BusinessMirror October 10, 2019

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS

2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year

2018 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

DATA CHAMPION

A broader look at today’s business

www.businessmirror.com.ph

n Friday, October 11, 2019 Vol. 15 No. 01

Diversify-exports call sounded as growth slows

E

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

XPERTS on Thursday reiterated the need to diversify the country’s exports as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported a slowdown in export growth to 0.6 percent in August, from 4 percent in the same period last year.

The experts’ call focused as well on the need for Congress to fasttrack legislative efforts to implement necessary business reforms that will resolve problems that hamper the ability of exporters to diversify.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) had long been pushing for the passage of proposed amendments to the Foreign Investment Act, Public Serve Act and Trade Liberalization Act. Local economists, including

former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo V. Neri, said the government should look to its competitive advantage, particularly in business-process outsourcing (BPO) and tourism.

On Thursday, the Philippine

7%

The contraction of the Philippines’s external trade in August, largely due to lackluster export growth— only 0.6 percent in August, from 4 percent in the same period last year Statistics Authority (PSA) disclosed that the country’s external trade contracted 7 percent in August, largely due to the lackluster export growth.

See “Exports,” A2

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 40 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

AVERAGE FARM-GATE PRICE OF RICE FALLS TO 8-YEAR LOW–PSA

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE average farm-gate price of dry unhusked rice in the third week of September fell to its lowest level in nearly eight years, according to preliminary data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PSA figures showed that the price of dry palay plunged by 30 percent to below P16 per kilogram for the first time since the fourth week of December in 2011.

Experts, such as the University of Asia and the Pacific Center for Food and Agribusiness Executive Director Rolando T. Dy, attributed this to the influx of cheap rice imports.

“The average farm-gate price of palay went down further to P15.96 per kg or by 1.4 percent during the week relative to its previous week’s

World Bank sees PHL’s 2019 growth at below 6%

T

HE World Bank adjusted downward its growth forecast for the Philippines this year, as the Washington-based lender believes that the government’s catch-up spending plan will fall short of expectations.

From 6.4 percent in April, the World Bank slashed the growth outlook to 5.8 percent for 2019.

In a recent briefing on the Philippine Economic Update (PEU), World Bank Country economist Rong Qian told reporters that will likely be caused by “implementation challenges that might prevent a full catch up” from happening.

Qian said these implementation challenges include procurement issues, such as the length of time needed to complete the process, as well as the absorptive capacity of both the public and private sectors.

“Procurement is longer than the rest of the year [so] probably the agency will not procure and that is one of the reasons the catch-up plan cannot be fully fulfilled. And I think another challenge is absorptive capacity,” Qian said.

“The budget delay caused some accumulation of projects and now that the budget has passed, they all go to the market at the same time, and the private sector, especially in the construction sector and some small LGUs [local government units], they don’t have the absorptive capacity,” she added.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

Qian said even national agencies, such as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr), also have problems with absorptive capacity.

These agencies, Qian said, continue to record low disbursement rates this year. Ideally, she said the government should be spending more given the higher budget that they were granted this year.

“On the spending plan, the projected fiscal deficit is 3.2 percent of GDP for 2019 and given that we don’t expect the whole catch-up plan to materialize, that is unlikely to be reached. We factored that in our projection,” she said.

The Washington-based lender has a more sanguine growth outlook for 2020 and 2021, as it expects Philippine economy to expand by more than 6 percent.

The World Bank said the hike in GDP will reach 6.1 percent next year and 6.2 percent in 2021. It expects public sector investment to fuel the country’s economic engines.

Qian said the Duterte administration’s priority of increasing infrastructure spending will allow the country’s growth to breach 6 percent in the next two years.

Also, once the verdict on tax reforms has been handed down, Qian said she expects the inflow of private-sector investments to further boost GDP growth.

See “Growth,” A2

level of P16.18 per kg,”the PSA said in its weekly price monitoring report.

“On an annual basis, it also continued to drop at a rate of 30.1 percent from its level of P22.84 per kg in the same week of the previous year,” the report read.

From September 18 to 24, PSA data indicated that the lowest average farm-gate price was recorded in Pampanga at P12 per kg, while the highest quotation was reported in Surigao del Sur at P20.40 per kg.

The steep decline in palay prices following the increase in rice imports by the private sector prompted the Department of Agriculture (DA) to initiate a preliminary investigation last month to determine whether the imposition of safeguard duties is warranted.

The DA is supposed to reveal the findings of its investigation on October 10, a month after the See “Rice,” A2

SC: Meralco’s unbundled rates anti-consumer

By Joel R. San Juan

T

sible sources of petroleum products. Cusi said, however, that discussions have not touched on pricing.“We have not negotiated on the price. We are developing the agreement.”

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) procurement plan is part of the agency’s strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) program.

HE Supreme Court has declared that the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) approval of Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) unbundled rates, appraisal of its properties, and the rate increase of P0.168/kwh in 2014, were in violation of its mandate to protect its consumers.

Thus, in a decision penned by Senior Justice Antonio T. Carpio, the Court en banc partially granted the petition filed by National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore). The petition sought to nullify ERC’s June 21, 2011, order upholding its decision of May 30, 2003, which granted Meralco’s application for the approval of its unbundled rates.

Meralco argued before the ERC that the rate increase was to augment its growing operation and maintenance expenses, which include leased properties on customer premises, construction work in progress, and building plants for future use.

While the Court voided ERC’s adoption of the current or replacement cost in the valuation of Meralco’s regulatory asset base, it nevertheless remanded the case to the ERC for proper determination

See “DOE,” A2

Continued on A2

BACK-TO-BACK WIN The BusinessMirror was adjudged, for the second consecutive year, the Business News Source for 2018 in the annual Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (Ejap) Awards held Wednesday night (October 9, 2019). Four of its reporters, three of them shown here, were adjudged best in their beats. BusinessMirror Editor in Chief Lourdes M. Fernandez (left) is seen with, second from left: Lorenz Marasigan, chosen best reporter in Telecommunications; Bianca Cuaresma, Banking; and Jasper Arcalas, Agriculture. The second trophy held by Jasper is for Trade and Industry reporter Elijah Felice Rosales (not in photo). NONIE REYES

DOE forging oil-supply deals with other countries

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

E

NERGY Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said Thursday his office is working on a number of deals with other countries that are willing to supply finished petroleum products to the Philippines.

These deals, Cusi said, will assure the country of uninterrupted oil

supply in case of emergency.

“We have been negotiating for a bilateral agreement. We should get an allocation from oil producers just in case problems arise. This is a governmentto-government deal to ensure there is continuous supply,”said Cusi during the Senate budget hearing.

He identified Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brunei Darussalam and Russia as pos-

@jrsanjuan1573

US 51.8280 n JAPAN 0.4823 n UK 63.2716 n HK 6.6062 n CHINA 7.2675 n SINGAPORE 37.5429 n AUSTRALIA 34.8440 n EU 56.8709 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.8190 Source: BSP (10 October 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, October 11, 2019

Public-private funding for Iloilo MICE campaign could hit ₧50M

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

I

LOILO CITY—If you build it, they will come. Since the completion of the Iloilo Convention Center (Icon) in 2015, visitor arrivals in the city have reached 1.24 million in 2018 from just 627,000 in 2013, according to Sen. Franklin Drilon, in a speech on Thursday, as the Department of Tourism (DOT) launched its “Meet You in Iloilo” campaign.

It was Drilon who spearheaded the construction of Icon, which has been the venue of high-profile international events like the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) senior officials’ meetings, the East Asian Seas Congress and World Food Expo, to name a few.

The Meet You in Iloilo campaign, said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, promotes the city as a major destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions.

“The campaign aims to expand the MICE pie with more tourism players. We are expecting to open more than 2,000 rooms between this year and 2022, adding to the current inventory of 4,000 rooms in the city.”

She added, “MICE impacts more than just venues and convention facilities, but hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, and car services. It also bolsters tour guides, production companies, spas and wellness centers, and producers of crafts and souvenirs.”

New convention site

AGNES PACIS, vice president for

Exports. . .

Continued from A1

Imports, meanwhile, posted a contraction of 11.8 percent in August 2019, from a growth of 12.6 percent in August 2018.

Exports of electronic products continued to be the country’s top export with total earnings of $3.66 billion.

This amount, which accounted for 58.5 percent of the total exports’revenue in August 2019, went up by 6.6 percent from the $3.43 billion export receipt in August 2018.

The import bill of electronic products, valued at $2.35 billion, contributed the highest share of 27.1 percent to the total imports.

Imports of this commodity group went down by 6 percent, from $2.50 billion in August 2018.

Limited ability to diversify

“OUR ability to diversify is limited. Weak manufacturing base, poor infrastructure, high power cost, costly and inefficient logistics, etc. Our competitive advantage is in BPO and tourism,” Neri said.

The tourism sector, Neri said, needs better infrastructure support. This can be addressed by decongesting the country’s primary gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

Neri said circumventing challenges of

DOE. . .

Continued from A1

“We’re working on our petroleum strategic reserve. It takes at least two years to make it happen because of construction of storage facilities,” said Cusi.

The agency is currently conducting a feasibility study on the planned SPR. Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos said there are many possible sites initially identified. “These are government properties while some are privately owned. These are located in Batangas, Bataan and some in Mindanao.”

In case the storage facility is not completed on time, the DOE said it will put up a floating storage. “If the deadline for the onshore strategic petroleum reserve is not met, we can rent floating vessels. These vessels come in

Sales and Marketing for the SMX Convention Center, told the BusinessMirror the SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. (SMHCC) will open a new convention facility in Iloilo. While the final design for the facility has yet to be finalized, she said, “It will have over 4,300 square meters of leasable space,” or roughly one-fourth the size of the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia (MOA) complex in Pasay City. It can accommodate some 4,000 people, compared to the Icon, which holds 3,000.

She declined to reveal how much SMHCC will invest in the facility pending finalization of the design, but said they aim to complete it by the second quarter of 2021. For comparison, she said the convention center at the MOA cost some P1.6 billion. SMHCC only recently opened its Park Inn by Radisson Hotel, betting on the boom of MICE events in the city.

Meanwhile, the MICE campaign, said Arturo P. Boncato Jr., DOT undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination, and Resource Generation, will cost an estimated

P50 million for 2019-2020 with both the national government, local government of Iloilo City, and the private sector pitching in funds and other resources.

“For our DOT system, from planning to [the] rollout [of] Meet You in Iloilo this year, the DOT is investing P10 million, and at least another P10 million as base amount next year for the rollout of activities such as roadshows, participation in travel marts, hosting, consultancy services, etc. Our initial private-sector partners Ayala, Megaworld and SM will have their own spend to support our ad and promo campaign. Each member of the Iloilo MICE alliance has its own program, too, along with the LGU as well. This brings the total estimated value of this public-private partnership within the vicinity of P50 million for 2019-2020.”

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas announced a P7-million budget this year “to add to the promotions of Iloilo as a MICE destination. And for next year, we have included in the proposed supplemental budget next year, P28.5 million.”

Tourism stakeholders were enthusiastic about the MICE campaign for Iloilo City.

Cesar Cruz, president of the Philippine Tour Operators Association said, “We really need this campaign for MICE as part of the MICE Roadmap. The destination itself is ready; they have the infrastructure, the hotels are ready, things to see and to do for participants of any convention or meeting, and most importantly, the front liners are well prepared now.

For example, this launch event has been well organized and can serve as a template on how they can organize conventions, meetings and incentives programs.”

Agnes Gupalor, Cebu Pacific Air’s sales director, Trade Philippines, said “Iloilo serves as our hub in Western Visayas and is integral to serving tourism, investment and trade opportunities in the area. We have been providing low-fare flights to Iloilo for over 20 years, and pioneered international flight connections out of the Iloilo International Airport. Connecting Iloilo to nine key cities in the Philippines and Asia, we remain committed to serve as a vital partner in the economic development of Iloilo and the peripheral areas in Western Visayas.”

Cleofe C. Albiso, general manager for Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo, and representative to the Iloilo MICE Alliance, said the hotels in the city have agreed to a set of incentives and programs to help promote the city as a MICE destination. This includes special accommodation rates, special tours, discounts from major malls and department stores, incentive discounts from participating restaurants, discounts for airfare, to name a few.

Under DOT’s MICE Roadmap 2030, the country targets to increase the gross value added of the MICE industry to P1.4 billion in 2030 from P415.3 million in 2013; raise the GVA of MICE to 0.01 percent of the GDP from 0.04 percent in 2013; improve the delegate expenditure per meeting to 19 percent by 2030, from 5.4 percent in 2016; and hike the MICE revenues to some P25 billion by 2030 from P4.6 billion in 2016.

The tourism industry also aims to increase the total number of usable space for exhibitions to over 170,895 square meter by 2030 from some 71,000 sq m in 2017, and an annual 3-percent rise in MICE arrivals.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SC: Meralco’s unbundled rates anti-consumer Continued from A1

of the power company’s assets.

Specifically, the SC said the ERC should determine the parameters of whether expenses that are not directly and entirely related to the operation of a distribution utility shall be passed on wholly or partially to the consumers, in order that electricity shall be provided to consumers “in the least cost manner.”

The Court held that ERC’s approval of Meralco’s unbundled rates order was in violation of its statutory mandate to approve rates that will provide electricity to consumers “in the least cost manner.”

As such, the SC said the case should be remanded to the ERC for determination of a reasonable and fair valuation of the regulatory asset base that will provide electricity to consumers “in the least cost manner.”

In its previous decision, the SC affirmed the ERC’s May 2003 order granting the petition of Meralco for an increase in rates. The SC also directed the ERC to seek the assistance of the Commission on Audit (COA) in conducting a complete audit of Meralco’s books, records, and accounts to see to it that the rate increases are reasonable and justified.

Pursuant to the SC ruling, the ERC requested COA to conduct an audit of Meralco’s books, accounts and records to determine whether the implementation of Meralco’s approved distribution rates resulted in a fair return and whether the recovery of generation costs had been revenue-neutral to Meralco.

On November 12, 2009, the COA transmitted to the ERC its audit

Growth. . .

Continued from A1

Poverty reduction

the Naia means encouraging more foreign direct flights to Mactan, Clark, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao.“Foreign direct flights to Ilocos and Boracay and Panglao Airports [are needed]. Sangley [can act] as [the] third runway to Naia,” Neri said.

“Improve and upgrade Ro-Ro for tourism.

Ro-Ro was neglected under Noynoy [President Benigno S. Aquino III], being a President Gloria [Macapagal-Arroyo] flagship project,”he noted.

“Electronic products have high import content and don’t create much domestic value-added. The industry doesn’t foster robust domestic production linkages,”University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) School of Economics Dean Cid Terosa toldthe BusinessMirror.

“We should focus on industries that harness production of domestic inputs like labor-intensive manufacturing and service industries,” he added.

In order to do this, Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (ACERD) Director Alvin P. Ang told the BusinessMirror that both public and private sector should step up in their investments to help diversify exports.

However, Ang said, the larger investment must be made by private firms since they are the ones who have greater capital.These investments must be made in manufacturing and production.

Further investments must also be made in research and development (R&D) to finance

different sizes; there are vessels that can carry up to 60 million liters and there are small ones that can carry only 30 million liters,”Marcos said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Separately, the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) said it is still looking at importing diesel.

“SPR is different from importation.

Although you will still import the product for SPR, the importation will be done for the marginalized sectors. The floating storage is for the SPR in case the onshore infrastructure is not finished on time,” Marcos said.

Earlier, the DOE directed its attached agency, PNOC-EC, to engage in the selling of petroleum products sourced from countries that are not members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to independent petroleum dealers and vulnerable sectors, such as publicutility transport groups.

product innovations that will create new products or enhance existing ones.

“The private sector must have a greater investment because they have the capital. They should not wait for the government because they are risk takers,” Ang said.

Value chain

PHILIPPINE Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow Roehlano Briones said, however, that with exports growing faster than imports, this indicates that the country may already be in a better position.

Briones said this could mean that the Philippines was already moving up the value chain. He also said that in general, the trade tensions could already be benefiting the Philippines.

He said the trade tension between China and the United States was bound to “deflect” trade from Beijing to Manila.

Meanwhile, Neda said apart from legislation, business models should also adapt to current demands and market trends.

This can be done by utilizing digital platforms that will increase production efficiency and expand their reach both locally and internationally.

“As the market turns its focus toward advanced and frontier technologies, the country’s human capital development should prioritize intensified reskilling, retooling and

Rice. . .

Continued from A1

start of the probe, to determine if the sudden increase in rice imports indeed caused injury to local planters.

The BusinessMirror earlier reported that the DA has also formed a 30-man multisectoral task force to address and fast-track measures to help farmers cope with declining farm-gate palay prices.

The DA issued Special Order (SO 862), Series of 2019, which created a task force that would “facilitate assistance relative to the drop of palay farm-gate price.”

The task force is composed of experts and economists from the aca-

upskilling initiatives that emphasize industry and academe coordination, to ensure that the labor market is adaptive and responsive to current and emerging market demands,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.

Moving forward, the current updating of the Philippine Development Plan 20172018 will seek to address the challenges of agriculture, industry and services sectors, among others.

In August, exports to the United States (US) comprised the highest value of $992.72 billion, or a share of 15.9 percent to the total exports in August 2019.

Exports to this country grew by 7 percent, from $928.07 million in August 2018.

Other major export trading partners were People’s Republic of China, $944.23 million; Hong Kong, $938.26 million; Japan, $870.03 million; and Singapore, $353.53 million.

In terms of imports, the People’s Republic of China was the country’s biggest supplier of imported goods with 23.1 percent share to total imports in August 2019.

Import payments from China amounted to $2.00 billion from $1.92 billion in August 2018. Other major import trading partners were Japan, $800.32 million; US, $609.13 million; Indonesia, $598.95; and Republic of Korea, $586.30 million.

deme, the private sector and government, as well as representatives of rice farmers, millers, cooperatives and various government agencies related to rice.

“The task force shall perform the following: develop, adopt and promulgate measures to promote rice productivity and farmers’ viability, and ensure the effective and efficient implementation of rice-related measures in relation to the drop of palay farm-gate price,” according to the SO, which was dated August 27, but was uploaded on the DA’s web site on October 8.

With the increase in imports and the start of harvest, the farm-gate price of palay will continue to go down, according to various farmers groups and nongovernment organizations.

WHAT could weigh down the country’s growth engines, she said, is the possibility of another recession in advanced economies. “Advanced economies are all showing signs of growth slowing down with increasing risks of recession.”

Qian added, “Trade policy uncertainty has spurred after two decades of stability. In this context, global growth is expected to decelerate from 3 percent in 2018 to 2.5 percent in 2019, and global trade is expected to slow sustainably from 4.1 percent in 2018 to 2 percent in 2019, the lowest since the 2008 financial crisis.”

The Philippines could counter these headwinds given its low inflation environment, which has given the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) some policy-adjustment space even if it has already cut 75 basis points this year, according to the World Bank.

GDP expansion of more than 6 percent will help sustain the country’s poverty reduction efforts, along with the “expansion of nonagricultural wage employment, the rising real wage, and continuation of social programs.”

DBM. . .

Continued from A8

“For this year, there is just an augmentation,” he said.

Toledo explained that the department had used its P80-million budget allocation before the grant of the contingency fund was tapped for the augmentation.

Broken down, 93.78 percent of the P2-billion fund, or P1,856,097,000, will be received by DENR Central Office.

Meanwhile, 6.69 percent or P132,461,000, will go to the department’s Regional Office in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The remaining percentage of the allocation will go to DENR’s Regional Office-IV-AProper through the Office of the Secretary (P45,017,000); its Regional Office III through the Office of the Secretary (P32,605,000); NCR-Proper through the Office of the Secretary (P28,297,000); Regional Office-IV-A through the Environmental Management Bureau (P10,311,000); and Regional Office III through the Environmental Management Bureau (P6,978,000).

During Congress’s deliberation on the department’s proposed P25.5-billion budget for 2020, DENR assured lawmakers of the continuing efforts to clean up Manila Bay, citing a possibility that itwould finally be safe

report revealing that the unbundling of Meralco rates effectively resulted in over-recoveries or revenues in excess of the required revenue by P1.682 billion in 2004 and

by P5.327 billion in 2007.

The COA report said the overrecoveries were determined after it discovered certain factors or items, which should not have been included in the computation of Meralco’s revenue requirements.

However, the ERC ignored the COA report and instead upheld its May 30, 2003, decision prompting Nasecore to file a petition seeking to stop ERC’s order before the CA. Eventually, the CA affirmed ERC’s order in a decision issued on February 29, 2016, and a resolution dated August 18, 2016.

The appellate court declared that even if the SC directed the ERC to request the COA to undertake a complete audit of the books, records and account of Meralco, it recognized that the power to fix the rates of electric distribution utilities primarily belongs with the ERC. It stressed that the COA audit is not a prerequisite to rate fixing, and the ERC is not bound to accept and adopt any finding that a COA audit may come up with. Nasecore subsequently elevated the case before the SC. In partially granting Nasecore’s petition, the SC pointed out that under Section 38 of the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines and Book V, Title I, Subtitle B, Chapter 4, Section 22 of the Administrative Code of 1987, the COA is authorized to examine accounts of public utilities in connection with the fixing of rates of every nature.

The PEU read: “The declining trend in poverty is likely to continue in 2019-21.

Medium-term poverty projections based on the middle-income poverty line of $3.20/ day show the poverty rate declining from 26 percent in 2015 to 20.8 percent in 2019, 19.7 percent in 2020, and 18.7 percent in 2021.”

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the rise in incomes, particularly among the poorest Filipinos, contributed to the slowdown in average poverty incidence nationwide to 21 percent in the first semester of 2018 from 27.6 percent in the same period in 2015.

Based on PSA data, the BusinessMirror computed that the highest increases in poverty incidence were in Basilan and Isabela City, where poverty incidence worsened to 65.3 percent and 52.6 percent, respectively, in the first semester of 2018.

Poverty in Basilan increased by 36.5 percentage points from 28.8 percent while in Isabela City, it increased by 31.97 percentage points in the same period in 2015. Neda said that while inflation increased to 8.1 percent between 2015 and 2018, from 7.8 percent in 2012 to 2015, average income managed to grow by 21.2 percent. Cai U. Ordinario for swimming by year-end.

However, the Manila Bay rehabilitation that started last January 27, 2019, is still in its first phase, which is cleanup and water quality monitoring.

The total rehabilitation—pegged to cost P47 billion—is divided into three phases, with the second and third phases being rehabilitation and resettlement, and education and sustainment.

The Manila Bay Area covers eight provinces and 178 local government units in three regions in the country: NCR, Region III and Region IV-A. According to the Special Provision under the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the P13-billion contingent fund shall be used to cover requirements of new or urgent programs, activities or projects of national government agencies, or government-owned and -controlled corporations that need to be implemented or paid during the year.

The contingent fund may also be tapped for the following purposes but not limited to: legal obligation of the government arising from final and executory decisions of competent authorities, such as compromise agreements, arbitral awards, mediation settlement agreement, and professional services in connection thereto; requirements of newly created offices or deficiencies in the appropriations for local and external travels of the President.

The Nation

BusinessMirror

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, October 11, 2019 A3

Raid on illegal BPO leads to arrest of 542 undocumented aliens

By Recto Mercene

B

@rectomercene

UREAU of Immigration (BI) agents swooped down on a business-process outsourcing (BPO) company in Pasay City on Thursday and arrested as many as 542 foreigners running the illegal outfit.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the aliens were nabbed in a joint operation at the Millennium Building with the Philippine National Police-National Capital Region Police Office (PNP-NCRPO), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in coordination with the Chinese Embassy.

Those arrested were mostly male, made up of 442 Chinese, 23 Vietnamese, 25 Malaysians, three Indonesians, 45 Burmese and four Taiwanese.

“They were arrested for working without permit and for being undocumented aliens,” said Morente.

Fortunato Manahan Jr., chief of the BI Intelligence Division revealed details the arrested foreigners were involved in some sort of telecommunications fraud, similar to budol-budol.

“But their victims are mostly from mainland China,” he added.

Morente clarified the role of the BI in the raid, saying, “if an alien committed a criminal act, it is under the jurisdiction of the local authorities. But if we see that there is an immigration violation, we may charge for deportation separately.” The clarification was issued by Morente following questions on the role of BI in arresting foreign nationals.

He, likewise, discussed the procedure of depor-

We welcome foreigners to visit the Philippines—work here, live here, study here, retire here, we welcome aliens as long as they comply with our laws.”—Morente tation: “It is within our policy not to implement deportation, unless local cases are cleared already.

If the alien needs to serve time in our local jails then so be it, this is to ensure the full effect of justice.”

Morente then reiterated his warning to erring foreign nationals. “We welcome foreigners to visit the Philippines—work here, live here, study here, retire here, we welcome aliens as long as they comply with our laws.”

“Follow our laws or face deportation,” he warned.

The suspects are currently detained with the NCRPO in Bicutan, Taguig.

Army summit seeks to insulate youth from communist influence

F

By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

ORTY-two youth leaders from various provinces in Southern Tagalog completed the two-day Seventh Regional Youth Leadership Summit (RYLS) spearheaded by the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division (ID) in Tanay, Rizal.

The summit sought to transform the youth into “peace builders” and “catalysts for development,” while enhancing their awareness in order to insulate them from the influence of the New People’s Army (NPA) other lawless elements’ deceptions and recruitment.

Maricar Palacol, the Provincial Peace and Order Officer of Laguna, graced the summit and thanked the 2nd ID for “continuously supporting the young generation by instilling the spirit of patriotism, nationalism and social responsibility.”

Palacol pledged Laguna’s commitment to untiringly support youth programs that will contribute toward peace and development in the province, as well as the entire country.

“The youth plays an integral part in the society. They need to be armored with enthusiasm and courage to become great leaders of

our country,” she said.

During the summit, the participants were mentored by resource speakers from different agencies of the government as well as from private sector in line with the objectives of RYLS. Aside from educating the youth on NPA deceptions, the activity became a venue for the participants to link with the provincial government and get a better grasp understanding on how they can participate in local governance.

Brig. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., commander of the 2nd ID, welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of “this noble undertaking because what we are about to do is to insulate our future leaders from the NPA terrorists, as well as other lawless elements and empower them to become the best leaders.”

“We will continue to pursue our genuine desire to empower these young people to be active in every way they can so that they may contribute positively toward attaining our common aspirations of winning the peace which is now within our reach,” Burgos said.

Party-list groups no longer required to register with SEC to participate in polls–Comelec reso

P

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

ARYT-LIST groups will no longer be required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to participate in the elections, according to a new Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolution.

In its Resolution 10605, the Comelec en banc said it has decided to officially do away with the requirement stipulated under the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, or Republic Act (RA) 11232.

RA 11232 allowed SEC to transfer its “powers, authorities and responsibilities of involving party-list organization” to the poll body.

“The documents described Section 7 [e] of

Comelec Resolution [R] 9366 would no longer be required as supporting documents to a petition for registration as a party-list,” Comelec Resolution 10605 said.

Prior to the RA 11232, Comelec required partylists to submit their articles of incorporation, by-laws, and certificate of registration, which are all issued by SEC. Party-lists, which are currently registered by Comelec, are also automatically covered by the new resolution, allowing to continue their activity without SEC registration.

Despite the transfer, Comelec will continue to coordinate with SEC on issues surrounding the partylists incorporation through a liaison team. CR 10605 takes effect seven days after its publication.

A4 Friday, October 11, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

News

BusinessMirror

Safeguards in place for amendment of Foreign Service Act, lawmaker says

T

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

HE House Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday assured the public that safeguards are well in place under the measure amending the Public Service Act (PSA), which seeks to allow new players to invest in the Philippines.

Rep. Sharon Garin of AambisOWA, the panel chairman, also dispelled fears posed by the expected influx of foreign investors.

“We only want foreign investments to supplement Filipino capital. Filipinos also need help to build big industries, big businesses so we can improve the basic services for the Filipinos,” said Garin.

“Something can be done to improve our standing, and that is through the passage of the Public Service Act. I do not believe that this will be a threat to our patrimony. I think this will improve the lives of all Filipinos,” she added.

House Bill (HB) 78 aims to amend the antiquated PSA by providing a clear distinction between public

service and public utility.

Under the bill, public utilities will only cover the following: distribution of electricity; transmission of electricity; water pipeline distribution system; and sewerage pipeline system.

According to Garin, public utilities, as stated in Article 12, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution, must be solely operated by firms that are 60 percent owned by Filipinos.

HB 78 is currently under the period of sponsorship and debate. As the main sponsor of the measure, Garin said, she will continue to defend the bill upon the resumption of session on November 4, 2019.

Moreover, following the kickoff of the Consumer Welfare Month,

Garin also said allowing investors to enter the Philippines through HB 78 will usher competitive industries and reduce prices for Filipino consumers.

Garin added the bill espouses the goal of providing a “strongly rooted, comfortable, and secure life” for all Filipinos stated in the National Economic and Development Authority’s AmBisyon Natin 2040.

Eliminating the ambiguity of the law will provide more economic opportunities to the Filipino people, said Garin.

According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 recently published by The World Economic Forum, the Philippines dropped eight notches to 64th out of 141 economies. From placing fifth last year, the country also slid to sixth in the Southeast Asian rankings.

While it may be argued that the 1987 Constitution did not explicitly define, or enumerate, a list of public utilities, Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez has earlier said the lower chamber must not turn a blind eye to its possible dangerous and far-reaching repercussions.

Hernandez has said amending the Public Service Act to the exclusion of common carriers is contrary to the intent of the Constitution in safeguarding and protecting public interest.

“The threat to national security cannot be overstressed. Imagine if our airspace, roads, and internal waters are filled with and controlled by foreign-owned common carriers and they can freely roam within our national territory and have access to every island and corner of our nation,” he said.

We only want foreign investments to supplement Filipino capital.

Filipinos also need help to build big industries, big businesses so we can improve the basic services for the Filipinos.”—Garin

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PNP spokesman dispels soc med ‘rumors’ on Albayalde’s resignation

By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

T

HE Philippine National Police (PNP) dispelled “rumors” circulating in social media on Thursday that Director General Oscar Albayalde has resigned from his post as head of the organization.

The rumors were stirred by the Senate investigation into the pilferage and recycling by policemen of seized illegal drugs as narrated by two retired police generals in recent Senate hearings.

PNP Spokesman chief Supt. Bernard Banac said that Albayalde was leaving his fate to President Duterte as the PNP chief had repeatedly stated.

“He is ready to turnover his post to anyone selected by the President to lead the PNP,” he said.

Banac said Albayalde had questioned the timing of the allegations that were brought out against him, noting it was made just as he prepares to officially retire from the police service.

“I question the timing of this attack and smear campaign against me.

Until now, despite the Senate hearings conducted, no hard evidence was ever presented showing that I was involved in that drug raid in Pampanga in 2013,” he quoted the PNP chief as saying.

“All statements made remain al-

legations, insinuations and unsubstantiated,” Albayalde added.

Banac said the PNP chief vehemently denied calling then Col. Rudy Lacadin, who was then the deputy of retired general now Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong in the CIDG, about the investigation into the Pampanga drug raid.

During the Senate hearing on Wednesday, Lacadin claimed that Albayalde called him up while he was investigating the raid carried out

by Albayalde’s men and admitted he “benefited a little.”

The policemen involved in the raid seized 200 kilos of shabu but only reported a haul of less than 40 kilos.

The members of the operating team were also reportedly paid P50 million by the drug lord whom they freed and later arrested another whom they presented as the suspect.

“The PNP chief reiterates Lacadin was never a friend, just a franchisee of their water refilling business way back in 2011,” Banac said.

“Lacadin has a lot of explaining to do and he will have his day in court,” the PNP spokesman quoted Albayalde as saying.

“All those police officials ganging up on me have ill motives against me and obviously all worked with the previous administration,” Albayalde also said.

House bill seeks tighter control on parking fees Roderick Abad

@rodrik_28 Contributor

T

O level the playing field in the parking business while shielding the public from unfair charges, Valenzuela City First District Rep. Weslie Gatchalian has filed a bill to regulate the varying fees imposed nationwide.

The chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Industry, in his sponsorship speech, said House Bill 3262, or the proposed Parking Fees Regulation Act, seeks to protect customers who avail themselves of parking facilities offered by business operators from unreasonable parking rates.

The lawmaker cited “a meteoric rise” in the prices they charge, following the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the rights of mall owners to ask for payments from persons who use their parking facilities.

“Nowadays, parking fees for a day’s worth of parking in Metro Manila can be as high as P700 or more, while there are others that charge significantly less,” Gatchalian said.

“On top of paying excessive fees,

consumers are oftentimes left with inadequate safety measures to protect their cars and their personal effects inside it. Operators generally impose a waiver of liability in case of loss, or damage to property, leaving consumers vulnerable and unprotected,” he added.

According to him, the proposed legislation aims to find an equitable balance that will allow parking enterprises a reasonable return on their capital, while sufficiently protecting consumer interests.

Under HB 3262, establishments, such as shopping malls, hospitals, schools and other similar places, including vacant lots and buildings that are purely dedicated for parking should charge a standard fee of only P40 per vehicle for up to eight hours plus P10 per succeeding 60 minutes.

A one-time fee of P100 per vehicle will be applied for overnight parking. Also, a grace period of 30 minutes must be given, wherein a customer will not pay the standard parking fee if his vehicle enter or exit the premises within the allowed time.

For shopping malls, restaurants,

stores and similar businesses, the parking fee shall be waived once a patron presents a valid proof of purchase or payment of not less than P1,000. This is on the condition that the parking space is utilized for a maximum of three hours only.

The proposed measure, likewise, requires establishments to maintain and provide security in the parking areas. They must be responsible for the safety of the customers, and should be prohibited from invoking the waiver of liability in case of loss of property or damage to the customer’s automobile.

“The prohibition enunciated in the preceding paragraph shall, likewise, apply to operators of buildings, or vacant lots, that are solely devoted for use as parking spaces,” Gatchalian said.

As proposed, any person or establishment who violates the provisions of the measure will be fined with not less than P150,000 each customer for collecting an overpriced parking fee, or imprisonment of not less than 12 months, but not more than three years, or both, upon the discretion of the court.

DICT backs push for TUCP demands aid transparent, graft-free for Isetann workers Central Business Portal

T

HE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has deployed a one-stop shop for business-related government transactions in a bid to hasten processes, improve transparency and minimize or even eradicate corruption.

DICT Chief Gregorio B. Honasan II said on Thursday the Central Business Portal (CBP) will serve as a central system that will receive applications and capture data for business-related transactions.

“The more digitized we become, the more transparent, paperless, and corrupt-free we will be,” he said.

The initiative, he added, is the DICT’s “response” to the government-wide effort to streamline business processes through Republic Act 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business Act of 2018, which requires government agencies to shorten the processing time of government transactions.

The Department of Trade and Industry and the Anti-Red Tape Authority helped in developing the CBP. Lorenz S. Marasigan

T

HE country’s largest labor group has called on the government to extend assistance to the workers who were displaced with the recent closure of the Isetann Cinerama Complex in Manila.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) President Raymond Mendoza directed his appeal to Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, who issued a closure order on Wednesday for the mall for its noncompliance to Manila City ordinances. He said the development would likely affect employees, such as salesladies and rank-and-file who are covered by the “no-work, no-pay” policy.

“We support his bold resolve to address the city’s deeply seated problems but we hope there’s a way forward to restore the jobs of Isetann employees, or some kind of assistance for them, while they have no income,” Mendoza said in a news statement. Mendoza also appealed to the owners and management of Isetann to immediately address its deficiencies so it could resume its operations.

“Because Isetann management did not abide with the law, the employees lose their salaries and wages. In this case, employees suffer the consequences of the management’s violation,” Mendoza said. “We urge the Isetann management to immediately comply with the licenses and permits required by the city government needed for the resumption of mall operations so that all the employees can return to work,” he added. Samuel P. Medenilla

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

The World BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019

A5

US currency pact with China HONG KONG FACES RECESSION as part of partial agreement? H

T

HE White House is looking at rolling out a previously agreed currency pact with China as part of an early harvest deal that could also see a tariff increase next week suspended, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The currency accord, which the United States said had been agreed to earlier this year before trade talks broke down, would be part of what the White House considers to be a first phase agreement with Beijing.

It would be followed by more negotiations on core issues, like intellectual property and forced technology transfers, the people said.

The internal deliberations come as a team of Chinese negotiators, led by Vice Premier Liu He, arrived in Washington to resume trade talks with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin starting Thursday. It’s the first face-to-face talks between senior officials since July.

The offshore yuan rose more than 0.3 percent, erasing an earlier loss. US stock futures whipsawed on Thursday morning in Asia amid uncertainty about the outcome of the negotiations.

People familiar with the Chinese delegation’s arrangements said negotiators are currently scheduled to leave on Friday evening, though there could be changes depending on how the talks progress. One person said there may also be a meeting with President Donald J. Trump that day, though again it would depend on how the talks go.

The signals heading into the talks have been mixed. Trump last week approved licenses for some American companies to sell

nonsensitive goods to Huawei Technologies Co., The New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the move. While Trump committed to the move after meeting President Xi Jinping in June, no licenses have been issued, yet.

During a speech in Sydney on Thursday, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross—who has only played a peripheral role in negotiations—took shots at China. Beijing’s trade practices have “gotten worse” and the tariffs are “forcing China to pay attention,” Ross said in prepared remarks for a speech in Sydney.

‘Hard to forecast’

“IT’S very hard to forecast,” Ross said, when asked about the likelihood the two sides would even reach a partial agreement. “We would like a deal. They would like a deal. We’ll see what happens.”

The discussions around an interim deal come as the Trump administration this week further ramped up pressure on Beijing by blacklisting Chinese technology firms over their alleged role in oppression in the far west region of Xinjiang, as well as placed visa bans on officials linked to the mass detention of Muslims. At the same time, a fight over free speech between China and the NBA, triggered by a tweet backing Hong Kong’s protesters, has underscored the heated tensions.

The window for such an agreement is closing before the US plans to raise duties to 30 percent from 25 percent on about $250 billion of Chinese imports on October 15. Additional duties are set to take effect December 15.

A Chinese official said on Wednesday the

country was still open to reaching a partial trade deal with the US that may include large purchases of American commodities, but added that success was contingent on Trump halting further tariffs. Showing progress with a currency pact and other matters this week could serve as a reason to delay next week’s tariff hike. Bloomberg News last month reported the White House was discussing plans for an interim deal.

Still, Trump this week said he preferred a complete trade agreement with China. “My inclination is to get a big deal. We’ve come this far. But I think that we’ll just have to see what happens. I would much prefer a big deal. And I think that’s what we’re shooting for,” he said.

A White House spokesman declined to comment. A Treasury spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment. China’s Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to fax about the high-level talks.

Manipulation label

NO details were made public about the USChina currency pact reached in February that Mnuchin at the time called the “strongest” ever. Broader trade negotiations between the two countries broke down in May after the US accused China of backtracking on its commitments. Then, in August, the Trump administration formally declared China a currency manipulator.

According to people familiar with the currency language, the pact largely resembles what the US agreed to in a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, and also incorporates transparency commitments included in Group of 20 statements. Bloomberg News

ONG Kong is facing its first recession since the global financial crisis, with little prospect of an immediate recovery as the city confronts its most violent protests in decades.

From luxury hotels and major shopping malls to neighborhood stores and restaurants in tourist hubs like Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui, businesses are closing early or seeing fewer customers.

Even when things are open, stores and the airport are quiet, as tourists stay away.

The city’s subway network, or MTR, was closed entirely for long stretches during the holiday weekend from October 4 amid the violent backlash to Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s attempt to quell months of protests by invoking a colonial-era emergency law.

The economy in Hong Kong contracted in the second quarter, almost certainly in the third quarter and the data are still deteriorating. The question is how deep and prolonged the pain will be. Once Asia’s manufacturing powerhouse before the rise of mainland China, Hong Kong’s freewheeling consumer and finance-led economy is highly vulnerable to a collapse in confidence

that has been delivered by the turmoil.

The city’s government has struggled to make the case that it has the policy tools to arrest the slide while the unrest continues.

“I do not expect to see any strong measures that can instantaneously turn things around,” said Dong Chen, senior Asia economist with Pictet Wealth Management, one of a growing chorus of experts predicting Hong Kong had a second straight quarterly contraction in the three months through September. “The best scenario is after this political unrest they can come up with longer-term planning or measures to solve structural problems.”

The effects of the US-China trade war, combined with a lack of tourist spending power, also raises the prospect of a contraction for the full year, compared with 2018. The downturn has been rapid, as declining exports and protests have erased any economic momentum from the start of 2019. When Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po unveiled his budget in February, he forecast annual growth of 2 percent to 3 percent—by August, he had slashed that forecast to zero percent to 1 percent. Bloomberg News

In historic sale, Greek debt carries negative interest rate

A

THENS, Greece—More than a year after Greece exited its bailout programs, investors made history in the country Wednesday by buying its short-term debt at a negative yield, meaning they volunteered at least in theory to get less money back than they paid.

Greece’s debt management agency said it raised €487.5 million ($535 million) selling 13-week treasury bills for which the yield was -0.02 percent. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the sale of bills with a negative yield was a first for Greece.

“To put it simply, we’re being paid to borrow money,” Mitsotakis told his center-right party’s lawmakers.

Other European countries offer even measlier returns on their treasury bills.

Lending at a loss, however small, appears daft. But many investors see government bonds as a safe place to channel excess liquidity amid global instability and stock market turmoil; the negative yield means they are willing to pay a fee for that safety.

Negative rates in Greece and elsewhere in Europe also result from European Central Bank monetary stimulus. The bank plans a new round of bond purchases, which would pump newly printed money into the economy to support stronger inflation and growth.

The expected purchases have driven government bond prices up and yields, which move in the opposite direction, down into negative territory at times.

AP

A6

Friday, October 11, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Manila: 3rd worst in the world?

T

HIS past week the headlines were about all the same on this topic, and they were depressing and discouraging. “Manila is third among 56 cities with lowest quality of life.”

It is never a happy experience to be ranked near the “Top of the Worst.”

Back in February, we published an article—“Manila 16th best city for millennials”—from a survey done by Value Champion, a consumer research firm. The data categorized three factors: employment prospects, cost of living and quality of life. But this was only for Asia, and who can argue with the research capabilities of Deutsche Bank?

Out of 556 cities studied by Deutsche Bank, the Philippines was No. 54 followed by Beijing and Lagos, Nigeria. Seven qualities were observed—purchasing power, safety, health care, cost of living, traffic and pollution, climate, and property prices. Just looking at these factors, you knew we were in big trouble from the beginning.

But this is what is interesting. The report is titled “Mapping the World’s Prices 2019.” So, while Zurich, Switzerland, has the best “quality of life,” it is also on the absolute bottom when it comes to “cost of living.” Manila, on the other hand, is No. 10 from the top in this category.

While third from the bottom in “quality,” Manila is third from the top in “Men’s Haircut in Expat Area of the City.” “Grow your hair as long as you like in Copenhagen, Oslo, and Zurich as haircuts are 10-15 times as expensive as in Dhaka, Bangalore, Manila and Cairo.”

Manila also is third from the top on the “Bad Habits Index”— being a package of five beers and two packs of cigarettes. The city is also a less-expensive place for a “cheap date”—taxi, dinner/ lunch for two, soft drinks, two movie tickets and a couple of beers.

If something more fancy is your pleasure, then note that Manila ranks seventh best for “Five-Star Hotel Rooms with a View.”

The Philippines’s largest city also has a very good score for “Monthly Ticket Public Transport,” but we do not even want to go there on the subject of transportation.

The city is also considered inexpensive compared to other places for a “Full Course Dinner for Two at an Italian Restaurant” and a “Ticket to the Cinema.”

In fact, when you look at the specifics of the report, there is a definite trend. With cities as with people, the wealthier you are, the higher your quality of life. The Los Angeles Times in July published this article: “San Francisco homeless count goes from bad to worse.” Yet, according the Deutsche Bank, San Francisco has the highest “Monthly Salary” and the highest “Disposable Income Index after Rents.” It would appear that a city’s quality of life comes down to “you get what you pay for.” Maybe that is why Deutsche Bank is “mapping prices.”

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

Online Editor Creative Director Chief Photographer Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President VP-Finance VP Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Sonny M. Angara

BETTER DAYS

I

N a June 2019 Facebook post, Ateneo School of Government dean Dr. Ronald Mendoza suggested a very simple yet compelling idea for boosting the inclusiveness of our economy. Dean Ron wrote, “In your hotel rooms , it would be nice to find indigenously produced soap, Liliw-produced slippers, and chocolates from Davao.” He explained that this was an inclusive way for improving dramatically the products of our micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through feedback, partnership and access to a large, and predictable foreign tourist market.

Apparently, this has already been done elsewhere. In Bali, the provincial administration issued a regulation requiring the use of local agricultural products in all hotels, restaurants, and catering services on the island, according to the Jakarta Post. The regulation was enacted in December last year and includes provisions for groceries to stock their aisles with local produce and products. It even has guidelines for proper pricing, so that farmers would stand to make a profit.

Tourism continues to be on the rise here in the Philippines. According to the Department of Tourism (DOT), we had 7.1 million visitors

last year—up from the 5.6 million that arrived in 2014. In the first six months of this year alone, we’ve already welcomed 4.8 million tourists.

With tourist arrivals expanding at such a steady pace, we now have an opportunity to promote Philippine-made or “Tatak Pinoy” products. We can start right where many tourists stay: in hotels. Providing them essential amenities that are locally made, such as toiletries and comfort accessories like slippers, soap and shampoos can be the first step.

Hotels and other major tourismrelated businesses could be incentivized to prioritize local products for

Strengthening the PGH

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso Ruben M. Cruz Jr. Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes 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.–Sun Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila MEMBER OF

‘Tatak Pinoy’ products in hotels

SERVANT LEADER

B

ROTHERS and sisters, if we or our loved ones get sick, which hospital or medical facility do we go to?

According to the National Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2017, almost 6 out of 10 sick Filipinos go to public hospitals. For those in need to be admitted in hospitals for further care and healing, 55 percent were medicated through public medical facilities.

In terms of expenses, it is clearly more expensive to go to private hospitals where the average hospitalization cost is not less than P33,000, while the cost of public hospitals only reach an average of P11,600. Because of the high cost of medical services in private hospitals, it is easy to understand why many people go to public hospitals. It is good that, overall, the quality of services in many public medical centers are excellent, even if there are concerns that need improvement, such as additional beds and facilities.

One of the popular public

hospitals in Manila is the Philippine General Hospital or PGH. This hospital was established in 1907 to provide medical services especially for those who are in dire need. Apart from the PGH being the primary hospital of the Philippine government, it also serves as a training ground for medical and nursing students, as well as those who are taking specializations in the field of health science. Fifteen years have passed since the last great change in PGH. In the past year, its emergency room and intensive care unit have been undergoing repair, but,

their establishments. Local suppliers and MSMEs would be given access—albeit in a limited scale—to foreign customers, who can provide steady demand for their products.

Hopefully, a virtuous cycle is created where our MSMEs are motivated to produce more and better products, in turn, adding more value to the country’s tourism offerings.

The Department of Trade and Industry could also step in with their Negosyo Centers and provide business information, registration and advisory services, as well as monitoring and evaluation. As of 2018, some 1,061 Negosyo Centers have been opened nationwide, with many hopefully in the proximity of our tourism hot spots and communities.

With the proper interface between DTI and DOT, MSME development programs can maximize the growth of our tourism-based businesses.

Hotels could also set up GoLokal! stores and One Town One Product Philippines hubs. GoLokal! stores are a DTI initiative that showcase high quality, innovative products from local producers, while OTOP Philippines hubs sell souvenirs and pasalubong items sourced from different parts of the country. Both programs dovetail with the idea of creating business opportunities that use the Philippine tourism experience as a platform. What more if the very objects in hotel rooms reflect

this philosophy? These GoLokal! and OTOP stores should also be present in all our airports, considering the latter are our gateways to the rest of the world.

According to the DOT, the average daily expenditure for tourists has now reached about $120, and they usually stay for nine nights.

That’s nearly 30 percent more money spent compared to last year, and roughly 2 percent longer. Some of that could definitely be channeled to our MSMEs and their products.

These ideas are all part of the organic philosophy embodied by our “Tatak Pinoy [Made in the Philippines]” initiative. If we apply serious effort into promoting Philippine products and services, we multiply the chances of bringing more Filipino families out of poverty.

Applying that to our tourism destinations, including hotels, means no opportunity is wasted to develop local entrepreneurs and promote their products and services. We can start with a well-made set of Filipino slippers and toiletries in every hotel room.

unfortunately, only 70 percent of the repair works have been done.

At the same time, the issue of lack of beds to accommodate the everincreasing number of patients every day has yet to be addressed.

It is said that around 250 patients go to PGH every day, but there are only 25 beds available at the ER. If this is the state of PGH, why would the Department of Budget and Management or DBM propose to cut the hospital’s budget by P456 million for the year 2020? It is also important to point out that the proposed budget for the country’s health sector for next year will reportedly be slashed by P10 billion. It is difficult to understand these budget cuts for the health sector and public hospitals like PGH amid the outbreak of measles and dengue, the return of the dangerous polio disease, and other severe illnesses like meningococcemia.

Maybe, due to the negative reactions raised by the public regarding these news and the persuasion of other lawmakers, the House of Representatives reportedly increased PGH’s budget by P500 million. We like to think that lawmakers are taking action based on reason and true compassion for the poor who have

no choice but to go to public medical facilities like the PGH. In the social teachings of the Church, it is clear that health care is a human right. It is equal to people’s right to have food, housing, work and education. In the statement for the assembly of members of the Doctors with Africa group in 2016, Pope Francis said that having proper health is a “universal right,” while health-care services cannot be a privilege only for the wealthy.

Brothers and sisters, getting sick nowadays is unfortunate, and even more so with our quality of health care available for the poor. Which is why those who are responsible for our public health care must give poor and indigent Filipinos access to good health services. In the case of the PGH, they can do this by increasing the hospital’s budget. This way, they can help more Filipinos stay healthy.

According to the book of Corinthians 6:19, the human body is the “temple of the Holy Spirit.”

Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for

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

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

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

First among equals

When clouds matter more than love

BusinessMirror

Manny F. Dooc

ANNOTATIONS

WO weeks from now, we shall bid adieu to an extraordinary jurist who has served the Supreme Court with unflinching devotion to the majesty of the law and who is acknowledged as its intellectual leader. He’s the son of Davao City and studied in Ateneo de Davao for his early education. He finished his Economics degree in Ateneo de Manila and graduated Valedictorian of the 1975 UP Law Class. He was the editor of The Guidon, chairman of the Editorial Board of the Philippine Law Journal and managing editor of the Philippine Collegian. He copped sixth place in the 1975 Bar Examination. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit by President Fidel Ramos and voted as Most Outstanding Alumnus in Law by both Ateneo and UP. Senior Associate Justice Antonio Tirol Carpio is the 148th member of the Supreme Court.

T is October. You’d say, I know. But it is October only where I stand. That is what I want to say.

That was my feeling this afternoon, at five. It was not the most lyrical of situation. I was lugging an old laundry bag as I walked to the laundry shop. The wind had a bit of chill in it. I looked up and caught half of the horizon, gray above and coal below. A cascade of softest shadows curled and moved to the right of the sky above me. To my left, higher than the crown of trees, more clouds have assumed jagged, cruel forms because some strong gust of wind disrespected their cushy existence.

Justice Carpio has served the SC for 18 years. He was at the zenith of his legal practice and the founding partner of a powerful law partnership aptly called The Firm when President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo appointed him an associate justice at age 52. As the senior associate justice, he has served as the acting chief justice four times whenever the position of the chief justice became vacant. He has been bypassed for appointment as chief justice a number of times despite occupying the pole position. Twice, he declined his nomination due to conflict of interests when he voted to remove CJ Maria Lourdes Sereno and, lately, as a potential successor to CJ Lucas Bersamin since he would only be serving the office for eight days after Bersamin leaves his office. Totally unheard of in today’s political milieu where each opportunity is grabbed and every chance is exploited to advance one’s career. In the words of Justice Marvic Leonen, “Justice Carpio is the exemplary statesperson.”

His uncompromising character has prevented him from becoming the Chief Magistrate of our land.

Justice Carpio will leave an enduring impact in our jurisprudence. I don’t exactly know his judicial philosophy but legal scholars can fathom it from the breadth and width of his decisions, which have enriched our jurisprudence.

In Lambino vs. Comelec, GR 174153, Justice Carpio wrote: “This Court cannot betray its primordial duty to defend and protect the Constitution. The Constitution, which embodies the people’s sovereign will, is the Bible of this Court.... To allow this constitutionally infirmed initiative, propelled by deceptively gathered signatures, to alter basic principles in the Constitution is to allow a desecration of the Constitution. To allow such alteration and desecration is to lose this Court’s raison d’etre.” This landmark case involved the constitutionality of the so-called people’s initiative to revise the Philippine Constitution. Again, in Wilson Gamboa vs. Secretary Margarito Teves, et al, the SC ordered the SEC to determine the extent of

foreign ownership in PLDT and if the firm had violated the Constitutional provision limiting foreign ownership in telecommunication companies to 40 percent. In his ponencia, Justice Carpio once more showed his strong Filipinism when he said: “The Court should never open to foreign control what the Constitution has expressly reserved to Filipinos for that would be a betrayal of the Constitution and of the national interest. The Court must perform its solemn duty to defend and uphold the intent and letter of the Constitution to ensure, in the words of the Constitution, ‘a selfreliant and independent national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.’”

When Court reporters asked Justice Thurgood Marshall about his judicial philosophy on the eve of his retirement, he replied in his usual laconic style, “I do what I think is right and let the law catch up on me.” It would be difficult to label Justice Carpio either as a liberal or conservative. Neither is he a strict constructionist for he allows certain latitude provided it is consistent with the spirit and letter of the Constitution. Justice Carpio is too erudite and versatile to fall under one category. He is not pro- or anti-government, but definitely he is for the Filipinos. I’m sure Justice Carpio will not rest on his laurels after his retirement. His lifelong commitment to protect our national interest will keep him active in the affairs of the State, particularly on the South China Sea concerns. He will not rest his case even after he retires. Normally, a justice shuns away from public glare but not Justice Carpio, where he has been generous in sharing his strongly held position on the SCS dispute. He has to step up since no one with enough gravitas, except probably former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, could take up the challenge. Justice Carpio may be dubbed Forever No. 2 but in my book he is second to none. There may be no dissenting opinion if I say that he is first among equals.

I

Streaks of orange and red had slowly erased, it seems, their nasty tone and decided to follow what the universe intended for all colors—to fade and let something else be in their place. Twilight, perhaps, and early evening and the sound of a day gone.

No one, logic tells me, stops with an errand like having clothes cleaned, to gaze at the sky. No man, older and getting old, ever makes that pause at the curb while cars passed by and the world moves on.

Somehow, vehicles in a hurry are the more appropriate metaphor for any life that afternoon I decided to marvel at, of all things, clouds.

But I am not dealing with figures of speech when clouds make an impression on me.

When was it that I flew a kite?

Playing with kite allows us to deal with the heavens, not the spirituality of the elements above and out of this Earth, but with the infinite: that throbbing vitality where stars are seen when the night and its gloom proceed to introduce us to other objects more shimmering than our own geniuses and dreams.

When was it that I went out to search through the obscurantism of eight and nine in the evenings to test if I still remember where

constellations are?

Some years ago—when my father was young and we, his children, were younger—we lived in a rambling house with the windows opening to a wide roof. At night, after dinner, when my grandfather had already chosen between a banana and some sweet, and my grandmother had started fixing the mosquito net, my father would ask us to go out on that roof. There were three boys in the family and an only sister who was very young then. The eldest felt he was too old to gaze at stars. The three of us, Carlo, Ebit and I, would clamber up the ledge and walk to the center of the flat roof. My father would then start searching for the constellations. He was a master teacher, unusual in his pedagogy and secure enough to tell us when he had difficulties identifying where the stars were and what were their names. It was like a hunt: we participated in the danger and in the uncertainty of the quest.

It was a great way to learn words also. “Constellations” did not simply mean an aggrupation of stars.

We could also turn it into a verb, to “constellate,” which means to form a group or to cluster. Stargazing became a lesson in etymology. To

Libor refuses to die

By Mark Gilbert Bloomberg Opinion

A

N advertisement showing in UK cinemas currently shows a boy hesitating to kiss a female zombie. “But I’m kinda hot,” she says, popping chewing gum into her mouth before they lock lips—and her arm drops off.

The finance community has a similarly conflicted relationship with Libor, the reference interest rates for everything from mortgages to car loans to corporate debt. This makes it likely that the benchmarks will survive beyond their planned termination date.

The current plan is for Libor to wink out of existence by the end of 2021.

Changes in the wholesale funding market mean it’s no longer based on actual transactions between banks. The Financial Conduct Authority is adamant that the UK finance industry should shift to using the Sterling Overnight Interbank

Average rate (known as Sonia). In other jurisdictions, including the US and the euro area, regulators are implementing replacements. But with a bit more than two years to go, a combination of complacency, complexity and inertia is keeping Libor very much alive.

The Bank of England’s “Bank Overground” blog pointed out recently that the value of sterling swap contracts referencing Libor is increasing rather than decreasing, according to data compiled by LCH Ltd., the derivatives clearing house.

The value of contracts that extend beyond Libor’s mooted end date has increased since April 2018, and stands currently at more than £10 trillion ($12 trillion), as the chart above shows. Even by 2026, more than £5 trillion of Libor swaps will still be outstanding. “Use of Libor remains widespread, and this poses risks to market stability,” the Bank of England blog says.

There has been some progress in

The rich world’s rust belts aren’t so unequal

T

By Ferdinando Giugliano | Bloomberg Opinion

HE political upheavals of our current populist era have often originated in the “forgotten lands” of the rich world.

It was the rust belt that propelled Donald J. Trump to the White House; the Midlands and the North of England that pushed Britain out of the EU; and the French countryside that generated the “yellow vest” revolt against Emmanuel Macron.

So how big are regional inequalities, and what should be done to address them? A new study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that they may, in fact, be less significant than we have recently assumed. Furthermore, the right policy response hinges on ensuring that labor markets work effectively, rather than splurging public money on a depressed area in the hope it will rekindle growth.

There is little doubt that regional disparities in advanced economies have increased over the last three

decades. The IMF finds that real GDP in regions at the 90th percentile is on average 70 percent higher than in regions at the 10th percentile—an increase of more than 10 percentage points from the late 1980s. In some countries, such as Italy and Canada, real GDP in some of the richest regions is more than double that of some of the poorest.

Yet, it would be wrong to overstate the role that regional disparities play in determining overall levels of inequality. The IMF finds that the regional component

A7

Tito Genova Valiente

TELLTALES

T

Friday, October 11, 2019

accounts for only about 5 percent of overall inequality in household disposable income within advanced economies. There are some significant differences: For example, in Italy, eliminating regional disparities would bring inequality levels back to where they were in the early 1990s. But even in this case, income inequality would only fall by around 15 percent.

The IMF study also looks into the question of whether some regions in rich countries have suffered disproportionately from globalization. Looking at a broad sample of advanced economies, it finds that competition from external markets do not have any significant effect on regional unemployment. But technological change does: unemployment rates in regions vulnerable to automation rises steadily over the four years after a shock, such as a significant drop in the

cost of machinery and equipment capital goods.

For policy-makers concerned about regional inequalities, the most relevant question remains what to do about it. The temptation is to chuck money at the problem, offering tax incentives or higher spending to laggard regions via what is called in jargon “place-based fiscal policy.” These policies appear to be second best. The most important course of action is to ensure that labor markets work effectively and that workers can move across a country to fill vacancies wherever they exist.

Unfortunately, there are often cases where this does not occur. A good example is Italy: Tito Boeri, Andrea Ichino, Enrico Moretti and Johanna Posch, a group of economists, have looked at the impact of collective bargaining agreements in Germany and Italy. While

constellate was not simply to gather the elements together but to put things that were stellar, important.

The “stars” did not disappear from the word—this was the lesson we learned from our father.

When we were old enough to travel, my older brother, Manong Pempe, and I were permitted by our parents to go on vacation in the town of San Fernando, which was part of the island of Ticao. All of us were born in that island.

During those years, the boats left the island for the port of Bulan, in Sorsogon, at three in the morning.

It was a dark journey by the sea.

But I was never scared because my Manong was there to take care of me and the men of the boats knew the sea and the sky. On one of those trips, with the sea unusually rough, an old man beside me pointed to a huge brilliant sky that appeared to swing down as the night vanished and the morning eased slowly from the distant onyx mountains.

“Kagbubuwas,” that is the name of the star, the old man whispered to me. “That star will be our guide,” was the assurance of the old man.

In 1999, after some six months of illness, my brother passed on.

Grieving was not easy but writing about griefs came easier. In Tigaonon, the language of Ticao, I, one night, wrote: Turog na Manong/ Guin babantayan ka/San Kagbubuwas/Turog na/Kay ada na an buwas.

These lines I translated into: Sleep my Older Brother/The Star-of-MorningBecoming watches you/Sleep now/For tomorrow comes.

It is wrong to think of clouds as furtive, fleeting, ephemeral. That afternoon when I told myself those are October clouds, I also said to myself how clouds and stars are real, how they matter, how you can build worlds on them, and how they are even more real, most of the time, than the greatest of love.

moving financial products to the regulators’ recommended replacement. Earlier this month, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.’s NatWest unit switched the reference rate on an existing loan to South West Water to Sonia. In July, the same bank made the first new loan based on Sonia, to National Express Group Plc. Of course, some of the warnings about the need to accelerate away from Libor are self-serving. Consultants and lawyers will make money from offering expensive advice on the transition; it’s in their interests to emphasize the dangers.

But the sheer volume of outstanding notes around the world still tied to Libor and expiring after 2021—as much as $864 billion, the International Capital Markets Association estimated earlier this year—leaves many financiers skeptical that the regulators will carry out their threat to kill off the benchmarks as planned.

A survey published last month by

consulting company Accenture Plc. showed 23 percent of respondents expect Libor to survive past its current death date. The poll of 177 global banks, asset managers and companies showed just 18 percent of the respondents described their shift away from the benchmarks as “mature,” with only one-fifth saying they were “operationally ready.”

Regulators face a tough choice. If Libor wins a stay of execution, there will be even less pressure to switch away from the old reference rates. But if they stick to their guns, billions of dollars and euros and pounds of contracts will come untethered as the interest rates on which their payments are based disappear.

That risk is too big to ignore. Sure, Libor is flawed and outdated, and probably beyond redemption. But with less than 27 months to go, the finance industry needs more time to come to terms with its demise. Let Libor live on. Sometimes even a zombie can be hard to resist.

Germany has moved toward a more flexible system that allows for local bargaining, Italy exhibits very limited geographic wage differences, which are often completely unrelated to productivity. This essentially means that workers in Germany have an incentive to move to where wages are higher and jobs are more plentiful, while workers in Italy do not. Moreover, German companies have an incentive to move where wages are cheaper, creating more jobs, while Italian companies do not.

The result is that the Italy’s poorer south enjoys higher real wages (because the cost of living is lower than in the richer north), but also much higher levels of unemployment. The researchers find that if Italy adopted the German bargaining system, aggregate employment and earnings would increase by 11 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively,

because of the better allocation of workers across the country.

There are indeed cases in which money from the central government can help a region that is lagging behind. Benjamin Austin, Edward Glaser and Larry Summers, three economists, find that targeted hiring incentives can be effective in creating jobs and growth when aimed at regions with higher unemployment rates. But such placebased measures can create issues of horizontal equity: Why should poor households in high-income regions be penalized just because they do not live in a deprived area?

Most important, there is no reason to let artificial obstacles get in the way of the functioning of a labor market—particularly within the same country where there are few or no language or institutional barriers. Money alone will not rescue the forgotten lands.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

A8 Friday, October 11, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DBM clears release of ₧2-B additional Mla Bay rehab fund

F

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

OLLOWING President Duterte’s approval, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) cleared the release of almost P2 billion in augmentation fund for the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Acting Budget Secretary Wendel B. Avisado told the BusinessMirror that it was the President who ordered the release of the fund after his fourth State of the Nation Address.

He said the President really “wants to clean up Manila Bay so that’s why we found a way to [source it from the] contingency fund.”

Since the money was sourced from the P13-billion contingency fund of the national government, it needed the President’s approval.

Based on the DBM’s list, there were seven Special A llotment Release Orders (Saro) already approved by the budget depart-

ment on October 4 amounting to P1,979,305,000. This amount accounted for P15.23 percent of the total contingency fund of the national government.

The approval by the Office of the President of the release of the money was dated September 13, 2019.

Budget Assistant Secretary Rolando U. Toledo also confirmed to the BusinessMirror that the fund was just an additional release to this year’s P80-million budget allocation for the operational plan for the Manila Bay Coastal Management Strategy.

See “DBM,” A2

‘Ruling on Marcos protest will be merit-based’

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE much-awaited ruling by the Supreme Court—sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal—on the election protest filed by former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will be based on merit, and not on personal biases of the magistrates or pressure from the public.

Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin gave this assurance at the sidelines of the

launching of the Judiciary Memorabilia Hall where he confirmed that a decision on the case is forthcoming.

Bersamin also assured that he would not be using his position as chief magistrate to influence the outcome of the case.

“This is something I can tell you, we are expected to have a result by next week; it may not be what you expect.

We are still discussing many other things so that is all I can tell you. Don’t worry ’di ko niluluto, ’di pwede lutuin ‘yan,

NORTHEASTERLY SURFACE WINDFLOW PREVAILING OVER LUZON as of 4:00 pm - October 10, 2019

[Don’t worry I am not rigging it, It cannot be rigged],” Bersamin stressed.

Bersamin, however, refused to confirm that a ruling is coming out next week when the Court holds its regular en banc session.

“We cannot tell. There may be a decision, there may not be a decision.

But the reality is, we are still considering whether there are already enough before us,” he said.

The Court has already deferred twice its deliberations and voting on the re-

port submitted by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguiao on the result of the revision and recount of ballots in three pilot provinces covered by the election protest.

Caguiao is the justice assigned to handle the election protest.

Caguiao’s report covers the result of the revision and recount of ballots in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Oriental and Camarines Sur involving 5,415 precincts.

The outcome of the revision and recount of ballots in the test provinces would determine whether PET would proceed in the vote revision on 39,221 clustered precincts covering 27 provinces and cities identified in Marcos election protest.

“I am bound by confidentiality. I cannot bring you into the banc otherwise we would make our deliberations public. We have certain rules to follow on nondisclosure and I am very careful not to infringe those rules because I am the leader of the Court and would not be loquacious or talkative about what they are doing there at the Tribunal,” Bersamin said in explaining why he could give further details.

The Chief Justice said they are aware about some groups gathering outside the premises of the Court to call for the immediate release of its ruling on Marcos case.

However, Bersamin said he and his fellow magistrates do not feel any pressure in deciding in favor of a certain party.

“We do not feel the pressure. We know there is pressure there but we are very mature members of the Supreme Court so if anyone of us feels pressured we would just help the pressured member. I tell you, all of us are pressured to some degree but the pressure we experience is bearable because if not, we should all just resign,” he added.

Marcos’s protest cites three causes of action—first, that the Automated Elections System was compromised, hence, the integrity of the AES cannot be relied upon to declare a legitimate winner; the second requires the revision or manual recount of the actual ballots to determine the votes cast in all the 36,465 protested clustered precincts. The third cause of action sought the annulment of election results for the VP position in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Basilan, on the ground of terrorism, intimidation and harassment of voters, as well as preshading of ballots in all of the 2,756 protested clustered precincts in the areas.

The PET has dismissed Marcos’s first cause of action for being “meaningless and pointless.” Marcos filed an election protest on June 29 , 2016, claiming that the camp of Robredo cheated in the automated polls in May 2016.

The Commission on Elections declared Robredo winner in the vice presidential race in the 2016 election after she got 14,418,817 votes—or 263,473 votes more than the 14,155,344 votes received by Marcos.

208 TRADERS, BIG FIRMS BOUGHT 1.614 MMT OF IMPORTED RICE

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

A

TOTAL of 208 private entities, including big firms, imported more than 1.6 million metric tons (MMT) of rice seven months after the government eased import restrictions on the staple, data from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) showed.

Figures from the BPI, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), showed that cooperatives, traders and institutions imported 1.614 MMT of rice as of October 4 after the rice trade liberalization law took effect on March 5.

The BPI data indicated that importers bought rice from India, Italy, Myanmar, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam.

Topping the list of importers is Puregold Price Club Inc. (Puregold), the grocery-chain operator owned by businessman Lucio Co, which imported 52,021.850 metric tons during the seven-month period. Puregold accounted for 3.22 percent of the total rice volume that arrived in the country.

Davao San Ei Trading Inc., which brought in 48,360 MT of rice and Arvin International Marketing Inc. with 45,418 MT of imported rice were the other two large importers.

The BPI was mandated to facilitate private-sector importation by issuing sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPS-IC) after the rice trade liberalization law took effect on March 5.

Under the new trade regime, private entities must secure an SPS-IC from the BPI prior to bringing imported rice into the country.

The rice trade liberalization law, or Republic Act 11203, eased the importation of rice by deregulating the National Food Authority (NFA), which effectively removed its regulatory powers over rice importation.

Various farmers’ groups and nongovernment organizations pointed to the increase in rice imports as the culprit for the double-digit decline in the average farm-gate price of unhusked rice.

The steep decline in palay prices following the increase in rice import volumes prompted the DA to initiate a preliminary investigation to determine whether the imposition of safeguard duties is warranted.

The DA is supposed to reveal the findings of its investigation last October 10, a month after the start of the probe, if the sudden increase in rice imports did cause injury to local palay farmers.

DOE told: Account for nuke program funding

By Butch Fernandez

T

@butchfBM

HE Department of Energy (DOE) was asked Thursday to be “more transparent” in its nuclear energy program in the wake of reports that the Duterte administration has signed a Philippine-Russian deal to explore the possibility of constructing another nuclear plant, seen to replace the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian raised the issue on transparency as a Senate Finance panel conducted Thursday’s hearing on the Department of Energy’s proposed P97-million initial budget allocation to bankroll a revived nuclear program agenda.

Gatchalian, grilling Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on the nuke funding, sought confirmation of reports that the DOE already secured President Duterte’s approval to proceed with its nuclear program revival agenda.

The senator added that a “briefing disclosed to us that it was already endorsed to our President.”

The next question now, continued the Senate Energy committee chief, “is whether to pursue it or not,” adding that “right now, it appears there is no direction. [And] if there is no direction. Does that mean do we still pursue or is that a tacit signal to pursue?”

Moreover, the senator raised the “question of constitutionality” in pursuing the nuclear program in the country.

Gatchalian pointed out that without the President’s approval, allocating funds may be rendered useless. “We already spent P48 million this year and next year, we will be spending P97 million. So, in total, we will be spending P135 million on this nuclear agenda but we don’t know whether the President wants to pursue it or not. Then, we get a signal from his trip that this might be unconstitutional,” he added.

Cusi, in turn, affirmed that pursuing a nuclear program agenda is part of the DOE’s mandate to look at potential sources of energy as part of government’s energy security plan.

At the same time, the energy secretary justified the allocation for a nuclear program, saying that in order to be able to craft a national policy on a nuclear program, they need money to hire consultants and experts to undertake such studies.

This developed as Russian media earlier reported that Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp. offered to build a nuclear station in the Philippines. For his part, President Duterte confirmed reports that among the business agreements signed during his Russia state visit is the possible construction of floating nuclear power plants in the country, even as the President admitted he was unsure whether the deal was constitutional or not.

Asked about the general public sentiment toward the government’s nuclear program agenda, Cusi declined to comment on the acceptability of the nuclear power plant, saying the department has yet to submit its report to the President.

Gatchalian, in turn, reminded Cusi that “the more transparency we show the public, the more confidence that we build.”

The senator admitted that “right now, even I, to be honest about it, [am only getting information] on a needto-know basis. So, if I don’t make a request, [I won’t find out]. That’s why whenever I’m asked about it, I don’t know what to answer.”

The senator then asked the DOE to provide the committee a breakdown on how the department spent the P48 million allocated to the nuclear program for fiscal year 2019, and another breakdown on how the DOE would spend the P97-million budget it allocated for fiscal year 2020.

“Right now, we don’t have a signal from the President on whether to go or not to go,” Gatchalian said.

“And yet, we are undertaking more studies. What I would like to see is a detailed discussion on where the 48 million was spent.”

Acknowledging that nuclear power is “a very controversial source of power,” the senator added: “To be honest about it, we cannot cloak it in secrecy or else, the more the public will doubt us.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019 A9

A10 Friday, October 11, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019 A11

A12 Friday, October 11, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019 A13

A14 Friday, October 11, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019 A15

A16 Friday, October 11, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019 A17

A18 Friday, October 11, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019 A19

A20 Friday, October 11, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019 A21

A22 Friday, October 11, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019 A23

A24 Friday, October 11, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, October 11, 2019

B1

‘State firms in key sectors weaken competition’

D

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

ESPITE the government’s efforts to open markets, the Philippines still does not have enough competition in the economy, according to the World Bank.

In a recent briefing on the Philippine Economic Update (PEU), World Bank Country Economist Rong Qian told reporters that of the 17 non-infrastructure sectors surveyed in the report, the national government controls at least one firm each in 11 sectors.

Data showed that of 27 sectors included in the Product Market Regulation (PMR) study, state-owned enterprises are present in 18 in the Philippines. The average globally is only 14, making the Philippines the country with the 12th highest number of SOEs in these sectors.

“Although the government of the Philippines has adopted key reforms to rationalize state participation in the economy, SOEs are still present in a number of non-infrastructure sectors where private participation is typically possible and economically viable,” the report said.

VILLAR Group Chairman Manny Villar (fifth from left) rings the bell during AllHome Corp.’s Initial Public Offering listing ceremony at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Taguig on Thursday. Also in photo are (on left side of stage, from left) Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, AllHome Director Manuel Paolo Villar, Sen. Cynthia A. Villar and AllHome Vice Chairman Camille Villar. On the right side of the stage are: PSE Chairman Jose Pardo, SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino, PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon, PSE Directors Emmanuel Bautista, Vivian Yuchengco and Wilson Sy; and SEC Commissioner Kevin Lester Lee. ROY DOMINGO

ALLHOME CORP. CONCLUDES IPO A

LLHOME Corp. concluded its initial public offering (IPO) with a listing ceremony at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday. The “one-stop shop” home store raised P8.63 billion from the sale of its primary shares. The amount will be used by the com-

pany for its capital expenditures and initial working capital for store network expansion and debt repayment. AllHome currently has 27 stores in the country. It plans to have 45 branches by yearend.

In his remarks during the listing ceremony, PSE

Chairman Jose T. Pardo said, “AllHome is a six-year old company. It opened its first store in 2013. The market debut of this young, vibrant and rapidly growing company is a testament that even new companies can already tap the stock market for their capital requirements.”

Arthaland office building Vista Land registers P30-B certified world’s first bonds with SEC, in zero-carbon footprint to issue P10B

P

ROPERTY developer Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. on Thursday said it will sell some P30 billion worth of retail bonds spread in three years, while at the same time issuing P10 billion immediately.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stoc k E xc ha nge, t he firm said it filed with the Securities and Exchange Comm i ssion a n appl ic at ion for the registration of Philippine peso-denominated fixed-rate retail bonds with an aggregate amount of up to P30 billion.

The shelf-registered bonds will be issued in tranches within a period of three years from the effective date of registration statement.

Vista Land will initially issue up to P10-billion fixed-rate retails bonds consisting of P5 billion with an oversubscription option of up to P5 billion.

The P5 billion will be issued as the last tranche of the existing P20-billion shelf program of the company, while up to P5 billion shall be issued out of the new shelf bonds.

Vista Land is currently ramping up project launches in the second semester due to strong demand.

“We target to launch at least P50billion projects in terms of project value for 2019, which will still be mostly in the low and affordable segment and outside Metro Manila,” Vista Land President Manuel Paolo A. Villar said earlier. VG Cabuag

A

RTHALAND Corp.’s f lagship office tower in Taguig has been accredited anew as a “green and sustainable” building, following the EDGE Zero Carbon certification from International Finance Corp. (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

The first in the world, Arthaland Century Pacific Tower (ACPT), was recognized as such, given its projected savings of 45 percent in energy, 64 percent in water and 34 percent in embodied energy in materials, surpassing the benchmark of 20 percent less use for each category.

This 31-story edifice in Bonifacio Global City is now the country’s only triple-certified project for receiving such accreditation, which stands for Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies, in addition to the acquired LEED Platinum and BERDE five-star ratings since it opened last year.

“We’re really proud of this,” Arthaland Vice Chairman and President Jaime C. Gonzalez told reporters in a briefing before the awarding ceremony at the ACPT lobby on Wednesday.

“By achieving EDGE Zero Carbon certification, we have once again raised green building development standards in the country and have kept true to our unwavering commitment of building boutique, sustainable and exceptional developments,” he added. ACPT is energy-efficient, being powered by First Gen’s Pantabangan-Masiway Hydroelectric Plant in Nueva Ecija.

It uses higher thermal performance glass, reflective roof paint, sensorized lighting fixtures, energy recovery ventilation and variable refrigerant volume cooling systems. For water conservation, it has efficient closets, faucets and

urinals, as well as gray water recycling, condensate water recovery and rainwater harvesting systems.

Construction materials with less embodied energy were utilized— aluminum window frames, in-situ reinforced concrete slabs for roof and floor, medium weight hollow concrete blocks for internal walls, curtain walling for external walls, and stone tiles and finished concrete floor for the flooring. Gonzalez said that while it costs a lot to integrate all these green features—around 8 percent to 10 percent higher than a base case building—“it’s an investment for the long term” considering their environmental contribution and huge savings for tenants.

Arthaland Executive Vice President and Treasurer Leonardo Po even pointed out that it helps them achieve a “triple bottom line” by providing a better working experience for the occupants’ employees, helping conserve natural resources and being able to charge one of the highest commercial office rates in Metro Manila. “This building has certainly attracted quite a number of multinational locators for our project,” he said of around 10 foreign and homegrown companies now operating in the fully leased building with a total gross floor area of 34,000 square meters.

Seeing the strong demand for green buildings nationwide, the publicly listed developer will continue to adhere to international and local standards for premium green projects with its upcoming two office projects, Cebu Exchange and Savya Financial Center.

“They, too, will be triple-certified with the US Green Building Council [LEED], the Philippine Green Building Council [BERDE] and the IFC EDGE as well,” Po revealed. Roderick L. Abad

Crowd out private sector

PHILIPPINE Competition Commission (PCC) Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan

told the BusinessMirror late Wednesday that there is always a risk that SOEs can crowd out the private sector.

This, he said, is why PCC drafted an executive order (EO) on the National Competition Policy that will help prevent agencies from negating the impact of new rules and policies they implement.

Balisacan said the EO was presented twice to the Economic Development Cluster (EDC), and the PCC is awaiting additional comments on the draft order.

“What it does is that in a sense, the President is ordering agencies that when they issue anything—whether new rules, new regulations, new policies—intended to achieve their sectoral objectives, these issuances will not come at the expense of another agency, in this case competition. So if you have those [issuances], what the EO is basically doing is it will provide a vehicle for those conflicts to be resolved,” Balisacan explained.

Continued on B2

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019

SBMA steps up ₧1.6-B rehab of US Navy-era facilities

S

By Henry Empeño | Correspondent

UBIC BAY FREEPORT—With a P1.6-billion infrastructure budget, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is now stepping up the repair and rehabilitation of roads, and other facilities that were built here when Subic was still an American military base.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, the Subic agency is now simultaneously undertaking four road repair projects, two slope rehabilitation projects, and one drainage system improvement project to fix aging US Navyera structures.

“We have a lot to catch up on because [not many] rehabilitation projects [were] done since Subic became a free port in 1992,” Eisma said on Thursday.

“We are doing several projects concurrently, not only because we are hosting the upcoming Southeast Asian Games, but more so because we need to redevelop Subic, and keep it sustainable as an area for investments,” she added.

The ongoing rehabilitation projects are clustered in Subic’s Central Business District, major access roads and industrial areas.

The SBMA Engineering Department said 13 construction projects worth a total of P733.4 million are in various stages of implementation.

These include the repair of the El Kabayo Road, and a slope rehabilitation project in the same area that were completed early this year.

The biggest project is the 2018 road rehabilitation package which costs a total of P274.54 million and covers areas, such as the Malawaan Park, Dewey Avenue, Waterfront

Road, road to the New Container Terminal, Rizal Highway, Maritan Highway, as well as several roads in residential areas.

The 2018 road rehabilitation package, which will be completed on December 21 this year, is expected to ease the traffic in some of the busiest roads in the free port, Eisma said.

Another major project is the P225.48-million 2019 Road Rehabilitation Project, which is currently in the mobilization and as-stake survey stage. This will consist of repairs along main roads, like Argonaut Highway, San Bernardino Road, roads to Leyte W harf and Sattler Pier, Rizal Highway, Boton Highway, Binictican Drive, and the approaches to Kalaklan Bridge and 14th Street Bridge.

Eisma said the SBMA is now “rebuilding the US Navy-era roads to take in more cargo traffic because of the growing transhipment operations here in Subic.”

In particular, the SBMA is eyeing to rehabilitate the Naval Supply Depot Road, an area battered by heavy trucks carrying tons of shipment from ships. The ongoing second phase of the NSD road project, with a budget of P85.26 million, is set for completion on December 27 this year.

Qian said efforts to review the role of SOEs in the sectors they operate in is also important in encouraging competition in the economy.

She said the review should examine whether or not they are incurring losses for the government, and whether they are addressing a specific social function.

There are times, Qian said, that an SOE may be posing contingent liabilities to the government but is helping carry out the government’s mandate to deliver basic services.

“We need to look more carefully.

But in some cases in the SOE, they have like two separate functions; one is more on the private side, one is on the public side and in the ideal situation, we’d like to separate them. How it is monitored currently, there is no way to separate them so that could be one way to actually evaluate them more independently and fully whether they are serving the private sector or the public

WORKERS pour concrete to pave the Waterfront Road under the SBMA’s infrastructure rehabilitation program.

N

October 10, 2019

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG FILIPINO FUND MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH

53.2 144.5 93.05 24.8 11.68 67.8 12.8 43.5 57.4 111.1 26.15 196.8 59 18.2 4.62 7.71 0.395 730 0.89 175.6

57 145 93.1 24.85 11.8 67.85 13 43.55 57.85 140 26.25 199 59.05 18.5 4.65 8.49 0.4 770 0.92 179

57 143.4 91.5 24.95 11.64 66.1 12.8 42.95 58 111.1 26 191.1 59.1 18.2 4.6 7.71 0.4 770 0.92 178.7

57 145 93.25 25 11.84 67.8 12.8 43.5 58 111.1 26.25 199 59.1 18.3 4.68 7.71 0.4 770 0.92 178.7

57 143.4 91.45 24.8 11.64 66.1 12.8 42.95 57.85 111.1 26 190.2 59 18.2 4.58 7.71 0.4 770 0.89 175.5

57 145 93.05 24.8 11.78 67.8 12.8 43.5 57.85 111.1 26.15 199 59 18.2 4.62 7.71 0.4 770 0.89 175.5

10 593880 3025070 110300 150900 2084500 29700 85400 870 390 681600 349820 14650 2500 199000 1800 40000 20 247000 1870

570 85778131 281400796 2743170 1771360 140209311.5 380160 3709125 50417 43329 17824695 68286118 864359.5 45520 919400 13878 16000 15400 221180 329363

THE recently completed Canal Road project is seen to improve traffic management and road safety at Subic’s Central Business District.

The project consists of repairs of roads leading to the NSD Compound where most of grain and bulk shipments are handled.

Aside from road repairs, other ongoing projects include some building renovation, construction of a fitness center and sentry kiosks, and rehabilitation of rubble mound for barrette light at the Subic airport.

Eisma also said that the SBMA has allocated P908.7 million for more upcoming rehabilitation works.

These include the P442.7-million

Magsaysay Bridge project, which will replace the span leading to the Subic Bay Freeport’s main gate.

Other projects in the pipeline are the P320-million NSD Road Rehabilitation Network Phase 3 project; a P3.6-million drainage and flood-control project near the SBMA Dispensary; slope rehabilitation at Aparri Road worth P81.4 million; the P7-million construction of perimeter fence from Kalaklan to Kalayaan; and the P54-million Perimeter Road rehabilitation project.

sector, social sector, we can only evaluate if we have the data,” Qian explained.

Qian added that the passage of investment-friendly reforms— amendments to the Public Service Act to allow foreign ownership in key sectors including telecommunication and transportation services, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act that will allow greater competition in the retail trade sector—can attract more foreign direct investment and boost local productivity.

The report also stresses that promoting competition to generate quality jobs will enhance the impact of growth on poverty reduction in the Philippines over

the long term.

As many critical sectors of the country are dominated by a few players, the report recommends reforms to enhance competition in Philippine markets.

This includes streamlining burdensome administrative procedures for businesses to make it easier to start a business, generating more competition in markets.

The World Bank also cited a need to eliminate restrictions on foreign, as well as domestic investors to help level the playing field.

The country should also ensure that state-owned enterprises compete on fair terms with private business, to promote more efficient use of public funds.

ration of 5G and next-generation products and services.”

Company officials were not available to discuss further details as of writing time.

Just recently, Now Corp. also entered into a multiyear agreement with UnionBank for the deployment of Now Fiber Air, its enterprise-grade broadband product in the Aboitiz-led lend-

er’s headquarters in Pasig City.

UnionBank is in the midst of a digital transformation initiative that aims to bring its banking services and products closer to consumers through the Internet.

Now Corp., a listed tech company led by businessman Mel Velarde, is engaged various digital initiatives, including broadband deployment. Lorenz S. Marasigan

33074850 46395977 707930 461322 -32117171 -911475 -523875 9393206 -824238.5 133980 82010 -17600

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

1.29 37.2 0.245 24.2 79.3 362.2 20.2 5.05 10.74 33.95 7.32 16 15.6 4.51 17.42 15 5.5 8.35 6.99 89.7 0.67 46.5 229 13.04 0.187 1.67 11.3 2 5.05 2.33 156.8 1.18 2.42 66 76 2.41 6 15.3 10.2 14.38 18.02 9.4 1.02 1.09 110 2 5.18 3.26 5.32 31.3 2.35 7.97 1.48 5.03 1.02 8.49

1.32 37.3 0.25 25.05 79.5 365 20.25 5.07 11 34 7.4 16.86 15.8 4.52 18.54 15.12 5.65 8.36 7 90.5 0.68 46.9 229.2 13.06 0.201 1.68 11.4 2.01 5.1 2.39 157.5 1.19 2.59 71.5 77 2.42 6.12 15.38 10.3 14.46 18.38 9.5 1.04 1.1 119.9 2.06 5.29 3.51 5.34 32 2.38 7.98 1.53 5.45 1.03 8.5

1.29 37.2 0.255 24.15 81 366 20.2 5.09 10.98 34.1 7.37 16.86 15.84 4.51 18 14.9 5.51 8.4 7.02 89.7 0.66 45.1 228.2 13 0.188 1.69 11.32 1.92 5.05 2.38 157 1.19 2.54 70 75 2.43 6.13 15.4 10.2 14.46 18.06 9.5 1.05 1.07 112.1 2.03 5.18 3.35 5.31 31 2.36 7.85 1.46 5.45 1.04 8.2

1.29 37.3 0.255 25.05 81 366 20.25 5.09 11 34.25 7.4 16.86 15.9 4.52 18.56 15.12 5.93 8.41 7.05 90 0.68 46.9 229.8 13.04 0.188 1.69 11.4 2.02 5.1 2.38 158 1.19 2.56 70 77.9 2.45 6.13 15.4 10.2 14.48 18.38 9.5 1.05 1.09 112.1 2.03 5.29 3.52 5.32 32 2.4 7.98 1.55 5.45 1.04 8.5

1.29 36.45 0.245 24.1 79.3 359.6 20 5.01 10.72 33.7 7.32 16.86 15.82 4.34 18 14.9 5.48 8.3 6.95 89.4 0.66 45.1 228 13 0.188 1.65 11.26 1.9 5.05 2.38 156.6 1.17 2.54 70 75 2.4 6.13 15.38 10.08 14.34 18.02 9.5 1.02 1.06 112 2.03 5.18 3.23 5.3 30.8 2.34 7.85 1.46 5.03 1.04 8.2

1.29 37.2 0.25 25.05 79.35 365 20.25 5.05 11 34 7.32 16.86 15.84 4.51 18.54 15.12 5.65 8.35 7 90 0.68 46.5 229 13.04 0.188 1.68 11.3 2 5.1 2.38 157.5 1.19 2.56 70 77.9 2.42 6.13 15.38 10.2 14.46 18.02 9.5 1.04 1.09 112 2.03 5.29 3.52 5.32 32 2.38 7.97 1.54 5.03 1.04 8.49

21000 402700 440000 2137000 34680 124930 60600 747100 33000 1479700 69200 500 67900 19949000 10600 516300 71600 1702800 4124500 268100 96000 302400 906250 45500 20000 937000 60700 4962000 8400 4000 189620 1168000 4000 80 100 1162000 10000 200 85400 1007900 1804900 200 23000 856000 390 120000 1400 11000 322300 116200 5869000 53000 120000 1100 1000 209200

27090 14921420 110900 53451380 2,753,966.5( 45228476 1224795 3764480 360250 50227305 511105 8430 1078648 88959350 191116 7760542 396271 14223725 28850751 24067521.5 64200 14054895 207509794 591542 3760 1563830 687186 9748660 42440 9520 29835086 1373820 10180 5600 7645 2808550 61300 3078 866914 14570034 32528654 1900 23790 920640 43699 243600 7263 36290 1709317 3702020 13946390 419294 179990 5953 1040 1751548

-6415735 2550 33177810 2,608,542.0002) -4416508 118925 344411 5656480 -0 -12178340 6304292 -322168 -3328089 -16502592 15429613.5 13769955 2528928 -20 217510 -601732 -79200 1828568 373910 -650510 -0 -409874 -10219112 -31068426 -21700 94532 -3212905 371320 109666 -265855

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT KEPPEL HLDG A LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME MEDIA SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER ZEUS HLDG

0.86 12.32 860.5 51.9 10.66 3.41 6.62 0.69 1.1 1.16 6.63 8.62 13 838 5.63 69.95 5.03 4.34 13.28 0.59 4.87 0.038 1.4 988 163 0.85 220.8 0.221

0.87 12.8 869 52.4 10.7 3.44 6.89 0.7 1.11 1.17 6.7 8.66 13.38 840 5.99 70.9 5.54 4.35 13.3 0.6 4.88 0.039 1.42 1000 163.5 0.87 230 0.238

0.87 12.86 870 54 10.9 3.4 6.89 0.71 1.12 1.15 6.6 8.76 13.4 834 5.63 70.9 5.03 4.34 13.4 0.58 4.83 0.038 1.37 988 161.8 0.84 221.6 0.225

0.87 12.88 870 54 11.04 3.44 6.89 0.71 1.14 1.15 6.7 8.78 13.4 847 5.63 71 5.58 4.34 13.5 0.6 4.9 0.038 1.43 1000 165 0.87 230 0.225

0.85 12.32 853 51.9 10.66 3.37 6.65 0.69 1.11 1.14 6.58 8.58 13 833 5.63 69.05 5.02 4.34 13.28 0.58 4.83 0.038 1.37 988 161.1 0.84 221 0.22

0.87 12.78 861 51.9 10.66 3.43 6.65 0.7 1.11 1.14 6.7 8.66 13 840 5.63 70.9 5.58 4.34 13.3 0.59 4.88 0.038 1.42 1000 163 0.87 230 0.221

4539000 20100 263210 340860 25137000 14359000 6100 408000 1681000 170000 1085100 8358800 52400 23640 100 510520 5800 494000 384200 399000 7290000 13000000 372000 147550 78070 55000 2190 2170000

3891150 255082 226601430 17762623 269331510 48953180 40715 283060 1875490 194300 7221969 72124557 689000 19852155 563 35899447 29192 2143960 5117144 234820 35556000 494000 520160 146693430 12718358 46240 491866 479300

-464860 -26575225 -11542966.5 -103127036 10395700 -114500 1936989 -43827962 -27480 -3493135 -11858885.5 -1809780 -26330 138060 817500 -81120 -119178265 -4129103 -363486 -

HOLDING & FRIMS

Now Corp ties up with telecom arm, UnionBank to develop 5G products OW Corp. has struck an agreement with its affiliate Now Telecom Co. Inc. and Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) for the development of new 5G products in the Philippines.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Now Corp. said the memorandum of understanding among the three groups will “enable all parties to have marketing collabo-

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

INDUSTRIAL

‘State firms in key sectors weaken competition’ Continued from B1

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 0.84 0.85 0.84 0.85 0.83 0.85 505000 424100 AYALA LAND 46.8 46.9 46.95 47.2 46.55 46.8 3506700 164135015 23773535 ARANETA PROP 1.8 1.88 1.8 1.88 1.8 1.88 26000 46880 BELLE CORP 2.01 2.08 2.07 2.07 2.01 2.01 686000 1389130 -692110 A BROWN 0.82 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.8 0.82 3720000 2993020 CITYLAND DEVT 0.84 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87 1000 870 CROWN EQUITIES 0.204 0.215 0.204 0.215 0.204 0.215 80000 16430 CEBU HLDG 6.08 6.31 6.31 6.31 6.31 6.31 900 5679 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.7 4.72 4.66 4.71 4.64 4.7 782000 3672920 -248660 CENTURY PROP 0.54 0.55 0.54 0.55 0.53 0.55 5338000 2899530 CYBER BAY 0.375 0.39 0.395 0.395 0.395 0.395 10000 3950 DOUBLEDRAGON 20.3 20.65 20.9 21 20.2 20.3 156500 3206095 -712930 DM WENCESLAO 9.76 9.82 9.45 9.82 9.44 9.8 89500 874973 209859 EMPIRE EAST 0.435 0.445 0.44 0.445 0.435 0.445 760000 330900 FILINVEST LAND 1.52 1.53 1.52 1.52 1.51 1.52 9002000 13677250 4917310 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.17 1.19 1.18 1.19 1.16 1.19 115000 135490 8990 HLDG 15.04 15.06 15.04 15.06 15.04 15.04 191900 2886324 537038 PHIL INFRADEV 1.33 1.34 1.36 1.38 1.33 1.34 695000 934520 268000 MEGAWORLD 4.53 4.59 4.56 4.6 4.53 4.53 19265000 87512290 -19015710 MRC ALLIED 0.3 0.305 0.305 0.305 0.295 0.3 3920000 1180600 PHIL ESTATES 0.42 0.44 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 140000 58800 -50400 PRIMEX CORP 2.01 2.03 2.02 2.04 2.01 2.04 15000 30230 ROBINSONS LAND 25.35 25.5 24.55 25.5 24.55 25.5 5659500 142410190 55010140 ROCKWELL 2.28 2.3 2.3 2.31 2.28 2.28 72000 165490 SHANG PROP 3.21 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.25 114000 370500 STA LUCIA LAND 2.77 2.78 2.78 2.8 2.65 2.78 4696000 12920830 24940 SM PRIME HLDG 38.1 38.5 38 38.5 37.8 38.5 6534700 249968535 134954460 VISTAMALLS 5.7 5.78 6.38 6.38 5.65 5.67 36800 210843 SUNTRUST HOME 0.9 0.93 0.89 0.95 0.89 0.93 332000 303890 PTFC REDEV CORP 45.1 50 53 53 50 50 300 15300 VISTA LAND 7.7 7.71 7.74 7.76 7.68 7.7 5312700 40950483 -20017540

SERVICES ABS CBN 18.12 18.3 18.1 18.3 18.08 18.12 13800 250498 GMA NETWORK 5.2 5.21 5.19 5.21 5.18 5.2 240900 1252425 MANILA BULLETIN 0.41 0.44 0.41 0.44 0.41 0.44 70000 29000 GLOBE TELECOM 1812 1813 1806 1816 1806 1813 28860 52334955 29700485 PLDT 1101 1107 1096 1118 1096 1107 41140 45586045 -7152035 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.043 0.044 0.044 0.044 0.043 0.043 3100000 133400 DFNN INC 5.71 6.14 5.71 5.71 5.71 5.71 2200 12562 IMPERIAL 1.76 1.96 1.76 1.76 1.76 1.76 5000 8800 ISLAND INFO 0.11 0.113 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 190000 20900 ISM COMM 4.96 4.98 4.94 4.98 4.87 4.96 1622000 7992120 335140 NOW CORP 2.92 2.94 2.98 3.07 2.82 2.92 4597000 13490470 -580800 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.31 0.315 0.315 0.32 0.31 0.315 11590000 3613300 99200 PHILWEB 3.15 3.16 3.13 3.16 3.09 3.15 459000 1432460 -128020 2GO GROUP 10.2 10.3 10.2 10.3 10.1 10.3 3700 37800 ASIAN TERMINALS 17.5 18.98 18.06 18.06 17.22 17.22 4000 71686 52354 CHELSEA 6.75 6.8 6.7 6.9 6.69 6.75 701900 4757351 -106539 CEBU AIR 91.7 92 91.75 92.3 91.7 92 88870 8169645.5 4215302 INTL CONTAINER 118 118.5 115.6 120.8 115.6 118 2712970 322329329 -139390924 LBC EXPRESS 11.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 100 1350 MACROASIA 18.7 18.72 18.8 18.8 18.6 18.7 141200 2639034 -482088 METROALLIANCE A 1.12 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.15 2000 2300 PAL HLDG 8.01 8.21 8.2 8.2 8.01 8.2 7500 61481 HARBOR STAR 1.58 1.59 1.55 1.6 1.55 1.59 115000 180830 ACESITE HOTEL 1.6 1.66 1.67 1.67 1.66 1.66 7000 11650 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.048 0.049 0.05 0.05 0.048 0.049 35740000 1726270 28900 WATERFRONT 0.67 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.67 0.68 64000 42970 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.91 7.14 6.91 6.91 6.91 6.91 1500 10365 STI HLDG 0.67 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.66 0.68 282000 189780 -61200 BERJAYA 2.32 2.34 2.28 2.32 2.28 2.32 50000 115610 BLOOMBERRY 10.9 10.98 10.72 10.98 10.72 10.9 5645000 61750254 19514318 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.81 2.88 2.8 2.89 2.8 2.82 78000 219980 LEISURE AND RES 2.95 2.98 2.98 2.99 2.93 2.95 859000 2551910 208600 PH RESORTS GRP 4.79 4.98 4.79 4.98 4.79 4.98 17000 82380 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.69 0.7 0.7 0.71 0.69 0.69 1351000 933220 -90389.9999 ALLHOME 11.5 11.56 11.62 11.62 11.42 11.56 246826200 2,844,636,664( 882,190,016.0003) METRO RETAIL 2.41 2.46 2.49 2.5 2.41 2.46 230000 560890 -58140 PUREGOLD 40.65 41 40.35 41 40.3 40.7 566100 23034955 15501135 ROBINSONS RTL 77.05 77.7 76.85 77.7 76.05 77.7 146850 11307781 462829.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 135.2 139.5 135.2 135.2 135.2 135.2 60 8112 SSI GROUP 2.51 2.53 2.51 2.56 2.5 2.51 1777000 4474170 -998850 WILCON DEPOT 16.6 16.8 16.7 16.8 16.58 16.8 567300 9463402 3262528.0001 APC GROUP 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.61 0.59 0.6 4251000 2531920 -600000 EASYCALL 8.87 9 8.9 9 8.84 9 59400 526828 GOLDEN BRIA 429.4 435 444 444 435 440 120 52490 IPM HLDG 3.6 3.86 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 11000 38500 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.54 0.52 0.52 3004000 1578230 530 SBS PHIL CORP 9.2 9.27 9.27 9.27 9.2 9.2 5300 48969

MINING & OIL ATOK 12.16 12.64 12.7 12.7 12.12 12.64 12000 147222 APEX MINING 1.14 1.15 1.13 1.17 1.12 1.15 2055000 2356060 -786049.9999 ABRA MINING 0.0016 0.0017 0.0017 0.0018 0.0017 0.0017 188000000 320100 ATLAS MINING 2.5 2.51 2.5 2.51 2.5 2.51 18000 45130 7529.9999 BENGUET A 1.14 1.21 1.13 1.13 1.12 1.12 28000 31370 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.275 0.285 0.275 0.28 0.275 0.28 80000 22350 CENTURY PEAK 2.6 2.63 2.64 2.65 2.6 2.6 232000 613450 DIZON MINES 7.54 7.9 7.55 7.89 7.55 7.89 400 3087 FERRONICKEL 1.66 1.67 1.66 1.71 1.65 1.67 12529000 21204430 162680 GEOGRACE 0.204 0.213 0.216 0.216 0.204 0.213 2730000 562650 LEPANTO B 0.105 0.11 0.105 0.11 0.105 0.11 300000 31570 -24130 MANILA MINING A 0.0094 0.0096 0.0094 0.0096 0.0094 0.0096 3000000 28500 MANILA MINING B 0.01 0.011 0.0099 0.011 0.0099 0.011 17500000 182490 MARCVENTURES 1.1 1.14 1.11 1.14 1.1 1.11 70000 78190 1100 NIHAO 1.02 1.08 1.1 1.1 1.02 1.08 336000 346610 9360 NICKEL ASIA 4.06 4.07 4.06 4.2 4 4.07 4343000 17,770,200( 1,651,000.0001) OMICO CORP 0.475 0.5 0.475 0.475 0.475 0.475 100000 47500 PX MINING 3.62 3.65 3.59 3.65 3.55 3.65 587000 2121440 SEMIRARA MINING 22.85 22.9 23 23 22.85 22.9 748300 17150455 -2217285 PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 23200000 248400 PHINMA PETRO 9.79 9.8 9.08 10.06 9.06 9.79 1812200 17629634 -489748 PXP ENERGY 12.44 12.46 12 12.6 11.9 12.44 1471600 18240136 1242120

PREFFERED

AC PREF B2 486 500 500 500 500 500 2000 1000000 DD PREF 100.5 100.8 101 101 100.5 100.5 450 45370 SMC FB PREF 2 995 997.5 996 996 995 995 600 597200 MWIDE PREF 101 101.4 101.4 101.4 101.4 101.4 10000 1014000 PNX PREF 3A 100.5 101 101 101 101 101 150 15150 PNX PREF 3B 106 108 108 108 108 108 580 62640 PCOR PREF 3A 1037 1040 1035 1040 1035 1040 5000 5192500 5089000 SMC PREF 2C 78 78.25 77.95 78 77.95 78 18490 1442120 SMC PREF 2D 74.8 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 5000 377500 SMC PREF 2F 76 76.5 76.5 76.5 76 76.5 31700 2413765 SMC PREF 2G 76.8 77 76 76.8 76 76.8 33500 2559300 SMC PREF 2H 75.7 75.9 75.7 75.75 75.7 75.7 31050 2350490 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS GMA HLDG PDR

5.08

5.17

5.17

5.17

5.17

5.17

100

517

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.54

-517

1.62

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

ITALPINAS 6.35 KEPWEALTH 10.24 XURPAS 0.88

6.4 10.26 0.89

6.58 8.93 0.89

6.58 10.3 0.91

6.31 8.93 0.88

6.4 10.24 0.89

209600 1339300 1471000

1332031 13135440 1309240

95070 -10120 44500

FIRST METRO ETF

116.8

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS 116.2

116.1

116.8

115.5

116.8

4080

474730

-

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, October 11, 2019 B3

QR removal no reason for sharp decline in rice prices–World Bank

T

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE removal of the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice through the imposition of a tariff cannot be blamed for the sharp decline in rice prices, according to the World Bank.

In a recent briefing on the Philippine economy, World Bank Country economist Rong Qian told reporters that competition is needed to boost the growth of the farm sector.

Qian said competition is still needed given the fact that retail rice prices have remained high amid the sharp decline in palay farm-gate prices.

“You have to observe the gap between the farm-gate price and the retail price. It’s still quite large so if the gap narrowed, [prices] can go down further in terms of the retail price, and that’s for consumers,” Qian said at the Philippine Economic Update

(PEU) forum.

“Everyone consumes rice here, especially the poor who allocates a very large proportion of their expenditure. So having rice prices decline is a good thing for the country,” she added.

This was the same argument given by Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan, who is also a known agriculture economist.

Balisacan said there are many factors that are affecting rice prices and it cannot be pinned solely on the passage of the Rice Trade Liberalization (RTL) law.

He explained that the rapid decline in rice prices could be similar to any other reform that government implements. Normally, when government introduces new reforms, there is a tendency for overshooting expectations, Balisacan explained at the sidelines of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines’s awards night. (See A1 for the story.)

In this case, rice prices may have been forecasted to decline at a certain level but given the initial reaction, the actual prices were lower than expected, explained the former Socioeconomic Planning secretary, illustrating his points on paper.

This, Balisacan said, is temporary and must be met by the government with safety nets which are currently being done by the national government. Qian admitted that while this has affected farmers nationwide, this could only be temporary. She said the World Bank is actually working with the government right now to design a better way to distribute the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.

“The government is taking out measure to help the farmers in rice or other sector to become more efficient and be more competitive in the region. But I think that we’ll see the effect in a few years,” Qian said.

Last week, preliminary figures released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that average palay prices plunged 30.08 percent to P16.18 per kilogram (kg), from the P23.14 per kg recorded in the same period of last year.

The latest average dry palay quotation is the lowest since the fifth week of March 2013, when dry palay farm-gate price averaged P16.15 per kg.

During the reference period of September 11 to 17, the lowest farmgate price was recorded in Pampanga province at P12 per kg, while the highest quotation was in Sorsogon at P20.70 per kg, PSA data showed.

With the increase in imports and the upcoming harvest starting October, the farm-gate price of palay will continue to go down, according to various farmers groups and nongovernment organizations.

GSIS sets aside ₧1B as loans for Zambo local govt staff

T

HE Government Service Insurance System said it has earmarked over P1.03 billion to implement the GSIS’s “Financial Assistance Loan,” or GFAL, and “Top-Up Loan” (TUL) for the 2,063 personnel of the City Government Office (CGO) of Zamboanga City.

GSIS Chairman and concurrent Acting President and General Manager Rolando L. Macasaet also addressed a crowd of nearly a hundred GSIS members in a stakeholders’ dialogue held on October 10.

“President Duterte’s marching order is to help government employees pay their debts. Our GFAL agreement with Mayor Maria Isabelle ClimacoSalazar is, thus, a step toward helping CGO Zamboanga City employees ease their financial woes due to un-

settled loans,” Macasaet said.

Eligible GFAL applicants may borrow up to half a million pesos, which will be paid in equal monthly instalments for six years, at an interest rate of 6 percent per annum.

Those with outstanding loans from lending institutions that are below P500,000 may choose to borrow the remaining amount through the TUL, the proceeds of which the GSIS will directly pay to the member.

To qualify for GFAL, members must be permanent government employees with outstanding loan from private lending institutions, government banks, or cooperatives accredited or recognized by their agency; have paid premiums with the GSIS for at least three years; have no due and demandable loan account with

Fast to the future

I

the GSIS; not be on leave without pay; have a net take-home pay of not lower than P5,000 after deduction of monthly obligations; and have no pending administrative case or criminal charge.

A borrower with pending case is still eligible to apply for GFAL if the case was filed by a lending institution due to nonpayment as a result of the prioritization of payroll deductions.

The pension fund chief explained that “prior to this signing ceremony, GSIS has already inked a GFAL MOA [memorandum of agreement] with 27 LGUs and agencies in Zamboanga, benefiting 6,428 government employees.”

During the dialogue, representatives of government agencies, members and pensioners were briefed

F you are a baby boomer share their challenges and like me, you may have solutions, as well as presenwatched the 1985 toptations from association grossing movie Back to the executives, both from here Association World and overseas, on their inFuture. It stars Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty Mcsights on what associations Octavio Peralta Fly who accidently drove a and their activities will be plutonium-powered time like into the next two to machine built from a modified DeLorean car three years. to travel 30 years back in time to 1955 where For the first time, AS7 adds a new educahe meets his future parents, and then gets tional feature—the “ASAE Edu-Day”—jointly back home in the nick of time before alterorganized by PCAAE and the Washington, ing future events.

D.C., United States-based American Society The movie is fictional; in real life, it is obviof Association Executives (ASAE), which will ously not possible to alter future events and cover topics aimed at enriching the associato predict the future with accuracy. But we tions’ arsenal of knowledge in meeting the also learn from personal experience that by challenges today and in the future. knowing the past and understanding current The education and networking-filled AS7, and future trends, we will be able to prepare which is expected to draw more than 200 asourselves for the future. This is also true for sociations and association professionals here organizations like associations. and abroad, will also have a tabletop exhibiAssociations have since evolved over tion where suppliers and service providers the years, some quite successfully by mereto associations take advantage of B2B oply tweaking what has worked in the past portunities. It will also be the fitting venue and continuing into the present. Others, of the Ang Susi Awards 2019 night to honor however, have faltered by not adopting to outstanding achievements of the association current realities. community and its professionals in contributThe future for associations is much more ing to national economic development. different. Volunteerism as we know it is on the Associations do not need a time machine decline due to personal preoccupations. There’s to go back to the past to learn lessons nor go a shift in demographics as millennials and Gen to the future to find answers. All it takes is for Zs take over and alters organizational dynamthem to be aware of what’s happening before ics. Ubiquitous disruptive technologies are them, and be adept and agile in preparing to revising business models. Competition from “future-proof” their organizations. Being part nontraditional service providers are impingof a community like PCAAE can also make ing on the traditional role of associations. All a difference. these are making it more difficult for associations that are not innovative and fast to evolve.

The column contributor, Octavio Peralta, is concurrently the This is why the Philippine Council of Assosecretary-general of the Association of Development Financing ciations and Association Executives (PCAAE), Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, and the CEO and founder of the “association of associations” in the counthe Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executry, has adopted the theme “Fast to the Future” tives. The PCAAE is holding the Associations Summit 7 (AS7) on for its Seventh Associations Summit (AS7) to November 27 and 28, 2019, at the Philippine International Conbe held on November 27 and 28, 2019, at the vention Center which is expected to draw over 200 association Philippine International Convention Center. professionals here and abroad. The two-day event is supported The program agenda has been developed to

by Adfiap, PICC and the Tourism Promotions Board. E-mail have plenaries where associations themselves inquiries@adfiap.org for more details on AS7.

on key GSIS policies, programs and services, such as GFAL and TUL programs. The GSIS officials also discussed its program for restructuring and repayment of debts, a onetime condonation and restructuring program for former GSIS members with unsettled loan balances. Participants were also informed about the GSIS Housing Account Condonation program, which offers full waiver of penalties and surcharges to interested applicants who will pay their housing account obligations in full.

Macasaet and other top officials of the state pension fund also addressed the inquiries and concerns of stakeholders. “We constantly reach out to them through these dialogues as part of responsive service,” Macasaet added.

MUTUAL FUNDS

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 248.09 3.26% -2.06% -1.1% -1.63% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.4942 9.17% 2.53% 0.02% 3.71% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 3.8408 2.62% -3.31% -2.34% -1.59% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9255 7.5% N.A. N.A. 2.72% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.8407 6% N.A. N.A. 2.44% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.2703 6.47% -0.59% -0.62% -0.06% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.8443 6.7% -4.9% N.A. 0.91% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 114.99 1.79% N.A. N.A. -1.01% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 50.5363 8.1% 0% N.A. 2.67% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 526.18 8.22% -1.01% -0.66% 2.22% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.2698 5.21% -0.18% 0.51% 1.26% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 37.4337 6.69% 0.74% 0.45% 2.19% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0032 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.136 9.33% 0.72% 1.32% 3.57% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 857.45 9.37% 0.61% 1.25% 3.5% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.8845 9.09% -0.51% N.A. 2.85% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.1575 7.22% 0.26% 0.5% 2.43% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 0.985 8.91% 0.53% N.A. 3.22% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.6238 8.65% 2.11% 1.79% 3.51% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 114.966 9.58% 1.37% 2.28% 3.81% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $0.9342 -3.11% 0.57% -1.27% 0.55% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.26 -0.6% 6.41% N.A. 14.01% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.5953 -0.54% -3.71% -3.58% -3.39% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.2435 4.52% -1.53% -0.59% 1.55% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.6035 6.71% -0.08% -1.72% 2.38% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN F.O.C.C.U.S. DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A,8 0.2277 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3284 4.25% N.A. N.A. 1.85% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9407 8.44% 0.94% 0.89% 5.3% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.7305 10.17% -0.3% 0.02% 5.7% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 16.7284 9.91% -0.29% -0.05% 5.16% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.1185 5.61% 0.22% 0.9% 2.38% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.8164 7.7% 0.45% 0.47% 4.52% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 1.0024 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 0.9845 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 0.9811 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 0.9639 6.98% -0.15% -0.19% 4.58% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03867 11.8% 2.47% 2.52% 9.55% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $0.9798 3.44% 1.32% -0.15% 7.23% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.7077 2.43% 4.88% 3.15% 12.06% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.1023 3.84% 2.92% N.A. 9.14% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 354.99 3.96% 2.38% 2.29% 3.35% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A,1 1.9185 3.3% 0.21% -0.04% 3.19% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0881 5.06% 5.28% 5.24% 3.76% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.2114 4.42% 1.59% 2.01% 3.86% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.3354 5.28% 1.52% 1.52% 5.91% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6087 2.06% -0.63% 0.13% 2.83% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.3077 13.55% 1.11% 1.68% 9.9% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.7474 8.55% 2.05% 1.57% 6.55% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.952 8.94% 0.1% N.A. 6.82% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.0337 10.07% 2.81% 2.54% 9.69% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.6775 9.44% 2.27% 2.1% 8.94% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $466.1 4.6% 2.01% 2.89% 3.95% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є220.5 3.46% 1.38% 1.53% 3.68% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.2036 7.5% 2.19% 2.56% 6.92% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0259 4.44% 1.19% 1.62% 4.44% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7163 1.8% -1.64% 0.52% 1.54% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.1055 8.01% 0.14% -0.99% 6.68% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.4213 13.59% 2.13% 3.61% 11.54% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.060312 6.07% 2.03% 2.13% 5.81% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.1847 10.92% 1.47% 3.1% 10.88% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 124.87 4.17% 2.68% 2.1% 3.3% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0238 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2411 5.91% 2.35% 1.48% 5.01% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2563 3.88% 2.81% 2.21% 3.04% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0335 2.2% N.A. N.A. 1.73% A - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY. B - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO. C - LISTED IN THE PSE. D - IN NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT (NAVPU).

1 - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018. 2 - ADJUSTED DUE TO STOCK DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JUNE 5, 2018. 3 LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 3, 2019.

4 - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 28, 2019. 5 - LAUNCH DATE IS FEBRUARY 1, 2019. 6 - RENAMING WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST OCTOBER 12, 2018 (FORMERLY, ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.).

7 - LAUNCH DATE IS AUGUST 1, 2019. 8 - LAUNCH DATE IS SEPTEMBER 28, 2019.

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

Bank helps up game of blockchain experts

U

October 10, 2019

NION Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) is training blockchain teachers and other experts on the technology as it continues its push for blockchain revolution in the country.

This project, called the Blockchain Xcellerator Program, is designed to train blockchain mentors and experts to lead the next generation of blockchain developers in the Philippines.

Under the program, the lender is sponsoring an eight-week intensive course for developers who want to advance their knowledge in blockchain, especially as blockchain jobs have become among the most in demand in the world.

UnionBank President and CEO Edwin R. Bautista said the eventual takeover of blockchain is an opportunity to position the Philippines’s work force as a major source of blockchain professionals.

“Seeing a gap in blockchain talents globally, we decided to take our educational initiatives to the next level by establishing an advanced training program,” Bautista said.

“By sharing the knowledge we’ve gained from launching several blockchain use cases and creating the Blockchain Institute last year, we hope to further support the ecosystem here in the Philippines and beyond with top-tier talents that the Blockchain Xcellerator Program will produce,” he added.

UnionBank’s Blockchain Xcellerator Program runs from October 5 to November 29, and includes three phases. Phase 1, which will introduce the participants to the whole program, consists of online self-paced learning through interactive media and resource materials. Phase 2 involves assessing the knowledge and understanding the participants gained in Phase 1 on blockchain technology and Ethereum. The third phase immerses selected participants in real-world projects to develop their practical knowledge and experience with guided development sessions with UnionBank and UBX mentors. VG Cabuag

B4 Friday, October 11, 2019

Cainta embraces ‘‘Mag-Pinggang Pinoy Tayo!’’ program

A

JINOMOTO Philippines Corporation (APC) in collaboration with Department of Health (DOH) and Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) formed ties with the Cainta local government to launch the Mag-Pinggang Pinoy® Tayo! 2019 Program.

The ceremonial contract signing held last September 20, 2019 at Cainta Elementary School was graced by former DOH Undersecretary and Mag -PinggangPinoy® Tayo! 2019 Technical Working Group (TWG) Chairman Dr. Ethelyn P. Nieto, Cainta Mayor Johnielle Kieth Nieto, Cainta Vice Mayor Ace Bernardo Servillon, DOH CALABARZON Division Chief Dr. Noel Pasion, FNRI Science Research Specialist II Ms. Jovina B. Sandoval, and APC Group President Tsutomu Nara.

The country has been facing decadeslong phenomenon called “Double Burden of Malnutrition”, which the World Health Organization (WHO) defined as the “coexistence of undernutrition along with overweight and obesity, or diet-related noncommunicable diseases, within individuals, households and populations, and across the lifecourse.”

In 2018, Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation partnered with government agencies to conduct the pilot run of MagPinggang Pinoy® Tayo! in order to raise awareness and promote the practice of Pinggang Pinoy® in malnutrition hotspots in Quezon City, Kalookan, Malabon and Navotas. This year, the public-private

STANDING FROM L-R: Mr. Remus Morandante, SeedWorks Philippines Vice President for Sales and Public Affairs, with SeedWorks stakeholders from Mindanao and Mr. Carlos Saplala, SeedWorks Philippines President and General Manager (4th from left) during the Hari sa Ani Launch in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

alliance brings the program to Cainta to educate its homemakers on the causes and effects of the Double Burden of Malnutrition and make available practical tips on how to serve Pinggang Pinoy® using Ajinomoto’s delicious, healthy, easy-to-prepare and affordable recipes.

Mag-Pinggang Pinoy® Tayo! 2019 Program aims to unite Cainta to adopt Pinggang Pinoy® and promote healthier eating habits to fight Double Burden of Malnutrition.

The program’s TWG, led by Dr. Nieto, has started to convene representatives from the four (4) institutions to develop modules for homemakers, barangay health workers and barangay nutrition scholars based on careful nutrition needs assessment. The education and livelihood programs as well

as the improvement evaluation will ensue until year 2020. Cainta Government also expressed their strong commitment to promote the practice of Pinggang Pinoy® in the whole municipality.

APC President Tsutomu Nara conveyed his gratitude to the program’s stakeholders saying, “We all came here today to mark the beautiful changes that will happen in CAINTA! And I thank all of you for showing your commitment.

This event is a milestone that aims for a healthier citizenry to fight Double Burden of Malnutrition, not only in Cainta but in the Philippines.”

For updates about MagPinggang Pinoy® Tayo!, visit www. ajinomoto.com.ph and facebook.com/ CookmunitybyAjinomotoPH.

World-class EK celebrates 24th year with a grand anniversary

E

NCHANTED Kingdom has been a magical place for families and friends since 1995. After 24 years, it remains strong and committed to its goal of providing and creating magical experiences for everyone.

This October 2019, the first and only world-class theme park will be celebrating its 24th Anniversary. In order to make the merriments bigger, EK has prepared a LOT of surprises and exciting fun stuff for everyone!

The focus is on letting guests experience more as the theme park gears towards its silver anniversary next year. EK has partnered with several brands to make this year’s celebration extra special, so make sure to mark your calendars and bring your families and friends because the celebration won’t be as good without you!

Ben&Ben, one of the hottest bands in the country will perform and serenade park goers with its charttopping songs! The "Band of the year” of the MOR Pinoy Music Awards 2019, and their song, “Pagtingin” is currently #2 on the Spotify charts. Get ready to sing

along with the band and enjoy the concert.

Three of the best local creative talents-June Digan and Anina Rubio will give you a visual treat as they do their own interpretation of magical experiences at Enchanted Kingdom. They will be joined by Jareth Correa, kid artist and E-kids Talent search semifinalist.

Have your kids unleash their creativity along with them with our art activities.

Your favorite social media influencers will come and celebrate with EK too! Catch some of them do pocket performances as well.

There will be fun booths and ctivities by EK partners and sponsors as well! Traveloka leads the fun wirh Special offers for customers. Krispy Kreme will make everyone happy with the Original Glazed sweet treat.

There will be an exciting collaboration between EK and GoPro PH. Come and find out what it is!

Join a photo workshop and learn the tips and tricks of theme park and fireworks photography. Get a chance to win merchandise and brand-new Nikon cameras too!

Get ready for enchanting shows as well. Witness Eldar make lights and sounds come to life from Brooklyn Place, Portabello, Victoria Park and Spaceport!

Experience more magic with this exhilarating show as it rings in Enchanted Kingdom's 24th Anniversary.

Join Princess Maphista and the moonlight creatures as they indulge on some music and dancing in this starry halloween parade.

EK’s spectacular fireworks display is always the best way to end a day at The Park. For the Anniversary event, expect an award-winning night-sky spectacle.

Finovation 2019: Fintech players are strategic partners toward financial inclusion

S

TAYING ahead of the innovation curve, leading online financial marketplace eCompareMo. com, through its parent company C88 Financial Technologies, Inc., partnered with global consumer credit reporting company Experian in 2018. This tech-driven collaboration has allowed eCompareMo. com to evolve from being a product-focused price comparison website to a customer-centric underwriting marketplace.

J.P. Ellis, Co-Founder and Group CEO of C88 Financial Technologies, Inc., highlights this partnership as he discusses their new digital onboarding family of products at Finovation 2019: Real Problems, Real Solutions. Held in September 25 at the Rigodon Ballroom of the Manila Peninsula, the annual fintech forum gathered key stakeholders from the banking and insurance industries, regulators and policymakers, cooperatives, and fintech players.

Through its partnership with Experian, eCompareMo.com enables digital applications, onboarding, and decisioning for banks and financial institutions. This covers basic identification, verification, information gathering, and documentation, making a full online application possible. “Digital onboarding represents the next

generation of our platform,” said the group CEO. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) actively supports initiatives like digital onboarding, recognizing fintech players as key partners for financial inclusion.

In his keynote speech for Finovation, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno emphasized that the country’s central bank adopts an open and flexible approach to financial innovation. TTaking on a forward-looking approach, Diokno raised the challenge of promoting fintech while simultaneously planning regulatory procedures for upcoming innovations. In this way, the digital financial ecosystem of the future becomes a safe, secure, affordable, and convenient mechanism that addresses the needs of a diverse market. Complementing existing and emerging fintech initiatives, Diokno shared the National Retail Payment System (NRPS), the BSP’s flagship program for digital finance.

“The NRPS is built on three core principles: interoperability, inclusiveness, and ‘coopetition.

Through the NRPS, regulated institutions are required to adopt transparent and fair market pricing of electronic payments, transition from exclusive bilateral to multipartyclearinghouse agreements, and provide electronic fund transfer facilities in all available channels, among others," Diokno shared.

A DREAM VACATION FOR THE FAMILY. Aruga by Rockwell goes above and beyond for you and your family with fun and immersive Themed Suites perfect for creating special moments for parents and kids. Available for booking all year-round, these uniquely-designed and curated rooms offer an unforgettable experience from check-in to check-out with four different themes to choose from: Princess, Car, Bear, and Under the Sea. The packages come with a decorated suite, special set of amenities that includes complimentary themed activity books and games, take-home toys and treats, and discount play passes to ActiveFun at the Power Plant Mall. Themed Suites also include bed & breakfast, WiFi Internet access, swimming pool and fitness gym access, and one parking slot. To know more about the Themed Suite packages and Aruga by Rockwell, visit www.aruga.com.ph and like @ArugaByRockwell on Facebook.

N

By Tim Reynolds

The Associated Press

ATIONAL Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver told the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday that the league is still expecting them to play as scheduled this week, even while the rift between the league and Chinese officials continued in ways that clearly suggested the two planned games in Shanghai and Shenzhen were anything but guaranteed.

The NBA called off scheduled media sessions Wednesday for both teams. At least two other NBA events to be held Wednesday before the start of the China games were canceled as part of the fallout that started after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey posted a since-deleted tweet last week that showed support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

“Given the fluidity of the situation, today’s media availability has been postponed,” the league said. The sessions were not rescheduled Wednesday, though having them on Thursday—game day in Shanghai— remains possible.

Later Wednesday in Washington, a bipartisan group of lawmakers—including the rare alignment of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York—sent a letter to Silver saying the NBA should show the “courage and integrity” to stand up to the Chinese government. They asked the NBA to, among other things, suspend activities in China until what they called the selective treatment against the Rockets ends.

“You have more power to take a stand than most of the Chinese government’s targets, and should have the courage and integrity to use it,” the lawmakers told Silver. The NBA did not have any immediate comment on the letter, and it was unclear if Silver had even seen the document.

In Shanghai, the mood surrounding the game that—if played—will feature LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and other big NBA names was anything but festive. An NBA Cares event that was to benefit the Special Olympics was called off, as was a “fan night” celebration that was to be highlighted by the league announcing plans to refurbish some outdoor courts in that city. And workers in multiple spots around Shanghai were tearing down large outdoor promotional advertisements for Thursday’s Lakers-Nets game.

The teams are also supposed to play Saturday in Shenzhen.

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has joined the list of companies that have suspended ties with the NBA for now, only adding to the uncertainty surrounding the China games. Vivo was a presenting sponsor of the games and, on Wednesday, there was no reference to the game in Shanghai on the list of upcoming events scheduled at Mercedes-Benz Arena. Other firms such as apparel company Li-Ning announced similar moves earlier this week, as the rift was just beginning.

Silver said Tuesday in Tokyo that he supports Morey’s right to free speech. Several Chinese companies have suspended their partnership with the NBA in recent days, and Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said it will not broadcast the Lakers-Nets games.

“I’m sympathetic to our interests here and to our partners who are upset,” Silver said. “I don’t think it’s

NBA-CHINA RIFT: IRREPARABLE? Sports BusinessMirror

C1

| Friday, October 11, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

WORKERS dismantle signage for a National Basketball Association fan event scheduled on Wednesday night at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China. AP

inconsistent on one hand to be sympathetic to them and, at the same time, stand by our principles.”

All around China, stores that sell NBA merchandise were removing Rockets-related apparel from shelves and many murals featuring the Rockets—even ones with Yao Ming, the Chinese great who played for Houston during his NBA career—were being painted over.

Effects are already being felt in NBA arenas, in a pair of games featuring Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.

After the playing of the Chinese national anthem in Washington on Wednesday before Guangzhou’s game against the Wizards, one fan shouted, “Freedom of expression! Freedom of speech! Free Hong Kong!” Another fan shouted for a free Hong Kong from the second level during the second quarter.

Minutes later, security approached one fan holding up a “Free Tibet” sign and another holding the Tibet flag.

Security tried to take the sign, and the fan refused to give it up. Security then escorted them out of the seats.

FANS hold signs ahead during the Philadelphia 76ers and Guangzhou Loong Lions on Tuesday in Philadelphia. AP

NBA walks on right side of fine line in China issue

By Tim Dahlberg

I

The Associated Press

F the National Basketball Association (NBA) really wanted to make a statement it should have never issued a statement, much less two.

No need to complicate things when two team owners had already genuflected to the irate citizens of China. Or when James Harden took it upon himself to apologize to an entire nation.

The simple path for the NBA was to do what the creators of the show South Park did this week after finding themselves caught between an authoritarian regime that tolerates no dissent and the pile of cash that doing business in China can bring.

Admit what is really important.

“Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts,” Trey Parker and Matt Stone said in a statement of their own. “We too love money more than freedom and democracy.”

The South Park creators, of course, make their millions by being funny. And there’s a lot to chuckle about in a post that, among other things, declares that the leader of China doesn’t really look like Winnie the Pooh after all.

There’s nothing funny about this for the NBA. A league that has painstakingly built a reputation for social awareness for the briefest of moments looked no

different than any other corporation chasing money in China. A league that embraces personal freedom seemed unable to understand that freedom means something very different in China.

All this while LeBron James and company were speeding their way toward Shanghai and an exhibition game reception that figures to be very different than they were expecting.

If Commissioner Adam Silver’s tortured response to the crisis facing the league is any indication, even LeBron will have a hard time explaining his way out of this one.

Silver’s first statement expressed regret that the Friday night tweet by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey supporting protesters in Hong Kong had offended the league’s friends and fans in China. That not only didn’t mollify China—which offered a more nationalistic translation for the audience at home—but was attacked on social media as failing to stand up for the right of free speech.

Silver tried again and pretty much got it right. But that meant further antagonizing a country where the NBA has a big investment and is making even bigger profits.

“It is inevitable that people around the world— including from America and China—will have different viewpoints over different issues. It is not the role of the NBA to adjudicate those differences,” Silver said.

“However, the NBA will not put itself in a position of regulating what players, employees and team owners say

or will not say on these issues. We simply could not operate that way.”

Give Silver credit for standing up for free speech, albeit a bit late. The commissioner quickly realized how off-tone his first response was and did his best to at least make it sound better.

Unfortunately for the NBA, though, it’s in a lose-lose situation in a country that seems to be aching for a fight.

Workers at a Shanghai gym were seen in a video painting over the Houston Rockets logo, and the team’s merchandise has disappeared from stores. State broadcaster CCTV canceled its planned airing of two games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets in China, while the streaming service Tencent—which recently signed a five-year, $1.5-billion deal for NBA rights—said it would not show Rockets games.

Deals that individual players like James have in China could be in jeopardy, too. And any dream of the NBA one day introducing the Beijing Pandas as its newest expansion team will remain a dream.

All because of a tweet supporting protesters

GIVE Adam Silver credit for standing up for free speech, albeit a bit late. AP

A similar scene played out in Philadelphia on Tuesday, also during a Guangzhou game. There, two fans were removed by arena security for holding signs and chanting in support of Hong Kong. The signs read “Free Hong Kong” and “Free HK.” The sentiment was not different from Morey’s since-deleted tweet last week of an image that read, “Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong.”

The 76ers and Wells Fargo Center, the team’s home arena, released statements Wednesday confirming that the fan removal took place and explaining why.

“During the second quarter of last night’s 76ers game, Wells Fargo Center security responded to a situation that was disrupting the live event experience for our guests,” the arena’s statement Wednesday said. “After three separate warnings, the two individuals were escorted out of the arena without incident. The security team employed respectful and standard operating procedures.”

The NBA is not the first major corporation to deal with criticism from China over political differences. MercedesBenz, Delta Air Lines, hotel operator Marriott, fashion brand Zara and others also have found themselves in conflicts with China in recent years.

After Morey’s tweet was deleted, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said Morey does not speak for the organization. Joe Tsai, who recently completed his purchase of the Nets and is a cofounder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has said the damage to the NBA’s relationship with China “will take a long time to repair.”

in Hong Kong, who want nothing more than the same personal liberties that every NBA player and employee enjoy. A tweet that may soon end Morey’s employment much the way kneeling during the national anthem ended Colin Kaepernick’s time in the National Football League.

Freedom of speech does have its consequences.

There’s a price paid for speaking out, as Kaepernick found out and as Muhammad Ali did a half century before him.

But the price paid for backing down on values of a league that has led the way on social issues would be even worse. That’s why it was critical that while Silver said Tuesday in Tokyo that he was sympathetic to the outrage, the league will stick by its principles of free speech.

Yes, there’s a chance the Chinese money may be gone. The exposure carefully cultivated over three decades, too.

But Silver had to take a stand for a right held dear by most Americans. He had no other alternative if he and the league wanted to keep their credibility and self-respect.

At least no alternative as funny as that suggested by South Park’s creators after the show seemed to vanish in the Chinese media following an episode in which Pooh and Piglet are jailed in China and mistreated after memes comparing Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Pooh circulated online.

“Long live the Great Communist Party of China!” the show’s creators tweeted. “May this autumn’s sorghum harvest be bountiful! We good now China?”

C2

Spo

Business

Friday, October 11, 2019

ALIDO STORMS AHEAD Y

OUNG Ira Alido surged past a fading Ramil Bisera and Lexus Keoninh with an eagle-aided 69 and grabbed a one-stroke lead over an equally charging Michael Bibat with a slew of fancied bets bouncing back into contention halfway through the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) South Pacific Classic on Thursday in Davao City.

Alido, who has posted five Top 10 finishes since missing the cut in the kickoff leg of this year’s Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) in Cebu last June, sustained his bogey-less 69 Wednesday with a chip-in eagle on the par-five 12th then added two more birdies against a bogey to complete a 36-33 card at the newly opened South Pacific Golf and Leisure Estates.

With a 138 aggregate, the 18-year-old sophomore pro moved up by one over Bibat, who, likewise, pressed his title drive with his own version of a three-under card (33-36) for a 139 while another shot farther back at 140 is a pair of obscure bets Rico Depilo and Enrico Gallardo who sneaked into the title picture with superb rounds.

Depilo set a new course record of bogey-free 66, spiked by a second straight eagle on the par-5 No. 2, while Gallardo, who has more missed cut stints than made in his last five PGT tournaments, actually blew a six-under card with three

straight bogeys from No. 4 but birdied No. 7 to save a 68 marked by five long putts, including a 30-footer on No. 1.

But Alido took command again of a stellar field with his near-impeccable touch on the layout’s unpredictable surface with the rising star hoping to buck the pressure in the last two days and go all the way to the finish.

“My putting worked well—hit a couple of clutch putts and made a number of two-putts from long range. But I need to stay focused and keep it up in the next two days,” said Alido, who has had a number of cracks at a maiden crown, including at PGT Asia at Wack Wack which he led in the third round only to fumble and stumble to fifth place at Aboitiz Invitational.

Bibat, likewise, leaned on his putting touch to be in contention again, eager to erase the stigma of his playoff setback to Juvic Pagunsan in Iloilo last June that foiled his bid for a first PGT crown since winning at Palos Verdes in 2013.

But two aces got back into the mix after a pair of so-so starts as reigning PGT Order of Merit champion Jobim Carlos rebounding strong with a 67 to tie Philippine Open titlist Clyde Mondilla, who shot a 70, at 141, the same output pooled by Richard Sinfuego, who also carded a 70.

Tony Lascuña, winner of the PGT Asia leg in Taiwan and at Apo the last two weeks, birdied the last two holes at the front

SAN MIGUEL VS. MAGNOLIA

S

AN MIGUEL Beer plunges into its biggest challenge yet when it faces the defending champion Magnolia in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Both coming off three-game winning streaks, the Beermen (3-0) try to extent their run against the Hotshots (3-1), who redeemed themselves since falling to the Meralco Bolts in the conference-opener. Game time is at 7 p.m.

In the first game, Columbian (2-2) slugs it out with Blackwater (1-2) at 4:30 p.m.

The three-peat seeking Beermen are coming off a 98-94 win over NLEX in the league’s Dubai game last Saturday.

Import Dez Wells delivered the goods for the Beermen, tallying 32 points—none bigger than his go-ahead basket in the waning moments—and 14 rebounds and four assist.

Alex Cabagnot had 20 points, while June Mar Fajardo

to salvage a 70 and tie PGT Del Monte leg champion Jhonnel Ababa, Aussie Fidel Concepcion, Fil-German Keanu Jahns and Cebu stage titlist Guido van der Valk of the Netherlands, who also turned in 71s, at 142, just four strokes off Alido.

Keoninh, who shared the first day honors in the P3-million event sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. with 68, failed to match his strong windup in the opening round with two bogeys and a double-bogey in the last six holes, and limped with a 75 to slip to joint 13th at 143 with Nilo Salahog, who shot a 71, and Ferdie Aunzo, Rufino Bayron and Paul Echavez, who all matched par 72s.

Worse was Bisera, who opened with a 68 but skied to an 80 marred by a quadruple bogey on the par-3 No. 15. He fell to joint 34th at 148.

Fortyfour players made it to the final 36 holes of the final tournament of PGT’s milestone 10th season backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and MY chipped in 16 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks. Joining the big scoring splurge were Chris Ross and Arwind Santos, who combined for 17 points and 17 rebounds.

Before the anticipated matchup against the Hotshots, the Beermen earlier subdued the Phoniex Fuel Masters, 130119, and the Alaska Aces, 109-103.

Wells, who compliments the stacked lineup of San Miguel, is expected to get an acid tests against veteran import Romeo Travis.

Magnolia leaned on Travis and Ian Sangalang when they bagged their third straight win, 95-90, over Alaska which

IRA ALIDO grabs a one-stroke lead after the second round. NONOY LACZA

Shokai Technology with Pueblo de Oro leg champion Reymon Jaraula (73) and fellow Del Monte bet Noel Langamin

(74), Allan Remata (77), Venezuelan Rafael Parra (75) and Japanese Takahashi Keisuke (75) all pooling 150s. remained winless in five games.

The rematch of last year’s Finals proved the Hotshots were still the better team. Sangalang fired 19 points with 10 rebounds off the bench, while Travis added 17 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks. Ramon Rafael Bonilla IMPORT Dez Wells delivers the goods for the Beermen.

New ABL season launched

S

AN MIGUEL Alab Pilipinas leads a 10-team roster for the coming season of the Asean Basketball League (ABL) which kicks off November 16.

Also seeing action in the 10th season are Formosa Dreamers, Fubon Braves, Hong Kong Eastern, Macau Black Bears, Mono Vampire, Saigon Heat, Singapore Slingers, Westports Malaysia Dragons and Wolf Warriors.

The new season— launched on Thursday at the Conrad Hotel in Pasay City—also introduced the league’s top 10 players of all time.

They are 2018-2019 Season Most Valuable Player Xavier Alexander, Leo Avenido, two-time finals MVP Jerick Cañada, Chris Charles, Attaporn Lertmalaiporn, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., Steven Thomas, Wong Wei Long, Marcus Elliot and Mario Wuysang.

orts

sMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019 C3

Genesis, Lady Falcons zero in on PVL crown

A

POLE vaulter EJ Obiena (fifth from left) meets Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez.

With them are (from left) PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez, Obiena’s parents Jeanette and Emerson and PSC Commissioners Celia Kiram and Charles Raymond Maxey

Ramirez coins ‘Obiena template’ for Olympic bid

T

HE Philippine Sports Commission will provide a customized support for Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifiers EJ Obiena of athletics and Carlos Yulo of gymnastics.

The PSC also guaranteed its support for athletes who still have a shot at qualifying for Tokyo 2020.

Obiena, accompanied by his mother Jeanette and fathercoach Emerson, a former pole vaulter, visited PSC Chairman William Ramirez on Tuesday and thanked the PSC chief for the support that the agency has extended to him.

Ramirez congratulated Obiena for qualifying for the Olympics and assured the agency’s full support.

“If this works, then we will adapt this in the next cycles,” said Ramirez, as he announced a formula he named the “Obiena template.”

The pole vault champion will now have his own team composed of a physiotherapist, sports nutritionist and sports psychologist. The PSC will also shoulder his housing and nutrition requirements.

Obiena trains under celebrated Coach Petrov Vitaly, with the elder Obiena assisting during his overseas training.

Obiena expressed his appreciation for the PSC’s support assuring them that he will “give his all to perform at his best.”

Ramirez, a former basketball coach, reminded Obiena to play without pressure and not forget to have fun.

“When you like what you are doing and you are happy, you perform better.” explained Ramirez who is also Team Philippines’s Chef de Mission to the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

DAMSON University played with grit and poise to beat fancied University of Santo Tomas (UST), 23-25, 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 15-11, to zero in on the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Collegiate Conference crown at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan last Wednesday.

Trisha Genesis again flashed top form and scored 21 points. The rising sophomore star drew solid support from rookies Lucille Almonte, Lorene Toring and setter Louie Romero to hammer out the victory at the start of their best-of-three title series.

“We learned so much from our semis series with Saint Benilde,” said Adamson University coach Lerma Giron, whose wards survived the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde in the Final Four. “Being able to withstand the pressure and not giving up served them well. It’s tough but it’s good for their character.”

They showed grit against the Tigresses, who came

TOUGH TEST UP FOR YULO

C

ARLOS EDRIEL YULO will gauge his progress annual when he goes up against the global giants of gymnastics anew in the men’s all-around finals of the 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the the HannsMartin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany, on Friday.

Fresh from a three-day break, Yulo, 19, will enter the arena boosted by his entry to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after placing 18th overall in the all-around qualifiers last Monday with an aggregate tally of 82.164 points from six apparatuses.

The Tokyo-based Pinoy gymnast scored 77.64 points and placed 23rd overall out of the 24 finalists in his debut at the worlds last year in Doha, Qatar, with Russian Artur Dalaloyan bagging the gold medal with a top score of 87.898 points.

Dalaloyan is back to defend his title, scoring 86.531 points to take the No. 2 spot in the qualifiers behind compatriot and pretournament favorite Nikita Nagornyy, who took top spot with a tally of 87.333 points. China’s Xiao Ruofeng, who was a double gold medalist in Doha, was third (85.831).

Both Dalaloyan and Nagornyy anchored the Russian squad to the men’s team championship last Wednesday as they tallied 261.76 points, narrowly dethroning defending champion China (260.729); while Japan took the bronze (258.159).

The 24 men’s all-around finalists will take to the floor at 4 p.m. (10 p.m. Manila time) with Yulo starting his campaign with the rings, followed by the vault, parallel bars, horizontal bar, floor exercise, respectively, before winding up with the pommel horse.

CARLOS EDRIEL YULO will enter the arena boosted by his entry to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after placing 18th overall in the all-around qualifiers last Monday.

COURTESY NAT TENORIO

Japanese Coach Munehiro Kugimiya, who has been handling Yulo for over six years, said last Monday after the qualifiers that they would tweak some of his ward’s routines so that he could surpass his previous accomplishment in Doha.

“Caloy [Yulo’s] has improved so much since the 2018 competition so we are aiming for a better finish here than in Doha,” Kugimiya, who is the head coach of the national men’s gymnastics squad, said.

Yulo, whose stint is funded by the Philippine Sports Commission, will have one last event here on Saturday when he sees action in the first day of the apparatus finals, kicking off with the men’s floor exercise, pommel horse and rings and the women’s vault and uneven bars.

The gymnast took the bronze medal in Doha, and is expected to go all out for gold in this competition that drew gymnasts from 92 countries.

PHL bets capture 3 golds in pentathlon test event

T RED LIONS GO 17-0 WON-LOST

S

AN Beda University continued to look invincible following a 93-75 rout of College of Saint Benilde for the Red Lions’ 17th straight victory in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 seniors basketball tournament on Thursday, at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

But the Red Lions had to contend with a stubborn Blazers side in the first two quarters.

Saint Benilde held fort and with 13 unanswered points, nailed a 42-41 lead at the turn.

There was no denying the Red Lions though as they pulled away in the third quarter with a 14-0 run of their own for a 58-72 cushion.

Most Valuable Player award contender Calvin Oftana stepped up for the Red Lions with a game-high 29 points on 65 percent shooting. He also had nine rebounds, five off the offensive board, along with five assists and two steals.

EAM Philippines, made of student-athletes from Ormoc City, swept all three gold medals at stake on the first day of the 30th Southeast Asian Games modern pentathlon test event at the Boardwalk in Subic Bay. Princess Abilon, 17, claimed two gold medals in women’s individual and the two-member mixed relay of the event that included bets from Thailand.

“I just stayed focused,” said Abilon, a student at the Ormoc City Regional Sports Academy.

In completing the laser-run event, which alternates four legs of a four-target, laser pistol shooting followed and an 800-meter run done four times, Abilon finished the women’s

individual course in 12 minutes and 3.9 seconds.

Abilon bested Ivy Dino, who settled for the silver medal in 13:11.87, followed in third by Shira Mae Aranzado, 13:17.35.

With teammate Samuel German, they ruled the mixed relay in 10:39.85, with the duo of Dino and Michael Comaling placing second in 11:07.66.

Comaling, who is on his second international stint, topped the men’s individual event to finish with a gold and silver.

The 19-year old Comaling clocked 10:11.59, some 27 minutes ahead of second place Alne Tonada.

Rex de la Cruz, one of the national coaches, said the final day of the event on Thursday will be tougher, with participants doing a 200-meter swim and laser shoot course.

“This was a timed race, and no points were given because there were not that many events held. My athletes wanted to size their rivals from Thailand. So they took things cautiously today,” de la Cruz said.

Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, who heads the Philippine Modern Pentathlon Association, said this is the first time that the sport will be staged in the country as an event of the 30th SEA Games.

James Kwekuteye finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Red Lions. Evan Nelle only had nine points, but dished out nine assists.

“I told the boys at the half—be ashamed of yourselves,” San Beda Coach Boyet Fernandez said. “We have to go back to basics. Our defense was really lousy today, especially our perimeter defense.”

“If we won’t play the way we played today on Thursday, it would be tough beating LPU [Lyceum of the Philippines University],” added Fernandez, whose wards face the Pirates in their next assignment hoping to complete an eliminations sweep for an outright Finals berth. The Blazers dropped to a 7-9 card, and are out of the playoff picture.

Justin Gutang was the only double-digit scorer for the Blazers with 23 points he iced with five rebounds.

Ryniel Berlanga

Mangahis powers UE in UAAP boys’ volleyball

J

OHN PAUL MANGAHIS flashed his all-around game as University of the East (UE) stretched its winning run to three after clobbering titleholder National University (NU)-Nazareth School, 25-20, 25-23, 25-17, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 82 boys’ volleyball tournament at the Paco Arena on Wednesday.

Mangahis finished with 11 points, 10 excellent receptions and seven digs to power the Junior Warriors to their seventh victory in eight matches.

Joshua Espenida also shone for the Junior Warriors with 10 points on eight spikes and two service aces.

Michael Fortuna and Arvin Bandola poured in 11 and

10 points, respectively, for the Bullpups, who slid to 4-5 for fifth place.

NU-Nazareth School, meanwhile, sustained its perfect run after beating University of Santo Tomas, 25-21, 25-17, 25-15, in girls action.

Erin Pangilinan, Alyssa Solomon and Evangeline Alinsug each tallied 11 points while Mhicaela Belen added seven points, including two service aces as the Bullpups moved to 7-0.

Far Eastern University-Diliman trounced University of the Philippines Integrated School, 25-22, 25-13, 25-15, while Adamson University scored a 25-18, 25-9, 21-25, 20-25, 15-11 win over University of the East.

CIGNAL’S Mylene Paat scores against PLDT Home Fibr’s Gen Casugod and Shola Alvarez.

into the title series brimming with confidence after disposing of the reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines champions Ateneo Lady Eagles in their side of the semifinals which also went the distance.

Almonte finished with 15 points, including her team’s last three points, while Toring dominated the net with seven kill blocks, and also scored 15 points. Romero stayed consistent with her playmaking as she tallied 33 excellent sets.

The Lady Falcons gun for the clincher on Saturday.

But coming into Game Two, the Lady Falcons vowed to raise the level of their game in anticipation of the Tigresses’ strong fightback as they seek their first championship in the league since ruling the defunct V-League’s Season 7 second conference in 2010.

Genesis added 16 digs and 20 excellent receives for another superb performance after anchoring the team’s come-from-behind win against the Lady Blazers.

NESTHY IN SEMIS

T

HE Philippines’ Nesthy Petecio exacted vengeance against Japanese Sena Sirie with a 4-1 victory on Thursday in their quarterfinal bout in the World Women’s Championships in Ulan Ude, Russia.

Sirie beat Petecio in the Asian Boxing Championships last April in Bangkok, but it was payback time for the Filipina in Russia.

“I felt I wasn’t in top form in Thailand. That’s why I prepared hard for this tournament”, Petecio, who fights in the featherweight (57 kgs) class, said.

Petecio will face tall and lanky Kariss Artingstall of England in the semifinal round on Friday.

Flyweight Aira Villegas meets No. 1 seed, Chinese-Taipei’s Hsiao Weng Huan, in another quarterfinal bout.

Cignal gals down sister team PLDT

C

IGNAL hacked out a 25-22, 25-19, 25-20 win over PLDT Home Fibr to snatch the first semifinal berth of the Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference on Thursday at the Malolos Sports and Convention Center in Bulacan.

With national team stalwart Mylene Paat at the helm, the HD Spikers made short work of the Power Hitters, winning in just one hour and 29 minutes to seize their fifth straight win and become the first team to advance to the next round of this prestigious women’s club tourney.

Paat delivered 18 points built on 14 kills, three blocks and an ace laced with eight digs, while Rachel Anne Daquis and Janine Navarro delivered 13 markers apiece for the HD Spikers, who also ruled this short but competitive conference two years ago.

Filipino-American playmaker Alohi Robins-Hardy was also impressive, finishing with 19 excellent sets with five points, while libero Jheck Dionela was accounted for 13 digs and six excellent receptions.

Cignal will shoot for an elimination round sweep when it battles Petron tomorrow at the Caloocan Sports Complex.

“We can’t afford to relax, knowing that we are still unbeaten,” said Paat, who will play a crucial role when the Nationals compete in the 30th Southeast Asian Games this December.

“We need to learn how to avoid being complacent in the last stretch of this conference. We also have to be consistent every time,” she added.

Far Eastern University standout Jerrili Malabanan nailed 15 points, while Shola Alvarez had 12 markers, 10 digs and nine receptions for the Power Hitters, who played without Head Coach Roger Gorayeb.

The legendary mentor remains at the hospital, leaving the coaching chores to Clint Malazo.

PLDT is now teetering on the brink of eliminations with a 1-3 record.

SOUTH Korea national team’s Son Heung-min (center) warms up during a training session ahead of their Asian Zone Group H qualifying match against Sri Lanka for the 2022 World Cup at the Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium in Hwaseong, South Korea. AP

C4

Sports

| Friday, October 11, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

BusinessMirror

POLITICS, RACISM HOUND FOOTBALL Z URICH—Fifa has fined Hong Kong’s soccer federation 15,000 Swiss francs ($15,100) for fans disrespecting the Chinese national anthem before a World Cup qualifying game last month.

Hong Kong fans booed and turned their backs when the anthem was played for their team before a September 10, qualifier at home against Iran.

The game took place amid ongoing pro-democracy protests against China’s rule of Hong Kong, which was under British rule until 1997.

Fifa said on Wednesday the charge against Hong Kong was “disturbance during national anthems—use of objects to transmit a message that is not appropriate for a sports event.”

Hong Kong, which lost 2-0 to Iran, has its next home game on November 14, against Bahrain.

Also, Fifa fined Indonesia 45,000 Swiss francs ($45,300) for fan disorder in a home qualifier against neighboring Malaysia.

The game was suspended for several minutes late in the second half because of clashes between fans.

Malaysia won 3-2 with a goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Fifa warned Malaysia a first time for its fans’ lack of discipline and throwing objects, and again for lack of order in its own stadium days later when hosting a qualifier against the United Arab Emirates.

After crowd disturbances at Sierra Leone’s home qualifier against Liberia last month, Fifa imposed a 50,000 Swiss francs ($50,250) fine, and ordered a home game to be played in an empty stadium.

Sierra Leone was eliminated and the punishment should be served at a qualifying game for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Sudan’s soccer federation was fined 30,000 Swiss francs ($30,150) for a pitch invasion by fans at a game against Chad.

KOREAN CRISIS

COLEEN ROONEY (left) wife of Wayne Rooney, shown here with her son Kai, and Rebekah Vardy, wife of England’s forward Jamie Vardy, are engaged in a spat on Twitter. AP

HIGH-PROFILE SOCCER WIVES IN TWITTER SPAT T HE wives of two of English soccer’s most highprofile players got embroiled in a spat on Twitter on Wednesday, about the leaking of information to a tabloid newspaper.

In a post to her 1.3 million followers, Wayne Rooney’s wife, Coleen, accused Rebekah Vardy—or somebody with access to Rebekah’s account—of informing The Sun about details of her private stories written on Instagram.

Rebekah is the wife

S

NEYMAR will reach the century mark in a friendly against Senegal in Singapore on Thursday. AP

of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, who used to play for England’s national team alongside Wayne.

Coleen said she spent five months attempting to work out who was sharing the stories, going as far as blocking everyone from viewing her Instagram page except for one account and then posting “a series of false stories to see if they made their way into” the newspaper.

Coleen finished her tweet by saying her private investigation showed “just one person has viewed them.

It’s ..........Rebekah Vardy’s account.”

Vardy, who has 90,400 Twitter followers of her own, and is well known for appearing in a reality TV show in

Britain, denied leaking the information.

Rebekah replied to Coleen on Twitter, saying she “never” speaks to journalists about her, and that she recently discovered that “various people have had access to my insta.”

“I’m disgusted that I’m even having to deny this,” added Rebekah, who said she was “upset” at being accused by Coleen, especially because she is pregnant with her fifth child.

Wayne, a former Manchester United striker who has been playing in the United States for MLS team DC United since July 2018, is returning to English soccer in January as player-coach of second-tier club Derby County. AP

Neymar set to mark 100th game with Brazil

ÃO PAULO—Ahead of his 100th game with Brazil, Neymar is adamant that he still deserves special treatment in the national team despite never having won a major title in his nine years wearing the famous yellow shirt.

The 27-year-old forward will reach the century mark in a friendly against Senegal in Singapore on Thursday, and defended his status as the team’s biggest star even though Brazil won this summer’s Copa America without him.

“I was always one of the main figures, and one of

those carrying it all on my back,” Neymar said at a news conference Wednesday when asked about getting special treatment. “I never ran away from that. I always played my role in the national team very well. When a player reaches that level it is normal that there is a different treatment.”

“I was in places that had players with more history than me, and I had to respect what coaches did for them,” the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) striker added. “Lionel Messi has a different treatment at Barcelona. Is it because he is better looking? No. It is because he is decisive. He earned it. I don’t say that only about myself, but I say it about everyone that has

performances at that level. That is normal in soccer.”

Neymar’s comments come at a time when some Brazil fans have accused Coach Tite and the Brazilian soccer confederation of being too lenient with the striker over his problems off the pitch. Those include his altercation with a fan after the French Cup final in April; his insistence that his father-agent was allowed into Brazil’s dressing room during a pre-Copa America friendly; and a rape allegation that was recently closed by police.

Neymar is currently at odds with PSG’s fans, as well after trying to force a return to Barcelona during the off-season.

SOUTH Korea said Thursday it’s unclear if North Korea will allow a live broadcast when it hosts the South’s national soccer team for a World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang Seoul’s Unification Ministry, which deals with inter-Korean affairs, said the North has been ignoring South Korean calls for discussions on broadcasting the game live, and allowing South Korean spectators to attend.

“There has been no particular progress on the issues of [sending South Korean]s cheering squads or providing broadcast coverage, so they won’t be easy,” since there’s only a few days left until the game, said a ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing to reporters.

The North in recent months has severed virtually all diplomatic activity and cooperation with the rival South amid a standstill in nuclear negotiations with the United States, while ramping up missile tests in an apparent effort to pressure Washington and Seoul.

South Korea’s Korea Football Association said last month it had been informed by the Asian Football Confederation that North Korea will host its Group H game against the South as scheduled.

The game would be the first competitive meeting between the national men’s teams in the North Korean capital, although the North hosted the South for a friendly there in 1990.

During qualification for the 2010 World Cup, North Korea chose to host games against South Korea in Shanghai, refusing to hoist the South Korean flag and play the South Korean anthem on its soil.

But South Korea’s women’s team played in Pyongyang in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2017, and North Korean TV broadcast an edited version of the game days later.

RACISM IN ITALY

IN Milan, Atalanta has been fined €10,000 ($11,000) for racist chanting by its fans, adding to the notion that Italian soccer authorities are doing little to combat racism.

Fiorentina defender Dalbert Henrique was targeted by racist chanting during his team’s 2-2 draw at Atalanta, on September 22. The match was briefly suspended because of the abuse.

Dalbert was the third black player—after Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku and AC Milan’s Franck Kessie—to be targeted by racist chants during the four opening weekends of Serie A but it was the first sanction to be handed out by the Italian league, federation or police.

Fifa President Gianni Infantino recently lambasted Italian soccer authorities for their lack of action. AP And in Brazil, he remains the country’s most polarizing player.

His statistics with the national team are impressive: 61 goals and 42 assists in 99 games so far. That puts him one goal behind twotime World Cup winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who is in second place on Brazil’s all-time list of top scorers with 62. Pele tops the list with 77.

With Neymar in the team, Brazil has 70 victories, 19 draws and 10 defeats. But aside from the 2013 Confederations Cup, no titles.

At the 2014 World Cup at home, Neymar injured his back in the quarterfinal win over Colombia and the team was humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semifinals without him. At least year’s World Cup in Brazil he was far from his best after recovering from a foot injury, and made little impact as Brazil lost 2-1 to Belgium in the quarterfinals.

And this summer he had to miss the Copa America because of an injury he sustained shortly before the tournament. AP

God of the covenant

D

EAR God, Your mercy endures forever. Trusting in You, we pray: Pour out Your grace upon us, oh God. Help us to use technology for the work of justice and peace, and make us grateful for Your creative Spirit that connects us all.

Shower Your love upon those who suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia, and give peace and strength to their caregivers. Grant mercy to the dying and welcome them into Your heavenly kingdom.

May we prefer nothing to the love of Christ, and may He bring us together to everlasting life. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life BusinessMirror

RUBY ROSE READY TO DEFEND GOTHAM IN THE CW’S ‘BATWOMAN’ D4

Friday, October 11, 2019

D1

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET

GROWS UP WITH ‘THE KING’ THE King is an ambitious melding of historical fact and fiction, loosely inspired by William Shakespeare’s Henry V and Henry IV parts one and two, following Timothée Chalamet from his drunken days in Eastcheap to his early days as King of England.

V

By linDSEy BAHR The Associated Press

ENICE, Italy—There aren’t many directors who would be happy about a film taking nearly seven years to get off the ground, but that’s precisely the case with David Michôd’s The King. The long development process, delays and studio changes for his and Joel Edgerton’s vision for a Henry V film had a silver lining. By the time they were ready to go, an exciting new talent had emerged: Timothée Chalamet.

“It was a beautifully fortuitous thing that it took us that long to get made,” Michôd said last month after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. He looked over at his young star and laughed. Had the film been made when he and Edgerton wrote it, not only would Chalamet not have been on their radar, he also would have been only 12 years old.

The King opens in select theaters on Friday before landing on Netflix on November 1.

Still, it wasn’t even a given that Chalamet and Michôd would cross paths. But a friend suggested that he see Call Me By Your Name, thinking maybe the “kid in it” would be good for the part of Hal, the reluctant heir to the throne who will become King Henry V. Michôd went in a little skeptical—people are always making suggestions to him and most don’t result in anything—but he had a bit of a revelation watching the tender, sunsoaked Italian romance.

“That’s the version of The King I want to make,” he said. “I loved the idea of taking that kid from that movie and starting The King with him, and turning him into something else—hardening him and making him almost tyrannical...[But] I never thought I’d be casting a 22-year-old New Yorker to play Henry V.”

Chalamet had been doing mostly present-day or recent-past films, and liked the notion of being in something completely different. He also latched on to the “allegory” about Elio, his Call Me By Your Name character. So, he said yes, days before he’d find out he’d gotten his first Oscar nomination for that film.

“There felt like a beautiful irony and challenge in that I was a young American playing a historical British figure, directed by and working with a bunch of Australians,” Chalamet said.

Or, Michôd chimed in, a “recipe for disaster.”

The film is an ambitious melding of historical fact and fiction, loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s Henry V and Henry IV, parts one and two, following Chalamet from his drunken days in Eastcheap to his early days as King of England, a position he never wanted and takes reluctantly when his tyrannical father, Henry IV (Ben Mendelsohn), dies.

“I thought, ‘Oh wow this could be really done in a way that’s true to the plays and true to the history,’” Chalamet said. “People wielding these positions of power often were unusually young.”

The “swords and horses” genre was a bit of a departure for Michôd, too. He made his name with the Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom and has never been drawn to fantasy endeavors, like Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings.

“It’s not because I hate it, it’s just because I don’t understand how I’m supposed to engage with it.

This is not that, but it lends itself to tropes that are very similar,” Michôd said. “We actually know so little about the middle ages. We have a lot of documentary fact, but I don’t know what it would be like to be a person in the middle ages, and that almost makes it a kind of fantasy. But that’s what makes it exciting, too: How do we go about turning this into

Soon to be available for streaming on Netflix, David Michôd’s The King stars the preternaturally gifted actor plays the young man who will be King Henry V of Britain. “There felt like a beautiful irony and challenge in that I was a young American playing a historical British figure, directed by and working with a bunch of Australians,” Chalamet said. something that feels real?”

He and his longtime friend and collaborator Edgerton, who also plays a humorous Falstaff in the film, set off to make something as grounded as they could. That meant sporting heavy armor and suffering through the Hungarian heat for the two-and-a-half weeks it would take to shoot the Battle of Agincourt.

The intensity of the battle was a new experience for Chalamet.

“There’s an amazing thing that happens,” Chalamet said. “Sometimes with long takes in movies, when there’s a lot of physicality required, any sense of acting goes out the window.”

In other words, the struggle you see on-screen as he’s huffing and puffing his way through the mud in armor with a sword is pretty real. Was it at all fun

though dressing up and play fighting?

“Watching it was fun,” Chalamet said, laughing.

He also had to cut his hair into a more periodspecific bowl cut, which had Chalamet’s large and vocal Internet fan base in a tizzy when he started making public appearances without his signature locks.

“David was adamant, and so right,” Chalamet said. “It would have felt like a cheat if there wasn’t the appropriate hairstyle. It sounds silly but I hope people don’t judge it. It is just hair at the end of the day.”

Michôd chimed in: “It’s just hair but it was important. It felt [Chalamet] really important for the character and for Timmy as an actor to have a transformation, to go from that kid from Call Me By Your Name and become something else.” n

D2

Friday, October 11, 2019

Society BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

z

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Matt Bomer, 42; Emily Deschanel, 43; Jane Krakowski, 51; Joan Cusack, 57.

JEAN-PHILIPPE CHARRIER, president and CEO Shiseido Asia Pacific (from left); Koji Nakata, managing director of Shiseido Philippines; and Patrick Chong, founder and chairman of Luxasia Pte. Ltd.

FROM left: Jean-Philippe Charrier; KC Concepcion, the first Filipina ambassador of Shiseido; and Koji Nakata

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: You have more options than you realize, but first you need to tidy up unfinished business. Get down to the nitty-gritty, and deal with emotional, financial and health issues first. Once you clear the passage of debris that’s been crowding your headspace, you will begin to see new possibilities.

Doors will open if you have something precise to offer.

Your lucky numbers are 3, 10, 14, 21, 23, 30, 44.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take the safe route when dealing with superiors. Listen carefully, and develop a good rapport with whomever can influence your next career move, purchase or personal decision. Intelligence coupled with intuition will help you reach your destination. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Speak up, offer suggestions and look for unique ways to expand your knowledge and use your skills. Adding to what you already have to offer should not cost you more to do, but it should bring in higher returns. HHHH

c ALWYN CHONG, Luxasia Inc. managing director; and Nigel Haley, Watsons SM business consultant

PATRICK CHONG, founder and chairman of Luxasia Pte. Ltd., Robina Gokongwei-Pe, president and CEO Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc.; and Alwyn Chong, Luxasia Inc. managing director

SYLVIA CHIM, regional director for corporate communications and sustainability for Shiseido Asia Pacific; and Steven Tan, SM Supermalls chief operating officer

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Emotional confusion will surface due to mixed messages someone sends you. When in doubt, ask questions. Don’t wait for someone else to do something for you when taking the initiative and doing things yourself will ensure you get things done on time. HH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The plan should be to have fun, enjoy what you do and spend more time with the people who bring out the best in you. Distance yourself from argumentative or controlling individuals. HHHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Just do what you have to do, and get on with it. If you take time to argue with someone, you will accomplish little. Finish what you start, and give others the chance to follow whatever path they choose. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Let your imagination wander, and you’ll come up with an innovative idea that can help improve your relationship with someone special. Social events, romantic dates, family gatherings and pleasure trips are favored. HHH

RAEBELLE DENNIS and Tralizia Tan

IA ALANO and Cindy Yap

JOEY ONG and Sam Gallardo

Reenter, Japanese beauty

A

GLOBAL purveyor of exquisite beauty, Shiseido Co. Ltd. returns to these shores via the newly established Shiseido Philippines Corp., or simply Shiseido Philippines, a joint venture in partnership with Luxasia Partners Pte. Ltd., to strengthen the cosmetics business in the country’s rapidly growing beauty market. Of course, with beauty aficionados staying true to the brand favorites through overseas jaunts and online shopping, one might argue Shiseido never really left—but that’s another story.

With over 140 years of history and heritage to its name, Shiseido has carved a niche for itself globally. An equation of East-meets-West, the brand is guided by Japanese philosophy and aesthetics, while simultaneously finding footing in the scientific developments and state-of-the-art pharmaceuticals of the Western world.

With this masterful balance instilled at its core, the brand has developed a vast spectrum of skin care, makeup and sun-care products to cater to various skin types and address diverse beauty concerns. The brand has also established Shiseido Men, a male-specific line to extend the same targeted solutions, and utmost care to its male consumers.

Shiseido’s reentry into the Philippine market also

signals the launch of several key brands under the company’s extensive product portfolio. In addition to trusted Shiseido and Shiseido Men skin-care products, this expansive roster now includes prestige brands like makeup cult favorites, Nars and renowned skin-perfecting makeup brand Laura Mercier, as well as personal-care brands such, as Senka.

Recognizing the Philippines as a largely enthusiastic market for cosmetics and beauty, Koji Nakata, managing director of Shiseido Philippines, said, “We are extremely delighted to move our business forward with the launch of the Shiseido Philippines Corp., and I look forward to engage with our consumers as we bring them limitless beauty with our extensive lineup of high-quality cosmetics and skin-care products.”

Jean-Philippe Charrier, president and CEO of Shiseido Asia Pacific, said, “The Philippines is an important and strategic market for Shiseido in Southeast Asia, and it is an exciting time to be a part of the country’s booming beauty industry.

[This] will enable more Filipinos to have access to a wider range of beauty brands and products—with the uncompromising quality, innovation and spirit of omotenashi, or Japanese hospitality—that only Shiseido can provide.” n

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Use your skills for something that will encourage you to make extra cash launching a home-based business. You shouldn’t have to invest a lot of money to get started. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Now is not the time to take a break. If you put your skills and imagination to work, you will come up with a plan that will lead to a positive change.

Personal improvement is encouraged. HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Fraternizing with peers will help you recognize what’s real and what’s not. If you brag or exaggerate, you will leave yourself open for criticism.

Live up to your promises, and refuse to let others coax you into something you shouldn’t do. HH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A change is heading your way. Embrace what’s coming instead of worrying about it or trying to avoid participating. What appears to be something you don’t want will turn into an opportunity and a chance to advance. Romance is on the rise. HHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If someone uses fancy words to confuse or mislead you, back away. Do your research and discover the truth before you take action. There is more power in facts and simple explanations than there is in lying.

HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Take stock of what you have, what you want to discard and what you want to use moving forward.

Changes in lifestyle, how you handle your cash, health and legal matters will help you gain stability, security and a good reputation. HHH ELIZABETH QUIAMBAO, SSI Group vice president; and Anton Huang, SSI group president

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are passionate, insightful and enthusiastic.

You are dedicated and loyal.

‘t-v series’ BY DAVID ALFRED BYWATERS The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Downright 6 Jungfrau and Matterhorn 10 Fish with “sea” and “striped” varieties 14 Major artery 15 Stallion’s heartthrob 16 Improve the wording of, say 17 The very best in miserable accommodations?

19 “Fare ___ well!”

20 Slithery fish 21 Art collector’s trunk?

22 Right wrongs 23 Long story 24 Dance party headwear?

26 Forest footways 29 Soup utensil 31 Fly 33 Palindromic New Year 34 Butte relative 38 Nun who’s a breadwinner?

41 Banjo perch 42 New Deal org. concerned with fair practices 43 Choose 44 Two pints

6 Music festival shelters 4 47 Unpleasant celebrity?

51 Gets older 53 Bit of hijinks 54 Rind-removal device 56 Mornings, for short 59 Scallion cousin 60 Place to buy part of a three-piece suit?

62 Entice 63 Song such as “Nessun Dorma” 64 Clamorous 65 ___ class (cycling session) 66 Kremlin inhabitant of old 67 Notice DOWN 1 Book part 2 Folk wisdom 3 Risk territory next to Siberia 4 Any of the 6-Across: Abbr.

5 Lack of refinement 6 Ethically lacking 7 Loos, e.g.

8 Purchase in advance 9 French seasoning 10 Hollywood legend Davis

1 For a particular purpose 1 12 Tuscan city 13 Hard to climb 18 Take more than one’s share of 22 “Hail,” to Caesar 23 Risk razor burn 25 Chorus members 26 Prepare to move 27 Stratford’s river 28 Fork point 30 One way to buy stock 32 French boredom 34 “And ___ to go before I sleep...”

35 Perfect place, if you don’t mind the serpent 36 Religious subgroup 37 Painting, sculpture, etc.

39 Astor’s colleagues 40 Old pros 44 Home shopping channel 45 Sauce for fried fish 47 Niagara ___ 48 Surpass 49 Origins of human life 50 Compare 52 Turquoise or tourmaline

5 Continent that’s also a name 5 56 Related by blood 57 Disorder 58 Ophthalmologist’s concern 60 Vintner’s container 61 Deer species

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Relationships BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ADOBO rolls with calamansi

RODRIGO’S Roast

MORE WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE SURVIVING TODAY THAN EVER BEFORE—U.N. REPORT

MORE women and children have greater chances of surviving today, according to a new report on child and maternal mortality. The report, released by the United Nations group led by Unicef and the World Health Organization, revealed that the Philippines has nearly halved the number of dying infants and of children dying before their fifth birthday, reflecting the global downward trend in maternal and child deaths.

The report showed that more babies are surviving as the number of infant deaths in the Philippines dropped from 40 per 1,000 live births in 1990, to 22 in 2018.

Similarly, more children are surviving past the age of five, from 113,000 deaths down to 63,000 in the same period.

Further, the report showed that 24 percent less women in the Philippines are dying from complications during pregnancy and childbirth, from 160 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000, to 121 in 2017.

Globally, more women and children are surviving today, mainly due to improved access to affordable, quality health services scaled up through universal health care. A trained health work force, free care for pregnant women and children, and support to family planning led to the substantial decline in child and maternal deaths in many countries. Southeast Asian countries have made the most progress globally with an 80-percent decline in under five deaths. Despite the progress, the report says that around 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns die every year across the globe, or one every 11 seconds, mostly of preventable causes, the new estimates say.

Children face the highest risk of dying in the first month, especially if they are born too soon or too small, have complications during birth, congenital defects or get serious infections. About a third of these deaths occur within the first day and nearly three quarters in the first week alone.

The Philippines passed the Universal Health Care law to strengthen primary health care by investing in skilled birth attendants, improving access to clean water, adequate nutrition, basic medicines and vaccines, and by supporting family planning. Unicef is prioritizing support to the implementation of the law, as we see it as a real opportunity to save even more mother’s and children’s lives. More information is available at www.unicef.org/ philippines and www.childmortality.org.

Friday, October 11, 2019

D3

PIANGGANG Adobong Manok with Palapa with burn coconut-adobo sauce

This is ‘Adobo Nation’ SOMETHING LIKE LIFE

MA. STELLA F. ARNALDO

@akosistellaBM

I

’M PRETTY sure I will be branded a subversive, unpatriotic even, when I admit that I’m not really one of those of people who look for or relish adobo like the comfort food that it is usually associated with.

Sure, my lola cooked it, but it wasn’t really among my favorites as a child. The dish doesn’t bring up any fond memories, unlike her lengua sevillana, bacalao, pochero or plain old fried pork chop with the crispy rind (my usual school lunch).

So when my friend Bess Howe of Holiday Inn & Suites Makati told me they are holding a month-long food festival of adobo and adobo-inspired dishes at their restaurant Flavors, I was cool to the idea. (The main draw was really getting together with Bess, a friend since the 1990s who would soon be retiring from the hotel, much to media’s dismay. I always thought her jovial personality, friendliness and keen sense of fashion made her perfect for the hotel life. But good luck, Bessie! On to more challenges ahead!)

Adobo is arguably the quintessential Filipino dish—ask a Filipino how they like their adobo, and you’ll probably get a different answer each time. True.

The only adobo I really like is the dry kind with crispy pork, or using snipes with lots of sauce over garlic fried rice.

Such is the nature of this much-loved dining table staple: it is enjoyed in countless of different ways.

This is precisely what Holiday Inn & Suites Makati celebrates this October with Adobo Nation, a festival that brings to light the unique and inventive ways of cooking adobo aside from the classic.

Enlisting the help of no less than the well-loved and popular Adobo Queen, Nancy Reyes-Lumen, and chefs Jen Serranilla and Jaja Andal, who make up Team Adobo, the hotel takes adobo to a whole new level this month, armed with the ladies’ wealth of knowledge on the dish and the cooking process.

“We chose to cook variants of adobo to show that the dish is neither just a recipe, nor a cooking style, but actually a menu of assorted tastes centered on sour and salty, and sometimes also sweet,” Nancy asserts. “Adobo reflects the Filipino personality—our ability to create different styles based on a centerpiece dish, ‘strike anywhere’ as they say. The name ‘adobo’ may be borrowed, but the flavors, ingredients and colors of adobo cover the foodscape of this country, and is so much a part of our culture that we truly own it. What other dish can you bring and eat for all occasions, whether you’re at the airport, dorm, beach, wake, party, meeting or what have you? Only adobo.

Every Pinoy has an adobo story, and that is why it’s a part of our lives,” she adds.

I certainly raved over her pizzadobo, where they glazed the farina flour pizza crust, before topping it with chopped egg white of salted duck eggs, tomato concasse and mozzarella cheese. For the final topping, Nancy used slices of salted egg yolks and extra crispy adobo flakes. The sweet peppery aroma from the fresh basil leaves sprinkled on the pizza teased us with the delicious treat we were about to have.

“It was a fun challenge thinking of new ways in which to portray adobo that would still be welcomed

by Filipinos and also spur excitement. I chose familiar recipes, both local and foreign, and leveled it up by adding adobo flavors. It creates a sense of comfort and nostalgia of sorts,” according to Jen. Her piece de resistance, was a truly creative adobo cheesecake,

where she used the laurel leaves and some pepper to infuse her batter.

Chef Jaja gets her inspiration from regional cuisine: “I decided to create adobo using the regional tastes which I learned in my recent travel around the Philippines. I got inspired with the Mindanao flavors and wanted to incorporate the Mindanao cooking techniques and flavors in adobo.” I couldn’t have enough of her Pianggang Adobo Manok with Palapa, chicken marinated in tuba (coconut sap vinegar), with burnt coconut adobo sauce on the side.

Team Adobo will be preparing some 30 dishes during the month-long festival at Flavors, which prides itself in having one of the best buffet selections in Makati City. Other dishes being featured are Tamales ala Adobo (single serve corn/rice mash topped with chicken adobo flakes, wrapped in banana leaves, then steamed); Paella de Adobo (seafood adobo rice garnished with green beans, lemon slices, chilis and bell peppers); Rodrigo’s Roast, a whole slab of adobo—cooked and then baked pork belly with a crispy crust; Adobo Rolls with Calamansi (rolled pork bacon adobo and flavored with calamansi).

Aside from the mains, adobo will also find its way into salad dressings, pate and the like.

“Adobo is such a big part of Filipino cuisine, we want our guests, especially those coming from abroad, to experience it, as well as how it translates to different dishes and not just the classic pork and chicken,” said Holiday Inn & Suites Manager Andy Belmonte. “We hope they come to love adobo as much as we Filipinos do.”

And surprisingly, I loved them, too. For this former non-adobo loving person, I am certainly eager to return to check out what other clever and tasty dishes Team Adobo has for diners.

The adobo dishes are available for lunch or dinner. n For more information, call 909-0888 or visit www. holidayinn.com/makati.

Here comes the ‘Inspired’ bride CONRAD Manila recently held its second bridal fair, “Inspired Beginnings 2019: A Bespoke Wedding Experience,” with the intent to give soon-to-wed couples a more intimate and personal wedding planning experience, and the hotel made no mistake in tapping Marbee Go—founder and former editor in chief of Wedding Essentials magazine, and executive producer of FOXLife’s She Said Yes—to curate the special event.

Over 120 of the biggest names in the industry were gathered for this special event. “I wanted the brides-to-be to actually meet some of their potential wedding collaborators,” said Go. “I wanted to give them a chance to pick the perfect set for them, the one that will make the wedding day of their dreams come to life.”

The most in-demand event stylists including Gideon Hermosa, Michael Ruiz, and Teddy Manuel along with Badang Rueda (who worked on the weddings of Heart Evangelista and Regine Velasquez) were present. The fair also held the biggest gathering of women wedding stylists: Nikki Chato, Zenas Pineda, Pat Pastelero, Bhem Meijer and Joyce Aguilar.

Well-known wedding collaborators— among them are Penk Ching, Bob Nicolas, Pat Dy, Oly Ruiz of Metrophoto, Veluz, Mak Tumang, Christine Ong-Te and La Belle Fete— also made themselves available for the soon-towed couples. They were also given a glimpse of some of the creations of designers Jo Rubio for bridal gowns, Carina Canlas for entourage gowns and Happy Andrada for bridal robes.

Along with the veterans in the industry, Go

ACTRESS Jessy Mendiola in a Jo Rubio ball gown

FROM left: (front) Frank Briones, Marbee Go, Berg Go, Erick Dizon, (back) Jude Turcuato, Richard Alarcon and Charisse Tinio

opened the door of opportunities to the young bloods who are making a name for themselves, such as wedding photographers and videographers Forevermine Films, Treehouse Story Films, Proud Rad and Jaja Samaniego, and new wedding collaborators Gerry Rosales who crafts flowers out of paper, and Il Fiore, a young stylist from the South, among others.

Despite being in the industry for over 10 years, this was a first for Go—but she offered more than what was expected of her by bringing in six of the busiest wedding planners

in the Metro. The wedding industry veteran is making, yet, another mark as she launches Bridespeak, the newest online platform for all things wedding.

“Bridespeak is more than a wedding database,” said Go. “It’s a curated platform of wedding selections for every kind of bride.”

More than that, this wedding and lifestyle web site also serves as a launchpad for the new generation of practitioners. “It’s an avenue for creatives in the industry to showcase their work, their passion,” shared Go.

THE vignette of planner Christine Ong-Te, designed

by Teddy Manuel

D4

Show BusinessMirror

Friday, October 11, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Ruby Rose ready to defend Gotham in The CW’s ‘Batwoman’

N RWM’s Grand Bar brings back iconic musical movements in new variety shows RESORTS World Manila’s (RWM, www.rwmanila.com) Grand Bar and Lounge presents nightly world-class performances that sets it apart from other entertainment venues in the Metro as it features three variety shows this month.

Motown, the American label that released some of the best African-American records in the 1960s, comes alive in MoTown Funk: Soul Lotta Groove on October 11, 13, 16 and 18 at 10 pm, featuring an all-star cast that brings the hits of Motown ranging from Psychedelic Soul to New Jack Swing favorites as popularized by such acts as Earth, Wind and Fire, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Aretha Franklin and much more. Dance enthusiasts can relive the glitz and glamor of the disco era in Disco Glam on October 15, 20, 22, 27 at 10 pm.

Baby boomers will always remember the golden age of disco and how it took the world by storm during the 1970s. New York’s legendary Studio 54 helped bring the revolution at the forefront of the entertainment scene during its heyday, and RWM brings back the same vibe with its roster of world-class performers doing renditions of Bee Gees, ABBA and Michael Jackson.

Meanwhile, for those who grew up in the 1980s, The Grand Bar and Lounge also features Iconic 80s featuring hits from the most colorful decade of music that ushered the new wave, R&B and pop classics we know today. Catch performances on October 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 and 31 at 10 pm.

Motown Funk, Disco Glam, Iconic 80s are headlined some of the biggest homegrown standouts, including Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, Radha Cuadrado, Lani Ligot, Cris Pastor, Charlotte Fergusson, Jasmine Fritzgerald of Singing Sensations, Jex de Castro, Rhenwyn Gabalonzo, Chesko Rodriguez, James Uy, Marielle Mamaclay, Glob Ortega, Ava Jugueta, Joanne Lery, Shan dela Vega, together with European acrobats and dancers Acro Salsa, Limerence Duo and Dance Royalties.

The Grand Bar variety shows also feature some of the best creative forces in entertainment today, including director and choreographer Daniel Cabrera, and musical director and arranger Myke Salomon.

These exclusive RWM entertainment features are open to RWM guests 21 and above, with a minimum cover charge of P800, consumable of food and drinks.

By Alicia Rancilio The Associated Press

EW YORK—Ruby Rose says she went public about sustaining serious injuries while performing stunts on her new CW series Batwoman because she hated that by keeping it quiet, she was lying.

The actress recently posted a video of herself undergoing surgery to her Instagram account with a caption explaining she suffered two herniated discs while performing stunt work. Her spinal cord was in jeopardy of being severed, and she was in so much pain that she says she couldn’t feel her arms.

Rose said she realized it was better to be authentic about what happened, especially since she’s a public figure.

“Something that we do as a society and especially Hollywood, and that is we kind of promote this ideal life,” she said, “Everything is effortless and it’s not, you know what I mean? I feel like it’s more important to spread the message that, actually, we’re all just human beings and we’re all just doing our best and not kind of make out that it is something that is so unattainable and so unrealistic.”

Rose, who has experience with stunt work in films including John Wick: Chapter 2 and The Meg now feels better and is back to doing stunts, but says the incident was a good reminder that she needed to slow down.

The 33-year-old’s casting in Batwoman first made headlines because it’s the first openly gay superhero to headline a TV series.

Fans hoping for some romance will have to be patient. Rose, who is openly gay herself, says her character, Kate Kane, is not looking for a relationship right now.

“I don’t think that’s her priority right at this minute. She has just come into herself. She’s just returned to Gotham. She has so much trauma going on. She’s lost her mom, she’s lost her sister, she’s trying to discover what she wants to do in her life,” Rose said. “She was kicked out of the military so it’s like she’s starting from square one, and then when she discovers a purpose and that purpose is to become Batwoman.”

Rose, however, would love to see it happen to give the character some levity.

“I said to Caroline [Dries] the writer, ‘Let her have some happiness. She deserves happiness. I want her to be happy and in love.’ Caroline was like, ‘Yeah, it doesn’t always work out that way for superheroes or for people who have to keep this secret identity’ but we’ll see.”

As for the Batwoman costume—four-time Academy-Award winning costume designer Colleen Atwood designed the cowl and cape—Rose says the fittings were an extensive process.

“It got to the point where I was like, we’re doing a body scan and we’re doing a 3D scan, we’re doing laser, stand in a room and there’s 150 million characters that are going to catch every single angle of you doing every face and I was just like, ‘Goodness gracious, this

is wild,’ and then when you get the suit, you really realize why,” she said.

“It fits me like a glove in every single area, in every movement. It feels like a second skin so when you put

it on you really kind of feel like you are unstoppable and bulletproof, and faster and stronger and all these things that you’re actually not.”

Batwoman made its debut on October 6 on The CW. n

Drew Arellano continues his journey with GMA AWARD-WINNING TV personality and host Drew Arellano looks forward to continuing his journey as one of GMA’s prominent news and public affairs personalities, as he renewed his commitment to the network in a contract-signing event held on October 8.

Present during the signing were GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon, SVP for News and Public Affairs Marissa L. Flores, First Vice President for Public Affairs Nessa Valdellon, and Asian Artists Agency representative Rowena Salido. Vice President for Corporate Affairs and Communications Angela Javier Cruz, Senior Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Neil Gumban, Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Jaileen Jimeno, Biyahe ni Drew Program Manager Karen Lumbo, and AHA! Program Manager Mildred Ablanque-Irum were also present.

Gozon only had good things to say about the host who has been a loyal to GMA for 14 years. “’Yung andito siya sa atin for 14 years is wellappreciated. Isa siya sa magagaling nating talents sa Public Affairs. At tayo naman ay talagang galak na galak na pinili na naman niyang manatili sa ating istasyon,” Gozon said.

Drew shared that working with GMA does not feel like a job. “You know what they say: If you love your job, it doesn’t seem like a job. I get to travel with the entire Biyahe ni Drew crew or I make kids learn through AHA!,” he said.

During the contract signing and the media interview that followed, both the Biyahe ni Drew and AHA! teams were in full attendance to show their support to the host. Drew expressed his gratitude to his GMA Public Affairs family by giving credit to the production teams for the success of his programs throughout the years.

“I think anyone can produce a travel show but not everyone can have my team. Our chemistry is pretty solid, that’s why we are very efficient with our work.

It’s a fine group of people that you will be happy with for 14 years and will probably be happy for another 14 years,” Drew said.

He also revealed that it was actually in GMA that he met his wife—Iya Villania-Arellano—after working with her in the youth-oriented show Click. Fourteen years later, not only is Drew still loyal to GMA, but he and Iya are now parents to three-yearold Primo and one-year-old Leon. But even before getting married, Drew says he knew he wanted to be a good father. To accomplish this, he scaled down his work to three times a week. Today, instead of going out with friends, he says he’d rather spend quality time with his wife and children.

Aside from Click, Drew was also part of the longestrunning morning show Unang Hirit. In 2005, Drew hosted QTV’s travel show Balikbayan which later had an offshoot program Weekend Getaway on GMA News TV. Five years later, he further showcased his versatility in hosting via AHA!, a GMA Public Affairs’ award-winning infotainment show.

“For AHA!, it’s not just about learning. It’s about having fun while learning and I think that is the most effective tool so that your kids will learn. Our goal is to be an edutainment type—educational, at the same time, entertaining. That’s what we’ve been doing for the past 10 years,” Drew said.

With the tagline, “Ang happy place ng mga batang smart,” AHA! explores the science and technology behind everyday things, experiences and viral activities with the help of credible experts.

It makes sure that viewers will find fun in learning through entertaining treatments, language and

exciting animations.

Over the years, AHA! has ventured into full-length live animation segments. After the production of its AHA! Animation Originals special episode in 2017, it regularly produced animation segments such as the #KuwentongAHAmazing, a full-length animation of Pinoy stories being told by top GMA personalities, including Jessica Soho, Bianca Umali and Ken Chan.

Next year, AHA! will explore more composite media, like stop-motion and 3D animation.

Viewers have also seen Drew explore islands, jump from the highest cliffs, and eat the most exotic dishes in his travel program Biyahe ni Drew, which began airing on GMA News TV in 2013.

“I feel that we, the Biyahe ni Drew crew, are in a very lucky position. We bring our cameras and get

to feature super isolated places and share it to our viewers,” Drew shared.

Aside from featuring beautiful destinations in the Philippines, Biyahe ni Drew has taken viewers to various Asian destinations, such as Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Hong Kong. It also explored the African continent’s Kenya, Zimbabwe and Zambia, as well as Israel and Jordan. The show has successfully launched the Biya-Hero and Sustaina-Goals campaign.

Both AHA! and Biyahe ni Drew have established a strong online presence. AHA’s Facebook page is close to hitting 1 million “likes” while Biyahe ni Drew’s has more than 1 million likes. Both shows have also been recognized by various local and international awardgiving bodies.

AWARD-WINNING TV personality and host Drew Arellano (second from right) looks forward to continuing his journey with GMA as he renews his commitment to the network in a contract signing held on October 8.

Present during the contract signing were (from left) GMA Network First Vice President for Public Affairs Nessa Valdellon, Senior Vice President for News and Public Affairs Marissa L. Flores, Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon, and Asian Artists Agency representative Rowena Salido.

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

HONDA ROLLS OUT Editor: Tet Andolong

Friday, October 11, 2019

E1

THE ALL-NEW ACCORD H

Story & photos by Randy S. Peregrino

ONDA Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) has finally brought in the much-awaited all-new Accord to the local market. Completely redesigned inside and out, plus sporting a turbocharged engine, the latest generation model dons the kind of evolution we’ve been looking and waiting for in a Honda midsized sedan.

Since its introduction in 1976, the Accord is now Honda’s second-longest running nameplate in its global lineup.

That also earned the model as one of Honda’s best seller with 22.8 million units sold (as of July 2019) since its introduction.

Developed under the grand concept “Absolute Confidence,” the 10th generation Accord aims to be a captivating sedan for the next generation. Further, it presents itself as the embodiment of what Honda stands for in terms of innovation, safety and advanced technology, which elevate further the image of what a midsize sedan should be.

Bolder and sportier

NOW on a new platform, the overall exterior look surpasses the typical elegant presentation and added elements of sportiness.

Its wider stance, lower roofline along with the radically longer and lower hood, these further highlighted the brand’s signature and pronounced chrome wing grille. Along with the fresh and streamlined wing-shaped fullLED headlights (equipped with auto leveling and high beam features), it further streamlined the

MORE refined and roomier interior

bolder and upright fascia to be very distinctive and aggressive, as well.

The flanks, meanwhile, now look stylish, yet, dynamic coming from the lower roofline and sharp upswept bodylines. Even those prominent wheel arches and concave door panels with sharp character lines also factored in. As for the rear, the slightly longer overhang profile is complemented with new C-shaped LED taillights, which match the front’s LED daylight running lights.

Moreover, Honda adopted a laser brazing welding process for joining the roof and the side panels which prov ided a more sophisticated and cleaner exter ior finish, w ithout the usual garnish over trims. Completing the bolder and sportier c ha racter a re t he ag g ressive design and cleverly engineered 18 -inch noise-reducing a l loy wheels w rapped in 235/45 R18 ser ies r ubbers.

THE all-new Accord EL Turbo CVT with Honda Sensing

THE Honda Sensing millimeterwave radar installed at the front

SLIGHTLY longer overhang profile with new C-shaped LED taillights

More space and refinements

THE new interior layout now boasts more space along with more premium trims and tech-savvy elements. Putting meticulous attention to the tactile and visual quality of materials utilized, it raised the overall premium feel inside

the cabin. From high quality soft touch materials everywhere, to the tasteful application of leather, wood and metal accents throughout, the all-new Accord has it.

Now with wider body and longer wheelbase, there’s definitely more room thanks to the additional

48mm of legroom. In addition, the cargo capacity increased to 573 liters of space, which is 123 liters more than its predecessor.

Tech enhancements

THE all-new Accord now offers an array of advanced technologies comparable to that of higher-class vehicles. These features would bring higher level of convenience for both the driver and passengers. First is the vivid seven-inch TFT display and instrument panel which presents various vehicle information in an upscaled, yet, easy-to-read layout. Another is the new 8-inch display audio system which is one of the most advanced systems offered by Honda to date. It has smart touch controls and intuitive enough to navigate through commonly used features and applications. The system is also equipped with Navigation, Apple

MORE powerful 1.5-liter VTEC turbocharged engine

CarPlay and Android Auto.

Other advanced convenience features are Smar t Key w ith Push Button Start and Remote Engine Start, Walk Away Auto Lock, Speed Sensing Door Locks, Electric Parking Brake with Auto Brake Hold, and Auto Dimming Rear View Mirror.

Boosted powertrain

MOTIVATION comes from a new 1.5 -l iter V TEC t urbocharged engine developed under Earth Dreams Technolog y. Presumably the same motor utilized in the latest Civic, it was tuned to yield higher outputs. As a result, the power increased to 187 hp at 5,500 rpm and 243 N-m of maximum torque between 1,500 to 5,500 r pm. These figures are even better compared to what the previous 2.4-liter naturally aspirated mill produces.

Continued on E4

Moto

Business

E2 Friday, October 11, 2019

MODERN PUV Class 3

SOJITZ FUSO LAUNCHES MODERN PUV CLASS 2 AND CLASS 3 MODELS S OJITZ Fuso Philippines officially launches Class 2 and Class 3 modern public-utility vehicle models. The Fuso Canter Commute (Class 2) and Fuso Canter Express (Class 3) are Fuso Philippines’s answer to the PUV Modernization program of the Department of Transportation. These two new models were previewed recently during the company’s formal inauguration.

These brand-new modern PUVs from Fuso Philippines are designed to be comfortable, safe and cleaner for the environment—all in line with the effort to improve public transportation and in compliance with the Philippine National Standards (PNS 2126:2017) Public Utility Vehicles Class 2 and 3—Dimensions.

Clean and efficient Canter

THE Fuso Canter Commute and Fuso Canter Express are both powered by a clean and fuel efficient yet powerful Euro 4-compliant 3.0L, in-line 4 cylinders, direct injection and turbocharged diesel engine (4M42-3AT2) capable of maximum 125 Ps and 294 N-m of power and torque, and with a five-speed manual transmission.

Comfortable Canter

n THE Fuso Canter’s four-way steering wheel adjustment capability—tilt up, tilt down, push down,

and pull up (tilt and telescopic adjustments)—allows the driver to achieve the perfect driving position. n It is the only one in its class to offer an in-dash gear shifter for more effortless gear shifting. n Dual air-conditioning system is standard for the comfort of all passengers. The rear air conditioning has overhead A/C vents running the whole length of the passenger cabin. n Adding to the comfort of all passengers are the front and rear double acting hydraulic and telescopic shock absorbers for a smooth ride.

You are safe with Canter

n An automatic rear passenger side door (driver-controlled onepush button to open and close) also add to the safety and convenience of all passengers. n The LED signage upfront the windshield is a more convenient way of flashing information to the commuters while also being safer for the driver by being located outside his line of sight. n Four CCTV cameras around the Fuso Canter Commute and Fuso Canter Express makes sure that the driver has visibility all around—in front (acting as dashcam), at the back (acts also as reverse camera), and the front and rear interior cabins (for added safety).

The Fuso Canter Commute fits 30 people—two in front plus the driver and 17 in side-facing seats (similar to traditional jeepney seats) at the back while still accommodating 10 more standing passengers.

The Fuso Canter Express, on the other hand, fits 25 people (including driver) who are all seated. Seats at the back are all front-facing (similar to buses) in accordance to the PNS 2126:2017.

Both the Fuso Canter Commute and Fuso Canter Express sit on the Fuso Canter FE73 model which assures its longevity and reliability.

The Fuso Canter is one of the most trusted light-duty truck model in the industry. Since these two new PUV models from Fuso are based on the Canter model, they are cab-tilting for an easier access to the engine bay resulting to easier maintenance.

Furthermore, the Fuso Canter models now have a 10,000-kilometer Preventive Maintenance Service (PMS) interval for less downtime and more savings.

These Fuso modern PUV models, the Canter Commute and the Canter Express, were designed and are assembled locally in collaboration with Fuso’s accredited bodybuilders, Almazora Motors Corp. and Centro Manufacturing Corp.

Autohub launches Foton GMA-Cavite Showroom

PATRIOT NOW IN THE W

Story & Photos by Patrick P. Tulfo

HEEL GALLERY, the country’s premier destination for aftermarket tires and mag wheels, recently added another fine brand to its already impressive lineup. Patriot Tires, a fast-growing brand in the United States, was recently introduced in our market in partnership with Black Rhino Wheels.

SAM LIUSON, president of Black Rhino Wheels Philippines proudly poses in front of his newest offering in the market

In his speech during the launch, which was held at the cozy Moon Rabbit Café in San Juan City, Sam Liuson, president of Black Rhino Wheels Philippines said, “We have been looking for the right brand of tire for quite some time to partner with Black Rhino Wheels and it’s timely for Patriot to enter the Philippine market.”

He expects that their new offering will be warmly received by those who are looking for reasonably priced but good aftermarket tires for their trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

Patriot Tires, whose primary market is the US, is positioned to cater midrange buyers. It has passed the stringent screening of both the United States Department of Transporta-

THE Toyota FJ Cruiser looks even meaner shod with Bla

tion and European TUV Rheinland standards.

The brand offers a wide array of choices for on-road city driving and off-road adventures. The brands credo of functionality, reliability and affordability is mirrored in their Rugged Terrain (R/T) tires that offers a quiet and smooth ride on-road but can equally handle the rigors of rough

FORD KICKS OFF THIS YEAR’S DRIV Story & photos

by Randy S. Peregrino

F

F

OTON launched a new showroom recently at General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Cavite. The new dealership is a testament to the strengthened partnership between Zoomhub Inc. and United Asia Automotive Group Inc. The event is spearheaded by Willy Tee Ten, president of Autohub Group of Cos. The 405-square meter showroom carries the standard Foton Vehicle Display, as well as the relaunched

and upgraded F-Jeep Showroom.

Derived from the brand’s best-selling light-duty truck, the Tornado 2.4C, the F-Jeep represents Foton’s commitment to the modernization of the Philippine transport system.

“I am truly excited to celebrate the rebirth of Foton GMA-Cavite and launch it this time under the Autohub Group of Cos. As we all know, Foton Philippines’s performance has been accelerating, and

that being part of this milestone with Foton PH is something that we can truly be proud of. I would like to thank Rommel Sytin and his entire team for the trust. And to my Team in Foton GMA-Cavite, we will further Accelerate... Innovate... and Move Up—AIM Up Autohub, “said Tee Ten. The Foton GMA Showroom is located at Lot 12B PHHC Barangay Gabino Maderan GMA, Cavite.

OR D Phi l ippines recent ly kicked off one of its biggest corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs bringing to life its long-standing advocacy on road safety—the Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program. Now on its 12th year, this United Nations-recognized training program, has already successfully trained over 23,000 Filipino drivers since 2008. Over the years, the program has established itself to be relevant considering the changing road conditions, policies and government regulations.

What makes the DSFL program effective is that it utilizes a combination of classroom training with modules on vehicle handling, driving in special conditions, anti-distracted driving, and fuel-efficient driving, as well as a hands-on driving simulation.

These allows participating drivers to apply their learnings from the classroom sessions. This year, the DSFL is aiming to cover 2,500 participants composed of student, private-, publicutility vehicle drivers (jeepney, bus

TUASON Racing School Founder JP Tuason (from left), Ford Philippines Managing Director PK Umashankar, Ford Philippines Safety Ambassador David Guison, Ford Philippines Safety Ambassador Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, Ford Philippines Communications Director EJ Francisco and Ford Philippines Communications Manager Herbert Haber

and school shuttles). Even drivers from fleet partner-companies, traffic regulators and call-center employees in key areas in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are included.

In 2017, DSFL was rolled out in Visayas and Mindanao region.

“One of our commitments at Ford is to help promote and improve road

safety in the country. Our aim every year is to increase driver safety awareness with the DSFL, practicing the proper skills required of anybody who gets behind the wheel, and ensuring that drivers and their passengers get to their destinations safely all the time,” said Ford Philippines Director for Communications EJ Francisco.

oring

sMirror

OTPHILIPPINES TIRES

Friday, October 11, 2019

E3

Grab, Victory Liner team up on P2P bus rides for Clark, Dagupan and Olongapo routes

T

WO of the country’s most recognized names in the transport service sector recently launched its partnership which now enables Filipino commuters to book a Victory Liner bus ride to and from Clark-Dagupan, and Clark-Olongapo through the Bus Marketplace feature in the Grab app.

In signing ceremonies at the Victory Liner offices, Marivic del Pilar, vice president for Treasury and Marketing met with Grab Philippines President Brian Cu and Jeremiah Chua, Grab’s Bus Marketplace business operations manager, in an event touted as a landmark partnership that could eventually become a model even to other Point-to-Point (P2P) bus services in Northern and Central Luzon.

“This partnership is based on our mutual desire to give

innovative services and convenience to our Filipino commuters. Through the powerful technologies provided by Grab, our kababayans abroad can go straight from the airport to their homes using the Grab application,” said del Pilar.

“Grabbing a bus ride to the North is as easy as using your smartphone,” added del Pilar.

Though Victory Liner has its online booking services, it only caters to services provided by their provincial buses from Manila to other points in Northern and Central Luzon.

With Grab, commuters can now book a Victory Liner ride going to and from Clark-Dagupan City, and Clark-Olongapo.

Clark is one of the fastest-rising megacities in the Philippines, with its sprawling Clark City and international airport.

Dagupan, Pangasinan’s principal city, meanwhile, has a significant OFW population who rely on Victory Liner buses to reach the Clark International Airport in a jiffy. Victory Liner is the only bus service company granted with authority to ply the Clark-Dagupan P2P route.

“As we continue to be a reliable partner to many Filipinos, we are excited with this new partnership that we launched with the Victory Liner, which for 75 years remains as the No. 1 bus services in Luzon. Now, many of our kababayans in Central Luzon can enjoy safe, reliable, and bestin-class services from both Grab and Victory Liner.

Through this partnership, Filipinos can skip the long lines and do more things that matter to them—through Grab and Victory Liner,” said Cu.

ack Rhino Wheels and Patriot Tires

roads. This model has one unique feature, two different sidewall patterns that can be reverse if the owner wants to.

“The Rugged Terrain tire is perfect for our customers who are looking for quiet tires for road use yet have the aggressive design of a mud tire,” according to John Alexander, Patriot Tires assistant vice president for sales.

Meanwhile, the Mud Terrain (M/T) variant was designed for even harsher road conditions, and the All-Terrain (A/T) are for those whose commute is mostly done in the city.

Patriot tires is a quality product of Omni United (whose headquarters is in Singapore), the company noted for having one of the quickest production timelines in the tire industry

and is also noted for their ability to adapt to the changing needs of the motoring world.

Patriot Tires is now available at the Wheel Gallery showroom in San Juan and Black Rhino Wheel outlet in Parañaque City. For information about Black Rhino Wheels and Patriot Tires you may visit their web site www. blackrhinowheels.ph.

VING SKILLS FOR LIFE PROGRAM

SEVERAL Ford EcoSport units were utilized during the practical sessions

What DSFL participants can expect from this year’s program is to learn more about the dangers of distracted driving, and drunk driving. That also includes tips and techniques in driving under special conditions, as well as vehicle handling. Part of the sessions is about key road statistics and relevant regulations such

as the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act. Focused on helping eliminate road accidents, road altercations, and traffic congestion, the DSFL tackles the root cause of these road issues by educating drivers on basic road courtesy, safe driving techniques, traffic signs and regulations.

Working together with long-time

partner Tuason Racing School, Ford Philippines will provide immersive and interactive training sessions.

Part of it are useful tips on vehicle maintenance, road-safety measures, and fuel-efficient driving skills, as well as practical hands-on driving sessions to apply their learnings.

The DSFL has been a consistent recipient of awards in the country.

Early this year, it bagged a Gold Award in the road-safety category of the 3rd Driven to Serve Awards of the Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists (SPMJ).

Driving Skills for Life was established in the United States in 2003

by Ford Motor Co. Fund, the US Governors Highway Safety Association, and a panel of safety experts, to teach newly licensed drivers the necessary skills for safe driving beyond what is learned in standard driver education programs.

This ongoing DSFL program is offered to participating drivers for free. To know more about Ford Driving Skills for Life, interested parties may got to Ford Philippines’s Facebook page or send an e-mail to fgpcomms@ford.com.

The Filipino’s workhorse for smart mobility

I

NSPIRED by the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” modernization program which aims to improve the infrastructure and transportation sectors in the country, the Hyundai Modern Jeepney Class 1 is the product of the collaboration of the world’s fifth biggest automaker, the Hyundai Motor Co. (HMC) and Hari. It goes beyond serving as a fusion of the Filipino’s legendary ingenuity and Korea’s renowned technology, since it also ushers in a fresh new take for the “King of the Philippine Road.” Indeed, the Hyundai Modern Jeepney Class 1 is made people-centric, fuel efficient and innovative.

People-centric

THE Hyundai Modern Jeepney Class 1 is engineered to have ample seating capacity that can accommodate 12 passengers (plus 1 driver) comfortably. What’s more is that it possesses a long wheelbase, which means two things: more passengers and cargo can be carried without putting too much stress on the vehicle (which can affect fuel economy), and it lowers the center of gravity of the vehicle, thus keeping it steady and firmly planted on the road.

its top-notch engine performance, supported by the driver’s efficient driving and eco-friendly engine operation can let its driver save up on fuel and enjoy more savings, while helping minimize adverse impact on the environment, as the engine emits less particulate matter in the air.

Fuel efficient

Innovative

POWERED by a 2.5L CRDi diesel engine, the Hyundai Modern Jeepney Class 1 is packed with enough power (maximum output of 130ps) and torque (26 kg-m at 1,500 rpm) making sure that it can deliver good fuel economy and sufficient power output to get you through the day.

Plus, it’s also mated to a six-speed manual transmission that fits the strict Euro 4 regulation, proving that

STAYING true to its promise of smart mobility, the Hyundai Modern Jeepney Class 1 is also engineered to have a load-sensing proportional valve (LSPV) control, which provides optimal braking stability as fluid pressure is controlled according to the loading ratio, and semi-elliptical leaf springs for rear suspension, which allow exceptional durability and resistance

against lateral rolling for optimal suspension, regardless of cargo carried. Aside from those, the Hyundai Modern Jeepney Class 1 can also be fitted with optional features such as a modern digital signboard that provides better visibility for potential passengers, CCTV monitor, surveillance cameras and reverse cameras that enhance both the passengers’ and driver’s safety and security when out on the road, optional Wi-fi router for better connectivity, and two AFCS systems for easy payment and collection of the passengers’ fare.

Indeed, the Hyundai Modern Jeepney Class 1 is ready to bring smart mobility that can enable Filipinos to experience a better, smarter and safer commuter experience.

Motoring BusinessMirror

E4 Friday, October 11, 2019

A new spin from Michelin; Toyota taps student power

N

EW YORK CITY—This city doesn’t sleep? That was before.

It sleeps a lot now. Blame it on 9/11, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, sleep or no sleep, I’m still here. I won’t leave till I’m done watching Beautiful or Hadestown on Broadway.

Meanwhile, I need to keep my promise to Tessa Jazmines, my dearest fr iend from way, way back. I missed her Michelin pressy a while back and so, I penalize myself. Here, Tessa dear, printed in toto: “Mic hel in, t he world ’s leading t ire company, unvei led t he Mic hel in Energ y X M2+ w it h

the tagline: ‘ Your Stopping Super power’ at t he Ma ni l a Polo C lub recent ly.

“Targeting young and budgetconscious consumers looking for tires with safety and performance that last, the Michelin Energy XM2+ is the ideal fitment for small- and midsize passenger cars.

Developed to outperform its previous generation in wet braking, the Michelin Energy XM2+ offers ultimate safety—both when new, and throughout its useful life.”

Michael Nunag, Michelin chief representative to the Philippines, revealed that: “The Michelin Energy XM2+ improves, in various aspects, on its predecessor—the Michelin Energy XM2, which has been a leading mass-market tire for 8 consecutive years. Its performance is made to last. Also, the tire’s ‘Stopping Superpower’ is preserved at a high level, even when the tire has been used for a long time. As its advertising campaign goes, Michelin Energy XM2+ is a Stopping Superpower, keeping consumers safe and confident on the road, time after time.”

Nu nag e x pl a ined t hat t he Michelin Energ y X M2+, w ith a new f u l l-silica r ubber compound, prov ides shor ter wet bra k ing distances by 1.5 meters when new, and by 2.6 meters when wor n, compared to the average of other premium tire manufacturers. T he tire a lso offers longer mileage that out l a sts ot her prem iu m t ire manufacturers by 25 percent.

Nunag added: “ The ‘+’ sign on the sidewall denotes the rubber compound upgrade that is behind the braking superiority of the Michelin Energ y XM2+

v e r s u s it s p re d e c e s s or. T he tire also maintains the Green ‘X’ marking of its predecessor, indicating optimized fuel savings. We hope the combination of enhanced safety and superior value-for-money will particularly appeal to the younger consumers.”

The new Michelin Energy XM2+ is now available at Michelin’s authorized dealers across the nation in 36 sizes, from 14- to 16-inch diameter. For more information, please visit www.Michelin.com.ph.

Wet braking test 80 to 0 kph, conducted by TU V R heinland Thailand Ltd. (an independent 3rd party), on Michelin’s request, in November 2018 at Nongnooch Garden Chonburi, Thailand, on dimension 205/55R16 on Toyota Altis. Comparing new and worn Michelin Energy XM2+ versus four other brands of tires (figures represent the average of four other premium brands). Reference: TUV Rheinland Thailand Ltd., Technical Report 1203058671 001 and 002. Worn condition: tires tested at 2 mm remaining tread depth.

Longevity test conducted by China Automotive Technology and Reseach Center Co. Ltd. (CATARC)

(an independent 3rd party), on Michelin’s request, in September 2018 in Tianjin, China, on dimension 205/55 R16 91V on VolksWagen GOLF7 comparing Michelin Energy XM2+ versus Premium Competitors (figures represent the average of five other premium brands). Longevity test run in average real usage with 20,000-km run and estimated longevity at the depth of Tread Wear Indicator.

Toyota student competition

“WHAT we’re doing here is a preview of what we’re going to do in the professional world,” said Judith Mae del Valle, a Marketing Management major from De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), Antipolo City.

Judith is in a team entered in the first Toyota Young Marketeers Challenge (TYMC), which aims to extract creativity, innovation and an effective marketing campaign for the Toyota Vios.

“We launched TYMC to provide college and university students a learning opportunity beyond the classroom,” said Cristina Arevalo, first vice president for Brand and Product Planning of TMP. Elvin “Hayes” Luciano, the

TMP point-man for the project, said the TYMC targets the future of marketing hopefuls from our student ranks.

Students are to be brought to TMP’s plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna, for immersion and study of Vios’s actual production.

Student Ronald Calaingan said: “The Vios is the best in the market right now but it doesn’t mean that it couldn’t get better.”

From Elijah Francois Corea of UST ’s Junior Marketing Association: “ This is a great opportunity for learning and sharing our knowledge to our fellow marketing students.”

The winners will receive prizes in kind and cash as well, capped by a trip to Japan-Toyota. The winning piece will be used as a marketing Toyota campaign.

“To win it would be a great honor, indeed,” said Solbi Lee of DLS-CSB Manila.

PEE STOP Was it in 2004 when I

was here the last time? I stayed for, maybe, a week after flying in from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where I covered the World Team Golf Championship. Indeed, the big apple hasn’t lost its charm.

SPARCO PRODUCTS AT BLADE

R

EGARDED as the country’s largest automotive accessories retail chain with 58 stores nationwide, Blade has carved a respectable niche in the aftermarket industry with its extensive line of affordable

automotive accessories and car care products that ranges from car audio-video down to air fresheners and wheels.

Among their popular brands is Italian brand Sparco, an Italian auto part and accessory company headquartered in Volpiano, Turin, Italy, that specializes in producing items, such as seats, steering wheels, harnesses, racewear and helmets. In the Philippines, Blade is the distributor for Sparco’s lifestyle products such as seat covers and floor mats. Sparco floor mats are easy to clean and made from a non-skid backing material and designed to universally fit

most cars and AUV’s.

For brands such as Sparco, OMP and Goodyear, Blade caters to the consumer line of automotive products, such as air compressors, seat belt pads and car floor mats.

They also offer a complete line of car care products, such as Blade signature products Sonax, Mother’s, Meguiar’s and Wurth among others.

Blade Auto Center’s line of car accessories and gadgets are reasonably priced due to its high purchase volume. Their automotive lifestyle stores are located in SM, Ayala and Robinson’s Malls nationwide.

DAF TRUCK WINS CZECH AWARD

D

AF Trucks’ LF series has been crowned “Top Light Truck of the Year” in the Czech Republic. Operators and drivers together identified the DAF LF as their favorite distribution truck thanks to its “excellent design, view and extraordinarily low operating costs.” In addition, the DAF CF Construction was awarded as the “Top Construction Truck of the Year” for its “robustness, high payloads and low operating costs.”

The Top Czech Transport 2019 Awards is an initiative from magazine Transport a Logistika and the three Czech transport associations ČESMAD Bohemia, Svaz Spedice a Logistiky ČR en Česká Logistická Asociace. Michal

Štengl, editor in chief of the Transport a Logistika magazine and chairman of the jury said, “DAF has convinced customers that it builds the best tractors on the market. With the LF series and the CF Construction it proves its leading position in other segments, as well.”

‘LF has best package in the segment’

“THE DAF LF provides the best overall package in the segment of medium duty trucks designed for urban distribution and municipal services,” said Štengl; adding that, “It offers an excellent view from the cabin, the smallest turning circle in the market and adds a sturdy design with rugged steel bumpers. The

wide range of extremely efficient power trains and its high payload make the LF ideal for literally any application.”

‘CF Construction is ready to face every challenge’

“THE Czech industry has a clear unanimous opinion on who the winner is in the segment of construction vehicles,” Štengl said. “The CF Construction is sturdy and ready to face any challenge of operation under tough conditions, while being extremely light and offering high payloads at the same time. New technologies and powerful drivelines, together with extraordinary levels of axle articulation, ensure excellent off-road driving characteristics,” concluded Štengl.

‘Valuable recognition from the market’

“IT is unique to win no less than two Top Truck of the Year awards at the same time, “commented Richard Zink, director for Marketing & Sales and member of the Board of Management at DAF Trucks. “That makes us feel extra proud. The accolades are a valuable recognition from a comprehensive group of Czech experts and underline that our light, rigid and construction trucks are of the same high level of our award-winning tractors: highly efficient, extremely reliable and very comfortable.”

Visit their showroom at 341 G. Araneta Avenue, Quezon City, 1100 Metro Manila.

HONDA ROLLS OUT THE ALL-NEW ACCORD Continued from E1

The new power plant is mated to a Continuously variable transmission (CVT) developed based on Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology.

In order to further enhance driving dynamics, Sport mode has been programed enhance both throttle and steering responses. Together with paddle shifters, the driver now has better control over gearbox operation and power delivery. Meanwhile, Honda’s Eco Assist System, which consists of the Econ mode and Eco-Coaching Ambient Light, is still

available to help encourage drivers achieve fuel-efficient driving.

Introducing Honda Sensing THE all-new Accord now comes standard with the latest Honda Sensing.

Using cutting-edge sensing technologies, this new system aids the driver in preventing, as well as effectively respond, to dangerous driving situations. Honda’s suite of driver assistive features provides an array of advanced safety features, such as Collision Mitigation Braking System

(CMBS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low Speed Follow (LSF), Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) and Auto High Beam.

How Honda Sensing works is that it receives information from two different devices— millimeter-wave radar at the front bumper and a monocular camera mounted inside the upper windshield. Both devices work simultaneously to monitor and assess various conditions, while providing feedback to the driver to prevent collisions. Other

standard safety features are six air bags, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Hill Start Assist (HSA), AntiLock Braking System (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), Emergency Stop Signal, front and rear parking sensors, multiview reverse camera w/ guidelines, Lane-Watch Camera and Straight Drive Assist.

The all-new Accord EL Turbo CVT with Honda Sensing is priced at P2.288 million. It comes in Platinum White Pearl, Crystal Black and Modern Steel Metallic colors.