously secured a COE from the DOE and thereafter applied for a certificate of compliance (COC) with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). However, regulators denied MEC’s application for the issuance of a COC for its 41.3-megawatt DC Solar Roof Project. The project is intended as a FiT-eligible power plant located in the Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ) I and II, in Rosario and General Trias, respectively. “We observed that some transactions entered by the company are questionable and necessitates further inquiry. Hence, we deemed it

proper to revert the matter to the DOE without further action from the Commission,” ERC Chairman and CEO Agnes VST Devanadera had said. In its application, MEC said HRD (S) Pte. Ltd., a Singaporean firm, holds 40 percent of the total number of subscribed and paid-up capital stock while Filipino shareholders hold 60 percent of the stocks. However, MEC’s articles of incorporation and by-laws stated otherwise. The ERC said MEC amended pertinent provisions, particularly on the

voting rights and quorum requirement for shareholders’ meetings from 75 percent to “a majority” of the outstanding capital stock.

FNI 2018 nickel-ore exports up 3.8% By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Alcaras @jearcalas

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LOBAL Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI), the country’s second-largest nickel producer, said it surpassed its 2018 shipment target, but the total volume fell slightly compared to its 2017 export record. In a disclosure to the local bourse, FNI said it completed its 2018 shipments and was able to export 5.709 million wet metric tons of nickel ore, 3.8 percent higher than the firm’s 5.5 million WMT full-year target. However, the mining firm’s 2018 total shipment volume was 4.39 percent lower than the 5.971 million WMT it exported in 2017. “Favorable weather conditions and enhanced operational efficiencies enabled the company to breach the 100-vessel mark, registering a total of 103 shipments with the last vessel departing

on October 31, 2018,” FNI said in a statement. FNI said lower global nickel prices forced the firm to focus on exporting higher-grade ores instead of lowergrades “to maximize profitability.” “It was only this year as opposed to the past several years when the company was able to produce and ship nickel ore at a higher mediumgrade of 1.65 percent to take advantage of its relatively high price and better margins,” it said. FNI said it exported a total of 3.051 million WMT of medium-grade nickel ore, while the remaining volume of 2.6587 million WMT was of lower-grade ores. About 600,000 WMT of the total medium-grade nickel ores shipped by FNI had a nickel content of 1.65 percent. “The resulting sales mix is 47 percent lowgrade ores and 53 percent medium-grade ores, as against 61 percent low-grade ores and 39 percent medium-grade ores for 2017,” FNI said.

DOF exec: 13 mining firms can resume operations if allowed by DENR

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AYANI H. AGABIN, Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary, said the 13 mining companies ordered closed or suspended can resume their operations if allowed by the Department of Natural Resources (DENR). Agabin, who represents the DOF at the interagency Mining Industry Coordination Council (MICC), said the mining companies can file a motion for reconsideration at the DENR or appeal to the Office of the President, among other options. “It’s up to the mining companies that were the subject of the suspensions. I believe they need to consult with their lawyers. They can probably go to the Office of the President or file a motion for reconsideration with the DENR. But again Executive Order

79, which created the MICC, is quite clear the MICC is recommendatory only,” Agabin said. Last week, the DENR reported lifting the suspension of one mining firm, alongside the suspension of nine mining companies and the closure of three miningoperations.Canceledwerethemineralproduction sharing agreements of three mining firms—Claver MineralDevelopmentCorp.,OrientalSynergyMining Corp. and the MPSA application of Ore Asia Mining and Development Corp. “I respect the decision of the DENR. They have qualifiedpeopleandpeopleontheground.Secretary Roy Cimatu is really dedicated to making sure that, when we develop something, we also protect the environment,” he added. Rea Cu

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Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

November 19, 2018

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

ASIA UNITED 59 59.5 59 59.5 59 59.5 20300 1207200 1194810 BDO UNIBANK 129.1 129.7 123.5 129.7 123.3 129.7 2730660 349637722 148598531 BANK PH ISLANDS 88.65 88.7 89 89 88 88.7 2055510 182285789.5 45493421.5 CHINABANK 27.75 27.8 28 28 27.7 27.75 58600 1627890 -535625 EAST WEST BANK 10.7 10.74 10.76 10.82 10.68 10.7 334000 3588682 -730674 METROBANK 72.1 72.15 70.3 72.4 70.3 72.15 5578780 401303662 76488891.5 PHIL NATL BANK 39.8 40 40 40 39.6 39.8 89200 3,549,765( 3,438,265.0002) PSBANK 71.7 76.75 71.7 72.1 71.7 71.7 5790 416585 RCBC 28.15 28.3 27.9 28.4 27.9 28.25 235400 6568820 SECURITY BANK 145.8 146.5 141.8 147.3 140.1 146.5 1487340 216688830 14363574 UNION BANK 65.8 65.9 65.85 65.95 65.8 65.8 14780 974171.5 -358319 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.52 1.57 1.5 1.59 1.5 1.57 14000 21930 BDO LEASING 2.29 2.3 2.33 2.33 2.3 2.3 128000 295290 COL FINANCIAL 15.3 15.6 15.2 15.6 15.12 15.6 1600 24592 FERRONOUX HLDG 3.81 3.96 3.96 3.96 3.96 3.96 1000 3960 IREMIT 1.4 1.51 1.38 1.39 1.38 1.39 3000 4150 MEDCO HLDG 0.455 0.475 0.47 0.47 0.455 0.455 440000 200350 NTL REINSURANCE 0.76 0.77 0.77 0.8 0.76 0.76 737000 564000 -76000 PHIL STOCK EXCH 174 183 174.1 183 174 183 2260 393373 -35 INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.23 1.26 1.23 1.27 1.23 1.26 805000 995230 ABOITIZ POWER 32.45 32.5 31.6 32.5 31.4 32.5 1759900 56375395 5579320 BASIC ENERGY 0.211 0.226 0.226 0.226 0.21 0.225 240000 52690 FIRST GEN 17.5 17.54 17.38 17.54 17.14 17.54 1760600 30773824 13972674 FIRST PHIL HLDG 64.55 64.6 64.85 64.85 64.35 64.6 302270 19,559,734.5( 1,766,392.5003) PHIL H2O 4.52 4.65 4.55 4.66 4.5 4.66 563000 2548080 MERALCO 383.8 384 383 387 376.6 384 184710 71017290 27061470 MANILA WATER 25.3 25.4 25.7 25.95 25.3 25.4 346300 8835870 2647190 PETRON 7.66 7.7 7.88 7.93 7.66 7.66 4051700 31488583 -19206263 PETROENERGY 4.03 4.11 4.06 4.06 4.03 4.03 10000 40460 PHINMA ENERGY 0.91 0.93 0.91 0.93 0.9 0.91 632000 573440 PHX PETROLEUM 10.9 11 11.08 11.3 11 11 190700 2104358 -770248 PILIPINAS SHELL 48.4 48.5 48.5 50 48.4 48.4 630000 30684910 -19461200 SPC POWER 5.28 5.38 5.27 5.41 5.27 5.28 1203700 6427940 AGRINURTURE 17.58 17.68 17 17.76 17 17.68 486900 8553808 775174 CNTRL AZUCARERA 14.62 17.42 16.2 16.2 14.62 16.08 3400 53578 CENTURY FOOD 14.08 14.12 14 14.14 14 14.08 1520400 21367002 6104832 DEL MONTE 6.8 7 7 7 7 7 8000 56000 56000 DNL INDUS 10.76 10.78 10.76 10.8 10.76 10.78 395000 4257510 -2541884 EMPERADOR 6.96 6.99 6.99 6.99 6.89 6.99 3196100 22148530 -14600436 SMC FOODANDBEV 83.85 84 83.95 84 83.85 84 1573350 132043704.5 39386012.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.07 1.08 1.08 1.11 1.06 1.07 6978000 7564190 GINEBRA 23.05 23.2 22.8 23.45 22.8 23.05 91100 2095555 1694870 JOLLIBEE 281.8 282 280 284 278.4 282 562330 158730652 9570048 MACAY HLDG 8.51 9.9 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 1600 15200 MAXS GROUP 10.2 10.3 10.56 10.8 10.3 10.3 353200 3674946 -1028614 PEPSI COLA 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.44 1.44 308000 446240 -374990 SHAKEYS PIZZA 9.99 10 10 10.02 9.99 10 52500 525099 20000 RFM CORP 4.66 4.7 4.66 4.7 4.66 4.7 64000 298760 -9320 ROXAS HLDG 2.82 2.99 2.82 2.82 2.82 2.82 8000 22560 SWIFT FOODS 0.122 0.125 0.125 0.125 0.125 0.125 20000 2500 UNIV ROBINA 131 131.6 130.7 134.4 130.2 131 628410 82,727,358( 1,153,656.0002) VITARICH 1.49 1.5 1.43 1.5 1.41 1.49 9863000 14441530 -274200 VICTORIAS 2.32 2.33 2.33 2.33 2.33 2.33 60000 139800 139800 CONCRETE A 60.7 66.5 60.7 60.7 60.6 60.6 110 6668 CEMEX HLDG 1.99 2 2 2.05 1.99 2 2468000 4973850 -749840 DAVINCI CAPITAL 4.91 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 3100 16120 EAGLE CEMENT 15.4 15.44 15.42 15.42 15.22 15.4 74100 1129630 741366 EEI CORP 8.43 8.5 8.8 8.84 8.34 8.5 67200 573242 HOLCIM 6.2 6.25 6 6.25 6 6.15 13300 82251 -1875 MEGAWIDE 17.34 17.6 17.48 17.6 17.16 17.34 2533900 43896178 -17109550 PHINMA 8.5 8.78 8.5 8.52 8.5 8.5 14900 126750 TKC METALS 0.85 0.87 0.84 0.88 0.84 0.87 10000 8510 VULCAN INDL 1.45 1.47 1.5 1.51 1.42 1.45 6280000 9221570 -143080 CROWN ASIA 1.4 1.42 1.4 1.45 1.4 1.4 71000 100330 11320 LMG CHEMICALS 4.65 4.7 4.65 4.65 4.65 4.65 6000 27900 MABUHAY VINYL 3.26 3.34 3.21 3.36 3.21 3.36 10000 32250 PRYCE CORP 5.18 5.78 5.23 5.23 5.18 5.18 53600 279066 -70756 CONCEPCION 35.05 36.95 35 35.2 35 35.2 641000 22435020 10500 GREENERGY 1.6 1.61 1.61 1.65 1.61 1.61 5814000 9421870 1322150 INTEGRATED MICR 7.8 7.83 8.67 8.67 7.8 7.8 8800700 70797460 -5752508 IONICS 1.46 1.47 1.5 1.5 1.46 1.47 315000 465300 SFA SEMICON 1.22 1.24 1.25 1.25 1.2 1.24 383000 467510 CIRTEK HLDG 36.5 37.9 37.2 37.9 36.5 37.9 162400 6123230 HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.46 0.465 0.47 0.47 0.455 0.465 4240000 1954850 226450 ASIABEST GROUP 20.65 21.5 21.5 23 20.75 20.75 26100 558070 -6600 AYALA CORP 944.5 945.5 918 945.5 915 945.5 248330 232356570 75662105 ABOITIZ EQUITY 46.75 46.85 47 47.3 45.55 46.85 1130600 52989655 21115710 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 10.76 10.78 10.8 10.82 10.6 10.76 16400100 175994714 -120441246 ANSCOR 6.2 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.2 17100 106030 31000 ATN HLDG A 1.48 1.49 1.46 1.48 1.43 1.48 4050000 5912530 ATN HLDG B 1.48 1.49 1.49 1.49 1.47 1.48 579000 857180 -264600 BHI HLDG 1800 2000 1251 1800 1200 1800 205 312085 6055 COSCO CAPITAL 7.33 7.35 7.05 7.39 7.04 7.35 5960000 43087207 -3756443 DMCI HLDG 12.96 13.1 12.86 13.1 12.8 13.1 3580900 46393980 14702566 FILINVEST DEV 7.4 7.6 7.4 7.6 7.36 7.6 334200 2514983 -332880 FORUM PACIFIC 0.198 0.237 0.23 0.235 0.23 0.235 190000 44600 GT CAPITAL 860 860.5 807 865 802.5 860 267720 229300185 96186355 JG SUMMIT 46.75 47 45.8 47.35 45.65 47 1964800 91318605 -29493670 LODESTAR 0.495 0.51 0.52 0.52 0.495 0.51 225000 111900 LOPEZ HLDG 3.85 3.95 3.74 4 3.74 3.84 128000 502110 8490 LT GROUP 16.28 16.3 16.06 16.36 15.84 16.28 3516000 56511176 8462755.9998 MABUHAY HLDG 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.53 0.51 0.53 504000 262280 METRO PAC INV 4.64 4.65 4.55 4.68 4.5 4.65 63628000 293110710 -134862830 PACIFICA 0.035 0.036 0.034 0.036 0.033 0.036 14500000 493600 PRIME ORION 2.47 2.5 2.44 2.51 2.44 2.5 601000 1496720 71820 PRIME MEDIA 1.16 1.2 1.16 1.16 1.16 1.16 75000 87000 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.51 2.69 2.68 2.68 2.68 2.68 10000 26800 SOLID GROUP 1.27 1.31 1.27 1.31 1.27 1.31 17000 21830 SYNERGY GRID 481 515 580 580 470 515 810 407212 SM INVESTMENTS 920 928 890 928 890 928 331940 303087525 18976690 SAN MIGUEL CORP 169.9 170 168.5 172 168.5 169.9 215590 36678013 3632480 SOC RESOURCES 0.7 0.78 0.71 0.78 0.71 0.78 2000 1490 SEAFRONT RES 2.29 2.8 2.29 2.29 2.29 2.29 1000 2290 TOP FRONTIER 266 280 266 280 266 280 2730 758676 WELLEX INDUS 0.216 0.217 0.212 0.216 0.21 0.216 590000 125170 ZEUS HLDG 0.192 0.216 0.192 0.192 0.192 0.192 40000 7680 7680 PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.52 0.54 0.51 0.56 0.51 0.52 406000 215820 ANCHOR LAND 11 11.9 11 11 11 11 9600 105600 AYALA LAND 39.8 39.9 39.35 39.9 39.3 39.9 12157000 482782765 24016100 ARANETA PROP 1.76 1.77 1.78 1.78 1.77 1.77 54000 95600 -95600 BELLE CORP 2.23 2.25 2.23 2.24 2.22 2.23 2997000 6693330 -4576790 A BROWN 0.76 0.77 0.77 0.78 0.73 0.76 1317000 1000710 CITYLAND DEVT 0.86 0.87 0.85 0.87 0.85 0.86 282000 240790 CROWN EQUITIES 0.215 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.211 0.22 1270000 274800 56970 CEBU HLDG 5.5 5.99 6 6 6 6 500 3000 CEB LANDMASTERS 3.82 3.87 3.8 3.9 3.78 3.87 1996000 7705570 1501710 CENTURY PROP 0.41 0.415 0.415 0.42 0.405 0.41 4090000 1694800 -452300 CYBER BAY 0.34 0.37 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.34 260000 88400 DOUBLEDRAGON 18.8 18.88 18.1 19.44 18.02 18.88 641100 11962960 4449614 DM WENCESLAO 7.59 7.6 7.58 7.61 7.53 7.6 291400 2212459 746238 EMPIRE EAST 0.5 0.52 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 1000 500 FILINVEST LAND 1.48 1.49 1.48 1.5 1.46 1.48 6183000 9169380 6213040 GLOBAL ESTATE 1 1.01 0.99 1.02 0.99 1.01 1090000 1102060 8990 HLDG 7.43 7.45 7.25 7.45 7.25 7.45 455200 3365911 IRC PROP 2.41 2.42 2.44 2.46 2.35 2.42 9191000 22154080 -315560 CITY AND LAND 0.85 0.87 0.79 0.85 0.79 0.85 93000 73980 -0 MEGAWORLD 4.62 4.63 4.53 4.67 4.5 4.62 19217000 88765750 29471879.9999 MRC ALLIED 0.35 0.355 0.35 0.355 0.345 0.35 21450000 7497250 999350 PHIL ESTATES 0.44 0.45 0.44 0.445 0.44 0.44 750000 330100 PRIMEX CORP 3.59 3.63 3.6 3.6 3.58 3.6 816000 2931320 -495500 ROBINSONS LAND 20.8 21 20.4 21.05 20.25 21 1171300 24514045 9291585 PHIL REALTY 0.355 0.36 0.37 0.37 0.35 0.36 310000 110200 ROCKWELL 1.92 1.93 1.91 1.94 1.91 1.91 28000 53660 15350 SHANG PROP 3.11 3.15 3.15 3.15 3.11 3.15 70000 218020 143220 STA LUCIA LAND 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.14 1.12 1.13 31000 34960 SM PRIME HLDG 32.75 32.9 32.65 32.9 32.25 32.9 14573400 476825960 -110600360 STARMALLS 4.05 4.07 4.03 4.1 4.01 4.05 82000 332220 SUNTRUST HOME 0.72 0.73 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.72 121000 87120 VISTA LAND 5.19 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.15 5.2 1277800 6640380 -2058717 SERVICES ABS CBN 19.86 19.9 19.86 19.98 19.86 19.9 30700 611786 GMA NETWORK 5.26 5.27 5.27 5.27 5.24 5.27 79000 415852 MANILA BULLETIN 0.35 0.365 0.355 0.36 0.355 0.36 150000 53500 MLA BRDCASTING 15.12 16.42 16.44 16.44 15.1 16.44 1400 22618 GLOBE TELECOM 1995 1999 1925 1999 1924 1999 39555 77904620 24702070 PLDT 1236 1237 1170 1236 1170 1236 73780 90383630 13964955 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.038 0.039 0.037 0.039 0.037 0.039 700000 26100 DFNN INC 7.6 7.9 7.98 7.98 7.9 7.9 600 4748 IMPERIAL 1.69 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.63 1.7 62000 102830 ISLAND INFO 0.096 0.098 0.095 0.098 0.09 0.098 910000 86330 ISM COMM 8.2 8.21 8.4 8.57 7.95 8.2 57306800 472368909 -5458028 NOW CORP 2.98 3 3.1 3.29 2.9 2.98 5664000 17099100 -572530 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.36 0.365 0.36 0.37 0.355 0.365 33270000 12099700 2052200 PHILWEB 3.09 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.03 3.09 282000 865530 -160820 2GO GROUP 9.8 9.9 9.65 9.95 9.55 9.9 39000 380030 -108870 ASIAN TERMINALS 13.06 13.44 13.2 13.2 13.06 13.06 3800 49684 CEBU AIR 67.3 67.4 65.3 68 65.3 67.4 214920 14497207 1486815 CHELSEA 7.94 7.96 8 8.04 7.78 7.94 3726900 29556400 -434198 INTL CONTAINER 95 95.3 94 96 94 95.3 4439250 423217600.5 -279289120 LBC EXPRESS 13.94 14.28 14.28 14.28 14.28 14.28 600 8568 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.68 0.71 0.69 0.72 0.68 0.68 38000 26350 MACROASIA 14.34 14.36 14.4 14.4 14.2 14.36 218700 3137420 5724 METROALLIANCE A 1.27 1.28 1.05 1.4 1.05 1.28 202000 258250 PAL HLDG 7.8 8.4 7.8 7.8 7.69 7.8 13500 105289 HARBOR STAR 3.19 3.2 3.29 3.29 3.14 3.19 2860000 9143590 368500 ACESITE HOTEL 1.26 1.38 1.26 1.26 1.26 1.26 5000 6300 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.14 2.35 2.43 2.43 2.43 2.43 5000 12150 WATERFRONT 0.47 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.46 0.47 590000 277600 IPEOPLE 10.12 10.5 10.12 10.12 10.12 10.12 1000 10120 STI HLDG 0.61 0.62 0.58 0.62 0.58 0.62 1355000 818050 -204690 BERJAYA 1.66 1.71 1.69 1.73 1.62 1.7 2217000 3709490 112990 BLOOMBERRY 7.53 7.58 7.45 7.58 7.36 7.58 4926600 36885340 -3375903 PACIFIC ONLINE 9 10.66 10.76 10.76 10 10 10900 111056 LEISURE AND RES 2.78 2.84 2.77 2.89 2.7 2.78 250000 702660 -22250 MANILA JOCKEY 5.38 5.6 5.65 5.65 5.37 5.6 5600 31319 MELCO RESORTS 7.13 7.14 7.13 7.14 7.13 7.14 729200 5203766 -2089811 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.66 0.67 0.64 0.7 0.64 0.67 6577000 4451960 -2074540 TRAVELLERS 5.18 5.19 5.13 5.19 5.12 5.19 1925300 9931830 -4186180 METRO RETAIL 2 2.01 2 2.07 1.98 2 1272000 2543680 103540 PUREGOLD 42.65 42.7 42 43 41.75 42.7 3015100 128699720 -9419845 ROBINSONS RTL 75.4 76.7 74.4 76.7 74.4 76.7 230680 17,447,404( 10,340,000.0003) PHIL SEVEN CORP 105.5 108.9 104.6 108.9 104.6 105.1 2170 227834 44569 SSI GROUP 2.77 2.78 2.7 2.81 2.67 2.78 4384000 12104460 385840 WILCON DEPOT 12.32 12.36 12.36 12.48 12.1 12.36 6035400 74466256 20745646 APC GROUP 0.35 0.365 0.36 0.365 0.35 0.365 470000 169650 EASYCALL 5.02 5.03 5.29 5.29 5.01 5.03 152700 774054 GOLDEN BRIA 313 320 318 320 315 320 650 206570 IPM HLDG 7.2 7.3 7.1 7.2 7.1 7.2 9900 71150 PAXYS 3.03 3.5 3.38 3.5 3.38 3.5 2000 6880 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.315 0.325 0.315 0.32 0.315 0.315 1220000 384850 SBS PHIL CORP 6.79 6.99 6.74 6.74 6.74 6.74 200 1348 MINING & OIL ATOK 14.82 15.96 15.2 16.2 13.9 16 38200 580842 APEX MINING 1.88 1.89 1.81 1.91 1.8 1.89 25744000 48221730 1842250 ABRA MINING 0.0019 0.0021 0.0021 0.0021 0.0019 0.002 349000000 695800 ATLAS MINING 2.35 2.91 2.36 2.36 2.34 2.35 41000 96230 -11750 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.295 0.3 0.295 0.295 0.295 0.295 40000 11800 CENTURY PEAK 1.91 1.95 1.91 1.95 1.91 1.95 149000 284630 DIZON MINES 6.98 7 7.13 7.27 6.99 6.99 38100 267428 FERRONICKEL 1.69 1.7 1.73 1.74 1.69 1.7 1008000 1721330 -622250 GEOGRACE 0.198 0.205 0.201 0.206 0.199 0.204 100000 20120 LEPANTO A 0.099 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.099 0.099 880000 87850 LEPANTO B 0.101 0.108 0.105 0.105 0.105 0.105 10000 1050 MARCVENTURES 1.12 1.17 1.12 1.15 1.12 1.15 111000 127350 NIHAO 0.99 1.01 1.01 1.01 0.99 1 114000 114010 NICKEL ASIA 2.01 2.04 2.29 2.29 1.94 2.04 21454000 43513870 -6350420 OMICO CORP 0.52 0.6 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.52 13000 6760 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.89 0.9 0.88 0.93 0.88 0.89 320000 289050 99000 PX MINING 2.73 2.74 2.8 2.95 2.72 2.74 3120000 8,658,000( 6,567,200.0001) SEMIRARA MINING 26 26.45 26 26.5 25.7 26 2190200 57349645 11119655 UNITED PARAGON 0.0058 0.0059 0.0059 0.0059 0.0058 0.0058 3000000 17600 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.012 3700000 44600 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.013 88500000 1150500 -1049100 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 49200000 587500 PHINMA PETRO 3.94 4 4.18 4.18 3.91 3.94 97000 382650 PXP ENERGY 18.94 18.98 18.34 19.48 18.32 18.94 16455000 311243582 6504552

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B2 DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 FGEN PREF G GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B PCOR PREF 2B SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

95 480 96.5 969 100.5 900 896.5 99.5 99.2 101.8 1002 1.1 75.2 74.2 74.5 72.05 73

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS GMA HLDG PDR

5.06

96 488 97.95 998 102.5 947.5 925 101.9 102.3 108.9 1005 2.16 75.3 74.3 75 74 73.5

95 488 96 969 102.5 915 920 99.3 99.5 101.6 1001 2 75.3 74.55 74.5 72.2 73.5

95.1 488 98 969 102.5 925 920 99.3 99.5 109.9 1002 2.09 75.3 74.55 75 74 73.5

95 488 96 969 102.5 915 920 99.3 99 101.6 1001 2 75.3 74.3 74.5 72 73.5

95 488 98 969 102.5 925 920 99.3 99 109.9 1002 2.09 75.3 74.3 75 74 73.5

590 80 1010 5000 6800 1890 900 10 1100 40 25 3000 570 7350 2700 12700 300

56082 39040 96980 4845000 697000 1744250 828000 993 109095 4147 25035 6180 42921 546405 202150 922648 22050

-4845000 -

5.25

5.25

5.25

5.25

5.25

10000

52500

-

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.68

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 4.15 XURPAS 1.16

1.72

1.72

1.82

1.65

1.68

280000

471010

-

4.18 1.18

4.16 1.19

4.3 1.21

4.03 1.15

4.18 1.17

411000 2698000

1689630 3161840

-109900 -210400

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

107.8

108.4

106.9

108.4

106.9

108.4

6120

660422

-

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Trade chief urges construction firms to join infra program By Roderick L. Abad

Contributor

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@rodrik_28

RADE Secretary Ramon M. Lopez is urging local construction companies to participate actively in the government’s massive infrastructure program. “We really want you to become very strong and active participants in the ‘Build, Build, Build’ [program]. I know there are some challenges in participating. But at least let us know how we can help, how we can put you at the forefront, in the priority, hopefully, in getting a key part of this Build, Build, Build program,” he said during the opening of the 29th Philconstruct fair held recently at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. This P8-trillion initiative of the Duterte administration seeks to reduce the country’s large infrastructure deficit, which has for many years put it at a competitive disadvantage with many of its neighbors. This huge priority undertaking of the current administration is being

implemented for completion in the next four years. “For the first time, we are putting in 5 percent to 7 percent of our gross domestic product [GDP] for infrastructure development. It used to be only about 2 percent. So we are on the catch-up mode,” Lopez said. He said the robust Philippine economic growth is fueled by the strong performance of the construction sector, with a growth ranging from 12 percent to 16 percent. “It’s really pushing for further growth of our GDP, and we see this figure as a very solid kind of growth putting in the momentum,” he said. “It used to be basically just a flat growth if you look at the past decades. But the past five years have

been growing by double digits.” The trade chief also said the share of the construction industry to total employment is 9.3 percent for the first semester of 2018. He noted this sector continues to provide job opportunities, employing a total of 3.8 million workers, up by 13. 2 percent from the same period in 2017. “More jobs are expected to be generated in the construction sector under the Duterte administration’s infrastructure program, and Filipinos will be high on the priority list of employment opportunities,” Lopez said. The entire construction industry, represented by the Philippine Constructors Association (PCA), has been pushing the country’s economic growth and development, he said. ”Your efforts, in turn, provide decent employment opportunities for our skilled and unskilled Filipino workers,” he said, while citing Philconstruct as one of their major initiatives that not only brings economic benefits but also creates employment opportunities. More than 70,000 visitors participated in this biggest trade show in the country and the longest-

running construction exposition in Southeast Asia. It set a record high of over 70,000 square meters of exhibition space, more than 1,600 booths, and over 8,000 units of equipment on display indoors and outdoors of its two venues—the WTCMM and SMX Convention Center Manila. These event sites were able to present an even wider showcase of building materials, construction equipment, fixtures and finishing solutions, as well as related services from 23 countries. “These are very exciting times for the industry. With the government’s aggressive pursuit of infrastructure development through the Build, Build, Build program, as well as the private sector’s drive to produce globally competitive projects, there are plenty of opportunities for both local and international suppliers to grow their business here,” said Morris Agoncillo, president of PCA. “We expect this synergy between these stakeholders to help bring the practice of construction here in the Philippines to the next level,” added Gerardo Pancho, FVP of PCA and overall chairman of the 29th Philconstruct.

DMCI’s off-grid unit reports flat income despite high revenues By VG Cabuag

@villygc

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FF-GRID energy player DMCI Power Corp. (DPC) on Monday said it posted double-digit sales growth in the first nine months of the year ending September as higher power demand and dispatch across all operating segments accounted for the 25-percent improvement. The company said volume reached 226 gigawatt hours from 181 GWh last year. Despite the record sales in all operating segments, its consolidated net income grew 4 percent to P337 million from last year’s P325 million. This was primarily due to a reduced provisional tariff rate for its Aborlan bunker-fired power plant, the company said. Energy sales to Palawan Electric Cooperative registered a growth of 39 percent, rising to 96.35 GWh, from 69.32 GWh last year. Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative power sales grew 24 percent to 47.61 GWh, from 38.38 GWh,

while dispatch to Masbate Electric Cooperative advanced 11 percent to 81.99 GWh, from 73.73 GWh. “The continued economic growth and booming tourism industry across all operating segments coupled with our reliable operations and effective partnership with the offtakers accounted for the dramatic increase in our power sales,” DPC President Nestor D. Dadivas said. “We are hopeful that our pending Motion for Recomputation with the Energy Regulatory Commission will be taken up soon now that ERC has a full set of commissioners. Meanwhile, DPC is committed to sustain the economic growth of these missionary areas by supplying reliable energy to meet the power demand required by the cooperatives,” Dadivas said. DPC was established in 2006 to provide sufficient and reliable electricity to areas that are not connected to the main transmission grid. Its off-takers include Maselco, Ormeco, Paleco and Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative.

PHL’s biggest car storage facility rises in ATI Batangas Port

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HE Philippines’s largest car storage infrastructure for the resilient automotive import and distribution industry has risen at the Batangas Port, backed by over P1.3-billion investment from listed port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI). ATI commissioned the Batangas Port multilevel car storage facility (MCSF) recently in the presence of government officials and major industry stakeholders. This officially marked the full operation of the modern storage facility for completely built car units (CBUs) imported into the country by the world’s leading car manufacturers and local car distributors. The five-level MCSF increases Batangas Port’s handling capacity to more than 13,000 CBUs at any one time, or over 80 percent, from 7,000 units previously.

Batangas Port’s new iconic landmark was constructed by NW Steel Industries and DCCD Engineering Corp. and is equipped with comprehensive safety and security features, including high-resolution CCTV cameras and fire suppression systems, consistent with ATI’s worldclass safety protocols. “We are very pleased to build this pioneering port infrastructure for our partners in the car industry,” ATI Executive Vice President William Khoury said. “This forms part of ATI’s investment commitment with the Philippine Ports Authority and our contribution to government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program as we continuously provide smarter trade solutions and responsive port services best characterized by efficiency, safety, security, cost-effectiveness and convenience, for our customers,” Khoury said.

MUTUAL FUNDS

November 19, 2018

NAV ONE YEAR THREE YEAR FIVE YEAR Y-T-D PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 241.27 -14.59% -0.25% 0.39% -17.71% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.3626 -14.68% 4.46% 1.9% -14.67% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 3.7261 -15.48% 0.45% -0.67% -18.87% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.8574 -15.22% N.A. N.A. -15.69% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. * ********* 0.7899 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 5.0043 -14.05% -1.62% -0.03% -16.78% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * ****** 107.68 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.8038 -16.87% N.A. N.A. -19.03% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 46.8219 -13.73% 0.8% N.A. -16.97% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 490.34 -13.79% -0.52% -0.27% -16.67% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.2057 -11.66% 1.45% N.A. -14.14% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 35.1144 -11.74% 1.96% 2.59% -14.55% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 4.7096 -13.51% 1.51% 2.33% -17% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 786.41 -13.37% 1.32% 2.18% -16.84% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8219 -12.34% -0.94% N.A. -15.01% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 3.9086 -11.41% 1.52% 0.84% -14.66% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 0.9065 -13.66% 1.33% N.A. -17.09% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.3424 -10.12% 2.5% 1.19% -14.17% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* ***105.1184 -13% 2.5% N.A. -16.54% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $0.9574 -12.16% 2.34% -0.25% -13.62% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.1916 -2.66% N.A. N.A. -5.82% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.6103 -11.09% -1.89% -2.18% -13.59% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.148 -10.53% 0.15% -0.12% -12.58% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.4502 -9.94% -3% -2.62% -11.54% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* **** 1.2712 -10.81% N.A. N.A. -12.63% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.7977 -7.11% 0.61% 0.36% -9.78% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.4069 -11.07% -1.11% -0.7% -13.05% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 15.383 -10.5% -0.92% -0.72% -12.39% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* ******** 2.0017 -8.88% 0.29% 1.38% -10.72% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.5545 -8.78% 0.12% -0.17% -11.06% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.9055 -8.6% -0.37% N.A. -11.25% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.03468 -3.99% -0.72% 1.31% -3.93% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9408 -9.43% 1.81% -1.43% -10.14% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.471 -2.55% 3.74% 1.93% -4.97% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.0343 -5.73% N.A. N.A. -7% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 342.14 1.83% 1.98% 1.64% 1.49% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ******* 1.8452 -2.92% -0.95% -0.8% -2.49% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9554 5.53% 5.37% 5.25% 4.73% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1233 0.8% 1.42% 1.06% 1% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2031 - 0.47% -0.05% 0.11% -0.59% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.5608 -3.16% -0.57% -1.54% -3.03% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.8518 -5.08% -1.06% -0.99% -4.89% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.4704 -0.68% 0.16% -0.3% -0.98% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.8821 -4.37% -1.26% N.A. -4.45% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.7516 -0.92% 0.77% 0.07% -0.91% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.5259 -1.56% 0.26% -0.34% -1.54% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $446.57 0.43% 2.26% 2.98% 0.14% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є212.93 -0.11% 1.09% 1.57% -0.37% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1219 -1.16% 0.8% 1.75% -1.08% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0248 - 0.8% 0.54% N.A. -0.8% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.6878 -4.79% -0.47% 1.07% -4.72% MAA PRIVILEGE DOLLAR FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. MAA PRIVILEGE EURO FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. ЄN.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC* $1.0237 -5.23% -0.74% -2.68% -4.64% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1341 -4.65% 0.29% 2.34% -5.19% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0568884 -1.03% 0.86% 1.8% -0.54% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8705 -4.64% 0.51% 1.64% -4.72% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 120.25 2.54% 1.74% 1.49% 2.24% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1761 1.76% 0.43% 0.41% 1.62% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2137 2.51% 2.2% 1.48% 2.38% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* ***** $1.0138 1.6% N.A. N.A. 1.51% * - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY ** - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO *** - LISTED IN THE PSE. **** - RE-CLASSIFIED INTO A BALANCED FUND STARTING JANUARY 1, 2017 (FORMERLY GREPALIFE BOND FUND CORP.). ***** - LAUNCH DATE IS NOVEMBER 6, 2017 ****** - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 08, 2018 ******** - RENAMING OF THE FUND WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST APRIL 13, 2018. ********* - BECAME A MEMBER SINCE APRIL 20, 2018. ******* - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Healthy bids prompt full award of ₧15-billion T-bills

A

TOTAL P15-billion Treasury bills (T-bills) were awarded at Monday’s auction after monetary authorities again raised interest rates. National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters investors are looking to lock in their funds in government securities as shown by the healthy bids posted by the market. De Leon believes the bids were driven by the recent announcement of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monetary Board (MB) of a 25-basis-point increase in rates. “We [had] a good auction today, [with] oversubscription, and also the result in terms of the rates particularly for the 182-day and 364-day [tenor],” de Leon said, adding the hike in interest rates “more or less anchored inflationary expectations.” The 91-day T-bill was awarded the full P4 billion with tenders reaching P4.740 billion, capping the security with a rate of 5.295 percent. This posted a 12.3-basispoint increase compared to the

previous rate of 5.172 percent. “Also the results of the past month for inflation were lower at 6.68 percent versus the 6.7 percent; and month on month it’s already trending downward,” she added. “We see that, more or less, inflation has already stabilized [and] hopefully, decelerating already.” Bids for the 182-day IOU amounted to P11.928 billion, prompting the auction committee to award the full P5 billion on offer. The average annual rate for the security settled at 6.280 percent, showing a 3.50-basis-point rise compared to the previous auction rate of 6.245 percent. “I think also that the Central Bank was able to cement, with a 25-basis-point hike, in terms of expectations on the inflationary path. So inflation expectations will already also be well anchored,” she said. “Investors see that we

are able to already temper inflation with all these actions coming from the Monetary Board, as well.” The 364-day tenor was awarded the full P6 billion on offer, with the tenders for the security reaching P13.612 billion, at an average annual rate of 6.530 percent. The rate showed a growth of 0.90 basis points compared to the previous rate of 6.521 percent. It was the fifth rate hike for the year with the MB deciding to raise the interest rate on the overnight reverse repurchases (RRP) facility by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent, effective November 16, 2018. The interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were raised accordingly. Monetary officials added they believe that prospects for the domestic economy remain generally favorable and allow some scope for a measured adjustment in the policy rate to rein in inflation expectations and preempt further second-round effects. The MB said it deemed it necessary to respond with proactive policy action to help temper the risks to the inflation outlook, including those emanating from the continued uncertainty in the external environment, amid tighter global

financial conditions and trade tensions among major economies. Meanwhile, de Leon said the planned issuance of global bonds will not necessarily be done before the Federal Reserve System’s (the Fed) planned rate hike in December. She added the government is looking at favorable market conditions before issuing the security. “[The hike is already] priced in,” she added. She also explained that planned issuances of samurai and Panda bonds are still considered in the government’s menu of possible issuance nex year. However, the Treasury is looking to upsize its offering for the Panda bond compared to its first issuance. “We’ve already mentioned that it’s also part of the overall menu, most likely [next year for the Panda bonds]; not for this year,” de Leon said. “But it would really be again subject to ‘good issue window’ for us. Of course, we are doing preparations, including discussions with Bank of China.... We are looking at the first half.” She added the Bureau of the Treasury is open to “upsize” the bonds. “If there is possibility to upsize then we will do that.” Rea Cu

PHL yet to tap UN-backed climate financing facility

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HE Philippines has so far received zero financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a funding facility set up by the 194 countries who are parties to the 2010 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.. According to Climate Change Commission Vice Chairman Emmanuel M. de Guzman, however, the Philippine delegation will demand more funding to replenish the GCF when they sit down at the negotiating table in Katowice, Poland in early December. There were pledges worth $10.3 billion for the GCF in 2014. However, recent reports point to doubts over the sustainability of the GCF. De Guzman said the Philippines would “hopefully come up with a project proposal next year to access some of the funds,” with the recent approval of LandBank as a conduit for the GCF. “We need to mobilize or call for replenishment of the GCF, which is the financing mechanism under the Paris Agreement. That will be a major concern, a major focus,” de Guzman said at a news

briefing last Monday. He added meetings he’d have “with some ambassadors here [proved] quite promising.” “Some of them have committed to advocating climate finance. As you know in the Paris Agreement, the developed countries would have to raise $100 billion by 2020.” According to de Guzman, the review of the country’s conditional promise of 70-percent carbonemission reduction between 2020 and 2030 is ongoing alongside the crafting of the final National Determined Contribution (NDC). “The [NDC] is a work in progress right now. However, when we adopted or ratified the Paris Agreement [in 2015], we agreed that we will revisit our submission so that we could also adjust our parameters in terms of projections, economic growths, as well as population growths. These are new considerations,” he said. According to de Guzman, there is an ongoing recalculation of the targets based on cost-benefit analysis. He added that the commission is working closely with the National Economic and Development Au-

Insurance coverage of buses, jeeps to continue, benefits doubled–Sen. Grace Poe

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HE insurance coverage of public-utility vehicles (PUVs) should have been extended past its expiration on November 18 for the protection of the riding public, Sen. Grace Poe said. A few days before the insurance cover of buses and jeepneys lapsed, Poe said the Insurance Commission (IC) issued Circular Letter 2018-59 dated November 15 that effectively implements a status quo on the Passenger Personal Accident Insurance (PPAI). This covers passengers, drivers and conductors of PUVs involved in vehicular accidents. In a statement, the senator said her office sought the attention of the IC after receiving reports on the matter from concerned transport groups. “Fortunately, the IC immediately acted by hearing out the concerns of the riding public and the transport sector,” Poe, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Services, was quoted in the statement as saying. She expressed gratitude for the IC’s immediate action on the issue. Without the IC circular, transport owners or operators would have to pay the passenger claims and damages in the event of an accident, Poe added. The existing insurance providers shall continue to provide insurance coverage on a holdover capacity until after the IC issues the necessary regulation.

thority (Neda) and the Department of Energy in finalizing the NDC. “Because we view the NDC as an investment plan [and] because this will actually define our transition requirement toward a low-carbon pathway,” he said. He added that the Neda “would like to do a little bit of analysis and remodeling.” De Guzman said the Neda also wants to revisit the assumptions used in coming up with the Philippine Development Plan. “Because the challenge is we have to go beyond business as usual. If we do the planning based on business as usual, we are not innovating,” de Guzman said. “We would like the NDC to be the plan to bring us to a green economy and low-carbon development.” The more ambitious but realistic NDC, he added, will include the agriculture sector, solid waste, industries and transportation. According to de Guzman, the Philippines will insist on “climate justice,” wherein developed countries will fund climate adaptation programs or projects of developing countries. He explained that the Duterte administration

is not keen on spending fund to reduce carbon emission that will affect growth and development targets. De Guzman said coming up with a new NDC will remain conditional or dependent on the financing it can avail coming from the developed countries. “Essentially, we should not be spending for this because we did not cause climate change. And we have needs both for adaptation and resilience building; these should be financed through the climate finance mechanisms set in the Paris Agreement,” he said. De Guzman said the Philippines will be able to come up with the final NDC before the full implementation of the Paris Agreement by 2020. “We only have one year left. If we can finish it next year, why not? It will be reflective of our conditions; it is synchronized with our national plans,” he said during the high-level opening ceremonies of the Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week and Press Conference at a convention center in Pasay City. Jonathan L. Mayuga

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Ways to budget

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LANNING helps us progress f rom t he present to t he desired f ut ure. In the context of personal finance, one of the recommended imperatives in planning for a sustainable financial life is the development of a personal budget. This is a tool that facilitates the allocation of finite financial resources to personal priorities. Budgeting will entail awareness of the current financial condition, foresight in terms of desired financial goals and commitment with respect to implementing plans. Over the course of time, there have been quite a number of budgeting techniques that have been proposed, and let us discuss some of these. One crude way to budget is to simply base expenses and savings on what the actual bank account balances are at a given point in time. The total bank account balance serves as the limit. Tracking of expenses and savings will not be that rigorous. This method can work for people who are simply too busy or who really do not have any interest in the details of budgeting. This method can have negative repercussions, though, if a person has a propensity to overspend and does not really put enough focus and effort on saving. One popular way to budget is “envelope budgeting.” Expenses and savings are identified and reviewed either through accumulated receipts or sheer memor y. T hese are d iv ided into different categories and each specific category is then assigned a specific envelope. From the total income that is generated, cash is withdrawn and is then allocated to each envelope. The total amount of cash in each envelope becomes the budget limit. This method is advantageous since it can help foster prudence in lifestyle and help minimize overspending. There are disadvantages, though, like security concerns and inconvenience. A not her popu l a r w ay to budget is “zero-based budgeting.” Every peso of the budget will be fully accounted for in terms of specific expenses and savings. This implies that at the end of the month, the total peso amount budget would have been utilized fully and it will thus have a final balance of zero. This method is favorable since it gives the individual an opportunity to really take ample control of finances. However, this method can be tedious since it will require time and skill for planning and tracking the total budget.

Genesis Kelly S. Lontoc

PERSONAL FINANCE Another popular way to budget is “50-20-30 budgeting.” From the total income, 50 percent will be allocated for needs, 20 percent will be allocated for saving and the remaining 30 percent will be for wants. Needs and wants have to be clearly differentiated. Needs could be those that are related to basic items like food, shelter and clothing while wants can be other items. In determining whether an expense is a need or want, one has to identify the expense as being either a necessity or a luxury. The 20-percent allocation for saving will be devoted toward matters like the emergenc y fund, debt management and retirement planning. This method is appealing because there are just few budget categories to manage. However, there is the risk of overspending across specific needs and specific wants since tracking of categories might be more general. There is also a way called “values-based budgeting.” Values would be items that one would consider important in life. In this technique, every major value is assigned a budget. A good sense of self-awareness can help make one identify values that would not only give short-term happiness but also long-term satisfaction. Hopefully, the indiv idual would be financially literate so that the right set of values can have the corresponding right budget principles. Good character can lead to good values and good budgets. A budget helps balance the needs of the present and the needs of the future. Everyone should have some form of a budget. There are truly many ways to budget. One can experiment to see the best budget technique or best combination of budget techniques to apply. Hopefully, the right foundation developed through budgeting can prepare us well for a lifetime of sound financial decisions that lead to success. Gemmy Lontoc is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal financial planning, attend the 74th RFP program this January 2019. To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text <name><e-mail> <RFP> at 0917-9689774.

BSP bars Araneta from bank, financial institution leadership

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has disqualified Santiago G. Araneta from becoming a director or officer of any BSPsupervised financial institution in the country. In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), LBC Express Holdings Inc. said Araneta received the letter from the Central Bank stemming from the closure of LBC Development Bank Inc. wherein Araneta was a director.

Araneta is currently director of LBC Express Inc., the courier company of the family but not the listed firm. “The involvement of Araneta, if any, in the closure and the acts that led to the same is currently being evaluated by the BSP. Pending completion of such evaluation, it appears that the BSP has imposed such temporary disqualification,” LBC said.

“The company is seeking more information and clarity on details of the said Monetary Board resolution and will continue to comply with the PSE’s disclosure requirements.” LBC Bank was ordered closed in September last year by the Central Bank after it found that it was insolvent and allegedly violated a ceaseand-desist order on unsafe and unsound banking practices. VG Cabuag

Moody’s warns of risks in PHL banking system

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NTERNATIONAL credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service warned of “apparent risks” in the Philippine banking system that could undermine its stability. Moody’s on Monday released a statement affirming its stable outlook for the Philippine banking system over the next 12 to 18 months. The stable assessment was made on the back of the industry’s good asset quality, strong loss buffers and ample liquidity that allows for the accommodation of rapid loan growth in a growing economy. However, Moody’s said the accelerating inflation is a risk, as well as the banks’ heavy

exposure to large conglomerates. “The operating environment will continue to be supportive for banks, with GDP growth to slow but remain strong compared to the Philippines’s own historical rates and growth in peer economies in the region,” Moody’s Vice President and Senior Credit Officer Srikanth Vadlamani was quoted in the statement as saying. “However, accelerating inflation is a risk.” Vadlamani added that “favorable macroeconomic factors will underpin asset performance even as loans grow rapidly.” “But sharper-than-expected increases in interest rates and a heavy concentration of

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exposures to large conglomerates pose key risks to asset quality.” Moody’s also said banks’ capital ratios are likely to decline but the banks’ ability to raise external capital will limit capital erosion. Consequently, the capital ratios of the country’s banks will remain among the highest in Asia and will continue to be a key credit strength, Moody’s said. Moody’s assesses six key drivers for the system’s outlook, namely, operating environment (stable), asset quality (stable), capital (stable), funding and liquidity (deteriorating), profitability and efficiency (improving) and government support (stable). Bianca Cuaresma

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TICKETS ON SALE THIS NOVEMBER FOR THE ULTIMATE CELEBRATION OF MICKEY MOUSE IN ‘DISNEY ON ICE’ LALAMOVE, ISUZU TO OFFER 4-WHEELED VEHICLES THAT ARE BUILT TO LAST

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RAB your mouse ears and get ready for a worldwide party as “Disney On Ice Presents Mickey’s Super Celebration” comes in Manila. Produced by Feld Entertainment Inc., this production commemorates 90 years of Mickey Mouse and honors Walt Disney’s legacy by bringing acclaimed stories to life on the ice. Tickets are now on sale for shows in Manila, to be held at the Mall of Asia Arena from December 25 to January 6, 2019. Mickey Mouse is joined by Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy on a journey to discover his favorite memory of all time. Using Mickey’s “Mouse Pad”, show hosts encourage fans to be part of the action and help the gang venture though Disney stories, sharing memorable moments from treasured tales. Along the way, families sail

away with Moana as she displays courage to save her island on a high-seas adventure with the demigod Maui. Families will continue the voyage to the wintery world of Arendelle as royal sisters Anna and Elsa discover true love is the most powerful magic of all and experience the mysterious magic of Fantasia as a Sorcerer’s Apprentice makes brooms come to life. “Live Your Story” along with Disney Princesses as they use perseverance, determination and hard work to inspire Mickey and children around the world to share their favorite Disney memories. Tickets for Disney On Ice Presents: Mickey’s Super Celebration start at P190 only. All seats are reserved, and tickets are available at all SM Tickets outlets nationwide or through www.smtickets.com.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP HIGHLIGHTED IN MAKATI CITY’S BUSINESS LITERACY PROGRAM

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S part of its continuing business literacy program for its constituency, Barangay San Lorenzo in Makati City recently held the Barangay San Lorenzo business week with the theme “Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset”. The four-day event is a partnership with the Barangay San Lorenzo Business Association, the local chamber of commerce which covers establishments in Legazpi Village, Ayala Center and Arnaiz Avenue. The group, which has a membership of over 1,000 firms, is mandated to organize effective education and training programs for the improvement of business skills and encourage corporate social responsibility. It is the private sector’s official channel of various business concerns through its representation in the Makati Liga ng mga Barangay Business Council. According to barangay chairman Ernesto Moya, the activity is part of their continuing education program to promote the spirit of enterprise within the business and residential community.

The event opened with a trade fair at the Glorietta Activity Center featuring programs and products of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Science and Technology, the Asian Institute of Management and members of the Association of the Filipino Franchisers Inc. Trade Assistant Secretary Mary Jean Pacheco keynoted the formal opening and talked on the provisions of the newlyenacted Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 (Republic Act 11032), followed by talks from renowned motivational speaker Francis Kong and Potato Corner Chief Executive Officer Jose Magsaysay Jr. The businessweek was highlighted the Entrepreneurial Module series with lectures on Entrepreneurial Mindset by Asian Food Project President Jorge Noel Wieneke, Franchise 101 by GMB Franchise Developers President Armando Bartolome and Digital Marketing by StartUp Village director Carlo Calimon.

SUZU Philippines Corp. recently signed a partnership with Lalamove, Asia’s leading on-demand delivery app, to offer the best deals for Lalamove partner drivers. With a reputable history of providing the best commercial vehicles for Filipino businesses, Isuzu is geared up to make it easy for Lalamove drivers to upgrade or acquire Isuzu vehicles. This partnership entails both discounts for all existing Lalamove partner drivers with free three years of LTO registration. With a cash discount of P15,000 and P20,000 worth of Preventive Maintenance Services coupons, drivers will have a beneficial head start for their Lalamove journey “Lalamove and Isuzu shares a common mission: empowering Filipinos through amazing products and impeccable services. This made us all the more eager to create this partnership for the benefit of Lalamove’s partner drivers to allow them access to some of the country’s top-performing vehicles.” shares Dannah Majarocon, Lalamove managing director.

This partnership aims to provide the top-performing four-wheeled vehicles to Lalamove partner drivers and this makes sure that quality vehicles and services are affordable and within reach. With this joint initiative, drivers will have easier access to vehicles that are built to deliver. The four-wheel Isuzu vehicles offered in this

partnership are: QKR77 Tilt, QKR77 Nontilt, NLR77 Tilt, NLR77 Non-Tilt and NLR85 In photo are (from left) Yasuhiko Oyama, vice president for sales of Isuzu; Shojiro Sakoda, executive vice president of Isuzu; Dannah Majarocon, managing director of Lalamove; and Akiko Sumulong, strategic partnerships manager.

TRUEMONEY, LAZADA E-COMMERCE TIEUP TO EXPAND SELLERS’ DROPOFF POINT IN PHL

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RUEMONEY Philippines, a leading fintech company and one of the most expansive payments and remittance networks in the Philippines, has joined forces with Lazada to bring more convenience to e-commerce merchants. The latest partnership will make TrueMoney centers in key urban areas to become dropoff points for Lazada merchants in sending their sold items for delivery. In a recent agreement signing, TrueMoney Philippines President Xavier Marzan said, “This tie up banks on the huge growth potential of e-commerce in the Philippines. High consumer spending and a young and tech-savvy population are driving local e-commerce today.” According to Marzan, the partnership will allow the 30,000 listed merchants on

Lazada’s online marketplace to drop off their items at select TrueMoney Centers nationwide, bringing convenience and accessibility to online sellers. Previously, Lazada picks up parcels from merchants at various drop-off locations, which incurs more cost for both Lazada and online sellers. The arrangement will also help owners of TrueMoney Centers to earn extra income by being drop-off hubs. TrueMoney Centers are provided with a barcode scanner and storage to make sure that items are secured. “TrueMoney’s and Lazada’s partnership boosts our efforts to support the growth of entrepreneurs,” said Juan Pavez Spencer, chief executive officer of Lazada Philippines. “TrueMoney’s expansive footprint in the Philippines provides entrepreneurs more access points to Lazada’s services.”

TrueMoney, whose shareholders include the CP Group from Thailand and Jack Ma’s Ant Financial from China, is the largest and fastest growing financial life platform for the unbanked and underserved sectors in the Southeast Asia region. Having expanded internationally only a few years ago, the company already has more than 70,000 payment- and financial-service centers across six markets in the region. Launched in 2012, Lazada is the No. 1 online shopping and selling destination in Southeast Asia—present in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Lazada offers the widest range of products in categories from health and beauty, fashion, and electronics to household goods, toys, sports equipment and groceries.

NO SLOWING DOWN LEBRON JAMES: I know if I put in the work and be true to the game, then everything else will take care of itself. AP

Sports BusinessMirror

In his 16th season, LeBron James can still make the game look absurdly easy. The latest entry on the long list of his unforgettable nights came on Sunday, when James scored 51 points and led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 113-97 win over the Miami Heat.

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press

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IAMI—LeBron James stopped worrying about his place in history long ago. His legacy has been secure for years. The argument about where he ranks, whether or not he’s the best player to ever step on a basketball court, will continue forever and there will never be a definitive answer. That is, unless he keeps doing things like this. In his 16th season, James can still make the game look absurdly easy. The latest entry on the long list of his unforgettable nights came on Sunday, when James scored 51 points and led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 113-97 win over the Miami Heat. He’s only the second player to score at least 50 in a game this deep into a National Basketball Association (NBA) career; the other is Kobe Bryant, in his final game, and that was aided by 50 shot attempts. “I’ve always been a guy to let the game talk for itself, speak for itself,” James said. “My body of work speaks for itself, still to this day, 16 years in.” He paused for a

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| Tuesday, November 20, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

SOPHIA FLOERSCH’S goes over Japanese Sho Tsuboi’s car while flying off the track at high speed on a tight right-hand bend on lap four. AP

NEAR FATAL CRASH FOR TEEN DRIVER M ACAU—Teenage driver Sophia Floersch was set to undergo surgery on Monday for a spinal fracture after a spectacular airborne crash in the Formula Three Macau Grand Prix. The 17-year-old German tweeted on Sunday: “Just wanted to let everybody know that I am fine but will be going into surgery tomorrow [Monday] morning...Update soon.” Floersch has a spinal fracture, according to a medical report released by her team, the Netherlands-based Van Amersfoort Racing. “The whole world saw what happened and we can only thank God that @SophiaFloersch escaped with relatively light injuries,” Van Amersfoort Racing tweeted. “Our thoughts go also to the other people involved and we wish them a speedy recovery.” Video footage showed Floersch appearing to clip Japanese driver Sho Tsuboi’s car while hurtling off the track at high speed on a tight righthand bend on lap four. Floersch’s car then went through a catch fence,

hit a structure on the perimeter and dropped to the ground with safety officials immediately on the scene. The incident prompted an immediate red flag and a delay of more than an hour before the race was restarted. In a statement posted on social media, motor sport’s governing body FIA said “the driver [Floersch] is conscious and has subsequently been taken to hospital for further evaluation.” It added that Tsuboi and “two members of the media and one marshal were also transferred to a local hospital in a conscious state for further evaluation.” Media reports said Tsuboi has lumbar pain. FIA President Jean Todt posted a statement on Twitter saying the sport’s organizing body was “mobilized to help those involved and analyze what happened. “All my thoughts are with you @SophiaFloersch and the others injured. I wish you all a safe recovery.” Macau is a former Portuguese colony near Hong Kong. AP

NBA RESULTS

Memphis 100, Minnesota 87

LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE has 24 points and 18 rebounds for the Spurs who sent the Warriors to their third straight loss. AP

LA Lakers 113, Miami 97 Orlando 131, New York 117 Portland 119, Washington 109 San Antonio 104, Golden State 92

Aldridge, DeRozan, Spurs compound Warriors’ woes S

AN ANTONIO—Finally faced with “the real National Basketball Association [NBA],” the Golden State Warriors are playing short-handed and having a hard time. LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 18 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs fended off a late rally to beat Golden State, 104-92, on Sunday night, extending the Warriors’ skid to three games. The two-time defending NBA champions are 2-5 since an eight-game winning streak. “We’ve had such a charmed existence the last four seasons. So, of course, this is the toughest stretch we’ve been in,” coach Steve Kerr said. “This is the real NBA. We haven’t been in the real NBA the last few years.

We’ve been in this dream. So, now we’re faced with real adversity. We’ve got to get out of it ourselves.” Stephen Curry and Draymond Green went down with injuries during the recent dry spell, but the biggest setback was self-inflicted. Green and Kevin Durant had a blowup at the close of regulation in a 121-116 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last Monday. Green’s tirades on the bench and in the postgame locker room led the team to hand the seventh-year forward a one-game suspension. The flare-up and the Warriors’ inability to move past it spiritually has confounded Kerr. “Just play with joy. It’s always been about just our emotion,” Durant said, describing how Kerr has encouraged his club. “He’s always been big about that.

second, breaking into a big smile. “If there’s ever a discussion,” James said, “games like this will make sure you figure it out.” Bryant had gone more than seven years without a 50-point game before April 13, 2016, when he went 22-for-50 and scored 60 points at Staples Center as the Laker faithful roared for his work one final time. James hadn’t gone six months since his last 50-point night; it was Game One of last season’s NBA Finals, the one where J.R. Smith forgot the score in the final seconds and Cleveland lost to Golden State on the way to a sweep. James was methodical on Sunday—he was 19 for 31 from the field, 6 for 8 from three-point range, getting to 51 points on a deep threepointer in the final seconds with the outcome already long decided. “That’s all coaching,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “Just great coaching.... No, the way he sees the game, he knows what he’s doing out there.” Through 16 games, though there’s nothing to suggest that he’s going to slow down this season—or anytime soon—James is his usual sensational self. He’s averaging 28.8 points on 52 percent shooting, with 7.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. No one in NBA history has ever averaged that many points in a 16th season or later. Bryant is the only player to average more than 25 points this deep into a career; he averaged 27.9 points in 2011-2012, 27.3 points in 2012-2013. But it’s not just the scoring. Only Steve Nash, John Stockton and Jason Kidd—three of the best point guards ever—averaged this many assists at this point in their career. “He’s the best player in the world,” Lakers guard Lonzo Ball said. Added fellow Laker Kyle Kuzma: “He could average 40 if he wanted.” Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra, who had James for four seasons in Miami, describes James’s game in one word: “Timeless.” “Doesn’t matter what year, doesn’t matter how old,” Spoelstra said. “Consistency is as much of a talent as any physical or mental talent. He’s five-star in all of those.” James hasn’t won a Most Valuable Player award in any of the past five seasons. For as good as he’s been, for as long as he’s been that good, it’s hard to believe that his first 15 seasons only resulted in him winning that award four times. He should be in the conversation again this year, and thought he should have won the award last year. “I just go out and my love for the game keeps me going,” James said. “My ability to put in the work, and see what happens after that. I know if I put in the work and be true to the game, then everything else will take care of itself.”

He’s just trying to get that joy back.” There wasn’t much joy to be found in San Antonio. DeMar DeRozan had 20 points and nine assists and Rudy Gay added 19 points to help the Spurs snap a three-game slide. “We needed that one,” Gay said. “It was a hard-fought win for us. That’s a team that needed this one, too, so it really was an uphill battle for us and good test for us.” Aldridge provided a needed boost, shooting 10 for 16 in scoring 20-plus points for the first time since November 10. “He’s been aggressive, especially on the boards,” DeRozan said. “Tonight he got a couple shots to go in for him. A couple of his turnarounds went in, and you know that rhythm is going to continue to come. As long as he just goes out there, plays aggressive, lets the game come to him, he’s going to continue to have big nights like tonight.” Durant scored 26 points and Klay Thompson had 25 for the Warriors. Golden State was without Curry and Green again, and their absence led to a cold start. Three nights after being held to a season-low output in a 107-86 loss at Houston, the Warriors nearly matched that dubious mark. They missed all six three-point attempts in the first quarter as San Antonio jumped out to a 33-27 lead. Gay scored 12 points in the opening period. “He is somebody that we have gone to at certain times in the game and that always gives players confidence,” Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said. San Antonio also frustrated the Warriors on offense for much of the game. After quickly regaining an errant pass on their end of the court in the third quarter, Durant passed up a three-pointer to fire a pass in the lane to Damian Jones only to have Gay stuff him at the rim. San Antonio finished with five blocked shots. Golden State’s lone lead came when Andre Iguodala made two free throws to put the Warriors ahead, 46-45, with 3:47 remaining in the second quarter. The lead lasted a minute as the Spurs closed the first half on an 11-2 run. AP

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ANGKOK— The sight of two preteen boys pummeling each other with fists, elbows, knees and feet as a boisterous crowd shouts wagers at each other is considered good, clean sport in Thailand. However, the death earlier this month of a 13-year-old muay thai contender may push forward changes to protect other youngsters in Thai kickboxing. Anucha Tasako died of a brain hemorrhage two days after he was knocked out in a bout on November 10, his 174th match in a career that began at age 8. His death was a fluke, said some of the sport’s boosters. They said that the referee did not stop the fight soon enough, and that no doctor was available. But even those boys who can carry on fighting are almost guaranteed serious long-term health damage, according to a new report by a Thai doctor. Thai lawmakers recently suggested barring children younger than 12 from competitive boxing, but boxing enthusiasts strongly oppose the change. They say the sport is part of Thai culture and gives poor families the opportunity to raise a champion that will lift their economic circumstances. Anucha was born in the poor northeastern province of Kalasin and raised by his grandparents since his parents split up when he was 3. Anucha was already becoming his family’s breadwinner when his uncle, a physical education teacher and boxing trainer, brought him to the Bangkok suburb of Samut Prakarn around a year ago to pursue a bigtime boxing career. Anucha’s days started at 4:30 a.m. with a run and light training at the boxing gym. He attended school from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. before heading back to the gym for more training until 8 p.m. Bedtime was 10 p.m. Tapakorn Takimnok, 15, a fellow boxer and a friend of Anucha, said he woke up the younger boy every day and never once heard him complain. “He’d spring right out of bed every time I woke him up,” said Tapakorn. “He always trained hard and kept any emotions to himself.” Anucha could occasionally earn as much as 10,000 to 40,000 baht ($300 to $1,200) for each fight he won, which he would give to his grandparents, siblings and uncles, Tapakorn said, adding that Anucha earned more than other young fighters because he fought often

ALEXANDER ZVEREV claims the biggest title of his career. AP

CHAICHANA SAENGNGERN, 10 years old, practices kicks at a training camp in Bangkok. AP

and was considered a gifted boxer. Young amateur boxers typically earn around 500 to 1,000 baht ($15 to 30) a fight. “I told him to stop boxing,” said Anucha’s 75-year-old grandmother, Subin Tasako. “He told me: Grandma, what else can I do? I’m young and I can’t work. If I stop boxing, how would I earn money to pay for school or support you? That’s what he said.” Subin said she didn’t know how to respond. Footage of Anucha’s fatal fight, posted online by Thai media outlets, show him briefly stumbling to the floor after taking a knee to his leg from his opponent. He picks himself back up, and the referee promptly allows the fight to resume, but Anucha appears to have had the fight knocked out of him. Moments later, he is staggering and

FOCUS ON MUAY THAI DANGERS defenseless against the ropes, as his opponent lands at least four hard punches to Anucha’s head, leaving him dazed, and perhaps even unconscious before he hits the floor and bangs his head hard on the mat. Dr. Witaya Sungkarat, a doctor from Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok, spent five years conducting a study published last month that compared brain development between young boxers and children not involved with the sport. The study’s results clearly show that boxing causes irreparable damage to a young child’s developing brain, he said, adding that the longer each participant had boxed, the worse their condition became. “If we keep letting children box and injure their brains without implementing

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ONDON—Despite beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Finals at only 21, Alexander Zverev knows keeping pace with the Serb isn’t going to be easy. Zverev claimed the biggest title of his career with a 6-4, 6-3 upset on Sunday, becoming the youngest champion of the season-ending event since Djokovic claimed the first of his five titles a decade ago— also at age 21. “Oh my God,” said Zverev, who also became the first German winner since 1995. “I’ve won one [year-end title]. He’s won five. He’s won, I don’t know what, 148 titles more than me. Let’s

measures to protect them, their futures are predictable,” Witaya said. Witaya understands part of the sport’s appeal. “People like to watch children box because they don’t lose on purpose and they genuinely fight each other,” he said, referring to the common perception that many professional boxing matches are fixed to accommodate bookies. But Anucha’s case, he said, shows how inadequate oversight in the Thai boxing industry had led young boxers to be overworked. “It’s the system that abused him. The system allowed him to fight this much and this often at such a young age,” Witaya said. “There’s a loophole in the system that allowed him to become a professional fighter without any preventive measures.” AP

Tennis officials to grace PSA Forum

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OP officials of the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) will discuss the brewing leadership issue that continues to plague the federation in Tuesday’s session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Tapa King Restaurant in Farmers Plaza in Cubao. Philta President Antonio Cablitas graces the public sports program together with Philta

Secretary-General Romeo Magat and training director Martin Misa. Cabiltas and company will also discuss the coming Asian Tennis Federation meeting, which the Philta will be hosting at the end of the month. The weekly session is presented by San Miguel Corp., Tapa King and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

SHERWIN RAY NUGUIT shows promise in the Philippine Columbian Association Open.

NUGUIT’S 12-UNDER WINNER

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HERWIN RAY NUGUIT copped his first 12-and-under boys’ title in the first leg of the age-group events of the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open, carving out a grueling 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Gerald Gimeda of Ormoc City at the Philippine Columbian Tennis Courts recently in Plaza Dilao in Manila. Nuguit, last year’s 10-under unisex champion, advanced to the final round after defeating Joshua Diva, 6-3, 6-0, in the semifinals. Gimeda, on the other hand, pulled off a big upset when he defeated top seed JR Costa, 6-4, 6-2. Nuguit, showing grit and determination, breezed through the first set. The same determination was shown in the second set, rallying from a 1-4 deficit to level the score. But in the deciding set, it was Nuguit who proved to be more consistent, overwhelming Gimeda with heavy groundstrokes to take the decider 6-4 after almost two hours on court. In other events, Kean Enriquez added

the PCA trophy to his list of titles for the year, defeating Kriz Roque Lim, 2-4, 4-1, 4-2 for the 10-under unisex title. Kriz Lim would return later in the day to team up with his elder brother Prince to take the 10-and-under doubles title. They defeated the pair of Kean Enriquez and Gavin Kraut, 8-6. In the girls’ division, national team member Mika Ella Emana of Santa Mesa bested teammate and second seed Angeline Alcala of Lucena City to bag the 12-andunder girls’ plum, 6-4, 6-2. The PCA Open Age Group event will resume on Friday for the 14-under, 16-under and 18-under events.

Sea Lions in harness for semis; Dolphins rout foes from Bulacan

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LIVAREZ College primed itself up for the semifinals as it smothered Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP), 82-67, on Monday in the University and Colleges Basketball League Season 3 at the Olivarez gym in Sucat, Parañaque. The Sea Lions struggled in the early goings, but picked themselves up from the second quarter on, overcoming a 12-point deficit in the first quarter by dominating the next three on their way to the 15-point romp. Lawrence Castro came away with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting clip from the field and finished with four assists, three steals and two rebounds and three turnovers, while Harond Sala and Joshua Almajeda combined for 27 markers for the hosts, who

ZVEREV SNARES BIG ONE

fell behind, 10-22, after 10 minutes. They still trailed, 30-37, at the turn but turned on the heat at the resumption of the contest, matching their output in the first two quarters to wrest control at 60-54 then kept their charge in the last 10 minutes to win pulling away. Almajeda’s charities capped Olivarez’s 2517 run as the Sea Lions grabbed a 55-54 lead and stayed in command the rest of the way. Bryan Santos fired 18 points, while Papa Ndiaye added 13 markers for the Engineers, who looked poised to pulling off a reversal early on but crumbled in the face of the Sea Lions’ stirring third-quarter run. Philippine Christian U, with seven players churning out double-digit scores, rode on a

not go there for now. I hope I can do great...but just chill out a little bit.” Top-ranked Djokovic was attempting to tie Roger Federer’s record of six titles but followed the same path as the Swiss great, who lost to Zverev in the semifinals at the O2 Arena. Djokovic’s serve hadn’t been broken all tournament until the final. Zverev did it once in the first set and three times in the second, completing the victory with a spectacular backhand winner up the line. “There’s a lot of similarities in terms of trajectory...in our careers,” said Djokovic, who ended a two-year Grand Slam title drought by winning Wimbledon this year, before going on to claim his 14th major trophy at the US Open. “Hopefully he [Zverev] can surpass me.” Both players began the match in the same form that had seen them earn straight-sets semifinal victories a day earlier, with few points going against the server. It was Djokovic, who had lost just two of his previous 37 matches and defeated Zverev in the round robin, who began to feel the pressure as consecutive forehand errors gave up his first break of the tournament for 5-4. Fans gave Zverev a huge ovation as he stepped up to serve for the set, and it appeared to inspire him. Three straight aces brought up three set points, the second of which he took when Djokovic sent another forehand long. “I was making way too many unforced errors,” Djokovic said. “From 4-4 in the first set, my game really fell apart.” Zverev even began to win the longer rallies, an area of the game that Djokovic usually dominates. A 26-shot duel brought up another break point in the opening game of the second set and, although Djokovic saved it, Zverev won another lengthy exchange moments later with a forehand winner to go 1-0 up. With the biggest win of his career in sight, Zverev began to show some nerves. Although he is the only active male player outside of the Big Four of Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to possess three or more Masters titles, the young German has only reached one Grand Slam quarterfinal. Two double faults and two backhand errors gifted Djokovic an immediate break back, but Zverev quickly refocused to win a 28-shot rally on his way to breaking in the following game. “I lost my serve once against him today,” Zverev said. “I think this is a pretty good stat, especially as he’s the best returner we have in the game.” From there he remained solid on serve, before ending with a flourish. A backhand winner on the run drifted past the helpless Djokovic and Zverev sunk to the ground in tears. AP big second-quarter run to demolish St. Joseph College of Bulacan, 107-75, in the other match. Lucien Mulamba and Laurents Paluoja shot 15 points apiece, Kurdt Crisostomo scored 14 markers, Karloniel Austria had 12 points, Omar Mangadan and Venedict Remolacio each fired 11 markers, and Sandee Diez made 10 points for the Dolphins, who broke away from a tight 19-17 game in the first quarter with a 33-point splurge in the next to post a huge 52-35 bulge. Centro Escolar University, the inaugural champion in the tournament backed by Café France, Yakult, Gerry’s Grill, Hapee Toothpaste, MaxSell Power Tool and Tough Mama Home, and Diliman, brace for a top showdown for the No. 1 seeding on Thursday.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2018

GO FOR GOLD TEAM GOES CONTINENTAL T GO for Gold godfather Jeremy Go (seated, second from left) and Project Director Ednalyn Hualda (seated, third from left) pose with the members of the continental team—Jonel Carcueva, Ronnel Hualda, Jay Lampawog, Daniel Carino, Boots Ryan Cayubit, Rex Luis Krog, Ismael Grospe Jr., Ronnilan Quita, Elmer Navarro, Jericho Jay Lucero and Joshua Bonifacio.

BRIGHT SHINES IN SEASON 81 By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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HE big men from out of town—‘er country—are dominating the collegiate basketball scene. Bright Akhuetie, the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons’ dominant center from Nigeria, will lift the Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy for Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament. Call it the year of the Nigerians as Akhuetie’s countryman, Prince Eze, pulled off the same feat in the National Collegiate Athletic Association a week ago, who like the Fighting Maroon stamped his height and brawn over his local counterparts. Incidentally, the 6-foot-8 Akhuetie and the 6-foot-11 Eze share the same roots on Philippine soil as University of Perpetual Help Altas. Akhuetie became the first Fighting Maroon since Eric Altamirano in 1986 to win the MVP award. To underscore the foreigners’ dominance, Ateneo’s Angelo Kouame—also an African from Ivory Coast—ran second behind Akhuetie in the UAAP MVP race. Akhuetie tallied 18.9 points, 14.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in Season 81 for 82.50 statistical points (SPs), beating Kouame who amassed 76.2 SPs in his rookie year. Kouame, however, was dropped from the Mythical Five because the UAAP only allows one foreign player in the selection. University of the East (UE) have become the league’s whipping boy but not in the battle for individual honors. Alvin Pasaol wound up third in the MVP race with 74.57 SPs, numbers that made him ripe for the pros and no longer for a Red Warriors side that dwells at the bottom of the standings with only one victory this season. Rounding out the top 10 were Juan Gomez de Liaño (63.86 SPs) also of UP, Justine Baltazar (61.29 SPs) of De La Salle, Jerrick Ahanmisi (53.38 SPs) of Adamson University, University of Santo Tomas rookie CJ Cansino (57.3 SPs),

BRIGHT AKHUETIE, shown here being guarded by De La Salle’s Mark Dyke, is the Season 81 Most Valuable Player.

Adamson University’s Sean Manganti (56.85 SPs) and Papi Sarr (55.64 SPs) and Ateneo’s Thirdy Ravena (55.23 SPs). Reigning four-time girls champion National University, meanwhile, swept UP Integrated School, 25-5, 25-20, 25-10, to stay perfect in the high school volleyball tournament on Sunday at the FEU-Diliman Gym. Jessa Ordiales had eight points, Alyssa Solomon had three service aces for seven hits and Minerva Maaya also added seven points for the Bullpups.

With its ninth consecutive win, NU is just three victories away from claiming an outright Finals berth. Ateneo turned to rookie Manu Mariano’s early goal to beat De La Salle-Zobel, 1-0, for a winning start in juniors football tournament also on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Mariano struck in the fourth minute as the Blue Eaglets claim their first win after two seasons. In the other match, NU beat UST, 1-0. Eighttime champion Far Eastern University-Diliman drew an opening day bye.

Fighting Maroon named week’s best THAT’S MY GIRL!

Filipina pro Dottie Ardina (left) presents to Ricky Razon, president and CEO of International Container Terminal Services Inc., her main sponsor, the official marker of the Symetra Tour naming her No. 2 in the money list in the recent season that earned her a full card in the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 2019.

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OR University of the Philippines (UP), to make its first trip to the Final Four since 1997, a special talent had to have his hands on the steering wheel. With a 3-5 won-lost record at the midway mark of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81, the Fighting Maroons turned the reins of offense over to their own special talent in Juan Gomez de Liano and since then, they have gone 5-1. Now, UP will be seeing action in the Final Four for the first time in 21 years—and it was mostly all because their sophomore standout, who had just turned 19. De Liano’s most important plays came in UP’s most crucial game in recent history last

Wednesday when they were matched up with De La Salle with the third-seed up for grabs. And all game long, the Season 80 Rookie of the Year did nothing but deliver and finished with 27 points, four assists and three rebounds. More important, his performance resulted to a win that put a stop to the Fighting Maroons’ playoff drought. For that, de Liano was recognized as the Collegiate Sports Press Corps UAAP Player of the Week. “I said in the off-season that we’re going to make it to the Final Four. I promised Coach Bo [Perasol], I promised everybody that we’ll be here, and now we’re here, we’re not taking it for granted,” de Liano said.

EAM Go For Gold has transformed into an International Cycling Union (UCI) continental cycling team to boost the chances of sending a Filipino cyclist to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Going continental was a move in the right direction for Go For Gold after keeping up with the best riders in the international arena and consistently reaching the podium in several local and overseas races throughout the year. “I believe it’s the next logical step in order

to improve our cyclists,’’ Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go said. “This will allow us access to bigger competitions, which we can use to gauge our performance.’’ Go For Gold riders Jonel Carcueva, Ronnel Hualda, Jay Lampawog, Daniel Carino, Boots Ryan Cayubit and Rex Luis Krog are bracing themselves for a bigger challenge starting with the Tour de Indonesia in January next year. Also up to the task are Ismael Grospe Jr.,

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Ronnilan Quita, Elmer Navarro, Jericho Jay Lucero and Joshua Bonifacio as the team prepares for its 2019 calendar of competition filled with the more punishing UCI 2.1 category races. According to Go For Gold Project Director Ednalyn Hualda, the step toward going continental was necessary not only for the progress of the team, but also for the riders to gain more UCI points and earn a shot at qualifying in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Hualda said they are looking at 10 international races a year with each Go For Gold rider competing in at least seven races. “We have been trying to get more races for them para tuluy-tuloy ang development ng mga riders. It will also help them earn more points in their bid for Tokyo 2020,’’ Hualda said. The five-stage Tour de Indonesia, categorized as a UCI 2.1 race, almost presents the same level of challenge as the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia. Carcueva recently finished seventh overall in the individual general classification of the Tour de Singkarak, a UCI 2.2 race, in Indonesia recently while Grospe and Quita were not far behind in the GC after eight stages.

Cignal takes on Smart in Superliga

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IGNAL seeks to regain its winning ways when it battle struggling Smart in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre. Action kicks off at 7 p.m. with the HD Spikers looking to bounce back from a sorry loss to Petron in the women’s club tournament bankrolled by Isuzu, Senoh, Sogo, Mikasa, Asics, Mueller, UCPB Gen and Bizooku with Genius Sports as official technical provider. Petron, meanwhile, will be out to extend its winning run when it collides with winless Santa Lucia at 4:15 p.m., while Cocolife guns for a fitting follow up to its first victory when it tackles Foton at 2 p.m. Petron, the reigning champion of the tournament that also has ESPN5, Aksyon TV and

Hyper HD as broadcast partners, leads with a 5-0 win-loss card, while Foton and F2 Logistics are not far behind with 4-1 and 4-2 records, respectively. That makes the match interesting for the HD Spikers as they seek a crucial win that will put them in the top 4 of the season-ending conference. Cignal Coach Edgar Barroga said they have to play with more confidence, especially after absorbing a 22-25, 16-25, 19-25 loss to Petron in their previous game at the Caloocan Sports Complex over the weekend. “I want them to be more confident against any team—be it a team-to-beat like Petron or any other team,” said Barroga, adding that the veteran crew of Rachel Anne Daquis, Jheck Dionela, Mumay Vivas and Acy Masangkay has to

step up against a dangerous team like Smart. “They have what it takes to win games. But sometimes, they don’t trust themselves enough and their lack of confidence spills over the court.” Barroga said Smart is no easy foe. Despite yielding a 19-25, 12-25, 15-25 decision to red-hot Generika-Ayala, the Giga Hitters showed flashes of brilliance, thanks to the talented core of Grethcel Soltones, Jerrili Malabanan, Aiko Urdas and Jasmine Nabor. “Smart is a veteran team, which we can’t take for granted,” said Barroga, noting that a victory over the Giga Hitters will serve as a big morale booster to his wards. “We need to come up with an impressive win in our next game so that the confidence of our players will be restored.”

CMMA ON ITS 40TH YEAR

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Most treasured ‘Rock’ Trophy goes to more than 90 mass media workers

n its 40th anniversary, the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) handed out its most sought after ‘Rock’ trophy to more than 90 mass media workers in recognition of their exemplary efforts to promote Christian values and positive Filipino traits and traditions in their works. This year’s awardees were honored in a gathering attended by more than 800 guests last Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the Star Theater, Star City, CCP Complex, Pasay City. Among them were bishops and members of the clergy from the different parishes and religious organizations, community and civic leaders, mass media practitioners and other communication professionals and student journalists. A total of 63 communication practitioners, individual and institutional, were awarded for projects that promoted in the most outstanding way the basic human and Christian values of love of God, love for truth, respect for the natural environment, positive Filipino values and love for life and the family. Besides these winners, a total of 28 special citations were also handed out to outstanding entries in various mass media categories in the fields of print, radio, television, advertising, music, the Internet, Students’ Choice for Best Film and Student CMMA. Luis Antonio G. Tagle, archbishop of Manila and honorary chairman of the CMMA, was indisposed and could not be present. But in a message read for him by Fr. Rufino

C. Sescon Jr., CMMA executive director, he assured that he was with the gathering in spirit, celebrating the achievements of the CMMA in the past four decades. Also presented on CMMA Night were the Hall of Fame Awards to those who have been winners for at least five years; the Serviam Award for groups and individuals who transmit Christian values in media-based programs; and the St. Pope John Paul II for a group or individual who uses media creatively to uphold values. There were three Hall of Fame recipients for the 40th edition of the CMMA. They were Wilson Y. Lee Flores, Best Opinion Column, for his columns in the Philippine Star, Will Soon Flourish and Bull Market, Bull Sheet; Failon Ngayon sa DZMM, Best News Commentary; and Word and Life for Best

Announcer Rico Robles receives Best Public Service Program for Search for the Monster Scholar of Monster RX 93.1

Hall of Famer Music awardee Ogie Alcasid Ted Failon with with Fr. Joseph Azarcon and CMMA chair trustee Philip Juico D. Edgard A. Cabangon

The CMMA is now headed by D. Edgard A. Cabangon as chairman of the board of trustees. Other officers include Antonio A. Henson, vice chairman/trustee; Juan P. Dayang, secretary/trustee; Philip E. Juico, treasurer/trustee; and trustees J. Antonio A. Cabangon, Jr.; Rosie Lovely T. Romulo, Evelina I. Atienza, Engr. Feorelio M. Bote, Atty. Patricia A.O. Bunye, Fr. Joselito L. Buenafe, chairman of CMMA Production/ trustee; Fr. Rufino C. Sescon Jr., executive director/trustee; and Benjamin V. Ramos, asst. to the chairman. Fr. Hans D. Magdurulang is coordinator of the CMMA panels of judges. The CMMA program will be telecast over CNN Phils. on Nov. 24, 2018 (Saturday) at 10 p.m. Following is the complete list of CMMA winners and Special Citation awardees:

Youth Magazine. The Serviam Award was conferred on the Shepherd’s Voice Radio and TV Foundation, Inc. “for its outstanding efforts to communicate hope and inspiration to people through its numerous media channels—TV, radio, music, internet and conferences.” The St. John Paul II Award for this year was given to the Department of Journalism & Communications of the University of San Jose Recoletos Cebu City “for its bold and innovative project known as Pundok Kadasig” described as a social marketing effort that transformed Junquera Street in barangay Kamagayan, Cebu City, formerly known as a “red light district,” into a community of productive microentrepreneurs involved in shoe repair and t-shirt art sign.

Dr. Nestor Ramirez and Lian Hosts Carlo Lorenzo, Eugene Sincula representing St. John Domingo and Fr. Hans Paul II awardee USJR Dept. of Magdurulang Journalism and Communications

Teen stars Nash Aguas and Alexa Ilacad

Hall of Famer Word and Life Publications editorial staff with Mr. Cabangon, trustee Engr. Feorelio Bote and special guest Msgr. Gabriel Viola.

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Life

Love and laughter

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EAR Lord, we give our home to You. Please fill it with love and laughter. Help us to keep it in order, so that we can be prepared to host both friends and strangers. Keep our home safe and fun to live in. May we have peace, unity, compassions and forgiveness among the members of our family in the name of Jesus. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

BOX OFFICE: ‘FANTASTIC BEASTS’ FLIES TO THE TOP D3

BusinessMirror

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

THE Atelier chesterfield is a chic option with a rich mulberry hue, velvet upholstery and a deep, comfy structure. Pair it with minimalist contemporary accessories to give it center stage, or play off its traditional aesthetic with lots of pattern and eclectic accompaniments.

A GOOD option for a tight space where you want furniture with a smaller footprint and room to get around is the Sauder’s armless Cooper sofa. AUDER VIA AP

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

D1

THE Linde sofa is a collaborative collection with luxury lifestyle brand Suno. Featuring a geometric print and cast iron legs, the sofa has a chic yet relaxed midmod Italian profile. ANTHROPOLOGIE VIA AP

ANTHROPOLOGIE VIA AP

Choosing the perfect sofa for your space

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By KiM CooK The Associated Press

SK interior designers what the most important element in a room is and many will say that—after wall color—it’s the sofa. So how do you choose this crucial piece of furniture? Should you go for one big sofa or two love seats? What about materials, arm styles and the all-important question of how to position the sofa in the space? Start by thinking about the shape of the room, says Elaine Griffin, who helms design offices in Manhattan and Saint Simon’s Island, Georgia. “In a long, narrow room, place the sofa along the shorter wall farther from the door,” she advises. “This seems counterintuitive, but sitting it at the far end of the room on the shorter wall allows for way more furniture to go in front of it.” If your space is small, she suggests a 72-inch, apartment-size sofa with narrower arms. Pair it with slipper chairs, narrow armchairs or nice dining chairs. Show off the proportions of a square room by floating the sofa and other furniture away from walls,

Griffin says. She suggests dividing a room into “zones” when you’re uncertain about furniture placement, especially in an open plan. Imagine drawing an X from corner to corner in the room, and then a cross from the walls’ midpoints horizontally and vertically. “Your sofa or sofas will sit either on or parallel to one of those lines,” she says. Need to seat a large number of people comfortably? “Sectionals deliver like nobody’s business,” she notes. In small spaces, they can seat enough people to avoid the need for extra chairs. In large spaces, they can fill space without looking awkward. And in awkward spaces, you can install a sectional with an interesting shape, like one with a curvy back. Christie Leu, a designer in Chevy Chase, Maryland, also likes sectionals. “They aren’t all L-shaped,” she points out. “You can get a pair of armless sofas and put a low table in the corner, or you can have a ‘bumper sectional’ in a narrow room that will still provide seating but not impede a view or weigh down a room with a heavy arm on one side.” In choosing a sofa, consider how you will use the

room, Leu says. Maybe you want to be able to converse easily, read and play games. She’s a fan of single-bench cushions, so no one has to sit on a seam. And buy the best quality you can afford. “As the price goes up, you’ll feel the difference between cushions and construction,” she says. “A cushion with good, hand-tied, coil springs and highdensity foam will last longer than all-foam, which will flatten in time.” Leu doesn’t care for all-down seats “because no one has time to fluff them as often as they need it.” Some other hallmarks of a well-built sofa: hard, solid woods and joints integrated into the frame. For sofas that will see hard use, choose a hardy fabric, says Courtney Thomas, based in La Cañada Flintridge, California. “We use lots of polyester and chenille blends for sofas where large families put them to the test,” she says. “Generally, synthetics endure hardship better than natural fabrics, which don’t hold up as well.” She says her firm often Teflon-coats fabrics for extra protection against stains and spills. She also likes Sunbrella upholstery; the outdoor-fabric

technology has advanced so textiles are softer, and now well-suited for indoor use too. Alison Pickart, an interior designer from Larkspur, California, advises against huge sofas. “I don’t think you should ever have a sofa over 8 feet,” she says. “Very rarely will more than two people occupy a single piece of furniture. Plus, if your sofa is too big, the opportunity for other beautiful and interesting accent chairs, ottomans, poufs and small tables diminishes.” To facilitate conversation, Pickart says, furniture should be arranged so that people are at 45 degree angles from each other. “So the best living rooms are ones in which occasional seating can be comfortably placed at both ends of the sofa,” she says. She also likes armless sofas in narrow rooms; using one or two center components of a sectional can be an option. And don’t forget accessories, says Houston-based designer Margaret Naeve. “I love to style sofas with oddly shaped pillows and a colorful throw to add something unexpected that also ties into other elements in the space,” she says. n

The merry styles of the holidays ❶

GOLD and bronze Christmas balls and ornaments radiate a sophisticated and mature take on celebrating the Yuletide season.

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WHITE and silver accessories like this ceramic reindeer and sleekly designed silver metal candelabra exude a serene and silent vibe.

A FAVORITE destination of domestic divas, Our Home brings the joys of Christmas to your home with its Merry Styles of Christmas collection. The home hub has put together five holiday looks—ranging from the festive to the pristine, the avant-garde to the classic and the lavish—that homemakers can choose from to express their Yuletide style. n CHRISTMAS LE GRAND. Festive, outlandish, spectacular. Our Home’s take on the Yuletide season takes a major turn as the circus comes to Christmas town. Jewel tones and bright and vibrant hues take center stage against dramatic black furniture and gold furnishings; while harlequin masques in black and white revolve around golden circles. n THE HOLIDAYS IN CALM SPLENDOR. Frosted, pristine, pure. Snowflakes and icicles suspended in mirrored decorations, garlands adorned with frosted teardrops in icy blue, and trees embellished with pearls and silver trinkets—all give off a serene and silent vibe, another way of celebrating the other side of Christmas. It’s a different way of celebrating the most wonderful time of the year: modern, contemporary and sleek. n BOHO CHRISTMAS. Avant-garde, laidback, muted. The look is different. The feel is carefree. This is Our Home’s take on bohemian chic. Pastel colors, soft tones and a hushed and gentle atmosphere complete an unconventional Christmas theme. Trees and garlands adorned with strings of pearls in

light and pale hues, large roses and poinsettias that fade into a blissful background while butterflies with their glittered wings are a-flutter, and embellished wreaths and twigs give off an ethereal and whimsical character. n CHRISTMAS TRADITION. Established, classic, time-honored. A traditional celebration takes place as Our Home pays tribute to an immortal and enduring combination of red and green. A forest of garlands and wreaths drop from the ceiling as inverted Christmas trees form a chandelier...arches are numerously decked with lights...Santa Claus, Frosty and Rudolph reunite, while toys and candies dangle above. This is how Christmas is celebrated the traditional way. n THE WIZARD OF POSH. Affluent, lavish, lush. Our Home pays homage to the emerald city as elegance and opulence become a unique statement of the season. Luxurious, exclusive and classy—Christmas never looked this posh as black and gold provide a backdrop for the rich and lavish emerald tones to shine through. Shop and pay in 24 months at zero percent in Our Home’s Best Deal Ever. A minimum single-receipt purchase of P50,000 entitles one to avail himself/herself of the store’s 24-month installment promo at zero-percent interest using your BDO, BPI, RCBC, Citibank, Metrobank, Security Bank and Unionbank credit cards from now until December 31. More information is available at www.ourhome.ph.

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NOSTALGIA-INSPIRED pieces like these nutcracker and ferris wheel music box table tops highlight Our Home’s Christmas Tradition theme.

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CELEBRATE a time-honored Christmas tradition with classic red and green combinations shown in this living room vignette.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Pages BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A 1965 novel about an unhinged president is being rereleased By Alexandra Alter New York Times News Service

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COUPLE of months ago, prominent political pundits began buzzing about a provocative book by a Washington journalist. The book—which raised questions about what congressional leaders should do if the president was mentally

unstable and unfit for office—wasn’t a new expose about the Trump administration. It was a 1965 political thriller by Fletcher Knebel. The novel, Night of Camp David, features an unhinged US president who falls prey to his own paranoia and conspiratorial fantasies, as people around him struggle to rein in his worst impulses. (A critic called the book “too plausible for comfort” in a

review published in The New York Times in 1965—the same year that Congress passed the 25th Amendment, which provides a mechanism for removing a president who is deemed unfit to serve.) Now, more than 50 years after it was released, Night of Camp David is getting a new life. Later this month, Vintage Books, a Penguin Random House imprint, is rereleasing the novel, as a paperback, e-book and audiobook. The publisher isn’t shying away from drawing parallels between the novel and our current overheated political climate, with a dramatic black cover flap that reprises the tagline on the original novel: “What Would Happen if the President of the USA Went Stark Raving Mad?” “It’s got the perfect balance of escapism and that haunting touch of reality,” said Anne Messitte, publisher of Vintage Books. Messitte said she first became aware of the novel in early September, when Rachel Maddow spoke about it at length on MSNBC and noted the eerie similarities between the fictional plot and the biggest political story of the day: the anonymous oped in The New York Times by a Trump official, who wrote that members of the administration were working to undermine the president’s agenda and had considered invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him. “Dystopian thriller books and movies like that invite us as Americans to imagine what we might do with a presidency gone that haywire,” Maddow said. “It turns out, that all might have been good training because today’s news invites us Americans to consider the same.” Interest in the novel soared. Presidential historian Michael Beschloss tweeted about it. In an interview with The New York Times, Bob Woodward mentioned he had recently reread it. Used copies on Amazon were priced at more than $100. “I read this book a long time ago back in the late 1960s,” a reviewer wrote on Amazon. “Today, we should just change its name to a ‘Night of MarA-Largo.’ It’s the same plot only the characters are different.” The novel centers on a young Iowa senator who grows worried about the president’s mental health when he is summoned to Camp David in the middle of the night. During deranged monologues, the president—a liberal Democrat named Mark Hollenbach— rants about his perceived political enemies and imaginary plots against him. He rails against the media and

accuses a newspaper columnist of leading a “conspiracy” to discredit him. He tries to undo America’s longstanding alliances with Western Europe and arranges “a high-level conference with the Soviet Premier that could damage our national security,” according to The New York Times review. (Bizarrely, there’s even a Supreme Court justice in the novel whose last name is Cavanaugh.) A handful of novelists have written fictional critiques of Trump, mostly with disappointing commercial results. Howard Jacobson published a satirical political allegory about a vain, vulgar prince that fell flat with critics and readers. (The Guardian said Jacobson “misses his punches.”) Last month, an anonymous author published a thriller titled The Kingfisher Secret, about an American tycoon who is about to become president of the United States and has secret ties to the Russian government. Despite its ripped-from-the-headlines premise, or maybe because of it, The Kingfisher Secret was panned by some critics as a poor substitute for the actual news: “Admittedly, the confirmed and speculative details of the president’s malfeasant career are hard for fiction to match, but this plot doesn’t exert itself any more than Donald Trump lumbering around his golf course,” Ron Charles wrote in The Washington Post. Last year, Jonathan Freedland, a columnist for The Guardian, published a novel under a pen name about a moody and impulsive US president who brings the country to the brink of nuclear war with North Korea and emboldens white supremacists by stoking racial fears. The novel To Kill The President, which also wrestled with the question of how to remove an unfit president from office, was apparently too plausible for some: “Got a bit fed up with it about three-quarters through. A little bit too close to reality,” one reader wrote on Amazon. Some felt similarly about Night of Camp David when it first came out. (A New York Times critic complained that it was too realistic, writing that “as a suspense novel it is probably a great deal too honest for its own good.”) But many readers were riveted: The book spent 18 weeks on the best-seller list in hardcover. Knebel’s son, Jack Knebel, said that the family was gratified to see the book republished and that his father would likely be shocked to see how prescient his novel was. “The parallels are quite striking between then and now,” he said, “He’d say, yeah, this is just what I was afraid of.” n

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Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Ashley Fink, 32; Dan Byrd, 33; Joel McHale, 47; Bo Derek, 62. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Consider the best way to handle change. If you let your emotions take over, you will make mistakes that will set you back. Look for positive alternatives that will help you incorporate what you want to see happen into whatever situation you face. Knowledge is a powerful vehicle that can help you deflect any opposition that comes your way. Your lucky numbers are 6, 19, 23, 29, 35, 43, 49.

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Curb your reactions. You’ll be emotionally tempted to make changes or do something that will leave you in a precarious or awkward position. Think matters through rationally and avoid regret. Focus on getting facts and assessing situations before you act. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A steady approach to any change you want to implement is encouraged. Do your research and line up whomever and whatever you need to ensure your success. The preparation and planning you put in will impress someone in a higher position. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): An unexpected opportunity will get you thinking about new possibilities. Do your due diligence before you make a move. Leave nothing to chance; you’ll discover something that will help you make a prosperous move. HHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t limit what you can do or let negativity stop you from trying something new. You may not like change, but in hindsight you will be glad you participated. A new adventure will spark your imagination and prompt creative endeavors. HHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A change at work or at home won’t please everyone. Refuse to let emotions stand between you and getting things done. Keep an open mind, do your research and set parameters that will restrict you from going over budget. HH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don’t buy into someone’s lavish plans if they don’t suit your budget or your lifestyle. Concentrate on what you enjoy doing, and surround yourself with people who share your interests. HHH

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Look for opportunities; don’t wait for them to appear. If something isn’t working for you or you feel you aren’t being treated fairly, do something about it. It’s up to you to say yes or no to someone pressuring or bullying you. HHH

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Listen to what others have to say, and take advantage of offers that fit your agenda. Micromanage, and you will impress someone who can help you excel. A personal matter will be based on false information. Verify the facts before you react. HHH

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Get involved; it will change your life and your future. Make choices that offer positive alternatives, and surround yourself with people who share your beliefs and are willing to join forces to bring about change. Fight for your rights. HHHHH

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t let your emotions cause you to fall short. Take care of your responsibilities first, and do so without getting into a situation with someone who can disrupt your world. HH

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Money matters can be addressed. Changing how you earn a living or how you handle your money will lead to prosperous alternatives that are easy to implement into your everyday routine. HHHH

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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Be mindful of what you say and of the impression you leave on those you encounter. You’ll be misinterpreted if you aren’t careful, which could end up costing you your reputation. Listen carefully and keep personal information a secret. HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are astute, persuasive and intelligent. You are emotional and social.

‘mom and mom business’ BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Work on jabs and hooks 5 Handle hardship 9 Tells white lies 13 Certain forearm bone 14 Administered by spoon 15 Beatles song title lady 16 Comic’s staple of the ‘40s 19 Rhyming tribute 20 A liquid measure 21 Emulated a snake 22 Man’s suit size 23 Legendary Reynolds 24 Playing a part 27 No longer cool 31 In a cunning way (var.) 32 Eyelid inflammation 33 Retirement plan option 34 Mary, to many 38 Completion 39 Terminer go-with 40 Statement of belief 41 Quick drawer 44 Cordword measures

5 Eye part 4 46 Old card game 47 Encourage 50 Blade in a cell 51 Having driven a Model T 54 Human deliverer 57 Being from beyond 58 Greedy swallow 59 Build on it, really 60 ___ off (keep back) 61 “It’s___ a scratch” 62 Minor bouquet DOWN 1 Wrestler with guts? 2 Lumber along 3 Poker pay-in 4 Words said over pom-poms 5 Hollowing out 6 Rubber sealing gasket 7 Gasp, dog-style 8 Right-angled letter 9 Tortilla with meat 10 Well-worshiped one 11 Kid mover

2 Wimbledon rank 1 15 Piercing weapon 17 Word derived from a name 18 More keen 22 Resurrection Day flower 23 Receipt holder 24 What some logs become 25 Heavy dull sound 26 Pinata mark 27 “...rose by any ___ name...” 28 Woods with woods 29 Deteriorate 30 Woodworking joints 32 Plural of 32-Across 35 Sounding impressed 36 With eight leaves to the sheet 37 Thing on an ax’s neck? 42 Like bleachers 43 Sing to make people swoon 44 Covering very little 46 Peanut’s protector 47 High military org.? 48 Be the king 49 Smile

0 Jar or rock 5 51 Buckeye state 52 Some bad serves 53 Squirrel’s nest 55 Past word with 22-Across 56 Baking meas.

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Barack Obama surprise guest at Michelle Obama’s book show WASHINGTON—Former President Barack Obama practically brought the house down at Michelle Obama’s book show in Washington. The former first lady is currently touring the country promoting her memoir, Becoming, and participated in a conversation Saturday night moderated by her longtime friend and former Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. When the conversation shifted toward Mrs. Obama’s feelings about her husband, Jarrett announced a “special guest” and Barack Obama came on stage carrying a bouquet of pink roses for his wife. The crowd at Capital One Arena leapt to its feet. Jarrett asked him what about Michelle Obama captured his heart when they met at a Chicago law firm where she was his mentor. Barack Obama said she was “one of a kind,” strong and honest, and someone he knew he could always count on. He also said he knew that if she was the mother of his children their offspring would be “extraordinary.” AP

MAN APOLOGIZES FOR SHOUTING ‘HEIL HITLER’ AT BALTIMORE SHOW BALTIMORE—A man who yelled “Heil Hitler! Heil Trump!” at a theater performance of Fiddler on the Roof in Baltimore says he’s sorry for the outburst. The Baltimore Sun reports that Anthony M. Derlunas II said in an interview with the newspaper that his comments were “beyond a mistake.” The 58-year-old said he’d been drinking heavily before the show. Derlunas said the classic play set in a Jewish village in czarist Russia reminded him of President Donald J. Trump’s immigration policies, which prompted his outburst. The comments sparked panic in the Hippodrome Theatre and a few dozen people began running for the exits. The scare came a few weeks after a gunman fatally shot 11 people inside a Pittsburgh synagogue. AP

EDDIE REDMAYNE in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which opened to become the No. 1 film in North American theaters, pulling in an estimated $62.2 million.

‘Fantastic Beasts’ flies to top of weekend box office

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ZANJOE MARUDO and Maja Salvador

TAKING THE LEAP OF FAITH IN ‘TO LOVE SOME BUDDY’

MAJA SALVADOR and Zanjoe Marudo portray the role of best friends who will take audiences on their turbulent journey of falling in love, riding the waves, enduring the bumps and confronting the dilemma of staying friends or fighting for their relationship in the film To Love Some Buddy. It tells the story of hardworking marketing professional Faith (Salvador) and aspiring musician Julius (Marudo). After being caught in an awkward situation, the former college classmates meet again and develop an unlikely friendship. Their friendship deepens, and they find themselves falling in love with each other. But their relationship will be put to the test as expectations and problems creep into their lives, leading them to realize that sometimes, choosing to commit to someone is also choosing to grow. This is the first time that Salvador and Marudo will team up in a film written and directed by Jason Paul Laxamana, and produced by ABS-CBN Films’s new production arm, Black Sheep. Also part of the film are Donny Pangilinan and Phoebe Walker in their first movie under ABS-CBN Films. Will things work out for Faith and Julius once they take their relationship to the next level? Or is being in a relationship too much for two best friends to handle? Find out, with To Love Some Buddy now showing in the Middle East and will also screen via TFC at the Movies on November 23 in Espoo, Finland; and November 25 in Malta. This follows successful screenings in the US, Canada, the UK, Dublin in Ireland, Vienna in Austria, Kristansand in Norway, Papua New Guinea, Brunei Darussalam, Jylland in Denmark, Thailand, Copenhagen in Denmark, Barcelona and Madrid in Spain, and Milan, Rome and Florence in Italy, and Oslo in Norway.

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By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald crawled, slithered and flew its way to the top of the weekend box office with a $62.2-million opening in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The latest offering from the Harry Potter multiverse fell short of the opening of the first film in the Warner Bros. series, 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which debuted with $74 million in a similar November release and went on to earn $234 million in the US and Canada. But all the Harry Potter films have had a broad international reach, and Fantastic Beasts had a hearty worldwide weekend gross, bringing in $191 million internationally for a total of $253 million, according to the studio’s estimates. “Clearly it’s a huge phenomenon globally,” said Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. Last week’s top film, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, was second with $38.1 million, bringing its domestic tally to $126 million for Universal Pictures after

two weekends. It took in $9.4 million more internationally. Bohemian Rhapsody, 20th Century Fox’s Freddie Mercury biopic, is still rocking, taking third place with $15.7 million for a total of $127 million. It remains a global hit, bringing in an additional $45.5 million internationally. Fantastic Beasts, the second film in the series of Potter prequels written by J.K. Rowling and starring Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp and Jude Law, had a budget of $200 million. Its reviews were largely lackluster, with critics saying Rowling’s magical world is wearing thin after 10 films. Globally the first nine films have earned $8.5 billion, a total that this one’s worldwide take will inflate. “This is yet another example of a movie whose opening weekend skewed heavily into the international territories,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “This happens a lot with bigger franchise movies. For many of these blockbusters, it’s the international component that comes in and saves the day.” In the US, Warner Bros. is hoping young devotees who are out of school will keep Fantastic Beasts in flight through Thanksgiving. “It’s a big week coming up,” Goldstein said. “Friday is one of the biggest movie days of the year.” It will have a major challenger in Disney’s Ralph Breaks The Internet, which opens on Wednesday, as does Creed II. Fantastic Beasts continues a year of high points and hits for Warner from a diverse string of movies, including The Meg, Crazy Rich Asians, The Nun and A Star is Born. “Warner Bros. is on a roll that every studio would envy,” Dergarabedian said. In this weekend’s smaller-budget openings, Instant Family starring Mark Wahlberg brought in $14.7 million for Paramount Pictures, and Widows, the latest from 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen, earned $12.3 million domestically and $2.8 million internationally for 20th Century Fox. Instant Family

has only opened in North America. Overall, the weekend was down 14.5 percent in the US and Canada from the same time frame a year earlier, when Justice League made for a major preThanksgiving weekend. Here are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for also are included. 1. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, $62.2 million ($191 million international) 2. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, $38.1 million ($9.4 million international) 3. Bohemian Rhapsody, $15.7 million ($45.5 million international) 4. Instant Family, $14.7 million 5. Widows, $12.3 million ($2.8 million international) 6. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, $4.7 million ($6.7 million international) 7. A Star Is Born, $4.3 million ($5.5 million international) 8. Overlord, $3.8 million ($2.6 million international) 9. The Girl in the Spider’s Web, $2.5 million ($2.8 million international) 10. Burn The Stage: The Movie, $2.3 million ($5.2 million international). Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the US and Canada), according to comScore: 1. Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald, $191 million. 2. Venom, $55 million 3. Bohemian Rhapsody, $45.5 million 4. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, $9.4 million 5. A Cool Fish, $8.1 million 6. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, $6.7 million 7. A Star Is Born, $5.5 million 8. Burn The Stage: The Movie, $5.2 million 9. Intimate Strangers, $4.6 million 10. Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer, $2.8 million. n

Ballet Manila brings back ‘Cinderella’ BALLET Manila brings back Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Cinderella, with the beloved fairy-tale’s trademark romance, magic and happy ending told in dance by the country’s acclaimed “storytellers on toes.” Cinderella goes onstage on November 24 and December 1, 6 pm, and on November 25 and December 2, 3 pm, at Aliw Theater, CCP Complex, Pasay City. Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde is excited over the return of Cinderella, her first fulllength choreography which premiered in 2016. “It’s a Cinderella that is modern but familiar, witty and comedic, a bit sentimental yet absolutely delightful. It is a really light and happy ballet where kids and grown-ups alike will laugh out loud,” says Macuja-Elizalde. The ballet version of Cinderella also showcases the romance and enchantment of the popular fairy-tale. “It will make everyone in the audience swoon to the mesmerizing power of love,” Macuja-Elizalde assures. Principal artists Abigail Oliveiro and Joan Emery Sia share the title role, the kind-hearted country lass who endures the wicked ways of her stepmother (John Balagot) and stepsisters (alternately played by Jasmine Pia Dames and Rissa May Camaclang, and Nicole Barroso and Emma Harris). Thanks to the appearance

of her Fairy Godmother (Kong Ke Xin), Cinderella gets to attend the ball where she meets her Prince Charming (principal danseur Rudy de Dios and soloist Mark Sumaylo). After she hurriedly departs at the stroke of midnight, leaving behind her glass slipper, the prince embarks on a quest to find her. The pre-Christmas production is set to dazzle with Cinderella’s metamorphosis from soot girl to princess ready to attend the grand ball at the palace, scene-stealing moments of tiny “animals” magically transformed into a coachman, footmen and white horses, and all the thrilling dance sequences to be performed by the Ballet Manila cast. For the music, Macuja-Elizalde uses a selection from the Prokofiev score, melodies of Oscar Wallace from the animated film and popular tunes from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical strung together with original sections by composer/musical arranger Roy del Valle. Cinderella is Ballet Manila’s third offering for its 23rd performance season, dubbed “Tour de Force,” following Iconic 1.0, Iconic 2.0 and Le Corsaire. Tickets to Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Cinderella are available at TicketWorld via www.ticketworld.com.ph or 891-9999.

BALLET Manila principal dancer Abigail Oliveiro plays Cinderella and soloist Mark Sumaylo is her Prince Charming in Lisa MacujaElizalde’s Cinderella.

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Art

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

HOCHE BRIONES’S artworks exhibited at the GSIS Museum.

PROF. Ruben Defeo (from left); Francisco Sebastian, First Metro; EVP Nora Malubay, GSIS; Hoche Briones; Sen. Teofisto “TG” D. Guingona III; and Solomon Cua

MANILA Mayor Joseph Estrada, Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones and Hoche Briones

A starting point pieced together Hoche Briones’s latest exhibit

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By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez

VERYTHING has a beginning, so believes multimedia and abstract artist Hoche Briones. For him, it’s merely a question of where, what and how. In his latest exhibition, the concept of an uncertain destination ties meaning to where his work finds their form. Titled Start at Some Point, the Singapore-based artist’s second solo show in the country runs until November 30 at the GSIS Museum of Art in Pasay City. “It’s one of the first things any painter does when creating their art. We start at some point and go on from there, let [our] hand move to where it likes to go. Pretty soon there’s a complete picture. Then we do it all over again,” said Hoche in an interview with BusinessMirror via e-mail. Continuing, he related that the name of the exhibit derives from a video commentary, called “The Way I Think” by American visual artist George Condo, which was published by the Louisiana Channel: “[There], he described his drawing process as like walking through the forest where you never really know where you’re going. The words ‘start at some point’ instantly struck a chord within me. It helped connect my disjointed ideas into one overarching theme.” The same principle of introspection as a means to a beginning of an idea or concept echoes in his creative journey as an artist. “When I paint in oil or watercolor, I never know exactly how it will look like in its finished stage because I often change directions. I like the fact that I’m often surprised at what I come up with. It’s like embarking on an uncertain adventure were the destination is not always what I was expecting or even hoping for.” True enough, free from boundary-enforcing limitations, the GSIS’s gallery space is filled with his collection of cosmic and pictorial landscapes,

as well as the abstraction of cultural symbols and ambiguous subjects. Sarimanok, the legendary mythical bird of the Maranao people, bears itself with auspicious power as it looks upward, seemingly ready to reclaim its celestial place in the seven heavens. The 122 x 91” Revolution Symphony features the Philippine flag looking regal in royal blue and scarlet. Meanwhile, the Adarna takes on a powerful reinterpretation through masterful strokes and intricate patterns. “I typically sketch something or put a brush to paper or canvas with just a vague destination in mind. The first stroke would decide if the image will be a bird wing, a sea creature or dots you see floating around when you close your eyes. In one work, for example, I decided I’ll paint a nice quiet seascape. However, I was watching an animated film at the same time and so I ended up with a turbulent vortex in the center of a red sea of clouds just raging under calm blue skies. It’s all so spontaneous” said Hoche. The paintings displayed at the GSIS museum have been gathered from the personal collection of Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, Rep. Roy Loyola and Integrated Financial Services Philippines Inc. President Francisco Sebastian, among others. Hoche also shared that if not for a family friend who bought his art, he wouldn’t have pursued a career in the field. “It’s called Crimson Wind and it’s one of my thesis works during my college years. It’s a 3 x 7” oil-on-wood painting and the theme was man’s insignificance against the wonder and vastness of nature. It’s a dreamlike landscape of huge billowing clouds under a vast, fiery field of grass. It was kept by my mother and it followed her wherever she held office, as if waiting for the right time. When an old friend of hers finally saw and insisted on buying it, it was one of the things that rekindled my passion for painting again.” Hoche finished his Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts

‘WILD FRONTIER’ EXHIBITION AT ARTERY ART SPACE ARTERY Art Space present Wild Frontier, a collection of works depicting the various experiences of landscape and the environment, through psychological bending of material form, future habitats, critiques of human intervention in nature, surrealist shock and the fragmentation of consciousness, synesthetic mapping, abstract design and architecture, and the figure in space with regards to identity formation and the provocation of convention, all facilitated according

to diverse styles of abstraction and representation stretching the wild frontiers of the imagination. The exhibit is ongoing until November 20. Artery Art Space is a contemporary art gallery plus store and snack bar, providing progressive art with remarkable taste and a unique touch. The gallery is at 102 P. Tuazon Boulevard in Cubao, Quezon City. Gallery hours are from 1 to 7 pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays, and by appointment.

at the University of the Philippines. After graduating in 1995, he joined GFX Creative Imaging Inc., one of the pioneers in digital imaging. In 2003 he returned to painting for a one-man exhibit, titled Briones at the West, which was held simultaneously with the shows of fellow artists Denes Dasco and Byron Valenzuela. He also joined Selyo in 2009, a group exhibition held to commemorate the 114th anniversary of Philippine Independence. He now works as a digital imaging artist at EG+ Worldwide. Since he was a child, Hoche knew that he’ll always be a painter. “I was always drawing something when I was a kid, from cowboys to superheroes and giant robots. I began painting in high school and eventually took painting and drawing lessons from Fernando Sena.” He added that he finds inspiration from works that “were done with skill and passion—from the likes of Kim Jung Gi, who draws like a magician conjuring entire complex scenes like a photograph in his mind, to Michelangelo’s divine Biblical scenes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Chinese and Japanese landscapes [fascinate me]. Their calming simplicity is what drives me to find that effect in my landscapes.” When asked what he thinks is an artist’s role in society, he said that it depends on how one follows his or her own path. “There are artists that illustrate or bring to life whatever their clients commission them to do. There are artists that market their creations like commercial products. The one that stands out to me are those who inspire people to look at things in a different light. For instance, when Van Gogh first unveiled The Starry Night, no one painted anything like that before. It showed a dark starry sky full of life, light and movement. It was like he’s showing me that even if the night sky appeared to be still, it is actually alive with mysterious energy too slow for the eye to see, but captured in all its glory in a painting done by the artist from his asylum window.” n

KAIDA CONTEMPORARY PRESENTS ‘UNDER THE BROAD UMBRELLA’

AS is the tradition of Kaida Contemporary for its year-end exhibitions, the ongoing Under The Broad Umbrella brings together a select group of local and international artists to exhibit works of varying styles and mediums, in support of the gallery’s continuing effort to showcase the best of what contemporary talent has to offer. For more than a decade, Kaida Contemporary has allowed its walls to serve as a platform for artists to piece together tales and stories through their art, encouraging them to leave behind the familiar and resolutely explore the unknown. Works of varying themes and subjects, depicting both the ordinary and the fantastical, decorate the gallery’s spaces. In an age where art has never been more relevant, this exhibit seeks to provide a space wherein artists may be able to find a refuge for their art, and where they may be viewed without partiality and prejudice. The exhibit features recent works by Floyd Absalon, Diwa Abueva, Teo Alagao, Melbourne Aquino, Mark Arcamo, Harvy Armada, Mikko Baladjay, Renz Baluyot, Olops Locsin Barredo, Ralph Barrientos, Jet Bernal, Rene Bituin, Xander Calceta, Demosthenes Campos, Rolf Campos, Raymond Carlos, Raphael Carloto, Annie Concepcion, Ernest Concepcion, Jobert Cruz, Melvin Culaba, Christian Culangan, Thomas Daquioag, Raphael David, Mael de Guzman, Demetrio de la Cruz, Chloe Dellosa, Babylyn Fajilagutan, Kimpoii Gaceja, Irish Galon, Alee Garibay, Bam Garibay, Nina Garibay, William Gaudinez, Paola Germar, Caloy Gernale, Edric Go, Shalimar Gonzaga, Erica Gonzales, Lui Gonzales, Edwin Gratil, Eric Guazon, Philipp Ines, Arco Iris, Joselito Jandayan, May Jandayan, Ryan Jara, Ina Jardiolin, Binong Javier, Jethro Jocson, Jonathan Joven, Taichi Kondo, Tiffany Lafuente, Genavee Lazaro, Veronica Lazo, Gio Lebajo, Jacob Lindo, Marlon Magbanua, Amos Malayao, Joyce Mallari, Clark Manalo, Lotsu Manes, Emmanuel Miranda, Alrashdi Mohammad, Arden Mopera, Krista Nogueras, Neil Pasilan, Jaylenver Penafiel, Mervin Fabro Pimentel, Armar Ramirez, Rainere Ramiro, Ikea Rizalon, Kirby Roxas, Archie Ruga, Geremy Samala, Jerson Samson, Julius Samson, Rem San Pedro, Elijah Santiago, Mai Saporsantos, Ayra Sayat, Oddin Sena, Jone Sibugan, Luigi Singson, Manuel Sintos, Dexter Sy, Angelo Tabije, Carlo Talion, Tekla Tamoria, Stifen Taneo, Janelle Tang, Ana Verayo, David Viray, Nguyen Dinh Vu, Jezzel Wee and Jeona Zoleta. The show runs until December 5. Kaida Contemporary is at 45 Scout Madriñan Street, South Triangle, Quezon City. For details, contact the gallery at 463-5859 and 0927-9297129.