BusinessMirror October 25, 2018

AT left photo, Sen. Grace Poe keynotes the 6th BusinessMirror-Unilab Dangal Awards For Elderly Care. Center photo, BM Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon, Unilab Head for External Affairs and Social Partnerships Claire Papa, United Bayanihan Foundation’s Carlos Gonzaga and RiteMed’s General Manager Vince Guerrero pose with the individual winners; and at right, former senator and broadcaster Eddie Ilarde accepts the Amb. Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Award. Story on Dangal Awards below, left column. NONIE REYES

DEPT. OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

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Thursday, October 25, 2018 Vol. 14 No. 15

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Chinese power firms eye merchant plants in PHL

By Lenie Lectura

P

@llectura

OWER firms from China have expressed interest to put up merchant plants in the Philippines, according to Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi.

“They came here because we are inviting [them] to put up merchant power plants. They are doing the study. They are looking at one in

Luzon and in the Visayas. I hope if Xi Jinping will arrive in November, he will have good news for us,” said Cusi.

He was referring to the trip to the Philippines of the Chinese leader, announced several months ago.

The agenda of that trip is expected

“These are merchant power plants. They will do it without the PSA [power supply agreement]. We have a spot market. What is the use of the WESM if all the supply is already contracted.”—Cusi

to firm up the slew of projects that Beijing had earlier promised to help Manila with, especially those related to its massive infrastructure program.

Merchant plants are power plants that sell their output to the wholesale electricity spot market Continued on A8

Poe pitches more benefits for elderly at ‘Dangal’ rites

Rene E. Ofreneo

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@butchfBM

& JT Nisay

S

Continued on A2

LABOREM EXERCENS

HERE is a growing concern everywhere that the world is increasingly becoming more unequal. This explains why there is an explosion of studies on social and economic inequality.

By Butch Fernandez

EN. Grace Poe on Wednesday vowed to push for early passage of additional benefits for all senior citizens, as she noted how inflation had further gouged the bottom line of the elderly, while pension coverage remains dismally low.

Speaking at the BusinessMirror-Unilab Dangal Awards For Elderly Care at the United Bayanihan Center in Mandaluyong City, Poe cited at least four items of remedial legislation in her priority list to supplement the Expanded Senior Citizens law earlier amended by Republic Act 10645, providing mandatory PhilHealth coverage for all senior citizens.

To f ur ther suppor t senior citizens, Poe earlier filed Senate Bill 1704 (the Philippine Geriatric Center Act), SB 1750 providing Universal Social Pension for Senior Citizens, SB 1781 or the Elder Assistance Act, and SB 1367 providing for Priority Seating for Elderly Commuters.

Labor’s falling share in the global income pie

HILTON IS HERE Hilton Manila has opened its doors within Resorts World Manila, the first integrated entertainment and tourism resort just across the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. The opening marks the Hilton brand’s entry into the Philippine market and is the latest addition to the Hilton portfolio. At the opening ceremony are (from left) Travellers International Hotel Group COO and Executive Vice President Stephen Reilly, Tourism Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon Jr., Pasay City Mayor Antonio Calixto, Resorts World Manila President and CEO Kingson Sian, Alliance Global Group Inc. CEO and Megaworld Lifestyle Malls Head Kevin Tan, Hilton Manila General Manager Simon McGrath, Hilton Southeast Asia Operations Vice President Paul Hutton, and Hilton Singapore, Philippines and Thailand Regional General Manager Peter Webster. ALYSA SALEN

Dubai firm keen on setting up 20 silos in PHL

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

DUBAI-BASED solutions firm backed by the Italian government has submitted an unsolicited proposal to construct 20 grain silos nationwide, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol.

Piñol said the National Food

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 53.8710

Authority (NFA) Council accepted last Tuesday the unsolicited bid of B2Firms DMCC (B2Firms), which offered a long-term loan of $1 billion to the Philippine government for the construction of postharvest facilities, including big grain silos. “[The proposal” fits into the program of the NFA to focus more on local procurement and leave the importation to the private sector,” Piñol

said in an interview with reporters.

Piñol said B2Firms’s proposal was refer red to the NFA for technical review.

The NFA technical team will submit its recommendations to the NFA Council (NFAC), which will then review the proposal and the recommendations made by the food agency’s technical team.

Continued on A8

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Oil excise suspension to cut inflation by 0.2%

By Rea Cu

T

@ReaCuBM

HE suspension of the fuel excise tax increase in 2019, a matter on which the Executive and Congress have reached a consensus as part of inflationbusting measures, is seen to reduce the country’s inflation level by 0.2 percentage point, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Wednesday.

BSP Assistant Governor Francisco G. Dakila Jr. told a joint hearing of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and Economic Affairs that, “If excise tax is suspended by the whole of 2019, we see inflation coming down by 0.2 percentage points.”

At the same hearing, Finance

Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua explained that based on his department’s analysis, a reduction to inflation of 0.3 percentage point will be seen if the fuel excise tax increase of P2 per liter is suspended in 2019.

Dakila explained that the BSP revised its inflation forecast for this year to 5.2 percent coming from a target band of 2 to 4 percent earlier on, adding that the forecast for 2019 inflation has been increased to 4.3 percent.

Chua, meanwhile, explained the basis of the Department of Finance estimate. “When we proposed the TRAIN, we also presented that the 2019 additional increase may increase inflation by additional 0.3 percentage points. We will not See “Oil excise,” A2

n JAPAN 0.4791 n UK 69.9461 n HK 6.8727 n CHINA 7.7611 n SINGAPORE 39.0964 n AUSTRALIA 38.1622 n EU 61.8062 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.3591

Source: BSP (24 October 2018 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Thursday, October 25, 2018

‘War’ at Customs: Lapeña holds fort amid calls for his resignation

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By Rea Cu @ReaCuBM & Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

fficials and employees of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have thrown their support behind beleaguered Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña, who is being held accountable by an underling for the alleged entry of billions of pesos worth of shabu that reportedly slipped past the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

Two separate manifestos— one signed by the deputy commissioners, service directors and division chiefs, and the other by bureau collectors—defended and praised the leadership of Lapeña at the Customs.

Arrest Guban and the rest

In what appears to be a signal that Lapeña may get to keep his post, President Duterte ordered the arrest of former Customs Intelligence Officer Jimmy Guban, who, as of late, remains under Senate custody, in connection with the entry of the P6.8-billion shabu shipment. The President, likewise, ordered the identification and arrest of other individuals involved in the drug smuggle.

In his speech during the 2017 Philippine Quality Award and Conferment Ceremony at the Palace, Duterte said he has instructed

Philippine National Police chief Oscar D. Albayalde to execute the arrest order.

“That’s why I ordered the arrest of Guban. I said, right after the session, arrest him [Guban].

Albayalde asked, on what ground?

Just arrest him. Bring him to the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation],” Duterte said, adding that it was Guban who was the one who allowed the entry of the illegal drugs.

President Duterte’s arrest order came on the same day the House Committees on Dangerous Drugs and Good Government resumed its probe on the missing shabu shipment.

Days before the House probe, former x-ray chief Lourdes Mangaoang called for the resignation and replacement of Lapeña due to alleged negligence and incompetence as she believed that the four

magnetic lifters found in Cavite used to contain shabu.

This was a claim that has since been disputed by Lapeña, saying that it has not been established that there were drugs inside the lifters and cited the negative results from the shabu swab test conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Defending Lapeña

“ Through his [Lapeña’s] actions, he was able to lead us in the direction that he wants the BOC to tread and the type of leaders that he wants to institute the same.

Under his leadership, the bureau started meeting its monthly collection target, and is currently operating on a surplus as the fiscal year comes to an end.

“On numerous occasions, these changes within our agency were recognized not only by the private sector but by Congress and the Executive [branch of government] as well,” an excerpt from the manifesto issued by the Collectors Association of the BOC said.

The collectors expressed their indignation over the “derisive actions” that, they said, have been taken against the Customs chief, alongside the men and women of the agency. They added that their group will remain unfazed and will continue to give Lapeña their full support for his vision and programs.

“He challenged the status quo that was prevailing within the BOC for decades. Changing the status quo has hit and hurt people within and outside the organization. We all stand by the commissioner in his desire to change how things have been done in the bureau for decades. We declare our collective

support in his leadership,” the manifesto added.

They pointed out that since Lapeña’s assumption to office, the bureau has been consistently hitting its collection target every month for eight straight months.

Collection districts nationwide also posted their respective banners at their offices professing support for Lapeña.

Currently, a total of 1,143 customs employees were hired and promoted.

Hidden agenda

Earlier, Lapeña said that the media attacks and criticisms against him and some employees of the BOC are “coordinated to undermine his reforms for the bureau.”

He added he will not heed calls for him to resign unless President Duterte says otherwise.

“There is no doubt, that these attacks against me and the officers, men and women of the Bureau of Customs are well-funded and coordinated attacks to undermine the reforms I started,” Lapeña said.

In earlier reports, it was pointed out that the Customs chief may have failed to act and exercise his authority on the reported entry of four magnetic lifters in the country believed to be concealing illegal drugs.

According to the PDEA, the two magnetic lifters found in Cavite were believed to be loaded with shabu that is currently flooding the streets. “ The PDEA and almost everyone in the BOC know that I immediately took action, right from the beginning when the lifters where uncovered in MICP,” Lapeña added.

Poe pitches more benefits for elderly at ‘Dangal’ rites Continued from A1

“According to the Population Commission [POPCOM], the Philippines is moving towards an ageing population. In fact, at the end of last year, the number of people age 60 and above had reached 8 million, or 8 percent of our total population.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority [PSA], by 2030, the elderly will comprise 11.5 percent of our total population,” noted the senator, by way of underscoring how important a sector the elderly comprise.

She referenced her mother, acclaimed actress Susan Roces, who remains active at work at the age of 77, staying healthy while getting a surfeit of employment opportunities. “But not all our grandparents are as lucky as my mom. Sadly, the country recorded the lowest pension coverage of 28 percent for all retirees, age 65 and above. Since not all elderly people are receiving pension, some of them are forced to find work in order to supply their own and family’s needs. But because of their age, it is difficult for them to find a decent job.”

She informed senior citizens in attendance at the awards rites hosted by homegrown pharmaceutical giant Unilab that Senate Bill 1704 was filed because “we all know that aside from economic support, there is also a need for quality health care that specifically addresses the conditions of the elderly population.” United Laboratories and BusinessMirror, along with the United Bayanihan Foundation and Unilab’s

Ecop. . .

Continued from A8

sa amin bente! [You get the billions, we get 20].”

According to BMP Vice President Lito Rastica, it is gross injustice to get paid lower than what is considered a “living wage,” considering that significant contribution of the labor market

generics arm RiteMed, have been holding the search for outstanding Filipino senior citizens under the Dakilang Adhikain ng Lahi, or Dangal for short.

Ilarde honored Leading the honorees for the Sixth Dangal edition was former senator, broadcaster and now senior-citizens advocate Eddie Ilarde. He was handed the Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua award by BusinessMirror publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon.

Poe said in her speech: “Our bill SBN 1704, seeks to establish the Philippine Geriatric Centre-Research and Training Institute, which is envisioned to be an integrated medical institution that specializes in geriatric health services and gerontology research.”

She also affirmed her belief that the government should uphold the right to good health of elderly citizens by establishing a “specialized hospital” that will make quality medical care affordable and accessible to them.

She said Republic Act 10645, which amended the Expanded Senior Citizen’s Law, had institutionalized a senior citizen’s discount on necessities such as medicines, medical and dental services, transportation, restaurants and utilities.

The senator noted, however, that the existing law was passed several years ago, and “what alarms me is that not all senior citizens or business establishments are familiar with the provisions of the law.”

In pushing passage of remedial legislation, Poe pointed out further that “unfortunately, the existing social pen-

to the country’s economic growth.

“Starvation wages mean unjust profiteering for the capitalist oligarchs, who all enjoyed billions of profit in the past years,” he said.

For Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) Spokesman and BMP Chairman Leody de Guzman, the Philippines will continue its economic growth given the projected gross domestic product hike of 6.5 percent.

sion for senior citizens “is not enough with the soaring prices of basic services and goods” triggered by upward adjustments in tax rates under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

The senator noted that in order to mitigate the detrimental effects of the tax, the TRAIN law provides for financial support for certain vulnerable sectors.

For instance Poe said indigent seniorcitizen beneficiaries who are part of the government’s 4Ps program are supposed to receive unconditional cash grants amounting to P2,400 for the year 2018. “ This will amount to an additional cash grant of P200 a month. The cash grants should have been implemented since March 2018,” she added.

‘Don’t call us old’ “DON’T call us old. We are just older.”

With a mic in front of him and the attention of people around, Eddie Ilarde was in his purest form. The entertainment/politics crossover pioneer was accepting the Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Award—the highest honor bestowed at the Sixth Dangal Awards, which recognizes senior citizens for their outstanding roles in their community—and his speech embodied the living legend’s vintage self: comedic, sharp-witted and delivered in that sweet, sweet radio voice.

“Don’t let anyone call you old,” the 84-year-old said to the audience at the Unilab Bayanihan Center in Pasig City.

“Besides, tayong mga senior citizen ang pinakamayan sa lipunan: Compared to everyone else, we have more silver in

This rate is a downgrade of the 6.7percent growth forecast of the International Monetary Fund this year due to inflation.

“Where did this growth come from? From labor, from the blood, sweat and toil of the Filipino working class, who are now reeling from higher prices due to the excise taxes of TRAIN 1 at increased VAT, volatile world oil prices, weak peso-dollar

Continued from A1

the hair, gold in the teeth, stones in the liver and gas in the stomach.”

In presenting Ilarde with the award named after his late father, BusinessMirror publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon said, “Mataas ang respeto niya sa mga senior citizen na patuloy na lumilikha ng daan upang matupad ang kanilang mga pangarap,” Cabangon said. “Sa pagdaan ng panahon, ang respetong ito ay naging panata ng aking ama, panatang kilalanin ang samut-saring kontribusyon nila sa komunidad at sa bayan.”

Besides Ilarde, the Dangal Awards recognized six individuals and five groups committed to raise the welfare of senior citizens in their respective communities.

The individual awardees include retired teacher and current barangay captain Ma. Corazon Benavidez of Pasig City, Pateros Office of Senior Citizen Affairs officer Julia Chupungco of Pateros and active community member Necita Salivio of the City of Manila.

Rounding out the list are parish and livelihood projects organizer Salome Bautista of Quezon City, retired US Marine officer Loreto Binuya of Aurora province and retired Philippine Army officer Cornelio Valencia of the City of Mandaluyong.

Meanwhile, winners of the Group category are Parkhomes Senior Citizens Association Inc. of Muntinlupa City, SSDD Senior Citizen Volunteers of Quezon City, Association of Retired Educators of Makati City Inc.; Senior Citizens Group of District 1 of the City of Manila and Legion of Vibrant Elders of Parañaque City.

exchange rates, etc.,” she said. “Economic growth was only felt by the country’s billionaires.”

De Guzman cited a Forbes magazine report that, in a year, the net worth of Henry Sy of SM Investments grew from $18 billion to $18.3 billion; former Sen. Manny Villar, from $1.6 billion to $5 billion; and Jaime Zobel de Ayala, from $300 million to $3.9 billion.

With a report by Roderick L. Abad

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Duterte assures ‘full protection’ of local execs in critical areas

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

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AVAO CIT Y—President Duterte has assured “full protection” of local government officials in their campaign sorties in critical rebel or criminalinfested areas, but urged them to fulfill their mandate to the public with “integrity, honesty and accountability.”

The President said the lives of mayors and other elected officials had become more dangerous with the coming midterm polls next year, especially so for incumbent officials seeking reelection and have to campaign even in critical areas.

“If you want security, bigyan ko kayo [I will provide you]. You are limited to two naka uniporme [in uniform],” he said. Aside from the allowable security detail, the President said he would also deploy soldiers in critical areas where they intend to campaign.

Duterte spoke before the conference here of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Luzon Island Cluster Conference at the SMX Convention Center here.

“As a former mayor myself, I understand the difficulties you are facing as you fulfill your mandate,” he said.

Oil excise. . .

Continued from A1

see that 0.3-percentage-point [increase] if the suspension is for the whole year. If it is less than full year, it will be a fraction of that.

That covers the direct and indirect effect,” Chua said.

The BSP’s base forecast of a 4.3percent inflation rate for 2019 does not take into account yet the passage of the rice tariffication act, as well as the suspension on the fuel excise tax increase provision under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

Both measures are part of those listed by economic managers and lawmakers as helping tame inflation, which hit a nine-year record of 6.7 percent in September.

The higher fuel excise tax that kicked in when the TRAIN law became effective on January 1, 2018, was partly blamed for driving up prices of goods. And, supply issues were seen as causing the spike in rice prices, prompting both the Executive and Congress to rush moves to shift from the current quantitative restrictions to a rice tariffs system.

“However, the baseline [of] 4.3 percent in 2019 does not take into account the impact of rice tariffication. With rice tariffication, we see inflation being reduced by about 0.7 percentage points for 2019. It should bring us squarely within the inflation target band,” Dakila told senators on Wednesday.

Twin measures

The inflation figures from the BSP were also echoed by Research, Education and Institutional Development Foundation Inc. Vice President for Business Development Ronilo Balbieran. He said that the rice tariffication law’s passage, as well as the suspension of the oil excise tax increase, would mean an inflation level of 3.9 percent.

“In a way, the country’s inflation will go down for next year. And we would be more happy [if the suspension is alongside] with the rice tariffication. The impact is between 0.3 percentage points to 0.2 percentage points. We estimated we’d be having around 3.9-percent [inflation] for 2019,” Balbieran said.

Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian emphasized that the implemen-

“That is why I am striving to provide our local governments the capability to address these difficulties through reforms and harness the potential of local businesses and promote good governance, especially at the local level,” said President Duterte in his speech.

He emphasized his administration’s fight against corruption, saying he has no room for compromise.

“Ginagawa ko talaga lahat [I am doing all that I can do]. I am firing people right and left,” he stressed.

Yet, Duterte strongly admonished the mayors to avoid “being personally involved” in the illegaldrug trade, clarifying his “unwavering commitment in the country’s war against illegal drugs.”

He said the drugs trade has dire consequences on the lives of Filipinos such as poverty and crime.

“Do not mess up with drugs, and that goes for everybody, even mayors, even city mayors,” Duterte said, adding he sees such involvement as “treason.”

“So, iwasan ninyo ‘yan [avoid it]. I’m not saying that it’s all about money, but you can have comfortable lives if you are a mayor. Just avoid drugs,” he added.

The Presidential Communication and Operations Office said 327 local chief executives attended the LMP Luzon Island Cluster Conference.

tation of both measures will help reduce the country’s inf lation, to 3.4-percent, which will fall within the BSP’s target range of 3 to 4 percent.

“Based on our hearing, it’s supposed to be a combination of two measures, [the suspension of the oil] excise tax because it will decrease inflation by 0.2 percentage points and the rice tariffication by 0.7 percentage points. So if we implement both by next year, we are looking at 3.4-percent inflation, so that is within the target of 3 to 4 percent,” Gatchalian said.

As for the rice tariffication bill, he said it will be passed within the year. The House version was passed on third and final reading earlier.

“The rice tariffication is a done deal, it will happen, so within the year we will approve [it]. The only question is how it will be operationalized. If it is implemented in less than one month, then we will see the decrease in rice prices of around P7,” he added.

The suspension of the fuel excise tax increase in 2019, meanwhile, will give relief to Filipinos, the chief of the Economic Affairs and Energy committees said.

“It’s a welcome development, the pronouncement of the DOF that they are open to suspend and they will really suspend the excise tax on fuel come 2019. And the first three months is already definite,” he added.

Gatchalian said the suspension must be implemented for six months instead of the minimum three months to allow for an adjustment period for oil companies.

“For my personal analysis, three months is short, we would like to request for a suspension for six months at least because the first three months is an adjustment period, especially for the oil companies,” he said.

Gatchalian said the suspension of the oil excise tax increase may be in the form of an executive order (EO), but added that both the Senate and the House of Representatives will issue a joint resolution to reinforce the decision to suspend.

“I think they will operationalize this through an EO. Of course, a joint resolution from the Senate and Congress will be a good reinforcement,” he added.

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NFAC formally approves 350,000 MT rice imports through DTI at ₧38/kg

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE National Food Authority Council (NFAC) has formally approved the importation of 350,000 metric tons (MT) of rice by the private sector through the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) importation program.

A g r icu lture Secretar y Emmanuel F. Piñol said the DTI’s rice importation program, titled “Presyong Risonable Dapat” or PRD, would require participating importers to sell their volume at no more than P38 per kilogram.

“The NFA Council approved the joint memorandum order circular [last Tuesday] for the implementation of the rice program of the DTI, titled PRD or Presyong Risonable Dapat,” Piñol said in an interview with reporters last Tuesday after the NFAC meeting.

Under the circular, the DTI would endorse to the NFA the

importer-participants under the PRD program, which would be issued by the grains agency with import permits, Piñol said.

“The DTI will submit names of their partners and they will be in charged for the selection of their partners,” he said. “The NFA will be issuing permits to whoever will be recommended by the DTI to participate in this program,” he added.

Piñol said the PRD program seeks to stabilize the prices of rice in the retail market further.

Earlier, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the 350,000 MT of rice would arrive in the country on a staggered basis until the end of the year.

He added that four groups have already signified interest to partake in the DTI’s rice importation program. Lopez identified some of the interested groups, such as Philippine Consumer Centric Traders Association, Robinsons Supermarket and Puregold.

Pernia: Allot bigger S&T budget spending, widen R&D initiatives

By Cai U. Ordinario

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@cuo_bm

HE Philippines has to double its efforts at increasing its science and technology (S&T) investments as the country remains to be the laggard in research and development (R&D) initiatives among its Asean peers, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

In a briefing on Tuesday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the country continues to invest about 0.15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in S&T and R&D annually.

However, its neighbors in the Asean invest around 0.5 and 1 percent of GDP on these initiatives. Most industrial countries invest 2 percent of GDP annually on R&D. “We are spending only about 0.15 percent of GDP in research and development, science and technology, whereas our peers in the neighborhood, in the Asean neighborhood are spending between 0.5 to 1 percent of GDP. That’s the big difference there,” Pernia said. “That’s why we really have to double-down on our work to be able to catch up with our Asean neighbors,” he added.

The low investments in R&D in the country has caused the Philippines to only rank 45th out of 131 economies worldwide in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Economic Complexity Index (ECI) rankings.

The ECI, Philippine-American

Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE) President Joel L. Cuello said, measures the knowledge intensity of economies and products, particularly exported goods.

Based on the ECI, Japan ranked first worldwide with a score of 2.229, while the Philippines only had a score of 0.434. Asean countries like Malaysia had a score of 0.865.

“You could say that the Japanese economy has a knowledge intensity that is five times greater than that of the Philippines. And Malaysia is about twice as much. But out of 131 countries, 45th is not bad to start with,” Cuello said.

In order to boost the country’s efforts in increasing its R&D investments, the Neda and PAASE tackled challenges faced by the S&T sector and ways to build globally linked manufacturing and R&D in the S&T Innovation Ecosystem in the Philippines.

The Neda and PAASE hope that out of these discussions, they will come up with implementation plans on how to push S&T innovation in the economy.

Pernia said the meeting aims to link Philippine universities with R&D centers to become integral partners in industry research, and connect domestic micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to the supply-value chain.

The Cabinet official also noted the need to make R&D activities and output accessible to MSMEs to increase their productivity and competitive advantage.

SC lifts TRO on ordinance for 500% hike in fair market value of QC lands, property

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By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Quezon City government can now implement its 2016 ordinance that effectively increases the existing fair market values (FMVs) of land, buildings and other structures in the city from 100 percent to as much as 500 percent.

This developed as the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed the petition filed by Alliance of Quezon City Homeowners’ Association Inc. (AQCHI) assailing the constitutionality of the ordinance and lifted the temporary restraining order (TRO) it issued on April 18, 2017, against the implementation of the controversial ordinance.

In a 13-page decision penned by Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas Bernabe, the Court unanimously ruled that AQCHI has no legal standing to file the petition.

“All told, while this case falls under the exceptions to the doctrines of exhaustion of administrative remedies and hierarchy of courts, the Court is still constrained to dismiss the petition due to the alliance’s lack of legal capacity to

sue,” the Court said.

“Thus, the resolution of the issues anent the validity and constitutionality of Quezon City Ordinance No. SP-2556, Series of 2016, while indeed of great public interest and of transcendental importance, must nonetheless await the filing of the proper case by the proper party,” it added.

The Court pointed out that AQCHI admitted that it has no juridical personality, considering the revocation of its Certificate of Registration issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and its failure to register with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

The Court explained that the Rules of Court mandates that only natural or juridical persons, or entities authorized by law may

be parties in a civil action.

Failure to comply with the requirement, according to the SC, renders a case dismissible on the ground of lack of legal capacity to sue.

The SC did not give credence to AQCHI’s claim that the petition was filed by its board of trustees, through its treasurer Danilo Liwanag, a taxpayer and a Quezon City resident.

“The Court disagrees. A perusal of the petition readily shows that it was filed by [the] alliance, and not by the individual members of its board of trustees in their personal capacities,” it said.

In its petition, AQCHI said the hike in the FMVs up to 500 percent of the previous values was arbitrary and has no factual basis because the 2016 ordinance contains no standard or explanation on how the Quezon City assessor arrived at the new amounts in the schedule of FMVs. The group further pointed out that there was no real consultation prior to the enactment of the 2016 ordinance as required by law, noting that only a brief one-day consultation hearing was held in November 2016 before the approval of the 2016 ordinance on December 14 of the same year.

It claimed that the short timeframe from the consultation to the approval reveals that the proceedings were fast-tracked.

While the group acknowledged

S.S.S. OPENS ADDITIONAL DEBT PAYMENT SCHEME TO ‘DELINQUENT’ EMPLOYERS

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

T

HE Social Security System (SSS) has opened a new debt payment scheme for qualified delinquent employers who are experiencing financial difficulties in fulfilling their outstanding obligations to the state-run pension fund.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc said the pension fund’s rationale for providing additional payment schemes for delinquent members or corporations is to help ease some burden in settling debts.

“As valuable partners of the pension fund, we want to help them instead of giving much burden by providing lenient ways in paying their financial obligations to SSS,” Dooc said.

According to the SSS, delinquent employers who have paid their principal obligations shall be entitled to a one-year period within which they

Tourism expo at SM Clark to showcase beauty of ‘Solid North’

ORTH Philippines (NorthPhil) Tourism and Travel Expo is all set to showcase the region’s diverse offerings for the travel market, from November 16 to 18 at the SM City Clark in Pampanga.

A wide array of tourism destinations, products, services and all other attractions will be showcased in the three-day event, according to Ilocos Region Tourism Director Martin S. Valera.

“Also to be showcased are NorthPhil’s gorgeous beaches, with Ilocandia and Cagayan Valley alone having a combined coastline of 1,581 kilometers,” he said.

Both provinces, together with the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), comprised the so-called Solid North—the sea-bounded Ilocano-speaking regions teeming with natural beauty from ridge to reef at an aggregate area of 60,663 square kilometers.

Ilocandia is a hub for history and culture, Cagayan Valley for all-terrain adventures and CAR for natural wonders.

New and emerging destinations will also be featured in the NorthPhil showcase, said Cagayan Valley Tourism Director Virgilio M. Maguigad.

“Those destinations, especially along the Sierra Madre mountain ranges that line the

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Thursday, October 25, 2018 A3

Philippines’s eastern seaboard facing the Pacific Ocean, make a perfect dream site for exciting adventures and discovery,” he said.

Augmented by the Filipino brand of hospitality, such attributes make NorthPhil a tourism hub, where both officials are seeing a constant tourism volume growth from both foreign and domestic visitors, whose number has been rising in recent years.

From January to July of 2018, foreign tourist arrivals reached 4.3 million, up by 9.7 percent during the same period last year, based on the 2018 Power and Performance Report of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

The study showed that the Philippines is ranked 13th in “absolute growth” within the last seven years, 15th in performance based on its compound annual growth rates, eighth in contribution to gross domestic product, seventh in the speed of rise in GDP share, and “the only country” in the Top 10 in terms of “power” and “performance” contributions to GDP. Valera and Maguigad expects the uptrend to continue, especially in the Solid North, as the fast-expanding Clark International Airport is poised to breach the 2.5-million threshold in passenger volume by year-end. Roderick L. Abad

can defer the payment of the penalty either in full or through installment based on the assigned monthly installment payment plan.

Qualified delinquent employers are those with outstanding obligation of at least P100,000 exclusive of penalty, with or without pending cases before the prosecutor’s office, courts and Social Security Commission (SSC), and with or without subsisting approved settlement scheme.

“The additional payment option specifically caters to delinquent employers who are currently experiencing financial difficulties due to income losses, mismanagement or those who were greatly affected by natural and man-made disasters,” he added.

Under SSS Circular 2018-008, employers who paid its principal contributions in full or within a period not exceeding 90 days from the approval of the application,

shall be entitled to a one-year period to defer the payment of their accrued penalties.

“If the employers failed to settle the principal amount within the 90day period, a 3 percent-per-month penalty shall be imposed on the balance until the principal contribution is fully paid. That’s why it is crucial for employers to strictly follow the additional guidelines to avoid penalty accruals,” he said.

After paying the principal delinquency, employers can settle the total penalty delinquency either in full or on a staggered basis in accordance with the provisions of SSS Circular 2011-002, or the Revised Guidelines in the Installment Payment Scheme for Employers.

“A legal interest of 6 percent per annum shall be imposed on the substituting penalty delinquency upon payment either in full or on installment after the one-year deferment period,” he added.

Senator says third telco player to boost work-from-home bill

By Butch Fernandez

T

@butchfBM

HE incoming third telecommunication (telco) service provider is seen to boost the implementation of the work-fromhome law envisioned in the proposed telecommuting law under consideration in Congress.

Sen. Joel Villanueva, its principal author, anticipates the entry of a third telco player will “create competition and provide better services amid consumer problems on the country’s slow and expensive Internet.”

Moreover, he added, the third player will “accommodate the potential influx of reliance on technology that may be brought about by the subsequent implementation of our telecommuting bill.”

“It [third telcome player] will accommodate the potential influx of reliance on technology that may be brought about by the subsequent implementation of our telecommuting bill,” the senator added, referring to the proposed law that will enable the partial or total substitution of computers or telecommunication technologies, or both, for

the commute to work by employees.

He, however, acknowledged findings that based on content delivery provider Akamai’s Global State of the Internet report in May 2017, the Philippines is reported to have the “slowest average Internet speed” in Asia Pacific with an average of 5.5 megabits per second. This is much lower than the global average Internet connection speed which is pegged at 7.2 mbps.

At present, he added, Internet services in the country are being offered by only two major telecom providers—the PLDT and Globe Telecom.

“We want to push for our Filipino workers to have a meaningful work-life balance by encouraging employers to explore telecommuting as a way of allowing work flexibility,” Villanueva stated.

In a news statement, the senator prodded the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the National Telecommunications Commission and the private sector to “work together to upgrade our existing internet infrastructure for our employees to afford an option to work under a flexible work arrangement.”

the need for an increase in property valuation, it insisted that the increase should be reduced and should be implemented on a staggered basis.

Named respondents in the petition were Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista and the officials of the city’s assessor’s office and treasurer’s office.

The Quezon City government, however, countered AQCHI’s arguments, saying that 29 public consultations were conducted in barangay assemblies throughout the six city districts prior to the implementation of the ordinance.

It claimed that the increases in FMVs were reasonable considering that the last adjustment was done in 1995.

Furthermore, the local government maintained that the resulting increase in tax due was reasonable because the increase in FMVs was tempered by the decrease in the assessment levels to minimize the impact on taxpayers.

The local government claimed that the assessment levels were reduced from 18 percent to 5 percent for residential classification, and from 45 percent to 14 percent for commercial and industrial classifications.

It also noted that the FMVs in the 2016 ordinance are fair and equitable, considering that those values are even lower than the FMVs in other cities in Metro Manila.

SRA opens application for ’19 US sugar quota

T

HE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is now accepting applications from local sugar traders to fill up the country’s sugar quota to United States for the current fiscal year (FY) 2019.

The SRA issued Sugar Order 3 (SO) on October 22, which outlined the guidelines for meeting the Philippines’s export quota to the US that would enter under a preferential trade scheme.

The US allocated 142,160 metric tons raw value (MTRV), or 136,201 MT commercial weight of sugar for the Philippines for FY 2019 under its tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system.

The SRA said it would allocate the sugar quota from the US on a “first-come, first-served basis.”

“It is in the national interest that the first-come, first-served policy of allocating the US quota among sugar traders/exporters shall apply,” SO3 read.

“There is a need to ensure that the full quota is actually shipped to the United States after the verification of ‘A’ quedans has been accomplished,” it added.

The SRA said all “A” or US quota sugar quedan permits (are) “validated and revalidated” pursuant to Sugar Order 4, Series 20142015, are eligible for verification for shipment to Washington.

Countries authorized by the US to export sugar under the TRQ scheme may do so at lower duties.

The Philippines was given the third-largest allocation of the total 1.117 million MTRV in-quota quantity of the TRQ, next to the Dominican Republic and Brazil, which received 185,335 MTRV and 152,691 MTRV, respectively.

The SRA and Philippine Sugar Millers Association vowed that the Philippines would be able to fill up the sugar quota granted by the US for the fourth consecutive fiscal year. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

A4

TheBroa

Business

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Govt banks on Inclusive Business t

W

By Alyssa Mae Clarin

HAT’S better than giving rather than receiving? The government believes it’s receiving something after the giving and which could lead to equitable distribution of growth.

A Board of Investments (BOI) official calls such strategy as “Inclusive Business” or IB. BOI Program Director for IB Melanie L. Moleño defines Inclusive Business as the engagement of the marginalized, or the low-income communities, into the management of big corporations.

In this engagement, the marginalized sector can be included in the core business as employees, suppliers, distributors and partners, she told the BusinessMirror.

“Why are we pushing for Inclusive Business? Because in social enterprises, they look at the impact—social impact more than communities,” Moleño said. “So they tend to see these projects [as], ‘Oh this will impact the community’ or ‘uplift the lives of the people’ or ‘improve the socio-economic status.’”

However, she said the initiative is at the expense of the revenues of the company.

“In IB, we’re looking at the win-win situation for both the community and the company.

But the engagement increases the competitiveness of the company,” Moleño explained. “You don’t sacrifice your profit at the expense of social impact. Iyon yung kagandahan ng [That’s the beauty of] Inclusive Business.”

Continuum

FOR so long a time, capitalists have tried to bare their hearts out, initially calling such as acts of charity.

Then philanthropy came into the picture wherein the rich are photographed giving out checks representing a substantial share of wealth.

It was only after so-called activist shareholders prompted companies to bring philanthropy to another level. Thus, “corporate social responsibility,” or CSR, was born. This corporate strategy has evolved into several versions, like computer software, the recent one being “CSR 4.0.”

“Actually, [in the] continuum, when you come from CSR to IB— you look at Inclusive Business as the more mature among the [CSR] models,” Moleño told the BusinessMirror. “CSR could be plain philanthropy. You make it a little bit strategic, somehow connected [to your] business but still looking at the social impact more, then that’s [already] SE [Social Entrepreneurship.”

She claims that the Inclusive Business approach is “more sustainable [on the] side [of the] company and also [the] side [of the] community.”

“It [IB] encourages a long-term relationship between the two,” Moleño said. “[That is why we see it] as poverty alleviation approach.”

She further explained that the more companies engage the low-income communities, “the more that we improve the lives of the people.”

“Then, the economic growth of the whole country in general improves better. Which is why we are advocating for this as, I suppose, a better approach than SE.”

Criteria

MOLEÑO explained the 25 percent in cost of goods sold or cost of service is called as cost of sales and service for tourism business and cost of goods sold for businesses in agriculture.

That percentage must be

sourced from the MSEs, she said.

“That’s one of the criteria,” Moleño added. “And the other criteria—they need to have at least 25 people in their operations as regular employees—meaning to say, at least minimum wage with all the benefits, directly hired. And, 30 percent of those hired should be women.”

Another criteria, she said, is that “we need to see an increase in income.”

“Before they hire the people, [what’s their] base-line income?

The people we target are those at the below-poverty threshold. Specifically, [they are in the] databases of government agencies, e.g., 4Ps or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program [the government’s conditional cash-transfer scheme], the indigenous peoples,” Moleño said.

“We try to target these people.”

However, those not in the database of government agencies could still be hired as long as there’s a third party that could say they belong to the poverty threshold.

“Kasi hindi naman natin nasasabi na lahat nasa database. May process lang na magsasabi na si ganito, walang trabaho or kinikita niya is P100 a day lang [We can’t say all of them are in the database. There’s a process that could vet a person who is unemployed or is employed but earns only P100 a day].”

Moleño said a company must undertake a base-line study on these people and monitor them individually.

“And after the project—after three years, they will do an evaluation to compare the growth of their income from the start of the project.”

SEDA Lio Resort, the first Inclusive Business model project under the current Investment Priorities Plan. It is a P1.7-billion hotel project of Ayala Land Hotel and Resorts Corp. approved by the BOI in 2017. The Seda Lio Resort is located within the sprawling 325-hectare Lio Tourism Estate in El Nido, Palawan, which is the first “ecologically sustainable tourism estate” by Ayala Land Inc. LIO.SEDAHOTELS.COM

Models

MOLEÑO, however, said the company undertaking IB must also see its income grow.

“If you want it more mature [wherein] you don’t sacrifice your revenues then you engage in IB,” she told the BusinessMirror.

“Hindi naman sila magkalaban, actually nagko-complement [Helping communities must also complement a firm’s revenue growth].”

The only thing with social entrepreneurship is, it’s still considered as MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises],” Moleño said. “In many instances, when you develop an IB model, you’re also engaging MSMEs or SEs sometimes.”

She further explained that having “engage-able income communities” means a company doesn’t engage individually.

“You engage a certain group, collectively. So you engage cooperatives or MSMEs and one of these entities could be an SE.” Moleño said an SE may have an engagement with the community, “but it can’t scale up.”

“By the time [the entity has the capability to scale up], then that SE could be an IB entity.”

Moleño cited as example an agricultural company that sources from farmers but doesn’t buy a commodity per piece.

“So you look at an entity that can function as a consolidator, then you buy from that entity,” she explained. “Iyon yung entity na mag e-engage farmers directly [That’s the entity that would directly engage with farmers].”

According to the BOI official, the government is “also looking at the means.”

CITRONELLA farmers in Imbayao, Malaybalay, Bukidnon, harvest grass for the essential oils in Human Nature’s products. Human Nature’s suppliers of raw materials such as citronella, coco nectar and lemongrass hail from more than 23 communities and social enterprises across the Philippines. In the communities located in Bukidnon and Camarines Norte, women make up at least 40 percent of the workers. Most of these farmers have limited education and rely on subsistence farming to make a living. They have no land of their own and because they are found in remote areas, they have limited exposure to their potential markets. To help these farmers raise their income, Human Nature builds on the capacity of its farmers, provides testing support and seeds, and buys their raw materials at fair, above-market prices. For example, Human Nature purchases citronella oil at 40 to 60 percent above market value. BOARD OF INVESTMENTS

“When we engage the marginalized, it will also be the time that these people will need capacitybuilding, for example, because it’s difficult to find communities who can meet the standards of the company.”

She further explained these trainings are held for groups and not per individual.

“When it’s a cooperative, it’s just one training [session]. For the farmers, [if you’re a] company [you can do] technology transfer, [so the] community [can meet your] standards.”

Region

THE Philippines is the only country in Asia and among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) that has an existing policy on Inclusive Business, according to Moleño.

On the regional level, there are still ongoing forums and workshops for the Asean policy makers, she said.

“It’s mostly raising awareness on IB. There has been a lot of discussions [at the] institutional level.

Also, [it’s only the Philippines so far that has] specifics on [incen-

tives] for IB models,” Moleño said, adding that the level of discussion at the Asean is still incongruous.

“When we talk about marginalized, [there are differences in the] definition. [For the Philippines], it’s more on economics. [But] when you talk to countries like Singapore, their marginalized population, it’s more on mental health issues.”

This is where interventions vary, according to Moleño.

“So, [our] approach [is] more on the incentives; it’s more economic also. You compensate the companies who are engaging in In-

clusive Business models.”

Expenses

MOLEÑO said the raison d’être for offering incentives is the recognition that going into IB may be a very expensive effort on the part of the company.

“From the trainings, to facilitate all of these, [so that they can fully organize an] Inclusive Business model, it’s not cheap. So somehow, we see these incentives as sharing of costs. It’s a way for the government to say: ‘We will help you.’”

aderLook

sMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace | Thursday, October 25, 2018

A5

to grow communities, enterprises

WOMEN from the Water Hyacinth Livelihood Initiative process dried hyacinth to produce the plant-based leather used in the creation of EcoIngenuity’s Jacinto & Lirio products. All of Jacinto & Lirio’s beneficiaries are women from seven different communities in Pasig City, Rizal, Laguna and Pampanga. Most of them are stay-at-home mothers from Rizal who live in water hyacinth-infested rural areas.

They cannot work in a normal office setup because they take care of the households while their husbands are away working. By working with Jacinto & Lirio, these women learned to utilize water hyacinth as material for multifunctional and stylish leather goods such as planners, journals and bags. BOARD OF INVESTMENTS

Moleño said there are different approaches for IB relative to each country.

“There’s a ‘Pay for Success’ model; wherein they ask the company to develop projects in which the company will engage the community. And then, it’s like the company would front load the expense for that.”

Once the project succeeds after a number of years, the government will pay back the expenses, Moleño explained.

“Everybody has their own interventions but I think it’s really only the Philippines who’s really pushing strongly for IB,” she said, adding that other countries still see such initiative as social entrepreneurship.

Poverty

MOLEÑO believes by offering incentives through IB, “you are kind of alleviating the people off of poverty.”

“Meaning to say, if they have the money, then they have the money to spend. If they don’t earn anything, then you don’t have the money to spend,” she told the BusinessMirror. “We’re looking at this as a more sustainable approach, because it addresses the economic issues.”

Moleño said while providing free medical check-up or tuition is okay, these do not address the economic side and only make people become dependent.

“But if you give them a longterm, sustainable source of income, they themselves can spend for the education of their children and for the other necessities,” she said. “We look at IB, actually, as a more sustainable approach; a longterm approach, toward poverty reduction.”

It is through the latter that the government believes would contribute to economic growth.

“We’re hoping that, since IB is focused on the marginalized sector, then the masses [can feel the] effect of economic growth.”

Inflation

GOVERNMENT data has revealed that inflation is hurting the bottom of the pyramid (BOP).

According to Moleño, how the

government would contend with a high-inflation ecosystem as it pushes for IB with the BOP as key element is relative to certain factors.

But she noted the inclusion of IB in the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion, or TRAIN law, keeps the BOI optimistic.

“Kasi it’s being recognized as one of the potential areas where business can engage the marginalized sector,” she added. “However, [with regard to] inflation, we are hoping that with the provision of a stable source of income, employment, long-term marketing agreements and relationships ng company [with the marginalized sector] somehow could reduce the effect [of the TRAIN law].”

Moleño said the government believes inflation would not have much impact on the marginalized sector “if they have a stable source of income.”

This is why she is emphasizing that a company using an IB approach should also undertake an impact assessment, especially at the individual level.

“We want to see the time before he or she is employed, this is his or her income; then after the engagement, after the IB project, [what has happened to his/her income].”

One of the requirements, Moleño emphasized, is that the worker must receive a minimum wage. Or, if the worker already enjoys minimum wage, there must be a 20-percent increase in income.

“That is our challenge, because even those with minimum wage are still below poverty threshold.”

Incentives

ACCORDING to Moleño, the government imposes requirements on a company using an IB approach.

For one, there is direct hiring at the local level.

“So, hindi siya dadaan sa manpower agency. Kasi when we post through the manpower agency, pwede siyang magpalit ng tao anytime. And then we don’t see the long-term impact that we’re trying to see,” she explained.

Also, the company is required to source 25 percent from MSMEs, which could be in the form of raw

ECOINGENUITY Inc., the company behind the Jacinto &Lirio brand, teaches its partner communities the intricate leatherization process that transforms water hyacinth stalks from aquatic pests into profitable material. BOARD OF INVESTMENTS

material or labor.

This is so that at least, there’s an assurance that 25 percent will come from, mostly, the locality, Moleño said.

“For example, if the firm’s financial statement is P1 billion, P250 million should come from MSMEs in order for the company to qualify for tax incentives.”

Moleño explained the incentives given by the government to IB projects are the same as any other priority activities, like income-tax holidays and other fiscal and nonfiscal incentives.

“However, it’s the only priority activity [that will give an] incentive because you are engaging the lowincome community,” she said.

“As for the other incentives, if you’re familiar with BOI, you’re usually given incentives for putting up a power plant or a renewable-energy project, or you put up a port facility—anything under the IPP. This one [in IB], you are given incentives because you are engaging the low-income communities directly.”

Businesses in the tourism sector are required to hire local people if the IB model is used.

“To clarify, these incentives are given per project, not per company,” Moleño said.

For example, she said, a hotel

chain that puts up outlets can apply for incentives for each one.

“Same thing with agriculture. However, the requirement for agriculture is a little bit high: 300 farmers or individuals engaged, [but it’s not] direct hiring [because] you don’t really hire for agriculture. So you can source from them, it’s mostly on sourcing raw materials.”

First

IN August the BOI approved the application of Seda Lio Resort as the first Inclusive Business model project under the current Investment Priorities Plan (IPP). Seda Lio Resort is a P1.7-billion hotel project of Ayala Land Hotel and Resorts Corp. (AHRC) approved by the BOI in 2017. The Seda Lio Resort is located within the sprawling 325-hectare Lio Tourism Estate in El Nido, Palawan, which is the first “ecologically sustainable tourism estate” by Ayala Land Inc. (ALI). Overall, the estate is managed by Ten Knots Development Corp. (TKDC), also an ALI subsidiary.

Nearly 90 percent of TKDC’s 341 employees come from local communities, according to a BOI document. The BOI said TKDC believes its Inclusive Business model that hits the quadruple bottom line

is worthy of replication across the country.

“This is because their business model is financially profitable and creative in the ways it engages communities, protects the environment and upholds employees’ welfare.”

Inclusive Business models in the tourism sector like TKDC’s are preferred investment activities priorities under the 2017 to 2019 IPP, the BOI said. Under the IPP, inclusive business models in the tourism sector that integrate micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in their value chain may receive five-year tax holidays.

For a tourism enterprise to qualify for incentives, it should source at least 25 percent of total goods sold from MSEs. It should provide at least 25 direct jobs for individuals in select government databases such as DSWD Conditional Cash Transfer Graduates, Department of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries and the like. There should also be a 20-percent increase in the average income of individuals engaged from MSEs. All of these requirements should be met within three years of operations.

Challenges

ACCORDING to a study conducted

by the BOI on IB, companies have very low level of awareness when it comes to the Inclusive Business concept (where a mean score of 1.51 out of 7 was reached; 1 indicating “not aware at all”).

This year they plan on raising awareness for IB as well as reaching their quota of having five IB projects approved by the BOI. Currently only two projects are registered with the BOI as an IB model in the Philippines.

However, a book co-published by the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) lists entities its executive director said “embody IB models as part of their system.”

One of these is Jollibee Group Foundation Inc., the CSR arm of Jollibee Food Corp. that is notably under public scrutiny for practicing contractualization.

According to Helen O. Orande, the LCF began its road to IB in 2013 when it held a conference “to refocus efforts in making a genuine impact in contributing to more inclusive economic growth.”

“On the same year, in one of the LCF general assemblies, we have again invited several resource speakers in our learning session to talk more about Inclusive Business and how to integrate it to the business framework,” Orande, LCF executive director, said.

A6 Thursday, October 25, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Let local leaders help in antidrug campaign

D

RUG abuse is a daunting task that continues to test the mettle of the Duterte administration.

Nobody knows how big the country’s drugs problem is at present, but official statistics show that in 2015, the Philippine Dangerous Drugs Board estimated a total of 1.8 million drug users. Of this number, 859,150 were thought to be users of shabu or crystal methamphetamine—the drug of particular concern in the country.

After two years of unrelenting campaign against illegal drugs, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Tuesday reported that 8,766 of the country’s 42,044 barangays have been declared drug-cleared as of September 30, 2018.

The antidrug campaign also bagged scalawags masquerading as public servants. PNP Deputy Spokesman Supt. Kimberly Molitas said 286 law enforcers were dismissed from the service due to drug use and 105 others for other drug-related offense. On the other hand, as a result of law-enforcement efforts against high-value targets, a total of 582 public servants were dismissed in antidrug operations, 272 of them were government workers, 250 were elected officials and 60 uniformed personnel.

PDEA Spokesman Derrick Carreon said drug-cleared barangays are those categorized to have been “drug-affected” but were successfully subjected to the drug-clearing programs of the government led by PDEA, together with the Philippine National Police (PNP). These programs entail intervention on users, arrest of drug personalities, the removal of transshipment points and manufacturing facilities, and the operation of rehabilitation treatment centers in barangays.

Carreon said there are post-operation programs to ensure the drugcleared status of an area after the campaign. He added that a total of P25.01 billion worth of drugs and laboratory equipment were seized since September 2018, an increase of P891 million from the August 2018 data.

“For the same period, 3,271.52 kilos of shabu worth P18.27 billion were confiscated by PDEA, PNP and other law-enforcement agencies nationwide.”

According to Carreon, at least 1,076.01 kilos of shabu were confiscated from smuggling and 410.07 kilos from manufacturing. He said most of the entry points of the smuggled illegal drugs were from the coastlines, seaports, mail parcels and airports.

While we commend the PDEA and the PNP for their antidrugs efforts, it’s about time for the Duterte administration to deploy innovative, comprehensive, community-based prevention intervention if it wants to declare more drug-cleared barangays. A campaign involving barangay officials who know the residents—their constituents—would be more effective. Besides, barangay officials have the mandate as the government’s first line of defense in the fight against illegal drugs. They know who are the delinquent subjects, or the drug addicts in their areas of responsibility.

We know that PDEA has hundreds of barangay officials on their narcolist. These officials could be users, sellers, protectors, or those who keep ties with drug personalities. However, these bad eggs are the exceptions.

There are more trustworthy barangay leaders waiting to be tapped to help make the government’s antidrug campaign succeed.

Let’s secure the assistance of barangay leaders in an all-out effort to clear their respective communities of illegal drugs. After all, no government effort would succeed without the help and the cooperation of the people in the community, especially at the barangay level.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

Stock Market 013: Horses and jockeys John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

T

HE greatest jockey during the Golden Age of American thoroughbred horse racing was William Shoemaker. While “The Shoe’s” records have been eclipsed, he epitomized the sport. Born so small, the story is that his grandmother kept him in a shoebox near the stove.

Shoemaker dropped out of high school to make his first professional ride in 1949.

While The Shoe rode some of the greatest race horses in history to victory, he also became the oldest winner of the famous Kentucky Derby aboard an 18 to 1 long shot, Ferdinand. In 1964 Time magazine commented: “Trainers claim that a racehorse improves by two or three lengths simply by having Willie on his back. So confident were punters that their money was safe with Shoemaker on board that they could react badly when he lost a race.”

But the question was never

answered: Which is more important; the horse or the jockey?

The jockey performs two functions. The first is to keep the horse focused on the race and then to help the horse function at its top effectiveness. But no jockey can “make” a horse win.

To use the words “Philippine Stock Exchange” and “jockey” in the same conversation is to have people suddenly forget your name and number or whisper, “So what’s your hot tip?”

The daily reality is, with several million pesos or less, you can put almost any issue at almost any price, thanks in part to the PSE “run-off”

Cecilio T. Arillo

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“designated sponsors,” which secure liquidity by quoting binding prices for buying and selling.

On the London Stock Exchange there are official market makers and investors can always buy and sell as each stock always has at least two market makers and they are obliged to deal. You never have a huge buy/ sell gap in price quotations.

Stock jockeys abuse the system by putting a deception on the public because of foolish investors combined with a flawed system. If a price is up 30 or 40 percent in one day and down 20 or 30 percent the next, that night some guy is lighting his Cuban cigars with a thousand-peso bill. The PSE system either does not have the facilities or the ability to protect investors from this situation.

If you want to avoid being dragged behind the horse, either watch wild price and volume movements from the grandstand. Or get in, hold on very tight, and jump off before the horse breaks a leg and falls.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web

site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Martial law, human rights and other stark issues

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

period. “Stock jockeys,” by using their own money, can create both trading volume and price movement. Ignorant investors can get caught up in this “excitement” and can lose substantial amounts if they are on the wrong side if the jockey jumps off the horse. Caveat emptor.

But then again, ignorant investors do not need to be “jockeyed” to lose 80 percent. Just look at some of the “third telco” companies.

There are issues that are up 200 percent and more in the past few years because the “jockey” provided both liquidity and price stability. If there was a rush of selling, the jockey bought those shares to provide support. If there was too much upside excitement, the jockey came in to sell to dampen the irrational excitement.

Interestingly, that is exactly the model of the most successful and efficient stock market in the world; the New York Stock Exchange.

The NYSE has Designated Market Makers, formerly known as “specialists.” The market makers provide required liquidity, and take the other side of trades when there are shortterm buy-and-sell-side imbalances.

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange runs a system of market makers called

Part 10

Contemptuous mockery of the country’s judicial system

O

N trumped-up charges of rebellion complex filed by the Department of Justice, then under lawyer and now Senator Franklin M. Drilon, President Aquino imprisoned Enrile, the man who led the Edsa mutiny and some of the people who supported him.

This writer, on legitimate pursuit of his profession gathering materials for his columns and books, was not spared and was also charged with rebellion complex, a nonexistent crime in the statue book, hoping they can silence him.

Next, she persecuted her own political enemies and allies, including Salvador Laurel, her own vice president; businessman Eduardo Cojuangco, her own cousin who was a close Marcos associate; Ramon Mitra Jr., the Speaker of the House who objectively pointed out some of the serious defects of her government; and key members of the Rebolusyonaryong Makabansa (RAM), whose members guarded her and the ballots during the snap elections, and subsequently staged a rebellion that

ousted Marcos and handed her the power on a silver platter.

Very early, Enrile, Laurel and the RAM officers already sensed signs of betrayal.

“I thought for a while that the shift away from Edsa’s compass was merely spurred by the cross currents of transition and was not really a symptom of early decadence,” Laurel said in a series of exclusive interviews with this writer.

He recalled that only an hour after their oath-taking, President Aquino, in reading Proclamation 1, wanted to appoint Enrile and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Fidel V. Ramos in acting capacities only.

Laurel pleaded with Mrs. Aquino not to mistrust Enrile and Ramos

who, according to him, had been mainly responsible for their ascendancy to power. “She relented and agreed to delete the word ‘acting’ from their appointment papers.”

Laurel thought that it was the first and last time that she would show mistrust of Enrile.

He was wrong.

A few days after she transferred to Malacañang from the Cojuangco building where President Aquino held office after assuming the presidency, she again sought to banish Enrile from her government.

“We were alone in her office in the palace when Cory asked me: ‘Doy, how can I get rid of Enrile?’”

Laurel kept the incident from Enrile and decided instead to cooperate with President Aquino.

Later, however, President Aquino’s advisers mistook Laurel’s cooperation for a weakness that resulted in his being treated as a wimp in the Aquino Cabinet, seen as constantly deferring to the lady President.

The new administration, before it could begin with anything, plunged into a disquieting debate: “Would it be a constitutional democracy or a revolutionary one?”

Laurel and other officials thought this question was already resolved with the 1973 Constitution in place.

They felt it ironic that after abolishing a dictatorship, the new government would again resort to dictatorial powers by abrogating the Constitution and governing by

proclamations.

Laurel, for his part, said it was apparent that President Aquino’s manipulation of the government was planned from the very start, adding that she and her advisers were determined to monopolize power.

Former Tanodbayan Justice Raul M. Gonzalez recalled in a series of interviews that, instead of the phrase “preserve and defend the Constitution of the Philippines,” which he prepared the day before she was sworn into office, President Aquino’s hidden advisers quietly typed out a new line, “Preserve and defend the Fundamental Law,” just a few minutes before the oath-taking.

In Laurel’s case, Gonzalez said, he read exactly the text of the oath prescribed in the 1973 Constitution: “To preserve and defend the Constitution, execute its laws and do justice to everyone...”

Gonzalez, the uncompromising government prosecutor, who was among those who strongly opposed the abolition of the 1973 Constitution, later figured in a controversial Supreme Court decision that resulted in the abolition of his office and his indefinite suspension from the practice of law after he had exposed the involvement of some of the Aquino-appointed justices in graft and corruption and immoral extravagance, details of which were in my best-selling book, Greed & Betrayal, also published by See “Arillo,” A7

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PHL sailors in turbulent, ‘Master, I want to see!’ murky waters

Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.

ALÁLAONG BAGÁ

Val A. Villanueva

BUSINESSWISE

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HOUSANDS of Filipino seafarers are now jobless, no thanks to “ambulance chasers” who are making it difficult for shipping companies to hire them.

The 57,000-strong United Filipino Seafarers (UFS), a union of maritime professionals recognized globally, is alarmed by the sharp drop of Filipino seafarer deployments.

Records from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration reveal that there were only 387,072 sea-based workers deployed in 2016 compared with last year’s 442,820, an astonishing difference of almost 65,000. This is not just cold statistics written on Excel spreadsheets. This is flesh-and-bone reality where the sustenance of thousands of families are at stake.

UFS President Engr. Nelson R a mirez bl a mes “ambu l a nce chasing”—a nefarious activity where an appellant seeks compensation based on fictitious or frivolous claims of injury. He says the practice has disappointed and disheartened foreign shipowners from further hiring Filipino seafarers. This despicable practice has added to the country’s worsening economic situation, and bloated the number of unemployed maritime graduates each year.

According to Ramirez, compensation claims are determined by arbitrators or arbiters of the National Labor Relations Commission or the National Conciliation and Mediation Board which are both under the Department of Labor and Employment. Claims decided in favor of the complainant are immediately settled after judgment. Refusal to pay, Ramirez says, may result in the garnishment of the shipowners’ and/ or the manning agencies’ financial accounts. Little or no recourse is left for recovering the amount paid to the complaining party even though, in some cases, the arbitrator’s judgment may be overturned by the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.

Labor lawyers of the lowest kind have found the system to be lucrative. Ambulance chasers in cahoots with crooked arbitrators are having a field day enticing credulous seafarers to file claims against their respective employers.

These shameless lawyers can easily be spotted hounding emergency rooms and other venues where injured seafarers seek medical assistance. Claimants can get as much as $250,000 depending on the injury.

Oftentimes, however, they never get to enjoy the amount of judgment because ambulance chasers have eaten up the bulk.

Says Ramirez: “They are a blight on the maritime industry. Everybody involved in ambulance chasing are blinded by greed—with no thought on how their actions are harming those of us who toil in this industry. Ambulance-chasing lawyers, in particular, are the lowest of the low.

They are hyenas ready to pounce on the compensation that is being awarded to seafarers by exploited manning agencies and principals, at percentages that are much higher than the 10 percent commission allowable by law. It’s not unusual for the lawyer to grab as much as 40 percent of the award; that is, in addition to legal fees and other hidden charges that the seafarer has to pay on top of the lawyer’s commission.

In the end, it’s the lawyer who ends up getting more money, while the seafarer is left on the hook should the award be overturned.”

Such expensive payouts have pushed shipowners to hire other nationalities in lieu of Filipino sailors.

This explains why the Philippines, which used to be the world’s largest supplier of maritime crew, is now in competition with China, Indonesia,

O

UR formation on the essentials of discipleship continues.

If last week Jesus opened the eyes of His disciples blinded by worldly ambition and self-seeking, now He helps a blind man who begs Him to free him from blindness and who, upon seeing, follows Him on His way to Jerusalem (Mark 11:46-52).

Blindness afflicting humanity India, Myanmar, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam, among other emerging seafaring counterparts.

Expectedly, most manning agents and shipowners appeal the preposterous decisions of arbiters or arbitrators. In some cases where the decisions are reversed, the seafarers have to give back the awarded disability claims.

“The poor seafarer now has to face the problem of returning the millions of pesos that he was supposed to have received, despite the fact that his ambulance-chasing lawyer has received a majority share of the award. The lawyer, after all, has no liability to reimburse the money, so he does a disappearing act, leaving the seafarer to face the music alone,” Ramirez laments. “Where before, he was all attention and encouragement, now that it’s payback time, there’s nothing but a deafening silence on his part.”

I believe that, as these bogus reparation cases become more ubiquitous, it will have severe implications with possibly irreversible economic costs. As shipowners turn to other labor suppliers, a decline of dollar remittances is very likely. This will also result in fewer employment opportunities for all related services, such as maritime training centers and manning agencies.

Since the 1970s, Filipino seafarers have constituted the single biggest nationality onboard ocean-going vessels worldwide. From bulk carriers to container ships, and from oil tankers to cruise ships, some 387,072 Filipino seafarers are at sea at any given time. Filipino seafarers are on board one out of every four ships in the world. This translates to foreign currency remittances of Filipino seafarers amounting to $5.6 billion for 2016 alone, or 18 percent of all inward remittances of all overseas Filipino workers.

CF Sharp Crew Management President and CEO Miguel Rocha shares the same sentiment. He says that his agency has lost at least 1,000 job openings due to the persistent problem of ambulance chasing and its inherent financial burden: “Filipino maritime professionals are competitive and attractive since they are dependable, hardworking and possess good communication skills and English language proficiency.

Due to this, seafarers became a significant work force of the Philippine total labor force, bringing $6-billion remittances into our government coffers. Sadly, things are totally different now.”

It’s about time stakeholders act in concert to eradicate this menace in the maritime industry. They should exert pressure on lawmakers to seek an enduring solution to ambulance chasing, the lowest form of lawyering. The two houses of Congress should formulate an immediate, clear and long-term response to this problem to protect the vast majority of Filipino sailors who are honest and hardworking.

Their hard-earned reputation for professionalism, integrity, competence and industriousness are tarnished by the few who fall prey to ambulance-chasing lawyers.

We should not allow the livelihood and well-being of hundreds of thousands in the Filipino seafaring and manning sector, and their respective families, to be compromised by the greed and injustice brought about by shady lawyering.

For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mvala.v@gmail.com.

THE dark void of human alienation from the Creator is powerfully symbolized by the blindness that humankind easily becomes afflicted with.

Prophets have consequently seen the cure of blindness as one of the signs of the coming of God’s kingdom (Isaiah 26:19; 29:18-19). Jesus Himself understood it so, as He claimed early on in His public ministry that He has been sent precisely to proclaim such “recovery of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18). And to John’s emissaries He cited as a clue to His messianic identity that by Him “the blind regain their sight” (Matthew 11:5).

Mark 8:22-26 has already narrated how a blind man was cured by

Jesus in lakeside Bethsaida. People brought the blind man to Jesus requesting Him to touch the man. Taking the man demonstratively by the hand outside the village to be with Him, and starting off with spittle on the man’s eyes, Jesus ceremoniously and progressively gave back His sight. His final, strange instruction to the man who fully recovered his sight was: “Do not even go into the village.” The man was not to return anymore to his previous world devoid of light. Blindness is to be abhorred, and humanity must be freed from it.

‘Have pity on me.’

THE cure of the blind beggar named Bartimaeus just outside Jericho is

Thursday, October 25, 2018 A7

particularly significant for the evangelist Mark. It is supposed to stand out in contrast to the blindness and lack of faith of the disciples, especially the sons of Zebedee, as we saw in the foregoing Sunday (Mark 10:3545). Things happen here differently.

The blind man himself, sitting by the roadside and hearing that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, seizes the opportunity and cries out loud: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”

And he refuses to be silenced by the rebukes of the crowd evidently irked by his shouting; he keeps calling out all the more.

Summoned by Jesus, Bartimaeus throws aside his cloak to approach him. His security blanket, his life, the cloak is where he receives alms thrown by passers-by. This is now hardly of consequence to the more important matter of being able to present himself to Jesus. How different from the rich man we saw two Sundays back, who was also searching for a more fulfilling life, but could not leave behind the security of his many possessions. What is it that this blind beggar wants from Jesus? In his pitiable condition, the man knows what he wants as he pours out his heart in his plea: “Master, I want to see!” Jesus sees the faith of the man and tells him,

“Go your way, your faith has saved you.” Liberated from the imprisoning darkness, Bartimaeus is enabled to see not only the world around but Jesus Himself. Now he knows not only that he wants to see, but that he wants to be with Jesus and to go, not just his own way, but Jesus’ way—on to Jerusalem.

Alálaong bagá, to see is to be freed from the blindness of heart and to receive the light of truth.

We need to be aware of our blindness and, when we do, we turn with our whole soul to Jesus undeterred by anybody or anything: “Master, I want to see!” Jesus asks us what we truly want in life and what we think He can do for us. Too many are still sitting by the wayside, sightless and futureless. Jerusalem is waiting, the new life with Jesus the Risen One. To really see is to follow Jesus resolutely down the road, living according to His way: (in the words of last Sunday’s Gospel) drinking the cup He drinks and being baptized with the baptism he is baptized with, and ready to offer oneself and become like Him the servant of all.

Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.

Labor’s falling share in the global income pie Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo

LABOREM EXERCENS Continued from A1

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XFAM, in a study in support of An Economy for the 99 Percent (2017), revealed that eight billionaires have amassed the same wealth possessed by the poorest half of the world’s population. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) found that 50 companies control a combined wealth equivalent to that of 100 nations (Scandal: Inside the global supply chains of 50 top companies, 2016).

The most popular study is Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2013) authored by the French economist Thomas Piketty. The book has sold over 1.5 million copies. The thesis of the 696-page book is that the rate of return on capital (“r”) is greater than the rate of growth (“g”) over the long term, the overall outcome of which is the greater and greater concentration of wealth on the few capitalists. This unequal outcome is at the roots of the never-ending social and economic instability erupting in various capitalist societies.

This, he said, is the overall pattern of capitalist development in the United States and Europe since the 18th century.

Thus, Piketty’s solution is state intervention in the form of a progressive global tax on wealth. He argued that unless this is done, the democratic order is threatened.

To a certain extent, this is already happening with the rise of populist strong men and women preaching better lives for the ordinary citizens without altering the existing economic arrangements and the distribution of wealth.

Incidentally, the tax on wealth is the opposite of what economic technocrats in the Asia Pacific and other countries are proposing: reduced tax on corporate income and wealth based on the assumption that the rich corporations and families shall be enticed to invest more and create more jobs. This is the old supply-side economics which seems to be the basis of the Trabaho bill pending in Philippine Congress.

Arillo . . .

continued from A6

Amazon in 2000.

As a result, the Gonzales incident and the transition period between President Marcos’s constitutional

The most prolific producers of inequality studies are the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank given their “development mission.” Both institutions have been given warnings since the turn of the millennium that inequality poses the gravest threat to economic growth, especially in the surging Asia-Pacific region.

But recently, the International Monetary Fund, the world’s fiscal policeman, has joined the club of inequality analysts. Under the IMF’s Christine Lagarde, any fiscal program that affects the social and economic stability of a country is considered “macro-critical.”

In this connection, four senior IMF researchers—Mai Chi Dao, Mitali Das, Zsoka Koczan and Weicheng Lian—came up with a study that has a clearly macro-critical title: “Why is Labor Receiving a Smaller Share of Global Income?” As a backgrounder, the labor’s share of income declines when wages are stagnant amid rising productivity, or to put it another way, when wages grow more slowly than productivity or the amount of output per hour of work. And since capital is on top of the income distribution, the stagnant or weak labor income share tends to deepen income and social inequality.

In the study of Dao et al., labor’s income share has been declining since the 1970s, in particular in the advanced economies and in the emerging markets like the Philippines, including a few select developing countries. In the advanced economies, the downtrend started regime and President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino’s revolutionary government saw the endless contemptuous mockery of the country’s judicial system.

In contrast to President Marcos’s constitutional democracy and adherence to the rule of law in his

in the 1980s, with labor income shares now at around 4 percent lower than they were in the 1970s.

The decline is also very visible in the case of China, the world’s growth leader and one with a very high inequality index.

The explanations given by the IMF researchers for the declining labor income share: 1) rapid progress in information and communication technology and the ensuing trend toward the automation of jobs; and the 2) offshoring of labor-intensive tasks, which naturally affects the labor force in the developed economies the most.

Critics of economic globalization, particularly the trade unions and a number of civil society organizations (CSOs), are not likely to embrace in full the above IMF analysis.

In the first place, the decades of the 1970s to the present (six decades) are decades of rapid global economic integration, which saw the big multinational corporations virtually rearranging the world economic order by promoting a new global division of labor, with developing countries specializing on labor-intensive production for export (under the MNCs’ global value chains or GVCs) and the developed economies focusing

on research and technology-intensive work.

To the International Trade Union Confederation, declining labor share has been accompanied by declining bargaining power under this global division of labor. Globalization has been fueling a Race to the Bottom— global, regional and even national— among countries and corporations because competition is seen succeeding only when an economy is able to provide investors cheap and malleable labor. In turn, such Race to the Bottom is the reason labor precarity (called the endo phenomenon

by Filipino trade unionists) has become widespread.

Thus, to address the falling labor income share, policy-makers need to go back to Thomas Piketty’s proposal on global tax on wealth. More important, there is a need for governments, policy makers and the trade unions and CSOs to work together in the crafting of a new architecture of globalization, for the present one is unjust and tottering. With the digital revolution continuing to roll and the old division of labor imposed by the MNCs in the 1970s to 1990s now being rearranged, the need for such a new architecture has never been so urgent and critical.

time, Mrs. Aquino, only a few days in power, abolished the 1973 Constitution under which she took her oath of office, arrogated unbridled authority unto herself and arbitrarily ordered the wholesale removal of Supreme Court justices, Appellate Court justices, lower

court judges, prosecutors and other career officials and employees of the Ministry of Justice.

To be continued To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Thursday, October 25, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

DBM: Fuel marking system on track for 2019

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has reported that it is ready to award the contract for the operation of the government’s planned fuel marking system before the end of this month, with the government looking to implement it starting 2019.

DBM Assistant Secretary Rolando U. Toledo said the DBM-Procurement Service (DBM-PS) is ready to award the contract for the fuel marking system implementation in the country within the month.

“I just talked to our DBM-PS director that we’re just ready to award [the contract] for the fuel marking…,” Toledo said during the joint hearing of the Senate Ways and Means and Economic Affairs committees on Wednesday.

In July the DBM pointed out that two companies expressed their intention to bid for the fuel marking system implementation, namely, Texas-based Authentix Inc. as well as a joint venture between Switzerland-based Sicpa SA and SGS Philippines Inc. Later in the same month, it was reported that only the joint venture between Sicpa SA and SGS Philippines Inc. that will bid, with Authentix Inc. expressing regret that

it can no longer participate in the bidding for the project.

“Maybe [the notice of award will be issued] within the month or hopefully within the week because we have a deadline to meet. If not, we have to do the procurement process again,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the hearing.

He explained that if the contract is awarded this month, the implementation of the fuel marking system will still take place in 2019, as technical preparations will have to be undertaken by the company to ensure the smooth flow of the system. “[It will be in] 2019 because they have technical preparations first,” he said.

Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, for his part, pointed out that the fuel marking system should be implemented in order to deter smuggling.

“Based on the revenue collection from TRAIN we collected P33 billion and that will be channelled to programs like the free education, but a lot of provisions in the law still need to be implemented. For example, the fuel marking that

should be implemented to stop smuggling—if we don’t do that the smugglers will be the ones profiting,” Gatchalian said.

Collections on target

MEANWHILE, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said during the same hearing that, as of the first half of the year, the government has collected P33.7 billion in revenues from the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

“Since we collected P33.7 billion out of the P63.3 billion, we are on the dot as of the first half [of the year],” Chua said.

T he gover nment’s or ig ina l revenue collection target from the TRAIN of P89.9 billion for the first year of implementation was revised downward to P63.3 billion, after the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) deducted P26.6 billion from the forecast in light of the delays in the implementation of the electronic invoicing system, as well as the fuel marking system.

Ecop prefers hike in worker Cola, not wages

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

I

NSTEAD of a “disruptive” and permanent pay increase, employers are pushing for a more flexible compensation scheme to allow minimum-wage earners in Metro Manila to cope with the rising cost of living.

At the sidelines of consultations held by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) on Wednesday, Employer Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) Governor Antonio H. Abad said he is more open to an ad-

ditional Cost of Living Allowance (Cola) than an outright wage hike.

“I am okay with it as long it will not be too high,” Abad told the BusinessMirror in an ambush interview.

Unlike a basic wage increase, Cola is not used in the computation for 13thmonth pay, night-shift differential, overtime pay and retirement benefits, making it less costly for employers.

On Monday the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said it is open to a Cola to supplement a possible pay hike to be approved by the RTWPB-NCR if it will be below the amount in their wage petition.

INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE (ITCZ) AFFECTING MINDANAO as of 4:00 pm - October 24, 2018

For its part, the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) urged the RTWPB-NCR to explore a productivity-based wage order.

“I think the board may also want to explore the possibility of a productivity-based adjustment. Not an outright regionwide permanent adjustment, which could no longer be undone once it is already granted,” PMAP representative Rey Destura said during the consultation. He said companies are more likely to support an increase for their productive employees.

“Understand this minimum-wage

adjustment would not even consider the productivity.

“Whether you are doing a productive endeavor or not, the minimumwage adjustment will apply to you,” Destura explained.

Currently, such productivity-based pay is already being practiced by some companies under the two-tier wage system of the regional wage boards.

Under the system, workers will get a mandatory floor wage, and a productivity-based pay, which is only voluntarily given by a company.

P334 wage hike THE employers issued the statement after TUCP submitted a P334 wage hike petition at the RTWPB-NCR, citing rising inflation in previous months.

Representatives from major employer groups were unanimous in warning the RTWPB-NCR that such pay increase will force firms, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to stop their operations, leading to mass displacement.

They also reiterated their position that the higher minimum wage will drive up inflation and scare away potential investors.

Abad said he is against any wage increase on the basis solely of inflation due to its “fluctuating” nature.

“There is a possibility it [inflation] will go down in the coming months as proclaimed by the government economic managers.... There must be other factors for increasing wages,” Abad said.

Personally, Abad said he support the P20 wage hike floated by Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, rather than the TUCP wage petition. The RTWPB-NCR is set to hold its public hearing on Friday on the TUCP proposal.

The wage board may decide to issue a new wage order after the event or hold another public hearing.

Labor group hits P20 proposal MEANWHILE, a progressive labor group staged a protest in Manila on Wednesday, denouncing the proposed P20 salary increase by the regional wage board.

Members of the Bukluran ng M anggagawang Pilipino (BMP) picketed in front of a hotel in Malate where the NCR Tripartite Wage Board had a consultation meeting with employers to determine the take-home pay hike for private-sector employees in Metro Manila.

The ralliers carried placards with slogans like: “Hanggang saan aabot ang P20 mo? [Where will your P20 take you?],” “Living wage, hindi [not] starvation wage” and “Sa inyo bilyon, See “ECOP,” A2

“Data as of the first half [of the year showed] we collected P33.7 billion, out of the P89.9 billion. But of the P89.9 billion, P26.6 billion has been deducted by the DBCC because the e-invoice and fuel marking [are] not yet ready,” he added.

Based on data from the Department of Finance, a total of P33.7 billion in actual revenue collections was reported from January to June this year, higher than the target set at

P30.1 billion for the six-month period.

Broken down, collections from excise taxes reached over P55.8 billion, lower than the target of P69.5 billion, with petroleum excise tax collections contributing P20.9 billion to the total, automobiles at P9.5 billion, sugar-sweetened beverages with P18.5 billion, tobacco with P5.5 billion, taxes on coal with P400 million and mining taxes at P900 million, among others.

ROXAS BLVD. CLOSED OCT. 27 FOR JESUS IS LORD EVENTS

A

PORTION of Roxas Boulevard in Manila City will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, October 27, to give way to the 40th Anniversary of Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Church at the Rizal Park, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced on Wednesday.

MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said the event will utilize the Quirino Grandstand and is expected to draw 100,000 participants. “We advise the public to stay away from the area if you have no important business there,” Garcia said.

Three lanes from Kalaw to P. Burgos (southbound) will be off-limits to vehicles starting at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday for some technical preparations.

Remaining lanes on the said portion will be totally closed from 10 a.m. up to 12 midnight for activities lined up for the event. Orange barriers and cones will be placed on affected areas to guide motorists.

Traffic enforcers will also be working hand in hand with the Manila local government in managing traffic and ensuring the safety of the participants.

One lane on three streets— Kalaw, Bonifacio Drive and P. Burgos —will serve also as dropoff points of buses carrying the participants.

Designated parking areas are in Intramuros, Cultural Center of the Philippines and Philippine International Convention Center.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Chinese power firms eye merchant plants in PHL Continued from A1

(WESM). “These are merchant power plants. They will do it without the PSA [power supply agreement]. We have a spot market.

What is the use of the WESM if all the supply is already contracted,” said Cusi, adding that the agency is also aiming to increase the volume of the spot market to 20 percent.

Cusi said he is aware of the challenges for a power firm to put up a merchant plant. “It is difficult to put up a merchant plant without a power supply agreement because of bankability,” said Cusi.

Most banks require a PSA before granting the loan applications of power firms.

“With the hope, the aspiration that our demand is increasing,

there will be some percentage of that capacity to be contracted.

Mahirap kasi magtayo tayo ng power plant kung kelan nandyan na ang demand [It will be difficult for us if we start building the power plants only when the demand becomes urgent],” added Cusi.

The energy chief also said that China may prefer to construct a merchant power plant rather than provide grants.

Cusi said the merchant power plants would be coal-fired and ultra supercritical, meaning, they would require less coal per megawatthour, leading to lower emissions.

Once plans for the power plants are finalized, the projects could be declared as energy projects of national significance, the DOE chief said.

Dubai firm keen on setting up 20 silos in PHL Continued from A1

“Personally, I like the idea,” Piñol said. “Because I feel this is where our grains industry is very weak in: postharvest facilities. The NFA is still using storing rice in dilapidated warehouses.”

“We are in the process of really modernizing our grains facilities from postharvest to storage and even up to marketing,” he added.

Under its proposal, B2Firms will construct four grain silos capable of storing up to 60,000 metric tons of paddy in five major rice-producing areas, according to Piñol. The silos were designed

by B2Firms to withstand strong typhoons, he added.

The government will pay in 10 years the $1 billion that would be obtained from an Italian bank, Piñol said.

“It will be a turnkey project covered by a loan from an Italian bank.

It’s a business opportunity for Italian companies,” he said in a separate

SMS to the BusinessMirror.

“They will bring in the technology and build the project. It will be also the first major engagement in agriculture between Italy and the Philippines,” he added.

Piñol said B2Firms is part of an Italian conglomerate funded by the Italian government.

Accord ing to its web site, B2Firms is a “consulting company highly specialized in financing, agriculture projects, infrastructure and problem-solving solutions for government or big organizations/companies.”

“The company operates through a team of high-profile professionals and delivers fully integrated consulting services for large-scale projects, including analysis of projects, funds research, partnership agreement, strategic planning, financial structure, project financing and solutions with a human interaction,” it said.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, October 25, 2018

B1

PSALM plans to bid out 8 lots to pay for some Napocor debts T

2 PNOC-EC coal projects classified as ‘Projects of National Significance’

T

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM) will bid out eight lots, with a total of 20,975 square meters (sq m), as part of its efforts to generate more funds to pay off obligations incurred by the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

consortiums, government corporate entities and local government units,” PSALM said.

PSALM has real-estate assets with an aggregate land area of 100,438,788 sq m, consisting of 6,150 lots located in various parts of the country. Around 60 percent of the total land area is located in Luzon, 39 percent in Mindanao and the remaining 1 percent in the Visayas.

PSALM earlier raised plans to covert some of its real-estate assets into economic zones.

PSA LM and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) earlier inked a memorandum of understanding.

PSALM provided a list of assets to Peza for consideration in its initial phase of suitability assessment. Converting some of PSALM’s real-estate assets into economic zones is an important privatization undertaking. Leasing out its

land properties will provide it with a long-term opportunity to generate sustainable revenue while the government remains the property owner.

As of the end of June, PSALM’s remaining principal debt stood at P246.73 billion, while the remaining obligations under its independent power-producer contracts amounted to P202.7 billion.

PSALM successfully reduced its financial obligations by 64 percent to P449.4 billion. It is the agency mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to handle the sale of the remaining state-power assets and the financial obligations of Napocor.

Since then, PSALM has already generated privatization proceeds from assets amounting to P918.5 billion. Of this amount, PSALM had already collected P545.2 billion, while the balance is based on a payment schedule.

The eight lots comprised the former location of the Manila Thermal Power Plant in Paco, Manila.

The state firm has set a minimum bid price of P736.368 million for the sale of the assets. Bids received reflecting a bid price below the minimum price will be rejected.

PSALM has set a pre-bid con-

ference on November 5, with bid submission deadline set on November 23.

“The sale is on an ‘as is, where is’ basis. Bidding is open to Filipino individuals and sole proprietorships, as well as corporations, partnerships and at least 60-percent Filipino owned, joint ventures or

Taiwan firm to introduce AI robots to SM shopping malls

CLI ventures into estate devt in VisMin

T

AIWANESE firm Cal-Comp Technology (Philippines) Inc. said it has sealed a partnership with SM Supermalls to introduce its artificial intelligence (AI) robotic service.

It will be the country’s first-ever in-mall smart customer service robot, which will make its appearance at SM Megamall in Ortigas during the early part of next year.

It will provide seamless customer service by directing mall-goers and answering queries about Megamall shops and tenant promos with no more waiting in queue.

The large screen and speakers on the robot provide real-time promotion with interactive way-finding service with more relevant results and less effort, all thanks to the AI technologies within the service robot. “In pursuit of bringing family fun experiences for all, SM is excited to bring to customers another fun innovation that aims to transform shopping and retail experiences in the country,” said Steven Tan, SM Supermalls chief operating officer.

The service robot, which has features like smart voice interactivity and facial detection, can also be used in other industries, such as retail convenience stores, health care and finance. It is also equipped with a front screen, which can be used for mobile advertisements and delivering other announcements.

“Our partnership with SM Supermalls will revolutionize the local retail industry, and we are excited for the rollout of this new technology across all SM Supermalls in the Philippines. Our smart-service robot’s speech capabilities will hopefully make the shopping experience more convenient for everyone, and provide the needed assistance to mall guests of all ages,” Cal-Comp and NKG CEO Simon Shen said in a statement.

Cal-Comp primarily produces calculators, electronic keyboards, LEDs, hard-disk drives.

It recently filed its registration statement to be listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange, but pulled out its plan shortly after the regulators approved its application.

It is the local arm of Taiwan’s New Kinpo Group and hopes to expand its presence in the Philippine domestic market. VG Cabuag

F

OLLOWING the record takeup rates of its horizontal and vertical residential projects, Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) is expanding into estate development to further solidify its market leadership in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

The listed developer and largest homegrown player in VisMin identified close to 200 hectares for estate development in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Mactan, Davao and Cagayan de Oro. “CLI has successfully ventured into horizontal and vertical residences, offices, hotels and mixeduse properties,” said CLI CEO Jose Soberano III, citing 52 projects in various stages of development in eight key cities in VisMin. “We are now ready to get into large-scale estate developments to fortify our presence and leadership in the region.”

The company will soon launch a 22-hectare central business district in Matina, Davao City. The property will be Davao’s first major business park. It is expected to attract investments and employment while providing convenience and upscale lifestyle and amenities to the city.

Phase 1 is estimated to cost P10 billion and is expected to generate about 10,000 jobs for construction workers.

CLI’s affiliate, Ming-Mori Development Corp., is also in the final stages of its compliances for the 100-hectare Minglanilla reclamation and technobusiness park project. This will be a game changer in Cebu, generating over 100 hectares of much-needed light industrial and commercial uses in the South of Cebu where there is a very strong population base.

CLI is also firming up negotiations for a 6.35-hectare and a 63.5-hectare property in Cagayan de Oro City that will be converted into integrated estate developments. More details on these projects will be formally announced before the end of the year.

In Cebu, the developer is in discussions for a 20-hectare property envisioned to be a strategically located business park to answer the sustained demand for office space. This project is deemed timely as business parks in Cebu’s dynamic growth areas are almost fully occupied.

“We target to develop estates

in Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro as the opportunities are huge in these economic growth areas,” Soberano said.

A side f rom t hese masterplanned communities, CLI also has ongoing projects in the key cities of Davao and Cagayan de Oro. Davao City’s MesaTierra Garden Residences, a two-tower residential condominium, is expected to be completed in 2020. The other development in the city is a mixeduse development in a 1.9-hectare land along McArthur Highway in Matina the company aims to finish in 2021.

In Cagayan de Oro, CLI is currently building its first project, the MesaVerte Residences, a threetower residential condominium expected for completion in 2020. It is launching another condominium and a residential subdivision soon.

Also in Cebu, where CLI’s headquarters is located, the company has completed a record number of residential condominiums and affordable horizontal communities, as well as an office tower. It is set to complete a hotel, another office tower and a mixed-use project, among other undertakings.

Melco: We’re aware of minimum public-ownership requirement

By VG Cabuag

M

@villygc

ELCO Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp. (MRP), the operator of City of Dreams Manila, on Wednesday assured regulators it is monitoring the number of shares being tendered and is aware of the regulation in case its public float falls below the minimum requirement.

In its disclosure, the company is currently conducting a tender offer of all shares not owned by its majority owner MCO Investments. It said it is “speculative” if its shares will fall below the minimum public float of 10 percent when the tender offer commences by the end of the month.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has asked Melco Resorts to disclose its course of action or compliance plan in the event its public ownership, currently at 27.05 percent, falls below the minimum requirement.

“It is speculative, at this time, to consider whether MRP will fall below the minimum publicownership requirement as a result of the tender offer conducted by MCO Investments. For this to occur, more than 60 percent of the MRP shares not currently held by MCO Investments would need to be tendered,” it said.

“In any and all cases, MRP is aware the PSE has rules that would apply in such a situation, and MRP will act in accordance with such applicable PSE rules,” it added.

Last week, the company withdrew its plan to delist from the PSE but will continue with its plan for the tender offer of all shares held by other owners.

“The change of purpose for the tender offer is aimed at alleviating certain investors’ concerns that the potential delisting may exert undue pressure on their decision process related to the acceptance of the tender offer. Investors are

assured they are free to conduct their evaluations and arrive at a decision whether to tender their shares at their absolute discretions,” it said.

It is offering to buy 1.57 billion shares at P7.25 apiece, or just about half of its initial public offering price of P14 per share. As a result, some of the shareholders questioned how the company came about the tender offer price.

“If any MRP shareholder does not believe that the offer price of P7.25 per tender offer share is attractive, they may choose not to tender their MRP shares...even if an MRP shareholder believes that the offer price is at or above fair value, they still have no obligation to participate in the tender offer,” it said.

Melco claimed its tender offer price still offers a premium of about 14 percent based on the three-month volume weighted average share price.

WO coal-exploration projects of the Philippine National Oil Co.–Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) were classified as “Projects of National Significance” under Executive Order (EO) 30.

These two are the Coal Operating Contract (COC) 185 and 186 in Zamboanga Sibugay. Both are in the predevelopment stage.

COCs 185 and 186 intend to conduct exploration activities, including geologic, mapping, block boundary survey and drilling to determine the extent, volume, behavior and quality of coal seams for possible coal-mining operations in line with the Department of Energy (DOE) directive to explore and develop indigenous energy resources of the country.

COC 185 covers an area of about 2,000 hectares.

Meanwhile, COC 186 is composed of five coal blocks and has a total area of over 5,000 hectares.

The two coal projects seek “to explore and develop the COC as part of PNOC-EC’s commitment to harness indigenous sources of energy.”

PNOC-EC posted P1.2 billion in net income at end-September this year, higher than the P959 million it posted in the same period a year ago.

There are now six energy projects certified by the DOE as Projects of National Significance.

Earlier, Atimonan One Energy Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco PowerGen Corp., the power-generation arm of Meralco, is putting up the country’s first ultra supercritical coal power plant in Atimonan, Quezon province. The facility’s capacity is 2 x 600 megawatts (MW).

The DOE also declared the 151.2-MW Talim wind-power project of Island Wind Energy Corp. as a Project of National Significance.

The project, which is in its predevelopment stage, was certified under EO 30 on August 30. It is located in Talim Island, Binangonan and Cardona, Rizal.

The target commercial operations date of the first 80-MW plant

is in June 2020 and the 70-MW plant would be in June 2021.

The DOE earlier declared the Kalinga geothermal power project of Aragorn Power and Energy Corp., the power unit of Sy-led APC Group Inc., as an energy “project of national significance.”

The DOE approved Aragorn’s application on August 14. The project is in its predevelopment stage, involving the development of steam fields that can generate anywhere between 100 MW and 200 MW. In May, the DOE certified the Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project (VMIP) as the first power project under EO 30.

The VMIP involves the interconnection of Visayas and Mindanao via Cebu and Zamboanga. The project is estimated to be completed in 46 months with an estimated cost of P52 billion.

The Visayas-Mindanao interconnection project is meant to interconnect the major grids into a single national grid expected to help improve the overall powersupply security in the country as sharing of reserves will already become possible.

EO 30 states that concerned government agencies shall act upon applications for permits involving Energy Projects of National Significance (EPNS) not exceeding a 30-day period. If no decision is made within the specified processing timeframe, the application is deemed approved by the concerned agency.

This effectively reduced the time to process the permits needed by the power projects to take off.

In order for an energy project to be considered under the EPNS, power-generation and transmission projects must have a capital investment of at least P3.5 billion, significant contribution to the country’s economic development, significant consequential economic impact, significant potential contribution to the country’s balance of payments, significant impact on the environment, complex technical processes and engineering designs, and significant infrastructure requirements. Lenie Lectura

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Thursday, October 25, 2018

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 24, 2018

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

ASIA UNITED 58.75 59 59 59 58.75 59 15320 903800 880870 BDO UNIBANK 121.6 122.7 122.9 123 121.1 122.7 1755920 215218289 66539340 BANK PH ISLANDS 82.85 83 83.6 84.05 82.9 83 1120710 93524191.5 -6784765 CHINABANK 28.1 28.2 28.1 28.2 28.1 28.15 39500 1112740 -828480 EAST WEST BANK 11.72 11.78 11.76 11.92 11.66 11.72 432700 5095474 -864796 METROBANK 68 68.05 69 69 67.9 68.05 2142190 146013755 -37814987.5 PBCOM 18.62 20 19.86 20 19.86 20 5200 103758 PHIL NATL BANK 41.5 41.65 41.5 41.65 41.2 41.65 39400 1633885 41520 PSBANK 75.7 76.2 76.2 76.2 76.2 76.2 2250 171450 PHILTRUST 103.8 108.9 102 102.4 102 102.4 600 61213 RCBC 28 28.5 28 28.55 28 28 6300 176675 SECURITY BANK 150.8 151.6 152.7 154 149.8 151.6 993520 151087932 19542320 UNION BANK 65.9 65.95 65.95 65.95 65.9 65.9 18620 1227801.5 -1208019 BDO LEASING 2.26 2.37 2.43 2.43 2.26 2.26 2000 4690 COL FINANCIAL 15.2 15.22 15.8 15.82 15.2 15.22 58800 899774 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.01 4.13 4.01 4.18 4.01 4.13 53000 212980 -84210 FILIPINO FUND 7.81 8.78 7.81 7.81 7.81 7.81 300 2343 IREMIT 1.58 1.66 1.58 1.59 1.58 1.58 12000 19010 MEDCO HLDG 0.485 0.495 0.485 0.5 0.48 0.495 710000 348400 NTL REINSURANCE 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.93 0.9 0.9 75000 67800 PHIL STOCK EXCH 189.5 190 189.9 190.3 189.9 190 6500 1234987 340029 SUN LIFE 1835 1899 1830 1830 1830 1830 5 9150

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.26 1.29 1.3 1.3 1.26 1.26 73000 92210 ABOITIZ POWER 34.4 34.5 34.7 34.8 34.25 34.5 5476900 189,004,335( 25,730,969.9996) BASIC ENERGY 0.211 0.221 0.21 0.223 0.21 0.223 30000 6440 ENERGY DEVT 7.3 8 7.16 8 7.15 8 165900 1264762 743447 FIRST GEN 16.12 16.2 16 16.2 15.8 16.2 1153200 18604024 -3256460 FIRST PHIL HLDG 64 64.45 64.1 64.9 64 64 8030 516375 183641.5 PHIL H2O 4.57 4.85 4.82 4.86 4.53 4.85 194000 896000 MERALCO 351 351.6 353 353 349 351 179840 63187996 14601224 MANILA WATER 25 25.4 25.4 25.45 25 25 233800 5891275 -1890190 PETRON 8.17 8.2 8.32 8.4 8.15 8.2 1791300 14739337 -5433444 PETROENERGY 4.12 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.2 4.2 48000 203960 PHINMA ENERGY 0.97 0.98 0.97 0.99 0.96 0.97 182000 176730 PHX PETROLEUM 10.44 10.8 10.5 10.8 10.4 10.8 70500 741748 PILIPINAS SHELL 50 50.05 51.55 51.9 50 50 465440 23458901 -19440062.5 SPC POWER 5.19 5.2 5.2 5.24 5.19 5.2 234500 1220879 VIVANT 16.22 19 18.98 18.98 18.98 18.98 800 15184 AGRINURTURE 17.94 18 18.02 18.1 17.88 18 356000 6422366 -350908 CNTRL AZUCARERA 17.04 17.5 17.6 18.34 17.02 17.5 15500 278610 CENTURY FOOD 13.4 13.5 13.36 13.36 13.2 13.2 300800 3970734 -31854 DEL MONTE 6.68 7 6.61 7.1 6.61 7 3400 23205 DNL INDUS 10.64 10.72 10.52 10.8 10.52 10.64 317500 3402016 1873798 EMPERADOR 7 7.01 7 7 6.98 7 313200 2189683 -1085663 SMC FOODANDBEV 84.5 84.7 84.5 84.95 84.2 84.7 1832770 155192053.5 -91755717.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 1 1.01 1.01 1.01 0.98 1 4987000 4953710 -95940 GINEBRA 24.9 25.5 24.95 25.5 24.9 25.5 7900 199015 JOLLIBEE 268 269 271.8 271.8 265.4 268 688370 184810508 75287058 LIBERTY FLOUR 45.05 55 45 60 45 60 200 10500 MAXS GROUP 11.18 11.24 11.18 11.24 11.1 11.2 24000 267620 -44592 MG HLDG 0.174 0.18 0.178 0.179 0.178 0.179 190000 33900 PEPSI COLA 1.66 1.69 1.7 1.7 1.62 1.66 3358000 5708180 -45780 SHAKEYS PIZZA 11.16 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.16 11.2 186900 2092348 -2008440 ROXAS AND CO 2.25 2.27 2.38 2.38 2.27 2.27 242000 555940 RFM CORP 4.78 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.78 4.8 520000 2494420 1457620 ROXAS HLDG 2.83 3.08 2.85 2.85 2.83 2.83 8000 22680 UNIV ROBINA 143 144 145.6 145.6 142.7 144 465010 66878901 28027131 VITARICH 1.56 1.57 1.59 1.62 1.54 1.57 6169000 9720770 50370 CEMEX HLDG 2.28 2.29 2.35 2.39 2.25 2.28 8797000 20372610 -271310 DAVINCI CAPITAL 4.6 4.75 4.44 4.9 4.44 4.8 77000 356700 EAGLE CEMENT 15 15.2 14.98 15.2 14.94 15.2 419500 6340928 -1748000 EEI CORP 8.6 8.61 8.37 8.66 8.22 8.61 287300 2443529 1351119 HOLCIM 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.66 6.4 6.4 40900 265872 -68067 MEGAWIDE 17.2 17.3 16.9 17.8 16.86 17.3 9301700 160535060 29324638 PHINMA 9 9.03 9 9 8.95 9 38600 347390 TKC METALS 0.9 0.95 0.96 0.96 0.88 0.95 171000 152510 VULCAN INDL 2.88 2.89 2.69 2.95 2.67 2.88 85263000 241553430 932830 CROWN ASIA 1.62 1.63 1.61 1.63 1.61 1.63 297000 480470 4890 EUROMED 1.52 1.69 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1000 1700 LMG CHEMICALS 4.8 4.9 4.8 4.85 4.8 4.8 69000 332650 PRYCE CORP 5.56 5.69 5.56 5.7 5.56 5.7 26500 148394 -33600 CONCEPCION 38.5 39.75 39 39 38.5 38.5 1300 50200 -7800 INTEGRATED MICR 11.52 11.62 11.9 11.9 11.52 11.52 1219400 14084798 9968368 IONICS 1.71 1.74 1.73 1.74 1.71 1.71 259000 445380 SFA SEMICON 1.57 1.6 1.65 1.65 1.6 1.6 178000 287630 CIRTEK HLDG 35.85 36 35.65 37.1 35.65 36 665000 24032900 -19475

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.475 0.48 0.465 0.48 0.46 0.475 35090000 16488950 157300 ASIABEST GROUP 25.5 26 26.65 26.65 25.45 26 88100 2281055 AYALA CORP 913 917.5 930 930 911.5 917.5 77890 71439260 -3478035 ABOITIZ EQUITY 47.8 48.35 48.9 49 47.75 48.35 848400 41045845 5009190 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 11.84 11.9 12.18 12.26 11.8 11.9 3035500 36317092 -9257352 ANSCOR 6.2 6.21 6.1 6.2 6.1 6.2 191800 1188354 904432 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.76 0.86 0.73 0.74 0.73 0.74 127000 92720 ATN HLDG A 1.25 1.27 1.25 1.3 1.24 1.25 20658000 26219680 ATN HLDG B 1.25 1.26 1.23 1.29 1.23 1.26 5014000 6329960 1428820 COSCO CAPITAL 6.8 6.81 6.8 6.96 6.78 6.81 1909200 13007500 -3433315 DMCI HLDG 12.14 12.2 12.2 12.44 12.02 12.2 2134800 26037100 -2267890 FILINVEST DEV 7.08 7.2 7.1 7.2 7.1 7.2 32800 235950 GT CAPITAL 790 792 775 797.5 774 790 284800 225164185 81322960 HOUSE OF INV 5.95 6.01 5.95 5.95 5.95 5.95 1800 10710 JG SUMMIT 48 48.6 49.15 49.35 47.65 48.6 570900 27747235 -7550145 KEPPEL HLDG B 3.33 5.99 2.94 2.94 2.94 2.94 7400 21756 LODESTAR 0.52 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.52 0.54 1064000 563440 LOPEZ HLDG 4.39 4.44 4.48 4.48 4.29 4.44 464000 2044450 4690 LT GROUP 13.76 13.78 13.7 14.18 13.62 13.76 12442300 172792466 8585344 MABUHAY HLDG 0.61 0.62 0.53 0.64 0.53 0.61 16829000 10021330 -81740 MJC INVESTMENTS 2.1 3.69 3 3 3 3 20000 60000 METRO PAC INV 4.94 4.95 5.05 5.05 4.92 4.95 5454000 27065471 -10627405 PACIFICA 0.038 0.039 0.039 0.039 0.037 0.038 3900000 148100 -34200 PRIME ORION 2.34 2.38 2.36 2.39 2.33 2.38 226000 532110 PRIME MEDIA 1.16 1.21 1.17 1.21 1.16 1.16 54000 62820 SOLID GROUP 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 172000 240800 SYNERGY GRID 320 380 400 400 400 400 10 4000 SM INVESTMENTS 877 888 889 891 878 888 278850 246909180 32153205 SAN MIGUEL CORP 158 158.1 156 158.9 156 158 339790 53485482 -3927995 TOP FRONTIER 272.2 280 278 280 273 280 7600 2120534 -1026980 WELLEX INDUS 0.237 0.24 0.241 0.241 0.232 0.237 1320000 312560 ZEUS HLDG 0.21 0.216 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 210000 44100

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.62 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.62 0.65 110000 69780 AYALA LAND 40.5 40.6 41.15 41.35 40 40.6 6853900 276955115 -120431045 BELLE CORP 2.42 2.43 2.53 2.55 2.42 2.42 510000 1252770 -669070 A BROWN 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.78 1112000 874360 7010 CROWN EQUITIES 0.219 0.221 0.219 0.222 0.219 0.221 1850000 407660 CEBU HLDG 5.11 5.35 5.05 5.05 5.05 5.05 100 505 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.35 4.43 4.36 4.43 4.36 4.43 206000 908730 CENTURY PROP 0.415 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.415 0.42 1730000 720400 -84000 CYBER BAY 0.395 0.4 0.395 0.395 0.395 0.395 40000 15800 DOUBLEDRAGON 19.7 19.8 20.4 20.6 19.68 19.7 467500 9401672 -369266 DM WENCESLAO 8.19 8.2 8.1 8.22 8 8.2 127400 1038772 EMPIRE EAST 0.52 0.54 0.53 0.53 0.52 0.52 25000 13050 2650 FILINVEST LAND 1.44 1.45 1.45 1.46 1.44 1.44 1954000 2816510 -653440 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.07 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.07 1.07 531000 568180 8990 HLDG 6.99 7 6.99 7.02 6.97 7 73500 514705 IRC PROP - - 2.6 2.74 2.6 2.66 32923000 88395680 1085250 MEGAWORLD 4.45 4.46 4.5 4.5 4.41 4.45 8376000 37198460 -4761320 MRC ALLIED 0.58 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.58 0.59 28890000 17019630 -202010 PHIL ESTATES 0.42 0.425 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.42 590000 247400 PRIMEX CORP 3.16 3.2 3.19 3.21 3.11 3.2 807000 2540500 ROBINSONS LAND 20.2 21 20.7 21.1 20.1 21 979400 20377690 -1501760 PHIL REALTY 0.4 0.415 0.41 0.41 0.4 0.405 2170000 879550 -692300 ROCKWELL 1.91 1.94 1.94 1.94 1.94 1.94 7000 13580 3880 SHANG PROP 3.1 3.16 3.11 3.18 3.11 3.11 12000 37530 18660 STA LUCIA LAND 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.11 1.12 419000 465230 SM PRIME HLDG 33.95 34 35 35 33.95 34 8828600 302221195 -125813550 STARMALLS 5.95 5.98 5.96 6.04 5.91 5.95 176000 1044200 SUNTRUST HOME 0.75 0.76 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 25000 18750 PTFC REDEV CORP 31 37.85 29.05 29.05 29.05 29.05 100 2905 VISTA LAND 5.25 5.26 5.37 5.38 5.22 5.26 8693500 45735803 -32181806

SERVICES ABS CBN 21.5 21.7 21.5 21.7 21.3 21.7 9600 206150 GMA NETWORK 5.14 5.15 5.18 5.19 5.1 5.14 168200 862384 GLOBE TELECOM 2018 2030 1998 2046 1984 2030 39435 79746895 14326750 PLDT 1376 1379 1410 1415 1370 1376 41640 57971060 -8831845 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.04 0.042 0.041 0.042 0.04 0.04 1700000 69300 8000 DFNN INC 7.36 7.65 8 8 7.27 7.65 396600 3027998 150200 IMPERIAL 1.91 2.05 1.91 1.95 1.91 1.91 28000 53560 ISLAND INFO 0.108 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.108 0.108 340000 36820 JACKSTONES 2.93 3.09 3.03 3.1 3.03 3.1 12000 36500 -3100 NOW CORP 5.21 5.22 5.48 5.48 5.2 5.21 2848200 14972628 678708.0003 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.56 0.57 0.53 0.58 0.52 0.56 49984000 27766220 310860 PHILWEB 3.56 3.58 3.55 3.58 3.51 3.56 156000 551790 -99120 2GO GROUP 11.5 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.5 11.5 20900 243560 CEBU AIR 65.4 66 65.5 66.7 65.4 65.4 120870 7948610.5 -1023880.5 CHELSEA 5.87 5.88 5.73 5.95 5.5 5.87 3576200 20871770 -326563 INTL CONTAINER 92.65 93.5 92.7 94.5 92.6 92.65 312170 29072761 -7427867.5 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.84 0.85 0.86 0.86 0.84 0.85 31000 26480 MACROASIA 17.88 17.9 18.24 18.26 17.8 17.9 1294400 23241574 -470400 METROALLIANCE A 1.34 1.35 1.43 1.43 1.35 1.35 23000 31830 PAL HLDG 8.26 8.29 8.29 8.29 8.29 8.29 900 7461 HARBOR STAR 2.77 2.78 2.88 2.99 2.75 2.78 5796000 16726080 238170 ACESITE HOTEL 1.3 1.46 1.46 1.46 1.46 1.46 8000 11680 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.16 2.39 2.2 2.2 2.18 2.18 11000 24000 WATERFRONT 0.61 0.62 0.6 0.63 0.6 0.61 2551000 1563300 CENTRO ESCOLAR 7.8 7.99 8 8 8 8 5500 44000 IPEOPLE 11.04 12.48 12.5 12.5 11 11 1600 17810 STI HLDG 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.81 0.79 0.79 1870000 1494880 -29520 BERJAYA 1.72 1.75 1.71 1.8 1.71 1.75 2559000 4470040 1760 BLOOMBERRY 8.5 8.58 8.83 8.83 8.46 8.5 9810200 84494927 -34407509 PACIFIC ONLINE 10.58 10.98 10.56 10.7 10.56 10.7 1000 10574 LEISURE AND RES 3.43 3.44 3.44 3.51 3.44 3.44 553000 1908900 -55330 MANILA JOCKEY 5.2 5.45 5.05 5.45 5.05 5.45 7100 37646 MELCO RESORTS 7.08 7.09 7.12 7.13 7.08 7.08 4670200 33149488 5447213 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.82 0.83 0.84 0.85 0.82 0.82 1539000 1277060 -23150 TRAVELLERS 5.19 5.2 5.18 5.2 5.17 5.19 742200 3848107 -696119 METRO RETAIL 2.25 2.26 2.21 2.29 2.21 2.25 326000 739580 209960 PUREGOLD 41.25 42 41.95 42 41.1 42 320100 13372940 -9272490 ROBINSONS RTL 77.5 78 78.9 78.9 77.5 78 687400 53668999.5 4038005 PHIL SEVEN CORP 106 108.5 108.9 109.8 105.3 106 397720 43303304 219324 SSI GROUP 2.6 2.61 2.66 2.67 2.59 2.6 10205000 26737220 -2022750 WILCON DEPOT 11.34 11.44 11.4 11.46 11.3 11.44 831200 9479384 -315800 APC GROUP 0.435 0.445 0.43 0.445 0.43 0.435 210000 91650 EASYCALL 13 13.02 14 14 12.98 13 340800 4453284 GOLDEN BRIA 300.8 309.6 302 309.8 300 309.6 7670 2338956 266060 IPM HLDG 7.7 7.8 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 200 1540 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.35 0.36 0.35 0.36 0.35 0.355 710000 250900 SBS PHIL CORP 6.79 7.05 7.19 7.19 6.74 6.77 5200 35288

MINING & OIL ATOK 15.32 17 17.48 17.48 17.4 17.4 5700 99196 APEX MINING 1.64 1.65 1.6 1.67 1.59 1.65 8303000 13627920 -161980 ABRA MINING 0.0022 0.0024 0.0023 0.0024 0.0023 0.0024 50000000 115100 ATLAS MINING 2.75 2.98 2.91 2.92 2.9 2.9 76000 220620 -14500 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.3 0.31 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 10000 3000 CENTURY PEAK 1.9 1.91 1.91 1.92 1.91 1.91 355000 680050 DIZON MINES 7.25 7.35 7.28 7.41 7.26 7.26 2900 21099 FERRONICKEL 1.84 1.85 1.82 1.89 1.81 1.85 9093000 16785870 -1236840 GEOGRACE 0.222 0.23 0.219 0.239 0.218 0.23 2380000 546370 6630 LEPANTO A 0.109 0.111 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 80000 8720 LEPANTO B 0.109 0.113 0.109 0.112 0.109 0.109 750000 81790 MARCVENTURES 1.22 1.23 1.29 1.3 1.23 1.23 41000 52180 NIHAO 1.03 1.07 1.07 1.07 1.03 1.07 3000 3170 NICKEL ASIA 2.7 2.71 2.72 2.76 2.7 2.71 877000 2382150 -54180 OMICO CORP 0.59 0.6 0.59 0.59 0.59 0.59 189000 111510 ORNTL PENINSULA 1 1.01 1.03 1.03 1 1.01 1380000 1393790 PX MINING 3.28 3.29 3.42 3.45 3.22 3.28 2121000 7062410 -971890 SEMIRARA MINING 28.5 28.8 28.8 29.25 28.5 28.8 428500 12337255 -1120410 UNITED PARAGON 0.0064 0.0067 0.0069 0.0069 0.0069 0.0069 4000000 27600 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.013 22600000 279200 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 20800000 244100 PHINMA PETRO 3.92 4 4.08 4.09 3.92 4 401000 1599640 PXP ENERGY 16.22 16.3 16.04 16.58 16.04 16.22 1097700 17922806 -32428

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3B PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 2B SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2I

96 461 487.4 99 96.5 893 1.02 100 102.3 940 1019 75.15 75.85 72.8 73.75 74.75 74.5 73.6

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

20 4.96

99 470 490 101.9 96.7 920 1.03 102 105 1000 1020 75.5 76.9 74.5 74.9 75 75 74.6

99 470 490 100.3 97 893 1.03 102 105 1000 1019 75.15 76.9 74.45 74.9 74.75 75 74.6

99 470 490 100.3 97 893 1.03 102 105 1000 1020 75.15 76.9 74.45 74.9 75 75 74.7

99 470 490 100.3 96.5 893 1.03 99.8 105 1000 1019 75.15 76 74.45 74.9 74.75 74.5 74.6

99 470 490 100.3 96.5 893 1.03 99.8 105 1000 1020 75.15 76 74.45 74.9 75 75 74.7

1300 50 50 10000 31490 50 11000 10560 200 15 565 4000 74380 1700 300 1280 4300 76540

128700 23500 24500 1003000 3042070 44650 11330 1055025 21000 15000 576190 300600 5676494.5 126565 22470 95755 321275 5715038

10000 51000 -3540645.5 -

21.55 5.49

21.5 4.95

21.8 4.96

21.5 4.95

21.55 4.96

1700 55000

36810 272350

-2165 -247600

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

2.33

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 4.84 XURPAS 1.74

2.38

2.4

2.4

2.31

2.33

335000

786240

-

4.88 1.76

4.76 1.92

4.94 1.98

4.68 1.7

4.85 1.74

495000 10123000

2361130 18110620

104470 -3909850

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

107.9

108

109

109

107.5

108

6530

706027

15120

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Muslim digital travel markets seen driving tourism industry’s future growth

By Roderick L. Abad

N

Contributor

@rodrik_28

EXT-GENERATION Muslim travelers are a force to reckon with as they are seen driving the online market with a projected Web-based travel expenditure exceeding $180 billion by 2026, the Mastercard-CrescentRating Digital Muslim Travel Report 2018 (DMTR 2018) said.

Released during the Halal-InTravel Asia Summit Hosted by CrescentRating at ITB Asia 2018, this pioneering Muslim-centric report showed the increasing dependence on the Internet, social media and smartphones for destination discovery and travel bookings by millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z) travelers.

“With the rapid proliferation of enabling online technologies and payment methods and the rise of Muslim digital natives, as a major segment within the Muslim travel market, the outlook for the digital space is very positive,” said Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating and HalalTrip.

For Mastercard VP for Market Development Devesh Kuwadekar, the entire Muslim population has gone so far in terms of their contribution to the international travel industry.

In fact, he said the halal travel market represented about 10 percent of the entire global visitor arrivals last year.

“Muslim travelers are spending more time online researching and comparing information before they finally choose and pay for their ideal travel experience,” he said.

Based on the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2018 released in April, the Top 30 Muslim Outbound Markets accounted for 90 percent of the total Muslim tourist arrivals.

To evaluate the potential of digital transactions, this study looked at the “Digitally Enabled” environment of these markets divided into distinctive clusters per market size and access to the internet.

Cluster A is composed of Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates—large outbound markets with a high level of digital enablement.

With large Muslim populations and high per-capita GDP, these countries allow a big percentage of tourists to travel worldwide. Most of their residents are digital savvy and equipped with latest digital in-

China Bank Savings hosts DepEd Venture financial wellness meet for C. Luzon tutors

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

A

NGELES CITY—A financial wellness meet for Central Luzon teachers dubbed “CBS DepEd Venture 2.0: Alay sa Mga Guro” was held at the Grand Palazzo Royale here on Friday.

The program, attended by hundreds of teachers, was formally opened by Dr. Beatriz G. Torno, Department of Education (DepEd) Region 3 director, who said the activity was in response to calls by education officials and economic managers for initiatives to promote personal finance education.

The attendees included over 500 principals, teachers and nonteaching staff representing public elementary school teachers and high schools in the province of Bulacan,

Pampanga, Bataan, Tarlac, Zambales and Nueva Ecija who joined the intensive course in money management.

Neil Jumawan, group head of China Bank Savings (CBS) lending unit automatic payroll deduction, said CBS DepEd Venture 2 is a continuation of the same program which launched last year.

“This activity is a culmination of the whole program that we launched in partnership with the DepEd on the side of financial wellness,” Jumawan said.

“The government has been calling for partners in the private sector to really help in the financial management aspect of their employees, especially the DepEd,” he explained.

“So, this is the culmination since we rolled out in three different cities already from as far as Tuguegarao and Davao and the Visayas.”

Mazars PHL sees triple-digit growth by 2020

M

AZARS Philippines on Tuesday said it expects to post a triple-digit growth rate on a two-year period as many global companies are planning to invest in the Philippines and the rest of Asia Pacific.

In a press briefing held in Makati City, Mazars Philippines Manager Jacqueline Yu-Villar said the company is currently bidding in foreign projects as part of expanding its footprint in the global market.

“We’re opening to the global clients of Mazars to offer our services to them,” she said.

Mazars Philippines, the local unit of Paris, France-based Mazars, offers audit, tax, and accounting and outsourcing services. It serves the top 20,000 companies in the country.

Global clients include Ingenico, Foseco, Regus and Parexel. Some of the regional clients include Delfingen, Agoda and First Solar.

Yu-Viilar said most of their clients are from the service sector. Cost-effective labor, fluency of the English language and a deep pool of skilled labor

are the factors why foreign companies go to the Philippines, she said.

She said Mazars Philippines also provides tax advisory to foreign clients so they can be familiarized with the Philippine tax environment. If the clients decide to open an office in the country, she said Mazars Philippines could offer assistance in registration and establishing the brand.

Yu-Villar also said Mazars Philippines can offer their outsourcing services to the clients once they have their operations in the country.

“At least 50 percent of our revenue comes from this service. In the next two years, we expect to increase our local client growth to 50 percent,” Yu-Villar said.

In general terms, Philippe Castagnac, chairman of Mazars, said Mazars grew 10 percent over five years with a 50-50 ratio between organic and external growth. Castagnac said developing the people of Mazars is important to the success of the company that it develops, trains and retains its people. Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

frastructures.

While they are “Fiitally Enabled,” those belonging to the Cluster B have smaller outgoing travelers. They include Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Tunisia, Azerbaijan Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Singapore and Russia.

These nations have a citizenry of digital know-how with accessible to the latest digital landscapes. Nevertheless, the population is smaller compared to the latter group.

Exhibiting a good level of digital capacity yet with smaller outbound markets, Oman, Albania, Morocco, and China comprise the Cluster C. Turkey, Indonesia, Egypt and Iran are the so-called Cluster D, pertaining to major Muslim nations with a growing number of outbound tourists. Even though they may not have widespread digital infrastructures yet, businesses can look at these markets for medium- to long-term prospects.

Consistent with the DMTR 2018’s forecasts, the GMTI 2018 bares that the Halal travel market will continue its fast-paced growth to reach $300 billion by 2026.

Last year’s global figures showed

MUTUAL FUNDS

an estimated 131 million Muslim visitor arrivals in 2017. CrescentRating research indicates that over 60 percent of Muslim travelers were either millennials or Gen Z. Such positive results, Bahardeen noted, will equip tourism and hotel industry stakeholders with insights of cyberspace and social networking services to know the potential of the Muslim market.

“Destinations need to ensure that their messages reach Muslim travelers through online channels. This report gives the industry a practical and ready segmentation criterion to empathize with different demographics. Digital is real and transcends generations.” Bahardeen said.

With this in mind, Mastercard works with like-minded partners to tailor fit their offerings across a wide range of passion points.

“As consumers explore more countries and regions, Mastercard is also seeing an increase in the use of cashless and digital payments through prepaid and debit options as a safer, more convenient and reliable form of electronic payments for greater peace of mind when traveling,” Kuwadekar said.

October 24, 2018

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 245.13 -14.72% -1.06% 0.09% -16.39% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.3883 -14.46% 2.78% 1.52% -13.06% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 3.8073 -15.21% -0.16% -0.84% -17.1% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.8711 -13.71% N.A. N.A. -14.35% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. * ********* 0.8075 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 5.0625 -13.12% -2.71% -0.62% -15.81% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * ****** 109.76 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.8133 -16.08% N.A. N.A. -18.07% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 47.5783 -13.85% -0.26% N.A. -15.63% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 495.57 -14.49% -1.66% -0.99% -15.79% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.2224 -11.46% 0.4% N.A. -12.95% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 35.6222 -11.18% 0.82% 2% -13.32% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 4.7862 -13.63% 0.43% 1.86% -15.65% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 798.98 -13.55% 0.17% 1.5% -15.52% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8305 -12.92% -2.13% N.A. -14.12% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 3.9344 -12.13% -0.02% 0.26% -14.1% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 0.9214 -13.78% 0.25% N.A. -15.72% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.3939 -10.2% 1.27% 0.24% -12.85% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* **106.8084 -13.1% 1.33% N.A. -15.2% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $0.9439 -12.94% 1.02% -0.91% -14.83% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.2172 -0.44% N.A. N.A. -3.79% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.6129 -12.24% -3.4% -2.5% -13.45% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.1592 -11.04% -0.75% -0.36% -12.12% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.48 -9.05% -3.78% -2.9% -10.47% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* **** 1.2811 -11.42% N.A. N.A. -11.95% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.7988 -8.29% -0.44% -0.49% -9.72% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.4062 -12.63% -2.38% -1.57% -13.07% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 15.3255 -12.32% -2.29% -1.61% -12.71% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* ******** 2.0229 -9.23% -0.2% 1.28% -9.78% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.5693 -9.36% -1% -0.52% -10.68% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.9055 -9.56% -1.36% N.A. -11.25% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.0346 -4% -0.72% 1.4% -4.16% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9396 -9.23% 0.9% -1.89% -10.26% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.5228 -0.96% 4.09% 2.23% -3.55% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.0667 -2.91% N.A. N.A. -4.09% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 341.32 1.34% 1.77% 1.61% 1.25% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ******* 1.8576 -2.06% -1.18% -0.62% -1.83% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9456 5.51% 5.34% 5.25% 4.38% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1134 -0.39% 0.89% 0.93% 0.53% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2116 -0.25% -0.13% 0.42% -0.21% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. * P 1.5715 -2.72% -1.65% -0.98% -2.36% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.7616 -8.24% -2.58% -1.25% -7.12% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.4526 -1.09% -0.68% -0.21% -1.49% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.8696 -6.7% -2.58% N.A. -5.81% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.7482 -1.19% -0.2% 0.22% -1.04% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.5295 -1.53% -0.62% -0.1% -1.3% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $445.93 0.28% 2.11% 2.93% 0% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є213.23 0.19% 1.29% 1.63% -0.23% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1217 -1.05% 0.72% 1.54% -1.09% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0248 -0.8% 0.54% N.A. -0.8% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.6907 -4.65% -0.68% 0.99% -4.56% 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* $1.0219 -5.35% -1.84% -3.03% -4.81% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1286 -4.95% -0.1% 1.96% -5.44% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.056889 -0.99% 0.83% 1.77% -0.54% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8791 -4.35% 0.36% 1.47% -4.44% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 119.96 2.32% 1.68% 1.45% 2% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1722 1.54% 0.31% 0.34% 1.28% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2109 2.45% 2.16% 1.42% 2.14% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* ***** $1.0123 N.A. N.A. N.A. 1.36%

* - 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

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Thursday, October 25, 2018

B3

Trump helps bring rivals China and Japan closer together

W

HEN Shinzo Abe took office six years ago, it would’ve been unthinkable for China’s leaders to roll out the red carpet for him. The Japanese prime minister can thank US President Donald J. Trump for the turnaround.

Abe heads to Beijing this week to celebrate the 40th anniversary of a peace-and-friendship treaty between the Asian powerhouses, which have a long history of bad blood due in part to Japan’s colonial invasions of China and atrocities committed during World War II. He’ll meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday as part of the first bilateral visit by a Japanese leader in seven years.

A slow warming of ties between the neighbors has accelerated after both found themselves under attack from Trump on trade. Al-

though Japan’s alliance with the US keeps the nation in lockstep with Washington on most geopolitical issues, Abe has moved to shore up economic ties with China—its biggest trading partner. Xi, in turn, sees Japan as a way to mitigate the risk of a trade war with the US. “Economic-and-trade cooperation is the ballast and propeller of the China-Japan relationship, laying the keystone for the mutual political trust,” Chinese Ministry of Commerce Spokesman Gao Feng said last week.

Abe is preparing to bring a

500-strong business delegation with him to discuss cooperation in third countries, as pledged during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Japan in May. The two sides will look to revive a currency swap framework dormant since 2013 and possibly progress toward an agreement on loans of giant pandas, according to media reports.

They are also both pushing for a quick conclusion to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Agreement, a trade deal involving 16 countries in the Asia Pacific. The South China Morning Post reported earlier this month that Beijing was also looking into joining the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Japan pushed to complete after Trump pulled out.

Abe vowed in a speech to parliament on Wednesday to raise the relationship with China to a higher level through regular leaders’ visits and business cooperation.

“We haven’t solved our problems with Japan,” said Gui Yongtao, an associate professor at Peking University’s School of Inter-

national Studies, who specializes in Chinese-Japanese relations.

“But these are much less prioritized compared to the US risk. We still don’t know what will happen with US policy toward China.”

Still, for all the goodwill, formidable historical barriers remain to improved ties—none bigger now than territorial disputes.

Tensions flared in 2012—the year Abe took power—when Japan bought part of an uninhabited chain of East China Sea islets disputed with Beijing, sparking sometimes violent protests in China and turning relations arguably their most hostile since World War II. The islands are known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Ships from both countries continue to chase one another around the area, with Japan making a formal protest over a Chinese incursion into what Japan considers its territorial waters just last week, according to broadcaster NHK. For its part, Japan held military drills involving a submarine last month in the South China Sea, a body of

water where China has extensive territorial claims.

Defense chiefs from China and Japan last week agreed on more military exchanges and a hotline to avoid unintended clashes. But at their first meeting in three years, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya also criticized China over its activities in the South China Sea, and another Japanese government official said there would be no real improvement with China unless tensions further north in the East China Sea stabilize.

Territorial issues are a major reason the Japanese public has one of the world’s most negative views of China, according to Pew Research Center. Even as China’s impression of Japan has recovered from the 2012 crisis, thanks partly to tourism, the Japanese have remained wary.

Yuichiro Tamaki, the leader of a main opposition party, said even some younger lawmakers in Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party are cautious about the relationship. “There are few in the younger generation who want to

be friendly with China,” Tamaki said in an interview, adding that his own party favored linking up with Beijing when appropriate.

Next steps

AND while Japan has been critical of Trump’s policy of slapping tariffs on China, Abe’s government shares some US concerns on trade and investment. Japanese Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko, who will join the trip, is working with the US and Europe on proposals to address problems caused by state enterprises and forced technology transfers.

Even so, Abe’s visit cements a general warming of ties—and opens the door for Xi to visit Japan as soon as next year.

“Nobody thinks ties with China have completely recovered, and they shouldn’t think that,” said Kunihiko Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat and now visiting professor at Ritsumeikan University.

“We’re now in an era where having both sides make an effort to keep friction to a minimum is what we have to call good ties.” Bloomberg News

Turkish president: Saudi Trump defers to Congress on Khashoggi killing Arabia must name masterminds of killing P

I

STANBUL—Saudi Arabia must identify those who ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and turn over the suspects for trial, the Turkish president said on Tuesday in remarks that carefully ratcheted up pressure on a country that is a source of investment for Turkey, but also a rival for influence in the Middle East.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a sharp rebuttal of Saudi Arabia’s widely criticized account that the writer for The Washington Post died accidentally in a brawl, saying Saudi officials had planned the killing for days.

Some analysts believe Turkey is also calculating whether it can capitalize on outrage over the killing to extract political capital from the world’s largest oil exporter without alienating it altogether.

Addressing ruling party lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan used the word “murder” 15 times to describe Khashoggi’s death after the writer entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2 for paperwork related to his marriage plans.

Erdogan also cast Turkey in the role of global statesman, echoing calls for full Saudi accountability from Western allies whose relationships with the Turkish government have often been edgy in the past.

“To blame such an incident on a handful of security and intelligence members would not satisfy us or the international community,” he said.

Earlier, Turkey’s foreign minister said it would cooperate with any international or UN probe into the killing, a nod to transparency that only seemed to accentuate an emerging pariah status for Saudi Arabia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stood by his earlier call for an independent and transparent investigation, said Farhan Haq, a deputy spokesman for the world body. Haq reiterated that Guterres can initiate a probe if key parties request it or if there is a legislative mandate from a UN body.

“Turkey is playing the long game.

And today’s speech is part of a very careful—in my opinion —escalation strategy,” said Ahmet Kasim Han, an international relations analyst at Altinbas University in Istanbul.

“Turkish authorities seem to be concentrated on turning this into a multilateral issue” because they don’t want “to be left alone with Saudi Arabia on all of this,” he said.

Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut,

ERDOGAN

speculated that Saudi Arabia could now be vulnerable to pressure, including from the US, to end a boycott of Turkey-backed Qatar.

“As far as Erdogan is concerned, he will use this incident to try and get as much mileage and concessions out of it, to the advantage of Turkey, as he possibly can,” Yahya said.

Erdogan focused on the investigation in his speech, saying he wants the 18 suspects detained by Saudi Arabia in the killing to face trial in Turkish courts, a demand the kingdom will probably resist.

Saudi Arabia has said it will punish those involved and has described the suspects as rogue operators, even though officials linked to Saudi Arabia’s assertive Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have been implicated.

Although he didn’t mention Prince Mohammed, Erdogan likely knows that the kingdom’s major decisions always require the approval of those at the top of the ruling Al Saud family.

“As of now, we expect of them to openly bring to light those responsible—from the highest ranked to the lowest—and to bring them to justice,” the Turkish president said.

Han, the Istanbul analyst, said Erdogan is moving cautiously, wary that Prince Mohammed might stay in control despite the scandal or could succumb to pressure over the Khashoggi killing and relinquish power. The latter outcome would benefit Turkey because the crown prince “is consciously and continuously pursuing strategies that work against Turkey,” Han said.

Modern tensions between the two countries date to the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011. Turkey supported some political Islamists who rose to power, but Saudi Arabia and its ally, the United Arab Emirates, viewed the pan-Arab Sunni movement as a threat to their hereditarily ruled nations. AP

RESIDENT Donald J. Trump said he is passing responsibility to Congress for responding to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and he criticized the conflicting accounts from Saudi Arabia afterward as “one of the worst” cover-ups in history.

“In terms of what we ultimately do I’m going to leave it very much— in conjunction with me—up to Congress,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday in the Oval Office. He added that he wants to receive a bipartisan recommendation on penalties.

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo later said the US is moving against individuals it suspects were involved in the killing, without identifying their names or nationalities. The US is revoking or blocking visas for 21 suspects in the incident, according to State Department Spokesman Heather Nauert. Pompeo said the US is also reviewing the possibility of sanctions against those people.

“These penalties will not be the last word,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department on Tuesday.

“We’ve learned a lot over the past few days” and hope to learn a great deal more over the next two to three days, Pompeo added.

The crisis over the Khashoggi killing continued for a third week as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan laid out his case on Tuesday for why he believes Khashoggi’s death was premeditated and

TRUMP

not the result of an interrogation or interview gone awry. The same day, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman showed up at a global investment summit in Riyadh that has seen its luster diminished as details of the killing—and Saudi responsibility—prompted a number of high-profile leaders to skip the gathering.

Trump on Tuesday offered some additional criticism of the October 2 killing and Saudi Arabia’s response to it, saying that it was “a very bad original concept.”

“It was carried out poorly,” Trump added. “And the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups.”

Trump said of the attack on the journalist that “whoever thought of that idea, I think, is in big trouble.”

UN asks Nigeria to do more to protect civilians after 90 die

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HE United Nations is concerned about rising sectarian violence in parts of northern Nigeria, its resident coordinator in the West African country said, citing attacks in the past week in which more than 90 people were killed.

The incidents include clashes between rival communities near the northern city of Kaduna in which at least 50 people were killed and an attack by Boko Haram Islamist militants on civilians in the country’s northeast that left about 40 people dead, UN resident coordinator Edward Kallon said on Tuesday in an e-mailed statement.

“These attacks, if unchecked, may reverse the gains made so far in securing lives and property,” said Kallon. “I would like to appeal to the government of Nigeria and security forces in the region to scale up their efforts aimed at protecting civilian communities.”

Nigeria, roughly split between a mainly Muslim north and a largely Christian south, experiences period

And in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Tuesday evening, the president, asked about Prince Mohammed’s possible involvement in the killing, said, “he’s running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him.”

Trump also told the newspaper that he didn’t think the Saudi ruler, King Salman, knew that Khashoggi was a target.

Saudi Arabia has most recently said Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the crown prince, was killed after a discussion at the consulate erupted into a brawl. That account

outbursts of sectarian violence. Boko Haram militants have waged a violent campaign since 2009 to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law on Africa’s most populous country of almost 200 million people.

Relief organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said it was concerned killings in northeastern Nigeria were targeting farmers, putting food security in the region at risk.

“The level of violence registered lately in northeast Nigeria is alarming,” said Anja Riiser, NRC area manager in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. “Farmers have been easy targets.

These attacks risk making people too afraid to cultivate their land and may worsen the existing food crisis.”

President Muhammadu Buhari, 75, who will seek a second term in February, has registered some gains in the fight against Boko Haram but the fighters are still waging regular deadly attacks. Bloomberg News

has been questioned by world leaders, and Turkish officials have leaked accounts of audio recordings indicating the journalist was ambushed, beaten, killed and his body dismembered.

Erdogan on Tuesday publicly challenged Saudi explanations and declared the killing a “ferocious” premeditated murder, demanding that Saudi Arabia hold accountable those responsible.

Trump said CIA Director Gina Haspel and other US officials looking into the killing should return from the region Tuesday evening and Wednesday. Trump said later that he would meet with officials involved in the inquiry on Wednesday.

“We’re all meeting tomorrow afternoon,” Trump said during a meeting with military leaders early Tuesday evening. “We’ve gained a lot of information. And we’ll know pretty much everything there is to know, I believe.”

Republicans and Democrats in Congress have both expressed deep skepticism about the Saudi explanation. Some lawmakers have called for stiff penalties on Saudi Arabia.

But Congress is out of session to campaign for the November 6 elections and won’t return until the middle of next month. Bloomberg News

B4 Thursday, October 25, 2018 VISTA LAND IS MARKETING COMPANY OF THE YEAR Vista Land bagged the most coveted Marketing Company of the Year at the 39th Agora Awards, presented by the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA), at the Okada Manila grand ballroom. Receiving the award is Vista Land director and Vista Land Commercial Division managing director Camille Villar (in photo, fourth from left) joined by (from left) 39th Agora Awards Marketing Company of the Year category head John Alexis C. Revilla, CPM; Mega Global Corp. President William Tiu Lim; PMA President Arlene Padua, CPM Asia; overall chairman Maeyeth Cayabyab-Cadungog, CPM; and director Mary Faith Abaño, CPM.

SIGNALING A CULTURE OF INTEGRITY Logic Network project funder, implementers and partners agreed on to a pledge of integrity to reaffirm their commitment in promoting a culture of integrity in the country. In photo are (from left) Lito Monico C. Lorenzana, president, Centrist Democracy Political Institute; Dr. Stefan Jost, country director, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung; Ambassador Franz Jessen, European Union; Florian Gottein, executive director, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines; Alfonso Umali Jr., governor of Oriental Mindoro; and Daisy Avance-Fuentes, governor of South Cotobato.

BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE FINANCIAL SYSTEM

B

UILDING an inclusive financial system has become an important policy objective in the country.

Latest figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for 2017 showed that 77 percent of adult Filipinos remain unbanked, with 52 percent unable to allocate money for savings.

In line with the aim to improve the state of financial inclusion in the Philippines, a national strategy for financial inclusion (NSFI) was optimized to help raise awareness, understanding and coordination among stakeholders about the subject. The national strategy, which is aligned with the Philippine Development Plan, is divided into four areas, namely, policy and regulation, financial education and consumer protection, advocacy programs, and data and measurement.

One of the companies with a flagship campaign focused on promoting financial literacy is Home Credit Philippines (HCPH), a Prague-based consumer-finance business, which has been in operation in the country for five years. In 2016 it launched its flagship campaign Juan, Two, Three, which focuses on teaching the basics of budgeting and saving to different communities all over the country.

HCPH Chief Executive Officer Annica Witschard says that a multidimensional approach is necessary for the progress of

financial inclusion in the country. “The challenge is that a huge chunk of the public is not equipped with the basics of handling their finances. We need to start educating people to help them become financially literate.”

This rings true for the 21 percent of the 52.8 million adults in the country who do not have formal bank accounts because of their perceived lack of need for them. Moreover, the 2017 BSP report for financial inclusion states that 10 percent do not have proper knowledge of how to open an account, while 8 percent have a lack of awareness about it.

Witschard continues, “The problem is that we don’t really talk about the basics of financing as much as we should. It isn’t formally included in the curriculum of our primary schools, for example. This gap is something that advocacy programs focused on teaching financial literacy can address.”

The results of financially focused advocacy campaigns, like the Juan, Two, Three Campaign, are proof to this. “We have gotten a lot of uplifting feedback from those we visited. People have been saying that they didn’t understand the importance of keeping their money on formal bank accounts before. Others simply shared that they didn’t know they can still save regardless of how much their salaries are. Directly reaching out to these people, which traditional financial

institutions do not always cater to, is very eye-opening.”

The Juan, Two, Three program combines two important pillars of the national strategy for financial inclusion—financial education and advocacy programs. To make financial learning more interesting, the campaign utilizes games and creative materials, like comic books, to educate people about financial basics. It now has a long-term partnership with the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and has, so far, reached more than 9,700 people and 105 communities.

As part of its efforts in expanding its reach, the campaign is now focusing on creating more partnerships with noncivic organizations and in tapping other stakeholders. Most recent it visited senior citizens and wives of fisherfolks from San Fernando, La Union, with the help from the Rotary Club of San Fernando North.

The program also held its first financialliteracy event for elementary and junior high-school students of Colegio de Los Banos in Laguna.

“We want to explore and fill in other areas where financial education is needed.

But our main focus is to really educate people first. These are the basic steps to better financial inclusion. If they are wellinformed, then it is easier for them to be included,” Witschard concludes.

MÖVENPICK MACTAN ISLAND TO REPRESENT THE VISAYAS IN NATIONAL FOOD SHOWDOWN

M PAN-ASIAN INSURER FWD LIFE INSURANCE OPENS ORTIGAS CENTER BUSINESS HUB Pan-Asian insurer FWD Life Insurance opens its new business hub in Ortigas Center. Formally unveiling the company’s newest office are executives of FWD Life Philippines: (from left) Chief Life Operations Officer Judith Baliton, President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Grimes and Chief Distribution Officer John Johnson. The new business hub is on the 26th-floor level of IBP Tower, Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center. To schedule an appointment with an FWD advisor, call the FWD Customer Connect hotline at (+632) 888-8388 or visit www.fwd.com.ph for 24/7 live chat.

ÖVENPICK Hotel Mactan Island Cebu showcased its prowess and passion in culinary arts with its recent win at the 2018 Cebu Goes Culinary, the biggest, long-standing culinary event in the region organized by the Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC). With a total of 4 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze and a diploma, the hotel team led by Executive Chef Jean Louis Leon was also declared as the champion of Chef Wars. This earned them the esteemed honor of representing the Visayas region in the same category at the National Food Showdown on October

27, wherein they’ll compete against teams from Luzon and Mindanao.

Out of all the categories, the Chef Wars is the main competition in both Cebu Goes Culinary and the national food showdown.

Comparable to some culinary competitions on TV, the Chef Wars is a live cooking event wherein chefs create unique dishes out of the ingredients disclosed to them as part of the competition guidelines.

Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu’s team for Chef Wars is composed of junior chefs Marvin Ampoloquio, Jason Nellas and Reymuel Albacite. At the Cebu event, the discerning judges, a

HIMEX, PRIVATE HOSPITAL PARTNER TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE MEDICAL SERVICES IN PANGASINAN

group of multi-awarded chefs, and food and beverage connoisseurs, raved and gave top scores to the hotel team’s presentation, which displayed the team’s ingenuity in crafting creative and unique dishes out of shrimp as the main ingredient. Their set menu featured seared shrimp sausage with ginger, malunggay leaves in coconut milk sauce; sautéed shrimps in turmeric crustacean sauce; and pasayan (shrimp) squid ink escabeche.

“It was our first time to join the culinary competition in Cebu, which was why this win really caught us by surprise.

To be able to represent [the] Visayas in the national food showdown is actually a great honor and privilege. We’re excited to meet other players and personalities in the culinary scene,” Chef Louis shared.

Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu is a Mediterranean-inspired beachfront hotel offering a myriad of options for accommodation, events, leisure and dining. Its parent brand Mövenpick hotels and resorts is an international hotel chain known for seven decades of culinary excellence and innovation.

The Cebu hotel is owned by the Manny O. Group, a Cebu-based holding company founded by Manuel H. Osmeña, who is a prominent player in the Philippine tourism industry.

WORLD-CLASS MUSIC WONDERS AT PWU CONCERT STAGE

T T

HE newest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine made it to a private hospital in Dagupan City, Pangasinan, through a joint venture project with High Integrated Medical Engineering Exponent (Himex) Corp., the leading health-care provider and pioneer in rehabilitation and development projects in the country.

MRI scans can be used emergently in cases of stroke. The scans may be done to determine the size of tumors and whether these can be removed with surgery. This machine can further detect variety of injuries and diseases for better and immediate treatment of patients, according to Dr. Jose Viviencio Villaflor of Dagupan Doctors Villaflor Memorial Hospital (DDVMH).

The Hitachi Echelon Smart MRI superconductive 1.5 Tesla is now installed at the DDVMH. At the helm of Himex Corp. is Rema PadillaOhno, president and chief executive officer, who created and implemented the company’s original concept, which is “the rehabilitation

and development of radiology department thru installation of high-technology medical-imaging equipment to various government and private hospitals all over the Philippines.”

Actor Robin Padilla, who is the brother to Ohno, lent his star power at the launch of the newest MRI machine in the region, to the delight of medical staff, employees and patients of DDVMH. For 50 years the DDVMH has been an innovator of health-care services throughout the region. With the new powerful imaging machine, Pangasinan is expected to become the medical hub in this part of the Philippines, with people from as far as Nueva Ecija coming to seek medical help and not needing to travel to Manila to get high-quality diagnostic healthcare services.

In photo are (from left) Dr. Jose Vivencio Villaflor III, DDVMH medical director; representative of Mayor Belen Fernandez; actor Robin Padilla; Ohno; Dra. Gregoria Villaflor, DDVMH administrator; Dr. Betha Fe Castillo, president of medical association; and Villaflor.

HE Philippine Women’s University’s (PWU) School of Music will be presentingaclassicalguitarconcerton October 29 at 3 p.m., titled “Music of Spain and Italy.” The concert features Italian-born guitarist Salvatore Foderà (in photo, right), who is currently based in Switzerland, where he teaches at the Music School of Muttenz.

AlsofeaturedareguitaristsIvarFojas(center) and Gonzalo Misa.

Fulbright Scholar Fojas recently completed his doctoral studies with the Bolton Guitar Studies Program at the University of Arizona, where he had special studies with Grammy Award winners David Russell, Sergio and Odair Assad.

Opening the concert is guitarist Gonzalo Misa performing Enrique Granados’ “Valses Poéticos”. Gonzalo Misa placed second at the 2013 Singapore International Guitar Festival and Competition, and has since performed in festivals, such as the Saigon International Guitar Festival, Silpakorn International Guitar Festival and the Southeast Asia Guitar Festival in Thailand.

At 10 a.m. the same day Foderà will hold a masterclass featuring five students from the country’s leading guitar institutions—PWU, University of the Philippines Diliman, University of Santo Tomas, Saint Scholastica’s College, Saint Paul and the Cultural Center of the Philippines’s Kabataan Gitarista.

The concert features Spanish and Italian works by composers, such as Scarlatti, Dalza, Albéniz, Granados, de Falla, Tárrega and Sabicas. Admission is free.

C1 THE Red Sox’s Andrew Benintendi looks back at the Dodgers’ shortstop Manny Machado after advancing to second on an RBI double during the first inning of Game One. AP

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mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TOO MUCH through it,” Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi said.

It was 53 degrees at first pitch and it dropped into the mid-40s by the end. That was the coldest game for Los Angeles this season and quite a contrast from last year’s World Series, when it was a record 103 degrees for the opener at Dodger Stadium against Houston.

“We won Game One last year and lost the Series, so maybe we’ll try it out this way. See if we can win one,” Kershaw said.

Game Two is on Wednesday night, when it’s supposed to be even colder. David Price, fresh from beating Houston in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) clincher, starts against Hyun-jin Ryu. Both teams rely heavily on analytics, and it showed: With each manager searching for the most beneficial matchup, the clubs combined to use 12 pitchers and six pinch-hitters.

Benintendi scored three times for Boston, trying for its fourth championship in 15 seasons.

Matt Kemp homered and Justin

THE Red Sox’s Eduardo Nunez reacts after hitting a three-run home run during the seventh inning of Game One. AP

Long nights, strikeouts and pitching changes B

OSTON—Games averaged three hours and 35-and-a-half minutes during the playoffs, up six minutes from the 2017 postseason and more than a half-hour longer than this year’s regular season.

Strikeouts have topped hits in seven of eight postseason matchups. Starting pitchers usually don’t finish the fifth inning and use of relievers is up markedly in an era when “bullpenning” has become a verb.

Have the changes brought about by analytics made baseball less appealing to casual fans?

“There’s certainly something to be said for that, because ball in play, double plays, defense, that’s always exciting,” Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said ahead of Tuesday night’s World Series opener against Boston. “I know our series there was a lot of strikeouts,

BusinessMirror

, TOO TRICKY , TOO COLD

By Ben Walker

The Associated Press

OSTON—The Fenway Funhouse proved too tricky, too cold and just too much for the beach boys.

Andrew Benintendi, JD Martinez and the Boston Red Sox came out swinging in the World Series opener, seizing every advantage in their quirky ballpark to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-4, on a chilly, windy Tuesday night.

Benintendi had four hits, Martinez drove in two early runs and pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez golfed a three-run homer to seal it.

The 108-win Red Sox got a solid effort from their bullpen after an expected duel between aces Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw never developed.

From the get-go, old Fenway Park caused all sorts of problems for the Dodgers.

Mookie Betts led off for the Red Sox with a pop-up that twisted first baseman David Freese as he tried to navigate the tight foul space near the stands and gauge the gusts. Lost, he overran the ball and it dropped behind him.

“You never really know,” Benintendi said.

“The flag will be blowing one way, and the wind is actually blowing the other. You have to be on your toes pretty much.”

Given a second chance, Betts lined a single that set up a two-run first inning.

“It was important for us to score first and kind of put some pressure on them,” he said.

In the seventh, newly inserted left fielder Joc Pederson looked hesitant as he chased Benintendi’s soft fly, rushing toward the seats that jut out down the line. The ball ticked off his glove for a ground-rule double, and soon Nunez connected off Alex Wood to break open a 5-4 game.

“We didn’t play the defense that we typically do. I thought we left some outs out there,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said.

“And it didn’t make Clayton’s job any easier.”

The crowd and cold temperatures were no picnic for Los Angeles, either.

The oddly angled ballpark became an echo chamber even before the first pitch. Chants of “Beat LA!” began early, Kershaw got heckled with a sing-song serenade and Dodgers villain Manny Machado heard loud boos all evening.

Only one person wearing Dodger blue drew a cheer: Roberts, saluted in pregame introductions for the daring steal that turned the tide in Boston’s 2004 playoff comeback against the Yankees.

“I think we had the advantage tonight with the weather and stuff. We’ve been playing

Sports

| Thursday, October 25, 2018

but there was the strategy part of it—I think that that’s very exciting for a baseball purist that loves to see what managers think and how you can kind of match up against the opposition.”

Boston’s 8-4 win in Game One took 3:52, ended at 12:03 a.m. and included 10 relief pitchers and six pinch hitters. The teams combined for 24 strikeouts and 19 hits.

Postseason games through the League Championship Series averaged a record 18.8 strikeouts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, up from 18.4 last year and 18.0 in 2016. There were 526 whiffs and 416 hits in the first 28 postseason games, including 161 strikeouts and 110 hits in the Dodgers’ win over Milwaukee in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).

Boston’s Division Series victory over the New York Yankees was the only one with more hits than strikeouts: 67 to 60.

While viewers hope for action, managers and many players are caught up in the tactical chess match between dugouts prepped by front office analytics teams.

“It’s more interesting. It is,” Boston Manager Alex Cora said. “There’s so much information now that you can actually exploit weaknesses on the team, not only rely on the starters or your usual setup guy or your closer. Somebody the last few years figured out that there’s a lot of off days in the playoffs, that you can actually use your starters as relievers or you can go with your relievers for multiple innings, and it’s fun. It’s fun as a baseball fan.”

Computer analysis helps teams arrange defensive shifts that take away hits and concludes starting pitchers’ effectiveness often drops the third time through the batting order. Innovative use of relief pitchers by Cubs

Manager Joe Maddon and Cleveland’s Terry Francona during the 2016 postseason caught the attention of the rest of the industry.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt about it.

They started bringing [Aroldis] Chapman and [Andrew] Miller in for two, three innings at time. Now every team that has a dominant reliever or two dominant relievers, their design,” Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello said.

“Find ways to get those guys in the game in the highest-leverage situations, because those are your best arms.”

Starting pitchers averaged 5 1/3 innings and 83 pitches in the 2016 postseason, according to Sports Info Solutions. That dropped to 4.7 innings and 80 pitches last year, and 4.5 innings and 73 pitches this year going into the Series.

Teams had combined for an average of 8.8 relief pitchers per game this postseason,

Turner had three hits for the Dodgers, aiming for their first crown since 1988. Machado drove in three runs, and his RBI grounder in the fifth inning made it 3-all.

Boston retook the lead in the bottom half when Xander Bogaerts hustled to beat out a potential inning-ending double play— Dodgers reliever Ryan Madson seemed to celebrate a little too early.

Rafael Devers followed with an RBI single, making it 5-3 and giving himself an early birthday present. He turned 22 at midnight, three minutes before the game ended.

Martinez, who led the majors with 130 RBIs, gave the crowd a scare when his foot slipped rounding second base on a runscoring double in the third. He fell hard, but soon got up.

Steve Pearce, ruled safe at first on a replay review, scored from there on Martinez’s double. The ball hit a metal garage-type grate on the far center-field wall and took a weird carom, giving Pearce extra time to score.

A garage-style grate, used for groundskeeping vehicles and such. What other park has that in play?

A day before this opener, Kershaw and most of the Dodgers pooh-poohed the prospect that Fenway would cause them trouble. Most of them had never played at the oldest ballpark in the majors, built in 1912, but said they were sure they’d be OK. It didn’t quite turn out that way in their first trip to Fenway since 2010.

Besides, clubs coming to Beantown have

up from 7.2 last year. The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw and Red Sox pitchers Chris Sale, Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi all have made relief appearances between starts.

Could starting pitchers join dinosaurs in extinction?

“You’re still going to need to get innings from your starters,” Kershaw said. “Over the course of 162 games you’re going to need guys to pitch six or seven innings.”

Oakland pulled Liam Hendriks after one inning and 25 pitches in the AL wild-card game against the Yankees. Wade Miley left after one batter and five pitches in Game Five of the NLCS against Kershaw and the Dodgers.

Both moves were pre-planned.

Kershaw, who earned $30.4 million this year, wonders whether the lower salaries of relievers have an impact on how rosters are being stocked.

“I think it’s a very cost-effective thing to do, obviously, to bullpen and have a deep bullpen, because starting pitchers are more expensive,” he said. “I think us as an organization, us as a union,

other things to worry about.

“I think the biggest challenge for a team coming in here is you’re playing the Boston Red Sox,” Eovaldi said on Monday.

The only other time the Dodgers and Red Sox met in the World Series was 1916, when Babe Ruth helped pitch Boston to the championship. Those games were at Braves Field, the bigger home park of the city’s National League franchise.

Kershaw and Sale each started out wearing short sleeves, but neither warmed to the possibility of the marquee matchup.

In similar outings, both were pulled before getting an out in the fifth.

Kershaw took the loss in his first appearance at Fenway, tagged for five runs on seven hits and three walks. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner fell to 9-9 in the postseason, his October results falling short of his brilliant regular-season resume.

“All the way around it wasn’t a good night,” Kershaw said.

Sale threw 91 pitches in his first outing since the ALCS opener. He was hospitalized last week for an unspecified stomach illness.

Matt Barnes, the first of six Boston relievers, got the win. Eovaldi pitched the eighth and Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth as the Red Sox bullpen held the Dodgers to one run on three hits in five innings.

Boston Manager Alex Cora won in his first try guiding a club in the Series. This also marked the first World Series game between teams led by minority managers.

will definitely have to take a closer look at that, if that’s the way the game is going. Because I think everybody should be compensated according to what they are worth in the game, so if the bullpen is going to have more value, they’re going to have to pay them more.”

Boston pitcher David Price maintains the need for success prevails over aesthetics.

“If I’m a fan of a team, I want us to have the best chance to win,” he said. “If that means taking the starter out to bring in a reliever for a better matchup, I want our guys to have the best chance to win.”

Cora likes the thrill of inserting starters as relievers. Velocity was up about 2 miles per hour for Porcello and Eovaldi in their bullpen outings, with Eovaldi averaging 101 mph as he got four outs in the pennant clincher against Houston.

“I know I can air it out,” Eovaldi said.

Cora still marveled over Eovaldi’s strikeout of Alex Bregman, who swung under a 101.6 mph pitch.

“That was cool,” he said. AP

Spo

Business

C2 Thursday, October 25, 2018

BLUE EAGLES RIP RED WARRIORS

Lady Bulldogs go 73-0 won-lost in UAAP hoops

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ATIONAL University (NU) overpowered Adamson University, 86-58, for its 73rd straight win—matching the record in all sports in the league—on Wednesday in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 women’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Coach Pat Aquino’s wards were in business-like mode as the “five-peat-seeking” Lady Bulldogs equaled the Lady Falcons’ softball winning streak that lasted from January 2010 to March 2016.

“My mindset is to win this game. Let’s forget the streak. Let’s forget 73-0. Let’s forget 9-0. It’s just a game that we have to play,” Aquino said.

“The pressure is already mounting. I told my players to just go out and play our game,” he added.

NU, which has not tasted defeat since losing to De La Salle in the championship decider on October 5, 2013, aims to set a new league record of 74 straight won games when it battles University of Santo Tomas (UST) at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

Congo’s Rhena Itesi had 23 points, 14 rebounds and two assists, while reigning Most Valuable Player Jack Danielle Animam, Ria Nabalan and Jeanne Camelo each scored 12 points for the Lady Bulldogs.

Sai Larosa had 35 points and 14 boards, while Congo’s Grace Irebu chipped in 20 points and 17 rebounds as UST made quick work of winless University of the Philippines, 103-58, for its third straight win and tie with Far Eastern University at 6-3 in second place.

The Lady Falcons dropped to 5-4 to share fourth place with the Lady Archers.

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

A

TENEO de Manila caught fire in the second quarter, then cruised to an easy 90-70 win over a hapless University of the East (UE) side in Season 81 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball action on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Blue Eagles were in command early and posed a 29-15 lead in the first quarter. And

UNIVERSITY of the East’s Jose Carlos Cullar tries to shake off Ateneo de Manila’s Jose Lorenzo Mendoza. NONOY LACZA

they were not done yet.

The defending champions outscored the Red Warriors, 28-9, in the second period to virtually put the game away with a 57-24 half-time lead and further validate that a new coaching staff this season hardly did wonders for UE’s woes.

“We had a terrific first half on both ends, defensively and offensively, especially in the second quarter. We are happy with our offense,” Ateneo Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga.

The Blue Eagles improved to eight wins in 10 games for the solo leadership over secondrunning Adamson University (7-2).

After posting 33 points and 27 rebounds in a victory over Far Eastern University, Angelo Kouame has consistently becoming the foundation for Ateneo’s surge. He had another double-double performance of 18 points and 16 rebounds.

Tyler Tio churned in 16 points, as three other Blue Eagle scored in double figures, including 10 from Thirdy Ravena, who just returned from a one-game suspension following a closed-fist foul

CATANTAN, ESTEBAN GRAB FENCING GOLD T

EENERS Samantha Kyle Catantan and Maxine Isabel Esteban shone brightest for the Philippines as they pulled off a landmark gold medal victory in the recent 2018 Akari Asian U23 Fencing Championships at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City.

Catantan, 16, and Maxine Esteban, 17, teamed up with Justine Gail Tinio and Wilhelmina Lozada in ruling the women’s team foil event

of the tournament organized by the Philippine Fencing Association and sponsored by Akari Lighting and Technology Corp.

Catantan, the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games silver medalist, and international multi-medalist Esteban beat Kuan Yu Ching and Lee Areta in leading the Philippines to a 45-41 win over Hong Kong in the final.

The Philippines earlier defeated Southeast

Asian heavyweight Thailand in the eliminations, 45-23, and upset Asian powerhouse Korea, 45-39, in the semifinal en route to the country’s first-ever top podium finish in the Asian U23 since its inception in 2011.

“Kyle and Maxine are some of the products of our long-term program. They started playing at a young age through our grassroots program,” Philippine Fencing Association Secretary-General Rene Gacuma said.

“We sacrificed a lot for this one. We will do more because our focus is the Olympics and not just the SEA Games next year. Foreign coaches and more foreign exposure will further boost our performance,” National Coach Rolando “Amat” Canlas said.

After drawing a bye in the first round, Catantan smashed Kuan of Hong Kong, 153, in the next round, then beat Yang Chin

Man of Taipei to reach the semifinals, where she bowed to eventual gold medalist Shin Kyujung of Korea.

Nathaniel Perez, 22, gave the Philippines something to crow about on opening day by claiming a bronze medal built around victories over Saleem Ghaith of Iraq and compatriot Shaw Nicollei Felipe.

The three-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines fencing Most Valuable Player bowed in the semifinals to Korea’s Hwang Booyeong, who eventually clinched the gold medal.

Powerhouse Korea again dominated the event with four gold, five silver and seven bronze medals. Hong Kong had four gold, three silver and one bronze medals, while Kazakhstan tallied 3-1-3. The Philippines had a one-gold, two-silver finish for fourth place.

on University of the Philippines’s Paul Desiderio during their October 14 match.

Ateneo erected a 17-3 rally in the second quarter to put the game in a safe distance with a 57-24 lead at the half.

Determined to make things work for UE, Alvin Pasaol and Philip Manalang combined for 16 points in the third quarter. But the deficit was too big to conquer as Ateneo showed its composure to end the game with ease.

Pasaol continued his scoring brilliance with 29 points that went with five rebounds. Manalang, on the other hand, finished with 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Red Warriors, who are down in the cellar with a 1-9 card.

Paul Desiderio scored a career-high 31 points as University of the Philippines (UP) dumped an undermanned Far Eastern University (FEU), 95-82, to post a 5-5 record.

Both teams went off to a fiery start as Desiderio and Bright Akhuetie conspired for 28 points to put UP ahead, 37-30, in the first quarter.

From there, the Fighting Maroons weathered all attempts for a comeback by the Tamaraws as Juan Gomez de Liaño took charge in the second half to finish with a near triple-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

“This is a big win for us,” UP Head Coach Bo Perasol said.

The Tamaraws missed injured big man Prince Orizu and suspended forward Arvin Tolentino.

In lieu of two of their two key players, Brandey Bienes led FEU with 14 points and five rebounds, while Kevin Ebona and Wendell Comboy chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Tamaraws dropped to fifth setback in 10 assignments.

Perlas Spikers in easy win vs Iriga

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SAMANTHA KYLE CATANTAN (left) is in action against Hong Kong’s Kuan Yu Ching in the women’s individual foil.

Adamson U men’s hoops squad, volleyball teams get major boost

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KARI is keeping its commitment to support Adamson University’s campaign in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) the same way as it has done in the past five years.

Since taking over the program in 2016, Coach Franz Pumaren has steered the Soaring Falcons to two consecutive Final Four appearances. This year, the Falcons are touted as strong contenders anew.

Third-year American coach Airess Padda, meanwhile, is training the Lady Falcons to compete at a higher level. As part of their off-season build up, the Lady Falcons are joining several leagues ahead of the UAAP season in February 2019.

For the program’s continuity, Akari has also included the high-school girls’ volleyball team under its management. Early this year, the company held the Akari National High School Volleyball Championships to scout promising players and bring them into the Adamson University junior and senior volleyball programs.

After delivering the university’s first championship in the UAAP Cheer Dance Competition last year, Adamson University Pep Squad Coach Jam Lorenzo and his wards are training harder to defend their crown in November.

Akari’s unwavering support to the Adamson ADAMSON University athletes are expected to perform at a higher level in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

University for the past five years is just one of the several initiatives under the brand’s youth development and sports program.

The company has formalized the Akari Foundation to extend its support to the youth beyond collegiate sports. Akari recently gathered the 2018-2019 Adamson University scholars of the company.

In an intimate dinner, Christopher Tiu, Akari chief executive officer, reiterated the lighting and energy company’s commitment to help enlighten the future of the Filipino youth.

ANKO-PERLAS scored an expected 25-22, 25-21, 25-19 victory over Iriga-Navy on Wednesday night at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan, putting its campaign in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Open Conference back on track following back-to-back setbacks to two of the league’s top contenders.

Veteran Dzi Gervacio put in another superb outing of 17 hits, including 15 attack points, and added 10 digs while Sue Roces and Joy Dacoron added seven markers apiece, and Fhen Emnas put up a 25-excellent set game in the absence of Jem Ferrer.

Emnas also came up with eight digs for the Spikers, who also trounced the Lady Oragons in their first round meeting.

The victory hiked BanKo-Perlas card to 6-2 wonlost at the start of the second round eliminations of the season-ending conference organized by Sports Vision while the loss dropped Iriga-Navy to 1-7.

“This is a big win for our second-round campaign. It was a big relief from our back-to-back losses,” said BanKo-Perlas Coach Dong de la Cruz, referring to their setbacks to the Creamline Cool Smashers and the Pocari-Air Force Lady Warriors.

With their power and experience, the Spikers dominated the match from the start and pounced on the Lady Oragons’ erratic game to score 24 points of their rivals’ miscues on their way to the 75-minute romp.

Joanne Bunag and Nene Bautista combined for 25 points for the Lady Oragons, who snapped their six-game skid with a victory over the Adamson Univcersity-Akari Lady Falcons but failed to match the Spikers’ firepower and absorbed another stinging defeat.

orts

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Thursday, October 25, 2018

C3

CARLOS MAKES MOVE J

JOBIM CARLOS putts his way to a two-shot lead with a solid 67 in the second round.

OBIM CARLOS wielded hot putter in another scorching day in Tarlac on Wednesday, shooting a bogey-free 67 and overhauling Elmer Salvador’s overnight three-stroke lead to seize control by two over Jack Sullivan of Australia midway through the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Open.

Carlos, who recalled his fierce form with a 68 start on Tuesday after back-to-back struggles in the last two legs of the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT), sustained his attack in another good scoring condition at Luisita, producing five birdies inside 12 feet despite a late tee-off to surge ahead of the pack at nine-under 135.

“I played steady throughout and my putting was good,” said Carlos, who actually missed hiking his lead to three with a muffed eight-foot birdie putt on his closing hole at the par-5 ninth.

He stood two strokes ahead of Sullivan, who had earlier grabbed the clubhouse lead at 137, also after a five-under card, in morning play

‘Three-peat’ for Region 4A dribblers R EGION 4A or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) emerged as a rising force in the Philippine basketball landscape when it bagged a third consecutive Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP)

Under-16 Pambansang Tatluhan crown recently at the Harrison Plaza in Manila.

Region 4A’s Ley Acosta hit the gamewinning triple with only two minutes to play for a 21-16 win that disposed of a tough

Region 11 team from Davao City.

The balanced game by twin towers Jan Rae Atienza and Jan Derick Villarez and the sweet shooting of Ley Acosta was more than enough to hold off Davao’s John Rey Pasaol, younger

that also saw overnight leader Salvador lose his touch off the mound and on the green— and the lead—with a 73.

Like the majority of the contenders, Thai Nirun Sae-ueng tamed the backside with a 32 en route to a 67, catching Salvador at 138 heading to the final 36 holes of the $100,000 event serving as the sixth leg of the second season of the PGT Asia put up by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI).

Jhonnel Ababa made it a three-way tie for third in one of the late flights as the three-time PGT Asia leg winner, including at Forest Hills in July, rallied with a pitch-in eagle on No. 7 and a birdie on the ninth for a 70 to get back into the thick of things.

Korean-American Seungjae Maeng also fired an eagle-spiked 68 to join three others at sixth at 139, including Keanu Jahns, who birdied three of the last seven at the front, James Ryan Lam, who blew a hot four-under card after six holes, also at back, with two bogeys against one more birdie for 69, and Macedonia’s Peter Stojanovski, who rallied with two birdies in the last five holes at the front to card a 70.

American Pete Vilairatana carded a 69 to tie Joenard Rates (70), compatriot Josh Salah (71) and Aussie Tim Stewart (72) at ninth with 140s, five shots behind Carlos, who pressed his bid for another PGT Asia crown after scoring a

brother of University of the East star Alvin Pasaol, and the undersized Wilfred Remollo.

Region 10—represented by BukidnonCagayan de Oro City—beat a hot-shooting Charity Grace Gicana and Region 6 (Bacolod City), 16-6, to top the girls’ competition.

The boys’ championship was fought tightly in the early going until Villarez scored four straight points—all on lay-ups and

breakthrough at Riviera in June.

That win spurred Carlos’s surge to the PGT heap where he won two tournaments and turned in a couple of runner-up finishes to emerge this year’s winner of the Order of Merit crown.

But after nailing his second PGT title in Iloilo in August, the former amateur hotshot slowed down in the last two PGT legs, ending up tied for 19th in Cebu and winding up 12th last week here.

Two fiery rounds here, however, put the 25-year-old Carlos back on familiar place.

He went to work quickly at the back, birdying Nos. 10, 12 and 14, then added two more on Nos. 3 and 8 while preserving his bogey-free card with five scrambling pars.

Fifty one players made the cut at 146 with some of the pretournament favorites barely surviving, including Americans John Michael O’Toole and PGT Del Monte leg winner Nicolas Paez, who both scrambled for 72s for two-over overall cards. Jet Mathay (72), Paul Echavez (73), Zanieboy Gialon (74), Vikkash Babu of Singapore (74) and Cory Oride, also of the United States, (75), all pooled two-over overall cards to advance in the event backed by ICTSI, Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and MY Shokai Technology Inc.

putbacks—to break a 12-all tie and push Region 4A ahead.

But Pasaol brought his team back and scored three of Davao’s four points to tie the match one last time at 16. A shot clock violation and a miscue where Davao failed to clear the ball was costly, as Acosta drilled a triple and Villarez scored inside.

Acosta then found himself wide open for

the game-winning triple.

“We are thrilled by the participation we received from all our SBP members in our Pambansang Tatluhan program,” SBP Executive Director Renauld “Sonny” Barrios said. “The level of interest for both 3x3 grassroots and women’s basketball has greatly increased, and we have seen this where the players are more skilled, and the games, more competitive.”

Sports BusinessMirror

NBA RESULTS Detroit 133, Philadelphia 132, OT New Orleans 116, LA Clippers 109 Denver 126, Sacramento 112

C4

| Thursday, October 25, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Koepka debuts as world No. 1

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ETROIT— Blake Griffin has heard the critics, but the veteran forward knows it’ll take more nights like Tuesday to get where his team wants to go.

Griffin scored a career-high 50 points and had the game-winner after he was fouled on a driving lay-up with 1.8 seconds left as Detroit topped Philadelphia, 133-132, in a wild overtime thriller.

Riddled with injuries during his last few years with the Los Angeles Clippers and then traded last season

S

HANGHAI—Brooks Koepka is having the kind of year he only imagined in his dreams, and he’s not ready for it to end.

In June he became the first player in 29 years to win back-to-back in the US Open. In August he played some his best golf amid ear-splitting cheers for Tiger Woods on the back nine at Bellerive to win the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) championship with a record score. In a span of 19 days in October he was voted PGA Tour player of the year and won the CJ Cup in South Korea to reach No. 1 in the world.

The trick now is to stay there.

He makes his debut at No. 1 on Thursday in the HSBC Champions at Sheshan International against a top-heavy field that includes five of the six top players in the world and all the major champions from this year.

“Looking forward to teeing it as No. 1,” Koepka said. “I think that’s something every golfer kind of dreams of and every golfer wants to accomplish. I’m looking to build on that lead, grow it, and that way I can be No. 1 for a while. The goal isn’t just to get here. It’s to stay here.”

It doesn’t figure to be easy.

He replaced his good friend and neighbor, Dustin Johnson, atop the world ranking. Johnson has his own score to settle at this World Golf Championship after tying the wrong kind of record last year when he lost a six-shot lead in the final round.

Justin Rose would up coming from eight shots behind to win.

Johnson and Rose each have a chance to return to No. 1 this week.

Also in the field is Rory McIlroy at No. 5 and Francesco Molinari at No. 6.

Molinari is the only player who can make a case for having the best year worldwide. Koepka has the edge with his two majors. Molinari counters with his first major at the British Open to go along with a victory at Wentworth in the European Tour flagship event, the Quicken Loans National on the PGA Tour, and if that wasn’t enough, the first European to go 5-0 in the Ryder Cup. Koepka and Rose are in the same group in the opening two rounds, along with Tommy Fleetwood. Molinari is playing with Johnson and McIlroy in another feature group.

WILD O.T. THRILLER

KOEPKA The only player missing from the top 6 is Justin Thomas, who played the last two weeks in Asia.

The HSBC Champions is a $10-million event that starts a big end to the European Tour season, where Molinari has a lead over Fleetwood in the Race to Dubai, with McIlroy trying desperately to make up ground.

It also can be a big start for the PGA Tour’s wraparound season, which began three weeks ago.

The HSBC Champions was the centerpiece of a remarkable turnaround last year for Rose, who had a stretch of 10 consecutive finishes in the top 10. That includes his unlikely victory at Sheshan International, along with victories in the Turkish Airlines Open and the Indonesia Masters.

It eventually led Rose to reaching No. 1 in the world after a runner-up finish at the BMW Championship outside Philadelphia, though the ranking lasted only two weeks before Johnson took it back.

Now it’s Koepka’s turn.

This is the first time since 1997 that four players have spent time at No. 1 in the world, and the first time since the world ranking began in 1986 that the top four in the world have all been No. 1 in the same year. AP

DETROIT’S Blake Griffin (23) shoots against Philadelphia’s Dario Saric during the first half of their game on Tuesday. AP

by his first pro team, Griffin has talked this off-season after proving something.

Point proven.

“The past two or three years, all I hear about is how bad I am,” Griffin said. “It’s a big win, but we’ve got to move on. This is game three and now we’ve got to move on to game four.”

The Pistons are 3-0 for the first time since 2015-16, the last time they made the playoffs, topping the 76ers, who were without Ben Simmons, nursing back tightness.

JJ Redick’s four-point play with 5.6 seconds left in overtime set up Griffin’s dramatics, while Joel Embiid, who had 33 points and 11 rebounds, missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer after working a two-man game with Redick.

“We were trying to bait the switch, you know maybe slip Joel to the rim, maybe step him out,” 76ers Coach Brett Brown said. “Joel had an open look and just wasn’t able to knock it down.”

Griffin faked a handoff on the final play and drove the lane for the basket, getting fouled by Robert Covington. He made the ensuing free throw.

“Out of all the great players I worked with, Dirk [Nowitzki], Kyle Lowry, Kevin Garnett, Shawn Kemp, all those guys, he’s playing at that high a level right now,” Pistons Coach Dwane Casey said. “But again that is what we expect from Blake because he is that good of a player.”

Griffin was 20 of 35 from the field, going 5 for 10 on three-pointers, scoring his most points as a member of the Pistons for the second straight game.

He missed his first six free throws of the game.

“It starts with like believing,” Griffin said. “I saw a lot of times last year where guys were kind of like defeated.

Everybody stayed positive, and that was huge.”

And Griffin stayed hot.

He dunked on Embiid with 3:50 to go in the second quarter, a frame where he scored 22 points.

“Some of us tried to stop him, and he just had an amazing day,” said Dario Saric, who scored 14 points for Philly. “We tried everything but sometimes you can’t, you know?”

Redick had 30 points and scored a three-pointer while being fouled by Reggie Jackson after the Pistons point guard made two free throws to take a 130-128 lead.

Jackson had 23 points and Ish Smith scored 21 for the Pistons.

Detroit took the lead for the first time since late in the first quarter as two Griffin free throws put the Pistons up, 111-110 with 3:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Then, down the stretch of regulation, the teams traded the lead six times, with three ties. AP

‘O

I reach You

H Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim Your praise. Listen, Oh God, to my cry!

Attend to my prayer! From the end of the earth I call You; my heart is faint. Set me high upon the rock, too high for me to reach You, my refuge and mighty tower against the foe. Then I will dwell in Your tent forever...,” Psalm 61. I reach You, Oh God, wherever You are. God is enough to me all my life. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY, SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life BusinessMirror

REELING: REKINDLING THE FLAME: ‘MINSA’Y ISANG GAMU-GAMO’ D4

Thursday, October 25, 2018

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HANGAR 43 offers a 360-degree view of the Ortigas skyline.

ONE-OF-A-KIND EVENT VENUE AT DISCOVERY SUITES

AFTER the success of its romantic Valentine’s Helipad Dinner and Helipad Wine-Pairing BBQ Dinner earlier this year, Discovery Suites (www.discoverysuites.com) is launching Hangar 43 as the newest event venue offering a 360-degree view of the Ortigas skyline.

Located at the 43rd floor of the Discovery Suites, this unique function space will officially open for private and corporate gatherings starting November 26.

A premium helipad Christmas party package good for up to 35 persons at Hangar 43 is now offered along with Discovery Suites’s selection of packages for corporate Christmas parties and social gatherings alike. Aside from Hangar 43, more function venues at the 41st and 42nd floors of Discovery Suites also feature great views of the city, and offer wider floor areas to accommodate bigger groups of up to 120 persons.

Moreover, 22 Prime will be hosting pop-up holiday dinners at Hangar 43 on four Saturdays of December starting December 1, offering limited seats per day. Enjoy Executive Chef Gerwin Bailon’s lavish four-course dinner with colleagues, friends and loved ones at Hangar 43 and take in the priceless view of the city and holiday breeze.

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THE Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, Morocco

PHOTOGRAPHED BY DANIEL RODRIGUES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

CASHALO General Manager Hamilton Angluben and GetGo Rewards General Manager Nik Laming sign a memorandum of agreement that will provide GetGo members more opportunities to fly for free just by becoming a Cashalo user.

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DINERS in Dar Cherifa, one of the rare riads in the medina owned by a native Moroccan

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A MARKET in Marrakech’s ancient medina in Morocco

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A new taste of Marrakech

street in Marrakechh’s ancient medina

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SAID BOURRICH creates a cocktail at Le Baromètre, the only speakeasy-style cocktail bar in Marrakech.

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By Dan SaltzStein New York Times News Service

WENTY years after my first visit, some things about Marrakech remain remarkably similar. The medina—the labyrinthine old part of the city—is still partly populated by stooped men in djellabas and the occasional donkeyled cart. The late afternoon light hits the high walls of its alleys in warming hues of yellow and orange.

It still feels, at times, that everyone wants to sell you something.

Around dusk, the Jemaa el Fna, the medina’s main square, still goes through the same transformation: Juice vendors and the occasional snake charmer are replaced by a dizzying array of food stalls and circles of musicians.

Some things, though, have changed. Those donkey carts now share space with cheap scooters, which spin around corners spewing growls and plumes of exhaust. (My Moroccan translator and travel companion, Abdellah Aboulhamid, told me that, owing to the spike in accidents, a wing of the city hospital had adopted a nickname: C90, the scooter’s model name.)

In 1998 taking a photo of one of those musical performances in the square meant interrupting it while one of the musicians demanded payment.

Today, payment is demanded for cell-phone videos.

Perhaps the most transformative change: Twenty years ago, I struggled to connect, using my barely conversational French; now almost anyone under the age of 35 or 40 speaks English (and, often, not French).

The biggest changes, though, had less to do with the place than how I was traveling. In 1998, my time in Marrakech was part of a six-month solo trip, a month

of that in Morocco. What I later realized was that it could not be duplicated: A trip that came at just the right moment in my life, when I was unattached but old enough to know what I wanted—and needed—out of travel.

I replaced my $10-a-night room at a hotel that no longer exists with the cheapest room I could find (€140 a night, or about $162) at the lovely Riad Mena.

(Riads—the term refers to a traditional home built around a courtyard, but is now used for bed-andbreakfasts that are often filled with flora, fountains and hammams, and generally owned by expats—are now everywhere.) I not only had a cell phone, but was active on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook; 20 years ago, I didn’t see the photos from my analog camera until I returned home.

But I could never get Marrakech and Morocco out of my head. Soon after my trip, I started working at The New York Times and, years later, as an editor in the Travel section. This time, I could return as a journalist.

Since my first trip, Marrakech has become Morocco’s premier tourist city. For decades it has attracted travelers, although at a much smaller scale.

“Everybody knows everybody else in Marrakech,” wrote the English author Peter Mayne in his 1953 memoir, A Year in Marrakesh. “At least everybody knows everyone who lives here—the tourists who come in for a look at the city and a taste of its delights don’t count, except to have francs taken off them.”

But unlike cosmopolitan Casablanca, or Tangier, which, being a short ferry ride away from Spain, had the chaotic transience of a border town, Marrakech has stayed both exciting and accessible for Western travelers. Even by the house-of-mirrors standards of the medina, Dar Cherifa, a riad owned by Abdellatif Ait Ben Abdallah, had been difficult to find. Abdellah,

my translator, and I, had gone down a side alley and then through another riad to find it. The space dates to the 16th century; Ait Ben Abdallah and his team renovated it in 2000 but had left more or less intact intricate, weathered carvings in the stone and wood that wrap around the second floor of the courtyard.

At ground level, tables were scattered amid Berber rugs and a small pool covered in rose petals, and, on the walls, paneled, Japanese-style paintings

by Véronique Rischard, a French artist. Scents of rosewater and orange blossom filled the space.

Over tea and Moroccan pastries, I asked Ait Ben Abdallah, 56, who owns seven riads around the medina (and another in Fez), if he was the exception or the rule as a native riad owner. The exception, he said, estimating that 90 to 95 percent are owned by foreigners. But that didn’t exactly bother him.

“Thirty years ago, Moroccans didn’t want to live in the medina,” he said in French, as Abdellah translated.

The foreigners, he said, were helping support an infrastructure—and moreover, the very existence of the medina, where centuries-old properties were being destroyed. “I would sell riads to the devil if it helped me get Moroccans to open their eyes to how the medina is being destroyed.”

Ait Ben Abdallah was born outside the city and moved to his aunt’s house in the medina at age 7. As a successful entrepreneur, he now wanted to give back, not just by renovating riads but by educating children in his hometown, where he runs cultural events that provide arts education. He employs about 120 people at his properties, and at Dar Cherifa, he hosts free readings, a restaurant and exhibitions.

“Working in heritage is important,” he said,

ContinueD on D3

Partnership to indulge wanderlust TOUTED as the top solution that gives Filipinos financial freedom through fast and affordable access to credit ondemand, Cashalo (www.cashalo.com) and GetGo, Cebu Pacific’s lifestyle rewards program, have entered into a new partnership that will provide GetGo members with greater flexibility and opportunity while planning their next getaway.

Existing members only need to download the Cashalo app via Google Play or the App Store, sign up with their GetGo credentials (mobile number and e-mail address) along with an invitation code provided exclusively on GetGo channels, and earn 50 GetGo points once registered.

Studies show that Filipinos love to travel, may it be locally or internationally. Filipinos made at least 5 million international trips in 2015, and 3 out 5 Filipinos aged 15 and above made trips within the country in 2016, with 99 percent arranging their own trips.

“We’re thrilled to partner with GetGo, which shares our goal of helping Filipinos achieve more,” says Hamilton Angluben, general manager of Cashalo. “Enabling greater flexibility, freedom and opportunity is at the core of what we do. Traveling is an important part of every Filipino’s lifestyle and this partnership is the first of many in our commitment to serving more Filipinos in many ways.”

“We’re excited to be Cashalo’s partner as we add more rewarding ways to make traveling more accessible for every Juan,” adds Nik Laming, general manager of GetGo Rewards.

“Watch out because we have more surprises coming for Cashalo customers and GetGo members.”

Cashalo enables quick, easy and secure access to credit through its innovative mobile app. Offering some of the lowest interest rates in the market and with same-day approval and disbursement, Cashalo is already being used by thousands of Filipinos to build their financial futures.

GetGo, one of the leading lifestyle rewards programs in the Philippines, has been consistent with giving its members the travel benefits and experiences they deserve. Through this partnership with Cashalo, GetGo stays true to their promise of providing its loyal members more opportunities to earn points and increase their chances of flying to their dream vacations for free.

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Entertaining BusinessMirror

Thursday, October 25, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

z

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Ciara, 33; Katy Perry, 34; Josh Henderson, 37; Persia White, 46.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: An innovative approach to life, love and happiness will bring the best results. Pour your energy into your beliefs, the things you enjoy doing most and the people you love being around. Regain the steady pace that makes you feel comfortable as you take on new projects and bring about positive changes that encourage a better future and personal growth.

Your lucky numbers are 3, 11, 18, 26, 30, 34, 47.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take a serious look at how you earn your living. Whether it’s an allowance or a high-paying job that controls your sustenance, consider what you can do to ease stress and bring you more cash as well as joy and satisfaction. HHH

❶ ❶ WOBBLY Plan

❷ BALBOA ❸ RED Crab

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❸

Discovering the delicious

By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez

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HE public was able to travel the world last weekend as international flavors gathered at Shangri-La Plaza’s Grand Atrium for the launch of the second annual Gourmet Fest, underscoring the upscale leisure destination as the go-to place for restaurant-goers looking to delight the palate with global cuisine.

If 2017 saw the event carry the Mid-Autumn Festival theme, focused mainly on Chinese delicacies, this year it is World of Wine highlighting European, American and Asian scrummies from 23 retail partners.

Gourmet Fest or not, the mall is where people can discover the delicious. Brotzeit, diners can enjoy an authentic German culinary experience, while Pasto offers a taste of signature Italian dishes. Rich Hispanic flavors comes to life at Spanish bistro Wobbly Pan, where guests can indulge in tapas, paellas and more, while Balboa fuses American dining with Italian cuisine. Both restaurants, by the way, can be found exclusively at Shangri-La Plaza. For those looking for something sweet and light, Paper Moon’s crepe cakes and La Creperie’s famous crepes are a must-try, and for a solid pick-me-up of caffeine and more, there’s Figaro or Bo’s Coffee Primo.

Discover Asian favorites with a twist prepared by Teppanyaki chefs at Akira, and there are grill masters at SumoSam for a different Japanese dining experience. Foodies will also enjoy Zao, which offers a taste of Vietnam, and take delight in Arya’s Persian cuisine, as well.

Spice things up at Thai BBQ and Pepper Lunch, or warm up with a bowl or two of hotpot dishes at Ganso Shabuway. Meanwhile, Shi Lin’s xiao long bao soup dumplings remain to be a crowd hit. Those looking for more familiar fare will savor the all-American offerings of Kettle, Epicurious and Tender Bob’s, as well as authentic Cuban sandwiches at Pepi Cubano. There’s also pizza offerings with a decided twist at California Pizza Kitchen, and mouthwatering seafood scrummies from Red Crab.

Meanwhile, at this year’s Gourmet Fest, budding cooks and emerging foodies got first dibs with the launch of the Metro Kitchen Series (organized

by Metro Channel) on October 20.

Inspired by the interplay of Filipino and Spanish flavors, culinary stars Chefs Sandy Daza and Robby Goco, as well as Wobbly Pan’s Chef Rolando de Gracia, showcased their mad kitchen skills and their superb flavors.

“We always look forward to gathering our roster of restaurants to show mall guests that The Shang is

such as mini burgers and pizzas, Filipino-style spaghetti, fried chicken and themed desserts.

Children can join the craft activities at the Lobby Lounge, which will be dressed up for Halloween. These include Witch Hat Ring Toss, Monster Bowling and coloring activity.

All guests are encouraged to come along in their spookiest or silliest costume, and get the “best dressed” award. In addition, they will be taken into a spooky fun trick-ortreat complemented by a magic show, face painting and balloon twisting.

Tickets are priced at P980 net per

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t labor over the things you cannot change. Focus on what you can do and the best way to go about it. Putting your time, effort and energy into something you do well will bring the best results. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Know what you want and go after it. Use your imagination, and you’ll come up with ideas and plans that will attract attention. Personal changes and improvements will spill over into your professional life, as well. Embrace change. HHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Be suspicious of anyone promising too much. Don’t wait until it’s too late to back out of something you aren’t sure you want to be associated with. Trust your instincts, not what someone else tells you. HH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A change will do you good. Travel, meetings, educational pursuits and connecting with people who interest you should be priorities. Information you receive about your family history will surprise you. Love is in the stars. HHHHH LALA FOJAS, executive vice president and general manager of Shangri-La Plaza

the go-to destination for the best food in town,” said Lala Fojas, executive vice president and general manager of Shangri-La Plaza.

According to her, the idea behind the food fest was fueled by two reasons: “The first one is that we Filipinos love dining and our social lives revolve around food. Second, our retail partners in the food and beverage category, they actually offer a wide array of sumptuous and flavorful cuisine, so we’d like to be able to give them support and say our thank you for being with us.” The food stall showcase of Gourmet Fest may have concluded, but the festival’s dining

promo runs until November 18, where shoppers get a chance to win a trip for two to Singapore via Singapore Airlines with hotel accommodations and Singapore Explorer Pass Tickets.

With a minimum spend of P500, they get one raffle coupon.

When asked about the events currently lined up in Shangri-La Plaza, with a special emphasis on the theme for the mall’s grand-size Christmas tree this Yuletide season, Forjas said: “On October 27 and 28, we’ll have our Spooktacular Halloween Festival. As for the Christmas tree, well, it’s going to be fantastic and you have to wait until you see it.” n

Party Like A MonSTAR at Hotel Jen Manila BRING the whole family to Hotel Jen Manila’s Latitude Restaurant on October 28, from noon to 3 pm, and Party like a MonSTAR for a fun Halloween adventure.

The Sunday Brunch highlights a salad bar, fresh seafood station, hot items that include Pork Liver Steak with Caramelized Onion, Mahi-Mahi Fillet with Spiced Tomato Salsa, Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip, and a live cooking station where your much-loved pasta is cooked a la minute, and a prime rib carving station.

There will also be a Kid Station which will feature a spread of party favorites,

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make a beeline for the goal. Take care of business; you’ll feel good about what you accomplish.

You have plenty to gain if you ask experts and set your priorities straight. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What you accomplish will make a difference as long as you don’t go above someone’s head or cause a ruckus. A steady pace will help you get things done right the first time and avoid someone’s negativity, complaints and criticism. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Share your thoughts, feelings and intentions.

Network with people who motivate you to be more creative. Put your heart into the relationships you cherish. Look into alternative lifestyles that offer the opportunity to expand your knowledge and gain experience. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Get active. Exercise will help alleviate stress and anxiety caused by confusion and mixed signals someone is sending you. Don’t make decisions based on things you hear. Keep private matters, passwords and financial information a secret. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Sincerity will help you figure out what’s going on and how best to solve problems. A positive attitude will encourage others to pitch in and help. A romantic gesture will help build a strong relationship with someone special. HHHHH

k

person,inclusive of lunch buffet, entertainment, games at the Lobby Lounge, loot bag, complimentary parking and valet services and unlimited Wi-Fi access. Kids aged 4 to 11 are entitled to a special rate of P500 net per child, while kids aged 3 and below are free of charge when accompanied by at least one paying adult.

For inquiries, call 795-8888 or 09178062017. This event is made possible by Manila Ocean Park, Trolli, Lucky Me, Dutch Mill, Bite Block, Holy Seat, FunRanch, Bambini Baby Cologne, Frooty Rainbow Pop, Frutos, Monami and Yakee.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Be true to yourself. Don’t follow what others do or buy into the hype you read or come across throughout the day. Do what suits you instead of trying to please those who aren’t grateful for the help you offer.

HH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Someone from your past will turn out to be a lifesaver.

Reconnect with people you have enjoyed collaborating with. An interesting proposal will give you something to think about. HHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are generous, charismatic and possessive.

You are persuasive and outspoken.

‘ice capades’ BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Defrosts 6 Share borders 10 Face-and-torso likeness 14 Come to, in math 15 Balancing stick 16 Passe preposition 17 Recipient of some lottery funds 20 Sampler 21 NASA creation 22 Kathmandu currency 25 Vandalized, as a car 26 Ticket remainder 30 Stopping points 32 Munitions storehouses 35 Bribe for a deejay 41 Mail conveniences 43 Social levels 44 Scottish cop 45 Coral mass 47 Prefix with “rust” or “trust” 48 Like Hammer pants, now 53 Nimble-fingered 56 Thing on display

8 Goofy and clumsy 5 63 Hotel’s back passage 66 Branch location 67 Marine eagle 68 Mountaineering tool 69 Put back, editorially 70 Made colors change 71 Decelerates DOWN 1 U-turn from laughed 2 Pool shade 3 Chafes 4 Type of liquor 5 More evasive and tricky 6 Biggest heart?

7 Not well-behaved 8 Still in shrink-wrap 9 Common school abbr.

10 Montana copper town 11 Labor ideal 12 Neck warmer 13 Got muscular (with “up”) 18 French vineyard 19 Ocean-diving bird

3 Lucre 2 24 Stored grain 26 Exhausts, as energy 27 Horse race gait 28 Former map letters 29 Early software version 31 Be volcanic 33 “I’m ___ one to boast” 34 Nigh? Not hardly 36 Dr. J’s first league 37 Bendy exercise 38 Plow pullers 39 Season of atonement 40 Piedmont province 42 Barista’s place 46 Diner, e.g.

48 Finishes arguing a case 49 Expend, as energy 50 Crowd total, it’s said 51 Bridge fastener 52 Asian waist tie 54 Crab cooker 55 Ballfield covers 57 Coated cupcakes

9 How to repeat a grade 5 60 Really intrigued by 61 Harbor vessel 62 Egg makers 64 Certain dir.

65 Animated Flanders

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Parentlife BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Thursday, October 25, 2018

i-Parent: ‘Hope to live,’ ‘dahil’ list and Noel’s guiding soul MOMMY NO LIMITS

MAYE YAO CO SAY

mommynolimits@gmail.com

M

Y husband is the biggest fan of Bea Alonzo. Every time a movie of hers comes out, we definitely would have to watch it. Thus, despite having a hectic weekend, we had to catch the movie First Love last Sunday. I will not spoil the movie for you but two things had me pondering. There were many scenes where the lead characters played by Bea and Aga Mulach would say, “Cross my heart, hope to live” (instead of “hope to die”). And because both of them were fighting for their lives, they helped each other fulfill their “dahil” (“reason” to live) list.

As the November 1 weekend comes up, the movie raises my perennial quandary on why people have to depart prematurely, way before people around them are ready to let them go? I first asked this question back when I was 6, when my cousin, who was my age, passed away. And as I have related in past entries, I have wept no less for each of my childhood mentors, my grand aunt, my grandfather and my nanny, Manang Eyang, who all had been prematurely taken by cancer.

What the movie has also triggered was a flipside view of the situation. I was forced to imagine what my loved ones felt like when they discovered they were living on borrowed time. How much fear they must have grappled with. I wondered now if they had their “dahil” lists. Was I able to help them achieve any of them? All I know is during those times, I joined them every minute in their “Hope to Live.” I would like to think I gave them more than one reason to “stay” a bit longer. And when they did peacefully leave, I knew then and still believe today that their guiding souls steered my innately fearful self toward the person I am today.

Because of experiencing this pain of death early on, I have always been very open about my mortality.

I have my own unofficial “dahil” list, the entries to which grew to 100 by the time I was 26. A great meditation teacher and friend, Noel Resella, pointed out how I always mentioned in our sessions, “When I turn 50, I will create my own art. When I turn 50, I will start to write my autobiography...and so on.” He challenged me to why not do it then and not wait until I was 50. That was either 2013 or 2014.

I remember reading this issue of Elle during breakfast in early 2015 at Lanson’s Place in Shanghai, with Nicole Kidman on the cover. In that issue, they featured powerful women poised to change the future. There was a question asked by a top Facebook executive that I felt was a worthwhile reflection: “What would you do if you were not afraid?” I thought it was such a fitting question for a person like me who had a lot of “wishes” but was always fearful of something.

Below is the entry in my journal about it: I am attracted to articles now that guide me towards reaching my bucket list. One item in my bucket list was to write

CLOCKWISE: The Elle magazine I read in Shanghai that challenged me to ask, “What would you do if you were not afraid?”; my first painting from a formal art class; my first formal parenting class in a school in Cavite just a few weeks ago; meeting a great mentor, Suwanna, at a trip in Hawaii; bringing my son and family to see my Manang Eyang every year on her birthday in May; and getting an autograph from Grace Poe, the closest I can get to getting Manang Eyang an autograph from her idol, the late Fernando Poe Jr.

my autobiography for my children. I realize it is now a year a�ter I started mommynolimits.com. This simple attempt of transcendence has turned out to be a cathartic process, as it has brought me to be grateful of my past, focus on my present and pave the way for MY chosen future.

Now...

I choose to hear my voice, over fears of committing mistakes.

I choose to love my family unconditionally, in spite of fears of being hurt again.

I choose to love art and music, over fears of not having the talent.

I choose to pursue work, over the fear of over-stretching myself.

I choose to coach unconditionally, over the fear of being unpopular.

I choose to transcend myself in writing, hopefully to inspire, over fear of being judged.

And I choose to build more dreams, over the fear of breaking my own track records.

Because what I have learned these past few years, is that fears are merely “situations” we can choose to label for ourselves.

When that “thud” in your heart comes, it is your choice to say— “This is providence and an opportunity to grow.” Or label it

as “fear” of facing yet another obstacle...

It was and is neither easy nor immediate to choose the former, but it was surely worth the try.

You might be wondering why I put this entry under here. It’s because I believe that defining the meaning of death for us allows us to see life with more grateful meaning. It blurs the peripheral complaints, the envies and the menial inefficiencies, which then allows us to focus on all that bear meaning in our lives. In an extreme example, many a time I have seen a street vendor or a man pushing a coconut wagon with the biggest smile on his face. I can’t help but smile with him. One might think: How can he have that smile if he has to walk in the sun all day with only a few pesos to earn? But for me, he who can see joy is luckier than anyone who has more but only sees fault. May all of us use this time of remembering our departed loved ones to also reflect on our view on the more valuable intangibles in our lives.

Earlier this month of October, Noel Resella, passed away. He was a great teacher, friend, brother, uncle and son to people around him. Goodbye and many thanks, Noel. I can never express in words how grateful I am for all the wisdom and the push. May you continue guiding all of us. n

A new taste of Marrakech ContinueD FroM D1 smiling broadly, “but creating jobs really matters more.” Ait Ben Abdallah is successful, but not a multinational star like the chef Meryem Cherkaoui.

Cherkaoui, a stylish woman of 41 with dark, shortcropped hair, grew up in Salé, near the capital of Rabat. She now lives and works in Casablanca but consults with restaurants around the country, including Marrakech, and overseas. She has appeared on the French version of Top Chef and sells a line of culinary products, which emphasizes Moroccan ingredients.

We dined on the rooftop of Le Foundouk, a threestory restaurant in the medina for which she consults (the owner, Frédéric Velissariou, is French; the chef, Mohamed Amine El Amrani, is Moroccan). As we sampled her dishes, including a fanciful couscous with lobster and edible flowers, she explained her approach: “Moroccan ingredients, French technique.”

On my first visit to Morocco, I was unimpressed by the food, which, thanks to my budget and lack of experimental vigor, was limited mostly to couscous and tagine. This time, I sought to remedy that. For breakfast, I ate harira, a spiced vegetable soup, and fried eggs (and, as with every meal, mint tea). For dinner, bastillas, savory-and-sweet pies of flaky dough,

generally made with chicken or pigeon; and, most memorably, tangia, a Marrakechi specialty like a tagine but cooked in a different sort of pot (think urn rather than circus tent), and more brothy, flavored with ras el hanout and preserved lemon. It originally was cooked overnight in ovens adjacent to hammams (ritual steam baths) over the bath’s residual embers.

My favorite version, served at one of two outposts of Zeitoun Café, where I dined with Cherkaoui, was made with chameau—camel. (The flavor and texture is somewhere between lamb and beef.)

A couple of days later, I was, again, lost in the medina. That much had not changed. The first three nights of my visit, I had lost my way getting back to my riad—despite the impressive coverage of the medina by Google Maps.

This time, I was seeking Le 18, an art space and cooperative deep in the medina. I passed a large “18” painted above a small door in an alley before a teenager told me, yes, that was the place.

I ducked into a courtyard that was whitewashed and pleasantly spartan, and was greeted by Laila Hida, 34, who founded the space in 2013. We sat down at a wooden table in the middle of the courtyard; pieces of art of various sorts—photographic, multimedia, sculptural—were scattered on the walls. Hida is taciturn in a thoughtful way, with long, dark hair and

a mischievous smile.

Le 18 had begun as a way to connect young artistic Marrakechi. “Little by little the community got bigger,” Hida said. “Without choosing to become a cultural space, that’s what we became.” Within the first year, Le 18 hosted about 20 events—and now presents exhibitions, talks, performances and screenings. It has also just put out its first magazine, Chergui (named after a warm wind from the Sahara)— “without anything, without money” from the government, she added.

Le 18, Hida said, is filling a void. “There was a great need for a cultural scene that was alive.” But there were challenges. If there was one reality echoed by all the Marrakechi I spent time with, it was that they were more or less on their own.

Far more than it was 20 years ago, Marrakech is now an international city, one essentially designated by the government as the tourist destination of Morocco. But few of these locals had gotten any help from that same government.

After my meeting with Hida, I headed back to the Jemaa el Fna for a final dinner. I watched as its daily transformation began: juice vendors making way for sellers of snail soup and sheep’s head. The sun went down and the square swarmed with activity. It all felt surprisingly familiar. n

Get your kids into some frightful fun THE world’s leading classifieds platform, OLX (www. olx.ph) helps parents find the right and most creative costumes for their kids and themselves. Work that search bar to get into some scary sensations. n MASKS. Get that sinister or menacing look by wearing the face of a scary character like Pennywise for only about P1,300. Options range from clowns and deep-sea monsters to Jeepers Creepers, Jason, Jack-o’Lantern and many more. n VILLAINS AND HORROR CREATURES. Dress up as Maleficent, the Joker, Darth Vader, or classic Halloween characters, such as a witch, a vampire, a ghost or a skeleton. Whatever you choose will definitely be frightening. n SUPERHEROES FOR THE KIDS. If there are villains and monsters, there are superheroes to fight them.

Children, even adults, who want to be superheroes can dress up as their idols on this one day. Costumes are available, with prices ranging from P550 to P1,000. n ANIME VILLAINS. You can also find a variety of anime cosplay costumes. Make your ensemble a little more interesting by going as an antagonist like Rurouni Kenshin’s Shishio. With some bandage around your head, a long purple robe, white belt, black gloves, black shoes and a samurai sword, you’re good to go. Or be Death Note’s Light Yagami. Wear a cream coat, red tie, brown pants and blonde wig. n ANIMAL COSTUMES FOR KIDS AND ADULTS. Take the cute route and be your favorite animal for only about P900. Be a brave lion, a leaping frog, a Dalmatian or a stubby pig.

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Thursday, October 25, 2018

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Rekindling the �lame: ‘Minsa’y Isang Gamu-Gamo’ REELING

TITO GENOVA VALIENTE

titovaliente@yahoo.com

O

N Friday, October 19, the fans of Nora Aunor sponsored a block screening of Lupita Aquino Kashiwahara’s incendiary Minsa’y Isang Gamu-Gamo.

That night, the audience was composed of those who may have seen when the film was first shown in 1976 in moviehouses that were palaces. The country going through the fourth year of martial law. There were no cell phones and there was no Internet. There were certainly no millennials. If there were young people, they were those youth. There were, however, American bases. And there was Nora Aunor.

Nora Aunor was an actress that could deliver gold at the box office. Every film she starred in those years was a massive hit. For years, Nora dominated the Philippine film industry. She was, in her early years, doing movies; no one called her works as cinema. It was always a movie—with all the implications of “commercial, light and frothy, kitsch and easy.” The fans were serious about her; the critics did not take her seriously.

Then this film came—Minsa’y Isang Gamu-Gamo, a dense, didactic (at many junctures) film. The piece directed by Lupita Aquino (Concio then) Kashiwahara from the pen of Marina Feleo-Gonzales—a woman filmmaker and a woman writer—wore its politics on its sleeve. It was not a timid film; it was a daring film bordering on the aggressive. It was meant to rally against continuing colonization and the American presence in the country. It was not meant to make us laugh; it was not even meant to make us cry. The protagonists in the film demanded action. If we did cry, it would be, as the character played by Perla Bautista, out of anger, not out of pity.

The density of Minsa’y... allows it to be viewed and enjoyed at many levels. One can view it in the context of that period intact. It was quite a period. Goods were either imported or local, stateside or inferior.

Globalization was still nightmares away. America was a power. America was good. When events happened implicating the “Yankees” as bad, one was bound to face criticisms. America can’t be bad. Communists were bad.

Minsa’y... is set in Tarlac. The nation’s last stand during World War II is official in that place; the remembrance of the Death March is not a metaphor but a sharp memory.

The Vietnam War is raging. America is implicated once more. Clark and the other bases in the Philippines and the region are refueling stations, haven for these warriors always fighting to defend democracy and “us.” Around the bases live Filipinos whose movement and life have been delimited by the geography of the bases. For those who venture into the area, where firing practices are done and where bombs are dropped, like the curious children, they are shot—mistaken for wild pigs or some such wild animal. And yet, a thriving business of scrap metals go on, so long as one does it without the knowledge of the Americans who own the place.

How does a place breathe without the sky and the wind given by America? America was not just the wind beneath the weak wings of the Philippines; it was the great wind itself. How does a nation, therefore, live without America?

Those are the truths set in place by the filmmakers in the narrative of a film that dared to be one of the first films to be against the American bases. And the protest happened in a period when America was supposedly protecting the very foundation of our land’s peace and prosperity. In the regular vocabulary of social order and harmony, the film was an affront to those with whom we owe so much; in the language of enlightened politics and necessary radicalism, the film was an indictment of those who owe us more than what they claim they have us given.

Minsa’y... never obscures its ideologies. There are many characters in the film that are built to forgive any misdemeanors of the Americans. There is the mother whose son wants to join the US Navy. She is humiliated, made to undress by an officious Filipina guard who thinks she is stealing commodities from the stores in the bases. Supported by her family, she files a suit. The action shows how the Philippine court doesn’t have jurisdiction over the bases or its people.

She goes for an amicable settlement and gets back her privilege to get those imported items to be sold in her store. There are the people around the bases who would not file a case against the soldiers who accidentally kill their children and grandchildren.

Then there is the guard of course, hateful, and yet we

know she is what has become of all us—full of power because America is in our heart.

There is the son who wants to join the US Navy, an option for the young Filipinos in those periods.

He sees her mother a victim of the cruel system of the base and opts in the end not to be part of the American might.

There is the mother of the nurse whose daughter is set to leave for the US in an exchange program.

The travel is meant to be her path to citizenship and comfort. The mother dreams of a bright future.

But there is also the grandfather—almost irrelevant and anachronistic as he mouths the words of heroes and patriots. I often wonder how many of us are ever amused by the position taken by this old man. He must be—to many of us—impractical, unnecessary and unreasonable.

From the start, Minsa’y... is a cinema of protest.

A kite with the tricolor of our flag is flown and, against the sky, it dazzles until it’s taken over by fighter jets on their way to Vietnam. The funeral of the three young boys killed in the Crow Valley, a site where bullets and bombs are dropped, is witnessed by the grandfather. In his mind, the Death March in Tarlac and this funeral are two sides of the terrible coin: one side was us fighting with the Americans; the other side, the Americans fighting to keep their bases and killing our children.

Take it or leave it. Love it or leave it. That is the cinema of protest. It will look into your face till you flinch and look away. And yet we don’t look away.

We can’t look away, though, from what’s happening onscreen. Stellar performances of some of the best actors in our land grace the otherwise relentless debates being presented. Eddie Villamayor, real-life brother of Nora Aunor, is all innocence in the role of Carlito. Perla Bautista as the worker in the base is despair and anger all at once as she talks of the embarrassment she gets from the guard—Luz Fernandez in her most despicable because it is real characterization. Bautista harks back to those onsite film trainings that made them good criers. Think of Rosa Mia, Charito Solis and, now, Perla Bautista— these actors sure knew how to cry for the camera.

Gloria Sevilla is one actress that had always the most secure and natural of chemistry with Nora Aunor. Beginning with their outing in Nasaan Ka, Inay? up to The Flor Contemplacion Story, Sevilla is one performer that can stay within the frame of Nora without losing that presence. There is always that look, that benevolent gaze upon the other actor that Sevilla projects, which make her unforgettable even as she shares that screen with someone like Nora Aunor who, without blame, can sear the space and bring a scene home without trying.

In Cinema Centenario, young members of the audiences were perhaps wondering who was that beefy young man holding his own against the most compelling performances on screen. He is Jay Ilagan and he is sorely missed in the industry. In Minsa’y..., his role could have been just a decorative post, a support, a link to other scenes. But Ilagan, in that most ordinary but most sensual and real face, shows us there is such a thing as acting for the camera and that is “not acting.” As Bonifacio, he starts out as a man with the dream to go stateside, as well, but in the end sees the irony of fighting for an army of another

nation. In that last scene where he decides to stay, Jay Ilagan constructs (with the filmmakers of course) one of the most sensible love scenes in Philippine cinema.

His Bonifacio is seated across Corazon. He asks when she is leaving; she answers she is waiting for word from her travel agent. He stands and crosses to where she is, sits down close and asks her to stay. We know the plea is helpless. But he has to say those words as a man. The gesture, the words, the soft, almost inaudible voice are all it takes to conjure art that hides art. We don’t have this kind of male actors anymore.

Paquito Salcedo is a gracious and heroic presence as Ingkong. This bit player and constant character in many forgettable films would so impress the critics that he would be nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the very first Gawad Urian in 1977.

It can’t be not written though without noting that, after its restoration, cineastes and fans await one of the most significant portrayals in a film of an actor, regardless of age and gender, which is that of Nora Aunor as Corazon.

A very young critic and one of the original members of the then newly established Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, Nicanor Tiongson writes in Daily Express: “Once again, Nora Aunor proves herself to be one of the finest actresses today, with an acting style that is both ‘raw’ and ‘fine,’ characterized by a disarming sincerity and force that can break into an unbelievable number of nuances, shades and colors of emotion.”

By the time the Manunuri released its list of nominees, Minsa’y Isang Gamu-Gamo would be nominated along with another Nora Aunor-starrer, Mario O’Hara’s Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos. In that year, Nora Aunor as Corazon and Nora Aunor as Rosario battled it out, with the critics giving their nod to the latter.

For the record, Minsa’y... would receive more nominations than Tatlong....

More than 40 years after, the two films are still contending for top positions among the laureled cinemas of the nation. In the selection of the 10 cinemas to represent the centenary of Philippine cinema, Minsa’y... came up again as one of the candidates. Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos would eventually travel to Busan. There was, however, no doubt that night in Cinema Centenario, that there was only one cinema in the hearts of the audience, and that was the film about a moth and the many myths of independence in our land.

There was no doubt also that night in Cinema Centenario the palpable tension as scene after dramatic scene, the film unfolded. Lupita AquinoKashiwahara was very brisk in her directing, slowing down only for the powerful moments. All throughout, actors moved around and changed places, with the camera arranging perspectives.

While Brocka found drama in sublime stasis, Aquino-Kashiwahara reveled in activities and energies. This design worked well as when the corpse of Corazon’s brother was brought in by a car pulled by a carabao. The festive air in the house, which was in the middle of a despedida for the emigrating nurse, stopped dead. A boy rushed to make the dreaded announcement. The mother ran but was stopped by an older woman (Lily Miraflor, unforgettable as always). The camera flew up to where Corazon was,

who turned quickly to the window to see her brother in such a bad state. The camera moved away and caught Corazon running in slow-motion this time.

She reached the ground and, seeing the mortality in front of her, jumped into the cart. The camera twirled and looked above and through the bamboo slats of the cart. The nurse pumped the heart of her brother. It was for nothing. She hugged the boy, now lifeless, and repeated the line, “I told you not to go there.”

Here is the gem in the scene: at each utterance of the line, the intensity grows, tremors appear where there is only denial, regrets where there has been rage. The variations in the delivery could only come from a thespian, critics agreed. Nora Aunor was in her early 20s then.

Then came that scene. The camera is looking down again, through the entrance to the house. The frenzied food preparation for the send-off for Corazon was now for the wake of Carlito. Two American officers in uniform arrived. They go up to the second floor where the coffin was. In front of it were two women, one had her head covered in black. She did not look up nor remove the veil. Behind the coffin, in what was decidedly a very theatrical positioning, was Corazon, alone, in mourning shroud. One of the officers approached her and offered the apology, handing an envelope. He repeated the line about how a soldier mistook the boy for a pig.

Cinema Centenario was hushed at this point, almost condemned to silence. Through the shadow, with the darkest veil shutting off those strong eyes, Nora Aunor as Corazon looked straight into the eyes of the officers—the lens of the camera really—and delivered the lines that had been made camp and offensively ridiculous by funny and dumb impersonators: “My brother is not a pig!”

Neither the veil nor the coffin could shield the officers and us from the rage that came from that small body, traveled through that mouth on a face which grew distorted and distraught, convulsing and compelling. She said the lines in English and translated it into Tagalog/Pilipino. Those lines and the rage and passion were for the Filipinos and, if there were those who didn’t speak the language but cared to listen, then the fury and the ferocity wer for them, as well.

The audience in Cinema Centenario that night trembled with the resentment and the violence onscreen. The cinematography of Jose Batac Jr., we are reminded, was as relentless and urgent as this sad tale of a nation. The editing by Edgardo Vinarao was no-nonsense. Resty Umali surprised us with snippets of anthems from the colonizer. There are more, more things to remember and write about this film.

But what is memory without regrets? I may sound fuzzy but in the restored version, the part at the end, where Corazon, stepping from the lawyer’s office, sees the man in a motorcycle accident. In the “original,” Corazon rushes to the scene because she is a nurse. When the face of the man is revealed, the camera looks at the face of Nora Aunor as Corazon.

A tiny smirk appears around those thin lips, and the film ends. n Minsa’y Isang Gamu-Gamo was restored by ABS-CBN in 2018. It was originally released by Premiere Productions in 1976.

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Thursday, October 25, 2018 E1

‘Inspiring brilliance’ in the heart of Clark

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LL roads led to the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga midSeptember as the only five-star hotel in the area, Clark Marriott, was formally inaugurated with much flair and fanfare.

Leading the opening rites for the newest oasis in Central Luzon were bigwigs of Widus and the Marriott chain of hotels from around the world, including its resident General Manager (GM) Goeran Soelter.

The German hotelier and other stakeholders and executives from Widus Philippines, which owns the ultra-posh property, describe Clark Marriott as the “perfect destination for business meetings, life’s celebrations, or for one’s simplest pleasures or ‘staycation’ needs.”

Soelter will be leading the charge for the newest jewel in the heart of Clark—one that boasts of “contem-

porary design and local touches, [creating] a distinct and vibrant aesthetic.” His guests can anticipate heightened hotel experiences through amenity-filled rooms, progressive dining, cutting-edge technology, as well as flexible and exemplary meeting facilities.

Likewise, the GM’s visitors will find innovative spaces seamlessly blending work and play activities.

The overall environment speaks of modernity and sophistication in its approach, “providing experiences that keep the mind balanced, sharp and inspired.” For travelers, the hotel is the ideal starting

point to conduct business, or discover the bustling city of Clark, Pampanga.

Envoys&Expats was privileged to witness the grand launch of Clark Marriott and sit down with Soelter for the exchange below:

ENVOYS&EXPATS: The Marriott brand has been successful in this country. Tell us why it is so.

Soelter: The Philippines has been a market in our radar for a long time.

I feel that there are a lot of opportunities here. This is the country for development, and now we’re really starting to see that. It’s a destination of growth.

In 12 months we have opened three hotels. Hopefully by year-end, we’ll launch four more, possibly five. We have a pipeline of another 11. That’s a total of 2,800 rooms by 2021. It’s an exciting time to be in the Philippines. We see a great opportunity, both as a metropolitan destination and a corporate-style hotel.

We simply want to be where one

travels, and where our guests want to be. And, for the Philippines, the infrastructure has grown incredibly. Airports are being developed and reworked. More carriers are coming in. These work in our stead.

So we see two opportunities: One is, being where the Filipino traveler wants to be: home in the Philippines, where they experience our brands here; or travel abroad to Sydney, Singapore or Bangkok. They will stay with brands they know.

We also want to bring the world to the Philippines, as we open up new developments. There are Capampangans excited that the Marriott brand has landed here in Clark.

Clark Marriott will be competing with established hotels in the area. What would be its differentiating advantage?

There haven’t been any four- or five-star hotels inside Clark in recent years. So being the newest, founded in international standards, is our strength.

Our restaurants, they are something we feel very confident (about) that the market is looking for. I’ve been living here in Clark for the last six months, and I think there is a definite need for more places to go to, and be entertained at. We want to be a fully embellished destination.

Having two major restaurants inside the hotel gives us opportunities to cater to different lifestyles of locals and customers to visit us.

Imagine the interiors of a traditional room: the table, directory, big chair and furniture. That’s not how people want to see during their travels, and those aren’t in our homes anymore.

We’ve done a lot of studies in Marriott’s United States headquarters about the “wants” of today’s travelers. Our rooms reflect the results, which actually are some of the biggest in the market, with new designs. They are big, bright and airy, with large bathrooms.

Going inside one of ours, you will notice that the traditional work desk is gone. You will basically find a big

home-sized coffee table. You could get room service up to the table and dine there, put your laptop on the side, and it becomes your desk for the next couple of days. There’s a great work light, and the Wi-Fi (connection) is good.

We’ve tried to make the hotel room the way people want to live today. You will see a great, big bench that sits beside the floor-to-ceiling window. Sit there and do the stuff you need to do. That’s the way people work now: legs stretched out, with their laptop on top of them.

This hotel is not just for far-off visitors coming to stay. We hope to be a part of the community where we are. We would like for the people of Clark to come in and celebrate Christmas, or weddings, anniversaries, christenings and the like.

We want to be the venue of choice where they come for such. It’s important that we develop “food and beverage”-based activities, (as well as) special events and programs.

Continued on E2

Envoys& BusinessMirror

E2 Thursday, October 25, 2018

FESTIVALS AND FEASTS

Chile serves up a great ‘Gastronomic Week’

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By Cesar M. Cruz Jr.

OOD is one of the best ways a country can connect to the world. Thus, a gastronomy festival presented by the embassy of Chile in the Philippines, in partnership with Dusit Thani Manila, brought to tables the unique flavors and wonderful recipes from the South American nation.

Ambassador Jose Miguel Capdevila of Chile cited the similarities of his country with the Philippines. He noted that the approach to life and living in both is very much connected around food and drinks.

Moreover, to gather around friends and loved ones is very precious to the hearts of Chileans and Filipinos. Capdevila attributed the well-preserved cuisine of Chile to three main factors: “diversity, insularity and tradition.”

The launch of the Gastronomic Week of Chile on October 8 offered guests the chance to have a taste of Chile’s most popular and sumptuous traditional dishes. The man responsible for bringing to life such gustatory delights was Chilean chef Matias Nicolas Mardones Cuadra, who created dishes representing Chile’s northern, central and southern regions.

A country like no other, Chile’s geographical boundaries have given

rise to different environments and climates, cultivating ingredients for their ideal states to make for delectable culinary creations.

The national specialties of the Latin American state literally took center stage as food stations were laid out in the middle of the ballroom. Guests partook of palatefriendly dishes, such as Chilean ceviche salmon, Chilean-style roast pork, pollo a las brasas (blackened or rotisserie chicken), buñuelos al almibar (fritters), anticuchos (grilled beef skewers), empanadas, and chupe de mariscos (seafood stew), among others.

Aside from food, Chilean wine steadily flowed through the evening: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere. The star liquor, however, was Pisco Chile. The national beverage of Chile is an amber-colored grape distillate, manufactured only in the Atacama and Coquibo regions. Guests sampled it

VERONICA FOXLEY (from left), embassy of Chile’s Chargé d’Affaires Giancarlo Mosciatti, Consul Isidora Paula Rojas, Dusit Thani-Manila Director of Communications Shariza Relova, Ambassador of Chile to the Philippines Jose Miguel Capdevila, Dusit Thani-Manila Director of Sales and Marketing Leilani Merilo and Chef Matias Nicolas Mardones Cuadra

JUAN TORRES (from left), Foxley and Dusit Thani-Manila Resident Manager Michael Kempf

AMBASSADOR of Colombia Victor Echeverri (from left) and wife Patricia Lopez, Dusit Thani-Manila General Manager Stanley Lo and wife of the Ambassador of Mexico Mariza Arciniega Aguirre

LOMO a la pobre

EMPANADAS

PISCO Chile CESAR CRUZ JR.

“neat,” as a cocktail, or “Pisco sour.”

Main courses like lomo a la pobre (made from beef rib eye, with French fries, caramelized onion and sunny-side up eggs), paila marina (Chilean seafood soup) and pastel de choclo (made from ground beef and corn shepherd’s pie) were the showstoppers.

The food event was successful in creating not just a thirst for Chilean food and liquor among those who partook of the feast; but more important, it sparked interest to explore Chile’s rich history, culture and heritage.

‘Inspiring brilliance’ in the heart of Clark Continued from E1

Travelers now also want to interact with local people. They don’t want to check-in into a hotel for foreigners; but rather, one designed for locals.

What do you find remarkable in your current designation?

I’m very excited to put the team together. Close to 70 percent of the staff members are actually from the local and surrounding areas. It was easy to hire new people.

There are Filipino members who went abroad and worked in hospitality to gain experience. Some even had the chance to work in different

Marriott brands in the Middle East.

They now have a good opportunity to come back and teach their younger colleagues here about a more “global” way of doing things. It’s great that they can come home and get a connection back to their roots.

Filipinos are genuinely good, hospitable people. They always have a smile on their faces and a ready greeting. There’s an innate willingness to engage in conversations.

They love to interact with customers and share experiences. So, that makes things very easy. They’re in the hospitality game for us, because they make people feel welcome, and make a connection.

A very good example is that during the past weeks, in the process getting ready to open the hotel, we had trainers who came from various Marriott brands in Asia Pacific, and they are helping us with the different departments: from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Everything adds up. It’s rewarding to see as well.

What I personally found super exciting is having people from different brands within the Marriott family coming, and it all just worked out so smoothly. In the future, we will be the one to send trainers to other properties. These are actually very exciting times for us.

You have your hands full as a hotel executive. Describe how it is like for you during days off.

If I’m in the hotel, I enjoy having Chinese tea by myself, or with my family in the tearoom.

I love to explore the world. For me, once I get a couple of days off, I like to go to a different part of the world and explore. It’s good to be somewhere to call home for a week or two. There’s nothing like exploring a local community and getting to know its people.

Needless to say, I’m a traveler because of my job, and I happen to have the best one. Beatrix Malesido

CLARK Marriott General Manager Goeran Soelter (right), with Marriott International Vice President-Philippines Victor Clavell (left) and Widus Philippines Inc. CEO Han Dae-sik

&Expats

envoys.expats.bm@gmail.com | Thursday, October 25, 2018 E3

EMBASSIES, EVENTS, ETC.

MANILA, CANBERRA RELATIONS

PHL, HUNGARY BILATERALS New Foreign Affairs Secretary and the BusinessMirror columnist Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. (right) and Hungary’s

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó (left) held a bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting (Asem) in Brussels, Belgium. The two discussed relations between the Philippines and Hungary, and how to further strengthen cooperation between Manila and Budapest. Locsin was in Brussels, Belgium to represent President Duterte in the biennial summit that brought together leaders of Asia and Europe. DFA PHOTO

BILATERALS WITH THE NETHERLANDS Locsin (left) and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte enjoy a light moment during their bilateral meeting, also at the sidelines of the Asem. The foreign affairs secretary and Rutte discussed the state of relations between their respective nations, including steps both countries could take to further strengthen bilateral cooperation. DFA PHOTO

Locsin and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne greet each other before their bilateral meeting also at the sidelines of the Asem. Both discussed the state of relations between Manila and Canberra, as well as the steps to be taken to further strengthen cooperation between their countries. It was the first meeting between the two, who both recently assumed as the top diplomats of their respective countries. Secretary Locsin is in Brussels to represent President Duterte in the biennial summit that brought together leaders of Asia and Europe. DFA PHOTO

Hungary opens consulate in Mindanao

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HE honorary consulate of Hungary in Davao has formally opened its doors on October 12, providing a live local connection between the Central European country and the region of Mindanao.

Hungary’s embassy marked the opening of the honorary consulate and the appointment of new Honorary Consul Mary Ann Montemayor with a reception on the said date.

Well-known in local circles, Montemayor, a Davao-based businesswoman, holds several managing director positions in the hospitality

and tourism industries, supports both local and regional arts and crafts, mentors indigenous initiatives, as well as participates in the bustling business and tourism activities of Davao.

The embassy of Hungary in Manila was reopened in March 2017, bridging a gap of more than 21 years

HONORARY Consul Mary Ann Montemayor and Ambassador Dr. József Bencze

US, DOH fete Filipino families’ improved state of health

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HE governments of the United States and Philippines celebrated the completion of three US Agency for International Development (USAID) health projects that have improved the health of Filipino women, infants and children.

Between 2013 and 2018 the USAID has invested P4 billion nationwide to expand quality health care for mothers and newborns, reduce teen pregnancies, as well as support couples to achieve their desired family size.

The LuzonHealth, VisayasHealth and MindanaoHealth projects, in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH), have developed health policies and guidelines, built the capacity of health policy-makers and providers, introduced high-impact health interventions, and provided technical assistance to increase demand for family-health services and improve access to these services.

This partnership between the USAID, DOH, local government units, nongovernment organizations and the private sector supports a healthier and more prosperous Philippines, which are part of the development goals under AmBisyon Natin 2040, the collective long-term vision and aspirations of Filipinos for themselves and for the country in the next 25 years.

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Since then Szijjártó has signed several cooperation agreements, including an Agreement on Economic Cooperation establishing the Philippines-Hungary Joint Economic Commission. On the country’s part, Secretaries of Agriculture Emmanuel F. Piñol and of Trade Ramon M. Lopez have both visited Hungary since the reopening of the embassy—proof that bilateral relations between the two countries are in continuous expansion.

Ambassador Dr. József Bencze currently leads the embassy of Hungary. He previously served as envoy of Hungary to Skopje, Macedonia, between 2011 and 2016, and was Hungary’s National Chief of Police from 2007 to 2010.

Japan tourism org inaugurates Manila office

AMBASSADOR of the United States to the Philippines Sung Kim (third from right) and Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III (third from left) are joined by (from left) DOH Assistant Secretary Lyndon Lee Suy, DOH-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Secretary Kadil Sinolinding, USAID Mission Director Lawrence Hardy II and Commission on Population Executive Director JP Perez III to open an exhibit highlighting the achievements of the USPhilippine partnership in improving the health of Filipino families.

At the October 17 event Ambassador of the US to the Philippines Sung Kim said, “[Our] government invests in the health of mothers and children; first, because we care deeply about their lives and well-being; and additionally, because healthy families are crucial to advancing and sustaining the Philippines’s development.”

Over the past six years, the USAID and DOH have expanded access

to family planning, neonatal, and child health services for more than 4 million women and children. In addition, both organizations have trained nearly 40,000 health workers to provide quality health services for mothers, newborns and children, with a focus on reaching low-income, marginalized families. During the past five years, deaths of women in childbirth declined by 12 percent, and those of children under five years

of age declined by 13 percent.

“The DOH commends development partners like [the] USAID for supporting our goal of quality health for all, especially the underprivileged,” said Duque.

Since 2012 the USAID has invested over P6 billion in financial and technical assistance to support the DOH’s family planning and maternal and child health programs. Recto Mercene

Pakistan, PHL sign agriculture accord EEMED by the embassy of Pakistan in the Philippines as a “historic milestone” in both countries’ bilateral relations, a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the field of agriculture was signed on October 17.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Philippines Dr. Aman Rashid and Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol formalized the MOU during a “simple but graceful” ceremony at the Department of Agriculture’s Central Office in Quezon City. A detailed meeting between the two gentlemen to discuss various areas of economic cooperation in the agriculture sector followed the signing.

Said MOU promises multifaceted cooperation

since closing in 1995. It was established in 1991, following a long history of sporadic contacts.

During this absence of a resident diplomatic mission, the embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, was accredited to the Philippines, and Honorary Consul General Alfonso S. Yuchengco III looked after the interests of Hungary and its citizens in Manila.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó reopened the embassy in March 2017 and, at the same time, met President Duterte in the area. The visit highlighted the growing importance of the Philippines and its potential for Hungary as a reliable partner in trade and investments, research and education, as well as cultural and people-topeople exchanges.

in sectors of crops, fruit and vegetables, livestock, poultry and fisheries, including subsectors of research and development, through collaboration in postharvest management, integrated plant nutrient management, as well as an exchange of elite genetic resources.

It is a first-ever instrument to institutionalize bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the field of agribusiness, agriculture-based industry and trade of agricultural products.

Both governments hope that the MOU would open new vistas of collaboration in what the embassy considers an “important sector” through enhanced cooperation and joint ventures.

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Philippines Dr. Aman Rashid sign an accord on behalf of their respective countries.

FINANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, Ambassador Koji Haneda, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat and JNTO President Satoshi Seino perform a welcome ritual at the opening of the JNTO-Manila office.

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MBASSADOR of Japan to the Philippines Koji Haneda hosted a reception to celebrate the opening of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)-Manila office on October 17.

Haneda and JNTO President Satoshi Seino welcomed guests, who included Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Special Advisor for Foreign Affairs of the Liberal Democratic Party Congressman Katsuyuki Kawai, Japan Travel Agency Commissioner Hiroshi Tabata, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat and Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. Officials of both countries’ governments gave a toast to the opening as a symbol of the developing bilateral relationships and showed

strong expectations for JNTO’s activities in Manila. Actor Empoy Marquez, who costarred in the highly successful Filipino movie Kita-Kita, which was shot entirely in Hokkaido, appeared as a special guest and entertained the attendees with his wit and humor.

JNTO’s Manila office, its 21st overseas agency, started receiving visitors on October 1 to create greater awareness and further develop its market in the Philippines.

While the number of Filipino tourists to Japan has quintupled in the past five years, JNTO will undertake aggressive promotions to entice more of them to travel and enjoy Japan. It hopes to welcome 40 million foreign tourists annually by 2020.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Nominations still ongoing for the 1st ‘Mission: PHL’ Project of the Year awards

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HE Secretariat of “Mission: PHL, the BusinessMirror Envoys & Expats Awards” is calling on all foreign embassies, consulates and development aid agencies based in the country to submit their nominations for the “Project of the Year.”

The deadline will be on Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

To provide a better appreciation of Mission: PHL and the Project of the Year Award, here is a rundown of the frequently asked questions about the campaign: What is Mission: PHL and its objective?

Mission: PHL celebrates the role of nations as partners in Philippine development. It gives due recognition to embassies, consulates and development aid agencies, as well as economic and cultural offices—

with projects that have contributed to the country’s economic growth, social progress, peace, security and stability.

Conceptualized in 2017, Mission: PHL, according to Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon, “is a corporate social responsibility project of the BusinessMirror. It serves to engender a genuine public understanding and appreciation for nations that have helped the Philippine government in improving the lives and future of the Filipino people.”

How does Mission: PHL work?

Cabangon explained that, “Mission: PHL will be an annual awards of recognition bestowed by the BusinessMirror, in partnership with government agencies, to embassies, consulates, economic and cultural offices, and development aid agencies.

Together with the broadsheet, a government agency corresponding to a sector of growth will give an award of recognition for a specific category.”

To date, the BusinessMirror has active partnerships with 10 government agencies, which will recognize eight specific areas or sectors of growth (per embassy and per development aid agency). They are: The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as panel members, the De-

partment of Environment and Natural Resources for the Biodiversity Award, the Department of Science and Technology (Science, Technology and Innovation Award), the Department of Agriculture (Agriculture and Fishery Award), the Department of Trade and Industry (Trade and Investment Award), the Department of Public Works and Highways (Infrastructure Support Award), the Department of Education (Education Award), Department of Transportation (Transportation Infrastructure Support Award) and the Department of Tourism (Visit the Philippines Award).

Aside from the awards per-agency category, Mission: PHL will hand out recognitions for the “Embassy of the Year” “Development Aid Agency of the Year,” and “Project of the Year,” as adjudged by a special panel that includes one representative each from the BusinessMirror, the private sector, the youth sector, the civil society, academe, the DFA and the Neda.

What is the Project of the Year

Award and its mechanics?

One of three major awards for Mission: PHL, it will distinguish outstanding development projects of embassies, consulates, economic and cultural offices, as well as development aid agencies that contribute to Philippine national development.

They shall be reviewed and rigorously evaluated by the Mission: PHL panel.

There is no limit to the number of projects that can be nominated by a specific embassy or aid agency.

How does one nominate a project?

Project nominations should be submitted following this format: (a) formal letter of nomination from embassy and/or development aid agency, and (b) narrative presentation per project, which includes: (1) project description and duration; (2) project reach or beneficiaries; (3) project cost; (4) alignment with specific government agency master plan (if any); (5) partnership with government agency (if any); and (6) project sustainability, or the duration of the project’s benefit for the Filipino people.

Where can project nominations be forwarded?

Send all project nomination documents to the Mission: PHL Special Projects Director, Philippines Graphic office, 3rd floor, Dominga Building (Annex), 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De la Rosa Street, Makati City 1200, e-mail bm.missionphl@ gmail.com or call Special Projects Director Psyche Roxas-Mendoza at 0917-5794414.

When is the deadline for submissions?

Deadline for project nominations is on October 31, 2018. Only projects that are already being implemented or are on-ground by the said date will be considered.

A certificate and a trophy will be presented for the Project of the Year, Embassy of the Year and Development Aid Agency of the Year, along with all eight individual category awards, during the formal ceremonies for Mission: PHL in March 2019 at the Samsung Hall of the SM Aura Premier in Taguig City.

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