BusinessMirror September 26, 2018 by BusinessMirror

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Wednesday, September 26, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 347

‘Trabaho’ bill advocates told to prove ‘jobs’ claim T

By Rea Cu @ReaCuBM & Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

HE Department of Finance (DOF) on Tuesday disputed critics’ claim that the House version of the second-round tax reforms in the so-called Trabaho bill will, in fact, cause worker dislocation, but the claim was met with skepticism by the Senate Ways and Means Committee chairman. Sen. Juan Edgardo A ngara doubted the DOF assurance on hearing from a labor official that they are still assessing the possible impact of the measure on jobs, given widespread fears among business groups that the loss of fiscal in-

centives from key industries would outweigh the vaunted generation of more funds for investments as a result of the reduction of the corporate income tax (CIT). DOF Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua told financial report-

ers that implementation of the CIT cuts under the second package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) will generate more funds, in turn enabling more companies to invest and generate more jobs.

“I’m surprised that the Lower House passed this measure even without such study. The government should really take this issue on jobs seriously. The bill should stay true to its name—that it would create more jobs rather than kill them.”—Angara

House Bill 8083, passed on third and final reading by the House of Representatives, is its version of the DOF-proposed second package of the CTRP. The House dubbed it Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (Trabaho, the Filipino word for jobs). See “Trabaho bill,” A2

₧20 wage hike eyed in NCR

See “Wage hike,” A2

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Telling ’em what they already know—with improvements Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE Philippine statement delivered by H.E. Mr. Teodoro L. Locsin, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York, ECO-SOC Chamber, Presentation of the Country Program Document for the Philippines, Second Regular Session 2018 of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Office for Project Services, September 4 to 7, 2018, New York. Continued on A6

‘PITC rice imports must use govt funds’ By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

& Bernadette D. Nicolas

ABOR Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said on Tuesday the regional wage board in Metro Manila is now considering a P20 minimumwage hike. In a television interview, Bello said this was based on the initial monitoring of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) of economic factors in its jurisdiction. RTWPB-NCR is set to start its official deliberation on its new wage order for 2018 on October 5, the anniversary date of its previous wage order. “The amount of adjustment will probably be not less than P20,” Bello said. He said RTWPB-NCR is cautious in deciding on the amount of wage adjustment in Metro Manila since it may worsen

2016 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

WORKERS on their way home from their respective job sites cross Chino Roces Avenue (Pasong Tamo) in Makati City on Tuesday, September 25, 2018. The labor department said the regional wage board for the National Capital Region is mulling over a possible minimum-wage hike of P20 in Metro Manila. NONIE REYES

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.2110

“Actually, the NFAC said it will allow the importation if PITC funds are used. Because if it would be the private investors, then the distribution of rice will not be controlled. Plus, they will also not pay tariffs.”—Piñol

@BNicolasBM

HE National Food Authority Council (NFAC) could approve the Philippine International Trading Corp.’s (PITC) proposal to import rice on the condition that it will use its own funds instead of tapping money from the private sector, the agriculture chief has said. A g r icu lt ure Secretar y Emmanuel F. Piñol, who is also chairman of the NFAC, told the BusinessMirror that the PITC’s proposed rice importation was tackled by the council on Monday and eventually deferred as it was deemed disadvantageous to other accredited importers. Under its proposal, the PITC— a government-owned and -controlled corporation attached to the Department of Trade and Industry—would only serve as a consolidator and that private firms would finance the imports, which

would be shipped at zero tariffs, according to Piñol. “Actually, the NFAC said it will allow the importation if PITC funds are used,” he said via SMS. “Because if it would be the private investors, then the distribution of rice will not be controlled. Plus, they will also not pay tariffs.” Piñol said the NFAC asked the PITC to revise its proposal and resubmit it to the council. The NFAC did not give the PITC a deadline but, in case they resubmit their proposal, it would be taken up immediately, he said. See “Rice imports,” A2

n JAPAN 0.4806 n UK 71.1465 n HK 6.9388 n CHINA 7.9025 n SINGAPORE 39.6976 n AUSTRALIA 39.3138 n EU 63.6979 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.4555

Source: BSP (25 September 2018 )

A2 Wednesday, September 26, 2018

News

BusinessMirror

‘NFA incentives to rice farmers like hiking palay buying price’

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas & Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

HE National Food Authority Council (NFAC) has effectively increased the government’s support price for palay to P20 per kilogram (kg) when it decided to approve the grant of more incentives to rice farmers. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol made the pronouncement on Monday, but clarified that the National Food Authority’s (NFA) direct support price for palay remains at P17 per kg. Piñol is currently the chairman of the NFAC, the highest policymaking body of the NFA. “The buying price of NFA remains at P17 per kg but we will come up with incentives that when quantified would reach P20 per kg,” Piñol said in a news briefing following the NFAC’s first meeting under his chairmanship. He said the NFA would give additional transportation incentives to farmers who would sell their crops to the government. They would also be entitled to receive farm equipment, among others. The grant of additional incentives is effective immediately, according to Piñol. He said the NFA would also be

“flexible” with its 14-percent moisture content requirement for palay and would purchase even wet palay. “We will be flexible in terms of the moisture content. The government must help the farmers,” he said. “The farmers would say the NFA’s support is limited. The government is out there to help the people. Our directive is to help the farmers.” Despite the increase in the NFA’s palay support price, the food agency’s selling price would remain at P27 per kg for regular-milled rice and P32 per kg for well-milled rice, Pinol said. At present the NFA buys palay from farmers at a support price of P17 per kg and gives additional incentives totaling P0.70 for individual farmers and P1 for cooperatives. The NFA has been pushing for an increase in its support price as farmers prefer to sell to traders who buy palay at P20 per kg

to P25 per kg. Piñol have repeatedly stated that the NFA will not be able to purchase palay locally if their buying price would remain at P17 per kg. The agriculture chief said traders could even hike their offer and cause the average farm-gate price to remain above the P20-per-kg mark this main harvest season following the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong in some rice-producing provinces. Lawmakers belonging to the Makabayan Bloc have recently filed a resolution to provide the NFA a supplemental budget of P10 billion to beef up its palay procurement program. The resolution also mandates the NFA to automatically buy palay at P20 per kg.

NFA stockpile

THE NFA buys uNmilled rice from farmers to beef up its stockpile, which is also made up of imports. The depletion of the NFA’s rice buffer stock, is being tagged as one of the major factors behind the increase in the retail price of commercial rice. O n Tu e s d a y P r e s i d e nt i a l Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said rice imports were delayed because NFA Administrator Jason Aquino had preferred the government-to-government (G2G) mode of importation. Because of the delay, Roque said prices of goods went up and forced the government to import more

food items, including rice. Roque claimed that it was Aquino who “purposely delayed” the importation. He said some importers may sue the NFA chief because of this. “The Council has given the authority to import but he delayed it because he has a preference for G2G,” he said, noting that the G2G importation is the “worst” mode of importation as this is prone to corruption. “So many [importers] will be filing cases against him because of the losses sustained by them as a result of orchestrations so that they cannot import pursuant to the open tender system,” Roque added. Roque said he is also thinking of filing graft and corruption and technical malversation cases against Aquino once he leaves the Cabinet. “Since he did not spend the money to buy rice from local farmers so that the government will have enough buffer stock, we are importing now and we are giving money to foreign farmers,” he added. President Duterte is set to appoint retiring Army chief Lt. Gen. Rolando Bautista to replace Aquino, whose resignation he already accepted, according to Roque. During his televised interview with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo, Duterte said Aquino had asked to be relieved from his post since he is “tired.”

Rice imports. . . Continued from A1

Furthermore, Piñol pointed out that existing laws are clear that the authority to import rice is vested in the National Food Authority (NFA). “The law is very clear that all rice importation could only be done through the NFA,” he said. The power to import rice and regulate its entry to the local market is vested in the NFA by virtue of Presidential Decree (PD) 4, which created the National Grains Authority, the forerunner of the NFA. Furthermore, Republic Act 8178, or the Agricultural Tariffication Act, amended PD 4 and gave the NFA the power to delegate the authority to import rice to accredited traders and importers. However, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. on Tuesday announced that the PITC had already conducted an open tender for its rice imports that are expected to arrive in two weeks’ time. Furthermore, Roque said the PITC’s rice importation did not need the NFAC’s approval. “This importation doesn’t need the [NFA] Council’s approval. This information was given by [Trade Undersecretary] Ruth [Castelo] to the President in Benguet, when we visited Benguet,” Roque said. “And [Undersecretary] Ruth said that they imported rice of 25-percent brokens, which is sold [by the NFA] at P27 per kilogram,” Roque added.The DTI proposed earlier this month to allow the PITC to import about 150,000 metric tons of rice to beef up the NFA’s current stockpile.

Wage hike. . . Continued from A1

inflation in the region. Inflation nationwide breached all government expectations and prices— especially of food—keep rising, as supplies are further constricted by recent typhoons and the failure of the government’s rice policy. The inflation has also been blamed on the impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclsuion (TRAIN), the first of the tax package, which imposed higher excise taxes on fuel, among others. Despite not yet having its latest round of wage hikes this year, NCR still has the biggest minimum-wage rate in the country—a range of P475 to P512—since its workers are widely known to be facing the most expensive cost of living. As of September 11, only NCR together with Regions 2, 4B, 10, and Caraga are the only regions which have issued new wage orders for 2018. Samuel P. Medenilla

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Books still VAT-exempt under TRAIN 2–DOF By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) has clarified that the purchase and importation of books will remain value-added tax (VAT) exempt under the second tax-reform package of the Duterte administration. Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the VAT exemption of books will remain as provided under the National Internal Revenue Code along with its importation as stated under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA). He assured the public that the Philippines will continue to abide by the provisions of the Florence Agreement, a 1950 United Nations (UN) treaty in which the signatory-states agreed not to impose customs duties on the importation of certain educational, scientific and cultural materials, including books. The Philippines signed the agreement on August 7, 1979. Package 2 of the Duterte administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) aims to reduce the corporate income-tax (CIT) rate, and rationalize fiscal incentives given to businesses. “First, under the tax code, the exemption of the purchase of books, we did not touch that. If you buy a book from a bookstore, it will still be VAT-exempt. Second, the importation exemption under the CMTA, we also did not touch that,” Chua said. According to the DOF, the

‘Trabaho’ bill. . .

“Well there is significant reduction in CIT that creates a lot of new money to invest and expand and create jobs. And we are going to work with the DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] and BOI [Board of Investments] to ensure that the SIPP [Strategic Investment Priority Plan] really provides incentives to deserving firms, so we can preserve the good jobs,” Chua said at the sidelines of the Senate Ways and Means hearing on the Trabaho bill on Tuesday. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Director Dominique R. Tutay said that the labor department and the DOF are in the process of completing a joint study on the impact on jobs of the Trabaho bill, to which, Chua pointed out that there is no joint study being conducted. “I want to clarify that there is no joint study, they have a model; they shared it with my team, we are looking at the model and we are going to try to work and run the model. So we have not even started on any study, but since they shared their model, we’ll gladly take a look at it,” he added.

Stalled deliberations

ANGARA, who chairs the Senate Ways and Means panel, said the committee would not proceed with its deliberation of the Trabaho bill unless the government can present definitive data on its impact on jobs. “I’m surprised that the Lower House passed this measure even without such study. The government should really take this issue on jobs seriously. The bill should stay true to its name—that it would create more jobs rather than kill them,” Angara said. During the hearing, the DOLE revealed that based on their job displacement monitoring, 30,000 jobs in the industry and services sectors were lost in the first quarter of 2018. Following the passage of HB 8083 or the House’s version, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi) released a statement that the bill would force them to lay off 140,000 workers. HB 8083 provides for P500 million to be used for cash grants for displaced workers. An additional P500 million would be allocated for targeted trainings and skills upgrading. Based on data from the DOF, a total of 1.7 million direct and 7 million indirect jobs were generated by companies registered with investment promotion agencies (IPAs). “It cannot be done [the jobs losses assessment], because everyone gets a chance to apply for new incentives, and second you have to wait for the DTI and BOI to determine what industries are in the SIPP so it cannot be done. That’s why we don’t want to blurt out a number that has no basis, we have to wait for the process to begin formally,”

only provision pertaining to the book industry under House Bill 8083, or the “Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities” bill, involves the repeal of the tax provision under Republic Act 8047, or the “Book Publishing Industr y Development Act” after two years from the effectivity of the law. “The book publishing industry will be included in the Strategic Investment Priority Plan [SIPP] after an evaluation process. And in my view, this is among the sectors that has a great chance of being included in the SIPP,” he added.

Senate consensus

EARLIER, several senators signaled support for an emerging majority consensus for Congress to reject removal of the existing VAT exemption on books and publications as part of the secondround reforms. Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III told the BusinessMirror on Monday that he won’t allow such a move, affirming the Senate leadership’s position when asked about the DOF-backed proposal to impose the VAT on instructional materials as part of the second package of the CTRP. Sotto earlier introduced Senate Bill 1906, the chamber’s version of the DOF-endorsed initiatives on reducing corporate income taxes, as well as rationalizing fiscal incentives. Included here is the VAT exemption for books and publications.

Continued from A1

Chua said. Package 2 aims to reduce CIT rates while implementing incentives reforms, with the DOF eyeing for the passage of the measure before the end of the year. “We recognize the value of incentives as a key component of our country’s policy tool kit. We assert, however, that incentives should not be given indiscriminately at the expense of building up more powerful attractions: first, a skilled and hardworking talent pool that needs sufficient human capital investments; second, an ambitious infrastructure development program that requires fiscal commitment; and third, a sizeable small and medium enterprise community that deserves to be treated fairly,” he added.

DOLE projections not done

IT will still take some time before the government can come out with firm projections on the potential impact of the Trabaho bill, labor officials said after attending the Senate hearing on the Trabaho bill. In a phone interview, DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Director Dominique R. Tutay told the B u s i n e s s M i r ro r they are still in process of creating the projection model for Trabaho bill. “We are coordinating with the ILS [Institute for Labour Studies] on this. They were supposed to use the [projection] model of ILO [International Labor Organization] on this but they told us it is currently not working,” Tutay said. “Our personnel are currently trying to run this using their own system,” she added. The labor official said they are still in the process of coordinating with the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), the DOF as well as the private sector to determine the data they will input in the system once it is completed. Concerns over the potential displacement because of the Trabaho bill were raised by some business sectors earlier this month since it will remove some tax incentives in economic zones. Representatives from the semiconductor industry said this could translate to a 140,000 labor displacement in their industry alone. Citing current displacement trends, Tutay said the projection is unlikely. “We are still analyzing date in the subsectors at the moment to see if this could be supported by current trends,” Tutay said, referring to the concern of the semiconductor industry. While she admitted that the number of the displaced increased by 5,000 from January to June this year compared to the same period last year, she said it could not be all attributed to the first phase of the TRAIN law that took effect in January. “There are many factors in the retrenchment like redundancy and lack of market,” she said.

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The Nation BusinessMirror

Ex-VP Binay vows ‘constructive voice’ once elected in Congress

ORMER Vice President Jejomar Binay will be a “constructive voice” once he is elected in the House of Representatives in 2019, his spokesman said on Tuesday. “He does not believe in obstructionist politics, or opposing just for the sake of opposing. The former vice president will be a constructive voice in Congress,” Joey Salgado said in a news statement. Binay intends to run for Makati’s First District in the May 2019 elections. Salgado said if elected, Binay intends to support policies and programs that will improve the lives of the poor and the middle class. “In the same manner, he will point out policies and programs that could burden our countrymen. But he will also propose solutions,” Salgado said. Salgado said former Vice President Binay feels that there is so much discord and division in our country these days. “It’s about time we begin listening to each other and working together. This is the way to move our country forward,” he said. For the former vice president, politics should take a backseat to upholding the dignity of Filipinos. “Upholding the dignity of every Filipino should be a shared goal,

whether one is with the administration or the opposition. It is an aspiration that should unite all political parties,” Salgado said. The former vice president would also work to ensure that residents of the city’s First District will continue to receive the “Binay brand of service” in terms of needed health, education and social services. During his term as Makati mayor, the elder Binay introduced reforms that turned around Makati from a bankrupt municipality to the country’s financial district. Despite economic downturns, Makati’s revenue grew at an average of 20 percent a year and has not had a budget deficit since 1987. As city mayor, he implemented pioneering programs, such as the Yellow Card Program—which provides city government-subsidized medical and hospitalization assistance. Makati students were the first to receive free school supplies, workbooks, bags and shoes. Under Binay’s term, Makati expanded the benefits for senior citizens to include free movies and cash allowances. These programs have been expanded by the present leadership of his daughter Mayor Abby Binay.

Marina aims for ‘ambitious’ zero-incident goal by 2025

HE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) aims to reduce the number of maritime incidents to zero by 2025, as it crafts a comprehensive safety action plan that will address issues pertaining to maritime safety in the Philippines. Marina Administrator Leonardo B. Guerrero said the agency has started drafting the safety blueprint for the Philippine maritime industry that could lead to the elimination of incidents on local seas. “We have a Maritime Safety Action Plan. We have already started crafting a plan. We intend to have these [incidents] reduced by half by 2021. And by 2025, zero, which is very ambitious because we need this,” he said. For the year, the regulator has noted “twice the number” of incidents versus the figures reported two and three years prior. “We’ve seen an increase in incidents. This year, we have noted twice the number because we have started to really monitor these incidents. We’ve become more efficient in monitoring and reporting, so we capture everything in near real time,” Guerrero said. He noted that these incidents are “simple incidents” that do not involve threat to human life. Guerrero said the government is

firm on its target to reduce the number of incidents, as this could help elevate the status of the Philippines in the global maritime industry. It will, likewise, help assure the safety of both passengers and seafarers. “It is not only for the safety of our passengers, this also ensures our shipping industry grows—that we provide secure and safe shipping services,” he said. “It will elevate our status as far as safety is concerned.” Carlos C. Salinas, the Philippine ambassador to the International Maritime Organization, noted that the Philippines must adhere to safety standards set by the specialized regulatory agency of the United Nations. Today, out of 59 conventions, only 25 has been ratified by the Philippines. “We can ensure safety at sea by developing and enforcing appropriate and applicable regulations,” he said. “We must adopt and comply in our responsibilities as a council member.” In Congress, Angkla Party-list group is pushing for passage of several laws pertaining to sea safety. For one, Ronald S. Enrile, vice chairman Angkla, said the group is pushing for the passage of House Bill 456, which aims to provide a Maritime Code for the full implementation of international instruments. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, September 26, 2018 A3

Court orders Trillanes’s arrest, but skips jail after posting bail

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573 & Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

ELEAGUERED Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV, after presiding over a Senate hearing, was served a warrant of arrest on Tuesday, but promptly posted bail at a Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC), allowing him to skip jail after the Duterte administration revoked the amnesty granted him for an old rebellion case ensuing from a failed military mutiny. Accompanied by opposition Sens. Francis G. Pang i l inan, Paulo Benigno A. Aquino IV and Risa Hontiveros, Trillanes posted a P200,000 bail at the Makati court, allowing him to walk free and continue to attend Senate plenary sessions and committee hearings, even as the rebellion case against the former Navy officer has yet to be decided by the court. “Hopefully,” Trillanes replied when asked by reporters if he expects to return to the Senate after posting bail. He described the case as “an attempt to muzzle the opposition,” Trillanes told reporters. Trillanes also indicated he is keen to return to the Senate and resume the work of the Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development where he was presiding over a hearing on various bills referred to the panel when the arresting team arrived to serve the arrest warrant. “Natalo ang demokrasya [De-

mocracy lost]...even after we submitted evidence to debunk the rebellion charges,” Trillanes said, noting that he was granted amnesty for the alleged offense “seven years ago.” The senator lamented that “essentially, we no longer have a democracy, but I was advised to post bail [so] we will go with the arresting officers no matter if there is no basis.” Asked if he intends to bring a case before the Supreme Court, Trillanes replied: “I dont know yet, but that is an option,” insisting that he already showed proof that he filed for amnesty.

No application for amnesty

THE Makati City RTC Branch 150 on Tuesday formally reopened the rebellion case against Trillanes as it granted the Department of Justice’s motion for the issuance of an arrest warrant and a hold departure order against him. In a 22-page resolution, Presiding Judge Elmo Alameda pointed

out that, after the hearing it conducted on September 14, the prosecution managed to prove that Trillanes actually did not apply for amnesty. The prosecution led by Acting Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon presented a certification dated August 30, 2018, issued and signed by one Lt. Gen. Thea Joan Andrade of the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Discipline, Law and Order Division to prove that the senator failed to apply for an amnesty. “The Court’s evaluation of the… certification is that it confirms the claim of the prosecution that Sen. Trillanes did not apply for amnesty,” the order read. Alameda said the burden of prov ing compliance w ith the minimum requirements to be entitled to amnesty under Proclamation No. 75 issued by the previous administration rests on Trillanes. “ Howe ve r, S e n . Tr i l l a ne s, through his counsel, failed to convince this Court that he indeed complied with the minimum requirement to personally fill up and file the official amnesty application form as required in Section 5,6 and 11 of DND [Department of National Defense] Amnesty Committee Circular Dated December 21, 2010,” Alameda pointed out. The trial court noted that Trillanes failed to present the original hard copy, a duplicate copy or even a photocopy to substantiate his claim that he persona l ly accompl ished and filed his official amnesty application form. The court also gave weight to the online news report published on January 5, 2011, which was presented by the prosecution to prove that Trillanes failed to expressly admit his guilt for the

crimes committed during the Oakwood mutiny and Manila Peninsula incident. “Since Sen. Trillanes cannot produce the copy of the official application form for amnesty, which he purportedly filed with the DND Amnesty Committee containing the admission of guilt expressly made, it can be safely stated here that Sen. Trillanes failed to comply with the minimum requirement of expressly admitting his guilt for the offenses committed during the Oakwood mutiny and the Manila Peninsula incident,” Alameda explained.

‘Stop the drama’

AMID the unfolding developments, Malacañang, for its part, urged embattled Trillanes IV “to stop the drama and allow the legal process to take its course.” “The court has spoken. As the President said, we will respect the decision of the Judiciary. Whatever Sen. Antonio Trillanes has to say can be addressed to the court,” Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said . C h ief President i a l L ega l Counsel Salvador Panelo said the order is anchored on solid legal ground and that Alameda of Makati RTC, who issued the court resolution, is a no-nonsense judge who has a reputation for independence and probity. “Trillanes should face the music and dance as Frank Sinatra would croon in his song with the same title. He has stop milking the issue and act pathetically as if he is a a victim of injustice,” Panelo said. “The law of karma, as well as of the law, has finally caught up with his shenanigans. He has been using his position as senator in planting the seeds of hate and sedition against PRRD [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte] and the government.”

NCRPO readies raps vs Olivar over bomb-scare post By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

HE National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) on Tuesday rescheduled the formal filing of criminal complaint against controversial blogger Drew Olivar over a bomb-scare posting in his social-media account. Olivar is being accused of violating Section 1 of Presidential Decree 1727, which prohibits ma-

licious dissemination of false information or the willful utterance of any threat concerning bombs, explosives in relation to Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2010. Senior Insp. Myrna Diploma of the NCRPO-Public Information Office admitted the Department of Justice did not accept the complaint due to some lacking documents. “We need to coordinate with the

Anti-Cybercrime Unit to complete our evidence for the filing of the case before the Department of Justice,” Diploma said. The complaint that is expected to be filed in the coming days stemmed from Olivar’s Facebook post on September 20 warning protesters planning to gather on Edsa of a possible bombing similar to the blast in Plaza Miranda in 1971 where several people were killed and injured.

Olivar’s post drew criticisms and calls for the police to criminally hold Olivar liable for the bomb scare. The blogger immediately apologized for his post and denied that it was intended to alarm netizens and discourage people from joining protests. If found guilty, Olivar is facing a penalty of imprisonment of up to five years and/or a fine of up to P40,000.

Zuellig Family Foundation eyes to expand tie-up with local officials for rural health promotion By Roderick L. Abad

Contributor

@rodrik_28

HE Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) bared on Tuesday its plan to expand the coverage of its Health Change Model (HCM) that will tap provincial mayors, notably in the regions, to safeguard and promote the health and well-being of their respective constituents. “We will integrate them [mayors] maybe after the elections next year,” ZFF President Ernesto D. Garilao told the BusinessMirror in a sideline interview during ZFF’s Health Leadership and Governance Symposium held at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center in Makati City. While he did not go further into the details of their plan, the foundation apparently considers tapping the mayors in provincial areas so as to achieve better results for HCM—a strategic objective it developed in 2018 toward the full realization of its mission, mainly

focused on rural health. “Basically, HCM says that you need public health leadership,” he said of local government officials, who are responsive in changing the health system to provide constituents with equitable access to health services. “And if you have that, your better [health] outcomes will emerge.” With this framework, ZFF’s first intervention was to improve the health services where the poor turn to—the rural health units of local governments—which include working with municipal mayors and his or her health leadership team. To train them, the foundation designed the Health Leaders for the Poor program, which equipped the local chief executive with an understanding of the inequities in his or her health system, and what needs to be done to reduce such. Likewise, it allowed the mayor to bring together his or her internal bureaucracy. as well as his external stakeholders to co-own the shared vision and

response, and come up with new institutional arrangements to bring in equity in the system. From 2009 to 2013, ZFF tried the HCM in 72 municipalities in nine cohorts of various combinations. The focus was on maternal health. They went through a twoyear program, consisting of fiveday face-to-face training intervention, and in between a six-month practicum that enables them to fix the health system. The results showed that mayors can become champions for health; they need an easy-to-understand and measurable scorecard with clear corresponding leadership acts to improve their health systems; and they need mentoring and coaching in transforming their health systems, according to Garilao. Because of these positive outcomes, an opportunity to scale up the HCM came in late 2013, when then Department of Health (DOH) Secretar y Dr. Enrique Ona challenged the foundation

to transfer the approach to their agency and work with priority municipalities of the National Anti-Poverty Commission. With this development, ZFF forged a program partnership with DOH—the Health Leadership and Governance Program. All of the operating costs in this initiative, including training costs of academic partner trainers, were covered by the foundation. The tie-up has three major elements: transfer of technology; capacity building of regional academic partners; and provision of resources, funding and others to facilitate the responsiveness of local health systems to the needs of the poor. Building upon the results of their interventions in local governments, ZFF engaged other partners to further expand the reach of the HCM. As response to the Philippine Health Agenda, it then started working with provincial governors and DOH regional directors in 2016.

“We again saw this as a window of opportunity for a provincial governor to exercise leadership in the integration of curative and preventive care,” said Garilao, while citing their establishment of the Provincial Leadership and Governance Program Version 2 and the Bridging Leadership Fellowship Program for DOH Regional Directors. “These interventions are challenging because you see the two integrations: The first is between the provincial and the municipal health systems; and the next between the latter and the DOH regional support system. If the two integrations are done, then the local health system is better implemented toward better health outcomes. Our catalyst role is how to help make it happen,” he added. To date, more than 600 municipalities and 23 provinces have been exposed to the HCM since its implementation 10 years ago. More than 400 DOH staff, including senior regional operations staff,

together with around 54 faculty members from 13 academic institutions all over the country, have also been trained. Financial support-wise, the Zuellig family has provided P800 million for all its programs over a decade. Collectively, the foundation’s partners have spent around P400 million. In the last five years, the DOH has spent P800 on top of the foundation’s own P150 million for the Health Leadership and Governance Program alone. “All these are now part of the Zuellig family’s legacy of giving back to the country of their birth,” Garilao said. “W hat it leaves behind are local chief executives with better commitment for public health leadership and governance in partnership with health institutions that care for the same. The continued partnership of these two groups, plus the participation of a stronger public voice for health will be critical in the sustainability of this approach.”

A4 Wednesday, September 26, 2018 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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IPOPHL reports ‘significant strides’ to cut red tape, comply with ease of doing biz law

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE country’s intellectual property agency is now rolling out set of reforms on cutting red tape as mandated by the ease of doing business (EODB) law.

“We will soon implement the Joint Examination Track [JET], where a group of senior examiners will immediately decide on a mark’s registrability on absolute grounds. If it’s allowed by the JET examiners, the trademark application will be published for 30 days to accommodate any opposition,” Santiago explained. The trademark is deemed registered on the 31st day if there is no opposition. However, the JET procedure will not cover examination of marks based on relative grounds. An example is where there is a chance of confusion with an identical or similar mark, as the trademark application will have to undergo the regular procedure. Under the current procedure, trademark applicants has to first secure a filing date, complete a set of requirements and pay the necessary fees before the mark undergoes an examination to determine registrability.

“We will comply with the ease of doing business [law], insofar as applicable without sacrificing quality outcomes. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and our obligations under international agreements and treaties are there to ensure this,” Santiago said. A longer time frame, the agency has insisted, is needed to consider the complexities in the examination process, as well as to provide appli-

cants and the IPOPHL the leeway to come out with quality patents. Under the EODB law, government transactions have been simplified to three days, seven days and 20 days for simple transactions for complex transactions and highly technical transactions, respectively. The IPOPHL chief said efforts to fast-track its procedures are not just in compliance with the law, but also to improve overall service to its clients.

In a news statement issued on Tuesday, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said it is “making significant strides” in reducing intellectual property cases backlog, as well as streamlining processing of trademark applications. The agency is targeting to expedite service delivery to comply with requirements under the EODB law. IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago said the agency is exerting all efforts needed to improve and streamline its ser-

vices to practitioners. “For instance, first in our priority is the backlog reduction program. Among measures taken, we’re requesting additional plantilla positions from the Department of Budget and Management for more lawyers and patent and trademark examiners,” Santiago said. She added the IPOPHL is eyeing a green lane for trademark applications, inspired by best practices from its counterpart in the European Union.

Small Business Corp., LandBank ink tie-up to offer fast payment

NEA highlights mini-grid systems’ role in PHL’s full electrification drive by ’22

HE Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.) and Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) have forged a partnership on September 19 to provide fast and efficient alternative payment collection services to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through the latter’s e-payment service Link.BizPortal. SB Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Ma. Luna E. Cacanando welcomed the partnership, saying that the agreement is “very timely and useful” for MSME clients, especially with the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pagasenso (P3) program going on full gear. The P3 program is a loan financing program intended to give micro enterprises better access to finance, providing them an alternative to the informal or “5-6” scheme of lending. “Because most of our clients in the P3 program are having difficulty in producing a valid identification card, we need a fintech solution and this partnership with LandBank to make documentation easier,” Cacanando explained. Under the memorandum of agreement, the SB Cor p. will avail itself of LandBank ’s epayment facility under its Payment Service Provider as part of its efforts in providing fast and efficient payment collection services for MSMEs. On the other hand, LandBank, through its Link.BizPortal, will allow SB Corp. clients to transact business or pay monetary obligations to SB Corp. via the Internet using any e-payment models offered by the bank. The service will only be available to clients maintaining a Philippine peso account either with LandBank or other banks. Cacanando stressed the importance of the partnership with LandBank as it will reach MSMEs in rural areas. LandBank Executive Vice President and Branch Banking Sector Head Liduvino Geron said the partnership will contribute to ease of doing business among LandBank and SB Corp. clients. “We hope that this agreement will help SB Corp clients to transact easier and efficiently,” Geron said.

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE National Electrification Administration (NEA) has underscored the importance of mini-grid systems to help achieve a target of 100 percent electrification of households by 2022. NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong said during the second day of the Philippines Mini-grid Business-to-Business (B2B) forum that the progressive electrification of areas not yet interconnected to the main electricity grid and too remote for grid extension has mainly been achieved through installation of decentralized generation units with diesel generation sets and, to a lesser extent, via systems using a local renewable-energy (RE) resource, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) stand-alone systems.

Solar factor

IN the House of Representatives, meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Arthur C. Yap said a measure seeking to grant a franchise to a 100-percent Filipino corporation providing electric power through the use of minigrid systems by tapping solar and other RE sources is meant to supply cheap and clean electricity on a 24/7 basis to communities that want better electric service across the country, Yap, who is the principal author of the bill granting the Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. (SPSB) a franchise to “construct, install, establish, operate and maintain distributable power

technologies and mini-grid systems,” appealed to those opposing this consumer-friendly measure not to use the outmoded Electric Power Industry Reform Act in preventing new players from providing cheap, reliable power to poor communities through green technologies, which is in step with the Duterte administration’s goal of total electrification by 2022. According to Yap, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises chaired by Palawan Rep. Fr a n z A l v a re z h a d e n s u re d that several safeguards in the grant of the SPSB franchise were in place before it had approved the bill for plenary consideration. These included the nonexclusivity of the franchise and the prohibition on its sale, lease and transfer, said Yap. “In fact, the bill clears the way for other new players to apply for their own nonexclusive franchises,” Yap said “It is a measure specifically designed to break the existing monopolies of traditional utilities that have otherwise fallen behind in improving the quality of their service.” Yap said that the hearings conducted by the committee were extensive enough to convince over 100 lawmakers so far to signify their support for the franchise bill.

Mini-grid systems

MASONGSONG added: “While solar home systems for dispersed households have limited ability to serve growing energy demand, mini-grid

We will comply with the ease of doing business [law], insofar as applicable without sacrificing quality outcomes. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and our obligations under international agreements and treaties are there to ensure this.”–Santiago

systems, on the other hand, offer a potential solution for communities without grid access.” The NEA chief noted, though, that high up-front costs often make this approach prohibitive. “Nevertheless, in increasing universal access to energy, these communities need a flexible, stable and reliable electricity supply for a sustainable socioeconomic development in these far-flung villages,” he added. The Philippines has set a target of 100 percent electrification of households by 2022. The archipelagic characteristic of the Philippines poses the biggest challenge to the country’s rural electrification program. As of 2017, over 2 million households are still without access to electricity service. The remoteness of many areas, especially small islands scattered within the archipelago and the isolated communities upland, makes it impossible for all potential consumers to be connected to the main electricity grid. “Given the constraints in providing reliable and adequate electrification service in remote and isolated areas, as well as assuring power supply sufficiency in the ECs franchise, the NEA wants to encourage the electric cooperatives to pursue the use of mini-grids and distributed generation,” Masongsong added. Department of Energy (DOE) Senior Undersecretary Jesus Cristino Posadas, on behalf of Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, encouraged forum participants to focus on innovative electrification solutions not only

to help expand electricity services but also ensure the most reliable and cost-effective technologies and services to the unserved and underserved areas as the country scales up the utilization of clean energy. The forum aims to identify opportunities for investments in rural electrification through mini-grids and renewable energy, share knowledge of innovative technical solutions and link key players in the Philippine energy sector with international minigrid experts and potential financiers.

Power up

THE event was organized by the DOE and Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) with the support of the European Union through its Access to Sustainable Energy Programme (Asep). “In line with the Asep objectives, we are optimistic that such partnerships will assist the government in its objective to expand sustainable energy generation and increase the power supply for remote communities in the Philippines,” said Dr. Ernesto Terrado, Key Expert-Rural Electrification-Asep. Marcus Wiemann, executive director of Alliance for Rural Electrification, stressed that mini-grids are stimulators for rural development. “We are delighted that the Philippines is working to connect its rural population through clean energy mini-grids and as the voice of the off-grid private sector. ARE members, with their long-standing experiences in this field, can help fill this gap,” he said.

Senator seeks passage of proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers Act

HE Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development chaired by Sen. Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva discussed anew on Monday several bills aimed to protect the rights of seafarers. One of the bills tackled is Senate Bill 314, or “the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers Bill,” a bill authored by Senators Villanueva, Juan Edgardo M. Angara, Loren B. Legarda and Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, which aims to institute mechanisms to protect the country’s seafarers’ rights, provide them compulsory benefits, and enforce standards set by international laws. The committee also discussed Sen-

ate Bill 429, or the “National Seafarers’ Commission,” which aims to create a centralized agency directly involved in promoting assistance to all seamen and seawomen; and Senate Bill 881, or the “Pilipinong Marino Act,” which gives greater protection and welfare of Filipino sea-based migrant workers through the creation of a National Seafarers Administration. During the hearing, the major issue that was put into light was the decreasing number of Filipino seafarers being deployed. According to Ericson Marquez, vice chairman for External Affairs of Joint Ship Manning Group (JMG), from 400,000 seafarers deployed in 2017, the number

decreased to 370,000 this year. Marquez attributed the drop in the deployment of seafarers to the unreasonable awards or legal costs being shouldered by employers whenever injured seafarers file a medical claim. He further cited a situation wherein a company lost 20 ships due to an alleged unreasonable claim amounting to $250,000 for a cut middle finger sustained by a seafarer. Marquez said that these kinds of injuries are being declared as total and permanent disability, which costs the employer huge amounts of money that affect their businesses. On the other hand, Dennis Gorecho from the National Seafarers’ Day Committee said that

while these problems exist on the part of employers, it is more important to pass a law that will not limit the protection being given to seafarers and should instead reflect the greater interests of Filipino mariners. Recognizing the issue at hand, Villanueva assured the stakeholders—employers and seafarers alike—that the committee will strike a balance in addressing issues coming from both sides that will protect the interests of ship owners while ensuring that rights and welfare of Filipino seafarers are safeguarded. “ We cannot af ford to lose more jobs for Filipino seafarers,” Villanueva said.

DPWH races to complete vital road on Boracay Island By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

HE public works department is fast-tracking the completion of the Boracay Circumferential Road in time for the island resort’s opening next month, according to its chief. Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark A. Villar admitted that work for the said road has hit several roadblocks due to incessant rains in the island. He explained that the maintenance crew “had to endure 47 days of rainy weather” in Boracay since rehab works started 82 days ago. However, he noted that the team in Boracay is “working double time” to make the road accessible by the time the island opens again for tourism on October 26. “With only over a month left for Boracay’s soft opening, DPWH personnel and equipment are making up for the work that have been slowed down by incessant rain,” Villar said. DPWH Region 6 Assistant Regional Director Jose Al V. Fruto reported that a total of 1.13 kilometers of one-lane road has been paved and 2.91 kilometers of high-density polyethylene drainage pipes have been installed along the existing 4.1-kilometer Boracay Circumferential Road. “We expect the delivery of some 628 pipes within the month as we target to complete the drainage component of Boracay Circumferential Road by the first week of October. Along the installation of pipes, the road concreting immediately follows,” he said.

briefs PESO STILL BLEEDING, CLOSES AT P54.31 THE local currency continued to bleed value against the dollar on Tuesday, after hitting a fresh low during the day to break the previous day’s record. Data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) showed the local currency closed trade on Tuesday at 54.31 to a dollar, from the previous’ day’s 54.23 to a dollar. This is the weakest the peso has been since November 22, 2005, when it hit 54.425 to a dollar. Traders and analysts said the recurring weakness of the local currency stems from external developments, particularly concerns arising from the US-China trade tension, as well as the anticipation of the next move of the US Federal Reserve. ANZ Bank, in its quarterly report, however, believes that the depreciation of the peso will likely continue until next year despite measures by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). “The Philippines has reactivated the Currency Risk Protection Program, which will help delay but not reduce the demand for US dollar so long as the economy still runs a current-account deficit. Despite these measures, we see INR [Indian rupee] and PHP [Philippine peso] in particular coming under further depreciation pressure into next year,” ANZ Bank said in its report. The international bank forecasts the peso to end the year at 54.50 to a dollar, and to reach 55 to a dollar up until March 2019, before going back down to P54.50 by the end of the first half of 2019.

PHILHEALTH NET INCOME JUMPED P4.6B IN H1

THE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) on Tuesday announced its net income during the first half of the year grew by P4.6 billion, allaying fears raised by the Commission on Audit (COA) that it may no longer be financially sustainable. PhilHealth Acting Senior Vice President for Management Renato L. Limsiaco, in a news briefing, attributed the trend to the 8-percent growth in their premium income this year. Samuel P. Medenilla

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China open to US trade talks, but not with knife at its throat

HINA said it’s open to talking on the trade dispute, but it needs the US to show sincerity and not put a knife at Beijing’s throat. The US trade restrictions are responsible for the stalled talks and any resumption is up to them, according to Wang Shouwen, China’s vice commerce minister. The two sides had previously reached some consensus in four rounds of talks, and Beijing has no idea why the US went back on what they’d agreed, he told reporters on Tuesday. There is no sign that the US will resume negotiations, with President Donald J. Trump threatening further tariffs and a US official telling farmers they should diversify away from the Chinese market. The comments on Tuesday from Beijing show that China isn’t backing down either, after the two sides imposed increased levies on each other earlier this week. China won’t sacrifice it’s right to develop its economy for trade talks, Fu Ziying, the Ministry of Commerce’s international trade negotiator, said at the briefing, adding that China won’t reverse course but will deepen the ongoing reforms of its economy.

The economy is resilient and can resist the risks from the trade dispute, National Development and Reform Commission Vice Chairman Lian Weiliang said at the briefing. The nation will boost domestic consumption, investment and improve private business sentiment to counter the impact from the dispute with the US, and will also enhance cooperation with the European Union, Japan, Russia and Asean nations, he said. It’s normal for the US and China to have trade disputes, but their common interests are much bigger than the problem areas, according to Fu. While the US has a trade deficit with China, Chinese companies have a profit deficit with the US, he said. When asked about the forced transfer of technology from foreign companies to Chinese businesses, Wang said the government did not have any policies mandating it, but added that it did reserve the right to require foreign companies operating in certain sectors in China to participate in joint ventures with domestic firms. This is the case in other developed countries and is allowed under World Trade Organization rules, he said. Bloomberg News

Trump to target Iran in address to UN

RESIDENT Donald J. Trump will take aim at Iran over its nuclear program and ambitions in the Middle East in his second address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. The president—who threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea in his UN speech last year— is expected to employ a forceful tone toward the Islamic Republic, even if not as bellicose as he did toward Pyongyang. His speech, scheduled for 10:15 a.m. in New York, will repeat last year’s theme of “sovereignty’’ as a paramount virtue for nations, according to several of his top foreign policy advisers. And as relations with North Korea have warmed over the past year, Iran has emerged as the principal antagonist in US foreign policy. Trump has pulled the US out of a nuclear agreement with Iran while signing an agreement in principle with North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. His “maximum pressure’’ moniker—previously describing a series of global sanctions against North Korea—has now been fitted to the administration’s approach to Iran. “We’ve imposed very stringent sanctions on Iran. More are coming,” National Security Adviser John Bolton told reporters on Monday at the UN General Assembly. “And what we expect from Iran is massive changes in their behavior. And until that happens, we will continue to exert what the president has called ‘maximum pressure.’”

‘Strong words’

ON Wednesday Trump will host a UN Security Council session focused on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by Iran and other countries. “You can bet the president will have well-deserved strong words for the Iranian regime, which is among the worst of violators of UN Security Council resolutions, if not the absolute worst in the world,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Monday. Trump has said he’s open to meeting with Iran’s leaders, but Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in an interview with NBC News on Monday that Trump’s pressure campaign would not bring his government to the negotiating table. The US would have to first re-join the nuclear accord negotiated by Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, he said. “That bridge must be rebuilt,” he said. Meanwhile, Iran can withstand US sanctions, he said, calling the Trump administration’s threats to choke off his country’s oil exports an “empty promise.” “The United States is not capable of bringing our oil exports

to zero,” Rouhani told NBC. In addition to Trump’s speech and the Security Council session, Bolton and Pompeo will address an event on Tuesday afternoon organized by a group called United Against a Nuclear Iran. The State Department will host an event Friday morning to “call for supporting human rights in Iran,” featuring former Iranian political prisoners and several Trump administration officials.

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

EU, Iran set financial ‘vehicle’ to ease trade between them

NITED NATIONS—Five world powers and Iran agreed late Monday to establish a financial facility in the European Union (EU) to facilitate payments for Iranian imports and exports including oil, a key move sought by Tehran following the US pullout from the 2015 nuclear deal and its reimposition of sanctions. Foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran said in a joint statement that the so-called Special Purpose Vehicle will “assist and reassure economic operators pursuing legitimate business with Iran.” T he nuc lea r a g reement i s meant to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, but US President Donald J. Trump

announced in May he was unilatera l ly pu l ling out because he felt it wasn’t strong enough and didn’t cover other issues of concern to the US and its allies, such as Iran’s military inf luence in the Middle East and ballistic missile program. The US has also accused Iran of promoting international terrorism, which Tehran vehemently denies.

Iran’s economy is already suffering from the sanctions that Washington reimposed after walking away from the nuclear agreement, and the US has threatened to punish companies from other nations that continue doing business with Iran. In sharp contrast, the five other world powers who signed the nuclear deal remain strongly committed to it, and the new financial facility is almost certain to anger the Trump administration. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters after the closed-door ministerial meeting that the financial facility is also aimed at preserving the nuclear agreement. The EU and Iran say the deal is working, and the joint statement notes that the International Atomic Energy Agency has now certified 12 times that Iran is in compliance with its obligations. “In practical terms,” Mogherini said, “this will mean that EU member-states will set up a legal entity

Bloomberg News

to facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and this will allow European companies to continue to trade with Iran in accordance with European Union law and could be open to other partners in the world.” She said the agreement follows extensive exchanges and announced that a meeting of technical experts will be held to “operationalize” the new financial facility. The joint statement said the six countries that signed the 2015 nuclear agreement “reconfirmed their commitment to its full and effective implementation in good faith and in a constructive atmosphere.” They called the agreement “a key element of the global nonproliferation architecture and a significant achievement of multilateral diplomacy.” The participants reaffirmed their joint statement on July 6, “in particular to pursue concrete and effective measures to secure payment channels with Iran.” AP

Vietnam names first female acting president

Less bellicose

WHILE Iran may be on the receiving end of many of Trump’s verbal barbs on Tuesday, it’s unlikely that his speech will be as abrasive as the 2017 address, when he branded North Korea’s Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man’’ and threatened to annihilate the country, said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and Inter nationa l Studies in Washington. Since that address, Trump has claimed credit for an easing of tensions between the US and North Korea, which hasn’t tested ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons since late last year. Trump and Kim have both said that they’re eager for a second summit. A lter man pred icted “much less bomb-throwing than there was last year” in a briefing for reporters. “I don’t think you’re going to see the ‘ little rocket man’ kind of attacks. You will see a clear assertion of US views.” Trump will spend much of the speech laying out his “America First” world view, including his assertion that all world leaders should put their countries first as sovereign nations. He has framed his decision to pull out of the Iran deal—which retains the support of several US allies and the imprimatur of a UN Security Council resolution—as an issue of US sovereignty. Trump used some form of the word “sovereign” more than 20 times during his UN address last year, and will likely return to the theme repeatedly on Tuesday, aides said. In the past year, he has moved to limit the US role in multilateral institutions, pulling the country from the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. He’s levied tariffs on several US trading partners, threatened to withdraw from the World Trade Organization and warned the International Criminal Court that its officials would be sanctioned if it prosecutes Americans. That particular body, Bolton said on Monday, is “dead to us.”

PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump listens as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday at UN Headquarters. AP/EVAN VUCCI

UN to caution against populism in high-level week

NITED NATIONS—Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to paint a grim picture of the state of the world when leaders open their annual meeting on Tuesday, spotlighting the breakdown of trust around the globe and the need to counter unilateralism and reinvigorate international

cooperation which is the foundation of the United Nations. UN Deputy Spokesman Farh a n H aq g ave a pre v ie w on Monday of Guterres’s address, saying he will “also sound the alarm on climate change” and stress that all people must benefit from new technologies—but be protected from the dangers,

ranging from “malicious acts in cyberspace to the weaponization of artificial intelligence.” Guterres will appeal “for greater solidarity in advancing peace, human rights and sustainable development,” he said. This year 133 world leaders are expected, up from 114 last year. AP

Oil advances as traders turn bullish after Opec rebuffs Trump

IL extended gains near the highest level in almost four years as banks and trading houses said prices may spike after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies rebuffed President Donald J. Trump’s call to boost production. Futures in London rose 0.5 percent after a 3.1-percent advance on Monday. Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. and Trafigura Group expect the return of $100 a barrel last seen in 2014 due to a potential loss in Iranian supply. Bank of America Corp. joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. in predicting higher prices. Adding to positive sentiment are forecasts for a decline in US stockpiles. Oil rallied after the Opec and its partners stopped short of pledging immediate production increases even though looming US sanctions on Iran have started removing barrels from the market. Still, a trade standoff between the US and

China could put global economic growth and energy demand at risk in the longer term, with BP Plc. warning that the risk hasn’t been priced into crude yet. “Opec gave a clear answer to Trump, who criticized the group for pushing for higher prices— they obviously refused to submit,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst at Rakuten Securities Inc. in Tokyo. “While the escalation of the US-China trade war is a negative factor, it’s overshadowed by Opec’s bullish comment.” Brent for November settlement rose as much as 49 cents to $81.69 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange and traded at $81.62 at 3:45 p.m. in Tokyo. The contract climbed $2.40 to $81.20 on Monday. The global benchmark traded at a $9.28 premium to West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for the same month. WTI for November delivery traded at $72.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange,

up 26 cents. The contract climbed $1.30 to $72.08 on Monday. Total volume traded was about 36 percent below the 100-day average. Chinese crude futures for December delivery added 3.6 percent to 551.1 yuan on Tuesday from Friday’s close. Trading on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange was closed on Monday for a public holiday.

$100 oil

WITH the US sanctions on Iran taking full effect in early-November, the $100-oil scenario could be becoming more realistic. Brent crude may spike to above that level in the fourth quarter as the market doesn’t have enough excess capacity to replace Iranian barrels, Mercuria cofounder Daniel Jaeggi said. That bullish prediction was echoed by Trafigura cohead of oil trading Ben Luckock, who said Iran’s supply will be lower than most people had expected. Bloomberg News

IETNAM has its first female president with the appointment of Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh after Tran Dai Quang died on Friday from a serious illness. Thinh will be the acting president until the National Assembly elects a new leader, according to a statement on the government web site, which cited parliament chairman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. Thinh has been vice president since April 2016. Vietnam will hold a twoday national mourning period on September 26 and 27 in honor of President Quang, the government announced on its web site on Sunday. Quang, who was 61, was one of the country’s top 4 leaders, along with the general secretary of the Communist Party, prime minister and head of the National Assembly. A former minister of public security who supported forging closer ties with the US and boosting the nation’s private sector, Quang hosted US President Donald J. Trump during his first state visit to the communist country last year. Under Vietnam’s constitution, the vice president becomes acting president if the president dies in office until the National Assembly chooses a permanent replacement. The parliament’s second one-month session of the year opens October 22. The government’s economic policies, which include aggressively seeking trade agreements, are expected to continue. Quang had said the US and Vietnam were “former enemies, turned friends” during a joint press conference with former US President Barack Obama in Hanoi in 2016. “President Quang was a great friend of the United States,” Trump said in a statement released by the US Embassy in Hanoi. “I am grateful for his personal commitment to deepening the United StatesVietnam Comprehensive Partnership.” Bloomberg News

A6 Wednesday, September 26, 2018 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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editorial

NFA must continue buying local rice

HE Senate is currently stepping up efforts to convert the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice into tariffs, a move that is expected to bring rice prices down and ease inflation. Economic managers have been banking on the scrapping of the rice quota to make rice more affordable, particularly to the poor, who spend at least a fifth of their income on the staple. The poor, who cannot afford to buy more expensive sources of protein, such as pork or chicken, consume more rice to fill their stomachs.

By removing the QR on rice, Manila is effectively signaling to the world that it is ready to allow the entry of cheaper rice. The QR on rice, or import quota, has allowed the Philippines to limit the entry of cheaper staple from neighboring Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand. With the removal of the nontariff barrier, economic managers expect that the average retail price of rice would go down by as much as P7 per kilogram (kg). The downside of the removal of rice QR is the competition cheap rice imports would pose to locally produced palay. Based on the BusinessMirror’s computation, 5 percent broken rice from Vietnam can be purchased at P20 per kg. Even at a 40-percent tariff, the landed cost is anywhere from P28 to P30 per kg. The amount is much lower than the current average price of P43.86 per kg, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. Assuming that rice imports would not be hoarded by unscrupulous traders (unlike other farm products, rice can be stored longer), the influx of cheap rice would spell doom for farmers who remain uncompetitive compared to their counterparts in Vietnam and Thailand. If importing rice is more cost-efficient, traders who used to scramble for locally produced palay would rethink their plans. Farm-gate price could go down if traders suddenly become uninterested in local rice. While consumers will have their cheap staple, some 2.4 million rice farmers would be hard-pressed to look for alternative crops. This scenario can be avoided if Congress would still allow the National Food Authority (NFA) to buy palay from farmers. There are proposals from economic managers to stop the NFA from intervening in the market, which means the agency should stop buying and selling rice. But this should not be done right after Congress has removed the QR on the staple. The food agency must be allowed to at least continue buying rice from farmers for buffer-stocking purposes for two years. This is one of the measures that we believe the government should consider when it crafts a plan that would help farmers adjust to a new rice-trade regime. Congress can consider allocating part of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund for the NFA’s palay-buying program. The tariffication of rice is expected to be completed this month, and the Department of Agriculture would unveil its road map for the sector once the measure is signed into law. We hope that the DA is conducting the necessary consultations with sectors affected by the removal of the quota. This will ensure that strategies employed by the government will have an impact on those whose lives have long depended on the most important grain in the country. Since 2005

Telling ’em what they already know—with improvements Teddy Locsin Jr.

FREE FIRE Continued from A1

‘M

R. Chair, “The Philippines has a long history of development cooperation with UNDP. We value UNDP’s continued support for our government’s pursuit of inclusive, sustainable and resilient development by eradicating poverty and promoting national stability and security. The support has been unfailing; and its particular emphasis today, we also owe to UNDP. Development will not be sustainable if it is not inclusive; and it will not endure if it is not resilient to unavoidable stresses and shocks. So our gratitude is huge. But, because its merit has never been disputed—and what reason would there be for that?—it is largely ignored. Therefore, we take this opportunity to openly thank UNDP for all the good it has done. “We welcome and support the UNDP Country Program Document [CPD] for the Philippines for the years 2019-2023. It is tightly

Michael Makabenta Alunan

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services and strengthening existing platforms by a wider public engagement. These are core interests of my country. “This year is a critical and transformative year for the UN Development System. In repositioning the System, it is critical to ensure a smooth transition to avoid disrupting programs; thereby frustrating UN support to countries in accordance with their respective needs, priorities and capacities. Adequate and predictable core and non-core funding to help program countries implement the 2030 Agenda must be ensured. And we must turn to our respective governments for more funding. So we must all make a stronger argument for its need. Hiding UNDP’s light under a basket has kept everyone else in the dark about its indispensable role. “Finally, Mr. Chair, we wish to thank UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Mr. Haoliang Xu and his team for the extensive consultations with our lead agencies to ensure that the priorities in the CPD are nationally determined. Thank you.”

Watch awesome Ozamiz sculptor Zachary’s works

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aligned with the mid- and long-term development goals of the country, as detailed in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 and AmBisyon

Natin—our ambition—2040. It is anchored in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which profoundly informs our national planning. Not surprisingly our country has readily owned what it easily recognized as the very things our country seeks for itself. “The CPD �� supports the strengthening of democratic institutions and government effectiveness—to keep the state acutely responsive to changing needs. Hence, the CPD mainstreams climate-change adaptation and disaster mitigation. It assists the Philippine government in finding solutions to long-standing problems. I use ‘government’ advisedly rather than governance, the now fashionable term for the vast responsibility that still devolves on the state, which has our taxes, and therefore the preponderance of resources to deliver on the reason government exists—at great expense and much waste we note. I will use ‘governance’ when calling for the added enlistment of civil society so the public can pitch in in a sober and organized fashion. Thus, the CPD highlights support for improved delivery of basic

N engineer-turned-sculptor lately has emerged as a promising artist from the quaint towns of Ozamiz and Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, for producing amazing works worth viewing because of the fascinating stories behind them about the “Lumad Subanen” indigenous people and their struggles for survival while keeping nature’s balance. n Beauty in the sunken? Wood sculptor Zachary Guangco Alcoseba, who was earlier involved in cooperative and nongovernment organization-work, started his newfound talent after stumbling on pieces of sunken, heavy, dense wood buried under sand or rocks at the Usugan and Lantawan rivers in Mount Malindang. Despite being ignored as driftwood, Zachary got struck by their fascinating natural beauty and collected them as they manifested metaphors of beauty and art even in raw form. Rustic and barren at the start, each piece still exuded distinctive and fascinating washed-out variety of colors, textures and even certain smell. They were raw, but smoothened on the surface by water after being submerged for decades, and maybe centuries. They’re soft to the touch, yet strong as steel, even sturdier than iron, which is vulnerable to rust.

n The enigma that is magkono. In his research, Zachary discovered that this driftwood comes from the endangered magkono tree (Xanthostemon verdugonianus), or Philippine ironwood, among the world’s densest and sturdiest trees. They are also found but vanishing in Samar, Leyte, Palawan and Surigao. Magkono is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (and Natural Resources) under its “Red List of Threatened Species” and declared as “rare and endangered” by the Asean Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation. Wood exposed to water would normally rot, but not magkono. Thus, it was used as hull and rudder of wooden ships in ancient times. Knowing its strength, termites and wood borers would not touch it. As art material, Zachary’s sculptures could therefore last beyond the eternity of man’s time. Zachary

In his research, Zachary discovered that this driftwood comes from the endangered magkono tree (Xanthostemon verdugonianus), or Philippine ironwood, among the world’s densest and sturdiest trees. They are also found but vanishing in Samar, Leyte, Palawan and Surigao.

made images of a “Raging Horse,” a “Tamaraw,” “Philippine Eagle,” a “Hippopotamus” and many more life-sized animal shapes. His fascination with animals is borne by the fact that, after forests and nature are destroyed, partly due to human neglect, it is animals that are vulnerable to extinction. In contrast, humans are capable of surviving by using creativity to discover technologies to help them neutralize the wraths of nature. n Twist of fate at NCCA. Zachary also makes beautiful functional furniture, but it is his creative animal sculptures and fascinating stories behind them that drew the attention of Delan Lopez Robillos of the National Commission on Culture and Arts and got Zachary to exhibit his works at the NCCA and by now at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, until September 30. By some twist of fate, Robillos knew he had many things in common with Zachary. Robillos was born in Ozamiz, but migrated to Manila at the age of five. His older brother Ferdie was a classmate of

Zachary in grade school, while his eldest, Theodore Robillos, was my classmate in grade school. Zachary was my brother Mario’s best friend, and Zachary frequented our house. Our mom can still remember Zachary, but could not recognize him after many black hairs ago. The exhibit became a reunion, but which also served to drumbeat support for National Indigenous People’s Month in October and thus gave due recognition to the Subanons (which means from the river) who were pushed up the mountains because of colonialism. n Jigsaw puzzle of life. By accident or grand design, Zachary came face to face with the ironic metaphors of life. He never dreamed of marrying, but is blessed with a patient, endearing lovely wife, Marisa Tomarong from Sipaloc, Zamgoanga Norte. They wanted kids, but were not blessed with any. Lacking in procreativity, he makes it up with creativity, and now blessed with Subanon children, who help gather driftwood and share stories about life. As a young boy, Zachary “dreamed of space travel,” influenced by Neil Armstrong when man first walked on the Moon, but ended down-toearth in life. He says he was “cast into the deep void when there was no reason for living, but God woke me up from my nightmares to appreciate the beauty of life and our relationship with Him.” Zachary has been “a dreamer, but See “Alunan,” A7

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Opinion

Of rice and art

Catastrophe modeling

BusinessMirror

Dennis B. Funa

Stella Luz A. Quimbo, PhD

INSURANCE FORUM

Competition Matters

T the moment, inflation dictates our state of mind. Policymakers are debating what might have caused rising prices. Is inflation a result of external factors or domestic policies, particularly, the TRAIN law? More important, what steps can be taken to arrest further price increases? Meanwhile, consumers are helpless. They must simply absorb the price increases. Their budgets don’t increase unless their take-home pay increases. While TRAIN reduced the income-tax rates for salaried workers, it did not increase the take-home pay of minimum-wage earners, simply because they were already taxexempt. The vast majority of workers in the Philippines—about 72 percent—are minimum-wage earners. Without proportional increases in take-home pay, the effect of inflation on a typical household is less “nominal,” rather, more “real.” Total expenditure (nominal) will perhaps not change much, and the larger impact will be on quantities consumed (real). Economists use a measure called “price elasticity of demand” to assess the responsiveness of demand to changes in price. It is the percentage reduction in quantities consumed divided by the percentage increase in the price of a good. My own backof-the-envelope estimates of the price elasticity of rice using data from the 2015 Family Income and Expenditure Survey suggest that for the poor, a 20-percent increase in the price of rice also means a 20percent reduction in quantities of rice consumed. So, ceteris paribus, if one were consuming one cup of rice prior to the price increase, then consumption goes down by one-fifth cup after a price increase of, say, P40 to P48 per kilo. These are the real effects of inflation: belts are tightened, plates are less than full. Hunger, in turn, can have profound long-term effects on poverty, creating a vicious cycle. Studies have shown that schooling outcomes are not optimized when children go to school with an empty stomach. Hence, breakfast programs in school are popular poverty reduction interventions in developing countries. A 2008 paper written by Hyun Son of the Asian Development Bank described Philippine inflation as largely a food inflation problem: 62 percent of total inflation can be explained by the rise of food prices. This figure is higher at 75 percent for the poor, who allocate almost 60 percent of their expenditure on food. Based on her estimates, it appears a 20-percent increase in food prices will result in an additional 4.6 million poor Filipinos. If there are 26 million poor Filipinos, an additional 4.6 million is substantial. This impact on distribution is another “real” effect of inflation. If real incomes are compared against the poverty line, there are more poor Filipino people than we think.

Alunan. . .

continued from A6

learned to become an actualizer.” From dogged determinism of carving a definite future, he has learned to accept realities, flexibilities and changing jigsaw puzzles of life, similar to his artworks, created one piece at a time, whereby one day he works a horse’s head, but turns later as a carabao’s head. n Environmentalist at the core. Zachary says “trees and the environment have inherent beauty, but can turn ugly when humans accumulate more than they need.” An individual needs seven trees to sustain his oxygen needs for one year and another seven trees for paper, wood and others. The good news is there are still 400 trees on

In contrast, the wealthy are not bothered by the increase in the price of rice. After all, rice constitutes a small share of their total spending. Perhaps a greater concern is the rising price of art. A recent article published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Are astronomical auction prices for real?” (E. Caruncho, August 19, 2018) discusses rising prices in the art market. The article quotes Richie Lerma, director of Salcedo Auctions: “There’s no mistake that because … affluence is growing in the Philippines, there is growth in the prices and interest in art.” Lerma’s concern is not whether the price of art is high, but rather, whether it is real or not. The article describes a phenomenon called “shill” bidding, where a fake bidder who, in coordination with a prospective buyer, puts up fake competition, thereby inflating the price of an artwork. Presumably, both “shiller” and buyer have the collective interest of inflating the value of the art piece because both have an extensive collection of the artist. Worse, the buyer and seller might be one and the same entity. What is the role of the Philippine Competition Commission in all these concerns? To the extent that prices in any market are inflated due to anticompetitive conduct, PCC is mandated to intervene. Under the Philippine Competition Act, cartelistic behavior—competitors agreeing to fix prices or rig bids—is prohibited, meaning there is no possible justification for such conduct. The PCC has the power to investigate potential cartels and penalize offenders with a fine of up to P100 million. The criminal liability ranges from two to seven years of imprisonment. Whether in the market for rice or art, PCC has jurisdiction over cartels. You may ask whether PCC has taken concrete steps to address these concerns. Unfortunately, it is PCC’s policy to neither confirm nor deny investigations, so as not to hinder the ability to gather evidence. Ultimately, the PCC is committed to protecting consumer welfare. What is clear is that its effectiveness in tracking down cartels will have an immediate and lasting impact on Filipino consumers. Commissioner Stella Luz Quimbo is an academician who served as a professor and the department chair of the University of the Philippines School of Economics prior to her appointment in the Philippine Competition Commission. She was also Prince Claus professorial chair holder at Erasmus University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands from 2011 to 2013. Commissioner Quimbo has an extensive research portfolio in the field of health economics, industrial organization, microeconomics, education, poverty, and public policy and regulation.

Earth per person for oxygenation, but this may not last because of human negligence. n Humanist lesson in art. As they say creative writers and artists dream of the impossible, but it is scientists and engineers who make them possible. Thus, Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas or H.G.Wells First Men in the Moon, were written and unthinkable over a century ago, but are realities today. Moreover, true artists go beyond “Art for Art’s sake,” but create Art for a Purpose as the “Purpose of Life is a Life with a Purpose.” Zachary’s lasting lessons is that “What is essential is not how much wealth we accumulate, number of houses and cars, or savings in the bank, but how we can make a difference to the least of our brethren.”

N 1992 Hurricane Andrew struck the United States. AIR, the pioneer in catastrophe modeling, projected an estimate loss exceeding $13 billion. The announcement was met with skepticism. A few months later, the Property Claims Service (PCS) reported an industry loss of $15.5 billion. Eleven insurers became insolvent. Interest in catastrophe modeling grew “almost overnight”. During the 2011 monsoon season in Thailand, the flooding caught the insurance industry by surprise. Sixty-five of Thailand’s 76 provinces were declared flood disaster zones. The World Bank estimated 1,425 trillion baht ($46.5 billion) in economic damages and losses due to flooding, as of December 1, 2011. Incidentally, 2011 was regarded as a record year for natural catastrophe, with insured losses costing the insurance industry more than $127 billion. The insurance losses may, in some way, be attributed to insufficient risk assessment on the occurrence of flooding. More important, there was no catastrophe modeling for floods. Catastrophe risk modeling or simply catastrophe modeling (cat modeling) is a fairly recent development in the world of property insurance (the first in the late-1980s). It is a system

to estimate the likelihood and severity of catastrophes, as well as the loses, and analyze risks due to a catastrophic event, such as earthquake, flooding and hurricanes. It calculates the probabilities of a disaster and more important the expected losses. Cat modeling is generally computer assisted using the latest in information technology. The study is a confluence of other disciplines as well, such as actuarial science, engineering, meteorology and seismology. It has been proven to be remarkably accurate in its risk assessment. In underwriting natural disaster risks, cat modeling has become imperative. Thus, cat modeling for hurricanes or earthquakes has become vital for insurers and reinsurers. Catastrophe modeling may either be closed or open. It is closed when data formats are proprietary. It is

Wednesday, September 26, 2018 A7

open when it is available and accessible to all. An example of an open framework is the Oasis Loss Modeling Framework (OLMF). Oasis is a not for profit organization funded and owned by about 40 of the world’s leading insurers, reinsurers, brokers and financial institutions. Another open format is the Alliance for Global Open Risk Analysis. There are several cat model providers around the world. Among them: AIR Worldwide (AIR) founded in 1987, Risk Management Solutions founded in 1989 and EQECAT founded in 1994. AIR Worldwide was the pioneer in cat modeling. It is an American risk modeling and data analytics company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Applied Insurance Research in 1987. It was acquired by Insurance Service Office in 2002 and renamed AIR Worldwide Corp.

Beginnings of cat modeling

IN the 1800s fire risks were determined by identifying the concentrations of fire occurrences using pins placed on maps. For earthquakes, the magnitude was measured and recorded. For hurricanes, the intensity. This coincided with the invention of the seismograph, as well as the anemometer which measures wind speed. But this process was cumbersome and time-consuming. It has become complex and detailed. With the development of computer and information technologies and the development of natural hazard

measurements, cat modeling as we now know it was born.

Oasis Loss Modeling Framework

THE OLMF was founded in 2012 and is hosted by Equinix, it was developed over a period of five years at a cost of $4 million. It is in an open source format—which encourages users and stakeholders to share data and information. In other words, it encourages collaboration as users are connected to one another. The interconnectivity allows multiple sources to evaluate risks in real time. Oasis is owned by leading insurance industry players with about 100 associate members. It is used by leading reinsurance brokers such as Guy Carpenter. It is free for use by everyone. The OLMF was introduced in the Philippines for the development of a flood model under a two-year project funded by the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The project has several partners which include, among others, the National Reinsurance Corp. of the Philippines, the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation Program of the Philippines (UP DREAM), and the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. Dennis B. Funa is the current insurance commissioner. Funa was appointed by President Duterte as the new insurance commissioner in December 2016. E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.

STL racks up more than ₧2 billion in August Florante S. Solmerin

FACT IS MIGHT!

HE government is consistently earning from the Small Town Lottery (STL) of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), which will help fund President Duterte’s health and charity programs. The revenues being contributed by Authorized STL Agents (ASA) continue to expand, thanks to their diligence in responding to the President’s call for them to help the government raise funds for medicines that would be given free to the people. Unfortunately, not all of these ASAs have complied with the implementing rules and regulations (IRR)

and the PCSO has no recourse but to terminate some of them. Apart from that, corruption should be totally removed from the STL operations. Transparency must prevail. Some people are still trying to corrupt the system, but PCSO General Manager Alexander “Mandirigma” Balutan remains firm in his efforts to cleanse the agency, and he assures

The Party of no ideas By Paul Krugman

New York Times News Service

EMOCRATS will almost certainly receive more votes than Republicans in the midterm elections. But gerrymandering and other factors have severely tilted the playing field, so they would need to win the popular vote by a wide margin to retake the House, and a huge margin to retake the Senate. I don’t know how it will turn out—or what will happen to the perceived legitimacy of the federal government if all three branches are controlled by people the voters rejected. Neither does anyone else. One thing we do know, however, is that Republicans have decisively lost the battle of ideas. All of their major policy moves, on health care, taxes and tariffs, are playing badly with voters. In fact, Republican policies are so unpopular that the party’s candidates are barely trying to sell them. Instead, they’re pretending to stand for things they actually don’t—like protecting health coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions—or trying to distract voters with culture war and appeals to white racial identity. The GOP has become the party of no ideas. Start with health care. Not that long ago attacks on Obamacare were a winning tactic for the GOP, but last year’s attempt to repeal the Affordable

Care Act seems to have concentrated the public’s mind, making many people aware of how much they might lose if it went away. Public support for the act is near all-time highs, with many now saying that the law didn’t go far enough — and Democrats have a large lead as the party that’s better on health care as an issue. Then there’s taxes. The last time Republicans rammed through big tax cuts, under George W. Bush, they were fairly popular. And the party’s leaders seem to have imagined that the same would be true now. “If we can’t sell this to the American people, we ought to go into another line of work,” Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, declared last December. Have they sent out their job applications? Because the American people aren’t buying. A few weeks ago an internal GOP survey found that “we’ve lost the messaging battle” on the legislation, with voters overwhelmingly believing that the tax cuts went to corporations and the rich, and many worried that increased deficits will endanger Social Security and Medicare. Finally, there’s the Donald J. Trump twist—the one area where he is somewhat at odds with GOP orthodoxy: His economic nationalism, embodied in a rapidly expanding set of import tariffs. After the 2016 election, many commentators argued that Trump’s

the STL players that his leadership will remain transparent. Mandirigma’s proactive management of the STL operations continues to flourish. With him is PCSO Assistant General Manager for Operations Sector Remeliza Gabuyo who mainstreams all the STL players to fight against illegal numbers games, such as jueteng, masiao, swertres, among others. People like Gabuyo and Mandirigma, along with PCSO AGM for Charity Sector Dr. Larry Cedro, are all dedicated officials and assets of the Duterte administration whose dedication to help raise funds and expand the medical assistance being given to the people in need never fades. In August alone, STL earned P2.5 billion—the highest monthly revenue recorded this year. At present, there are 85 Authorized STL Agents nationwide. Lamentably, there are ASAs who

do not remit Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipts (PMRR), but the compliant ASAs still outnumber them. What’s amazing is that these compliant people are former illegal jueteng operators who decided to play STL, while some of the new operators were the non-compliant ASAs. The original STL players came from Central and Southern Luzon. In fact, they give the highest PMRR every month. These regions are known for jueteng operations but they migrated to legal STL so they must serve as the role models of new STL operators. We must remember that these STL players are major contributors to PCSO’s Charity Fund where the agency gets the needed resources to help indigents and poor people for their hospitalization, chemo, dialysis, implant/transplant and other medical needs.

Electoral College win reflected a backlash against globalization. And that suggested that his protectionist turn might prove popular. But it hasn’t. Specifically, trade war is causing Republicans considerable grief in farm country. Meanwhile, tariffs appear to be unpopular in industrial states, too. In fact, it’s hard to find any large group that likes Trump’s trade policy. Why are Republican policy ideas falling so flat? At one level, the answer is obvious: GOP policies are unpopular because they hurt far more Americans than they help. Why should anyone expect cutting taxes on the rich while taking health care away from the sick to be popular? The question is why such policies were ever popular. The answer, I think, is that in the past, voters didn’t see the connections. When Bush pushed through his tax cut, we had a budget surplus, so it wasn’t clear to voters that less revenue might mean cuts to programs they count on. When you push through big tax cuts in the face of a budget deficit—and when your own party has spent years warning about imminent fiscal doom and demanding spending cuts—the implications are more obvious. In the case of health care, it was a lot easier to peddle scare stories about Obamacare before it went into effect, insuring tens of millions, than it is to

defend taking away coverage people already have. And Trump’s tariffs suffer politically because some Americans are already being hurt, while the supposed beneficiaries have good reason to doubt whether they will be helped. In fact, even as Trump boasts that his steel tariffs have revived the industry, two major steelworker unions have voted to go on strike—because while corporate profits have surged, workers’ wages haven’t. In short, the American public seems to have wised up; voters seem to have recognized the GOP’s reverse Robin Hood agenda of taking from ordinary families and giving to the rich for what it is. Of course, Republicans aren’t giving up. If they can’t win on the issues, they’ll try to win on something else— and we know what that something else is. Across America, voters are being barraged with Republican ads showing scary dark people. In Texas Ted Cruz thinks even a clip of Beto O’Rourke saying perfectly reasonable things to black churchgoers will help his flailing campaign. And it might work. After all, studies of the 2016 election clearly show that racial resentment, not “economic anxiety,” was what put Trump over the top. But if the GOP does win, it will have won very, very ugly. And American politics will become even worse.

E-mail: fetad@yahoo.com.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

PAL gets 4-star carrier tag from NY-based rating body

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

LAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has been named a four-star major regional carrier by New Yorkbased Airline Passenger Experience Association (Apex), further bolstering its bid to become a five-star airline by 2020.

“This latest award as four-star major regional airline will inspire us to keep getting better and achieve more until we attain the coveted five-star status as a prime player in global aviation.” —Jaime Bautista

for a year until July 31 this year. The new award is the latest in the flag carrier’s victories in the international arena. Others include the four-star global airline certification from Skytrax, which it won in February, and the second most improved airline in the world, which it won in June also from the London-based accrediter. Bautista said the award will further encourage the carrier to

“step up its service enhancement program as PAL introduces new aircraft, routes and product innovations.” Recently, it began deploying Airbus A350s and Airbus A321 neos on key international routes. “This new accolade comes with a fresh challenge: We should never rest on our laurels but must always remain focused on our primary role to provide a pleasant and comfortable travel experience for all our passengers, in the air and on the ground,” he said. He added: “Thus, this latest award as four-star major regional airline will inspire us to keep getting better and achieve more until we attain the coveted fivestar status as a prime player in global aviation.” PAL aims to be a certified fivestar carrier by 2020.

In a statement, PAL President Jaime J. Bautista said the award is the result of a fully “certified, validated, verified” rating program based on passenger feedback. Feedback given were on PAL’s overall flight experience in five subcategories: seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment and Wi-Fi connectivity. “ T h i s ne w fou r - st a r A pe x

award is another victory for the Philippine Airlines team of dedicated professionals, coming after the four-star global rating certified by Skytrax earlier this year,” Bautista said. T he assoc i at ion processed verified itineraries that were validated by geo-location from over 50 million itineraries. More than half-a-million flights were rated

Meralco-Egco partnership eyes transmission facility in Luzon

Wyndham Group to build first 5-star hotel in Subic

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

AN Buenaventura Power Ltd. (SBPL), a partnership between Meralco PowerGen (MGen) and New Growth BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd. (Egco Group) of Thailand, is seeking regulatory approval to construct a transmission facility that will connect its 500-megawatt (MW) coal plant to the Luzon grid. In a 14-page application, SBPL put the cost to set up a dedicated facility project at P242,956,734. SBPL proposed to develop and construct a dedicated point-topoint facility that will connect the coal plant to the Luzon grid through the Tayabas substation of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) by connecting to the existing QPPL (Quezon Power Philippines Limited Co.) connection asset, which comprises the Mauban substation and a 230-kilovolt transmission line. According to the Energy Regulatory Commission, SBPL’s application is “sufficient in substance,” with the required fees having been paid. “The same is hereby set for determination of compliance with the jurisdictional requirements, expository presentation, pretrial conference and presentation of evidence on November 6,” the ERC said in its September 4 order. Last August, MGen said the construction of the country’s first coal-fired power plant in the country to use supercritical technology is 90-percent complete. “SBPL is on its 31st month of EPC [engineering, procurement and construction] implementation with overall progress at almost 90 percent and is on track for project completion in September 2019,” said MGen President Rogelio Singson. The company tapped the consortium of Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corp. as the EPC contractor for the project. SBPL achieved financial close for the power project in December 2015 for a total debt of P42.1 billion. The electricity to be generated by the plant will be sold to Meralco, the country’s largest distribution utility, under a 20-year power supply agreement. Singson added that this project would bring in additional revenues to Meralco in 2020.

CITIC President Chi Jian Li and SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma shake hands after approving the construction of the first five-star hotel in the Subic Bay Freeport. By Henry Empeño | Correspondent

U BIC B AY FR EEPORT— Wyndham Hotel Group, the company behind Days Hotel and Microtel chains across the country, has committed to build the first five-star hotel in the Subic Bay Freeport. In a contract signed with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the group will construct, manage and operate the Citic Hotels and Leisures Corp. here and pump in P5 billion to develop a 10,517-square-meter location near Subic’s popular seafront events venue Boardwalk Park. SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said this marks the first time that a fivestar hotel will be set up in Subic, 26 years after the former US military base was converted into a special economic and free-port zone. “I am sure that this branded

hotel project will raise the bar for the Subic Bay Freeport and put it among the best tourist destinations in the Southeast Asian region,” Eisma added. Wyndham Hotel, which is reputed to be the world’s largest and most diverse hotel company, has approximately 8,000 hotels with more than 600,000 rooms in 66 countries under 15 hotel brands. Aside from the Days Hotel and Microtel chains in the Philippines, the hotel group operates the Ramada and TRYP hotels in Manila. SBMA Deputy Administrator for Business and Investment Kenneth Rementilla said Wyndham has committed P5 billion to build a 14-story five-star hotel with 300 to 400 rooms within three years. The hotel building will house restaurants, entertainment, leisure and events management facilities, including ballroom and

convention hall. T he hotel w ill be built on a 6,310-sq-m area within the 10,517-sq-m open space at Subic’s Central Business Disrtrict. Wyndham has also committed to develop a 4,207-sq-m area for the operation of a Subic-Manila ferry service in another open space to be developed for public use. The firm, likewise, pledged to develop an amphitheater and a public park with commercial stalls in the next two years. According to SBMA figures, hotel occupancy rate in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone increased by 2 percent to 67.24 percent in 2017, compared to 65.83 percent in 2016. The SBMA Tourism Department attributed the growth to increased tourist arrivals from the rising number of conferences and sporting events being held in Subic.

CLARK NAMED A MAJOR OFFICE SPACE MARKET By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

L AR K FR EEPORT— A n e x e c ut i v e of a proper t y developer has cited this free port as the second major office space market in the country now, surpassing Cebu. Clark Global City (CGC) C hief Invest ment Of f icer Evan McBride said at a recent assessment by Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) that Clark ranked second preferred office location. “For the first time ever, in the brand-new statistics just released by the Leechiu and Associates for real estate, Clark surpassed Cebu as top choice area for office space,” McBride said during the Philippine Economic briefing here last week. The economic briefing held at the newly opened Clark Marriott Hotel was organized by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, in cooperation with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC). A mon g t he pre s e nte r s in the event were Udenna Corp.—which is now developing a 177-hectare area here, and Megawide Construction Corp., which is constructing Terminal 2 at the Clark International Airport,which can accommodate 8 million passengers per annum. Cebu had held for 10 years the record as the country’s second major area in terms of office space market. In the statistics provided by LPC, from January to September of this year, Clark reached 111,000 square meters of area for office space

transaction, surpassing Cebu’s 76,000 sq m for demanded office area. This represents 8 percent of the overall transactions in the country. Other locations included in the list were Iloilo, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, Davao and Rizal. Metro Manila was named the highest office market with 1.1 million sq m. McBride said the strategic location of Clark, with its connectivity and infrastructure, makes it an ideal business location. “It has an efficient connectivity, it’s in the heart of the country’s highway system touching the Subic- ClarkTarlac Expressway with its own exit from the SCTEx. It is 148 meters above sea level, protected from typhoons by Sierra Madre and Zambales mountain ranges and not on any fault lines,” McBride said. Meanwhile, other upcoming projects in Clark were mentioned during the briefing. CDC Assistant Vice President for Business Development Depa r t ment Rodem Perez said the state-owned firm supports the government’s programs by strengthening “connectivity” in the free port. In the same way, CIAC Vice President Darwin Cunanan reported that the airport now has a total of 18 domestic destinations with 261 flights per week and nine international destinations with 162 international flights per week. BCDA President and CEO Vivencio Dizon, along with top executives from the private sector, also shared some updates on the development of New Clark City and the ot her projec t s u nder t he government’s “Build, Build, Build” program.

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

September 25, 2018

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

ASIA UNITED 58.5 59.5 59 59.5 58.5 59.5 87070 5149444.5 BDO UNIBANK 117.6 119 121 121 117.5 119 460460 54887892 BANK PH ISLANDS 84.85 85 87.8 87.8 85 85 1152820 99068226 CHINABANK 29.2 29.55 29.65 30 29 29.2 103600 3059805 EAST WEST BANK 12.7 12.86 12.9 12.96 12.68 12.7 349800 4468000 METROBANK 68.4 68.5 69.8 69.8 67.8 68.5 1653560 112831383 PB BANK 11.1 11.5 11.52 11.52 11.1 11.1 20000 222842 PHIL NATL BANK 43.8 44.35 43.7 44.35 43.7 44.35 24100 1064875 PSBANK 84 85.9 86 86 84 84 5010 420865 PHILTRUST 103.9 109.9 103.5 103.5 103.5 103.5 330 34155 RCBC 25.5 25.7 25 26 25 25.7 162500 4175490 SECURITY BANK 168.7 168.8 169.5 169.5 168 168.8 685490 115624953 UNION BANK 67.5 68 67.95 68 67.5 67.5 4050 275232.5 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.49 1.55 1.49 1.49 1.49 1.49 2000 2980 BDO LEASING 2.37 2.59 2.59 2.6 2.59 2.59 12000 31150 COL FINANCIAL 16.18 16.2 16.44 16.44 16.18 16.2 13100 212218 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.4 4.44 4.39 4.46 4.28 4.44 238000 1054060 MEDCO HLDG 0.53 0.54 0.54 0.54 0.53 0.53 64000 33930 NTL REINSURANCE 0.94 0.95 0.94 0.95 0.93 0.95 334000 314320 PHIL STOCK EXCH 188.7 190 189.1 190 188.7 190 320 60605 SUN LIFE 1850 1855 1822 1860 1822 1855 705 1303500 VANTAGE 1.19 1.23 1.23 1.23 1.23 1.23 1000 1230 INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.29 1.3 1.23 1.31 1.22 1.29 1948000 2502620 ABOITIZ POWER 35.9 36.2 36.55 36.55 35.6 36.2 1385200 49475330 BASIC ENERGY 0.216 0.225 0.226 0.226 0.225 0.225 20000 4510 ENERGY DEVT 7.05 7.06 7.06 7.07 7.06 7.06 7964700 56233805 FIRST GEN 16.82 16.86 17 17 16.82 16.82 320500 5406268 FIRST PHIL HLDG 64.45 64.6 63.3 64.75 63.3 64.6 60110 3880134 PHIL H2O 5.06 5.1 5.1 5.12 5 5.06 179500 904483 MERALCO 357 358 361 361 356.4 358 155780 55805870 MANILA WATER 23.65 23.7 23.95 23.95 23.7 23.7 1380900 32791380 PETRON 8.94 9.1 9.1 9.13 8.91 9.1 1878500 16990783 PETROENERGY 4.07 4.15 4.24 4.24 4.15 4.15 17000 71720 PHINMA ENERGY 1.01 1.02 0.99 1.01 0.99 1.01 137000 137440 PHX PETROLEUM 10.72 10.8 10.94 10.98 10.94 10.98 10000 109576 PILIPINAS SHELL 53.35 53.5 53.4 53.75 53.3 53.5 231850 12390213.5 SPC POWER 5.66 5.76 5.66 5.77 5.61 5.76 124500 702089 AGRINURTURE 17.86 17.9 17.98 18 17.8 17.9 535800 9611828 CNTRL AZUCARERA 17.34 18.5 18.8 18.9 18 18.2 5900 108350 CENTURY FOOD 13.9 13.98 14 14.2 13.9 13.96 35000 490228 DEL MONTE 7.28 7.63 7.3 7.4 7.28 7.28 2600 18970 DNL INDUS 10 10.08 10.1 10.1 10 10 1163800 11650724 EMPERADOR 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.08 7.02 7.04 3934000 27699048 SMC FOODANDBEV 96.4 96.5 96.5 97.25 96 96.5 260560 25159062.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.09 1.1 1.12 1.12 1.08 1.1 3911000 4298550 GINEBRA 27.95 28 28 28.1 27.95 28 71500 2003275 JOLLIBEE 268 268.8 271.8 272 268 268.8 229530 61847902 MACAY HLDG 11.52 13.5 13.9 14 13.8 13.8 6000 83648 MAXS GROUP 11.84 11.9 11.9 11.98 11.84 11.9 59400 708046 PEPSI COLA 1.75 1.76 1.8 1.8 1.75 1.75 77000 135300 SHAKEYS PIZZA 12.12 12.14 12.2 12.2 12.14 12.14 164300 1994656 ROXAS AND CO 2.65 2.68 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65 197000 522050 RFM CORP 4.81 4.84 4.82 4.85 4.81 4.84 96000 464700 ROXAS HLDG 2.82 3 3 3 3 3 4000 12000 SWIFT FOODS 0.124 0.128 0.124 0.124 0.124 0.124 270000 33480 UNIV ROBINA 150.4 151 151 151 150 151 536150 80741262 VITARICH 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.1 2.06 2.07 1055000 2184720 VICTORIAS 2.45 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 1000 2500 CONCRETE A 67.5 69.95 67.8 70.5 67.5 70.5 880 59505 CEMEX HLDG 2.64 2.65 2.71 2.73 2.61 2.65 1206000 3213190 EAGLE CEMENT 15.12 15.24 15.1 15.36 15.1 15.34 10600 161464 EEI CORP 8.43 8.45 8.5 8.6 8.45 8.45 265100 2240524 HOLCIM 6.93 6.94 6.94 6.94 6.93 6.93 173300 1201702 MEGAWIDE 15.66 15.84 16.02 16.18 15.68 15.68 1583000 25275630 PHINMA 8.6 8.65 8.5 8.6 8.5 8.6 28600 245160 TKC METALS 0.98 1.02 1 1.02 0.97 1.02 535000 526960 VULCAN INDL 2.24 2.25 2.25 2.37 2.18 2.24 18498000 42247100 CROWN ASIA 1.74 1.75 1.71 1.74 1.71 1.74 121000 209430 LMG CHEMICALS 4.92 5 4.91 4.92 4.9 4.92 138300 678890 CONCEPCION 39.65 42.9 39.65 39.65 39.65 39.65 200 7930 INTEGRATED MICR 12.04 12.1 12.12 12.18 12.1 12.1 404500 4900870 IONICS 1.91 1.92 1.92 1.95 1.91 1.92 389000 745440 PANASONIC 5.86 6.39 5.89 6.39 5.85 6.39 5200 31708 SFA SEMICON 1.53 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.53 1.58 15000 23400 CIRTEK HLDG 34.25 34.4 35.9 36.35 34.4 34.4 955000 33174155 HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.435 0.44 0.405 0.44 0.4 0.435 20640000 8787350 ASIABEST GROUP 26.5 26.55 29 29.95 25 26.55 897700 23870485 AYALA CORP 919.5 920 919.5 924 905 919.5 193230 177682220 ABOITIZ EQUITY 51.15 51.25 51.2 51.25 49.3 51.25 1057470 53818779.5 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 12.6 12.74 12.78 12.78 12.46 12.74 620400 7825856 ANSCOR 6 6.1 5.97 6 5.96 6 5800 34605 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.9 0.94 0.89 0.94 0.89 0.9 8000 7230 ATN HLDG A 1.12 1.13 1.17 1.18 1.13 1.13 26208000 29926780 ATN HLDG B 1.12 1.16 1.17 1.2 1.13 1.16 2811000 3264110 COSCO CAPITAL 5.8 5.9 5.97 5.97 5.75 5.8 506900 2945616 DMCI HLDG 11.92 11.94 11.9 12.14 11.9 11.94 804000 9614172 FILINVEST DEV 7.11 7.14 7.15 7.15 7.15 7.15 10000 71500 FORUM PACIFIC 0.203 0.204 0.204 0.204 0.204 0.204 20000 4080 GT CAPITAL 845 850 851 860 845 850 64540 55098225 HOUSE OF INV 5.77 6.26 6.29 6.29 5.77 5.77 6400 38176 JG SUMMIT 54.35 55.8 54.5 55.8 53.4 55.8 1800610 98733070 LODESTAR 0.54 0.56 0.58 0.58 0.54 0.56 19000 10490 LOPEZ HLDG 4.73 4.8 4.87 4.87 4.71 4.73 974000 4616930 LT GROUP 15.06 15.16 15.3 15.42 15.04 15.16 388100 5885664 MABUHAY HLDG 0.6 0.61 0.6 0.62 0.59 0.61 788000 473600 METRO PAC INV 4.9 4.92 4.95 4.95 4.87 4.92 13688000 67278740 PACIFICA 0.039 0.04 0.038 0.04 0.038 0.039 9300000 359600 PRIME ORION 2.51 2.52 2.56 2.56 2.5 2.52 485000 1222410 PRIME MEDIA 1.2 1.21 1.25 1.25 1.21 1.21 56000 68180 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.61 2.7 2.73 2.73 2.7 2.73 80000 217950 SOLID GROUP 1.37 1.42 1.37 1.42 1.35 1.35 190000 259640 SYNERGY GRID 320 347 348 348 348 348 20 6960 SM INVESTMENTS 866 870 890 890 866 866 151150 132221970 SAN MIGUEL CORP 168.2 169.7 169.8 169.8 168 169.7 192510 32549540 TOP FRONTIER 278.6 279 279.4 279.4 279 279 30 8374 WELLEX INDUS 0.28 0.285 0.275 0.285 0.27 0.285 5680000 1585100 PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.66 0.67 0.65 0.68 0.65 0.67 290000 193790 ANCHOR LAND 11.26 11.94 11.98 11.98 11.94 11.94 600 7184 AYALA LAND 39.85 40.1 41 41.2 39.85 39.85 8418600 339378220 ARANETA PROP 2.01 2.05 2.11 2.11 2.01 2.05 34000 68600 BELLE CORP 2.63 2.64 2.67 2.67 2.62 2.63 552000 1455320 A BROWN 0.84 0.85 0.85 0.85 0.84 0.85 2279000 1927810 CITYLAND DEVT 0.92 0.94 0.94 0.95 0.92 0.92 19366000 18010500 CROWN EQUITIES 0.223 0.225 0.225 0.227 0.223 0.223 830000 186060 CEBU HLDG 5.25 5.37 5.23 5.24 5.23 5.24 2800 14670 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.36 4.43 4.46 4.48 4.43 4.43 89000 397250 CENTURY PROP 0.45 0.455 0.455 0.455 0.445 0.45 3690000 1653400 DOUBLEDRAGON 21.25 21.3 21.75 21.75 21.1 21.3 480400 10206700 DM WENCESLAO 8.53 8.55 8.27 8.55 8.27 8.53 372300 3170342 EMPIRE EAST 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.57 83000 46460 FILINVEST LAND 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.42 1.44 3672000 5274530 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.11 1.12 717000 802660 8990 HLDG 7.22 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.23 7.3 88600 641044 IRC PROP 2.33 2.34 2.34 2.37 2.28 2.33 9738000 22563110 KEPPEL PROP 4.09 4.18 4.09 4.09 4.09 4.09 3000 12270 CITY AND LAND 0.89 0.9 0.91 0.91 0.9 0.9 110000 99100 MEGAWORLD 4.39 4.41 4.42 4.42 4.37 4.4 9616000 42177290 MRC ALLIED 0.71 0.72 0.71 0.73 0.7 0.71 66955000 47781100 PHIL ESTATES 0.455 0.46 0.46 0.465 0.455 0.46 620000 283700 PRIMEX CORP 4.41 4.43 4.49 4.5 4.35 4.43 1973000 8683290 ROBINSONS LAND 19.36 19.42 19.6 19.86 19.2 19.42 1472700 28686926 PHIL REALTY 0.44 0.445 0.435 0.445 0.43 0.445 480000 211700 ROCKWELL 1.93 1.95 1.94 1.94 1.93 1.93 178000 344150 STA LUCIA LAND 1.13 1.14 1.16 1.16 1.14 1.14 465000 532200 SM PRIME HLDG 35.7 35.8 36.5 36.9 35.6 35.7 8151300 295186065 STARMALLS 6.54 6.55 6.5 6.72 6.44 6.55 217800 1428264 PTFC REDEV CORP 31.05 38.9 33.35 33.35 33.35 33.35 500 16675 VISTA LAND 6.01 6.19 6.09 6.19 5.99 6.19 3634900 22086078 SERVICES ABS CBN 20.9 21 21.2 21.2 20.9 21 57700 1212125 GMA NETWORK 5.35 5.36 5.4 5.4 5.36 5.36 144800 777504 GLOBE TELECOM 2180 2200 2210 2218 2180 2180 22980 50468970 PLDT 1412 1420 1436 1436 1401 1412 60705 86115130 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.043 0.045 0.044 0.045 0.043 0.044 11400000 493200 DFNN INC 8.9 9 9.13 9.13 9 9 14900 135079 ISLAND INFO 0.116 0.119 0.116 0.119 0.116 0.119 760000 89630 ISM COMM 3.04 3.05 3.12 3.13 3.01 3.05 4197000 12851920 NOW CORP 7.59 7.6 7.89 7.9 7.57 7.6 1593400 12244964 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.5 0.51 0.53 0.55 0.5 0.51 43335000 22452730 PHILWEB 4.31 4.47 4.48 4.5 4.3 4.47 368000 1600880 2GO GROUP 11 11.2 11.5 11.5 11 11 29500 330948 CEBU AIR 71.95 72 72.1 72.4 72 72 130690 9414479.5 CHELSEA 5.5 5.58 5.73 5.79 5.43 5.58 1528100 8399071 INTL CONTAINER 91.15 91.5 92.9 92.9 91.05 91.5 76870 7037984 LBC EXPRESS 14.22 14.8 14.2 14.96 14.2 14.2 6700 95216 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.94 0.97 0.96 0.98 0.94 0.97 395000 375870 MACROASIA 16 16.04 16.1 16.26 15.96 16 1788400 28,697,604( METROALLIANCE A 1.49 1.5 1.36 1.64 1.36 1.49 390000 583800 METROALLIANCE B 1.46 1.5 1.45 1.52 1.43 1.52 263000 392760 PAL HLDG 8.4 8.7 8.8 8.8 8.5 8.7 4100 35210 HARBOR STAR 2.91 2.92 2.87 3.04 2.84 2.91 6709000 19645870 ACESITE HOTEL 1.36 1.43 1.36 1.43 1.36 1.43 11000 15660 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.06 0.063 0.061 0.063 0.06 0.06 13750000 830190 DISCOVERY WORLD 2.23 2.33 2.23 2.23 2.23 2.23 3000 6690 WATERFRONT 0.68 0.69 0.67 0.69 0.66 0.68 1929000 1309790 FAR EASTERN U 900 909 909 909 909 909 10 9090 STI HLDG 0.88 0.89 0.86 0.94 0.84 0.89 53465000 48414850 BERJAYA 2.03 2.04 1.99 2.14 1.99 2.04 10130000 21017090 BLOOMBERRY 8.9 8.91 8.31 8.95 8.31 8.9 10107200 88241925 PACIFIC ONLINE 10.6 11 11 11 11 11 19400 213400 LEISURE AND RES 3.67 3.68 3.75 3.75 3.64 3.68 762000 2800650 MANILA JOCKEY 5.85 5.89 5.7 5.9 5.7 5.89 160900 930860 MELCO RESORTS 7 7.01 7 7.01 7 7 5265600 36861222 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.88 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.87 0.88 772000 679470 TRAVELLERS 5.2 5.23 5.16 5.22 5.14 5.2 1384800 7177713 METRO RETAIL 2.49 2.5 2.48 2.52 2.48 2.5 555000 1388440 PUREGOLD 44 45 44.6 45.8 44 44 3007400 133304315 ROBINSONS RTL 78.6 79.1 79.1 79.1 78.4 78.6 446050 35071982 PHIL SEVEN CORP 102.1 103 103 103.2 103 103 200230 20623720 SSI GROUP 2.18 2.19 2.24 2.35 2.19 2.19 10489000 23665000 WILCON DEPOT 10.28 10.3 10.3 10.38 10.24 10.28 1635500 16821554 APC GROUP 0.485 0.49 0.475 0.49 0.475 0.49 2520000 1219050 EASYCALL 22.4 22.45 23.75 23.9 22.4 22.4 77200 1791220 GOLDEN BRIA 307 314.6 314 315 307 314.6 290 90608 IPM HLDG 7.7 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.75 7.75 5000 38900 PAXYS 3.1 3.24 3.2 3.24 3.06 3.24 51000 159160 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.39 0.4 0.4 0.405 0.39 0.4 3030000 1200100 SBS PHIL CORP 7.76 8 7.81 7.81 7.79 7.79 52200 406738 MINING & OIL ATOK 16.24 17.9 17.5 18 17.5 18 3800 66650 APEX MINING 1.5 1.51 1.52 1.54 1.49 1.51 905000 1368130 ABRA MINING 0.0024 0.0025 0.0024 0.0024 0.0024 0.0024 6000000 14400 ATLAS MINING 3.12 3.14 3.14 3.15 3.12 3.12 81000 254440 BENGUET A 0.98 1 1 1 1 1 26000 26000 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.295 0.305 0.295 0.295 0.295 0.295 80000 23600 CENTURY PEAK 1.93 1.94 1.93 1.94 1.93 1.94 529000 1023090 DIZON MINES 7.28 7.29 7.16 7.3 7.16 7.3 200 1446 FERRONICKEL 1.86 1.88 1.88 1.88 1.86 1.88 465000 870010 GEOGRACE 0.202 0.206 0.204 0.207 0.202 0.205 240000 48940 LEPANTO A 0.11 0.114 0.111 0.111 0.11 0.11 5350000 588540 LEPANTO B 0.113 0.12 0.114 0.12 0.114 0.12 1950000 226430 MANILA MINING A 0.0073 0.0078 0.0073 0.0073 0.0073 0.0073 10000000 73000 MANILA MINING B 0.0073 0.0079 0.0073 0.0073 0.0073 0.0073 2000000 14600 MARCVENTURES 1.29 1.3 1.2 1.35 1.2 1.3 282000 366810 NIHAO 1.05 1.11 1.07 1.11 1.07 1.11 47000 51500 NICKEL ASIA 4.52 4.55 4.4 4.59 4.4 4.52 222000 1009130 OMICO CORP 0.68 0.7 0.67 0.72 0.66 0.7 5547000 3842360 ORNTL PENINSULA 1.14 1.15 1.17 1.17 1.13 1.14 938000 1080410 PX MINING 3.37 3.39 3.39 3.4 3.36 3.39 713000 2412320 SEMIRARA MINING 27.15 27.45 27.7 27.7 26.95 27.45 265600 7238590 UNITED PARAGON 0.0065 0.0071 0.0068 0.0072 0.0065 0.0065 45000000 300700 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.012 13800000 168300 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 22300000 258200 PHINMA PETRO 3.58 3.69 3.75 3.8 3.56 3.69 89000 328570 PXP ENERGY 15.5 15.7 16.18 16.38 15.5 15.5 2982300 47805292

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A PCOR PREF 2A SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

95 492 98.8 100.5 980 939.5 939 100.1 100 1000 75.1 78.1 74.55 74.65 74.5 72.5

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

19.6 5.17

2.44

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 5.46 XURPAS 2.22

110

-12450 -1599090 13960695 6383056.5 -3996402 1800 2310420 -594371 -759214 6102510 -2743799 -1325560 -2019586 117000 17617780 -75600 -39080410 -24843 -2900 -47608905 -646340 305400 -299100 -3959535 -13440 -856190 -497764 -50120 29344300 1385140 -2410720 -1206324 -17600 106360 -44984565 -14610 -12175207 21535490 -11543245 98860 107667 -319450 -796693.0003 222640 3531972 7,797,113.9996) -17100 -263390 -2372000 37320 5522328 -239310 -23411120 -30780 -2064 -524980 -14327780 -151530.0001 -12380 -1458830 -6904448 97000 -23750 -78000 -15680 411280 -127720 -425930 -45139.9999 -728070 -2543395 683808

96.95 493 100 101 999 973 945 100.2 100.2 1005 75.1 78.2 75 74.6 74.55 75

96.95 493 100 101 1000 973 945 100.2 100.2 1005 75.15 78.2 75 75.9 75 75

95 493 100 100.5 980 973 945 100 100 1005 75.1 78.15 74.5 74.6 74.5 74.5

95 493 100 100.5 1000 973 945 100 100 1005 75.15 78.15 75 75 75 74.5

1610 390 500 19660 12150 10 180 41250 5330 300 3370 1370 60560 90800 10000 17300

153384.5 192270 50000 1975870 12060825 9730 170100 4125835 533075 301500 253175.5 107128.5 4534524 6878072 745800 1294300

-133015.5 -98532 -1502820 -

19.62 5.18

19.9 5.18

19.92 5.18

19.6 5.18

19.62 5.18

181200 125500

3585982 650090

-2112580 -650090

2.45

2.54

2.55

2.43

2.44

203000

500540

-121800

5.48 2.23

5.5 2.11

5.65 2.27

5.44 2.09

5.46 2.23

1523800 4074000

8368588 9003490

-16507 -3578270

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

40641225.0003 -2250 -49288577 -444454 3543150.5 -35840 -5519136 89980 58318 -1457616 4721342 127394 -3701228 -3531191 4137493 24200 540640 16671900 -393748 -101740 -2650 -450249.9999 9107031 28840 -34210 -180265 494644 265540 4316342 -1910 -13710

96.95 493 100 101.2 1000 973 945 104.5 102 1042 75.15 78.15 75 75.7 75 74.55

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

4545939 -4587489 -55381499 -1418370 -808226 -20972987.5 -154305 -4113150 -978450 -22375.5 -48600 -0 -

110.7

111

111.3

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www.businessmirror.com.ph

SMC Global Power eyeing 300-MW coal plant in Negros

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

MC Global Power Holdings Corp., the power arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., plans to put up a 300-megawatt (MW) coal plant in Negros Occidental. Based on Department of Energy data, SMC Global Power applied for the conduct of a grid impact study (GIS), which a power firm needs before it can proceed with the construction of a project. The DOE approved its application on August 1. The proponent disclosed plans

to install a 300-MW CFB (circulating fluidized bed) coal-fired power plant in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental. No other details were added. CFB is a developing technology for coal combustion to achieve lower emission of pollutants. By using this technology, up to 95 percent of pol-

Manila Water boosts Pasig River rehab with ‘Toka Toka’

ANILA Water’s “Toka Tok a” advoc ac y, t he first and only environmental campaign focused on the need for used water management, was featured in the recent TagaA log Sta keholder Conference 2018 with the theme “Taga-Alog 2018, Ilog Pasig: Balik Tanaw, Balik Sigla!” organized and spearheaded by the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Philippine Educational Theater Association. Manila Water Advocacy and Research Department Head Fernando Busuego presented the East Zone concessionaire’s “Toka Toka Para sa Malinis na Ilog” during the conference as one of its major interventions to help in the rehabilitation of the Pasig River. The stakeholder conference is a creative campaign for the promotion of Pasig River as a space for cultural identity and collective memory. Attended by over a hundred representatives from local gov-

ernment units, NGAs, NGOs, private organizations and students from various colleges who share the common passion to help in rehabilitating the Pasig River, the stakeholder conference aimed to get more partners and secure the involvement of as many stakeholders in saving the river. Under the Toka Toka program, individuals and entities can do their share or “Toka” by pledging any of the following ownable acts, such as: (i) availment of desludging of septic tanks every five years; (ii) connecting to Manila Water’s sewer network, (iii) promote the formation, education and communication of community sanitation and used water programs; and (iv) proper waste segregation and disposal. Manila Water is the water and used water provider of the eastern portion of Metro Manila that serves the residents of Pasig, Marikina, Taguig, Makati, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Pateros, portions of Quezon City, and Manila and Rizal province.

N.C.C.C. MALL CHAIN TURNS 40

AVAO CITY—A leading chain of shopping malls and superstores in southern Philippines is sounding upbeat as it enters its 40th year of business presence, which includes a footing in resort Palawan. The New City Commercial Center Group of Cos. (NCCC) held its modest anniversary gathering on September 15 at the newest mall in uptown Buhangin here. It said its biggest mall to come out from the ashes of the controversial fire in December 2017 would bring back its lost clients in the south of the city. The festive mood would last until the end of the year where a supermarket hub south of downtown will be opened by January to initially cater to the south of the city, where the bulk of 1.7 million residents are residing. It will be named NCCC Retail Hub and will have a supermarket section, along with the Health and Beauty 1 (HB1) pharmacy, the food court and the tenants’ stores and stalls. The NCCC has offered a Toyota Hilux pickup, home appliance showcase, 40 pedicabs—locally called padyak—gift certificates

and discounts in all its stores throughout the rest of the year. Alongside the festivities is a market study to determine the needs and behavior of the untapped market in the region where its stores are operating. The NCCC market survey on the communities will be conducted by the fourth quarter of this year, and it will be separate from its regular monthly surveys done with regular customers, mainly sari-sari store owners, according to Janna Mutalib, head of the branding and events of the NCCC Group. She said the community survey would be a needs assessment survey, a separate undertaking from its monthly surveys with its “Ka-Negosyo” clients of sari-sari store owners. The community survey would update a similar survey it did five years ago, she said. The NCCC operates 20 superstores, 25 Choice marts and 50 HB1 pharmacy stores in the Island Garden City of Samal, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental and Puerto Princesa. Manuel T. Cayon

lutants can be absorbed before being emitted to the atmosphere. The agency also approved the conduct of GIS for six solar power rooftop projects of Solar Philippines Commercial Rooftop Projects Inc. on August 7. These are the 200MW Maragondon-Naic-Tanza2 solar power project in Cavite; the 1,200MW Santa Rosa Nueva Ecija 2 solar power project; the 1,200-MW Iba-Palauig 2 solar power project in Zambales; the 600-MW Balayan solar power project in Batangas; the 1,200-MW Iba-Palauig 1 solar power project in Zambales; and the 150-MW Tarlac solar power project. Three more solar power projects secured last month the DOE’s green light for the conduct of GIS. These are

MUTUAL FUNDS

the 25-MW Palawan solar project of Global Cleanergy Corp.; the 100-MW Tarlac solar power project of Sunray Power Inc.; and the 24.96-MW South Cotabato solar power plant of Astronergy Development Gensan Inc. Also in the approved GIS list are the 35-MW bunker-fired diesel power-generating facility of Isla Del Fuego Power Utilities Services Corp. in Subic, Zambales, and the 3-MW biomass power project of HDJ Bayawan Agri-Ventures Corp. in Negros Occidental. In all, the DOE has cleared 12 power projects that could generate a total of 5,037.96 MW. The list of companies with clearance for GIS as of August 2018 was released on Tuesday.

September 25, 2018

NAV ONE YEAR THREE YEAR FIVE YEAR Y-T-D PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 252.07 -11.64% 0.57% 1.14% -14.03% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.3896 -15.68% 4.14% 1.79% -12.98% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 3.908 -12.37% 2% 0.09% -14.91% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.9003 -10.69% N.A. N.A. -11.47% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. * ********* 0.8275 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 5.209 -9.53% -0.34% 0.51% -13.37% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * ****** 115.28 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.8341 -14.69% N.A. N.A. -15.98% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 49.1527 -10.26% 1.57% N.A. -12.84% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 511.06 -11.1% 0.12% -0.03% -13.15% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.2518 -8.63% 1.98% N.A. -10.86% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 36.5089 -8.03% 2.46% 3.01% -11.16% PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 4.9473 -10% 2.36% 3.04% -12.81% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 825.64 -10.15% 2.11% 2.71% -12.7% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.8491 -10.13% -0.61% N.A. -12.2% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 4.0464 -8.9% 1.76% 1.54% -11.65% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 0.9523 -10.1% 2.18% N.A. -12.9% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.4724 -7.12% 2.87% 1.12% -10.83% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* ***110.3745 -9.3% 3.34% N.A. -12.37% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $1.024 -3.99% 5.35% 1.1% -7.61% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.3082 9% N.A. N.A. 3.4% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.6544 -9.59% -2.32% -1.66% -11.22% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.2129 -8.49% 0.87% 0.46% -9.93% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.5259 -6.88% -2.23% -2.32% -8.81% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* **** 1.3146 -8.58% N.A. N.A. -9.64% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.8369 -5.66% 0.73% 0.24% -7.81% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.5187 -8.89% -0.82% -0.71% -10.19% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 15.7474 -9.32% -0.93% -0.8% -10.31% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* ******** 2.0548 -7.02% 0.78% 1.87% -8.35% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.6436 -6.84% 0.14% 0.36% -8.83% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.9267 -7.13% -0.2% N.A. -9.17% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.03507 -2.91% -0.04% 2.33% -2.85% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9868 -3.91% 3.84% -0.59% -5.75% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.6958 5.06% 6.44% 3.76% 1.19% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.0966 0.29% N.A. N.A. -1.4% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 341.41 1.63% 1.79% 1.69% 1.28% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ******* 1.8616 -2.09% -1.06% -0.25% -1.62% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9342 5.51% 5.36% 5.32% 3.98% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1198 0.13% 1.06% 1.05% 0.84% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2172 0% 0.05% 0.26% 0.05% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.5738 -2.15% -1.58% -1.57% -2.22% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.8933 -4.84% -1.51% -0.71% -3.87% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.4612 -1.11% -0.63% -0.11% -1.24% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.8907 -4.4% -1.88% N.A. -3.52% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.7581 -0.38% 0% 0.26% -0.68% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. * 1.5301 -1.09% -0.48% -0.36% -1.26% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $445.27 0.2% 2.26% 3.18% -0.15% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є213.21 0.55% 1.31% 1.71% -0.24% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1208 -1.11% 1.04% 1.83% -1.17% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0248 -1.2% 0.68% N.A. -0.8% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.6972 -4.93% -0.35% 1.53% -4.19% 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* $1.0294 -4.72% -1.28% -2.54% -4.11% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1685 -3.47% 0.82% 2.84% -3.67% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0568629 -0.94% 0.93% 2.03% -0.59% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8909 -4.58% 0.67% 2.04% -4.05% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 119.79 2.28% 1.65% 1.45% 1.85% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1726 1.66% 0.33% 0.35% 1.31% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2078 2.38% 2.12% 1.36% 1.88% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* ***** $1.0105 N.A. N.A. N.A. 1.18% * - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY ** - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO *** - LISTED IN THE PSE. **** - RE-CLASSIFIED INTO A BALANCED FUND STARTING JANUARY 1, 2017 (FORMERLY GREPALIFE BOND FUND CORP.). ***** - LAUNCH DATE IS NOVEMBER 6, 2017 ****** - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 08, 2018 ******** - RENAMING OF THE FUND WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST APRIL 13, 2018. ********* - BECAME A MEMBER SINCE APRIL 20, 2018. ******* - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SEC keen on lower REIT ownership requirement By VG Cabuag

@villygc

HE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is amenable to bringing down the minimum public ownership required for the real-estate investment trust (REIT). However, the regulator is still waiting for the decision of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on its interpretation of the tax component of the investment instrument. Vicente Graciano P. Felizmenio Jr., director for the markets and securities regulation department of the SEC, said he hopes the agencies can come up with the decision within the year on the two most contentious issues hounding REIT: taxation and the minimum amount of shares a company could sell to the public. “When even if we do that [bring down minimum public ownership], will there be an issuance already? The killer here is the tax; the rules are easier to go about,” Felizmenio said at the sidelines of a conference on Reit. “But, of course, we have to seek guidance on the policies of the national government.” According to the REIT Act of 2009, the minimum public ownership for a property company to

remain a listed company should be at least a third of its outstanding capital stock. The SEC, however, released its own rules requiring a minimum float of 40 percent upon initial listing, bringing it up to two-thirds or 67-percent ownership in three years. “We did this not without basis. We have seen in other jurisdiction that require more than that. This is to allow investors, ordinary persons to avail [themselves] of the same tax incentives,” Felizmenio said during the conference. “We are just awaiting the confirmation of the BIR on the VAT [value-added tax]. We are reviewing ownership requirement to bring it down to one-third. Let’s wait for the BIR confirmation. It’s not lying in somebody’s table. It’s been discussed. They are working

ITALIAN Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines Executive Director Lorens Ziller tackles relevant issues about the property industry during a conference on real-estate investment trust at a hotel in Makati City on September 24. ALYSA SALEN

on it,” he added. Citing the REIT law, the BIR has warned it will slap a 12-percent VAT on the transferred properties into the REIT company. The REIT Law was Enacted in 2009 under the Arroyo administration, the REIT law primarily aimed to broaden the participation of the public in the ownership of real estate in the Philippines and use the capital market as an instrument to help finance and develop

infrastructure projects. The implementing rules and regulations of the said law, however, were crafted by the Aquino economic team. The said law was designed to recycle real-estate assets by placing it in another REIT company in which the public can invest into by purchasing shares. The shares of the company can also be traded at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Govt borrowing lower in fourth quarter

HE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) plans to borrow P270 billion for the last quarter of the year, lower than the P300 billion programmed for the third quarter. However, this borrowing program is higher than the P200 billion programmed during the last quarter of 2017. This was revealed by Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana after the auction committee decided to cap the Treasury-bond (T-bond) rate within the BTr’s internal estimates at 7.085 percent, only increasing by 110.9 basis points, prompting for the

partial award of P5.730 billion for the security. On Tuesday’s auction, the BTr partially awarded the reissued seven-year T-bonds with P5.730 billion from the P15 billion on offer. Sta. Ana said the last time the BTr awarded this security, at least partially, was on June 13. “From June 13 to now, there have been several actions or rate hikes from the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas]. So we just took into account those increases; that’s why we came up with a reasonable cut of rate,” he added. “We run internal simulation, and we think that

Media’s responsibility

‘M

R. Businessman went to Mass on Sunday; Mr. Businessman went to hell because of what he did on Monday.” We heard this aphorism before and, of course, we understand that what we do in each day of our lives must be consistent. Or, in the words of a great saint, we should have “unity of life.” That doesn’t mean that Mr. Businessman should go to Mass every day of the week. Unity of life simply means that we do not compartmentalize our “being good” in one part of our life and our daily activities, whether as a businessman, an office worker, a student or professor, a writer or a housewife, as something separate. And so I am moved to comment on the idea that the business page of a newspaper should never touch on religion. In other words, religion is “banned” in a business column. It is precisely here that one may inculcate, remind or share the need for ethical and moral values to those who are responsible for our economic and business environment. It is not always about money—nor is social doctrine to be considered as “religion” and thought to be contrary with

FINEX FREE ENTERPRISE Mercedes B. Suleik business and corporate activity. Precisely, it is the role of the media to ensure that morality guides the activities of those responsible for our economic and government policies, for the way businesses are run. Nor should media shirk or oppose comments, for example, by Pope Francis in his message for World Communications Day, if discussed in a business column, because it is “religion.” In his message, the Holy Father speaks about the fast-changing world of communications and digital systems, and that we are witnessing the spread of what has become known as “fake news.” He took as theme “Social Communications at the Service of Truth” and thus, contributes to the Church’s commitment to stemming the spread of fake news and rediscovering the dignity of journal-

average rate is still acceptable for the Treasury and the auction committee, as well.” Tuesday’s auction is the last for September. For the October-toDecember period, the Treasury is set to have 11 auctions for threemonth, six-month and one-year IOUs at an offer size of P15 billion each auction. According to Sta. Ana, the Treasury will not be holding auctions for government securities in some days of December. “Basically it’s the same approach as the last quarter, same volume, same frequency,” he said. “Although

ism and the personal responsibility of journalists to communicate the truth. Francis says the antidote to falsehood is purification by truth. Truth is not just a conceptual reality that regards how we judge things, defining them as true or false. The truth is not just bringing to light things that are concealed as we might be led to believe. Truth is something one can lean on, and it is something we can experience within ourselves in the loyalty and trustworthiness of the One who says, “I am the Truth.” Sometimes it is argued that that statement is based on impeccable facts. But if it is used to hurt another and to discredit that person in the eyes of others, however correct it may seem, it is not truthful. We can recognize the truth of statements from their fruits: whether they provoke quarrels, foment division or, on the other hand, they promote informed and mature reflection leading to constructive dialogue and fruitful results. Pope Francis went on to say that a weighty responsibility rests on the shoulders of those who provide information, namely journalists. Amid

we recognize there are some weeks in December that we will not be productive in terms of raising via the auctions, hence, the auction calendar for the fourth quarter.” For T-bonds, a total of six auctions is set with an offer size of P15 billion each auction as well, with the tenors ranging from five years, seven years and 10 years. For 2019 the government set its total borrowing program at P1.19 trillion, which is higher than the programmed P986 billion set for this year, on the back of the adjusted deficit ceiling of 3.2 percent, according to the BTr. Rea Cu

the mad rush for scoops, they must remember that the heart of information is not the speed with which it is reported or its audience impact, but persons and of being in touch with people’s lives. Thus, ensuring the accuracy of sources and protecting communication are real means of promoting goodness, generating trust and opening the way to communion and peace. He therefore encourages the promotion of a journalism of peace, which means a journalism that is truthful and opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans and sensational headlines ...a journalism less concentrated on breaking news, but on exploring the underlying causes of conflicts, in order to promote deeper understanding; ...a journalism committed to pointing out alternatives to the escalation of verbal violence. In sum, I propose that there is no such thing as the “proper place” for what is considered “religion.” Ethics, morality and the promotion of truth have their proper place in journalism. Send comments to merci.suleik@ gmail.com.

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Insurance Commission premium income hits P57.92B from brokerage

HE Insurance Commission (IC) has reported P57.92 billion in premium income generated from brokerage activities as of end-2017, expanding by 11.23 percent, from the P52.07 billion in 2016. IC data showed premium income reported by 63 insurance brokerage companies in the country totaled P57.92 billion as of end-2017. “Insurance brokerage industry has reached a total amount of mediated premium of P57.92 billion as of the end of 2017, up by 11.23 percent from the P52.07 billion total premiums produced as of end-2016,” Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said. For 2017 around 20.56 percent or P57.08 billion of the P277.58 billion total premium generated by life and nonlife insurance sectors was generated from brokerage activities. On one hand, the mediated premium in life insurance amounted to P8.70 billion, which represents 15.02 percent of the overall mediated premium by the insurance brokerage industry. On the other hand, mediated premium in nonlife insurance business amounted to P48.38 billion, which represents 83.54 percent of the total amount of mediated premium. The insurance brokerage industry, likewise, generated membership fees for the health maintenance organization business in the amount of P837.34 million for the same year. The IC said the top 10 insurance brokers that produced 75 percent of the total premium produced by the insurance brokerage industry include Anchor Insurance Brokers Corp., AON Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Philippines Inc., BDO Insurance Brokers Inc., Gotuaco Del Rosario Insurance Brokers Inc.,

HSBC Insurance Brokers (Phils.) Inc., Intertrade Insurance Brokers, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance Brokers Inc., Lockton Philippines Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Inc., Marsh Philippines Inc. and Unicon Insurance Brokers Corp. Based on brokerage revenue or commissions earned, the insurance brokerage industry reported a total of P7.32 billion as of end 2017, up by 12.10 percent from P6.53 billion in 2016. “As of end of 2017, commissions of insurance brokers were mainly from the nonlife insurance business in the amount of P6.17 billion, which represents 84.21 percent of the total commissions earned,” he added. Meanwhile, in terms of the reinsurance brokerage business in the country, the 19 companies comprising the reinsurance brokerage industry reported a total income of P2.18 billion as of end2017, or an increase of 61.48 percent, from P1.35 billion total premiums produced as of end-2016. The top 5 companies that produced 70 percent of the premium produced by reinsurance brokers in the country were: PhilPacific Insurance Brokers and Managers, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance Brokers, KRM Reinsurance Brokers, Pana Harisson Reinsurance and Alson Insurance Brokers Corp. The total commissions earned by reinsurance brokers, on the other hand, slightly decreased by 8.62 percent to P154.21 million as of 2017, from P168.75 million in 2016. Under the cur rent organization structure of the IC, the Brokers Division is in charge of conducting off-site and on-site examination on the affairs, financial condition and methods of doing business of insurance and/or reinsurance brokers. Rea Cu

B4 Wednesday, September 26, 2018

TOP MANUFACTURER FROM KOREA TO FEATURE MACHINES AT THE PACKAGING AND PLASTICS PHILIPPINES 2018 PASIG RIVER TO BE REHABILITATED THROUGH BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

HE Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) and Cypher Odin, a homegrown blockchain company, have signed a memorandum of understanding linking its network by sharing and exchanging data vital to the resurrection of the 25-kilometer long river to its glory using blockchain technology. With that, Cy pher Odin Chief Executive Officer Mariano Villafuerte IV hopes that by using distributed ledger technology, the once glorious Pasig River will return to its former

OOJIN Plaimm, Korea’s No. 1 plastic injection moldingmachine manufacturer, will be introducing a new and advance technology concept of injection molding machine at the leading Packaging and Plastics Philippines happening at the SMX Convention Center from October 11 to 13. Woojin Plaimm will be highlighting its Woojin injection molding machine with a wide range of machine sizes and different molding application. The company is also set to bring its latest TH series and TE series, which include a new servo drive injection machine, an energy-saving and environmentfriendly technology. “The advantage of our company is that

we produce all of our machinery parts in house, such as frame, platens, screw, toggle, cover sheet metal and others. Joining the Packaging and Plastics Philippines 2018 for the second time, we invite you for the better understanding about Woojin Plaimm,” said Kim Hong Geun, Philippine branch representative manager. The Packaging and Plastics Expo is held under Pack Print Plas Philippines, which is organized by Global-Link MP Events International Inc. (GLMP). For more information, e-mail them at info@ globallinkmp.com. Photo shows Paula Pisase, assistant project manager, GLMP; and Jung Youngkun and Kim Hong-geun, representative Philippine branch managers, Woojin Plaimm.

splendor. The dream is to see the place bustling with activity far exceeding anyone’s expectations. “There are so many opportunities in this river,” Villafuerte said. “Thinking about Pasig River, you would never even imagine that jumping in the water with your mouth open is a possibility—but it can be a reality. Just like how the River Thames in the UK was recovered from being dead, now they have dolphins, turtles and fish. France did an excellent job with the River Seine and also in South

Korea in the Cheonggyecheon River. It is possible to have a new Pasig River. A river that can rival the beauty of similar areas in Hong Kong or Singapore, built around the story of a comeback. That’s good news that can inspire a nation.” Under the deal, the PRRC and Cypher Odin plans to cooperate within the framework of their respective mandates and authority in the implementation of activities. Aside from linking both their networks, the parties also agree to meet regularly and identify problem areas while providing solutions. To effectively monitor the amount of garbage, mainly plastic that saturates Pasig River, Villafuerte plans to deploy modern Internet of Things and Internet of Underwater Things devices to monitor the water quality, tide levels and other relevant data points. The access to significant data under a trusted, peer-to-peer and interagency platform is a significant usecase for blockchain, as it will be able to provide more accountability, transparency and consistency among all stakeholders and reduce barriers of entry toward the recovery of the river. In photo are (from left) are Cyper Odin Director for Environmental Innovations Alfredo Lorenzo Roa, Villafuerte, PRRC Director Jose Antonio E. Goiti and Deputy Executive Director for Operations Anshari C. Lomodag Jr.

A WINNER AGAIN! Sports BusinessMirror

C1 | W

ednesday, September 26, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

THE United States’s Tiger Woods is greeted by spectators as he walks to the first tee for practice at Le Golf National in Guyancourt in Paris, France, on Tuesday. The 42nd Ryder Cup will be held starting on Friday. AP

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press

TLANTA—They had waited more than five years for this moment. No way were those frail little ropes, strung up on flimsy poles, going to hold them back. No way were they listening to those red-shirted marshals, a bit of terror in their eyes as they pleaded futilely for everyone to come to their senses. They had to feel it, touch it, see it with their own eyes. Maybe that was the only way to persuade themselves that this most remarkable of comebacks had actually happened. Tiger Woods. A winner again. The staid ol’ Tour Championship became a boisterous street party late Sunday afternoon, the fans storming down the middle of the 18th fairway like a bunch of crazed college kids laying siege to a football field after a last-second victory. “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!” they chanted over and over, looking very much like they may storm the Tudor-style clubhouse, the roar carrying all the way to Peachtree. It was thrilling, exhilarating, even a bit frightening for those caught in the middle of the mob. Then again, it was not an unexpected reaction given what Woods has meant to the game of golf—to the entire sporting world, really. “From one goat [greatest of all time] to another I can only imagine what @TigerWoods is feeling today,” tweeted Michael Phelps, the winningest athlete in Olympic history. “Pumped to be watching this today!! Have fun out there today my man!!!” Despite an influx of talented young players in recent years, golf just hasn’t been the same since Woods went away, his brilliant career derailed by debilitating injuries and personal demons. As NBC analyst Roger Maltbie put it, “He doesn’t just move the needle, he is the needle.” But that needle looked broken beyond repair as days without a win grew to months, the months without a win grew to years. It had been 1,876 days since his last victory, and even Woods had moved on from the idea of ever winning another golf tournament. He was more concerned about his quality of life. “The low point was not knowing if I’d ever be able to live pain-free again,” Woods said. “Am I going to be able to sit, stand, walk, lay down without feeling the pain that I was in? I just didn’t want to live that way. Is this how the rest of my life is going to be? [If so], it’s

NOT MESSI, NOT RONALDO, IT’S LUCA MODRIC THIS TIME

ONDON—Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were far from the auditorium by the River Thames when Luka Modric broke their decadelong grip on Fifa’s award for the world’s best player. Football’s biggest individual accolade was handed to the 33-year-old playmaker on Monday night in recognition of a year when he led Croatia to its first World Cup final and won a fourth Champions League title in five seasons with Real Madrid. “It is very important, because for such a small country to win the best player award, it’s something amazing and that shows other small countries that everything is possible,” Modric said. “You just need to believe and to work for it. And that all dreams could come true.” It required voters to be more imaginative and not just make the predictable picks of Ronaldo and Messi, who split the previous 10 awards. Messi voted for Modric, while Ronaldo and Modric each voted for Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane. Brazil’s Marta did become a six-time winner, earning the women’s honor for the first time since 2010. Another Brazilian, Kaka, had been the last player other than Messi or Ronaldo to claim the men’s prize from Fifa, at the 2007 gala. “We knew we were surrounded by two aliens that were just sharing these awards,” Real Madrid and Spain defender Sergio Ramos said. “But I think it is also very positive to recognize the work, the career and the season of players that are not just strikers. I am really happy for Luka Modric”. Modric has had to accept playing in Ronaldo’s shadow during six years at Madrid even as the 1.72-meter (5-foot-8) technically gifted Croatian’s ingenuity on the ball and passing range made him as a key component in the team’s European dominance. Modric and Ronaldo on a third successive Champions League in May before achieving something far more unexpected: captaining Croatia to its first World Cup final. “I would change all my individual trophies for that trophy of World Cup champion,” Modric said, reflecting on the 4-2 loss to France in the final in July. Modric, who joined Madrid from Tottenham in 2012, received 29 percent of votes from the coaches and captains of national teams, reporters and fans. Ronaldo, who left Madrid in the offseason to join Italian champion Juventus, was second with 19 percent. He captained European Portugal to a round-of-16 exit at the World Cup.

Mohamed Salah was third with 11 percent after scoring a record 32 goals in a 38-game English Premier League season for Liverpool, which reached its first Champions League final in 11 years. France forward Kylian Mbappe was fourth and Messi fifth with just under 10 percent of the vote. Messi scored 45 goals for Barcelona, which won the Spanish title, but only netted once at the World Cup as Argentina was eliminated in the round of 16. Messi and Ronaldo skipped the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall and sent no messages of congratulations to Modric on their social-media accounts, which have hundreds of millions of followers. “Two guys we don’t know,” actor Idris Elba, who hosted the show, said after highlighting the absence of Messi and Ronaldo. Former Croatia captain Zvonimir Boban, now a Fifa deputy secretary-general, cried after being lauded by Modric from the stage. “At this particular moment, I would like to mention my footballing idol and captain of Croatia generation 1998,” Modric said, referring to the team that finished third in the nation’s first World Cup appearance 20 years ago. “He was my big inspiration and that team gave us belief that we could achieve something great in Russia. Hopefully we can be the same for next generations.”

WOMEN’S AWARD

MARTA won after leading Brazil to Copa America Femenina glory. The 32-year-old also scored 13 goals as Orlando Pride reached the NWSL playoffs. “It was worth all the sacrifices,” the striker said.

COACHES

NO French player was among the finalists, but Didier Deschamps was voted manager of the year after becoming only the third man to win the World Cup as a player and coach. Reynald Pedros, the Frenchman who led Lyon to French league and Champions League glory, became the first club coach to win the women’s game award, previously exclusive to national-team managers.

GOAL

LUCA MODRIC wins the world player of year award to end the Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi duopoly. AP

MOHAMED SALAH didn’t leave empty-handed, earning the Puskas Award for his goal in the Merseyside derby last December. Salah’s goal in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Everton was a mixture of strength and footwork. Receiving a pass from right back Joe Gomez, Salah shrugged off Cuca Martina, twisted inside Idrissa Gueye and curled a left-footed shot around Ashley Williams and into the top corner.

GOALKEEPER

THIBAUT COURTOIS added the Fifa goalkeeper award to the Golden Glove he collected in Russia for helping Belgium to third place with three clean sheets. Courtois left Chelsea for Madrid after the tournament.

going to be a tough rest of my life. So, I was beyond playing. I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t lay down without feeling the pain in my back and my leg.” On April 19, 2017, he underwent surgery for the fourth time, this time to fuse his lower back. About six weeks later, he was arrested on suspicion of DUI after being found asleep behind the wheel of his car with the motor running. Woods blamed it on a bad combination of pain medications. Everyone figured he’s gotten hooked on drugs as a way of coping with a body that never stopped hurting. The idea of ever playing competitive golf again—much less winning—seemed downright ludicrous. Then, miraculously, the dark cloud lifted. Woods got himself cleaned up. The pain went away. Just four months after reporting he couldn’t hit the ball more than 60 yards, Woods rejoined the Professional Golfers Association Tour and made the cut in his first event at Torrey Pines. By the time the summer rolled around, he was in the mix at the major championships. He earned a spot on the US Ryder Cup team. He played his way into the finale of the FedEx Cup playoff. Finally, on a blistering fall day in Atlanta, he made it official. The comeback was complete. “I just didn’t know whether or when this would ever happen again,” he said. “I just didn’t know if I could ever piece together a golf swing.” Woods wasn’t fully aware of all the commotion going on behind him as he strolled down the 18th fairway, chatting and smiling with playing partner Rory McIlroy in the final group. When he got up to the green, Woods could finally survey the remarkable scene. It reminded him a bit of Jack Nicklaus winning the US Open at Baltusrol in 1980, the crowds invading the course as the Golden Bear wrapped up a victory that defied those skeptics who thought he was all washed up at age 40. “Jack Is Back,” the scoreboard famously proclaimed. “I just didn’t have the tight pants and the hair,” Woods quipped. “But it was all good. There was no message on the East Lake leaderboard. This time, the most telling moment came after Woods teed off at the 14th hole, which dissects the walk to the tee for No. 17. His closest challenger, Billy Horschel, was heading that way. He saw Woods coming. He stopped to let him pass. It only seemed right. Tiger Woods is back. And golf is better for it.

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C2 Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Air Force takes on PetroGazz

OCARI-AIR Force and PetroGazz seek to bounce back from stinging losses over the weekend when they collide on Wednesday as the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference goes to the Malolos Sports and Convention Center in Malolos, Bulacan. The Lady Warriors were ambushed by the hungry Motolite-Ateneo Lady Eagles, 23-25, 25-17, 20-25, 28-30, while the Angels succumbed to the BanKo-Perlas Spikers, 22-25, 17-25, 25-22, 17-25, in the league’s first out-of-town foray this conference in Imus, Cavite, on Sunday. Pocari (0-1) and PetroGazz (1-1) clash at 6 p.m. Myla Pablo unleashed a conference-best 30 points in the defeat, but she will be hungry for a victory coming into the game. Paneng Mercado emerged as the highest scorer for PetroGazz with nine points, but it was a far cry from her 14-point performance in the Angels’ 25-22, 25-14, 26-24 demolition of the Tacloban Fighting Warays in the conference inaugurals last Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. “We just have to work harder and must never give up,” PetroGazz Coach Jerry Yee said. Iriga-Navy takes on Tacloban at 4 p.m. Like the Fighting Warays, the Lady Oragon also lost their first game—14-25, 25-19, 17-25, 9-25 at the hands of the Perlas Spikers last Saturday.

Soaring Falcons seek win No. 4

DAMSON University goes for win No. 4 when it battles struggling University of the Philippine in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. The Soaring Falcons are off to their best start since 2003 and will be looking to extend their streak when they take on the skidding Fighting Maroons (1-2) at 4 p.m. The Maroons are coming

off a second consecutive loss at the hands of the Far Eastern University Tamaraws last Sunday. In the first game, defending champion Ateneo (2-1) guns for its third win against hapless University of the East (0-3) at 2 p.m. Adamson University rode the efforts of Sean Manganti and Papi Sarr in their 79-71 triumph over University of Santo Tomas last Saturday, and Head Coach Franz Pumaren could only hope that his players will be consistent.

TIGRESSES UNSCATHED

NIVERSITY of Santo Tomas (UST) stayed perfect by sweeping two matches on Tuesday in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 beach volleyball tournament at the Sands SM By The Bay. Reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Sisi Rondina and Babylove Barbon beat Ateneo’s Ponggay Gaston and Jules Samonte, 21-9, 21-15, and returned in the afternoon session with a 21-14, 21-14 conquest of De La Salle’s Tin Tiamzon and Michelle Morente to extend their undefeated run to three matches. In the men’s division, Far Eastern University remained as the only undefeated team after Jude Garcia and Kevin Hadlocon downed UST’s Krung Arbasto and Jaron Requinton, 21-19, 21-18, for a 3-0 card. Reigning titlist National University continued its rise from a shock opening day loss with MVP Bryan Bagunas and James Natividad scoring a 21-12, 21-15 victory over Ateneo’s Kurt Aguilar and Abai Llenos for a 2-1 card.

The Lady Spikers raced to a 7-4 lead in the second set before the Tigresses regained control with the cat-quick pair of Rondina and Barbon making adjustments in their game to produce another straight-sets conquest in front of a highly appreciative crowd. Tiamzon and Morente, who dominated Adamson University’s Hannah Nicole Infante and Gracelchen Ave, 21-10, 21-5, in the morning session, fell to 2-1.

“The only way for us to be successful this year is to continue what we’re doing. We just have to stay within the course, within the rhythm and system,” Pumaren said. “No individual player can help us win games. It’s going to be a team effort.” The Fighting Maroons bowed to the Tamaraws, 73-89, with the former’s head coach, Bo Perasol, serving a one-game suspension. He will be back in their game against the Falcons. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

In other men’s matches, Adamson University’s Pao Pablico and Jesus Valdez bested University of the East’s Clifford Inoferio and Alven Aljas, 21-15, 22-24, 16-14, while University of the Philippines’s Nico Consuelo and Mac Millete outlasted De La Salle’s Geraint Bacon and Paul Serrano, 23-21, 19-21, 15-12. The tournament resumes on Friday with eight men’s and four women’s matches beginning at 8 a.m. at the same Mall of Asia Complex sand court.

PIOLO PASCUAL (from left) strikes a pose with Chief Marketing Officer of Sun Life Financial Philippines Mylene Lopa, Sunrise’s Princess Galura, Metro Ad Sports’s Cathy Sarmiento and event host Len Arboleda. NONOY LACZA

Bike-run series travels to four Asian cities

EMILIO AGUINALDO College’s Hamadou Laminou (15) tries to control the ball as teammate Dan Corilla joins the action with Letran’s Larry Muyang. NONOY LACZA

KNIGHTS SLAY GENERALS L ETRAN drew firepower from its bench when John Quinto and JP Calvo struggled to beat Emilio Aguinaldo College, 91-82, on Tuesday to strengthen its grip of the No. 3 spot in the 94th National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. Jeremiah Taladua and seldom-used Fran Yu came off the bench and responded with impunity to score career highs of 15 and 13 points, respectively, for the Knights who improved to a 9-4 won-lost record and stay a game clear of the College of Saint Benilde Blazers (8-5). “It’s a good win for us, at least we are still one game ahead [of the Blazers],” Letran Coach Jeff Napa said. “But we can’t stay complacent, we still have to work and prepare for our next game.” Nico Galvelo also posted a career-best 15 points in three games since he took over the

UNPIOLOGY goes regional as it brings its run leg to four Asian cities while holding three other sports to highlight its milestone 10th year. The bike leg, Sun Life Cycle PH, will kick off what is now a three-part event dubbed “SunPIOLOgy Tr10” at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig on November 17, followed by the Manila edition of the Sun Life Resolution Run. It will be spiced up by the Sun vs. Stars, which will pit Sun Life employees against Star Magic artists in badminton, volleyball and basketball on January 26 at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. “Not a lot of people are into running or riding, so we want to be able to cater to people who are into other sports. Since this

is a basketball-playing country, we have that sport and also volleyball and badminton. We want to be able to get more people to join us in our events,” said SunPIOLOgy founder actor Piolo Pascual, during the press launch at the Novotel Manila in Quezon City on Monday night. Around 1,200 biking beginners and enthusiasts aged two and above are expected to join the Sun Life Cycle PH friendly ride in three categories—Kids Ride, Short Ride (20K) and Long Ride (40K) around Taguig, Makati, Manila and Pasay, while also enjoying the presence of three-time Tour de France green jersey winner Robbie McEwen anew. The Sun Life Resolution Run expects to attract more than 3,000 participants in its five

Woods’s win a comeback for the ages AL MENDOZA | alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL WHEN Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship on Monday (September 24 PHL time), the biggest winner, too, aside from Woods, was golf. The sport was in decline, and Woods’s triumph was more than a shot in the arm, so to speak. It will automatically trigger a resurgence in the game. Woods’s win will cause worldwide euphoria once again, and the biggest barkers of celebration, loudest laughers, are big businesses seeing another bonanza as a result of the second coming of Tigermania. Like in the days of old, golf was so popular that fairways are crowded even on weekdays. On weekends, tee times are advanced almost a month on some courses. In Tokyo, at least two courses require each player a one-year advance in reserving a tee time. As Danny “Sir John” Isla vibered to me from his new base in Auckland, New Zealand: “In Tiger’s prime, more than 1,000 golf clubs were built around the world. During his slump, more than 600 courses closed.” It’s so clear by now: Woods’s resilience spells golf’s rebirth no less. Endorsements are again there for Woods’s picking.

But is Woods’s win to halt a five-year slump the greatest comeback in golf? How about the case of Ben Hogan, who survived a car-truck collision to win majors again? His entire anatomy almost declared a total wreck after he flung himself into his wife’s body when a truck was about to slam into the car he was driving, Hogan was deemed through with his golf career. Winning the Professional Golfers Association in 1946 and the US Open in 1948, Hogan figured in that near-fatal accident in 1949 and was diagnosed unfit to win majors again, let alone play the game. But no. Sixteen months later, he won the Masters in April of 1951. Next, he won the 1953 British Open on just his first try to become one of only five to win all four majors—the others being Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and, yes, Tiger Woods. But Hogan remains the only one who won the Masters, US Open and PGA in the same year. He died after a stroke at age 84 on July 25, 1997, after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease—his wife his constant companion

starting role from Jerrick Balanza, who is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to remove a tumor in his brain. The bench and Galvelo’s efforts made up for the forgettable performances of Quinto and Calvo, who averaged 15.1 points a game entering the game but managed only nine and five points, respectively, after combining for 20 missed attempts out of 24 tries. “The two struggled,” said Napa referring to Quinto and Calvo. “But I’m confident someone will step up and the three [Galvelo, Taladua and Yu] stepped up with their instant offense. The Generals slipped to their 11th defeat against two wins. Taladua and Yu went on a scoring tear and ignited one big run after another in the second half that broke the game wide open. Calvelo unloaded 12 points in the first half that gave Letran a 36-32 advantage at the break. divisions—500m dash for kids, 500m walk for adults and senior citizens, and the 3k, 5k and 10k distances at Camp Aguinaldo. The run event aims to raise funds for Hebreo Foundation, Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation, Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation Philippines and the Star Magic scholars. Aside from its Manila staging, the Sun Life Resolution Run will also be held in Malaysia (January 13), Indonesia (January 20), Hong Kong (January 27) and Vietnam (January 27) with the goal of kicking diabetes and encouraging people to live healthier lives. The Sun vs. Stars will be held in the morning of January 26, with the games streamed live on @sunlifeph for fans to enjoy.

and caregiver up to his final breath. So, does Woods, a 14-time Slam champion, need also to win two more majors to equal the impact of Hogan’s comeback? Like Hogan, Woods also went through physical pain, going under the knife four times for a fusion back surgery, plus knee procedures. Likewise, he suffered emotionally, if not mentally, an offshoot of a shattered marriage due to his serial infidelities that cost him at least $100 million in alimony. It was a humiliation more than an embarrassment for him to play again, his “sexcapades” put on a public microscope in his early attempts of a comeback. More than an uphill climb, Woods, now 42, had to go through, stumbling, scrambling and scrapping most of the time as he painstakingly tried to rediscover his path to glory. Now that he has found it, can he hang on to it—and complete a narrative for a virtual Hollywood script? His legion of loyalists, who seemed to have stood by him all these years, can only agree. After all, they say everybody deserves a second chance. THAT’S IT I thank all those who threw their support behind the Philippine Sportswriters Association Golf Cup held at the Manila Southwoods on Tuesday. It did not only make the beneficiaries, such as the likes of legendary sportswriters Ernie Gonzales, Lito Tacujan and Recah Trinidad, amply rewarded but the event also proved that many out there are kindred souls who would not hesitate to pitch in when called upon to do so for the cause of humanity. I’m sure Doods Catacutan, the PSA president, was overwhelmed by the immense outpouring of support. Again, our deepest gratitude.

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sMirror

US sports envoys hold hoops clinics

MERICAN sports envoys Cherokee Parks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Alana Beard of the Women’s NBA will conduct a free basketball clinic to some 150 coaches and Physical Education teachers in the Davao region. The clinic is set from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday at the Almendras Gym, Quimpo Boulevard, Davao City. Parks is an NBA Basketball Operations Associate since October 2017. He was picked No. 12 in the 1995 NBA Draft and played 12 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Vancouver Grizzlies, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors. Beard, meanwhile, was a four-time WNBA All-Star from 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 and earned WNBA All-Defensive Team honors six times. The coaches’ clinic, a joint endeavor of the US Embassy and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), is only part of a series that will be conducted in Davao City starting Thursday to Saturday. “The clinic is in line with the agency’s continuous promotion and development of Philippine sports, as well as to strengthen international linkages through sports,” PSC Chairman William Ramirez said. The Alaska Aces will assist in conducting the clinics. Clinics will also be held for 10- to 15-year-old children at risk on Thursday (2 to 4 p.m.) and Friday (9 to 11 a.m.), as well as with Ateneo de Davao University 10- to 15-year-old students on Saturday (9 to 11 a.m.).

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

MAKE WAY FOR PINTO J

OHN NARD PINTO continues to play a steady role as Blackwater’s lead playmaker in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup. The former Arellano University court general, in fact, played splendidly in the Elite’s hot start for the conference that saw Blackwater beat NorthPort and defending champion Barangay Ginebra the past week to get off to a franchisebest 4-0 start. Pinto averaged all-around numbers of 11.5 points, 9.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals en route to earning the nod for the Cignal-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for September 17 to 23. The 19th overall pick of NorthPort in 2014 had eight points, seven rebounds, 13 assists and two steals during Blackwater’s 113-111 win over NorthPort on September 19. His booming triple late in the game gave Blackwater, a 111-105 lead, which was enough cushion to weather the Batang Pier’s rally in the end. Two days later, Pinto’s steady playmaking and timely sniping helped the Elite complete a shock 124-118 overtime win over the Kings. The stocky Blackwater guard finished with

15 points, going six-of-10 from the field, while issuing six assists, three steals and two blocks in 38 minutes of action. Pinto currently averages personal-best stats line of 12.5 points, 7.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds, numbers, which he hopes will help sustain the Elite’s campaign to earn a twiceto-beat incentive heading into the playoffs. Pinto and the Elite, meanwhile, shoot for their fifth straight win in the Governors’ Cup on Wednesday when it faces returning Coach Yeng Guiao and NLEX (2-3) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Game time is 4:30 p.m. Rain or Shine, on the other hand, goes for its first win in the conference when it battles Magnolia (2-1) at 7 p.m. Rain or Shine is coming off a two-month stint in the Asian Games and the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers. In its first game from the long layoff, the team absorbed a 104-110 loss to TNT in Iloilo last Saturday. Head Coach Caloy Garcia wants the team to regain its lost rhythm as the conference gets deeper. “The rhythm is a concern because we are just starting to train together upon the arrival of our national team players,” Garcia said.

BLACKWATER’S John Nard Pinto is named the Philippine Basketball Association Press Corps Player of the Week.

“I’m hopeful we’re capable of playing better.” Six Elasto Painters played in the Jakarta Palembang Asian Games—Chris Tiu, Maverick Ahanmisi, Beau Belga, Raymond Almazan, James Yap and Gabe Norwood. Almazan, Belga and Norwood extended their tour of duty in the Fiba Asia Qualifier, leaving the team with no choice but to wait for their arrival. From their recent loss to the KaTropa, the Elasto Painters turned the ball over 23 times—numbers that didn’t sit well with Garcia. “We have to take care of the ball to have a shot of barging into the win column,” he said. “We don’t want to fall at the bottom of the team standings.” Magnolia, meanwhile, suffered an 82-95 setback to Phoenix last Sunday.

DEL ROSARIO TARGETS SEVENTH BOWLING WORLD CUP STINT

ULTI-TITLED Liza del Rosario seeks a seventh stint in the Bowling World Cup international event when she paces 43 others in the 2018 BWC national women’s finals set on Sunday at the Coronado Lanes (Starlanes). Del Rosario has already won six national titles to earn the right to represent the Philippines in the prestigious international competition, the last time in Hermosillo, Mexico last year. Del Rosario also saw action in Pattaya in 2001, Singapore in

2004, Russia in 2007, Wroclow in 2014, Melaka in 2009 and Las Vegas in 2015. Del Rosario came in second in Pattaya, third in Singapore, fourth in Poland and Las Vegas, sixth in Malaysia and 19th in Russia. This year’s national champion will compete in the 54th BWC international championship at Sam’s Town, Las Vegas, from November 4 to 11. Last year’s international women’s titlist, Filipina Krizziah Tabora, failed to join the Philippine tourney

because she is on medical leave. Mades Arles, the Philippine entry in the 2013 international finals in Sburyak, Russia, where she finished eighth, is also one of the favorites in this year’s national tourney. The 42 other local contenders are Allen Joy Laigo, Jo Anne Bonifacio, Perla Pacheco, Jane Bonifacio, Yolly Floralde, Corazon San Gil, Cita Yumul, Erlinda Afos, Abby Lanuza, Esterlita Santiago, Joanna Santos, Myls Creencia,

Soledad Lorna Magabo, Mikee Creencia, Leanie Amparo, Melody Bangsi-il, Winnie Kilito, Gina Varilla, Sherry Ann Cruz, Cindy Edquilane, Liza Pabico, Rachelle Leon, Rochelle Munsayac, Pure Anselmo, Alyssa de la Rosa, Abbie Gan, Jill Odulio, Vanessa Pabalan, Luzen Escoto, Mae Malvar, Lara Posadas, Cielet de Leon, Lorna Misa, Faye Piol, Arlena Bucao, Alexis Sy, Alice Cabazor, Arjoy Daval Santos, Farah Onasa, Rowena Cabas, Dyan Coronacion and Nancy Frianeza.

Basketball Australia chief executive quits

ASKETBALL Australia (BA) Chief Executive Anthony Moore is stepping down after four years in the role. Moore joined the then financially challenged national association in 2014 and has since been credited with turning around the fortunes of the game in Australia, as well as adeptly handling the fallout of the ugly brawl in the Philippines during an Asian qualifier in July for the sport’s World Cup. “It has been both a privilege and my absolute pleasure to lead the sport I love,” Moore said in a statement on Tuesday. “It’s been a great experience to lead through this time of development and success for the sport of basketball. “We have built the reputation of Basketball Australia here at home and internationally.” BA Chairman Ned Coten said Moore’s role in restoring the financial viability of the sport in Australia and reaching an agreement for the visit of USA Basketball in 2019 for matches against the Boomers were highlights of his tenure. “Anthony has made a terrific contribution as CEO,” Coten said. “He has played a major role in helping steer BA to improved financial stability and securing an historic commercial deal which will see USA Basketball play Australia before more than 100,000 fans in Melbourne in August 2019. “My hope is that next year’s Boomers versus USA Basketball games will write basketball’s page in the history of Australian sport.” Moore will finish his duties at Basketball Australia’s annual general meeting on October 27, with a search for his replacement to begin immediately. AP

CAVS START WITHOUT STAR

NDEPENDENCE, Ohio—As the Cavaliers wandered around posing for silly photographs, reading radio promotions and doing interviews, everything felt different. This media day was nothing like the past four. Cleveland heads into the season with very little buzz, zero drama and low expectations. The spotlight, which has illuminated the Cavs in recent years, is pointed elsewhere. LeBron James left, and it all went with him. “I’m still here,” Coach Tyronn Lue said, laughing. The Cavs began life without James in earnest on Monday, taking their first steps since the superstar signed with the Los Angeles Lakers this summer and promptly ended the greatest run in franchise history. Without James, Cleveland has tumbled from an elite team and title contender to one many believe isn’t good enough to make the playoffs. However, Lue doesn’t believe the Cavs are starting over. “No tanking,” he said. “Start from what we have and build from that. Not a rebuild at all. It’s a challenge for all of us, something different with LeBron gone, but we’re up for the challenge.” The Cavs likely won’t regress to where they did when James bolted for Miami in 2010, but it could be a long time before they’re competing for a championship. “When you have the best player in the world who has dominated this game for the last 12 or 13 years in LeBron, it’s always tough to lose a player like that,” Lue said. “But moving forward, talking to [owner] Dan [Gilbert] and how he sees us building and approaching this season of being a playoff team.

Sports BusinessMirror

| Wednesday, September 26, 2018 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

will revert to being the bruising big man he was with the Timberwolves. “I’m 30 now, so I don’t know if he’s still there,” Love said when asked if he could play like the younger version of himself. “Will there be nights when my stats are gaudy? It’s very, very likely. This will be a new chapter for all of us, and I think we’ve very excited.” Kyle Korver feels refreshed. Following a personally challenging season, which included his younger brother’s death, the 37-year-old walked out of Quicken Loans Arena following the Game Four loss to Golden State in the Finals unsure of his future. “I was done,” Korver said. “I took a good chunk of time and got away from the game and evaluated a lot of things and tried to decide if I still had the desire to play. Talked things through with my wife and my family, looked at my kids. After doing all that, I felt like I wanted to come back, I still wanted to play. I still love the game. I’m excited to be back.” While James is gone, reminders of him hang inside Cleveland Clinic Courts, where one wall is lined with Central Division and Eastern Conference championship banners. There’s also one to commemorate the 2016 title, which ended the city’s 52-year championship drought. It might be some time before the Cavs contend for another, but while he may have lost the best player he’ll ever coach, Lue isn’t convinced there’s a better team in the East. “We haven’t lost yet, have we?” he said. AP

THE Cleveland Cavaliers’ JR Smith (5), Jordan Clarkson (8) and George Hill (3) pose for a portrait during the team’s media day on Monday in Independence, Ohio. AP

Wada chief defends Russian reinstatement HE leader of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) insisted he cares about athletes but admonished them nonetheless during a fierce, sometimes-personal defense of the decision to bring Russia’s suspended drugfighting operation back online. “My question to athletes is: What, in practice, is the alternative action to all the statements you have made?” Wada President Craig Reedie said

“That’s our goal and that’s what we want to do. We want to win and continue to get better, and develop our younger players while winning games.” That’s easier said than done, but Cleveland still has some talent led by All-Star forward Kevin Love, who signed a four-year, $120-million contract extension this summer and is now the Cavs’ best player and No. 1 offensive option. It’s a new, yet familiar role for Love, who was Minnesota’s franchise player before he was traded to Cleveland and joined forces with James and Kyrie Irving. Four years ago, Love stood side by side with James and Irving on media day as the Cavs’ “Big Three” were introduced to the world before embarking on a journey that led to a title in 2016. That run seemed more of a distant memory on Monday as Love smiled and posed next to Lue and rookie guard Collin Sexton. And perhaps as a nod to his former teammate, Love wore a pair of James’s signature sneakers. He certainly won’t try to fill his shoes. Love, like all the Cavs, will have to adjust his game now that James isn’t around. But that doesn’t mean Love

on Monday in a conference call with reporters, acknowledging the avalanche of protest directed his way in the wake of the decision. Reedie described the much-disparaged compromise, negotiated over the summer and approved last Thursday, as a way of replacing a toothless suspension with a concrete agreement that contains enforceable penalties if Russia reneges.

The key issue to Wada is the handing over of around 2,800 samples and accompanying data that could be used to corroborate doping cases uncovered in the investigation of a statesponsored cheating scheme designed to win medals at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. But with no deadline and no further penalties to hand out under terms of the original road map for Rusada’s reinstatement, Reedie

and other Wada leaders felt they had run out of leverage with the Russians. The new agreement places a December 31 deadline on the turnover of the information. It also is designed to give Wada better access to the raw samples. If Russia fails to honor the new agreement, Wada can impose new sanctions from a rulebook that has been strengthened since the onset of the scandal four years ago. “We’ve tried to come to terms with the Russians on how this was to be done, and this is the first time since discussing it that they’ve actually said ‘yes,’” said Wada Director General Olivier Niggli. “We hope

they’ll fulfill that promise.” Critics of the agreement, which Reedie also defended in an open letter published over the weekend, say there is no way to expect Russia to keep this promise after being found culpable for such a brazen undermining of the antidoping system. They are also wary that the new sanctions will be enforceable. “It shows how out of touch they are with what’s happening on the ground,” US Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart said. “They’re still living in an ivory tower, trying to rewrite history and justify their poor

leadership in dealing with Russia.” Regarding the other outstanding element of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency road map to reinstatement, Wada softened its stance on demands that Russia publicly accept findings from the report that implicated the government in the scheme. Jonathan Taylor, chairman of the compliance review committee, said he understands why critics of that part of the agreement might “say there should’ve been a greater mea culpa.” “But we do have explicit acknowledgement from the Russians,” Taylor said. AP

Go directly to God

O directly to God, yes God, we go to You for our needs. Our life is constantly subject to the law of cause and effect. What we think and do today determine largely what we will be tomorrow. Confidence in an abundance of material possessions of health, happiness and success, tends to make these things concrete in our life. As we think from day to day, so will our life be. Let us keep our mind receptive to God’s thoughts and they will flow into our consciousness with fullness and illumination. The eternal mind of God is constantly available to us, so ask God directly. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

APPLE CEO Tim Cook speaks during an announcement of new products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California. Apple and Google want to help you spend less time on their phones. AP

Life BusinessMirror

Too much screen time? New phone controls for you and kids

By aniCk JesdanUn The Associated Press

EW YORK—Apple and Google want to help you spend less time on their phones—really. Like that time you checked Facebook at 3 am. Stats don’t lie. Their new tools for managing screen time will let you see how often you picked up the phone after bedtime or how long you’re on Instagram at work (shame on you). Apple’s tools also let you control how long your kids spend on their devices, if you’re concerned that screens are taking time away from sleep, homework or exercise. Apple’s tools launch as part of the free iOS 12 software update for iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch. Google’s controls are being tested on its Pixel-branded Android phones.

HOW TO MAKE CHATS MORE FUN WITH STICKERS

HERE’S a little something to spice up your instant messages with friends, especially if you’re working the popular messaging platform Viber, which has partnered with Cartoon Network (www.cartoonnetworkasia.com) for a new sticker pack to add a dose of fun, a dollop of adventure and a truck-load of adorable to your chats. Level up your messages, express your mood and make conversations more colorful. Featuring popular characters from Adventure Time, We Bare Bears and The Powerpuff Girls, whether you’re feeling algebraic or feeling blue, there is no better way to express yourself. The Cartoon Network sticker pack has loads of different designs of adventurers Finn and Jake, the adorable bear-bros Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear, as well as your fave gals Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup. Download it for free for a limited time only on Viber’s sticker market. Users who share it with their friends also have the chance of winning some great We Bare Bears merch. If you don’t have Viber yet, download the app through Google Play or the App Store, and try it out for yourself.

Here’s how the controls work: n FOR THE KIDS. Apple’s new controls for kids let you manage their time on their own devices, such as an iPad or a hand-me-down iPhone. Once you’ve got them set up, you can use your iPhone to check when your children are on their devices and what apps or web sites they’re using. You can restrict particular classes of apps and even establish a quiet period when most apps shut down. That latter “Downtime” feature is promising, though it has a few shortcomings. For one thing, it only lets you choose a single block of time each day, so if you’re blocking late-night hours, you can’t set a separate downtime for school hours. Plus, your selection applies seven days a week; you can’t set different hours for weekends unless you want to manually change the settings every Friday and Monday. A new “Screen Time” feature lets you establish time limits for categories of apps, such as entertainment or games. In this case, limits can be different on weekends. You can also set limits app by app, or for specific web sites, but it’s tricky. From the Screen Time settings, tap the chart at the top to get a list of apps and web sites. Tap on an app or site, and look for “Add Limit” at the bottom. Songs or podcasts playing in the background don’t count toward limits. If your kid has both an iPhone and an iPad, Screen Time can track time spent on both devices against your limits. When apps run out of time, their icons go dark and the apps won’t send notifications. You can exempt useful apps, such as e-books or homework sites—or messaging and phone service for emergencies—from downtime and other limits. It’s best to configure all this from your own device using Apple’s “Family Sharing” feature. You can set up limits directly on your children’s devices, though remote monitoring features might not work properly. Either way, you’ll need a passcode specifically for Screen Time. Be sure to pick one that’s different from your phone’s passcode, which your kids probably already know. Kids can ask for more time with a few taps. If you ignore or decline the request, Screen Time isn’t supposed to let them keep asking. But for the moment, kids can just reopen the app to bug you with another request. Get ready for a digital version of “Are we

there yet? Are we there yet?” Apple already had parental controls for blocking R-rated movies, adult web sites and podcasts with explicit language, but the settings were buried. In iOS 12, they’re part of Screen Time. You’ll need to them on manually, or your kid can still watch R and NC-17 movies. What you won’t get from Apple is any help in determining what kinds of limits to set. In fact, the clock is initially set to zero, forcing parents to make choices right off the bat instead of working from default limits. Apple says recommendations among experts vary. Ultimately, it’s best to have a conversation with your kids about screen time. But having software block an app can be easier than pulling a device out of a child’s hands. n FOR THE ADULTS. You can set the same limits for your own device, but it requires self-discipline. Want more Instagram? No problem—just tap for extra time. If you really need help, ask a friend or family member to set that Screen Time passcode and keep it secret. Google has similar controls, called Digital Wellbeing, but they’re intended for adults (among other things, there’s no passcode, which limits their usefulness for setting limits on kids). This feature is currently only available on the company’s own Pixel phones, although Google plans to make it more broadly available in a forthcoming Android update called Pie. n ALL ABOUT THE SCREEN. Another Android feature will let you leech the color from your screen after a certain hour. This option, called “Grayscale,” turns everything monochrome, rendering apps—and, heck, the entire phone to some extent—less appealing, presumably making it easier to put the phone down. Apple has a similar setting, although it’s buried in the Accessibility settings for disabled users. Google and Apple features also let you turn your screen amber during designated times. That reduces blue light, which can suppress melatonin and make it tougher to go to sleep. Ultimately, though, technological tweaks can only go so far in helping you resist technology’s allure. It’s just like your desire to exercise more, eat better or get more sleep: It comes down to priority and discipline. At most, these tools can nudge you in the right direction. n

MYSTERY AROUND DISAPPEARANCE OF CHINESE STAR FAN BINGBING D3

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

EU opens investigation into how Amazon uses data BRUSSELS—European authorities said on Wednesday they have opened a preliminary antitrust investigation into Amazon over the e-commerce giant’s treatment of smaller merchants on its web site. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said she wants to examine how Seattle-based Amazon uses data it gathers through transactions, including those involving rival sellers, on its platform. “The question here is about the data,” Vestager said at a press briefing. She said the probe will look at whether the data, which is collected for legitimate purposes, is also used to give Amazon a competitive advantage over the smaller merchants by giving it insights into what kinds of things people want to buy. In addition to selling its own products, Amazon also allows third-party retailers to sell their goods through its Marketplace. Last year more than half of the items sold on Amazon worldwide were from third-party sellers. “It is very early days in this antitrust investigation into Amazon’s business practices,” Vestager said. She added that EU regulators have started gathering information on the issue and have sent “quite a number of questionnaires” to merchants and others in order to understand the issue. Amazon. com Inc. declined to comment on Wednesday. It’s the latest move by the European Union to subject big tech companies to increasing scrutiny, amid worries that they are becoming too dominant. Amazon has been the target of previous EU investigations. Last year officials ordered it to pay $295 million in back taxes to Luxembourg after finding that the company profited from a tax avoidance deal with the tiny European country. EU officials also investigated Amazon’s e-book business, which was resolved last year. AP

SPECIAL SPOTIFY OFFERING FOR PINOY STUDENTS

THE popular music streaming service Spotify is letting more students enjoy their favorite music at any time, anywhere with its new Student Intro Offer (www.spotify.com/ph/student), which is ongoing until October 22. Credit-card users can soundtrack their study with Spotify Premium for only P65 for the first three months, and pay P65 per month for the following months. If you pay via prepaid load, you will only have to pay P75 for the first three months, and pay P75 per month for the following months. Spotify Premium is like Spotify’s free service— only better. Take your music offline. Play any song, anytime. No skip restrictions. No ads. The benefits include: on-demand music (no shuffling) with zero ad interruptions on your computer, phone, tablet and PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3; high-quality streaming (320kbps); ability to listen offline, and to use Connect to play Spotify on your speaker, TV and car.

TWITTER FINDS SOFTWARE PRIVACY BUG AFFECTING DIRECT MESSAGES NEW YORK—Twitter says it found a software bug that may have sent some private messages to the wrong people. But the company says the problem specifically involved direct messages or protected tweets sent to businesses and other accounts overseen by software developers. The issue, which started in May 2017, could in some cases have directed messages to the wrong developer. The company discovered and fixed the flaw on September 10. Twitter says less than 1 percent of its 335 million users were affected, and notes that it hasn’t seen evidence that any actual messages were misdelivered. Twitter says it has notified anyone who was affected by the bug. AP

Pet Corner BusinessMirror

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

A dog’s life: Uno, beagle who wowed Westminster, dies at 13 UNO, a 15-inch beagle, poses with his trophy after winning Best in Show at the 132nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York. Uno, the beagle who became perhaps the most popular show dog ever, died on September 20 at the 200-acre ranch where he lived in Austin, Texas. He was 13. AP

By Ben Walker The Associated Press

VERY dog might have its day, but not many ever had a night like this. Cheered on by a roaring, packed crowd at Madison Square Garden, the playful beagle responded like a true champ. “Ah-roo!” Uno bayed that evening, a decade ago. “Ah-roo!” Uno, who became perhaps the most popular pooch to step into a dog show ring, has died. He was 13. From a president to parades to ballparks, Uno charmed admirers wherever he wandered. “He lit everyone’s fire,” longtime dog expert David Frei said. “It’s because he was exactly the kind of dog everyone could imagine on the couch next to them.” Uno died on Thursday at the 200-acre ranch where he lived in Austin, Texas. He was in good health until the last month or so when cancer advanced. “Everybody loved him,” said Dan Huebner, who manages the ranch for Uno owner Caroline Dowell. No beagle had won the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club dog show until Uno did good ol’ Snoopy proud, barking his way to the prized silver bowl in 2008. He was clearly the crowd favorite and fans exulted when he was picked, giving the 15-inch champ a standing ovation. Uno soon was the first Westminster winner to visit the White House, with President George W. Bush and wife Laura meeting him in the Rose Garden and presenting him with a red, white and blue collar. The tricolor package of personality later rode in a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, took part in first-pitch ceremonies at Busch Stadium and Miller Park and even had his own bobblehead. Uno spent years traveling, welcomed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and hospitals across the country as a certified therapy dog. He also enjoyed celebrity status with a good seat on Midwest Airlines—in Saint Louis, the computer once selected him for additional screening, and security guards waved a wand over him. Frei, the television voice of Westminster for more than a quarter-century, was Uno’s frequent companion on the road. Over his years, he saw about 70,000 dogs judged on the green carpet of the Garden.

DRAPER firefighter Patrick Cullen with his new dog, Mendo. AP

Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Christina Milian, 37; Serena Williams, 37; Jim Caviezel, 50; Olivia Newton-John, 70. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Speed up and get things done. This is a year of progress, but it’s up to you to make that happen. Don’t sit on the sidelines expecting someone else to take over. Build your future by physically going after what you want. Use emotional situations to motivate you, not to stop you in your tracks. Take on whatever comes your way. Your lucky numbers are 7, 15, 21, 26, 32, 38, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Settle down and settle in. Treat relationships with respect, and be willing to discuss how you would like to see things unfold. Partnerships will need nurturing, not ignoring. Take care of personal business, and you’ll feel better. HHH

b c

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t let the changes going on around you disrupt your day. Go with the flow, and you will find a way to navigate your way to greater stability. HHH GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Travel plans will bring you one step closer to a pending problem you’ve been trying to resolve. What you discover will help you make a decision that will encourage you to do something you should have done a long time ago. HHHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Emotional situations can lead to poor choices. Before you get yourself into trouble, you should go over the consequences that will unfold should you decide to be reckless. HH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You need to take a break. If things aren’t going your way at home or at work, visit someone levelheaded who can help you see your situation clearly. Overreacting will only make matters worse. HHHHH

f “There was never one like him,” Frei said. “That’s no disrespect to all the other great dogs. But when Uno won, I said I’d have to rent out an apartment in New York City for him because I’d be traveling with him all year, so many people would want to see him. And that’s what happened, he was such an all-American dog.” Owning a champion’s name of K-Run’s Park Me in First, it was an easy stretch to call him Uno. He lived up to that, as the No. 1 beagle to win Westminster (Miss P the beagle won in 2015).

As for Uno puppies, there weren’t any. He was sterile. “It has never bothered me a bit,” Dowell said several years ago. “To tell you the truth, it was a blessing in disguise. I just wanted him as a pet.” In later years, as Uno’s brown and black began to fade to white, he spent his days playing outdoors with a neighbor’s potbellied pig and romping around his house in Texas with other beagles. “He just had a blast,” Huebner said. “He had it made in the shade.” n

Utah firefighter adopts dog he found near California fire SALT LAKE CITY—A Utah firefighter whose department is still reeling from the death of one of their own during California’s largest wildfire is starting a new chapter with a dog he found near front lines of the same fire. Draper firefighter Patrick Cullen said he never forgot the exhausted, thirsty German shepherd who emerged from the Northern California wilderness in earlyAugust, as the Mendocino Complex Fire glowed in the distance. “In the middle of the night, he came wandering over the hill,” said Cullen, who was among dozens of out-of-state firefighters who traveled to help fight the massive blaze. With the nearest town an hour away, at first he wondered if the creature was a mountain lion, but he quickly realized it was a German shepherd. “He was definitely matted and he looked like he’d been out for a while.” He gave the dog some water and let him sleep under the engine, but as the fire overtook their location he left him with another crew who could bring him to a safe

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spot away from the flames. He thought that might be the last he’d see of him, but as the days wore on fighting the blaze he marveled at the chances of the pup finding him and worried about how he’d fared. Cullen started calling animal shelters. He didn’t have any luck at first, but finally tracked him to the Mendocino County Animal Shelter. The approximately two-year-old dog had been dropped with a veterinarian, who treated him and then sent him to the shelter, said Richard Molinari, director of animal care services at the shelter. Molinari then learned Cullen had worked with Draper Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, who was killed by falling tree debris while fighting the blaze on August 13. The two men had known each other through the community of Utah firefighters for more than a decade. “The wind was out of his sails when he talked, he was down in regard to everything,” Molinari said. The dog didn’t have a microchip used to track

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don’t question what others are doing when you should be focusing on what you are trying to achieve. It’s up to you to bring about the changes that will make you happy. HHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Problems at home or with an older friend or relative should be handled with diplomacy. The changes that occur due to a personal situation will end up being beneficial if you put your time, thought and energy into a positive response. HHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take precautions if you get involved in physical activities. Don’t feel obligated to keep up with someone who may be stronger or better prepared to handle a situation that requires strength. Concentrate more on personal improvement, not competing with others. HHH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A change regarding the way you earn your living may come as a surprise. Accept the inevitable; benefits will follow. Home improvements should be made based on your needs or the needs of someone you love. HHHHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t sweat the small stuff. Retaliation is a waste of time. How you respond matters. Do so with dignity, integrity and persistence. For those who think like you, your friendship will prosper, and for those who don’t, let them go. HH

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Figure things out for yourself. If you let someone be your leader, you will end up having regrets. Keep your life simple and your overhead doable. Life isn’t a competition, and trying to make an impression isn’t recommended. HHHH

pets, but the shelter kept him for about a week, the standard period they wait for people to claim lost pets before putting them up for adoption. When no owner appeared, staffers drove the dog out to Reno, Nevada, to reunite him with Cullen, who had since returned to the Salt Lake City area. He named him Mendo, after the Mendocino Complex Fire.

Mendo is now settling in with Cullen, his family and their two other dogs. The dog is a bright spot for Cullen and the rest of the department in what’s been an otherwise heartbreaking period. “In the middle of all the tragedy we’re going through, there is a happy story that came out of our journey to California,” Cullen said. AP

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Explore your options and embrace change. Reconnect with people you have enjoyed working or playing with in the past, and get involved in events and activities that are physically or financially beneficial. HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are disciplined, ambitious and proud. You are adventuresome and changeable.

‘punctured’ BY TIMOTHY E. PARKER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Like prank candles 6 Just beats 10 Mess-hall dish 14 Ville of horror? 15 Champagne choice 16 Cookbook writer Rombauer 17 Picnic side 20 Surgeon’s instrument 21 Droplet on a bib 22 Theater feature 25 Yuletide warblings 26 “___ here” (order request) 30 Pound or smash 32 Bad way to be caught 35 Senators play there 41 Shred an alibi 43 Emulates bulls 44 Make weak 45 “What ___ can I do?” 47 Stuff fed to a PC 48 Backless couch 53 Indian state 56 Biscotti flavor source

8 Has a sample 5 63 One of two on Thanksgiving 66 Hard-to-control desire 67 Shipwreck site 68 Do more than just tri? 69 Pet sound 70 Start of a conclusion 71 Pub potable DOWN 1 CAT scan units 2 Send forth 3 Type of pond or pad 4 “___ have to wait” 5 Categories or ilks 6 Peacock network 7 Perturb 8 Throbs 9 Bit of progress 10 In the know about 11 Rugged crest 12 Knee-high to a grasshopper 13 Cottontail relatives 18 Addams cousin 19 Immoral act

3 Cain’s brother 2 24 Like Teslas 26 Has dinner 27 At a later date, super old 28 Strong shark 29 Still-life piece 31 The Tao of Pooh writer 33 Back in the water? 34 Deception 36 Title word, often 37 ___ the line (obeyed) 38 Actress Jessica 39 Whipping upraising 40 Floating on the Caribbean 42 Wad builders 46 Fire engine attachment 48 Singular of 47-Across 49 Toughen, as to hardship 50 Sign of late summer 51 Slightly off-center 52 Name-change indicator 54 Cash dispenser 55 Sail supports 57 Jane of Thornfield Hall

9 Proofreader’s save 5 60 Band leader Puente 61 Brown relative 62 Three-hand card game 64 Avg. size 65 Conspiracy theory vehicle

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

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Show BusinessMirror

Mystery around disappearance of Chinese star Fan Bingbing

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

By Christopher Bodeen The Associated Press

EIJING—X-Men star Fan Bingbing’s Beijing management office is dark and abandoned. Her birthday passed almost unremarked in China’s hyper-adrenalized social-media environment. For one of China’s best known stars and a rising Hollywood actress, Fan’s vanishing is stunning, coming amid vague allegations of tax fraud and possibly other infractions that could have put her at odds with Chinese authorities. Fan has starred in dozens of movies and TV series in China and is best known internationally for her role as Blink in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, a cameo in the Chinese version of Iron Man 3, and star turns on the red carpet at Cannes as recently as May. She was booked to star with Penelope Cruz in the Hollywood film 355 and has a role in the upcoming Bruce WillisAdrien Brody feature Air Strike. Yet for nearly three months, Fan hasn’t been seen or heard from in public in any verifiable way. One of China’s wealthiest entertainers, Fan pulled down tens of millions of dollars for her roles, along with handsome sums in appearance fees and product endorsements. Some of those contracts may have landed her in hot water with the authorities. Fan’s name has been mentioned in reports about a reportedly common entertainment industry practice—an actor having a public contract stating an official salary and a private contract detailing the true, much higher payday. A talk show host, Cui Yongyuan had said in May that Fan had such an arrangement— which allegedly helps facilitate tax evasion—and revealed details that sparked a public outcry. Cui later apologized. At Fan’s management office in Beijing’s Dongcheng district, doors are locked, the lights are out and a calendar hanging alongside posters advertising Fan’s film appearances is still turned to July. A worker at an office across the hall said she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen anyone enter the company premises. Fan turned 37 on September 16, but only a handful of entertainment notables sent greetings online, a stark break from the past when her birthday celebrations were lavish, well-attended affairs, marked last year by a public marriage proposal from boyfriend Li Chen. An automatic birthday greeting on her once-active account on Weibo, China’s main microblogging service, was apparently deleted by persons unknown. Shi Shusi, a columnist and commentator on Chinese popular culture, suggests Fan’s high profile was her undoing, having made her a target for officials wishing to set an example for would-be tax cheats amid China’s slowing economy. “Such a famous actress and no one knows her whereabouts. And no authorities have made any clarifications. This is the real suspense,” Shi said. Fan’s disappearance even brought a message of concern from Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times tabloid known for its hard-line pro-Communist Party nationalist opinions. “A timely clarification and public notification of Fan Bingbing’s status would also be beneficial to setting the record straight internationally,” Hu wrote on his Weibo account on September 15. Back in June, Fan’s production company denied Fan had ever a signed a “yinyang” contract, so named because of its dual natures. Fan, her production company and her agent could not be reached for more recent comment. Police rarely acknowledge such investigations are taking place until a conclusion has been reached. Her disappearance had come as Chinese

MAKING THEIR DEBUT

WHICH new couple was seen holding hands at the event organized by a publication last week? The two come from different loveteams, one officially disbanded and the other still ongoing. However, the ongoing loveteam suffered when the guy allegedly cheated on the girl and she broke up with him. Anyway, the magazine event was kind of like the new couple’s public debut. They arrived together and left together.

THEY HATE HER

WHO is the YouTuber who seems innocent but is the target of her peers’ hate and envy? If you ask people, the content creator is really a nice person but other YouTubers don’t really like her. We’ve seen her around and the YouTuber seems quiet and humble so we wonder where the hate is coming from. Is it because she is rich? Is it because she has a lot of fans? It’s really strange that her so-called peers and colleagues are very eager to show on social media that they’re close and the shy YouTuber isn’t part of the group.

SHE CHOSE HER CAREER

THE reported split of a young actor and his favorite partner is being blamed on the guy’s alleged physical abuse of the girl. The truth is, no abuse, physical or otherwise, happened. The young actress just decided it would be better for her family and her peace of mind to just leave the guy. She also thinks that his continued presence in her life might affect her career. So she did what she thought best—she assessed her priorities and chose accordingly.

JAILBAIT FAN BINGBING poses for photographers as she arrives for the screening of the film The Beguiled at the 70th Cannes International Film Festival in May 2017. AP

authorities seek to rein in high salaries for actors that can eat up much of the cost of a production. In June regulators capped star pay at 40 percent of a TV show’s entire production budget and 70 percent of the total paid to all the actors in a film. Though China has become the world’s secondlargest film market, authorities keep tight control on local productions, exercising final say over choice of cast, director and script. If Fan had stepped on official toes, it would be a simple task to retaliate by destroying her career, with Chinese authorities wielding broad powers to detain, interrogate and accuse citizens out of the public eye. Other celebrities have run afoul of authorities over drug use, excessive pay or tax issues, said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group based in Shanghai. “Then the government really cracks down hard and pretty much destroys their careers for several years if not forever,” Rein said. Companies that bet big on A-list Chinese celebrities incur a “huge political risk,” he said. Known as a classical Chinese beauty with almond eyes and porcelain skin, Fan, 36, usually maintains a prominent presence on Weibo, where she has more than 62 million followers. Her account has been largely dormant for weeks, however, with a July 26 “like” about a posting on her charitable foundation being the last activity prior to the deletion of her birthday notice. Photos on social media also appear

to show her visiting a pediatric cardiac ward at a Shanghai hospital for a charity event on July 1. The strongest clue to Fan’s status may have been a September 6 notice posted on the web site of the Securities Daily, a newspaper published by the official Economic Daily. It stated that the local tax bureau had sent a notice to Fan’s studio that she had been “placed under control”—a legal term for being held under investigation. The article was later deleted from the web site. Fan’s disappearance has already taken a toll on her lucrative sideline as brand ambassador, throwing those companies’ plans into disarray. Australian vitamin brand Swisse issued a statement saying it was suspending use of her image and “continuing to monitor the situation and hope that it is resolved in the near future.” British diamond giant De Beers, who signed with Fang just last year, appears to have already moved on: Another actress, Gao Yuanyuan, represented the company at a store opening last month in the ancient capital of Xi’an. Other firms she endorsed, from dutyfree chain King Power to Louis Vuitton and Montblanc are also taking action. “ “There’s a lot more risk for celebrities in China than in the United States, because the government takes much more of a moral crackdown,” said China Market Research’s Rein. “So there’s a greater risk for celebrities to get in trouble with the law and never be able to get a chance at redemption.” n

Tearjerkers that you will love just as much as ‘The Hows of Us’ THE Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla-starrer The Hows of Us has taken the country by storm with moviegoers raving about its heartfelt and emotional story, and the stars’ powerful performances. It’s become the first Philippine-produced film to cross the P600-million mark at the domestic box office. If you need more tearjerkers like The Hows of Us, here is a list of other hit Star Cinema romantic dramas that you can stream on iWant TV using One Sky Fiber broadband plans that are currently offered for half the price for the first three months of subscription. ‘MILAN’ (2004) “MAHAL mo ba ako dahil kailangan mo ako, o kailangan mo ako kaya mahal mo ako?” Who could ever forget Claudine Barretto’s aching delivery of this classic hugot line that can even pass as a tongue twister? Milan, Star Cinema’s romantic drama offering 14 years ago, still speaks to many viewers to this day because of its universal themes of love, forgiveness and sacrifice. In the movie, Claudine Barretto plays Jenny, an

overseas Filipino worker desperate to make ends meet. She bumps into Lino (Piolo Pascual), a naïve newcomer on a quest to find his missing wife in Italy who eventually becomes Jenny’s protégé and lover. ‘DUBAI’ (2005) CLAUDINE returned to the big screen with Dubai in 2005 opposite Aga Muhlach and John Lloyd Cruz. This time, she plays Faye, a woman torn between two men who happen to be brothers, Raffy (Muhlach) and Andrew (Cruz) in Dubai. Filled with dramatic scenes based on a screenplay by Ricky Lee, Dubai showcases that love that leads to conflict can be powerful enough to break even the strongest of bonds. ‘DON’T GIVE UP ON US’ (2006) ANY Piolo Pascual and Judy Ann Santos movie is an emotional roller-coaster that leaves fans in a puddle of tears. One of their hit movies, Don’t Give Up On Us had that effect among viewers in 2006. The movie features Judy Ann as a girl on a

mission to find her best friend Sabina (Cheska Garcia) who gets cold feet on her own bridal shower. Her mission takes her up to Baguio where she meets Vince (Piolo Pascual), the voice behind a cassette tape Sabina left behind. ‘ONE MORE TRY’ (2012) THIS movie is sprinkled with a lot of painful speeches that made it a blockbuster in 2012 and the Best Picture winner at the 38th Metro Manila Film Festival. Angel Locsin plays a single mother who is willing to go to the ends of the Earth just to save her son who is diagnosed with a rare blood disease. When she is forced to reconnect with her son’s biological father (Dingdong Dantes) who is now happily married to an accomplished executive (Angelica Panganiban), their reunion becomes complicated. Expect your favorite pillow to be drenched in tears as you catch these and other Star Cinema gems on iWant TV using One Sky Fiber (www.mysky.com.ph/ switch), with plans starting for as low as P999 monthly.

SPEAKING of abuse, a young star who was involved in rumors related to it has apparently moved on from his past relationship. The thing is that the young star’s new relationship might have some legal implications because the girl is underage. It’s also funny that the guy isn’t the one telling people that he and the underage girl are a couple. It’s the girl herself who is saying it.

IN this file photo dated May 19, Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave after their wedding ceremony at Saint George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England. AP

MEGHAN REVEALS ‘SOMETHING BLUE’ SHE WORE AT ROYAL WEDDING LONDON—It’s an old tradition that a bride should have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue on her wedding day, and the Duchess of Sussex followed at least part of that when she married Prince Harry. The former Meghan Markle has revealed in a television documentary that she had a piece of blue fabric from the dress she wore on her first date with Harry sewn into her wedding dress. She made the comments while discussing the dress in a documentary about Queen Elizabeth II called “Queen of the World.” She didn’t say whether she also embraced the rest of the tradition. The clip was made public on Sunday. The documentary will be broadcast at a later date. It deals with the queen’s role as head of the Commonwealth. The duchess described her May wedding on the grounds of Windsor Castle as a “magical day.” The American actress who starred in Suits married Harry on May 19 on the grounds of Windsor Castle. The “Queen of the World” will air in the UK on Tuesday. AP

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Wednesday, September 26, 2018

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INVESTING IN EXPERIENCES

HOLIDAYS, gadgets and numerous cups of coffee—to many, these are just some of the things on which millennials splurge. Sure, they may seem to unreservedly spend money on these things, but studies show that millennials are also very careful about their financial futures. A study conducted by Nielsen Holdings Inc. reported that millennials have learned to be more frugal than the generations before them, despite being exposed to more consumer-driven lifestyles. Despite their lavish-looking Instagram accounts, they are more likely to plan their spending than their parents and grandparents did, the study says. In addition to being always connected and digitally driven, millennials see themselves as young consumers focused on “buying” personal experiences rather than mere physical objects. As a generation that wants to be in control of what they experience, they are always planning, motivated by finding that singular adventure that fits their moods, interests and personalities. FILIPINO MILLENNIALS AND THE EXPERIENCES THE search for singular experiences with family and friends is pronounced among Filipino millennials. They don’t mind shelling out cash for that next out-of-town trip; in fact, according to a local study conducted by Google Trends in 2017, they are responsible for 52 percent of travel searches, 19 percent of which are attributed to searches on accommodations and attractions. They also seem to take better care of themselves than any previous generation—it’s no surprise that high up on their list of necessities are purchases that have to do with self-care and their passions. Dining options, arts and entertainment, and hobbies and leisure also showed a 25-percent search growth driven by Filipino millennials, says the same Google Trends study. ADULTING DONE BETTER FILIPINO millennials know that the flipside of going after unique experiences is financial capability and security. “I want to be able to enjoy myself and still be smart with my money,” said Lester Pile, a longtime BPI Preferred Banking Client. “Banking with BPI has made me realize that I can do both without putting my life on hold.” “Not a lot of banks understand young people’s need to have the best of both worlds, but now that millennials are known to be more conscious about financial planning, we’ve made it a point for BPI to create personal relationships with them through Preferred Banking,” said Joey Gotuaco, executive vice president of BPI’s Retail Client Segment Group. BPI Preferred Banking gives millennials the opportunity to enjoy themselves and empowers them to do the things they want most. Every client with BPI Preferred Banking gets a personalized experience—they are given their own relationship manager, numerous perks at different partner merchants and establishments, and a choice of their own scheme of luxury experiences. Of the perks offered to BPI Preferred Banking client, Pile says what he values the most is the Preferred Lane scheme, where clients may line up for a more convenient banking experience. “I spend less time in the bank, so I get more time to actually live.” “At the end of the day, Filipino millennials spend their money as they see fit,” says Gotuaco. “They want to be able to secure their futures while making the most of their time today. For BPI, it has always been about creating innovative and meaningful offerings and being present where our clients need us to be.”

A ‘guide’ to–and the odds of–winning the lottery JUST THAT JT NISAY

jtnisay@gmail.com

HE lottery’s nine-figure jackpot is still up for grabs as of this writing, and has ballooned to a whopping P695 million. For weeks, the massive purse has been making a lot of people rich with hopes and dreams. “Resign from work within the day of claiming the prize and see the world,” answered one friend during a recent group daydreaming session on how we each plan to spend the money. “Pay off debts, give to charity, disappear from everyone,” shared another, laughing. Personally, I have yet to make enough fortune to become immune from the lottery’s temptations, and so this past weekend, in the middle of the night and under pouring rain, I went to purchase my first-ever ticket and ticked the six digits that I thought would completely change my life forever. But I lost, of course. What I picked up in defeat, however, was the interest in—not addiction to—what it takes to win. Is it really even possible to win? Taking my curiosity to the Internet brought me to a 2016 Forbes.com article, titled “It’s Math: Why

You Should Never Play the Lottery.” On it was an interesting opening argument presented by Richard Lustig, seven-time winner of lottery jackpots and author of Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery. “Like everybody else, I was losing all the time,” Lustig told Forbes.com. After the failures, he said a realization hit him, that there had to be a way to increase one’s success rate of nailing this one-in-amillion game of chance. Finally, he came up with a formula through trial and error, select points of which are listed below: n SET A ‘LOTTERY BUDGET.’ “Do not get caught up in what’s called lottery fever. Don’t spend grocery money. Don’t spend rent money. Figure out what you can afford to spend. Don’t worry about how much Joe Blow down the street is spending.... Figure out what your budget is, what you can comfortably afford to spend, and stay within that budget.” n SPREAD THE NUMBERS. “If you pick your own numbers and only play birthdays and anniversaries, you’re splitting the pot with 20 to 40 people. If you spread the numbers out across the whole track, you’ll either be the only winner or will split it with only one or two people.” n PLAY THE SAME NUMBERS EVERY WEEK n PLAY CONSISTENTLY Lustig’s previous wins may give weight to his words, but not everyone buys in. Fraud examiner Tracy Coenen dismissed Lustig’s much-publicized lottery tips as part of the media tour to promote his book—which Coenen called, “more accurately, a pamphlet”—saying the tips were a “fraud.” “Playing the lottery is just like playing roulette: there is no skill involved,” Coenen wrote on the

web site of her company, Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting. “The lottery is completely random, and the likelihood that one set of numbers will be picked is exactly the same as any other set of numbers. It does not matter if a set of numbers has already won, because the lottery has no memory.” Coenen insisted that the lottery is a game that has to do more with chances than certainty. So what really is the numbers game behind this numbers game? As it turns out, here in the country, the odds of winning the Philippine Charity Sweeptakes Office’s 6/58 Ultra Lotto game and its P695-million jackpot would make Larry Graham and his hit song shake. Computation from webmath.com showed that the chances of a person successfully predicting the six digits to be drawn from a field that includes the numbers from 1 to 58 is 1 in 40, 475,358. Again, but this time read it slower, number per number: 1 in 40, 475, 358. The site is gracious enough to contextualize what seems to be a random amalgam of a figure. It states that, for perspective, the chances of a person being hit by lightning is 1 in 2,000,000. Meanwhile, a pregnant woman giving birth to quadruplets stands at 1 in 705,000, and a person finding a pearl inside the oyster he or she is eating is 1 in 12,000. All that tells me is a person is likelier to become the oyster maniac female version of Flash with four children who look alike than he or she is to win the lottery. Even then, not a few people certainly have, and will go, Han Solo and try to buck the odds, over and over again. n

For internationally acclaimed author, the secret to aging beautifully is to eat healthy By paUline Joy M. GUtierreZ “PEOPLE don’t have a choice when it comes to aging, but they can choose how they will age,” writes Grace Ouano, awardwinning author of The Age Beautifully and The Age GRACEfully Cookbooks. “The foods they eat, exercise and healthy habits can have dramatically positive effects on age-defying.” In a WebMD article (www.webmd. com /healthy-aging/guide/seniors-boostimmunity#1), Aaron E. Glatt, MD and chairman of the department of medicine at South Nassau Communities Hospitals, said that the body’s immune system tends to get weaker with age, which, in turn, contributes to the contraction of infectious diseases like cancer. “Just as you probably can’t run as fast as you used to in your 20s, your immune system doesn’t work as well as it used to.” Nutritionists have long recognized that various micronutrient deficiencies contribute to the deterioration of our body’s healing abilities. Ouano, who has spent two decades in the health-care industry, penned numerous recipes that are grounded on this health concern. The cookbooks The Power of Foodtrients to Promote Health and Wellbeing for a Joyful and Sustainable Life, and Easy and Exotic Longevity Secrets

From Around the World provide easyto-make recipes that combines modern scientific research and ancient knowledge of medicinal herbs and natural ingredients from around the world. The books suggest that as you age, you need to load up on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and low-fat dairy. You eat less fatty meats, butter, sugar, salt and packaged foods. “My dad taught me that when you’re 40, you have to limit your meat consumption and instead eat a lot of vegetables because your body is no longer rejuvenating. Also when you’re 40, you need probiotics to avoid acid reflux; an alternative to this is eating fermented pickles,” said Ouano at the launch of her books in Alphaland in Makati. Grace O has identified eight categories of “FoodTrients” (a name that she coined which pertains to the antiaging properties of food) that are essential to age-defying and healthier living: Anti-inflammatory, foods that reduce the inflammation process in cells, tissues and blood vessels to slow aging and lower the risk of long-term disease; Antioxidants, which prevent and repair oxidative damage to cells caused by free radicals; Disease Prevention, which reduces risk factors for common degenerative and age-related diseases; Immune Boosters, which support the body’s resistance to infection and

strengthens immune vigilance; Mind, which improves memory and focus; Beauty, which promotes healthy skin and eyes; Strength, which increase bone density and repairs tissue and; Weight Loss, foods that encourage improved metabolism and digestion. By incorporating these properties in an everyday diet, people are more likely to live healthier. The internationally acclaimed author notes that FoodTrients can work like medicine. Garlic, for one, contains allicin which is an anti-inflammatory that reduces the risk of heart diseases, stroke and cancer. Ashitaba, which is more commonly used as a traditional medicine for healing wounds, helps in aiding gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gout, constipation and hay fever. It is also used for cancer, smallpox, fluid retention, blood clots and food poisoning. Turmeric, on the other hand, contains bioactive compounds with powerful medicinal properties. The Philippines has plenty of nutritional leafy greens, as well. The malunggay, or moringa oleifera, contains helpful compounds, such as vitamin A, vitamin B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B-6, folate and ascorbic acid (vitamin C), calcium, potassium and iron. It’s rich in antioxidants, can lower cholesterol levels,

and has the potential to protect the body against arsenic toxicity. “These books are basically showing to the mainstream Americans that we have in Asia a lot of exotic fruits and vegetables, In 2008 and 2009 nobody in the US knew about malunggay, the jackfruit and the mangosteen. Even the coconut wasn’t a fad, so I started educating them about it and then all of a sudden, it all became viral in our community,” said Ouano. Ouano shared that food can also help the skin look younger. Certain FoodTrients like omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins C and E are very good for building collagen, hydrating skin, improving elasticity and helping to build strong hair and nails. “This is really an antiaging cookbook. It’s not a diet book or a meal program. It’s full of recipes that utilize powerful and even exotic ingredients like turmeric, bitter melon, acai, soursop and jackfruit, all of which help you keep looking young and healthy.” she said. n Proceeds from the cookbook sales during the benefit and tasting event at Alphaland in Makati City will be donated to Bright Halls Children’s Foundation, an organization that provides temporary home for children while they wait for a permanent adoptive home or to be reintegrated with their birth families or relatives.

AWARDWINNING author Grace Ouano

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, September 26, 2018 • Editor : Tet Andolong

MEGAWORLD BGC

BPO maintains a high level of competitiveness By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

Contributor

HE country’s business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry continues to maintain a high level of competitiveness as more firm providers widen their portfolio of nonvoice services and capitalize on opportunities that are present in new growth areas outside Metro Manila, according to Santos Knight Frank (SKF), a major commercial real-estate service provider in the Philippines. “The Philippines’s demographics are the ‘secret sauce’ of the BPO industry’s growth. Owing to a highly educated and English-speaking work force spread across the country, it continues to be one of the most competitive BPO investment destinations globally. The average cost per employee in alternative destinations such as China and Mexico is fact twice as expensive as the Philippines,” Rick Santos, chairman and chief executive officer of SKF told the media in a recent press briefing in Makati City.

Earlier, Teleperformance Philippines Managing Director Travis Coates stressed that the country must maintain its proficiency in English to remain a major player in the industry. “As long as the demand for English language continues to be there, we will continue to provide it. There is no reason for the country not to be competitive in the English market,” Coates said. Teleperformance currently employs 40,000 people in business sites in Metro Manila, Antipolo, Baguio, Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and

ALVEO BREAKS GROUND AT OREAN PLACE

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (artist’s perspective)

SKF Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Santos stresses the stellar performance of the business-process outsourcing industry. ROY DOMINGO

Davao. The Philippines has the biggest operations in Southeast Asia. In 2017 Santos said the IT-BPO sector was the biggest tenant occupying 3.8 million square meter (sq m), or 80 percent of total prime office spaces in Metro Manila. During the same year, the sector’s revenue was seen to have reached $24.5 billion with 1.25 million full-time employees across the country. In the midst of the entry of automation and artificial intelligence (AI), Santos said the IT-BPO sector will remain healthy in the next three to five years as evidenced by transactions. Moreover, he said IT-BPO companies will continue to grow within and outside of Metro Manila and provincial expansions in the next

two to three years as developers will build more office parks to bring new supply to the potential labor force in the provinces. Joey Radovan, vice chairman and head of occupier services and commercial agency, SKF pointed out that BPOs, shared services and off shoring has the Philippines in their radar screens. “A testament to this optimism is the recent deal Santos Knight Frank brokered between JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Megaworld for a long-term lease of 70,000 sq m of office space in Bonifacio Global City. It is by far the largest single office lease transaction in Philippine real-estate history in terms of value and size.” Santos said the Philippines has

Eton WestEnd Square embodies the co-lifestyle concept

I DONG HUN (from left), Landscape Architect of Inspira Design Core Inc.; Ron Galura, regional sales head of Alveo Land; Rex Ocampo, vice president of Aidea Inc.; Arch. Jay Caniza, Innovation and Design Group head of Alveo Land; Rufino Gutierrez, chief operating officer of Alveo Land; Anton Sanchez III, GM for North Operations of Alveo Land; Aries Cajucom, sales and marketing deputy head of Alveo Land; Lorenz Panarigan, project director for Construction Management Group of Alveo Land; and Edwin Magsalansan, vice president of SY^2 + Associates Inc.

LVEO Land celebrates another milestone with the groundbreaking ceremony of Orean Place Tower One, its second residential development in Vertis North. Held re-

cently, this construction achievement is a step closer to the fulfillment of the project’s laid-back city living offering within Quezon City’s emerging business and lifestyle district.

raised the bar in BPO services as the industry has also seen the growth of services such as animation, data analytics, legal research and analysis, game development and accounting, among others. In the next three to five years, SKF said there will be expansions that will happen in the 80-kilometer corridor from Metro Manila going to north of Pampanga as new infrastructure projects connect the Bulacan and Pampanga cities, making these places accessible to the BPO leadership based in Metro Manila. The popular hubs outside of Metro Manila, such as Cebu, Clark, Davao, Bacolod and Iloilo, will continue to enjoy BPO expansions. In the remaining months of the

year, an additional 1.47 million sq m of prime office spaces are expected in Metro Manila, representing 30 percent of the current stock. The business-process outsourcing industry continues to drive demand along with new entrants from the Chinese online gaming sector, resulting to an overall decline in vacancy rate from 4.9 percent in the first quarter to 4.5 percent in the second quarter of the year. On the retail sector front, SKF expects an additional 500,000 sq m of space this year after local consumer spending rose by 5.6 percent during the first quarter of 2018. With greater consumption activities, SKF said the industrial real-estate sector has subsequently seen rising demand for storage and warehouse facilities. Meanwhile, global proper consultant and SKF partner Knight Frank remained bullish in the growth of the Philippines’s commercial real-estate sector as the country’s economy is set to expand by 6.7 percent this year. Alistair Elliott, senior partner and group chairman of the London-based Knight Frank, said the country’s property sector offers a lot of potential as SKF brokered the largest lease deal in the Bonifacio Global City. “This speaks a lot about the level of confidence in the country’s real-estate market and Santos Knight Frank’s leadership position in the commercial office leasing sector,” he said.

NNOVATION continues to be the strongest driving force in the world. It keeps shaping the way modern people live, work, play and relate. For the ambitious, influential and highly social dreamers of today, making an impact whether through enterprise or advocacy—requires collaboration and creativity. Fortunately, finding the right environment that promotes a culture of constant connectedness and evolution has just become more accessible. In the urban expanse of Makati City, a nano-township opens up with a new colifestyle concept that puts the spotlight on a life of passion, purpose, practicality and productivity. A development by Eton Properties Philippines Inc., Eton WestEnd Square is envisioned to become the co-lifestyle capital of the Philippines with its promising location for individuals and enterprises of all shapes and sizes seeking to create positive and meaningful impact. From forward-thinking tech and online companies, eco-friendly shops, social enterprises, to unique homegrown restaurants and other new enterprise

concepts, Eton WestEnd Square enjoins them to be part of a prime property showcase of the new co-work, co-play, co-live standard. The development’s strategic location in West Makati offers a high-value business and commercial address while being distinct enough from the city’s known hustle and bustle. This mini-township is complete with features and amenities that support the sharing economy of the co-professional market. Found on the corner of Chino Roces Avenue, Yakal and Malugay streets, there is an easy access to buses, taxi cabs, shuttle vans, jeepneys and even tricycles just outside the gates.

Collaborative community

GOT a creative idea for a store or restaurant? Here would be where the right audience can take notice of a business and give it the appreciation and traction it needs. Here is where it can find and grow a passionate work force that can sustain and help the business thrive. eWestMall has two stories of retail spaces that Eton Properties aims to transform into

a co-play hub, featuring brands that gather and connect people through unique shopping and dining experiences, as well as services. eWestPod offers up to four floors of sleek and elegant work spaces best suited for BPOs, tech companies and start-ups. The low-rise office building is outfitted with top-quality features and functionalities to ensure that businesses can foster 24/7 convergence and collaboration in every area of operation. With approximately 13,955 sq m for lease, companies can easily fit in any number of work stations and can look forward to expansion options in the future. Minutes away from Central Makati, the location is far enough from the frenzy and can be ideal for leaders and employees looking for more focus, balance and harmony in their work-life schedules. All of these are just a walk away from Blakes Tower, a 36-floor mixed-use development that houses serviced apartments, a dormitory and boutique offices. It will feature shared amenities such as breakout rooms and lounge areas per floor, which will serve as a respite from the structured small office and

condo living or dormitory lifestyle. Designed for the modern nomad, Blakes Residences features amenity-filled serviced apartments that support business travelers’ connected, on-the-go lifestyles. www.eton.com.ph.

Business

E2 Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Women leadership in real-estate sustainability

Amor Maclang

FIRST DIBS IN REAL ESTATE

HEN I first met Cristina “Tina” Samson, it was to celebrate the need to promote more women leadership roles in the real-estate industry. Ferociously passionate about inclusion in the industry, it is no surprise that Tina’s work was recently heralded for sustainability in real estate. With today’s constantly changing business climate, it’s a must to rethink the way we build our cities and develop our resources. The need to disrupt the norm, generates fresh ideas and scour the unknown, is now more obvious than ever before. T he World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) recognizes the same, awarding its very first Women in Green Building Leadership prize in this year’s WorldGBC Asia Pacific Leadership in Green Building Awards. Among those who made it to the top three finalists is the Philippines’s pioneer and trailblazer in green urban development, Atty. Maria Cristina Samson. Tina is the co-president of The Net Group, the leading green office building developer in the country. She elevated to the regional level after winning the similar category in the Philippine Green Building Council Leadership in the 2018 Green Building Awards. A certified power woman, she shares her journey to gaining her rightful place in the industry while striving for both women empowerment and sustainable development.

This is the first year for WorldGBC to award Women in Green Building Leadership. What do you think this award signifies?

Women have always been at the forefront of advocacies for the protection of the environment and the fight against climate change. It is high time to acknowledge their efforts and put them front and center. I am grateful for how the WorldGBC, through this award, values the pivotal role of women in creating positive impact to and for their communities. I have witnessed how different fieltds have improved their perspective of women and recognitions such as this do not just serve as an inspiration for aspiring female leaders but also a drive for similar advancement of gender equality across all industries. Gradually we are veering from traditional notions and gender roles. I am truly honored to have been chosen as a finalist for the award and, at the same time, encourage women to thrive against all odds. We are starting to achieve the representation we deserve. This is another ray of hope for women to continue being shakers and movers in the industry and their respective communities.

What challenges did you encounter in your career as a woman in a male-dominated industry and what advice can you give to other women who may be facing or will face the same?

Urban development remains a

THE Net Group Co-president Atty. Maria Cristina Samson

male-dominated industry, especially here in the Philippines. I am usually in the presence of men and, throughout my career, I had to speak up and work nearly twice as hard to prove myself professionally. For me, overcoming them is simple—accept the situation as it is, get to work and dive right in! I have always been a staunch believer of discipline and right attitude. I compete with myself and keep a “mentorship dynamic” with the men I work with. Whenever I have a question, I ask. I allow people to explain things for me to understand. Equipped with that mindset, partnered with exceptional listening skills and gifted with a sharp eye for detail, I was able to successfully establish myself, polish my craft and gain valued credibility in my field.

As chairperson of the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) of the Urban Land Initiative (ULI) Philippines, I’ve created together with the Young Leader’s Group chair, the Annual ULI Mentorship program that serves as a venue for young real-estate practitioners to hone their skills and talents

through one-on-one consultations with real-estate leaders. At least 50 percent of both mentors and mentees in the program are women, further promoting the advancement of women in the field. I was even a mentor for two women mentees under the 2017 ULI mentorship program. On a lighter, more humane note, I have also organized dinner events that offer a safe venue for meaningful discussions and positive reinforcements for women. Currently, I’m planning to expand the membership of WLI geographically to reach out to women in the country’s key cities, thereby supporting women’s growth beyond Metro Manila. As co-president of The Net Group, I ensure that we organize womencentric activities for more than 40,000 occupants in our portfolio. We’ve had, among others, workshops tackling women leadership and empowerment in business, as well as organized bazaars featuring women leaders, mompreneurs, and advocacy-driven businesses and organizations, which aimed to uplift women. We even promoted the achievements of the women-employees within our portfolio to serve as catalysts for the growth of everyone within our buildings.

ing—all providing convenience in the workplace. Serving as the home of the Parkway Corporate Center, at the prestigious corner address of Corporate and Parkway avenues, is

Filinvest City, Alabang, a thriving, fully integrated, and self-contained 244-hectare metropolis that harmonizes modern conveniences with nature—a genuine work-live-play environment that is quickly rein-

Having experienced these, what are the efforts you’ve made for women empowerment?

NET Park, a landmark office building with iconic world-class architecture and pioneering ecologically responsive features

What role do you think women play in the green revolution? How do you and your team put it into action?

tation by installing electric vehicle charging stations, implementing electric vehicle shuttle programs and, on a simpler scale, encouraging our tenants to ride their bicycles to work. The “feminine” touch is evident in our building features. Our Spa-like building shower rooms reduce wastage from installing multiple shower stalls within different tenant office spaces, as well as encourage healthy lifestyle for tenants through exercise. Our greenery, comprised of vertical gardens, provide much-needed respites between the daily stresses pervasive in the concrete jungle, while our vegetable garden at the roof deck affords alternative (and more economical) source of nutrition. Our simple yet unfettered botanical plants in our parks and decks brighten up the sea of greys and greens within the city. No matter how small or big the efforts are, we hope to inspire other developers to, likewise, adopt a green concept and integrate sustainability into their business models.

forcing its stature as the ultimate green city that’s in close proximity to the Calabarzon region and just 15 minutes from Makati and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Indeed, the Parkway Corporate

Center allows your business to grow with the city, as it is primed for continuous advancement in the Metro South.

The movement needs a new way of thinking, a diverse group who can explore new ideas and offer new solutions. This is where women are needed—a creative, empathic, and feminine touch in the way we build and operate. The brainchild concept of The Net Group is to develop boutique office buildings that provide personalized services similar to what you would expect from a hotel. Developing green office buildings only became a sensible business venture thereafter, which further complemented our core business and brand of service. With the help of the women behind our team, we have revolutionized the workplace by creating a unique, relevant, and versatile program promoting sustainability. We are the first and only office developer in the Philippines to ensure that all of our buildings source our power from renewable energy. We likewise, advocate for environment-friendly modes of transpor-

The pinnacle of success S INCE its historic groundbreaking in 2015, the Parkway Corporate Center, the first office condominium that major developer Filinvest offers, has been steadily reshaping the burgeoning Filinvest City skyline, one level and glass curtain wall at a time. This year investors and locators alike can finally look forward to the completion and turnover of this remarkable corporate tower by the fourth quarter of 2018, with construction now almost complete. This means that investors will soon reap healthy returns on their property investment, with the Parkway Corporate Center being one of the few office developments in the market to offer state-of-theart units for sale. For locators, they can soon move into their office units—ranging from a flexible 36 square meters all the way to a full floor—as well as enjoy the features and amenities that can catapult your business to world-class status. Additionally, the Parkway Corporate Center, with its impressive design by H1 Architecture and De-

sign, rises apart from the rest with its unrivaled location and cuttingedge facilities. As a future-ready premium office tower, Parkway Corporate Center offers intelligent space planning and modern building facilities, such as six high-speed elevators, 24-hour security with CCTV cameras in strategic areas, 100-percent backup power and an advanced fiberoptic backbone. Of note as well is its variable refrigerant flow (VRF) Air-conditioning system, providing consistent cooling comfort, quiet operation and utmost energy efficiency. Double-glazed low-e glass, on the other hand, helps protect against UV radiation and fading while reflecting heat back, thus ensuring that the interior temperature remains unaffected. Coupled with this are the numerous standard amenities, including an elegant main lobby, a retail plaza at the ground floor, a fully equipped business center on the 7th level, a podium deck garden, pocket gardens every five levels, plus eight levels of secured park-

www.parkwaycorporate.com.

sMirror

Wednesday, September 26, 2018 E3

Life gets closer to everything at The Fifth

EING in close proximity to everything—a luxury that living within a vibrant central business district (CBD) affords—while enjoying the comforts of home has become a rarity these days. Thus, in this age where every moment counts, the only way to achieve this is to find a perfect balance to live, work, play and learn. Just when picturing a serene community at the epicenter of a thriving CBD has become rare these days, Megaworld subsidiary Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. redefines the idea of a “close to everything” lifestyle with The Fifth, a two-tower residential condominium and the latest cluster to rise within the posh Renaissance community in Pasig City. Composed of the 33-storey Astra Tower and the 36-storey Luna Tower, The Fifth offers a more laidback urban living vibe that puts residents

within arms’ reach of everything in Ortigas. Rising along Meralco Avenue and proudly dotting the Ortigas skyline, The Fifth keeps residents right in the heart of everything any go-getter needs: office buildings, shopping malls, hotels, universities, medical institution and transport hubs.

Closer to Ortigas’s best-kept secrets

WHETHER having a coffee break or meeting up someone to close a business deal, future residents at

The Fifth will have the advantage to easily access several points in the metro from where they are, including Mandaluyong, Pasig, Quezon City, Makati, Fort Bonifacio and San Juan. Families will also enjoy the luxury of growing as one at The Fifth as the community offers all the benefits to nurture a healthy, holistic family life. It sits just right beside Saint Paul College-Pasig and less than five minutes away from other prestigious institutions like the Poveda College, the University of Asia and the Pacific and the Lourdes School. It also offers a wide array of leisure options since it is surrounded by top hotels, like Richmonde Hotel Ortigas, Lifestyle Malls and other recreational facilities. Access to world-class medical institutions is also another outstanding benefit residents can enjoy at The Fifth as the development is only a few kilometers away from the Medical City and Cardinal Santos Medical Center. Construction is already underway for the P1.6-billion Fort Bonifacio-Ortigas Center Link road project, which will soon connect Pasig City to Fort Bonifacio. This will effectively cut down travel time

to and from The Fifth to only about 15 minutes. Needless to say, Ortigas’s bestkept secrets can only be truly enjoyed in this new residential cluster.

A charming address in a bustling community

GIVEN that you’ll revel an unparalleled access to everything in the most coveted address in the Metro,

The Fifth offers units that will match the needs of millennials climbing the corporate ladder, starting families, and business-minded individuals who are looking for a solid investment. With balconies in all units that boast of magnificent panoramic views of Ortigas, Quezon City and the Antipolo mountains, residents are sure to look forward to taking in the beauty of their surroundings and fulfill their passions. Apart from these, there are also recreational amenities exclusive to residents, including the Sky Lounge and Viewing Decks, Al Fresco Cabanas, Pool Bar, Lounging and Yoga Deck, outdoor playground, children’s playroom, fitness center, swimming pool, Jacuzzis, function hall, coffee shop, spa and a CoLab Working Space. The new residential development is expected for completion by 2023. The Fifth is an ideal place to bring you closer to living in the midst of everything. It is where people can find meaningful moments in well-planned spaces, revel in modern comforts and build lasting relationships with friends and family.

Office market transactions hit 1.4 million sq m

LPC CEO David Leechiu during the Real Estate Market Insights briefing By Roderick L. Abad

@rodrik_28

HE office segment of the Philippine real-estate industry continues to enjoy a strong market demand with a record high of 1.4 million square meter (sq m) of aggregate workspace transacted as of this month, thus indicating its constant competitiveness in the region, according to Leechiu Property Consultant (LPC). At an average rate of P303,000 ($5,600) per sq m, condominium values are still on the lower end in the Asia-Pacific market. Net office take-up in Metro Manila as of

September 2018 has hit 799,653 sq m—surpassing the full-year 2017 figure of 774,957 sq m. Information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry is still the main tenant, occupying 301,275 sq m. Contrary to call centers, technology and software companies accounted for the majority of the IT-BPM take-up. Offshore and online gaming space, on the other hand, is the second demand driver, absorbing 170,940 sq m of the inventory. This industry has made its presence felt from Bay City to other districts like Quezon City and Ortigas. Flexible work spaces, front-end finance and

other institutions also pushed the office demand. According to LPC CEO David Leechiu, the metropolis “has enjoyed an eight-year streak of low vacancy rates and increasing rent driven by stable demand from the IT-BPM industry. “We’re seeing unprecedented growth in Metro Manila, as well as in key cities outside the capital like Clark and Cebu,” he said recently during their Real Estate Market Insights briefing at their office in Makati City. Overall, regional net office takeup as of year-to-date September 1, 2018, is at 283,948 sq m. For the

first time, the former US military base in Pampanga partook a 39 percent share to around 111,000 sq m, or 30,000 sq m more than Cebu, which used to be the secondmost desired destination for business locators. The Queen City of the South took up around 27 percent or 76,000 sq m; Laguna, 16 percent, 46,000 sq m; Iloilo, 6 percent, 16,000 sq m; Cavite, 4 percent, 13,000 sq m; Nueva Ecija, 4 percent, 11,000 sq m; Davao, 2 percent, 6,000 sq m; and Rizal, 2 percent, 5,000 sq m. Looking forward, office take-up in Metro Manila is projected to reach 950,000 sq m by year-end. Currently, office supply in the metropolis stands at 10 million sq m. Around 3.83 million sq m is expected to be added to this by 2023. Cities outside Metro Manila are foreseen to grow by a cumulative 1,400,000 sq m. “2018 looks like it will still be another banner year for the office segment, not just in Metro Manila but also for other cities. Rents will continue to move upward this 2018 with new deals being transacted at higher rates,” Leechiu said. “We foresee that Clark, particularly the new Clark Global City, will continue to be a preferred location for firms in the IT-BPM space and gaming. Clark is well on its way to being the next big location outside Metro Manila,” he stressed. LPC is a homegrown privately owned professional real-estate brokerage services company. It’s team has a combined experience of leasing over 1 million sq m of office space and selling more than P100 billion in real-estate.

NIPPON Paint President Mark Owen Webb (left) and SHDA National President Christopher Narciso

Nippon Paint partners with the country’s biggest housing developer

IPPON Paint (Coatings) Philippines Inc., Asia’s No. 1 Paint Manufacturer, recently entered into an agreement with the Subdivision Housing Developers Association (SHDA), one of the leading organizations of housing and real estate developers in the Philippines. Nippon Paint signed with the SHDA a supply agreement wherein the association will be entitled to a special pricing scheme and will receive other incentives every time SHDA members will purchase Nippon Paint products for their various projects in the country. The agreement was signed during the recently concluded SHDA

National Developers Convention 2018 held at the Xavier Sports and Country Club in Cagayan de Oro City. The convention was held in partnership with the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and carried the theme “Roadmap to BALAI 2028” or “Building Adequate, Livable, Affordable, and Inclusive” Filipino communities. BALAI 2028 is a movement launched by the HUDCC last year, whose aim was to address the Philippines’s housing backlog and help provide adequate, livable, affordable and inclusive shelters for many Filipinos without homes of their own. www.nipponpaint.ph.

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

E4 Wednesday, September 26, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Filipina entrepreneur Malou Villarreal reaps award, recognition in the Land Down Under

‘A

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

Contributor

sleeping baby is a happy baby, and a happy baby is a happy family.” With this as her guiding inspiration, a Filipino-Australian emerged to be a successful entrepreneur in a foreign land.

Sleepy Hugs, the sleep suit that gives babies that secure feeling and improved sleep, was borne out of the need for AusMumpreneur awardee Malou Villarreal to address the sleeping problem of one of her two sons. After a lot of testing of what products best suits her second son, and learning that she is not alone in this situation—that a lot more moms have the same problem as hers —Villareal decided to create a product that combined a number of features and functions where other products fell short. Thus, she gave birth to Sleepy Hugs. “It helped my baby sleep better and in turn gave me back my sleep [and sanity]. The Sleepy Hugs is designed to help babies transition out of a swaddle wrap and gives security to help babies cope with their ‘moro’ reflex or startle reflex,” Villarreal, the founder of Baby Loves Sleep and creator of the Sleepy Hugs, told the BusinessMirror in an e-mail interview. In the early years of Baby Loves Sleep, her mother helped sew the prototypes. When her son turned two years old, Villarreal launched her business online with the first ever Sleepy Hugs sleep suits. “Now in my third year of business, I have since designed and created four other products in the sleep wear range,” she said. Villarreal has tapped a distributor in New Zealand and recently exported the products to Canada and USA. “My product brands have also been nominated for awards in Australia and the United Kingdom,” she beamed. Villarreal recently bagged the Award for Product Innovation at the AusMumpreneur Awards Conference. She said the award is meaningful not only because it

recognizes her business achievements but also acknowledges her dual role as a mother and an entrepreneur. Being a mother and an entrepreneur is not an easy task in the land Down Under because Villarreal needs to juggle between caring for the children and maintaining the household, and running a business. She said she does not have the luxury of having household helpers in Australia, unlike here in the Philippines, so she and her husband have to share in doing the household chores. Villarreal said one of the biggest challenges in her business is building and growing the business from the ground up, and literally on a shoe string budget. Nevertheless, Villarreal continues to persevere, focus and work hard. By tapping a good manufacturing supplier, she was able to produce her first line of baby sleepwear. “I have since extended my baby sleep wear range from a single product to five products that cover babies from newborn through to toddler stage. I have also recently launched my very own brand of silicone baby teethers that are the only teethers in Australia to carry the Baby Safety Australia tick of approval,” she said. Describing herself as a passionate entrepreneur, Villarreal’s motivation for success is her family. She admits the life of an entrepreneur is like a roller- VILLARREAL

coaster ride and, likewise, she feels the pressure of running the business. Nevertheless, she tells herself to push on. Villarreal is aware that committing mistakes are part of the game and she needs to be prepared when they occur. “Mistakes are inevitable and you need to be prepared when they happen, but it’s important to learn from them and never stop learning better and smarter ways of doing things,” she said. An optimist, Villarreal describes herself as a “glass half-full” kind of individual. She loves to take calculated risks and pushes herself to the limit to achieve her goal. “I love collaborating with other unique brands that complement my own product brand and I love supporting other mom entrepreneurs. I believe in giving back to the community and hope that someday, I can give back something meaningful and significant that will make a difference to people’s lives,” she said.

Flight stewardess opens first 7-Eleven E. Visayas C-store in Ormoc, Leyte

orld-leading convenience store chain brand 7-Eleven’s market domination across the country is well to continue, this time stepping up its expansion game via its landmark entry in Eastern Visayas. Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC), the exclusive licensor of 7-Eleven in the Philippines, recently awarded its first franchise in the new territory to Julie Anne Yap Gamace, a flight stewardess who just opened the first Eastern Visayas C-store in Ormoc, Leyte. “I feel honored and very blessed to be the first franchisee in Leyte. I am very excited about the warm acceptance of the Ormocanons. They have been very supportive and I feel overjoyed that they are also happy about 7-Eleven coming to their hometown. This I know opens doors of ideas and opportunities not only for my family but for Ormoc. It is my family’s share of Ormoc’s growth and I hope that by this, Ormocanons will be more open and share more because Ormoc has a lot of potential and just needs a little push,” said Gamace. According to 7-Eleven Visayas Regional Business Unit Manager Francis Medina, the move to penetrate the Eastern Visayas territory is a challenging yet most welcome opportunity for the group’s continued aggressive expansion efforts. Seeing huge potential in the new location, which consists of three major islands (Leyte, Biliran and Samar) and six flourishing provinces with a consolidated population of more than 4,440,150, the upcoming 7-Eleven stores are seen to cater mostly the residential and commercial areas of the province. “This year, we are targeting to open five stores in the cities of Ormoc, Tacloban and Palo. In 2019 we are planning to push through with Eastern Visayas to align with the 500-store target. As part of our aggres-

sive expansion, we are planning to open additional 26 stores all over Leyte,and Southern Leyte provinces including major cities and municipalities, such as Maasin, Baybay, Sogod and Palompon,” he said. Medina also revealed that 7-Eleven Visayas is targeting to open 32 stores in Samar and Biliran provinces, including Calbayog, Catbalogan, and Naval in 2020, while it plans to open additional 30 stores in Northern and Eastern Samar, including Borongan and Catarman in 2021, all targeting the commercial and residential areas of the province. In addition to another upcoming outlet in Ormoc City, specifically in Barangay Cogon by first quarter of 2019, Palo will be welcoming two C-stores (one in Barangay Pawing and Palo Poblacion near the Cathedral) and another one soon to open this year in Tacloban along Real Street. Apart from the two major cities of Ormoc and Tacloban, Medina said, PSC is looking to stretch its expansion in the municipalities of Alang-Alang, Carigarra, and Kanangga, as progressive development is seen to spur in the areas. This as the company gradually works its way toward Southern Leyte, Leyte, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Samar. As of September, PSC operates a total of 340-store network in the Visayas, with 199 franchise-owned and 141 corporate-owned, which give a franchise ratio of more than 50 percent. 7-Eleven offers suitable partners two ways to benefit from a proven system: Regular New Store Franchise (open a new 7-Eleven store), and Property Conversion (convert an established business or properties into a 7-Eleven franchise). For more details on 7-Eleven’s franchise opportunity offerings, call (02) 7269968, 0920-9508651, 0917-8711686, e-mail franchising@7-eleven. com.ph or visit www.7-eleven.com.ph.

Above Sea Level fast-food chain: Serving the bounty of the sea By Efleda P. Campos Senior Editor

ESS than two years after opening its first location, Above Sea Level Restaurant (ASL) is looking at becoming the first successful fast-food chain in the Philippines sourcing its main ingredients from the sea. ASL came into being in January 2017, after the husband-and-wife team of Polsan Pangindian Jr. and Winna Baldonado decided they could make their fortune in the Philippines, as well as overseas Filipino workers in Dubai. So instead of flying to Dubai to join a friend already working there, the couple planned their first restaurant outlet. They found their ideal location at the Yard Food Park in Pasig City. They then registered the sole proprietorship they called ASL

2421 Above Sea Level Seafood Bistro with the Department of Trade and Industry. Their initial capital amounted to P200,000, with the restaurant’s kitchen equipment all coming from their house. On their menu were recipes specifically developed for the restaurant by his sister Riza Paula Pangindian, a chef specializing in Japanese cuisine. Her butterflied squid deep-fried and skewered on two barbecue sticks, her firecracker shrimp with each crustacean wrapped in mini-lumpia wrappers and crackling with every bite, their seafood fiesta (think paella topped with green mussels, crabs and with a special sauce made of crab fat or aligue), and squid fries were instant hits among the patrons of the food park. The dishes are as delectable as they look.

The prices of the dishes on the menu are surprisingly very reasonable, another attraction to the restaurant’s dinner-time clientele. Soon after opening their first restaurant, the couple started receiving inquiries on whether they were open to franchising. By June 2017 six months after they opened at The Yard in Pasig, they launched six more branches. Today, ASL has 140 branches in Luzon and counting. Of these, 70 are operational and 70 have been reserved by balikbayan who signified their plan to operate their own restaurants when they return to the Philippines, said Mark Vidal, ASL’s franchising manager. Vidal was the friend working in Dubai whom the couple convinced to return to the Philippines to help them run their booming business. Open from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. seven

days a week, restaurants, kiosks, food stalls, and other locations bearing the ASL name have become a popular destination for students, young professionals, older people, families with kids, friends unwinding after work. Aside from their signature dishes, ASL’s menu also includes ramen and sushi, all creations of Paula who plans to add three more dishes to the menu before the year ends. Today, ASL’s flagship restaurant is located in Maginhawa Street at the UP Village in Quezon City. It opened in April 2018. “One of our franchisees is located in Tuguegarao, Cagayan,” Vidal said. “It grosses P78,000 in sales each day.” ASL’s commissaries are located in San Ildefonso and Valenzuela in Bulacan, home province of the Pangindians.

ASL employs 90 workers, including relatives. One of them is Maritess Reyes who acts as cashier and store manager in their flagship location along Maginhawa Street. Vidal said a franchise costs P690,000, good for five years and is renewable for another five years. Supplies are delivered once or twice a week, depending on the store’s requirements. “We get no royalty from our franchises,” Vidal said. “And we source our ingredients locally, mainly from the south.” Vidal said the restaurant does not use any food preservatives and is involved in activities that give back to the communities where they get their supplies and where their restaurants are located. Vidal said they have feeding programs for street kids and the poor elderly, as well as sports fests for

their communities’ young people. “We are a member of the Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc.,” Vidal said. ASL’s popularity and commercial success is mind-boggling, but the proprietors see their growth as a natural phenomenon. “Undoubtedly, we are growing,” Vidal said. “The bounty from Philippine seas is God-given and we hope to share this blessing to more people.” “Our service is expanding, too,” he said, adding they have added catering to their service. “We are looking at expanding not only in the Visayas and Mindanao in 2019, but also overseas,” Vidal said. “We have received serious inquiries from the US, Canada, Guam and Australia. We are looking at opening 10 branches outside Luzon next year.”