Businessmirror September 05, 2018

PHL UP 3 RUNGS IN ASPAC SUSTAINABLE TRADE

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

T Twenty-five youth ambassadors from Taiwan visit the BusinessMirror offices as part of their program in the Philippines, which ends on Wednesday (September 5, 2018). They pose for posterity with BusinessMirror officers led by Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon, seated, center. Flanking him are Representative Michael P.Y. Hsu, head of Mission of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines; and Steve C.C. Hsia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

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HE Philippines improved its sustainable trade ranking by three notches to land on 10th among 19 economies in the Asia Pacific (Aspac), according to an international study.

The Philippines placed 10th this year from 13th in 2016 in the latest cycle of the Hinrich Foundation Sustainable Trade Index. Although its economic performance declined by six notches in the survey, its social index went up to 11th from 19th, while its environmental pillar remained stable at sixth.

“The Philippine had the second-lowest levels of air pollution on the 2018 index, outscored only

by Sri Lanka. Air pollution is measured by levels of particular matter 2.5 in a country,” the report read in citing the country’s top performance.

“The Philippines scored last on the growth in labor force indicator, which measures the year-on-year change

See “Aspac,” A8

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Wednesday, September 5, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 326

With support price hike, NFA to buy more palay T

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE National Food Authority (NFA) said on Tuesday that it could “exhaust” its P7-billion subsidy for 2019 to purchase palay from local farmers if it is given authority to increase its buying price, which would then allow it to fulfill its mandate to stabilize prices by infusing the market with cheap rice.

However, if the NFA’s current P17-per-kilogram support price for palay would remain unchanged next year, then the agency would have to resort to importation anew,

as the bulk of the locally produced rice would go to private traders that offer higher rates.

These were responses made by NFA Administrator Jason Y. Aqui-

no before the House when asked

by House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Karlo Alexei B. Nograles of Davao City if the NFA would utilize its 2019 proposed

The NFA’s current buying price, which a House leader called “unrealistic” at present market conditions

budget to do its mandate or just divert its funds anew to pay some of its debts. Nograles had led critics of the NFA’s decision to divert —reportedly P5 billion of a total P7 billion—of its budget for palay buying, as approved by Congress, to pay off its debts to the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank).

See “NFA,” A2

Teddy Locsin Jr.

free fire Philippine statement delivered by H.E. Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., Permanent Representative, Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations, at the Open Debate on “Mediation and the Settlement of Disputes,” August 29, 2018, UN Security Council Chamber, UN Headquarters, New York.

Mr. President, n Spanish cannons these words were inscribed in the bronze: ULTIMA RATIO REGIS: The last argument of sovereigns—kings in the past, republics in the present. War is the last argument of sovereignty: To fight for things essential to national honor and self-preservation—when surrender is never an option. But mediation is a wise preliminary choice.

‘O

Continued on A6

PHL to ink exploration deal with Israeli oil firm

A

Fruits are arrayed at a stall in Makati City on Monday. Prices of fresh produce have been soaring the past few days, causing concern among budgetconscious households. Inflation data for August are expected to be out on Wednesday. ALYSA SALEN

PESO exchange rates n US 53.5040

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Mediation and the last argument of kings

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

P

HILIPPINE inflation data this week may help determine whether one of Asia’s worstperforming stock markets can continue its road to recovery.

Traders at AB Capital and Investment Corp. and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. are warning that the Philippine Stock Exchange Index could face a bout of profit-taking, just as a tentative rebound has begun that has seen it rise more than 12 percent, from a 17-month low in June. Among their concerns are rising inflation, a falling peso and decelerating economic growth.

Investors are waiting to see if August inflation data on Wednesday supports a view that a record $1.37-billion exodus of foreign funds this year has made equity valuations cheap.

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PHL stock rebound in doubt before inflation data

See “Stock,” A8

in a country’s labor force. A growing labor force supports economic growth and a country’s ability to continue trading, and could pose problems for the Philippines in the future,” the report added, this time in citing where the country performed worst.

Under economic pillar, the study claimed the Philippines shows an openness to trade based on its performance in the tariff and nontariff barriers. It also scored well in terms of the foreign direct investment indicator, which measures inward FDI as a share of gross domestic product. However, the Philippines registered some of the highest trade costs in the region.

“The trade costs indicator uses a composite of four factors—infrastructure, logistics, corruption and legal system—to capture the extra burden to trade created by inefficiencies in the trading system. The Philippines scored in the bottom five economies for this indicator with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia,” the report read.

@BNicolasBM

N agreement on energy exploration in Palawan between the Philippines and Israeli company Ratio Petroleum Ltd. is expected to be signed during the President’s visit.

Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said in a press briefing on Tuesday that the deal, which was set to be signed on Tuesday, is meant to help the country explore other sources of energy in a bid to ensure energy security. “[The agreement] is in connection with round number 5PECR5 with an area for east of Palawan base,” Roque said, “This is what Energy Secretary Alfonso [G.] Cusi [has been] working on for the past two days here in Israel,” As of press time, there were no other details provided on the agreement. The President is on official visit to Israel until Wednesday, after which he will proceed to Jordan.

This is the first time that a Philippine president went on official visits to Israel and Jordan.

On Tuesday Duterte was also expected to speak in a business forum organized by the Philippines’s Department of Trade and Industry to boost trade and investment ties with Israel.

However, an Israeli company has decided to boycott the business forum, saying it was offended by the President’s remarks when he compared himself, in 2016, to Adolf Hitler, the German dictator who presided over the killing of millions of Jews.

In a letter, Israeli Chief Executive Officer Mino Negrin of NUFiltration Ltd. thanked the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs for inviting them, but they said the President’s remarks “cannot be accepted by the Jewish people.”

“We know and cherish the collaboration between the Philippines and Israel, but under no See “Exploration,” A8

n japan 0.4817 n UK 68.8810 n HK 6.8165 n CHINA 7.8411 n singapore 39.0142 n australia 38.5817 n EU 62.1984 n SAUDI arabia 14.2655

Source: BSP (4 September 2018 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Malampaya consortium runs to SC in ₧53-B tax dispute

T

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE consortium that operates the Malampaya Deep Water Gas to Power project has filed a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court in a bid to reverse the government auditors’ stand barring it from including its income-tax payments in the sums it remitted to the national government as the latter’s 60-percent share of royalties in the project.

The consortium has a standing P53-billion tax deficiency that it disputes on the basis that income tax is imputed in the royalty payments it made to the government. “ We can confir m that the Malampaya joint-venture partners, together with the Department of Energy [DOE], filed a petition for certiorari with the SC after receiving the Commission on Audit’s [COA] decision denying the consolidated motion for reconsideration submitted by the Malampaya consortium,” the Shell companies in the Philippines said on Tuesday.

No other details were provided.

The project is spearheaded by

the DOE, and developed and operated by Spex (Shell Philippines Exploration B.V) with a 45-percent stake on behalf of joint-venture partners Chevron Malampaya Llc.—also with a 45-percent stake—and PNOC EC (Philippine National Oil Co. Ex ploration Corp.), which holds the remaining 10 percent.

The COA earlier overruled the petition of the Malampaya consortium that income tax was already imputed in the government’s 60-percent share in the Malampaya royalties. The tax, it argued, was deductible from the government’s share of the Malampaya earnings.

However, the COA said there is no provision in the law stating that the income tax of the contractors forms part of the share of the government.

Back then, the COA noted in its 2009 report a P53,140,304,739.86 tax deficiency.

O n a per -yea r ba si s, t he COA said the undercollection amounted to P2,409,817,191.46 in 2003; P2,335,402,961.38 in 20 0 4; P2,832, 586,038.93 i n 2005; P7,901,265,361.42 in 2006; P11,272,523,434.55 in 2007; P15,826,563,356.86 in 2008; and P10,562,146,395.26 in 2009.

DOE backs consortium

The DOE supported the consortium and asserted that the national government may assume and pay the tax liabilities of a ser v ice contractor consistent with the incentive-oriented policy toward investors.

It had said that imposing P53.14 billion in taxes would create havoc on the petroleum industry and that the COA report had “sent a very wrong signal to the existing and future petroleum exploration investors in the country.”

It said the COA decision had totally wreaked havoc on the government’s representation with these investors that the Philippines honors and respects the sanctity of contracts and agreements.

“The trust and confidence of foreign investors in the stability and certainty of our investment laws

The trust and confidence of foreign investors in the stability and certainty of our investment laws and regulations that the government, for a long period of time, has painstakingly built and nurtured, has been greatly damaged.”

—Department of Energy

and regulations that the government, for a long period of time, has painstakingly built and nurtured, has been greatly damaged,” it said.

The COA, in its April 6, 2015, decision, upheld its findings that the income taxes of the service contractors could not be assumed by the national government in its 60-percent share in the Malampaya proceeds and, thus, ordered the consortium to pay the national government P53,140,304,739.86 in taxes.

In September 2015 Spex filed an arbitration case against the national government with the Singapore International Arbitration Center. In July 2016 Spex filed another arbitration case in the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes against the national government regarding its tax dispute.

NFA. . .

Continued from A1

“That P7 billion was allocated to you primarily to buy palay from our local farmers and/or [through approval of the] NFA Council [NFAC] to import rice for NFA’s bufferstocking,” Nograles said during the NFA’s budget hearing at the House of Representatives.

“Now I want to know right here in the Committee on Appropriations, if you will repeat what you did in 2017 and 2018 with the P7 billion we allocated for your rice buffer stocking.

Will you use this fund to buy rice and palay, or will divert [this again] to pay your debts to LandBank and DBP?” Nograles asked the NFA official.

Aquino responded that the food agency, attached to the Office of the President, will be able to exhaust the P7-billion subsidy granted that their current P17per-kilogram (kg) support price for palay is increased.

However, Aquino did not make a categorical response on whether the NFA would divert its funds anew just to write off some of its debts with the banks.

“If given that authority to increase our buying price, we can exhaust this fund for the procurement of palay,” he said.

“But if we will not be able to buy palay, then the same thing will happen. We will resort back to importation just to satisfy our buffer-stocking [role]—that’s the mandate given to us. It is difficult to fulfill our job if we do not have the stocks, it would be hard for us to infuse in the market,” he added.

Procurement plans

Documents obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that the NFA is eyeing to procure as much as 555,000 metric tons of palay next year. On top of

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Anwar backs antidrugs drive, but urges Duterte to always heed rule of law

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

F

@alyasjah

ORMER Malaysian Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday reminded President Duterte that rule of law and humanrights principles must be upheld in this administration’s campaign to curb crime and corruption.

In a news briefing, Anwar said he is in support of the President’s desire to steer the Philippines clear of drugs, terrorism and corruption in the bureaucracy. However, he also urged Duterte to always put the law above all of his policies.

“Due process must be t he ground rule. We must accept due process knowing the importance of the rule of law,” said Anwar, who served as the keynote speaker for a CEO conference hosted by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

Anwar believes dissidents must be allowed to voice out their position, even if this does not adhere to the ruling party’s beliefs and policies. The former political prisoner, who is set to take over as Malaysia’s top leader in two years, pressed the President to recognize universal human-rights principles of giving everyone the rights to life and free speech.

“You cannot abuse power to victimize the opposition. If I meet President Duterte, I would just say that I would support some of his measures, but I would certainly want him to ensure that vibrant democracy and respect for the rule of law [are] existent,” Anwar said.

His statement coincided with news reports confirming Duterte’s decision to revoke the amnesty granted to—and order the arrest of—opposition Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV, a former navy officer this, the NFA targets to import 500,000 MT of rice to fulfill its buffer-stocking mandate.

The NFA buys palay at P17 per kg with an additional incentive of about P0.70 centavo, resulting in a total support price of P17.70 per kg.

Based on the computations of the BusinessMirror, the NFA would have to spend at least P9.823 billion to be able to purchase all the 555,000 MT of palay at its current buying price.

Furthermore, the documents indicated that the NFA would need at least $258.750 million, or about P13.843 billion, to import the 500,000 MT of rice at an assumed price per metric ton of $517.50 with a dollar-peso exchange rate of 53.50.

Under the 2019 National Expenditure Program, the NFA is only targeting to purchase a total of 388,889 MT of palay next year with its Department of Budget and Management-approved P7billion subsidy.

Data from the NFA showed that it was only able to procure about 3,830 MT of palay in the first half, which was just 3.83 percent of its 100,000-MT palay procurement target this year.

Food security risk

Earlier, the Commission on Audit (COA) questioned the NFA’s decision to use its P5.1-billion subsidy funding for food security program (FPS) in 2017 to pay its maturing loans—a move, which, the COA said, may have endangered the country’s food security.

In its annual audit report, the COA said the fund diversion might have “adversely” affected the realization of the food agency’s mandate to ensure stable prices of staple in the country.

The COA report disclosed that, in 2017, the NFA was only able to procure 28,514 metric tons (MT) of palay (unmilled rice), or just 18.58 percent of its annual procurement

“You cannot abuse power to victimize the opposition. If I meet President Duterte, I would just say that I would support some of his measures, but I would certainly want him to ensure that vibrant democracy and respect for the rule of law [are] existent.” —Anwar Ibrahim

who served seven years in detention for his role in the Oakwood mutiny, before successfully running for a Senate seat.

Anwar also raised his disapproval of the way the government treats another critic, Sen. Leila M. de Lima, who is currently in detention for yet to be proven drug charges. The Malaysian political figure learnt of her case when he was still incarcerated, and argued that dissidents should not be treated that way.

“I do not agree that political leaders, dissidents, journalists be treated that way,” Anwar said.

Apart from his warnings to Duterte, he expressed his disappointment over the failure of Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, to stop the humanrights violations committed by the Myanmar government against Rohingyan minorities. A United Nations report last week slammed the Myanmar government over this and called for charges to be lodged against ranking military officers.

Anwar was a former deputy prime minister and former finance minister of Malaysia, before he was removed from his post and sent to prison in 1999 for alleged homosexual acts, which are illegal in his home country. He is set to replace Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad after two years. target of 153,483 MT. During the budget hearing, it was also revealed that about P6.12 billion of the NFA’s 2018 budget of P7 billion has been utilized to pay its bank debts.

“Based on the National Expenditure Program, which will be perhaps translated into the General Appropriations bill, the NFA will have a P7-billion budget as subsidy —again, for the same program of buffer-stocking,” Nograles said.

“Please, we are imposing that [the fund] should not go to the payments of loans of DBP and LandBank. We cannot do anything anymore with the 2017 and 2018 [budget utilization of the NFA]. What’s done is done. For 2019, looking forward, do not divert [the funds],” Nograles counseled Aquino.

‘Hike buying price’

Nograles also directed the NFAC to act immediately on the NFA’s long-standing request to increase its palay buying price to P25 per kg before the House of Representatives begins its plenary deliberations on the 2019 later this month.

“Make the decision already on whether or not you will increase the buying price of palay, which has been pending in the council for the longest time,” he said.

“Please make that decision before going to plenary. This Committee is asking [you] to make the decision [on whether] the buying price will be increased or not.

Don’t leave the proposal hanging before the council,” he added.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Nograles said the NFA’s current buying price of P17.60 per kg is “unrealistic” at present market conditions.

“What we are seeing now, based on the data given to us by the PSA, [is that the NFA] will not be able to buy any palay at P17.60 [per kg],” he said. “It’s unrealistic. So, please take that into consideration and better make the decision immediately.”

The Nation BusinessMirror

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BI arrests five illegal workers, ‘fake Pinay’

By Joel R. San Juan

T

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday announced the arrest in separate occasions of a Chinese woman and five other foreigners who were caught violating the country’s immigration laws.

BI Acting Intelligence Chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. identified the Chinese national as 28-yearold Cai Nongnong, who was arrested on August 28 near the vicinity of the BI main office in Intramuros, Manila.

Cai entered the country using a student visa and later obtained a Filipino passport which she was able to use for traveling in and out of the country.

Cai has overstayed since July last year and has allegedly resorted to misrepresentation by using a Philippine passport under the name Jasmin Tan Lui. BI fingerprint records indicate that Cai and Lui are one and the same person.

Reports showed that she had been working as a travel agent in the country.

She is now detained at the BI jail in Taguig awaiting her deportation.

Meanwhile, the five other aliens were arrested on August 28 in Guiguinto, Bulacan, where they were caught in the act of illegally working in a bag and slipper’s strap manufacturing company without the proper visa.

BI Commissioner Jaime H. Morente said he issued mission orders for the aliens’ arrest after investigations revealed that they have been blatantly violating Philippine immigration laws.

“There will be no letup in our campaign to flush out illegal aliens. We cannot allow these erring foreigners to make a mockery of our laws,” Morente added.

They were identified as Chinese nationals Guanxi Zheng, Honghong Zhuang, Jianmin Wu, Zhidan Gao, and Korean national Hyun-seung Kim. They are detained at the BI detention facility in Bicutan, Taguig, pending deportation proceedings.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, September 5, 2018 A3

House panel: Impeach complaint vs SC justices ‘sufficient in form’ T

Dengvaxia cases ‘baseless’–Garin

T

he House of Representatives’s justice committee on Tuesday found the consolidated impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and six associate justices to be “sufficient in form.”

All 21 committee members who were present during the hearing found the impeachment complaint filed by Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, Ifugao Rep. Teddy B. Baguilat Jr. and Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary C. Alejano to be sufficient in form. No member voted in the negative.

“All these complaints have met the requirement of sufficiency in form. I therefore move that all the complaints that were just consolidated earlier [to be declared that] there exists a sufficiency in form,” Misamis Occidental Rep. Henry S. Oaminal said.

Aside from de Castro, also facing impeachment raps are Associate Justices Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr., Alexander Gesmundo, Lucas Bersamin, Diosdado Peralta and Francis Jardeleza for voting in favor of the ouster of former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno.

The complainants accused the seven justices of allegedly violating the Constitution, saying they are fully aware that impeachment is the only mode or process of removing impeachable officials, like the Chief Justice.

Meanwhile, de Castro, Peralta, Bersamin, Tijam and Jardeleza are also charged with betrayal of public trust for their refusal to inhibit themselves in the adjudication of the quo warranto petition.

On the question of sufficiency in form, Lagman said it is determined principally by finding whether the impeachment complaint is verified or not.

“The standard requirements of a valid verification are: the allegations are true and correct based on the personal knowledge of the complainants,” he said. “ T he tr uth and cor rectness of the complainants’ aver ments are additiona l ly based on their appreciation of the authentic records and documents, which are attached to the complaint. T he ver ifications in the separate complaints precisely affir med and complied w ith the foregoing requirements,” Lag man added.

After the complaint was declared sufficient in form, Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron P. Salo moved for the suspension of the impeachment proceedings to give time for the members to read the complaint before determining the sufficiency in substance.

The next hearing was reset on September 11.

The committee earlier consolidated the seven impeachment complaints upon the motion of Ako-Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo A. Garbin Jr. Garbin said the complaints should be consolidated considering that the grounds of impeachment are “founded [o]n the same facts, or forming part of a series of alleged offenses of similar character.”

Lagman endorsed the consolidation to expedite the impeachment process. He, however, noted that the allegation for culpable violation of the Constitution should be filed against the seven magistrates.

Meanwhile, the allegation of betrayal of public trust only applies to de Castro, Peralta, Bersamin, Tijam and Jardeleza. PNA and Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

acloban City—Former Health Secretary Janette L. Garin said the new cases, as well as the ones previously filed against her and 36 others before the Department of Justice last week, are all “baseless” and not supported by expert medical testimony.

Three more criminal cases were filed against Garin and 36 other codefendants over the deaths of schoolchildren inoculated with the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine.

Garin, in a news statement, said the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) is giving false hopes to the poor parents who do not fully understand the medical basis of their complaint.

“They are being misled by PAO doctors who are not pathologists nor experts in vaccinology. I hope PAO will soon realize the fallacy of their actions which are causing undue hysteria and fear of vaccines,” she said.

Garin added that PAO’s penchant for media exposure on its haphazard and flawed medical conclusions has seriously affected the health program of the Department of Health.

“The actions of PAO should, in fact, be questioned before the Ombudsman for causing undue prejudice to the government’s health programs,” she stated.

A complaint for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide under the Revised Penal Code and violations of the Anti-Torture Act and Consumer Act was filed against former health officials and executives of manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur Inc. and distributor Zuellig Pharma Corp. by the families of Clarissa Alcantara, Erico Leabres and Christine Mae de Guzman.

The three victims—Alcantara, 12, from Aurora; Leabres, 10, from Nueva Ecija and de Guzman, 10, from Bataan—all died after being inoculated with Dengvaxia, according to complaints filed by their parents through the assistance of the PAO, which was tasked by the DOJ to conduct fact-finding investigation and case buildup on the Dengvaxia controversy. Charles R. Pepito

A4 Wednesday, September 5, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

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BIR tightens watch on suspected ‘tax cheats’ in sugar importation A

DOE issues policies on electricity bill transparency, RE industry growth

By Lenie Lectura

T

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

he Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), seeking to ensure that the right amount of tax is collected amid a demand spike for sugar, has created a task force to undertake an inventory of sugar stocks and monitor incoming shipments of the commodity.

In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay said the task force is instructed to monitor not only importers, but also millers, planters, traders and dealers of refined sugar.

The BIR chief said he had already wrote the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) in July asking for data on sugar importers, with BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel S.D. Guballa adding that the bureau was able to collate an initial list of millers and planters who have sold their rights to import sugar.

“The task force on sugar is undertaking [an] inventory stock-taking, validate the volume of imports based on allocations, and ascertain the payment of correct taxes by importers, local planters and millers,” Guballa said during a recent executive committee (Execom) meeting.

On top of ordering the BIR to ensure that importers are paying the correct amount of taxes, Dominguez also directed the BIR and Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran to review the current policy of the SRA allowing farmers and planters’ associations that are awarded import allo-

cations to sell their rights to traders.

Dominguez explained that local sugar millers and planters who sell their importation rights should also be taxed as they make a profit from such transactions.

Based on preliminary data gathered by the BIR, traders pay local millers and planters who sell their rights at around P500 per bag.

“That has an import duty, and the one who received that payment for the right to import…should also be taxed. Talk to the SRA about this and raise all these issues,” the finance chief told BIR officials during the Execom meeting.

Dominguez added that, as a result of the current system of traders buying rights to import sugar, the price of the commodity has remained high in the retail market.

“They [traders] are able to bring down the landed cost of sugar here by only a very small amount because there’s this fee that is paid to be able to buy rights to import sugar,” he added.

Last month the Bureau of Customs (BOC) filed a number of smuggling charges against sugar importers for committing large-scale agricultural smuggling. The move

is in support of the government’s call to fight the unlawful importation of agricultural products into the country.

Criminal charges were filed on August 31 against the officers of Red Star Rising Corp. and Santa Rosa Farms for smuggling millions worth of sugar and rice, respectively.

Three criminal charges were filed against the responsible officers of consignee, Red Star Rising Corp., namely, Dante P. Lunar, Leonardo C. Mallari, Richel Paranete Llanes, August Presillas Templado and Bernie Abrina Rubia, “for unlawfully importing white sugar into the country with an aggregate value, including duties and taxes of P21.558 million.”

The three shipments of Red Star composed of a total of 16 20-footer containers, and were described in the manifests as containing packaging materials, kitchen utensils and kraft paper.

The shipments from Thailand arrived at the Port of Manila on different dates in July 2018, with the shipment discovered to contain white sugar after close examination. The shipments also lacked the required import permit from the SRA.

GCG justifies revocation of memo circular

T

he Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) clarified that it has issued Memorandum Circular 201802 to revoke MC 2013-03 after agency findings showed that the latter MC contained provisions and processes that unnecessarily impede the timely approval and implementation of government projects.

The GCG explained in a news statement issued on Tuesday that, in consideration with the Duterte administration’s policy to remove redundant requirements and align the development and implementation of infrastructure projects under the private-public partnership scheme, the GCG issued MC 2018-02 to effectively streamline the process of implementing major development projects and major contracts of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

Under GCG MC 2018-02, major development projects and contracts of GOCCs shall continue to strictly fall under the review and decision-making process of the National Economic and Development Authority, the Neda Investment Coordination Committee, the Neda Board, and the Economic Development Cluster, pursuant to all applicable existing laws, rules and regulations.

GOCCs shall submit to the GCG a report on said projects and contracts entered into for purposes of monitoring GOCC performance and asset utilization.

“It should be noted that, in all cases, GCG MC 2018-02 emphasizes that all agreements shall not be grossly disadvantageous to the government, and that GOCCs shall comply with existing laws, rules and regulations, regardless of covered land area and period,” the GCG said.

To ensure this, the new MC even requires the favorable legal opinion or contract review of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) on GOCC contracts before entering into the said agreement.

Earlier, former OGCC Chief Rudolf Philip Jurado said President Duterte was misled on the details of the 75-year contract of Nayong Pilipino with Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp., adding that there was no truth that the contract was anomalous. Rea Cu

@llectura

Department of Energy (DOE) official on Tuesday said that the agency has signed two new policies aimed at enhancing the growth of renewableenergy (RE) industry and ensure consumers of greater transparency in their electricity bills.

Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella said at the sidelines of Powertrends 2018 held in Pasay City that both proposed policies were approved on August 24.

“The RPS [renewable portfolio standards] for off-grid areas was signed on August 24. It’s still being processed for publication. This is almost the same as RPS on-grid, except that the mandatory participant in the off-grid is the generation sector,” he said.

The uniform billing was also signed on August 24 and will be published, as well, Fuentebella added.

Both DOE circulars will take effect 15 days after publication.

The DOE issued in June a draft circular adopting the framework for a uniform monthly electricity bill format.

The agency wants distribution utilities (DUs) to reflect all corresponding charges they collect from all electricity end-users, including, but not limited to, generation, transmission, distribution, supply and metering charges, bill and meter deposits, including interest and any other charges that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) may approve.

It said the electricity bill should be prepared in a simple and easy-tounderstand format. All DUs should use a uniform bill format prescribed by the ERC. Section 25 of the Electric Power

Industry Reform Act (Epira) requires that every DU shall identify and segregate in its bills to end-users the components of the retail rate.

The implementing rules and regulations of Epira also called for the unbundling of the power industry’s business activities and rates to include generation, transmission, distribution and supply, and unbundling of business activities between regulated and nonregulated activities, including the removal of crosssubsidies, subject to review and approval by the ERC. “The DOE takes cognizance of the need to empower electricity end-users with greater understanding and transparency on the charges in its monthly electricity bill by unbundling the electricity charge components, including those components that are not part of the unbundled rates but was collected from the consumers for security and reliability of services,” the DOE had said.

The bill should contain the generation charge, transmission charge, system loss, distribution charge, supply charge, metering charge, other charges, subsidies or discounts, senior citizen discount, government taxes, local taxes, universal charge, missionary electrification charge, environmental charge, stranded debts and contract costs of National Power Corp., feed-in-tariff allowance, among others.

The bill should also contain the bill deposit including interest and the meter deposit, including interest, billing summary, among others.

Meanwhile, the RPS for off-grid areas mandates generators, distribution utilities and suppliers to source a specified portion of their electricity requirements from eligible RE resources.

100-day paid maternity leave hurdles House on final reading

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Mechanized farming push

Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, along with representatives from the Department of Agriculture and Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, inspects the mechanical farm tools to help farmers switch to mechanized way of farming at the Villar Sipag Farm School in Bacoor, Cavite. Villar, also the chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Food Committee, said farm mechanization could boost farmers’ productivity and income. ROY DOMINGO

he House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved on final reading a bill seeking to increase the paid maternity-leave period to 100 days for female workers in the government and private sector.

With 191 affirmative votes, zero negative votes and no abstention, the lower chamber approved on third reading House Bill 4113, otherwise known as the 100-Day Maternity Leave Law. The bill also grants mothers an option to extend for an additional 30 days their maternity leave without pay.

Present laws allow women who had normal delivery to take 60 days of maternity leave; and 78 days if by caesarian section.

House committee on women and gender equality Chairman Bernadette Herrera-Dy, sponsor of the bill, said the increase in the paid maternity leave to 100 days is a “historically significant” step.

House Bill 4113 will directly impact on our sustainable development goals by improving maternal and children’s health in just one move.

Herrera-Dy highlighted that the proposed measure also effectively allows additional paternity leave, noting that the bill provides that part of the maternity leave may be availed of by the spouse or the kin or the partner, who will help the working mother take care of her baby. PNA

Pampanga chamber to LGUs: Prepare for trade influx

By Ashley Manabat | Correspondent

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LARK FREEPORT—The Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (PamCham) has reiterated its call to local government units (LGUs) to prepare for the influx of businesses in the province.

“Many investments are going to Pampanga and we are happy. But we fear that the LGUs are not preparing [well enough] for the influx of businesses here that is why the chamber is writing and urging the LGUs to prepare for the eventuality of more investments coming in,” PamCham President Engr.

Jesus Nicdao said.

“We had also discussed this in our meeting with Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Gov. Lilia G. Pineda that is why a study was made by renowned master planner Arch. Felino Palafox Jr.,” Nicdao told members of the Capampangan in Media Inc. (Cami) during its regular media forum organized in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. last Friday at the Bale Balita here.

The master plan he was referring to was the Pampanga Megalopolis, which was initially valued at P25 million, but Arroyo was able to

lower it to P11 million through San Miguel’s Ramon Ang, Nicdao said.

“The study will show you the potential growth areas in Pampanga and what is the needed businesses in these parts of the province,” he added.

“For example in Masantol, Macabebe, Minalin and other areas in the fourth district, we need agricultural and aquaculture and the second district needs to put up an industrial site sanctioned and registered by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority [Peza] to bring in factories there as well as call centers,” Nicdao added.

“The City of San Fernando [CSF] and Mabalacat have no problems but other areas might also be good for agriculture,” he pointed out.

Nicdao said the problem facing LGUs is mostly “strategic” because every time the mayor is changed, so does the local economic agenda.

“There is no continuity, there is no strategic planning,” he lamented.

“We hope the LGUs will have the proper fundamentals to continue with the good plans,” he said.

Nicdao cited as an example the worsening traffic condition. “We have to prepare

by not only expanding our roads but also by identifying alternate routes and developing them,” he said.

Along this line, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has started removing the electric towers along Jose Abad Santos Avenue (Jasa), a major thoroughfare, because of our advocacy, he said.

“After MacArthur Highway, the electric towers will no longer pass along Jasa,” he said. “They will be migrated farther to the north,” he added.

“The Northern Luzon Expressway [Nlex] in Santa Rita and until CSF has also been widened because we insisted on it and through the help of PamCham President Emeritus Levy P. Laus who is now a member of the board of Nlex,” Nicdao said.

“But there is a corresponding toll rate adjustment by the Toll Regulatory Board [TRB] and the whole stretch will be eventually lighted,” he said.

What the chamber wants, Nicdao said, is a seamless travel from Nlex, Subic-ClarkTarlac-Expressway and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway which can be done by toll booth credit/debit system. This is now being studied, he added.

Among the other infrastructure development pushed by PamCham and now completed are the widened bridge over Nlex in the CSF which now has four lanes on both sides and traffic lights on both ends because a UP study says that “we are not ready for the rotunda ethics,” Nicdao said. It also now has a walkway for pedestrians, he added.

Crime rate, as well as peace and order are also important, Nicdao said, but sadly, the drug menace in Angeles City has been cited

by Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde as “one of the five hot beds of drugs,” he said.

“We in the private sector encourage more business for Pampanga to come but we must have security,” he said.

“Investments are really coming. We are the only province with four SM Malls. Cebu is only putting up its fourth SM mall this year,” he said.

But compare Pampanga to Cebu, “we are nothing in terms of area, population and industries. We are far behind,” Nicdao admitted.

Nicdao said LGUs should have a five- to -10year strategic planning in keeping up with the growth of Pampanga communities.

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

Global trade’s ‘new normal’ dents makers’ confidence

F

actories f rom A sia to Europe are staring into the unknown when it comes to trade, and it’s unnerving them.

A survey of purchasing managers from around the world showed confidence at manufacturers is continuing to weaken.

China’s outlook is “lackluster,” and Germany and Italy also saw the mood darken. “There’s a bit of a new world order where uncertainty and volatility have become a little bit the new normal,” said Pernod Ricard Chief Executive Officer Alexandre Ricard. “For us, free trade is something which is of utmost importance.”

Donald J. Trump’s protectionist stance has upturned the world’s long-standing way of doing business, leaving export-reliant industries exposed to heightened apprehension about the future and increased costs. Confidence has deteriorated markedly since the start of the year and there may be more reason to fret, with Bloomberg reporting last week that the US president wants to move ahead with a plan to impose tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese exports.

China may already be feeling the pressure. The Caixin Factory PMI weakened in August, and new orders from abroad declined for a fifth straight month. Zhengsheng Zhong, Caixin’s director of macroeconomic analysis in Beijing, said the export situation is “grim,” and the economy is facing “relatively obvious downward pressure.”

In the euro area, the Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing dropped to the lowest level in almost two years, IHS Markit said on Monday. A measure of new orders fell and business expectations were at the weakest since 2015.

“Trade should be at least moderately predictable,” Alexander Stubb, vice president of the European Investment Bank, told Bloomberg Television on Monday.

“And with the statements coming from the US, it doesn’t seem very predictable.”

In addition to damping demand, trade tariffs mean an extra squeeze on costs. In Europe growth in input prices is already “elevated,” according to the PMI. Japan saw a sharp increase in August, thanks to fuel and metals, and companies protected their margins by raising prices at the steepest pace in a decade.

Ricard, whose drinks company has annual revenue of about €9 billion ($10.5 billion), warned last week that if operations get hit with levies, he’ll have to raise prices for customers.

While the United States is the source of much of the uncertainty, its companies are not immune to the fallout from the tit-for-tat battle that’s ensued with the European Union and China. Brown-Forman Corp., the maker of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, cut its profit forecast last week, saying it assumes that EU tariffs, put in place in June, will remain in place for now.

The Institute of Supply Management’s manufacturing index for the US is forecast to have dropped in August after a bigger-thananticipated decline in July. It will be published on Tuesday, the same day as IHS Markit’s factory gauge.

Still, while the trade war may slow the US and Chinese economies, a weaker dollar and the still growing size of China’s share of world GDP will cushion the blow, according to Ben May, director of global macro research at Oxford Economics. “Slower US growth is expected to be accompanied by a weaker dollar, which will soften the blow,” May wrote in a note. “China’s growing share of world GDP means that its contribution to GDP growth will fall only marginally.” Bloomberg News

The World BusinessMirror

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

A5

Trump faces fight with Canada over Nafta as China duties near

P

resident Donald J. Trump’s effort to force Canada into signing on to a new North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) on his terms is facing new hurdles thanks to growing opposition at home to his threat to proceed without the United States’s northern neighbor.

Trump’s frustration spilled into the open over the holiday weekend as he railed against Canada on Twitter—as well as its many supporters in both political parties. The president has threatened to leave Canada out of a new trade deal already negotiated with Mexico, but without congressional support he lacks leverage to force Ottawa to make concessions in talks that are due to resume on Wednesday.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure to get a deal with Canada,” Mark Sobel, a former US Treasury official and now American chairman of the research group OMFIF. “Canada’s the main trading partner for many states, quite a bit of our economic fortunes are entwined with Canada.”

T he battle w ith Canada is building as the W hite House also prepares to roll out new tariffs on products from China that make up some $200 billion in annual trade in the most significant batch of duties yet aimed at Beijing. A public comment period wraps up on Thursday, and people familiar with the White

House deliberations last week said the US president is eager to move soon after that. China has already said it will retaliate.

Trumka criticism

On Nafta, Trump began his Labor Day holiday on Monday by attacking Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, America’s largest union umbrella group, who said on Fox News Sunday that “it’s pretty hard to see” how Nafta works without Canada. Trump had hoped unions would lean on Democrats to back his approach.

European officials are watching the Nafta negotiations closely for a sign of how Trump and his team will approach trade talks with Europe. Those were launched as a result of a late-July agreement between the US president and the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, though that pact also appeared fragile after Trump told Bloomberg News last week that in trade Europe was “almost as bad as China, just smaller.”

T he debate over how a nd whether to include Canada in a

US President Donald J. Trump speaks during a discussion for drug-free communities support programs in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 29. Trump said talks with Canada to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement are going well, expressing optimism the two countries could reach a deal this week. Al Drago/Bloomberg

new Nafta that must be ratified

by Congress illustrates Trump’s political isolation in his trade wars, something both Chinese a nd Eu ropea n of f ic i a l s h ave noted. It also comes just eight weeks before midterm elections in which control of the US legislative body is at stake and trade has already become a volatile issue.

In an attempt to gain leverage over the government of Justin Trudeau, the president has threatened to leave Canada out of the revised Nafta and proceed with Mexico alone. The White House on Friday gave Congress the required 90-day notification that it would be signing a revised version of the quarter-century-old Nafta with Mexico and would include Canada “if it is willing.”

The notice had to be sent on Friday in order for Mexico’s outgoing government to sign the new deal before it leaves office December 1.

Progress in talks

Both Canadian and US negotiators insist they have been making

progress with talks due to resume on Wednesday. But they have also bogged down over sensitive issues related to Canada’s highly protected dairy sector and the Trump administration’s zeal to eliminate a dispute-resolution mechanism that Ottawa regards as crucial.

That mechanism—known as Chapter 19—allows Nafta members to challenge each other’s trade remedy rulings, such as special tariffs levied in antidumping cases, before an independent panel. It is seen as a Canadian red line, dating back to 1980s negotiations over a bilateral US-Canada pact that served as a precursor to Nafta as well as the early-1990s Nafta negotiations.

Despite Friday’s deadline passing without a deal, both Canadian and US officials insist that Canada could still meet an end-of-September procedural deadline set

by Congress. Under congressional rules for passing trade agreements the administration must publicly release text of the agreement 60 days before any signing, meaning

wrapping up the US-Canada negotiations before then could put things back on track.

Trump abruptly canceled an outing on Monday, a federa l holiday in the United States, “to make calls specifically on trade and other international issues,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in an e-mail. She didn’t elaborate, and the White House didn’t respond to questions about Trump’s trade strategy toward Canada and his lack of support in Congress.

The problem for Trump is that US business and farm groups, as well as a broad bipartisan swath of legislators say they will oppose any deal that doesn’t include Canada. If the AFL-CIO’s opposition to a Nafta without Canada holds, it would leave Trump facing opposition by bosses, farmers, workers and politicians—every major constituency in American trade politics.

The Trump vitriol aimed at Canada over the weekend also put pressure on Trudeau not to bend to US demands even if economists warn a collapse of Nafta could be very damaging to the Canadian economy.

“We are witnessing American divide and conquer, might-is-right tactics at their very worst,” Derek Burney, a former Canadian trade negotiator, wrote in the Globe and Mail newspaper. “When we are confronted with schoolyard bully tactics, the choice is clear. Concede and hope that the behavior will improve, or resist in the hope that rational voices in Congress and business will constrain the president’s worst impulses.”

Bloomberg News

Oil trades near $70 as storm threat weighed against Opec production

O High waves hit breakwaters at a port of Aki, Kochi prefecture, western Japan, on Tuesday. Powerful Typhoon Jebi is approaching Japan’s Pacific coast and forecast to bring heavy rain and high winds to much of the country. Ichiro Banno/Kyodo News via AP

Powerful typhoon slams into western Japan, flooding airport

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OK YO —A power f u l t yphoon blew through wester n Japa n on Tuesd ay, causing heavy rain to flood the region’s main offshore international airport and high winds to blow a tanker into a connecting bridge, disrupting land and air travel.

Jebi was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Japan since 1993, according to Japan’s Kyodo News service.

The storm was heading north across a swath of Japan’s main island of Honshu toward the Sea of Japan. It was off the northern coast of Fukui on Tuesday evening with sustained winds of 126 kilometers per hour (78 miles per hour) and gusts up to 180 kph (110 mph), the Japan

Meteorological Agency said.

In the hard-hit city of Osaka, high seas poured into Kansai International Airport, flooding one of its two runways and cargo storage and other facilities, forcing the airport to shut down, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

More than 700 flights were canceled, according to Japanese media tallies. High-speed bullet train service was suspended from Tokyo west to Hiroshima.

A 2,591-ton tanker that was mooring slammed into the side of a bridge connecting the airport to the mainland, damaging part of the bridge and the vessel. The tanker’s 11 crew members were not injured and remained on board,

according to Japan’s coast guard.

Elsewhere in Osaka, the Universal Studios Japan theme park and US Consu late were both closed. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled a scheduled trip to Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, to oversee the government’s response to the typhoon, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

The typhoon first made landfall on Japan’s southwestern island of Shikoku and then again near Kobe on Honshu. Television footage showed fallen tree branches and high seas overf lowing onto low-lying areas.

Tokyo escaped relatively unscathed, with some intermittent squalls. AP

il traded near $70 a barrel as investors assessed the threat to US production from a storm that is forecast to strike the Gulf Coast, as well as rising Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) crude output.

Futures in New York gained as much as 0.8 percent from Friday’s close.

There was no settlement on Monday because of the US Labor Day holiday.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. evacuated workers and shut production at two Gulf of Mexico platforms as Tropical Storm Gordon approached the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Meanwhile, output from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in August rose to the highest level this year.

Oil has rebounded about 8 percent from the lows of August as buyers of Iranian crude have started shunning shipments from the Persian Gulf nation even before renewed US sanctions take full effect in November. Investors are watching whether Opec and its allies, including Russian, will boost production to fill any potential deficit.

Meanwhile, the storm nearing the American Gulf Coast is also raising

concerns that supply may be disrupted.

“Bullish sentiment is slightly prevailing even though reports point to an increase in Opec output while US production remains at high levels,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst at Rakuten Securities Inc. in Tokyo. “As we are in the middle of hurricane season, oil prices can easily rise.”

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery rose as much as 53 cents to $70.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange from Friday’s close, and traded at $70.31 at 4:04 p.m. in Tokyo. All trades Monday will be booked Tuesday due to the US holiday. Total volume traded was 252 percent above the 100-day average.

Brent futures for November settlement traded at $78.18 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange, up 3 cents. The contract climbed 51 cents to $78.15 on Monday. The global benchmark crude traded at an $8.33 premium to WTI for the same month.

December futures in Shanghai rose 0.5 percent to 523.9 yuan a barrel.

The contract dropped 0.5 percent on Monday.

Bloomberg News

A6 Wednesday, September 5, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

How do you solve a problem like NFA?

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tate auditors who combed through the financial report of the National Food Authority for 2017 were rightfully concerned about their findings. In a report, the Commission on Audit (COA) said the NFA used P5.1 billion of its budget for palay procurement to pay off its maturing obligations, which may have compromised its food-security programs. Only a fraction of the budget given by Congress for the palay procurement program was used by the food agency, based on the BusinessMirror’s computation, as the NFA was only able to buy 28,000 metric tons (MT) of palay.

Based on the BusinessMirror’s computation, the misallocated P5.1 billion would have enabled the NFA to buy some 300,000 MT of unmilled rice from farmers last year. At a milling recovery rate of 65 percent, this would have beefed up the NFA’s stockpile by 195,000 MT. The volume is enough to feed the entire Philippines for six days, at a daily consumption rate of 31,000 MT. But because it could not buy more palay from farmers, the NFA was forced to import rice.

In its rejoinder, the NFA said it could not buy more rice from farmers because traders bought their crop at a higher price. The food agency’s support price was pegged at P17 per kilogram, but data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that traders bought rice at P18 to P19 per kg last year. This prompted the NFA to again call for an increase in its buying price, a proposal that was rejected again and again by leaders who could not make up their minds when it comes to the country’s food-security programs. Because the support price remained at P17 per kg, the NFA again failed to buy more from farmers this year.

But while the support price is fixed, there is nothing that stops the NFA from offering incentives and coming up with other schemes that would entice farmers to sell their palay to the food agency. This was the argument put forward by the COA, and the NFA has yet to adequately explain why it prioritized its maturing obligations over the procurement of locally grown rice.

While it may appear to be more expensive, the palay procurement program should be the NFA’s priority over imports. The President himself has said that the food-security programs of the NFA are supported by taxpayers’ money, and it will be better for the government to subsidize Filipino farmers than supporting rice farmers from Vietnam and Thailand. And while importation is “easier” and appears to be cost-efficient, it will be more expensive in the long run because it will inflate the NFA’s debt, which has breached P150 billion, and make local farmers uncompetitive.

When it was created in 1972 by virtue of Presidential Decree 4, the NFA’s primary mandate was to promote the integrated growth and development of the grains industry covering rice, corn, feed grains and other grains like sorghum, mongo and peanut. Its raison d’etre, therefore, is to help Filipino rice farmers.

The former chairman of the NFA Council called for an audit of the food agency’s operations. This must be done before the Philippines converts its quantitative restriction on rice into tariffs. A comprehensive audit of the NFA’s operations would be a good starting point to determine how the food agency would figure out in a post-QR regime.

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Free fire Continued from A1

‘B

Y mediation, states at odds might arrive at a settlement of disputes—by the exchange of words, not bullets, the deployment of arguments, not armor. Anyway, ultima ratio regis is always available. Never peace at any price; there are situations where property is not worth saving and life not worth living.

But speaking only from the mouths of the most number of cannons will not always decide the outcome in their favor.

“What is still the longest war proves it: A people lightly armed defeated—in no uncertain terms and by the most graphic photographic images—first a European and then a superpower, which threw at a tiny nation of small people like my own every weapon of mass destruction short only of the nuclear. None are defeated until they say so; no one is victorious until the enemy leaves in disarray—as happened on the last rooftop of the enemy’s embassy from which its last chopper took off. Discreet mediation followed: To release POWs and the remains of the slain for their memorial back home. But the costs of victory and defeat were staggering: Three million killed on one side, 54,000 soldiers and scores of student protesters killed on the other; billions of dollars in weapons left rusting in rice fields—the last

ones dumped in the sea. And a great nation came to doubt its indispensable mission to advance freedom in the world. Mediation in Paris came too late; especially for those who, in good faith, made common cause with the foreigner and paid the price of abandonment.

“The minimum that mediation achieves is, even when it fails a lot is gained; like the realization of the real value in contention and the real price to be paid for it—before the first shot is fired or, in intractable conflicts, before the last shot fired in vain. Sometimes the game is not worth the candle, nor the prize the cost of war. That said, we take note of Russia’s caveat that mediation can be misused to achieve domination on the cheap without conflict.”

[Deleted for brevity: Including terrorists in mediation in the War on

Terror legitimizes them; why states balk at this. But one can mediate with their foreign state sponsors.

And there is a world of difference between ISIL and a beleaguered democracy, where the people give their votes to the extremists who give their blood. Despite everything that’s gone wrong, the UN achieved one of its key founding purposes: The near universal triumph of democracy; except we don’t all like the democratic choices.

But like monarchy, where we cannot pick and choose the royal heir; so in democracy we cannot pick and choose the democratically elected choices. We work with it.]

“It is much worse today. The conflicts are longer, more intractable, with precision weaponry more indiscriminate—and from that height impervious to compassion. All the more compelling is the case for mediation.

“The Philippines highly appreciates the leadership of the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in convening today’s Open Debate on ‘Mediation and the Settlement of Disputes.’

“We reaffirm the Philippines’s commitment to mediation. The Manila Declaration for the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes is eponymous with the Philippine desire for peace—and, emphatically, its abhorrence of settlement by the use or threat of force. When used in key phases of conflict, mediation is a game changer, especially in indecisive conflicts. The Philippine experience attests to this.

“After 18 years of sustained

engagement in a peace process, the Philippine government has enacted the Bangsamoro Organic Law creating the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, it recognizes the aspirations of those living in Muslim Mindanao—not just Muslim but Christian and indigenous—within the framework of one indivisible democratic republic and one Bill of Rights. Sovereignty cannot amputate itself. A republic cannot sponsor a non-republican solution nor a democracy a dictatorship. A caliphate was never in the cards.

“On our peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process announced that the ‘doors for peace negotiations with the communist rebels are still open.’ We thank Norway for its hospitality and perseverance and, we hope, continuing engagement in this peace process.

“Mr. President, “The Philippines continues to cosponsor the General Assembly resolution promoting mediation and more funding for it. We have contributed mediation experts on constitution-writing, power-sharing and gender-inclusion issues to give prominence to women’s organizations—in recognition of the gender that binds the wounds of war and bears the heaviest burden of its excesses in their persons and that of their loved ones.

“Finally, while we should put our trust in a common humanity, we must keep our powder dry.

Thank you.”

Uproar over cutback in PCSO’s charity assistance

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Efleda P. Campos Dennis D. Estopace

Online Editor Social Media Editor

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

Mediation and the last argument of kings

Florante S. Solmerin

FACT IS MIGHT!

I

’ve been flooded with questions not only from the media but also from affected sectors about the decreasing amount of financial assistance being extended by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to poor and indigent patients.

Under the Individual Medical Assistance Program (Imap), the flagship project of PCSO, the top 3 requests for financial assistance by indigent patients are hospital bills, medicines and cancer treatments.

Data from the Charity Assistance Department show that there has been a substantial increase in the number of accommodated patients and the amount spent in the first semester of 2018 for its Imap operation.

The Commission on Audit (COA) flagged this as “overutilization.”

Overutilization means overspending, or spending more than what is allowed in the approved budget. Thus, brace for the notice of disallowance. Worst, any government official doing this could face administrative and criminal charges.

In the first semester alone, the PCSO has served 236,547 patients, spending for them P4.6 billion, compared to the 184,907 patients served with P3.5 billion spending in the same period last year.

It is interesting to note the in-

creasing number of patients seeking financial assistance from the PCSO. In 2016 there were 319,091 patients served with a total spending of P7.9 billion. A year after that, in 2017, a total of P8.086 billion was spent for 415,564 patients.

COA has already pressed the warning button. The overspending must be stopped. Now the question: Who will continue helping the increasing number of patients seeking financial assistance for their hospital bills, chemo treatments and dialysis treatments?

With their hands tied, the PCSO Board came out with Resolution No. 0256 Series of 2018 that suspended the implementation of the ImapGeneral case rates. This is in compliance with COA’s observation of overutilization.

From Januar y to July, the PCSO generated a total revenue of P35.9 billion from its various lottery games, such as Lotto, Sweepstakes and Small Town Lottery, a 24.83-percent increase from the P28.8 billion earned in the same period last year.

Before the Board decided to suspend the Imap-General case rates in connection with the COA observation, the PCSO was releasing more than P20 million a day to its 63 branches nationwide, including the National Capital Region. That amount has been reduced to P4.1 million a day.

Consequently, the number of patients being served everyday at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City was gradually reduced—from 300 to 250 to 150 to 100 and, just lately, to only 75 patients a day.

While other government agencies were being criticized or even chastised for underspending or not using their appropriated budget, the PCSO, whose mission is to bring charity to the poor, is being handcuffed for overutilization or overspending for the poor people it was mandated to serve.

It’s no surprise that more and more people, especially the indigents, are getting angry.

E-mail: fetad@yahoo.com.

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Abolish losing NFA, but overhaul it for relevance

Comprehensive motor insurance

W

In other jurisdictions, the Acts of God are covered in a comprehensive insurance. In the Philippines it is not. Acts of God are those occurrences that are beyond the control of men, such as flooding, earthquake and storms, as well as riots and civil commotions.

Generally, in the Philippines, vehicle damage due to Acts of God are attributable to flooding.

CTPL covers injuries to or death of a third party. CTPL does not cover: a) personal injury or death of the vehicle owner; b) injuries or death of a non-third-party, specifically a household member or members of the family within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity or employees; or c) damage to the insured vehicle or property damage to a third party. A comprehensive insurance seeks to cover all these.

It has been described as the “highest level of cover” and is the most expensive motor insurance.

We say “so-called” because this insurance product is not really comprehensive. While it covers so much more than CTPL, it does not

tributable to flooding. Thus, the car owner would have to acquire Acts of God coverage separately and for additional premium.

This misnomer has led to some confusion and controversy. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the word “comprehensive,” in referring to motor insurance, does not appear at all in the Amended Insurance Code. It is an international market term.

Comprehensive motor insurance includes: a) CTPL; b) no-fault indemnity; c) loss or damage; and d) excess liability insurance. The last item includes: a) excess bodily injury, also known as Voluntary ThirdParty Liability or VTPL-Bodily Injury; and b) third-party property damage or VTPL-Property Damage. The VTPL covers expenses in

Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

Michael Makabenta Alunan

on the contrary

O

wing to the National Food Authority’s (NFA) inherent inefficiencies causing huge losses and debts, abolishing it may be logical, but leaving everything to Adam Smith’s free market may not be good as Smith’s symbolic “invisible hand” may end up picking people’s pockets.

Problems are on the rice?

As buyer and seller of last resort, NFA hemorrhages every time it buys high when farm-gate prices are down, stores long till stocks deteriorate, then sells lower than retail prices.

The NFA’s problems, therefore, rise.

Thus, the NFA incurred debts hitting P178 billion a decade back, trimmed it down to P143 billion, but soared again to P170 billion in 2016 under President Duterte.

Worst, it defied its mandate by procuring merely 0.8 percent of total production from 2013-2017, which is a waste of resources and useless in boosting prices. Traders even buy already at P19-P25/kilo, higher than NFA’s P17/kilo support price.

Unable to buy palay, the NFA’s buffer stock dropped to two to five days, lower than the ideal 30-day buffer stock, triggering price spikes and pockets of shortages, particularly in the Zamboanga-Basilan-Sulu areas, where backdoor smuggling has been tightened.

Its inventory worsened when the NFA diverted P6 billion of its P7billion budget to pay debts, instead of procuring stocks, claiming it was necessary or will lose its credit line. n Freer trade alone marginalizes farmers? Tariffs on freer rice imports will wipe out corruption tendencies, making the NFA irrelevant, unlike when volume imports were restricted, and done directly by the NFA or by traders with NFA approval.

Freer imports cheapen prices benefitting consumers, but, may affect farmers. This is because traders, having no loyalty to production, prefer imports over buying from farmers.

And if they buy locally, given a choice between buying 10 tons/day and 100 tons/day, but earning the same, traders will choose 10 tons. Conversely, farmers prefer to sell 100 tons. n Farmer-consumer symbiotic interests. If farmers produce more, the resulting bigger supplies mean lower prices for consumers.

Unfortunately, in freer trade, middlemen freely meddle with the trade-nexus by preferring margins over the interests of consumers for cheaper prices and producers for bigger volumes.

Obsessed with freer markets, we forget the flipside coin of economics—production. It means physical wealth creation resulting in productive jobs that wipe out rural poverty, which breeds rural-to-urban migration and attendant problems like urban poor squatting, housing backlog, juvenile delinquency, drugs, crime, prostitution,etc. n Overhaul NFA’s role. Instead of wasting billions yearly on price and market intervention, and still ineffective, overhaul NFA with new blood and programs and spend on empowering farmers geared at productionenhancing activities.

Farmers cannot fend for themselves. They need to be empowered into cooperatives, and equipped with postharvest facilities, trucking, logistics, agro-processing, etc., all on credit, but achieving volume and quality production and deal directly with markets and eliminate loan-sharks and layers of middlemen.

After scrapping and devolving extension workers to local governments, we sadly cut-off links between farmers and technological advances.

Farmer organizations also vanished, disempowering them further from access to credit and other services. n ‘Options’ better as buffer?

Abolishing the NFA is a knee-jerk n

Unable to buy palay, the NFA’s buffer stock dropped to two to five days, lower than the ideal 30-day buffer stock, triggering price spikes and pockets of shortages, particularly in the ZamboangaBasilan-Sulu areas, where backdoor smuggling has been tightened. Its inventory worsened when the NFA diverted P6 billion of its P7-billion budget to pay debts, instead of procuring stocks, claiming it was necessary or will lose its credit line. stupid reaction. The government still needs to manage buffer stocks for emergencies and price stability.

Instead of procuring palay at a loss, the NFA can enter into lockedin optional future purchase contracts, which we can call “rice options.”

These are financial instruments or term insurances, paid to farmer organizations and trader-miller-wholesalers, committed to deliver stocks when the NFA exercises its option to demand future delivery. The NFA spends little, but is assured of stocks, while still managing buffer stocks without physically holding them.

This becomes more viable with “just-in-time” management, requiring less inventory, and access to big data systems and analytics, Internet of Things, and faster decision-making with smart phones. n Adding fuel to fire. Lately, we see chaos as everyone is pointing fingers at each other—including the NFA administrator, NFA Council, the trader-millers, the Department of Agriculture, etc.

Worst are tactless calls for clampdowns on alleged “rice hoarders,” without understanding distinctions between normal inventory and speculative hoarding. What if nobody stocks for fear of being penalized?

This will trigger shortages, price spirals and food riots. By not getting its act together, the government may trigger widespread false perceptions of shortages with consumers starting to hoard sacks of rice, instead of fewer kilos a week, wiping out stocks on sale.

When we allow panic by either consumers, traders, or the government, we will be pouring gasoline onto fire. n No need to compete, produce nonetheless. Some diehard free-market apologists even want to abandon rice farming and selfsufficiency, claiming our production costs of P11-P12/kilo cannot compete against the P7-P9/kilo costs of Vietnam, Thailand or Kampuchea, which get sufficient Mekong River irrigation. We don’t have to compete, but we need to produce anyway for food security and to generate jobs.

With the International Rice Research Institute and the Philippine Rice Research Institute, we actually have the best rice technologies and a Filipino even produced 17.5 tons/ hectare, above the national average of 4.1 tons/hectare. Instead of wasting money on market support, invest where they will count most in physical investments like irrigation, better seedlings and postharvest facilities As the last in Asia in agri-mechanization against traditional spoilage of 11 percent to 37 percent, reducing spoilage by 11 percent alone through mechanization will generate over 2 million tons of rice, enough for food security and attaining self-sufficiency. The NFA can reengineer its role in this direction.

E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 A7

hile the Compulsory Third-Party Liability motor insurance is the basic and prerequisite insurance before a motor vehicle may be registered, the so-called comprehensive motor insurance is voluntary and optional on the part of the motor vehicle owner who seeks added protection from risks. It is sold separately. It covers risks that the CTPL does not. include a) auto passenger personal accident; and b) Acts of Nature or Acts of God. The auto passenger personal accident (or Auto PA or Passenger Personal Accident insurance) covers the medical, hospitalization or funeral expenses for the injuries or death of other people riding in the vehicle.

In other jurisdictions, the Acts of God are covered in a comprehensive insurance. In the Philippines it is not. Acts of God are those occurrences that are beyond the control of man, such as flooding, earthquake and storms, as well as riots and civil commotions. Generally, in the Philippines, vehicle damage due to Acts of God are at-

excess of the CTPL’s coverage limit.

The most significant feature of the comprehensive insurance is that it covers damage to the vehicle itself.

With respect to damage to the motor vehicle, the coverage to the insured vehicle, its accessories and spare parts, include: a) accidental collision or overturning, or collision or overturning consequent upon mechanical breakdown or consequent upon wear and tear; b) fire, external explosion, self-ignition or lightning or burglary, housebreaking, or theft; c) malicious act; and d) whilst in transit (including the processes of loading and unloading) incidental to such transit by road, rail, inland waterway, lift or elevator. The coverage is subject to deductible and depreciation. Note that accessories are also covered. Note further that insurance coverage offers protection not only for loss or damage due to collision but also due to fire, external explosion and theft. This is usually called “Own Damage and Theft” insurance. Under the principle of “subrogation,” the insurance company must pay the insured and then seek reimbursement from the party at fault.

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

E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com

Argentina takes emergency steps to shore up peso

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By Daniel Politi | New York Times News Service

UENOS AIRES, Argentina—The president of Argentina announced emergency measures on Monday to stem concerns from investors about the country’s solvency as it seeks to tap an international credit line.

It was the latest move to ease a growing crisis over a plunging currency, just days after the central bank intervened with a drastic increase in interest rates.

In a televised address on Monday morning, President Mauricio Macri said he would seek to reduce the government’s budget deficit by imposing a new tax on exports. He also said he would reorganize his Cabinet, eliminating around half of the ministries.

“What we have to face is a basic problem, which is we cannot spend more than we have,” Macri said. “This is not just another crisis. It has to be the last.”

Despite the announcement, the Argentine peso continued its fall, losing 3 percent against the dollar in thin trading that analysts attributed to the Labor Day holiday in the United States. Stocks in Buenos Aires also fell.

“Apparently there are still some doubts,” said Sabrina Corujo, head of Portfolio Personal, a local brokerage.

“But it may be a bit early to say outright that the reaction was negative.”

The peso has lost almost 50

percent of its value against the dollar this year, a tailspin that has accelerated recently. Trying to halt the plunge, the central bank last week raised the country’s benchmark interest rate to 60 percent from 45 percent.

Macri acted as officials prepared to head to Washington for negotiations on Tuesday with the International Monetary Fund. Argentina is seeking a faster disbursement from a $50 billion standby credit agreement sealed this year.

The tax on exports will be crucial in allowing a country to eliminate the fiscal deficit next year with the goal of achieving a surplus in 2020, Economy Minister Nicolás Dujovne said.

The tax, which will be in effect through 2020, will charge P4 per dollar of exports in primary goods and services and P3 per dollar for all other exports.

“This will reduce the uncertainty surrounding the government’s financing capability,” said Marcos Buscaglia, a founding partner at Alberdi Partners, a local consulting firm. “The problem is that the additional austerity comes from the

side of revenues and not spending.”

Fausto Spotorno, chief economist at Orlando J. Ferreres & Associates, another consulting firm, said the export taxes “only solve the shortterm financial problems” and do not amount to “a replacement for the structural reforms that have not been carried out.”

In addition, export taxes, which had long been criticized by Macri’s allies, “are a bad tax because it alters the productivity of the economy” and involves “sacrificing the long term for the short term,” Spotorno said.

Macri decreased export taxes on agriculture as one of his first measures when he entered office in December 2015 vowing to carry out market-friendly measures that he said would help the country reinsert itself into markets. It was a reversal of more than a decade of heavy state intervention in the economy by former President Cristina Fernández and her husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner.

Analysts said the government’s credibility was still in question, particularly after a weekend filled with rumors about possible changes in the president’s Cabinet.

“There is still a big question about whether the government will be able to implement a plan of social austerity and whether it will be able to obtain political consensus during an economy that is in a recession,” said

Federico Furiase, an economist with Eco Go, a consulting firm. “As time goes on, the government has fewer and fewer instruments to recover that credibility.”

Among analysts there is still a feeling that the government “is running to catch up” after consistently trying to minimize any sort of economic problems, said Rodrigo Álvarez, the head of Analytica, another local consulting firm.

It is a remarkable change in fortune for a government that was once a darling of the international markets and had won a big vote of confidence from voters in last year’s midterm elections.

“After two years and a few months, the situation changed, and in large part because of circumstances that were outside our control,” Macri said, largely blaming the global economy and a severe drought for the country’s troubles.

With the prospect of a potentially long recession, there is widespread concern among investors about the political future of Macri, who acknowledged on Monday that the economic turmoil would lead to an increase in poverty.

The political consequences of the move are difficult to predict.

“Argentina has never carried out an austerity plan of this magnitude before,” said Sergio Berensztein, a political analyst.

India shoots wrong general in lost war on cash

By Andy Mukherjee Bloomberg Opinion

W

hen there’s no trick left to defend a spectacularly failed experiment, blame Raghuram Rajan.

If India’s top policy think tank is to be believed, the reason economic growth faltered last year, reaching 5.6 percent in the June quarter after 7.6 percent nine months earlier, had nothing to do with the November 2016 ban on 86 percent of the country’s cash.

The decline had been in the making since early-2016 because, under Rajan’s governorship of the Reserve Bank of India, the central bank devised “mechanisms to identify stressed and nonperforming assets, which is why the banks stopped giving credit to industries,” Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman of state-controlled NITI Aayog, said on Monday.

Kumar’s premise seems to be that had Rajan not forced banks to make a clean breast of their bad loans, they

wouldn’t have faced a capital shortfall. What Kumar called the greatest deleveraging of commercial bank credit in India’s history could thus have been avoided.

The political compulsion to defend demonetization is understandable. Recent central-bank data showed that 99.3 percent of the currency made worthless was eventually returned to banks. To the extent one of the stated goals of the exercise was to immobilize so-called black money—wealth that dare not join the formal banking system because it’s ill-gotten—the draconian experiment came a cropper.

The opposition Congress Party, meanwhile, had always claimed that the ill-conceived move, as well as causing immense direct hardship, also cratered the economy.

With general elections due next year, officials, therefore, have to help the government deal with the charge that it sacrificed two percentage points of economic growth for…nothing.

Hence the impulse to shift the blame to Rajan.

Leave aside the problematic idea implicit in Kumar’s argument that it’s somehow wrong for a banking regulator to make banks tell the truth. Focus instead on his factual claim about corporate deleveraging.

It happens that during the quarter that ended in September 2016, which is when Rajan abruptly left the RBI after one term, commercial credit by Indian banks expanded by 10.8 percent, the fastest growth in more than two years. The next quarter, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlawed most of India’s cash, credit growth slowed to 4 percent.

After a dead-cat bounce it stayed depressed for most of last year.

Kumar could well have argued that India’s new GDP data are too unreliable to conclude that demonetization did cause a two-point slowdown.

It would have been impossible to prove him wrong. But if deleveraging is his story, then banks’ pulling back the supply of credit doesn’t wash. It’s

more plausible that demand for credit slowed last year after the note ban— followed quickly by a botched goods and services tax—disrupted supply chains, hitting small businesses and exporters especially hard.

As for the charge that Rajan pushed India into an abyss of deleveraging, some state-run banks may have become zombies, but the market hasn’t stood still.

Specialist lenders like AU Small Finance Bank Ltd., which received licenses under a category started by Rajan, are taking over retail credit. They’re packaging and selling loans to state-run lenders, which still have large branch networks and deposits. Securitization markets wobbled last year after microfinance loan portfolios were hit by demonetization. But with cash coming back into the economy, transactions doubled in the June quarter.

Even if the Modi government never admits that its war on cash was an all-round disaster, to use Rajan as a scapegoat is more than a little silly.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Duterte revokes amnesty proclamation for Trillanes

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

RESIDENT Duterte on Tuesday revoked the amnesty granted to his arch critic Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV, citing the latter’s failure to apply for an amnesty and his refusal to admit his guilt to mutiny and coup d’etat charges against him in relation to the Oakwood mutiny, Marines standoff and/or Manila Peninsula incident.

The President’s issuance of Proclamation 572, which is also effective immediately, in effect ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police to employ all lawful means to apprehend former Lieutenant Senior Grade Trillanes so that “he can be recommitted to the detention facility where he had been incarcerated for him to stand trial for the crimes he is charged with.”

The Department of Justice and Court Martial of the AFP were also ordered to pursue all criminal and administrative cases filed against Trillanes.

Through Proclamation 572

signed by the President on August 31, the President declared the grant of amnesty to Trillanes “void ab initio because he did not comply with the minimum requirements to qualify under the Amnesty Proclamation.”

In 2010 President Benigno S. Aquino III signed a proclamation granting amnesty to Trillanes and other soldiers involved in the Oakwood mutiny in 2003, marine standoff in 2006 and Manila Peninsula incident in 2007. The proclamation was signed and was subjected to congressional concurrence.

With Duterte’s proclamation, however, this is effectively being

“No one is above the law; and just because someone became senator, [such] cannot remove the fact that he committed serious breaches—capital offenses of our penal laws.“—Roque

shelved aside.

Duterte’s advisers have defended his Proclamation 572 against critics, saying that there was nothing political in voiding Trillanes’s amnesty and that the President is just implementing the law.

“First, what I am saying is this did not come out of the blue. It’s two years in the offing. There was maximum tolerance shown, but when it was confirmed that there was really no compliance with the requirements set forth for the amnesty, there is no alternative but for the President to execute the laws.

So this is just part of the job,” Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said in a press briefing in Israel.

The President is on official visits to Israel and Jordan until September 8.

“We are saying he was given amnesty by President Aquino because of politics and the declaration of [its

being] void ab initio is based on law and on facts,” Roque stressed.

“No one is above the law; and just because someone became senator, [such] cannot remove the fact that he committed serious breaches— capital offenses of our penal laws,” he added.

‘Constitutionally allowed’

Meanwhile, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo pointed out that voiding the declaration of grant of amnesty to Trillanes as void is “constitutionally allowed” and that the amnesty can be declared null even without the concurrence of the majority of all members of Congress.

“The State cannot be shackled by an act of clemency it has given to a political offender when the latter pursues subsequent acts inimical to its interest and violative of its fundamental charter. The State, acting through the President, has the inherent right to protect itself from assault coming from whatever source. As Chief Executive and Head of Government, he has the power to issue orders protective of the State and its people. This is in line with the prime duty of the government to serve and protect the people under Article II, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution,” Panelo added.

Grab PHL fined P10M for unsanctioned rates R

IDE-HAILING services provider Grab Philippines must pay the regulator a whopping P10 million in penalties for charging customers a rate that was not sanctioned by the government.

In partially approving its motion for reconsideration, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) ordered the company to just pay for the fine instead of reimbursing its customers charged with a P2-per- minute

rate for rides from June 2017 to April 2018.

The decision cited provisions of the Public Service Act, which provides powers to the regulator to approve provisional fare matrices of public services,

including transportation services.

To recall, Grab imposed a P2-perminute charge starting June 2017 to help drivers recoup losses from increasing fuel prices and from congestion.

Grab argued that under Department Order 2015-011 released by the then-Department of Transportation and Communications, transpor tation network companies (TNCs) are allowed to make changes on their fare structures.

Based on the order, companies that offer app-based ride-hailing services are allowed to set their own fares while being overseen by the regulator.

The order said that fares, although set by the operator, are subject to “oversight from the LTFRB in cases of abnormal disruptions of the market.”

The said order, however, was rescinded when the Department of Transportation gave the LTFRB full regulatory and supervisory functions over TNCs and transportation network vehicle services (TNVS) operators in June.

This was the core argument of LTFRB Director Aileen A. Lizada’s dissenting opinion.

Tuesday’s decision, however, noted that the imposition of the charge was made “unilaterally,” given that the regulator “reminded” Grab that any change in fare matrix must be approved by the regulator.

Grab has yet to respond to media queries. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Exploration. . .

Continued from A1

circumstances we will give legitimacy to such an offense, regardless the position of our government,” Negrin said.

In response, Roque described it as “regrettable,” noting that the Philippines is one of the best investment destinations.

“We will miss those who will not attend but I’m sure interest among investors to invest in the Philippines remains at an all-time high,” he said.

In his departure statement before embarking on weeklong official visits to two countries, the President also said he shall seek to fully maximize economic cooperation and realize trade potential with both Israel and Jordan.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SENATE LEADERS DEFY WARRANTLESS ARREST ORDER VS. TRILLANES

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

S

ENATE leaders defied on Tuesday a warrantless arrest order issued against Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV shortly after the Duterte administration revoked the amnesty granted by former President Benigno S. Aquino III to Trillanes, who was jailed for involvement in a failed military mutiny in 2003 against thenPresident Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“I was placed in custody of the Senate,” Trillanes said, pointing out that he was ordered arrested by Malacañang without a warrant.“The arresting officers have no warrant; this is de facto martial law.”

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III explained that they need to wait for the transmittal of the official copy of the Office of the President’s order revoking the amnesty earlier granted to Trillanes.

“If so, then we will act collegially; I cannot decide.... A collegial decision is needed” before the Senate acts on claims that Trillanes failed to file for amnesty during the Aquino administration.

Trillanes talked to reporters shortly after process servers arrived to arrest the senator at his office following issuance of Palace Proclamation 572 dated August 31, 2018, signed

by President Duterte and Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, revoking the amnesty granted to Trillanes on January 1, 2011, during the Aquino administration.

After attending a Senate hearing in the morning, Trillanes took a side door going up to his office to attend a meeting of minority senators to tackle the revocation of the amnesty.

“The Senate stands firm and would not allow the arrest because the revocation of amnesty granted to me has no basis,” the senator added. He told reporters that Senate President Sotto also assured him that “for as long as I am in the Senate premises, they won’t allow any arrest.”

Confirming his legal options, Trillanes said his lawyers are questioning the basis of the warrantless arrest when all conditions of the amnesty granted to him earlier were complied with. “Iniipit nila ako

Stock. . .

Continued from A1

The report may also signal whether the Central Bank’s rate hikes have had an impact on price rises, which are running at the fastest pace in nine years. An increase in inflation was among the concerns that knocked Philippine stocks down 16 percent in the first half of 2018, the worst performance in Asia.

“Until the market gets a better sense of macroeconomic conditions, it’s still possible to get blindsided by unfavorable numbers,” said Gerard Abad, who helps manage $355

Aspac. . .

Continued from A1

On the other hand, Manila’s social pillar was well acclaimed in the study, particularly the educational attainment indicator, which measures total enrollment within a country for tertiary education as a share of the percentage of population of the corresponding age group.

The study took note of the government’s law on universal access to quality tertiary education last year.

The Philippines was also commended for having the secondlowest level of air pollution among

[They are boxing me in]. I can’t go out of the premises,” the senator said, questioning the basis for arresting him without charges.

Trillanes took the floor at Tuesday’s session, relating the revocation that Palace officials anchored on the basis that he did not file for amnesty and never admitted guilt for the alleged offenses for which he was incarcerated and later granted amnesty—his alleged involvement in the 2006 Marine standoff and the Penninsula Hotel incident, where rebel soldiers sought refuge in the plush Makati hotel.

Honor people’s mandate–Recto In a statement, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto asserted that Trillanes should be granted every opportunity to challenge the revocation of the amnesty “in complete freedom.”

Recto recalled that when Trillanes was reelected senator in 2013 with more than 14 million votes, it “affirmed that the absolution earlier bestowed on him [Trillanes] was right.”

“We should honor the mandate and the trust millions of our countrymen had reposed on Senator Trillanes,” Recto added. “If he had committed offenses after Peninsula, if he had broken any law since, then the right course is to charge him, and not to nullify an amnesty that had been granted to him.”

Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon pointed out that Trillanes is an elected senator and “under the Constitution, he cannot be arrested,” unless the punishment for an offense is beyond six years imprisonment. “Here, there is no case. So we requested the Senate President to take him in custody pending remedies in regular courts.”

Drilon, a veteran lawyer and former justice secretary, pointed out that the regional trial court dismissed the cases against Trillanes “when he availed [himself ] of amnesty, so there is no case; they can file a new case against Trillanes but that will be double jeopardy.”

“We strongly believe that the amnesty granted to Trillanes is valid and the court dismissed the rebellion case,” said Drilon. “When it was dismissed, it validated the application of amnesty.”

million as chief investment officer at AB Capital in Manila. “Given that there are still risks moving forward, it’s prudent to pocket some gains and keep some cash.”

Just in case there’s a sell-off, Abad has been shifting some money from the AB Capital Equity Fund, up 12.5 percent this quarter, to time deposits.

The PSEi could slump 11 percent based on Monday’s close to 7,000 this year should inflation exceed 6 percent and third-quarter economic growth drop below 6 percent, he said. Inflation is seen accelerating to 5.9 percent in August from July’s 5.7 percent, according to the median of a Bloomberg survey of economists. Bloomberg News

the respondent-countries. “The Philippines also recorded a ranking increase in the transfer emissions indicator. However, this was largely due to worsening performance by other countries rather than a better performance by the Philippines,” the study explained.

Overall, the country placed 10th behind Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, the United States, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, China and Vietnam. The index measures the readiness of each economy to participate in global trade in a way that promotes sustainable growth, encourages FDI and attracts funding from multilateral development agencies.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

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Megaworld builds tower for JPMorgan Chase PHL

OFFICIALS of Megaworld meet with executives of JPMorgan Chase Bank during the contract signing for the new headquarters of JPMorgan Chase Bank in Uptown Bonifacio. Present are (from left): Jericho P. Go, senior vice president, Megaworld; Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, chief operating officer, Megaworld; Dr. Andrew L. Tan, chairman and CEO, Megaworld; Raoul R. Teh, CEO, Philippine Global Service Center, JPMorgan Chase Bank; Alfonso L. Nepomuceno, Asia-Pacific Head of Global Real Estate, JPMorgan Chase Bank; and Sandeep A. Mulajkar, chief administrative officer, Philippine Global Service Center, JPMorgan Chase Bank.

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By VG Cabuag @villygc

EGAWORLD Corp., the property development arm of businessman Andrew Tan, on Tuesday said it is constructing a 25-story, build-to-suit office building for the Philippine global service center of JPMorgan Chase Bank.

The building will have an estimated 70,000 square meters of gross leasable area. Megaworld claimed it will become the country’s biggest single office lease transaction in terms of total space

leased to a single company and transaction value.

“Megaworld is proud to build the new home of JPMorgan Chase as it consolidates its existing Metro Manila operations under one roof—

all in a state-of-the-art, prime and green office tower right at the heart of the booming Uptown Bonifacio.

This multibillion-peso deal with a single company is the biggest in the country’s office leasing industry,” said Jericho P. Go, the company’s senior vice president.

The company did not provide figures of its deal and the cost of development.

“Manila continues to be a major strategic hub for JPMorgan Chase.

Through this landmark development, we are able to consolidate our presence to one location, so enabling us to bring our Manila-based employees together, facilitating increased collaboration while also demonstrating our commitment to providing them with various career opportunities within the

PCC okays merger of AXA, XL Group, but imposes fine for late notification

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

T

@alyasjah

HE country’s antitrust regulator has approved the merger of AXA SA and the XL Group Ltd., but has also imposed a fine on the amalgamating firms for the late filing of their notification.

In a news release on Tuesday, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said AXA and the XL Group are now given the green light to carry on with their transaction. AXA, through its subsidiary Camelot Holdings Ltd., will soon amalgamate with the XL Group, with the latter surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA. However, their transaction was the first to be fined for late filing of notification of acquisition to

the PCC. Under the PCC’s rules on merger procedure, firms should notify the antitrust agency within 30 days after entering into a definitive agreement. AXA and the XL Group signed the deal executed on March 5, and were mandated to submit a notification on April 4. However, they only filed on June 25, or 112 days after the authorization of their merger, the PCC said.

Merging firms that fail to abide with this regulation may be subjected to a penalty of half of 1 percent of the transaction value. As for the AXA-XL Group case, the fine amounted to P123,861.86.

“We urge firms to observe a standard of diligence in complying with notification requirements across countries whether large or small. Merging parties that file after the notification period, even

prior to consummation of the deal, will be fined,” PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan said.

Although penalized, the PCC judged the transaction will not likely result to a substantial lessening of competition in the relevant market. Aside from the PCC, both AXA and the XL Group will have to file 11 other notifications to different competition authorities, given the global operations of the two firms.

AXA is in the business of life insurance, while the XL Group is established in nonlife insurance.

Acquiring entity AXA is the holding company of the A X A Group, which operates insurance and asset management in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, including the Philippines.

Globe’s 4G mobile network soon to cover 95% of cities, towns

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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LOBE Telecom Inc. is “on course” to meet its commitments to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on the buildup of its 4G mobile network, which will soon cover 95 percent of the cities and municipalities in the Philippines.

Joel Agustin, a senior vice president at Globe, said his group has intensified its network upgrade and expansion this year, closing the first half with the deployment of 1,752 LTE sites carrying the 700 megahertz and 2600 MHz bands across different areas nationwide.

Today, Globe has more than 26,200 4G sites, of which about 12,000 are LTE stations.

“We are on course to fulfill our commitment of deploying LTE services to 95 percent of municipalities nationwide by the end of 2018,” Agustin said.

The company and its competitor Smart Communications Inc. both committed to the regulator that they will maximize the use of the spectrum they co-acquired from San Miguel Corp. in 2016.

Their commitments were similar: cover 95 percent of the key cities and municipalities nationwide by end-2018.

Agustin said the efforts of Globe to improve its network has resulted in a 40-percent increase in mobile-data traffic to 390 Petabytes in the first semester of 2018.

He added his group’s improvement efforts were made top priority due to cus-

tomers’ growing use of smartphones to access the Internet, video-streaming apps and games.

“We are aggressively improving our existing network infrastructure by building more cell sites and base stations to enhance the quality of experience of our customers,” he added.

Globe has bundled content access to its mobile data offers to further stimulate growth in usage. Contents include videos, games and music, among others.

“We recognize the evolving needs of our customers on how they use data. Our aggressive network upgrade will enable us to satisfy the demand for bandwidth, which is likely to increase further, moving forward,” Agustin said.

firm,” said Raoul R. Teh, CEO for the bank’s Philippine global service center.

The new development is located along 38th Street corner 9th Avenue in Uptown Bonifacio.

Megaworld’s property sits beside Bonifacio Global City. It is a few meters away from the future Uptown Transport Hub beside Kalayaan Avenue, the proposed Skytrain monorail system that connects Taguig’s Fort Bonifacio to Makati, as well as the future Kalayaan Station of the Mega Manila Subway and the Fort Bonifacio Bus Rapid Transit System.

It features efficient office floors, using technology in building design.

It also applied for LEED Gold certification. The facility is designed by United Kingdom-based award-winning architectural firm Broadway Malyan.

To be completed in 2021, the tower will be ready for full operations by 2022.

Megaworld remains the country’s largest developer of office spaces with a leasable office portfolio of 1.2 million square meters to date. It has already completed 54 office towers across the Philippines.

PT&T to settle ₧3.8-M PSE fine, commits cooperation to resume trade

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

F

OLLOWING its recent settlement of more than half-a-million-peso fine to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Co. (PT&T) said it is willing to pay over P3 million as remaining penalties and comply with all the requirements set by the regulators to lift the voluntary trading suspension of its shares.

On August 30 PT&T President and CEO James G. Velasquez wrote a letter to the local bourse asking for the end of the deferment of its equity trade.

The company then settled the following day the P635,000 penalties imposed by the PSE. Nevertheless, the local stock exchange wrote a letter dated September 3 to PT&T, stating additional violations from 2011 to 2018 amounting to P3.8 million.

“We paid what we were aware of as of August 31, and if there are additional penalties, we will settle those as well to comply,” the firm said.

PT&T reiterated its desire to cooperate with the PSE as it wishes to resume trading of its 800 million common shares.

“There has been some confusion and miscommunication, but we will work closely and cooperate to the end with the PSE for the lifting of suspension,” the company said.

Shares of PT&T have been voluntarily deferred since December 13, 2004. They were last traded on December 9, 2004, closing at P0.33 apiece.

“We wanted to inform our shareholders

that PT&T is doing its utmost to comply with the requirements to lift the suspension to protect and pursue their interests.” It said.

The publicly listed firm gave assurance to the local bourse that it will adhere to all the rules for registered companies and remains committed to fair, accurate, complete and timely disclosure of material information.

Velasquez earlier said PT&T has the underlying assets and existing business to support its shares, as well as a competent new management team and bullish growth outlook.

In the first nine months ending March 31, 2018, the company reported a P38.2-million net income, from a net loss of P5.5 million in the same period in 2017.

For fiscal year ending June this year, its profits reached P37 million from a net loss of P27 million during the same time last year.

Net operating revenues increased by 55 percent to P211 million for the 12 months ending June 30 compared to P136 million posted in the same period the prior year on the back of new clients.

Holding a 25-year franchise, PT&T establishes, maintains and operates both wired and wireless telecommunications systems for local and international communications in the Philippines.

Its existing, scalable network and infrastructure, spanning more than 1,000 kilometers of pure fiber-optic cables, enable it to easily meet the network demands of customers in Greater Manila Area (GMA), Northern and Southern Luzon, and Cebu regions.

PT&T’s high-speed broadband service is available in GMA, and in areas north and south of Luzon.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

September 3, 2018

Net Foreign Stocks Bid Ask Open High Low Close Volume Value Trade (Peso) Buy (Sell) FINANCIALS ASIA UNITED 59 59.8 57.85 59.85 57.85 59.8 44680 2644193.5 BDO UNIBANK 129.7 129.8 131 131.1 129.5 129.8 2608350 339250798 BANK PH ISLANDS 92 93.3 94.25 94.35 91.9 92 1121980 103477798.5 CHINABANK 31.75 31.8 31.9 31.95 31.8 31.9 81800 2608145 CITYSTATE BANK 6.87 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 100 770 EAST WEST BANK 14.9 14.96 14.5 14.9 14.5 14.9 551600 8119508 METROBANK 73 73.1 73 73.5 72.65 73 3626180 264626328 PB BANK 11.6 11.88 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 32500 383500 PHIL NATL BANK 48.05 48.5 48 49 48 48.1 113300 5514370 RCBC 28.7 29 28.75 29.15 28.5 29 149700 4337765 SECURITY BANK 196.1 196.3 196 197 195 196.1 132900 26054389 UNION BANK 76.1 76.5 76.2 78.5 76.1 76.1 27760 2123091.5 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.69 1.75 1.68 1.75 1.68 1.69 45000 75970 BDO LEASING 2.6 2.64 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 2000 5200 COL FINANCIAL 16.38 16.4 16.4 16.4 16.4 16.4 400 6560 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.08 4.17 4.19 4.2 4.01 4.17 208000 859310 FILIPINO FUND 8.66 9.33 8.66 8.66 8.66 8.66 4800 41568 MEDCO HLDG 0.59 0.6 0.59 0.62 0.58 0.59 7039000 4293010 NTL REINSURANCE 0.99 1 1 1 0.99 1 734000 732200 PHIL STOCK EXCH 194.4 194.5 189 194.5 189 194.4 2670 508858 SUN LIFE 1816 1865 1850 1850 1810 1810 140 256350 VANTAGE 1.2 1.24 1.24 1.24 1.24 1.24 1000 1240

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.19 1.2 1.24 1.24 1.2 1.2 197000 237610 ABOITIZ POWER 36.5 36.7 36.4 36.9 35.85 36.7 743300 27204265 BASIC ENERGY 0.229 0.23 0.233 0.233 0.228 0.23 5260000 1210130 ENERGY DEVT 7.03 7.04 7.03 7.05 7.03 7.03 193700 1362468 FIRST GEN 16.8 16.82 16.98 16.98 16.64 16.8 965200 16190762 FIRST PHIL HLDG 64.25 64.85 64 64.9 63.95 64.85 21660 1391794 PHIL H2O 6.37 6.45 5.64 6.53 5.64 6.45 8342900 51431103 MERALCO 367 372 375 375 367 367 62170 22996716 MANILA WATER 24.15 24.2 24.9 24.9 24.1 24.15 1520500 36794410 PETRON 8.99 9.02 9 9.09 8.95 9.02 705400 6352977 PETROENERGY 4.06 4.18 4.03 4.18 4.03 4.18 12000 49050 PHINMA ENERGY 1.01 1.02 0.97 1.03 0.94 1.02 2855000 2856240 PHX PETROLEUM 11.6 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.6 11.8 33500 394760 PILIPINAS SHELL 55.8 55.85 57.4 57.4 55.7 55.85 323750 18112085 SPC POWER 5.6 5.66 5.66 5.68 5.5 5.66 106000 596795 AGRINURTURE 16.82 16.88 17.16 17.2 16.72 16.88 919900 15584106 CNTRL AZUCARERA 19.5 20 19.6 21.1 19.04 20 9400 190101 CENTURY FOOD 14.48 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.42 14.5 390900 5662686 DEL MONTE 7.46 7.67 7.68 7.68 7.4 7.63 6500 49030 DNL INDUS 10.46 10.58 10.52 10.58 10.46 10.46 2428300 25593762 EMPERADOR 7.28 7.29 7.27 7.29 7.27 7.29 84700 616250 SMC FOODANDBEV 102.5 103 99.5 104 99.35 103 1720700 176331614 ALLIANCE SELECT 1 1.01 0.99 1.03 0.97 1 9882000 9841090 GINEBRA 29.65 29.7 28.2 29.9 28.2 29.65 672900 19758185 JOLLIBEE 282 282.8 288 288 282 282 347880 98555520 MACAY HLDG 12.52 13.4 12.5 13.94 12.5 13.4 8600 113660 MAXS GROUP 13.12 13.22 13.2 13.4 13.12 13.22 296600 3917172 PEPSI COLA 2.07 2.08 2.06 2.07 2.04 2.07 81000 167110 SHAKEYS PIZZA 13.02 13.04 13.14 13.14 13.04 13.04 183900 2404872 ROXAS AND CO 2.49 2.5 2.53 2.53 2.49 2.49 87000 216890 RFM CORP 4.8 4.83 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 4000 19200 ROXAS HLDG 3.09 3.15 3.09 3.1 3.09 3.1 9000 27880 UNIV ROBINA 142.9 143 139.5 143 139.3 143 284250 40033620 VITARICH 2.02 2.03 2.09 2.09 1.98 2.03 9343000 18947400 VICTORIAS 2.5 2.56 2.51 2.53 2.5 2.5 48000 120580 CONCRETE A 68.55 72.8 68.25 68.55 68.2 68.55 710 48445 CONCRETE B 80.25 89.9 80.25 80.25 80.25 80.25 100 8025 CEMEX HLDG 3.22 3.24 3.23 3.26 3.22 3.22 3932000 12716290 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.01 5.28 5.01 5.01 5.01 5.01 300 1503 EAGLE CEMENT 16.06 16.1 16.36 16.36 16.06 16.1 687100 11170974 EEI CORP 10.12 10.14 10.26 10.26 10.1 10.12 63800 649262 HOLCIM 7.31 7.33 7.36 7.36 7.3 7.31 112100 823621 MEGAWIDE 18 18.06 18 18.1 18 18 1582700 28491652 PHINMA 7.95 7.96 7.71 7.95 7.71 7.95 112600 877153 TKC METALS 1.09 1.1 1.08 1.09 1.05 1.09 768000 825560 VULCAN INDL 1.86 1.87 1.82 1.9 1.82 1.86 6696000 12403970 CROWN ASIA 1.8 1.82 1.81 1.82 1.8 1.8 26000 47010 LMG CHEMICALS 4.95 4.96 4.95 4.95 4.95 4.95 29000 143550 MABUHAY VINYL 3.07 3.21 3.21 3.21 3.21 3.21 4000 12840 PRYCE CORP 6.01 6.1 6.01 6.01 6.01 6.01 4500 27045 CONCEPCION 46 46.95 47 47 46 46 13700 643800 INTEGRATED MICR 13.6 13.64 13.82 13.82 13.6 13.6 109700 1501410 IONICS 2.17 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.16 2.17 519000 1131990 PANASONIC 6.81 7.05 6.86 6.86 6.81 6.85 2700 18447 SFA SEMICON 1.68 1.7 1.73 1.73 1.68 1.68 218000 368390 CIRTEK HLDG 32.4 32.8 32 33.95 31.6 32.4 1373400 45126615

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.39 0.395 0.4 0.4 0.39 0.39 3660000 1437300 ASIABEST GROUP 36.05 36.6 37.5 37.85 35.7 36.05 210900 7667435 AYALA CORP 978 985 997 997 972 978 198560 194332950 ABOITIZ EQUITY 53.8 53.85 54 54.05 53.55 53.8 941140 50666289 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 14.24 14.32 13.78 14.32 13.52 14.32 96261900 1356372206 ANSCOR 6.1 6.11 6.1 6.11 6 6.11 29000 176563 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.91 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.92 0.92 63000 57970 ATN HLDG A 1.49 1.5 1.47 1.51 1.46 1.5 12963000 19290880 ATN HLDG B 1.49 1.5 1.48 1.51 1.48 1.5 1618000 2410680 COSCO CAPITAL 6.01 6.02 6 6.09 5.99 6.02 3440200 20683226 DMCI HLDG 12.72 12.74 12.76 12.78 12.5 12.72 2655200 33563572 FILINVEST DEV 7.1 7.2 7.05 7.1 7.05 7.1 117400 831175 FORUM PACIFIC 0.203 0.219 0.205 0.205 0.204 0.204 440000 90020 GT CAPITAL 880 886.5 881 915 878 880 587860 525824070 JG SUMMIT 59.95 60 59.85 60 58.35 60 432400 25886061.5 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5.2 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 4000 22800 LODESTAR 0.57 0.59 0.59 0.59 0.58 0.59 22000 12800 LOPEZ HLDG 4.8 4.81 4.71 4.9 4.71 4.8 416000 1999250 LT GROUP 16.88 16.9 17.2 17.2 16.82 16.9 1958800 33242946 MABUHAY HLDG 0.64 0.65 0.63 0.66 0.62 0.65 2477000 1602310 METRO PAC INV 5.44 5.45 5.45 5.47 5.36 5.45 18890900 102536688 PACIFICA 0.039 0.04 0.04 0.041 0.04 0.04 2900000 116100 PRIME ORION 2.82 2.84 2.84 2.9 2.8 2.84 2045000 5796400 PRIME MEDIA 1.23 1.25 1.25 1.29 1.22 1.25 448000 556230 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.6 2.81 2.62 2.62 2.6 2.6 44000 114620 SOLID GROUP 1.49 1.5 1.49 1.49 1.49 1.49 100000 149000 SM INVESTMENTS 966 970 975.5 975.5 966 970 197900 191895900 SAN MIGUEL CORP 175 177 169.3 180.1 169.3 175 1683720 299695759 SOC RESOURCES 0.75 0.78 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.77 20000 15400 TOP FRONTIER 306 310.6 299.4 319.8 299.4 310.8 73580 22240168 WELLEX INDUS 0.325 0.33 0.33 0.34 0.325 0.325 7400000 2426750

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.73 0.74 0.73 0.75 0.73 0.73 1910000 1419460 ANCHOR LAND 12.8 13.16 13.16 13.16 13.16 13.16 3800 50008 AYALA LAND 43.75 43.95 44.5 44.5 43.45 43.95 2772800 121826880 ARANETA PROP 2.04 2.1 1.99 2.13 1.99 2.1 623000 1314790 BELLE CORP 3.1 3.11 3.13 3.14 3.1 3.11 150000 469910 A BROWN 0.97 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.97 0.97 828000 803770 CITYLAND DEVT 0.97 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.96 0.98 87000 84980 CROWN EQUITIES 0.235 0.238 0.237 0.237 0.235 0.235 8270000 1949170 CEBU HLDG 5.61 5.66 5.7 5.7 5.61 5.61 18100 101810 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.57 4.61 4.5 4.63 4.5 4.61 915000 4211750 CENTURY PROP 0.44 0.445 0.44 0.445 0.44 0.445 450000 198200 CYBER BAY 0.41 0.425 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 340000 139400 DOUBLEDRAGON 25.45 25.65 25.5 25.8 25.35 25.65 155300 3964080 DM WENCESLAO 9.21 9.22 9.2 9.27 9.2 9.21 649800 5985767 EVER GOTESCO 0.113 0.124 0.113 0.113 0.113 0.113 30000 3390 FILINVEST LAND 1.47 1.48 1.51 1.51 1.48 1.48 4278000 6350000 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.18 1.19 1.18 1.2 1.18 1.19 780000 928510 8990 HLDG 7.19 7.2 7.06 7.3 7.06 7.19 676200 4863573 IRC PROP 1.8 1.81 1.72 1.84 1.71 1.81 31503000 56679240 CITY AND LAND 0.9 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 2000 1880 MEGAWORLD 4.59 4.62 4.68 4.68 4.58 4.59 9147000 42060390 MRC ALLIED 0.69 0.7 0.67 0.7 0.67 0.69 81683000 55974300 PHIL ESTATES 0.47 0.475 0.485 0.485 0.47 0.47 1980000 937650 PRIMEX CORP 3.48 3.49 3.5 3.5 3.46 3.48 337000 1177110 ROBINSONS LAND 20.95 21.5 21.3 21.5 20.95 21.5 1653100 35265075 PHIL REALTY 0.485 0.495 0.49 0.495 0.485 0.49 1250000 611750 ROCKWELL 2.02 2.04 2.01 2.04 2.01 2.04 124000 250470 SHANG PROP 3.19 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 54000 172800 STA LUCIA LAND 1.14 1.15 1.14 1.15 1.13 1.15 3427000 3878890 SM PRIME HLDG 38.45 38.55 39 39.05 38.3 38.55 1787900 68844000 STARMALLS 7.09 7.1 7.16 7.16 7.06 7.1 201200 1425839 VISTA LAND 6.38 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.36 6.4 2856700 18279870

SERVICES ABS CBN 24.25 24.3 24.6 24.85 24.25 24.3 62800 1538965 GMA NETWORK 5.49 5.5 5.57 5.57 5.49 5.5 116900 643092 GLOBE TELECOM 2100 2102 2114 2114 2082 2100 18680 39212620 PLDT 1410 1412 1420 1420 1403 1410 27670 38993025 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.045 0.047 0.046 0.047 0.046 0.047 5700000 262600 DFNN INC 8.26 8.49 8.26 8.26 8.25 8.25 7000 57770 IMPERIAL 2.09 2.16 2.1 2.1 2.08 2.08 19000 39560 ISLAND INFO 0.123 0.124 0.123 0.124 0.122 0.123 2800000 343880 ISM COMM 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.17 3.07 3.12 4668000 14559520 JACKSTONES 3.42 3.55 3.52 3.58 3.4 3.57 24000 82510 NOW CORP 8.08 8.09 8.16 8.19 8.05 8.08 2011200 16293291 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.67 0.68 0.67 0.69 0.66 0.67 18358000 12418370 PHILWEB 5.26 5.28 5.14 5.34 5.14 5.28 535500 2812018 2GO GROUP 13.8 14 13.8 14 13.8 14 16200 226650 ASIAN TERMINALS 13.5 13.62 13.62 13.62 13.5 13.5 1500 20370 CEBU AIR 73 73.2 74.4 74.95 72.7 73 234690 17146688 CHELSEA 6.49 6.5 6.4 6.6 6.35 6.5 1626100 10607870 INTL CONTAINER 94 94.5 93.1 94.5 92.15 94 609500 56810082 LBC EXPRESS 14.7 15 15 15 15 15 4000 60000 LORENZO SHIPPNG 1.02 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.01 1.03 253000 257550 MACROASIA 19.52 19.6 19.94 19.94 19.52 19.6 378000 7400708 METROALLIANCE A 2.01 2.04 2.08 2.08 2 2.04 190000 383940 METROALLIANCE B 1.94 2.06 1.95 2.08 1.92 2.06 24000 47120 PAL HLDG 8.75 8.8 8.8 9.2 8.75 8.8 25400 228073 HARBOR STAR 3.76 3.77 3.9 3.99 3.75 3.76 2600000 9931110 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.062 0.063 0.062 0.064 0.062 0.063 15800000 981840 GRAND PLAZA 11.26 12.6 11.24 11.24 11.24 11.24 400 4496 WATERFRONT 0.78 0.79 0.79 0.81 0.78 0.79 1380000 1091200 IPEOPLE 12.08 12.48 12.08 12.08 12.08 12.08 800 9664 STI HLDG 0.83 0.84 0.84 0.85 0.82 0.83 4257000 3541780 BERJAYA 3.01 3.03 3.04 3.06 2.97 3.03 4605000 13865540 BLOOMBERRY 9.3 9.32 9.58 9.58 9.29 9.3 4935300 46236439 PACIFIC ONLINE 11 11.1 10.6 11.1 10.6 11.1 20200 221382 LEISURE AND RES 4.05 4.06 3.98 4.05 3.94 4.05 842000 3381590 MANILA JOCKEY 5.16 5.48 5.22 5.48 5.22 5.48 1100 5898 MELCO RESORTS 6.62 6.65 6.8 6.82 6.6 6.62 780900 5187344 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.86 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.85 0.86 2731000 2335090 TRAVELLERS 5.15 5.19 5.11 5.29 5.08 5.15 1575400 8101313 METRO RETAIL 2.85 2.87 2.87 2.87 2.84 2.85 379000 1083270 PUREGOLD 45.7 45.8 46 46.05 45.7 45.8 227400 10428955 ROBINSONS RTL 81.25 82 81.5 82.3 79.5 82 1075170 87286088.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 105 108.9 110 110 102 108.9 8610 898668 SSI GROUP 2.24 2.26 2.19 2.27 2.15 2.25 2899000 6378130 WILCON DEPOT 11.36 11.38 11.38 11.44 11.34 11.38 3128300 35618728 APC GROUP 0.5 0.51 0.495 0.52 0.49 0.51 12740000 6440250 EASYCALL 24 24.7 24 24.9 24 24 42500 1026265 GOLDEN BRIA 305 317 317.8 317.8 308.2 317 540 170760 IPM HLDG 7.8 7.83 7.83 7.83 7.8 7.83 25000 195675 PAXYS 3.46 3.68 3.68 3.69 3.68 3.69 3000 11050 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.395 0.4 0.4 0.415 0.38 0.4 13980000 5537550 SBS PHIL CORP 8.06 8.26 8 8.28 8 8.07 36900 296391

MINING & OIL ATOK 20.45 20.7 20.15 20.75 20.15 20.75 10300 209105 APEX MINING 1.58 1.59 1.59 1.6 1.58 1.58 437000 693940 ABRA MINING 0.0026 0.0027 0.0027 0.0027 0.0026 0.0027 34000000 90100 ATLAS MINING 3.42 3.43 3.49 3.52 3.43 3.43 253000 873770 BENGUET A 1.42 1.51 1.41 1.41 1.41 1.41 1000 1410 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.305 0.315 0.305 0.305 0.305 0.305 20000 6100 CENTURY PEAK 1.97 1.99 1.97 1.97 1.97 1.97 393000 774210 DIZON MINES 7.31 7.39 7.29 7.41 7.29 7.38 1500 11055 FERRONICKEL 1.98 1.99 2 2 1.98 1.99 2726000 5405030 GEOGRACE 0.213 0.216 0.212 0.216 0.212 0.213 380000 82000 LEPANTO A 0.122 0.123 0.122 0.122 0.121 0.122 2540000 309770 LEPANTO B 0.123 0.129 0.131 0.131 0.123 0.123 90000 11710 MANILA MINING A 0.0081 0.0084 0.0081 0.0082 0.0081 0.0081 7000000 56900 MARCVENTURES 1.38 1.39 1.39 1.39 1.38 1.38 326000 450160 NIHAO 1.15 1.16 1.18 1.18 1.16 1.16 84000 98280 NICKEL ASIA 5.37 5.38 5.41 5.48 5.38 5.38 2661500 14391355 OMICO CORP 0.58 0.6 0.58 0.62 0.58 0.6 646000 390200 ORNTL PENINSULA 1.23 1.24 1.23 1.26 1.21 1.23 2906000 3595120 PX MINING 4.1 4.13 4.1 4.1 4.08 4.1 323000 1321150 SEMIRARA MINING 29.55 29.7 29.1 29.7 29.05 29.55 672300 19841130 UNITED PARAGON 0.0082 0.0083 0.0087 0.0087 0.0082 0.0082 96000000 804500 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.012 32300000 393300 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.014 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 10100000 121200 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.012 7400000 89300 PHINMA PETRO 3.62 3.69 3.72 3.72 3.61 3.62 96000 355050 PXP ENERGY 15.6 15.62 15.68 16.04 15.48 15.6 1231600 19340984

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GTCAP PREF A LR PREF PCOR PREF 2B SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H

99.5 501 500 101 986 101 495 951.5 1.03 1020 76.05 80 75.25 75.6 75.4 75.75

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

23.75 5.26 2.51

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 5.66 XURPAS 2.78

116.8

39250 293210 -59277782.5 -7457316 8060496 163140 -105270 -9896432 -4184368 -58871820 6437662 125000 -17412220 44944880 -45800 62000 -13087585 -15237384 30052 -55250 -33000 9691190 -65480 -2174400 419995 60787 -2091670 649767 37650 -22377450 -6120.0002 47250 175990 -3639485 9600 -20873185 -46056 -29923 398640 13150955 21600 117333 -8470 -60 -5993890.5 -4424861 -9038851.5 -5162920 -15214.9999 427450 -5670 35690 -181320 -24897553 400000 -3926427 -175010 -6623369 617180 -7412285 -37098020.5 -722440 -21408762 12150 20400 -6870 3043260 2760 -4220225 148000 -568740 953950 98400 1200 1181944

99.8 501 501 101 1000 104.9 502 974.5 1.04 1049 77.4 79.5 75.3 76.5 75.5 75.7

99.8 501 501 101 1000 104.9 502 974.5 1.05 1049 77.4 80.2 75.3 76.5 75.5 76

99.8 501 500 101 990 104.9 500 974.5 1.02 1049 77.4 79 75.3 75.6 75.4 75.7

99.8 501 500 101 1000 104.9 500 974.5 1.02 1049 77.4 80.2 75.3 75.6 75.4 76

200 1000 7000 2220 3200 10 3060 20 108000 10 1100 22100 2000 877540 1350 25400

19960 501000 3500070 224220 3171100 1049 1530120 19490 112250 10490 85140 1753335 150600 66373830 101863 1926565.5

38000 -

24.15 5.3

24.3 5.3

24.3 5.3

23.7 5.26

23.75 5.3

23500 100800

567785 533800

-141245 -533800

2.55

2.43

2.51

2.42

2.51

142000

351490

-

5.69 2.8

5.35 2.83

5.75 2.83

5.21 2.76

5.69 2.8

3619700 1549000

20142611 4326190

-2766421 8680

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

-7709375 -11500 -187644 -5585678 645614.5 361502 8948756 -10873610 -589433 10200 236000 -13733431.5 -24900 -3468400 1601932 10899.9999 -22731793 -12000 -28571978 3750 -1989784 -41250 13040 19200 -5807685 109090 5000 -6098080 -5049918 -312798 -10763812 129070 23610 -75200 702966 -14676975

100.9 503 502 101.9 1000 104.9 500 974.5 1.04 1049 77.4 80.2 75.75 76 75.9 76

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

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Diokno warns: Do not make Nayong Pilipino contract an issue, distraction

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

UDGET Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno on Tuesday dismissed as a distraction the allegations made by former Chief of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) Rudolf Jurado that he and Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III removed the bidding process on the Nayong Pilipino contract.

Diokno said the OGCC governing board has the “full responsibility and accountability for its decisions.”

“We should not distract ourselves from the main issue here,” he said in a statement.

The controversy stemmed from the Contract Review by the OGCC where Jurado cited Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) Memorandum Circular (MC) 2018-

02 as the basis for allowing the Nayong Pilipino Foundation Inc. (NFPI) to lease the land even without public bidding.

But the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Jurado’s position “contradicts” the review of the facts and law on the matter.

“In fact, an investigation by the Department of Justice concluded that the NFPI lease contract with

Holcim to spend P160M for CSR programs

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

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EMENT manufacturer Holcim Philippines Inc. (HPI) is allotting P160 million for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that will benefit close to 400,000 people by 2020.

The company told the BusinessMirror that P51.2 million, or 32 percent of the total amount, will finance its education and social projects; while P40 million, or 25 percent, each for livelihood and infrastructure programs.

The remaining P28.8 million, or 18 percent, of which will be used as funds for shelter, health and safety, among other CSR initiatives.

These programs form part of the company’s campaign called “Holcim Helps,” which standardizes the communication strategies of its various sites for their communities, particularly on social and environmental undertakings.

It aims to make the communities where Holcim operates and the public better understand and appreciate what it does insofar as its corporate citizenship is concerned, according to HPI President and CEO John Stull, “’Holcim Helps’ also underscores our goal of making our programs a collaboration with our communities instead of charitable donations as the primary form of assistance. Instead, our goal is to partner with them to better understand

their needs and equip them with the means to improve their lives through capability-building initiatives for a more sustainable and lasting positive impact,” he said.

HPI’s CSR programs have benefited close to 300,000 people in its communities and beyond over the last three years.

Education-related projects have received the lion share of funds for social programs at 32 percent, followed by livelihood and employment, as well as shelter and infrastructure, each cornered a quarter of the budget, respectively.

The building solution provider offers products ranging from structuring to finishing applications for infrastructure projects and even simple home repairs. It has cement manufacturing facilities in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental and Davao, as well as aggregates and dry mix business and technical support facilities for building solutions.

The cement manufacturer is a member of the LafargeHolcim Group present in 80 countries with over 80,000 employees.

The publicly listed firm reported that its revenues reached P18.8 billion for the first half of 2018, or 8 percent higher than P17.4 billion recorded during the same period last year, on the back of higher sales volumes of cement and aggregates.

Net income, though, declined from P2.1 billion to P1.6 billion during the two periods in review.

Makati R.T.C. agrees to withdraw criminal charges filed vs. Sycip son, 4 others

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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HE Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Makati City has granted the motion filed by the City Prosecutor’s Office seeking the withdrawal of the criminal cases filed against trader George Sycip, son of the late tycoon Washington Sycip, and four other officials of a tuna-processing company accused of violating the provisions of the Corporation Code of the Philippines.

In an order issued by Makati RTC Branch 148 Presiding Judge Andres Bartolome Soriano, the trial court agreed with Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos, that the cases should be withdrawn due to the court’s lack of jurisdiction.

“The Prosecution, through the undersigned Senior Deputy Proscutor, and unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully moves that the above-entitled cases be withdrawn from your office pursuant to Review Resolution dated March 20, 2018, on the ground of lack of jurisdiction of this Court over the imposable penalty pursuant to Supreme Court Administrative Circular 9-94,” the prosecution’s motion read.

“Wherefore, it is respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court, that the motion to withdraw information together with attachments be

granted and given due course in the interest of justice,” it added.

Aside from Sycip, other respondents in the cases are Jonathan Y. Dee, Maria Grace T. VeraCruz, Antonio C. Pacis and Raymond KH See, all officials of Alliance Select Foods International Inc. They were specifically accused of violating Section 74 and 75 in relation to Section 144, of the Corporation Code. Section 74 of the Corporation Code provides that “the records of all business transactions of the corporation and the minutes of any meetings shall be open to inspection by any director, trustee, stockholder or member of the corporation…” and that refusal to allow the records to be examined will be liable for damages and is punishable under Section 144 of the code.

Section 144 states that violators of the code shall be punished by a fine of not less than P1,000 but not more than 10,000 or imprisonment of not less than 30 days but not more than five years. Section 75, meanwhile, underscores the right of any stockholder or member of his right to financial statements. The cases stemmed from the complaint filed by Singaporean Hedy SC Yap-Chua, then a stockholder and/or director of ASFI, accusing them of arbitrarily withholding its corporate records, including the stock and transfer records, from her and other stockholders.

Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp. is void ab initio or has no legal effect from the beginning,” the DBM said.

The DBM also noted the DOJ report stated the contract is a build-operate-transfer contract disguised as a lease contract, the implication of which is that the same should comply with the BOT law, which includes public bidding.

During the interview, Jurado cited GCG MC 2018-02, which revoked a prior MC 2013-03 (ReIssued), which specifically provides for the public bidding requirement for land bigger than a hectare to be leased for more than 10 years.

“The revocation was misconstrued by Jurado to mean that public bidding is no longer necessary,” the statement read.

“This was reiterated in GCG MC 2018-02, which expressly recognized that though the proposed Major Development Projects and Contracts of GOCCs lie within the sound business judgment of the respective governing boards of the GOCCs, they are still mandated by existing laws, rules and regula-

mutual funds

tions to exercise extraordinary diligence in the conduct of business and in dealing with the properties of their respective GOCCs,” it added.

In fact, the Governing Boards of GOCCs are constituted under Republic Act 10149, or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011, as “fiduciaries of the State,” with the “legal obligation and duty to always act in the best interest of the GOCC, with utmost good faith” and who “must exercise extraordinary diligence of a very cautious person with due regard for all the circumstances,” DBM said.

“Moreover, GOCCs are required to secure a favorable legal opinion/ contract review by the OGCC before entering into the said agreements and not merely rely on GCG MC No. 2018-02. As such, there is no such blame to be shifted in this instance; the NFPI Board and OGCC have the last say on the matter,” the statement read.

Jurado was fired by President Duterte in May for allegedly issuing a legal opinion allowing the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone to approve a 75-year permit to a casino operator.

September 3, 2018

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc * 265.67 -3.44% 1.59% 3.39% -9.39% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc.* 1.4963 -7.5% 5.66% 3.49% -6.29% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc.* 4.1849 -3.53% 3.23% 2.07% -8.88% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp.* 0.9282 -7.78% n.a. n.a. -8.73% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. * ********* 0.8733 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc.* 5.525 -1.13% 1.28% 2.23% -8.12% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. * ****** 117.06 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.* 0.8796 -8.35% n.a. n.a. -11.39% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc.* 51.8984 -1.21% 2.84% n.a. -7.97% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc.* 537.55 -2.43% 1.31% 1.34% -8.65% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc.* 1.3135 -0.38% 2.97% n.a. -6.47% Philequity Fund, Inc.* 38.5014 0.89% 3.58% 5.11% -6.31% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc.* 5.2267 -1.06% 3.54% 5.42% -7.88% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp.* 872.35 -1.25% 3.27% 5.22% -7.76% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. * 0.8916 -1.96% 0.38% n.a. -7.81% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc.* 4.2874 0.15% 3.04% 3.77% -6.39% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc.* 1.0064 -1.21% 3.38% n.a. -7.95% United Fund, Inc.* 3.6957 3.42% 4.51% 3.64% -5.1% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc.* ***116.4574 -0.38% 4.49% n.a. -7.54% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc.* * $1.0272 -1.61% 6.33% 2.56% -7.32% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc.* $1.3118 11.6% n.a. n.a.

3.68% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc.* 1.7107 -4.1% -1.96% -0.71% -8.2% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc.* 2.3147 -2.62% 1.66% 1.65% -5.79% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc.* 2.6375 -0.54% -0.69% -1.05% -4.78% Grepalife Balanced Fund Corporation* **** 1.3642 -2.94% n.a. n.a. -6.23% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc* 1.8889 -1.38% 1.32% 1.16% -5.2% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc.* 3.6673 -2.32% 0.26% 0.29% -6.4% Philam Fund, Inc.* 16.3664 -3.09% 0.04% 0.26% -6.79% Solidaritas Fund, Inc.* ********

2.1222 -1.87% 1.62% 3.34% -5.35% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc.* 3.7945 -0.44% 1.1% 1.96% -5.05% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc.* 0.972 -0.36% 0.8% n.a. -4.73% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc.* $0.03526 -1.92% -0.09% 2.84% -2.33% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc.* $1 -0.73% 4.92% 0.77% -4.49% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc.* $3.6955 6.46% 6.42% 4.49% 1.18% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc.* $1.0954 0.62% n.a. n.a. -1.51% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc.* 340.9 1.68% 1.75% 1.61% 1.12% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc.* ******* 1.8625 -1.4% -1.39% -0.23% -1.57% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc.* 2.9212 5.42% 5.27% 5.33% 3.52% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc.* 2.1248 0.69% 1.16% 1.07% 1.08% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc.* 2.2193 0.2% -0.07% 0.25% 0.14% Grepalife Fixed Income Fund Corp.* P 1.592 -0.69% -1.37% -1.34% -1.09% Philam Bond Fund, Inc.* 3.9588 -2.85% -0.99% -0.4% -2.25% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc.* 3.4862 0.09% -0.06% 0.1% -0.53% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. * 0.9038 -2.71% -1.34% n.a.

-2.1% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc.* 2.7838 0.93% 0.27% 0.51% 0.24% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc.* 1.5439 0.16% -0.13% -0.15% -0.37% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. * $444.71 0.18% 2.34% 3.18% -0.28% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. * Є213.42 0.39% 1.39% 1.73% -0.14% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc.** $1.1197 -1.19% 1.23% 2.14% -1.27% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc.* $0.0248 -0.8% 0.68% n.a.

-0.8% Grepalife Dollar Bond Fund Corp.* $1.7081 -4.36% 0.03% 1.93% -3.58% 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* $1.0384 -4.31% -0.96% -2.03% -3.27% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc.* $2.1769 -2.98% 1.13% 3.32% -3.29% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc.* $0.0568247 -0.96% 1.04% 2.17% -0.66% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc.* $2.9089 -3.96% 1.03% 2.3% -3.45% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc.* 119.63 2.28% 1.64% 1.44% 1.72% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc.* 1.174 1.86% 0.39% 0.38% 1.43% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.* 1.2053 2.32% 2.09% 1.33% 1.67% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc.* ***** $1.0092 n.a. n.a. n.a. 1.05%

* - 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

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

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Customs’s August revenue surplus hits ₧2.326 billion

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By Rea Cu @ReaCuBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has reported breaching its revenue collection target for seven consecutive months, posting a revenue surplus of P2.326 billion in August, with strong collections coming from more than a dozen ports.

Based on preliminary data from the BOC, the bureau’s revenue collection for August reached P51.739 billion higher than its collection target of P49.31 billion for the month. This also posted an expansion of 35.12 percent, from the recorded revenues of P38.289 billion in August last year.

P re l i m i n a r y d at a f rom t he BOC’s financial service department shows 15 collection districts to have significantly contributed to this positive revenue collection performance. Aside from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which collected P3.106 billion, these ports include the fol-

lowing: Batangas, which collected P12.716 billion; Manila at P7.810 billion; Limay, with P3.435 billion; Cebu with P2.513 billion; Davao collected P2.401 billion; Cagayan de Oro with P1.913 billion; San Fernando with P397 million; Iloilo with P378 million; Clark collected P147 million; Tacloban with P102 million; Legaspi collected P33 million; Zamboanga with P24 million; Aparri collected P7 million; and the Port of Surigao, which collected P2 million.

Not far from reaching their collection targets are the Manila International Container Port and the Port of Subic with a total collection of P14.782 billion and P1.478 billion, respectively.

The target for the MICP for August was P15.237 billion, while the Port of Subic was given a P1.788billion target for the month.

It also cites the bureau’s consistent high revenue performance to

the higher exchange rate, increased oil price in the market, proper valuation and strong enforcement and revenue enhancing measures.

Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña’s one-strike policy may have motivated the ports to consistently hit their targets, a statement by the BOC said.

The BOC has so far collected a total of P384.3 billion in revenues from January to August, which is 35.5 percent higher against the P283.56-billion collection in the same period for 2017.

BOC Spokesman Erastus Sandino B. Austria told the BusinessMirror that the bureau’s target for the remaining months of the year was increased by P13 billion.

“Our revenue generation is positive. At present, we are tasked to collect P13 billion more. So our target is almost P600 billion. We wont rest until we reach the target,” Austria said.

ING Bank arranges peso green bonds

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UTCH firm ING Bank N.V. (ING Bank) has arranged the first 10-year local currency green bond issuance from Southeast Asia, denominated in Philippine peso, in line with “helping clients focused on solving today’s environmental challenges.”

The landmark deal amounting to P1.06 billion will support the renewable projects in the Philippines of Singapore-based Sindicatum Renewable Energy Co. Pte. Ltd. (Sindicatum Renewables), a regional developer and operator of clean energy projects.

ING Bank said that the transaction is innovative as the synthetic local currency issue in Philippine peso is settled in US dollars, “with the structure allowing the issuer to have greater US dollar liquidity and to achieve 10-year funding at a more competitive pricing level.”

“We are delighted to have successfully completed this landmark Philippine peso-denominated green bond. This transaction was very well received by the market and attracted high quality, long-term investors, allowing us to extend the maturity profile of our debt,” Sindicatum Renewables CEO Assaad W. Razzouk was quoted in a statement as saying. “We can now expand further our renewable-energy footprint in the Philippines where we intend to rapidly build a portfolio of 250 MW [megawatt] of solar and wind assets.”

The bond is credit guaranteed by GuarantCo helping it to achieve issue ratings of “A1” by Moody’s.

ING Bank served as the sole lead manager, sole book-runner, and sole green structuring advisor for the 10year green bond amounting to P1.06 billion. This was the second green bond issuance that ING Bank arranged for Sindicatum Renewables,

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ING to pay $900 million to end Dutch money laundering investigation

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NG Groep NV agreed to pay €775 million ($900 million) to settle an investigation by the Dutch prosecutor into issues including money laundering and corrupt practices in one of the biggest fines ever given to the country’s banks in a criminal case.

The lender acknowledged “serious shortcomings” in executing customer due diligence policies to prevent financial crime at its Dutch unit from 2010 through 2016, according to a statement from the Amsterdam-based bank on Tuesday. The lender is taking action against a number of current and former senior employees in relation to the case, though said that it expects to resolve the matter with the US Securities and Exchange Commission without further fines.

The investigation focused on the bank’s role in matters including unusual payments by VimpelCom Ltd. to a company owned by a Uzbek government official, the Dutch public prosecution office has said.

VimpelCom, which has changed its name to Veon, pleaded guilty in 2016 to violating US corruption laws and agreed to a $795-million settlement with US and Dutch authorities in a case related to its subsidiary in Uzbekistan. ING is suspected of failing to report unusual transactions or not reporting them in time, the prosecutor said.

“Given the severity of the issues and the fact that the US justice department was involved in the investigation, I had expected the total fine to add up to several hundreds of millions of euros,” Robin van den Broek, an analyst at Mediobanca, said in an e-mailed statement.

ING shares fluctuated between

gains and losses in early trading in Amsterdam with the stock down 1.3 percent at €11.5 as of 9:35 a.m. local time.

Quarterly charge

THE payment will consist of a €675-million fine and €100-million disgorgement, with the total amount being taken as a one-off charge in the bank’s third-quarter results, the bank said. Previously, it had just said that it may have to pay a significant amount to end the case. The €100-million payment represents the underspending by ING during the period in question on staffing for the implementation and execution of policies and procedures.

The bank’s executive board will waive their bonuses for 2018 because of the fine.

“We are taking a number of robust measures to strengthen our compliance risk management and support a strong risk culture and will be making further improvements to ensure we can play a full role in contributing to protecting the integrity of the financial system,” Vincent van den Boogert, chief executive officer of ING in the Netherlands, said in the statement.

The measures against a number former and current senior employee include withdrawing bonuses and “suspension of duties,” according to the bank. ING announced a raft of new measures intended to strengthen its compliance and know your customer requirements, including client risk committees across business unit and a program to strengthen the bank’s internal compliance culture. Bloomberg News

DPWH ready for cash-based budgeting

P NEW CHIEF BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. recently held a cocktail event at Shangri-La at the Fort to introduce its newly installed

president, Sheila Marie U. Tan, to clients. Tan, (fourth from left), is shown here with, Ignacio Bunye (from left), BPI AMTC independent director; Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, BPI chairman; Cezar P. Consing, BPI president and CEO and BPI AMTC director; Antonio Jose Periquet, BPI AMTC chairman; Mercedita Nolledo, BPI AMTC director; Jesse Ang, BPI AMTC director; and Fernando Zobel de Ayala, BPI AMTC director. PHOTO COURTESY BPI AMTC

following its international green bond debut denominated in Indian rupee for an aggregate amount of INR 2.5 billion in January 2018.

“We are proud to have closed our second deal with Sindicatum Renewables, following the successful $40 million first international corporate Indian Rupee Green Bond in Asia earlier this year. The latest transaction will support green field projects in the Philippines.

GuarantCo’s credit guarantee was instrumental in generating interest and ultimately investment commitment and confidence from top life-insurance companies in the Philippines,” Lasitha Perera, CEO of GuarantCo, said.

In the last two years ING Bank

has assisted numerous green bond issuances for Asian financial institutions and corporates. This includes the $500-million green bond debut by DBS Bank in July 2017, the €1-billion green bond issued by the China Development Bank in November last year and the two green bonds with a total value of approximately $60 million for Sindicatum Renewables.

“We see growing interest by clients in sustainable finance. This deal demonstrates our capabilities to attract long-term sustainabilityfocused investors in the local market. Being one of the frontrunners in this arena, ING is well-placed to support corporates in the Philippines committed to becoming more

sustainable,” ING Bank NV Philippines Country Manager Hans B. Sicat was quoted in the samestatement as saying.

In May this year ING Bank’s senior economist Jose Mario I. Cuyegkeng said having performed well in the first quarter, the Philippine economy should do even better in the months ahead and in the coming year.

Cuyegkeng said expectations of a more moderate inflation in 2019, for instance, as well as the impact of spending related to next year’s midterm elections, should help spur greater household spending.

For this year, he projects growth averaging 6.8 percent and even better growth of 6.9 percent in 2019. Rea Cu

Veterans Bank embarks on digital transformation in customer service INANCIAL services technology solutions provider Fiserv Inc. announced on September 4 it was selected by the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) to help enable the bank’s digital transformation.

The PVB will launch digital banking capabilities for the first time as it focuses on delivering a unified customer experience that spans physical and digital channels, the Brookfield, Wisconsin-headquartered Fiserv said.

“We were confident choosing Fiserv because they have a proven record of successfully launching digital banking capabilities, and we knew they could help us navigate new areas,” Camille Maricelle M. Canul-

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

las, PVB senior vice president and information technology group head, said. “We’re putting in place technology that will enable us to better serve existing customers and attract new ones,” Canullas added. “Our staff will have a more comprehensive view of customer relationships, and customers will have access to digital services aligned with how they live and work.”

The private commercial bank owned by Filipino World War II veterans and their heirs will use DigitalAccess from Fiserv for online and mobile banking, extending the customer experience in new ways. DigitalAccess, which will integrate with the bank’s core account processing platform, enables digital onboarding

to allow customers to open bank accounts and apply for loans and other banking products without having to visit a bank branch. Additional features include personal financial management tools, online mobile phone top-up capabilities, biometric authentication, actionable push notifications, and automated teller machine and branch location searches.

In the future, as bank customers interact through branch and digital channels, they will be able to get the most up-to-date account information no matter which channels they use.

“To support the growing needs of more mobile and digitally savvy customers, more financial institutions are embarking on the path of

digital transformation,” said Marc Mathenz, managing director, Asia Pacific, Fiserv. “Veterans Bank is reinforcing their commitment to serving their customers with their decision to move to new technology that will facilitate interactions across physical and digital channels, allowing the bank to provide seamless financial services to customers.”

Fiserv solutions enable clients to achieve best-in-class results in 16 countries across Asia Pacific. Fiserv provides a range of solutions to clients, including some of the largest banks in Australia, Thailand, and Indonesia, through its more than 6,000 associates in the region and offices in Sydney and Singapore. AP

UBLIC Works Secretary Mark A. Villar expressed optimism on Monday his department is ready for the Malacañang-backed cash-based budgeting system for 2019 despite the challenges the new system will pose, particularly in the planning and implementation of big-ticket projects.

“We will comply because that is the government policy. As you have noticed, the basis of our budget next year is cash based, so there was some adjustment,” Villar said in an interview after a Senate hearing on the proposed P555.7-billion budget for 2019 for

the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). He said the biggest challenge that the DPWH would have to hurdle under the new system will be on planning.

“The challenge in the cashbased is definitely in the planning. In our planning, we should anticipate what projects we can finish within a year,” he said. “So it’s quite challenging for the planning department, but we can do it.”

Despite the challenges, Villar assured that the cash-based system would not delay big infrastructure projects being pushed by the Duterte administration. PNA

B4 Wednesday, September 5, 2018

NEGROS WOMEN FOR TOMORROW FOUNDATION SELECTS INSULAR HEALTH CARE FOR OUTPATIENT SERVICES

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EGROS Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF) recently partnered with Insular Health Care, Inc. for outpatient health care coverage of its over 2,500 employees from 121 branches all over the Visayas and Mindanao regions. The outpatient services cover medical consultations, necessary laboratory examinations and diagnostic procedures, and annual physical examination through Insular Health Care’s network of over 1,000 accredited hospitals and clinics nationwide.

These out-patient services are in addition to the life, hospitalization, and retirement coverage of NWTF employees provided by Insular Health Care’s parent company, Insular Life, for 16 years now. Through Insular Life’s Group Hospitalization Plan, employees and their dependents are covered by in-patient hospitalization benefits. The Comprehensive Group Plan, meanwhile, provides both life insurance with total and permanent disability riders, and retirement benefits to permanent employees of the foundation.

NWTF was founded in 1984 as a nongovernment organization that aims to help women, particularly in Negros Occidental’s low income and depressed urban and rural communities, achieve self-sufficiency and self-reliance through Grameen based microfinancing and developmental services. Projects such as “Dungganon” and “Kasanag” have provided these marginalized women with training and loan facility to start and maintain their own small business ventures.

TOYOTA ADOPTS A RIVER, SEGREGATES MERCURY FROM BUSTED LIGHTS Toyota Motor Philippines

SIGNING the agreement were (seated from left:) Insular Life Executive Chairman Nina D. Aguas, NWTF Director Suzette Gaston and Insular Health Care President Maria Noemi G. Azura. Seated with them are: Insular Life Territory 3 Vice President and Head Arnaldo I. Aquino (extreme left) and Insular Health Care Head of Sales Tricci Rose A. Sadian (extreme right). Witnessing the signing of the agreement (standing from left are): Insular Health Care GSM Patrick L. Serios, Dungganon Bank Inc. President Corazon A. Henares, NWTF Trustees Myrna L. Desabelle, Elmira P. Maglasang, Anne Marie G. Jison, Janet S. Jalbuena, Asst. Director For Finance & Acctg.

Syril Z. Aplaon, HR Manager Ma. Theresa R. Nuñez, and Asst. Director for Admin & Strategic Projects Raymond Patrick S. Serios Insular Health Care, Inc. is a pioneering Health Maintenance Organization with over 26 years of experience and expertise in administering both standard, customized and hybrid managed care programs for individuals and corporate members. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. Insular Life is the first and largest, and most enduring Filipino life insurance company with a service record of over 107 years. To date, Insular Life is recognized as a financial institution providing a wide range of high-value insurance and financial products in the Philippine market. Insular Life’s total consolidated asset as of the end of 2017 is Php 140 Billion.

This partnership affirms a common vision of promoting a secured future and

health wellness to the every Filipino by way of customer focused, responsive, quality health and life protection programs.

This also dovetails with Insular Life’s advocacy to help women to become self-reliant and financially independent. In partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group, the leading Filipino insurer is creating a program dubbed “Empowering the Filipino Sheroes” to reach out to the entire women segment of the population—the career women, the professionals, the entrepreneurs, and most especially the women who are looking for financial solutions to expand their businesses or those who seek life protection, but currently have no access to financial instruments and life insurance.

Foundation (TMPF), in partnership with the Save Silang–Santa Rosa River (S3R2) Foundation, Santa Rosa City local government, and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), signed a Memorandum of Agreement to undertake rehabilitation and conservation efforts of the Silang–Santa Rosa River. Under the Toyota Adopt-a-River Project, Toyota will actively collaborate with its program partners to adopt a portion of the Silang-Santa Rosa river located along the vicinity of Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP).

In addition to the Adopt-A-River Project, Toyota shall also render service to its local community through the Mercury Sequestration on Fluorescent Light Bulbs Project. The project will utilize TMP’s existing bulb-eater equipment, which is designed to capture the mercury content in busted fluorescent lights. These new projects are implemented to further strengthen Toyota’s efforts towards environmental protection and enhancement. In photo are (from left) TMPF assistant vice president Ronald Gaspar, Santa Rosa City vice mayor Arnold Arcillas, Province of Laguna 1st District representative Arlene Arcillas, TMPF president Dr. David Go, LLDA general manager Jaime Medina, Santa Rosa City mayor Danilo Fernandez, TMP first vice president Jose Ma. Aligada, and Santa Rosa Watershed Management Council president Linda Creencia.

TPB GEARS UP FOR PHITEX 2018

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HE Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) is set to host the country’s biggest and significant travel trade event – the Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX), on August 28-30, 2018 at Marriot Grand Ballroom. This year’s PHITEX will once again promote the country as the premier tourist destination among some of the world’s biggest travel and tour buyers.

With this year’s theme “Tourism is our Business: Guarding our Environment, Reliving our Culture”, TPB aims to provide a venue for foreign buyers of travel products to discuss business with Philippine tourism suppliers with a possibility of securing booking on-site or at least business leads.

The event is also expected to entice buyers to include the Philippines in their tour programs or expand their existing tour programs of the archipelago and to generate maximum exposure of the Philippine destinations to key target markets and launch packages designed for niche markets.

The week-long event kicked off with the

pre-tour on August 28 for registered buyers covering Bataan, Laguna, Batangas, Tagaytay and Corregidor that will highlight interesting Philippine culture and heritage.

The main event of PHITEX 2018 is the Travel Exchange (TRAVEX), which includes exclusive business-to-business appointment meetings between Philippine sellers and foreign buyers. By giving them the chance to personally meet the local sellers, buyers are introduced to the Philippines’ marketing trends and practices. In exchange, sellers are given an edge to offer globally competitive tour packages to the international market. The event will also provide foreign buyers the opportunity to experience the fun and exciting post tours to main Philippine attractions and destinations.

Now on its 17th year, PHITEX has been continuously sustaining the growth that the Philippines has gained in the global tourism market. For more information about PHITEX 2018, visit www.phitex.ph.

BIGGEST AIR21 BUSINESS HUB OPENS IN STA. ROSA, LAGUNA

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HE country’s logistics giant, AIR21, opens its biggest business hub in the Philippines at Waltermart Sta. Rosa, Laguna on August 10, 2018. To kick-off the opening ceremony, AIR21 mascot Billy Bills spearheaded a motorcade traversing nearby barangays from Balibago to Sta. Rosa Bayan to Nuvali back to Waltermart.

The 35 square meter location is AIR21’s first business hub in Waltermart and the 104th branch nationwide. The event was attended by AIR21 executives: Reuben Pangan, President; Ariel Agcaoili, Chief Operating Officer; Yasmin Vasquez, OIC for Branding and Sales Management;

and Grace Fernando, Head for International Sales, Operation and Retail Business. Also, the opening ceremony was graced by the presence of UBE Media President, Donna May Lina, LCSI Director Jun Lauro, UPS Philippines Marketing Manager Marianne Reotiras and Waltermart Leasing Manager Donna Adalin joined by her team Mark Regio de Dios, Angela Dela Cruz and Julianne Ignacio.

You may visit the newly opened AIR21 business hub located at the 2nd Floor Waltermart Sta. Rosa, Brgy. Balibago cor. Lorenzo St., Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

QUEST PLUS CLARK RECEIVES THE CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE FROM TRIPADVISOR

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LARK FREEPORT ZONE - Quest Plus and Conference Center Clark is elated to share that it has received a Certificate of Excellence from the renowned American travel website TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor is a platform for travelers to share honest reviews, feedback, and travel-related content about hotels, restaurants and tourist spots around the world. The Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor honors hospitality businesses that deliver consistent excellent service. This is only presented to approximately 10% of total businesses registered on the said travel website. As of writing, Quest Plus is consistent in its 4 out of 5 rating.

Despite undergoing renovations, Quest Plus Clark proved that the said inconveniences will not deter the staff and management in providing excellent service to its guests and clients.

Customer service is the driving force behind the certification and this is what the management plans to continuously improve and be an expert on.

With the upcoming launch of Mequeni (the iconic all day dining restaurant of the hotel), eQuinox (fitness center which offers cross fit and various training equipment), and holiday promotions and packages in the offing, there is certainly more to look forward to.

“Our quest for excellent service doesn’t end here. This Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor inspired us to do more and we are very excited for what is yet to come”, shares Quest Plus Clark’s General Manager Patrick Beck. Know more about Quest Hotel and Conference Center Clark! For reservations and inquiries, please call 045 599 8000 and visit www.questhotelsandresorts.com/clark.

MILLMAN SENDS FEDERER HOME

Sports

By Howard Fendrich

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The Associated Press

BusinessMirror

EW YORK—Roger Federer served poorly. He volleyed poorly. Closed out sets poorly, too.

And now he’s gone, beaten at the US Open by an opponent ranked outside the top 50 for the first time in his illustrious career.

Looking slow and tired on a sweltering night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the No. 2-seeded Federer double-faulted 10 times, failed to convert a trio of set points and lost 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) in the fourth round to John Millman in a match that began on Monday and concluded at nearly 1 a.m. on Tuesday.

To Federer, it was all about the heat and the humidity.

With the temperature in the 80s, even with the sun down, and the humidity at about 75 percent, he was unable to summon his usual verve.

“Was just one of those nights where, I guess, I felt I couldn’t get air. There was no circulation at all. I don’t know, for some reason I just struggled in the conditions tonight. It’s one of the first times it’s happened to me,” the 37-year-old Federer said. “It’s uncomfortable. Clearly just keep on sweating more and more and more and more as the match goes on. You lose energy as it goes by. But John was able to deal with it better.”

It’s only the second time in Federer’s past 14 appearances at the US Open that he’s lost before the quarterfinals. He is, after all, a five-time champion at the tournament, part of his men’s-record haul of 20 Grand Slam titles.

“In all honesty, Roger’s a hero of mine. I look up to him,” said Millman, an Australian who is 29. “I felt a little bit guilty today, because he didn’t have his best day, and that’s for sure. I know that. I’m very aware he didn’t have a great day in the office. Probably, to beat him, I needed him to have an off-day and I needed to have a decent, good day.”

So much for that highly anticipated matchup between Federer and 13-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Instead, it’ll be the 55th-ranked Millman, who had never made it past the third round at a Slam until last week, taking on No. 6 seed Djokovic.

Hours before, Djokovic left the court for a medical timeout—the second time during the tournament he’s sought help from a doctor because of harsh weather—during what would become an otherwise straightforward 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 68th-ranked Joao Sousa of Portugal.

“I’m not 21 anymore. That was 10 years ago. I still don’t feel old. But at the same time, there is a little biological clock that is not really working in your favor,” Djokovic said.

“Sometimes, you just have to survive.”

He reached the quarterfinals for an 11th consecutive appearance in New York as he bids for a third US Open championship and 14th Grand Slam trophy.

The other quarterfinal on the bottom half of the draw will be a rematch of the 2014 US Open final: No. 7 Marin Cilic against No. 21 Kei Nishikori.

Millman was adamant he would not be intimidated

by Federer, and perhaps was helped by having spent time practicing together a few months ago ahead of the grasscourt portion of this season.

“I love his intensity,” Federer said.

Still, this was a stunner. Not simply because Federer lost—he entered the day 28-0 at the US Open, and 127-1 in all Grand Slam matches, against foes below No. 50 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings—but how he lost. Start with this: Federer held two set points while serving for the second at 5-4, 40-15 and did not pull through. Millman knew that was the turning point.

“At the start, I don’t think I was playing so well,” said Millman, who said he was sweating so much he had a hard time holding onto his racket. “But, yeah, as the match went on, I felt more comfortable, felt pretty good.”

Then Federer had a set point in the third at 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but again was stymied.

In the fourth set, he went up a break at 4-2, yelling “Come on!” and getting all of those rowdy spectators in their “RF” gear on their feet, prompting the chair umpire to repeatedly plead for silence. But Federer

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| Wednesday, September 5, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

ROGER FEDERER is gone, beaten at the US Open by John Millman (left), an opponent ranked outside the top 50 for the first time in his illustrious career. AP

NISHIKORI SHINES IN RETURN N

EW YORK—Kei Nishikori was so crushed about missing the US Open last year, he couldn’t even watch the tournament. Nishikori’s season was over with torn tendons in his right wrist, and he knew how much he’d ache to play if he flipped on the TV. “I didn’t really want to see any matches,” he said.

A year later, Nishikori might want to catch some US Open highlights.

He’s starring in them.

The Japanese standout still has some soreness in the wrist he hurt in August 2017, but it hasn’t slowed him down in his return to Flushing Meadows. Nishikori, the 2014 runner-up, beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5, on Monday to reach the final eight for a second straight Grand Slam tournament.

“He pushed me around,” Kohlschreiber said.

Up next is a rematch of the ‘14 final against No. 7 seed Marin Cilic, who beat 10th-seeded David Goffin, 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4, later Monday.

The 28-year-old Nishikori hardly resembles the player he was then, when he became the first man from Asia to reach a Grand Slam singles final. He altered his serve in the wake of the wrist injury. His confidence is soaring, too, after he reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

Naomi Osaka also reached the quarterfinals on Monday, only the second time in the professional era that a Japanese man and woman reached that round at the same Grand Slam event. Shuzo Matsuoka and Kimiko Date did it at Wimbledon in 1995.

“I always thought that if I can keep up with him, that would be really cool,” Osaka said.

Four years ago, Nishikori recalled feeling upbeat before he played Cilic and was surprised he didn’t have a case of nerves.

Once he hit Arthur Ashe Stadium, the magnitude of the moment hit him.

“I wasn’t nervous before the match, but as soon as I got into the court, it was different,” he said. “I remember I

THE 28-year-old Kei Nishikori hardly resembles the player he was then, when he became the first man from Asia to reach a Grand Slam singles final. AP

uncharacteristically got broken right back with a sloppy game, most egregiously when he slapped what should have been an easy putaway into the net.

And then there was his serve.

He put only 49 percent of his first serves in play, including a hard-to-believe 31 percent in the second set. This is a guy whose combination of precision and power on that stroke is considered as

good as anyone’s ever.

In the final tiebreaker, he double-faulted twice in a row. The first obvious signs of trouble for Federer came far earlier, in the second game of the second set. He started that 15-minute struggle by missing 18 of his initial 20 first serves. While he eventually held there, he needed to save seven break points along the way. It was clear Federer was not at his best.

Millman’s big rips on groundstrokes didn’t help matters. Nor did his steeliness despite not being all that familiar with this sort of success or setting. This is a guy who had never managed to beat a top-10 player, let alone a man who has spent more weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings than anyone else.

As the unforced errors mounted—Federer would finish with 77, compared to Millman’s 28—Federer’s wife, Mirka, couldn’t bear to look, placing her forehead on her hands in the guest box in the stands.

Federer hung his head at a changeover, a little black fan pointed right at his face, but nothing seemed to make him feel like himself.

“When you feel like that,” Federer said, “everything is off.”

wasn’t there for the match. Hopefully, I can come back to that stage.”

Nishikori was worn down by the time he reached the final in a remarkable run where he defeated three of the top 5 seeds. He beat No. 5 Milos Raonic and No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in five sets in back-to-back matches totaling more than eight-and-a-half hours. Then he upset No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four sets.

He’s made quick work of his opponents this year.

Nishikori, coached by Michael Chang, needed four sets to beat Diego Schwartzman, but has two straight-set victories and didn’t even complete two full sets in another match

because Gael Monfils retired with a wrist injury.

Short and sweet—and staying strong in a deep run.

“I don’t have any pressure,” Nishikori said. “But [I’m] enjoying playing every match and enjoying playing tennis again a little more than before.”

The No. 21 seed returned to the tour early this year, building his confidence back with a victory in a Challenger Tour event, then reached the final in Monte Carlo and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, where he lost to eventual champion Djokovic.

His success may have eased the pressure, but a country is keeping tabs on him.

Nishikori, the first Japanese man to be ranked in the ATP’s top 10, was a hero in his home country when he played in the US Open final. In his hometown of Matsue, hundreds of fans packed into a convention hall to cheer him on at a standing-room-only public viewing event. Giant banners emblazoned with messages of encouragement hung on the walls.

He feels at home in New York, where scores of Asians root for him, no matter the court or time of match, and he made a return trip to the semifinals in 2016.

“I feel like I have great support here,” he said. AP

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Business

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By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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J PEREZ remains as lethal as last year, and so does Lyceum of the Philippines University, as the Pirates made mincemeat of the San Sebastian College Stags, 88-70, in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 94 seniors basketball tournament on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Perez, the reigning Most Valuable Player, listed a game-high 21 points he spiked with nine rebounds and five steals to help the Pirates extend their unbeaten run to 10 games entering the second round of eliminations.

The Marcelino twins of Jaycee and Jayvee combined for 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to underscore the Pirates’ dominance, making them rife anew for a season sweep of the eliminations.

“Big win for us. It’s a different kind energy,” Lyceum Head Coach Topex Robinson said. “Before this game, we reminded the players not to be deceived by San Sebastian being a 10th-ranked team.”

PIRATES keep record clean Lyceum unleashed a blistering run right from the get-go as Perez and the energetic Marcelino duo scored the bulk of the team’s 27-point outburst against San Sebastian’s 13 in the first quarter.

Even as the Stags staged a mini-comeback before the break, the Pirates doused water on any San Sebastian attempt of a comeback.

The Intramuros-based squad made 40 percent of their shots and in the process forced the Stags to 20 turnovers—good for 20 points on their end.

Al Mendoza alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

Leaning from women winners WHO said we didn’t do well in Jakarta?

We finished 19th overall among 45 nations and that was bad?

Finishing two rungs better than in 2014 Incheon was not an improvement?

We won four gold medals and that’s not something to crow about?

Wasn’t that a quadruple in victories recorded as we won only one gold medal in 2014 Incheon?

Listen to our winners in the just-ended Asiad.

“We played for the country and to win for the country is the ultimate satisfaction,” said Yuka Saso, women’s golf champion via a dramatic

Michael Calisaan led San Sebastian with 17 points that went with 11 rebounds and two steals. Allyn Bulanadi and RK Ilagan each added 13 points for the Stags, who dropped to their ninth loss in 10 games.

The Stags put up a semblance of a fight when they trailed by six entering the fouth quarter. But they could only score 11 points in the fourth period while allowing the league leaders to frolic with 23 of their own to keep their stranglehold of the solo lead.

Calisaan scattered 16 points in San

Sebastian’s third-quarter rally that cut the deficit to 59-65, only for the Stags to yield to Perez and the Marcelinos in the final quarter.

Ilagan was coming off a one-game suspension slapped by his own team. He played in another league while the season was ongoing.

come-from-behind victory.

What a moving victory statement.

Her brilliant, last-day, six-under-par 66, decorated by an eagle on her 72nd and final hole, carried the Philippine women’s team to another gold in team play in the company of Bianca Pagdanganan and LK Go. And Yuka, a Fil-Japanese from San Ildefonso, Bulacan, is only 17. Imagine her vast potential.

She might yet proceed to represent the country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where only individual golf competitions in men and women divisions are calendared.

Like Yuka, Margielyn Didal is also still a teenager.

For her stunning win in the women’s street skateboard, Didal, 19, became the first Filipino to prevail in the inaugural Asiad presentation of the sport shunned mostly by parents, naturally, for the game’s sheer risky qualities.

“With my victory, I believe the cops in

Cebu would stop chasing me when they see me again skateboarding in parks and public roads in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics,” said Didal in Cebuano.

That could only mean she wasn’t that thoroughly prepared for the Jakarta Asiad, her training repeatedly interrupted by Cebu’s arresthappy police.

But with her win in Jakarta, that should be history now. And if Didal’s parents would now be the first to shoo away sneaky cops out of Didal’s sight, they’d be justified.

You see, Didal’s father-carpenter and sidewalkvendor mother would now be the very firsts to encourage their child from pursuing her Olympic dream, given that their daughter’s win worth at least P6 million had instantly plucked them out of the clutches of unspeakable poverty. Margielyn alone dug deep into her pockets for coins to rent her skateboard during training.

LYCEUM of the Philippines University’s Ralph Tansingco (42) and Mike Nzeusseu (11) battle San Sebastian College’s JM Calma (2) and Michael Calisaan (7) for the loose ball. NONOY LACZA

And Diaz?

“Now that I won in the Asian Games, the gold medal can also be won in the Olympics,” she said, conviction written on her face, as her Asiad victory was a sensational follow-up to her silver finish in the 2014 Rio Olympics.

Like Didal, Diaz also followed a tortuous route in her journey to the top, having to overcome a hunger-laden life as her father is a mere tricycle driver trying his best to make both ends meet.

With Hidilyn’s silver in 2014 Rio that became the country’s third Olympic silver after boxers Anthony Villanueva in the 1964 Tokyo Olympiad and Onyok Velasco in the 1996 Atlanta Games, their life was dramatically transformed from poor-dirt to upper-class comfort following a windfall of cash bonuses coming her way.

So vastly improved was their station in life after Rio that Diaz could spare a virtual fortune

to build a weightlifting gym dedicated to train aspiring future Hidilyns—for free.

If only for that, Hidilyn Diaz’s resolve to give back had upped her heroic stature all the more in the truest spirit of life’s saga and drama—if not surpassed altogether our fifth-place itself in Jakarta.

As the cliché goes, may her tribe increase.

THAT’S IT Will Coach Yeng Guiao choose Greg Slaughter over Christian Standhardinger as Gilas’s naturalized player in the Fiba Cup windows against Iran and Qatar this month to replace the suspended Andray Blatche? Because Slaughter stands almost 7-foot-1, he could be easily favored over the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger. But should speed, agility and creativity come into play, the Fil-German Standhardinger might be it. Indeed, Guiao is now saddled with a most crucial move in his coaching career. Let’s pray he makes the right move.

orts

sMirror

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

QUE JOINS HUNT IN DASMA GOLF A

NGELO QUE hopes to complete an unfinished business and cash in on a break from a hectic Japan Professional Golfers Association Tour campaign to lead the title hunt in the $100,000 Aboitiz Invitational starting on Wednesday at the Orchard Golf and Country Club’s Palmer Course in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Que battled Miguel Tabuena through four days of brilliant shotmaking at Manila Southwoods last year but fell short by one despite a 22-under card with the long-hitting shotmaker back in pursuit of the coveted crown in what has become a major championship that has eluded him at least twice.

The former three-time Asian Tour winner, who also placed second to two-time champion Elmer Salvador in the fourth edition of the event in Cebu in 2013, hopes to get going right in the first round of the fifth leg of this year’s Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Asia in a duel with Tony Lascuña and Korean Kim Dae-won at 7:10 a.m. on No. 10.

With the par-72 Palmer layout in top shape, premium will be on shotmaking with the powerhitters given the slight edge on a course, which differs from the tight layouts that the men of the tour had tackled in the Visayas and Mindanao swing of the PGT the last three months.

But Que will be as much tested as the rest of the field, including Jhonnel Ababa, one of

the marked men this week following his victory in last week’s rain-shortened International Container Terminal Services Inc. Club Filipino de Cebu Invitational.

“I think I can score back-to-back wins,” said Ababa, who also ruled the PGTA fourth leg at Forest Hills last July. “I feel good, confident. I think long hitters have the edge on the par-5s, which are reachable.”

The former amateur hot shot also stressed the need for his putting to click, hinting at a 17-under total as the winning score in the 72hole championship sponsored by Aboitiz Equity Ventures for the eighth straight year.

But Ababa will be pressed early as he drew two-time winner Jay Bayron and Thai veteran Wisut Artjanawat in the 11:20 flight on No. 1, right after the group of Thai Pasavee Lertvilai, American Jacob Fleck and Michael Bibat.

Focus will also be on young Korean Kim Joo-hyung, who will play alongside England’s Mark Chamberlain and Charles Hong at 11:50, also on the first hole, while PGT Order of Merit frontrunner Jobim Carlos slugs it out with Japanese Eichiro Hiyama and Thai Piya Swangarunporn at 7 a.m. on No. 10.

Aussie Damien Jordan, who fell short of his title bid in Cebu last week, is also back in the hunt, confident of his chances for the top $17,500 purse in the event put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas

ANGELO QUE will try to cash in on his break from a hectic Japan Professional Golfers Association Tour campaign.

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HE Filipino-Chinese Veterans Basketball Association hopes to extend its reign in two divisions as the 27th Asean Veterans Basketball Tournament fires off on Monday in Hat Yai, Thailand.

Ironcon Builders owner Jimi Lim, head of the country’s delegation to the annual tournament and deputy president of the regional association, expressed confidence they can again dominate the 60-above and 65-above divisions.

“We practice from time to time, so we are all upbeat we can defend our titles in both divisions,” said Lim, who is bankrolling the country’s participation together with Rain or Shine’s Terry Que and Freego’s Eduard Tio. Aside from Lim and Que, the other members of the 65-above team are former Crispa enforcer Bong de la Cruz and MICAA player Zotico Tan, Johnny Chua, James Chua, Sonny Co, Antonio Go, Conrad Siy, Eddie Yap and Achit Kaw. “We have an intact lineup, so we will go for a ‘three-peat this time,’” said Que. The 60-above squad, on the other hand, is going for a fourpeat with Tio calling the shots this time after missing the event last year.

Leading the 60s are former San Miguel Beer star Elmer Reyes, Crispa’s Noli Banate, ex-University of the East star Julio Cruz and former La Salle ace Kenneth Yap. They are joined by Danilo Ching, Aries Franco, Andrew Ongteco, Danny Co, Jose Lao, Elmer Latonio and Ramon Mabanta.

The association, however, won’t be fielding a team in the 50-and-above this time.

Led by former rivals Allan Caidic and Benet Palad, and Gerry Gonzales, the 50s completed a three-peat last year following a runaway win over Kuching in Malaysia.

when they take on the winless Batang Pier (0-3) at 7 p.m.

San Miguel Beer (1-0), meanwhile, seeks to deal fellow unbeaten Blackwater (1-0) its first loss at 4:30 p.m.

Commissioner’s Cup Best Import Justin Brownlee fired 45 points to help Ginebra halt surging Alaska in a big-time clash three days ago.

Brownlee, who led the team to two championships in the season-ending conference, scored 17 of his total production

in the fourth quarter—good enough to pull the Gin Kings away from danger.

Surprisingly, Head Coach Tim Cone wasn’t pleased with how his squad put the burden on Brownlee’s shoulders.

“We weren’t playing particularly well as a team. Justin is playing well as an individual,” Cone said. “And that’s a little scary. We don’t want to be Justin-reliant. We have to step up.”

“At this point, we are not in great shape.

We have a short bench, and we’re not deep,” he added. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

FIL-CHI FIVES DEFEND CROWNS

Lady Tams’ championship experience put to tough test

AR Eastern University (FEU) will be relying on its championship experience as it braces for a title showdown with University of the Philippines (UP) in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Collegiate Conference starting on Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The Lady Tams finished runner-up to absentee National University side here last year with the Morayta-based squad also taking home the silver in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 volley wars, making them armed with the needed experience in such title clashes to vie again for a crown.

That can’t be said for the Diliman-based squad, whose best finish in a high-level tournament was a Final Four stint in the UAAP three years ago.

“That’s really an advantage [experience] compared to the first-time UP, so in a way we have the slight edge,” said FEU Coach George Pascua, whose No. 3 squad upended the second ranked University of Santo Tomas in the Final Four in come-from-behind fashion in their bestof-three semifinal series, 2-1.

Golf Tournaments Inc. “The course is great and I think this time it’s for me [to shine] unlike in Cebu where Jhonnel and Kim had the course worked to their favor.

They were just lucky, and they can’t do that here anymore,” said Jordan, who led in the first round in Cebu, dropped to third in the second round but whose rally was stymied after the third round was suspended due to bad weather and event was subsequently reduced to 54 holes.

Others tipped to contend are Aussies Tim Stewart, Simon Vitakangas and Nathan Park, Thais Chirat Jirasuwan, Tommy Mansuwan and Thammanoon Sriroj, and Americans Brett Munson, John Michael O’Toole and Lexus Keoninh, while Lascuña, Clyde Mondilla, Philippine Masters titlist Jerson Balasabas, Zanieboy Gialon, Keanu Jahns, former PGTA leg champion Justin Quiban and Nilo Salahog are likewise expected to crowd the favorites in the event backed by ICTSI, Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and M.Y. Shokai Technology Inc.

Ginebra Kings eye solo lead in duel vs Batang Pier ARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel guns for a foothold of the solo lead when it battles NorthPort in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The defending champion Gin Kings booked two early wins, none bigger than its 109-101 trouncing of erstwhile leader Alaska Aces last Sunday.

With their third-straight victory in sight, the Gin Kings look to occupy the spot and break the tie with the Magnolia Hotshots

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Pascua will be pinning his hopes on veterans Jerrili Malabanan, Celine Domingo, Heather Guino-o, setter Kyle Negrito and top rookie Lycha Ebon as they take on the Lady Maroons in Game One of their best-of-three series on Sunday.

But Pascua and the Lady Tams aren’t taking their rivals lightly. In fact, they said UP isn’t a pushover team after the fourth-seed Lady Maroons stunned the No. 1 and eliminations sweeper Adamson University Lady Falcons, 2-1, in their side of the semifinals.

“It’s really hard to be overconfident, since all teams are unpredictable,” Pascua said. “So it will be a question of character and desire.”

That’s what the Lady Maroons showed in toppling the fancied Lady Falcons with Coach Godfrey Okumu expecting to draw the same from his gritty bunch composed of top hitters Isa Molde and Marian Buitre, Marist Layug, Aie Gannaban and sophomore Roselyn Rosier along with veteran setter Ayel Estranero and a young but steady playmaker Marianne Sotomil.

“UP’s game is very unpredictable, anybody can step up at any given game, so we have to plan,” said Pascua.

Carribean cruise up for ace maker

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FOUR-NIGHT Royal Caribbean cruise to Singapore-Port Klang-Phuket (or Penang)-Singapore for two will be staked as one of the hole-in-one prizes in the Highlands Ladies Cup unfolding on September 29 at Tagaytay Midlands Golf and Country Club.

Two round-trip tickets to Kuala Lumpur, also with a four-day, three-day accommodation courtesy of Regent Travel Corp. and two-night accommodation in Coron, Palawan, from Baron Travel Corp. will also be up for grabs for aces in the 13th staging of the event backed by Auto Nation Group Inc., Pacific Online and W Group

as Diamond sponsors.

The Royal Caribbean International cruise for two is offered on No. 17, while the KL and Coron trips are up for grabs on Nos. 3 and 6, respectively.

All prizes will be raffled off if no one sinks an ace, according to the organizing Tagaytay Highlands Ladies Chapter.

Meanwhile, Powerball Gaming and Security Bank make up the Platinum sponsors list, Kaiser Health Group, Lucerne and Royal Caribbean International are the event’s Gold backers, while ComWorks Inc., HBC, New

Golden City Builders, PLDT-SME and Regent Travel Corp. and SM Retail are Silver sponsors.

Other backers are bronze sponsors Baron Travel Corp., Burlington Socks, Concrete Masters, Dickies, First Life Financial Co. Inc., H&E Mfg., Liwayway Marketing Corp., Marie France, Orocan, Parola Maritime Corp., Peerless Products, Santi’s, SL Agritech Corp., SM Hotels, Studio337 Salon & Spa, Unilever and URC and donor Splendido Golf.

The 18-hole tournament will have a shotgun start and will be played under the System 36 scoring format.

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Wednesday, September 5, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Coe expects Asian athletics to boom

J

AKARTA—Almost unthinkable to some a decade ago, sprinters from China and Japan are running sub-10 seconds for the 100 meters.

There’s plenty more to come from Asia, too, according to international athletics federation president Sebastian Coe. With billions of people, increasing investment in facilities and coaching and Olympic ambitions, he said the continent is on the move.

“You could argue Japan and China are two of the most improved athletics nations over the last six or seven years,” Coe told the Associated Press during the Asian Games, where China topped the athletics

medal standings. “For me, it’s very clear.

“They’re making very good progress. If we’d been sitting here a decade ago, talking about potential here for a China athlete to run 9.8, you’d have probably taken quite long odds on that.”

Su Bingtian ran an Asian Games record 9.92 seconds to win the 100 in Jakarta, 100th outside his continental record of 9.91. He ran that in Spain in June, three days after he’d lost his Chinese national record when Xie Zhenye clocked 9.97.

Only three sprinters—all American—have run a faster time in 2018.

Su is expecting to go faster, too, because he can be pushed by teammates from the Chinese relay that won the bronze on home soil at the 2015 world championships.

He has been working since late last year with Randy Huntington, who was coaching Mike Powell when the American set the long jump world record way back in 1991.

Already, Su’s PB has improved. He’s down from 9.99, set in 2015, and this year already he has set the Asian record in the 60 and the 100. Huntington has predicted China will be a track and field force at the 2024 Olympics. AP

Bryson DeChambeau wins his second straight event in the FedEx Cup playoffs on Monday. AP

‘MAD’

BY TWO SHOTS N

ORTON, Massachusetts—Golf’s latest search for a breakout star has come to the quirky little laboratory of Bryson DeChambeau.

The 24-year-old physics major known as the “Mad Scientist” won his second straight event in the FedEx Cup playoffs on Monday, shooting a fourunder-par 67 at TPC Boston to win the Dell Technologies Championship by two strokes over Justin Rose.

It was the third win of the year for DeChambeau, who also won the playoff opener at Ridgewood and is guaranteed the No. 1 seed for the Tour Championship regardless of what happens in the third round. And he solidified his claim to be one of Jim Furyk’s captain’s picks for the American Ryder Cup team, where he would join the likes of Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, back-to-back US Open winner Brooks Koepka and others who have staked a claim to follow Tiger Woods as golf’s next big thing.

“People can put that title on me, but I’m not going to. Never will,” DeChambeau said after finishing at 16-under 268 to claim his second straight $1.62-million first prize.

“I’m just a player out here trying to do my absolute best. And I’ll say that every single time,” he said. “It is cool to have people say that to you. And it is an honor, it really is. At this moment going forward, though, I’m just going to keep going about my business and doing what I can do.”

DeChambeau is the first person to win the first two tournaments in the FedEx Cup since 2008, when a different points system allowed Vijay Singh to effectively wrap up the title before the final playoff event. DeChambeau still has work to do; he leads Johnson by almost 2,400 points, but the new system keeps the $10-million bonus in flux until the finale at East Lake from September 20 to 23.

Still, the back-to-back wins probably eliminate any doubt about the Ryder Cup team.

DeChambeau attended the last Ryder Cup, outside of Minneapolis—as a spectator.

“I wanted to experience it,” he explained. “I wanted to be a part of that atmosphere and get comfortable with that. So, hopefully, if I do make it this year that all things considered I’d be more comfortable when I got there. That was really the reason why I went there.”

A physics major at Southern Methodist, DeChambeau brings an unconventional but scientific approach to his game, peppering his comments with references to biomechanics and error tolerance and filling his bag with clubs that are all the same length (34 inches, or roughly the length of a 7-iron) so he would only have to master one swing.

The decision had its doubters, from potential college coaches who turned him aside to his father. (Now the elder DeChambeau uses one-length clubs, too.)

“I’ve had quite a bit of resistance,” DeChambeau said. “There’s only been a few people that have really helped keep pushing me in the right direction, saying ‘Hey, Bryson, you’re doing the right thing, Keep doing it. Just keep figuring things out.’”

He seems to have done that.

After starting the year at No. 99 in the world, DeChambeau moved to No. 7 with the win Monday, one spot past Rory McIlroy.

“He’s facing the biggest and best fields,” said Rose, who birdied three of his last four holes for a 68 and second place. “There’s a lot of conjecture about how he goes about it.

But when he delivers as he is now, it just proves it.”

Opening the day one stroke behind leader Abraham Ancer, DeChambeau took control with three straight birdies to finish the front nine. Australian Cameron Smith closed the gap with a pair of late birdies, but DeChambeau answered with a birdie on No. 15 to keep his lead at two shots.

Ancer dropped three shots in a four-hole stretch on the back nine, hitting into a hazard and making bogey on the 18th and finishing with a 73. The 27-year-old Mexican did improve from No. 92 to No. 56 and into the top 70 who advance to the BMW Championship at Aronimink next week.

Matt Kuchar failed to advance to the third playoff round for the first time in 10 years, costing him a chance to bolster his Ryder Cup case. Furyk will make three selections on Tuesday, and a fourth after the BMW Championship.

The likely choices on Tuesday would seem to be DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Woods, who were Nos. 9, 10 and 11 in points when qualifying ended for eight automatic berths after the PGA Championship. Woods closed with a 71 and tied for 24th; Mickelson, who has played on every Ryder Cup team since 1995, made nine birdies Monday in a closing round of 63.

“So fortunate also that it’s the day before the Ryder Cup picks, although I don’t feel that should be a bearing,” Mickelson said. “I think you have to look at the big picture through the course of the year statistically.... But it certainly doesn’t hurt.” AP

Faithful and loving God

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aithful and loving God, with Mary we sing Your praise on the Feast of the Assumption and pray: Creating God, hear our song and prayer.

Shape us like Mary into living temples of Your spirit. Let your Church bear fruitful witness to the love of Christ in the world. Satisfy all who call upon You and Your Mother with every good thing for body, mind and spirit. May we receive Christ, our life, through Mary always rejoice in her loving care. Amen. give us this day SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

Life BusinessMirror

BOX OFFICE: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ banks another crazy rich weekend D3

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

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Samsung’s $1,000 Note 9 is great—but so is the cheaper S9 The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and stylus, which now acts as a remote control for triggering the camera shutter or pausing and forwarding songs. AP THE Moto G6 Plus

Pushing the boundaries with new Moto phones

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By Anick Jesdanun The Associated Press

EW YORK—For $1,000, the premium Galaxy Note 9 is a superb phone that showcases the best Samsung has to offer.

It’s also the phone most of you won’t need. That’s because you can get many of the same features in Samsung’s Galaxy S9 for a few hundred dollars less.

The Note 9 is the Android smartphone for those who want the latest and the greatest. There’s a larger battery, with a 21 percent boost over last year’s Note 8 model. The Note 9 gets 128 gigabytes of storage, double what’s in the S9 and Apple’s iPhones. And of course, a large screen.

But there’s not much “wow” beyond that. Smartphone innovation has slowed down in recent years. It’s more noticeable with Samsung because the company spreads out those innovations between two major smartphones each year. One phone inevitably plays catch-up with the other every six months.

So now we find that the Note 9 is getting the zippy processor and cellular speeds the S9 phones first offered earlier this year. It’s also getting

the S9’s dual-aperture camera for better low-light shots, as well as its gimmicky, but super-fun, ability to take video with super-slow motion.

And the S9 starts at just $720. A Plus version that’s closer in size to the Note 9 costs $840 to $930.

True, the Note 9 offers a little more wowness. Its camera uses artificial intelligence to optimize colors and lighting for what you’re trying to shoot, be it food, a sunset or flowers. Many low-light shots were even better than what the S9 produced, even though both share the second aperture designed to let in more light when needed.

Of course, you’re likely to see this feature in the S10 in about six months.

That brings us to one of the Note’s remaining distinctive features, its stylus. It’s useful for handwriting notes and signing documents on the screen. Now, it can control digital slideshows and music playback, too.

The new stylus gets Bluetooth to double as a remote control. Selfies won’t look as awkward when you don’t have to reach for the on-screen button; just press the pen to snap the shutter.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot the remote feature can do yet.

It’s a promising feature—but could remain mostly a promise if app developers don’t take advantage of it.

Many past Samsung features failed to gain traction because app developers couldn’t be bothered to make the tweaks needed.

For instance, Air View was supposed to offer pop-up previews just by pointing to an e-mail and calendar entry, but it mostly worked only with Samsung’s homegrown apps.

More recently, there’s Bixby, Samsung’s own digital assistant.

While Samsung has worked directly with some services, including Uber and Spotify, on integrations, developers have largely prioritized Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant. It comes down to a chicken-or-egg problem: People need to see compelling capabilities to use a feature; developers need to see a strong base of users to spend the time developing compelling capabilities.

The stylus remains the Note’s signature feature, with or without extensive remote capabilities. No doubt the new edition will appeal to die-hard Samsung fans, hard-core gamers and on-the-go executives who are on their phones constantly and need the battery and storage boost. Though the Note 9 uses the same processor as the S9, it has a new cooling system designed to let you use those faster speeds longer.

But if you’re not someone who needs all that power, you ought to take a second look at the cheaper, six-month-old S9.

When technology and aesthetics come together

The Huawei Nova 3i in Iris Purple

Tired of the usual color of your phone? It is time to level up your game.

Wireless communications giant Huawei has been widely recognized for its innovative and revolutionary technology. Every year, the company delivers a one-of-a-kind technology that no one has ever done before, and it was the first to introduce to smartphones a gradient finish with the Twilight version of the Huawei P20 Pro. Eventually, it decided to make this color experience available to more users with the Iris Purple variant of the Nova 3 and 3i. But how did the company come up with this innovation?

The smartphone industry has shifted from the usual black color to something more exciting. Driven by the desire to express themselves through their mobile phones, people have been exploring and incorporate gradient colors into their everyday lives.

For the Huawei P20 Pro and the Nova 3/3i, structural coloration was used to create brilliant and rich structural colors that otherwise cannot be reproduced with simple pigments. Structural coloration is

caused by surfaces with microscopic irregularities that bend visible light in a way that the beams of light are refracted, reflected and interfere with each other. The resultant colors, dubbed structural colors, may differ from the actual color of the pigments on the said surface—this gives a certain degree of iridescence to surface, allowing the viewer to perceive different colors when looking at the object from different angles.

The gradient color of the Huawei Nova 3 series is based on this principle of structural colors. When light hits the glass back of the device, it goes through five layers of nano coating. When light passes through these layers, it goes through diffraction, refraction, reflection and interference, and has its red, orange, yellow and green wavelengths absorbed. As a result, our eyes can only see the rich and illusionary blue-purple gradient color.

The gradient colors on the Huawei Nova 3 series is created by the NCVM process. It is the most cutting-edge technology for generating gradient color. The technology has extremely strict requirements for the processing environment. The entire process of coating takes four

times as long as the industrial standard and with only 30-40 percent yield—this means 1 in 3 pieces of glass is discarded for failing to meet the quality standards.

It took Huawei more than a year to develop the gradient color, during which the company used tens of thousands of glass panes for testing purposes. The company spent almost half a year to come up with the color scheme, testing as many color combinations, from a red-to-green gradient, to a green-to-purple gradient, but since those gradients involved more colors, they were very difficult to realize.

Ultra Violet is the Pantone color of 2018. As a device that strives to be at the forefront of trends, Nova 3 and 3i is available in a special gradient color, Iris Purple, in which the purple slowly transitions to a shade of blue, as if it is a living, breathing piece of art.

Besides the trendy Iris Purple variant, Huawei Nova 3i is also available in Pearl White and Classic Black. Whether it is on the runway or a car, these colors will be out of fashion.

Useful or creepy? Machines suggest Gmail replies

By Mae Anderson The Associated Press

NEW YORK—Google is toeing the line between helping you save time and creeping you out as it turns to machines to suggest e-mail replies on your behalf.

The customized auto-responses come in the latest version of Gmail on the Web and expand on a feature already available on Android devices and iPhones. They’re just one more example of how artificial intelligence is seeping into everyday online life, whether it’s to tailor product recommendations or correct spelling.

So far the new feature has been drawing mixed responses from users.

The new feature, called Smart Reply, offers three short responses, like “It was great seeing you too,” or “I’ll look into it.” Unlike standard auto-replies when on vacation, for instance, these are customized to an individual e-mail based on its context. If you select one, you can either send it immediately or edit it before sending.

The responses are automatically created using Google’s artificial-intelligence systems. Humans aren’t reading people’s e-mails, but machines are scanning

them. Although Google stopped scanning e-mail to target advertising in 2017, it still scans them to filter out junk mail, identify phishing scams and, now, to create suggested replies. (Yahoo and AOL, both owned by Verizon, still scan e-mail for advertising.)

Google’s suggestions draw on the text of your e-mail. Google says it doesn’t analyze anything else, like attachments or photos, even though it scans them for security risks. The analysis can include past conversations. For example, if someone says “Thanks!” more often than “Thanks,” with no exclamation point, the suggested response would likely reflect that.

Brian Lam, a San Diego attorney who focuses on privacy and data security, said auto-replies represent “a trade-off between privacy and new features that consumers may want.”

Google has been scanning Gmail since its debut in 2004, so scanning for auto-replies shouldn’t come as a surprise. Lam said he has no concerns as long as companies disclose they are doing this.

“There’s a market incentive to behave responsibly,” he said. “There’s been

consumer backlash when people get wind of companies that don’t respect privacy.

People decide not to use those services.”

Not every e-mail will get suggestions—only those that Google thinks will lend themselves to a short reply.

Graham Gardner, a freelance photographer and leather-goods maker in Minneapolis, said he has used smart replies in Gmail several times over the past few months. He said the speed of response can be helpful, particularly if he is on his phone and can reply with one tap.

“It can help with quick replies that don’t need too much elaboration, so you can have peace of mind quickly and sort out more specific information in a full reply later,” he said.

But Maya Castro, an assignment editor for a TV station in San Francisco, said she sticks to her own voice when e-mailing, even though she’s OK with autoresponses for text messages and Facebook chats.

“It boils down to tone and mood,” she said. “Smart- or auto-responses show a lack of thought.”

Motorola continues to offer the perfect combination of features for consumers who don’t want to compromise on quality, style or experience.

The new Moto E5 Plus, Moto E5 and Moto G6 have the innovations that matter the most to the consumers in Philippines.

They are smarter than ever and focus on display, design and power. They have the speed and power of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors and run Android 8.0 Oreo. They have great Moto Experiences that unlock AI opportunities.

From dawn to dusk, the Moto E5 Plus is there for you. Make the most of even the longest commutes with its powerful 5000 mAh battery and 6” Max Vision screen. The Moto E5 Plus’s sleek 18:9 aspect ratio means it still fits perfectly in your hand and comes designed with a reflective wave pattern and a curved back that looks as great as it feels. Unlocking your phone has never been easier with just one touch of the fingerprint reader, located within the phone’s iconic Motorola logo on the back of the phone. Even those crowded subway trains are no match for this home entertainment in the palm of your hands.

The new Moto E5 is there to see you through your day. Even with a big 5.7” Max Vision display, it sits beautifully in your hand, thanks to its 18:9 aspect ratio and ergonomically curved back. Do more with ease by unlocking your notifications, calls or home screen in an instant with its discreet fingerprint reader. A dedicated microSD card slot makes room for more photos, songs and videos.

Meanwhile, the new Moto G6 is designed to impress. Its 5.7" Full HD Max Vision display delivers vivid colors and fine details, while its attentiongrabbing 3D glass back creates a gorgeous shape and look that stands out among other premium smartphones. Advanced imaging software means studio quality portraits, artistic black-and-white shots, and adorable face filters come to life through the dual rear 5MP and 12MP cameras. And it keeps getting better: instantly lock or unlock your phone with the multifunctional fingerprint reader.

The device also features a powerful 1.8GHz octacore processor for speedy downloads and a 3000mAh all-day battery that can be recharged in minutes using the in-box 15W TurboPower charger.

And as with all Motorola phones, Google Photos is the default gallery for all your photos and videos.

So all your memories are automatically backed up, searchable and can easily be accessed, shared and edited from any device.

All the new moto smartphones are now available.

The Moto E5 Plus is available in flash gray and fine gold, and the Moto E5 in flash gray. The Moto G6 is available in deep indigo. This new generation of Moto phones can be had at all Motorola branded stores and kiosks and authorized resellers nationwide.

To further sweeten the deal, every purchase of Moto E5 and Moto E5 Plus comes with an anti-theft sling bag and an anti-theft backpack, respectively. The promo is open until supplies last.

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Pet Corner BusinessMirror

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

A dog’s life: Fitness trackers help put fat pets on a diet The pet bull terrier owned

by Czech entrepreneur Robert Hasek, wearing a doggy fitness tracker attached to the dog collar during a demonstration in Prague, Czech Republic, on August 10. The Actijoy fitness tracker system not only tracks activity but also how rigorous it is, and comes with an Internetconnected bowl that monitors food and water consumption, to make sure the dog has a healthy lifestyle. AP

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Kat Graham, 29; Rose McGowan, 45; Michael Keaton, 67; Raquel Welch, 78.

Happy Birthday: Learn from mistakes and move forward with confidence. You have plenty to gain by being a participant. Greater involvement in groups and organizations that have something to offer will encourage you to use your skills diversely. A walk down memory lane will revive old dreams as well as friendships. Plan to attend a reunion or visit familiar places. Your lucky numbers are 4, 12, 18, 23, 29, 33, 42.

The Associated Press

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a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Be careful what you wish for. Change is only good if your timing is right. Make sure you have discussed matters with anyone who will be affected by the decisions you make. Moving forward transparently will improve the outcome. HH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Someone who has supported your efforts in the past will give you an opportunity. Include those you love and trust; you’ll find greater satisfaction in your success. Discover and demonstrate the power of joint ventures. Don’t look back. HHHH

Two years later, production and sales of the Actijoy fitness trackers have begun, with one unit costing about $300. On top of the GPS tracking device that a variety of pet collars already offer, it tracks the intensity of the dog’s activity and comes with an Internet-connected bowl that monitors food and water consumption.

It faces competition from a range of products, from the more basic fitness monitors to more advanced technologies. The Wagz, for example, is also able to record and stream HD video from the collar. It sells for $495 apiece.

That may be a lot for a collar, but some pet owners are willing to splurge. Among them are millennials who put off having kids or decided against having any and have the extra income to spend, says Harrison

Forbes, a dog trainer and pet products expert.

“Pet tech has been a hugely explosive part of the industry the past five or six years,” he said while attending the Superzoo industry conference on pet products in Las Vegas. Technology for pets has tended to follow innovations that were meant for humans and this is an example of that, he says.

Actijoy’s COO, Jana Rosenfelderova, says they are marketing these collars not only to people who have overweight pets, but also to those who want to avoid health problems in the first place. Monitoring water consumption, for example, can reveal if a pet is drinking unusually large amounts, a sign of kidney problems or diabetes.

“Our [ideal] customer is a dog owner that wants to prevent,” she says.

Minnesota pet hospice volunteers comfort animals MINNEAPOLIS—An informal but dedicated network of pet hospice volunteers across the Twin Cities is working through local animal rescues to provide comfort to terminally ill and elderly animals.

The Pet Project Rescue has been running the Lukas Project hospice program since 2011, Minnesota Public Radio reported. Secondhand Hounds also launched a hospice program called Forever Loved about three years ago.

“We need to be there and be that voice for the voiceless, for the animals that are overlooked and might not be that bright, shiny cute puppy,” said Maia Rumpho, the founder of Pet Project Rescue.

The hospice network eases the burden of caring for sick or elderly animals by covering vet and food bills for foster families. The rescues spend at least $1,000 on each hospice case. The projects are funded through donations.

“We feel like their life is worth it,” Rumpho said.

Sick or elderly animals are often at a disadvantage when it comes to adoption because families are often hesitant to care for a pet that needs regular medication and veterinary visits. It can also be an emotionally draining task as animals may soon die.

Eileen and Eric Hill began fostering Laddie in April. The elderly toy poodle lost a leg in a car accident and has failing kidneys.

“We don’t choose to worry about we’re not going to have her anymore,” Eileen Hill said. “We just choose to give her the best life possible.”

The couple’s first hospice foster was Little Miss Rue, who died in April. The couple hadn’t planned to take on another animal so soon, but couldn’t turn down helping Laddie.

“We just decided we needed to keep doing this in honor of [Little Miss Rue],” Eileen Hill said. “It was hard. And it’s still raw...but how can you say I need to take a break because that hurt too much?” AP

Colleen Detloff scratches Archie’s head in the living room of his owner Mike Liay’s home in Minneapolis.

Archie has hepatic microvascular dysplasia, a congenital liver abnormality that affects blood flow in his liver and his digestion. There is no cure. He was given anywhere from six months to six years to live, and moved into the Secondhand Hounds hospice program. AP

University of Nebraska research lab to study dog behavior LINCOLN, Nebraska—Dog lovers can seek insight into their beloved pooch’s behavior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s new research lab.

The Canine Cognition and Human Interaction Lab will open for its first round of studies this fall, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. Pet owners can enroll their dogs in the program to have researchers study their behavior and decision-making.

“I’m very interested in a dog’s patience, and if can they control temptations that they face,” said Jeffrey Stevens, an associate psychology professor who created the research program. “Once we figure it out, we can train and develop some techniques that

z

Today’s Horoscope

By Adam Pemble RAGUE— When Czech entrepreneur Robert Hasek began jogging with his dog, Darwin, the 3-mile runs were making the bull terrier sick with fatigue.

Hasek was surprised, thinking his dog led a healthy lifestyle. To solve the mystery, he strapped a Fitbit to Darwin and discovered he was actually only active in his presence. Otherwise, Hasek says, “he is lying, sleeping and doing nothing. He’s lazy!”

The businessman sensed an opportunity and developed one of the world’s first dog fitness trackers. His product is part of a growing industry of gadgets for pets that includes GPS trackers, automatic feeders, ball throwing machines for dogs to fetch, and self-cleaning litter boxes for cats.

People in the US will spend $72.1 billion this year on pet products and care, up 3.6 percent on the year in an industry that has grown steadily since the mid-1990s, according to the American Pet Products Association. Worldwide spending in 2017 was $109 billion, according to Euromonitor International.

Hasek first sought funding on Kickstarter and then reached out to private investors. He moved to San Francisco for three months, tracked down Czech manufacturers and a customer service subcontractor.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

help dogs behave better.”

The research focuses on dog’s cognition, psychology and interaction with humans.

Cognition data will be helpful for training service or police dogs. Other research will show the pet’s impact on human behavior, such as stress.

Stevens decided to bring a canine research lab to Nebraska after taking a sabbatical in Austria. He was inspired by the behavioral dog lab at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln lab is nearly ready to open. It’s receiving its

finishing touches, such as a potty-proof floor, and cameras are installed.

“We’re excited and very interested in researching about everyone’s dogs, just to learn as much as we can,” said Elise Thayer, a graduate student working in the program. “We are not done formulating all of our ideas, but come late-September, the lab will be fully functional.”

About 150 dogs have already been enrolled in the program. There’s unlimited space with no applicant limit.

“The university has been extremely supportive for this; they really got behind me, invested in it and helped me out,” Stevens said. “I’m super excited to see how enthusiastic [everyone is] about the lab. A lot of folks are happy to try to understand aspects of their dogs.” AP

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Listen to what’s being said and take your time responding. Giving someone the wrong impression will lead to setbacks when you want to make a change. Focus on self-improvements and how to use your attributes to get ahead. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Emotions will surface. Don’t jump to conclusions or disagree with others without looking at every angle and determining what’s best for you. Make suggestions and be willing to compromise. You will accomplish what you set out to do. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Being secretive is favored. You may like to be the center of attention, but when it comes to personal information, be reticent about sharing too much about what you have. Confidence will do more for you than bragging. HHH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Forward motion is encouraged. Let the past go and submerge yourself in new beginnings.

An emotional tie to someone will be tested if you socialize. Observe carefully, and consider how healthy this relationship is before denying yourself the opportunity to enjoy life. HHHH

g h

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take one step at a time. Be cognizant of the people around you and how your actions influence others. A change in the way you handle domestic affairs should be considered if it will help keep the peace. HH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Show your emotions and make your intentions clear. The changes you bring about will enhance your personal life and lead to a better romantic relationship with someone you love.

Be open to suggestions and be willing to make concessions. HHHHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your words may charm some, but others will be leery of the promises you make. Walk a straight line when dealing with matters that concern money, contracts and legal matters. Ease stress by taking part in physical activities. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The effort you put in won’t go unnoticed. Be cautious not to put physical strain on yourself or cause emotional stress to those who care about you. Focus on personal and professional partnerships and doing your best to get along with others. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Keep an open mind, but don’t let anyone talk you into something that is indulgent or costly.

Use your common sense along with your charm to let someone down easy. Know your boundaries and stick to what works for you. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Participate in joint ventures that offer unusual returns. What you learn and the people you meet will be well worth your while. Much can be accomplished if you share your creative ideas and offer incentives. A change looks promising. HHHHH Birthday Baby: You are sensitive, caring and open.

You are helpful and a game changer.

‘good-bi’ by timothy e. parker The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Placement test?

6 Offered, as a farewell 10 Cold-porridge bear 14 Potato state 15 Super enthusiastic 16 The Art of Love poet 17 Why products are restocked 20 Buffy and peers 21 Prepare a galley 22 Talk a lot 24 Variety show opener 25 Way to get out of jail 30 Be a majority voter 33 Sitting place 34 Refinery residue 35 Car financing abbr.

38 Words said every day 42 Barn bird 43 Feathers on shoulders 44 Become hardened to 45 Hautboy predecessor 47 With wings 48 “Mea” follower

51 Mucky home 53 Egg producers 56 One seeing it like it is 62 Why products are not restocked 64 Rare moon color 65 Yucky food 66 Eight as one 67 Depletes 68 Former Chevy competitor, briefly 69 Performers of drudgery DOWN 1 Truth twisters 2 Description of rustic life (var.)

3 Noted grape region 4 Maritime greeting 5 Easy jog 6 Kon-Tiki wood 7 Gardner or Sangster 8 Slangy gossip 9 Flow in a circle 10 Snap-py time 11 Stop while floating?

12 Adit user 13 Toss in

18 Strong craving 19 Very long film 23 Crones and hags 25 “TESTING, TESTing, testing,” e.g.

26 Demonstrate, in the Bible 27 See bets 28 Feel poorly 29 Former amateur 31 Isn’t caught up 32 Prefix with “centric” 34 Hoped-for Christmas stuff 35 Share an edge with 36 Ceremonial fire 37 English horn need 39 Defunct NBA rival 40 Something kept in reserve?

41 Genetic identifier 45 Shopping indulgences 46 You can brush it off 47 Some voice votes 48 Lee J. and Ty 49 Mouth organ?

50 Simple basket 52 Psychedelic excursions?

4 Logical phrase word 5 55 Not hold on to 57 Resting on the roof, e.g.

58 It’s all tied up 59 Look ___ (study) 60 Decipher grocery info 61 Bill and ___ Bogus Journey 63 Instant lawn unit Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

D3

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ banks another crazy rich weekend through Sunday are also included.

1. Crazy Rich Asians, $22.2 million ($10.4 million international).

2. The Meg, $10.5 million ($17.7 million international).

3. Mission: Impossible—Fallout, $7 million ($89.1 million international).

4. Operation Finale, $6 million.

5. Searching, $5.7 million ($5.9 million international).

6. Christopher Robin, $5 million ($4.7 million international).

7. Alpha, $4.5 million ($6.6 million international).

8. The Happytime Murders, $4.4 million ($1.5 million international).

9. BlacKkKlansman, $4.1 million ($4.8 million international).

10. Mile 22, $3.6 million ($6 million international).

By Lindsey Bahr

L

The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—Crazy Rich Asians isn’t slowing down at the box office even in its third weekend in theaters, and is helping to send a strong summer moviegoing season off on a high note.

Studios on Sunday say the romantic comedy has topped the domestic charts again. Warner Bros. estimates that the film added an additional $22.2 million through Sunday, down only 10 percent from last weekend. To date, the film has grossed nearly $111 million from North American theaters, passing the lifetime domestic total of 2015’s Trainwreck, one of the last big studio romcom success stories.

Should the pace hold through Monday, Crazy Rich Asians could also have one of the biggest Labor Day weekends ever by the time final numbers are reported on Tuesday. The current four-day Labor Day record sits with 2007’s Halloween which opened with $30.6 million and some are projecting that Crazy Rich Asians could hit $30 million.

It easily won out over the holdovers and a few newcomers, like the Nazi war crime film Operation Finale and the sci-fi thriller Kin.

Warner Bros.’s shark pic The Meg took second place with an additional $10.5 million, bringing its global total to $462.8 million. Mission: Impossible—Fallout, in its fifth weekend, added $7 million for a third-place finish.

Operation Finale landed in fourth place with $6 million. The film starring Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley tells the story of how Mossad agent Peter Malkin captured Adolf Eichmann.

And the John Cho-led computer screen mystery Searching performed better than expected in its expansion to 1,200 screens, bringing in an estimated $5.7 million through Sunday and rounding out the top 5.

The sci-fi thriller Kin, with Zoe Kravitz and Dennis Quaid, did not fare as well, and opened outside of the top 10 to only $3 million from over 2,100 theaters.

In limited release, Lionsgate and Pantelion’s Spanishlanguage Ya Veremos opened to $1.8 million from 369

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the US and Canada), according to comScore:

1. Mission: Impossible—Fallout, $89.1 million.

2. The Meg, $17.7 million.

3. Ant-Man and the Wasp, $15.8 million.

4. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, $11.8 million.

5. Crazy Rich Asians, $10.4 million.

6. The Equalizer 2, $10 million.

7. Incredibles 2, $9.6 million.

8. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, $7.6 million.

9. Alpha, $6.6 million.

10. Mile 22, 6 million. locations. And Focus Features’s gothic thriller The Little Stranger launched on 474 screens to $420,000.

“Pretty much every summer ends with a whimper... that’s very typical,” said comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “But this is going to be a very strong Labor Day weekend.”

The weekend closes out the fruitful 2018 summer movie season. Box-office tracker comScore is projecting that the 2018 summer box office will net out with around $4.39 billion, up over 14 percent from last year when the summer didn’t even hit $4 billion. Year to date, the box office is up 9.9 percent.

The success of Crazy Rich Asians also propelled an especially lucrative August, up almost 30 percent from last year. But, Dergarabedian warns, September is likely to take a bit of a hit.

“We’re going to see a downturn in the year-to-date advantage. Last year it propelled a record-breaking September,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything of that magnitude this September.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday know that it’s a sore spot for the TV host-actress because it kind of attacks her when she is at her weakest (or strongest, depending on how you look at it). If it any consolation, the colleague has suffered because of this rumor because the actress blames her solely for what happened. The TV host believes that her husband was innocent in all this, that he was only tempted by his wife’s female colleague. But this isn’t true at all. The husband is said to have been the one to make the first move and continues to carry a torch, so to speak, for the woman.

blind spot bruce c.

NITPICKERS BITTER EX

The controversial celebrity recently admitted that she and her well-placed sibling had a big fight only a while ago. The celebrity’s brother also admitted to friends that it was because of his sister’s bitterness toward her ex, which extended to his friends and political allies. They later made peace after the controversial celebrity was forced to eat humble pie because of a loved one.

Many find it weird that the celebrity is still so bitter about her ex when she has almost everything except a husband.

FEISTY WIFE

Everybody is still buzzing about the TV host and actress’ deliberate snub of a female colleague who was said to have an affair with her husband. The rumor about the actress’ husband and her colleague is actually old news but insiders

The young actress was once her network’s favorite star, or at least one of their favorite stars. After all, she is a homegrown talent and literally grew up in the network. So why isn’t she a favorite anymore? That’s because the actress and her mother are a handful, or make that two handfuls. They’re both demanding and like to pick on flaws, whether it’s a new project or even a press conference.

The network wants to release the actress from her contract but they’re scared that the other network will pick her up and make her a big star.

THE OTHER WOMAN

The celebrity is very much in love with her husband and he with her. However, the husband strayed one time and got someone pregnant. That should not be the problem as he later confessed to his wife and asked for her forgiveness.

The wife forgave him and said they would give support to the husband’s child with another woman. The problem is that the other woman is kind of pushy and wants more than just child support. She reportedly wants to share the celebrity’s husband, too.

GMA’s ‘The Clash’ reveals top 12 contenders GMA’s The Clash is close to finding out who will be the country’s next singing superstar as it finally reveals the top 12 clashers.

After the intense battles in the past rounds, 12 aspiring contenders vie to become the very first The Clash grand winner.

Representing Luzon are Anthony Rosaldo, Mirriam Manalo, Melbelline Caluag and Garrett Bolden. On the other hand, Visayas bets are Kyryll Ugdiman, Lyra Micolob, Esterlina Olmedo, Danielle Ozaraga and Golden Cañedo. The Mindanao hopefuls are Jong Madaliday and Josh Adornado. International clasher Mika Gorospe also made the cut.

Now that they are close to the finals, show anchor Regine Velasquez-Alcasid reminds the clashers to always put their hearts into their performances as the challenges become more extreme.

“Sa akin, they should take care of themselves and always choose a good song. And you know while they’re here, I want them to put their hearts in every performance they do kasi that’s what’s going to make them stand out,” she said.

The Clash grand winner will have an exclusive management contract with GMA and will take home P1million cash, a brand-new car and a Bria house and lot.

Who among the top 12 will be able to get the votes of The Clash panel of judges composed of music powerhouse Lani Misalucha, balladeer Christian Bautista and comedy queen Ai Ai de las Alas? Who among them will be hailed as the firstever The Clash champion?

Find out in The Clash every Saturday after Pepito Manaloto and every Sunday after Daig Kayo Ng Lola Ko on GMA.

Mirriam Manalo

Studios on Sunday say Crazy Rich Asians has topped the domestic charts again.

Warner Bros. estimates that the film added an additional $22.2 million through Sunday, down only 10 percent from last weekend.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

D4

Image BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tennis dress codes, #RespectAriana and the golden four: Lessons from an eventful news week for women just that JT NISAY

jtnisay@gmail.com

M

arch is officially listed as National Women’s Month, but these past couple of days had the spotlight fixated on women who were all over the news cycles.

First is tennis superstar Serena Williams.

Widely considered as the greatest female tennis player of all time with the most number of Grand Slam titles in the Open Era, Williams filled the headlines after her choice of on-court gear got controversially banned by an official who, as one netizen pointed out due to lack of substantial reasoning behind the move, “simply didn’t like it.”

“I believe we have sometimes gone too far,” said French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli in an interview with Tennis Magazine, pertaining to the Black Panther-inspired catsuit Williams wore during the 2018 French Open in May. “Serena’s outfit this year, for example, would no longer be accepted. You have to respect the game and the place.”

It was later pointed out that the item in contention served a purpose beyond style.

According to Williams, the black, body-tight onepiece was helpful in preventing blood clots after she had a pulmonary embolism after giving birth to her daughter.

(Following the decision, Williams appeared in the ongoing US Open wearing a tutu, which people perceived as a statement response to the issue. But that’s not the case. Nike had already announced that The Queen would be wearing a dress inspired by her love of dance and ballet, made by acclaimed designer Virgil Abloh, days before the Guidicelli

ruling. Timing is all it was.)

Aside from the catsuit ban, there’s another recent controversy concerning tennis and wardrobe. French player Alizé Cornet stepped onto the US Open court last week and noticed that her shirt was on backwards.

Right then and there, she reversed her clothes, and to her surprise, got charged with a penalty by Umpire Christian Rask for code violation.

The Women’s Tennis Association has since came out with a statement, saying it has “no rule” against such incident and added that “Alizé did nothing wrong.” At the time of the issue, however, people expressed outrage on social media and claimed that it was yet another classic example of double standards. Male tennis superstars routinely take their clothes off on the court, either by changing shirts in between sets, or even shorts, for that matter, as Rafael Nadal once did in the 2015 Rio Open. Novak Djokovic even performed a strip tease for the crowd on multiple occasions years ago.

What these incidents tell us is that the battle for gender equality still stands. Tremendous progress has been achieved regarding the issue in the past decade, but there’s still a ways to go.

Another manifestation of this unfolded over Aretha Franklin’s funeral in Detroit over the weekend.

Instead of the event being a celebration of a music icon’s life, one man’s carnal desires stole the show.

Bishop Charles Ellis III led the services and failed to keep his hands to himself. The preacher greeted popstar Ariana Grande onstage after her performance of a tribute song to Aretha. Ellis then locked the singer in a curious embrace, where, while speaking, his fingers were running on the side of her breasts that obviously no stranger, much less a bishop in front of national television, should attempt to reach.

Ellis has since apologized for the incident, saying it would never be his intention to touch any woman’s breasts. “Maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologize.”

The incident sparked public outrage. Shortly after, #RespectAriana was trending on Twitter, with posts accompanied by stills of the video that zoomed in on the bishop’s extended fingers and Ariana’s awkward expression.

By Danica Kirka

Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Cardiff, Wales, in January. Markle is seen in Hiut Denim Co. jeans.

The Associated Press

Design Center bags prestigious Quill award and creative communities and academe to share insights on how best to advance the development of the Asean region’s creative economy, through creative cities and creative clusters. The Asean Creative Cities Forum and Exhibition is also one of the great and effective venues to help promote and strengthen the design industry in the country.

The DTI also received merit awards in the Government Communications Programs, Leadership Communications and Community Relations categories at the recent Philippine Quill Awards.

The 40-year-old Quill Awards is a global award-giving body that recognizes excellence in strategic communications. The award is an acknowledgment that the recipient is one of the best in business communications nationwide.

Understanding age-related vision problems Celebrate National Sight Saving Month by learning more about age-related vision problems. The world’s leading ophthalmic optics company, Essilor shares common age-related vision changes and tips on how to minimize the risks: n BLURRED VISION. Reading printed materials can become

less clear, in part because the lens in your eyes becomes less flexible as you age. Objects can also appear hazy or out of focus at certain distances. When this happens, take time to rest your eyes for a few seconds. It also helps to exercise your eye muscles by regularly blinking. n DRY EYES. Aging also causes our bodies to produce fewer

tears. Some people experience a burning sensation, stinging or eye discomfort related to dry eyes. Use artificial tears as needed throughout the day for comfort or best consult your eye doctor for prescription dry eyes medication. n SENSITIVITY TO BRIGHT LIGHTS. When driving, you

may notice additional glare from other cars, street lights or sun reflecting off windshields. This is because, as you age, the light entering your eyes tend to scatter rather than be focused precisely on the retina. It is important to be more cautious when driving and, if possible, avoid driving at night. n DECREASED COLOR VISION. While aging, normal

colors can also decline in sensitivity, causing things around you

concluded 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang were won by female athletes. Louis Kaye Go, Bianca Pagdanganan and Yuka Saso contributed one medal for the Golf-Women’s Team Event, with Saso adding another for the individual play category.

Margielyn Digal topped the Skateboarding-Women’s Street Event, and celebrated Filipino Olympian Hidilyn Diaz won the Weightlifting-Women’s -53kg category. All four, all women.

As with all things in life, whether on the heels of a positive or negative event, there’s always, always a chance for improvement.

Small firms thrive as customers seek more unique clothing

From left: DTI-TIPG Communications Consultant Ed Ramirez, former DTI Asean CBIP Deputy Director Aizel Anolin, Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado, Design Center Executive Director Rhea Matute, former Design Center Promo Division OIC Nenita Dulay, Trade Service Officer Clariza Columna, Brian Ambulo and Kate Bondoc at the recent Quill Awards ceremonies at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, Newport City, in Pasay City

THE Design Center of the Philippines recently received a merit award in the Communications Management Division-Community Relations category at the highly prestigious 16th Philippine Quill Awards.

Through the Asean Creative Cities Forum and Exhibition, Design Center was honored for its ability to galvanize the creative community not just in the Philippines but also in other Asean countries. This event inspired the city of Baguio to become the first Unesco Creative City in the Philippines and one of the only five creative cities in the Asean region.

With the support of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Design Center organized the Asean Creative Cities Forum and Exhibition to provide a platform for the government, policy-makers, business

Unfortunate as the incident may be, the succeeding waves of support given to Ariana inspire optimism. It’s not hard to imagine a kid encountering the prevalence of the hashtag and being enlightened that what happened was wrong; that a whole generation could take on the lessons from this experience.

In a week which featured some sorry incidents that displayed the lack of equality and respect toward women in this modern world, there was also a golden reminder about why they should be held in high esteem—four reminders, to be exact.

All four gold medals by the Philippines in the recently

to become less bright and contrast between different colors becomes less noticeable.

Correct age-related vision problems with Varilux X series, a new premium progressive lens designed to help people 40 years old and above achieve clearer, better vision.

Manufactured by Essilor (www.essilor.com.ph), this latest innovation progressive lens is developed using Xtend, a new revolutionary technology which provides seamless vision between distances—near, mid or far. It also eliminates eye constraints, reduces glare and vividly brings out colors for wearers to enjoy edgeto-edge clarity.

LONDON—Claudio Belotti knows he cut the denim that became the jeans Meghan Markle wore on one of her first outings as the fiancee of Britain’s Prince Harry.

That’s because he cuts all of the fabric for Hiut Denim Co., a seven-year-old company that makes jeans in Cardigan, Wales. Belotti is a craftsman with 50 years of experience that gives his work a personal touch—something that’s not quite couture but not exactly mass-produced either.

“There’s a story behind each one,” Belotti said.

“You’re paying for the skill.”

Customer demand for something unique is helping small companies like Hiut buck the globalization trend and set up shop in developed countries that had long seen such work disappear.

While international brands like H&M and Zara still dominate the clothing market, small manufacturers are finding a niche by using technology and skill to bring down costs and targeting well-heeled customers who are willing to pay a little more for clothes that aren’t churned out by the thousands half a world away.

Profits at smaller national clothing firms grew 2 percent over the last five years, compared with a 25-percent decline at the top 700 traditional multinationals, according to research by Kantar Consulting.

Their success comes from promoting their small size and individuality, said Jaideep Prabhu, a professor of enterprise at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School.

“It’s a different kind of manufacturing,” he said.

“They are not the Satanic mills. These are very cool little boutiques.”

Hiut, which makes nothing but jeans, employs 16 people in Cardigan and makes 160 pairs a week.

Women’s styles range from £145 ($192) to £185 ($244), men’s go for £150 to £235. Each is signed by the person who sewed it, known in the company as a “Grand Master.” By contrast, Primark says it sources products from 1,071 factories in 31 countries and keeps costs down by “buying in vast quantities.” The most expensive pair of jeans on the company’s web site sells for £20.

Many of these small manufacturers also try to stand out by embracing social issues, from reducing waste to paying a living wage.

Hiut, for example, highlights its efforts to put people back to work in a small town that was devastated when a factory that employed 400 people and made 35,000 pairs of jeans a week shut down. Underscoring the years of craftsmanship that go into each pair of jeans, the company offers “free repairs for life.”

This kind of customer service helps form a “personal relationship” between a brand and the shopper that is valuable, says Anusha Couttigane of

Kantar Consulting.

Customers notice. Laura Lewis-Davies, a museum worker who from Wales, says she wants to support independent businesses when she can and bought a pair of Hiut jeans after seeing a story about Markle wearing the brand.

“Well-crafted things bring more joy,” she said.

“I’d rather buy fewer things but know they’re good quality [and] made by people who are working in good conditions for a fair salary.”

The rise of small clothing makers reflects a broader shift in consumer preferences away from big brands—as evident, say, in the boom in craft beers. In fashion, technology is fueling the trend.

The Internet provides a cheap way to reach customers, while off-the-shelf artificial-intelligence programs allow companies to accurately forecast demand and order materials so they can make small batches and avoid unwanted stock. That makes it possible to produce clothes that are more customized.

“Data is the backbone for this and the trigger,” said Achim Berg, a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. in Frankfurt who advises fashion and luxury goods companies. “It’s not custom-made, but it gives the consumer the opportunity to be more individual.”

A survey of 500 companies by McKinsey and The Business of Fashion, an influential industry news web site, identified personalization as this year’s No. 1 trend. Consumers are willing to hand over personal information to get more customized products and services, according to a 2016 survey

by Salesforce.com, which provides online sales and marketing tools for businesses.

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, September 5, 2018 • Editor : Tet Andolong

Cebu properties

Millennials, digital technology

change the property market

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

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Contributor

ILLENNIALS and the use of online technology such as the property portals are the major developments in the Philippine property sector. It is regarded as one of the country’s last remaining offlinefocused industries.

In a recent press briefing, Dot Property Philippines reported that it received more than 1 million visits in both May and June this year, underscoring the public’s willingness to use the Internet in searching for a new home.

Tanya Peralta-Yu, country manager for Dot Property Philippines, also pointed out that millennials are leading this shift. She said more than 60 percent of property searches on the Dot Property Philippines site in June this year came from users aged 25 to 36. Millennials, who already comprise the majority of the Philippine work force today, will account for 70 percent of the labor force by 2030.

“The real-estate industry is moving online. This is a global

trend and Filipinos have been quick to join, especially millennials,” Yu said.

“More Filipino home buyers, both domestically as well as those overseas, are now using online property portals. That’s because they are quicker and easier to navigate than offline methods. Portals also offer home seekers a better selection of homes to choose from,” Yu added.

She said the online visitors of Dot Property Philippines aren’t simply “window shopping,” but are willing to reach out to a seller directly if they find a property they like. Yu pointed out the number of leads (when a person looks for a specific property) posted a significant increase this year as it rose 33 percent in May and 26 percent in June when compared

Dot Property Philippines Country Manager Tanya Peralta-Yu (from left), Dot Property Group COO and Founder Neil Sutton and Dot Property Group Editor in Chief Cheyenne Hollis

to the same period in 2017.

The company expects both visits and leads to increase during the rest of the year as the integration of real estate with Internet and social media provides people with easier access to property listings. There are now 67 million Internet users in the Philippines but a survey from Hootsuite found that many more Filipinos will gain online access in

the years to come.

Yu said that property portals will continue to grow with more people coming online and an increase in millennial spending power. “We’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible. Searching online for property was the first step, but we can see that Filipinos are not simply browsing or window shopping. They are reaching out to

and negotiating with sellers whenever they see a property that they like on Dot Property Philippines,” she explained.

Building partnerships

In addition to recording an all-time high in web site visits, the company enjoyed a significant increase in members of its agent network. The number of agents partnering with

Dot Property Philippines grew by 92 percent in June.

Dot Property Philippines recently added home listings in the Philippines from the Mitula Group, its parent company, to the web site. The merging of the two sites broadens the options of Filipino home buyers to find the ideal home.

Mitula Group receives 85 million visits per month across 100 vertical search sites and 10 property portals under the Dot Property banner in more than 50 countries.

Moreover, Dot Property Philippines formed a partnership with the Zobel-controlled Bank of the Philippine Islands. The properties for sale under Dot Property are exclusively promoted on BPI’s Housing Loans web page along with a mortgage calculator for the customer’s convenience. BPI’s Housing Loans options are promoted on Dot Property’s web site. There are also special homeloan offers that are not available on other property portals.

“We are so much more than a web site with property for sale. For agents and developers, Dot Property Philippines is the partner who empowers them with the ability reach more potential home buyers. For users, we are the place where they can easily find the best properties at the best price. These are exciting times for the Filipino real-estate sector and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this evolution,” Yu concluded.

The Bike Playground wins 2018 Stevie Awards T

HE Bike Playground, the only bike park in the country, has won a Bronze at the 2018 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards for Excellence in Innovation and Consumer Product and Service Industries, not only for its world-class facility that promotes cycling, but also for giving people an opportunity to enjoy the multiple benefits of an active lifestyle. The Bike Playground is conveniently located at Circulo Verde, a 10-hectare masterplanned community in Quezon City—well within easy reach of residents within the metropolis.

Geared primarily toward the biking community, it is the Philippines’s first signature Pump Park built by Velosolutions, headed by international designer and mountain bike luminary Claudio Calouri.

It houses the country’s first indoor asphalt pump track, as well as an outdoor trail and a kids’ track for all skill levels and types of bicycles. To promote an active lifestyle among all ages and even to nonbikers, the Bike Playground offers bike rentals and assistance from highly skilled coaches from highly skilled and experienced coaches for a well-rounded service.

Beyond its amenities, The Bike Playground has also brought global sporting events into the country—offering bike enthusiasts world-class experiences to join or aspire for. These include the Red Bull Pump Track World Championships qualifier, undertaken in cities around the world ahead of the finals held in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. No less than Dutch professional mountain biker Joost Wichman, winner of the 2013 UCI Championship

and a celebrity in the biking world, was the race manager at the Philippine event. In addition, French Pump Track and World Champion Adrien Loron was the special guest and held special lessons during the park’s grand launch.

Indeed, The Bike Playground has become the benchmark for world-class biking and outdoor sports in the Philippines, and will continue to do so in the coming years.

Business

E2 Wednesday, September 5, 2018

A blockchain-powered smart city revolution

Amor Maclang

first dibs in real estate

T

ODAY I start a series on technology-powered realestate developments, starting with the one technology closest to my heart, blockchain. Last week I was in Tokyo for the launch of the Ceza road show that just might very well help make the Philippines the next Crypto Valley of Asia, yet another real-estate development that’s going to be defined by technology.

Shortly after, we flew to Singapore for the global launch of the Locuschain World Summit, where it was revealed that this might very well be the blockchain platform that can make smart cities a reality.

Built with smart cities in mind, Locus Chain will be the world’s fastest and most scalable next-generation blockchain platform, making it the most practical and cost-effective integrated solution for smart governments to develop smart cities.

When blockchain first came on to the scene, the technology was seen to be the canvas on which smart cities of the future can be drawn, establishing a system of trust and transparency in the government through an immutable digital record that is safe and reliable. However, till now, the realization of a blockchain that can truly harness the full potential of smart cities is hampered by the speed and scalability of the blockchain technology.

Locus Chain resolves that problem through a unique approach to DAG, which is a data structure algorithm introduced to exceed the structural performance limits of blockchain. Locus Chain uses the Account wise transaction Chain (AWTC) structure, which is a type of DAG. Unlike other common DAGs, the AWTC enables very efficient

management of the ledger. Although the structure of these ledger data may be called the next-generation blockchain, Locus Chain makes a finality of consensus to ensure full practical usability.

Recently announced blockchains that used existing DAGs generally seek stochastic safety. This is because it is very difficult to pursue finality of consensus from a complex DAG structure. There are some general non-DAG blockchains that pursues finality consensus, but Locus Chain adopts the DAG structure that provides fundamental performance improvement compared with old generation and pursues finality of consensus. Therefore, Locus Chain can be configured very efficiently with the dynamic state sharding technology that other blockchain systems cannot implement.

The complete decentralization, which even Bitcoin has failed to some degree, is also their challenge.

In order to complete the philosophy of Locus Chain, full decentralization should be done as much as possible.

To prevent the monopoly of consensus rewards, they have made it possible for anyone to participate in consensus contribution reimbursement by freely combining the equity based Proof of Stake (POS) and Del-

Locus Chain CEO Sang Yoon Lee addresses the audience.

The author with Locus Chain advisor Vincent Choy and PADCDI’s Jayjay Viray and Annaliza Laxamana.

egated Proof of Stake (DPOS).

DPOS in the locus chain is completely different from having to delegate unconditionally to someone elected like EOS. The idea of complete decentralization, which anyone can delegate and delegate freely, is up to the end, and it is a system to support POS, a compensation system for individual contributors’ contributions. As a result, it is expected that everyone will be able to easily participate in the consensus system and maintain complete decentralization.

Of course, improving performance is not the only goal of the technology.

Locus Chain was established with a vision to reduce inequality and promote sustainable growth, by providing affordable access to a reliable, secure platform that en-

sures accountability and transparency—and is the world’s first blockchain platform accepted for use by a sovereign government to support a national digital currency.

“Locus Chain is future-ready and can integrate with virtually anything—machine-to-machine communication, the Internet of Things, as well as artificial intelligence. It will be the foundation of smart cities. We believe it will be the future of blockchain,” said Sang Yoon Lee, founder and CEO, Locus Chain. “Our partnerships around the world already illustrate how blockchain can be leveraged to accelerate sustainable growth and alleviate the social divide, and reflect the deep trust that our sovereign partners have placed in us to deliver critical solutions needed to bridge the poverty divide."

The Locus Chain Foundation (Locus Chain) released more details about their next-generation protocol blockchain at the Locus Chain World Summit on August 29 in Singapore. The event, celebrating many of Locus Chain’s significant business initiatives, was attended by representatives from over 36 countries, including early supporters of Locus Chain like HE Shaikha Moaza Obaid Suhail Al Maktoum, Princess of Dubai and HE Khalfan Saeed Al Mazrouei, undersecretary for the Private Department of HRH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan.

Earlier in the day, Locus Chain entered into a new memorandum of agreement with the government of Malawi, bringing its number of MOAs entered into 42. With a significant pipeline of use cases and

applications, Locus Chain looks to be the dominant chain of the future, powering such projects as Tunisia Economic City and many more.

Through strategic partnerships, the company is fast becoming the go-to platform for smart governments to develop smart cities, with MOAs already signed with the governments of Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Brunei Darussalam. The company also has a variety of partnerships in natural resource development, infrastructure, health management and financial services with corporations and governments in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Locus Chain’s technology is expected to provide a low-cost transaction mechanism, a reliable and transparent management system and empower growing economies to become future-ready.

Locus Chain is a state-of-the-art blockchain protocol that can maintain stable transaction time even if the number of nodes and transactions increase using AWTC. Through the use of AWTC, Locus Chain is able to provide high transaction speed for every user in the ecosystem and the network. The blockchain protocol also provides scalability through dynamic state sharding technology, resolving issues associated with growing data size; supports smart contracts, which can be executed even in harshest network environments that other blockchain protocols cannot manage; and is protected by a secure cryptography system that shields the platform from cyber attacks. Transaction costs involved in the process are divided fairly and transparently, thereby tackling the concerns of large-scale applications of blockchains.

“We are shaping Locus Chain to carry unique technical features, which allows it to be implemented in large-scale projects without the caveats faced by existing platforms,” said Se-jung Kim, cofounder and business head, Locus Chain. “Our goal is to establish a flexible platform blockchain, which can be integrated as one unit depending on the business application, spanning from smart cities to charity and education.”

The inaugural Locus Chain World Summit was held on August 29 at the Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore. The summit gathered key investors from around the world, and included speeches and keynote presentations from His Excellency Khalfan Saeed Al Mazrouei, cofounder of Locus Chain Foundation; Former Undersecretary for the Private Department of HRH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan, and Guest of Honor Mr. Amir A. Dossal, founder and president of the Global Partnerships Forum and former executive director of the UN office for Partnership.

Holcim pledges steady cement supply T

Holcim Philippines Senior Vice President for Sales William C. Sumalinog (from left), Chairman Tomas I. Alcantara, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez and Holcim President and CEO John Stull

OP officials of building solutions provider Holcim Philippines Inc. recently met with Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez to share the company’s initiatives to better support the government in upgrading the country’s infrastructure through stable supply of quality cement nationwide.

Holcim Philippines Chairman Tomas Alcantara, President and CEO John Stull and Senior Vice President for Sales William Sumalinog personally expressed the company’s willingness to further build up its production capacities in light of the increased cement demand driven by the government’s massive infrastructure investments. They also assured the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) compliance to product standards to ensure highest quality and performance. ”The DTI has implemented new

initiatives and policies to encourage investments to create more employment opportunities, and at the same time support the government’s plans for progress. I am happy to hear Holcim’s commitment to implement cement capacity expansion to ensure that our infrastructure and construction requirements will be well supported and generate additional employment,” Lopez said.

Holcim Philippines is currently implementing projects that will raise its cement capacity nationwide to 12 million metric tons by 2019, from the current 10 million metric tons. The company is studying further investments on additional clinker lines with the construction sector expected to sustain its strong growth amid the healthy economy.

“The company recognizes the strong potential of the Philippine market and is

committed to continue being a partner in its progress as seen by our efforts to improve operations and competitiveness,” said Alcantara.

For his part, Stull noted that the company has been rolling out new technologies and approaches that enable local builders to deliver projects within deadlines and budgets. A key focus is blended cements that are not as energy-intensive to produce but deliver superior results for building.

“Our company supports the DTI’s drive to maintain the high standards for cement which is critical especially at this time of high construction activity. We also want to reassure them that Holcim Philippines can be counted upon to provide the market not just with high-quality cement, but innovative construction solutions that help the country build better with certainty,” he said.

sMirror

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 E3

The future of santa rosa

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HE developer continues to prioritize making Greenfield City the best alternative place to live, work and play outside of overcrowded Metro Manila with new developments in the pipeline for the year. At present, it already showcases sought-after residential communities, pioneer outlet malls, al-fresco shopping malls, a booming business district and a sprawling industrial estate.

This evolution began in 1998 with the Paseo Outlets, the first outlet shopping hub in the country

in a 16-hectare land at the corner of Laguna Boulevard and Santa RosaBalibago Road. Paseo Outlets even-

tually became a weekend destination for urban dwellers that are looking for bargain finds and good food.

In response to the growing number of shoppers, another mall, the 10,000-square-meter Laguna Central, was opened soon after. Laguna Central is where shops, restaurants, entertainment venues, and a hypermart, are set amid verdant landscapes. Meanwhile, Arcadia, a three-story commercial building beside Paseo Outlets, opened the following year.

A new transport terminal will soon be operational within the Paseo complex, as part of a bigger de-

Home

Mitsubishi Electric launches Mr. Slim inverter

velopment plan that Greenfield will undertake to show the company’s trust and commitment to the city of Santa Rosa, and to contribute to the city’s dynamic economic growth.

With providing more employment opportunities in mind as well, the developer established Greenfield Auto Park which is a 65-hectare eco zone that hosted the assembly plant of carmakers and factories. There are also information technology, food and beverage as well as telecommunications companies at the zone.

Greenfield also built the Santa Rosa Business Park which is an 11-hectare mixed-use property with

advanced communication infrastructure that now has health-care facilities, offices for multinational firms, a hotel (Paseo Premiere Hotel) and residential buildings.

Integral to Greenfield City are its residential communities. Greenfield launched the 30-hectare Pramana Residential Park along Greenfield Parkway and is touted as the first residential park in the country. Solen Residences, a 55-hectare residential enclave, was established just across Pramana and features modern Asian-inspired houses.

Up next in its list of residential developments will be Trava, a

31-hectare subdivision development that boasts of unparalleled features, amenities, and is designed to have a mix of residential and commercial components with landscaped parks.

Meanwhile, there is also Zadia, a new vertical community that provides the best of both worlds for those looking for a quiet, natureinspired lifestyle but also desire the conveniences of condominium living. The 36,000-sq-m Zadia promises to infuse “Greenspiration” in its way of life which is achieved through its low-density design nestled amid lush gardens and greeneries.

Insular Life building awarded LEED Gold certificate

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ITSUBISHI Electric Corp., through local affiliate International Elevator & Equipment Inc. (IEE), brings to the Philippines its new PSY Series floorstanding air-conditioner that is one of the innovations under the Mr. Slim Inverter Series.

The PSY Series indoor air-conditioner has space-saving, energy-saving and comfort-driven features that answer the need for cooling systems that are efficient, and quick and easy to install.

“The new PSY Series floor-standing air-conditioner represents Mitsubishi Electric’s commitment to continuously innovate according to what consumers need to enhance comfort, energy efficiency and durability that are hallmarks of the Mitsubishi Electric standard of quality,” said IEE President Ramoncito A. Ocampo during the launch of its newest air-conditioner offering.

The PSY Series has a cooling capacity that ranges from 8.8 kilowatts to 13.4 kW. The air-conditioning technology boasts of a streamlined, light-weight design and its indoor units are equipped with a long-life filter that has a maximum service life of about 2,500 office hours when used on average office conditions. Its “open-and-close grille” feature simplifies removal of filter for cleaning. A filter check also notifies the user when filter maintenance is necessary.

As part of the Mitsubishi Electric Mr. Slim Inverter Series, the PSY floor-standing air-conditioner similarly boosts the space’s aesthetic through provision of a four-way multidirectional piping connection to the indoor unit. This enables greater installation freedom, even at the corner of the room.

A quiet operation and an even distribution of airflow that eliminates uncomfortable drafts in office environments are also some of the foremost characteristics of the Mr. Slim Inverter Series that are infused in the PSY Series.

Other features of the floor-standing air-conditioning technology include a weekly timer that enables setting of operation start and stop times; an auto-return function that automatically resets the temperature back to its original setting after a specified period of time to prevent overcooling; and a temperature-range restriction that limits the maximum and minimum temperature settings. Mitsubishi Electric air-conditioners also only use chlorine-free refrigerants that are safe to the ozone, thereby minimizing impact to the environment.

For easy maintenance, a self-diagnostic function informs the user of malfunctions that are displayed on the remote controller or the operation indicator. Operation failures are also recorded, allowing users to track when needed.

Since venturing into air-conditioner production in 1954, Mitsubishi Electric has introduced innovations to home and building cooling equipment like the inverter air-conditioners with wireless remote control and automatic vane in 1994. Today, its advanced air-conditioning technology is featured in the Mr. Slim Inverter Series that include the floor-mounted air-conditioners and the ceiling-cassette,

T ceiling-concealed, ceiling-suspended and outdoor air-conditioning units.

Since 1969 IEE has handled the design, sales, installation and maintenance of Mitsubishi Electric elevators and escalators in the Philippines. It ventured into air-conditioning in 1978 and has expanded into ventilation and cooling. Mitsubishi Electric equipment are found in schools and hospitals to premier office buildings and commercial establishments throughout the Philippines.

HE Insular Life Makati building at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas was recently awarded the Gold level under the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the US Green Building Council for its energy-efficient design and environmentally friendly features.

“The LEED certification identifies our Makati building as a showcase of sustainability and demonstrates our leadership in transforming the building industry,” said Insular Life Real Property Head and First Vice President Hector Caunan.

He added that, from the get-go, Insular Life envisioned the Makati building to continue its legacy as an iconic edifice in the Makati skyline, while fully upgrading its core structure with a responsible environmental strategy.

First built in 1962 by the renowned Cesar H. Concio, architect and former dean of the University of the Philippines College of Architecture, this 14-story modern building has undergone nearly two years of extensive renovations starting late-2015.

Today, the building features 20,000 square meters of common and leasable space and sports brand new systems and equipment, aside from an adjacent five-level parking building to fully serve its tenants, guests and Insular Life clients.

“We used energy-efficient light loads, lifts and escalators that all contributed to the reduction of the building’s power consumption. It also used non ozone-depleting air-conditioning substances,” added Caunan in explaining the basis for gaining the building’s LEED Gold certification.

He added that the facility is able to harvest rainwater for its custodial use like for flushing and for lavatory use and that more than 90 percent of its construction waste was recycled or reused.

Moreover, this green building is also architecturally pleasant with cozy meeting rooms, a 300-seater grand ballroom that can be divided into three smaller, sound-proof function rooms and is easily accessible.

“We wanted our building to be environmentally responsible without sacrificing its aesthetic heritage and modern business functionality,” Caunan said.

The LEED is the globally recognized green building rating system in the world, which encourages buildings, communities and home projects to become healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green estates.

Entrepreneur

E4 Wednesday, September 5, 2018

BusinessMirror

Laguna physical therapist ventures into the resto biz

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By Edison Lee C. Broqueza Special to the BusinessMirror

EING young and single in the food industry is no problem for someone whose passion is cooking and serving great food.

It does not hurt either that the parents and siblings of Jary Rie Eliseo Olivares are extremely supportive of her venturing into the food business, considering she comes from a family of medical professionals.

Jary began building her budding restaurant “empire” two years ago when she was just 25.

She is, by profession, a physical therapist who, early on was helping plan to build a hospital to be owned and operated by her family in their home province of Laguna. But her love for food, specifically Korean cuisine, led her to open and manage three restaurant brands: WGM Café and Pizzeria, Oppa Samgyeopsal and Jeju Bingsu & Dessert House.

The oldest of four children, Jary said her parents gave her a cash gift that served as the seed money for her first restaurant. She then went about experimenting on items that would be a regular part of the restaurant’s menu. All this time, she was talking to friends and local produce growers to source her food supply and ingredients.

Jary said she loves to eat out and observed the kind of food locals in Laguna ate. She saw there were no restaurants that served Korean food and desserts and, since she loved Korean cuisine, she decided to venture into that particular line of business.

Before she opened her first WGM Café, she came up with items that were going to become WGM Café’s best sellers. These included her pork tapa with rice, her four-cheese pizza (topped with parmesan, gorgonzola, mozzarella and white cheese) and four flavors of parfait—Manhattan, Cookies and Cream, Strawberry Yogurt and Matcha (Green Tea)— generously served in towering parfait glasses and chockful of ice cream, whipped cream, nuts and fresh fruits. The items are all very affordable—the parfait is P155 each—in sharp contrast to the undoubtedly expensive one-of-a-kind

decoration of her restaurants.

WGM Café—a Korean cum New York inspired coffee shop and restaurant—also offers chicken wings, rice meals, sandwiches, milkshakes and milk teas, pizza and pasta.

Jary claims she did not undergo any formal training before venturing into the restaurant business. All she did was attend a three-day lecture on how to cook pasta and rice meals.

She took a Barista class, as well, and watched tutorials on YouTube.

Once she decided to venture into the restaurant business, she immersed herself into planning and research, using her creativity to come up with tantalizing dishes and desserts. She also listened intently to the advice of her father, a practical and successful real-estate businessman himself.

“My mom who is a dentist helps me and, when it comes to ideas, my dad mentors me,” she said.

Her business acumen was apparent early on. As a child, Jary sold stickers and cards for the popular street tex game her friends played in school. She even sold gulaman and ice candy at the age of 10.

Today, her six restaurants are valued at a cool P1 million each. She is thinking of franchising to serve the good food her Laguna-based customers are enjoying so more Filipinos can enjoy the delicious treats she serves every day.

Her first restaurant, WGM Café, opened in May 2016 in Pacita, Laguna. Five months later, she launched the second branch in Biñan. A third branch is in Cabuyao.

2016 was the same year she was supposed to go to America to work as a physical therapist. She passed the state board exam in Florida and could actually practice there if she wants to.

“The day WGM Café opened, people flocked to the restaurant. I was in shock,” Jary said. “I did all sorts of work inside the restaurant, including cashiering. I even asked my brothers

JARY RIE OLIVARES (second from right) receives early this year the “Top Choice Authentic Korean Cuisine Restaurant” in Laguna by the Smart Business Entrepreneur Magazine for her restaurant Oppa Samgyeopsal.

to bus tables, especially when people were lined up, waiting to get inside.”

Jary serves authentic Korean dishes in Oppa Samgyeopsal, occupying the top floor of the building she rents from her father. The restaurant offers unlimited samgyeopsal, and the popular spicy ramyun. The feast includes thin slices of meat with bits of green on the side and paired with a steaming bowl of soup. The unlimited samgyeopsal costs P299 per set, which includes thinly sliced pork belly, lettuce, seasoned bean sprouts, kimchi and sesame oil. One can dine on unlimited chadolbaegi for P399.

In August 2018 Jary opened the Jeju Bingsu & Dessert House, offering desserts, crepes and the famous bingsu, flavored shaved ice cream popular in Korea. Myeong Dong (matcha with sweet red beans and slivered almonds) and Jeju (mangoes and cream with almonds) can be had for a mere P159 for regular size and P259 for double size. Extra special flavors are also available: Gumi special—chocolate overloaded with brownies, coco crunch and ice cream; and Gangnam special—peaches and cheesecake bingsu at P199 for regular size and P299 for double size.

The best-selling mangoes and cream crepe is a must for only P99.

Just add P39 for your choice of icecream toppings. Jary considers her six restaurants her babies.

Aside from expansion, Jary plans to branch out outside her hometown to let other people experience her restaurants. She now thinks of opening the three restaurant brands for franchising.

Like all start-ups, Jary had to go

through a learning cycle. There was a time when she told her staff to close for one day so they could make corrections.

At the outset, Jary felt she had to be present at the restaurant all day, to carefully monitor everything.

She became the manager and the cashier simultaneously. Today, her six restaurants have their own managers with at least 30 employees in all branches.

Today, Jary can relax. All her hard work has paid off. Not only have customers made the three restaurants popular places to eat and hang out with friends and family; the province of Laguna has also validated Jary Olivares’s business venture.

In March 2018 the WGM Café and Pizzeria was given the “Best Trendy Café Shop” title by the Golden Globe Annual Awards for Business Excellence in Laguna.

During the Netizens’ Best Choice Awards, Oppa Samgyeopsal was recognized as the “Best Authentic Korean Cuisine Restaurant” in Manila after being nominated online and garnered more than 10,000 stars on review ratings. It was also given an award for being the “Top Choice Authentic Korean Cuisine Restaurant” in Laguna by the Smart Business Entrepreneur Magazine.

In explaining her commercial success, Jary said, “I invest the money immediately. My liquidity goes to branching out.”

Jary continues to dream. Nowadays, she dreams of becoming a dermatologist someday. Her three restaurant brands are proof she will not make just castles in the air.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Bistro Group brings in Red Lobster franchise to Manila

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

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HE Bistro Group, known to develop successful franchises in the local market for more than two decades now, has added Red Lobster, the biggest seafood restaurant in the world, to its roster of international franchises that include TGIFridays, Italianni’s, Denny’s and Texas Roadhouse Grill.

Catherine Souders, Red Lobster director of Asia operations, said the 50-year-old company is bullish in establishing its presence in Manila since the country has been registering growth in the past six years.

“We have seen significant growth in the local economy and restaurant industry, especially with adventurous diners here who are looking to try something out of the ordinary.

We are looking forward to satisfying the appetites of families and friends who are out to enjoy the Ultimate Seafood Dining Experience only Red Lobster can deliver,” Souders said in a recent interview with the media in Makati City.

Moreover, Souders said they have been impressed on how the Bistro Group has built strong franchise brands that have become popular with the local market.

“Red Lobster has admired The Bistro Group for many years as we have observed their undeniable success [in the] growing American, international and local concepts across many categories of the restaurant industry. They are truly a world-class organization, and we are thrilled to be part of The Bistro Group portfolio. I believe that their success is built on our shared values and shared commitment to bring great food and excellent service to everyone we serve,” Souders said.

Jean Paul Manuud, Bistro Group president and chief operating officer, said the addition of Red Lobster into its group of restaurants signifies confidence to the improving purchasing power of the local market.

“We have 16 concepts to date, ranging from homegrown to franchises of the big, international names in the industry, such as TGIFridays, Italianni’s, Denny’s and Texas Roadhouse Grill. With Red Lobster, we are again set to offer something new to the Filipino diner, this time, with amazing American-style seafood.

We will be able to bring another level

to this specialty segment, with Red Lobster’s offerings which were previously not available or hard to find in the country, such as Maine Lobster and Snow Crab,” Manuud said.

Manuud stressed Bistro Group’s longevity in the restaurant business, which started when they brought in TGIFridays in 1994, has helped them find concepts that the market can really appreciate. “We maintain our standards of food quality and service at a global level. This is how we ensure that every dining experience our customers have is always a happy and memorable one.”

Although the Philippines is known to have a lot of seafood restaurants, Souders said the entry of Red Lobster will enable Filipinos to taste the world-renown dishes of Red Lobster.

Souders said Red Lobster’s menu in the Philippines will not be presented in a one- size- fits -all style but will feature signature combinations. “We will deliver significant combinations that have been wellknown around the world,” she said.

The Philippines, Souders said, has been part of the long-term growth strategy of Red Lobster in its global expansion, especially since “Asia is an untapped market for us.”

“We know that there is a lot of opportunity for growth. We know there is potential as the Bistro Group has been posting consistent growth in the country. I believe we’re going to have a great partnership with Bistro Group,” she said.

As a global brand, Red Lobster will adhere to world-class standards by sourcing the highest-quality seafood in the world.

“Every meal at Red Lobster features seafood that is sustainable, traceable and responsibly sourced. This commitment has been part of the Red Lobster experience for the past 50 years and will ensure the brand thrives for generations,” Souders pointed out.

Red Lobster, which has more than 745 restaurants in 11 countries, will soon launch its first Philippine branch at Conrad S Maison in Pasay City.

Founded in 1968 as a single, family-owned restaurant in Lakeland, Florida, Red Lobster is the world’s largest seafood restaurant company and largest seafood purchaser in the world with the highest market share of all seafood specialist restaurants in America, at 47 percent.

NegOcc promotes ‘unique’ tourism packages at Philippine Travel Mart

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ACOLOD CIT Y—Negros Occidental promoted its unique tourism offerings in the justconcluded 29th Philippine Travel Mart held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Cristine Mansinares, provincial supervising tourism operations officer, said on Monday they were able to feature new tourism products aside from the province’s usual offerings.

“Our participation positively contributed in increasing more awareness

on the new products that we can offer,” she added.

This year Negros Occidental promoted the bird-watching package, which includes forests and wetlands as birdwatching areas, such as the Gawahon Eco Park in Victorias City, Mambukal Mountain Resort in Murcia and Barangay Tibsoc in San Enrique.

The province’s regular tourism products, such as cultural tour, particularly the Bacolod-Silay-Talisay tour, and beach and diving package in Sipalay

City, Danjugan Island in Cauayan and Lakawon Island in Cadiz City were still featured. Also showcased were Mambukal Mountain Resort for health and wellness, Campuestohan Highland Resort in Talisay City for a day trip and various food offerings for culinary packages.

The Negros Occidental Tourism Division also distributed flyers and catered to inquiries about the MassKara Festival in Bacolod City in October.

Mansinares said they were able to meet the country’s top tour operators,

as well as buyers from various countries.

She also said that during the threeday travel fair, Negros Occidental received a proposal for a partnership with the University of the Philippines-Diliman for its tourism-related studies and researches that would include learning trips of its students to the province.

“We were able to strengthen our linkages with other provinces. We were able to meet new tourism officers of other local government units, as well as travel agents,”Mansinares added. PNA

LISA RONQUILLO (from left), VP Marketing The Bistro Group; Catherine Souders, Red Lobster director of Asia Operations; Amy Palisoc, VP business Development, The Bistro Group; Josh Boutwood, executive corporate chef, The Bistro Group