BusinessMirror October 03, 2018

ILL-CONSIDERED S.O.T. BILL COULD CAUSE LAYOFFS, BIZ GROUPS WARN

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

S

ENATORS should think twice before passing a measure that will prohibit all forms of job contracting, as it could compel micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to shed its work force, business groups warned on Tuesday.

In a joint statement, business groups told senators to tread carefully the legislation of Senate Bill 1826, which seeks to provide workers security of tenure and end the practice of labor-only contracting. They argued the passage of SB 1826 might force MSMEs to cut down employees, if not shut down operations.

“On the contrary, to ban all forms of job contracting would be disastrous, particularly to the MSMEs. Higher cost of doing business plus lower productivity rate shall give a lot of our MSMEs no choice but to close shop or retrench its employees,” the statement read.

“With due respect, Senate Bill 1826 has the effect of totally abolishing all forms of

IN this file photo, Filipinos flock to the Franchise Asia Philippines 2018 Expo—Ministop is one of the participating brands—at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Business groups on Tuesday warned that government measures aiming to abolish all forms of job contracting would adversely impact micro, small and medium enterprises. ALYSA SALEN

MEDIA PARTNER OF THE YEAR

UNITED NATIONS

2015 ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA AWARD LEADERSHIP AWARD 2008

job contracting. If implemented, the Philippines will be the only country in the world to ban legitimate forms of job contracting,” it added.

Insisting on a measure that outlaws job contracting, the business groups stated, will reduce the competitiveness of local establishments, especially small enterprises. They also said it is “impractical and costly” for businesses to maintain workers beyond what they need, as they reportedly operate in a highly competitive trade environment that requires just-in-time production.

“The bill likewise outlaws project and seasonal kinds of employment, which means that project and seasonal workers shall all be considered as regular workers,” the statement read.

“Smaller companies have to be able to adapt during busy or low periods.

Being able to bring on more workers or scale back the work force to respond to the fluctuations of demand is highly essential to business owners, especially for the MSMEs,” it added.

The business groups, as a resolve,

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

www.businessmirror.com.ph

n

Wednesday, October 3, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 354

‘Tax leak from cheating firms robs govt of ₧43B’ 5,155 T

By Rea Cu

According to Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua, such projected tax losses are on top of the estimated P301 billion in foregone revenues in 2015 alone

as a result of the surfeit of fiscal incentives given out by the government to big companies, with many of them on the elite list of top 1,000 corporations.

Briefing Finance Secretar y Carlos G. Dominguez III on this issue during a recent DOF Execut ive Committee (Execom) meeting, Chua said that aside

The number of firms covered by a DOF-BIR analysis of tax leakages in 2015, of which 558 possibly abused the transfer-pricing scheme to manipulate tax payments from taking advantage of the incentives given to them by 14 investment promotion agencies (IPAs), certain companies abuse the practice of transfer pricing to avoid paying the correct amount of taxes.

See “Tax leak,” A2

Amid growth, wealth gap widening in Aspac–Oxfam

B

Testing loses nuclear deterrent value Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE Statement on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) by Ambassador Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York, on September 6, 2018, at the International Day Against Nuclear Tests.

M

R. President, I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Continued on A6

Senators plan to review revised inflation targets @butchfBM

& Bianca Cuaresma

T

@jonlmayuga

Continued on A4

THE Department of Energy turned over two units of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and two electric-powered vehicles to the Office of the President and the Department of Science Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development. The vehicles were donated by the Japanese government. Story on A4. ALYSA SALEN

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.0950

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

By Butch Fernandez

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

ANGKOK—The disparity between the rich and the poor is growing despite the rapid economic growth and poverty reduction in Asia, international nongovernment organization Oxfam said.

T here are severa l ways in which the media can help narrow the gap, said Kala PulidoConstantino, Oxfam’s advocacy, campaigns and communications programme coordinator.

2016 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

@ReaCuBM

HE government is losing an estimated P43 billion a year in tax leakages to firms that are possibly exploiting the country’s convoluted corporate income tax (CIT) system and are abusing transfer-pricing schemes, the Department of Finance (DOF) has reported.

moved that status quo be maintained as covered by the Labor Code’s Articles 106 to 109; Department Order 174; and the Labor Code’s Articles 297 to 299 implemented under DO 147, Series of 2015.

They added President Duterte’s Executive Order 51 further reinforces the foregoing regulations on contractual employment.

“A perusal of our existing laws already ensures the appropriate benefits, safeguards and policy environment for project, seasonal and contract workers. In addition, these terms allow mutually beneficial labor and market relationships where legitimate job contracting is used as a business model mainly to tap available expertise and meet surges in market demand,” the statement read.

The Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. signed the joint statement. It was issued after senators committed to pass SB 1826 before the congressional break from October 13 to November 11.

@BcuaresmaBM

HE Sen ate Com m it tee on Economic Affairs is mov i ng to re v ie w t he Duterte administration’s revised inflation targets, Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian said.

“We will file a resolution to hear the revised inflation targets and how it will affect the budget and also the policies next year, in particular, the second round of TRAIN 1,” Gatchalian confirmed on Tuesday and referring to the first version of the Palace-backed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) scheme.

Gatchalian, committee chairman, said the upcoming hearing was prompted by reports indicating additional tax impositions are in the works.

“Because may dagdag na naman

na mas malaki ’yun so dapat pagaralang mabuti [This is so because these (additional taxes) would have a bigger impact and, hence, must be reviewed],” the senator said.

At the same time, the senator cited the administration’s national ID project as “very important, because if you will implement another mitigating measure, madali na ngayon dahil may ID na ang lahat, pupunta na lang sila to any DSWD [social welfare department], makukuha na niya na ’yun [Securing government support services would be easier for all because of the ID. One can just go to the DSWD to claim benefits.]”

Mitigating measures

ASKED if he is inclined to move for the suspension of TRAIN, the Economic Affairs Committee chairman replied his position remains the same: “suspension should be the last resort.”

Continued on A4

n JAPAN 0.4749 n UK 70.5669 n HK 6.9113 n CHINA 7.8524 n SINGAPORE 39.4422 n AUSTRALIA 39.0728 n EU 62.6420 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.4257

Source: BSP (2 October 2018 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, October 3, 2018

ADB flags spike in number of people lacking clean water

A

By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

T least 3.4 billion people could face water insecurity by 2050 due to an increase in demand for clean water supply, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has warned.

In a forum on Tuesday, ADB Vice President Bambang Susantono said water demand in the Asia-Pacific region could rise by over 50 percent by 2050, a trend which could be fueled by the growth of megacities.

Susantono estimated that Asia and the Pacific requires $800 billion in investment over the 2016 to 2030 period in water and sanitation infrastructure alone.

“Investments are desperately needed. The ADB estimates Asia and the Pacific requires $800 billion in investment over the period 2016-2030 in water and sanitation infrastructure alone,” Susantono said.

“The ADB’s sovereign water portfolio is growing to an estimated $5 billion a year by 2020. But taking it all together with other donors’ financing, much work is still

Tax leak. . .

“About 300 million people in the Asia and Pacific region do not have improved access to water, and 1.7 billion lack access to basic sanitation.”

—Nakao

required to fill the financing gap, including crowding in the private investment,” he added. Susantono said water insecurity costs the global economy $500 billion annually with a total drag of 1 percent or more of the global GDP. ADB President Takehiko Nakao added that in 2016, disaster-related losses in Asia amounted to $87 billion, of which 25 percent was connected to flooding.

Over the past 20 years, Nakao

Continued from A1

Transfer-pricing abuse is explained as the corporate practice

of shifting profits from high-tax jurisdictions in particular countries

said, Asia has incurred half of the estimated global economic cost of water-related disasters.

“About 300 million people in the Asia and Pacific region do not have improved access to water and 1.7 billion lack access to basic sanitation,” said Nakao. “Innovations and new technologies provide the means to help ADB developing member countries advance their water management, including river basin management, flood control and water pollution; and service delivery such as water supply, sanitation and irrigation.”

The ADB said in its recently approved Strategy 2030 the importance of water was highlighted in the context of climate change, disaster resilience, the water-foodenergy nexus, rural development and food security, and livable cities.

The Manila-based multilateral also said water projects, based on Strategy 2030, have been using the latest technologies and innovations to improve development impact.

The ADB is now using satellite remote sensing to quantify agriculture productivity improvement and guide investments in the irrigation sector.

It is also doing substantial work to crowd in private finance and

leverage domestic finance, which is another important element of Strategy 2030.

In order to discuss water and the options that can make the region more water secure, over 800 participants gathered at the ADB headquarters in Manila for the opening of the Asia Water Forum 2018, focusing on “Information, Innovation, and Technology.”

The forum—the fifth held at the ADB headquarters since 2002—provides a platform to share knowledge and experiences to help ensure water security for the Asia and Pacific region.

Since its founding in 1966, the ADB has spent a total of $45.88 billion on water projects. The ADB’s active water sector operations amount to nearly $14 billion and this is growing—another $14 billion in investments is planned between now and 2020.

The ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region.

In 2017 the ADB operations totaled $32.2 billion, including $11.9 billion in cofinancing.

to tax havens in other places where they get to pay lower taxes or from certain corporations to their related businesses in the same country that are in special economic zones

covered by tax perks.

Chua pointed out that the abuse of transfer-pricing schemes by certain firms is among the reasons the DOF is pushing for the congressional approval of CIT reforms, which aim to gradually reduce the CIT rate from 30 to 20 percent over a certain period while reorienting the government’s incentives system for businesses.

In 2016 a total 3,102 corporations were granted income-tax incentives, of which 2,358 firms paid the special rate of 5-percent tax on gross income earned.

Because of the differentiated rate, these firms are able to pay a tax rate of just around 6 percent to 13 percent depending on the sectors they belong to, as opposed to regular corporations that paid the 30-percent tax rate, of which about 90,000 are small and medium enterprises.

The DOF pointed out that there are three possible types of transfer pricing abused by some corporations, namely, international transfer pricing, in which profits are shifted from high-tax areas to low-tax jurisdictions; domestic transfer pricing, in which firms shift profits to related companies in economic zones or to related parties enjoying tax incentives; and intra-firm transfer pricing or misallocation of profits and costs, which happens when a company with activities in different tax regimes manipulates revenues and costs to minimize their tax obligations.

DOF and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) estimates of tax leakages arising from transfer-pricing schemes from 2011 to 2015 show that the government lost some P25.9 billion in 2011. This rose to P36.5 billion in 2012, and slightly fell to P35.1 billion in 2013, but again grew to P40 billion in 2014 and to P42.7 billion in 2015, according to Chua.

The DOF-BIR analysis of such tax leakages covered 1,318 firms in 2011, of which 206 were possibly engaged in abusive transfer pricing. For 2015 the analysis covered 5,155 firms, of which 558 possibly abused the transfer-pricing scheme to manipulate tax payments.

Earlier, the DOF estimated that the government gave away about P301 billion in revenues in 2015 alone as a result of tax incentives and other perks granted to only 2,844 firms. Of this amount, foregone revenues were from the nonpayment of income tax totaling P86.3 billion, customs duty incentives which account for P18.1 billion, and the gross amount of the import and local value-added tax of P196.8 billion.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL keen on signing joint oil exploration agreement with China in November

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

T

@BNicolasBM

O minimize the country’s dependence on imported oil, Malacañang said the government is working double time so it could sign a joint oil-exploration deal with China in November.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is slated to visit the country next month, is also expected to sign at least 10 loan agreements for infrastructure projects that will be implemented under the “Build, Build, Build” program.

The Chinese president’s visit was also a follow-up to the recent high-level economic meetings between the Philippine and Chinese economic and infrastructure managers in Beijing last month.

Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said in a briefing on Tuesday that the concerns of the public over high oil prices prompted the government to push for joint oil exploration in the West Philippine Sea. “We are doing everything we can to make sure that when President Xi comes here, we can sign a joint exploration we can already start the joint exploration of natural gas and oil so we will have energy security,” Roque said.

He added that the joint exploration deal will not be hampered by conflict in West Philippine Sea. “Based on initial studies, there is natural gas and oil in Service Contract [SC] 72. That is why the President is also saying that if we will stop the [planned] exploration in SC 72 because of the conflict [in the West Philippine Sea], what will happen to us? We will just continue

to import oil,” Roque said in Filipino.

Although he expects that the treaty with China will be signed “as soon as possible,” Roque said the initiative will not immediately yield. But the government expects that the Philippines will have a new source of natural gas and oil before Malampaya dries up.

“Because as it is, the country is dependent on foreign crude products. If Malampaya, which is our source of electricity, dries up, we will have a bigger problem,” he said.

“So we are expecting that Malampaya will last until 2032 so we are hoping that around 2027 there will be already commercial production in SC 72.”

To recall, the Department of Energy issued a moratorium on oil exploration and drilling works in SC 72 and SC 75 in December 2014 and 2015, respectively, amid the country’s maritime dispute with China.

Asked if there is already a move to lift the moratorium, Roque said there will be a “step-by-step process” since it is also being claimed

by China.

“We will first have an Executive Agreement on joint exploration.

After that, the oil exploration can already push through,” he said.

The Duterte administration has been criticized for taking a “softer approach” when it comes to dealing with China on the maritime dispute in exchange for investments and funding for infrastructure projects.

The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration issued the landmark decision invalidated China’s massive claims to the West Philippine Sea. But up to this day, China refuses to recognize the arbitral ruling.

Paid bereavement leave?

Employers shun the idea

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

E

MPLOYERS will block legislative moves to grant workers in mourning bereavement leave, as they argued that this will further diminish productivity and increase the cost of doing business.

In a statement sent to the BusinessM irror, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) said it opposes the legislative plan to institutionalize bereavement leave with pay in the private and public sectors. The form of relief can be availed by workers in case of death of an immediate family member.

“As a matter of principle, Ecop opposes the bill granting bereavement leave. Ecop wants a minimum number of nonworking holidays as provided for by law,” the statement read.

“The government should also limit to a reasonable number the declaration of additional nonworking national and local holidays through presidential proclamation. Ecop also opposes the proposed measures in Congress seeking for additional types of leaves that may be enjoyed by private sector workers,” it added.

Apart from regular and special nonworking holidays, there are other days off from work observed in the form of paid leaves to which workers are entitled to under the law, Ecop explained. The group also said there are days when work is called off due to natural calamities.

“We believe that any further reduction in the number of working days would have an adverse impact on the productivity of workers and the enterprise as a whole and on the cost of doing business,” Ecop said.

Maria Alegria Sibal-Limjoco of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry claimed legislating additional paid leaves will only hurt the country’s investment climate. The PCCI president said too many laws providing for holidays and incentives make it costly for investors to do business here.

“Ecop has a position paper which shows that [there are] too many leaves already. Too many laws that makes doing business expensive is to the detriment

for would-be investors,” Limjoco told the BusinessMirror.

Most number of holidays ACCORDING to Ecop, the Philippines in 2018 has the highest number of national holidays at 22 among Southeast Asian economies. Singapore and Lao PDR have the lowest at 10.

On top of these holidays, workers get paid leaves of as many as 34 days for men and as high as 175 days for women. Paid leaves can come in the form of service incentive; solo parent; paternity for men; and maternity, battered women for victims of violence and gynecological for women.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, for his part, found it“very reasonable”to grant workers bereavement leave in the event of death of an immediate family member.

In a text message to the BusinessMirror, Lopez argued no productivity is lost in allowing a worker to go on bereavement leave during his mourning. “[I] am sure your mind won’t be in work mode [if an immediate family member just passed away],” he said.

“Bereavement of immediate family has humanitarian reason in it and it doesn’t happen often. It’s not a one month leave.

[I] am referring to one [day] or two days leave for that employee. The rest [of his bereavement] he can take his VL [vacation leave],” Lopez added.

Lawmakers from the House of Representatives are keen on granting bereavement leave for workers who experienced death in the family. The House Committee on Labor and Employment and the Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation in September agreed to come up with a unified bill consolidating five proposals to institutionalize the benefit.

House Bills (HBs) 4071, 6043 and 6581 seek to grant workers in mourning bereavement leave with pay of up to 10 days, while HBs 5711 and 6119 propose five days of paid leave. The form of relief can be availed in case of death of a spouse, child, parent or sibling.

A congressional bicameral conference on Monday approved the expansion of maternity leave with pay to 105 days, from 60 days, regardless of the type of childbirth.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

LP leaders cleared in Red Oct plot to oust Duterte

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

O

PPOSITION Liberal Party leaders were cleared by the military top brass on Tuesday of any role in the reported Red October coup plot to oust President Duterte, a scenario that could pave the way for LP-backed Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo to assume the presidency way before Duterte’s six-year term ends at noon of June 30, 2022.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Carlito Carlo Galvez Jr. absolved Robredo and her LP allies when asked pointblank

by Sen. Francis N. Pangilinan about earlier reports linking opposition stalwarts with right-wing and leftist elements to an alleged ouster plot to topple the Duterte administration in midterm.

Pangilinan, incumbent LP president, sought the clarification during a Senate committee hearing on the proposed 2019 AFP budget.

The senator recalled that “in the information you [Galvez] shared with this committee, this ouster plot is a plot being engineered by the Communist Party of the Philippines and that to quote you, ‘they would like to have a coalition with other forces.’”

He added: “That is different from ‘they are in coalition with other forces to oust the President.”

Pangilinan then asked: “So there is no coalition between the Liberal Party, [Magdalo] and the Communist Party to oust Duterte?”

“Sir, none sir,” Galvez replied.

Still, Pangilinan “categorically” assured the AFP chief that the LP is not involved in any coup plot against Duterte. “I will categorically state that

there is no desire on the part of the Liberal Party to oust President Duterte.

We will not support any unconstitutional approach or unconstitutional move,” the senator said.

Pangilinan affirmed their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, adding that, “And any unconstitutional act, we will not be party to, and we will oppose.”

At the same time, Pangilinan aired concern that the AFP is “being used in partisan politics when it gives out information to the media linking the LP to ouster plots.” He wondered whether the AFP or the Department of National Defense is “being used” for partisan political activity, which General Galvez promptly denied by saying, “Definitely no.”

The senator reminded the AFP chief that “spreading such lies and supporting the establishment of a revolutionary government is contrary to the Constitution, adding that “the Armed Forces of the Philippines should not be involved in partisan political activities.”

Pangilinan asserted that the AFP “should not be politicized. It should be a professional armed forces.”

In the same committee hearing, Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana assured senators that Marine soldiers have been deployed to protect Filipino fishermen and ensure they are “able to freely fish in the disputed territories in the Spratlys and the Scarborough Shoal.”

Lorenzana informed the Senate that Pagasa Island’s runway is due for repairs in January. He also told senators that, while the lagoon inside Scarborough Shoal is being controlled by the Chinese Coast Guard, Filipino fishermen were able to fish outside the lagoon since 2016.

briefs O.C.D. REGION 7 ENDS CEBU SLIDE SEARCH, RETRIEVAL OPS

SEARCH and retrieval operations for fatalities of the tragic landslide in Naga City, Cebu, may be stopped on Wednesday afternoon, even as at least 10 people still remain unaccounted for.

Concepcion Ornopia, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Region 7, said the decision to stop the operations at Barangay Tinaan will be formally declared in a news briefing at midnoon today (Wednesday) in Naga City.

“It was a collective decision. Officials from the region down to the local government unit will be there. It will just be a one declaration to stop both the search and rescue,” she said on Tuesday.

Ornopia said the collective decision to halt the retrieval operations was forced by the assessments of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau that the areas surrounding ground zero are also already risky for the responders.

“The land is too soft, that is why the retrieval operations have to stop even at the slightest rain. This is the reason why the search and rescue have to be stopped already,” she said. Rene Acosta

PRAY FOR SULAWESI QUAKE, TSUNAMI VICTIMS–C.B.C.P. THE Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday called for prayers for the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami, which struck Indonesia last Friday.

More than 800 people were reported to have died from the tragic incident, which hit the eastern Sulawesi Island.

CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People Chairman Bishop Ruperto Santos said they are praying for the Indonesians so they could recover from the event.

“We believe that they will rise up, lives will be healed. And we recommend to the Almighty that those who perished will have eternal rest with Him,” Santos said.

For his part, CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace and Caritas Executive Secretary Edwin A. Gariguez said they still can’t send help to Indonesia for now.

“We are not launching appeal to Indonesia in as much as we want [to] because we are still responding to disaster brought by Typhoon Ompong,” Gariguez said.

Samuel P. Medenilla

D.O.J. CHIEF: PALPARAN SET FOR TRANSFER TO N.B.P. TODAY JUSTICE Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Tuesday assured the immediate transfer of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan to the country’s national penitentiary, the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), following the denial of his motion by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Malolos, Bulacan, to hold the implementation of the former Army general’s commitment order after finding him guilty of kidnapping of two missing students of the University of the Philippines and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Guevarra said the Malolos RTC denied Palparan’s motion based on Supreme Court-Office of the Court Administrator Circular No. 163-2013, which directs all trial court judges to cause the immediate transfer of convicted persons to the NBP regardless of the pendency of a motion for reconsideration or an appeal.

“I have personally discussed the matter with AFP [Chief of Staff General Carlito] Galvez [Jr.], who has assured me that the AFP Custodial Center will immediately comply, without prejudice to the resolution of any further judicial review,” Guevarra told reporters. Joel R. San Juan

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, October 3, 2018 A3

America accuses Chinese navy of ‘unsafe’ SCS confrontation

T

HE United States accused China’s navy of “unsafe and unprofessional” conduct near a Chinese-occupied reef in the disputed South China Sea (SCS), in the latest show of tensions between the countries amid their escalating trade war.

A US navy vessel, the USS Decatur, was sailing “in the vicinity” of Gaven Reef on Sunday, when a Chinese destroyer confronted it with “an unsafe and unprofessional maneuver,” said Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman, a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet. The destroyer “approached within 45 yards of Decatur’s bow, after which Decatur maneuvered to prevent a collision.”

Meanwhile, China accused the US of violating its “indisputable sovereignty” over the SCS feature—a claim that runs counter to a 2016 ruling by an international arbitration panel in The Hague. “We strongly urge the US side to immediately correct its mistake and stop such provocative actions to avoid undermining China-US relations and regional peace and stability,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hua Chunying said

on Tuesday in a statement.

While the operation was reported

by CNN on Sunday, the details about the confrontation only emerged when both sides issued statements on Tuesday. Military tensions between the US and China have been rising as a worsening trade war prompts concern in Beijing over whether President Donald J. Trump’s latest tariffs are part of a broader plan to stop the country from eroding American dominance of the Asia-Pacific region.

Competing claims

BEIJING claims more than 80 percent of the SCS, based on a 1947 map showing vague dashes—the so-called nine-dash line. Five other countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines, have also staked claims in the area, one of the world’s busiest

shipping routes.

Although the US takes no position on the competing claims, its navy regularly carries out freedom of navigation operations—known as “FONOPs”—by sending warships and aircraft near disputed waters to demonstrate the right to travel through what it considers international waters and airspace. The People’s Liberation Army has sought to contest such moves in territory it considers China’s.

“No surprise that the PLA is challenging FONOPs near Spratlys,” tweeted Zack Cooper, who studies US defense strategy in Asia at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. “This type of limited probe is an attempt to contest rules and norms. It fails as long as we continue to operate.”

The incident would have contravened the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea that was agreed to by China, the US and other countries in 2014, said Collin Koh Swee Lean, research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. The code aims to curb the chances of accidents and reducing the risk of escalation if one occurs.

“The reported 45 yards separation gives extremely little margin for safety,” Koh said. “It seems to me that this was deliberate and could

have been sanctioned by higher levels as part of the retaliatory moves

by China in recent times.”

Fraught maneuvers

BEIJING last month refused a US warship entry to Hong Kong, and its top naval officer canceled a highlevel meeting with his US counterpart. The Associated Press reported on Monday that Defense Secretary James Mattis had dropped plans to visit China later this month, citing unidentified US defense officials.

The Decatur incident represented at least the second time this year that the US has accused the Chinese navy of acting unprofessionally. In May Chinese warships warned two US navy ships away from the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea and maneuvered in a “safe, but unprofessional” manner, according to a CBS report. That assessment meant the ships maneuvered erratically without a collision risk, it said.

Gaven Reef is one of seven Chinese-claimed outposts in the Spratlys chain. China has reclaimed 3,200 of acres of land in the features and built ports, runways and other military infrastructure. The US would “continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” said Gorman, the Pacific Fleet spokesman. Bloomberg News

Mayors tasked to implement tricycle ban on highways

I

NTERIOR (DILG) Officer in Charge Eduardo M. Año on Tuesday called on city and municipal mayors to impose and strictly implement a ban on pedicabs and tricycles along national highways.

“For safety reasons, no tricycle or pedicab should operate on national highways utilized by four-wheel vehicles greater than four tons and where normal speed exceeds 40 kilometers per hour,” the DILG chief said.

In a news statement issued on Tuesday, Año said that, while the government recognizes that tricycle and pedicab operations provide livelihood and income to Filipinos, both in the urban center and rural areas, “allowing them on main thoroughfares poses hazards to other motor vehicles, the riding public and even to the drivers themselves.”

“The regulation of tricycles and pedicabs on national highways is, therefore, to the best interest of everyone,” Año added.

He explained that said vehicles may only be allowed by concerned Sangguniang Panlungsod or Sangguniang Bayan to traverse main highways if there is no other alternative route.

The reiterated the department’s directive after receiving reports from its field offices regarding the unregulated operation of tricycles and pedicabs along main thoroughfares, which pose serious hazards to the passengers, drivers and other vehicles.

Año said that under the Local Government Code, city and municipal mayors, through their respective Sanggunians, are authorized to regulate the operation of tricycles within their territorial jurisdiction, subject to the guidelines prescribed by the Department of Transportation.

He also urged local authorities to strictly adhere to the standards and guidelines provided by Memorandum Circular 2007-01, which spells out the basic considerations in the preparation of city or municipal tricycle and pedicab franchise and regulatory ordinance or code. Jonathan L. Mayuga

CRIME STOP SUMMIT

Global anti-crime group Crime Stoppers concludes a two-day summit last Monday and Tuesday on fighting illicit trade and transnational crimes at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati City. Spearheaded by Crime Stoppers International, in collaboration with Crime Stoppers Australia, the group is working globally in helping governments and law enforcers fight criminality. Crime Stoppers is now looking to expand in Southeast Asia through the Philippines and establish a Crime Stoppers program here. In photo are (from left) Devrol Dupigny, chief operating officer of Crime Stoppers International; Ambassador Bruce S. Concepcion, special envoy on transnational crime of the Office of the President; and Police Chief Supt. Robert Pajardo of the Highway Patrol Group, who represented National Police chief Director Oscar D. Albayalde. NONIE REYES

Pampanga gov thanks DENR chief for lifting quarry ban

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

C

ITY OF SAN FERNANDO— Gov. Lilia G. Pineda has expressed her gratitude to Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu for lifting the ban on quarrying in Pampanga.

“We are thankful to Secretary Cimatu for listening to our plea and for also recognizing the importance and difference of quarrying in Pampanga from the rest of the country,” Pineda said here last Monday.

Cimatu ordered the ban on September 21 after a deadly landslide near a quarry site in Naga City, Cebu, resulting in the death of at least 77 persons as of this writing.

The Cebu incident was preceded by another deadly landslide that killed nine in Itogon, Benguet, in the wake of Typhoon Ompong.

“I went to see Secretary Cimatu to personally explain to him that we are not excavating a mountain, but desilting the downstream of river channels that are choked with lahar in our province,” Pineda said.

“Pampanga[’s quarrying activi-

ties are] different from quarrying in other parts of the Philippines because Pampanga needs to remove or desilt the sand coming from the upstream of Mount Pinatubo because Pampanga will be buried [in lahar] if we will not desilt,” she explained.

“That is why I asked him to exempt Pampanga,” she said. “We are also for the environment and won’t do anything to harm it,” the governor assured.

“But these mater ia ls [si lt] should be removed from our rivers,” she stressed.

“I made it clear that we are not quarrying a mountain in Pampanga,” she said. “We have no mining industry in Pampanga,” she added.

“I also told him that infrastructure projects of the government will be affected if the ban continues,” Pineda said.

“The ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the Duterte administration will be affected if quarrying stops,” she said.

“Alang batu, alang balas, ela mayari deng projects under the Build, Build, Build program [There is no gravel, there is no sand so the projects under the Build, Build, Build program will not be com-

pleted]. The crushers will stop operating,” she said.

“Ah ganun’ ba gov,” Pineda quoted Cimatu as saying. “So, when he realized that we have a point because the projects of the government will be sacrificed, he lifted the ban,” she said.

Pineda said on the day Cimatu ordered the ban, she immediately went to see House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Congress and stayed until about 11 p.m.

Quarrying is the only source of income of Pampanga since the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, the governor said. Some 5,000 trucks haul gravel and sand daily and in the process desilt our river channels, she added.

“If this is not done, we will be inundated by floodwaters in the next torrential rains,” she said. “Clark will be mostly affected,” she pointed out.

On September 27 Cimatu said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau ordered the resumption of quarrying operations in most areas, including Pampanga. He said the quarrying ban has been lifted in most areas that were being investigated for geohazard risks.

A4 Wednesday, October 3, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DTI sets condition to allow major supermarkets to import rice, sugar

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah & Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

M

AJOR supermarkets might be allowed to import 350,000 metric tons (MT) of rice on the condition they will sell it at government-imposed price, according to Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.

Lopez said the government is considering permitting major retailers, as well as traders, to import rice and sugar. They will be allowed to do so if they write an undertaking they will sell rice at P38 per kilo and sugar at P50 per kilo.

“This way, we don’t need to worry about layers of traders who will just make margins in the process. With this scheme, we allow retailers who will undertake to sell all their imported stock at the set price,” Lopez said in a recent news statement.

He explained sales will be audited to verify if import stocks are really sold at the committed prices. The price-setting scheme, according to Lopez, is part of government efforts to facilitate importation and availability of basic goods through President Duterte’s Administrative Order (AO) 13.

“Basically, we will allow to import those who will give undertaking to the DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] and the DA [Department of Agriculture]

that they will sell at those prices.

[This is] just another idea to have quickly more P38 rice available [in] mainstream supermarkets,” the trade chief said.

In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Lopez revealed he is amenable to permit supermarkets to import 350,000 MT of regularmilled rice.

“For the two-week [period], 350,000 MT is the initial order [we want to bring in]. For this program, we want three to five groups to import the volume,” Lopez said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“We are writing them [retailers and traders] first to prepare that application to import. The NFA [National Food Authority] will grant the [license],” he added.

Lopez defended the policy proposal as necessary to beef up supply of rice and sugar in the market, as the government struggles to weather prices of basic goods due to a reported supply shortage. Under AO 13, the President directed the DTI, DA, among others, to roll out immediate measures to remove ad-

ministrative constraints and other nontariff barriers on the importation of farm goods.

T he directives include the streamlining of procedures and requirements in the accreditation of importers; exempting traders already accredited from registration requirements; and facilitating importation of agricultural products beyond their authorized cap.

The AO also instructed the liberalization of permits and accreditation of traders who want to import rice to break monopoly and the temporary permission of direct importation by sugar-using industries to lower input cost.

Policy shief

IN a related development, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol warned that rice traders and importers selling fancy rice in the market could now face penalties and sanctions following government’s decision to ban the importation and sale of such staple variety.

Piñol issued the pronouncement after the National Food Authority

Council (NFAC) approved last week his recommendation to disallow the importation of rice with 5-percent broken or better quality by the private sector.

Piñol argued that the importation of high-quality rice translates to higher retail market prices, defeating the purpose of privatesector importation.

“By importing premium rice and selling this at P55 [per kilogram] to P60 [per kilogram], the importers were making a killing while at the same time pushing prices of rice up,” he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

“This also gave added pressure on the NFA rice stock because it is what most consumers could afford,” he added.

Piñol, who is also the NFAC chairman, said the new importation measure would mean more affordable rice for Filipino consumers.

“With this new policy now, succeeding importation by the private sector will involve 25-percent broken rice, which could be sold for as low as P38 per kilogram,” he said.

“Any imported fancy rice sold in the market after the effectivity of this new policy would be considered smuggled rice and subject to seizure and confiscation,” he added.

Given the policy shift for rice imports, Piñol said it would be the local farmers that would serve the market with fancy and premiumgrade staple varieties.

“The supply of fancy or premium rice in the market will now be done by the Filipino rice farmers with Dinorado, Milagrosa, Jasponica, RC 160, heirloom rice and other indigenous rice varieties,” he said.

Piñol also said the mandatory sanitary and phytosanitary inspection on foreign rice warehouses would ensure that the rice shipments being exported to the country would comply with the 25-percent brokens quality requirement.

Piñol disclosed on Monday that the Department of Agriculture and NFA would send people abroad to inspect warehouses, where rice imports are sourced from, to ensure that their stocks are fit for human consumption.

Amid growth, wealth gap OP, DOST unit get ‘next generation’ e-vehicle units widening in Aspac–Oxfam F continued from a1

Speaking during the workshop and forum, dubbed “Engaging Journalists for an Equitable Asia,” organized by Oxfam in Asia, Pulido-Constantino cited various reports in the last few decades as offered by various “growth indicators” that gave Asia a very positive outlook.

Between 2005 and 2012 alone, the number of people living in extreme poverty in the Asia Pacific was reduced by 1.1 billion, accounting for more than 90 percent of the total poverty reduction achieved worldwide.

Between 1990 and 2010, Asia’s economic output increased at a remarkable annual average of 7 percent per year, while the rest of the world’s economy slowed down.

In 2013 the developing region’s economic output expanded by 7 percent.

However, Pulido-Constantino said such “impressive” economic performance is taking place alongside high levels of poverty and rising inequality.

Pulido-Constantino said there is an apparent failure to meet the expectation under Sustainable Development Goal 10, which is focused on reducing inequalities.

The forum was held ahead of the launch on October 9 of Oxfam’s latest report called the Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2018.

“Inequa lit y in the reg ion bet ween the m id-1990s to t he l ate -20 0 0s has r isen by as muc h as 18 percent, muc h h igher compa red w it h t he 10 - percent increase in t he Gini coef f ic ient of OECD cou ntr ies. A lthough the last t wo decades saw 650 m i l l ion people in t he reg ion l if ted out of pover t y, 1.6 bi l l ion people cont inue to l ive on less t ha n $2 a d ay,” she sa id.

Such is followed by the rising income and wealth inequality in Asia.

“Economic growth is creating jobs and generating wealth across Asia. However, poverty amid plenty continues to persist.

Even with the increasing development and bountiful resources, millions are being left behind. Workers and farmers remain mired in poverty despite—and perhaps because of—their role as the engine behind the very growth that is marginalizing them. Amid the prosperity created in economies across the region, inequality continues to rise. Meanwhile, pollution, the clearing of forests, and the overuse of natural resources are endangering the environment that the economy depends upon,” she said.

Pulido-Constantino said, however, that inequality is not a new phenomenon, although, within country income and wealth, inequality has been growing at a staggering rate.

Income and wealth inequality is growing and remains at an all-time high in the Asia-Pacific region, she said. For instance, she said the population-weighted market income Gini coefficient states that the region’s average inequality increased

from 32.7 in the early-1990s to 38.1 in the early-2010s.

“This overall rise in income inequality is mostly due to sharp increases in the region’s most dynamic and populous countries. Between 1990-1994 and 2010- 2014 the market income Gini coefficient soared by 9.6 percentage points in China, 8.2 percentage points in Indonesia, 4.6 percentage points in Bangladesh and 4.3 percentage points in India,” she stressed.

The four countries are among the five most populous countries in the region, representing over 70 percent of the population in 2015.

The overall picture, however, is mixed. In 60 percent of the Asian and Pacific countries, income inequality declined, often from very high levels.

“The sharpest fall in inequality occurred in the Maldives, followed by Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, reflecting the recovery of those countries from the economic crisis that followed the breakup of the Soviet Union,” she said.

Meanwhile, last year saw the biggest increase in billionaires in history, one more every two days.

“Billionaires saw their wealth increase by $762 billion in 12 months. This huge increase could have ended global extreme poverty seven times over. 82 percent of all wealth created in the last year went to the top 1 percent, while the bottom 50 percent saw no increase at all,” she said.

Pulido-Constantino said there are now 2,043 dollar billionaires worldwide. Nine out of 10 are men. Billionaires also saw a huge increase in their wealth.

The forum-workshop attended by a small group of select journalists from Asia aims to sharpen the journalists’ grasp through the exchange of knowledge and experiences their respective countries.

Recognizing the powerful voice of the media, she said Oxfam hopes to close the wealth inequalities.

Interviewed by the BusinessMirror at the sidelines of the forum/workshop, she said there are ways to address wealth inequalities, in which the governments—through media— can help.

“Wealth inequality is a policy choice. Extreme inequality is not inevitable. The government can address the problem,” she said.

She enumerated three aspects where the government can help close the wealth inequalit y, namely, through increased socia l spend ing , prog ressive ta x ation and ensuring labor rights and increasing wages.

“Social spending means spending more for the people. Progressive taxation means the government should impose taxes based on earnings. Tax corporations that earn and reduce the burden of heavy taxation from the poor. Last, governments should ensure labor rights are protected, and workers are receiving correct wages,” she said.

OUR electric vehicle (EV) units were turned over by the Department of Energy (DOE) and representatives from the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines to the Office of the President (OP) and the Department of Science Technology - Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).

The OP and the DOST-PCIEERD each received two vehicles—one plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and one electric-powered vehicle. Both units will be the first of their kind to be used for demonstration and testing by any national government agencies (NGAs) in the country.

The technologically advanced vehicles are part of the first lot of equipment donated by the Japanese Government to the Philippines to help in the recovery efforts after Supertyphoon Yolanda.

Initial recipients of the next generation vehicles were Philippine National Police precincts within Region 8 and NGAs with an integral role in emergency response and rehabilitation.

Other NGAs chosen as partners of the DOE also received next generation vehicles for performance testing, research and promotional purposes.

The promotion of EV is aligned with the DOE’s E-Power Mo! Campaign with

the thrust E-Safety Mo!, which supports the use of modern and safe vehicles with a smaller carbon footprint envisioned for possible nationwide use.

The DOE said the industry must ensure the operation of adequate recharging stations and after sales support if e-vehicles are to take the place of vehicles running on fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel “The industry should be bent on continuing to improve the performance, mileage and durability of EVs, so that these vehicles develop over time both in capacity and reputation that will match and stand toe-to-toe—or wheel-to-wheel—with their petroleum-powered counterparts,” it said. Lenie Lectura

Senators plan to review revised inflation targets continued from a1 “If we can implement the mitigating measures, including the rice supply, we will see that the NFA [National Food Authority] estimate of 500,000 metric tons is not enough,” Gatchalian said. “Right now, we are talking about more than a million metric tons for this year alone.”

He added government officials “have to look at the supply problems as well as the mitigating measures.” The solon said if this concern is not addressed, “then we have to look at the last resort, which is to suspend the second round of TRAIN.” The senator also took note of conflicting claims by the NFA and the Supermarket Association, with the former claiming that “if capitalization is exceeding 1 million,” the license fee would only be at P11,000, contrary to the latter’s P115,000.

Gatchalian said the mere fact they are not in agreement is “a problem that will affect the supply of rice.”

According to government economists, rice and other food products accounted for 2.4 percentage points out of the 6.4-percent inflation rate in August.

Not peak

THE call for review comes as an economist of London, United Kingdom-based IHS Markit expressed doubts that inflation peaked in September.

IHS Markit principal economist Bernard Aw said in a statement that TRAIN is also one of the culprits in the surge in inflation. Aw said that, while the steep rise of consumer prices in the country in recent months is likely driven by transitory factors, the weaker peso, supply shortages, higher global commodity prices and the continued implementation of TRAIN 1 will likely continue to drive inflation higher.

“As such, the latest PMI [purchasing managers index] price gauges raised doubts about prospects that consumer inflation will reach a peak in September, suggesting instead that inflation could remain elevated in the months ahead,” Aw said.

Data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines’s showed the local currency hit 54.25 to a dollar on Tuesday, losing further value from the previous day’s 54.11 to a dollar. The total traded volume was at $655.4 million, up from the previous day’s $385.7 million.

Au contraire

AW’S assessment is contrary to the forecast of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that inflation likely peaked in the third quarter of this year and will slowly return to a lower range in 2019 and 2020.

The BSP’s forecast for the September inflation shows that the growth of consumer prices can hit as high 7.1 percent for the month. August’s inflation is at 6.4 percent.

“The BSP Department of Economic Research projects [the] September 2018 inflation to settle at around 6.8 percent, with a range of 6.3 to 7.1 percent. Higher domestic petroleum prices, higher prices of rice and other agricultural commodities due to Typhoon Ompong, and the peso depreciation contributed to the upside price pressures for the month,” the BSP said earlier.

ING Bank Manila, however, earlier said inflation will likely trend higher but could have already peaked in September, backing the BSP’s earlier assessment.

This is if the government delivers in its proposed measures to curb supply-side pressures pushing inflation higher.

“Food, oil and transport price pressures continue to push inflation higher. However, the government’s measures could have a more significant effect this month if actions go according to plans,” ING Bank Manila Joey Cuyegkeng said.

Oil prices

INFLATION continued to move toward the upside because of rising international oil prices, monetary authorities have said.

The supply-constriction pressure on oil prices have prompted Sen. Grace Poe to urge the Duterte government to “unburden consumers and act against abuses and profiteering.”

In a statement, Poe aired an alarm over the continued rise in oil prices for the eighth consecutive week. She also prodded government officials to “fully implement the relief measures to protect consumers and act against possible abuses of petroleum companies.”

Poe sought prompt action from the concerned departments of Transportation and Social Welfare to fast-track release of assistance and benefits provided in the TRAIN law.

She claims the increase of oil prices is faster than the frequency by which gov-

ernment delivers its welfare and services.

Poe blamed the TRAIN law for the spiraling prices of oil, consumer goods and services.

She notes that the country looks at Dubai petroleum prices as basis of imposing regulatory measures, with a ceiling price of $80 per barrel.

This as gasoline prices went up by P1 per liter, diesel by P1.35 per liter and kerosene by P1.10 per liter on Tuesday.

Poe said that gasoline prices increased

by P4.05 per liter for the past eight weeks while diesel increased by P4.40 per liter.

Kerosene also went up by P3.70 per liter during the same period.

Liquefied petroleum gas commonly used in households as cooking gas also went up on October 1 between P2 and P2.50 per kilogram or P22-P27.50 per 11-kg tank.

Held hostage

THE senator said the “hard-earned money” by drivers are “being held hostage by oil prices instead of being spent for food, the prices of which, by the way, are likewise increasing.”

Poe added: “That is the bigger picture of reality on the ground. The numbers are not just mere statistics for economic managers and policy-makers; it means another skipped meal or foregone opportunity for most of our countrymen.”

At the same time, she prodded the Department of Energy to properly monitor pump prices in gasoline stations nationwide and ensure that oil firms are not engaged in profiteering and abusive practices amid the upward adjustments in oil prices.

She cited reports that oil prices are expected to further rise in the coming months due to tightening global oil supply. World oil traders are also predicting a $100 per barrel scenario before the end of the year which will have a direct impact on local pump prices in the Philippines.

Poe recalled that in November 2016, diesel prices were between P25.75 and P29.32 per liter and P34.60 to P44.10 per liter for gasoline.

Using such figures, Poe said the prices of gasoline and diesel jumped almost P20 in the past 24 months.

She added the rise in petroleum products now equivalent to almost two orders of rice in a sidewalk eatery.

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

The World

Japan’s PM reshuffles Cabinet; foreign, trade ministers stay

T

OK YO—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuff led his Cabinet on Tuesday, retaining key diplomatic and economy posts as Japan tackles tough trade talks with the US. Abe was reelected in September to head the Liberal Democratic Party for a third term, paving the way to serve as Japan’s leader for up to three more years.

Tuesd ay ’s reshu f f le, A be’s fourth since taking office in 2012, kept Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Finance Minister Taro Aso, Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko—core members of Abe’s government who have worked on tough negotiations on trade and other issues with their increasingly demanding American counterparts.

For defense minister, Abe appointed Takeshi Iwaya, a ruling party national security expert who is expected to follow the ongoing policy seeking Japan’s greater military role.

Abe has to resolidify his grip on power in the party after his weaker-than-expected showing in the leadership election. He renewed

more than half of the 19 Cabinet members and added some of his confidantes to help his push for a constitutional revision, though hurdles remain high.

Abe, 64, has said he is determined to use his last term to pursue his long-sought amendment to Japan’s US-drafted pacifist constitution that many conservatives see as a humiliation imposed on Japan following its World War II defeat.

Abe faces intensifying trade friction with the US that could shake his friendly relations with President Donald J. Trump. He also wants to settle island disputes with Russia and sign a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities. Abe also seeks to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to resolve bilateral disputes, including the decadesold problem of Japanese citizens abducted to the North.

At home, he faces political challenges such as dealing with Japan’s aging and declining population and a consumption tax hike to 10 percent that he has already delayed twice. He’s also tasked with preparing for and carrying out a royal succession in the spring. AP

Seoul: North Korea estimated to have 20-60 nuclear weapons

S

EOUL, South Korea—A top South Korean official told lawmakers that North Korea is estimated to have up to 60 nuclear weapons, in Seoul’s first public comment about the size of the North’s secrecy-clouded weapons arsenal.

Un i f ic at ion M i n i s te r C ho Myoung-gyon told parliament on Monday the estimates on the size of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal range from 20 bombs to as many as 60. He was responding to a question by a lawmaker, saying the information came from the intelligence authorities. The National Intelligence Ser vice, South Korea’s main spy agency, couldn’t immediately comment.

Cho may have unintentionally revealed the information. His ministry said on Tuesday Cho’s comments didn’t mean that South Korea would accept North Korea as a nuclear state, suggesting Seoul’s diplomatic efforts to rid the North of its nuclear program would continue. The South Korean assessment on the North’s arsenal is not much different from various outside civilian estimates largely based on the amount of nuclear materials that North is believed to have produced.

According to South Korean government reports, North is believed to have produced 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of weaponized plutonium, enough for at least eight bombs. Stanford Un ive r s it y sc hol a r s, i nc lud ing nuclear physicist Siegfried Hec ker who v isited Nor t h Korea’s centr ifuge facilit y at Nyongbyon in 2010, wrote earlier this year that North Korea is estimated to have a highly enriched uranium inventor y of 250 to 500 kilograms (550 to 1,100 pounds), sufficient for 25 to 30 nuclear devices.

Ma ny foreig n e x per t s say North Korea is likely running additional secret uranium-enrichment plants. The North entered talks with the United States and South Korea earlier this year, saying it’s willing to negotiate away its advancing nuclear arsenal. Nuclear diplomacy later stalled due to suspicions over how sincere North Korea is about its disarmament pledge, but US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to visit Pyongyang this month to set up a second summit between President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. AP

ASEAN FOREIGN MINISTERS URGE MYANMAR TO INDICT GENERALS IN ROHINGYA KILLINGS

S

OUTHEAST Asian foreign ministers urged Myanmar to prosecute those responsible for a brutal military crackdown against its Muslim Rohingya minority, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told his country’s Parliament on Tuesday.

Due to the political sensitivities surrounding the issue, foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as Asean, met unaccompanied on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday in New York, Balakrishnan said.

“We expressed our grave concern with these alleged acts of violence that have led to loss of life, injuries, destruction of homes, and displacement of large numbers of people,” he said.

An independent inquiry commission established by the government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, should be given a full mandate to investigate and to hold the people responsible fully accountable, the minister told parliament.

An August UN repor t called for Myanmar’s top generals to be investigated and prosecuted for committing genocide and war crimes against the Rohingya. It

found that Myanmar’s security forces had systematically murdered, tortured, gangraped and enslaved civilian members of the minority, and set fire to entire communities in violation of international law.

“This is a man-made humanitarian disaster, and something which should not be happening in this day and age,” Balakrishnan said.

Last week Malaysian Prime Minister M a h a t h i r M o h a m a d t o l d Tu r k i s h international news channel TRT World that his county no longer supports Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi over her handling of the Rohingya crisis. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has faced global criticism for her failure to stop the violence.

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on four commanders and two military units in Myanmar over their involvement in the alleged ethnic cleansing.

More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked 25 police and army posts, killing a dozen security officials in Rakhine state. The military responded with what it calls “clearance operations.” Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

A5

Trump dominated UN, but US nationalism at odds with world

U

NITED NATIONS—US President Donald J. Trump dominated this year’s gathering of global leaders that ended on Monday, but his rejection of “the ideology of globalism” left America almost singlehandedly holding a nationalist banner against urgent calls from an overwhelming number of countries for the world to work together.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the weeklong meeting last Tuesday declaring that global cooperation is the world ’s best hope and warning that “multilateralism is under fire precisely when we need it most.” And General Assembly President Maria Espinosa Garces wrapped up the meeting, during which all 193 UN membernations spoke, saying that one of its major achievements was strong global backing for the UN and multilateralism.

T he high tur nout of leade r s —1 2 1 p r e s i d e nt s , p r i m e ministers and monarchs—“ is because the world cares about the United Nations and the world cares about multilateralism, and the need to strengthen the multilateral agenda,” Espinosa Garces said in a news conference. And the General Assembly is the body “for international coexistence.”

But Trump’s speech, not long after Guterres’s, poured scorn on multilateralism and touted his “America First” policy, saying his administration has achieved more “than almost any administration in the history of our country,”

which sparked chuckles and outright laughter from some leaders. “ We w i l l ne ver su r re nder America’s sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable, global bureaucracy,” the US president said. “America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism.”

One of the very few countries to speak out for nationalism was Hungary, which has erected razor wire fences to keep people out.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called migration the greatest challenge in history, saying “migratory waves” are creating huge security risks, destabilizing countries and bringing terrorism to a region where it did not exist before.

“The international community must respect sovereignty of the countries,” he said.

But speaker after speaker over the week stressed the importance of global cooperation, starting with French President Emmanuel Macron, a progressive, multilateralist, who told the General Assembly: “Nationalism always leads to defeat.” Canada’s UN Ambassador Marc-Andre Blanchard told

Monday’s final session that “the magnitude of the contemporary challenges the world is confronting”—including climate change, terrorism, economic inequality, irregular migration and protracted crises—“require the world to work together.” “ The UN is the only place where we all come together to tackle these challenges,” he said, but the UN and other institutions established after World War II must work together to m a k e t he m “more ef f ic ie nt , fairer and more inclusive.”

Tr u mp faced pu shbac k on other US policies he trumpeted, including his historic meeting in June with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his “push for peace.” At the same time, he insisted that tough sanctions would remain until the Korean peninsula is denuclearized.

C h i nese Fore ig n M i n i ster Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov countered that the US should consider matching Kim’s positive steps— including halting nuclear and missile tests and actions to dismantle related facilities—with an easing of sanctions.

Trump also faced pushback on Iran, which he called a “brutal regime” and a “corrupt dictatorship” whose leaders “sow chaos, death and destruction.” He denounced the “horrible” 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which the Obama administration signed along with Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, saying that’s why the US withdrew and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.

But in a rebuke to Trump, foreign ministers from the five countries that still support the deal agreed at one of some 400 meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly to establish a financial facility in the European

Union to facilitate payments for Iranian imports and exports including oil—a key move sought by Tehran to counter US sanctions.

Another major issue at the global gather ing was climate change—an issue not mentioned in Trump’s speech. It was raised not only by small islands that see an existential threat, but also by large countries with vulnerable coasts facing more deadly hurricanes and cyclones.

Dominica’s Foreign Minister Francine Baron, whose Caribbean island nation was decimated by Hurricane Maria’s 180 mile-perhour winds in September, said her prime minister’s call to all countries days later at the UN “to come together to save our planet” hasn’t been heeded.

“Among and around us are many who still deny the reality of climate change,” she said, adding that there is still no plan to implement the 2015 Paris agreement to combat global warming, and “we have not mobilized the resources to capitalize the $100 billion per year, which was agreed upon, to assist the most vulnerable.”

The General Assembly meeting also put a spotlight on global conflicts and hot spots, large and small, from the seven-year-old conflict in Syria and the threeyear-old war in Yemen that has sparked the world ’s worst humanitarian crisis to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, the IndianPakistani dispute over Kashmir and the Armenia-Azerbaijan clash over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro accused the US of attacking his country through sanctions and other means in the meeting’s longest speech—48 minutes. The shortest was Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite at five minutes, according to Assembly president Espinosa Garces. AP

DESPERATION EXPLODES TO ANGER AS INDONESIA QUAKE TOLL RISES

P

A LU, I n d o n e s i a — D e s p e r a t i o n exploded into anger four days after an earthquake and tsunami severely damaged parts of an Indonesian island, with residents Tuesday showing frustration at the pace of rescues, grabbing food from damaged stores and begging Indonesia’s president to help them. The confirmed toll exceeded 1,200 dead with hundreds severely injured and still more trapped in debris.

“Pay attention to D onggala, Mr. Jokowi. Pay attention to Donggala,” yelled one resident in footage broadcast on local television, referring to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. “There are still a lot of unattended villages here.”

Most of the attention so far has focused on the biggest affected city, Palu, home to 380,000 people with considerable damage.

The toll was raised to 1,234 on Tuesday afternoon for the towns of Palu, Donggala, Sigi and Parigi Muntong with 799 people badly injured, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said at a news conference in Jakarta. In Sigi and the hard-hit area of Balaroa, more people remain trapped, meaning the toll is likely to rise.

He said 153 bodies were buried on Monday in a mass grave and the operation continued on Tuesday and adding the government was working to speed up aid distribution. A special aircraft carrying 12,000 liters of fuel was expected to arrive and trucks carrying food were en route with police escorts to guard against looters.

Donggala and other outlying areas have received little assistance largely due to impassable roads. The town’s administration head, Kasman Lassa, said residents should take only food staples from shops.

“Everyone is hungry and they want to eat after several days of not eating,” Lassa said on local TV. “We have anticipated it by providing food, rice, but it was not enough.

A MAN walks on a heavily damaged street due to the earthquake in Balaroa neighborhood in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Tuesday. Desperation was visible everywhere among victims receiving little aid in areas heavily damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami, four days after the disaster devastated parts of Indonesia’s central Sulawesi island. AP/DITA ALANGKARA

There are many people here. So, on this issue, we cannot pressure them to hold much longer.”

Desperation was visible everywhere among victims receiving little aid. In Palu, signs propped along roads read “We Need Food” and “We Need Support,” while children begged for cash in the streets and long lines of cars snarled traffic as people waited for fuel.

Teams were searching for trapped survivors under destroyed homes and buildings, including a collapsed eightstory hotel in the city, but they needed more heavy equipment to clear the rubble.

Nearly 62,000 people have been displaced from their homes, Nugroho said.

Many people were believed trapped under shattered houses in Balaroa, where the earthquake caused the ground to heave up and down violently.

“I and about 50 other people in Balaroa were able to save ourselves by riding on a

mound of soil which was getting higher and higher,” resident Siti Hajat told MetroTV, adding her house was destroyed.

In Palu’s Petobo neighborhood, the quake caused loose, wet soil to liquefy; creating a thick, heavy mud that resulted in massive damage. “In Petobo, it is estimated that there are still hundreds of victims buried in mud,” Nugroho said.

Residents who found loved ones—alive and dead—over the weekend expressed frustration that it took rescue teams until Monday to reach Petobo.

The 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck at dusk Friday and generated a tsunami said to have been as high as 6 meters (nearly 20 feet) in places.

President Widodo authorized the acceptance of international help, Nugroho said on Monday, adding that generators, heavy equipment and tents were among the most-needed items. The European Union and about 10 countries have offered

assistance, including the United States and China, he said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday that his government had given $360,000 to help victims and was in talks with Indonesian authorities about a second round of aid. The initial funds would go to the Indonesian Red Cross for the most obvious emergency aid needs, such as tarpaulins.

The coastline at Palu was strewn with rubble and a few brightly colored cargo containers poking out of the water.

Buildings near the water were ruined shells.

The arches of a large yellow bridge rested in the water and eerie drone footage showed a Ferris wheel, untouched, on a beach scraped bare by the waves.

In the Petobo neighborhood, Edi Setiawan said he and his neighbors rescued children and adults, including a pregnant woman. His sister and father, however, did not survive. AP

A6 Wednesday, October 3, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Vigilance is key

T

HE escalation of the trade conflict between the United States and China is undoubtedly upsetting countries that rely on these two economic superpowers to boost their exports. The US has treaded the protectionist path in keeping with the campaign promise of its current president, Donald J. Trump, to “make America great again.” As part of its “pro-America trade policy,” Washington announced in May that tariffs will be slapped on steel and aluminum imported from European countries, Canada and Mexico.

Government officials assured that this development will have little impact on the Philippine economy. For one, the Philippines is not a major exporter of aluminum and steel. Some experts even said that this could benefit the Philippines as steel and aluminum from some producers, like China, could become cheaper, but this remains to be seen.

The trade conflict between the US and China escalated when Washington announced that it would slap an additional 10-percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and that the rate will rise to 25 percent starting January 1, 2019. In retaliation to the additional tariffs slapped

by Washington, Beijing stopped importing soybeans and also levied additional duties on American goods such as fruits, meat and nuts.

Washington said the move was in response to China’s unfair trade practices related to the forced transfer of American technology and intellectual property. It would appear that this trade war would only hurt trading partners that have incurred America’s ire. But those that are not in the line of fire would be naive to think that they would be left unharmed by this conflict. The trade blows currently being exchanged by the US and China prompted the World Trade Organization to warn that their conflict would have an adverse impact on global economic growth.

According to a Bloomberg report, the combination of big supplies and the trade tensions had sparked a prolonged rout for agricultural markets.

The trade deal recently secured by the US with Canada and Mexico has provided some relief, but producers could not yet heave a sigh of relief because the threat of volatility, particularly in the commodities market, has not been eliminated.

If prices of agricultural commodities in the coming months would continue to slide, this would prompt farmers in the US and in other countries affected by the trade war to cut their output. Farmers won’t produce more if prices are low. Also, the shift to other crops in sugar-producing countries like Brazil (where farmers have opted to plant soybeans so they can fill up China’s requirements) will have an effect on international sugar prices.

The government must closely monitor developments related to the trade war. Just because the Philippines is not involved in the confrontation is not an excuse for bureaucrats to be complacent. In this day and age when information is readily available, it is relatively easier to spot signs of volatility that could threaten local food supply. As the Philippines continues to import a number of food items such as rice and meat products, there must be no let up in monitoring developments related to the trade of these food items.

While this is being done, the government must start putting together a coherent food policy, one that would help farmers make the right planting decisions. The rice self-sufficiency plan is good but in view of the government’s move to further open up the Philippine rice market by removing the quantitative restriction on rice, authorities must now determine whether they should continue promoting the planting of rice. As it is, maintaining the status quo is no longer an acceptable option and hard decisions must now be made if the Philippines is to survive the repercussions of the USChina trade war, which could be compounded by climate change.

Since 2005

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

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Efleda P. Campos Dennis D. Estopace

Online Editor Social Media Editor

Ruben M. Cruz Jr. Angel R. Calso

Creative Director Chief Photographer

Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes

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

Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Adebelo D. Gasmin Marvin Nisperos Estigoy Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025.

(Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807.

(Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Printed by BROWN MADONNA Press, Inc.–San Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila MEMBER OF

Testing loses nuclear deterrent value Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE Continued from A1

W

E welcome Thailand’s upcoming ratification to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty later this month. All of Asean member-states’ ratification of the CTBT solidifies our strong commitment to the international norm against nuclear testing, as well as our steadfast support to the CTBT. Asean denounces the conduct of nuclear-weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions, which are contrary to and go against international efforts and norms against nuclear testing, nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament.

We reiterate our recognition of the humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.

Bearing in mind the significance of the CTBT, we join others in urging the Annex 2 States to sign and ratify the Treaty as soon as possible to realize its entry into force.

We reiterate our commitment to preserve our region as a Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and free of all other weapons of mass destruction as enshrined in the Asean Charter and the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ Treaty). Under the Bangkok Treaty, as specified under Article 3, each State Party undertakes not to test or use nuclear weapons anywhere.

They also undertake not to allow, anywhere inside their territory, the testing or use of “nuclear weapons.”

A long with the SEANWFZ

Treaty, the Treaty on the Prohibition of nuclear weapons provides that each State Party undertakes never under any circumstances to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

Asean welcomes the Inter-Korean Summits, as well as the summit between the US and the DPRK in Singapore. We also welcome the Panmunjom Declaration, as well as the Joint Statement signed between the US and the DPRK. We urge all concerned parties to continue working toward the realization of lasting peace and stability on a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

We also welcome the DPRK’s stated commitment to complete denuclearization and its pledge to refrain from further nuclear and missile tests during this period. We reiterate our support for all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and international efforts to bring about the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,

which will contribute to peace and stability in the region.

Allow me to read the Philippine statement.

Mr. President, The Philippines joins the international community in celebrating the International Day Against Nuclear Tests. We recognize the leadership of Kazakhstan in pursuing the purposes celebrated today.

We are reminded of the importance of a concerted effort against nuclear tests, the last of which was conducted only in 20171.

Recognizing the destructive effect on the environment of nuclear testing, and the horrendous effect of the use of nuclear weapons—deliberately or inadvertently, in cold calculation or panic—the Philippines signed the CTBT in 1996 and deposited its instrument of ratification in 2001.

The Philippines continues to support the treaty and its earliest ratification. If nuclear weapons still hold some attraction; its lethal efficacy is already proven; what need then to test. Further testing can only mean its progressive refinement in yield, destructiveness, dependability of delivery and accuracy of targeting. But every step forward in these respects is a step backward in nuclear weaponry’s deterrent effect; which was never so great as when nuclear weapons stockpiles were so enormous in yield and limitless destruction that none could contemplate their use for any purpose; thereby producing the Long Peace of the balance of nuclear terror. This morally gross benefit stands to be lost by continued testing. The better these weapons get by increasing their capacity for discriminating use, the greater the temptation and the more compelling the argument for their use.

The 2010 NPT Review Conference, which was chaired by the

Philippines, reaffirmed the essential role of the CTBT. The Outcome Document noted that the cessation of all nuclear-weapon test explosions and all other nuclear explosions, by constraining the development and qualitative improvement of nuclear weapons and ending the development of advanced new types of nuclear weapons, the Treaty combats both horizontal and vertical proliferation and as I argue weaken their deterrent virtue.

In addition, the 64-Point Action Plan of the 2010 NPT Review Conference highlighted the importance of refraining from nuclear-weapon test explosions and supporting the CTBT, as specified in Actions 10-14.

The Philippines, as a member of Asean, notes the provision in the SEANWFZ Treaty—which states that each State Party shall undertake not to allow the existence of nuclear weapons in its territory—says in effect that there shall be no testing or use of nuclear weapons in the zone.

We take sanguine note of the announcement by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of a moratorium on missile tests and nuclear tests, and its dismantling of a nuclear test and satellite-launching site. It is critical to peace that the leaders of the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continue their dialogue in seeking resolution to outstanding issues between all the parties concerned. Thank you, Mr. President.

1On September 2, 2017, North Korea successfully detonated its first weapon self-designated as a hydrogen bomb.

Initial yield estimates place it at 100 kt. Reports indicate that the test blast caused a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, and possibly resulted in a cave-in at the test site.

Premier’s second act could be what Malaysia needs

T

By Daniel Moss | Bloomberg Opinion

HE style and substance of Malaysia’s seventh prime minister sure look familiar to anyone who knew him as its fourth prime minister. Good. Mahathir Mohamad’s political comeback—at the age of 92—could be just what the nation needs.

Mahathir’s approach is well suited to this moment of nationalism, skepticism about global integration and rivalry between the US and China.

You might even call it a blueprint for how a nation can get most of what it wants without shutting the door to investment and needlessly antagonizing allies and great powers.

During his first 22-year stretch in office, ending in 2003, he was combative and a reliable critic of Western or free-market orthodoxy.

I observed this firsthand reporting on his government from Kuala Lumpur. Now, he seems moderate and sensible. But he hasn’t changed. The

world has, in this era of Donald J. Trump, Brexit and open antipathy toward free trade.

Observing now-93-year-old Mahathir at events in New York last week, I saw that his approach to issues has not evolved a lot. His economic thrust is: Foreign direct investment is welcome, not because we love it, but because we need it. It helps Malaysia. Caveat: We don’t like de facto foreign colonies on our soil and hate being ripped off.

We want infrastructure but can’t borrow more than the nation can afford. He still views currency trading with disdain and its

proponents a motley group of people moving numbers on a screen to no productive end.

Mahathir acknowledges China’s ascendancy and isn’t fazed about China’s growing military presence in the South China Sea. China can make all the claims it wants to the waters.

Malaysia’s interest is whether shipping can pass through unimpeded.

We are a small country, he said. Implicit is that there is no point resisting tectonic geopolitical and economic shifts, especially when you can’t or won’t do anything about it.

Mahathir’s consistency is not unalloyed. Many in the West can’t forget his broadsides against Jews.

Nor should they; he restated those opinions as recently as 2016, and I haven’t heard him disown them.

His views on economic integration are striking these days. Mahathir still promotes his idea for an East Asian Economic Caucus, a regional

free-trade zone he sought during his previous premiership.

That zone would link the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations with Japan, China and South Korea. There would even be a quasi-single currency, a token used for trade. In the end, Japan balked because the zone didn’t include the US. That outcome was not a total disaster in Mahathir’s estimation, because the Asean-plus-three group subsequently agreed to strengthen cooperation.

Put Mahathir down as a champion of muscular regionalism, which might even be called the new face of globalization. North America’s lastminute deal to salvage Nafta, albeit in tweaked form with lots of histrionics, is consistent with this. (More on all that in another column soon.)

It’s early days for Mahathir 2.0.

For now, he is the toast of New York.

His secret? Never retire.

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Solar power faces looming Terrorism insurance war vs power sector

W

A terrorism modeling was launched by Risk Management Solutions to study the risk of terrorism. RMS has developed terrorism solutions for the insurance industry with the support of Rand Corporation, a government policy think tank, Jane’s Information Group, and the Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Attacks from the recently declared terrorist organization, the New People’s Army (NPA), have averaged at 100 per year. Macro attacks, where there are at least 30 fatalities, have occurred at least once a year since 2009. In the Mindanao region, prominent terrorist attacks would include the 2000 Rizal Day bombing, the 2002 ferry bombing, the 2002 Zamboanga City bombing, the 2003 Davao Airport bombing, the 2013 Cotabato City bombing and the 2016 Davao City bombing. The 2017 Global Terrorism Index ranked the Philippines as the 12th country most impacted by terrorism.

The threat of terrorism not only puts lives at risk but also risks property damage and loss of business opportunities. The costliest terrorism attack is of course the attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. on September 2001, otherwise known as the 9/11 attacks. It caused 2,982 fatalities and $43.5 billion in

risks unless there is some form of government participation or unless as part of a terrorism pool. It is a difficult risk to insure. According to Weimeng Yeo, Director of Risk Management Solutions, “to allow the establishment of sustainable solutions for terrorism risk insurance, various governments have engaged in national schemes such as pools under which insurers manage terrorism risk up to certain limits beyond which government play the role of [re]insurer or guarantor of last resort.”

In Australia, for example, the government created the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corp., following the 9/11 attacks. ARPC is a public financial corporation established by the Terrorism Insurance Act 2003 to administer the terrorism reinsurance scheme, providing primary insurers with reinsurance for commercial property and associated business interruption losses arising from a declared terrorist incident. ARPC’s reinsurance scheme

Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

Michael Makabenta Alunan

ON THE CONTRARY

S

OLAR power is increasingly getting cheaper in the country, thanks to a young entrepreneur, 25-year-old Leandro Leviste, who helped lower solar energy costs to P2.99 per kilowatthour (kWh) without batteries, thus raising fears of an imminent encroaching market war with traditional fossil-fuel-dependent power industry, including huge power plants and provincial and island electric cooperatives. n Sunrise vs sunset. The past decades, we have witnessed the demise of obsolete technologies thrown into oblivion with the influx of innovative, efficient but disrupting technologies. Typewriters gave way to computers, and postal-mail and telegrams to beepers, and analog phones to smart phones.

As computer hardware gets powerful, thanks partly to multibillionaire Filipino innovator Diosdado “Dado” Banatao, who’s behind the powerful chip that powers computers, smartphones, credit cards and all forms of electronic appliances and gadgetry, software has also become more sophisticated, ushering in sunrise industries involving “artificial intelligence ” and the “Internet of Things.”

Similarly, cheapening solar technology can potentially edge out traditional power systems, which are getting costlier and inefficient being dependent on imported fossil fuel and on interlocking massive capitalintensive power generation, transmissions and distribution systems. n Solar mini-grid vs power greed? In contrast, solar power can be stand-alone systems that can be installed on rooftops, light posts or as mini-grids serving small communities too remote and costly to be served by transmission and distribution lines.

Power generators have massively shifted to coal, claiming it is cheaper although more pollutive, but has not translated into cheaper energy. The Philippines has the most expensive power rates in Asia at P12-P16/kWh as players serve a power grid, which sounds more like greed.

Leviste’s Solar Power Para sa Bayan primer revealed that the biggest power companies profited over P100 billion in 2017, and over P1 trillion since the Electric Power Industry Reform Act’s passage. And because Filipinos spend 10 percent of monthly salaries on electricity, Pulse Asia’s survey shows 60 percent of Filipinos are dissatisfied with electricity prices; 82 percent favor new power providers, and 89 percent favor renewable energy. n Proof of track record. This makes Leviste’s mini-grids relevant, timely and faster to install in less than six months, or a fraction of the years to build power plants and transmission lines, thus making it easier to achieve government’s goal of 100 percent electrification by 2022 that is affordable, clean and reliable 24/7.

Leviste founded Solar Philippines in 2013 when he was still a 21-year-old sophomore at Yale University, but has made massive inroads with no government support.

From 4 megawatts in 2013, solar energy in the Philippines shot up to 900 MW by mid-2016, and will soar further with Leviste’s first Filipino solar panel factory that opened in 2017, creating 1,000 manufacturing jobs. By March 2018, he completed Southeast Asia’s largest Solar Minigrid in Paluan, Mindoro.

Leviste tied up with Manila Electric Co. to supply 85 MW power at P2.99/kWh, the cheapest—even lower than coal at P4/kWh, gas at P6 and diesel at P8.

About 12 towns in Mindoro, Palawan, Masbate, Cagayan and Aurora are now getting cheap 24/7 electricity at zero cost to the government. Paluan, Occidental Mindoro,

Leviste’s Solar Power Para sa Bayan primer revealed that the biggest power companies profited over P100 billion in 2017, and over P1 trillion since the Epira’s passage. And because Filipinos spend 10 percent of monthly salaries on electricity, Pulse Asia’s survey shows 60 percent of Filipinos are dissatisfied with electricity prices, 82 percent favor new power providers and 89 percent favor renewable energy. enjoys low rates at P8/kWh, about half of what other regions are paying.

Aurora and Cagayan were among the worst affected by Typhoon Ompong, but power was restored immediately when the sun started shining.

Leviste gained numerous recognitions, including one from Forbes in 2016 for topping the list of “Under 30” young entrepreneurs in energy and industry. n Hemorrhaging for power?

Leviste’s solar power enjoys no subsidies, while the National Electrification Administration is asking another P25 billion for its rural electrification, while the National Power Corp. slaps its Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification of P0.1561/kWh, generating subsidies of P20 billion per year. The Department of Energy also has a subsidized Qualified Third Party program.

Feed-in-tariff (FiT) subsidies for renewables are at P0.2563/ kWh, or nearly P30 billion a year, which consumers shoulder, thus raising power costs to P8-P9/kWh, triple Leviste’s contract price with Meralco at P2.99/kWh. Leviste has not availed himself of FiT to prove solar is viable.

Many electric cooperatives have also accumulated massive debts like Lanao Sur Electric Cooperative’s (Lasureco) P10-billion debts, which the government absorbed. n Urgent legislative support.

Threatened interests are blocking Leviste’s inroads, insisting they enjoy exclusive franchises, thus the need for House Bill (HB) 8179 authored by Deputy Speaker Arthur Yap of Bohol, Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora of Compostela Valley, Rep. Franz Alvarez of Palawan and 33 other coauthors with over 70 more supporting.

HB 8179 argues existing franchises of power distributors and and electric cooperatives are not exclusive, and that Solar Para sa Bayan can still apply for a franchise anywhere. Yap said a 2005 Supreme Court ruling affirmed that “exclusive franchises on public utilities… are unconstitutional.” The bill reinforces this and the Constitution’s Article XII, Section 11, which states, “No franchise… for the operation of a public utility shall be…exclusive.” n If you can’t fight change, embrace it. Leviste declares, “Our aim is not to make the most profit, but to help the greatest number” as 12 million Filipinos still lack access to electricity, and 20 million lack 24/7 electricity. For 2018 he aims to bring power to 500,000 Filipinos in Mindoro, Palawan, Masbate Batangas, Quezon, Aurora, Cagayan, Isabela, Panay, Negros, Misamis and Davao, at no cost to the government.

E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com

Wednesday, October 3, 2018 A7

ITH two existing insurgencies, the Philippines is very much exposed to terrorism risks. Between 2007 and 2017, no less than 200 attacks every year from SunniSalafi Jihadis have occurred in the southern Philippines, according to data from Risk Management Solutions (RMS). insured losses. The second-costliest terrorist attack was the IRA bomb attack in London on April 1993.

While there was only one fatality, the insured losses totaled $1.2 billion. The third costliest was also an IRA bomb attack in Manchester on June 1996. There were no casualties, but the insured loss was at $1.02 billion. In Asia, the costliest terrorist attack was the Tamil Tiger attack at Colombo airport on July 2001.

There were 20 fatalities and the insured losses totaled $545 million.

A terrorism modeling was launched by Risk Management Solutions to study the risk of terrorism. RMS has developed terrorism solutions for the insurance industry with the support of Rand Corp., a government policy think tank, Jane’s Information Group, and the Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

In view of potentially large losses arising from a terrorist attack, insurers would not normally assume

was established after discussions with key industry stakeholders, including insurance and reinsurance companies, banks, representatives of property owners, industry associations, insurance brokers and actuaries. Through the scheme, insurance companies can choose to reinsure the risk of claims for eligible terrorism losses by paying premiums to ARPC. Consequently, holders of eligible insurance contracts will be covered in the event of a declared terrorist incident.

In France, the insurance pool created was the Gestion de l’assurance et de la Réassurance des Risques Attentats et Actes de Terrorisme or Gareat.

Under this scheme, Gareat acts as a reinsurer to make terrorism insurance more affordable for businesses. Insurers will be liable for the first €400 million of all claims combined, Gareat will pay out on claims between €400 million and €2.4 billion, with the French government taking up the rest via the Caisse Centrale de Reassurance fund. There are many other countries with existing terrorism pools, such as Belgium, Germany, India, Holland, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom. There are 37 such pools in the world today. In 2016 the International Forum of Terrorism Risk Re/Insurance Pools was launched.

Dennis B. Funa is the current insurance commissioner. Funa was appointed by President Duterte as the new insurance commissioner in December 2016.

E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com

In El Chapo’s trial, extraordinary steps to keep witnesses alive

By Alan Feuer | New York Times News Service

I

NTERNATIONAL drug lords sometimes kill people who plan to take the witness stand against them. It has happened so often in Mexico, for example, that some have described the country’s witness protection program as a witness detection program, or a hit list.

As the authorities in New York prepare for the trial next month of the world’s most famous drug lord—Joaquín Guzmán Loera, who is best known as El Chapo—they have taken extraordinary steps to keep those who will testify from getting killed. Guzmán’s lawyers say those strict protective orders have made mounting a strong defense more challenging.

Here are few of the ways the prosecution has kept the witnesses, and issues at the trial that concern them, under a veil of secrecy, and why:

Shielding names on court documents

FROM the moment Guzmán was extradited to Brooklyn from Mexico last year, prosecutors have argued that he presents an “extreme danger” to the numerous former allies, rivals and underlings who will ultimately testify against him.

The government has repeatedly refused to identify the witnesses in any public papers, saying that if it does, the Sinaloa drug cartel, which Guzmán ran for 20 years, could easily seek revenge.

Late last month, for example, when the government provided basic information on the witnesses to

Guzmán’s lawyers, it did so in a 100page memo, almost half of which was blacked out by redactions. Secrecy has so suffused the case that when the defense responded to the memo three days later, asking to learn more about the witnesses, the document was filed under seal.

The chief complaint by Guzmán’s lawyer, A. Eduardo Balarezo, is that the government is planning to withhold the witnesses’ identities until the eve of trial. He has argued that doing so will hinder his ability to investigate their claims and devise a defense against them.

Keeping witnesses heavily protected

SOME of the government’s witnesses are already in jail and are being held in what are known as protective custody units “in light of the great risk to their lives,” according to court papers.

Others are in the witness protection program in undisclosed locations and have been given new identities. Under the program’s rules, the papers say, those individuals have been told “to cut off all ties with family and friends in order to maintain the highest levels of protection.”

Prosecutors have also had concerns about safety of the jury in the

Strict protective orders of witnesses are necessary because Guzmán has a history of killing and kidnapping those who have dared to speak against him, prosecutors said. It has been difficult, however, to verify the government’s allegations because, as with so many aspects of the case, they were made in documents filed under seal.

case. Earlier this year, they persuaded a federal judge, Brian Cogan, to allow the jurors to serve anonymously.

Cogan decided to select the jurors in a rare closed session conducted in his private chambers.

Preparing for what could happen

STRICT protective orders of witnesses are necessary because Guzmán has a history of killing and kidnapping those who have dared to speak against him, prosecutors said. It has been difficult, however, to verify the government’s allegations because, as with so many aspects of the case, they were made in documents filed under seal.

In October 2016 Vicente Bermúdez Zacarías, a Mexican judge who played a role in Guzmán’s extradition battle, went for a jog in his hometown, Metepec, when a man shot him in the head.

In 2009, prosecutors say, the father of two men from Chicago who were cooperating against Guzmán with US authorities was captured and murdered when he was in Mexico.

In the Brooklyn case, Guzmán has been accused of ordering the deaths of thousands as he ran the cartel. That is on top of charges that he smuggled more than 200 tons of cocaine into the United States.

Before his extradition, Guzmán also escaped two times from prisons in Mexico in a pair of daring jailbreaks.

Isolating El Chapo

DESPITE all this, Guzmán’s lawyers have dismissed the notion that he presents a threat to anyone given that he has spent the past two years in what is called 10 South, the maximum-security wing of the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City’s most impenetrable jail.

There he has been under lock and key, except for an hour a day.

He is permitted visits only from his lawyers and his 7-year-old daughters. Every month, Guzmán is allowed two 15-minute phone calls with his mother and his sister, to which the government is listening.

Other than that, he is “completely isolated from the world outside of his dismal cell,” wrote Balarezo last month.

Considering those “extremely restrictive conditions,” Balarezo has claimed it is impossible for Guzmán to get word out to his associates to knock off any witnesses.

“In fact,” he recently wrote, “unless the government is suggesting that the defense team will disseminate hit orders from Guzmán, there is no realistic way for him to do anything” to the witnesses at all.

For Canada, a sigh of relief more than a celebration in new Nafta deal

By Catherine Porter New York Times News Service

T

ORONTO—More than a celebration, it ended with a huge sigh of relief.

Canadians awoke on Monday to the news of a new trade deal with the United States, its largest trading partner, and more important, a reprieve from the threat of crippling auto tariffs that President Donald J. Trump had been holding over the country for months.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada came away with a few items considered sacred for his nation’s economic security: a dispute

resolution system for companies that feel unjustly targeted with taxes and a distant expiration date to the agreement.

In exchange, Canada promised to crack open its long-protected dairy market—the target of Trump’s Twitter attacks and rally tirades for months—to US competition, a concession that drew immediate anger from politicians in Quebec, home to nearly half the country’s 11,200 dairy farms.

At a news conference in Ottawa on Monday, Trudeau called the agreement “a good deal,” although he acknowledged the trade-offs.

“Like any important negotiation,

we had to make compromises,” he said, speaking in French. But, he added, “today is a good day for Canada.”

The agreement does not eliminate the tariffs on steel and aluminum that Trump imposed in the spring.

Instead, Trudeau said his country would continue to negotiate for their removal.

“The great failure of this trade deal was not negotiating an end to the steel and aluminum tariffs,” said Philip Cross, the former chief economic analyst at Statistics Canada, because it tacitly left the door open to Trump to use the same national protection justification to lay more

tariffs in the future.

“He can invoke national security under this deal and slap tariffs presumably on anything he wants,” Cross said.

Compared with Trump, who triumphantly claimed the deal would see “cash and jobs pouring into the United States and into North America,” Trudeau was understated during his news conference.

For him, the deal was more about shoring up the Canadian economy than expanding it.

“When your trading partner is 10 times your size, you need rules,” Trudeau said. “You need a level playing field.”

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

B1

Tanglawan first to submit application to develop LNG hub in Philippines

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

ANGLAWAN Philippines LNG Inc., the partnership between state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and Philippine fuel retailer Phoenix Petroleum, is the first to submit an application with the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop an LNG (liquefied natural gas) hub in the country.

“CNOOC and Phoenix submitted both technical and financial application. But we wrote them a letter last week informing them about certain observations about their application,” DOE Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido said.

Pulido said both firms plan to put up a corporation. However, they have yet to register Tanglawan with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“They have not yet been issued a certificate of registration by the SEC. They were supposed to file this

week before we start our evaluation,” Pulido said.

Once CNOOC and Phoenix have complied, the DOE will commence evaluating the application.

“It will take 30 days to evaluate upon submission of complete documents,” he said.

Last June, CNOOC and Phoenix sign a memorandum of understanding to study, plan and develop an LNG receiving terminal project in the Philippines.

Since the DOE issued last year a circular on the Philippines Down-

stream Natural Gas Regulation (PDNGR), which spells out the rules governing the downstream natural gas industry, 18 foreign and local firms have so far expressed interest to pursue LNG projects. Except for CNOOC and Phoenix, none of them have so far submitted a formal proposal to the DOE. The other firms are Cleanway Energy Development, First Gen Corp., Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., CGN New Energy Holdings Co. Ltd., Philippine National Oil Co., VIRES Energy Corp., DeEnergy International Corp., SK E&S Co. Ltd., Carmine Energy Pte. Ltd., Transformation Llc., Limay LNG Power Corp., Kepco E&C, Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Co., Osaka Gas Co. Ltd., Lloyds Energy, PhiLNG Ltd. and BKB Consortium.

Last month lawmakers and the DOE started working together to craft a law on LNG that will include, among others, an improved energy mix meant to entice private-sector investment. “We are now on the process of working with the DOE in coming up with a comprehensive LNG law that will become the ultimate framework of the LNG industry,” said Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee.

He said a law is needed to “make

Sun Life lowers GDP forecast of PHL economy to 6.4%

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

T

HE Sun Life Asset Management Co. Inc. (Slamci) said it has revised its average gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for the Philippines to 6.4 percent from 7 percent, on the back of higher-than-expected inflation.

Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. Chief Investments Officer Michael D. Enriquez said the company revised its growth forecast for the country to an average of 6.4 percent for 2018 from the original 7 percent because of the higher-thanexpected inflation print posted by the economy for the first few months of the year.

“Inflation is quite alarming and everybody is feeling inflation at the moment. Higher inflation is slowing down expectations of GDP growth,” Enriquez said during Slamci’s 2019 Market Outlook and Bright Offerings news conference at the Makati Shangri-La hotel on Tuesday.

The GDP forecast of Slamci is lower than the GDP target of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for the year of 7 percent to 8 percent. For 2019, the company expects GDP to revert to an average of 6.6 percent, as inflation is expected to normalize by next year.

“We are expecting GDP for the year to average 6.4 percent, ad-

justed lower from the 7-percent forecast,” he added.

As of August 2018, the country’s headline inflation rate increased to 6.4 percent on the back of higher food prices, coming from 5.7 percent in July, and also higher yearon-year with an inflation print of 2.6 percent.

Slamci sees headline inflation for 2018 to hit an average of 5 percent and revert to around 4.1 percent in 2019. The BSP earlier said it expects inflation to hit 4.3 percent for 2019, as well as average around 5.2 percent this year.

“Our headline inflation will average 5 percent. In 2019, we expect inflation to revert to 4.1 percent,” he said.

Neda okay with allowing foreign firms to provide internet service

By Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

T

HE national government is keen on opening the business of providing Internet services to foreign companies, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told reporters on Tuesday that providers of Internet services are not media companies and therefore, not covered by constitutional provisions.

Pernia said this was included in the proposed 11th Regular Foreign Investment Negative List (RFINL), which has been approved by the Economic Development Cluster and submitted to the President for his approval.

“The Internet is not included in the definition of [the] business of media,” Pernia said. “It really doesn’t make sense to control the Internet because there are no borders in the Internet.”

Pernia said, however, that while media companies have online components, media cannot yet be opened to foreign businesses because of the 1987 Constitution

which states that only Filipinos can own media companies.

The Neda chief said the final review of the RFINL has already been completed. The President has to approve the negative list before it is implemented.

Meanwhile, the Neda on Tuesday presented its proposed 2019 budget to the Senate in a subcommittee hearing. The Neda is seeking a budget of P8.68 billion in 2019, 5.93 percent lower than the 2018 budget.

Based on Neda data, the proposed budget for next year is P547.43 million lower than the P9.23-billion allocation given to the government’s planning agency in 2018.

The decline in the Neda budget was mainly due to a lower Office of the Secretary budget of P1.45 billion in 2019. This was a decline of 53.47 percent, or P1.67 billion lower than the P3.12 billion allotted in 2018.

Higher increases, meanwhile, were registered by the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, and the Tariff Commission at 27.97 percent, 25.71 percent and 21.27 percent, respectively.

The lion’s share of the Neda

budget is accounted for by the Philippine Statistics Authority with a proposed budget of P6.73 billion in 2019. T his was an 18.38-percent increase or P1.04 billion, from the P5.69-billion budget of PSA allocated in 2018.

The PSA is set to implement the National ID System starting this year. The PSA is allocating a budget of P4 billion to implement the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) in 2018 and 2019.

National Statistician Lisa Grace Bersales said P2 billion will be spent this year and P2 billion next year for the National ID. This is part of the P30-billion PhilSys funding for the next five years.

Of the P2 billion allocated for this year, around P1.4 billion will be spent to procure the system and P600 million will be spent for administrative costs.

The system will be procured through international competitive bidding, consistent with government procurement rules and regulations.

The remaining P2 billion allocated for 2019 will be used for actual data capture and implementation of the PhilSys.

sure the future of LNG will be viable and sustainable” because a department circular issued by the DOE may not be enough.

“The DOE is agreeable to the creation of a law because we don’t have a law now that governs LNG. It’s just a circular now. We will have a framework to regulate the importation of LNG, the terminal activities of LNG, and also the liquefaction of LNG,” Gatchalian said.

Interested LNG investors say that a capital-intensive project, such as an LNG hub, would require a clear direction from the government since investment on LNG is estimated to cost at least $1 billion. This prompted the DOE to suggest it can take the lead in the development of the LNG hub in the country in the event that none of the interested private firms pursue their interest in LNG. “They all expressed interest, but at the end of the day, we can’t force them to invest. We have no choice then, but to find a way to do it,” Pulido said.

“I think we’re going to need a law where the government can come in and be proactive. We have no guarantees that the private sector would be willing to make a risk for us,” he said.

AirAsia to continue to offer low fares on all local, intl flights

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

D

ESPITE rising fuel costs in the international market, AirAsia Philippines vowed to continue to offer low fares on its domestic and international flights, as it adopts measures to cut costs and prompt efficiencies.

Dexter Comendador, the chief executive of the airline, said his group will not impose fuel surcharge—a relief afforded to carriers to recover from volatile jet-fuel prices—on all its flights, noting it will help spur demand for travel and tourism in the Philippines.

“We are closely monitoring the impact of high oil price on our operations. However, we are also working hard to offset the sharp jet-fuel costs by adopting costefficient measures across the network or within the AirAsia Group,” Comendador said.

In September the Civil Aeronautics Board issued guidelines on the reimposition of the fuelsurcharge components on flights to and from the Philippines by Filipino carriers.

It adopted a matrix that determines the charge based on twomonths average of jet-fuel prices in its peso-per-liter equivalent.

Based on the matrix, domestic flights could add as much as P769 in its ticket prices, while international flights, as much as P9,680.

Fuel surcharge was removed from the ticket component in 2015, following record lows in jet-fuel prices in the global market. It was reintroduced following hikes in international prices.

Data from the International Air Transport Association showed jetfuel cost was at $91.65 per barrel as of September 21, up 4.68 percent from the preceding month and 28.43 percent more than the year-ago price.

Fuel accounts for over 60 percent of the carrier expenses. “To help reduce travel cost and stimulate more demand for travel and tourism, we will not be adding fuel surcharge on our fares for all domestic and international flights. We want to keep our fares low to encourage more people to travel,” Dominador said.

AirAsia currently operates a fleet of 20 aircraft with flights to and from Manila, Cebu, Clark, Davao, Tacloban, Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, Tagbilaran and Kalibo/Boracay, including international flights to Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Bali, Taipei, Singapore, Seoul/Incheon and Bangkok.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 2, 2018

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

ASIA UNITED 58.5 58.6 59 59 58.5 58.6 23500 1376550 BDO UNIBANK 119.5 119.8 120.8 121 118.2 119.5 2486790 297706987 BANK PH ISLANDS 82.35 82.4 83.5 83.55 82 82.35 879510 72356916 CHINABANK 28.45 28.5 29.2 29.2 28.45 28.45 704800 20173890 EAST WEST BANK 12.5 12.56 12.58 12.62 12.5 12.56 371100 4647912 METROBANK 67.9 67.95 67.5 67.9 66.95 67.9 2704880 183344816 PB BANK 11.12 11.76 11.74 11.76 11.74 11.76 3000 35260 PHIL NATL BANK 43 43.8 43.4 44.2 43 43 2300 100580 PSBANK 80.1 86 86.5 86.5 78 79.05 930 76807 RCBC 25.45 25.7 25.5 25.9 25.45 25.7 44800 1148840 SECURITY BANK 146.2 147.5 150 152.5 145 146.2 1009500 148915393 UNION BANK 66 66.6 66.6 66.6 66 66.5 24200 1600420.5 BDO LEASING 2.56 2.57 2.54 2.56 2.5 2.56 33000 84400 COL FINANCIAL 16.08 16.1 16.18 16.18 16.08 16.08 80700 1299846 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.27 4.28 4.07 4.3 4.07 4.3 179000 749450 FILIPINO FUND 8.59 8.97 8.59 8.59 8.59 8.59 5400 46386 IREMIT 1.67 1.78 1.62 1.79 1.62 1.78 298000 510940 MEDCO HLDG 0.51 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 12000 6360 MANULIFE 825 848 806.5 830 806 830 870 712375 PHIL STOCK EXCH 185 188.8 190 190 185 185 2590 481056 SUN LIFE 1900 1920 1870 1940 1870 1900 920 1746550 VANTAGE 1.18 1.2 1.21 1.21 1.19 1.19 15000 18010

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.26 1.27 1.29 1.32 1.26 1.26 1775000 2251530 ABOITIZ POWER 33.5 33.95 34 34 33.4 33.95 1840400 61688410 BASIC ENERGY 0.217 0.224 0.224 0.224 0.216 0.217 1650000 359020 ENERGY DEVT 7.07 7.08 7.08 7.09 7.06 7.07 2585900 18305907 FIRST GEN 16.22 16.5 16.02 16.5 16 16.5 1028100 16718036 FIRST PHIL HLDG 63.5 64 64 64 63.45 64 43180 2745164.5 PHIL H2O 4.78 4.85 4.9 4.9 4.73 4.85 95000 455760 MERALCO 341.6 342 331.8 345 330 342 247850 83911522 MANILA WATER 24 24.6 25 25 24 24 249000 6043880 PETRON 8.57 8.67 8.6 8.69 8.5 8.67 2781400 23931851 PETROENERGY 4.15 4.21 4.19 4.25 4.15 4.15 40000 168460 PHINMA ENERGY 1 1.01 1 1 1 1 599000 599000 PHX PETROLEUM 10.8 10.88 10.96 10.96 10.78 10.8 21700 234476 PILIPINAS SHELL 53.15 53.4 53.85 53.85 53.15 53.4 238830 12765785 SPC POWER 5.48 5.5 5.6 5.68 5.5 5.5 99000 545853 AGRINURTURE 18.24 18.26 18.16 18.3 18.12 18.26 1310400 23845578 CNTRL AZUCARERA 17.24 17.6 18.34 18.34 17.6 17.6 3500 61674 CENTURY FOOD 13.5 13.52 13.2 13.52 13.2 13.5 1816700 24264452 DEL MONTE 7.2 7.47 7.48 7.49 7.4 7.4 19800 148060 DNL INDUS 9.68 9.69 9.9 9.9 9.55 9.68 15624200 151142469 EMPERADOR 7.03 7.04 7.09 7.09 7.02 7.04 1266700 8931832 SMC FOODANDBEV 98 98.15 99.45 99.5 97.2 98 400480 39263566.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 1 1.01 1.03 1.04 0.98 1.01 11370000 11448490 GINEBRA 27.75 27.8 29 29 27.5 27.75 56900 1578100 JOLLIBEE 249.8 250 252.2 255 248.8 250 913210 228700450 MACAY HLDG 11.52 12.48 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5 10000 125000 MAXS GROUP 11.54 11.6 11.64 11.64 11.52 11.6 105900 1227536 MG HLDG 0.177 0.184 0.177 0.185 0.177 0.185 30000 5390 PEPSI COLA 1.8 1.83 1.81 1.85 1.8 1.8 89000 161760 SHAKEYS PIZZA 12 12.04 12 12.1 12 12 216100 2594412 ROXAS AND CO 2.4 2.42 2.46 2.51 2.42 2.42 1024000 2498810 RFM CORP 4.85 4.92 5 5 4.85 4.92 84200 412492 ROXAS HLDG 2.99 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 4000 12400 SWIFT FOODS 0.124 0.128 0.128 0.128 0.124 0.124 510000 63280 UNIV ROBINA 136 136.5 144 144 135.5 136 460780 63727098 VITARICH 1.98 1.99 2.06 2.08 1.98 1.98 9165000 18493210 VICTORIAS 2.43 2.45 2.45 2.45 2.45 2.45 10000 24500 CONCRETE A 66.8 69 67 67 67 67 130 8710 CONCRETE B 80.3 89.95 80.25 80.25 80.25 80.25 10 802.5 CEMEX HLDG 2.48 2.5 2.59 2.67 2.47 2.48 10153000 26067290 DAVINCI CAPITAL 2.33 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 6000 27000 EAGLE CEMENT 15.16 15.2 15.2 15.3 15.14 15.16 67500 1022432 EEI CORP 8.32 8.33 8.5 8.5 8.33 8.33 60300 505294 HOLCIM 6.77 6.8 6.81 6.81 6.77 6.78 255200 1,733,079( MEGAWIDE 15.2 15.22 15.98 16 15.2 15.22 1257000 19483584 PHINMA 9 9.16 9 9.16 9 9 85400 770040 TKC METALS 0.97 1 1 1 1 1 257000 257000 VULCAN INDL 2.14 2.15 2.17 2.25 2.13 2.14 12342000 27120700 CROWN ASIA 1.71 1.73 1.71 1.73 1.71 1.73 15000 25790 LMG CHEMICALS 4.82 4.96 4.82 4.82 4.82 4.82 25000 120500 PRYCE CORP 5.6 5.7 5.75 5.75 5.7 5.7 105300 602710 CONCEPCION 38 38.5 38.5 39 38.1 38.5 1356700 52215950 INTEGRATED MICR 12.56 12.6 12.4 13 12.38 12.56 913400 11497890 IONICS 1.89 1.9 1.85 1.92 1.85 1.9 684000 1288130 PANASONIC 5.58 6.34 6.37 6.37 6.34 6.34 1500 9520 SFA SEMICON 1.55 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.55 1.55 7000 11030 CIRTEK HLDG 33.55 33.9 33.8 34 33.75 33.9 485600 16453045

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.42 0.425 0.43 0.435 0.42 0.42 9870000 4200600 ASIABEST GROUP 26.8 26.95 26.95 28 26.7 27 57000 1556780 AYALA CORP 910 925 910 925 901 925 235780 215208700 ABOITIZ EQUITY 47 47.9 48.25 48.25 46.15 47.9 1307800 61445755 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 12.12 12.14 12.48 12.48 12.06 12.14 3228000 39198776 ANSCOR 6.11 6.14 6.1 6.11 6.1 6.11 13000 79400 ATN HLDG A 1.3 1.31 1.3 1.33 1.3 1.31 6057000 7952420 ATN HLDG B 1.3 1.32 1.31 1.33 1.29 1.32 2266000 2972490 COSCO CAPITAL 5.84 5.87 5.9 5.98 5.8 5.84 1786700 10441858 DMCI HLDG 11.52 11.8 11.7 11.8 11.22 11.8 8208800 96464872 FILINVEST DEV 7.02 7.2 7 7 7 7 4900 34300 GT CAPITAL 798.5 800 815.5 815.5 797.5 800 124370 99422625 HOUSE OF INV 6.04 6.11 6.5 7.8 6.04 6.04 51300 329869 JG SUMMIT 51.5 52 53.8 53.8 51.5 51.5 1006660 52306806 LODESTAR 0.55 0.57 0.57 0.57 0.55 0.57 4000 2240 LOPEZ HLDG 4.37 4.39 4.49 4.49 4.33 4.39 416000 1812860 LT GROUP 14.62 14.88 15 15.2 14.4 14.62 5233600 77034048 MABUHAY HLDG 0.56 0.57 0.57 0.59 0.56 0.57 1573000 887950 METRO PAC INV 4.66 4.69 4.74 4.74 4.56 4.69 19715000 91802230 PACIFICA 0.038 0.039 0.04 0.04 0.038 0.038 2100000 80100 PRIME ORION 2.44 2.45 2.46 2.48 2.41 2.44 581000 1416390 PRIME MEDIA 1.21 1.24 1.21 1.26 1.21 1.24 289000 359050 SOLID GROUP 1.38 1.42 1.43 1.43 1.38 1.38 102000 141220 SM INVESTMENTS 871 875 881 882 870 875 455700 398613990 SAN MIGUEL CORP 169.5 170 173 173 169.8 170 251290 42921229 SOC RESOURCES 0.76 0.82 0.76 0.82 0.76 0.82 50000 40780 TOP FRONTIER 278 281 280 281 279 281 2030 567650 WELLEX INDUS 0.255 0.26 0.27 0.275 0.26 0.26 2960000 774750 ZEUS HLDG 0.19 0.2 0.214 0.215 0.214 0.215 200000 42900

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.64 0.65 0.65 0.66 0.64 0.64 688000 445040 ANCHOR LAND 11.5 12 11.98 12 11.98 12 1700 20368 AYALA LAND 39.25 39.3 40.6 40.6 39 39.3 11436200 451009615 ARANETA PROP 2.05 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.06 20000 41200 BELLE CORP 2.44 2.45 2.41 2.49 2.39 2.44 1492000 3637430 A BROWN 0.83 0.84 0.88 0.88 0.84 0.84 963000 816300 CITYLAND DEVT 0.91 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.91 0.93 80000 72860 CROWN EQUITIES 0.221 0.232 0.235 0.235 0.221 0.232 1530000 341300 CEBU HLDG 5.27 5.37 5.25 5.29 5.25 5.27 160000 842920 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.31 4.34 4.34 4.4 4.34 4.34 37000 160640 CENTURY PROP 0.435 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.435 0.44 2270000 997600 DOUBLEDRAGON 19.26 19.34 19.2 19.5 19.2 19.26 262100 5050392 DM WENCESLAO 8.34 8.35 8.3 8.35 8.28 8.35 64400 537122 EMPIRE EAST 0.55 0.56 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.55 59000 32450 FILINVEST LAND 1.43 1.44 1.44 1.46 1.42 1.43 5035000 7264310 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.1 1.15 1.11 1.12 1.09 1.1 1213000 1338530 8990 HLDG 7.11 7.22 7.29 7.36 7.1 7.22 549800 3980067 IRC PROP 2.48 2.49 2.43 2.54 2.36 2.48 26198000 64,666,460( CITY AND LAND 0.93 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 100000 94000 MEGAWORLD 4.16 4.17 4.38 4.38 4.16 4.16 13088000 55141220 MRC ALLIED 0.62 0.63 0.62 0.64 0.62 0.62 28444000 17896710 PHIL ESTATES 0.44 0.445 0.455 0.455 0.44 0.445 750000 330600 PRIMEX CORP 3.86 3.99 3.98 4 3.85 3.99 798000 3134390 ROBINSONS LAND 19.9 20 20.25 20.25 19.6 20 864600 17213151 ROCKWELL 1.93 1.94 1.95 1.99 1.9 1.93 156000 304450 SHANG PROP 3.17 3.19 3.2 3.2 3.19 3.19 38000 121290 STA LUCIA LAND 1.09 1.11 1.17 1.17 1.1 1.11 4580000 5091980 SM PRIME HLDG 33.85 33.9 35.4 35.4 33.5 33.85 19400400 663366435 STARMALLS 6.35 6.45 6.6 6.6 6.35 6.45 223400 1437792 SUNTRUST HOME 0.75 0.78 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 48000 36000 VISTA LAND 5.98 6 6.05 6.09 5.98 6 1722900 10360365

SERVICES ABS CBN 21.75 21.8 21.8 22.1 21.5 21.75 19800 431655 GMA NETWORK 5.32 5.37 5.36 5.37 5.32 5.37 112400 600572 GLOBE TELECOM 2174 2200 2200 2208 2160 2200 34745 76365890 PLDT 1388 1399 1409 1409 1380 1399 45080 62782900 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.042 0.044 0.041 0.044 0.04 0.044 15400000 616500 DFNN INC 8.42 8.7 8.4 8.4 8.4 8.4 12100 101640 IMPERIAL 1.95 2.08 1.95 2.08 1.95 2.08 15000 29380 ISLAND INFO 0.115 0.116 0.116 0.116 0.116 0.116 290000 33640 ISM COMM 2.42 2.45 2.47 2.47 2.3 2.45 6814000 16230930 JACKSTONES 3.17 3.35 3.35 3.38 3.19 3.36 52000 169890 NOW CORP 7.4 7.45 7.24 7.47 7.23 7.4 1557600 11423005 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.57 0.58 0.57 0.58 0.56 0.58 25384000 14528170 PHILWEB 4.21 4.26 4.3 4.3 4.16 4.27 362000 1527500 2GO GROUP 10.9 11 11.2 11.2 10.9 11 10900 120010 CEBU AIR 67 67.15 66.1 67.85 66.1 67.15 306630 20395341.5 CHELSEA 5.46 5.5 5.52 5.53 5.46 5.5 626800 3442221 INTL CONTAINER 91.8 94.15 92 94.65 90.6 94.15 562700 52025247.5 LBC EXPRESS 14.2 14.5 14.2 14.2 14.2 14.2 200 2840 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.92 0.95 0.95 0.95 0.95 0.95 1000 950 MACROASIA 16.2 16.24 16.2 16.66 15.98 16.2 1239100 20049382 METROALLIANCE A 1.49 1.5 1.54 1.54 1.44 1.5 31000 45670 METROALLIANCE B 1.4 1.55 1.55 1.65 1.55 1.65 19000 29550 PAL HLDG 8.27 8.67 8.67 8.67 8.67 8.67 2000 17340 HARBOR STAR 2.69 2.7 2.75 2.82 2.7 2.7 1458000 4033580 ACESITE HOTEL 1.4 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.43 5000 7150 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.063 0.064 0.063 0.064 0.061 0.063 21360000 1340640 WATERFRONT 0.66 0.67 0.68 0.69 0.65 0.67 2054000 1363500 CENTRO ESCOLAR 8 8.29 8.15 8.15 8.15 8.15 100 815 IPEOPLE 12.24 12.62 13.2 14.8 12.12 12.24 167300 2251668 STI HLDG 0.9 0.91 0.9 0.95 0.89 0.91 24450000 22599690 BERJAYA 1.88 1.89 1.96 1.97 1.89 1.89 4798000 9144530 BLOOMBERRY 8.2 8.23 8.4 8.4 8.1 8.2 9677900 79200403 PACIFIC ONLINE 10.7 11 11 11 11 11 2000 22000 LEISURE AND RES 3.61 3.64 3.66 3.66 3.61 3.64 426000 1547980 MANILA JOCKEY 5.59 5.6 5.84 5.91 5.6 5.6 375900 2177723 MELCO RESORTS 7.02 7.04 7.01 7.14 7 7.02 8461900 59444119 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.85 0.86 0.85 0.86 0.84 0.85 4188000 3550570 TRAVELLERS 5.19 5.2 5.18 5.2 5.16 5.19 1859500 9645122 METRO RETAIL 2.38 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.39 2.4 145000 347790 PUREGOLD 43 43.15 44.5 45 42.55 43.15 1666800 71986925 ROBINSONS RTL 80.65 81.8 79.8 81.8 79.3 81.8 702120 56256028 PHIL SEVEN CORP 99.2 99.5 99 100 99 99.5 145920 14446858 SSI GROUP 2.23 2.25 2.22 2.27 2.22 2.23 5526000 12376320 WILCON DEPOT 10.6 10.88 11.08 11.08 10.54 10.6 5866600 63642236 APC GROUP 0.465 0.475 0.475 0.48 0.465 0.475 970000 456250 EASYCALL 22.45 22.5 22.95 22.95 22.5 22.5 35400 799520 GOLDEN BRIA 301.4 312.8 310 313 303 312.8 7450 2302676 IPM HLDG 7.7 7.79 7.75 7.75 7.75 7.75 5000 38750 PAXYS 3.04 3.29 3.05 3.3 3.04 3.3 35000 106680 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.37 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.37 0.37 500000 186750 SBS PHIL CORP 7.45 7.5 7.8 7.8 7.5 7.5 294100 2225182

MINING & OIL ATOK 16.42 18.4 18.4 18.4 18.4 18.4 100 1840 APEX MINING 1.46 1.48 1.47 1.5 1.45 1.48 2302000 3370130 ABRA MINING 0.0023 0.0024 0.0023 0.0025 0.0023 0.0024 319000000 772300 ATLAS MINING 2.95 3 3.01 3.01 2.95 3 208000 624240 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.29 0.3 0.295 0.295 0.295 0.295 100000 29500 CENTURY PEAK 1.93 1.94 1.93 1.93 1.92 1.93 194000 373700 DIZON MINES 7.14 7.17 7.16 7.2 7.15 7.16 3500 25178 FERRONICKEL 1.83 1.85 1.85 1.85 1.8 1.85 924000 1691460 GEOGRACE 0.205 0.206 0.206 0.208 0.205 0.206 100000 20610 LEPANTO A 0.109 0.114 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 570000 62130 LEPANTO B 0.113 0.115 0.111 0.115 0.111 0.115 600000 66640 MANILA MINING A 0.007 0.0077 0.007 0.0071 0.007 0.007 37000000 260000 MARCVENTURES 1.23 1.25 1.23 1.25 1.23 1.25 13000 16150 NIHAO 1.1 1.14 1.15 1.18 1.1 1.14 35000 40520 NICKEL ASIA 4.33 4.36 4.3 4.39 4.3 4.35 449000 1937770 OMICO CORP 0.67 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.66 0.68 173000 117350 ORNTL PENINSULA 1.12 1.13 1.12 1.15 1.12 1.12 438000 494040 PX MINING 3.28 3.3 3.31 3.34 3.28 3.28 917000 3028500 SEMIRARA MINING 24.5 24.65 26 26.15 24.45 24.5 2611800 65015940 ORNTL PETROL A 0.013 0.014 0.013 0.014 0.013 0.014 34000000 442600 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 61800000 741600 PHINMA PETRO 3.5 3.55 3.45 3.59 3.45 3.55 44000 153140 PXP ENERGY 16.12 16.14 15.82 16.32 15.58 16.12 4760600 76582168

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

95.2 481 491 99 981 101 461 490 905 1.02 100 102.2 1020 75.05 76 72.25 73.3 74.9 73.1 72.75

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

18.8 5.11 2.31

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 5.33 MAKATI FINANCE 1.65 XURPAS 2.31

107

5355 -9629065 -6373380 -9102264 79400 434350 1103095 26031240 9800 -40865340 -18560788 -538930 4645442 24640 -4126960 -123420 533290 -2815957 -2650 54600 -51901360 -37080 141930 -86800 -4400 -1486950 4183220 -264284 2,775,210.0002) -18001430 -100800 -39610 -5691987 54200 -98890 -292732405 -329060 -8704619 37177730 -2551735 -0 211590 -14820 -95760 175269.9999 16500 10636488.5002 5500 5200900.5 665237.9997 -299620 -66150 -290660 -4333170 90310 -12654493 -237920 -1249523 -48733941 -797520 -15570 14420 6562880 8954320.5 -51980 2853720 13145802 -1693436 -413628 146000 -35960 -25090 -247690 -65490 -1100 -540350 -522330 -37884495 13325298

95.5 485 495 99.9 995 101.1 480 490 906 1.04 103.5 103.1 1040 75.5 78.1 75 75.45 75 75 75

95.5 485 495 100 1000 101.1 480 490 906 1.04 103.5 103.1 1040 75.5 78.1 75.25 75.45 75 75 75

95.4 485 495 99.9 995 101 480 490 905 1.04 103.5 103 1040 75.05 76.1 74.5 75 74.95 73.7 73.45

95.5 485 495 100 1000 101 480 490 905 1.04 103.5 103 1040 75.05 76.1 75 75 75 75 75

890 1690 340 25900 2620 2000 1000 10000 4110 16000 30 180 105 2370 66480 108410 47200 3690 119600 95840

84976.5 819650 168300 2588708 2614110 202010 480000 4900000 3719660 16640 3105 18548 109200 178125 5095727 8123750 3542925 276675 8935100 7169200

-1258248.5 -

20.6 5.13

19 5.13

19 5.13

18.8 5.13

18.8 5.13

50600 81600

956972 418608

-956972 -418608

2.38

2.37

2.39

2.3

2.37

94000

220210

-116710

5.34 2.85 2.32

5.28 - 2.25

5.45 - 2.39

5.28 - 2.25

5.33 - 2.31

921600 - 2740000

4945301 - 6376200

3847 -356550

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

-459520 9395870 -733662 -1363756 -206312 44911888 885785 17128331 3307743 1683 5093832 22155528 -9436365 -304596 7271326.5 -100430 -13406142 -736460 -45570 -922506 103364.9997 974802 -7345560 -9223240 -147060 1,242,360.9997) -12598534 63700 10320 -57000 -2138650 5492618 -231360 -979385

96 485 502 99.9 1000 103 - 495 969.5 1.04 101 109.7 1044 75.5 77 75 75 75 75 75

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1361904 40841808 -20819117.5 -7372670 -1562746 19484450.5 9080 -577710 -57481870 -151968 5040 -

107.5

108.2

108.2

107

107

33710

3630874

-

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Korean firm bids for operation of Malaya thermal power plant

S

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

OOSAN ENS Co. Ltd. of Korea is the lone bidder for the oneyear operation and maintenance service contract (OMSC) for the 650-megawatt (MW) Malaya thermal power plant (TPP).

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM) said Soosan ENS submitted a bid offer of P208.74 billion

for the contract of Malaya TPP. The bid offer is within the approved budget for the contract amounting P213 million.

Per the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 9184, also known as Government Procurement Reform Act, Soosan ENS needs to undergo post-qualification evaluation before the contract can be awarded.

The OMSC contract is good for one year.

T he M a l ay a T PP i s be i ng managed by PSALM through an

OMSC. Located in Pililla, Rizal, the Malaya TPP was designated as a must-run unit (MRU) by the Department of Energy in 2014.

As an MRU, it is compelled to run and provide the needed power supply as deemed necessary in order to ensure reliability of power supply in the Luzon grid, particularly in times of supply shortfall, system security and voltage support.

In 1995 it was rehabilitated by Korea Electric Power Corp. under a 15-year rehabilitate-operatemanage-maintain agreement.

Megaworld to spend ₧500M for boutique hotel in Bacolod

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

P

ROPERTY developer Megaworld Corp. said it is spending P500 million to build a boutique hotel inside its 34-hectare Upper East township in Bacolod City.

To be designed by renowned heritage architect and conservationist Dominic Galicia, the hotel will have the old structures undergo “adaptive reuse” to form part of its complex.

“The entire hotel complex is anchored in the oldest structure, and it expands from this like wings, with the Ballroom Wing to the left, and the Guest Room Wing to the right. As a landmark of Bacolod, it will express the noble intent of remembering and anchoring in a glorious past as we move towards what we dream to be a glorious future,” Galicia said.

Galicia was the architect of the redesigned building of the National Museum of Natural History in Manila, which opened late last year.

The company said the hotel will have 48 suites, an all-day dining restaurant, café, courtyard, swimming pool and pool deck, fitness center, lanai, and its own Zabana Bar, the company’s signature hotelbar concept.

The hotel ballroom, which will

be connected to a tropical garden, will become the city’s biggest hotel ballroom facility that can fit around 1,000 guests in a banquet setting. It can also be divided into three separate ballrooms for smaller event requirements.

The hotel’s main lobby will be a retrofitted heritage house that used to be the old “guest house” inside the Bacolod-Murcia Milling Co. compound. Beside it will be another wing that used to house the guest rooms for visitors, which will be converted into a ballroom facility.

“This luxury boutique hotel will be another landmark in Upper East.

The hotel will be a perfect venue for conventions, weddings and memorable celebrations as it integrates an outdoor garden setting into its ballroom facility. Megaworld is keen on helping boost the MICE [meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions] tourism industry of Bacolod,” said Rachelle Peñaflorida, vice president for sales and marketing of Megaworld Bacolod.

The hotel is expected to be completed in 2022.

Megaworld also announced it is upgrading its first residential condominium development, One Regis, by adding more amenities, residential floors and parking facilities.

UNILAB WINS IDC AWARDS

Unilab Inc., the Philippines’s largest pharmaceutical company, was named the winner of the IDC Digital Transformation Awards 2018 in the Operating Model Master category. Its entry, titled “Unilab Implements NetSuite OneWorld to Transform B2B Operations,” showcased how Unilab was able to streamline its B2B health-care distribution channel by replacing a 15-year-old locally developed application with NetSuite OneWorld. Unilab will be one of the companies that will compete against the other winners in the Asia-Pacific region (except Japan) in the finals that will take place in Singapore on October 24 and 25.

briefs

JOLLIBEE TO OPEN 50 STORES IN H.K., MACAU BY 2023

JOLLIBEE Foods Corp. on Tuesday said it targets to open 50 of its flagship stores in Macau and Hong Kong over the next five years, targeting mostly Filipino communities. Last week the company opened its first store in Macau. Like in the Philippines, Jollibee has succeeded in the taste and preference of markets, such as Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Hong Kong, it said. VG Cabuag

CITY OF DREAMS MANILA DEFERS DELISTING MOVES

MELCO Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp., the operator of the City of Dreams Manila, on Tuesday said it is deferring its delisting efforts from the Philippine Stock Exchange. The company was supposed to start its tender offer for all of the holders of its shares on Wednesday, October 3. VG Cabuag

MUTUAL FUNDS

October 2, 2018

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 245.81 -13% -0.17% 1.31% -16.16% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.3933 -14.54% 4.79% 2.38% -12.74% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 3.8229 -13.33% 1.3% 0.27% -16.76% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.8754 -13.03% N.A. N.A. -13.92% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. * ********* 0.8078 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 5.1142 -10.76% -1.18% 0.67% -14.95% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * ****** 116.72 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.8151 -16.42% N.A. N.A. -17.89% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 47.8017 -11.53% 0.86% N.A. -15.23% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 497.2 -12.7% -0.55% 0.04% -15.51% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.2243 -9.74% 1.26% N.A. -12.82% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 35.6625 -9.25% 1.82% 3.16% -13.22% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 4.8058 -11.45% 1.56% 3.23% -15.3% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 802.08 -11.43% 1.33% 2.97% -15.19% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8299 -11.31% -1.09% N.A. -14.19% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 3.958 -10.13% 1.16% 1.7% -13.58% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 0.9253 -11.68% 1.39% N.A. -15.37% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.3984 -8.09% 2.37% 1.48% -12.73% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* *** 107.2731 -10.93% 2.55% N.A. -14.83% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $1.0169 -2.02% 5.74% 1.33% -8.25% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.3053 9.36% N.A. N.A. 3.17% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.6257 -10.53% -2.74% -1.64% -12.76% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.1764 -9.33% 0.37% 0.47% -11.42% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.4891 -7.82% -2.78% -2.24% -10.14% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* **** 1.2923 -9.63% N.A. N.A. -11.18% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.8093 -6.51% 0.4% 0.5% -9.19% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.4375 -10.6% -1.39% -0.63% -12.27% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 15.4317 -10.68% -1.36% -0.65% -12.11% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* ******** 2.0278 -7.8% 0.28% 1.96% -9.56% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.5935 -7.67% -0.17% 0.55% -10.08% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.917 -7.63% -0.44% N.A. -10.12% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.03506 -2.64% -0.01% 2.21% -2.88% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9851 -2.18% 4.42% -0.27% -5.91% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.6871 5.4% 6.89% 3.75% 0.95% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.0955 0.64% N.A. N.A. -1.5% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 341.54 1.49% 1.78% 1.74% 1.31% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ******* 1.8578 -2.5% -1.1% -0.23% -1.82% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9364 5.53% 5.31% 5.35% 4.05% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1188 -0.16% 1.04% 1.09% 0.79% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2158 -0.09% -0.01% 0.4% -0.02% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.5755 -2.23% -1.51% -1.35% -2.11% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.8147 -7.03% -1.97% -0.96% -5.81% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.4667 -0.58% -0.49% 0.13% -1.09% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.8795 -5.72% -2.22% N.A. -4.73% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.7601 -0.25% 0.15% 0.44% -0.61% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.532 -1.17% -0.38% -0.21% -1.14% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $445.52 0.25% 2.32% 3.16% -0.09% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є213.25 0.5% 1.4% 1.67% -0.22% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1209 -0.94% 1.06% 1.83% -1.16% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0248 -0.8% 0.82% N.A. -0.8% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.6997 -4.34% -0.06% 1.49% -4.05% 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* $1.0303 -4.5% -1.23% -2.59% -4.02% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1693 -3.1% 1.09% 2.81% -3.63% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0568809 -0.9% 0.97% 2.05% -0.56% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8932 -4.06% 0.91% 1.97% -3.97% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 119.82 2.26% 1.65% 1.44% 1.88% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1733 1.69% 0.35% 0.37% 1.37% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2086 2.41% 2.13% 1.38% 1.95% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* ***** $1.0108 N.A. N.A. N.A. 1.21%

* - 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

WB has $496M for Ompong sites

T

By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

HE World Bank has released a $496.25-million loan for recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in areas affected by Typhoon Ompong (international code name Mangkhut).

In a statement, the World Bank said the funds will be accessed from the contingent line of credit, the Second Disaster Risk Management Development Policy Loan with a Catastrophe-Deferred Drawdown Option (CAT-DDO 2), which would have ended on September 30, but was extended.

The funds will help families and communities recover, reconstruct vital infrastructure (such as roads, bridges, schools and hospitals), and restore basic social services.

“Natural disasters can exacerbate poverty through loss of lives, livelihood, property and infrastructure,

and can roll back years of development gains. They disproportionately disrupt the lives of poor and vulnerable people, particularly women, the elderly and children. We want them to know the Bank supports the country’s efforts to address their needs,” said the bank’s statement.

Approved by World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on December 22, 2015, the CAT-DDO 2 gives the Philippines immediate liquidity to recover from a natural disaster. This instrument also comes with technical assistance to support the government’s disaster risk reduction and management efforts.

Federalism is alive

W

E must continue the public discussions on federalism because this move to change the fundamental structure of our government is quite alive, even if the pace appears to have slowed down. In fact, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is now introducing her own version of a federal government structure.

The implications of federalism in whatever version have far-reaching consequences, so we should not tire of getting to understand the federalism proposals in their entirety. Whether we agree or not, wholly or partly, with the draft Constitution prepared by the Reynato Puno Consultative Committee, (the Con-com), this draft has greatly helped identify the major elements of the federalism concept we should be studying and thinking about.

So, let us proceed to highlight one Article of the draft.

The Transitory Provisions (Article XXII) of the Con-com draft has brought to fore the equal importance of how the change to federalism is to be implemented, not just what the final federal configuration might be.

Let’s read excerpts from the Con-com draft: “Article XXII. Transitory Provisions.

“SECTION 1. (a) For an orderly transition to the new system of government as provided for in

FINEX FREE ENTERPRISE Santiago F. Dumlao Jr. the Constitution, there shall be created a Federal Transition Commission, composed of the following members: 1) The President, who shall be the Federal Transition Commission Chairman; and 2) Ten (10) members… (b) There shall be a search committee to be headed by the Chairperson of the Federal Civil Service Commission, and four (4) other members representing the academe, business, marginalized sectors, and women. The President shall appoint the members of the committee. The President shall appoint the members of the Federal Transition Commission.

“SECTION 2. The Federal Transition Commission shall have the following powers and duties: To formulate and adopt a transition plan for the orderly shift to the new system of government; To organize and reorganize and fully establish the Federal Government and government of the Federated Regions in accordance with the

National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Undersecretary for Regional Development Adoracion M. Navarro told reporters the loan validity of the CAT-DDO 2 has already been extended.

The World Bank said the CATDDO 2 has been renewed to extend the availability of the contingent credit line until September 30, 2021.

The drawdown period for the CAT-DDO 2 is three years and is renewable up to four times for a total of 15 years. Amounts repaid during the drawdown period are available for subsequent withdrawal.

“It gives a government immediate access to funds after a major natural disaster, a time when available funds are often not adequate to meet the needs for reconstruction and recovery,” the World Bank said.

The Washington-based lender said other CAT-DDOs approved were in the Latin America and Caribbean region, including Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and Peru.

On average, more than 1,000 lives

are lost every year in the Philippines, with typhoons accounting for 74 percent of the fatalities, 62 percent of the total damages and 70 percent of agricultural damages.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), over 700,000 families, or close to 3 million people, have been affected by the storm.

The NDRRMC has estimated the direct damage to infrastructure and agriculture at P33.6 billion, or around $623 million.

There were 138 injured and 68 dead in the regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Calabarzon, Mimaropa and the National Capital Region.

Typhoon Ompong has particularly caused widespread destruction in the regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and CAR. With a combined population of more than 21 million, these regions are among the country’s important producers of rice, corn, vegetables, livestock and poultry.

Constitution; and To exercise all powers necessary and proper to ensure a smooth, speedy, and successful transition.

“SECTION 3. The transition plan shall include the respective transition plans for the different branches of the Federal Government, the independent Constitutional Commissions, the Federated Regions, and other component units.

“SECTION 8: All officials of the government under the 1987 Constitution shall continue to hold their office and exercise their respective powers and duties under such terms and conditions as may be provided in the transition plan.”

The grant of such extensive powers to the Federal Transition Commission is a poison pill.

This commission can organize, reorganize and fully establish not just the Federal Government but the Federated Regional Governments.

All existing government positions, national or local, can be reorganized out of existence. All existing government officials shall continue to hold office and exercise their powers and duties—but only under such terms and conditions as may be provided in the transition plan, that is, as the Transition Commission so prescribes, Wow! What power! And who appoints the 10 members of the Transition Commission? The President! As a

proper procedure, there shall be a five-member Search Committee to recommend the members to be appointed in the Transition Commission. And who appoints the members of the Search Committee? The President! And, who is Chairman of the Federal Transition Committee? The President!

The Transitory Provisions of the Con-com draft provide the excellent scenario for the exercise of toxic dictatorial powers to be legitimated by a plebiscite to transition to a federal structure of government. I think we would be yielding too much power to one man in a grand gesture of emasculation, even abdication, of citizens’ power.

And there’s no appeal or review process for what the Federal Transition Commission might decide or prescribe.

But wait. There’s more. In Article XXI, Amendments or Revision, Section 4 states: “The democratic and republican character of the government, its federal structure, its indissolubility and permanence shall not be subject to amendments or revisions.” (Emphasis supplied). Now, how can a Constitution ordained by the people mandate its own irreplaceable character, in whole or in part, if the very people who have the inherent authority and right to do so wish later to amend or revise the federal structure?

Enough for now.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

B3

Microinsurance-covered Filipinos’ number rises by 28.59% in H1–IC

T

HE number of Filipinos covered by microinsurance grew to 36.55 million for the first six months of the year, from 28.42 million reported in the same period for 2017, the Insurance Commission (IC) has reported.

Preliminary data based on the quarterly reports submitted to the IC showed that the number of individuals covered by microinsurance further grew as of the end of the first half of the year by 28.59 percent.

“As of end-June this year, the number of individuals covered by some form of microinsurance protection increased to 36.55 million, with the mutual benefit associations sector as the consistent front-runner in terms of number of lives covered and premium production,” said Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa.

With 58.59 percent of market share in terms of number of individuals covered, the mutual benefit association (MBA) sector covered 21.45 million individuals as of end-June. This was a 24.12-percent increase from the 17.28 million members reported to be covered by microinsurance by MBA in the same period last year.

“We also saw a significant increase in the number of insured covered by the life insurance sector to 11.45 million lives covered as of end-June, up by 37.58 percent from 8.32 million during the same period last year.

The nonlife insurance sector likewise recorded a 29.31-percent increase in the number of individuals covered by microinsurance to 3.65 million from 2.82 million year-on-year,” Funa added.

The IC said an increase of 12.47 percent was reported in terms of

premium productions and contributions from microinsurance amounting to P3.71 billion as of the first semester this year, from P3.30 billion in the same period last year.

Based on the sector’s performance report as of end-June 2018, the MBAs accounted for 59.30 percent of the total premium production amounting to P2.20 billion, followed by the life insurance sector with 29.51 percent or P1.10 billion, and the nonlife insurance sector with 11.19 percent totaling P415.30 million.

According to the IC, a total of 42 companies are actively engaged in providing microinsurance products in the country, composed of 22 MBAs, 11 life insurance companies and nine nonlife insurance companies.

“The consistent growth in the number of lives insured and premium production demonstrates the effectiveness of the microinsurance scheme in providing insurance solutions to everybody, especia l ly to the low-income households,” he said.

Earlier, Philippine American Life and General Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) and Allianz PNB Life Insurance Inc. both announced their respective plans in venturing into the microinsurance business.

“And we are pleased that more insurance companies are expressing their interest in developing new microinsurance products to help narrow the country’s protection gap,” he added.

Microinsurance products are affordable insurance products that aim to protect low-income earners from contingent events in exchange for premium payments. Rea Cu

B4 Wednesday, October 3, 2018

THE SUN WILL SHINE AGAIN AT THE MANOR

T

AKE a look at Baguio after the storm. Yes, there were floods, casualties and wreckage. After three days Baguio has changed, but cities everywhere were also affected. The onset of climate change, disasters and natural calamities affected every body.

Baguio is still accessible to its loyal and avid fans. It is a resilient city that has withstood earthquakes and countless storms. One reason is because it was not left isolated by the rest of its followers. Calamities may come and go, but the real disaster is to forget a city

that brought good memories to us. The sun is shining again in Baguio. Let’s see what’s there to discover again.

The Manor at Camp John Hay for one is still there. They were prepared for the storm. All amenities are still there.

You can still enjoy your favorite buffet, walk in the garden, listen to live music and stroll in the sprawling grounds.

The hotel is as resilient as the staff who always provide excellent service to all the guests. Worth going back to even more, it has even doubled its charm.

The Manor chose to maintain its

histor ic architecture that proved to be sturdy. Once inside, you will be delighted to discover that all the comforts you need are within reach. It is up to date with a Wi-fi and generators.

You can relax while you sip your coffee or hot chocolate at the café. You can also enjoy a massage service. Room service is available should you wish to hole up in your room.

You can still choose to walk amid the aromatic pine trees in Camp John Hay. The pine trees are still there and are a testament to the continuity of life. Yes, life is what matters after the storm. It is not money, beauty, strength that will keep your favorite vacation spot alive. It is your continuing belief in going back to keep the memory alive.

The Manor has a lot of loyal followers and these same followers will keep the hotel going strong. It’s service as usual in The Manor at Camp John Hay. Do you want to go back to your favorite vacation spot?

Rediscover the resilient Baguio on your next visit.

Come back and make more good memories at The Manor at Loakan Road, Baguio City. For inquiries and reservations, visit their web site at http://www. campjohnhayhotels.ph.

NEW APPOINTMENTS Canadian Ambassador John Holmes welcomes Benedicto Sison (left), chief executive officer (CEO) and country head of Sun Life Financial Philippines, replacing Rizalina Mantaring (centre) who recently retired. Mantaring is now the chairman of the Sun Life Financial Philippine Holding Co. Inc. and the Sun Life Foundation. ”I am pleased to welcome Benedict Sison as the new Sun Life Financial Philippines CEO, and I congratulate Riza Mantaring on her retirement and her new roles in Sun Life Philippines. The Embassy of Canada looks forward to continue our collaborative work on our shared priorities— economic growth, corporate social responsibility and good governance.” Sun Life is a leading Canadian global financial-service company based in Toronto. It has been offering insurance and other financial security products in the Philippines since 1895.

PHLPOST OPENS 10TH COUNTER AT SM SOUTHMALL

T

HE Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost) opened its newest postal counter at SM Government Services Express (GSE) Southmall on September 21.

SM Southmall and government agencies’ representatives led the opening of the GSE counter. This is a scheme to extend the government services to the citizens and taxpayers. Government agencies, including PHLPost, will now be more accessible from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

PHLPost will allow the public and

mallgoers to enjoy the convenience of sending letters and parcels, and availing themselves of other postal products and services seven days a week, during mall hours.

PHLPost is grateful to the SM management for supporting the continuing expansion of PHLPost and ensuring that its varied services will be made accessible to consumers of the said mall. The 10th postal counter, as of date, is on the lower-ground level, near Casa Medica, of SM Southmall.

JOINT VENTURE The Office Cowork+Life is the largest and unique provider of Workspace at Your Service in the central business district of Bonifacio Global City. It has flexible serviced office and coworking space combined, which is a perfect fit for startups, SMEs, as well as huge corporate companies. In photo are (seated, from right) The Office Cowork+Life cofounder and Vice President Kogie Angeles, Network for Enterprising Women founding President Myren Garcia, May Tiburcio de Vera (owner of Sweet Blooms), (standing, from right) Mode Devi Managing Director Ana Manansala, The Office Cowork+Life Business Center Manager Melanie Aquino and Mode Devi Marketing Director Ruby Asoy Lebajo.

NO NEED TO PANIC? S

By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press

AINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France—This is no time for the Americans to panic about the Ryder Cup. The goal that came out of the Ryder Cup Task Force in late 2014 was to have a winning record over the next 10 matches. So even after another thorough beating by Europe at Le Golf National, the Americans still have 16 years before deciding if they’re on the right path.

One week in the suburbs of Paris felt like they were going in circles around the Arc de Triomphe.

They had the strongest team based on the nine players who had experience winning major championships. They had the strongest team considering all 12 were among the top 25 players in the world ranking.

They didn’t stand a chance against Europe, which registered a 17 1/2-10 1/2 victory. Only four times since 1979 has the Ryder Cup been decided by seven points or more, and Europe won three of them.

Starting with the Friday afternoon sweep of the foursomes sessions, Europe won eight consecutive matches at one point and built a 10-6 lead that was too much for the Americans to overcome on a golf course with tight fairways and thick rough, and before more than 50,000 people ready to celebrate any shot that hit the green.

Europe dominated the singles, just like they did nearly every session. Even the lone session the Americans won required a little luck when Tony Finau’s tee shot hit the wooden plank on the edge of the water at the 16th hole and plopped down three feet away.

It’s easy to criticize the Americans after another loss.

Tiger Woods went 0-4, shut out for the first time in his eight appearances in the Ryder Cup. “That’s four points to the European team,” Woods said.

PATRICK REED: The issue’s obviously with Jordan not wanting to play with me. AP

“And I’m one of the contributing factors to why we lost the cup. And it’s not a lot of fun.”

He now has a 13-21-3 record in the Ryder Cup and briefly tied the record for most losses in Ryder Cup history.

The good news for Woods is that Phil Mickelson was still on the golf course. Mickelson also got shut out, playing only two matches at Le Golf National and losing them both, giving him a record of 18-22-7.

The second one stung the most because it was the official cup-clincher for Europe.

Francesco Molinari, the star of these matches, capped off his 5-0 week by beating Mickelson in singles.

Mickelson had to win the last three holes to earn a halve, and instead hit his tee shot into the water on the 16th and immediately removed his cap.

The celebration was on, and it sounded familiar.

“It’s difficult to talk about it because it means so much to me over the years, and I did not play well this year,” said Mickelson, who built his year around winning the US Open to complete the career Grand Slam and winning the Ryder Cup on European soil, neither of which he had ever accomplished.”

That remains the case.

In the US Open, he is remembered for whacking a moving ball with his putter out of frustration at Shinnecock Hills. In the Ryder Cup, he is remembered losing the match that officially gave Europe the points it needed to win.

“This could very well, realistically, be my last one,” he said.

Mickelson is an easy target, but some of his words are worth heeding. He gave credit to Europe, and how could he not?

Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood were unbeatable, becoming only the second tandem since this format began in 1979 to win all their team matches. European captain Thomas Bjorn used his wild-card selections on Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia, neither of whom had won a tournament this year. They combined to go 6-1.

Sports BusinessMirror

C1

The other two picks were for Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, who went 3-3-1.

Three of US captain Jim Furyk’s picks didn’t win a match. Woods, Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau were a combined 0-9. Tony Finau was the last pick, and he did the job last Sunday morning with a convincing win over Fleetwood in a bid to put American red scores on the board.

Was it Furyk’s fault?

“The brunt of it is going to be on my plate,” Furyk said. “I accepted that when I took this role.”

No golf tournament gets more second-guessing than this one, which is why it should be called the Hindsight Cup. In a half-dozen interviews as the European celebration was ringing in his ears, there was little he could say.

“Thomas was a better captain, and their team outplayed us,” Furyk said. “And there’s nothing else more you can say. They deserved to win. They played well.”

And the Americans didn’t.

Furyk didn’t say that. He didn’t have to.

He said he would meet with the Professional Golfers’ Association of America and the Ryder Cup committee and “we’ll keep going.” There will be more suggestions than solutions. Europe understands how to take a team and give 12 players a singular purpose of winning the Ryder Cup. The task force gave players more input in how to build the team and pick a captain, and that was a start toward doing it the European way.

Winning? The players, whoever they are, have to figure that out themselves.

| Wednesday, October 3, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

EUROPE’S Alex Noren (right) celebrates with Thorbjorn Olesen after winning his singles match on the final day of the 42nd Ryder Cup. AP

Reed vents over Spieth, Furyk N EW YORK—Patrick Reed blames Jordan Spieth for them not playing together at the Ryder Cup and told The New York Times that US captain Jim Furyk was not smart to sit him out twice.

Europe won the Ryder Cup 17 1/2-10 1/2 at Le Golf National outside Paris. Europe now has won nine of the last 12 times, and it was the third time in its last five victories that it won by seven points or more.

Spieth and Justin Thomas went 3-1, the only American tandem to play all four matches. Reed was paired with Tiger Woods in fourballs, losing both matches, and sitting out both foursomes matches.

In an interview with the Times an hour after the closing news conference, Reed said he was fully expecting Furyk to pair him with Spieth again.

“The issue’s obviously with Jordan not wanting to play with me,” Reed said. “I don’t have any issue with Jordan. When it comes right down to it, I don’t care if I like the person I’m paired with or if the person likes me as long as it works and it sets up the team for success.

He and I know how to make each other better. We know how to get the job done.”

They were 4-1-2 in the previous two Ryder Cups and not had any other partners.

On Monday Spieth was in Bosnia to see his brother, who is playing basketball in a European league. Furyk was traveling.

Thomas was a Ryder Cup rookie who has known Spieth since they were 14, a friendship that coincidentally took root in France when they played for the US in the Evian Junior Masters.

Spieth and Reed were asked at the end of the US press conference last Sunday night if they were surprised they didn’t play together. Both looked at each other to see who would respond before Spieth spoke first.

“We were totally involved with every decision that was made,” Spieth said. “We had two potentially fantastic teams [Spieth-Thomas and Woods-Reed] and we went out confidently and tried to play our best.”

Furyk said it was his call to put Spieth and Thomas together.

The news conference ended before Reed had a chance to answer. He told the Times in the interview an hour later that he was looking at Spieth “like I was about to light the room up like Phil in ‘14.”

That was a reference to Phil Mickelson’s critical comments about US captain Tom Watson after another American loss at Gleneagles.

Reed and Woods lost both matches to Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood. In the second match, Woods often was playing the hole by himself because Reed hit into the water, the ankle-deep rough or out-ofbounds. Woods played his lone foursomes match with Bryson DeChambeau and lost that one, too.

“For somebody as successful in the Ryder Cup as I am, I don’t think it’s smart to sit me twice,” Reed said.

Reed won his singles match well after Europe had enough points to win back the Ryder Cup. AP

RONALDO SUED, ACCUSED OF RAPE S

OCCER star Cristiano Ronaldo is being sued by a Nevada woman who said he raped her in the penthouse suite of a Las Vegas hotel in 2009 and then dispatched a team of “fixers” to obstruct the criminal investigation and trick her into keeping quiet for $375,000.

The suit says the woman asked police last month to reopen the criminal case; Las Vegas police confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that they have reopened a sexual-assault case from 2009 brought by the woman named in the lawsuit. The Associated Press (AP) does not identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted.

Ronaldo’s attorney, Christian Schertz, did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

But after a report on the case in Der Spiegel last week, he threatened to sue the German magazine, saying: “It violates the personal rights of our client Cristiano Ronaldo in an exceptionally serious way.”

In a smiling Instagram video posted hours after the suit was filed, Ronaldo appears to deny the allegations.

“Fake. Fake news,” said the five-time world player of the year, who moved to Juventus from Real Madrid this summer. “You want to promote by my name. It’s normal.

They want to be famous, to say my name. But it is part of

the job. I am a happy man and all good.”

The woman’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment.

The lawsuit claims that the woman, who was then 24, went with a friend to the Rain nightclub at the Palms Hotel and Casino on the night of June 12, 2009, and met Ronaldo there. It says he invited a group of people up to his suite “to enjoy the view of the Las Vegas strip” and then into the hot tub; according to the suit, he then barged in on her as she was changing, exposed himself and asked her for oral sex.

When she refused, the lawsuit claims, he raped her.

According to the lawsuit, and confirmed by police spokesman Aden OcampoGomez to the AP, the woman named in the suit reported the attack to police the same day. OcampoGomez said she also asked for a “sexual assault test,” which was performed at the University Medical Center.

The woman refused to tell police where the assault took place or assist with identifying a suspect other than to say he was a European soccer player, the spokesman said. A Portuguese citizen, Ronaldo was transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid

IN a smiling Instagram video posted hours after the suit was filed, Cristiano Ronaldo appears to deny the allegations. AP

in the summer of 2009 for a then-record sum of €94 million, or about $130 million.

“As of now this is an ongoing investigation and no further details are being released at this time,” OcampoGomez said.

The lawsuit claims that the woman’s family arranged for a lawyer “who only had several years of legal experience.” Negotiations left her with “intrusive thoughts, an increased sense of extreme anxiety and fearfulness, complete helplessness and passivity,” the lawsuit says.

“The psychological trauma of the sexual assault, the fear of public humiliation and retaliation and the reiteration of those fears by law enforcement and medical providers left plaintiff terrified and unable to act or advocate for herself,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit also accuses Ronaldo or those working for him of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, coercion and fraud, abuse of a vulnerable person, racketeering and civil conspiracy, defamation, abuse of process, breach of contract, and negligence for allowing details of the confidential settlement to leak out.

It asks for general damages, special damages, punitive damages and special relief, each in excess of $50,000, along with interest, attorney fees and court costs. AP

Spo

Business

C2 Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Al Mendoza alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

‘Greed for the green, not for the pin’ IN 1998 I received the rare honor of being named Captain of the Philippine squad to the World Team Golf Championship in Santiago, Chile. More than 100 countries regularly play in this biennial meet known globally as the Team Olympics of Golf.

My appointment remains one of the major highlights of my golf foray. I cannot thank Benny Gopez enough for this. It was Benny who recommended me to the coveted post to Gen. Eduardo Ermita. Benny was then the secretary-general of the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) and Ermita the NGAP president. Ermita (we fondly call him General) would proceed to become the Executive Secretary of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a position he would serve with distinction.

I visited the General once in his posh Malacañang office in the company of dear friends Tony Sisante and Jake P. Ayson. When the General learned that I’ve retired as sports editor of the Inquirer, he eagerly went out of his way to find me a column-writing job. He called “some people” at Bulletin and Star but, unfortunately (or fortunately?), not one of them could be reached.

As Jake P. Ayson would now love to say, almost each time we are inebriated by what the Indians call “the crazy water,”: “Their loss is BusinessMirror ’s gain.”

But back to Chile.

As provided for by tournament rules, every country entered in the World Team Golf is allotted four players, with all of them playing for four days and the best three scores counting each day for the country.

In Santiago I had a very young but extremely talented crew composed of Gerald Rosales, Cookie La’O, the US-based Bong Luna and, yes, Michael Que. If memory serves, all were teenagers, except Rosales. But what I am pretty sure of is, Que was then only 19.

I have always been a realist. Because this was the Golf Olympics, I knew we were up against the tallest of odds.

But that did not deter me from mapping out plans for my boys—true grit and fighting spirit written all over their faces—in my determined bid to give our country a decent finish.

And I think we did.

We finished in the top 20 again I guess, a showing that was consistent with our previous performances which, to my profound delight, drew warm applause from Benny’s delegation members like Tony S. Jake, Sergio Austria, Admiral Luisito Fernandez and the late Rico Javier (may his soul rest in peace).

Twenty years later, my four boys are leading separate lives.

Luna returned to America.

La’O married well and retired young to become a family man.

Gerald Rosales, like Michael Que, plods on, hoping to also hit pay dirt one day.

Only one man is left standing—on the golf course.

In a sense, that is Michael Que today.

Now 39, Michael Que can call himself an accomplished golfer. He had just won the Tokyo Classic’s Tokai Cup, one of Japan’s majors.

It made him a four-time winner on the global stage, having previously won the 2004 Vietnam Masters, 2008 Philippine Open and 2010 Selangor Masters.

Yes, it was 20 years since I kept hammering into the heads of my four boys my humble version of a deathless slogan to score well in the World Team Golf—and in every tournament hence for that matter.

Every morning in 1998 in that somber locker room in Santiago, Chile, before they teed off, I would tell them, in conclusion of my pep talk: “Boys, remembers this always: Greed for the green, not for the pin.”

By just hitting the green, consistently, the birdies will come—almost naturally.

I’d like to think that that’s what it was for Michael Que on Sunday in Tokyo. He hit the greens of 16 and 17 for back-to-back birdies.

He won by two over YE Yang, the South Korean winner of the 2009 PGA Championship.

He won P10.22 million, his biggest paycheck ever.

He won hearts, including mine—his biggest catch.

THAT’S IT When renovations are through to improve the living quarters of our athletes at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, one wing of the building should be named “Daraliay Hall” in honor of Rastafari Daraliay, the 11-year-old wushu hopeful who died after falling off from a double-decked bed while asleep at the RMSC team quarters about 3 a.m. on Saturday. What a waste, tragedy.

FILIPINOS BACK IN THE HUNT

T

HE Philippines survived a feisty Albania side, 2.5-1.5, to creep back into the thick of the fight after seven rounds in the men’s division of the 43rd World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, on Monday night.

Grandmaster (GM) Julio Catalino Sadorra and International Master (IM) Haridas Pascua beat IMs Dritan Mehmeti and Ilir Seitaj on boards one and four, respectively, while IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia turned a losing position to a draw with Fide Master Franc Ashiku on board three as the Filipinos escaped with the win.

The Philippine team, bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission, moved up the standings in the top 60 with eight points after lurking outside the top 100.

GM John Paul Gomez blundered away a pawn and a rook and fell to untitled Llambi Pasko on board two.

Fortunately, Garcia came to the country’s rescue with a miraculous draw.

The Philippines played Uruguay in the eighth round on Tuesday hoping to climb further in the standings of the biennial,

11-round tournament currently led by Azerbaijan, Poland and the United States with 13 points apiece.

Interestingly, one of the spearheads of the Americans is Cavite-born GM Wesley So, who has a perfect six points on five wins and two draws.

In women’s play, the Philippines absorbed a 1-3 beating at the hands of the Georgian’s second team to drop out of the top 20.

A day after upsetting 15th-seed Spain, the Filipinas ran out of brilliancy as Woman IMs (WIMs) Shania Mae Mendoza and Bernadette Galas lost to Woman GMs (WGMs) Inga Charkhalashvili and Miranda Mikadze on boards two and four, respectively.

WGM Janelle Mae Frayna and WIM Marie Antoinette San Diego halved the point with IM Salome Melia and EIM Sofia Gvetadze on boards one and three, respectively.

The stinging defeat sent the Philippines from a share of No. 13 to a 20-country pack at No. 24 with nine points.

Ayo, Tigers battle Gonzales, Archers

P

AST is past and Aldin Ayo will stand on the opposite end as University Santo Tomas (UST) faces De La Salle University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Ayo’s two productive years with the Green Archers came to an end in the off-season and he will be barking for the Growling Tigers in the match set at 2 p.m.

The 40-year-old coach steered the Taft-based squad to the crown in 2016 and a runner-up finish last season to Ateneo.

Carrying a 1-3 won-loss record, Ayo hopes to take back his young team to the win column.

“That’s why I transferred here [UST], because I want to help this university. The school and the community really pour their

support to basketball,” said an emotional Ayo in their first and only win so far against Far Eastern University last month.

The UST-De La Salle encounter will be the first time that Ayo will be facing his former team since he left last January. His former deputy, Louie Gonzales, is now coaching the Green Archers, who parade a 2-2 card.

De La Salle’s two-game win streak ended with a 61-67 setback to University of the Philippines, while UST absorbed its second straight defeat at the hands of Ateneo, 53-85, last week.

In the second game, FEU (2-2) tackles National University (1-3) at 4 p.m.

The Tamaraws looked vulnerable as the University of the East Red Warriors pulled off a shocker, 65-90, over the weekend.

The Bulldogs are also licking the wounds of their loss to the Adamson University Soaring Falcons, 58-63. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

UST volleybelles stay unblemished

U

NIVERSITY of Santo Tomas’s (UST) Sisi Rondina and Babylove Barbon closed in on completing a seven-match sweep on Tuesday in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 beach volleyball tournament at the Sands SM By The Bay. Rondina and Barbon made Rondina quick work of National University’s Klymince Orillaneda and Antonette Landicho, 21-12, 21-7, before returning in the afternoon with a swift 21-7, 21-11 conquest of Adamson University’s Hannah Nicole Infante and Gracelchen Ave. Besides a perfect 6-0 card, the defending champion Tigresses have yet to drop a set this season.

UST shoots for an outright passage to the best-of-three championship series with a victory over Far Eastern University at 10:40 a.m. on Friday.

De La Salle’s Tin Tiamzon and Michelle Morente, meanwhile, overpowered University of the East’s (UE) Lyen Shan Ritual and Donna Nebrea, 21-4, 21-5.

The Lady Spikers tied the Lady Bulldogs at 4-1. Both teams were supposed to battle for the second Final Four spot but the match was called off due to thunderstorm.

Other women’s afternoon matches that were rained out were Ateneo-FEU and University of the Philippines-UE. The Lady Eagles were leading the Lady Tamaraws, 10-9, in the opening set when officials halted play due to lightning.

In the men’s division, FEU’s Jude Garcia and Kevin Hadlocon humbled De La Salle’s Geraint Bacon and Paul Serrano, 21-11, 21-10, to move within a win of securing an outright Finals berth.

Spikers’ Turf Tournament Director Mozzy Ravena (third from left) poses with (from left) Sports Vision Director Tony Boy Liao, Eleanor de la Peña, Cignal’s Programming and Channel Management Head Miguel Vea, Sports Vision President Ricky Palou and Cignal Marketing Head Raffy Silerio. Anna Reinette Tarinay

Elasto Painters target first victory; Hotshots eye 3rd straight triumph

R

GENERALS HOLD FORT, SPOIL CHIEFS’ SEMIS BID

E

MILIO AGUINALDO College (EAC) survived a furious second-half comeback by Arellano University to carve a 78-70 victory on Tuesday for the Generals’ first streak in the 94th National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The Generals led by as many as 19 points in the second quarter—thanks to Jerome Garcia’s 17 points before the half—and had to endure a fourth-quarter rally by the Chiefs to book their fourth victory in 15 matches.

Garcia finished with a game-high 25 points that went with six rebounds and five assists.

With the playoffs already out of their sights, Generals Head Coach Ariel Sison could only hope that the remaining matches would serve as a fitting ending to yet another miserable season.

“I’m very thankful that the team displayed teamwork and cohesiveness. We

wish that we will continue this kind of game,” Sison said. “We have three more games and we want to end the season well.”

EAC’s JP Magullano tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Hamadou Laminou contributed 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Generals shot 60 percent from the field in the first half with Garcia anchoring their offense.

But Arellano University mounted a fiery comeback and with an 8-2 spurt cut the lead to 59-64 with four and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Generals, however, held fort with Laminou completing a three-point play and Garcia sinking a triple to seal the victory.

Levi de la Cruz led the Chiefs with his 15 points, while Adrian Alban and Guilmer de la Torre added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

They crashed out of the Final Four race with a 4-10 record.

Filipino dribblers face tough foes in Fiba 3x3 U-23 worlds

T

HE Philippines begins a gargantuan task of trying to slay the big guns in the inaugural International Basketball Federation 3x3 Under-23 World Cup that starts on Wednesday in Xi’an, China.

Ranked 19th out of 20 squads, the quartet of Ricci Rivero, Jeepy Faundo, RJ Abarrientos and Rhayyan Amsali plunges into action against seventh-seed Slovenia at 7 p.m. and No.1 Serbia at 8:50 p.m.

The nationals take a breather the

following day before facing No.17 Turkmenistan at 7 p.m. and No. 8 China at 8:40 p.m. on Friday to complete their Pool C action.

Only the top 2 teams in each of the four group will advance to the quarterfinals.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio said that the odds are against the Filipino youngsters but believed their participation in the tournament would help boost the country’s 3x3 program.

Arellano University’s Elie Ongolo Ongolo tries to block Emilio Aguinaldo College’s JP Magullano. ALYSA SALEN

“SBP is determined to increase the popularity of 3x3 in the country. Aside from establishing and strongly pushing for local 3x3 tournaments, we are also just starting to actively participate in international competitions with the goal of getting the necessary experience and, at the same time, improve on our world ranking,” Panlilio said.

Rivero, a collegiate standout from the University of the Philippines, leads the cast along with 6-foot-6 center Faundo, Far

ain or Shine tries to squeeze out of a rut as it collides with Alaska in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The game is set at 7 p.m. with the Elasto Painters (0-2) targeting to barge into the win column against the Aces (3-1), who will try to brush off rust from a one-month break and a 101-109 loss to Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings.

In the first game, Magnolia (4-1) tries to make it three in a row when it battles hapless Columbian Dyip (0-6) at 4:30 p.m.

Rain or Shine, which sorely missed the services of its key players who represented the country in previous international campaigns, started on the wrong foot in the season-ending conference with two early setbacks.

The team’s recent loss to the Hotshots, 76-92, showed the team’s lack of chemistry, according to Head Coach Caloy Garcia.

“I told my players from the beginning of the game that they were not following instructions, especially offensively,” Garcia said.

“We lacked ball movement, we just turned the ball over too much, and there was no effort on defense.”

The Elasto Painters committed 22 errors, which the Hotshots translated to 17 points.

Also, there wasn’t much action from import J’Nathan Bullock, who just had 15

Eastern University guard Abarrientos and San Beda forward Amsali.

Rivero is the most experienced in the team with stints with Kobe Paras, Mike Nieto and Richard Escoto in the 2015 Fiba 3x3 U-18 World Cup. Ronnie Magsanoc will call the shots for the team.

“We’ll be facing very strong teams. But we want to compete with the best in the world,” Magsanoc said.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

points and 10 rebounds in almost 38 minutes of action.

Among the locals, Gabe Norwood provided support off the bench with his 12 points and four rebounds.

Alaska, on the other hand, suffered its first loss to Barangay Ginebra on September 2, just days before the league took a break to pave way for the national team’s stint in two Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifier games. Ramon Rafael Bonilla Gabe Norwood is again expected to provide big numbers for the Elasto Painters.

orts

sMirror

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

PHL BETS CONFIDENT C

yna Rodriguez, Princess Superal and Mia Piccio set out against Taiwan Ladies Professional Golfers Association (TLPGA) Tour’s best players in what promises to be a slam-bang start to the Party Golfers Ladies Open at the National Golf Country Club in Miaoli County in Taiwan on Wednesday.

The $100,000 event marks the first time that the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) is co-sanctioning an event with the TLPGA as part of the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.’s (PGTI) continuing effort to boost Philippine ladies pro golf.

“I’m very excited to be out of the country and playing against elite golfers in Asia. Looking forward to a fun-filled week here and hopefully come home with a win,” one-time LPGA Tour campaigner Cyna Rodriguez said.

The former three-time LPGT Order of Merit winner slugs it out with Thai ace Supamas Sangchan, who placed second but took the crown in last week’s Kenda Tire TLPGA Open won by amateur Hsin-Yu Lu, and Japanese Rino Kotake at 7:50 a.m., also on the first hole of the up-and-down course with winding but wide fairways and unpredictable surface.

“It’s actually short with reachable par-5s but could be play tough with the wind,” said Daniella Uy, the former Junior World champion seeking a big finish in her fourth pro tournament against the big guns of the TLPGA Tour, including the circuit’s top 6 players.

The stellar field also includes TLPGA No. 2, Hsin Lee, third-ranked Szu-Han Chen, No. 4 Min-Jou Chen, fifth-ranked Yi-Chen Lio and No. 6 China Huang with LPGT leg winners Thais Renuka Suksukont, Wannasiri Sirisampant, Onkanok Soisuwan and Yupaporn Kawinpakorn toughening up the field in what promises to be an explosive

Colo Ventosa (third from left), general manager of Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc., which organizes the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, poses with officials of the Taiwan Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour during Tuesday’s launch of the $100,000 Party Golfers Ladies Open.

start in LPGT’s first international sortie held as part of Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.’s effort to advance the growth of the Philippine ladies pro golf.

Meanwhile, PGTI General Manager Colo Ventosa said the LPGT and TLPGA will also share the prize money when they co-stage the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Masters in February.

Superal also hopes to get into the mix right in the opener of the 54-hole

championship with the former US Girls Junior champion figuring in an early clash with LPGT leg winner Ploychompoo Wilairungrueng of Thailand and Minami Levonowich of the US at 8:10 a.m. on No. 1 Symetra Tour campaigner Piccio, on the other hand, hopes to mark her return to the LPGT in style, drawing another LPGT leg champion in Saranporn Langkulgasettrin and Taiwan’s No. 5 Babe Liu at 8:10 a.m.

SPIKERS’ TURF UNWRAPS WITH OPEN CONFERENCE

M

EN’S volleyball got a renewed commitment from a partner when the Season 3 of the Spikers’ Turf kicks off this weekend at the Blue Eagle gym.

The Open Conference of the tournament organized by Sports Vision Management Group Inc. features a total of 10 teams and will now be aired over Hyper Channel 91 and 261 (HD) over Cignal TV. The partnership will see two of three matches being aired live on game days (Saturday, Tuesday,

Thursday and Friday) in the afternoon, assuring a wider audience for the men’s league.

“In the first two seasons, the matches were played in the morning. But this time around, the matches will be played in the afternoon [on alternate days with the women’s league, Premier Volleyball League],” Sports Vision Director Tony Boy Liao told the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Tapa King Restaurant in Farmers

Plaza in Cubao on Tuesday.

Tournament director Mozzy Ravena and Miguel Vea, head of channel management and programming of Cignal TV, also graced the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Tapa King and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Past champions Philippine Air Force, PLDT, Ateneo-Fudgee Bar, Cignal and Instituto Estetico Manila lead the cast of teams that also includes

Also eyeing a strong start is Marvi Monsalve, who tied for 24th in the TLPGA and Royal Open won by current Taiwan top player Yu Ju Chen two weeks ago. She will play alongside Mei Chu Chang of Taiwan and Thai Saruttaya Ngam-usawan, another former LPGT leg winner starting at 8:20 a.m. on No. 10.

Uy, 21, tees off next at 8:30 a.m. in the company of local ace Hanna Chen and Ai Asano of Japan.

Philippine Navy, Philippine Army, Sta. Elena, Team Fury and Far Eastern University (FEU).

Cignal battles FEU to open hostilities for the season at 11 a.m., while Team Fury takes on Ateneo-Fudgee Bar at 1 p.m. and IEM clashes with PLDT at 3 p.m.

Ravena, a former national player and volleyball panelist on television, said men’s volleyball is just as entertaining as the women’s game. Anna Reinette Tarinay

C3

Cool Smashers take on Warays

C

REAMLINE tries to redeem itself from a foiled debut in Cavite last weekend as it faces a resurgent Tacloban side on Wednesday, while Pocari-Air Force eyes solo second against Adamson-Akari in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

The Cool Smashers lost steam in the decider and bowed to the PetroGazz Angels, 25-27, 2517, 23-25, 25-19, 5-15, to the disappointment of the majority of the packed crowd who came at the Imus Sports Complex expecting a grand start from the team bannered by four mainstays of the national team in the recent Asian Cup, including Alyssa Valdez and Jia Morado.

But Valdez and company are expected to bounce back strong from that defeat, although they would be facing a Tacloban side brimming with confidence following back-to-back victories that put the Fighting Warays back into contention at 2-1.

Gametime is at 6 p.m. after the PocariAdamson duel at 4 p.m., where the Lady Warriors are also looking for a third straight victory after an opening-day stumble to the

Ateneo-Motolite side.

Valdez, who fired 26 hits against the Angels, is tipped to lead the Cool Smashers’ charge but the crowd favorites would need to draw solid backup from the rest of the squad as they square off with the Fighting Warays, who have rebounded from a shutout loss to the Angels behind the inspired plays of Jovielyn Prado, Heather Guino-o and Mary Anne Esguerra, among others.

Jessica Galanza and Michelle Gumabao actually combined for 26 points for Creamline, which also drew nine hits from middle blocker Risa Sato. But the Cool Smashers failed to match the Angels’ strong finish that anchored the latter’s big victory despite playing their fourth straight game in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.

Like Tacloban, Pocari is also bracing for a big comeback by the Adamson side, which struggled with poor plays that enabled the Fighting Warays to romp off with a surprise straight-set win over the third placers in the recent Collegiate Conference.

PLDT team returns to Superliga

P

LDT will be making an emphatic return when the Philippine Superliga (PSL) AllFilipino Conference unwraps on October 30.

PSL Chairman Philip Ella Juico confirmed the team’s return, saying PLDT will merge with Smart and will be handled by veteran coach Roger Gorayeb.

National team members Jasmine Nabor and Gretchel Soltones will banner the squad, which also includes Aiko Urdas, Alyssa Eroa, Angel Cayuna, Czarina Carandang, Jerili Malabanan, Jorelle Singh and Celine Domingo.

Veteran Lizlee Anne Pantone and Lou Ann Latigay are also returning after a ling absence in the PSL. “After almost five years, PLDT is finally coming home,” said Juico, a former chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission and president of the Philippine

Athletics Track and Field Association.

PLDT is one of the league’s pioneer teams.

It finished fifth in the league’s inaugural conference and advanced to the semifinals of the Grand Prix with Kaylee Manns and Savannah Noyes of the United States as the team’s reinforcements.

The squad competed in the All-Filipino Conference the following year with Sue Roces, Maruja Banaticla, Jem Ferrer, Latigay and Pantone serving as key players.

It transferred to the Shakey’s V-League, the predecessor of the Premier Volleyball League, and stayed there until early this year under the team PayMaya.

Also competing in the All-Filipino Conference are reigning champion Petron, F2 Logistics, Foton, Generika-Ayala, Sta. Lucia Realty, Cocolife and Cignal HD.

CHALLENGE GROWS S Sports

By Doug Feinberg The Associated Press

AN CRISTOBAL DE LA LAGUNA, Spain—Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi know that winning a World Cup keeps getting more difficult.

With the rest of the world improving, the two iconic US players are especially proud of what they accomplished with a third straight championship.

“The World Championship, now the World Cup, is always the hardest one to win,” said Taurasi. “It’s a grind, it’s physically tough and mentally tough. When you talk about playing three games in three nights, you just don’t do that anymore as a pro. This is the only tournament that challenges you in that way.”

The Olympics, where the Americans have won six straight gold medals, are somewhat easier with days off between medal-round games.

“Listen, three games in a row? I’m lucky if I play back-to-backs in the WNBA [Women National Basketball Association],” Bird said. “It’s a question mark. Three games in a row? And the other thing about these games is, they are very intense. Teams are picking up full court. They are pressuring you for 40 minutes. For these other countries, they’ve been champing at the bit, waiting for these games. We’ve just come off seasons.”

While the United States still hasn’t lost since earning the bronze in the 2006 World Cup, the games are getting more competitive. The US trailed at some point for every game in the tournament until the title game against Australia, which it won 73-56 on Sunday.

The Americans won the six games by an average of 20.3 points—their slimmest margin since 1998. With women’s basketball growing around the world, teams just aren’t as afraid of the US as they used to be.

Both African teams, Nigeria and Senegal, feature former American college and WNBA players who have competed against US players. Both squads led the US before falling.

“They have two eyes just like we have two eyes,” said Nigerian guard Sarah Ogoke, who grew up in Houston.

“They don’t have six heads.”

Still, the Americans have the best players, and even if Bird and Taurasi don’t return in 2022 when they both will be in their early 40s, the US has a solid nucleus with World Cup Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Elena Delle Donne and Brittney Griner. The Americans are 100-1 in major international competitions since the 1996 Olympics.

One thing that will help the US stay on top is a change in the qualifying system for the Olympics and World Cup. There will be qualifying tournaments starting in November 2019 and then in February 2020.

The Americans already have secured a berth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

These new tournaments will give the US an opportunity to train more and play in meaningful tournaments during those months instead of working out at camp for a few days with many players missing.

“It’s a chance for us to get together and get some of our younger players an opportunity to compete in international competitions,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said. “We also will have the opportunity to host some of the events as well.”

Dawn Staley, meanwhile, knows the pressure that comes with coaching USA Basketball. It’s gold medal or bust.

She experienced it first as a player with the US, then as an assistant and now as the team’s head coach. She’s been successful in each position, helping

BusinessMirror

C4

| Wednesday, October 3, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

IRVING: I’M SORRY

B

OSTON—Kyrie Irving offered a simple message to science teachers on Monday.

“I’m sorry,” the Boston Celtics star said.

And with that, Irving made clear that he regrets publicly saying that the Earth is flat.

Speaking on Monday at the Forbes Under 30 summit in Boston, the flat-Earth topic that Irving inserted himself into last year was discussed—and the All-Star guard said he didn’t realize the effect that his claim would have once it went public.

“To all the science teachers, everybody coming up to me like, ‘You know I’ve got to reteach my whole curriculum?’ I’m sorry,” Irving said, as the room attending his session laughed. “I apologize. I apologize.”

Irving said he’s since learned certain thoughts are best kept in “intimate conversations.”

This whole saga started in February 2017, when Irving questioned whether the Earth is flat on a podcast that came out shortly before All-Star weekend that year in New Orleans. It became a major story, and even National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver—who, like Irving, went to Duke—was asked to offer his opinion.

“Kyrie and I went to the same college,” Silver said then. “He may have taken some different courses.”

Irving indicated in the days and months that followed the podcast that he initially made the remarks to promote conversation and prove a point how stories in this social-media age can spread rapidly. But then he told The New York Times in early June of this year that he was not completely sure whether the Earth was flat or round.

“I do research on both sides,” Irving said at the time.

“I’m not against anyone that thinks the Earth is round. I’m not against anyone that thinks it’s flat. I just love hearing the debate.”

He said on Monday that he’d like to have the matter put to rest, and noted that this escapade was a good lesson of how words that come from influential people can have enormous power.

“At the time, I was like huge into conspiracies,” Irving said. “And everybody’s been there.”

Other NBA superstars, including Irving’s “Uncle Drew” movie costar Shaquille O’Neal, entered the flat-Earth fray in recent months. O’Neal once echoed Irving’s stance, that the Earth is flat.

“But I was playing,” O’Neal told the Associated Press earlier this year. AP

WITH the rest of the world improving, the US players are especially proud of what they accomplished with a third straight championship. AP

the Americans win gold.

“Dawn’s demeanor is so calm and confident I think that helped us,” said four-time World Cup gold medalist Sue Bird after the US beat Australia to win a third straight World Cup title. “I think that helped us.... Dawn, the entire time, was saying you know what, we’re worried about guarding them, but they had to worry about guarding us, too. It put it into a nice perspective and allowed us to be calm and that’s what we needed.”

Staley helped guide the US to an unprecedented third straight World Cup gold medal on Sunday night with the 73-56 win.

“It’s USA Basketball, if you’re part of it more times than not, you’re going to win, especially with players like Sue, Diana [Taurasi] and Stewie coming back,” Staley said.

Even with the collection of stars assembled on the US roster, Staley knows it’s not as simple as showing up. The World Cup is a grueling tournament with six games in nine days. The Americans will always get everyone else’s best shot.

“No matter how many times you’ve been a part of it, the pressure is still there,” she said. “When you look in the players’ eyes. I knew Diana when we hit the semifinals, she took on a whole different look. When your best

players gave that look you get out of the way. As the game progresses the pressure releases itself.”

Staley inherited a team that had won two straight World titles and 16 consecutive games in the tournament.

The US had gone 94-1 since the 1996 Olympics in major international competitions. She had been part of many of those wins as a player. Now’s she kept the unbelievable run going as a coach.

“The expectation is whenever It’s your first time, it’s way different from being a player to coaching,” said Geno Auriemma, who coached the US to the previous two world titles. “Winning that first gold medal, I don’t care who you are, it’s hard. There’s no escaping that. She’s done a great job of staying with the system and staying level-headed.”

Next up for Staley and the US will be the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While the pressure will be the same, winning another gold will be a bit easier in a way, as the final three rounds aren’t played on three straight days like they are at the World Cup. “It’s always the hardest one to win,” Taurasi said.

“Physically tough, mentally tough. Playing three games in three nights you don’t do that anymore in the pros. It’s the only tournament that challenges you in that way.”

Taurasi credited the way Staley played when they both were on the US team in the early-2000s for helping set a tone that she’s continued with Bird on the present team.

“She did it in such a way that Sue and I said that’s how you become a pro and win a gold medal,” Taurasi said.

“That comes from Dawn and what she put into this team a long time ago.”

After trip in nature, everything comes together for Djokovic B

ELGRADE, Serbia—Novak Djokovic put his career back on track this year, and he credits a mind-cleansing hiking trip with his wife after the French Open with the extraordinary turnaround.

The Serbian tennis great went from winning all four Grand Slam tournaments in a row in 2015-2016 to a two-year drought of major titles while bothered by an elbow injury. That all changed at Wimbledon in July, when the 31-year-old Djokovic won his fourth title at the All England Club. He followed that with a third US Open championship, bringing his total to 14 majors.

“After the trip in nature, everything came together,” Djokovic said on Monday after a training session in Belgrade. “The finals in Queens, the titles at Wimbledon, Cincinnati and the US Open.... In May, who would have thought I would be in this position?

Following those big wins, Djokovic has taken some time to rest. He even pulled out of this week’s tournament in Beijing to recuperate further.

“The US Open was physically and mentally one of the most demanding Grand Slams for me,” Djokovic said. “When you win a Slam, it’s like climbing Mount Everest. You need a pause to recharge your batteries.”

However, Djokovic said he was planning to play in Shanghai next week, with the goal of possibly overtaking Rafael Nadal at the top-ranked player by the end of the year. To do that, he may end up playing in Basel, Switzerland, and Vienna, Austria, before the Paris Masters.

“I have to see whether I’ll get a wild card from the organizers,” Djokovic said. “But first, I want to play my best in Shanghai, and then we’ll see.”

In Tokyo, two-time champion Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic both advanced to the second round of the Japan Open with straight-set victories on Monday.

The third-seeded Nishikori beat Japanese wild-card entry Yuichi Sugita, 6-4, 6-1, while the sixth-seeded Raonic defeated Adrian Mannarino, 6-3, 6-4.

Mannarino was the runner-up last year, losing the final to David Goffin.

Seventh-seeded Chung Hyeon was not as fortunate as Nishikori and Raonic. He lost to Denis Shapovalov, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. AP Novak Djokovic credits a mind-cleansing hiking trip with his wife after the French Open with the extraordinary turnaround.

KYRIE IRVING regrets publicly saying that the Earth is flat. AP

The path of life

D

EAR God, the path of life is often difficult. I ask not that You make it smooth, but to illuminate it so that I can see to walk in obedience. If for a moment the light is dim, let me walk by faith, trusting You with each step I take. For Your way is perfect and because Your Son who is my daily Companion is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

APPLE CEO Tim Cook discusses the new Apple Watch 4 at the Steve Jobs Theater during the September big reveal. AP

Life

CAMPUS CUTIES AT PET EXPRESS DOG AND CAT EXPO 2018 D2

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

D1

NEW KIRIN 980 TOUTS TRAILBLAZING FEATURES

The Apple Watch is inching toward becoming a medical device

C

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press

UPERTINO, California—Apple is trying to turn its smartwatch from a niche gadget into a lifeline to better health by slowly evolving it into a medical device.

In its fourth incarnation, called Series 4 and due in stores soon enough, the Apple Watch will add features that allow it to take high-quality heart readings and detect falls. It’s part of Apple’s long-in-the-making strategy to give people a distinct reason to buy a wrist gadget that largely does things smartphones already do. Since the Apple Watch launched in April 2015, most people haven’t figured out why they need to buy one. Apple doesn’t release sales figures, but estimates from two analysts suggest the company shipped roughly 18 million watches in 2017. Apple sold almost 12 times as many iPhones—216 million—last year.

Worldwide, about 48 million smartwatches are expected to be sold this year, compared with nearly 1.9 billion phones, according to the research firm Gartner.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has long emphasized the watch’s health and fitness-tracking capabilities. The original version featured a heart-rate sensor that fed data into fitness and workout apps so they could suggest new goals and offer digital “rewards” for fitness accomplishments.

Two years later, Apple called its watch “the ultimate device for a healthy life,” emphasizing water resistance for swimmers and built-in GPS for tracking runs or cycling workouts. In February, the company announced that the watch would track skiing and snowboarding runs, including data on speed and vertical descent.

The latest version, unveiled last month, is pushing the health envelope even further—in particular by taking electrocardiograms, or EKGs, a feature given clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration, Apple said. The watch will also monitor for irregular heartbeats and can detect when the wearer has fallen, the company said.

EKGs are important tests of heart health and typically require a visit to the doctor. During the September launch, the feature gained an onstage endorsement from Ivor Benjamin, a cardiologist who is president of the American Heart Association. He said such real-time data would change the way doctors work.

Gartner analyst Tuong Nguyen said the feature could turn smartwatches “from something people buy for prestige into something they buy for more practical reasons.”

It could also lead some health insurance plans to subsidize the cost of an Apple Watch, Nguyen said.

That would help defray the $400 starting price for a device that still requires a companion iPhone, which can now cost more than $1,000.

Apple’s watch will use new sensors on the back and on the watch dial. A new app will say whether each reading is normal or shows signs of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rate that increases the risk of heart complications, such as stroke and heart failure.

Apple says the heart data can be shared with doctors through a PDF file, though it’s not yet clear how ready doctors are to receive a possible flood of new EKG data from patients—nor how useful they will find the electronic files.

Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, warned that the EKG feature could spur more tests than necessary, result in unnecessary prescriptions for blood thinners

and overwhelm doctors with calls from patients who probably don’t need treatment.

He said that while the feature will probably save some lives and prevent strokes with early detection of heart trouble, “the ratio between the benefits and the costs remains a big unknown.”

Apple said the EKG feature will be available to US customers later this year, an indication that it may not be ready for launch.

Fall detection could also be significant, especially for elderly users. The new Apple Watch claims to be able to tell the difference between a trip and a fall—and when the latter occurs, it will suggest calling 911 (or the equivalent outside the US). If it receives no response within a minute, the watch will automatically place an emergency call and message friends and family designated as emergency contacts.

Only certain Apple Watch models support cellular calls, but those that don’t can still make emergency calls when near a paired iPhone or WiFi service.

Apple says it monitored some 2,500 people— measuring how they fell off ladders, missed a step while walking or got their legs caught in their pants while getting dressed. It used that data to separate real falls from other heavy wrist movements, such as clapping and hammering.

The feature is available immediately worldwide and will turn on automatically for users 65 and over.

Younger people can activate it in the settings.

“I can see kids buying one for their parents and grandparents,” analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights said.

But the Apple Watch still lacks one feature found in rival wrist gadgets: the ability to analyze sleep quality.

Battery life in the new watch remains at 18 hours, meaning it needs a nightly recharge. n

DEVELOPING new technology in today’s hyperconnected, digitally enriched world can be iterative at best. Industry observers argue that we have reached a plateau with regards to innovation, especially with mobile devices and its myriad applications. Every new feature trotted out by manufacturers is often dismissed as a slight improvement rather than a true breakthrough.

Of course, breaking new ground only happens when we don’t stop trying. Case in point, Huawei’s Kirin 980 is a pioneering achievement on its own—equipped with a bevy of features and capabilities that literally no other mobile processor in the world possesses. Here are some of the “world first” features of this new heavyweight. n THE WORLD’S FIRST 7-NANOMETER (7NM) MOBILE PROCESSOR. All existing consumer chips on the market still use the 10nm process technology. It took three years for Huawei’s chipset team to develop an effective way to mass produce the new 7nm chips, given how a single chip contains a whopping 6.9 billion transistors. The result of all this hard work: a processor that’s up to 20 percent faster and yet 40 percent more efficient than current 10nm chips like the previousgeneration Kirin 970. n A RESPONSE TO THE INCREASINGLY DEMANDING LIFESTYLES ANCHORED BY SMARTPHONE USAGE. Huawei’s chip designers have fitted the Kirin 980 with the new Cortex A76 and Mali G76 processors—the first SoC in the world to ever do so.

The Cortex A76 cores bump up performance by 75 percent more compared to the Kirin 970’s cores, ensuring that user experience is fluid and responsiv even when the system is juggling multiple heavy tasks in the background. The Mali G76 GPU, meanwhile, maintains sharp visuals and stable framerates even in the most graphics-intensive games while delivering an improved 178-percent power efficiency. n THE FIRST SOC IN THE WORLD TO SUPPORT LTE CATEGORY 21, CAPABLE OF A 1.4GBPS DOWNLINK. Users will enjoy a premium connectivity experience whether they’re video calling, playing online games, streaming media or navigating in any scenario, thanks to the Kirin 980’s combination of LTE Cat21 capability and advanced Hi1103 Wi-Fi module.

Huawei’s newest chipset offers more than raw performance numbers and efficiency percentages with its new chipset. The Kirin 980 represents a commitment to purposeful innovation by unlocking and exploring the possibilities of smarter technology.

16 teams enter imake.wemake tilt final round SIXTEEN senior high-school groups made it to the next round of the “2nd imake. wemake: create. innovate. collaborate” project, organized by the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) in partnership with Acer Philippines.

The competing teams are Centro Escolar University-Manila, College of Saint John-Roxas, De La Salle University Integrated School-Laguna, Dr. Yanga’s Colleges, Grace Christian College, Masbate National Comprehensive High School, New Era University, Philippine Science High School (PSHS)-Cagayan Valley, PSHS-Cordillera Administrative Region, PSHS-Central Luzon, PSHSCentral Visayas, PSHS-Eastern Visayas, Rizal National Science High School, Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School, Taguig Science High School, and Technological University of the Philippines-Cubao.

Forty-eight students and 16 teachers from the said schools attended a free training and project pitching program from September 3 to 7 at the Microtel UP Technohub in Quezon City.

They were given hands-on training on the Arduino digital and analog system and Acer Cloudprofessor, the platform that will power all imake.wemake projects. Each team also received free Acer Cloudprofessor kit, sensor expansion pack and toolbox.

The five-day event, which was organized by the DOST-SEI and facilitated by experts from ThinkLab Philippines and Acer Taiwan’s Kevin Chuang, featured promising student inventions like antioverloading device, low-cost GPS tracking for wildlife conservation and online waste management integration, among others.

DOST-SEI Director Josette Biyo, who graced the event with Acer Philippines

General Manager Manuel Wong, said that “the real winners here are Filipinos who will benefit from their inventions” as the

competition may soon produce answers to some of the country’s pressing issues.

“Our young inventors prove they

understand the needs of the people, and know how they can address such. We’re more than happy to provide them a venue for their technical skills and creativity in imake.wemake,” Biyo added.

The panel of judges is composed of Dr. Nestor Tiglao and Engr. Percival Magpantay from the UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute, Engr.

Carlos Matti Oppus from the Ateneo de Manila University and Acer Philippines Business Development Manager Alexis de Guzman. They selected the finalists from 65 submitted proposals based on project viability and potential to address important societal and community issues.

The participants are given three months to build and test their projects.

They will convene again in December for the final presentation and awarding ceremony where the top 3 teams will win a cash prize of P50,000 and a Youth Innovation Prize each.

D2

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Pet Corner BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

z

Today’s Horoscope

PROCEEDS of the Pet Express Dog and Cat Expo were donated to Cara Welfare Philippines.

Pet Express AVP for Marketing Janine Ngo turned over the donations to Cara Welfare Philippines Eric Saguitan.

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Seann William Scott, 42; Neve Campbell, 45; Gwen Stefani, 49; Chubby Checker, 77.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Look for constructive ways to deal with difficult people and situations. Your patience will help you maintain balance and encourage others to meet your demands as long as you are willing to pitch in and contribute physically, as well as mentally to get things done. This is a year of remembering and acknowledging the past, making amends and moving forward. Your lucky numbers are 6, 11, 19, 24, 30, 39, 44.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Engage in activities that will give you a chance to do a bit of networking. Mixing business with pleasure will allow you to share your ideas, concerns and professional goals with like-minded people while you build support and alliances. HHHHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You can bring about change, but make sure you are doing so for the right reason. If your motives are based on an emotional vendetta, you aren’t likely to get what you expect or want. HH

Campus cuties at Pet Express Dog and Cat Expo 2018

D

OG and cat lovers of all ages recently had shopping fun with their furry and feline friends at the Pet Express Dog and Cat Expo 2018 at the SMX Convention Center in partnership with Cara Welfare Philippines.

A one-stop shop for pet lovers, the expo featured booths of top pet food brands like Alpo, Pedigree, Friskies, Acana, Good Boy and Royal Canin; as well as health products like Nature’s Protection, Vitality, Virbac and Vitakraft. Pawsh Couture and Oodra Pooch Couture featured a lot of pet fashion fun, while Ezydog, Wags n’ Whiskers and Acuaverde drew a lot of interest among pet parents.

The expo also featured the Pet Express Campus Cuties: A Pet Costume Party for pawsome pets. Pet parents dressed their fur babies in scholarly, preppie, and geeky school-inspired outfits. There were teacher dogs and cats; feline school nurses; as well as lab professor and cheerleader dogs. Pets dressed as anime students and varsity dogs were crowd favorites.

The event introduced its new segment Pet X Talks, wherein a series of fun and dog training talks were featured. Celebrity Daniel Matsunaga shared his daily pawsome fun experiences with his Alaskan Malamute Julie. NatGeo Cesar’s Recruit Asia Gen Reyes, the first female recruit of renowned dog whisperer Cesar

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t look at change as negative. Look at where the change is heading long term before you decide to disrupt the events taking place. Going with the flow will lead to a prosperous ending if you are helpful. HHHH

d

Millan, gave some tips on Canine Counseling; while BetterDog Philippines Jojo Isorena started his first Canine Life and Social Skills using Ezydogs gears and toys. The Dog and Cat Expo was also an event for a cause as participants took their best scholarly selfie with their pet and uploaded it to Facebook and Instagram using #dogandcatEXPO2018forCARA. Every entry served as a donation to Cara Welfare Philippines.

For more fun and exciting events and information, visit Pet Express stores at SM Cubao, SM Hypermarket Makati, SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, SM Masinag and SM Dasmariñas Cavite. n

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Protect against accidents, injuries and arguments. It’s to your benefit to get along and to find solutions to any problem that crops up. Now is not the time to make a fuss or to show signs of excessive behavior. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Set up meetings or visit someone who has a positive effect on you. Greater stability will come about if you are open to change. Sometimes taking a unique path can be an eye-opening adventure that leads to unexpected benefits. HHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t leave your chores or responsibilities in someone else’s hands. Be smart with your time, and be detailed and prompt when dealing with others.

A personal, financial or physical risk shouldn’t be considered. Strive for equality and self-sufficiency. HH

NATURAL, ORGANIC PET CARE PRODUCTS DRIVING GLOBAL MARKET LONDON—The global pet care market is expected to post a CAGR of over 5 percent during the period 2018-2022, according to the latest market research report by Technavio, a leading global technology research and advisory company.

A key factor driving the growth of the market is the shifting preference toward natural and organic pet-care products. Pet owners have become increasingly conscious of their pets’ health due to pet humanization. This has increased the demand for natural and organic pet-care products as consumers perceive these products to be of better quality, safe and more nutritious.

Market competitors consider such factors while manufacturing pet-care products to differentiate themselves from their competitors and cater to customers’ requirements.

Some players are also launching natural pet food products with additional features such as health condition-specific ingredients.

Such factors are expected to drive the growth of the global market. AP

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Mull over the past and the instances that have led to where you are heading. It will pay to be more accommodating and to offer alternative suggestions that benefit not only you but those you work with or for.

HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll crave change, but that doesn’t mean you should jump into something without giving it a thorough check. Slow down and consider the emotional implications that can unravel if you make a choice that is not based on facts and figures. HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t feel you have to share your secrets with others. Pick and choose what you say and do carefully. Know what you are capable of and how to get what you want. HHH

DANIEL MATSUNAGA with his Alaskan Malamute Julie at the Pedigree booth.

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Your determination will prove to be advantageous when it comes to impressing others with unique solutions. A change will do you good but may not be as welcomed by someone close to you. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take care of contracts, settlements and money matters. Tidy up any loose ends that could cost you come tax time. Deal with institutions, government agencies and anyone who could pose a problem for you in the future. HHH

l NATGEO Cesar’s Recruit Asia Gen Reyes with her dogs Coco and Storm shares her learning and teaching experiences on dog behavior with international dog whisperer Cesar Millan.

JAY MICHAEL LIM of the Philippine Obstacle Sports Federation demonstrates Obstacle Sports with his OCR dog Argo.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): An investment will help change the way you handle your money moving forward. A position that interests you will offer clout, as well as opportunities and favors from people in high places. HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are cautious, discreet and perceptive.

You are secretive and intelligent.

‘you put the lime in the...’ BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Embarrassing standing 5 Suns 10 Bridge action 13 Old Montreal player 14 Like a film to be edited 15 Old stringed instrument 16 Human food processor?

19 How long to hold on?

20 Counter of stars?

21 Cry of surrender 22 African flies 24 Needing scratching 25 Inn’s price 26 Photo-finish type 28 Fiber that’s spun 30 Tower of verbal discord 31 Tree’s exudate 34 Certain metric units 38 Penguin relative 39 18-year-old’s status 40 Negative prefix 41 States of gaiety and fun 42 Red planet

4 “Git!” 4 46 Money for the future 49 Sanction 50 Rush drummer Neil 52 NFL legend ___ Roy Selmon 53 “You’re not THAT fat,” e.g.

56 Large vases 57 Shakespearean character 58 Watching whales close-up 59 Pop questions 60 Secret get-together 61 Discreet attention-getter DOWN 1 U-turn from lion’s share 2 Wheel connectors 3 Thyme device?

4 Jerry’s cartoon tormentor 5 Type of exciting jump 6 Poker payments 7 Read over quickly 8 Cobain or Warner 9 Messy place 10 Banana cluster 11 Boot of Europe?

2 Remove in editing 1 15 Corporal type 17 Bridge position 18 Army mollusk?

23 Flagged vehicle 24 It’s up for bid 26 Shopping centers 27 Not too much 28 Medicine approval agcy.

29 Romanian currency 30 Color of sadness 31 Without reason 32 It can be a bust 33 Tire letters 35 Lilongwe’s place 36 “Same,” in old Rome 37 Dessert sweet 41 Family Ties star Michael 42 Wine choice 43 Vino region 44 Arcs in sheet music 45 Metallic sound 46 Mullets cover them 47 Cloned units

8 Insinuate 4 49 Pastel hue 50 Extremely out of pocket 51 TV award 54 PC computer variety 55 Directional aid before GPS

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Show

START: _______ FINISH: _______ INITIALS: _______

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

SHE HATES ‘DOGS’

WHO is the actress who tries to appear like the perfect woman in public but is actually the opposite of what she portrays herself to be? In private, the actress has a foul mouth and is disparaging toward the fans of her rival. She calls her rival’s fans “dogs.” What’s shocking is that she does it even in the presence of strangers and people she’s meeting for the first time.

It’s unknown how she got to hate her rival so much, but many suspect it’s because her husband had a crush on the other actress, who is clueless about everything. It’s also funny that people actually believe the actress’s BS.

SICK OF MEN AND THEIR TRICKS KEVIN SPACEY

Post-Kevin Spacey, Old Vic ‘guardians’ fight workplace abuse

L

BY JILL LAWLESS The Associated Press

ONDON—A year after it became an unwilling focus for Britain’s #MeToo movement, the Old Vic Theatre says it is trying to stamp out abuses of power in all workplaces.

The London theater company once led by actor Kevin Spacey said on Monday that 20 cultural organizations have joined it in appointing workplace “guardians,” specially trained staff who serve as a first line of defense against bullying, harassment and abuse. It has been a year since abuse allegations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein spurred women around the world to organize the “Me Too” and “Time’s Up” movements, and triggered an outpouring of allegations against powerful men in entertainment, politics, publishing, academia and business.

The scandal rocked the venerable Old Vic when Academy Award-winning actor Spacey, its former artistic director, was accused of sexual misconduct by men in the United States. Police in the US and in Britain are investigating several claims.

After an investigation, the Old Vic said it had received 20 complaints of inappropriate behavior

by Spacey, who led the theater between 2004 and 2015. It said most of the alleged victims had been staff members, and acknowledged that a “cult of personality” around the Hollywood star had made it

difficult for them to come forward.

In response, the Old Vic trained staff members to act as “confidential sounding boards” to staff members experiencing abuse and unsure about what to do.

Old Vic Executive Director Kate Varah said the guardians can provide a “sanity-check conversation” for employees who feel they are being bullied or abused. She said the goal is to bridge the gap “between a water cooler conversation with a mate where you can say, ‘This happened and it doesn’t feel right,’ and then formalizing that” by going to management or a union.

The guardians get legal training to give “neutral support,” with the employee deciding what action to take. Guardians pass information to management, but only once it has been anonymized.

Varah said 20 organizations have signed up to a Guardians Network, including the British Film Institute, the English National Opera, the Society of London Theatre and the National Theatre of Scotland.

A further 30 groups in the cultural sector and beyond are considering joining.

Member-organizations receive legal training and get the chance to get together and share information and lessons. “It feels incredibly important that this isn’t just identified as an issue within one particular industry,” Varah said. “This is something that any workplace faces.”

Heather Rabbatts, a founder of Time’s Up UK, welcomed the Old Vic program, calling it a step

toward eliminating workplace abuse.

The allegations against the famous and powerful Spacey sparked soul-searching within Britain’s theater industry, where rumors of inappropriate behavior by him had long circulated—though an investigation by lawyers found no evidence that suspicion about Spacey’s behavior was widespread at the Old Vic. Varah acknowledges it was “a challenging time” for the theater, which is celebrating its 200th birthday in 2018. She’s keen to ensure the scandal doesn’t distract from the venue’s achievements under artistic director Matthew Warchus, who took over from Spacey in 2015.

Under his tenure, the Old Vic has developed the musicals Groundhog Day and The Girl From the North Country and tempted Glenda Jackson back onto the stage after two decades for King Lear.

Varah said that since Warchus took over, “we’ve never felt this was a place where we needed particularly to fix a problem.”

“But that is almost naive. I think any organization that feels that they’ve got nothing to solve in this area probably hasn’t had their eyes open to some of the day-to-day issues that could arise.

“I think as an organization, we are stronger,” she added. “We have learnt from our experiences and we have done everything that we can to ensure that the organization now leads the way, not just on stage but also offstage, as well.” n

THE starlet comes from a family that’s financially comfortable, so it’s just worth questioning why she goes out on dates with foreigners for a fee. Actually, the starlet has told friends that the only reason she is still in show business is because she needs the exposure so that her fees will not decrease as her dates pay a premium for her celebrity. One of the reasons this allegedly happened is because the starlet became disillusioned with men and their motives for dating her.

AN ELEVATOR TO HERSELF

SO the online celebrity has learned that she is human, after all, and that fame is fleeting. Yes, she still has a lot of fans but most of them have very little purchasing power—and that is what brands are looking for. We heard that two brands have canceled their plans to work with her and no one wants to touch her, figuratively. We heard one horror story about this online celebrity: During a workshop with a makeup brand in a mall, she supposedly demanded that one elevator be arranged for her exclusive use.

This is something that no one, not even famous actors and actresses, have asked for. We doubt the online celebrity is still making these demands now.

CHANGED MAN?

ANOTHER online celebrity also has many fans—but do they know that in the past, he hooked up with other content creators so that their followers would follow him, too? Well, he’s supposedly a changed man now but we wonder if he ever felt remorse for the women that he used and left when they thought that he really cared for them? Let’s hope his current girlfriend doesn’t get hurt like the other women did.

DOESN’T CARE

HER affair with the husband of a colleague continues to hound the actress. Even her current boyfriend’s family doesn’t approve of her because of it. The boyfriend’s family reportedly had the actress investigated and they learned that, among other things, she has a history of hooking up with moneyed men and she doesn’t care if they are single or not.

TOM RODRIGUEZ SPREADS FILIPINO CHEER IN SOUTH KOREA VIA GMA PINOY TV THIS October multitalented GMA actor Tom Rodriguez will be joining the celebration of the “Migrants’ Arirang Multicultural Festival [MAMF]”— GMA Pinoy TV’s first sponsored event in South Korea.

Dubbed as the biggest annual festival in Changwon City, the three-day celebration slated from October 5 to 7 at the Youngji Cultural Park and Sungsan Art Hall will showcase various performances, parades, contests and exhibits.

The culminating events on October 7 will include the “Migrants’ Arirang Cultural Show” in the morning, which will be attended by Filipino community leaders and members from all parts of South Korea. Following the festival parade in the afternoon will be the “Asian Pop Concert” featuring performers from various Asian countries, with the Philippines represented by GMA star Tom Rodriguez.

Tom, who is excited to meet fellow Pinoys in South Korea, shared that he is blessed and proud to be part of this event. “First of all, it’s my birthday this October 1 and this is my way of thanking all our Kapuso abroad for their support and love sa akin and sa GMA. Second, this is the first event of GMA Pinoy TV sa South Korea and I am happy that I was invited to be part of this

celebration. I am very thankful, excited and happy to be with them.”

More surprises surely await GMA fans abroad at the MAMF as they can also get a chance to win special prizes and even bond with Tom at the GMA Pinoy TV booth. The Migrants’ Arirang Multicultural Festival is organized by the Gyeongnam Migrant Center Events with the exclusive Philippine media partnership of GMA Pinoy TV (www.gmapinoytv.com) together with partner carrier HD Telecom.

“We expect to gather thousands of people for this event. We know that Filipinos have a lot of festivities and since Philippines is our featured country this year, we want every Filipino to feel at home during the celebration. We hope that everyone would take their time and join us for the three-day event and we assure them that it will be fun,” said Gyeongnam Migrant Center Director Lee Cheoul-seong.

Meanwhile, Filipinos in South Korea can now feel closer to home via HD Telecom’s newly launched mobile application Vision PH as they catch GMA’s international channels GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV International conveniently through their Android or iOS smartphones.

NETFLIX RELEASES A ‘SCARY GOOD’ TEASER FOR ‘CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA’

THE popular video streaming service Netflix has released the “scary good” teaser for the highly anticipated Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, starring Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman. It shows glimpses of the frightening new world of Sabrina, from the same producers of Riverdale. In the sneak peek, you see Sabrina and other key characters celebrating her 16th birthday—all while an eerie rendition of “Happy Birthday” plays in the background. After all, it is Sabrina’s Sweet 16.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark comingof-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature—half-witch, half-mortal—while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premieres on October 26.

D3

D4

Image BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Study: Rising distrust in institutions, hunger for humanity open chances for brands JUST THAT JT NISAY

jtnisay@gmail.com

P HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR FIRST CREDIT CARD’S LIMIT

THE thrill of getting approved for your first credit card might wear off—at least a little—when you see the news punctuating that congratulatory message: Your new credit limit is lower than you expected.

So the mental math begins. Can you shop for groceries for a full month without flying too close to your limit of, say, $500? Is it even possible to pay for a plane ticket? If the answer is a resounding “no,” it’s time to hash out a new game plan. Instead of trying to use your credit card for everyday purchases, focus on establishing a history of on-time payments and responsible borrowing. The positive history you build now could pay off in the years ahead.

PAY ON TIME AND IN FULL AS a first-time credit-card applicant, your credit history up until now might be a whole lot of nothing. So it’s not surprising that issuers might start you out with a low limit.

Banks are “just being careful because they don’t know who you are,” says Naeem Siddiqi, an author of books on credit scoring and the director of credit scoring and decisioning at SAS, a company that provides major banks with analytics software for making credit decisions.

The remedy: Use your credit card to build a positive credit history by making it a priority to pay every credit-card bill on time and in full.

That could improve your chances of getting an automatic limit increase later on. Banks typically reevaluate your account every nine to 12 months, looking at factors such as scores, payments, the percentage of available credit you’re using and how long you’ve been a customer, and may increase your limit at that point, Siddiqi says.

Missing payments or paying only the minimum, meanwhile, could thwart your progress toward establishing a positive credit history—and cause you to rack up interest charges and penalty fees.

“Typically, banks would be hesitant to give you a limit increase if all you’re doing is paying the minimum and missing payments—especially if your balance is near your limit,” Siddiqi says.

KEEP YOUR BALANCES LOW FOR some, getting a low limit is a rude surprise, like finding out you got a C on a test you thought you aced. For others, it’s expected. Say, for example, you applied for a secured credit card, or a card backed by a security deposit. With such cards, your limit is typically equal to the deposit. If you put down a $200 deposit, for example, you would get a $200 limit.

No matter how you got a low credit limit, it’s now up to you to manage it. In part, that means keeping your balances low. Using too much of your available credit—which is easy to do with a low limit—can drive up your credit utilization ratio, or the percentage of available credit you’re using, and sink your credit scores in a hurry.

To keep your scores healthy, a rule of thumb is to use no more than 30 percent of your credit card’s limit at all times.

On a card with a $200 limit, for example, that would mean keeping your balance below $60. The less of your limit you use, the better. Here’s how you can keep your balance low: n MAKE MULTIPLE PAYMENTS EACH MONTH. Your credit utilization ratio is based on what your balances are when your issuer reports them to the credit bureaus each month. Suppose you spend $80 on groceries on your card, putting you closer to your $200 limit. If you pay that card off right after you make the purchase, instead of waiting for the bill, you could lower your balance before your issuer reports to the bureaus. n BORROW SPARINGLY. Keep in mind that you can build a good credit history simply by charging a pack of gum or cup of coffee each month to your credit card and paying it off in full and on time.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK A LOW credit limit isn’t a life sentence. If your limit hasn’t been automatically increased after several months of responsible borrowing, try a more direct approach: Ask for a higher limit.

“It’s just like going to your boss and asking for a raise.

If you’ve not been doing well, your boss is going to say no,” Siddiqi says. But if you’ve been paying on time and borrowing responsibly for months, or if your income recently increased, your chances of getting approved for an increase are better.

Requesting a limit increase, which can trigger a hard pull on your credit report, may cause your credit scores to drop by a few points in the short term. But if it helps you unlock a higher limit—and all the flexibility and benefits related—it could be worthwhile. AP

EOPLE are seeking humanity in an increasingly inhumane world hounded by political tensions, sociocultural movements and natural disasters, a study showed.

Titled “Truth About Global Brands 2: Powered by the Streets,” the 2018 research determined that negativity fills the mass’s overall view, from growing distrust in politicians and institutions to viewing social media as a divisive tool. The general pessimism has created clamor for things “to feel good about” that, as the study pointed out, local and global brands can provide and become.

Conducted by McCann Worldgroup Truth Central—the intelligence unit of the global marketing services company McCann Worldgroup, founded in 1912 with the mantra “Truth Well Told”— the study is a follow-up to the 2015 maiden version that explored macro cultural forces and the deeply localized nuances affecting brands, people and the marketing landscape.

“It doesn’t matter what industry it is, whether telco, beauty, travel or banking, people now generally have more faith in brands than [they] do in politicians and government institutions,” said Gino Borromeo, McCann Worldgroup Philippines vice president and chief strategy officer, during the briefing of the study at the McCann Worldgroup Philippines office in Bonifacio Global City.

“Global Brands 2” utilized a unique combination of consumer research methodology. First is the qualitative aspect from a survey participated by 24,000 people in 29 countries worldwide. Second is the study’s new element: the quantitative component that has inspired the tagline “Powered by the Streets,” where McCann Worldgroup deployed its entire global network of 20,000 employees to interview the everyday man in over 70 markets to contextualize the figures from the large-scale survey.

‘TRUTH IS THE MOST VALUED CURRENCY’ ONE of the study’s findings is the jarring sociopolitical unrest among people here and abroad.

At a global scale, 57 percent of people think that their country is in a state of conflict, while in the Philippines, that number shoots up to 63 percent.

The distrust in institutions, politicians and socialmedia platforms has likewise increased relative to the 2015 study.

“At a time when the truth is challenged, people value it more than ever,” Borremeo said.

Interestingly, the study found that people believe they can get the truth they desperately seek from brands, as 81 percent of people worldwide

said they have more than double the amount of trust in companies than they have in politicians.

In the Philippines, that figure stands at a whopping 88 percent.

Another revelation was the people’s choice of adjective in what constitutes a successful brand.

Respondents were given a list to choose from, including the words “creative,” “innovative” and “original,” among others. The majority answer, however, was “trustworthy.”

“You would think this is the most basic thing of any brand, but if you look at the state of the world today, to be trusted is something that is not guaranteed anymore,” Borromeo said. “People are looking at brands that are beacons of trustworthiness.

It’s a trait more important than ever in a world that questions everything.”

Aside from trust, the study said people also pin hope to companies; that they can stand for something bigger than profit. Globally, 72 percent of people are open to brands playing a broader role in society.

Locally, the number is at 79 percent, which is among the highest in the world.

According to the research, people believe that brands are supposed to spread laughter and happiness, unite people by helping eliminate prejudice and stereotype, as well as encourage them to adapt a healthy lifestyle.

One fruit vendor interviewed for the study said he was thankful for a bank that helped repair the streetlight near his house. Meanwhile, a housewife in Marikina expressed gratitude for a mall that extended its operating hours during a typhoon to accommodate the stranded.

“May time na binaha ’yung buong barangay namin dito at hindi kami makauwi,” she recalled. “Buti na lang nagextend ng oras ’yung bagong mall, nakapagpalipas kami ng baha ng anak ko.”

‘THE EMPATHY GAP’ ANOTHER finding is that empathy may be becoming humanity’s most endangered resource.

The study showed that people today have become more self-centered and goal-oriented.

There was a huge increase in the belief that “I need to focus on myself before I focus on others,” from 53 percent globally three years ago to 69 percent this year. In the Philippines, the jump was from 62 percent to an astonishing 81 percent, the highest in the world.

That people spend a lot of time on social media play a considerable role in this trend. Retreating to an algorithm-based platform where a user can curate reality to his or her liking, people essentially live in a bubble, closed to outside factors and ideas. This explains why clashes on topics big and small often happen online.

According to Borromeo, with everything that’s happening in the world, as the levels of distrust and apathy of people toward one another worsen, the search for some humanity only grows stronger, and in this pursuit lay massive opportunities for brands.

“The study uncovered a lot about people’s distrust and intolerance today. But at the street level, people are hungry for empathy and humanity in a world that doesn’t seem to have enough of it,” he said. “There’s a gap in the middle, one where brands can come in because, as previously mentioned, they have the trust of the people.”

What brands could do is to fulfill the meaningful roles people expect of them, such as spreading positivity and promoting goodwill. Borromeo said these are strategies brands can execute fluidly as they are not dissonant from their day-to-day business.

“Thus,” he said, “the question really is: What are brands waiting for? The people are asking for it. The world is hungry for it. It’s a great opportunity.” n

CEO Ruby Pacis receives award for 100 Most Influential Filipina Women THE CEO and Founding President of Faith in God Ruby Pacis Montalbo Professional and Technical Services Corp. (FIGRPMPTSC), Ruby C. Pacis was recently honored as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World by the Filipina Women’s Network held in a gala ceremony in London, the UK, on September 14.

The Global FWN100 Awards recognize women who have risen to the most influential and/or highest positions in corporations and nonprofit/government institutions in Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, Antarctica and Europe, and use their influence to better the lives of the communities where they live and work.

Pacis received the award under the “Builders” category, which recognizes women who have demonstrated exceptional impact at a large workplace environment.

Builders demonstrate high potential and skill with measurable results. “Buildership” is about developing better organizations, leading broken organizations to adjust, repair and realign views redefining traditional methods.

Pacis established FIGRPMPTSC after working as an human-resources practitioner for a decade and seeing the need for a job subcontracting company that will provide a standard of employment readiness through behavioral and technical training that will give permanent and long-term employment

to Filipino workers. “I have worked with several manufacturing companies and have handled different employees with various grievances and employment needs,” said Pacis. “I have both been in the shoes of employees and empathized with different employers.”

Starting in 2003 with a capital of only P65,000, Pacis wanted to build a company that was more than an ordinary workplace, but one that instilled values along with the commensurate monetary benefits. She was accomplished this by incorporating behavioral training and spiritual coaching.

“I wanted employees to serve the Lord by serving others,” Pacis said of her vision for the company. “I wanted to transform the lives of Filipinos by motivating them to do their best work and encourage productivity.”

She believes a highly trained work force will encourage more employers to build businesses. “The higher employment rate in our country will result in a better quality of life for everyone.”

Pacis herself counts her strong faith in God and steadfast belief in herself as keys to her and the company’s success.

“When I started my company at only 32, my siblings and friends didn’t believe in my capacity because they thought I was still young and inexperienced,” Pacis recalls. “But I persisted despite the lack of a support system.”

While it may have been prudent to

FIGRPMPTSC CEO and President Ruby Pacis holds the 2018 FWN plaque of recognition, which was handed by FWN100 Founder and CEO Marily Mondejar.

avoid naming her company something overtly religious lest it be mistaken for an actual religious organization or a cult, for Pacis it represented her commitment and she threw conventional wisdom out the window. “Naming my company Faith in God is just equivalent to ‘walking my talk’ or ‘living my faith,’” she said. “Our company’s working principles are all Bible-based and

our core values are patterned after the best qualities of Daniel in the Bible, which are Commitment [Delivering on a Promise], Excellence [Giving Your Best], Integrity [Walking Our Talk] and Steadfastness [Be Tenacious and Keep Improving].”

It turns out workplace professionalism and good old-fashioned Christian values are pretty much the same thing.

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, October 3, 2018 • Editor : Tet Andolong

CALISTA model house

PHIRST HOMES EXPANDS

IN LAGUNA, BULACAN AND CAVITE

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

C

Contributor

ENTURY Properties Group Inc. is expanding its footprint in the affordable housing market. In partnership with Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp., CPG recently announced that it will introduce four new projects in Laguna, Bulacan and Cavite by 2019.

“We are pleased to announce this new chapter in the company’s history of serving the housing needs of our Filipino first home buyers in a much-larger scale. It has always been Century’s desire to contribute to nation-building, and through PHirst Park Homes, we will provide the increasing middle-class segment with quality homes that inspire pride of ownership. Mitsubishi Corp. has been instrumental in PHirst’s initial success in Tanza, Cavite. We thank Mitsubishi for its continued trust and confidence in CPG and we look forward to working with them on more projects in the future,” Century Properties Chair-

ACTIVITY nodes for Filipino traditional games

man and CEO Jose E.B. Antonio said in a press statement.

Mitsubishi Corp. Senior Vice President and Division Chief Operating Officer of Real Estate Business Division Takuya Kuga expressed optimism with the CPG, stressing that PHirst Park Homes will make significant contributions in addressing the housing backlog in the Philippines.

PHirst Homes is on an expansion mode as the new projects are included in the 15 projects in the company’s pipeline for the next five years. The company will build a total of 33,000 homes valued at P57 billion.

Meanwhile, the provinces of Bu-

LINEAR parks

lacan, Laguna and Cavite are named as growth areas for the company.

By launching projects in these areas, PHirst Park Homes President Ricky M. Celis said the company is bullish in these areas because

it offers a window of opportunity to address the unmet demand for housing where the purchasing power is high, and existing and planned infrastructure projects can spur future development and provide

convenient linkages to other hubs.

“PHirst raised the bar in the category by offering more value at very attainable price points. As we are committed to provide complete and well-designed communities for more Filipinos we intend to develop in more locations very soon,” Celis said.

Aside from affordable housing, PHirst Homes is also planning to enter the mixed-use townships in select growth areas with sizes of at least 100 hectares. Such township communities will have retail, offices combined with housing and other modes of accommodations.

“The company is also eyeing expansion into the Visayas and Mindanao regions once it has established technical and market scale,” Celis said.

PHirst Park Homes entered the housing market in 2017 with the successful PHirst Park Homes Tanza in Cavite, which has already sold out its first phase with 1,200 units valued at approximately P1.4 billion.

Around 600 units of single-attached models and town homes are scheduled for completion in 2018.

In June 2018 it launched PHirst Park Homes Lipa, a 20-hectare development in Lipa City, Batangas, with 1,867 units valued at P2.8 billion.

To develop a niche in the market, PHirst Park Homes brand crafted a position anchored on its 4Cs: Complete, Conceptive, Connected and Convenient. The first C means that homes are Complete with a perimeter fence and gate, finished ceiling, flooring and bathrooms, a garden or carport provision and an expandable unit layout. The second C means Conceptive amenities are available to residents with community bonding activities. To maintain linked in the digital age, the third C means Connected to life’s essentials through Wi-fi zones and easy access to modern conveniences. A simplified buying process also ensures a convenient experience for home buyers.

CPG projects include mixed-use developments such as Century City in Makati City, Azure Urban Resort Residences in Parañaque City, Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong City, Azure North in San Fernando, Pampanga, the Residences by Commonwealth in Quezon City, and Canyon Ranch in Carmona, Cavite.

On the other hand, Tokyo, Japanbased Mitsubishi Corp. is present in businesses across every industry, including industrial finance, energy, metals, machinery, chemicals and daily living essentials.

Business

E2 Wednesday, October 3, 2018

OF RUGBY AND REAL ESTATE Amor Maclang

FIRST DIBS IN REAL ESTATE

W

HEN I first met Kenneth Stern many years back, it was not just his passion for representing our country as part of the national rugby team but, more important, his surprising passion for real estate.

When you ask young people what career they’d want to pursue, many would mention a career in health care or in law. It is also safe to bet that a good number of them would say a career in the creatives industry, particularly graphic design, while others would definitely want to become entrepreneurs. However, not a lot of young people would say that they’d want a career in real-estate selling, which is why Stern, country manager of global real-estate brokerage firm RE/MAX Philippines, seems a bit of an exception.

“I knew from a very young age that real estate was the industry for me,” enthused the twentysomething former member of the country’s

national rugby team.

“In fact, I’ve been doing real estate for most of my life,” he said. “My first job was working for my mom’s real-estate company in Connecticut in high school, updating her listings and helping her with open houses.”

While in college in Boston, Stern obtained his real-estate license and paid for all his expenses by leasing condos to other college kids.

After college, Stern moved to Sydney to pursue his goals for his other love—rugby—and to earn an MBA. “I did this by working part time for construction, interior design and removals companies.” Then after living in Australia for three years, he moved to Japan to play professional rugby

for a team in Sapporo, and then after one season moved to Manila to take an opportunity to do commercial leasing for CBRE Philippines, handling big corporate accounts for the Los Angeles-based estate firm, including HP, American Express and AIG, among others, and still able to make time to play in the Rugby World Cup in Russia for the Philippine Volcanoes.

Although his career as a professional athlete was cut short due to a knee injury, Stern continued working in real estate. However, selling the RE/MAX franchise might be a bit different from what he was doing a few years ago.

“Choosing to work for RE/MAX was one of the best decisions of my life,” said Stern. “I now have the opportunity to not only meet the best brokers all over the Philippines, but I also get to help change the real-estate industry into a more professionalized marketplace.”

A RE/MAX franchise works similarly when you buy a food franchise, but instead of selling, say, hamburgers, the broker-owner recruits the best agents in the Philippines and the agents are selling real estate.

“But unlike food franchises, a realestate brokerage has no perishables and there is no limit to the number of customers they can serve in a day,” said Stern. “With RE/MAX, you can have unlimited amount of earnings with very little overhead to run the operations.”

It is a concept that is very big globally, as proven by RE/MAX’s success in more mature markets such as the United States, Canada and Australia, something that Stern hopes to replicate in the Philippines.

Over the last five years, RE/MAX has built market share in Metro Manila as being the go-to brokerage for buying or selling homes. “We even have the global awards to show that the system works,” said Stern. One of the company’s broker-owners is

KENNETH STERN

ranked second globally in residential brokerage (outside the US and Canada), while the Philippines has already produced seven Hall of Famers since 2012. A Hall of Famer means that the RE/MAX agent has earned commissions worth $1 million (approximately P53 million) and above.

“When people watch TV and see the news, they’d think that they should be in New York, London or

Sydney to be a million-dollar-listing broker. But we’re proving that now, you can be in the Philippines and be one of them.”

At the moment, RE/MAX has 25 franchises in the Philippines. While most of them are based in Metro Manila, the company is seeing growth in the provinces, especially in the last couple of years. “We now have offices in Clark in Pampanga, Palawan,

Siargao, Antipolo and Iloilo, which shows that the real-estate markets of these localities are quickly picking up,” said Stern.

Asked what his plans are for the future: “I would love to have a RE/ MAX office in every city or town in the Philippines. In fact, we are on track to open offices in Cebu, Davao, Baguio, La Union and Bacolod this year. Our goal is open at least 100 offices in the future.”

This is not far-fetched, as Stern describes the Philippines as a very attractive real-estate market. “In fact, globally, we at RE/MAX are proving that the Philippines is one of the fastest-moving markets. The country’s economy is robust, English is widely spoken, and it has a highly educated and young work force.” And the best of all, Filipino real-estate professionals are really some of the best. The challenge, though, is that there are very few professional companies and networks for local real-estate agents and brokers to join in. “And we at RE/MAX are trying to change that.”

Stern is also excited about the Philippines’s growing middle class.

“With this shift in the economy, we see more and more young people becoming entrepreneurs. In fact, most of our franchise owners are between the ages of 25 and 45, the perfect time to build one’s wealth.”

And with RE/MAX, one does not need to start big right away. “Many of our franchises, in fact, started as a small firm, with one or two people, and many of them have grown to 40 or 50 agents within only a couple years,” said Stern. According to Stern, this is testament to the robustness of the local real-estate market, the quality of the country’s young and highly motivated real-estate professionals, and the huge demand for credible real-estate brokerages.

With the leadership of the industry in youthful hands, we can be assured of continuing generational sustainability.

Seda Nuvali expands in 2020 S

SEALING the sponsorship deal are PRSP Chairman for the 25th National PR Congress Cherie Mijares (left), APR, and Suntrust Properties Inc. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Deanna Jean Claveria.

PRSP inks sponsorship agreement with Suntrust

T

HE Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) recently signed a sponsorship agreement with Suntrust Properties Inc. for the 25th National PR Congress, which culminated at the Shangri-La at the Fort.

With the theme “Truth or Trolls: PR in the Age of Disinformation,” this year’s PR Congress reaffirms the role of PR and communication professionals in establishing harmonious relationships based on truth and authenticity. This supports PRSP’s overarching principle for this year’s National PR Month of “One for Truth,” which seeks to unite communicators and their publics

to be vigilant in consistently practicing responsible and truth-based communication.

The Public Relations Society of the Philippines is the country’s premier organization for public relations professionals with dedicated programs in professional development and continued learning, PR excellence, student PR education, social outreach and partnerships with institutions. Annually, it confers the Anvil Awards, the Oscar of PR in the country and holds the National PR Congress in September, the National PR Month.

Visit the official PRSP Facebook page at www.facebook.com.

EDA Nuvali hotel, a favored destination of Metro Manilans seeking fresh surroundings, will open by early-2020 a second tower, which will double its guest rooms and accommodate a ballroom that can seat 400.

General manager Jeffrey Enriquez explained that in addition to being a preferred weekend haunt of families escaping the metropolis, Seda Nuvali is also at the hub of Calabarzon, an expanding manufacturing center and relocation site for factories in China, Thailand and other Asian countries. “New industrial parks are coming up in nearby Cavite and Batangas to accommodate these new factories. Many of the industrial parks in Laguna are already fully occupied or expanding to accommodate even more manufacturing facilities.”

During the week, the top executives of these firms and their consultants fill the 150 rooms of the hotel and have created new demand for 206 more rooms, including family suites. All told, Seda Nuvali will have 356 rooms by early-2020, according to Enriquez.

During the weekend, staycationing families from nearby cities are expected to fill up the rooms and enjoy the new facilities, such as a second swimming pool and expanded game room and playroom.

Enriquez adds that the hotel will have a ballroom and more function rooms in response to demand from the companies, government agencies and residents who live in the three cities of Laguna straddled by the self-contained Nuvali community developed by Ayala Land, namely, Sta. Rosa, Calamba and Cabuyao.

The 2,290-hectare growth area has dramatically transformed since the hotel offering Filipino hospitality defined by world-class standards opened its doors

in 2014. Nuvali’s residential areas have grown as indicated by the new campuses in the area; its shopping malls by a range of developers that have mushroomed; and sporting and recreational events that have become part of the Nuvali lifestyle. “Local residents and executives have been asking for larger function

rooms to accommodate their seminars, social occasions and other celebrations,” Enriquez said.

He also expects the Seda ballroom to be reserved for receptions now that Nuvali has become a popular destination for weddings. Nuvali has a number of photogenic chapels, which have made

Nuvali a more convenient weddingdestination alternative to Tagaytay, which can become congested during the weekends.

The expanding Nuvali community has also created demand for a place to enjoy drinks, curated music and the view after hours. Seda’s new tower will also host its signature roof deck bar, Straight Up. The Straight Up format which includes mixed drinks, bar chow, and carefully selected music amidst al fresco and indoor seating has been warmly received at Seda hotels in BGC, Vertis North, Iloilo and Bacolod.

The new tower will, likewise, host an expanded all-day dining facility. Seda Nuvali’s Misto will be renovated to double its capacity to more than 160. It will continue to allow diners to have a calming view of the lake which is further surrounded by a mall and other estate amenities.

Enriquez explains that the lobby will also be expanded to twice its current size while retaining the open layout and e-lounge with its bank of computers for the use of guests associated with all Seda properties. Like the eight other Seda hotels throughout the country, it will be accented by furniture and furnishings created by renowned Filipino artist Ann Pamintuan and artisan Kenneth Cobonpue.

The seasoned hotelier remarks that the new Seda Nuvali’s transformation will highlight the evolution of the homegrown brand in the last six years since it was founded. The property was designed to also be sustainable and received a LEED Silver Certification. Just last month, it was also awarded the Anahaw Certification Level 3 of the Zero Carbon Resort for Sustainable Tourism.

A level 3 certification means that the property is 70 to 79 percent dependent on renewable energy.

sMirror

Wednesday, October 3, 2018 E3

HOME

Decorate your home with paintings

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28

A

Contributor

PAINTING is an artwork everyone loves. No wonder it’s a staple decoration, whether at home, office or any place. This ornament either commonly hangs on a wall or serves as a centerpiece to easily get noticed.

MODERN abstract paintings

Because it comes in a visual form, it’s so comprehensible. The message or emotions an artist wants to impart to his or her audience are so relatable. Hence, it’s a masterpiece worth to own. This is what any artists like Annette Chambers, who hails from Australia, wants to achieve.

“Every day in my life I just love blending colors. I love bringing my emotions to my paintings,” enthused the painter, who recently flew from Down Under to the Philippines for her first solo art exhibit overseas.

With conviction from Michael A. McDermott, a longtime family friend who now represents and manages her expositions, she said that it’s a no-brainer to hold a display of her collection of 35 modern abstract paintings since the majority of the country’s population is appreciative of such—a cup of tea she mastered in recent years.

“I wanted to show the Filipino people artistry from Australia. The colors of my imagination are what I’m bringing from a different country and culture. So I thought that would be nice to show,” she said of her offerings.

Collectively, the exhibit vividly shows the inspiration she took from the serene surroundings of Parkdale, a suburb of Melbourne where she and her family resides. Thanks to the strategic beachfront location of her house, she enjoys the full vista of all the wonderful things around her—from the azure ocean, with its crystal clear waters, calm waves and

THE Art Exhibit by Annette Chambers

colorful coral reefs; to the expansive valleys teeming with blooming lovely flowers—from dusk ‘till dawn, all throughout the four seasons.

Using sweeping brush strokes and pallet knives, each piece reflects her successful technique of blending the colors, form and/or line of its subject exactly the way how she fancied and felt while painting it in acrylics. The beauty and freedom of abstraction she had in translating this to the canvas perfectly expressed what she has had inside her heart.

“The emotions for every painting that I do comes from a life experience, which it always has,” she shared. “Whatever you feel, like the way you flow it or the way you put it on the canvass, that’s your artistry.

That’s your interpretation of what you want to do.”

Among the showcased paintings, Lilies in the Field is one of her favorites. It’s colorful hues evoke her good spirits. Chambers said: “The brighter ones are always [reflective of me being in a] happy place. I wanted people to feel happy when they look at them.

So their first instinct is to smile.”

Electric Blue, likewise, is closest to her heart. It’s a product of hope at difficult times, according to her.

She noted that this and other darker paintings up for grabs in the exhibit show the very moment when she “was not in a good place, so it’s my way of coping with stresses.”

The artist, specifically, dedicates this artwork to her husband, who tragically lost his eye sight and

LILIES in the Field

ELECTRIC Blue

has since been designated officially blind. She recalled that two months ago he asked her to do such painting with those specific colors he imagined.

“That one was very, very emotional for me until this day because my husband lost color in his life,” she said of Andy, whom she was married with three children. “So it’s special.”

Inspired by the braveness of her spouse despite his condition, Chambers and McDermott have decided to mount her pioneering art show here for a good cause. One of the featured paintings named Beach Surfing was donated to James Mackay Foundation (JMF) for auction.

“It has a school [for the] blind children and that means, of course, a lot to me. So that’s why I picked them as the charity that we wanted to support,” she said, adding that a part of the sales proceeds of other pieces will be given to JMF. The Aussie artist encouraged the public, particularly art aficionados, to visit her art exhibit to get a piece of

her opus not only for display at their residences, offices, or businesses, but also to “paint the colors of hope” for the vision-impaired Filipino youths “With my artistry, if it grabs your attention and when you think you can live with it for the rest of your life because you’re looking at it every day in your home, that’s what I want you to do. That’s the kind of inspiration I want,” she stressed.

Mafae Management Consultancy in association with JMF and Road Packer currently host an Art Exhibit

by Annette Chambers. It runs until October 12 at the Fourth Floor Atrium of The City Club Alphaland Makati Place.

AboitizLand continues Luzon expansion

A

BOITIZLAND continues its northward expansion as it launches Ajoya, a mid-market residential development that offers master-planned communities for families in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, and Capas, Tarlac.

By establishing presence in two new Luzon provinces, the homegrown Cebuano property arm of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. boosts its residential portfolio. Early last year, it launched Seafront Residences in San Juan, Batangas.

“With the launch of Ajoya as our flagship mid-market residential product in Luzon, we are excited to finally bring the distinct spirit of AboitizLand communities to our prospective vecinos [neighbors] in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac,” said AboitizLand First Vice President Rafael de Mesa.

Ajoya Cabanatuan is a 19-hectare property in Barangay Valle Cruz, Nueva Ecija, while Ajoya Capas is a 13-hectare house and lot development in Barangays Talaga and Estrada in

Tarlac. Both properties contain 1,000 units of homes each.

Taking cue from the architecture of the Filipino Bahay na Bato, an Ajoya home features a contemporary rendition that goes beyond aesthetics. To foster community interaction, vecinos are treated to amenities, such as a town plaza, a clubhouse, a pool plaza, pocket parks and greenbelts.

“With more than two decades in the industry, we are now ready to aggressively expand our presence nationwide while maintaining our stronghold in Cebu,” added de Mesa. In total, AboitizLand has built 23 communities, industrial, residential, and commercial combined, in more than 612 hectares of land in Cebu. In 2014 it expanded to Luzon with the acquisition of the 485-hectare industrial park Lima Technology Center in Lipa-Malvar, Batangas.

Ajoya Cabanatuan property prices range from P3.2 million to P5.5 million, while Ajoya Capas’s are from P1.7 million to P3.5 million.

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

E4 Wednesday, October 3, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Joeben Tai: Manila’s rising condo and real-estate ‘taipan’

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

H

@brownindio

Contributor

IS fascination with city skyscrapers was the force-at-play for Joeben Tai to venture into the country’s real-estate industry dominated by big companies.

Tai, cofounder and president of Grand Taipan Inc., said his interest in real estate became stronger as he mingled on a regular basis with real-estate agents “while observing them in their marketing and promotional routines.”

Armed with a business management degree from the University of Asia and the Pacific, Tai started to carve a career in real estate for himself, starting out as an agent selling high-end condominiums.

Moreover, his friends urged him to join them in taking the examination for real-estate brokers. In a funny twist, he passed the examination while his friends who enticed failed to make the cut.

“[I knew] it was a blessing…for me because I was forced to take real estate seriously,” he recalled.

After developing a strong niche during his two-year stint in the realestate industry, Tai formed the Grand Taipan, knowing fully well that his background can be an asset in running the company. “It was a good experience because I was able to see the strengths and weaknesses of each company,” he pointed out.

“I am now in a position [and I] can see the perspective both in sales and development. I know the needs of a sales team to be able to make a great pitch and sell a project. It also helps me a lot being a new guy,” Tai said.

Tai also had the opportunity to see the whole picture of the industry, which enabled Grand Taipan to deliver the needs of the market.

Moreover, he was able to convince some friends and relatives to invest in Grand Taipan.

Tai believes Grand Taipan’s first project, the Verano Greenhills, a new residential condominium project on Annapolis Street in Greenhills, San Juan, is on the right track.

Tai is happy that the 50-story Verano Greenhills has been cited by 2018 PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards for winning two awards—for both architecture and interior design.

Grand Taipan has left no stone unturned to ensure it will give the buyers their money’s worth. Asya Design, the country’s premier architectural firm, lent its expertise in architecture; while Hirsch Bedner Associates, the world’s leading hospitality design firm, helped the Grand Taipan property in bringing its vision of a modern and sophisticated residential community.

Aside from its elegant, functional designs and amenities, Verano Greenhiils is located strategically at the center of Metro Manila and at

GRAND Taipan Development Inc. Cofounder and President Joeben Tai (left) receives the citations for Best Condo Architectural Design and Best Condo Interior Design Awards for their Verano Greenhills projects during ceremonies held recently at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati City.

the heart of commercial and educational hub Greenhills that makes it an ideal home and excellent investment opportunity.

Entrepreneur asks govt to promote leisure boating in PHL

B

OAT builder-cum-entrepreneur Angelo Olondriz is urging the government to help private groups working to promote the country’s leisure boating industry, stressing that maritime tourism has the potential to become one of the economy’s main economic driver.

Olondriz noted that the Philippines has one of the world’s longest coastlines, with over 7,000 islands and a population that understands and speaks English. Thus, he said, the Philippines has near-perfect conditions to nurture a thriving leisure boating industry.

He lamented, however, that unlike neighboring Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong, the country has a long way to go in order to make maritime tourism a major contributor to tourism.

Olondriz is asking the government to recognize the potential of the boating industry by granting incentives to private groups willing to build more marinas in the country.

“Marinas bring in the tourists and create jobs and livelihood for the people in the area,” he said. “The government doesn’t even have to build anything. They just have to incentivize. The private sector is going to do it,” he added.

“But what we hope the government can see is that it goes beyond that. We need to increase boat registrations. And for boat owners who want to register, we need the help of the government. Now more than ever, we must maximize not just our seas, but our rivers, lakes and other bodies of water, as well. Boats can help move things forward for the Philippines in more ways than you can imagine,” Olondriz said.

The president of Headsail Inc. is also pushing for more people to recognize the importance of boat travel.

“Imagine traveling from Manila to Makati in about 10 minutes. That’s possible with the Pasig River. Transportation of goods and people will become so much easier and more cost-efficient. We can finally provide access to and drive the local economies of tourist destinations that, without boats, will be very hard to reach,” Olondriz pointed out.

The $12-billion hotpot fortune cooked up by a Chinese foursome

C

OLONDRIZ

ONGPIN

Thus, he hopes the government will come up with an executive decision that will help build the foundation of creating an organized local boating industry.

Moreover, Olondriz noted that a decision from the Executive branch could be a shot in the arm to put the maritime industry into greater heights.

The National Coast Watch Council Secretariat (NCWCS) has declared its support for this campaign and is assisting the group in securing the executive order.

Meanwhile, seasoned boater and associate of Headsail Inc., Rafael “Apa” Ongpin, cited the case of Thailand which started its maritime tourism some 20 years ago.

“Thailand is very similar to us. We have a much-bigger industry than they did back in 1998 when they had less than 20 boats because the regulations were somewhat restricted, especially with taxes at 200 percent. Then foreign operators came in and told the government they needed boats to transport people back and forth. The government was convinced and they eased up on the regulations. Today, they have about 3,000 boats in Thailand and it’s become a huge industry that employs tens of thousands of people and generates 4 or 5 million Bahts in gross revenues,” he said.

In 2009 Olondriz led a select number of

players to turn the Philippines into Asia’s Mediterranean—a country whose coastlines host businesses that not only support employment for locals but also provide significant economic contribution.

Last year the government, headed by the Maritime Industry Authority, NCWS, the Maritime Development and Ocean Affairs Unit and the Tourism and Promotion’s Board, joined the said campaign and called for more private firms to join, as well.

Olondriz also hopes that more companies, especially those in the real estate, hospitality services and construction start shifting their focus on one of the country’s most important resource.

SEA-EX 2018

IN line with these efforts, Olondriz once again leads the biggest gathering of major people and brands involved in the manufacture and distribution of yachts, sail boats, boating accessories, water sports equipment, summer apparel and resort getaways in one roof at the 10th SEA-EX Philippine Boat Show and Nautical Lifestyle Expo from October 5 to 7 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Brands participating in the expo include local boat builders, international boat distributors and international brands, as well. Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

It also offers accessibility via transport hubs, proximity to shopping centers like Greenhills Shopping Center and Robinsons Galleria;

educational institutions like Xavier School, ICA, OB Montessori, Poveda and La Salle Greenhills. Verano Greenhills is also a walking distance to some of Metro Manila’s best restaurants such as Choi’s Garden and Gloria Maris.

Grand Verano has acquired land banks around Metro Manila, ready to launch a minimum of three projects in the next five years. The project will dwell on mixed-use development and concepts that will likewise depend on the market needs.

Aside from being nimble, Grand Taipan has a young work force composed mostly of millennials who have high energy and creativity levels in selling and marketing the project.

“Having a young work force has an advantage because it is a seller’s market right now,” Tai said.

“Sometimes, we are able to connect with the buyer because they enjoy dealing with people,” he added.

The average age of the employees in Grand Taipan is 30 years old.

Asked what’s the biggest challenge of an entrepreneur is, he answered: “Taking the responsibility for everyone in the company. At the end of the day, every outcome goes back to me.”

HINA’S passion for spicy hotpot has served The Beijing-based restaurant operator, which up four new mega-rich entrepreneurs. serves up boiling soup broth with meat, seafood, Haidilao International Holding Ltd. bevegetables and noodles, reported revenue of 10.6 came the biggest restaurant group on regional billion yuan, or $1.6 billion, for 2017, making it the exchanges after rising in its Hong Kong debut, largest chain globally, according to its prospectus. approaching the value of Domino’s Pizza Inc. and Revenue surged 54 percent to 7.3 billion yuan in Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. The shares closed 0.1 the first half from a year ago. percent higher at HK$17.82, valuing the company “It’s easy for a market leader to tell an attractive at about 63 times its adjusted earnings for the year Chinese consumer story,” said Linus Yip, a strateended June 30. gist at First Shanghai Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.

The inital public offering helped lift the com“Investors will watch closely how well the company bined net worth of founders Zhang Yong and wife can control costs and maintain high growth when Shu Ping, together with Shi Yonghong and his wife its network is already very big.”

Li Haiyan, to about $12 billion, including other asWhile its trailing price-earnings ratio eclipses sets, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. nearly all global peers with a market value of more The four control their stakes through discretionthan $10 billion, Haidilao’s forward multiple apary trusts held by offshore companies. Zhang, 47, pears more reasonable. The hotpot chain’s offer price chairman and chief executive officer of Haidilao of HK$17.80 valued the company at about 30 times International, controls 58 percent of Haidilao Inestimated 2019 earnings, people with knowledge ternational and 36 percent of Yihai International, of the matter said earlier this month. a Haidilao Group subsidiary listed in 2016, with his Hotpot chain Xiabuxiabu Catering Management wife, giving them a $7.9-billion fortune.

China Holdings Co. is trading at about 26 times Shi Yonghong, 48, executive director of Haitrailing 12-month earnings and 17 times estimatdilao International, has a net worth of $3.7 biled 2019 net income, data compiled by Bloomberg lion with his wife, through a 27-percent holding show. Bloomberg News in Haidilao International and 17 percent in Yihai.

The company didn’t immediately respond to request for comments on the net worth calculations.

Zhang, a former welder who quit a job at a stateowned factory, opened the first restaurant in 1994 with just four tables. Haidilao now owns more than 360 restaurants in over 100 Chinese cities and has expanded to the US, Singapore, Japan and Korea. It woos customers with treats such as a noodle dance if PLATES of raw food sit on a table as diners cook them in a pot at a Haidilao hotpot restaurant, you order noodles, and free operated by Haidilao International Holding Ltd., in Hong Kong, China, on September 22. Haidilao, manicures or shoe-polish- China’s biggest hotpot restaurant chain, has raised $963 million after pricing its Hong Kong initial ing services when queuing public offering at the top end of a marketed range, according to people with knowledge of the for tables. matter. BLOOMBERG