BusinessMirror February 25, 2019

PHL MOURNS PASSING OF B.S.P.’S ESPENILLA

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

‘W BM FILE PHOTO

E shall endeavor to fulfill our core mandates with greater vigor and integrity to ensure that both the economy and the financial system remain strong, stable and resilient so that they facilitate transformational opportunities for all.”

This was part of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr.’s speech when he took office in July 3, 2017.

Only about 19 months after, staff at the country’s central monetary authority will make this their marching order to keep the BSP afloat in the days following the demise of its captain.

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The BSP confirmed the passing of Espenilla at dawn of Sunday. He was 60. The Monetary Board said he died on February 23 after just a year of battling cancer.

In a phone interview with the BusinessMirror, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said the Central Bank is ready to exert all efforts to continue its operational excellence in the coming days and deliver their core mandates, even as the institution mourns the passing of the governor. He also allayed fears of potential market uncertainties, saying the BSP is resilient enough to facilitate its operations during this time.

“I think the market is mature enough that the BSP is a very strong organization. We have metamorphosed into what we are today for a number of

reasons,” Guinigundo said.

“I think we also demonstrated that in the time of Governor Tetangco when he went through the knife years ago when he was governor and also in the last few months when Governor Espenilla himself was going into intermittent medical leave. The BSP proved to be stable and effective in discharging its responsibilities as defined by the three pillars of central banking,” he added.

It was early 2018 when Espenilla revealed that he was diagnosed and treated for tongue cancer, which was detected in November 2017.

In September last year, Espenilla also took a monthlong medical leave for treatment. The BSP said that the governor may

be taking“intermittent medical leaves”from then on. He took another 18-day medical leave in January for treatment overseas.

Prior to his appointment as governor in 2017, Espenilla rose through the ranks in the BSP since joining the institution in 1981. He served 38 years in the BSP and used to describe himself as a“homegrown” product of the local central bank.

Bank reform and financial access champ BEFORE taking office as the BSP chief, Espenilla was in charge of the Supervision and Examination Sector (SES), which supervises all financial institutions under the BSP jurisdiction.

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Monday, February 25, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 138

Solon, investors prod govt on EODB’s IRR L

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz & Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@joveemarie @alyasjah

AWMAKERS and foreign investors sought answers at the weekend for the inordinate delay in the implementation of the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Act, once hailed as a game changer in encouraging commerce in the country.

A member of the House Committee on Economic Affairs on Sunday asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the newly formed Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) to explain to Congress the delay in the issuance of the

implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the law.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, one of the principal authors of the law, said this undue delay has set back government efforts to cut

red tape and improve the Philippi nes’s compet it iveness i n attracting investors.

Villafuerte made a statement following the supposed admission

by Arta Officer in Charge Ernesto Perez that the agency resubmitted

90

The number of working days that the DTI and Arta are mandated to release the IRR of the Ease of Doing Business Act. The IRR’s release was due in October 2018 a new set of IRR to Malacañang in January because the original one they submitted four months ago still needed “revisions.”

According to Villafuerte, the IRR of the law should have been released in October last year.

See “EODB’s IRR,” A2

By Rea Cu

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) hailed at the weekend the action plans of a number of its stakeholders in resolving the issues on thousands of empty containers that have caused port congestion, posing serious logistics problems and impacting trade and commerce.

The BOC was referring to the agreement forged by the Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL) with three organizations, and before that, the Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) with five international shipping lines.

BOC Spokesman Atty. Erastus Sandino B. Austria said the bureau welcomes the action plan of the AISL, Container Depot Association of the Philippines (CDAP), Association of Concerned Truckers and Operators Organization (ACTOO) and International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) to help address the empty container returns issue of the logistics industry.

The ICTSI operates the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) in Manila and nine other Philippine ports, while ATI is the port operator at South Harbor and

two other ports, as well as two offdock yards. “We fully support this.

This is one of the multipronged approaches the BOC has encouraged, led or participated in to address the problem,” Austria told the BusinessMirror in a text message.

Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero also told the BusinessMirror in a text message that the BOC appreciates the initiatives being taken by its stakeholders in helping address the challenges faced by the logistics industry.

“BOC was part of the group that developed options on how to solve port congestion. We appreciate initiatives by key stakeholders to help solve the problem,” Guerrero said.

It was earlier reported that the high inventory of empty containers seen in container yards and ports was hampering normal truck cycles, and in turn adversely impacting local port-efficiency levels.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.0560

See “BOC,” A8

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

Farmers’ dismay over rice trade lib law may lead to lawsuits–report

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

T

HE Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-FAS) said the Philippine government may face lawsuits over the rice trade liberalization law as opposition against the measure grows.

In a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report, USDA-FAS Manila noted that Republic Act (RA) 11203 would “likely face legal challenges in the form of lawsuits in the near future” as some rice industry stakeholders are “dismayed” over the measure.

RA 11203 liberalized the country’s rice trade, including the removal of the quantitative restriction on imports, and also deregulated the National Food Authority, leaving it as a buffer-stocking agency for emergencies.

“The rice tariffication law has also been met by strong opposition from some sectors, with legal challenges in the form of lawsuits likely in the near future,” the GAIN report, which was published recently, read.

The report also agreed with farmers that the country’s rice imports will increase, particularly from Asean member-states, after Manila liberalized rice trade.

The USDA earlier projected that Philippine rice imports this year could reach 2.3 million metric tons (MMT), driven by stronger appetite from traders as they anticipate the full liberalization of the industry.

This would be the second consecutive year that the Philippines will import over 2 MMT of rice, as purchases from abroad last year were also estimated at 2.3 MMT, according to the USDA. See “Rice trade,” A2

January inflation hits Bottom 30%

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

“BOC was part of the group that developed options on how to solve port congestion. We appreciate initiatives by key stakeholders to help solve the problem.”— Guerrero

@ReaCuBM

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BOC backs initiatives by port stakeholders on empty containers

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See “Espenilla,” A2

port for the call of senatorial candidate and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos to halt the importation of meat beyond the country’s WTO commitment.

According to So, domestic chicken production is at a 98-percent sufficiency with 1.3 billion kilos, while pork production is at 96-percent sufficiency at 1.8 billion kilos.

HE poorest Filipinos continued to suffer from high commodity prices as inflation for the Bottom 30 percent of households nationwide stood at 5.9 percent in January 2019, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In its latest report, the PSA said inflation in January 2019 was higher than the 4.7 percent posted in January 2018. However, it was significantly slower than the 7.2 percent posted in December.

The increase in food prices experienced by the poorest increased 5.8 percent in January from the 4.8 percent in January 2018.

“Its [food index] annual rate was recorded at 7.1 percent in the previous month and 4.8 percent in January 2018,” the PSA said. “The index of corn exhibited an annual decline of 0.7 percent during the month. Moreover, all the other food groups registered slower annual growth in January 2019.”

Inflation experienced by the poorest households nationwide mirrored the rate experienced in Areas Outside the National Capital Region (AONCR), which was also at 5.9 percent.

See “Overimportation,” A2

See “Inflation,” A2

HAPPY WALK Some 6,000 people—families, school officials and workers, supporters, advocates and SM employees—celebrated the triumphant life stories of people with Down syndrome and their families at the 17th Happy Walk for Down Syndrome at the SMX Convention Center on Sunday (February 24, 2019). Happy Walk celebrates the National Syndrome Consciousness Month, an annual activity that promotes awareness, acceptance and inclusivity of persons with Down syndrome. The event was graced by Ambassador-Designate for the Royal Thai Embassy H.E.Vasin Ruangprateepsaeng; SM Prime Holdings Executive Committee Chairman Hans Sy; and US Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Sung Kim with his wife. NONIE REYES

Pork, chicken overimportation slammed

I

MPORTED meat flooded the domestic market last year by more than 300 million kilos for pork and 270 million kilos for chicken, respectively, way above the minimum access volume set by the World Trade Organization.

While this brought down meat prices sold in local markets, the oversupply imperiled backyard hog and chicken raisers who stand to

lose their livelihood if the overimportation continues, according to Abono Party-list and the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura Chairman Rosendo So. “The truth of the matter is, our domestic production can sustain the local demand. The gap that needs to be addressed through importation is very minimal,” So said.

The group also reiterated its sup-

n JAPAN 0.4703 n UK 67.8706 n HK 6.6342 n CHINA 7.7467 n SINGAPORE 38.4546 n AUSTRALIA 36.9546 n EU 59.0419 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.8816

Source: BSP (22 February 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, February 25, 2019

Pique drove German journo to attack him, says DFA chief

W

By Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

AS it pique that drove a German journalist to come down hard on Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. and make a case out of the latter’s “unacceptable” remarks on Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust?

Locsin thinks so, tweeting on Saturday that Arnd Henze of Berlin-based ARD Capital Studio apparently resented his refusal to “disown” President Duterte in his 2016 remarks, where he glibly alluded to Hitler and the Nazis as he defended his war on drugs.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier accused Henze of deliberately trying to trap Locsin into commenting on the 2016 Duterte comment in an altogether different occasion recently, and, apparently because the former journalist-lawyer turned the tables on him and asked him instead about the Holocaust, Hernze had become peeved.

On Saturday, Locsin said the comments he made before the German blogger was a metaphor, defending Duterte’s earlier statement comparing himself to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Duterte had said way back in 2016 that if the Germans had Hitler, who presided

Rice trade. . .

Continued from A1

‘Undue haste’

FARMERS belonging to the Federation of Free Farmers Inc. (FFF) on Sunday decried the “undue haste” of the economic managers to finish the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) by March 5 sans proper consultation with affected stakeholders.

The FFF noted that RA 11203 provides a 45-day period for the government to consult farmers, millers and other stakeholders

EODB’s IRR. . .

Continued from A1

“The DTI and Arta should explain why they have been remiss in carrying out their responsibilities under the EODB Act when, under this law, the government only had 90 working days to release the IRR,” Villafuerte pointed out.

Villafuerte said the business sector has long been clamoring for the urgent implementation of the EODB law.

British investors

IN this he found an echo in a leading British investor.

British firms operating in the Philippines want the government to hasten the implementation of the EODB law and pass the liberalization of retail trade to make the environment more conducive for investors, Christopher J. Nelson told reporters in a recent interview.

Nelson, executive chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (BCCP), urged President Duterte to move fast in appointing the permanent head of the Anti-Red Tape Authority. The Arta is the lead agency in implementing the EODB law.

“Now, my understanding is at the moment—I just went to the discussion on the implementing rules and regulations—so far they have not yet appointed the head of this new agency,” Nelson said.

“We 100 percent support the [law].We would like to see the head appointed and obviously that agency [Arta] to take off,” he added.

Nelson said potential British investors

at the mass extermination of Jews, the Philippines had him.

“Hitler massacred 3 million Jews. Now there are 3 million drug addicts. I’d be happy to slaughter them,” Duterte said.

Days after making this remark, Duterte apologized to the Jews, claiming that his statement had nothing to do with the Holocaust.

“I would like to make it [clear] here and now that there was never intention on my part to derogate the memory of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Germans,” said Duterte, who made a successful state visit to Israel in 2018.

Locsin tweeted on Saturday: “I said the Pres referring to Hitler & 3MJews is a metaphor. The killing of 6MJews, 20MRussians & innocents like Anne Frank in WW2 is historical fact.”

The DFA chief added, “I guess he [Henze] was annoyed that I refused to disown the Pres & pointed that out bec he left & the next day he

in crafting the IRR. FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said it is important to maximize the 45day period allotted by the law to ensure that farmers are well informed about the impact of the law.

This would ensure that the concerns of farmers will be heard and will be considered in the IRR, considering that the law has “a lot of loop holes” that need to be clarified, Montemayor added.

“Why are they rushing the completion of the IRR? Have commitments been made to some im-

always inquire about the ease and cost of doing business, and consider these two factors as crucial to their decision of operating here.

Duterte signed the EODB law in May of last year. However, the law has yet to take full effect up to now, as the President has yet to appoint the director general of the Arta.

Improve ranking

E A R L I E R , Villafuer te said the full implementation of the EODB law will go a long way in improving the Philippines’s ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking, which fell from 113th in the 2018 report to 124th in 2019.

According to the World Bank 2019 Doing Business Report, the Philippines was able to implement reforms to make it easier to start a business, get construction permits and protect minority investors.

With the EODB Law plus the Anti-Red Tape Advisory Council and the Arta in place, Villafuerte said the government can dramatically improve its ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business index for 2020.

“In boosting the positive sentiment of both foreign and local businesses, the swift and full implementation of the EODB will all the more increase foreign direct investment inflows, which will supercharge the economy and create more jobs in support of President Duterte’s goal of high and inclusive growth over the medium term,” Villafuerte said.

He said the Philippines’s 124th standing was among the lowest of Asean economies in the 2018 World Bank “Doing Business” report.

Singapore was ranked second; Malaysia and Thailand, 26th; Brunei Darussalam, 56th; Vietnam, 68th; and Indonesia, 72nd.

“I guess he [Henze] was annoyed that I refused to disown the Pres & pointed that out bec he left & the next day he went on the attack.”—Locsin

went on the attack.”

A clip of an interview with Locsin posted on the ARD Capital Studio web site shows the secretary affirming Duterte’s remarks in 2016.

“I tell you something—I said that myself before he said it,” Locsin told German reporters.

Referring to Duterte’s previous remarks, Locsin said that’s how the Philippine leader “expressed himself.”

“His policy has created greater confidence in all surveys. Why should we give that up?” he added.

The following day, Henze posted in his blog that Locsin “embraced” the remarks of Duterte about killing 3 million drug addicts.

Herze claimed his blog prompted Germany’s Federal Foreign Office to summon the Philippines’s acting ambassador fol low ing Locsin’s remark.

Lilibeth Pono is the ad interim chargé d’ affaires of the Philippine Embassy in Berlin.

Locsin responded by saying he wants to meet his German counterpart. The DFA maintained, however, that the country’s top diplomat was not represented well in Henze’s account.

DFA Assistant Secretary Elmer

porters? Most farmers have not heard of the Official Gazette, nor do they read newspapers, so they do not even understand what is inside the law,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

“How do you expect ordinary farmers to understand, much less critique, this draft in one-day ‘stakeholder consultations’?” he added, noting that the latest draft of the IRR consists of 32 pages.

Officials of the agriculture department sounded the alarm last week that the government could face lawsuits if it would implement the rice trade liberalization

Key features

ACCORDING to Villafuerte, the EODB law reduces the prescribed processing time for business and nonbusiness related transactions in all government offices and agencies, including local government units (LGUs) and government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

Another key feature of this investor-friendly law is the “zero-contact” policy, meant to curb corruption in the bureaucracy.

The law will trim transaction time for obtaining business permits, licenses and documents to three working days for simple procedures; seven working days for complex; and 20 working days for highly technical.

“Obviously, we are hoping that is done as soon as possible because the point of that [law] was to set standards. Say, if you are going to have a [business] permit, it should be released at this time [as required by the law],” Nelson said.

Retail lib, too

BRITISH firms in the country are also in favor of liberalizing the retail trade industry, according to the BCCP chief.

“We are in the election time, but even after the election is over I think the existing Congress will still be there for three weeks.

There is still a three-week legislative window, so the hope is that [measure] well could pass,” Nelson said.

House Bill 4595, filed by Rep. Arthur C. Yap of the Third District of Bohol, and Senate Bill 1639, authored by Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, will lift minimum capital requirements and foreign equity in retail trade.

Cato argued that Locsin was provoked during his encounter with Henze on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the new building of the Philippine Embassy in Berlin.

“The video posted by Mr. Henze on his blog is incomplete and misleading. It failed to show Mr. Henze’s deliberate attempts to provoke Secretary Locsin into giving controversial remarks,” Cato said in a statement.

Other Filipinos weighed in on the issue on social media. “Misleading video shows malice. Why would they want to pick a fight with you [Locsin] as PH DFA Chief? They want something from us and we’re not that stupid not to know that.

PH not subservient to the West anymore like before,” said Jose Romero in a tweet.

Blog ger J.G _ Delica t weeted: “Never mind if it was a metaphor, Cong. Ted. You disturbed a hornet’s nest. And now flies are coming in.”

In his reply, Locsin, who was the Philippines’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York before being named DFA secretary, said, apparently responding to comments about reminding Germans of the blot in their history from the Holocaust: “Remind the Germans? Since reunification, much has been done to commemorate the victims and policies were set in place to ensure that they do not commit the same atrocities again. The Germans remember their past that’s why they condemn the State-led mass killing happening here.”

law on March 5 sans the IRR. Some members of the President’s economic team had announced that the new rice trade regime would take effect on March 5 even without the necessary IRR. Farmers’ groups and other allied industry stakeholders have stated that they may challenge the law before the court due to lack of public consultation in crafting the bill.

Some groups are looking into the possibility of securing a temporary restraining order against R A 11203 from the Supreme Court.

Inflation. . .

Continued from A1

This was also an increase from the 4.7 percent posted in January 2018.

Food prices in AONCR increased to 5.8 percent in January 2019, from 4.8 percent in the same period in 2018. However, it was slower than the 7.1 percent posted in December 2018.

The poorest households in Metro Manila or NCR were the only ones who saw a slowdown in inflation to 4 percent in January 2019, from 5.6 percent in the same period in 2018.

This may be largely due to the slowdown in food prices at 3.2 percent in January this year, from 4.9 percent in January last year.

However, the slowdown in the increase in food prices was not that significant when compared to December 2018 when food inflation was at 3.6 percent.

“Negative annual rates were still observed in the indices of rice at 1.7 percent and corn at 17.5 percent. In addition, slower annual upticks were noted in the indices of eggs at 1.5 percent; fish, 6.6 percent; meat, 3 percent; and miscellaneous foods, 4.4 percent,” the PSA said.

Earlier, University of the Philippines School of Statistics Dean Dennis S. Mapa told the B usiness M irror that inflation for food and nonalcoholic beverages nationwide remained high at 5.6 percent even if this is lower than the 6.7 percent posted in December 2018.

Mapa said this will translate to a 5.1-percent inflation for the bottom 30 percent or the poorest 30 percent of the population.

The poorest Filipinos are very sensitive to the price of food and this level of inflation could increase poverty.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Espenilla. . .

Continued from A1

The local banking industry, through its umbrella organization the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), on Sunday said it is deeply saddened by the passing of Espenilla.

“The association is grateful to Governor Espenilla for his initiative to engage the industry and respond to its inputs in keeping with the BSP’s reform agenda. He leaves a legacy of a stronger and more inclusive banking system,” the BAP said. Full text of BAP statement in Banking page, B3.

Aside from breakthrough regulations in the banking industry, Espenilla was also known for championing financial inclusion, delivering financial services to the countryside and advancing electronic banking in the country.

“We pay tribute to an exemplary and transformational leader, and a known ‘regulatordisruptor’ who made economic inclusion his mantra. He had the passion and dedication to bring about meaningful change to the unbanked and underserved Filipinos through enabling regulations and policies,” FinTechAlliance. ph Chairman Lito Villanueva said.

“It is a sad day for the country and the financial services industry with the passing of Gov. Nestor A. Espenilla Jr.—humble public servant, progressive central banker and relentless champion of financial inclusion. His legacy lives on in every effort that we all do to serve the unbanked, uncarded and underserved Filipinos with digital financial services. Paalam and rest in peace, Gov.,” Voyager/PayMaya Philippines President and CEO Orlando Vea said.

‘Faithful guardian’ of economy

ECONOMIC managers and other government officials also expressed their grief over the passing of Espenilla.

Former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima lauded the governor’s public service laced with integrity and excellence.

“I am saddened to learn we have lost a great public servant and a faithful guardian of our economy...Our country owes a great debt of gratitude to a fine central banker—one whose tenure of service as the BSP’s chief many would agree to be much shorter than we all would have liked,” Purisima said.

Among those who also expressed grief on Sunday were Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia and Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa.

The Palace also expressed its condolences for the death of the BSP governor.

“As we express our condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Governor Espenilla, we express our gratitude to the man once in charge of disciplining banks for his complete devotion to his work and great service to the nation,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said on Sunday.

Legislators also joined in the mourning of Espenilla’s passing, while vowing to continue pushing the laws that the late governor supported during his time.

“He leaves us secure in the thought that the Bangko Sentral now has a revitalized charter and

Manila Bay. . .

Continued from A8

Also part of the task force are representatives of two water concessionaires in Metro Manila and nearby provinces—Manila Water and Maynilad Water Services Inc. “The herculean task to rehabilitate Manila Bay, seen by some as impossible, is now even more possible because it has been matched with an equally massive support from all government agencies and the private sector,” Cimatu said.

Specifically, the DENR was tasked to strictly enforce Sections 16 and 19 of Republic Act 9275, or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 on the conduct of containment, removal, and cleanup operations, and the exercise or supervision and control on all aspects of water quality management in the Manila Bay Region (MBR).

It is tasked to monitor compliance with critical environmental laws, rules and regulations and issue notices of violation, cease and desist orders, and appropriate

electronic payments has a governing law. Soon, the Islamic Banking Act will also become a law,” said Rep. Henry Ong, Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries chairman.

The Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (Ejap) also issued a statement on Sunday, lauding Espenilla’s strength in heeding the call of duty for the economy in recent months even when he was grappling with his own health issues.

Exemplary UP almunus

IN one of his statements to local reporters in December last year, Espenilla ended his inflation explanation with the words “UP Fight!”, expressing support to the UP Fighting Maroons men’s basketball team in their bid to the finals in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines games.

Espenilla was a proud alumnus of the University of the Philippines (UP) with a bachelor of science degree in business economics, graduating magna cum laude. He also took up his Masters in the state university.

“It’s indeed a very sad day to see one of the hard-working coworkers in the government go.

Nesting was one of our illustrious graduates at the UP School of Economics...We will miss him,” Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said.

Bad at dancing

GUINIGUNDO, also a product of the UP School of Economics, shared his memories of Espenilla as they grew together in the BSP for decades.

Among his fondest memories were their entertainment presentations during their earlier days, representing the BSP in various regional conferences across Asia. “[I remember] even if we were bad at dancing, both of us had to join Governor and Mrs. Singson at that time for the Philippine presentation. Each delegation had to present either a singing or dancing presentation,” he told the BusinessMirror.

“There were many areas of collaboration, of course there were also differences like on the issue of the reserve requirement but very healthy debates in the succeeding years when both of us were appointed deputy governor,” he added.

Both Espenilla and Guinigundo were among the top choices as BSP governor in 2017, following the end of Tetangco’s 12-year stint.

OIC appointed

THE Monetary Board designated Deputy Governor Cyd Tuano-Amador as BSP officer in charge effective immediately until the proper appointment of Espenilla’s successor.

“Our beloved Philippines has a lot of promise before it, and in your good hands, it will continue to thrive and flourish. It is because of this promise that we must relentlessly seek excellence, not for glory or acclaim, but for the sake of delivering the best possible service to the Filipino people,” Espenilla said in his first speech as BSP governor in 2017.

Espenilla is survived by his wife, Maria Teresita Festin Espenilla, daughter Jacqueline Joyce and son-in-law Ben Baltazar, sons Nikko Nestor and Leonardo Nestor and grandchild, Zev Eron. With reports from Jovee Marie dela Cruz, Bernadette Nicolas, Rea Cu, Jasper Arcalas and Cai Ordinario

sanctions to violators including the filing of administrative or other cases against erring government officials.

Cover?

MILITANT groups on Sunday expressed fear that the planned dredging activity in Manila Bay might be a prelude to a full-scale land reclamation that will cover more than 32,000 hectares of the historic water body.

Worst, they suspect that the massive landreclamation projects will be pursued without the benefit of thorough environmental and social impact studies.

In a statement, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said it is highly suspicious that the targeted area for dredging is also the site of the proposed 148-hectare Manila Solar City reclamation project that will occupy 3.5 kilometers of Manila Bay’s shoreline.

The group issued the statement after the DPWH announced that dredging in the Baywalk area of the Roxas Boulevard will start in March as part of the ongoing rehabilitation drive of Manila Bay.

Overimportation. . .

“This is the reason why the minimum access volume set by the WTO is only at 54.21 million kilograms for pork and 23.49 million kilograms for chicken. We can supply the local demand even without importing,” So pointed out.

In 2018, however, total pork importation reached 387.89 million kilograms or close to 700 percent more than the MAV, So said, citing data.

Total imported chicken, on the other hand, reached 310.85 million kilograms or about 1,100 percent more than the WTO-set volume.

“The overimportation really resulted in a flooding of the market. This is why farm gate prices of poultry products stood at only P70 per kilo while pork was at about P120 per kilo....

I am pretty sure there will be backyard raisers

Continued from A1

who will fold up because their earnings right now are below breakeven,” So warned.

“This makes it imperative for the government to install the necessary safeguard mechanisms to curb or totally eliminate overimportation of pork and chicken into the country,” So said.

Marcos earlier urged the DA to suspend meat importation to help local producers sell their products at a competitive level.

“There is no famine in the country and our domestic supply of pork and chicken meat is enough to cover the needs of the Filipino consumers. Let’s help our local producers, especially the backyard hog and poultry raisers, by giving them a breathing space to recover their losses,” she said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation

DUTERTE ENDORSES ZAMORA; PIMENTEL LEADS P.D.P.-LABAN OATH-TAKING CEREMONY

BusinessMirror

No effect on govt workers’ jobs with DHSUD creation–lawmaker

T FRANCIS ZAMORA (left) is seen with other PDP Laban officers, notably Sen. Koko Pimentel (center) and Rep. Ronny Zamora (second from right).

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RESIDENT Duterte has endorsed Francis Zamora as candidate for San Juan mayor after the oath-taking of officers and members of PDP Laban-San Juan.

Zamora also secured the endorsement of Sen. Aquilino “Koko” L. Pimentel III, president of PDP Laban, who led the oath-taking.

The PDP Laban-San Juan president is Rep. Ronaldo “Ronny” B. Zamora, and Francis, his son, is secretary-general.

Zamora bared plans to build in-city highrise public housing, fully equip and modernize the San Juan Medical Center, make San Juan a digitally connected smart city with free wireless-fidelity in all barangays, implement a San Juañeno “First Policy,” prioritizing San Juañenos in employment opportunities and to have a transparent, accountable and corruption-free local government.

Francis Zamora also thanked Pimentel for selecting him and his father as PDP Laban’s of- PRESIDENT Duterte endorses PDP Laban-San Juan Secretaryficial candidates for mayor and congressman. General Francis Zamora as candidate for mayor of San Juan.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, February 25, 2019 A3

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

HE chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development assured employees that they would not be affected by the abolition and consolidation of the government housing agencies and corporations following the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Abelardo B. Benitez, the panel chairman, also confirmed that the lower chamber will convene its oversight committee in early March following the signing of Republic Act 11201, or the DHSUD Act. Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has called for the convening of the oversight committee to determine how to implement the law creating the new housing agency and how it will be operationalized.

Moreover, Benitez said because of its corporate function, the National Housing Authority (NHA) will remain as is.

According to him, employees of the Housing and Land Use and Regulatory Board (HLURB) and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) would, likewise, not be affected despite the abolition of these agencies.

The HLURB would be reconstituted into the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission

(HSAC), which will have regional field units.

Besides NHA, the lawmaker said employees of Home Guaranty Corp. (HGC), the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., the Home Development Mutual Fund and the Social Housing Finance Corp. will retain their jobs under the new department.

The new law attaches these five government housing corporations to the DHSUD. The law also mandates the secretary of Housing to work with the Governance Commission for government-owned and -controlled corporations to restructure these state firms.

“The HGC will now be under the DOF [Department of Finance]. These five firms have different functions so there will be no overlapping and there will be no redundancy,” Benitez said. “This is the weakness of the current system; that’s why a national board [National Human Settlements Board] was created where all the agencies will report to.”

Near city

MEANWHILE, Benitez said the agency is expected to solve the country’s problem on informal settlers, as it would promote onsite, in-city or near-city housing projects.

“The failure of past government housing programs is the focus on relocating informal settlers in remote areas with no access to income and basic services,” Benitez said. “We should maximize government lands that have been idle for years and use it for Filipino families who need housing that are close to their source of income.”

According to Benitez, the law’s primary mandate is to “develop and implement urban renewal program that includes the identification of idle lands that will be used as in-city housing sites.”

“Instead of just building houses, the government shelter programs should also consider access to basic needs such as livelihood, transportation, education and health,” he said.

“This is a step toward the realization of providing affordable homes to Filipino families.”

For his part, Deputy Speaker Raneo E. Abu said the law will give dignified shelters for poor Filipinos by instituting a national comprehensive framework on resilient housing and human settlements.

Socialized housing

THE House Committee on Housing and Urban Development will conduct a public hearing on Tuesday on the status of proclamations declaring Parola, Tondo and Binondo, Manila, as socialized housing sites.

The housing committee will look into the status of Proclamations 96, 518 and 825, and also the implementation of Executive Order 108.

A4 Monday, February 25, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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‘BI, DOLE coordination to stop entry of illegal foreign workers’

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

J

USTICE Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra has sought tighter coordination among concerned agencies in addressing concerns on the entry of illegal Chinese workers in the country.

Guevarra made the appeal in light of the proposal in the Senate to strip the Bureau of Immigration (BI) of its authority to issue special work permits (SWPs) to foreigners due to the increasing number of Chinese nationals joining the country’s labor sector.

The DOJ chief, who is opposed to

the proposal, said there is no need for a legislative measure to address the problem for foreigners illegally working in the country as suggested

by Sen. Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development.

“This issue can be addressed in a faster way without amending the law,” Guevarra said.

While he admitted that there are loopholes in the implementation of the law covering foreign workers, Guevarra said this could be addressed through closer coordination between the BI, an attached agency of the Department

of Justice, and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“It’s not a question of which agency should be solely responsible for the issuance of SWPs. The issue is how to tighten up the rules on SWPs. The BI and DOLE only need to work together on this,” he suggested.

Guevarra explained that one of the factors contributing to the problem is the lack of effective mechanism to monitor the status of all foreign workers in the country.

“The problem really is how to monitor the movement of each and every foreign worker after the expiration of his/her SWP issued by the BI or the long-term alien employ-

ment permit [AEPs] issued by the DOLE. That requires a lot of intelligence resources so we can control the number at the outset or from their entry here,” he noted.

In light of this, Guevarra disclosed that the government is considering formulating a “negative list of shortperiod employment from which foreign workers should be barred” as a measure to control or limit the entry of foreign worker in the country.

Guevarra said he would be meeting with Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III to discuss how this can be implemented.

The DOJ chief also defended the BI against its critics, saying that

it has not been remiss in performing its mandate to run after illegal foreign workers.

Villanueva earlier proposed to remove BI’s authority to issue SWPs to foreigners due to the supposed leniency of the bureau in issuing the said permits.

The senator said the BI has no expertise in determining whether or not job posts should be given to foreign national who want to work in the country—a task, he said, should be left to the DOLE. An SWP allows foreign national to work in the country for three months and could be extended for another three months.

For periods longer than six months and for highly technical, specialized, supervisory and managerial jobs that cannot be fulfilled by Filipinos, foreigners are given AEPs by the DOLE. The BI earlier said it would be imposing stricter requirements and procedures for foreigners eying to work in the country.

BI Commissioner Jaime H. Morente said the agency decided to be strict in issuing SWPs and provisional work permits in light of the reported increase in the number of foreigner being employed in the country which put Filipino workers at a disadvantage.

Tax incentives to help revive PHL’s garments industry—Fobap

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

I

F the government intends to revive the local garments industry, it must guarantee tax incentives for investors who will be willing to risk capital in revival ef-

forts, the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (Fobap) has said.

Fobap President Robert M. Young said incentives will play a “crucial” role in the bid to rejuvenate the garments industry. He argued revival efforts will only succeed if existing tax perks, such as the 5-percent tax on gross

income paid by economic zone firms in lieu of all local and national taxes, are retained.

Incentives will be overhauled under the proposed Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities bill, also known as the Trabaho bill.

The Trabaho bill will gradually reduce corporate income tax to 20 percent in 2029 from 30 percent and rationalize incentives.

The measure is awaiting the approval of senators, who are currently on a break for the midterm polls in May. Fobap Director Ding Buendia added the garments industry will be provided with the needed boost should the government grant subsidies for power and labor.

“Benefits of tax incentives in the Trabaho bill should not be removed. In fact we should give more. [The government has to] subsidize power and labor enhancement [and] skills training. Garments manufacturing is very labor intensive,” Buendia said in a statement.

He said a couple of Chinese firms are now looking into setting up factories here, while some are planning to partner with Philippine companies.

“We should take advantage of these [opportunities]. We should give incentives for them to come,” Buendia said.

Young said the government has to revitalize the garments industry if it wants to trim the country’s trade gap.

“The more we export, the more that the dollar remittances will come in from the foreign buyers. Little by little, it can somehow ease the trade imbalance, which is right now

PHOTO taken from www.taytayrizal.gov.ph

80 percent-20 percent already: 80 percent import, 20 percent export,” Young said.

Exports for the whole of last year fell 1.8 percent to $67.48 billion from $68.71 billion in 2017, while imports jumped 13.4 percent to $108.92 billion from $96.09 billion, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

Young claimed the Philippines can penetrate more markets, particularly its Southeast Asian neighbors, if the garments industry is revived. He said top garment manufacturers, such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, are all now getting filled up, leaving no space for fresh new production.

The Philippines used to be fifth largest exporter of garments to the United

DA vows speedy release of indemnity for farmers hit by El Niño

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

T

@jearcalas

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it has set aside funds to indemnify insured farmers and extend production loans to those who will be affected by El Niño.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the DA is ready to “immediately” release crop insurance payments to farmers who will incur losses due to the dry spell.

Piñol added that the DA would also provide grant loans to farmers under its Survival and Recovery (SURE) loan program.

“Crop insurance will cover up to 100 percent of the damage while the SURE loans will grant up to P25,000 in a no-interest, no-collateral loan payable in three years,” Piñol said in a post on his official Facebook page over the weekend.

The agriculture chief said the “assistance and interventions” provided to farmers would be based on reports from the DA regional field offices and the El Niño task force.

The DA would also be “guided by the maps” provided by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Piñol added.

The state weather bureau projected last week that a weak El Niño will affect the country. Pagasa said it could develop into a full-blown El Niño.

By end-March, Pagasa projected that nine provinces—five in Luzon and four in Mindanao—would suffer drought.

Earlier, Piñol said the El Niño would not affect palay output in the first quarter as the dry spell would be felt at the tail end of the harvest season.

“We are thankful to God that El Niño would hit us just as the harvest season is almost over,” he said in a news briefing last week.

In a report, the Philippine Statistics Authority said palay production in the January-to-March period may rise by 0.49 percent to 4.64 million metric tons, from the previous year’s level of 4.62 MMT.

States—the world’s top importer of the goods—with the local industry employing about 850,000 workers in 1995.

However, after the expiration of the trade privilege Multi-Fiber Arrangement, employment figures went down. In an industry brief, the Board of Investments (BOI), citing PSA data, said about 442,000 workers remain in garments manufacturing in 2014.

The bulk of the garment enterprises are located in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog.

The government, under the leadership of the BOI, is trying to revive the garments industry. Last year it crafted a road map identifying the impediment to growth of manufacturers and the way forward for the industry.

Govt may spend P1 trillion to expand Pinoys’ access to safe water, toilets

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

@caiordinario

HE national government is eyeing to spend P1.069 trillion in the next 12 years to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets on water supply and sanitation (WSS).

Documents pertaining to the proposed Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan (PWSSMP) obtained by the BusinessMirror, showed that the investment requirements of the government will be for 2019 until 2030.

Goal 6 of the SDGs aim to increase to 95 percent the access of the population to safe water, and 97 percent basic sanitation services by 2022 and universal access by 2030. The goal also aims to end open defecation by 2022.

“The formulation of the PWSSMP is in its final stages, with the Master Plan and its key supplemented documents currently being refined [i.e., Regional Roadmaps, Audio-Visual Presentation, Information Materials, Water Supply and Sanitation Database, and Business Cases],” the document read.

The bulk, or 69 percent of the budget, pegged at P734 billion will be spent to achieve short-term targets by 2023, while 31 percent or P335 billion will be spent in the run up to achieving the targets by 2030. Around P1.13 billion will be spent for nonphysical investments.

Physical investments for water sanitation will take up the bulk of the investments at P456 billion between 2019 and 2023, and P102 billion by 2024 to 2030.

In terms of water supply, investments will amount to P278 billion between 2019 and 2023, and P233 billion in 2024 to 2030. Nonphysical investments will reach P660 million between 2019 and 2023, as well as P470 million in 2024 to 2030.

“The execution of the PWSSMP includes three phases. The pre-investment phase starts in 2019.

The Investment Program covers the projects in 2020 to 2023, and 2024 to 2030. Implementing the projects requires the commitment and collaboration

among agencies in the WSS sector, and a strong champion is key to coordinating all efforts. While the envisioned apex body is being considered, a project management office can assume this role in the interim,” the documents read.

Department of Water

FORMER Environment Secretary Elisea Gozon, the lead author of the Water Executive Order and the bill to create the Department of Water, said recent developments such as the closure of Boracay and the Manila Bay cleanup are “encouraging.”

Gozon said the proposal to create a separate Department of Water has been around since the time of former President Fidel V. Ramos. However, it was only now under the Duterte administration, was it given serious attention.

“We need an apex body that has the strong political support and clout. I’m really happy that in the past months, the President has also focused on issues of water. We hope to build on that. Beyond just the water quality, its really more overall water management and we need to ensure that all aspects of water management are actually covered,”Gozon said.

In order to fast-track efforts to create the new department, Gozon said the government will come up with an executive order on water. The EO seeks to transform the National Water Resources Board into the National Water Management Council (NWMC).

The NWMC will act as the interim body to pave the way for the Department of Water or Department of Water Resources, which is wellwithin the powers of the President. The President, Gozon said, has the authority to restructure the entire Executive branch.

Gozon said these developments could not have been more needed as the country’s water resources are already under stress.

Documents obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that 87.68 percent of the population are getting water from safe sources while the remaining 12.32 percent are getting water from unsafe sources.

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Editor: Angel R. Calso • Monday, February 25, 2019 A5

Hanoi summit scenario: Bad deals, little change

H

ANOI, Vietnam—The nightmare scenario heading into the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un isn’t so much “fire and fury” and millions dead. Rather, some experts fear the meeting could result in an ill-considered deal that allows North Korea to get everything it wants while giving up very little, even as the mercurial leaders trumpet a blockbuster nuclear success.

There’s little argument that just sitting down together again in the same room this week in Hanoi is a positive sign for two men who seemed to be flirting with a second Korean War in 2017, and there is, as the White House trumpeted ahead of the summit, “a tremendous opportunity” here to address a monumental problem that’s flummoxed generations of policymakers.

But with the stakes so high, a growing chorus of experts highlight a particular risk: That Trump, burned by criticism that the results of his June meeting with Kim in Singapore were vague at best and an outright

failure at worst, will ignore his more cautious aides and try to strike a deal that’s cobbled together on the fly with little preparatory work.

Why is this potentially dangerous? Because when it comes to North Korean nuclear diplomacy, all deals are not created equal.

A look at some of the anxieties that are swirling ahead of the Hanoi summit:

Worry No. 1: A piecemeal deal

SOUTH Korean papers have been filled with unidentified government sources suggesting that Trump and Kim might strike a deal that stops far

short of the road map for the full denuclearization of the North that the United States has long insisted on.

Instead, Kim could agree to give up only part of his arsenal—his intercontinental missiles aimed at America, for instance, or his main nuclear reactor—in return for an easing of harsh sanctions. There’s also fear that Trump will eventually orchestrate some sort of drawdown of US troops from South Korea or an extended halt to US-South Korean military drills.

For Trump, such a deal could generate a much-needed rush of “breakthrough” headlines to help distract from swirling investigations in Washington while helping assure his supporters that he’s protecting the American mainland.

Kim, for his part, would be taking a huge step toward cementing the North as a nuclear weapons state and, as a bonus, driving a wedge in the US-South Korea alliance that the North maintains is aimed at the overthrow of the Kim family—all without addressing the North’s arsenal of short- and mid-range nuclear armed missiles aimed at Seoul, Tokyo and other parts of Asia.

Those in favor of this kind of piecemeal deal say it’s simply a matter of accepting reality: North Korea won’t give up nukes it sees as crucial to deterring what it calls US hostility, so the wise move is to work to first limit or freeze the program’s most worrisome aspects and then work toward total denuclearization.

China’s Huawei set to unveil 5G phone with folding screen

B

ARCELONA, Spain—China’s Huawei is set to take the wraps off a new foldingscreen phone, joining the latest trend for bendable devices as it challenges the global smartphone market’s dominant players, Apple and Samsung.

The company on Sunday plans to unveil the device, which can be used on superfast next-generation mobile networks that are due to come online in the coming years.

Huawei will reveal the phone on the eve of MWC Barcelona, a fourday showcase of mobile devices, as the company battles US allegations that it is a cyber-security risk.

Device makers are looking to folding screens as the industry’s next big thing to help them break out of an innovation malaise, although most analysts think the market is limited, at least in the early days.

Samsung recently revealed its own highly anticipated foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, which comes complete with a hefty price tag of nearly $2,000.

Huawei Technologies is trying to raise its profile in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.

Almost everyone with a smartphone has heard of Apple and Samsung, the top device makers,

and Google, the power behind Android’s pervasive software.

Huawei, a Chinese company with a name many people in the West don’t know how to pronounce (it’s “HWA-way”), wants to join the market’s upper echelon.

It’s getting close. Samsung was the No. 1 smartphone seller for all of last year, followed by Apple, according to research firm International Data Corp. Huawei came third, though in some quarters it took second place, IDC data showed.

The company stealthily became an industry star by plowing into new markets, honing its technology and developing a lineup of phones that offer affordable options for low-income households and luxury models that are siphoning upper-crust sales from Apple and Samsung in China and Europe.

But Huawei’s products are few and far between in the US. The scarcity stems from long-running security concerns that the company could facilitate digital espionage on behalf of China’s government.

Washington has been lobbying European allies to keep its equipment out of new 5G networks.

The cloud over Huawei also includes US criminal charges filed last month against the company

and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who US prosecutors want to extradite from Canada. They accused her of fraud and said the company stole trade secrets, including technology that mobile carrier T-Mobile used to test smartphones.

Huawei is making its push at a time that both Samsung and Apple are struggling with declining smartphone sales amid a lull in industry innovation that is causing more consumers to hold on to the devices until they wear out instead of upgrading to the latest model as quickly as they once did.

The company sells high-priced smartphones as well as an extensive range of cheaper models priced from $200 to $600 that offer a good camera and other features most consumers want, analysts said.

But Huawei wouldn’t be where it is today if it had been content focusing merely on China and other Asian markets.

The company took a huge step forward several years ago when it began pouring millions into promoting its brand and building partnerships in major European markets such as Germany, France, Britain, Spain and Italy. Research firm Gartner estimates it now sells about 13 percent of its phones in Europe. AP

Rouhani asked to resign over Iran economic crisis

T

EHR A N, Iran—A s Iran marked the 40th anniversary of its Islamic Revolution, a white-turbaned Shiite cleric at one commemoration targeted President Hassan Rouhani, a fellow clergyman, with this sign: “You who are the cause of inflation; we hope you won’t last until spring.”

Already lashed by criticism over his collapsing nuclear deal and renewed tensions with the US, the relatively moderate Rouhani faces anger from clerics, hardline forces and an ever-growing disaffected public that now threatens his position.

Iranian presidents typically see their popularity erode during their second four-year terms, but analysts say Rouhani is particularly vulnerable because of the economic crisis assailing the country’s rial currency,

which has hurt ordinary Iranians and emboldened critics to openly call for his ouster.

Though such a move only has happened once in the Islamic Republic’s four-decade history, the popular discontent heard on streets throughout Iran now could make it possible.

“I don’t care who is in the presidential palace: a cleric, a general or anybody else,” said Qassim Abhari, who sells hats and socks on the streets of Tehran. “We need someone who creates jobs and firmly pushes the brake pedal on rising prices.”

It’s been a long fall for Rouhani, who secured the 2015 nuclear deal after two years in office and won the praise of Iranians, who flooded the streets to celebrate it. Under the deal, Iran limited its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

But the benefits of the deal never reached much of the Iranian public. Even before President Donald Trump pulled America from the accord in May, uncertainty over its future caused the rial to crater, fueling sporadic, nationwide protests.

Now the rial is dropping again, down to 133,000 to $1. It had been 32,000 to the dollar at the time of the deal. On social media, hardliners share price lists showing food staples like beans, rice and tomato paste rising as much as 238 percent.

Hard-liners stopped parliament speaker Ali Larijani, an ally of Rouhani, from addressing a crowd in Karaj, only 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Tehran. Rouhani’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, typically collected, appeared visibly frustrated at times during a recent security conference in Munich. AP

Skeptics say this would give the North too much in return for too little. They want instead something that first forces Pyongyang to list the particulars of its nuclear program, then allows outsiders to verify the list and see the program demolished.

“Ad hoc deals or piecemeal negotiations absent an agreed-on road map would allow Pyongyang to dictate the terms, pace and duration of the diplomatic process without making a dent in North Korea’s nuclear arsenal,” Duyeon Kim, a Koreas expert at the Center for a New American Security, recently wrote.

“There is a serious risk of Trump ad-libbing his way into a bad deal, as he did in Singapore in June 2018, by relinquishing vital bargaining chips that disadvantage US interests and Asian allies’ security,” she added.

Worry No. 2: Kim and Trump are too aligned

THERE’S a joke being shared by some North Korea experts: Did you hear that Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump both want the same thing from their Hanoi summit? The United States out of South Korea.

Funny or not, the dark humor gets at serious doubts churned up

by Trump’s repeated public expressions of a deep wariness about the US-South Korea alliance that many in Seoul and Washington see as a lynchpin of Northeast Asian security.

T he best e x ample may be Trump’s stunning announcement

in Singapore of the suspension of annual military drills by Seoul and Washington that North Korea rails against as “invasion preparation.”

Trump called the drills “very provocative,” mirroring North Korean language.

Although his lieutenants say the removal of American troops isn’t on the agenda in Hanoi, Trump has said that he wants to eventually bring home the 28,500 troops stationed in the South. Just this month Trump said: “South Korea — we defend them and lose a tremendous amount of money. Billions of dollars a year defending them.”

Worry No. 3: North Korea hasn’t changed

THERE’S also on alarm that Trump and South Korea’s dovish president are misreading North Korea.

“Kim is not going to unilaterally surrender his nuclear weapons,” Vipin Narang, a North Korea nuclear expert at MIT, said in an interview. “It is now pretty clear that Trump doesn’t care that Kim isn’t going to unilaterally disarm, so long as he doesn’t embarrass Trump by visibly flight testing missiles or openly testing nuclear weapons.”

Despite the positive spin on North Korean intentions by the liberal government in Seoul, critics say, Pyongyang, as it has since the Korean War, still claims to be the sole legitimate Korean government, and is therefore working to split South Korea from its US

protector and enshrine its nuclear program, even if partially, as a way to eventually coerce Seoul into doing its bidding.

North Korea has famously called its nuclear arsenal a “treasured sword.” And a senior North Korean official said last year that dialogue won’t continue “if the US is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment.”

Asked at a recent press briefing if the North was negotiating in good faith, a senior US official who refused to give his name under White House rules said: “I don’t know if North Korea has made the choice yet to denuclearize. But the reason why we’re engaged in this is because we believe there’s a possibility that North Korea can make the choice to fully denuclearize.”

Still, there are big doubts about the North’s intentions.

When the two leaders meet in Hanoi, Kim “will further ensnare Trump on his march toward full nuclearization, compelling Trump to make more concessions like a peace agreement and drawdown of military support for South Korea,” said Sung-Yoon Lee, a Koreas expert at Tufts University. “‘Peace’ sounds very pleasant, even hypnotically alluring, but a peace agreement between the US and North Korea and allowing Kim Jong Un to buy more time only increases the chance of war.” AP

A6

Monday, February 25, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Edsa after 33 years: A success

A

N important and productive management method has become prominent in the past 20 years. It is the “setting of expectations” for a company, its management and employees, and for customers and suppliers. Collectively and individually, everyone needs to know what to expect in the future as plans and programs progress.

For this technique to be successful, “expectations” must be clear, well defined and realistic. Not too improbable and not too effortless and easy.

Thirty-three years after those fateful days in February 1986, we read headlines such as: “Did Edsa fail us?” “Edsa revolt failed.”

“Edsa, the Unfinished Project.”

Ask Filipinos today about the purpose of the events of February 22 to 25, and most will probably say that it was to remove a dictatorial government from office. In that sense, “Edsa” was a success.

Then why, after 33 years, is there so much disappointment with the outcome of this most significant event in Philippine history?

“The 1986 Edsa uprising that ousted then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos failed to fulfill its promises to the people, particularly in bringing justice to victims of heinous crimes and solving corruption in the government.” That is true. “Poverty, inequality and injustice have persisted and plagued our country since 1986.” Yes, there is still poverty, inequality and injustice.

However, those expectations were set after the people had left the streets and Corazon Aquino became president. The expectations at Edsa were found in a simple cry: “Tama na! Sobra na! Palitan na!

The change that people wanted has been evident every day since February 25, 1986. Freedom of speech—as messy as it can be—happened under Cory Aquino. President Aquino sued a journalist—Louie Beltran—for libel. Opposition to the government has never been more open and free. Even those who took up arms against the government—even in the 21st century—were free enough to become senators of the Republic.

While freedom of the press and media must be closely watched and guarded, there are hundreds of newspapers and radio stations that print and broadcast daily their own version of the truth.

The administration of President Fidel Ramos saw the stronghold that government had on private enterprise broken. Oligarchies exist in every “free-market economy” along with overregulation and “red tape.” But witness the hundreds of thousands of small businesses that have been given the opportunity to succeed—and fail—without government control since Edsa.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration broke the stranglehold of the government paying its bills through foreign borrowing and fiscal deficits. President Benigno Aquino III’s administration showed that no matter how ugly and destructive our politics could be, sound economic policies could carry from one president to another.

In his administration, President Rodrigo Duterte has broken the chains of a narrow minded and narrowly focused foreign policy. He has also given the hope that maybe a government can focus policy and resources for a longer time span than only to the next election.

Have we achieved a perfect world since 1986? Of course not.

Have we progressed to a better world for Filipinos? Certainly.

Celebrate democracy wherever you are Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

T

HOSE who were born when People Power happened are now in their early 30s, which means a good part of our young generation of today may not totally understand the value and impact of this important part of our history. Therefore, their parents and teachers play an important role in making sure that the lessons are not lost.

On the morning of February 25 in 1986, Corazon Aquino was sworn in as president of the Philippines. In the evening of the same day, deposed President Ferdinand Marcos and his family left the country for Hawaii.

When news broke out that the family had left, the millions who were gathered at Edsa cheered and, shortly

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ists. According to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the commemorative rites this year will start at 8 a.m. at the Edsa People Power Monument in Quezon City. A Mass at the Edsa Shrine will follow at 12:15 p.m. According to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, two roads will be closed on Edsa during the anniversary celebration. One lane on Edsa (in front of the People Power Monument) will be closed to vehicular traffic from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on February 25, Monday.

As this day has been declared a special nonworking holiday, many of our kababayan have chosen to take the long weekend and go somewhere for a much-deserved break. We all need to get some rest from all the stress of daily living. But take a moment to reflect on the lessons of the revolution. Take a moment to talk about it with your children. Celebrate democracy with your family and friends, wherever you may be.

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thereafter, the new president addressed the nation for the first time.

All of these happened in one day.

It is important that we don’t forget the men and women who risked their lives at Edsa. It is important that we don’t forget how the soldiers and civilians stood united for one common cause. It is important that

we don’t forget the lessons of the peaceful revolution that we taught the world that day.

More than 30 years later, there are few people who come to commemorate the event. Even the president cannot take part in the events because of his busy schedule. Nevertheless, I believe the real remembrance and the real celebration can happen inside our hearts and minds. Because as long as we nurture the country’s democracy and commit our lives to upholding it, then all is not lost.

I encourage the young people to read more about this historical event and understand and analyze; ask questions and not just blindly accept what is being dished out.

The information from the past are now presented in many forms, and some of the versions are influenced by various motivations and political agenda. Readers and students must always be discerning and wise.

Here is today’s guide for motor-

LEGALLY SPEAKING

T

HE Securities and Exchange Commission issued SEC Memorandum Circular 15 (Series of 2018) or the “Guidelines for the Protection of SEC Registered Non-Profit Organizations from Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Abuse.” The guidelines (MC 15) were published on November 8, 2018, and will take effect six months after or on May 7, 2019.

“Non-Profit Organization” refers to a SEC-registered nonstock corporation that primarily engages in raising or disbursing funds for purposes such as charitable, religious, cultural, educational, social or fraternal purposes, or for the carrying out of other types of good works.

NPOs shall include foundations, as well as other SEC-registered nonstock corporations engaged in the abovementioned activities (Section 1.3.6, MC 15).

MC 15 also covers “Politically Exposed Person,” which refers to an individual who is or has been entrusted with a prominent public position/function in: a) the Philippines with substantial authority over policy, operations or the use or allocation of government-owned resources; b) A foreign state; or c) An international organization, even if he or she no longer holds such a position. MC 15 also includes the PEP’s immediate family members, close relationship and associates (Section 1.3.8).

In order to ensure that NPOs

are not misused by terrorist organizations: (i) to pose as legitimate entities; (ii) to exploit legitimate entities as conduits for terrorist financing, including for the purpose of escaping asset freezing measures; or (iii) to conceal or obscure the clandestine diversion of funds intended for legitimate purposes, but diverted for terrorist purposes, the SEC adopts a risk-based approach in applying focused measures in dealing with identified threats of terrorist financing abuse to NPOs (Section 2.1).

The risk-based approach for the protection of NPOs shall include the following: 1. Identifying threats of terrorist financing abuse based on the results of the national risk assessment of the Anti-Money Laundering Council; 2. Identifying vulnerabilities among NPOs based on the types and characteristic features of such NPOs; and 3. Identifying the consequences of such threats and vulnerabilities on NPOs (Section 2.2).

All SEC-registered nonstock

corporations shall, within six months from the effective date of MC 15, submit the required information to the SEC through the respective Operating Department having supervision over such nonstock corporations copy furnished the AntiMoney Laundering Division of the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department. Failure to comply with the requirements is a cause for revocation of the registration of the noncomplying nonstock corporation (Section 4.1).

Under Section 4.2, NPOs are required to furnish the SEC with the following basic information: a) Objectives and purpose of their stated activities; b) Identity of the person(s) who own, control or direct their activities, including senior officers, board members and trustees; c) Nature of operations or projects; d) Actual raising or disbursing of funds for charitable, religious, cultural, educational, social or fraternal purposes, or for the carrying out of other types of “good works”; e) Contribution; f) Fund balance; g) Location of operations, which shall include the (i) head office or branches, if any, (ii) location of beneficiaries/projects and (iii) other areas of operation/activity, if any; h) Source of funds (as to person); i) Source of f unds (as to geography); j) Intended beneficiaries (as to person); k) Intended beneficiaries (as to geography); and l) Existing license/accreditation from another government.

On the basis of the information

provided, the SEC will then assess each of the NPOs whether they are low, medium or high risk, or backlisted. MC 15 lists more requirements for medium and high-risk groups.

For noncompliance with the guidelines, or making any untrue statement of a material fact or omitting to state any material fact, the SEC is authorized to impose a fine of from P10,000 to P1 million, plus P2,000 for each day of continuing violation. If there is a high risk of money laundering or terrorist financing abuse within the NPO, the SEC may, after due hearing, revoke the registration of the NPO. Human-rights advocates, civil society organizations and lawyers groups have underscored the “chilling effect” of these new guidelines, calling it “a government tool to persecute its political enemies” and “to curb all platforms for dissent.”

“Through MC 15, the SEC and government authorities are given unbridled powers to compel disclosure of numerous information on nongovernment organizations, without a court order. Such information will be shared and made accessible to government agencies such as the PNP [Philippine National Police] and the National Bureau of Investigation. With the express provision in the said memorandum on the SEC’s powers to enlist the aid, support and/or deputize any and all enforcement agencies of the government, civil or military, for the purpose of conducting investigations and information gathering, there is great danger that the SEC will be used for profiling, intelligence-gathering, surveillance, harassment and other possible grave See “Kapunan,” A7

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

How Kim Jong Un went from Heart fitness global pariah to guest of honor

By Youkyung Lee & Jungah Lee Bloomberg Opinion

K

IM JONG UN’S arrival in Vietnam this week for a second meeting with US President Donald J. Trump may be most remarkable for how normal it’s becoming.

Since opening talks with South Korea last year, the once-reclusive North Korean leader has turned into one of the most sought-after guests in Asia.

At each stop—from Beijing to Singapore and now Hanoi—Kim, 35, is being escorted down red carpets by officials eager to build early ties with the head of one of the world’s last untapped emerging markets.

The swing from international pariah to guest of honor is a testament to Kim’s success in wresting power from military chieftains and eliminating rivals since his father died in 2011. It also illustrates his long-held desire to restore an economy drained by decades of famine, state planning and military expansion under his father and grandfather.

“If you want to really understand the Kim Jong Un of the present, you have to travel back to his early years,” said Kim Young-hui, who defected from North Korea in 2002 and is now a senior economist at the Korea Development Bank’s Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Research Unit.

He wondered why his father, Kim Jong Il, hadn’t traveled overseas much “and why North Korea was so poor,” she said, citing a book by a Japanese chef who worked for the late dictator. “Kim Jong Un was thinking that when he became the leader, he would run the country a lot better than his reclusive father.”

Over the past seven years, the Swiss-educated Kim has steered North Korea from his father’s “military first” policy focused on building a nuclear arsenal to one that emphasizes the economy. After successfully testing an intercontinental ballistic missile in 2017, he declared the weapons program “complete,” initiated talks with Trump and announced a new strategy for boosting the economy.

The move ended Trump’s threats of war and paved the way for a historic first meeting with the US president in June. It also opened a new world of potential investors from Seoul to Singapore—provided Kim can get Trump to relax international sanctions against his weapons program.

In recent months, Kim has railed against the sanctions, which do everything from ban travel by officials to curb its energy imports. North Korea ranks as one of the world’s poorest countries, and the sanctions are believed to have helped cause the country’s deepest recession in two decades in 2017, according to South Korean estimates.

“When they come to negotiations, it means they are having a tough time internally due to sanctions, and Kim feels nervous,” said Thae Yong-ho, who was North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom before defecting in 2016 and becoming a critic of the regime.

Kim left Pyongyang on Saturday afternoon on a train that will take him through China down to Vietnam. He traveled abroad five times last year—

Kapunan. . .

continued from A6

violations against NGOs. Through the said memorandum, the SEC is given control of all nonprofit organizations in the country, as it is weaponized to infringe on the freedom and capacity of these organizations to freely conduct or perform their advocacies.” (Karapatan Statement, Samar News.com) My experience (in a previous life) with the Napoles cases has opened my eyes to the reality that NPOs, foundations and NGOs are being used by unscrupulous politicians and businessmen as vehicles for plunder of government funds and money laundering. But they are just a few, and most have already been exposed.

I belong to a handful of NPOs and

more than any North Korean leader in at least two decades—often visiting industrial sites. Kim reportedly plans to do the same in Vietnam ahead of the planned summit, giving him a closeup view of a fellow socialist state that has prospered after easing hostility with the US. North Korean officials have been spotted near Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphone plants in Vietnam, the Yonhap News Agency reported last week, suggesting Kim may tour South Korean factories. While South Korea is Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner, a North Korean leader hasn’t visited Vietnam since Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, in 1964.

Trump himself has repeatedly cited Kim’s development goals while arguing why North Korea would trade its nuclear arsenal away.

“I really believe that North Korea can be a tremendous economic power when this is solved,” Trump said on February 19. “I think that North Korea and Chairman Kim have some very positive things in mind, and we’ll soon find out.”

Kim hasn’t secured his control over North Korea by showing weakness. His reign has been marked by ruthless purges and executions, including the killing of his uncle and one-time deputy, Jang Song Thaek, as well as the murder of his older half-brother, Kim Jong Nam. That consolidation of power has given him the space to introduce economic and government reforms once seen as nearly impossible in the insular, oneparty state. And it’s allowed him to shake hands with Trump, the leader of a country that North Korean propaganda has spent generations blaming for all of its problems.

Even now, the purges appear to be continuing. Kim exiled, imprisoned or executed 50 to 70 members of the country’s political elite last year, including opponents of engagement with the US, according to a report published last week by the North Korea Strategy Center, a Seoul-based research institution founded by a former defector.

“Kim Jong Un has been very skillful in rewarding the friendly, coopting the neutral and punishing the hostile,” said Moon Chung-in, special adviser on foreign policy to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said in an interview earlier this month. “His longevity is institutionally guaranteed. But at the same time he’s good at consolidating power.”

Kim now needs to show the elite back in Pyongyang that his engagement efforts can bring economic opportunity without sacrificing the country’s nuclear deterrent— its “treasured sword.” The regime has a long history of coming to the bargaining table dangling the prospect of cooperation, only to renege on deals after extracting economic concessions.

Chun Yungwoo, former chief South Korean envoy to international nuclear negotiations with North Korea, said Kim’s successful consolidation of power requires him to consider what kind of country he wants to rule over for the next 40 to 50 years.

“He wants to have a more prosperous country—he wants economic development,” Chun said. “Without giving up nuclear weapons, all he can do is maintain a subsistence-level economy.”

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

A

S we approach the end of the love month of February, let me share an inspiring story about the heart. My friend Dan recently got out of the hospital after his heart literally stopped beating for about 21 minutes. Living with the typical challenges of high sugar and cholesterol, Dan was simply keeping his health condition in check by taking the usual maintenance medicine. But, as fate would have it, he suffered a severe heart attack perhaps due to atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries due to accumulated cholesterol plaques and scarring in the artery walls. There were so many blockages in all of his arteries, which restricted the essential blood circulation. I think everyone would agree that while those with kidney or liver failures or those in a state of coma or brain-dead can still be alive, no one can live without any heartbeat.

Cardiologists and dieticians would prescribe many ways to prevent heart ailments. For instance, eating less fried food and sugary or sweetened juices while eating more vegetables, healthy nuts and fish rich in omega-3 will lower the risk of heart diseases. Of course, strength conditioning of our hearts would include cardiovascular exercises, not necessarily the intense kind. In my case, I either take an early-morning walk with my dog, a mid-afternoon walk up and down the office stairs with my staff or an evening yoga class or 30-minute swim before I go to bed.

But the story of Dan is not about the diseases that can affect the physical heart. The story of Dan and his sister Maridel is more about the

sister Maridel has been constantly repelling spiritual attacks against her heart. Born and raised as a Catholic, Maridel eventually ventured into other religious groups and church communities, such as Jehovah’s Witness, born-again Christian and Baptist.

As she went to school in Manila but practically worked all her life in Japan, the many adversities in her family and professional life would have caused her to rebel against her faith. In particular, her older sibling Dan was giving her a hard time with her love relationships, owing to the fact that she did not complete her college education and that she had a broken marriage. A few months before Dan’s heart attack, the relationship between Dan and Maridel was as sour as the Japanese fruit umeboshi, the most sour fruit from the plum or apricot family.

However, Maridel remained faithful. Her heart was guarded as she kept reading His word, listened to devotional preaching and was surrounded by supportive friends who prayed with her. She fervently prayed for Dan to recover and have a “second” life as doctors and nurses have given up on Dan. When he somehow recovered, these same doctors and nurses endearingly called Dan the “Miracle Boy,” since he practically escaped death. As for Maridel, she counterintuitively shouldered all of Dan’s medical expenses, took him in as her own personal patient at home and continued to pray for Dan’s spiritual health.

Priests and pastors would prescribe many ways to keep our spiritual heart fit. For instance,

Moving forward with Cipag Joel L. Tan-Torres

DEBIT CREDIT Part Six

W

HAT does “globalization” mean for a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)?

In our Cipag series, the last letter “G” refers to globalization that is impacting every Filipino CPA. In 1977, the Philippines, through the Philippine Institute of CPAs, joined the International Federation of Accountants (Ifac).

The Ifac is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. Ifac is comprised of over 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce.

As a member of Ifac, the Philippine accountancy profession

commits to comply with the Statements of Membership Obligations.

These SMOs serve as a framework for credible and high-quality professional accountancy organizations focused on serving the public interest by adopting, or otherwise incorporating, and supporting implementation of international standards and maintaining adequate enforcement mechanisms to ensure the professional behavior of their individual members. These SMOs are: The Quality Assurance Review, Interna-

tional Accounting Education Standards, International Assurance and Auditing Standards, Code of Ethics, International Public Sector Financial Reporting Standards, Investigation and Discipline, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and other pronouncements of the five independent standards-setting boards of Ifac. For more information on the SMOs, go to the these links: http:// www.ifac.org/about-ifac/membership/ country/philippines and http://www. ifac.org/about-ifac/membership/members/philippine-institute-certified-public-accountants.

As early as July 2005, the Philippines adopted the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards, which are converged with the IFRS. These standards are important since they provide a common global language for reporting business activities so that company accounts are understandable and comparable across international boundaries. The business community require a uniform set of business reporting standards to govern and report the international trade and commerce.

Equally important are the various standards that provide a universal framework for the various aspects

avoiding negative “food” such as sinful friends and worldly movies, books and music while reading the Bible and praying regularly will increase our immunity against attacks, better known as temptations. Whatever we put into our minds dictates the state of our heart’s spiritual health. In the Bible, Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

It takes a strong personal commitment and discipline to follow the prescription of our medical and spiritual advisers. I believe that all of us, in our own sphere of influence, can encourage each other to stick with these life-changing prescriptions. Similar to gym buddies who motivate each other to stay fit through regular exercise and diet, all of us can be buddies to influence those around us to keep our hearts fit and able to ward off all kinds of temptations through regular prayer and worship. Just like any other muscle, the heart can be trained to be fit to do all things. All throughout their lives, both Dan and Maridel may be struggling to condition their hearts. Given this “twice in a lifetime” opportunity to enjoy this sibling relationship, I am very optimistic that both of them will exert their best efforts to be physically and spiritually fit to withstand the temptations of unhealthy things.

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

of the accountancy profession. It is necessary that all Filipino CPAs monitor the developments in the global accountancy community. These are easily accessible on the Ifac web site at http://www.ifac.org/.

When I was the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy from 2014 to 2018, I realized the value of engaging with our accountancy stakeholders and neighbors in various parts of the world.

The Filipino CPAs are members of the global accountancy ecosystem. As such, we should proactively be interacting with the rest of the accountants and the professional organizations in various countries.

How have we performed with respect to this challenge?

Joel L. Tan-Torres is a Certified Public Accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations. He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010 and the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy from 2014 to August 2018. He is a partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

Get used to oil tankers hauling seawater to America

By Julian Lee Bloomberg Opinion

foundations, and I view these guidelines as deterrent to “doing good,” “spreading the blessings” and “being of service.” Fewer people now will want to get involved with charitable, humanitarian, nonprofit, peoples organizations lest they become victims of “witch hunting,” intelligence gathering, surveillance, investigation, scrutiny and harassment.

The NPOs (existing or fictitious) who have a track record of allowing themselves to be used for transfer of discretionary funds of some of the legislators or those engaged in terrorist’s activities should certainly be penalized and their registrations revoked. But this is more the exception than the rule. Not all NPOs deserve this treatment!

Otherwise, it would be “the tail wagging the dog,” which is the unintended result of MC 15.

ailments of the spiritual heart, which can also harden and suffer from an “attack.” In the Bible, Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The daily challenge therefore is how to keep our hearts trained to be fit and healthy to thwart any kind of attack—both physical and spiritual. Hardening of the spiritual heart occurs when believers refuse to do good things in apparent refusal to acknowledge His Word. A famous pastor once said, “If your heart is full of good things, your life will show that goodness; if your heart is full of sinful thoughts, your life will show them.”

While Dan recently suffered an attack against his physical heart, his

Monday, February 25, 2019 A7

S

UPERTANKERS hauling seawater across the Atlantic? That’s just one of the odder results of the US shale boom.

Crude oil has always flowed backwards and forwards across the world’s oceans. A typical voyage by one of the global fleet of around 750 of the giant ships currently in service might see it haul Middle Eastern exports across the Atlantic to a refinery on the US Gulf coast, then pick up a cargo from Venezuela for delivery to China or India, before returning to the Persian Gulf.

Vessels only earn money when they’re full, so being able to haul cargoes in both directions across the seas makes a great deal of sense for ship owners. But soaring US production, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) output cuts and sanctions on Iran and Venezuela are turning the global crude oil trade on its head.

This is making it more challenging to

find cargoes to haul both ways. The result is a procession of empty supertankers making voyages of as much as 21,000 miles to the US direct from Asia, all the way around South Africa, holding nothing but seawater for stability.

This doesn’t look like a one-time affair. Probably the only way vessels can return to the glory days of two-way loads is if the Saudis backpedaled from their planned output reduction. And that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.

The good times started at the end of 2015, when then-President Barack Obama lifted a 40-year ban on US crude oil exports (one policy that President Donald Trump hasn’t sought to reverse) and set in motion a wave of shipments that has since soared to a record 3.6 million barrels a day in the week to February 15. That was more than the average January exports of every Opec member except Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Add to this a pickup in the flow of oil out of the Caribbean—Venezuela is shipping more of its crude east now that US sanctions prevent it from targeting

its traditional buyers on the Gulf coast.

All that hauling needs ships.

Initially, rising US exports were a boon to vessel owners, who found a nice profit boost in the growing market for their tankers, which had previously been forced to travel empty on the journey east as they departed America, across the Atlantic to the Middle East. But now, the volume of crude being shipped westwards across the ocean has dropped significantly.

First to be hit was the flow of light, sweet crude (the stuff that contains lots of small hydrocarbon molecules that are easily turned into products like gasoline—hence, light—and very little sulfur—hence, sweet) from Nigeria, which was replaced in American refineries by domestically produced light tight oil from shale. The US has fewer direct domestic substitutes for the heavier, sourer crude grades that it has traditionally imported from the Middle East. But rising flows from Canada and the processing of more domestic light, sweet crude in American refineries have undermined

this trade, too. Opec’s latest output reductions, which started in 2017 and were revised with effect from last month, have hit this further. Saudi Arabia’s decision to focus its production cuts on the American market are feeding the drop in exports to the US from the Persian Gulf.

The keenly watched weekly data from the Energy Information Administration mean that falling shipments to the US will show up much more quickly than a similar cut in exports to China or India, who are much less forthcoming with oil import information.

Shipments from the four Persian Gulf Opec countries that regularly export to the US—Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait—totaled less than 900,000 barrels a day last month, according to Bloomberg tanker tracking. That is around half the level they were when the output cuts began. Add in the declines from Opec’s West African producers, Nigeria and Angola, and the drop in the trans-Atlantic crude flow is even more dramatic, down by nearly 70 percent since 2013.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Monday, February 25, 2019

Cimatu touts TF Mla Bay’s work, but doubts growing

T

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga & Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

HE creation of the interagency Manila Bay Task Force is meant to harmonize and speed up government efforts to rehabilitate Manila Bay, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu asserted on Sunday, as concern grew that the cleanup was meant to mask the free pass to be given to several business groups keen on pushing reclamation projects at the bay.

Administrative Order 16 iss u e d b y P re s i d e nt D ut e r t e , through Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, created the task force weeks after the launch

of “Battle for Manila Bay,” to ensure the “complete rehabilitation, restoration and conservation of the Manila Bay.” The President designated Ci-

“We are grateful to President Duterte for prioritizing the Manila Bay rehabilitation. This order will fasttrack all the work we are doing, delineate responsibilities and coordinate activities of all government agencies involved in the rehabilitation efforts.”—Cimatu

matu as the task force chairman, while Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat are vice chairmen.

The triumvirate was also behind the rehabilitation of Boracay last year.

“We are grateful to President Duterte for prioritizing the Manila

Bay rehabilitation. This order will fast-track all the work we are doing, delineate responsibilities and coordinate activities of all government agencies involved in the rehabilitation efforts,” Cimatu said in a statement.

Other members of the task force are the heads of the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Agriculture, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Ports Authority.

See “Manila Bay,” A2

Anti-measles vaccine drive goes to the malls

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

T

Correspondent

HE Department of Education (DepEd) said it is studying the Department of Health (DOH) proposal to implement a “no vaccination, no enrollment” policy in public schools in view of the rising number of measles cases in the country.

At the same time, the DOH ramped up its efforts to have more children vaccinated by fielding teams even to malls, where thousands congregate daily. The mall deployment is being tried out in the DOH’s Calabarzon jurisdiction.

As for the no vaccine, no enrollment proposal, Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones pointed out that, while there is an urgent need to boost the vaccination campaign given the swiftness with which measles is spreading, the proposed policy must nonetheless consider the human rights of learners, especially their access to quality basic education.

While the DepEd is looking into different ways to regain the confidence of parents in immunization, the agency said it has made commitments with the DOH in ensuring that the learners are protected.

Among these are to:

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING THE WHOLE COUNTRY as of 4:00 am - February 24, 2019

■ Develop consent form and evaluation form, which will categorize learners as “vaccinated,” “doubtful” and “not vaccinated”; ■ Verify school records and vaccination cards; ■ Gather and share data on the number of learners affected with measles; ■ Coordinate with health center staff on learners who are absent and whose parents did not give consent during vaccination; and ■ Follow up on learners who did not receive vaccination and those who opted to be inoculated by private practitioner.

The DepEd is also reviewing and

explore the strengthening of Executive Order 663, Series of 2007 (Implementing the National Commitment for “Bakuna ang Una sa Sanggol at Ina,” Attaining World Health Organization’s Goals to Eliminate Measles and Neonatal Tetanus, Eradicate Polio, Control Hepatitis B and Other Vaccine-Preventable Diseases); and of EO 82, Series of 2012 (Operationalizing the Practical Guide for National Crisis Managers and the National Crisis Management Core Manual; Establishing National and Local Crisis Management Organizations; and Providing Funds Therefor)

Calabarzon DOH initiative

RELATEDLY, the DOH-Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) together with the City Government of Tagaytay City has launched the first vaccination center in Ayala Malls Serin at Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway, Silang Junction South, Tagaytay City, Cavite.

Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo acknowledged the initiative of the City Government in the coordination of deployment of continuing mass immunization campaign against measles.

“This event will increase measles vaccination coverage and reduce missed opportunities for vaccination by proving more immunization sites for children. Vaccination posts in malls, schools, fast-food chains, churches and even bus terminals are necessary so that parents living near these areas can bring their child for immunization,” he added.

“We need everybody’s cooperation and support to reach more susceptible children, and successfully prevent the spread of measles and stop its transmission in the community,” said Janairo.

One reason, he added, why some children miss their vaccination date is the fact that their parents are at work and unable to bring them to the nearest health center.

Other reasons: religious reasons, personal beliefs, safety concerns and a desire for more information from health-care providers. “That is why we need to provide the public with the right information for them to understand fully the importance of vaccines so that they can make responsible immunization decisions for their children,” said Janairo.

“Vaccination is a very important part of family and public health. It prevents the spread of contagious, dangerous, and even deadly diseases like measles, polio, mumps and chicken pox,” he stressed.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

COPS FIND MORE DRUGS AFLOAT; SURIGAO DEL S. HAUL WORTH P230M

By Rene Acosta

@reneacostaBM

P

OLICEMEN recovered on Sunday 34 blocks of cocaine in the waters off Surigao del Sur, sustaining the Philippine National Police’s recovery of illegal drugs floating along the country’s shorelines.

The cocaine wrapped in plastic and with dollar signs was fished out at around 6:30 a.m. in the waters off Purok Santan, Barangay Bungtod, Tandag City, Surigao del Sur. Chief Supt. Gilberto Cruz, Police Regional Office 13 (PRO 13) director, said the illegal drugs were seen floating in the seawater by fishermen Ronnie Navales and Ryan Apelo, who reported it to policemen.

Cruz and members of the Surigao del Sur Crime Laboratory made an inventory on-site in the presence of Mayor Alexander Pimentel of Tandag City.

“The bricks have dollar sign that is similar with those recovered in Dinagat Island Province,” said Cruz, adding the illegal drugs have an estimated worth of P230 million.

“Said recovery was the result of

the information drive that encouraged fisherfolk to immediately report any suspicious bricks seen in seawaters which will be rewarded with a sack of rice per brick,” the PRO 13 said.

Policemen recovered during the past several days blocks of cocaine in the waters off Siargao and Dinagat Islands and Quezon and Camarines Norte provinces. The authorities were able to haul in the drugs following reports by fishermen.

PNP chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde said earlier that they were expecting to recover more cocaine in waters around the country following the successive floating of the illegal drugs, some of which had a global positioning system.

The police are still working to identify the origins of the drugs and who were behind it, but Albayalde believed they could be part of a single block of drugs that were loosened and taken away by strong current.

Albayalde said the drugs have been in the waters for months or even a year, adding they may have been intended for the international market and not for the country.

DOLE issues rules covering work on Edsa anniversary

O

NLY private-sector employees who report for work on Monday during the observance of the 33rd Edsa People Power Revolution Anniversary will get additional pay.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said “a no work, no pay” scheme will take effect on February 25, 2019, after it was declared by Malacañang as a special nonworking holiday.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said this is pursuant to Proclamation 555 issued by President Duterte on Aug ust 15, 2018.

During a special holiday, employees who will report for work get 30 percent more of their basic wage.

They will get an additional 30 percent of their hourly rate for that day if they will work overtime, as

BOC. . .

Continued from A1

In 2014, a study released by state-owned think tank Philippine Institute of Development Studies estimated that the economy lost P43.85 billion due to port congestion.

Action plan

ON February 15, the four organizations led by AISL issued an action plan on what to do with the empty containers which cause logistics problems for stakeholders.

The following measures will be implemented by the AISL, CDAP, ACTOO and ICTSI under their agreement: ■ CDAP will identify possible areas for lease and increase empty capacity of empty container depots (ECDs) by 10 hectares.

ICTSI agrees to cover the cost of the lease on a market rate basis. This will allow CDAP to expand without risk of being burdened by a lease when the situation reverts to normal and provide the flexibility to AISL and the truckers to implement global best practices of returning empty containers to designated ECDs; ■ ICTSI will create a large buffer to receive from the external ECDs by moving 5,000 overstaying containers to an outside bonded facility from the MICT; ■ ICTSI will negotiate use of the San Miguel Yamamura Property for storage and repositioning of empty containers for a period of one month. It is already

well as an additional 50 percent of their basic wage if the holiday coincides with their day off.

As part of DOLE’s commemoration of Edsa People Power Revolution, Bello said they will also hold a job and business fair in Mandaluyong City on Monday, at the Second Floor Activity Center of the Starmall on Edsa-Shaw.

Over 20,000 local employment job opportunities from 50 participating employers will be made available at the event.

The fair will also feature 12,000 overseas jobs from 15 recruitment agencies.

The Edsa People Power Revolution anniversary is marked every February 25 or the fourth and final day of the 1986 nonviolent revolution that ended the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Samuel P. Medenilla earmarked for specific use of the “empties” from April 1; and ■ ICTSI will encourage the use of the Cavite Gateway Terminal for repositioning of empty containers for transport by barge to MICT. “This will fur ther the ability to decongest outside container yard’s and restore the trucking system, where today, there is an artificial shortage of trucks,” the action plan read. The goal is to return to the one-day truck turnaround time from the current two to three days today and increase truck availability. This effort requires additional support from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and BOC, the action plan said.

ATI, shipping lines

LAST Tuesday, through a collaborative session, the ATI and six shipping lines agreed to cooperate and share vessel resources to evacuate the empty containers in Manila, while the port operator will dedicate ample resources to handle the requirements of the shipping lines to ensure quick turnaround time.

The six shipping lines that will participate in this initiative are CMA-CGM Group, T.S. Lines, Evergreen, Yang Ming Lines, Wan Hai Lines and Hyundai Maritime. They will jointly pull out over 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of empty containers from the port for recirculation to Asian destinations on a weekly basis.

With a report by Lorenz S. Marasigan

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, February 25, 2019

B1

ERC to review MORE application to service Iloilo

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By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will evaluate next month the application of MORE Electric and Power Corp. for the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) for the operation of the electric distribution system for Iloilo City.

“Finding the said application to be sufficient in form and 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 March 27, 2019,” the ERC said in

its nine-page order.

MORE’s application was filed in December last year. It is in the process of securing a 25-year legislative franchise to construct, maintain and operate an electric light, heat and power system in the city of Iloilo, Island of Panay. MORE is owned by businessman Enrique Razon Jr.

The bicameral Conference Committee already adopted a reconciled version of the House of Representatives and Senate versions of House Bill 8302. This reconcile version was ratified last December 11.

MORE said the CPCN application may be filed prior to the grant of the franchise.

“Once MORE has been granted a franchise, it will initiate proceedings for the acquisition of the distribution facilities of the current distribution utility of Iloilo City,” MORE said. “In order to ensure that MORE has all the legal requirements to operate, MORE respectfully submits that it must have a CPCN from the commission. Thus, the provisional approval of this application must be secured as there might be a difficulty in getting a final decision in such a short span of time due to the tremendous case load of the commission.”

However, Iloilo electric service provider Panay Electric Co. (Peco)

was allowed by the Department of Energy (DOE) and ERC last January to continue serving the electricity requirements of Iloilo City after its franchise expired last January 18.

“Given the crucial role of regional economies in the overall economic progress of the country, uninterrupted energy services in Iloilo is of utmost importance. We are reassuring our kababayans in Iloilo City, La Paz, Jaro and Arevalo that there will be no power disruptions. In the interim, Peco will remain the power service provider in the area,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi had said.

Peco’s CPCN is valid until May 25, which served as the legal basis of ERC and the DOE in allowing the distributor to continue operating in Iloilo.

“We consider this as an extraordinary situation, so the ERC must ensure the continuous provision of electricity within Peco’s franchise area,” ERC Chairman Agnes Devanadera said.

Phirst Park identifies 4 sites to develop in Laguna, Batangas

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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RAB Philippines expects its express and food-delivery businesses to take as much as 30 percent of its total revenues in the coming years, as demand for both services are forecasted to rise due to evolving consumer preferences.

Brian P. Cu, who sits as president at Grab, said his group sees GrabFood and GrabExpress to continue their exponential growth in the next few years and contribute more into the company’s top line.

“Today, 95 percent of Grab’s transactions are still transport. These emerging services should take up a high 20 percent and a high 30 percent of the value contribution to the business,” he told the BusinessMirror.

Cu noted that demand for GrabFood has been growing steadily in the low double teens on a month- to-month basis, while that for GrabExpress is at high single digits.

GrabFood has been seeing immense growth over the last six months, expanding its number of completed orders by 12 times since its launch.

GrabExpress has been catering to the last-mile need for same-day delivery.

“The long-term vision is to have them as integral parts of the everyday super app,” Cu said.

He noted his group can achieve this goal by continuing to serve its customers better everyday.

“On the consumer side, we need to maintain the efficiency and convenience level and be able to acquire new customers because of the service level,” Cu said.

SMC further cuts water use, beats 2020 goal 2 years early

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HIR ST Park Homes Inc. (PPHI), the joint-venture company of listed firm Century Properties Group Inc. and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp., said it is making significant headway in its plans to roll out 15 projects in four years with its maiden communities in Lipa, Batangas, and San Pablo, Laguna, and two additional planned sites for 2019.

The company said it will launch its second subdivision in San Pablo, Laguna, in March this year, following the 20-hectare subdivision in Lipa, Batangas, in Barangay San Lucas, launched in the second quarter of 2018, Located in Maharlika Highway, Barangay San Ignacio, the 18.5-hectare subdivision in San Pablo will offer 1,640 homes. “ T hese t wo projects m a rk an auspicious start of the year for PPHI and cement our commitment to provide first-time homebuyers with superior housing in the best locations. We look forward to rolling out more communities under the Phirst Park Homes brand very soon,” said Ricky M. Celis, president of Phirst Park.

The Lipa project, meanwhile, was well received by the market and has sold out more than half of its total inventory as early as September last year. Net sales for 900 out of a total of 1,846 homes posted a total value of P1.16 billion. The second phase of the project inventory with more than 300 units will be launched soon.

The future sites of the company are being eyed in north and south Luzon, which has been identified

by Phirst Park as growth areas with a high concentration of overseas Filipino workers families and unmet demand for housing, high purchasing power and infrastructure projects are in place.

All of the company’s developments are complete and finished homes with a perimeter fence and gate; and conceptive amenities that encourage a sense of community.

Each site is distinguished by its amenity themes. The Lipa development has activity nodes that feature traditional Filipino games, while the San Pablo subdivision has health and wellness facilities. VG Cabuag

Grab express, food delivery to take 30% of yearly revenues

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BEST IN CUSTOMER SERVICE The sales team of the Isuzu Gencars in Santo Tomas, Batangas, was awarded first place in Excellence in Customer Service Operations in ceremonies held on Friday, February 22. The team is composed of (from left): Joseph Bautista, Marketing Division head of Isuzu Philippines Corp.; William Abril, general manager of Isuzu Gencars Batangas; Jerin Guevara, assistant manager, Isuzu Gencars Batangas; Lerma Nacnac, EVP of Isuzu Gencars Inc.; Giannina Cabangon, Management trainee, Isuzu Gencars Inc.; Ma. Elena Perez, Customer Relations manager, Isuzu Gencars Inc.; and Roberto Carlos, Section head, Product Planning of Isuzu Philippines Corp. RUDY ESPERAS

AN Miguel Corp. (SMC) said it significantly reduced operational water use across its businesses by 23 percent in 2018, beating its stated goal to reduce consumption by 20 percent in 2020.

This developed despite the conglomerate’s ongoing expansion and increase in production volumes. The initiative, part of the conglomerate’s ambitious “Water for All” sustainability project that will see San Miguel and its businesses cutting utility and domestic use of water by 50 percent by 2025 resulted in 7.7 billion liters of water saved for the year.

This represents a 23-percent reduction in the company’s total non-product water use.

SMC attributed the drop to the effective implementation of programs aimed at increasing use of alternative, “non-scarce” water, including rainwater, recycled water and seawater.

“This is a significant milestone for us, and we’re highly encouraged by these results,” SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said. “It’s only the second year since we announced this major sustainability goal, and already, the effort and commitment of those in our company tasked with making this goal a reality, have started to pay off,” Ang said.

The company said while its total water volumes for the year actually increased—due to higher production and the start of operations of new manufacturing plants—it was also able to

increase utilization of non-scarce water sources.

From 4,738,338 cubic meters saved in 2017, representing 15.76 percent of the company’s total non-product water use, SMC was able to save a total of 7,762,061 cubic meters of water in 2018.

“For us, water sustainability goes beyond corporate social responsibility,” Ang said. “Water is an integral part of our operations, and a vital need of our people and communities. While we’ve long worked to conserve and protect water in our areas of operation, this initiative will see us drawing even less water in the future.”

“Knowing that water is a finite resource, we really want to take leadership in addressing this issue because that’s what responsible businesses do. Water has an impact on our business and society, and we fully recognize the role we can play in water stewardship,” Ang added.

In addition to its efforts to reduce water use in its operations, San Miguel also donates water systems to waterless communities throughout the Philippines. The company’s goal is to increase access to water in remote barangays.

Its most recent donations benefitted communities in Malita, Davao; Maasim, Saranggani; and Mulanay, Quezon.

Last January, SMC’s multibillion-peso Bulacan Bulk Water Project, which will make potable water accessible to 24 water districts in the province at the lowest price per cubic meter, came onstream.

Lalamove raises $300M to expand delivery coverage in Asia

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ALAMOVE, Asia’s leading on-demand delivery and logistics service provider that originated in Hong Kong, closes $300 million in its latest D1 round led by Hillhouse Capital and D2 round led by Sequoia China. This round of funding is another vote of trust from investors in the wake of Lalamove’s consistent growth.

T he funding w ill be channe le d tow a rd ac h ie v i n g t he primary goal of expanding Lalamove’s operations in Southea st A si a , I nd i a , C h i n a a nd other untapped cities. Besides that, the funding will be used to propel Lalamove’s technological and innovation capabilities.

This new development will open an opportunity for Lalamove to venture in the automotive industry. “ Tec h nolog y i s redef i n i ng

what can be achieved in the logistics industry, and Lalamove’s outstanding management team has placed it at the forefront of this trend,” said Lei Zhang, founder and CEO of Hillhouse Capital.

“We have been impressed with the company’s success in Southeast Asia and Mainland China, and believe it is well-positioned to bring more efficient and convenient freight services to the sector.”

Neil Shen, founder and managing partner of Sequoia China, said, “Shing, the founder and CEO of Lalamove, is a role model for Hong Kong’s new generation of innovative entrepreneurs. Shing returned to HK after completing his studies and plunged himself into the entrepreneurial wave of ‘Internet Plus,’ becoming a figure of entrepreneurial success.”

Shing responded, “I am very

grateful to Hillhouse Capital Group, Sequoia China, and all the new and prev ious shareholders for their confidence and support. We are convinced that g reater Inter net penetrat ion and new technologies will continue to drive efficiency within the logistics sector. Lalamove is well positioned to spearhead this transformation.”

Driven by technological innovation, well-run operations, efficient platform matching and quality service, Lalamove has been able to differentiate itself from other players and secure a leading position in the industr y. Since its ver y inception, Lalamove has stayed true to its global vision, and implemented a successful two-pronged strategy, focusing on both domestic and international markets. As a result, the company has emerged as one

of the greatest enterprises in the Greater Bay Area. With Shing at the helm, the company will become an outstanding example of China’s homegrow n global enterprises.

In addition to tremendous growth of Lalamove’s business in China, its international business also accelerated, with its exponential growth in the Philippines as one of the main growth drivers, plus the expansion in three new countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and most recently, India. In total, the company currently operates in 11 cities in Asia outside of China and anticipates many more cities in the near future with a strong focus on India.

Lalamove was launched in Manila, Philippines, in 2016, and has indeed helped businesses, big and small, in their logistical needs. It has also provided livelihood to

many Filipino partner drivers.

To date, Lalamove Philippines has grown to beyond 120,000 customers and more than 20,000 partner drivers, and these figures are expected to increase further with the recent expansion in Cebu City.

With this funding, the Filipino business clients, consumers, and partner drivers are poised to enjoy additional services and broader delivery coverage.

“This funding will enable us to further empower communities through our services and technology, elevating the lives of partner drivers who can address the logistical needs of businesses and consumers. We are optimistic that through this, Lalamove can bring in positive change and help move the country forward,” said Dannah Majarocon, managing director of Lalamove Philippines.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, February 25, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

February 22, 2019

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

ASIA UNITED 59.25 59.35 59.25 59.35 58.2 59.35 12100 713897 BDO UNIBANK 129.4 129.5 128.5 130.2 128.3 129.5 4292250 555870820 BANK PH ISLANDS 89.75 89.85 89.55 89.95 89.55 89.75 1763870 158300326 CHINABANK 27.6 27.65 27.65 27.7 27.65 27.65 126200 3494565 EAST WEST BANK 12.64 12.7 12.74 12.74 12.5 12.64 488900 6179244 METROBANK 81.9 82 81.5 82 80.6 81.9 2596810 211175914.5 PB BANK 13.64 14 13.98 14 13.98 13.98 40900 572368 PHIL NATL BANK 47.05 47.1 47.65 48.4 47.1 47.1 90600 4317455 PSBANK 58.85 58.9 59 59.1 58.55 58.9 6690 394467.5 RCBC 26.75 26.8 26.8 26.8 26.6 26.75 91100 2434580 SECURITY BANK 171.4 173 170.4 174 170 173 174850 30224392 UNION BANK 61.5 62 63 63 61.5 61.8 7600 468764 BDO LEASING 2.23 2.28 2.23 2.28 2.23 2.28 34000 75920 COL FINANCIAL 17.8 17.88 17.6 17.9 17.6 17.88 31800 567472 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.46 4.49 4.49 4.5 4.42 4.49 80000 355590 IREMIT 1.45 1.54 1.49 1.5 1.49 1.5 14000 20960 MEDCO HLDG 0.46 0.47 0.465 0.465 0.465 0.465 10000 4650 MANULIFE 800 810 800 800 800 800 130 104000 NTL REINSURANCE 1.15 1.16 1.2 1.21 1.15 1.15 804000 941860 PHIL STOCK EXCH 185.2 185.9 185.2 185.2 185.2 185.2 10 1852 SUN LIFE 1800 1850 1800 1800 1800 1800 670 1206000 VANTAGE 1.14 1.16 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.14 98000 111720

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.54 1.56 1.54 1.56 1.52 1.54 707000 1087980 ABOITIZ POWER 35.85 35.9 35.1 36.3 35.1 35.9 1310400 47105390 BASIC ENERGY 0.245 0.249 0.25 0.255 0.242 0.245 1090000 269720 FIRST GEN 20.7 20.9 20.4 20.9 20.25 20.9 1132200 23347690 FIRST PHIL HLDG 72.6 72.9 73.1 73.2 72.65 72.65 269240 19591985 MERALCO 370.4 372 359.4 373 359.2 372 290100 107507596 MANILA WATER 26.95 27.05 27.1 27.15 26.9 27 346000 9345035 PETRON 7.09 7.1 6.86 7.1 6.86 7.1 20483300 143897447 PETROENERGY 3.71 3.79 3.78 3.78 3.78 3.78 50000 189000 PHINMA ENERGY 1.31 1.32 1.3 1.33 1.3 1.32 13257000 17428290 PHX PETROLEUM 11.72 11.8 11.7 12.14 11.7 11.8 121100 1437834 PILIPINAS SHELL 48.1 48.2 47.65 48.35 47.5 48.1 204200 9816340 SPC POWER 6.31 6.35 6.35 6.37 6.31 6.31 35700 226311 VIVANT 16 16.96 16.02 16.02 16 16 2100 33612 AGRINURTURE 16.64 16.76 16.6 16.76 16.32 16.76 552900 9226924 CNTRL AZUCARERA 16.82 17.42 17.68 17.68 16.8 16.82 31900 542010 CENTURY FOOD 15.88 16 15.62 16 15.62 15.88 3445400 54875930 DEL MONTE 6.45 6.5 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.5 16900 109766 DNL INDUS 11.48 11.56 11.52 11.56 11.5 11.56 1519000 17521668 EMPERADOR 7.62 7.69 7.61 7.7 7.61 7.62 47200 361209 SMC FOODANDBEV 99.45 99.9 97.95 100 97.95 99.45 1110000 110118321 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.03 1.04 1.02 1.04 1.02 1.04 1263000 1298520 GINEBRA 26.75 27 26.75 27 26.75 27 555200 14990350 JOLLIBEE 310.2 310.4 311 313 309 310.4 972260 301912662 LIBERTY FLOUR 50.1 59.25 50.05 59.25 50.05 59.25 2700 153356.5 MACAY HLDG 12.08 12.14 11.74 13.32 11.52 12.14 146300 1795314 MAXS GROUP 12.66 12.7 12.9 12.9 12.7 12.7 124600 1586246 MG HLDG 0.203 0.217 0.201 0.226 0.201 0.204 4000000 841920 PEPSI COLA 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.39 1.35 1.37 3018000 4098330 SHAKEYS PIZZA 12.7 12.8 12.6 12.7 12.6 12.7 15500 195450 ROXAS AND CO 1.84 1.88 1.88 1.91 1.83 1.88 412000 760750 RFM CORP 4.7 4.74 4.71 4.74 4.7 4.74 14000 65940 ROXAS HLDG 2.78 2.86 2.81 2.81 2.78 2.78 23000 64130 SWIFT FOODS 0.131 0.137 0.13 0.137 0.13 0.137 160000 21640 UNIV ROBINA 145 146.5 140.5 147.9 140.5 146.5 931300 136463577 VITARICH 1.69 1.7 1.7 1.72 1.68 1.69 3052000 5195170 VICTORIAS 2.73 2.84 2.71 2.73 2.66 2.73 107000 287840 CEMEX HLDG 2.25 2.26 2.22 2.27 2.19 2.25 14202000 31685740 DAVINCI CAPITAL 6.15 6.43 6.41 6.45 6.41 6.45 2500 16045 EAGLE CEMENT 15.86 15.88 15.84 15.98 15.84 15.88 33000 523384 EEI CORP 8.1 8.12 8.1 8.1 8.03 8.1 95500 769649 HOLCIM 9.5 9.54 9.45 9.6 9.38 9.5 1941000 18439161 MEGAWIDE 18.98 19 18.64 19.26 18.58 19 10163300 192991864 PHINMA 8.84 9.37 8.91 8.95 8.84 8.84 49100 436299 TKC METALS 1.1 1.13 1.18 1.18 1.07 1.1 518000 577940 VULCAN INDL 1.36 1.38 1.37 1.39 1.36 1.38 788000 1079040 CHEMPHIL 120.1 128 127.8 128 127.8 128 310 39676 CROWN ASIA 1.87 1.88 1.88 1.92 1.87 1.88 56000 105880 EUROMED 1.59 1.74 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1000 1750 MABUHAY VINYL 3.51 3.68 3.69 3.69 3.51 3.68 9000 31980 PRYCE CORP 6.06 6.13 6.13 6.13 6.13 6.13 20300 124439 CONCEPCION 40.3 40.9 41.05 41.05 40.2 40.9 144800 5896720 GREENERGY 3.24 3.25 3.23 3.26 3.17 3.25 8363000 26952760 INTEGRATED MICR 12.58 12.6 12.24 12.6 12.24 12.58 379200 4742832 IONICS 1.75 1.77 1.7 1.78 1.66 1.77 266000 459560 PANASONIC 5.9 6.15 6.15 6.15 6.15 6.15 200 1230 SFA SEMICON 1.37 1.4 1.39 1.4 1.37 1.4 96000 133080 CIRTEK HLDG 29.1 30 28.55 30 28.3 30 97800 2896725

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.68 0.7 0.73 0.73 0.68 0.68 13980000 9690020 ASIABEST GROUP 23.6 23.65 22.85 23.65 22.8 23.6 55500 1283615 AYALA CORP 942.5 944 943 947.5 935 944 469450 442835360 ABOITIZ EQUITY 64.4 64.5 62.2 65.15 62.2 64.5 862880 55413494.5 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 14.16 14.2 13.9 14.28 13.9 14.2 10395700 147026434 ANSCOR 6.5 6.59 6.51 6.51 6.5 6.5 8000 52050 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.81 0.83 0.8 0.84 0.79 0.84 182000 147110 ATN HLDG A 1.38 1.39 1.38 1.39 1.36 1.38 3755000 5173540 ATN HLDG B 1.4 1.42 1.47 1.47 1.39 1.42 88000 122910 COSCO CAPITAL 7.69 7.7 7.5 7.76 7.5 7.7 2517500 19311006 DMCI HLDG 12.44 12.68 12.32 12.72 12.32 12.68 7383500 93508996 FILINVEST DEV 13.76 13.78 14.1 14.18 13.6 13.76 292500 4049256 FORUM PACIFIC 0.235 0.245 0.232 0.249 0.232 0.245 100000 24490 GT CAPITAL 1016 1019 1000 1025 1000 1019 83140 84534070 HOUSE OF INV 6.08 6.14 6.14 6.14 6.08 6.08 11400 69764 JG SUMMIT 66.4 66.7 66.4 66.7 65.7 66.7 1777630 118381971.5 LODESTAR 0.59 0.61 0.62 0.62 0.6 0.61 30000 18170 LOPEZ HLDG 5.16 5.26 5.17 5.29 5.15 5.16 472900 2447003 LT GROUP 15.4 15.42 15.06 15.42 15.06 15.42 2958300 45266946 MABUHAY HLDG 0.56 0.57 0.58 0.58 0.57 0.57 97000 55640 METRO PAC INV 4.76 4.79 4.75 4.81 4.72 4.76 13683000 65283580 PACIFICA 0.041 0.042 0.041 0.043 0.04 0.042 23500000 969800 PRIME ORION 2.88 2.9 3 3.03 2.84 2.88 4657000 13626080 PRIME MEDIA 1.17 1.2 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 264000 308880 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.66 2.88 3 3.3 2.6 2.87 74000 214970 SOLID GROUP 1.35 1.38 1.38 1.38 1.38 1.38 1000 1380 SYNERGY GRID 455 465 465 465 465 465 160 74400 SM INVESTMENTS 975 980 969 986 968 980 208590 203898800 SAN MIGUEL CORP 174.5 174.7 173.1 175.4 173.1 174.7 842140 147313240 SOC RESOURCES 0.78 0.8 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 56000 43680 SEAFRONT RES 2.36 2.49 2.36 2.36 2.36 2.36 16000 37760 TOP FRONTIER 276.2 283.8 286.6 286.6 270.2 283.8 22600 6369772 WELLEX INDUS 0.25 0.26 0.255 0.26 0.25 0.26 1560000 394700 ZEUS HLDG 0.32 0.325 0.315 0.325 0.31 0.325 15850000 5056850

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.88 0.9 0.89 0.91 0.88 0.9 1827000 1616960 ANCHOR LAND 10.54 10.92 10.92 10.92 10.92 10.92 100 1092 AYALA LAND 43.55 43.9 43.1 43.9 43.1 43.9 12209300 531941110 ARANETA PROP 1.84 1.88 1.86 1.95 1.82 1.88 518000 959420 BELLE CORP 2.53 2.54 2.53 2.56 2.52 2.53 1229000 3117560 A BROWN 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.79 0.79 217000 173370 CITYLAND DEVT 0.9 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.9 0.92 67000 60620 CROWN EQUITIES 0.25 0.255 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 4680000 1170000 CEBU HLDG 6.2 6.43 6.47 6.47 6.1 6.43 34200 218443 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.19 4.3 4.18 4.3 4.18 4.3 4902000 20658790 CENTURY PROP 0.49 0.495 0.495 0.5 0.49 0.495 3630000 1799800 CYBER BAY 0.415 0.425 0.415 0.425 0.41 0.415 150000 62100 DOUBLEDRAGON 22.8 22.9 23 23.15 22.8 22.8 258200 5918595 DM WENCESLAO 10.28 10.3 10.24 10.36 10.02 10.28 1216200 12393780 EMPIRE EAST 0.52 0.55 0.53 0.55 0.52 0.54 310000 164250 EVER GOTESCO 0.136 0.14 0.14 0.141 0.136 0.137 1430000 195480 FILINVEST LAND 1.5 1.51 1.51 1.53 1.5 1.5 6435000 9712720 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.22 1.24 1.25 1.25 1.2 1.22 4185000 5135460 8990 HLDG 11.94 12 11.9 12.08 11.82 12 529500 6353152 PHIL INFRADEV 2.16 2.17 2.13 2.18 2.1 2.16 2524000 5408390 KEPPEL PROP 3.65 4.49 3.65 3.65 3.65 3.65 3000 10950 CITY AND LAND 0.83 0.85 0.83 0.85 0.83 0.85 17000 14150 MEGAWORLD 5.3 5.32 5.31 5.34 5.24 5.32 21608700 114579756 MRC ALLIED 0.44 0.445 0.44 0.445 0.435 0.445 8050000 3546150 PHIL ESTATES 0.46 0.475 0.465 0.47 0.46 0.46 510000 236300 PRIMEX CORP 2.85 2.9 2.96 2.96 2.81 2.9 308000 892860 ROBINSONS LAND 23.5 23.55 24 24 23.15 23.5 7897900 184610875 PHIL REALTY 0.47 0.485 0.47 0.47 0.47 0.47 170000 79900 ROCKWELL 2 2.01 2.02 2.02 2 2.01 190000 381860 SHANG PROP 3.12 3.15 3.14 3.15 3.11 3.15 124000 386150 STA LUCIA LAND 1.42 1.43 1.4 1.44 1.4 1.43 2698000 3796900 SM PRIME HLDG 38.55 38.9 38.25 38.9 37.95 38.9 8428400 325585095 STARMALLS 6.45 6.49 6.98 6.98 6.4 6.49 1142900 7527920 SUNTRUST HOME 0.78 0.82 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.79 167000 130970 VISTA LAND 7.05 7.28 7.32 7.48 6.89 7.28 64340400 461747534

SERVICES ABS CBN 22.15 22.25 22.55 22.8 22.1 22.3 181700 4068250 GMA NETWORK 5.72 5.73 5.74 5.75 5.72 5.73 270000 1548526 MANILA BULLETIN 0.74 0.75 0.69 0.78 0.69 0.74 24999000 18575290 GLOBE TELECOM 1866 1880 1860 1905 1855 1866 68195 128366560 PLDT 1070 1100 1107 1140 1070 1070 322095 353866420 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.045 0.046 0.045 0.046 0.045 0.045 20400000 919400 DFNN INC 7.21 7.35 7.21 7.35 7.21 7.35 300 2177 IMPERIAL 1.99 2.07 2.03 2.03 1.99 1.99 105000 210820 ISLAND INFO 0.131 0.134 0.13 0.131 0.128 0.131 7480000 960610 ISM COMM 6.03 6.04 5.98 6.1 5.96 6.03 2145800 12878705 JACKSTONES 3.08 3.24 3.13 3.31 3.1 3.26 83000 259300 NOW CORP 3.03 3.04 3.02 3.06 3.02 3.03 639000 1937930 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.44 0.45 0.445 0.45 0.44 0.44 8060000 3581650 PHILWEB 3.09 3.11 3.05 3.14 3.04 3.09 421000 1301910 2GO GROUP 12.84 12.86 13.1 13.1 12.8 12.84 135400 1751074 ASIAN TERMINALS 15.22 15.76 15.76 15.76 15.22 15.22 19300 302926 CEBU AIR 84 84.2 84.5 84.7 84 84 60650 5111236.5 CHELSEA 6.2 6.21 6.12 6.28 6.09 6.2 437800 2701978 INTL CONTAINER 118.1 119 116 121 116 119 4166690 498653682 LBC EXPRESS 15.22 15.9 15.14 16 15.12 15.9 20700 323602 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.89 0.91 0.92 0.92 0.89 0.91 118000 105650 MACROASIA 19.64 19.84 19.98 20 19.6 19.64 157100 3100988 METROALLIANCE A 2.06 2.07 2.06 2.1 2 2.06 444000 901690 METROALLIANCE B 2 2.25 2.09 2.09 2 2 34000 69500 PAL HLDG 11.4 11.5 10.9 11.64 10.9 11.5 137800 1563104 HARBOR STAR 2.96 2.97 2.82 2.97 2.81 2.97 3835000 11237840 ACESITE HOTEL 1.3 1.35 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 3000 3900 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.065 0.066 0.066 0.067 0.065 0.065 9370000 614270 GRAND PLAZA 10.44 11.64 11.04 11.04 10.2 10.4 10500 110246 WATERFRONT 0.7 0.71 0.71 0.72 0.7 0.71 1471000 1036340 FAR EASTERN U 891 900 891 891 891 891 10 8910 IPEOPLE 10.88 11 10.88 10.9 10.88 10.88 26200 285092 STI HLDG 0.72 0.73 0.75 0.75 0.72 0.72 4096000 3003790 BERJAYA 2.96 3 3.05 3.05 2.94 3 277000 821280 BLOOMBERRY 12.38 12.4 12.56 12.56 12.4 12.4 4255300 52991102 LEISURE AND RES 3.26 3.32 3.25 3.28 3.24 3.27 263000 857480 MANILA JOCKEY 4.73 4.84 4.73 4.84 4.73 4.84 101000 477840 PH RESORTS GRP 5.17 5.19 5 5.19 4.96 5.17 139400 709249 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.94 0.95 0.94 0.97 0.93 0.94 7876000 7481340 TRAVELLERS 5.56 5.6 5.52 5.56 5.52 5.56 186800 1036030 METRO RETAIL 3.01 3.02 2.95 3.04 2.85 3.01 1878000 5524540 PUREGOLD 47.75 48 48 48.15 47.05 48 3543300 169748995 ROBINSONS RTL 87.9 88 86.75 88.95 86.75 88 833370 73394992.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 133.1 134 131 134 129 134 67350 8960898 SSI GROUP 2.23 2.24 2.17 2.24 2.16 2.24 5789000 12778890 WILCON DEPOT 14.24 14.4 14.6 14.6 14.24 14.24 2985500 42759438 APC GROUP 0.445 0.45 0.44 0.45 0.435 0.45 1210000 535650 EASYCALL 15.12 15.2 15.38 15.4 15 15.2 92900 1398596 GOLDEN BRIA 358 360 360 360 350.6 360 260 93026 IPM HLDG 7.18 7.24 7.2 7.2 7.15 7.15 800 5745 PAXYS 3.21 3.35 3.23 3.3 3.23 3.3 13000 42200 PRMIERE HORIZON 1.42 1.43 1.32 1.43 1.3 1.42 48793000 67504090 SBS PHIL CORP 8.58 8.79 8.94 8.94 8.56 8.56 6300 54750

MINING & OIL ATOK 13.04 13.46 13 13.6 13 13.4 1600 21290 APEX MINING 1.54 1.56 1.54 1.61 1.53 1.57 3945000 6215380 ABRA MINING 0.0021 0.0022 0.0022 0.0022 0.002 0.0022 819000000 1722600 ATLAS MINING 3.01 3.04 2.96 3.06 2.95 3.01 100000 297020 BENGUET A 1.3 1.47 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1000 1300 BENGUET B 1.2 1.38 - - - - - - COAL ASIA HLDG 0.3 0.315 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 210000 63000 CENTURY PEAK 2.17 2.18 2.23 2.23 2.17 2.17 360000 785010 DIZON MINES 7.94 8.1 8 8.1 7.95 8.1 1400 11195 FERRONICKEL 1.48 1.49 1.54 1.54 1.48 1.48 4578000 6885440 GEOGRACE 0.28 0.29 0.28 0.29 0.28 0.285 1680000 475650 LEPANTO A 0.13 0.133 0.13 0.133 0.13 0.133 2650000 348780 LEPANTO B 0.131 0.135 0.132 0.132 0.13 0.13 190000 24720 MANILA MINING A 0.0092 0.0096 0.0092 0.0092 0.0092 0.0092 4000000 36800 MANILA MINING B 0.0093 0.0099 0.0093 0.0093 0.0093 0.0093 13000000 120900 MARCVENTURES 1.11 1.14 1.15 1.15 1.1 1.14 35000 39750 NIHAO 1.07 1.08 1.13 1.13 1.08 1.12 4000 4410 NICKEL ASIA 2.79 2.8 2.73 2.82 2.72 2.79 2903000 8109650 OMICO CORP 0.65 0.67 0.7 0.7 0.65 0.67 572000 377620 ORNTL PENINSULA 1 1.01 1.03 1.03 1 1 273000 278370 PX MINING 4.32 4.33 4.22 4.35 4.22 4.32 4584000 19737430 SEMIRARA MINING 22.55 22.6 22.5 22.95 22.5 22.6 628000 14238395 UNITED PARAGON 0.0081 0.0083 0.008 0.0083 0.008 0.0083 3000000 24600 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 8600000 109700 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 2700000 33300 PHINMA PETRO 3.25 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.25 3.4 17000 55890 PXP ENERGY 14.68 14.72 14.5 14.76 14.24 14.72 1374300 20049778

PREFFERED AC PREF B1 DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 FGEN PREF G FPH PREF C GTCAP PREF B LR PREF PNX PREF 3A SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

465.2 96.8 966 102 450.2 899 1 100 1.76 75.1 76.2 73.8 74.9 73.5 72.1 72.35

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

20 5.56 1.93

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 4.85 XURPAS 1.43

118

203000 -8259425 7408323 14574674 19500 1363552 13141862 2208286 44654545 -7794850 -516316 1731446 -5999590 354220 -60450 -25487525 -13965076 -4187228 -73000 44000 -109658110 -677879.9997 185468 -42080 104975 5059168 -5233510 740460 -1985144 -6480 52057353.0001 105624385 -23500 9360 6339910 541115 -139024993 4160340 -92181955 -116100 -743785 -118410 262550 9180 20770 -230894 6130 235983256 -110900 133622 -4560 -471590 205400 -3040 -3328056 35760 80870 -161421 -79820 86638190 32076947 399355 2732880 -22583360 61600 -3096 -32300 -2278750 1712 6320 361200 88800 12040 2329320 640680.0001 -3219975 -865994

475.2 97 990 103.5 450.2 900 1 101 1.8 75.05 76.5 73.9 75 74 73.95 73.45

475.2 97 990 103.5 450.2 900 1.01 101 1.8 75.05 76.5 73.9 75.05 74 73.95 73.45

475.2 97 990 103 450 899 1 101 1.76 75.05 76.15 73.85 75 74 73.95 73

475.2 97 990 103 450.2 900 1.01 101 1.76 75.05 76.5 73.85 75 74 73.95 73

10 1360 10 20530 120 2010 91000 100 27000 160 21720 2510 88400 600 65000 14140

4752 131920 9900 2120960 54016 1808970 91100 10100 47760 12008 1657361 185488.5 6630055 44400 4806750 1036642.5

780290 -10800 -

20.65 5.78

20.55 5.8

20.55 5.8

20 5.79

20 5.79

119900 14000

2424525 81064

-12000 81064

1.96

1.96

1.97

1.96

1.96

82000

160750

-

4.89 1.44

4.93 1.48

4.97 1.52

4.78 1.39

4.85 1.43

646000 34121000

3142830 48939390

19500 -15405750

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

-154030 6090785 5996235.0003 -5413559 26505834 423580 29092342 -2554290 1470664 -193180 226806 -12674434 151725 30121866 -44314824 128331.5 4698 806382 512990 99540 3720 4100 30246488 1667590 -8544430 258511 9944801.0003 105301496 200 88400 15310 9808 8055 -695870 815592 -529770

475.2 97 990 103 455 900 1.01 101 1.8 75.4 76.5 73.85 75 74.5 73.95 73

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

589238 -187687515 -41984788 177360 -642788 -41140292 -82965 -100901 -628490 6026949 183964 80000 28999.9999 -

118.5

117.2

118

117.2

118

4330

508542

-

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

PDS schedule to take over Ghana’s electricity power house this week

T

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Power Distribution Services Ltd. (PDS), a consortium led by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), will formally take over Ghana’s largest electricity distributor this week.

This developed after the Board of Directors of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) said last week that it has set on February 27 the date for the ceremony to hand over the electricity distribution assets and operations of the Electricity

Co. of Ghana Ltd. (ECG) to PDS. “The Board of Directors and the ECG PSP stakeholders anticipate a smooth transition, and count on the support and cooperation of all Ghanaians to ensure the success of PDS as the new Electricity Distribution

Operator in the Southern Distribution Zone of Ghana. “MiDA wishes to assure Ghanaians that it will continue to adhere to, and uphold high standards of transparency throughout the process,” said MiDA. Meralco has a 30-percent stake in PDS, but is allowed to reduce its stake to as low as 19 percent in the event that the consortium can take in more members or allow others to hike their interest.

Aside from Meralco, other consortium members include Aenergia SA, with 19 percent; TG Energy Solutions, 18 percent; Santa Baron Ventures Ghana, 13 percent; GTS Engineering Ghana Ltd., 10 percent; and TBK Ghana Ltd., 10 percent.

The MiDA earlier said that PDShad the highest combined technical and financial score. The bid of PDS included equity ownership and management of the concession company that would take over ECG, which supplies 80 percent of the population of Ghana through 3 million accounts.

PDS is expected to invest $580 million in the first five years of the 20-year concession period. Of this, Meralco’s share may amount to $40 million over five years.

Meralco’s presence has also reached Nigeria. Meralco and its partner, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Ltd., took over the operations of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Co. Plc. in November 2013.

PAL system upgrade to benefit passengers

P

HILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) will upgrade to a more advanced passenger-service system powered by next-generation technology next month, as part of a total transformation toward becoming a five-Star airline.

The multi-awarded flag carrier aims to enhance passenger satisfaction with a smoother booking-to-boarding experience at different points of contact.

PAL’s new information-technology computer system, using the Altea PSS Suite by Amadeus, will allow airline customers to benefit from greater convenience in booking reservations, ticketing, check-in and boarding processes.

Some of the benefits they can expect include: Easier booking and automated recognition of customer preferences; faster check-in process; improved online check-in experience; smoother transfers to connecting flights on partner airlines; real-time, personalized alerts for flight changes; online cash plus miles redemption for Mabuhay Miles members (in addition to redemption at ticket offices and PAL hot line); year-round redemption of Mabuhay Miles for any seat and any fare; and

convenient purchase of tickets along with ancillary services in one transaction.

The upgrade to the new system will take place on the third week of March 2019.

“We are looking forward to launching a more reliable and passenger-friendly system designed for the needs of our customers,” said PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime J. Bautista. “This system will serve as the technology backbone of our business, and it follows naturally from the recent innovations and service upgrades that have won for PAL the 4-Star Global Airline Rating and the recognition as the World’s Most Improved Airline.”

Recent PAL innovations include enhanced business- class experience on long-haul flights; a new premium economy service featuring a private cabin on Airbus A350 and tri-class A330 aircraft; the introduction of faster and more convenient nonstop routes to New York, Auckland, Toronto, Sapporo, Brisbane and (by April 2019) New Delhi; enhancements in inflight meals, onboard entertainment systems, long-haul duvet service and cabin mood-lighting.

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK LAST WEEK

SHARE prices gained last week, as the local market mimicked the strength of the global equities market, but analysts said investors were still being cautious as earnings report for 2018 started to come in.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 53.24 points to close the week at 7,962.13 points.

“It basically continued its negative momentum from last week, and if not for the bounce that we saw on Wednesday, it would have ended the week with losses.

Trading volumes continue to be strong despite the market being in limbo. Foreign funds were also very careful this week,” said Christopher Mangun, research head at Eagle Equities Inc. Foreign investors were net buyers at P887.79 billion, while average daily trading was worth P7.11 billion.

Among the subindices, only the Financials index shed points—31.71 to 1,754.68.

The broader All Shares index was up 60.51 points to 4,883.83 points; the Industrial index rose 220.88 to 11,678.17; the Holding Firms index gained 118.99 to 8,020.92; the Property index was up 8.98 to 4,045.68; the Services index climbed 9.85 to 1,578.39; and the Mining and Oil index surged 116.94 to 8.609.85.

Gainers slightly edged losers 117 to 110, and 24 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers were Prime Orion Philippines Inc., San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc., Apollo Global Capital Inc., Concrete Aggregates Corp. A, JG Summit Holdings Inc. and San Miguel Corp.

Top losers were Keppel Philippines Properties Inc., Philippine Racing Club Inc., AbaCore Capital Holdings Inc., National Reinsurance Corp. of the Philippines, Macay Holdings Inc. and Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp.

THIS WEEK

SHARE prices may trade the range this week as investors will factor the passing away of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. “Investors may speculate on who will replace Espenilla and what will be the new policy stance,” said Luis Limlingan, managing director of broker Regina Capital and Development Corp.

There will be a policy meeting of the Monetary Board this week and the implementation of MSCI’s revised basket weighting by the end of the month.

This week is also a four-day trading week, as Monday is a public holiday.

“Stocks likely to get reduced weight might mirror similar sentiment at home, and vice-versa,” broker 2TradeAsia said.

STOCK PICKS

BROKER Regina Capital recommended to buy during pullback on the stock of Ayala Land Inc. after it tested the initial support at P42.

“Its strong support is at 41.60, which is also the point where its moving averages converged,” it said, placing a weekly target at P43.

ALI shares closed last week at P44.50.

The broker advised to buy the shares of BDO Unibank Inc. when its support price reaches P126 per share.

For now, the broker said, the stock’s potential upside is only limited up to its 260day moving average at P132.

BDO shares closed on Friday at P129. VG Cabuag

MUTUAL FUNDS

February 22, 2019

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 265.74 -9.07% 3.43% 2.62% 5.36% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.5905 -1.44% 13.27% 4.38% 10.39% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 4.121 -10.57% 4.72% 1.2% 5.59% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9502 -4.44% N.A. N.A. 6.7% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.8601 N.A. N.A. N.A. 4.8% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.5231 -7.1% 3.39% 2.05% 4.78% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 123.96 4.7% N.A. N.A. 6.44% ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC. -A 0.8787 -10.45% -3.47% N.A. 5.56% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 52.1166 -7.97% 4.49% N.A. 5.92% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 545.21 -7.55% 3.37% 2.14% 5.92% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3126 -6.03% 4.67% 5.14% 4.67% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 38.684 -6.21% 5.71% 4.57% 5.6% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0329 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.2689 -7.62% 5.41% 4.56% 6.25% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 879.39 -7.48% 5.18% 4.51% 6.14% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9039 -6.73% 2.9% N.A. 4.96% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.3083 -6.47% 5.21% 3.36% 6.14% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0117 -7.87% 5.1% N.A. 6.01% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.6852 -4.58% 6.8% 3.97% 5.26% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 117.552 -7.24% 6.31% 5.6% 6.14% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $1.0027 -10.8% 8.56% 1.34% 7.92% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.241 -4.15% N.A. N.A. 12.3% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.7213 -6.53% 0.63% -0.66% 4.25% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.2963 -6.26% 2.69% 1.21% 3.94% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.6391 -4.7% 1.04% -0.76% 3.75% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.356 -6.95% N.A. N.A. 3.96% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9082 -3.84% 2.48% 2.01% 3.53% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.6368 -6.55% 1.11% 0.98% 3.05% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 16.4556 -5.7% 1.36% 1.1% 3.44% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.1452 -4.39% 2.72% 2.88% 3.52% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.8259 -4.84% 2.64% 2.13% 4.78% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 0.9902 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 0.9868 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 0.9861 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 0.9698 -4.76% 2.22% N.A. 5.22% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03571 1.74% 0.29% 1.68% 1.3% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $0.9821 -8.15% 5.14% -0.24% 4.9% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.5989 -2.96% 6.91% 2.18% 8.78% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.0671 -4.66% N.A. N.A. 5.65% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 345.59 2.45% 2.1% 2.16% 0.64% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A, 1 1.8621 -0.57% -0.34% -0.3% 0.16% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 2.9919 5.45% 5.28% 5.28% 0.71% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.1476 2.02% 1.66% 1.89% 0.8% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.2274 0.72% 0.27% 0.7% 0.82% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.5948 -1.11% -0.3% 0.33% 1.94% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.9221 -1.45% -0.75% 0.45% 0.06% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.5764 2.41% 1.23% 1.17% 1.69% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9096 -0.21% -0.57% N.A. 1.9% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 2.8319 1.59% 1.47% 1.56% 2.39% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.5727 1.24% 1.09% 1.05% 2.13% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $451.21 2.04% 2.12% 2.99% 0.65% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є214.64 0.92% 1.39% 1.56% 0.94% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.1503 2.84% 1.45% 2.25% 2.18% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.025 1.21% 0.81% N.A. 0.81% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.6986 -1.83% -0.99% 0.97% 0.5% 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 -A $1.0512 0.47% -1.03% -2.36% 1.31% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.2219 1.96% 0.79% 2.82% 2.34% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0574906 1.25% 1.03% 1.8% 0.89% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $2.9324 -0.44% 0.11% 1.99% 2.1% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 121.76 3.32% 2.11% 1.7% 0.76% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0024 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.1866 2.22% 0.86% 0.61% 0.4% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2258 2.9% 2.38% 1.71% 0.56% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0195 1.97% N.A. N.A. 0.35%

* - 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

Monday, February 25, 2019

B3

Truckers buck duplicity in govt fees, welcome suspension of BOC order

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By Rea Cu @ReaCuBM

HE Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines Inc. (CTAP) welcomed the suspension of the implementation of a Bureau of Customs (BOC) order on the registration of trucking companies doing business with the government agency.

The BOC has suspended the implementation of one of its memorandum orders, in line with the implementation of the rules and regulations governing the registration of truckers that do business with the bureau, as there is still a need for further consultation with stakeholders to address all concerns.

In a memorandum issued on February 19, Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero has ordered the suspension of Customs Memorandum Order 05-2019 “until further notice.”

This CMO outlines the rules and regulations for the registration of truckers working with the BOC. The suspension of CMO 05-

Perspectives

Global fintech investment doubles amid megadeals

F

INTECH investment globally more than doubled during 2018, driven in part by a small number of megadeals, including the acquisition of WorldPay by Vantiv and the $14-billion VC funding round raised by Ant Financial in the first half of 2018. The second half of 2018 also saw a significant number of large deals, including PE firm Blackstone’s $17-billion investment in Refinitiv (formerly the financial and risk group of Thomson Reuters) and the $3.5-billion acquisition of prepaid card company Blackhawk Network by Silver Lake and P2 Capital Partners.

All told, 2018 was a year of multiple record highs across fintech investment, including VC, CVC, M&A and PE. While new start-ups sprouted across emerging fintech subsectors, highly mature areas like payments saw some consolidation. For example, in 2018 Denmark payments firm Nets merged with German-based Concardis in a multibillion-dollar deal. At the same time, Nets also carried out a number of other deals, including the acquisition of Poland-based payment firm Dotpay/eCard.

Growth a top priority for challenger banks across the globe

THE growth agenda was a hot topic for fintechs globally during 2018, with later stage and unicorn fintechs raising large rounds, building international partnerships and making their own acquisitions to drive global expansion activities.

This was particularly true among digital challenger banks, which have historically focused on their domestic markets. In 2018, a number of challenger banks made big plays to expand beyond their borders—including Nubank in Brazil, N26 in Germany and several UKbased challenger banks. The growth objective of these companies has been a strong attractor for global investors. For example, China-based technology giant Tencent joined insurance company Allianz in March to invest $160 million in German digital bank N26 to help fuel the bank’s international growth. A number of other Asia-based fintechs have also targeted the use of acquisitions as a means for scaling globally.

In addition to global expansion, many challenger and digital banks also focused on broadening their service offerings throughout 2018—expanding from niche offerings into a wider range of services similar to those offered by traditional banks. In order to compete effectively both regionally and globally, it is expected that such expansion of services—whether internally or as a result of partnerships—will continue to be a big priority for digital banks. For example, Marcus from Goldman Sachs acquired Clarity Money a personal financial management app for an undisclosed price. According to Goldman this acquisition will bring it more than a 1 million customers.

Big tech players coming onto the scene

INVESTORS focused a significant amount of attention on Software-as-aService (SaaS) business models in 2018 and investors in the fintech market were no different.

Many of the big tech players are continuously working to expand their cloud-services offerings, including Alibaba, Google and others. While some of these companies are looking to compete directly with financial institutions, others have primarily focused on developing cloud, AI and machine learning products to enable banks and other financial institutions to launch their own fintech solutions or enhance their internal efficiencies.

In 2018, a number of large fintech players also made their own fintech investments. In September, PayPal acquired Europe-based payments platform iZettle for $2.2 billion, while earlier in the year Workday purchased Adaptive insights for approximately $1.6 billion.

Stripe and Credit Karma were also quite active in the M&A space in 2018.

R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG network of independent memberfirms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. The excerpt was taken from the publication entitled The Pulse of Fintech 2018.

2019 came after its publication on February 13 in a local newspaper that, in effect, calls for its automatic implementation by March 15 this year.

“Notw ithstanding the said publication of the approved CMO, there is a need to conduct further consultations with the concerned stakeholders in order to fully address the other related concerns that were not considered in the crafting of the said rules and regulations,” Guerrero’s order read.

CTAP’s Legal Counsel Ryan P. Esponilla told the BusinessMirror that CMO 05-2019, which requires truckers to submit documents for the BOC database, is just duplicity.

“The trucking sectors is already overregulated by the government, from the application for franchise from the LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board], PPA [Philippine Ports Authority] application for PTO [permit to operate], and [now] the BOC’s CMO 05-2019,” Esponilla said. “The requirement under CMO was already submitted with

the LTFRB. Thus, it’s only duplicity to require the same to be submitted with BOC. The suspension of the CMO is favorable to truckers.”

The CMO requires truckers to register at the BOC’s Account Management Office (AMO) for those operating in Metro Manila, or with the office of the district collector nearest to its principal place if outside the metropolis. A registration fee of P5,000 is asked from applicants attaching a BOC official receipt upon payment.

Applications shall be processed within five working days by the AMO from the receipt of complete documentary requirements with the registration of the trucker in the BOC shall be valid for three years upon approval.

The CMO’s objectives include the identification of truckers who may be authorized to transact with the bureau in relation to the transport of import of goods, as well as to provide the rules and regulations governing the conduct of their dealings with the bureau and to define their duties and obligations.

Furthermore, the CMO also provides for the gathering of information from the truckers to establish a database for risk management and enforcement purposes, and improve compliance level for trade facilitation; to simplify the registration procedures for truckers; and to provide specific conditions for instances when truckers may be barred from transacting with the BOC. The customs chief has authority to approve or disapprove applications upon the recommendation of the deputy commissioner of the intelligence group of the BOC. “It’s [suspension of CMO 052019] a big help for the trucking industry,” CTAP Chairman Ruperto S. Bayocot said. “If CMO is strictly implemented, 50 percent or more truck operators will stop their operations [if] they can’t comply [with] all the BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] clearance requirements.”

The suspension of the CMO came at the heels of the request of the Chamber of Customs Brokers

Inc. (CCBI) for the BOC to defer its implementation, citing that the CMO “did not undergo the usual public and government consultation before the said CMO was finalized and approved by your office.”

In a letter to Guerrero dated February 18, the CCBI pointed out that although it lauds the efforts of the BOC to regulate the operation of truckers, the organization requests for the deferment of the implementation of the CMO as it still needs to address the concerns of the stakeholders of the bureau.

“While we laud the bureau’s efforts to regulate operation of truckers in the BOC, we would like to appeal before your good office and beg your kind indulgence to defer the implementation of the subject memorandum until the concerned stakeholders are heard and their concerns and issues are clarified in the public consultation, so much so that the implementation of this might affect trade facilitation and impede the movement of goods and containers from the ports,” the letter said.

Dominguez cites potentials of PHL, Japan demographic complementarity F INANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III was said to have cited the potentials of the demographic complementarity between Japan and the Philippines during a Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) in Osaka last Friday.

According to Dominguez, both countries complement each other and can even become “demographic partners.”

Dominguez explained that Japan’s forward-looking enterprises and highly skilled labor force with a median age of up to 46 years old, and the Philippines’s young, technology savvy workers whose average age is 24 years old, complement each other.

Dominguez said this complementarity is confirmed by the 78 Osaka-based companies operating in the Philippines as of 2017 and that are run by Japanese expatriates who employ thousands of Filipino workers.

“Over the years, we have enjoyed excellent trade relations and business collaboration with the hardy enterprises of this prefecture,” he added. “I am sure that in the coming period, we will discover even more complementarities.”

Duterte administration

DURING the PEB forum, Dominguez was said to have underscored anew Japan’s key role in jumpstarting the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) infrastructure program.

A statement from the Department of Finance (DOF) said Dominguez pointed out the single biggest project in this initiative is the Philippines’s first-ever underground rail system. The Metro

Manila Subway is being funded in large part by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

“In a word, the Philippines aspires to become the most hospitable economy for business. We encourage both market transparency and respect for the sanctity of contracts,” he said. “We aim, through prudent economic and monetary management, to provide improved certainty for enterprises.”

Last week, officials from both countries discussed ways to further expand their cooperation and address “ implementation bottlenecks” in the infrastructure projects and in supporting peacebuilding initiatives in Mindanao.

Japan announced on February 21 it is extending a ¥3.2-billion grant assistance for peace and development projects in Mindanao on top of its $202-million loan for the road network development project in conflict-affected areas in the country’s second-largest island group.

Economic relations

THE peace and development project fund consists of ¥1.8 billion for the construction of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) training centers in the damaged city of Marawi, and the provinces of Basilan and Sultan Kudarat under the Programme for the Urgent Improvement of Socioeconomic Infrastructure in the Bangsamoro Region. Its second component is ¥560 million for the provision of well-drilling machines and underground water detecting machines under the Economic and Social Development Programme.

The other components are:

¥200 million for the provision of livelihood assistance in agriculture and for fishers through the Food and Agriculture Organization; ¥300 million for the development of water facilities in the Bangsamoro region through the International Labor Organization; and, ¥340 million for the provision of vehicles and equipment through the United Nations Development Programme.

Philippine Ambassador to Japan Jose C. Laurel V and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda also signed the Exchange of Notes for the ¥1.2-billion grant assistance for train simulators of the proposed Philippine R ailway Institute, which will help hone the skills of workers who will man the country’s extensive rail system that will be constructed as part of the BBB program.

They also signed the Exchange of Notes for the ¥1.8-billion grant and the ¥560-million grant, along with a Memorandum of Cooperation in the fields of health care, which aims to establish a mechanism for future cooperation between the Philippines and Japan on, among others, universal health coverage, elderly care, disease prevention, maternal and child health services and sanitation.

Agreements assessed

LAUREL and Haneda also discussed the feasibility studies for the Circumferential Road 3 Missing Link Project in Metro Manila, and the Dalton Pass East Alignment Alternative Road Project, subject to the certification of the National Commission on Indig-

enous Peoples (NCIP), which they expect to both resume in the first half of this year.

The Japanese side “conveyed its intention to consider a possible supplemental loan,” as requested by the Philippine gover nment, for the Davao Cit y By pass Const r uct ion Project under the Special Terms for Economic Partnership facility, subject to certain conditions, a DOF statement said.

Both sides discussed developments on areas of Japan-Philippines sectoral cooperation. According to the DOF statement, discussions also included Japan’s proposed Liquefied Natural Gas Receiving Terminal project in the Philippines and the construction of waste-to-energy facilities in Davao City.

The two sides also agreed to start discussions on their joint strategy for future cooperation, the DOF statement said.

Looking forward

AT the PEB held at the Imperial Hotel, Osaka, Dominguez noted the country’s assets.

“The Philippines is currently one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. Our resilience has been tested and proven strong. Our young population is eager to work with forward-looking enterprises.

Our people are most welcoming to our closest friends in the region,” he said. “I invite you to be part of this remarkable economic unfolding.”

The PEB is the third to be held in Japan, with the first two PEB’s both being held in Tokyo in September 2017 and in June 2018. Rea Cu

Bankers Association of the Philippines notes BSP Gov. Espenilla’s legacy

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ADDENED by his passing, the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) applauded the legacy of the late Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. “The BAP applauds the legacy of Governor Espenilla in leading the banking industry in the age of financial reforms and digitization, which was encapsulated in his vision of ‘Continuity Plus Plus,’” the BAP said in a statement is-

sued on Sunday. “His leadership resulted in progressive reforms that now support a stronger Philippine banking system, including the enactment of the New Central Bank Act.” The BAP especially lauded Espenilla’s “focus on creating a safe, inclusive, and reliable payment system for the unbanked,” and which was made “evident with the establishment of the National Retail Payment System.”

The organization of bankers also appreciated Espenilla’s “support and guidance” which helped the BAP build the Philippine Banking Roadmap.

“The association is grateful to Espenilla for his initiative to engage the industry and respond to its inputs in keeping with the BSP’s reform agenda,” the BAP said.

“He leaves a legacy of a stronger and more inclusive banking system. His devotion to his work and service to the Filipino

people will be remembered.”

The BAP added that Espenilla fought the good fight and finished the race as the BSP governor.

“His legacy and dedication to the BSP and its constituencies will never be forgotten, and his work will be a foundation in building a stronger Philippine banking industry for future generations,” the BAP said adding that Espenilla “will be missed.”

Green Monday BusinessMirror

B4 Monday, February 25, 2019

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

Debate on promoting more tree plantations heats up

Forest protection or production?

Story by Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

W

ith the campaign for the midterm elections now in full swing, campaign paraphernalia has proliferated in vote-rich areas. Campaign posters can be found almost anywhere in the urban jungle—nailed on the walls of tall buildings, on fence of houses along the roads, pedestrian overpasses, street light posts and even on trees along the highways.

Having posters nailed on it is not even among the important functions of a tree, which is becoming scarce, if not in the brink of extinction in the city and threatened in more ways than one in forests.

It is in the center of debates these days that revolve on the issue of whether forests should be kept as protection or as production forest.

Wood: A precious commodity

A very versatile natural resource, wood is globally used for various purposes.

In the Philippines, wood is still the preferred as fuel, for cooking in the rural areas. It is also commonly used for building construction, or for furniture.

Depending on the species, the quality of the wood products and byproducts, and location or the source, the price of wood varies.

Supply shortage

The Philippines was a major exporter of wood in the 1970s. Today, however, it has become a major importer, sourcing out about 75 percent of its wood requirement from other countries to meet the annual demand pegged at 6 million cubic meters.

According to the Forest Management Bureau (FMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the country’s estimated wood-production capacity is currently 1 million cubic meters.

This means that it is importing around 5 million cubic meters of wood every year.

Economic importance

Director Nonito M. Tamayo of the DENR-FMB said from the 1960s to early 1980s, more popularly known as “Logging Concession Era,” timber production was very vigorous while log production was booming.

“Logging was then one of the backbones of the economy, providing direct employment to over 400,000 people and livelihood opportunities for over 2 million people,” Tamayo told participants of the recent Forest and Wood Industry Summit in Mandaluyong City.

According to Tamayo, records show that in 1976, there were 471 logging concessions in the country, occupying around 10.6 million hectares or around 67 percent of the

land of the public domain, with an estimated log production of 21.89 million cubic meters.

This contributed to 2.48 percent to the GNP with around 78,869 jobs generated.

Moreover, records also showed that logging provided the country with a valuable foreign exchange with around 50 to 75 percent of logs exported during that period.

The highest export was recorded in the late 1970s when around 7.5 million cubic meters to 7.9 million cubic meters of raw were exported annually. Total wood product exports during the same period totaled to almost 10 million cubic meters.

T his accounted for a lmost 10 percent of t he countr y’s tota l ex por t ear nings.

Aquino’s twin policies

By virtue of Executive Order (EO) 23 on February 1, 2011, harvesting of trees from the natural and residual forest was banned by the administration of President Benigno Aquino III. Subsequently, on February 24 of the same year, EO 26, establishing the National Greening Program (NGP), a massive reforestation program was put in place.

The twin-policy aimed to arrest the continuous degradation of the country’s forest, in light of the increasing awareness and global call of action to reduce the risk of disaster as the world faces the worst impacts of climate change.

Based on the two presidential orders, the number of logging companies holding Integrated Forest Management Agreement (Ifma) was reduced to 102.

NGP benefits

According to Tamayo, the policies were expected to provide an increase in country’s forest cover.

“Based on the recent land cover mapping done by Namria [National Mapping and Resource Information Authority], our forest [cover] has increased from 6.84 million hectares in 2010 to 7.014 million hectares in 2015,” he said.

“Of the total of 1.6 million hectares planted in 2016, around 400,000 hectares were planted to timber, which can be harvested and be a source of raw material for wood-based industry,” Tamayo said.

The country’s forest is delineated and classified either as protection forest that is maintained to mitigate or prevent the impact of natural hazards, and production forest that aims mainly to produce the all-important wood.

Increasing demand

However, despite this positive development, Tamayo said the increasing demand for wood would continue to exert pressure on the country’s forests.

Turning plastics into play areas

This play area will be constructed in the adopted Joy Schools of Mondelez Philippines. Designed by partner First Balfour, the structure will be using ecobricks or recycled plastic bottles stuffed with plastic waste.

Wood: A carbon sink

Liu argued that trees, even when felled and used, could help absorb carbon dioxide, with wood still being a carbon sink unless burned or destroyed.

Citing various sources, he said a 50-percent mass of dry wood is estimated to be carbon.

“If we are to label how much carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere for global warming to continue worsening in an array of traditional building materials, it would look like this.

Wood ranks as negative because even if it uses heat and energy to produce the outputs, its carbon-dioxide absorption still far outweighs its carbon-dioxide emission,” he explained.

This could not be said for other supposedly “green-material ” options.

Using more wood, he said, hence,

Environmental groups, however, do not share their excitement.

Via messenger, John Leo Algo, science policy officer of The Climate Reality Project Philippines, rejected the plan to promote public-private partnerships (PPPs) to establish tree plantations. “ W hi le economica l ly v iable, plantations are more agricultural by nature. Given that you will need vast areas of land for these plantations, natural ecosystems and their biodiversity are at high risk of being diminished or completely eliminated. This is yet another example of a Band-aid solution that does not factor in the long-term implications on the environment, the economy and on local communities,” he said.

This policy, he said, will also affect the country’s capacity to lower its carbon footprint and honor its commitment under the Paris Agreement.

“Without proper land use and forest management policies in place, the issues that limited the effectiveness of the [NGP] may reappear or even get worse under these PPPs,” he said.

“As forests are also key components of local adaptation, improper planning and unregulated plantation growth would also contribute to increased vulnerability for communities near the areas,” he explained.

According to Algo, the country’s forests need protection now more than ever not only because of the economic benefits they provide but also due to their importance in dealing with climate change.

He said that without the necessary technical and financial support from the government, the country’s forests that are already in a poor

state would be at an even higher risk of deterioration, making the country even more vulnerable to climate change.

“By installing forests in unfamiliar places, we also run the risk of depleting local water sources by disrupting the water cycle. Under this system, small-scale indigenous forest users might also be more marginalized as large-scale owners would definitely seek to expand their plantations,” he said.

He added that forest biodiversity and the well-being of communities near potential sites for new or expanded plantations would also be at greater risk.

He urged the government to prioritize the passage of both the National Land Use Act and the forest resources bill in the next Congress.

“This will not only enhance the protection of the primary forests left and its accompanying biodiversity, but also protect the welfare of indigenous communities that sustainably manage these areas. Proper land use and forest management will also ensure that the demand for wood will be met without disturbing what is left of the country’s forests,” he said.

Leon Dulce, national coordinator of Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment, agreed with Algo.

“We do not agree in promoting PPP on establishing forest plantation for two reasons. Plantations or land planted with a controlled number of species do not provide the same amount of ecosystem services as tropical rainforest have provided,” he said.

He said rehabilitating damaged rainforests has a higher amount of carbon-sequestration capacity compared to tree plantations.

“Additionally, soil and water retention on tree plantations is also low as compared to a forest with heterogeneous vegetation pattern.

Secondly, PPP-led tree plantations can pave the way to land grabbing and forest privatization, denying the public from freely subsisting on these forests,” he added.

Moreover, he said timber plantations are constantly logged and agroforest plantations are usually monoculture and, thus, cannot function as effective carbon sinks.

He added that private-led tree or forest plantations do not function as natural forest ecosystems. Thus, they cannot achieve optimum ecosystem services, such as flood mitigation, storm buffering, prevention of soil erosion and provisioning services necessary for the adaptation of resource-dependent communities.

For Dulce, a scientific and propeople forest policy should be in a place where the state has the main responsibility in rehabilitating the forests and ensuring that the democratic concerns of forest resource-dependent communities are of central concern.

address this issue is the Joy Schools Plastic Play Areas project. The Joy Schools is Mondelez Philippines’s signature community program across Southeast Asia. It aims to empower children to take positive steps toward their overall well-being.

The Joy Schools currently provides a daily nine-month feeding for 300 undernourished students in the country to help improve their nutrition and increase energy for school.

In the same way that Joy Schools provides nutrition programs for children’s well-being, the program has now expanded to recycling to help empower students to care for the planet’s well-being in turn.

Working with partners the Philippine Business for Social Progress and First Balfour, Mondelez Philippines will engage the Joy Schools in collecting ecobricks—or plastic 1.5 or 1.75-liter bottles which are stuffed with plastic packaging waste.

The partners’ own employees are also engaged in collecting ecobricks for the project.

The target is to collect 400 ecobricks equivalent to some 400 kilograms of plastic waste.

Once collected, the ecobricks will be turned into play areas for three Joy Schools in Metro Manila, located in Parañaque and Quezon City.

The play areas will be constructed by First Balfour, leveraging on their expertise as a construction company, which aims to help build and uplift the quality of life of Filipinos. In this way the students of the Joy Schools can learn about the importance of environmental protection, recycling and have more opportunities to be active while enjoying their new play areas.

“We are excited about the launch of the Joy Schools Plastic Play Areas project,” said Mondelez Philippines Country Director Ashish Pisharodi. “Over the past years we have done similar projects to help promote the importance of recycling, including sharing of recycled plastic chairs with schools through our brand, Tang.

“With this new initiative, we will be able to support two things we value as a company: The well-being of our community and care for the planet. It is critical that our actions today involve children, who will inherit the future.

We must all work together to ensure the well-being of the planet which we will leave behind to them.”

First Balfour HR Head Carlos Pedro Salonga explained that anyone can recycle and create their own ecobricks. It only takes three steps: Dry, cut and stuff. First, collect dry and empty plastic packaging. Then cut them up into small pieces. Last, stuff them tightly inside the similarly clean and empty plastic bottles. Make sure they do not bend and weigh about 1 kg each. These can then be used as building blocks for many projects.

To date we have built wash areas, benches and buildings using ecobricks,” Salonga added. “We are similarly excited to see our first recycled play areas come to life with Mondelez Philippines.”

The thick forest in Coron, Palawan. Gregg Yan

The solution, he said, is to encourage private-sector investment in the forestry sector to boost the country’s wood-production capacity.

During his presentation at the summit, Tamayo said the total annual projected demand will require a total harvesting area of forest plantations from more than 40,000 hectares in 2011 to about 93,000 hectares in 2028.

“This is assuming that the harvestable volume of cubic meters per hectare will average at 100 cubic meters. The total harvestable area of forest plantations to meet domestic demand—55 percent of the total demand—will be more than 22,000 hectares and will almost be 52,000 hectares in 2028.” “ T his means that at the minimum, the annual target planting area of forest plantations to supply domestic consumption will be at least 27,000 hectares in 2015 and g radua l ly increasing in area by at least 5 percent per annually.

For example, 34,792 hectares in 2020, 4 4,404 hectares in 2025 and 51,403 hectares in 2028,” he ex plained.

Taking a different path

After briefly implementing the NGP, which was focused on expanding the country’s forest cover, the Duterte administration is now taking a different path.

With its 2019 NGP budget slashed by half, down to just P2.6 billion from P5.2 billion in 2018, the prospect of expanding the country’s forest is now up to the private sector.

In a recent telephone interview, Tamayo said the DENR-FMB will shift to “care and maintenance” mode, focusing on ensuring a high survival rate of the previously planted trees under the program.

He also vowed to conduct a review of the government’s forest-protection strategy and search for new technology to boost the management of the country’s forest.

The official said that any forestexpansion activity will have to be financed by the DENR’s development

P

lastic packaging waste can be turned into play areas. This project was adopted by Mondelez Philippines for its Joy Schools.

The project is in support of the company’s global 2025 commitment to make all packaging recyclable, provide recycling information and support public-private partnerships to help reduce waste and improve recycling.

Plastic waste and its impact on the planet is a broad, systemic issue that a lot of people care deeply about, and which requires a holistic response. As a company, which aims to empower people to snack right, Mondelez Philippines wants to help minimize plastic waste as part of a global long-term vision for zero-net waste packaging.

It believes that one of the approaches to help address the issue of plastic waste is to make it easier for consumers to recycle packaging and support industry coalitions to improve recycling rates.

One of the company’s programs to help

partners, including international financing institutions, bilateral agreements, donations from other countries, or by an international and local nongovernment organization, other national government agencies and local government units (LGUs).

Tree-plantation expansion

Meanwhile, Tamayo said the DENR would promote the establishment of more tree plantations through public-private partnerships—a move the wood-industry players have been eagerly pushing for a long time.

Charlie H. Liu, chairman of the board of trustees of the Philippine Wood Producers Association, in his presentation at the summit, titled “Philippine Tree Plantations: A viable Answer to Inclusive Growth and Climate Change,” said wood can substantially contribute to the country’s inclusive growth and development goals.

The use of wood, he said, is good for the environment, the labor sector and the economy.

“I’d like to respectfully forward a simple argument: that the forest industry is one of the greenest industries the Philippines can adopt for over-all economic growth,” he said.

means better business venture, more planters of trees, more stable job creation, and sustainable income for public and private sectors.

“Increase in business activity will result in stable local jobs for Filipinos and sustainable income stream for the DENR and the government for their operations,” he added.

Band-aid solution

Biodiversity Monday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Monday, February 25, 2019

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

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INSIGHTS FROM THE EXPERIENCES OF AN INTL WILDLIFE EXPERT

Taking the lead in Asean biodiversity conservation H

OW will you make sure that everyone—from policymakers and business leaders to their employees, and even school children—are aware of and practice biodiversity conservation in their daily activities?

This is the challenging mission of Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, international wildlife expert and executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB).

Growing up with accounts from her mother about how the forests of Sierra Madre, the longest mountain range in the Philippines, saved people’s lives during World War II by providing food and shelter, Lim developed her love for nature as she learned about how barks of trees can be turned into blankets and wild plants can ease the hunger of people in hiding.

The wild animals she encountered during her practicum in Kawit, Cavite, as a veterinary medicine student at the University of the Philippines further inspired her fascination with fauna.

After seeing baby marine turtles, she decided to work on them for her thesis, which involved isolation of fungus that infects the said animals.

Lim’s study on the marine turtles launched her career in wildlife conservation with the Philippines’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), where she started with the marine turtle program. The rest is continuing history of her work and contribution to conservation.

In her more than one and a half decades as director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), formerly the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the DENR, Lim guided national directions on protected areas and wildlife conservation.

She closely worked with the Philippine Congress on the legislative priorities for conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity in the country. Among her notable achievements were the development of the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System bill that became a law, the National Ecotourism Strategy, and the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

She was also recognized by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu as instrumental in increasing government budget for biodiversity conservation to as much as 70 percent in the last six years.

As director of ACB, assuming a leadership role that involves multiple countries is not new for Lim. She has taken on various international functions, such as chairman of the Convention on

Biological Diversity (CBD) Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, which provides the Conference of the Parties to the CBD with timely advice relating to the implementation of the convention.

She was chairman of the 15th and 18th Meetings of the Asean Working Group Meeting on Coastal and Marine Environment, which serves as a consultative forum to promote coordination and collaboration among various relevant Asean and other regional marinerelated initiatives to ensure a well-coordinated and integrated approach to the conservation and sustainable management of the coastal and marine environment.

Lim was the chairman of the 4th Asean Experts Group on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna Meeting; chairman of the 16th Asean Working Group on Nature Conservation and Biodiversity, which provides technical guidance and enhances cooperation among Asean member-states in the promotion of conservation of nature and biodiversity; and chairman of the Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network.

Biodiversity 101

LIM believes that biodiversity and human lives are interconnected.

“Biodiversity is an inseparable part of human life. It provides us with food, air and water; materials for clothing and shelter; ingredients for medicines; protection from climate change; materials for business, industries and infrastructure; source of income from agriculture, fisheries, tourism and other livelihood for millions of poor all over the world; and even inspiration for arts and culture.

“Lose biodiversity and you lose all these,” she explained.

She added that for wildlife, diseases are always connected to the condition of the ecosystem. This she learned from her wildlife management and disease post graduate course in the United Kingdom during her early days with the DENR. “From that course I realized as a veterinarian that you don’t just treat—you manage the habitat.

You protect the ecosystem where the wildlife thrives,” she noted.

Lim observed during her field work in other countries how the occurrence of emerging diseases is the same then and now.

“In Europe, there used to be a Scottish wolf that was extirpated by the people, not realizing that these wolves control the population of the red deer. This led to the overpopulation of the red deer, which carried the tick that

understanding what’s in our environment,” she added.

“We need strong scientists, and we need strong communicators too. Convening a scientific forum is an opportunity to help facilitate discussion at the scientific level, but it should not end there.

“Eventually, we need to convince the communications people to help us convey the outcome of that forum, and then eventually translate the outcome into policy.

That is the important connection to be made—establishing the science, communicating it, translating it to policy and realizing it in the community,” Lim said.

Balance: Key to a healthy environment and personal life LIM emphasizes the value of “maximizing what is in nature” when it comes to natural resource management and development of new technologies. DESIREE EVE MAAÑO

also transmitted the deadly Lyme disease to humans.

“Now, we have the Avian influenza, the Ebola virus. It happened before, it’s still happening now with other diseases. This shows that increased human impact, such as eradicating certain predators, can lead to diseases.”

Integrating biodiversity conservation in development sectors

SINCE taking her oath as ACB’s leader in April 2018, Lim has advocated the linkage of biodiversity with development sectors—such as health, agriculture, banking and finance, infrastructure, climate change and tourism through a series of international workshops and meetings.

These activities identified action points for the convergence of each sector with biodiversity toward integrating or mainstreaming conservation in sectoral plans and processes.

The challenge in mainstreaming, she said, is reaching out to other sectors. “Explaining to them the importance of biodiversity— how do you start catching their attention? How and why will they listen to you? What would interest them?”

Lim learned that it is important to “use their language” in discussing with the sectors. “You do not talk about biodiversity, but about wild relatives of commercially important crops, nature-based tourism, traditional medicine and terminologies that would resonate more to the sector you want to engage.”

Besides the key sectors mentioned, Lim also saw opportunities for mainstreaming in other

nontraditional areas. As wife of a military officer, she observed that conservation can be incorporated in national defense through their civil relations programs.

“Conservation can be mainstreamed through rehabilitation activities, such as tree-planting,” she added.

“In civil aviation, modernization of airports need bird-control measures. Infrastructure planners should be mindful that the Philippines is a migratory pathway. Airport modernization entails risks to the environment, so how do you minimize that risk? How do you reduce that risk without necessarily affecting the population of migratory birds? We need to have science-based measures for this.”

Understanding and working through biodiversity threats and challenges

ACCORDING to Lim, the three most important biodiversity issues that Asean member-states need to prioritize are (in no particular order) marine pollution, people’s lack of knowledge and education on biodiversity, and lack of research.

“When I was still with the DENR, we rescued turtles with plastics and trash in their stomachs. Today, we still see similar news, including the islands of trash in the ocean. This is a problem that needs constant and persistent efforts.”

Another important concern, according to Lim, is enhancing knowledge and education about biodiversity, and helping people understand that the natural ecosystem can address current and major global issues like climate change and poverty.

“If you protect your biodiversity, you can contribute to

climate-change adaptation; you can contribute to livelihood development. Lack of knowledge on biodiversity within the development sector can jeopardize the environment,” she explained.

“Biodiversity research, meanwhile, is a constant necessity because you cannot love and conserve what you do not know. You need to have an inventory of what is in nature and understand them. What is the importance of certain species?

“Research will be able to provide you answer. There are certain plants or animals that are sources of substances that can cure illnesses. If you are not able to understand them, then you cannot harness their full potential,” Lim said.

“But that should not stop with research. Just like in any field, you need to communicate new knowledge. People need to understand what biodiversity is as a sector, and its relation to their daily lives.

You need to establish the science so that you can better communicate it,” she explained.

Coexistence of biodiversity and development

“BASICALLY, biodiversity and development should not be viewed as separate from each other. It’s not biodiversity or development, it is biodiversity and development,” Lim emphasized.

When it comes to making decisions on technologies that make use of natural resources, Lim believes in always having the best scientific information at hand.

“The important thing is maximizing what is available in nature.

That is why research is very important. Taxonomy, for example, is a field that can help in further

WITH all her achievements, Lim, who grew up from a close-knit family, is quick to attribute a huge part of her success to her kin and staff.

Her mother, who loves to grow lush greenery in their backyard, is particularly a major influence on her love for nature. From her father, she learned discipline and other important family life lessons.

“Support from my family is really a huge help. With my husband in the military and assigned elsewhere, and I was in the field back then, I would ask for help from my siblings, my mother, and even mother-in-law in taking care of my children. Come to think of it, I don’t think I could have survived my work if it were not for them,” said the wildlife expert.

Her advice for young ones who would like to take a similar path as hers: “You should walk your talk, lead by example and pray, because there are crossroads and decisions to be made, and there are things out of your control. You also have to choose your battles, because when you think about all the problems in the environment, you can get overwhelmed.”

“Start from yourself. Don’t think that because you are alone, you will only have a small impact.

Just imagine if you start from one, and then expand—take it one step at a time. Work with others, because you can only do so much alone. Through working with partners, there will be multiplier effects with your work.”

Recently, f lora and a fauna species were named after Lim. The Kurodaia (Conciella) theresamunditae, which is a louse species found in the Philippine scops owl; and the Medinilla theresae, an edaphic-endemic species of a terrestrial, erect, caulif lorous shrub in Dinagat and Mindanao Islands in the Philippines.

Sophia Mercado/ACB

Sarangani rolls out ₧103-M watershed rehab project Smart joins celebration

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H E prov i nc i a l gover n ment of Sarangani recently rolled out a multimillionpeso rehabilitation project of the 7.9-hectare Saub watershed ecosystem in Maitum town.

Dubbed as “Watershed Ecosystem Rehabilitation and Flood Risk Reduction for Increased Resilience,” the project would cost P103 million with counterpart fund sharing of P93,597,439.90 from the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) and P9,325,125.10 from the Sarangani provincial fund.

T he watershed covers n i ne barangays w it h a tota l of 1,747 hou sehold s l iv i ng a long t he 10 0 -meter r ipa r i a n zone, wh ic h a re pl aced h igh-r isk e xposu re to f lood i ng a nd ot her c l i m ate h a z a rd s.

According to Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon, the memorandum of agreement (MOA) sets the terms

and conditions for the release of the P93.5-million grant from the national government’s flagship finance climate program, the PSF. T he PSF was created by Republic Act 9729, or the Climate Change Act of 2009. It a ims to help v u lnerable communit ies prepa re for t he adverse c limatic events.

It is a special fund in the national Treasury for the financing of adaptation programs and projects based on the National Strategic Framework on Climate Change with at least P1 billion annual supplementar y allocations to relevant climate-related program funding of the local government units.

Solon expressed excitement over the project, which will be Sarangani’s biggest environmental project so far, to be implemented in early 2019.

Partnering with the province in the undertaking are the municipality of Maitum and the Mindanao State University, Mahintana Foundation Inc. and the Conrado and Ladislawa Alcantara Foundation Inc., which will provide technical assistance in the research, formulation of Saub Watershed Management Plan, project monitoring and evaluation.

The project, which took three years before the PSF board approval in July 2018, would improve t he resi l ience of Saub watershed ecosystem to f lood and associated risks caused by climate-change variability.

Since 2010, extreme flooding in Maitum has caused destruction to agricultural and structural properties and loss of lives.

The Environmental Conservation and Protection Center of Sarangani noted that flooding is the

most common hazard in the area.

Flood susceptibility is computed to be 10,001 hectares for high, 5,881.65 hectares for moderate and 2,604.26 hectares for low.

The project will develop Saub watershed ecosystem resiliency and community protection through watershed governance, build the capacities of Maitum municipal government, development partners, beneficiaries and stakeholders to adapt to f lood risks and impacts of climatec h a nge v a r i abi l it y, a l le v i ate poverty through agro-forestry development and establish riverbank protection.

The provincial government of Sarangani will manage the project implementation and will work with the Maitum municipal government, which will provide technical and administrative support in all its stages.

of World Wetlands Day

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M A RT C om mu n ic at ion s joined the celebration of World Wetlands Day, underscoring the importance of wetlands in the ecosystem like mangroves, peatlands and marshes, rivers and lakes, deltas, floodplains and flooded forests, rice fields and even coral reefs.

Smart chose to mark the occasion at the Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad in Pampanga, home to several species of mangroves, birds and other f lora and fauna.

The sanctuary is considered a critical habitat and ecotourism area, and is a beneficiary of the Connected Mangroves project of Smart and Ericsson.

T he Connected Mang roves project is an Internet of Things so-

lution that uses wireless connectivity to capture data relevant to mangroves’ survival such as water level, humidity, soil moisture and temperature, and other hazards in the environment.

T he infor mation, which is collected by waterproof solarpowered sensors attached to mangroves, is transmitted over a cloud system to a dashboard accessible to concerned stakeholders, such as local authorities, fisherfolk and communities within the area.

Mangrove forests are important in the protection of seaside communities from t y phoons, flooding, erosion and other coastal hazards, and serve as habitat for various aquatic life forms.

B6 Monday, February 25, 2019

THE CHINESE WAY OF WELLNESS FIRST-EVER JESUS GLOBAL YOUTH DAY SET IN PHILIPPINES ON AUG. 8

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OINCIDING with the United Nations International Youth Day, the Christian youth from all over the world are coming together this August, in an exciting three-day conference to initiate change through the message of the Gospel and the love of Jesus Christ.

TheJesusGlobalYouthDay(JGYD),which will run from August 8 to 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena, is the first-ever simultaneous youth gathering that will provide the youth from all around the globe a life-changing opportunity to hear and discover together God’s heart and calling for them. The event is packed with conferences, plenary talks and trainings conducted by world-renowned speakers on

varioustopics,likeleadership,evangelismand missions, worship, discipleship and campus ministry. Worship concerts will be held every evening and led by celebrated Christian bands and artists.

Pastors can look forward to the global pastors’ congress, which will be happening on the first day, while youth leaders can join the global youth leaders’ congress on the second day.

Pastors,evangelistsandotherinspirational speakersfromaroundtheworldwillsharetheir insights and experiences on the three-day event. Each day will be divided into a congress, which happens first, followed by the main session highlighted by a Christian concert.

On August 8 the global pastors’ congress features Dr. Sammy Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Mats-Ola Ishoel, senior pastor of theWordofLifemegachurchinMoscow,Russia; Opoku-Onyinah, a Ghanian theologian, minister, televangelist and chairman of the renowned Church of Pentecost in Ghana; and Stephen Andrew Baldwin, founder of BreakthroughMinistry,AntiochMinistryand Now More Than Ever Ministry.

Nick Vujicic, evangelist and founder of the Life Without Limbs; and Nick Hall, the visionary of Together, author of the book Reset, and founder and chief communicator for Pulse, will be leading the main sessions on the first day.

Coming on August 9, Dr. Rodriguez and Baldwin will talk to youth leaders at the global youth leaders’ congress. They will be joined

by Bryce Manderfield, founder and president of Youth Solutions Inc.; and Russell Evans, senior pastor of the Planetshakers Church in Melbourne, Australia.

In the evening, Manderfield and Dr. Paul Enenche, senior pastor and founder of Dunamis International Gospel Centre in Abuja, Nigeria, will steer main sessions on the second day.

Among popular the Christian artists performing for JGYD are the Australian worship band Planet Shakers and American Christian hip-hop recording artist, songwriter, record producer and actor Lecrae; American Christian musician and guitarist Austin Adamec and internationally known Christian praise and worship band Miel San Marcos.

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NFINITUS, one of the leading companies in the global health industry today, was established in 1992, over a century after its mother company Lee Kum Kee was founded in 1888.

Since then, Infinitus passionately embraced its mis-

sion of advocating premium Chinese Health regimen and nurturing healthier lives with balance, affluence and harmony.

Infinitus brings the ancient Chinese health formulation using modern technology and handpicks authentic herbal materials of highest quality to be used and applied to modern-day fast-paced living, which has developed over 100 products worldwide in health supplements, skin care, personal care and home care, many of which are award-winning.

Today the said products are available in the Philippines; more Filipinos needed these benefits of natural health and wellness methods that have been proven to be effective throughout the centuries.

For more information, e-mail at infinitus.jesusacorazon@gmail.com.

IT’S ONE LAST HOORAH FOR THE MONTH OF LOVE

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T’S one last hoorah for the month of love, and the Enchanted Kingdom (EK) is definitely in for a romantic treat! On February 24 the annual Hug-a-Palooza, held at the Spaceport at 5 p.m., featured performances by CK and Vivoree, The Juans and 6Cyclemind together with your faved MOR disc jockeys.

Remember the magic of love at EK! Visit www. enchantedkingdom.ph for more updates.

PLDT-SMART FOUNDATION RECEIVES LEADERSHIP ACCOLADE FROM SAN BEDA The PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF) was recently awarded a leadership accolade by the San Beda College Alumni Foundation (SBCAF) at the annual Daluyang Buhay Leadership Awards, for being among the top organizations to provide student scholarship grants. This citation is given to valued donors, sponsors and benefactors who have generously supported the SBCAF’s educational programs. In photo are PLDT Public Affairs head and PSF trustee Ramon Isberto and PSF President Esther Santos receiving the leadership trophy. They are joined by (from left) Justice Jose C. Reyes, and San Beda Law Alumni Foundation Spiritual Adviser Fr. Alfred Nilo, OSB.

BSP DEPUTY GOVERNOR GRACES C.R.E.B.A. MEETING

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ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor for Monetary Stability and Economics Diwa C. Guinigundo (center) was the guest of honor and speaker at the first monthly business meeting of the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations Inc. (Creba) held in Makati City on January 31, 2019. In his speech, Guinigundo cited key figures on the unused agri-agra funds of banks earmarked for housing purposes under Republic Act 7835.

Creba is supporting the bill filed by House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Sen. JV Ejercito, making this part of a P270-billion comprehensive home financing program to accelerate annual housing production to 500,000 units and address homelessness in 20 years.

Also in photo are (from left) Creba national chairman Charlie AV Gorayeb and national President Noel Toti M. Cariño.

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By David Crary The Associated Press

CROSS the US and in many places abroad, transgender athletes are breaking barriers in high school, college and pro sports and being embraced by teammates and fans. But resentments can still flare when transgender women start winning and dominating their sport.

Exhibit A is a recent public exchange involving tennis great Martina Navratilova, who came out as a lesbian in 1981 and is a longtime gay-rights activist. She now stands accused of being “transphobic” after asserting that many transgender women—even if they’ve undergone hormone treatment—have an unfair advantage over other female competitors.

“A man can decide to be female, take hormones if required by whatever sporting organization is concerned, win everything in sight and perhaps earn a small fortune, and then reverse his decision and go back to making babies if he so desires,” Navratilova wrote in a February 17 op-ed for The Sunday Times of London. “It’s insane and it’s cheating.”

Supporters of trans inclusion in sports were aghast.

One advocacy group, Athlete Ally, ousted Navratilova from its advisory board and said she would no longer be designated one of its ambassadors.

“Trans women athletes aren’t looking to take over women’s sport,” Athlete Ally said. “They are women and want to compete in the sport they love, just as any other athlete would.”

Navratilova’s column reignited a social-media clash with Rachel McKinnon, a transgender Canadian track cyclist who in October won a world championship sprint event for women of ages 35 to 44.

Navratilova’s argument is “centered on a fabrication, fantasy and a fiction,” McKinnon said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “She imagines a nonexistent cisgender man who will pretend to be a trans woman, convince a psychologist and a physician to prescribe hormone therapy, undertake the process for legal changer recognition, then wait the minimum 12 months of testosterone suppression required by the current International Olympic Committee [IOC] rules, compete and then change his mind and ‘go back to making babies?’”

“No such thing will ever happen,” McKinnon wrote.

“This is an irrational fear of trans women.”

Overall, supporters of increased trans inclusion are heartened by the pace of progress for trans athletes.

A growing number of state high-school athletic associations in the US enable them to play on teams based on their gender identity, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has trans-inclusive guidelines for all its member schools.

The IOC has allowed trans athletes to compete in its affiliated sports since 2003, but until 2016 it required them to first undergo sex-reassignment surgery. Under the new rules, which resemble the NCAA’s guidelines, female-to-male transgender athletes can enter men’s competitions without restrictions, while male-to-female athletes need to demonstrate that their testosterone level has been below a certain point for at least a year before their first competition.

Helen Carroll, a longtime college athletic director, basketball coach and LGBT-rights activist, said many trans women athletes train extra hard to offset hormone treatment and face undeserved skepticism when they excel.

“As long as trans people are losing and are not the best, everything is OK,” Carroll said. “As soon as they start winning, that’s when the vitriol comes out about how they’re really still a man.”

The vitriol can surface even at the high-school level.

In the track and field community in Connecticut, the dominance of transgender girl sprinters Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood has stirred resentment among some competitors and their families.

The phenomenon is not new. After trans Canadian mountain biker Michelle Dumaresq won the national title in British Columbia in 2006, second-place finisher Danika Schroeter donned a t-shirt provided by her boyfriend during the medal ceremony. It read: “100% Pure Woman Champ.”

Dumaresq later told The National Post, a Canadian newspaper, “That was the moment I stopped loving the sport.... That kind of wrecked it for me.”

In Brazil, Tiffany Abreu became the first transgender player in the top women’s volleyball league in 2017, five years after halting a career as a globe-trotting male player. She is grateful for support from fans and from teammates on her Sao Paolobased club and hopes to make the national women’s team ahead of the 2020 Olympics.

But Abreu’s record performances have rankled Ana Paula Henkel, a four-time Olympian for Brazil in volleyball and beach volleyball. She vented her feelings in an open letter to the IOC in December, contending its policy was unfair.

“This rushed and heedless decision to include

RESENTMENT STILL FLARES Sports BusinessMirror

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| Monday, February 25, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TRANSGENDER cyclist Rachel McKinnon (right) of Canada bites her gold medal with silver medalist Carolien Van Herrikhuyzen of the Netherlands during the UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships in Carson, California, in October last year, as Bauru’s volleyball player, Tiffany Abreu, celebrates with teammates during a Brazilian volleyball league match in Brazil also last year. AP

biological men, born and built with testosterone, with their height, their strength and aerobic capacity of men, is beyond the sphere of tolerance,” Henkel wrote. “It represses, embarrasses, humiliates and excludes women.”

McKinnon encountered resentment on an even larger scale after she won her world championship event last year.

Initially, she was elated, even though one of her top rivals pulled out of the final at the last minute. But then a photo rocketed across the Internet showing her on the podium with the two smaller, skinnier runners-up.

Breitbart.com headlined its story, “Biological Man Wins Women’s World Cycling Championship,” helping to trigger an avalanche of social-media attacks against McKinnon.

“I’m immensely proud of my accomplishment,” McKinnon wrote a few days later. “But not all of it has been positive.... I’d say the negative comments have outweighed the positive by about 3,000 to one.”

In December, McKinnon surged back into socialmedia prominence, engaging in a sharp-edged Twitter exchange with Navratilova after the tennis legend made an initial foray into the debate.

“You can’t just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women,” Navratilova tweeted.

“There must be some standards, and having a penis and competing as a woman would not fit that standard.”

Navratilova subsequently deleted the tweet and maintained public silence on the issue until defending her original position with the Sunday Times op-ed.

McKinnon, meanwhile, said she is still training hard, amid duties as a college philosophy professor, and aspires to make Canada’s Olympic team next year.

While the trend in the US clearly has been toward more inclusion for transgender athletes, USA Powerlifting has incurred recent criticism for sticking by its policy of banning trans women from its competitions. The organization contends that regardless of testosterone levels, male-tofemale competitors generally have significant advantages in regard to bone density and muscle mass.

“These traits, even with reduced levels of testosterone do not go away,” the organization said. “While MTF may be weaker and less muscle than they once were, the biological benefits given them at birth still remain over that of a female.”

Among those affected by the policy was trans woman JayCee Cooper, who won a women’s state championship in Minnesota but was denied entry into a USA Powerlifting event.

Another trans female weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand, was warmly welcomed by many spectators when she competed last year in the Commonwealth Games in Australia. Hubbard was the favorite in the over-90-kilograms division but injured

herself trying to set a games record.

“The crowd was absolutely magnificent—I felt just like a big embrace, and I wanted to give them something that reflected the best I could do,” Hubbard said.

Most of the high-profile stories about trans athletes have involved transgender women; fewer transgender men have reached levels of achievement in men’s sports events that generated news coverage.

Among the exceptions is Los Angeles-based Patricio Manuel, a super featherweight who won a unanimous decision in December in what was billed as the first pro boxing bout in the US involving a transgender man. Scars were visible on Manuel’s chest from breast-removal surgery.

One of the most prominent trans male athletes is Chris Mosier, a world-class triathlete who came out as trans in 2010. He created the web site transathlete.com as a resource for athletes, coaches and administrators and has advised a variety of sports organizations on how to create trans-inclusive policies.

“More and more leagues and organizations are understanding they need to have a policy in place and be proactive, as opposed to waiting for someone to say, ‘I want to play,’” Mosier said. “That leaves an organization scrambling and often making bad policy because they’re on the defensive.”

Mosier is pleased by the trend among high-school

athletic associations toward more inclusivity. His web site lists only seven states as maintaining severely restrictive policies that limit transgender athletes to teams conforming with the gender on their birth certificate or require them to undergo sex-reassignment surgery or hormone treatment.

Among those states is Texas, where officials required transgender male Mack Beggs to compete in girls’ wrestling competitions against his wishes; he won state titles in 2017 and 2018.

There are no authoritative statistics on the number of trans athletes competing in US high schools and colleges, but the pool of transgender young people is sizable. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in January that 1.8 percent of high-school students questioned in a major multistate survey identified as transgender.

The NCAA’s policy on transgender participation is generally praised by activists, although Hudson Taylor, executive director of Athlete Ally, said numerous colleges in the NCAA don’t follow the guidelines rigorously.

Mosier said the NCAA is working on a revision of the guidelines, and he hopes the new ones might take into account the increasing number of young Americans who consider themselves “nonbinary”—identifying as neither male nor female.

“They still want to play sports,” Mosier said.

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THE Court of Arbitration for Sport admits that the verdict on the Castor Semenya case will be one of the most “pivotal” in its history.

HE Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has said a decision on the high-profile Caster Semenya case will be announced on or before March 26.

Five days of hearings ended in Lausanne with CAS admitting that the verdict will be one of the most “pivotal” in its history.

Semenya, a double Olympic and triple world champion over 800 meters, is challenging the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) who are hoping to bring in new rules on female participation.

The IAAF claim the South African and other female runners with high testosterone levels must either take medication or look to compete against men, between 400m and the mile.

According to the IAAF, this is to create a level playing field, but 28-year-old Semenya and others have argued that the testosterone is in her body naturally.

CAS could now take more than a month to announce

their verdict after hearing from expert witnesses on both sides.

This included Semenya herself and IAAF President Sebastian Coe. “The Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing in the arbitration procedure between Caster Semenya, Athletics South Africa and the International Association of Athletics Federations concluded,” the CAS said.

“In accordance with the timetable established in advance of the hearing, the panel in charge of the matter closed the hearing and thanked the parties’ counsels for the quality and the comprehensive nature of their submissions.

“Over the course of the week, the panel has had the opportunity to hear from all parties, experts and witnesses, with the IAAF president, Lord Coe, speaking at the outset of the hearing, and Ms. Semenya having the last word today.

“The hearing was conducted in a cordial and respectful atmosphere throughout the entire week.

“The panel will now begin their deliberations in this case, that can be considered as one of the most pivotal CAS cases, and prepare their decision, which is expected to be announced by the CAS Court Office on or before March 26, 2019.”

In October, the IAAF delayed the implementation of their new rules to await the CAS proceedings.

Semenya is by far the highest-profile athlete who the regulations would impact.

Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has previously successfully appealed to CAS against her exclusion from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in a similar case, claiming rules on hyperandrogenism introduced by the IAAF in 2011 discriminated unfairly against women who naturally produced high levels of testosterone.

The IAAF’s new regulations have replaced the previous rules and CAS claims the Semenya case has been heard using fresh evidence. Insidethegames

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HE Visayas Leg of the 2019 Philippine National Youth Games-Batang Pinoy unfolds on Monday in various fronts including medal-rich athletics and swimming at the Iloilo Sports Complex in Iloilo City.

A total of 14 gold medals will be staked in Day One of the track and field competition, which unfurls at 7 a.m., including the girls’ 2000-meter walk where the very first golden winner of this weeklong event for in and out-of-school youth athletes will come.

Also staking mints early are the boys’ long jump at 8 a.m., girls’ shot put and high jump at 8:15 a.m., girls’ discus throw at 9:30 a.m., while the afternoon events will stake golds in girls’ 3000 meters and triple jump and boys’ discus throw at 2 p.m., girls’ 100-meter hurdles at 2:20 p.m., boys’ 110-meter hurdles at 2:30 p.m., girls’ 100 meters at 2:40 p.m., boys’ 100 meters at 2:50 p.m., girls’ 400 meters at 3 p.m. and boys’ 400 meters at 3:15 p.m.

By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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INELA ALESSANDRINI delivered the goods as University of Santo Tomas (UST) bucked a slow start to beat University of the Philippines (UP), 21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-20, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament on Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The opposite hitter scored 22 points on 19 attacks and three blocks to lift the Tigresses to their second win in three games and tie the Lady Fighting Maroons at second spot behind the defending champion De La Salle Lady Spikers who are unbeaten in two matches.

UST Head Coach Kungfu Reyes said the victory was a product of patience as they dented the erstwhile perfect record of UP. “It’s everybody’s game until the end. We were out of groove in the first set. We really struggled to set to tone,” Reyes said.

“I just reminded them that they have to stay focused. ‘Good thing we got through our errors and persevered until the last moment,” he added.

Rookie sensation Eya Laure added 18 points, while Sisi Rondina contributed 17 points built on 15 spikes.

The Tigresses restored order in their game in the second set after struggling to keep pace with the solid performance of Tots Carlos in the first set.

Feeling the heat, Alessandrini took care of business in the third set and capped a 7-1 rally that gave her team a 21-8 cushion.

The Lady Fighting Maroons could not get their rhythm back as the girls from España mounted big

Batang Pinoy Visayas leg gets going Over at the pool, 14 golds will also be contested starting with the boys and girls 200-meter individual medley for 12 years old and under and 13 to 15 years old. Other swim events in Day One are 100-meter freestyle (four), 50-meter backstroke (four), 1,500-meter freestyle (one) and 800-meter free (one).

Gold medal winners are also expected to emerge in archery at the West Visayas State University field, arnis at the Iloilo Science and Technology University, karatedo at the SM City Iloilo, pencak silat at the Times Square ICC Gaisano and taekwondo at the Robinson’s Pavia.

Other events coming off the wraps today are badminton at the Jaro Gym, baseball at the La Paz Football field, basketball and chess at the Iloilo Sports Complex covered gym, boxing at the

Dungon Jaro covered court, futsal at the West Visayas State U field, lawn tennis at the La Paz court, sepak takraw, volleyball and softball at the Central Philippines University Gym, and beach volley at the Joe III Garden.

No less than Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez ushered in the event that was also graced by gracious hosts Iloilo City Mayor Joe Espinosa III and Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. PSC commissioners Ramon Fernandez, Charles Maxie, Celia Kiram and Arnold Agustin and national project director Atty. Guillermo Iroy also graced the ceremony.

“We’re hoping one among these children could emerge as a Manny Pacquiao, a Lydia de Vega-Mercado or an Elma Muros,” Ramirez said.

For hosting the leg, Ramirez said Iloilo will receive P15 million worth of sports equipment.

“Apart from it, we’re also making Iloilo as a training center in this region,” he said.

About 3000 athletes from 71 local government units across the region have come here to compete and gain a spot to the National Finals set in October this year in either Tagbilaran, Bohol or Ormoc City.

Cebu City has the biggest delegation after fielding in a strong 317-man delegation and is expected to be the team to watch out for since it dominated last year’s Visayas Leg in Dumaguete.

Host Iloilo is expected to come out and challenge the Cebuanos and has entered 311 athletes followed by Cebu province with 297.

TIGRESSES SCORE leads highlighted by a 10-2 run that pulled UST to a 16-10 advantage in the fourth set.

Finishing what she started for the team, Alessandrini scored off a block from Carlos’s attack to seal the game.

The Filipino-Italian also had 15 digs and 10 excellent receptions.

Laure said they are now showing their true potential.

“I’m happy that we are performing well. We are able to showcase our talent. This is from our hard work in our practices,” Laure said.

Carlos topscored for UP with 20 points on 18 attacks. Isa Molde added 13 points.

In men’s play, Far Eastern University survived a five-set 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 16-14 thriller over Ateneo.

Jude Garcia had 19 points, while Redi John Paler added 19 points for the Tamaraws, who remained unbeaten in three matches.

JOHNSON A

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EXICO CITY—Dustin Johnson was cruising along on Saturday in the Mexico Championship until one swing put him in a bad spot, and the next shot made it even worse.

One minute he was leading by six shots. Two holes later, he was leading by two.

For all that went wrong, Johnson knew everything was right with his game.

There was no need to panic, and he didn’t.

Johnson responded from his double bogey on the 10th hole with two straight birdies. He made two more birdies sandwiched around an up-and-down par from 105 yards, and he wound up with a five-under 66 that gave him a four-shot lead over Rory McIlroy going into the final round.

“I knew I was playing well, so I didn’t really let it bother me,” Johnson said. “I felt like I was swinging good, and I knew I could make quite a few birdies coming in. So it was one of those things where it was unfortunate, but I felt like I kept my focus and played really solid coming in.”

The 10th hole was his first score worse than par at Chapultepec Golf Club this week.

And it was his last of the day.

McIlroy, suddenly back in the game, could not get any closer and had to settle for a 68.

“It’s going to be tough, especially against DJ, who is arguably the best player in the world,” McIlroy said.

LADY Maroons Ale Gannaban (14) and Diana Mae Carlos (18) try to top the Tigresses’ Eya Laure. NONOY LACZA

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Basketball Association, Mighty Sports, SM Prime Holdings, Tapa King, Rain or Shine, NorthPort and Chooks To Go. Leading the 2018 PSA honor roll are co-Athlete of the Year winners Hidilyn Diaz, Margielyn Didal, Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go. Special guest speaker will be Olympian Bea Lucero-Lhuillier, who, incidentally, Tacujan had the privilege of covering when she won a bronze medal when taekwondo was played as a demonstration sport during the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Also to be given out during the event are the President’s Award (National University Lady Bulldogs), Executive of the Year (Enrique Razon), National Sports Association of the Year (National Golf Association of the Philippines), Lifetime Achievement Awards (Bong Coo and Paquito Rivas), Special and Major Awards, Citations, Fan Favorite “Manok Ng Bayan” Award (Kai Sotto), Milo Male and Female Junior Athlete of the Year (Daniel Quizon and Alexandra Eala), and the Tony Siddayao Awards.

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Business Park in the Visayas and at SM Davao.

Races in Manila and Cebu featured 10 various categories—including 500m, 3K, 5K, 5K buddy, 10K, 10K buddy, 16K, 21K, 32K and 42K. The Davao races had nine, excluding the 500m event.

The top 3 Filipino winners in the 42K, 32K and 21K categories also clinched berths in the Phuket International Marathon set from June 7 to 10 in Thailand.

Other category winners were (32K, male) Azlan Pagay from Cebu leg (1:56:53), Rafael Poliquit from Cebu leg (1:57:56) and Jeorge Andrade from Manila leg (1:59:11); (32K female) Ruffa Sorongon from Cebu (2:22:01), Luisa Raterta from Manila (2:25:31) and Jocelyn Elijeran from Manila (2:32:08);

FOR Dustin Johnson, there’s no need to panic and for Tiger Woods, his hopes ends on the greens. AP

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AKLAND, California—Even without National Basketball Association (NBA) scoring leader James Harden, the Houston Rockets took it to Golden State from the very start.

Eric Gordon scored 25 points with four threepointers, Chris Paul converted two free throws with 1:08 left on the way to 23, and the Rockets outplayed the Warriors without the ill Harden for a 118-112 victory on Saturday night.

Stephen Curry’s three with 1:57 to play pulled the Warriors to 114-108, and his two free throws at 1:26 made it a four-point game before Houston came through at the line.

Kevin Durant scored 29 points, and Curry added 25 with five threes, nine rebounds and seven assists, but the Warriors had their five-game home winning streak snapped in a matchup of West powers who met in the 2018 Western Conference finals won in seven games by Golden State.

“You can come in here and win on a Monday night in February or a Tuesday night in November or December,” Paul said. “But in the playoffs is when you have to beat a team four out of seven times. It’s great tonight that we won this, but in two days y’all will forget this. We all will.”

King’s Montessori, CSA lead WVL winners’ list

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EIGNING titlists King’s Montessori School (KMS) Team A, Colegio San Agustin (CSA) Makati and Escuela de Sophia of Caloocan Inc. kept their title-retention bids alive on Sunday by scoring big wins in their respective divisions in the semifinals of the 23rd Women’s Volleyball League (WVL) at the Xavier School High School Gymnasium in San Juan.

KMS-A downed Escuela de Sophia of

Quiamco, Camacho share 7-Eleven foot race honors RYAN QUIAMCO and Maricar Camacho pulled off victories in contrasting fashions to share top honors in the premier category of the 7-Eleven Run held simultaneously in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao recently.

Quiamco, vying in the Davao leg, clocked two hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds to nip Anthony Nerza, who timed 2:40:16 in the Manila stage, and Richeel Languido turned in a 2:43:08 clocking for the men’s 42K crown.

Camacho dominated the women’s 42K with a 3:20:05 clocking in the Manila run.

April Rose Diaz of Davao timed 3:31:43 in Davao for second while Cinderella Lorenzo of Manila clocked 3:41:08 for third in the event held at Filinvest City in Alabang, at Cebu

closer than seven shots of the lead.

Tiger Woods pulled within four shots after Johnson’s blunder, but his

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SPECIAL AWARD FOR TACUJAN HE Philippine Sportswriters Association will honor one of its own during the San Miguel Corp.-PSA Annual Awards Night on Tuesday at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel.

Lito Tacujan, the highly revered former sports editor and associate editor of the Philippine Star, will receive a special recognition in sports journalism by the country’s oldest media organization when it fetes the achievers of 2018 in a grand affair presented by Milo, the Philippine Sports Commission and Cignal TV. Tacujan was a former PSA president who retired from The Star last year after serving as its sports editor for 32 years. He is an ardent sportsman who has the passion for both baseball and golf, having spent his childhood in his hometown of Canlubang, Laguna.

A graduate of journalism at the University of Santo Tomas, Tacujan began his sportswriting career at the Philippine News Agency, then wrote for The Times Journal, briefly worked at PM and the Manila Times, before becoming the pioneer sports editor of The Star in 1986.

He will be in the company of 73 other awardees to be recognized during the two-hour special ceremony also backed by the Philippine

“So I’m going to have to go out there and just play a good round of golf, and hopefully that’s good enough.”

Johnson was at 16-under 197. No one else was

(21K, male) Prince Joey Lee from Cebu (1:12:22), Richard Salano from Manila (1:13:11) and Jerald Zabala from Davao (1:14:32); and (21K, female) Mary Joy Tabal from Cebu (1:24:39), Christin Hallasgo from Davao (1:27:47) and Christabel Martes from Manila (1:28:48).

“We made it more interesting this year by adding more categories to better fit the demand of every type of enthusiast— from the recreational runners to the pros.

We believe that by doing a sporting event like the 7-Eleven Run, we can contribute to the growth and development of Filipino sportsmen who are well on their way to bring pride to our country,” said Jose Paterno, president and CEO of Philippine Seven Corp.

Caloocan Inc., 25-15, 25-20, in the 18-Under Competitive Division to forge a one-game final duel opposite Arellano University Team A, which trounced Chiang Kai Shek College, 25-15, 25-21, in the other semis match up of the tournament sponsored by Milo and supported by Rain or Shine and Chris Sports.

CSA Makati smothered Saint Pedro Poveda College, 25-14, 25-14, to barge into the championship round of the 18-Under Developmental Division.

Holy Family School (HFS) beat Colegio de San Lorenzo, 25-21, 25-18, to earn a shot at the title against CSA Makati.

The finals matches are set this Sunday, March 3, at the Colegio San Agustin Gymnasium in Makati.

In the 13-Under Competitive Division, Escuela de Sophia of Caloocan Inc. beat Colegio San Agustin Makati, 25-23, 25-16.

Escuela de Sophia of Caloocan Inc. will battle HFS in the final.

HFS carved out a nail-biting 20-25, 25-16, 1614 decision over gritty San Beda College Alabang.

While the three defending champions managed to reach the Big Dance anew, dethroned champion HFS absorbed a stunning 25-13, 25-23 loss to Saint Pedro Poveda College in their 13-Under Developmental Division semifinal match.

ERIC GORDON scores 25 points with four three-pointers as the Rockets outplay the Warriors, 118-112, on Saturday night. AP

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UBAI, United Arab Emirates— Unseeded Swiss player Belinda Bencic pulled off another upset to win her first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title in threeand-a-half years, beating Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, on Saturday in the final of the Dubai Championships.

The 45th-ranked Bencic has struggled with injuries in recent years but finally seems to be back to her best, following up wins against second-ranked Simona Halep and two-time defending champion Elina Svitolina by outlasting Kvitova.

“It’s incredible. I mean, I still cannot believe it,” said the 21-year-old Bencic, who also saved six match points against No. 9 Aryna Sabalenka in the second round. “So many times I was close to defeat. It’s unbelievable that I ended up winning this.”

Bencic had not won a title since the Rogers

Bencic beats K Cup in Toronto in 2015. Back then, she was still a teenager and viewed as one of the top talents on the WTA Tour, breaking into the top 10 in the rankings. But injuries, including wrist surgery, have held her back until now.

And after four straight wins against top-10 ranked players this week, it could be just a matter of time until she’s back on that list, as well.

“Of course they are very highquality players, all of them,” Bencic said. “I’m so happy about the consistency that I could back up my wins. After playing a tough match, I could mentally win another one.

It’s very difficult.”

She was on the front foot from the start against the twotime Wimbledon champion, breaking her opponent straight away and jumping out to a 4-1

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Monday, February 25, 2019

AVOIDS TROUBLE hopes ended on the greens.

Woods had a 5-iron from the middle of the fairway on the par-5 15th, put it into a bunker, blasted out weakly to 25 feet and four-putted for a double bogey, with the last three putts from just outside 3 feet.

He followed that with a three-putt bogey on the 16th, and a birdie on the final hole gave him a 70. Woods, who hit 16 greens in regulation, was 10 shots behind and in no mood to speak to anyone after the round.

This will be the sixth time that Johnson has a lead of at least three shots going into the final round on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour, which doesn’t include the four-shot lead he had at Pebble Beach in 2009 when the last round eventually was called off by rain.

He won four of them, losing a threeshot lead at Pebble in the 2010 US Open, and a 6-shot lead at the HSBC Champions late in 2017.

Anything is possible with Johnson, and McIlroy saw that on Saturday.

Coming off backto-back bogeys to fall eight shots behind through eight holes, McIlroy rolled in a 35-foot

birdie putt on the ninth hole. He followed with a flip wedge to short range for birdie on No. 10 while Johnson was chopping his way to double bogey.

Johnson’s problems started with a drive to the right into the trees. He had a gap through the branches and a lob wedge in his hand, but the ball shot out high and hit a tree limb, going into the bushes. Johnson got a break when he was given free relief from a sprinkler line, though the lie wasn’t much better and the next shot smacked a tree trunk and headed into the bushes. He did well to punch that onto the green and two-putted from 40 feet for double bogey.

So while McIlroy has little choice to attack in the final round, it might not be all up to him.

“You can see how quickly things can change,” he said. “DJ hits it a little right on 10 and he makes double. It’s easy to do that around here. So it’s going to have to be a blend of aggression and patience.”

McIlroy did his best to hang around. He made back-to-back bogeys on the front nine that put him six behind, and then ran off three straight birdies to close the gap. He missed a 3-foot par putt on the 14th hole and was suddenly left a tall order for Sunday.

It’s even tougher on everyone else.

Masters champion Patrick Reed finished with

three straight birdies for a 64 and was in the group seven shots behind with Patrick Cantlay (65), Sergio Garcia (69) and Cameron Smith (68).

Reed started birdie-eagle and missed plenty of short putts. He said he would need as many opportunities on Sunday and even a better score.

“It’s going to take a really special day tomorrow,” Reed said. “I don’t think seven under is going to get it done. I’m thinking it’s going to at least take 10 [under] to maybe even a 59 depending on how he finishes the day.”

Johnson had a two-shot lead to start the third round over McIlroy and Matt Kuchar, whose hopes for a Mexican sweep of PGA Tour events fizzled with a 79. Johnson seized command on the second hole, when he hit a driver over the trees on the 367-yard hole, hopped it onto the green to 4 feet and made the putt for eagle.

He holed a 10-foot birdie on No. 5 and kept getting looks at medium-range birdie attempts without making them.

The 10th hole was merely a detour.

“DJ is playing very well. He seems to be comfortable on this golf course. He’s going to be very tough to beat,” McIlroy said. “Tomorrow I’m going to have to go out there and probably shoot something similar to what I shot the first day (63) to have a chance.” AP

40-point game. He was 13 for 32 with 10 threes.

Kenneth Faried started in Harden’s place and delivered 20 points and 10 rebounds. Clint Capela grabbed 15 boards.

The Warriors, who held off Sacramento, 125123, on Thursday night, began nine for 32—three of 12 on threes—and didn’t lead for the first time until Curry’s lay-up at the 9:54 mark of the third.

Curry was five for 11 from deep.

“Right from the start they played harder and smarter than we did,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said. AP

NBA RESULTS Portland 130, Philadelphia 115 Atlanta 120, Phoenix 112 Brooklyn 117, Charlotte 115 Cleveland 112, Memphis 107 Indiana 119, Washington 112 New Orleans 128, LA Lakers 115 Detroit 119, Miami 96 Chicago 126, Boston 116 Sacramento 119, Oklahoma City 116 Houston 118, Golden State 112 Milwaukee 140, Minnesota 128 Utah 125, Dallas 109

Kvitova to capture Dubai title lead. Kvitova’s serve improved in the second set, though, and the Czech player also broke Bencic three times to level the match.

But Bencic got the first break of the decider to go up 2-1 and then broke again for a 5-2 lead before serving out the match, Kvitova beat Bencic on route to the Australian Open final this year, but said her inconsistent serve let her down this time.

“I think definitely I served much, much better in Melbourne than here,” Kvitova said.

“The whole tournament I was pretty [much] fighting with my serve. It wasn’t really great. I played a lot from the second serve.” AP

UNSEEDED Swiss Belinda Bencic makes slaying the giants a habit. AP

RICK OLIVARES | bleachersbrew@gmail.com

BLEACHERS’ BREW I CAN only imagine the emotions that Thirdy Ravena must feel playing on the national men’s basketball team in these crucial Asian Qualifiers for the 2019 Fiba World Cup. He’s made the lineup for the two away matches against Qatar and Kazakhstan.

Now all three Ravena men—father, Bong, and older brother, Kiefer—have played for the national team. He might have been a late bloomer in terms of championships and accolades, but what is important is he is here and now.

Watching him come up with the Ateneo Blue Eaglets in the grade and high school, the talent was undeniable. But the poise, the big game chops, the trophies...they weren’t there yet.

When Ateneo lost to National University (NU) during his last year in the juniors division (they were coming off a long trip and international tournament in Iran and played Game One of the championship series while tired and severely jetlagged), there were whispers that he wasn’t made of the stern stuff that his dad and older brother were made of. More so the next season when the Blue Eaglets won it minus some of the key stars—including Ravena—when they graduated.

And if to up the degree of difficulty, he was named after his father and grandfather. Talk

MIGUEL TABUENA is eyeing his third Philippine Open trophy.

about literally following his footsteps.

Then he sat out his second year in college due to academics and he wasn’t even allowed to practice. I bumped into him outside Gate 3 of Ateneo during that time and he expressed his disappointment. But rather than point a finger elsewhere, he owned up to it. “I should have done better,” he told me.

A year later, there was a change in him. He wasn’t there yet being rusty and having to adapt to Tab Baldwin’s system. He was better except that he needed to be not only more dependable in the clutch but also more important, consistent.

Ateneo made the finals, but lost to La Salle.

It was if both coaching staff and team needed that experience before they were to win. They won everything in sight with Ravena picking up individual trophies and accolades a plenty.

And during the recent championship against UP, Thirdy was incandescent. Furthermore, he did it both ways—on offense and on defense.

During the post-title celebration of University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81, I asked him if the disappointment and the criticism stung and motivated him. He sighed and said emphatically, yes. It lit a fire under him.

He also chalked it up to the time in between his

freshman and juniors years when he sat it out.

I recounted to him (including Kiefer on a couple of occasions) on how we (Ateneo alumni) would pray for the game clock to quickly tick by because as long as Bong Ravena was on the floor, his team, the University of the East Red Warriors (sans the Red) had a chance to win. Bong was just as vicious as Thirdy is slamming that ball home. He’d dunk on people.

Kiefer was the more artful one on offense although he’d get nasty on occasion and dump a truckload of points on guards foolish enough to yap at him. And of course, there was the nasty dunk on University of Santo Tomas’s Karim Abdul during the Blue Eagles’ five-peat.

Thirdy...remember that clutch four-point play against La Salle during the Filoil summer games two years ago that helped them get over the hump against Ben Mbala and company?

Since then, Thirdy has not looked back.

He’s come away from the unsure but talented player to the highly skilled, powerful and even more vicious stud he is today.

The funny thing after the recent Ateneo title was now you had people debating who is better—Kiefer or Thirdy? And he’s on the senior national team.

During that short post-title conversation, almost immediately after securing a second consecutive UAAP title, I asked him what was more difficult and challenging—following his father and older brother’s footsteps or winning a championship. The former he said.

Why? Because for a championship, you have your teammates. But in trying to live up to a legacy? A name? That is something you have to do mostly alone.

The Third Man is now up.

OPEN BACK AT TCC T HE Solaire Philippine Open, the country’s premier golf championship, gears up for another blockbuster staging and thrilling ending at The Country Club (TCC) when it begins its journey to a new century with a stellar international cast being firmed up.

Filipino ace Miguel Tabuena nipped veteran Prom Meesawat of Thailand in sudden death to highlight the milestone Centennial staging of the event at the TCC last year with the same finish expected when the 101st Open is held from April 3 to 6.

The 2017 Open also went over the distance with Englishman Steve Lewton edging American Johannes Veerman in a playoff, also at the well-kept Tom Weiskoph-designed layout, with the same windup likely to ensue in the upcoming event sponsored by Solaire Resort and Casino.

“More than 50 percent of the field which vied last year will all be coming over again with the 2019 cast to be toughened up by new, crack international players,” said Colo Ventosa, general manager of Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc., which co-organizes the event with the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP).

Solaire Resort and Casino, headed by President and CEO Thomas Arasi, and the NGAP, now led by President Martin Lorenzo, have recently inked a pact to jointly stage the 2019 Open with the former bankrolling $500,000 to put up the fourday championship, which also serves as part of the Philippine Golf Tour Asia.

Lorenzo and NGAP Secretary-General Bones Floro have reiterated their full support to ensure the smooth and successful staging of the fabled event, which will feature former champions and mainstays of the other regional tours seeking to join the elite circle of winners in

HARDEN, DOWN CURRY, WARRIORS Early in the fourth, Golden State’s Draymond Green exited the game with a sprained left ankle after grabbing at his foot in clear pain from stepping on teammate DeMarcus Cousins’s foot.

There wasn’t an immediate update on Green, who Curry said “was in good spirits after the game so I’m assuming it’s not anything serious.”

“He’ll be back for the playoffs. That’s the only thing we worry about here, right?” Durant said.

Paul handed out 11 of his season-high 17 assists in the first half to reach 9,000 for his career, helping Houston avoid a third straight road loss.

Cousins notched his third straight double-double with 13 points and a season-best 14 rebounds, while Klay Thompson had 20 points and six assists.

Curry’s three in the final 30 seconds of the first half and a jumper to beat the buzzer by Andre Iguodala got Golden State to 61-54 at halftime after the two-time defending champions trailed by 20.

While Harden also has a strained neck, Coach Mike D’Antoni said the Most Valuable Player probably could have played through that.

Harden hurt the neck when he got hit during a practice leading up to Thursday’s road loss to the Lakers and woke up sore the next day.

“He might’ve played even with a sore neck. He had a little touch of the flu. It was a combination of everything,” D’Antoni said.

In the Rockets’ last visit to Oracle Arena, Harden hit a contested three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left in a 135-134 overtime win on January 3 in which he finished with a triple-double and his fifth straight

Third Man Up

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Asia’s oldest National Open and at the same time test a challenging course that doesn’t favor any particular style of play.

Tabuena will actually shoot for a third Open diadem, nailing his first in abbreviated fashion when he ruled the rain-shortened championship at Luisita in 2015. He wound up joint fifth in 2017 but pulled off a memorable victory in the event’s Centennial edition.

But the Rio Olympic Games veteran will be as much tested as the rest of the field, which includes the country’s other top guns, led by

former titlist Angelo Que and reigning PGT Order of Merit winner Jobim Carlos along with the likes of Jhonnel Ababa, Clyde Mondilla, Tony Lascuña and Jay Bayron.

Korean-American Micah Shin, who became the first non-Filipino winner of the TCC Invitational when he foiled Tabuena also last year, is also expected to join the title hunt along with Philippine Golf Tour and PGT Asia campaigners Kim Joo Hyung of Korea, Dutch Guido Van der Valk, Nicolas Paez of the US and Aussie Tim Stewart.

THE 33rd Philippine Airlines (PAL) Seniors Interclub gets under way in Cebu 7 with PAL President Jaime Bautista (second from left) leading the ceremonial tee off at Alta Vista Golf & Country Club.

A record 108 teams—local and foreign—are playing. With Bautista are (from left) PAL Area Manager-Mindanao Sales Victor Suarez, Alta Vista General Manager Nimrod Quiñones and PAL SAVP Metro Manila and Luzon Sales Genaro “Bong” Velasquez.

MANOTOC LEADS CANLUBANG BID P

USHING 70 years old, Tommy Manotoc will return to action in the 33rd Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub golf team championships set to kick off on Wednesday in Cebu City.

Manotoc, one of the most accomplished players in Interclub history, missed the last two staging of the annual event and feigned surprise he was called for duty again by Canlubang to spearhead its title-retention bid.

“I’m surprised they [Canlubang] called me,” said Manotoc who will replace veteran Dave Hernandez in the roster.

Manotoc spent most of the last two years in the United States and saw little action.

“Well, I played a lot of golf but not competitively. That’s why I made sure to play three rounds during the Fil-Am event in Baguio last December,” he said.

The last time the Interclub was played in Cebu, Manotoc was absent.

In fact, Manotoc played Alta Vista Golf and Country Club for the first time last Thursday.

“It’s a risk-and-reward course, shorter than the other one, but demanding,” said the

mercurial sportsman.

Aside from Alta Vista, the seniors’ event will be played at the Club Filipino de Cebu.

Manotoc will be supported by the same team that regained the title last year in Bacolod.

Sixteen-time champion Luisita is fielding an almost intact lineup in its bid to foil the return of Manotoc.

Luisita has replaced Jingy Tuason with former pro Demmy Saclot.

Most of the more than 100 participating teams are expected to fly in Sunday for the three-day practice rounds.

The field is divided into five divisions, namely: Championship, Founders, Aviator, Sportswriters and Friendship.

This year’s Interclub is sponsored by Asian Air Safari and Radio Mindanao Network. Also extending support are ABS-CBN Global Ltd. (The Filipino Channel), Rolls-Royce, Primax Broadcasting Network, UM Broadcasting Network (Mindanao), Fox Sports, GECAS, Boeing and Lufthansa Technik AG. Official hotel is Quest Hotel Conference Center Cebu.

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Monday, February 25, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

HAT TRICK NO. 50

By Joseph Wilson

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The Associated Press

ARCELONA, Spain—Just when Barcelona was at its worst, Lionel Messi gave one of his best performances of the season.

Messi scored his 50th hat trick for club and country on Saturday in a 4-2 victory at Sevilla, helping Barcelona to take a big step toward retaining the Spanish league title.

Sevilla went ahead twice, but Messi hit back each time before he netted a third goal with five minutes remaining.

After taking his league-leading tally to 25 goals, Messi added an assist for Luis Suarez to round off the win before the whistle.

It was Messi’s 44th hat trick for Barcelona, to go with another six for Argentina, according to the club.

“This doesn’t mean the league is ours, yet. There is a long way to go, but it was very important to win here to protect the advantage we have over our rivals,” Messi said.

“The game turned against us but we knew how to pull it out.”

Barcelona had drawn four of its previous five matches and its only goal in three games had been a penalty by Messi. A setback in Seville would have given Atletico Madrid and

Real Madrid the chance to spark up the title race when they play on Sunday.

Instead, Messi almost singlehandedly ensured Barcelona opened a 10-point gap over Atletico and a 12-point advantage over Madrid.

Barcelona also rediscovered its scoring form in time for a critical week of back-to-back clashes with Madrid. The fierce rivals meet in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal on Wednesday after a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou, before clashing again in the league next weekend.

“We went through a patch when we weren’t playing our best and that makes everything more difficult. We were having trouble converting our chances,” Messi said.

“When everything flows, things go well for us, as we saw today. Today we were back to playing like we know how. We played a great match.”

Sevilla outplayed Barcelona through much of the first half and was twice ahead thanks to Jesus Navas and Gabriel Mercado.

But Messi responded both times with strikes that produced the same result: goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik helplessly pawing thin air as the ball sailed over his head.

Messi cancelled out Navas’s 22nd-minute opener four minutes later with an exquisite

volley, as the Argentine blasted Ivan Rakitic’s cross into the top corner of the net.

Messi equalized a second time in the 67th after Rakitic recovered the ball, laid off for Ousmane Dembele, who found Barcelona’s all-time top scorer alone on the edge of the area and he curled the ball into the corner.

Messi finally put Barcelona in charge when he nonchalantly chipped the ball over Vaclik.

“Not only did Messi score three great goals, it was how he scored them,” said Barcelona Coach Ernesto Valverde. “There was a lot at stake in this match. We weren’t playing well and then he appeared. That is Messi.”

Sevilla fell into fifth place, with Getafe moving up into the Champions League spots after beating Rayo Vallecano 2-1.

In Paris, Kylian Mbappe displayed his match-winning abilities once again on Sunday, scoring off balance with a superb volley as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) beat Saint-Etienne, 1-0, to move 12 points clear at the top of the French league.

Latching onto a clever lobbed pass from veteran Dani Alves over the defense, Mbappe was at full stretch yet still hooked a powerful shot into the top left corner while sliding forward to meet the ball in the 73rd minute.

He then sprinted to the bench to celebrate

LIONEL MESSI gives one of his best performances of the season. AP

his league-leading 19th goal and 24th overall this season with Coach Thomas Tuchel.

It was also Mbappe’s second important strike in the matter of days, where he has led the attack impressively in the absence of Neymar and Edinson Cavani.

The 20-year-old France forward netted on Tuesday in PSG’s impressive 2-0 win at Manchester United in the last 16 of the Champions League.

After his clinical strike settled a tense match, Mbappe could even afford himself a moment of light relief.

Television cameras captured him laughing in the fifth minute of injury time after the referee showed him a yellow card for not standing back enough for a SaintEtienne free kick.

Saint-Etienne boasts the second-best home record in the league—behind PSG— but offered little in attack as it dropped to fifth place behind an improving Marseille side boosted by striker Mario Balotelli’s arrival.

Instead, it was down to Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier to keep PSG at bay with saves from Mbappe and Angel Di Maria before Mbappe scored the only goal.

HAMILTON SHOWS NO SIGN OF WANING MOTIVATION

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URIN, Italy—At the age of 34 and with five world titles, Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton is still showing no sign of waning motivation.

His competitive spirit was clear to see at an event for Mercedes’s sponsors in Turin on Friday.

Taking part in a “pit-stop challenge” with teammate Valtteri Bottas, where the pair had to help change a tire on an F1 car several times, Hamilton was eager to beat the Finnish driver on every occasion, despite it counting for little.

And it is that drive and determination he will take into the new season.

“I’ve just come off my break. I missed work. I’m a workaholic,” Hamilton said at Petronas’s $60 million research and technology center. “I love being at work, I like working with people. I feel that as soon as I get back to work I’m living my purpose.

“Ultimately I just love driving. I don’t love testing. I just want to go racing. I don’t struggle with the motivation for that.”

Hamilton has won the title in four of the past five seasons and secured it by his biggest margin of 88 points last season after Sebastian Vettel’s poor second half of the campaign.

However, this year could be one of the toughest yet for the British driver.

The first week of testing ended on Thursday with Ferrari looking to be a step ahead of Mercedes. Vettel and Charles Leclerc—who replaced Kimi Raikkonen— were among the fastest drivers in the first week of testing in Spain, with Hamilton and

Bottas unable to keep pace.

Max Verstappen is also expected to push for the title. The 21-year-old Red Bull driver finished fourth last season, above Bottas, and was only two points away from beating Raikkonen.

“I have no idea at the moment,” Hamilton said when asked who would be his main rival. “I’ve not been looking at what they’ve been doing but I have to assume that they’re all currently contenders, there’s not just one of them and I’ll find out when we get to the first couple of races.

“Probably the first four races you’ll get an understanding of the true pace and the consistency of the cars and the drivers.”

Verstappen and Leclerc—who is the same age—are tipped to follow Hamilton and Vettel as F1’s next stars.

Leclerc earned a prestigious move to Ferrari following strong performances for unheralded Sauber in his debut F1 season and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he reminds him of Hamilton when he first came into F1 in 2007.

But while Hamilton admits certain aspects of racing are harder with age, he also believes nothing replaces experience.

“Each year, getting in shape, getting your mind into gear is still a massive challenge if not harder each year as you get older so once you get over that wall its pretty good after that,” he said.

“When I first started I was just a kid, I was 22. I had all the talent that I needed, but I didn’t have the experience. So it was all raw, wild adrenaline and ambition without

really a particular strategy. Over the years you gain knowledge and experience and that helps solidify that foundation.”

Testing will continue from Tuesday to Friday at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, home to the Spanish Grand Prix in May. The season-opening Australian Grand Prix is on March 17, where Hamilton will start his bid to become only the

second driver to win more than five world championships—behind only seven-time winner Michael Schumacher.

“Each year hopefully the goal is always to get better,” Hamilton said. “The more competition the better, you always want to be against the best at their best because when you beat them it’s more painful for them and more enjoyable for you.” AP

LEWIS HAMILTON is still full of drive as he chases his sixth Formula One world title. AP

Fifa strips Peru of U17 World Cup hosting rights

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URICH—Peru will no longer host the Under-17 World Cup in October after being stripped of the tournament

by Fifa on Friday over concerns about the infrastructure.

The decision was taken by the bureau of the Fifa Council which features the six regional confederation presidents and Fifa President Gianni Infantino.

The tournament was due to be staged in October after Peru was awarded the competition last June.

But following various inspection visits, Fifa said it found a “number of organizational and infrastructure challenges linked to the event delivery.”

Fifa is evaluating alternative host countries, which were not specified.

England is the defending champion after winning the 2017 edition in India.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, called on world football’s governing body to help ensure last year’s

World Cup has an effective legacy for the country during a meeting with Infantino.

Putin also presented Infantino with the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation after he signed a decree to award the honor to the Fifa president earlier this month.

The award was given to Infantino for his “enormous contribution in the organization of the 2018 Fifa World Cup,” widely declared as a success in Russia and across the world.

It marked the latest show of public admiration between Putin and Infantino following the World Cup. Russia has also voiced its support for Infantino being reelected as president later this year following confirmation he is the only candidate.

“We are now actively engaged in the legacy of the World Cup,” Putin said at the meeting with Infantino in Moscow.

“The task before us is to harness everything that was done for the World Cup, to use it effectively, and we are also counting on your support for that.

“I would like to thank you once again for your help in the preparation and delivery of the World Cup.” Infantino declared that the 2018 tournament, won by France following their 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final, was the “best in history.”

It is thought Russia hosting Fifa’s showpiece competition has led to a spike in attendances across clubs competing in the Russian Premier League.

“But this is not the end; this is only the beginning,” said Infantino.

“We are here to discuss the legacy of the World Cup, so that we can interact even more closely in the future.

“The World Cup changed Russia, but above all the attitude of the world toward Russia.

“This was only possible thanks to your personal participation and to all the inhabitants of your country who took part in the preparation of this wonderful event.

“In spite of all the negative predictions, we witnessed a great sporting event hosted by a magnificent country, whose hospitality was enjoyed by the entire football community.”

AP and Insidethegames

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Saving God

EAR Saving God, Your light shone forth in the faith of Paul Miki and the martyrs of Nagasaki. We recall Your faithful love and pray: Make known Your salvation, O God. Animate Your Church in Japan and all over the world to be a source of compassion for all who suffer. Uphold missionaries and all who suffer persecution for their faith. Help us find joy in You, and root us deeply in our faith. May God show us the path of life and lead us to everlasting joy, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY, SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL AND CHILDREN’S ROSARY FOUNDATION

Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life BusinessMirror

ALL ACCESS: ‘THE PHANTOM’ COMES BACK TO MANILAD3

Monday, February 25, 2019 D1

Prance, my queens!

TOTA PULCHRA

MISS CHARLIZE @misscharlize

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WO famous felines have been on the spotlight of late—Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Choupette Lagerfeld. Queens in their own right, they are joined the past week by royals of another kind—newly crowned Miss Q&A Mitch Montecarlo Suansane and soon-to-becrowned RuPaul’s Next Drag Superstar Plastique Tiara. The real queen of them all—Mary Queen of Scots—gets another cinematic treatment via the luminous Saoirse Ronan. n CATRIONA GRAY She completely embodies her role as Miss Universe. During a four-hour, heartwarming motorcade to show her gratitude to her Filipino fans, Cat never showed she was tired, greeting every well-wisher with a sincere smile. Every inch a queen, she wore a sampaguita terno by Mak Tumang, a pantsuit adorned with our national flower and national leaf—anahaw. “It is a callado, similar to piña barong, embroidered with stylized pañuelo and mariposa sleeves,” the designer explains.

Cat was recently featured in a makeup video tutorial on Vogue. com, in which she replicated her coronation look. It’s a major coup for a reigning beauty queen. True, Bollywood goddess and new Mrs. Nick Jonas Priyanka Chopra scored the January cover—a first for a titleholder. But it was years after she won Miss World 2000. As her popularity grows, here’s hoping that Catriona nabs a coveted cover and a cosmetics campaign next.

And then days after that Vogue.com makeup video, she posted a glamshot of herself barefaced, by Fadil Berisha. Still as stunning.

This queen will have an unpredictable, interesting reign. n ‘MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS’ I’ve seen The Favourite (a queer retelling of Queen Anne of England, played by the Oscar-nominated Olivia Colman), so I was excited for this film about the legendary rivalry between the cousins Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor. The film is based on the book by John Guy, Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart. It features a fictional encounter between Mary (Saoirse Ronan) and Elizabeth (Margot Robbie, Oscar nomination-worthy), providing an acting duel between the two acclaimed actresses. The Cate Blanchett Elizabeth films are far superior but watch this for the costumes, designed by Alexandra Byrne, who is Oscar-nominated, her fifth, for her work. She won for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007). And for the homoerotic rendition of David Rizzio (Mary’s Italian secretary, Ismael Cruz Cordova) and her second husband Lord Darnley (Jack Lowden). Plus, Joe Alwyn (Taylor Swift’s new squeeze) is a dish as Robert Dudley. n MITCH MONTECARLO SUANSANE “Miss Q&A” on It’s Showtime may be another hilarious slice of the gay life but the joke’s on the hapless public. Unbeknownst to the viewers, who laugh out loud on the antics of gay contestants, the gays themselves are the ones laughing all the way to the bank. They have, in their clever ways, used this TV segment as a platform to advance the cause of the LGBT community.

While the audience is hooked on the quick wit, sharp arguments and juicy debates between contenders, the gays are voicing their grievances and educating people for more understanding.

Miss Q&A is based on the dreaded interview portions of beauty pageants. As gays are more intelligent than the general population, this segment is where they excel the most. Mitch won the pageant on Saturday, amassing about P2 million worth of cash and prize packages. Her surname Suansane comes from Chalita Suansane, the beloved Miss Universe Thailand 2016.

I assume she hails from the Montecarlo Family, a group of like-minded beauty queens much like the Xtravaganzas, Ninjas, LaBeijas of the New York ballroom culture.

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, as played by Saoirse Ronan FOCUS FEATURES

CATRIONA GRAY, Miss Universe 2018 FADIL BERISHA

PLASTIQUE TIARA @BEAUTYBYELOY

CHOUPETTE LAGERFELD @CHOUPETTESDIARY

n PLASTIQUE TIARA AND MERCEDES IMAN DIAMOND Season 11 of RuPaul’s Drag Race casts its first Canadian (Brooke Lynn Hytes), has another alt-drag queen (Yvie Oddly) and the first Muslim (Mercedes Iman Diamond) in its herstory. Then there’s the Asian Barbie, Viet-Am Plastique Tiara, my personal bet. It’s a stacked season, hopefully like S6, where we had the ABCDs of drag royalty (Top 4 Adore Delano, Bianca del Rio, Courtney Act and Darienne Lake).

The fandom has become so toxic, racist and vile that the queens have appealed for more decency. “If you are one of my fans or even if you are not one of my fans. DO NOT attack one of my sister[s] cause that sh%t ain’t cool. We are human underneath all this sh%t so don’t be coming at any of us with any of that death threats and BS cause that is NOT ok,” Plastique tweeted. n CHOUPETTE LAGERFELD The Birman cat is a bonafide social-media superstar with 282 thousand followers on Instagram and is set to reportedly inherit about $300 million from her pet parent, the polymath Karl Lagerfeld.

“Thank you everyone for your words of condolence. With a once cold but now simply broken heart, I am going into

MITCH MONTECARLO SUANSANE @MITCH_MONTECARLO

mourning. I pray that your kind words and well-wishes will help me to put my best paw forward in my future without Daddy @KarlLagerfeld & as my own woman,” the cat posted on her Instagram account.

Lagerfeld fell in love with the blue-eyed cat in 2011 when his model Baptiste Giabiconi asked the Chanel/Fendi designer to look after Choupette while he was traveling.

When Giabiconi returned, Lagerfeld refused to give Choupette back. Since then, the cat has been looked after by a bodyguard, a personal chef and two maids.

Humans bequeathing their wealth to their pets is nothing new. Gunther IV, a German shepherd from Germany, is the world’s richest dog with an estimated net worth of more than $370 million. According to Vanity Fair, “That money has been passed down from a long line of German shepherds of the same name. The original Gunther was bequeathed $80 million from his owner, a German countess named Carlotta Liebenstein, when she died in 1991.”

Choupette might not be the richest pet but she’s still a high-flying, high-fashion heiress.

Burberry apologizes for hoodie with noose knot NEW YORK—The chief executive and chief creative officer of luxury fashion powerhouse Burberry have apologized for putting a hoodie with strings tied in the shape of a noose on their London Fashion Week runway.

The knotted strings surfaced after Sunday’s show when a model hired to walk (but not wear the outfit) complained both before the show and on Instagram, saying the noose not only evoked lynchings but also suicide.

Marco Gobbetti, the brand’s CEO, said in a statement on Tuesday that Burberry is “deeply sorry for the distress” the top has caused and has removed it from the autumn-winter collection, along with all images featuring the look.

Riccardo Tisci, Burberry’s creative director, also apologized, saying “while the design was inspired by a nautical theme, I realize that it was insensitive.”

Model Liz Kennedy took to Instagram the day of the show, posting a photo of the hoodie with a long message directed at Burberry and Tisci.

“Suicide is not fashion,” she wrote. “It is

not glamorous nor edgy and since this show is dedicated to the youth expressing their voice, here I go. Riccardo Tisci and everyone at Burberry it is beyond me how you could let a look resembling a noose hanging from a neck out on the runway.”

She added, “Let’s not forget about the horrifying history of lynching either.”

Her post has prompted dozens of negative social-media comments directed at Burberry and Tisci.

The collection, called “Tempest,” is Tisci’s second for the brand. The clothes were a mix of classic, severely tailored ensembles to more trendy street-inspired looks aimed at younger consumers.

Kennedy and other critics said the company should have known better.

“A massive brand like Burberry who is typically considered commercial and classy should not have overlooked such an obvious resemblance. I left my fitting extremely triggered after seeing this look. Feeling as though I was right back where I was when I was going through an experience with suicide

in my family,” Kennedy wrote on Instagram.

She said she asked to speak to somebody about it and was told to write a letter.

“I had a brief conversation with someone but all that it entailed was ‘It’s fashion.

Nobody cares about what’s going on in your personal life so just keep it to yourself.’”

Gobbetti said he called Kennedy to apologize as soon as he became aware of her concerns on Monday.

“The experience Ms. Kennedy describes does not reflect who we are and our values.

We will reflect on this, learn from it and put in place all necessary actions to ensure it does not happen again.”

The gaffe comes after Gucci removed a sweater from the market last week after complaints that the oversized collar designed to cover the face resembled blackface makeup. In December, Prada stopped selling baubles that also prompted complaints of racist imagery.

Those two companies have announced initiatives to foster cultural diversity and awareness among their employees to avoid future missteps. AP

MERCEDES IMAN DIAMOND @MERCEDESIMANDIAMOND

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Monday, February 25, 2019

Style

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Lagerfeld’s legacy: Youthful designs, elaborate showmanship

By Thomas Adamson

P

The Associated Press

ARIS—Karl Lagerfeld once created a Walmart-sized “Chanel Shopping Center” to show off his ready-to-wear collection.

It featured aisle upon aisle of luxury foods labeled “one for the price of two.”

Immediately after models had paraded through the aisles, guests raided the shelves. Rihanna posed in a shopping cart, and Keira Knightley looked on amazed.

“Luxury should be worn like you’re going to the supermarket. It’s the pop art of the 21st century,” Lagerfeld said, his eyes barely visible behind his enigmatic shades.

The show was the type of presentation that came to define much of Lagerfeld’s six-decade career at the top of fashion.

When Chanel fell into decline following Coco

Chanel’s death in the 1970s, its new owners looked for a larger-than-life designer to wake up the house from its creative coma. The German-born Lagerfeld, a contemporary of Yves Saint Laurent with a strict ponytail and tight collar, was just the man.

As Chanel creative director from 1983 until his death on February 19, he quickly transformed the house into a billion-dollar industry leader, a position it retains today.

Lagerfeld, who had been poached from Chloe, used his creative scalpel to modernize the house’s signature skirt suits and tweed in the 1980s as the house expanded internationally, opening some 40 boutiques around the world in that decade.

His work ethic was legendary. Beyond Chanel, he also began working with Italian fashion house Fendi in 1965 and held the top job at the LVMH-owned brand since 1977.

Yet, Lagerfeld will be remembered as much for his showmanship, eccentric personality and acid

z

tongue as for his youthful designs.

Donning sunglasses and gloves, he evolved into “Kaiser Karl”—a nickname that referred to his demanding character, put-downs and uncompromising standards.

“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants,” he once declared. Another time, he dismissed Saint Laurent as “provincial.”

The sheer ambition of his fashion shows was legendary, and they became especially influential in an age in which images are beamed around the world at the click of a button.

His Chanel collections were invariably the biggest on the Paris Fashion Week calendar. Chanel, it was said, put the “show” in “fashion show.”

Lagerfeld was also an anachronism, dressing in a punk, baroque style and defying political correctness—almost proudly.

He got into hot water for calling singer Adele “a little too fat” and said he didn’t like the face of Pippa Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister.

“She should only show her back,” he advised.

In another interview, he created a furor by criticizing Kim Kardashian as being too flashy with her money in Paris following her 2016 robbery.

Despite the sharp remarks, Lagerfeld remained surprisingly warm in person and always kept a sparkle in his eye. Jokes were delivered with a smile, even when they were clearly derogatory.

Evidence of his generous spirit could be seen in his relationships with reporters. Well into his 80s, he was unique in Paris for holding interviews for over an hour following each Chanel show. He would flit seamlessly between English, French, Italian and his native German.

Of his feelings following a collection, he once said: “I’m a kind of fashion nymphomaniac who never gets an orgasm.”

The love of his life, his cat Choupette, was also testament to his kind, if eccentric, heart. He wore her likeness as a pendant at one show and acknowledged that she has, at least, two maids.

She is spoiled, “much more than a child could be,” he said in 2013, revealing that he took her to the vet nearly every 10 days.

Like a proud parent, Lagerfeld told a magazine that Choupette earned more than $3 million in 2014 for advertising campaigns.

In recent seasons, Lagerfeld looked increasingly frail. When he failed to take his usual bow at the house’s January couture collection, sadness filled the faces of guests, some of whom had grown gray covering his long career.

Saucony launches 10th generation of award-winning Kinvara BORN from a belief that a lightweight shoe can pack a heavyweight punch, the first Kinvara changed the running industry game. This year, Saucony (www. saucony.com.ph) launches the 10th generation of the award-winning Kinvara—and it is as groundbreaking as the first. To celebrate a decade of lightweight innovation, Saucony is offering a limited-edition Kinvara 10 featuring the shoe’s original iconic design and colorways.

“With the very first Kinvara, our product team embraced an exciting new design identity coupled with advanced running dynamics,” said Anne Cavassa,

president of Saucony. “They imagined a shoe where benchmark responsiveness and lightweight stability were not separate entities, but were seamlessly integrated, transforming the way the foot moved through the gait cycle. The Kinvara continues to represent our innovative and ongoing product philosophy across the brand, focusing on every aspect of the runner’s stride.”

Featuring an Everun topsole and a flexible Eva+ midsole for a smooth, incredibly energetic ride, the Kinvara 10, with a 4 millimeter offset, is as supportive as it is breathable thanks to an engineered mesh

upper. Internal heel pods, a nod to the original Kinvara model, comfortably lock the foot down as the runner’s pace ramps up. Because no two feet are alike, enhancements to the Kinvara 10 include Saucony’s newest fit technology, FormFit , a 3D-contoured footbed that cradles the foot with three layers of foam for enhanced adaptability and impact absorption.

The special-edition Kinvara in white red colorway is packaged in a commemorative box and comes with a free special-edition Saucony shirt. More information about the Kinvara 10 collectionis available in-store and at saucony.com.ph.

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Rashida Jones, 43; Chelsea Handler, 44; Sean Astin, 48; Tea Leoni, 53.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Do what you can to improve your lifestyle, community and relationships. This is a year of give-and-take that will allow you to make a difference while gaining experience, knowledge and connections that will help you get ahead. Discipline, hard work and the willingness to do your part will lead to peace of mind and happiness. Your lucky numbers are 6, 17, 24, 29, 33, 35, 47.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Change needs to be looked at carefully before making a decision. Don’t hide your feelings or what you’ve discovered. Transparency will help you evaluate what’s best for you, as well as those affected by the choices you make.«««

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Listen to someone who has more experience or knowledge. The information you are given will help you assess your relationship with people you work alongside. Share your feelings and be open to suggestions. Romance is in the stars. «««

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Someone will feed you a bunch of malarkey. Don’t be gullible or put yourself in a vulnerable position based on what you are led to believe. Go directly to the source, and make up your mind based on facts. «««

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take the plunge and follow through with your plans. Don’t second-guess because someone interferes or opposes what you want to do. Follow your heart in situations that deal with relationships, love and romance; you’ll get good results. «««««

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Listen and assess situations openly. Gather the facts, and don’t be afraid to say no or to follow your own path.

Anger will solve nothing. If you want to proceed, keep things amicable. ««

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Talk to someone you trust and know you can rely on for sound advice. A domestic situation can turn out to be costly if you aren’t careful or assertive in your actions.

Concentrate on personal improvements, learning and perfection. ««

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You may feel you need a change, but before you make a move, source out the best way to proceed. Being able to stick to a budget will determine how successful the outcome. Take better care of your health. ««««

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Dreaming is one thing, but doing is what will help you achieve your goals. Take the road that intrigues you the most, and venture down avenues that will expand your mind and lead to personal growth. Romance is highlighted. «««

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Put your time, energy and effort into self-improvement and activities that will help you expand your interests and ideas. Steer clear of anyone trying to take advantage of you or who tries to pry into your personal affairs. Don’t be gullible. «««

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Consider your options, and make changes that are in your best interest. If you try to please others, you will end up being disappointed and taken for granted. Partnerships should be based on equality and cooperation. Home improvements are favored. ««««

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Put your time and effort into professional gains, upholding your reputation and updating whatever isn’t up to your standards. Stay on top of situations that influence partnerships, legal matters and financial gains. ««

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Participate in events that connect you to people who share your opinions and goals. Personal relationships, love and romance will change your life. You’ll make a good impression using your intelligence and wit, not by overspending or making unrealistic promises. ««««« BIRTHDAY BABY: You are creative, unique and passionate. You are driven and unpredictable.

‘name change’ BY PAUL COULTER The Universal Crossword/Edited by Timothy E. Parker

ACROSS 1 Camp beds 5 Green car that’s often blue 10 X, to Xanthippe 13 Districts 15 Dentist’s direction 16 Backstabber 17 Napoleon conflict 20 Of a heart chamber 21 Erik Killmonger, to Black Panther 22 C, Ar, B, O or N 23 Primitive shelters 25 Nightclub party 27 Annexes 28 Napoleon seller 33 “Victory is ours!”

34 Country singer Black 35 Opera villain’s voice, often 39 Buffoon 40 Tennis ace Naomi 41 Late bedtime 42 It really bites 44 Napoleon book

6 Chanel of fashion 4 50 Chihuahua boy 51 Kind of city election 53 Crash site?

55 Assistance 58 Nancy Reagan’s husband 59 Napoleon movie 62 Canola ___ 63 Suit well 64 Caramel-filled candies 65 Small Tide holder 66 Underground chamber 67 Cost of living?

DOWN 1 Jewish mysticism (var.)

2 Gave a speech 3 Foursome 4 Smooth fabrics 5 Grand-master, e.g.

6 Jazz bit 7 Call ___ question 8 Shows to a seat 9 “Comprende?”

0 Standards 1 11 Angel’s glow 12 Any thing 14 Bed board 18 Run off to marry 19 Belly buttons 24 Remove, as a branch 26 Fancy neckwear 29 Pageant crown 30 Notify 31 Ballpoint filler 32 En route guess, briefly 33 Ariana Grande’s “God Is a ___” 35 Fluffy neckwear 36 Raggedy Andy’s sister 37 Comedian Jerry 38 “Green Eggs and Ham” nickname 43 Fawning flattery 45 Temporary car 46 The Terminator heroine Sarah 47 Seer 48 Pay a visit 49 Firstborn

2 Bring ___ own beer 5 53 “Cut it out!”

54 West Virginia neighbor 56 In doubt 57 Annoying faucet sound 60 “Easy” letter trio 61 Giants great Mel

Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

Monday, February 25, 2019

D3

‘The Phantom’ comes back to Manila ALL ACCESS RICKY GALLARDO rickygallardoTFI@gmail.com

T

HE Phantom of the Opera took Manila by storm when it had a very successful seven week run in 2012.

Theater fans were swept off their feet by the outstanding performance of its lead actor, Jonathan Roxmouth, originally from South Africa, who continues to charm the world through his wonderful performances as a gifted stage actor. The following year, he won the Philippine edition of the BroadwayWorld Awards for his worldclass performance as the phantom.

Roxmouth has been recognized many times, including numerous Fleur du Cap awards from his native South Africa—for Best Performance in a Musical (The Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Jesus Christ Superstar) and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). The Fleur du Cap ranks high among the most coveted in the South Africa theater community, launched more than 50 years ago to honor the best works in theater.

The 31-year-old charmer has also played lead and important roles in classics like Sweeney Todd, Sunset Boulevard, Cats, West Side Story and Grease, to name a few. He is also a much admired recording artist, having eight albums to his credit.

Destiny played a big role in

JONATHAN ROXMOUTH plays The Phantom

Roxmouth’s young career as he was only in his mid-20s when he first wore the now iconic mask of The Phantom. “Way back in 2011, I was cast as Raoul and was tasked to perform six times weekly, then I was also told I’ll be playing The Phantom twice a week as alternate to the main actor. By some twist of fate, he had to leave the show for medical reasons and I was asked if I could take on his role indefinitely,” he shared, adding, “I was

definitely overwhelmed, quite scared frankly and there were a lot of emotions going on in my head. But the challenge was there and I took it on.”

Roxmouth is also touted to be the youngest English-speaking actor to have taken on the difficult role of The Phantom and he is aware that the pressure is immense. “The role is both physically demanding and vocally challenging, and I try to make my take on the character as

Yasmien again showcases dramatic chops in ‘Hiram na Anak’ THEY say a mother’s love is unconditional. But how can you love a child whom you have treated as your own, after finding out that her true parents ruined your dreams of raising your real daughter?

Beginning today, February 25, GMA presents another compelling tale of a mother’s love for a daughter she raised as her own in Hiram na Anak, topbilled by Yasmien Kurdi and Dion Ignacio, together with Paolo Contis and Lauren Young.

After 10 years, Yasmien and Dion reunite to breathe life into the characters of Miren and Adrian, a happily married couple. Miren is a loving and kind woman who works as a midwife. Adrian, on the other hand, is a faithful gentleman and her one great love. Unfortunately, Miren has difficulties conceiving a child and the couple decides to adopt, a decision that dramatically changes the course of their lives.

Joining them are Paolo Contis as Benjo, a street-smart and arrogant former seafarer; and Lauren Young as Dessa, a strong-willed woman who never got over her anger toward her parents. Also in the cast are Empress Schuck, Rita Avila, Vaness del Moral, Sef Cadayona, Maey Bautista and Leanne Bautista.

Behind the drama are director Gil Tejada Jr. and headwriter Gina Marissa Tagasa. The series is another original creation of the GMA Drama group under the supervision of Senior Vice President for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable.

Hiram na Anak airs in the morning before the top-rating Eat Bulaga on GMA.

YASMIEN KURDI, Leanne Bautista and Dion Ignacio star in Hiram na Anak.

Indictments against R&B singer R. Kelly list 4 victims CHICAGO—Prosecutors on Friday charged R&B star R. Kelly with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four female victims, including three who were younger than 17. Below are details of the allegations in the grand jury indictments and outlined by the Cook County state’s attorney. Kelly’s attorney says the singer strongly denies the charges: CASE 1 Initials: H.W. Incidents occurred between: May 26, 1998, to May 25, 1999 Kelly faces: four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse Additional details: H.W. met Kelly at a restaurant where she was celebrating her 16th birthday, which she told the singer. Kelly’s manager gave her Kelly’s business card with the singer’s personal phone number on it and said Kelly wanted her to call.

The girl’s mother overheard the exchange and took the card, telling the manager her daughter was only 16. The girl later took the card from her mother’s purse and called Kelly, who told her to take a cab to his studio after her father had dropped her off at school.

Kelly had sex with her at his studio then told her to get an envelope of money from the receptionist, which contained “a large sum of money.”

The girl had sexual encounters with Kelly about once a month for a year.

CASE 2 Initials: R.L. Incident occurred between: September 26, 1998, and September 25, 2001 Kelly faces: two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse Additional details: Prosecutors have a video showing R. Kelly having sex with a girl who repeatedly says that she’s 14 years old. They received the video from the attorney of a man who was asked to retrieve it after talking with R. Kelly and the singer’s associates in 2001. The witness got the video, watched it and eventually turned it over to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The witness identified the girl in the video as the niece of an unnamed person, who later identified the girl as her niece.

The witness also said he could tell the video was made at Kelly’s home in suburban Chicago.

CASE 3 Initials: L.C. Incident occurred on: February 18, 2003 Kelly faces: one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse Additional details: A 24-year-old woman who worked as a hairdresser for Kelly was waiting

alone in a room for the singer so she could braid his hair. After Kelly came in, he said he didn’t want his hair braided that day. With his pants pulled down, he said he wanted his head massaged and pointed to his penis.

Kelly grabbed the woman by the head and tried to force her to perform oral sex but she was able to resist. Kelly then masturbated and ejaculated onto the woman and spit in her face.

The shirt she was wearing was submitted to the Illinois State Police for DNA testing and a semen sample matched Kelly’s DNA profile.

CASE 4 Initials: J.P. Incidents occurred between: May 1, 2009, and January 31, 2010 Kelly faces: three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse Additional details: The girl attended Kelly’s 2008 pornography trial, where he gave her his autograph after court one day. She told Kelly how old she was and he invited her to his house. Between May 1, 2009, and January 31, 2010, Kelly had sex multiple times with the girl, who was 16 at the time. Sometimes he would spit on her, slap her face and choke her.

The victim saved one of the shirts she was wearing when Kelly ejaculated on it and gave it to the Olympia Fields, Illinois, police department. It was submitted for DNA testing. AP

realistic and as humane as possible. I have to be both resilient and vulnerable in many occasions.”

The Phantom of the Opera first opened at London’s West End in 1986, and after two years, it came to Broadway in New York.

This Andrew Lloyd Weber musical remains as relevant as it was after 32 years, and it has just started its run at The Theatre at Solaire in Manila.

After the curtains close at the end of

March, Roxmouth will stay in Manila longer to prepare for his special solo concert scheduled on April 13, with memorable songs from musicals as part of his repertoire.

Manila has indeed fallen in love with Jonathan Roxmouth, and we would like to think that it is a mutual kind of admiration, a romance that started on the stage and will continue to be nurtured for a long, long time.

Style

D4 Monday, February 25, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Luxury eyewear fit for the season PRADA frames start at around P20,000+.

GMA Artist Center star Thea Tolentino MODEL and influencer Kaila Estrada

AND THEN SOME DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

I

F it is true that the eyes are the windows to the soul, then eyewear should be important, right? What we wear to help improve the way we see the world and also protect our eyes is important. But is it form before function or the other way around when it comes to eyewear?

Form and function, in this case, should go hand in hand. Luxury eyewear has more features that make wear more comfortable and effortless. For example, I have a pair of Burberry glasses with very flexible sides so that they don’t press into the sides of your head and give you a headache.

Designer eyewear brands such as Bvlgari, Giorgio Armani, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and many others also help shape the trends every season. For the Spring/Summer 2019 collection, popular styles are oversized frames, bolder designs, and gems and stones.

Giorgio Armani has its Heritage line with All About Details that emphasizes the vintage soul of the brand and its meticulous attention to detail. The line features a new, ultra-fine metal temple decorated with beautifully crafted leitmotif obtained by point-hammering the plain metal temple and bridge. The result? A truly timeless piece of supreme comfort and exquisite style.

On the other hand, Giorgio Armani’s Vintage Plaque has details such as refined acetate temple design with a vintage-effect matte

FILMMAKER Janina Manipol

rhomboidal metal plaque. The finishing touch is a laser-engraved logo.

Bvlgari opens the season with its best-selling Condotti curved metal temple and iconic enamel scales décor. The collection showcases trendy transparent layers with exclusive suspended serpent scales which emphasize iconic serpent’s eyes stepped brows on new fashionforward acetate shapes.

Cuore Sacro makes a grand entrance as Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring/ Summer 2019 addition. Featuring oversized cat-eye shapes with refined logo prints on a sacred heart embellishment, frames of the brand’s Damasco pattern are created through a quadri-layer structure that results in a chic and fashion-forward piece.

Dolce & Gabbana also showcases Griffes and Stones and Stones and Logo Plaque in this season’s offerings: an array of bold pieces in sparkling, shiny styles embellished by the iconic logo plaque for the perfect integration across product categories.

Prada’s opens the season with the Ornate, Core, Man Special Project and Metal Plaque collections, a multitude of edgy yet wearable high-end pieces. The Ornate collection features stunning styles with colorful frames and inserts that have distinctive flame embellishments—an homage to the collaboration done with the footwear design that was released during the FW18 catwalk last year.

The Core collection is a mix of refined open wire profiles, modern matte finish contrasts and intriguing color accents which take inspiration from contemporary metal architecture and style. The Man Special Project and Metal Plaque campaigns are very unconventional in their choice of patterns, with contrasting colors and multilayered proportions in its designs. It is a vintage-classic, bold and on-trend collection perfect for everyday fashion wear.

Miu Miu, Burberry and Emporio Armani provide more classic options for more reserved looks. Guess, Esprit and Vedi Vero’s eyewear collections have unique angular shape frames and colorful styles that adapt to hip and cool millennial market trends.

Check out eyesocietyPH and @visionexpressPH on Facebook and Instagram for more information about these new styles.

Michael B. Jordan debuts as global face of Coach menswear LUXURY brand Coach has launched its men’s global advertising campaign for Spring 2019, with actor-producer Michael B. Jordan making his debut as the first global face of Coach menswear.

A star who is redefining Hollywood standards, Jordan captures the cool optimism of the Coach Guy in a series of images set “backstage” at a faded carnival.

Shot in a sun-lit desert landscape outside of Los Angeles, the photographs depict Jordan on a vintage car, dressed in the house’s reimagined iconic American silhouettes—a colorblock shearling jacket, a blue leather moto and a patchwork leather MA-1. The campaign also stars the new season’s hero bags, including the Signature Rivington Backpack, the Rivington Belt Bag and the Metropolitan Carryall.

Coinciding with the men’s Spring 2019 launch, Coach, which is exclusively distributed here by Stores Specialists Inc., also unveils its campaign for the men’s fragrance collection, starring Jordan. Set in a garage among chrome-plated reflections, the scene shows Jordan sitting in a vintage car and conveys the approachable masculinity of the Coach Guy.

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Monday, February 25, 2019 E1

How to figure out how much influence you have at work

I

By Maxim Sytch

NFORMAL power—which is unrelated to your formal title—can enable you to mobilize resources, drive change and create value for the organization as well as yourself. And in the modern workplace, informal power is increasingly pivotal and can secure your place within your organization.

Why? Nowadays workflow is migrating from specialized verticals to the white spaces between the verticals as companies respond more precisely to customer needs. This trend matters in organizations with cross-functional teams, account managers or a matrix structure.

Do you have the informal power to generate value and get things done? Here’s how to do a power audit: Step 1: List your top 10 contacts who enable you to get work done. Step 2: For each contact, assign a score from 1 to 10 indicating how much you depend on them. Step 3: Do the same in reverse, assigning a score to yourself.

Next, look for red flags, which could indicate that you lack informal power and are replaceable. Do all your contacts work on one team, function, product unit or office building? This could indicate a limited ability to generate value beyond the basic requirements of your job description.

Do your contacts provide you with more value than you return? Such relationships are difficult to sustain in the long run. Are your dependence scores low throughout? This could indicate the prevalence of transactional relationships. In contrast, high-dependence relationships can be imbued with values and relational dynamics that are not simply calculated.

Is all the value you give or receive concentrated in a couple of contacts? You could be vulnerable if you lose these contacts or your relationship changes.

So, now that you’ve conducted your audit, how can you improve your standing?

First of all, a prime way to rectify unfavorable power-audit scores is to earn relationships by delivering value to your contacts. Second, manage your job so that you can contribute to the workflows of multiple functions inside the organization as well as customers, outside partners or regulators. Third, get to know your stakeholders and collaborators better as individuals. Shared activities have an underestimated impact on expanding our networks beyond an insular group of immediate coworkers.

Your value should not be defined solely by your ability to perform a formal organizational role. If it is, you are likely in trouble; sooner or later, a cheaper, younger and smarter competitor will join the company. By creating value for diverse stakeholders and making yourself irreplaceable, you open possibilities for yourself within the organization and beyond.

Maxim Sytch is an associate professor at the University of Michigan.

Our digital lives don’t need to make us unhappy, unhealthy and unwise

By Carrie Barron, Nicco Mele Michael & Phillips Moskowitz

A

MERICAN adults now spend over 11 hours a day listening to, watching, reading or interacting with media.

That’s more time than we spend eating and sleeping. Out of this cloud of mood-altering material emerges a new set of health challenges. One in five Americans is clinically depressed. Tens of millions more suffer from mild to moderate anxiety and

other mood disorders. More work is required to understand the complex relationship between media diets and depression.

Now is the moment to pursue a three-pronged approach to all digital encounters, harnessing notions of lit-

eracy, hygiene and product labeling.

We have the opportunity to reshape our still primitive and often unruly digital culture into a safer, healthier, more rewarding domain.

First, we need a greater effort at the national level to increase digital literacy—to cultivate and inculcate a basic understanding of different content types; to reveal their effects on the brain and to emphasize their benefits for emotional well-being.

Second, it’s important to formulate and circulate simple principles governing digital hygiene—when to use and when to resist digital content to protect sleep, enhance interpersonal relationships, combat

loneliness or dislocation and improve other biological imperatives, like breathing. Literacy and hygiene aren’t just valuable; they’re the only realistic approach to countering simplistic calls for eliminating screen time altogether.

What else can be done? There is a broad consensus among decisionmakers in the tech sector, leaders in entertainment, policymakers and academics that it’s time for a transparent labeling system. Although the conversation is still in its earliest stages, there is optimism around an initiative to start categorizing various types of digital material.

Drawing from at least three prior

examples of success at scale—consider tobacco education, food literacy and ratings for movies and television—we believe the prospects for improving behavioral health through a combination of greater literacy, improved labeling and public awareness, aided by industry certification, are promising.

Carrie Barron is the director of the Creativity for Resilience program at Dell Medical School in Austin, Texas. Nicco Mele is the director of the Shorenstein Center on media, politics and public policy. Michael Phillips Moskowitz is founder and CEO of Moodrise and AeBeZe Labs.

The next era of globalization WOMEN WIN MORE SCIENTIFIC PRIZES, BUT

By James Manyika & Susan Lund

I

F you ask the average CEO what’s making him lose sleep these days, it’s a good bet that the answer will be tariffs and trade wars. But companies can’t afford to merely react to the news cycle. Our new research looks in detail at 23 different industry value chains across 43 countries to get a better view of what companies are already doing on the ground and how they add up to fundamental changes that will shape the next era.

First, the geography of global demand has radically changed over the past decade.

China, India and other emerging economies originally plugged into global value chains by making labor-intensive manufactured goods and exporting them to advanced economies.

Now their billion new consumers are a powerful force. They are lucrative consumer markets in their own right and their companies are a new source of competition.

While local demand is rising, emerging economies are also reaching a new level of industrial maturity. They are building out domestic supply chains and importing fewer of the intermediate inputs they need to keep their factories humming. Furthermore, developing economies are giving rise to their own multinational giants—companies now going global themselves through both exports and foreign acquisitions. Western multinationals are facing new competitive challenges in their own backyards.

Today multinationals are studying a map of global demand that doesn’t look anything like it did a decade ago, and they have new technologies at their disposal that reduce the importance of labor costs. The calculus that goes into decisions about where to locate operations and where to invest in new capacity is changing, particularly in the light of new automation technologies. Because shipping goods halfway around the world hampers re-

© 2019 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate)

sponsiveness and slows speed to market, some manufacturers are establishing or consolidating more regional supply chains to serve their major markets more efficiently.

These shifts in corporate decision-making are starting to show up in trade statistics. Factors such as proximity to customers, the quality of infrastructure and the availability of a more highly skilled workforce are assuming greater weight than the drive to find the lowest possible global labor costs. At the same time, service flows are growing 60 percent faster than trade-in goods.

With both industry structures and the global economy in flux, this is a moment to re-evaluate where to compete along the value chain and where to operate around the globe in the future.

James Manyika is the chairman of the McKinsey Global Institute, where Susan Lund is a partner.

MEN STILL WIN THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS ONES

W

By Brian Uzzi

E don’t do a great job of recognizing women’s contributions to science and innovation. Only two women have won the Nobel Prize in Physics in the nearly 100 years it has been conferred. And evidence suggests female academics are also less likely to receive grant funding due to gender bias. My collaborators and I wondered: Is one of the reasons why women are more likely to leave science than men because they don’t receive the same recognition? Do they not have access to the same incentives?

Our study focused on prizes in the biomedical sciences, the rationale being that if we’re going to find gender

equality anywhere in science, it would be in this field. Our initial results highlighted overall good news—The proportion of biomedical prizes awarded to women has risen steadily.

But there’s a not-so-silver lining.

When we looked at the association between gender and qualityof prizes awarded, we observed a major disparity: On average, women scientists win prizes associated with less money and prestige than men do. Female prizewinners earned an average of about 64 cents for every dollar won by men.

Importantly, as our forthcoming research suggests, there’s no evidence that the quality or value of women-led research is any lower than that of men, as measured by citations per article,

productivity or breadth of research topics studied.

Another interesting finding was that women are more likely to win prizes for service to biomedicine than awards for research. Not only are such awards considered lower status, but doing service work can be seen as taking precious time away from research activities that could result in greater recognition and advancement.

The bottom line: While on the surface it may appear that the gender gap has narrowed when it comes to science prizes, large inequity lurks just below.

It’s time for that to change.

Brian Uzzi is a professor at Northwestern University.

E2 Monday, February 25, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Education BusinessMirror

2019 Science Tech Fair showcases best student research projects

T

HE National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF)—the Department of Education’s (DepEd) foremost program that inculcates critical thinking, creativity and innovation among the youth— showcased research projects geared toward community development and sustainable solutions during its opening program held at the Tagaytay International Convention Center on February 19.

“Any creation, any learning and innovation output should be a solution—a response to a community concern. In innovation, anything that you do should always have a purpose. If you want to innovate a process, a system, or anything to create something new and original, it should always be for a reason,” DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Lorna Dig Dino underscored during her keynote address.

Spearheaded by DepEd Bureau of Curriculum Development-Curriculum Standards Development Division (BCD-CSDD), in cooperation with the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF), the 2019 NSTF unveiled a total of 66 researches and innovations by 126 student-researchers on life science, physical science, and robotics

STUDENT-RESEARCHER Romel Angelo Picazo of Region 12 showcases his prototype LED-sensor ozone and nitrogen dioxide detector during the 2019 National Science and Technology Fair.

and intelligent machines.

For the first time since its inception, the NSTF conducted a press briefing featuring its student-researchers. One of them shared with media and fellow delegates how she viewed this endeavor as a calling to serve the people: “In our case, it is to serve the unprivileged and underserved so research is not just for compliance, for competition, or in school.”

In the same press briefing, GBF Executive Director Grace Colet asked the student-researchers about the key challenges they face in carrying out their research projects. They shared their need for greater guidance from their advisers, a wider array of references, better research equipment and facilities, more opportunities for expansion of their

projects, and physical and financial assistance.

The GBF will support the travel and lodging expenses, allowances and visa fees of the NSTF winners who shall comprise the Philippine delegation to the 2019 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, from May 12 to 17.

The NSTF kickoff also underscored the importance of intellectual property, as reflected in the message of DepEd Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Josephine Maribojoc who emphasized that every creator, inventor and writer is entitled to protection of the creations of his or her mind, original works and intellectual property.

“But every creator, inventor and writer is also a learner whose access to intellectual property stimulates his or her mind to wander, discover and create. That essential truth needs to find its way into striking a

balance between protecting the interest of the intellectual-property rights holders and the interest of the general public and, more particularly, the learners in our schools to access intellectual property,” Maribojoc said.

Andrew Michael Ong, director for the World Intellectual Property Organization—a sponsor of the 2019 NSTF, together with One Meralco Foundation—discussed generating ideas from patent information in one of the plenary sessions. Meanwhile, Dr. Toni-Jan Keith Monserrat from the University of the PhilippinesLos Baños presented on coding in a Google classroom.

Other highlights of the 2019 NSTF kickoff included the opening of poster exhibits and the onsite evaluation of the research projects.

BCD Director Jocelyn Andaya and Legal Affairs Director Suzette Ganaban Medina also attended the exhibit.

ing below the poverty line, helping increase their incomes and uplifting their lives at the same time.

Coming in second place was the cofounder of Antipara Exploration Inc., Aaron Hilomen. His start-up delves in 3D underwater geospatial mapping and analytics that use a custom-designed algorithm that can automatically analyze and assess marine resources. This technology is a scalable solution to access and map marine resources for food security and sustainability, the management of which is crucial for food security, especially in archipelagos like the Philippines.

Last, UPROOT team lead Robi del Rosario came in third place with his urban-farming project that creates community-based farms within the city, producing natural and sustainably grown plants and fish locally, lowering food miles and ensuring freshness of produce. This commu-

nity-based agricultural effort helps make food more available, accessible and affordable, in line with their belief that no Filipino should go hungry.

These young entrepreneurs will receive financial support of up to P750,000 for the first prize to develop their project. They will also receive personalized support and coaching from Impact Hub and a communications campaign to publicize their project.

The winner of the Top Female Entrepreneur award, a new addition to the 2018-2019 Challenge to support women in business, is Cecilia Comia, an industrial designer who developed the Shift School Armchair, a modular chair made out of lightweight and durable recycled plastic that can transform and double as a makeshift bed in times of calamities.

The jury also awarded the Startup for Better Energy prize to Antipara Exploration Inc.

The 2018-2019 Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge, held simultaneously in 55 countries—37 of which are in Africa, 11 in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region, four in the Americas and three in Europe—reaffirms Total’s commitment to social and economic development in host countries worldwide.

By helping innovative young entrepreneurs to realize their projects, the Challenge strengthens the local social fabric.

The second Startupper of the Year

by Total Challenge received nearly 50,000 entries, of which more than 15,000 were fully completed. In all, 825 finalists presented their projects to a jury of experts, with 165 winning prizes.

The first-prize winner in each country will see their project presented to the international grand juries that will pick the six grand winners from all 55 countries.

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‘Education cannot be used as carrot on a stick’

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28

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Contributor

ATIONAL Youth Commission (NYC) Chairman Ronald Cardema continues to draw flak for asking President Duterte to withdraw the scholarships of students who join protests against his policies.

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) Chairman Leody de Guzman criticized Cardema, saying his recommendation is “outright callous, irresponsible, self-serving and unbecoming of the Commission he heads.”

The labor leader and senatorial aspirant also underscored to other critics of the NYC chief, including Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and members of the Otso Diretso slate, that he did not only infringe on the youth’s right to free expression, but also their universal entitlement to education.

De Guzman said Cardema showed his ignorance of the mandate of the NYC and was arming the commission by going after students critical of the government.

De Guzman emphasized that its thrust was to encourage the active participation of the youth in both governmental and nongovernment programs.

Since Cardema’s wife Ducielle Marie Suarez-Cardema is the leading nominee of Duterte’s Youth party-list, he said this could be his real motive to go against progressive party-lists.

“If Cardema seeks the youth’s active role in nation building, the first order of business is to educate them in order to develop a keen political

sense and arm them with the tools for critical thinking,” said the senatorial bet under Partido Lakas ng Masa.

“By promoting the opposite, he is only galvanizing their belief that this administration is tyrannical and vengeful of critics,” he added. The BMP chairman also lambasted the statement of Otso Diretso bet Pilo Hilbay, who said that scholarships must be based on merit.

“I beg to disagree with those holding an elitist perspective on who should receive state subsidies. Everyone should be a government scholar.

The right to education is universal.

Anybody who seeks an education should be automatically provided for and not be discriminated against,” de Guzman said.

Even if the government is at its most autocratic form, he stressed that the right to education should not be compromised in such a way that the constitution guarantees it should receive the highest allocation in the national budget.

Government subsidies for education, he noted, cannot be used as a carrot on a stick to induce their desired behavior and opinion of the youth on the administration.

“The scholars owe nothing to the President, Cardema or the senators who have claimed to have championed free education or any other social programs of the government.

Those funds the government spends is borne out of the taxes automatically deducted from employees’ wages,” de Guzman said.

The labor activist called on the youth to stand with workers—the real benefactors of their education.

FEU unveils centennial tree Winners of Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge announced to raise funds for tamaraws

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JURY of local experts recently selected the winners of the 2018-2019 Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge, a competition that promotes and supports the youth and their creativity by awarding financial support, coaching and visibility for the winning ideas and start-ups. The winners were awarded at official ceremony held on February 8, at Green Sun Hotel.

T he three w inners of the Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge in the Philippines are: Mark Gersava is the Philippines’s first ever Startupper of the Year. He is the chief executive farmer and resident research and development expert of Bambuhay, a social enterprise that creates sustainable and eco-friendly bamboo products made by individuals in poverty-stricken provinces. Bambuhay provides sustainable livelihood and employment to a growing number of Filipinos liv-

‘Best Practices in Managing Cost and Profit’

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LLIS DAVISON, entrepreneur and regular contributor to Macworld and TidBITS, said the three most important factors to determine your business success are cost, revenue and profit. Your business may show a high revenue, but if your costs are higher, there will be no profit. If capital runs out, your business is destined to declare bankruptcy. Therefore, achieve competitive advantage for your organization through cost leadership.

The Center for Global Best Practices (CGBP) is launching a two-day training, entitled “Best Practices in Managing Cost and Profit,” to be held on March 27 and 28, at Manila Marriott Hotel, Pasay City.

This program is accredited by the Professional Regulations Commission. Accountants attending this program will earn Continuing Professional Development credit (CPD) units.

This two-day training seeks to

enhance knowledge and skills of CEOs, CFOs, finance directors and managers, comptrollers, financial analysts, budget officers, bookkeepers, entrepreneurs and anyone dealing with managing cost and profit across the value chain of a business. This program will teach the process of initially locating costs in the financial statements and applying the Du Pont method of analyzing profitability as the starting point of strategic analysis. This will subsequently transform the same into strategic cost management.

Attending participants will also learn value-chain analysis, strategic positioning analysis, cost-driver analysis, activity-based costing and customer profitability analysis.

Grab the opportunity to learn from the accounting guru, Dr. Rufo R. Mendoza, CPA, who was the chairman of finance and accounting department and program director of the master

in development management in public finance at the Asian Institute Of Management. He was the vice chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy and the chairman of CPD Council for Accountancy.

His consulting experiences include engagements with The World Bank, Australian Agency for International Development, United States Agency for International Development, United Nations Development Programme and European Commission. He has written four books and 21 research and technical papers. He is a national awardee as Outstanding CPA in Professional Development (2008) and in Government Service (2010) of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Registration is open to the general public. CGBP is also an accredited training provider of the Civil Service Commission. Attendees from the government can earn points for

their career advancement and are exempted from the P2,000 limit when attending training conducted by the private sector based on DBM Circular 563 dated April 22, 2016. Interested participants are encouraged to avail themselves of the early registration savings and group discounts for three or more attendees. Seats are limited and preregistration is required.

Check www.cgbp.org, for a complete list of best practices programs, including Professionalizing the Family Business—The RIGHT Way; Best Practices in Implementing Business Controls; Best Practices in Setting Up an Internal Audit System; Finance for Nonfinance Managers; How to Really Read Financial Statements; Taxation 101; How to Structure Salaries, Wages and Benefits; and many more. For inquiries, you may call landlines in Manila (+63 2) 842-7148/59 and (+632)5568968/ 69; in Baguio (+6374)423-2914; and in Cebu (+6332) 512-3106 or 07.

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N line with the culminating celebration of the 90th founding anniversary of Far Eastern University (FEU), the Alumni Relations Office, in partnership with the Nicanor Reyes Memorial Foundation, recently unveiled the FEU centennial tree.

Prominently placed at the ground floor of the admission building, the tree aims to acknowledge and give recognition to donors of the OneFEUfund campaign. This initiative also provides an avenue for members of the FEU community, its friends, and partners to help lay down the foundation for future tamaraws until the 100th founding anniversary of the university in 2028.

Through the program, OneFEUfund channels its proceeds to support the following programs: n Scholarships and financial aid. FEU funds an average of over 3,500 scholars every year, or about 11 percent of the total student population, with future-ready skills to help them achieve their academic and career goals; n Faculty development and research. FEU has programs to support faculty members in their doctoral studies abroad. FEU also funds research in areas, such as biodiversity, urban renewal, public health, genetics, sociolinguistics and indigenous cultures. Sports Development. FEU supports student-athletes through international training and competition, coaches’ development, academic support and allowances;

n Artistic Development. FEU creates opportunities for student-artists to compete abroad, internationalize their education and further develop their artistry; and n Community Service. FEU continues to lead the conservation of endangered tamaraws in Mindoro, build homes for the homeless, provide entrepreneurial programs, give hope to those in prisons and provide assistance to victims of calamities. These projects are supported by the Volunteerism Services and Tamaraw Volunteers, a university-wide student volunteer organization.

The launch of the centennial tree was led

by Chairman Emeritus Dr. Lourdes R. Montinola, Chairman Aurelio R. Montinola and Dr. Rosalind Wee. Present during the event were FEU Board of Trustee members Sherisa Nuesa, Gianna Montinola, Ramon Fererros (president of IAS Alumni Association); FEU Green and Gold Outstanding Alumni Awardees Victoriano Cruz (president of the FEU Alumni Foundation), Dr. Karen Remo, Hernando Advento and Angel Bautista. Wee, an Outstanding Alumna and the very first donor, gave the response on behalf of the first set of donors.

“Through OneFEUfund and the centennial tree, the road to supporting future tamaraws becomes participative. Together with the alumni, we can uphold the university’s mission of producing the next generation of well-rounded and future-ready students,” FEU President Dr. Michael Alba said.

IMPROVING LITERACY ONE LIBRARY AT A TIME

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ITH the advent of technology and digital innovations, the relevance of public libraries, physical books and educational materials is being challenged. The majority of Filipinos have turned to online platforms and apps to access various reading materials.

For Quintin Pastrana, founder and managing director of the Library Renewal Partnership (LRP), these advancements actually drive the need to build more community education centers, especially for those residing in rural areas with little to no access to knowledge—physical or virtual.

More than anything, it calls for the local government to both revive and enliven the purpose of libraries in cities and towns, big or small.

“Globally, we have seen how libraries have transformed as community centers where they’ve turned into hubs for community gatherings, alternative classes, entrepreneurial spaces and even venues for disaster relief operations, and we’ve observed the same trend happening in the Philippines, too,” Pastrana said.

“Libraries are providing communities with third spaces, which are a universal benefit and vital feature of modern societies, allowing democratic access for citizens regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic background and religion to come together in a conducive environment to learn, collaborate and grow as individuals and as a community.”

What began as a research paper in Oxford up to its project fruition in his hometown in Kalibo, Aklan, LRP is now a strong coalition of local and international partners building community education centers and libraries in different remote areas in the country. LRP currently works with a number of government agencies and key partners to build libraries with educational materials for public use.

The goal is to share love and knowledge to over 2 million Filipinos across the country, especially those in the farther areas where access to libraries is limited. It has already established 950 libraries dispersed throughout remote communities, such as Sagada, Mountain Province; Kalibo, Aklan; Lubuangan, Kalinga; and Tiwi, Albay.

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Marketing BusinessMirror

Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Monday, February 25, 2019 E3

HUMANITY WORKING IN HARMONY

WITH TECHNOLOGY T

PR Matters

By Bong R. Osorio

ECHNOLOGY in marketing and communications—including public relations—is accelerating in high speed. And technology and the impact it creates to our personal and professional lives is here to stay. Whether we accept that technology has changed the PR practice for the better—or for the worse—it will undoubtedly play an aggressive role in the profession’s evolution.

Keep our seat belts on. There will be more twists and turns coming.

PR Matters has shared several articles on digital technology and its impact on business and life. This column adds to the list the Augmented Humanity Report released recently

by Isobar, a leading global digital agency under the Dentsu Aegis Network. It is an exploration of five digital advances that investigates the extent to which humanity will work in harmony with technology to expand and enrich life in 2019 and beyond.

Written by the innovation and strategy experts across Isobar’s 85 offices in 45 markets, the study builds on the examination of the changing nature of the interface of human relationship with technology: from how we work and play to how we travel, shop, spend our leisure time and engage with brands.

The report is centered around a belief that technology augments our experience of the world, allowing us to work more efficiently, to live healthier lifestyles, to make better human decisions and to expand our creativity.

It explains why this is an important moment in human history, outlines some of the myriad opportunities that these technological developments open and shine a light on some of the challenges posed by digital disruption. The five key outlooks are:

1. The evolving interface

HOW the intersection between humans and technology is changing.

Developments in voice (talk) and gaze (use of the eyes) as human machine interfaces allow people to go hands free when interacting with machines.

The removal of this physical layer reduces friction, which opens the possibility that you can access information as quickly as you can think about it.

It has been impossible to avoid talk of voice technology in 2018 and there’s no sign that this development will slow down in 2019. The popularity of technologies, such as Alexa, Google Home and Xiaomi’s Xiao artificial intelligence (AI) smart speaker are starting to make voice assistants a common feature in many households across the globe. This trend requires a new way of thinking about brand identity, and calls for a new level of creativity in voice search.

A key advancement in this space is the way in which personal data is now used across the health and wellness sector. As innovations in digital technology have transformed the health sector’s ability to develop services designed to inspire behavior change, new entrants, often more associated with the tech sector than health care, have entered the market. Google and Apple are increasingly seeing health as a growing area of their business and bringing disruptive thinking to the sector.

2. The human algorithm

HOW data can help us to better understand ourselves and enable better decisions. The use of personal data also has the potential to transform our experience of a range of services we use in our daily lives. As a result, we’re seeing service providers across a range of sectors offering services tailored to an individual level based on our behavioral data. What we’re seeing in this trend is the ability of consumers to take control of their health data to make more informed decisions about their personal care.

More and more people are taking their own personal health seriously, and using technology and the Internet to bypass doctors. The future

will see chronic health problems being solved by rigorous accession of data which will encourage changing health habits, diets and exercise routines, the lowering of stress and the ending of addictions—which people often don’t even know they have.

3. The fluid versus the collective self

HOW the digital world enhances personal and collective experiences. A feature of the development of digital technology is the extent to which it has enabled different realities to flourish. Humans can now enjoy more and more choices in almost everything they consume. From products to music, we are now able to choose at the click of a button the things which previous generations would have to work hard for to hunt down in the physical world.

A knock-on effect of this is a growing interest in personalized products, services and experiences which is driving a movement away from the mass production which drove the industrial revolution. Instead we’re moving toward a future of bespoke production at scale. Because of this drastically expanded range of choices, we now can behave in much more fluid ways—making us increasingly hard to categorize and therefore hard to target.

4. The trust paradox

HOW technology can help—or hinder—our understanding of the increasingly complex world around us.

The rise of fake news and content alongside developments like deep fake technology and advanced audio spoofing is making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between the fake and the real. To help humans decipher the truth in the future, machines will need to assist humans by augmenting our own ability to recognize the small details that make us human—identifying patterns that act as signals of a false reality that perhaps we can’t identify ourselves. As digital technology has made it possible for us to manipulate the truth, so we will also need to use it to verify the truth, leveraging machines to see through the false veneer that has been delivered as a mask to false realities.

Advertising is all about building myths; Like the idea that buying a certain deodorant would make us more attractive. We are still prone to buying into these myths—but only until we can prove them to be objectively false. Digital technology gives us increased ability to lift the curtain and see the truth behind these myths. After all, we live in a world of online reviews and platforms such as “Trustpilot,” which offers quick access to opinions.

However, just as we live increasingly in a world of fake news, the problem of fake reviews is growing just as fast. In an increasingly connected world, a brand’s advertising and PR supports, products and services are now more and more interconnected and, as a result, our relationships with brands have changed.

Brands are now more than what they say. Brands are what they do.

Consumers are now more cynical about brands—and the stories that they tell. As a result, the brands that will flourish in the future will be those

which move away from unattainable mythology and instead focus on purpose to create experiences that talk meaningfully and truthfully about the brand. To ensure authenticity and truth in the digital world, we’ve come up with mechanisms to keep us honest and leveraged new concepts such as digital certificates of authenticity enabled by blockchain to do so.

5. The transformed experience

HOW augmented humanity enables us to feel and experience the world differently and in deeper ways. Be-

yond the practical applications of technology which help make our lives easier, there are very real—but harder to quantify—impacts that technology can have on the way that humans experience the world. We will also see technology playing a bigger role in enabling and improving real world interactions, a decentralized shared economy for real life activities such as meeting new people over coffee. The company’s stated goal is to tackle social isolation by connecting people in real life.

Another key area of future development will be in the telepresence and copresence space. As barriers to international business continue to be broken down, the need to communicate more effectively across continents and time zones has become ever more urgent. As a result, the two technologies are developing dramatically, allowing individuals to be “present” in multiple places at the same time.

“Technology today plays a key role in driving relevance, scale and elevating human experiences. It is our job to harness its wonderful power and the potential for businesses and brands, in serving people better in the age of augmented humanity,” said Jean Lin, Isobar’s Global CEO.

We indeed need to embrace the power of technology. Today, we are on the threshold of a boosted era where technology is delineating the prospects of what humans can genuinely be adept at. The next chapter of transformational technological advances—wearable and embedded devices will unfasten human potential by tapping into almost all our day-to-day activities. We shall witness how digital is going to be ubiquitous and voice will be the lead game changer in the marketing and communications arena.

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier organization for PR professionals around the world. Bong R. Osorio is a communications consultant of ABS-CBN Corp., SkyCable, DentsuAegis Network and government projects among others, after retiring as vice president and head of the Corporate Communications Division of ABS-CBN. We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.

Perspective BusinessMirror

E4 Monday, February 25, 2019

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Worry about US-SKorea alliance grows before Trump-Kim summit

U.S. aircraft carriers USS Nimitz (left top), USS Ronald Reagan (left center) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (left bottom) participate with other US and South Korean navy ships during the joint naval exercises between the US and South Korea in waters off South Korea’s eastern coast. SOUTH KOREA DEFENSE MINISTRY VIA AP

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By Hyung-Jin Kim | The Associated Press

EOUL, South Korea—As President Donald Trump seeks a nuclear deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next week in Vietnam, some in Seoul are wondering if the fate of Washington’s decades-long military alliance with South Korea could be at stake.

Much of this worry is linked to Trump’s repeated assertions that the US military deployment in South Korea is too costly, and to his surprise suspension of some US military exercises with South Korea—including a major summertime drill—as a concession to Kim after their first summit in Singapore last year. Added to this concern are policies by South Korea’s liberal President Moon Jae-in that critics say favor engagement with North Korea at the expense of the alliance with Washington.

The broader US-South Korean alliance, sealed during the bloodshed of the 1950-53 Korean War, won’t be on the negotiating table during the summit in Hanoi on February 27 and 28. But some observers say its long-term future could be in doubt and that Trump may eventually withdraw some of the 28,500 US troops deployed in South Korea.

“The Korea-US alliance is seriously ill now,” Kim Taewoo, the former head of the governmentfunded Korea Institute for National Unification in South Korea, said in a recent speech.

US and South Korean officials maintain that everything is fine.

After agreeing to increase its contribution to the cost of the US military presence this year, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said last

week that Washington insists it has no plans to adjust troop levels. During a phone call with Moon on Tuesday, Trump also said that US-South Korea relations are better than ever, according to Moon’s office.

Trump said earlier this month that he had no plans to withdraw troops, but he has previously threatened to pull them from South Korea and Japan if those nations refused to pay more. After the Singapore summit, Trump also told reporters: “I want to bring our soldiers [in South Korea] back home.” While announcing the suspension of a major summertime military drill, Trump called the exercises “very provocative” and “tremendously expensive.”

US defense officials are not planning any troop reductions but some have indicated that they would not be surprised if Trump puts reductions on the table as part of his negotiations with Kim. Other possibilities that worry many in Seoul include that Trump will suspend or drastically downsize another major set of military drills this spring, or that he’ll settle for a deal where the North abandons its long-range missile program aimed at the US while not addressing the North’s shorter-range missiles targeting Seoul and Tokyo.

An extended stoppage of comprehensive training between the

IN this December 10, 2015, file photo, US and South Korean army soldiers pose on a floating bridge on the Hantan River after a river crossing operation, part of an annual joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States in Yeoncheon, south of the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas. AP/AHN YOUNG-JOON

allies could weaken the militaries’ fighting capacity, especially since many US soldiers rotate out of South Korea after less than a year of service, some experts say.

“Soldiers’ fighting power comes from training. If there aren’t any [big] joint drills for one year, we’ll have [US] soldiers who have never experienced such drills,” said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.

North Korea, on the other hand, which has described the drills as preparation for invasion and responded with its own costly exercises, would likely benefit. North Korea has said it was forced to develop nuclear weapons to cope with what it calls American hostility.

During the Singapore summit, Kim said he was committed

to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” which has previously meant the North would only denuclearize when the United States withdraws all its troops from South Korea and stops military drills with the South. In December, North Korea’s state media said it would never unilaterally abandon its nuclear program unless Washington first removes its nuclear threat.

Some are also concerned about reports that Trump may agree to declare the end of the Korean War, which ended with an armistice, as a security guarantee for the North.

Such a declaration, considered as a preliminary step before signing a peace treaty to formally end the war, could provide the North with a basis to step up its calls for a US troop pullout.

“If our security is shaken, foreign investments will be driven out of the country and stock prices will plummet,” said the analyst Moon, a retired brigadier general who took part in numerous military talks with North Korea.

Part of the debate in South Korea reflects a deep historical division over the US military.

For some, the US military rescued South Korea from the surprise North Korean invasion that started the Korean War. Others blame the United States for the 1945 division of the Korean Peninsula. Rallies that focus on the United States, both pro and anti, routinely take place in Seoul, but surveys show a majority of South Koreans support the US troop deployment.

On Wednesday in a central Seoul neighborhood, placards that

read “Let’s protect the Korea-US alliance, our lifeline, with our lives!” could be seen along with about 20 US and South Korean flags. Nearby, about a dozen people rallied behind a banner calling for Washington not to threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula. “Are we America’s colony?” one participant shouted.

Since the war, the US has stationed tens of thousands of troops in South Korea to guard against North Korean attack. Meanwhile, South Korea has grown into an economically prosperous, faithful ally that has taken part in US-led wars in Vietnam, Iraq and elsewhere.

US troop numbers have gradually fallen over the decades.

After then President Richard Nixon withdrew about one third of the 60,000 US troops in South Korea in 1971, South Korean President Park Chung-hee ordered officials to covertly pursue a nuclear weapons program, which was later scrapped because of fear of US sanctions.

Former President Jimmy Carter, a critic of Park’s suppression of human rights, sought to implement a campaign promise to bring back all 40,000 troops from South Korea. But he was opposed by many advisers and ended up bringing back about 3,000.

The departure of even several thousand US troops could weaken the situation militarily because of the loss of both the soldiers and their weapons and equipment. But it could also hurt the US military’s efforts to counter a rising China.

“If [Trump] pulls back some of troops because of money issues...he’d have more to lose than he’d gain,” said analyst Kim Dongyeop at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul. “Under the viewpoint of a US-China security framework, I wonder if [Trump’s troop drawdown comments] are anything more than just rhetoric.”