BusinessMirror March 04, 2020

IMPACT OF VIRUS ‘BROADER, LONGER’

People line up to buy face masks to protect themselves from the new coronavirus in front of Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. China’s coronavirus caseload continued to wane on Tuesday even as the epidemic took a firmer hold beyond Asia. Hong Hae-in/Yonhap via AP

By Cai U. Ordinario

T

@caiordinario

HE worst is yet to come with regard to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as international think tank Oxford Economics expects the virus will have a “larger, broader and more long-lasting” infection on the global economy.

In a research brief, Oxford Economics Global Macro Research Director Ben May said global GDP is now projected to be weaker than its initial estimate of 2.3 percent.

May said China’s GDP growth forecast will also be slower at 2.3 percent in the first quarter compared to

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Oxford Economics’ initial estimate of 3.8 percent during the period.

“Developments over the past couple of weeks suggest that the economic disruption from coronavirus’ spread will be larger, broader and more longlasting than we previously envisaged,” May said in Oxford Economics first weekly Coronavirus Watch brief.

The think tank said the slowdown may be evident in the latest data on the global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) which fell sharply to 47.2 from 50.4 in February.

This may have been largely due to the slowdown in China’s official manufacturing PMI which hit a record low of 35.7 in February. Elsewhere in Asia,

Wednesday, March 4, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 146

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‘Wider budget deficit financed PHL growth’ 3.55% T

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) said a deficit-to-GDP ratio that is higher than the government’s target for 2019 will not harm the Philippines’s credit rating, particularly since additional funds were used to pump prime the economy.

In an economic bulletin on Tuesday, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said last year’s budget deficit, which was equivalent to 3.55 percent of GDP, was “financeable”

due to the reduction in domestic interest rates and the national government’s debt ratios.

Official government data indicated that the budget deficit of 3.55

percent of GDP in 2019 exceeded the administration’s target of 3.25 percent of GDP by 0.3 percentage point. The deficit-to-GDP ratio last year was also up from 3.2 percent

Percentage of GDP represented by the budget deficit in 2019. This exceeded the administration’s target of 3.25 percent of GDP. The deficit-toGDP ratio last year was also up from 3.2 percent in 2018

in 2018.

“The rise in the NG [national government] deficit beyond the government target should not adversely affect the country’s credit rating as fiscal stimulus was needed to shore up the country’s growth Continued on A2

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PESO exchange rates n

turns should a sharp rise in the number of cases occur. According to Fitch Solutions, this would ultimately result in reduced domestic activity and hamper the tourism sector further.

Aside from lower domestic activity, Fitch Solutions also flagged lower exports and tighter global financial conditions as downside risks from the ongoing global health crisis.

“We had seen downside risks to growth given the expectation of lower growth in China, but with the outbreak beginning to have a global impact and proving disruptive to supply chains across continents, we see the external shock to the Philippines as more pronounced.

Investors have also grown more concerned about the potential impact of the outbreak on the Philippine economy, as reflected by the Philippine Stock Exchange [PSE See “Fitch,” A2

South Korea, Philippines

Oxford Economics also said recent survey data from South Korea such as its Business Sentiment Index, point to a slowdown in consumer confidence.

“Not only did Korea’s Business Sentiment Index record a plunge in February, the survey was conducted before the recent major spike in COVID-19 cases there, implying that further sharp declines may be to come. Consumer sentiment also dropped sharply but remained above the 2019 lows,” May said.

See “Virus,” A2

P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 40 pages |

HOUSE VOWS TO PASS RETAIL LIB AMENDMENTS BEFORE SESSION BREAK

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

T

@alyasjah

HE House of Representatives will pass the amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act before Congress goes on recess next week to give senators enough time to deliberate on their version of the bill, a House leader vowed on Tuesday.

Valenzuela City Rep. Weslie T. Gatchalian committed the chamber’s passage of House Bill (HB) 59 before Congress takes a break next week. He argued it is crucial that the measure is relayed to the Senate the soonest to allow its members to finalize their position on the bill.

HB 59, authored by Tarlac Rep. Victor A. Yap, will trim the required capital for foreign

Covid-19 prompts Fitch to cut growth forecast

NTERNATIONAL think tank Fitch Solutions has cut its growth forecast of the Philippine economy for 2020, as the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is likely to affect four of the country’s main economic streams.

Fitch Solutions—the research arm of Fitch Group—said in an announcement on Tuesday that it has lowered its projection for Philippine economic growth to 6 percent, down from the earlier forecast of 6.3 percent.

“We expect the Covid-19 outbreak to weigh on growth in the first half of 2020. As such, we have lowered our 2020 growth forecast [...] to account for growing external headwinds, noting that risks to our forecast are weighted to the downside should the virus spread more aggressively,” the research group said in a statement.

This projection, the group noted, is still subject to potential down-

May said, manufacturing PMIs have also declined.

retailers to operate in the Philippines to $200,000, from $2.5 million at present.

“We have until March 15— March 11 is our last session day—to, hopefully, pass this into third reading. By the time that we resume [session] in May, it will be in the Senate,” Gatchalian told the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of a forum with European investors.

For Gatchalian, who chairs the House Committee on Trade and Industry, it is important that HB 59 be legislated before the recess to provide senators ample time to assess the bill, especially since their version proposes a different and higher paid-up capital.

Whereas under the House bill the capital requirement is See “Lib amendments,” A2

Virus cuts BOC’s take from imports in February

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WILDLIFE ALERT Dr. Glenn Maguad, officer in charge of the DENR Wildlife Rescue Center, demonstrates the new system that can help the facility respond better to cases of rescued wildlife at the ceremonial turnover marking World Wildlife Day. The filtering app, called “WildALERT,” helps frontliners, forest rangers and police identify wildlife species and submit tips/reports. The DENR received assistance from the United States Agency for International Development in developing the digital tool (inset). Related story on efforts to track “dirty money” in the illegal wildlife trade on page A8. NONOY LACZA/Inset image by PNA

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) lost some P2.7 billion in tariff collection in February, as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused imports from China alone to drop by an annualized rate of 34.67 percent in terms of volume.

The latest data from the BOC obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that revenues from shipments from China fell by 27.41 percent to P7.17 billion in February, from last year’s P9.88 billion. Volume was also lower at 936.25 million kilograms, from last year’s 1.43 billion kg.

The decline in revenues from China’s shipments to the Philippines pulled down the BOC’s total collection from imports last month. The bureau collected a total of P41.67 billion, 2.58 See “BOC,” A2

US 50.8560 n japan 0.4696 n UK 64.8617 n HK 6.5371 n CHINA 7.3048 n singapore 36.5923 n australia 33.2547 n EU 56.6332 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.5572

Source: BSP (3 March 2020)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, March 4, 2020

PHL eases travel ban, now allows tourists to S. Korea

By Samuel P. Medenilla

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@sam_medenilla

ESPITE the rising number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in South Korea, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has allowed Filipino tourists to travel to that East Asian country.

In a statement, Presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo confirmed the IATF decided to relax the travel ban in South Korea after its meeting on Tuesday.

BOC. . .

“The IATF has approved to allow Filipinos to travel to South Korea except to the whole of North Gyeongsang province, including Daegu City and Cheongdo Coun-

Continued from A1

percent lower than the 2019 record of P42.77 billion.

Overall import volume, according to BOC data, also slid by 6.67 percent to 8.15 billion kg, from last year’s 8.73 billion kg.

Despite the revenue loss in February, the BOC’s cumulative collection in January and February rose by 5 percent, or P4.5 billion, to P94.51 billion from P90 billion, from P90 billion recorded a year ago.

As of end-February, total import volume fell by 5.34 percent to 17.84 billion kg, from 18.85 billion kg last year. Import volume from China fell by an annualized rate of 11.75 percent; South Korea, 12.52 percent; Thailand, 30.84 percent; and Vietnam, 32.02 percent.

Import volume from China as of February fell to 2.84 billion kg, from 3.22 billion kg in the same period in 2019.

While the decline in revenues and shipments from China is something that the government had hoped will not happen, BOC Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla said the bureau had expected it because of the outbreak of COVID-19.

However, Maronilla said he believes the government “was able to manage the effects of COVID-19 and the Chinese New Year in terms of revenue collection and trade.”

“Some big companies have declared a stoppage in production because of the lack of raw materials as some of their raw materials come from China so we expected that, but we are hopeful that we have been able to manage to deficit,” he told the BusinessMirror in a phone interview.

Moving forward, Maronilla said the BOC expects trade to normalize in the months to come.

“We received reports that production has started in some areas but we have to see how COVID-19 will affect overall outlook,” he said.

Despite this, Maronilla expressed confidence that the BOC will be able to hit its collection goal of P731 billion for 2020.

To make up for the revenue loss, Maronilla said the BOC has set its sights on non-traditional sources of revenue. He said the BOC will intensify its post clearance audit and review the pending cases against some companies which owe money to the bureau. Bernadette D. Nicolas

Fitch. . .

Continued from A1

Composite Index -PSEi] falling 7.9 percent in the week February 24 to 28,” Fitch Solutions said.

4 major channels

Although the Philippines has relatively fewer cases than other neighboring countries, Fitch Solutions’ assessment showed that the Philippine economy will likely suffer through major constraints in four major channels.

“First, through a slowdown in tourism arrivals; second, disruption to exports and supply chains; third, interruptions to infrastructure projects;

ty, where the virus outbreak is concentrated,” Panelo said.

Those bound for South Korea will be required to execute and sign a declaration, signifying their knowledge and understanding of the risks involved in their trip.

They will be given a health advisory pamphlet before their departure.

The IATF imposed the travel ban on February 26, amid the surge of Covid-19 cases in South Korea.

Initially, only overseas Filipino workers (OFW), students and permanent residents were exempted from the ban.

As of March 3, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed there were already 4,212 confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Korea, where the fast transmission was

Money laundering. . .

Continued from A8

The discovery of the PLA identification cards tended to bolster suspicion—also raised by Gordon—that POGOs are involved in alleged spying activities in the country.

Gordon said the smuggled “dirty” money were brought into the country by couriers, who, Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, escaped detection at the airports after they were escorted by members of the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and airport policemen.

Guerrero seemed to back Gordon’s revelation through his report to the Department of Finance, wherein he noted attempts by “individuals and groups to sneak in large amounts of US dollars and other foreign currency into the country using travelers arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.”

The Customs chief raised the possibly that the dirty money being smuggled into the country could be used for terrorism and organized crime.

Arevalo said they only learned about the alleged involvement of soldiers in the smuggling through media reports, and are investigating. He said they were also determining whether there are soldiers who have been assigned at the airport.

“Officially, we have heard that report only coming from the media.

We have no direct information right now if we have AFP personnel who are assigned there [airport] for that period,” Arevalo said.

The military spokesman said the AFP will never allow any of its personnel to be involved in such kind of activity.

Senate probe

Senate probers are poised to mount a full-blown inquiry Thursday into the Chinese-dominated Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), seen to be used as cover for multibillion money laundering operations.

Majority leader Miguel Zubiri moved on Tuesday’s plenary session to refer the matter to the Blue Ribbon Committee on Investigations chaired by Senator Gordon, who promptly set the initial hearing on Thursday amid reports linking POGOs to human trafficking,

Virus. . .

Continued from A1

“Once again, though, the risks are that confidence will wane further in response to the rise in the number of virus cases,”he added.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told reporters on Monday that the reduction could reach 0.3 percentage points if the impact of the virus lasts for six months, and 1 percentage point in GDP growth if the virus infects the economy for the whole year. and fourth, through reduced remittance inflows,” the research firm said.

Weaker tourism arrivals are expected to weigh on growth in 2020, as tourism and travel-related employment, retail sector activity and investment are impacted. The Chinese government’s order for the suspension of international tour sales on January 24 and outbreaks across the region, particularly in South Korea, is likely to result in a slump in arrivals to the Philippines.

“We expect tourist receipts to weaken as a result given that Koreans account for 25 percent of inbound arrivals to the Philippines,” Fitch said.

Tourism and travel accounted for 24.7 percent of the economy in 2018 and 26.4 percent of employment.

Disruptions to supply chains and export demand are also likely to impact growth but to a lesser extent than some of its regional peers.

Fitch Solutions said manufacturers are seen to face some supply constraints as a result of the coronavirus spread and this may result in some temporary delays to output over the near term.

The government’s infrastructure drive could also be at risk, Fitch Solutions noted, given the country’s relatively high percentage of Chinese foreign direct investments (FDI). The think tank said the inability of Chinese workers to travel in some cases has meant delays for projects, par-

traced to a mass activity of a sect in North Gyeongsang.

Aside from South Korea, the government also has an existing travel ban for China and its Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong. Panelo said the IATF has no plans to impose new travel bans or to revoke existing ones for now.

In a related development, Panelo said almost 200 Filipinos from Macau will be soon be brought home because of Covid-19.

Of the 200 Filipinos, 148 will be repatriated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) via chartered flights, while the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) is arranging to repatriate 48 of its active members via a commercial flight.

prostitution and money laundering.

Endorsing the inquiry, Sen. Joel Villanueva noted reports estimating P50 billion in uncollected revenues from POGOs. “That is also our concern,” he said, adding “we join Senator Gordon in addressing this sickening problem.”

At Tuesday’s session, Senators affirmed the need to also “expose hot money coming in and reconsider POGO operations.”

Gordon told reporters he is also keen to know how much in taxes are collected from POGOs. For his part, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon commended Gordon for “putting the [POGO] issue in the public consciousness,” citing reports tht POGOs engaged in gambling operations were also “linked to telco fraud.” He added that both legal and illegal POGOs are “now too many to count.”

At the same time ,Sen. Risa Hontiveros cited reports that travel agencies are now also offering pastillas or bribes to Chinese POGO workers. According to Hontiveros, travel agencies offer manufactured passports, birth certificates, drivers license to Chinese nationals entering the Philippines.

She added that services are being advertised in Mandarin through the messaging app WeChat, primarily to cater to workers in the POGO industry. “These are criminal acts. These are violations of our laws, and tour agencies are advertising them freely,” the senator said as she revealed screenshots of WeChat messages at a Monday Senate hearing on the link of the boom of POGO to prostitution dens in the country.

Tour operators allegedly receive a portion of the P8,000 from the P10,000 “service fee” under the pastillas (the slang for the bribe, referring to the milk candy wrapper used to conceal the cash) scam, wherein P2,000 goes to the Bureau of Immigration’s Immigration Officers, the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit, the Border Control and Intelligence Unit, the Terminal Heads, the Immigration Supervisors, and other airport personnel.

“This information corroborates with reports that Chinese nationals are using the identities of dead Filipinos,” she said. “These Chinese nationals are even assisted by our own corrupt local registry officials,” she added. According to Hontiveros, travel agencies also offer to delist from a blacklist and to release Chinese nationals from the airport should they be barred entry.

This means that if the government expects a growth of 6.5 to 7.5 percent this year, a full percentage reduction will cut GDP growth to 5.5 to 6.5 percent in 2020.

National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning Carlos Bernardo O. Abad Santos told the BusinessMirror that consumer spending in the country will take a hit, at least in the first half of the year, similar to other countries.

However, Neda National Policy atnd Planning Staff Director Reynaldo R. Cancio added that the effect will be temporary and could recover once consumer confidence returns. ticularly Chinese-led projects which tend to rely on Chinese labor.

Mainland China accounted for around 12.3 percent of FDI inflows between January and November 2019, with South Korea, Singapore and Japan also key sources of investment flows.

“Travel restrictions and quarantine periods in place across Asia [are] likely to result in disruptions to investment decisions, which could prove a headwind to the infrastructure boost we had been expecting,” Fitch Solutions said.

Remittances, the country’s most resilient dollar faucet, are also at risk. The virus has hit economies, such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran—which together account for around 17.3 percent of remittances. Fitch Solutions expects contraction in flows from these countries.

“Moreover, the spread of the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship and reported cases linked to the MS Westerdam cruise ship are likely to see reduced demand for cruise ship holidays,” the think tank said.

“Philippine workers receive 21.7 percent from sea-based work, with cruise ships accounting for a significant share. As such, a potential collapse in cruise travel demand could pose a threat to employment and remittance flows,” it added.

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‘Wider budget deficit financed PHL growth’ Continued from A1

to a level closer to its 6.3-percent 10-year GDP growth average,” said Beltran.

“Likewise, in 2019, the deficit was financeable because domestic interest rates and the NG’s debt ratios were declining,” he added.

In just less than a year after the Philippines got its highest credit rating of BBB+ from Standard and Poor’s, Fitch Ratings has talso revised its outlook on its BBB credit rating for the Philippines from “stable” to “positive,” signaling a potential upgrade.

Just a few days before the Fitch Ratings’ outlook revision, the Philippines got a credit rating upgrade of BBB+ from Japanbased Rating and Investment Information Inc. On Monday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the reduction in the country’s GDP growth could reach 0.3 percentage points if the impact of the virus lasts for six months and a 1-percentage-point cut in GDP growth if the virus infects the economy for the whole year.

This means that if the government expects a growth of 6.5 to 7.5 percent this year, a full percentage reduction will cut GDP growth to 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent in 2020.

Moreover, Pernia said there is a chance that the country’s deficit may widen to as much as 3.3 percent to 3.5 percent of GDP, higher than the administration’s target of 3.2 percent between 2019 and 2022.

Borrowing program

Asked if the government will be increasing the borrowing program this year to accommodate higher spending, Deputy Treasurer Erwin Sta. Ana said: “It’s a decision that has to be made by the DBCC [Development Budget Coordination Committee]; it’s part of the ways to address what appears to be...some sort of a slowdown in the economy.”

“Actually last year, we registered a deficit of 3.55 [percent of GDP].

I guess we will have to see what’s going to happen in the next few months before we jump to conclusions [about] increasing the deficit,” Sta. Ana added.

The DOF said it expects the early approval of the 2020 budget to cushion the negative impact of the eruption of Taal Volcano and the global uncertainties caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus

disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This, the DOF said, will help the government implement programs and projects on time this year.

Wider deficit

The DOF issued the bulletin after the Bureau of the Treasury data released last week showed the national government recording a budget deficit of P660.2 billion last year, wider than the P558.3 billion recorded in 2018.

Expenditures outpaced revenues despite the budget delay and the election ban in the first half of the year.

The DOF said expenditures rose by 11.4 percent to P3.797 trillion as the catch-up expenditure plan “totally reversed” the residual effects of the delay of four-and-a-half months in the approval of the General Appropriations Act by Congress and the election ban.

In the last quarter of 2019, the DOF said expenditures grew 27.4 percent year-on-year.

Government revenues also rose by 10.1 percent to P3.138 trillion last year, from P2.850 trillion in 2018.

The bulk of total collection, or 90 percent, was tax revenues, which swelled to P2.828 trillion.

The remaining 10 percent came from nontax sources amounting to P309.7 billion.

Tax revenues grew by 10.2 percent, exceeding nominal GDP growth. This was made possible by the improvement in the collections of the Bureaus of Internal Revenue and Customs, which went up by 11.5 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively.

Nontax revenues rose by 8.9 percent due to robust collections of dividend remittances on national government shares of stocks, guarantee fees, and share in the profits of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

In 2019, the country received GOCC dividends and share in the profits of GOCCs amounting to P91.7 billion, outstripping last year’s all-time high total dividends and share in profits of P73.3 billion, according to DOF. Revenue effort went up by 0.5 percentage point from 16.36 percent in 2018 to 16.86 percent in 2019, the highest revenue effort ever. Tax effort also increased by 0.47 percentage point, from 14.72 percent to 15.19 percent—the highest tax effort in 22 years.

Lib amendments. . . $200,000, the Senate version has it at $500,000. The middle ground could be the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) proposal of $300,000, although that has yet to be considered by any chamber.

In spite of the impending deadlock, Gatchalian is optimistic the differences will be settled once House and Senate leaders head into a bicameral conference.

For him and his House colleagues, their proposal is just the right amount to lure foreign retailers to do business in the Philippines and protect the interest of small players at the same time. Pegging the capital requirement at $200,000 will attract not only the big brands, but also the up and coming names, as well, he argued. “$200,000 for me and for members of the House is a figure—that’s around P10 million—that we feel is comfortable without hitting the micro and small enterprises,” the House leader said. “Obviously, a sari-sari store has no P10 million for capital. With that P10 million, we target to bring in medium to big brands and retail stores abroad to come here.”

“You don’t have to be a signature

Continued from A1

brand. As long as you come here and pay $200,000—and to foreign investors that’s just a small amount—we welcome you. You don’t need to partner with malls, you don’t need to partner with big supermarkets here. You can set up your shop on your own and support the government,” Gatchalian added.

On Tuesday, Gatchalian discussed the salient provisions of HB 59 in a forum with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines with the hope of luring European retail firms to now consider the country as an investment destination.

In the explanatory note of HB 59, Yap said the retail trade law’s minimum capitalization of $2.5 million or more hindered the entry of foreign investors into the Philippines. He noted it is also the highest amount among Southeast Asian nations.

As such, Yap pitched to cut the capital requirement for retail trade investment to $200,000, as well as lower the mandated locally manufactured products carried by foreigners to 30 percent, from 10 percent, of the aggregate cost of their stock inventory.

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A4 Wednesday, March 4, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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BI bars entry of 242 illegal alien workers amid ongoing revamp

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By Recto Mercene

@rectomercene

HE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has denied the entry of some 242 illegal foreign workers, amid an ongoing revamp within the bureau involving 800 employees linked to the pastillas scheme.

Immigration chief Jaime Morente said that 79 foreigners tried to illegally enter the country through

the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 1, while 33 were denied entry at Terminal

2, and 130 at Terminal 3.

“Some were Cambodians, Vietnamese, Indonesians, [from] Myanmar, Malaysians and Chinese,” Morente said adding the foreign nationals were intercepted from February 21 to 28, 2020.

Immigration Intelligence Chief Fortunato Manahan Jr., said they were notified by their counterpart intelligence agents from abroad “of the attempt of suspected illegal workers to use other ports of entry to come to the Philippines.”

“We see this as a cause for concern,” he said. “Our front liners will heighten our efforts in screening

these aliens. We are in close coordination with our foreign counterparts in ensuring that no aliens with bad records enter the country,” the immigration chief said. He added: “But if they are already in the country before we receive information about their crimes, we will immediately [seek and] send them out,” he added.

Meanwhile, Morente vowed to expand the probe on the alleged pastillas scheme, named after a local sweet wrapped in thin paper, following statements from whistleblower Allison Chiong that the modus reportedly continued to operate “until recently.”

“I have ordered all Naia heads

replaced, and reshuffled all frontline personnel to break any possible collusion among them. This revamp affected around 800 officers,” Morente said.

“We have, likewise, placed the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit, and the Border Control and Investigation Unit under the control, and supervision of the Intelligence Division to serve as an external check and balance to monitor airport operations,” he added.

Morente warned that those who will be proven to be part of the alleged scheme will face both administrative and criminal charges.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Morente still enjoys President Duterte’s trust and confidence.

“Well, apparently, he [President Duterte] is giving Commissioner Morente a chance to do some innovations in the immigration [bureau],” he said.

Panelo made the remarks nearly a week after Duterte said Morente’s fate lies on the results of the pending investigations into the supposed irregularities committed by some BI personnel.

He said Morente even joined the 47th Cabinet meeting held at Malacañang on Monday amid controversies plaguing BI. With PNA

Amid rise in price, DA allots ₧4.9B for palay procurement from farmers

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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday said the National Food Authority (NFA) will buy at least P4.9 billion worth of palay (unmilled rice) from local planters this dry season.

The DA’s statement came as the nationwide average farm-gate price for palay has risen to P16.06 per kilogram, its highest level

in almost two months since end-December of 2019.

The DA said the NFA has allotted P4.9 billion for its palay procurement for the ongoing dry season harvest, which would end in midMay, even as the DA separately allocated P9.7 billion to purchase palay for the main harvest season during the fourth quarter.

The NFA is eyeing to match, or even exceed, its palay procurement record in 2018 of P14.5-billion worth of palay this year.

“We have strengthened measures to ensure that the DA-NFA will be able to repeat or exceed its buying capacity for this year,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.

“We have strengthened measures to ensure that the DA-NFA will be able to repeat or exceed its buying capacity for this year.”

—Dar

The DA said Dar has instructed the NFA to “aggressively” buy palay from farmers, particularly from areas that are supported by the government’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

The NFA purchases palay at P19 per kg, which is P3 higher than the prevailing farm-gate price of P16 per kg.

The average farm-gate price of palay as of third week of February inched up to P16.06 per kg from the previous week’s level of P16 per kg, according to Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest price monitoring report.

“However, its annual rate continued to decline by 18.2 percent compared with its level of P19.63 per kg in the same week of the previous year,” the PSA said.

Despite the sustained increase in farmgate prices, the average quotation for dry palay remains at its lowest level in more than six years, historical PSA data showed.

The DA said it is banking on the P10billion RCEF and its hybrid rice program to increase palay output to 19.6 MMT, from last year’s 18.48 MMT.

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

House pushes Senate OK of 10-day service incentive leave for workers

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

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HE House of Representatives on Tuesday endorsed for Senate approval a measure seeking to increase the yearly service incentive leave (SIL) of employees from five to 10 days.

T his after 197 members of the lower chamber approved on third and final reading House Bill 1338, which seeks to amend the Labor Code of the Philippines.

Under the bill, every employee who has rendered at least one year of service shall be entitled to a yearly SIL of 10 days.

But the measure said the provision shall not apply to those already enjoying such benefit, those enjoying vacation leave with pay of at least 10 days, and those in establishments regularly employing less than 10 employees, or in establishments exempted from granting this benefit by the secretary of labor and employment after consid-

ering the viability or condition of such establishment.

At present, Baguio City Rep. Mark Go, author of the measure, said the laws do not require employers the grant of sickness and vacation leaves.

“The granting of paid leaves is not only beneficial to the employees but economically advantageous for employers, as well,” he said.

The lawmaker said such incentives boost the moral and satisfaction of employees manifested in increased productivity.

“Leave credits also minimizes the risk of health and safety issues among employees, which may even be more costly for both employees and employers in the long run,” Go added.

“Labor force is an essential component of every social and economic growth. It is the policy of state, as enshrined in the Constitution that State affirms labor as a primary social economic force and shall protect the rights of workers, and promote their welfare,” he added.

Palace assures ‘sufficient’ water supply this summer until year-end

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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ALACAÑANG assured on Tuesday that there will be sufficient water supply in Metro Manila not only for the summer season but throughout the entire year.

This after Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu reported the results of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) recent inspection of the Angat Dam during the 47th Cabinet Meeting on March 2. “ The environment secretar y assured the President that we will have enough water for the year,” Presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said.

Angat Dam supplies about more than 97 percent of the total water supply requirement of Metro Manila.

Panelo said the government expects to sustain the sufficient water supply for Metro Manila this year up to 2022 with the completion of new water supply

The environment secretary assured the President that we will have enough water for the year.”—Panelo projects for the period.

He said this includes the controversial the Kaliwa Dam to be constructed within the border of the provinces of Rizal and Quezon.

Panelo said the groundbreaking for the China-funded infrastructure project is expected to be held either in July or August this year.

Last Januar y, the Metropolitan Water works and Sewerage System said the design for the dam was being finalized in preparation for the start of its construction within the year.

It said the P12.2-billion project is expected to be completed by 2024.

Agriculture/Commodities BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng • Wednesday, March 4, 2020 A5

PHL slaps import ban on German poultry

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

M

@jearcalas

anila has implemented a temporary import ban on domestic and wild birds and poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from Germany after Berlin confirmed new outbreaks of avian influenza (AI) in a farm in Baden-Württemberg.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it made the decision after Germany’s Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on February 10, that there was an outbreak of the highly pathogenic AI (HPAI) H5N8 in Bretzfeld, Hohenlohekreis.

Germany said the virus affected 49 laying hens, two geese, six ducks, three pheasants and nine canaries. “[The ban is being imposed] to prevent the entry of HPAI to protect the health of the public and the local poultry population,” read the DA’s Memorandum Order 15, Series of 2020 dated February 24.

With the ban in place, Manila

has suspended the processing, evaluation of the application, and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) of domestic and wild birds, and poultry products from Germany.

“All incoming poultry shipments with SPS import clearance issued on or before February 11, 2020, will be allowed provided that frozen poultry meat has a slaughter/process date of 21 days prior to the HPAI outbreaks [on or before January 15, 2020],” the order read.

“All shipments will be subject to veterinary quarantine rules and regulations,” it added.

The DA warned that it would confiscate all shipments of the banned commodities originating

from the area if did not comply w ith above-mentioned conditions.

However, the ban does not cover heat-treated products.

The order took effect immediately. Manila usually imposes a temporary ban on poultry products from areas where there are HPAI outbreaks as a preventive measure.

The decision to slap the ban on German poultry came a few weeks after the DA renewed its system accreditation for exporting poultry meat and products to the Philippines.

In a separate MO, the DA also imposed a temporary import ban on domestic and wild birds and poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from Saudi Arabia after it confirmed new H5N8 outbreaks.

Manila has put in place an import ban on poultry products from the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and China.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) had urged poultry raisers to cooperate with the government and report unusual mortality in their farms amid the resurgence of AI in Asian countries, including China.

BAI, an attached agency of the DA, asked farmers to participate in the government’s bird flu surveillance activities.

Bill Gates-led fund invests in synthetic palm oil start-up

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reakthrough Energy Ventures, helmed by Bill Gates, is leading an investment round of $20 million for C16 Biosciences, a New York-based start-up, which is working on making sustainable alternatives for palm oil.

The three-year-old start-up uses microbes to convert food waste and industrial by-products into synthetic palm oil, which it claims can replace the plant-derived version. The investment will be used to grow the team and scale up the technology. It’s one of a growing number of start-ups working on developing alternatives.

Interest in alternatives to palm oil is growing as curbing its environmental impact becomes more critical. Most palm oil is produced in the tropics, where companies often destroy carbon-rich forests to make space for plantations. What’s even worse is that many producers light fires as a cheap way to clear forests and agricultural land, which adds to the greenhouse-gas emissions from the process and wrecks the region’s rich biodiversity.

The palm oil market is expanding rapidly and could be worth almost $93 billion next year. Starting in the mid-1990s, following

research showing vegetable oils are bad for health, big food brands switched over to using palm oil, which does not contain harmful trans fats. Now it’s found in more than 50 percent of consumer products, according to nonprofit Palm Oil Investigations.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures wants to invest in companies that have the potential to cut emissions by as much as 500 million metric tons each year. The fund’s investors include Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, Virgin Group boss Richard Branson and Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP.

Sustainable alternatives

Sustainable palm oil is available in the market today, but its production is small and it isn’t cheap.

That’s why start-ups, such as C16, are trying something different.

C16 uses a proprietary yeast which it feeds with carbon-containing waste. This could include excess food from supermarkets and homes or glycerol from biofuels production. The start-up can make about 10 kilograms of its synthetic palm oil each week, which it plans to ramp up to 1,000 kg using the money invested. This would allow

it to supply large businesses, starting with cosmetics companies, and then the food industry.

The use of waste ensures raw materials are cheap and lowers the environmental impact, said Shara Ticku, C16’s chief executive. It gives the synthetic alternative a chance to be priced as low, if not cheaper than, the natural version.

Other companies are following suit. California-based startup Kiverdi Inc. is using microbes to convert carbon dioxide into an alternative to palm oil. Scottish start-up Revive Eco is extracting useful oils from coffee waste and Indonesian start-up Biteback is finding those oils in insects.

There’s no guarantee that it will work. The University of Bath is studying the development of palm oil alternatives and it’s expected to conclude that current technology isn’t economic on a commercial scale. The highest expense is extracting the palm oil once the microbes have made the synthetic version, said David Leak, a professor in the university’s biology and biochemistry department. Without overcoming those hurdles, palm oil alternatives might remain a niche product. Bloomberg News

A6 Wednesday, March 4, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Adding value to PHL farm produce

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T was in October 2010 when University of Asia and the Pacific Center for Food and Agri Business Executive Director Rolando T. Dy called the government’s attention to the fact that the Philippines has only Cavendish banana, and pineapples, as new agrobased exports. In a paper, titled “Solving Rural Poverty,” he provided to this newspaper, Dy noted that Vietnam has a much longer list of new exports: rice, coffee, dory fish, cashew, pepper and shrimps. Thailand, another neighbor in Southeast Asia, has sustained its export advantage in rice, natural rubber, canned tuna, cassava, pineapple and canned fruits.

Nearly 10 years after he wrote his paper, Dy said the Philippines continues to rely on a few commodities to boost receipts from agricultural exports. The latest data on agricultural exports from the Philippine Statistics Authority would attest to this. Of the total agro-based exports last year, bananas and coconut oil remained as major sources of receipts, according to the PSA. In terms of value, Cavendish banana has overtaken coconut oil as the country’s top farm export in 2019, with shipments valued at nearly $2 billion (See, “PSA: Banana pulls up farm export receipts in 2019,” in the BusinessMirror, February 27, 2019).

Coconut oil was dislodged by Cavendish banana as king of Philippine farm exports last year, due mainly to the jump in demand from China, which strengthened its bilateral ties with Manila in recent years. Apart from this, developments in the international market, such as the vegetable oil glut, caused the price of coconut oil to decline steeply. This led local producers to cut their shipments, which eventually resulted in the drop in the farm-gate price of copra.

Following the PSA’s release of data on agro-based exports last year, experts again called on the government to consider diversifying the country’s farm exports menu. And this menu should not only feature fresh agricultural goods, but should also include value-added products.

Instead of just exporting raw bananas or mangoes, the Philippines must go into producing other products using these raw materials that will fetch a higher price and will have a longer shelf life.

The expansion of agro-based exports need not drain the country’s food supply, according to Dy’s paper. There are underutilized and idle lands that can be used for agriculture. Government can also look into exploiting the Philippines’s comparative advantage in fresh water aquaculture and mariculture to expand the shipments of agro-based products.

When Dy’s paper came out 10 years ago, the Philippines was already a laggard in Southeast Asia in terms of agri-food exports. Citing data from the United Nations Trade Center, the paper noted that the Philippines earned $4 billion from its food exports in 2008, a far cry from Thailand’s $34.5 billion, Vietnam’s $11 billion, Malaysia’s $27.7 billion and Indonesia’s $31.4 billion. A decade after, the value of the country’s agro-based exports remained at single digit ($5 billion), while those of its neighbors in Southeast Asia remained above $10 billion.

It is time for the government to seriously consider tapping the exports market for agro-based products if it wants to hit its target of reducing poverty rate to 14 percent by 2022. The Philippines wasted a lot of time in the past, but it is not yet too late. Recent initiatives, such as the enactment of the Innovation Act (Republic Act 11337) will help pave the way for the development of new agro-based products that the country can offer to the world.

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SSS: In sickness and in health Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

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uring our most productive years from age 16 to 50, people work continuously to support their daily living, to give back to their parents, to raise their children and give them quality education, to pay-off debts, as well as to prepare for their future and retirement. It’s rather unfortunate that only a few have prepared themselves for unexpected crises, such as sickness, disability and death.

Fortunately, there’s an agency that secures the social protection of Filipino workers in and out of the country. The Social Security System (SSS) is mandated under Republic Act 11199, or the Social Security Act of 2018, to “establish, develop, promote, and perfect a sound and viable tax-exempt social security system suitable to the needs of the people throughout the Philippines which shall promote social justice through savings, and ensure meaningful social security protection to members and their beneficiaries against the hazards of disability, sickness, maternity, old age, death, and other contingencies resulting in loss of income or financial burden.”

A few weeks ago, I have mentioned in this column the praises we got from the implementation of the unemployment benefit as one of the major provisions under the same law. We provide immediate assistance to involuntarily separated employees. There are other types of benefits that SSS offers, and one of them is the sickness benefit; a cash allowance given to qualified members who are unable to work due to sickness or illness.

When I did some random branch visits in our offices nationwide, I was glad to see members applying for the SSS sickness benefit program. This means that their income capacity is not diminished by sudden contingencies. Based on the latest data,

The gender power gap

By António Guterres | UN Secretary-General

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ender inequality is the overwhelming injustice of our age and the biggest human-rights challenge we face. But gender equality offers solutions to some of the most intractable problems of our age.

Everywhere, women are worse off than men—simply because they are women. The reality for women from minorities, older women, those with disabilities, and women migrants and refugees is even worse.

While we have seen enormous progress on women’s rights over recent decades, from the abolition of discriminatory laws to increased numbers of girls in school, we now face a powerful pushback. Legal protections against rape and domestic abuse are being diluted in some countries while policies that penalize women, from austerity to coercive reproduction, are being introduced in others. Women’s sexual and reproductive rights are under threat from all sides.

All this is because gender equality is fundamentally a question of power. Centuries of discrimination and deep-rooted patriarchy have created a yawning gender power gap in our economies, our political systems and our corporations. The evidence is everywhere.

Women are still excluded from the top table, from governments

to corporate boards to prestigious award ceremonies. Women leaders and public figures face harassment, threats, and abuse online and offline.

The gender pay gap is just a symptom of the gender power gap.

Even the supposedly neutral data that informs decision-making from urban planning to drug testing is often based on a “default male;” men are seen as standard while women are an exception.

Women and girls also contend with centuries of misogyny and the erasure of their achievements.

They are ridiculed as hysterical or hormonal; they are routinely judged on their looks; they are subjected to endless myths and taboos about their natural bodily functions; they are confronted by everyday sexism, mansplaining and victim-blaming.

This profoundly affects us all, and is a barrier to solving many of the challenges and threats we face.

Take inequality. Women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.

The latest research by the World Economic Forum says it will take 257 years to close this gap. Meanwhile,

sickness benefits released in 2019 have reached P3.23 billion, up from the P2.79 billion recorded in the previous year.

I would like to share with you, my readers, that we were able to extend our help to a member who was battling a colon or colorectal cancer in 2019. In the Philippines, colon or colorectal cancer is one of the top 5 common cancers.

In October 2019, a member asked for the assistance of President Duterte, through the 8888 hot line, for the processing of her sickness benefit claim. The member, at that time, was complaining about the slow processing of her sickness benefit claim application. The matter was brought to our attention and was given priority.

It appeared that the member’s name on the claim application was different from the SS records. Since there was a discrepancy in the records, this must be corrected before the approval of the benefit. As always, we make sure of the integrity of our various programs. One of these is to ensure that we are giving benefits to the rightful members and beneficiaries.

In just three days, the member was able to express her gratitude to the SSS team who handled her case. “Nais ko sanang magpasalamat sa 8888, kasi ginagawan na ng action ng Social Security System Biñan

Branch ang concern ko kahit na hindi ko pa alam na matutugunan nila, kasi mali pala ang last name kaya hindi nila ma-process. Nagpapasalamat din ako sa manager nila na si Reynante A. Untiveros dahil siya ang tumulong sa akin. Sana ay matugunan na nila kasi kailangan ko para sa sakit ko.” Within less than three weeks, the member was able to get her sickness benefit claim to support her medications.

We may not be able to provide the whole amount for her medications as the benefits are computed based on her contributions, but still, the member was grateful to SSS. This kind of appreciation message that we received from our members is truly a heartwarming experience.

It is quite clear that we are living up to our mandate of providing social security protection in times of adversities.

We’d like our members to know that we are delivering the service they deserve and the benefits they are claiming are the fruits of their hard-earned savings. We still hope that they will see their SSS contributions not as a burden, but as their “safe pocket” during times of contingencies.

women and girls do some 12 billion hours of unpaid care work every day that simply does not figure in economic decision-making. If we are to achieve a fair globalization that works for everyone, we need to base our policies on statistics that take account of women’s true contributions.

Digital technology is another case in point. The lack of gender balance in the universities, start-ups and Silicon Valleys of our world is deeply worrying. These tech hubs are shaping the societies and economies of the future; we cannot allow them to entrench and exacerbate male dominance.

Or take the wars that are ravaging our world. There is a straight line between violence against women, civil oppression and conflict. How a society treats the female half of its population is a significant indicator of how it will treat others. Even in peaceful societies, many women are in deadly danger in their own homes.

There is even a gender gap in our response to the climate crisis.

Initiatives to reduce and recycle are overwhelmingly marketed at women, while men are more likely to put their faith in untested technological fixes. And women economists and parliamentarians are more likely than men to support proenvironmental policies.

Finally, political representation is the clearest evidence of the gender

power gap. Women are outnumbered by an average of 3 to 1 in parliaments around the world, but their presence is strongly correlated with innovation, and investment, in health and education. It is no coincidence that the governments that are redefining economic success to include wellbeing and sustainability are led by women.

This is why one of my first priorities at the United Nations was to bring more women into our leadership. We have now achieved gender parity at the senior level, two years ahead of schedule, and we have a road map for parity at all levels in the years to come.

Our world is in trouble, and gender equality is an essential part of the answer. Man-made problems have human-led solutions. Gender equality is a means of redefining and transforming power that will yield benefits for all.

The 21st century must be the century of women’s equality in peace negotiations and trade talks; in boardrooms and classrooms; at the G20 and the UN. It is time to stop trying to change women, and to start changing the systems that prevent them from achieving their potential.

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.

(UN statement in celebration of the International Women's Day on March 8, 2020)

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Opinion

Small but significant

Not all importers are smugglers

BusinessMirror

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

Atty. Macario R. de Claro Jr.

MAKE SENSE

Competition Matters

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country’s development is often depicted as an improvement in the quality and diversity of products and services, from consumer goods to health care and infrastructure, that are available to average citizens. In a market economy, it’s easy to imagine these innovations being carried out by large firms, perhaps conglomerates, that have the capital resources and expertise to bring the good life to the masses. But what happens when large businesses enter a new market? How do they change the competitive landscape in that market, particularly in relation to small- and medium-sized incumbents? Will the relationship be symbiotic, predatory or parasitic?

Considering that a vast majority of Philippine businesses are micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and that they employ twothirds of the country’s labor force, the MSME sector is crucial in enhancing and protecting market competition. MSMEs play an important role in the economy. Many producers of raw materials, like agricultural products, are small-scale farmers or entrepreneurs. Some serve as agents and facilitate trade that opens up far-flung and isolated markets. In manufacturing and services, MSMEs fill in crucial gaps in the supply chain by being agile, active, and responsive to small- and medium-scale, or niche and specialized, client needs.

The Philippine Entrepreneurship Report shows that Filipinos are very entrepreneurial, either out of necessity or because they can spot good business opportunities. However, MSMEs in the Philippines tend to falter when faced with roadblocks related to financing, access to human talent, use of modern technology and access to markets. These barriers stifle the sustainability and growth potential of MSMEs, with only a few making it past the 3.5-year mark to become stable and established businesses. Those that survive often remain very small, as they find difficulty in expanding in terms of sales and employment.

Meaning, these significant barriers still prevail.

While MSMEs play crucial roles in the economy, they often find themselves vulnerable and subject to entry and access barriers, external shocks, and the will of large and dominant players. The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) endeavors to level the playing field such that market interactions are competitive and fair. Removing anticompetitive barriers in the markets for financing, labor, technology, and product distribution allows MSMEs to easily transact with suppliers when sourcing raw materials, and with clients or distributors when trying to attain a broad consumer base.

A competitive environment that provides realistic prospects for growth and sustainable success does not only allow but also encourages MSMEs to constantly improve their products, services and internal processes. When clients become accustomed to the best the market has to offer, they further fuel demand for quality products and services,

creating a virtuous cycle of innovation and value creation.

Under the Philippine Competition Act, MSMEs are explicitly protected against abusive conduct.

Section 15(g) of the PCA prohibits a dominant player from abusing its dominant position by “directly or indirectly imposing unfairly low purchase prices for the goods or services of, among others, marginalized agricultural producers, fisherfolk, MSMEs and other marginalized service providers and producers.”

Establishing dominance before prosecuting potentially anticompetitive behavior ensures that MSMEs and other marginalized producers are protected while being given the freedom to conduct their business pro-competitively.

The expansion and frequent disruption of some traditional markets due to rapid emergence of digital technology can also bring new business opportunities and challenges for MSMEs. MSMEs benefit from broader market access but are also threatened by the tipping of some markets in favor of dominant players. Issues related to intellectual property rights, privacy, and data management are becoming important and concerning not just for big businesses but also for MSMEs. These developments pose challenges for competition authorities the world over, and the PCC, along with other government agencies, is exploring modes of cooperation and innovative regulation that are in keeping with the times, to be effective and relevant.

With the protection of MSMEs from abuse by dominant players and promotion of competitive market conditions enshrined in the PCA as part of the national competition policy, the PCC considers MSMEs as allies not only in fostering a culture of competition but also in ensuring the promised benefits of competition law and policy, resulting in a good life for all in terms of low prices and improved quality of products and services.

Commissioner de Claro Jr. is a CPA lawyer who has worked in companies in the fields of manufacturing, mining, telecommunications, real estate, and banking and finance prior to his appointment to the Philippine Competition Commission. A litigation and corporate lawyer, he once served as legal consultant to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. He graduated from the De La Salle College with a BS in Commerce, Major in Accounting and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Davao Law School.

I

have been fighting smuggling for almost four decades now.

And I have seen how this large scale theft of much needed government revenues have levelled up technically and procedurally over the years. Already, according to an earlier study on smuggling in the Philippines by the University of Asia and the Pacific, the government loses around P250 billion in taxes each year to smugglers.

This is more or less equivalent to more than P2 trillion of market share taken by unscrupulous importers from local manufacturers.

Smuggling has advanced over time that rarely do we hear reports today of smugglers unloading their illegally imported goods and contrabands along the country’s vast shorelines at night, under the cover of darkness, while gun toting body guards secure the area.

Nowadays, technical smuggling is perpetrated by unscrupulous traders, in connivance with corrupt Customs officials, right within the confines of the Bureau of Customs through misdeclaration, misclassification, undervaluation and underdeclaration, among other methods.

In my earlier columns, I explained how these forms of illegal trade are

done at the BOC. Some years back, I remember the time when the local cement and tile manufacturers sought government intervention to help curb the surge in cement and tile smuggling by imposing safeguard duties on all of the country’s cement and tile importations. Together with Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, my cohost in our long-running “Dito sa Bayan ni Juan” radio program, we scrutinized the issue.

And, in some of the House hearings on cement and tile smuggling that I attended as one of the resource persons, I noticed that the values being used during those

Bloomberg Opinion

T

he worst of the coronavirus is yet to come for US factories.

Data released on Monday by the Institute for Supply Management showed manufacturing activity hovered just above the borderline between an expansion and contraction in February. No matter how you look at it, that’s a downshift from a January read that showed an uptick in production and new orders after a trade-war lull. But the on-theground dynamics for US factories are more stressed than the headline number of 50.1 would seem to suggest. Notably, supplier delivery times stretched to the longest since

2018. While that’s typically a positive indicator showing parts makers are struggling to keep up with demand, in this case it shows the distortion already happening to supply chains as governments and companies pursue drastic measures to try to stem the spread of the Covid-19 respiratory illness that’s already killed more than 3,000 people.

Unlike retailers or airlines that feel the immediate hit of missed lattes and canceled flights, the supply-chain pain wrought by the coronavirus takes more time to manifest. Most companies operate with some kind of buffer in inventory and many likely pulled forward work to accommodate the Chinese Lunar New Year. There are positive

hearings as benchmark for the government’s reference values were the declared values of a certain cement and tile importer named Napoleon Co. I thought that the use of Napoleon Co’s declared values as basis for determining the government’s benchmark for computing the duties and taxes on cement and tile importations could only mean that he is an honest importer and the government believes in his declared values. At that time, Co was not yet my acquaintance. However, he would later be a friend and an ally in our common advocacy against smuggling. Napoleon Co would also later on establish the Home Depot chain of stores in the country.

As an anti-smuggling advocate, Co and I did not only have common interests and thoughts about smuggling, he was also always there ready to help me in my advocacy against this grand larceny of government funds.

And even if the Bureau of Customs is also upbeat in developing new programs and applications to beat the criminal minds of smugglers and some of its corrupt officials— like its full automation program to eliminate face-to-face transactions between customs officials and importers, and its National Valuation and Verification System among

A new refugee crisis could break the EU

By Andreas Kluth | Bloomberg Opinion

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he chaos of 2015, when more than a million refugees came to the European Union within a year, caused lasting fractures between and within the bloc’s countries. Now growing numbers of migrants are once again crossing into the EU from Turkey.

It’s too early to tell whether this mounting crisis could become another “2015.” But it’s already clear that it’s blowback for the EU’s utter failure to reform its migration system in the past five years—a failure that leaves it open to blackmail by cynical autocrats like Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Though nominally a Nato ally and applicant to join the EU, Turkey is increasingly becoming a geopolitical threat to the West. Erdogan is waging a war in Syria for which he wants European support, even as his onslaught swells the huddled masses trying to escape the hell of Idlib.

To put pressure on the EU, Erdogan is actively shooing more of the roughly 4 million refugees in Turkey toward Europe. That directly contravenes a deal Turkey and the EU made in 2016, when Erdogan, in return for lots of European money, promised to prevent migrants from crossing to Greece and to take back any who did.

As a result, refugees are again paddling in dinghies to Greek islands, then crowding into overfilled and filthy camps. They’re also— and this is new—trudging by land to Turkey’s Thracian borders with Greece and Bulgaria, where, at least for now, they’re stopped by tear gas and barbed wire. It’s hard to say exactly how many tens of thousands they are. But for the EU it’s another

potential catastrophe all the same.

If Greece stays firm, throngs of human beings will suffer in limbo between the borders, and many will get sick and even die. The EU, in contrast to leaders like Erdogan who understand only the callous rules of realpolitik, cannot afford to allow such a humanitarian catastrophe. If it sacrifices its values, it also forfeits its raison d’etre.

If, however, the EU allows the migrants to enter, that will create even bigger problems. As soon as word gets out that the borders are “open,” more people will set off on their journey, not only from Syria but also from Africa, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The rush of migrants would be another gift to populists, who tend to be both xenophobic and euroskeptic. A new refugee crisis would mean more populists in more countries trying more brazenly to undermine the EU from within.

Such a dilemma could have been foreseen since 2015, when the backlash against the refugees almost toppled Angela Merkel as German chancellor. That makes EU leaders’ failure to prepare for a new crisis all the more glaring. It defies comprehension that the union today still has the same flawed migrant regime that broke down so spectacularly in 2015.

Called the Dublin System, it requires migrants to apply for asylum

Worst of coronavirus is yet to come for US factories

By Brooke Sutherland

Wednesday, March 4, 2020 A7

signs that China is making progress, bringing factories back on line as the spread of the coronavirus in that country slows. But the longer this public health crisis drags on, and the more countries it ensnares, the harder it is to ensure parts can travel seamlessly through intricate, far-flung networks.

Notably, one ISM respondent was quoted as saying the coronavirus “is wreaking havoc on the electronics industry.” That is bad news for the likes of 3M Co. and DuPont de Nemours Inc., which supply materials and components to the sector.

Neither company included an impact from the coronavirus in their initial 2020 outlooks, nor have they issued a formal update.

Unlike retailers or airlines that feel the immediate hit of missed lattes and canceled flights, the supply-chain pain wrought by the coronavirus takes more time to manifest. Most companies operate with some kind of buffer in inventory and many likely pulled forward work to accommodate the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The growing—and more troubling—concern is that the supplychain disruption is just the tip of the iceberg, and that the coronavirus could start to weigh heavily on underlying demand. Global manufacturing

To get the home countries of economic migrants, from Africa to Afghanistan, to cooperate, the EU should unapologetically use policy sticks and carrots.

Participating nations, for example, could get better terms of trade, investment and aid depending on their readiness to repatriate their own migrants from Europe. It goes without saying that this is a huge and complex undertaking. But the EU has had five years to get started, and has little to show for it.

others—smuggling is still happening in the country.

The sum of it all is that, the problem of smuggling in the country is imbued with the distorted values of unscrupulous traders and subverted minds of corrupt Customs officials. As the saying goes, smuggling happens when unscrupulous traders vitiate the corrupt minds of Customs officials, and/or smuggling happens when corrupt Customs officials exploit the deceitful minds of importers.

In short, smuggling will never happen if at least one of the two parties involved in the transaction will strongly adhere to the principle of good governance and honesty.

How I wish to have more importers and/or traders like Napoleon Co. I know this is wishful thinking, but like in a game of basketball, who knows if this could be a long crazy buzzer beating shot all the way from across the court, which could be a game changer given the way things are being done at the Bureau of Customs. We can all help stop smuggling in the country.

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.

only in the first EU member-state they physically enter, which usually means Greece, Italy or Spain. In effect, the system leaves those frontier states to cope—or not cope—on their own, even though most migrants plan to move on to northern countries. Overwhelmed, Greece just suspended its processing of asylum applications for a month. The system is both dysfunctional and unfair.

After the previous migrant emergency, Germany and a few other countries tried to reform the system. In that plan, the EU as a whole would have allocated refugees among all member-states according to their economic strength and population size. But welcoming even relatively few foreigners, especially Muslims, was anathema to nationalist governments like Hungary and Poland, which willfully balked at all attempts at reform.

It was a mistake for the EU to let these naysayers get away with their obstruction. But the EU should now

move on without them to a new approach that works. People like Gerald Knaus, the architect of the 2016 deal between the EU and Turkey, think that a group of countries led

by Germany, France and Italy should forge ahead and resettle new arrivals among them, even if other memberstates refuse to share the burden.

This would relieve frontier states like Greece.

Crucially, this new system must avoid creating a new “pull effect” by assuring swift and certain deportation of economic migrants who don’t qualify for asylum.

The EU must signal that illegal migration isn’t worth the hazardous journey, and simultaneously offer a legal path, with more visas and work permits for qualified workers, for example.

To get the home countries of economic migrants, from Africa to Afghanistan, to cooperate, the EU should unapologetically use policy sticks and carrots. Participating nations, for example, could get better terms of trade, investment and aid depending on their readiness to repatriate their own migrants from Europe.

It goes without saying that this is a huge and complex undertaking.

But the EU has had five years to get started, and has little to show for it.

Its inaction has left it at the mercy of events like wars and famines, and actors like Erdogan, that are outside its control. A confederation that can’t control its own borders and can’t inspire cohesion among its members has no credibility and will eventually collapse. If the EU wants to avoid that fate, it had better get busy right now.

activity contracted in February by the most since 2009 amid a plunge in production and new export orders, according to the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI. Aerospace is a particular watch item, with the International Air Transport Association forecasting the first decline in global passenger traffic since the financial crisis. Notably, that assumed that the worst of the airline capacity cuts was confined to Chinalinked markets; many carriers have since extended suspensions to Japan, South Korea and parts of Italy.

On Monday, Ryanair Holdings Plc. cut its short-haul flight program to and from Italy by up to 25 percent for a three-week period amid weak demand. Fewer flights means that

fewer planes need the lucrative spare part and maintenance work that’s been supporting aerospace supplier’s profits amid the grounding of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max. The prospect of monetary policy action and, in some cases, fiscal stimulus calmed markets on Monday and will soften the financial blow for companies grappling with disruption, but the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank can’t make people get on planes.

As with most things related to the coronavirus, this latest data point on manufacturing is a reminder of how much we still don’t know about the virus itself and the ultimate economic impact. But all signs point to more pain before the healing process begins.

A8 Wednesday, March 4, 2020

AFP joins probe into money laundering for Chinese rings

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By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM & Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

HE military will look into the alleged involvement of some of its personnel in the smuggling of some $370 million into the country

by Chinese personalities, which Sen. Richard Gordon said could be used for criminal activities.

“Allow us to check, coordinate with the department concerned to gather sufficient information so that we could conduct our own verification,” said military spokesman Brig. Gen. Edgard

Arevalo on Tuesday.

According to Gordon, two groups he identified only as “Chinese Group” and “Rodriguez Group” smuggled into the country the dirty money last year, which he said could

$370M Estimated cash brought into the country in two months by travelers, believed meant for money laundering for criminal groups, per Sen. Richard Gordon

be used to finance Chinese criminal activities.

On Tuesday, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Joey Salceda added two more groups to these: the “Singapore Group” and the “Hong Kong Group.”

See related story below.

The disclosure came amid rising concerns on the presence and operations of Chinese-dominated Philippine Offshore Gaming

Operators in the country, which have expanded alongside an increasing tally of crimes involving Chinese POGO workers and personalities, including kidnapping and prostitution.

Last week, a Chinese POGO worker was shot dead by two compatriots inside a restaurant in BelAir, Makati City, a case that alarmed by the Philippine National Police (PNP), which admitted the spike in Chinese-related crimes.

PLA ID cards

Investigators seized two identification cards from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from the two shooting suspects, but the PNP, which is coordinating with the Chinese Embassy in Manila, said the IDs are not owned by the suspects.

See “Money laundering,” A2

Panel, solons tackle inflow of suspect billions

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

F

@joveemarie

OUR syndicates linked to drugs, terrorism, money laundering and Philippine

Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) operations are behind the entry of P28.6 billion in cold cash in the country, a leader of the House of Representatives revealed on Tuesday.

After a meeting with govern-

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING EXTREME NORTHERN LUZON as of 4:00 pm - March 3, 2020

ment agenices, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Salceda said these groups arrived in the country from December 2019 to February 2020.

According to Salceda, the money

was brought into the country by the “Singapore Group,” the “Hong Kong Group” and two others earlier identifed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in a Department of Finance report, the “Rodriguez Group” and “Chinese Group.”

Salceda said the P28.6-billion cold cash is part of the whopping $1.02 billion in cold cash easily entered into the country.

“Seven kilos [of] hand carry can accomodate $3 million to $4 million,” he said.

Salceda made the revelation after his committee briefing with the BOC and its Intelligence Group, Anti-Money Laundering Council, Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Bureau of Immigration, National Intelligence Coordinating Council and National Bureau of Investigation.

Salceda said the committee is worried by reports that these groups are being “escorted” by authorities. Earlier, the BOC said some members of the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, or of the airport police department at the Miaa were among such escorts.

“Of 12 million arrivals last year, only 1,015 have FCD [foreign currency declarations],” Salceda said.

Gaps in law

Meanwhile , t he l aw ma ker said a five-man committee has been created to draft a measure to draft a measure providing for a procedure for foreign currency deposit.

“This measure seeks to detect where the money will go in the Philippines. Also, we want to set a trigger amount [to easily identify the entry of money of more than $10,000],” he added.

According to Salceda, the money goes through BOC in pure cold cash but “the authorities don’t have the power to confiscate it because it was declared.”

Under existing laws, amounts of foreign currency exceeding $10,000 in value are allowed to be brought into the country for as long as they are declared.

Earlier, the BOC said the country’s laws on undeclared foreign currencies are “not categorical, and sanctions provided are not deterrent enough,” unlike in other countries like the United States where such attempts to underdeclare or not declare currency is defined as bulk cash smuggling, and the penalties are far more severe than those provided under Philippine laws.

THE QUICK BROWN FOX JU AMLC PROBING 12 CASES OVER THE MONEY’ LAZY DOG. THE OF ‘DIRTY FROM LAZY DOG ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

T

HE Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is investigating a dozen cases of money laundering involving high-profile subjects involved in the illegal wildlife trade.

Interviewed at the sidelines of the World Wildlife Day 2020 celebration at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City, Maria Ivy B. Jovellanos-Lanuevo of the AMLC Secretariat’s Compliance and Investigation Group said the cases were referred to the anti-money laundering body by the various law-enforcement agencies working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“We are now investigating at least a dozen cases and are following the money trail. We are closely working with various law-enforcement agencies and are now focusing on this illegal activity,” she said.

Last year, she said the AMLC caused the freezing of several bank accounts of a businessman, whom she declined to name, following a thorough investigation by the AMLC. The subject, she said, was arrested by authorities for violation of the Wildlife Act repeatedly, funneling suspicion that organized crime is involved. She said the AMLC is now working with counterpart law-enforcement agencies in the country where illegally caught wildlife are being brought by the subject.

“The subject has several bank accounts and on suspicion of that person’s involvement, we decided to freeze some of these accounts,” she said.

However, she said the AMLC was only able to freeze a total of P1.5 million from the subject’s accounts.

“The subject was able to withdraw the money from the accounts before we were able to freeze [them],” she said.

According to Jovellanos-Lanuevo, the subject uses legitimate businesses as fronts for the illegal activity.

Considered a transnational crime, illegal wildlife trade is a major driver of biodiversity loss.

The Philippines, both a consum-

er and source of illegally traded animal and plant wildlife, is struggling to protect its threatened species.

Considered one of the megadiverse countries in the world in terms of biodiversity, it is also a biodiversity hotspot because of the rapid rate of flora and fauna loss.

During a press conference highlighting the Philippines’s celebration of the World Wildlife Day, Environment Undersecretary Ernesto D. Adobo Jr and Environment Assistant Secretary Ricardo Calderon underscored the successful operations that led to the rescue of live species of animals from illegal wildlife traders.

Adobo, the DENR’s undersecretary for legal, administration, finance, human resources and information system said while the DENR has succeeded in involving the communities in combating illegal wildlife trade, the fact remains that hunger and poverty persist in many areas.

“When the community go hungry, they resort to illegal wildlife trade,” he said.

The DENR’s campaign, he said, is two-pronged—fighting those involved in both the demand and the supply side of the equation.

For his part, Calderon underscored the need to give more teeth to the law to deter crime.

“As Undersecretary Adobo said, when the people feel they are hungry, they catch a pangolin and sell them because it’s easy money,” he said.

He said one way of preventing wildlife crime is by imposing severe penalties and bigger fines.

The DENR’s current protection and conservation strategy is anchored on the strength of its Protected Area management. Calderon said currently, there are 107 legislated Protected Areas in the Philippines with the enactment of the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (Enipas) Act. These Protected Areas cover a total of 7.7 million hectares of the country’s 30 million hectares total land area.

He said the DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau will push for increased funding for these legislated Protected Areas to boost forest and coastal area protection and deter illegal wildlife trade.

PAL expands network in Mindanao, restores Manila-Pagadian flights

F

LAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has expanded its network in Mindanao with the reintroduction of flights between Manila and Pagadian.

PAL said it has started its Manila to Pagadian flight—PR 2783—utilizing the 156-seater Airbus A320 carrying 134 passengers.

Tuesday’s flight took off at 1:08 p.m and was estimated to arrive in Pagadian at 2:30 p.m.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade congratulated the flag carrier for its timeliness in expanding its domestic route network which creates connectivity in the country’s southern areas.

The carrier’s spokesman, Cielo Villaluna talked about the benefits of Pagadian as a vital gateway to other parts of the Mindanao region.

“Passengers on the ManilaPagadian service will experience perks such as hot meals for Business Class passengers and access to the Mabuhay Lounge in Manila.

Economy Class passengers will enjoy complimentary inflight snacks and drinks, and a spacious cabin onboard the Airbus A320 dual-class aircraft,” she said.

PAL’s daily service operates via PR 2783 which departs at 1 p.m. and arrives in Pagadian at 3 p.m.

PAL said the afternoon schedule will make it ideal for passengers to do last-minute activities prior to flying out. The return flight operates via PR 2784 which leaves at 3:40 p.m. and touches down in Manila at 5:40 p.m.

Flights depart from and arrive at Naia Terminal 2.

Passengers may book Economy Class ticket for as low as P1,888 oneway base fare for trips between March 1 and June 30 this year. This offer is available until March 15, 2020.

This new route conn​ects Pagadian to PAL’s extensive network covering a total of 42 international and 21 domestic points out of Manila.

Recto L. Mercene

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In the ad material of Notice of filing of application for Alien Employment Permits published on September 14, 2019, the company of Mr. Di, Zhijie under SKY DRAGON GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES CORP. should have been read as DAKING MANAGEMENT SUPPORT, INC. and not as published.

In the ad material publish on February 25, 2020, the position of Mr. Luo, Yu under FIRST GREAT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES INC. should have been read as Mandarin Customer Service and not as published. In the ad material publish on October 16, 2020, the name of Mr. Zhang, Boyi under VERTEX DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. should have been read as Mr. Zhang, Bo and not as published. In the ad material publish on February 29, 2020, the Company address of Mr. Ouyang, Shili under NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION should have been read as NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION located at 1331 Pearl Plaza Bldg., Quirino Ave., Tambo, Parañaque City, Metro Manila and not as published.

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, March 4, 2020

B1

Concentrix looks to fill in huge demand for outsourcing in PHL

T

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

HE local unit of California-based business-process outsourcing firm Concentrix hopes to capture a portion of the “huge demand” for outsourcing in the Philippines, the largest delivery area for the company.

Concentrix Philippines Country Leader Stephan Daoust said his group remains bullish on the Philippines and hopes to generate around 6,000 new jobs through the deployment of new contact center facilities, like its unit in Makati City that was launched on Tuesday.

“We expect to grow between

5,000 employees and 6,000 employees for our client base,” he said in a press briefing. “We see strong growth for Concentrix and we want to reaffirm our position and commitment to the Philippines.”

Currently, Concentrix is the largest private employer in the Philippines with roughly 90,000 talents spread across its 45 facilities in Lu-

zon, Visayas and Mindanao.

He refused to disclose areas of growth for the company, but said that his group is readying itself to address the growing demand for customer experience solutions by partnering with academe and local governments for talent sourcing and training.

Tuesday saw the company introducing its newest facility, which spans about 24,000 square meters of floor space, catering to about 3,000 employees. The facility is home to services such as sales, customer service, technical and back office support. It services Concentrix’ global clients in automotive telematics, communications, utilities, retail, ecommerce, technology and banking.

“Infrastructure and facilities are designed to work with and around the needs of our staff. So we invest a lot in making every square foot

of space comfortable and conducive for our employees to succeed,” Daoust said.

The Ayala North Exchange facility is equipped with various convertible spaces, clinics, a fitness center, a lactation room, sleeping pods, lockers, meeting rooms and an innovation hub. These, Concentrix Philippines Senior Director Larah Sta. Maria, are all included to cater to the evolving demand of employees for personal growth and development.

“It is a very critical space for us as an organization,” she said.

She noted that her group’s push to develop facilities and new talents is in line with the company’s goals for the Philippines.

“We’re really trying to build our presence in our country,” she said.

“There’s a huge demand and there are a lot of opportunities.”

Peco seeks CA status quo ante order, says MORE takeover was in ‘bad faith’

T

HE camp of embattled Panay Electric Co. (Peco) on Tuesday said it would exhaust all legal remedies to regain control of the power distribution business in Iloilo City that has been taken over by Razon-led More Electric Power Corp. (MORE) by virtue of a court order.

At a press briefing, Peco’s legal counsel Estrella Elamparo told Justice reporters that the company has filed a supplemental motion before the Court of Appeals seeking the issuance of a status quo ante order to compel MORE to return to it the power distribution operation in Iloilo.

“We already filed in the Court of Appeals last Thursday a petition for certiorari questioning the order of the most recent judge, the order granting writ. Today we filed a supplemental petition and in that supplemental petition we asked that the status quo ante be maintained. When we say status quo ante, that is the last…status before the controversy erupted and that was when Peco was in complete possession still,” Elamparo said.

In its petition for certiorari, Peco prayed for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) to enjoin the implementation of the writ of possession issued by Ilolilo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras last Wednesday against its distribution assets.

Peco sought the issuance of a TRO before the CA in Cebu a day after Contreras issued the writ of possession.

However, the camp of MORE immediately went to Peco’s facility last Friday by virtue of the court’s writ of possession and took over its operations.

This prompted Peco to file a supplemental petition before the CA seeking the issuance of a status quo ante order.

Despite MORE’s takeover of the power distribution business in the province, Elamparo said Peco is still confident that the Supreme Court, where the issue on the constitutionality of Republic Act 11212 is pending.

Signed on February 14, 2019, by President Duterte, that law grants MORE a 15-year congressional

franchise to distribute power in Iloilo City.

Sections 10 and 17 of RA 11212 granted MORE, as the new distribution utility in Iloilo City the powers of eminent domain and the power to expropriate any asset, including existing distribution assets, in the city.

MORE Power said it is ready to submit to the Iloilo City RTC its program for the complete takeover of the distribution facilities in the city, including the timelines on the transition period, accounting, turnover of records like the list of consumers, and documents relevant to the operation of the distribution system such as the inventory of personal properties under and inventory of real properties already under the possession of MORE Power.

MORE started the process of taking over Peco’s electricity distribution facilities after securing the 15-year franchise from Congress in 2019 following the expiration of Peco’s franchise on January 19, 2019.

MORE filed the expropriation case against Peco’s distribution

assets after securing its congressional franchise.

“Definitely, it is not yet over.

We are taking all the remedies that we could,” Elamparo said as she assailed what she called MORE’s hasty implementation of the court’s writ of possession, being a preemptive action.

“If you try to preempt a TRO, it is bad faith. What should happen is that the situation should be reverted before their act of preempting happened,” Elamparo explained.

Elamparo maintained that the takeover of Peco’s distribution assets by MORE is illegal, considering that there is still a pending issue before the SC on the constitutionality of the expropriation of its assets by MORE. In December last year, the SC issued a TRO to stop enforcement of a July 1, 2019, order of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Mandaluyong City that ruled as unconstitutional a provision in the franchise law given to MORE that allowed the expropriation of assets, equipment and facilities of Peco.

The Court has yet to rule on the merits of the case. Joel R. San Juan

CLI expects ₧900-M revenues from Bohol project

By VG Cabuag @villygc

P

ROPERT Ydeveloper Cebu Landmasters Inc. on Tuesday said it expects some P900 million in revenues from its residential development in Dauis, Bohol, targeted at the growing middle market segment in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The company said it launched the 204-unit Velmiro Greens Bohol, which it hopes to complete in 2023.

The development offers townhouse and single-detached units from 60 to 100 square meters in a 3.6-hectare gated community and is located near schools, malls, tourist spots and other major establishments.

The Bohol project is CLI’s fourth carrying the Velmiro brand aimed at mid-market buyers who accounted for 37 percent of the company’s total sales in 2019. Other Velmiro communities are in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Bacolod.

The Velmiro brand is associated with open spaces with landscaped parks, a swimming pool, multilevel clubhouse with functions rooms, fitness gym, basketball court, playground and surrounded by landscaped parks.

“Our buyers feel they are getting great value for their money and this has resulted in good takeup rates across all our Velmiro projects,” company President and CEO Jose Soberano III said.

In a recent market study covering

10 cities in the Visayas and Mindanao where CLI operates, the firm emerged as the top residential developer beating other national and local players.

CLI is mainly present in the Visayas and Mindanao region.

MORE Power says Peco defied court gag order with presscon

M

ORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) on Tuesday said Panay Electric Co. (Peco) has defied a gag order after the latter held a news conference.

It said Peco, led by its counsel, held a press briefing in Manila on March 3. This occurred a day after Iloilo Regional Trial Court Branch 23 Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras said in a two-page order that both parties must strictly observe the gag order issued earlier by Judge Daniel Gerardo Amuler of Branch 35.

The gag order applies to MORE Power and Peco officials and lawyers.

Contreras also cited Peco lawyer Estrella Elamparo for giving “malicious statements on air of an alleged meeting with the judge of a certain MORE personality,” a day before the writ of possession (WOP) was served.

Contreras granted the writ of possession to MORE Power under the expropriation case filed against Peco on March 11, 2019. The WOP, which was served by the Iloilo City Sheriff’s Office last week, effectively allows MORE Power to take control of Peco’s assets.

Contreras said Elamparo’s behavior “will be dealt with by the court accordingly.”

Also, the same judge said she would not allow “this misbehavior of counsels whenever the [court] judgment is adverse to their client” to influence her decisions regarding

the case, and stressed she would “not be dissuaded to further hear the case with utmost impartiality.”

In the same order, both parties were directed by the court to submit their proposed timeline on the transition period and turnover of records and documents following the issuance of the WOP. “The parties are given three days from today to submit their respective timeline and to set things straight to appear before the court on March 6, 2020, at 8:30 a.m.,” Contreras said.

MORE Power, owned by ports and gaming magnate Enrique Razon Jr., assured the city’s residential and business customers that it would ensure continuous power supply in the city and is deploying reaction teams 24/7 to address complaints from consumers.

“In order to ensure continuity of services to the consumers of Iloilo City, MORE Power troubleshooters and line teams are mobilized to provide assistance as may be needed,” MORE Power said. MORE Power secured a 15-year franchise from Congress in 2019 while Peco’s franchise expired on January 19, 2019.

Under Republic Act 11212 signed on February 14, 2019, by President Duterte, MORE Power was authorized to take over all distribution assets and other properties whether private or government-owned so it can distribute electricity in Iloilo City. Lenie Lectura

DENR moves to rehab rivers ruined

by Marcopper mining disaster

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

E

@jonlmayuga

NVIRONMENT Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has approved an initial P5-million funding for the construction of a 90-meter wide gabion dam across the Mogpog River in Marinduque province as part of the government’s rehabilitation efforts in water bodies devastated by the Marcopper mines.

The dam will be built downstream of the Maguila-guila Creek to prevent further siltation in its basin.

In a statement, Regional Director Roland de Jesus of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) in the Mimaropa region said the amount will cover the first phase of the project—conduct of a feasibility study, technical data gathering, design and planning for the dam’s construction.

“The result of the first phase will yield crucial information on the geological, geotechnical and hydraulic analysis of the Maguila-guila Creek, which will determine the design of the structure,” de Jesus said.

“The second phase or the implementation of construction stage may vary depending on the result of the first phase of the project,” he added.

Cimatu earlier vowed to restore two rivers, including Mogpog , that were devastated by the worst mining disasters in Philippine history—the Marcopper mining disasters in 1993 and 1996. Marcopper mine is one of the so-called legacy mines—those abandoned by mining companies after tragic mining disasters or upon reaching the end of the life of the mine before the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

While guesting at the recent 100th anniversary of Marinduque province upon the invitation of local officials led by Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr. and his son, Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, Cimatu bared that a plan to restore all the rivers in the Philippines, including the Boac and Mogpog rivers using nongovernment

resources will soon be implemented by the agency.

He said it is high time that the government lead the massive cleanup and rehabilitation of the Boac and Mogpog rivers as people continue to suffer from the effects of the catastrophic tailings spills from the site of Marcopper Mining Corp. in 1993 and 1996.

“The environmental damages and unresolved issues brought about by the Marcopper mining operation in Marinduque for several decades now must be put to an end,” Cimatu said.

In March 1996, a fracture in the drainage tunnel of Marcopper’s Taipan pit spilled more than 1.6 million cubic meters of toxic mine tailings, flooding villages and poisoning the Boac River.

Three years before that, the firm’s Maguila-guila siltation dam also burst, flooding the town of Mogpog, where two children drowned in the mine waste. It practically killed the Mogpog River with its toxic mine tailings.

Marcopper, which started its copper mining operations in the province in 1969, had been dumping mine waste into the Calancan Bay, destroying its corals and seagrasses.

Cimatu said he will immediately issue a department administrative order (DAO) once the Marinduque provincial government submits a formal request to place the Boac and Mogpog rivers under rehabilitation.

The planned river rehabilitation, he said, would include the dredging of the two rivers by a private contractor at no cost to the government.

Cimatu said the private contractor must shoulder all the expenses of the dredging operation in exchange for whatever minerals it may recover, provided the contractor pays the corresponding 4-percent excise tax.

So far, Cimatu has issued four DAOs in relation to the restoration of silted rivers through dredging, based on the separate requests of the provincial governments of Zambales, Oriental Mindoro and Negros Occidental.

B2

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Wednesday, March 4, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

March 3, 2020

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK COL FINANCIAL IREMIT MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

51 137.1 77.8 24.9 10.9 53.5 28.1 50 19.8 154.4 57.45 17.92 1.03 0.38 0.71 158 1651 1.16

51.95 137.2 77.95 24.95 11 53.8 28.3 50.4 19.98 157.2 57.6 18.38 1.11 0.4 0.74 160 1750 1.18

51 137 76.5 24.8 11.04 56.2 28.6 51.9 19.68 158.8 57.35 18.4 1.04 0.38 0.73 167.4 1750 1.16

51 138.1 78.5 25 11.34 56.35 28.6 51.9 19.8 160.8 57.65 18.4 1.04 0.4 0.74 167.4 1750 1.19

50 136.1 76.5 24.75 10.86 53.5 28.1 50 19.68 154.4 57.35 18.4 1.03 0.375 0.71 160 1750 1.15

51 137.2 77.95 24.9 11 53.5 28.15 50.4 19.8 154.4 57.45 18.4 1.03 0.385 0.73 160 1750 1.16

1300 2332010 2457610 307200 1365300 4282080 359400 490 11700 404960 15760 900 13000 370000 189000 5890 35 3244000

66275.5 319861699 190572563.5 7636260 15,033,640( 234391762.5 10152535 24865 231552 63257648 905802.5 16560 13400 143100 136830 950513 61250 3731760

60675.5 26674688 -9127580.5 -1948615 3,203,964.0003) -81104448.5 5283890 -9900 -42616872 -609186 -62150 -1674 3315449.9999

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 2.03 2.06 2.06 2.08 2.03 2.06 2188000 4485300 ALSONS CONS 1.03 1.13 1.18 1.18 1.01 1.03 1336000 1394850 ABOITIZ POWER 27 27.15 27 27.9 26.85 27 2303200 62271510 0.202 0.209 0.207 0.213 0.201 0.209 2750000 556880 BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN 17.76 17.8 18 18 17.68 17.8 2058300 36636034 FIRST PHIL HLDG 61.3 61.5 60.6 63.45 60.6 61.5 121430 7460407 MERALCO 257.8 260 261 264 257.4 257.8 381830 99120116 11.94 11.98 12.02 12.16 11.82 11.94 2727300 32672258 MANILA WATER 3.38 3.4 3.38 3.44 3.37 3.38 2506000 8485790 PETRON PETROENERGY 3.24 3.65 3.75 3.75 3.24 3.24 33000 118290 PHX PETROLEUM 10.26 10.5 10.36 10.5 10.36 10.5 10400 107960 26.2 26.6 26.5 26.75 26.2 26.2 292200 7713725 PILIPINAS SHELL 8.76 8.78 8.97 8.98 8.77 8.78 62900 557199 SPC POWER VIVANT 14.08 15.1 15.1 15.1 15.1 15.1 500 7550 AGRINURTURE 7.1 7.16 7.1 7.2 7.01 7.16 1702500 12054746 2.44 2.47 2.48 2.54 2.44 2.44 2490000 6188730 AXELUM 14.4 15.7 14.22 15.62 14.22 15.62 700 10094 CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD 14.24 14.3 14.24 14.3 14.14 14.24 478500 6812986 DEL MONTE 4 4.1 4.2 4.2 4 4 29000 117050 7.36 7.5 7.58 7.61 7.36 7.5 435300 3267529 DNL INDUS 8.11 8.13 8.03 8.23 8.03 8.12 1772400 14448028 EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV 71.2 71.5 72.8 72.8 70.3 71.5 266840 19089335.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.62 0.63 0.62 0.63 0.61 0.63 862000 530560 1.68 1.69 1.74 1.8 1.69 1.69 15400000 26814900 FRUITAS HLDG 35.5 35.8 34.95 36 34.95 35.5 25200 893645 GINEBRA 168 168.7 168.1 172 168 168 1158580 195781742 JOLLIBEE MAXS GROUP 8.35 8.39 8.84 8.84 8.31 8.35 266300 2251945 MG HLDG 0.15 0.16 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 130000 19500 1.83 1.84 1.84 1.84 1.83 1.83 620000 1138470 PEPSI COLA 8.07 8.08 8.1 8.3 7.95 8.08 2110900 17077446 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 1.55 1.58 1.55 1.59 1.55 1.58 363000 569260 RFM CORP 4.95 5 5 5 4.98 5 28700 143490 1.5 1.63 1.51 1.51 1.5 1.5 9000 13520 ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS 0.116 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 130000 15600 UNIV ROBINA 134 135.4 139.3 141.5 134 134 1858840 253651336 VITARICH 1.12 1.13 1.11 1.14 1.1 1.13 643000 718740 59 64.9 58.9 58.9 58.85 58.85 350 20607 CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 60 62 59.5 62 59.5 62 280 17310 CEMEX HLDG 1.3 1.31 1.3 1.32 1.29 1.31 2432000 3163240 DAVINCI CAPITAL 4.21 5.44 5.44 5.44 5.44 5.44 100 544 10.48 10.5 10.5 10.6 10.48 10.48 154500 1624136 EAGLE CEMENT 7.82 7.9 7.91 7.91 7.9 7.9 74000 584620 EEI CORP HOLCIM 13.14 13.2 13.1 13.4 13.04 13.2 1424700 18614908 MEGAWIDE 12.32 12.5 12.5 13 12.06 12.5 569500 7093562 9.59 9.8 9.85 9.9 9.66 9.8 20100 196713 PHINMA TKC METALS 0.83 0.89 0.83 0.89 0.83 0.83 31000 25790 VULCAN INDL 0.95 0.96 0.92 0.97 0.92 0.96 853000 814040 CHEMPHIL 171.1 219.8 224.6 224.6 220 220 130 28876 2.01 2.07 2.01 2.07 2 2.07 205000 411850 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 3.78 3.79 3.85 4.04 3.61 3.78 16129000 61521060 4.61 4.9 4.81 5.03 4.55 4.95 59000 275020 LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL 3.1 3.37 3.52 3.52 3.2 3.37 30000 100970 PRYCE CORP 4.75 4.88 4.88 4.88 4.88 4.88 2000 9760 1.25 1.28 1.26 1.31 1.26 1.28 926000 1178140 GREENERGY 4.61 4.68 4.75 4.8 4.57 4.61 887000 4100920 INTEGRATED MICR IONICS 1.15 1.22 1.14 1.24 1.14 1.15 751000 902920 SFA SEMICON 1.02 1.06 1.05 1.09 1.02 1.06 1160000 1224300 7.2 7.21 7 7.45 7 7.2 2122200 15321473 CIRTEK HLDG

-664060 -1200 -146120 -4854268 -4036864.5 -14328766 -23434216 1943250 -2978980 -7550 -3456540 -2050430 954808 7166 1462749.9997 -1711601.5 -91500 -834220 865195 -34696486 -822596 19500 -313830 -627680 31200 -141000 -15600 -161548836 -875790 -297652 -316000 -13410234 -3260810 67480 704670 1628430 -10600 478324

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

0.69 9.71 652 43.7 9.93 2.09 0.65 0.89 0.88 6.07 5.32 11.5 3.26 0.219 721 68.15 5.8 0.455 3.71 9.19 0.55 3.3 4 0.99 151 960.5 128.5 0.8 120.3 0.217 0.174

0.7 9.83 658 44.05 9.96 2.1 0.67 0.9 0.92 6.2 5.35 11.98 3.59 0.23 729.5 68.2 6.49 0.46 3.73 9.2 0.59 3.31 4.27 1.05 170 970 128.6 0.82 140 0.226 0.18

0.69 9.94 670 43.35 9.93 2 0.65 0.88 0.9 6.2 5.31 12 3.26 0.218 721.5 67.9 6.49 0.47 3.83 9.35 0.55 3.25 4.36 1.05 150 967 130 0.86 150 0.211 0.175

0.71 10.1 678 45.5 10.04 2.1 0.66 0.9 0.92 6.22 5.38 12 3.26 0.218 730 69.1 6.49 0.47 3.83 9.4 0.59 3.34 4.36 1.05 170 986 130 0.86 158 0.211 0.183

0.69 9.71 652 43.35 9.91 2 0.65 0.88 0.9 6.2 5.18 11.98 3.26 0.215 715 67.1 6.49 0.455 3.7 9.1 0.55 3.22 4 1 150 956.5 128 0.78 139.9 0.211 0.174

0.69 9.71 652 43.7 9.93 2.09 0.66 0.9 0.92 6.2 5.32 11.98 3.26 0.218 721 68.2 6.49 0.455 3.71 9.2 0.59 3.3 4 1 170 961 128.6 0.82 140 0.211 0.18

4764000 3700 705550 1126400 13224900 586000 19000 552000 190000 1730500 6000200 33700 3000 150000 52420 1819270 378000 920000 1130000 1705200 118000 61909000 45000 134000 70 354970 80080 485000 5070 10000 1720000

3325980 36054 464190955 49981925 131450393 1219320 12480 488920 171020 10731024 31876472 404398 9780 32590 37977580 124446961.5 2453220 422700 4190330 15725686 65450 204189030 180470 134220 10940 342246310 10304285 391770 713887 2110 303050

-139999.9999 -82902405 -954415 -6899587 -135000 -2353962 -6915106 -2912825 -34308507.5 2453220 -1048370 -11177879 -15711910 56000 20000 -115922515 475575 18400 -590083 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.74 0.75 0.74 0.75 0.74 0.75 163000 121100 ANCHOR LAND 7.16 9 8.7 8.7 8.7 8.7 100 870 AYALA LAND 39.55 39.6 40.2 40.4 39.55 39.6 11519700 459023815 1.5 1.6 1.34 1.53 1.33 1.53 168000 241520 ARANETA PROP BELLE CORP 1.58 1.59 1.57 1.6 1.57 1.59 847000 1342440 A BROWN 0.75 0.76 0.55 0.84 0.55 0.76 21753000 16525300 CITYLAND DEVT 0.76 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.77 0.78 135000 104510 0.162 0.166 0.16 0.166 0.16 0.162 900000 147050 CROWN EQUITIES CEBU HLDG 6.1 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 4100 26240 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.5 4.59 4.41 4.59 4.41 4.59 401000 1823570 CENTURY PROP 0.495 0.5 0.48 0.5 0.48 0.5 4620000 2284000 0.325 0.34 0.32 0.325 0.32 0.325 210000 67750 CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON 16.64 16.98 16.8 17 16.64 16.98 157400 2642142 DM WENCESLAO 8.5 8.55 8.71 8.8 8.5 8.5 457400 3981447 EMPIRE EAST 0.365 0.375 0.365 0.375 0.365 0.375 50000 18350 1.24 1.25 1.25 1.27 1.21 1.25 7748000 9645410 FILINVEST LAND 0.99 1 0.99 1 0.98 0.99 278000 273610 GLOBAL ESTATE 8990 HLDG 14.1 14.12 14.16 14.18 14.1 14.1 1276200 18064966 PHIL INFRADEV 0.95 0.96 0.95 0.96 0.93 0.95 1025000 961690 3.52 3.53 3.6 3.64 3.52 3.52 27922000 99458310 MEGAWORLD 0.185 0.186 0.18 0.185 0.173 0.185 7500000 1347570 MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES 0.4 0.43 0.41 0.41 0.395 0.4 480000 192600 PRIMEX CORP 2.05 2.07 2.05 2.08 2.05 2.05 79000 162000 23 23.1 22.2 23.2 22.2 23 4850900 111428570 ROBINSONS LAND 0.285 0.29 0.27 0.3 0.27 0.3 570000 157600 PHIL REALTY ROCKWELL 1.92 1.98 1.98 1.98 1.98 1.98 15000 29700 SHANG PROP 3.02 3.07 3.02 3.07 3.02 3.07 3276000 9893570 STA LUCIA LAND 2.28 2.33 2.35 2.35 2.29 2.33 212000 487020 38.9 39.4 39.45 39.9 39 39 10201000 399800885 SM PRIME HLDG 4.91 5.04 4.95 5.05 4.9 5.05 18000 90470 VISTAMALLS SUNTRUST HOME 1.61 1.65 1.53 1.68 1.53 1.65 2306000 3714730 VISTA LAND 6.5 6.56 6.52 6.64 6.43 6.56 1093000 7159305

-869.9999 -117259960 489000 -547030 -26240 -35720 -566894 -129193 -2800080 -156370 -198100 9500 8819280 35000 44949020 23000 -33832110 -5417131

SERVICES ABS CBN 22.55 22.6 24 24.3 22.6 22.6 1248800 29485325 GMA NETWORK 5.24 5.25 5.3 5.3 5.21 5.25 312500 1639792 MANILA BULLETIN 0.435 0.45 0.465 0.48 0.435 0.45 2930000 1315850 1830 1848 1878 1878 1817 1830 46110 84896095 GLOBE TELECOM 1001 1002 995 1007 994.5 1002 150640 150890225 PLDT APOLLO GLOBAL 0.043 0.045 0.044 0.045 0.044 0.045 700000 31000 DFNN INC 3.52 3.99 3.98 4 3.98 4 466000 1863040 1.24 1.49 1.09 1.24 1.09 1.24 35000 39190 IMPERIAL ISLAND INFO 0.094 0.095 0.095 0.095 0.095 0.095 110000 10450 ISM COMM 1.52 1.55 1.58 1.63 1.52 1.52 18248000 28628370 NOW CORP 1.97 1.99 1.93 2.01 1.93 1.97 1593000 3161160 0.215 0.222 0.212 0.223 0.212 0.222 850000 184020 TRANSPACIFIC BR PHILWEB 2.36 2.39 2.42 2.46 2.3 2.39 1026000 2442960 2GO GROUP 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.32 7.3 7.3 9600 70094 ASIAN TERMINALS 17.5 17.98 17.5 17.5 17.5 17.5 12000 210000 3.4 3.41 3.39 3.5 3.39 3.41 361000 1235340 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 76.6 77.1 73.25 78 73.25 77.1 147180 11130374.5 INTL CONTAINER 106 107 108.4 108.4 106 106 1644080 175729614 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.82 0.93 0.82 0.93 0.82 0.93 47000 43130 7.98 8 8.51 8.88 8 8 8829800 75613561 MACROASIA 2.74 2.75 2.26 2.97 2.14 2.75 60932000 159850830 METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B 2.7 2.71 2.13 2.89 2.13 2.71 2900000 7547000 PAL HLDG 6.7 6.8 6.64 6.8 6.6 6.8 15400 103950 1 1.01 1 1.03 1 1.01 370000 374020 HARBOR STAR ACESITE HOTEL 1.35 1.43 1.33 1.43 1.33 1.43 5000 6960 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.036 0.038 0.036 0.04 0.036 0.037 20200000 757700 WATERFRONT 0.55 0.56 0.52 0.56 0.51 0.56 282000 150270 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.52 6.71 6.52 6.52 6.52 6.52 100 652 805 839 800.5 800.5 800 800 1260 1008070 FAR EASTERN U 0.52 0.53 0.54 0.54 0.52 0.53 673000 357770 STI HLDG BERJAYA 2.48 2.52 2.52 2.52 2.48 2.48 141000 350140 BLOOMBERRY 7.82 8 8.03 8.17 7.65 8 5825600 46325698 1.97 1.98 1.96 2.03 1.95 1.98 15000 29530 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.9 1.94 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 64000 121600 LEISURE AND RES PH RESORTS GRP 4.06 4.69 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 2000 9400 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.47 0.475 0.475 0.495 0.465 0.475 28910000 13974980 9.75 10 9.6 10 9.6 10 694500 6914898 ALLHOME 1.62 1.63 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.62 1093000 1776560 METRO RETAIL PUREGOLD 35.5 36.3 36.4 37.1 35.5 35.5 1403600 50700530 ROBINSONS RTL 61.95 62 69.95 69.95 61.75 62 859730 53583820.5 150 155 155 155 155 155 10 1550 PHIL SEVEN CORP SSI GROUP 1.83 1.84 1.89 1.9 1.75 1.84 3372000 6174690 WILCON DEPOT 18 18.1 18.38 18.38 18 18.1 3181500 57578300 APC GROUP 0.405 0.415 0.395 0.43 0.39 0.405 16780000 6934200 6.25 6.71 6.25 6.74 6.25 6.74 2100 13234 EASYCALL GOLDEN BRIA 405 410 405 410 405 410 30 12200 IPM HLDG 5.41 6.69 5.51 5.51 5.41 5.41 10000 54980 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.26 0.265 0.275 0.28 0.255 0.26 3850000 1020400 8.64 8.65 8.65 8.65 8.65 8.65 3700 32005 SBS PHIL CORP

16016575 -49841865 86670 -366200 2503747.5 -36947968 -7095303 -102750 510 652 96060 -283820 -11443998 -2029.9999 2658745 -1134266 -1607500 -4434625 -22631055.5 -542430 -5827034 25650 159300 -

MINING & OIL

ATOK 10.62 11.44 11.46 11.48 10.9 11.44 18400 204800 APEX MINING 1 1.02 0.98 1.03 0.97 1.02 1652000 1673260 0.0012 0.0013 0.0012 0.0013 0.0012 0.0013 75000000 94100 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 2.3 2.32 2.39 2.39 2.3 2.3 101000 232390 CENTURY PEAK 2.7 2.89 2.69 2.93 2.69 2.93 27000 76310 DIZON MINES 6.48 6.49 6.5 6.81 6.48 6.49 6800 44252 0.92 0.93 0.97 0.98 0.93 0.93 10343000 9784110 -7539910 FERRONICKEL 0.196 0.2 0.201 0.201 0.196 0.196 460000 90610 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.09 0.094 0.094 0.094 0.094 0.094 10000 940 LEPANTO B 0.089 0.096 0.096 0.096 0.088 0.096 330000 29290 0.0073 0.0089 0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009 5000000 45000 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 0.61 0.63 0.66 0.66 0.6 0.63 335000 205330 NIHAO 0.93 0.95 0.98 0.98 0.93 0.93 12000 11700 NICKEL ASIA 2.1 2.11 2.21 2.26 2.1 2.1 13322000 28288710 -17937500 0.43 0.495 0.42 0.425 0.42 0.425 40000 16850 OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA 0.59 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.59 0.62 148000 88670 PX MINING 2.8 2.89 2.8 2.94 2.8 2.9 120000 347530 SEMIRARA MINING 19.16 19.2 19.22 19.6 19 19.2 1899100 36484026 -5706660 6.21 6.44 6.28 6.74 6.2 6.44 209900 1332757 -50370 ACE ENEXOR 0.009 0.011 0.0095 0.0095 0.0095 0.0095 1000000 9500 ORNTL PETROL B PHILODRILL 0.0098 0.0099 0.01 0.011 0.0099 0.0099 57000000 593400 10000 PXP ENERGY 6.12 6.14 6.15 6.35 6.05 6.12 309700 1933403 -136386

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 99.2 99.9 99.5 99.5 99.2 99.2 2040 202968 AC PREF B1 500 503 500 500 500 500 60 30000 503 504.5 502 503 502 503 230 115590 AC PREF B2R CPG PREF A 101.2 103 100.9 101.2 100.9 101.2 7500 758850 FGEN PREF G 107.1 108.2 107.1 107.1 107.1 107.1 50 5355 GLO PREF P 502 504 502 502 502 502 100 50200 982 1009 982 982 982 982 10 9820 GTCAP PREF B MWIDE PREF 100 102.8 100 100.1 100 100 22840 2284004 PNX PREF 3B 105 107.5 105.5 107.5 102.1 105 2500 258791 71650 PNX PREF 4 1031 1035 1035 1035 1035 1035 10 10350 1010 1034 1006 1006 1006 1006 190 191140 PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3B 1060 1100 1060 1060 1060 1060 5 5300 SMC PREF 2C 77.6 77.7 77.55 77.7 77.5 77.6 3750 290900 SMC PREF 2D 75.15 75.6 75.6 75.6 75.6 75.6 110 8316 75.3 75.6 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 300 22650 SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F 76.5 77.25 77.25 77.25 77.25 77.25 10500 811125 772500 SMC PREF 2G 75 76.3 76.4 76.4 75 75 55010 4129486 375250 SMC PREF 2H 76 76.3 76 76 76 76 1000 76000 75.3 76.2 75.2 75.2 75.2 75.2 20 1504 SMC PREF 2I

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 18.8 18.9 18.8 19.24 18.72 18.8 1052600 19823446 -8688570 GMA HLDG PDR 5.09 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.09 5.1 39300 200429 -169320

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.98 1.03 - - - - - -

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 2.6 2.68 2.67 2.87 2.56 2.61 494000 1326180 -88490 KEPWEALTH 8.1 8.15 8.01 8.3 8.01 8.15 16300 132599 0.76 0.78 0.76 0.78 0.75 0.76 467000 357460 7600 XURPAS

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 103.8 105 104 105 103.8 103.8 81460 8484884 135800

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ABS-CBN, GMA both claim lead in February ratings war

C

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

OMPETITORS ABS-CBN Corp. and GMA Network Inc. claimed separately on Tuesday that they won the national ratings war last month.

Citing data from Kantar Media, the Lopez-led multimedia conglomerate said it continued to be the No. 1 network in the country in February, after recording an average national audience share of 39 percent, or six points higher than GMA’s 33-percent share.

It also claimed leadership in the

prime-time block with 43 percent of households tuning in to the network.

GMA was 10 points below at 33-percent share. The prime-time block is the most important part of the day when most Filipinos watch TV and advertisers put a larger chunk of their investment in to reach more consumers effectively.

In a separate statement, GMA, citing data from Nielsen, said it led in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (Nutam) with 35.2 percent average total day people audience share, a few percentage points higher than ABS-CBN’s 32.1-percent share.

GMA also won in the morning block with a 29.4-percent share versus the competitor’s 26.3-percent share; and the afternoon block, after clocking in 38.4 percent in audience share, while its rival got 30.9 percent.

Likewise, the Gozon-led broadcaster said it recorded a 37.2-percent total day people share in Urban Luzon, a 7.7-point lead versus its competitor, while also winning in Mega Manila with 38.1 percent as compared to the Lopez-led company’s

27.5-percent share.

Urban Luzon accounts for 72 percent of all urban TV viewers in the country, while Mega Manila represents 60 percent of all urban households in the Philippines.

Lastly, GMA said it beat ABS-CBN in Urban Visayas, after netting 35.7 percent of the area’s viewers, while ABS-CBN managed to keep at least 34.1-percent hooked in its programs.

GMA bases its claims to leadership from Nielsen data, which has a nationwide sample size of 3,500 urban and rural homes.

The Lopez-led network sources its data from Kantar Media, which uses a nationwide panel size of 2,610 urban and rural homes that represent 100 percent of the total Philippine TV viewing population.

AirAsia cancels some flights to, from S. Korea

A

IRASIA said on Tuesday it is canceling some of its flights between the Philippines and South Korea in compliance with the government’s directive imposing travel restrictions due to the current public health situation caused by the novel coronavirus, “until further notified by the government.”

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III last week announced the country’s travel ban travel to South Korea, while also prohibiting the entry of travelers coming from North Gyeongsang and Daegu province, where there was a spike of Covid-19 infections.

The authorities banned travel to South Korea, except those who are permanent residents, students who will fly to study and overseas Filipino workers. On the other hand, those coming from North Gyeongsang province or Gyeongbuk, including Daegu and Cheongdo County, are not allowed to enter the Philippines.

“Travel to South Korea will be temporarily suspended” with certain exceptions,” Duque said in a televised briefing in Manila last week.

AirAsia said their temporary ban includes selected flights between Manila and SeoulIncheon, Cebu and Seoul-Incheon, Kalibo and Seoul-Incheon, as well as Kalibo and Busan.

“Flights to South Korea from Clark will continue their normal operations, as well as selected flights from Manila, Cebu and Kalibo,” the carrier said.

AirAsia said guests may check on their flights via the “Flight Status” function on the airasia.com web site and mobile app.

“All affected guests will be promptly notified via e-mail or SMS. AirAsia strongly encourages guests to update their contact details using the

“My Bookings” feature on airasia.com to ensure that they receive timely notifications.”

The low-cost carrier said it is making provisions for guests affected by the flight cancellations and travel restrictions following the Philippine government’s latest directive: n Move flight: One-time flight change to a new travel date on the same route within 30 calendar days from the original flight time without additional cost, subject to seat availability; or, n Credit account: Retain the value of your fare in your AirAsia BIG Loyalty account for future travel with AirAsia. The online credit account is to be redeemed for booking within 90 calendar days from the issuance date for your travel with us. The actual travel dates can be after the expiry date as long as our flight schedule is out; or, n Full refund: Obtain a full refund to your original payment method for the amount equivalent to your booking.

For bookings made through travel agents including online travel agents, refund requests are to be made via the respective travel agents.

“AirAsia assures that the safety and well-being of our guests and Allstars is our top priority, and is complying with advice and regulations from the local government, civil aviation authorities, global and local health agencies, including the World Health Organization.”

Previously canceled flights due to the travel ban imposed by the Philippine government include those to/from mainland China cities (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai), and Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions (SAR).

Flights from the Philippines to Taipei and Kaohsiung have resumed since February 20, the airline said. Recto L. Mercene

Think tank seeks Senate review of Cavite international airport plan

A

SENATE review of the ongoing Sangley International Airport project led by the provincial government of Cavite is being sought by an infrastructure-oriented think tank to determine if it is in conflict or not with national agencies undertaking the massive “Build, Build, Build” program of the Duterte administration.

Such an appeal came following the recent pronouncement of the President of his pledge to prohibit reclamation projects along Manila Bay except those linked with initiatives of the state until the end of his term, according to InfraWatch PH Convenor Terry Ridon.

Even if Cavite’s effort to propel economic growth is laudable, Ridon said that airport development projects done by provincial governments are questionable since these are under the mandates of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap).

“We have no question that local governments can undertake reclamation activities, but we are uncertain whether they can undertake airport development activities, most especially of this magnitude,” noted Ridon, a former Kabataan party-list congressman and an ex-House transportation committee member.

For him, the outcome of the auction for the Sangley project raises red flags on its feasibil-

ity since only one proponent had submitted a proposal.

He was referring to the tandem of MacroAsia and CCCC, which solely bid for the $10-billion Sangley Point International Airport project to be developed in collaboration with the Cavite provincial government.

“It should be noted that many of those that bought bid documents are infrastructure firms across the country’s largest conglomerates. We would like to know why they opted not to participate despite their track record,” Ridon said.

The convenor of InfraWatch PH inquired if there is coordination with transport agencies to guarantee the success of this project.

“As previously mentioned, it is the DoTr that has jurisdiction and control over the country’s airports. It, therefore, begs the question: Is there already an existing contract between the Cavite provincial government and the DoTr on how the Sangley airport will be developed under the provincial PPP [public-private partnership] arrangement?” he asked. “Further, as the defense department also has jurisdiction over Sangley airbase, is there an existing contractual arrangement with the DND [Department of National Defense] to ensure coordination over the development in their area?” Roderick L. Abad

mutual funds

March 3, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 219.43 -15.04% -4.53% -4.92% -12.89% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.132 -28.14% -6.78% -6.86% -18.09% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.0555 -24.26% -8.69% -7.5% -16.93% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7614 -17.37% n.a. n.a. -15.13% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.7441 -11.45% n.a. n.a. -12.39% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.6615 -13.71% -3.2% -4.53% -12.51% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,6 0.7337 -14.06% -7.16% n.a.

-14.05% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 91.56 -25.8% n.a. n.a. -11.39% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 44.1828 -12.79% -2.67% n.a. -13.84% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 466.54 -12.35% -3.13% -4.12% -12.43% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,8 0.9279 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-9.92% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1232 -12.33% -2.78% -3.31% -12.72% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 33.0096 -12.62% -1.81% -3.18% -12.9% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.8808 -12.47% n.a. n.a. -13.49% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.5039 -12.06% -2.02% -2.6% -13.78% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 751.93 -12.02% -2.06% -2.77% -13.78% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.7113 -20.76% -5.72% -6.49% -16.46% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.613 -14.12% -2.61% -3.45% -14.16% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8629 -12.25% -2.28% n.a. -13.78% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.2142 -11.04% -0.2% -1.44% -12.02% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 100.9199 -11.69% -1.41% -1.86% -13.71% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.95 -5.98% 1.44% -1.31% -7.62% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.2691 1.6% 4.98% n.a.

-7.95% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.489 -12.25% -4.56% -5.36% -4.72% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0351 -10.4% -3.57% -3.24% -6.69% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4582 -5.34% -0.52% -3.47% -6.59% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,5 0.2031 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-11.12% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8713 -0.9% 0.8% -0.75% -4.68% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.5395 -1.33% -0.63% -1.98% -6.59% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.8301 -2.49% -0.76% -2.05% -6.67% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9784 -6.28% -1.25% -1.6% -6.93% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.524 -6.5% -0.72% -2.02% -8.79% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d,2 0.949 -2.35% n.a. n.a.

-6.57% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d,2 0.8915 -7.48% n.a. n.a. -10.53% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d,2 0.8801 -8.55% n.a. n.a. -11.39% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8716 -8.69% -1.94% -3.56% -10.59% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03904 9.33% 3.42% 2.14% 2.12% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -a $0.9859 -0.16% 2.34% -0.32% -5.01% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.712 2.56% 4.4% 2.36% -5.08% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,7 $1.1063 3.75% 2.89% n.a.

-1.99% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 359.79 4.08% 2.78% 2.32% 0.56% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9111 2.54% 0.48% -0.52% 0.48% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1437 5% 5.18% 5.17% 0.88% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2457 4.54% 2.34% 1.92% 0.93% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.375 6.72% 2.37% 1.43% 0.67% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.4215 12.69% 2.72% 1.74% 1.11% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.8067 6.28% 3.06% 1.46% 0.49% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 0.9802 7.74% 1.84% 0.36% 1.65% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1098 9.71% 4.55% 2.55% 1.1% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7127 8.84% 3.93% 2.06% 0.68% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $472 4.48% 2.73% 2.67% 0.81% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є220.85 2.75% 1.66% 1.25% 0.51% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2179 5.63% 3.08% 2.49% 0.89% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0259 3.6% 1.32% 1.2% 0.39% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -a $1.1207 6.63% 1.78% 0.2% 2.33% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4666 10.88% 4.03% 3% 2.61% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0608791 5.7% 2.31% 1.86% 0.94% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2754 11.71% 3.78% 2.94% 3.15% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 126.62 3.91% 2.98% 2.26% 0.67% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a,3 1.0326 2.93% n.a. n.a.

0.61% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.2634 6.35% 3.24% 1.78% 0.53% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2714 3.64% 2.96% 2.46% 0.54% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0404 1.99% n.a. n.a.

0.31% Feeder Fund Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,4 $0.96 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-3.03% 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."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

New laws to lead to credit upgrade

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HE Duterte administration expects the amendments on the Republic Act 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (AMLA); and RA 9372, or the Human Security Act (HSA) of 2007 to finally drive the country toward another credit rating upgrade.

During the 47th Cabinet Meeting on Monday, the Chief Executive approved the proposal of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor and Anti-Money Laundering Council Chairperson Benjamin E. Diokno for the said reforms.

“The successful passage of key amendments to the AMLA and the Human Security Act, according to Gov. Diokno, will complement or boost our efforts towards an A-credit rating for the country,” Presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said during a press briefing last Monday.

Currently, major rating agencies Moody’s,

Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poors, gave the country a “B” rating meaning a investment grade. If Philippines get the much coveted “A” rating, it will be able to get loans from more countries or financial institutions for lower interests.

The Cabinet talked about a stronger AMLA as Duterte ordered concerned agencies to probe the alleged influx dirty money in the country, which is being linked to the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.

During a Senate investigation on the issue, the Bureau of Customs reported that P18.7 billion of foreign dirty money entered the country.

“This is now being investigated because we don’t know if it is true or not,” Panelo said.

He said the Department of Finance and other concerned agencies will look into the matter. Samuel P. Medenilla

It’s yesterday once more

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ven since my young age, I was already fascinated by science fiction movies, especially about space and time travel.

I have watched many time travel movies like Timecop and Back to the Future, to name a few.

These led me to think what if someone makes time travel possible? Can we alter the present by altering the past? What happens if we meet our younger self? Can we interact with people from the past?

It would surely be good to go back to the past and undo the mistakes we did. The only problem is that if everyone can travel back in time, then the present and future might be chaotic due to our top human nature: greed.

We all know that time that passed by will never return. Wasted time equates to wasted money because time is the real money. Anyone who disagrees just needs to look at his paycheck and see how it was computed.

As early as my first salary, I started to save and invest because I want my money to make more so that I need not exert too much effort to grow it. Starting early was an advantage because I was young then and I have time on my side. As my income went up, so did the amount I allotted for investing.

One day, a colleague asked me if I have accumulated a certain amount (he specified). I confirmed. He was surprised because I was hired later than him and yet I saved more. When we computed how much he needed to save regularly to catch up with me, he found it difficult to do. I jokingly told him to go back to the past and tell his younger self to seek my advice.

Is time travel possible? In the field of investment, a resounding yes!

I remember our CEO Rex Mendoza of Rampver Financial mentioned in our past training that “history repeats itself, people never learn.”

As of February 4, 2020, the Philippine Stock Exchange index is at the 7,300 level. By looking at the historical chart, this was also the level in May 2013.

What does this mean? History did repeat itself and it’s yesterday once more. It is as if we are in the year 2013.

In this case, we did not go back in time, but time came back to us and for us. Whoever failed to invest in 2013 can invest now (as if it was 2013) even if it is now 2020. This will be their biggest opportunity to catch up with those who invested in 2013.

The 2013 investors can also use this opportunity to add more at the same level (especially if they run out of funds that time). Once the

Edmund Lao

personal finance market breaches past 8,000, it may never look back anymore as it is projected to go up even higher. Busy employees who want to take advantage of this rare opportunity but have no time to monitor the market can go for managed funds as there are expert fund managers who know the ins and outs of investing in the market on their behalf.

Here are some pointers: 1. Start investing as early receiving the first paycheck. Time is our friend when we start early as compounding is at the maximum potential for long term investment.

2. Invest regularly. Time can grow wealth but we must not forget that money begets money. The more frequent that we add to our investment, there will be more employees (money) working for us 24/7. At the same time, investing regularly means we are doing cost averaging where our total share price will be between the highest and the lowest. And that level will make our whole portfolio gain when the market recovers and goes up.

3. Look for mentors. No man is an island.

Look for same minded people who are knowledgeable and seek wise counsel. In times of crisis where we are emotional, we need experienced mentors who are logical and can remind us the reason we invested. Never be emotional when it comes to investing. As RFP Marvin Germo often says, jokingly:“Leave your emotions to your spouse.”

4. Be informed. As information is now easily accessible, it pays to research and be educated. Education is still the best antidote to fear. The more we are informed; the better is the decision-making.

Don’t be left behind again. This might be the only time that it’s yesterday once more.

Happy investing!

Edmund Lao is registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 82nd RFP program this March 2020.

To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text <name><e-mail> <RFP> at 0917-9689774.

Wednesday, March 4, 2020 B3

Jitters on virus impact prompt robust appetite for T-bonds

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

HE unknowns on how effective fiscal defenses are against the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak saw investors swamping Tuesday’s Treasury bonds (T-bonds) auction with bids, even prompting the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) to fully award the P30-billion offer and open the tap facility for “unserved” demand.

The auction for the reissued five-year T-bonds was oversubscribed by nearly three times (2.8) than the P30-billion offer as tenders reached P83.5 billion.

The reissued five-year Tbonds was capped at an average auction rate of 4.018 percent, lower than the original coupon rate at 4.250 percent and prevailing secondary-market rates.

The average auction rate on Tuesday at 4.018 percent is

also lower by 20.9 basis points from the 4.227 percent during the previous auction last October 2019.

Following the auction results on Tuesday, the total outstanding volume for the series now stands at P60 billion.

Deput y Treasurer Er w in D. Sta. Ana told reporters the strong demand for government securities were still mainly driven by the risk-off sentiment of

investors as the coronavirus disease of 2019 continues to stall business and economies.

According to Sta. Ana, investors are wont to park their funds in safe assets amid the outbreak.

Aside from this, he said signals from local and international monetary authorities of possible rate cuts were also factored in the auction results.

“We had a good turnout today; the average rate is lower than the coupon and the secondary market rate of the security.

Primarily driven by the ongoing sentiment about the COVID-19 outbreak and, of course, the signals from the Fed and the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] of possible cuts to support the economy,” he said. “And then US Treasuries are still at the lower levels and then, I guess the overall sentiment of the market right now is risk off.”

Seeing a strong investor appetite for government securities, Sta. Ana said they decided to open the tap facility for the five-year reissued T-bond.

“We opened the tap for additional P10 billion because we’ve seen unserved demand at the cutoff rate,” he said.

As for the offshore bond issuances, Sta. Ana said they are “not too pressured to actually raise the funds offshore given the government’s bias on local funding.”

While he said the opportunity for offshore bond issuances is always there, he said “it’s kind of difficult to push the bar and issue offshore given the conditions” although they are still monitoring market developments.

“We’re actively monitoring what’s happening but over the past days or so, we haven’t seen any significant issuance offshore especially, lets say, in the dollar market, it’s quite muted at this time because of what’s happening,” he said.

“We actually monitor it every day. We look at it and see if there’s an opportunity but we will not be issuing if there’s no good signal to issue,” he added.

B4

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

The World BusinessMirror

G-7 set for emergency virus call with world economy under threat T

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Coronavirus puts globalized economy at risk, says OECD chief economist

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roup of Seven finance chiefs will hold a rare conference call on Tuesday under pressure from investors to match their pledges to shield the world economy from the coronavirus with action.

The G-7 officials, including US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, will speak around 7 a.m. Washington time. A statement is expected to be released afterward.

The call comes hours after policy-makers stepped up their responses to the health crisis.

Australia cut interest rates to a record low, Malaysia’s central bank eased policy, and European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde belatedly followed her major counterparts in saying late Monday that her institution stands “ready to take appropriate and targeted measures” as needed.

Investors may still need to brace for a letdown if they’re hoping the G-7 will deliver coordinated rate cuts and fiscal packages akin to those seen during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. A draft of the

communiqué lacks a call for easier and united fiscal and monetary policies, according to Reuters.

“It is important for the G-7 statement to contain explicit c om m it me nt t o s ome for m of act ion,” sa id K hoon Goh, Singapore-based head of Asia research at Austra lia & New Zea land Bank ing Group Ltd. “Markets have already recovered in anticipation of some kind of policy move, and the risk is that a bland statement that lacks coordinated effort will disappoint markets and lead to a renewed sell-off.”

Seemingly sanguine about the economic fallout from the virus just a week ago, the G-7 has been jolted from their complacency by sliding stocks and warnings that the world economy is barreling toward its worst year since 2009, perhaps, even a recession.

Money markets predict a high chance of a 10 basis point cut at the ECB this month, 25 basis points at the Bank of England, and 50 basis points at the Fed. All are due to meet in coming weeks, though they could move before their scheduled decisions if they see the need.

Australia got the ball rolling on Tuesday by lowering its benchmark rate a quarter percentage point to 0.5 percent, citing the “significant effect” of the virus on an economy highly dependent on China for demand and trade. Gover nor Philip Lowe said he is prepared to ease further.

The reaction in markets showed the danger of central banks underdelivering as the Australian dollar and bond yields climbed.

Malaysia reduced its overnight policy rate for a second time this year, lowering it by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent, the lowest since July 2010. Indonesia had relaxed its reserve ratio for banks a day earlier.

For some, a rate reduction might be too tough a decision. Lagarde’s relatively late statement and her reference to “targeted” measures may reflect a reluctance at the ECB to cut further, after more than half a decade of negative rates and €2.6 trillion ($2.9 trillion) of bond

purchases. It might instead opt for an alternative measure such as easier terms on its long-term loans to banks.

President Donald J. Trump maintained his pressure on the Fed to lead the response in the US, pointing to Australia’s rate cut as a model. The Fed “should ease and cut the rate big,” Trump said on Twitter. “Jerome Powell led Federal Reserve has called it wrong from day one. Sad!” But governments are facing demands to shore up demand, too, and target spending on corners of economies that need it, such as health care or cash-strapped businesses. Indonesia’s government said on Tuesday it is working on a second aid package.

“We need to see governments taking action” as well as central banks, Pau l Flood, a money manager at Newton Investment Management, told Bloomberg Television. “You’d really like to see some form of corporation tax cut, or business rate cut, something that helps companies deal with the fact that they are going to see lower business, especially if we see what happened in China happen in the US and Europe, businesses close down for prolonged periods.”

Bloomberg News

he upheav a l f rom t he coronav ir us outbrea k may be the final jolt that the world ’s big gest companies need to reevaluate how they operate in a globalized economy, t he OEC D’s c h ief econom i st Laurence Boone said.

T he sprawl ing , cont inentcrossing supply chains of corporations have already come under pressure from trade tensions and climate concerns, and may face further stress as countries change global taxation rules. If and when the dust settles from the coronavirus, Boone said firms will likely pause to reconsider what they do.

“What characterizes what we have seen over the past decade is effectively real-time management of stocks and very integrated supply chains,” Boone said on Monday. “In the same way that central banks can review their monetary policy framework, I think businesses after this outbreak will likely look at how they are managing their stock, how they are organizing their production throughout the world.”

There are some signs that companies are already giving greater consideration to the issue, though it’s too soon to say there will be knee-jerk reactions to the virus.

Last week, France’s Sanofi said its plan to create a stand-alone company to make key ingredients for other drugmakers will help ensure supplies of essential components

and reduce reliance on Asia.

Boone was briefing journalists on the OECD’s economic outlook, in which the Paris-based organization slashed its 2020 growth forecast because of the shockwaves the epidemic is sending across the globe. The deeper links between economies that have come with globalization mean that the virus impact is unprecedented.

“The global economy has become substantially more interconnected, and China plays a far greater role in global output,” the OECD said in the report. “Even if the peak of the outbreak proves short-lived, with a gradual recovery in output and demand over the next few months, it will still exert a substantial drag on global growth in 2020.”

T he OECD is not the first to raise the point. T he longerterm lessons also came up at a meeting of Group of 20 finance chiefs in Februar y, w ith some officials warning of the risks of depending largely on complex supply chains in strategic and sensitive sectors.

“We clearly see that we are too dependent on supply from foreign countries and China,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday on France 2 television. “We will review all our industrial supply chains to see how we can re-localize business in most strategic areas, and be sovereign and independent.” Bloomberg News

China’s crisis wanes as coronavirus outbreak takes hold in US, elsewhere

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EIJING—China’s coronavirus caseload continued to wane on Tuesday even as the epidemic took a firmer hold beyond Asia, with three countries now exceeding 1,000 cases and the US reporting its sixth death.

The health ministry announced just 125 new cases detected over the past 24 hours, China’s lowest number since January 20. Another 31 deaths were reported, all of them in the hardest-hit province of Hubei. The figures bring China’s total number of cases to 80,151 with 2,943 deaths.

The global shift in the COVID-19 epidemic was apparent with 2,410 recovered patients being released from Hubei’s hospitals and treatment centers, many of them hastily built over recent weeks to cope with the thousands of people sickened by the virus. But new infections outside China were far surpassing its totals.

Clusters of disease grew in South Korea, Italy and Iran, and the virus has turned up for the first time in New York, Moscow and Berlin, as well as Latvia, Indonesia, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Jordan and Portugal. The worldwide death toll topped 3,000, and the number of cases tops 89,000 in about 70 countries.

Global health officials sought to reassure the public that the virus remains a manageable threat.

“Containment is feasible and must remain the top priority for all countries,” WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Around the world, the crisis reshaped the daily routines of millions of people.

Schoolchildren in Japan stayed home with schools closed until April. Israelis in quarantine used special booths to vote in national elections. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel was rebuffed by her interior minister when she extended her hand to greet him.

And the United Nations postponed a major conference on women that had been expected to bring up to 12,000 people from its 193

South Korean soldiers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus in front of the Daegu City Hall in Daegu, South Korea, on Monday. Choi Soo-ho/Yonhap via AP

member-countries to New York next week.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned that the world economy could contract this quarter for the first time since the international financial crisis more than a decade ago. “Global economic prospects remain subdued and very uncertain,” it said.

Nevertheless, the Dow Jones Indust r ia l Average soa red ne a rly 1, 3 0 0 poi nt s, or 5 percent, as stoc k s roa red bac k f rom a seven- d ay rout on hopes t hat cent ra l ba n k s w i l l take action to shield the globa l economy f rom t he ef fects of t he outbrea k. Fina nce m inisters and bank leaders f rom t he Group of Seven major indus t r i a l cou nt r ies sa id t hey w i l l confer by phone on Tuesd ay to d iscuss an economic response.

Health officials in Washington state, where a particularly troubling cluster of cases surfaced at a nursing home outside Seattle, said four more people had died from the coronavirus, bringing the number of deaths in the US to six, all in Washington. New cases were also reported in New Hampshire and New York.

In Seattle, King County Executive Dow Constantine declared an emergency and said the county is buying a hotel to be used as a

hospital for patients who need to be isolated.

“We have moved to a new stage in the fight,” he said.

Over 100 cases have been confirmed in the US. More are likely with thousands of test kits going to state and local labs, and new guidelines to expand screening.

“In this situation, the facts defeat fear. Because the reality is reassuring. It is deep-breath time,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

The message was echoed by global health officials, who said they were encouraged that even in some countries that had taken far less aggressive measures than China’s to contain the spread, the virus remains largely in check.

Because the virus is not transmitted as easily as the flu, “it offers us a glimmer...that this virus can be suppressed and contained,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief.

China in Januar y imposed a virtual lockdown around Hubei ’s c apit a l , Wu h a n, where the illness was first detected in December and which has been the epicenter of the outbreak.

Many countries have canceled or c urbed publ ic events a nd d i s cou r a ge d t r av e l to v i r u s hotspots, but quarantines and similar restrictions have been on smaller scales, focused on those directly exposed. AP

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

US hits back at China, orders media outlets to slash staff

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he Trump administration ordered four Chinese stateowned news outlets to slash the number of staff they have working in the US, part of a broader response to Beijing’s restrictions on American journalists including its expulsion of three Wall Street Journal reporters last month.

The move risks further tit-fortat measures from Beijing as the world’s biggest economies continue a broader battle for global influence even after reaching a phase-one trade deal earlier this year. That wider strategic fight is af fecting ever y thing from manufacturing supply chains to 5G mobile-phone technology to the leadership of international organizations.

Starting March 13, the four outlets will be allowed to employ a combined 100 Chinese citizens in the US, down about 40 percent from now, two State Department officials told reporters on Monday on condition of anonymity. The officials insisted that the reductions weren’t expulsions, though about 60 or so employees will almost certainly need to leave the country.

“Unlike foreign media organizations in China, these entities are not independent news organizations,” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a statement after the officials briefed reporters. “As we have done in other areas of the US-China relationship, we seek to establish a long-overdue level playing field.”

The outlets affected by the move are Xinhua News Agency, China Global Television Network, China Radio International and China Daily Distribution Corp. A fifth, Hai Tian Development USA, is also included under the cap but won’t have to cut staff because it has only two Chinese employees on its payroll in the US. The restrictions stem from an effort by the Trump administration to restore what officials call reciprocity between the way China and the US treat each other’s journalists. China currently allows about 100 Americans in the country and has severely restricted the number of visas it issues to foreign reporters.

More restrictions are likely to come soon. Another senior administration official, also briefing reporters ahead of Pompeo’s statement on Monday, said the US plans to limit how long Chinese citizens are allowed to stay in the country on journalist visas. That would match a Chinese requirement restricting foreign reporters to as little as 30 days before they

must seek an extension.

China condemned the move on Tuesday, saying Chinese journalists have a “universally recognized professional reputation.”

“Out of a Cold War mindset the US is conducting political oppression on Chinese media agencies in the US,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing. “We urge the US to correct its mistake at once and we reserve the right to take further actions.”

‘Foreign missions’

The administration began mulling expulsions in earnest after China last month ordered the departure of the three Wall Street Journal reporters—two Americans and an Australian—after saying the outlet had refused to apologize for a “racially discriminatory” headline on an op-ed piece. US officials have also said the reporters were expelled because of the Journal’s coverage of a Chinese government crackdown on Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province.

The Journal has defended its reporters and, like most US outlets, said it operates with a strict separation between its news and opinion staffs. The op-ed piece in question referred to China as “the real sick man of Asia.”

Monday’s move is a direct outgrowth of a State Department decision last month to designate Xinhua and the other four outlets as “foreign missions.” That means their employees in the US are treated as foreign government employees, not journalists. The five are “effectively controlled” by China’s government, Pompeo said in the statement.

The staffing reductions apply to any Chinese citizens working for the four news organizations in the US, whether they are reporters or managers or technicians.

The outlets can still hire as many Americans as they like. Hai Tian wasn’t included in the new cap because it currently has only two Chinese staff on its payroll in the US, the officials said.

Asked about the expected State Department action last week, the Foreign Press Association, which represents foreign journalists working in the US, said in a statement that “any suggestion that the United States should emulate the Chinese government’s decision to expel three WSJ reporters by deporting Chinese journalists would be counterproductive and ultimately damaging to First Amendment principles for the entire press community in the United States.”

Bloomberg News

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Pope tests negative for coronavirus

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The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) mountain is the most active of 500 Indonesian volcanoes.

It has rumbled and generated dark hot clouds since last year.

Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 353 people.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 240 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines around the ocean. AP

rate of stress,” he said, adding that he had asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to relieve him of his post.

Salame’s resignation came as a surprise to many UN Security Council members as he was expected to brief them next week.

“It’s a pity,” said Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky.

“He’s a well-placed person with great experiences but we need to learn the details.”

China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun, the current Security Council president, said: “We do appreciate the efforts he has made in promoting a peace process, a political process, and in bringing an end to the conflict there. But we also know there are many difficulties.”

Last month, the council endorsed a 55-point road map to end the war in Libya that 12 key leaders agreed to at a conference in Berlin on Jan. 19 and Zhang said the UN

should remain committed to supporting a Libyan-led and Libyanowned peace process “and trying to stop outside interference.”

Guter res pra ised Sa l a me’s efforts and would discuss “the way to ensure a smooth transition so as not to lose any momentum on the gains that have been made,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Salame resigned amid an escalation in fighting in Libya, and just days after he announced the near breakdown of a shaky truce between the country’s two rival governments.

One administration controls most of Libya’s east and south, while a UN-backed but weak administration holds a shrinking area of the west, including the capital Tripoli. A patchwork of armed groups and foreign countries support either side.

The Tripoli administration is

backed by Turkey, and to a lesser degree, Qatar and Italy. Hifter on the other side receives backing from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia.

Salame’s stint was affected by relentless bouts of Libyan fighting, said Jelal Harchaoui, a Libya expert at The Netherlands Institute of International Relations.

“Salame is a credible and talented diplomat, but it in the end, the role of UN special envoy cannot and won’t achieve any tangible progress as long as foreign states remain so brazenly disingenuous vis-à-vis the UN as an institution,” he said.

While hosting diplomatic talks in Geneva last week, Salame had exposed a rift within the delegations representing the Tripoli government and the eastern-based government, which is allied with ex-general Khalifa Hifter. AP

Indonesia’s most active volcano erupts, spews ash into sky

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said on its web site.

It said villagers living on Merapi’s fertile slopes are advised to stay 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the crater’s mouth.

Ash from the eruption made rain thick and muddy in several villages. Witnesses said the sound was heard 30 kilometers (18 miles) away.

The agency did not raise the alert status of Merapi, which already was at the third-highest level due to its ongoing activity.

not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Francis was taken ill last week after leading a procession in Rome.

He has been only slightly unwell and has maintained his private meetings, a Vatican official said last week. Bloomberg News

Pope Francis coughs during the Angelus noon prayer he recited from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican on Sunday, March 1, 2020. A coughing Pope Francis told pilgrims gathered for the traditional Sunday blessing that he is canceling his participation at a weeklong spiritual retreat in the Roman countryside because of a cold. It is the first time in his sevenyear papacy that he has missed the spiritual exercises that he initiated early in his pontificate to mark the start of each Lenten season. AP/Andrew Medichini

A man watches as Mount Merapi spews volcanic material into the air in Sleman, Indonesia, on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Indonesia’s most active volcano erupted on Tuesday, spewing sand and pyroclastic material and sending massive smoke-and-ash column into the sky. AP/Slamet Riyadi

OGYAKARTA, Indonesia— Indonesia’s most active volcano erupted on Tuesday, spewing sand and pyroclastic material and sending a massive column of smoke and ash as high as 6,000 meters (19,680 feet) into the sky.

The eruption of Mount Merapi on the main island of Java unleashed searing gas clouds 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) down its slopes, Indonesia’s Geology and Volcanolog y Research Agency

North Korean swagger may conceal brewing virus disaster OKYO—In these days of infection and fear, a recent propaganda photo sums up the image North Korea wants to show the world, as well as its people— Soldiers with black surgical masks surround leader Kim Jong Un, ensconced in a leather overcoat and sans mask as he oversees a defiant military drill.

As a new and frightening virus closes in around it, North Korea presents itself as a fortress, tightening its borders as cadres of health officials stage a monumental disinfection and monitoring program.

That image of world-defying impregnability, however, may belie a brewing disaster.

North Korea, which has what experts call a horrendous medical infrastructure in the best of times, shares a porous, nearly 1,450-kilometer (900-mile) border with China, where the disease originated and has since rapidly spread around the world.

The North’s government has also long considered public reports on infectious disease—or, for that matter, anything that could hurt the ruling elite—matters of state secrecy.

This has raised fears that North Korea, which claims zero infections, may be vastly unprepared for a virus that is testing much more developed countries across the globe— and even that infections could already be exploding within its borders.

“Unfor tunately, the international community has no idea if the coronavirus is spreading inside North Korea,” said a recent report by Jessica Lee, an East Asia expert at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a think tank in Washington.

“The fact that we know nothing about the level of infection or deaths within North Korea is extremely problematic and, left unchanged, could have serious public health implications.”

North Korean media, meanwhile, are filled with self-described examples of ultravigilance—as well as a sense of urgency.

Calling its anti-virus campaign a matter of “national existence,” the North has banned foreign tourists, delayed the school year, quarantined hundreds of foreigners and thousands of locals who’ve traveled abroad, shut down nearly all cross-border traffic with China, intensified screening at entry points, and mobilized tens of thousands of health workers to monitor residents and isolate those with symptoms.

A parade of media photographs show North Korean doctors, scientists and health workers in masks, paper hats and protective clothing, discussing matters of science, or disinfecting public transportation, or planning ways to further protect citizens.

“No special cases must be allowed within the state anti-epidemic system,” Kim, emerging recently from a prolonged period out of the public spotlight to oversee a politburo meeting on the virus, said, according to state media. Officials must “seal off all the channels and space through which the infectious disease may find its way.” AP

ope Francis has tested negative for the coronavirus after suffering a slight cold, which led him to cancel several public gatherings, newspaper Il Messaggero reported on Tuesday.

The Rome paper said Francis, 83, underwent the test as he has been suffering from a cough, a slight temperature, a sore throat and chills. The illness sparked speculation in Italian media that he had contracted the virus.

A spokesman for the Pope did

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Oil extends rally as G-7 and Opec+ step up response to virus UN envoy for Libya resigns as truce appears to crumble

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il extended its rebound from last week’s slump as global policy-makers pledged to safeguard markets from the coronavirus, while Opec and its allies are expected to deepen production cuts.

Futures in New York have now recouped more than a third of last week’s 16 percent plunge in a reversal that’s come amid a broad move upward in financial markets driven by signs major economies will act to soften the impact from the virus. Group of Seven finance ministers and monetary officials will speak by teleconference on Tuesday, while Opec+ meets in Vienna from Thursday.

All but two of 29 analysts, traders and brokers in a global poll predicted that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will announce new curbs, with an average expectation of 750,000 barrels a day. Whether that’s enough to stabilize the market and rein in oil volatility—which has surged to highest in more than a year—remains to be seen.

“The coordination among global finance ministers and a possible synchronized monetary easing among central banks have

raised the level of reassurance in the market,” said Howie Lee, an economist at OverseaChinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “If Opec+ cuts production by 1 million barrels a day this week, it will push prices higher in the short term.”

West Texas Intermediate futures for April delivery rose 1.4 percent to $47.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 7:27 a.m. in London after being up as much as 3.9 percent earlier. The contract surged 4.5 percent on Monday, the most since mid-September.

Brent futures for May climbed 0.9 percent to $52.34 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after a 4.5 percent jump on Monday. The global crude benchmark traded at a premium of $4.80 to WTI for the same month.

UK and Japanese central banks pledged to act as necessary to ensure stable financial markets, while leaders of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank said they stood ready to help member nations. The OECD warned that the world economy now faces its “greatest danger” since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

Bloomberg News

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A I RO —T he U N e nvo y for Libya announced his resignation on Monday, as a fragile cease-fire in the North African country continued to crumble. Ghassan Salame tweeted he was stepping down as special representative for Libya because of his health.

Salame was appointed in July 2017, and had recently been mediating three-tiered talks between Libya’s warring sides on economic, political and military tracks.

His goal had been to end the violence and troubles that have w rac ked oi l-r ic h Libya since 2011, when an inter nationa l military coalition helped rebels over throw long time autocrat Moammar Gadhafi.

In his tweet, Salame, 69, said he had tried to “unify the Libyans, curb foreign interference and protect the country’s integrity.”

“My health no longer allows this

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Grab appoints MediaDonuts as official ads partner

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OUTHEAST Asia’s largest super app Grab has announced the appointment of MediaDonuts, a digital media and ads technology company operating across EMEA and APAC, as an official sales partner for Grab’s advertising business unit, GrabAds, in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Through this partnership, the MediaDonuts - GrabAds team extends strategic planning & media buying support locally to all marketers and advertisers looking to leverage this unique capability of the platform. The local team will work hand in hand with Grab’s regional and in-market teams to offer the best of regional and local insights and learnings for their clients.

Grab’s in-app advertising platform offers a non-intrusive and high-quality

ads experience for users as well as a brand safe environment for advertisers; to meaningfully engage with customers through highly relevant messages based on their real-world behaviors. The strength of GrabAds platform is the wide user base, with the Grab App downloaded in more than 166 million mobile devices. Since the GrabAds business launched in 2018, it has evolved from fleet ads (car wraps) to in-car sampling with digital remarketing capabilities and innovative in-app ads, including those that when viewed, enable consumers to earn and redeem rewards.

“We are very excited to announce our partnership with Grab in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam and look forward to help brands engage with Grab’s unique

and highly engaged audiences” said Pieter-Jan de Kroon, Managing Partner of MediaDonuts. “We have seen how brands have benefitted from using the GrabAds platform and we hope with this development, we can make this experience available to more marketers in each of our partner countries”.

On the future outlook, Pieter-Jan de Kroon said, “Grab is a forward looking company, that is continuously innovating to improve the quality of life of its users by offering a great in-app experience and wide range of services that go way beyond transportation. The rich audience data based on real-life behaviors derived from different touchpoints from the transportation to food services combined with a rewarded ads experience makes GrabAds a compelling platform to connect with audiences in a relevant way, driving high returns on advertising spend regardless of campaign objectives. We are confident this will resonate well with advertisers everywhere”.

Ken Mandel, Regional Head of GrabAds, Grab, said: “We are pleased to be able to partner with innovative adtech companies like MediaDonuts to spearhead the most effective ways to engage users online. With our partnership, businesses and brands will be able to leverage our user insights and the Grab ecosystem to better target their customers, improve their visibility to further their business objectives.”

RELIEF OPERATIONS. Employees from Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc. (MRSGI) Cebu Principal and Manila Corporate offices as well as Metro store personnel banded together to collect donations, relief packs, and distribute Oplan Sagip kits for evacuees from Taal, Lemery, San Nicolas, and Agoncillo communities in Batangas. Each kit contains personal care items, slippers, blankets and other necessities. The Oplan Sagip kits were given to families staying in Maghinao Elementary School in Bauan, Batangas. The Disaster Response Monitoring and Information Center of the Department of Social Welfare and Development has reported that over 38,000 families are staying in evacuation centers due to the Taal Volcano phreatic eruption.

Goodyear expanding IT capabilities in the Philippines

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oodyear, one of the world’s largest tire companies and a leading global brand, is expanding its Information Technology (IT) team and capabilities in Manila, Philippines. Manila is a strategic Global Business Services (GBS) center for Goodyear that serves as a solution-oriented, trusted advisor to support its operations around the world.

Goodyear’s GBS IT Delivery Center team in Manila works in collaboration with global IT hubs in Akron, USA; Luxembourg; Singapore; Hanau, Germany and San Paolo, Brazil to provide efficient and effective IT services.

The expansion in Manila will enhance worldwide IT service delivery for the company and provide new job openings for IT professionals in the Philippines. Opportunities

are being created in SAP (Systems, Applications, Products), application development, digital operations, cyber security, quality assurance, business intelligence and IT infrastructure.

“At Goodyear, we’ve built our foundation on a commitment to forward-thinking innovation, and we pride ourselves on attracting and retaining the very best talent by fostering new ideas, teamwork, open communication and career advancement opportunities,” said Tifanie Botzer, Director for Goodyear’s Manila IT Delivery Center.

“Joining Goodyear’s GBS IT Delivery Center team in Manila will allow you to grow your career by getting exposure to leading technologies, while becoming part of Goodyear’s global projects and helping drive innovative solutions for future mobility.”

To learn more about the opportunities available at Goodyear’s GBS IT Delivery Center, visit the Goodyear careers site: https:// jobs.goodyear.com/.

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 64,000 people and manufactures its products in 47 facilities in 21 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear, go to: www.goodyear.com/corporate.

SM Southmall launches Joggers’ Lane

RISE AND SHINE: Southies gearing up for SM Southmall’s first Leap Year Run

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M Southmall officially launches the Joggers’ Lane, the first mall perimeter running track in the South – in partnership with Boysen and Unilever.

“SM Southmall created the Joggers’ Lane to celebrate the existing community of fitness

enthusiasts who frequent the mall complex every morning to jog and exercise together.” said Bernice Baculi, AVP for Operations, SM Southmall. The Joggers’ Lane, painted by Boysen, encompasses 1.1KM, perfect for light runs to longer training sessions for novice

marathoners. The lane also features catchy and encouraging fitness quotes by Unilever, seen at every corner of the complex.

This run is in partnership with Unilever, Boysen, Bounce, Popeye’s, Dunlop, Clyde Premium Shoe Cleaner, GNC, and Buku Buku Kafe.

Cape Town celebrates Rolex Mentor, Protégé arts initiative

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ORE than 100 major artists and creative leaders from around the world joined hundreds of local arts enthusiasts on February 8-9 at Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre Centre to honor the master and emerging artists of the 2018−2019 Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and observe the creative output of their work together. This marked the first time in the history of the Arts Initiative that the closing celebration and Arts Weekend took place in Africa, a tribute to the number of established and rising artists from the continent, many of whom have participated in the initiative as mentors or protégés.

Launched in 2002, the Arts Initiative, an international arts programme that pairs rising young artists with some of the greatest artistic masters in the world for an extended period of creative collaboration, is an example of the company’s long-held dedication to promoting the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next and to helping develop the excellence, performance and perpetual pursuit of perfection integral to the company. The four protégés were mentored in architecture, music, dance and literature respectively by Sir David Adjaye, Zakir Hussain, Crystal Pite and Colm Tóibín. During the

Arts Weekend, the results of the fascinating journeys taken by the protégés under the guidance of their mentors were showcased in a series of public performances − including two world premieres – talks, exhibitions and readings at Baxter’s vibrant, multicultural complex. In addition, two “Rolex Conversations”: The Arts in Times of Polarization and Other Muses: Inspirations from Elsewhere, were moderated

by Harvard Professor Homi K. Bhabha. These include such eminent figures as William Kentridge, Yo-Yo Ma, Wole Soyinka, Julie Taymor, Robert Wilson, Tracy K. Smith and Annemarie Jacir. Festival director Fruzsina Szép is curated the events.

NBA TO PLAYERS: AVOID HIGH-FIVES Sports BusinessMirror

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| Wednesday, March 4, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

LeBron James (right) of the Los Angeles Lakers high fives teammate Anthony Davis during the All-Star game last month. AP

By Tim Reynolds

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The Associated Press

IAMI—The National Basketball Association (NBA) has told players to avoid high-fiving fans and strangers and avoid taking any item for autographs, the league’s latest response in its ongoing monitoring of the coronavirus crisis that has spread to most corners of the planet.

The league, in a memo sent to teams on Sunday and obtained Monday by The Associated Press, offered 10 recommendations to players with hopes of decreasing risks of getting the virus—among them, not taking items such as pens, markers, balls and jerseys from autograph seekers.

Japan Pro-Baseball Commissioner Atsushi Saito (left) and J-League Chairman Mitsuru Murai address a press conference at a hotel in Tokyo on Monday. AP

The NBA also told teams that it is consulting “with infectious disease experts, including the Centers for Disease Control” and infectious disease researchers at Columbia University in New York.

“We are also in regular communication with each other, NBA teams including team physicians and athletic trainers, other professional sports leagues, and of course, many of you,” the league wrote in its memo to teams, their physicians and athletic training staffs. ESPN first reported on the contents of the memo.

Some players are already heeding the advice.

“Corona,” Bobby Portis of the New York Knicks said as he offered some fist-bump greetings on Monday night before his team faced the Houston Rockets.

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OKYO—The spreading virus from China has been reported in more than 60 countries and puts the Tokyo Olympics at risk. The Olympics are to open on July 24—less than five months away. The Paralympics follow on August 25.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, in an interview last week limited to Japanese media, said the “IOC is fully committed to have the opening ceremony there on July 24th in Tokyo.” He declined to speculate about a postponement, cancellation, or any combination of those possibilities.

Bach told the Japanese: “I’m not ready to add fuel to the flames of speculation there in any way.”

Others are.

An Irish bookmaker last week began taking bets: 4/6 the opening ceremony will not go ahead in Tokyo as scheduled, or 11/10 that it will.

Senior IOC member Dick Pound last week suggested Tokyo and the IOC had roughly until the end of May to announce a decision. Pound, a former International Olympic Committee vice president, said there’s no decision so far and stressed talks were nearly constant with the World Health Organization.

He has characterized the virus as the “elephant” in the room, likening the fight against it to “the new war.”

“You just don’t postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics,” Pound told the Associated Press. “There are so many moving parts; so many countries, so many different seasons and competitive seasons, television seasons. You can’t say: ‘We’ll do it in October.’ It’s a big, big, big decision and you just can’t take it until you have all the reliable facts on which to base it.”

The virus has caused more than 3,000 deaths, the vast majority in China.

Japan has reported 12 deaths with almost 1,000 cases.

WHAT’S THE NEXT THING TO WATCH? Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto is holding a teleconference on Wednesday with the IOC executive board in Switzerland. The 14-member board along with Bach made the big decisions.

There could be changes to the torch relay, which is set to open March 26 in Fukushima prefecture, northeast of Tokyo. The event is heavily sponsored

by Coca-Cola and Toyota. It might face crowd limits the way Sunday’s Tokyo Marathon did. Preseason baseball games are being played in empty stadiums, soccer’s J-League has suspended play, and a large Sumo event will be held without fans. Training for Tokyo’s 80,000 unpaid volunteers has been postponed until at least May. A month ago, Muto said he was “seriously worried” by the spread of the virus. He has become more cautious with his words since then.

Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat said he wasn’t necessarily worried or thinking about avoiding high-fives.

“I don’t think about any of that,” Butler said. “I’m still going to be who I am. We’re still going to be who we are.”

Portland guard CJ McCollum said in a tweet on Saturday that he is taking the matter seriously, saying he is “officially taking a break from signing autographs until further notice.”

“You just have to be careful,” McCollum said Monday night in Orlando. “Obviously it’s affecting people, especially people who are displaying weaker immune systems and people over 60. You’ve got to check yourself and wash your hands, try to reduce contact with outsiders and outside germs.”

McCollum has tweeted or retweeted several virusrelated posts in the last couple days.

“The coronavirus remains a situation with the potential to change rapidly—the NBA and the Players Association will continue to work with leading experts and team physicians to provide up-to-date information and recommended practices that should be followed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” the league said in the memo.

Many of the tips offered by the NBA fell under commonsense level of best practices when it comes to illness prevention: avoiding contact with people who are sick, staying home when feeling ill, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces. The league also suggested players make sure they “are up to date with all

routine vaccinations, including the flu vaccine.”

The worldwide death toll topped 3,000 on Monday, and the number of those infected rose to about 89,000 in 70 countries on every continent but Antarctica. In the US, the virus has been blamed for six deaths, all in Washington state.

“Containment is feasible and must remain the top priority for all countries,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

JAPAN BASEBALL TAPS VIRUS EXPERTS THE opening of the Japanese baseball season is in doubt because of the outbreak of the new virus, officials said Monday, as the nation’s baseball and soccer leagues tapped three medical experts as advisers.

Baseball commissioner Atsushi Saito said protecting fans, players and coaches was critical. Preseason games are being played in empty stadiums, with a hope the regular season can begin as scheduled on March 20.

But Saito acknowledged assessing whether the regular season can open—and with or without fans—is a delicate decision, noting the virus outbreak wasn’t expected to subside soon.

“That is the difficult part,” Saito said. “At this point, we still can’t say what action we will take under what conditions.”

The J-League soccer competition joined Nippon Professional Baseball in forming the panel to assess the virus outbreak. The panel, to be up and running by Tuesday, will include representatives from each of the 12 professional baseball clubs, as well as J-League representatives. It will come up with recommendations by the middle of this month, officials said.

The J-League had begun, but has suspended play. It hopes to resume on March 18.

J-League Chairman Mitsuru Murai said matches attract crowds and unexpected problems.

“We must realize we have a responsibility for people’s health,” Murai said.

Reporters at the news briefing were required to wear masks, although Saito and Murai did not wear masks. They also shook hands afterward.

The Japanese government has indicated it sees the next couple of weeks as crucial to containing the spread of COVID-19, which began in China late last year.

What’s next for Tokyo 2020 as virus spreads?

“We have managed to move qualification competitions and tournaments within weeks from China to other countries where the safety of the athletes could be ensured,” Bach said.

IOC MEMBER POUND MENTIONED LATE MAY AS A DEADLINE. IS THAT FIRM? Dick Pound is a senior IOC member. But he was speaking as a rank-and-file member when he speculated that late May was a deadline to decide on Tokyo’s future. The call will be made by the IOC executive board, the World Health Organization, and local organizers. It seems reasonable that a decision will have to be made with two months to go.

The Olympics have thousands of moving parts. Sponsors who have paid billions must activate ad programs. More than 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 for the Paralympics have to know their training schedules. Add to that: flights, hotel reservations, catering, ticketing, and broadcast schedules. Almost 75 percent of the IOC’s income of $5.7 billion in a four-year cycle is from broadcast rights.

Tokyo is officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, although a national audit board says it’s twice that much.

Pound said all of the alternatives had major drawbacks: pushing the start back a few months, postponing until 2021, moving events to scattered venues or another city, or an outright cancellation. The modern Olympics dating from 1896 have been canceled three times during the two World Wars, and faced boycotts in 1976, 1980 and 1984.

A MAN with a mask walks past a display promoting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. AP

WHAT’S UP WITH THE TEST EVENTS? There are 18 remaining test events. Many are small and involve only Japanese athletes, a chance for organizers to test venues and logistics.

Two in the next several weeks are planned to have non-Japanese attending: Paralympic wheelchair rugby from March 12 to 15, and a gymnastics meet from April 4 to 6. They’ll be watched to see if nonJapanese athletes compete.

Crowd restrictions could be put in place, although many don’t call for fans in the first place.

WHAT ABOUT OLYMPIC QUALIFYING EVENTS? Officials announced on Monday that an Olympic baseball qualifying event was postponed from April to June. It will be held in Taiwan as scheduled, but from June 17 to 21 instead of from April 1 to 5. The World Baseball Softball Conference said it was because of “player, personnel and spectator health and safety measures against the spread of the coronavirus.”

Olympic qualifiers have been moved from China. Bach said that many Chinese teams and athletes are out of China and training elsewhere: the table tennis team is in Qatar, the women’s basketball team is in Croatia and wrestlers are in Serbia.

WHAT IS THE MOOD IN JAPAN? It’s uncertain and stressful, prompting some fear and hoarding in shops.

On the other hand, daily life seems about normal, perhaps with fewer commuters on Tokyo’s trains and more people wearing masks.

The government has asked all schools to close for more than a month. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been criticized for getting started late fighting the virus.

He announced a ¥270 billion ($2.5 billion) emergency economic aid package on Saturday. He said the country was at a critical juncture to determine whether it can keep the outbreak under control ahead of the Olympics.

“Frankly speaking, this battle cannot be won solely by the efforts of the government,” Abe said. “We cannot do it without understanding and cooperation from every one of you, including medical institutions, families, companies and local governments.” AP

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Team Tarlac-Central Luzon’s Kenneth Solis bags his first stage win.

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HE national men’s team that earned a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics qualifier will be honored during the San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards on Friday at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel.

Bannered by the dynamic duo of Alvin Pasaol and Joshua Munzon, the team proved 3x3 basketball is fast gaining popularity in the country.

Thus, the PSA will honor the athletes with the 2019 Chooks-To-Go Fan Favorite award in the event presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, Milo, Cignal TV, Philippine Basketball Association, AirAsia and Rain or Shine.

World No. 6 Tsitsipas in town

IGAN CITY—Team Tarlac-Central Luzon’s Kenneth Solis secured Stage 9 honors when the big guns—led by the rampaging Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance riders—settled to go on auto cruise on Tuesday in the Ronda Pilipinas that is bound for an anticlimactic finish to its 10th edition.

The race winds up on Wednesday with Stage 10—a criterium around this heritage city that is conceded as a mere ceremonial ride prior to the crowning of George Oconer and his Navymen teammates as individual and team classification champions.

Solis, 26, reigned in the 176.4-km race from Pugo in La Union to the provincial capitol here in four hours, 15 minutes and 27 seconds, to snatch his first career stage victory. He also gave his team its second stage win after Ryan Tugawin in Stage 2 in Legazpi City.

The rider from Malasiqui in Pangasinan was in a six-man breakaway along with ageless former champion Santy Barnachea of Scratch It. He made a daredevil sprint in the final 500

OCONER, NAVYMEN CHAMPS meters to win the stage.

Barnachea, the inaugural champion in 2011 and a repeat titlist in 2015, ran out of gas wound up sixth, eight seconds behind the identical times of the first group Solis towed— Christopher Garado of South Luzon Batangas, Mar Sudario of Bike Xtreme, Mervin Corpuz of 7-Eleven and Bryant Sepnio of Celeste Cycling.

“I really wanted to win. The peloton tried to catch us but we pulled away. No one from the breakaway gave up,” said Solis, who dedicated his win to his one-month-old daughter Brianna Kate.

Arjay Peralta of Team Nueva Ecija was seventh 50 seconds behind, the same clocking for Jerry Aquino Jr. of Scratch It, Rustom Lim of 7-Eleven and another ageless rider, Alfie Catalan of Army-Bicycology.

The Navymen, leaders since their dominant show in Stage 4, rode relaxed and showed no interest in winning the stage.

Delaying the Navymen’s coronation is

Wednesday’s 40-km criterium that is likened to the Tour de France’s traditional final stage—a parade race to the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

Oconer was untouchable atop the general classification and could significantly smell the scent of a cool P1 million which he will collect at around noon on Wednesday as the champion’s purse.

“Just a safety play for us tomorrow [today],” said Oconer, who need not worry at all—the next five riders in the GC are his teammates.

Navy, a club team owned by Standard Insurance Group Chairman Ernesto “Judes” Echauz, has the team title tightly in its grasp with a 33-minute lead over continental teams Go for Gold and over an hour over the fourthrunning 7-Eleven.

Coach Reinhard Gorantes of the Navymen said the riders became motivated to fight against the continental teams.

“They are really inspired. We prepared well and this is the fruits of our labor,” Gorantes said.

Alvin Pasaol and Joshua Munzon have proven their mettle in the new basketball discipline.

P.S.A. HONORS 3X3 DRIBBLERS Ranked 59th at the start of 2019, the Filipinos grinded their way to make the top 20 by the end of the year to earn a slot to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament set from March 18 to 22 in Bengaluru, India.

Named Mr. Fan Favorite “Manok ng Bayan” presented by Chooks To Go headed by Bounty Agro Ventures Inc.’s Ronald Mascarinas in previous years

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reek Stefanos Tsitsipas arrived in the country on Monday ready to play when Greece clashes with host Philippines in the Davis Cup World Group II playoffs on Friday and Saturday at the Philippine Columbian Association’s Plaza Dilao courts in Paco, Manila.

Riding the crest of a second-place finish to

were three-time Philippine Basketball Association scoring champion Terrence Romeo and National Basketball Association prospect Kai Sotto.

The pioneering 3x3 league Chooks-To-Go Pilipinas earned for the country world ranking points while, at the same time, hosting two major international tournaments—both with leveleight and above ratings.

Santi Santillan and other top-notch Filipinos alternated to see action alongside Munzon and Pasaol during the year-long campaign.

The Philippines was bracketed in Pool C along with Slovenia, France, Qatar and the Dominican Republic in the 20-team qualifier, which is divided into a four-group competition.

Only the top 3 countries at the end of the

meet will gain berths in the Tokyo Olympics, where 3x3 will be making its debut.

The national 3x3 men’s team is just one out of the close to 200 athletes, personalities and entities who make up the year’s PSA honor roll. On top of the awardees is 30th Southeast Asian Games overall champion Team Philippines, which will be bestowed with the coveted Athlete of the Year honor.

Also drawing the spotlight in the two-hour program are world gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo (President’s award), Team Philippines to the SEA Games Chef de Mission and PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez (Executive of the Year) and the legendary Efren “Bata” Reyes (Lifetime Achievement Award), who will also serve as the special guest of honor and speaker for the night.

Novak Djokovic in the Dubai Championships over the weekend, Tsitsipas, currently No. 6 in the world, is expected to give his all for the Greek team out to make a big splash this year.

“I will try to represent my country as best as possible,” said the 21-year-old Tsitsipas, the youngest in the world’s top 10 who owns five

Association of Tennis Professionals titles so far.

The rest of the Greek squad—Tsitsipas’ younger brother Petros, Michail Pervolarakis and Markos Kalovelonis—arrived on a separate flight and are equally ready against the Filipinos. Dimitris Chatzinikolaou is their nonplaying captain.

Greece is playing practically the same crew

that hoisted the country from Group III to Group II in the old Davis Cup format.

The Filipinos are eager to get into the mix as they will not only play a foe in Tsitsipas’s caliber but they will also tackle a non-Asian nation for the first time since they battled the Swedes in the World Cup qualifier in 1991.

This happened because the Davis Cup is implementing a new system of play.

Reigning Southeast Asian Games doubles gold medalists Francis Casey Alcantara and Jeson Patrombon will lead the country’s campaign along with Ruben Gonzales, AJ Lim and Eric Olivarez Jr. with Chris Cuarto as nonplaying skipper.

orts

sMirror

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

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Petecio, Marcial lead PHL squad in Tokyo qualifiers

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ORLD champion Nesthy Petecio and world silver medalist Eumir Felix Marcial lead the Philippine team vying in the Asian-Oceania Olympic Qualifying Event for boxing that went underway Tuesday at the Prince Hamzah Hall in Amman, Jordan.

Petecio is seeking a slot in women’s featherweight, while Marcial is vying to qualify in men’s middleweight. They are top seeds in their divisions.

Joining them are Flyweight Carlo Paalam (52 kgs), featherweight Ian Clark Bautista (57 kgs), light welterweight James Palicte (63 kgs) and female boxers flyweight Irish Magno (51 kgs) and lightweight Riza Pasuit (60 kgs).

A total of 221 male and female boxers from 35 countries are entered in the qualifiers.

Bautista is the lone Filipino fighting on opening day against Hayato Tsutsumi of Japan at 5 p.m. (11 p.m. Tuesday in Manila).

Ronald Chavez is the men’s head coach, while Reynaldo Galido subbed for Head Coach Nolito Velasco in the women’s side. They are assisted

by Roel Velasco and Elmer Pamisa and foreign consultant former Australian head coach Don Abnett.

Also in the team are Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) Sports Psychologist Marcus Jarwin Manalo, masseur Herbert Manlangit. ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson is the team manager.

On Wednesday, Petecio takes on the winner of the opening bout between Sri Lanka’s Krismi Langkapurayalage and Indonesia’s Silpa Lau Ratu, while Pasuit debuts against Japan’s Saya Hamamoto.

“Let’s give them all we’ve got. You’ve prepared long and hard, you can do this. God be with all of you and keep you in his protective embrace. Good luck all!” ABAP president Ricky Vargas said in a text message to the athletes.

Those who fail to qualify in the tournament will have a last chance in May at the World Qualifiers in Paris, France.

Al Mendoza alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

It is what it is THE team captains strike a pose with tournament and Philippine Airlines officials ahead of the Interclub championship.

MEN’S INTERCLUB ON W

ITH its tight, bending fairways and greens that are glass-like, Marapara will be the venue of the first and final rounds of the 73rd playing of the Men’s Philippine Airlines Interclub championship in Bacolod City.

And without needing to say so, that’s where the tournament will be decided.

As gusts howl at this time of year, the par-71 course designed by the late great Golem Silverio will be the beast that the Championship

field would need to tame, as, like in the talented Senior division won by Canlubang, scores aren’t expected to be low for the week.

Both layouts are in perfect shape and vary in character, with Binitin—aside from its thick tree-lined roughs—having unpredictable bounces on its fairways and small greens as its final line of defense.

Cebu Country Club will open defense of the premier crown coming from a lower division in the Founders bracket, as it would try to write a

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THE top players in the 2019 Order of Merit pose with the huge The Country Club Invitational trophy during Tuesday’s launch of the new Philippine Golf Tour season. They are (from left) Tony Lascuña, Jhonnel Ababa, Reymon Jaraula, TCC board director Joey Camara, Dutch Guido van der Valk and Clyde Mondilla. NONIE REYES

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WO former champions, a reigning Philippine Open titlist, a couple of emerging stars plus the rest in last year’s Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Order of Merit Top 30 slug it out in a survival of the fittest right in Wednesday’s start of The Country Club (TCC) Invitational at the TCC course in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The select cast all vow to give their

respective 2020 campaign a big boost, the P5 million event being the kickoff leg of the country’s premier circuit, guaranteeing a spirited battle in all four days and another wild, unpredictable finish that has become the norm in what has long been considered as a golfing major for its prize fund, cast and prestige.

But they are in for a tough, exacting week given the Tom Weiskoph-designed layout’s

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length (7,576 yards), its soft bunkers and sleek surface and the wind that is expected to blow hard and come into play in most holes in all four days.

“The course is long (for me), especially in the presence of the wind. I shot an 81 in practice and even used my driver for my second shot in one hole,” said Tony Lascuña, who won way back in 2004 and lost by one to Cassius Casas in 2014.

“Even with a 3-wood, I can barely reach some of the par-4s, so it’s going to be tough and would require a solid short game to contend.”

The 2020 PGT season was launched in brief ceremonies on Tuesday with TCC board director Joey Camara gracing the event along with the TCC Invitational cast.

For the first time, the men’s tour will be held on the same day with the ladies starting with the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Summit Point Challenge from March 25 to 28 in Lipa City, followed by the Delimondo National Pro-Am from May 13 to 16 at Splendido and the ICTSI Royal Northwoods Challenge from May 26 to 29 in San Rafael, Bulacan.

The PGT Qualifying School for local and foreign players, on the other hand, will be held from March 10 to 13 also at Splendido.

The rest of the schedule for the new season is being finalized amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Also on tap are the last two legs of the 2019 PGT Asia season at Riviera (ICTSI Riviera Challenge) from March 17 to 20 and the ICTSI Southwoods Classic from March 31 to April 3.

The PGT Asia Q-School will be held from April 22 to 25 at Luisita which will also host the first leg of the fourth season from April 28 to May 1.

“The long, straight hitters have the edge here. It [course] is too long. I used a driver on parthree 11th but still came up short,” said Frankie Miñoza, who reigned here in 2013 after edging the Bayrons brothers—Jay and Rufino—on the second playoff hole. He also seeks a solid showing but more so of inspiring the young players, who make up the core of the elite field.

“The bunkers are very soft so it will be doubly difficult to blast out since the ball would sink,” he added. “But I will just enjoy and play my game. This course is beautiful but also the toughest.”

“The wind was actually manageable today [yesterday]. But while I’ve been hitting long and straight off the tee, I think it’s going to boil down to short game,” said reigning Phl Open champion Clyde Mondilla, who, like Minoza, is also wary of TCC’s menacing sand traps.

Lascuña, who snapped a long title spell with three straight victories late last year, including one in PGT Asia in Taiwan, heads the chase for the top P1.5 million purse, upbeat and ready to mix it up with his peers and even with a slew of young turks aiming to extend their run to a third straight year.

Micah Shin, 23, and Kim Joo Hyung, 17, topped the last two editions of the event put up ICTSI president and chairman in 2003 to honor the memory of his father and ICTSI founder Don Pocholo with both escaping with one-stroke victories over Miguel Tabuena and Keanu Jahns, respectively.

SR. HIGH NEEDS SPORTS TRACKS

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By Cai U. Ordinario

HE lack of institutions offering sports and art tracks in senior high school (SHS) led to stiff competition on slots, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

In a study titled Status of senior high school implementation: A process evaluation, PIDS Consultant Karen Brillantes said 98 percent of SHS institutions, including public and private high schools, as well as state universities and colleges, do not offer the sports and arts tracks.

This means that out of the total 11,087 SHS institutions, only 204 institutions or around 2 percent of the total offer a sports and/ or arts track in SHS. The other 10,883 institutions do

FAR Eastern University’s Ivana Marie Agudo slips one in against University of the East’s Janeca Lana (1) and Mariella Gabarda (3). ROY DOMINGO

imon Liannes Castañeda delivered the goods as Cignal beat Generika-Ayala, 19-25, 25-18, 2520, 25-20, in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix on Tuesday at Bacoor City Strike Gym in Cavite.

Despite arriving in the country only last Saturday, the Cuban sensation fired 24 kills for 29 points for the HD Spikers, who are off to a strong start.

“I’m very happy. Actually, she barely had any sleep, but she did her best for our team,” Cignal Coach Edgar Barroga said, referring to Castañeda who landed on their laps after negotiations with two other imports bogged down.

“She’s a reliable import and I put my complete trust

Player point averages (PPAs) of teams determine what division it will land in, and with Cebu CC losing three of its regulars to personal reasons, it was relegated to the Founders and left Manila Southwoods, Luisita and Del Monte in the Championship derby.

Southwoods will be shooting to touch off another title streak here as it brought in a team loaded with firepower.

Japanese Yuto Katsuragawa spearheads the team, which activated Vince Lauron to join Jun Jun Plana as the veterans and steadying presence of a very young yet talented squad.

Del Monte and Luisita will be fielding teams made up of its grassroots program.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

FEU sweeps UE in UAAP volleyball season-opener AR Eastern University (FEU) raised the curtains of University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 82 women’s volleyball action with a rousing 25-9, 25-20, 25-17 victory over University of the East (UE) onTuesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

“I am thankful that my players followed my instructions,” FEU head coach George Pascua said.

The Lady Tamaraws drew strength from team captain Gel Gayuna’s 18-set and nine-point production.

Nette Villareal had 11 points built on eight hits and two blocks, while Ivana Agudo finished with 10 points and Lycha Ebon returned from an ACL injury with nine points.

Mean Mendrez led all scorers with 13 points but they weren’t enough to power the Lady Red Warriors to victory. Janine Lana and Yeye Gabarda managed eight points each.

FEU also kicked off its men’s campaign with a 25-10, 25-22, 25-23 win over UE. Last year’s finalist sprinted out of the gates, dictating the tempo early. But errors from the Tamaraws, a total of 15 in the second set, allowed the Red Warriors to pick up steam and stay in thick of the fight.

JJ Javelona, the Season 81 juniors MVP, led FEU with 11 points. Peter Quiel and Jude Garcia provided ample support with 10 and nine points, respectively.

JP Bugaoan and Mark Calado made their presence felt above the net with four and three blocks apiece also for FEU. They also finished with eight points each.

FEU setter Owen Suarez tossed 15 excellent sets, powering the Tamaraws in the attacking department, 37-28.

Kenneth Culabat and Lloyd Josafat had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for UE.

piece of history that only it can own with another win this year.

On home soil last year, Cebu CC surprised the field by also coming from the Founders class, leading from the first day and never relinquishing it to duplicate what only Aguinaldo did in 1988.

Winning again this year would make Cebu CC as the only team to do it twice, and playing skipper Bayani Garcia is optimistic that they have the tools— and the preparation—to pull it out back-to-back.

“Everyone that has come here has come very well prepared,” Garcia said. “Whether we play in the Championship or the Founders (division), we will give it our best shot and we are confident that we can do it.”

HD Spikers beat Lifesavers in PSL on her,” Barroga added.

The HD Spikers had a lethargic start, but got their rhythm in the second set.

“In the first set, we were trying to get the right mix of things, then after the first set, we looked at our defense pattern,” said Barroga. “From there, we did our adjustments and the result was good.”

Alohi Robins-Hardy also had 14 points while Ranya Musa and Roselyn Doria

combined for 13 points in a match that took almost two hours to finish.

Barroga said winning over a team as solid as the Lifesavers is a huge morale-booster as they head into a titanic battle with F2 Logistics this weekend.

Elizabeth Vicet Campos, also a Cuban, finished with 21 points while Eli Soyud had 13 points for the Lifesavers, who suffered their second straight lost.

GENERIKA-AYALA’S Elizabeth Vicet Campos receives the ball with intensity.

not offer sports and/or arts track.

“It is important to note that due to limited strand offerings, there were students who had to compete for limited slots. Such was the case of student respondents from arts and design, and sports tracks,” the study stated.

Based on the study, the sports track is intended for students planning to pursue work, such as fitness trainers, game officials, tournament manager, recreation attendant, masseur or gym instructor.

It aims to provide knowledge and appreciation of the basic principles and techniques in physical education and recreation.

It also covers discussions on various factors affecting social, psychological, and cognitive development in sports leadership and management.

The arts and design track is for students wanting to explore the creative field after completing basic education. It aims to expose the students to several forms of media such as architecture, interior design, industrial design, graphic design, animation, painting, fashion design, photography, and film.

In terms of region, Calabarzon—Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon— has the largest number of SHS institutions not offering the said tracks, followed by Central Luzon and Central Visayas regions.

Due to this, Brillantes said students expressed a lack of choice in terms of tracks and strands due to supplyside issues in program offering.

WHAT I will miss today is the start of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub Golf Championship in Bacolod City, snapping my 40year plus streak of covering the event that began in 1976 in Cebu City. That long. It pains me a little as I am a stickler of tradition.

But it is what it is.

Everything happens for a reason.

And, as I told Josen and Cielo, both PAL top guns, I—and I’m sure my fellow sportswriters will agree, as well—fully understand the company’s move to forego media coverage for the first time in 73 years: Covid-19 and as part of PAL’s cost-cutting measures.

The airline has been bleeding for quite some time now. And add to this Covid-19’s financial impact on the company’s fleet freezing to many of its major destinations worldwide in accordance with protocol policies to curb the spread of the virus. Just imagine the company’s unrealized huge revenues flushed down the drain.

Anyways, our love for the PAL Interclub will not diminish just because of one canceled coverage— and, whoa, the PAL Media Golf also being scrapped.

When it rains, it pours—hehe. There’s always the next time. Next year. Nothing is permanent.

But there’s still so much golf news of interest happening both here and overseas. The missed PAL Interclub was a jolt—minor only, of course—but not Singjae Im’s weekend victory in the Honda Classic in Florida.

The win was perfunctorily predicated by Im’s four birdies in his first five holes in the final round. And to secure victory, he birdied two of his final four holes.

The final drama was on 17, when Canadian Mackenzie Hughes sank an improbable 55-footer for birdie to tie Im for the lead.

If Im got rattled, it didn’t show. He calmly buried his 8-foot birdie on the same hole en route to victory—by one shot over Hughes—that was worth $1.26 million. And even as Im is only 21, it was just his first triumph in 50 tries on Tour.

Immediately, Im dedicated his victory to his country, South Korea.

“Over in Korea right now, I know a lot of people are dealing with the coronavirus,” Im said. “... But I’m just glad as a Korean player that I can deliver some good news to the countrymen back home...to do something for the country and make everybody proud.”

Almost always, sports is the No. 1 spirit-lifter in times of distress.

THAT’S IT The first of two benefit shows for my dear friend and fellow writer-journalist Pete Lacaba will be held on March 7 at the Kamuning Bakery Café on No. 43 Judge Jimenez St. corner K-1st Street, Barangay Kamuning, Quezon City. Aptly called “Kape’t Ka Pete,” the dinner-songfest-poetry reading starts at 6 p.m. For more details, call poet Vim Nadera at 0995-1319743. The second one, called “For Pete’s Sake,” is on March 22 at Waya Araos-Wijangco’s GourmetGypsy Art Café at 25 Roces Avenue Quezon City. Babeth Lolarga, the celebrated journalist-poet, said dinner is at 6:30 and the concert begins at 8 p.m. Call 0920-9540053 or 0918-3473027 for more details.... Over in Negros Occidental, Ramon Uy and Marvin Velayo are inviting their fellow Kitahanon Adamson members for a “Let’s Get Together” reunion on Saturday, Mach 7, at May’s Organic Garden at Sitio Aning, Barangay Pahanocoy, Bacolod City. Call Joy Toledo at 0919-0660157 or 0344584163 for more details.

Enjoy, dear dudes!

“Many students fail to enter to strands they like simply because of the unavailability of tracks at provincial and regional levels,” Brillantes said in a PIDS statement.

“The choice should be aligned with the interest of the student given that the SHS program was supposed to put premium in student’s choice,” she added.

The study said there is a need to ensure the availability of all tracks and major strands at least at the provincial or regional level and strengthen career guidance in schools.

Brillantes also said there is a need to expose students to performances and sport competitions like the Palarong Pambansa and to balance their academics and extra-curricular activities.

She added that the Department of Education (DepEd) must also clarify the curriculum implementation design such as subject delivery, classroom assessment, scope of subjects, scheduling.

The DepEd should also address the inadequacies in program inputs such as teachers, learning resources, school buildings, facilities, tools and equipment as well as provide appropriate trainings for teachers so they can better deliver the curriculum in schools.

Sports

Leipzig apologizes to Japanese fans over virus issues

BusinessMirror

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EIPZIG, Germany—German soccer club Leipzig apologized Monday to a group of fans from Japan for what it called a mistake “on our part” apparently related to the worldwide virus outbreak.

The Japanese fans were at Leipzig’s game against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday when they spoke with stadium security staff. German news agency dpa, citing social-media posts, reported they said they were asked to leave the stadium.

Leipzig said Monday that security at the Red Bull Arena “had been instructed to intensify checks regarding the admission of certain groups due to potential risk,” without saying how that perceived risk was calculated.

“Unfortunately, amid the great uncertainty around this topic, by which we are currently also affected, a mistake was made on our part with respect to our Japanese guests,” the club said.

Leipzig said it is trying to contact the Japanese fans to offer them tickets to another home game. The club didn’t immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press to clarify how many people were affected or whether security staff have been given new orders.

At the same game, many Leipzig fans took part in a display promoting tolerance with a peace symbol and the club’s initials rendered in rainbow lettering. One Leipzig fan group said in a statement Monday that it believed the treatment of the Japanese fans to be a racist incident.

Leipzig is second in the Bundesliga following the 1-1 draw with Leverkusen. AP

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| Wednesday, March 4, 2020 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Leipzig supporters cheer during their team’s Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen 04 in Leipzig on Sunday. AP

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By Andrew Dampf The Associated Press

OME—Residents of Milan will not be allowed to attend the Italian Cup semifinal match between Juventus and AC Milan on Wednesday at Allianz Stadium in Turin as part of anti-virus precautions being taken.

The second leg of the semifinals will be off limits to residents of the regions of Lombardy, which contains Milan, and Emilia Romagna and Veneto, plus the provinces of Pesaro, Urbino and Savona—the areas hardest hit by the COVID-19 virus.

Juventus made the announcement on Monday, asking fans to show up early so their identification cards can be checked carefully.

The first leg ended 1-1.

No such ban has yet been put in place for the other semifinal match between Napoli and Inter Milan at San Paolo Stadium in southern Italy.

A total of 10 Serie A matches in Italy have been postponed over the past two weekends because of the virus.

Lombardy has been the epicenter of Italy’s outbreak, registering the first positive test of the northern cluster and now counting 984 of Italy’s 1,694 cases.

Meanwhile, German media reported that a local soccer fan is suspected of infecting people in Salzburg with the virus while traveling there for last week’s SalzburgEintracht Frankfurt game in the Europa League. It was unclear if the person actually attended the game, which was postponed for 24 hours because of bad weather.

Also, the International Biathlon Union announced that a World Cup in the Czech Republic will take place without spectators. The races in Nove Mesto, due to run from Thursday through Sunday, would likely have attracted 100,000 people.

Five-time Olympic gold medalist Martin Fourcade questioned why spectators were banned without similar restrictions for athletes and teams, “in spite of the fact we were all in Italy less than 14 days ago” at the world championships.

In Switzerland, where the federal government has prohibited events of more than 1,000 people, the ice hockey league decided on Monday to suspend play for two weeks. Playoffs were to begin in the top 2 divisions this weekend. The 24 clubs agreed at an emergency meeting to suspend all games until the current federal order expires on March 15.

In tennis, the Kunming Open in Anning, China, scheduled from April 27 to May 3 was canceled. Another WTA tournament scheduled for earlier in April in Xi’an, China, had already been canceled.

Baseball’s final qualifying event for the Tokyo Olympics was postponed from April to June in Taiwan; while MotoGP organizers canceled the first two races of their season in Qatar and Thailand because of travel restrictions

MILAN FANS BANNED FROM TURIN MATCH

A JUVENTUS supporter visits Lyon ahead of the Champions League round of 16th first leg match between Lyon and Juventus. AP

introduced amid the virus outbreak.

The International Ski Federation said it will wait until Friday before deciding if the World Cup finals in Cortina d’Ampezzo—in the hard-hit Veneto region—could go forward or not.

The Six Nations said the scheduled fixtures in its remaining two rounds this month will go ahead, including Italy’s match against England in Rome on March 14.

However, the equivalent women’s and under-20 fixtures in Italy may be relocated.

Italy’s visit to Ireland this Saturday is the only match

which has been postponed because of the virus.

U.E.F.A. SEEKS TO DAMPEN PANIC OVER OUTBREAK WITH a European Championship being staged across the continent in three months, UEFA is trying to dampen any panic about the impact of the fast-spreading virus even as uncertainty persists.

Just a couple of minutes were spent in a meeting of European soccer’s top executives on Monday discussing the impact of the COVID-19 disease on the 24-team tournament.

“The UEFA president [Aleksander Čeferin] immediately set the tone that the panic around all this may be worse than the virus itself,” Alexei Sorokin, a Russian member of the UEFA executive committee, said after a meeting in Amsterdam.

Unlike the usual format of one or two hosts for the Euros, games in this edition of the quadrennial event are taking place in 12 stadiums in 12 countries. The logistical problems already anticipated of moving thousands of fans around the continent are now

‘CLáSICO’ RENDERS MADRID AT EASE, BARCA PRESSURED M

ADRID—What a difference a “clásico” makes.

The bad press, the pressure from fans, the lack of confidence—all gone with a victory.

The renewed criticism, the increased doubts, the letdown—all back with a loss.

Spain’s biggest soccer match can quickly change the narrative of the season, and this time it shifted in favor of Real Madrid after the team’s 2-0 win over Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Sunday.

Madrid had entered the match on the cusp of a crisis after a series of poor results. It left being praised and filled with confidence for the rest of the season.

Barcelona had been the team thriving going into Sunday’s game, coming off four straight league victories and playing well under Coach Quique Setién. It went home without the Spanish league lead and with critics back in attack mode.

“It had been a complicated week for us and we knew we were going to have an opportunity to change things around on Sunday,” Madrid Coach Zinedine Zidane said. “It was a deserved victory. It

gives us a huge boost, it’s good for our morale.”

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Spanish powerhouses, with one team on top one day and struggling the next.

Barcelona had been the team in trouble at the start of the year amid an institutional crisis that included a controversial coaching change and conflicts between players and club officials. Madrid was playing well at that time, having won the Spanish Super Cup and taking over the Spanish league lead.

But the pressure was back with Madrid after consecutive setbacks and a winless streak at home that included a loss to Manchester City in the last 16 of the Champions League last week. Barcelona had withstood its crisis and turned critics away with good performances heading into the clásico.

“Each team had its problems, it’s not like we were doing great either,” Barcelona captain Gerard Piqué said. “We could have made a statement with a win, but they came out of the match stronger and we were the ones disappointed.”

There were different phases within the match itself, with each team dominating a half before Madrid earned the victory with second-half goals by Vinícius Júnior and Mariano Díaz to take a one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of the standings.

Setién said he expects more twists and turns the rest of the season.

“There’s still a lot to play for,” Setién said. “It’s true that it’s a tough loss, these matches obviously always affect the losing side. But we can recover. We knew this match alone wasn’t going to be decisive.”

Zidane also didn’t think Sunday’s clásico meant the end of it.

“We will have other difficult moments this season and we will be criticized again at some point,” Zidane said. That’s how it works. It’s nothing new.”

It was an unusually quiet night for Lionel Messi at the Bernabéu. He wasted some clear chances he normally converts, including two in one-on-one situations against Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Heavily marked by Federico Valverde, Casemiro and

Toni Kroos, Messi couldn’t create many scoring opportunities for his Barcelona teammates.

His night ended with a yellow card for a hard foul from behind on Casemiro.

Antoine Griezmann was another player who failed to make an impact for Barcelona. AP

IT’S an unusually quiet night for Lionel Messi. AP

potentially accompanied by health risks.

The domestic league in Switzerland has been put on hold on government orders with games called off on Monday through March 24. UEFA is aware of the potential risk as hundreds of staff, who are based at its headquarters in Nyon, often travel across Europe and are key to the operations of matches and tournaments.

The Europa League has already been hit with Inter Milan’s home game against Bulgarian club Ludogorets last week played without fans.

UEFA will be keen to ensure there is no impact on the Euros, which is worth around $2 billion in revenue.

“There wasn’t much discussion about it because there is not much we can do about it,” Phil Townsend, UEFA’s managing director of communications, said after the executive committee meeting. “We’re in the hands of the authorities. We’re in constant contact with the World Health Organization and the authorities dealing with the matches that are being staged, and then we’ll deal with that when the situation arises.”

The stadium that will be used most at Euro 2020 is Wembley, with seven games including the semifinals and the final. No games in England have been affected yet by the virus.

English football has been assessing the practicalities and financial impact for clubs if the government orders games in the Premier League and lower divisions to be played without fans, a person with knowledge of the planning said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.

The need to potentially provide financial assistance has also been explored if clubs are left without ticket revenue, the person said.

“At the minute nobody is working on anything other than the Euros going ahead,” English Football Association Chairman Greg Clarke said.

“I expect them to go ahead but if the facts change, government policy could change, then we’ll see.”

Four games are in Saint Petersburg, including a quarterfinal.

“We don’t sense any panic,” Sorokin said. “None whatsoever.”

Life

The Lord will bless His people with peace

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IVE to the Lord, Your sons of God, give to the Lord glory and praise, give to the Lord the glory due His name; adore the Lord in holy attire. The voice of the Lord, over vast waters; the voice of the Lord is mighty; the voice of the Lord is majestic. Here we are, Lord, seeking peace all the days of our lives. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

BusinessMirror

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

VIRUS FEARS LEAD K-POP SUPERSTARS BTS TO CANCEL SEOUL SHOWS D3

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Spotify’s newest pitch to labels and musicians: Now you pay us

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BY LUCAS SHAW Bloomberg News

POTIFY Technology SA revived the music business. Now it wants the industry to return the favor.

The streaming giant is asking record labels and artists for money to advertise their songs within its app, arguing that they’ll reach new fans and increase their popularity. The effort is controversial because it’s complicating wider talks over long-term music rights between Spotify and the record companies. The service has already introduced one tool, called Marquee, and is pitching a second, people with knowledge of the matter said.

“They need to diversify their revenue streams, they need to work out ways to drive higher operating margins,” said Mark Mulligan, an industry analyst at MIDia Research.

Spotify has already convinced a handful of artists to use Marquee, which sends notifications to listeners when artists release new songs or albums. Those participating include Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne. Gaining wider buy-in for what Spotify calls a “twosided marketplace,” connecting artists and fans, is vital. The Stockholm-based company is under pressure from investors to boost advertising sales and prove it can turn a profit. While Spotify’s main streaming business generated $6.1 billion in sales last year—thanks to the more than 120 million paid users—the company loses money because most of its revenue goes right back to the music industry in the form of royalties.

Boosting ad sales has been a struggle.

Spotify has more than 270 million total users, but its advertising business trails competitors of similar size. The company generated just $678 million in such revenue last year, less than what Twitter Inc. takes in every quarter.

“They’ve been apologizing for the underperformance of ads,” Mulligan said.

TWO PRIORITIES THE company has identified two priorities to boost advertising—podcasts and the two-sided marketplace. Both are longterm bets, but the latter could pay more immediate dividends. Selling advertising products and other tools to music companies could yield hundreds of millions of dollars.

Spotify’s approach to the two-sided marketplace has changed over the years.

The company initially offered tools and services to musicians and independent record companies to help them stand out in a world dominated by major labels. The most high-profile test allowed artists to upload tracks directly to Spotify. That infuriated Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music Entertainment—the company’s key suppliers—and Spotify canceled the program.

Now its biggest push, music companies say, is paid promotion—getting labels to pay to promote their artists. Spotify has inserted sponsored songs in listeners’ playlists, and has also discussed selling charging artists and labels for data about their habits.

With Marquee, artists or their labels can pay a minimum of $5,000 to have fans notified when a new release arrives on the service. Caroline Records, an independent distributor, used it to promote rapper Trippie Redd. Kobalt Music Group has used it for five or six acts, including the Cold War Kids and Lauv.

INDUSTRY TALKS YOUTUBE has had a similar product, called Premieres, since 2018. “Partners are seeing how powerful and effective it is,” said Beck Kloss, Spotify’s vice president of product and strategy for creators. “We’re seeing repeat purchases from early customers, and on average, more than a quarter of users who see a Marquee listen to the promoted music, making it one of the most effective digital marketing tools available.”

To ensure the new plan improves Spotify’s profitability, the company needs support from the music industry. Under current royalty agreements, record companies get a share of all Spotify revenue. That means the labels could theoretically claw back some of the ad money they pay to the company.

Both sides agree that makes no sense— and Spotify is pressing in current talks to create a new revenue pool that major record companies don’t get to share, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is highly sensitive.

Yet, the music companies fret that this amounts to little more than a cut in their

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LENOVO Philippines Product Manager for Gaming Tristan Gonzales (from left); consumer lead Sally Yu; president and general manager Michael Ngan; Silicon Valley Computer Group Philippines Managing Director Nelson Co; Lenovo Philippines Senior Client Relationship Representative (Consumer) Meinard Pauig; retail manager (consumer) Charmaine Lim; Silicon Valley Computer Group Philippines Business Development Manager Justine Noel; and cluster head Jhun Montemayor

LENOVO OPENS LEGION STORE IN SM CITY CLARK CONTINUING in its mission to develop the gaming communities located across the Philippines, Lenovo’s gaming brand Legion recently reached out to gamers based in north of Manila as it inaugurated the first Legion Store in the Northern and Central Luzon region. Named Legion Store SM City Clark, the store is located at the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in Pampanga.

“As one of the Philippines’s major

business centers, Clark presents a huge opportunity for both the Lenovo and Legion brands’ expansion efforts and continuous support of the flourishing gaming community.

In the past few years, the area has significantly developed into the economic powerhouse we see today.

With our exclusive Legion Store, we aim to add to that growth by helping develop the Northern and Central Luzon gaming scene as we bring

gamers closer with our top-of-theline products and special gaming events,” said Michael Ngan, president and general manager of Lenovo Philippines.

Legion Store SM City Clark is the third overall Legion Store in the Philippines after SM City Cebu and SM City North Edsa. Legion Store SM City Clark is open daily from 10 am to 10 pm. More information is available at www.lenovo.com.

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Pet Corner BusinessMirror

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Animal rescue marks decade of keeping people, pets together LOIS CORWIN at her home in Verona, Wisconsin. Corwin used her business skills in 2010 to start a nonprofit animal rescue called Friends of Noah.

Ten years later, the volunteer-based dog and cat rescue is still helping animals and people, and still going strong. AP

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By Anna Marie Lux The Janesville Gazette

ANESVILLE, Wisconsin—Lois Corwin was still new to Rock County when she heard the heartrending stories of abandoned and stray animals.

She and her husband, Mert, had moved from Cincinnati to rural Edgerton not long after the closing of General Motors.

As Corwin got to know people, she found that some faced the choice of feeding themselves or their pets.

“I thought about the animals, and I thought about the people who loved them,” Corwin said. “That was the spark that started it.”

Newly retired, she had worked 35 years in the corporate world.

But instead of packing away her business skills, Corwin used them in 2010 to start a nonprofit animal rescue called Friends of Noah.

Ten years later, the volunteer-based dog and cat rescue is still helping animals and people, and still going strong, The Janesville Gazette reported.

Friends of Noah does its work solely through private donations and fund-raisers, and its biggest fund-raiser of the year was on February 22 at Janesville’s Pontiac Convention Center.

On average, the group rescues, fosters and finds new homes for 85 dogs and cats from Rock County annually. Unlike some animal rescues, its focus is on local animals and local families.

Over the years, however, the organization has evolved into something that does much more.

“We realized we were putting our thumbs in the dike,” Corwin said. “We weren’t solving the real problem at the front end, which was keeping animals in their homes in the first place.”

So, in addition to rescuing animals off the street, Friends of Noah developed three programs to prevent abandonment and neglect of pets.

FEEDING THE ANIMALS

SHIELA LUND-WILD coordinates the group’s Companion Animal Food Effort, or CAFE. The program provides pet food to eight area food pantries, so low-income people are not forced to give up family pets when they cannot afford to feed them.

“We distribute through local food pantries because the families already have been vetted for being in need,” Lund-Wild said.

CAFE has provided up to 22,000 pounds of dog and cat food to feed up to 2,700 pets annually.

Friends of Noah hosts food drives and has barrels in several Janesville locations for donations.

Lund-Wild has been in charge of CAFE for about five years. Some weeks she runs ragged trying to keep up, but she never loses sight of the reason she works so hard. “The animals motivate me,” she said. “I’ve always been involved in animal rescue, and I always

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Chaz Bono, 51; Patricia Heaton, 62; Mykelti Williamson, 63; Catherine O’Hara, 66.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Focus on what you can do and how best to help others. Patience, understanding and good advice will turn you into the go-to person for friends and family. Moderation coupled with a responsible attitude will ensure you bypass temptation.

Aim for greater stability, and be willing to walk away from situations that offer little but demand a lot. Your lucky numbers are 4, 12, 20, 29, 31, 37, 45.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Be receptive, but don’t feel you have to follow or give in to someone who isn’t authentic or reliable. Pick and choose the people you associate with based on morals and integrity, and make changes that are good for you. HHHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t try to impress someone by taking a risk. Stick to the safe route, no matter what others do.

You have plenty to gain by using your intelligence and discipline to get what you want. HH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Concentrate on what you can accomplish. Reach for the stars, but be reasonable, even if someone close to you isn’t. Personal improvements can be achieved if you do what’s right and you incorporate moderation into whatever changes you make. HHHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Encourage others, and you will get the same in return.

Set goals and take the road less traveled if it promotes something you’ve been longing to do.

Exploring, expressing and experiencing will take you on a journey that will change your life. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If someone asks you to do something that appears to be dangerous or could cause health problems or upset someone you love, know enough to back away.

Call the shots instead of following someone who is a poor influence. HHH

want what is best for them.”

Lund-Wild also provides a foster home for animals of Friends of Noah while they wait for permanent homes. In addition, she is heavily involved in fundraising.

In the decade since CAFE began, the need for pet food has not gone away. “There is a definite need out there,” Lund-Wild said. “It has not slowed down at all.

I’m delighted we can do so much to fill that need.”

People at Friends of Noah also realize that sometimes pet owners cannot afford the cost of medical care and are faced with euthanizing or giving up their pets.

In response, the rescue provides about $15,000 in medical care annually.

EDUCATING THE PUBLIC EVERY year, volunteers at Friends of Noah offer a program called Saving Animals through Focused Education to about 1,300 young people. The program is designed to develop caring, committed and compassionate pet owners.

“We do work in schools, sometimes in libraries and for years we’ve gone to YWCA summer camps,” said Amber Gray, SAFE coordinator.

“Our ultimate goal is to keep pets in their homes.” During programs, Noah volunteers to teach responsible pet ownership and animal safety, including how to read a dog’s body language, with role playing and hands-on activities.

In addition, the rescue answers questions that come by phone. “We spend a lot of time counseling the public,” Corwin said. “We have a vet and a trainer who handle a lot of the calls.”

She called Friends of Noah successful because of “a strong team environment focused on the end goal,” which is to care for animals and the people who love them. “This takes a lot of work and a lot of hours,” Corwin said, praising the group’s 85 active volunteers.

Corwin considers herself lucky to have met so many people willing to pitch in.

“Life is about helping others,” she said. “What I learned from both the animals and the people is that, when you help others, it comes back to you tenfold.” n

Proposal to let people save pets from cars goes to the dogs PORTLAND, Maine—A proposal in Maine to allow residents to enter other people’s vehicles to try to remove an endangered animal appears to be dead.

The measure came before a committee of the Maine Legislature last year and received a disapproving vote.

The bill was aimed at changing a law that a person acting in good faith who removed an animal from a vehicle would be immune to criminal or civil liability.

The proposal is not up for consideration again this year, said Katie Hansberry, Maine

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senior state director for the Humane Society of the United States, which backed the bill.

One positive outgrowth of the proposal is that animal control officers in the state will now be trained to respond to situations in which an animal is in danger because it can’t escape a vehicle, Hansberry said. Such situations can arise when a dog is locked in a car for an extended period of time on a hot day. “Even though the bill didn’t pass, a good thing that came out of the dialogue is there was awareness raised about that issue,” Hansberry said, adding that the proposal

wasn’t “just going to let people go around and bash in car windows.”

Liam Hughes, director of the state’s Maine Animal Welfare Program, said responding to a distressed animal will now be part of basic training for all animal control officers looking to become certified.

However, the state’s animal welfare advisory council felt allowing people to enter strangers’ cars to retrieve an animal would be a bad idea, he said. “We’ve been trying really hard to get the education out there that if it’s a hot day and you have errands to

run, leave your dog at home,” Hughes said.

“That’s the best way to protect it.”

Lawmakers stated in the proposal that the person entering the car would have to determine that “the motor vehicle is locked and there is no other reasonable means for exit” and then use “no more force than is reasonably necessary to enter the motor vehicle and retrieve the animal.”

State Sen. Michael Carpenter, D-Houlton, said the proposal raised concerns about “civil liberties and folks taking the law into their own hands.” AP

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Listen and revise what you hear to suit your needs. Put some muscle behind your plans, and make a difference to the outcome and concerns that matter to you. Learn through observation and from those with more experience. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take time out to make personal improvements that will make you feel good and make you more marketable. Networking will help you build connections that can help you advance. Look ahead and let go of any baggage you’ve been carrying around. HHHHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do your own thing, and be respectful of what others want to do, as well. A creative idea can turn into a worthwhile investment that will allow you to build confidence and earn a little extra cash. HH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Question anyone trying to use emotional tactics or false information to push you in a different direction.

A change you want to make should be for the right reason, not because you are being pressured. HHHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Hard work will pay off, but don’t neglect to take care of your health and physical well-being. Injury or illness, however insignificant, should not be allowed to turn into something more serious. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Take better care of yourself, your relationships and your personal possessions. Emotions will run high and can cause problems if you let anger take over.

Channel your energy into something that will benefit you, not hold you back. HHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It’s OK to dream, but don’t lose sight of what’s possible. Know your limitations and how best to make the most with what you’ve got. Time matters, and preparation and organization will lead to success.

HHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are outspoken, innovative and dogged.

You are motivated and inspiring.

‘chain stores’ BY CHELSEA MAUDE AVIRETT The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Some 5 Place for a couch potato 9 Hand sanitizer target 13 Uber alternative 14 Break off, as ties 15 Tropical water color 16 Stretch of shops in many cities 18 Cadges 19 Yachter’s breeze 20 T.S. from St. Louis 21 Popular knitted gift 23 Stretch of shops in New York City 26 Up for the day 28 Had naan, say 29 Be human?

30 Longtime Attorney General Janet 31 Lawbreaker’s warning?

33 Stretch of shops in Chicago 40 Hamster homes 41 Hacker’s cry 42 Current unit, for short 45 Good machine sound 46 Transported, in sci-fi

48 Stretch of shops in J.K. Rowling’s London 52 ___ Constitution 53 Malady that anagrams to “cruel” 54 Sea between Greece and Turkey 56 Word in many similes 57 Stretch of shops in Beverly Hills 61 Concert souvenirs 62 Nonreactive 63 Industry magnate 64 “Yeah!” or “Yeah, right!”

65 Dream gift for some little girls 66 Female Rhode Island Reds DOWN 1 24-hr. cash source 2 Drone-regulating org.

3 Surviving without thriving 4 Drink paired with dinner 5 Font flourish 6 Plain to see 7 1-Down charge 8 Fridge decoration 9 Triangular house part 10 Like a zebra or mule

1 “___ Has It” (Adele hit) 1 12 Expert 14 Much-hated laundry spot?

17 Not at risk 20 Birthday party, for one 21 What doctors shouldn’t do 22 Pi, for a circle of radius one 24 They’re less social than rabbits 25 “...two fives for ___?”

27 Abel, to Eve 31 Letter before tau 32 Bartender’s rocks 34 Olympian’s blood 35 Man/goat being 36 Hamm or Farrow 37 Vaccinate, say 38 Falsehoods 39 Grand finales, for fireworks shows 42 Parties may stop when they walk in 43 Social setting 44 Green Bay NFL player 46 Fathered, biblically 47 Glanced at 49 Gaggle members

50 Weighed down 51 Apprehensive 55 Triumphal structure in Paris 57 It needs mending 58 Songwriter Yoko 59 You might camp in one 60 Ambulance destinations, briefly

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

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Show BusinessMirror

Virus fears lead K-pop superstars BTS to cancel Seoul shows

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By Hyung-Jin Kim The Associated Press

EOUL, South Korea—K-pop superstars BTS canceled an upcoming concert series in South Korea’s capital as the country that exports entertainment worldwide tries to contain a soaring virus outbreak.

It follows a near-shutdown of entertainment in hard-hit parts of China, the world’s second-biggest economy and second-biggest box-office market.

BTS, which performed at the Grammys and at New York’s Grand Central Terminal for The Tonight Show in recent weeks, is seen as an emblem of South Korea’s cultural and economic power. Local media said the canceled concerts were the inaugural leg of the band’s new world tour.

“We regret to announce that the BTS Map of the Soul Tour...has been canceled,” the band’s agency Big Hit Entertainment said in a statement.

The management agency said the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea, which has more than 2,000 cases so far, made it impossible to predict the scale of the outbreak by April.

The seven-member boy band was scheduled to perform on April 11 and 12, and April 18 and 19 at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium. The agency said it had to consider the health and safety of the artists, the production crews and the more than 200,000 concertgoers expected.

The South Korean government and others affected by the epidemic have pushed to restrict massive public events to try to avoid situations where the virus might spread.

Disney said on Friday its parks in Tokyo would close for two weeks, adding to closures of its parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Cinemas in China already were shuttered, which

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Spotify’s newest pitch to labels and musicians: Now you pay us Continued from D1 royalty payments and sets a precedent by letting Spotify rope off a pool of money from the industry.

They also enjoy a certain amount of free promotion now. That’s dangerous at a time when Spotify is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into original podcasts that dilute the music industry’s share of overall listening. Spotify’s long-term plan, according to those familiar with the strategy, is to carve out podcasts from the larger pool, as well.

SOUTH Korean K-pop group BTS canceled a series of planned concerts in Seoul in April due to concerns about a soaring viral outbreak in South Korea, the band’s management agency said. AP

affected the Chinese release of Sonic the Hedgehog, and the Beijing premiere and a promotional tour of the James Bond film No Time to Die among other impacts.

The Walt Disney Co.’s anticipated live-action Mulan remake is due to open in China on March 27.

The US National Symphony Orchestra canceled performances in Japan, after earlier canceling concerts in Beijing and Shanghai. That followed cancellations by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic.

South Korean agencies have been canceling K-pop

events at home and abroad in response to requests from fans about artists’ safety.

Artists, such as Taeyeon and boy bands Winner and NCT Dream had previously canceled shows in Singapore and Macao, and GOT7 postponed concerts in Bangkok and Singapore. US band Green Day postponed upcoming Asia shows, as well, citing health and travel concerns in its announcement on Twitter. BTS has a large international following and was the first K-pop act to debut atop the Billboard Album chart in 2018 with Love Yourself: Tear. n

INDIE LABELS INDEPENDENT labels, meanwhile, fear that Spotify will create an ecosystem that rewards those companies and artists with the most money.

Independents credit the service with boosting their market share in recent years, and don’t want to see those gains threatened.

“People aren’t very happy about it,” said Richard James Burgess, the head of A2IM, a body that represents independent labels. “Some labels feel like they’d promote music to people they will reach anyways, and it just reduces the royalty you make.”

Spotify had told his members the company would never do this, Burgess said.

Another concern for the major labels is that they’ll set off a promotional arms race, with every artist wanting want to see their record touted at the top of Spotify’s homepage.

Yet for the biggest music companies, this may just be the cost of doing business. Once one big label agrees, the others are certain to follow.

Besides, music companies routinely pay their partners to promote artists—they’ve long rewarded stores for the best spots on shelves. n

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Image BusinessMirror

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

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SUPPORTING WORKER SLEEP IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS

BY LESLIE HAMME� & LINDSEY ALLEY Oregon Health & Science University

A LONG-HAUL truck driver fell asleep during his shift in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, on January 13. Heading north on Route 147, he drifted into the eastbound shoulder for almost 375 feet, struck the side of the road and flipped his rig.

Thankfully, the driver only suffered a minor injury and nobody else was harmed.

Poor sleep affects up to 70 percent of Americans and increases the risk of shortened life span and death. This includes deaths and injuries related to road accidents, stroke and reduced cardiovascular health.

Though sleep is not something you typically do at work, work schedules and job stress affect sleep, and poor sleep can affect job performance and safety at work. Police officers, firefighters, truck drivers and health-care workers are among those especially at risk for workplace fatigue.

We are health sciences experts and one of us—Leslie Hammer—serves as codirector at the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center which is supported by The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Recently, our team has begun exploring the relationship between supervisor support and employee sleep.

THE COST OF WORKPLACE FATIGUE POOR sleep has impacts on employee health and well-being that can negatively affect an employers’ bottom line.

In fact, sleep deprivation increases the chances of workplace injuries by 70 percent. This is partially due to tired workers being less able to concentrate on workplace safety guidelines. Sleep-related workplace safety issues, including accidents and injuries; as well as long-term health consequences of poor sleep, like heart disease, may require multiple days away from work, large insurance claims and increased draw on workers’ compensation benefits. That’s costly for both workers and employers.

Additionally, the US incurs a productivity loss of more than $135 billion annually as a result of inadequate sleep. Poor sleep causes symptoms similar to alcohol use, like impaired memory, motor skills and decision-making.

Employers can take easy, low cost steps to ensure their workers have the capability to sleep well and reduce chances of workplace injuries. Our approach is focused on improving supervisor support of employees’ sleep. The majority of workplace trainings rely on employees to address their own sleep health. This is problematic, because many employees face challenges to improving their own sleep without outside support and education.

STUDIES SUPPORT SUPERVISOR TRAINING IN February 2019, we published a study looking at the impact of a supervisor support training intervention on employee sleep. Fifty-six study groups, made up of 791 employees in a Fortune 500 information-technology firm, participated in the study. Half of the study groups attended in-person group meetings to identify new ways to increase control over their own work schedules. The supervisors and managers in those same groups received additional in-person family-supportive supervisor training to improve their support of employees’ family and nonwork lives. Family-supportive supervisor trainings teach supervisors and managers to promote work-family balance, and provide emotional support and appropriate resources.

Workers reported their time asleep, how rested they felt upon waking, and any inability they had to fall asleep.They also wore sleep-tracking watches to measure their actual time spent sleeping each day. Note that this study did not actually include a sleep training component. It was focused solely on providing employees more control over where, and when, they work and teaching their supervisors, and managers, to reduce demands, and better support employees’ work-family balance and perceived control.

We found that improving supervisors’ support of employees’ work-life balance can benefit employees’ sleep in sustainable ways. In our study, both sleep quantity and quality increased up to 18 months after the training.

This study highlighted that an organization does not necessarily have to commit to a full sleep program—which might include sleep leadership training, establishment of nap rooms and employee training on sleep hygiene—to achieve improved employee sleep and positive work outcomes.

As long as organizations can commit to training supervisors to better support workers’ work, family, health and well-being, this can lead to reduced employee stress, and correspondingly improved sleep and job performance.

Learning how to ‘flow’ Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” But if you find yourself missing your groove and the motivation to do your work, there are several ways you can do to snap out of it and find your flow.

SUI GENERIS CARLO ATIENZA

biblisko@gmail.com

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ART of my work involves creating online training materials for different departments.

One time, I had no available content developer so I had to take on the project myself—something I have not done for a very long time since I review the materials rather than create them. I thought it would take me more time to finish because it had been a while since I last created online material but, surprisingly, I finished it in less than the time I projected. I also realized I was missing this part of the work because after I had finished the project, there was an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.

People call it by different names—“being in the zone,” “finding your rhythm” or “on a roll”—but American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls it the “flow” in a book he wrote with the same title. He discovered this psychological state of being totally immersed in an activity, most especially when people are involving their creative abilities. He expounds that it is in this state where people can find genuine satisfaction and contentment. You would know you are in the flow when time flies by so fast when doing that activity and yet you find fulfilment from doing it. Similar to what I felt when I finished the project myself. Or maybe you have also experienced something similar when you close a deal, or win a case, or give a life-changing lesson to someone.

What is important about finding your flow is that the goal you want to achieve is intrinsically motivated and personally satisfying—be it your talent, an advocacy or something you are good at. Think of the benefits of being in the flow while doing your work— it will keep you going because you enjoy what you are doing. Of course, it would help if you find work that you are passionate about because it will help you be in the flow often. It is no surprise that creative people find contentment in their craft even if it is not all that

financially rewarding because their satisfaction lies in doing their craft, and how their work tells stories and ignites the same passion from others. Others find their niche in words, numbers or performing, and go on to be consistently in the flow because their work speaks how much they enjoy doing what they do. Some try to catch the flow by engaging in a hobby which helps them take their mind off other concerns so they can reset and regain balance to cope with the stressors of the day. In however way you catch or stay in the flow, being in it creates a sense of completion, and you discover your passions and the needed drive to complete the task.

If you are stuck in a work which you do not enjoy, or which does not fulfil any intrinsic motivation, there are several ways you can do to psyche yourself to be in the mood and, hopefully, you can find your groove, and excel, while waiting for the opportunity to apply your talents to work that will bring you more satisfaction and personal fulfilment.

The most obvious thing you should do is to get rid of distractions which could derail you from focusing on your task. That means turning off the notifications on your phones or, better yet, keeping your mobile phone inside your bag or drawers. This will help you focus on what you are doing, and gets rid of any need to incessantly check your social media or messages.

After putting aside your phone, you can also blot out other distractions from coworkers and even the background noise in the office by wearing earphones and listening to instrumental music on repeat. Choose instrumental music because songs with lyrics will actually distract you. A colleague advised me I can choose a song with lyrics as long as I know the song because the words will not bother me as much. It sometimes works for me but I almost always choose

instrumental music. Having earphones on also serves to ward off unwanted conversations from coworkers because having earphones on will make them think twice about disturbing you.

Try to discover your biological clock, and evaluate where you are alert the most and when you have the most energy. Block off this time to do the meat of your work, and consistently follow the routine. This will help your brain condition itself to focus on the same schedule every time. To help your brain get used to the routine, cultivate a habit before the time you sit down to do your work. The habit actually helps your brain recognize that it is time to work, and it needs to start focusing on what needs to be done.

Part of being in the flow is knowing that the work you do is challenging but, at the same time, you are properly skilled to finish the task. One of the reasons people become demotivated is because they are given tasks which they know nothing about, so they end up being anxious and stressed. People need to learn new skill sets but they need to have the requisite skills before developing more advanced ones. Once your skills do not match the task, it becomes a recipe for failure. As Csikszentmihalyi says in his book, Flow: “The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times.... The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” Your tasks need to be challenging but they should also be matched to your skills, and they get you excited.

Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” But if you find yourself missing your groove and the motivation to do your work, there are several ways you can do to snap out of it and find your flow. ■

15 top CEOs to speak at the ultimate marketing conference of 2020 MANSMITH and Fielders Inc. is giving Filipino marketers the rare chance to get all the business secrets of the country’s top CEOs at the 11th Mansmith Market Masters Conference on March 18 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila.

The marketing mentor and best-selling author Josiah Go serves as this year’s conference chairman, leading five high-impact, Philippine market-focused sessions featuring 15 high-powered CEOs from top companies giving practical advice on how to make it as a marketer in the country.

The impressive set of panelists, made up of bank presidents and consumer industry leaders, retail game changers, food industry innovators and service industry stalwarts, will give marketing tips and insights in a unique conference format.

Sessions are set up as in-depth, interactive plenary discussions between groups

of speakers, with a live Q&A that encourages the audience to ask any questions and participate.

The conference sessions cover the following topics, each with an impressive roster of panelists: For “Behind the scene: The strategist behind the strategy,” the speakers will be Robby Go, UBS Securities president and CEO; Benjamin Yao, SteelAsia chairman and CEO; and Benjie Yap, Unilever Philippines chairman and CEO. William Belo, Wilcon Depot chairman; Bing Limjoco, Francorp CEO; and Robert Trota, Max’s Group CEO will speak on “Intrapreneurship: What marketers can learn from entrepreneurs about opportunity-seeking and risk mitigation.”

For “Market-driving innovation: Exploiting opportunities in underserved markets,” the panelists will be Edwin Bautista, UnionBank president and CEO; Tennyson

JOSIAH GO of Mansmith and Fielders

TONY MONCUPA JR. of EastWest Bank

Chen, Bounty Group CEO; and Jimmy Thai, Primer Group CEO. Tony Moncupa Jr., EastWest Bank vice

chairman and CEO; Venus Navalta, IPG Mediabrands CEO; and Jerome Ong, CDO president and CEO, will be the panelists for “The

David phenomenon: The mindset of serious challengers.”

For the last session, “Distinctiveness vs.

Differentiation: Competing in an increasing commoditized market,” the panelists will be Backy Baquiran, Unilab president; Tina Tan, Suy Sing president and CEO; and Wick Veloso, Philippine National Bank president and CEO. Officially supported and endorsed by 21 premier business and leadership organizations, the 2020 edition of Mansmith Market Masters Conference is expected to gather around 1,500 budding and established marketing professionals for a one-of-a-kind opportunity.

SVIP Platinum and Bronze tickets are already sold-out, while SVIP tickets are running out quickly. Registration closes on March 11.

More information is available at 0917-6294649, 8722-2318, ask@ marketmastersconference.com or marketmastersconference.com.

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, March 4 , 2020 • Editor : Tet Andolong

The mural is inspired by the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City.

MACEA, Federal Land unveil ‘Ang PLAYBACK ng 105 Milyon’

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

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Photos by Macea and Federal Land

O enable more Filipinos, especially those working in the country’s premier business district, to appreciate the country’s history, the Makati Central Estate Association (Macea) and Federal Land Inc. unveiled on February 14 “Ang Playback ng 105 Milyon,” a public art installation located at the Salcedo Underpass.

Federal Land Chairman Alfred Ty said in his opening remarks that his late father, George Ty, was an ardent supporter of the arts and always dreamt of building beautiful residences that people would be proud of. “More than that, my father was an art enthusiast and this is the way of sharing this enthusiasm with everyone,” he pointed out.

When he was approached by Macea to overhaul the design of the Salcedo Underpass, Ty said he gave a favorable response to commission it because of the great opportunity to showcase the beauty of the Filipinos and the Philippines.

“We were fortunate to have met Mr. Archie Geotina whose young and vibrant demeanor shows his optimism and happiness to life, whose black hair and free flowing fashion combined with tattoos on his arm I wish I could have,” chuckled Ty. Geotina, also known as Chichimonster, is the artist of the project. A multidisciplinary artist with roots heavily seeded in the street culture of the Philippines, Geotina cofounded the graffiti crew Kings Stay True (KST) in 2006. He bases his graffiti lettering on the Alibata, and is inspired by the different cultures which can be found within

the Philippines.

From murals to portraits, light installations and projection mapping, Geotina mixes different mater ia ls—acr ylic paint, spray paint, ink, resin, wheat paste—and uses projectors and f luorescent light to create his pieces. Even fire extinguishers have been utilized in his mixedmedia pieces. Geotina’s art has led him to collaborate with several different brands, and has reached audiences in Manila, Baguio, Cebu, Bacolod, Hong Kong and the United States.

For the Salcedo Underpass, Geotina’s experiential artwork was inspired by his travels to iconic destinations in the country.

The huge mural depicts local heroes who left a positive impact in their communities and their heirs who will continue their goodwill.

Through this installation, the artist aims to celebrate the heroes of the past, challenge the present and invest in a stronger culture for our future.

Ty commended Geotina for creating a project that has very good aesthetics and, at the same time, tells the story of the country’s culture and history. “Archie’s project enhances the imagination of the mind that gives the pedestrians

Luke Landrigan of La Union, president of Philippine Surfing Championship Tour

Hijab Troopers

Arch. William Coscolluela (from left), Makati City Mayor Abigail BinayCampos, Federal Land Chairman Alfred Ty and artist Archie Geotina

valuable lessons on the history of the country,” Ty explained.

“It is a mural that binds us to the past which also serves [as] a challenge to the current to continue their legacy,” Ty pointed out.

On his part, Geotina said the project took six to eight months to prepare and two weeks to install. He added the pictures were contributed by local and foreign photographers to this work. “This

project is a collage of works from different people,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the event.

Geotina conceptualized the project like a time capsule start-

ing from the precolonial to the modern times. Moreover, it was also inspired by the Sistine Chapel in Italy.

For future projects, he plans to incorporate different kinds of media to public installations, such as audio, visual and both.

For him, the next step is business development districts tapping creatives to express and connect with the general public.

On her part, Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay-Campos said the city government will partner with the private sector to develop several art projects for the people of Makati Salcedo Underpass has also housed works of winners of Shell’s National Students Art Competition, the longest-running art competition for young Filipino artists.

“By creating walkways that are strategically placed, aesthetically pleasing, and safe, Macea empowers daily commuters in Makati’s CBD, especially when this network of sidewalks, underpasses, and overpasses are complemented by efficient public transportation,” Macea General Manager Jonathan David said.

Business

E2 Wednesday, March 4, 2020

ASEANA, the Livable City in the Bay Area

Abstraction of the Fish by Kris Abrigo. Mural found in the alleyway between Aseana Two Building and Red Planet Hotel

A view of Bradco Avenue, Aseana City at night. Vincent Coscolluela

Amor Maclang

first dibs in real estate

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Part One

OR the first time in history, more than half the world’s population lives in cities. At a time when family, friends and coworkers are a call, text, or e-mail away, 3.3 billion people on this planet still choose to crowd together in skyscrapers, high-rises, subways and buses.

Not too long ago, it looked like our cities were dying, but in fact they boldly threw themselves into the information age, adapting and evolving to become the gateways to a globalized and interconnected world.

Now more than ever, the wellbeing of human society depends upon our knowledge of how the

city lives and breathes,” said Edward Glaeser.

When I spoke to Buds Wenceslao about which part of Aseana he’ll have his eldest daughter Annika live in, I knew he was committed, Hand to heart to make Aseana not just the entertainment capital of Manila but also a truly liveable city.

According to Buds, CEO of DM

Wenceslao, “We are building a city...a city within a city within a megacity.” Aseana City is a 107-hectare mixed-use development situated between the Mall of Asia Complex and the Pagcor Entertainment City. Through DM Wenceslao and Associates Inc. (DMWAI), various value-enhancing projects have made Aseana City a global central business hub worthy to be called, the “Next Generation City.” What felt like an eternal dream ages ago was nothing compared to the progressing and resounding successes of Aseana City throughout the years. Residential and commercial pipeline projects were one by one coming into fruition and the once perspective images displayed in their showroom are now tangible office, commercial and living spaces.

Walkability and connectivity

An urban fabric weaved along the threads of connectivity and walkability, Aseana City provides improved and wider pedestrians for its citizens. As the famous movie quote goes, “build it and they will come.” Research suggests that people will purposely and actively walk if a facility is provided for them hence, resulting to a happier and healthier community. DMWAI developed sidewalks that are protected from the harsh environment such as too much exposure from the sun and the sudden downpour of rain through its network of arcades and canopies. Carefully studied by both internal and external experts in urban planning development, buildings in Aseana City design guidelines include provisions for the construction

Architect’s perspective of Parqal

and installation of canopies and sky bridges creating a connected climate protected solution to its pedestrian citizens.

Walkability experience is also upgraded with public art such as a recent creative mural found between the alleyway of Aseana Two Building and the Red Planet Hotel.

The 1,900-square-foot mural by visual artist Kris Abrigo depicts the growth that has transpired throughout the development of Aseana City. The painting is populated by an array of marine life representing the different types of people residing, living and populating the city. In the future, more public art will be seen around the city creating a sense of place and destination and adding vibrancy and life to its citizens’ daily hustle.

Residential offerings

Aseana City continues to progress beyond with the addition of residential developments under Aseana Residential Holdings Corp., the residential arm of DMWAI. Excitingly concluding ARHC’s 2019 was the turn-over ceremony for the 170 units of Pixel Residences, the first residential project of the company. An interesting exterior concept was used for its pixel-patterned façade. The project was designed by international design firm, Spark Architects, in collaboration with renowned local architecture firm, CASAS+Architects. The interiors highlight the playful use of wood elements and natural travertine stone with elegant lighting fixtures that appeal to a quirky yet modern design. The 5th floor ame-

nity areas which have a youthful punch include the function room, day care, fitness gym, and pool, all having a wide view of the famous Manila Bay sunset. Surprising more its new owners are premium fixtures under top-tier brands that were added to the turned over units. And although Pixel Residences looks quaint on the outside, this residential development has large living formats ranging from 36 to 90 square meters of studio up to two-bedroom units providing comfortable breathing spaces for bachelors and early nesters alike. The 15-story, low-density residential development which was launched in 2016 had its entire inventory sold in less than a year stunning the real-estate competition with their first successful venture in residential development.

CLI is residential market leader in VisMin, declares dividends

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2019 real-estate market study by Santos Knight Frank revealed that Cebu Landmasters Inc. is the top developer of residential projects in VisMin. The SKF market study that covered 10 key cities and included both national and local developers in the VisMin areas named CLI as “the leading residential developer in VisMin.” In a related development, CLI announced a cash dividend of 25 centavos per share to its shareholders on the back of the company’s market leadership and robust financial performance. The cash dividend amounting to 25

centavos per share was approved during the February 19 board meeting held in Citadines Cebu City. Shareholders on record as of April 3, 2020, will be entitled to the dividends and will be paid on April 30, 2020.

The SKF study showed that CLI leads the residential market with a 12-percent market share, delivering close to 18,000 units in eight cities of the 10 covered by the study. These are based on actual and current market supply offering. The listed company bested Sta. Lucia Land and Vista Land which tied at second, each garnering 8-percent market

share. Avida Land and Filinvest Land captured 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Other developers accounted for 64 percent of the market share.

Joe Soberano III, Cebu Landmasters c ha ir ma n a nd CEO pointed out that VisMin’s “economic dynamism, resilience and social growth” have given rise to exceptional real-estate opportunities in strategic urban areas.

“Our expertise and relationships in the region have allowed us to maximize those opportunities and have served as drivers of the firm’s consistent growth.”

In Metro Cebu, CLI has the

largest market share of vertical residential developments at 23 percent, according to the SKF study. The company’s absorption rate registered at 96 percent or significantly above the 80-percent industry average in Metro Cebu indicating high demand for its products. Recently, for instance, it launched Mivela Garden Residences, which sold out more than 80 percent of units in less than three weeks from market launch.

The firm’s take-up rate at 24 per month and absorption rate at almost 60 percent in Davao City is way above the industry average in the market. In Cagayan de Oro, CLI

is able to absorb high sales take-up at 217 per month against its main competitors whose average is 52.

The Cebu-based real-estate firm listed in 2017 now has 58 developments in eight key cities and will expand its footprint to other cities such as General Santos, Butuan and Ormoc. It is working on 27 projects that will be rolled out soon.

In addition to its core business of residential developments, CLI is also growing its recurring income portfolio through more offices mixed-use projects, townships and hotels. CLI recently opened its first hotel in 2019,

Citadines Cebu City managed by The Ascott Limited. The listed firm has a total of 10 hotels in the pipeline.

Early this year, the company announced P12.67 billion in reservations sales, increasing by 31 percent versus prior year. CLI will be drawing from its current landbank of 1,245,485 square meters to roll out more projects in new locations such as Iloilo, Bohol and Ormoc. Furthermore, the company expects to deliver 200,000 sq m of gross leasable area and expand its hospitality portfolio to 2,000 rooms in the next three to four years.

sMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

E3

Filigree to open more upscale projects in 2020

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Tambuli Seaside Living partners with KMC Savills

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AMBULI Seaside Living (TSL) taps KMC Savills, the leading full-service real-estate firm in the Philippines, as its official property management partner for its premier Cebu condotel. Tytans Properties and Development Inc. opened its newest luxury residential and resort estate located in Buyong, Maribago, LapuLapu City, Cebu, Philippines.

TSL Chairman Montano Ty and President Gerard Tan are present during the signing with KMC Managing Director Michael McCullough and Property Management Director Engr. Francis Fuellas.

“We have always been a game changer in Cebu, and that reflects on our estates like Tambuli” Ty shared about the project. “It’s a long time coming, and we are happy to introduce the luxury residential resort with world-class amenities for condominium owners.”

“Given Tambuli’s commitment to providing world-class services, we had to choose the best partner in the industry with the expertise and professionalism our project requires,” Tan added. “KMC has been there every step of the way since 2014. Our partnership has evolved to more like a family now.”

Steadfast in bringing life to the estate’s vision, McCullough is looking forward to the future of Tambuli. “As part of Tambuli’s family, we are very excited to see them

grow and with KMC’s dedicated support, deliver the most luxurious living to one of the country’s top destination for recreation and relaxation,” he said.

Evolving Cebu’s hospitality market

Tytans Properties and Development, Inc. is also moving beyond simple residential developments. With its brand of luxury, Tambuli Seaside Living will be venturing to the hospitality industry with the introduction of Tambuli Seaside Resort & Spa that seeks to bring residential living to new heights.

The 11-hectare residential resort community in Buyong, Maribago, Lapu-lapu City, Cebu, that houses a luxury serviced apartment will soon expand.

“After our soft opening this December, we will also be launching Phase 2 of the residential resort condominium at the Tambuli Estate,” Ty said.

KMC Director Francis Fuellas also shared that given the robust expansion, the Tambuli holds much promise as a luxurious residential and resort development.

“The fusion of everyday living and luxurious resort amenities is an untapped feat that will surely make Tambuli a standout investment in Mactan.”

To know more about our luxury residential and resort estate, please visit www. tambuliseasideresortandspa.com.

A luxurious living experience at the heart of Ortigas Center F OLLOWING its launch of the Offices at The Galleon, Ortigas Land sets sail for new horizons with the launch of Residences at The Galleon, its newest high-end luxury residential tower in Ortigas Center.

Residences at The Galleon is part of the second phase of The Galleon, the only mixed-use development in the Ortigas Business District.

The two-tower development of modern and sophisticated design will offer residential, office and retail spaces.

Residences at The Galleon will consist of 51 floors with 43 residential floors, one amenity floor, five floors of podium parking, two floors of podium retail and 43 retail units. The tower offers professionals and families with an intimate experience by providing an optimal peaceful and uncrowded living environment with each floor housing only 12 units. Unit sizes range from one to two-bedroom, two-bedroom, and Penthouse units, spanning from 69 to 411 square meters.

In addition, its planned amenities have been designed to allow residents to pursue relaxation, wellness, and creativity which includes a minitheater room, a game room, swimming pool, gym and sauna room.

The tower’s exquisite finishes include smart home features for residents that make for a seamless and worry-free living. With just one click from an app, residents can be the captain of their own homes and have complete control over their units’ facilities and utilities. In addition, a state-of-theart building management system also lends to the luxurious lifestyle that Residences at The Galleon promises.

Located along ADB Avenue and strategically located at The heart of Ortigas Center, Residences at the Galleon offers convenience and accessibility for its residences with its close proximity to Edsa and Ortigas Avenue. Its prime location inside Ortigas Center provides easy access to a variety of work, food, retail and entertainment destinations.

UXURY real-estate brand Filigree is expanding its portfolio of masterfully crafted, upscale living spaces with more prestigious, highvalue developments this year.

Filigree projects have all been remarkably successful. Thanks to its commitment of continuously providing luxurious spaces that are exemplars of sophistication, comfort, convenience and leisure expected by the discriminating few.

“Ever since the establishment of Filigree, we have always pushed ourselves to be the gold standard in luxury real-estate developments,” said Catherine Ilagan, Filigree head. “For this year, we have plans that will strengthen the brand with unmatched value of our projects.”

So far, all of Filigree’s projects have been well-received by the market, such as the The Enclave Alabang. The 13-hectare tropical modern subdivision on Daang Hari is home to a world-class Club House and Central Park.

Bristol at Parkway Place is another instant fast-seller due to its highly coveted address at Filinvest City’s Millionaires’ Row. It is one of the most in-demand highend properties in Metro South because of its location, amenities, and great investment opportunities. Ready for occupancy, its leasing rate is on a constant upswing.

Units in this 40-story tower are almost sold out and plans are now under way for another high-rise residential development also along the Millionaires’ Row. Filigree became a front-runner in green condo living with Botanika Nature Residences. This lush and green development proves that modern and upscale living can be environmentally sustainable. The development received a four-star rating from the Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE), and it continues to redefine present-day low-density vertical homes in the metropolis.

With the favorable reception of the first tower, Filigree will soon launch Botanika

Tower 2, which will offer one-bedroom units that were not available in the first.

A sky lounge and function room are also included in the plan, and like the first tower, the new building will follow the same green principles and will be connected to the central garden.

Filigree is now bringing its luxury living experience outside Metro Manila with the Golf Ridge Private Estate in the Leisure City of Filinvest Mimosa+ in Clark, Pampanga. The low density condominium will rise on a carefully and deliberately chosen location with a vibrant, well-maintained, green and tranquil environment.

As the name suggests, Golf Ridge has

the unobstructed view of the Mimosa Golf Course for its main attraction. Exemplifying green living with its backdrop of greens, estate parks and open spaces, residents can enjoy a serene environment that seamlessly blends residential areas and premier hotels with retail and recreation.

With all of these impressive projects in the pipeline, Filigree is looking forward to a productive and successful year, as it hopes to get discerning clients to experience its version of high living that is at par with the world’s best.

For more information, visit www.filigree.com.ph.

A fabulous tour of the Palace

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As the tower is set to be the developer’s premier residential address as part of the only mixed-use development in the Ortigas Business District, Residences at The Galleon provides a rare opportunity for investors to capitalize on the development’s prime location and own a piece of Ortigas Center. In addition, the tower’s proximity to reputable commercial, educational, and medical institutions and its luxurious offerings provides investors with the flexibility of either using their unit as an investment or for their personal use.

Investors are expected to move in to their piece of Ortigas Center by 2028.

OME of the country’s most soughtafter wedding planners were treated to an exclusive luncheon and tour of Palacio de Memoria (www.casadememoria. com), the seven-story, fabulously restored pre-war mansion that now functions as a one-of-a-kind heritage house, events place, and art center nesting in the heart of Metro Manila.

Palacio de Memoria General Manager Camille Lhuillier welcomed the prestigious Philippine Association of Wedding Planners (PAWP) with a sumptuous lunch at the Palacio’s Ambassador’s dining room and gave them a fabulous walking tour, which showcased the picturesque spots, sprawling grounds and ornate features that make it a splendid choice for nuptials and receptions. One of the highlights of the walking tour was the Palacio’s grandiose foyer where the beautifully restored terrazzo floors and luxurious, 6-foot Murano chandelier, which would make for an impeccably opulent backdrop for wedding pictorials.

Members of PAWP also got the chance to take a closer look at the outdoor area, which includes a pool area with patio and outdoor kitchen which can already be a great setting for cocktails and parties.

For that perfect alfresco garden wed-

ding, there is also a sprawling garden area where couples can have the option to have the air-conditioned tent pitched. It is a gorgeous setting for stylish outdoor receptions in the summer and under the stars, and having a tent can shield guests from the rain.

The Bunker Bar, located on the Palacio’s top level is a cozy yet masculine space that

is perfect for a bachelor’s party, intimate gatherings, and other events that deserve a celebratory toast. Another jewel in the Palacio’s crown is the Mosphil Lounge, a passenger plane from a now-defunct airline that flew to and from Zamboanga. It reflects the swanky and hip spirit of the ’60s and ’70s and makes for a fun afterparty place.

Entrepreneur

E4 Wednesday, March 4, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

BusinessMirror

LRG lady boss Lobien makes her own mark in real-estate business

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

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@brownindio

Contributor

fter spending two decades working in the hotel and realestate industry, Sheila Lobien decided in 2018 that it was time to open her own business. With the boom in the property sector, it was a no-brainer for the petite executive to establish the Lobien Realty Group (LRG).

“The market is good. And I think it was about time because I have been in the industry for a decade. If you add my experience in the hotel and tourism industry, it has been a wide exposure for me. Moreover, my clients have always been urging me to put my own company and that gave me the confidence that it is time to do so,” Lobien, the LRG chief executive officer, explained.

Prior to LRG, Lobien worked as a regional director and head of project leasing of a Fortune 500 property-consulting firm. She was also a general manager of Regus

Manila, and was one of those who spearheaded Regus’s then-novel concept of shared and plug-andplay office space in the early 2000.

Aside from being ready and possessing strong confidence, Lobien wanted to capitalize on the strong growth of the economy for the past eight straight years—highlighted by a strong gross domestic product (GDP) performance. She also noted that the Philippines has attracted a lot of investors from all parts of the globe, specially the mainland Chinese in the recent years. Foreign companies are coming.

She recalled that when she felt it was time to take the big leap, Lobien wished that her friends and colleagues would join in her entrepreneurial endeavor. Lobien thinks one advantage going to their favor is the familiarity with the local market. “I have a good grasp of the local market, plus I have the international connection,” Lobien said.

Although she is still in her sophomore year in the property industry, Lobien feels they have been in the business for a long time. She said LRG was overwhelmed by the response of their clients. She credited her team for excellent work they have done in delivering the quality of service they deliver to their clients. “We know the demands of the tenants and investors, and where the demand will come from,” she said.

For the investors, LRG will advice companies to plan their business road map and direction.

Lobien revealed that LRG can handle the demands of the business because she has a group that has accumulated a lot experience in the industry that handled multinational corporations and realestate companies.

Moreover, LRG had an easier time to transact with the clients because Lobien had worked with them in the past. “Bringing the tenants was easy because we know them,” she said.

How it started

There is no doubt that being an entrepreneur involves a lot of risks.

As far as she is concerned, Lobien pointed out that forming the company was feasible for her. Another notable element in the formation of LRG was that a woman is the leader of the company in an industry usually dominated by men.

“I am, somewhat, proud to say that I am the first woman to do the things that are traditionally done by men. I feel that I am one of the boys too, competing against them in bidding for the projects,” she said.

Interestingly, Lobien is also a strong advocate of gender equality and women empowerment.

She currently chairs the Women in Business Committee of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), an avenue for mentoring, networking and other social activities geared to uplifting women professionals in the Philippines.

With the property market enjoying a good run for at least a decade, Lobien thought the sector is perfect for another player to serve the growing number of clients.

Unlike their counterparts, LRG is a “lean and mean organization.” Nevertheless, Lobien said, LRG thrives because they have developed strong ties with the clients and their people,

as well. “We are primarily successful because of our connection with the market,” she said.

“It is all about relationship. People work with you because they trust you.

As long as you are developing [and fulfilling] commitments, you will always be in business,” she pointed out.

In their first year of operation, Lobien disclosed that it exceeded their expectations as LRG received a lot of clients.

Fulfillment

Since she leads the company, Lobien can make faster decisions, talk directly to the client and conduct meetings in a flexible manner.

Lobien admitted being an entrepreneur presents different challenges. Right now, she is responsible for the whole company. But it is a rewarding experience for the Univeristy of the Philippines tourism graduate. “It is very rewarding because of the fact [that] you are able to employ people and help them grow their career,” she said.

Lobien said it is fulfilling to run a company, run it yourself and help it to be profitable.

In handling the pressures, Lobien said her husband and two children are there to relieve her of the daily grind of work, especially on Sundays when they have the chance to bond together as a family.

Young couple sips on frappé biz success with franchising

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n a country where a cup of good coffee is a favored staple that’s enjoyed almost any time of the day, it is no wonder that coffee shops, both big and small, have gained resounding success over the years. Among the brewing bunch, one particular coffee franchise—Farron Café owned by couple Farwa and Ronnel Hombre—has risen above expectations and competition in the coffee-on-the-go concept.

Farron Café’s brewing success is a mix of hardships and triumphs— a humble origin strengthened by the couple’s combined hard work and perseverance. An independent homegrown business that proudly brings simple “Filipino” taste to affordable, yet, premium quality line of signature blends, Farron Café’s inspiring story is one that proves how genuine passion, sacrifice, grit and ingenuity can empower a business— from starting out small to growing successfully by leaps and bounds.

No instant success

Prior to establishing Farron Café, its founder and CEO Ronnel was a young self-supporting student who had to stop schooling to assume various jobs to help augment their family’s finances. The universe may not have outright aligned to catapult Farron Café to succeed, but it had helped Farwa and Ronnel create their own destiny together. The young couple came up with the frappé business as a means to finance their studies—Ronnel for his masteral degree and Farwa for her nursing course.

“The trend among students then, particularly within the university belt area in Manila, were frappucino drinks from an international coffee brand. When you are holding a cup, it simply meant that you’re ‘in’ but it’s really expensive for many students like us then who can’t afford it all the time. So we thought, ‘why not make a localized version of this drink at a much cheaper price?’” recalled Ronnel.

After several trial and errors, and initial capital of only P50,000—combined money that Ronnel and Farwa raised from a personal loan from a

college professor and pawned jewelry—the first Farron Café branch, a food cart, was opened beside University of the East Manila in February of 2010. Offering hot and cold coffee, chocolate, and tea, Farron Café also carried frosty frappés that come in different flavors—Rocky Choco Snow, Mocha, Minty Choco, Cappuccino, Hazelnut, Cookies & Cream, Barraco and Coffee Jelly.

The cup that keeps on giving

In just 10 years, Farron Café has become a familiar name, and is making huge strides in many locations, serving up avid coffee lovers with value-formoney, unique and premium quality blends, and other beverages.

“Farron Café is not just selling frappés but we are selling experience to Filipino masses that can’t afford expensive beverages from foreign brands. Our three-year goals include setting up another 300 stores nationwide and to expand 100 stores internationally,” shared Ronnel.

Overflowing and blessed, Farron Café gives back by employing staff composed mostly of out-of-school youth (85 percent), physically challenged persons or PWDs (10 percent), little people (2 percent) and college graduates (3 percent).

While would-be coffee shop franchisees are eager to learn the secret to Farron Café’s success, Ronnel revealed that there is no fool-proof formula or shortcut to success. Instead, pursuing one’s goal with a strong motivation and clear growth objectives lead to one’s desired successful outcomes. For him, it all boils down to one’s ability to innovate products and services as a way of adapting to consumers’ evolving taste profiles and keeping customers satisfied and happy.

“Starting a business is difficult, and sustaining it is also a different story.

While the market preference and competition are becoming stiffer, you must have ingenuity to stay in the market.

It is not all about passion or diskarte factor to sustain your business. You need to know how you can scientifically, professionally and systematically run the business. Knowing the

parameters of your business, new strategy and new perspective then you can strategically grow your business,” said Ronnel.

Finding the right franchising partner

“For a small business venture like ours, we thought that tapping the services of a franchise consulting firm might cause us a big budget,” said Ronnel. “But we realized that if we want to make it big we need to make that first step.”

The Hombre couple made a short list of franchise consulting firms. It was Francorp that stood out with its credentials of having big brands in the country, such as Jollibee, Hap Chan, Bench and Tokyo Tokyo, as its clients.

They then knew that Francorp could make a big difference in their goal of expanding their brand to a wider reach.

“We know that Francorp can deliver but we are hesitant at first that our financial back may not support or match their rates,” Ronnel confessed.

“But destiny seemed to lead us to Francorp. Just when we are about to sign the contract with another franchising company, someone from Francorp called us up. We were surprised to learn that Francorp offers a scheme that made it easier for new businesses like Farron Café.”

In 2013, Farron Café formally inked up with Francorp for its franchise development needs.

Local flavor goes global

Apart from guts and creativity, the Farron Café CEO also attributed their coffee business’ success to their bold venture into franchising, and finding the right partner that provided them with strategies, systems and insights that helped grow their coffee vending business.

Overwhelmed by a strong following and demand, it didn’t take long for franchise inquiries to start pouring in, and which prompted the Hombre couple to consider franchising their start-up. To stir up Farron Cafe’s franchise concept to the next level, Ronnel has tapped Francorp as consulting firm in 2013.

Some 50 Aeta trainees hold aloft their certificates during the graduation ceremony of the Livelihood Training on Soap Making organized by Clark Development Corp. held at the Clark Skills and Training Center. As a result, the participants gained knowledge and skills that they may use to start a livelihood in the future. Photo courtesy of CDC

www.businessmirror.com.ph

CDC trains Aetas in soap making, entrepreneurship

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L ARK FREEPORT—Fifty Aeta trainees from communities near this free port recently completed the Livelihood Training on Soap Making organized

by Clark Development Corp. (CDC).

Through the state-owned firm’s External Affairs Division—Corporate Social Responsibility (EADCSR) program, the trainees finished the four-day training session aimed to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship to small- and mediumsized enterprises, and usher in more livelihood opportunities for residents in the contiguous areas of the free port.

Meanwhile, a culminating activity was also held to recognize the effort of the participants in completing the program. CDC President and Chief Executive Officer Noel F. Manankil with CDC Chairman Jose de Jesus cited the trainees for their commitment throughout the course of the program.

During the ceremony, CDC Vice President for Administration and Finance Mariza Mandocdoc also led the awarding of certificates of completion to the trainees.

CDC Director Nestor Villaroman Jr., CDC Assistant Vice President for External Affairs Rommel Narciso, and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Pampanga Provincial Director Elenita Ordoño were also present during the said event.

The DTI, likewise, supported the livelihood initiative while personnel from Natural Verde—a maker of natural handmade soap and shampoo bar—facilitated the training proper.

The trainees were taught to utilize natural ingredients and materials to create soap products using turmeric, oatmeal, malunggay and guava, among others.

Aside from the livelihood projects, CDC-EAD is also conducting various initiatives on health, employment, and other special projects and partnership which are all geared toward inclusive development.

Drone delivery service: Irish start-up Manna launches food-delivery test

I

n the suburbs of Dublin on a windy, overcast day in January, several alumni of Airbus and the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force watched as a flying object, shaped a bit like a crouching frog, hovered about 33 feet up in the air.

The craft, called MNA-1090, opened its cargo bay door, and lowered a package—about the size of a shoebox—to the ground on a string.

The robotics engineers who’d helped design the vehicle opened the carton, looked inside and smiled—the dozen-or-so pots of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream were still perfectly frozen.

In late March, customers on the outskirts of Dublin, far from the dense metropolises that make services, like Uber Eats and Deliveroo, viable in terms of revenue, will get to try ordering food and drink the same way.

Manna.aero built the MNA-1090 drone to be an airborne replacement for the human-and-bicycle formula by the world over by food-delivery apps, and is preparing to run a couple of hundred test flights per day over several weeks to lay the groundwork for a permanent service for small Irish towns. Ben & Jerry’s, UK food-delivery firm Just Eat plc and local Irish restaurant chain Camile Thai are signed up to participate in the pilot that will take place at the University College Dublin campus.

“In five years, it’s going to be the most normal thing you can imagine,” Manna chief executive officer Bobby Healy says.

If you live in a city, having a hot meal delivered to your doorstep in

under an hour has never been easier or cheaper. For about the price of a small coffee, a human being will cycle to a restaurant, collect your freshly baked pizza and bring it to your apartment.

Innovations in smartphones, mapping and gig-economy logistics have catalyzed growth of the sector, which research firm Frost & Sullivan estimates will be worth $200 billion by 2025.

But the margins are tiny for the companies handling the delivery, and the competition fierce. In October, Grubhub Inc. executives told shareholders they didn’t believe it was even possible to generate significant profit from food delivery. The cost of paying people to drive food around was just too much, they said.

Companies are looking for an alternative, and a roster of investors believe Healy might have a model that could work—a drones-as-aservice for restaurants and delivery apps.

Here’s how Healy said it will

work—Manna will partner with restaurants or food courts that have a high-throughput of orders and a small outdoor space to house a drone-loading team. The Manna craft itself is about the size of a computer printer and will carry meals weighing around 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in under three minutes, even in wind and rain.

Upon arriving at its destination, the drone will hover and wait for the customer to accept delivery using an app, having indicated when ordering exactly where they want their food to land on the lawn, an outdoor dining table or just in the driveway. The drone will descend and lower the food parcel that, Healy said, will still be “piping hot.”

Manna’s vehicle has been designed to travel for 100 million hours without a problem, Healy said in an interview. But, alongside space for three 10-inch pizzas, it also has a backup battery and two parachutes, just in case. Bloomberg News