BusinessMirror October 29, 2018

ENERGY TASK FORCE, N.D.R.R.M.C. PREPARE FOR TYPHOON ROSITA P

By Lenie Lectura

AN overhead power line used for electricity transmission and distribution across large distances is seen in Bulacan, in this file photo. Energy officials said over the weekend that a task force ensuring all power facilities are kept disasterready had laid out contingency plans and alerted all stakeholders, as the nation braced for Typhoon Rosita, said to pack winds as powerful as Ompong. NONIE REYES

DEPT. OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

@llectura

OWER industry stakeholders laid down their action plans at the weekend as Typhoon Rosita (international code name Yutu) entered the Philippine area of responsibility on Saturday.

“We just completed the restoration of Typhoon Ompong-hit areas, but the concept of resiliency doesn’t end there. We have to continue to prepare and respond, since the country is vulnerable to natural disasters and it has an average of 20 typhoons a year,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said.

Provinces in northern Luzon lie on the path of the typhoon as forecast in reports of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric,

Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-Pagasa) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Agencies under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) met for the second day on Sunday to beef up their preparations for Rosita, which weather officials said could be as destructive as Typhoon Ompong that battered Northern Luzon last month.

The areas Ompong had struck comprise the country’s so-called cereal and salad bowls, and farm damage to these areas reached nearly P27 billion.

During Sunday’s NDRRMC meeting, officials discussed the availability and prepositioning of emergency relief See “Energy,” A2

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

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n

Monday, October 29, 2018 Vol. 14 No. 19

DTI seeks ITH period of 5 yrs in ‘Trabaho’ bill T

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has appealed for an extension—­from three to five years— of the income tax holiday (ITH) under the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and Highquality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, in order to keep the country’s fiscal regime on a par with Asian competitors.

A document obtained from a highly reliable source showed the DTI petitioned the Department of Finance to stretch ITH to five years from three years under House Bill 8083, or the Trabaho bill. It also

moved that similar fiscal incentives be extended to five years from two years, to maintain the competitiveness of the country’s investment regime. “[The DTI] proposed income

tax holiday to be extended to five years instead of three years, and other income tax-based incentives to five years instead of two years. This is to make our income tax-based incentives competi-

3 years The income tax holiday provided under the Trabaho bill: in contrast to the ITH in Singapore, which can be availed of for up to 15 years; Malaysia, 10 years; Vietnam, 8 years; and Indonesia, from 5-20 years depending on the amount of investment tive with other [Southeast Asian] countries, more specifically, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore,” the document read.

Continued on A12

Deposits hit P12 trillion in first semester of 2018

D

EPOSITS in the country grew to double digits in the first half of 2018, compared to its level last year, driving the expansion in the banking industry’s assets for the period.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed deposits grew 10.3 percent in the first semester to hit P12.15 trillion.

Based on the maiden banking sector outlook survey earlier released, this is expected to continue as bankers see deposits growing between 10 and 20 percent in the next two years.

Deposits during the first half of the year were mostly peso-denominated and sourced mainly from resident individuals and private corporations.

In particular, resident individuals have a 47.7-percent share of the total deposits for the period, followed by private corporations with a 32.5-percent share of the P12.15-trillion deposits during the period. The government, meanwhile, accounted for 13.1 percent of the total deposits for the first half; the trust department’s share is at 4.5 percent.

See “Deposits,” A12

Today’s issue continues the anniversary folio marking BusinessMirror’s 13th year in the industry. It features some of the most remarkable ‘Forward Lookers’ who help make sense of the past and present, and offer hope and a clear vision of the future. Stories start on Section “F.”

Chinese FM opens Beijing office in Davao

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

A

@lorenzmarasigan

FTER two years of gathering dust at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3’s depot, the controversial trains manufactured

by CRRC Dalian Co. of China have finally been put to good use.

Transportation Undersecretary for Rail Timothy John R. Batan said his agency started on Sunday the gradual deployment of the 48 train coaches in the train line, after “an extensive, rigorous, and multilevel audit, assessment, adjustment and validation” of the light-rail vehicles (LRVs).

The Chinese manufacturer agreed to shoulder all costs to solve the issues raised in the independent safety audit and assessment conducted by German company TUV Rheinland.

Dalian started working on modifying the weight, signaling

F

“We have done a lot of assessments to ensure that these trains are safe. We have addressed all of the issues at no cost to the government.”—Batan

and maintenance equipment compatibility of the trains in July, with Japanese company Toshiba Infrastructure Systems supervising and evaluating the process to ensure that the Chinese company addressed issues raised.

Specialists from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australia Aid, and local experts from the Philippine National Railways (PNR) also participated in the evaluation and validation.

See “Chinese trains,” A12

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 53.7890

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P25.00 nationwide | 10 sections 48 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

After 2 years, Chinese trains used for MRT 3

2017 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

NO. 1 Megaworld executives, led by Chief Operating Officer Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso (fifth from left, front row) and Senior Vice President Kevin Andrew L. Tan (sixth from left, front row) flash the No. 1 sign as the company celebrates its big win for bagging the coveted Executive Leadership Team of the Year award at the 2018 Asia CEO Awards held recently at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Newport City. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

OREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. on Sunday welcomed the formal opening of the Chinese Consulate General in Davao, saying its inauguration underscores the growing cooperation between Manila and Beijing.

The Consulate General was inaugurated by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who arrived in Davao for a two-day visit that would include bilateral meetings with Secretary Locsin and other Philippine officials.

“Being the biggest Philippine city in terms of land area, and the third largest in terms of population, the inauguration of the Chinese Consulate General here in Davao is an auspicious sign of the city’s promise and the bright prospects

n JAPAN 0.4786 n UK 68.9521 n HK 6.8602 n CHINA 7.7403 n SINGAPORE 38.9634 n AUSTRALIA 38.0772 n EU 61.1957 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.3411

See “Locsin,” A12

Source: BSP (26 October 2018 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, October 29, 2018

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DOF pushes nuke option to cut power cost

T

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) said the government is studying the idea of reviving the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in a bid to help bring down power rates in the country.

The revelation comes days after Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, appearing at the Plaridel forum, said the nuclear option is high on the list of energy policy-makers, though he stressed they were not necessarily eyeing the BNPP but will more likely pitch for building a new power plant in the country.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told financial re-

Energy. . .

Continued from A1

assistance, deployment of search and rescue, the readiness of government assets, particularly from the military for humanitarian assistance and disaster response and the deployment of quick response teams.

The NDRRMC reminded officials in the areas expected to be affected by the typhoon to implement preemptive evacuation—and even a forced evacuation if necessary—in order to

porters that it is looking at a government asset, which is the BNPP, to be used to help lower electricity rates in the country.

“With regards to the cost of electricity, [Energy Secretary] Cusi just mentioned that we should really seriously consider running the nuclear plant and I think that it will bring down the cost. So it’s probably that asset avoid the loss of lives, not just among civilians but also among rescuers. The hard lessons of Ompong—where several rescuers were killed in a landslide site in Benguet—were recalled.

NDRRMC Spokesman Edgar Posadas said the agency was already on blue alert status on Sunday as they stepped up their preparations for Rosita, which the state weather bureau Pagasa said could be as powerful as Ompong.

Ompong lashed Northern and Central Luzon in mid-September, forcing the evacuation of nearly a million in-

that we will use to lower the cost of electricity,” Dominguez said.

Last week Cusi revealed that the government is seriously considering the possibility of allowing the construction of nuclear power plants in the country. He said the apprehensions about the security of nuclear power plants have already been raised in the past, and stressed that it is time for the Philippines to learn from its neighbors.

In 1976 then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. ordered the building of a $2.3-billion nuclear power plant in Morong, Bataan, as the then-dictator’s bid to diversify the Philippines’s energy source. The BNPP was completed in 1984, but failed to produce a single watt of electricity due to strong public opposition.

Dominguez added that before reviving the nuclear power plant, safety measures must be in place first and foremost.

dividuals and spawning widespread flooding. It also triggered landslides that killed more than 100 people.

Ompong’s destruction forced President Duterte to put a big part of Luzon under a state of calamity.

Rosita spotted WEATHER officials said that Rosita was spotted as of 4 a.m. on Sunday about 980 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan, packing maximum sustained winds of 200 kph and a gustiness of 245 kph.

The typhoon is expected to make

“I want to encourage Mr. Cusi to really study it well, and we will support him as much as we can if it’s safe and if it makes economic sense.”

—Dominguez

“You know we have to have all the safety measures done but I think it’s something that we should really consider, the revival of the Bataan [nuclear power plant]. If we want to bring down power rates it might be a good investment, it’s already there 600 megawatts,” Dominguez added.

T he f inance chief f ur t her stressed that he is encouraging the Department of Energy to really look into and study the matter for the nuclear plant revival.

“I want to encourage Mr. Cusi to really study it well, and we will landfall on Tuesday (October 30) in the area of Cagayan-Isabela and may likely take the same path as Ompong, which battered Isabela and Cagayan provinces after making landfall in the town of Lasam in Cagayan.

Posadas said the level of their preparation for Rosita is similar to Ompong, since both typhoons share similar characteristics.

Energy resiliency MEANWHILE, the Task Force on Energy Resiliency (TFER), led by the Department of Energy, has begun

support him as much as we can if it’s safe and if it makes economic sense,” he added.

APART from reviving the BNPP, the government is also looking to rehabilitate the Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plants Project to also aid in lowering electricity costs in the country.

“We are also investing quite a bit of money, probably close to half a billion US dollars, in refurbishing the Maria Christina Agus System.

Currently, [it] is running at only 40 percent capacity; we will probably bring that up to something like 88.5 percent capacity. That should help lower the cost of electricity,” he said.

In August the Philippine government discussed with Chinese officials its proposed “second basket” of infrastructure projects for possible financing during the visit

of a Philippine delegation to Beijing during the month.

According to the DOF, the second basket of infrastructure projects discussed includes: the Ambal-Simuay River and Rio Grande de Mindanao River Flood Control Projects; the Pasig-Marikina River and Manggahan Floodway Bridges Construction Project; Subic-Clark Railway Project, Safe Philippines Project Phase I; and the Rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plants Project.

The “first basket” of infrastructure projects proposed for Chinese loan financing includes: the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project; New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project; the Philippine National Railways’ South Long Haul Project; and the Davao-Samal Bridge Construction Project along with the Binondo-Intramuros and EstrellaPantaleon bridges that are being funded with grants from China.

monitoring and preparatory measures to reduce the impact of Rosita on vital facilities.

The National Power Corp. laid down precautions for its supervised hydroelectric dams, including Ambuklao, Binga, San Roque, Angat and Caliraya dams.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) sent typhoon preparedness advisories to all electric cooperatives (ECs) as early as October 24.

It also advised the ECs to activate their Emergency Restoration Organization to implement their Emergency

Restoration Plan.

The Manila Electric Co., for its part, has been conducting preparatory activities within its franchise area, such as coordinating with stakeholders for safety, human resource, and its preparation of materials, vehicles and equipment, as well as portable generators for potential evacuation.

The DOE assured the public that the energy family will continue to monitor the typhoon situation to immediately address any adverse effect of the weather disturbance on energy systems and facilities.

Other energy infra projects

The Nation BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, October 29, 2018 A3

Comelec wants more female candidates in 2019 polls

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By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

OLITICAL parties are now required by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disclose the number of their female candidates in time for the 2019 polls.

Comelec Commissioner Rowena V. Guanzon said the measure aims to encourage more political parties

to field more female candidates and increase women representation in the government.

Under the new issuance, a political party is mandated to update their data sheets to indicate how many of its members are male and female.

“If they are aware that we are requiring it, maybe they will field more women candidates...because it’s [encouraging women in politics is] not in their consciousness before [organizing the political party],” Guanzon said.

To note, she has a proposal awaiting approval to require women membership in the Comelec’s determination of a dominant majority party and dominant minority party.

Guanzon’s proposal seeks to award additional points to a political party that has at least 30 percent women candidates in an election and boost such group’s chance to receive any of or both the two coveted titles.

The proposal is currently still undergoing evaluation from the Comelec Law Department.

Guanzon is advocating for increased presence of women in the government “to foster more gender sensitivity” in its policies.

Data from Comelec showed that, out of almost 18,000 winning candidates in 2016 polls, only 3,849 are

females, while the remaining 14,092 are males.

Labor’s candidate

MEANWHILE, the coalition of the biggest labor groups in the country are set to meet this week to discuss the candidates organized labor will be endorsing for the 2019 elections.

In a text message, Nagkaisa Spokesman and Partido Manggagawa Chairman Renato Magtubo said they will be conducting a political summit from October 29 to 31 to be attended by 30 labor leaders.

Federation of Free Workers Vice

President Julius Cainglet said the summit’s first day will be marked by discussions on issues like contractualization and wages that they want the government to prioritize.

“After that we will be discussing the candidates we may support,” Cainglet said adding that the possibility of block voting would also be considered.

However, Cainglet admitted this is unlikely to succeed.

He noted that local labor federations, historically, tend to be capable of only endorsing candidates within its membership.

A4 Monday, October 29, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

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Food service sales in PHL seen breaching $14B

F

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

OOD service sales in the country could surpass the $14-billion mark this year as the improvement in the purchasing power of Filipinos and worsening traffic in urban areas are pushing them to dine out.

A Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report published recently indicated that total food

service sales in the Philippines could rise by 8 percent to $14.08 billion, from $13.04 billion last year.

The GAIN report, which was prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila, noted that the country’s food service sales last year rose by 8.57 percent, from $12.01 billion in 2016.

“Improved purchasing power, increasing middle class, and growing urbanization, have led to an increasing preference of Filipinos to dine out, thus contributing to the growth of the food service industry,” the GAIN report read.

The GAIN report also noted that the huge number of Filipino millennials would drive the growth of the local food service industry.

“ This group already comprises one-third of the countr y’s population and they are known to be the biggest spenders,” the report read.

“They are willing to spend more money eating out as long as their dining experience is convenient, fun, exciting, has high quality food and service, and is yet affordable,” it added.

The report also noted that the worsening traffic problems of the country would force Filipinos to eat more outside instead of preparing food at home.

“Likewise, the worsening traffic and transport situation [in

Manila and other major cities], increasing time and energy constraints, and prevailing health and fitness trends have encouraged consu mers to pu rc hase cooked meals or dine out, instead of preparing food at home,” the report read.

The report said the sustained growth of the local food service industry encourages US-based food and beverage products manufacturers to export more to the Philippines.

The US remains the Philippines’s largest supplier for food, beverage and ingredient products, according to the GAIN report.

“This growth in the food service

industry will provide greater opportunities for exports of US food and beverage products to the Philippines,” it said.

“The Philippines is the largest market in Southeast Asia and the 12th-largest export market in the world for US consumer-oriented food and beverage products, importing a total of $964.3 million in 2017,” it added.

The local food service industry is made up of 86,812 establishments and includes restaurants, fast-food chains, kiosks and counters, cafeterias, hotels, bars, cafés and catering services, according to the GAIN report.

Impose limits, hike cost of visiting Boracay–economists

By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

I

NTERVENTIONS, such as increasing the cost of visiting Boracay and limiting the number of tourists in the island, will prevent its degradation, according to local economists and an official of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) School of Economics Dean Cid Terosa noted that governments in other parts of the world have already imposed limits on tourist destinations and have adopted a proenvironment tourism strategy.

“Sustainable tourism requires steadfast observance of carrying capacity. It is a policy for the environment that will be good for both the rich and poor over a long period of time,” Terosa told the BusinessMirror over the weekend.

“Imposing limits is pro-environment and neither pro-rich nor propoor. Top tourism destinations around the world have observed this a long time ago. The Philippines is a pitiful latecomer,” he added.

University of the Philippines economist Toby Melissa C. Monsod told the BusinessMirror that Boracay is currently “underpriced” and as such prone to abuse. She said the low cost of visiting Boracay was actually one of the reasons that led to its six-month closure.

Monsod said implementing interventions that will help reflect the real market costs of a prime tourist destination such as Boracay

will prevent “overconsumption.”

“If something is underpriced, wouldn’t you most likely overconsume it? So intervention in these cases is to help ensure that true economic costs and benefits are properly reflected in ‘market prices.’ In the case of the commons problem, individuals don’t recognize costs they impose on others; markets don’t reflect that cost. So services are underpriced,” Monsod said.

Neda Undersecretary for Regional Development Adoracion M. Navarro told reporters that the recommendation of the Neda Regional Development Office (RDO) is for the government to adopt a strategy that will limit the number of tourists and investments on the island in accordance with its carrying capacity.

Navarro said regulating the number of tourists while increasing their tourism expenditure receipts per capita will lead to “high-quality tourism services and discourage low-quality ones.” This means tourism services will have to increase to be able to hike per capita tourist spending.

Limiting the number of tourists that can access a destination has also been done in other areas, Navarro said.

If tourists do not see a suitable booking schedule, they will move their visit and get to enjoy the island minus the congestion and crowding.

“Of course, we cannot remove the Bora experience for the masses.

[We can] maximize the Bora experience for the masses, but there is a strategy there [such as] appropriate

VISITORS gather along the beach during sunset in Boracay Island on October 26. Tourists sailed to the popular destination on the first day officials reopened the resort to visitors after a six-month closure to clean waters, which President Duterte had called a “cesspool” due to overcrowding and development. AP/JOEAL CALUPITAN

scheduling,” she said.

“You cannot attract all tourists and risk crowding or congesting Boracay.

So it’s like having price discrimination in economics. There’s a high price for high-quality goods and services and then there’s a low price for low-quality goods and services,” Navarro added.

Apart from the tourists, the Neda official also recommended limiting the number of establishments on the

island. The number of establishments such as hotels must be carefully guided by the carrying capacity of the island.

However, Navarro said, this decision will have to be made by the local government unit and the Department of Tourism. She said, nonetheless, that the study on the carrying capacity of the Boracay will guide them, especially in determining whether there are too many rooms available on the island.

Cost of rehab

DOCUMENTS obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that the Neda RDO’s preliminary estimates of the cost of rehabilitating Boracay is around P29 billion. This is composed of P6.96 billion from the public sector and P18.03 billion from the private sector.

The public investment side for Boracay was initially estimated at P2.33

billion this year; P1.73 billion in 2019; P1.87 billion in 2020; P558.79 million in 2021; and P458.11 million in 2022.

These public investments are divided according to six areas: enforcement of laws and regulations worth P635.47 million; pollution control and prevention, P534.96 million; and rehabilitation and recovery of ecosystems, P72.49 million.

The other areas where public funds could be spent are putting in place reliable infrastructure facilities costing P4.69 billion; responsive social services along health, education and housing, P879.43 million; and sustainable economic activities including tourism and livelihood, P138.58 million.

The investments will be funded by agencies regular budget at P4.627 billion; LGUs, P1.948 billion; and cofinancing by agencies/LGUs and private sector, P210.87 million. The government is still determining the source of funding for the remaining P173.068 million.

The project that will receive the top funding is the P7.045-billion NabasCaticlan-Boracay Transmission Project, Stage 1 of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in Nabas, Malay and Boracay.

The biggest projects also include the P2.414-billion sewerage development works to be undertaken by the Boracay Island Water Co. Inc. and the P2.14billion project of the LGU and private investors to promote investment and development for housing projects initially for households in “no build and hazard zones.”

Portal to eliminate discrepancy in trade data to go live in December—DOF

By Rea Cu

T

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) said the TradeNet plat-

form, which will enable the government to eliminate trade-data discrepancy, will be fully operational in December.

Based on the latest economic bulletin of the DOF, the implementation of the TradeNet online platform will help further

reduce discrepancies related to the country’s imports and exports data.

“Automation of trade processes through the TradeNet, which will go live in December, will further reduce trade-data discrepancy, improve revenue collectors’ capabilities and, at the same time, facilitate trade,” the DOF said.

A comparison between trade data reported in the International Monetar y Fund Direction of Trade Statistics and the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that trade data discrepancy in the country declined to 33.1 percent in 2017, from 40.8 percent in 2015.

Also, import data discrepancy declined to 27.5 percent in 2017, from 40.9 percent in 2015, while export data discrepancy also dropped to 33.1 percent in 2017, from 40.8 percent in 2015.

Citing a report, titled “Accounting for Discrepancies in Bilateral Trade: The Case of China, Hong Kong and the United States,” the DOF said there are six reasons discrepancy occurs in line with trade data cross countries.

These are: timing differences; smuggling; valuation differences; differing treatment of reexports and transshipment; wrong attribution; and misinvoicing.

According to the DOF, trade data discrepancy occurs when

trade data reported by a country differ from those reported by its trading partners.

The TradeNet is an online platform that aims to allow traders of commodities to apply for their import and export permits online, it is envisioned to connect 66 trade regulatory agencies and 10 economic zones in the country.

It is an operations-management platform that will speed up all processes in line with trade facilitation, and it will also serve as the country’s connecting platform to the Asean Single Window. Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia are currently connected to the ASW. Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said government agencies that will be connected to TradeNet before its rollout include the Bureau of Animal Industry, National Tobacco Administration, Fair Trade and Enforcement Bureau, National Food Authority, Bureau of Plant Industry, Food and Drug Administration, National Meat Inspection Service, Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs (BOC).

In March this year, the DOF instructed the BOC to set up data-exchange arrangements with South Korea, Japan and the United States to ensure the seamless exchange of trade-related information between the Philippines

and these major trading partners.

The DOF also instructed the BOC to replicate the data-exchange arrangement it forged with China and forge tie-ups with other major trading partners of the country.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said he wants the BOC to work closely with the countr y’s trading partners in terms of monitoring shipments and checking discrepancies in trade data.

The data-exchange parameters include data on the volume and value of goods exported by these countries to the Philippines and the import volumes from these countries reported by revenue authorities in the Philippines to check against possible illegal trade practices.

In February, the BOC and its Chinese counterpart agreed to set up a data-exchange system to facilitate the timely sharing of trade information and aid them in their respective campaigns against smuggling and tax evasion.

Last year, Dominguez said official trade data show that the estimated discrepancy between registered Chinese exports to the Philippines and registered Philippine imports from China has been declining but is still very large, with the gap reported at 57 percent in 2015; 48.7 percent in 2016; and 48 percent in January to July 2017.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Monday, October 29, 2018 A5

Japan, India leaders reaffirm ties amid global trade, security worries

INDIA’S Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) shakes hands with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Yamanakako village, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Sunday. AP

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OKYO—The leaders of Japan and India are reaffirming their ties amid growing worries about trade and regional stability.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived on Saturday, was meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a resort area near Mount Fuji on Sunday. Modi is also visiting a nearby plant of major Japanese robot maker Fanuc. Relations with China are a major issue shared by Modi and Abe, as their cooperation may balance China’s growing regional influence and military assertiveness.

“The India-Japan partnership has been fundamentally transformed and it has been strengthened as a ‘special strategic and global partnership,’” Modi told Kyodo News service. “There are no negatives but only opportunities in this relationship which are waiting to be seized.”

Modi chose Japan among the first nations to visit after taking power four years ago. He has been urging countries in the IndoPacific region to unite against protectionism and cross-border tensions. In another sign of closer relations, India and Japan are also set to hold their first joint military exercises involving ground forces, starting next month. Abe has just returned from China, where he met President Xi Jinping and agreed the two nations were “sharing more common interests and concerns.”

President Donald J. Trump’s policies that have targeted mostly China with tariffs, but also Japan and other nations, accusing them of unfair trade practices, are working to prod India and Japan to promote their economic ties.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry said the leaders had lunch at a hotel in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, and exchanged a wide range of views on pursuing “a free and open” Indo-Pacific region.

Abe told Modi about his recent trip to China, and both sides agreed on the need to cooperate closely on getting North Korea to drop nuclear weapons development, the ministry said in a statement.

Japan’s investment in India still has room to grow. Japan is helping India build a super-fast railway system.

Abe has made bolstering and opening the nation’s economy central to his policies called “Abenomics,” and has encouraged trade, foreign investment and tourism.

Although Japan has long seen the US as its main ally, especially in defense, Abe is courting other ties. He has also been vocal about free trade, which runs counter to Trump’s moves to raise tariffs.

Earlier this year, Japan signed a landmark deal with the European Union that will eliminate nearly all tariffs on products they trade. European and Japanese leaders pledged to strengthen their partnership in defense, climate change and human exchange, to send what they called a clear message against protectionism.

Abe and Modi will hold a more formal summit Monday in Tokyo. AP

Trump faces complaints on too weak Iran sanctions

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ASHINGTON —A battle is brewing between the Trump administration and some of the president’s biggest supporters in Congress who are concerned that sanctions to be reimposed on Iran early next month won’t be tough enough.

As President Donald J. Trump prepares to reimpose a second batch of Iran sanctions that had been eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, conservative lawmakers and outside advisers have become worried that the administration may break a promise to exert “maximum pressure” on Iran. They are angered by suggestions that measures to be announced November 5 won’t include a provision cutting Iran off from a key component of the global financial system.

The self-described Iran hawks are concerned enough that they have drafted legislation that would require the administration to demand that Iran be suspended from the international bank transfer system known as SWIFT. “The president asked for maximum pressure, not semi-maximum pressure,” said Richard Goldberg, a former aide to a Republican senator and senior adviser to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a group that supports punishing Iran with sanctions. “Maximum pressure includes disconnecting Iranian banks from SWIFT.” Trump pledged on Thursday to do whatever it takes to pressure Iran to halt what he refers to as its “malign conduct,” such as nuclear and missile development and support for terrorism and groups that destabilize the Middle East.

“On November 5th, all US sanctions against Iran lifted by the nuclear deal will be back in full force,” he told a gathering at the White House to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the 1983 attack on the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, which is blamed on Iranian-backed extremists. “And they will be followed up with even more sanctions to address the full range of Iran’s malign conduct. We will not allow the world’s leading sponsor of terror to develop the world’s deadliest weapons. Will not happen.” AP

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Monday, October 29, 2018

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Saudi FM says global outcry over Khashoggi ‘hysterical’

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UBAI, United Arab Emirates— Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat said on Saturday that the global outcry and media focus on the killing of a Saudi journalist earlier this month has become “hysterical” as he urged the public to wait for the results of an investigation before ascribing blame to the kingdom’s top leadership.

Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist critical of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed by Saudi agents at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

“This issue has become fairly hysterical,” Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said. “I think people have assigned blame to Saudi Arabia with such certainty before the investigation is complete.”

Some of those implicated in Khashoggi’s killing are close to Prince Mohammed, who is the kingdom’s heir apparent. His condemnation of the killing as “heinous” and

“painful” has so far failed to ease suspicions that such a high-level operation could have been carried out without his knowledge.

Al-Jubeir addressed the mounting skepticism around the crown prince’s alleged involvement. He was speaking in response to questions from Western journalists at an annual conference of international officials, including US Defense Secretary James Mattis, in Bahrain.

“We have made clear that we are going to have a full and transparent investigation, the results of which will be released. We have made it very clear that those responsible will

IN this October 23, file photo, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir speaks to journalists during a joint press conference with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi after their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. Al-Jubeir says the global outcry over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has become “hysterical,” while vowing that the kingdom is determined to bring the perpetrators to justice. He added that he thinks people have assigned blame to Saudi Arabia with certainty before the investigation is complete. AP PHOTO/ACHMAD IBRAHIM

be held responsible,” he said, adding that the kingdom has also put in place mechanisms to ensure this does not happen again.

“We’re trying to uncover what happened. We know that a mistake was committed. We know that people exceeded their authority and we

know that we’re investigating them,” he said.

But he cautioned that “investigations take time.”

“Unfortunately, there has been this hysteria in the media about Saudi Arabia’s guilt before the investigation is completed,” he said.

Turkey alleges a 15-member hit squad was sent to Istanbul to kill the journalist, a onetime Saudi insider who became an outspoken critic of Prince Mohammed in columns for The Washington Post. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the three others in the group of 18 who have been detained in Saudi Arabia were consulate employees.

Saudi Arabia has said five officials, including two who worked directly under the crown prince, have been relieved of their posts. AlJubeir on Saturday said six in total were dismissed. King Salman has assigned his son, the crown prince, to oversee the restructuring of the kingdom’s intelligence bodies in the aftermath of the killing.

The Turkish president said on Saturday that he’s discussed the journalist’s killing with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany during separate meetings in Istanbul ahead of a summit on the Syrian war.

Turkey is requesting that Saudi Arabia hand over the suspects in the killing, which the kingdom has described as a rogue operation by officials who may have exceeded their orders or authority.

Al-Jubeir appeared to reject that notion.

“The individuals are Saudi na-

tionals, they’re detained in Saudi Arabia, the investigation is in Saudi Arabia and they will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia,” he said at the Bahrain summit.

Erdogan has said that Turkey would reveal more evidence about the killing but was not in any rush to do so, indicating that Turkish authorities will methodically increase pressure on Saudi Arabia even as the kingdom floats conflicting statements in a vain and often clumsy attempt to end the quandary.

After three weeks of shifting Saudi accounts around the incident, the kingdom this week acknowledged that the killing was “premeditated,” citing evidence from investigating Turkish officials. Saudi Arabia originally said Khashoggi had walked out of the consulate October 2, before offering various other narratives that President Donald J. Trump called “one of the worst in the history of cover-ups.”

CIA director Gina Haspel, who was in Turkey earlier this week to review evidence, briefed Trump in Washington on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor will arrive in Turkey on Sunday as part of the investigation and will meet with Turkish counterparts, according to Erdogan. AP

Oman: It’s time to treat Israel like other states

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HE Gulf state of Oman said it’s time to acknowledge Israel’s existence, articulating that outreach a day after a secret meeting between their leaders was divulged.

“I will say this for the first time: Israel is a state that is present in this region and we all know this,” Foreign Minister Yusuf Bin Alawi said at the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain on Saturday. “Maybe it is time for Israel to be treated the same and also bear the same obligations as other countries.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret flight to the Omani capital, Muscat, on Thursday to meet with Sultan Qaboos bin Said was the first visit by an Israeli leader since 1996. The meeting held out the possibility that Oman might be involved in promoting US President Donald J. Trump’s as-yet unseen Middle East peace plan, even as Saudi Arabia’s once-central role has come into question with the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Israel and Oman do not have official relations.

Netanyahu has often alluded to warming ties with Gulf Arab nations as he pushes for a regional rapprochement that is based on a common front against Tehran and

doesn’t depend first on the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Historical presence

BIN ALAWI defended his position by highlighting the historical presence of Jews in the Middle East, pointing to Islamic texts that attested to that, and touting the mutual benefits of stronger Arab-Israeli ties.

“The Torah saw the light in the Middle East and the prophets of Israel were born in the Middle East,” he said. “We cannot exclude anyone in this region.” The Israeli government had no comment on Bin Alawi’s remarks.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt tweeted that the meeting was “a helpful step for our peace efforts,” and said he was “looking forward to seeing more meetings like this.”

Oman has at times played an outsized role in regional politics. Most prominently, Muscat hosted the back-channel talks between Iran and the US under former President Barack Obama that paved the way for the 2015 nuclear deal that the Trump administration quit in May. Oman was also the first Gulf nation to

establish commercial ties with the Jewish state its 1993 accord with the Palestinians, though it shut down their trade offices after the second Palestinian uprising against Israel erupted in 2000. A lack of progress in the peace process has pushed the Palestinian Authority to explore beyond traditional peace brokers, and President Mahmoud Abbas visited Oman just days before Netanyahu did. Abbas has ruled out meetings with US officials since Trump announced last December that he would move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, whose eastern sector the Palestinians want as a future capital.

Abbas told Palestine TV earlier this month that the Omanis have no vested interests in the conflict and are therefore a trusted party.

Bin Alawi told state-run Oman TV late on Friday that Oman acting as a “facilitator” between the conflicting parties, and that its views on reaching a solution have been “accepted and appreciated” by the Israelis and Palestinians.

The only two Arab states that currently have diplomatic ties with Israel are Egypt and Jordan, though relations are bumpy. Bloomberg News

Political turmoil in Sri Lanka deepens as parliament suspended

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RI Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena suspended parliament, deepening a power struggle that has led to the return of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa and could herald closer ties with China. On Friday evening, Sirisena unexpectedly dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa—who ruled between 2005 and 2015—as his replacement. Wickremesinghe is contesting his removal and is likely to challenge it as unconstitutional in the courts. Parliament has been suspended with immediate effect, the speaker’s office said on Saturday.

Shortly before the suspension, Wickremesinghe said at a press conference that he still commanded the majority backing in parliament and called for a special session of the legislature to prove it.

“Life is a fight. We should not worsen the situation” of the people of Sri Lanka, Wickremesinghe said.

Sirisena’s move is being perceived as a way to retain political power by co-opting Rajapaksa’s residual popularity among many Sri Lankans, who credit the former president’s tough approach—condemned internationally by human rights groups— with ending the country’s brutal 26-year civil war in 2009.

The decision to reappoint Rajapaksa, who had been making political inroads against Sirisena including in local elections earlier this year, could also have a geopolitical impact, with his ties to China and history of borrowing heavily from

Beijing to fund infrastructure projects.

The return of Rajapaksa may also dent New Delhi’s influence in Colombo, given Wickremesinghe’s attempts to rebalance Sri Lanka’s foreign relations away from China and toward India and Japan.

“Sirisena brought back Rajapaksa for political self-preservation, but along the way it will reopen the door to Chinese funding,” said Shailesh Kumar, Asia director at political risk firm Eurasia Group.

Rajapaksa has many friends in China and handled most of the Chinese inflow, Kumar said. “This transition will ensure that China can once again prevail over Sri Lanka’s economy as they have a friend in the prime minister’s office—in contrast to Wickremesinghe.”

On Saturday the US and European Union said it was following the events closely.

“We call on all parties to act in accordance with Sri Lanka’s constitution, refrain from violence, and follow due process,” the US State Department said on Twitter. “We expect the government of Sri Lanka to uphold its Geneva commitments to human rights, reform, accountability, justice, and reconciliation.”

Deep in debt

RAJAPAKSA, who remains enormously popular in Sri Lanka, has a controversial past. He led a final assault on minority Tamil separatists and ended decades of violence, but was criticized by human-rights groups and foreign governments. He also took numerous loans from China to fund

large infrastructure projects, including the construction of a port in southern Hambantota—his own political constituency— that lost money and was eventually sold to a state-owned Chinese firm in a debtto-equity swap on a 99-year lease. Roughly 80 percent of Sri Lanka’s total government revenues go toward paying debt.

Although it was Rajapaksa-era loans that sank Sri Lanka into debt, the decision to hand the port back to China was made

by Wickremesinghe—and was roundly criticized. In a sign of how fraught relations were among Sri Lanka’s two top leaders, Wickremesinghe was forced to defend himself against a no-confidence vote that was backed in part by Sirisena’s party. He defeated the motion. There was a general sense that Wickremesinghe wasn’t steering the economy properly, and his replacement

by Rajapaksa is likely to prove popular with the general public, said Sanjeewa Fernando, a strategist at CT CLSA Securities in Colombo. The federal budget may also be delayed as a result of this move, he added.

“There was this notion that nothing is being executed properly,” Fernando said.

“It has to do with sentiment. There is a general excitement for change.”

With Sri Lanka still reeling under debt payments and global market turmoil making international financing less likely, the appointment of Rajapaksa could ensure a steady source of capital from China at a time when few other countries are interested in investing there, Eurasia’s Kumar said. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Monday, October 29, 2018 A7

Syrians must lead peace efforts, leaders say

I

STANBUL—The leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany said at a summit on Saturday that Syrians must lead efforts to make peace in their war-torn country, a challenge that was highlighted by the absence of any Syrian groups from the Istanbul talks.

Meeting in an Ottoman-era mansion, the leaders set aside divisions over Syrian President Bashar Assad to agree on broad goals, including the eventual, voluntary return of millions of refugees who fled a conflict that has lasted more than seven years and killed over 400,000 people.

“There will be no real, sustainable, credible return of the refugees if the political process is not initiated,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed “preconditions” for the return of refugees, which must be closely coordinated with the UN refugee agency.

“From our point of view, it is necessary that there be assurances that there will not be persecution or arrests, that certain fundamental humanitarian conditions are fulfilled—that a

certain humanitarian infrastructure is there,” she said.

The leaders spoke at a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A final statement released by the leaders called for “an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process,” and the convening of a committee by the end of the year to work on constitutional reform as a prelude to UN-backed free and fair elections.

The leaders noted the cease-fire in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, which they hope can provide some momentum for peace efforts.

The truce last month prevented a Syrian government offensive on the last rebel stronghold, which many feared would have set off another refugee crisis.

Idlib has been relatively calm

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel (from lef) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and France’s President Emmanuel Macron pose for a photo during their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday. The leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany gathered for a summit about Syria. AP

since then, although both sides have accused each other of violating

the deal. Syrian government forces shelled rebel-held villages in Idlib

on Friday, killing seven people in violation of the agreement reached

by Russia and Turkey, opposition activists said.

Putin, however, warned against any “armed provocations” by “radical elements” in Idlib that oppose the Syrian government, saying Russia will step in to support the Assad government if necessary. Russian military support, along with backing from Iran, has helped Assad to recover much of the territory lost to rebels in the last few years.

Western countries condemn Assad for what they call indiscriminate attacks on civilians and Turkey has been helping insurgents trying to remove him from power.

“For us, Assad is someone who has made attempts against nearly 1 million citizens’ lives. He is not in a respected position for us,” Erdogan said.

Since 2015 the European Union has been struggling to cope with an influx of refugees, many from Iraq and Syria, and European countries hope war-torn areas can stabilize so that people can return. Germany has pledged millions of euros to help restore basic services in areas not held by the Assad government.

The summit comes amid Turkish threats of a new military operation across the border into northern Syria, in zones held by Syrian Kurdish fighters. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish militia, which is backed by the US, to be terrorists and a part of the Kurdish insurgency within Turkey. AP

Green Monday BusinessMirror

A8 Monday, October 29, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Melting China glacier draws tourists, climate worries

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ULONGXUESHAN, China— The loud crack rang out from the fog above the Baishui No. 1 Glacier as a stone shard careened down the ice, flying past Chen Yanjun as he operated a GPS device.

More projectiles were tumbling down the hulk of ice that scientists say is one of the world’s fastest melting glaciers. “ We shou ld go,” s a id t he 30-year-old geologist. “The first rule is safety.”

Chen hiked away and onto a barren landscape once buried beneath the glacier. Now there is exposed rock littered with oxygen tanks discarded by tourists visiting the 15,000-foot-high blanket of ice in southern China.

Millions of people each year are drawn to Baishui’s frosty beauty on the southeastern edge of the Third Pole—a region in Central Asia with the world’s third-largest store of ice after Antarctica and Greenland that’s roughly the size of Texas and New Mexico combined.

Third Pole glaciers are vital to billions of people from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Asia’s 10 largest rivers—the Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong and Ganges—are fed by seasonal melting.

“You’re talking about one of the world’s largest freshwater sources,” said Ashley Johnson, energy program manager at the National Bureau of Asian Research, an American think tank. “Depending on how it melts, a lot of the freshwater will be leaving the region for the ocean, which will have severe impacts on water and food security.”

Earth is today 1°Celsuis (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than pre-industrial levels because of climate change—enough to melt 28 percent to 44 percent of glaciers worldwide, according to a new report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Temperatures are expected to keep rising.

Baishui is about as close to the equator as Tampa, Florida. And the impacts of climate change already are dramatic.

The glacier has lost 60 percent of its mass and shrunk 250 meters since 1982, according to a 2018 report in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Scientists found in 2015 that 82 percent of glaciers surveyed in China had retreated. They warned that the effects of glacier melting on water resources are gradually becoming “increasingly serious” for China.

“C h i n a h a s a l w a y s h a d a freshwater supply problem with

20 percent of the world ’s population but only 7 percent of its freshwater,” said Jonna Nyman, an energ y security lecturer at t he Un iversit y of S hef f ie ld . “ That’s heightened by the impact of climate change.”

For years, scientists have observed global warming change Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the Chinese province of Yunnan.

One research team has tracked Baishui’s retreat of about 27 meters per year over the past decade.

Flowers, such as snow lotus, have rooted in exposed earth, says Wang Shijin, a glaciologist and director of the Yulong Snow Mountain Glacial and Environmental Observation Research Station, part of a network run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Nestled into a suburb of Lijiang, population 1.2 million, the station is home to Wang and his team: geologist and drone operator Chen, postgraduate glaciology student Zhou Lanyue and electrical engineer Zhang Xing, a private contractor.

After breakfast, the team heads off by van for the day’s mission.

A cable car carries them up to a majestic view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

T he tea m shu f f les pa st a line of tourists—many in red ponchos, most sucking ox ygen canisters a few vomiting from altitude sickness—before de-

Where we’re at right now was back in 2008 all covered with ice.

From here to there at the side, the glacier shrank about 20 meters to 30 meters. The shrinking is very remarkable.”—Wang

TOURISTS on a platform in front of the Baishui Glacier No. 1 on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the southern province of Yunnan in China on October 18. Scientists say the glacier is one of the fastest melting glaciers in the world due to climate change and its relative proximity to the equator. It has lost 60 percent of its mass and shrunk 250 meters since 1982.

YULONG SNOW MOUNTAIN GLACIER AND ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATION RESEARCH STATION VIA AP

Binhi goes to Mount Makiling

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EOTHER M A L energ y leader Energy Development Corp. (EDC) recently organized a two-day Binhi Tree Encounter and Knowledge Sharing on Mount Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna, to help its partners further appreciate the work that the Binhi team does on-ground.

Binhi, EDC’s f lagship environmental program, is a conservation program that focuses on propagating and mainstreaming 96 identified rare and threatened Philippine tree species in partnership with 164 different institutions and groups across 16 regions in the country. Repr e s e nt a t i v e s f r o m M a s u n g i

Georeser ve, 2030 Youth Force Philippines, National University Mountaineers, R ain Forest Restoration Network Initiative,

Earth Day Network Philippines Inc., Permaculture Philippines Association, the University of the Philippines-Los Baños College of Forestr y and Natural Resources, and the Ma k i ling Center for Mountain Ecosystem

scending to replace a broken meteorological station.

The team operates remote sensors that collect data on temperature, wind speed, rainfall and humidity. Other sensors measure water flow in streams fed by melted ice. Cold, downpours, rock slides, gales and glacier movement break the equipment.

“It is not easy to encounter good weather here,” Wang said.

This weather will ensure Yunnan has plenty of freshwater while other glacier loss poses serious risk of drought across the Third Pole, he said. T he next day, the team wore crampons while repairing more sensors scattered across the glacier’s crags.

“Where we’re at right now was back in 2008 all covered with ice,” Wang said. “From here to there at the side, the glacier shrank about 20 meters to 30 meters. The shrinking is very remarkable.”

The team forded streams and jumped crevasses in search of long iron bars they previously embedded in the ice. GPS tells them how much the bars, and thus the glacier, have moved. They also measure how much height the glacier has lost during the summer.

Back on the viewing platform, Che launched a buzzing camera drone over the white expanse.

The photographs help tell a story of staggering loss. A quarter of its ice has vanished since 1957, along with four of its 19 glaciers, researchers have found.

Changes to the Baishui provide the opportunity to educate visitors about global warming, Wang said.

Last year 2.6 million tourists visited the mountain, according to Yulong Snow Mountain park officials. On blustery day recently, hundreds of tourists climbed wooden stairs through gray fog to snap selfies in front of the glacier.

Hou Yugang said he wasn’t too bothered over climate change and Baishui’s melting. “I don’t think about it now because it still has a long way to go,” he said.

To protect the glacier, authorities have limited the number of visitors to 10,000 a day and have banned hiking on the ice. They plan to manufacture snow and to dam streams to increase humidity that slows melting.

Security guard Yang Shaofeng has witnessed a warming world melting this mountain, which his local Naxi minority community considers sacred. Yang remembers being able to see the glacier’s lowest edge from his home village.

No longer.

“Only when we climb up can we see it,” he said sadly, as tourists lined up to have their names engraved on medallions bearing the glacier’s image. The etching is already outdated. AP joined the hike.

The partners participated in tree inventory activities, such as tree identification, tree measurement and tree geotagging, as well as observation of endemic fauna such as native bats.

Microplastic in human stool?

Experts warn it’s premature to say

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ERLIN—Scientists in Austria say they’ve detected tiny bits of plastic in people’s stool for the first time, but experts caution the study is too small and premature to draw any credible conclusion.

Presenting their findings at a congress in Vienna last week, researchers from the Medical University of Vienna and the Environment Agency Austria said their pilot study detected nine ty pes of socalled microplastic in all samples taken from eight volu nteers l iv i ng i n Eu rope, Russia and Japan.

W hi le t he st udy ’s aut hors don’t know how the plastic got there, food diaries kept by the volunteers show they had all consumed food wrapped in plastic or drunk from plastic bottles during the week before the samples were taken, and six of them had consumed sea fish.

Microplastics—defined as pieces smaller than 5 millimeters— have previously been found in water, animals and food, but so far studies haven’t proved they pose a risk to human health.

Still, there is growing public concern about their apparent ubiquitous presence in the environment, and the head of Germany’s Green party said the Austrian study was “a further alarm signal.”

Robert Habeck told the Funke media group that microplastics should be banned from cosmetic products and the use of plastic pac k ag i ng shou ld be g reat ly reduced.

However, experts say it’s not sur prising that microplastics would be found in human samples too, and that the Austrian study raises many questions.

“It’s small scale and not at all representative,” said Martin Wagner, a biologist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

He noted that the study wasn’t reviewed by independent scientists and the authors didn’t provide details about which measures were taken to prevent samples from becoming contaminated.

“In the worst case, all the plastic they found is from the lab,” Wagner told The Associated Press.

Even if microplastics are found in stool, this doesn’t mean they have entered the human body, he said. Unlike other substances we eat, microplastics are too large to be absorbed by cells in the gut and simply pass through.

His concerns were echoed by Mark Browne, an expert on microplastics at the University of New South Wales, Australia, who said the study lacked crucial details.

“Poor quality observations of contamination do not represent well the scientific method and therefore in my humble opinion do not help us understand impacts on humans or manage them,” Browne told the AP by e-mail.

The Austrian authors acknowledged that “further studies are necessary to assess the potential risk of microplastic for humans.”

They plan to submit a detailed study for independent review in the coming months. AP

SBITC joins coastal cleanup

SUBIC Bay International Terminal Corp. volunteers, with the Subic Freeport community, participate in the International Coastal Cleanup Day 2018.

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HE Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC) joined International Coastal Cleanup Day in support of oceanpreservation activities of the Subic Bay Freeport community.

SBITC volunteers, together with participants from the freeport community, collected trash along the coastline areas of the Subic Freeport. SBITC volunteers were designated to clean up the southern and western coastal areas of New Container Terminal 1 and 2.

“SBITC looks forward to participating in coastal cleanups regularly. Sustaining this initiative is a means for us to contribute to environmental preservation. This raises our awareness in proper waste disposal,” said Mechell Madriaga, Health, Safety, Security and Environment head, who led the activity along with Henry Dungca, SBITC acting terminal manager.

SBITC volunteers were able to fill 40 sacks of plastic beverage bottles, food wrappers and Styrofoam.

“In SBITC, we have already prohibited the use of single-use plastics as we continue to improve our waste-management policies. The sea is valuable in our operations and we are committed to preserve our water resources,” Dungca said.

In 2015 the Philippines was ranked as the world ’s third-largest contributor of plastic waste into the ocean, according to a

report of Ocean Conser vancy and McKinsey Center for Business and Environment.

SBITC str ict ly implements policies on the management of hazardous wastes and utilization of hazardous materials in their operations, in accordance with Republic Act 6969, or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990.

“In SBITC, we monitor waste disposal as part of our community-building initiatives. Besides environmental preservation, our management also spearheads other programs, such as medical missions, relief operations, etc. that will further aid development in Subic Bay,” Madriaga said.

International Coastal Cleanup Day is held annually every third Saturday of September by the Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group based in the United States. It promotes cooperat ion across the nation to save the oceans and keeps coastal communities healthy and safe.

SBITC, an International Container Terminal Services Inc. company, is a common-user, multipurpose terminal, providing on and off-dock marine port cargo and container-handling services in Subic Freeport Area. It is one of the leading port operators in the world which leverages on fast, reliable and cost-efficient system.

Biodiversity Monday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Monday, October 29, 2018

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion • www.businessmirror.com.ph

A9

26,000 more world species in danger of extinction

By Michael A. Bengwayan | Special to the BusinessMirror

A

S the world faces an increase of 1 degree Celsius to 1.5°C global warming by year 2030, the number of Earth’s life forms threatened with extinction has increased, the world’s global watchdog of flora and fauna, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said in its September 2018 report.

In its latest Red List, the IUCN said an additional 26,000 species are threatened with extinction today, out of the 27 percent of all assessed species worldwide.

Of the number, 41 percent are amphibians, 5 percent mammals, 34 percent conifers, 13 percent birds, 31 percent sharks and manta rays, 33 percent corals and 27 percent selected crustaceans.

The IUCN Red List is the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the extinction risk of plant and animal species that started in the 1950s as a card index of species that were considered to be threatened with extinction.

Over time, the Red Data Books grew and transformed into the Red List to include more species. The ethos of the program also shifted to incorporate the status of all species, not limiting it to only those threatened with extinction.

Today, the IUCN Red List, regarded as the most influential source of information for species conservation in the world, holds conservation information for over 93,500 species of plants, animals and fungi, with a mission to increase the list to 160,000 species by 2020.

Biodiversity hot spots around the world

THERE are 35 biodiversity hot spots in the world where these threatened life species are located.

These areas compose 2.3 percent of the Earth’s surface but have more than half of the world’s endemic plant species.

These are in the California Floristic province, Madrean Pine Oak Woodlands, Mesoamerica of North and Central America; Caribbean Islands; Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Chilean Winter Rainfall Valdivian Forest, Tumbes Choco Magdalena and Tropical Andes in South America; Mediterranean Basin in Europe; Cape Floristic Region, Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa, Eastern Afromontane, Guinean Forests of West Africa, Horn of Africa, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands, Maputuland Pondoland

Albany, Succulent Karoo in Africa; Mountains of Central Asia; Eastern Himalayas, Nepal, India, Indo-Burma, India and Myanmar, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka in South Asia; East Melanesian Islands, Philippines, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Poly nesia-Micronesia, Eastern Australian Temperate Forests, Southwest Australia, Sundaland and Nicobar Islands of India, Wallacea all in Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific; Japan, Mountains of Southwest China in East Asia; Caucasus and IranoAnatolian in East Asia.

These are considered hot spots because they are biogeographic regions with significant reservoir of biodiversity but threatened with destruction.

The purpose of biodiversity hot spots is not simply to identify regions that are of high biodiversity value, but to prioritize conservation spending.

Culprits behind ugly face of extinction

THE worst threat endangering biodiversity in the global hot spots is internal—citizen-initiated, aggressive, relentless, unethical to a point, God-less—destruction of habitat. As if the future does not matter.

Man has begun to overuse or misuse most of these natural ecosystems. Due to this “unsustainable” resource-use, the once productive forests and grasslands have been turned into deserts and wasteland have increased all over the world.

Mangroves have been cleared for fuelwood and prawn farming, which has led to a decrease in the habitat essential for breeding of marine fish.

Wetlands have been drained to increase agricultural land. These changes have grave economic implications in the longer term.

The current destruction of the remaining large areas of wilderness habitats, especially in the super diverse tropical forests and coral reefs, is the most important threat worldwide to biodiversity.

Scientists have estimated that

A RESIDENT of Southern Leyte monitors a protected forest area to ensure no forest fire occurs. NONIE REYES

human activities are likely to eliminate approximately 10 million species by the year 2050.

There are about 1.8 million species of plants and animals, both large and microscopic, known to science in the world at present.

The number of species, however, is likely to be greater by a factor of at least 10. Plants and insects, as well as other forms of life not known to science, are continually being identified in the worlds’ hot spots of diversity.

Unfortunately at the present rate of extinction, about 25 percent of the worlds’ species will undergo extinction fairly rapidly. This may occur at the rate of 10,000 to 20,000 species per year, 1,000 to 10,000 times faster than the expected natural rate!

Human actions could well exterminate 25 percent of the world’s species within the next 20 years or 30 years.

Much of this mega extinction spasm is related to human population growth, industrialization and changes in land-use patterns.

A major part of these extinctions will occur in “biorich” areas—such as tropical forests, wetlands and coral reefs. The loss of wild habitats due to rapid human population growth and short-term economic development are major contributors to the rapid global destruction of biodiversity.

Philippines, 18th most endangered biodiversity hot spot

THE Philippines—the world ’s second-largest archipelago—is one of the few nations that is, in its entirety, both a hot spot and a megadiversity country, placing it among the top priority hot spots for global conservation.

But its unique biodiversity is threatened. Having the highest rates of discovery in the world with 16 new species of mammals

discovered in the last 10 years, such endemism, however, may be lost faster than discovered.

Threatened are 9,250 vascular plant species, which includes gingers, begonias, gesneriads, orchids, pandans, palms and dipterocarps. Some 150 species of palms are included on the hot spot list and 70 percent of the 1,000 species of orchids found in the country.

Among its over 530 bird species, 35 percent or over 60 are threatened. These are found in seven Endemic Bird Area hot spots: Mindoro, Luzon, Negros and Panay, Cebu, Mindanao and the Eastern Visayas, the Sulu archipelago and Palawan.

The best-known endangered bird species is the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi, CR), the second-largest eagle in the world.

The Philippine eagle breeds only in primary lowland rain forest. Habitat destruction has extirpated the eagle everywhere, except on the islands of Luzon, Mindanao and Samar, where the only large tracts of lowland rain forest remain.

Today, the Philippine eagle’s total population is estimated at less than 700 individuals. Captive breeding programs have been largely unsuccessful; habitat protection is the eagle’s only hope for survival.

The other threatened endemic species are the Negros bleeding heart (Gallicolumba keayi, CR), Visayan wrinkled hornbill (Aceros waldeni, CR), scarlet-collared flowerpecker (Dicaeum retrocinctum, VU), Cebu flowerpecker (Dicaeum quadricolor, CR), and Philippine cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia, CR).

With regards mammals, the tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis, CR), a dwarf water buffalo that lives only on Mindoro Island, is the most threatened. A century ago the population was10,000 individuals; today only a few hundred animals exist in the wild.

Other mammals are endangered, like the Visayan and Philippine warty pigs (Sus cebifrons, CR and S. philippensis, VU); the Calamianes hog-deer (Axis calamaniensis, EN) and the Visayan spotted deer (Rusa alfredi, EN), which has been reduced to a few hundreds on the islands of Negros, Masbate and Panay; and the golden-capped fruit bat (Acerodon jubatus, EN), which, as the world’s largest bat, has a wingspan up to 1.7 meters.

In the reptilian world, the freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis, CR) is considered the most threatened crocodilian in the world. Other unique and threatened reptiles include Gray’s monitor (Varanus olivaceus, VU), the Philippine pond turtle (Heosemys leytensis, CR) and a newly discovered monitor lizard, Varanus mabitang, only the second monitor species known in the world to specialize on a fruit diet.

Among all amphibians, 22 are considered threatened, including the Philippine flat-headed frog (Barbourula busuangensis, VU ), one of the world’s most primitive frog species.

With regards freshwater fishes, most threatened is Sardinella tawilis, a freshwater sardine found only in Taal Lake. Sadly, Lake Lanao, in Mindanao, seems likely to have become the site of one of the hot spots’ worst extinction catastrophes, with nearly all of the lake’s endemic fish species now almost certainly extinct.

Destruction of forests but decimated most of RP’s biodiversity

FORESTS, the leading natural habitat of the Philippines’s biodiversity, are rapidly disappearing.

By 2040, there may be no virgin forests, many forestry experts predict. Nonbelievers scoff at this, saying it is an exaggeration. But the figures cannot be wrong. The

effects of deforestation are not figments of the imagination.

The rate of deforestation in the country is among the highest in the world. The worst deforestation happened during the period of 1990 to 1999, where 750,000 acres of virgin forest were lost.

Today, only 1.75 million acres remain of the nation’s virgin forests.

The loss was incredible. The rate of deforestation in that decade was almost 75,000 acres a year. It also came at a time when the logging ban was imposed in some select sites in the country.

As a result, flooding, soil erosion and degradation pegged at 100,000 tons of soil yearly, loss of species diversity and genetic material, loss of human lives and properties, and aesthetic and recreational loss were at their worst.

Much of the blame is on the government that, over the years, have passed laws favorable to logging concessions and implemented forest protection poorly. Government negligence has prompted the devastation of the forests.

Today, much of the remaining forests are still being invaded by commercial loggers.

Philippine forestry laws passed since 1930 have failed to provide adequate security provisions for virgin and secondary growth forests, thus, the forests had virtually no protection at all. For instance, there is only one forest guard for every 7,500 acres.

But even then, many official policies and strategies from the very start were faulty.

And many polices continue to be faulty.

Bengwayan has a master’s degree and PhD in Development Studies and Environmental Resource Management from University College Dublin, Ireland, as a European Union fellow.

He is currently a fellow of Echoing Green Foundation in New York.

CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY EXPERTS WORK TO KEEP ASEAN REGION ‘COOL’

S

WELTERING hot days. Increased number of typhoons. Unprecedented instances of storm surges. These have become the norm nowadays, and people are quick to blame these on one thing: climate change.

The global public’s awareness on the urgency of addressing climate change has increased over the years.

In the Southeast Asian region alone, overall temperature has been increasing at a rate of 0.14 degrees Celsius to 0.20°C per decade since the 1960s, as reported in the Second Edition of the Asean Biodiversity Outlook (ABO 2) of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB).

The publication noted that this continued warming would affect the vegetation and habitat of the numerous wildlife species in the region. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) acknowledged that warming beyond the highest recorded temperature for the past 1.8 million years would cause an

abnormal level of stress to the various species and their habitats.

“The ACB is providing a venue and opportunity for the Asean member-states [AMS] to work together in the spirit of one Asean Community. Today, the world, particularly the Asean region, is confronted by the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss,” said Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, executive director of ACB, at the “Asia Multi-Actor Dialogue Seminar to Build Social-ecological Resilience through the Incorporation of Ecosystem-based Solutions in Nationally Determined Contributions” in Manila, Philippines.

“I’m sure you will all agree with me when I say that climate change and biodiversity loss are inseparable concerns. Climate change is a major driver of biodiversity loss, and healthy biodiversity is a major solution to climate change,” Lim added.

The dialogue-seminar, which was held in

the middle of this month, was organized by ACB and SwedBio, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines.

“Our workshop this week is the first of our efforts at mainstreaming biodiversity to make sure that climate change and biodiversity loss are not treated separately,” Lim said.

She said it is “not a question of turf as to who will be responsible or who will be in charge.”

She explained: “Our concern is to mainstream biodiversity to ensure that all sectors, from political leaders to scientists; from the media to the general public; from civic leaders to students will be working together to combat the twin threats to humankind.”

Lim said globally, everyone agrees that climate-change adaptation is of utmost importance and urgency.

“Ironically, funding or support is very much wanting. It’s always not enough. But, with working together, we will be able to maximize our efforts in addressing what is most important to us,” she added. Elenida Basug, OIC director of the Climate Change Service of the DENR, said, “Today we have come at a point where we acknowledge that the force of climate change in the region and in our respective countries is here; that climate change is no longer a floating theoretical concept, but rather a phenomenon that affects our environment and our daily lives.”

Tristan Tyrrell, program officer on Climate Change and Ecosystems at SwedBio and one of the facilitators of the event, introduced various climate change related concepts—such as Ecosystembased Adaptation and Ecosystem-based Mitigation and how these affect or can be incorporated in the upcoming projects of the participants’ organizations and their

individual countries’ national biodiversity strategies and action plans.

Participants from AMS and delegates from Pakistan and Bangladesh joined the representatives from indigenous peoples and local communities and the Asean Secretariat in the sharing of experiences in developing the role for ecosystem-based approaches in climate-related work at national level; identify synergies among potential ecosystem-based approaches for delivering benefits related to multiple objectives; empower those concerned with the well-being of nature to engage with those responsible for achieving nationally determined contributions ; and establish the support needed by the region to advance ecosystem-based approaches to adapt to and mitigate climate change and to reduce the risk of disaster.

Discussions within separate groups and in plenary were held. Projects in

place to either adapt to or mitigate the effects of climate change undertaken by the bodies represented by the participants included technological solutions such as solar-powered irrigation systems; fish conservation; diversified planting; and community-based enterprises. On the other hand, activities that the participants wanted their organizations to consider included rainwater harvesting; privatesector engagement; and urban forestry.

Part of the four-day event was a visit to the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area, the first critical habitat to be declared in the Philippines, and a Ramsar Site. Sen. Cynthia Villar, the current chairman of the Senate Committees on Environment and Natural Resources, welcomed the participants.

Short-term to long-term goals of each represented country were shared before the seminar ended as a means to finalize the participants’ commitments.

A10 Monday, October 29, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Leveraging Duterte’s high approval rating

H

IGH gas prices, high inflation rate and higher interest rates may have cooled the Philippine economy amid global headwinds, but they were not enough to cool off President Duterte’s popularity among the people. As expected, Malacañang on Friday welcomed a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey showing that 75 percent of Filipinos believe the country under President Duterte is heading in the right direction.

The SWS Third Quarter survey, conducted from September 15 to 23, found that 75 percent of adult Filipinos had full trust in the President, while 14 percent were undecided and 12 percent had little trust. This gave Duterte a net trust rating of +62, rising from +57 in June 2018, classified by SWS as “very good.” Presidential Spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement: “We view this as a reflection of our people’s continued trust and confidence in the President and an affirmation that the policies and programs of the current administration are on the right track.”

According to the SWS Third Quarter survey, the 75 percent was five points higher compared to the 70 percent recorded in the second-quarter survey. On the other hand, only 22 percent believed the Philippines is in the wrong path, while 3 percent of the 1,500 adult respondents did not give an answer. The strong public appreciation was seen in the rise of survey numbers in all geographic areas, particularly in Metro Manila where it increased from 57 percent to 65 percent. Balance of Luzon registered an increase from 68 percent to 73 percent, followed by the Visayas from 66 percent to 69 percent, and Mindanao from 87 percent to 89 percent.

In Metro Manila, Duterte’s overall net trust rating rose by nine points from +42 to +51, while Balance of Luzon was up by 10 points from +50 to +60. It stayed at good +49 in the Visayas and stayed “excellent” in Mindanao, from +86 to +88.

The latest SWS survey showed that Duterte’s popularity had not diminished because he implemented what he promised, starting with his antidrugs campaign, his anticorruption efforts, and the “Build, Build, Build” program. Under this infrastructure program, the government is looking at 75 flagship projects, which include six airports, nine railways, three bus rapid transits, 32 roads and bridges, and four seaports that will help bring down the costs of production, improve rural incomes, encourage countryside investments, make the movement of goods and people more efficient, and create more jobs.

With about four more years in office, Duterte is in a good position to effect the changes he promised to the nation. For example, he can leverage his high approval ratings and his legislative clout to marshal the resources needed to finance and sustain the government’s economic plan.

Malacañang views the latest SWS survey as a source of inspiration “to continue delivering the President’s promise of genuine and meaningful change in the government and to the nation.” Panelo said: “It has often been said that the first job of every good leader is to inspire trust, as such is essential to produce positive results. We assure everyone that, regardless of the ratings, there is no room for complacency in this branch of the government. The Duterte administration will persevere in implementing bolder reforms to make the bureaucracy more efficient and responsive to the needs of the people.”

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Telecommuting: The future of work?

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

A

S the country waits for President Duterte to sign into law the “work-from-home” bill or Telecommuting Act of 2017, many workers are excited about the changes that this new legislation, if and when implemented, will bring into their professional and personal lives. Under this bill, an employee in the private sector can work from an alternative workplace, such as his/her home or coffee shop, with the help of technology (laptop, Internet, mobile phone, etc.). It will be the employers’ prerogative, however, whether or not they will allow their employees to telecommute.

There are many advantages that I see here. One is the opportunity for the employee to save time because there is no need to commute to and from a physical office. The hours one spends in a traffic gridlock can instead be spent working. Another

opportunity, for the employer, is the reduction of overhead costs and an expected higher productivity from the worker. These are, quite obviously, major gains for both parties. Sponsors of the bill are also optimistic that it will help ease Metro Manila’s traf-

fic congestion and contribute to the country’s economic growth.

Telecommuting or working from home may fall under what we call the “gig economy,” which is actually also a subset of the sharing economy.

(A lot of it remains to be seen and would also depend largely on the mutual agreement between worker and employer.) The gig economy is an environment where people work for themselves and deliver their services for clients or employers on either a part-time or full-time basis. It has been said many times that freelancing/telecommuting/self-employment is the future of work. There are those who agree with this, but there are also many who have said that it is not so.

On the local front, the success or failure of the proposed law would, to a great extent, depend on the actual guidelines that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will create. The bill’s sponsors have said that a telecommuting pilot program in select industries will be estab-

lished for about three years to enable the DOLE to take a closer look at the pros and cons of the program within the local setting. Here are some of the areas of contention: Rate of pay, including overtime and night-shift differential, and other similar monetary benefits; Right to rest periods, regular holidays and special nonworking days; Equivalent workload and performance standards; Access to training and career development opportunities; Appropriate training on the technical equipment at their disposal, as well as the characteristics and conditions of telecommuting; and Collective rights, the same as what the workers at the employer’s premises enjoy.

The proposed law is apparently very promising. Hopefully, the guidelines to be created will protect the rights and welfare of workers, and that its implementation will enable all concerned to work towards the improvement of our economy.

Bomb suspect found identity in resentment

By Jack Healy, Julie Turkewitz & Richard A. Oppel Jr. New York Times News Service

A

VENTURA, Florida—Cesar Sayoc was a volatile nobody desperate to become a somebody.

He styled himself as a bodybuilder, entrepreneur, member of the Seminole tribe and exotic-dance promoter in the statushungry beachfront world of South Florida. In reality, Sayoc, a fervent supporter of President Donald J. Trump who has been charged with mailing pipe bombs to prominent Democrats, was a bankrupt loner who spewed anger and spent years living in and out of a van, according to court documents and interviews with people who knew him.

He went on racist, anti-gay tirades at the Fort Lauderdale pizza shop where he worked as a nightshift deliveryman in 2017, telling his manager, a lesbian, that she and other gay people along with Democrats should all be put onto an island and then “nuked.” At a reunion event in 2015 with his college soccer team, he browbeat former teammates with racist, sexist conspiracy theories.

And when Sayoc’s mother and sisters urged him to seek mental-health treatment, he furiously repelled their efforts and told his mother he hated her, said Ronald Lowy, a lawyer for the family who also represented Sayoc in a 2002 case in which he threatened to bomb an electric company during a dispute over a bill.

He refused to even listen when his mother reminded Sayoc that he was Filipino and Italian, not Seminole, Lowy said.

“He had tremendous anger slowly boiling up, and resentment, and felt ‘less than,’” Lowy said. “He lacked an identity. He created a persona.”

When they first met, Lowy said,

Sayoc brought in a scrapbook filled with notes and photographs he had collected from wrestlers, bodybuilders and strippers, table scraps from a world that he idolized.

Lowy said that Sayoc’s family members were Democrats and that Sayoc seemed to have no outspoken partisan views during the 2002 case.

But he said that Trump’s angry rhetoric and his appeals to the “forgotten man and woman” during the 2016 campaign seemed to strike a deep chord with Sayoc, whose father had abandoned the family when he was a child.

“He was looking for some type of parental figure and being a loner, being an outcast, being the kind of person Trump speaks to, I think he was attracted to Trump as a father figure,” Lowy said.

Sayoc registered as a Republican and posted photographs of himself wearing a “Make America Great Again Hat” at one of Trump’s rallies.

On Twitter and Facebook, he railed against former President Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey

with misspelled racial epithets, threatened former Vice President Joe Biden and praised Trump and conservative causes. His socialmedia feeds were an electronic version of the white van carted away by law-enforcement officials on Friday morning, which was covered in stickers praising Trump, condemning liberals and putting cross hairs over an image of Hillary Clinton.

In addition to the 2002 threat, Sayoc had a long criminal record of shoplifting and theft. Once he was arrested while carrying $19,000 in cash.

In May 2015 he told police that someone had broken into his van while he was working out at LA Fitness—where he had been showering—and stole about $45,000 worth of suits and costumes he needed for his business. It is unclear whether he actually had anything worth that much in the van, or whether he was making the report as pretext to make a false insurance claim.

Even then, he had an affinity for Trump: The Broward Sheriff’s Office report notes that of the 139 pieces he said were taken, 11 were the president’s clothing brand.

People who encountered Sayoc in recent years said their interactions were often angry or uncomfortable.

“He loved Adolf Hitler; he talked about Adolf Hitler a lot,” said Debra Gureghian, 56, a manager at the Fort Lauderdale pizza shop where Sayoc worked for about a year in 2017. “He would say, ‘I like his politics, we should have more people like him.’”

Sayoc went on paranoid, racist screeds, saying that blacks and His-

panics were taking over the world. He referred to Obama with a racist slur and said he was not a citizen. Years before he ran for office, Trump falsely claimed Obama was not a US citizen.

Gureghian was familiar with Sayoc’s white van, but she was not sure if he was living in it. Once when it was raining, she accepted his offer to drive her home although she was nervous, unsure if she was safe.

Teresa Palmer, 48, another manager, said that she also recalled the van, and that Sayoc would say “nasty things” about minorities. She remembered him mentioning Trump, but only recalled him saying that Trump made a “great” president.

Sayoc left the pizza shop in January, telling colleagues he was going to work in long-haul trucking.

When Sayoc showed up to a dinner in 2015 honoring his soccer coach from Brevard College in North Carolina, his old teammates said they were glad to see him.

But the teammates said he quickly made clear he was a fanatical supporter of Trump, and bombarded them with racist and misogynist conspiracy theories.

“He was like, ‘America needs to be made great again, and I’m working on the upcoming presidential campaign to make sure we get the right people in office,’” said Eddie Tadlock, who was at the event. Tadlock said the political invective was clearly out of place at an event where former teammates were reliving their glory days on the soccer pitch.

“It was hateful stuff,” Tadlock said. “It didn’t resemble anything logical. He was saying things like, ‘Build See “Bomb,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

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Redesigning the accountancy curriculum of the Philippines

Dark side of digital and dopamine Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

Alfred Jean-Marie Borgonovo

DEBIT CREDIT

Conclusion

I

N the redesign of the accountancy curriculum, a significant amount of research was undertaken by the different stakeholders involved in the training and certification of accountants and auditors in the Philippines. Discussions and information gathering were conducted through a range of global and regional organizations, some of which the Philippines is actively engaged in. These included the International Federation of Accountants, the Asean Federation of Accountants, and the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants.

Some of the factors and trends leading to the revised curriculum included the need for harmonization and integration with: n The Philippine Qualification Framework. n The Asean Qualifications Reference Framework. n Internationally recognized foreign qualifications (to facilitate Mutual Recognition Agreements). n The requirements of industry (to strengthen certain competencies of CPAs entering the job market).

A review of the global trends led to the conclusion that “one size does not fit all” and accountancy qualifications need to reflect the growing specialization of the accounting industry.

In June 2015, the Board of Accountancy (BOA) revised the subjects covered by the CPA Licensure Examination to the set presently in place.

After a series of consultations, which included a series of public meetings around the country, four different yet related accounting programs at the bachelor level were established.

These are: n The revised BS in Accountancy for the CPA track; n BS in Management Accounting for the management accounting track; n BS in Internal Audit for the governance, risk, and compliance track; and n BS in Accounting Information Systems for the information and technology track.

In addition to these changes in the accountancy education at the university level, it is also envisioned that there will also be a reformatting of the professional licensure examination process. The licensure examination of the future will include two levels of tests.

The graduates of the four accounting programs will have to take the firstlevel Certified Accountant (CA) examination. This examination consists of five core accounting subjects, to include financial accounting reporting, advanced financial accounting reporting, management advisory services, taxation and regulatory framework for business transactions. The examinees will have to pass this CA examination to work or practice accountancy. The passers of the CA examination will be authorized to work as accountants in the government, public practice and private sector, except to sign auditor’s certifications and to teach as accounting educators.

It is proposed that a second-level Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Professional Accountant examination can be completed, after three years of meaningful work experience, depending on the educational specialization or attainment of candidates.

There will be a CPA examination for each of the four accountancy courses or specialization. Once the examinees have passed the CPA exam, they can now be signatories of the external audit certification, while passers of the Certified

‘Bomb’. . .

continued from A10

a wall to keep all the Mexicans out,’ and it immediately turned me off.”

“If you want to have a dialogue about politics and policy, there’s a way to go about it, but the way he took the conversation was completely off course,” he added.

A few days later, Sayoc sent Tadlock a friendly congratulatory mes-

Professional or Public Accountant exams can qualify as accounting teachers.

The BOA also proposed to put emphasis on certain topics that are common to all examination subjects. These topics shall be categorized as “updates on special concerns” with an allotment of at least 10 percent of the examination questions. These topics are: 1. Globalization trends 2. Digital information technology trends 3. Governance and ethics 4. Regulatory requirements and considerations 5. Effective business communication The policies, standards and guidelines for the four undergraduate degree programs were published as Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Orders 27 to 30 in March 2017.

The memorandum orders are comprehensive and adopt an outcomesbased approach. They include a detailed study program, provide detailed guidelines on the means of curriculum delivery, and mandate internship and research requirements. The prescribed competencies in the revised IESs provide a foundation to the curriculum for the four accounting programs. A capstone examination requirement is to be included in the revised curriculum, at least 400 hours practicum with research to address practical experience as part of graduates’ Initial Professional Development, as well as a professional designation tied to each speciality.

The orders also provide guidelines on the resources required and address availability of a library, laboratory and other physical facilities. The qualifications and teaching load of faculty members, as well as CPD requirements for faculty and other staff are also addressed. The memorandum orders also provide a benchmark for the CHED’s ongoing monitoring and evaluation of Higher Education Institutions.

The four specialized accounting programs are to be offered starting 20182019 School Year.

The proposed licensure examinations consisting of both the CA and CPA examinations are anticipated to start by year 2023.

Alfred Jean-Marie Borgonovo is Senior Financial Management Specialist, Centre for Financial Reporting Reform, World Bank. Alfred is a Certified Professional Accountant and has provided consultancy services to the Board of Accountancy.

Background: The Centre for Financial Reporting Reform of the World Bank One will be releasing the “Guide to Implement Competency Based Accounting Education and Certification” by the end of 2018.

Included in this publication is an article on the Philippine experience, which was written with inputs from former Chairman of the Board of Accountancy Joel Tan-Torres.

This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

sage on Facebook, but soon started barraging Tadlock with sexist, racist messages that were “off-the-charts crazy” and said that Trump would be the savior of the United States.

“I mean, I’m African-American, and he’s sending me racist stuff?

And sexist stuff, and misogynistic stuff—you name it. He was saying Trump is going to be ‘The Godfather’ who corrects all of it, and I was like, ‘You’re out of your freaking mind.’ I unfriended him immediately.”

Monday, October 29, 2018 A11

A

T the beginning of each class, I tell my students that my pet peeve is seeing digital devices—whether smartphone or laptop—being used during classroom discussions. In my earlier and stricter days of teaching, I asked one student to step out of the room when I heard his mobile phone make that familiar sound of an incoming text message. A few years ago, I allowed students to use their laptops in class, considering the obvious advantages of taking down notes using digital technology. But when I caught a student watching a YouTube video while I was engaged in a grueling recitation with her classmate, I banned digital devices in the classroom. Multitasking, or doing many things at the same time, has a dark side to it. Accidents, for instance, happen when people drive and text. Digital technology can do more harm than good when improperly managed.

I dare say that multitaskers are dysfunctional since they think they can accomplish more by doing more at the same time. They are wrong! I see most of my students studying in busy coffee shops, some with their headsets. In the corporate world, I see a number of participants listening to presentations and, at the same time, glued to their laptops. I hardly see a meeting these days with focused attention, as multitasking has become a norm. But what these multitaskers fail to take into account is that the human brain can effectively process data only from one channel. The human brain processes data sequentially, unlike computers that can actually process data simultaneously. Unfortunately, multiple processors cannot serve the cognitive functions of the human brain. Nor can the brain be

programmed in such a way that it can accurately process information from different channels simultaneously.

The human brain is designed to focus on one thing at a time. Bombarding the brain with information from all available channels at the same time only slows it down and, worse, makes it digest the information erroneously. For a person to absorb information accurately, he must first understand that the human brain, while complex, only operates with a single processor.

Armed with a neuroscience and computer science degree, Brad Huddleston, a Christian preacher, speaker and author of technology books such as Digital Cocaine and Dark Side of Technology, has been sharing stories of the unintended consequences of going digital. Video gamers and users of social media initially get a healthy

dose of dopamine, a chemical that helps control what human beings desire. But once addicted to these gadgets, these gamers get an overload of dopamine until the pleasure center in their brains get used to it. When we eat food that we like or be in the company of people we enjoy, our bodies naturally produce dopamine. It is the brain’s motivation and pleasure igniters. Injection of cocaine can also immediately stimulate high levels of dopamine. While any excess of this chemical is the cause of all forms of addiction, dopamine is nonetheless needed to develop cognitive abilities such as memory, attention and problem solving. According to Huddleston, too much dopamine can eventually make the pleasure center in our brain numb. And when this happens, Huddleston says our brain will naturally yearn for more. Hence, we get addicted to whatever activity boosting our dopamine levels, whether it’s cocaine or digital gadgets.

Multitasking is an offshoot of the busyness in our lives. Perhaps for mundane things, we can multitask effectively. Without a doubt, digital technologies allow us to multitask, which is good on its face. We feel more productive whenever we do things at the same time. But some studies have shown that the simple fact of being aware that there is an unread e-mail or text message in our tablet can actually reduce our focus levels and keep us distracted. One recent study revealed that employees spend 28 percent of their workweek checking e-mails. Texting is even worse since it demands more immediacy than e-mail. There is a need to defend ourselves from this multitasking habit by perhaps establishing an e-mail checking schedule or, as in my

case, banning these digital devices inside the classroom. I have yet to see any corporate meeting when all participants are 100 percent engaged or totally focused on the items on the agenda.

In our prayer life, we also multitask. Some people pray while driving. I pray in the mornings while I think of the numerous tasks at hand in the office. But my Christian mentors recently taught me that effective prayers are done when we are focused. In the Bible, Matthew 6:6 tells us, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” In the same way multitasking in the office makes it more difficult for us to organize our thoughts and properly filter information. This adversely affects the quality of our work. In the same way, multitasking while praying prevents us from truly understanding His Word and genuinely feeling His presence. When we pray, we should give Him our undivided attention.

As I reviewed the résumé of some job applicants, I cannot help but notice that quite a few of them indicated “multitasking” as one of their strengths. As I have discovered lately, multitasking, especially through the use of digital devices, allows us to absorb as much information there is, although inaccurately. Let’s put a stop to this habit before it mentally massacres us. We make more mistakes in life whenever our brains are trying to absorb much information.

This is the dark side of digital technology and of too much dopamine.

For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

Harvard’s other controversial admissions policy

I

By Stephen Mihm | Bloomberg Opinion

T’S no secret why conservatives are lending financial and political support to the Asian-Americans suing Harvard for discrimination in admissions. They want to kill affirmative action and replace it with a “race-blind” system.

Spare us. If you want to destroy discrimination in college admissions, underrepresented minorities are small fry. Instead, the biggest favors are showered on the children of alumni, who are five times more likely to gain admission than those without a Harvard bloodline. Indeed, at a trial in federal court in Boston this week, the plaintiffs who are accusing the elite college of discrimination suggested that abolishing socalled legacy preferences could be a way to widen the applicant pool and keep the student body diverse, even without affirmative action.

“Legacy students” now make up almost a third of the incoming class at Harvard, with comparable numbers at other elite universities. How that came to pass is a strange story that raises profound questions about the function and future of highereducation admissions.

The first school to grapple with the problem of legacy students in the 19th century was the US Military Academy. Founded in 1802, it swiftly grew, but capped the size of incoming classes, making admission increasingly selective.

In 1818, Congress debated a bill that would have given the sons of veterans killed in the War of 1812 preferential treatment in admissions to West Point. It elicited intense opposition. One congressman declared that it would “create a privileged order in the country,” while another warned that such a policy would thwart the academy’s mission to select only “the most fit and most worthy.” The bill died.

Nonetheless, fears that admissions might be rigged dogged the institution. In 1841, Alden Partridge, the former superintendent, warned that West Point was creating an aristocracy that “has already become, in a great degree, hereditary.”

In 1843, Congress stipulated that every congressional and territorial district could send one stu-

dent to West Point. The applicants had to be nominated by members of Congress, and in succeeding decades, many politicians began administering competitive exams to potential beneficiaries, making admissions far more selective and meritocratic.

By contrast, private colleges and universities did not confront the problem of legacy students because anyone who could meet certain standards—mastery of Greek and Latin, among other requirements—gained admission. Like a literacy test for voting, this ensured that non-elites almost never applied, effectively guaranteeing that the children of alumni would have a place. This was particularly true because most schools did not cap the size of entering classes.

Legacy admissions began, ironically enough, out of efforts to make Harvard more inclusive. In the late 19th century, the university’s patrician president, Charles W. Eliot, began to broaden the university’s admissions beyond the pool of elite, prep schools that supplied most of each year’s incoming class.

As the historian Jerome Karabel has noted, Eliot abolished the Greek requirement; he would later suspend the Latin requirement, too, under certain conditions. Soon, Harvard started to admit a growing number of boys from public schools who were allowed to compete for a growing number of scholarships that paid their tuition.

These efforts to raise standards of admission—to admit the best and the brightest rather than the “stupid sons of the rich,” as Eliot pungently put it—succeeded. Harvard became more inclusive, enrolling a growing number of talented students from a wide range of backgrounds.

But these efforts, eventually emulated by other private colleges and universities, had an unanticipated effect. Increasingly, Jewish public-

school students aced the exams and swept the scholarships, becoming an increasingly visible presence on campus.

The Protestant elites who ran elite schools wailed about the socalled Jewish problem, or what some called the “Hebrew invasion.”

They instituted quotas on the number of Jewish students admitted from certain schools, but this did not lower the number of Jewish students; it simply shifted the geographic distribution.

Nor did it assuage the alumni.

One graduate of Harvard reported returning a quarter century after graduation to find “Jews to the right of me, Jews to the left of me,” adding pointedly that “not one of these appeared to be of the same class as the few Jews that were in college in my day but distinctly of the class usually denominated ‘Kikes.’”

Sadly, he was hardly alone in his prejudice. As growing numbers of alumni threatened to send their precious sons elsewhere, Harvard abandoned admissions on scholarship alone, substituting a far more subjective process that evaluated personality traits and athletic ability. At the same time, the college instituted selective admission. It was no longer enough to ace an entrance exam; you had to have what prep school kids schooled in French would have described as a certain je ne sais quoi.

This move went hand in hand with an implicit or explicit policy of favoring the children of alumni. In 1925, for example, the Yale board of admissions voted that the new “limitation of numbers shall not operate to exclude any son of a Yale graduate who has satisfied all the requirements for admission.” A few years later, it codified this policy still further, requiring nonlegacy applicants to score higher on entrance exams.

Here and elsewhere, legacy students began to supplant Jewish students, a pattern that held into the postwar era. In 1949, for example, Wilbur Bender, the head of Harvard admissions, simply said that “we do discriminate in our admissions policy…and I hope we always will.”

And discriminate they did at all

the elite universities, giving special preference to legacy students while simultaneously forcing everyone else to vie for the remaining seats. But calls for a more inclusive study body from the 1960s onward prompted some universities to roll back the number of legacies admitted in order to build more diverse student body.

These policies, particularly those instituted at Princeton and Yale, sparked a bitter backlash among prominent alumni. William F. Buckley led the charge at Yale, mourning that the university had ceased to be “the kind of place where your family goes for generations.”

Buckley was particularly bemoaned that a “Mexican-American from El Paso High School with identical scores on the achievement tests and identically ardent recommendations from their headmasters, had a better chance of being admitted to Yale than Jonathan Edwards the Sixteenth from St. Paul’s School.”

Faced with a growing alumni rebellion—and unlike West Point, very much dependent on tuition dollars and donations—Yale and other universities backed down from attempts to roll back legacy admissions. Private universities would not be purely meritocratic institutions the way that the military academy became.

Instead, they adopted the strategy that remains in place today: Reserve a quarter to a third of seats for legacy students, with the remaining seats reserved for those who help achieve the kind of diversity and eclecticism that may be missing among alumni children.

These competing imperatives— admit enough legacy students to keep the alumni happy; admit enough nontraditional students to make a reasonable claim to being representative—will always be at war.

But it’s worth recalling that neither constituency existed before the first attempts to democratize these otherwise elitist institutions. Discrimination and inclusion have a shared history: they emerged almost simultaneously.

Lawsuits notw ithstanding, they’re likely to remain twinned for the foreseeable future.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Monday, October 29, 2018

41% of PHL SDG indices lack gender-related data

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

HE Philippines, along with other countries in Asia and the Pacific, lack data for 41 percent of gender-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UN Women.

In a report, Gender Equality and the Sustainable Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific: Baseline and Pathways for Transformative Change by 2030, the ADB and the UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) said the region only has data for 36 of the 85 gender-related SDG indicators.

The report, released by ADB and UN Women, will serve as the baseline study for the gender-related SDGs. It is considered as the first comprehensive review of the status of women and girls in Asia and the Pacific in the context of the SDGs. “Data and evidence can bring a deeper understanding of how gender discrimination and power relations exclude women [or men] from certain rights, institutions and privileges,” Regional Director of UN Women for Asia and the Pacific Anna-Karin Jatfors said in a statement.

“Overcoming deeply entrenched gender inequalities would not just improve the lives of women and girls. It would transform the world,

empowering everyone to realize their full potential and live a life of dignity,” she added.

In the case of the Philippines, there are no gender-disaggregated data for proficiency in reading and mathematics; gender parity in education and teachers; teacher training; and proportion of women who experienced physical or sexual abuse by a non-intimate partner per age group.

The list also includes the distribution of households responsible for water collection, by residence; deaths, affected and missing persons due to disasters and children who experienced physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers.

In some indicators, only gender-disaggregated data are missing for indicators such as population living below the national poverty line; proportion of households living below the national poverty line by household head; urban or rural residence of stunted, wasted, and overweight male and female children; and the pro-

portion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work.

Also missing among supposedly gender-disaggregated data are: the distribution of total landowners; proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone; proportion of children aged 5 to 17 years engaged in labor; average hourly earnings of employees; and proportion of population using the Internet, among others.

“It underscores the urgency to improve the production and use of gender statistics for implementing and monitoring the SDGs at the country level. The report uses available data in 57 countries and territories, helping to establish a baseline for governments to monitor and focus efforts on the genderequality commitments where they are most lagging,” the ADB said in a statement.

T he A DB s a id add ressi ng gender-equality gaps and catalyzing progress toward the SDGs in the region means tackling four transformative policy areas promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights; reducing and redistributing unpaid care and domestic work; ending violence against women and girls; and empowering women to cope with climate change and disaster risks.

The Manila-based multilateral development bank said there is a need to invest in these areas. Through these investments, ADB said, the region will improve the lives of women and girls and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. The ADB said that, while Asia and the Pacific has made progress in some areas of gender equality, as many as 1 in 2 women has ex-

perienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in the past 12 months. Women and girls also spend as much as 11 times more of their day than men and boys on unpaid care and domestic work.

However, ADB said some countries in the region have the highest incidence of “missing women” in the world due to discriminatory practice that favor sons, while progress in reducing maternal mortality rate has also been uneven.

Further, Asia and the Pacific is the only region globally where the gender gap in labor-force participation is increasing. Women also remain underrepresented in decision-making and leadership roles with fewer than 1 in 5 parliamentarians in Asia and the Pacific being women.

“Gender equality must be addressed in its own right and as a catalyst of progress across the SDGs,” said ADB Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono. “The findings and recommendations in the report provide an opportunity to overcome deeply entrenched gender inequality through transformative change and support progress towards sustainable development in all dimensions: economic, social and environmental.”

The report highlights the remaining challenges facing women and girls and how improving their situation can help achieve the SDGs. Under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, achieving gender equality is both a standalone goal (Goal 5) and a priority across the 16 other social, economic and environmental goals, such as ending poverty and ensuring education for all.

DTI seeks ITH period of 5 yrs in ‘Trabaho’ bill

Under the Trabaho bill, the ITH shall be granted for a period not exceeding three years. ITH in Singapore can be availed of for up to 15 years; in Malaysia, for up to 10 years; in Vietnam, for up to eight years; and in Indonesia, from five to 20 years depending on the amount of investment.

The DTI also wants the domestic input expense incentive prolonged for five years after the ITH period. This is to encourage exporters to purchase their raw materials locally, which, in turn, will create a supply chain.

The domestic input expense incentive allows an enterprise up to 50-percent additional deduction for locally sourced goods used in its export activity.

“Currently, many of our industries are performing low-value, back-end processes in the value chain, and to be able to upgrade and move up the value chain, we need to grow our domestic supply of materials, parts and components, similar to what success-

Chinese trains. . .

“We have done a lot of assessments to ensure that these trains are safe. We have addressed all of the issues at no cost to the government,” Batan said.

So far, one train set—consisting of three coaches—has been deployed for commercial service. The 45 other cars are still undergoing assessment and validation procedures but will be “gradually deployed once cleared.”

To recall, the Aquino administration jump-started the acquisition of 48 new train cars for the Edsa line. It faced several years of delay due to a legal tussle with

fully manufacturing countries, like Thailand and China, and now Vietnam, have done.

“The lack of materials and intermediate parts and components is a major gap in most of our industries, and incentives have an important role to play in addressing the issue of missing markets,” the document read.

Limiting the domestic input expense incentive to less than five years could hinder the Philippines from growing and developing new and high value-added exports, which puts it at risk of incurring higher trade deficits in the future, the DTI said. The trade margin stood at $35 billion in 2017, it added.

Export threshold, import duties

THE trade department also proposed to reduce the export threshold—to 70 percent from 90 percent—that is required to qualify for VAT exemption on importation and VAT zero-rating on domestic purchases of capital equipment and raw materials. Only those

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the owner of the train facility, MRT Corp.’s parent company, MRT Holdings Inc. Despite having received the first set of trains in early-2016, the government deferred deployment of the new coaches because all 48 light-rail vehicles had to be “optimized and tested.”

Onboard signaling was amiss from the train, and was only procured midway through the construction of the 48 train units.

The onboard signaling system was only installed in the trains in November 2016. The initial batch of trains should

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whose ex port sales meet the 90-percent threshold can benefit from the VAT incentives under the Trabaho bill.

Moreover, the DTI argued it is but proper to perpetually exempt economic zone locators from import duties, similar to those operating in free-port areas.

“It is inherent in the export zones that duties of raw materials be exempt, as the goods will eventually be exported. Providing for only five years of this incentive to economic zones will adversely affect the price competitiveness of our exports,” the document read.

The DTI also recommended that existing investors be allowed to continue with the availment of their ITH for the remainder of the incentive, as indicated in their certificate of registration. It pointed out that limiting or reducing the incentives granted under their contracts could constitute a breach, which can later on be elevated as a treaty breach.

The one-stop-shop character

of economic zones and free ports must also be maintained, the DTI argued, by providing the local government its share during the corporate income-tax (CIT) period of a registered firm. This is intended to promote ease of doing business and keep any unnecessary intervention away from the operations of an enterprise.

Last, the trade department wants to delete the provision giving the finance chief the exclusive and original jurisdiction to interpret the provisions on incentives. It explained this is counterproductive to the function of the Board of Investments to formulate the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan and the mandate of investment promotion agencies to administer incentives to qualified activities.

The controversial Trabaho bill will gradually reduce CIT down to 20 percent in 2029, from 30 percent on one hand, and rationalize incentives granted to investors on the other.

have been deployed in March of the same year, based on original targets.

After these problems were settled, the transportation department wanted to deploy the 48 trains in March 2017; however, it failed to do so after groups raised issues on the train’s weight.

The whole expansion projec t, amounting to P3.8 billion, will increase the capacity of the line to 880,000 daily passengers from a rate capacity of 350,000 commuters per day.

for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the 18-year-old line.

Since October 15, a Japanese contingency team from the two companies had been deployed to the train line for advance transition works.

“The problem with the MRT 3 is not just the lack of trains, but we also have problems on the old trains, the trails, old signaling systems and many others. We have a lot of issues to address, that is why we adopted a single point of responsibility policy, wherein one service provider will oversee everything,” Batan said.

Sumitomo and Mitsubishi designed and built the MRT 3 in 2000.

The new contract for the Japanese

Help from Japan BATAN noted that solving this issue also paved the way for the tapping of Sumitomo and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

www.businessmirror.com.ph

OIL FIRMS ROLL BACK PRICES FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE WEEK

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

F

OR the third consecutive week, oil firms implemented a price rollback as international oil prices fell last week.

The first to implement a price cut was Phoenix Petroleum, which reduced gasoline prices by P1.65 per liter and diesel by P0.60 per liter. This took effect at 6 a.m. of Saturday after it was announced on Friday evening.

Phoenix led the price cut “in order for motorists to enjoy lower pump prices.”

Seaoil Philtippines, meanwhile, adjusted its pump prices effective 12:01 a.m. of October 28. It reduced gasoline by P1.65 per liter, diesel

by P0.60 per liter and kerosene by P0.65 per liter.

Petron Corp., Total Philippines and PTT Philippines said on Saturday that they will reduce gasoline price by P1.50 per liter, P0.60 per liter for diesel and P0.65 per liter on kerosene effective 6am of October 29.

Other oil firms are expected to follow suit.

During the October 15 to 19 trading days, Dubai crude prices had declined week-on-week by

Locsin. . .

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for our engagement with China,” Locsin said in his remarks.

“May this be a continued testament to an immemorial friendship, to a robust and interconnected relationship, and to sustained interactions between the Philippines and China as we promote our common goals to the mutual benefit of both our great nations,” he added.

In his remarks, Locsin said he was pleased at the positive turnaround and vigorous momentum in Philippines-China relations.

“The Philippines has always been a friend of China,” the secretary said as he recalled how he broke through the Western news embargo on China in 1967 to see for himself and tell the world of the progress that China had made.

Deposits. . .

almost $3.00 per barrel. MOPS gasoline and diesel prices also went down per barrel by around $4.90 and $ 2.10, respectively.

Some of the factors affecting crude oil prices include an unexpectedly strong buildup in US crude stockpiles, traders becoming more confident about the availability of supplies toward the end of the year and into early-2019; and Iran’s exports not declining as much as predicted a couple of months ago even after US sanctions are reimposed next month.

Last week, oil firms implemented a price cut of P1.85 to P2 per liter in gasoline, P0.50 per liter in diesel and P0.90 per liter in kerosene.

Prior to this, oil firms reduced gasoline prices by a range of P0.80 to P0.85 per liter, diesel prices by P0.60 to as much P0.65 per liter and kerosene, by P0.20 per liter.

The price reductions followed the rise in diesel prices by a total of P5.85 per liter, gasoline by P5.05 per liter and kerosene by P4.65 per liter in the period from August 14 to October 9.

The rise in petroleum prices over the past weeks was traced to the current global situation where international political and economic factors are at play.

“We have since enhanced our dialogue and consensus on many levels,” he said. “Our practical cooperation in many areas is reaping an early harvest of tangible benefits.”

Locsin said he is looking forward to discussing with State Councilor Wang on Monday ways to further advance Philippines-China relations through cooperation in various areas.

These areas include trade, investments, infrastructure, tourism, agriculture, and education, science and technology, anti-terrorism, anti-narcotics, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

This is the first time Wang is visiting Davao.

Davao is known for its strategic location and connectivity, a gateway to the rich resources and culture of Mindanao. It also accounts for 40 percent of Chinese fruit imports from the Philippines. Recto L. Mercene

“This broadly indicates a stable funding source for the banking system,” the BSP said.

By type of deposits, savings deposits grew by 8.1 percent and was still the biggest source of banks’ total deposits, with a share of 47.2 percent as of endJune 2018.

“This type of deposits is considered inherently stable as it is not particularly sensitive to adverse changes in the bank’s profile,” the BSP said.

Meanwhile, time certificate of deposits rose 10.2 percent, demand

deposit grew 13.2 percent and Long Term Negotiable Certificate of Deposit (LTNCDs) registered an expansion of 40.9 percent.

“The double-digit growth in demand and time deposits may be attributed to the reduction in reserve requirement ratios by 200 basis points starting March 2018,” the BSP said.

Bank deposits—or the money placed by bank customers in banking institutions for safekeeping—provide the funding base and serve as major determinant of domestic credit extended to the rest of the economy.

These deposits are at the core of banks’ financial intermediation functions. Bianca Cuaresma

entities’ roles is included in the loan agreement between Tokyo and Manila that will be signed in “early-November,” ahead of the Philippines-Japan High Level Joint Committee on Infrastructure and Economic Development in Manila next month.

Japan is extending a hand to help fix the train system through a P16.98-billion loan facility, which will be used to cover the railway line’s trains, power-supply system, overhead catenary system, radio system, CCTV system, public address system, signaling system, rail tracks, road-rail vehicles, depot equipment, elevators and escalators, and other station building equipment. Tentatively, the

whole deal will take about three-and-ahalf years—31 months for the simultaneous rehabilitation and maintenance works to restore train system to its original design condition and capacity, and a year for the defect liability period.

For his part, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said his people are“working double time to fast-track improvements” to be done for the train line.

“We have no right to be exhausted,” he said.

Currently, the MRT 3 operates with 16 working trains daily, serving roughly 350,000 passengers per day. The government wants to increase this to 600,000 passengers daily.

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Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, October 29, 2018

B1

SC gets petition to nullify PLDT/Globe co-use deal

A

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

PETITION has been filed before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to declare as invalid the “co-use agreement” between telecommunications giants PLDT Inc./Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecoms covering the 700 megahertz (MHz) broadcast frequency and several sets of telecom frequencies previously awarded to San Miguel Corp.’s telecommunications unit Liberty Broadcasting Network now named Tori Spectrum Telecom Inc. and later to Bell Telecommunications Inc., a subsidiary of Vega Telecommunications Inc.

Sales of Thai cement company surges 50% to ₧5.09 billion in Q3

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

H

IGHER demand for cement and construction materials due to the “Build, Build, Build” program has bolstered the sales of Thailand-based Siam Cement Group (SCG) in the Philippines by nearly 50 percent.

SCG’s sales in the country from July to September expanded 46 percent to P5.09 billion, from P3.48 billion during the same period last year. This put its total sales in the Philippines at P14.29 billion after three quarters, 34 percent better than the previous year’s P10.62 billion.

SCG said the country continues to post growth in the building materials industry due to the growing demand for cement and construction items needed to put up infrastructure projects listed under the Build, Build, Build program.

SCG’s sales in Southeast Asia—excluding Thailand—in the third quarter amounted to P50.12 billion, which is 25 percent of the cement company’s total revenue of P198.76 billion for the period. The figure is representative of its local operations in each Southeast Asian economy, as well as imports from its Thailand production.

SCG President and CEO Roongrote Rangsiyopash said the firm saw an increase in revenue from all business units due to favorable market conditions. However, profit went down due to rising cost of raw materials, coincided by the escalating trade tension between the United States and China.

“SCG’s operating results for [the third quarter] and [from January to September] 2018 showed an increase in revenue in all business units due to improved overall market conditions, higher demand of cement and building materials from Thailand and foreign investment projects by public and private sectors, consistent market demands in chemical and packaging business, though the profit was dropped from higher raw materials and energy costs, together with global trade slowdown and asset impairments write-down,” Rangsiyopash said. Profit for the third quarter fell 20 percent to P15.36 billion, from P19.23 billion during the same period last year. This was largely owed by SCG to asset impairment charges of P2.7 billion in accordance with accounting standards and higher naphtha costs, which surged with global crude prices.

NGCP building ₧4.27-billion transmission facility in Aklan

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

HE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is constructing a transmission facility in Aklan province worth P4.27 billion to secure the stability and continuous flow of power to residents and businesses in the area.

The construction of its Nabas-Caticlan-Boracay 138-kiloVolt (kV) transmission line project is expected to be completed by March 2021. The grid operator said last week it wants to reinforce its power transmission services in the province, currently being served by a single 69-kV line.

The Aklan Electric Cooperative (Akelco) said Boracay Island is projected to see continuous growth in power consumption. Thus, an additional power transmission avenue must be built. The new line will traverse through the municipalities of Nabas and Malay.

The project includes the construction of a new 138-kV submarine cable between Caticlan and Boracay in order to support the existing line and to increase the resiliency of the transmission system to and from the island.

An underground 69-kV transmission line from Boracay to Manoc-Manoc, and another 138-kV transmission line from Caticlan to Nabas will also be built to add to the amount of power flowing to these areas, and secure the integrity of the transmission system.

The NGCP will also simultaneously upgrade its Nabas and Boracay substations to accommodate the increase in power capacity.

On October 1 NGCP also met with Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu to ask his support not only for the Nabas-Caticlan-Boracay project and the upgrade of the Nabas and Boracay Substations, but also for the expedition of environmental permits, such as environmental compliance certificates, tree-cutting permits, and special land-use permits for critical projects, such as the Cebu-Negros-Panay Transmission Line Project and the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project.

In a 48-page petition for mandamus, lawyers Joseph Lemuel Baligod Baquiran and Ferdinand Tecson also asked the High Court to order the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to revoke the agreement and to make the frequencies available to other players.

The petitioners insisted the assignment of the frequencies to the two telco giants was invalid and unconstitutional.

They also sought the issuance of temporary restraining order (TRO) to enjoin and restrain PLDT/Smart and Globe from further using the 700MHz broadcast frequency and the following telecom frequencies: 2540-2545 MHz, 2580-2595 MHz, 2535-2540 and 2565-2580 MHz. The petitioners also asked the SC to prohibit the NTC from bidding out or awarding some frequencies

ostensibly returned by the twotelecom giants “in consideration of the approval of the co-use agreement to any entity until the SC resolves with finality the constitutional and legal issues raised by the petitioners in this case.”

PLDT/Smart and Globe acquired last year the said broadcast and telecom frequencies after purchasing, on a 50-50 basis, all the issued and outstanding shares of stock of SMC’s Vega Telecom for about P70 billion.

The petitioners argued the assignment of the controversial 700 MHz frequency to the PLDT/Globe duopoly by the NTC was illegal and unconstitutional because under the legislative franchise given to Liberty Broadcasting Network Inc. in 2012, the frequency was intended for television broadcasting and not

for telecommunications.

“Despite that respondent Liberty was no longer engaged in broadcasting business and despite the underutilization or, worse, non-utilization at all of the conditionally assigned said frequencies within the prescribed period, respondent Liberty

continued to illegally hoard the said 700 MHz broadcast frequency,” they lamented.

“Worse, respondent NTC unlawfully neglected to recall the said frequencies conditionally and illegally assigned to respondent Liberty,” the petitioners said.

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Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, October 29, 2018

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 26, 2018

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

ASIA UNITED 58.2 58.5 58.5 58.5 58.2 58.5 3550 207660 58500 BDO UNIBANK 114.3 115 118 118 113.1 115 2377240 272831080 -127920209 BANK PH ISLANDS 81 81.35 82.35 82.35 81 81.35 1695530 137567555.5 -99318602.5 CHINABANK 27.95 28.15 28.25 28.25 27.95 27.95 186400 5221635 2960 EAST WEST BANK 11.42 11.46 11.7 11.7 11.38 11.42 918400 10536404 -893810 METROBANK 65.05 65.3 66 66 64.3 65.3 2800310 182054577 -104509539 PHIL NATL BANK 40.7 40.8 41.35 41.35 40.8 40.8 24000 981060 -730860 PSBANK 72.05 76.15 71.3 71.3 71.3 71.3 10 713 PHILTRUST 104.6 108.9 105.2 105.2 104.1 104.1 540 56258 RCBC 28 28.5 27.8 28.85 27.8 28.5 19300 541780 SECURITY BANK 137.5 137.7 144 144 137.5 137.5 1144160 159186057 -43934835 UNION BANK 65.9 66.2 65.9 65.9 65.9 65.9 3000 197700 -54038 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.33 1.43 1.33 1.4 1.33 1.4 24000 32900 31500 BDO LEASING 2.25 2.43 2.43 2.43 2.43 2.43 10000 24300 COL FINANCIAL 15.14 15.8 15.8 15.8 15.8 15.8 300 4740 FERRONOUX HLDG 3.91 4.05 4.12 4.12 3.91 4.1 4000 16040 MEDCO HLDG 0.465 0.48 0.485 0.485 0.465 0.465 180000 85100 NTL REINSURANCE 0.86 0.87 0.9 0.91 0.86 0.87 131000 117050 -53300 PHIL STOCK EXCH 185.1 190 188.4 190 185 190 2260 418995 139390

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.25 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 12000 15240 ABOITIZ POWER 32.6 33 33.7 33.7 32.5 33 566100 18614690 -12226545 BASIC ENERGY 0.21 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.209 0.22 570000 120100 ENERGY DEVT 6.8 6.95 7.3 7.3 6.95 6.95 31300 221465 -105712 FIRST GEN 15.98 16 16.18 16.22 15.98 16 235400 3767462 -669372 FIRST PHIL HLDG 63.75 64.4 64.4 64.5 63.75 63.75 22510 1442160.5 305648.5 PHIL H2O 4.5 4.65 4.52 4.76 4.46 4.76 56000 253640 -18600 MERALCO 351.8 352 351 353 346.8 352 135980 47612636 7111896 MANILA WATER 25 25.3 25 25.4 25 25 65800 1652510 -103965 PETRON 8.14 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.13 8.2 812400 6,626,644( 2,057,881.9998) PETROENERGY 4.06 4.24 4.12 4.12 4.11 4.11 14000 57550 PHINMA ENERGY 0.95 0.96 0.99 0.99 0.96 0.96 747000 725620 -8910 PHX PETROLEUM 10.42 10.7 10.76 10.8 10.38 10.72 301700 3181542 PILIPINAS SHELL 48.5 48.8 49.5 49.5 48.5 48.5 509400 24769530 -23178910 SPC POWER 5.19 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.18 5.2 55400 287286 15600 AGRINURTURE 17.96 18 18 18.1 17.88 18.1 1412600 25470262 12860492 CNTRL AZUCARERA 16.24 17 16.2 17 16.16 17 1400 22908 CENTURY FOOD 13.24 13.28 13.22 13.3 13.22 13.22 606300 8015524 -16096 DEL MONTE 6.7 7 6.8 7 6.79 7 2200 15054 DNL INDUS 10.88 10.9 10.9 10.9 10.76 10.88 2556100 27735522 10841534 EMPERADOR 6.99 7 6.9 7 6.85 6.99 546700 3809009 -1782346 SMC FOODANDBEV 82.55 83 83 83 82 83 1360280 112,509,394( 63,317,168.5001) ALLIANCE SELECT 0.91 0.92 0.97 0.97 0.91 0.91 7458000 6967980 -140590 GINEBRA 23.5 24.5 24.3 24.5 23.8 24.5 16500 398420 JOLLIBEE 260 262 261.6 262 255 262 469150 121399176 -23358646 MAXS GROUP 11.28 11.3 11.6 11.6 11.14 11.3 98900 1118134 -193390 MG HLDG 0.173 0.18 0.172 0.173 0.172 0.173 520000 89940 -1729.9999 PEPSI COLA 1.64 1.67 1.74 1.74 1.64 1.64 8000 13620 SHAKEYS PIZZA 10.8 10.9 10.98 11.08 10.9 10.9 53700 589342 -302960 ROXAS AND CO 2.2 2.24 2.24 2.24 2.17 2.18 113000 247050 RFM CORP 4.75 4.79 4.79 4.79 4.79 4.79 5000 23950 -23950 ROXAS HLDG 2.85 3.03 3.06 3.06 3.06 3.06 2000 6120 UNIV ROBINA 130 134 140 140 130 130 1823230 241828481 -47655075 VITARICH 1.55 1.56 1.55 1.63 1.54 1.55 7555000 11911320 445710 CEMEX HLDG 2.14 2.15 2.24 2.25 2.14 2.15 9819000 21291940 41730 DAVINCI CAPITAL 4.16 4.65 4.11 4.69 4.11 4.69 9000 38200 EAGLE CEMENT 14.88 14.98 14.9 15 14.9 14.98 10100 150518 EEI CORP 8.88 8.91 9 9.14 8.66 8.88 254000 2253829 -488943 HOLCIM 6.2 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 10500 65100 MEGAWIDE 17.38 17.4 17.32 17.78 17.02 17.4 5753000 99743100 3661537.9999 PHINMA 8.95 9.03 9 9.04 9 9 93600 842700 TKC METALS 0.88 0.94 0.97 0.97 0.88 0.94 17000 15110 VULCAN INDL 2.56 2.57 2.52 2.63 2.44 2.57 37094000 94263670 150040 CROWN ASIA 1.58 1.59 1.6 1.6 1.56 1.58 140000 221420 EUROMED 1.46 1.69 1.52 1.52 1.46 1.46 11000 16660 LMG CHEMICALS 4.81 4.85 4.81 4.82 4.8 4.82 132000 634440 PRYCE CORP 5.51 5.57 5.6 5.99 5.55 5.55 93500 520615 -515536 CONCEPCION 36.15 38 38 38 38 38 400 15200 -15200 INTEGRATED MICR 11.2 11.3 11.5 11.5 11.2 11.2 316800 3575704 74318 IONICS 1.61 1.62 1.7 1.71 1.61 1.62 1347000 2204400 64800 SFA SEMICON 1.49 1.55 1.52 1.57 1.48 1.55 241000 362420 CIRTEK HLDG 35.3 35.85 35.8 36 35.5 35.85 320600 11492170 -218380

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.455 0.46 0.495 0.495 0.45 0.46 82189000 38302155 392810 ASIABEST GROUP 25.3 25.85 26.05 26.1 25.25 25.85 21400 545835 -10545 AYALA CORP 889 890 900 900 885 890 215770 192011290 -108851035 ABOITIZ EQUITY 45.6 45.7 47.25 47.25 45.45 45.7 824800 37672995 -21188265 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 11.48 11.5 11.68 11.68 11.42 11.5 6117400 70333214 -39689954 ANSCOR 6.2 6.21 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 36600 226920 226920 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.76 0.88 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 2000 1560 ATN HLDG A 1.17 1.18 1.26 1.26 1.17 1.17 18003000 21524980 ATN HLDG B 1.19 1.2 1.24 1.24 1.2 1.2 3104000 3752400 826670 COSCO CAPITAL 6.85 6.9 6.92 6.92 6.6 6.85 1818700 12436983 4854340 DMCI HLDG 12 12.08 12.1 12.18 12 12.08 2911000 35065576 -6031392 FILINVEST DEV 7.08 7.23 7.22 7.23 7.22 7.23 200 1445 GT CAPITAL 777 785 784 785 740 785 68560 52487905 7606050 JG SUMMIT 47 47.4 48.4 48.4 46.5 47.4 1501200 71152835 -13793555 LODESTAR 0.52 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.52 0.54 101000 52660 LOPEZ HLDG 4.3 4.41 4.4 4.48 4.3 4.3 135000 591490 -229250 LT GROUP 14.56 14.64 14.5 14.64 14.12 14.64 7405800 107040514 18172360 MABUHAY HLDG 0.57 0.59 0.57 0.58 0.54 0.58 2990000 1671270 METRO PAC INV 4.74 4.77 4.8 4.8 4.65 4.77 27380000 129995290 -10235160 PACIFICA 0.037 0.038 0.037 0.038 0.037 0.038 8100000 301400 PRIME ORION 2.28 2.29 2.37 2.37 2.25 2.29 633000 1437690 45199.9999 PRIME MEDIA 1.15 1.16 1.16 1.16 1.15 1.15 82000 94470 SOLID GROUP 1.36 1.4 1.36 1.4 1.36 1.4 19000 26200 -2800 SYNERGY GRID 304 400 321.2 321.2 300 300 110 33612 SM INVESTMENTS 860 868 873 879.5 855 860 241250 207665385 -49031325 SAN MIGUEL CORP 156.8 159.8 155.5 159.8 155 159.8 181710 28686909 13230847 WELLEX INDUS 0.227 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.226 0.227 550000 125090 ZEUS HLDG 0.191 0.216 0.216 0.216 0.216 0.216 10000 2160

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.64 0.65 0.64 0.66 0.64 0.65 1527000 991410 ANCHOR LAND 11.28 11.9 11.44 11.5 11.44 11.5 37600 431764 AYALA LAND 37.95 38 39 39.05 38 38 17933500 686196330 -270607125 BELLE CORP 2.4 2.43 2.43 2.44 2.4 2.4 1741000 4191010 -1428670 A BROWN 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.76 0.76 881000 671840 CITYLAND DEVT 0.88 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.89 40000 35600 20470 CROWN EQUITIES 0.215 0.221 0.223 0.223 0.215 0.221 1030000 222040 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.3 4.4 4.38 4.4 4.3 4.4 334000 1452080 -95040 CENTURY PROP 0.41 0.415 0.42 0.42 0.41 0.41 2960000 1216700 CYBER BAY 0.385 0.4 0.39 0.39 0.385 0.385 390000 151900 DOUBLEDRAGON 19.38 19.4 19.7 19.7 19.4 19.4 709300 13818664 -794846 DM WENCESLAO 7.81 7.87 8 8.05 7.8 7.87 2857500 22423251 EMPIRE EAST 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.52 157000 81640 FILINVEST LAND 1.42 1.43 1.43 1.44 1.42 1.42 3145000 4472530 -171340 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.05 1.08 1.07 1.07 1.06 1.06 1144000 1214190 8990 HLDG 6.98 7.01 6.96 7.01 6.96 7.01 67400 472141 CITY AND LAND 0.92 0.94 0.9 0.92 0.9 0.92 16000 14620 -4500 MEGAWORLD 4.27 4.3 4.3 4.31 4.18 4.3 17374000 73805500 -15029160 MRC ALLIED 0.56 0.57 0.58 0.59 0.56 0.56 37586000 21420910 56000 PRIMEX CORP 3.17 3.19 3.18 3.2 3.11 3.19 908000 2854680 -126350 ROBINSONS LAND 20.5 20.6 20.65 20.65 19.78 20.5 2351200 47126455 15839552.0004 PHIL REALTY 0.4 0.41 0.4 0.41 0.4 0.41 640000 261100 -110700 ROCKWELL 1.91 1.93 1.94 1.95 1.9 1.93 141000 269990 72880 SHANG PROP 3.15 3.18 3.18 3.18 3.18 3.18 2000 6360 STA LUCIA LAND 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.14 1.1 1.13 600000 673260 -1140 SM PRIME HLDG 33.65 33.75 34.4 34.4 33.55 33.7 8383800 282871760 -109301010 STARMALLS 6.87 6.88 7.98 7.98 6.81 6.87 4307400 31010581 1128759 VISTA LAND 5.09 5.12 5.29 5.35 5.09 5.1 10145700 52098859 -28542728

SERVICES ABS CBN 21.4 21.45 21.5 21.6 21.35 21.45 47300 1019045 GMA NETWORK 5.09 5.13 5.15 5.15 5.1 5.13 177900 909569 MANILA BULLETIN 0.37 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 330000 135300 GLOBE TELECOM 2042 2050 2030 2052 2000 2050 66890 136352220 49439990 PLDT 1375 1380 1395 1395 1368 1380 55200 75999450 -36610470 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.038 0.039 0.04 0.04 0.039 0.039 2200000 86100 4000 DFNN INC 7.65 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.66 7.66 20500 157055 74287 IMPERIAL 1.81 2.1 1.9 1.95 1.9 1.95 4000 7700 ISLAND INFO 0.106 0.107 0.108 0.108 0.107 0.107 1350000 144680 -53500 JACKSTONES 2.97 3.22 3.06 3.29 3.06 3.23 29000 92240 NOW CORP 4.25 4.26 4.7 4.7 4.25 4.26 6650000 29225760 397470 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.5 0.51 0.52 0.53 0.5 0.5 28979000 14814360 3270 PHILWEB 3.27 3.28 3.4 3.4 3.26 3.27 440000 1461840 -9840 2GO GROUP 10.28 10.78 11.02 11.02 10.2 10.32 35100 367716 CEBU AIR 64.55 65.2 65.5 65.95 64.55 64.55 69920 4542906 -675914 CHELSEA 6.03 6.04 6.08 6.15 5.9 6.04 3542000 21367267 -221090 INTL CONTAINER 90.1 90.2 93.5 93.5 89.5 90.2 4328090 389823393.5 2704880 LBC EXPRESS 13.52 14.7 14.7 14.7 14.7 14.7 1900 27930 4410 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.82 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 134000 111220 MACROASIA 17.12 17.26 17.58 17.58 17.1 17.26 635400 11003860 3252111.9997 METROALLIANCE A 1.27 1.33 1.35 1.35 1.26 1.33 12000 15770 PAL HLDG 7.67 8.28 8.3 8.3 8.28 8.28 1400 11612 HARBOR STAR 2.77 2.78 2.83 2.92 2.77 2.78 3219000 9098120 -393660 WATERFRONT 0.57 0.58 0.61 0.61 0.57 0.58 919000 537260 FAR EASTERN U 890 900 900 900 900 900 110 99000 99000 STI HLDG 0.75 0.77 0.81 0.81 0.75 0.75 5382000 4143550 344270 BERJAYA 1.6 1.62 1.71 1.71 1.58 1.62 2649000 4359610 -200 BLOOMBERRY 7.99 8 8.16 8.23 7.97 8 7719300 62142630 -37186221 LEISURE AND RES 3.39 3.4 3.4 3.47 3.38 3.4 352000 1194840 -60 MANILA JOCKEY 5.4 5.45 5.45 5.45 5.34 5.4 59400 318875 MELCO RESORTS 7.01 7.02 7.07 7.08 7.02 7.02 7164800 50354755 -35465224 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.77 0.78 0.84 0.84 0.76 0.77 12065000 9596330 480270 TRAVELLERS 5.18 5.19 5.2 5.2 5.15 5.19 1592500 8251555 -3368252 METRO RETAIL 2.22 2.23 2.25 2.25 2.22 2.23 450000 1002900 -15630 PUREGOLD 40.5 41.9 41 41.9 39.9 41.9 293000 11,979,990( 4,244,185.0003) ROBINSONS RTL 78 78.5 79 79 77.5 78 617800 48186880 -12331850.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 105 108 109 109 105 105 285890 30026080 -13688 SSI GROUP 2.5 2.51 2.58 2.59 2.45 2.51 11316000 28468450 5382480 WILCON DEPOT 11 11.3 11.4 11.4 11 11.3 2335900 26441742 11516154 APC GROUP 0.43 0.435 0.45 0.455 0.43 0.43 790000 346750 EASYCALL 9.77 9.8 11.62 12 9.01 9.8 306700 3251774 -2039.9999 GOLDEN BRIA 306.8 316 313 320 300.8 316 7890 2452400 415186 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.345 0.36 0.365 0.365 0.345 0.345 750000 262500 SBS PHIL CORP 6.76 7.16 6.8 6.8 6.79 6.8 27100 184174

MINING & OIL ATOK 14.62 15 15.18 15.7 14.1 15 133300 2034742 12480 APEX MINING 1.71 1.73 1.64 1.83 1.6 1.71 34507000 60473280 -7262950 ABRA MINING 0.0022 0.0023 0.0023 0.0023 0.0022 0.0022 194000000 442100 -2200 ATLAS MINING 2.67 2.98 2.64 2.67 2.64 2.67 17000 45090 BENGUET A 1.11 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.3 11000 13790 BENGUET B 1.11 1.25 1.1 1.25 1.1 1.25 18000 20810 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.3 0.305 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 10000 3000 CENTURY PEAK 1.91 1.95 1.89 1.92 1.89 1.91 358000 684130 DIZON MINES 7.29 7.3 7.32 7.35 7.29 7.29 900 6583 FERRONICKEL 1.82 1.83 1.85 1.85 1.8 1.83 1744000 3168550 -78060 GEOGRACE 0.211 0.221 0.227 0.227 0.211 0.221 560000 121070 LEPANTO A 0.109 0.111 0.112 0.112 0.111 0.112 520000 58230 LEPANTO B 0.109 0.111 0.109 0.111 0.109 0.111 210000 22910 MANILA MINING A 0.0072 0.0073 0.0076 0.0076 0.0073 0.0073 12000000 88200 MANILA MINING B 0.006 0.0068 0.0072 0.0072 0.0068 0.0068 60000000 420000 68000 MARCVENTURES 1.23 1.3 1.29 1.34 1.29 1.3 160000 209870 NIHAO 1.01 1.05 1.05 1.06 1.02 1.06 62000 64030 -6350 NICKEL ASIA 2.61 2.65 2.71 2.71 2.6 2.61 755000 1991920 -505340 OMICO CORP 0.57 0.58 0.58 0.58 0.57 0.57 194000 111630 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.96 0.97 0.97 0.98 0.96 0.96 964000 927880 PX MINING 3.49 3.5 3.25 3.66 3.2 3.5 11107000 38887730 -11963520 SEMIRARA MINING 27.2 27.4 28.2 28.2 26.9 27.2 1304100 35542500 -856690 UNITED PARAGON 0.0062 0.0067 0.0067 0.0067 0.0062 0.0062 8000000 52600 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 2200000 27400 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 29300000 351600 PHINMA PETRO 4.02 4.18 4.19 4.25 4 4.18 170000 695340 PXP ENERGY 17.58 17.6 16.32 17.62 15.98 17.6 13613700 235034486 14146878

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 GLO PREF P LR PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

95.75 464.6 485.4 99.05 96.1 999.5 481 1.01 75.1 76.15 74.5 73.7 73.3 73

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

21.2 4.91

96.8 465 490 100 96.75 1000 489 1.02 75.8 76.95 75 74.95 74 73.45

96.8 465 487.6 99 96.75 976 489 1.01 75.1 76.15 74.5 74.25 73.45 73.6

96.8 465 487.6 99 97 1000 489 1.01 75.1 76.15 75 74.95 74 73.6

96.8 464.6 487.4 99 96.2 976 489 1.01 75.1 76.15 74 74.2 73.35 73.45

96.8 464.6 487.4 99 97 1000 489 1.01 75.1 76.15 75 74.95 74 73.45

1030 8010 700 1000 19400 5900 10 155000 1520 40 14800 30540 15690 19600

99704 3723450 341280 99000 1876590 5850150 4890 156550 114152 3046 1098950 2266613 1156515 1440743

-3046 37100 -

21.45 5.03

20.25 4.93

21.55 4.95

20.25 4.91

21.45 4.91

18700 89000

401505 438850

197915 -345080

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

2.32

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 4.61 XURPAS 1.5

2.37

2.35

2.37

2.31

2.37

156000

362050

-

4.7 1.52

4.68 1.63

4.75 1.63

4.6 1.49

4.61 1.5

293000 9963000

1360780 15239040

3500 -1740080

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

105.1

105.2

107

107

105

105.2

30810

3249074

26310

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Belle 9-month income flat at ₧2.68B

B

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

ELLE Corp., which owns half of City of Dreams Manila, said its net income was flat during the first nine months of the year, but was slower in the third quarter alone, due mainly to one-time gains recorded in 2017 from sales of noncore investments and properties.

The company said its income reached P2.68 billion for the ninemonth period ending September.

Through its unit, Premium Leisure Corp., the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation

and amortization (Ebitda) from its income share in the gaming operations of City of Dreams Manila increased by 30 percent to P1.84 billion for the period, up from P1.42 billion last year.

Revenues for the nine-month period were higher by a mere 4 percent to P6.46 billion from last year’s P6.22 billion as a result of higher income from the gambling and hotel operations of City of Dreams Manila.

Income for the third quarter alone fell 18 percent to P716 million from last year’s P878.12 million, the company said.

Premium Leisure has an operating agreement with the Philippine affiliate of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd. that accords

it a share of gaming revenues or earnings at City of Dreams Manila.

Belle also realized increased its Ebitda from its real estate businesses of P1.79 billion for the first nine months of 2018, an 8-percent increase from P1.66 billion last year.

“A significant portion of this real estate-related Ebitda of P1.54 billion was derived from Belle’s lease of the land and buildings comprising of the City of Dreams Manila to Melco, with the balance coming from sales of real-estate products and property management activities at its Tagaytay Highlands and Midlands residential and leisure complexes south of Metro Manila,” the company said.

Davao Light turns over training facility for linemen to Tesda

A

BOITIZ-LED Davao Light and Power Co. on Friday turned over a training facility for linemen to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) in Davao region.

“Project BELT.CoM” or the Basic Electrical Lineman Training Center of Mindanao is an illustration of a strong collaboration of the private and public sectors, Anton Mari Perdices of the AboitizPower Distribution Group said during the turnover ceremony at the Tesda XI Regional Training Center in Davao City.

The training facility aims to increase the number of qualified linemen in the region, as well as in the rest of Mindanao. With the increasing demand for power entailing the construction of new transmission

and distribution lines, the need for skilled linemen is already high in Davao City alone, according to Perdices.

He added he saw the need to align the company with the Davao City government’s thrust toward sustainable development by contributing to one of its priority development areas, poverty alleviation.

“The lineman’s training center is a venue to acquire and develop skills as a lineman, which will mean more and better employment opportunities that will create improved living conditions for their families,” Perdices said.

Among the components of the project is building and enhancing the capacity of Tesda to conduct its own lineman training programs. Tesda

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK LAST WEEK

SHARE prices fell last week, with the main index again closing at the 6,900-point level, reflecting a bad week for global equities markets.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 87.19 points to close at 7,064.33 points.

The main index was down in three of the five trading days, falling the most on Thursday, before bargain hunting set in at the end of the week.

“Despite the losses, the index managed to close above the key-support level at 7,000 after falling beneath it several times this week. Our market also performed better than our Asian peers. It started the week up about 1 percent followed by three days of declines, then a recovery on Friday which kept it above 7,000,” said Christopher Mangun, research head at Eagle Equities Inc. Value turnover was low again this week at P24.7 billion, or an average of P4.5 billion, while foreign net selling was at P2.4 billion.

Among the subindices, the Financials index was the most hit falling by 3 percent or 48.99 points to 1,563, while the Holding Firms index managed to eke out gains of 90.5 to 6,957.87. The broader All Shares index was down 27.06 to 4,332.59; the Industrial index shed 284.42 to 10,522.41; the Property index plunged 83.32 to 3,494.49; the Services index dropped 1,461.59; and the Mining and Oil index lost 206.58 to 9,411.22.

Losers edged gainers 140 to 71 and 30 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers were IRC Properties Inc., EEI Corp., PXP Energy Corp., Apex Mining Corp., LT Group Inc. and Philex Mining Corp.

Top losers were Xurpas Inc., PTFC Redevelopment Corp., Easycall Communications Philippines Inc., Keppel Philippines Holdings Inc., Liberty Flour Mills Inc. and Benguet Corp B.

THIS WEEK

SHARE prices may again go down this week, a three-day work week as November 1 and 2 were declared public holiday. Fund managers may take a respite from their selling with the month-end window-dressing activities.

“As several take the backseat, reassessment how to better weather challenges prior to 2018’s close appears ripe, to strategize on portfolio mix. Part of the scope covers trajectory band on the PSEi after a review on nine-month results, and directions for the remainder of 2018 toward 2019,” trader 2TradeAsia said.

“With only three trading days this week, expect to see thinner participation unless significant catalysts come up to reentice investible cash into equities,” it said.

Immediate support is 6,800-7,000, resistance 7,100-7,200.

Mangun said the main index will end the month of October down 2 percent to 3 percent unless there will be some window dressing.

“Based on the current market sentiment the index will trade sideways with a negative bias again next week,” he said.

STOCK PICKS

BROKER Regina Capital and Development Corp. gave a hold recommendation on the stock of San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. “And the sell-down might be sooner than later. Indicators support this downward pressure,” the broker said.

The company is in the middle of its follow-on offering. Its share price closed on Friday at P85.50 per share.

The broker gave a buy on breakout rating on the stock of Megawide Construction Corp. as its technical indicators show there’s an indecision on the part of the market, whether to buy up or sell down the stock.

“In fact, there is a strong upper limit at P17.85 and an equally strong lower limit at P16.82 established now,” it said, adding it is betting it may continue an upward direction.

It sees the support price for the construction firm at P17.85 per share. Megawide shares closed at P17.58. VG Cabuag

has already professionalized and standardized its training program for linemen for it can be used all over the country, according to Perdices.

The project is seen to help produce skilled manpower for overseas work, officials said, and it is expected to provide an alternative source of workers for all power distribution

MUTUAL FUNDS

utilities, not just Davao Light.

In November 27 last year, Davao Light and Tesda kicked off the pilot run for Project BELT. CoM when it initially produced eight certified linemen. These linemen received a National II certificate from Tesda, which means they have demonstrated competence in all aspects

October 26, 2018

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 238.23 -16.69% -2.47% -0.32% -18.75% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.3647 -14.66% 1.92% 1.26% -14.54% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 3.692 -17.17% -1.57% -1.31% -19.61% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.8506 -15.5% N.A. N.A. -16.36% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. * ********* 0.783 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 4.9137 -15.38% -4.09% -1.11% -18.28% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * ****** 108.58 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.7879 -18.7% N.A. N.A. -20.63% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 46.085 -15.72% -1.88% N.A. -18.28% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 481.2 -16.23% -3.08% -1.48% -18.23% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.1904 -13.27% -0.95% N.A. -15.23% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 34.6512 -13.07% -0.58% 1.55% -15.68% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 4.6332 -15.93% -1.17% 1.35% -18.34% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 773.5 -15.85% -1.45% 1% -18.21% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8071 -14.59% -3.56% N.A. -16.54% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 3.823 -14.2% -1.49% -0.18% -16.53% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 0.8921 -16.06% -1.33% N.A. -18.4% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.2964 -12.19% -0.25% -0.16% -15.35% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* *** 103.4588 -15.38% -0.29% N.A. -17.86% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $0.9093 -15.61% -0.35% -1.51% -17.96% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.1913 -2.34% N.A. N.A. -5.84% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.5949 -12.84% -4.02% -2.64% -14.41% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.1313 -11.84% -1.39% -0.55% -13.26% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.4287 -10.73% -4.68% -3.23% -12.32% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* **** 1.2634 -12.35% N.A. N.A. -13.16% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.7802 -8.87% -0.93% -0.61% -10.65% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.3512 -13.21% -3.16% -1.81% -14.47% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 15.1453 -12.68% -2.91% -1.76% -13.74% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* ******** 1.9936 -10.21% -0.95% 1.08% -11.08% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.5061 -10.64% -1.83% -0.81% -12.27% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.8876 -10.96% -2.3% N.A. -13.01% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.03454 -4.27% -0.78% 1.26% -4.32% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9249 -10.23% 0.45% -2.15% -11.66% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.4836 -1.9% 3.6% 2.06% -4.62% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.0597 -3.39% N.A. N.A. -4.72% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 341.42 1.44% 1.79% 1.6% 1.28% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ******* 1.8605 -2.06% -1.11% -0.61% -1.68% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9457 5.48% 5.34% 5.23% 4.38% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1177 0.07% 0.97% 0.9% 0.74% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2121 -0.22% -0.05% 0.41% -0.19% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.5719 -2.6% -1.4% -1.18% -2.34% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.7977 -7.03% -2.17% -1.17% -6.23% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.*

3.4514 -1.35% -0.69% -0.31% -1.52% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.8752 -5.76% -2.28% N.A. -5.2% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.7503 -1.03% -0.12% 0.15% -0.96% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.5299 -1.42% -0.55% -0.17% -1.28% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $445.96 0.34% 2.08% 2.88% 0% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є213.27 0.29% 1.28% 1.63% -0.21% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1215 -1.09% 0.68% 1.49% -1.11% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0248 -0.8% 0.54% N.A. -0.8% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.69 -4.54% -0.73% 0.88% -4.6% MAA PRIVILEGE DOLLAR FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. MAA PRIVILEGE EURO FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. ЄN.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC* $1.0244 -5.08% -1.64% -3.02% -4.57% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1299 -4.83% -0.15% 1.91% -5.38% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0568834 -1.02% 0.81% 1.73% -0.55% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8782 -4.24% 0.31% 1.36% -4.47% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 120.02 2.35% 1.69% 1.46% 2.05% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1731 1.62% 0.33% 0.36% 1.36% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2112 2.45% 2.17% 1.43% 2.17% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* ***** $1.0124 N.A. N.A. N.A. 1.37%

* - 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 Regions BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Dureza urges Mindanao scribes to address larger ‘peace table’

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

D

AVAO CITY—Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus G. Dureza challenged writers from many places in Mindanao “to use their pens and microphones as instruments to amplify the concepts of understanding, unity and peace among the Filipino people.”

Dureza said he is referring to the general public when he talked about the “larger peace table.”

“You are the ones addressing the larger ‘peace table’ 24/7,” he said. “Your audience number in the thousands.”

Dureza said the media could play a crucial role in helping to bridge the social, religious, and cultural divide among the people and “heal the social fabric that had been torn in situations of conflict.”

Citing Marawi City as an example, Dureza said restoring relationships in the community “is more difficult than rebuilding the physical infrastructure that was destroyed during the five-month war.”

He said media reports should support multistakeholder efforts that would allow just and lasting peace to firmly take root, especially in communities situated in areas of conflict.

“Your messages should help create that conducive environment.”

Dureza is not a stranger to the government peace process, having served several presidents in three decades as the government chief negotiator with the communist National Democratic Front and the two Moro revolutionary fronts.

Dureza sat down with more than 50 jour-

nalists participating in the Mindanao Media Safety and Security Summit over the weekend and organized by the Mindanao Independent Press Council. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp) described it as “a heart-to-heart conversation between one journalist to another.”

For about two hours, Dureza listened, laughed and exchanged views with members of media coming from various parts of Mindanao on a range of issues and concerns. Dureza was a columnist of several local newspapers here for several years.

“It was a candid dialogue as the government’s top peace negotiator shared his experiences as a neophyte reporter of a local daily and then moving up as editor in chief and finally as publisher of the paper,” the Opapp said.

“Serve as beacons of free speech and champions of truth and justice,” Dureza said. “You must help create an enabling environment that is conducive to free speech,” he said.

He said “a lot of you operate in critical areas, but you have to make sure that the environment [for free speech] is there.” “Being the fourth estate, the media should not cower in fear and be easily intimidated by the forces that threaten them.”

“Should we be threatened? As journalists, we need to uphold our principles at all times,” Dureza said. “In this age of fake news, the media should be more circumspect and not to easily accept information hook, line and sinker.”

But he cautioned them “to take the necessary steps to ensure their safety, especially if their lives are in danger.” “You have to find a way to protect yourself. If not, you will be constrained in telling the truth,” he said.

After Boracay, DILG tightens monitoring of beach tourism

T

F

@lorenzmarasigan

RANCHISES of public-utility buses (PUBs) from the municipalities in Bulacan, Cavite and Laguna are set to be amended to expedite travel time between the three provinces to Metro Manila.

Under Department Order 2018-025, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) ordered the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to convert the franchises of provincial bus lines in the three areas to city buses.

Aside from not terminating at their designated terminals, bus companies covered under the department order will also be required to modernize their units to low-floor buses, which can accommodate persons with disabilities.

Covered by the order are PUBs bound for Metro Manila from the following areas and vice versa: Bulacan (North)-Bocaue, Meycauayan,

DILG Officer in Charge Eduardo M. Año ordered all regional offices of the DILG to submit a report of the list and summary of provincial, city or municipal ordinances, a statement from Año’s office said.

He issued the order after Boracay Island was reopened to entry of tourists six months since it was ordered closed by President Duterte.

A statement quoted Año as saying he issued the order after Duterte told him to monitor all island resorts and beach tourism destinations in the country.

“The DILG will evaluate the status of sewage-treatment facilities, power and water supply service capacity and Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Land Use Plan of LGUs [local government units] that

Marilao, Obando and San Jose del Monte City; Cavite (Southwest)-Imus, Bacoor, Dasmariñas, General Trias, Silang, Kawit, Noveleta and Cavite City; and Laguna (South)-San Pedro, Biñan and Sta. Rosa City.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said he has also instructed the land transport regulator to “open new public transport routes to and from Metro Manila and other provinces.”

“Our aim is to promote efficiency in the delivery of public transportation services,” he said. “We want to give our commuters more options.”

The order, Tugade added, is to prepare for the opening of the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange on November 5.

“What we want is to have more routes and to have more efficient vehicles and terminals to provide ease to our commuters,” he said.

The order will still have to be published on a newspaper of national circulation. It shall take effect after five days.

Cimatu asks LGUs to enforce garbage law during ‘Undas’

E

NVIRONMENT Secretary Roy A. Cimatu reminded local government units (LGUs) to enforce the law on proper solid-waste management during the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on November 1 and 2.

Cimatu issued the reminder as millions of Filipinos prepare to troop to cemeteries to pay tribute to their departed loved ones.

In a statement, the chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said LGUs need to step up their implementation of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, as people continue to generate a huge volume of garbage during the annual Undas, “practically turning graveyards into dumps.”

If necessary, Cimatu said LGUs may apply the full force of the law against litterbugs if only to send a strong message that littering would not be tolerated.

“LGUs should not hesitate [to penalize] litterbugs by imposing fines or making them render community service,” he said.

An estimated 30,000 tons of garbage is generated in the country every day, with 8,000 tons produced in Metro Manila alone. The volume shoots up during events and holidays like Undas.

Last year the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority reported that more than 5,000 tons of trash was hauled just from six major public cemeteries and memorial parks in the metropolis.

Cimatu said he hopes this will not be repeated this year and that the public will “avoid generating waste, especially plastic that ends up in landfills where it may take up to 1,000 years to decompose.”

RA 9003 provides that the LGUs are primarily responsible for waste segregation and disposal.

During Undas, Cimatu said the LGUs should reduce the amount of trash gathered from graveyards and minimize waste that goes into landfills. Jonathan L. Mayuga

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

HE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered a nationwide inventory of local laws relative to environmental conservation, building construction and easement rules as the government steps up the effort to regulate ecotourism activities in the country.

Govt eyes efficient operations of Luzon provincial bus lines

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Monday, October 29, 2018 B3

have beach tourism destinations,” Año said.

He added the regional reports shall be submitted to the DILG Beach Tourism Monitoring Team (BTMT), which was reconstituted from the former DILG Boracay Secretariat.

Año is urging all LGUs not to wait for sanctions or interventions by the national government.

“We should all learn from the Boracay experience. Let’s not wait until your beaches turn into another cesspool,” he said. “Complacency is tantamount to dereliction of duty. Local chief executives are accountable for regulating tourism businesses and enforcing critical environmental laws, rules and regulations, and local ordinances.”

“Let us not wait for nature’s boiling

point to fire back to the point that restoration efforts would be very tough. Let’s not procrastinate on this matter,” Año added.

“Be proactive even if no one watches over your shoulders.”

According to DILG Spokesman, Assistant Secretary Jonathan E. Malaya, the BTMT is creating a monitoring framework and tools based on the Boracay experience for the monitoring of all other beach tourism destinations and island resorts.

The Department of Tourism has already sent gentle reminders to LGUs of some major destinations, namely, El Nido in Palawan, Panglao in Bohol, Oslob in Cebu and La Union.

“While LGUs actively promote more businesses for investments and employment, they must also balance it with upholding the integrity of the environment. These are standards set in the DILG SGLG [Seal of Good Local Governance],” Malaya said.

For provincial governments, the 2018 SGLG assessment criteria require a province to at least have an organized provincial solid waste management board and an approved 10-year solid waste management plan.

City governments and municipal governments must, on the other hand, have solid waste management board organized, not operate open or controlled dump, has an approved 10-year solid waste management plan, materials-recovery facility and access to a sanitary landfill or alternative technology as final disposal.

B4 Monday, October 29, 2018

HAIER’S SOLUTION TO ESTABLISH A WORLD-CLASS ENTERPRISE

I

N China’s top 500 companies, Haier is at the top rank. The Top 500 Enter prise Summit was joint ly est abl ished by t he C h ina Enter prise Confederation and the China Entrepreneur Association. It has been held for 17 sessions since 2002. The theme of this summit is “ To create a world-class enter prise: the development of large enterprises in the new era”.

More than 1,000 people attended t he meeting , inc lud ing leaders of C h i n a’s to p 50 0 e nte r pr i s e s , senior leaders of China’s top 500 enter pr ises, fa mous e x per ts a nd sc hol a rs, a nd ma inst rea m med ia representatives.

In fact, the most striking feature of each session is the annual list of

China’s top 500 enter pr ises. T he Chinese economic barometer was announced on the forum, and Haier Group ranked among the best in the list. Such a result was naturally not unexpected. After all, Qingdao Haier, a subsidiary of Haier Group, had just entered the Fortune 500 in 2018. However, the industry has been paying more attention to the innovation and inspiration brought

by Haier.

T hroughout t his l ist, many companies are based on the “remaintainment” and re-ex pansion o f e x i s t i n g r e s o u rc e s , a s Wa n g Zhong y u, president of the China Enter pr ise Confederat ion a nd C hina Ent repreneur A ssoc iat ion, said that, “According to research,

C h i n a ’s e x i s t i n g p r o d u c t s a n d technologies have reached worldc lass stand ards but, in ter ms of br a nd , c u lt u re, bu s i nes s mo de l , e s p e c i a l l y i n n o v a t i o n a b i l i t y, standard discourse power, among others, the world-class enter prises are still in a small number.”

Since Chinese enterprises must strive to the world-class tier, they must come up with competitive and innovative ideas. As Haier, which has been committed to “continuously brea k ing up and restr uctur ing i n no v at ion ,” it h a s brou g ht t he message that people want to hear.

Z hou Yu njie, v ice c h a i r m a n a nd president of Haier Group, delivered a keynote speech, titled “From 3H to 3E”, in which 3H means high-quality products, high-quality systems and high-quality people, while 3E refers to the ecosystem, eco-income and eco-brand.

Z h o u Yu n j i e s a i d t h a t , “ T h e growth of products has limits and bottlenecks. To achieve sustainable high-quality development, we must constantly look for the ‘second curve’ of enter prise growth, and 3E is the second cur ve of the high-qua lit y development of enter prises in the IoT [Internet of Things] era.”

INSULAR LIFE GEARS UP FOR PAPERLESS ENVIRONMENT VIA HACKATHON COMPETITION

I

N a bid to foster innovation in handling its voluminous paper transactions, Insular Life turned to its employees for practical, technology-based solutions.

During the company’s first Hackathon final competition, held recently at InLife’s headquarters in Alabang, Muntinlupa, seven teams out of 14 participating groups pitched their solutions to a panel composed of IT experts and executives.

The teams tackled pain points in the company’s paperled processes by merging the existing technology and IT infrastructure to their proposed solutions.

“This case competition is part of InLife’s strategy to prepare the business for the future by leveraging on the talent, insight, and technological knowhow of its employees from all levels of the organization,” said Famida Alonto, head of InLife’s innovation team. She added that hackathons encourage participants to solve problems through the use of design thinking, user experience, and technology.

The team from the Actuarial Division won this year’s first hackathon case competition, when they presented a live prototype of an application-based solution in handling purchase request forms.

Since last year Insular Life has embarked on a dual transformation strategy to future-ready the company amid emerging trends and disruptions in the industry. One of these

strategies is digital innovation and allowing disruptors to flourish even within the company.

“The hackathon aims to develop a culture of transformation within the organization,” Alonto said.

According to executive chairman Nina D. Aguas, InLife’s drive for digitalization should be seen as the company’s tool to enable the business.

“We want InLife to be at the forefront of digitalization because our ambition is to be the first fully digitally connected insurance company in the Philippines within the next five years,” Aguas said. “The hackathon is really part of that culture that we want to foster within.”

Among life insurance companies in the Philippines, Insular Life has been consistently getting recognitions for its digital drives.

Last year InLife bagged the Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year award from Singapore-based Insurance Asia Awards.

Hackathon Champs Team AD composed of Kristin Regina Casas, Darnyl Taguilaso and Joshua Mari Paman (third, fourth and fifth from left, respectively) of the Actuarial Division with innovation project manager Toby Tobias, innovation head Fam Alonto (left and second from left, respectively), and human resource head Florian de Leon (right).

MIDORI CLARK HOTEL AND CASINO TO STAGE MINECRAFT HALLOWEEN PARTY

S

UCCESSFULLY organized back to back kiddie events for the past two years, Midori Clark Hotel and Casino will hold a Minecraftinspired Halloween party at the Midori Garden on October 30.

Dubbed “Scarecraft Halloween Party”, kids and kids-at-heart would definitely enjoy the said party as it features tons of activities, such as a digitalized adventure maze, activity booth, Halloween games, shows, slime making, sand play, costume competition and a lot more.

Tickets are now available for only P499 for kids 4 to 12 years old and P299 for accompanying adult. Kids three years old and below may join the party for free but must be accompanied by a paying adult.

Registration starts at 3 p.m., entry ticket for kids is inclusive of registration for the categorized costume competition, snacks, one loot basket filled with goodies and candies access to the booths and many more.

“From the success of Protectors of Motunui

last year, we are now staging a digital and trendy Minecraft-inspired Halloween party. Being inspired by the unexpected number of kids together with their parents joining our annual events, we have been working hard for a bigger, better and incomparable party for a complete experience not only of our guest but everyone participating in our event. Every event detail is intensively planned to attain the Minecraft feels. This is something to look forward and excite everyone as the event approaches.”

Be the wackiest, cutest and spookiest! Midori Clark Hotel and Casino will choose three winners for the Best in Costume competition. Whether it is a Minecraft character, Halloween icon or any creative costume of your choice.

The Scarecraft Halloween Party is in partnership with Kettle Korn, Happy Headstart, La Vertice School, Innosigns, Pixel Boom Creative, Dream Events, Snackeroo, Lemon Square, Zoocobia, Twinings and Ovaltine.

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Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

DOF: 2nd CTRP to harmonize, avoid abuse of fiscal incentives

By Rea Cu

T

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) said the second package of the Duterte Administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) seeks to harmonize the fiscal incentives given out by the government but, more important, presents measures that prevent the abuse of the said perks.

Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the debates on Package 2 of the CTRP have been focused on the fiscal incentives, and unfortunately ignored one vital public concern—the possible rampant abuse of these perks and the practice of transfer pricing and spread of harmful tax practices.

“We can control or enforce better, but no amount of enforcement will be adequate if our current system is prone to these abuses,” Chua said.

Chua said among the abuses done in line with fiscal incentives by businesses include leakage within export zones; diverting activities to outside the region or zones of re-

gional investment incentives; transfer pricing schemes; and disguising nonqualifying activities into qualifying activities.

He cited the top 10 abuses of tax-incentive regimes identified by the Harvard Kennedy School to include the export zones—leakages into domestic economy; regional investment incentives and enterprise zones—diverting activities to outside the region or zone; transfer pricing schemes with related entities (through sales, services, loans, royalties and management contracts); disguising or burying nonqualifying activities into qualifying activities; and domestic firms restructure as

foreign investors.

Other abuses include existing firms transforming into new entities to qualify for incentives; churning or fictitious investments (lack of recapture rules); schemes to accelerate income (or defer deductions) at the end of a tax holiday period; overvaluation of assets for depreciation, tax credit or other purposes; and employment and training credits—fictitious employees and phony training programs.

The DOF said incentive abuses were estimated to cost the government P43 billion in 2015 alone, on top of the P301 billion in tax incentives granted by the various investment promotion agencies. This brought the estimated total amount of foregone revenues to P344 billion for 2015.

On top of enhancing the competitiveness of the Philippines’s tax incentives for business, Chua said the DOF is proposing to further “strengthen the policy environment” for corporate taxation by improving governance through an amended Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (Timta) and an expanded Fiscal Incentives Review Board.

This measure is seen to ensure more transparency and accountability in the grant of tax incentives.

Last week, the DOF urged Congress to amend the Timta so the

Perspectives Is blockchain the next killer app?

D

ON’T let the hype deter you.

This technology has the potential to transform supply

chains.

Revolutions seldom run smoothly—as one US retailer recently discovered its cost. After mooting a proposal to place sensors in its boots and clothing, the company was surprised by a consumer backlash. The idea was not to snoop on the customer, but to track the performance of the products. Even so, the media dubbed the scheme “creepy” and invasive, and the retailer abandoned the plan.

Welcome to the exciting, strange and imperfectly understood world of blockchain. There has been more than a whiff of the dotcom bubble about blockchain lately with the technology being hyped as a panacea.

All this is enough to make businesses wary of all claims for the technology, yet blockchain and distributed ledger technology could truly have profound implications for retailers and brands, not least in its potential uses to transform supply chains.

New business models

HOW so? By offering the means to tackle the inefficiencies resulting from the information silos that trap data inside discrete parts of individual enterprises. Sharing disparate data on the blockchain enables them to be synthesized inside and beyond the enterprise in ways that create new value.

In this way, blockchain can offer broad new business capabilities, particularly when combined with technologies such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, said Sam Ganga, partner, Digital Strategy & Transformation, KPMG in the United States. “One of the key elements it brings to the table is improving the visibility of information across enterprises. In this sense, it can transcend what we would consider to be the traditional boundaries of the company and so could completely redefine how you conduct business. It potentially requires you to reconsider your workforce model, your operating model and how you are interacting with suppliers. It could open up space for new business models.”

Operating a blockchain that gives instant access to the information in it down to the tiniest details, creates opportunities to drive new efficiencies and new relationships, and compresses some of the delays that bedevil existing supply chains.

“It is solving business problems that have been tough to crack before, such as showing the entire chain of custody and provenance to predict

freshness and reduce spoilage,” Ganga said. “What would it mean to retailers if they could reduce spoilage by 100 basis points inbound or on the shelf?”

A grocer might be able to tell instantly where a consignment of produce came from, the date it was picked and whether it had the right refrigeration from farm to shelf. Such granular detail about factors such as likely spoilage rates can mean appropriate action is taken.

“The blockchain is not just a repository of data; it can be used to drive valuable analysis,” Ganga said.

“It can tell you not to take delivery of this particular consignment of fresh produce or take it at a discount and sell it quickly because based on the chain of custody information in the blockchain, it shows it was sitting in the dock beyond its freshness window.”

The implications for reducing the frequency and cost of recalls is obvious. Being able to quickly identify a bad batch of eggs, for example, might in turn enable individual consumers to find out if their purchases were among a bad batch, assuming pointof-sale systems become linked into the blockchain.

As supply chains are currently configured, it can take a week or more to track the food in a supply chain that has been affected by a disease outbreak. In April 2018, over 172 people in 32 US states became ill with E.coli from eating contaminated lettuce. It took several weeks to find where the lettuce was grown. With blockchain, it would theoretically take a couple of minutes. Some trials along these lines are already underway, including a major US food retailer partnering with Nestlé and some other manufacturers to track the origin of fresh produce.

“Because of the nature of blockchain’s distributed shared ledger, you can improve the visibility of information in a way you can’t with any other technology. The fact that the data is immutable significantly improves trust in data, particularly among consumers. We are going to compress some of the intracompany and intercompany relationships that have been the slowest part of supplychain processes,” Ganga said.

It is the open, networked nature of blockchain that enables the linking of many hundreds or thousands of parties in a given supply chain in highly secure ways, that makes its potential value so great. Using conventional shared databases to do this is not only much costlier but also is more vulnerable to single point failures or cyber attacks, said Jan Reinmueller, partner and head

of Digital Village at KPMG in Singapore. “It means you can do away with reconciliation problems, as there is one trusted repository of all the relevant information rather than different systems trying to align with one another.

You can track where a problem happens to specific routes, logistics companies and times so you can quickly identify the root cause and so improve the overall quality of the supply chain.”

What is currently a static and sequential process of sourcing could even in future be responsive to demand signals and trends from the market, helping suppliers and retailers anticipate seasonal demand.

The operational savings could be vast, said Peter Fedchenkov, the cofounder and CEO of INS, which is building a decentralized grocery shopping ecosystem based on blockchain technology. “It will increase the velocity of the supply chain, decrease the number of errors, lower processing, database and reconciliation costs.”

At the moment, every party in a transaction has to reconcile its own databases and devote considerable back office time and expense on this and, in particular, to dealing with errors. Blockchain promises instead a single immutable set of data shared across parties, showing clearly what happened in a transaction and whether a consignment was paid for or not.

Greater supply-chain visibility might enable brands and retailers to build trust with consumers about the provenance of products, offering proof that extra-virgin olive oil is really unadulterated or that salmon is not caught by slave-labor fishing boats.

Multiple trials are showing how this can be done where suppliers are required to provide proofs via photographs and QR codes that are then uploaded via smartphone and embedded in the blockchain ledger.

“If you want to minimize counterfeit products or eliminate other sources of fraud in the supply chain or ensure trust in the ingredients of your products, blockchain can be at the center as a key enabler,” Ganga said.

The excerpt was taken from the publication entitled Consumer Currents. © 2018 R.G. Manabat & Co. is a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG network of independent memberfirms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in the Philippines For more information on KPMG in the Philippines, you may visit www. kpmg.com.ph.

government can make public the list of corporations that receive tax incentives.

The DOF said its proposal to “introduce improvements” to the Timta, or Republic Act 10708, is part of government efforts to make “fairer, targeted, more accountable and transparent the current system of corporate taxation.”

The House of Representatives earlier approved its version of Package 2—the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities bill on September 10. The Senate version of the bill is still pending at the committee level.

Chua said the country’s sizable chunk of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) also deserve to be treated fairly, seeing that they employ the majority of Filipino workers in the country.

The 30-percent Corporate Income Tax, which is the highest in the region, is the rate paid by most local firms, including 90,000 SMEs that, alongside 800,000 microenterprises, employ 65 percent of the country’s labor force.

Chua said Package 2, a modernized incentives package, is designed to “directly incentivize job creation,” the purchase by investors of capital goods and local goods, and investments in long-term infrastructure.

Monday, October 29, 2018 B2-1

Senate moves to amend bank secrecy law involving drug deals

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ENATE probers looking into the P11-billion illegal shabu shipment are moving to amend strict bank secrecy laws to enable authorities to track down big-time drug dealers using the banking system for illegal transactions.

“Definitely, drugs and terrorism should be exempted from legitimate activities protected by strict bank secrecy laws,” Sen. Richard J. Gordon, chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee conducting the inquiry, said over the weekend.

Gordon explained that exempting multibillion-peso illegal drug profits stashed in secret bank accounts can be done by Congress in aid of crafting remedial legislation, “but there should be a resolution.”

“Amendment to the [banking] law is required,” Gordon told the BusinessMirror. “It will be recommended by the Blue Ribbon Committee report.”

The Senate chief prober recalled testimonies at the Blue Ribbon inquiry that Banco de Oro “asked for a court order in refusing to provide records” when probers sought to trackdown the P850,000 cash paid for a bodega (warehouse) to stash the illegal shipment.

Gordon said Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, a long-time antiillegal drug advocate, promptly offered to “sign a recommendation” to

help probers obtain access to secret deposits from illegal drug proceeds.

“This would be a big help,” Gordon said.

Prodding police authorities to cast a wider net to bag other officers involved with big-time drug dealers, Gordon found it “impossible that there is no one higher than Senior Supt. Eduardo Acierto,” who was earlier dismissed for a separate offense.

The Senate chief prober also assured the committee is open to hear “other witnesses” who can shed light on the multibillion-peso illegal drug racket when the Blue Ribbon panel resumes hearings on Tuesday.

“We need other reliable witnesses to talk in order to bag all those involved in the P11-billion Shabu shipment,” Gordon said.

In the same interview, the Senator indicated the Blue Ribbon report would likely endorse that the “overhaul” of the Bureau of Customs should be followed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Authority, adding that “lifestyle checks” should also be carried out.

While Gordon credited Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña for increasing Bureau of Custom collection during his stint as Customs chief, the Senate chief prober added: “The Blue Ribbon is not done with him. He is not off the hook. He will be called back.” Butch Fernandez

B2-2

Monday, October 29, 2018

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

DOF to dispose of PDA, TRC assets

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) said it will be disposing of the assets of two state corporate bodies—the Partido Development Administration (PDA) and the Technology Resource Center (TRC).

The DOF said the speedy liquidation of the PDA and TRC is in line with the Duterte administration’s goal of ridding the government of its nonperforming assets.

In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the DOF’s Privatization Management Office

(PMO) said it was designated as the disposition entity to clear the way for the liquidation of both the PDA and TRC. The Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) recommended the abolition of the

PDA in 2017, while the TRC was ordered abolished by the Office of the President in 2014 for its involvement in the irregularities related to the Priority Development Assistance Fund.

In Memorandum Order (MO) 29 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea on September 25, Malacañang said, “The PDA and its various operating units have been consistently operating at a loss for several years, which necessitates continuous subsidy from the national government.”

The PDA was created in 1994 with the goal of accelerating the development of 10 municipalities comprising the fourth legislative district of Camarines Sur, better known as the Partido district.

“Despite the operation of the PDA for almost 20 years, the

Fourth District of the Province of Camarines Sur has the highest poverty incidence level compared with other districts of the province, and has a higher povertyincidence compared to the average for the entire Bicol region,” the MO said.

The GCG recommended the abolition of the PDA for the following reasons: the PDA performs functions or purposes that duplicate or unnecessarily overlap with functions, programs, activities or projects already provided by another government agency; and it is not producing the desired outcomes, or no longer achieving the objectives and purposes for which it was originally designed and implemented, and does not generate the level of social, physical and economic returns vis-á-vis

the resource inputs.

Under MO 29, the PMO was directed to “dispose of the assets of the PDA to settle its outstanding liabilities.”

Meanwhile, in a memorandum issued in 2015, the GCG said the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) shall implement “the winding down of operations, disposition of the assets and settlement of liabilities of the TRC.” It also stated that by October 31, 2015, all remaining functions of the TRC and custody of its assets shall have been transferred to the DOST. On December 6, 2000, Executive Order 323 was issued by former President Joseph E. Estrada creating the PMO, which handles the marketing of government assets that are up for disposition.

Pay8 to allow payment to Ceza from remote areas

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INTECH company Pay8 last week signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) to provide the last mile connectivity to the special economic zone to enable payments in remote areas.

“We are excited to be part of the pivot of Ceza towards being the fintech [financial technology] leader in Asia. We look forward to working hand in hand with them to provide an effective platform for financial inclusion. This Filipino-developed platform is scalable and can be a showcase for other emerging markets in Asia and is aimed at helping Ceza constituents compete in the digital world,” HatchAsia President Kirk Arambulo said.

Arambulo said the project aims to support the government’s program of financial inclusion that will enable 80 percent of the unbanked population access to the banking network. This will include residents, locators, and small businessmen in the variety stores, fishing operators and transportation operators.

Pay8 serves as a payment gateway by utilizing a portable point-of-sale (POS) system, bringing mass fintech in allowing people to conduct transactions through their mobile phone or tablets, improving efficiency and the customer experience. Data aggregators can synchronise financial data from various sources and integrate bank accounts from different financial institutions—reducing compliance costs for business and receive tourist payments under Bancnet and Visa/MC. The entry of fintech has caused a big disruption in the banking and finance industry because it allows people to conduct

transactions through their mobile phone or tablets, improving efficiency and the customer experience.

Arambulo said the connectivity will also maximize the proximity of the new airport in Ceza to major north Asian cities, being a short 45-minute flight from most of the coastal cities of China and Taiwan, and less than two hours from Japan and South Korea.

Meantime, the Ceza said about 20,000 jobs in fintech will open up as soon as it awards the initial 25 principal licenses to be made available to qualified fintech companies.

In a statement, Ceza Administrator and CEO Raul Lambino said these job openings must be filled by highly skilled information-technology talents. Along with them, qualified people will be needed to fill highly technical, as well as manager ia l positions that are a lso seen to become available.

These employment opportunities in Ceza will back the fintech operations at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport (CSEZF), which is also eyed to be the country’s hub for fintech activities, such as offshore virtual currency exchange, initial coin offering, blockchain development and other fintech solutions.

Lambino mentioned that a fintech facility will rise on a 10-hectare property at the CSEZF in Santa Ana, Cagayan, which house the back offices of the fintech firms.

The Ceza recently announced said the investment promotion agency granted financial technology solutions and offshore virtual currency license to three firms— Golden Millennial Quickpay, Ultra Precise Investment Ltd. and Liannet Technology Ltd. Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

www.businessmirror.com.ph

UCPB-CIIF loans to small coconut farmers reach P279M in Q3

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

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CPB-CIIF Finance and Development Corp.’s loans to small coconut farmers hit P279 million at the end of the third quarter of the year, the social-development arm of United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) said in a statement.

The corporation, in particular, released P126 million in new livelihood loans to coconut farmers in the months of July to September alone.

The loans financed livelihood activities of 3,897 coconut farmers in 60 coconutproducing provinces across the country aimed at augmenting their income from coconut farming.

UCPB-CIIF Finance, one of the social-development arms of the UCPB Group and the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) Group, is tasked with delivering credits to the countryside in keeping with the two groups’ common mandate to help improve the living condition of coconut farmers.

Company President Edgardo Amistad said UCPB-CIIF Finance has been providing financing to coconut farmers since 1995 for short-gestation projects that generate quick returns, such as cash crop cultivation, livestock raising, commodities trading and village-based processing of coconut by-products like coconut sugar.

The corporation said the loans are released through rural financial institutions, the bulk of which are cooperatives.

UCPB-CIIF Finance has a network of these countryside partners that can reach out to over 20,300 barangays in 68 coconut provinces.

Total loans released by UCPB-CIIF Finance over the past 32 years is nearing the P10-billion mark at P9.3 billion.

The loans have benefited 447,000 coconut farmers.

Banks in the country have been mandated by law to allot 15 percent of their total loan portfolio to agricultural credit.

Tala announces strategic investment from PayPal to expand global reach

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ALA, the leading consumer lending app in emerging markets, announced a strategic investment from PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL). The two companies share a commitment to building financial health, enabling all people to gain access to the digital economy.

PayPal’s investment will help Tala bring visibility and access to underserved populations in emerging markets across the globe.

More than two-thirds of the world’s adult population has no formal credit bureau record, making it difficult for traditional financial services to understand and reach these consumers. Tala’s app, which can be accessed by anyone with an Android smartphone in Tala’s markets, analyzes device and behavioral data to instantly underwrite these consumers and create a personalized loan offer. Tala disburses loans between $10 and $500 to a mobile wallet or via payment method of the customer’s choosing.

More than 85 percent of Tala’s customers receive credit in less

than 10 minutes.

“At PayPal, we believe everyone should have access to transparent, convenient and secure financia l ser v ices,” said Mark Britto, senior vice president and general manager of global credit, PayPal. “Tala shares our vision of reimagining financial services, especially for the unbanked and those underserved by the traditional financial system. Tala empowers these people through innovative mobile solutions to improve their overall financial health, and we are proud to help them achieve this goal.”

“Tala is driven by the belief that all people deserve to be seen, understood and trusted by the global financial system, and our goal is to leverage data and technology to help them prove their potential,” said Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO of Tala. “We are excited to add PayPal as an investor to further our mission to reach more underserved consumers and deliver the financial access, choice and control they deserve.”

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Monday, October 29, 2018 B2-3

Senate told: Fast-track PhilMech eyeing to roll out onion passage of rice tariff bill mechanical seeders by year-end

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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@jearcalas

LAWMAKER urged the Senate to immediately pass its version of the rice tariffication bill once Congress resumes session next month to ensure the implementation of the measure next year.

Camarines Sur Second District Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte Jr. said the enactment of the rice tariffication bill would “stabilize retail prices of the staple and alleviate the plight of ordinary Filipinos reeling from inflation surge.”

“The prompt approval of the rice tariffication bill is the fastest way for both chambers of Congress to help President Duterte tame inflation and ease its impact on consumers—most especially this coming holiday season—given that food expenses account for 9.7 percent of the consumer price index,” Villafuerte said in a statement on Sunday.

He noted that Duterte has already certified the rice tariffication bill, which seeks to scrap the

quantitative restriction (QR) on the staple, as urgent.

The lawmaker said the “speedy” approval of the measure would “go a long way in boosting palay productivity, which is a long-term approach to stabilizing the supply and price of the staple.”

Villafuerte added that this would be achieved through the establishment of the rice competitiveness enhancement fund (RCEF) which would earmark all tariffs collected from rice imports to the local sector.

“Under the bill, import tariffs are to go to the RCEF, which the Department of Agriculture [DA] will use to provide for, among others, easy-to-access loans to farmers for production, inputs like

fertilizer, postharvest facilities, and research and development [R&D],” he said.

Villafuerte is a coauthor of the House of Representatives’ version of the rice tariffication bill, which the chamber already approved in August.

He noted that the lower chamber’s rice tariffication bill “promises to be a win-win for consumers and farmers alike at this time when Filipinos are reeling from an inflation spike.”

Citing figures of economic managers, Villafuerte said allowing the entry of more rice imports into the country would reduce inflation rate by 0.7 percentage point, while the retail cost of the staple would be slashed by P2 to P7 per kilogram.

“Lower prices would benefit farmers, too, as they are also rice consumers,” he said. “Moreover, farmers would benefit from the bill in the long run as it would boost their harvests and sharpen their global competitiveness as palay growers.”

“Hence, this rice tariffication measures promises to be a win-win solution for Filipino consumers and farmers alike as the Duterte administration continues to find ways to ease the inflation spike,” he added.

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HE Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) is targeting to deploy before the end of the year at least 10 mechanical onion seeders that could improve farmers’ yield.

PhilMech Senior Science Research Specialist Ma. Cecilia Antolin said the agency has already produced four 10-row onion mechanical seeder (10-ROMS), while six more machines are set to be manufactured.

Antolin said the 10-ROMS have showed “exemplary results” from its pilot tests conducted this year.

The machine, she said, could aid farmers improve yield and cut production costs.

She said the 10-ROMS uses only 12 to 15 cans of onion seed per hectare, compared to the 18 to 28 cans used through broadcasting seeding system. Through the use of 10-ROMS machine, farmers had an additional yield of 714 kilograms per hectare.

However, the seed rate of 10-ROMS’s is quite higher compared to the nine cans to 12 cans used by farmers that employ the turo direct seeding system.

“Under the turo seeding system, the distance used by farmers is too wide. Using our machine, the distance is smaller which translates to higher yield,” she said in a recent interview with reporters. “Based on our study, production increased by

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol inspects an onion mechanical seeder prior to pilot-testing it in Miag-Ao and Oton, Iloilo, in July. DA PHOTO

around 5 metric tons per hectare compared to the turo seeding.”

“We have solved the problem of farmers of high production cost by reducing their seed requirement and addressing their labor problem due to lack of farm workers,” she added.

A can of onion seed is about 400 grams and costs about P1,800, according to Antolin. She said the 10-ROMS could save farmers some P12,000 which they spend for additional labor for seeding.

Through the 10-ROMS machine, farmers’ income increased

by P90,000 per hectare, according to Antolin. She said the country’s average onion output per hectare

is between 10 MT to 12 MT. The 10-ROMS machine costs about P120,000 which could be recouped by farmers in less than two years, according to Antolin.

“There would be 10 machines this planting season with four being already available while the six would still be manufactured. The four would be for Region 3, while the other four with PhilMech would be used for Iloilo pilot testing,” she said. “The remaining two could be deployed anywhere.”

Antolin explained that there is only one cropping season for onion.

Planting begins in November to December, while harvest is from March to April. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

B2-4 Monday, October 29, 2018

SUNTRUST PROPERTIES INC. IS ONE WITH TEAM LAKAY E.B.C. PREMIERES STATION-PRODUCED ONLINE BUSINESS SHOW

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PEN For Business, the first and only station-produced online business show of Eagle Broadcasting Corp. (EBC), was recently launched at eaglenewslive.com, the newest digital channel of the network.

EBC is celebrating its 50th year in the Philippine broadcast industry.

“After setting up our international bureaus in key cities around the world, we have seen the growth of our audience in the Philippines and abroad who engage with us online.

Thus, we launched eaglenewslive.com as one of the main digital channels of

the network, and Open For Business is a fresh online program that helps businesses to be globally competitive,” EBC President Rowena de la FuenteDeimoy said.

Aside from being a video-streaming site, eaglenewlive.com is also the mobile broadcasting site of EBC that is downloadable through the YouTube app. The site also features content from EBC’s TV, radio and online platforms Aired every Saturday from 5 to 5:30 p.m., Open For Business focuses on business, financial, and economic news and headlines in the Philippines

and key markets around the world. It a l s o s ho w c a s e s t h e i n s i g ht s o f executives and key industry leaders in the fields of business, economy, finance and technology.

Episodes of the digital show that is taped live on the Facebook Page of Eagle News can be accessed at any time.

“O p e n Fo r B u s in e s s a i m s t o keep your business a head of the c u r ve t h rough upd ated bu si ness information and insightful, in-depth inter v iews,” said Caesar Va llejos, producer and anchor of the show.

“As a new entrepreneur myself who left [the] corporate world...I feel all the pain and hardships of starting up [a business]. And, thus, Open For Business is a live testament of the journey toward entrepreneurship.”

Open For Business hopes that it will be part of the EBC journey by highlighting how stories of small and big businesses thrive and survive in t he high ly compet it ive globa l marketplace.

I n photo a re (f rom lef t) EBC programming head Precy Gozum, de la Fuente-Deimoy, Vallejos and PLC cofounder Lyra Vallejos at the signing of the memorandum of agreement, which covers marketing, promotions and sales of EBC media assets and its portals.

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UNTRUST Properties Inc. (SPI) held a golf cup at Sherwood Hills Golf Club, the No. 1 golf course in the country, on October 17, to fundraise for and in support of Team Lakay, the Philippines’s top mixed martial arts (MMA) team.

The team, hailing from Baguio City, boasts of not only one but a total of seven former and current world champions. SPI is a no stranger in fundraising events, as this is the second golf cup it held in support of Team Lakay’s endeavor to bring home belts from ONE Championship. The first event last year helped improve Team Lakay’s gym. The Baguio team wishes to help shape the youth and them stay away from vices by teaching them martial arts. On Wednesday the team, together with coach Mark Siangao, graced the tournament and expressed their utmost gratitude to the company and all sponsors. Raffle prizes were also given away that day. Team Lakay’s very own Honorio Banario even won the grand prize and went home with a brand new 40" Smart TV. Event partners included Davies Paint, Cabalce Electrical Constructors Inc., DE Construction and Development Corp., Sagada Construction Development Corp. and Vision Properties Development Corp., while major sponsors are Arcmixx Corp., AST Industrial Services and General Merchandise, Emalco Industries Inc., and Marvel Construction and Supply. This golf cup is expected to generate more proceeds compared to the first

cup. The team, players and sponsors feasted on a sumptuous meal after the tournament.

Winners included John Sicat, Pol Sanchez, Ariel Javelosa and Nico Valenton for Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively, with John Sicat being awarded the Most Accurate Drive, Renato Alejandria the Longest Drive and Low Gross, Danny Escares Nearest to the Pin and lawyer Harry Paltongan as overall champion, scoring an even-par gross score from the blue tees.

Through these fundraising activities, Suntrust proves to be part of the movement of raising homegrown world champions, with hopes for Team Lakay that is to be in the pedestal of the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Hidilyn Diaz. Suntrust Properties President lawyer Harry M. Paltongan further motivates the team as he vows to continue the Lakay Cup as long as they continue to bring pride to the Filipinos.

Team Lakay lightweight star Eduard Folayang will have the opportunity to reclaim the ONE Lightweight World Champion when he meets Singaporean Amir Khan for the vacant world title on ONE Championship’s November card at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Folayang is currently riding a two-fight win streak with back-to-back unanimous decisions over a pair of gritty Russian grapplers. Khan, who won 8 of his last 9 fights, is challenging for the title for the first time in his young career.

THE MEDICAL CITY GETS J.C.I. GOLD SEAL OF APPROVAL

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HE Medical City (TMC), under the leadership of its new Chief Executive Officer Dr. Eugenio Jose F. Ramos, received a Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission International (JCI), the world’s premier health-care quality improvement and accreditation body. This is the fifth straight accreditation of TMC and the first one obtained under the watch of Dr. Ramos. TMC’s acute myocardial infarction (AMI) program also retained its status as the only program of its kind with a Gold Seal of Approval in the Philippines and one of only 16 around the world. TMC’s heart attack program targets a 90 minute doorto-balloon time, which means TMC must have the blocked coronary artery opened within 90 minutes from the time the patient enters the Emergency Department.

Dr. Ramos paid tribute to the work put in by all members of TMC. “I am proud of how everyone at TMC has worked together as a team to achieve our highest-ever score for compliance. The partnership between our doctors and medical-support staff was inspiring to see, and demonstrates the new spirit of open collaboration that is taking hold in our institution,” Dr. Ramos.

TMC underwent a rigorous onsite survey between October 8 and October 12. A team of JCI expert surveyors evaluated compliance with hospital standards related to various areas, including the International Patient Safety Goals, patient assessment and care, anesthesia and surgical care, medication management, patient and family education, quality improvement, infection prevention and control, governance and leadership, facility management, staff qualifications and education and information management.

The health institution received perfect scores in critical standards on patient and family rights, patient and family education, access to care and continuity of care, and assessment of patients. TMC was first accredited by JCI in 2006, and again in 2009, 2012 and 2015.

JCI’s hospital standards are developed in consultation with worldwide health-care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The standards are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help organizations measure, assess and improve performance.

TATA MOTORS’ NEW COMMERCIAL VEHICLES AT THE FOREFRONT OF 7TH P.I.M.S. 2018

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ATA Motors Philippines displays its Euro 4 range of commercial vehicles at the 2018 Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS). In its first year of participation Tata Motors showcases three new Euro 4 vehicles—the Tata Super Ace Mint in the small commercial vehicle (SCV) segment, the Tata SFC 407 and the Tata Ultra in the light commercial vehicles (LCV) category.

According to Rudrarup Maitra, head of international business for commercial vehicles, Tata Motors, “Tata Motors is committed to [be a partner] in enhancing the Euro norms of the Philippine market. [The] PIMS 2018 is a great platform for us to showcase our new technologies. With the showcase of our new Euro 4 range of highly versatile products, such as Tata Super Ace Mint, Tata SFC 407 and Tata Ultra 814, which can be customized for various business applications, we assure our stakeholders that we are well placed to catch up with trends in the market and cater to the evolving needs of the Filipino customers.“ Headlining at the PIMS 2018 is the Tata Super Ace Mint, a versatile small truck with a 1-ton payload. The new Tata Super Ace Mint is powered by Euro 4-compliant 1.4-liter DiCoR turbo diesel

engine that generates 71 PS at 4,000 rpm and 140 Nm at 1,800 to 3,000 rpm.

The versatility of Tata Super Ace Mint is showcased at Tata Motors pavilion with three different application bodies on display—The Super Ace Mint passenger van, which is an ideal transport solution for both passengers and cargo; the Super Ace Mint aluminum van is a perfect partner for last mile distribution for industries, such as FMCG, confectionary, e-commerce and food and beverages; and The Super Ace Mint Class 1 modern jeepney is a niche passenger application, with a seating capacity of 14 passengers. The durable driveline of Tata Super Ace is suitable for carrying up to 18-20 passengers.

Also on display is the Tata SFC 407, a tested workhorse with gross vehicle weight of 4,450 kilograms. Powered by Euro 4-compliant 3-liter DiCoR turbo-diesel engine, it can deliver 85 PS at 2,800 rpm and is suitable for various business applications with multiple available body types—passenger van, drop-side load, and aluminum and refrigerator van.

Tata Motors also introduces the Tata Ultra 814 light truck to the Philippine market. The Ultra 814 comes with 3-liter Euro 4 DiCoR turbo-diesel engine and is able to deliver 140 PS at 3,000 rpm, with torque of 360 Nm at 1,700 to 2,300 rpm. This business-utility vehicle is a six-wheeler truck that has a gross vehicle weight of 8,750 kilograms and is available in two wheelbase options; and can be customized with special body applications, such as dump truck, wing van, refrigerated van, boom crane and self-loader. The Tata Ultra sets new benchmarks in features with first in class offering, such as tubeless tyres, ECR 29 crash-test cabin, standard ABS and HVAC. For more information, visit www. tatamotors.com.ph.

ONE VICTORY AWAY! Sports BusinessMirror

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| Monday, October 29, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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By Greg Beacham

overcame a three-run deficit in a World Series game for the second time. Boston also rallied from three down against Cincinnati in 1975 in Game Six, best known for Carlton Fisk’s dramatic homer in the 12th after Bernie Carbo tied it with a threerun shot.

Pearce was an unlikely candidate to become the latest postseason hero in Boston’s

The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—An 18-inning loss in Game Three of the World Series couldn’t wear out the Boston Red Sox. A four-run deficit late in Game Four definitely didn’t faze them.

This plucky powerhouse just kept getting big hits to move to the brink of another championship.

Steve Pearce hit a tying homer in the eighth and a three-run double in the ninth, and the Red Sox emphatically rallied for a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

Pinch-hitter Rafael Devers singled home Brock Holt with the tiebreaking run in the ninth as Boston roared to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.

“I’ve never been on a team where you just get punched in the face and then come back tomorrow and act like they are totally fine,” Red Sox slugger JD Martinez said. “It’s impressive.”

Game Five is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, where the Red Sox can close out a spectacular season with their fourth title in 15 years. Boston picked Game Two winner David Price to start on short rest against fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw.

Soon after Yasiel Puig’s three-run homer in the sixth put the Dodgers up 4-0, Boston’s incredible surge began with pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland’s three-run homer.

By the time they were done decimating the Dodgers’ bullpen, six Red Sox had combined for seven hits—four for extra bases.

Boston scored just two runs in its first 24 innings at Dodger Stadium, but added nine more in the last three innings of Game Four.

“Sometimes in October we talk about mechanics, and how you feel at the plate and all that, [but] sometimes it’s will,” Manager Alex Cora said. “You will yourself to do great things. And it started very simple. A few good at-bats, and then the big swing, and we kept rolling and we didn’t stop playing.”

The Red Sox will have trouble topping this performance, in which they

long October history, but he did it twice. The 35-year-old journeyman connected off All-Star closer Kenley Jansen for the tying homer in the eighth, and cleared the bases one inning later with a double to the gap.

The superlative Boston roster that won 108 regular-season games and then rolled through the 100-win New York Yankees and defending champion Houston Astros to win the American League pennant is now one win from this formerly tormented franchise’s ninth World Series crown.

Enrique Hernandez hit a two-run homer in the ninth for Los Angeles, which could become the first team to lose the World Series on its home field in back-to-back seasons since the New York Giants lost at the Polo Grounds to the Yankees in 1936 and 1937.

“We’re not out yet,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said.

“Our guys aren’t done.

We’ve got our best going tomorrow and we’re BOSTON’S Steve Pearce hits a three-run RBI expecting to win a double in the ninth inning in Game Four as the baseball game.”

Red Sox push the Los Angeles Dodgers deeper Devers added down in the series. AP

TRUMP: BIG MISTAKE! L

OS ANGELES—Working on a one-hitter with a 4-0 lead, Rich Hill had just set down Eduardo Nunez swinging for the first out of the seventh inning.

Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts had seen enough.

Walking to the mound, he signaled to the bullpen and Hill was gone.

“Big mistake!” President Donald J. Trump tweeted.

It was the beginning of another troubled outing for Los Angeles’s bullpen in the World Series.

Six relievers combined to give up eight of Boston’s nine runs over the final three innings in a 9-6 loss on Saturday night that sent the Dodgers to the brink of elimination for the second straight year.

“Watching the Dodgers/Red Sox final innings,” Trump tweeted. “It is amazing how a manager takes out a pitcher who is loose & dominating through almost 7 innings, Rich Hill of Dodgers, and brings in nervous reliever[s] who get shellacked. 4 run lead gone.

Managers do it all the time, big mistake!”

Roberts responded, saying, “I don’t know how many

Dodger games he’s watched. I don’t think he’s privy to the conversation. That’s one man’s opinion.”

Los Angeles trails 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Game Five is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, where the Dodgers lost to Houston in Game Seven a year ago.

Informed of Trump’s comments, Boston Manager Alex Cora simply said, “Dave Roberts is a good manager.”

When he was told of the presidential tweet, a subdued Hill said, “I didn’t read it.”

Roberts and Hill talked in the sixth, with the 38-yearold left-hander telling his manager to keep an eye on him.

“Right there, I know Rich did everything he could, competed, left everything out there,” Roberts said.

“We’ve got to do a better job of picking him up.”

Hill struck out seven and walked three in 6 1/3 innings with one run and one hit. He is just the second pitcher age 38 or older to post three World Series starts in which he’s allowed just one earned run, including two last year. Roger Clemens holds the record with four.

Scott Alexander inherited a runner from Hill, who

had issued a leadoff walk to Xander Bogaerts. Alexander walked Brock Holt and Roberts was quick with the hook.

“It just didn’t work out the way we wanted,” Hill said.

“We’ll move forward and concentrate on Sunday.”

The Dodgers turned to Ryan Madson, brought in from the Nationals in August to bolster the pen in highleverage situations.

It didn’t work.

Madson gave up a three-run homer to pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland, drawing the Red Sox within 4-3.

The Dodgers turned to Kenley Jansen in the eighth for the second straight game.

Bad move.

The All-Star closer served up a one-out homer to Steve Pearce that tied the game at 4-all.

“We’re all disappointed,” Jansen said. “We can’t question ourselves. It’s another day tomorrow. It’s not over until it’s over.”

Hours earlier, Jansen gave up Jackie Bradley Jr.’s tying homer in the eighth inning of an epic Game Three, blowing his attempt at a six-out save in his third major World Series failure in two years.

But the bullpen rallied, with eight relievers combining for 11 innings of five-hit ball in the longest World Series game in history. They mostly shut down Boston’s powerful lineup and

a big defensive play in the ninth when he slid to stop Manny Machado’s hard grounder at third before throwing across the diamond to get the Dodgers slugger for the second out. Craig Kimbrel then got Cody Bellinger on a fly to end it, leaving Puig in the on-deck circle.

Less than 17 hours after Max Muncy’s 18th-inning homer for the Dodgers ended the longest game in World Series history at seven hours and 20 minutes, the teams were back on the field in Chavez Ravine. That epic defeat could have sapped many teams’ strength, but the Red Sox shrugged it off—although they waited until the seventh inning to get going.

“It was just a loss,” Cora said of Game Three. “I think for everybody else it’s a crushing loss, but after the game we were up 2-1 [in the Series].”

Game Four took only three hours and 57 minutes, but had at least as many dramatic twists.

Muncy went 1 for 5 after his early-morning heroics for the Dodgers, who must overcome a 3-1 deficit to end their 30-year championship drought. Only six teams have accomplished the feat in the World Series, although the Chicago Cubs did it just two years ago.

After Dodgers starter Rich Hill baffled Boston with one-hit ball into the seventh, Los Angeles was up 4-0 and needing just seven outs to even the series. Instead, the Dodgers’ embattled bullpen was shredded by Boston’s bats.

Moreland got the comeback started with his three-run shot off Ryan Madson after Xander Bogaerts and Holt drew walks. Moreland’s homer was only Boston’s second hit of the game.

“Anytime you come up with a situation like that, you want to make something happen,” Moreland said. “But we had two guys go up there and build an inning before me, and just we kept grinding and kept grinding, and finally gave ourselves an opportunity.”

Pearce then repeated the Game Three feat of Jackie Bradley Jr., who also hit a tying homer off Jansen in the eighth.

Dodger Stadium was already rumbling with tension and fear when Holt doubled in the ninth off losing pitcher Dylan Floro. Devers sent him home with a single—and

the Dodgers eked out a 3-2, 18-inning victory in the sevenhour, 20-minute affair that ended early Saturday. Converted starter Alex Wood got the win by pitching out of trouble in the 18th after giving up a leadoff walk.

Jansen struggled against Houston a year ago in the World Series, too.

He gave up a solo homer to Marwin Gonzalez in Game Two for his first blown save in the playoffs. That ended his major league record streak of converting his first 12 postseason save chances.

In Game Five, he took the loss in a 10-inning defeat.

The Dodgers ran through Dylan Floro, Wood and Kenta Maeda in the ninth when the Red Sox exploded for five runs, four of them with two outs. Floro gave up pinch-hitter Rafael Devers’s go-ahead single with one out.

“We have another chance,” Jansen said, “and we’ll give it our best shot.” AP

PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump assails Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts’s moves in the Dodgers’ 9-6 loss to the Red Sox. AP

three batters later, Pearce cleared the bases.

After Pearce arrived at second and Martinez was intentionally walked, Martinez used his hands to make a heart and mouthed “I love you!” to Pearce.

Both men cracked up.

Pearce even scored Boston’s ninth run on Bogaerts’s single, celebrating wildly with his teammates in quiet Chavez Ravine.

Joe Kelly was the winner after tossing two shutout innings.

Pitching dominated early in Game Four on the second straight postcard-perfect night at Dodger Stadium.

These big-budget lineups combined for just three hits in the first five scoreless innings—and they needed only about 90 minutes to play them after Friday’s 440-minute affair.

After throwing just six pitches of relief in Game Three, Eduardo Rodriguez largely stymied the Dodgers over the first five innings.

Hill was also dominant early in his third career World Series start, allowing no hits until Christian Vazquez’s single in the fifth.

The Dodgers finally got going in the sixth when Rodriguez plunked leadoff hitter David Freese with a pitch near the knee and Justin Turner doubled. With the bases loaded, Bellinger grounded to first and Boston got the force at home, but Vazquez’s throw sailed past first base and down the right-field line, allowing Turner to scamper home.

Puig then crushed a 92 mph fastball deep into the left-field bleachers, raising his arms in triumph while Rodriguez slammed down his glove in pure frustration.

The ebullient Cuban right fielder has gone in and out of favor in Los Angeles, but his homer was his 50th postseason hit, fourth-most in Dodgers history.

Hill walked the leadoff hitter in the seventh, but left to a standing ovation with one out.

The LA bullpen that threw 11 innings of five-hit ball in Game Three only needed to get eight outs—but it didn’t happen. The struggling Madson left a changeup over the middle to Moreland, who bashed it into right for his first homer this postseason.

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Business

C2 Monday, October 29, 2018

Milliam shines in La Carlota tilt

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LEXA MILLIAM swept through the girls’ premier division crown with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Sydney Enriquez, completing another three-title romp in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala La Carlota national age-group tennis tournament at the Lacta-Pontevedra outdoor tennis courts in Negros Occidental recently.

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ELIEVED of the pressure after nailing his first win, James Ryan Lam goes for a second straight victory this week, armed with a swing and putting touch that stood out the last time out at Luisita.

But he would need more of them as he sets out for the Summit Point World 18 Challenge starting on Wednesday at the Summit Point Golf Club in Lipa, Batangas, where a tougher test awaits the stellar international cast beefed up by at least three foreign aces making their return to Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Asia.

Young Korean Kim Joohyung, Thai Pasavee Lertvilai and American Brett Munson have signed up for the 72-hole championship, all ready to slug it out with the best and the brightest in the $100,000 event

The 14-year-old star dominated her age-group division with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Rose Martirez then held off Enriquez, 6-3, 7-5, in the 16-under singles finals, extending her amazing run in the circuit presented by Dunlop to a third straight week after posting similar feats in Dumaguete and Argao, Cebu.

But while the Pontevedra, Negros, find

T

Valuable Player honors with Milliam.

“These two young but talented players are currently in a zone and we expect them to rake in more titles with the way they are playing,” said Castro, adding that the duo’s feats should inspire the other young players to strive and work hard on their respective games.

Other singles winners were Puerto Princesa’s John Kendrick Bona (10-under unisex), Elemar Sealza from Iloilo (boys’ 12-under), Faith Banico from Siquijor (girls’ 12-under) and Sal Andrei

Lago from Sogod, Leyte, (boys’ 14-under), and doubles champions Mahusay and Po (boys’ 18-under), Martirez and Shyryn Salazar (girls’ 18-under), Khenz Justiniani and Pete Rodriguez (boys’ 14-under), Banico and Sheena Uy (girls’ 14-under), and Bona and Daveaine Gauran (10-under unisex).

SPOTLIGHT ON LAM serving as the seventh leg of the second season of the region’s newest circuit put up by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI).

Kim bested PGT Order of Merit winner Jobim Carlos to rule the PGT Del Monte leg in July, Lertvilai is a former PGT Asia Q-School topnotcher, while Munson is a former winner in the other regional tour.

They join Lam and 81 others plus 12 sponsor invitees in the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.organized event at the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed layout

BRONZE FOR BLU BOYS HE Philippine Blu Boys failed to sustain their charge and bowed to the New Zealand and Lakidende of Malaysia sides to settle for the bronze in the Makassar Open

kept her remarkable streak, Davao’s John David Velez, also 14, opted not to compete in his age category but still pulled through with victories in the two higher divisions of the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop headed by President and CEO Bobby Castro.

Velez, who also swept three titles in Dumaguete and Argao, repulsed Ceazar Po, 6-3, 6-4, in the 16-under finals then upended top-seed Reynan Mahusay, 6-2, 6-2, to claim the 18-under crown and share the Most

international men’s and women’s softball tournament in Makassar, Indonesia, recently.

The Blu Boys bowed to the Kiwis the second time around, 1-3, and succumbed

which features replicas of the 18 famous golf holes across the world, including Pine Valley’s No. 14 (No. 2), Augusta National’s No. 12 (No. 13), Winged Foot’s No. 10 (No. 17) and Saint Andrews’ No. 14 (No. 16), among others.

Lam ended up tied at 34th when Summit Point hosted the PGT’s Players Championship last year, which Clyde Mondilla won to cap a sterling season. But after three missed cut stints in this year’s PGT Asia, Lam worked on his game and placed fifth at Forest Hills in July, finished sixth at Aboitiz last month

to the Malaysians, 0-9, to finish with a 7-3 slate. Lakidende, which lost to the Blu Boys, 0-1, in their first face-off, also had a 7-3 slate but moved to the finals against the Kiwis, who lorded it over the field with a 9-1 card.

Despite failing to match their silver medal effort in this year’s 10th Asian

before nailing the big win at the CAT Open last Friday.

One thing going for the 30-year-old shotmaker, son of a Malaysian-Chinese and a Filipina from Lipa, is he would be playing practically at home.

That makes him the marked man in the upcoming event with the likes of American Josh Salah, Jhonnel Ababa and Ira Alido out to sustain their late charge that netted them top 5 spots in the CAT Open and Jobim Carlos itching to rebound from his final-round meltdown along with Elmer Salvador, Aussie Jack

Men’s Softball Championship, also in Indonesia, the Blu Boys still put up a strong performance in the weeklong event, edging Bedford (Australia), 10-9, then bouncing back from a 1-5 defeat to New Zealand with victories over Piccadilly (New Zealand), 3-0, Lakidende (Malaysia), 1-0, Pirates (Indonesia), 10-0, Bedford, 6-3, Pirates,

Sullivan and Mondilla.

Meanwhile, a select group of pros test the challenging par-72 layout one last time in the pro-am tournament on Tuesday, where they will be paired with amateur guests of the event’s chief backers, including ICTSI, Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and MY Shokai Technology Inc.

7-0, and Piccadily, 6-2.

“The team’s strong performance in the competition is a testament to how Filipinos can excel in softball. With the Blu Boys as their role models, I hope more young Filipinos will take up the sport,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, president of the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines.

JAMES RYAN LAM goes for a second straight victory this week at the Summit Point World 18 Challenge in Lipa City.

orts

sMirror

Monday, October 29, 2018

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WARRIORS NO MORE

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas’s Caunan Enrique Jr. and University of the East’s Wilson Bartolome scramble for the loose ball. NONOY LACZA

Petron goes full throttle in All-Filipino Conference

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ETRON will march in full force to defend its crown in the Philippine Superliga AllFilipino Conference starting on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

Powered by veteran Ging Balse and a healthy Frances Molina, the Blaze Spikers are coming in with a heavyweight status in the club league bankrolled by Isuzu, Sogo, Senoh, Asics, Mikasa, Mueller, UCPB Gen and Bizooku.

Balse, a member of the national squad that bagged the bronze medal in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in 2005, joined the Blaze Spikers to reunite with former University of Santo Tomas teammates Rhea

Dimaculangan and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas.

Molina will also be back in full strength after suffering a stress fracture injury that prompted her to withdraw from the national squad that saw action in the 18th Asian Games and Asian Volleyball Confederation Asian Women’s Cup last month.

Also set to carry the cudgels for the starstudded Petron side in this league that was chosen as one of the 10 finalists in the Best Women’s Sports Event category award of SPIA Asia are Mika Reyes, Jasmine Alcayde, Buding Duremdes, Remy Palma, Pia Gaiser, Chloe Cortez, Angel Legacion and Carmela Tunay.

High-leaping Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons will also see action to provide the scoring spark for the Blaze Spikers.

“I’m back and hopefully I can maintain my health,” said Molina, the former San Beda University star who skippered the squad when it crushed F2 Logistics in a dramatic best-of-three finals showdown last year.

“We’re the defending champion, so there’s really pressure going into this tournament. But we’re confident that we had a good preparation in the off-season and we’re ready to go.”

HEN was the last time University of the East (UE) painted the town red? Or came close to doing so?

Not in the last decade or so.

The Red Warriors have retrogressed from a fabled team of yore to a perennial cellar-dweller—a brand a Sampaloc neighbor once carried for decades— following their 68-79 loss to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigers on Sunday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The loss was the 10th in 11 matches for UE in Season 81 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball action.

But despite the losses piling up and the frustrations keep growing, rookie UAAP men’s basketball coach Joe Silva seemed to see no urgency in curbing the predicament of the once celebrated and dominant collegiate squad “We are in the process of rebuilding the

team,” Silva said.

From a coach whose predecessors also seemed to have been in a bind as to what UE management intends to do with its flagship sports team, victories were never expected this year.

“Coming into this season, we are not expecting wins. We just want to play down the foundation of the basketball program—step by step,” said Silva, a champion coach with Ateneo in the junior ranks.

Silva took over from UE alumnus, Derrick Pumaren, who was relieved a year short of his three-season contract last season with a 12-30 won-loss record.

UE was again a one-man team with Alvin Pasaol scattering 26 points that went with seven rebounds and three blocks. But he simply could not do it alone for the Red Warriors.

On the other end on Sunday, Marvin Lee, one of UST’s veterans, hit eight triples for a career-high 30 points as the Growling Tigers evened their record to 5-5 to keep pace in the Final Four race.

Lee was not alone to carry the load for UST, unlike Pasaol. CJ Cansino recorded the league’s first triple-double by a rookie since 2003 with his 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.

WORLD-CLASS SPORTS T COMPLEX UP IN CLARK

San Beda, PCU Dasmariñas advance

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AN Beda and Philippine Christian University (PCU)-Dasmariñas clinched berths in the playoffs of the 3x3 Golden League Manila in the second day of action on Saturday at the Dumlao Sports Center in Mandaluyong City.

San Beda swept Pool Q after beating Tondo, EDSCI 2 and Dasma Ballers, while the PCU-Dasmariñas overcame Calansanz, Elivate and Unicorn in Pool O to join the 22 teams which advanced to the knockout phase of the tournament that has Allan Caidic as commissioner and MediaPro Asia and Sina Sports as organizers.

Also moving on to the knockout phase are Batang Cubao, Metrostar Realty, FEU-NRMF A, Finance, IMET and Savio Juniors. They played for the title on Sunday at the Ayala Circuit Manila.

The champion team will receive $3,000 and will represent the Philippines in the Sina 3x3 International Elite League from November 13 to 17 in Beijing, China.

The tournament drew club teams from the different parts of Metro Manila, provinces and an international team from China in ABA Prefecture, although the team from Tibet is not eligible to win the championship being a guest team.

Duke heads foreigners’ campaign

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USTRALIA’S Dimity Lee Duke, Guam’s Manami Iijima and Hong Kong’s Leanne Szeto set out for a grueling test of endurance as they dispute the women’s elite pro crown in the Black Arrow Express 5150 next Sunday in Subic Bay. Duke ended two years of frustrations in 5150 races in the country’s triathlon capital with a comefrom-behind victory over Laura Wood last year, with

the regular Philippines campaigner all geared up for another crack at the crown in the premier 1.5-km swim/40-km bike/10-km run event.

But Duke, who also won a 5150 event in Bohol and turned in podium finishes in other Ironman 70.3 races, expects a fierce challenge from her rivals, including Iijima, who actually finished ahead of Duke in Ironman 70.3 in Cebu last August.

RICK OLIVARES bleachersbrew@gmail.com

BLEACHERS’ BREW

Much-needed splash for Philippine football NATIONAL football team manager Dan Palami announced the other day the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson as head coach of the Azkals.

According to the British Broadcasting Corp., Eriksson, the former England boss, signed a sixmonth contract that will cover the Philippines’s Asian Cup stint for 2019.

Eriksson, who hails from Sweden, has managed the national teams of England, Mexico and, most recently, Ivory Coast. He has worked in nine countries with the Philippines being his 10th assignment. The Swede has won honors on his home soil, Portugal, Italy and an individual honor in England. He last worked in China where he was with Guangzhou R&F, Shanghai SIPG and Shenzen (2017).

After German-American coach Thomas Dooley’s contract was not renewed in March of this year, three others were named to helm the Azkals’ matches, including Englishman Terry Butcher who never got to be in charge of a single game.

I think the appointment is good but it could have been better.

To have a high-profile coach who has guided top squads is good. But what can one do in six months? Maybe that was his stipulation.

Nevertheless, I will take it.

Football might have dropped off the radar of Philippine sports, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t thriving. It is. It does need a push though.

Eriksson will drive interest; wins by the Philippines will do even more.

And there’s goalkeeper Neil Etheridge who is the starting net minder for Cardiff City in the English Premier League.

I remember when Neil first came over and took Louie Casas’s spot at the goal during the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers against Brunei Darussalam. I was with Solar Sports at that time, and we broadcast the Azkals’ matches during those days. Neil was a massive presence at goal. Not only size-wise, but he commanded the defense very well. Plus, he finished with three clean sheets. Not bad. And he has played 61 international caps and counting for the national side.

When he was named as a substitute for Fulham second keeper David Stockdale, who went down with an injury prior to a match against Wolverhampton—an official Premier League match—it was neat moment for Etheridge. As good as it was to be on the team sheet, Etheridge said back then, he did wish though that he got to play. That came in the 2011-12 season when he played for Fulham in a Europa League match.

Neil gave me a Fulham jersey of his with the proper Premier League badges and to this day, it is one of my most-prized possessions.

Things sort of wavered in terms of cracking a Premier League slot as he bounced around Bristol Rovers, Crewe Alexandra, Oldham Athletic, Charlton Athletic and Walsall.

It was with Welsh club Cardiff City where Neil made a huge impact as he played in 45 of

CLARK Development Corp. President and CEO Noel Manankil, Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vivencio Dizon, and Manila Soccer Academy Director and Head Organizer Monty Roxas lead the ceremonial kickoff for the Pinas Cup 2018 at the Clark Parade Grounds on Sunday.

With her focus, commitment and drive to excel, the 25-year-old Iijima, who also placed third in the Lixil Ironman in Japan last June, hopes to nail her first 5150 diadem in the upcoming event sponsored by one of the country’s top e-commerce logistics companies.

Focus will also be on Szeto, an Asian Games veteran and a former mainstay of Hong Kong’s national team, whose experience in endurance races have equipped her with the know-how to compete with the best.

46 matches during the 2017-2018 Championship season that saw the Bluebirds, as the team is nicknamed, promoted to the Premier League! Neil kept 19 clean sheets and only conceded 37 goals that year!

After years of waiting, Neil was in the Premier League! Furthermore, he was named as a candidate for Premier League Player of the Month of August after stopping two penalties and making nine saves. He was nominated alongside Chelsea’s Marcus Alonso, Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk, Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy, Tottenham’s Lucas Moura and Watford’s Roberto Pereya. The honor went to Moura. But no matter. The fact that Neil was named is huge enough. Talk about an impact in his first month of solid Premier League action.

Watching him take on Liverpool last Saturday in Anfield (the Bluebirds fell, 4-1), I can only imagine what emotions he felt. As Neil related to me when I used to cover the Azkals regularly from 2008-2014, he grew up a Liverpool fan (the only other Reds fans on the national team there were midfielder Chieffy Caligdong, defender Rob Gier, and team manager Dan Palami).

Against Liverpool, on occasion, the pundits pointed out his spot on challenges especially to Mo Salah (denying him a scoring chance). I wish him more success.

The early good cheer of the season has somewhat dissipated as Cardiff are fighting for their Premier League lives. At 1-2-7, they are just out of the relegation zone for one; one notch higher than Etheridge’s old club Fulham which is in 18th spot and ahead of Newcastle United and Huddersfield Town.

Cardiff’s next fixture is against reeling Leicester City on November 3. After a 1-1 draw against West Ham (also on the same day as the Bluebirds’ match in the Merseyside), a helicopter carrying the Foxes’ owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha crashed just outside the club grounds. As of this writing, Sunday morning, there has been no word as to who was on board and their fate. We can only offer prayers and wish everyone involved with the club good health and safety.

“We played well and we adjusted to their offense. We had to change our game plan because there were aspects of it that we were not able to execute,” UST Head Coach Aldin Ayo said.

With Pasaol and Philip Manalang at times sharing the lead role, the Red Warriors took a slim 19-17 advantage in the first quarter.

But the young but more composed UST side slowly regained control and were in command in the next 30 minutes.

Lee sparked a 10-0 run to turn a 26-29 deficit into a 36-29 Growling Tigers lead with under two minutes before the half.

With a ton of responsibility weighing down on his shoulder, Pasaol still dished out 13 points in the third quarter. But his teammates could only produce a combined three points, allowing UST to dictate the tempo to the end.

Silva admitted that his team lacks the talent to match the blue-chip schools, but pointed out one aspect that needs refinement.

“Discipline,” Silva said. “More than the skills, it’s the discipline.”

“That’s our struggle, the consistency of what we are doing,” he added.

HE Clark Parade Grounds in Pampanga will be developed into a world-class multisports complex.

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Vivencio Dizon made the announcement as he opened the Pinas Cup 2018 in Clark on Saturday.

“For next year, you’re going to find something very different when you play here because all of these will be transformed into a world-class football pitch,” Dizon said.

The Pinas Cup, organized by the Manila Soccer Academy (MSA) in participation with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), was held for the third year in a row at Clark. The event gathered 115 football clubs from across the country this year.

The Clark Freeport also serves as a major area for various events on Sports Tourism and Ecotourism in the country, according to Dizon.

“It will just get bigger and bigger and the government is going to support it all the way,” he said.

Clark Development Corp. President and CEO Noel Manankil, meanwhile, said that Clark also hosted the World Record attempt of Trinx Bikes for the longest line of bicycle parade on Sunday.

Sports

DeRozan powers Spurs with near triple-double

BusinessMirror

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| Monday, October 29, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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SMILING through each twist, flip and turn, Simone Biles is nearly flawless during qualifying on Saturday, posting the highest scores on balance beam, floor exercise and vault. AP

‘DOHA PEARL’

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By Will Graves The Associated Press

OHA, Qatar—Simone Biles spent a portion of the night before her return to world championships in the emergency room.

The sensation she chalked up to the usual pre-meet stress evolved into searing agony that at times left her crawling on the floor.

When a CT scan revealed a kidney stone—one she nicknamed “the Doha Pearl”—the reigning Olympic gymnastics champion grabbed her stuff and discharged herself from the hospital, telling the staff she’ll deal with the pain later.

“I heard roller-coasters might help kidney stones,” Biles said. “And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m basically like my own little roller-coaster out there.’”

One that turns each performance into a thrill ride of its own. Smiling through each twist, flip and turn, the 21-year-old Biles was nearly flawless during qualifying on Saturday, posting the highest scores on balance beam, floor exercise and vault on her way to a total of 60.965 on a day when the Americans put up a team score of 174.429, a staggering 12 points clear of second-place Japan through six of 11 qualifying groups.

“She’s Simone,” US High Performance Coordinator Tom Forster said.

“You’d expect the same out of a Michael Jordan or a Tiger Woods and that’s who she is in our sport. And she showed it.”

Even though she didn’t get back to the hotel room she shares with teammate Riley McCusker until after 1 a.m. on Saturday morning. Even

after skipping the early workout as a precaution. Even though she couldn’t be treated with the same pain medication typically given those dealing with kidney stones because doing so would put her in jeopardy of failing a drug test.

No matter. Biles did what she always seems to do when the rest of her sport is watching: She dominated. Her all-around total marked the highest in the world since her gold medal-winning total at the 2016 Summer Olympics. And still she sees room for improvement.

Asked what she’d give herself on a day she completed a vault in competition that will end up bearing her name the next time the code of points is updated, Biles shrugged and said “6 or 7.”

Not bad considering Biles was initially concerned she had appendicitis, which would have forced her to sit out the competition entirely. Instead it’s “just” a kidney stone, albeit one Biles believes she won’t be able to pass, meaning she’s going to have to deal with it throughout a very busy week that will include team finals, the all-around final and all four event finals.

Biles believes she’ll be fine. Even if she’s not quite 100 percent, the gap between herself and the rest of the world is so sizable it might not matter. She finished more than four points ahead of teammate and 2017 world champion Morgan Hurd, whose score of 56.465 edged Japan’s Mai Murakami for second halfway through qualifying and assured Hurd of a spot in the finals.

The public address system played a bell akin to the start of a boxing match when the US headed to uneven bars. What happened over the next

90 minutes was the gymnastics version of a technical knockout. Hurd led off with a 14.466 that seemed to send a message that while the faces with the stars-and-stripes leotards change, the expectations and results do not.

“There’s clearly a lot of pressure there,” Hurd said. “How many world championships has the US won? We have to keep the pedestal.”

Looking for a way to give McCusker, Grace McCallum and Kara Eaker—each of whom is making their world championship debut—a breather before stepping onto the podium, Forster opted to have Hurd lead off in three of the four events. Forster called the move a “gut feeling,” one Hurd eagerly accepted.

“It honestly makes me a little less nervous because I have less time to get even more anxious,” said Hurd, who hardly looked nervous while qualifying for event finals on floor exercise and uneven bars.

McCallum competed in three of four events, and her 14.6 on vault probably earned her a berth in the event finals. Kara Eaker, who turns 16 next month, drilled a 14.466 on balance beam and McCusker overcame a stumble on beam that she admitted left her “frazzled” to finish fifth in the all-around.

McCusker, however, won’t qualify for the all-around finals thanks to the rules that limit countries to two athletes per event in the individual competition. Still, she’ll be part of the team final, and extending the US win streak—the Americans have won every major international competition since the 2011 world championships—has always been the focal point.

PRAYER FOR VICTIMS

Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins players stand on the ice during a moment of silence for the victims of a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue before their National Hockey League game in Vancouver on Saturday. A gunman who’s believed to have spewed anti-Semitic slurs and rhetoric on social media barged into the synagogue and opened fire, killing 11 people in one of the deadliest attacks on Jews in US history. AP

AN ANTONIO—The Spurs are still working to develop a comfort and chemistry with one another, but have already discovered they can count on DeMar DeRozan to come through late.

DeRozan had 30 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and the Spurs rallied in the fourth quarter, overcoming 35 points and 11 rebounds from LeBron James to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 110106, on Saturday night.

DeRozan had 14 points in the second half, including eight in the fourth quarter, for his second double-double in five games after failing to get any last season with Toronto.

“Whenever we’re down, it’s kind of natural to me to just try to be more aggressive,” DeRozan said. “Go out there, whether it’s to score or try to find guys and just try to get us going.”

San Antonio fed off the energy, rebounding from a 20-point loss against Indiana as Gregg Popovich became the fifth coach to win 1,200 games and the first to do so with one team.

The Spurs’ first lead came at 93-91 with 10 minutes remaining, when DeRozan laid in his own miss after beating three Lakers to the rebound.

“I just wanted to kind of get that bucket, kind of get the crowd into it, get your teammates into it, the bench gets into and we all kind of feed off the energy after that,” he said.

San Antonio would build the lead to eight points before James cut it to 106-105 with four straight points and assist to Josh Hart on a three-pointer. DeRozan responded with a fadeaway jumper on Hart with 15.9 seconds remaining to help preserve the lead and the eventual win.

“When you have those games where your offense isn’t clicking like it is, you’ve got to be able to rely on your defense, and we did that tonight,” James said. “We were down one, they had the ball, and DeRozan hit a tough, tough two over Josh. We did our job, and that’s all you can ask for.”

The Spurs also tried to lock in defensively after struggling offensively for much of the game.

San Antonio entered the game allowing 121.8 points, but held Los Angeles to 46 points in the second and 18 in the final quarter.

“That sort of thing is what we’re used to and that’s really the first time this year that we’ve done that,” Popovich said. “If that can become a habit, you have a good opportunity to win a lot of games.

We’re not there yet we’re not going to be consistent at that right now but we did do it tonight and that was great.”

The Lakers shot 53 percent in the first half and led by as many as 14 points.

Kyle Kuzma, who made his first two three-pointers, finished with 15 points for Los Angeles. Lance Stephenson added 14 points, including a three-pointer at the close of the first quarter that he punctuated by posing for the fans sitting courtside.

DeRozan scored eight points in the final four minutes of the first half, including an emphatic dunk between two defenders, to cut a 13-point lead into a more manageable 60-54 deficit entering the third quarter.

The Spurs tied it at 71 with 6:52 remaining in the third, but the Lakers went on a 17-6 run to reclaim a double-digit lead.

Rudy Gay added 16 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points as the Spurs beat the Lakers for the second time in a week.

BUCKS TOP MAGIC

THE Milwaukee Bucks proved they could thrive, at least temporarily, without their franchise player.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined to start the second half while being evaluated for a possible concussion, the Bucks built a big third-quarter lead and cruised to a 113-91 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

The Bucks have won six consecutive games to start the season, one shy of the record set by the 1971-72 team. The win sets up a Monday night showdown in Milwaukee with the Toronto Raptors, the league’s only other unbeaten team.

Antetokounmpo, who finished with 21 points in a season-low 19 minutes, fell to the floor underneath the basket midway through the first quarter after catching an elbow from the Magic’s Aaron Gordon.

“I just got hit in the head,” Antetokounmpo said. “I tried to block the shot. I fell down. I don’t remember much after that. I have to be careful with that. We did some [concussion] tests in the second quarter and some additional tests in the third quarter.”

When asked what he remembered about the play, Antetokounmpo said he was “probably knocked out.”

“I just remember the hit. But I’m fine,” he said.

Milwaukee Coach Mike Budenholzer noted that Antetokounmpo continued to play close to his normal minutes in the first half after the blow to the head before being sent back to the locker room to undergo further tests after halftime. Antetokounmpo played three minutes in the fourth quarter.

Khris Middleton added 18 points and Malcolm Brogdon scored 16 for the Bucks, who were coming off a 125-95 blowout of the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road on Friday night in which they made 19 three-pointers on 46 attempts, both season highs.

Milwaukee connected on just 10 of 30 shots from long range against the Magic.

Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and nine rebounds for Orlando. DJ Augustin added 11, all in the first half. AP THE Spurs’ DeMar DeRozan tries to shoot over the Lakers’ Josh Hart. AP

EQUAL TREATMENT A

BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates—Israel’s sports minister attended an international judo competition that began on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as three Israeli players received medals and had their country’s flag displayed on a screen.

It’s a significant change from last year, when UAE organizers had singled Israel out with a ban on displaying its flag or playing its anthem during the tournament when one of its athletes was awarded a medal.

The UAE does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

The International Judo Federation had temporarily suspended the Abu

Dhabi Grand Slam from its schedule, but it was reinstated in September after the tournament’s UAE organizers promised equal treatment to Israeli athletes.

Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev was on hand to attend part of the first day of the tournament in Abu Dhabi, which saw three Israeli athletes win bronze.

Athletes from 62 countries are participating in the Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Slam, which runs until Tuesday, with Israel represented by six male and five female competitors. AP

NBA RESULTS Boston 109, Detroit 89 Utah 132, New Orleans 111 Chicago 97, Atlanta 85 Indiana 119, Cleveland 107 Philadelphia 105, Charlotte 103 Memphis 117, Phoenix 96 Miami 120, Portland 111 Milwaukee 113, Orlando 91 San Antonio 110, LA Lakers 106

G

God of Love

OD of Love, You plant Your Word of life deep within our hearts. In hope we pray: Consecrate us to Your truth, Oh God. Inflame Your Church with the desire to know and live Your law of love, given to us by Your Word and Spirit.

Sensitize all Christians to the plight of the poor and unite us in efforts to advocate justice for the vulnerable. Energize and inspire Your Church’s work in ecumenism and evangelization. May the Word of Christ dwell in us richly by the power of the Holy Spirit, through Christ our peace. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

CATWALK Queens Ria Bolivar, Jasmine Maierhofer and Jo Ann Bitagcol in abaca sculptural creations called “Pinukpok.”

Life BusinessMirror

ALL ACCESS: BIGGER DOORS TO OPEN FOR NATS SITOY D3

Monday, October 29, 2018

D1

PHOTOGRAPHED BY DANIEL TAN

Oh well, Rajo Laurel!

TOTA PULCHRA MISS CHARLIZE

@misscharlize

I

T was the perfect confluence of fashion and philanthropy: Rajo Laurel’s 25th year as a fashion designer and Red Charity Gala’s 10th year. The year’s biggest fund-raising affair was held on Saturday night at the country’s biggest ballroom, the Marriott Hotel Manila.

The gala is headed by socialites Tessa PrietoValdes and Kaye Tinga for the Philippine Red Cross, the projects of Assumption Class 1981, and the new Red Charity Fund for deserving students of Mint School of Fashion. The spectacle, directed by Robby Carmona, started with the Bench Holiday collection and international Filipina star and Rajo’s childhood friend Lea Salonga singing “The Journey,” echoing the designer’s path to style superstardom. Then reigning supermodels Jo Ann Bitagcol, Jasmine Maierhofer and Ria Bolivar opened the eleganza extravaganza in elaborate abaca sculptural creations.

Unrestrained, Rajo unleashed about a hundred of his designs on the 250-meter runway. “The collection is called ‘Archipelago.’ It really began without a

RED Charity Gala X organizers and presentors Ben Chan, Kaye Tinga and Tessa Prieto-Valdes flank featured designer Rajo Laurel

narrative. I’m normally a very methodical designer.

I’m like to be very clear on what I’m doing, but for this particular experience, I wanted to create something almost without a narrative. Specifically, that there would be [creative] freedom. The reason I did it this way was, first and foremost, to be able to use natural materials—modern, indigenous materials. In fact, 75 percent of the collection is handmade,” the prolific designer explained.

Earlier last year, he went to the Philippine Textile Research Institute to immerse himself on the different weaving communities around the Philippines: “From there, we began all these experimentations. For instance, I was very lucky I was

The Coach Foundation donates $1.4M to support the next generation SELENA GOMEZ and Michael B. Jordan

THE global design house of modern luxury leather goods, apparel, footwear, fragrance, eyewear and a full range of lifestyle accessories, Coach announced the launch of Dream It Real, a new initiative to support the next generation as they envision and create the future they know is possible. Inspired by the unique spirit of possibility, optimism and inclusivity embodied by New York, the city where Coach was founded, the initiative is grounded in the brand’s belief in the modern American Dream—and the role the next generation will play in redefining it. Its work will support young people everywhere as they discover their dreams and take steps to turn them into reality. Dream It Real is

part of Coach’s ongoing philanthropic work which, through the foundation, has provided more than $45 million to nonprofit partners globally over the last 10 years.

As part of Dream It Real, Coach also announces its partnership with The Future Project, a national nonprofit organization that makes it possible for young people to discover their power and learn to build a better future. The nonprofit places “Dream Directors” in high schools across the country—transformational coaches, leaders and organizers trained in The Future Project’s unique, research-based methodology. As part of the program, students work with Dream Directors to

create passion-based Future Projects that bring their dreams for self, school or society to life. The partnership is joined by global faces of Coach, Selena Gomez and Michael B. Jordan, who will visit The Future Project’s partner schools this year and work with students as honorary Dream Directors. Both embody Dream It Real’s values of possibility, optimism and inclusivity—and understand firsthand the importance of believing in dreams. In recognition and celebration of Gomez and Jordan’s commitment, the Coach Foundation has donated $1.4 million to help further The Future Project’s mission.

The donation will support the work of Dream Directors in schools across the nation.

“Today, we are proud to stand behind a mission to inspire and equip young people to take steps toward finding their passion and purpose,” said Joshua Schulman, CEO and president of Coach. “Together, our employees and our associates are a community united by our shared desire to achieve our dreams—and to help others achieve theirs.”

To launch Dream It Real, Coach has released a film directed by artist Tyler Mitchell. Shot in Mitchell’s rich, intimate style, the film captures students from The Future Project schools in and around New York City as they reveal their thoughts on dreams, the future and possibility.

able to learn from Narda Capuyan before she passed away. She taught me a couple of weaving techniques of the Cordilleras. The clothes became part of the ‘Ugnayan’ suite.”

In “Vinta,” inspired by the Badjaos of Sulu, he wanted to capture the movements of the colorful sails within the garments, which are a patchwork/collage of different materials. The underwater coral formations of the Philippine seas inspired “Korales.”

“I don’t have any one dominant material. The ‘Una’ pieces were the most difficult to make. They’re made of acrylic, car paint and polyurethane. That was

CONTINUED ON D2

D2

Monday, October 29, 2018

Style

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

z

Today’s Horoscope

❶ THE new

100 percent vegan Matte Clay Concealer is ultralightweight and long-lasting, it provides high coverage and leaves skin looking clearer.

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Ben Foster, 38; Gabrielle Union, 46; Winona Ryder, 47; Richard Dreyfuss, 71.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Explore your creative ideas this year. Put greater emphasis on the things you enjoy doing most. Whether you want to rebuild or restructure your life or your direction, start or expand your family or learn something new, this is a great time in your life to put your thoughts in motion and your imagination to good use. Your lucky numbers are 4, 13, 21, 27, 39, 44, 49.

❷

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a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Listen carefully.

Someone will try to get you on a technicality that you overlooked. If you pay attention to details, you will offset complaints. A change at home or at work will eventually end up being to your benefit. ★★★

❶

b

❷

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Live life your way. Set an example by being the person who lives up to their promises and is ready to go the extra mile when needed. An emotional, physical or personal change will make your life better.

Romance is highlighted. ★★★★

The essentials to �lawless makeup T

HE secret essentials to that perfect, flawless look will always be about “matte” makeup.

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The lightweight concealer is enriched with skinclearing tea tree and leaves a breathable, yet fullcoverage matte finish. For skin that looks visibly clearer, use this beauty essential alone for a fastdrying natural finish, or pair with the Matte Clay Foundation for a lasting flawless finish look. The Matte Clay Powder will set and mattify your concealer or liquid foundation.

Both enriched with ghassoul clay and Community Trade tea tree oil from Kenya, these 100 percent vegan ranges are ultra-lightweight and long-lasting, leaving skin looking clearer and help it breathe all day when you add a touch of coverage.

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These clever compacts can be used in a number of ways for gorgeous makeup results.

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Need a little shimmer on your eyes? Pick a shade and sweep it all over your eyelid or dust the color in the inner corners of the eyes for a lovely glistening glow. Then pair it with the moisturizing Color Crush Lipsticks, with 15 dramatic new shades to choose from, you can make a vividly vampy statement while keeping lips smooth and moisturized for up to four hours.

Enriched with sweet cherry seed oil, Community Trade beeswax from Cameroon and Community Trade marula oil from Namibia, these shades lock-in moisture to love lips with a hydrating pop of bold, high-impact color. ■

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Put in the time and you’ll get something in return. Make productivity your goal, and don’t stop until you are happy with the results you get. Think big, but be practical to make a lasting impression. ★★★

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Share your thoughts and feelings. The feedback you receive will enhance your imagination.

Personal improvements will turn out well, and compliments will be yours. An interesting connection will lead to a long-lasting partnership that is mutually beneficial. Romance is favored. ★★★

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The help you are asked for should be considered carefully.

Someone will take advantage of you if you are too accommodating. Consider what you want in return in order to make whatever deal you agree to worth your while. ★★★

f

THE Body Shop are proud pioneers of 100-percent vegan makeup. However, beeswax is a vital ingredient in the Color Crush lipsticks formula.

Beeswax not only holds the lipstick together, it provides natural moisture that helps protect your lips. The brand’s Community Trade beeswax is pesticide-free and sustainably wild-harvested from hives in the forests of northern Cameroon.

very, very challenging. They’re my fashion-forward, futuristic modern adaptations of ternos,” Rajo said.

The show was an essay on “What is Philippine Style?” and Rajo traveled to the major points of the archipelago to find the answers in clothing form. He did postmodern interpretations of the pañuelo for “Traje.” “I was inspired by the graphic stripes which were fashionable in the 1900s, and I want to bring back this motif for the traje.”

“Saranggola” was an ode to kites he made as a kid, made of digitally woven silk brocade. “Taal” was a tribute to his native Batangas, he incorporated embroidery to mimic the seismic movements of the Taal Lake and the Taal Volcano. The finale piece was called “Sabong,” a dress festooned with feathers.

“My lolo from my mom’s side, from Dumaguete, was a sabongero,” revealed Rajo, who honed his craft apprenticing for Louie Mamengo, Pepito Albert and Isaac Mizrahi. The closest concession he did to a retrospective was revisiting his “Pintados” dresses.

“But this time I used the [Philippine ancient alphabet] alibata and Tritik as a sort of reference. The dresses are

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Keep your emotions under control. You will make better choices if you look at the facts. Only offer what’s feasible if you want to avoid being given an unfair amount of responsibility. Trust is built, not bought. ★★

h

Oh well, Rajo Laurel!

CONTINUED FROM D1

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Become a forerunner, set the stage and take control.

How you get involved in what’s going on around you will make a difference to the way others treat you. Speak up, offer compassion and understanding, and you’ll make an impact. ★★★★

laser cut felt on tulle, celebrating the handwork and skills of artisans,” Rajo said.

The Professional Models Association of the Philippines produced a gala for a then-upstart Rajo in the mid-1990s but he didn’t “resurrect” them for this gala. However, as he jokingly noted his Tito status, the daughters of these models walked for him this time, like Tweetie de Leon’s Sabina and Desiree Verdadero’s Aya. “The most challenging for me [in doing the collection] was figuring out what techniques are new, fresh and innovative, at the same time wearable and pushing the envelope. You know when you design, it’s always a tug of war: ano ba ’yung bago, ano ba ’yung gusto nila. You have to also talk to your clients because this is essentially for them. This almost like an opus where I try to flex some design muscle,” said the New York Fashion Institute of Technology and Central Saint Martin’s graduate.

The collection was indulgent and could have benefited from self-editing. As Cristobal Balenciaga once decreed: “Elegance is elimination.” But Rajo, the astute businessman, understands the bottom line.

“I still think of my clients. What they’ll be needing, what they’ll be wearing. But because this is more of a

couture show, it’s not like a ready-to-wear perspective, but the collection is still [grounded] in reality. When I design, I don’t want [the clothes] to be like just museum pieces. I want them to be worn, not admired hanging in a closet. I want my clients to enjoy wearing my designs. I thought about the women I’ve been dressing up in the last 25 years and how I can still address their needs,” he explained.

Rajo is the only Filipino designer with a viable fashion house, the House of Laurel.

Designing while running a business can be tough, as evidenced by the mental breakdowns of his foreign peers. How does he manage?

“I delegate. I also have my family helping me.

Lola Betty is an early inspiration. Sister Gela headed the MAC makeup team for the show. I’m not alone.

It just so happens that they help me in my vision and support me. We work together,” a grateful Rajo shared, hand over his bursting heart. “Hindi naman ’yun kaya mag-isa. Negosyo kasi pero bina-balanse. The show is all fun but there is a strong marketing aspect to this. After 25 years, you have to revive yourself. It’s cathartic. You have to reinvent and know how to still be relevant.” ■

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A business trip or visiting someone who can offer you information or insight into something you want to pursue will lead to a plan that will change your life. Embrace the future with optimism. Romance and partnerships are highlighted. ★★★★★

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep moving forward. Don’t let anyone lead you astray or confuse you. Compliments will be driven by a motive that isn’t likely to be in your best interest. ★★★

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): If you care, listen and do your best to make a difference.

Use your clout, associations and charm to cut your way through any nonsense or deterrent someone throws your way. ★★★

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take a moment to go over all the information or details you have to process. Saying yes before you figure out if something is good for you will lead to regret. Time is on your side. ★★★

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Just do it. You have to go with your gut and take whatever opportunity comes your way. Negotiate to end up with a good deal. A financial gain is within reach. ★★★★★ BIRTHDAY BABY: You are compassionate, intense and resourceful.

You are open-minded and imaginative.

‘ankle deep’ BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Civil wrongdoing 5 Con activities 10 Little bits 14 Geometric calculation 15 Dude kin 16 Tannish color 17 Shakespearean king 18 Regretting 19 And others, for short 20 Circulation improver 23 Chilean range 24 Barcelona bills 25 Argentine grassland 28 Daytime TV offering 30 Lotion ingredient 31 Fast on one’s feet 33 Valuable deposit 36 AA 40 Before in Cinderella?

41 Thanksgiving shade 42 Tablet relative 43 Crew 44 Bar conveniences

46 Ingrown heir?

49 Even if, cut 51 Eschewing sandals 57 Noted Fitzgerald 58 Very upset 59 Cogito ___ sum 60 Present opener?

61 Lenya of “Cabaret” 62 Very hard to collect 63 Smart-alecky 64 A long way from salty 65 Toboggan DOWN 1 Powder in bathrooms 2 Cookie brand 3 Clean, as a pipe 4 Thin roofing layer 5 Does an office chore 6 Senate’s counterpart 7 Out of order 8 Word with “van” or “skirt” 9 Bell-shaped flower 10 Prepares for long drive 11 Movie VIP

12 13 21 22 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 35 37 38 39 43 44 45 46 47 48

Harry Potter name Sullen, moody displays Genetic info source Below, in old poetry Glass sheet Equipped to fly “But wait, there’s ___!”

Competing team Much, hyphened Gulp relative Michael Jackson musical (with “The”) Cuyahoga Valley National Park locale Make dice work Pot-caught fishes Certain Arab Washed-out Satirical performers Kind of track It may cross a boulevard Beyond ___ pale Do a little housework Bring a cow into the world Not as well

49 50 52 53 54 55 56

Calm down Milky coffee drink Zips or zeros React to water and sun Exam variety Fairy tale monster Like you, but not snakes

Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

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Monday, October 29, 2018

D3

Big�er doors to open for Nats Sitoy ALL ACCESS RICKY GALLARDO

rickygallardoTFI@gmail.com

A

LL it takes is one project to change the life of an artist. If you are a singer, one song can catapult you to instant popularity. If you are an actor, one good role can jump-start an otherwise lackluster career.

For Visayan actress Nats Sitoy, the stars have started to align after she stumbled on this important role in the Japanese film Itoshi No Irene (Come On Irene), currently being screened at the QCinema International Film Festival.

Her director Keisuke Yashida is in the country to grace the festival.

The live action movie is a screen adaptation of a popular manga series created by Hideki Arai during the 1990s. It is about the lonely life of a middle-aged, sexually active Japanese pachinko worker who flew to the Philippines to buy a bride after a major squabble with his parents.

Sitoy was invited by Philippine mega indie film producer Bianca Balbuena-Liew for the initial audition to play the bride. The single mom from Cebu got a callback and proceeded to act in front of the Japanese production crew that flew to Manila.

“When I was shooting in Japan, I was told about my callback. The filmmaker said that when I walked in the audition room, he knew he had found his Irene. He shared that my physical features resembled that of the Irene in the manga series. I vaguely recall what I did during the callback. I knew I was just this bubbly, cheerful lady trying her luck in an international film. I kept my expectations low, but I guess fate stepped in, and destiny unraveled on its own.”

The film first screened in Japan last August to a jampacked crowd in a local Tokyo cinema. Sitoy was there to witness the reactions of the Japanese film audience. “It was my very first international screening experience and I

was dumbfounded. During the meet-and-greet outside the cinema, they were asking for my autograph and some fans also gave me gifts. It felt like I was in dreamland.”

Filming overseas was a totally new experience for Sitoy.

She spoke only English, Filipino and Cebuano, while most of the production team conversed only in Japanese. “They provided me with an interpreter. His name is Hiro and he served as my link to the others. I’m just too glad that my coactors were all very nice and polite and pleasant, even if most of the time we used a lot of hand signals and gestures to communicate.”

She added that she felt so respected as an actor while filming in Japan. “They are very professional. They go through every single detail with ease and followed the timetable strictly. Unlike the Philippine work conditions during shooting or taping, where everything seems rushed, the Japanese people respect every member of the team—from working hours to food, from rest and standby areas to weather information, they made sure that everyone was comfortable and treated well. No star system at all.”

I met Sitoy again at the recent Busan International Film Festival where Itoshi No Irene also screened. I got to know her more—her dreams, her frustrations, her core as an artist.

Sitoy almost gave up her desire to become an actor. “I admit that I categorized myself as a struggling actor. It was not easy for someone not originally from Manila to compete with more known actors for roles.

“Mainstream Manila productions also do a lot of stereotyping, you know—the popular and the mestizo actors get the lead roles, everyone else scramble for the meaty supporting characters.” Sitoy added that she’s happy because of the many local independent film festivals that have mushroomed in recent years. “These festivals give us actors and production people the opportunities that can open big doors in the future.”

A few years ago, Sitoy was cast in the Keith Deligero Visayan film Lily and she bagged the Cinema One festival best supporting actress award. She was also in the main cast of the recent festival movie Asuang.

I am happy that the hardworking Sitoy is starting to get noticed. She gets a big help from lawyer-producer-turnedfilmmaker Joji Alonzo, who handles her promising career.

All it took was a Japanese film project to believe in Nats Sitoy as an actor. And now, she is more than ready to get into the bigger doors that will open for her. ■

GMA WORLDWIDE INKS DEAL WITH CHINESE PARTNER IN MIPCOM 2018 GMA Worldwide Inc. (GWI), GMA Network’s content distribution arm, inked an exclusive distribution agreement with Chinese multimedia company FZ (Feng Zhi) Entertainment Co. Ltd. (FZ) on October 16 during the Mipcom 2018 in Palais des Festival, Cannes, France.

The partnership between GWI and FZ is for the distribution in China of GMA’s highest rating and most successful romantic comedy for 2018, Happy Together (Inday Will Always Love You) headlined by Barbie Forteza.

The signing ceremony coincided with China being celebrated as the country of honor in Mipcom, the world’s biggest entertainment content market.

China is a difficult market to penetrate for foreign content producers, but through GWI’s partnership with FZ, GMAproduced content will soon screen in China through pay TV and OTT-IPTV. This also expands GMA’s presence in the Asian region, enhancing its reputation as the premier source of quality Filipino content.

In a statement, GWI Vice President Roxanne Barcelona expressed her excitement about the partnership. “For many years, GWI had hoped to be able to get its foot in the door

in China. We are very pleased we made it happen this year through the partnership with FZ [Feng Zhi] Entertainment, a multimedia company based in Naning City, GuangXi province, China. FZ’s choice of Happy Together as the first series to be promoted and distributed in China will hopefully pave the way for more GMA series to be distributed and enjoyed by Chinese viewers,” said Barcelona.

Representing the two companies during the signing ceremony were GWI’s Barcelona and FZ Entertainment’s CEO and Founder Joshua Jiang. Standing as witnesses were Ling Li, Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China; and Paul Barbaro, senior sales manager of MIP Markets, the organizers of Mipcom.

In a separate statement, GWI announced plans of distributing more GMA series in China, the next in line being My Superstar (That’s My Amboy), which also stars Barbie Forteza. Mipcom is an annual trade show held in the French town of Cannes. It gathers representatives of television studios and broadcasters, producers, buyers and sellers of program and formats for international distribution.

FROM left: Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Ling Li, FZ Entertainment CEO and Founder Joshua Jiang, GMA Worldwide Inc. Vice President Roxanne J. Barcelona and MIP Markets Senior Sales Manager Paul Barbaro.

D4 Monday, October 29, 2018

Style

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‘Woke up like this’ AND THEN SOME DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

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ONE are the days when most women would go out barefaced. Well-groomed and shaped eyebrows are always important. As they say, “kilay is life.” Permanent makeup has helped women achieve their goals toward a seemingly “woke up like this” look.

Klarisse Tabao established The Eyebrowdery to offer women an innovative way of getting that look. “We are very proud to say that our materials come from natural plant extracts, thus making them very organic, environment-friendly and 100-percent safe,” said Tabao, who studied eyebrow embroidery at Aesthetics International Academy in Singapore.

Dolly Tan, the academy’s principal, highly commended Tabao for her skills. From the school, Tabao received a Diploma in Permanent Makeup Embroidery.

Tabao has always been a girly girl who loves makeup and anything related to beauty, so makeup embroidery is something that she would naturally get involved in.

“There are really women who

want to wake up looking like they have makeup on. For others, eyebrow embroidery helps them in doing their brows before going out, because they just need to follow the shape,” said Tabao.

Eyebrowdery serves women’s need for beauty maintenance such as eyebrow tinting, waxing, threading, shaving, plucking, manicure, pedicure, eyelashes extension and many more.

Services offered are: ■ 3D Embroidery ■ Shading Embroidery ■ Lip Tint Embroidery ■ Eyeliner Embroidery ■ Nipple Embroidery ■ Mole Embroidery ■ Semi-Permanent Bb Foundation ■ Semi-Permanent BB Blush-on ■ Eyelash Self Growth with Stem Cell ■ MTS with Stem Cell ■ Korean Lash Up ■ Eyelash Extension ■ Threading (no pain) Eyebrowdery is at Unit 201 Fox Square Building, 53 Connecticut Street, Northeast Greenhills, San Juan City, Metro Manila. More information are available at 0916-6317433, 7517236, or appointment@eyebrowdery.com.

■■■ I WAS recently sent a box of the new Maybelline 2H Superstay Foundation. This product was something I was quite excited about because I wasn’t really into the Fit Me line except for the powder, which I really love.

My thoughts about the foundation after using it for two days: It goes on smoothly, despite the thick texture.

It’s not cakey or anything like that.

I use Natural Beige (220). My beef with drugstore foundations is that they’re always too orange or too pink. This is true to color for me and didn’t become grayish as the day went on.

I didn’t break out after two days. It’s too early to tell though. I will post a more thorough review in a month. As for the 24-hour claim, I am not so sure about that. The foundation held up pretty well for eight hours. It wasn’t invincible as Kat Von D’s Lock-It Foundation but it was more natural-looking. ■

Enjoy a new level of confidence WHETHER at work, having fun or working out at the gym, the Blackwater Deo Soap for women (www.blackwater.com.ph) is touted to give them confidence—a two-in-one soap with antibacterial properties to fight body odor-causing germs. It’s available in four variants in floral fruity scents, infused with a fragrant feminine spice.

Get the lush notes of plum and berries with a hint of vanilla with Berries and Cream, while Golden Sugar leaves a fresh and feminine scent that lasts all day. Use Shades of Spring and Golden Sugar for a moisturizing, fragrant after-shower feel.

BusinessMirror

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Monday, October 29, 2018 E1

3 ways to build a data-driven team

HOW PEER COACHING CAN MAKE WORK LESS LONELY

By Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

I

T is no doubt a sign of progress that a significant proportion of organizations and managers today appear to feel guilty when they admit that they are making big management decisions in an intuitive rather than evidencebased way. Indeed, being “data-driven” has joined the ranks of “innovative,” “diverse” and “socially responsible” as the one of most laudable features of organizational culture, at least if we go by company web sites.

Here are three key talent management recommendations that should help your team to become more data-driven:

By Norian Caporale-Berkowitz & Stewart D. Friedman

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ORKPLACE loneliness causes burnout, affects job satisfaction and lowers both performance and retention.

Peer coaching is about cultivating a network of allies that can provide mutual support in creating positive change to improve performance. It provides opportunities for one-on-one connection and demonstrates that our inner lives are welcome in the workplace.

Let’s explain a bit further three of the ways it helps:

1Foster critical thinking.

What matters most is having people who can ask the right questions to the data. This means questioning your own biases, distrusting your intuition and displaying a healthy degree of skepticism when presented with ideas and suggestions from others, in particular your team. Equally important, don’t reward others for coming up with intuitive ideas or ideas that feel intuitively right. Instead, celebrate critical thinking, curiosity and the deeper desire to question things.

n It creates a culture that values connection. People develop symp-

toms of loneliness when they feel isolated, regardless of how much actual social support is available to them. Psychological problems increase when people have little hope for more connection in the future.

When employers help employees build peer-to-peer coaching networks, it creates a culture of connection. Employees experience being vulnerable with coworkers and begin to view lowering their walls as an asset, not a liability.

n It replaces social snacking with meaningful dialogue. Communi-

cating mostly over e-mail or chat and then turning to social media on breaks—that’s social snacking, which gives the illusion of connection without actual nourishment.

The reciprocal nature of peer coaching relationships, in which employees take turns talking about work in the context of their whole lives, is a catalyst for deep mutual understanding. By providing opportunities for individuals to talk—without pressure to deliver or impress—peer coaching can reduce loneliness more effectively than staged social events in which people might be laughing and drinking but still hiding behind a mask they’d rather remove.

n It increases psychological safety. Research shows that people

who are lonely, compared to those who are not, are less able to make new connections. Because peer coaching involves repeated conversations with consistent partners, it is an effective method of creating confidants that persist over time.

Once you are comfortable with the idea of doing something to deepen relationships at work, set up a simple method for two people to try out a peer-to-peer coaching exchange. Each pair can take turns coaching each other for 20 minutes each. Peer coaching can be effective in fighting loneliness through opt-in one-on-one dialogues where the work of creating stronger human connections can happen.

Norian Caporale-Berkowitz is pursuing a PhD in counseling psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. Stewart D. Friedman is a professor at the Wharton School.

2Invest in training.

THE 6 FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS

EVERY LEADER SHOULD PRACTICE

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By Ron Ashkenas & Brook Manville

HERE’S an old story about a tourist who asks a New Yorker how to get to Carnegie Hall and is told, “Practice, practice, practice.”

Our research and experience have shown us that the best way to develop proficiency in leadership is not just through reading books and going to training courses, but also through real experience and continual practice. Our research also pointed to six leadership skills where practice was particularly important. These are not mysterious and certainly aren’t new.

Aspiring leaders should focus on practicing these essential basics: n Shape a vision that is exciting and challenging for your team. n Translate that vision into a clear strategy about what actions to take, and what not to do. n Recruit, develop and reward a team of great people to carry out the strategy. n Focus on measurable results.

n Foster innovation and learning to sustain your team and grow new leaders. n Lead yourself. Know yourself, improve yourself and manage the appropriate balance in your own life.

No matter where you are in your career, you can find opportunities to practice these six skills. You’ll have varying degrees of success, which is normal. But by reflecting on your successes and failures at every step, and getting feedback from colleagues and mentors, you’ll keep making positive adjustments and find more opportunities to learn.

Don’t wait for learning opportunities to be handed to you. Seek them out and volunteer to take them on.

And if you don’t see the opportunities in your own organization, find them outside your professional work

How to blow a presentation to the C-suite ASED on my experience watching hundreds of pitches made by high-potential leaders, I can tell you that when it comes to presenting ideas to the CEO, even seasoned leaders who don’t regularly interact with the C-suite fall into a few common traps that can be easily avoided.

the receiving end of endless smart ideas. For yours to stand out and be useful to the CEO, it must solve a problem. Begin the presentation with the one you’ve identified and spend time upfront creating context, surfacing the pain points and building a sense of urgency around addressing the challenge. It’s the problem, not the idea, that executives want to hear first.

Trap #1: An idea without its problem

Trap #2: An idea without a clear return

B

By Sabina Nawaz

PLACE yourself in your CEO’s shoes: She’s on

© 2018 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate)

ONCE you’ve established the problem in your

presentation, the next step is to prove that your idea will not only solve it, but do so in ways that grow the business.

Trap #3: A presentation without interaction

RESERVE the second half of your allotted time for questions. While that seems like an outsized chunk, used well it can be the most valuable part of your talk. Rapid-fire, blunt questions are a sign that executives are interested in your idea. They’re processing

in a community group, a nonprofit or a religious organization, which are often hungry for leaders to step in and step up. Eventually, as you progress, you’ll reach a level of capability in these areas such that you’ll start seeing results. You’ll successfully make things happen through the people who work for you on your team, or in your division. You’ll have become a leader, capable of rallying an organization of people around a meaningful collective goal and delivering the results to reach it.

Ron Ashkenas is the coauthor of the Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook, and a partner emeritus at Schaffer Consulting. Brook Manville is Principal of Brook Manville Llc. and a coauthor of the Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook.

what you said, testing various angles and hypotheses, and generally want to know more.

A common misconception is that if there are no questions, then things went well. The opposite is usually true.

Trap #4: Data without attention to detail

EVEN when you set aside enough time for interaction, you can run into trouble if you don’t have the correct answer to an executive’s question. Presenters can be imprecise or sloppy

Too often, there is a mismatch between the things managers and organizations say they value—e.g., innovation, soft skills, leadership talent and data-driven decision-making—and the resources they devote to enabling those things. The implications are obvious: if you want your team to embrace, or at least keep up with, the current data revolution, and approach work in a more evidence-based way, you will need to train them.

3Hire the right people.

When it comes to the training of quantitative, datadriven, or fact-based reasoning skills, there is well-established evidence for the competencies that predict individuals’ likelihood to learn and display these skills. First, this depends on their level of general intelligence or cognitive ability, which is the single best predictor of a person’s ability to solve well-defined reasoning problems and acquire formal knowledge in any area of competence. Think of it as a general measure of mental horsepower or cognitive processing speed.

No matter how smart your learning intervention might be, and how well-designed and executed your program is, it will be more effective if the recipients are generally bright, curious and hardworking—in fact, the profile of your team will be the biggest determinant of the success of your intervention.

TomasChamorro-Premuzicisthechief talentscientistatManpowerGroup,aprofessor at University College London and Columbia University and an associate at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab.

with details when questioned, especially when it comes to numbers.

Give your audience what it really wants: an overview of the problem and how you think it can be solved for the benefit of the company.

Give them plenty of time to interact with you, and you’ll prove that you’re as smart and capable as they thought.

Sabina Nawaz is a global CEO coach, leadership keynote speaker and writer.

E2 Monday, October 29, 2018 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Education BusinessMirror

Aflatoun: Teaching Filipino children the value of saving

By Lasalette Gumban

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Special to the BusinessMirror

HEN the National Confederation of Cooperatives (Natcco) introduced the Aflatoun program in the Philippines back in 2007, only 18 schools were open to the idea of integrating financial education in the subject areas and introducing the concept of child-friendly savings.

Today, more than 1,400 schools are part of the Aflatoun network and are actively implemented by 7,200 teachers across the country.

The translation of the teachers’ efforts can be seen on the financial behavior of the children. Through the years, the small yet consistent savings of Aflatoun kids reached P153 million—a testament that children, especially the poor, if given the education and the access, can save and break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

The Aflatoun Financial Education Leaders’ Congress on October 11 and 12, held at the Microtel Hotel at the UP Technohub in Quezon City gathered 90 thought leaders on social and financial education from the government, cooperatives, schools, international and national nongovernment organizations and civil-society organizations. The De-

partment of Education, Natcco’s major partner in the implementation of the Aflatoun program, presented the updates on the implementation of Financial Education Curriculum across grade levels, particularly on the Policy on the Integration of the Financial Education in the K-12 Curriculum.

The updates were given by Jocelyn Andaya, Director IV of the Bureau of Curriculum Development, and Aileen Supnad, Supervising Education Program Specialist.

As part of the international movement, Brian Lariche, Aflatoun Board for Asia, discussed the global reach of Aflatoun and the strategic direction that hinges on advocacy, quality programs and scale-up.

Alan Wang, Aflatoun Board and executive director of Be Better Education in China, shared how the program has created positive impact in

the lives of the young children by developing their entrepreneurial skills and exposing them to fun activities that stimulate creativity and greater self-confidence.

Natcco recognizes the value of smart partnerships in furthering the goals of the program. The European Union in the Philippines is one organization that supports youth inclusion through its Framework Partnership Agreement signed with the International Cooperative Alliance. Ambassador Franz Jessen, Ambassador of the EU Delegation to the Philippines, inspired the congress participants with a message about Youth, Cooperatives, and the ICA-EU Partnership: Prospects and Future Partnership for Co-ops in the Philippines.

Ambassador Jessen shared the EU’s commitment to providing the youth with more opportunities to have their voices heard and helping future leaders to emerge. He was excited to share that the EU’s focus will even be strengthened and mainstreamed in all activities of future cooperation programs to build young people’s capacities, strengthen their access to resources, link them to the private sector, and enhance their involvement in value chains.

As the country is being challenged by issues on food security, the European Union is also convinced that resources should be invested in areas like agriculture, where the impact will be high, especially in the rural areas.

Since its inception more than a decade ago, the Aflatoun program has been consistent and committed in providing children and young

people with the tools to build a better future. By becoming socially and economically empowered, they are inspired to discover their talents and stand up for their rights, enabling them to make a positive change to their lives.

A statement of the congress participants said, “ With the support of a strong network of more than 145 cooperative partners and DepEd divisions, we have established our mark as one of the thought leaders of child social and financial education in the Philippines. As the program thrived during the first decade of its implementation, we continue to need the input of our major partners, the Department of Education and other development partners, to shape, tailor and drive our program to the specific needs, challenges and aspirations of children, youth, teachers and cooperators. In the process, we hope to see a large stimulus for the innovation and expansion of our implementation as DepEd’s partner in the Financial Education curriculum across all grade levels.

This gathering hopes to present the framework and priorities for the program in the coming years, with the DepEd and cooperatives as allies, guided by the strategic framework of Aflatoun International.”

The congress presented a holistic and sustainable mechanism for private and public partnerships. As one of the best forms of social enterprises, co-ops promote equity, inclusion and inclusive education— continuously stirring the spirit of innovation and creating stronger partnerships to develop more children and youth.

Lessons learned from childhood storybooks

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N any industry, it’s often hard to imagine the head of a company or an organization to be anything other than a leader. But they, like us, were all children once, and must have read children’s books. We asked five leaders what storybook they read as children taught them life lessons that they carry and use today.

Brother Armin Luistro

President, De La Salle University and President, the Philippine Business for Social Progress; Co-Convenor, Sa Pagbasa, May Pag-asa My favorite storybook as a child was Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince. I thought it was funny and magical and profound all at the same time. I enjoyed the witty characterization of the animals, the plants and the residents of the other planets; but, the magical depiction of the lessons on true friendship; it awakened me to my inner core— that chapter spoke to me as though it read my soul.

I have read the book many times over at different stages of my life, and it would speak to me differently with new insights every time. I am profoundly moved by the author’s insights on friendship and life and, as a leader, I have since looked for things essential that may not be visible to the eye. I have learned much from the insights he had of the characters he described—character flaws portrayed without excuse and judgment. I find myself, even today, easily accepting and respecting people’s shortcomings without making them a big issue.

Elly Puyat

CEO, Ogilvy Philippines My favorite book from my childhood is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The characters and situations are so vivid and

thought-provoking. I can still imagine the rose in the glass case, the man in a house of books, the accountant making his endless calculations, the boy cleaning the moon and the fox sitting in a field—unforgettable!

The story taught me about perspective. It teaches you that everyone has a story and there is always a reason to understand. As a leader, my most important job is to see the best in the people I work with. I need to recognize their talent, foster it and demand excellence. You can only do this if you are able to see things from where they stand.

Ma. Cristina “Ginbee” Go

President, BPI Family Savings Bank One of my favorite storybooks is the Nancy Drew Mystery series, by Carolyn Keene. As a teenage girl, I was able to relate with Nancy Drew and was drawn to her exciting adventures of sleuthing. Because it is a series of mystery books, I always looked forward to the new one. Each book enabled me to transport to Nancy Drew’s world of discovering clues, confronting danger and uncovering the mystery, with the help of her closest friends.

As a leader, Nancy Drew inspired me as she was the embodiment of an empowered, independent-minded and can-do young woman. Just like her, just as she helped people solve their mysteries, I aspired to make a difference on other people’s lives. Her stories influenced me to face challenges with courage and determination despite dangers and risks. The help of her family and friends was key to her success, just as it is for me in the real world of corporate life.

Victoria “Vicky” Garchitorena

Founder, Samahan ng mga Pilipina para sa Reporma at Kaunlaran

(SPARK) and Co-Convenor, Sa Pagbasa, May Pag-asa

I was always a voracious reader. In my youth, I read and enjoyed Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and the Bobbsey Twins. Reading whodunits may have helped me discipline my thinking processes. Ultimately, it taught me to be aware of what’s happening around me, to investigate problems, to be alert and not to be afraid to ask questions. They led very exciting lives and spurred me to continue to search for the truth, too.

Chris Buono

Managing Director, UPS Philippines The book that stayed with me from my childhood is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

At the time the impact would have been that I just enjoyed the story of the relationship between the boy and the tree. I have always subscribed to the idea of giving without any want of something in return. I believe in karma, and that if you do good things for people, it will come back around to you. The ability to use my experiences to help build and create our future leaders is what gets me out of bed in the morning. As a kid, I would have thought of myself like the boy, and I took when things were offered.

Now, giving the opportunities that I have been fortunate to have, I want to see myself more like the tree being able to give parts of myself to others who are in need. Fortunately, I’m not an old stump just yet.

Quintin Pastrana

President, WEnergy Power Pilipinas Philacor Young People’s Library was a beautiful set of children’s books ranging from Filipino myths and legends, children’s games and stories penned and illustrated by National Artists like Nick Joaquin

and Manansala. I still have that set, and it’s always been a touch point and reservoir for affirming my identity as a Filipino—distilling homegrown, timeless values, stories and images that I draw from and apply to my pursuits more as I grow older. It’s the best present my parents gave me, and like all good books, a gift that keeps on giving.

Numerous studies have shown that reading, especially reading storybooks, at a young age, helps develop a child’s intellect and emotional capacity—this is why “Sa Pagbasa, May Pag-asa” advocates for increasing the opportunity for public-school children to read storybooks. Sa Pagbasa, May Pag-asa calls for donations for books to be distributed to public schools across the country.

Sa Pagbasa, May Pag-asa encourages corporations and organizations to adopt the campaign by donating in cash or in kind, either by donating cash, which Sa Pagbasa, May Pag-asa will use to purchase storybook bundles prepared by partner publishing houses, or by collecting age-appropriate storybooks from their employees or members that they can then turnover to their selected beneficiary school.

Sa Pagbasa, May Pag-asa is a campaign led by a steering committee composed of the following individuals and organizations: Quezon City Third District Rep. Jorge “Bolet” Banal, the author of the Araw ng Pagbasa Act; Adarna Publishing; Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines; League of Corporate Foundations; BDO Foundation; Benedicta Du-Baladad Law, Makati Business Club; Association of Foundations; Ayala Foundation Inc.; De La Salle Philippines; Philippine Business for Social Progress; and the Management Association of the Philippines.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Giving SHS students a unique work-immersion experience

S

TARTING school year 20182019, Diwa Learning Systems Inc. (Diwa), the leading provider of K to 12 educational resources, will be offering Business Weeks, a business management training series based on a computerassisted business simulation game that teaches students how to best manage a company by enhancing their understanding of finance, production, marketing and human resources.

Participating Senior HighSchool (SHS) students attend a fiveday training where they are divided

into groups that represent different corporate management teams. The business simulation program then analyzes each business decision students make, while professionals from different fields offer guidance by sharing their experiences.

Business Weeks is equivalent to the required on-the-job training or internship for SHS. More than 10,000 students nationwide have graduated from the program since it was first brought to the Philippines by Bato Balani Foundation Inc. and Ernst Schmidheiny Foundation in 2010.

Mondelez PHL partners with Rise against Hunger

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N the Philippines, undernutrition is a big problem. The Food and Nutrition Research Institute said that in 2015, 31.2 percent of children aged 5-10 years old were underweight. This meant that almost a third of children do not get the right nutrition for their growing minds and bodies.

With this challenge in mind, Mondelez Philippines works to help provide access to fresh food to children in need. Most recently, it has partnered with Rise against Hunger, an organization focused on helping end hunger, improve food security and reduce food wastage.

“Our initiatives include feeding programs for schools in locations nationwide, community food donations and the Good Food Grocer,” said Jomar Fleras, Executive Director of Rise against Hunger Philippines.

“The Good Food Grocer is the first food bank social franchise in the Philippines.”

A food bank is a place where stocks of food are supplied free to people in need.

“We are located in Taguig City.

We accept donations of food from companies and individuals. We then provide these to families in need. We also provide livelihood programs to develop food products, establish community gardens as a source of fresh food and provide nutrition edu-

cation classes to help improve cooking and eating practices,” Fleras said.

As a global food company, maker of the world’s favorite snacks like Tang powdered beverage, Mondelez Philippines is committed to the same cause as Rise against Hunger.

“We have similar goals of helping families and communities to receive good nutrition and avoid hunger,” said Shanahan Chua, Head of Corporate and Government Affairs of Mondelez Philippines. “Together with Rise against Hunger Philippines, we hope to extend our well-being efforts to more Filipino families and help address the issue of malnutrition.

We are extremely excited about this partnership since it’s a great extension of our Joy Schools community program.”

Since the start of the partnership between Mondelez Philippines and Rise Against Hunger, 3,400 children and 700 families have benefitted from the initiative.

Mondelez Philippines also implements the Joy Schools program. Established in 2011, the program aims to provide a daily nutritious meal to undernourished public elementary students. To date, 4,500 children have benefitted from a daily ninemonth feeding program, helping improve their nutritional status, attendance in school and academic performance.

DLSU Publishing House titles named finalists in 37th National Book Awards

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WO titles from the De La Salle University Publishing House (DLSUPH) were among the finalists for the 37th National Book Awards. The announcement was posted in the National Book Development Board’s (NBDB) official web site.

Betsy Westerndorp, a two-volume work on the life and art of the painter, was named finalist for Best Book in Art. The coffee-table book showcases the range of mastery of the world-renowned painter who also received the Presidential Medal of Merit for Art and Culture in 2008.

For her valuable contributions to the field of visual arts, Westendorp was also named Lazo de Dama de

la Orden de Isabel la Catolica, the equivalent of knighthood for ladies,

by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I in 1976.

Systemic Pesticides: A Worldwide Assessment, edited by Jean-Marc Bonmatin, Francisco Sanchez Bayo and Jose Isagani J.I. Janairo was named finalist for Best Book in Science. This title also received the 2018 Outstanding Book Award from the National Academy of Science and Technology in July.

The National Book Awards is sponsored by the NBDB and the Manila Critic’s Circle. It honors and celebrates outstanding books written, designed and published in the Philippines.

TOWNS Awards invites 2019 nominees

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HE Asian Institute of Management Center’s Fuller Hall buzzed with the rarefied presence of past TOWNS awardees with the launch of the 2019 triennial search for The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service by the TOWNS Foundation announced by its chairman, Dr. Esperanza A. Icasas-Cabral, a 1986 TOWNS awardee for medicine.

The event was ushered in by an animated event TOWNS TALK@AIM: “Weaponizing the Internet for Social Media Change and Progress,” with past winners Cecilia “Ces” Orena-Drilon (2004 awardee for journalism) as anchor and Maria P. Ressa (2007 awardee for broadcast journalism) as keynote speaker, and discussants Theresa “Gang” Badoy-Capati (2010 awardee for

Education), with communication legal eagles Dean John Paolo Villasor and Microsoft’s Cyril Pama.

Nominations are now open to Filipino women, and any person or organization may nominate one or more women who meet the following criteria: At least 21 years but not more than 50 years by October 31, 2019. A Filipino citizen, she must be distinguished in her field of specialization or advocacy.

Committed to the promotion of the wellbeing and upliftment of the people and community she serves, she must also possess a pioneering spirit and has achieved success despite challenges attendant to new endeavors. In short, a TOWNS award candidate must be accomplished, dignified, respectable, articulate and self-confident.

Marketing BusinessMirror

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Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Monday, October 29, 2018 E3

In politics as in business, charisma rocks!

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PR Matters

By Bong R. Osorio

HEN marketing a product, starting a business, building a professional career or aspiring for political office, you have to build a consumer or a supporter base, a constituency who identifies with you and the thoughts, and ideas you espouse.

You need talent, skills, intelligence and resources to move on and hopefully, succeed, but there is another more elusive element that needs to be harnessed—the “it” factor called charisma. This is an element that is hard to put a finger on, but it has to do with the strength and competitiveness of your personality and how it affects your performance. It also covers your plans or platforms, your manner of interacting with internal and external stakeholders, your behavior and attitude manifested in the way you talk or move, and your method in projecting a desired image and character.

Charisma separates the leaders from the followers, the men from the boys, the mavericks from the mediocre, the high flyers from the low performers, from the runaway winners to the sore losers. Charismatics are described as inspirational, passionate, self-confident, insightful, ambitious, visionary and dynamic. You may be born with charisma, but just like every Godgiven talent, it needs nurturing.

Maintaining charismatic leadership requires persistence in inspiring others. It means consistently lifting their hearts, aspirations and capabilities toward personal and professional excellence. It means constantly maintaining the process of charismatic communications. Robert J. Richardson and S. Katharine Thayer, in their collaborative work The Charisma Factor, share some of their beliefs and feelings on how to spark extraordinary followings and engender amazing allegiance in others, encapsulated and annotated in the following discussion.

open to the vast array of possibilities ahead.

Taking the high ground

Words clarify and define human intentions and thoughts

CHARISMATIC leaders incessantly bend over backward to make things better. They meet all disputes and hostilities head on and seek solutions that work. To do that, they must maintain a view that embraces practicability, competence and optimism.

Charismatic leaders believe in the inherent greatness of the human spirit, coupled with the faith and resolve that short-term as well as long-term goals are carefully laid out and implemented. They know it’s far more important to not let current problems weigh too heavily on themselves or others. They set people working immediately on solutions rather than on worrying about possible failures. Optimism is the prevailing mood, which helps keep others from losing hope in the face of adversaries. It keeps minds

PEOPLE: MCCANN WORLDGROUP CHINA HIRES SHEENA JENG AS CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER

SHANGHAI— McCann Worldgroup China has appointed Sheena Jeng as chief creative officer.

Based in Shanghai, Sheena joins McCann with a remit to drive the agency’s expanding business, and to unite and enhance MWG China's creative offerings across all disciplines and clients.

Previously with Publicis, Sheena has over 20 years of experience in the Greater China region, building strong business partnerships with clients such as Tencent, Buick, L’Oréal, Citibank, P&G, Unilever, J&J, CocaCola, Fidelity, Avon, Sanofi, Philips and Nestlé, among others.

Her work has garnered recognition from major national and international shows, including, Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Spikes, Epica, New

York Festival, AdFest and the China 4A and Long-Xi awards.

Additionally, Sheena is well-respected in the industry, having served as vice chairman of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of China and vice chairman of China’s Advertising Association of Commerce and has been named “Taiwan's Best Advertising Professional” and ”China’s Top Female Advertising Professional.”

Charles Cadell, president of McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific, commented: “As the world’s secondlargest advertising market, continued success in China is key to McCann, so I am delighted to welcome a creative of Sheena’s calibre to the team.”

Ronald Sun, together with Mike Zeng, co-CEOs of McCann Worldgroup China, said, “We are thrilled to have top-notch creative, Sheena, join the network. Her expertise will take our work to the next level, enhancing our client offerings.” On her appointment, Sheena remarked, “I look forward to being a proud member of McCann and enabling brands to play a meaningful role in people’s lives.”

Providing passion

CHARISMATIC leadership requires passion or boundless enthusiasm that inspires people to bring out their best efforts at every task.

Whatever your reasons may be, you must be passionate about your goals, the direction of your life, your job or your leadership. When passion is present you become unstoppable.

Passion provides emotional energy needed to lead dynamically. When you are doing things critically important to you, it’s as though you are pulling strength from the great beyond. Others know with certainty that there are urgent reasons for continuing to move ahead. They want to know where you are leading.

Passion creates within you a drive that’s inexplicable by standard terms. It’s this drive that has made the impossible possible in countless cases. When nothing is more important to you than the achievement of your goal, this kind of drive is yours. When this kind of drive is yours, you experience successes you once thought were just figments of a fertile imagination.

Communicating via emotions

WORDS are vital to the communication process. The excitement of the goals is mirrored in the thrill of the tongue. Charismatic people don’t use bland language weighed down with overextended claims, buzzwords and layered numbers that don’t mean anything. Leadership talk is reinforced with innovative, powerful insights and expressions.

The words are framed in a positive, persuasive manner. Above all, the message, goal or vision is expressed in basic expressions where charismatic leaders use anecdotes, icons, symbols, metaphors and analogies to make messages or calls for action and support more vivid and memorable.

THE extra-verbal aspect, however, is even more vital. It is the extraverbal that provides emphasis, deeper meanings and believability in the message itself. There are two things you must do to be effective in this level. The first is to unleash your vocal personality. The second is to reconnect your emotions to your body, expressing emotional content through your own persona.

Your body becomes like speakers that amplify the opera of your emotions out to those around you.

Communicating emotions does not mean giving everybody a hug during organizational meetings, or shaking hands or kissing babies during campaign sorties. It means putting yourself in other people’s shoes and looking at a problem through other people’s perspective. It means

CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHT: TEENS GET HAUNTED HALLOWEEN WITH FANTA SCREAM MACHINE

MANILA—The glowing faulty vending machine offering “Free Royal”—at the heart of Intramuros in Manila - was an interesting invitation to several group of friends who were exploring the area. With the simple request of screaming at the top of your lungs (to a satisfactory volume), friends were able to get their reward and a special treat—a gooey, icky, rubbery hand grabbing their hand and their Royal (Fanta).

“Fanta [locally known as Royal] is a playful brand that connects and unleashes teens’ imagination and playful ideas,” said Pratik Thakar, The Coca-Cola Co. Asia’s Integrated marketing communication director.

He further added, “Halloween is the perfect occasion to create a seamless Integrated Brand Experience that will instantly link the values of Fanta with the festive context of the occasion, as well as teen relevance. Thus, the Scream Machine was born.”

finding common ground, a way to identify with others. A charismatic person is not emotionally flat, but is able to show that a human being lives beneath the corporate veneer, or a public service pretense.

Creating the rhythm

CHARISMATIC leaders have mesmerizing personalities. They possess a likeability factor that gives them the uncanny ability to draw people toward them. The trait is mainly developed by the element of rhythm.

Rhythmic interactions are the most comfortable and enticing of all human associations. Whenever people gather, a strong physiologic beat is created among them. That creates a close bond that transcends all levels of rational communications. Once strengthened and sustained, the bond creates the neurological link called entrainment.

Entrainment is best initiated by matching the natural throbbing behavior of another or by creating the most distinct and dominant cadence in a group of people. Once you establish it, people naturally gravitate, listen, follow and support you. Entrainment, though, can’t be established if you are incongruent or if you breach the values or beliefs of those listening.

Inspiring greatness in others

THE hallmark of charismatic leaders is the ability to touch the hearts and minds of those they lead. They

become powerful leaders, because they harness emotions, the most powerful driver of human behavior. By doing so, they get people motivated and empowered to move ahead and be their best. They make everyone, regardless of rank, feel important. And as Jay Conger of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California stated, “They appear to be very skilled at unleashing and directing human energy. At the core of empowerment is the idea of building up the selfconfidence of people, so they feel good about who they are and what they are doing.”

Charismatic leaders question the status quo

THEY take risks, and thrive on innovation and change. They exhibit unconventional behavior, which Conger describes as “beneficial since it showers attention on the leader who can make a successful effort seem heroic because the leader went against the cultural grain.”

Unconventional, though, doesn’t necessarily mean bold and radical.

It is the willingness to think outside the box and propose innovative solutions, whether you are managing campaign funds, motivating supporters or rallying people into action. It means going beyond the predictable and moving to the realm of remarkability, something exceptional, something worth noticing or talking about.

Charisma is not just for the movie star

A LOT of people believe that charisma or personal charm is just for movie stars. Not so. The best leaders, whether in business or politics, are charismatic individuals who are active and devoted in their professional work, or magnetic political personalities dedicated to genuine community service. They are people who zero in on outside interests and get others involved.

Charisma can make a bottomline difference to companies and government institutions, while making professional or public service life more rewarding and enjoyable. Charisma indeed moves. Charisma rocks!

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier organization for PR professionals around the world. Bong R. Osorio is a communications consultant of ABS-CBN Corp., SkyCable, Dentsu-Aegis Network and government projects, among others, after retiring as vice president and head of the Corporate Communications Division of ABS-CBN. We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.

Perspective BusinessMirror

E4 Monday, October 29, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

How a villain to newspapers is trying to save journalism S

By David Streitfeld | New York Times News Service

AN FRANCISCO—Craig Newmark, so often accused of destroying journalism, is now doing his best to revive it. In the late 1990s, Newmark, a former IBM programmer, built a service that allowed people to find apartments, jobs, computer parts, sexual partners, rides out of town and all sorts of other things through the newfangled consumer internet.

Craigslist was fast, free and popular, which means you could be pretty sure of getting what you wanted or getting rid of what you didn’t want.

Newspaper income from classifieds, which had provided up to 40 percent of the industry’s revenue, immediately plummeted.

Researchers eventually estimated that Craigslist had drained $5 billion from US newspapers over a seven-year period. In the Bay Area, the media was especially hard hit.

Newmark is trying to stop the bleeding—although not here. He is among a gaggle of West Coast technology moguls who are riding to the rescue of the beleaguered East Coast media.

Last Wednesday, New York Public Radio announced a $2.5-million gift from Newmark to expand its newsroom. That brings his total philanthropic efforts involving media in the last year to $50 million, much of it centered on New York.

A month earlier, Marc Benioff, another San Francisco tech mogul, bought Time magazine for $190 million. Benioff characterized his purchase as an investment. For Newmark, the situation is more political and more urgent.

“A trustworthy press is the immune system of democracy,” Newmark said. “Like we say in Jersey”—he hails from Morristown, New Jersey—“you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is.”

That mouth is something that is often on Newmark’s mind these days. As he moves onto a national media stage, he is trying out personas, hoping for the right blend of sincerity and humor.

“I’m not as articulate as I need to be,” he said. “I might not be the nerd people really need, but I’m the nerd they’ve got.”

Pause. “Is that quotable? I kind of like that,” he said.

Newmark’s media-giving spree began in June, with a $20-million gift to the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, which put his name on the door.

This met with some criticism. Felix Salmon, a correspondent for Axios, tweeted that “it’s utterly bizarre to name a journalism school after the man who almost single-handedly destroyed local newspapers.”

Newmark followed that up last month with another $20-million gift to The Markup, a new site dedicated to investigating technology. He also gave to a new nonprofit effort called The City.

His media ventures differ from those of his peers—not only Benioff but also Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, who bought The Washington Post, and Laurene Powell Jobs, who is the widow of the Apple cofounder Steve Jobs and bought the magazine The Atlantic.

“I’m not the kind of guy to own an operation,” Newmark said.

“I help, then I get out of the way, then I stay out of the way. That’s my strength.”

He disagrees that he helped kill newspapers. In the back garden of the Reverie Café, near San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood and not far from his house, he said he was getting a bum rap.

“People throw the accusation,” he said. “I look at the facts and stick with that. Ever watch ‘CSI’ shows?

They say follow the evidence.”

He cited the work of media analyst Thomas Baekdal as proof that newspapers’ decline long preceded Craigslist. In an email, Baekdal largely absolved Craigslist of any responsibility for devastating newspapers and hastening the end of the world.

“If we were to imagine a

JIM BUCKMASTER (left), the chief executive of Craigslist, with founder Craig Newmark, in San Francisco, July 29, 2004. THOR SWIFT/THE NEW YORK TIMES

CRAIG NEWMARK, the founder of Craigslist, in San Francisco, October 8, 2018. Newmark, whose internet site is so often accused of destroying journalism, is now doing his best to revive it, and has donated $50 million to media-related charities and institutions in the last year. “A trustworthy press is the immune system of democracy,” he said. JIM MCAULEY/THE NEW YORK TIMES

world where Craigslist was never invented, I do not think it would have made any difference,” Baekdal wrote. “We in the media industry insisted on keeping the classified market limited and high-priced so that it supported other parts of our businesses where we were essentially losing money [aka journalism]. It was only a matter of time before someone realized there was a more efficient way to do this.”

The fact that Craigslist was free, however, doubtless accelerated its effect. It is now in 700 cities in 70 countries.

“Craigslist helped people put food on the table, helped people get a table, helped people get a roof under which to put the table,” Newmark said. It is something he has said before, he acknowledged, “most recently some hours ago, on Twitter.”

Newmark’s charm at 65 is that he is the mogul who declines to act like one. He has looked 35 for the last two decades—round, balding, goateed. He got married six years ago, and even before that his bride, Eileen Whelpley, promised a makeover. She told The San Francisco Chronicle that “Craig is going to do yoga, although he doesn’t know it.”

So how is the yoga going?

“Let’s say that’s still in the future,” he said.

Newmark still does customer service for Craigslist, which mostly consists of booting off troublemakers, but has not had an operational role for a long time. “As a manager,” he noted, “I suck.”

The site has been run since 2000 by Jim Buckmaster, who is described in his official biography as possibly the only chief executive who has been labeled a “socialist

anarchist.” Buckmaster keeps a low profile. “He won’t call you back,” Newmark said cheerfully. (Buckmaster didn’t.)

Unlike just about every other venture begun in the dot-com era, Craigslist never even thought about going public. It has no ads or subscription fees. (It charges for job postings in the United States and for brokered apartment listings in New York.)

Every tech mogul ever born has maintained that it is not about the money, but for Newmark and Buckmaster this really seems to be true. In 2006, Buckmaster told a crowd at New York’s Soho Club that there were problems with “obscene wealth.”

“You should be careful what you wish for. Do you really want to walk around with bodyguards?” he asked. The audience shouted back, “Yes, yes!” and “I do!”

Newmark flies commercial. At Café Reverie, his consumption was limited to a glass of water. His biggest extravagance is a $6-million New York City apartment.

His net worth, according to Forbes, is $1.6 billion. Newmark brushed the figure aside. “My focus is on giving it away in a smart way,” he said, though he didn’t want to say how much he plans to give away. In previous interviews, Newmark, who owns about half of Craigslist, has asserted he is worth much less than people assume.

One thing is clear: He is not spending his money on Craigslist.

He can’t remember the last time he got something off the site, although he said his wife used it.

“Craig doesn’t need to prove he’s someone by having possessions,” said Sylvia Paull, a media consultant who has known Newmark for 20 years. “His way of living mirrors Craigslist. For years people have been saying, ‘You’ve got to upgrade the interface, make it more interactive, add color.’ He just says, ‘No, I like it simple and plain.’”

Newmark has been a steadfast

supporter of women in tech, and built a website for Paull’s networking group for women, Gracenet, back when that was a labor-intensive initiative. He also funds veterans’ causes. He has lingering guilt about not serving in Vietnam even though he knows he wouldn’t have been much of a soldier.

Contributing money isn’t enough. He shows up at symposiums, like a recent one in Berkeley, California. He told the audience that he traced the crisis in journalism back to the mid-1990s, when the speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, offered “attractive lies the press just couldn’t stay away from.”

He criticized The New York Times for its coverage of the 2016 presidential race and offered general advice: “Don’t be a loudspeaker for liars.”

Afterward, the first member of the crowd to go up to him said he found it “kind of ironic” that the guy whose internet site had done so much to undermine newspapers was now funding journalism. For the umpteenth time, Newmark recommended Baekdal’s work.

Journalism in San Francisco is still in crisis. San Francisco Magazine just made clear its future will involve a lot less journalism and a lot more fluff. Many staff members have left.

“I’d love to see some of the SFbased tech moguls step up and help journalism in their own backyard,” said Gary Kamiya, a former editor of the magazine.

But Newmark is concentrating on New York, where local coverage has also faltered.

“My goal is to support the groups which are not only going to do good work but say, ‘Here’s how you do good work,’” he said.

“I’d like things to start in New York and spread.”

As he was leaving Café Reverie, Newmark checked his phone.

“Twenty-seven new emails,” he said.

How many were asking for money?

“All of them,” he said.

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Monday, October 29, 2018 F1

‘CUTTING-EDGE SATELLITES BRING TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION IN SPACE’

PHL FLYING HIGH–INTO SPACE

By Stephanie Tumampos & Lyn Resurreccion

A

T a recent forum, a science high-school student commented that for ordinary people, space is unreachable and very distant, considering it is high above the Earth, and that having a space program seems to be difficult.

A scientist answered: It is not really unreachable and difficult because we are just doing our work in launching microsatellites to space through our computers and laptops.

The Philippines is finally conquering space. It is joining the international community in the “technological revolution in space” by deploying microsatellites— with the third, the Diwata-2, to be launched today.

Signatory to Moon Treaty

ACTUALLY, the Philippines is not new in space technology. On April 23, 1980, or almost 40 years ago, it joined its first and only ratified international space treaty in the

DIWATA-1 in space

PHL-MICROSAT

United Nations. The country was one of only 11 original countrysignatories to the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, or the Moon Treaty, that rec-

ognized the use and exploration of the moon and other celestial bodies in accordance to international law.

Back then, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomi-

cal Services Administration (Pagasa) was just roughly eight years young.

And before this agency was even recognized, the country only had the Manila Observatory, established in 1865, as its only formal meteorologi-

cal and astronomical research and services institution, led by Fr. Federico Faura, SJ. Fast-forward to 1996: the Mabuhay Satellite Corp., under Continued on F2

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PHL FLYING HIG Continued from F1

PLDT, procured the satellite Agila-1 from Indonesia’s company PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara to enhance communications in the country.

It was the first satellite of the country that was acquired while it was in orbit. However, its operations ended in 1998.

LiDAR program

ALMOST two decades later, in 2012 the Philippines sent 10 engineers to the United Kingdom, where they worked with the UK Meteorological Office and learned about light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology that uses space data.

That training produced 920 LiDAR expert processors in the country, under the $80-million Philippine-LiDAR program, said Undersecretary Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for Research and Development at the National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) space forum in July.

The data gathered could assess agricultural, aquatic, coastal, and hazards, such as typhoons, tsunami, landslides and many other applications.

With the Philippines being ahead in LiDAR technology in the

region, it trained Asean scientists in the technology.

In 2014 the country entered partnerships with Japan’s Hokkaido and Tohoku universities to develop its microsatellites and nanosatellites, Guevara added.

2016: Year of renewed space landscape

IN the age of technological advancement, 2016 proved to be a big year for the Philippines’s renewed space landscape.

Diwata-1—the first Philippine microsatellite that weighs 50 kg— was launched to the International Space Station on March 23, 2016, and deployed into orbit from the ISS the following month on April 27, 2016.

Afterward, the smaller 10-cubic centimeter cube satellite (CubeSat)—the Maya-1 nanosatellite— was deployed into orbit in space from the ISS on August 10.

Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña told the BusinessMirror during Maya-1’s deployment: “We [the Philippines] do not want to be left out…we want to build our space technology capability” in order for the country to benefit from it.

Maya-1 is one of three constellation nanosatellites in the Birds-2 project of the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan. The other

two were developed by Bhutan and Malaysian scientists.

Kaye Kristine Vergel, researcher for Diwata-1 and 2, told the BusinessMirror: “Diwata-1 is working in space and has been taking pictures of the different places in the Philippines and even in other places around the world.”

Joven Javier, one of the scientists who has been working on the Maya-1 project, told the BusinessMirror in an online teleconference that nanosatellites, besides being a communication channel, data-gatherer and an eye in the sky, “are used to prove something that is not yet working in space. It is experimental and once it is useful, the technology can be used in bigger microsatellites.”

Diwata-2 will be launched into space on October 29. With a longer lifespan than its predecessor, “The Diwata-2 will stay in space for five years,” said Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano Jr., director of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the DOST.

PHL-Microsat Program

THE launch in 2016 of the country’s first microsatellite, Diwata-1,

by Filipino scientists in Japan, was a huge step toward realizing a space-oriented, information and data-based country.

THE Maya-1 team members (from left) Adrian Salces, Dr. Joel Joseph Mariano and Joven Javier stand behind the cube satellites of Bhutan, the Philippines and Malaysia. PHL-MICROSAT

The Philippines’s Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite (PHL-Microsat) Program is a threeyear program funded by the DOST with a budget of P800 million.

“We have a total of six satellites,” Marciano, who heads the program, said. He explained that when building a satellite, two models are made—the flight model and

the engineering model.

“The flight model is the one that goes into orbit, while the engineering model goes into the lab and continues to be a platform

3 SATELLITES & A COUNTRY DIWATA-1 is released from Kibo experimental module on International Space Station. JAXA/NASA

DIWATA-2 Flight Model official hand-off to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on August 30. PHL-MICROSAT

T

HE P800-million Philippines Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite (PHL-Microsat) Program that aimed at launching Filipinomade satellites in space had already launched its microsatellites in space: Diwata-1, a microsatellite that fits a balikbayan box, and Maya-1, a cube satellite that fits the palm of a hand.

As Diwata-2 is set to be launched on October 29 between 12:08 and 12:20 noon Philippine time, here are some details of the three microsatellites in the PHL-Microsat program.

Diwata-1

• Weight: 53-kg microsatellite

• Dimensions: length of 35 cm, width of 55 cm and height of 35 cm

• Lifespan: It has surpassed its supposed 18-month lifespan. It is now orbiting the Earth for more than 30 months already.

• Highlighted feature: Spaceborne Multispectral Imager with Liquid Crystal Tunable Filter (SMI with LCTF). This payload can be tuned to the desired frequency the agency wants to use, and could determine the issues concerning a specific land or sea area of the country through spectral signature.

• Other features: High Precision Telescope, Middle Field Camera, Wide Field Camera

• Launch: March 23, 2016, via Atlas V Rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral in Florida, United States, and was released from the International Space Station (ISS) to orbit through the Kibo module on April 27, 2016.

• Use: Earth-observation, disaster response and management, and environmental and natural resource assessment

• Location: 404 km altitude above the Earth (Low-Earth Observation)

MAYA-1 exact replica on display at UP Diliman Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute during the deployment in orbit of the cube satellite. LYN RESURRECCION

• Achievements: taking 14,492 images of the Philippines which is equivalent to 32 percent of the country’s total land cover.

Maya-1

• Weight: 1-kg cube nanosatellite

• Dimensions: length of 10 cm, width of 10 cm and height of 10 cm

• Highlighted feature: Automatic Packet Reporting System Message Digipeater. This payload is a two-way radio that one can send emergency text messages without relying on terrestrial communication such as cellular sites.

• Other feature: Global Positioning System, Magnetic Field sensors

• Launch: June 29, 2018, and was released to orbit on August 10, 2018, via SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral in Florida, United States.

• Use: Technology demonstration for remote data collection, image and video capture, detection of an electric circuit anomaly, messaging and magnetic field measurement in space

• Location: 404 km altitude above

the Earth (Low-Earth Observation)

Diwata-2

• Weight: 50-kilogram microsatellite

• Dimensions: length of 50 cm, width of 50 cm and height of 30 cm

• Lifespan: 5 years

• Features: Its camera has an enhanced resolution that will be capturing sharper images. It has deployable solar panels that look like wings instead of solar panels attached to the sides like that of Diwata-1. An experimental sun sensor was also attached, making it sunsynchronous and also, an amateur radio messaging system. It will have fixed visit intervals and can visit the same spot on Earth every 16 days.

• Launch: October 29, 2018, at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan onboard H-11A F40 Rocket.

• Use: Earth-observation, disaster response and management, and environmental and natural resource assessment

• Location: 620 km altitude above the Earth (wider coverage)

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GH–INTO SPACE for research, development and enhancement,” he added.

Besides Diwata-1 and Maya1, the launching of Diwata-2 will showcase another feat for the Filipino nation, he noted.

PHL-Microsat program is a collaboration between the Philippines’s DOST, University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman and Japan’s Hokkaido University and Tohoku University.

Guevara underscored the speedy development of activities for the space program that took place in just four years—from the LiDAR in 2012 to the launching and deployment of Diwata-1 to space in 2016.

Proposed Philippine Space Act

HOWEVER, despite its early track record in astronomy and space technology, and the recent deployment of Diwata-1 and Maya-1, the Philippines is still lagging behind its neighbors in space technology.

Its development of a national space agency has been neglected, and its creation of a space program—which involves constructing and launching satellites and honing human resources, has started only recently.

Filipino astrophysicist Dr. Rogel Mari Sese, who has been pushing for the establishment of the country’s space agency, told the BusinessMirror, “The Philippines has been lagging behind

in terms of developing a concrete space program. In Southeast Asia alone, our country is the only major nation that does not have a space agency.”

Five of the 10 Asean countries have long developed their space programs or have deployed satellites in space. They are Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

Sese is working for the enactment of the proposed Philippine Space Act. The Senate is discussing at the plenary Senate Bill 1983, an “Act Establishing the Philippine Space Development and Utilization Policy and Creating the Philippine Space Agency, and for other Purposes.”

It has a counterpart bill in the House of Representatives.

Initially, in the absence of a law, a National Space Development Program is being funded by the DOST to develop policies that will be used in the future space agency.

Space agency and development

AT a briefing during Maya-1’s deployment into space, de la Peña said the enactment of the proposed Space Act is a top priority of the DOST. “We are trying to build our own capability in building satellites because we foresee that we really need a go for this. We are also going to the next higher levels,” de la Peña said.

“This is just the start. Actually this is part of our long-term sustainability program for our space technology-development agenda and we look forward to a continuation of this,” he said.

The proposed space law encompasses six development key areas—including national security and development, hazard management and climate studies, space research and development, space industry-capacity building, space education and awareness, and international cooperation.

Sese cited that “events such as typhoons and the deteriorating security situation in the West Philippine Sea have shown the importance of having space-technology capabilities, and how vital it is in developing our nation.”

He added that even Bangladesh already has its own sovereign telecommunications satellite.

He said the next step for the Philippines after the launching of microsatellites should be to finally establish the Philippine Space Agency.

With a proposed budget of P10 billion for five years, the Philippine Space Agency is proposed to be built at the Bases Conversion and Development Authority within the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga and Tarlac.

“It will be at least 30 hectares of land for building and research facility,” Sese said.

Microsatellites: ’Cuttingedge sats that bring technological revolution in space’

HOKKAIDO University’s Prof.

Yukihiro Takahashi acknowledged the value of microsatellites like Diwata-1, saying “it is a cutting-edge satellite. It is not just for student experiments but for operational satellites.”

“A technological revolution is going on in space” owing to the cutting-edge microsatellites, Takahashi said at the NSTW space forum in July.

He said it is not difficult to construct a microsatellite because it can be made in one or two years only—compared to the large or conventional satellites, which take more than 10 years to build.

Takahashi was proud to acknowledge the Filipino scientists who made Diwata-1 in Japan in just one year.

Besides, large satellites cost hundreds of millions of dollars, while microsatellites only cost from $3 million to $5 million.

Also, while big satellites require 1,000 persons to construct, microsatellites need only “10 persons around one table who can understand both sides of its development and application.”

What’s more, a microsatellite’s operation is simple: “With one laptop computer we can operate a microsatellite in any place as long as we can connect to an Internet.”

Takahashi added that there is a current “world trend” in the use of microsatellites and nanosatellites, deployment of which in space has been increasing. He said the United States alone has launched 152 nanosatellites in space.

‘Milestones’

VERGEL, who designed the calibration and tests of Diwata-1’s and Diwata-2’s cameras, is proud of the “milestones” they have achieved with the first two microsatellites.

With 14,492 images of the Philippines captured by the Diwata-1, Vergel noted they are equivalent to 32 percent of the country’s land area.

“It’s a great feat!” Vergel said.

“We have been assessing the images of Semirara Island. We’re also observing the water quality of Laguna Lake,” she explained, adding that the images obtained by Diwata-1 in space are correlated to the data obtained by the specific targets on the ground.

Vergel cited their assessment of the turbidity of Laguna Lake.

“We produced a turbidity map out of Diwata-1 images while conducting measurements on the ground and utilizing other satellite images, as well,” she said, referring to other images produced from other satellites.

“What we want to do is to utilize satellite images and relate them to physical parameters,”

Vergel said.

On the other hand, the nanosatellite Maya-1 proved to be an international collaboration and cooperation.

Maya-1 was part of the Birds-2 project developed by Filipino, Bhutanese and Malaysian scientists in Japan. The latter two countries also have their respective nanosatellites, which completed the threesatellite constellation from the three countries.

A cube satellite that fits in one’s palm, Maya-1 has been orbiting around the Earth and is collecting data. It can be communicated with four to five times a day. The other two nanosatellites in the constellation can also collect data from the Philippines and share the data to each other.

“In Maya-1, we also put a two-way radio system where one can send messages, such as SOS, without relying on terrestrial communication like cellular sites, and forward [the messages] to where they need to be sent, and report the same message to the ground station,” Javier explained.

Upgrade through Diwata-2

DIWATA-2 will be an upgrade of the current Diwata-1 in space.

According to Lorenzo Sabug Jr., a researcher of PHL-Microsat and who contributed to the development of experimental payloads Continued on F4

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PHL FLYING HIGH–INTO SPACE Continued from F3

for Diwata-2, “It has the same payload for the earth observation but the cameras, called Space-borne Multispectral Imager [SMI] with liquid crystal tunable filter, is now upgraded with an enhanced resolution camera.”

Sabug told the BusinessMirror the Diwata-2 cameras have increased spatial resolution that can produce sharper images.

Vergel said the camera has a unique feature, which makes Diwata microsatellites special.

“The camera our Diwata microsatellites have can be tuned to our desired frequency for image capture,” Vergel said. This means they can track a specific spectral signature that can address the health of certain vegetation in a land area.

Deployable solar array panels are also installed in Diwata-2, which can add power to the microsatellite and support the additional payload attached to it.

Regarding additional payload, Diwata-1 and Diwata-2 engineer and researcher Ariston Gonzalez told the BusinessMirror, “We attached an experimental sun sensor to know the microsatellite’s position with respect to the sun. This makes Diwata-2 sun-synchronous.

With this, we can coordinate with the microsatellite to a pointing mode where we can maneuver it.”

One big difference of Diwata-1 and Maya-1 compared to Diwata-2

is their position in space. Both Diwata-1 and Maya-1 are in the lowearth orbit at 404 kilometers altitude from the ground.

However, Diwata-2 will be orbiting at an altitude of 620 kilometers and will give the advantage of a longer five-year life compared to Diwata-1’s 18-month life in orbit, and wider coverage for communication.

“If we have favorable conditions in space, Diwata-1 could last almost three years,” Marciano added.

Delburg Mitchao said unfavorable conditions occur when satellites experience extreme environmental settings in space as it orbits around the Earth.

Diwata-2’s launching on Oct. 29

MITCHAO, also an engineer and researcher for PHL-Microsat program who designed and tested the microsatellites’ thermal subsystems, said Diwata-2 is already “integrated in the rocket [Japan’s H-IIA F40 rocket] at Tanegashima Space Center” in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

He told the BusinessMirror that Diwata-2 was turned over to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) on August 30 and is set to be launched on October 29, between 12:08 and 12:20 Philippine Standard Time.

“It will piggyback on Japan’s Gosat-2 [Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite] and propel it to its 620 km altitude for orbit,” Vergel said.

The main advantage of Di-

wata-2 at this altitude, besides its sun-synchronous orbit feature, is that “it would enable itself to have a fixed visit interval. Which means that for every 16 days it will hover the same spot over the Earth.”

Diwata-1 does not have a fixed visit interval time.

‘Pedro’

NASH FREDERIC PRADO, ground station engineer, is part of the team that works with the ground segment operations for Diwata-1 and handles the operations and maintenance of the ground-receiving station called Philippine Earth Data Resource and Observation Center (Pedro).

Prado operates the antenna and receives the images from the satellites. He is also part of the team responsible in distributing the data to various government agencies when needed.

Besides this, Diwata’s product development team also shares a big role in processing the images they receive every day.

Dr. Gay Jane Perez, head of the product development division and who oversees this department, said in a recent interview, “these products are the closest to what we can see from up above.”

‘Stamina’ to sustain space program

BOTH Sese and Marciano pointed out that in creating the space agency and building satellites, sustaining them must be supported by dif-

SCIENCE Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña (center) holds the exact replica of the Maya-1 cube satellite during the deployment of the satellite from the International Space Station into orbit on August 10. With de la Peña are (from left) Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano Jr., director of the Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute; Shigeki Kamigaichi, senior expert of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency; Minister Atsushi Kuwabara, consul general of the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines; Dr. Michael Tan, chancellor of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman; Dr. Evangeline Amor, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs of UP Diliman; and Dr. John Richard Hizon, director of UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute. LYN RESURRECCION

ferent programs.

For Marciano, the next step for PHL-Microsat is having the Space Technology and Applications Mastery Innovation and Advancement (Stamina) program.

According to him, some of its components involve the localization of technologies that have been learned and acquired abroad.

He explained: “One way to address the sustainability efforts is to try more and build more of these systems here locally [in the country] with the idea of translating the know-how and matching the universities to the industries.”

If universities can design and go hand-in-hand with the industry who will build and manufacture satellites or their components, Marciano said, then there will be a new market that will emerge, thus, creating more jobs for Filipino engineers and scientists.

“By trying to localize the technologies, using whatever capabilities and resources that are available locally, then that’s one way we can have for a better chance of sustainability,” he explained.

The PHL-Microsat program’s current P800-million budget also includes the establishment of laboratories and building of infrastructure to continue whatever the country has started.

Plan to manufacture satellites in PHL

GONZALEZ echoed Marciano’s statements. “What we’ve done with Diwata-1 so far goes beyond the capturing [of data]. We’ve started to come up with a curriculum to share what we have learned so far and it is available at the University of the Philippines [UP] where it is an elective for students,” he explained.

Gonzalez expressed hope the curriculum will become a full-fledged program to facilitate growth in the space sector.

“Besides being an educational tool, we will use this to enable local industries since we envision to manufacture satellites locally,” he noted.

Balik Scientist Leo Almazan, who is helping create the ground station for microsatellites in the country, agreed that as an enabler a curriculum for the space program has to be formulated in the country.

“We need to integrate the students’ curriculum in the ECE [Electronics and Communication Engineering] to the space program in order to develop expertise in the country,” Almazan said during the NSTW forum.

He added this will also protect the space program from brain drain.

Marciano explained: “We have invested part of the funds in laboratories in the university [University of the Philippines] because we need to sustain this effort in terms of generating manpower.”

He said that the country, in order to sustain the program, must get students into the stream and push them out of the university into research institutions, into research industries, into government institutions like ASTI and, in the future, into the Philippine Space Agency.

“The space agency will not survive without warm bodies being generated in our local universities that will be relevant to the man-

date and functions of the space agency,” Marciano noted.

One of the components of the Stamina for space program is an inter-university partnership, wherein faculty members in various universities can enroll in the program available at UP and take their graduate degree, wherein they actually build satellites.

“We can already localize satellite [making]. They [faculty members] can build it [satellite] here, take it back to their universities, teach it and be involved in future programs. By growing that base, we can have many universities trying to feed into this pool,” Marciano added.

Through this program, Marciano aims to train an entire work force that is prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in terms of using data, leveraging information, and merging physical and cyber infrastructure in order to build smarter cities and systems.

Undersecretary Guevara echoed Marciano’s statement during the NSTW space forum.

“We expect that soon Dr. Marciano will open the microsatellite laboratory in UP. Actually he is now involving other universities in the program. We are expecting that from the 16 people we sent to Japan [to make the microsatellites], we are going to involve a thousand scientists and engineers in the space program,” she said.

Foreign collaboration

AT this stage, although its space law is yet to be passed, the Philippines, through the DOST, is already deep into developing its expertise and foreign links in space program.

During the NSTW in July, the DOST held a space forum—its first—in order to “provide awareness of the presence of the space agency bill” in Congress and to learn from foreign space experts, DOST Assistant Secretary Dr. Leah Buendia, for International Cooperation, told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview.

With the presence of foreign space experts at the forum, Buendia said, “We would like to know the experiences of the countries that have space agencies; what are their good practices that will be beneficial to us. There are exchanges between our scientists and those of other countries.”

Present at the forum were space experts from Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Thailand, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A representative from Lao PDR was present, although it has no space program yet, to help the country under the Asean principle of “Asean helps Asean.”

According to Buendia, the Philippines signed separate memoranda of understanding with Japan, Russia, the UK and Thailand, which already have their respective space agency, for different levels of collaboration—such as in training, exchange of scientists, joint research and joint fora.

With Japan, the country’s tieups are with universities, where students are sent to pursue their masteral or doctoral degrees, and are trained in the construction of microsatellites. The universities of Hokkaido and Tohoku trained the

Filipino students in the construction of the Diwata-1, Diwata-2 microsatellites and Maya-1 nanosatellite.

“In a space technology, it is not just for one country to develop. A collaboration of several partners is needed,” Guevara said.

In fact, the Philippines is planning to become a hub for disasterrisk reduction because it experiences all sorts of disasters, she added.

Beyond launching satellites: Solving socioeconomic problems

THE advantage of having a satellite goes beyond just having images and processing them as references for different government agencies.

Prado told the BusinessMirror that as the person who receives and distributes the satellite images, “I saw firsthand how [they] are used for rescue operations during disasters, and assist various government agencies.”

Perez added: “If you have the means to measure images and data in a comprehensive means as that of a satellite, the benefits will cascade [to different sectors and needs]. You know what’s happening and can act on a timely manner, prevent losses, recover if there’s a way to intervene and it goes down the line and eventually help the Philippines as a whole.”

For his part, Marciano believes that solving economic problems through space technology goes beyond just launching satellites into space.

“What we want our countrymen to appreciate is that these investments are being made because of a long-term view for our country, where we want to be in the future,” Mariano said.

“We want our policies, decisions and technologies to be based on evidence and science so that they can be more responsive to the needs of the community,” he noted.

Getting data and information is making the Philippines an information-based society—to value knowledge and information as tools that will be wielded to better Filipino lives.

Mariano aims to address this kind of poverty—not just economic poverty, but also information poverty.

“We should address information poverty because the lack of information makes us less competitive as a country,” Marciano said.

If a country does not have accurate and timely information it will not be responsive to its needs.

“Information and data are very valuable resource. We can serve our country better if we have actionable information in our hands,” Mariano explained.

• Science reporter Stephanie Tumampos holds a BS in Applied Physics from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños and MS in Environmental Engineering from UP Diliman. She received the first prize (Individual Category) in the recent First Bantog Science for the People Awards.

• Lyn Resurreccion has been a Science Editor for 20 years, and has steered the BusinessMirror’s science coverage since the paper’s founding 13 years ago.

Under her supervision, that coverage won the Institutional Category in the Bantog Media Awards.

She has won several awards for outstanding science journalism, including the “Faces of Biotechnology” in 2016, and the former DOST Media Awards in Professional Category for Print in 2005.

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Monday, October 29, 2018 G1

CONNECTING TO THE FUTURE

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan

HE whole world is now undergoing the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, with data being the new gold. And while the rest of the world has long been thriving in mining this new commodity, the Philippines is still in the search for tools to capitalize on this product, albeit at a much faster pace.

From being labeled just a privilege, Internet access is now considered a human right—fitting for a world that is migrating from the analog space to the digital arena— as it plays a big role in enabling people to communicate, all while helping bridge the digital divide.

It’s such a basic right that the United Nations included it on its list of Sustainable Development Goals, stressing that access to information and communications technology (ICT) should be “universal and affordable” in least-developed countries like the Philippines.

Internet connectivity is proven to have helped improve the lives of people in other countries. Aside from basic communications, the Internet provides people the linkage to services that may be absent

INTERNET access is now considered a human right, as it plays a big role in enabling people to communicate, all while helping bridge the digital divide. NONIE REYES

in their area.

Take financial technology, for example. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, companies have been helping fill the gaps in the local banking industry by bringing tradi-

tional banking services to far-flung areas via the Internet.

It’s necessity was further made stark when the Central Bank decided to launch a policy on developing financial technol-

ogy services a few years back. It even went out of its way to proclaim that digital banks will play a key role in achieving a more financially inclusive Philippines.

Sadly, the country is still far

from realizing its goal of providing access to the Internet for all, and at a very affordable price.

In terms of access, roughly 41.2 million Filipinos are unconnected, which deprives them of

the benefits of Internet connectivity, according to the International Telecommunications Union’s State of the Internet Report published in September 2018. The country Continued on G2

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ranked 139th out of 196 countries in terms of access.

Affordability

AFFORDABILITY is another concern. In the Philippines, the average price of postpaid broadband service is at 7.1 percent of the average monthly income, above the 5-percent affordability rate set by the specialized agency of the United Nations for ICT development.

Speed is, likewise, a pressing issue, as the Philippines ranked 85th out of 88 countries surveyed in the world in terms of Internet speed, posting an average 4G speed of 9.49 Mbps, far below the global average of 16.9 Mbps.

But, with the right people, mindset and funding, the country is now inching a bit closer to reaching its target.

Eliseo M. Rio Jr., the acting secretary of the ICT department, which is the main policy-making and implementing body of the Philippine government for the development of the industry, admitted that his agency is still ranked as “no good” for now.

He cited Chinese businessman Jack Ma’s visit last year, when he criticized the quality of Internet in the Philippines, calling it “not good.”

“In a way, that is a reflection of my department. Unless my department can change that perception, which is shared by the citizens of this country, then my department, as of now, is no good,” Rio said.

“Our infrastructure is not catching up, and that is the biggest challenge that we have.”

ELISEO M. RIO JR.: “Our infrastructure is not catching up, and that is the biggest challenge that we have.” NONIE REYES

However, for the 74-year-old military man who graduated with an electronics and communications engineering degree, his agency can transform that perception in the next two years.

To do this, the ICT department is implementing several initiatives that mark the first time that the government will spend to develop a sector, which has been playing catch-up with its neighbors for almost a decade now.

Under the program touted as the National Broadband Plan, Rio’s department will be implementing five initiatives that are geared toward the development of vital infrastructure, which will help the Philippines cope with the demands of the digital age.

These are the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure; the backbone from National Grid Corp. of the Philippines

(NGCP) and National Transmission Corp. (Transco); the National Broadband Network; the Free Wi-Fi program; and the third telco inititative.

The Luzon Bypass Infrastructure, being constructed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority in partnership with Facebook, will be a 250-kilometer cable network corridor that will provide a terrestrial bypass route for international submarine cable owners.

It will have a capacity of 2 terabits per second, which is almost equal to the combined capacity of incumbents Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc. “This can help us provide fast and very inexpensive Internet connectivity, as we will receive 2 terabits per second of capacity in exchange for allowing their infrastructure to pass through Central Luzon,” Rio explained.

The backbone from the power companies, on the other hand, was secured sometime in June, when the two companies signed a tripartite agreement with Rio’s office for the use and access in certain spare fiber-optic cores, vacant lots, tower spaces and related facilities.

Combined, the two energy companies’ dark fiber facilities span 6,154 kilometers across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

“Using the backbone we can bring the cost of data coming from Los Angeles or Hong Kong down to even as far as Mindanao,” Rio said.

This will complement the National Broadband Network, which will include the development and deployment of a mixture of several Internet connectivity technologies, such as fixed line and mobile data, among others, all over the Philippines—including missionary areas.

The Free Wi-Fi program, on the other hand, involves the deployment of Wi-Fi connectivity in public spaces—such as schools, government offices, parks, hospitals—and other locations all over the Philippines to help connect Filipinos to the Internet.

“We have the point-of-presence to the last-mile initiative, which will primarily benefit the end users. We are going to connect all the offices of the government to the National Broadband Network, which will give them very fast Internet connectivity so that basic government services can be opened to our citizens,” Rio explained.

Last, the third telco initiative

aims to award the spot for a new telco to spur competition in the market to lower prices and improve services.

In selecting the third telco, the government veered away from the traditional auction model, and instead adopted a “beauty contest” that essentially takes into account the highest level of commitments on three aspects: speed, coverage and financial capability.

Each contender will get points for each category, based on thresholds and minimums.

Rio said his office is confident of announcing the new major player by the end of November, ahead of its revised target of December. Already, there are nine firms that are preparing to submit their offers to the government for the said spot.

However, one bidder—a sore one, as one newspaper called it— decided to sue the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) before a Manila court, alleging that the whole process is a money-making scheme due to the financial provisions spelled out in the terms of reference.

The local court, however, denied the prayer for a stay order. Despite this, Now Corp. is not budging, claiming that it will continue with its suit against the regulator, as the P700-million participation security, the P14-billion to P24-billion performance security, and the P10-million nonrefundable appeal fee are allegedly onerous.

But for Rio, this roadblock is

a manageable pothole. He is still sticking with his November target of announcing the third telco.

Some of the potential bidders have given their two cents in the case, and they are one in saying that the terms of reference for the selection process is palatable to their taste.

“We’re attracting the world in our selection process, unfortunately some would lie to muddle with it. But no party is siding with them,” Rio said. “Even with all of these challenges that we are facing, we will move forward because we are now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Rio added that all the five components of the National Broadband Plan will be in place starting next year, and are part of the so-called Vision 2020 of the ICT department for the industry.

“All of these will be in place beginning 2019, such that by 2020, our people can start feeling the big improvement in our Internet connectivity,” he said.

Rio quipped that by that time, he will invite Jack Ma back to the Philippines, for him to rate the state of the Internet in the country one more time.

“Maybe our rating from no good will be very good,” he said.

“But we must be rated by our own citizens, because no matter what rating we get abroad, if they do not feel the Internet benefits in their basic lives, then my department will have failed.”

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sMirror

Monday, October 29, 2018

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SOON, IN A COURT NEAR YOU:

‘TELE-HEARINGS’ A

By Joel R. San Juan

MAJOR change in the landscape of court proceedings in the country is in the offing with the impending approval by the Court of a new method of obtaining court testimonies from parties in criminal cases dubbed “telehearing.”

The tele-hearing, a brainchild of Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez, has been approved in principle by acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, according to the former.

“If this turns out well, this can pave the way for remote testimony,” Marquez said.

He added even Filipinos working abroad would benefit from the project because this will allow them to testify in hearings in Philippine courts without having to travel back to the country.

Marquez, who exercises admin-

istrative supervision over all courts, said studies on the effects of adopting video testimony in trial procedures revealed that this helps ensure “court security, cuts court costs, expedites arrest processing and provides an accurate and instantaneous record.”

Further studies have shown that video conferencing will likely reduce security issues and costs of transporting inmates from jail to court, among its other significant advantages.

The court administrator added that the tele-hearing method would somehow address jail overcrowding, decongest court of cases and result in speedy disposition of cases.

Considering these advantages, Marquez has recommended the pilot-testing of the tele-hearing project in Davao City.

“If pilot-testing of tele-hearing of criminal cases in Davao City will show and prove that the rights of the accused stay and remain protected and are not all compromised, this can be rolled out nationwide,” the court administrator said.

“Then new rules can be adopted where our OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] can testify in hearings here in the Philippines while Continued on G4

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OR WHY THE FUTURE OF LADY JUSTICE ALSO HINGES ON HOW TELCO ISSUES ARE RESOLVED IN THE PHL

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they are abroad,” he added.

Marquez recommended the pilot-testing of the project in Davao since the idea of using such technology came from the provincial jail warden, Supt. Grace Sun Taculin of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Taculin wrote Davao City Executive Judge and Presiding Judge

of the Regional Trial Court Branch 16 Emmanuel Carpio on November 28, 2017, requesting approval for the installation of a 100-foot monopole tower with accessories and structured cabling within the Hall of Justice in Davao City. The purpose: to link it to the three city jails in the province to pave the way for the implementation of tele-hearings.

The jail warden also sought the

issuance of guidelines on the conduct of tele-hearing once it is approved.

In making the request, Taculin cited the threat and risks to the security of transporting inmates from the three city jails in Davao City— the Davao City Jail Main, the Davao City Jail Annex and the Davao City Female Jail—to the court.

Many of the inmates at the said three jails, according to Taculin, are

considered “high-value targets” who could pose a threat to the security of jail facilities as well as the community, and one of the serious risks happens during the transporting of such inmates to the court to personally appear during court proceedings.

Hundreds of arrested members of Maute, Abu Sayaff, New People’s Army and Moro Islamic Liberation Front are currently detained in the

Further studies have shown that video conferencing will likely reduce security issues and costs of transporting inmates from jail to court, among its other significant advantages. three jails pending the resolution of their cases.

Furthermore, Taculin said the conduct of a tele-hearing may be necessary in order to prevent the spread of diseases inside the confines of the court, considering that a number of inmates are afflicted with highly contagious diseases like tuberculosis.

Then, there’s the humanitarian consideration: some ailing inmates cannot travel to the courts, thus, may result in their failure to fully exercise their right as an accused.

The letter was endorsed

by Judge Carpio to the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) for consideration and appropriate actions.

Pros and cons

MARQUEZ, however, acknowledged that the implementation of the project may raise constitutional issues, particularly on the provision that guarantees due process for the defendants in criminal cases.

Section 14, Article III of the Constitution provides that the accused should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise and should be accorded the right to meet the witnesses face to face during trial stage of the case.

Aside from these, he said tele-hearings may also violate Section 1, Rule 115 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure (RCP) which guarantees the rights of the accused at the trial.

The said provision states that the accused is entitled “to be present and defend in person and by counsel at every stage of the proceedings, from arraignment to promulgation of judgment” as well as “to confront and cross-examine the witness against him at the trial.”

Marquez also noted that Section 1, Rule 11 of the RCP requires the accused to be personally present during his arraignment and to personally enter his plea.

In its previous rulings, Marquez said the Supreme Court has recognized the importance of giving the accused the opportunity to confront witnesses face to face.

Marquez said, as ruled by the Court, this would afford the accused an opportunity to test the testimony of witnesses by cross-examination and allow the judge to observe the manner of witnesses.

The said constitutional requirement, the court administrator said, ensures that the witness will give his testimony under oath to discourage lying under the threat of perjury charge.

Despite these constitutional issues, Marquez said several countries have adopted the use of video conferencing during court proceedings.

Confrontation not absolute

HE cited the US Supreme Court ruling in Maryland v. Craig 1988, which held that the confrontation clause is not absolute.

It further explained that “although the confrontation clause reflects a preference for face-to-face confrontation at trial, it is a preference that must occasionally give way to consideration of public policy and necessities of the case.”

Our own High Tribunal, according to Marquez, also recognized that “grave and overriding considerations of public interest justify restrictions even if made against funda-

mental rights.”

“The presence of different armed insurgency groups, especially in Mindanao, which consistently poses critical security threats not only in jail facilities, but also in the courts, is an important public policy and compelling state interest that need to be balanced with the individual constitutional rights,” Marquez said.

“In a similar manner, inmates and detainees who are sick with highly contagious diseases, and who are hindered from traveling to the courts due to their illness, also present the same public policy consideration in relation to public health,” he added.

Network woes

UNDER the proposed guidelines for the pilot-testing of the project in three Davao jails, Marquez said it will be implemented in all stages of active and pending criminal proceedings, that is, from arraignment, bail hearing, trial proper until promulgation of judgment.

The trial court will have the authority to approve the use of tele-hearing considering the clarity of the video and audio transmissions.

“The only main factor is the clarity of both video and audio transmissions to and from the jail and courts. The accused must be able to see clearly from the video the facial expressions and the demeanor of witnesses against him who are in the different place. He must also see the judge. And vice versa. Audio must also be clear that it can easily be understood from and by both ends,” Marquez explained.

Still, tele-hearing will only be allowed for cases involving terrorism and terrorism-related cases, and where the accused is diagnosed with a serious and highly contagious medical condition.

The conduct of tele-hearing will also require the presence of the counsel of accused in the jail facility designated for tele-hearing to ensure that constitutional rights of the accused are protected.

The trial court judge may also order motu propio or upon the motion of any of the parties to suspend the proceedings in case of the malfunctioning of the technology or slow network connections.

Marquez admitted that telecommunication issues, particularly weak and slow network connection, are a major concern in the implementation of the project, but he is optimistic that this will eventually improve in the coming months.

“We are hoping that our network connections will improve. There is no other direction but improvement,” he said.

Marquez also said the cost of setting up the system would only be minimal, thus, budget should not be an issue.

“The Judiciary can shoulder for the courts. Hopefully, the BJMP can shoulder for the jails. With advancement in technology, this is becoming cheaper and cheaper. So the cost should not be prohibitive,” he said.

Marquez said a report and recommendation will be submitted by his office to the Court en banc after six months from the time the tele-hearing commenced.

The proposal, according to Marquez, is pending approval by the Court.

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Monday, October 29, 2018 H1

FUTURE-PROOFING BUSINESS BUSINESSES URGED TO INNOVATE IN ORDER TO NOT SIMPLY SURVIVE, BUT TO THRIVE

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By Rea Cu

At the recent conference of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Finex President Ma. Victoria C. Españo asserted that businesses need to create or implement new solutions to weather the challenges brought about by digitalization.

“The world today is characterized by uncertainty and volatility; clearly it needs new solutions to battle the emerging challenges confronting our businesses and society. If we want different and better results the ability to innovate is a must,” Españo said.

Based on the 2018 Global Innovation Index (GII) released earlier in the year, the Philippines ranked 73rd out of 126 economies included in the study, maintaining the same spot it registered in 2017.

Through innovation input and output subindices, the GII is able

to gauge an economy’s innovation performance, with the report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, Cornell University and INSEAD. Compared to its peers in the Continued on H2

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USINESSES in the Philippines are encouraged to ramp up their innovative efforts in order to confront global emerging challenges, most especially changes brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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FUTURE-PROOFING BUSINESS Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the Philippines was lagging behind as Singapore further moved up, to rank fifth from seventh in 2017.

Malaysia ranked 35th from its previous spot of 37th, Thailand inched up to the 44th spot coming from 51st last year; Vietnam settled at 45th from 47th; Brunei Darussalam climbed to 67th from 71st; Indonesia reached 85th from 87th; and Cambodia ending at 98th from 101st.

East West Banking Corp. Corporate Banking Head Mariza Enrile-Arcilla said that corporations should always keep in mind that innovating will enable their businesses to be “future-proof.”

“It’s not just embarking on innovation for innovation’s sake, but doing so with a big realization that if we don’t innovate we may not be able to future-proof ourselves, and may no longer be in existence in the near or medium term,” Arcilla said.

The GII report enables policy- and decision-makers to create strategies that will help boost innovations in their respective economies.

Españo emphasized that innovating will not only enable a company to sustain its business, but will also help it find more opportunities in the long term.

“This is a call to businesses to make innovation a priority to achieve sustainability. It is only through innovation that companies can penetrate new markets faster, connect to grow opportunities, and reach a position where they are able to not only survive but, more important, to thrive in the new world,” she added.

Teaching innovation

IN line with education, Asian Institute of Management (AIM) President and Dean Jikyeong Kang pointed out that improvements in skill sets will be important in line with upscaling the level of education in any country, especially during these times when technology is fast shaping the landscape. Critical

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thinking, as well as problem-solving skills, and collaboration were pointed out to be beneficial, especially for millennials.

“I think what we need, especially for the millennials, is we need to provide a platform.... One thing that I learned throughout my journey is the importance of diversity. It enables you to have an open mind, it uses the problem solving and analytical skills,” Kang said.

In earlier reports, it was pointed out that the Philippines’s lackluster performance in producing innovators, researchers and knowledge producers resulted in its growth lagging that of its Asean neighbors.

“Innovators, researchers [81 researchers per million population versus 205 in Indonesia and 115 in Vietnam] and knowledge producers [28 out of 777 journals, or 3.6 percent, are listed under Thomson Reuters, Scopus or both] indicate that the country has lagged behind many of its Asean neighbors in producing researchers, innovators and solutions providers needed to effectively function in a knowledge economy,” according to the Philip-

pine National Development Plan.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) pointed out that the country’s shortage in local researchers and innovators should not be overlooked.

De La Salle University Philippines President Br. Armin Luistro, FSC, added that companies should allocate an ample amount of their budgets for research and development (R&D), since that will enable businesses to understand their markets better and adapt to the changing times. The investments in R&D would prove to be an investment for the future.

“Maybe we should not be like Singapore, maybe we should discover how to innovate right here in the country. A lot of the innovators there also come from the Philippines and therefore we are not lacking in that skill. I think what we [lack] is the space, the support, the structure that will allow creativity, innovation, invention to flourish,” Luistro said.

Artificial intelligence and jobs

ASKED whether the Finex mem-

ber companies are already shifting to the digital trends happening in the global arena, Españo explained that some companies are already starting the shift but are still in the earlier stages of development.

“I think there are some companies who are starting to do that [trying AI]. A good example is innovation hubs…there are businesses that are already using AI as a model.

I know there are some companies in the early stages because there are different levels of maturities.

There are others I know that have started but are not yet confident to talk about it because it’s still in the early stages of adoption,” Españo told the BusinessMirror.

In September, it was reported that Singapore-based AnyMind Group set up shop in the Philippines, offering artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for divisions, such as advertising, marketing and human resource (HR) industries.

The move was said to be in line with the company’s goal of fostering relationships with future clients, as digital advertising is seen to grow by 18 percent in Southeast Asia in the coming years.

In earlier reports, the IDC Asia/Pacific Enterprise Cognitive/ AI survey, explained that the AI adoption rate for the Asean region reached 14 percent, coming from 8 percent the previous year.

IDC, an information technology (IT) research firm, surveyed a total of 502 executives and IT business heads across Asia Pacific (excluding Japan), which includes 146 respondents from Southeast Asia.

In terms of AI replacing human interventions in the workplace, Españo pointed out that it will affect the country’s employment but quickly added that a business can invest in the upscaling of the training of its employees for them to find work elsewhere if necessary.

“Well, it can be because the AI is actually supposed to replace manual repetitive process. There is such a risk, but I think the solution for that is for the company to be aware that some employees may be displaced and they should help those employees to learn new skills so they can be assigned to other work,” she added.

In February this year, Microsoft Asia President Ralph Haupter said that the new revolution being faced by companies in 2018 is AI. “I believe 2018 is the year that this will start to become mainstream, to begin to impact many aspects of our lives in a truly ubiquitous and meaningful way,” Haupter said.

He explained that the contributors to the said revolution will include Big Data, cloud computing and factoring in AI capabilities.

He pointed out that AI is seen to be used by most companies either in R&D, design, logistics, manufacturing, servicing or customer engagement. He added that IDC believes that by 2019 at least 40 percent of digital transformation initiatives globally will be supported by AI. Españo added that the government’s move to enact laws on data privacy or cybersecurity, among others, is a step in the right direction in terms of enabling both government agencies and private companies be better prepared in terms of adopting

to digital advancements.

“There’s so [many] new laws, the data privacy law, creating the reality of these things for our [Finex] members will hopefully trigger action on their side.... We are not pushing but we are really encouraging [them in adapting to innovations] by widening the level of awareness,” she said.

Last month the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) reported that it is hammering a partnership with around four other foreign countries on the enhancement of Philippine cybersecurity measures.

DICT Assistant Secretary Allan S. Cabanlong told reporters that the Philippine government, through the DICT, is eyeing to sign a number of memoranda of understanding (MOU) with other countries who can help strengthen cybersecurity in the country.

Cabanlong explained that he will be flying to the US this weekend to discuss international standards and best practices in line with cybersecurity, and the plan is for DICT to sign an MOU with Singapore, Australia and Malaysia as well.

Earlier in October, Finex encouraged companies in the Philippines to be more “future-ready” by adapting to innovations and changes presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Singapore way

SINGAPORE’S Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Kok Li Peng, in her keynote address, shared the experiences of Singapore in adapting to innovations and being future-ready, citing as an example its investments in R&D. “To strengthen capabilities, the government made a significant investment to expand our R&D efforts, setting aside S$19 billion from 2016 to 2020 under our research, innovation and enterprise 2020. The RIE 2020 can be tapped in line with developing viable products,” Peng said.

The RIE 2020, she said, was crafted to help micro, small and medium enterprises, among others, in terms of starting up their businesses or growing their companies.

ward-Looking

sMirror

Monday, October 29, 2018

H3

READY FOR ‘GHOST SHIPS’ E

Far-seeing maritime industry veterans are preparing for the next storm on the horizon: the increasing resort to AI and robotics, cutting the need for human sailors

By Samuel P. Medenilla

DUARDO MA. SANTOS is familiar with the experience of facing storms at sea. Having served in the Philippine Navy for 33 years, he knows the subtle signs of approaching danger.

For a veteran seafarer like himself, observing the slightest change in wind direction and cloud formation is all that separates from sailing in fair weather or from a destructive storm.

It’s a trait which he retained when he became president of the Bataan-based maritime school and training center, Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP), having retired from service with a rank of vice admiral.

Two years ago, this habit of his in self-preservation kicked in when he attended a meeting of the International Transport Federation (ITF) as a concurrent executive vice president of the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (Amosup).

During the dialogue, ITF assigned him to a committee to study the impact of robotics and automation on employment in the shipping industry.

New kind of storm

IT was then when he considered the possibility of how future seafarers would face this new kind of storm, which they will not be equipped to face.

“Look at it this way: after World War II during the ’50s or the ’60s, a crew of a ship was comprised by 40 to 60 people. In the advent of computers this was further reduced,” Santos told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

Fifty years later, a typical crew of a ship now comprises just an average of 17 men.

This number, Santos said, can only get smaller with the introduction of robots and automation.

His fear was realized last year after it was announced that the firstever automated container ship, the Yara Birkeland, would start its voyage this year in Norway.

While the ship will still operate with a small crew up to next year, by 2020 it will be fully automated.

Automated limits

BASED on his current assessment, Santos said it will still take some time before most large commercial ships adopt such new technology due to its technical and legal restrictions.

Due to technological limitations, he said remote sailing is still currently limited to tugboats like Rolls-Royce’s Svitzer Hermod, which operates based on line of sight.

“It has no people onboard. Its captain operates it in a control station with a large screen to push boats,” Santos said.

Remote sailing, he said, is currently not yet being used in ships sailing in open waters, since this involve satellites and a wider range of signals, while being exposed to several factors.

Further complicating the use of automated ships is its legal implications since it is still not covered by regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Santos pitched a crucial question: “For example, if an automated ship figured in an accident with a humanmanned ship, which would be considered liable?”

He added, “That is why even [Yara Birkeland] only operates within inland waters for now.”

This, however, will change in the next five to six years as technology and regulations start to catch up.

He said the IMO is now conducting a study for the policies it will create for automated ships.

The Philippines is among the countries proposing to still make it necessary, for remote ships to be controlled by qualified seafarers especially in

THE $25-million Yara Birkeland, a ship which will run autonomously without the requirement of a support crew and will generate zero emissions, has gone into production and will see the light of day this year. WWW.KM.KONGSBERG.COM

open seas.

“The one operating [remote ships] should still be seafarers since they know what are the conditions at sea,” Santos said.

Future-proof

WITH this in mind, Santos decided to include robotics and programming subjects for MAAP students starting this year.

Except for those technically inclined, Santos admitted the program, which he offered to graduating students, was met with disinterest by most students, especially since it was offered during a Saturday.

“Some of them said they would eventually learn about it in the future.

I told them later might be too late. They should learn it now so they would be familiar with it when they are faced with it. After all, they will be the ones who will be facing it and I will be long gone before that,” Santos said.

Currently, Santos admitted, their module for robotics and programming still needs improvement, but he hopes it will be enough to prick the interest of his students.

Since the program started earlier this year, only 170 students have taken the course.

They were introduced to programming small robots to do repetitive tasks, as well as how to operate air drones.

Santos said they plan to refine the program in the future, and eventually offer it to their students even as early as in their first year.

“We will probably start by acquiring a water drone,” Santos said.

He noted they will also begin getting the feedback of their students if their knowledge in robotics and programming eventually helped them to secure a job.

After all, job employability is still the best initiative for aspiring seafarers to learn a new skill.

Santos urged other maritime schools to also do the same.

“I keep telling this during our meeting: we are going to lose people [because of automation and robotics], but some of them still have not realized this. And if this happens, it is only a matter of time before we also lose [maritime] schools,” Santos said.

He only hopes they would eventually realize this so they could help in preparing future seafarers to weather the upcoming future of work.

Being among the countries that are the top suppliers of seafarers worldwide, the Philippines will be among those heavily affected if most shipping firms shift to automation.

Even without the mainstreaming of automation, deployment of Filipino seafarers last year had already declined to 378,072, from 442,820 in 2016 and 406,531 in 2015.

“We are not going to fight automation. We must be able to deal with it. And then see what we can do to help our people to be automation or remote-ready to make them futureproof,” Santos said.

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

CITIES

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, October 29, 2018

I1

Developing emerging cities T

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

HE development of emerging cities is a breath of fresh air, so to speak, in the Philippines. With Metro Manila experiencing a burgeoning population, monstrous traffic jams, worsening pollution levels, alarming crime rate and other woes, a lot of urban planners and developers thought it is time to develop other cities and municipalities outside the metropolis to decentralize the political decisions, decongest the cities and democratize the resources.

This gave way to the development of emerging cities. Urban planner and architect Felino Palafox Jr, principal of Palafox Associates, said a city could be classified as “emerging” if it has the ability to generate employment, a healthy workforce, and efficient land use. Moreover, it should have creative leadership, political will, good planning, good design, and good governance. He also pointed out cities with adequate infrastructure such as international airports and seaports will have an advantage over their counterparts as it can develop bigger opportunities for trade and tourism.

For the Harvard graduate school alumnus, the

emerging cities are Puerto Princesa, Zamboanga, Clark, San Fernando (Pampanga), Laoag, Vigan, Legazpi, Balanga, Batangas, Lucena, and Iloilo.

Although Davao and Cebu are way ahead of the group and are much qualified to be bracketed with Metro Manila, Palafox cautioned the two leaders of the two cities to learn from the mistakes of Metro Manila, He added that the two cities should promote better mobility by creating walkable and bikable streets complemented by robust mass transport systems.

Laoag, on the other hand, has a good potential to be developed into an international gateway between the Philippines and the wealthier countries

of North East Asia. Currently, the Laoag International Airport has direct flights to and from Guangzhou, China. As a port city, Zamboanga has a strategic location blessed with more natural resources. Zamboanga Peninsula plays a critical role in realizing the medium and long-term goals of Mindanao and BIMP-EAGA which is to become a major location in ASEAN for high-value-added agro-industry, natural resource-based manufacturing, and high-end tourism that will eventually shift towards ensuring socioeconomic, physical development, and a southern gateway to and from the Philippines.

Emerging cities and the IT-BPM industry

THE information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry needs to consider the emerging cities, according to Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) chief executive officer David Leechiu.

Leechiu said emerging cities are very capable to meet the demand of the companies. “The Philippine realty business is ready for the BPO boom,” he said in a recent press interview.

LPC identified the locations as Tuguegarao, Cagayan; Dagupan, Pangasinan; Malolos and Meycauayan in Bulacan; Batangas City in Batangas; Kalibo, Aklan; Tacloban, Leyte and Tagbiliran, Bohol.

“These are virgin territories for IT-BPM firms,” he pointed out. To entice IT-BPM companies to move into new locations, Leechiu said the national government must provide local government units stronger support in building a healthy labor pool, install fiber connectivity, accessibility and a stronger tourism roadmap. Furthermore, Leechiu said other areas that have IT-BPM presence can be further developed to

improve their standing.

He said provinces such as Rizal, Laguna, Cavite and Misamis Oriental can accommodate more ITBPM companies because they have still untapped areas. The areas ideal for IT-BPM locators are Taytay, Binangonan, Antipolo, Cavite, Calamba, Biñan, Santa Rosa, Imus, Dasmariñas, Rosario, Bacoor in Cavite and Cagayan de Oro.

On his part, Santos Knight Frank (SKF) chairman and chief executive officer Rick Santos players will gravitate to regional areas such as Metro Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Bacolod as property prices within Metro Manila and the supply of land becomes limited. According to SKF, the emerging cities are Balanga, Bataan; Batangas City, Batangas; Iriga City, Camarines Sur; Laoag, Ilocos Norte; Legazpi City, Albay; Puerto Princesa, Palawan; Roxas City, Capiz; Tarlac City, Tarlac; Tuguegarao, Cagayan; Zamboanga City, Zamboanga.

Raymond Rufino, co-president and a director of the Net Group loves the idea of decentralization that he considers it as one of the exciting things in emerging cities. “I think for too long we had put our eggs in one basket,” he said.

Having more prosperous cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao is advantageous for the country, according to Rufino. Moreover, emerging cities provide a buffer in case Metro Manila experiences a huge natural calamity. “The focus is on developing these new emerging cities is really important. It is not just important spreading the wealth and prosperity but also a matter of national survival if an Ondoy-type of calamity would hit Metro Manila,” Rufino pointed out. “It is matter of survival. It is quite scary when we have all in one basket,” he explained.

A good place to develop emerging cities

SYLVESTER Wong, vice president of AECOM, describes the Philippines as a dynamic environment where there are lots of professionals, developers, new places and new cities that have the potential to become major centers of development.

AECOM Capital makes direct investments in real estate and public-private projects, providing opportunities to participate as a vital partner in advancing projects with clients.

It is focused primarily on the built environment – Planning Design Development (PDD) (comprising Design Planning and economics, and Architecture), Program, Cost, Consultancy (PCC) and Building Engineering.

Established in 1996 in the Philippines, AECOM has competent teams of planners, engineers, environmental scientists, geologists, landscape architects and technical management specialists’ that team up to provide top-notch technical consulting services for the ports, highways, bridges, airports, water supply, wastewater treatment and conveyance, manufacturing, real estate, power, and mining industries. Moreover, Wong said their integrated approach delivers significant changes to clients and communities across the region. In the Philippines, AECOM has close to 400 people working in the local market.

Wong credits the team for its success. “We cannot do it alone. We have so many great professionals and developers in the country,” he pointed out.

With the Build, Build, Build program, AECOM is gung ho on new investments in the country as it modernizes its archaic infrastructure.

Wong said AECOM is bullish on the development of new cities. “There are so many great professionals, new places to develop here in the Philippines,” he pointed out.

Damosa Land Inc: Building an emerging city and developing inclusivity in Mindanao

RICARDO “Cary” Lagdameo, Damosa Land Inc (DLI’s) vice president, proudly describes the firm as a “proud Mindanaoan company that is solidly grounded in the island. Established in the 1940s, the property development arm of the ANFLOCOR group started in the construction industry in Davao and has been at the forefront of development in Mindanao. With a common goal of uplifting the lives of the people in Mindanao, DLI strives to solidify its position as Mindanao's leading homegrown developer.

Continued on I4

I4 Monday, October 29, 2018

Emerging Cities A BusinessMirror Special Feature

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Developing emerging cities Continued from I1

Davao-based DLI started as a construction company later diversifying in real estate. “As a real estate company, we are involved in residential, commercial, offices, hotel and now even industrial parks.

One thing that is common for us that we try to build quality projects, try to bring innovative ideas that have not been done in Mindanao or Davao so far.

For instance, DLI developed the one of the first mixed-used project in Davao City. It also put up the first PEZA-accredited IT Park in 2007 and brought in the first coworking space (Regus) in Davao. These are the type of things we’d like to do and try to bring investment into the city and we do that through real estate and other activities,” Lagdameo said.

“We have a goal to try uplifting Mindanao and we do that through real estate and other activities. We also try to build quality projects and bring innovative ideas that have yet to be introduced in Mindanao.

Right now, DLI is currently developing Panabo as an emerging city. The 88-hectare project aims to be the first world class commercial business district in the region. A major goal of the Panabo project is to change Mindanao's economy from an agriculturecentric to a more progressive and diversified. “We’re bringing everything that has to do with agriculture but with a modern flavor,” he said.

Inspired by his late grandfather who was a trailblazer in Mindanao’s agriculture industry, Lagdameo raised the bar higher by charting his own path by engaging in various new businesses.

Lagdameo recently signed a contract with the University of the Philippines Professional School for Agriculture and the Environment in Panabo City to develop a sustainable environment and food security in the area. It is currently engaged in developing Panabo as an emerging city. Damosa has a vision of developing the first world class city in Davao. It is currently drafting the roadmap towards this goal.

It has tapped the University of the Philippines-Los Baños for the building of an agricultural school complemented by a tourism hub. It plans to promote

agriculture with a modern flavor into it.

Moreover, DLI is also planning to develop a seaside resort community in the area. His efforts bore fruit when DLI was awarded the Best Property Developer in Davao at the 2017 by the Philippine Property Awards. As a real company, Damosa Land is engage in several development projects residential, commercial, hotels even industrial parks. We have a goal to uplift Mindanao al parks. We have a goal to uplift Mindanao and boost Mindanao through real estate activities.

DLI continues to evolve into a company with intense pursuits of achieving valuable innovations in the real estate industry. Powered by an inspired, dynamic and proactive leadership, Lagdameo said DLI will be a major catalyst in Mindanao’s development.

Aseana City-An emerging city by the bay

PRIMARILY known as a construction company, D.M. Wenceslao and Associates Incorporated over the past two decades has successfully transformed itself into a real estate development company. “Nevertheless, we’re still continuing our heritage and now we are a Quadruple A construction company that enables them to bid any size of project in the Philippines.

Right now, D.M. Wenceslao is popularly known as the master developer of Aseana City, one of the largest undeveloped landbanks in Metro Manila, bordering Mall of Asia, PAGCOR Entertainment City along the shores Manila Bay fronting Parañaque City. “Basically, we are developing that whole area as a new city, to be a next generation development.

“When you talk about the next generation city, we’re focusing on to be holistic having a unique masterplan that caters to all stakeholders, making sure that all the infrastructure not just covers softscape but also the ha hardscape sure that the softscape and hardscape that will make it sustainable by investing public spaces, walkability and connectivity,” he said. Located along Roxas Boulevard, the project offers spectacular view of the world famous Manila Bay's beautiful sunset. Baclaran Church is another major landmark in the area in front of Aseana City. Wednesday is a busy day in the church as

devotees flock to pray the Lady of Perpetual Help.

Aseana City is located along the shoreline of Manila Bay, extending northeast to Roxas Boulevard within Parañaque, with an approximate total area of two hundred four (204) hectares.

Aseana City offers a closer view to history as it’s in the vicinity of the walled city of Intramuros and country’s bastion of business achievement - Binondo, Makati and Ortigas.

Moreover, major locators have also selected to operate near the vicinity the Aseana area. These are retail warehouse giant Pricesmart, One-stop-shop, Aseana Powerstation and DFA Passport Plaza, the Department of Foreign Affairs’ newest processing center.

Opportunities in emerging cities

FOR Kenneth Stern, country manager of Remax Philippines, emerging cities offer good economic opportunities for property.

Being the world’s leading real estate franchise, Stern said the Remax is bullish on the Philippines, “Being in the country for six years now and opened 30 branches nationwide. We’ve just opened two Cebu and two in Davao last week,” he said.

“We are also opening in Tuguegarao, Siargao, Palawan and Clark. “We’re looking to expand in other areas of the country,” he added.

“The vision of Remax is to professionalize real estate in the Philippines. We are also growing that especially in new markets,” he pointed out.

As an emerging market, the expertise of Remax can be tapped especially in the countryside in terms of identifying the legitimate brokers and professionalizing the industry, among others.

Stark said emerging cities have gotten attention because of the boom enjoyed by the property sector. “Who would have thought that we will open an office in Siargao,” Stern pointed out.

According to Stern, as RE/MAX opens more franchises and collects more data, it will be interesting to see how other areas perform in the secondary market, especially with regards to foreign buyers.

“As a global company, RE/MAX is in good po-

sition to help its brokers and agents get worldwide exposure, giving them access to foreign markets that were previously inaccessible to them,” said Stern. “As we expand, we also aim to include more locations to our data and see how up-and-coming locations are performing with the entry of Remax, Stern said they will introduce professionalism in the property industry especially to the people living in the provinces.

“There’s an opportunity there for companies looking for investment,” he said.

“Our goal in every country we operate is to professionalize the real estate industry. In the Philippines, we are still growing that. The Philippine real industry needs more professionalism. We want to boost the brokers’ capabilities and expand nationwide,” he said. Moreover, the people can leverage the multinational experience so they can enhance their businesses,” he added.

Challenges in developing emerging cities

LAGDAMEO said it is a bit of challenge to make the

emerging cities relevant to the population, For instance, he said DLI needs to entice the people to support agriculture to ensure food security and livelihood. Instead of putting up the traditional structures such as semiconductor industries plants and other industrial parks, DLI prefers an agro-industrial complex. “Instead of industrial parks catering to car parts or airplane parts, why not put up agro-industrial parks to ensure food security,” he explained.

“We also want to make agriculture cool again,” he added. As part of the DLI vision, Lagdameo said they are thinking of bringing the best practices to make the province to be a better place to live in. “We are happy that Mindanao is now getting more attention. I think it is high time to give attention to Mindanao. What we’d like to achieve make the people stay there in Mindanao, and bring more investments,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Wenceslao stressed that developing an emerging city should not be based on copying other models. Rather, it should be based on the coordination of government, private and the stakeholders to determine the needs of the city.

Frederic Manuel, representative of venture capital Arch Capital and adjunct faculty, department of analytics, Asian Institute of Management, concurred with Wenceslao that imitating foreign models will not work.

“A diversity of the city must not be copied. Meanwhile, Stark said retaining the old soul of the city is important.

He added lots of young investors want to make a difference because they believe in promoting diversity.

As a regional developer, DLI is blessed to have models to look and study. Moreover, Lagdameo believes the private sector is the lead player in property development. “Government’s role is to connect these cities within and across regions,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wenceslao said there is no perfect city. Even if all the developers have all the designs and masterplans, there might some be certain factors that will happen and conform to the plans.

Nevertheless, he said emerging cities have to adapt to the changes on the fly. To make the emerging city relevant to the people, Lagdameo said it needs to find the proper match and remind the people of their heritage to retain its soul and character.

I2 Monday, October 29, 2018

Emerging Cities A BusinessMirror Special Feature

www.businessmirror.com.ph

EMERGING CITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES ARE ON THE RISE DESPITE ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

V

By Leony R. Garcia

ARIABLES such as topography, climate, tax code, and cost of living —in addition to proximity to family and friends—all play roles in the emergence of cities and attractive places to live in.

The factors that make some parts of the country preferable to others as a place to live and raise a family vary from one person to the next. Still, some cities are demonstrably more attractive to new residents than others; thus the reason for population growth.

Population change is the product of two factors–net migration and natural growth. Natural growth is simply the number of births over a given period less the number of deaths. Net migration is the difference between the number of new residents—either from other parts of the country or from abroad—and the number of residents who have left the area.

As of 2017, there are 47 megacities in existence. Most of these urban agglomerations are in China and other countries of Asia.

The largest are the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Shanghai, and Jakarta, each having over 30 million inhabitants. China alone has 15 megacities, and India has six.

Other countries with megacities include the United States, Brazil and Pakistan, each with two.

In the 2018’s Global Cities Index and Emerging Cities Outlook (A.T. Kearney), seven new cities have been added to the Index and the Outlook: In the US, Seattle joins the rankings for the first time, and in China, six cities have emerged in the rankings (Changsha, Foshan, Ningbo, Tangshan, Wuxi, and Yantai). The list identifies the top emerging cities by measuring human capital, business activity, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement.

China’s key cities have experienced greater progress than cities in the other regions of the world during the 10 years of A.T. Kearney’s Global Cities research: business activity remains the dominant factor, but human

I

capital and cultural experience are also significant drivers of growth.

Established in 2008, A.T. Kearney’s Global Cities was one of the first to rank cities based on their global standing, and it remains highly regarded for its holistic assessment of city capabilities and potential.

Designed by top academics and business advisors, the analysis is based on facts and publicly available data. The report is developed annually, updating the underlying information and reviewing whether new cities meet the criteria for inclusion. Since its inception, the report added the Global Cities Outlook and it increases the number of cities it assesses nearly every year.

What makes an emerging city?

ACCORDING to experts, a city may be considered “emerging” if there is potential for job creation, a healthy workforce, and efficient land use; in addition to visionary leadership, political will, good planning, good design, and good governance.

Gateway cities such as those with international airports and seaports also have an edge over others in terms of trade and tourism opportunities.

By these standards, the top emerging cities outside of Metro Manila are Puerto Princesa, Zamboanga, Clark, San Fernando (Pampanga), Laoag, Vigan, Legazpi, Balanga, Batangas, Lucena, and Iloilo. Davao and Cebu have already far exceeded the pack and ae almost in the same cluster as Metro Manila.

Not following the mistakes of Manila, the Davao and Cebu magalopoli should pursue better mobility through walkable and bikable streets with well-connected mass transport systems.

Over the years, there’s a lot of development potentials for Zamboanga City. Dubai, like Zamboanga is a port city. But unlike Dubai, Zamboanga is blessed with

LAMUDI’s homebuying guide for OFWs

NVESTING in a residential property is one of the important decisions one can make. It takes a substantial amount of money and for most people, even a time period to complete the payment.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) are mostly into investing into their lifelong homes and real estate properties. It’s best for them to find a stable investment that is as convenient to manage as possible. It is best that you understand the overall process first in investing in a real estate property before you make a decision. Here’s what you need to know about the process:

Know the reason behind your investment.

The first part of this process is answering the “Why”.

What is motivating you to invest your savings in real estate? You will have an easier time with the other aspects of the process once you established what the property is for. Could it be for your family or a place to stay while vacationing in the country? Are you in the market for a residential property to rent it out?

Get real with your budget. It is important to know how much you are willing to spend. Be realistic with what you can shed out, and make sure it won’t affect your overall financial requirements. Set a budget and stick to it.

Decide what location will best work with your lifestyle. To best decide on the location wherein

you can build your nest, it is advisable to check on your overall lifestyle requirements. You may want to invest within or close to a central business district because of your entrepreneurial aspirations, or even close to a tourist destination for when you are looking to relax more in the next phase of your life. Either way, the location should speak more on what will cater best to your lifestyle needs.

Decide on what type of residential property to have. Select the type of residential property you would like to acquire. It could be a house and lot of either single detached or bungalow type, a townhouse, a condominium and an apartment. Again, you have to consider what will work for you in terms of your needs and lifestyle.

Do a background check. Now that you have chosen the type of property that you want to invest in, it is important to do some research on the seller. There is a wealth of information online if you are planning to buy a condominium from a property developer. Look at their track record to see what people say about the quality of their work and delivery time. You might also want to look into the top management of the company. This will give you a good idea on what to expect from the developer.

Buying from a private seller, however, would be

New Clark City photo from http://www.build.gov.ph

more natural resources. Zamboanga Peninsula plays a critical role in realizing the medium and long-term goals of Mindanao and BIMP-EAGA which is to become a major location in Asean for highvalue-added agro-industry, natural resource-based manufacturing, and high-end tourism that will eventually shift towards ensuring socioeconomic, physical development, and a southern gateway to and from the Philippines.

Laoag, on the other hand, is posing to be the international gateway between the Philippines and the wealthier countries of North East Asia. Currently, the Laoag International Airport has direct flights to and from Guangzhou, China. Learning from ‘instant’ cities of the world. These are cities that became First-World caliber in less than 15 years: San Francisco, Zurich, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

These cities were able to transform from one resource to another. Zurich, for instance, was able to move forward from chocolate and watchmaking to becoming Europe’s leading international financial center.

After the gold rush, San Francisco, on the other hand, shifted from a mining town into a financial, tourism, and technology hub.

While Dubai transformed from an oil-dependent city to one that was driven by tourism, trade and commerce, real estate, health, and education.

“Our cities should be in a continuous state of improvement. We should not be complacent with just one source of revenue. For instance, real estate and business process outsourcing may be booming today. But what are we doing now to ensure that we will have other sources of income in the event that these two industries slow down?

We should be able to improve our competitiveness in tourism, agriculture, finance, education, and health care, among others.” This is according to Architect Felino A. Palafox, Jr., in a report written in April 2017. “Growth is inevitable, growth is necessary. In setting the framework for the development of our cities, we must focus on practices that are environmentally sound, economically vital, and that encourages livable communities— in other words, smart growth and new urbanism. Some of the best practices elsewhere in the world can be appropriately applied to address the country’s urban issues and challenges to make Philippines more livable and globally competitive,” he concluded.

more difficult to perform a background check on. The best way to do this, however, is by finding a reliable real estate broker. They can help you perform a title check on a property that you are interested in. Ask your real estate broker to get a certified true copy of the title through the Registry of Deeds to verify its ownership.

In addition, request for Tax Receipts to ensure that the Real Property Taxes (RPT) are paid for and updated. The RPT prior to the date of your purchase is not your responsibility. This becomes your obligation after it is sold. You do not want to inherit unpaid RPT from the previous owner. Note that requesting the identification of the owner prior to signing any agreement or documentation is a must. It must match the name appearing on the title. These checks are a crucial part of the home buying process and should not be overlooked.

Name your attorney-in-fact (AIF). Taking a trip back to the Philippines just to handle all of these will take time and money. If it would be inconvenient for you to do so, it would be best to choose an AIF instead. This person should preferably be your spouse, adult children or any relative you trust. The AIF is the person who you will authorize to represent you for the duration of the real estate transaction. Responsibilities would be to reserve the unit, pay for it (with your funds) and read the contract. There is a good chance that they will be signing documents for you as well.

Your AIF will be authorized to do all of these through a Special Power of Attorney (SPA). This is a legal document which must be consularized through the Philippine consulate that you are located in. Consularization is the process of authenticating legal documents with a seal and red ribbon while on foreign soil. The SPA will allow such person to legally reserve the property for you. A developer will normally give 30 days to accomplish this. The same amount of time would usually be given to forward the following documents:

nEmployment contract in English nCertificate of Employment and Compensation (consularized) nPost-dated checks nProof of billing in the Philippines nPhotocopies of passport and other identification

nTax Identification Number (TIN) nProof of Income for three months

New Emerging Cities

THE ten “new emerging” cities in the Philippines are recognized for their potential to become next wave cities. These new are, in alphabetical order:Balanga City, Batangas City, Iriga City, Laoag City, Legazpi City, Puerto

Know your financial obligations. Establishing a budget as discussed in the previous section is not the only financial element to consider. There are more things to consider unless you are prepared to pay for the entire purchase price in cash. Even then, you still need to have some funds left over for real estate transaction costs.

Buying from a developer usually involves an initial reservation fee. This would be followed by a down payment. You could be requested to come up with 10 to 30 percent depending on the plan that you choose. Other developers allow the down payment to be spread out for a certain period of time. Consistently paying for this will allow you to secure the unit and enter into a Contract to Sell with the developer. The Deed of Sale will only take place after you have paid the purchase price in full and the unit titled under your name.

A private seller, on the other hand, might require earnest money instead of a reservation fee. Just like the latter, it will form part of the purchase price. Unlike a developer, private sellers do not offer payment plans. The two choices are usually paying for property in full or through a loan. There are different options that may be available to you if you choose to borrow money.

Commonly, housing loan methods normally accepted by developers and private sellers are through Pag-IBIG loan, SSS loan, bank loan or in-house financing (for purchases

Princesa City, Roxas City, Tarlac City,Tuguegarao City, and Zamboanga City. Meanwhile, the country’s $14 billion ‘pollution-free’ city, the New Clark, is expected to be larger than Manhattan. In a 2016 survey, navigation company Waze ranked Manila as having the “worst traffic on Earth.” The city’s reliance on cars also exacerbates its growing air-pollution problem.As a possible solution to Manila’s smog and gridlock, on the works is an entirely new, more sustainable city called New Clark City.

The New Clark, about 75 miles outside Manila, calls for drones, driverless cars, technologies that will reduce buildings’ water and energy usage, a giant sports complex, and plenty of green space. According to the development plan, the city will eventually stretch 36 square miles — a land area larger than Manhattan — and house up to 2 million people. Developers say the urban plan will prioritize environmental sustainability and climate resilience.

With a minimum elevation of 184 feet above sea level, the city will likely not see much flooding. To reduce carbon emissions, two-thirds of New Clark will be reserved for farmland, parks, and other green space.The buildings will incorporate technologies that reduce energy and water usage.Driverless cars, running on electric energy rather than CO2-emitting gas, will roam through a developer only). Your loan would have a better chance of getting approved if you already have 20 percent of the purchase price in cash. Having more than this amount would also increase your likelihood of approval.

Paying for the residential property is only part of your financial obligation. There are other costs to consider on either side of the transaction. As the buyer, however, expect to pay: nDocumentary Stamp Tax, 1.5 percent nLocal Transfer Tax, 0.5 to 0.75 percent of selling price or zonal value whichever is higher nRegistration Fee, based on the Registration Fee Table of the Register of Deeds nNotarial Fees, 0.1 to 0.15 percent of selling price to notarize the Deed of Sale.

the streets.Additionally, the city will feature a giant sports stadium and an agro-industrial park. New Clark’s developers, BCDA Group and SurbanaJurong, see the first phase of the project finished by 2022 butthe goal is to keep developing as technologies advance.

The vision for New Clark certainly sounds utopian.But the ambitious plan faces several challenges, including persuading Manila residents to move there.

New infrastructure projects, meanwhile, could bridge the distance between Manila and New Clark City, Wong said. A brand new railway line is being built by the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development. The train would reduce the travel time between the two cities to one hour from the current two to three hours.

In late May, BCDA started the bidding process for companies to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain power and water systems in New Clark City. The project is mainly funded through public-private partnerships — and has been earmarked among the Build, Build, Build (BBB) projects of the current government.

The project is planned to be smart, sustainable and resilient to disasters, according toSurbanaJurong CEO Heang Fine Wong. The new urban space would become a “twin city” to Manila. The Philippine government already announced it is committed to moving some offices to New Clark City, but the main goal plan is for foreign investors to set up operations there, according to Wong.

But technical hurdles would still need to be resolved said Wong.

“You need that network of communication. And also a cyber security network needs to be put in place,” he said.

Approval by AIF. The final part is the turnover of the residential unit. This is where you would need your AIF to not only receive the keys but for inspection.

Purchases through a developer must be examined for missing deliverables, substandard construction, water leaks and any type of damage. If everything is in order, the AIF must approve of the unit. This is regarded as an Acceptance by Representative. The process will be completed when the Authority-To-Turnover documentation is issued.

It cannot be stressed enough that any outstanding taxes and fees on the property must be paid for. This is the same whether the purchase is through a developer or private seller. It does not matter if it is a pre-selling property, an old unit or an existing house. The seller will have obligations of their own which must not be passed onto you as the new owner of the property.

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