BusinessMirror September 14, 2018

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Friday, September 14, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 335

TRAIN 2 year-end OK in Senate faces delay A

By Butch Fernandez & Cai U. Ordinario

@butchfBM

@cuo_bm

BIPARTISAN consensus is shaping up among senators for a more careful consideration of the administration’s second major tax-reform measure, as senators raised the possibility it may not be passed by Christmas—a wish expressed by President Duterte in his recent televised tête-à-tête with Presidential Counsel Salvador Panelo.

Several senators both from the majority and the minority told the BusinessMirror on Thursday that rushing the next-round reforms, which would cut corporate income

taxes and “rationalize” fiscal incentives to business, is made difficult mainly by time constraints and the need to vet controversial provisions, especially the projected

loss of tax perks for locators in economic zones.

As the nation still has to get fully satisfactory explanations from economic managers about the

“I think our priority is definitely not to make the situation worse in terms of inflation, so any incentive that is taken away that would lead to a possible rise in prices, that’s out of the question.”—Angara

“terrible miscalculations” and “mistaken and inaccurate assumptions” in the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law that took effect last January 1, 2018, rushing a complex bill like TRAIN 2 when Congress is busy with the 2019 budget doesn’t make sense, Continued on A2

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issues that have been driving up inflation,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said in a statement.

The removal of the NTBs, including administrative barriers, can help speed up the entry of imported food items into the country’s borders. The proposed EO will take off from the measures and reforms identified by the EDC to tame food inflation.

Immediate to short-term measures include making rice available in the market through immediate release of stocks from National Food Authority warehouses, importation and distribution of projected harvest; monitoring of rice transfer from ports to warehouses and retail outlets; and the speedy passage of the rice tariffication bill.

Continued on A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.009

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Today’s inflation in light of history

Luis F. Dumlao

EAGLE WATCH

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NFLATION in August reached 6.4 percent, topping economists’ expectations that range from 5.8 to 6.2 percent and the Department of Finance’s projection of 5.9 percent immediately before the announcement.

More so, inflation in August marks the first time in nine years that it breached 6 percent. So, understandably, policy-makers, economists and finance pundits have rushed to find the cause of the recent uptick in inflation.

This essay is an attempt to summarily show the causes of extreme inflation in history and to show where the present inflation is from a historical point of view.

The causes of extreme inflation in history can be summarily shown in the attached figure. In the 1970s, inflation peaked at 34.5 percent in 1974 immediately after the 1973 oil crisis, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or Opec embargoed its supply, causing the global price of oil to increase from $3 to $12 (a 300-percent increase). Though less extreme, inflation spiked again at 18.2 percent in 1980 immediately after the 1979 oil crisis due to decreased supply of oil in the midst of the Iranian Revolution, causing the price to increase from roughly $20 to $40 (a 100-percent increase).

Continued on A11

Draft EO by Cabinet scraps NTBs on food

HE Economic Development Cluster (EDC) has submitted to the President a draft executive order (EO) that removes nontariff barriers (NTBs) on food items to temper inflation, which surged to a nine-year high in August.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the EO will focus on fish, rice, sugar, meat and vegetables, which have been considered as the major contributors to inflation in the past two months.

The Neda added that fish and seafood, rice and meat, and vegetables accounted for 2.4 percentage points of the 6.4-percent inflation rate in August.

“The issuance of the executive order, as well as quick implementation of immediate and short-term measures, will address the supply

2016 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

US bidders shun New Clark City

By Rea Cu

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BRACING FOR OMPONG The Ipo Dam in Bulacan is seen on Thursday, with a 100.05-meter elevation level, nearing its spilling level of 101.02 meters. It is one of Luzon’s key dams that are under constant watch as the nation braces for Typhoon Ompong, tagged as the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year. Story on A12. NONIE REYES

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) has questioned the absence of American investors in the Duterte administration’s flagship infrastructure project to develop the Clark Freeport Zone, a former United States military air base, into the country’s next big metropolis.

In a meeting with United States Assistant Secretary of State Manisha Singh, the finance chief said the absence of American investors in the bidding for the New Clark City development project could indicate that American investors “have no interest” in taking part in the

n JAPAN 0.4855 n UK 70.4817 n HK 6.8814 n CHINA 7.8667 n SINGAPORE 39.3709 n AUSTRALIA 38.7137 n EU 62.8017 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.3990

Continued on A2

Source: BSP (13 September 2018 )

News

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A2 Friday, September 14, 2018

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‘Sue erring contractor, govt Draft EO by Cabinet scraps NTBs on food men in post-Yolanda housing’ Continued from A1

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

HE House Committee on Housing and Urban Development said the government should file cases against a contractor and National Housing Authority (NHA) personnel involved in the anomalous housing development program for Yolanda victims.

In a statement, Committee on Housing and Urban Development Chairman Rep. Alfredo Benitez said plunder charges can be filed after a congressional inquiry found that contractors used substandard materials in constructing the housing units for Yolanda v ictims in three Eastern Samar municipalities.

The government spent P654.59 million for the housing development program for victims of the super ty phoon, which caught global attention for its ferocity and storm surges, with images of utter devastation sparking a United Nations call for worldwide funding.

“Contractors and government

personnel involved in this con game that struck Yolanda victims twice over should be dealt with the full measure of the law,” said Benitez.

In the recently released 2017 annual audit report, the Commission on Audit (COA) also asked the NHA to file charges against a contractor and NHA personnel involved in the contract irregularities.

The COA said the unnamed contractor of eight housing projects in the towns of Balangiga, Hernani and Quinapondan was awarded contracts that are beyond the firm’s capacity to implement.

State auditors cited a clear violation of procurement laws and other regulations as a result of the contracts’ awarding to the unqualified infrastructure contractor.

Auditors found that the adjacent projects for the three sites were split into eight smaller con-

tracts to “accommodate” that one developer—whose Phi l ippine Contractors Accreditation Board license only authorized it to secure constr uction dea ls for up to P100 million.

They noted that that the contract prices would have been the following: P133.29 million for Balangiga, P286.6 million for Hernani and P234.7 million for Quinapondan.

The COA said the contracting firm exceeded the P100-million cap of construction projects it may undertake, in violation of Section 54.1 of the implementing rules and regulations of the Government Procurement Reform Act. That rule defined splitting as the act of “dividing contract implementation into artificial phases or subcontracts for the purpose of evading or circumventing the requirements.”

TRAIN 2 year-end OK in Senate faces delay Continued from A1

sense, two of the senators—Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero and Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva—said.

Most lawmakers cited the budget deliberations as occupying top priority, given the more thorough study required by the shift from obligation-based to cash-based budgeting. Besides this, several reelectionist lawmakers are facing an October deadline for filing certificates of candidacy for the May 2019 midterm elections—a factor that, incidentally, makes them more careful about simply signing on to controversial tax reforms, noted Escudero.

Asked if Congress can fulfill Mr. Duterte’s wish to see the passage of TRAIN 2 before lawmakers adjourn for their year-end recess, senators said they will give it their best shot but also signaled it may be difficult to pass the tax bill before the Christmas break. Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III indicated to the BusinessMirror that passage of TRAIN 2 can be facilitated, “if it is the version that we will propose.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto was more blunt: the Palace tax bill “will be difficult to pass at the Senate before year-end.”

Sept. 25 deliberations

SEN. Juan Edgardo M. Angara, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee tasked to conduct hearings on tax measures, would not predict the fate of the administration’s latest major tax bill submitted for Congress approval. “I honestly don’t know, it’s not something I control,” Angara said.

On the sidelines of Wednesday’s “Arangkada Forum,” Angara said his Ways and Means panel intends to ensure that provisions of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) 2 will not be inflationary.

The chairman of the Economic Affairs panel, Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, said for his part—also at the Arangkada Forum—that his committee will work to safeguard the incentives of the electronics and semiconductors sector, as well as business-process outsourcing (BPO), considering their hefty contributions to the economy.

Angara told reporters the Senate will tackle the proposed bill on September 25.

The TRAIN 2 was approved on third and final reading on Monday by the House of Representatives, where it is called the “Trabaho” bill, standing for Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities.

“I think our priority is definitely not to make the situation worse in

terms of inflation, so any incentive that is taken away that would lead to a possible rise in prices, that’s out of the question,” Angara said.

Minority senators ‘doubt’ year-end OK

FOR their part, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon and Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV, told the BusinessMirror in separate but similar text messages to the BusinessMirror that they “doubt it,” indicating the Palace tax bill’s proponents will likely have a hard time mustering support for the administration revenue measure’s approval before the Christmas recess.

Chiz’s 3 reasons

ESCUDERO listed three reasons for saying it’s a tough task to get the tax bill passed in the Senate within the year.

“I think it might be difficult given the following: 1) intricate and complicated provisions of the proposed TRAIN 2 which cannot be waded through and studied thoroughly within that period given that the Senate still has to pass upon the proposed 2019 General Appropriations Act; 2) mistaken and inaccurate assumptions of the same economic managers [who] proposed TRAIN 1 that resulted or at the very least triggered, to a large extent, the extraordinarily high inflation we are suffering from now—which therefore gives them a not-so-high credibility with respect to whatever guarantees or projections they may give in connection with the proposed TRAIN 2.”

Escudero added that passage of TRAIN 2 “might take its toll on reelectionists [re: their schedule and the fact that its a tax measure], which might, at the very least, affect their time and enthusiasm to support the proposed measure.”

Former Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III, however, held out hopes that lawmakers can still meet Duterte’s expectations to pass the tax bill within the year. “Best effort,” he said.

This, even as Sen. Joseph Victor G. Ejercito admitted it “might be difficult” to do so, pointing out that “the inflationary effects of TRAIN 1 needs to be addressed first before TRAIN 2.”

‘We must be smarter’

FOR his part, Villanueva said: “We are ready to listen, but we have to be smarter this time, we can’t have a repeat of TRAIN 1’s terrible miscalculations.”

Villanueva added: “For me, timing is very important, and so I’d say it would take a miracle to convince the entire Senate to support and pass TRAIN 2 before this

year ends.”

Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan II, however, admitted the timetable for passing the tax bill is a bit too tight, making it hard to predict. “No one can say...it all depends on push from the Executive branch on both houses [of Congress] and material time next month, given the dates for filing of COCs [certificates of candidacies for next year’s midterm elections] and the passage of the 2019 national budget before the Christmas break.”

Deleting inflationary provisions

MEANWHILE, Angara explained that an example of how the Ways and Means panel will screen out proposals that could make the situation “worse in terms of inflation” would be any provision that will lead schools to increase tuition.

Therefore, he stressed, “any incentive that is taken away that would lead to a possible rise in prices” is “out of the question.”

He said Filipino families are already struggling with higher commodity prices and burdening them further with higher education costs will not be supported in the Senate. “If you’re talking about schools, its not the right time to raise tuition on schools, its because families are already feeling the pinch,” Angara said.

Angara will also not back any provisions that seek to tax books. “[Taxes on] books, I think personally that’s crazy. You want a smart population,” he added. However, Angara could not predict whether the Senate will be able to complete its hearings on the tax measures given the schedule of the elections.

“I can’t answer all of those predictions. We haven’t even had our first hearing,” Angara said. “What’s realistic is that we have a hearing, then we have another hearing, then we have another hearing and see where we go from there.”

Tax amnesty

WITH regard to tax amnesty, which has also been approved at the House of Representatives, Angara said, the Committee is only waiting for the comments from Sens. Recto and Drilon.

Angara admitted that the tax amnesty is “less complicated” compared to the TRAIN 2. “It’s been finalized by our committee already, so we’re just waiting for the finishing touches actually,” he said.

On Monday 187 congressmen voted in favor of the second tranche of the Duterte administration taxreform program, 14 voted against and three congressmen abstained.

GIE incentive

ALSO at the Arangkada forum,

Gatchalian said he is open to retaining the 5-percent gross income earned (GIE) tax incentive under TRAIN 2.

The Senate is considering keeping the 5-percent GIE tax incentive for certain industries depending on their cost-structure, but he said the government should not grant such tax perks for an indefinite period. “I do admit that we need to rationalize the concept of giving perpetual incentives.” The 5-percent GIE incentive is given to locators registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).

The Department of Finance’s (DOF) version of this tax reform package wants to eliminate the 5-percent GIE tax incentives extended by the Peza to its registered investors. The companies continue to enjoy the perk so long as they are operating inside a Peza zone. “ The Trabaho bill that the House [of Representatives] approved is a much, I think, different version from the DOF version, in the sense that they made lot of adjustments so that jobs will not be lost,” said Gatchalian.

“And that’s also the view of the Senate, we will make sure that we will not lose the jobs and make sure that the country will not have a negative image, because we’re neglecting our contracts. We want to make sure that this bill, as intended, will make the Philippines competitive with its peers by lowering down corporate-income tax to 20 percent eventually,” he added.

He said after discussions with the foreign chambers’ membership, he will also examine the possibility of maintaining support for the electronics and semiconductor, as well as BPO industries.

“The semiconductor industry and BPO industry [account for] about more or less 20 percent of our gross domestic product, very sizeable industries for our economy. We don’t want that scenario wherein these industries will be weakened, the competitiveness will be lessened, and we want to continuously grow these industries,” Gatchalian said.

Meanwhile, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc. Director Celeste Ilagan, said the BPO sector is batting to keep the 10-percent corporate-income tax rate for regional operating headquarters (ROHQs) under the Trabaho bill.

She said the industry does not want to lose another incentive once the TRAIN 2 is passed. ROHQs already lost the 15-percent preferential tax rate because of TRAIN law, leading to “slight contraction of number of employees in ROHQs,” Ilagan added. With PNA

Availability of fish and chicken will be increased by allowing imports to be distributed quickly and by setting up public markets with cold storage facilities where producers can sell directly to end consumers.

Apart from importation, improving logistics, transport, distribution and storage was also deemed crucial for arresting the increase in the price of sugar, vegetables and other food items.

Medium- to long-term measures include boosting agricultural production by promoting the use of and developing resilient and high-yielding varieties of crops while reassessing the country’s planting season and crop viability in each region.

Policy measures include the review and possible amendment of the Fisheries Code and other policies governing the sector.

The EDC reiterated the urgency of passing the rice tariffication bill, which is currently in the Senate after approval by the House of Representatives on its third and final reading.

“The rice tariffication bill must be passed with haste not only to curb inflation but also to provide farmers better access to farming

technologies. This will increase productivity and supply in the medium-term,” the EDC added.

Poverty reduction

EARLIER, local economists believe more expensive commodities would make it more difficult for the government to meet its target of reducing poverty to 14 percent by 2022, from the 21.6 percent recorded in 2015.

University of the Philippines School of Statistics Dean Dennis Mapa said urban and rural poor households, as well as near-poor households, are negatively affected because food inflation rates are high for Metro Manila at an eightmonth average of 6.7 percent and areas outside the National Capital Region with 5.9 percent.

This is consistent with the f ind ings of a 20 08 st udy of Asian Development Bank economist Hyun Son, stating that a 10-percent increase in prices of food could lead to 2.3 million poor Filipinos while the same increase in nonfood prices could lead to an addition of 1.7 million to poverty.

Son also said that a 10-percent increase in rice and fuel prices will swell the ranks of the Filipino poor by 660,000 and 160,000, respectively. Cai U. Ordinario

US bidders shun New Clark City Continued from A1

Philippines’s economic emergence that is anchored on its massive “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program.

Dominguez pointed out that he h ad a l so a sked t he sa me question before members of the US-Asean Business Council and the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines in his separate meetings with them earlier this year.

He said that the Philippine government, which is funding the transformation of the former US military base into New Clark City, had announced the public bidding for the project before the international community, but no American companies took part in the bidding process.

“Last time I spoke with the USAsean Business Council and the US Chamber here, I asked them one question. Why did they not bid for the project in Clark? The refurbishment of the Clark airbase is done with our own funds. The project is around $250 million. We bid this out around this time last year,” Dominguez told Singh during the meeting.

The finance chief quickly added that the Philippines welcomes US companies in the country, as their investments would prove beneficial to the country’s fastgrowing economy.

According to the DOF, some American companies have submitted bids, but only for the design component of the New Clark City project.

“Maybe they don’t have an interest here,” he added.

Singh, who handles the State Department’s economic and business affairs, said she will speak with leaders of US infrastructure companies to tell them about the immense investment opportunities in the BBB program of the Duterte administration.

“We would like to participate, we would like to engage,” Singh said, noting that there might have been some “disconnect” that needs to be corrected to ensure that US companies are aware of the opportunities in the Philippines.

He informed Singh that the New Clark City would be complemented with the development of the Clark International Airport, which will include a new

passenger terminal and possibly a second runway. This new metropolis will have a new backup government center, worldc l ass spor ts faci l it ies a nd industrial estates.

During the meeting, Singh also discussed with Dominguez US President Donald J. Trump’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy, which aims to enhance US private-sector participation in this region that includes Japan, India, the member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Australia, among other countries.

Singh said that the US program also involves improving digital connectivity and cybersecurity in the region, promoting sustainable infrastructure development, and strengthening energy security and access.

In response, Domnguez said that the Indo-Pacific Strategy, in relation to the Philippines, is a “timely” effort given that bilateral trade between the Philippines and US has been expanding at a slow pace.

He a lso welcomed Singh ’s statements on the progress of negotiations for a US-Philippines free-trade agreement, with a new meeting set soon between the trade officials of the two countries.

T he Ne w C l a rk C it y i s a 9,450-hectare project in Tarlac City being developed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) together with its private partners.

It is one of the BCDA’s projects under the BBB infrastructure program, which consists of 75 flagship infrastructure projects.

Part of the New Clark City is the 200-hectare National Government Administrative Center, which will house backup offices of various agencies to ensure continuous business operations and services in case of disaster or national calamities. Its Phase 1A involving 40 hectares will also feature the construction of worldclass sports facilities to be used for the Southeast Asian Games in November 2019.

T he DOF ea rl ier re por ted that the New Clark City project features three main structures, namely, the P1.78-billion Clark Green City Government Center, P850-million Clark Commercial Center and the P3.33-billion Clark Mixed-Income Housing.

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, September 14, 2018 A3

DOJ says bid to put Trillanes behind bars gains headway

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By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573 & Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

OVERNMENT prosecutors on Thursday claimed that their bid to put opposition Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV behind bars has gained momentum, following the Supreme Court (SC) issuance of a resolution acknowledging the trial court’s jurisdiction to hear and resolve the issue on the legality of President Duterte’s revocation of the amnesty granted to him by the past administration in connection with his involvement in the failed attempts to overthrow the Arroyo administration.

This was despite the decision of Regional Trial Court Branch 148 Presiding Judge Andres Bartlome O. Soriano to give more time for both government prosecutors and defense lawyers to st reng t hen t heir a rg u ments in connection with the prosecution’s motion for the issuance of a hold

departure order (HDO) and an alias arrest warrant against Trillanes, a vocal critic of President Duterte.

Soriano gave Trillanes camp 10 days to file its rejoinder to the DOJ’s reply to the defense’ comment earlier submitted.

Likewise, the trial court allowed Trillanes to submit within

10 days a supplemental comment in light of the SC order for the trial court to resolve the constitutional and factual issues surrounding the issuance of Proclamation 572.

The DOJ was, likewise, given five days to submit its reply to the supplemental comment of the defense.

During the hearing on the motion, Trillanes lawyer Reynaldo Robles insisted that the trial court has already lost jurisdiction over the case considering its dismissal in September 2011 following the grant of amnesty to the senator.

Robles a lso infor med t he Court about the recent resolution of the SC, which gave the trial courts the go signal to hear and resolve pleadings in connection with the legality of Proclamation 572 issued by President Duterte which declared as void “ab initio” (void from the beginning) the amnesty granted to Trillanes for his failure to comply with the requirements submit an official application and execute an admission of guilt.

T he SC ’s order, accord i ng to Robles, put on the prosecution the burden to prove that P roc l a m at ion 572 i s const itutional and can be used as a ground for the issuance of an HDO and an alias arrest warrant against Trillanes.

But the DOJ, through Acting Prosecutor Richard Antho-

Stakeholders oppose possible grant of nationwide franchise to RE firm

By Lenie Lectura

& Cai U. Ordinario

I

@llectura @cuo_bm

NDUSTRY stakeholders on Thursday vowed to exhaust all available remedies to block House Bill (HB) 8179, which seeks to grant Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. a nationwide franchise.

Members of the Philippine Solar and Energy Storage Alliance, Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines, Center for Renewable Energy and Science and Technology, Renewable Energy Association of the Philippines, Philippine Rura l Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca) and Confederation of Solar Developers in the Philippines (CSDP) opposed the proposed bill filed by Deputy Speaker Arthur C. Yap and Compostela Valley Rep. Maria Carmen S. Zamora.

“We are deeply troubled and alarmed by HB 8179 because it effectively grants a monopoly and exempts one private company from the rules of competition and oversight provided under Epira [Electric Power Industry Reform Act] and the RE [renewable energy] Act,” they said.

The proposed measure seeks to grant Solar Para sa Bayan Corp., led by businessman Leandro Leviste, a nationwide franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain distributable power technologies and mini-grid systems throughout the Philippines to improve access to sustainable energy.

The bill was filed last August 6 and was immediately referred to the Committee on Legislative Franchises last August 8.

It was deliberated and approved by the same committee on August 29 and a hearing on the committee report was held last September 3.

“We’re fighting a goliath here,” said PSESA President Theresa Capellan.

Leviste, who is also the president of Solar Philippines, is the son of Sen. Loren B. Legarda.

“We will lobby during the deliberation. We believe a number

of congressmen will oppose this.

If this will go up to the Senate, we also lobby against it. We think there are also good people there whom we can work with to get this bill blocked. If anything else happens, our legal counsel said this is in violation of the constitution. We will file a TRO [temporary restraining order] before the Supreme Court,” said Capellan.

CSDP President Don Mario Dia said there is no legal necessity to grant Solar Para Sa Bayan a nationwide franchise, since there are existing regulatory frameworks allowing any entity— whether private or public, including local government units and nongovernment organizations, to participate in the provision of electricity in unserved or unenergized areas.

“The Epira already lays down the legal requirements for any entity to participate in the generation and supply sectors. All generators and suppliers of electricity in contestable markets do not need any national franchise. The supply rules already in place provide that the prices to be charged by suppliers are not subject to the regulation of the ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission],” he said.

Philreca Executive Director Janeene Colingan said only government agencies were allowed to attend t he hea r ings. “ We have not been invited by Congress. We just found out that the committee report was approved already. What makes Solar Para Sa Bayan very important as compared to other applicants for the legislative franchise?”

Capellan said HB 8179 only seeks to establish a monopoly that will engage in the entire electric power value chain (generation, transmission, distribution and supply) with no limitation as to the capacity of the systems it can install or the service area it will cover.

She pointed out that HB 8179 grants the right to access any transmission or distribution system without any reciprocal obligation on its part, specifically compliance with existing and relevant

laws and rules.

Further, she said, no franchise obligation, during its franchise term, is imposed upon Solar Para sa Bayan to ensure full electrification for all.

“There are no impositions on performance or service requirements that would ensure the achievement of its objective to provide electricity in unserved a nd u n- energ i z ed loc a l it ies.

More alarming is the provision exempting Solar Para Sa Bayan from the regulatory powers of the Energy Regulatory Commission,” said Capellan.

The groups called on Congress to junk HB 8179. They proposed instead that lawmakers craft another bill that promotes fair and healthy competition, fosters reforms and innovations, for Qualified Third Parties in unserved and missionary areas, enabling the continuing expansion of clean energy projects, broader and more efficient services, and lower electricity rates.

‘Super monopoly’

AT the Lower House, some 15 House members filed House Resolution (HR) No. 2182, which seeks to block efforts to grant a “super monopoly” franchise to Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp.

The HR No. 2182 seeks to revert HBs 8013 and 8015, which seek to grant Solar a franchise to operate a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain solar minigrid systems nationwide, to the Committee level for further deliberation.

In a statement, Rep. Mikee L. Romero of 1-Pacman Party-list said HB 8179 was a violation of the Constitutional provisions on monopolies and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

“The unconstitutional nature of this bill grants Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. a master franchise to operate all throughout the Philippine archipelago. This is a blanket authority that would allow it to infringe and encroach on all existing franchises of main transmission grids,” Romero stated.

ny Fadullon, argued that the fact that the SC did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) or an injunction on the implementation of Proclamation, only proves that the burden to prove that Proclamation 75, which was issued by former President Aquino to grant amnesty to Trillanes and other Magdalo soldiers, is valid.

Fadullon also expressed belief that their motion for the HDO and alias warrant can be heard separately by the trial court, notwithstanding the SC order.

In an interview after the hearing, Navera said the prosecution does not consider as a minor setback the decision of Judge Soriano to defer his action on the motion for the issuance of an HDO and alias warrant against Trillanes.

“For our HDO and arrest warrant, we are waiting for the court to thresh them out. For us, it is not a setback but we are moving forward as planned,” Navera declared.

Navera explained that because of the SC order, Trillanes’s camp was forced to recognize the jurisdiction of the trial court over the issue surrounding the legality of the amnesty granted to Trillanes.

“Actually since the SC issued an order, what happened? The accused went to court today in Branch 148.

While he assails the jurisdiction of the court, now he is asking the court for a relief, thereby recognizing the jurisdiction of the court over

him,” Navera said.

“You can’t ask for a relief if there is no jurisdiction over you. He [lawyer Robles] recognized that jurisdiction by asking time to file for the pleadings,” Navera added.

Prior to the grant of amnesty, Trillanes and several members of the so-called Magdalo soldiers were charged with a case for coup d’etat before Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148 for the Oakwood mutiny in 2003 and a case for rebellion before Makati RTC Branch 150 for the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege.

Senate probe

AT the Senate, meanwhile, Trillanes, placed under Senate custody after President Duterte revoked the amnesty granted by the Aquino administration for alleged involvement in two failed military uprisings, on Wednesday pressed for a Senate inquiry into the “possible conflict of interest” of trusted presidential aide “Bong” Go said to involve government contracts.

In filing Senate Resolution 889, Trillanes asked the Senate to authorize the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, which he chairs, to “conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on possible conflict of interest arising from government contracts obtained by kin of government employees and officials, with the end in view of

coming up with possible remedial legislation to prevent the occurence or recurrence of such situations in the future.”

The senator cited a media report which stated that Davao region, known as Mr. Duterte’s bailiwick, “was given the most public works funds by the Department of Public Works and Highways in 2017.”

Trillanes added that “the report further stated that the top contractors in the same region are CLTG Builders and Alfrego Builders and Supplies, purportedly owned by the father and stepbrother of Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence Tesoro ‘Bong’ Go.” The Trillanes resolution noted that “CLTG Builders won a total of P1.85 billion worth of infrastructure projects for Davao region from 2007 to 2017 and another P2.7 billion in joint ventures with four contractors including Alfrego Builders and Supplies in 2017 alone.”

The senator said CLTG caught the attention of the investigative report “because it failed to complete all the joint-venture projects within the original deadline.”

Trillanes stated that CLTG has a “B-License” which means it “could not carry out a big-ticket project without a partner,” adding that “coincidentally, CLTG is also the initials of Duterte’s Special Assistant Christopher Lawrence Tesoro ‘Bong’ Go.”

Economy BusinessMirror

A4 Friday, September 14, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Lapeña defends Customs on delay of food imports

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By Rea Cu

of the import permits since it cannot be released on our end without such permit,” Lapeña added.

Import permits issued by the NFA, he said, is very essential requirement in line with the clearance of rice shipments as this will make the release of rice shipments into the country to remain on schedule.

“This is how important NFA import permits are in the clearance of rice shipments. Prompt issuance of import permits by the NFA coupled by timely submission to the BOC will, in effect, make Customs clearance of rice shipments on schedule.

I, together with the men and women of the BOC, am with the President in alleviating the current situation on the supply and price hike in our country’s staple grain,” he said.

On Tuesday Customs operatives, backed by a Philippine National

@ReaCuBM

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) clarified on Thursday that there is no delay with the issuance of clearance for rice imports in all ports nationwide, amid reports that the spike in rice prices was due to the delays in the release of rice shipments by the bureau.

Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña said that he has even ordered all district collectors to expedite the processing of clearances of essential food, such as rice, sugar, pork and chicken.

“I would like to address the issue being reported that the spike in rice prices in the country was caused by the delays in the release of rice shipments by the Bureau of Customs. To set the record straight, I would like to clarify that there is no delay in the Customs clearance of rice imports in all ports. In fact, I have ordered all district collectors to expedite the processing of essential food, such as rice, sugar, pork and chicken, to aid the supply issue,” Lapeña said.

He admitted, though, that the

delays in some instances may be caused by the lack of import permits coming from the National Food Authority (NFA). The Customs chief added that he had already sent a letter to the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the NFA requesting them to expedite the release of the import permits.

“It cannot be avoided that, in some instances, the Customs clearance procedure cannot be completed without the corresponding import permit from the NFA pursuant to NFA Memorandum Circular AO2018-05-001. Knowing the importance and urgency to release these shipments, I have sent a letter of request to the DA and the NFA dated September 10 to expedite the release

Police (PNP) team, raided several warehouses in Marilao, Bulacan, after receiving information that large quantities of suspected smuggled rice with an estimated market value of P300 million were stashed.

A joint Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) and PNP team conducted the raid on seven warehouses at the Federal Corp. Compound in Barangay Ibayo, Marilao, Bulacan, where some 125,000 sacks of imported rice were discovered. Initial reports said the rice were imported from Thailand, China and India.

“I assure the public that we will closely coordinate with our private and public partners to be ready for the influx of cargoes for the holidays.

We hope that in the coming months, the price of basic commodities will stabilize,” Lapeña added.

To set the record straight, I would like to clarify that there is no delay in the Customs clearance of rice imports in all ports. In fact, I have ordered all district collectors to expedite the processing of essential food, such as rice, sugar, pork and chicken to aid the supply issue.”—Lapeña

www.businessmirror.com.ph

MAP to Duterte admin: Deal with Metro traffic woes like Boracay mess

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HE Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has called on the Duterte administration to address Metro Manila’s worsening traffic congestion with the “same intensity” in dealing with the environmental decay of Boracay.

During the Arangkada Philippines Forum 2018 in Pasay City on Wednesday, MAP President Ramoncito S. Fernandez also said the business group appreciates the pace of implementation of infrastructure projects in the past two years. However, the government has to do it with “more vigor and political will.”

“The government needs to be ready and committed to address the challenges of implementing each infrastructure project. It has to do this with more vigor and political will.

Perhaps, the same intensity as it is dealing with the current problem in Boracay,” Fernandez said, citing the demolition of illegal structures in Boracay Island.

While the government targets to ease traffic congestion in the National Capital Region by building more roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects, these are also expected to worsen the traffic situation in Metro Manila, he noted.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is imple-

menting the Traffic Decongestion Program by rolling out high standard highways and expressways, construction and widening of national roads and bridges, construction of by-passes and diversion roads, construction of flyovers, interchanges and underpasses.

Major road and railway infrastructure projects that the government is currently implementing include the construction of the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 and Metro Rail Transit Line 7, and the repair of the Old Santa Mesa Bridge in Metro Manila and Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge in Makati City.

The DPWH is also set to repair the Guadalupe Bridge, a major infrastructure along Edsa by 2019.

Fernandez added that the government should also implement some “quick fix” solutions to Metro Manila’s traffic woes, which include clearing road obstructions along Mabuhay lanes, deploying more qualified traffic enforces, and installing more surveillance cameras in the streets.

“We do know the problem of traffic will not go away with these quick fixes. It must be complemented by accelerated construction of more elevated roads, as well as access to Metro express rails, and also bridges,” said Fernandez. PNA

80 basic goods covered by 41 firms’ price-freeze Carriers mull over flight cuts to lessen tourist visit to Boracay vow for 3-9 months: DTI

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

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HE Department of Tourism (DOT) will be asking the country’s various airlines to reduce their number of flights to Kalibo and Caticlan in an effort to limit the number of tourists going to Boracay Island.

This developed as interagency Task Force Boracay finally determined the carrying capacity of the island, which was presented to President Duterte during the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “There is an excess in existing population, non-tourists in the island; there’s an excess in existing hotels and available rooms; and there’s excess in solid waste generated,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. in a press briefing at Malacañang on Wednesday. “There is sufficient water supply; there is, however, insufficient wastewater-treatment facilities.”

He added the Cabinet approved to “maintain the tourism carrying capacity of 19,215 persons per day [and] 6,405 tourist arrivals per day.” There are an estimated 15,000 rooms on Boracay, but so far, only 2,063 rooms in 25 hotels have been accredited for the reopening on October 26.

Roque said other approved recommendations include the “evaluation of the feasibility of utilizing the extra available rooms; promote wetlands utilization for filtering out waste from both soil and water through plant uptake; maximize open spaces for vegetation; minimize point source pollution; IECs [information, education and communication], especially on both solid waste and liquid waste management; minimize coastal erosion; and, establish permanent monitoring facilities in designated areas.”

In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat said, “I have been talking with the airlines, I talked with Jimmy Bautista [Philippine Airlines] and Lance Gokongwei [Cebu Pacific]. They said they would reduce the number of flights to Caticlan and Kalibo. The only way you reduce the number of people going to Boracay is to lessen the flights going there, since 98 percent of the visitors go by air.”

For his part, Philippine Airlines (PAL) President Jaime J. Bautista said they will likely reduce flights to Caticlan to once a day each from Manila, Clark and Cebu.

“The ones from Clark and Cebu will be using small airplanes,” he added.

Also, PAL is considering suspending its charter services to Kalibo from China, Korea and Taiwan. “The China and Korea

charter flights are landing in Kalibo, but if there are no available rooms in Boracay, there is no point in operating these charters,” said Bautista. Prior to Boracay’s closure, PAL had 28 flights per week to Kalibo from China and Korea, and two times per week from Taipei to Kalibo.

During the peak season, PAL had 94 weekly flights servicing Boracay, 52 of which were to Caticlan and 42 to Kalibo from Manila, Cebu and Clark.

While Gokongwei had yet to confirm Romulo Puyat’s statement as of press time, sources in CEB said the airline is “taking [it] into consideration,” as the airline had already reduced its flights to Kalibo and Caticlan, in preparation for the reopening of Boracay.

Starting October 28, the carrier has seven flights a day to and from Caticlan from Clark and Manila, while it currently flies six times a week between Manila and Kalibo.

Separate government sources also indicated there were moves to drop Boracay as a cruise destination. Before the island’s closure, the DOT had been aggressively promoting Boracay as a major cruise destination, expecting about 18 ships carrying 50,000 passengers in 2018. But Boracay stakeholders had been long been urging the DOT to halt these cruises because the passengers not only add to the beach congestion, but also the island’s establishments don’t earn from them.

Meanwhile, Romulo Puyat declined to further elaborate on other government measures to restrict the arrival of tourists in Boracay, pending the Task Force Boracay meeting on September 28. “We didn’t talk about the ways during the Cabinet meeting, but we have already thought of some measures that need to be implemented,” she said, at the same time admitting that the “legality of it [restriction on visitors]” still needed to be thoroughly studied.

The right to travel and freedom of movement are enshrined in the Philippine Constitution of 1987, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which the Philippines is a signatory.

President Duterte ordered the closure of Boracay for six months starting on April 26, ostensibly to make way for the government’s rehabilitation effort, aimed at restoring the island to its pristine condition. International publications have tagged Boracay as one of the best beaches in the world. A task force headed by the Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu was formed in January to draw up the rehabilitation program. Other members of the task force include the secretaries of interior and tourism.

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has ensured that some 80 basic goods covered by 41 manufacturers will have their prices frozen for the next three to nine months.

In a news statement issued on Thursday, the DTI announced the list of manufacturers that vowed to keep the prices of their products stable for the next months. Trade Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo said producers have been cooperative with the government in containing prices at reasonable levels.

Overall, 14 canned sardines are expected to have their prices stabilized for the next three months.

These are Ligo, Hakata, 555, Rose Bowl, Saba, Young’s Town, Mega, King Cup, Toyo, Family, Master, Atami, Mikado and Hakone.

Further, 10 canned meat goods— Ligo, CDO, Bingo, Argentina, 555, Young’s Town, Purefoods, Gusto, Winner and El Rancho—will also have stable prices. Apart from this, 10 processed milk brands have acceded to the DTI’s appeal to keep prices in control for the Christmas season.

The milk brands are Alaska, Carnation, Milkmaid, Alpine, Liberty, Cowbell, Birch Tree Powdered Milk, Angel Evaporated Milk, Anchor Powdered Milk and Bear Brand

Powdered Milk. Moreover, prices of 11 bottled water will be kept at its present level for the next months.

These are Summit, Absolute, Wilkins, Viva, Nature’s Spring, Supersavers, Robinsons Mall, Magnolia, SM Bonus, Refresh and Hidden Spring.

Covered in the private sectorled price freeze are two brands of bread; three toilet soaps; eight detergent and laundry soaps; six coffee refill; two batteries; five condiments; four candles; four instant noodles; and one salt.

“Over the years, the manufacturers have been very cooperative with the DTI. During times of calamity, they are the first to help the government in ensuring that supply of basic and prime goods are available in areas hit by typhoon or any other natural calamity. We assure the consumers that the department and the manufacturers will continuously work together to guarantee that prices of basic and prime goods are kept at reasonable levels,” Castelo said.

The vow to keep prices stable comes at a time when manufacturers are reportedly expecting an increase in their cost of production owed to rising prices of raw materials and peso devaluation. However, the DTI appealed to them to postpone any price calibration given the country’s rising inflation.

PhilHealth 3 launches own hot line numbers

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

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ITY OF SAN FERNANDO— In order to allow the public to ask questions and air their complaints, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) Region 3 launched on Monday its “Txt Tanong and Txt Sumbong” hot line numbers.

The public may send their messages to 2987 for Sun subscribers and 0922-999-2786 for other networks using the following formats: philhealth (space) TNG (space) message for inquiries; and philhealth (space) SMG (space) message for concerns and complaints.

PhilHealth’s benefits, programs and policies can now also be asked directly to the government agency.

For simple queries and complaints, PhilHealth 3 said it can provide answers within eight hours.

But for more complex queries, PhilHealth 3 said it will address them within 72 hours.

This was the assurance made by PhilHealth Region 3 Branch A Manager Lemuel Untalan, adding that this interactive facility is geared toward gathering data on the most frequently asked questions and the most common concerns raised by stakeholders in the easiest and most convenient way, which is via text messaging.

Friday, September 14, 2018 A5

ManilaMed: 51 Years of Nurturing Care and Healing

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ter (1st in the Philippines), the Life Care Center and the most recently established Sports and Exercise Medicine Center .

ManilaMed is also actively reaching out to the community using digital online technology such as managing its official social media page, Facebook Live, among others. It has become a leading proponent of and a thought leader in urban health. In 2015, ManilaMed received Gold Award for Marketing, PR and Online Presence, from the Asian Hospital Management Awards.

he legacy of ManilaMed shines bright and true more than 50 years after its founding: a half-century of nurturing and compassionate care extended to Filipinos for generations. To regard this legacy is to both recall the hospital’s inspiring history while looking forward to its expanding horizons.

In line with this, ManilaMed held a weeklong celebration of its 51st anniversary from August 13 to 17. It was an opportunity for the hospital’s medical and non-medical personnel, as well as business partners and other stakeholders, to reach out and gather in fellowship and goodwill.

Various activities were lined up for the weeklong fete, each one an occasion for gratitude and reflection and also some good clean fun.

Community and partners outreach

On August 13th, ManilaMed held their annual bloodletting and medical mission, as well as Palarong Pinoy Olympics. It was a chance to touch base with the community through free doctors’ consultations.

Through these activities, ManilaMed lives fully its guiding philosophy of putting patients first and making them feel better.

This was followed on August 14th by a pediatrics post-graduate symposium. This brought to the forefront the latest updates on the care of the Z-generation in the field of pediatric care.

By August 15th, the date of the hospital’s inauguration back in 1967, the entire ManilaMed community held an Anniversary Mass at the Our Lady of the Assumption Chapel, officiated by Rev. Msgr. Jose Clemente F. Ignacio, which was followed by the formal program at the Dr. Paulo C. Campos Hall. ManilaMed President Mr. Jose Santiago A. dela Cruz, Jr. gave the welcome remarks.

After a hearty and delicious lunch, we were awed by the singing and dancing talents of the General Nursing Unit and Ancillary staff. The winners of the ManilaMed Ambassadors Program were announced. This was followed by the formal recognition of the recipients of the ManilaMed Loyalty Award.

Medical Director Susana P. Padilla-Campos gave the closing remarks, underscoring the importance and significance of the celebration and encouraging all medical staff to rally behind the momentum being experienced by the hospital.

In the evening, ManilaMed partook of a special dinner with business partners during the Appreciation Night.

August 16 was a highly anticipated day with the Medical Staff Organization Officers excited to surprise us with Filipino delicacies, Filipino dance numbers from the various clinical departments, raffle galore and music & dancing until the early morning hours.

Cancer Care Center

Coffee Table Book launch, Sports and Exercise Medicine Center

The official ManilaMed Coffee Table Book was launched on August 16th, over dinner during the special Doctors Night. The book keeps between its covers the history and legacy of ManilaMed for the past 50 years--a volume that preserves all these for posterity.

On August 17th, ManilaMed launched it’s new Sports and Exercise Medicine Center together with a symposium, which was so well received beyond expectations. It was a fitting conclusion to cap off a busy yet fulfilling anniversary week.

Pioneering spirit, heart for others

The anniversary celebration commemorated ManilaMed’s rich and colorful history that began some five decades ago.

ManilaMed, then called the Medical Center Manila, was inaugurated 51 years ago, on August 15, 1967 by its founders: six distinguished physicians, all graduates of the University of the Philippines and trained for many years in their specialties in the United States.

Chief among them was Dr. Paulo C. Campos, who would later be recognized as a National Scientist of the Philippines for Nuclear Medicine .

Dr. Campos was the hospital’s first Medical Director and his leadership steered the hospital through its first few years as it established itself in the community. It was a pioneering effort that took healthcare in the City of Manila to a new level.

The hospital was built along United Nations Avenue, close to the corner of Taft Avenue. This was the ideal location for the hospital’s founders and doctors on staff; most of whom were also practicing at the Philippine General Hospital along Taft Avenue.

But why would these physicians want an additional hospital for their practice?

At the time, there was a need for more tertiary private hospitals in the City of Manila. While the PGH provided quality medical care, it was primarily serving the indigent, who rightly so, became somewhat a priority at that hospital.

Private patients, on the other hand, needed a place to take care of their needs. There were already a lot of patients being served by the PGH even then: it was better to have another private hospital close by to help ease the number of patients depending on the PGH.

Significantly, the same quality and competent care that PGH was known for was brought to ManilaMed by its founders and doctors on staff.

This includes the ethos of putting patients’ needs and welfare first of all.

Today, half a century later, the same level of competence and expertise, as well as compassionate, nurturing care, are given to patients of ManilaMed.

Season of Grace

In March 2013, Medical Center Manila became part of the Mount Grace Hospitals Network Inc., This infused the hospital with new life and fresh inspiration. The hospital has since been re branded to its present name and identity, ManilaMed.

This resulted in an upgrade in facilities and amenities, all meant to enhance patient experience. The hospitals interiors were renovated to create a relaxing ambiance that relieves the anxiety among patients and their carers.

ManilaMed’s interiors do not follow the usual clinical, antiseptic design stereo-typically associated with hospitals. Instead, a visit to ManilaMed makes you feel like you’ve entered a hotel. It’s this sort of premium experience that reassures patients that they are in safe hands, that their concerns will be resolved, and their needs addressed.

State of the art–but with a heart

Since 2013, ManilaMed has invested in and acquired new state-of-the-art equipment to continue providing the best care to its patients.

One of these is the LINAC or Linear Accelerator, which is the gold standard for radiation therapy for cancer patients.

Yet, even with significant investments made in new machines and equipment, ManilaMed continues to do everything it can to make its services affordable to the most number of patients. The ethos of putting patients first is still alive and well as a guiding philosophy with ManilaMed’s manifesto:

“We value the good of every patient before anything else. This is why we’ve strived to equip ourselves with only state-of-the-art medical equipment and invite the country’s top healing professionals, still with compassionate healthcare at our very core.

For every person who walks through our doors we promise nothing but our very best–all in the interest of making them feel better.”

Of note are it’s Center of Excellence the Eye Center, the Brain Health Center (EEG Unit and Stroke Unit) Cancer Care Center, Cardiovascular Catheterization and Intervention Center, Center for Women’s Health, Child Development Enrichment Center, Diabetes Care Center, Gender Diversity Cen-

Stepping up to the forefront in the war against cancer in 2017, the hospital opened its Cancer Care Center that serves as a one-stop cancer facility with state-of-the-art equipment, and a fresh, and holistic approach to treating cancer patients.

Launched on June 20, 2017 led by then ManilaMed President Mr. Jose Ronaldo Delos Santos, the center is proud to be the only center in the country that is equipped with the most advanced technology for cancer treatment.

The ManilaMed Cancer Care Center also boasts of its Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) approach in dealing with their cancer patients. The multidisciplinary team is composed of members of different disciplines (Internist/ Pediatrics , Medical Oncologist, Psychiatrists, Radiation Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Pain and Palliative Care, Social Workers, Pastoral Care), each providing specific services to the patient.

Aside from its novel approach, the Cancer Care Center at ManilaMed has only the best hardware in the country. The centerpiece of the Cancer Care Center is a state-of-the-art Linear Accelerator (LINAC) provided by ManilaMed’s partner in this endeavor, the Philippine Oncology Center Corporation. A LINAC is a radiation therapy machine that utilizes focused radiation to kill cancer cells. In many cases, radiation is a less drastic and less invasive option than surgery.

The most advanced feature of this LINAC is Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT). When older LINACs have to move from angle to angle, delivery of radiation is stopped so that the beam can conform to the two-dimensional shape of the tumor from the new perspective, the model in ManilaMed can adjust the beam on the fly while continually delivering radiation.

Ultimately, the Cancer Care Center hopes to distinguish itself by putting the patient at the center in managing the disease. It is not only about having all concerned medical specialists working as a team to oversee a case, but it is enabling the patient and his family to be part of the process.

Gender Diversity Center

The roots of gender related confusion can be genetic, psychological, and hormonal. The issues that those in the LGBTQ community face are still societal, ubiquitous, inhumane, and deep seated. ManilaMed decided to take on an assistive stand, to be the first hospital in the country to open a Gender Diversity Center.

The aim is to help each person work one’s own gender identity, understand biological sex; allow choice of sexual expression Health education to address concordant psychiatric condition like depression , anxiety, suicidal ideation and to increase awareness of the rise in sexually transmit-

ted diseases (STDs) both of which are significantly increased in the LGBTQIA community. Equally important, the Center aims to help people and their loved ones accept and embrace whatever the outcome turns out to be.

The center offers a comprehensive array of services, and handles inquiries with the utmost discretion, respect, and compassion. Each person is thoroughly assessed by a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) that includes an adolescent pediatrician, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, an endocrinologist, a surgeon, a reconstructive surgeon, a neurologist and a family therapist.

Going far beyond the clinical and the medical, the Center’s approach is both comprehensive and holistic. It involves not just treating a person, but journeying with the person, and also the person’s family and loved ones. Ultimately, the aim is not just to empower people with an improved sense of self and self-worth, or even just to help their families be more accepting and compassionate. ManilaMed is committed to keep pricing as affordable as possible, to ensure that the center does not cater exclusively to the affluent. The Gender Diversity Center also promises that all cases will be handled with the utmost discretion, respect and compassion.

Sports and Exercise Medicine Center

Sports Medicine is not restricted to the athletic field only. The division comprises the treatment of injuries that occur due to any sort of physical activity, which may or may not be associated with sports. The injuries may be the subsequent result of overuse, sudden collision, over-exertion, or over-extension of the muscles of the joints. Sports Medicine is a practice that treats all sorts of musculoskeletal injuries.

The sports medicine “team:” includes specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, coaches, other personnel, and, of course, the athlete.

Its function is not only curative and rehabilitative, but also preventative, which may actually be the most important one of all.

When an athlete is injured, he or she wants to recover quickly so that they can get back to doing what they love. This is why sports medicine is important. The right sports medicine tech can treat them appropriately in no time.

Sports medicine physicians are especially trained to care for athletes, fitness professionals, and active individuals. They understand the impacts of sports and exercise on their patients’ bodies, such as concussions and repetitive motion injuries, and they work closely with orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists to develop tailored treatment plans that suit each patient’s specific needs.

Sports medicine specialists also play a role in developing tailored training programs constructed around an athlete’s individual needs, strengths, and weaknesses. These experts have the knowledge and tools to evaluate an athlete’s anatomical strengths and weaknesses, make training regimen recommendations, and identify areas for improvement.

ManilaMed recently held the first Sports Medicine Forum to launch its Sports and Exercise Medicine Center headed by Dr. Lucky Cuenza, Sports Cardiologist and Dr. Gerardo Herrera, an Orthopedic Surgeon.

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Friday, September 14, 2018

The World BusinessMirror

China says Washington asks to resume talks on tariff fight

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EIJING—Washington has invited Beijing to hold new talks on their escalating tariff dispute, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday, ahead of a decision by President Donald J. Trump on whether to raise duties on $200 billion of Chinese imports.

The announcement followed reports by American and European chambers of commerce that foreign companies in China have been hurt by earlier tariff hikes by both sides in the fight over Beijing’s technology policy.

“We have indeed received an invitation from the US side. We welcome it,” said a ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang. “Now the two sides are in communication on relevant details.”

Envoys from the two countries last met on August 22 in Washington but reported no progress.

Beijing has rejected pressure from the United States to roll back plans for state-led development of Chinese global champions in robotics, artificial intelligence and other fields.

Washington, Europe and other trading partners say those plans violate China’s market-opening commitments. American officials also worry they might erode US industrial leadership.

The two governments have imposed 25-percent tariffs on $50 billion of each other’s goods.

Two-thirds of American companies that responded to a survey said they have suffered lost sales or lower profits due to that increase, two chambers of commerce reported on Thursday.

More companies say they will suffer if Trump goes ahead with his planned tariff hike and Beijing retaliates, according to the American Chambers of Commerce in China and in Shanghai.

In addition to retaliatory tariffs, companies report China is slowing down customs clearances and stepping up inspections and other bureaucratic processes, the chambers said.

Forecasters have warned that the worsening conflict between the world’s two biggest traders could cut up to 0.5 percentage point off global economic growth through 2020 if all threatened tariff hikes go ahead.

“American companies are suffering both from China’s retaliatory tariffs, and—ironically— from US tariffs designed to harm the Chinese economy,” the two chambers said in a statement.

“AmCham China and AmCham Sh a ngh a i u rge bot h gover nments to return to the negotiating table.”

Beijing has issued a list of $60 billion of American products for retaliation if Trump’s next tariff hike goes ahead.

The chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China warned the Trump administration might be underestimating China’s resolve to fight back.

“The US administration runs the risk of a downward spiral of attack and counterattack, benefiting no one,” William Zarit said in the statement.

To avoid the tariffs, 30 percent of US companies are looking at moving assembly out of the United States or China or finding new suppliers, the chambers said. They said nearly one-third

IN this July 20 photo, people walk past a mural displaying world currency symbols on the outside of a bank in Beijing. Amid a worsening tariff battle, China is putting off accepting license applications from American companies in financial services and other industries until Washington makes progress toward a settlement, an official of a business group said on Tuesday. AP/MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

are thinking about canceling or postponing investment decisions.

Also on Thursday, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said 1 in 6 of its members that responded to a survey are delaying investment or expansion.

It said the conflict is “causing significant disruptions to global supply chains.”

China is running out of American imports for retaliation due to their lopsided trade balance, b ut t h r e at e n e d u n s p e c i f i e d “comprehensive measures” in June. That prompted worries it would use regulatory controls to disrupt US business operations in China.

Another business group, the US-China Business Council, said this week Chinese officials told it they were postponing accepting license applications from American companies in financial services and other fields until relations improve.

Some 63.6 percent of more than 430 companies that responded to the American chambers’ survey said profits and customer demand have fallen due to the US tariffs and 62.5 percent said the same about retaliatory Chinese tariffs.

About 74.3 percent said they would be affected if Washington’s

tariff increase on $200 billion of Chinese goods goes ahead. Some 67.6 percent said the same of China’s planned retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion of American goods.

The survey was conducted between August 29 and September 5.

Some 52.1 percent of companies said Chinese authorities are slowing customs clearances, increasing inspections or imposing other “qualitative measures.”

The European chamber said about 5 percent of companies reported shifting production out of the United States and about 7 percent were moving out of China.

That shows “neither side is ‘winning,’” because “both are equally prone to losing companies,” the chamber said.

China has tried without success to recruit Germany, France, South Korea and other governments as allies against Washington. Some of them have criticized Trump’s tactics but many echo US complaints about Chinese market barriers and industrial strategy.

“We share the concerns of the US regarding China’s trade and investment practices, but continuing along the path of tariff escalation is extremely dangerous,” the European chamber president, Mats Harborn, said in a statement. AP

WHO HAS LEVERAGE AT THE NAFTA TABLE? IT MIGHT NOT JUST BE TRUMP Suu Kyi defends ROM day one, President Donald J. notice to Congress that he’ll sign a new the Hill,” said Alden. prison terms for 2 Trump has imposed his will on talks trade deal with Mexico—and Canada “if Congress has the final vote to overhaul the Nor th American it’s willing”—by the end of November, Representative Robert Lighthizer Reuters journalists Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). But as his and his officials have to present text of the UShasTrade expressed optimism that the deal administration tries to seal the deal, it’s agreement to US lawmakers by the end of he’s negotiating could win broad support in Myanmar not clear he holds all the cards. this month. in Congress. Certainly, there are some

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YANMAR’S leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were jailed because they broke the country’s Official Secrets Act, and not because they were journalists.

Defending the rule of law in Myanmar to an audience at a World Economic Forum event in Vietnam on Thursday, Suu Kyi said that the controversial case “had nothing to do with freedom of expression at all,” and questioned whether international critics of the verdict had actually read the court’s judgement.

“If anybody feels there has been a miscarriage of justice I would like them to point it out,” Suu Kyi said in response to a question citing criticism of the judgement by US Vice President Mike Pence. “I don’t think anyone has bothered to read it,” she said, adding that the journalists had “every right to appeal.”

Pence said on Twitter the day after the verdict that he was “deeply troubled” by the ruling jailing the journalists “for doing their job reporting on the atrocities being committed on the Rohingya people,” referring to allegations of mass killings and ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar’s army in its Rakhine state.

Myanmar rejects the accusations.

Bloomberg News

Trump’s repeated threats to pull out of the pact have kept Mexico and Canada on their heels. The president may still brandish the threat of withdrawal to push a deal through Congress.

Yet Canada does have some leverage as it decides whether to join a tentative US deal with Mexico. Meanwhile, any deal Trump signs then requires congressional approval, and the Democrats are favored to seize control of the House in November, making approval far from a foregone conclusion.

Here are three ways to think about the power dynamics in the Nafta renegotiation:

Trump has all the leverage

TRUMP is the reason the negotiations are happening in the first place. He demanded a rewrite, and he set the tone with a series of proposals designed to reduce the US trade deficit, especially the large shortfall with Mexico.

When talks stalled earlier this year, the Trump administration employed a classic divide-and-conquer strategy, focusing on talks with Mexico and leaving Canada on the sidelines. The result was a preliminary deal with Mexico.

The US is trying to convince Canada to join the party, keeping the three-way structure of Nafta intact. But Trump has made clear he’ll sign a deal only with Mexico if necessary, and he has threatened tariffs on Canadian-made cars if it can’t strike a deal.

The clock is ticking: Trump has given

No, Canada does

CANADA may be the David to the US Goliath, but it has proven to be a tenacious negotiator in the past, and it’s standing its ground on Nafta.

The US said it wanted a deal by August 31, so that outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto could sign the agreement before his successor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, takes office December 1, thus insulating the new president from the political risks of a new trade accord. But Trudeau called Trump’s bluff, and negotiations with Canada continue.

One key advantage for Trudeau: the math on new auto rules may depend on Canada’s inclusion. The US-Mexico proposal requires at least 40 percent of cars in the trade zone be made by workers making $16 per hour. Adding Canada’s relatively well-paid autoworkers would make it much easier to meet that threshold.

Trump’s plan may be to lure auto plants to the US from Canada. But for now, automakers and unions are pushing for Canada to be brought into the fold.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including members of Trump’s own Republican Party, share that view, which puts pressure on Trump to strike a deal with Canada, said Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

“The US and Mexico have said they will go it alone, but Congress has made it utterly clear that a US-Mexico only deal is DOA on

aspects of the new accord that Democrats can hail as a victory, including the first minimum-wage provision in a US trade deal. Republicans can argue they saved Nafta from the trashcan of history.

But because of the legal hoops the administration has to jump through, it’s unlikely Nafta 2.0 will be put to a vote until next year, when the political climate may be very different. Polls indicate the Democrats will take the House in the midterm elections in November. They will be looking to wound, not support, a president that their base abhors.

“The administration is flying a strange route, because it’s claiming to have Democrat support without doing the coalition building needed to get the votes,” said Scott Miller, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It’s not the Democrats’ agreement.

It’s not their president. They may just gleefully walk away.”

But what about Mexico?

EVEN though Mexico agreed to a new deal with the US, it’s still only a “preliminary agreement in principle,” and Mexico could easily walk away. Lopez Obrador has signaled that his administration will govern pragmatically, but he is still a maverick who campaigned against the establishment and espoused left-leaning policies. If a new Nafta turns into a political liability, he may be inclined to scuttle a deal. BloombergNews

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

Oil falls below $70 as supply risks assessed against Opec salvo

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IL traded below $70 a barrel as investors assessed whether other Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) members can fill the supply gap created by US sanctions on Iran and economic collapse in Venezuela.

Futures in New York dropped as much as 1.8 percent after closing at the highest in almost two months.

Traders are bracing for a meeting on production between the Opec and its allies in the Algerian capital on September 23. Speculation is swirling over whether a potential supply gap can be filled, with the International Energy Agency warning of higher prices if other Opec producers don’t pump more.

Oil has climbed over the past month, with Brent in London briefly breaking past $80 a barrel, as the impending US sanctions on Iran start removing barrels from markets, and shrinking American inventories combined with slowing production growth raise fears over a global supply crunch. Still, Opec warned on Wednesday that escalating trade tensions and a crisis in emerging markets could hurt oil demand, keeping investors guessing what path the group may take.

“There remains a lot of noise in this week ’s markets, but the confluence of bullish near-term signals, such as Iran sanctions, sinking US crude inventories and Mideast tensions should keep oil prices supported for the remainder of the week,” according to Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia Pacific at Oanda Corp.

“But traders are now pivoting to the Opec and non-members’ meeting next week in Algeria.”

We s t Te x a s I nt e r m e d i at e (WTI) for October delivery traded at $69.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down

$1.25, at 9:52 a.m. in London. The contract climbed $1.12 to $70.37 on Wednesday, the highest close since July 20. Total volume traded was about 35 percent above the 100-day average.

Brent for November settlement lost 93 cents to $78.81 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after rising above $80 for the first time since May 22 on Wednesday.

The global benchmark traded at a $9.89 premium to WTI for the same month.

Opec and its allies will meet in Algiers this month to assess global oil markets after having agreed to increase out put at their last meeting in June. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the nation has the capacity to set a new oil-production record, but it will discuss supplies with the group because it’s in everyone’s interest to keep the market balanced.

St i l l , fe a r s o ve r a s up ply crunch persisted, w ith Iran’s out put slumping by 150,0 0 0 barrels last month, according to Opec’s monthly market report.

The Persian Gulf state is the third-biggest producer among Opec members.

In the US, crude inventories dropped by 5.3 million barrels, to 396.2 million barrels last week. This is the lowest since Febr uar y 2015, accord ing to the US Energy Information Administration data. Stockpiles in Cushing, Ok lahoma, declined for the first time in five weeks.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Florence is set to park above the Carolinas coastline, threatening fuel markets along the US East Coast. Duke Energy Corp. warned of power loss in North and South Carolina, with the hurricane posing a threat to some pipelines running through the region. Bloomberg News

FIERCE HURRICANE FLORENCE AIMS AT SOUTHEASTERN COAST

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YRTLE BEACH, South Carolina— Time is running short to get out of the way of Hurricane Florence, a monster of a storm that has a region of more than 10 million people in its potentially devastating sights as it zeroes in on the Southeastern coast.

Fo re c a s te r s s a i d e a r l y Th u r s d ay that the storm’s outer rain bands are approaching the North Carolina coast. Its wind speeds have dropped from a high of 140 mph (225 kph) to 110 mph (175 kph), reducing it from a Category 4 storm to a Category 2, and additional fluctuations and weakening were likely as it swirled toward land. But authorities warned Florence has an enormous wind field that has been growing larger, raising the risk of the ocean surging on to land and making Florence extremely dangerous.

“Do you want to get hit with a train or do you want to get hit with a cement truck?” said Jeff Byard, an administrator with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The National Hurricane Center’s best guess was that Florence would blow ashore as early as Friday afternoon around the North Carolina-South Carolina line, then slog its rainy way westward with a potential for catastrophic inland flooding that could swamp homes, businesses and farm fields.

About 5.25 million people live in areas under hurricane warnings or watches, and 4.9 million live in places covered by tropical storm warnings or watches, the National Weather Service said.

Weather Underground meteorology director Jeff Masters said Florence eventually could strike as merely a Category 1 hurricane with winds less than 100 mph (160 kph), but that’s still enough to cause at least $1 billion in damage. Water kills more people in hurricanes than wind, and he said it will still be an extremely dangerous storm for rain and storm surge.

The hurricane center is forecasting the storm to hover near the coast on Saturday with winds of around 80 mph (130 kph) before landfall, but with rainfall in the 20 to 30 inches (50 to 75 centimeter) range and up

to 13 feet (nearly 4 meters) of storm surge.

President Donald J. Trump both touted the government’s readiness and urged people to get out of the way. “Don’t play games with it. It’s a big one,” he said at the White House.

As of 5 a.m. EDT it was about 205 miles (325 kilometers) east southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and about 250 miles (450 kilometers) east southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, moving northwest at 15 mph (24 kph).

It’s unclear exactly how many people fled, but more than 1.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia were warned to clear out. Airlines had canceled nearly 1,000 flights and counting. Home Depot and Lowe’s activated emergency response centers to get generators, trash bags and bottled water to stores before and after the storm. The two hardware chains said they sent in a total of around 1,100 trucks.

Duke Energy, the nation’s No. 2 power company, said Florence could knock out electricity to three-quarters of its 4 million customers in the Carolinas, and outages could last for weeks. Workers are being brought in from the Midwest and Florida to help in the storm’s aftermath, it said.

Boarding up his home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Chris Pennington watched the forecasts and tried to decide when to leave.

“In 12 or 18 hours, they may be saying different things all over again,” he said.

Computer models of exactly what the storm might do varied, adding to the uncertainty. Reacting to the possibility of a more southerly track, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared an emergency but did not immediately order any evacuations.

“I ask all Georgians to join me in praying for the safety of our people and all those in the path of Hurricane Florence,” Deal said.

In Virginia, where about 245,000 residents were ordered to evacuate lowlying areas, officials urged people to remain away from home despite forecast changes showing Florence’s path largely missing the state. AP

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Friday, September 14, 2018 A7

Palace wants farmers to plant hybrid rice

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

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@BNicolasBM

HE government is planning to use part of the revenue it will collect from the conversion of the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice into tariffs for the procurement of local hybrid rice seeds for farmers, Malacañang said on Thursday.

Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. noted that Filipino farmers are encountering difficulties in procuring hybrid rice seeds, which would allow them to produce more palay.

Roque said the government will prioritize the purchase of hybrid rice seeds once the QR is finally converted into tariffs.

“Our farmers cannot afford hybrid rice seeds so the tariffs that we can get from rice imports could be spent on the procurement of hybrid rice seeds by local farmers to increase their productivity and help in achieving the country’s rice selfsufficiency,” Roque said in a radio interview in Filipino.

He also agreed that the country’s agricultural productivity is low compared to its neighbors in Asia.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno told the BusinessMirror that the tariffs that will be collected from rice imports after the QR is lifted should become part of the

“agriculture modernization fund.” “[The money] should be used to modernize agriculture, appropriately crafted, but not as unconditional cash transfer to farmers,” Diokno said.

The conversion of the QR into tariffs is expected to bring down the prices of rice to as much as P7 per kilogram.

Last month the House has passed its version of the rice tariffication bill on third and final reading. Its version included a provision mandating the creation of Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which would consist of all the tariffs earned from rice imports. The fund will be used to help rice farmers become competitive.

Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, head of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, vowed that the upper chamber will pass the rice tariffication bill within the month after the Economic Development Cluster recommended the fast-tracking the

measure as one of the nonmonetary inflation busters.

Malacañang has also urged the Senate to pass the measure within the month after the August inflation rate surged to a nine-year high of 6.4 percent.

According to the House version of the rice tariff bill, the country will also impose a bound tariff rate of 35 percent for rice from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, regardless of volume while the country will impose a 40-percent bound tariff mostfavored nation rate for in-quota rice imports from countries that do not belong to the Asean.

The country’s MAV for rice shall also revert to its 2012 level of 350,000 metric tons from the current 805,000 MT. The bill designates the National Food Authority (NFA) as the sole authority that will undertake the direct importation of rice to ensure food security and maintain sufficient national buffer stocks.

The NFA will be authorized to allocate permits among certified and licensed importers and to issue guidelines for the export of rice and corn by licensed traders.

The President will also adjust the applied rate; regulate rice exports, impose temporary regulations or restrictions on the volume of imports of rice; and enter into trade negotiations or renegotiations relating to the bound or maximum rates committed to or to be committed by the Philippines in relation to rice.

Villar opens training program on mechanization of rice production

Hike in demand to boost broiler output–Ubra

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE country’s broiler output this year could expand by 5.4 percent to 970 million heads on the back of higher demand, according to the United Broilers Raisers Association Inc. (Ubra).

Ubra President Elias Jose Inciong said broiler production in 2018 may reach 960 million to 970 million heads, higher than last year’s output estimated at 920 million heads.

The expected total broiler output this year translates to about 1.248 billion kilograms to 1.261 billion kg at an average weight of 1.3 kg per broiler.

Inciong said the broiler farms’

expansion is rooted on the optimism that demand would be higher due to the increase in population and the improvement in the purchasing power of Filipinos.

Nonetheless,Inciongsaidthe5-percent broiler output expansion is “organic” as the sector has been growing at such a pace for the past five years.

In fact, Ubra projected that total broiler output this year to reach 1.3 billion heads but Inciong said due to “multiple factors” in the first half, output would fall short of this estimate. In 2017 Ubra projected an output of 1.135 billion heads.

“We are really expecting more than usual but the reality is we have a problem at the breeder side,” Inciong said during a forum in Quezon City

BLOOMBERG NEWS

on September 13.

“The female lines are more or less perfect in nature but the male lines, that is where the industry are having problemsforthepasttwotothreeyears.

It is either the male lines are super aggressive or lacks libido,” he added.

Furthermore, Inciong said some of the factors that cuts demand for broiler includes the hike in global oil prices, the increase in United States Fed rates and the increase in the prices of utilities and other commodities.

“This reduces the consumers’ dispensable money for meat,” he said.

Based on the estimates of Ubra, the bulk of the production would be in the fourth quarter wherein climatic conditions are more favorable for broiler output.

Piñol asks local govts to craft food security plan

T SEN. Cynthia A. Villar, along with representatives from the Department of Agriculture and Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, inspects the farm tools to help farmers switch to a mechanized way of farming. The senator, who chairs the Senate on Agriculture and Food Committee, said this would boost farmers’ productivity and income. The training program was held at the Villar Sipag Farm School in Bacoor, Cavite. SIPAG FARM SCHOOL

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TRAINING program to help rice farmers switch safely to mechanization, reduce the production cost of palay and boost their productivity was recently held at the Villar Sipag Farm School in Bacoor, Cavite.

Sen. Cynthia A. Villar welcomed participants to the training program held in partnership with the Department of Agriculture Regional Office 4A and the Philippine Center for Post harvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech).

The two-day seminar taught participants safety measures in farm operations and the use of farm tools and equipment, such as hand tractor, four-wheel tractor, manual seeder, rice transplanter, irrigation pump, solar pump, among others.

“We are introducing this module on rice machinery operations to help our farmers switch to the mechanized way of farming. Mechanization will help our farmers reduce the production cost of palay and improve their productivity,” Villar said.

The 25 participants coming from the University of Rizal-Tanay Campus, Laguna State Polytechnic University-Siniloan Campus, Cavite State University-Indang Campus, and UP Los Baños, underwent handson training on rice land preparation and rice crop establishment.

Villar, chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, also encouraged the different farm schools and learning sites all over the country to conduct training on rice machinery operations and help

disseminate knowledge on mechanized farming techniques.

“The lifting of import quotas on rice would put local farmers at a disadvantage and we have been working double time to put up measures that will help farmers compete against the cheaper produce of Thailand and Vietnam,” Villar said.

The Nacionalista Party senator said she is putting up rice schools to teach our farmers how to mechanize and how to produce seeds that will provide greater yield at 6 metric tons per hectare.

In the rice tariffication bill she is sponsoring,aP10-billionRiceCompetitiveness Enhancement Fund sourced from the national budget will be created to bankroll programs designed to improve farmers’ productivity.

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) urged local government units (LGUs) to craft their own food security plans following a rice crisis that gripped Zamboanga City, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he would hold a food security forum with all the country’s town mayors in October. The forum would have the theme, “Mamamayan ko, Pakakainin ko.”

“The Municipal Food Security plan will indicate each town’s population, the food consumption and the capability to produce the food requirement of their people.

[These] will be submitted to the DA during a series of forum in four areas next month,” Piñol said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

The DA would divide the mayors into four clusters to facilitate easier dialogue: Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

The food security plans of the LGUs would include the following: topographical and geographical map of the town; total population and land area; existing and potential production areas for rice, corn vegetables, poultry and livestock; food sufficiency levels.

It would also identify the inter-

ventions required to achieve food sufficiency in their towns and possible sources of food supply if the areas are not suitable for and capable of farm production.

“The Municipal Food Security Plan will clearly indicate whether a town is capable of feeding its own people and what it needs to produce food, like how many kilometers of farm to market roads, where are the potential sources of water and postharvest facilities,” Piñol said.

“The food security plan of each town will be collated and included in a national food security plan which will be submitted to President Duterte,” he added.

Piñol said the national food security plan would serve as the basis of programs and expenditures of the national government “to ensure that there will be enough food for all.”

Bukidnon veggies

THE DA said it is rolling out P200 million worth of interventions to develop 50,000 hectares for vegetable production in Bukidnon.

“The DA will officially open tomorrow [Friday] the country’s new ‘vegetable bowl’ as it delivers an estimated P200 million in credit and production support and assistance to farmers in the mountain towns of Bukidnon

province in Northern Mindanao,” Piñol said in a Facebook post.

He said the four towns of Talakag, Lantapan, Impasugong and Sumilao in Bukidnon have a potential area of 50,000 hectares that are suitable for vegetable production.

At present, Piñol said only 6,000 hectares are planted with vegetables as farmers are experiencing difficulties in accessing credit and markets for their produce.

Among the interventions that the DA will implement in the area are: Provision of P150 million in loans under the DA’s Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) Program to vegetable farmers at 6-percent annual interest without requiring collateral; Giving farmers in hilly areas four units of farm tractors and 15 working animals; and Make available two refrigerated containers to be used in transporting the vegetables to Metro Manila.

Piñol said the DA would also open a vegetable trading and packing center in a 1-hectare area, owned by the Talakag local government unit on Friday.

“Harbest Seeds President Arsenio Toto Barcelona will also establish a demonstration farm which will teach farmers how to use modern farming technology,” he said.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

A8 Friday, September 14, 2018

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Gordon pushing policy changes at Customs bureau vs smuggling

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

ITING “unabated smuggling” of illegal drugs and other commodities slipping past the Bureau of Customs, Sen. Richard J. Gordon is pushing for major changes in the BOC’s policy to check entry of smuggled shipments.

Lamenting that the government was losing P900 billion in “uncollected duties and taxes,” Gordon acknowledged on Wednesday “a marked improvement in the BOC’s

collections” but added: “may mga nakakalusot pa din.”

He found it alarming that “tons of illegal drug shabu were allowed to enter the country right through the

guardian of our ports.”

“This is especially so when there is a furor because people are killed for mere sachets of shabu,” the senator added, even as the Duterte administration is waging an “ongoing” deadly war against drugs.

In reopening the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee inquiry into the shabu-smuggling case, Gordon pressed for immediate policy changes in the BOC to step up the antismuggling drive. The senator suggested that all consignees of imported items brought into the country’s ports “must be registered to stop the practices of consigneesfor-hire or consignees-on-record,” which Gordon noted as a lucrative scheme that “only enable syndicates to bring in smuggled shipments.”

Gordon cited the recent shabu-

smuggling case where investigation showed a certain EMT Trading was used to bring out the banned shipment. Moreover, the senator suggested that the BOC should ensure that consignees have registered warehouses and trucking companies doing business with consignees should be duly-registered with the BOC, adding that the BOC should also “conduct regular inspections on warehouses since this could also help, amid the current rice crisis, ensure that there would be no hoarding.”

Gordon added that authorities should also verify that all trucks bringing out goods from Customs are registered. This, he said, also applies to the warehouses where the imported goods are stored.

“Ngayon ang bigas kinakapos. Di ba dapat lahat ng maglalabas ng bigas,

alam natin kung saan ang bodega nila at ini-inspection regularly? Kung may dumating na bigas diyan, dapat titingnan kung may itinatago o hinihintay na tumaas ang presyo. [Now our rice is in short supply. Isn’t it we should know which warehouse a stock of rice comes from and if this is regularly inspected? We must check if rice is being hoarded in this warehouse and if they’re waiting for prices to increase]” the senator said.

At the same time, Gordon wants to “reduce the period allotted by the BOC before declaring as abandoned shipments that are stacked in the BOC’s container yards.” He explains this “would not only decongest the Port of Manila, but would also snatch the opportunity for corruption and make the country attractive to foreign investors.”

BSP taps Visa, cultural groups to boost PHL financial literacy

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has entered into a partnership with Visa Inc., Teach for the Philippines (TFP) and the Tanghalang Pilipino (Filipino theater, TP) to boost efforts to heighten Filipinos’ financial literacy levels.

BSP Inclusive Finance Advocacy Office Head Pia Bernadette R. Tayag said the Central Bank saw the need to incorporate more innovative tools in terms of teaching both children and adults about saving and spending money wisely.

“We need more tools, innovative tools such as theater plays and more multisectoral partnerships such as this to promote financial education in the Philippines,” Tayag said. “We also need to sustain ongoing efforts to truly improve financial literacy levels of all Filipinos.”

Citing a World Bank study, she explained that only 2 percent of Filipino adults were able to correctly answer seven questions used for cross-country comparison in terms of financial literacy levels.

According to her, the BSP also partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd).

“We have an ongoing partnership with the DepEd so there is an opportunity to institutionalize [financial literacy videos as] teaching tools for the curriculum of K to 12,” Tayag said. “If we can put this also with that partnership, it will reach all public schools around 20,000. It’s already ready.”

VISA, world leader in payment technologies, expands its financial literacy efforts in the country, in partnership with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Teach for the Philippines and Tanghalang Pilipino. In addition to the second tour of Lukot-lukot, Bilog-bilog, a financial literacy theater production that was launched last year, a teacher-training component will be introduced as part of the program. Present during the launch are (from left) Teach for the Philippines Chief Strategy Officer Patricia Feria Lim, Tanghalang Pilipino Company Manager Carmela Manuel, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam Stuart Tomlinson, BSP Head of Inclusive Finance Advocacy Pia Roman Tayag, Tanghalang Pilipino Artistic Director Nanding Josef and BSP Financial Consumer Protection Department Officer Rochelle Tomas. ALYSA SALEN

According to her, the TFP was tasked to roll out this project. “But the one we are doing with the DepEd is for all, so it can be available as early as this year and then it will be institutionalized next year,” she added.

TFP Chief Strategic Resources

Banks given Nov. 30 deadline to include ACHs in e-channels

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ANKS that offer InstaPay and PESONet are given until November 30 to make available on their electronic banking (e-banking) channels these payment platforms.

Memorandum M-2018-026, signed

by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier on September 4, said the reminder was made in line with the Memorandum M-2018-12.

“The fund transfer confirmation of the BSFI [BSP-supervised financial institution] to its client-sender shall clearly indicate whether the fund transfer is made via PESONet or InstaPay to set proper expectation on the availability of funds to the beneficiaries in accordance with the prescribed turnaround time provided in item 3 of BSP Memorandum M-2018-012,” it said.

Banks are also given 10 days to inform the Central Bank’s Payment System Oversight Department (PSOD) once they have made available the two e-payment platforms in their system.

Banks that will fail to meet the deadline will face sanctions, it added.

InstaPay and PESONet are automated clearing houses (ACH) under the Central Bank’s National Retail Payment System (NRPS).

Specifically, InstaPay is a platform that provides consumers a safe, affordable and real-time low-value electronic payment for up to P50,000 per transaction without limit in a day.

Charges may apply to the one sending the fund and the one receiving it depending on the financial institution they will tap.

To date, 14 BSFIs have agreed to be the sender and receiver of InstaPay transactions, while 18 agreed to be receivers only.

On the other hand, PESONet is a batch electronic fund transfer (EFT) credit payment scheme, proceeds of which will be received by the payee within the same banking day if the payment instruction was sent before the cut-off time. To date, 43 BSFIs are part of this system.

NRPS aims to make electronic payments in the country account for 20 percent of total transactions by 2020. PNA

Officer Patricia Feria-Lim said 100 teachers will be immersed in the partnership component called “Train the Teachers Training” by October.

After finishing the training, the teachers will be deployed to around 36 public schools to teach saving

and spending wisely, she explained.

“When they go back to their school communities, our count is about, there are about a hundred teachers from 36 school communities, 22 cities and municipalities, 11 regions,” Lim said. “So it’s in Luzon, the

Visayas, and Mindanao, that is where we can see the multiplier effect.”

Visa said the partnership will enable the American multinational financial services firm to help expand its financial literacy efforts in the country this year. The teachertraining component will be introduced as part of the program in addition to the second tour of a financial literacy theater production that Visa launched last year.

“This year we aim to create a larger impact by introducing a teachertraining program that will educate teachers under TFP’s network,” Visa’s statement said. The teachers will gain knowledge and learn from TFP trainers how to integrate concepts of financial literacy into their lesson plans.

The theater production, titled Lukot-lukot, Bilog-bilog will also be produced in a digital format so that teachers can use the play as a teaching tool in the classroom. This will also ensure that more Filipino students in the country have access to this theater production, Visa said.

“Through our partnership with BSP, TFP and TP, we have created a powerful outreach program to scale our financial literacy efforts,” Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam Stuart Tomlinson said. “This year, our aim is to reach out to more students through the theater production and also empower teachers to introduce financial literacy into their teaching curriculum.” Rea Cu

DOF to provide online training to treasurers via tax academy

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HE Department of Finance (DOF) is eyeing to provide training and continuing education programs for local government treasurers through online courses offered by the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA), possibly in partnership with Chinese firm Huawei’s Philippine office.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said select online courses and classes can be accessed through a private cloud service dedicated to the PTA, wherein enrollees can remotely access the PTA’s online course offerings through their own computers, tablets or smartphones.

The finance chief broached this possibility during a meeting with Huawei Philippines’s officials, led by its CEO Ray Zhang, in August.

Zhang said the company is also developing its online education program and is now in the process of migrating its training systems over the Internet.

“We have the PTA. We can study if the training can be online. Each

municipality has a local treasurer, we can do the training online,” Dominguez said.

Director Angelica Sarmiento, head of the DOF’s Central Management Information Office, explained it was possible to come up with this online setup for training local treasurers, through “thin clients” or lightweight, hard driveless computers used to establish remote connections to the main PTA server.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has partnered with Huawei Philippines to encourage young innovators to come up with ICT solutions in empowering communities.

According to Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran, the PTA has already submitted to the DICT its three-year Strategic Information Plan, which includes setting up an information system for the academy to facilitate knowledge sharing.

Shawn Long, Huawei Philippines director for Government, said

the company is ready to offer its information and communications technology solutions, and organize workshops to assist the DOF and its attached agencies in migrating to an online environment.

The company plans to introduce to the Philippines soon its cloud service, Long said.

During the PTA’s launch in February, Dominguez said the institution is the first of its kind in the country. The PTA will not only provide the country’s revenue collectors and administrators with continuing training on best practices to sharpen their competitiveness but will also aim to heighten their commitment to their profession and raise their ethical standards.

Dominguez said he expects the PTA to collect information from all over the world and build strong linkages between research and education, while ensuring “complementarity between professional training and professional management.” Rea Cu

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Are you a joiner?

Association World Octavio Peralta

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Y good friend and fellow association executive, John Peacock, was in Manila recently to speak to members of my organization, the Philippines Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE), on association governance, membership services and finance.

John is owner and CEO of Sydney-based Associations Forum Pty Ltd., a member-based network of 500 associations, charities, clubs, societies and other not-for-profit organizations. Since its inception in 2004, John’s outfit has provided assistance to hundreds of associations and charities in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, South Africa and other countries. He signified his desire to help out Philippine associations, as well.

Introducing himself to the audience, John proudly says that he’s a “joiner” ever since he was young.

He narrates: “I am fortunate to be a ‘joiner.’

Since I was in high school and in the university, I was happy to volunteer for a club or for a role.

“Being involved meant I learnt about the club or cause, met new people, and achieved the goals of my unpaid, very part-time portfolio.

I remember clearly the great feeling that ‘I can do this task or project well.’

“It gave me a sense of achievement and confidence in my abilities.

Being a joiner and volunteer add to the quality of my professional and personal life. I am more confident and understand my community better.”

John’s experience is worth mentioning because it explains why people join associations. In Marketing General Inc.’s 2017 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, the top reasons members join associations are as follows: n Networking with others in the field n Continuing education n Access to specialized and/or current information n Learning best practices in their profession n Advocacy n Conferences/trade shows n To support the mission of the association n Discounts on product or meeting purchases n Prestige of belonging to the association n Association publications n Accreditation or certification On the other hand, John Wiley & Sons Inc., a journal-publishing partner to more than 900 global scholarly societies, cited four reasons why people do not join associations, based on 2014 survey results: n High cost n Never been invited to join n Don’t know what’s available n Never occurred to me to join I believe the reasons for not joining can be dealt with by closely knowing your constituency and communicating clearly your relevance and value proposition. Joining associations far outweigh the reasons of not joining.

So John’s advice to nonmembers out there was: “I urge people to consider joining a cause they believe in and also offering to serve on a board or a committee—it is tremendously worthwhile.”

Octavio Peralta is concurrently the secretarygeneral of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE). PCAAE is holding its Sixth Associations Summit on November 23 and 24, at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC). The event is hosted by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and supported by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB). PCAAE enjoys the support of ADFIAP, TPB and the Philippine International Convention Center. E-mail obp@adfiap.org

The Regions BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Friday, September 14, 2018

A9

Local mobile apps developer bullish on Mindanao market

D

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—Consumers in at least two cities in Mindanao are beginning to patronize the services of a recently formed mobile application firm to buy goods and services from their favorite stores and facilities.

This new online service provider is called StreetBy, formed in Cagayan de Oro City in 2016. After formally operating last year, StreetBy was already making 100 deliveries daily within Cagayan de Oro and its suburbs. It has monitored daily mobile user downloads reaching 15,000 to

inquire into the kind and type of products they could deliver.

“What’s attracting our online merchants—the companies that tapped us to have their products delivered—is our offer of delivering the product to the end-users or consumers at the same price that

it is bought directly from their respective stores,” Benjo Francisco, StreetBy marketing officer, said.

For example, he said, a burger bought at P50 from a particular chain of fast-food store would still be the same price that a consumer would be paying when the same burger is delivered to his or her home or office.

“That is the advocacy that we carry in the business: to help both the consumers and our merchants,” Francisco told the BusinessMirror on Thursday.

afford to have their own mobile application and online delivery,” he said. “So they tap us instead.”

Food is among the more popular items that consumers want to have delivered to their homes or specified location. Another requested service is hotel accommodation.

“Consumers would be inquiring from us a lot about laundry, services of professionals such as photographers for wedding occasion,” Francisco said.

Requests

FORMED by mostly self-made young professionals, StreetBy expanded to Malaybalay City in Bukidnon in March this year and in Davao City last May. Some 100 companies, mostly food stores and hotels, in Davao City have signed up with StreetBy. The firm also formed a partnership with Davao’s Errands, also a service delivery operation here.

ACCORDING to Francisco, StreetBy’s merchants “are not the usually big-name companies that can afford to go into both interface and online selling.”

“Our merchants are small; they are start-ups that want to tap the online market and online delivery service like us but which could not

National

StreetBy’s partnership with Davao’s Errands was signed by StreetBy CEO Ronald Rhey P. Minoza and Val Gerald Lino S. Marquez, together with Ricky Hanz Tagabucba and Emmanuel Francis Torre, Errands owner and general manager, respectively.

The company plans to go nationwide but only after establishing a solid network among the key Mindanao cities.

“With the goal to position the business nationally, Davao indeed is the perfect location for StreetBy’s expansion. The city has been included in the list as one of the world’s 100 super cities not only because of its well-advanced business outsourcing sector, but also due to the city government’s positive reception and adaptiveness to digital transformation,” a StreetBy statement sent to the BusinessMirror said.

Evidence

THE company said its presence in Cagayan de Oro has been a solid evidence of its attraction to online consumers, “with the most recent data of catering up to 100 deliveries daily and its growing 15,000 user downloads—making it the most popular delivery platform in Northern Mindanao to date.” The company said Davao consumers may book for delivery of their items through Errands, but directly from their smartphones using StreetBy. “StreetBy is a total lifestyle app—aside from its food delivery feature, users can book for hotel rooms and activities, order ahead at restaurants, purchase event tickets, request for parcel delivery with cash handling and queueing services, book for on-demand laundry service and more upcoming features completing the total lifestyle experience,” the statement added.

A10 Friday, September 14, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

How to complain properly

B

eyond the Pearly Gates, where Saint Peter stands watch, is a department devoted to complaints from and about the Philippines. Rumor has it that the staff has been increased in the past few months.

Unlike at a local department store, these complaints are passed to higher authorities for potential future action and those that submit their grievances may not be responded to directly. However, if the protests are anything similar to what we hear and read on social media and in the press, there may be a good reason for that.

A recent complaint—which is justified—is that the Philippine trade deficit increased to the third-worst historical performance, the other two being in December 2017 and May 2018. The problem, though, is that too many think they understand the situation well enough to be rationally upset.

“Trade” is easy to understand and the word “deficit” is usually something negative. Then there is the spin as noted in this headline: “Trade deficit worsens as exports fall flat.” Or this one: “Philippine trade gap widens in July amid lackluster export growth.” People are smart enough to know that a weaker peso could increase exports and that did not happen. Further, a trade deficit can actually weaken the currency further. Finally, the trade deficit means that $3.97 billion went out of the country in July.

Therefore, the complaint and plea is, “Save the Philippines from our horrible trade deficit!”

While the July deficit is a fact, the “complaint” may not be “proper.”

As enumerated many times, the increase in the deficit came in large measure because of a 135-percent increase in the imports of iron and steel and a 61.1-percent increase in transport equipment.

The better complaint should be: “Why does the Philippines have to import virtually all of its steel needs?” The country’s largest steel producer, Steel Asia Manufacturing Corp. is investing $500 million for three integrated steel facilities in Luzon and the Visayas. Currently, the company is the largest producer in Southeast Asia of one of the least valueadded steel products—reinforcement steel or rebar. The new plants will produce products that are now 100 percent imported. Why are we faced with this situation? That is the genuine complaint.

The 61-percent increase in transport equipment also warrants a complaint of, “Why does the Philippines import virtually all of the buses that ply our roads?” The closest we come to manufacturing a bus is building the body to slap on the finished and complete imported chassis. And even then, that accounts for only about 20 percent of all the buses on the roads.

Let the foreign investors complain about a potential decrease in their government incentives and it makes front-page news. But there is no headline saying that every bus—in addition to countless other products—carries a plaque that says “Proudly Made in China.”

If we are going to complain, let’s complain about decades-long government policies that have in effect encouraged imports. We cannot properly regulate and control our mining industry so that we cannot tap our substantial iron ore deposits. We cannot produce steel products competitively—cheaper to import—because we cannot use domestic iron ore for our steel mills.

No wonder there is no direct response from the celestial complaint office. They probably got tired of writing, “Figure it out for yourselves.”

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

The victory of Filipina athletes Sonny M. Angara

Better Days

C

ongratulations are due to all the athletes, especially the podium finishers, who competed in the Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia. Without a doubt, Filipinos are proud that our athletes brought home 21 medals—four golds, two silvers and 15 bronzes. Getting four gold medals, in fact, is the country’s best Asian Games performance since winning seven gold medals in 1962.

With our medal count, we finished 19th out of 37 participating nations. Clearly, we could do better. This is nevertheless a step in the right direction as the country finished 22nd during the previous Asian Games, in Incheon, South Korea, with 15 medals—11 bronzes, three silvers and only one gold.

This year, our Filipina athletes clearly dominated. Out of 21 medals, 13—or 60 percent—were won

by Filipinas. More important, all of the four gold medals were due to the enormous efforts of female athletes.

You have Hidilyn Diaz who, at this point, has already become a household name for her silver medal

at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

After trailing against Kristina Shermetova, Diaz confidently performed a come-from-behind feat to beat the lifter from Turkmenistan. You also have Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go whose performance resulted in two gold medals in both the Women’s Individual and Women’s Team categories for golf—all in one day. This is our first gold win in the sport since Ramon Brobio in the 1986 Asian Games.

Perhaps t he big ger brea kthrough came from 19-year-old Cebuana Margielyn Didal who got the gold medal for Women’s Street Skateboarding—a notable finish for Didal and the country since

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Lourdes M. Fernandez

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Meanwhile, an April 2018 New York Times editorial cited this year’s Boston Marathon, which was bombed by torrential rains and nearfreezing temperatures. Men typically dropped out of the race at lower rates than women. But this year’s excruciating race found that men quit at rates 80 percent higher than 2017, where women only bowed out 12 percent more. Similar results were observed in the 2012 Boston Marathon, where it was heat that made the race atypically difficult. The upshot was that the difference could possibly be explained not by physiology or genetics, but psychology. The editorial noted that perhaps women basically tend to endure against adversity more than men.

Such studies should only highlight the innate dignity and strength of women. And when viewed in tandem with our recent medal showing, they should underscore that the government should only ramp up its grassroots sports programs and expand its support so that both men and women—boys and girls—are enticed to play more, to discover their niche and ultimately pursue sports excellence.

Sen. Sonny M. Angara was elected in 2013, and is now the chairman of the Senate committees on local government, and ways and means.

Email: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara.

Taxation of offshore gaming and its implications

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

Asian Games authorities recognized skateboarding as an official sport this year. This is particularly special for the female skateboarder who shared with the media that her passion is oftentimes ridiculed and restricted in the streets and other establishments. She now hopes for skateboarding to gain more attention and support, especially from the government.

What’s noteworthy—but hardly surprising—is that these gold medalists have broken gender stereotypes, having excelled in sports which were formerly associated only with men. Some have even pointed out that in certain sports, women outperform men.

For instance, a 2016 study by researchers from the Ben-Gurion University (Israel), the University of Saint Gallen (Switzerland) and New York University-Shanghai (China) found that in competitive tennis, men buckled more under pressure than women. Analyzing up to 8,200 Grand Slam matches, the researchers found that while male players made more unforced errors during “pivotal points” of the match, the performance of the female players varied less. In simpler terms, as the study put it, men choked more consistently than women—hence the conclusion that women respond better than men to competitive pressure.

I

n September 2016 the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) started issuing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations licenses that allow entities to engage in the business of offshore gaming operations. The government’s Pogo revenue in 2017 reached around P3 billion ($56 million) and is expected to rise to a whooping P6 billion ($115.2 million) this year. With its fast growth and profits, Philippine offshore gaming has caught the attention of the taxman.

Revenue Memorandum Circular 102-2017 and the recently issued RMC 78-2018 provide the rules on the taxability of offshore gaming operations in the Philippines.

In RMC 102-2017, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) classified Pogo taxpayers as either: (1) the licensee, which pertains to the Pogo duly licensed and authorized by the Pagcor to provide offshore gaming corporations and which may either be a Philippine-based operator or an offshore-based operator; or (2) other entities, which refer to a licensee or any other business entity which provides a particular component of the offshore gaming activities, i.e.

Pogo-gaming agent, service provider, and gaming support provider.

For tax purposes, the income of a Pogo taxpayer should be broken down between its income from gaming operations and its income from other services, shows and entertainment necessary and related to its gaming operations.

The entire gross gaming receipts/ earnings or the agreed minimum mont h ly revenues f rom gaming operations, whichever is higher, shall be subject to the 5-percent franchise tax in lieu of all kinds of taxes, fees or assessments. This means that income from gaming operations is exempt from any other national and local tax. On the other hand, income from services necessary and related to gaming operations shall be subject to the normal income tax, value-added tax and other

applicable taxes.

Further, income payments made by Pogo taxpayers for all their purchases of goods and services shall be subject to expanded withholding taxes while compensation, fees, commissions, or any other form of remuneration for services rendered to Pogo taxpayers are subject to withholding taxes on compensation.

While the above tax rules are very much straightforward, the quandary here is its application and enforcement to offshore-based operators. Under the rules, an offshore-based operator is an enterprise organized in a foreign country who will engage the services of a Pagcor-accredited local gaming agent and service providers for its offshore gaming corporations. Considering the digital nature of the business, these offshore-based operators have no physical presence upon which current rules of taxation are premised.

To address this, RMC 78-2018 now requires that all Pogo licensees, whether foreign-based or Philippine-based, including those that have already been issued a license to register with the BIR. From the BIR’s standpoint, “online activity is sufficient to constitute doing business in the Philippines.” Thus, offshore-based operators are considered as resident foreign corporations (foreign corporations engaged in trade or business within the Philippines) and not nonresident foreign corporations (foreign corporations not engaged in trade or business within the Philippines).

The Pogo licensees shall register with the BIR Revenue District Office having jurisdiction over the place where the Head Office and/or branch or “Pogo Hub” is located. As offshorebased operators do not have a physical presence in the Philippines, the RMC introduces the concept of a Pogo Hub. A Pogo Hub pertains to a complex, which houses the operations, as well as other logistical, administrative, and support services for offshore gaming operations of Pogo licensees and service providers. Therefore, even if the offshore-based operator does not have a head office or branch in the country, the Pogo Hub operated by its contracted service provider will suffice for jurisdiction tax purposes.

The implications of these rules on the Philippine offshore gaming industry are far-reaching. Currently, there is an ongoing international debate on how to adapt existing tax rules to digital business activities. In March 2018, for example, the European Commission adopted a proposal that will enable the member-states of the European Union to tax profits generated in their territory by digital companies even if that company does not have a physical presence there. Such digital company shall be deemed to have a taxable “digital presence” or “virtual permanent establishment” provided certain requirements be met. A law has yet to be passed carrying on this proposal.

See “Tax Law,” A11

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s inflation in light of history

Friday, September 14, 2018 A11

This little bird Tito Genova Valiente

ANNOTATIONS

Luis F. Dumlao

EAGLE WATCH Continued from A1

I

NFLATION in the 1980s peaked at 50 percent in 1984. During the martial law years, multiple economic missteps with the help of two major global oil crises in the 1970s culminated in October 1984, when the government declared to its global lenders that it could no longer pay its debt on time.

Of course, it did not help that political instability sparked by the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. in 1983 was heating. Inflation in the 1990s peaked at 18.7 percent in 1991 immediately after the oil-price shock resulting from the first Gulf War and concurrently in the midst of global recession. Inflation yet again spiked to 9.7 percent in 1998 resulting from (1) the Asian financial crisis that began in July 1997 in Thailand that spread like a contagious disease, and (2) the 1997-98 El Niño which is to this day considered as one of the worst in history.

Inflation in the present century first spiked at 7.8 percent in 2005 due to two outstanding reasons (1) one being the increase in the global price of oil from $56 in August 2004 to $88 in August 2005 (a 57-percent increase), and (2) another being the passing of the expanded value-added tax (e-VAT) law first implemented in 2005. Inflation thus far in the present century peaked at 9.3 percent in 2008 due to the global financial crisis.

Sometimes referred to as the beginning of the Great Recession, the consensus in the economics profession is that the said crisis is the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Fast-forward to August 2018, inflation has reached 6.4 percent, which, as mentioned, breached 6 percent for the first time in nine years, and from January to August has averaged 4.7 percent.

What are the causes of the recent uptick in inflation? The generally cited causes

are (1) the increase in the global price of oil from $48 in August 2017 to $70 in August 2018 (a 46-percent increase); (2) the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), (3) the depreciation of the peso vis-à-vis the US dollar; which is the predominant global currency; and (4) the rising price of rice due to the failure to secure buffer stock for the population.

Where is the present inflation from a historical point of view? The present inflation seems to be in the process of repeating 2005. As mentioned, the global price of oil increased by 57 percent in 2005, while the same increased by 46 percent in 2018. In addition, major tax laws were first implemented in 2005 and 2018, one of which is the e-VAT law first implemented in 2005 and the other of which is the TRAIN law first implemented in 2018. From the supply side, the e-VAT law in 2005 increased the VAT from 10 to 12 percent, while the TRAIN law in 2018 increased the tax on petroleum products, sugarsweetened beverages and “sin” products, and also reduced the VAT exemptions.

From the demand side, in 2005, corporate income taxes were reduced from 35 to 30 percent, while in 2018, personal income taxes are reduced accordingly per income bracket.

Will the present inflation get worse than in 2005? It will mostly depend if the depreciation of the peso vis-à-vis the US dollar and the rising price of rice continue.

Last Tuesday night, my sister, Lilibeth who lives in Tokyo, sent me an e-mail I sent her in 2001. I was on a fellowship from Japan Foundation. A few days before I left for the island of Shikoku, where I would be interviewing Filipino shipbuilders and laborers, I stayed with my future brother-in-law, Sadahito Tanaka, in an old house in Niza, in Saitama. To reach the bus terminal, I had to cross a bridge over a gurgling stream where huge fishes swam while white and black swans floated above them. The house had large windows where I could see and hear, or imagined, a conversation between seasons, as Summer and its green colors turned into the gold and red of Autumn. I was young, arrogant and pleased with the world. Or so, I thought. The essay begins with an instruction for my sister.

This story is for you Dana, Lia & Therese. If Ara and Mik are interested in the story, this story is also for them. And, if you will be patient and loving to have time to tell this to Jonah, this is also for him. The title of my story is “Bird Story”. The different but, I think, linked stories, are products of my everyday observation whenever I miss you, or whenever I am tired, bored, sleepy, waking up or half-asleep. Tell me what you think of these short, short tales.

run to catch the bus, I have time to look at the clouds, their formation, whether they tell me if the rains are coming or are gone, if the season is changing from summer to autumn, and if the day will just be alright.

This noon, I see dark skies but there is no rain. A most unusual and wistful day. It is better to have rain clouds and have rains later on than just to have them up there, without purpose, I tell myself. Then suddenly, I see above me a dark figure. A hawk in this city? It is flying high, with strong determined flying. You could see how it flaps its wings vigorously and allows the wings to remain spread, wide for seconds.

A very good flier, it must be a hawk, I am left convinced. It is heading south, for warmer weather, perhaps. And then, it turns again, flying low to go back to the trees. It is not a hawk, it is a crow. It is not crying, it is just flying. With nowhere to go, maybe.

In Hikarigaoka Park, the pigeons seem to own the place. They are overfed by people. They are given all the attention by the children who think of pigeons as kind, gentle souls. The pigeons can stay on the ground to eat bushels of corn, bits of candies, even ice cream from the small children.

Crows do not stay on the ground.

Children are scared of them and grown-ups tend to shoo them away.

But, one crow is different. Even in the bird kingdom, like in the human kingdom, someone can be different. This crow is not too big. Its neck looks tired and weak, with some of the hair around it missing. It is a crow disconsolate.

The day I first noticed the crow, it was following an old lady who

seemed to be talking to the bird. Indeed, she was. As the crow nudged its beak against the legs of the old lady, the old lady uttered,“Chotto matte.”

Please wait. The old lady was being polite to the crow. The crow started to touch the leg of the old lady with its black beak. It was not biting, it was touching.

I knew the crow was hungry.

I left the park with the crow and the old lady and went into the supermarket to buy some cheap crackers.

When I came back, the old lady was not there anymore. The crow was moving under the parked bicycle smelling the tires, perhaps trying to remember some kind bike riders who gave it food before.

I opened the bag of crackers. The crackling of the bag was heard by the pigeons. I totally forgot about them.

They started to swarm around me.

I threw some food at them. But, I did not forget why I was there. I was there to feed this black, ugly bird. I did not know why I wanted to feed it. The crow could not sing. It was not beautiful. It could not wake me up in the morning with a song or whisper. But I was certain it wanted some food.

After I scooped the last bits of crackers from the bag, I turned away.

There were too many birds. I looked at the crow. It was holding in its beak a big chunk of food from my bag. Was it looking at me? As I walked away from it, I told myself very quietly, “You are welcome.”

There was a sharp, crisp breeze from above. It was the earliest autumn breeze. I knew I was ready for the cold season.

plans of the Catholic Church as we prepare to celebrate the 500th year of Christianity in our country.

The faithful have also professed their pledge of devotion to Saint Padre Pio on September 13 at the Our Lady of Veritas Chapel in Edsa, Quezon City. Saint Padre Pio was an Italian priest who was known for his piety and charity, as well as the gift of the stigmata, which has never been explained.

By 1919, word began to spread about Padre Pio’s stigmata and people

came from far away to examine him.

He became popular with the people he encountered and soon began to attribute supernatural occurrences to him.

Meanwhile, devotees and all Catholics may also pray and look forward for other enthroned venerated images at Veritas Chapel, which include Nuestra Señora del Mar Cautiva (September 3 to 28), Our Lady of Peñafrancia (September 6 to 16), Saint Joseph Cupertino (September 10 to 18), and Saint Therese of the Child Jesus (September 22 to October 1).

Moreover, we are encouraging all the faithful to send their prayer requests, petitions, thanksgiving prayers and other intentions at the Healing Mass by 12 noon to be presided by Rev. Fr. Soy Hernando on September 17.

Devotees will also receive a pillow of Saint Padre Pio and a pledge of devotion certificate.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us take this opportunity

to pray not only for our personal intentions but also for our brothers and sisters in need to seek for God’s mercy, our leaders to remain faithful while serving our country, and our clerics and consecrated persons to continue their devotion to the Almighty Father.

We should always remember that devotion is a form of our faith and having faith means having hope for our brothers and sisters in need of God’s mercy.

For inquiries, you may call (02) 925-7932 to 39 local 129 and look for Ms. Renee Jose or Mr. Lawrence Valdez.

superstition and deadening custom and tradition, of vast resources running to waste, or a rich country inhabited by starving people. Who indeed could afford to ignore science today? At every turn we have to seek its aid. The future belongs to science and those who make friends with science.”

The importance of teaching science to our children can’t be overemphasized.

Unfortunately, our educational system

can do better to effectively inculcate scientific thought that is necessary in the development of science and technology among young minds. This sin of omission is partly responsible in the largescale dumbing down of generations of Filipinos in the field of science. Other factors that lead to the poor state of science teaching include outdated teaching methods, lack of equipment and books, lack of training of science teachers, and

overpopulated classrooms.

It is therefore important that Philippine educators and the government must work hand in hand to improve the way we teach science to our children. It is our collective responsibility to properly develop these young minds, give them the right foundation in school to bring out their potential to become future scientists.

T

HE late summer sun is shining on my face but this does not wake me up. It is the sound of a brown and gray bird.

It is not actually a sound; it is more of a song. The bird is perched on a solitary electric post. It could have chosen a beautiful tree full of leaves or even fruits which it can eat. Instead, it is there on the ugliest post in this small village. But the bird, in this drab setting, is singing. I thought only birds in spring sing. In fact, books I read as a child would tell me when the birds start singing even when there is still snow on the ground, it is already spring.

Now, this bird is changing my memories. In late summer, at this time when everyone waits for the leaves to fall, here is a bird singing sweet melodies that time and the skies taught him to sing. The bird can sing from anywhere. Not for joy or sadness, the bird seems to sing because it knows how to sing and knows when to sing.

It is morning again, the sun is not yet up. I wake up for no reason because of a very soft sound, almost like bright clouds rushing past each other in a murmur. Then from the whispering, I can hear a tiny, tiny voice. It is a song, barely discernible except that mornings here in my room in Niza are always quiet.

The song would stop every now and then. I look behind me for that is where I saw once the bird with the magnificent song. There is nothing there but the ugly, black post. I turn to the small window near my feet and out into the half-opened screen, and there I see the tiniest of birds. It is almost like the size of a big thumb.

The song would stop and then continue again because the bird is doing

something. It is drinking from the dew that were left on the leaves of the tree. Those crystal drops could well be the bird’s breakfast. Each time the bird swallows the tinier drops, it would let out a tiny sound. Perhaps, the bird was crying. It is the most melodious whisper in the world. It is good to wake up.

Crows in the city

THERE are too many crows in this city. I often wonder why there are so many of them and where do they come from. They fly in groups always, like a group of naughty children scaring others by their numbers, and their screams. Crows do not have songs, they have what I believe to be the loudest of voices. They seem to be calling each other, they seem to be complaining because there is not enough food for their big body.

Despite their ability to walk closely to people, children do not like them.

When I walk past the bridge going to the bus stop, I see these crows and I see the color of loneliness, black and flying and distant.

At the bus stop, because I do not

Devotion as a form of faith Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

Tax law. . .

continued from A10

companies with digital business transactions here, including foreign-based Pogos, as deemed “doing business” in the Philippines?

In the Philippines the BIR, through RMC 78-2018, is of the position that mere online activity is sufficient to constitute “doing business” in the Philippines. Notably, however, this has only been enunciated in an opinion by the Securities and Exchange Commission and not by the Courts. Nowhere can this also be expressly found in the Tax Code or other laws. With this comes the billion-dollar question that the Courts may eventually have to resolve: Is there legal basis to consider offshore-based

The author is a senior associate of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at pierremartin. reyes@bdblaw.com.ph or call 403-2001 local 311.

‘W

E will walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls us into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12).

As we are preparing ourselves for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ through the advocacy of the Catholic Church, we are also preparing our programs to provide more opportunities for all the devotees to profess their faith and deepen their devotion.

As we all know, venerated images from various parts of our country are currently enthroned here in Our Lady of Veritas Chapel. We are doing these programs as part of our goal to make the public aware about the

How to develop more Filipino scientists

By Mary Grace G. Mabborang

S

CIENCE is one of the oldest and most important academic disciplines, which covers a wide variety of subjects. It is also one of the intertwining fundamental components of the STEM curriculum—science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Learning science in school is just as

important as learning other subjects, like mathematics and history. Because the subject is so vast, a good grasp of the basics right from the early learning days of a child will enable her to understand the subject better.

Science provides the foundation for humanity’s progress. Students of science who became scientists, doctors and those who followed other branches of science have shaped our modern world. The

wonders of the online world, advanced medicines, state-of-the-art transportation, and almost everything we use to make life easier and more enjoyable are there because individuals have used their knowledge of science to create real-life applications.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, said: “It is science alone that can solve the problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation and illiteracy, of

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com.

To know more about Caritas Manila, visit or follow us on Facebook: CaritasManilaInc. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 5639311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 09054285001, and 0929-8343857. Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 946 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph and follow its Twitter and Instagram accounts @veritasph and YouTube at veritas846.ph. For your comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

The author is Teacher 3 at Enrile Vocational School in Enrile, Cagayan.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Friday, September 14, 2018

Northern, Central Luzon brace for Ompong’s fury 4.3M A

By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

T least 4.3 million people who live in areas directly threatened

by Typhoon Ompong may bear the brunt of the powerful storm, which is expected to pummel Northern and Central Luzon this weekend, prompting President Duterte to direct disaster officials to ensure prompt assistance to would-be affected families.

T he specter was raised on Thursday during a briefing for Duterte, who was apprised of the government’s overall preparation for Ompong, which has already put local officials on their toes ahead of the typhoon’s projected landfall on Saturday.

Off you go

PRESIDENT Duterte, at the same command conference, also ordered some members of his Cabinet to proceed to Northern Luzon provinces along the typhoon’s path.

Duterte’s order included Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, Transportation Secretar y Arthur P. Tugade, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Francis N. Tolentino and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Ricardo B. Jalad among those told to go to the provinces at risk, notably Cagayan and Isabela.

The President’s order was issued after Bello suggested that the President needed to appoint some of his Cabinet men so that the President’s presence will be felt in these areas for easier government monitoring and coordination.

Duterte also designated Tolentino as his “point man” for the preparations and disaster response on Ompong.

P2-B fund

IN a press conference after the command conference, Duterte said close to P2 billion is allotted for the total disaster fund for Typhoon Ompong. Moreover, the President stressed the need for a dedicated radio line for all government agencies, including the Department of National Defense, and another line for the military and police, adding he prefers radios over cell phones in time of crisis.

This was after Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano

SOUTHWEST MONSOON AFFECTING SOUTHERN LUZON, VISAYAS AND MINDANAO TYPHOON “OMPONG” 855 KM EAST OF VIRAC, CATANDUANES as of 4:00 am - September 13, 2018

The estimated count of people expected to be affected by the typhoon

raised the possibility of phone and Internet signal interruptions once the typhoon hits the country.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the Bureau of Customs has also allowed to release seized rice, relief goods to augment the supply of humanitarian assistance for the typhoon victims.

Dominguez said he conveyed this to Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña. This was after Cayetano said that it is likely that there will be a problem with the phone and Internet signals once the typhoon hits the country.

As strong as Lawin

DURING the briefing, Jalad said the more than 4 million residents who are expected to be affected by the typhoon live in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Kalinga, Ifugao and Mountain Province.

At least 47,850 houses made up of “light walls and roofs,” are located in the provinces and are likely to be damaged by Ompong’s potentially strong winds.

Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Director Vicente B. Manalo said Ompong was located east of Catanduanes as of Thursday afternoon, and

www.businessmirror.com.ph

FORTUNE LIFE VALUES ADVOCACY AWARDS CAP TEACHERS’ MONTH

was moving westward with a maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour and gustiness of 255 kph. It was forecasted to make a landfall in Cagayan Valley on Saturday.

The typhoon, which is as strong as Typhoon Lawin, which also hit Northern Luzon in 2015, likewise threatens Northern Luzon and Central Luzon due to its massive diameter.

Preparations

JALAD said that at least 47,800 evacuation shelters were readied for residents in the eight provinces, aside from designating more than 3,000 pubic-school buildings as additional temporary shelters in the wake of Ompong.

T he NDR R MC head sa id that several rapid deployment teams have been organized for pre-disaster, response and earlyrecovery operations, with Clark and the province of Batanes as primary staging areas for the operations.

The social welfare and health departments also organized relief and health emergency response teams and have set aside P1.1 billion worth of food packs and other relief items and P19 million worth of emergency medicines.

The health department formed 28 teams that are ready for deployment. Jalad said at least P2.2 billion worth of logistics was also allotted for typhoon operations.

T he militar y has deployed more than 100 rapid response personnel and positioned them at Clark Field in Pampanga, along with other emergency response assets and equipment, including ambulances.

The military also made available other assets that can be used for the operations if these are needed.

On the other hand, the Philippine Coast Guard has formed 18 teams for search and rescue and ensured the availability of 25 vessels for the operation, in case there is a need to go by sea.

Likewise, the Department of Public Works and Highways has also dispatched personnel and equipment in the areas that would be affected for immediate clearing operations.

Rice impact

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said Ompong will only impact the country’s rice supply for six days because of its projected effect on the agriculture sector, but this will be offset by the importation taken by the government.

Jalad said Ompong will affect Regions 1, 2 and 3 and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Because of its strong winds, the typhoon is expected to generate a storm surge as high as 5 meters along the coastal shores of Cagayan, Isabela and Ilocos Sur. Manalo said CAR and Central Luzon should expect intense or heavy rain today (Friday) and Northern and Central Luzon on Saturday.

“The typhoon will affect the biggest portion by Saturday,” Manalo said.

As President Duterte appointed former MMDA Chairman Tolentino as his point man for the typhoon operations, the latter and other disaster officials will fly to Cagayan on Friday to personally oversee the operations.

Duterte ordered the construction of initially 14 strong evacuation centers next year as primary temporary shelters for families affected by typhoons and other natural calamities.

With Bernadette D. Nicolas

EDUCATION Secretary Leonor M. Briones (center) is presented a framed cover of the Philippines Graphic weekly news magazine featuring her by (from left) ALC Group of Companies Chairman D. Edgard A. Cabangon, Fortune Life President D. Arnold A. Cabangon, Special Assistant to the President D. Cecilia A. Cabangon, and Executive Vice President and General Manager Evelyn T. Carada. RUDY ESPERAS

E

D U C AT I O N S e c r e tary Leonor M. Briones hailed as a fitting highlight of World Teachers’ Month the conferment of recognition on educators who taught in the most outstanding way the value of hard work and discipline to public-school children during the past school year.

“I remember a reporter who asked me, what do the teachers get for this celebration?

This event is an appropriate answer to that,” the education official said.

Briones praised teachers for their values formation efforts as she keynoted the launching of the eighth year of the Values Advocacy Program of Fortune Life Insurance Company, in partnership with the Department of Education and Marylindbert International.

Five educators and five school officials were awarded, whi le three teachers were c ited a s honorable mention awardees.

Briones led education officials, teachers and school representatives who attended the event at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig on Wednesday (September 12) afternoon, while D. Arnold A. Cabangon, Fortune Life president; Evelyn Carada, Fortune Life executive vice president and general manager; D. Cecilia A. Cabangon, special assistant to the president; and D. Edgard A. Cabangon, chairman of the ALC Group of Companies, led guests from the business group.

The values advocacy program promotes the values of hard work and discipline a mong Fi l ipino teac hers and students. It showcases the life story of Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua, chairman emeritus and founder of Fortune Life, who rose from poverty to business success by dint of hard work, perseverance and discipline.

The Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Gintong Parangal Para sa Edukasyon– Guro, awarded to teachers who worked diligently in promoting the advocacy in classrooms, is now on its seventh year. The Gintong Parangal Para sa Edukasyon-Pamumuno, conferred on schools supervisors, assistant superintendents, superintendents and administrative officials, is now on its second year.

The teacher awardees for school year 2017 to 2018 are Hadja Sarah L. Handang, DepEd Division Zamboanga City; Dr. Rene Rose M. Labasan, San Juan Elementary School, Solano, Nueva Vizcaya; Dominic R. Ocampo, Benito R. Villar Memorial School in ALS (Alternative Learning Systems), Oriental Mindoro; Darwin T. Tadifa, Tubungan Central Elementary School, Tubungan, Iloilo; and Cesar V. Valondo, Fortunato F. Halili National Agricultural School, Bulacan.

T he Gintong Paranga l Pamumuno awardees are Dr. Denizon P. Domingo, DepEd Tuguegarao City; Dr. Evangeline Ladines, DepEd Pasay City; Dr. Joel B. Lopez, DepEd Laoag City; Dr. Orlando E. Manuel, DepEd Quirino Province; and Dr. Cecilia E. Valderama, DepEd Bulacan.

Br iones began her remarks with an almost apologet ic ac k nowledgement that while much needs to be done, the public sector had inadequate funds and resources. She was glad, she said, that the private sector is making up for this, through business groups like Fortune Life, civic organizations, civ il-society groups and other concerned communities.

She noted that even today, teachers are “the most beloved, the most highly respected and looked up to” in the community. She, herself, said she could not stop thinking of her teachers from her earliest years as “ma’am” and “sir” despite all the degrees that she has collected through the years.

“The world of teachers is getting to be more and more exciting, so many things are happening in the world.

Such knowledge can only be transmitted by the teachers,” Briones said.

Fortune Life President D. Arnold A. Cabangon expressed his delight that the program reached 5.9 million public-school pupils and emphasized that Ambassador Cabangon Chua was “our inspiration, the embodiment of the value of hard work and discipline.” “ With the help of our teachers, we can pass on these values to our students and I am sure this will help them in life and with our country’s progress,” he added.

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Friday, September 14, 2018

B1

SNAP to complete water-based solar project in Magat Dam, Isabela

S

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

N Aboitiz Power Group (SNAP) is targeting to complete in early-2019 a waterbased, solar-power project in Magat Dam in Isabela.

SNAP President and CEO Joseph Yu said the floating solar panels “may be” ready by “early next year.”

The capacity of the floating solar-power project is 200 kilowatts, a small-scale pilot project over the Magat reservoir, Yu said on Wednesday night.

The 2,500-square meter (sq m) pilot project over the Magat reservoir is in its advance testing phase. If successful, Yu said the company intends to expand the project for grid use.

“What we’d like to do is make sure it works, stress test it.

Test it mechanically how much it can take. Make sure by the time we scale it up and build many of these, they can survive many typhoons. If it’s viable, we would like to scale it up. My feeling is, you can scale it up as quickly as you can build it.

“But at the same time, there are constraints. One can only build so much at any given time. Solar happens to be one of the technologies that is quickly built. We’d have to see how quickly it scales up, how it can work through the transmission lines, sign respective agreements with LGUs,” added Yu. The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) earlier said a water-based solar-power project is more beneficial than the land-based, which converts large portions of agricultural lands into solar plants, making irrigable farmlands smaller.

This results to the decrease in food production and poses a threat to the country’s food security.

It also defeats NIA’s purpose of constructing and developing more irrigation systems in the country to ensure rice self-sufficiency. Instead of indulging into land-based solar project, NIA thus offers its dams and reservoirs for the water-

DOTr grants original proponent status to Naia Consortium

T

HE transportation department has officially granted the original proponent status (OPS) to Naia Consortium—a group of seven of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines—for the redevelopment and operations of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

Naia Consortium Spokesman Jose Emmanuel P. Reverente said his group has received the OPS—granted to the first group that submitted an unsolicited proposal for a certain project—is a step closer toward the granting of the deal.

His group, he said, is looking forward to the Swiss challenge procedure for the project.

It has only been seven months since the group submitted the proposal to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa).

“We are very grateful to the DOTr and Miaa for granting the consortium the OPS, as it triggers a series of steps we need to work on to make this project happen. The Naia Consortium looks forward to working closely with the DOTr and Miaa to progress this initiative,” Reverente said.

Under the proposal, the group aims to transform the Naia into a regional airport hub that will have the capacity and capability to handle and meet “the anticipated growth in passenger traffic from the strong economies of the Philippines and the region.”

It initially submitted a P350-billion proposal that involved the augmentation of the Naia’s capacity from 35 million passengers per annum to 47 million passengers per year for the first phase. The second phase, under the initial proposal, will bring the total capacity of Naia to 65 million passengers annually by 2022.

The first proposal also carried a 35-year concession period.

After a period of negotiations, the government and the proponent agreed to lower the concession period to 15 years.

“We remain focused on our commitment to deliver to our country a significantly improved Naia and are prepared to start work immediately after the airport is turned over to the consortium,” Reverente said.

He noted his group will follow and respect the legal process, including the Swiss challenge procedure for unsolicited proposals.

Being granted the OPS allows Naia Consortium—composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.—to match the counteroffer submitted by any group interested in the project.

Previously, Megawide Construction Corp. submitted its own proposal for the redevelopment of Naia, but was not prioritized because its proposal was a few days late relative to Naia Consortium’s submission.

The P102-billion proposal involves expanding and interconnecting the existing terminals of the Naia, upgrading airside facilities, developing commercial facilities to increase airline and airport efficiencies, enhancing passenger comfort and experience, and elevating the status of the Naia as the country’s premier international gateway. Lorenz S. Marasigan

based project, which can achieve the same purpose of increasing power production while saving agricultural lands.

“We feel floating has a place in the portfolio because we want to provide a solution for the country to not have to give up agricultural land and trade it for energy security,” Yu said.

NIA Administrator Ricardo Visaya had said one

hectare of solar field can produce one megawatt. For instance, in Magat Dam with a reservoir of 4,500 hectares, if 200 hectares will be utilized for the water-based solar power, 200 MW will be generated and 200 hectares of agricultural lands will be saved.

Moreover, the project can also be beneficial by providing additional income to the government.

It can also prevent the decrease of the water level

in the dams and reservoirs due to evaporation. It can likewise provide sanctuary for marine life as it prevents fishes and other species from dying due to hot temperature.

Aside from Magat Dam, there are still other big dams in the country, which can also be installed with a floating solar-power plant, such as the Pantabangan Dam and Casecnan Dam in Nueva Ecija.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, September 14, 2018

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

September 12, 2018

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

ASIA UNITED 59.8 59.9 59.5 59.8 59.1 59.8 2110 125843 BDO UNIBANK 114 114.7 118 118.7 114 114 2636230 306089441 BANK PH ISLANDS 85.85 86.1 86.6 86.6 85.85 85.85 3159440 271837540.5 CHINABANK 30.55 30.6 30.7 30.7 30.55 30.6 176400 5398690 CITYSTATE BANK 6.88 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.8 500 3900 EAST WEST BANK 13.4 13.42 13.5 13.5 13.3 13.4 487000 6518462 METROBANK 69.95 70 69 70.15 68.95 70 3095650 216205555 PB BANK 11.6 11.8 11.62 11.8 11.6 11.6 8100 94470 PHIL NATL BANK 45.3 45.75 45.5 46 45.3 45.3 100000 4547820 PSBANK 83.9 87.2 83.9 83.9 83.9 83.9 10 839 PHILTRUST 104.6 109.9 104.6 109.9 104.6 104.6 530 55862 RCBC 26.95 27 27.25 27.25 26.95 27 167200 4518595 SECURITY BANK 189.4 189.9 189.6 192.8 189.1 189.9 663850 125988032 UNION BANK 70.5 72 73.05 73.05 70.3 70.5 59600 4291611 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.65 1.67 1.65 1.68 1.65 1.65 23000 38040 BDO LEASING 2.43 2.58 2.47 2.58 2.46 2.58 9000 22290 COL FINANCIAL 16.22 16.3 16.3 16.3 16.3 16.3 36000 586800 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.1 4.11 4 4.11 4 4.11 551000 2257690 FILIPINO FUND 8.64 8.98 8.65 8.65 8.64 8.64 5400 46661 IREMIT 1.67 1.69 1.69 1.72 1.63 1.69 206000 343800 MEDCO HLDG 0.53 0.55 0.53 0.55 0.53 0.53 1085000 577360 MANULIFE 815 855 815 815 815 815 190 154850 NTL REINSURANCE 0.98 1 0.99 1 0.98 0.98 553000 546360 PHIL STOCK EXCH 190 191 197 197 190 190 1610 307007 VANTAGE 1.18 1.24 1.24 1.24 1.24 1.24 1000 1240

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.19 1.21 1.2 1.22 1.19 1.2 500000 600000 ABOITIZ POWER 36.95 37 36 37 36 37 1866200 67902905 BASIC ENERGY 0.224 0.225 0.217 0.227 0.217 0.227 360000 79220 ENERGY DEVT 7.06 7.07 7.05 7.07 7.05 7.06 2164900 15284256 FIRST GEN 16.3 16.34 16.16 16.4 16.16 16.34 758200 12384272 FIRST PHIL HLDG 64.75 65 64.95 65 64.65 64.75 276230 17946024 PHIL H2O 5.34 5.39 5.45 5.54 5.33 5.39 72100 392178 MERALCO 378.6 385 378 385 377 385 304060 116146410 MANILA WATER 23.95 24 24.1 24.1 23.95 24 223500 5362195 PETRON 9 9.03 9 9.05 8.99 9.03 588600 5308398 PETROENERGY 3.9 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.9 3.9 13000 51080 PHINMA ENERGY 1.01 1.03 1.01 1.03 1 1.01 1040000 1053210 PHX PETROLEUM 10.98 11 11.2 11.2 11 11 79400 874544 PILIPINAS SHELL 53.5 53.65 53.85 53.95 53.25 53.5 1297580 69384227 SPC POWER 5.61 5.69 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.61 168900 947005 AGRINURTURE 16.98 17 17.08 17.08 16.78 17 1513800 25594780 CNTRL AZUCARERA 17.4 17.5 19.1 19.1 17.4 17.5 11900 212696 CENTURY FOOD 13.78 13.8 13.8 13.82 13.74 13.8 600600 8275778 DEL MONTE 7.38 7.44 7.5 7.5 7.36 7.36 800 5957 DNL INDUS 10.18 10.24 10.2 10.38 10.16 10.18 1857600 18930002 EMPERADOR 7.26 7.27 7.27 7.3 7.24 7.27 14043200 101939931 SMC FOODANDBEV 95 95.5 94 96.65 94 95.5 459500 43858476 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.15 1.16 1.14 1.19 1.1 1.15 24663000 28215870 GINEBRA 29.9 29.95 30.05 30.2 29.85 29.95 178600 5361435 JOLLIBEE 269 270 276 279.6 269 269 572730 155450270 LIBERTY FLOUR 45.05 49.95 50 50 46 49.95 1990 98695.5 MACAY HLDG 10.04 13.4 12.26 13.4 12.26 13.4 300 3906 MAXS GROUP 11.94 11.98 11.9 12.1 11.9 11.94 362400 4335532 MG HLDG 0.178 0.188 0.183 0.191 0.171 0.188 1440000 253300 PEPSI COLA 1.93 1.96 2.04 2.04 1.92 1.93 488000 963550 SHAKEYS PIZZA 12.3 12.4 12.48 12.48 12.4 12.4 427200 5298216 ROXAS AND CO 2.42 2.44 2.45 2.45 2.4 2.42 106000 255240 RFM CORP 4.76 4.83 4.8 4.8 4.75 4.75 1001000 4804750 ROXAS HLDG 3.1 3.13 3.01 3.1 3.01 3.1 16000 49420 SWIFT FOODS 0.126 0.128 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 10000 1300 UNIV ROBINA 140 143.7 149.5 149.5 140 140 1066390 153819242 VITARICH 2.13 2.14 2.27 2.3 2.14 2.14 14547000 32070150 VICTORIAS 2.45 2.5 2.45 2.45 2.45 2.45 10000 24500 CEMEX HLDG 3.06 3.08 3.08 3.09 3 3.06 2180000 6672710 EAGLE CEMENT 15.6 15.64 15.62 15.82 15.48 15.6 857600 13377278 EEI CORP 9.1 9.2 9.45 9.45 9.1 9.1 189700 1758549 HOLCIM 7.14 7.19 7.13 7.2 7.13 7.17 66900 479043 MEGAWIDE 16.82 16.9 17.3 17.3 16.9 16.9 4156000 70718742 PHINMA 8.2 8.25 8 8.2 8 8.2 31200 254300 TKC METALS 1.02 1.05 1.02 1.07 1.01 1.05 141000 146070 VULCAN INDL 2.23 2.24 2.11 2.25 2.06 2.23 30191000 65704560 CROWN ASIA 1.77 1.8 1.78 1.8 1.75 1.75 393000 691250 LMG CHEMICALS 4.85 4.87 4.86 4.86 4.85 4.85 50000 242600 MABUHAY VINYL 3.1 3.15 3.15 3.15 3.15 3.15 3000 9450 PRYCE CORP 5.85 5.9 5.9 5.95 5.9 5.95 31800 187635 CONCEPCION 41.75 43.95 44 44 41.7 41.75 32000 1385320 INTEGRATED MICR 12.08 12.1 12.16 12.36 12.08 12.1 1832400 22538376 IONICS 2.06 2.08 2.12 2.12 2.05 2.06 1360000 2811710 PANASONIC 6.6 6.68 6.68 6.68 6.54 6.68 18500 123036 SFA SEMICON 1.67 1.68 1.7 1.7 1.67 1.67 361000 603180 CIRTEK HLDG 32.9 34 34.2 34.5 32.9 34 1710600 57747770

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.415 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.41 0.42 19780000 8221150 AYALA CORP 916 920 902 929.5 902 920 256900 235640115 ABOITIZ EQUITY 47.6 47.8 51.2 51.2 47.6 47.6 5480900 265476536 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 12.72 12.74 12.84 13.22 12.74 12.74 8250200 106691864 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.9 0.92 0.9 0.92 0.89 0.92 108000 96490 ATN HLDG A 1.33 1.34 1.31 1.36 1.29 1.33 9525000 12713290 ATN HLDG B 1.33 1.34 1.33 1.39 1.32 1.33 3544000 4728810 COSCO CAPITAL 5.89 5.92 5.95 5.99 5.85 5.89 972600 5727482 DMCI HLDG 12.14 12.18 12.22 12.34 11.8 12.18 3604800 43478246 FILINVEST DEV 7.05 7.18 7.18 7.18 7.05 7.18 55700 399653 FJ PRINCE A 4.3 5.46 4.11 5.79 4.11 5.79 500 2401 GT CAPITAL 861.5 868 875 884.5 861.5 861.5 103860 90274570 JG SUMMIT 51.6 52 55 55.05 51.6 51.6 1750320 91931991.5 LODESTAR 0.6 0.62 0.65 0.65 0.6 0.62 2153000 1331060 LOPEZ HLDG 4.92 4.98 5.03 5.03 4.92 4.92 470000 2334150 LT GROUP 16.52 16.56 16.26 16.7 16.26 16.56 3970500 65745272 MABUHAY HLDG 0.65 0.66 0.62 0.68 0.62 0.66 12380000 8234260 METRO PAC INV 5.1 5.11 5.13 5.24 5.1 5.1 19409800 100120529 PACIFICA 0.037 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.037 0.037 19500000 722000 PRIME ORION 2.64 2.68 2.62 2.7 2.62 2.68 181000 479680 PRIME MEDIA 1.2 1.22 1.16 1.27 1.16 1.22 1101000 1354770 SOLID GROUP 1.42 1.43 1.4 1.46 1.4 1.43 143000 205920 SYNERGY GRID 380 410 378 378 378 378 4960 1874880 SM INVESTMENTS 940 942 950 950 932.5 942 124780 117539615 SAN MIGUEL CORP 174.8 175 174 176.6 173.6 175 497760 87163749 SOC RESOURCES 0.8 0.81 0.79 0.8 0.79 0.8 108000 86120 SEAFRONT RES 2.58 2.77 2.58 2.58 2.58 2.58 42000 108360 TOP FRONTIER 288 290 284.8 294 280 294 3220 917250 WELLEX INDUS 0.305 0.315 0.31 0.315 0.305 0.315 5910000 1828100

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.71 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.7 0.71 825000 583060 AYALA LAND 41.7 41.75 41.6 42 41.6 41.75 6741000 281468675 ARANETA PROP 2.05 2.08 2.08 2.1 2.05 2.05 78000 163610 BELLE CORP 2.93 3.02 3.02 3.02 2.93 2.93 644000 1912680 A BROWN 0.94 0.95 0.94 0.95 0.94 0.94 1180000 1114630 CITYLAND DEVT 0.91 0.93 0.91 0.94 0.91 0.91 698000 637100 CROWN EQUITIES 0.217 0.219 0.221 0.222 0.218 0.219 3700000 809310 CEBU HLDG 5.42 5.6 5.36 5.62 5.36 5.62 20300 109816 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.38 4.46 4.45 4.49 4.33 4.46 1716000 7554770 CENTURY PROP 0.455 0.46 0.44 0.47 0.435 0.46 45080000 20529150 CYBER BAY 0.42 0.43 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.42 330000 138500 DOUBLEDRAGON 23.85 23.9 23.75 24.2 23.65 23.85 273100 6516425 DM WENCESLAO 8.74 8.75 8.75 8.82 8.75 8.75 50600 443891 EMPIRE EAST 0.56 0.57 0.57 0.57 0.57 0.57 209000 119130 FILINVEST LAND 1.46 1.47 1.46 1.47 1.45 1.46 932000 1357990 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.17 1.18 1.18 1.19 1.17 1.17 1522000 1793740 8990 HLDG 7.41 7.5 7.59 7.59 7.35 7.55 317600 2379493 IRC PROP 2.62 2.63 2.34 2.73 2.26 2.62 75364000 193669480 CITY AND LAND 0.9 0.94 0.93 0.97 0.9 0.9 221000 211450 MEGAWORLD 4.33 4.34 4.33 4.38 4.3 4.33 15679000 67998860 MRC ALLIED 0.69 0.7 0.67 0.72 0.66 0.69 209007000 145097010 PHIL ESTATES 0.455 0.46 0.46 0.465 0.455 0.455 2270000 1037800 PRIMEX CORP 4.3 4.34 4.19 4.44 4.14 4.3 5095000 22029890 ROBINSONS LAND 20.5 20.6 20.95 20.95 19.82 20.5 2421900 49210317 PHIL REALTY 0.465 0.475 0.48 0.48 0.47 0.475 500000 235550 ROCKWELL 1.97 2 1.97 2 1.96 2 145000 286000 SHANG PROP 3.19 3.2 3.21 3.22 3.2 3.2 1399000 4477470 STA LUCIA LAND 1.11 1.13 1.16 1.16 1.11 1.15 719000 805540 SM PRIME HLDG 36.5 36.7 36 37 36 36.5 5539800 203017830 STARMALLS 7.12 7.15 7.21 7.25 7.04 7.12 408400 2917133 SUNTRUST HOME 0.77 0.8 0.78 0.78 0.76 0.76 120000 91960 VISTA LAND 6.26 6.3 6.29 6.3 6.21 6.3 492300 3088485

SERVICES ABS CBN 21.8 21.9 22.5 22.5 21.8 21.9 290000 6361475 GMA NETWORK 5.4 5.41 5.44 5.44 5.4 5.41 111100 600799 MANILA BULLETIN 0.435 0.44 0.435 0.435 0.435 0.435 50000 21750 GLOBE TELECOM 2178 2180 2120 2206 2120 2180 131915 287044770 PLDT 1419 1428 1395 1428 1395 1428 101740 143887710 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.044 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.044 0.045 13300000 590800 DFNN INC 8.35 8.6 8.65 8.65 8.3 8.6 37300 314955 ISLAND INFO 0.119 0.12 0.12 0.121 0.119 0.119 6460000 772760 ISM COMM 2.92 2.93 2.85 3.05 2.85 2.93 7599000 22548010 JACKSTONES 3.46 3.68 3.43 3.69 3.43 3.68 25000 89300 NOW CORP 7.89 7.9 7.38 7.89 7.3 7.89 8479000 65182178 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.58 0.59 0.56 0.59 0.56 0.58 29354000 16916400 PHILWEB 4.87 4.9 4.92 4.92 4.85 4.9 402000 1964820 2GO GROUP 12.3 12.5 13.18 13.18 12.3 12.3 54400 680958 CEBU AIR 72 72.05 72.1 72.95 71.9 72 204130 14696498 CHELSEA 6.03 6.04 5.98 6.07 5.98 6.04 372800 2250569 INTL CONTAINER 90 90.05 90.5 93 90 90.05 703590 63888979.5 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.95 0.96 1.03 1.03 0.91 0.96 1716000 1648800 MACROASIA 18.02 18.14 18.3 18.5 17.98 18.02 704400 12749482 METROALLIANCE A 1.57 1.6 1.67 1.74 1.55 1.6 574000 923840 METROALLIANCE B 1.75 1.88 1.77 1.94 1.77 1.94 3000 5480 PAL HLDG 8.79 8.8 8.8 8.8 8.52 8.79 22100 190049 HARBOR STAR 2.9 2.91 2.77 2.95 2.77 2.91 5633000 16073680 ACESITE HOTEL 1.37 1.46 1.39 1.39 1.37 1.37 5000 6910 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.062 0.063 0.064 0.064 0.062 0.062 39020000 2444850 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.26 2.36 2.26 2.26 2.26 2.26 18000 40680 WATERFRONT 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.76 0.77 2161000 1654820 STI HLDG 0.76 0.77 0.76 0.78 0.75 0.76 4442000 3380230 BERJAYA 2.19 2.2 2.32 2.44 2.13 2.2 8607000 19308200 BLOOMBERRY 8.99 9 8.99 9.11 8.92 9 6417600 57799963 PACIFIC ONLINE 10.52 10.92 11 11 10.5 10.52 15300 162302 LEISURE AND RES 3.84 3.86 3.86 3.9 3.82 3.86 955000 3667310 MANILA JOCKEY 5.71 5.72 5.3 5.71 5.2 5.71 1080600 6011793 MELCO RESORTS 6.95 6.96 6.95 6.98 6.95 6.96 4476000 31128657 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.9 0.91 0.89 0.91 0.89 0.91 3363000 3037170 TRAVELLERS 5.17 5.18 5.08 5.18 5.08 5.18 2256100 11,624,555( METRO RETAIL 2.7 2.72 2.75 2.75 2.67 2.72 80000 215610 PUREGOLD 44.55 45 45 45 44.3 45 657500 29574360 ROBINSONS RTL 79.95 80 80.95 80.95 79.8 80 762760 61017172 PHIL SEVEN CORP 100.3 103.8 106 107.8 100 100 13770 1402246 SSI GROUP 2.27 2.28 2.25 2.3 2.2 2.28 3851000 8721440 WILCON DEPOT 10.68 10.7 10.8 10.82 10.66 10.68 6385400 68473882 APC GROUP 0.48 0.485 0.48 0.48 0.475 0.48 4210000 2012000 EASYCALL 20.55 20.8 20.9 21.6 20.05 20.8 137500 2862775 GOLDEN BRIA 304.2 315 315 315 304.2 315 2970 931990 IPM HLDG 7.51 7.81 7.81 7.81 7.81 7.81 12500 97625 PAXYS 3.23 3.5 3.46 3.55 3.22 3.5 373000 1227060 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.4 0.405 0.4 0.41 0.395 0.405 3980000 1591050 SBS PHIL CORP 7.75 7.77 7.88 7.88 7.76 7.76 225700 1763047

MINING & OIL ATOK 18.36 20.1 18.3 20.1 18.3 20.1 25200 491320 APEX MINING 1.53 1.56 1.5 1.56 1.5 1.53 1361000 2076310 ABRA MINING 0.0024 0.0025 0.0025 0.0026 0.0024 0.0025 91000000 227500 ATLAS MINING 3.2 3.25 3.35 3.36 3.2 3.2 64000 209430 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.3 0.305 0.305 0.305 0.3 0.3 170000 51750 CENTURY PEAK 1.93 1.94 1.91 1.95 1.91 1.93 562000 1090270 DIZON MINES 7.31 7.38 7.29 7.38 7.28 7.38 3000 21932 FERRONICKEL 1.94 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.9 1.95 2655000 5135760 GEOGRACE 0.245 0.25 0.25 0.255 0.241 0.25 2140000 534550 LEPANTO A 0.121 0.122 0.121 0.122 0.121 0.122 160000 19510 LEPANTO B 0.127 0.129 0.129 0.129 0.129 0.129 50000 6450 MANILA MINING A 0.0078 0.008 0.0078 0.0078 0.0078 0.0078 20000000 156000 MARCVENTURES 1.28 1.36 1.31 1.32 1.28 1.32 153000 198060 NIHAO 1.1 1.13 1.17 1.17 1.1 1.12 199000 220880 NICKEL ASIA 4.42 4.43 4.5 4.58 4.41 4.43 1913000 8532250 OMICO CORP 0.64 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.63 0.66 2423000 1572720 ORNTL PENINSULA 1.33 1.34 1.3 1.37 1.27 1.34 6616000 8754990 PX MINING 3.98 3.99 4.03 4.04 3.99 3.99 1126000 4518390 SEMIRARA MINING 29.3 29.35 29.2 29.4 29.2 29.3 732000 21443790 UNITED PARAGON 0.0077 0.0079 0.0075 0.0079 0.0075 0.0077 17000000 130800 ORNTL PETROL A 0.013 0.014 0.013 0.014 0.013 0.014 186300000 2582500 ORNTL PETROL B 0.013 0.014 0.012 0.014 0.012 0.013 600000 7700 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.011 0.012 21500000 249100 PHINMA PETRO 4.03 4.14 4.31 4.57 4.01 4.14 865000 3599220 PXP ENERGY 15.02 15.08 13.62 15.18 13.6 15.02 3107200 45124812

PREFFERED AC PREF B2 SMC FB PREF 2 GLO PREF P GTCAP PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

500 985 495 940.5 1.02 100 100 1.91 77 79 75 74.5 75.6 75.5 75.35

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

20.9 5.22 2.43

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 6.55 XURPAS 2.34

112.2

32950 -25904615 -56071878.5 -21328642 152200.0001 -293710 -20219088 -31396895 -18738342 -226970 -881660 15038178 -10725840 -21440 -13878675 -8047212 -862944 18600 26270 -145255735 -1252960 -2015910 -3192950 -3676015 47316 -119130 -202480 -1103250 1042250.0002 -26089200 -356350 -54010 -20516021 9250 3017600 -98687770 -185860 -1780606 207294880 -43663730 -176000 17150 -1594740 -831537 35010 -79980 -8741201.5 -111540 14768625 -5350628 552590 12600 -1193980 -9580 -13131290 -991150 -21688 -5743617 -69330 5,270,531.9997) -5420 -21921290 -387475 -143368 -461350 -56374836 252000 -1031350 -234410 -12820 -19300 11000 -1256570 -162200 -1973960 12327980 -11159.9997 6553661.9997

500 986 496 951 1.03 100 99.5 1.91 76.3 79.5 75 75.1 75.6 77 76

500 1000 499 951 1.03 100 100 1.91 77.45 80.2 75 75.1 75.6 77 76

500 986 496 950 1.03 100 99.5 1.91 76.3 79.5 75 74 75.6 77 76

500 1000 498 950 1.03 100 100 1.91 77.45 79.5 75 74 75.6 77 76

650 450 5110 400 83000 140 27840 1000 434270 13080 4000 6730 46500 64500 720

325000 446500 2544590 380300 85490 14000 2783950 1910 33182097 1042985 300000 504895 3515400 4966500 54720

28500 -

21 5.25

21.5 5.25

21.5 5.25

20.7 5.25

20.9 5.25

104500 72400

2207185 380100

-1479065 -354375

2.46

2.6

2.6

2.39

2.46

284000

687520

-

6.56 2.35

6.29 2.46

6.68 2.48

6.29 2.33

6.55 2.34

1999800 2074000

12984266 4917040

67540 37350

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

18526320.0004 -1249513 -2041802 -2663632 5335734 -2911480 -1956677 -229470 -44678347.5 14730 5426113.9999 -2609552 -3735 13658698 -9371692 -10224683 483350 -45986166 -1294718 -767420 4974832 -4800000 -2513493 -4029990 24500 -194650 3493802 -1504853 -52212072 -451300 -39600 -145500 -187635 284480 18684650 181600 -137000 67950

500.5 1000 499 950 1.03 104.8 103.5 2 77.45 79.5 75.85 75.7 75.9 77 76

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

119300 -164019409 -134335683.5 -4495490 -945808 -50509237 842325 -3836950 18752184 -1971980.5 -539530 -98040 19100 -

112.7

112.6

113

112.2

112.2

6200

697584

-

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Del Monte reports weak performance in fiscal Q1

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

UAL listed Del Monte Pacific Ltd. on Thursday said its income rose during its first fiscal quarter ending July, but it had a generally weak performance when its sales fell as a result of the weak performance of its US unit.

The company said its income rose more than four times to $3 million (about P160 million), from last year’s $0.7 million in profit. Sales fell 8 percent to $437.2 million, from last year’s $473.8 million.

The profit was due to the one-off gain from the purchase of US unit Del Monte Food Inc.’s (DMFI) loans at a discount in the secondary market. Excluding one-off items of $6.8 million after tax, the group would have incurred a net loss of $3.7 million versus a profit of $1.2 million

last year due to lower sales in the US, specifically lower exports of processed pineapple.

Del Monte Foods contributed $308.3 million, or 71 percent of group sales. The rest came from other regions, including the Philippines.

Del Monte Foods’s sales declined by 8 percent due to lower volume across categories, most significantly branded tomato products and Private Label, as well as lower pricing in food service for pineapple-juice concentrate.

“The decline in sales was in line with DMFI’s strategy to deprioritize nonprofitable businesses including Private Label,” the company said.

It said, however, that it is introducing new food concept in the market including what it called fruit refreshers and fruit and oat products, while entering new product categories for food service with Riced Cauliflower and other vegetables.

Its share in canned vegetable and fruit and fruit cup snack categories increased during the quarter, driven by compelling innovations, strong execution against fundamentals at retail, and sustained marketing investment to support its brands, the company said.

The company divested its underperforming Sager Creek vegetable business also this year, booking additional one-off expenses of $8.4 million during its fiscal first quarter, which starts in May. Sales in the Philippine domestic market were flat in peso terms and down 5 percent in US dollar terms due to the depreciation of the peso.

“Key accounts in food service and retail beverage and culinary continued to grow, offset by lower sales of packaged mixed fruits in retail due to excess trade inventory,” the company said.

The company recently postponed the listing of its Philippine unit, citing jittery market conditions.

Sales of the S&W business declined in the first quarter mainly due to lower sales in North Asia and Turkey. Increased competition from cheaper canned pineapple products from Thailand and Indonesia continued to impact S&W’s business, the company said.

Operations in Turkey were impacted by currency devaluation and political instability.

Del Monte’s Nice Fruit joint venture in frozen pineapple launched frozen pineapple spears in Japan in June. These were produced in Bukidnon, Philippines. Individually packaged and known as Pineapple Stick, it is available in about 70 percent of 7-Eleven outlets or about 14,000 stores in Japan.

SBMA board firm on collecting debts–Gordon

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UBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will continue with its debt-collection program as part of the administration’s thrust on good governance even if it means stepping on the toes of some wellconnected business owners here.

SBMA Director Brian H. Gordon said SBMA officials will not back down from their commitment to protect government interest by going after overdue accounts, particularly the P100-million debt owed by the Manila Times School of Journalism.

He lamented that SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma is being attacked in the media because of her administration’s policy to collect outstanding debts.

“We support Chairman Amy Eisma in this fight,” Gordon declared.

“For the first time, the SBMA is going after bad debts because we have a leader who is backing us up.”

“Now they are saying that more media salvo against the SBMA will be coming. But I say, bring it on. We’re just doing our job,” he added.

The SBMA repossessed early last month two facilities leased out to Manila Times companies because of outstanding obligations.

SBMA said the Manila Times

School of Journalism Inc., which leased the George Dewey Complex at the Subic Gateway area, owed a total of P60.28 million in overdue rentals and service fees as of July 4, and has also failed to implement the proposed development plan.

Meanwhile, the Manila Times College of Subic Inc., formerly the George Dewey Medical College Inc., which leased the Cubi Hospital Complex, had outstanding accounts of $543,552.10 and P21.04 million as of July 31, according to SBMA records. These were for unpaid assignment share, labor fees, medical fees, lease rentals and service fees.

Manila Times Chairman Dante A. Ang, however, had disputed the SBMA billings in an August 22 opinion piece on his newspaper. In subsequent issues, Ang also mocked Eisma for “panicking” over an Ombudsman complaint and accused her of abuse of authority over SBMA employees.

Gordon said that while Ang disputed SBMA’s claims, the Manila Times owner met with the SBMA board to discuss the outstanding accounts, but had offered to pay only a total of P6 million.

“He wanted us to forget about the rest,” Gordon said. Henry Empeño

Fruitas branches out with launch of new brands, provincial expansion

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IDING on the economic dynamism of key cities and provinces outside the capital, Fruitas Holdings Inc. (FHI) expanded its network in the Visayas and Mindanao with 70 new stores, bringing its total store count to 849.

In keeping with its goal to serve the fastgrowing food cart industry, FHI opened more than 70 new stores this year. Its growth was driven by its entry into new markets outside Metro Manila, including locations in Cebu, Davao, Dagupan, Leyte, Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro, as well as the opening of new food brands.

Further driving its expansion was the launch of food brands serving various market segments, which include Cascades Lifestyle Park, UVA, Chikenini and LA Steak.

“Fruitas Holdings plans to further strengthen our footprint outside Metro Manila. We have been doubling our number over the past years and would like to sustain this momentum,” said Lester Yu, Fruitas Holdings Inc. president and CEO.

In 2017 FHI reported P1.2 billion in consolidated sales, a 130-percent increase from its half-a-billion sales in 2016, which was driven by aggressive expansion and opening of stores for the year. The company has been almost doubling their stores for the past two years. In 2016 FHI capped the year with 415 stores, a 60-percent increase from 2015. Last year FHI ended with over 750.

Alongside its expansion, Fruitas Holdings also partnered with GCash to integrate the Scan-toPay feature into their payment system, which allows their customers to do cashless transactions in 45 of its pilot stores. The company is targeting to launch the mobile payment system in all FHI brands nationwide by end-2018.

“To advance the growth of our physical stores, we also plan to grow with technology through GCash. It will be an opportunity for us to provide an easier and more efficient payment system and create a better experience for our consumers,” Yu said.

MUTUAL FUNDS

September 13, 2018

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 252.96 -9.03% 0.62% 2.09% -13.72% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.4403 -12.67% 5.37% 2.65% -9.8% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 3.9348 -10.4% 1.97% 0.7% -14.32% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.8975 -10.81% N.A. N.A. -11.75% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. * ********* 0.8316 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 5.2306 -7.61% 0.29% 1.15% -13.01% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * ****** 114.99 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.8349 -13.45% N.A. N.A. -15.9% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 49.2712 -7.62% 1.84% N.A. -12.63% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 512.44 -8.53% 0.38% 0.48% -12.92% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.2569 -6.01% 2.28% N.A. -10.5% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 36.6527 -5.25% 2.73% 3.75% -10.81% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 4.959 -7.23% 2.58% 3.88% -12.6% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. * 827.67 -7.35% 2.34% 3.58% -12.48% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8531 -7.49% -0.33% N.A. -11.79% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 4.0802 -5.98% 2.22% 2.48% -10.92% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 0.955 -7.32% 2.42% N.A. -12.65% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.5218 -3.17% 3.83% 2.3% -9.56% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* ***110.596 -6.52% 3.58% N.A. -12.19% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $0.988 -5.5% 4.02% 0.75% -10.85% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.2847 7.95% N.A. N.A. 1.54% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.6588 -7.98% -2.51% -1.36% -10.98% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.221 -7.31% 0.81% 0.77% -9.61% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.5239 -5.69% -1.76% -1.9% -8.88% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* **** 1.3204 -6.73% N.A. N.A. -9.24% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.841 -4.19% 0.95% 0.72% -7.6% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.5304 -7.16% -0.61% -0.33% -9.9% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 15.791 -7.67% -0.73% -0.33% -10.06% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* ******** 2.059 -5.25% 0.95% 2.5% -8.17% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.6676 -4.74% 0.5% 1.07% -8.23% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.9381 -4.71% 0.33% N.A. -8.06% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.035 -3.21% -0.33% 2.76% -3.05% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9616 -5.22% 3.09% -0.65% -8.16% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.6443 3.86% 5.56% 3.71% -0.22% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.0871 - 0.87% N.A. N.A. -2.26% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 341.04 1.56% 1.72% 1.65% 1.17% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ******* 1.86 -1.7% -1.17% -0.23% -1.71% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9268 5.4% 5.34% 5.32% 3.71% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1198 0.13% 1.06% 1.08% 0.84% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2177 -0.09% -0.07% 0.22% 0.07% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.5803 -1.66% -1.56% -1.47% -1.81% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.8966 -5.02% -1.49% -0.67% -3.79% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.4785 -0.22% -0.42% 0.07% -0.75% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.8925 -4.43% -1.87% N.A. -3.33% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.7658 0.04% 0.1% 0.39% -0.4% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.535 -0.67% -0.33% -0.25% -0.95% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $444.83 -0.03% 2.31% 3.26% -0.25% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є213.1 0.28% 1.29% 1.72% -0.29% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1197 -1.25% 1.1% 2.1% -1.27% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0248 -1.2% 0.68% N.A. -0.8% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.7023 -5.22% -0.12% 1.81% -3.91% 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* $1.0322 -5.23% -1.1% -2.13% -3.85% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1612 -4.22% 0.84% 3.08% -3.99% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0568391 -1.01% 0.98% 2.18% -0.63% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8974 -4.88% 0.84% 2.34% -3.83% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 119.71 2.26% 1.64% 1.44% 1.79% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1733 1.76% 0.36% 0.37% 1.37% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2065 2.34% 2.11% 1.35% 1.77% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* ***** $1.0098 N.A. N.A. N.A. 1.11%

* - 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

B4 Friday, September 14, 2018

MAI WEI FANG SERVES CHINESE CUISINE IN 8 WAYS FACIAL AND MASSAGE FOR KIDS NOW AVAILABLE AT QUAN SPA OF MARRIOTT HOTEL

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TIR fry, fried rice and noodles, and dim sum are what most people think when it comes to Chinese food.

This form of cooking is from the southern Guangdong province, specifically Cantonese cuisine (Yue Cai), where rice is usually the main ingredient. However, this style is only one of eight styles of cuisines that is found in China. As there are different Chinese styles of cooking, there are also different main ingredients that are used. Rice is used in northern Chinese cuisines; however, wheat flour is the predominate staple ingredient used in all varieties of breads, noodles and dumplings that is found prevalent in these cuisines.

I MERALCO PREPARES FOR TYPHOON OMPONG In preparation for the arrival of Typhoon Ompong (international code name Manghkhut), the crew of Meralco Networks conducts a stormhardening project involving the replacement of aging poles and upgrading of primary lines to covered conductors along Astoria Street, Barangay Saint Ignatius, Quezon City. This is part of Meralco’s continuing thrust to maintain and strengthen its electric-distribution facilities to ensure safe, adequate and reliable electric service to its customers. For updates on maintenance schedules, follow the Meralco Facebook and Twitter pages or call the Meralco 24/7 hotline 16211.

F you think that a lavish hotel is all about meetings, events, staycations and gastronomical fetes for adults, think again. It’s alsoaboutthatwell-deservedluxuriouspamperingthatknowsno age! Marriott Manila’s Quan Spa is now offering facial and massage services for the little ones and teens. Take you daughter to a rewarding retreatwiththenewstrawberryhydraboostfacial(for9-17yearsold)at P3,600;orarelaxingaromafusionmassage(16-17yearsold)atP2,000.

Quan Spa is a full-service spa that offers various treatments and services to pamper guests using a combination of organic and marine based products. With the addition of kid-friendly services, the spa is bound to be the cherry on top of family staycations at the Manila Marriott.

At Mai Wei Fang (pronounced my-way-fahng), meaning “wheat mill room”, they want to showcase a different type of cuisine and focus on wheat-flour products that are found in staple dishes throughout northeast China. The name of the restaurant is derived from the process of where wheat is milled into the staple ingredient that is flour. Bringing in the first of this cuisine to the Philippines and introducing our signature item the pan-fried soup dumpling (sheng jian bao) from Shanghai, China. This authentic mainland China recipe uses a thin flour skin to wrap our special pork mixture, which is then pan-fried to give a crunch in texture, then steamed to melt the gelatin inside into a soup dumpling.

Our mission is to bring an elevated dining experience for a fast-casual restaurant.

The focus is to bring authentic mainland Chinese recipes that is made to order with fresh quality ingredients for the massmarket consumers. The design of the store has a showcaseopen kitchen where all dishes are made fresh, multiple times a day in house. Their commitment to quality can also be seen in all of their packaging as they source from high-quality and eco-friendly materials. They have carefully handcrafted their recipes and menu by sourcing, training and learning from various chefs throughout northeast China to showcase these flour-staple dishes that have literally lasted thousands of years in China.

SITEL PHILIPPINES OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED SCHOLARS

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ITEL Philippines is doubling down on its corporate social responsibility through its new partnership with Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired (Atriev).

“At Sitel, we take education and empowerment very seriously,” said Craig Reines, chief operating officer, Sitel Asia Pacific. “This year we want to expand the reach of our training and human development programs and provide career opportunities to groups that have limited access to education, such as persons with physical limitations. Atriev is the perfect partner for this. We fully support their advocacy of using technology and IT-enabled programs to help the visually impaired become employable and productive.”

Through this partnership, the Sitel Academy call-center training program, the first of its kind in the business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry, will be offered to Atriev scholars.

Participants in this program can expect to gain basic contactcenter skills and, afterward, seek gainful employment in the BPO industry as agents, virtual assistants, software analysts and more.

In photo are Perry Badilla, learning and development manager, Sitel; Marco Ramos, Atriev graduate; Reines; Tony Llanes, executive director, Atriev; Carol Catacutan; Jamie Blocker, Sitel head of learning and development; Ramona Ramos, finance officer, Atriev; Francis Ian Marciano, Sitel learning manager; and Kalpak Huddar, Sitel human resource leader for Asia Pacific.

SPRINGBOARD MOUNTS 1ST WAKE UP MANILA JOBCON

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OB seekers and career shifters stormed the first Wake Up Manila job convention at the SMX Convention Center, which was packed with companies from various industries. Messages to the attendees were given by influential individuals, such as Assistant Chief of Staff to the Vice President Pia Abad; Deborah Juanta, who is the NCR Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) ambassador; Ralph Andrew Romana of Philusa; Tata Mapa of Pope Magazine; Inyi Yruma of MyPhone; and Christian Blanquera of Jobayan, while a surprise recorded video

message from Vice President Leni Robredo was shown to the attendees.

Wake Up Manila was organized with the primary purpose of matching the right job candidates to the right companies. Springboard Chief Executive Officer Jake Go said that the company wants to bring the job convention to other parts of the country, such as Cebu, Davao and other key areas, as part of the company’s mission “to bridge the gap between the employer and job seeker.” For more information, visit www.springboard.com.ph.

OAKLEY LOCATES 27TH BRANCH IN MALL OF ASIA One of the leading product-design and sport-performance brands in the world, chosen by world-class athletes to compete at the highest level possible, Oakley has finally opened its newest concept store in SM Mall of Asia. Its position as a sports- and lifestyle-eyewear brand has been extended to apparel and accessories, offering men’s and women’s product lines that appeal to sport performance, active and lifestyle consumers. New arrival of eyewear, apparel, accessories and Aro helmets are displayed inside the store.

RAMOS: I’M FINE, GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES L ISBON, Portugal—The chair umpire who penalized Serena Williams in the US Open final has spoken publicly for the first time since the match, saying he is “fine.”

Ramos, who is from Portugal, spoke briefly to Portuguese newspaper Tribuna Expresso this week.

“I’m fine, given the circumstances,” Ramos said, according to the newspaper. “It’s a delicate situation, but umpiring ‘a la carte’ doesn’t exist. Don’t worry about me.”

The newspaper said Ramos received hundreds of messages of support from family, colleagues, players and former players. He said he has avoided social media and only reads “balanced” articles about the incident. He also refrained from going out the day after the final to avoid problems, according to the report.

The International Tennis Federation has defended Ramos for his actions during the final. The US Open fined Williams for her three code violations.

The Women’s Tennis Association later called for equal treatment of all tennis players and coaching to be allowed across the sport.

Ramos has been assigned to officiate the Davis Cup semifinal matches between the United States and Croatia, a best-offive series, which begins on Friday and ends on Sunday in Zadar, Croatia.

LUCK ON FRANCE’S SIDE

SADLY for France, Yannick Noah is leaving his job as Davis Cup captain at the end of the year.

Since returning to the helm of the squad for the 2016 campaign, the former French Open champion has indeed been a lucky charm.

Despite a drop in their individual performances recently, Noah’s players have been able to reach the Davis Cup semifinals every year during his most recent stint. They lost to Croatia in 2016, won the title against Belgium last year and will be facing Spain this weekend at home for a place in the final against either Croatia or the United States.

Over the past two years, France has been lucky enough to face many teams playing without their best player. In 2016, Noah, who also guided France to Davis Cup titles in 1991 and 1996, won his first series back in charge against Canada in the absence of Milos Raonic, who was out injured. France then

played a Czech Republic squad bereft of its best player, Tomas Berdych.

Last year France defeated Japan in the first round as Kei Nishikori skipped the matchup, then beat Britain for a semifinal spot after Andy Murray was forced to withdraw with an elbow injury. Lucas Pouille and his teammates then made it to the final by eliminating Serbia as Novak Djokovic played no part in the contest because of a long-term injury.

And this week again, luck is on France’s side. Noah’s players were expecting to take on Rafael Nadal this weekend, but the topranked Spaniard’s chronic knee problems resurfaced at the U.S. Open, where he retired from his semifinal match against Juan Martin del Potro last week before he was ruled out of the Davis Cup. “We have been thinking about Nadal for the past four or five months,” Noah said on Tuesday. “Playing one of the best players in the world at home in the Davis Cup is something I would have liked to watch from my chair.”

Forced to make do without the 17-time Grand Slam champion, Spain captain Sergi Bruguera has called up Albert Ramos as a replacement for Nadal, who will line up alongside Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut, Feliciano Lopez and Marcel Granollers.

“Coming here without Nadal obviously changes a lot of things for us,” Bruguera said. “Actually, it changes everything. Now the French are even more favorites.”

The news of Nadal’s withdrawal might have been heartwarming for the French, who registered disappointing results in New York.

Lucas Pouille and Richard Gasquet lost in the third round at Flushing Meadows, while Benoit Paire was beaten in straight sets by Roger Federer in the second round.

In the absence of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils, who are out injured, Paire has received his first Davis Cup call-up in a squad that also includes Pouille, Gasquet, Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut as the hosts aim to reach back-to-back finals for the first time since 2002.

Benneteau, who will succeed Noah as Fed Cup captain at the end of the season, might be involved in his last doubles match, having announced his retirement at the US Open. Noah will pass the Davis Cup baton to former top-ranked player Amelie Mauresmo, who will become the first woman to captain France’s Davis Cup team when she replaces the 1983 French Open champion.

Matches will be played on an indoor hard court at the 27,500-capacity Pierre Mauroy Stadium in the city of Lille, with the roof closed. France won its 10th Davis Cup title last year in the same venue, beating Belgium, 3-2. AP

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Friday, September 14, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

CELEBRATION!

Sri Lanka’s Sripali Weerakkody celebrates, taking the wicket of India’s Punam Raut during their second women’s one-day international cricket match in Galle, Sri Lanka, on Thursday. AP

OSAKA: I AM WHO I AM JAPAN has embraced the 20-year-old Naomi Osaka, and she—despite barely speaking Japanese—talks fondly of her affection for her adopted country. AP

Some children from mixed race families in Japan often get bullied and demeaned, called hafu— from the English word “half”—and are chided that they aren’t fully Japanese.

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OKOHAMA, Japan—Naomi Osaka’s victory in the US Open has added her to a growing list of athletes, Nobel Prize winners and beauty pageant contestants who have raised the issue of what it means to be Japanese.

The daughter of a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, Osaka was born in Japan but raised in the United States. But she is being lauded in Japan as the first from the country to win a Grand Slam singles tennis title, which has upstaged most questions about her mixed background.

Some children from mixed race families in Japan often get bullied and demeaned, called hafu—from the English word “half”—and are chided that they aren’t fully Japanese.

Japan has embraced the 20-year-old Osaka, and she—despite barely speaking Japanese—talks fondly of her affection for her adopted country. But her victory also challenges public attitudes about identity in a homogeneous culture that is being pushed to change.

“It is hard to say for sure if the extremely narrow conception, unconsciously or consciously, held by many Japanese of being Japanese, is being loosened,” Naoko Hashimoto, who researches national identify at the University of Sussex in England, wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press (AP).

“In my opinion, it still appears that Japanese are generally defined as those who are born from a Japanese father and a Japanese mother, who speak perfect Japanese and ‘act like Japanese’.”

Athletes and celebrities seem to fall into a different category. Osaka has lots of company in this realm with an increasing number of sports stars claiming mixed backgrounds.

For instance: n Yu Darvish, the Chicago Cubs pitcher: son on a Japanese mother and Iranian father. Born in Osaka. n Mashu Baker, an Olympic gold-medal winner in judo: son of a Japanese mother and American father. Born in Tokyo. n Asuka Cambridge, Olympic silver-medal winner in the 4x100 track relay: born in Jamaica to a Japanese mother and Jamaican father, but grew up in Japan. n Abdul Hakim Sani Brown, track and field sprinter: son of a Japanese mother and Ghanaian father. Born in Tokyo. n Koji Murofushi, Olympic gold- and silver-medal winner in the hammer throw: son of a Romanian mother and Japanese father. Born and raised in Japan.

Murofushi said he’s always felt Japanese.

“I know that I have a mixed heritage,” he told AP. “But I always feel Japanese.” He added it’s “not something that really concerned me or anything.”

The visibility of mixed-race athletes in Japan is sure to increase as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approach and the country hunts for competitors in sports where it has little history.

The reverse happened two years ago in the Rio de Janeiro Games, where Brazil found athletes with Japanese roots—more than 2 million Brazilians claim Japanese ancestry—to compete in non-Brazilian specialties.

One thing is clear, Osaka is cashing in.

The US Open victory was worth $3.8 million in prize money. And on Thursday, Osaka was introduced in Japan as a “brand ambassador” for the Japanese car maker Nissan. It’s a three-year deal, though financial terms were not disclosed.

Osaka defeated Williams in Saturday’s chaotic final. Forbes magazine reports that Williams is the highest-earning female athlete with income of $18.1 million, almost all from endorsements and sponsorship deals. She’s topped the list for several years.

But Osaka’s mixed-race profile, her appeal in the huge Asian market and her links to Japan’s world-wide brands should drive her long-term earning potential.

Osaka was asked if she’s a “new type of Japanese”—mixed race and representing three cultures.

“For me, it’s just who I am,” she said. “When someone asks me a question like that, it really throws me off because then I really have to think about it. I don’t know. I don’t really think that I’m three separate—like mixes of whatever.

I just think that I’m me.”

Osaka said people tell her that she acts “kind of Japanese.” But she added: “I think my tennis is not very Japanese.”

Jonathan Jensen, who researches sports marketing at the University of North Carolina, told AP by e-mail that the size of the Nissan contact would depend on how much of her time the company uses. And how many tournaments—and what tournaments—she wins.

“She seems very shy, and it’s not for everyone,” Jensen wrote. “But the potential is there if that’s the route she wants to take, particularly with brands based in Asia, like Nissan. Tech firms and consumer electronics would also be a natural fit.”

Osaka has charmed Japanese audiences with her grace and gentleness off the court, and her ferocity on it. She’s talked about her fondness for Japanese food—curried rice topped with a pork cutlet is a favorite.

She’s also been a spokesman for two years for the Japanese cup noodle brand Nissin, which is launching a new noodle cup to commemorate her victory.

Kazuyoshi Minowa, a spokesman for Windsor Corp, which operates tennis shops in Tokyo, said customers are asking to buy the same racket that Osaka uses. He said he met her two years ago when she visited a store.

“My impression was that she was very quiet, unlike her powerful image playing the game,” he told Japanese broadcaster NHK. Questions about race also surfaced in 2016 when Priyanka Yoshikawa was crowned Miss World Japan. Her mother is Japanese and her father in Indian and she was born in Tokyo.

This came a year after Ariana Miyamoto won the Miss Universe Japan title. She was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and African-American father.

Hashimoto, the researcher at the University of Sussex, pointed out that under Japanese law, Osaka will have to decide on her nationality before she turns 22. She’s 20 now and cannot legally hold two passports.

Hashimoto referenced three Nobel Prize winners born in Japan who eventually took other nationalities. The writer Kazuo Ishiguro holds a British passport, and scientists Yoichiro Nanbu and Shuji Nakamura both now hold American passports.

She said the strict one-passport rule “could risk leading to brain drain of great talents out of Japan.”

“While Naomi Osaka’s victory should be celebrated on its own,” Hashimoto said,” her case provides those Japanese with a narrow conception of Japaneseness with an excellent opportunity to rethink what it means to be Japanese.” AP

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Business

C2 Friday, September 14, 2018

STORM BELL

BY STORM

STORM BELL pulls away from the field to win the first leg of the Philippine Racing Commission Juvenile Fillies and Colts Stakes Race at the Saddle and Club Leisure Park, Naic, Cavite.

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TORM BELL whipped up a storm in the first leg of the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) Juvenile Fillies and Colts Stakes Race at the Saddle and Club Leisure Park in Naic, Cavite.

With multi-titled jockey JB Hernandez riding the two-year-old colt, Storm Bell made its move halfway through the short 1,200-meter distance and never let go of the lead to win pulling away with a winning time of 1:12.

Morning Girl of owner Rene Viloria burst out of the gate holding the lead, closely followed

by Raymund Puyat’s Valley Cat and Storm Bell, which swiftly made its move and grabbed the lead in the 600 meters, increasing it further approaching the finish for a three-length victory in the P1-million stakes race put up

by Philracom.

The win was worth P600,000 for Storm Bell owner Bell Racing Stable, with Donato S. Sordan taking the Breeder’s Purse of P30,000.

Valley Cat, ridden by OP Cortez, settled for the runner-up purse of P225,000, while the Robert Ramirezowned Inter State, with jockey RG Fernandez on the reins, bagged the third-place prize of P125,000.

Fourth-placer Morning Girl, steered by Jockey RO Niu Jr., pocketed P50,000.

The Philracom’s Juvenile Fillies and Colts Stakes Race features the country’s best twoyear-old horses in their biggest competition yet.

Other winners of the heavy 12-race Philippine Racing Club Inc. schedule were Flintridge (Race 2), Ingd Kantar (Race 3), Pabulong (Race 4), Sin Duda (Race 5), Skymarshal (Race 6), Lollipop (Race 7), Kapangyarihan (Race 8), Sikat (Race 9), Expensive (Race 10), Conqueror (Race 11) and Runzaprun (Race 12).

The Philracom, meanwhile, will stage the 2018 Lakambini Stakes Race on Sunday at the Manila Jockey Club’s San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.

Open to locally born three-year-old fillies that have already participated in a race, the stakes race offers a guaranteed purse of P1,500,000 with P900,000 going to the champion. Second to fourth placers receive P337,500, P187,500 and P75,000, respectively, with P60,000 being awarded to the breeder of the winning horse.

Vettel eyes significant result in Singapore

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INGAPORE—Sebastian Vettel needs a return to form at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the night race where his Formula One (F1) championship challenge started crumbling last year.

Vettel was perfectly poised to regain the over all lead from Lewis Hamilton at the Marina Bay street circuit last year, but caused a multicar crash from pole position and spiraled out of the race. Hamilton avoided the first-lap chaos and, despite starting fifth, went on to win.

The crash affected Vettel’s momentum badly.

Hamilton won two of the next three races and eventually sealed the title by a comfortable 46 points.

Unless Vettel finds a way to respond, it could be déjà vu for the German driver as he already trails Hamilton by 30 points heading into Sunday’s race.

Hamilton has won three of the past four races and outscored Vettel 93-55 during that span.

Considering Hamilton has won six races to Vettel’s five this year, the margin between them should be much closer. But, just like in 2017, Vettel has been throwing away points and his composure is again being called into question .

The slump started when the Ferrari driver crashed in the rain while leading the German GP, in July then botched qualifying—again in the rain—at Hungary despite being faster than Hamilton’s Mercedes.

Although he beat Hamilton at the Belgian GP, after Hamilton took pole, familiar problems resurfaced for Vettel and Ferrari at the Italian GP two weeks ago.

Ferrari secured a front row 1-2, with Hamilton third, but Vettel was unhappy with his team because Kimi Raikkonen was on pole in Monza. Then, Raikkonen held his ground at the start and didn’t let Vettel past, even though Vettel is much better placed for a title push.

Unable to pass, Vettel then got in a tangle as Hamilton was overtaking him and span off the

VETTEL

track—again showing signs of vulnerability. Vettel clawed back to fourth, but Hamilton won to extend his title lead on a track where Ferrari should have helped Vettel close the gap on the British driver.

The fact he did not also underlines how Ferrari has seemed in a state of flux at times. Given Vettel’s need to pressure Hamilton, it was logical to impose team orders and tell Raikkonen to let Vettel past him.

Ferrari has never officially established a 1-2 hierarchy in the team, and neither has Mercedes. But while it is seemingly evident to observers that Valtteri Bottas is Hamilton’s No. 2 at Mercedes—and he drove like that in Monza to help Hamilton overtake Raikkonen—the situation at Ferrari is confusing.

This was compounded this week when, even against Vettel’s wishes, Ferrari chose not to extend Raikkonen’s contract for next year and instead promoted 20-year-old Charles Leclerc from the Sauber team. Leclerc is a hugely promising driver who came through the prestigious Ferrari academy, and touted as a future F1 champion, but he is inexperienced and will need time to adjust to a vastly more powerful car in 2019.

Raikkonen has been competitive with six podiums in the past seven races to reach 100 podiums overall. But the 38-year-old Finn is going to Sauber next year, back to where he started his F1 career in 2001 and a clear demotion in terms of prestige.

With only six races left after Singapore, Ferrari needs Raikkonen to help Vettel catch Hamilton.

But as his second spell with Ferrari again promises to end bitterly—like when Ferrari bought out the last year of his contract in 2010 to bring in Fernando Alonso—Raikkonen may have other ideas.

The uncertainty at Ferrari merely plays into Mercedes’s hands, with Hamilton looking a stronger bet to clinch a fifth F1 title than Vettel. AP

orts

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Friday, September 14, 2018

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LADY MAROONS BAG PVL CROWN U

THE University of the Philippines Lady Maroons are slowly but surely sending a strong message.

PIRATES GO 12-AND-0 L YCEUM of the Philippines University made Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) play an eyesore of a game as the Pirates scored a 95-75 victory to remain unscathed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 94 seniors basketball tournament on Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The Pirates threw a defensive blanket over the Generals, who fell to a season-worst 38 turnovers that resulted to 38 points for Lyceum.

With EAC in disarray, Lyceum ran its offense with sheer fluidity and scored 22 points on fast breaks to go 12-0 won-lost. Defending champion San Beda is the second-best so far with an 11-1 card.

“We know that our strength is our defense, and we just have to keep feeding on it,” Lyceum Coach Topex Robinson said.

CJ Perez led Lyceum with 19 points, and Mike Nzeusseu scattered 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Jaycee Marcelino played sick but still finished

with 15 points, seven assists and four steals.

EAC hung tough in the first half when they battled Lyceum to 10 lead changes and four deadlocks.

A buzzer-beating triple by Ralph Tansingco gave the Pirates a 41-40 edge entering the break.

But Lyceum kept pressing in the second half that shattered EAC’s offense.

Jerome Garcia unloaded a season-best 30 points with six three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough to help EAC from absorbing its ninth

defeat against two wins.

“I think that’s very important on the way we have to be disciplined on playing our defense, and especially our offense,” Robinson said.

But Robinson cautioned his players not to repeat the mistakes they committed in the first two quarters.

“We know that we’re going to make some mistakes. It came to no surprise that they were close in the first half,” he said.

Mapua turned back Jose Rizal Universuty,

Chua, Co, Siy lift 60s in Thai hoops

J

OHNNY CHUA, Sonny Co and Conrad Siy delivered key baskets down the stretch as the 65s of the Filipino-Chinese Veterans Basketball Association (FCVBA) downed Miri, Malaysia, 42-37, to sweep the group eliminations of the 27th Asean Basketball Veterans Tournament on Wednesday at the Prince Songkla University gym in Hat Yai, Thailand.

After struggling in the first three quarters, Co found the right time to redeem himself as he buried a huge three-point shot to tie count at 37-all, then Chua split his pressure-packed charities before Siy hit a putback for a 40-37 lead.

Chua, who finished with 13 points, finally sealed the deal with a courageous basket down low with barely 12 ticks left.

“It was a tough win,” said Terry Que of Rain or Shine, who bankrolled FCVBA’s participation in the annual tournament along with Freego’s Eduard Tio and Ironcon Builders boss Jimi Lim. Siy led all FCVBA scorers with 16 points, while former Crispa enforcer Bong de la Cruz and James Chua provided the intangibles.

In the semis, the 65s will face Group B second placer Sarawak—another team from Malaysia—on Thursday.

The thrilling win of the 65s overshadowed the 60s’ 58-38 thumping of Miri.

Unlike in their first two games where former Philippine team standout Elmer Reyes and ex-La Salle star Kenneth Yap dominated the show, the 65s got solid contributions this time from Danny Ching, Aries Franco, Jose Lao, Andrew Ongteco, Elmer Latotio and Ramon Mabanta.

THE Pirates’ CJ Perez improvises in midair against the Generals’ Hamadou Laminou (15) and Jerome Garcia (47). NONOY LACZA

Dacayanan, Balatibat prevail in Clark

X

Y JAMES DACAYANAN won the men’s race, and Jayline Balatibat topped the women’s contest of the recent Bike King Duathlon that lured more than 850 athletes at the Clark Global City in Pampanga.

Dacayanan (Team Podium BF Baguio) clocked two hours, 16 minutes and 46 seconds not only to rule the male 18-24 age group but also to emerge overall champion in the race that consisted of 6 kilometers of running, 60 kms of cycling and another 4 kms of running.

Reymart Songco (Fit.ph) crossed a minute later to settle for second place with his teammate Ronald Molit completing the podium and topping the 35-39 group.

Balatibat (Herbalife) blitzed in at 2:37:30 to win the overall title and also hoist the female

30-34 trophy. Jennifer Soto (Tri Delta) finished two minutes after for second place overall and first in the 40-44 group. National triathlon team Coach Ani de Leon Brown claimed third place.

The other age-group winners were Aira Lourdes (female 18-24), Oscar Miguel Mapalo (male 25-29), Maria Tiffany Batilo (female 3539), Edison Morales (male 40-44), Leilani Marie Tan and Jojo Macalintal (45-49), Lara Parpan (female 50-above), Bernardo Mateo (male 50-54), Doddie Dino Jr. (male 55-59) and Daniel Yamio (male 60-above).

Fit.ph topped the team competition, followed by the Trimac and Styc, while NLEX Team C, Team Rising Sun/Hardcore (all-male), Team Franzia B (mixed) and Team Mako (family) finished 1-2-3 in the mixed relay category.

Golovkin vs Alvarez goes live on PPV this weekend

S

KY subscribers nationwide could get front row access to this year’s highly anticipated rematch between Gennady Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as SKY Pay-Per-View airs the fight live from the United States on Sunday for only P199.

Golovkin and Alvarez will square anew in Las Vegas for their bout that is dubbed as this year’s most-awaited rematch after their 2017 controversial bout.

Golovkin, with stats of 38-0-1, 34 KOs to his name, has 20 straight defenses in the division and is tied with Bernard Hopkins for the record.

Alvarez, with stats of 49-1-2, 34 KOs, is on a campaign as a full-fledged 160-pound middleweight. He has not lost a fight since dropping a majority decision against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013.

SKY is also staging another promo until September 16 for Mega Manila subscribers who are interested to enjoy good savings deals as it bundles the Golovkin versus Alvarez rematch with selected channels.

Subscribers can choose to bundle the boxing match with action and suspense movie channel Cinemax and combat sports channel Fight Sports for as low as P225.

81-79, to snare its third win against eight defeats.

The Bombers fell to 2-10.

The league, meanwhile, canceled Friday’s basketball and badminton games in anticipation of Typhoon Ompong. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

NIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) nailed its first big volley championship in a long, long while in style, blowing a 2-0 set lead and an 8-0 bulge in the third, then rallying from six-point deficits in the decider to hack out an improbable 2520, 25-18, 23-25, 20-25, 15-13 victory over a stunned Far Eastern University (FEU) side before a huge crowd at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan on Wednesday night.

With the crown slowly slipping off their fingers, the Lady Maroons put one big stand rarely seen from a crew playing in their first championship series, wiping out a 7-13 deficit in the fifth with key hits from the very player who had earlier claimed the Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Collegiate Conference.

Isa Molde fired away bombs that the Lady Tams had failed to stop, including two that anchored their incredible comeback to within, 12-13.

The Lady Maroons forced a tie on a block off Lycha Ebon then Molde rammed in another vicious kill to put the team within championship point.

In a bizarre ending, skipper Ma. Arielle Estranero clinched it for the Diliman-based school with hardly an effort as her serve sailed over the net and dropped into the middle of FEU’s court with no Lady Tam, visibly stunned by their rivals’ fightback, putting an effort to receive it.

That triggered a frenzied celebration on UP’s court, with Estranero dropping

to the floor and the rest whopping it up as the Lady Maroons claimed their first volley championship in 36 long years. UP last won a volley title in the UAAP in 1982.

While the victory—and the championship—proved sweeter the second time around for UP, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the Lady Tams, who had looked forward to forcing a decider after bouncing from two sets down and 0-8 in the third and seizing a 13-7 lead in the decider despite playing without injured ace player Celine Domingo.

“Sobrang happy, parang UAAP na din,” said Molde, who had earlier also bested the best in the fold by bagging the MVP crown after norming 15.14 points in the elims, with 30.25-percent success rate in attacks and 0.48 service aces per set.

But it was her Finals performance that made her stand out from the rest.

“Hindi lang naman ako but all of us. We raised the level of our respective games,” said Molde, who fired 16 points in leading the team to a come-from-behind 14-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-18, 15-5 victory in Game One last Sunday.

Adamson took third-place honors as it subdued University of Santo Tomas, 15-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19.

The Tigresses actually won Game One, 25-20, 27-29, 13-25, 25-19, 17-15, but with the Lady Maroons winning the championship via sweep, the Lady Falcons grabbed third place with a higher quotient, 4-2, after two games.

Sports

CYCLING FOREVER

BusinessMirror

B

ERLIN—Two-time Olympic champion Kristina Vogel says she wants to keep her job as a rider representative to the International Cycling Union (UCI) despite a training crash that has left her paralyzed.

Vogel suffered a severe spinal injury after crashing on a concrete track following a high-speed collision while training in Germany in June. She says she will take time “to get to know step by step what I can and can’t do” in the future.

Vogel says she wants to remain involved with cycling and noted that she remains an athletes’ representative to the UCI. Vogel says she would “like to keep that, independently of whether I...do something at the Paralympics or want to withdraw completely from sport.” AP

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| Friday, September 14, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

MICHAEL WOODS dedicates the win to his stillborn son, who died this year when his wife was 37 weeks pregnant. AP

KRISTINA VOGEL wants to remain involved with cycling. AP

EMOTIONAL VICTORY B

ALCON DE BIZKAIA, Spain—Simon Yates lost a few seconds of his Spanish Vuelta lead on Wednesday, while Michael Woods of Canada earned an emotional victory on a difficult mountain stage.

Woods outlasted the field in a 157-kilometer 17th stage that finished with a tough climb up Balcon de Bizkaia in Basque Country, and then dedicated the win to his stillborn son, who died this year when his wife was 37 weeks pregnant.

The Canadian rider crossed the line five seconds in front of Dylan Teuns and 10 seconds ahead of David de la Cruz.

“It’s a special moment for me. I was very moved on the finish line,” the 31-year-old Woods said. “My coach was in the car and in the final 500 meters he told me on the radio to think about my family.”

Woods said that his wife also lost her father a month ago.

“It’s been a very hard year,” he said. “I was cracked on the finish line. I tried to stay calm, I tried to think of my family and to think of my little Hunter as an inspiration.”

This was the first stage win at a Grand Tour race for the rider from team Education First-Drapac.

Yates’s gap to Alejandro Valverde was cut from 33 seconds to 25 seconds after a solid climb by the veteran Spaniard.

Enric Mas also had a good run and moved up to third place overall, one minute and 22 seconds behind Yates.

“There’s still a lot of racing to come, hard stages ahead. The gaps are still small behind me,” Yates said. “Nobody really attacked in the climb. There’s no shame in losing a few seconds to Valverde and Mas in such a finale. I truly believe Andorran stages are much better for me. Of the stages left, this is the one I feared most. I know Andorra very well and I think the climbs suit me very well.”

Nairo Quintana struggled the most, losing more than a minute and dropping out of the top 5 in the general classification.

No changes at the top are expected on Thursday, when riders will face a flat 186.1-kilometer stage from Ejea de los Caballeros to Lleida in northeastern Spain.

Mitchelton-Scott’s Jack Haig and Yates’s brother Adam did sterling work keeping the little group of favorites under control on the brutally steep ascent of Mount Oiz. But when Valverde laid down one of his trademark explosive accelerations close to the summit, Yates could not respond. He finished eight seconds behind Valverde, in 17th place.

After the previous day’s small but unexpected gain of seven seconds on Valverde in the Torrelavega time trial, the Briton has now suffered an almost equally minor, unexpected time loss both to Valverde and the up-andcoming Spaniard Enric Mas (Quick Step Floors).

Given that stage 17 was the mountain stage that he feared the most, it was perhaps not as much of a dangerous setback as it could have been.

With Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo), previously third overall in trouble on the climb, shedding nearly a minute and finishing alongside Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Yates was asked if he felt now that the Vuelta was a two-horse race between himself and Valverde.

“I don’t. There are a lot of hard stages to come, including Andorra, and the gaps are still small behind,”Yates told reporters. “I’d never count anybody out of this race.”

Losing eight seconds was not a blow to his morale, either.

“There’s no shame in losing a few seconds to Alejandro. He and [Enric] Mas [now third overall-ed.] are both classy riders. I felt good and I truly believe the Andorra stages are much better for me.”

The dense fog at the summit made it hard to see what was actually happening as television images of the GC group, barring a struggling Quintana, became increasingly scant.

“Nobody really attacked on the climb,” Yates said.

“Valverde tried early on but my brother Adam and Jack were riding hard on most of the climb”—reeling Valverde in the process—“but then with 1.5 kilometers [Miguel Angel] Lopez went for it.

“But Adam closed him down. That was it. It turned into a bit of a stalemate. Then Alejandro opened the sprint at the top and that’s where the gaps were created.”

One rider who has lost a lot more time unexpectedly was Quintana, but Yates continued to insist that the gaps between him and the Colombian were fairly small. AP

BIRD? PLANE? USAIN!

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USSY-LETTREE, France—Was it a bird? A plane?

No, Usain Bolt’s latest publicity stunt.

The eight-time Olympic gold medalist took a zero-gravity flight over France on Wednesday, courtesy of a champagne producer.

Taking a break from his efforts to become a professional soccer player, Bolt said he felt like a “kid in a candy store” after spending about four minutes floating and joking around in nearweightless conditions.

Aboard the Airbus A310 plane, the 32-yearold Jamaican caught a free-floating globule of champagne in his mouth and ran in low-gravity conditions. AP

BOLT

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Nurturing God

URTURING God, Your word is life to those who find it. In hope we pray: Teach us Your ways, Oh God. Grant wisdom in teaching and goodness of life to Pope Francis and all bishops, religious leaders and catechists. Help us steward the Earth’s gifts in wisdom and justice. Inspire greater respect among all people, and advance fruitful dialogue among Christians, Muslims and Jews. May God give us the joy of salvation, sustain in us a willing spirit, and fill our hearts with peace, through Christ our Shepherd. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED LUISA M. LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life BusinessMirror

BOYD HOLBROOK

AND THE ‘PREDATOR’ WITHOUT A REBOOT of the popular sci-fi franchise, The Predator sees writer/ director Shane Black returning to a world he first experienced back in 1987 as an actor.

In this new film, he’s expanding and exploring the story of the alien hunters and the human beings that must face the threat. With the government attempting to cover up the extent of Predator incursions on Earth, a rag-tag group of military veterans must figure out what is going on and how to save the world— or at least themselves—as the battle spreads from the depths of outer space to once-safe suburbia.

In The Predator, which takes place in 2018, a former Army Ranger and Special Forces soldier Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) has an encounter with a mysterious alien— which he later learns is a Predator— while on a mercenary mission in Mexico. He sends some of the

creature’s technology back to the US, where his son Rory (Jacob Tremblay) figures out the unearthly language used to control it. This, in turn, exposes him to a serious threat from the Predators. Quinn, who has been confined for psychiatric evaluation by the government as a way to keep him from revealing what he’s seen, escapes with a group of fellow former soldiers, dubbed “the Loonies,” and heads out to save his son, discovering a much greater conspiracy at work.

The heroes at the heart of The Predator are affectionately known as “Loonies.” Led by McKenna, whom they meet on a military prison bus, the Loonies are a group of veterans suffering from PTSD who know each other from group therapy: Williams (Trevante Rhodes), Coyle (KeeganMichael Key), Baxley (Thomas Jane), Lynch (Alfie Allen) and Nettles (Augusto Aguilera). The movie also features Olivia Munn, Yvonne Strahovski and Jake Busey.

Boyd Holbrook has been steadily building an impressive career, working in drama and action on screens big and small. He’s been seen in movies such as Run All Night, Morgan and Out of the Furnace, and enjoyed kudos for his work in Logan.

In 20th Century Fox’s The Predator, which is now in cinemas around these parts, he plays the troubled military man looking to protect his family from an otherworldly threat.

Here, he talks about working with Shane Black, cast camaraderie, and his first Predator experience.

Who is Quinn McKenna?

He’s ex-Special Forces. He’s basically doing contract work.

Probably not a lot really to live for in the sense that he’s very detached from his son. He’s estranged from his wife. He’s kind of a rogue. He’s living paycheck to paycheck; if you got a job

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FOR ONLINE DATERS, WOMEN PEAK AT 18 WHILE MEN PEAK AT 50, STUDY FINDS D3

Friday, September 14, 2018

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Society BusinessMirror

Friday, September 14, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Emma Kenney, 19; Dilshad Vadsaria, 33; Kimberly Williams-Paisley, 47; Robert Herjavec, 56.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Plan a trip or sign up for a refresher course that will help you stay current and permit you to reach your professional goals. Turn this into a year of progress and expansion. Set high standards and go above and beyond the call of duty; you will gain respect and exceed your expectations.

Personal changes are encouraged. Your lucky numbers are 4, 10, 21, 28, 32, 38, 42.

A CEREMONIAL toast marked the formal opening of the fair. From left: Department of Tourism Development Undersecretary Bong Bengzon, Sen. Nancy S. Binay, SSI Group President Anton Huang and WWF-Philippines President Joel Palma

HUANG (from left), Ambassador Koji Haneda of Embassy of Japan, Minister for Thai Embassy Urawadee Sriphiromya, Bong Bengzon and French Embassy Charge d’ Affaires Laurent Le Godec

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Change may be happening all around you, but stability is what you should be striving to achieve. Don’t feel compelled to follow what others do when in your heart you know it’s best to work diligently to maintain your equilibrium. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Make plans and get moving. Don’t hesitate. Once your mind is made up, follow through. A change will bring out any questions that have been looming between you and a partner. Be ready to own up to the way you truly feel. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Look and follow through. Timing is everything, and maintaining your schedule will be a must. Much can be accomplished if you refuse to let anything stand in your way. Don’t let anyone sidetrack you or sabotage your efforts. HHH SPANISH Embassy Commercial Office Analyst Jun Santos and Spanish Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Barbara Apraiz

HAPPY ONGPAUCO-TIU and Nina Huang

WWF Philippines’s Nikki Huang and Luis Villanueva

Sustainable sensations D UBBED “Philippine Harvest: Sustainable Living, Food and Travel,” the recent Philippine Harvest at Central Square celebrated the richness of Philippine agriculture. With its second edition under the helm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), highlights from the three-day food and travel fair included farm tourism, local food and tourist destinations around the country.

“At the core of our programs and projects in the Department is our sustainable and responsible tourism advocacy which we aim to promote with this edition of Philippine Harvest,” shared Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat.

In addition to showcasing organic, artisanal, natural and indigenous products (dried seafood, coffee, heirloom rice, chocolate, craft beers, fruit wines, fresh fruits, and local sausages, among others), the SSI Group and Central Square, in partnership with the DOT and the Tourism Promotions Board, DOT-accredited farm sites across the different regions were brought together, alongside selected travel agencies and local food exhibitors. There were minilectures on sustainable tourism and dining as well, which was organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines.

“We hope to develop sustainable farm tourism as a dependable source of income for Filipinos in line with

implementation of the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016, which serves as one of our strategies for countryside development,” added Romulo Puyat.

SSI Group President Anton Huang said, “As we continue to provide lifestyle offerings to our consumers, we at SSI are proud to, once again, showcase the best of what the Philippines has to offer—not only for our guests to appreciate the Philippines’s finest flavors, but also to create more awareness when it comes to how our travels impact our planet. Travel has become a big part of all of our lives, and this is our way of practicing this advocacy here in our own backyard, and presenting Filipino travelers with options and ideas.” n

The Music Museum celebrates 30-year milestone MUSIC Museum President Precy M. Florentino and Vice President Rosie F. Mendoza receive bouquets at the intimate get-together with the Music Museum staff.

THE unique theater concept that pop music icon Kuh Ledesma introduced to the entertainment scene on August 8, 1988, the Music Museum celebrated its 30th anniversary literally on the Music Museum stage.

Staff led by Music Museum Group President Precy M. Florentino celebrated the milestone with a Mass and a company lunch with employees, some of whom have been with the company since its very early days.

Celebrities like Mitch Valdes, Nanette Inventor, Carlo Orosa, Zsa-Zsa Padilla, Ryan Cayabyab, John Nite and Kuh Ledesma sent in video messages.

The original purpose of the longtime concert place in Greenhills San Juan was to provide performing artists with a readily accessible venue that would showcase their talents, unhampered by the stiff requirements dictated by hotels, the performance venues at the time. Performers of various genres welcomed its arrival in

1988. Through the years, a wealth of Filipino talent in music and the performing arts performed on the Music Museum stage.

Lani Misalucha, Side A, Jose Mari Chan, Sarah Geronimo, Agot Isidro, Keno, the Neocolors, Julie Ann San Jose, Glaiza de Castro, Loisa Andalio, Maja Salvador, Baihana, KZ Tandingan, Mateo Guidicelli and Michael Pangilinan, Enchong Dee all had

their debut concerts and first big concerts at the Music Museum.

The Music Museum experience was and still is unique because it is like being in a cozy home where artists entertain guests in a big living room. It’s the only theater in town where guests can order food and drinks during a performance so they can dine, drink and feel right at home while being

entertained. In 1989 Kuh sold the Music Museum to Precy Florentino, a friend of the singer’s. Music Museum celebrations of its milestones were often marked by concerts that would last till dawn. When it turned 10 in 1998, a 10-band concert rocked the Greenhills Car Park, while artists like the APO, Nanette Inventor, Kuh Ledesma, Ogie Alcasid, Geneva Cruz, Randy Santiago, Lani Misalucha, Nina, Dessa and Leah Navarro performed on the Music Museum stage.

For the 30th anniversary celebration, Precy Florentino said the prevailing spirit was gratitude. “The Music Museum looks back at the past 30 years with a celebratory attitude, thank you to the fans and concertgoers who have inspired us through the years and continue to inspire us to come out with the very best entertainment.

To the artists who performed at one time or another at the Music Museum, you are its life and soul. You fill us with so much gratitude,” said Florentino.

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Set the record straight and move forward with confidence.

State what you like and want, and it will help improve your relationship with someone special. A romantic evening will lead to positive adjustments to the way you live. HHHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Don’t feel you have to follow suit if someone else makes a move or lifestyle change. Don’t feel pressured or think that you have to keep up with someone who is overreacting. HH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A getaway will do you good. Learn from the different environments you encounter, the people you meet along the way and what they have to offer.

Knowledge and experience will lead to positive and productive change. Embrace new beginnings. HHHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t take a risk or gamble. Stick to what you know and refrain from trying to outdo someone trying to tempt you to get involved in something outside your comfort zone. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Simplicity is the key to success. Don’t race or take on the impossible. Size up situations, and look for an innovative way to work with what’s available.

Change begins within, and romance should add stability to your life. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t be fooled by what others do or say. There will be ulterior motives involved and insincerity used to get you to offer information that should be kept a secret. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t limit what you can do. Look at your situation and arrange to put the necessary changes into place. Practical applications will prove to be most beneficial. A lifestyle change or home improvement will stabilize an important relationship. HHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t jump because someone tells you to. Accept the inevitable and monitor and plan whatever you have control over to balance out the changes taking place around you. Avoid anyone exhibiting indulgent behavior or a lack of integrity. HH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Express your ideas and bring about the changes that will encourage alterations to your financial situation. A relationship based on equality will bring out the best in you and your partner. HHHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are sensitive, compassionate and productive.

You are intense and resourceful.

‘yo-yo diet’ BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Dolly’s greeting?

6 Word of the past?

10 Have a blast with it 13 Didn’t make a reservation 14 Song-and-dance show 16 Ground-up tool?

17 Let some people go 19 Lodging choice 20 Silly Mother?

21 Darkened skin 23 Park it 26 They deliver 27 Changes actors 28 Hold fast 30 U-turn from expanded 31 Singer Diamond 32 Bigot 34 Misbehaving child 37 Carpet hardware 39 The Amazing Spider-___ 40 Bert’s buddy 42 Say “How?” 43 Lighthouse or beacon

6 Words with “hold” or “get” 4 47 Clue direction 49 Old-school? Not at all 51 Lies and cons 53 What we all take in 54 “Moines” front 55 Some drone missions 56 Bit of hijinks 58 Deep anger 59 Super stubborn 64 Stabilizer in the water 65 Buck in its third year 66 Special vocabulary 67 Vietnamese festival 68 Weight that’s free 69 Glitches DOWN 1 Pass it for money 2 King James suffix 3 Honolulu gift 4 “Star” or “start” hanger-on 5 Promoting a new album 6 Hair unit 7 Laugh sounds

8 Mom of 57-Down 9 All baby bottles 10 Easily offended 11 Group of nine 12 Has an inclination 15 Teach 18 Any optimist 22 A young Bobbsey 23 Yuletide character 24 The stuff of brain stormers 25 It may be hard to understand 27 Horned animal, briefly 29 Racked animal 30 Fight lines?

33 Gather in one place 35 British archbishop’s headpiece 36 Drudges 38 Track activities 41 Drape supporter 44 Skillful showoff 45 Will of films 48 Lofty exec 50 Projecting windows 51 Lose attention

2 Chillingly weird 5 53 Electronic bracelet locale 56 Tennis serving whiz 57 First son 60 Bank offering 61 Type of court evidence 62 Common breakfast food 63 Hairstyles Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

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Relationships BusinessMirror

Friday, September 14, 2018

For online daters, women peak at 18 while men peak at 50, study finds

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BY MAYA SALAM New York Times News Service

F you haven’t watched Nanette, Hannah Gadsby’s fearless comedy special on Netflix, do that now.

(We’ll wait.)

In it, Gadsby takes on the fragility of masculinity—and at one point drills into Pablo Picasso, who, well into his 40s, had an affair with a teenage girl.

Gadsby, who has a degree in art history, recounted how Picasso justified the relationship by claiming that he and the girl, Marie-Thérèse Walter, were both in their prime. Seething, Gadsby said: “A 17-year-old girl is never in her prime. Ever! I am in my prime.” She is 40. That anecdote came to mind recently, in response to a new study about online dating published in the journal Science Advances.

In it, researchers studied the “desirability” of male and female users, based on how many messages nearly 200,000 users, all of whom were seeking opposite-sex partners, got over one month on a “popular, free online-dating service”—and if those sending the messages were desirable based on the same criteria. The researchers determined that while men’s sexual desirability peaks at age 50, women’s starts high at 18 and falls from there. In other words, not so far from the ages of Walter and Picasso.

“The age gradient for women definitely surprised us—both in terms of the fact that it steadily declined from the time women were 18 to the time they were 65, and also how steep it was,” said Elizabeth Bruch, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Michigan and an author of the study.

This study isn’t an anomaly. The study results echoed data shared by the dating behemoth OkCupid in 2010, in which the service found that men from the ages of 22 to 30 focus almost entirely on women who are younger than them.

“The median 30-year-old man spends as much time messaging teenage girls as he does women his own age,” OkCupid wrote in a blog post at the time.

OkCupid also reported that as a man gets older, he searches for relatively younger and younger women,

while his upper acceptable age limit hovers just above his own age. “The male fixation on youth distorts the dating pool,” OkCupid concluded.

Michelle Drouin, a developmental psychologist who focuses on technology and relationships, was not surprised by the new study—in part because they “align with evolutionary theories of mating” in which youth suggests fertility, she said.

Drouin pointed out, though, that there are also theories that suggest that “men are just less interested in earning potential or power, and more interested in physical attractiveness.”

Speaking of earning potential, Bruch also found that a man’s desirability increased the more education he attained. For women, that benefit ended with an

undergraduate degree—and postgraduate education, in fact, made them less desirable.

Women now outnumber men in college and earn more degrees, Bruch said, adding: “Preferences coupled with the availability of partners may drive the patterns we see in our paper.”

Drouin said that educational dynamic might also be related to “beliefs that higher degrees among women translate into more work commitment and less relationship and family commitment.”

Drouin stressed that the preferences of people seeking mates online reflect aspiration, not necessarily what people want in real life. A key finding of the study was that most users sent messages to people who were more desirable than

themselves. Twenty-five percent more desirable, to be exact. This data represents “the reality of dating preferences”—in other words, dating out of your league, Drouin said. That is often not the reality of dating. “These messages sent by online daters can be likened to slot machine play in Vegas,” she said.

“Little investment on the front end might pay out big on the back end—so why not opt for a chance at the biggest win?”

But then again, the Internet can’t read chemistry.

“In the real world, the woman with a graduate degree who knows your favorite Kerouac passage, speaks a few languages or discovers new ways to cure disease might be undeniably attractive,” she said.

“Think of Amal Clooney.” n

Monsters in our midst SOMETHING LIKE LIFE

MA. STELLA F. ARNALDO

@akosistellaBM

W

HEN we were children, we would often conjure ghostly apparitions in our bedrooms, or imagine monsters underneath our beds. Our minds were easily captivated by what we read in our books or the films that we watched.

I remember at six years old, after watching a particularly horrifying movie about Count Dracula on TV, I went to bed with a pillow protecting my neck. There were no strict parental guideline controls imposed by the censors’ board then, so my childhood was filled with a lot of possibly inappropriate TV fare.

The monsters come sneaking while we sleep — chasing us, trying to trick us, and we hear ourselves screaming in our heads but no one seems to notice. We pray silently, then wake up to our parents’ soothing embrace, as they coax us into calming down, trying to convince us that the monsters aren’t real and we were just having nightmares. Whew!

These days, our monsters aren’t easily vanquished by forcing ourselves to wake up. Our monsters today are far too real. One of them has been particularly oppressive from which we cannot escape. We constantly get ensnared in its schemes and ploys whenever we visit that house of horrors—the supermarket.

I used to love going to supermarket. For me, it was my playground and I was quite happy there. There were so many colorful cans and bottles, live seafood sloshing about in giant tanks, and an abundance of sweet-smelling fruits and crisp vegetables. I was highly entertained by a variety of rice products— white, brown, violet, red and black—and addicted to purchasing the pork bellies that I would turn into crispy lechon, and the tender beefsteaks for dinner.

But the supermarket has become a scary place to visit; it is now inhabited by that monster called inflation. The monster grows stronger every day, and inflicts its horrors on consumers. At the SM

ROSEMARIE B. ONG, SEVP-COO of Wilcon Home Depot

A TESTAMENT TO ‘SAMAHANG MATIBAY, SAMAHANG PIONEER’ Supermarket in my neighborhood, I bite my lip and stifle a bloodcurdling scream as I come across the latest prices of consumer goods. Shrimps are now at P495 per kilo (from P435 a few months back), a kilo of SM’s own Bonus-branded chicken is P160 (from P153), red onions are now P128 per kilo (from P120 just in August), native tomatoes at P120 per kilo (from P114 in August), while SM Bonus ground beef is P205 a kilo (from P185 just a few months ago).

Yes, I have seen the photos, which recently went viral on social media, of sili selling for P800 to P1,000 a kilo. Fortunately, sili isn’t a staple in my kitchen, so I have yet to be tormented by it.

(Even the drugs I need to basically keep myself in tip-top condition have not been spared. My eye drops to treat my perpetually dry eye condition is close to P500 for just a 15 ml bottle. When I started using it sometime 2010, as recommended by my glaucoma specialist, it cost only P325. I have since switched to a more modestly priced alternative, though still tracking a similar uptrend, mainly due to that other monster called peso depreciation.)

Whereas before, my P1,500 budget a week buys about 10 products ranging from rice, various meat cuts or seafood, cooking oil or butter, and fruits, the same budget can now buy just about four to five products. Whenever possible, I go for the

supermarket’s generic brands. Fortunately, SM Bonus has an extensive array of products from water, beef and chicken, to handwash and water.

I try to stick to the essentials, and like many shoppers these days, I only buy one type of protein, chicken mostly, because it’s the cheapest. Fortunately, there are lots of chicken recipes out there so one doesn’t have to contend with fried chicken every day.

(A few days ago I made an all-chicken pochero and used native pechay instead of the pricier cabbage.)

Junk food is definitely out; goodbye Ruffles Sour Cream and Cheddar! Sniff! If I have a particular hankering for some nibbles because of a planned Netflix marathon on the weekend, I turn to real corn kernels, which I pop on my stove. (The Landmark sells a P55-bag, which is good for four huge bowls.

Sorry, I forget the brand.) Another excellent munchies alternative are nachos (Michele’s 190-gram bag is P49.50), and for salsa, I just chop up native tomatoes and white onions.

I’m glad I have been able to accumulate points on my shopping privilege card that I use all the time. So P100-P200 off one’s final purchase makes grocery shopping a tad bearable.

Until we get some real tools to slay the inflation monster, i.e. higher wages, only our wits and a few tricks can keep it at bay.

PIONEER Adhesives Inc. has lauded the role of its distributors in becoming a leader in its industry, helping deliver quality service along with reliable industrial and household products to its valued customers in the country.

For distributors like Wilcon Home Depot and Basic Essentials Marketing Inc., Pioneer Adhesives stands out not just for its high-quality products but also for its excellent partnership and business relationship.

For Rosemarie B. Ong, SEVP-COO of Wilcon Home Depot, it all started when Wilcon was evolving into a big-box retail depot around 2003. At the time, Ong and her team were looking for brands and products that will complement and complete their company’s line since their objective was to offer a one-stop shop solution to the market.

“Having Pioneer is an advantage for Wilcon because it adds value to our roster of brands and products. True to form, mas lalong naging madikit at matibay ang relationship between Wilcon and Pioneer because they are both leaders in their respective industries, Wilcon being the leader in home building and Pioneer being the leader in adhesive and epoxy,” said Ong. Now that the company is on its 60th “Tatak ng Matibay” year, Pioneer Adhesives honors their distributors’ contributions to the company’s excellent performance in the market.

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Show BusinessMirror

Friday, September 14, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

From YouTube to the Music Museum MINAJ CALLS DUSTUP WITH CARDI B ‘MORTIFYING,’ ‘HUMILIATING’

GAB FAB JET VALLE

@jetvalle

E

VERY morning, I struggle to wake up. I usually set my phone to set off an alarm at a given time, then snooze it. It will repeat the alarm promptly after five minutes, then I will promptly snooze it again so I can do some lastminute napping.

Then my big-ass alarm clock would ring 20 minutes after my phone’s alarm. My alarm clock is not big-ass actually. It’s just a small contraption one can smuggle in one’s pants and when there’s an important mission by our Armed Forces to invade a territorygrabbing country, and for the Philippines to stop it is to plant an alarm clock undetected and that would lead the invaders to back off, then I will volunteer my alarm clock. But the size of my alarm clock belies the sound it blares to wake me up. It sounds like church bells with a microphone—that’s more than enough to really jolt me to my senses.

That doesn’t make me get up immediately, though. With my mind still foggy, the first thing I do is check my phone. Usually there would be messages I missed plus mundane e-mails, some of which claim I’d won an iPad. I would also usually get notifications from YouTube that so and so had posted a new video. I would then check these out and there, I enter a black hole that—if I don’t become mindful of the time—I could be glued to my phone for much of the morning watching a steady stream of videos.

Many of the videos that would claim my time feature dogs. Dogs that do tricks, dogs that sing, dogs that would solve math problems. I swear many of these YouTube dogs are smarter than some people in the government. Other videos that would catch my fancy include fashion shows and musical performances.

One YouTube personality that has consistently impressed me is Sam Mangubat. Apparently, I’m not the only one as this guy has amassed millions of subscribers to his YouTube page.

SAM MANGUBAT

He’d whip out covers of popular songs. So talented is he that he even ventured into live performing and competed in “Tawag ng Tanghalan” on It’s Showtime and was crowned as first runner-up in the competition’s first season.

Sam is ready to add another feather to his cap when he performs in his very first solo concert, titled I Am Sam, happening tonight, September 14, at the Music Museum. I’m pretty sure Sam will impress his fans with his vocal prowess and even his dance moves (which I heard are pretty dope). Fellow “Tawag ng Tanghalan” finalist Marielle Montellano, as well as Bryan Chong, Nyoy Volante and Yeng Constantino

will join the concert as guests.

Sam is the current host of the online show TNTV by the way. He is also the first artist from the “Tawag ng Tanghalan” roster to hold his own concert.

Tickets to I Am Sam are sold at SM Tickets, with prices ranging from P1,500 to P3,500.

Good luck tomorrow, Sam. Meanwhile, can you please stop posting new videos until the traffic problem is solved so that I won’t be distracted by watching them and I can arrive at the office on time?

On that note, maybe we can get one of those YouTube dogs to come up with the solution to our never-ending traffic problems. n

NEW YORK—Nicki Minaj said being involved in an altercation with Cardi B at a fashion week party was “so mortifying and so humiliating.”

Cardi B tried to attack Minaj at the Harper’s Bazaar Icons party in New York on Friday. Video circulated on social media showing Cardi B lunging toward Minaj and throwing her shoe at the rapper.

In an Instagram post, Cardi B—who recently had a child—didn’t call out Minaj by name but alluded to the fight and said she was sparked because her mothering skills were being disparaged.

“I wanna say that I would never discuss anyone’s child. And it’s so sad for someone to pin that on me because I’m the bad guy and they’re gonna believe them,” Minaj said on Monday on her Apple Music “Queen Radio” show.

The rappers have been rivals since Cardi B began achieving huge success over the last year. Cardi B recently became the first female rapper to have two songs hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, is one of the bestselling albums of the year. Minaj continues to find success but has been displaced as rap’s top female act.

Minaj said on her show that Cardi B “has built her career off of sympathy and payola.”

A barefoot Cardi B was escorted out of the event last week by security and was seen leaving the party with what appeared to be a bump on her head.

“Get this woman some [expletive] help. This woman is at the best stage of her career and she’s throwing bottles and throwing shoes? Who the [expletive] is gonna give her an intervention?” Minaj said. AP

MICHELLE DOCKERY as Lady Mary Crawley in a publicity photo for the last series of Downton Abbey.

GMA Pinoy TV readies early holiday treat for fans abroad GMA Pinoy TV (www.gmapinoytv.com) sets the mood early for the holiday season as six of GMA Network’s top artists and comedians banner a special musical event for fans in Los Angeles, California, this October via “Kapusong Pinoy: Paskuhan at Kantawanan sa Anaheim.”

The country’s top comedienne and The Clash judge Ai-Ai de las Alas is all set to conquer the stage with her rib-tickling humor and pasabog performances. Fellow The Clash judge, best-selling balladeer Christian Bautista, on the other hand, will showcase his captivating voice and heart-fluttering songs. Meanwhile, top-charting singer and actress Julie Anne San Jose will surely charm the audience as she brings her A-game through a series of lively songand-dance numbers.

Joining them is the comedic duo of Super Tekla and Donita Nose, who will undoubtedly light up the night with their witty punch lines and hilarious jokes.

Moreover, prized GMA star and Tadhana host Marian Rivera-Dantes—who is known for her soft spot for Filipinos abroad—will be there to spread the Christmas cheer even more.

Back-to-back production numbers of 1990s pop hits, OPM, international chart-toppers, as well as early Christmas surprises await the GMA fans abroad in this rocking event.

“Filipinos all over the world are known to have the longest celebration of Christmas. We are pleased to welcome this joyful season together with our Kapuso abroad by bringing them great entertainment from the network’s brightest stars,” said GMA First Vice President and Head of International Operations Joseph T. Francia.

“Kapusong Pinoy: Paskuhan at Kantawanan sa Anaheim” will be held on October 7 at The Grove of Anaheim in Los Angeles, California. To buy tickets, visit www.axs.com and search for “Kapusong Pinoy.”

LADY MARY SIGNALS FILMING BEGINS FOR ‘DOWNTON ABBEY’ MOVIE

PHILIPPINES’S KAPUSO Prime Comedy Concert time Queen Marian Queen Ai-Ai de las Alas Rivera-Dantes

ASIA’S Pop Sweetheart Julie Anne San Jose

NEW YORK—Filming has begun for the Downtown Abbey movie.

Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary in the global hit, posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, “And...we’re off.”

The film will reunite the Crawley family on the big screen. Series creator Julian Fellowes wrote the screenplay and will produce.

The primary cast members are all set to return, but the plot remains very hush-hush.

Over six seasons, Downton Abbey aired in at least 150 countries and set a record for non-US television shows with 69 Emmy nominations. AP

Boyd Holbrook and the ‘Predator’ without CONTINUED FROM D1

and afterward, Shane asked us to sit with him. He’d turned our spit-balling into a two-page scene to shoot right then and there.

in South America and you need somebody, he’s your guy. We find him in Mexico and he’s got these objects on him after a mercenary job has gone wrong. He’s found all this Predator gear, these gauntlets, and these decloaking things. He needs to get them back home because no one’s going to believe him. He sends them to his son, but then he gets arrested and sent to a military psych ward for some evaluation, partly because the government is trying to keep the Predators under wraps. He’s aware of them, but there’s a cover-up. He has to team up with these guys who, in some ways, have been kind of rejected and are all suffering from some form of PTSD. They call themselves “the Loonies” and they’re a throwback to the team from the 1987 movie.

How does Jacob Tremblay’s Rory factor into the story?

He’s Quinn’s son and they don’t have a close relationship, mainly because Quinn doesn’t know how to connect with him or relate to him. I think that audiences will relate to the challenges they deal with as it speaks to some very human issues.

How did the role come to you?

Shane and I sat down. I read the script and I talked to him a little bit about it. And we just kept

Did the cast bond?

Yeah. I think in general, actors are pretty playful and empathetic people, so no one was a diva by any means on this one. You couldn’t have cast the film better because of the way it was to shoot. Augusto Aguilera plays Nettles, and he’s brilliant. Alfie (Allen) did something great with his character. Keegan (Michael Key) has had all this experience with sketch comedy and knows what works and what doesn’t.

And then you have Thomas Jane, who’s doing this incredible character.

In among all the CG, there are a lot of practical sets and locations. Does that help you as an actor?

Yeah, it really did. We were actually working in a real space. It’s so much better than reacting to something that is an X on a wall or something like that. a conversation going on. So that’s basically how it worked out.

How was it working with Shane as a director?

He’s pretty brilliant. He has a way to hinge a scene that, whatever the subject matter, he finds these comedic beats. You have to be on your toes with him,

really on your toes.

Was he also collaborative with the cast? Did you get to pitch ideas?

Oh, absolutely...the first day on set, we rehearsed a scene before lunch. Everyone was spit-balling ideas, coming up with lines, you know. We broke for lunch,

Did you watch the original Predator?

I think it came out when I was six, and I probably watched it when I was about 12 or 10. I thought it was terrifying. Yeah, it’s pretty terrifying. I think it was also just one of the great thrillers like Bloodsport, Rambo, all those sorts of macho films of that time. n

HOLBROOK with his young costar Jacob Tremblay in a scene in the franchise reboot of The Predator, now in theaters.

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

Editor: Tet Andolong

Friday, September 14, 2018 E1

A BASIC GERMAN IN THE BALI OF LUZON Story & Photos by Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes

T

HERE will always be a Farrah Fawcett of the original Charlie’s Angels in any group or trio, a D’Artagnan of the musketeers or the mutant turtle Michaelangelo, that sprightly young uncanny rebel-like charismatic—who can even be that unassuming apple of the eye for some, if not for most.

This writer found his jewel in a silver bunch during a recent testdrive event when Volkswagen Philippines brought us to the provinces of Central Luzon onboard their global best sellers, the Lavida, Tiguan—and of course, the new Santana.

I, in particular, fell in love with the latter, especially when I got a chance to drive it on the last part of the trip.

Sure, there were the lavishlooking Lavida and the exceptionally performing Tiguan, which we drove on a Filipiniana-

themed lifestyle tour of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.

But nothing gave me the adrenaline rush and the push I was particularly looking for than the manual transmission Santana—wherein I personally experienced German-engineering at its finest.

The first and second days onboard the Lavida and Tiguan together with my codriver BusinessMirror Motoring Editor Tet

Andolong were considered swell and sweet as both vehicles have truly proven their mettle on the flat and hilly terrains, even more so when heavy rains poured and water from dikes gushed out, adding more obstacles on the road.

Day one of the trip saw us drive from Volkswagen Quezon Avenue to Bale Dutung in Pampanga, then to Highland Bali Villas Resort and Spa in Nueva Ecija. The spot in that part of the province was particu-

larly breathtaking as the Pantabangan Lake, the biggest reservoir in Southeast Asia, was just a stone’s throw away.

We then, meantime, found ourselves at the 100-hectare Philippine Rice Research Institute the next day wherein yours truly had a firsthand muddy experience of planting rice crops in high boots and all.

The twisty and winding roads specifically in these areas were a perfect playground to test the

power and handling of the vehicles.

With this, the 230 TSI engine with BlueMotion Technology-powered Lavida and 280 TSI engine with BlueMotion Technology-equipped Tiguan were in their usual elements as they churned out 128 hp at 5,000 rpm with 225 N-m of torque and 148 hp at 5,000 rpm with 250 N-m of torque at 3,000 rpm, respectively.

Match these with the comfort amenities of the Lavida’s Climatronic air-conditioning and leather seat material, and the Tiguan’s “Vienna” leather seats, two-zone Climatronic air-conditioning, eight speakers, and driver power 12-way seat adjustment and we indeed were in for a world-class ride.

The basic German

THESE two stunners were outright stupendous in their own right, but there was something special about the Santana.

Continued on E4

Moto

Business

E2 Friday, September 14, 2018

MALOU ESPINA (from left), vice president for Marketing and Communications, Total (Philippines) Corp.; Laurent Stouffe, president and managing director, Total (Philippines) Corp.; Joanne Duarte, senior director of programs, Ayala Foundation Inc.; and Romualdo Katigbak, chief finance officer and senior director of finance, Ayala Foundation Inc.

DURING the layover at Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

360-DEGREE view monitor, which shows up while driving

THE fresh and luxurious cabin

FRANCISCO JOSEF (from left), adviser and director, Mr. Carlos B. Pasion, COO; April Dannah Majarocon, managing director of Lalamove; and Salome Akiko Sumulong, strategic partnerships manager

oring

sMirror

Friday, September 14, 2018

All-NEW Santa Fe models lined up at the Dambana Ng Kagitingan

BEAUTY AND POWER COMBINED The Santa Fe at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

THE equally stunning rear

LALAMOVE partner-drivers proudly pose besides their newly acquired motorcycles.

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Motoring BusinessMirror

E4 Friday, September 14, 2018

How we were before, we are today

T

HE turbulent 1970s saw a court issuing a ruling banning vehicles from entering roads in the Greater Manila Area (that’s your GMA then), mainly Edsa. It was in response to a resolution crafted by the MMC (Metro Manila Commission) on the proposed vehicle ban in the metropolis.

Those were dangerous times, when freedom of speech was killed, when freedom of movement was limited.

But still, the courts were still around to give a semblance that justice was not junked. But in essence, they were Marcos-controlled courts. There was “no dictatorship then,” just a one-man rule.

To millennials not too familiar with the 1970s, it was that time when martial law (1972 to 1986) was imposed by the unlamented dictator, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos. He died in 1989 while in exile in Hawaii.

Yes, he was the father of BongBong and Imee, who are now hellbent to make the Marcos magic mess of Hitlerian manipulation reenter into the nation’s conscious-

ness. Their route is through the vulnerability of the vote, which was restored after the bloodless 1986 Edsa People Power Revolt. Imee is now Ilocos Norte governor, and Bongbong is on hammer and tongs trying to nullify Leni Robredo’s vice presidential win in 2016 through a relentless fight at the Comelec.

The MMC is now the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority), a government agency enacted by law to look after the “welfare, progress and development” of the metropolis.

Do you know that the MMC of old had only four cities (Manila, Caloocan, Quezon and Makati) and 13 municipalities?

Today, it had grown so large I have lost count on how many cities and municipalities the MMDA has under its jurisdiction.

Back then, there were only 2 million in Metro Manila. Today, the population had bloated to more than 12 million.

Back then, too, a traffic jam— whether at Edsa or Roxas Boulevard or España—would immediately merit a banner story in the newspapers. Today, traffic jams all over the metropolis have become as ordinary as seeing people queuing up for their rice quota at NFA outlets. Non-news.

Do you know, too, that the first

MMDA/MMC chief was Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady? In her 80s now, she is an incumbent representative.

And what was that court ruling again favoring the MMC? That Imelda’s MMC had all the right to ban vehicles in major roads “during a national emergency, calamity, war or if public safety required.”

Was that ever questioned? No. You could be jailed if you did, if not banished to Timbuktu.

But has the MMDA’s recent HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle, allowing a one-person-only vehicle at Edsa) traffic scheme been questioned?

Yes. By our lawmakers at that.

That is why it is not being officially implemented yet.

It restricts man’s inherent right to free movement.

And Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III is right: “It is pro-rich as only the rich, can afford to hire a driver.”

When will the MMDA under Jojo Garcia become pro-poor?

Not for a court to decide. Today.

‘Me and My Toyota’

“TOYOTA Motor Philippines has always believed in giving Filipinos better experiences through the power of mobility. More than just its vehicles, Toyota recognizes that

it is the precious moments we create along the way that would make every ride worthwhile.”

Again, the above came from Carlo Nemo, Toyota’s newly minted barker from Tini Arevalo’s brave band of drumbeaters.

Carlo’s complete craft: “And now, as a way to say thank you for an incredible 30 years of driving together, Toyota Motor Philippines has created “Me and My Toyota.” It is an online platform for people to share their timeless, unforgettable and deeply personal Toyota stories.

“The microsite was launched on August 23, 2018, and will run until February 2019.

“Participants simply need to upload a memorable photo or video of their Toyota vehicle at the Me and My Toyota site to get a chance to win premium prizes.

Winners will be randomly selected at three different draw dates: the first on October 25, the second on December 20 and the last on February 14, 2019. Early submissions will have higher chances of winning, so make sure to share your Toyota story now!

“Feeling nostalgic? Visitors to the Me and My Toyota site can also enjoy reading the entries of other Toyota owners, and search by model name and year.

“Part of a Toyota car club? You can find other posts from fellow members on the site using the search function. Show your Toyota pride together while sharing your prized vehicle.

“For more details, check out the web site at https://meandmytoyota. com.ph/.”

PEE STOP Thank you again to Mr.

Sucing Chua, the go-to guy of Bacolod-Toyota’s amiable Robert Uy, for his kindness in always standing by me whenever I am in the so-called City of Smiles. Keep well, Mr. Sucing. Always, the Good Lord has a special place in his heart for people like you.… And, speaking of Bacolodnons, Ramon Uy is celebrating today. His wife, the beauteous Mareng May, wishes him many more birthdays to come. Their children Mayra, Princess, Michelle, Maeggie and Tsin-Tsin, and their respective families also send their greetings as well.… Not to be outdone is Pareng Joe Cajile, the famous founder of Bacolod Chicken House, who is set to prepare his signature “adobo sili,” a.k.a. Ilonggo Catfish, exclusively for Pareng Ramon and his friends. Mabuhay ka, Pareng Joe!... And, of course, Pia and Marvin Velayo, plus Sahlee and Johnny Tan, extend their warm wishes as well. Cheers!

VISIBILITY IS KEY TO SAFETY L

IGHT-EMITTING diodes, more commonly known as LEDs, are revolutionizing functionality and styling of automotive lighting. Engineered with a brilliant cut-line and anti-glare technology, this bulb upgrade replicates the stock beam shape and directs the light to where you need it most.

LED’s are fast becoming an industry standard on many headlamps, taillights and fog lamps of mainstream vehicles for better nighttime illumination and safety. According to a report by the American Automobile Association, “Halogen headlights “found in over 80 percent of vehicles on the road today may fail to safely illuminate unlit roadways at speeds as low as 40 mph.”

LED lamps are allowed by law as long as they are in accordance with Republic Act 4136, Article IV, Section

34, which is in force since 1964. The ruling says that the Land Transportation Office allows the use of lighting accessories. This is what the provision says about headlights: “Every motor vehicle of more than 1 meter of projected width, while in use on any public highway, shall bear two headlights, one on each side, with white or yellowish light visible from the front, which, not later than one-half hour after sunset and until at least one-half hour before sunrise and whenever weather conditions so require, shall both be lighted.

“Additional lamps and light may be carried, but no red lights shall be visible forward or ahead of the vehicle. Trucks, buses, trailers and other similar vehicles must carry, while in use on any public highway during night time, colored riding lights on each of the four

corners not more than ten centimeters from the top.

“All motor vehicles shall be equipped with devices for varying the intensity of light, and the driver must dim the headlights or tilt the beams downward whenever the vehicle is being operated on well-lighted streets within the limits of cities, municipalities and thickly populated barrios or districts, or whenever such vehicle meets another vehicle on any public highway” LEDs are compact, extremely energy efficient and can turn on and off almost instantly. PIAA offers this LED lighting bulb upgrade, which is available in two color options: Xenon White 6000k or Ion Yellow 2800k.

PIAA lighting systems are available in dealers nationwide and in Blade Autocenter stores in SM, Ayala and Robinsons Malls.

A basic German in the Bali of Luzon

Continued from E1

It was my first time to get behind the wheel of this basic German, and it indeed took me by surprise. With a price tag of P686,000, I was at first only expecting what an entry-level car would only offer.

Eventually, I would soon discover that the Santana was in a league of its own.

The four-hour cruise to Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, before heading back to Manila was enough to get acquainted with this surprise beauty. We drove the Deep Black-coloured Santana, and it may give that plain boxy image of a sedan at the onset, but features such as a headlamp leveler and speed-sensor door locks, among others, instantly indicate that it’s a notch above competition. In fact, what made me head over heels about this

was its downright driving performance.

Call me a purist. But manually shifting its gears was for me an absolute bliss. From overtaking on the straights at occasional 80-kph speeds on rural thoroughfares to sudden stops in one-way traffic due to various ongoing road constructions, the Santana was able to manage optimal torque registry on the fly, making it easy to squeeze in and out of traffic.

For some reason, my drive of the Santana on the last the day of the trip satiated my longing for that pure spirited push on the pedal. More so, it captured my attention not for its looks or any niceties, but primarily for its sheer remarkable German-engineering at a very affordable price.

German engineering for the Filipino

MORE than just the manual shifting, the

Santana’s stiff body structure gives one the feeling of having control of the car.

True enough, per global Volkswagen, German engineering means that “Everything the driver touches and controls must instill this feeling of confidence and precision.”

Volkswagen Philippines Head of Marketing Franz Decleodt all the more wanted this for the local market, particularly for potential customers of the Santana.

“We aspire to make German engineering available to everyone, “he said in an interview.

According to him, the now people’s car Santana’s automatic and GTS variants will also be available by November. Hence, that’s something to even more look forward to for the newly convert fans of this superb basic German.