BusinessMirror January 22, 2020

DOLLAR, SAMURAI BONDS POSSIBLE IN H1 T

LONGEST IN W. VISAYAS Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar (inset) recently inaugurated the Kalibo Bridge, the longest bridge in Western Visayas, just in time for tourists flocking to Kalibo for the Ati-atihan Festival. The opening of the P500-million two- lane, 770-linear meter bridge to vehicular traffic cuts travel time from Kalibo City to Caticlan from 75 minutes to 60 minutes, and is seen to boost tourism and commerce to and from the capital town of Kalibo. DPWH PHOTO

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HE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said it is possible the government will be issuing dollar-denominated global bonds, as well as yen-denominated samurai bonds within the first semester along with the euro-denominated bonds, as the government ramps up its borrowing program to support its spending plans.

Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said they are also eyeing a retail Treasury bond (RTB) issuance “as early as possible” although they are still trying to gauge market conditions.

This, after he said they already secured the approvals on the dollar-denominated global bonds.

Asked on the likelihood of government issuing euro bonds, as well as the dollardenominated global bonds in the first half of the year, Sta. Ana said: “Possibly, samurai also. You have to consider also Tokyo Olympics. So I mean, if you know everybody will

be busy in Japan at that time, so I don’t know the window of opportunity. We’re still evaluating lately.”

He added it is also possible that the samurai bonds would be issued earlier than the Tokyo Olympics, which is set to happen from July 24 to August 9.

As for the euro-denominated bonds, Sta. Ana said they have yet to decide on whether to push through with the planned euro bond sale but he said they had “highly successful initial feedback from investors, not only in Europe but also in Asia.”

Nonetheless, he said they are eyeing threeyear and a nine-year euro-denominated bonds, which are both of benchmark size.

Benchmark sized-euro bonds are equivalent to $500 million. For both tenors, this would amount to at least $1 billion.

However, he said this is not set in stone

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 104

Chilling effect on biz of deal reviews flagged T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) revealed on Tuesday another allegedly “onerous” contract between the government and the private sector, this time involving a land deal between Chevron Philippines and a subsidiary of the National Development Co. (NDC) that allowed Chevron to pay a “miniscule” rental fee to the government for more than four decades.

This, as Palace officials pressed their point that the transaction that allowed property giant Ayala Land Inc. to lease prime land from the University of the Philippines for the Technohub development in

Quezon City merits a review despite ALI’s clarification that the rental rate is P171, not P20 per square meter as claimed earlier.

Analysts, however, cautioned that while reviewing transactions

signals the Duterte administration’s seriousness to fight corruption, such could undermine investor confidence in the government’s guarantee of the sanctity of contracts.

“Definitely, we have to implement a totally transparent method of getting the best deal for the rental of all government property.”

—Dominguez

On the Chevron-NDC rental deal, the DOF said in a statement on Tuesday that Chevron is paying a monthly rental fee of just 74 centavos per square meter on a 120-hectare or 1.2-million-sq-m state property in Batangas. This is way lower than the current fair market value in that area of around P17.90 per square meter per month, the agency said.

See “Chilling effect,” A2

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@joveemarie

HE chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional A mendments on Tuesday said the panel will reconsider the resolution seeking to introduce amendments to the 1987 Constitution and the proposals of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

One of the proposals of the IATF is to include the Mandanas ruling, which will increase the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of local government units (LGUs).

In an interview, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, the panel chairman, said his committee will reopen its public hearings and consultations to discuss the proposed amendments submitted by the IATF, as well as its

PESO exchange rates n

previously approved Resolution of Both Houses.

“So we go back to the drawing board. We are going back to hear their proposals. So we are therefore not going to proceed yet with the plenary discussions on the proposed amendments,” said Rodriguez.

According to Rodriguez, one of the amendments presented by the body is the fiscal strengthening of the LGUs, which shall have a just share, as determined by law on the basis of their financial needs, organizational capacities, and resources, in all national taxes.

Under the Supreme Court ruling on Mandanas v Ochoa, “the share from the Internal Revenue Allotment of the local government units does not exclude other national taxes like customs duties.”

See “Cha-cha,” A2

Bernadette D. Nicolas

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 48 pages |

HOUSE, SENATE MOVE ON BUDGET FOR TAAL

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HE leadership of the House of Representatives has vowed to fast-track the approval of a P30-billion supplemental budget for areas affected by the Taal Volcano erruption.

If need be, House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said the House is willing to increase the amount of the supplemental budget to as much as P50 billion. “We are going to coordinate with the Palace to get the full details of the supplemental budget,” he added.

At the Senate, lawmakers moved to front-load passage of a P30-billion supplemental budget for Taal-affected areas to augment an assistance fund to help Taal’s disaster-stricken residents.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson suggested, however, that lawmakers first need to “find out how much is readily available in calamity funds of the national government [also called the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund] and the LGUs affected.”

House panel tackles reso for Cha-cha, Mandanas ruling’s inclusion eyed

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

yet and they can still “upsize if there’s ample demand.”

In terms of the RTBs, Sta. Ana said they have yet to determine the size of the RTBs but noted that these are usually “jumbo issuances.”

“So you can expect definitely more than what is actually offered in regular auctions,” he said.

In May 2019, the government issued euro bonds, the country’s first in 13 years.

It raised €750 million for its eight-year euro-denominated bonds. The debt papers were priced at a coupon rate of 0.875 percent.

The government also successfully returned to the renminbi market on the same month last year with its second issuance of panda bonds.

It was able to raise P19 billion from its threeyear renminbi-denominated bonds.

Lacson noted that “per the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 or RA 10121, LGUs are mandated to allocate at least 5 percent of their regular sources of income, including their IRA, for their LDRRMF. If unexpended since there are no calamities, the cumulative LDRRMF are kept in a special fund to be used in situations like the Taal eruption.”

He said the same provision of RA 10121 applies to all the municipalities and barangays affected or not by calamities.

The senator pointed out that Batangas province had “allocated P183 million in their 2019 annual budget alone for their PDRRMF although it appears 70 percent has been allocated for overhead expenses like MOOE, and only P55 million was for calamity.” He noted that “the same is true for the different municipalities and barangays within the province.”

See “Budget,” A8

China-funded bridges seen finished in ’21

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

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A worker at the Picnic Grove in Tagaytay shovels dried mud after days of ashfall from Taal Volcano’s phreatic eruption. The popular tourist place has yet to operate because there is so much to clean. Despite the Phivolcs’ Alert Level 4 warning of an imminent hazardous eruption, some establishments in Tagaytay are operational while others are still cleaning up to go back to business. NONIE REYES

HE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) expressed confidence that it will be able to complete the construction of the bridges funded by the Chinese government in 2021.

In a roundtable with the editors and reporters of the BusinessMirror, “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) Committee Chairman Anna Mae Lamentillo said construction of the Binondo-Intramuros and EstrellaPantaleon bridges is now in full swing.

Lamentillo said the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge is 27 percent complete while that of the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge is at 47 percent. The total cost of the two bridges is P4.86 billion.

See “Bridges,” A8

US 50.9440 n japan 0.4624 n UK 66.2883 n HK 6.5574 n CHINA 7.4187 n singapore 37.8316 n australia 35.0087 n EU 56.5275 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.5796

Source: BSP (21 January 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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DOH says on the ball in tracking coronavirus

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By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco | Correspondent

EALTH authorities are still investigating the case of a fiveyear-old boy with suspected case of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) who arrived in Cebu City from Wuhan, China, on January 12.

The Department of Health (DOH) expects the result to come out on Thursday, January 23.

“The samples tested positive

for nonspecific pancoronavirus assay; thus the specimen was sent to Australia to identify the specific coronavirus strain,” Health Secre-

tary Francisco T. Duque III said on Tuesday, adding that the boy is now admitted in a hospital in Cebu City.

Prior to entering the country, Duque said that the child, who arrived together with his mother, had fever, throat irritation and cough.

He also revealed that the boy’s condition is “stable and afebrile.”

Me a nwh i le, D r. R abi nd r a Abeyasinghe, World Health Organization country representative, said that they are working with WHO member-states to better understand the disease.

“At this point, there is still a lot of unknown issues, we are not sure of the source, if they came

from animal, or meat or another source.... We believe that there... may be human-to-human transmission,” the WHO official said, adding that “this is demonstrated by the fact that among those 222 confirmed cases” are 14 hospital employees who were caring for sick people. “So it points to possible to human transmission, but this may not be sustained,” he explained.

However, he stressed that it is still a premature situation.“We still need to understand better the mode of transmission, and what needs to be done specifically for management.”

At this moment, he added, the

‘Flagships will require minimal reclaimed land’

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HE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said most of the big-ticket infrastructure projects of the Duterte administration will require minimal reclamation work.

In a television interview last week, President Duterte had expressed his reservations to allowing additional reclamation projects in Manila Bay. “He [the President] has expressed that a number of times, not just once.

As you know, Neda is not directly involved anymore in the approval of reclamation projects. And so we’ll see how it’s going to impact those who are planning or have already approved reclamation projects,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.

The Neda noted that out of the 100 flagship projects, only the Bata-

an-Cavite interlink bridge, which is being designed with Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance, will require reclamation.

The P187-billion Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge involves the construction of two long-span bridges with a total length of 31 kilometers and connecting Mariveles, Bataan, to Corregidor to Naic, Cavite.

The feasibility study of the project is being funded under ADB’s $200-million Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility (IPIF).

Neda Officer in Charge Undersecretary Jonathan L. Uy said the reclamation for the project is now being undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). “[In the case of ] most reclamation projects, if they are found to be not environmentally sustainable, there

Chilling effect. . .

Continued from A1

“Under the terms of its lease contract with the NDC subsidiary Batangas Land Co. Inc. [BLCI], Chevron has been paying a miniscule rental fee to the government for the 1.2 million sq m industrial park in San Pascual, Batangas, that it uses as an oil import terminal. At P10.66 million per year since 2010, the rent Chevron has been shelling out is only around 4 percent of the P257.76 million per year that current fair market rental rates in the area would suggest,” DOF said.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, who is also an NDC board member, said the request to renew the lease deal, which he described as “another government contract with onerous provisions,” was recommended by some offices to the Privatization Council.

The Council, however, found the contract “grossly disadvantageous based on current fair values.”

To comply with the guidelines set by the Privatization Council, the DOF-attached agency Privatization and Management Office (PMO) then compared the lease terms of the BLCIChevron deal with the fair market value of the land in the Batangas area, using data from appraisal reports of the NDC and the asset pool of the PMO. It was during the assessment that PMO discovered the “onerous” provisions of the deal favoring Chevron.

For over 44 years—from 1975 to 2019—the rentals paid by Chevron reached only P146.51 million or about P3 million per year, in addition to real property taxes paid by Chevron under the lease agreement, according to the documents submitted to the NDC board.

“This property’s current market value is estimated at about P4.9 billion to P5.3 billion— translating into a rental yield of only about 0.2 percent of the property’s value,” the DOF said.

Dominguez said “a rental yield of less than 1 percent is surely grossly disadvantageous to the government and the Filipino people” based on current standards that the State imposes on

are mitigation measures which may entail changing the nature of the input, therefore reclamation may not be the only solution,” said Uy. “So as far as planning these projects are concerned, we adhere to the requirements that these be environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable,” he added.

The Neda is currently crafting the Manila Bay master plan to provide a comprehensive framework for the sustainable development and management of the entire Manila Bay area.

It is envisioned to guide future decisions on programs and projects within the Bay area. The project is being funded together with the Dutch government and focused on ensuring environmental sustainability in Manila Bay. Uy said the Neda has finalized the

similar contracts.

Even though the lease rate was increased in 2010 to the current rental amount of P10.66 million per year, the DOF said this is still way below fair market rental rates in the province.

“If the amount is adjusted to current fair market rates, the rental rate by now should be above P20 million a month or P257.76 million annually,” it added.

Asked whether he will recommend nonrenewal of the contract or a renegotiation to reflect prevailing market lease rates, Dominguez told reporters in a text message: “Definitely, we have to implement a totally transparent method of getting the best deal for the rental of all government property.”

American firm Caltex acquired the Batangas and other prime properties owned by the government under the 1946 Bell Trade Act passed by the United States Congress.

Under this law, American entities were granted “parity rights” on land ownership in the country as a condition for the US government’s payment of $800 million war damage claims to the Philippines. Parity rights had allowed American companies to own land in the Philippines just like Filipinos.

These parity rights were extended for 20 years through the Laurel-Langley Agreement signed in 1955 by then-Sen. Jose Laurel and Sen. James Langley. Such parity rights ended in 1974.

With the expiration of the 1946 Bell Trade Act, Caltex—and now its subsidiary Chevron Philippines—was granted preferential treatment in continuing to occupy and use various real properties, including the Batangas industrial park.

Issued by then-President Marcos, Letter of Instruction (LOI) 276 required the lease-back of the properties occupied by Caltex for a maximum of 50 years from 1975, at minimum rates of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent of the property’s valuation in 1974.

Ayala-UP deal

Also on Tuesday, Presidential spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said he will recommend to President Duterte the review of the UP TechnoHub lease agreement between AyalaLand and UP. Panelo on Tuesday insisted the lease deal is disadvantageous to the government even if AyalaLand denied the former’s claim that it has been paying only P20 per square meter in monthly rentals to the state university.

In an interview on Tuesday, Panelo said that even if the effective lease rate paid to UP is actually P171 per square meter—as claimed by AyalaLand—this would still be unfair.

“In other words, they’re earning...how much do they earn in a month? Assume that a build-

master plan which will also be used as a model to plan for other coastal cities, such as Davao and Cebu, as well as others across the country.

“The output is now being used by the Manila Bay Task Force of DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] with regard to proposed interventions particularly [the] regulatory aspects [of the Manila bay],” Uy said.

Manila Bay is the catchment basin of major rivers in the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Bataan, Laguna and Cavite.

In 2014, the Department of Tourism pushed for the crafting of a “tourism master plan” for the Manila Bay Region, while the private sector wanted a comprehensive master plan to spur economic development in the area. Cai U. Ordinario

ing earns P1 million, that’s small, because many people are renting in that building. Assume an average P1 million, with 16 commercial buildings.

Then they have P16 million in a month, multiply that by 12 months, times 25 [years]. Okay, do the math,” he added in a mix of English and Filipino.

Pressed on what would be government’s next step, Panelo said he would tell the President what he learned about the lease agreement and the statement made by AyalaLand.

“I will recommend to the President if this is true, on the basis of a study and on the basis of their admission that only P10.4 billion will be taken by the government—UP at the end of 25 years—then I will recommend to the President, let’s study this; it seems the government was shortchanged here,” Panelo added.

Panelo’s remark came as the government is also crafting new contracts with water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water.

Manila Water is a subsidiary of the Ayala Group.

Experts weigh in

Asked what would the administration gain from reviewing allegedly onerous contracts, UP Political Science Professor Jean Encinas-Franco said the government wants to show that it is “serious in its bid to address corruption.”

For Michael Ll. Yusingco, law yer and nonresident research fellow at the Ateneo School of Government, labeling a duly perfected commercial contract as onerous without the proper, and thorough, review and analysis is “very irresponsible.”

In an e-mail to BusinessMirror, Yusingco said, “The terms and conditions of contracts are valid until declared otherwise by the court. Duly perfected contracts must be respected and must be implemented.”

He added that even though the administration can review all government contracts with the end view of determining whether any of them have become onerous for the government, it will still not bode well for the country’s investment climate for the government to make public announcements with a threatening tone on these alleged onerous contracts.

“To announce this publicly and with a threatening tone will likely send a chilling message to investors, current and prospective.

Investors will again be tempted to entertain thoughts doubting whether they can rely on the government to adhere to the non-impairment of contracts rule. With these doubts, it will be doubly difficult to convince investors to take the risk and put capital and money into our economy. And this does not bode well for a country in dire need of private investments,” he said.

guidance of WHO is to use the tried and tested guidelines that were used for prevention infection and control during previous coronavirus infections—the MERSCoV (Middle East respiratory syndromec coronavirus) and the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

“We are advocating following those same precautions and management guidelines, until we get clearer information that will help us give more specific guidlines,” Abeyasinghe said.

The DOH said the boy tested negative for MERSCoV and SARS. His specimen was sent to Melbourne, Australia, for further testing.

Meanwhile, Duque said that the

Cha-cha. . .

three Chinese nationals who were under quarantine are now out of the hospital.

According to Duque, they did not manifest or “did not fit the case definition as prescribed by the WHO interim guidelines on the new coronavirus.”

He noted that the three Chinese citizens had no history of travel to Wuhan, and had no known contact with a confirmed 2019nCoV case, SARS illness case or sick animals.

Duque appealed to the public, especially the media. “We have to very prudent when it comes to giving information and that it should be evidence-based.”

Continued from A1

Rodriguez said, “[Local governments] wish that the Mandanas ruling will be ‘constitutionalized,’ in other words, the decision of the Supreme Court will be placed in the provisions of the Constitution.”

While supporting the inclusion of the Mandanas ruling, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said the proposal means an additional 1.6-percent deficit for the government, as “it will take away P348 billion from the national government.”

The IATF said there is a need to “constitutionalize” the Mandanas ruling because it will ensure the “ just and fair” share of the LGUs in the computation of the IRA, which is not limited to the national internal revenue taxes but also includes customs duties and other taxes collected by the Bureau of Customs.

“Such action cannot be undertaken by mere legislation, since the guarantee of just and fair share of the LGUs in the IRA is in the Constitution itself. As such, it requires an amendment of the Constitution, not just a mere legislation,” the task force said.

Also, it said the increased share from IRA will resolve the perennial problem of unfunded mandates being passed by the national government to the LGUs. “The increase in IRA share is an effective tool to empower the LGUs in their spending priorities,” it added.

Economic provisions

Rodriguez said the task force also backed the proposal amending the economic provisions of the 32-year-old charter.

“They are totally in support of the proposal amending the provisions limiting investments in the

Taal recovery. . .

Salceda said the proposal aims to develop a long-term socioeconomic reconstruction program for communities most directly impacted

by Taal’s activity, embedding adaptation in infrastructure and social investments.

“The [TERRA] plan shall be based on the principle of building back better forward which should go beyond restoring the area to its former state or condition but instead use this opportunity to leapfrog area development given its proximity to Metro Manila—the seat of economic power,” Salceda said.

Unde r t he bi l l , t he pro posed Taal Commission shall formulate plans, programs, and projects for the relief, rehabilitation, resettlement, and livelihood services, as well as infrastructure development in the affected areas.

The commission shall be responsible for tapping the resources of the private sector to encourage its cooperation in implementing the Philippine Government’s reconstruction strategy.

It shall also raise and mobilize

country, in case of public utility, natural resources, mass media, education, and land. They are supporting the placing of ‘as may be provided by law,’” he added.

The setting up of Regional Development Authorities that will turn the current recommendatory Regional Development Councils into decision-making bodies was also proposed.

“The proposal will make sure the distribution of the IRA will not only be based on population and land area. It would be based on cases of poverty incidence and the needs of the communities,” Rodriguez added.

Other constitutional amendments presented by the task force are related to campaign finance transparency, anti-turncoatism and anti-political dynasty.

National Chairman of the Constitutional Reform panel Vicente Homer Revil said they visited 62 provinces for consultations before presenting the proposals.

“Hopefully, we can make these amendments a reality within the term of the President,” he said.

T he com m it tee -version of the resolution seeks to amend Articles VI (Legislative Department), X (Local Government), XII (National Patrimony), XIV (Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports) and XVI (General Provisions) of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines.

The resolution also seeks to amend the provisions of the Constitution, particularly Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Section 7, Section 10, Section 11, of Article XII or the National Patrimony and Economy by inserting unless otherwise provided by law. These amendments seek to relax the restrictive foreign ownership to attract more foreign investments.

Continued from A8

funds, especially grants and deeply concessional loans, to bankroll reconstruction.

The bill promotes the safe, sustainable, long-term development of what shall be referred to as the South of Manila Growth Corridor (SMGC) through the fast-tracking of the construction of strategic infrastructure, as well as the mapping of safe areas for industrial, commercial, and residential development.

“The commission shall endeavor to promote the SMGC and its environs as one investment and tourism destination. Toward this end, the commission shall establish an interprovincial tourism development plan, and a medium term SMGC growth and investment strategy which employs the comparative advantages of SMGC and its surrounding provinces,” the bill added.

Besides Salceda’s bill, six lawmakers filed House Bill 5966 also creating the Taal Volcano Rehabilitation and Development Commission, and establishing a P50-billion Taal Volcano Rehabilitation and Development Fund.

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ASG bandits kidnap five Indonesian fishermen

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AKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesian authorities said Tuesday that five of the country’s citizens have been kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the southern Philippines.

The five being held hostage were among eight Indonesians on a Malaysian fishing boat that was fishing in Malaysian waters before it was seen entering Philippine waters on Jan. 16, 2020, Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said in a news statement.

It said the boat was seen reentering Malaysian waters the same day, with only three people on board. The ministry said those three men told authorities that suspected ASG gunmen took the other five fishermen, including the captain.

“The Indonesian government deeply regrets the recurrence of the abduction of our citizens on a Malaysian fishing vessel,” the news statement said.

The ministry said Indonesia was working closely with the Philippine government to coordinate a rescue.

It was the latest of a series of kidnappings by ASG, and came a day after Philippine forces rescued Muhammad Farhan, an Indonesian who was held in the southern jungles of Sulu province for nearly four months.

He was the last known Indonesian being held hostage by ASG. The ASG, which is on US and Philippine lists of terrorist organizations, is notorious for bombings, extortion and kidnappings for ransom in the volatile southern Philippines. It has been weakened by years of US-backed Philippine offensives but remains a security threat.

Government data showed some 39 Indonesians were kidnapped and held hostage by ASG between 2016 and 2019. Of the total, one hostage died while the others were freed. AP

Day 10: Deceptive lull in Taal Volcano’s behavior may presage danger–expert

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

& Ashley Manabat Correspondent

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ESPITE the lull, volcano experts said hazardous explosive eruption reminiscent of Taal Volcano’s most devastating eruptions in the past can happen anytime.

This, as Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) stood firm that high-risk areas within the 14-kilometer radius from the main crater should be off-limits to human activities.

“If it’s safe, we will be the first to let [the people] know,” said Ma. Antonia Bornas, chief of Phivolcs Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division.

Phivolcs latest volcano bulletin issued at 8 a.m. on January 21, Day 10 after the eruption on January 12, says activity in the main crater in the past 24 hours has been characterized by weak steam emission that generated ash plumes 500 meters to 600 meters high and dispersed ash southwest of the main crater. Sulfur-dioxide, or SO2, emissions has measured an average of 344 tons/day, way below the volume of emissions in the past few days.

Also, from 5 a.m. of January 20 to 6 a.m. of January 21, the Philippine Seismic Network (PSN) plotted a total of five volcanic earthquakes registering at magnitudes 1.6 to 2.5 with no felt event, much weaker than what was previously observed.

However, the Taal Volcano Network, which can record small earthquakes undetectable by the PSN recorded 448 volcanic earthquakes including, 17 low-frequency earthquakes.

“Such intense seismic activity likely signifies continuous magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive

activity,” Phivolcs maintained.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Bornas warned that if a major eruption occurs, there will be very limited time for people who may be caught in these areas to flee to safety.

Ph ivolc s volc a no bu l let i n warned that if such explosive eruptions happen within the forecast period and the eruption column exceeds 5 kilometers, ash may also drift over Metro Manila and parts of Laguna, Rizal, Marinduque and Quezon provinces.

Despite the seeming calmness of the volcano over the past few days as suggested by the reduced volume of sulfur oxide emitted by Taal Volcano and weaker volcanic earthquakes, there is strong evidence of hydrovolcanic and magmatic activity may be happening beneath the volcano.

Such is the fluctuating sulfuroxide emission, the weak tremors that can still be detected by more sensitive seismic instruments, plus the swelling of landmass around the vicinity of the volcano that had left fissures and cracks.

Taal is a complex volcano with its 47 craters. Over centuries of volcanic eruptions, lava alternately flows out from these craters.

Bornas said ground validation by Phivolcs field personnel also confirmed the swelling of landmass, indicating that magma has risen up to the surface and may erupt anytime.

“Compared to previous days when signals are more prominent, the energy [of Taal] seems to be fluctuating but generally weakening as of today,” she said.

However, she said: “I am not saying it is a trend already.”

She noted hazardous explosive eruptions of Taal almost always take place after a period of lull, citing the 1,754 eruptions that lasted for seven months. Before that, she said “here was a period of lull.”

The same happened in the past,

such as in 1911, during which scientific instruments were used to monitor volcanic activity.

She insisted that Taal, which is a complex volcano, remains unpredictable.

“The magmatic activity is still unpredictable. We record earthquakes still, fluctuating SO2 [sulfur dioxide]. The volcano is inflated. We just received data satellite and validated on the ground,” she said.

According to Bornas, the swelling of landmass can be tracked from seismic monitoring by Phivolcs.

“It [lull] doesn’t mean that the danger is over,” she said. According to Bornas, as long as considerable volume of ash, sulfur dioxide, or volcanic tremors are observed, Phivolcs is not lowering the Alert Level.

She also defended the agency’s evaluation process, which is the basis the Phivolcs declaration of Alert Level as well as recommendations, even as she rejected some suggestions of lowering the Alert Level, because of the latest volcano bulletin.

“We are not lowering the Alert Level. Our evaluation of the situation is comprehensive. The overall trend based on parameters will determine whether the Alert Level can be downgraded,” she maintained.

She further explained that

From P3K to P300K: Senate bill seeks higher indemnity for wrongful death

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

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HE Senate is mulling over the passage of remedial legislation updating the 1949-era Civil Code’s provision raising the minimum amount of damages for wrongful death caused by negligence or crime from P3,000 to P300,000.

In filing Senate Bill 1276, Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon cited the need to amend the Code to increase the indemnity provided under the old law. The bill also seeks to raise the minimum amount for moral and exemplary damages to P200,000.

Drilon noted the Civil Code’s Article 2216 does not provide a minimum amount for moral and exemplary damages, and leaves it entirely to the discretion of the courts. Juris-

prudence similarly pegs the amount at P100,000, he added.

A former justice secretary, he clarified that moral damages are awarded to compensate for physical suffering, mental anguish, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings and social humiliation. Exemplary damages are imposed by way of example, or correction, for highly outrageous or reprehensible conduct and to vindicate undue suffering.

The minority leader pointed out that while the old Civil Code set the amount for death indemnity to P3,000, the amount has increased in jurisprudence over time to P50,000 in 1990. The amount remained stagnant, however, at P50,000 until 2013 when the Supreme Court, in People of the Philippines v. Manuel Gambao, raised the minimum amount to P100,000.

“While it is clear from the wording of the law and the decisions rendered by the Supreme Court that the amount provided is only the minimum,” he noted that “it has become common practice for our courts to award death indemnity, as well as moral and exemplary damages, only within the minimum amount.”

At the same time, Drilon deplored that “the gruesome nature of deaths subject of recently decided cases would have warranted a higher award, but that courts have been hesitant to depart from the amounts fixed by jurisprudence.”

For instance, he cited the recent decision on the Maguindanao massacre case where the court only granted compensation payout of P100,000 for death indemnity, P100,000 for moral damages and P100,000 for exemplary damages.

“We are proposing these amend-

ments to emphasize that the amounts provided in the law are only the minimum, and that the courts are empowered to use their discretion in granting a higher amount, based on the rate of inflation and circumstances unique to the case,” said Drilon, adding that “without saying that human life, or human suffering, has an equivalent price or cost, the indemnity for death should be at least P300,000.”

Moreover, Drilon recalled the Court’s decision in People of the Philippines v. Mariano Oandasan Jr., quoting the ruling that “there can be no sufficient reparation or indemnification for loss of a human life, which has immeasurable value. However, civil indemnity for death is compensatory in nature and must be adjusted to existing economic realities, otherwise, the objective to justly indemnify the victims will be rendered meaningless.”

Davao City taps two China-donated buses to shuttle teachers and tourists

By Manuel T. Cayon

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

D

AVAO CITY—One of two buses donated by a sister city in China would be used to shuttle teachers assigned in remote northern tribal areas, the city government here has announced.

A second bus unit also donated

by Nanning of the People’s Republic of China would be used for tourism purposes.

April Marie Dayap, head of the Davao City Investment Promotion Center, said the use of one bus for teachers assigned in the Marilog District would ease their travel woes.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, January 22, 2020 A3

Marilog is some 48 kilometers north of downtown, but teachers often trek mountains and cross several rivers after embarking from the national highway of Marilog to reach their assigned schools.

She said teachers “had been facing difficulty in traveling to Marilog due to a lack of public transport plying the area.”

The only Filipino Ramon Magsaysay awardee in 2014, Randy H. Halasan, who was then 32 years old that time, was teaching in this district populated by the Ata and the Matigsalug tribes.

He later got his dream bridge for the tribe after President Duterte, who was still mayor of the city, announced in a news briefing, that he was allocating a

bridge in the area. Duterte said he “cannot refuse the request of the awardee.”

“We’ll find a way. It’s embarrassing to refuse a Ramon Magsaysay awardee,” Duterte said at that time.

But the Matigsalug tribe would need one more “because there are two rivers to cross for these children,” Halasan said.

The Simud River and the Davao River have been scary for children to cross after a heavy rain due to the strong current, “and they usually claim lives every now and then,” he said.

The two rivers in the interior Barangay Pegalungan of Marilog District would only need hanging bridges, enough to bring the children safely to school and back to

their homes several mountainous kilometers away.

Dayap said the two buses arrived on Monday as “part of the good gesture of Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province in southern China.”

“One of the buses will be used to shuttle the teachers who are assigned in Marilog, while the other one will be used for tourism and investment purposes,” she said.

Dayap said the other bus will serve as transport for visiting foreign investors who would like to explore Davao City.

She said that the buses symbolize the strong relationship and friendship between the two cities. Davao City and Nanning are sister cities since 2007.

sulfur-oxide emission by the volcano is fluctuating because of the changes in the groundwater system, as a result of the interaction with the magma.

Moreover, she said the type of earthquakes signifies magma intrusion. “Even if we have a lower diminishing trend in earthquakes, it still indicates magmatic activities. That is why we have ground deformation parameters,” she said.

“Even with no earthquake felt, it doesn’t mean there’s no magmatic intrusion,” Bornas added. Right now, she said the magma is already on the surface and ready to explode.

She said that based on Phivolcs’s practice or procedure for stand down for active volcanoes, it is typically two weeks of a lull with all parameters showing sign or a trend of weaker activity.

“If something happens within the two-week period, say a significant activity [in any of the parameters], the two-week period is off,” Bornas said.

More help from Pampanga

BATANGUEÑOS feeling the brunt of the ongoing eruption of Taal Volcano are in for another treat.

On Tuesday, the Pampanga rescue and relief, as well as medical, teams, returned to Batangas for

another round of medical mission and relief efforts.

The Pampanga team, composed of 302 personnel, including Pampanga Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda, in a 63-vehicle convoy, arrived at the Batangas City Sports Complex at around 3 a.m. the next day, and began setting up facilities ready for operation.

In the five-day operation of the Pampanga team, 14 dump trucks joined in the evacuation of the residents, as well as two military trucks and an Isuzu NHR vehicle.

The Pampanga team conducted site inspection and validation in the municipalities of Agoncillo and San Nicolas for possible clearing operations with the Batangas provincial engineer, while vehicle and manpower were on standby for request for clearing operations.

But it was the relief operations that gave Batangueños the muchneeded help, where a total of 27,792 families were assisted.

An amount of P8,697,636 of assistance was extended, including 5 kilos of rice, corned beef cans, sardines and eggs, as well as rubber slippers, or flip flops, and underwears for each family.

However, it was the medical mission that highlighted the Pampanga team’s assistance that treated a total of 2,099 patients in different evacuation centers, including schools which were used as evacuation centers.

Among the illnesses treated were coughs and colds, upper respiratory tract infections, sore throat asthma, tonsillitis, fever, dizziness, headaches, blurring of vision, fatigue, difficulty of breathing, shortness of breath, diabetes, hypertension, toothache, arthritis, ear pain, opigastric, back pain, flank pain, epigastric pain, muscle pain, abdominal tenderness, loss of appetite, body weakness, skin allergy, pregnant women, abdominal tenderness, diarrhea and chicken pox.

5,707 SSS members, pensioners availed of CAP loans in 2019

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

M

ORE than P58.50 million in Calamity Assistance Package (CAP) loans have been released by state-run Social Security System (SSS) in 2019.

In a news statement issued on Monday, SSS said more than 5,700 members and pensioners have availed of the CAP in 2019.

“It has been a heartbreaking year when typhoons and earthquakes hit, and damaged, the homes, and affected the livelihood of our fellow Filipinos all over the country.

True to our mandate in providing social security protection to Filipino workers, we are glad that in our own little way, we were able to provide assistance to those who were affected by natural disasters to help them recoup…their losses,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said.

“We provided five CAPs to our pensioners and members in 2019, which benefited 5,707 members and 25 pensioners,” she added.

Of the total disbursements for CAP as of January 2 this year, P58.19 million were calamity loans, while P308,000 were advance threemonth pensions.

“For all the CAPs offered in 2019, we allocated more than P2.13 billion to assist at least 10 percent of the identified potential borrowers and pensioners that were affected by the calamities,” Ignacio said.

The CAP includes a loan assistance program, which is a separate loan window from the regular salary loan. Members can borrow up to

P20,000 in calamity loans, depending on their average monthly salary credit in the last 12 months.

The calamity loan is payable in two years in equal monthly installments, with an annual interest rate of 10 percent and 1-percent monthly penalty for late payments. To eliminate additional expenses on the part of member-borrowers, SSS waived the 1-percent service fee.

Financial assistance is also being offered to pensioners. They can apply for an advance three-month worth of their monthly pensions.

Applicants under the advance three-month pension, meanwhile, whose present address differs from the address in the SSS database should submit a barangay certification to prove that they reside in a declared calamity area.

Aside from these, members can also apply for a direct housing repair and improvement loan.

Calamity-stricken members with damaged houses can avail up to P1 million under the direct house repair and improvement loan with six months moratorium in amortization and interest payments.

To qualify for direct house repair and improvement loan, the applicant must not be more than 60 years old and with at least 24 monthly contributions, of which three contributions were remitted within the last 12-month period prior to the month of filing the loan.

Members who wish to avail of the direct housing repair and improvement loan are given a 12-month period starting from the implementation of the specific CAP they wish to avail.

A4 Wednesday, January 22, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

PHL joins the Netherlands’ chocolate trade fair in bid to strengthen cacao export to EU

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE Philippines is sending its chocolates and cacao made products at a trade show in the Netherlands, the world’s largest importer of cocoa beans, geared toward helping the domestic industry secure better market access.

In a news statement released on Tuesday, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced seven food manufacturers from Davao del Sur and South Cotabato will be representing the Philippines in the country’s first participation in Cocoa Trade Show and Chocolate Festival. Dubbed Chocoa, the trade show is a five-day event wherein 10 activities take place with the overall objective of improving the cocoa and chocolate industry in terms of

quality and sustainability.

Forming the Philippine team are Malagos Agri-ventures Corp.; Kennemer Foods International Inc.; MS3 Agri-Ventures Corp.; Theo and Philo Chocolate Factory Inc.; Tiger Craft Food and Beverage Co. Inc.; Kablon Farms; and Biao Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative.

Trade Undersec ret a r y A b dulgani M. Macatoman said the country’s participation in Chocoa

is important for food manufacturers to obtain new market leads and expand their presence in existing export destinations in the European Union.

“We are starting strong this year in our export drive on cacao and chocolate with the country’s first participation in Chocoa, known as the leading chocolate import event in Europe. This participation will allow our cacao producers to generate new market leads and further broaden its reach in countries within the European Union, as well as in other parts of the world,” Macatoman said.

“We expect that our specialty chocolates will be particularly popular since there is an increasing demand for high-quality chocolate from Dutch consumers and they are willing to shell out extra for better tasting, and more sustainably sourced products,” he added.

According to the DTI, the Netherlands is the world’s largest buyer of cocoa beans, reaching 991,000 metric tons in 2017, to value €2.2

billion. It is also the location of the world’s second-largest cocoa grinding industry—after only the Ivory Coast—consuming an estimated 565,000 MT of cocoa beans from 2016 to 2017.

Macatoman said the Philippine delegation is expected to attend all activities in the event, which includes a trade fair that will be attended by over 1,500 stakeholders and potential buyers from the global cocoa supply chain, including cocoa producers, chocolate makers, state officials, nongovernment organizations, financial and logistic services suppliers and consumers.

The Philippines is planning to produce 100,000 MT of fermented beans for the export and domestic markets based on the Philippine Cacao Roadmap. As such, participating in Chocoa is an opportunity for the country to find export markets where it could land this supply of beans, Macatoman added.

Chocoa will be held at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from February 19 to 23.

DOE leads interagency body for energy efficiency projects

By Lenie Lectura

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@llectura

HE Department of Energy (DOE) has organized a committee tasked to evaluate

and approve government energy efficiency projects.

Aside from its main task, the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conser vation Committee

(IAEECC) will provide strategic direction in the implementation of the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP).

Department Order 2020-1-1

designates the secretary of the DOE as the chairman of the committee. “Section 5D of the EEC Act states that the DOE shall lead efforts to ensure compliance with the GEMP in accordance with the strategic direction provided by the Inter-Agency EEC,” it stated.

Spec if ica l ly, t he DOE w i l l plan, develop, implement and monitor management policies, and other related energy efficiency and conservation plans and programs.

Meanwhile, the secretaries of the Departments of Budget and Management; Finance; Trade and Industry; Transportation; Science and Technology; the Interior and Local Government; Public Works and Highways; and the director general of the National Economic and Development Authority will sit as committee members.

President Duterte has signed the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC) law, which basically institutionalize energy conservation in the country, in April last year.

Among others, the committee will prepare an annual assessment of opportunities for energy cost reduction in state-owned and leased buildings and facilities designated by the committee.

The committee will also review all proposed capital projects and energy cost operating budgets of agencies, and recommend energy conservation measures to reduce operating costs.

Ever y year, the committee will recommend specific operations and maintenance procedure modifications, and capital projects for state-owned leased buildings and facilities to reduce energy consumption.

Su r veys, aud its, tec hn ic a l analysis and other investigations related to government energy efficiency projects, and the GEMP will be conducted.

T hereafter, a repor t on the status of gover nment energ y ef f icienc y projects and the GEMP must be submitted. T he repor t must a lso identif y obstacles to building energ y efficiency improvement together w ith recommendations.

Funding will be sourced from the DOE’s 2020 funds. The committee members will convene once every quarter.

Republic Act 11285, or the EEC Act, aims to institutionalize energy efficiency and conservation, enhance the efficient use of energy, and grant incentives to energy efficiency and conservation projects and programs.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SRA eyeing open tender system for sugar imports

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE government is looking into the implementation of an open tender system for the country’s sugar importation in its bid to make the process more efficient and transparent for stakeholders, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito Lambino said implementing an auction-type importation for sugar is one of the matters being discussed in an ongoing study by the DOF on how to improve the industry’s efficiency and competitiveness.

During a House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture and Food hearing on Tuesday, Lambino disclosed that the DOF has started a series of study groups to scrutinize the sugar industry and determine areas for improvement.

Auction for sugar

LAMBINO emphasized that there is a need for the establishment of a “simpler and fairer” import permitting system to make it “more transparent” and uphold public interest.

Lambino explained that one of the concerns in the current sugar importation system is that only a few people decide if the government would allow imports.

At present, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) determines if the government will allow importation, how much volume would be imported, who can import, and other guidelines pertinent to the program.

“We’re trying to outsmart the market. If we let the market help us decide through auction for instance, maybe it would be more efficient,” he said.

“Maybe we can implement an auction instead, which even the public can scrutinize the process and see who bidded and how much was bidded. Everyone can see who will get the import permits,” Lambino said.

Aside from reforming the importation system, Lambino said there is also a need to review the current production sharing agreement between planters and millers.

Lambino added that such prevailing system has “[led] to a less efficient

milling capacity” in the country compared to its global counterparts.

“It seems like incentives are lacking to invest for more efficient milling capacity in the Philippines compared to other countries,” he said.

Lambino said the third and fourth initial ideas being considered by the DOF is the improvement of the implementation of the Sugarcane Industry Development Act (Sida) in general and the establishment of block farms in particular.

However, Lambino noted that the initial “ideas” that were floated and discussed in their study groups are not yet final, and are not yet in a form of a proposal.

“These are some of the things we are studying right now. We are still studying these things,” he said.

SRA Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica said he has sought already a dialogue with the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Bureau of Treasury to learn how they auction bonds.

Serafica confirmed that he has been instructed by the economic managers to review the current importation system.

Serafica added that the SRA is now ready with the new importation mechanisms but will still be finalized pending consultation with sugar industry stakeholders.

“The existing importation program is not a perfect importation program. We have received a lot of complaints,” he said.

Also during the hearing, National Economic and Development Authority Director Nieva Natural said they have started a six-month study that would determine the positive and negative effects of sugar industry liberalization and to determine required mitigating measures if such policy reform is pursued.

“We are proceeding with caution. The results of the study will be available by July which will guide us on the proper actions and policy that we need to undertake, and how to address the problems that are being faced by the industry,” Natural added.

The economic managers have earlier sidelined their push to liberalize the sugar industry pending a comprehensive study and consultations.

Pampanga vice governor gives unsolicited advice on post-eruption rehab, recovery

By Ashley Manabat Correspondent

C

ITY OF SAN FERNANDO— Crafting laws that will institutionalize rehabilitation efforts, land banking, as well as establishing funds for the construction of permanent resettlement sites should be seriously considered.

This was the unsolicited advice of Pampanga Vice Gov. Lilia “Nanay” G. Pineda to lawmakers from Batangas, Cavite and the entire Calabarzon region to address the ongoing destruction of the restive Taal Volcano.

Pineda shared her thoughts to the media at the Capitol here on Monday as the Pampanga team is getting ready to return to Batangas, to help in the relief and recovery efforts and conduct medical missions for the victims of the eruption.

It is very ironic, she said, that some of the funds used to help the Taal Volcano eruption victims also came from profits of pyroclastic materials spewed also by another volcano, the Mount Pinatubo whose destructive eruption practically laid waste most parts of Pampanga in the early 1990s.

Pineda said since residents in the vicinity of the Taal Volcano are unable longer return to their residences built on permanent danger zones declared by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, various nongovernment

organizations (NGO), especially the business sector should start organizing ways on how to contribute to the relief efforts and contribute lands for resettlement sites.

Pineda recalled her experience during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo when NGOs, especially the business sector, helped in appealing to then-President Fidel V. Ramos to construct various protection measures to save Pampanga.

She also recalled when thenSen. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo crafted a law which paved the way for the creation of the now defunct Mount Pinatubo Commission, and was allotted P10 billion for the rehabilitation and relocation of the Pinatubo victims.

“Now, with that, and the help of fellow Capampangans especially the governor [Bren Z. Guiao] and other provinces, that was how we were able to rise again,” she said.

“So, the first thing to do is to form a commission. They should refrain from giving the money to the local government units but instead to the commission which is the agency task for the rehabilitation and recovery efforts,” she said.

Pineda recalled that then Public Works Secretary Florante Soriquez was able to request heavy equipment from the Netherlands, which were widely used in the desilting operations of lahar-choked major river channels.

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

The World BusinessMirror

Climate not considered a top 10 risk by CEOs D

the number of CEOs who are pessimistic about the economic outlook has almost doubled over the past year, with 53 percent predicting a decline in the rate of growth this year, up from 29 percent in 2019. This is the highest level of pessimism recorded

by PwC since it started surveying the issue in 2012 and illustrates how the trade conflict between the US and China has weighed on the global economy.

PwC said pessimism was widespread but particularly so in North America, Western Europe and the Middle East.

“Given the lingering uncertainty over trade tensions, geopolitical issues and the lack of agreement on how to deal with climate change,

the drop in confidence in economic growth is not surprising—even if the scale of the change in mood is,” said Bob Moritz, chairman of the PwC Network.

“These challenges facing the global economy are not new. However the scale of them and the speed at which some of them are escalating is new. The key issue for leaders gathering in Davos is: how are we going to come together to tackle them?”

P w C conduc ted 1, 581 interviews, mainly online, with CEOs in 83 countries between September and October 2019. It weights the sample by national GDP to ensure that CEOs’ views are fairly represented across all major regions. AP

AVOS, Switzerland— Climate issues are set to be one of the main talking points at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos this week, but a survey of CEOs released on Monday shows that they are not even ranked among the top 10 threats to business growth.

In its annual report ahead of the gathering in Davos, financial services group PwC said climate change and environmental issues are ranked as the 11th-biggest threat to their companies’ growth prospects.

Though up one spot from the same survey a year ago, climate-related issues lag way behind other concerns such as overregulation, which ranks as the No. 1 worry. Other concerns in the top 10 include

trade conflicts, lack of skills among workers and populism in politics.

According to the survey, 24 percent of CEOs are “extremely concerned ” about c limate-related issues, compared to 38 percent for overregulation.

As they gather for the World Econom ic For u m, CEOs and politicians like US President Donald J. Trump are set to face mounting p re s s u re f rom e nv i ron mental groups and activists like Swedish teen Greta Thunberg to respond to the c l i m ate e me rge nc y. T he meeting follows last week ’s revelation that the last decade was the hottest ever recorded on Earth.

The survey also found that

Oil falls on ample global supply

China steps up efforts to control new coronavirus outbreak

il fell below $65 a barrel as ample global supplies offset the loss of exports from Libya, while Europe considered a military mission to help enforce an arms embargo and a potential cease-fire in the Opec producer.

The European Union hasn’t made a decision on a deployment to Libya, but agreed that preparations should begin for an expanded naval and air-patrol mission. The country’s crude output has plunged after a blockade of several ports. Broader market sentiment took a hit as the International Monetary Fund trimmed its global growth outlook and on concern that China’s coronavirus will spread and hamper the economy.

Oil has had a rocky start to the year as unrest rippled through Opec producers Iran, Libya and Iraq, where protests over the weekend that halted crude output at a small field. While supply disruptions have occurred, the International Energy Agency said that the global market has a “solid base” of plentiful inventories and expanding US shale output to weather shocks.

“It would have to be a ver y substantial disruption to push prices above $70 a barrel on a sustainable basis,” Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in an Bloomberg TV interview.

“The US is still sitting on an enormous amount of inventory.”

Brent crude dropped 61 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $64.59 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange as of 2:38 p.m. in Singapore. The contract closed 0.5 percent higher on Monday after surging as much as 1.8 percent.

West Texas Intermediate futures for February lost 41 cents to $58.13 from Friday’s close. There was no settlement on Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

“Markets appear to have moved on from the Libya and Iraq issues because of more pressing concerns over demand,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda in Singapore. Opec and its allies have enough spare capacity to make up for any loss of supply from Libya and there are no signs yet of the Iraq situation “becoming a structural problem,” he added.

Global growth will accelerate this year to 3.3 percent from 2.9 percent in 2019, the IMF said on Monday, the first pickup in three years, but less than the 3.4 percent projected in October.

Stocks and US futures fell in Asia, while the yuan weakened, with market par ticipants attributing the moves to worries over China’s coronavirus after reports indicating evidence of its contagiousness among humans.

UHAN, China—Heightened precautions were being taken in China and elsewhere on Tuesday as governments strove to control the outbreak of a new coronavirus that threatens to spread further during the Lunar New Year travel rush.

A n x i e t i e s g re w a f te r C h i n e s e government expert Zhong Nanshan revealed on state television late Monday that the virus can be spread from one person to another. The first cases late last month were connected to a seafood market, and transmission was suspected to be occurring from animalto -human. Authorities previously had not confirmed human-to-human transmission.

Four people have died, and more than 200 have been infected, and most of the illnesses and all of the fatalities were in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the seafood market is located.

In addition to 198 cases in Wuhan, more than 20 have been diagnosed in Beijing, Shanghai and southern Guangdong province, and four cases have been confirmed overseas among Chinese travelers in South Korea, Japan and Thailand.

Two cases in Guangdong were people who had not visited Wuhan but fell ill after family members returned from there. Zhong cited those as evidence the disease had spread between humans.

Concerned about a global outbreak

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Bloomberg News

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similar to SARS, a different coronavirus that spread from China to more than a dozen countries in 2002-2003, numerous n at i o n s h ave a d o p te d s c re e n i n g measures for travelers arriving from China, especially those from Wuhan.

Stock markets fell in much of Asia as investors worried about the potential impact on tourism and the economy. “ The outbreak of a SARS -like coronavirus in Wuhan is developing into a major potential economic risk to the Asia-Pacific region now that there is medical evidence of human-to-human transmission,” wrote Rajiv Biswas, the Asia Pacific chief economist at IHS Markit, in an analysis.

He noted that the SARS crisis hurt the economies of China, several Southeast Asian nations and as far afield as Canada and Australia.

Australia, Japan and South Korea were among countries increasing airport screenings. Australia receives a significant number of travelers from China, including three direct flights a week from Wuhan into Sydney, and these flights will be met by border security and biosecurity staff for assessments, the nation’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy told reporters.

At least three US airports have star ted screening incoming airline passengers from central China.

“We need to step up our caution levels as the number of patients is

continuing to rise in China,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a meeting with the health minister and others from related ministries.

“Please take ever y possible precaution,” Abe said.

The coronavirus family includes those that cause the common cold, but some found in bats, camels and other animals have evolved into more severe illnesses. SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and MERS— Middle East respiratory syndrome—are in the coronavirus family.

The possibility the virus could be spread between people increases the chances it could spread faster and more widely. The Chinese government has estimated people will make around 3 billion trips during the Lunar New Year travel season, but some social-media users have said they may stay home due to concern about the spread of the illness.

Zhong, who helped expose the scale of SARS, told state broadcaster CCTV that two people in Guangdong province caught the virus from family members.

Fifteen medical workers have also tested positive for the virus, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said.

C h i n e s e P re s i d e n t X i J i n p i n g instructed government departments to promptly release information on the virus and deepen international cooperation. His comments on Monday were his first on the illness. AP

Thai court says opposition party not guilty of seeking to oust monarchy

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hailan d ’s s e c o n d - b i g g e s t opposition party escaped dissolution on Tuesday after being acquitted of seeking to oust the monarchy.

The Constitutional Court in Bangkok ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to back up the accusation against the Future Forward party. The monarchy sits at the summit of power in Thailand and top royals are treated as semi-divine.

Televised images showed the court verdict triggered celebrations at Future Forward’s headquarters in Bangkok. The reprieve may be short lived as the party faces other cases, including one on funding violations that would lead to dissolution if it is found guilty.

One of the claims in the petition before the court was that Future Forward’s logo evoked the secret Illuminati sect “believed to be behind the unseating of monarchies in Europe.” The term “Illuminati” traces back hundreds of years and has become a watchword for discredited conspiracy

theories about secretive groups trying to control world affairs.

Future For ward denied the allegations, describing them as part of a crackdown on dissent by supporters of the military-backed government after a disputed March election. The party finished third in the poll—which ended five years under a junta—on a platform that included rewriting the current constitution, curbing the army’s influence and breaking up oligopolies.

“We’ll continue our work both in the parliament and outside of the parliament,” party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who is banned f ro m t h e l e g i s l a t u re , s a i d a f t e r t h e ve rd i c t. Co f o u n d e r P i y a b u t r Saengkanokkul said Future Forward had no intention of overthrowing the constitutional monarchy.

Funding case “There’s now a high likelihood that

the party will be disbanded in the next case,” said Punchada Sirivunnabood, an associate professor in politics at Mahidol University near Bangkok. “The big question is what the party will do after that.”

Thai royalists have disbanded multiple pro-democracy political parties over the past two decades, spurring a cycle of destabilization that contributed to slower economic growth compared with neighbors such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

While political tension remains lower than during past episodes of bloody street unrest, thousands of people rallied in Bangkok in December against the prospect of Future Forward’s break up.

Narumon Pinyosinwat, a spokesman for the government, said the Future Fo r w a rd c a s e w a s i n t h e h a n d s of the justice system, adding the administration played no role in it because it’s only in charge of the executive arm. Bloomberg News

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

A5

A6 Wednesday, January 22, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Solving the farm infra backlog

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yphoons Pedring (international code name Nesat) and Quiel (international code name Nalgae), which struck the Philippines in 2011, killed scores of people and damaged public infrastructure in the island of Luzon. One of the key structures damaged by the two typhoons is Pigalo Bridge in Isabela. According to Anna Mae Lamentillo, chairman of the “Build, Build, Build” committee of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the destruction of the bridge made it more difficult for farmers in the province to transport their products.

During a roundtable with editors and reporters of the BusinessMirror on January 20, Lamentillo noted that prior to the opening of the new Pigalo Bridge, farmers spent nearly a day to deliver their produce to markets. This resulted in high wastage as some crops and other food products tend to rot. The new bridge, costing P459 million, which was inaugurated in June 2019, slashed travel considerably, as it now takes less than an hour for farmers to deliver their produce to the nearest market in Cagayan Valley.

Just imagine what more cold-storage facilities, warehouses and roads can do to improve agriculture productivity in other provinces. An official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) had estimated the so-called farm infrastructure backlog at P535 billion (See, “PHL agri infra backlog pegged at P535 billion,” in the BusinessMirror, January 21, 2020).

Agriculture Undersecretary for Regulations Zamzamin L. Ampatuan said about P330 billion is needed to build more warehouses, P100 billion for the construction of more rural roads and another P100 billion for cold-storage facilities, which will benefit fishermen.

The conduct of an “inventory” of existing public agriculture facilities is one of the most sensible things done by this administration for the sector. The results of this study will give the government a clearer picture of where it should invest, and the facilities it should put up in certain areas. Along with the national color code map, the study will enable the government to better target its interventions, something that has not been done for many years.

The results of this study will be used for crafting a three-year infrastructure buildup program for the sector, in keeping with the goal of economic managers to boost agriculture performance and, eventually, attract the youth to take up farming. The availability of more warehouses and cold-storage facilities will entice investors to consider putting their money in Philippine agriculture, especially if Congress will tweak policies, such as the agri-agra law, to make them more attuned to the needs of the business sector. The key is for the Executive branch and Congress to get their act together, and find a way to bankroll the construction of these facilities.

We hope that the Build, Build, Build program envisioned by the administration for the agriculture sector will continue, even after the President steps down from office in 2022. We urge the administration to find a way to institutionalize the infrastructure buildup program for agriculture, and insulate it from the whims of myopic politicians. While it is not a panacea for all the agriculture sector’s ills, the infrastructure buildup is a good first step to enable our farmers and fisherfolk to produce enough food for the country.

Since 2005

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Bangon Batangas!

Privilege speech of Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto on January 20, 2020.

M

R. President, my dear colleagues: Sabi nila, ang Bulkang Taal daw ay ang puso—at pusod— ng Batangas. And that umbilical cord has not been cut off.

No other force, nature or nurture, has shaped Batangas history more than this “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma,” or make that inside a magma.

It has altered our landscape. What man can put together, Taal can put asunder. The present location of Tanauan is its third. Where Bauan is today, is actually its third. And Lipa is on its fifth settlement.

Now it can be told: Batangueños pioneered the Build Back Better scheme.

Eruptions change the color of the landscape temporarily, but permanently, they can alter the contours of the land. Kung hindi kinain ng lawa, tinabunan ng abo. One bustling town, Sala, was never seen again.

Taal also defined the Batangueño character. From it, we probably got our volcanic temper, a tongue as sharp as a balisong forged in volcanic silica, and the art of keeping a romance as hot as a red lava.

Living constantly in the line of fire has made us resilient, adaptive, innovative, fatalistic and brave. We have no windmills to tilt, but in Taal, we have a more formidable fate and foe to tempt. This dwarf volcano makes all our enemies Lilliputian.

So we fought the Spanish, one ray of the sun in our flag honors our forebears, from Mabini who was the brains of the revolution, to the thousands who shed blood for freedom.

When the Americans came, it became Ground Zero of resistance that what they did in Vietnam half a century later was first tried in the towns that ring Taal. It was also opposition country during martial law.

Pero kapag nag-alburuto si Taal, walang matapang na Batangueño.

So when Taal began acting up two Sundays ago, Batangueños living in its shadows read the signs and knew what to do. They self-evacuated. Living in the mouth of the beast has made them the best early warning device.

And they fled, in minutes, thousands of them, on boats, without a single loss of life.

Batangueño chivalry made sure that women, elderly and children boarded first.

Batangueño hospitality made sure that not one of the hundreds of tourists on the island will be hurt.

Batangueño men launched the flotilla of boats as if they were veterans of Dunkirk. (The boats would return later to rescue the animals left behind, to redeem the tearful promise of “I shall return” that was whispered to them by their humans.)

Maliit man daw ang Taal, ang abo naman nito ay nakakapuwing.

And so it did.

Its January 12 eruption was short

by Taal standards, a burp, when compared to its 1754 cataclysmic behavior, when it vomited ash and lava for almost seven months.

Yet, it was able to displace 500,000 people, at least 104,377 of whom are in 408 evacuation centers in four provinces, turned 11 towns into no-go zones, halted activity in the Tagaytay ridge, which is the most visited tourist area in the Philippines.

The fallout extended further, and upward. Metro Manila schools and offices closed for days and shut down Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Clark International Airport, marooning hundreds of thousands of passengers in 643 canceled flights.

Farms, whose soil was made rich by past volcanic eruption, took a beating, as well. And so are the waters from which the best tasting tawilis, maliputo, tilapia and bangus are farmed and fished.

The DA pegged an initial estimate of P3-billion bill in crops and animals lost. Even the bean counters in government were able to tally the P1.35 billion lost by kapeng barako farms due to Taal’s toxic brew.

This toll of misery—and Taal is not having a blast yet.

Because still buried in its bowels is the force of hundreds of Hiroshimas.

The resilience of the Batangueños and their fellow classmates in the revolution and neighbors around Taal— the people of Cavite and Laguna— in the face of the eruptions have been romanticized in viral memes, witty poems and moving songs that only Batangueños could weave together.

So are the continuing heartfelt response of Filipinos from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi, the Red Cross and from every time zone in the world. They are so earnest and endless, this human pipeline of help, that they have left many macho Batangas men to tears.

This compassion is as thick as Taal’s ashfall. And what makes them truly human is that most of the donations poured in anonymously, and we know that kindness without credit is the most sublime.

Mula po sa kaibuturan ng aming puso, maraming, maraming salamat po.

But citizens’ resilience should not stand as a substitute for government response. Whatever the disaster is, the toughness of survivors does not excuse government from showing total care.

I will later describe the hows of

possible government response, but let me first tell you the whys.

The electricity we use in this building was most probably dispatched from Batangas. Base plants in the province supply half of Luzon’s power supply.

Some of the steel bars and sheets and cement being used by the construction around us originated from Batangas, too.

Most of the cars in showrooms that dot our neighborhood rolled off from Batangas port. And so are visitors from Mimaropa shopping in the malls nearby.

Speaking of vehicles, many of their parts, together with many export items, are made in the manufacturing corridor in the Batangas gateway.

The tilapia and bangus grilled in the riverside row of eateries a stone’s throw from here probably came from Taal Lake. So are the pineapple in the hotel buffet tables, the coffee beans that baristas brew.

The Filipiniana store balikbayans love to visit in our neighboring mall showcases Batangas made products whose names begin with B—balisong, burdang Taal, bagoong, barakong kape, buko pie.

Near it are travel shops that package tours to another B which dot Batangas—beaches—because its coastline is abundant in vitamin sea.

Ano man ang type n’yo sa pagkaluto ng itlog n’yo—poached, fried or scrambled—ang itlog na ’yan ay t’yak, galing Batangas.

And for smokers who cough up taxes and for alcohol-proof drinkers who leave a hefty tip to the BIR whenever they order their favorite drink, many of these sin products are also made in Batangas.

But Batangas is just one cog in the economic powerhouse that is Calabarzon, the highest GDP contributor, next to Metro Manila.

These provinces affected by Taal eruption—Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon are some sort of a miniEuropean Union, four provinces linked by commerce.

A Batangueño may live in Batangas, work in Laguna and shop in Cavite. Or a Cavite family has a business in Batangas, but sends the kids to college in Laguna. Or a Laguna family has a farm in Batangas, and a small business in Cavite.

So while a factory in Laguna may remain unscathed by volcanic ash, it is as if it was dealt a direct blow if many of its Batangueño employees cannot report for work because their homes have been affected by the eruption.

The same is true with Tagaytay establishments, as many of their workers are residents of the lakeshore towns below.

The reality is factories are not like driverless cars that can navigate on their own, and orders are not taken

by robots in restaurants. When the work force is displaced, the workplace is, too.

Kung Batangueño ka, malamang may kamag-anak ka sa Cavite, Laguna at Quezon. Na sila ngayong kumukupkop sa mga daang libong bakwit.

At gusto kong espesyal na pasalamatan ang mga taga-Laguna, tagaQuezon at mga Caviteño. For this is true: Many evacuees have been taken in by private homes in Cavite, Laguna and Quezon.

This makes the radius of the desolation—and help—wider. In plotting the coordinates of assistance, including the other provinces is a must.

May kasabihan sa Batangas: Ang sakit ng kalingkingan, dama ng buong katawan.

Harinawa’y tapos na ang pag-alburuto ni Taal. Sapagkat ang kirot nito ay dama ng buong sambayanan. ’Ika nga ng isang liham ng isang ka-Batang na nagsusumamo kay Taal: Kamusta na ga, ikaw ga e galit pa din?

Kalma na ikaw, nasisira na ang iyong ganda pag ikaw e gay-an.

Tahan na. Nang kami’y makabangon na.

At nang ikaw e bumalik na ulet sa iyong ganda.

Pero kahit mag the end pa ang pyrotechnic show ni Taal, malaking trabaho ang ating kinahaharap. The hard work is after the dust has settled.

Houses to be rebuilt, schools to be repaired, streets to be cleaned and those with cracks to be replaced, animal farms to be restocked, orchards to be rehabilitated, livelihood to be resurrected, interrupted business to be started again.

And if there are areas that need to be placed under prolonged danger zone, the hard work of resettling their residents, not to mere dumping grounds of Taal refuse, but to places where they can earn a living.

The latter is important because the benchmark of resettlement is that displaced people must not be deprived of dignity.

Taal’s waking up is a wake-up call for all of us. Protocols have to be dusted up, from how Naia can cope with a shutdown, to the need for more evacuation facilities in a region crammed with people, in a country prone to calamity.

The people affected by this calamity deserve help, for they have religiously amortized their volcanic eruption insurance over the years through the taxes they pay from their business, trade and jobs.

Also chipping in are remittances from Batangueño workers abroad, from Japan to Jamaica, from Italy to Iceland, from UAE to US. Those who speak with ala eh accent form the biggest subset of the Filipino diaspora.

Until Taal quiets down, the final cost of relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction cannot be tallied yet.

See “Bangon,” A7

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

With love, from the Bangsamoro

Buy Filipino: Let’s be heroes and patriots as consumers Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

MAKE SENSE

Susan V. Ople

Scribbles

C

otabato City—It was a hot, sunny day in Cotabato City, hundreds of miles away from heated debates on whether business establishments in Tagaytay City, should reopen while its volcanic neighbor threatens to erupt once more.

A s I approached the steps leading to the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM) Building, I saw several trucks parked in front of the beautiful edifice. On the side of the trucks were tarps that simply said, “Tabang For Taal, From Bangsamoro.” Tabang means help, and inside these trucks were medicines, bottled water, hygiene kits, food, and other relief items.

In a simple send-off ceremony, interim Chief Minister Ahod B. Ebrahim-Al Hadj said that the Bangsamoro organic law stipulates as part of moral governance the willingness and capacity of its people and regional government to help those in need within or outside their territory.

“Inside these trucks are relief goods for at least 1,500 affected families. We have allocated 500 relief bags for residents from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao areas staying in evacuation centers, and the rest will be shared with other evacuees,” he said. The BARMM leader also mentioned that its autonomous government also rendered calamity assistance to Mindanao residents affected by recent earthquakes.

It was an auspicious start to a morning that showed the compassionate side of the BARMM. A year after the historic plebiscite that ratified its creation, the BARMM government is slowly but surely finding its place.

They face enormous challenges. For example, the BARMM job portal that featured less than 2,000 job openings found itself nearly crashing with more than 100,000 resumes from aspiring civil servants.

“As a newly established government, we know that we need to do what we can to create employment opportunities for our people,” Executive Secretary Abdulraof Macacua said in his keynote speech at the Bajau Hall of the OCM Building on Tuesday (January 21).

The executive secretary and this writer, in my capacity as president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, met on Tuesday to sign a memorandum of agreement leading to the creation of a BARMM Task Force Against the Trafficking of overseas Filipino workers.

This formal agreement covers the following key areas of cooperation—timely assistance and repatriation of distressed OFWs, anti-trafficking preventive education campaign in grassroots communities, the use of technology in tracking down and monitoring cases of illegal recruitment and human trafficking, and the formulation of a policy and operational framework to address the root causes of human trafficking.

Atty. Yvette Coronel, the acting executive director of the InterAgency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), witnessed the signing of the agreement alongside BARMM Deputy Executive Secretary Abdullah Cusain.

“The IACAT looks forward to the active implementation of this agreement as an important first step and please be assured of our full support in ensuring its definite success,” Coronel said, in her inspirational message.

A ccord i ng to t he OW WA BARMM Regional Director Uga Sulaiman, his office handles a monthly average of 250 welfare

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 A7

It was heartwarming to see and hear all of these aspirations and gestures of affirmative leadership from BARMM’s top officials led by interim Chief Minister Ahod B. Ebrahim-Al Hadj. The Bangsamoro heartland is in a state of transition but positivism and a palpable desire among its officials to make a clear difference inspires hope among its people. cases involving OFWs from the region. He said that cases involving the recruitment of minors to work in the Middle East usually involve relatives of the victims, which makes it difficult for the victims and their families to pursue cases.

Macacua recounted that a person that he admonished for trying to recruit for abroad thought that trafficking only involved vehicles.

“He had no idea that what he was doing was already a crime.”

BARMM covers five provinces, namely, Basilan (except Isabela City), Landao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; three cities, namely Cotabato City, Lamitan City and Marawi City; as well as 116 municipalities and 2,590 barangays. Its porous borders make it a region that is highly susceptible to human smuggling and human-trafficking operations.

Minister Dickson Hermoso of the BARMM’s Ministry of Transportation and Communication said that in a recent presidential visit, no less than President Duterte expressed concern over the rising incidence of abuse involving OFWs from BARMM. Hermoso urged for greater vigilance in monitoring the activities of human-trafficking syndicates, including how they transport their victims from Mindanao to Sabah, and beyond.

Labor Minister Romeo Sema agreed. He said that unlike the previous autonomous regional government, the BARMM has more power and a clearer mandate to protect its workers. “Under the Ministry of Labor and Employment, we will integrate the POEA and OWWA in the new structure,” Sema said, adding that his office intends to regulate the operations of local and overseas recruitment agencies.

It was heartwarming to see and hear all of these aspirations and gestures of affirmative leadership from BARMM’s top officials led by interim Chief Minister Ahod B. Ebrahim-Al Hadj. The Bangsamoro heartland is in a state of transition but positivism and a palpable desire among its officials to make a clear difference inspires hope among its people.

That they are organizing relief efforts for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruptions tell us that in any calamity, we, Filipinos, help as one. We also care as one, especially for OFWs who have become the economic lifeline of so many struggling families during these uncertain and troubling times.

Iba talaga ang Pinoy!

Susan V. Ople heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that deals with labor and migration issues. She also represents the OFW sector in the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

A

S a consumer and local industry advocate, the advent of technology has created mixed feelings in me. The 24/7 Internet connectivity of all the economies in the world excites me since it created the global market, making borderless trade possible.

But I am also scared of the new trade trend because the removal of trade barriers to liberalize trade among the member-nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the Philippines, has, in some ways, resulted in the proliferation of illicit trade.

Consumers under the new trade order are not only given wider choice, but more liberalized access to products in the global market, as well.

However, this has resulted in the importation of cheaper but lower quality standard products, making it a threat to consumers and the local industry.

The Federation of Philippine Industries, where I seat as its chairman, launched the “Buy Pinoy, Buy Local” program. It is a campaign to help

protect and promote the local industry by urging consumers to buy locally made products. Unlike imported goods where only the importers/traders and store owners benefit from their sale, buying locally made goods helps the local industry, generate jobs for Filipinos, and open more business opportunities to provide the ancillary needs of the country’s manufacturing industry.

Locally made products that roll out of Philippine factories are made

by Filipino workers, earning for them money to buy food and other basic needs. Thus, buying locally made goods indirectly benefits the farmers, sewers and tricycle drivers, among others, as well.

I, therefore, urge the Filipino consumers to consider the country’s economy and the Filipino nation in choosing products to buy. If imported products are equally priced with locally made products, or even if the former would be cheaper than the latter, let the Filipinos in our heart prevail. Buy Pinoy, buy local.

Moreover,thePhilippines,through the Bureau of Product Standards, is a member of the Geneva, Switzerlandbased International Organization for Standardization. The international standard setting organization, which was organized in 1947, promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards. Thus, Philippine made products, in terms of quality standard, are globally competitive since these are compliant to international standards.

As consumers, we can be heroes and patriots for our country.

And we can start by making locally made goods the No. 1 priority in our

shopping list. After all, as Filipinos, we are bound to our own “Oath of Allegiance” to the country.

Let us, therefore, remember the last paragraph of the original “Panatang makabayan:” “Paglilingkuran ko ang aking bayan nang walang pagiimbot at buong katapatan. Sisikapin kong maging isang tunay na Pilipino, sa isip, sa salita at sa gawa.”

This part of our Oath of Allegiance to the Philippines continues to make an impact in my life, even as I recall my days in school when we recited the oath every after flag-raising ceremony.

I am saddened, though, that changes were made on the original version of the “Panatang Makabayan.” I, personally, find nothing wrong with the old one. Nevertheless, let the patriots in us Filipinos flow in our blood. Let us not only think about buying Filipino products, let us do it.

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza is the chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries and Fight Illicit Trade; a broad-based, multisectoral movement intended to protect consumers, safeguard government revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill effects of smuggling.

Skip the line as SSS salary loan application goes fully online

commitment of enabling real-time processing of SSS transactions, cooperation from our members is crucial.

As we have been earnestly pointing out in the past, SSS requires its members to comply with the mandatory registration of an account in the My. SSS portal, which could be accessed via the SSS web site (www.sss.gov. ph), SSS mobile app, SSS branch eCenters, and Self-Service Express Terminals.

The main reason is for members to have exclusive access to their social security records, on top of the facility for online submission of transactions. This will ensure data privacy and information security, and prevent identity theft, in accordance with the Section 24 (c) of the Social Security Act of 2018, otherwise known as Republic Act 11199, and Section 31 of the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, or RA 8792.​ For members’ convenience, the updating of their contact information, such as landline and

Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer.

We welcome your questions and insights on the topics that we discuss. E-mail mediaaffairs@sss. gov.ph for topics that you might want us to discuss.

the grant of welfare assistance— from 4Ps, senior pension, sustainable livelihood program, shelter assistance, supplementary feeding program, protective services for individuals in difficult circumstances, etc. Kung ano ang para sa buong taon, pwedeng ibigay na rin.

There are off-budget items that can be tapped, as well.

Yung bilyun-bilyong travel tax na matagal nang binuro, i-ayuda sa mga nasa industriya ng turismo sa Taal at palibot nito, at unahin ang mga nasa laylayan ng lawa, yung mga bangkero, mga may-ari ng kabayo sa isla.

Isa pang binagoong na pondo which can be tapped for Taal rehabilitation is the MVUC fund which stands at P46.25 billion.

I have also filed a bill today, for consideration of the administration, establishing the Taal Reconstruction Commission so that rehabilitation is done in an organized, programmed, predictable, transparent, interagency manner, with the robust participation of local governments, civil society and the private sector.

Why do we have to prepare early?

Because we do not wait for our neighbor’s house to be on fire before we post bidding notices for a water hose.

I also believe, based on our history, that it is only through a chartered, one-stop shop, government body that the rehabilitation of a devastated land can be successful.

If many of our calamity areas are dotted with the carcasses of failed, delayed and unneeded projects, it is because the approach in rebuilding has been scattered and sporadic.

Sa mahabang kasaysayan nito, maraming unos ang dinanas at nalampasan ng Batangueño.

Ang pagsabog ng Taal ay bahagi lamang ng mga pagsubok. Kung gaano kasigurado ang pagdating ng trahedya, ganun din ang aming pagbangon. Itaga n’yo sa bato—Babangon ang Batangas.

Ang nakakataba lang ng puso at nakakapawi ng lungkot, ay anumang hirap ang pinapasan namin ngayon, napapagaan sa pagdating ng tulong ng aming mga kababayan.

Halos buong sambayanan ang umaalalay sa amin. Pinawi n’yo ang am-

ing uhaw, binigyan n’yo kami ng saplot, nilatagan ng mahihigaan, ipinagluto ng pagkain, binigyan ng gamot, pati aming mga hayop inaruga nyo. Binuksan ang inyong mga bahay at inilikas kami sa ligtas na lugar. Kung gaano kakapal ang abo, ganun din ang kwento ng tapang at dalamhati na aming naramdaman.

Sumuong kayo sa panganib, hindi alintana ang pagod, makapiling lang kami sa aming oras ng pangangailangan.

Wala na kaming masasabi kundi maraming, maraming, maraming salamat po.

Bilang pagtatapos, let me share with you some questions the evacuees ask of me, lalo na doon sa mga bayang sobrang naapektuhan ng Taal.

Sabi nila, “Sir, pagkatapos nito ano na? Paano na kami? Wala na kaming babalikang bahay at kabuhayan. Lahat ng pinaghirapan at pinundar namin, naglahong parang bula.”

Back to zero daw sila.

Sagot ko, “Huwag kayong mag-alala.

Hindi namin kayo pababayaan.”

Tulad ko, alam kong hindi n’yo rin sila pababayaan.

Thank you, President.

Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

P

icture this scenario—it’s hot, the sun is beating down as you head out to the nearest Social Security System (SSS) branch to file for a salary loan to meet your immediate, most pressing financing needs. After queuing, the staff at the counter processes your application and tells you to wait for the cheque to be released—but in about two weeks!

Cut to another scene where you find yourself at the comfort of your home, sitting on the couch, and binge-watching the latest Netflix series on a cold, rainy day. But suddenly you thought of your next month’s dues and other financial obligations. You immediately grab a smartphone, log into My.SSS facility, and apply for a salary loan. After three days, you get to withdraw all proceeds credited to your UMIDATM (with EMV capability).

Between the two, the latter is ideally the preferable plot. With a good combination of comfort, convenience, and cost-saving approaches, applying for a salary loan online is now made easier effective November 11, 2019. All employed SSS members, including house helpers, self-employed individuals, voluntary members, and overseas Filipino workers, may skip the line and enjoy instant processing of their salary loans online through four simple steps: 1. Register/Log-in at My. SSS portal. In order to fulfill our

Bangon. . .

continued from A6

But that does not immobilize us from identifying and readying the sources of assistance. And luckily the 2020 national budget is a raft of aid that can be tapped.

To name a few: There is the Calamity Fund.

There are other funds in the budget which can be front-loaded so that their use will not only help in rebuilding lives, livelihood and infrastructure, but generate local jobs and stimulate the local economy, as well.

The best form of relief does not come in grocery bags, but in fund infusion that will give work to the people. The Batangueño people are ready with their sweat equity.

For example, while the fishermen of Taal are thankful for the donation of canned sardines, what they actually look forward to is the normalcy to fish for freshwater sardines called tawilis. It is also time for government to accelerate and advance

monthly loan amortizations. Loan amortization will start in the second month following the loan approval date, with the deadline falling on the last day of the month following the applicable month.

Similar with contributions, salary loan payment requires the use of PRN for instant validation, transmittal, and acknowledgment of payment. Members will receive every month their loan PRN via SMS, e-mail and through their My. SSS account. Payments may be made via the SSS’s payment channels, which include automated tellering facilities in SSS branches, as well as bank and nonbank collection agents. Upon loan payment using PRN, a notification will be sent to SSS members via SMS and e-mail confirming receipt and posting of their payment.

One of the most important mandates of the SSS is to provide fast, accessible, and accurate services to its members wherever they may be.

This movement of salary loan applications from branch-based, overthe-counter transactions toward online channels is just one aspect of achieving the goal. Certainly, there is more to come as SSS is now a part of every home and every office connected to the Internet, thanks to the My.SSS facility.

So, members and employers alike, make sure you sign up and register your account with My.SSS!

mobile numbers, e-mail address, and even mailing address, both local and foreign, can be done through My.SSS. 2. Apply for Salary Loan Online. Registered members may then proceed by clicking “Apply for Salary Loan” under the Electronic Services dropdown menu (it appears under My Loans for SSS mobile app), then supplying and certifying all needed information, such as the loanable amount and account details of UMID-ATM (with EMV capability), or any nominated bank account for loan disbursement. It is important to note, though, that calamity, emergency, and educational assistance loans may only be filed at SSS branches.

For employed members, SSS will be sending a notification for loan certification to their employers, who are given only three working days to certify the loan applications of their employees.

3. Receive notification confirming loan approval. SSS presents two ways of sending the notification: via SMS and e-mail. Thus, all member-borrowers are advised to check the accuracy of their SSSregistered mobile number and e-mail address.

Members will receive either a Disclosure Statement if their loan application was approved, or an outright Rejection Notice if not qualified.

4. Pay using your Payment Reference Number (PRN). After receiving the loan proceeds via UMID-ATM (with EMV capability) card or any active SSS-accredited bank account, it’s now time for members and employers alike to settle

A8 Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Solon pitches ₧100-B Taal recovery, rehab commish

A

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

LEADER of the House of Representatives has filed a bill creating the Taal Eruption Recovery Rehabilitation and Adaptation (TERRA) Commission, with the power to implement procurement procedures adopted during a state of calamity.

In House Bill 5977, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, the panel chairman, said the bill seeks an appropriation of P100 billion for the creation of the Taal Commission.

He said the Taal Commission will be the primary agency of the national government for relief and rehabilitation toward the comprehensive reconstruction

“More important, there is a need to build back better forward, and this requires landscape and social planning of a scale never before seen in the region affected by Taal.” —Salceda

of Taal eruption-vulnerable areas.

Under the Salceda bill, all projects, activities and programs undertaken by the commission shall be covered by the procurement procedure adopted during the state of calamity.

This shall include major infrastructure flagship projects: PNR South Long Haul, Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway Project, SLEX-TR4 (Southern Luzon Ex-

pressway Toll Road 4 and Expansion of Batangas Port.

The bill said the commission shall enroll all infrastructure projects undertaken under this Act in a calamity insurance plan, as recommended by the National Treasurer and the Insurance Commission.

“More important, there is a need to build back better forward, and this requires landscape and social planning of a scale never before seen in the region affected by Taal.

The national unity that the crisis has awakened is an opportunity to unlock the region’s potential—to realize the greater economic growth driver that it could have been for the country if it were more carefully and more intelligently planned,” Salceda said.

See “Taal recovery,” A2

DA steps up watch vs possible ASF bearers

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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) has intensified its measures against African swine fever (ASF) as it authorized its quarantine officers to mandatorily inspect all incoming shipments containing pork-based processed

products, and other food items that could carry the deadly virus.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar issued Memorandum Order (MO) 03 of 2020, giving the DA’s veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors the authority to inspect

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING THE COUNTRY as of 4:00 pm - January 21, 2020

shipments of pork-based processed products and other foodstuff.

The order was in line with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) order last year that gave the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) and the Bureau of Animal

Industry (BAI) “the authority to inspect, evaluate and conduct other regulatory action on all incoming shipments of pork-based processed or prepared food or foodstuff.”

Under t he cou nt r y ’s Food Safety law, the regulation of processed meat products is under the FDA of the Department of Health, while live animals and fresh meat products fall under the jurisdiction of the DA’s BAI and NMIS, respectively.

“All veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors are hereby authorized to inspect all NMIS nonaccredited private cold-storage warehouses and container vans, or any items that are possible carriers of the ASF virus at the ports of entry [1st border] and cold-storage warehouses [2nd border],” the order read.

The order shall remain in force until December 4, 2020, “unless sooner revoked or canceled by the FDA,” according to MO 03.

Last year, the DA tagged smuggled Chinese pork products in the country among the culprits in the intrusion and spread of ASF in Luzon, which has resulted in the culling and deaths of over 140,000 pigs.

The DA has been strengthening its quarantine measures, particularly border control, against ASF even before the fatal hog disease was confirmed in Luzon.

Recently, the DA issued MO 04 of 2020 which formally banned the importation of domestic and wild pigs, pork meat, and other pork-related products from Indonesia, where hundreds of ASF cases were confirmed.

Through MO 04, the DA has suspended the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from Indonesia.

The BusinessMirror first reported that the Philippines would ban the importation of live pigs and pork-related products from Indonesia after Ja k arta confirmed over 300 outbreaks of ASF last month.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar earlier told the BusinessMirror that the government would “pursue” the same measures it applied on ASF-affected countries to Indonesia as a safeguard measure against the fatal hog disease.

Since last year, the government, through the DA together with other border-related agencies, such as Bureau of Customs, has been implementing stricter quarantine measures on shipments from ASFaffected countries.

Shell, PTT used up 2019 stocks; selling goods with higher taxes now

By Lenie Lectura

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@llectura

ILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp. and PTT Philippines Corp. have utilized their 2019 fuel inventory and are now selling petroleum products with higher taxes.

According to Assistant Secretary Leonido J. Pulido III of the Department of Energy (DOE), PTT started implementing higher fuel taxes last January 15, in most of its service stations in Cavite and Quezon.

For Shell, the implementation date took effect as early as January 2, in some of its stations located in Kalibo, Aklan and Boracay.

“Both Shell and PTT have implemented TRAIN,” said Pulido referring to the last tranche of tax hike under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, which took effect January 1, 2020.

He said the number of Shell service stations selling higher fuel taxes has reached 267 while PTT has nine.

Other oil firms, he said, are expected to follow suit anytime soon.

They were warned by the DOE not to impose higher fuel taxes until they have used up their 2019 oil inventories.

“Per the directive, daily inventory reports on the remaining balance of the December 31, 2019 old inventory volume shall be submitted starting January 1, until the same is depleted,” the DOE said last Monday when asked if any of the oil firms have started implementing higher excise tax on fuel.

Oil firms with the capability to refine crude oil in the country keep a 30-day inventory. The crude oil needs to be refined, which will re-

Budget. . .

Continued from A1

“Counting five years backwards from January 2020 when Taal erupted—as RA 10121 mandates that unexpended LDRRMF shall accrue to a special trust fund solely for the purpose of supporting disaster risk reduction and management activities of the LDRRMCs within the next five years—I can imagine they may still have sufficient funds,” Lacson argued.

“That, and to be augmented by the national government, should all be taken into account when we deliberate on the P30-billion supplemental budget being pushed by the President.”

Lacson added: “[This is not to say] that I am not supporting the expeditious passage of the budget measure. I’m only saying we have to find out if P30 billion is a bit more or even not sufficient to help the LGUs affected by the Taal Volcano eruption.

House waits for DBM

For his part, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the House will await the proposal of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) regarding the supplemental budget proposed by the President.

Bridges. . .

Continued from A1

“DPWH does not have Chinese loans, what we have are China grants. Binondo-Intramuros and Estrella-Pantaleon are undertaken at no cost to the government,” Lamentillo said.

The P3.39-billion Binondo-Intramuros bridge is a 680-lineal meter Basket-Handle tied steel arch bridge. It connects Intramuros and Binondo with a viaduct structure over Estero de Binondo.

The P1.47-billion Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge project in Makati aims to replace the prestressed concrete rigid frame bridge with corrugated steel webs with 4-lane concrete deck slab of approximately 506.46-lineal meters.

It will connect Estrella Street at Makati side

sult in finished product. Thereafter, this will be sent to various service stations before the finished product is sold to consumers.

DOE figures show gasoline prices will increase by P1.12 per liter, diesel by P1.68 per liter, kerosene

by P1.12 per liter and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) by P1.12 per kilo.

This week, oil firms reduced the price of diesel by P1.70 per liter, gasoline by P0.85 per liter and kerosene by P1.65 per liter.

Prior to this week’s oil price rollback, diesel price went down last January 14 by P0.20 per liter, and kerosene by P0.30 per liter.

Last January 7, a price increase of P0.40 per liter on diesel and P0.30 per liter in kerosene took effect. Gasoline prices, meanwhile, dropped by P0.10 per liter.

Visit to Taal areas

Meanwhile, the DOE visited evacuation centers in Tanauan City as part of its assessment activities after Taal Volcano’s eruption last week.

The DOE said its teams will determine the energy situation in Cavite and Batangas. They sought to acquire information that would help it immediately address all energy concerns, such as electrical inspections of service drops; panel conditions; and, load types of lighting, fans, and charging to ensure that proper power services are being provided in the evacuation centers.

The DOE team also distributed emergency lights, portable solar power lamps, solar power banks and clothing to volunteers. Most evacuation centers visited have no power and fuel supply in their areas, it said.

He said they are committed to work with the DBM to pass the proposed supplemental budget and make sure the execution is done in an effective and responsive manner. “We are coordinating with the concerned agencies and consulting with the local government officials in the affected towns and provinces.

The supplemental budget can help alleviate the conditions of our kababayan and enable them to recover from their economic losses,” he added.

The House of Representatives is scheduled to hold its plenary session in Batangas City Convention Center on Wednesday, January 22.

As of January 18, almost 150,000 individuals in Batangas have moved to evacuation centers in the aftermath of the Taal eruption.

Initial estimates from the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) indicate that the economic losses as a result of the Taal volcanic eruption have reached P7.63 billion. The Department of AgricultureCalabarzon reported that the total agricultural damage in Batangas, Cavite and some parts of Laguna has reached P3.06 billion.

Cayetano proposed that the House be organized into a Committee on the Whole to listen to the representatives, responders from all over Batangas, Cavite and Laguna, and the people directly affected. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz and Butch Fernandez

to Barangka Drive at the Mandaluyong side.

Both bridges are part of the 100 flagship projects of the government which includes several projects funded by Chinese loans.

These projects are the Chico River Pump Irrigation System costing P2.7 billion; the new centennial water source or the Kaliwa Dam, P10.9 billion; and the PNR South Rail, which spans Metro Manila to the province of Bicol, at P151.3 billion.

The Duterte administration has accumulated $9 billion worth of loans from Beijing since the visit of Chinese delegations in the country in October 2017.

In 2016, Chinese President Xi Jin Ping had committed some $9 billion worth of official development assistance and commercial loans to the Philippines to bankroll the Duterte administration’s infrastructure projects.

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Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE NCR Regional Office located at 967 Maligaya St., Malate, Manila, within 30 days after its publication.

Please inform DOLE NCR if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

‘No irregularities in Iemop choice as electric spot market operator’

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

N

O irregularities. The Department of Energy (DOE) has insisted that the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (Iemop) Inc. bagged the deal to manage and operate the electricity spot market fair and square.

The agency, in a briefer issued Monday night, denied that the creation of Iemop was a result of a “sweetheart” deal.

Instead, the DOE said Iemop was created by virtue of the enactment DOE Department Circular 2018-01-0002 dated January 17, 2018, and consequently the IMO (Independent Market Operator) Transition Plan, which are based on Section 30 of the Epira (Electric Power Industry Reform Act), which were jointly approved by the DOE and the Electric Power Participants.

“No. It is not,” the DOE said, responding to allegations in some quarters that it was a sweetheart deal. “A Transition Plan was followed which was in accordance with law,” it added.

The other day, Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles said the selection of an IMO to manage the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) was conducted “without any competitive selection process [CSP].”

It also alleged that Iemop grew “from a P7,000 capitalization to become a multimillion outfit with a

total declared income of more than P100 million for the end of 2018.”

Moreover, the lawmaker said Iemop “automatically collects” 50 centavos for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) from consumers’ monthly electric bill.

The DOE said a competitive bidding was required only for foreign participants as an option under the Epira if the IMO was created in 2007.

“The DOE opted to create a separate entity composed of Filipinos who have acquired the necessary expertise to operate the WESM and ensure that the market will be managed by Filipinos,” the agency said.

While Iemop collects from consumers, the DOE said the amount is only “less than 1 centavo” and not 50 centavos.

The agency went on to clarify that Iemop’s incorporation was approved by the Transition Team based on the plan outlined in the DOE’s department circular.

“The system was transferred to Iemop based on the Operating Agreement between PEMC [Philippine Electricity Market Corp.] and Iemop dated September 18, 2018,

and people running the system were disengaged from PEMC and hired by Iemop,” said the DOE. Hence, it added, “Iemop was a ‘spin off’ of PEMC towards independence in market operations,” said the DOE. PEMC used to perform the market operations, with the DOE secretary as chairman and most of the board members coming from the power industry.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi gave up the chairmanship on condition that the market operations be performed by an independent corporation with the necessary experience and expertise.

“Thus, with the endorsement of the industry players as required

by Epira, Cusi issued DC 2018-010002. The House of Representatives, the Senate and the Joint Congressional Energy Commission [formerly JCPC] were given a report on all these steps that were made,” the DOE said.

Nograles had urged the House energy committee to conduct a probe, saying that a competitive bidding should have taken place even though Epira had mandated the creation of an IMO.

Araneta City to add its second hotel in the complex

By VG Cabuag @villygc

A

RANETA City, the country’s first mixed-use complex in Cubao, Quezon City, is set to add another hotel in the area under the ibis brand, hoping to target young travelers and compete head-on with Ayala’s own brand located near north Edsa.

Rowell Recinto, ACI management consultant, said the company may have a soft opening of the 300-room ibis Styles Hotel by the end of the year, with full op-

eration eyed for 2021. The company spent more than P1.5 billion for the hotel alone, which had its topping-off ceremony on Monday.

“Market position [for the hotel] is for younger travelers, it’s for budget travelers. It’s a little different [in] that it doesn’t compete just on pricing. The distinction of an ibis brand is the design. It’s a given that it’s Accor service. But as far as design is concerned, ibis Style is going to pay homage to the legacy of the [Araneta] Coliseum. We are trying to keep it under wraps but there are teasers like for example, the side elements similar to a lightning

bar. You will see some reflections of the gate of the coliseum. Ibis Styles Hotel pay homage to where they are,” Recinto said.

ACI Inc. is the owner and developer of Araneta City. Its first hotel in the area is under the Novotel brand.

The Ibis Styles Araneta City is located at the top of Gateway Mall 2 and within walking distance to key establishments of the area.

Megawide Construction Corp.

Chairman and CEO Edgar Saavedra said the entire complex, which includes Gateway Mall 2, cost about P5 billion to build, but

that does not include the fit outs that will cost a lot more.

“We will complete the project by end of the year substantially for the mall operations. For the hotels, we’re only doing the structural package. But we’re supposed to turn it over first quarter next year and we’re supposed to have some fit-out work probably second or third quarter this year,” Saavedra told reporters.

The complex is the fourth project of Megawide in Cubao. The first ones include the New Frontier Theater and some of the BPO buildings.

GCash helps facilitate donations to civic groups in Taal relief ops ABS-CBN Foundation.

“The Filipino spirit of bayanihan is best displayed during these times, and we at GCash are inspired with the outf lowing of donations and financial aid to those affected by this calamity. We have since added a new in-app feature to make it more convenient for our users to support relief efforts,” he said.

GCash users simply have to open their apps, click on the “Pay Bills” tile, select “Others,” click on “Tulong Taal,” and input the amount they would like to contribute. They may also opt to directly send fi-

A post by the Philippine Red Cross shows PRC Chairman Sen. Richard Gordon accepting a donation of P500,000 from Dr. Vicki Belo and her daughter Scarlet Snow for the Taal Volcano eruption relief operations. The PRC is one of the organizations using GCash to facilitate the sending of donations. PHOTO FROM PHIL. RED CROSS

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OBILE wallet GCash has partnered with several civic organizations to hasten relief efforts for those affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano, its president said on Tuesday.

Anthony Thomas, the company’s

president, said his group has enabled users to use the digital wallet to facilitate financial aid to these groups: the Philippine Red Cross, World Vision, Animal Kingdom Foundation, Ayala Foundation, the School of Deaf and Applied Studies, Hope in a Bottle and

nancial assistance to their chosen aid group via their own QR codes posted in social media.

This initiative, Thomas said, is part of the group’s GCash for Good initiative, its corporate social responsibility thrust, which was first launched in mid-2019.

Likewise, individuals have been using GCash to facilitate their own fund-raising campaigns for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption.

“It is encouraging for us at GCash to see our platform being used for good causes.

This is a huge step for us, as we transform the GCash app to a more socially significant, responsible and sustainable platform to create an impact on millions of lives in the Philippines,” Thomas said. Lorenz S. Marasigan

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Geri eyes ₧1-B sales from new Southwoods townhouse project

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UBLICLY listed property developer Global-Estate Resorts Inc. is launching a new residential project inside the 561-hectare Southwoods City at the boundaries of Biñan, Laguna, and Carmona, Cavite, and it expects to generate around P1 billion in sales from it.

The Upland Villas will be rows of twostory townhouses and duplex villas in modern and tropical architecture within the 26-hectare Pahara residential village.

Some 65 units will be offered in the project, which is expected for completion in 2024.

Each unit will have its own living and dining areas, kitchen, maid’s room, common bathroom and a lanai at the ground floor, and bedrooms and bathrooms at the second floor. Each unit also comes with a two-slot carport.

With their exclusive access to Pahara residential village, future residents of

Upland Villas will also be able to use the Pahara Clubhouse and amenities, the company said.

“Set within the exclusive enclave on the hills of Southwoods City, Upland Villas is a unique residential offering where one can relax and enjoy the beauty of its natural surroundings. More important, since we have easily sold out the lots of Pahara, this is an opportunity to own a property within this sought-after village inside Southwoods City,” Rachelle Peñaflorida, vice president for sales and marketing, Megaworld GlobalEstate Inc., said.

To date, Geri has launched three residential developments inside Southwoods City, with a total of 2,237 units and lots.

The company has also launched two office towers in the townships, offering 46,000 square meters of office spaces under Megaworld Premier Offices. VG Cabuag

Adobo Connection opens 60th store, aims for 30% sales growth this year

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

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AST-FOOD chain Adobo Connection bared on Tuesday its expectation for its sales to increase by 30 percent this year after it reached its targeted amount of P500 million in 2019, while hoping to fulfill its 2020 expansion plan to open a total of 100 stores nationwide.

As the company seeks to grow its network by more than twice its 56 stores last year, the conservative projection, though, is that sales will not double in the next 11 months.

“This is because we’re opening mostly Adobowls, which is just one-third of the sales [of Adobo Connection]. With that, we expect a 30-percent increase this year,” Adobo Connection Managing Director Meredith Ngo told the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the opening of their 60th branch located at the SM North Annex in Quezon City.

The quick service restaurant, to date, has 32 company-owned and 28 franchised outlets—40 of them are branded as Adobo Connection, which is a full dining format, and 20 are Adobowls, a smaller kiosk type mostly for takeouts.

The bistro has been known for serving adobo, one of the most favorite Filipino dishes, and other local favorites like sinigang, kare-kare and liempo. For the first time in 10 years of its existence, Adobo Connection has initiated a marketing effort with the intro-

duction of television host Melai Cantiveros during the occasion.

“So we’re hoping that we can grow 30 percent with Melai being part of our family,” she said of the comedienne and host, who is also the franchisee of the newly opened Adobo Connection branch.

The managing director added that the integration with them of the production and research and development of Bounty Fresh, which has a stake in the firm, will also help drive their business growth by end-2020. The mobility lifestyle of Filipinos is also seen to contribute to their sales hike.

“The market will still go towards delivery.

Since traffic situation would probably get worse, so people would really want to just walk to work. So because of all of these, we will grow through deliveries, takeouts, and more small stores,” Ngo pointed out.

With this in mind, she said that they will put up more Adobowls to cap the year with 50 outlets alongside the 50 branches of Adobo Connection. She said: “Adobowls is really the perfect way to grow our business because of the changing landscape into food deliveries.”

Currently, 20 more stores are already under construction, just on track to their scheduled opening in the next four months, according to her.

“I’m pretty sure we can open 20 more before the end of the year,” Ngo said, adding that they will be mostly located in Davao, Manila, Ortigas, Quezon City and school areas.

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Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Companies BusinessMirror

From Oreo packs to car bumpers? Mondelez spends P2M on Parañaque recycling facility

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ONDELEZ Philippines has invested P2 million in a recycling facility in Parañaque City that will be fully operational this year and has the capacity to turn packaging waste into recycled items, such as car bumpers.

Mondelez Philippines CGA Country Manager Kristoffer M. Rada said on Tuesday the firm poured in some P2 million for the plant in Sucat area and the investment is part of Mondelez’s partnership

with the Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS).

PARMS funded the building of a recycling facility that has the capacity to recycle packaging waste of its member-firms, particularly Mondelez, which aims to eliminate 65,000 metric tons of packaging material worldwide by this year.

“There has to be a financial component to this [efforts to reduce waste], and it should come up to a substantial number. We invested some money for the recycling plant in Parañaque, and it’s about P2 million for that,” Rada said in an interview with reporters.

Construction of the recycling facility began in 2017, and it only started

pilot stage of operations last year, when the plant experimented on the kinds of packaging waste that it can process.

Globally, Mondelez is eyeing all of its paper-based packaging to be sustainably sourced by this year, as well as to provide reliable recycling information in markets around the world by 2025. Rada said the Philippine factory of the international brand is on track to hit these objectives, and it could even pace itself faster than its counterparts from other countries.

“The challenge here [is] some of our products are multilayer plastics.

At the moment, we are working very hard with a suitable alternative to

that. It will take some time, but we are confident that we will be able to meet our targets by 2025 aligned with our global [goal],” he said.

“There’s no stopping us, of course.

If...we are able to find a viable alternative [before then], then by all means we’ll be very happy to put it up to the market,” Rada added.

Since 1963, Mondelez Philippines has been in the business of food and snack production. Its product portfolio includes the popular household brands Tang, Eden, Cheez Whiz, Oreo, Tiger, Belvita, Toblerone and Cadbury Dairy Milk. The firm employs about 450 people, and has a manufacturing plant in Parañaque City.

Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Commuter group backs motorbike taxi study

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ECIDING on whether or not to continue the motorcycle taxi pilot program should not be based on emotions, but on sound judgment to prevent disfranchising the riding public from the decisionmaking process, a commuter group said on Tuesday.

The Passenger Forum Convenor Primo Morillo said concluding the program abruptly without proper findings that will help lawmakers craft a law to legalize the use of motorcycles for public transport will be detrimental to consumers, given that demand for the service is booming due to poor public transport infrastructure in the metropolis.

“Right after the announcement, we monitored the reactions of commuters and it all points to one thing: the public appreciates motorcycle taxis and they want motorcycle taxis to continue operating,” he said.

He called for a “more sober approach” in determining the fate of the motorcycle taxi service, and advised the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board

(LTFRB) to “listen to the sentiments of the riding public.”

Monday saw members of the technical working group for the pilot program telling senators that they will terminate the program “immediately,” claiming that the program has already been marred with legal tussles that “prevent” them from doing the data gathering works.

Senators grilled the regulators, with Public Services Committee Chairman Sen. Grace Poe saying the move smacked of some form of revenge for the lawsuit that the key motorbike taxi group, Angkas, had filed against them. Later that day, the Transportation department said it is reconsidering its decision, and will convene to determine its next steps.

To recall, Angkas and its drivers lodged different cases in different courts to petition against the supply cap that the government suddenly imposed on motorcycle taxi companies when it announced the second phase of the pilot run, from December 23 to March 23, 2020. Despite these developments and a possible blacklisting of his group, Angkas Chief Transport Advocate George Royeca said his group remains open to working with the government for the benefit of the riding public.

“We are still committed to working with the government to build a better system,” he said.

Morillo said his group supports Angkas’ call for the removal of the supply cap, given that commuters are clamoring for two-wheel transport options to es-

Yanson matriarch now claims full ownership of biggest bus group

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HE group of Olivia V. Yanson, the matriarch of the Yanson Group that owns the country’s largest bus company, on Tuesday said her camp

had now full control of the business after one of her sons was reelected in one of the firm’s units.

Olivia led the stockholders’ meeting of Bachelor Express Inc., another sister company of Vallacar Transit Inc., over the weekend. The meeting saw the reelection of her son Leo Rey Y. Yanson as president and CEO of the company.

Leo Rey was also reappointed over the weekend as the president and CEO of Mindanao Star Bus Transport Inc., another sister firm of Vallacar.

The Yanson matriarch camp now controls six bus companies under Vallacar.

“This is affirmation of ownership and management control of 4,800 bus liner units covering Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao areas,” the Yanson matriarch’s camp said.

Bachelor Express is a part of the Yanson Group of bus Cos. which operates throughout the Philippines—including in the cities of Bacolod, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, Davao, Pagadian, Dipolog, and in Bohol and Batangas.

Aside from Leo Rey and Olivia, the stockholders of Bachelor Express also elected as directors Ginnette Y. Dumancas, Charles M. Dumancas, Arvin John V. Villaruel, Rey C. Ardo, Anita G. Chua, Daniel Nicolas P. Golez, Danny O. Lorenton, Hernan B. Omecillo and Alfredo O. Ligo Jr. These directors will serve for one year.

A family feud is brewing between the Yanson siblings—the Matriarch side as against the so-called Yanson Four—over the ownership of the company.

The Securities and Exchange Commission earlier warned the two factions to avoid dishing out misinformation to the public as this ill negatively impact not only the warring factions but also the investors, the consumers and the overall market.

The Yanson Four are Roy V. Yanson, Ricardo V. Yanson Jr., Emily V. Yanson and Ma. Lourdes Celina V. Yanson-Lopez. VGCabuag

sentially beat the monstrous traffic on major roads in Metro Manila.

“The demand for motorcycle taxis is so huge and the coverage of the current study is too limited. We have to remember that way before Metro Manila and other urban centers allowed motorcycle taxis, habal-habals have been operating in underserved rural areas for so long,” Morillo noted.

mutual funds

But while his group supports the quick passage of the amendments to the traffic code, Morillo suggested “a few safety nets to ensure the safety of passengers and accountability of drivers and providers. It includes imposing speed and work hour limits, provision of accident insurance, stricter penalties for violations that endangers passengers, and a standard training for motorcycle taxi drivers.” Lorenz S. Marasigan

January 21, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 244.15 -9.05% -1.15% -1.9% -3.07% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.3174 -11.2% -1.24% -4.63% -4.67% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.4252 -17.7% -5.24% -5.21% -6.88% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.861 -10.4% n.a. n.a. -4.02% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.8187 -6.87% n.a. n.a.

-3.6% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 5.1597 -8.06% 0.36% -3.16% -1.89% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,6 0.8234 -7.92% -3.58% n.a.

-3.54% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 100.74 -17.47% n.a. n.a.

-2.51% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 49.5362 -6.41% 1.16% n.a.

-3.4% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 515.09 -6.31% 0.15% -1.55% -3.32% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,8 1.0007 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-2.85% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.2475 -6.27% 0.97% -0.51% -3.06% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 36.634 -6.34% 1.79% -0.53% -3.33% -6.84% n.a. n.a. -3.48% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.9827 Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 5.0446 -5.59% 1.7% 0.39% -3.42% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 8 42.21 -5.64% 1.63% 0.29% -3.42% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.7964 -12.68% -2.11% -3.66% -6.46% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 4.0202 -6.85% 0.74% -0.69% -4.49% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.9667 -5.94% 1.49% n.a.

-3.41% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.5237 -5.49% 2.59% 0.96% -3.55% Exchange Traded Fund 1.24% First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 112.9777 -5.32% 2.33% -3.4% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.0597 10.03% 6.58% 1.5% 3.04% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.4173 20.64% 10.27% n.a.

2.8% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5285 -11.87% -3.94% -4.87% -2.19% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.1107 -8.45% -2.51% -2.42% -3.23% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.5751 -3.47% 1.02% -2.02% -2.14% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,5 0.2252 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-1.44% Grepalife Balanced Fund Corporation -a N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.937 1.22% 1.93% 0.37% -1.33% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.6976 1.74% 0.79% -0.7% -2.41% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.5624 0.52% 0.71% -0.76% -2.35% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.0939 -3% 0.61% 0.25% -1.5% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.7449 -1.88% 1.14% -0.39% -3.08% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9878 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-2.75% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9655 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-3.1% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d,2 0.9619 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-3.15% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.9379 -2.87% 0.29% -1.57% -3.79% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.0383 8.07% 2.6% 1.92% 0.18% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -a $1.0534 10.57% 5.08% 1.39% 1.49% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.9877 15.36% 7.9% 4.72% 1.97% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,7 $1.1415 10.45% 4.64% n.a.

1.13% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 358.07 3.99% 2.75% 2.22% 0.08% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9042 2.51% 0.3% -0.77% 0.12% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1205 4.7% 5.11% 5.16% 0.13% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2171 3.57% 1.94% 1.63% -0.36% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.3451 5.49% 1.85% 1.3% -0.59% Grepalife Fixed Income Fund Corp. -a P N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.3324 11.78% 2.03% 1.2% -0.93% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.7647 5.62% 2.62% 1.14% -0.62% 0.9568 Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 5.33% 0.77% -0.28% -0.78% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.0423 8.32% 3.73% 2.06% -1.09% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.6766 7.24% 3.17% 1.53% -1.44% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $469.39 4.48% 2.68% 2.71% 0.25% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є219.78 3.24% 1.68% 1.28% 0.02% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2101 6.76% 2.96% 2.43% 0.24% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 4.02% 1.46% 1.28% 0.39% N.S. Grepalife Dollar Bond Fund Corp. -a N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -a $1.0999 5.95% 1.28% -0.58% 0.43% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4124 9.99% 3.27% 2.57% 0.36% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0604525 5.88% 2.26% 1.93% 0.23% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1985 10.62% 2.72% 2.51% 0.73% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 126.05 3.96% 2.88% 2.2% 0.21% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a,3 1.0285 n.a. n.a. n.a.

0.21% -0.66% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.2484 5.68% 2.87% 1.56% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2668 3.72% 2.91% 2.39% 0.17% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0382 2.07% n.a. n.a.

0.1% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,4 $1 n.a. n.a. n.a.

1.01%

a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU).

1 - Launch date is January 3, 2019. 2 - Launch date is January 28, 2019. 3 - Launch date is February 1, 2019. 4 Launch date is November 15, 2019.

5 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 6 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.).

7 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019. 8 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

"While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

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PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 21, 2020

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

BDO UNIBANK 153.2 153.5 154 154.3 153.1 153.2 1,245,280 191,229,897 83.8 83.9 86.65 86.65 83.8 83.8 1,223,310 103,830,306 ( BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK 25 25.05 25.1 25.1 25 25 232,700 5,818,375 12.02 12.1 12.24 12.24 11.9 12 235,800 2,830,938 EAST WEST BANK METROBANK 63.9 63.95 64.2 64.5 63.8 63.95 3,281,160 210,030,683.5 12.1 12.98 12 12.2 12 12.1 71,400 857,900 PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK 31.1 31.15 31.7 32 31.05 31.15 312,500 9,777,135 59 59.2 58.45 59.25 58.45 58.7 7,650 451,208 PSBANK 22.4 22.5 22.4 22.4 22.4 22.4 8,300 185,920 RCBC SECURITY BANK 185.5 185.6 189 189 185 185.6 198,340 36,827,589 58.5 59 58 59 58 58.5 1,070 62,560 UNION BANK BDO LEASING 3.09 3.1 3 3.24 2.9 3.1 521,000 1,605,150 18 18.2 18.02 18.02 18 18 4,100 73,858 COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS 0.56 0.61 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 1,000 650 3.82 3.88 4.02 4.02 3.76 3.88 33,000 126,490 FERRONOUX HLDG 1.15 1.2 1.15 1.2 1.15 1.2 11,000 12,850 IREMIT MEDCO HLDG 0.455 0.465 0.34 0.5 0.34 0.465 23,460,000 10,542,000 865 880 880 880 870 880 1,030 905,800 MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE 0.85 0.88 0.9 0.9 0.84 0.88 198,000 166,960 173 174 173.5 173.5 173.5 173.5 320 55,520 PHIL STOCK EXCH

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 2.07 2.08 2.15 2.23 1.98 2.08 13,433,000 28,241,290 ALSONS CONS 1.22 1.27 1.23 1.23 1.22 1.23 120,000 147,000 32.6 32.65 32.85 32.85 32.5 32.65 646,400 21,094,955 ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY 0.227 0.229 0.23 0.233 0.227 0.229 1,070,000 244,700 20.35 20.4 20 20.7 19.78 20.35 1,753,900 35,169,322 FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG 66 66.2 66 66.2 66 66 4,760 314,192 279.2 283 281 284.8 279.2 279.2 144,370 40,468,374 MERALCO 9.38 9.39 9.35 9.38 8.8 9.38 10,858,100 98,817,172 MANILA WATER PETRON 3.92 3.93 3.86 3.95 3.84 3.92 996,000 3,882,220 3.89 4.14 3.86 4.15 3.86 4.14 7,000 28,010 PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM 11.72 11.92 12 12 11.72 11.92 84,300 1,002,946 31.5 31.6 31.6 31.9 31.3 31.45 108,200 3,413,740 PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER 8.76 8.78 8.8 8.8 8.73 8.78 170,100 1,488,533 14.9 15.1 15.1 15.1 15.1 15.1 400 6,040 VIVANT 11.9 11.92 12.08 12.44 11.92 11.92 1,317,500 16,272,200 AGRINURTURE AXELUM 2.88 2.89 2.9 2.91 2.81 2.89 2,271,000 6,524,230 14.92 14.94 14.82 14.92 14.8 14.92 482,600 7,195,784 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 4.95 5 5 5 5 5 5,100 25,500 8.77 8.8 8.95 8.95 8.78 8.8 672,200 5,960,937 3 DNL INDUS EMPERADOR 7.23 7.24 7.22 7.23 7.22 7.23 1,359,700 9,825,558 70.25 70.75 70.5 71.5 70 70.75 831,250 58,881,872.5 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.5 0.51 0.52 0.52 0.5 0.51 812,000 414,060 FRUITAS HLDG 1.67 1.68 1.69 1.73 1.62 1.68 31,323,000 52,137,170 37 37.1 37 37.3 36.95 37 71,000 2,628,710 GINEBRA JOLLIBEE 209 209.4 212.6 212.6 207.4 209.4 225,600 47,225,664 7.09 7.1 6.85 7.14 6.85 7.09 27,700 195,298 MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP 10.9 10.92 11.3 11.3 10.9 10.92 182,400 2,000,270 1.59 1.61 1.64 1.65 1.59 1.59 151,000 244,140 PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA 9.55 9.7 9.71 9.75 9.41 9.55 151,200 1,445,084 ROXAS AND CO 1.78 1.82 1.82 1.89 1.79 1.79 876,000 1,589,040 5.28 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 2,000 10,600 RFM CORP SWIFT FOODS 0.115 0.118 0.115 0.115 0.115 0.115 560,000 64,400 151.7 152.1 153 153 151.1 152.1 1,025,610 155,848,743 UNIV ROBINA VITARICH 1.28 1.29 1.19 1.28 1.19 1.28 30,388,000 38,013,430 61.8 64.2 64.2 66.75 64.2 64.2 870 56,287.5 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 70 70.4 68 68 66.95 67.05 1,000 67,347 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.57 1.55 1.56 9,823,000 15,325,680 CEMEX HLDG 13.38 13.5 13.5 13.94 13.38 13.38 38,700 521,124 EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 9.05 9.12 9.39 9.39 9.05 9.12 56,800 520,691 12.8 12.86 12.98 12.98 12.58 12.86 270,700 3,473,754 HOLCIM MEGAWIDE 14.8 15 15.16 15.16 14.56 15 912,700 13,668,762 9.62 9.91 9.61 9.91 9.61 9.91 7,900 76,484 PHINMA TKC METALS 0.98 1.02 0.99 1.05 0.95 0.98 366,000 368,430 1 1.01 0.96 1.02 0.95 1.01 5,056,000 5,014,140 VULCAN INDL 164.5 179.3 169 169 169 169 200 33,800 CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA 2.16 2.17 2.16 2.19 2.16 2.17 227,000 492,480 1.58 1.69 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 3,000 4,800 EUROMED LMG CHEMICALS 4.82 4.88 4.87 4.87 4.87 4.87 2,000 9,740 4.72 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.75 5,000 23,750 PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION 32.1 32.5 32.4 32.5 32.4 32.5 86,800 2,817,540 2 2.02 2.07 2.07 1.98 2 7,522,000 15,180,120(3, GREENERGY 7.8 7.82 7.79 7.89 7.75 7.8 294,100 2,292,662 INTEGRATED MICR IONICS 1.33 1.37 1.31 1.37 1.3 1.37 850,000 1,139,350 1.27 1.29 1.12 1.35 1.12 1.27 13,035,000 16,259,740 SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG 11.84 11.88 11.48 13.38 11.4 11.84 29,241,800 358,925,958

HOLDING & FRIMS

ABACORE CAPITAL ASIABEST GROUP AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL AYALA LAND LOG ANSCOR ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG KEPPEL HLDG A LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA HLDG PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SOC RESOURCES TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.86 10.6 715 51.15 10.92 2.58 6.22 0.71 0.99 0.97 6.53 6.26 13 3.77 780 5.1 73.45 5.89 5.2 0.49 3.69 10.46 0.58 3.2 4.34 1.18 1.16 181 1,026 148.1 0.77 190.3 0.208 0.235

0.87 10.84 717 51.7 10.94 2.6 6.39 0.72 1 1.03 6.54 6.27 13.08 4.1 790 5.2 73.95 6.66 5.83 0.495 3.74 10.5 0.6 3.21 4.68 1.24 1.21 192 1,030 148.3 0.8 201.8 0.214 0.244

0.89 11.08 752 52.75 10.96 2.68 6.22 0.7 1.02 1.07 6.53 6.26 13 3.77 780.5 5.3 74.3 6.65 5 0.5 3.67 11 0.6 3.3 4.7 1.24 1.19 182 1030 148.1 0.79 203.4 0.207 0.215

0.89 11.08 755.5 53.5 11.02 2.68 6.38 0.74 1.03 1.07 6.54 6.31 13.1 3.77 790 5.3 74.3 6.65 5.2 0.5 3.77 11 0.6 3.3 4.7 1.24 1.21 185 1,045 150.5 0.84 212.6 0.207 0.25

0.85 10.6 695.5 51.15 10.64 2.5 6.21 0.69 0.97 0.97 6.47 6.21 13 3.77 779 5.15 72.6 6.65 5 0.49 3.67 10.42 0.6 3.14 4.34 1.15 1.15 181 1,021 147.4 0.76 190.3 0.207 0.215

0.86 10.82 715 51.15 10.94 2.6 6.38 0.71 1 1.03 6.53 6.26 13.08 3.77 790 5.15 73.95 6.65 5.2 0.5 3.69 10.5 0.6 3.2 4.34 1.24 1.21 181 1,026 148.1 0.8 190.3 0.207 0.244

20,457,000 10,800 653,020 445,660 9,475,400 1,933,000 3,200 290,000 2,301,000 52,000 1,975,000 6,797,000 24,500 1,000 102,950 27,700 221,640 6,300 2,200 370,000 272,000 650,300 2,000 30,666,000 43,000 219,000 215,000 210 1,143,945 278,090 613,000 750 30,000 13,490,000

17,674,260 117,548 467,772,495 23,070,625 103,337,336 4,990,490 20,089 207,430 2,302,430 52,850 12,870,932 ( 42,509,948 320,500 3,770 80,623,230 143,425 16,377,422.5 41,895 11,040 183,400 1,000,800 6,882,864 1,200 98,463,010 193,830 255,770 251,160 38,320 1,173,917,165 41,265,262 482,440 150,514 6,210 3,283,380

(6,611,569) 53,659,317.5) (1,431,434) (193,060,868) (5,479,140) (13,167,424) 5,220 31,600 (25,000) 52,800 (0) (1,259,890) (14,101,870) (10,116,222) (97,008) (21,665,378) 7,288,779 (268,490) 343,900 (527,830) 21,890.9999 (6,040) (4,904,304) 43,590 161,192 ,825,010.0001 7,312,965 17,658,054 20,390 345,710 1,809,330 506,316 (35,350) (355,716) (88,410) (3,852) (10,600) (25,744,853) (4,720,590) (131,386) (41,656.0001) 2,502,368 (2,978,876) 288,960 227,260.0001) 1,479,293 6,750 (558,040) 281,326 (136,460) 5,008,355 (11,518,110) 40,077,192 (207,190) (17,750) 293,984.9996) (24,680,070) (36,940,945) (65,415) (927,580) 41,895 (58,950) (3,388,008) 4,983,170 112,500 4,720 973,271,545 (12,338,539) (2,126) (89,050)

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.8 0.82 0.84 0.84 0.8 0.8 4,864,000 3,972,110 (367,570) AYALA LAND 39.3 39.5 41 41.1 38.5 39.5 44,279,700 1,748,619,515 (214,792,205) 1.27 1.33 1.3 1.33 1.29 1.33 61,000 78,830 (3,900) ARANETA PROP BELLE CORP 1.72 1.73 1.79 1.79 1.7 1.73 1,623,000 2,806,550 (237,370) 0.7 0.72 0.69 0.73 0.68 0.72 569,000 394,720 A BROWN CITYLAND DEVT 0.83 0.86 0.85 0.87 0.85 0.87 36,000 30,930 0.183 0.187 0.187 0.187 0.186 0.186 150,000 28,000 CROWN EQUITIES 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.5 6,200 39,700 (38,400) CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS 4.65 4.7 4.68 4.7 4.62 4.7 160,000 743,500 0.52 0.53 0.53 0.54 0.51 0.53 12,892,000 6,721,180 14,520 CENTURY PROP CYBER BAY 0.405 0.415 0.405 0.41 0.405 0.41 410,000 167,050 17.98 18 18 18.02 17.9 18 595,600 10,700,898 (8,868) DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO 9.28 9.3 9.3 9.4 9.3 9.3 79,100 738,080 (69,750) 0.101 0.11 0.107 0.107 0.107 0.107 60,000 6,420 EVER GOTESCO 1.51 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.48 1.53 24,764,000 37,409,740 (3,517,620) FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 1.06 1.07 1.07 1.07 1.06 1.07 533,000 566,520 14.7 14.72 14.72 14.72 14.7 14.72 522,200 7,686,372 8990 HLDG PHIL INFRADEV 1.2 1.22 1.24 1.25 1.2 1.21 1,555,000 1,895,930 245,630 0.75 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.75 0.75 17,000 12,850 CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD 4.3 4.33 4.42 4.45 4.3 4.3 28,664,000 125,023,050 16,874,380 0.248 0.25 0.25 0.255 0.246 0.25 29,220,000 7,271,150 (190,740) MRC ALLIED PRIMEX CORP 2.16 2.18 2.2 2.22 2.15 2.18 1,341,000 2,906,870 38,900 ROBINSONS LAND 27 27.1 26.4 27.1 26.05 27 2,066,900 55,582,395 (7,529,210) 0.335 0.34 0.33 0.335 0.325 0.335 160,000 52,400 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 2.07 2.12 2.09 2.09 2.07 2.08 178,000 370,280 4,180 3.19 3.24 3.19 3.24 3.19 3.24 6,000 19,290 SHANG PROP STA LUCIA LAND 2.4 2.45 2.48 2.48 2.4 2.45 543,000 1,308,190 12,300 39.95 40 40.45 40.45 39.5 40 11,115,700 443,510,935 27,139,565 SM PRIME HLDG VISTAMALLS 5.65 5.85 5.73 5.87 5.6 5.85 53,500 309,701 2,292 SUNTRUST HOME 2.07 2.08 2.23 2.47 2.08 2.08 77,219,000 175,891,750 (5,236,700) 7.28 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.25 7.3 7,764,400 56,669,809 (5,557,733) VISTA LAND

SERVICES ABS CBN 17.22 17.24 17.9 18 17.24 17.24 79,600 1,387,734 GMA NETWORK 5.32 5.33 5.39 5.4 5.32 5.33 429,600 2,295,012 0.44 0.45 0.39 0.485 0.39 0.44 6,970,000 3,149,850 MANILA BULLETIN MLA BRDCASTING 10.54 13.84 13.84 13.84 13.84 13.84 100 1,384 2,034 2,036 2046 2,046 2,026 2,036 33,275 67,835,140 19,315,220 GLOBE TELECOM PLDT 1,065 1,068 1066 1,078 1,046 1,068 54,105 57,532,440 4,306,855 0.045 0.046 0.046 0.046 0.045 0.046 6,600,000 300,400 APOLLO GLOBAL 4.72 4.98 5 5 4.71 4.72 27,100 129,012 DFNN INC ISLAND INFO 0.101 0.103 0.104 0.104 0.101 0.101 1,490,000 151,130 3.8 3.82 3.88 3.91 3.77 3.8 1,914,000 7,288,300 (87,860) ISM COMM JACKSTONES 1.78 1.9 1.77 2 1.77 1.9 27,000 49,300 2.42 2.45 2.45 2.49 2.41 2.42 1,618,000 3,954,880 36,800 NOW CORP TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.285 0.29 0.285 0.29 0.28 0.29 6,740,000 1,920,150 (28,500) 2.61 2.62 2.62 2.62 2.55 2.62 277,000 717,940 2,600 PHILWEB 9.41 9.8 9.83 9.83 9.38 9.41 17,400 164,793 2GO GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS 18.5 18.6 18.5 18.5 18.5 18.5 100 1,850 5.25 5.26 5.35 5.39 5.26 5.26 616,800 3,266,008 266,900 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 85.95 86 86.4 86.5 86 86 82,900 7,138,510 (5,105,566.5) 132.6 132.7 132.5 132.8 131.3 132.6 770,350 102,103,032 (4,242,037) INTL CONTAINER LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.87 0.92 0.88 0.92 0.87 0.92 128,000 116,410 12 12.02 12.5 13.2 11.9 12 8,166,000 102,963,180 (54,204,792) MACROASIA METROALLIANCE A 0.9 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.96 53,000 50,880 0.98 0.99 0.91 0.99 0.9 0.99 30,000 28,000 METROALLIANCE B 7.4 8 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.4 6,600 48,840 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.5 1.51 1.53 1.58 1.48 1.51 5,462,000 8,336,160 78,100 0.6 0.61 0.61 0.63 0.6 0.6 791,000 476,600 WATERFRONT FAR EASTERN U 890 892 893.5 893.5 893.5 893.5 50 44,675 8.1 9.44 8.13 8.13 8.13 8.13 1,400 11,382 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.61 0.62 0.61 0.62 0.6 0.62 2,267,000 1,368,380 (19,200) BERJAYA 2.9 2.94 2.97 3.16 2.9 2.94 1,523,000 4,611,300 760 9.99 10.2 10.8 10.8 9.96 9.99 4,910,200 50,056,085 (15,568,308) BLOOMBERRY PACIFIC ONLINE 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.18 2.16 2.17 78,000 169,160 (119,330) 2.41 2.44 2.46 2.46 2.41 2.44 549,000 1,329,220 970,440 LEISURE AND RES PH RESORTS GRP 4.44 4.99 4.51 4.51 4.43 4.44 56,000 249,230 0.55 0.56 0.57 0.58 0.55 0.55 9,561,000 5,383,860 ( 137,609.9999) PREMIUM LEISURE ALLHOME 11.2 11.28 11.34 11.34 11.2 11.28 1,247,700 14,054,198 (493,986) METRO RETAIL 2.07 2.09 2.08 2.1 2.07 2.09 271,000 562,690 (81,110) 39.4 39.65 39.85 39.85 39.1 39.65 168,200 6,660,470 1,131,535 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 78 79 78 79 77.95 79 38,880 3,048,960.5 (659,175.5) 135 135.5 135 135.8 135 135 174,680 23,581,960 (0) PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 2.61 2.62 2.76 2.76 2.61 2.61 2,175,000 5,808,720 (212,430) 18.6 18.64 18.58 18.64 18.58 18.6 3,309,900 61,584,538 14 ,280,173.9998 WILCON DEPOT APC GROUP 0.425 0.43 0.405 0.435 0.4 0.425 5,530,000 2,298,400 21,000 8.55 8.74 8.97 8.97 8.52 8.74 51,400 442,219 EASYCALL 437 447.8 439 448.4 435 437 280 122,214 GOLDEN BRIA PRMIERE HORIZON 0.37 0.375 0.39 0.395 0.37 0.375 12,210,000 4,597,900 56,700 9.04 9.2 9.11 9.2 9.03 9.2 22,400 203,556 SBS PHIL CORP

MINING & OIL ATOK 10.02 10.94 10.88 10.94 10 10.94 7,700 81,806 (1,078) APEX MINING 1.08 1.09 1.07 1.1 1.07 1.09 2,099,000 2,285,530 (22,000) 0.0013 0.0015 0 0.0014 0.0014 0.0014 0.0014 4,000,000 5,600 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 2.49 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.49 2.49 119,000 296,950 0.27 0.275 0.27 0.27 0.265 0.27 300,000 80,500 COAL ASIA HLDG CENTURY PEAK 3.24 3.25 3.15 3.26 3.15 3.25 10,322,000 33,245,730 4,466,680 7.15 7.19 7.22 7.22 7.16 7.16 2,100 15,061 DIZON MINES 1.5 1.53 1.57 1.57 1.5 1.5 3,386,000 5,158,700 (170,080) FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE 0.205 0.211 0.211 0.211 0.203 0.21 1,530,000 318,050 0.095 0.098 0.098 0.098 0.093 0.098 1,850,000 175,320 LEPANTO A LEPANTO B 0.094 0.1 0.095 0.095 0.094 0.094 2,120,000 199,560 (2,820) 0.0077 0.0087 0 0.0078 0.0078 0.0077 0.0077 24,000,000 185,100 MANILA MINING A MARCVENTURES 0.82 0.84 0.84 0.86 0.81 0.84 230,000 190,600 1.02 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.02 1.02 46,000 47,040 NIHAO 3.28 3.37 3.41 3.41 3.15 3.37 8,728,000 28,508,240 (637,410) NICKEL ASIA OMICO CORP 0.43 0.475 0.43 0.475 0.43 0.475 110,000 51,650 0.74 0.75 0.72 0.74 0.72 0.74 18,000 13,110 ORNTL PENINSULA PX MINING 2.93 2.95 2.92 2.95 2.92 2.95 138,000 404,040 21 21.5 21.1 21.5 20.95 21.5 497,900 10,575,755 196,420 SEMIRARA MINING ACE ENEXOR 7.88 8 8.1 8.45 7.82 7.88 551,400 4,420,665 209,736 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 14,000,000 154,000 ORNTL PETROL A ORNTL PETROL B 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 300,000 3,400 (1,100) PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 17,000,000 185,000 9.09 9.1 8.93 9.2 8.72 9.09 504,300 4,509,219 81,808 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A 99 99.9 99.75 99.75 99.75 99.75 25,300 2,523,675 AC PREF B2R 500 504.5 504.5 504.5 504.5 504.5 1,600 807,200 100.1 100.9 100.5 100.9 100 100.9 50,030 5,004,644 DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 990 1,000 990 990 990 990 60 59,400 105.2 108.5 107.5 108 107.5 108 5,100 550,040 FGEN PREF G GTCAP PREF A 970 990 978 990 978 990 420 415,560 100.1 100.5 101 101 100.1 100.1 20,000 2,002,009 MWIDE PREF 105.1 108.9 109 109 109 109 100 10,900 PNX PREF 3B PNX PREF 4 1,026 1,029 1029 1,029 1,029 1,029 40 41,160 1,040 1,049 1040 1,040 1,040 1,040 500 520,000 PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B 1,050 1,060 1050 1,050 1,050 1,050 210 220,500 77 77.1 77.25 77.25 77 77 13,750 1,060,210 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2F 76 76.5 75.8 76 75.8 76 20,300 1,538,800 75.25 75.9 75.3 75.3 75.3 75.3 18,000 1,355,400 SMC PREF 2G 75.55 75.95 75.45 75.5 75.45 75.5 1,000 75,460 SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I 75.5 75.95 75.5 75.5 75.3 75.3 216,520 16,307,249 PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

16.2 5.14

16.36 5.3

16.4 5.14

16.4 5.16

16.2 5.14

16.2 5.15

146,600 567,900

2,386,232 2,925,375

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 1.21 1.31 1.22 1.32 1.22 1.31 31,000 39,820

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 3.67 9.44 KEPWEALTH XURPAS 0.86

3.68 9.45 0.87

3.89 9.6 0.9

3.9 9.72 0.91

3.65 9.45 0.85

3.67 9.45 0.86

528,000 236,900 8,161,000

1,993,630 2,262,145 7,147,610

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

112.3

113.1

114

114

112.3

112.3

28,730

3,244,388

(1,519,172) (2,822,375) 27,310 18,149 42,140 72,514

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Financial literacy

I

T is unfortunate that many Filipinos would rate poorly in terms of financial literacy, which often results to a life of servitude, living from paycheck to paycheck and using up future cashflow to pay for current expenses.

George S. Chua The sad part is that this could have been totally avoided if one only understood a few concepts in financial literacy.

My top 3 are interest, investment and leverage.

Interest is a very simple concept of the time value of money, which means a peso today is worth more than a peso tomorrow. When you put your money into a time deposit, upon maturity, not only do you get your principal back but you also get an additional amount, which is called your interest earned. Likewise, when you borrow money, not only do you have to pay the principal amount you borrowed but also an additional amount called the interest payment on your loan.

I have come across many people who have various loans that they avail of as a loan privilege from their company or the government while proudly maintaining a time deposit or savings account that holds more money than their borrowing. This is much like keeping a credit-card balance instead of paying off the entire amount due, even if you have enough money. Since your borrowing and credit-card debt costs more than what you could possibly earn from your time deposit or savings account, you end up having a negative float; meaning, you are losing money.

This is where the concept of investment needs to be understood. There are several things to consider in making an investment such as risk, return and liquidity. Investments offering unbelievable rates of return often are scams that end up with you losing everything including your principal. Typically the higher the risk, the higher the rate of return

you should get; but only on legitimate instruments. Typically, junk bonds will have a higher yield than investment grade bonds. You also don’t want to go into instruments that do not have a secondary market that you can sell to.

Properly managed, an investment portfolio could offer you financial freedom to retire and live off the returns on your investments. The earlier you start in making proper investments, the easier it is to build it up to the point that you can just live off on the returns without touching the principal.

Learn how to diversify and balance your portfolio into different industries, sovereign instruments, currencies, countries, risk ratings and tenors. If you are comfortable with your current compensation, that should be the minimum target yield on your portfolio on a sustainable basis.

Moving a level higher, consider the concept of leverage, which is a fancy way of saying borrowing. If you have the opportunity to earn or make an investment that returns 20 percent and you can borrow the funds at 10 percent, do it. This will provide you a positive return of 10 percent! On the other hand, if you are able to borrow funds at 10 percent but the investment opportunity is only going to give you a yield of 5 percent, it does not make sense to do so since you will have a “negative carry.”

Your ability to make the right investments is not just dependent on how much money you are able to earn but how much you are able to save. The more money you can save, the more money you will have to invest.

Understand these basis concepts to be financially literate: your hard-earned money deserves it.

Finex free enterprise

Comments may be sent to georgechuaph@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 B3

BTr partially awards reissued 7-yr T-bonds

T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Bureau of Treasury partially awarded the reissued seven-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) on Tuesday’s auction, raising P27.2 billion out of the P30 billion on offer.

The security was capped at 4.750 percent, fetching an average rate of 4.732 percent. The average auction rate on Tuesday was also 41 basis points higher than the previous auction average rate of 4.322 percent.

Bids for the security were also oversubscribed as it attracted P52.71 billion, with the committee rejecting P25.507 billion.

The latest issuance also brings the total outstanding volume of the series to P147.6 billion.

In an interview with reporters, Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said they had a “good turnout” on Tuesday’s auction. Sta. Ana added that the auction committee chose to award the T-bonds “at a rate that is close to where the security is in the secondary market.”

“In the morning session we observed that the security was trading at 4.7 [percent] so I guess that’s a very important input in the deliberation of the committee as to where we should award this particular auction,” he said.

Photo shows the façade of the Department of Finance. Fiscal authorities partially awarded Treasury bonds on Tuesday as inflationary, pressures lean on interest rates. File photo

Sta. Ana also attributed the uptick in interest rates to inflationary pressures.

“We have obser ved that over the past couple of weeks, there has been an uptick in interest rates and, basically, these are brought about by inflationary

pressures,” he said.

Sta. Ana reiterated the views expressed

by National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon last Monday that “the market may be pricing the inflationary impact of the Taal Volcano eruption.”

The reissued seven-year T-bonds with a coupon rate of 6.250 percent was originally issued on February 14, 2019. It is set to mature on February 14, 2026.

“Of course t here’s a lways that risk on oil although now, it is a little bit stabilized. So it’s really more of the inflationary environment that we feel that led to these levels,” he said.

Taal Volcano has been put under Alert Level 4 since last week with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warning that hazardous eruption is possible within hours to days.

Economic managers have since said that the volcanic eruption will not significantly affect the country’s inflation rate, as well as its economic growth.

B4 Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Enchanted Kingdom rolls up relief efforts to Taal Evacuees

New Coast Hotel Manila to bring a redefined experience this 2020

N

EW Coast Hotel Manila is bringing a redefined experience to its guests, partners, associates and stakeholders this 2020. The 5-star hotel opens its doors with a promise to provide an even better level of experience, delight and comfort in the years to come.

Independently managed by its owning company New Coast Hotel Inc., New Coast Hotel Manila has exciting developments and future expansion projects in the pipeline.

This includes renovation of rooms and reconceptualization of its restaurants within

the next few months. The hotel is aiming to retain its number one position among the best hotels in Manila on TripAdvisor.

In a statement, representative Mr. Aurelio Tablante, Jr. said, “The rebrand is just the start of an exciting journey for New Coast Hotel Manila. Our commitment to deliver a redefined experience is our utmost priority that goes beyond genuine hospitality, accessible journey, delighted senses and reimagined events.” He further added, “Our core values and service standards are deeply rooted in our passion to serve and it is our

pleasure to delight our guests through our impeccable service.” Through the new brand, the company can reflect the hotel’s history and strong foundation with their new business ventures, innovations and goals.

The 5-star business deluxe hotel in Manila boasts of 288 guest rooms featuring 182 spacious superior and deluxe rooms, 67 well-appointed club rooms and 39 luxurious suites designed with enhanced comfort and equipped with plush features. Furthermore, it offers a full range of amenities and services including an executive lounge, signature restaurants, meeting and event facilities, along with other wellness and recreational centers. The hotel is part of a complex and is adjacent to a 150,000-square foot casino.

In celebration of the momentous beginning, New Coast Hotel Manila is excited to take its guests to a journey of new experiences with its Celebration Stay room offer. Guests may book an overnight stay in a City Bay View Room for only PHP6,888 with buffet breakfast for two or spend two nights and enjoy a complimentary club access with exclusive privileges. Rate is exclusive of applicable taxes and fees. Terms and conditions apply.

For inquires and reservations, call +632 8252 6888 or email contactus@ newcoasthotels.com.

A

GOOD number of groups from private and public sectors headed to Batangas last January 18, 2020 to carry relief items for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption. Enchanted Kingdom sent out its own team to participate and help. A team from Enchanted Kingdom was welcomed by ‘Oplan Bulkan Taal’

volunteers who have been assisting affected Batanguenos who currently take shelter in Padre Pio Shrine, Sto. Tomas City, Batangas. Majority of the evacuees are from the towns of Balete, Tanauan, Talisay, Taal, and Laurel who were forced to vacate their homes following the unexpected eruption of Taal last January 12, 2020.

Enchanted Kingdom gathered donations from the employees most of which were clothes, easy-to-open canned goods, drinking water, toiletries, diaper, and blankets.

According to National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), nearly 100,000 people in CALABARZON Region are affected by the recent natural crisis.

Wilcon Depot breaks ground for its new depot store in Quezon City

W

ILCON Depot, the Philippines' leading home improvement and construction supply retailer, recently broke ground for the construction of its new depot store in Quezon City on January 17, 2020.

On its mission to continuously serve more homeowners and builders, the soon to rise retail outlet will be its 10 th store in Quezon City.

The second Wilcon Depot store along Commonwealth will be erected at Matandang Balara, Quezon City. The groundbreaking was led by (L-R) Wilcon’s Arch. Jesus Iringan, Lorwin Manalad, Engr. Arjane Nicdao, AVP for Engineering Nicholas Agbing, Project Manager Engr. Isagani Robles, CAD Operator Olga May Carcedo, and Engr. Karizza Avelino.

CREBA supports reforms to real property valuation

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HE largest association of real estate and housing stakeholders in the country has expressed its support to the proposed Property Valuation Reform Bill, or Package 3 of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) which seeks to introduce reforms in real property valuation and assessment, reorganizing in the process, the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) under the finance department.

In a statement, top officials of CREBA said that cognizant of land and housing development being catalysts for economic and social progress, the current system of real property valuation in the Philippines must be overhauled to do away with multiple, overlapping, and outdated valuations.

CREBA national chairman Charlie A. V. Gorayeb said current practice complicates government assessment and taxation and raises discrepancies that result in right-of-way compensation problems and lengthy valuation, both of which hamper the speedy and efficient construction of infrastructure projects.

House Bill No. 4664 is, hence, a timely opportunity to overhaul

(L-R) CREBA national chairman Charlie A. V. Gorayeb and national president Noel Toti M. Cariño during the group’s recent annual national convention in Cebu City which centered on public-private strategies to provide “a home for every Filipino.”

the formulation of the schedule of market values (SMVs) which has, for many years, been prone to compromise and corruption and wanting of direct participation by the private sector and professionals with the requisite technical know-how and training, Gorayeb explained.

According to CREBA national president Noel Toti M. Cariño, property owners have long complained of inaccurate classification of raw lands by the Bureau of Internal Revenue zonal valuation schedule into other uses such as residential, commercial or industrial way beyond their actual market price. This imposed unfair

tax burdens and conflicts in land transactions.

To correct this, the group hopes that the proposed measure must accurately classify land parcels based on their current actual use, where “raw, undeveloped and underdeveloped lands less than 5,000 square meters” are considered of “general purpose” and valued lower.

CREBA has urged lawmakers to include a provision in the bill that will cap RPT increases to a more reasonable level of either 30% from the previous assessment or via a formula based on inflationary factors.

Ursula-stricken members, pensioners may now access SSS's Calamity Assistance Package

T

HE state-run Social Security System (SSS) has announced that members and pensioners who were affected by Typhoon Ursula in December 2019 may now avail of the Calamity Assistance Package (CAP) which has a fund allocation of nearly P260 million.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said more than 398,000 paying members and pensioners who were devastated by the onslaught of Typhoon Ursula in Visayas and MIMAROPA regions on Christmas Eve last year will benefit from the relief assistance package.

The areas declared by NDRRMC as under state of calamity were the provinces of Eastern Samar and Leyte as well as the municipalities of San Jose in Occidental Mindoro, Kalibo and Malay in Aklan, Libertad and Pandan in Antique, Sigma in Capiz, Carles and Concepcion in Iloilo, Madridejos in

Cebu and Daram in Samar.

“Members and pensioners residing in other areas that may be declared by NDRRMC as under state of calamity within the prescribed application period may also avail of the CAP,” Ignacio said.

The CAP includes a loan program, which is different from the regular salary loan, where members are allowed to borrow up to P20,000 depending on their monthly salary credit as well as financial assistance to pensioners wherein they can advance three months of their monthly pension.

Ignacio said the pension fund allocated more than P259.48 million for the CAP which can be broken down into P234.3 million for the loan assistance while some P25.14 million for the advance three-month pensions.

The SSS Chief, however,

clarified that members who still have outstanding loans under the Loan Restructuring Program (LRP) and previous CAPs, as well as those receiving pensions for total permanent disability and retirement, and those who availed of the Pension Loan Program (PLP) are not qualified to avail of the calamity loan.

Aside from the calamity loan, members with damaged homes can also avail of the direct house repair and improvement loan Members and pensioners may start to file their CAP applications until 14 April 2020 except for the Direct House Repair and Improvement Loan which will run up to one year.

Visit the nearest SSS branch, contact the SSS Call Center hotline at 1455, or send an email to member_ relations@sss.gov.ph.

Application forms are downloadable from the SSS website at www.sss.gov.ph.

Djokovic cedes Aussie Open set in 1st rd— first since 2006

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ELBOURNE, Australia—Novak Djokovic did something he hadn’t in 14 years: He dropped a set in a first-round match at the Australian Open.

That didn’t bother him, though. He actually looked upon the challenge he faced Monday night under the closed roof at Rod Laver Arena as a good thing.

“I actually like tough first rounds—in Grand Slams, particularly,” the defending champion at Melbourne Park said after getting past 37th-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. “Because it gets me going. From the beginning, I have to be alert.

I have to be on a high level. And I think I was.”

Djokovic last ceded a set in an Australian Open opener all the way back in 2006, during a loss to Paul Goldstein. Since then, the 16-time Grand Slam champ had produced 13 consecutive straight-set wins in the hard-court tournament’s first round; add in the initial pair of sets against Struff, and the streak was at 41.

But then came a bit of a blip.

Struff managed to break Djokovic three times in that third set alone.

“He turned it around. He was not missing much,” the second-seeded Djokovic said. “Credit to him for fighting. He’s a very powerful player.”

Also worth mentioning: Djokovic helped his opponent by faltering with two double-faults on the last two points of the set.

Soon, though, he regrouped, taking eight of nine points to begin the fourth and was on his way to the 900th match win of his career. The last set took all of 22 minutes. The first set offered its own hiccups for Djokovic. He was a point away from taking it while serving for the set at 5-3 before finding himself locked in a tiebreaker against the big-hitting Struff, who has lost in the first round in 16 of his 26 career major appearances.

Djokovic began to show signs of frustration, rolling his eyes and spreading his arms wide, as if to say, “What is going on here?!” after one miss, hanging his head and slumping his shoulders after another.

Eventually, he came through there.

All in all, even with some less-than-perfect patches, Djokovic considered the evening a satisfactory way to launch his bid for a record eighth title in Melbourne.

“I ended this match in a good fashion, in the right way,” Djokovic said, “and this is very positive.”

Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, had a 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 win over Hugo Dellien in his first competitive match back on Rod Laver Arena since losing the Australian Open final to Djokovic last year.

The top-ranked Nadal is chasing his 20th major singles title, aiming to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record. He’s also aiming to complete a collection by winning each of the four Grand Slam titles at least twice. He won the Australian title in 2009 and has lost four finals since then at Melbourne Park.

The 33-year-old Nadal dropped a service game once in each of the first two sets but was too dominant for No. 73-ranked Dellien, a Bolivian who was playing his first match at the season’s first major and had only played five previous matches in the main draw of a major.

“It’s a positive start,” Nadal said. “What you want in the first round is to win, and straight sets is better.” AP

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| Wednesday, January 22, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

WHAT’S NEXT,

MARIA?

Might this have been Maria Sharapova’s last trip to the Australian Open, a tournament she won in 2008 as part of a career Grand Slam?

The first set offers its own hiccups for Novak Djokovic. AP

By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press

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ELBOURNE, Australia—Her Grand Slam losing streak up to four matches, Maria Sharapova surely was aware that questions about her future would be coming.

She wasn’t able to provide answers.

Might this have been her last trip to the Australian Open, a tournament she won in 2008 as part of a career Grand Slam?

“I don’t know,” Sharapova said, her head shaking and eyes looking down. “I don’t know....

It’s tough for me to tell what’s going to happen in 12 months’ time.”

Might she try to enter lowlevel tournaments to try to raise a Women’s Tennis Association ranking that once was No. 1, all those years ago, already was only 145th entering play at Melbourne Park—which is why she needed a wild-card invitation to participate—and now will tumble outside of the top 350 following a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Donna Vekic on Tuesday?

“I just don’t know,” Sharapova said. “I haven’t thought of my schedule moving forward from here, yet.”

After a rainy Day One that filled up Tuesday’s schedule with 96 matches, up to seven on some courts, the sun was out and there was plenty of action

around the grounds at the first Grand Slam tournament of the decade. Joining Sharapova on the way out in early action was three-time major semifinalist Johanna Konta, 2019 French Open semifinal Amanda Anisimova and the 20th-seeded man, Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Seeded winners included No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who began his bid to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Hugo Dellien, three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka, two-time French Open runnerup Dominic Thiem, No. 12 Fabio Fognini and No. 16 Karen Khachanov.

This is the only time in Sharapova’s long career that the 32-year-old Russian has lost in the first round at three consecutive major tournaments.

Indeed, there only was one other instance of Sharapova dropping opening matches at Slams twice in a row: All the way back in 2003, when she was a teen and made immediate exits at the very first two major appearances of her career.

Hampered by right shoulder problems that have been an off-and-on issue for more than a decade, Sharapova is no longer the player she once was. One difficulty is simply that shoulder itself; another is the lack of match play because of her health.

She played a total of only 15 matches last season, going 8-7.

will tumble outside of the top 350, following a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Donna Vekic on Tuesday. AP

After a promising run to the fourth round in Melbourne a year ago, including a victory over reigning champion Caroline Wozniacki that was her most recent win against a top20 opponent, Sharapova went 5-6 the rest of 2019.

“It’s tough to say I’m on the right track right now, 45 minutes after the match,” she said Tuesday. “But, I mean, there is no way to get out of it except to keep believing in yourself, because if you do all the right things and you don’t believe in yourself, then that’s probably a bad formula.”

Against the 19th-seeded Vekic, who’s never been past the second round at the Australian Open, Sharapova appeared to be righting herself at the outset of the second set, grabbing a 4-1 lead, before ceding the final five games.

“She’s still hitting it as hard as I can remember,” Vekic said.

Perhaps. But Sharapova was not putting the ball where

she wanted, especially on her forehand side, which produced 18 miscues alone—more than Vekic’s full unforced error total of 17.

“She had some amazing results in her career. You know, her work ethic is pretty amazing. I saw her training in the offseason and she’s really working hard,” said Vekic, who practiced with Sharapova before the start of the season. “So I think her results will come.”

Maybe they will.

Maybe not.

No one can know, of course.

That includes Sharapova herself.

“As far as the work that I did, yeah, I did all the right things. I put in all the right work. There is no guarantee that even when you do all of those things, that you’re guaranteed victory in a first round or in the third round or in the final. That’s the name of this game,” she said. “That’s why it’s so special to be a champion, even for one time.”

AIR QUALITY ‘SEEMS TOTALLY FINE’

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ELBOURNE, Australia— For all of the concerns about air quality at the Australian Open, it turned out the biggest issue related to playing conditions on Day One was heavy rain—which, hopefully, will also help tamp down the destructive wildfires burning in parts of the country.

The three main arenas at Melbourne Park have retractable roofs, allowing play to continue as scheduled.

But nine matches were suspended in progress in the afternoon on smaller courts and will resume Tuesday, while 23 others never got started Monday at all. Some players

struggled with breathing during qualifying last week, when the air was among the worst in the world because of smoke from fires 100 miles away. On Monday, though, all appeared to be just fine.

“Today, it seemed normal,” Serena Williams said after her first-round victory. “Yeah, it seemed pretty good.”

Television screens in the locker rooms alerted players to the latest measurements of particles in the air, with a scale from 1—the best—to 5.

“It was a 1 when I walked out there, which feels like glacier, Alaska weather,” said Sam Querrey, a Californian who won in straight sets before the showers arrived.

DENMARK’S Caroline Wozniacki reacts during a press conference in the Australian Open. The former No. 1-ranked beats Kristie Ahn, 6-1, 6-3, in the first round of the last tournament of her professional career on Monday. AP

“Air seems totally fine right now,” he said.

The player Querrey beat, No. 25 seed Borna Coric, said he was not affected at all by the conditions.

“To be honest, I didn’t feel any difference. I can understand some players do feel it, and I respect that. For me,” Coric joked, “I was more bothered by my forehand and my serve than with the air quality.”

“I still feel like I have those moments where I can make some runs at Slams and win big tournaments,” said Querrey, whose wife is expecting their first child, a son, next month. “I feel like I have the game that, when it’s together, I can beat anyone.” AP

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Lopez wins in Florida in 7-hole playoff L AKE BUENA VISTA, Florida—Having already battled for five extra holes into darkness without producing a champion a day earlier, Gaby Lopez and Nasa Hataoka showed up to work at 8 a.m., just like regular folks.

The early wake-up call and extra golf was worth it for Lopez, who rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt to prevail on the seventh playoff hole Monday and capture the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

It was the second Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) title for Lopez, who, 14 months ago, became the second player from Mexico to win on tour, joining World Golf Hall of Fame member Lorena Ochoa. She earned $180,000 for the victory.

The elite field featured 26 players who had won tournaments in the last two seasons.

This was the LPGA’s fourth-longest playoff.

The longest was 10 holes at the 1972 Corpus Christi Civitan Open, where Jo Ann Prentice beat Hall of Famers Sandra Palmer and Kathy Whitworth.

Lopez and Hataoka wound up playing the difficult 197-yard 18th hole at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando eight times over two days, with two birdies from Lopez the difference.

Lopez birdied from 18 feet on her final hole of regulation Sunday to earn a spot in the playoff alongside Hataoka and Inbee Park, who was eliminated on the third playoff hole.

Hataoka, who made a deft up-and-down from 30 yards for par to extend the playoff to a seventh hole as play resumed Monday, had the edge on the final hole after hitting a 4-hybrid that rode a slope along the right side of the green and curled to 12 feet from the hole.

But Lopez, whose ball barely made the putting surface, went first, her putt up the hill slowing and tumbling into the cup on its last rotation. Hataoka, ranked sixth in the world, made a poor stroke, pulling her birdie attempt left. AP

POLITICS, OLYMPICS INTE As for that raisedfist salute that transformed Tommie Smith and John Carlos into Olympic icons, while also symbolizing the power athletes possess for the short time they’re on their biggest stage—it’s still forbidden.

Lopez

By Eddie Pells

The Associated Press

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ORE than a half-century later, Tommie Smith and John Carlos are cemented into Olympic lore— their names enshrined in the Olympic Hall of Fame in the United States, their portrait an indelible fixture on the universal sports landscape.

As for that raised-fist salute that transformed them into Olympic icons, while also symbolizing the power athletes possess for the short time they’re on their biggest stage—it’s still forbidden.

Such was the warning this month in the announcement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), whose athletes’ commission banned kneeling and hand gestures during medals ceremonies and competiton. It’s all part of an attempt to tamp down political demonstrations at this summer’s Tokyo Games.

“The eyes of the world will be on the athletes and the Olympic Games,” IOC President Thomas Bach said, in delivering an impassioned defense of the rules.

IOC athlete’s Rep. Kirsty Coventry portrayed the guidance as a way to provide some clarity on an issue that has confounded both athletes and authorities for decades.

The issue, always bubbling, surfaced last year when two US athletes—Gwen Berry and Race Imboden—used medal ceremonies to make political statements at the Pan American Games.

Those gestures brought a strong rebuke from the US Olympic and Paralympic committees, but the groups still appear confused and conflicted about the entire matter. (The USOPC didn’t welcome Smith and Carlos to an officially sanctioned event until 2016. ) The IOC got its athletes’ commission, which has often contradicted key athlete movements in other Olympic areas, to get out front on the issue and offer its advice. It was essentially no different from what the IOC itself has been touting for

years. Not surprisingly, some view it as an out-oftouch, retrograde attempt to stifle an increasingly outspoken generation of athletes.

The mushrooming of live TV, to say nothing of the outlets now available on social media, has empowered athletes—the best examples from recent years would be Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe, but there are dozens more—to use sports to send a message.

Rapinoe’s reaction to the IOC announcement: “We will not be silenced.” As much as her play, Rapinoe’s outspoken fight for equal pay for the US women’s soccer team underscored the American victory in the World Cup last year and made her, in the minds of many, the most influential athlete of 2019.

“So much for being done about the protests,” Rapinoe wrote on Instagram last weekend. “So little being done about what we are protesting about.”

The athletes’ commission said disciplinary action would be taken “on a case-by-case basis as necessary” and listed the IOC, the sports federations and the athletes’ national governing bodies as those who will have authority to make the call. It made no mention of what the sanctions could be. In that respect, it added confusion, and might have served to emphasize the power disparity between the athletes, who are the show, and the agencies who run this multibillion-dollar enterprise and, for all intents and purposes, control the invitation list.

Among the other questions not answered in the guidance document: Who, exactly, will adjudicate the individual cases and how will cases be adjudicated?

Who, exactly, will have ultimate responsibility for implementing sanctions?

While those questions went unanswered, the document did include the reminder that “it is a fundamental principle that sport is neutral and must be separate from political, religious or any other type of interference.”

That concept, however, runs

THE US’s Tommie in Mexico City in O between US and T

counter to long thread of Olympics-as-politics storylines that have dominated the movement since it was founded in 1896.

A truncated list includes: n Adolf Hitler’s hosting of the 1936 Games (winter and summer) in Nazi Germany. n IOC President Avery Brundage’s hamhanded handling of South Africa’s status in the Olympics during apartheid. n The 1972 massacre of Israeli athletes during the Munich Games. n The US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, followed by the Soviet Union’s boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Games. n The IOC’s awarding of the 2008 Olympics to Beijing, in part compelled by promises to shine a light on the country’s attempt to improve human rights.

More recently, Bach has found the committee a permanent place at the United Nations, used the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea to strive for better relations between the Koreas and spent ample time negotiating deals with leaders who

WALKER LIFTs CELTICS PAST JAMES, LAKERS B

OSTON—Lakers star LeBron James took in his son’s high-school game in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Monday afternoon before returning to Boston to face the Celtics.

“It’s truly a blessing, and I didn’t mind going down to Springfield to check the game out,” James said after the Celtics beat the Lakers, 139-107. “The only bad thing is I took two L’s.

The James gang took two L’s today. But there’s always better days.”

During the high-school game, a fan sitting in one of the first few rows was seen throwing something at Bronny James as he waited to inbound the ball. According to a video retweeted by the elder James, the referee noticed and hesitated before resuming the game.

“I didn’t see it until I got here, actually. I was on the complete opposite end of the floor,” LeBron said at his locker in the TD Garden. “I did see the referee stop the game or stop the inbounds and the cop go [up into the stands], but I didn’t know what happened until the video evidence was showed to me when I got here.”

LeBron retweeted the video and added the message: “Hating has no age limit! #JamesGang is build for it and well equipped.”

“It’s just disrespectful,” LeBron said. “And it was a little kid, too. I don’t know how old that little kid was. I don’t know if he learned that on his own, or he learned it at home.”

LeBron had 15 points and 13 assists for the Lakers in their worst loss of the season. Asked if traveling about 90 miles on a game day affected his pregame routine, he said: “I’d break every routine in my life for my family.”

Sam Bennett times his sprint perfectly.

Ireland’s Bennett snatches first stage of Tour Down Under

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THE Celtics’ Kemba Walker drives against the Lakers’ Avery Bradley and LeBron James. AP

“My routine was broken today, but I could care less about it if I was seeing my family; my wife, and my daughter and my kids,” he said.

“It was a unique opportunity to see my son live, play that close to where I’m at. So, I could care less about, this right here, is secondary when it comes to my family.”

James reportedly took a helicopter instead of a 90-mile drive each way to Springfield, the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame, for the Hoophall Classic. But asked how he beat the traffic, James said: “I walked.”

Kemba Walker finally beat LeBron, and he did it by helping the Boston Celtics send the

Los Angeles Lakers to their biggest loss of the season.

Walker ended a career-long losing streak against LeBron, scoring 20 points to beat him for the first time in 29 tries and lead the Celtics past the rival Lakers.

“I’m happy I got one at least, before he goes,” Walker said, with a laugh, after the Celtics snapped their three-game losing streak. “Who knows how long he can play, because he’s just incredible. But you know, it’s only one. One and 28.”

Jaylen Brown scored 20 points, drawing a taunting technical after dunking over LeBron,

and Enes Kanter had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Boston. The Celtics gave up the first eight points of the game, but turned things around when Anthony Davis, playing for the first time in almost two weeks, went to the bench with a pair of fouls 49 seconds apart early in the first quarter.

LeBron had 15 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, who had won 10 of their previous 11 games. But the Celtics made 13 of their first 22 three-point attempts to open a 103-75 lead in the third quarter—the biggest against Los Angeles all season, until Boston made it a 34-point game in the fourth. AP

DELAIDE, Australia—Sam Bennett timed his sprint perfectly Tuesday to win the 150-kilometer opening stage of the Tour Down Under cycle race, the first event of the International Cycling Union World Tour.

The Irish rider took advantage of exceptional lead-out work by his Deceuninck-Quick-step teammates to cross the line half a bike length ahead of Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen. Erik Baska of Slovakia was third and Elia Viviani of Italy fourth.

Germany’s Andre Greipel, who has won more stages on the tour than any other rider, was in fifth place, and Australian sprint star Caleb Ewan was seventh.

The stage featured five laps of a 30-kilometer circuit through the picturesque wine-growing region of the Barossa Valley, starting and finishing in Tanunda, and passing through the townships of Angaston, Bethany and Nuriootpa.

There was a 2.3-kilometer straight dash to the finish which Bennett, a five-time stage winner on Grand Tours, thought wouldn’t suit

his racing style.

But he was brought into the finish just at the right time, edging along the barriers on the left side of the road and breaking clear to hold out Philipsen and to post his first win for his new, Belgium-based team.

“I think it was definitely the job of the team which was the reason why I won today,” Bennett said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t feel the pressure coming [to a new team] to get that first win.

“The guys did an absolutely fantastic job, kept me in great position and they did the leadout perfectly. Every one of them played a superb role today and I can’t thank them enough.”

Four riders took part in an early breakaway and stayed away from the peloton for much of the stage, accumulating sprint and king of the mountain points, the latter as the race passed five times over Breakneck Hill.

The peloton swallowed the break on the last lap and set up a pure sprint finish which featured the best sprinters in the field.

The second stage Wednesday is 135.8-kilometers. AP

Weightlifting doping tally reaches 60 after fourth Romanian tests positive

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OMANIA’S chances of competing at this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo took another hit after another Romanian weightlifter in the London 2012 Olympics tested positive of doping.

All four of Romanian lifters at London 2012—three men and one woman—now come up positive for anabolic steroids in the

International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) retesting of samples.

The retests of stored samples from Beijing 2008 and London 2012 now produced 60 positives, by far the highest of all Olympic sports.

Gabriel Sîncrăian, already serving an eightyear suspension after being disqualified from

Rio 2016 for doping, bombed out in the men’s 85 kilograms (kgs) at London 2012 after failing with all three snatch attempts.

Sîncrăian, 31, was suspended for two years in 2013 after testing positive for stanozolol out of competition, and for eight years in 2016 when he came up positive for testosterone at Rio 2016, where he finished third in the 85 kgs.

Under the “Tbilisi Decision” taken by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) in 2017, any nation with three or more positives in the IOC retests of samples from 2008 and 2012 is liable to a one-year ban.

All four of Romania’s violations were announced after nine other nations had already served a one-year suspension in 2017-2018

season for having three or more IOC positives.

In March last year the IOC revealed that Florin Croitoru, eighth in the men’s 56 kgs, had tested positive, and 10 days ago, they added the names of two medalists—Razvan Martin, third in the men’s 69 kgs, and Roxana Cocos in the women’s 69 kgs.

Those three and Sîncrăian all showed traces

of stanozolol when their stored urine samples were retested.

The Tbilisi Decision suspension could be imposed on Romania before Tokyo 2020 only if all three outstanding IOC violations are closed in time, a process which will be in the hands of the IOC and, should Romania appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Insidethegames

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San Beda, Perpetual triumph in NCAA women’s volleyball

ERTWINED

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Smith (center) and John Carlos raise their gloved fists after Smith receives the gold and Carlos the bronze for the 200-meter run at the Summer Olympic Games October 1968. Megan Rapinoe, also of the US, meanwhile, celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot during the Women’s World Cup final The Netherlands at the Stade de Lyon in Decines, France, in July last year. AP

have been kind enough to spend billions to stage the Olympics.

Though the IOC would argue that there are still places to make political statements in the Olympic space—news conferences and social media among them—it does not condone them on the field of play or the medals stand.

It made all the more striking the picture the IOC tweeted out last Monday: Bach posing on a mountain with athletes in uniform from the United States and Iran at the Youth Olympic Games—a political statement during a time of strife that is designed to forward the long-held IOC-driven credo that the Olympics

promote peace.

Peace itself is dependent on politics, and the people who run the Olympics are well connected to that world.

No fewer than nine members of IOC itself are princes, princesses, dukes or sheiks—and that list doesn’t include the multitude of government officials involved in organizations that branch out of the IOC. For instance, half the World AntiDoping Agency’s board comes from governments across the globe.

Bach has singled out political concerns as a major divider in the Russian doping scandal that has embroiled the Olympics the past five years—

implying it’s as much an East vs. West issue as one based on decisions that stem from painstakingly accumulated evidence.

The latest move comes in the run-up to what figures to be a divisive election year in the United States, the country that sends the largest contingent to the Olympics, wins the most medals and often lands some of the most outspoken athletes on the podium.

Smith and Carlos were booted from Mexico City after their protest. If history—to say nothing of Rapinoe’s reaction—is any guide, the IOC could be placed in the position to decide whether to make that same sort of statement again.

AN BEDA University made quick work of Mapua University, 25-13, 25-9, 25-9, to notch its second straight win in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 women’s volleyball tournament on Tuesday at the the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Team captain Aurea Racraquin led San Beda with an all-around effort of 19 points, six aces, 13 excellent digs and three excellent receptions, while Maria Viray added 11 points, three aces and 14 excellent sets.

“We minimized our errors and our services worked well for us. We had a lot of aces,” San Beda’s coach Nemesio Gavino said.

The Red Lioness, however, had to survive a mild scare in the third set when the Lady Cardinals took an 18-17 lead, only to lose control with Racraquin rallying her team to the win.

“We played like we have already won,” Racraquin said. “I got mad at my teammates because they were too relaxed, and they were not playing aggressively.”

Mighty dribblers–sans Sotto–ready for Dubai hoops

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ighty Sports leaves for Dubai on Wednesday with overseas Filipino workers in the tiny but oil-rich United Arab Emirates, eager to see some of the players touted to become the future of Philippine basketball.

While former Ateneo star Thirdy Ravena, ex-National University standout Dave Ildefonso and University of the Philippines’s Juan Gomez de Liano are excited to strut their wares, Filipino fans in the Emirates won’t see the 7-foot-2 Kai Sotto, who is still in the US. The team regretfully announced that Sotto won’t be playing in the Dubai International Basketball Tournament because of unresolved logistic and scheduling issues on his part.

The Mighty Sports-Creative Pacific Team, however,

MONDILLA, ABABA, 2 OTHERS AHEAD

Clyde Mondilla recovers from a so-so start to find himself in a four-way tie for the lead, including Jhonnel Ababa.

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lyde Mondilla put on a late assault to check a fumbling front side start and force a four-way tie for the lead at three-under 69 in the windy first round of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Pradera Verde Classic at the sprawling Pradera Verde on Tuesday in Lubao, Pampanga.

Reeling down the crowded leaderboard with a four-bogey, three-birdie stint after nine holes, Mondilla got his rhythm in time, stringing four straight birdies from No. 12 and putting himself back in the early mix of contenders in the $100,000 event serving as the penultimate leg of the 2019-20 Philippine Golf Tour Asia (PGTA) season.

But the reigning Philippine Open champion faced a curious blend of rivals in pursuit of a third PGTA crown, led by flightmate and the winningest player on the fledgling circuit, the three-peat seeking Jhonnel Ababa, veteran campaigner Guido van der Valk of the Netherlands and groupmate and tour rookie Jack Lane-Weston from Australia.

“I played good, and the course is in perfect shape,” said Mondilla, the reigning PGTA Order of Merit winner who ruled the Riviera leg of the circuit’s inaugurals in 2017 then bested a tough international field to win the country’s premier

ROY DOMINGO

championship at The Country Club last year.

Ababa also leaned on a late charge to launch his drive for a record third straight championship here, birdying four of the last eight, including a 22-footer on the 17th, against a bogey, so did Van der Valk, who shot three birdies in the last seven to break an even par round.

Lane-Weston, on the other hand, bucked a bogey on No. 4 with birdies on Nos. 5, 8 and 9 then bounced back from a bogey-mishap on the 11th with two birdies in the last six holes of the 7262-yard layout that puts premium on driving and putting.

“This is the best course I’ve ever played thus far,” said the 24-year-old Lane-Weston, only in his sixth PGTA tournament but who is coming off a strong joint third place effort with Mondilla at Summit Point last November.

The power-hitter from Gold Coast hit 10 fairways and missed four greens but said he could’ve shot better if not for a couple flubbed birdie chances at the back.

“I didn’t hole so many putts,” said LaneWeston, who anchored his first round 34-35 card with three birdies against a bogey at the front.

He bogeyed the par-3 11th on a poor tee-shot but recovered with birdies on Nos. 13 and 18 to get into the thick of things.

“It was a good round, saving a couple of

Shannai Requirme finished with eigth points for the Lady Cardinals, who fell to 1-1 won-lost.

Reyann Canete added seven points, two aces and two blocks, and Jewelle Bermillo made 13 excellent digs and 15 excellent receptions for Mapua.

University of Perpetual Help System Delta, meanwhile, squeezed out of a five-setter against Lyceum of the Philippines University, 25-27, 25-23, 26-24, 14-25, 17-15, in the other match.

Jhona Rosal had a breakout performance of 20 points, 10 excellent digs, three aces and 16 excellent receptions, while Bianca Tripoli added 19 points for the Lady Altas who improved to 2-1.

Jenny Gaviola contributed 10 points, seven blocks and 13 excellent sets, and Allysa Sangalang made 25 excellent digs and 21 excellent receptions for Perpertual Help. Camille Wanta, Mary Onofre and Alexandra Rafael each had 15 points, and Venice Puzon finished with five points 10 excellent digs and 19 excellent receptions for the Lady Pirates who fell to 0-3.

pars,” said Ababa, who ruled this event with a pair of 10-under 278s but remained wary of his chances against a slew of rivals raring to foil his bid. “But I need to level up to win again since there are many good players around,” added Ababa.

They include Van der Valk, who has captured two titles on the PGTA but remained winless on the region’s emerging circuit put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. with PLDT Enterprise, Meralco, BDO and PGT Asia official apparel Pin High as chief backers.

“I played so-so in the early going but it’s good that I was able to regain my bearing at the back,” said the 39-year-old Dutchman who has captured two titles on the PGTA. The foursome wrested a one-stroke lead over unfancied Dino Villanueva, who gunned down two birdies in his closing frontside to save a 70, while eight others submitted identical 71s in gray skies at the long 7262-yard layout that puts premium on driving and putting.

They include Michael Bibat, Ryan Bonaobra, Keanu Jahns, Reymon Jaraula, Jet Mathay, Elmer Salvador, Rupert Zaragosa and Englishman Joe Knox, while Japanese Kei Matsuoka and Yuta Sudo, and Peter Stojanovski of Macedonia matched par 72s.

assured its supporters that the latest development was beyond its control, and will not affect its chances because the team also backed by Go-for-Gold, Gatorade and Oriental Game remains solid.

While Coach Charles Tiu was saddened, he remains confident of the team’s strong chances, saying he has enough firepower in naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche, veteran Renaldo Balkman, McKenzie Moore, Jelan Kendrick and Rain or Shine’s Beau Belga.

The other members of the team are Joseph Yeo, Jarrell Lim, Jamie Malonzo, Javi Gomez de Liaño, Joaqui Manuel, Gab Banal and the exciting Mikee Williams.

They will launch their title bid on Thursday against the national team of the host nation after landing in the five-team Group B.

PSC, POC brass meet NSA heads on Tokyo 2020

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ATIONAL sports associations (NSAs) hoping to qualify athletes to this year’s Tokyo Olympics will present their programs and expectations in a crucial meeting on Wednesday to be presided over by Chef de Mission and Philippine Football Federation president Mariano Araneta.

The Tokyo Olympics qualifying conference will take place at the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) conference room of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. As many as 25 NSAs are expected to attend.

Mark Velasco, training director of the PSC Sports Institute, told Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Amelie Hotel Manila that PSC Chairman William Ramirez and his four commissioners and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham Tolentino and Chairman Steve Hontiveros will join the meeting.

“The NSAs will present their Olympic programs.

It will be a very crucial meeting,”Velasco told the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Qualifying tournaments are lined up for different sports leading to the Tokyo Olympics in July. So far, only gymnast Carlos Yulo and pole vaulter EJ Obiena are qualified for the Games.

The Philippines is counting on boxing, taekwondo, swimming and weightlifting to also qualify athletes for Tokyo 2020 set from July 24 to August 9.

The PSC, meanwhile, will celebrate its 30th year on Friday with simple ceremonies at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The PSC, upon the initiative of its officials and employees, decided to celebrate the anniversary with less fanfare and will, instead, donate to the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption.

The affair will start with a Holy Mass at 9 a.m. and the presentation of awards to deserving employees.

Rowing association eyes Olympic berths

B

UOYED by the gold medals it won in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, the Tokyo Olympics later this year is up next on the radar of the Philippine Rowing Association (PRA).

The federation, under newlyelected President Patrick Gregorio, bared its goal of qualifying at least any—if not all—of the three rowers who bagged gold in the SEA Games.

The lone Olympic qualifier for rowing is set in May and Gregorio expressed the PRA’s commitment to fully support the athletes’ bid for a berth in Tokyo as part of his program as head of the association.

“If we get lucky, we’ll get a qualifier

for the Tokyo Olympics,” said Gregorio, a former Philippine Basketball Association Board chairman and secretary-general of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Gregorio said either SEA Games gold medal winners Joanie Delgaco, Melcah Jen Caballero or Chris Nievarez could hurdle the lone Asia and Oceania Qualification Tournament in Chungju, South Korea, from April 27 to 29.

Delgaco and Caballero have the best chance in lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x) after finishing fourth in the last Asian championships and eighth in the world championships.

Three Asian berths will be up for grabs in the three-day qualifier.

“We are looking at intensifying their training under a foreign coach and get them sponsors. I’m really confident that we can qualify [to the Olympics],” said Gregorio, who was with the three paddlers in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Amelie Hotel-Manila.

National coaches Con Fornea and Ed Ed Maerina, along with newlyelected deputy secretary-general and treasurer Magnum Membrere, attended the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine

Philippine Rowing Association President Patrick Gregorio (third from left) is joined in the forum by (from left) coach Ed Maerina, rower Chris Nievarez, deputy secretary-general and treasurer Magnum Membrere, rowers Melcah Jen Caballero and Joanie Delgaco and coach Con Fornea. NONIE REYES Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Nievarez will see action in lightweight men’s single sculls, where a total of five Olympic berths for Asia are

at stake. Benjie Tolentino was the last Filipino to qualify in Olympic rowing in Sydney 2000. He finished 18th in men’s single sculls.

Al Mendoza alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

My godson wins his biggest fight

J

USTICE delayed is justice denied?

In a sense, yes.

But not all the time.

A positive court decision will still have a meaningful impact, especially if the beneficiary of the verdict is still very much around.

I cite the case of Luisito Espinosa, the former world boxing champion known by his moniker “Lindol,” who finally won his case to claim the balance of his purse in a 1997 fight after 22 years of court battles.

The Supreme Court has made it happen.

Cheers to you, fellas!

The High Court ruled on November 13, 2019, that the heirs of the late Rodolfo Nazario must pay Espinosa $120,349 (about P6.6 million) plus interest as balance of Espinosa’s purse in his victory over Argentine Carlos Rios in 1997.

I covered that fight as the sports editor then of the Inquirer in Koronadal, South Cotabato, where Espinosa would force Rios to retirement after having so severely punished the challenger for 12 brutal rounds.

Before that encounter on December 6, 1997, Espinosa and Nazario signed a contract on October 16, 1997, stipulating that Espinosa would be paid $150,000, plus $10,000 for training expenses. Also, Espinosa would receive $60,000 in advance.

But on the eve of the fight, Espinosa pocketed only $29,651.

Just hours before the fight, Espinosa refused to fight unless he was paid the full amount.

Only when Nazario presented Espinosa a letter of guarantee promising to pay the balance on or before December 16 did the fighter accede.

But after failing to collect the balance following repeated demands, Espinosa sued Nazario, then South Cotabato Gov. Hilario de Pebro III and Joselito Mondejar on May 8, 1998 at the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC).

After Nazario died in 2009, he was succeeded in the case by his wife, then Supreme Court Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, and their children Rhoderick, Rommelious and Karen Patricia.

Espinosa lost his case in the RTC in August 2011 but upon appeal, he won in the Court of Appeals in May 2015, with De Pedro and Mondejar getting absolved.

Wrote the Inquirer’s Jerome Aning: “The Supreme Court noted that Nazario made an implied admission of due execution and genuineness of the documents as he did not deny or disprove them during the proceedings.”

Espinosa’s victory might have come late, yes, but the bonanza should help repair the damage—and end the untold suffering— that Espinosa has had to endure the last two decades.

I rejoice as much as the fighter does— Espinosa being my wedding godson. Recah Trinidad and Danding Cojuangco, among others, were my fellow godfathers upon the instigation of the late, lamented Hermie Rivera, the irrepressible sportscaster who, as Lindol’s manager, adroitly plotted Espinosa’s ascent to the world featherweight throne.

Last I heard, Espinosa is in San Francisco, California, training aspiring boxers, although Aning said in his report that my godson is in Dalian, China, also as a boxing trainer.

He’s gone through hard times in America.

He held odd jobs there, like washing the dishes and opening doors in restaurants. His wife left him when he was in the dumps.

I earnestly pray he could collect his money as quickly as possible. n n n THAT’S IT After winning the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup a fourth time on January 17, Tim Cone said his next target would be the All-Filipino in March. That’s because he said he hasn’t won it yet since he started coaching Barangay Ginebra in 2015. Is San Miguel Beer Coach Leo Austria, the fivetime defending champion, listening?

Sports

Club World Cup: An intruder in soccer’s ecosystem?

BusinessMirror

L

ONDON—Fifa’s determination to have a bigger role in club football worldwide is troubling the head of the Spanish league.

Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, fears Fifa expanding the Club World Cup and providing a fresh windfall for a group of elite clubs will exacerbate financial disparities between teams and harm football.

The Fifa men’s club competition is due to swell from an annual competition with seven entrants to an event featuring a 24-team group stage from 2021.

“The major risk would be the Club World Cup,” Tebas said through a translator in London. “They want to have it every two years. I don’t know how far they wish to go.”

Fifa President Gianni Infantino is considering offers from companies willing to provide financing for the competition, which is due to have a new name for its pilot edition. Tebas believes it could pose a greater challenge to European football than attempts by clubs to breakaway to form any Super League.

“Fifa...stopped being regulators and organizers for national teams and start to organize other kinds of tournaments which compete directly with the national leagues, and this is something that concerns me because we had a balance, an ecosystem between the different leagues in Europe and different continents,” Tebas said.

“In Europe we have the Champions League and now we have an intruder who might disrupt that balance. There was already a threat of that in Europe, even though I think the risk of that has dropped significantly with the Champions League, but I think this could have an impact on the value of international competitions.”

Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez has formed the World Football Club Association, which has been formulating plans for new competitions of its own. Those proposals only emerged in reports after Pérez met with Infantino in November.

Eight European teams are due to feature in the new Club World Cup, including Real Madrid due to its 2018 Champions League victory.

“The idea of creating new super World Cups for super clubs could be very damaging for Real Madrid and for major clubs,” Tebas said. “It’s something he’s not taking into account and I don’t really see a future for these competitions. I don’t think there’s a real passion for these kind of events. I think when people discuss this they realize it’s damaging for them.

“I always ask why we should change a system of strong international competitions...if it’s not broken, why try to fix it?”

But Infantino is determined to elevate the status of Fifa’s club competition and provide significant income to the finalists.

“We’ve seen how the Premier League has grown significantly over the last few years,” Tebas pointed out. “La Liga has also grown significantly and why would we want to change that? Why would we want to put that at risk with these sort of ideas? It’s like building castles in the sky.”

While concerned about Infantino’s plans, Tebas is supportive of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin who has clashed regularly with his Fifa counterpart.

“If Ceferin defends European football as I have seen with national league and championships in balance, which is the current trend, I welcome this clash, this confrontation,” Tebas said. “An organization like Fifa is supposed to be a regulatory body. They draft the different calendars and when we need to play. Sadly, from organizing World Cups, they are talking about Club World Cups and having that every two years.

“That is not an option because it would change the status quo. This can’t happen. This sort of confrontation will never harm us if it goes along the path Ceferin is trying to defend.”

Tebas has been a regular critic of governments using their wealth to finance clubs, particularly Qatar at Paris Saint-Germain and Abu Dhabi at Manchester City. Both teams have been punished

by UEFA for breaching spending rules and City is subject to a fresh investigation that could lead to a Champions League ban.

“One of the major issues in European football is related to [financial] doping,” Tebas said. “Because when we have clubs being financed by states then that has an impact on salaries and that means in other countries with more strict economic controls like Spain and Germany clubs cannot actually ask the state for extra financing to pay those salaries.

“This causes inflation and people think about creating other competitions because Florentino Perez and other clubs are always saying we need more money to maintain our players.” AP

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| Wednesday, January 22, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Saracens’ Owen Farrell celebrates with the trophy after winning their European Rugby Champions Cup final against Racing 92 in Decines, France, in May 2016. AP

SARACENS SCANDAL ROCKS ENGLISH RUGBY

SO MUCH FOR HONESTY

By Steve Douglas

The Associated Press

T

hey call it “The Saracens Way,” a list of core values that the club from north London says helped transform a “chronically underachieving organization” to become the dominant force in European rugby.

One of the core values Saracens pride themselves on is “honesty,” which might be something of an affront given the state the team finds itself in amid one of the biggest scandals in the history of English rugby.

In a case which, in scale and repercussions, is being described as English rugby’s equivalent of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, it was announced on Saturday that Saracens would be relegated from England’s top division at the end of this season for their breach of salary-cap regulations.

Saracens are the reigning English and European champions.

They have won four of the last five English titles and three of the last four European Cup titles, the kind of dual dynasty never previously seen from an English club. They own some of the most highprofile players in the sport, like England captain Owen Farrell and World Player of the Year nominees Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola.

On the field, these players demonstrate honesty every week. Check out, for example, the tackles and longbusting

runs Itoje, Vunipola and Farrell made in helping England win that memorable Rugby World Cup semifinal match against New Zealand three months ago.

However, the paymasters at Saracens haven’t shown the same integrity as their players.

Saracens have essentially been punished for spending above their means over the past three years in building a world-class squad that obliterated all rivals. To start with, the club was deducted 35 points ahead of the English league season and fined more than £5 million ($6.5 million).

Asked to dramatically cut their playing budget and let external auditors analyze their finances, Saracens didn’t want to do either and have chosen to accept the fate of being demoted to the secondtier RFU Championship instead.

So much for honesty.

Speaking of which, the leaders of the English game hardly come out of this looking great, either.

The lack of transparency in the whole process has been glaring, rugby authorities failing every step of the way to explain the depth of Saracens’ transgressions.

Even the statement by Premiership Rugby on Saturday raised more questions than answers. What was the extent of the cheating? How hard has the club tried to deal with their sanctions over the past four months while still competing in high-level competitions? What happens to the trophies won during the period they have breached rules?

The rugby public is still waiting

for the answers, just like in English soccer with the conclusion of UEFA’s investigation into English champion Manchester City’s alleged flouting of financial fair play rules and possible deception of authorities set to be published in the coming weeks.

What we do know is that Saracens’ expensively assembled squad will be broken up.

“There’s no doubt the bunch of players we’ve got in our squad now aren’t going to be the same bunch of players we have in the Championship next year,” Saracens Director of Rugby Mark McCall said. “We have got some time to plan for a new era, a new journey, and that is the optimistic way of looking at it.”

Where superstars like Itoje, Farrell and the Vunipola brothers—Billy and Mako—go, if they have to leave, is another matter entirely. Will they be sent out on loan for a season in case Saracens gain promotion at the first attempt? Will they go to French club rugby, where the salaries are the biggest in Europe but from where England players aren’t allowed to play for their country?

Wales fullback Liam Williams is already heading back to Welsh regional club Scarlets at the end of the season.

Saracens’ downfall also impacts the international game, with England Coach Eddie Jones potentially faced with the choice of selecting people for his squad who are playing in the second tier of the domestic game. The Rugby Football Union has said that

players from that level are eligible to play for England, but what will Jones think about that?

“Is he prepared for people to be playing in the Championship?”

McCall said of Jones.

At the end of next season, the British and Irish Lions will tour South Africa, and many of the players making up that squad would currently be in the Saracens team. Warren Gatland, recently appointed for a third spell as Lions coach, might also be faced with difficult choices.

Then there’s the fallout for the domestic game, with Saracens having to fulfill their remaining schedule in the English Premiership despite knowing they are getting relegated no matter the results.

Does this affect the integrity of the competition? The likes of Leicester, Wasps and Harlequins—huge, historic names in English club rugby—were in danger of relegation this season but not anymore, with only one team demoted each season, so they can

breathe a sigh of relief.

The ultimate insult could come in May, when the final of European Champions Cup is held in Marseille. Saracens reached the quarterfinals on Sunday when they beat French team Racing 92, 27-24, despite playing for the majority of the game with 14 men, the latest example of the strength and depth of the English team.

Imagine if Saracens conquered Europe again, with a squad that has been proved to be not compliant with domestic salarycap rules. Nothing could stop Saracens from keeping their best players fresh for the upcoming European knockout games by resting them for English league matches.

It would leave English rugby leaders even more red-faced then they already are.

As for Saracens, the club says its aim now is to “rebuild confidence and trust” and “come back stronger.”

“The board must embody the values of the club,” said a club statement, issued a day after its fate was announced.

For fans and rival clubs, it’s far too late for that.

Vassilev second-youngest American in Premier League

A

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (center) watches as Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (right) shake hands with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah during the Club World Cup final between Liverpool and Flamengo at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha last month. AP

merican forward Indiana Vassilev became the secondyoungest American to play in England’s Premier League when he appeared as a substitute in the second half at Brighton.

Vassilev entered in the 67th minute of Saturday’s 1-1 draw.

At 18 years, 11 months and two days, he became the secondyoungest behind defender Jonathan Spector, who was 18 years, five months and 27 days when he played his first league game for Manchester United against Blackburn on August 28, 2004.

Vassilev made his first senior team appearance for Aston Villa as a substitute in the FA Cup against Fulham on January 4.

He played for the US alongside Josh Sargent and Tim Weah at the 2017 Under-17 World Cup, where the Americans lost to

England in the quarterfinals.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, to parents of Bulgarian heritage, Vassilev played at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and signed with Aston Villa in 2018.

Vassilev was one of two debuts for Americans in Europe this week. Midfielder Gio Reyna, a son of former US captain Claudio Reyna, made his debut for Borussia Dortmund as a 72nd-minute substitute at Augsburg on Saturday.

At 17 years, two months and five days, Reyna became the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga. Midfielder Christian Pulisic was 17 years, four months and 12 days when he debuted for Dortmund against Ingolstadt on January 30, 2016. AP

Indiana Vassilev is one of two debuts for Americans in Europe this week.

D

Faithful God

EAR God, You are always with us. In confidence we pray: Oh God, continue Your blessing. Heal the sick and strengthen those who are in therapy. Deepen the prayer of Your Church and remove all bitterness from our hearts so we can move on properly. Raise to new life those who have died with their hope fixed on You. Patch up relationships that are about to breakup permanently. May God strengthen us in holiness and justice, by the working of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus our Savior. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

SPOTIFY SAID TO BE IN TALKS TO BUY RINGER IN SPORTS PUSH

Life

PRINCE HARRY HOPES FOR CALMER FUTURE, BUT NOT MUCH CHANCE D3

BusinessMirror

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

D1

BY LUCAS SHAW Bloomberg News SPOTIFY Technology SA has considered an acquisition of the Ringer web site and podcast network, according to people familiar with the situation, part of a broader push into sports content.

Spotify has held talks about a deal, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. But it’s not clear whether the transaction will happen or how much the music-streaming giant might spend.

The Ringer, backed by former ESPN analyst Bill Simmons, has built a following with sports and popculture coverage—both on its web site and collection of more than 30 different podcasts. That could help accelerate Spotify’s ongoing expansion into sports.

The company is developing several daily shows on the topic, people familiar with the plans told Bloomberg last week.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported on the talks with the Ringer, describing the discussions as early. Sports is one of the most popular genres in traditional radio and podcasting, making it a priority as Spotify builds out its slate of original and exclusive shows. The company hired Amy Hudson earlier this year to oversee sports and has talked with Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, about making shows, the Information reported previously.

Spotify first signaled its interest in podcasting last February, when it acquired GimletMedia, a boutique podcast studio, and Anchor, a podcast technology platform. The company has also hired former TV executives to develop new shows.

MORE NOKIA PHONES NOW ON ANDROID 10

THE home of Nokia phones, HMD Global has announced that the Nokia 6.1 Plus, Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 6.1 are the latest smartphones to join Nokia 8.1 with the Android 10 rollout. This now means that four Nokia smartphones in Philippines have received the latest Android OS since its official launch.

Nokia smartphones maintain their position as leaders in fast OS updates and are once again at the forefront of the latest Android 10 deployment. The Nokia 6.1 Plus, Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 6.1 are all part of the Android One program, launching with a promise of three years’ worth of guaranteed monthly security updates and two years of OS upgrades. With Android 10 being these devices’ second OS update, HMD Global consolidates its commitment to Nokia phones getting better over time with consistent software upgrades. As of today, Nokia 6.1 Plus, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6.1 and Nokia 8.1 are all upgraded to Android 10.

Fans will get to experience a whole host of new features with Android 10, including: ■ GESTURE NAVIGATION: control of your Nokia smartphone just got slicker, with faster and more intuitive controls at the tip of your fingers.

■ SMART REPLY: receive even smarter responses in messages, not just wording but actions you can take.

■ PRIVACY CONTROLS: have even more control of your personal data all in one place, and control when your location is shared with your apps—be that always, just while in use, or never.

■ FOCUS MODE: block out distracting apps when you need to concentrate on what’s important (try it now in Beta).

■ FAMILY LINK: now part of the Digital Wellbeing settings, helping parents set digital ground rules for the whole family.

Amazon’s snooping on Alexa chats spurs EU privacy response

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BY STEPHANIE BODONI Bloomberg News

UROPEAN Union privacy watchdogs are gearing up to police digital assistants after revelations that Amazon.com Inc. workers listened in on people’s conversations with their Alexa digital assistants.

Bloomberg first reported in April that Amazon had a team of thousands of workers around the world listening to Alexa audio requests with the goal of improving the software.

Similar issues have been raised over Google and Apple Inc.’s digital assistants, triggering privacy fears across the world, as intimate conversations in some users’ homes were laid bare to technicians fine-tuning the technology.

EU regulators are now working on a common approach on how to police the technology, said Tine Larsen, head of the data protection authority in Luxembourg, where the US retail giant has its European base and employs a staff of more than 2,000. “Because it’s a question of principle, the members of the EDPB should work out a common position in line with the consistency mechanism to apply data protection rules in a harmonized way for this type of treatment,” she said, referring to a panel of regulators from across the 28-nation EU. The revelations of the snooping into people’s homes came after regulators across Europe were handed beefed-up powers with its General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018, including the right to levy fines of as much as 4 percent of a company’s global annual sales for the most serious violations.

But the move toward common guidelines for digital assistants means companies should avoid fines—for

now. Larsen’s comments echo those of Helen Dixon, head of the Irish watchdog, responsible for overseeing the likes of Apple and Google.

She told Bloomberg in November that the regulator first has to “bottom out fully on whether it’s true” when companies say they need to do transcripts of people’s interactions with the assistants. That’s why a focus will be first on coming up with guidelines, instead of investigations or inquiries, she said.

Amazon said in a statement that “to help improve Alexa, we manually review and annotate a small fraction of 1 percent of Alexa requests” and that “access to data annotation tools is only granted to a limited number of employees who require them to improve the service.”

EU regulators are working on a common position on the privacy issues surrounding voice assistant systems, said Johannes Caspar, head of the watchdog in Hamburg, Germany. “We urgently need common and reliable industry standards on this to better regulate” privacy protections, he said in an e-mail.

Caspar’s office initiated a number of probes into the issue, including one into Facebook over audio transcriptions from its Messenger users, he said.

The questions his office has asked of Facebook have been discussed within the EDPB, the EU body of national regulators. The plan is to use the results to have a more coordinated approach by all European regulators affected by the issue, he said.

The UK, which is set to leave the EU at the end of the month, will soon publish the results of a consultation into security features for smart speakers and other connected devices, with proposals for mandatory industry requirements that could lead to potential new regulation, UK Digital Secretary Nicky Morgan told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

Apple, whose Siri virtual assistant is embedded in its operating phone and desktop computer operating systems, pointed to an August blog post about the issue. “We know that customers have been concerned by recent reports of people listening to audio Siri recordings as part of our Siri quality evaluation process—which we call grading,” it said. “We heard their concerns, immediately suspended human grading of Siri requests and began a thorough review of our practices and policies. We’ve decided to make some changes to Siri as a result.”

Google, which offers similar technology, referred to its September announcement that it would add new security protections to the way its workers listen to audio snippets, meant to help improve the product’s quality.

In a blog post in September, Google said it would tell users that their audio may be listened to if they opt in to a feature that also improves audio quality. “We believe in putting you in control of your data, and we always work to keep it safe. We’re committed to being transparent about how our settings work so you can decide what works best for you,” the company said.

While Amazon is escaping penalties over Alexa, Luxembourg, which is the company’s main privacy watchdog in Europe, is probing the company for other potential breaches.

This follows complaints from activists that the online retailer is illegally tracking and profiling Internet users without their permission, as well as not providing full access to users’ data.

The company says it’s “cooperating” with the authority, “which is at an advanced stage of its factfinding,” according to an e-mailed statement. The data commission declined to comment on any probes, citing local rules. ■

Malicious app spreads fake reviews thanks to in-app accessibility service abuse KASPERSKY researchers detected a Trojan application that terrorizes users with unsolicited ads and boosts installations of online shopping applications—fooling both users and advertisers. This malicious app visits smartphone app stores, downloads and launches applications and leaves fake reviews on behalf of the user, all while hiding itself from the device owner.

Both users and brands need to be wary. When choosing shops, users rely heavily on reviews, while retailers increase their promotion and advertising budgets. As it turns out, neither can fully trust what they see online, as a new Trojan application is boosting popular shopping app ratings and installations, and spreading numerous ads that may annoy users.

The Trojan, dubbed “Shopper,” first drew the attention of researchers following its extensive obfuscation and use of the Google Accessibility Service. The service enables users to set a voice to read out app content and automate interaction with the user interface—designed to help people with disabilities.

However, in the hands of attackers, this feature presents a serious threat to the device owner.

Once it has the permission to use the service, the

malware can gain almost unlimited opportunities to interact with the system interface and applications. It can capture data featured on the screen, press buttons and even emulate user gestures. It is not known yet how the malicious application is being spread; however, Kaspersky researchers assume that it may be downloaded by device owners from fraudulent ads or third-party app stores while trying to get a legitimate application.

The app masks itself as a system application and uses a system icon named ConfigAPKs in order to hide itself from the user. After the screen is unlocked, the app launches, gathers information about the victim’s device and sends it to the attacker’s servers. The server returns the commands for the application to execute. Depending on the commands, the app can: ■ Use a device owner’s Google or Facebook account to register on popular shopping and entertainment apps, including AliExpress, Lazada, Zalora, Shein, Joom, Likee and Alibaba; ■ Leave application reviews in Google Play on behalf of the device owner; ■ Check the rights to use the Accessibility Service. If

permission is not granted, it sends a phishing request for them; ■ Turn off Google Play Protect, a feature that runs a safety check on apps from the Google Play Store before they are downloaded; ■ Open links received from the remote server in an invisible window and hide itself from the app menu after a number of screens are unblocked; ■ Show ads when unblocking the device’s screen and create labels to advertised ads in the app menu; ■ Download applications from the www.apkpure.com “market” and install them; ■ Open and download advertised applications in Google Play; ■ Replace labels of installed apps with labels of advertised pages.

The highest share of users infected by Trojan-Dropper.

AndroidOS.Shopper.a from October to November 2019 was in Russia, with a staggering 28.46 percent of all users affected by the shopaholic app located in the country. Almost a fifth (18.70 percent) of infections were in Brazil and 14.23 percent in India.

D2

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Pet Corner BusinessMirror

Makati to rescue, provide aid to abandoned animals in Batangas

A WORKER from Animal Welfare Aid arranges the dogs they rescued from the street after their owners vacated Talisay to go a shelter, following Taal Volcano’s eruption on January 12. The volunteer workers left notes on the houses as to where they can claim their pets.

NONIE REYES

z

A

MADISON, Mississippi—Losing a pet is hard, but one Mississippi funeral is offering a shared space for pet and pet owners to live for eternity.

Natchez Trace Funeral Home said they are the first to own a columbarium where the ashes of a pet and their owner can be laid to rest, side by side, WLBT-TV reported. “We’ve actually called it the footprints and paws,” said Funeral Home Consultant Brittany Maugh, while introducing the newly installed columbarium. Most cemeteries only allow pets or humans, never both in the same section.

Funeral director Michael Hudgins said there’s been a long time demand

for a coexisting area. He said he thought it would be a great idea to set aside a place where the funeral home could accommodate those wishes.

The columbarium is seven sections high, and has 12 sections on each level. Hudgins said the columbarium allows for a cremated individual and their pet or pets to be in one single compartment.

Maugh said she’s happy to bring it to the funeral home. “My cats are... they’re exactly like my children. I take care of them, I feed them, I give them water, so, therefore, they need to be memorialized the same way you would a human,” Maugh said. AP

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Beverley Mitchell, 39; Balthazar Getty, 45; Guy Fieri, 52; Diane Lane, 55.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Make your choices carefully. You’ll have plenty of options and little time to make a decision.

If you take on too much, you will fall short; and if your motives aren’t good, you will end up where you started.

Use your intelligence and insight to guide you in the right direction. Walk away from discord, and focus on positive endeavors. Your lucky numbers are 7, 12, 21, 27, 28, 42, 47.

SIDE from sending rescue and disaster response equipment, the Makati City government will also assist in rescuing animals trapped in danger zones, following the eruption of Taal Volcano.

Makati Mayor Abby Binay said the city will deploy an impounding vehicle to Bauan, Batangas, this Sunday, together with some personnel of the city Veterinary Services Office (VSO) who will turn over dog and cat food, vitamins, antibiotics and antiseptic solutions to the Batangas Provincial Veterinary Office. “It is important to save our pets, and other animals during disasters because they are also part of our families,” Mayor Abby said.

Dr. Ma. KatherinaMangahas, Makati VSO chief, said the impounding vehicle has eight cages that can accommodate up to 24 medium-sized dogs.

Several netizens have shown concern for animals left near Taal Volcano. Photos and videos of animals, including horses and cows covered in ash, have circulated online, prompting animal-rights groups and local government units to provide food and basic veterinary care for abandoned animals.

Mayor Abby earlier ordered the deployment of the city’s disaster response vehicles and equipment to Bauan to assist thousands of evacuees from localities affected by the ongoing eruption of Taal Volcano.

She said the city’s Makati Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has designated a composite team to handle the transport of a super tanker, chemical fire truck, two penetrator fire trucks, two advanced cardiac life support vehicles, a mobile clinic, a mobile shower and portable toilet, a vacuum tanker, two mobile kitchens and 500 jerry cans to Bauan.

Some 1,000 blankets, pails and dippers will also be sent as her personal donation to the victims.

Taal Volcano has been spewing ash since Sunday. As of January 17, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Alert Level 4 remains in effect, which means a hazardous eruption is possible within days or hours. n

FUNERAL HOME PROVIDES RESTING PLACE FOR BOTH PETS AND OWNERS

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a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Be a participant.

Get involved in your community. Lead the way to a better and healthier way of living, and you will coax others to follow suit. Physical fitness, expanding your awareness and making personal improvements are favored. Romance is encouraged.

HHHHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Concentrate on what’s important to you, and what will bring the best results regarding prospects.

Refuse to let the changes someone else makes interfere with your game plan. HH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Personal gain should be your intent. Focus on what and who are advantageous, and consider how best to utilize your skills and experiences. An opportunity to work from home or to partner with someone you find mentally stimulating looks promising. HHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take the road less traveled, and see where it leads.

Don’t worry about taking extra time; it will encourage you to get things done right the first time.

Walk away from impulsive individuals trying to push you in a different direction. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Mix business with pleasure to get a lot done. The relationships you develop will ensure you get the help you require when needed. A romantic gesture will make your day. HHH

DENR mobilizes ‘Oplan Ligtas Kalikasan’ to rescue volcano-threatened animals

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) mobilized field personnel under “Oplan Ligtas Kalikasan” to rescue wildlife species that have come under threat by the eruption on January 12 of Taal Volcano in Batangas province, this, on top of other initiatives of private groups and organizations to rescue horses, pigs, goats, cows, cats, dogs and other domestic animals.

Environment Undersecretary Benny D. Antiporda, deputy spokesman of Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, said a lot of endangered species, like hornbills, have fled the volcanic island in Taal and may eventually be “captured” as they move to temporary homes outside their habitats. “We are now getting to give refuge to these animals,” says Antiporda.

In an interview, Environment Assistant Secretary and concurrent Biodiversity Management Bureau Director Ricardo Calderon said field personnel of the BMB from Manila and Region 4A have been mobilized.

“In fact, our BMB [office] in the region has already rescued a hornbill,” he said.

Calderon, a former director of the Forest Management Bureau (FMB), said volcanic eruption has the potential to cause severe damage to surrounding ecosystems. Important ecosystems, like forests, lakes, rivers and caves, can be completely destroyed.

“This results in total displacement. Naturally, we expect some wildlife to perish but it will be the survival of the fittest as always, and we hope

to rescue them when they are able to escape the island,” Calderon said. Taal Volcano, the world’s smallest volcano, is in the heart of the Taal Volcano Protected Landscape. It is known as home to a diverse range of wild flora and fauna.

The lake surrounding the volcanic island where Taal is situated is, itself, a unique ecosystem known for the endangered tawilis, the only oneof-its kind freshwater sardines.

According to Calderon, the BMB and DENR Region 4B offices have been doing the rounds to inform residents around Taal Lake not to harm injured wildlife who may eventually seek refuge in nearby communities. “Those rescued will be brought to the DENR’s Ninoy Aquino Park and Wildlife Rescue Center in Quezon City because rescue centers in Batangas or Cavite are sure to be affected by the volcanic eruption,” he said.

He said the DENR-BMB is now prepared to receive rescued wildlife from areas affected by the eruption of the volcano.

“Fortunately, the Ninoy Aquino Park and Wildlife Rescue Center is ready to accommodate rescued animals,” he said.

According to Calderon, the impact of the volcanic eruption will be very devastating, and it will take years for the Taal Volcano Protected Landscape to recover. He cited the case of Mount Pinatubo, which took more than a decade before the forest fully regenerated. That was also the time when wildlife started to come back to the surrounding area. “It will definitely take time. We expect vegetation to go dry, and this can also trigger forest fire which will aggravate the situation,” he added.

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Do things differently. Examine your options, and consider what’s in your best interest.

Problems at home, or with someone close to you, should not be allowed to influence a decision you make or your ability to get things done. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Watch what’s going on around you. Problems at home or within a partnership can be expected. Take better care of your health, and focus on building your strength, immunity and your reputation. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Refuse to let your emotions take over. Being reasonable without jeopardizing your position, reputation or an important relationship should be your goal. Face-to-face talks, dedication and determination will be required in order to get things done. HH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep moving forward, and don’t stop until you are satisfied with the results you get. Refuse to let someone mislead you or cause problems for you and someone you love. Trust must be earned, not bought.

Focus on fitness and home improvements. HHHHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Size up everything and everyone before you make a move. Time is on your side, so refuse to jump into something because someone is trying to tempt you with an offer based on information that isn’t verified. HH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Open a dialogue with someone you respect or want to collaborate with. Once you engage in talks, you’ll discover exactly what you need to do in order to bring your idea to the forefront. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Turn a negative into a positive. Assess your situation and make adjustments that will encourage you to be better, wiser and more conscientious moving forward. Much can be accomplished if you dedicate more time to self-improvement. HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are kind, outgoing and helpful.

You are enthusiastic and changeable.

‘the sticks’ BY GEORGE JASPER The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Not at all competent 6 Get ___ of (toss) 9 March Madness org.

13 Printer need 14 Avengers: Endgame, e.g.

16 CNN anchor Burnett 17 Friendly relations 18 Bonus for an employee 20 Time delay 21 Post-ER area 23 Biblical spy 24 ___ Malala (2013 autobiography) 25 Ran like heck 27 “Works for me, I guess” 30 River with piranhas 32 Like early Beatles records 34 Drop the ball 35 QB’s mistake 36 Bert and Ernie, to each other 37 Buck Rogers portrayer Gerard 38 Undisputed truth 41 Lessen in intensity 43 Catch sight of 44 Chicken ___ king 45 Nae sayer

6 The Queen’s afternoon meal 4 48 PBS relative 49 Arches National Park location 50 Place for touchdowns 54 Cirque du ___ 56 Hauls into court 58 Mesozoic or Cenozoic 59 Corroded, with “away” 61 Be too inquisitive 62 Chaney of the silents 63 Lady Gaga or Lizzo 66 Online health resource 68 End of a threat 69 Frozen reindeer 70 Utopian 71 Chromebook manufacturer 72 Pay stub abbr.

73 Drink slowly DOWN 1 Roma’s country 2 Polite turndown 3 Real puzzle 4 Gerbil, e.g., for a class 5 Response to “Would I look good in this?”

6 Happen again

7 Hoppy brew, for short 8 Type of jockey 9 Staircase post 10 Seafood items served with melted butter 11 Word following “fresh” or “thin” 12 “Not to mention...”

15 Thing you shouldn’t pass on 19 Low female voices 22 One might change your eye color 26 Emotion readers 28 Sound that may annoy a light sleeper 29 French hub 31 Picture day concern 33 Cereal bar bit 38 Celebrity’s Twitter followers, often 39 Lab supply?

40 Lot contract 42 ___ con-strictor 43 Dog part that may perk up 45 Luxury hotel booking 47 Victory that’s no sweat 51 Ari of MSNBC 52 Bakery attractions 53 Incense source, and a hint to the starred answers

5 Like someone who just can’t wait 5 57 Turn over 60 Dark blue 63 The Old Man and the ___ 64 Spa treatment, briefly?

65 Crossed paths with 67 Prof’s URL ender

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

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Show BusinessMirror

Prince Harry hopes for calmer future, but not much chance

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By Danica Kirka The Associated Press

ONDON—Prince Harry says he’s taking a “leap of faith” as he steps back from royal duties in an attempt to build a more peaceful life—one free of the journalists who have filmed, photographed and written about him since the day he was born.

Fat chance.

As Harry reportedly flew out of Britain on Monday to be reunited with his wife Meghan in Canada, many predicted the prince and the former TV star would struggle to escape global fame and its pressures.

“They believe that if they are not representing the monarchy any longer, the tabloid press will eventually go away because it will be so expensive for them—that there won’t be the same savage approach. They feel they will be able to control it more from Canada,” said Pauline Maclaran, a business professor at Royal Holloway University of London and author of Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture.

“I don’t think they are being very realistic.”

Harry has long had a frosty relationship with the media, and on Sunday he made it clear that the press was a major reason for the couple’s decision to step back from royal life. In a personal speech that referenced his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car accident in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi, he said he had “no other option” but to step away.

Harry has accused the media of directing “a wave of abuse and harassment” at the biracial Meghan, including “racial undertones” in articles. Both he and Meghan filed lawsuits last year against press outlets over alleged intrusion into their private lives. At the time, Harry gave an interview drawing parallels between the treatment of his wife and the media frenzy that contributed to the death of his mother.

“When I lost my mom 23 years ago, you took me under your wing,” Harry said Sunday at a London dinner for Sentebale, his Africa-based charity supporting youngsters affected by HIV. “You looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force. And my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful, because this is so much bigger than just us.”

The comments were Harry’s first since Saturday night, when his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, announced the terms under which the prince and his wife will walk away from most royal duties, give up public funding and try to become financially independent. The couple, who were named the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day, are expected to spend most of their time in Canada while maintaining a home in England near Windsor Castle.

Meghan has already returned to Canada, where the couple spent a Christmas break with their eightmonth-old son, Archie. Harry continued in his royal role Monday, attending a UK-Africa investment summit in London alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

But he did not appear alongside brother Prince William at an evening reception for African leaders. the BBC and other media outlets reported that he was on a plane bound for the west coast of Canada. They spent the holiday season on Vancouver Island, while Meghan worked for seven years in Toronto where she filmed the TV series Suits.

Experts on branding and the royals believe the golden couple will, if anything, get even more attention than they do now. Though the couple have expressed disdain for the royal rota—a pool system that gives British journalists access to royal events— the system also served to control media demands.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

MULTINATIONAL SAYS NO

THE actor was all set for a new endorsement shoot. He was to be the brand ambassador of a multinational product. Days before the shot, his management received a call from the company. They were canceling the engagement because of another actor working in the same network. The network is giving the other actor a new show despite objections from the public. Even the network’s own artists have voiced their opinions about the actor but their words and actions have been ignored. Actor No. 1’s endorsement would have brought in millions of pesos for him and his management. It would have made him an A-lister again and his network has very few real A-listers. The question is whether the network will hear the sentiments of advertisers and the public.

FAKE ABS

SPEAKING of endorsements, the lovely young actress was tapped for a food endorsement and she agreed. However, at the last minute, she was replaced by another actress.

Actress No. 1 backed out before the endorsement shoot was to take place because she couldn’t get into shape. The endorsement would have required her to show her abs. Those abs would have been Photoshopped but she needed to have a flat tummy for that to be possible. Actress No. 1 has been busy with a new project. Before that, she sustained an injury that prevented her from working out. Actress No. 2 has a killer body so she’d be perfect for the endorsement. Actress No. 1 has a big project coming up so the loss of the food endorsement is not a biggie for her.

VERY ASSERTIVE

THE host cannot deny that he got to where he is now because of his connections. So we think he should be grateful, right?

We also think that he should give chances to those who are younger and are struggling to find their places in the industry. Unfortunately, he is not very welcoming to others.

In fact, there are rumors that he wants to monopolize all the hosting jobs in his home network. It has gotten to the point that other hosts have accepted that he always wins because he is very assertive. The host has always had an extremely assertive personality to the point that people see him as being obnoxious. How long he can monopolize these hosting jobs remains a big question. Perhaps, until someone who has the same personality as him comes along.

Now, all bets are off.

“The paparazzi will follow them everywhere they go,” said Jonathan Shalit, a celebrity agent and chairman of London-based InterTalent Rights Group.

“A picture of Meghan going to the shops in Vancouver will have value. I certainly think the kind of attention going forward is going to be harder to control.”

And if they want to be financially independent, they won’t be able to avoid the media altogether, because clients who pay for their services will want the publicity that comes with a connection to them, Shalit said as he predicted the couple could become a billion-dollar brand. They can expect lucrative deals, such as multimillion-dollar book packages and speaking fees, he said.

Shalit said the Sussexes would outstrip former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, in earning power.

“They are 100 percent more valuable than the Obamas,” he said. “The Obamas aren’t royal. They are.”

Media companies are likely partners. Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer of streaming giant Netflix, told Britain’s Press Association he would be interested in working with them, adding: “Who wouldn’t be interested?”

The queen’s statement on Saturday said the agreement, reached after crisis talks among the top royals and their staff, was a “constructive and supportive way forward.”

Under the terms of the deal, Harry and Meghan will no longer receive public funds and they won’t use their “royal highness” titles once they stop performing royal duties—although they will formally retain them. They will no longer represent the queen,

and Harry must relinquish his honorary military appointments, including his role as Captain General of the Royal Marines.

Harry’s speech made it clear that he and Meghan were disappointed that they won’t be allowed to carry on with some royal duties as they seek to cut the palace’s purse strings.

“Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible,” he said.

The conditions represent a starker break with the monarchy than Harry and Meghan had envisioned earlier this month when they first announced that they planned to give up full-time royal duties.

“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,” Harry said Sunday.

“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,” he said. “It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option.”

Harry praised his grandmother, the queen, and the rest of his family for supporting him and his wife in recent months. The decision to change both jobs and continents is “a leap of faith,” he said, adding that he hoped the move would allow him and his family to achieve a “more peaceful life.”

“I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother—my commander in chief—and I’m incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months,” he said. n

RUMOR OR TRUTH?

SO apparently the hot couple reportedly broke up not because one was cheating or one got tired of the other. If the rumors are true, they broke up because they kept fighting and the fights were escalating. They were allegedly fighting about every little thing. It’s important to note that the lovers (or ex-lovers, if the rumors are true) are very different from each other in terms of personality and upbringing. The girl reportedly tried to keep up with her boyfriend by changing her style and being more extroverted but her real self soon resurfaced and she went back to the non-party person that she was before he came into her life.

It’s sad if the reports are true. It’s even sadder if the couple won’t get back together again.

Enter world of Chinese cinema with Spring Festival at the Shang SOMETIMES, the only thing separating one from a marvelous film are subtitles. Beyond local and Hollywood films, there’s a whole lot of exciting movies being produced internationally. One country putting out films worth watching is China, which made over a thousand films in the past year.

This month at Shangri-La Plaza (www.facebook.com/ shangrilaplazaofficial), Chinese film is placed front and center at the 14th Spring Festival. Kicking off 2020 with a bang, the annual festival is organized in partnership with the Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies, the Embassy of People’s Republic of China in the Republic of the Philippines, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Catch six popular Chinese films from now until January 26 at Red Carpet. The entire festival is completely free, so mall guests can enjoy each unique offering.

For those looking for an action-packed monster movie, Zhang Yimou’s The Great Wall is an ideal choice.

When European mercenaries arrive in Song dynasty

China in search for gunpowder, they become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures. Featuring Hollywood star Matt Damon alongside Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, and Willem Dafoe, the movie paints a fantastical epic portrait of ancient China.

An animated adventure awaits audiences in The Monkey King 2, a Hong Kong-Chinese film about a Tang Priest who is appointed by Buddha to go to the West and fetch the sacred scriptures, only to accidentally free the Monkey King. Little Door Gods is another animated film perfect for families. It follows a soup vendor’s family as the business falls on hard times. To help them get back on track, spirit guardians come alive to grant them prosperity.

But with modern technology, people don’t believe in the guardians anymore, so the spirits set out to make people trust in their value again.

Battle of Memories is a gripping sci-fi movie about Jiang Feng, a writer who undergoes a procedure to erase

some of his memories. Our Shining Days is a fun musical comedy about a group of high-school students who try to revive a Chinese orchestra ensemble. In the superhero parody movie Jian Bing Man, a popular TV personality gets embroiled in a scandal that forces him to make his own movie with a tiny budget.

Mall guests can also look forward to more exciting Spring Festival events at the Shang. Traditional Chinese paintings and scrolls are on display at the Confucius Institute Painting Exhibit until January 26. Catch the special Chinese musical event led by the Philippine Cultural College Chinese Orchestra, and featuring a Wu Shu and Lion dance by Northern Rizal Yorklin School on January 25 from 2 to 3:30 pm.

On January 26 from 2 to 4 pm, learn all about the fine craft of traditional Chinese art with the Chinese Painting Workshop by Art Association of the Philippines President Master Fidel M. Sarmiento and Vice President Roger Santos.

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Image BusinessMirror

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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Visionary educator Dr. Caroline Enriquez awarded Gusi Peace Prize DR. Caroline Marian S. Enriquez, president of Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU, www.fatima.edu.ph), was hailed as one of the distinguished laureates of the Gusi Peace Prize International for 2019.

Enriquez was awarded with the Gusi Peace Prize because of her exemplary and visionary leadership in the academe as a prime mover toward a more innovative and globally recognized Philippine education system, and for her significant efforts toward the attainment of peace in society.

In the awards rites held at the Philippine International Convention Center, in Pasay City, Enriquez accepted the award together with 18 other laureates from all around the world, mostly politicians, diplomats, physicians and acknowledged global leaders. Aside from Enriquez, the other Filipino Gusi Peace Prize laureate was Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, mayor of the City of Manila.

The other 2019 Gusi Peace Prize Laureates are Justice Ignacio Mahiques (Argentina), Amb. Patrick de Beyter (Belgium), Dr. Bernhard Sabel (Germany), Dr. Trevor Gibbs (Great Britain), Dr. Mark Berelowitz (the United Kingdom), Prof. Jeffrey Levett (Greece), Amb. Mario Bucaro (Guatemala), Dr. Dinesh Sharma (India), Edward Khoo (Malaysia), Dr. John Cook (New Zealand), Farhan Wilayat Butt (Pakistan), Margarita Parshukova (Russia), former President Kgalema Motlanthe (South Africa), MCV Maphalala (Swaziland), Sen. Teerakiat Jareonsettasin (Thailand), Dr. Burak Kuntay (Turkey), and Dr. Gary Dunbar (the United States).

In her acceptance speech, Enriquez pointed to OLFU as the pillar of her aspirations and vision for the young generation.

“They [OLFU] have supported me in everything that I have been doing for the sake of educating the Filipino youth. For and in behalf of all the students, old and young alike, please consider education as a catalyst for improving your lives,” she said.

“My whole life has been dedicated to education, and I believe this is one way of transforming lives, as well as contributing to nation-building,” added the esteemed educator.

Enriquez is no stranger when it comes to leading the pursuit of excellence in education and uplifting the lives of students and individuals in society. She is the current president of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities and was also bestowed with an Education Leadership Award by the Asian Confederation of Businesses and CMO Asia for “excellence in application of leadership principles to business situations.” The Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines also lauded Enriquez as a Distinguished Leader of the Academe for her efforts in furthering Filipino culture and arts in the young.

She was also instrumental in the continuing expansion efforts of OLFU. Last August, Enriquez led the way in affirming OLFU’s commitment to better and world-class education for Filipino students with the inauguration of the Research, Innovation, Science and Enterprise Tower, or simply the RISE Tower located in Marulas, Valenzuela City. The highly advanced,eight-story building serves as an integrated academic space where theories are experienced and put into play. RISE Tower houses various simulation laboratories and collaborative areas with cutting-edge equipment and technologies.

Also, part of OLFU’s expansion was the inauguration of its new Laguna campus, located at the Old National Highway (Manila South Road), Barangay Macabling, City of Santa Rosa. The first building has five stories with over 20 classrooms and laboratories. Initial course offerings include Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science, Pharmacy, Psychology, Computer Science and International Tourism Management.

The Gusi Peace Prize traces its roots through the valiant efforts of Capt. Gemeniano Javier Gusi, a World War II guerilla who fought against Japanese oppressors, and became a politician and staunch human-rights advocate. The Gusi Peace Prize aims “to honor individuals and organizations who have given exemplary contributions to global peace and progress through world brotherhood, and by using their God-given talents for the benefit of mankind.”

OLFU has campuses located in Valenzuela City, Quezon City, Antipolo City, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Laguna.

Finding solutions in design thinking SUI GENERIS CARLO ATIENZA

biblisko@gmail.com

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E had a problem. We wanted to keep people updated about the new product that was about to be launched to the market, but we only had a limited number of units we could use for demonstration to product specialists. We had to think of a way for them to study the product and answer frequently asked questions based on its new features and functionalities. My team met several times with the delivery group and by using design thinking, we were able to devise a simple but effective solution.

Design thinking is a methodology where you look at problems strategically by looking at alternative solutions by means of challenging existing assumptions or ways of working. It looks at users as the center of solutions, and aligns behavior and processes in ensuring their needs are met. This method was developed by David Kelly and Tim Brown from Stanford University, and widely influences the creative programs taught in d.school, the design school of Stanford. This methodology has the power to create options which were not previously available, and helps people discover new ways of looking at problems so there would be new ways of addressing them. Design thinking can be used to address a recurring problem which seems to have no solution at all, or in creating new products and services for existing users, as well as develop new markets.

The methodology follows five modes but they are in no way chronological. It relies on iterations to get the best possible process or product at the fastest time

possible, and puts the needs and concerns of users in developing new products or ways of working. The methodology follows the Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test modes.

In Empathize mode, you do what you can to understand where the users are coming from. At work, you do this by observing people in how they do their job and asking them to explain to you what they do and why they do it. Stories and how people do things provide insight to what is important for them and their sentiments about the things they do. For users of your product, observe how they use your product and which features they find useful and those they do not use. This will help you decide which features you need to keep and develop, and those you need to let go.

In understanding the sentiments and issues of the user, the Define mode will help you make sense of what the issue really is. Based on your insights from their stories and from observing them, you will have a better understanding of what the root problem is and in this stage, you need to craft a problem statement which will take into account those concerns. This should also take into account the pain points in the product and processes, and the challenges faced in implementing the process or using the product.

The Ideate mode is where you engage different members of your team or a team you work closely with, so you can brainstorm and share ideas on how to address the issues and problems you are solving. In this mode, you encourage people to think outside the box and help them look at the issue from a different perspective. Take, for example, the case of the truck that got stuck under a bridge because the driver miscalculated the height. Engineers and other people proposed to remove parts of the bridge, and parts of the truck only to be astounded by a boy who saw them and suggested they let out some of the air from the tires of the truck. And it worked. It just took a different perspective.

After choosing the best possible solution, you can work on a mock-up in the Prototype mode. In this mode, you create a working model to understand

how the user would implement the process or use the product. The user has to be the center of whatever model you come up with, and the insights you gleaned from the Empathize mode should dictate the direction of the prototype. Note also that you can create several mock-ups for users to compare and evaluate. And when you have created a prototype, deploy it to a few pilot subjects in the next mode.

The Test mode is intended to solicit feedback on the prototype. Comparisons of prototypes will help in identifying what the users actually need, which will be helpful fine-tuning the design of the final product or process. The direction could either be to go back to the drawing board or change some parts to make it relevant to the users. Testing will also help you understand potential roadblocks and which features of the process or product works for the users.

In our problem, we had to think of a way for our product specialists to be up to speed on the latest product but they only had limited units. They needed to understand how to navigate through the new units either during training or when they were already fielding questions about it. It became clear that what they needed was a way for them to learn how to navigate through the new product even if there were not enough units for a hands-on experience. In our discussions with them, we discovered they had units of an older model which they were about to dispose.

We proposed we use them by creating simulators so that product specialists can use the old units as if they are using the new ones. We worked on designing an app which can be installed on those phones and put in simulators so that even if someone is using an old unit, it would look and feel like they were using new ones. Because of design thinking, we were able to look for alternative solutions to what seemed like an insurmountable task.

Design thinking puts the user at the heart of what you do, and encourages creative and innovative solutions. Understanding the need of the user guides a person to develop processes and products which not only address that need, but also promotes a culture of innovation and creativity in the workplace. ■

Maxicare opens new Primary Care Center in SM City Clark THE country’s leading health-care provider, Maxicare Healthcare Corp. launched its newest Primary Care Center (PCC) at SM City Clark, in Angeles City, Pampanga, to give members in the area, as well as other parts of Central Luzon, convenient and easy access to quality health-care services administered by expert medical professionals.

The services available at the new PCC include medical consultations, checkups, lab tests, diagnostic procedures, and access to e-medical records for a seamless processing, among others. The latest Maxicare PCC is located at SM City Clark, Tech Hub 6, Manuel A. Roxas Highway, Clark Freeport, Angeles, Pampanga.

Present during the inauguration were (from left) Maxicare Healthcare Corp. President and CEO Christian Argos, board of directors member Enrico Cruz, vice chairman Antonio Go, chairman of the board Bobby Macasaet, chief medical officer and medical director Erlinda Tiuseco, and board of directors member Rene Buenaventura.

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, January 22, 2020 • Editor : Tet Andolong

Citic infinity pool

New kid on the block with a heart

By Roderick L. Abad

A

@rodrik_28

NEW player in the resurging hospitality scene of Boracay has opened its doors to both local and international guests who are on the lookout for a place that provides a new kind of experience— at a reasonable cost—at the worldrenowned beach destination, which is popular for its powdery white sand and crystal blue waters.

Strategically seated on a prime lot at Station 1, Citic Hotel Boracay is a four-star property that boasts of exclusivity yet very accessible to interesting sites within the tropical island and even responsible enough to its surrounding environment, as well as the communities it supports.

While the resort has just had its soft launch in October 2019, it has already enjoyed a positive market reception initially with only two of its three buildings operating and some finishing touches on the entire facility.

“So by January of this year, we’re expecting the hotel will be fully operational,” said Rose Brillantes-Gabas, managing director of Citic Hotel Boracay.

With its full blast premier this month, the top executive, along with the rest of her team, is bullish on their success to offer guests with an “attraction within one of the world’s best island destinations,” while continuously giving them more reasons to smile and feel happy every single day of their stay at the hotel.

Premium accommodation, amenities

SINCE customers’ comfort and pleasure are always on top of its priorities, Citic Hotel Boracay is designed with modern architecture and features to make each one of them have comfort and, at the same time, fun while billeting

at the resort.

Upon entering the gated and well-secured property, guests are welcomed by the staff at the lobby on their way to the reception area. Either booked or walk-in, receptionists attend to them and process their immediate check in.

For their accommodation, they may choose to stay in any of the 339 spacious and well-appointed rooms categorize as superior, with an area of 35 square meters; deluxe, 37 sq m; premier deluxe, 35 sq m; premier deluxe with pool access, 34 sq m; and premier suite, 55 sq m.

“We promise more space, comfort and, at the same time, your space will allow you to do something more,” noted Jeoff Solas, public relations (PR) and marketing manager of Citic Hotel Boracay.

Amenity-wise, there are kiddie, lap and infinity pools that staying patrons can swim or laze around. They are filled with colorful inflatables—Instagrammable enough to take selfies. Besides its prominent structures, the exterior beams at night with multicolored lights, thus, making it recognizable with its rainbow-like hues even in the dark.

Foodies among the guests will not end up of gastronomic options prepared by master chefs at the four dining facilities that serve both local and international cuisines. After a hearty meal, clients, especially the health and fitness

Hotel lobby DINING area

SUPERIOR room

buffs, may flex some muscles and burn calories at the gym. Another option is to take a brisk walk for less than three minutes to the fine white sand of the beach.

Connectivity is never a problem within the resort given its robust Wi-fi provision. Either at the comfort of their rooms, lobby or any parts of the hotel, they can check their e-mails, log in to their social network accounts, or simply browse the Internet anytime they want.

Such top-notch amenities, indeed, make Citic Hotel Boracay ideal for every customer who requires quality time either with their loved ones, friends, colleagues or just by their lonesome.

Sustainable practices

MORE than the business, the property owner conscientiously runs it with a heart. Even if guests’ privacy is a primary concern, the hotel never fails to be inclusive inso far as the nature and local communi-

ties are concerned. Thanks to its seasoned hoteliers and local employees, who work together not only to give quality service to the customers, but also fulfill its commitment for more responsible and sustainable tourism.

In close partnership with communities and their respective leaders, the hotel management provides more experiential activities to the guests. In so doing, they are invited to get involve in the sustainable tourism initiatives by joining the morning fitness rituals on the beachfront and the regular cleanup drive of the island.

For a more meaningful and memorable stay at the Citic Hotel Boracay, they are also enjoined in immersion activities like the so-called CoolToura, a one-ofa-kind revelry that showcases and highlights the vast Filipino culture with variety of multiracial inf luences. The resort has tapped local groups and personalities to get brilliant talents

PREMIER suite

and suppliers to support its programs empowering surrounding communities.

To offer livelihood opportunities, the hotel outsources from local farmers herbs and fruits as ingredients for the healthy menu being offered at its dining facilities. What’s more, the island’s residents are given employment.

In fact, they comprise around 80 percent of its total manpower.

“We are also supporting persons with disabilities [PWD],” Gabas said, while citing their linen and mini bar attendant who has an eye defect. “She’s really doing good. So we’re planning to hire more PWDs since Citic is inclusive for all.

“Citic is not also like a blessing to those people who were displaced by the six-month closure of Boracay in 2018, especially to the locals, because they [the management] are also looking at the skills and

expertise regardless of gender and sexuality,” Solas added.

According to the PR and marketing manager, supporting environmental initiatives, providing livelihood opportunities to locals and even promoting culture to the guests are very important for all hotel players in the island.

“Boracay is the preferred destination of both local and foreign tourists; it has a very critical role in promoting other regions of the country. If we do it correctly here, then they will be more interested to travel more within the country,” he stressed.

Citic Hotel Boracay forms part of the of All Link Hotel and Resorts Group Ltd. Inc. that currently invests in realty and hotels. The parent company will soon develop more accommodation facilities in Metro Manila and Central Luzon with the Citic Hotel brand.

Business

E2 Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Making real-estate investment accessible and affordable for everyone Amor Maclang

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first dibs in real estate

hat is why most people put real estate in their mid to long-term investment strategy, with the exception of high net-worth individuals, who can flip properties in a short time when opportunities present themselves.

This in turn limits the number of people that can afford to participate in good real-estate investment projects.

In the Philippines, the traditional real-estate process follows a certain way—buyer hunts for properties online, which is then linked to a certain real-estate seller or broker. The buyer and broker go back and forth, with the buyer agreeing to a total contract price that is worth millions of pesos.

Then they undergo the tedious process of fulfilling property ownership requirements, which may involve more money and time until the contract signing.

And for most Filipinos, the contract signing does not involve actual ownership turnover yet. The contract signing may only signal the start of paying off the down payment needed to signify the intention of ownership. As such, return on a real-estate investment takes a long time.

That is the issue which Flint, the first tech-enabled real-estate crowdfunding platform in the

Philippines, hopes to resolve.

Flint is the brainchild of three companies (Signet, Seedin and Re/Max Premier) that specialize in different areas of a real-estate investment—platform for accessibility, financing for investment, and brokerage for buying and selling. Signet Properties is a leading real-estate ad and property technology platform, Seedin Technology is one of the largest crowdfunding platforms in Southeast Asia, and Re/Max Premier is one of the top real-estate franchises in the country.

Using tech to provide affordable investment for all

Traditionally, crowdfunding platforms require all investors to achieve an aggregate amount to fund the investment of a real-estate property. There are instances that funding takes a while or in some cases, funding may not even come through at all.

As the first tech-enabled realestate crowdfunding platform in the Philippines, Flint was devel-

oped to help provide real-estate investment opportunities for first-timers on a budget or investors who like to diversify their investment capital. Flint exclusively offers investors who like to invest through crowdfunding in Philippine real-estate properties.

Flint aims to set itself apart from the rest. The platform is powered by Seedin’s regional platform, which supports Flint’s crowdfunding ecosystem. Seedin has six years of regional experience as a business financing platform and has facilitated over P8.8 billion worth of funds. This enables Re/ Max Philippines to broker incomegenerating and capital-gaining real-estate properties in Flint’s pre-funded portfolio.

The Flint platform is maintained by Signet Properties, who is also a leading data and techdriven lead generation provider that connects property buyers to sellers, while also delivering a more convenient end-to-end solution that caters to the needs of property sellers. Signet Properties utilizes the latest technologies such as 360-degree aerial views of the neighborhood, 3D model unit showing, and commute map integrations with Sakay.ph.

Users can also search properties in Signet by clicking Explore or browse from thousands of listings from some of the biggest players in Philippine real estate, including Ayala Land, Alveo Land, Megaworld, DMCI, Avida, SMDC, Ortigas & Co. and Robinson Communities.

It is quickly growing its database of real-estate developments from all over the Philippines.

Real-estate investment through crowdfunding

Flint was introduced last December to the media by Edison Tsai, partner and executive director of SeedIn Philippines; Andre Mercado, CEO and founder of Signet Properties; Amos Chen, managing director of SeedIn Taiwan; and Glennis Nitafan, CEO of Re/Max Premier Manila.

Mercado shared, “The vision for Flint started in 2019 when the Philippine market experienced a sharp increase of real-estate prices, and where it made it more challenging

eign investors, by ensuring the investments are safe, high-yield property projects that go through rigorous due diligence processes, all under a digital crowdfunding platform where Flint investors can participate and invest in its property projects safely and conveniently.”

Tsai then added “Filipinos can eventually invest in projects outside of the Philippines because SeedIn already had funded foreign projects like the ones in Cambodia. So Flint investors can expect projects from the Philippines and eventually other countries, as well.

When there is a regional economic growth, usually investment money looks for other high-grow areas in the region.”

Lower and managed investment risk

EDISON TSAI

for average Filipinos, OFW and seafarers to consider property investment as an alternative. At the same time, a lot of investment ideas also arising but not safe or can be difficult to understand.”

“With REIT still being regulated by the government, the solution is to navigate through an idea of crowdfunding specifically for real estate, which is how Flint was conceptualized. But that was just the idea start, putting everything together is the most challenging part. We need to make key partnerships to execute it. Because the vision is to make it convenient, safe and regulated, we need to bring in the experts and leaders for both industry of crowdfunding and real estate that’s where SeedIn Technology and Re/Max came in,” he added.

Nitafan said, “Flint is the best thing in the real-estate industry that will happen in the Philippines.

Prices are going up and it’s hard to sell and to buy properties right now. But Flint is a venue wherein people can actually invest not the whole amount but the portion of the amount with other people and with other coinvestors would be able to share the risk of buying a property. But then again there is no such risk since ReMax Pre-

mier makes sure that those that will be put in the market are of a good standard and at the right property prices.”

Real-estate crowdfunding ecosystem outside the Philippines

The development of Flint is a major milestone. Future plans include setting up a team in countries with overseas Filipino worker presence to include properties abroad in its pre-funded portfolio.

Chen said at the press launch, “It is interesting to invest in Taiwan real-estate market. However it makes more sense for Taiwanese and Singaporeans to invest in developing countries, such as Philippines and Cambodia, rather than the other way around as we can provide projects while they provide the funding needed. With what is being offered in the market right now, Flint is the smart and easy way to invest in real-estate industry.”

Tsai said “Through our strategic partnership with Signet Properties and Re/Max Premier Manila, we are empowering investors by strengthening services offered in Flint for the investment and realestate needs of Filipinos, overseas Filipino workers [OFWs], and for-

Properties in Flint are already pre-funded, which means that users can quickly purchase a share of the real-estate property (or more) regardless of whether or not total Flint user investment has reached the investment amount of the property selected. It also means that this allows Flint to secure higher interest rates and accelerate investment closing so users can earn the interest quickly.

Flint looks for properties that are selling below the market so when investors invest, it has to be a property that can be sold at a higher price but still lower than market value. As of this writing, Flint has launched one project for crowdfunding with developer partner Suntrust, which is a P6 million worth of property. It took about three hours to raise the funds through Flint.

For as low as P1,000 for a property share, investing in Flint offers mitigated risk due to its low minimum amount. The platform is also regulated as a funding portal through SeedIn under Securities and Exchange Commission Memorandum Circular 14.

With real-estate crowdfunding via Flint, the turnaround time of the return on a real-estate investment is much faster. Flint aims not only make property hunting easier, but also to provide real-estate insights valuable in making that home buying decisions.

The Podium West Tower welcomes new tenants Megaworld breaks ground for Regis T

HE Podium West Tower, the office component of the mixed-use development, The Podium, will soon house the corporate offices of a diverse group of companies across the insurance, law, advertising, real estate, trading, entertainment, financing, coworking and consultancy sectors.

At 48 -stor ies, the Pod ium West Tower is the tallest Grade A commercial building located at the heart of the bustling Ortigas Central Business District.

It offers approximately 90,000 square meters of premium office space that would cater to the increasing local and multinational businesses looking to establish their presence in one of Metro Manila’s premier CBDs. “Over the years, the Ortigas Center has emerged as a key business hub within Metro Manila.

Our expansion of The Podium development to include a bigger retail footprint and a new office component ref lects our confidence in the long-term growth of the Ortigas Center as a premier business hub,” said Oh Lock Soon, president of Keppel Philippines

Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Keppel Land.

According to a report from Colliers International Philippines, the expected completion of the Manila Subway System and the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Link is set to improve connectiv-

ity between Ortigas, and other business districts. This, in turn, will drive businesses to the Ortigas Center.

The Podium West Tower features a modern security system, wide corridors, curtain walls and high ceilings of approximately

2.8 meters that allow for flexible configuration of workspaces. As a green building, it is designed to consume a minimum of 14 percent less energy and 30 percent less water than other standard buildings designs.

The office tower also offers direct access to The Podium Mall, an adjoining six-story lifestyle shopping center that boasts a gamut of dining, wellness and other lifestyle amenities. The mall features a 2,000 sq m garden wall with over 6,500 plants, making it the largest vertical green wall in the country.

In recognition of its sustainable features, The Podium Complex was awarded the LEED Gold Mark (Core & Shell) pre-certification by the US Green Building Council, and is the first building in the Philippines to receive the provisional Green Mark Gold Award by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore.

The Podium is a joint venture between Keppel Philippines Properties Inc, a member of Keppel Land Ltd. (Keppel Land) and BDO Unibank Inc. (BDO), a member of the SM Group.

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eading the groundbreaking ceremony were: Engr. Reymar Castronuevo, project head, Two Regis (from left); Engr. Arturo Araneta II, senior construction manager, The Upper East; Jennifer Ann Palmares-Fong, vice president for sales and marketing, Megaworld Bacolod; Arch. Rholyn Palma, Two Regis; and Engr. Cristeto Densing, president, Millennium Erectors Corp.

Proper t y g iant Megaworld

formally breaks ground for the 14-story Two Regis, the second residential condominium development within the company’s 34-hectare township The Upper East in the eastern part of Bacolod City. Strategically located just beside the soon to rise The Upper East Mall, Two Regis will feature three sky gardens and units with views of the sunrise from the Negros Mountain Ranges and the sunset along Guimaras Strait.

sMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

E3

Tieza approves high-impact tourism infrastructure projects

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HE Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) Board has approved almost P4 billion worth of tourism infrastructure projects which seek to promote sustainable tourism, restore and rehabilitate cultural and historical sites, and improve overall visitor experience.

During the board meeting held on November 28, 2019, priority tourism infrastructure projects have been approved for the provinces, such as Benguet, Palawan, Iloilo, Pampanga, Pangasinan and for Corregidor Island.

Tieza Chief Operating Officer Pocholo Paragas said that the approval of this fourth batch of high-impact tourism infrastructure projects is a major milestone for the agency since it was reorganized in 2009. Prior to the November board meeting, Tieza has approved P1.2 billion worth of tourism infrastructure projects which included the rehabilitation and improvement of the Chocolate Hills Complex. In sum, Tieza Board approved a total of P5 billion worth of tourism infrastructure

projects in 2019 alone.

“Our tourism infrastructure is not perfect. We need to develop, and build better facilities to ensure that our local and foreign tourists will continue to enjoy our beautiful destinations without compromising environmental sustainability,” Paragas pointed out in a statement.

Paragas explained that Tieza is stepping up its investment in tourism infra-

structure in key tourism destination sites to spur growth, create jobs in local communities and ensure the sustainability of each sites for future generations.

“The approved projects were recommended by the Tieza Infrastructure Committee to the Board after careful evaluation and various consultations with different local government units and regional tourism officials, as well as with

concerned stakeholders in the respective areas,” he added.

Among the big-ticket projects approved by the Board include: a) Rehabilitation of Burnham Park in Baguio; b) Construction of wastewater treatment facility, modular floating docks and solar streetlights in Coron, Palawan; c) Tagkawayan Beach Tourism Development Project, modular floating docks in various

barangays in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; d) Construction of Housing for Hyperbaric Chamber Facilities in El Nido and Coron, Palawan; e) Restoration/rehabilitation of three plazas in Iloilo, namely Arevalo, Molo, La Paz Plaza; f) Reconstruction and retrofitting of San Agustin Church and San Guillermo Church; g) Reconstruction of breakwater in Corregidor Island in Cavite City.

Idesia’s first batch of homeowners POGOs, BPOs to pace office growth market in 2020

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ASMARIÑAS witnessed Idesia’s most fulfilling day yet, as PA-Hankyu One, the joint venture between homegrown PA Properties and Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corp., welcomed its first batch of proud homeowners to their new homes.

To mark this momentous handover ceremony, executives and representatives of PA Properties and Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corp. handed over the housing units to the first batch of residents while thanking them for choosing Idesia in their homeownership journey. “The handover ceremony signifies the start of our homeowners’ new life in a community where they will experience the serenity of countryside living while enjoying the convenience of urban lifestyle. For PA-Hankyu One, today is equally meaningful as we finally welcome our first batch of Idesia residents,” remarked PA Properties President Jonathan G. Lu. During the celebration, move-in kits were handed over to the homeowners. Lu added, “We are equally appreciative of the patience and inspiring involvement of our homeowners and brokers in making sure that we all get to this day—one that matches the momentum that we can see and feel in the construction of the rest of the houses that will complete the Idesia community.”

Idesia Dasmariñas is the flagship project of the joint venture. The 37-hectare Idesia

Welcome kit

Dasmariñas township is a master-planned community that will cater to urbanites; start-up, growing or middle-income families; and those who seek to upgrade their total community living. Apart from affordable yet attractive dwellings, they will get to live in a property that preserves the original greenery of the site, plus the addition of more trees and flowering plants.

“I believe our partnership with Hankyu Hanshin blossomed mainly because both companies are willing to learn from each other. It was, and still is, a collaborative alliance which is instrumental to where we are today. And to this end, our homeowners can be sure that this collaborative alliance will remain and will be there for them even after they moved in,” assured Lu. Looking forward, construction of the housing units is ongoing, as well as its amenities which includes reading, picnic and leisure areas; jogging path; indoor and outdoor gyms; basketball and badminton courts; and a provision for an outdoor cinema. All this, on top of lush, expansive green spaces, makes Idesia the perfect respite for couples and urban professionals after a long, busy day at work. “With its modern Asian aesthetics, coupled with environmentallyfriendly features, Idesia is simply a warm, welcoming place people would truly want to live in,” concluded Lu.

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s the country’s property sector is expected to deliver a stellar performance in 2020, the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and business-process outsourcing (BPO) will be the growth drivers in the country’s office market in this year.

In a recent press briefing, Lobien Realty Group (LRG) Chief Executive Officer Sheila Lobien said the POGO companies occupy 36 percent while BPO occupy 30 percent of the total take-up in Metro Manila in 2019.

“LRG projects that office space demand by these companies will continue to increase in 2020. The Philippines’s IT-BPM industry is projected to have a potential for a 6-percent to 7-percent growth in number of headcount from 2019 to 2022 because of sustained and improved privately initiated upskilling programs combined with government support through Philippine Economic Zone Authority [Peza] and infrastructure buildings,” Lobien explained to the reporters.

Right now, LRG said seven Metro Manila cities offer letter of no objection (LONO) permits to offshore gaming. These are Makati, Parañaque, Pasay, Mandaluyong, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa and Quezon City. Moreover, there are provincial hubs operating in Subic, Cagayan, Cavite, Cebu, Iloilo, Clark, Laguna and Nueva Ecija.

POGOs contributes 3 percent to the country’s gross domestic product and expects to generate P24 billion a year in taxes. In terms of office space, POGOs have occupied a total of 1.14 million square meters since 2016.

Meanwhile, the BPO sector has a potential to grow 6 percent to 7 percent from 2019 to 2022. Furthermore, the sector recorded an increase of 5.3 percent in headcount in 2016 to 2018.

In Metro Manila, Makati emerged as the biggest district in terms of current supply as of 2018 with a total of 2,410,120 square meters followed by Taguig with 2,188,122 square meters, and Pasig ranked third with 1,264,088 square meters.

“Makati remains the most popular business district in the country,” Lobien said.

Being the country’s premier financial center, Makati is accessible via multiple modes of transportation, home of the biggest multinational corporations, and provides quality food and services that cater to the relentless demand of city’s residents and work force.

As far as the availability of future supply is concerned, Quezon City has the biggest with 485,438.94 square meters with Pasig City coming second with 406,583,44 square meters and Taguig coming in at third with 335,733,63 square meters.

Moreover, Lobien reported that Metro Manila office market posted an increase of 4.084 percent as it hit 1,034,825 square meters in 2019 as compared to 994,218 square meters in 2018. Average rent in Metro Manila rose 9.43 percent to P1,160 per square meter in

Sheila Lobien, CEO, Lobien Realty Group

2019 from P1,060 per square meter in the previous year.

As the economy continues to post growth, more office spaces are needed. In 2019, 71 percent of the total office space supply of 1,034,825 sq m in Metro Manila was leased at an average cost of P1160 per sq m and only 4.05-percent vacancy was recorded for office spaces located within Metro Manila’s central business districts.

Lobien said LRG expects a 10 percent year-on-year in the flexible/serviced office spaces area as they are getting popular especially on the younger work force.

She said regional heavyweights, such as Cebu and Davao, will continue to grow as the government implement an ambitious infrastructure development program.

Flexible and co-working spaces attract a big number of entrepreneurs because they are in a prime location in competitive areas, have a sense of community and crowdsource support services, popular among the 1.3 million Filipinos who are freelancers and large number of MSMEs, flexible in agreement period, aligned with the changing tech and business environment, and access to pay-as-you-use facilities.

Demand drivers come from start-up companies, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and digital nomads and remote teams.

Real-estate expansion

LRG Manager JM Figurasin noted residential realestate market will continue to expand as 376,000 condominium units were completed in Metro Manila

as of the fourth quarter of 2019 and an additional 15,500 units are expected in 2020. The majority of the condominium units are geared toward the midend market and cost P6 million to P9 million. Prices for residential condominium units are expected to increase by 5 percent to 6 percent yearly from 2020 to 2022. “LRG expects that high demand from local and foreign nationals will continuously sustain the take-up of residential units,” he said.

LRG Associate Director Steph Ng said the retail realestate market will grow more than 1 million sq m of gross floor area (GFA) for shopping malls from 2020 to 2022 across the Philippines as property mall developers remain confident. She added the rapid growth of e-commerce in the country will lead to a fusion of e-commerce and physical malls as both these realities are here to stay. “Evolution is the key to success for the segment as new approaches to retail sales must be explored to complement the rise of e-commerce,” Ng explained.

LRG Manager Enrico Isla said the tourism real-estate market will also grow as foreign tourist arrivals increase every year. Last year, 6.1 million foreign tourist arrivals were recorded as of September, a 14-percent increase from the same period in 2018. “To cope with the demand for rooms, 3,500 rooms will be added to the current supply by 2021. In 2019, hotels in Metro Manila had an overall occupancy rate of 74 percent as of the third quarter,” he said.

Entrepreneur

E4 Wednesday, January 22, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PayMongo ties up with GCash to provide expanded mobile payments for MSMEs

GCASH President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Thomas (right) strikes a pose with PayMongo CEO Francis Plaza during the launch of the partnership meant to provide an expanded mobile payments platform for micro, small and medium enterprises in the country.

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By Roderick Abad

@rodrik_28

Contributor

ICRO, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines benefit from the partnership of leading local mobile wallet GCash and payments facilitator PayMongo that provides them an expanded mobile settlements platform.

The former is now live as a payment channel for 3,500 online sellers registered in the latter’s portal.

“PayMongo provides the easiest way for Filipino merchants to accept credit card, e-wallet and over-thecounter payments,” PayMongo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Francis Plaza said, citing that they are backed by Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator, Peter Thiel and Stripe.

With its 20 million users and over 50,000 partner merchants, GCash has been at the forefront of creating a cashless payment system in the Philippines, in line with its financial inclusion goal.

In fact, it has won several awards

Market research firm lists top global consumer trends in 2020

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ell-being, inclusiveness, sustainability, and value are just some of the core drivers of consumer behavior that will shape global markets this year and this decade, according to leading global market research and consulting services.

According to Mintel, well-being—seeking physical and mental wellness—is one of these emerging key trends for this decade.

“Consumers are seeking holistic solutions that move away from instant results. Looking good is important to many consumers, but considerations of longer term physical, mental, and emotional health benefits are growing,” it said in a news report.

“Greater awareness of environmental factors is creating demand for products that preemptively guard against these concerns. As stress becomes more and more recognized as a key health concern, the emphasis is on brands and organizations to help consumers deal with the causes.

Finally, technology in fitness is creating opportunities as people look to maintain health in smaller spaces, while also connecting with others,” the research further stated.

Mintel added that in 2020, consumer expectations will focus on, among others, convenient, nonobtrusive wellness solutions in the home, from water-filtering and water-saving showerheads to noiseless filtration fans; and beauty and personal-care products that move away from improving, or changing appearance, and toward internal and external well-being.

Also anticipated to gain popularity are products touting mental-health benefits, while alcohol

consumption among young people will continue to decline, with functional drinks rapidly increasing in popularity.

On mental well-being, Euromonitor International added: “Products positioned for mood enhancement, relaxation, stress- and anxiety-relief and boosting brain function are increasingly prevalent across a range of industries from soft drinks to cosmetics. The modern consumer, worried about worrying, is no longer basing a purchasing decision on what product or ingredient they want or when they want to consume it, but rather the specific outcome they will get and how it will make them feel.”

Another major development in the consumer market is inclusiveness. Euromonitor explained, “Brands are catering to individuals with physical or mental disabilities, unlocking the potential for an inclusive for all business model.

Companies are reframing their products and services to be more accessible to everyone, representing individuals beyond the mainstream and helping to reduce prejudice around diversity and differences.

From fashion to toys, games, food service and interior design, brands are responding to a societal push for change. Businesses are making steps toward authenticity and inclusion, putting disability at the core of new product developments.

Sustainability, meanwhile, continues to transform consumer habits. According to Deloitte, “Whatever level of awareness they have now, it is highly likely that consumers in the next decade will live more sustainably whether

they want to or not.” It continued: “Consumers are becoming more active participants in the creation of a more sustainable economy and increasingly aware of the broad sustainability challenge facing the world. Over the next 10 years, more consumers will have incorporated sustainable behavior into their lives, whether that means routinely recycling or looking for sustainable products.

“Mintel also predicts that as consumers move away from unsustainable consumption, they will move toward finding greater value and benefits for investments and purchases.

“Consumers will distance themselves from fast-paced lifestyles and excess consumption toward slower, minimal consumerism that emphasizes durability, protection and functionality,” said Mintel.

For instance it predicts the diminution of fast fashion as consumers demand longevity from their purchases.

Deloitte agreed, saying, “Consumers of 2020 will continue to hunt for better value, but they will also expect their values to be embedded in what they buy—whether this is around healthier food and products, sustainability, or any number of personal interests.”

“There is no question that the challenges over the next 10 years will be immense. Consumers are not only changing, but changing rapidly. However, companies that make themselves part of the change process, that remain agile and attentive to all their stakeholders, are more likely to remain relevant and interesting to consumers—and positively differentiated in the marketplace,” concluded Deloitte.

and citations from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for its innovations in mobile financial services.

“A strong cashless ecosystem will benefit MSMEs, who are the backbone of our economy. With PayMongo, GCash will help social and online entrepreneurs to optimize their businesses and grow in the Internet economy,” GCash President and CEO Anthony Thomas said.

Based on figures obtained from the Philippine Statistics Authority, a total of 1,003,111 enterprises have been operating nationwide as of 2018, of which 998,342, or 99.52 percent, are MSMEs. The majority of these kinds of businesses are located in Metro Manila, creating 63.19 percent of all jobs in the country.

Since MSMEs comprised the significant number of registered entities across the nation, a fintech start-up like PayMongo targets them, together with online and social merchants, requiring improved payments experience.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with GCash in enabling more commerce online. Our vision of building the financial infrastructure to grow the Internet economy faster needs partners like GCash that provides every person an ability to participate and thrive in this digital age,” Plaza said.

“As GCash strives to reach the unbanked and underserved Filipinos, we will continue to build relationships with companies like PayMongo that use fintech to provide financial services to Filipinos,” Thomas added.

$96-M project to boost MSME growth in Caraga

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UTUAN CITY—A foreign-funded project that aims to increase the income of small farmers and unemployed rural folks will be implemented this year in three provinces in the Caraga region, an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said last Friday.

The project, dubbed as Rural Agro Enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth (RAPID Growth), will be implemented in the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur, DTI 13 (Caraga) Assistant Director Gay Tidalgo said.

Tidalgo said the project amounts to $96.19 million and will be implemented by DTI 13 in partnership with the funding agency International Fund for Agricultural Development.

She said the project targets to help 78,000 households increase their income by 60 percent by providing 31,000 direct and 155,000 indirect jobs, and attain a 100-percent increase in sales of 1,050 micro, small and medium enterprises in the region.

“The project will directly support five industry clusters in agriculture in the region, to include coffee, coconut, cacao, calamansi and banana,” Tidalgo said.

She added that the pilot implementation of the RAPID Growth project was done in 2019 and its full implementation will start this year until 2025.

The project embodies five main components—direct assistance to beneficiaries, institutional strengthen-

Department of Trade and Industry 13 (Caraga) Assistant Director Gay Tidalgo says on Friday, January 17, 2020, the implementation of the $96-million Rural Agro Enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth project this year is seen to spur economic growth in the rural areas of the region. PNA photo by Alexander Lopez ing, technical assistance, innovation fund and project management.

Tidalgo said the RAPID Growth project is aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 and seen to trigger agro enterprise development in the rural areas in Caraga.

Caraga was established as an administrative region in 1994 with P29-billion gross regional domestic product, increasing to P100 billion by 2019, data from DTI 13 showed.

Tidalgo said the RAPID Growth project would help spur agricultural development in the region that will greatly help increase further Caraga’s GRDP in the next 10 years. PNA

‘Dagyang sa Kapitolyo’ showcases Iloilo’s local food, nonfood products

Homegrown products from the province of Iloilo are being displayed at the Iloilo provincial capitol grounds for “Dagyang sa Kapitolyo” from January 20 to 26, 2020. Revelers for the Dinagyang Festival 2020 will be treated to a fun-filled festival of art, music, food and culture at the provincial capitol. PNA photo by Gail Momblan

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LOILO CITY—Local entrepreneurs from the province of Iloilo exhibit their products at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol grounds in time for this year’s Dinagyang Festival.

Kiosks showcasing food and nonfood products of some 30 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were opened on Monday and will last until Sunday, Velma Jane Lao, Local Economic and Investment Promotion (LEDIP) officer, said in an interview last Monday.

Homegrown food products include banana chips, turmeric, peanut butter, tablea; while nonfood products include “hablon” or handwoven products, t-shirt, handmade crafts, among others.

“Our products can be used as pasalubong items of our domestic and local tourists that will participate in this year’s Dinagyang Festival. We are proud of these products because

these are small entrepreneurs that the provincial government has assisted,” she said.

Lao said the event targets to raise P300,000 to P500,000 revenue from the trade expo.

She said it was the first time for the Iloilo provincial capitol to have its own version of Dinagyang merrymaking, and hoped the activity would be also done in the succeeding years.

Lao added that 300 local entrepreneurs were assisted in terms of product display and packaging by the LEDIP since 2015.

Most of the entrepreneurs are women who ventured into a business to help raise their families, she said.

The LEDIP is also looking forward to more youth entrepreneurs this year as pushed by Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. Meanwhile, starting January 23,

locals and guests can chill at the coffee shops and bars in Casa Real while jamming to local bands featuring Ilonggo artists.

Visitors who also prefer to have their bodies inked can enjoy the sketching/tattoo painting in the lobby. Art enthusiasts can visit the Casa Real de Iloilo Grand Ballroom for the viewing and sale of paintings by local artists.

Provincial Administrator lawyer Suzette Mamon said gate entrance is free.

“Dagyang sa Kapitolyo is open for everybody. We see to it that if they visit the capitol, there are activities prepared for them,” Mamon said.

The 2020 Iloilo Dinagyang Festival is themed, “Perfect Vision: Celebrating the Ilonggo Spirit in Honor of Senior Santo Niño.” Its highlight is the Ati Tribe Competition slated on January 26. PNA