BusinessMirror October 17, 2018

‘DANGEROUS CONVERGENCE’ OF ADVERSE DEVTS COULD SPARK RECESSION

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HE Philippines has called on the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to spearhead discussions on the “dangerous convergence” of several adverse economic developments that could “open the door to a global recession,” and undermine the prospects for growth and equitable development of emerging economies, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the Philippine government is “deeply concerned” over the “ultimate consequences” of this convergence that could curtail the Philippines’s prospects for inclusive growth and choke the flow of investments necessary to sustain its current economic expansion.

The convergence was pointed out to be the deepening trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, namely, the United States and China, IN this file photo, people walk past a mural on a bank showing symbols for American, Chinese and other world currencies in Beijing.

The International Monetary Fund is downgrading its outlook for the world economy, citing rising interest rates and growing tensions over trade. AP/MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

DEPT. OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

See “Recession,” A2

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A broader look at today’s business n

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 Vol. 14 No. 7

Inflation to peak in Q4, rate hike still an option

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE country’s inflation rate is expected to peak during the fourth quarter of this year, revising the earlier pronouncement of the government that inflation will peak in the third quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

4.8-5.2% Inflation forecast for 2018, as adjusted upward by the DBCC

Monetary Board Member Felipe M. Medalla said, at a news conference called on Tuesday by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), “So, measured See “Inflation,” A8

‘Noche Buena’ fare could be hit by price hikes of ₧55

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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along with the surge in crude-oil prices, resulting partly from the trade blockades against certain oil exporters, and the rising interest rates brought about by the normalization of monetary policies in advanced economies.

“We call on the IMF and the WBG to highlight the perils posed by this convergence. If present trends continue, all the work we have put in preparing our economies for competitive trade, improving our domestic efficiency and maintaining the highest standards for fiscal discipline will fail to ensure inclusive growth,” read the Philippines’s country statement submitted by Dominguez to the WBG during the Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors recently held in Bali, Indonesia.

The finance chief said the escalating trade tensions between the US and China could lead to a slowdown in global economic performance, which will hurt emerging economies like the Philippines and poor countries the most.

“An open global trading regime is the only guarantee for sustained and inclusive growth.

@alyasjah

XPECT price hikes of up to P55 in Noche Buena products this year, as the accelerating inflation could have taken a toll on Christmas food items, according to a consumer group.

In a statement, Laban Konsyumer Inc. reported 141 Noche Buena products among the 216 listed with suggested retail price (SRP) have seen price surges this year as against last year. It added that 53 goods retained their prices and four rolled back, while 17 items were added on the list and three were removed.

Laban Konsyumer said price increases on ham range from P5 to P38.75, while on fruit cocktails, it was P2.25 to P10.75. Further, prices of cheese reportedly surged anywhere from P1.90 to P18.10, and sandwich spread, P0.25 to P9.80.

Queso de bola recorded the highest increase of up to P55; and for mayonnaise, P0.30 to P25.75.

Laban Konsyumer also claimed pasta spaghetti prices went up See “Noche Buena,” A2

The last Christians Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE DELIVERED by Ambassador Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York, at the Protection of Religious Minorities in the Middle East with special focus on persecuted Christians.

Hungary, the Vatican, the United States, Uzbekistan and Iraq also spoke at the United Nations.

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HANK you. It was Hungary’s initiative that inspired the Philippines to join her in defense of freedom of religion for which, actually, democracy was established on the American continent—we sometimes forget. (It wasn’t for freedom of the press.)

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Executive action seen to halt higher oil tax @butchfBM

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PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.1300

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

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

By Butch Fernandez

DIFFERENT brands of pasta are on display in a supermarket in Makati City. Pasta, a staple Christmas Eve fare for most Filipino households, has thus far not seen much of a spike in prices, but a leading consumer group said people should expect price hikes of up to P55 in Noche Buena products this year. NONIE REYES

2017 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

ALAC AÑANG is moving to preempt a proposed Joint Resolution of Congress seeking the suspension of excise taxes on fuel products—with some lawmakers pushing for a rollback to December 2017 levels—which was expected to top the agenda when the Senate and the House of Representatives resume regular sessions on November 12.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said he received a report that President Duterte himself conveyed this course of action in a Palace meeting with Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri and other senators early this week.

“No need for the [Joint] Resolution, just Executive action is enough,” Sotto told the BusinessMirror.

The call to suspend the higher

excise taxes on petroleum products had gained currency since inflation started to pick up after the first semester, hitting a nine-year record of 6.7 percent in September. Many sectors had blamed the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, particularly the taxes on petroleum products, for fueling inflation.

In an October 9 letter, 17 majority senators endorsed to Duterte the suspension of the 2019 and 2010 increases scheduled in the TRAIN law, but the minority pitched a rollback to the December 2017 levels, or just before the first-round excise tax hikes kicked in with the effectivity of TRAIN in January.

A local economist, however, told the BusinessMirror the suspension of the scheduled next-round increase on fuel tax can only do so much in weathering inflation, as the holiday season presents another cycle of price surges.

n JAPAN 0.4844 n UK 71.2080 n HK 6.9090 n CHINA 7.8240 n SINGAPORE 39.3244 n AUSTRALIA 38.5947 n EU 62.6880 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.4250

Continued on A4

Source: BSP (16 October 2018 )

A2 Wednesday, October 17, 2018

News

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Oil prices, inflation force govt to slash 2018 growth outlook

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM & Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

menting functions that will hasten or improve the growth in agriculture,” he said.

The downward revision came after multilateral development banks slashed their growth forecasts for the Philippines. Manilabased Asian Development Bank revised downward its growth outlook from 6.8 percent to 6.4 percent. World Bank has also cut its forecast from 6.7 percent to 6.5 percent this month.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters in a news briefing on Tuesday that the spike in oil prices combined with the trade war contributed to the uncertainty in the global economy.

“We have to realize that we are living in a different world now.

Six months ago, there were only

rumors of war, trade war. Prices of oil have risen very steeply,” Dominguez said.

“Interest rates which factored in risks have increased and the US normalization of their interest rate policy has continued and looks like will continue in the future, driving interest rates up. So the world starting in May has been very difficult and I think our estimates and projections just reflect these things,” he added.

He also added that supply-side problems also accelerated inflation, which surged to a new nine-year high of 6.7 percent in September, bringing the year-to-date average at 5 percent.

“Another reason for these supply-side problems is the very slow growth of agriculture in the first half of the year, so we are imple-

Laban Konsyumer also said no branded bread was included in the Noche Buena SRP. It noted, too, that eight new ham and six new spaghetti sauce brands were added on the list. “Noche Buena products are not basic necessity nor prime commodity. Prices normally soar as we enter the peak of the season in December,” the group argued.

In a text message to reporters, Trade Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo admitted the majority of Noche Buena products with SRP increased prices. However, she noted some

brands remained the same, while others even implemented rollbacks.

“SRP on Noche Buena products act as a price guide for the consumers in celebration of the Christmas season. These are not considered as basic necessities and prime commodities as defined in the Price Act,” Castelo said.

“While some of the items in the list increased their SRP, prices of other products remained the same and some decreased,” she added.

Castelo said 66 percent, or 141 of the 216 items in the Noche Buena list saw price hikes this

year as against last year. This was the same conclusion arrived at

by Laban Konsyumer in its price monitoring report.

On the other hand, Castelo reported 54 items maintained their prices, four products’ prices were lowered and seven brands were included in the list. The trade official vowed the prices as recorded now in the SRP will stay until December.

“Demand increases toward December, but consumers can rest assured that prices of products in the Noche Buena products SRP list have been vetted and will remain until the end of the Christmas season,” she said.

HE trade blows being exchanged by the United States and China, high oil prices and slow farm growth which hastened inflation, prompted the Philippine government to temper its growth expectations for the year.

The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) on Tuesday revised downward its GDP growth forecast for 2018 to a range of 6.5 percent to 6.9 percent, from 7 percent to 8 percent. Growth targets for 2019 and 2022, however remained at 7 percent to 8 percent.

‘Noche Buena’. . .

Continued from A1

P0.85 to P4.50 and elbow salad macaroni, P0.95 to P6.50.

It added prices of spaghetti sauce shot up P0.20 to P3 and creamer, P2 to P6.50. Moreover, tomato sauce increased by P0.25 to P5.50, Laban Konsyumer said.

According to the group, prices of flour-based products, such as pasta spaghetti and elbow salad macaroni, remained stable and increases were at the minimum.

Optimism

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) believes the economy can still attain an average growth of 6.7 percent, or even 6.8 percent, in the second half of the year to attain its revised economic target.

See “Oil prices,” A8

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House okays on second reading reforms for real property values

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HE House of Representatives has approved on second reading House Bill (HB) 8453, which seeks to reform the country’s real property valuation system.

In a statement on Tuesday, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the principal author of the bill, said the measure will institute reforms in real property valuation and assessment in the country, and reorganize the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF).

In the explanatory note, Arroyo said the bill will allow the country to move toward a more rational administration and management system that fully taps the potential of the real property sector.

“In turn, the capacity of the government to generate more revenues is enhanced, without necessarily imposing new tax measures or increasing existing tax rates. The bill will enable the LGUs to achieve a more stable fiscal wherewithal and a strengthened local real property tax base to fund service delivery requirements of the LGUs, thereby achieving good and transparent governance, and increased public performance,” she said.

Arroyo said reforming real property valuation will address longstanding discrepancies in real property values which posed considerable costs to the government.

The bill also seeks to address conflicting land values that led to rightof-way compensation problems as well as lengthy court litigations due to valuation disputes, project delays and unrealized revenues and socioeconomic benefits.

HB 8453 will also aim to repair the current system of land valuation which caused huge disparities of taxable base for local and national taxation and revenue leakages.

Arroyo said these problems were caused by the absence of a single market-based valuation for capital gains tax and other national land related taxes. Currently, LGUs use the Schedule of Market Values (SMV) as basis for real property tax.

“Characterized by inconsistencies and inefficiencies in the land administration and management sector, our country has failed to capture and maximize the huge potential that the land sector offers.

The real property valuation system in the country depicts a depressing state of chaotic, inefficient and inequitable layers of bureaucracy,” Arroyo said.

The Speaker said a World Bank report estimated 50 percent to 75 percent of the country’s wealth is contained in land. Ironically, the land marketing is contributing only 6 percent to the gross national product (GNP).

She said at least 23 national government agencies (NGAs) and more than 1,700 LGUs perform or require valuation functions and services using varied systems and methodologies for different purposes, thus resulting in multiple, confusing, unrealistic or outdated values for the same property.

The bill further provides that the BLGF of the Department of Finance (DOF) shall lead and manage the implementation of the provisions of the Act. It will develop, adopt and maintain valuation standards for taxation and other purposes.

The valuation standard shall conform with the generally accepted international valuation standards and principles. The BLGF executive director shall be responsible for the daily performance of the responsibilities set forth in the Act.

Cai U. Ordinario

...

Recession

Continued from A1

We are deeply concerned over the effects of the trade war on our own protspects for growth and equitable development,” he added.

He also explained that rising interest rates resulting from the monetary policy normalization in advanced economies may affect the investments that go into emerging economies.

“The present trend could further curtail our growth prospects and choke the flow of investments emerging economies direly need to sustain their expansion,” he said.

He expressed great concern over the sharp rise in world crude oil prices, which causes inflation rates to soar and curtails the capacity for expansion of emerging economies.

“Historically, cycles of rising oil prices have been reversed only by the onset of global recession. At their present price levels, oil prices raise the prospects for global economic slowdown. Combined with the other factors mentioned above, a prolonged slowdown in global growth will be unavoidable,” he added. Rea Cu

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, October 17, 2018 A3

Speaker Arroyo is guest of honor Police, military House at Eternal Gardens groundbreaking list ‘threats’ to H peaceful 2019 midterm polls OUSE Speaker Gloria MacapagalArroyo will be the guest of honor at the groundbreaking of Eternal Gardens Cabuyao branch on October 23 at the park site in Barangay Mamatid, Cabuyao City, Laguna.

Eternal Gardens executives, headed by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer D. Edgard A. Cabangon, will welcome guests to the event, which will begin with a Thanks-

By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

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HE police and the military vowed on Tuesday to work together and collaborate in their operations, especially against private armed groups (PAGs), in order to ensure the success of next year’s elections.

The leadership of the National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces (AFP) met for the national level meeting of the Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Committee (JPSCC), where they draw joint security measures for the midterm elections next year.

“The same collaborative framework shall apply to joint police and military operation to proactively respond to the policy directions of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to ensure peaceful, orderly and fair 2019 midterm elections next year,” the PNP and the AFP said in a joint statement.

“As deputized agencies of the Comelec [Commission on Elections], the AFP and PNP shall take frontline initiatives to carry out aggressive operations against loose firearms and gunfor-hire groups, some of which are known to double as private armed groups during elections,” they added.

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. said the two agencies will use their collaborative experience in past elections in order to ensure that next year’s polls will be both honest and peaceful.

“We had a lot of good experience wherein we had peaceful and honest elections, including the recent barangay and SK [Sangguniang Kabataan] elections. First time that none has declared a failure of elections, and it was one of the most peaceful because we were able to refine good coordination,” Galvez told reporters.

The chief of staff said the principal threat to the success of the midterm elections is the existence of PAGs and gun-forhire syndicates, and this is the reason they will allow security escorts for candidates, especially those who have been identified as possible targets based on their security assessments.

These candidates are from the province of Abra and in Mindanao region, Galvez said.

“We will assign securities to candidates, especially in critical areas, in election watch list areas,” said PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde. “But this should not be the reason for them to carry ballot boxes or campaign paraphernalia. Only election officers are allowed to carry those.”

Albayalde said the AFP plays a very vital role in the success of the elections, especially in conflict areas like in some parts of Mindanao, by addressing security concerns.

“But when it comes to the maintenance of peace and order, especially in the local [level], it’s the PNP,” the PNP chief said.

Albayalde and Galvez said that, aside from coordination and collaboration on election-related duties, the JPSCC will also direct joint operations on internal security, anticriminality and counterterrorism.

“Under this joint security framework, the military and police organizations seek to establish greater interoperability in our continuing operations to address security concerns within our respective areas of concern, including all other major national events where we join hands in support of national government initiatives,” the PNP and the AFP said in the joint statement.

“This excellent collaboration has recently resulted to the arrest of five high-ranking communist terrorists and two highranking Maute terrorists. We expect this collaboration to bear much fruit as we address other security challenges in the future,” it said.

Boracay dry run so far, so good, DENR chief says

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

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@jonlmayuga

N apparently pleased Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu on Tuesday said the dry run for the reopening of Boracay got off to a good start, even as he assured the public that the Boracay Interagency Task Force (BIATF) is ready for any problem that may arise during the dry run for the reopening of Boracay on October 26.

Government policies and interventions intended to protect Boracay from unsustainable tourism activities will be put to the test during the dry run, which started on Monday.

Boracay was ordered closed for six months by virtue of President Duterte’s order declaring all three barangays—Yapak, Balabag and Manoc-manoc—on Boracay Island under a state of calamity because of various problems ranging from poor solid waste management, water pollution, perennial flooding, biodiversity loss and traffic brought about by the influx of tourists all year round.

“The point of the dry run is to ensure that everything will run smoothly during the soft opening on October 26,” Cimatu, who chairs the BIATF, said in a news statement.

While the dry run got off to a good start, Cimatu said the BIATF would know on the third day whether the government interventions would really work.

“We will only see the effects and results of all these interventions on the third day after tourist arrivals,” he said.

Cimatu said the BIATF would “not allow the rehabilitation efforts done in the past six months go to waste.”

giving Mass, followed by the groundbreaking ceremony. Local city and provincial government officials, including Cabuyao City Mayor Rommel A. Gecolea, are also expected to grace the event.

Eternal Gardens Cabuyao is the 11th branch of the company, and the third to be opened in Laguna province, where it also has branches in the cities of Biñan and Santa Rosa. Other Eternal Gardens branches are

located in Baesa, Caloocan City; in Balagtas and Concepcion, Batangas City; and in the cities of Lipa, Dagupan, Naga, Cabanatuan and Cagayan de Oro. Founded in 1976 by the late Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua, Eternal Gardens is part of the Eternal Group together with Eternal Plans Inc., Eternal Crematory Corp. and Eternal Chapels and Mortuary.

ARROYO

A4 Wednesday, October 17, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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NMIS to help LGUs in crafting better rules for meat inspection in wet markets T

Typhoons cut Q3 palay output by 4.2% to 3.25 MMT–PSA

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) on Wednesday said it is eyeing to engage local government units (LGUs) to craft their respective meat safety ordinances as a measure to ensure the quality and proper hygiene of meat products sold in wet markets.

NMIS Executive Director Ernesto S. Gonzales said the absence of local meat inspection system ordinances put consumers’ health at risk, stressing there is no black-and-white regu-

lation over proper meat handling.

“The local meat inspection system ordinances should have been already established. But a lot of local government units do not have it,” Gonzales

said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 25th Meat Safety Consciousness Week on Monday.

“It is important to be able to properly regulate the distribution of meat locally.

We are talking about meat safety here.

That is our problem, [especially] in the provinces,” Gonzales added.

Gonzales said it is not the role of the NMIS to craft the local meat safety regulation, noting that such regulation appears not to be on the priority among most of the LGUs. “It seems it is not the priority of the LGUs. They should be the one doing it,” he said.

“That’s why we are now initiating the move. We have been saying for long that the functions of the NMIS have been devolved. But functionally, it has not happened. It is about time to empower the LGUs,” he added.

Executive action seen to halt higher oil tax Zubiri, in a separate text message, clarified that what the senators want to suspend are “the additional P2 excise tax to be added in January 2019, not the previous year,” obviously referring to the minority bloc’s desire to suspend even the rates that took effect in 2018.

“And I don’t think we need a resolution for it [suspension of excise tax hikes] as we gave that power to the President in the TRAIN law,” Zubiri added.

The Senate majority leader also pointed out that President Duterte “can motu proprio suspend the excise tax on fuel if it is over $80 per barrel for three consecutive months.”

Sotto clarified on Tuesday that the senators earlier sent a letter, “not a resolution,” to Duterte seeking the possibility of suspending excise taxes, adding: “Not only the incoming one [for 2019], but the one that is provided by law [if oil goes up to $80 per barrel],” or the one that was imposed on January 1.

Limited fix for inflation

Gonzales said they would hold two dialogues in the first and second week of November with all LGU officials nationwide.

The NMIS would hold a meeting with all Luzon-based government officials first in Metro Manila, to be followed by the Visayas and later Mindanao officials in Cagayan de Oro. “We are now initiating the move that’s why we have called a meeting of all local officials. I have submitted letters to all mayors and governors to give priority to the establishment of the local meat inspection system ordinance,” he said.

Gonzales said they plan to finish all the local meat inspection system ordinances by year-end. Gonzales added that local government officials have so far expressed support to the NMIS’s plans.

YPHOON damage could cut the country’s palay (unmilled rice) output in the third quarter by 4.2 percent to 3.25 million metric tons, from last year’s 3.39 MMT volume, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In its latest forecast report, the PSA said that as of September 1, total harvest area in the July-toSeptember period would decline by 3.4 percent to 823,640.58 hectares, from 852,630 hectares last year.

Likewise, yield per hectare is foreseen to fall to 3.94 metric tons (MT) per hectare from 3.98 MT per hectare a year ago, according to the PSA. “The effect of southwest monsoon [rains] or habagat in July, enhanced by typhoons Henry, Inday and Josie during the reproductive and maturing stages of the crop, may cause the probable drop in palay production in most provinces of Northern Luzon,” it said. “Bulk of the decrement may come from Nueva Ecija.”

The PSA said about 281,730 hect-

ares, or 34.21 percent of the updated standing crop, has been harvested.

“Of the 2,260.84 hectares standing crop, 26.2 percent were at vegetative stage, 56.2 percent at reproductive stage and 17.6 percent at maturing stage,” it said.

The PSA said about 89.1 percent, or around 1.718 million hectares of the farmers’ planting intentions for the October-to-December period, have been materialized.

In the same report, the PSA said the country’s total corn output in the third quarter could decrease by 16 percent to 2.176 MMT, from the previous year’s 2.589 MMT. Corn harvest area would decline to 783,720 hectares from 884,210 hectares last year, while yield per hectare would decrease to 2.78 MT per hectare from 2.93 MT per hectare.

“The effects of habagat, which cut down the yield in Negros Oriental, South Cotabato and Sarangani, may contribute to the decline in production,” the PSA added. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

noche buena products. I believe that will heavily impact [on] inflation,” he added.

Mapa argued it is important that inflation stabilize and return to normal numbers the soonest, as inflation on the poor is now at 8.2 percent, which could go as high as 10 percent if prices continue to soar the way it has been the past months. “That would really hurt the poor if that would actually increase in the future,” he said.

For Mapa, the suspension of the next fuel

excise tax increase will help in the sense that it will no longer push inflation up. However, he noted its effect could only be felt next year given the scheduled hike is penciled on January 1, 2019. “The good thing is that it will no longer increase oil prices as many expected when the second round of excise tax is applied on January 1, 2019. However, inflation will taper off only by the next quarter and would start to return to some normal numbers by 2019,” the statistician explained. With Elijah Felice E. Rosales

continued from a1

THE suspension of the scheduled 2019 increase on fuel tax can only do so much in curbing inflation, an economist told the B usinessM irror , because the holiday season spells more cycles of price surges.

In an interview, School of Statistics Dean Dennis S. Mapa of the University of the Philippines said the government’s decision to suspend the next tax hike on fuel will cer-

tainly help in tempering oil prices. However, he argued this will not slow inflation, which is seen to surge in the next months with prices of goods expected to go up during the holiday season. “I think that the increases [in oil prices] will be a bit slower now. There will be an increase, but the increase will be slower,” Mapa said.

“The problem now is there are other goods also in the last quarter that are typically higher because of seasonality, like

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China may have accrued $5.8T in hidden debt with ‘titanic’ risks

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HINA’S local governments may have accumulated 40 trillion yuan ($5.8 trillion) of off-balance sheet debt, or even more, suggesting further defaults are in store, according to S&P Global Ratings.

“The potential amount of debt is an iceberg with titanic credit risks,” S&P credit analysts led by Gloria Lu wrote in a report on Tuesday. Much of the buildup relates to local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), which don’t necessarily mean local governments themselves are on the hook for paying off the obligations.

With the national economy slowing, and a Beijing-set quota for issuance of local government bonds not being enough to fund infrastructure projects to support regional growth rates, authorities across the country have resorted to LGFVs to raise financing, according to S&P. That’s left LGFVs “walking a tightrope” between deleveraging and transforming their businesses into more typical state-owned enterprises, the S&P analysts said.

The continued focus on funding to sustain growth at the local level echoes a broader shift in the central government, which last year was focused on reducing leverage in the financial system. That phase is essentially over, thanks in part to an escalating trade war with the US, according to Citigroup Inc. analysts.

“The markets are right, in our view, to feel more concerned about the sustainability of China’s debt and the increased financial risks,” said Liu Li-Gang, chief China economist at Citigroup in Hong Kong. He also saw “renewed pressure” on the yuan. Bloomberg News

Mike Pompeo meets Saudi king over Khashoggi’s disappearance

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STANBUL—US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on Tuesday with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman over the disappearance and alleged slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who vanished two weeks ago during a visit to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Pompeo’s arrival came hours after a Turkish forensics team finished a search inside the consulate. Police planned a second search, this one of the Saudi consul’s home in Istanbul, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said.

Turkish officials say they fear Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the Istanbul consulate. Saudi officials previously have called the allegations “baseless,” but reports in US media on Tuesday suggested the kingdom may acknowledge the writer was killed there.

Pompeo landed in Riyadh on Tuesday morning and was welcomed

by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel alJubeir on landing. He didn’t make any remarks to the media.

Soon after, Pompeo arrived at a royal palace, where King Salman greeted him. America’s top diplomat thanked the king “for accepting my visit on behalf of President [Donald J.] Trump” before going into a closed-door meeting.

Trump had dispatched Pompeo to

speak to the monarch of the world’s top oil exporter over Khashoggi’s disappearance. Trump, after speaking on Monday with King Salman, said without offering evidence that the slaying could have been carried out by “rogue killers.” That potentially offers the US-allied kingdom a possible path out of a global diplomatic firestorm.

“The king firmly denied any knowledge of it,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers. I mean, who knows? We’re going to try getting to the bottom of it very soon, but his was a flat denial.”

However, left unsaid was the fact that any decision in the ultraconservative kingdom rests solely with the ruling Al Saud family. Pompeo also was to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom Khashoggi wrote critically about for The Washington Post and whose rise to power prompted the writer to go into a self-imposed exile in the United States.

‘America First’ no more for euro investors dumping US for Europe

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OR a half decade, European credit buyers have traveled across the Atlantic to sate their appetite for yield. Now, a growing pack of them are eyeing their return in the place vilified for zero rates.

High-grade bonds in euros are dangling the highest yield relative to US counterparts in at least five years on a swapped basis, thanks to angst over Rome’s fiscal stance and premiums for currency hedging.

That’s sparking something of a “comeback trade” enticing large money managers.

Hague-based NN Investment Partners BV with the equivalent of $280 billion in assets has closed its overweight on American credit, turning underweight

on junk-rated debt, as it awaits opportunities to add corporate obligations in the single currency.

BlueBay Asset Management Llp., meanwhile, now favors euro highyield credit over US counterparts, dubbing investors “too gloomy” on Europe’s economic and political prospects.

“There is scope for some modest spread tightening by yearend,” said David Riley, chief investment strategist at BlueBay. High-grade dollar credit pays 0.9 percent for hedged buyers, compared with 1.1 percent for euro-denominated peers.

Similarly for speculative-grade bonds, those in euros yield almost 4 percent versus 3.3 percent for notes denominated in the greenback swapped back into

the single currency.

“Any easing of risks in Europe and emerging markets could lead to a comeback in performance relative to the US,” Pieter Jansen, senior multi-asset strategist at NN Investment Partners, wrote in a note on Monday. “Investment grade and high-yield bonds in Europe and emerging markets have strong potential to catch up on their US counterparts.”

Still, the fund is keeping its powder dry until political risk in Italy eases.

With JPMorgan Chase & Co. warning last week’s equity meltdown underscores the risk US markets are gripped by “late-cycle vulnerabilities,” European buyers may have an extra incentive to stay closer to home. Bloomberg News

No Brexit deal could snarl major ports, hitting exports

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OOK OF HOLLAND, Netherlands—Traffic moves quickly and smoothly at the Hook of Holland ferry terminal on the western edge of Europe’s biggest port, with hundreds of trucks streaming onto ships regularly setting off for the English port of Harwich.

But that clockwork efficiency, which ensures the timely supplies of fresh produce and other goods on both sides of the North Sea, could jam up overnight if Britain leaves the European Union without a trade deal and border controls and food safety checks are introduced.

Just one truck driver showing up at the docks without the proper paperwork and being forced to turn around in the cramped dockside “could throw it all into chaos,” says Gert Mulder of the Dutch Fresh Produce Center. His organization represents some 350

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Wednesday, October 17, 2018 A5

traders and growers’ associations who export hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) worth of produce to Britain every year.

“Fruit and vegetables are quite easy at the moment,” Mulder says.

“But if there’s one truck that’s not well documented, everything blocks.”

As EU and British negotiators hold frantic talks to seal a deal, fears are growing in the Netherlands, a major exporter to Britain and gateway to and from Europe through its ports, about the potential consequences of the lack of a Brexit deal.

British and Dutch authorities have warned there could be huge traffic jams approaching ports on both sides of the North Sea as truck drivers and customs officials adapt to Britain’s life outside the EU’s single market and customs union after March 29.

Roel van’t Veld, Brexit coordina-

tor with the Netherlands Customs Authority, says that the number of completed forms drivers need to leave the EU and enter Britain could rise from one or two now to nine.

Mark Dijk of the Port of Rotterdam says that many drivers who arrive without the correct papers should be able to straighten out the problem within minutes. But he added: “Two to five minutes... where 400-800 trucks are being loaded within an hour can be a lot of time.” Dijk says the port is looking for extra space to park trucks as the Brexit date looms.

Dutch ports handle shipments to Britain from the rest of the EU and further afield, and a report by the Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis estimates that cargo leaving the Port of Rotterdam could drop by 4.5 percent if there is no Brexit deal. AP

“The effort behind the scenes is focused on avoiding a diplomatic crisis between the two countries and has succeeded in finding a pathway to deescalate tensions,” said Ayham Kamel, the head of the Eurasia Group’s Mideast and North African practice. “Riyadh will have to provide some explanation of the journalist’s disappearance, but in a manner that distances the leadership from any claim that a decision was made at senior levels to assassinate the prominent journalist.”

CNN reported that the Saudis were going to admit the killing happened but deny the king or crown prince had ordered it—which does not match what analysts and experts know about the kingdom’s inner workings.

The New York Times reported that the Saudi royal court would suggest that an official within the kingdom’s intelligence services—a friend of Prince Mohammed—had carried out the killing. According to that reported claim, the crown prince had approved an interrogation or rendition of Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia, but the intelligence official was tragically incompetent as he eagerly sought to prove himself. Both reports cited anonymous people said to be familiar with the Saudi plans.

Saudi officials have not answered repeated requests for comment over recent days from The Associated Press.

Saudi officials have been in and out of the building since Khashoggi’s disappearance October 2 without being stopped. Under the Vienna

Convention, diplomatic posts are technically foreign soil that must be protected and respected by host countries.

Turkey has wanted to search the consulate for days. Permission apparently came after a late Sunday night call between King Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In statements after the call, both praised the creation of a joint Saudi-Turkish probe.

The Turkish inspection team included a prosecutor, a deputy prosecutor, anti-terror police and forensic experts, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Certain areas of the consulate were to remain off-limits, although officials would be able to inspect surveillance cameras, Turkish media reported.

What evidence Turkish officials gathered at the consulate remains unknown. Turkey’s private DHA news agency said the Saudi consul’s office was among the rooms searched.

On Tuesday a Turkish Foreign Ministry official acknowledged police want to search the Saudi consul’s home, as well. Surveillance footage previously leaked in Turkish media shows vehicles moving between the consulate and the consul’s home immediately after Khashoggi’s disappearance.

The Foreign Ministry official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.

Khashoggi has written extensively for the Post about Saudi Arabia, criticizing its war in Yemen, its recent diplomatic spat with Canada

and its arrest of women’s rights activists after the lifting of a driving ban for women. Those policies are all seen as initiatives of Prince Mohammed, the son of King Salman, who is next in line to the throne.

Prince Mohammed has aggressively pitched the kingdom as a destination for foreign investment. But Khashoggi’s disappearance has led several business leaders and media outlets to back out of the upcoming investment conference in Riyadh, called the Future Investment Initiative.

They include the CEO of Uber, a company in which Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars; billionaire Richard Branson; JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon; and Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford.

Trump previously warned of “severe punishment” for the kingdom if it was found to be involved in Khashoggi’s disappearance, which has spooked investors in Saudi Arabia and SoftBank, a Japanese firm that manages tens of billions of dollars for the kingdom.

Trump’s warning drew an angry response on Sunday from Saudi Arabia and its state-linked media, including a suggestion that Riyadh could wield its oil production as a weapon. The US president has been after King Salman and Opec to boost production for weeks to drive down high crude oil prices, caused in part by the coming reimposition of oil sanctions on Iran after the US withdrawal from that’s country’s nuclear deal with world powers. AP

A6 Wednesday, October 17, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Maximizing agriculture’s economic opportunities

O

NE of the President’s campaign promises was to make food affordable and accessible to all Filipinos. This is also included in Duterte’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda. His administration has committed to promote rural and value chain development toward increasing agricultural and rural enterprise productivity and rural tourism.

Strategies to achieve the President’s goal of expanding local food production are detailed in his economic blueprint—the Philippine Development Plan (PDP). Titled “Inequality-Reducing Transformation [Pagbabago]” Part III, it has five chapters, which tackled government initiatives to wipe out poverty by 2022. One of the chapters targets the expansion of economic opportunities in agriculture, forestry and fisheries (AFF).

The Duterte administration understood that its poverty-reduction efforts would not succeed if it would not focus on the agriculture and fisheries sector. The government noted that the AFF sector is pivotal in generating employment for about a third of the country’s labor force. The manufacturing and services sectors, which have buoyed GDP in recent years, rely on the AFF sector.

However, the government has yet to roll out many of the policies and initiatives intended to prop up agricultural productivity and food production as outlined in the PDP. To be fair, the government, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), has already implemented some of the measures in the PDP. In the past two years, the government was able to develop an integrated color-coded agricultural map and increase the number of small farmers and fishermen with agricultural insurance. But many of the 20 strategies identified in the PDP have yet to be implemented. These include the diversification into commodities with high-value adding and market potential.

For the longest time, the Philippines has been fixated with rice production. This is not surprising because rice is our staple food. But years of shooting for “self-sufficiency,” i.e., eliminating the need for imports, have shown that the country will not be able to beat Vietnam and Thailand in rice production. Unfortunately, among all the cash crops grown in the Philippines, rice is still preferred because the return on investment is faster compared to planting high-value crops such as cacao and coffee. Rice farmers can earn twice a year, but those planting cacao and coffee would have to wait a minimum of three years before they can earn from their crops.

If the government is serious about diversification, it must provide farmers easy access to affordable formal credit. The President has already taken the first step to make this happen by ordering the Land Bank of the Philippines to go back to its original mandate of helping farmers and fishermen.

But more must be done, like ensuring banks’ compliance with the Agri-Agra Law (Republic Act 10000).

Also, the government has yet to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to increasing investments in research and development activities and enhancing the capacity of farmers to use better and new technologies. These are key initiatives that could boost agricultural productivity.

Unfortunately, the government’s expenditure program does not reflect its commitment to these measures.

The Duterte administration has three more years to do what must be done to realize the goals of increasing farmers’ income and expanding the access of Filipinos to affordable food. The government is now bent on lifting the quantitative restriction on rice, and this could help cut the price of the staple, but it remains just a temporary solution. The agriculture sector needs all the help it can get. With climate change increasingly threatening farm production, complacency would negate all the gains this government has realized in this sector.

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The last Christians Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE Continued from A1

T

HANK you Iraq for your soul-stirring remarks, for saying that Iraq without its minorities would not be Iraq, for telling us about the Iraqis’ football hero who was buried in the national stadium on a patch of Christian consecrated ground, and that an Iraqi soldier, shouldering an assault rifle, carried a cross to return it to its original place in your Muslim country. Your words make it hard for me to say mine but here goes: The horrors visited on Rohingya for their religion and race have been well publicized and roundly condemned. That has given them some relief though little rescue. Same with horrors visited on Tibetans.

From the universal condemnation of their persecution has emerged a stronger definition of what is intractably Tibet. Equally known and abhorred are the horrors visited on other Muslims in Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia, and on Shia by Sunni and on Sunni by Shia and on both by Baath. But the horrors—the mass murders of Yazidi males of every age and the gang rapes followed by the trafficking of Yazidi women and girls into—don’t call it prostitution but slavery. They are treated worse than commodities, which are handled with care for the

better price they fetch. These horrors are ignored so that now there are almost none left to save.

Yazidis are of an older religion touched by Christianity; they wear a crucifix for protection. But they, along with Coptics and other original Christian communities are well on the way to violent extinction throughout the Middle East—without a peep of official protest from Western civilization; which Gandhi said would be a good thing if the West gave it a try.

Uniquely, Christianity has never really gone to war to protect its own. The Crusades were payback for the near run thing at the Battle of Tours. They were little more than treasure hunts—their biggest martial endeavor was the sack of Constantinople where Crusaders waded

up to their ankles in the blood of the Christians they slaughtered in Hagia Sophia.

Christian powers when attacked do not turn the other cheek but swing their arms with every weapon in the devil’s arsenal. But exterminate a small Christian community in the petro-dollar rich Middle East and they continue to do business with the exterminators.

Try that with Buddhists in Southeast Asia and Muslims in the Middle East, Hindus in the main body of the subcontinent and Muslims on both its shoulders—and the retaliation will be pitiless. Christianity must be the preeminently powerless religion.

In its avowed weakness, misusing Paul it finds an excuse not to defend the faithful in peril. The Savior indeed is a King without armies and loses more and more of His faithful because of that.

Are Christians so certain of the perdurable verity of their faith that they will not lift a finger to protect their weak brethren? When the last Christians huddle in the ruins of the last church, will they say, “We should have done something to protect our own when we had power—before now when it is too late?” With the last of us will die our faith; for where there are no more Christians Christianity is no more.

Meanwhile the extinction of ancient Christian communities continues in the birthplace of Christianity; those which had the closest contact with its teachings and rites in their original purity. When Christian-

ity is so diluted that it doesn’t feel Christian anymore, there will be no Christians left in the desolate places—from whom we might learn how far we strayed from the path trod by the Savior and His Apostles in their time upon this Earth.

The Philippines has pioneered and taken the lead by a mile for religious tolerance because it is the only country that practices it without breaking a sweat. It has signed one compact after another to that end, and yet the killings continue. Compacts inspire more compacts and that’s good. Compacts show what we agree on is bad; and what good we must do to make up for them. But there must be an end to agreements and a beginning of action. The violence of evil can only be defeated by the forces of good.

The Buddha said, “If a man is struck by an arrow in the chest, do you first ask whence the arrow came?

Who was the archer? Had he good reason to target the man? No. You stanch the bleeding and break the shaft so your hand can move freely around the wound. Then you consider whether to push the arrow in and out his back, or pull it out without widening the wound, or leave it in place. Better to save the man first.

Save your queries and sustainable solutions for a better time.

By then you’ll have done your best to save the man or lost him. After that hunt for the archer; break his quiver of arrows that he may never again hurt another. Only after should you consider holistic, sustainable and preventive solutions. Thank you.

Paul Allen, Microsoft’s cofounder, is dead at 65

P

By Steve Lohr | New York Times News Service

AUL G. ALLEN, the cofounder of Microsoft who helped usher in the personal computing revolution and then channeled his enormous fortune into transforming Seattle into a cultural destination, died on Monday in Seattle. He was 65.

The cause was complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, his family said in a statement.

The disease recurred recently after having been in remission for years. He left Microsoft in the early-1980s, after the cancer first appeared, and, using his enormous wealth, went on to make a powerful impact on Seattle life through his philanthropy and his ownership of an NFL team there, ensuring that it would remain in the city.

Allen was a force at Microsoft during its first seven years, along with his cofounder, Bill Gates, as the personal computer was moving from a hobbyist curiosity to a mainstream technology, used by both businesses and consumers.

When the company was founded

in 1975, the machines were known as microcomputers, to distinguish the desktop computers with the hulking machines of the day. Allen came up with the name Micro-Soft, an apt one for a company that made software for small computers. The term personal computer would become commonplace later.

The company’s first product was a much-compressed version of the Basic programming language, designed to suit those underpowered machines. Yet the company’s big move came when it promised computer giant IBM that it would deliver the operating system software for IBM’s entry into the personal computer business. Gates and Allen committed to supplying that software in 1980.

At the time, it was a promise with-

out a product. But Allen was instrumental in putting together a deal to buy an early operating system from a programmer in Seattle. He and Gates tweaked and massaged the code, and it became the operating system that guided the IBM personal computer, introduced in 1981.

That product, called Microsoft Disk Operating System, or MS-DOS, was a watershed for the company.

Later would come Microsoft’s immensely popular Windows operating system, designed to be used with a computer mouse and onscreen icons—point-and-click computing rather than typed commands. The company would also produce the Office productivity programs for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations.

“In his own quiet and persistent way, he created magical products, experiences and institutions, and in doing so, he changed the world,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s current chief executive, said of Allen in a statement.

Allen’s partnership with Gates began when they were teenagers

attending the private Lakeside School in Seattle. It was there that they got their start in computing, working from a school Teletype terminal that was linked to a far-away mainframe computer under a timesharing computer system, in which operators paid for the computing time they used. Funds for the system were originally supplied by proceeds from a school bake sale.

Allen scored a perfect 1,600 on his SAT test, and went on to Washington State University. But after two years he dropped out to work as a programmer for Honeywell in Boston. Gates was nearby, attending Harvard University.

When an early microcomputer was introduced, appearing on the cover of Popular Electronics magazine, Allen persuaded Gates to drop out of Harvard and move to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where a start-up called MITS had built a machine that has been credited as the first personal computer. The machine lacked software, and Allen and Gates, showing See “Paul Allen,” A7

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 A7

In shifting story, Saudi The independence and accountability of the Insurance Commission Arabia may admit dissident journalist was killed Dennis B. Funa

By Eileen Sullivan & David D. Kirkpatrick

INSURANCE FORUM

New York Times News Service

W

ASHINGTON—Saudi Arabia was preparing an alternative explanation of the fate of a dissident journalist on Monday, saying he died at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago in an interrogation gone wrong, according to a person familiar with the kingdom’s plans. In Washington, President Donald Trump echoed the possibility that Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of “rogue killers.”

The shifting storyline defied earlier details that have emerged in the case, including signs that he was murdered and dismembered. Among other things, Turkish officials have said, an autopsy specialist carrying a bone saw was among 15 Saudi operatives who flew in and out of Istanbul the day Khashoggi disappeared.

The new explanation, whatever its truth, seemed intended to ease the political crisis that Khashoggi’s disappearance has created for Saudi Arabia. The new story could also defuse some criticism of the Trump administration, which has refused to back down from billions of dollars in weapons sales to the kingdom and as of Monday was still planning to attend a glittering Saudi investment forum next week.

And it could help Turkey, where a shaky economy would benefit from a financial infusion that low-interest loans from Riyadh could provide.

But the theory was widely dismissed among Khashoggi’s friends, human-rights advocates and some on Capitol Hill, who noted that Saudi officials had denied his death for two weeks—including assertions

by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week and the king himself on Monday.

“Been hearing the ridiculous ‘rogue killers’ theory was where the Saudis would go with this,” Sen. Christopher Murphy, DemocratConnecticut, wrote in a Twitter post. “Absolutely extraordinary they were able to enlist the President of the United States as their PR agent to float it.”

Trump spoke with King Salman of Saudi Arabia on Monday morning in a 20-minute phone call. The president said the king denied any knowledge of what had happened to Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who had been critical of the crown prince.

“It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers—who knows,” Trump said, speaking to reporters as he headed to visit areas in Georgia and Florida that were ravaged by Hurricane Michael.

Trump also said he told the king: “The world is watching. The world is talking, and this is very important to get to the bottom of it.” The Saudi state news service reported a different take on the conversation, in which Trump praised the cooperation between the Saudis and Turkish officials as they investigate Khashoggi’s disappearance. Turkish officials have said Khashoggi was killed and dismembered after he disappeared in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago.

Later Monday, a person familiar with the Saudi government’s plans said that Khashoggi was mistakenly killed during an interrogation ordered by a Saudi intelligence official who was a friend of the crown prince.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Crown Prince Mohammed had approved interrogating or even forcing Khashoggi to return to Saudi Arabia under duress.

But, the person said, the Saudi intelligence official went too far in eagerly seeking to prove himself in secretive operations, then sought to cover up the botched job. Azzam Tamimi, an Islamist friend of Khashoggi, called the “rogue” theory “disastrous” for the credibility of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

“The Turks have leaked so much that it is inconceivable that they would settle for less than telling the world exactly what happened,” said Tamimi, who met Khashoggi

for lunch in London the day before he disappeared.

Khashoggi’s fate has transfixed official in Washington, bedeviled the Saudis, helped revive Erdogan’s international reputation and threatened core foreign-policy priorities of the Trump administration.

Trump dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Riyadh on Monday to meet with the Saudi king.

“Determining what happened to Jamal Khashoggi is something of great importance to the president,” said Heather Nauert, the State Department spokesman.

The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Khalid bin Salman, left Washington last week, returned to Riyadh and will not be returning, a current and a former US official said on Monday. It was not clear when he might be replaced, or by whom. Prince Khalid is the crown prince’s younger brother. The Saudi Embassy in Washington also canceled its National Day party, which was scheduled for Thursday.

Washington’s clubby diplomatic and lobbying worlds have been rived by the Khashoggi case. On Monday the Glover Park Group, which had a $150,000-per-month contract to represent the Saudi government, and the BGR Group, with an $80,000-permonth contract, both ended the relationships, according to people familiar with the situations. Their actions followed a similar move by the Harbour Group last week.

Advisers close to Crown Prince Mohammed said he was shocked by the universal condemnation after Khashoggi’s disappearance.

That has firmed up a growing belief in Western circles that the prince who fueled a war in Yemen to the point of humanitarian disaster, imposed an intemperate blockade against Qatar, arrested a clutch of Saudi elites for money and took two weeks to come up with a passable explanation for Khashoggi’s fate is not ready for the throne.

“Many in Washington have reached the conclusion that this is a guy we can’t do business with,” said Gerald Feierstein, the director for government relations, policy and programs at the Middle East Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, and a former US ambassador to Yemen.

The Saudi energy minister circulated a statement on Monday reminding Washington journalists that the kingdom had long served as the world’s energy “shock absorber.”

He asked that “the global community of nations will respect and acknowledge what Saudi Arabia has done.”

Within five days of Khashoggi’s October 2 disappearance, Turkish security officials claimed anonymously that they had obtained evidence that the journalist was killed inside the consulate. The evidence never surfaced, however, and the claims stopped after a sudden increase in high-level diplomatic contacts between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

That frustrated US intelligence and diplomatic officials, who worried that the Turks were citing the evidence as leverage to get loans from the Saudis.

US intelligence agencies had previously intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plan to draw Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia from his home in exile in the Washington area and then detain him, a former senior US official said last week. Those intercepts were shared with senators in classified materials last week, making it impossible to suppress them.

I

NSURANCE supervision is “the monitoring of insurance companies’ behavior, and intermediaries to a large extent, including their compliance with insurance rules and regulations, including taking enforcement actions.” Insurance regulation, on the other hand, is “the rule-making, which includes both legislation as well as non-legislative regulation to address the objectives of insurance policy and regulation, in consultation with the supervisor and other stakeholders. In addition, the act of regulation would usually include the process of developing the direction and priorities of the insurance market and developing policy and the blueprint of legislation for that.”

In some jurisdictions, the supervisor and the regulator are two different entities. In the Philippines, it is the same. For the purpose of this treatise, we shall use the single term “regulator” in referring to the Philippine Insurance Commission.

To be an effective regulator, the regulator must have legitimacy and credibility. These, in turn, would lend confidence in the decisions it makes and confidence, as well, in the

financial system and institutions.

But a prerequisite to this legitimacy is the integrity and transparency of the regulator.

This brings us to the issue of independence of the insurance regulator.

Four elements have been identified as indispensable for a regulator: independence, accountability, transparency and integrity. According to Lindren et al., political interference in the regulatory and supervisory

process during the East Asian crisis of 1997-1998 “postponed recognition of the severity of the crisis, delayed action and deepened the crisis.”

According to Ruth de Krivoy, political interference also caused problems during the banking crisis of 1994 in Venezuela.

Independence has two dimensions: a) independence from political interference; and b) freedom from regulatory capture. Regulatory capture “occurs when industry interests are identified as public interest, as bureaucracies tend to respond to the wishes of the best organized interest groups rather than to political directives or public interest.”

Nonetheless, this independence must be accompanied with accountability, to prevent abuse of power, and the provisions for highly qualified and well-paid regulators. To be more specific, Quintyn and Taylor identified four pillars for regulatory independence: a) regulatory independence where there is a high degree of autonomy in setting prudential regulations; b) supervisory independence which is legal protection of supervisors when executing their job and rules-based system of sanctions and interventions; c) institutional independence where

the status of the agency is separate from the Executive and Legislative branches of the government; and d) budgetary independence where the size of the budget and its use can be decided by the agency.

In a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 38 out of 50 regulators asked signified that they are independent. Budgetary independence is also recognized in most of the regulators surveyed. A significant number of regulators sourced their budget from fees collected from the insurance sector. This is the case in the Philippines, where a portion of the premium tax collected by the government are plowed to a fund for use by the Insurance Commission.

This is, likewise, the rationale why the Insurance Commission has been exempted from the Salary Standardization Law. In terms of transparency, it has been made a policy by the commission to consult stakeholders in the drafting of circular letters, or regulations.

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

E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

‘Shocking and abhorrent’ abuse rampant in UK Parliament, report says

By Ellen Barry

New York Times News Service

L

ONDON—A scathing new report on Britain’s House of Commons released on Monday describes a culture of bullying, abuse and sexual harassment“as embedded as it is shocking,” where complaints of mistreatment are typically muffled by“deference, subservience, acquiescence and silence.”

The inquiry, led by a former high court judge, Dame Laura Cox, was commissioned in March, after a BBC report found that harassment complaints were often batted away by employees trained to protect the interests of senior staff members.

Among the legislators named in the March BBC report was Speaker John Bercow, the chairman of the House of Commons commission, which oversees the administration of the House. Bercow, a flamboyant, foghorn-voiced Conservative who has occupied the post since 2009, has denied the allegations.

Though Cox did not specifically address Bercow in her report, she wrote that “the core, cultural context” must be changed, and that doing so would most likely require a generational turnover.

“I find it difficult to envisage how the necessary changes can be successfully delivered, and the confidence of the

Paul Allen. . . continued from A6

up at the MITS offices, promised that they could supply it.

Their first offering was Microsoft BASIC. Both Gates and Allen were skilled code creators, but Gates was more the hard-charging, volatile businessman, while Allen played the peacemaker and negotiator in those early days.

Within a few years, Microsoft moved from New Mexico to suburban Seattle. Though Allen stepped away from daily duties at Microsoft in the early 1980s, partly because of a deteriorating relationship with Gates, he remained on the Microsoft board until 2000.

Allen left Microsoft after he learned he had Hodgkin lymphoma.

But tensions had also flared with both Gates and Steve Ballmer, a close lieutenant who eventually succeeded Gates as chief executive. In his 2011 memoir, Idea Man, Allen recalled overhearing the two talk about reducing his stake in the company.

“They were bemoaning my recent lack of production and discussing how they might dilute my Microsoft equity by issuing options to themselves and other shareholders,” Allen wrote.

But Allen held his ground and his shares.

Gates said in a statement on Monday: “From our early days together

staff restored, under the current senior House administration,” she wrote.

Though a new grievance procedure was introduced over the summer, Cox described it as insufficient, and called for a process to review claims dating from before the start of the last Parliament, in 2017. Existing disciplinary reviews, she added, should be “an entirely independent process,” in which lawmakers would play no part.

Complaints about mistreatment in the British Parliament have percolated for years, in part owing to the vast power asymmetry between lawmakers and the young staff members who surround them. Employees have no independent personnel body to appeal to with complaints, and are instead told to inform party whips, in-house disciplinarians notorious for stockpiling compromising information for use in later negotiations.

Last year, following revelations about sexual misconduct by the Hollywood power broker Harvey Weinstein, women came forward with a dam-burst of allegations about the situation in the House of Commons, making allegations that ranged from unwanted touching and sexual remarks to kissing and groping.

Around a dozen members of Parliament came under investigation. The first

secretary of state, Damian Green, a close ally of Prime Minister Theresa May, was found to have breached the ministerial code of conduct and was forced to resign from the Cabinet in December.

Cox’s report, which was based on information from more than 200 people, mostly current House staff members, described a clubby atmosphere in which lawmakers and senior staff members “regard themselves as a special breed and as an elite,” and think little of publicly deriding lower-ranking employees.

Only six of the respondents, she writes, reported that they had never been mistreated. “Some of the allegations involved shocking or abhorrent behavior, which would evoke outrage in any place of work, but which has profound implications in the House of Commons,” the report says.

Female employees described “frequent sexual innuendos, lewd comments or sexual gestures, or women repeatedly being asked questions about their sex lives, or about their personal lives generally, which they found offensive and humiliating.” Others said they were repeatedly propositioned or touched inappropriately.

Complaints, the report said, were often dismissed by senior staff members, described by one respondent as“people who don’t want to rock the boat, people

who want to tell you their own perspectives about being previously bullied themselves, as if it’s supposed to make you feel better.”

One respondent, who took a job in Parliament after working in other organizations, described being “shocked by the almost godlike status accorded to MPs, who must always be treated with kid gloves, and shocked by the level of deference of staff, which fell into the obsequious category more often than not.”

Cox noted how frequently the phrase “master and servant” emerged in her inquiry, though it had“last appeared in the legal textbooks in the 1960s and 1970s.”

Transparent mechanisms for reviewing reports of abuse by members of Parliament were not introduced until 2011, a fact that Cox describes as“frankly astonishing.”

Late on Monday, a statement from the House of Commons executive board described the report as “difficult reading for us all.”

“We fully accept the need for change and, as a leadership team, are determined to learn lessons from the report,” said the statement, signed by Mark Jenner, the board’s communications manager. “We apologize for past failings and are committed to changing our culture for the better. As Dame Laura recognizes, this will not be achieved overnight.”

at Lakeside School, through our partnership in the creation of Microsoft, to some of our joint philanthropic projects over the years, Paul was a true partner and dear friend.

Personal computing would not have existed without him.”

As Microsoft became the dominant personal computer software company, Allen, as well as Gates, who was the face of the company, became immensely wealthy. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he had a net worth of $26.1 billion.

He was also an investor and a generous philanthropist.

Allen donated more than $2 billion toward nonprofit groups dedicated to the advancement of science, technology, education, the environment and the arts. Among the scientific research organizations he funded were the Allen Institute for Brain Science in 2003 and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in 2014.

And while some of his philanthropy was global, like a passion for ending elephant poaching, much of his post-Microsoft work centered on Seattle, where he became a transformative force behind many of the city’s leading cultural institutions.

He restored the old Cinerama movie theater to modern standards seemingly ideal for watching science-fiction films, and he hired Frank Gehry to design the Museum of Pop Culture, which Allen founded in 2000 under the original name of

the Experience Music Project. The wild, undulating building displayed items revealing Allen’s cultural obsessions, including guitars owned

by Jimi Hendrix and Captain Kirk’s command chair from the 1960s television series Star Trek.

In the 1990s, Allen bought a swatch of land in the South Lake Union neighborhood to help build a Seattle version of Central Park, but the public ultimately voted down the plans. He took those real-estate holdings and through his company, Vulcan, developed South Lake Union into the home of Amazon. Google and other tech companies have been opening offices in that now-revitalized neighborhood.

“He has a definitive role of what we understand as today’s Seattle, which is about technology, about real estate and about a distinctive local culture with international visibility,” said Margaret O’Mara, a history professor at the University of Washington.

Allen also used his wealth to acquire the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association in 1988 and the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League in 1996.

Of all his investments, the ownership of professional sports teams was among the most incongruous.

Sports owners, like it or not, are often in the spotlight, and Allen, by and large, had preferred to steer clear of media attention.

Yet, in 1988, at 35, he bought the

Trail Blazers and promised to keep the franchise in the city, one of the smallest in the league. He often flew to games from Seattle and sat courtside with his mother. Soon after he bought the team, the Trail Blazers had one of their best runs in franchise history, making it to the NBA finals twice in three years, losing both times.

In a statement, Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, called Allen “the ultimate trail blazer—in business, philanthropy and in sports.” Silver said Allen, one of the longest-tenured owners in the league, was particularly interested in the league’s growth internationally and its embrace of new technologies.

In the mid-1990s, the owner of Allen’s hometown Seahawks, Ken Behring, was considering moving the team to Los Angeles because he was unable to get public funding for a new stadium in Seattle. Allen was urged to step in to keep the team in Seattle. In 1996 he bought an exclusive option to purchase the team from Behring by July 1997, an option he ultimately exercised, buying the team for $194 million.

Allen set about building the team a new home downtown. The team moved into CenturyLink Field in 2002, and Allen spent hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade the stadium. Though he spoke infrequently to the media, he could often be seen at games, sometimes raising the “12” flag—representing the fans—before kickoff, a team ritual.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Boracay Island: A tale of EOs, LOIs, presidential decrees

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

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@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

HE Duterte administration is eyeing the management of Boracay Island by the Department of Tourism (DOT), absent any law creating a separate development authority.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat revealed this in an interview with CNN Philippines on Monday. She said, “The President has already instructed the Cabinet, after the rehabilitation, that the Department of Tourism will take over.

We will be creating an executive order that it will be under the [DOT], but of course, I still [need the help of other secretaries] of the DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways], DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government], DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources]. Without them, it will be hard to enforce the law. And we are all in this to follow the President’s directive to take care of the environment and follow the law.”

Boracay Island is slated to reopen on October 26, after six months of rehabilitation work ordered by President Duterte meant to address

environmental pollution.

The proposed EO opens up the Duterte administration to legal questions, however, primarily because the Local Government Code of 1991 is in place.

There have been previous laws and executive orders that put Boracay Island under the management of the DOT. These include Presidential Proclamation 1801, signed by former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. on November 10, 1978, “Declaring certain islands, coves and peninsulas in the Philippines as tourist zones under the administration and control of the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA),” and Executive Order 706, signed by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on January 18, 2008, “Mandating the Secretary of Tourism to exercise administration and control mandate of the [PTA] over Boracay Island and for other purposes.” PTA is the forerunner of the Tourism Infrastructure and

Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), the infrastructure arm of the DOT, which helps develop tourism economic zones.

There were also previous letters of instructions (LOIs), such as 1298 signed on February 26, 1983 by then-President Marcos, creating an interagency committee headed by the PTA with members the Philippine Constabulary Chief, Bureau of Immigration and Deportation Commissioner, Philippine Coast Guard Commanding Officer and the Provincial Health Officer, with the aim of enforcing pertinent laws and regulations to protect Boracay. There was also EO 377 signed by Arroyo on October 22, 2004, which created a private sector-led Eminent Persons Group “to oversee the sustainable development of Boracay tourism.”

Interior Undersecretary Epimaco V. Densing III opined that a law needs to be created for an entity to manage Boracay. “There is a directive to create the Boracay Development Authority through an EO. But there should really be a law,” he stressed, because “Boracay should be managed by the local government unit per the Local Government Code.”

He pointed out, though, that EO 53, creating the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force, has a lifespan of two years, and already manages the island. “The LGU is

included in the task force as long as the task force does not step on the powers of the LGU under the Local Government Code,” he noted.

In a previous interview with the BusinessMirror, former Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” H. Durano also said the Local Government Code, in a way, hampered his agency’s full supervisory control over Boracay despite Arroyo’s EO 706. “There is a continuing jurisdictional competition between the DOT/PTA [Tieza now] and the municipality of Malay, as far as development authority over Boracay.

On one hand, the DOT/PTA was given administrative authority under the EO,” he noted.

“On the other hand, the Local Government Code grants LGUs governmental powers which includes the issuance of permits. Even with the EO, the DOT/PTA does not have supervisory powers over LGUs that will allow DOT/PTA to reverse actions of LGUs. With the present setup, all stakeholders must just work together for the sustainability of the island,” said Durano, who had also chaired PTA under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.

For her part, Romulo Puyat acknowledged, “Yes, there has to be a law [creating a Boracay management authority]. But for the meantime, [the EO will be in place], while our legislators are running.”

Inflation. . .

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properly, which is the change of the price level from one month to next, it should peak by the beginning of the fourth quarter.”

Medalla explained that based on his own estimates, year-on-year inflation is still seen to be on the higher level this month, as opposed to a month-on-month comparison, wherein the inflation level is expected to have already have weakened its momentum.

“My own assessment is it will be more or less the same but it cannot be ruled out that it will go down, [it] will go up. To be precise, month-onmonth is almost certainly going to

Oil prices. . .

Continued from A2

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told reporters on the sidelines of a DBCC news briefing that this would bring full-year growth to at least 6.5 percent.

“I think we just need to grow 6.7, 6.8 in the second half,” Pernia said confidently.

“Yeah, we can attain that.”

Pernia said the government’s infrastructure program is “humming” and the 44 projects that are currently under implementation are on track.

He said, however, that higher inflation could dampen consumption.

But this will not drag down economic growth significantly.

“There will be no let-up in infrastructure [projects],” Pernia said. “I guess it [consumption] will be a bit softer but not much because we really are a consumption-driven economy.”

Some economists are less optimistic than the President’s economic team. Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo L. Neri told the BusinessMirror that the huge trade deficit was “worrisome.”

Neri, who was the head of Neda during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said it is unlikely that the government’s growth targets will be met this year.

He said the trade deficit is complicated by the decline in overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances and slower business-process outsourcing (BPO) revenue growth.

Neri added that supply issues of rice

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL JUMPS 12 RUNGS UP GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS INDEX OF 140 ECONOMIES

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ANILA has jumped 12 notches in the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 to 56th among 140 economies on the backbone of a strong labor market and macroeconomic stability.

Among the nine Southeast Asian economies covered by the survey, the Philippines landed as the fifth most competitive in the region. On the other hand, Singapore was second, Malaysia was 25th, Thailand 38th and Indonesia 45th.

The Philippines performed best in market size (32nd) and labor market (36th), and also made good strides in terms of financial system (39th) and business dynamism (39th). Its macroeconomic stability was ranked 43rd among the 140 countries covered.

However, Manila continues to lag in institutions (101st), health (101st) and infrastructure (92nd). It was also in the lower segment of the study on cost of starting a business (97th) and time to start a business days (115th).

Edgar O. Chua, president of the Makati Business Club, said the country is making strides on business dynamism and hopes this will carry on once the ease of doing business law is implemented. “The business dynamism in this report is primarily driven by the private sector’s aggressiveness mindset, in finding innovative ways to become more efficient and productive,” he said.

“We see companies integrating sustainability and innovation into their business models and harness-

ing the potential of technology to increase productivity—and this drives the continued growth of the Philippine economy,” Chua added.

However, this business optimism could be at risk by the country’s poor score on institutions. It was at the bottom of the survey in terms of terrorism incidence (136th), reliability of police services (123rd), conflict of interest regulation (121st) and organized crime (120th).

The index aligned the Philippines as one of the countries—along with Nigeria, Yemen, South Africa and Pakistan—with notable problems on violence, crime and terrorism and where police forces are unreliable. The report explained the relationship between the prevalence of organized crime and the perceived reliability of police is strikingly close.

“While we continuously build on our strong pillars, it is equally important to address our weak spots. The business community remains committed to work with the government to address these gaps, especially in our weakest links in ease of doing business, corruption incidence and infrastructure, particularly in road connectivity,” Chua argued.

The Global Competitiveness Report is an annual study by the World Economic Forum. Covering 140 economies, the report measures national competitiveness—defined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

be lower. But year-on-year, there’s no guarantee that it will be lower,” he added.

He said the policy-making body of the BSP may not need to hike rates should the growth in the month-on-month levels of the country’s inflation slow down.

“If the month-on-month slowed, it’s not necessary to do [a rate hike].

But we should be open to raising rates if necessary,” he said.

The DBCC on Tuesday reported that it has adjusted its inflation forecasts upward for 2018 to 4.8 percent to 5.2 percent; and for 2019, to 3.0 percent to 4.0 percent.

In July the DBCC reported that its inflation forecast for 2018 and 2019 would hit 4.0 percent to 4.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the inflation forecasts from 2020 to 2022 have been retained at 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent, with the DBCC saying that it is consistent with the government’s assessment that inflation will go back to the target level by next year.

On monetary policy, the BSP has raised policy rates by a cumulative 150 basis points since May 2018 to anchor inflation expectations.

For September the country’s inflation print soared to a new nine-year high at 6.7 percent, bringing year-to-date inflation at 5 percent. This is higher compared to the inflation recorded in August 2018 of 6.4 percent, as well as the September 2017 inflation of 3.4 percent.

and oil affect inflation, as well as the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong. This is complicated by the weak peso which could accelerate inflation.

“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will be forced to further increase interest rates and as a result raise business costs. This will put further pressure on inflation and dampen business investments and consumer spending and GDP growth,” Neri said.

Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development Director Alvin P. Ang told the B usiness M irror that the National Income Accounts in the third quarter will be crucial in determining whether there is a need to adjust the Acerd’s growth estimates.

Ang said, however, that the DBCC’s revised forecasts, particularly for growth, is still “more optimistic” than their projection of 6 percent to 6.3 percent.

Nonetheless, Ang said inflation expectations of the DBCC are within the Acerd’s projections for the year. The DBCC said inflation will likely average 4.8 percent to 5.2 percent this year and 3 to 4 percent in 2019.

“This is consistent with the government’s expectations that inflation will go back to the target level by next year,” the DBCC said in a joint statement read

by Diokno.

“We are optimistic that the administration has taken enough measures to tame inflation in the last quarter of 2018 and the full year of 2019,” the statement read, citing Administrative Order 13 Series of 2018 and Memorandum Orders 26 to 28 issued last month to boost food supply and cut the prices of food items.

The assumption for the Dubai crude oil price was also adjusted upward, with the DBCC expecting it to average $70 to $75 per barrel for 2018. For 2019, the price range is projected to increase to $75 to $85. In 2020, this may drop to $70 to $80 and to $65 to $75 in 2021 and 2022.

Moreover, the peso-dollar exchange rate projection for the year was revised upward to an average of 52.5 to 53 from 50 to 53. In 2019, it is seen to be within the range of 52 to 55 until 2022. Previous forecast for 2019 to 2022 was 50 to 53.

The DBCC has also tempered its growth forecasts for goods exports and imports. In 2018 the government expects goods exports to expand by 2 percent while the import bill may rise by 9 percent.

From 2019 to 2022, goods exports will likely grow by 6 percent. Goods imports will expand by 9 percent in 2019 and 8 percent from 2020 to 2022.

Previously, the DBCC targeted goods exports for 2018 to 2022 to expand by 9 percent while the import bill was expected to go up by 10 percent.

Other assumptions THE DBCC, headed by Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, has also adjusted its forecasts for inflation, Dubai crude oil price, peso-dollar exchange rate, and the expansion of goods exports and imports for the year.

While the inflation forecasts for this year and in 2019 have been adjusted upward, the government retained its inflation expectations from 2020 to 2022 at 2 percent to 4 percent.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

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ABS-CBNmobile to close by end-November

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

BS-CBN Corp.’s mobile unit will officially fold down its operations by end-November as the business was deemed “financially unsustainable,” a filing to the local stock exchange showed.

Starting this month, mobile virtual network operator ABS-

CBNmobile will reduce its operations to the bare minimum, and by

next week, its promotional offers will no longer be available to its subscribers.

A month after, all of its subscribers—prepaid, postpaid, and SKY mobile—will no longer be able to use their SIM cards. The company first announced in July that its network sharing agreement with Globe Telecom Inc. will no longer be renewed after five years of business, as it had difficulties in increasing the average revenue per user with its relatively thin subscriber base.

The company invested P3 billion to create the mobile brand through the network sharing agreement be-

tween Globe and ABS-CBN Converge.

The service was introduced in 2013 and gained traction two years after, when it reached 1.7 million subscribers with an average revenue per user of P65.

Company officials have repeatedly expressed confidence in the wireless business, saying it should have hit breakeven sometime in 2015.

However, it failed to stimulate usage within the network. Its main business proposition is, beyond calls and texts, subscribers will have access to content created by the television network.

By 2018 company officials have

been quoted as saying they are trying to “contain losses” from the mobile business, cutting down losses to P560 million in 2017, from P600 million the year prior.

Globe and ABS-CBN are now looking for ways to create “new synergies to serve their customers better.”

These product synergies include the promotional bundling of ABSCBN TVplus boxes with Globe At Home prepaid WiFi and the availability of ABS-CBN TVplus’s KBO (Kapamilya Box Office) and iWant TV over-the-top services to all Globe subscribers, which are already commercially available.

PHL Xin Ye to build 2 ore-stripping plants in 2019

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HILIPPINE Xin Ye Industry Ltd. Inc. (Xin Ye), a subsidiary of Taiwan Xinye Precious Metal Technology Co. Ltd., said it is planning to construct two more environment-friendly ore-stripping facilities in the Philippines by 2019.

It is also the firm’s first ore-stripping facility set up in the country.

“Maybe next year before it ends [we will build] two more—one in Baguio and another in Camarines

Norte,” Liao said.

It took six months to construct its first ore-stripping facility in Sitio Sulok, Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela City, costing around $1 million.

Liao added it costs about $1.2 million for the construction of their patented cyanide-free gold-stripping method called GP-860.

“For me, personally, not for Xin Ye, we will be able to sell maybe around 100 units in the next five years,” he said.

Liao said their Taiwan-based company has two ways in operating in the Philippines: first is by selling

the stripping machine and chemical solution and second by operating through a partnership with local mining firms.

“In Plan A, we will sell the machine and chemical solution, which is ecofriendly, and transfer the technical knowledge,” he said. “Plan B is to operate. We will build the machine and warehouse in the mining area of a company and have profit or gold sharing.”

Liao said some mining firms have already expressed to buy equipment from them, but did not disclose it as of press time as negotiations are still

ongoing. Liao added they are talking with more than 20 local mining firms, with four big companies in Mindanao.

Liao said their facility has a base daily capacity of 15 metric tons of ore that could produce about 750 grams of pure gold.

Liao added the return of investment for their machinery would take about four months to six months, depending on the operations of the mining firm.

“We can make bigger [capacity] depending on the needs of the company. I think we can make as high

as 50 metric tons per day,” he said.

The firm’s technology does not make use of cyanide or mercury, among other toxic chemicals. Using Xin Ye’s solution, the ore-togold process would only take about eight hours.

This compares with the two- to nearly eight-day dissolution period in the traditional extraction process, which involves the use of the banned chemical mercury, widely used by small-scale miners in the Philippines who produce about 70 percent of the country’s annual gold production.

RNHC to build hydro power plant in Isabela

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IO Norte Hydropower Corp.

(RNHC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Citicore Renewable Energy Corp., will develop a 19.7-megawatt run-of-river (ROR) hydropower project along the Ilaguen River in Isabela.

Located in Barangay San Miguel, Echague, RNHC’s hydro project is expected to supply 85 million kilowatts of energy per year to the cities of Cauayan and Santiago and the municipalities of Alicia, Angadanan, Cabatuan, Cordon, Echague, Jones, Luna, Ramon, Reina Mercedes, San Agustin, San Guillermo, San Isidro and San Mateo.

RNHC said it signed a memorandum of agreement with the local officials of Isabela province and Echague municipality. RNHC’s officers, led by EVP Manolo Candelaria, met with Echague Municipal Mayor Francis Dy, Isabela Provincial Gov. Faustino Dy III, and San Miguel Barangay Captain Efren Santiago to seal the project.

“This hydro project is a welcome development in our municipality as it is expected to bring down the cost of electricity for my constituents, as well as generate a host of beneficial programs,” Dy said.

RNHC Vice President for Legal and Government Affairs Clarence Jandoc said run-of-river power generation is considered one of the most environment-friendly energy methods available as it harnesses the natural flow of water to generate electricity. He explained that “it produces nearly no greenhouse emissions.” Lenie Lectura

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Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Companies BusinessMirror

Megaworld to bring Belmont Hotel to Iloilo Business Park

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LOILO CITY—Property giant Megaworld is building its fourth Belmont Hotel inside its 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park township in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

Belmont Hotel Iloilo will have 405 suites, composed of a mix of Twin Suites, Queen Suites, Junior Suites, Executive Suites and Specially-Abled Suites for persons with disabilities (PWDs).

The 12-story hotel, the third in the entire township, will be located along the stretch of the 1.1-kilometer long Festive Walk Parade, within walking distance to the iconic Iloilo Convention Center and the Festive Walk Mall.

It will have its own swimming pool with in-pool lounge, landscaped deck with pool bar and

outdoor lounge, fitness center with sauna, function room and an all-day dining restaurant.

“We have seen the huge potential of Iloilo as a tourism destination. With the Iloilo Convention Center as a main facility for meetings, incentives, conventions and Exhibitions [MICE], there is no doubt Iloilo City needs another world-class hotel. And we are bringing another Megaworld homegrown hotel brand, which has gained popularity among business travelers since Belmont Hotel Manila opened in 2015,”

said Jennifer Palmares-Fong, vice president for sales and marketing, Megaworld Iloilo.

Belmont Hotel Manila, Megaworld’s first Belmont Hotel that opened in Newport City, was awarded this year’s Best Airport Hotel in the 2018 Travel and Hospitality Awards. The second Belmont Hotel is set to open in Boracay Newcoast next year, while the third one will be at The Mactan Newtown, the company’s 30-hectare township in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

In Iloilo Business Park, Megaworld opened its third Richmonde Hotel in 2014. Its sister company Travelers International Hotels Group Inc., owner and operator of Resorts World Manila, opened the Courtyard by Marriott early this year.

The Iloilo City Tourism Office said tourist arrivals in the city have remarkably increased during the past five years. In 2017 around

1.08 million local and foreign tourists visited Iloilo City. Most foreign visitors came from South Korea, the US, Canada, Mexico and Australia.

Tourism receipts reached P19.8 billion in 2017 as registration for tourism-related establishments such as hotels rose by 55 percent to 1,605 last year compared to those posted in 2013.

“Megaworld’s Iloilo Business Park itself is a tourist destination.

Visitors come to the township to visit the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art, shop and dine in Festive Walk Mall, chill in Festive Walk Parade, attend events in the Iloilo Convention Center, or stay in our world-class hotels. We expect more tourists to come to our township as more establishments and attractions open in the coming months,” Palmares-Fong Said.

Belmont Hotel Iloilo is scheduled to open in 2023.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

ASG Tech declared ‘big’ winner in business awards program

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OLLOWING a string of accolades it won this year, ASG Technologies Group Inc. was feted as “Enterprise Company of the Year Technology Software” by an organization that recognizes enterprises for their superior performance in their respective industries.

The information technology (IT) systems provider was recognized by the Business Intelligence Group’s 2018 BIG Awards for Business program for its comprehensive set of content management, data intelligence, IT management and remote workplace solutions that enable enterprises to maintain compliance and make intelligent business decisions in the rapidly transforming information economy.

“For the past 12 months, ASG has been focused on unifying its systems and solutions to offer a cohesive set of products to meet every aspect of its enterprise customers’ information management needs,” said Mary Wells, SVP of marketing at ASG Technologies. “This award high-

lights the progress we’ve made in our products, processes and road maps as we enable customers to build on modern technologies—ensuring they stay on the leading edge of innovation and focused on inorganic growth.”

The BIG Awards for Business are given yearly to companies, products and people leading their respective industries. They are adjudged based on overall performance and business techniques.

“We are so proud to reward ASG Technologies for their outstanding 2018 results,” said Maria Jimenez, chief nomination officer of the Business Intelligence Group.

The group of winners this year, she said, is leading by example in the international business community.

Prior to this award, ASG was awarded the 2018 Stratus Award for Cloud Computing in August, the 2018 RegTech Award for Best Vendor Solution for Data Governance in May, and the Bronze Stevie for the American Business Award for Most Innovative Tech Company of the Year in June.

Roderick L. Abad

Republic Cement underscores safety as biz strategy

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AGUIG CITY—From “safety first” to “safety as a way of living.”

Speaking at a recent business summit about how industry leaders are driving change for a better world, Republic Cement CEO Nabil Francis highlighted how his company has shifted their business strategy from “safety first” to “safety as a way of living” in order to ensure the safety of all its stakeholders in the current environment.

Speaking in a panel at the Aboitiz Advancing

Business and Communities Summit, Francis discussed the rationale for Republic Cement’s paradigm shift. “The construction industry is a very dangerous industry, and safety is not just a legal and social obligation. It is at the heart of what we do,” said Francis.

He added, “For us to operate our business in a sustainable, responsible manner, we need to make sure that every employee goes home safe to his or her family every day.”

Republic Cement has a total of six cement plants around the country and employs about 6,000 direct and indirect employees. In 2017 Republic Cement achieved a zero-fatality rate with only two lost-time injuries in all aspects of its operations, representing a frequency rate of work-related accidents equivalent to 0.11 per million man-hours, a highly satisfactory performance compared to national data.

For its safety initiatives, Republic Cement leads two programs that aim to build a culture of safety in its organization. One of its flagship initiatives is the Golden Hard Hat campaign where it encourages safety excellence at work and reward those with exceptional safety behavior and performance.

It also continues to engage its key partners and stakeholders in its recently launched Republic Contractors Safety Guild program where a group of safety professionals promote a safety culture through forums conducted by safety experts and the sharing of best practices.

When asked about its efforts in ensuring safety in the infrastructure industry at the onset of natural disasters in the country, Francis noted the need for continued innovation of products and greener cement that is not only friendly to the environment but is also tailor-fit to Philippine weather conditions.

He then cited the role of infrastructure such as bridges and buildings in ensuring safety of the public.

Philam Group cited for employee engagement

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ADVT.

HE Philam Group, the country’s premier life-insurance company, has been cited once more, this time for exemplifying excellence in employee engagement.

Held at the Manila Peninsula, the ceremony awarded companies who met and excelled in four critical areas of talent management—high employee engagement, effective leadership, compelling employer brand and high performance culture.

The Aon Global Best Employers Program awarded the Philam Group with a Special Recognition for Commitment to Engagement.

Aon defined employee engagement as “the level of an employee’s psychological investment in their organization.”

Through Aon’s extensive global research, they were able to demonstrate the power of employee engagement to drive business performance, suggesting that for individual organisations, a 5-percent increase in engagement results in 3-percent incremental revenue growth.

“Being recognized for employee engagement gives us great fulfillment and validates that we are in the right direction when it comes to dealing with our people,” said Anna Villamor, Philam Life chief human resource officer. “And this goes back to our customer-centric focus, because we know that the way we take care of our people is how they will take care of our customers, allowing them to inspire others to live healthier, longer and better lives,” she added.

The Aon recognition comes on the heels of another award in human resources, with the Philam Group winning in June at HR Asia’s Best Companies to Work for in Asia in 2018.

MUTUAL FUNDS

October 16, 2018

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 236.71 -18.6% -1.91% -0.15% -19.27% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.3721 -15.52% 3.06% 1.54% -14.07% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 3.6794 -18.92% -0.86% -1.07% -19.89% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.8486 -15.86% N.A. N.A. -16.56% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. * ********* 0.7787 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 4.8828 -17.11% -3.22% -1.03% -18.8% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * ****** 111.07 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.7813 -19.38% N.A. N.A. -21.3% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 45.8693 -17.84% -1.19% N.A. -18.66% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 479.08 -18.22% -2.39% -1.23% -18.59% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.1855 -15.12% -0.13% N.A. -15.58% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 34.4954 -14.91% 0.18% 1.8% -16.06% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 4.608 -17.85% -0.53% 1.63% -18.79% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 769.26 -17.79% -0.76% 1.32% -18.66% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8032 -16.52% -2.79% N.A. -16.95% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 3.8228 -15.68% -0.65% 1.19% -16.54% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 0.8873 -17.97% -0.69% N.A. -18.84% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.298 -13.57% 0.36% 0.06% -15.31% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* *** ● 102.9132 -17.28% 0.42% N.A. -18.29% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $0.9479 -12.36% 1.72% -0.55% -14.47% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.2229 0.2% N.A. N.A. -3.34% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.586 -14.37% -3.87% -2.51% -14.89% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.122 -13.18% -1.05% -0.39% -13.63% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.4192 -11.92% -4.26% -3.3% -12.66% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* **** 1.2616 -13.39% N.A. N.A. -13.29% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.773 -10.26% -0.72% -0.38% -11.02% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.3504 -14.57% -2.61% -1.49% -14.49% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 15.0685 -14.4% -2.55% -1.56% -14.18% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* ******** 1.9873 -11.4% -0.61% 1.16% -11.36% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.5084 -11.6% -1.34% -0.53% -12.21% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.895 -11.47% -1.58% N.A. -12.28% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.03464 -4.15% -0.66% 1.85% -4.04% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9389 -9.58% 1.15% -4.39% -10.32% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.5359 -0.47% 4.38% 2.86% -3.19% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.07 -2.6% N.A. N.A. -3.79% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 341.36 1.37% 1.79% 1.72% 1.26% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ******* 1.8575 -2.18% -1.2% -0.44% -1.84% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9419 5.53% 5.35% 5.31% 4.25% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1166 -0.38% 0.97% 1.11% 0.68% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2126 -0.27% 0.12% 0.47% -0.16% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.5738 -2.44% -1.07% -1.05% -2.22% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.7702 -8.05% -2.39% -1.08% -6.91% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.4545 -1.05% -0.76% 0.08% -1.44% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.8709 -6.73% -2.42% N.A. -5.67% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.7528 -0.91% -0.07% 0.43% -0.87% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.5309 -1.33% -0.6% 0.03% -1.21% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $445.76 0.21% 2.08% 3.09% -0.04% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є213.18 0.17% 1.3% 1.69% -0.25% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1205 -1.09% 0.71% 1.79% -1.2% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0248 - 0.8% 0.54% N.A. -0.8% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.69 -5.05% -0.63% 1.25% -4.6% MAA PRIVILEGE DOLLAR FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. MAA PRIVILEGE EURO FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. ЄN.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC* $1.0243 -5.32% -1.94% 0.04% -4.58% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1362 -4.89% 0.08% 2.4% -5.1% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0568662 -1.01% 0.82% 1.9% -0.58% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8782 -4.72% 0.43% 1.74% -4.47% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 119.92 2.3% 1.68% 1.45% 1.96% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1721 1.51% 0.31% 0.34% 1.27% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2101 2.44% 2.15% 1.41% 2.08% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* ***** $1.0117 N.A. N.A. N.A. 1.3%

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

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

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

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Neda: Financing changes, project delays cost PHL $6.91M in fees

By Cai U. Ordinario @cuo_bm

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ROJECT delays and changes in financing cost the Philippines some $6.91 million in commitment fees (CFs) in the past two years, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Based on the Neda’s latest Official Development Assistance (ODA) report, the estimate includes the $3.76 million in CFs paid in 2017 and $3.15 million in 2016.

CFs caused by delays reached $2.81 million in the last two years, while those caused by cost of financing was higher at $4.1 million in 2017 and 2016.

“A review was conducted to estimate how much of the commitment fees paid in 2017 may be attributed to implementation delay,” a document from the Neda said. “The result of the analysis showed that approximately 33 percent of commitment fees paid in 2017 may be attributed to implementation delays.”

The Neda defines a commitment fee as the amount levied on the undisbursed loan amount or a portion thereof, payable per annum. It is a rate that is applied on the undisbursed amount of the entire loan or a portion.

The Neda clarified that “even when there is no implementation delay, a certain amount of commitment fee would still be charged as purely cost of financing. Implementation delay only increases the amount.”

Data showed that the top 6 projects with the highest contribution to total CFs attributed to implementation delays. These projects, the Neda said, accounted for 70 percent of CFs paid due to implementation delays.

T he projec ts a re C apac it y Enhancement of Mass Transit Systems in Metro Manila of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) with $210,000; Road Upgrading and Preservation Project of the Department of Public Works and H ig hw ay s ( DP W H ) a nd Jic a w it h $18 0,0 0 0; a nd Cent ra l Luzon Link Expressway Project also of the DPWH and Jica with $160,000.

The other projects are the Senior High School Support Program of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) with $130,000; Kalahi-CIDSS National Community Driven Development Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the ADB with $110,000; and Integrated Natural Resources a nd Env ironment a l Ma nage ment Project of the Department of Env ironment and Natura l Resources (DENR) and the ADB with $80,000.

Meanwhile, Neda data also showed cost overruns for various projects P7.84 billion between 2014 and 2017.

Cost overrun is defined as additional costs over and above the approved project cost of the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC).

The report stated that the total ICC cost approved for all the projects was at P30.16 billion with the additional increase in cost of P7.84 billion, the total cost for the projects increased to around P38 billion.

In 2017 a lone, t here were three projects that incurred cost overruns. These are the Italian

Assistance to the Agrarian Reform Community Development Support Program, which saw an increase in cost of P99.15 million; Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase II, P1.02 billion; and the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), P5.69 billion.

The Neda cited two reasons for the increase in cost of the Italian assistance to the Agrarian Reform Community Development Support Program (ARCDSP).

The expenses in project management operation and the valueadded tax cover for the Agricultural Enterprise Development and Local Capacity Building Support component both posted increases in the cost of the ARCDSP. For the Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase II, the reasons were the increase in the number of lanes for the project to four lanes from the initial design of having only two lanes and the widening to four lanes of the Angat bridge and its approach roads and a smaller bridge.

In the case of the Cebu BRT, the increase in cost was due to “force majeure” with the signing of RA 10752, or the Right of Way (ROW) Act, and foreign exchange rate movements.

“Force majeure event of signing into law of RA 10752 or the ROW Act, which provides that payment for project land acquisition should be based on market value instead of zonal values amounting to P5.07 billion,” the Neda said.

The Neda said agency requests for cost-overruns undergo the ICC review process, mainly to determine whether the project continues to be economically viable.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

B3

Govt to craft leaner budget

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HE Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) created on Tuesday a task force to assess items in the budget that can be postponed or cut if the President approves the suspension of the increase in oil excise taxes in 2019.

This was revealed by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III during the DBCC news conference on October 16 at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) headquarters.

Dominguez said the task force would be composed of five members and led by Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno.

Dominguez said the cuts would be to compensate for the estimated foregone revenues amounting to around P41 billion should the oil excise tax increase is temporarily suspended.

Diokno added that items in the budget they plan to cut with the DBCC is initially looking to include car purchases, as well as in maintenance and other operating expenditures by government agencies.

“Maybe calibrate the releases for the cars’ [purchases]. There is also a lump sum of the miscellaneous personnel benefits fund for the creation of positions.

As of now there are still very few positions, so again that’s another item,” Diokno said during the news briefing. “And, of course, the maintenance and other operating expenditures, so there will be a seniority in the cuts.”

The task force would be the mirror image of the DBCC, according to Dominguez. The DBCC includes officials of the

BSP, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of Finance, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Office of the President.

“We have created a task force to identify items that we may not release given the possible reduction in revenues,” Diokno added.

“So there will be a seniority in expenditures; definitely the most senior would be the infrastructure projects.”

Dominguez explained that, in line with the revisions on the macroeconomic assumptions of the government on the prices of Dubai crude oil in the world market, the DBCC can now estimate the net effect on the government’s revenues should the oil excise tax increase under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law be suspended.

“However, the increase in price of fuel will also increase our take in the VAT [value-added tax], so we will estimate that now that we have the projections for the prices of fuel,” he said. “And a drop in the value of the peso also will increase our revenues from imports.”

Also on Tuesday, the DBCC adjusted its assumption for the price of Dubai crude oil, with the price per barrel expected to average $70 to $75 this year, coming from the previous assumption of $55 to $70 per barrel.

For 2019, the price range is projected to increase to $75 to $85 per barrel coming from $50 to $65.

In 2020, this range is forecasted to drop to $70 to $80 and as low as $65 to $75 for 2021 and 2022.

In addition, the peso-to-dollar exchange rate is seen to likely average 52.5 to 53 against the greenback this year, coming from the previous 50- to 53-to-the dollar assumption. The range is adjusted to 52 to 55 for 2019 until 2022, up from 50 to 53 per the US dollar.

Under the TRAIN law, excise tax on oil products will be gradually increased starting this year to 2020.

The law, however, contains a provision for temporarily suspending the increase scheduled on January 1, 2019, if the average price of Dubai crude based on Mean of Platts Singapore exceeds $80 per barrel within a three-month period.

Furthermore, incremental excise tax increases were imposed on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), diesel and gasoline products.

Tax on LPG, coming from a noexcise tax regime, would increase

by P1 per liter this year, P2 next year and P3 in 2020. Diesel fuel would increase by P2.50 this year, P4.50 in 2019 and P6 in 2020. Regular and unleaded premium gasoline would have a tax increase of P7 this year, P9 in 2019 and P10 per liter in 2020.

These increases come from an excise tax of P4.35 per liter in 2017.

A government multiagency is currently forming the implementing rules and regulations to clarify how the excise tax on oil will go about if ever it will be suspended.

This group is composed of people from the DOF, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs and the Department of Energy, among others. Rea Cu

We have created a task force to identify items that we may not release given the possible reduction in revenues.”—Diokno

B4 Wednesday, October 17, 2018

THE BISTRO GROUP ENHANCES LOYALTY PROGRAM WITH FOODIE APP POWERED BY RUSH PHOTO EXHIBIT TELLS US STORIES OF COURAGE, HOPE AND LUPUS

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HE Bistro Group, a collection of international and homegrown casual-dining brands, has launched the Bistro Frequent Foodie (BFF) loyalty app in partnership with Globe Digital Ventures, Globe Telecom’s in-house digital enabler.

The BFF app complements the BFF card and provides Bistro Group’s customers the total Bistro experience offline and online. It allows customers to keep track of their vouchers, receive exclusive discounts and make reservations. With the new digital-based loyalty program, The Bistro Group is able to efficiently manage their customer rewards and makes it easier for loyal diners to avail themselves of the promo. The enhanced loyalty program creates a seamless rewards system that, in turn, elevates customer experience.

The app is powered by RUSH, a comprehensive digital loyalty-program platform created by Globe Digital Ventures that gives businesses the flexibility to create their own custom-branded app, streamline their loyalty program and gain customer insights through real-time analytics, equipping merchants with digital capabilities that can enhance customer service, engagement and retention.

“Today’s conventional methods of customer retention is not enough. Almost every establishment in the Philippines has a loyalty card. Forward-thinking brands know how to leverage both traditional and digital loyalty marketing,” said Glenn Estrella, senior vice president for Globe Digital Ventures.

The Bistro Group manages 16 international and homegrown

food concepts that offer a variety of casual dining brands, including Denny’s, Italianni’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Bulgogi Brothers, Baker and Cook, Fish and Co., Krazy Garlik, Modern Shanghai, TGIFridays, Texas Roadhouse, Village Tavern, Watami and Plank Superdough Pizza.

With the BFF Card, a cardholder is entitled to the following privileges: 30 percent off on bills every Monday; 20 percent off on bills from Tuesday to Sunday; a complimentary single serving of regular coffee or hot tea with entree purchase; and six P250 off e-vouchers (Get P250 discount on total bill with a minimum purchase of P1,000 on cardholder’s next visit) The BFF Card can be availed for only P2,500 on member restaurants of Bistro Group. For more details, visit www.bistro.com.ph and https://www.rush.ph.

Globe Telecom President and Chief Executive Officer Ernest Cu (fifth from left) and The Bistro Group President and Chief Operating Officer Jean Paul Manuud (sixth from left) show the new BFF mobile app. Together with them are (from left) Rechele Tiongson, TBG vice president for operations (TGIFridays); Stephanie Kubota, RUSH product manager; Estrella; Lisa Ronquillo, TBG vice president for marketing; Amy Palisoc, TBG vice president for business development; Meanne Quiambao, Globe business sales head; Jane Mancia, Globe business cluster sales head; Luigi Reyes, Mynt vice president for business development; Patricia JoaquinPublico, TBG chief financial officer; Guia Abuel, TBG vice president for operations (Italiannis, Baker and Cook); and Diorella Oledan, TBG vice president for operations (Krazy Garlik, Village Tavern, Village Tavern, Texas Roadhouse and Bulgogi Brothers).

OPE for Lupus Foundation has launched a photographic exhibition named Scarred but not Scared featuring the photographs of four multi-awarded and acclaimed photographers Jose Antonio T. Aliling, Bien S. Bautista, Josefino Mario De Guzman and Maria Victoria ManotokArroyo. The exhibit brings us closer to ordinary Filipinos who bravely show the triumph of their fighting spirit over the hardships thrown up by the auto-immune disease called Lupus. The exhibit also serves as a tribute to all the friends, relatives, and patients who have fought bravely and has since passed out.

Founder of the Hope for Lupus Foundation, Justice Undersecretary and

former Diwa Party-list Rep. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, has high hopes that with continuous education and awareness on lupus, we could create powerful interventions in whatever form it may be. The undersecretary believes that initiatives like the exhibit could bring out a strong voice that supports the advocacy and, eventually, a society that rallies toward a world without lupus—a vision that the foundation carries.

Lupus, a systematic disease that affects multiple parts of the body, leads to scarring, destruction, joint pains and deterioration of vital functions, among other known symptoms. It is also wherein a person’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs,

damaging various body systems, like joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.

Aglipay-Villar has been diagnosed with Lupus on 2007. It took several months and numerous tests before Aglipay-Villar confirmed that she was suffering from lupus. Auto-immune diseases like lupus make patients struggle in silence and she is not an exemption. Admittedly, she also shared how difficult it is to tell somebody that she has lupus as it is often perceived as a sign of weakness; and there is always the fear of judgement or discrimination.

With the exhibit, it bravely manifests not just the beauty of the resilience of Filipino lupus patients, but also make visible the gravity of the disease.

“For those who seek to understand better, may this be the start of your journey for more enlightenment. And for those who carry the same cross, we hope for this to serve as a beacon of hope that, amid all the uncertainty and pain, there is always a smile that shines from within,” Aglipay-Villar said.

Hope for Lupus aims to promote the early detection and proper treatment of lupus by increasing awareness about this mysterious condition.

Scarred but not Scared shows on the second-floor level of Greenbelt 5 from October 13 to 20.

Sports

STEPHEN CURRY (right) and Golden State remain the team to beat, and Boston is a good bet to inherit that role in the East with LeBron James gone, so it’s very possible a couple teams playing on the first night of the season will also be playing on the last. AP

BusinessMirror

C1

| Wednesday, October 17, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

SO WHO’S IN THIS SEASON?

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By Brian Mahoney The Associated Press

PENING night last year delivered a good forecast of how the National Basketball Association (NBA) season would turn out.

Cleveland edged Boston in the opening game before Houston ruined Golden State’s championship ring celebration with a victory over the Warriors in the nightcap.

Those teams ended up as the last four standing in the 2017-2018 season, with both conference finals going seven games. Golden State and Cleveland won Game Sevens on the road before the Warriors swept the Cavaliers for their second straight title.

The matchups this time in the doubleheader Tuesday night on TNT feature the Celtics hosting Philadelphia, and the Warriors welcoming Oklahoma City. Golden State remains the team to beat, and the Celtics are a good bet to inherit that role in the East with LeBron James gone, so it’s very possible a couple teams playing on the first night of the season will also be playing on the last.

Particularly the Warriors.

“I think as far as Golden State, if you gave me, hey, you can take the field or you can bet Golden State, I would bet Golden State,” ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy said.

Most teams don’t begin until Wednesday, and James’s first regular-season game with the Lakers doesn’t come until Thursday, when they visit Portland.

Some things to know about the upcoming season: LEBRON, FOR STARTERS LeBron James starts what could be a challenging first season with his new team by trying to snap a record winning streak. The Trail Blazers have won 17 consecutive home openers, a streak that began in October 2001—two years before James made his NBA debut.

STILL THE SPURS? San Antonio usually enters the season as a sure thing, but the Spurs this time are a question mark. Decimated by injuries in their backcourt during the preseason after losing Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in the offseason, the Spurs are no lock for a 22nd straight playoff appearance that would equal the NBA record set by the Syracuse Nationals/ Philadelphia 76ers from 1949-1971. But figure on San Antonio starting fast, as the Spurs are 19-2 in season openers under Gregg Popovich, who begins his 23rd season to tie Utah’s Jerry Sloan for the most seasons coaching one team.

OFF-SEASON OVERSHADOWING? Perhaps the Warriors’ dominance makes it feel like a foregone conclusion, but there’s already so much talk about the summer of 2019 free agency,

when players such as Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Kyrie Irving could be available, that it already threatens to overshadow the games themselves. Even Golden State isn’t immune, with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson able to become free agents, and sparking talk that this could be the Warriors’ last run.

FOR THOSE WHO DO CARE ABOUT THE GAMES This season, fans can, for the first time, purchase games in progress on NBA League Pass. The option is available from the end of the third quarter to the end of the game for $1.99. Details are available at http://www.nba.com/leaguepass.

“MVP! MVP!” James led a record nine players who received votes as the Most Valuable Player favorite in the NBA.com GM Survey, garnering 30 percent of the vote among those who responded.

Durant, Irving, Leonard, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Giannis Antetokounmpo also received votes along with reigning MVP James Harden, who should put up big numbers again in Houston’s high-powered offense.

SPEAKING OF THE ROCKETS They added a likely future Hall of Famer to a team that just won a league-high 65 games, but it’s hard to know just how much Carmelo Anthony will help the Rockets—or if he will help at all. He comes off his worst season in Oklahoma City and didn’t thrive playing for Mike D’Antoni in New York. But his outside shooting seems a natural fit with the Rockets, especially with the open looks Harden and close friend Chris Paul should set up for him.

TANKING TALK New draft lottery odds debut this season.

The teams with the three worst regular-season records will each have a 14-percent chance of winning the lottery, replacing the system that gave the team with the worst record a 25 percent chance of the top pick. The league hopes that will reduce some of the incentive to lose on purpose, but

Commissioner Adam Silver has said there’s still work to do to completely eliminate tanking.

WHO WINS? After a record four years of the same NBA Finals matchup with Golden State and Cleveland, the NBA seems headed for something new. The Warriors remain the class of the league, but Boston matches up with them better than the Cavaliers did, even with James. So Golden State should win a third straight title, but not without a much tougher fight than the last couple of seasons.

“I do think in this league anything can happen so there’s some teams in the Western Conference, if clicking right, if healthy—injuries play a role not just for the Warriors but throughout this league—so that can play a part in it,” former Warriors Coach Mark Jackson said.

“But the Warriors are the clear-cut favorite.”

Venezuelan fans endure sacrifices to ‘Play Ball’ amid economic crisis

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LEONES de Caracas cheerleaders pose for a photo with a young fan wearing a lion costume prior to the season’s opening baseball game between Leones de Caracas and Tiburones de la Guaira in Caracas, Venezuela. AP

ARACAS, Venezuela—For 10 years, ever since they bonded over baseball at work, Franlet Bencomo and Elbert Albarran haven’t missed an opening day game together.

This year, however, they left their kids behind and ate a big breakfast before heading out to watch their beloved Caracas Lions because a hotdog inside the stadium costs more than 10 percent of the roughly $30 each makes a month at their minimum-wage jobs.

“Now we have to eat beforehand, watch the game and go straight home” said Bencomo, in line for tickets six hours before the start of Friday’s season opener. “There’s no other way.”

Throughout Venezuela, as winter league play gets under way, fans are having to make similar sacrifices to feed their passion for the “pelota,” or the ball, as the national pastime is affectionately known.

Hyperinflation has pulverized incomes while putting ticket prices out of reach for many. Others are avoiding the ballpark for fear of getting mugged or because they don’t know how they’ll get home amid a nationwide transportation crisis. In response, more daytime games are being played.

Venezuela’s eight professional teams are struggling. For the second straight year, state-run oil company PDVSA had to step in with a $12-million lifeline to pay for everything from imported baseballs to the salaries of the seven foreign-born players—most of them minor league prospects from the United States—on each team’s roster.

During the offseason, vandals picked through stadiums, stripping bathrooms of metal faucets. Groundskeepers have been battling water shortages in several cities. Meanwhile, ticket prices remain a mystery, with some clubs changing them by the week to keep pace with inflation forecast by the International Monetary

Fund to soon reach 10 million percent.

In Maracaibo, Venezuela’s secondlargest city, the situation is so dire that the Aguilas (Eagles) team canceled its opener and five other home games this month after an inspector hired

by Major League Baseball ruled their diamond didn’t meet minimal safety standards. The club said several of its light towers had the copper wiring stolen and the state government, which owns the facility, hasn’t come up with the relatively modest sum of $39,000 needed to repair the lighting.

Still, the Eagles will be playing on the road.

Venezuela’s once highly competitive winter league has been in decline for years.

While many of the 70-plus Venezuelan players on big league rosters return home for a few games each season, most arriving this year, such as Los Angeles Angels pitcher Eduardo Paredes or Detroit infielder Harold Castro, are little known and don’t reflect the nation’s powerhouse talent. Meanwhile, major league organizations have shut down all their academies in the country.

Venezuela is scheduled to host the Caribbean Series in February at Barquisimeto, one of the city’s hardest hit by power outages that

have roiled much of the country. Last year’s tournament, which brings together the champions of five Caribbean winter leagues, was moved from Barquisimeto to Guadalajara, Mexico, following deadly protests against Venezuela’s socialist government.

Ramon Guillermo Aveledo, a former Venezuela league president and prominent opposition leader, said he remembers going to the stadium with his father during the 1960s oil boom and watching future Hall of Famer Earl Weaver manage the Cardinals in Barquisimeto.

“Back then there wasn’t such a big difference between salaries in the major leagues and what Venezuelan teams could pay,” he said.

In something of a departure from his normally fierce criticism of President Nicolas Maduro, Aveledo applauds the government’s decision to spend part of its dwindling supply of dollars on baseball—even if he acknowledges that there are more pressing needs.

From field crews to ticket scalpers to hotdog vendors, thousands of families depend on baseball to make a living, and Aveledo says the stadiums have long served as a sporting sanctuary where fans of all classes and political backgrounds can set aside their differences and mounting hardships.

“It is one of the few things that unites us,” he said. “For the three months the season lasts, there’s a different vibe in the country.”

Indeed, last year stadium attendance rose 5 percent amid the political and economic crisis, although it remains down by a third from a peak in the 2013-2014 season. AP

Spo

Business

C2 Wednesday, October 17, 2018

QC HOOPFEST GETS GOING NEXT MONTH

GUN SAFETY SEMINAR SET AT ARMS EXHIBIT

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HE Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers of the Philippines Inc. (AFAD) has lined up free seminars on responsible gun ownership at the 26th Defense and Sporting Arms Show (DSAS) Part 2 from November 15 to 19 at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

Ernie Claudio, a veteran sports shooting coach, will lead the Gun Safety and Responsible Gun Ownership Seminar during the five-day DSAS event.

Claudio’s lecture is from 1 to 1:50 p.m. at the DSAS exhibit venue.

World shooting champ Jethro Dionisio, also AFAD president, said the DSAS offers many other lectures that included “Crime Prevention & Skill Enhancement Orientation” offered by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and ”Basic Rescue Training, Disaster Preparedness, and Crisis Management” by the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA).

Martial arts experts will also give seminars on basic self-defense techniques from MMA Jiu Jitsu and Krav Maga.

Dionisio said the DSAS Part 2 gets even more exciting with the wide array of new firearms, ammunition and shooting apparel at the event’s venue.

He also invited owners of firearms with a delinquent license to avail themselves of the “Firearms Caravan,” a joint undertaking by the AFAD and PNP to help in the swift processing of gun documents.

Applicants for License to Own and Possess Firearms, gun registration and Permit to Carry Firearms Outside of Residence are advised to visit the Defense & Sporting Arms Show Facebook page for the list of requirements and details on the PNP Firearms online registration system.

Also, gun show visitors may register online at www.afad.ph/dsas to avoid queueing at the entrance of the DSAS venue.

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MEMBERS of the Philippine team (from left, first row) golfer Yuka Saso, Chef de Mission Jonne Go, Philippine Sports Commission Executive Director Merly Ibay, Philippine Ambassador to Argentina Linglingay Lacanlale, archer Nicole Tagle and Jann Mari Nayre of table tennis and (from left, second row) golfer Carl Janno Corpus, kiteboarder Christian Tio and fencer Lawrence Tan pose for a class picture.

MODEST IN ARGENTINA A

RCHER Nicole Tagle closed out the country’s campaign in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games without any medal on Monday along with golfers Yuka Saso and Carl Janno Corpus.

Corpus and Saso assembled an eight-over 148 on the final day to crash out of the medal race after three rounds in the mixed team event at the Hurlingham Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

They were in contention on opening day at four-under, but bombed out in the next 18 holes with a five-over card and failed to chase leaders Atthaya Thitikul and Vanchai Luangnitikul of Thailand

and the United States duo of Lucy Li and Akshay Bhatia.

Thitikul and Luangnitikul grabbed the gold medal, while Li and Bhatia settled for the silver.

Tagle, the Southeast Asian Games silver medalist, was ahead after three sets, 4-2, before Alyssia TromansAnsell of Great Britain rallied in the last two frames for a 6-4 victory that propelled her to the quarterfinals.

“I did my best and gave everything I had,’’ said Tagle after her round of 16 exit at the Parque Sarmiento archery range.

The Philippines placed 69th out of 206 countries after kiteboarder Christian Tio clinched a silver medal on Sunday, sharing the spot with

Algeria, Ireland, Saint Lucia, Chinese Taipei, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.

“For me, this is a huge success for Team Philippines. We almost had two medals here,’’ Philippine Chief of Mission Jonne Go said.

On her second straight stint as chief of mission, Go again produced a medal in the Youth Olympics where the best under-18 athletes in the world showcased their talents in 32 sports.

Archer Gab Moreno won the country’s first gold medal in the mixed international event with China’s Li Jiaman under the tenure of Go in 2014 in Nanjing, China.

Saso, who catapulted to instant

fame when she won the Asian Games women’s individual gold in August, came close to bringing home a medal after leading the field on the final day.

The 17-year-old from Bulacan, however, fell in a three-cornered playoff for silver and bronze and eventually lost her bid for a podium finish.

Russia topped the medal tally with 24 gold, 15 silver and nine bronze medals with two more competition days left before the closing ceremony on October 18.

China was second overall with a 16-7-9 tally, while Japan (13-7-12) and Hungary (12-6-4) were third and fourth, respectively.

PSC conducts fourth edition of IP Games

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HE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will hold the fourth leg of Indigenous Peoples (IP) Games to coincide with the celebration of the National Indigenous Peoples Month.

The event will be held at the municipality of Kapangan in Benguet from October 27 to 29.

PSC Commissioner Charles Raymond Maxey initiated preparations for the event as early as August in close coordination

B’PIER HOPE TO KEEP ALIVE PLAYOFFS HOPE

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BATANG Pier Head Coach Pido Jarencio has encouraging words for his players.

with Benguet Provincial Sports Coordinator Denmark Monang.

“We are expecting around 500 participants in this edition,” Karlo Pates, executive assistant of Commissioner Maxey, said.

One more leg is scheduled in Bukidnon in November to round up the PSC’s IP activities for this year. Three legs were held previously in Davao del Norte, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato and Ifugao.

VELEZ, MILLIAM SHOWCASE CLASS IN BUGLASAN FESTIVAL TENNIS TILT

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OHN DAVID VELEZ and Alexa Milliam proved to be a cut above the rest over their peers and older rivals, scoring a pair of three-title romps in the Palawan PawnshopPalawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) Buglasan Festival national age-group tennis tournament at the Praxevilla Tennis Courts in Dumaguete City last Monday.

Both 14 years old, the PPS-PEPP Mac Crankit players topped their age-group category then went to rule the 16- and 18-under divisions without dropping a set and share the Most Valuable Player honors in

HERE is still a room for one more league in this hoop-crazy nation.

Officials of the soon-to-be launched Quezon City Basketball League (QCBL) are confident about getting a warm reception despite the already loaded hoops program in the country.

“I believe there won’t be a shortage of players and Filipinos will never get tired of basketball,” QCBL Executive Director BJ Manalo, a former Philippine Baskeball Association player out of De La Salle, told the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Tapa King Restaurant at the Farmers Plaza in Cubao on Tuesday.

“We’re not really competing against other leagues.

In fact, we want to work with them to help develop further the future of basketball and at the same time, provide opportunity for more coaches,” Manalo said.

“But the league is envisioned to eventually become the National Basketball Association of barangay-style home-and-away tournaments,” he added.

The QCBL kicks off on November 10 at the JCR gym of the FEU-NRMF in Fairview, Quezon City.

Oliver Bunyi, also a former De La Salle player who previously worked together with Manalo at Globalport in the PBA, also graced the weekly session presented

by San Miguel Corp., Tapa King and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Bunyi, the league’s basketball operations head, said their will be three divisions in the QCBL—Open, Cadet and Starter. He added that Fiba rules will be utilized with Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas referees supervising the games.

Bunyi said the league will not only concentrate on the 5-on-5 format, but also on 3x3.

the Group 2 event presented by Dunlop and sponsored by Gov. Roel Degamo which served as part of the Buglasan Festival.

Velez lived up to his top billing in the boys’ side, routing Khenz Justiniani, 6-0, 6-2, for the 14-unders crown then toppled Sebastien Lhuillier, 6-2, 6-4, in the 16-under finals. The young Davao City star capped his feat with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Gauilian Bandoquillo.

Milliam, from Pontevedra (Negros Occidental), matched her fellow TENX-backed player’s three-title feat in impressive fashion, beating Jufe Ann Cocoy, 6-3, 6-3, as No. 2 seed

JOHN DAVID VELEZ (left) and Alexa Milliam (right) hold their trophies as they pose with Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Area Manager Ronabelle Sanchez after dominating the Buglasan Festival.

ORTHPORT tries to keep its flickering playoff hopes alive when it battles Rain or Shine in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

The Batang Pier tallied two straight victories after a 0-6 start to sit precariously in ninth place, while the Elasto Painters are second to last in the standings with a 1-4 record.

They take the floor at 7 p.m., while Alaska (5-2) and winless Columbian Dyip (0-8) meet in the first game at 4:30 p.m.

Thanks to the combined 50-point explosion of Sean Anthony and Stanley Pringle, NorthPort scored a 99-94 win over Meralco last week for its second triumph in eight games.

Head Coach Pido Jarencio churned out encouraging words after finally drawing inspired efforts from his players.

“Players really worked hard for the win, defensively and offensively. I can’t say anything wrong about them,” Jarencio said.

Jarencio lauded Anthony and Pringle, who played major roles in their streak.

“They are the heart and soul of the team. They showed the chemistry,” he added.

After four failed tries, Rain or Shine tasted its first victory at the expense of Barangay Ginebra, 104-97, last Saturday.

Import Terrence Watson scored 29 points that went with 19 rebounds and four blocks for Rain or Shine, which also drew 18 points from Jewel Ponferada.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla in 14-under finals, crushing Sydney Enriquez, 6-3, 6-1, to claim the 16-under diadem as No. 4, then snaring the 18-under plum as unranked player via a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Enriquez.

“Coming off victories in an ATF [Asian Tennis Federation] event in Malaysia, they were expected to dominate but to sweep their three events is another thing. They should serve as inspiration to the other young players,” said Bobby Castro, president/CEO of Palawan Pawnshop, which sponsors the yearlong, nationwide junior circuit.

Other winners were Valencia, Negros Oriental’s Louis Paliwag (10-under unisex), and Siquijor’s Faith Banico (girls’ 12-under) and Naga, Cebu’s Jonathan Largo (boys’ 12-under), while Iligan City’s Bing Padro and Alvin Lomongo, Jerome Tecson and Marlon Mesiona, and Pedro Rosalem and Camelo Gayo topped the men’s doubles in the Legends division of the event backed by Negros Oriental Sports Development Program.

The organizers also conducted the PPS-PEPP MCTA Coaching Conference which drew 30 tennis mentors from the region.

The second leg of the October festival will be held in Argao, Cebu, from October 18 to 22 with La Carlota hosting the next stop from October 24 to 28 before winding up in San Carlos City for the Pintaflores Festival from October 29 to November 5.

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Wednesday, October 17, 2018

POTENT START FOR MONDILLA A

‘Chess players need more competitions’

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HE lack of competitive tournaments took its toll on the Philippine women’s team’s campaign in the recent 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia.

Grandmaster (GM) Coach Jayson Gonzales made the admission in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday, lamenting that when the going got tough for Janelle Frayna and co., the inexperience of the team became obvious.

“The talent is there, but the experience is wanting,” Gonzales told the public sports program at the Tapa King Restaurant at the Farmers Plaza in Cubao, Quezon City.

“That’s why I always explain, reminding or suggesting to our officials that we should have regular tournaments,” said Gonzales, who was accompanied in the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Tapa King and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. by Frayna and Women’s International Master Shania Mae Mendoza.

Frayna, the country’s sole Woman GM today, and Mendoza anchored the fivemember team in the Olympiad, along with Catherine Secopito, Bernadette Galas and Marie Antoinette San Diego.

The Filipinas caused a ripple early in the tournament following its stunning 3-1 win over seventh-ranked Spain, but failed to sustain the momentum and tumbled to 67th place finish out of a record 151 entries representing 146 countries.

The Philippines lost its final game against Australia, 3-1.

Frayna, a graduate of Psychology at the Far Eastern University, stressed on the discrepancies of games played between her and an opponent in the Olympiad, who had a total of 1,700 games in her data list compared to the 350 games she played.

CLYDE MONDILLA tops a virtual shootout of aces to post a onestroke lead in the first round.

ROY DOMINGO

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OLLEYBALL action gets a notch higher on Wednesday as BanKo-Perlas stakes its unbeaten record against a rolling Creamline side in a key Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Open Conference duel at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The much-awaited 6 p.m. clash is tipped to be a duel of power and net defense with the Cool Smashers, the league’s leaders in spiking with a 35.09-percent success rate, bringing in their main weapon against the best in blocking with 2.84 norm per set.

The Perlas Spikers have racked up five straight victories in impressive fashions,

ILING Clyde Mondilla, out to end a long slump on the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT), outslugged Peter Stojanovski in a virtual shootout of aces and rammed in eight birdies for a bogey-free eight-64 for a one-stroke lead over the Macedonian and Jay Bayron at the start of the rich International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Luisita Invitational on Monday in Tarlac.

Paired with PGT Del Monte leg winner Nicolas Paez in one of the early groups, Mondilla and Stojanovski matched four birdies in calm condition at the turn with the Filipino ace sustaining his charge with three birdies in the first four holes at the back, then capping his opening romp with a birdie for a pair of 32s.

“Honestly, I’m really surprised with my game.

Imagine, I have a slight flu and nursing tonsillitis but

still played a perfect game. Everything’s in place— irons, short game and putting,” said Mondilla, whose 64 bettered the previous best of 65 set by Aussie David Gleeson in ruling the PGT Asia’s ICTSI Luisita Championship here in April.

Stojanovski hit just one birdie and fell by two after No. 14 but regained his touch and birdied the next two, missing joining Mondilla at the helm with a flubbed birdie putt on the last hole for a 65 at the Luisita Golf and Country Club, which took a beating from the men of the tour with 27 players breaking par in the absence of the wind.

That included Bayron, who bucked a late start with seven birdies in the first 15 holes to threaten Mondilla. But the PGT Asia winner at Southwoods lost his momentum and bogeyed the par-5 16th before recovering the stroke with a closing birdie to

Perlas Spikers put at stake record vs Cool Smashers

scoring a shutout win over the Ateneo Lady Eagles and posting 3-1 romps over the IrigaNavy Lady Oragons, the PetroGazz Angels, the Adamson-Akari Lady Falcons and the Tacloban Fighting Warays.

But they expect to face one hell of a challenge against the Cool Smashers, who bounced back strong from a five-set defeat to the Angels with smashing victories over the Fighting Warays, Lady Oragons and the Lady Falcons before hacking out a five-set thriller over another title contender PocariAir Force Lady Warriors last Sunday.

That should guarantee a slam-bang

face-off with Creamline’s ace hitter Alyssa Valdez and top playmaker Jia Morado slugging it out with their former Ateneo teammates in Dzi Gervacio and Amy Ahomiro.

Ateneo-Motolite and Tacloban square off in the 4 p.m. opener with the Lady Eagles also gunning for their fifth win in six games against the unpredictable Fighting Warays, who tote a 2-3 mark in the double-round elims of the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa and Asics.

FOREST COVER WINS BY A HEAD

Falcons seek redemption

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OSSES continue to pile for Adamson University, but the Soaring Falcons are eager to hold on to their promising start in Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippine men’s basketball tournament.

The Soaring Falcons try to redeem lost ground when they battle the National University (NU) Bulldogs on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

After five straight wins that catapulted them instantly to the top of the standings, bad luck struck the Soaring Falcons and took two consecutive heartbreaks—the most recent a 78-79 overtime loss to the De La Salle Green Archers last Saturday.

The setbacks served as lessons for the team and Head Coach Franz Pumaren knows they have to get back on track as they gun for the share of the lead with the Ateneo Blue Eagles (6-2 won-lost) in the 4 p.m. game.

“We have to pick up the pieces,” Pumaren said.

The Soaring Falcons beat the Bulldogs (2-5), 63-58, in the first round, but NU is coming off a huge 88-61 trouncing of University of the East also last Saturday.

Mentor Jamike Jarin expects the Soaring Falcons will come prepared.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

FOREST COVER (5) edges Mona’s Mark (8) by a head in winning the second leg of the Philippine Racing Commission Juvenile Fillies and Colts Stakes Race at the Saddle and Leisure Park in Naic on Sunday. Third place went to Electrify (1).

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OREST COVER paced itself until the last 300 meters before edging Mona’s Mark and Electrify to rule the second leg of the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) Juvenile Fillies and Colts Stakes Race at the Saddle and Leisure Park in Naic, Cavite, on Sunday.

It was a close battle down to the line for the three-horse party of Forest Cover, Mona’s Mark and Electrify, but it was the Aristeo Puyat-owned filly who won by a head in the 1,300-meter race.

Winning jockey O’Neal Cortez shared how they managed to squeeze past the opposition and collect his first victory with Forest Cover.

“We first tested where she gets comfortably fast before we hiked the pace,” said Cortez, who steered the filly to a fitting follow up to her victory in the previous leg of the Philracom Triple Crown Series in July.

Forest Cover won P600,000 for owner

Puyat, with CM Vicente earning the Breeder’s Purse of P30,000. Vicente also received the winner’s trophy for Puyat.

Mona’s Mark settled for the runner-up purse of P225,000, while Electrify took home P125,000 and Barayong pocketed P50,000.

Earlier in the day, Caloocan Girl and rider Ryan Garcia topped the KDJM Juvenile Fillies Stakes Race. Caloocan Girl secured P300,000 from the win, which was Garcia’s biggest yet in his young career as a jockey.

The other winners in the 12-race Philippine Racing Club Inc. Sunday schedule were Cojuangco Cup champion Hitting Spree (Race 1), Summer Cruise (Race 2), Ace Up (Race 4), Kingship (Race 5), Shadow Of The Sun (Race 7), Pride Of Laguna (Race 8), Lakambini Stakes winner Disyembreasais (Race 9), Silver Glow (Race 10), Shoo In (Race 11) and Minotaur (Race 12).

BLAZERS’ FINAL 4 HOPES SUDDENLY GAIN GROUND

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OLLEGE of Saint Benilde dumped Jose Rizal University (JRU), 84-68, in the Blazers’ penultimate eliminations game on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

But the victory—their ninth in 17 games—meant much more for the Blazers, who, at the moment, are already out of the Final Four picture of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 94 seniors basketball tournament.

Yes, only momentarily.

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COLLEGE of Saint Benilde’s Yankie Haruna tries to improvise against Jose Rizal University’s JR Aguilar. NONIE REYES

The Blazers filed a protest that involves two University of Perpetual Help players— Kim Aurin and Edgar Charcos—who were accused of playing in a commercial league, Metro Basketball Tournament, while serving their residency at the Altas camp last year.

“We’ve written our letter regarding the eligibility of the players. Its up on the board to decide on things,” Saint Benilde Head Coach Ty Tang said.

If the two Altas are found guilty of breaking league rules, Perpetual Help (116) will forfeit all won games in which Aurin and Charcos played in, thus booting the school out of the semifinals.

Such scenario would benefit the Blazers, who are currently running fifth

and just outside of the semifinals that already have defending champion San Beda University, Lyceum of the Philippines University and Letran as contenders.

The Blazers caught fire in the second half and defused the Heavy Bombers for the easy victory that snapped their three-game losing streak, all crucial setbacks that forced them out of Final Four contention.

Saint Benilde could end the season on an even better note if it spoils semifinalist Letran Knights next week.

“Whatever happens, we want to end the season strong,”Tang said. “We are happy that at least, for now, we have more wins than losses.”

Tang’s objective is to keep the team sharp and ready for the years ahead.

tie Stojanoski at second with a 33-32.

“I played a solid round, had no problem, and it’s really fantastic,” said Stojanovski, still in search for a breakthrough win in three years on the local circuit.

Bayron later rued missing the chance to match Mondilla’s card or better it with that late bogey.

“I hit a bad drive, then hit a tree on my second shot. I would’ve been the leader,” said Bayron birdied the last from 13 feet to tie Stojanovski. “It was practically windless, so the scoring was good.”

A slew of others lurked behind with equally low scores at the quaint, hazard-laden layout, ready to pounce on the pacesetters, including Aussie Tim Stewart, who blew a stirring six-under backside start with a wobbly 38 finish for a 68 for joint fourth with Japanese Issei Mori, who put in a bogey 34-34 round, and Filipino Arnold Villacencio, who carded an eagle-spiked 36-32 effort.

Paez, reduced to a virtual spectator in the Mondilla-Stojanovski shootout, finished with a 69 for a share of seventh with Japanese Taisei Mochita and locals Nilo Salahog, Reymon Jaraula and Elmer Salvador, while multi-titled Tony Lascuña, who like Mondilla is hard-pressed to avert a winless season, hit three birdies in the first 10 holes but slowed down and struggled in the last with two bogeys against a birdie and finished with a 70.

That dropped him to joint 12th that includes Jhonnel Ababa, winner of the last PGT leg in Cebu, Johvanie Abaño and veterans Rey Pagunsan, Richard Sinfuego and Gerald Rosales, while Ferdie Aunzo, PHL Masters champion Jerson Balasabas, Michael Bibat, Zanieboy Gialon, Charles Hong, James Ryan Lam, Francis Morilla, Rene Menor, Lucio Osabel and amateur Rupert Zaragosa all carded 71s.

A tough customer for Manny Pacquiao AL MENDOZA | alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL TERENCE CRAWFORD looks invincible, and Manny Pacquiao must be wary of him.

That’s how Crawford appeared on October 14, when he fought fellow American Jose Benavides Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska.

While both were unbeaten when they climbed the ring, Crawford (34-0, with 24 knockouts) had more cunning and skills than Benavides (27-0, 18 KOs).

Result? Crawford, 31, knocked Benavides, 26, out in the 12th round.

Did it help that Crawford fought before his adoring fans—Omaha being his birthplace to make him a town mate of Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest men?

While the win solidified Crawford’s grip of the WBO (World Boxing Organization) welterweight crown he captured by knocking Jeff Horn out in the 9th round on June 9, it also unmasked Benavides’s supposedly glowing record as suspect.

Were Benavides’s 27 previous victims worthy opponents?

“Hindi kaya katumbas lang sila ng magtataho rito sa atin?

[Were Benavides’s foes merely the equivalent of taho vendors in our country?],” said Jake P. Ayson, my good neighbor.

Early in the fight, I could see the knockout coming.

While Crawford busied himself throwing punches at every opportunity, Benavides did nothing but crouch.

Benavides also did a lot of raising his arms as if to attack, only to balk.

Oh, yes, Benavides loved to shake his head when he got hit, as if telling Crawford his shots were but powder-soft punches.

Not true, of course.

While Benavides might have blocked some hits, most of Crawford’s body blows had found their mark.

Clearly, they were jarring shots. Absolutely, too, they weakened the body.

And, as the sweet science credo tells us, when the trunk

is constantly chopped, the arms would fall leading to a collapse in defense.

For absorbing body blows unrelentingly for 11 rounds, Benavides, obviously waiting to land his haymaker that never came, got himself virtually reduced to a pulp.

Thus, going to the fateful 12th, Crawford saw clearly that Benavides was ready for the slaughterhouse.

In a rare infight that a desperate Benavides had hoped he could connect his knockout shot, Crawford crushed his foe’s jaw with a well-time right to end it at the 2:42 mark of the final round.

I just couldn’t understand Benavides.

Was “Waiting for Godot,” the classic theater of the absurd, a favorite of his?

In practically the entire first 11 rounds, Benavides did nothing but cock his fists and aim—only to abort pulling the trigger at the last minute.

Were his 18 knockout victims patsies, or did he simply have too much respect for, or fear of, Crawford?

It might also have something to do with Crawford switching to southpaw starting in the second round—when he is officially listed as an orthodox fighter from Day One? Did that confuse Benavides no end?

Ah, befuddling or not, Benavides was simply not in the fight this time. And to think that he is monikered “Merciless.”

THAT’S IT A true-to-life drama worthy of a Hollywood script unfolded in Davao City last week when my buddy, multiple Toyota dealership owner Boyet Lim, survived a scuba accident that many deep-sea divers said was a work of God. More of it in my future columns. Meanwhile, all I can say at the moment is, God answers prayers—truly. I was one of the many prayer warriors when Boyet, a jolly good fellow and a bosom friend of both President Duterte and SAP Bong Go, went missing in the deep. Hail God!

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Liturgy

EAR God, is everything immutable in the liturgy?

In it, particularly in the sacraments, there are unchangeable elements because they are of divine institution. The Church is the faithful guardian of them. There are also, however, elements subject to change that the Church has the power over, and on occasion, also the duty to adapt to the cultures of diverse people. May the Holy Spirit guide us in the liturgy. 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

How to check what Facebook hackers accessed in your account

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By Mae aNderSoN The Associated Press

EW YORK—Could hackers have been able to see the last person you cyberstalked, or that party photo you were tagged in?

According to Facebook, the unfortunate answer is “yes.”

On Friday the social network said fewer users were affected in a security breach it disclosed two weeks ago than originally estimated—nearly 30 million, down from 50 million. In additional good news, the company said hackers weren’t able to access more sensitive information like your password or financial information. And third-party apps weren’t affected.

Still, for users already uneasy about the privacy and security of their Facebook accounts after a year of tumult, the details that hackers did gain access to—gender, relationship status, hometown and other info—might be even more unsettling.

Facebook has been quick to let users check exactly what was accessed. But beyond learning what information the attackers accessed, there’s relatively little that users can do—beyond, that is, watching out for suspicious e-mails or texts. Facebook says the problem has been fixed.

The company set up a web site that its 2 billion global users can use to check if their accounts have been accessed, and if so, exactly what information was

GLOBE TO OFFER THE iPHONE XS AND XS MAX

CHRISTMAS is just around the corner—and it’s that time of the year when Apple fanboys and gearheads eagerly anticipate the arrival of latest hot stuff announced at the tech behemoth’s annual September event.

Well, the wait is almost over as Globe Telecom will offer Apple’s latest products starting on October 26, including the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, the most advanced iPhones ever.

Customers will be able to preorder iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max beginning October 19 at www.globe.com.ph/iphonexs. Talk about Santa coming in earlier for some lucky souls.

AND BABY MAKES THREE: PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN’S CHILD ON WAY D3

stolen. It will also provide guidance on how to spot and deal with suspicious e-mails or texts. Facebook will also send messages directly to those people affected by the hack.

On that page, following some preliminary information about the investigation, the question “Is my Facebook account impacted by this security issue?” appears midway down. It will also provide information specific to your account if you’re logged into Facebook.

Facebook said the hackers accessed names, e-mail addresses or phone numbers from these accounts.

For 14 million of them, hackers got even more data— basically anything viewable on your account that any of your friends could see, and more. It’s a pretty extensive list: user name, gender, locale or language, relationship status, religion, hometown, self-reported current city, birthdate, device types used to access Facebook, education, work, the last 10 places you checked into or were tagged in, your web site, people or Pages you follow and your 15 most recent searches.

An additional 1 million accounts were affected, but hackers didn’t get any information from them.

The company isn’t giving a breakdown of where these users are, but says the breach was “fairly broad.” It plans to send messages to people whose accounts were hacked. Facebook said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating, but asked the company not to discuss who may be behind the

attack. The company said it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of smaller-scale attacks that used the same vulnerability.

The company said it has fixed the bugs and logged out affected users to reset those digital keys.

Facebook Vice President Guy Rosen said in a Friday call with reporters that the company hasn’t ruled out the possibility that other parties might have launched other, smaller-scale efforts to exploit the same vulnerability before it was disabled.

Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, said the breach appeared similar to identity theft breaches that have occurred at companies including Yahoo and Target in 2013. “Those personal details could be very easily be used for identity theft to sign up for credit cards, get a loan, get your banking password, etc.,” he said. “Facebook should provide all those customers free credit monitoring to make sure the damage is minimized.”

Thomas Rid, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University, also said the evidence, particularly the size of the breach, seems to point to a criminal motive rather than a sophisticated state operation, which usually targets fewer people.

“This doesn’t sound very targeted at all,” he said.

“Usually when you’re looking at a sophisticated government operation, then a couple of thousand people hacked is a lot, but they usually know who they’re going after.” n

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

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New Sony Bravia OLED TV brings sleek sophistication to homes THE living space is the entertainment zone for families. Television remains to be the focal point of home entertainment, making it the centerpiece in every living room. This area represents a space for family bonding and get-togethers, to be in the know, and be entertained when you want to binge on a good TV series at the end of a long day, or perhaps just a weekend getaway right at your couch.

Find the right balance between advanced technology and luxurious design sophistication with the new Sony Bravia OLED A9F. Pictures and sound come together in perfect harmony as the OLED screen and Master Series Technology bring in realistic entertainment on this 4K OLED HDR TV. The new entertainment offering’s aesthetics come from Sony’s passion to designing a multifunctional TV in style. The sleek and classic design will complement any living room’s entertainment space, turning the TV into a modern stylish furnishing. Whether it is switched on or switched off, the A9F is crafted with a glass-like feature that exudes a commanding presence. Experience true colors when turned on, with the images in vivid real-world colors courtesy of the Triluminos Display that maps colors from a wider palette, faithfully reproducing every shade and hue in the picture.

The Bravia OLED A9F meets the strict criteria of top Sony engineers to hone beautiful images into reality that’s at par with its physical design that would surely make any home more stylish and modern. It exudes minimalism styled with softness: the screen being a single slate with only a stand in the back to hold it up. The picture quality features OLED as the display device with the Pixel Contrast Booster—eight million self-illuminating pixels and the Sony-original panel controller for OLED bringing a significantly enriched visual experience with unprecedented blacks, authentic colors and a wide viewing angle.

More information can be found at www.sony.com.ph.

Google appeals $5-billion EU fine in Android antitrust case BRUSSELS—Google is appealing a record $5-billion antitrust fine by European Union (EU) authorities, who say the tech giant abused the dominance of its Android operating system to stifle competitors.

A company spokesman, Al Verney, confirmed on Wednesday that the company has filed its legal challenge with the General Court of the EU, the bloc’s second highest court.

The EU’s executive Commission issued the fine in July after it found Google forced smartphone makers

using Android to install the company’s search and browser apps. The company also paid big phone makers to exclusively preinstall the Google Search app. The bloc’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said at the time of the ruling that “companies must compete on their merits.”

Under the ruling, Google must take measures to fix the problem by the end of October or risk further fines.

“The Commission will defend its decision in Court,” the EU body said in an e-mailed statement.

Google, which had said it would appeal, has argued that its free, open-source operating system has led to lower-price phones and stoked competition with its chief rival, Apple. The company filed its appeal on Tuesday just as it was unveiling its latest generation of Pixel smartphones, which undercut iPhones on price.

Android is the most widely used mobile operating system, beating even Apple’s iOS. The fine, which follows a three-year investigation, is the biggest ever imposed by the EU on a company for anticompetitive behavior. AP

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Wednesday, October 17, 2018

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Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Felicity Jones, 35; Eminem, 46; Rob Marshall, 58; Alan Jackson, 60.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Look for opportunities that will allow you to venture down new avenues. Get ready to purge and to let go of relationships, items and pastimes that are no longer to your benefit. Positive change will make a difference to the direction your life takes.

Surround yourself with what makes you happy. Your life will slowly but surely lead to better days ahead. Your lucky numbers are 8, 14, 20, 23, 32, 36, 41.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Focus on what you can do to improve your relationship with your peers. Don’t take what others say or do personally. Understanding the situations others face will help you get past any negativity or animosity you feel.

HHHH ALIPIN ng Gutom (6/12), Leonilo Doloricon, 2015, woodcut

BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

UNLIKELY COUPLE

SO one girl is modeling/pageant royalty and has the body to show for it while the other is cute, short and cuddly. They met and fell in love. Modeling/pageant royalty is openly gay while the cute girl is bi. They seem an unlikely couple but it works and we’re happy for them.

LOVE TRIANGLE

SO the love triangle involving the two lovely actresses and their mutual ex continues? The second ex is not happy that her rival and her former boyfriend seem to be in good terms again. This is after the guy seems to continue ignoring the fact that he and his family owe second ex some money.

SINGLE AGAIN

THE actress only wished to have a family and she got it.

Unfortunately, her story doesn’t have a happy ending. She and her husband have always had problems but now they’ve finally gone their separate ways. The actress reportedly couldn’t take the guy’s immaturity and irresponsibility.

CREEPY BOYFIE

WHO is the actor who slides into DMs and inboxes of women who are very surprised when he does this because he has a girlfriend? The girlfriend is also a celebrity and we heard from the grapevine that she knows what her creepy boyfriend has been doing. The question is, why hasn’t she done anything about it? We don’t know but we hope she would.

DEADBEAT

THE actor is earning quite well. He always has projects in his network and even out of it. Thus, it’s a surprise that he doesn’t support his kid and hasn’t even tried to see his child for a while. There was a time when the actor wasn’t like this.

He saw the child regularly and provided financial support. We wonder what happened and why things changed.

SHE’S A DIVA

EVEN at her prime, the actress already had an attitude problem. It’s nice, insert sarcasm, to hear that she hasn’t changed. According to reports, the network that put her under contract for several projects is wondering how they can let go of the actress after she’s caused delays in the taping for a project. Even the network’s biggest stars don’t do this. When her tardiness is pointed out, the actress simply shrugs her shoulders, as if to say, “I couldn’t care less.”

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take whatever you are trying to pursue one step further. This will help test the possibility that exists and give you a better idea of what you may need to do in order to reach your target. A little charm will go a long way. HHH

National Museum mounts exhibit of Doloricon prints c

T

HE National Museum presents in Vigan, starting Thursday (October 18), an exhibit of works by noted social realist Neil Doloricon, billed as Inukit Na Pahayag: Tatlumpu’t Limang Obra ni Leonilo ‘Neil’ Doloricon. The featured works in this exhibition are from the 50 prints which the artist generously donated to the National Museum, and were presented to the public in September 2017 in an exhibition entitled Handog Sa Bayan: Isang Solong Pagtatanghal ni Leonilo Doloricon held at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Inukit Na Pahayag brings into focus the signature elements which make Doloricon’s work distinct from other Social Realists and other Filipino artists.

First is his preference for printmaking techniques which involve pag-uukit or carving. The techniques of woodcut, linocut and rubbercut all involve the laborious process of first carving out, usually with the aid of woodcarving tools, a negative which is made from wood, rubber or linoleum.

His mastery of these techniques are demonstrated in all his works but some of the most outstanding, include Sa Mga Kukong Agila, Bonifacio,Tutubing Bakal and Mason which boast multidirectional incisions creating the effect of dynamism and energy.

His creative imagination is tested as his chosen printmaking technique of the relief processes wherein the cut portions end up carrying the color of the paper, while it is the uncut portions that carry the ink and thus printed the final image.

Second, is Doloricon’s commitment in using his artworks as pahayag or a means of communicating

socially relevant messages in relation to issues on agrarian problems, labor and other sociopolitical issues. Doloricon was part of the Kaisahan group of artists who were espousing nationalism in art and other social issues especially during the 1970s and 1980s and became known as the Social Realists.

He is among a few from the group however, who continue producing these kinds of imagery up to the present. But Doloricon has the distinction of producing the most powerful images in black and white, whether it is through his editorial cartoons, being an editorial cartoonist for several print media since the late-1980s, and also starting his prints at around roughly the same year.

Though a master of black and white, this exhibition also features some of his rarely seen early works which feature multilayered prints, including Sakada, Halina, The Builders and Pwersang Anak-Pawis.

According to Doloricon, he started out using plates of several colors until he recognized the impact and power of his black and white prints. Doloricon still adds color to his work every now and then, but instead of using multilayered prints, he colors them by hand as in Tutubing Bakal which has both black and white and colored versions.

The National Museum hopes that this exhibition in the city of Vigan would be the beginning of a traveling exhibition of Doloricon’s works, and an opportunity to educate the public about printmaking, Social Realism and in line with the Museum’s goal in filling in the gaps in Philippine Art History. n

‘ASAP LIVE IN SYDNEY’ PROMISES TO BE BIGGEST FILIPINO MUSICAL SPECTACLE IN AUSTRALIA FRESH from the giant success that was ASAP Live in Honolulu in June, ABS-CBN’s longest-running variety show, and global touring musical juggernaut goes to the Land Down Under for the live-performance spectacle, called ASAP Live in Sydney. ABS-CBN and TFC Live bring the biggest Filipino show ever to over 304,000 Filipino and Filipino-Australians, and also to the region’s larger multicultural audience, on October 20 at the world-renowned ICC Sydney Theatre.

Just last weekend, ABS-CBN Australia announced that on top of the already confirmed star-studded cast, ASAP Live in Sydney has leveled up even more with the addition of the wildly popular Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano, and the historic first-ever ASAP Live special guest stint of Regine Velasquez-Alcasid. She will join husband and ASAP mainstay Ogie Alcasid and the ASAP team for a guaranteed one-ofa-kind-show in Sydney. The cast now includes Angeline Quinto, Bamboo, Daniel Padilla, Erik Santos, Enrique Gil, Gary Valenciano, Gerald Anderson, Inigo Pascual, Jed Madela,

Joshua Garcia, Julia Barretto, Kim Chiu, Luis Manzano, Maja Salvador, Piolo Pascual, Robi Domingo, Toni Gonzaga, Yeng Constantino and ZsaZsa Padilla. Joining as special guests are Yassi Pressman, Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, Paulo Avelino, Cristine Reyes, Ariel Rivera, Randy Santiago and 2014 The X-Factor Australia winner Marlisa Punzalan.

“The entire community here is excited and at the same time ready to represent at ASAP Live in Sydney,” said ABSCBN Australia Country Manager Jay Santos. “It is going to be an amazing time and experience for us in Australia, particularly in the state of New South Wales where most of the Filipinos in the country live. With ASAP Live in Sydney, Filipinos are celebrating their presence and injecting their unique, delightful cultural flavors that add to Sydney becoming a must-visit destination city at this time of the year.”

For the event day schedule, to check updates and buy tickets to ASAP Live in Sydney, download the TFC Live App from the App Store or Google Play and register.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Put more enthusiasm and energy into whatever you do, and you’ll get better results. An opportunity to form a partnership should be considered carefully.

Promises made may not be honored. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Share your ideas and discuss plans with someone you find just as creative as yourself. Put more into important relationships, and don’t be shy about expressing the way you feel and what you want to see unfold. Romance is in the stars. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A change can be expected if you neglect your duties at home or at work. Try to maintain consistency, honesty and patience in order to avoid being labeled or misinterpreted. Live up to your promises and host a positive attitude. HHHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A day trip, a change in environment or spending time with someone you don’t see often will have an impact on the way you think and how you proceed.

Knowledge is power, and what you discover will help you advance. HH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Put pressure on yourself to finish what you start. Take responsibility for your actions. Timesensitive issues should not be left undone or up to someone who will use the help offered as leverage to manipulate you. Call the shots. HHHHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Think matters through before you make your move. Discipline and determination will pay off. Don’t let anger slip into the forefront, messing matters up for you. Patience and hard work will be far more effective. End your day on a romantic note. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Set your sights on what you want to accomplish. Call in favors, but keep an eye on what’s being done.

Taking control and doing your part will bring the results you are looking for. Trust is earned, not bought. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Keep the peace and be open about the changes you want to make and why. As long as you explain your motives, you will gain approval. Keeping secrets will get you into trouble when the truth is made public.

HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Put more time and effort into home, family and personal finances. How you handle your money and what you do to ensure the safety and security of those you love will make a difference to the way others view you. HHHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): An emotional mistake is apparent. Situations will escalate into something difficult to control if your motives are questionable. Don’t get involved in something that can jeopardize your reputation. HH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are opportunistic, sensitive and creative.

You are progressive and worldly.

‘spring on winter fall’ BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Lover of Beauty 6 Hurt a fly 10 Medicine amount 14 “Sri” follower 15 Severe prison sentence 16 Dinner scraps 17 Eight-piece 18 Iwo Jima, for one 19 Sob 20 Like the brightest color?

23 Vineyard designation 24 Tale of Zeus, e.g.

25 Latticework strip 28 Like some beer 31 Serious feuds 35 Defunct NBA rival 36 Words with “date” 37 Sickly, complexion-wise 38 Rare August falling 41 Gets a glimpse of 42 Delhi butter 43 Golfball prop 44 Peruses a book

5 Perpetually broke 4 46 “___ it ironic?”

47 Fabled Bunyan 49 Contractor’s vehicle 51 When a small thing builds disastrously 58 Decorative case 59 Architectural S-curve 60 Ball gown fabric 61 One Redgrave 62 Mom’s sister 63 City near Cologne 64 Suffix with “gab” 65 Hardy heroine 66 Hidden maritime hazards DOWN 1 Use a whistle 2 “A pop” 3 Negative one 4 Artist’s rendering 5 Homer in Idaho?

6 Narrow cut 7 Star request?

8 Ignited and how

9 “Weeny” go-with 10 Kind of skier 11 Nabisco mainstay 12 Ladled entree 13 Parapsychology study 21 Throne occupiers 22 Attack via fighter plane 25 Cutting beam 26 Reason for rehab 27 Florida city 29 Word with “a date” 30 “It takes two” dance 32 London apartments 33 Turnstile insert 34 Like caramel apples 36 Playground equipment for two 37 One way to avoid a crash 39 Halfway’s place 40 “Just as I thought!”

45 Infestation 46 Fill, as with energy 48 Destroyer sinker 50 “...happily ever ___” 51 Eyelid sore

2 Some sisters 5 53 It can help you focus 54 Tennis umpire’s calls 55 “Anything ___?”

56 Thing on a music line 57 Sawbucks units 58 Rivendell resident

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

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Show BusinessMirror

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

D3

And baby makes three: Prince Harry and Meghan’s child on way

By Gregory Katz & Rod McGuirk The Associated Press

C

ANBERRA, Australia—They both wanted children. They knew it was time. Meghan had ended her acting career and moved to Britain to be a full-time royal. Prince Harry had stepped down from the military and wanted to settle down.

Their marriage was a five-star glamour blowout: the spectacular Windsor Castle setting, the horse-drawn carriage on a warm spring day, the vintage Jaguar with the top down, the Hollywood A-listers mixing with reallife royalty.

And now comes the very welcome word that Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are expecting their first child in the spring. It is the perfect coda to a May wedding that sent a very clear signal that a new generation of royals is coming to the fore even as Queen Elizabeth II continues her historic reign.

The highly anticipated pregnancy was announced on Monday just hours after Harry and the former Meghan Markle arrived in Sydney, Australia, at the start of a demanding 16-day visit that also includes Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.

Word spread instantly: International visitors gathered outside Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard ceremony felt they were partaking of royal history. “It’s wonderful,” said 29-year-old Canadian tourist Braden Fraser. “I was happy about the first couple of marriages and the children coming. I’m glad to see the monarchy is carrying on. Back home we love them, so I’m glad to be here as it’s happening.”

It’s hard to overestimate how popular Harry and Meghan have become.

The 34-year-old prince holds a special place in Britons’ hearts as one of the two children of the late Princess Diana. He had a bad boy phase—don’t even ask about the naked billiards game in a Las Vegas hotel suite—but redeemed himself with years of military

service and a devotion to helping injured veterans.

Harry gained even more respect last year by talking candidly about his struggle with mental-health issues related to losing his mother to a car crash when he was only 12. No royal had ever publicly acknowledged this kind of frailty, and his willingness to do so in a bid to end the stigma surrounding mental illness only raised his stature with the public.

Enter Meghan Markle, who represented a clean break from the royal mold. She was not British. She was an American TV actress. She was divorced, older than Harry and her mother is African-American.

She captivated Britain. There was an ease to her confident smile, and contagious excitement about moving across the Atlantic and joining the royal family.

Meghan, 37, is seen as a modernizing influence on the at times stodgy royal family, and she is credited by many with bringing happiness to Harry.

There are parallels between her life and that of Princess Grace, another American who left a successful Hollywood career to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco and start a royal family. When Harry and Meghan got engaged, he was asked about plans for children.

“You know, I think one step at a time, and hopefully we’ll start a family in the near future,” he said.

Meghan has also talked about wanting to have children. “I can’t wait to start a family, but in due time,” she said in 2016, when she was still starring in the TV legal drama Suits.

The royal couple started dating in July 2016 after they were introduced by friends, and Harry courted Meghan on a trip to Africa shortly afterward. They kept their relationship secret for several months, but word eventually leaked to the British press.

Harry confirmed their relationship in November of that year, and at the same time warned the British press against what he characterized as “racial overtones” in its coverage of Meghan. He said the press had been so abusive that he worried about her and her family’s safety.

It was another step in Harry’s coming-of-age. He made it clear that he loved Meghan and would protect her. Word of the pregnancy came at the very start of their first extended royal tour as a couple. It seems they withheld the announcement so as not to upstage the wedding of Princess Eugenie—Harry’s cousin—at Windsor Castle on Friday.

After their arrival on Monday in Sydney, Harry and Meghan held hands and walked out an airport rear entrance and into a car. Meghan, wearing skinny black pants and a black, burgundy trimmed coat, was smiling and clutching folders, while Harry gave a thumbs-up to bystanders.

The announcement of the pregnancy cleared up the mystery of why Meghan is not joining Harry when he climbs the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Friday to raise the flag for the Invictus Games, which he founded in 2014 to give injured military personnel and veterans the opportunity to compete in sports such as wheelchair basketball. The games open on Saturday. The royal baby would be seventh in line for the British throne—but he or she won’t automatically be a prince or princess.

The children and grandchildren of the queen are princes and princesses—that’s why Harry has that title—but this doesn’t apply to greatgrandchildren. Same goes for his or her royal highness designation, though the queen could choose to intervene on their behalf.

Instead, the child will likely become an earl if it’s a boy or a lady if it’s a girl.

The baby is very unlikely to become king or queen, as it will be behind all of William and Kate’s children, including five-month-old Prince Louis. And he or she is likely to get pushed still further down the line of succession as more royals are born.

The child will, however, have the option of becoming an American citizen. That will be up to Harry and Meghan to decide whether to apply for a US passport for the baby, who will automatically have British citizenship. n

BRITAIN’S Prince Harry, (right) and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, visit the Pavilion Building in Brighton, England. AP

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

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Image BusinessMirror

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Girl, step into your comfort zone and love your body

Time to wake up from the billion-peso dream JUST THAT JT NISAY

jtnisay@gmail.com

I

T’S over. Thank God it’s finally over.

To be clear—and safe, as I don’t want to bother criminal syndicates who may come after me and everyone I love—I am thanking the Almighty, not because I’m one of the two people whose bank account suddenly looks like a contact number.

(But really, can you imagine being stupid enough to broadcast to the world you were the winner of a record lottery jackpot? I guess it’s like being gullible enough to believe that the pot has grown to a record high because of sheer, cute timing and not because it was deployed as a smokescreen to uplift the public’s morale amid rising inflation—oh, look, a penny!)

Anyway, I thank God because the madness has ended, and I pertain to all of it: the long queues of dreamers in lotto outlets, the damning idea of hope, the heightened sense of hunch and many more, uhm, interesting things that were born out of the promise of instant, even-your-grandkids-are-secure fortune. I know because I’ve been there.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote on this space a piece about lottery, specifically about some person’s guide on winning one, and the one-in-40-million chance of coming up with the right six digit combination from the field of one to 58. The pot at that time was P695 million. I bought tickets to the draw, a first for me, but perhaps beginner’s luck doesn’t apply on that scale.

What I won, however, was the rush of getting three digits right, and they didn’t even share the same row in my ticket. Still, I felt lucky: I was five digits away from winning way more than enough money to finally accept condominium brochures at the mall with the actual intent of purchasing a unit, and not just getting the paper to have something I can cover my chewed-up bubblegum with.

My confidence grew, and so did my plans on using the money should I win. Retirement, properties,

businesses. I thought I should try my luck again, and so I did, this time winning three digits within the same combination. I’m getting closer. One more draw, I thought.

And that’s when I decided to stop.

The awakening from the sweet dream came like a solid slap: Quick and painful, but effective. I realized too much focus was going to the “what next” of winning, and none at all to the what next of losing, which is everything going to the way it was before.

The fine line between hoping and expecting became blurry, as crazy as that sounds.

But I guess that’s what the intoxication of being an overnight billionaire does. There were reports that a person spent P10,000 in lottery tickets, and one who even loaned just to purchase entry to the draws. I’m sure there are more outrageous stories out there.

Then again, only two people get to continue to live the dream. For the rest of us, it’s time to wake up.

Besides, it’s only a matter of time before another major issue bursts out in the open and prompts the government to set another billion-peso jackpot— hey, another penny! It’s my lucky day! Maybe I should try the lottery... n

AS part of their 40th anniversary celebration in the Philippines, Avon continues to promote the empowerment of women, and this includes finding one’s unique strength and beauty.

On September 29 they encouraged more women to take charge of their lives and their bodies in a panel discussion, called “Comfort Zone: Why Body Love Comes From Accepting and Being Comfortable with Your Body,” at the She Talks Asia Body Love Revolution Conference. Avon encourages and challenges every woman to redefine her comfort zone as her own space, where she finds strength and confidence to pursue her unique passion—even if this means going against the grain. The panel (in photo, from left) moderated by Monique Buensalido featured the experiences and insights from model, celebrity, CEO and President of Manila International Integrated Learning Center Wilma Doesnt, body-positive swimwear line SKINNI Swim Founder and Chief Creative Artist officer of New Monarq Meryll Yan, breast cancer survivor and Avon Representative Franz Tolentino, and Avon Philippines Executive Director for Commercial Marketing Agnieszka Isa.

CELEBRITIES SHARE INSPIRING STORIES AT PINK RIBBON DAY

IN observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, breastcancer survivors, advocates and experts gathered together for Pink Ribbon Day at the Skydome of SM City North Edsa.

Guests and breast-cancer survivors Toni Abad, Maritoni Fernandez and Alya Honasan shared their personal stories of beating breast cancer.

Now on its second year, Pink Ribbon Day aims to educate Filipino women on breast-cancer prevention through awareness, early detection and intervention. The event featured a short Zumba session led by host Regine Tolentino, a talk by the Philippine Breast Cancer Society and free clinical breast examinations administered by volunteer doctors. Pink Ribbon Day was organized by SM Cares (www.smcares. com.ph), the corporate social responsibility arm of SM Prime Holdings, in partnership with the Philippine Breast Cancer Society and SM City North Edsa.

In photo, from left: Philippine Breast Cancer Society President Dr. Victor Gozali; Toni Abad, Maritoni Fernandez and Alya Honasan; host Regine Tolentino; and SM Cares Program on Women and Breastfeeding Program Director Berna Velasco.

How women who retire with their husbands often lose out

By Liz WeStoN | NerdWallet WOMEN who retire when their husbands do may be giving up more wealth than they realize.

Married women overall are still in their peak earning years in their 50s and early 60s, while married men’s earnings are on the decline, says economist Nicole Maestas, an associate professor of health-care policy at Harvard Medical School and the author of a recent study about couples’ income and retirement patterns.

As a result, married women typically sacrifice more Social Security wealth than married men when they retire early, says Maestas, who analyzed the University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Survey of more than 20,000 people 50 and older.

Social Security benefits are based on a person’s 35 highest-earning years, so each additional year an older married woman works could replace an earlier year when her income was lower or she took time out of the work force—for instance, to raise children.

Because older married men are typically past their peak earning years, the same is not true for them, Maestas found.

But women do typically retire at the same time as their husbands, Maestas says. Since women in heterosexual couples typically marry men two or three years older, that means married women leave the work force at younger ages.

WOMEN FACE EXTRA RISKS EARLIER retirements also mean less time to save for retirements that can stretch decades. That should give women pause, says Jean Setzfand, senior vice

president of programs for AARP. “We live longer. We spend more years in retirement. There are more years we have to consider financing,” Setzfand says.

Women’s longer life expectancies mean they’re likely to outlive their husbands, and they’re at greater risk of outliving their savings. Women are 80 percent more likely than men to live in poverty after age 65, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security. Social Security checks, if they’re big enough, can be a powerful antidote to late-in-life poverty.

Social Security benefits can’t be outlived, reduced by stock market downturns or stolen by fraudsters, Maestas notes.

DELAY SOCIAL SECURITY, IF NOT RETIREMENT PEOPLE don’t have to claim Social Security when they retire, although many do. Thirty-nine percent of women and 35 percent of men in 2017 filed at the earliest age, which is 62, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. That locks them into checks that are significantly smaller than if they’d waited a few years.

Benefits rise by about 7 percent each year between age 62 and full retirement age, which is currently 66.

After that, checks increase by 8 percent each year until benefits max out at age 70. A $1,000 monthly benefit at 62 could be over $1,300 at 66 or over $1,700 at 70, even if someone stops working.

No other investment can offer that kind of guaranteed return, which is why planners often encourage their clients to tap other retirement funds if that allows them to delay claiming Social Security.

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT MONEY FINANCIAL considerations are just one part of the decision, financial planners say. Couples also have to consider the emotional and psychological issues of retiring together or apart.

“The beginning of retirement is an exciting time, and many couples enjoy starting that journey together,” says Stephanie Mushna, a certified financial planner in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

People approaching retirement age are often keenly aware that their time on Earth, and their good health, won’t last forever.

That can make it harder to stick it out, especially if it’s at a job they don’t like. But working even a year or two longer can have a dramatic impact on the viability of a couple’s financial plan and the amount they can spend in retirement, planners say. Other options are

stepping down to a lower-stress job or one with more flexibility. Instead of traveling full time with a retired spouse, wives may be able to schedule some extended vacations, Setzfand suggests.

That assumes, of course, that women can find such jobs. Many of the women who will be most dependent on Social Security may be locked into jobs with little flexibility, she notes. Health concerns and caregiving for family members also can push women out of the work force earlier than they expect.

Maestas understands that not every married woman wants or will be able to keep working, but she hopes her research will at least prompt couples to discuss their options.

“It often does make sense to at least delay claiming Social Security,” Maestas says. “But there’s not really one right answer for everyone.” AP

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, October 17, 2018 • Editor : Tet Andolong

AFFORDABLE housing in Quezon City LAMUDI.COM.PH

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By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28

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Contributor

PPARENTLY, there’s no stopping the increased construction activities in the residential segment of local realestate industry, as shown in massive horizontal and vertical projects within and outside of Metro Manila.

Amid this development, however, the country’s perennial dwelling problem continues to arise, partly due to the insufficient supply of affordable housing where most of the demand would come from.

“It’s somewhere between 168,000 and 190,000 housing backlog a year,” Hausland Development Corp. CEO Christopher Ryan Tan said during the recent Outlook 2017 forum organized by Lamudi Philippines.

The top executive noted that this number keeps on growing annually, along with the entrance of new prospective buyers.

“So when you do the math, con-

sidering that population grows, it seems that you would not be able to catch up. So that’s really a huge problem,” he said.

Based on a study, entitled “Impact of Housing Activities on the Philippine Economy,” the national housing requirement is pegged at 5.6 million in 2016 to 2030.

It could potentially aggregate to 12.3 million by 2030, according to the report compiled by the Center for Research and Communication of the University of Asia and the Pacific (CRC-UA&P), in participation with the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA).

Home seekers go for affordability

APART from location, price makes a difference in the property sector.

Prospective home buyers not only look for quality, but also reasonable cost.

Homes included in the affordable sector are divided into three segments. The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council categorized them into the following price brackets: Socialized housing ranging from P450,000; economic housing from P450,000 to P1.7 million; and low-cost housing from P1.7 million to P3 million.

With the price tag being one of the priorities of house seekers, the exclusive search data of Lamudi bared during the event show impressive outcomes into the affordable housing market.

From the first quarter of 2018, low-cost housing garnered the highest rate of online inquiries at 50 percent. This was closely followed by the economic housing at 44 percent and socialized housing at 6 percent.

Such findings take into consideration other factors. First is availability. Houses ranging from P1.7 million to P3 million and P3 million to P4 million have the higher number of units up for grabs.

AFFORDABLE housing in Caloocan LAMUDI.COM.PH

The latter is identified as the medium-cost market, with an oversupply of about 500,000 units in 2015.

This was backed up by the report provided by the CRC-UA&P and SHDA.

Demands everywhere

AFFORDABLE housing in Davao LAMUDI.COM.PH

GIVEN the country’s exploding population, the need for affordable housing not only is being felt within the metropolis. It’s of national concern, demonstrated by the data from Lamudi.

House hunters from Quezon City topped potential online clients for all the three categories: socialized housing (42.98 percent), economic housing (38.57 percent) and low-cost housing (40.03 percent). This was seconded by Makati City—socialized housing (17.70 percent), economic housing (20.58 percent) and low-cost housing (21.25 percent).

In respective segments, Manilabased searchers accounted for 7.57 percent, 10.09 percent and 10.19 percent; while those from Bacoor comprised 7.30 percent, 7.66 percent and 5.23 percent.

Meanwhile, the share on inquiries of Web-based seekers from Davao City stood at 7.82 percent for socialized housing; Cebu City, 5.14 percent, economic housing; and Pasig, 5.44 percent, low-cost housing.

There were three days out of

the week that produced significant numbers by online affordable home seekers. These were Tuesday (15.07 percent), Thursday (14.94 percent) and Friday (14.40 percent). The peak times when these happened were at 9 to 11 p.m. (12 percent) and 1 to 3 p.m. (11.5 percent).

Profile-wise, almost twice the number of women is looking into affordable housing than men. Those belonging to the 25- to 34-year-old age group dominated the cyberspace for inquiries.

Sought-after sites

FOR those on the lookout for places to dwell in within their means, there are various areas they consider where the three affordable housing price points are being offered.

Quezon City (23.39 percent) was the top choice for low-cost housing; Davao City (20.92 percent), economic housing; and Rodriguez in Rizal province (23.78 percent), socialized housing.

Caloocan and Quezon City were the only locations in Metro Manila that made it to the top five of any category. Cavite was well-represented with four areas searched; Rizal province, three; and Bulacan, two.

The above-cited areas are situated either in the outer portions or within the immediate vicinity of

Metro Manila. This is with the exception of Davao City and Cagayan de Oro—both from Mindanao.

A subsidiary of the Rocket Internet group, Lamudi started operations in the Philippines in 2014. Its online real-estate platform attracts 1.5 million visitors, which generates 100,000 monthly leads for subscribers.

Meeting the demand

AWARE of the constant low affordable housing supply, real-estate companies are doing their share to help the public sector address this concern. Major developers, such as Century Properties in partnership with Mitsubishi Corp. and Rockwell Land, has made public its plans to enter the affordable housing market.

Primary Homes, even if not a luxury developer, has found success in this segment. Its Brentwood low- to medium-cost housing concept is an award-winning project cited in 2017 as the best condominium development in Cebu.

These and other real-estate firms are looking for ways to meet the everincreasing demand through affordable housing. They would need to tailor their efforts to the prospective buyers that search for it online. This could result in more focus in the surrounding metropolitan locations.

Business

E2 Wednesday, October 17, 2018

CREATING A COMMON GROUND

FOR THE FUTURE OF WORK

COMMON Ground interiors boast a vibrant, fresh and young vibe that they promise to bring in to the Philippines.

Taking it to a new level

Amor Maclang

FIRST DIBS IN REAL ESTATE

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ONTINUING my series in future-proofing the realestate industry, I spoke to tech visionary Enrique Gonzalez about Common Ground as I was excited to know what keeps him up at night aside from blockchain and promoting the Philippines to the rest of the world.

I first heard of Common Ground in the course of my long-standing interest in Malaysia—a country I regularly consult in whether it comes to health, beauty and now, blockchain.

Redefining coworking spaces

COWORKING space is a thriving concept in the Philippines with companies now considering this a more viable option for their operation.

Unlike in traditional offices where property rental has gone pretty expensive, coworking offices offer more affordable and flexible packages that could be for a day use, a month or a year.

Because coworking spaces consist of members who work from different companies, ventures and projects, chances of getting direct competition or internal politics becomes little. This gives them the flexibility to work independently, and collaboratively, allowing them to expand their network.

Coworking spaces allows startups/SMEs to maintain offices without the need of high capital expenditure and credit quality because it is already included in the shared office space like Internet, furnishings and office equipment, among others.

Today, there are 40 coworking spaces in the Philippines scattered

around the key business hubs of Makati, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), and Ortigas with an average rate ranging from P400 to P1,200 per day.

The flourishing coworking space industry in the Philippines has drawn the attention of Common Ground, which who operates a group of unique coworking spaces in Malaysia.

COMMON Ground launched its flagship coworking location in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in March 2017. Since then, they’ve opened in various locations across the country and their community now has around 2,000 members.

With its rapid growth, they are about to open their eighth branch in Malaysia and they are set to launch their first set of international offices in the Philippines before the year ends and in Thailand by 2019.

Carrying two prestigious titles: the most Instagrammable co-working destinations and Malaysia’s largest coworking space, Common Ground interiors boast a vibrant, fresh and young vibe that they promise to bring in to the Philippines, which will surely make a good impression.

And because the Philippines coworking landscape has shown huge potential, increasing exponentially since it was first introduced in the country, Common Ground thinks that country would be a perfect venue to put up their aesthetically designed and laid out coworking space that will be strategically situated in the bustling location of Bonifacio Global City.

It’s beyond space, it’s a community

AT Common Ground, coworking means more than a desk and Internet connection in a communal workspace but building an engaged community and vibrant ecosystem to help ambitious, fast-growing companies take business to the next level.

“The beauty about it is, although we came from different industries, we have one commonality, which is ambition,” said Ru Sow, head of Oper-

ations at Common Ground Malaysia.

Common Ground aims to build a perfect office for your company. It’s the ideal space designed to power large teams of 50 or more, helping companies save on office space and providing flexibility in a fast-changing business world.

Tom Hogg, managing director of Trade Indy Malaysia, shared that what he likes about being based in Common Ground is that they get to pick up direct clients and partneragencies through various connection within the community.

“Network effect of people coming together and seeing them help each other out whenever you needed opportunities to collaborate are super powerful,” said Leon Foong, CEO of Socar Malaysia.

They believe that office should be more than just a place to work but a hub to network from a diverse range of industries and collaborate to be part of the community.

Growing your company?

Build your own dream office space!

CREATE your ideal space, tailored and customized to meet your business needs. If your company needs to expand or change locations as your team grows, without the hassle of long-term contract that will have a big impact to your cash flow, Common Ground offers fully furnished, move-in ready serviced offices for swing spaces, satellite offices and main headquarters.

Entire companies are also welcome to join the Common Ground community. With their enterprise solutions, Common Ground can adapt spaces to the needs of a company. In fact, they recently started a partnership with Petronas Dagangan Bhd. (PDB) to create innovation hubs in Malaysia.

Common Ground has their inhouse team of acclaimed designers and architects that can design office space according to your preferred layout, furnishings, brand identity, business specifications and IT needs.

Also, they can provide staff with years of experience managing workspaces to ensure that your office operations run smoothly and efficiently.

Common Ground believes in focusing with these 5 pillars of lifestyle:

COMMON Ground entrance

n Excitement—the community plays a big role in keeping spirits up through Common Ground’s exclusive events, which can range from CEO chats to hiking sessions and giant beer pongs. n Friendship and family—at Common Ground, you will not only network with people from various industries but build an opportunity

COMMON Ground meeting room

to meet new friends, or maybe becomes family in the end. n Convenience—Common Ground recognizes flexible work arrangements through CG GO, wherein their members can use more than one location be it in their BGC, Ortigas or Makati location. n Productivity—in a recent study

by International Workplace Group, it is revealed that business competitiveness and productivity improve in the Philippines because of coworking spaces. n Progression—adjusting to what their members need and providing classes and workshops will be both beneficial in their business grow.

And what coworking space doesn’t have coffee in the picture? Common Ground also has an in-house café, Australia-based St. Louis House of Fine Ice Cream & Desserts, open for all including nonmembers.

With members coming from variety of industries and backgrounds, Common Ground members will have the opportunity to collaborate, partner and connect the community through networking events.

What sets Common Ground apart from other coworking space?

AT Common Ground, you get to enjoy best of both worlds, flexibility to when and where you want to work and, at the same time, develop

an opportunity to network and collaborate. A combination of a welldesigned work environment and well-organized work environment will be the reason for companies, start-ups or establishments to thrive for coworking spaces.

And in taking care of every member even outside of the coworking space, Common Ground partners itself with prime companies to provide incredible benefits. AirAsia, Shangri-La, GuavaPass and more have already been signed on with Common Ground to enhance the community’s experience.

Looking forward

WITH the rise of coworking space in the country, central business districts such as Bonifacio Global City will be a good location to attract business and best talents.

The first Common Ground office in the Philippines will be in the 2,300-square-meter penthouse of the newly launched Arthaland Tower in BGC. It will be patterned after the structure of their offices in Malaysia, while offices in Makati and Ortigas are set to be launched within the year.

Common Ground will be in partnership with MVP Global Infrastructure Group (MVP Global), a private investment firm present in Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

sMirror

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 E3

Grand Central Park welcomes Grand Hyatt Manila Residences

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RIME real-estate developer Federal Land Inc. forges ahead in realizing its master-planned, New York-inspired community in North Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig—Grand Central Park.

A testament to the company’s mission of reshaping the skyline and reimagining the country, this 10-hectare mixed-use development heralds the transformation of North BGC as it features architectural marvels set to be the cradle of upscale lifestyle and business with fully integrated residential, commercial, retail and special-interest spaces.

Designed according to global standards, Federal Land’s Grand Central Park gives Filipinos a taste of New York living marked by style, mobility, convenience, and being at the forefront of what’s new and trending.

Much like its Western counterpart, this integrated community pulsates with opportunities and activities with key financial, cultural and lifestyle districts well within reach.

Enticing Filipinos to bite into the promise of the Big Apple way of life are the most iconic structures in the community: the shimmering glass towers of Grand Hyatt Manila and Grand Hyatt Manila Residences.

Grand Hyatt Manila hotel, opened early this year offering a myriad of exciting experiences and dramatic restaurant concepts echoing the philosophy of #LivingGrand and promising to bring moments of more. Beside the hotel lies the 50-story Grand Hyatt Manila Residences, which carries the renowned Grand Hyatt brand

of hospitality and service.

Grand Hyatt Manila Residences melds luxury services and design efficiency, giving dwellers the chance to live out the signature level of grandeur delivered by Grand Hyatt.

Continuing this tradition of grand dwellings is the new addition to the Grand Hyatt legacy in Manila—a second tower completing the Grand Hyatt Manila Residences in Grand Central Park. Towering at 50 stories, the second tower has a separate podium next to Grand Hyatt Manila endowing utmost luxury and privacy.

This new tower will also have larger minimum unit size, a balcony for each unit, added amenities and more.

Owning a home here also means having exclusive membership to the World of Hyatt loyalty program that lets members enjoy special inhotel rewards each time they stay or dine in any Hyatt hotel worldwide.

As World of Hyatt members, future residents can earn points when they avail themselves of hotel services and redeem rewards, such as dining and spa experiences and room upgrades.

Indeed, exciting developments abound as Grand Central Park further takes shape. To get updates and to know more about Grand Hyatt Manila Residences, visit https://federalland.ph/properties/grand-hyattmanila-residences.

Your child’s home away from home N OWADAYS, parents understand that one of the keys to their children’s success is finding the best institution where their kids can receive high-quality education and the perfect environment where they can thrive to become the best that they can be. In Quezon City, they can enjoy the best of everything for their children—from exciting lifestyle hubs and premier universities, to a safe and convenient community for them to live in.

Families interested in sending their kids to prestigious academic institutions in Quezon City can come home to the flagship project of Primehomes, Larossa. Located in Capitol Hills Drive, Larossa is the ideal residential enclave that offers urban botanical living that is conducive to learning.

Living in Larossa

THE Garden Row, Larossa’s Phase 1, features three 10-story mediumrise buildings—named as Camia, Magnolia and Sampaguita. Camia Tower is now completed and ready for occupancy (RFO), while Magnolia and Sampaguita Towers are soon

Center for the best lifestyle activities

LAROSSA student

to be completed.

Each building provides spacious rooms where occupants can arrange their own sanctuaries. In Camia and Sampaguita, they can choose from one-bedroom, studio and studio premiere units; while in Magnolia, families have the option to join units for a bigger space to suit their needs.

The rooms are also designed with low density floors, which make for a less cramped living area.

Families residing in Larossa are assured of their kids’ safety as the entire property is securely gated and guarded 24 hours a day. There is an accessible clubhouse that doubles as a study area with its quiet and well-lit surroundings. The inviting atmosphere also promotes a healthy lifestyle, where students can maintain their fitness by jogging or biking around the wide community grounds.

LAROSSA also makes sure that busy and hardworking students can live a balanced life as it is conveniently located at the center of everything that they need. Those who are studying in Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines, Miriam College and other nearby schools can find a relaxing escape in the property’s welcoming and peaceful environment.

Shopping malls, weekend markets, recreational parks, fitness centers, restaurants and cafés are also abundant in the city, and students living in Larossa are just a stone’s throw away from these popular lifestyle destinations. It also provides access to other dining and commercial districts in the city, such as Maginhawa Street, Congressional Street and Katipunan Avenue—so residents can have everything within their reach.

Investing in a Larossa property will be the best decision any parent can make. From getting the best education to leading a comfortable lifestyle, Larossa is the ideal neighborhood to live in.

HOME

Akari launches kids-safe LED lighting

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KARI, the country’s leading lighting and technology brand, introduces Akari Junior. Fun and playful lighting options—ranging from character study lamps, to animal-shaped mosquito killers to themed chandeliers complete the new kids-safe Akari Junior line.

Akari Junior aims to bring kids’ dreams to light through a wide collection of products. Make any child’s room bright and inviting with the Akari Junior chandeliers that come in a variety of designs to complement the bedroom’s theme.

Study time can be more fun and productive with desk lamps available in different colors and designs to brighten up the mood. Protect children from mosquitoes that carry dengue or zika virus with the cute but effective Akari Junior’s mosquito killer bulbs and mosquito zappers.

“We at Akari continuously seek to make good use of technology to serve our customers better,” said Akari Marketing Manager Marian Gomez.

“Now that we have further expanded our product offerings with Akari Junior, we aim to make the lives of many more Filipino families, especially the

children, even brighter.”

Committed to providing worldclass lighting; electrical and energysaving products, Akari continues to develop product lines to meet the

varying needs of Filipino consumers.

Akari Junior is available in leading hardware stores nationwide. www.akari.com.ph.

Financing sustainable buildings of the future today

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ITH the pressing need for renewable-energy sources, amid the adverse impacts of climate change, businesses especially those in the real-estate sector are now looking beyond profit as the only bottom line.

Sustainability has become the buzzword, not just as a corporate social responsibility concept, but as a business model that turns in revenues while helping save the environment.

Simon Paterno, EVP and segment head of financial products and alternative channels, said one of the easiest ways to go green and make money at the same time is to start with your building.

According to a study of the International Finance Corp. (IFC), buildings account for 36 percent of energy consumption and its greenhousegas emissions contribute highly to global warming. To address this issue, the government came up with the Green Building (GB) Code to set regulations establishing minimum standards for building efficiency.

Paterno said companies planning to construct new buildings have to comply with this code. It applies to all new construction of residential condominium buildings with a minimum total gross floor area (TGFA) of 20,000-square-meter; hotels or resorts, schools, hospitals, business offices and mixed-occupancy buildings with a minimum TGFA of 10,000 sq m; and commercial malls with a minimum TGFA of 15,000 sq m.

“Companies can just go their own way to make sure they comply with the code. At BPI, however, we have both the experts who can help with the technical side of the project and the financing solutions to make it happen. No need to talk to anyone else,” said Paterno.

BPI has been blazing the trail when it comes to sustainable energy finance (SEF), with a dedicated team

that helps clients turn their buildings into energy-saving, low-carbon and environmentally-friendly structures.

“Aside from the opportunity to help clients comply with the Philippine Green Building Code, our SEF Program underpins our commitment to doing business with a purpose. It is our contribution to the protection of the environment,” said Paterno.

Even before the GB Code was launched in 2015, BPI was already championing the cause of sustainable energy financing several years back. From 2008 to December 2017, it has provided financing for 291 projects involving energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate resilience, amounting to P115 billion in loan disbursements.

BPI has partnered with the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in helping clients with free energy walk-through audits and technical evaluation of renewable and climateresilience projects. IFC, likewise, provides a 50-percent guarantee cover for BPI-SEF eligible loans of up to P200 million.

Clients may choose from three possible financing options: 1. capital expenditure financing for new building construction, expansion or modernization of operations and acquisition of machinery and equipment; 2. working capital financing for short-term needs such as the purchase of raw materials; and 3. leasing to finance the use of an asset or equipment over a specified period of time.

Paterno said, “Our financial solutions will enable clients to invest in technologies that improve energy generation, distribution and use. This is not just an opportunity to lessen carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming. It will result in reduced operating and energy expenses by at least 30-percent savings that go straight to your bottom line.”

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

E4 Wednesday, October 17, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The evolution of Human Nature: Improving the workplace like no other biz enterprise

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By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

Contributor

OCAL natural, affordable personal care, cosmetics and home-care products manufacturer Human Nature has proven that a business can thrive by implementing policies that are not the standard norms in most business enterprises.

These include the no-firing policy for all regular employees, strong implementation of an anti-endo (end of contract) stance, providing full benefits to regularized employees and allowing their employees to honor the Sabbath.

Citing the Sundays off policy as integral to changing labor practices, Human Nature Cofounder and Chairman Dylan Wilk stressed, “The only chance we have of actually building a new middle class in the Philippines is if we can improve the workplace so people who are poor can actually move up.

Being middle class is not only about earning a decent income, but about having genuine quality of life, including proper family time and rest.”

Interestingly, Wilk said it took them nine years to open in a major mall because of the requirement to open on Sundays. Human Nature recently opened a stand-alone store in SM North Edsa.

Meanwhile, Human Nature Cofounder Anna Meloto-Wilk explained that a “Sundays off” policy aims to give employees an opportunity to spend their weekends with family. “We often take for granted that while we are on break, many people in the retail and service industry are hard at work to allow us the enjoyment of our time with our family. In believing that rest should

not be a privilege reserved only for the rich, every Human Nature employee is entitled to Sundays off and another day of rest every week,” she said at a recent news briefing.

Ecel Luzon, a former promo girl and merchandiser, and now an employee at Human Nature, recalled that working on Sundays became a regular norm for her. Luzon narrated that she felt sad—and envious—seeing families in their neighborhood bonding together during Sundays.

Luzon shared that much of her personal life revolved around her job.

Her husband also works in a supermarket and there were weeks when the only time they would see each other was on the selling floor. Working on weekends with one weekday off took a toll on her family.

“Taking Sundays off was not allowed because many people shop on Sundays. I didn’t have quality time with my kids,” Luzon explained.

Luzon’s plight is the norm in the Philippines. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that 19.2 percent, or almost 800,000 workers, are in the retail sector. For retail workers, demand often peaks during the weekends, with Sundays seen as peak days for sales. The International Labour Organization recently reported that over 400 million employed people work 49 or more hours per week.

ANNA MELOTO-WILK, cofounder and president of Human Nature

“We all talk about wanting to build a new middle class in the Philippines.

We all want the Philippines to be a more prosperous country. But where is that middle class going to come from? We’re not going to fly them in from the US. The middle class will come from the people who are poor today. And where are those poor?

They’re in the workplace,” Wilk said.

By intentionally hiring people from marginalized sectors to promote economic inclusivity, Wilk said Gandang Kalikasan Inc. (GKI) is able to provide dignified jobs, fair living wages and opportunities especially to the marginalized. While the worldwide trend is to add more working hours, Human Nature is working on reducing the work hours of employees. Some teams and departments are currently on a seven-hour workday, and the goal is to eventually bring it down to six

productive hours.

Currently, 58 percent of employees come from the low-skilled working poor from communities in surrounding areas in Quezon City and Laguna where its main operations are based. GKI’s minimum living wage for its rank-and-file workers ranges from over 60 percent to as high as twice the minimum legal wage.

The 560-strong company continues to enforce a strict no-firing policy for all regular employees, maintains a firm anti-endo stance and gives all regularized employees full benefits.

A variety of interventions are put in place for the bottom-of-the-pyramid employees’ holistic well-being covering transformation (both tangible and intangible) in terms of their family life, work life and community life with the end goal of getting them and their families out of poverty.

Through a combination of different policies and programs never before invested in workers, GKI envisions itself to be the most compassionate employer in the Philippines.

“We started Human Nature with only two things: faith in God and faith in the Filipino. So since the beginning, Human Nature has always tried to do business based on our values and not compromise when it comes to living according to our faith,” stated Wilk. “We wanted to help change employment practices not just for our people but for the millions of Filipinos who wake up every day with no job security, minimum wage and no chance at a better future.”

We wanted to help change employment practices not just for our people but for the millions of Filipinos who wake up every day with no job security, minimum wage, and no chance at a better future.” —Wilk

Sears, finally bankrupt, now tries to avoid ‘dustbin of history’

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EARS Holdings Corp. is embarking on its bankruptcy with key details still up in the air, including whether it will get a loan from Chairman Eddie Lampert that the 125-year-old chain needs to avoid being shut down forever.

Sears has some financing already in hand, along with plans to close some stores, but it needs to know if Lampert will commit to lending another $300 million and buying some outlets. The company said it will try to reorganize around a smaller number of more profitable outlets, but also acknowledged it’s at risk of liquidating.

“Will Sears be relegated to the dustbin of history, and will 68,000 Americans lose their jobs, or will Sears enter the next chapter of its life as an iconic American company, enduring yet another shift in the retail landscape?” Chief Financial Officer Robert Riecker said in a court affidavit. The answer, he added, would be up to creditors and business partners, whose support is needed during the bankruptcy. Court papers filed early Monday estimated liabilities of $11.3

billion and assets of just $6.94 billion.

Lampert financing

SEARS said it’s still discussing $300 million in financing with Lampert, who stepped down as chief executive officer, and his ESL Investments Inc. hedge fund.

Lampert engineered the $12.3-billion acquisition of Sears by Kmart in 2005, and has propped up the chain for years.

He was holding about $2.66 billion in Sears debt as of September.

Lampert showed financial engineering genius in the way he merged Kmart and Sears, but the fact that his investments with Sears still aren’t sorted out as it enters bankruptcy shows that his reputation as a manager has suffered, says David Johnson, managing partner at Abraxas Group Inc., a Chicagobased business consulting firm. “Now he has to convince creditors, who have always looked at him with a jaundiced eye because he’s wearing three hats, to trust him.” He’s also discussing buying “a large portion of the company’s store base,” Sears said in a news statement.

Court filings show that is likely to include around 400 stores that are profitable. “A successful sale of these viable stores as a going concern not only will save Sears and Kmart, but also the jobs of the tens of thousands of employees that depend on the continued operation of such stores,” Riecker said in court papers.

Without Lampert’s money, the company’s ability to survive bankruptcy will be“seriously jeopardized,”Sears said in a request for the financing. His junior loan would come in addition to an overall $1.83-billion senior financing package from banks including Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc., who had already lent money before the bankruptcy. That package involves $300 million in new money, and has first rights to be repaid ahead of the proposed loan from Lampert.

In addition to his loans to Sears, court filings showed Lampert’s ESL also owns 49 percent of Sears equity.

Lampert is also the largest shareholder in Seritage Growth Properties, a realestate investment trust that counts

Sears as its biggest tenant.

Shopping season

SHOPPERS will also be critical to any reorganization efforts. Sears said in the filings that it plans to close 142 stores immediately, to “take advantage of the winter holiday season,”which is when retailers make the most money. The company expects to net about $42 million from the liquidation of assets at those locations. The bankruptcy looks like the company is taking a “wait and see through the holiday season” approach, said Bill Norton, a partner in the Nashville office of Bradley who specializes in bankruptcy law.

“We’re Open to Serve You,” reads a banner on Sears and Kmart web sites, which seek to reassure shoppers who could be scared off by the idea of bankruptcy. Fellow retailer Toys “R” Us Inc. recently tried to reorganize in bankruptcy, but failed, and one criticism was that it did little media or advertising to convince shoppers it would live on.

Bloomberg News

‘Entreprenerd’ brings virtual reality tool to Pinoy learners

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HIS “entreprenerd” is setting a new trend in classrooms, museums and training programs where one is immersed in an environment that is similar to the real world—or can even be fantastical.

Ibrahim Rasul Bernardo, chief executive officer of tech startup I AM Cardboard Philippines (IAC PH), said he prefers to be called an entreprenerd, and that being a nerd drives his passion for entrepreneurship.

His company, he added, is gung ho on virtual reality (VR), which, Bernardo said, has a lot of potential in education, museum and training for human resources.

“The closest you can get to learning is by doing it VR. The other way people retain information is through connecting with the content. Again, VR has the edge because we bridge the psychic distance gap. You’re not reading or watching something as an outsider; you are the one doing it. VR is the link between knowledge and experience. It’s almost the difference between theory and doing, potential and kinetic. I can expound more if you want. But like I said, I can fill an encyclopedia on why VR is great for training,” Bernardo, a self-confessed fan of the hit series Game of Thrones (GOT), shared.

Bernardo, in an interview, said being an entreprenerd is “not a balance actually, [but] it is total imbalance, the geek and entrepreneur are all on one side. The nerd is what fuels the entrepreneurship. [That’s] what drives me.”

And being a GOT fan has influenced his life and business. GOT, he said, taught him to avoid working with bad people. He pointed out that all the business contracts-signed and seemingly binding—can’t protect him and other entrepreneurs from being annihilated by competitors if there are bad people around them.

“All the contracts in the world can’t protect you from getting Red Wedding’d,” he said. Red wedding, in his jargon, means disaster. The term originates from an episode of GOT, where the wedding between Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey turned from a happy occasion into a bloody massacre.

Moreover, Bernardo said, an entrepreneur must use the Internet and social media like Lord Varys using his network to find out from the Web about partners and clients.

Lord Varys, also known as the Spider or the Master of Whisperers, in George R. R. Martin’s magnum opus, is known to have a wide network to advance his agenda.

The majority of his IAC PH’s business is with the corporate sector like Globe Telecom, Google Philippines, Boysen, Tao Corp., Jollibee and more well-known brands.

IAC PH has found partners who have deployed VR to thousands of students. Bernardo believes this is just the start of more brighter things to come as technology will mature and become more common in the next couple of years.

As far as balancing traditional learning and VR, Bernardo has this to say: “What we do is we go through the standard training to understand the needs of a client. Afterward we work with their instructors to pinpoint key areas where VR can massively improve their existing modules. It could be as simple as a 360 degree still image of what an ideal store setup is so that employees have a clear immersive idea,” he said.

Bernardo said they can notch higher by creating a scenario like in the Ayala Museum, where the trainees are put in the position of a client to showcase pain points and build empathy with client problems. VR can easily and affordably integrate with existing training processes.

IAC PH recently launched another VR diorama in partnership with Ayala Museum titled “Emergence of the Filipino Nation” that features iconic Philippine heroes Emilio Aguinaldo and Andres Bonifacio in a 10-minute, fully immersive 360 degree virtual-reality experience.

The Emergence of the Filipino Nation is the second VR content made

by IAC for Ayala Museum, and comes after the diorama series “The Future of History,” which dramatized Jose Rizal’s execution in Bagumbayan when it was launched in 2017. The Future of History recently clinched a Silver Boomerang for Visual and Audio Excellence under the Digital Craft category during the 2018 Boomerang Awards.

Awarded by the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMAPP) since 2008, the Boomerang is given to advertisers and agencies who excel in digital marketing and content creation.

“We are really honored to receive this Silver Boomerang award. As we retold the history using virtual reality, we’re also able to make history with Ayala Museum using this innovative approach to make the museum experience more immersive and engaging,” Bernardo said.

“Using VR as a tool to innovate the museum experience can entice the younger generation of Filipinos to learn more about our history. Telling a story using high-quality 360 degree video and virtual-reality technology revolutionizes the interaction between the museum visitor and the content. With this innovation, we are letting them view history from a first-person perspective, making them feel that they’ve actually traveled to the past,” Bernardo shared.

Rizal Raoul S. Reyes