BusinessMirror March 26, 2019 by BusinessMirror

GOVT RUSHES ORDER TO EASE CONGESTION IN PORTS, REGULATE HIGH SHIPPING FEES

HE government is rushing to conclude a joint administrative order (JAO) that will address port congestion and regulate high shipping fees, as it admitted the two issues are taking a toll on the country’s trading activities. Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the JAO will be issued in the next two weeks, and the government is just waiting for final inputs from stakeholders. The order, he explained, will include measures regulating fees charged by shipping lines, as well as stabilizing port utilization rate.

A TRAILER truck arrives at the Manila International Container Terminal in this 2018 BusinessMirror file photo. NONIE REYES

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“[The JAO] is still subjected to consultation, as stakeholders are still submitting their inputs [and we are awaiting them] so that we can finetune the order. We will be signing that hopefully within one week or two weeks. It should have been [issued] last week, but some stakeholders have yet to input,” Lopez said. “Hopefully, we can include in the JAO measures regulating fees charged by shipping lines. We hope to regulate that,” he added. Lopez stressed the importance of issuing the order as soon as possible, as port congestion left unad-

A broader look at today’s business n

Tuesday, March 26, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 167

Business groups push secondary water source

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

USINESS groups on Monday demanded that the government secure a secondary water source for Metro Manila so as not to repeat the ongoing shortage experienced in the capital and its surrounding areas. In a joint statement, business groups supported President Duterte’s directive to solve the water service interruption in the east zone concession within 150 days. They also lauded measures the government developed in

consultation with stakeholders, including water regulators and the two water concessionaires. “Accordingly, we are encouraged and confident that these interim measures will adequately resolve the water shortage and bring relief

to consumers in the shortest possible time,” the statement read. “For the longer term, the resoluteness manifested by the Duterte administration in undertaking solutions to ensure sustainable supply of raw water is most encouraging.

The private water concessionaires, being accountable for rendering water service to the public, should be allowed the option to provide raw water supply for their respective zones.” —Business groups’ statement

In this regard, the private water concessionaires, being accountable for rendering water service to the public, should be allowed the option to provide raw water supply for their respective zones,” it added. See “Business groups,” A2

PHL still an FDI laggard in region HE Philippines is still one of the countries with the lowest inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) in 2018, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. With only about $9.8 billion in FDI net inflows in 2018, the Philippines sits at the third to the last out of 10 Asian countries that the BSP is tracking in terms of economic indicators. FDI is the type of investment that is often more coveted, as it stays longer in the economy and creates job opportunities for locals. It is also not easily pulled out of the market unlike its shorter-term counterpart, the foreign portfolio investments. The Philippines only outranks Malaysia and Taiwan as the worst performers in terms of FDI inflows in 2018: Malaysia with $8.57 billion, while Taiwan with about $7 billion for 2018. The rest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-5 proceeded with tens of billions in FDI during the year.

DIFFERENT products from coconut are on display at the 1st World Coconut Congress in 2018 at the SMX Convention Center. Philippine officials are hoping to introduce Eastern Europeans to the wonders of the coconut, in a bid to promote other coconut-based items as world prices of copra continue to decline. PHOTO FROM WORLD COCONUT CONGRESS FACEBOOK ACCOUNT

PHL pushing agri products in Eastern Europe By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

ANILA is keen on gaining a stronger foothold in Eastern European markets where Philippine farm products, such as coconut oil and mangoes, are popular. The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Belarus has expressed openness in importing local farm products, which the Philippines will showcase in an ag-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.5390

ricultural expo in Minsk in June. The agricultural goods include green coconuts, coconut oil, coconut water, canned tunas, dried fish, bananas, pineapples, coffee and abaca handicrafts, among others. “This will be the biggest participation by the Philippines in an Eastern European Agricultural Expo since President Rody Duterte started engaging with Russia and the other countries of the former Soviet Union,” Agriculture

Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in a Facebook post on Monday. “While Belarus only has a population of 10 million, it is considered the gateway to the rest of the Eastern European market,” he added. Piñol admitted that it’s difficult to market coconut products, particularly coconut oil, to the Eastern Europeans since they have been accustomed to using olive oil and sunflower oil. See “Agri products,” A2

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

President Duterte has a soft heart for the needy Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

RESIDENT Erap who turns 82 on April 19 has already received the most treasured birthday gift after he reconciled with his son, Senator JV. It must be recalled that the two had a falling out when Senator JV left the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, the political party founded by his father, to run for his reelection under the Nationalist People’s Coalition of Mr. Danding Cojuangco. Earlier, Senator JV and his half-brother, former Senator Jinggoy, had already appeared together in political rallies sponsored by the parties loyal to the President. I believe that they all need each other to succeed in their respective political quests. The family that stays together wins together. It also demonstrates once and for all that politics is thicker than blood. Continued on A11

Pag-IBIG Fund gives out ₧28.23B in dividends to members in 2018

@BcuaresmaBM

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By Rea Cu

By Bianca Cuaresma

See “FDI,” A2

See “Ports,” A2

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dressed could slow down the economy, particularly trading activities. “Yes, of course [there is an impact on the] cost of money, the cost also of charges being made. For any delay in the turnaround time of the trucks, that has a cost, too. These are the causes of higher costs, that is why we want to solve this. We need smoother operations [at our ports],” Lopez said. The JAO, he added, also has measures aimed at stabilizing yard utilization rate of Manila ports between 60 percent and 65 percent.

@ReaCuBM

HE Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) has reported it was able to provide dividends of P28.23 billion in 2018 for its members, a figure that is 86 percent of its 2018 net income of P33.17 billion. In a statement on Monday, the Pag-IBIG Fund said that P28.23 billion was provided to members as the agency reported its highest net income ever recorded last year, of P33.17 billion. The dividends comprise 86 percent of the total net income for the year, with the dividend rate at 6.91 percent for members enrolled under its regular Pag-IBIG savings program and 7.41 percent for those under the Modified Pag-IBIG II program (MP2). “You can count on Pag-IBIG Fund to sustain its efforts in line with strengthening the fund because this is the service which we can offer our members,” said Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees Chairman Eduardo D. del Rosario. The high dividends turnout simply means that Pag-IBIG fund members’ savings are able to grow faster. Member savings for the year also reported an increase of 11 percent, or P40.27 billion coming from P36.27 billion in 2017. The net income of Pag-IBIG Fund for 2018 of P33.17 billion is 10 percent higher from the 2017 level of P30.27 billion, with the agency be-

“Pag-IBIG Fund’s success story in 2018 is built on the trust and support of its members. Because of our members’ trust, they continuously avail of Pag-IBIG programs and ensure timely payment of their loans, which result in Pag-IBIG Fund’s strong and stable financial position.”—Moti

ing able to sustain its double-digit growth in the last five years. Pag-IBIG Fund CEO Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti said high collections of loan amortizations and operational efficiencies pushed income to record-breaking levels. In 2018, home loan payments reached P55.73 billion with the growth attributed to the agency’s high-performing loans ratio (PLR) of 90.26 percent, meaning 9 out of 10 borrowers are paying their housing loan obligations with PagIBIG Fund religiously. Also, cash loan payments totaled P53.21 billion in 2018. “Pag-IBIG Fund’s success story in 2018 is built on the trust and support of its members. Because of our members’ trust, they continuously avail of Pag-IBIG programs and ensure timely payment of their loans, which result in Pag-IBIG Fund’s strong and stable financial position,” Moti said. Total assets of the agency also grew 9 percent to P533.72 billion by end of 2018, from P488.74 billion in 2017.

n JAPAN 0.4780 n UK 69.4461 n HK 6.6953 n CHINA 7.8206 n SINGAPORE 38.8602 n AUSTRALIA 37.1713 n EU 59.3481 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.0112

Source: BSP (25 March 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, March 26, 2019

ERC sets feed-in-tariff for 2018 at ₧0.2226/kWh

By Lenie Lectura

₧0.2932/kWh

@llectura

HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved a feed-in-tariff allowance (FiT-All) of P0.2226 per kilowatt-hour, lower than the proposed P0.2932 per kWh application of the National Transmission Corp. (Transco). FiT-All is billed to all on-grid electricity consumers, which appears as a separate line item in power distributors’ bills. The amount is meant to cover payments to renewable-energy (RE) developers who are assured of a fixed rate per kWh for electricity generated by their projects over a period of 20 years. Transco is the administrator of the FiT-All fund. It manages the FiT-All rate that is used to pay the eligible RE developers under the FiT system. In its decision, the ERC authorized Transco to collect a FiTAll rate for 2018 equivalent to P0.2226/kWh, lower by P0.0706/

Agri products. . .

The proposed feed-in-tariff of Transco for 2018

kWh than what Transco asked for. The approved amount is also lower than what consumers are currently paying for which is P0.2563/kWh FiT-All rate. “The ERC-approved FiT-All is lower vis-à-vis Transco’s proposed rate, and will reflect a P0.0337/ kWh reduction from the current P0.2563/kWh FiT-All rate. The variance is attributed to the discrepancy in the plant capacities used by Transco and ERC in computing for the FiT-All, among others,” said ERC Chairman and CEO Agnes VST Devanadera. The ERC used as basis the capacity of FiT-eligible plants with approved Certificate of Compliance

Continued from A1

He added that Belarus Deputy Agricultural Minister Ivan Shiltin told him that coconut products are “totally new” to Belarus. “He suggested that a more aggressive marketing effort be initiated by the Philippine government to convince Eastern European consumers of the health benefits of coconut and its many products, including coconut sugar, syrup, flour and virgin oil,” Piñol said. The opening of new markets for coconut products is part of the measures by the government to raise local copra prices by reducing the glut in the domestic market through exports. The Philippines will join over 20 other countries in the BelAgro Festival slated from June 4 to 9 to display the countries’ respective top agricultural and fisheries products. Furthermore, the DA is eyeing to partner with local broadcasting companies in Eastern European markets to intensify its information campaign on Philippine farm products.

Mangoes IN a related development, the country is expected to make an initial shipment of Guimaras mangoes to Moscow by first week of April, Piñol said. Piñol added that the DA intends to market Philippine mangoes according to their variety and province of origin with the Guimaras produce being the premium product. “Eastern Europe is eagerly awaiting the first shipment of mangoes from the Philippines, especially the world-famous and iconic Guimaras Mango,” he said. “Those from Zambales and Pangasinan will also be labeled according to the name of the provinces, while those from Cebu, Iloilo, Davao and Cotabato will also carry the name of the provinces,” he added. Piñol said mangoes in Eastern Europe are being sold at P1,000 apiece, and they “are not even half as sweet as the Philippine mango.” “The entry of the sweet Philippine mango into the Russian and Belarusian markets could radically change the preference of consumers in Eastern Europe,” he said. Piñol said the Philippine delegation started its marketing campaign in the 180-million population Eastern European markets last Friday with various engagements between different government officials and members of the private sector.

Investment BELARUS-BASED Minsk Tractor Works (MTW) has signified interest to invest in the Philippines by putting up a farm machinery assembly plant, Piñol said. The Belarusian firm made the pronouncement during a bilateral talk with the Philippine delegation headed by the DA. Piñol said MTW expressed their investment interest after getting assurances that the Philippine government will ensure ease of doing business in the country without any corruption. “It has not penetrated the Philippine market in spite of previous attempts, however, because of the tedious government procurement process in the past, according to Alexandre Badytchyk, deputy head of the commercial department of [MTW],” he said. “Assured that the Duterte administration has initiated a campaign to check corruption in government, especially in the procurement of equipment, machinery and supplies, Minsk Tractor Works officials said they will immediately send a delegation to the Philippines to scout for possible local distributors,” he added.

(COC) in computing the FiT-All as against Transco’s projected FiTeligible plants for 2018, including plants with nomination from the Department of Energy (DOE). Other discrepancies include the FiT rates and the cost recovery rate, which both contributed to the discrepancy in the FIT-All computation. “The new FiT-All rate shall be charged to all on-grid consumers supplied with electricity through the distribution or transmission network starting the immediately succeeding billing period following Transco’s receipt of the ERC decision,” Devanadera said. “This reduction in the FiT-All will mitigate the impact of the impending increase in rates due to the expected increase in electric power demand and dwindling power supply in the coming summer months,” she added. Distribution utilities, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, and Retail Electricity Suppliers serve as collecting agents, and the

Water shortages. . .

proceeds go to the FiT-All Fund being administered by Transco. The FiT-All mechanism was established pursuant to the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 which aims to spur the development of emerging renewable power sources, such as wind, solar, run-of-river hydro and biomass facilities. Early this month, Transco revised its earlier application to collect from consumers a FiT-All for 2019. The state firm in July last year filed for approval of the FiT-All for 2019 at the rate of P0.2780 per kWh hour. Transco has recomputed the FiT-All rate to P0.2471 per kWh. Transco said the revision was necessary since all data became available after its July 2018 filing. “Since the actual application was filed in July 2018, only the eligible RE plants’ actual billing data invoiced to the FiT-All fund up to May 2018, and forecasts were used to compute the said FiT-All rate. The actual billing data for the year 2018 of eligible RE plants is already available. Thus, Transco has recomputed the FiT-All for the year 2019,” it said in its manifestation filed with the ERC.

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China can dictate loan terms, insists Panelo Continued from A12

Last Friday, Carpio warned that China can seize “patrimonial assets and assets dedicated to commercial use”of the Philippine government, including the gas fields in the Reed Bank that are within the Philippine exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea. Patrimonial assets refer to those owned by the State in its private or proprietary capacity, such as those that are not intended for public use, or for some public service, or for the development of the national wealth. Under Article 8, paragraph 8.1 of the loan agreement on the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, the Philippines “irrevocably waives any immunity on

Hanjin. . .

Continued from A12

One of the contractors, Greenbeach, was able to rehire 200 displaced workers after it was tapped by HHICC-Phil for the maintenance of its 300-hectare grounds in Subic.

Pending petition

FIFTY-THREE of the affected contractual workers, who are members of the Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Hanjin Shipyard (Samahan), continue to reject the simultaneous termination orders issued on March 1 by respective contractors, saying they would still want to directly work for either HHICC-Phil or the company which will take over its shipyard in Subic. Samahan President Efren Vinluan insists HHICC-Phil still has two ships, which are still undergoing construction, and four more in the pipeline. He said they could also help in maintaining its grounds.

the grounds of sovereign or otherwise for itself or its property in connection with any arbitration proceeding.” The exceptions cited under the agreement include those assets used by a diplomatic or consular mission of the Republic of the Philippines, those assets of a military character and under control of a military authority or defense agency of the Republic of the Philippines and those assets located in the Philippines and dedicated to a public or governmental use. Aside from waiver of immunity provision, Carpio has also raised alarm over the questionable terms of arbitration and the confidentiality clause under the agreement.

“We are asking DOLE to endorse our letter [containing our request] to Hanjin or the new company [which will take over its shipyard],” Vinluan said. Benavidez said they are perplexed why Samahan members would still want to be employed by HHICC-Phil despite the uncertain outcome of its rehabilitation. Currently, HHICC-Phil has already ceased all of its ship-building operations due to lack of funding. And even if a new player starts operating the HHICC-Phil shipyard, Benavidez said there is no guarantee it will absorb the 53 workers.

Management discretion

NEVERTHELESS, he said they are willing to respect the wishes of the Samahan workers to endorse their letter. “I will first speak with Usec. [Ana] Dione about it. Then it will be a simply matter of forwarding their letter [to HHICC-Phil] that their employment be considered,” Benavidez said.

Continued from A12

Not just livelihood

MEANWHILE, economists sucht as University of Asia and the Pacific School of Economics Dean Cid Terosa told BusinessMirror that the impact of the water crisis on the poor will not only be in terms of their livelihood. Terosa explained that with the lack of water, health of both poor and rich Filipinos are threatened. But the poor may be hardest hit considering that health expenses are considered “shocks”that could send people back to or deeper into poverty. “It can make it difficult for the poor to have more time for productive activity that will help lift them out of poverty, since they have to spend time looking for or storing water. Also, when they become sick or suffer from poor health their meager income falls further. They will have a more miserable life,” Terosa said. Out-of-pocket health expenses of Filipino households have been on the rise. Household out-of-pocket (OOP) payment posted P372.8 billion or 54.5 percent of Current Health Expenditures (CHE) in 2017. This was followed by government schemes and compulsory contributory health-care financing schemes at P225.9 billion or 33 percent. Voluntary health-care payment schemes contributed P85.7 billion or 12.5 percent. More than half of OOP amounting to P186.6 or 50.1 percent went to pharmacies. Private general hospitals came in second at P97.5 billion or 26.1 percent; followed by providers of ambulatory health care at P50.3 billion or 13.5 percent. PSA data showed that per-capita health spending of Filipinos in 2017 grew by 6.3 percent to P6,791. In real terms, per-capita health expenditure of Filipinos amounted to P6,090. In these cases, Terosa said the government is forced to

FDI. . .

Continued from A1

Topping the list for the Asean-5 was Singapore with $81.85 billion in net inflow of FDI for the year, followed by Indonesia’s $20.17 billion and Thailand’s $12.46 billion. Other Asian economies also did well for the year. India’s FDI hit $32 billion for the first three quarters of the year, while China’s FDI hit $150.84 billion in the January to September period last year. South Korea’s FDI was at $14.48 billion for 2018. Even Vietnam’s net FDI inflow for the first three quarters of the year was already higher than the Philippines’ inflows for the rest of 2018, which was at $10.62 billion. The Philippines’ 2018 FDI print is $600 million short of the government’s FDI projection for the year, which was at $10.4 billion. Security Bank Chief Economist Robert Dan Roces told the BusinessMirror that while a global decline in FDI was at play in 2018, a lot of other factors account for the refusal of foreign investors to put their money for the long haul in the Philippines. “First, the drop in PH FDI in 2018 reflected the decline in global FDI which was on the downturn in the past two years. This was exacerbated by slower global growth and the US-China trade war, as well as Brexit; these international headwinds serve to dampen foreign investor’s mood,” Roces said. “These events are temporary and are all exogenous.”

step in and extend much-needed health interventions to help the poor cope. This may also place more pressure on the government’s finances. “Aside from meeting our physical need, water is associated with good sanitary conditions and consequently health. Indeed, water scarcity impacts material well-being, as it can affect health,” Terosa said. For his part, Action for Economic Reform (AER) Coordinator Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III told the BusinessMirror, however, that the plight of not just the poor are affected by the artificial water shortage. Sta. Ana said, nonetheless, that the situation has not reached “crisis proportions” such as in the case of Cape Town, South Africa, which experienced a water crisis that crippled its economy in 2018. What is important at this point, Sta. Ana said, is to prepare for the medium term. This means facing the challenges posed by a growing population and finite resources. “The fact is, demand for water is growing with increase in population, increase in income, increase in consumption. New sources of water are necessary at the sane time that consumers must become all the more conscious about conserving water,” Sta. Ana said. PSA Small Area Estimates (SAE) data showed that poverty incidence in cities in Metro Manila was the highest in Port Area in the City of Manila at 10 percent, followed by Navotas at 6 percent; Malabon, 3.8 percent; Tondo, 3.1 percent; and San Nicolas in Manila, 3 percent. The franchise area of Manila Water, which experienced water interruptions, include Mandaluyong, Marikina, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Makati and parts of Quezon City and Manila. Locally, however, the Security Bank economist pointed out that there is still a lot to be done if the Philippines wants to up its game in terms of levelling up FDI inflows to the tune of the region’s pace. He cited restrictive investment environment as a main hindrance to higher FDIs to the Philippines. “Thus, reforms must be able to produce an environment that’s encouraging to foreign investors,” Roces said, particularly citing better transportation infrastructure and logistics capability. “FDI are sensitive to transport and logistics, so these are chief considerations. Obviously, traffic is a problem, port congestion is a problem—these all signal our infra and logistical incapacity to foreign investors,”the bank economist said. Towards the end of 2018, manufacturers—through the monthly PMI survey -—voiced their concern over the port congestion in Manila, saying delays considerably worsened the delivery times. Also, in the third quarter of last year, the BSP’s Business Expectations Survey (BES) of businesses involved in exporting activities reflected concern over the disruption in normal operations, resulting from annual plant overhauling and port congestion issues. “This is why projects in potential growth areas such as Clark are important, for instance – an airport, you have a world-class port area in Subic, you have enough space to support the industrial complex around the area. Government must be able to develop the necessary infrastructure to decongest Manila, for example and even Cebu, to exhort more FDI,” he added.

Business groups. . . Secondary source

BUSINESS groups, however, were firm the government has to secure a secondary water source for Metro Manila. Metro Manila sources 96 percent of its water supply from Angat Dam. Concessionaire Manila Water exhausted its allocation in Angat Dam of 1,600 millions liters per day, and was prompted therefore to utilize the La Mesa Dam supposedly used for reserves. “Looking to the future, we also need to secure a secondary water source to address the growing needs of Metro Manila and its surrounding areas,” the statement read. Businesses also defended the privatization of water service. They argued the interruption over the past weeks “is not a total failure of the system” and “that water service in Metro Manila has vastly improved in almost two decades since the service was privatized.” They concluded many lessons can be picked up from the crisis that hit the capital, and hoped these will be used as basis for crafting ways

Ports. . .

Continued from A1

As of March 4, the yard-utilization rate of the Port of Manila was down to 64 percent, according to the Bureau of Customs. Further, the number of laden and empty containers fell to 78 percent and 47 percent, respectively. This was better than the port situation in the first week of January, when the yard-utilization rate was at 98 percent and the numbers of laden and empty containers were at 100 percent and 93 percent, accordingly. The trade chief pinned his hopes on the expectation that, once issued, the JAO will resolve concerns raised by stakeholders, par ticularly the expor t sector tr ying to rebound this year after enduring a 1.8-percent decline in receipts last year. He said once all inputs are assessed and considered, the JAO will be out. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed exports last year declined 1.8 percent to $67.48 billion from $68.71 billion in 2017, which exporters traced to the virtual trade war between the United States and China, record-high inflation in September and October, among others. Exporters are trying to rebound this year,

Continued from A1

to better the service and avert a similar crisis in the future. The joint statement was signed by the A merican Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Asia Pacific Real Estate Association, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Foundation for Economic Freedom and the Institute of Corporate Directors. The Management Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants also inked the statement. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) last week demanded more accountability from Manila Water for its failure to prevent and subsequently manage the water shortage in Metro Manila. In a strongly worded statement, the PCCI said the economic impact of the water crisis should not be swept under the rug. The group said many businesses had to shut down or limit their operations, and services were disrupted due the water shortage. but figures did not favor them during the first month. PSA data reported exports in January fell 1.7 percent to $5.27 billion from $5.37 billion during the same month in 2018. The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) last Friday called on the government to roll out those immediately doable measures that will assist the sector recovery, including the issuance of the JAO. Philexport President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. argued that it is urgent for the government to resolve the problems holding back the export sector from recovering. Regulating shipping charges and decongesting the ports—both of which are main components of the JAO—will certainly help exporters, Ortiz-Luis added. “Other than the external factors, which we do not have control of, what really obviously hurts are so many big and small domestic growth hurdles and issues that keep recurring because the fundamentals are simply not in order,” Ortiz-Luis said. The JAO is crafted by several government agencies headed by the Department of Trade and Industry. It was one of the DTI’s commitments at a logistics summit in December 2018, identifying measures to lower shipping costs and hasten trade operations. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

The Nation BusinessMirror

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Tayabas police chief, two others charged in gun slay of mayor’s son

PNP girds for election-related violence as campaign for local polls draws near

RIMINAL charges have been filed against the police chief of Tayabas, and two of his men, while another police official was also arrested in the continuing campaign of the Philippine National Police to rid its ranks of undesirables, PNP chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde said. Murder charges, the PNP chief added, were filed against Police Lt. Col. Mark Joseph S. Laygo, former chief of police of Tayabas City Police Station, and his subordinates Police Cpl. Lonald Sumalpong and Patrolman Robert Legaspi. Laygo and his two men were charged over the death of the son of Sariaya, Quezon, Mayor Marcelo Gayeta during an alleged shootout on March 14, 2019, in Tayabas after the victim, along with a companion allegedly fired on a gasoline station in the town. Police Regional Office 4-A under chief Police Brig. Gen. Edward Carranza has since relieved all the members of the Tayabas City police following the incident. “The city prosecutor has upheld the continuous restrictive custody of the three PNP personnel in Camp Dolor, Candelaria, Quezon, until further ordered by the court,” Albayalde said during

a news briefing on Monday. The PNP chief also announced the arrest of Police Captain Gerry Manuel Revecho, chief of the ID production section of the Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (Sosia) for alleged irregularities. Revecho was arrested at around 2:10 p.m. on Friday during an entrapment operation by operatives of the Counter Intelligence Task Force, Civil Security Group, and Intelligence Group inside the Sosia office in Camp Crame after he allegedly received P20,000 marked money from a CITF agent who posed as representative of a security agency in exchange for the expeditious processing of ID cards of 32 security guards. Aside from criminal charges for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Anti-Red Tape Act, Revecho will also face administrative cases for his actions. “Internal cleansing is not a product but a process, and it will continue on as a normal command function to ensure that the good name of the PNP is not tarnished by the unclean actions of a few, similar to what we uncovered recently in the Drug Enforcement Units of Eastern Police District and Pasay City Police Station,” Albayalde said . Rene Acosta

‘ICC case vs China’s Xi mere political statement rather than true legal action’

DOJ chief: No final decision yet on NBP facility transfer

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday branded as mere “political statement” rather than a “true legal action” the complaint filed by two former Philippine government officials before the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Chinese President Xi Jinping for his alleged crimes against humanity in relation to the current South China Sea dispute. Guevarra, likewise, expressed belief that the complaint filed by former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario was not intended to secure a favorable judgment but only “to impress upon China that if the Philippine government is now willing to vigorously assert its West Philippine Sea arbitration victory at this time [and] there are Filipinos who are unwilling to defer further action to enforce the arbitral ruling.” “Let me explain that making a political statement is not the same as doing [a] partisan, politically motivated act. Private citizens or groups can say or do something to influence public opinion or affect state action pertaining to matters of public interest, but not necessarily aligning themselves with mainstream political aggrupations in the partisan sense,” Guevarra stated. Earlier, the Palace said the filing of the complaint may be a “futile exercise” on the part of the two former government officials considering that the ICC has no jurisdiction over China. It also expressed optimism that the complaint would not affect diplomatic ties between the two countries. However, del Rosario and Carpio-Morales insisted that the ICC has jurisdiction over the “atrociously inhumane actions” of Chinese officials in the contested waterway as it occurred “within Philippine territory.” It can be recalled that the Philippine government officially withdrew its signature to the Rome Statute on March 16, 2018. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established ICC. President Duterte announced its decision after the ICC’s chief prosecutor launched a preliminary examination into the alleged crimes against humanity allegedly committed by President Duterte and his men in connection with his bloody campaign against illegal drugs. Joel R. San Juan

By Joel R. San Juan

By Rene Acosta

“Based on the latest validated information of election watchlist of areas, we have identified a total of 941 election hot spots that comprise 57.60 percent of the 1,634 cities and municipalities nationwide,” PNP chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde said during a news briefing on Monday. Of the number, 131 towns and cities are in “yellow” category or areas of concern, 238 are in “orange” list or areas of immediate concern, and 570 are in “red” or “election

@jrsanjuan1573

The total PNP count of election hot spots that comprise 57.60 percent of the 1,634 cities and municipalities nationwide

areas of grave concern.” Two areas, the cities of Cotabato in Mindanao and Daraga in Albay, have been placed under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Albayalde said that since the Comelec has already placed the entire Mindanao under the red category, all the 454 cities and municipalities of the 27 provinces in the six regions of Mindanao are now listed as election areas of grave concern. “Across the country, there are

570 areas under the red category. As such, the Comelec may, upon further evaluation of the prevailing security situation, place any of these areas under its control,” he said. As of March 20, 118 red areas were identified in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 93 areas in Northern Mindanao, 73 areas in Caraga region, 72 in Zamboanga Peninsula, 49 areas each in Davao region and Soccsksargen, 45 areas in Eastern Visayas, 28 areas in the Cordil-

lera region, 21 areas in Bicol region, five areas in Calabarzon, four areas each in Central Luzon and Western Visayas, two areas in Cagayan Valley and one area in Central Visayas. Albayalde said the PNP will intensify its operations in order to ensure a more peaceful and orderly elections. “March 29 is the start of campaign period for local candidates and our focused police operations will be intensified against private armed groups, criminal gangs, wanted persons, gun for hire groups,” he said. The same level of operation would also be conducted against loose firearms and violation of Comelec gun ban, and on the implementation of service of warrant of arrest, check point, police patrol and response, and apprehension. “Based on historical data of previous elections, election-related incidents resulting from intense political rivalry are expected to escalate during this period,” Albayalde said.

Negros Island rebel leader, two others arrested in Laguna raid

COMBINED team of police and military intelligence agents arrested on Sunday the highest rebel leader in Negros Island, his wife and another rebel in a law-enforcement operation in Laguna. Brig. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, commander of the Army’s 202nd Brigade, who has operational jurisdiction over the area, identified the three as Frank Fernandez, 71, alias Ago, his wife Cleofe Lagtapon, alias Guia, 66, and Geen-Ann Canedo Perez, 20. Fernandez is a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in the peace talks with the government that has been permanently scuttled by President Duterte in 2017 through a proclamation order. Last week, the President also terminated the appointment of the fiveman government panel to the national negotiations, which is headed by Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, saying the peace talks will now be moved in the local level through the military. At a news briefing on Monday, National Police chief General Oscar D. Albayalde said that recovered from Fernandez and the two others during the operation were a .45 caliber pistol, three magazines for .45 and three hand grenades. Two sling bags, a blue backpack, rebel document, articles and notes, and

Give Angkas a chance to operate amid transport crisis–Abakada

941

@reneacostaBM

ORE than half of the cities and municipalities across the country have been listed as election hot spots based on the continuous validation by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra has vowed to look into reports that utilities around New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) premises have been cut off allegedly to give way for the privatization of the country’s penitentiary in Muntinlupa. Guevarra issued the statement after around 600 residents of the NBP led by the Kalipunan ng Mamamayan na Pinagkaisa sa NBP Inc. held a protest gathering and sought for a dialogue with city officials to express their opposition to the implementation of the so-called NBP Master Development Plan by the Bureau of Corrections which aims to privatize the 366.7 hectare land for mixed-used projects. Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon has reportedly issued a 15-day “notice to vacate” to residents to give way for the project. The NBP administration has reportedly cut water and electricity services in some of the areas at the NBP. Likewise, construction materials have also been prohibited to enter the compound, and that construction material stores in the area have been ordered closed. Guevarra, however, stated that there is still no final decision on the transfer of NBP. Residents are appealing to the government to give them the land that they have been occupying through an affordable housing project. “No final decision yet on transfer of NBP [to a] possible new location. There are at least three options under consideration. Will check on reported cutting off of utilities,” Guevarra said. The BuCor, which is under the DOJ, has been planning to transfer the prison facility to Laur, Nueva Ecija, as part of the modernization plan, including the regionalization of BuCor prison facilities.

HE Abakada Party-list is supporting calls to allow Angkas to operate on the streets, and provide commuters an alternative and affordable mode of transport amid the persistent transportation crisis affecting the masses. According to Abakada Partylist Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz, the public needs an efficient alternative to transport services that impose heavy add-ons, and surge on fare prices because of the traffic, which further increases the financial pressure on working-class Filipinos. “We should not generalize motorcycles as [traffic] violators because of the reputation generated by a few lawbreakers. Rather, let us seriously consider that they may be the solution to the worsening traffic conditions that are plaguing our commuters who need to get where they need to be without making their time hostage to the traffic,” he said.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, March 26, 2019 A3

De la Cruz added that in order to ensure that the Angkas motorcycles will abide by the terms of their permit to operate, they must be required to complete an extensive training on passenger safety and road etiquette to ensure that they understand the weight of their role in passenger transport.

three mobile phones were also taken from them. Albayalde said that Fernandez, a native of Barangay Ilaya, Dumanjug, Cebu City, is the NDFP chairman and spokesman of the communist in Negros, and is also the regional deputy secretary for organization. He is also known with his aliases as Frank, Tatay, Uloy, Pidong and Andot. Albayalde said his wife, Lagtapon, who is also known with her alias as Ella, Pidang and Emay, is a native of Negros Occidental and is the NDFP’s regional deputy secretary for communication and education for Negros. She had also served as the group’s regional deputy secretary for finance. On the other hand, Perez, alias Angie, is a native of Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, and is the regional communications staff of the communist group in Negros. “The three were arrested during a service of warrant operation carried out by a composite team from Laguna PPO [Provincial Police Office] and 202nd Brigade, PA [Philippine Army] in Barangay Calumpang, Liliw, Laguna, at 5:16 a.m. yesterday, Sunday,” Albayalde said. An official statement from the 2nd Infantry Division, however, said the three were arrested in the town of Nagcarlan, also in Laguna, by police

and military intelligence agents, and members of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency. Burgos said that Fernandez, his wife and Perez were the targets of the servicing of warrants of arrest for various charges, including murder. “The law enforcement operation was triggered by the information given by one of their NPA [New People’s Army] comrades as to their current location which was subsequently validated by locals from Nagcarlan who became suspicious of their actions,” Burgos said. Rights group Karapatan said Fernandez and his wife were in Laguna to seek medical treatment as it scored the police and military for hiding the three, which they said, are entitled to assistance and visitations, especially from lawyers. The military said Fernandez is a former Roman Catholic priest who was enticed by the NPA ideology in the 1980s and became actively involved in the killing of state agents through assassinations, particularly in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental. “Father Frank is also allegedly primarily responsible in the ambush that resulted in the death of Guihulngan’s chief of police sometime July 2017, as well as the ambush perpetrated against soldiers early this year,” the 2nd ID said in a news statement. Rene Acosta

A4 Tuesday, March 26, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

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Oil firms expected to hike fuel pump prices for 7th consecutive week By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

UEL pump prices are expected to rise for the seventh consecutive week on Tuesday mainly due to developments in the world oil market.

Oil firms announced a P0.65 per liter increase in gasoline prices effective 6 a.m. on Monday, March 26. Diesel and kerosene prices, on the other hand, will go up by P0.10 per liter, respectively.

PetroGazz, PTT Philippines, Eastern Petroleum, Unioil Philippines, Seaoil Philippines and Pilipinas Shell said they will implement their price adjustment at 6 a.m. of Tuesday. Gasoline prices since February 4 had

gone up by a total of P6.15 per liter. Other oil firms are expected to follow suit. Most oil firms adjust their prices every Tuesday morning. The Department of Energy (DOE) said recent world events have once

again caused the increase of oil prices in the local market, citing the continuing decline of oil production by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as by countries outside of Opec. Saudi Arabia, with its large contributiontoworldoilsupply, has steadily reduced its crude oil production by 336,000 barrels per day this March, bringing the total Opec reduction to around 1.6 million barrels per day as of March 2019. Further

cuts on exported crude oil from Saudi Arabia are expected in April 2019, with the announced reduction of an additional 635,000 barrels per day. Actions by the United States, with the imposed sanctions on Venezuela and Iran have also affected world oil prices, including the impending Iran export waiver expiring in April, affecting a further reduction of crude oil supply by around 1.1 million barrels per day. This has already resulted in recent cuts of US oil reserves, causing the overall increase in crude prices.

EU protects whistle-blowers; why doesn’t the Philippines? By Henry J. Schumacher

ISTORY was made in the EU this week when the European Parliament and EU Council agreed a groundbreaking piece of legislation that will help protect whistle-blowers around Europe. This political agreement means that the EU will have dedicated legislation in this area for the first time. EU negotiators in Strasbourg on Tuesday passed a law that protects European whistle-blowers who report breaches of EU law, including fraud, tax evasion, corruption, cartel-like behavior or data breaches. The EU Commission proposed a “whistle-blower protection directive” in April 2018, citing scandals like Dieselgate, the Panama Papers, or the Cambridge Analytica data breach, which were uncovered by whistle-blowers. “Whistle-blowers deserve support and protection from the moment they decide to blow the whistle,” said the Commission’s Justice Department. “Great news that we have approval for EU-wide rules on whistle-blower protection.” Legal issues involving whistle-blowers in the EU are currently handled through the judicial system of individual countries. By creating an EU-wide standard, the commission said, that “safe channels for reporting both within organizations and to public authorities” will be established.

Protecting against retaliation

THE lead negotiator, French Member of the European Parliament Virginie Roziere, said on Twitter on Tuesday that negotiators had to “battle for the final text” of the law to “live up to the expectations of citizens.” “Our work was to identify the states which opposed external channels and make them stand up to their responsibilities before citizens and NGOs,” she wrote. In negotiating the details of the law, Luxembourg, Ireland and Hungary wanted tax issues to be exempt from the whistle-blowing protection regime, but Germany, France and Italy insisted that they be included. Details of the law include protection mechanisms like clear and confidential reporting channels within and outside of organizations. The directive will establish a three-tier reporting system encompassing internal reporting channels, reporting to competent authorities and channels for reporting fraud to the media in case “no appropriate action” is taken, or in case of “imminent or clear danger to the public interest or irreversible damage.” The directive also forbids “all forms of retaliation” against whistle-blowers and would provide access to “free advice and adequate remedies,” in such cases.

‘A fighting chance’

TRANSPARENCY advocates in Europe have criticized the lack of legal protection for individuals who report fraud. Such cases include the 2012 prosecution of two whistle-blowers in Luxembourg who leaked information about corporations conducting illegal tax deals. The whistle-blower advocacy group, Whistleblowing International Network, said on Twitter after the law was announced that “whistle-blowers in Europe have a fighting chance to survive when they speak up for our interests and for our democracy.”

And in the Philippines?

A NUMBER of business organizations, including the Joint Foreign Chambers and the Integrity Initiative Inc., have encouraged both Houses of Congress for many years to approve various bills that have been filed to protect whistleblowers. Unfortunately, we were not successful so far in convincing lawmakers that whistle-blowers are needed to report breaches of Philippine laws and regulations, including fraud, tax evasion, corruption, cartel-like behavior or data breaches. Given the new EU law, it is hoped that lawmakers in the Philippines get encouraged to pass whistle-blower protection legislation here, too. As a result, the proposed Philippine legislation will give much greater protection to individuals who come forward when they encounter corruption or other illegal activity in the workplace. It will also provide all employers in the Philippines with greater legal certainty around their rights and obligations. For feedback, please e-mail Schumacher@eitsc.com.

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Tuesday, March 26, 2019 A5

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

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If you have any information / objection to the above mentioned application/s, please communicate with the Regional Director thru Employment Promotion and Workers Welfare (EPWW) Division with Telephone No. 400-6011.

ATTY. ANA C. DIONE, CPA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

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Tuesday, March 26, 2019 A9

In the ad material of Notice of filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on February 25, 2019, the applicant of NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION should have been read as Mr. Peng, Kuan and not as published. If you have any information/objection to the above mentioned application/s, please communicate with the Regional Director thru Employment Promotion and Workers Welfare (EPWW) Division with Telephone No. 400 6011.

ATTY. ANA C. DIONE, CPA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A10 Tuesday, March 26, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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editorial

More than words

HY is it that despite the frequent anti-illegal drugs operations of the police, where many suspects have gotten killed, drug traffickers, pushers and couriers, both foreigners and Filipinos, still continue their illicit trade? Last week, Philippine drug-enforcement agents arrested four suspected drug traffickers from China and seized a huge cache of crystal meth or shabu with a street value of P1.1 billion in two operations in Alabang—one at the Alabang Town Center parking lot along Madrigal Avenue and the other inside the Ayala Alabang Village. The 163 kilos of drugs seized from the Chinese nationals were stuffed inside tins of biscuits that were also used as packaging for drugs in other Southeast Asian countries, according to Aaron Aquino, chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). He said the drugs likely came from the “Golden Triangle,” which includes parts of northern Thailand, Lao PDR and Myanmar. Just last month, two Chinese nationals were killed in a shootout with PDEA agents in Tanza, Cavite. That operation led to the recovery of 274 kilos of shabu valued at P1.9 billion. Then there were the recent seizures of cocaine and ecstasy. PDEA recorded six incidents where the agency recovered blocks of tightly sealed bags of cocaine floating on our shores—92.78 kilograms worth P491.25 million. Ecstasy is very popular among young people who love to go to parties and dance clubs. On March 11, PDEA agents killed Steve Pasion, “the number one distributor of ecstasy” according to their chief. Yet these party drugs keep turning up. Last Monday, around P1.5 million worth of ecstasy and other party drugs were seized from two affluent college students. The constant supply of high volumes of cocaine, shabu and other drugs— despite numerous drug busts by the police—indicate the vastness of the country’s drug problem. Public awareness campaigns, mass education and grassroots advocacy against the use of illegal drugs may have curbed the demand. The police may have produced commendable results in terms of the arrests and prosecution of some drug dealers. But all these efforts have not really deterred drug traffickers and the major drug dealers from engaging in the illegal drugs business. With billions in profits involved, drug dealing would always be perceived as well worth the risk by criminal elements. It would take more than tough words to deter them, especially since they are still getting help from coddlers in government. There are three congressmen, 43 local government officials, as well as unnamed judges and prosecutors on President Duterte’s so-called narco list. While policemen were responsible for the drug raids, some of them suspect that it is possible that some of the drug dealers are given the “green light” to operate by their own brothers in uniform, in return for millions of pesos in grease money. Perhaps the coddlers’ involvement is not limited to just getting huge kickbacks and monthly retainers. It would not be surprising if they helped set up the drug networks themselves. Last October, for instance, President Duterte fired six police officers who worked in a team to battle illegal drugs after they were found to be part of the illegal drug trade themselves. The issue of police and other government people’s involvement in illegal drugs, whether they are coddlers and protectors or are directly involved in drug trafficking and drug dealing, is not new. There were many cases when drug operations were granted by the police and local officials through a system of “franchises,” in the same manner that jueteng operations were also granted as franchises. The office of the President and the police should use their substantial intelligence budgets to help identify all the coddlers and coconspirators of drug dealers in the government and prosecute them. The government needs more intelligence, more action, more sting operations, more everything to catch these criminals in the police, Judiciary and local governments. Again, it will certainly take a lot more than tough populist rhetoric to deliver on the President’s promise to stamp out illegal drugs in the country. It is inconceivable that such volumes of illegal drugs can be trafficked in, around and throughout the country without the knowledge of people in the higher echelons of power, especially given the scale of the proceeds. What if they have been sanctioned, one way or another?

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THE ENTREPRENEUR

OU don’t have to go to the details of the nation’s gross domestic product to find out how the economy will fare in 2019. The business plans of the tycoons and the businessmen say it all. They will tell you either in private or announce their plans in the business sections of major newspapers. For me, this is a gauge of how the Philippine economy will expand this year. Filipino businessmen are all bullish on the economy, and I have not heard of one saying that his company is cutting down on capital expenditures this year. Everybody, I think, is looking to expand in new areas, or find ways to increase business activities. Sound economic fundamentals, including a tame inflation rate, political stability, President Duterte’s high trust rating and a predictable investment environment are emboldening our businessmen to expand and venture into other areas. Mr. Duterte’s massive infrastructure program and a growing population are also boosting the confidence of our businessmen. More roads, airports, bridges and seaports will offer wider market opportunities for these businessmen.

The massive capital expenditures earmarked by Philippine companies for this year is a clear indication of how vibrant the Philippine economy is. The business expansion is not limited in Metro Manila. Companies are allotting part of their spending budget to other urban centers outside the national capital region. This is inclusive economy and gives equal job opportunities to the rest of the population. Jollibee Foods Corp. is spending P17.2 billion in 2019, mainly for new stores, renovation of existing outlets and investments in manufacturing plants, to sustain its aggressive expansion plans. The 2019 programmed spending is almost double the P9.6-billion actual expenditures in 2018. Jollibee’s expansion indicates strong consumer spending this year. Major property developer Ayala

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OUTSIDE THE BOX

EVERAL lifetimes ago, I was being interviewed for a studyabroad scholarship. I was looking forward to attending Shiraz University in Iran before the country was turned into a medieval theocracy. One question asked was my opinion of the “Socratic method” of teaching, creating critical thinking by a “cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions.” Unfortunately, I assumed my incredible good looks and winning attitude would overcome my lack of knowledge about Socrates. It did not. However, that one question shaped both my lifelong managerial and parenting skills. I found through the decades that if people could overcome their fear and try to answer the questions that I asked them, they became better students, employees and even sons. “If you can get through my

questions, you can get through anything.” I also discovered another learning technique: “I fooled you once. Can I fool you twice?” A legitimate survey conducted in 2017 found that 7 percent of American adults—roughly 16.4 million people—believe that chocolate-flavored milk comes from brown-colored cows. Sadly, 48 percent had no idea how chocolate milk was made, so that tells you something about the quality of American education. Also unfortunate is that an early 1990s survey conducted for the US Department of Agriculture showed that one in five Americans did not know that beef is the main ingredient of hamburgers.

Land Inc. has allotted P130 billion for capital expenditures this year, up 18.2 percent from P110 billion in 2018. The same with Megaworld Corp., which earmarked P65 billion in capital spending mainly to launch more residential, office and mall projects across its township developments and acquire more land. The upbeat mood of these two property companies suggest that their target market is growing and willing to buy more homes or rent office spaces. PLDT Inc. is allocating at least over P58 billion for its 2019 capital expenditure mainly to finance the rollout of fiber and wireless networks. DMCI Holdings Inc., the investment company of the Consunji family, raised its capital expenditure by 14.8 percent in 2019 to P31 billion from P27 billion in 2018 to expand its real-estate, coal and power businesses. SM Prime Holdings Inc., the property unit of the Sy family, earmarked P80 billion for the 2019 capital expenditures to support its provincial expansion and land banking activities. Holding company SM Investments Corp. allotted P98 billion for 2019 to support the expansion of its real-estate, banking and retail businesses. The bullishness of these businessmen is understandable. The Philippine economy is continuously expanding, with a huge growth potential. Philippine companies

registered impressive sales in 2019 because of a marked improvement in household spending. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, in a speech before the Japanese business community in Osaka, Japan, in February, noted that the country’s tax reforms have put more money into the pockets of the consumers and ensured strong domestic demand in the economy. He noted, for instance, that Jollibee posted sales of about $2.9 billion in 2018, up 16 percent from the 2017 level. Its income rose17 percent to $158 million in 2018 from the previous year. SM Prime, owner of the biggest and most number of malls in the country, as well as the secondlargest high-rise condominium developer, booked sales of almost $2 billion in 2018, up 17 percent from a year ago. Net income increased 17 percent to $616 million last year, driven mainly by new mall openings in the provinces. The good performance of these Philippine companies in 2018 and their ambitious capital expenditures this year give me optimism that the economy will fare much better in 2019 than the 6.2-percent growth in 2018. The country’s captains of industry have already sensed this growth potential, and I couldn’t agree more.

There was a time when parents teased their children about the brown-cow idea. But that teasing did serve a valuable purpose to get children not to accept at face value either what may seem sort of reasonable or a “truth” that comes from an authority figure. They were taught to question to avoid “I fooled you once. Can I fool you twice?” The mathematical equation “1+2=3” is clean, simple, obvious, and factual. That is because there is only one kind of “1”, “2” and “3”. There is no such thing—at least on this level of mathematics—such as a “Green 1” or a “Blue 1” that would change the “equals three” when added to “two.” The experts in economics and the financial/asset markets would like us to believe that their ideas and conclusions are equally clean, simple, obvious and factual. For example, there is no such animal as “inflation.” There are multiple ways of calculating the increase in prices. All are different and all create different results. The “fooled you once” idea comes from the fact that long-term interest rates in the US are lower than short-term rates. It is called an “inverse yield curve.” The so-called economic wisdom is that when this happens it is a prediction of an

economic recession. The “fool you twice” is that this inversion has happened several times in the past few years not only in the US but also in Australia, for example, without any recession hitting either economy. So the US stock market dropped 1.77 percent this past Friday and Japan was down around 3 percent on Monday. Economies and the markets—and the factors that influence them—are extremely fluid, unlike the numbers in your math book. When it comes to the stock market, you can easily lose by assuming the investing equivalent that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Good earnings do not necessarily mean a higher stock price. One investor’s “too expensive” is another’s “undervalued.” All markets do not move together. All stocks do not move together. Each of those statements is as true as “chocolate milk is made from fresh milk and has cocoa powder and sugar added to it.” Thanks! Got it. Got it, thanks!

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President Duterte has a soft heart for the needy

Cybercrime worldwide to cost $6 trillion in two years Cecilio T. Arillo

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TELLTALES Continued from A1

ND speaking of Senator JV, several months ago SSS conducted a seminar and relief operations in Albay but we got stranded in Legazpi airport for four hours waiting for our flight to Manila. Senator JV and his Senate staff were also at the airport to board the same flight after conducting a public hearing in Bicol on a bill he was sponsoring. The airport was teeming with people crammed inside the small lounge area. Limited seats left people standing in every nook and corner. Obviously learning of his plight, local friends of the senator came and delivered drumsticks and popsicles for him, which he shared with us and the other passengers. Senator JV, I’m sure these people will remember the ice cream and popsicles. After the successful rehabilitation of the world-famous Boracay, the government has turned its eyes on the massive cleanup of Manila Bay. A major work will consist of desilting its bed where several layers of sediment have accumulated, compacted and solidified over the years. This excavation project shall cover several kilometers starting from the US Embassy area and will take years to complete. I would like to commend the DENR, Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Department of Tourism for spearheading this project, which has just received lip service in the past. We should all support their efforts and their determination to pursue this mammoth undertaking. Earlier on, the DENR, with the help of the Laguna Lake Development Authority and the local government units concerned, has issued CDOs to several establishments along Roxas Boulevard and the reclaimed area for allegedly dumping their waste and effluents on the bay. As in Boracay, the government has flexed its muscle and shown political will to enforce our environmental laws without fear, favor and fanfare. If there’s a political will, there’s no problem that we cannot solve. And it seems the current leadership has a reservoir of that. I trust that this cleanup and improvement of Roxas Boulevard will restore the beauty and grandeur of Manila Bay and its much-admired sunset by the bay. I remember the time when my expatriate friends and coworkers in American International Group in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia would visit Manila after I returned to Philam Life. I would take them in the restaurants and bars in the Luneta area after 5 p.m. and wait for the sunset. As there was no selfie then, I would be busy taking their photos against the gloriously setting sun. In one of my visits in our head office in lower Manhattan, I saw one of these enlarged photos beautifully framed and hanging in one executive office. nnn IT is unfortunate that politics again has derailed the approval of the 2019 national budget. The current impasse resulted from the alleged illegal realignments of funds made by the Lower House after the Bicameral report was approved by both chambers. The Senate leaders accused their counterpart in the House of Representatives of diverting the funds to pad their pork barrels and those of their allies, which drew reaction from the latter that the Senate had, likewise, made insertions in the proposed budget. Despite the President’s effort to mediate during a meeting held in Malacañang, the matter remains unresolved. Congress will resume its session on May 20. Let’s hope that the results of the election will have a sobering effect on our honorable members of Congress and realize that approving a legislation of major significance like the national budget should take precedence over their reelection bids. (I trust that by the time this is published, this deadlock is already resolved.) In passing laws, it is prudent to heed the counsel of Andrew Johnson who once said: “Legislation can neither be wise nor just which seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury of many and varied interests.” To our legislator friends, please subordinate your selfish interest in

favor of the people’s welfare. Don’t barrel your way to get your pork! nnn MANILA Bay fishermen complained that they will have less catch of fish because of noise pollution and stress caused by the massive dredging activities on Manila Bay. They alleged that the excavation of the silt will disturb the serene life of fish species and other marine life in Manila Bay. Next time, we will hear complaints that the cleanup should be stopped because some poor people derive their livelihood from collecting tons of recyclable waste that are washed to the shores. nnn MANY schools are now closing their doors for the two-month school break and soon it will be summer. The sweltering heat will drive people to the beaches and resorts around the country, but to many people living in the slums of Tondo, Isla Puting Bato, Pasay and the blighted areas of Malate, San Andres and Intramuros, “Boracay” and “El Nido” are just few steps away from Roxas Boulevard. Despite the warning issued by the health authorities and the LGUs concerned, droves of people continue to flock to the waters of Manila Bay to escape the heat. As early as two national elections ago, a concerned politician, former Sen. Manny Villar, had issued this dire warning: Naranasan ninyo na bang maligo sa dagat ng basura? Now, his son, Secretary Mark Villar, is leading the efforts to clean up the place. I’m glad that something is being done now. nnn AN interesting human-interest event happened at an airport recently, which produced an extraordinary news story read around the world. It involved a Greek guy, Antonis Mavropoulos, who arrived late for his flight. Despite his plea that he be allowed to board his plane, he was rejected and missed his flight. Just a few minutes after its takeoff, the doomed Ethiopian Airline crashed, killing all passengers aboard. Lessons learned: 1) Departing planes wait for no man, 2) It does not pay to be early. The last time I heard, Mavropoulos has written a book— There is Life If You Missed Your Flight— and has been successfully conducting seminars about it. nnn WE were caught in monstrous traffic along Aurora and Katipunan in Quezon City, when I was jolted by a sudden knock on my car’s window. A blind beggar was extending his hand toward me asking for alms. He’s about 50 to 55 years of age and could very well be one of my students when I was a Special Education Teacher at the Philippine National School for the Blind in Pasay and in the City Schools of Manila almost 50 years ago. Alms solicitation happens practically in busy streets in Metro Manila, like in Ortigas and Katipunan where physically handicapped people roam the streets for small coins and food. I know the President has his hands full attending to various problems of state, and despite what others have said about him, the President has the softest heart for the needy and the deprived. I hope he will do something to help them during the second half of his term. I said this once before and I say it again, the true measure of a civilized society is how much its government takes care of its elderly, its women and children, and the disadvantaged and the handicapped.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019 A11

HE Global Risks Report (2019) of the World Economic Forum (WEF) shared to Database predicted that cybercrime will be costing the global economy $6 trillion by 2021. For violent crime, the equivalent chance is 46 percent. According to the WEF, the global community needs to ask itself why this is happening, and what can be done to change it. The global community, in the context of cyber security as a major global risk, needs to recognize that there is a “stunning enforcement gap,” as a recent WEF report highlights. Not only is the current wave of cybercrime largely unseen, but the chances of being successfully investigated and prosecuted for a cyber attack in the US alone are now estimated at 0.05 percent. According to the WEF report, the widespread loss of trust in the Internet is the fifth-greatest strategic risk facing the world. The report indicates the scale of the challenges facing the security community, as well as the new opportunities and partnerships that can be forged to enable public good in this era of unrivalled technological change. Cybercrime will continue to be the security challenge of the 21st century. One of the key reasons for the lack of progress in the successful investigation and prosecution of cybercrime is that the spotlight continues to be driven by a wider debate around national security concerns. Focus continues to center on the implications of a relatively small number of high-end nationstate threat actors. While this debate is undoubtedly important, said the WEF, it is distracting attention from the growing enforcement gap for digital crime, and from developing the new generation of capabilities required to close this gap.

Attribution and enforcement of the law has to be part of the global architecture in building an effective response to a type of crime where “the majority of attacks, for the majority of the people, for the majority of the time” come from financially motivated crime groups. The WEF said three steps are needed to help build the global architecture to fight cybercrime. These are: “First, the community needs to agree what is important in the near future, focus on a shared vision of that future, and establish a real dialogue on how to build towards it. This is difficult but necessary—and it’s about what countries and corporations agree on, not what they disagree on. “This might include a common understanding of the need to reverse the cyber enforcement gap, to tackle transnational organized cybercrime before it grows to epidemic proportions, and to eliminate safe harbors for cybercriminal networks. “This task is increasingly important as a new generation of technology emerges. Integrated smart cities, 5G networks, artificial intelligence and cloud computing will shape our digital future, but they also have the potential to accelerate rapidly the scale and impact of cybercrime.” “Second, there needs to be an understanding that cybercrime is a shared global issue and requires a global response. No one country or corporation operates in a vacuum. As a whole, the world needs to build a new generation of partnerships across transnational, national and

The enforcement gap is largely being driven by the difficulties in being able to conduct investigations on attackers often operating overseas, against diverse and disparate technical systems using communications technology that make any attack global in nature by default.

corporate entities. “The enforcement gap is largely being driven by the difficulties in being able to conduct investigations on attackers often operating overseas, against diverse and disparate technical systems using communications technology that make any attack global in nature by default. “Without the attribution and prosecution of attackers, technical defenses often just shift them to easier targets in new sectors or countries. “Exemplars of best practice should be highlighted and built on across the community. These include successful operational partnerships such as Microsoft Digital Crime Unit, Europol and the UK’s National Cybersecurity Centre’s work with telecommunications providers. The EU is also introducing e-evidence legislation that will significantly help with sharing data at speed to be used in casework. Enhancing capabilities in emerging markets, especially in Africa, is also important, as these are increasingly victims and important nodes in the fight against cybercrime.” “Third, the community needs to recognize that investigating cybercrime is different from investigating traditional types of crime. This is not simply an issue of law-enforcement agency capacity. Every victim, data holder or investigative body, whether in the public or private sector, is part of a global ecosystem that is increasingly connected and mutually dependent. “The skills, capability and data required to investigate are within

the corporate domain. This is a crime type that operates at a different pace, and there is therefore a much greater need to work under agreed common frameworks and principles at a global level and at Internet speed. This includes incentivizing data sharing and collaboration, and setting out clear roles and guidance to leverage each other’s capabilities. “Establishing principles is increasingly important in an era where concerns over privacy, the sharing of data and the interpretation of legislation such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation is inadvertently potentially hampering the sharing of valuable information. Companies often hold critical data but do not feel able to share it due to concerns over data privacy, client confidentiality or giving away intelligence to business rivals. “New tools and platforms using homomorphic encryption will be needed to help build more sustainable models to protect victims and enable global investigations, while respecting the right to privacy. Setting principles and harmonizing frameworks for cyber response between victims, cyber services providers, law enforcement, computer emergency response team bodies and transnational institutions are important examples of how to close the margins of cooperation in which cybercriminals operate. “Addressing the cyber enforcement gap will require deeper transnational integration and dialogue across governments, both from a policy and capability perspective. It also requires much closer integration between law enforcement and the private sector. This offers a unique opportunity to build trust between entities and agree on common values, from which a new global architecture will emerge. “If this cannot be achieved, we risk undermining the digital economy, as well as the traditional institutions that are relied on to provide security and trust across society.” To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

What a coup for Thailand’s junta; now govern Andy Mukherjee

BLOOMBERG VIEW

O skeptics, Sunday’s Thai election was yet another military coup, though carried out with ballots rather than bullets. A more hopeful assessment is that the Southeast Asian nation is finally taking politics out of the streets and to where it belongs: parliament. Both views have merits. General Prayuth Chan-Ocha, who seized power five years ago, is poised to retain it—as an elected leader. The pro-army Palang Pracharath won 7.7 million votes with 94 percent counted, according to unofficial results posted on the Election Commission’s Facebook page. The country’s largest party, the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai, was pushed into second place with 7.23 million votes. It’s the first electoral defeat for the pro-Thaksin camp since 2001. But then, the dice were loaded. In theory, Prayuth requires only 126 out of the 500 lower-house seats because the 250 junta-appointed senators in the upper house have been given an equal say in selecting the next prime minister. By contrast, the pro-Thaksin camp needs 376 seats in the lower house for an overall simple majority (out of 750). New rules of proportional representation are a further complication. A similar vote share as in 2011 would still have left Pheu Thai poorer by 41 seats, according to the Bangkok Post, benefiting regional groups such as the Bhum Jai Thai Party. Promising full legalization of marijuana, Bhum Jai Thai did better

than the Democrat Party of former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who quit as leader after its poor showing. Ever since Thaksin’s 2001 rise, a royalist Bangkok elite has been trying to banish the influence of the cop-turned-businessmanturned-politician from Thai politics. The recent disbandment of a pro-Thaksin party for disrespecting the constitutional monarchy by picking a princess as its prime ministerial candidate shows the determination to keep him out. Yet Thaksin, who went into exile after being deposed in a 2006 coup and was later convicted for corruption, remains popular, particularly in the underdeveloped northeast. His village-fund program is still lauded for trying to bridge the resource gap with the region around the capital. Some things have changed, though. The junta appears more willing to give a voice to less-developed regions as long as there’s no repeat of the extreme populism of Thaksin or his sister. Elected as prime minister in 2011, Yingluck Shinawatra’s purchase of grain from farmers at above-market prices diminished the export competitiveness of Thai rice and amassed a

The movers and shakers in Bangkok are already worried about the impact of population aging on national debt. Besides, global demand is weak. Thai auto exports slumped 12.6 percent from a year earlier in the first two months, and this when the country has made a 1.7-trillionbaht ($54 billion) bet on turning its eastern seaboard into a global manufacturing powerhouse.

fiscal burden. After her 2014 ouster, a court sentenced Yingluck to a jail term for negligence in the rice-subsidy program. She avoided prison by fleeing the country. Thaksinomics may be dead, but regional disparities are not. To the southwest of Bangkok, tourism flourishes in Krabi, even as in neighboring Trang, rubber planters have been hurt by the end of the Chinese commodity boom. Prices are down two-thirds from early 2011. The area was a longtime stronghold for the Democrat Party, whose defeat may see more lawmakers from smaller parties bring local concerns to parliament. “Rather than political atomization,” writes Michael J. Montesano, a researcher at Singapore’s ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, this has “the potential to deliver a new form of national integration.” The past decade has been marked by violent clashes between Thaksin’s red-shirt supporters and yellowshirt liberal democrats. Adding more colors to the palette won’t be an unwelcome fragmentation. Investors will win if Sunday’s election cuts the risk of future coups. With the military consolidating its control on civilian affairs, there may be less need for it to hit the reset button repeatedly.

All depends on whether Sunday’s election can provide a durable democracy, if not a stable government. Military rule didn’t stop billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi from making deals. His food-and-beverage empire across Southeast Asia is now supported by the stakes he acquired in Thai retailer Big C Supercenter Pcl. and Metro AG’s Cash & Carry business in Vietnam. But when it comes to start-ups, the region’s second-biggest economy is lagging badly behind neighboring Indonesia. With a population of 69 million, the Thai market isn’t too small to spawn its own unicorns. Finally, lawmakers who get elected on local issues will try to win fiscal concessions for their provinces, whose own sources of revenue are often pitiful. But the movers and shakers in Bangkok are already worried about the impact of population aging on national debt. Besides, global demand is weak. Thai auto exports slumped 12.6 percent from a year earlier in the first two months, and this when the country has made a 1.7-trillion-baht ($54 billion) bet on turning its eastern seaboard into a global manufacturing powerhouse. Even as that gamble takes time to pay off, compromise solutions are needed. Recently, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to allow medical cannabis. Hard-up rubber farmers won’t have failed to notice Bhum Jai Thai’s poll promise: “Vote for us and we’ll let you plant marijuana freely.” Neither will traders in the Thai baht, Asia’s best-performing currency since the end of 2015, have ignored the whiff of more dollar earnings for Thailand. Prayuth can be satisfied with the verdict delivered by Thai voters. Plenty of hard work still lies ahead.

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A12 Tuesday, March 26, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

China can dictate loan terms, insists Panelo M

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

ALACAÑANG has conceded the Philippines did not have a choice but to agree to controversial provisions in the loan agreements the country signed with China, especially on the $62-million Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, although it assured the public that the country will never default on paying its debts.

Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo also saw nothing wrong with the terms of the loan agreements that the country agreed to, even if this could mean that China could seize natural gas deposits in Reed Bank in case of a default by the Philippines in repayment of the loan. “…They have been saying why the contract is in favor of China? Why not? Do you think we have a say when we loan?

When we loan from the bank, it is always the terms of the bank, it is natural that they will make sure that they will not lose the money that they lent us,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing on Monday, noting that what the critics are pointing out to be “onerous” provisions are just “standard.” Nonetheless, the Palace spokesman also said the country will never renege on paying its debts, so it is “not a possibility” that China can seize gas in Reed Bank as alleged by Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. “As I said, we never did not pay our loans. All those loans we paid them. That is why those who entered into the contract… know that we will be able to pay, so it is a useless provision,” he said.

No assured claim on asset

THE Department of Finance also reiterated on Monday that they did not declare anything as collateral in the loan agreement and that the creditor has no assured claim on any asset. Finance Undersecretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II said a 2002 Supreme Court ruling penned by Carpio said the “government must formally declare that the property of public dominion is no longer needed for public use or public service, before the same could be classified as patrimonial property of the State.” “In the Supreme Court ruling, he [Carpio] says that the State must declare something as patrimonial property before it is considered as such. So Reed Bank and any other asset is public property unless the government or the legislature declares otherwise—and we have made no such declaration regarding Reed Bank,” Lambino said in a text message shared with reporters. Continued on A2

Water shortages to worsen plight of poor in M. Mla

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

EVERE water interruptions could worsen the poverty experienced by the poor in Metro Manila, but data limitations may make their hardships appear negligible, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). Neda Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie G. Edillon told the BusinessMirror over the weekend that the poor who depend on water for their livelihood will suffer the most. Edillon said these include vendors who sell cold drinks in the street and those who work as laundry women. “Since we measure poverty using income, those affected are the ones that use water for their livelihood: laundry business, small beverage business [sa malamig], purified water refilling, car wash, etc. Even then, the impact would be understated. That is why we want a multidimensional poverty index,” Edillon said. A multidimensional poverty index (MPI) measures poverty beyond an individual’s income. The MPI developed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) aims to measure poverty through deprivations in education; health and nutrition; housing, water and sanitation; and employment. PSA said one is “multidimensionally deprived” or poor if he or she is deprived in at least one third or four of the 13 indicators. Results of the PSA survey show that multidimensionally deprived Filipinos—or the proportion of Filipinos deprived in at least four out of the 13 indicators—were estimated at 23.9 percent in 2016 and 17.3 percent in 2017. See “Water shortages,” A2

Hanjin contractors officially terminate workers’ services

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

HE contractors of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines (HHICC-Phil) Inc. have officially terminated the employment of all their workers this month, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). In an interview, Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo M. Benavidez told the BusinessMirror that the concerned contractors have already sent notices of termination to the remaining workers in HHICC-Phil, and the notices take effect on March 30. He said they found the grounds of the retrenchment valid, since these complied with Labor Code provisions. “For the retrenchment, they cited...losses after HHICC-Phil finally ended their service contracts, so they no longer have any source of revenue,” Benavidez said. HHICC-Phil is currently under receivership after telling the court it could not service loans owed to some of the country’s biggest banks, and could be taken over by a new management for rehabilitation. In its heyday in 2006, the firm employed about 30,000 workers. See “Hanjin,” A2

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

SMC builds ₧13.1-B Quezon phase of Slex By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

ONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is breaking ground today for a P13.1-billion Quezon extension of the South Luzon Expressway (Slex), aiming to complete the new segment in 2022.

Initially called the Slex Toll Road 4 (TR4), the 66.74-kilometer toll road will stretch from Santo Tomas, Batangas, to Barangay Mayao in Quezon. It will cut time between the two areas to 45 minutes from the current three hours. “Cavite and Laguna were considered no man’s land. Once we finish this tollway, the peace and order situation in Quezon and Bicol will improve. Local tourism will improve. New businesses will emerge. Progress will be brought to the level of the small towns and ba-

rangays,” SMC President Ramon S. Ang said on Monday. The four-lane toll road is seen to improve the transport of goods and services from the southern provinces to Manila and vice versa. It will also play a crucial role in decongesting the Pan Philippine Highway, and spur economic growth in the provinces near it. “We believe the TR4 will further unlock the economic potential and promote tourism in Laguna, Batangas, Quezon and Bicol provinces. With the growing population of Metro Manila, more and

more people and businesses will move to these provinces due to these areas’ proximity,” Ang said. The toll road will be divided into six sections: Santo Tomas, Batangas, to Makban in Laguna (11.32 kilometer); Makban to San Pablo City (12.75 km); San Pablo to Tiaong in Quezon (7.5 km), Tiaong to Candelaria (15 km); Candelaria to Tayabas (10.21 km) and Tayabas to Lucena (9.96 km). The expressway segment will also provide motorists with safer and more convenient travel on modern tollway

facilities like well-lit toll plazas, fiber optics, and CCTV cameras, among others. “We will continue to invest in modern toll roads and expressways that are on a par with our neighbors in Asia,” Ang added. The project is expected to be inaugurated “in 36 months” or before President Duterte bows out of office. SMC, through its South Luzon Tollway Corp., holds the concession for the Slex. It also operates the Skyway System, the TarlacPangasinan-La Union Expressway, the Star Tollway and the Naia Expressway.

REITs should not reinvest proceeds outside PHL–PSE By VG Cabuag

@villygc

HE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has proposed to forbid real-estate investment trust companies from reinvesting the proceeds of the REIT fund-raising outside of the Philippines in a move to develop the country’s property market. In its proposal, the PSE said any REIT will have to secure a special authority from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to invest the proceeds in the overseas market. “Under Section 8 of the REIT Law [Republic Act 9856], the SEC

has the authority to restrict foreign investments of REITs ‘to…develop the country’s real-estate investment industry to make it globally competitive…,’” the PSE said in its proposal. The PSE said it issued the amendment of its rules “in line with the government’s policy of domestic reinvestment by the REIT’s sponsors of the proceeds from their sale of REIT securities.” All proceeds from the secondary offering of the REIT should be reinvested in the country for a period of five years, the PSE’s proposed amendments to listing rules for real-estate investment trusts. “However, the Exchange may

grant a longer period of reinvestment if justified by the nature and magnitude of the project involved, subject to the rules and guidelines prescribed by the SEC pursuant to its authority under Section 8 of the REIT Act of 2009. The Exchange may grant an extension period in addition to the original period of reinvestment based on force majeure or causes that could not be reasonably foreseen in the ordinary course of events,” it said. The PSE has asked the concerned parties to comment on its proposal until the end of the month. The proposed amendment, how-

ever, were silent on the main issues that hampered the implementation of the said investment in the country—on taxation and on the minimum amount of shares that a company will sell to the public. “Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the rule on minimum public ownership, a REIT shall be required to comply with the minimum public ownership requirement prescribed by the REIT Act of 2009, as may be adjusted pursuant to the provisions of the Act,” the proposed rule said. The REIT Act of 2009 states that the minimum public ownership for

property company to remain a listed company should be at least one-third of its outstanding capital stock. The SEC, however, released its own rules requiring a minimum float of 40 percent upon initial listing and bring it up to two-thirds or 67 percent ownership in three years. If a REIT failed to maintain the required public ownership, the PSE will suspend the company for trading for not more than six months. If it fails to comply within the said period, the exchange will automatically delist the said company. If involuntarily delisted, the REIT company cannot apply for relisting

for five years from the time it was delisted, while its directors and officers are also disqualified from becoming directors or officers of any company applying to become public. In case of delisting, the company will have to make a mandatory tender offer to all shareholders at a price deemed fair by a PSE-accredited valuation provider. “Failure or refusal to conduct a tender offer in accordance with this section shall be a ground for denial of the petition for voluntary delisting, or imposition of a perpetual relisting prohibition, in case of involuntary delisting,” it said.

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Megawide, partner build Maynilad’s largest wastewater treatment facility By Roderick L. Abad

@rodrik_28

Contributor

NFRASTRUCTURE and engineering company Megawide Construction Corp. and the MUL Consortium officially launched the construction of Maynilad Water Services Inc.’s (Maynilad) largest wastewater treatment facility located in Las Piñas amid the ongoing massive rehabilitation of Manila Bay. “This is our first engineering project in wastewater treatment, and we’re proud to be partner to

Maynilad in this undertaking,” said Eric Tan, deputy head for construction of Megawide.

briefs

The West Zone concessionaire’s Las Piñas Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) has a capacity of 88 million liters per day (MLD). Once completed in 2022, it will serve potable water to around 660,000 customers of Maynilad. Megawide tied up with MUL, comprised of Toshiba Water Solutions and LinkENERGIE, to deliver the design and build component of the project. “Together with MUL, we are looking forward to delivering a first-world facility that meets the standards of Maynilad and benefits the greater community,” Tan said. The new WRF backs up the cleanup initiatives for Manila Bay as mandated by the Supreme Court, LinkENERGIE CEO Francisco Matias said. “Once the Las Piñas WRF is operational, it will

process raw sewage to conform to DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] standards of cleanliness.” “It will discharge only clean water into the river system that drains directly to Manila Bay,” he added. Publicly listed Megawide is the private partner for other key infrastructure projects in the country, such as the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange. Toshiba Water Solutions is a global environmental services company that specializes in wastewater collection, treatment and disposal. Homegrown firm LinkENERGIE is among the leading electromechanical contractors in the Philippines.

THE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is seeking clarification on the proposed measure that seeks to craft a regulatory framework on electric vehicles. While the utility firm supports Senate Bill 2137, particularly the creation of a national Electric Vehicle Roadmap to be developed by the Department of Energy (DOE), Meralco wants to be enlightened because an existing road map is already in place. The Manufacturing Resurgence Program (MRP) of the Department of Trade and Industry aims to rebuild the existing capacity of industries, strengthen new ones, and maintain the competitiveness of industries with comparative advantage. Based on the Manufacturing Industry Roadmap, the MRP targets to close the gaps in industry supply chains, provide access to raw materials, and expand domestic markets and exports for Philippine manufactured products. Lenie Lectura

CEBU PACIFIC DEVELOPS CEBU AS HUB TO SHANGHAI

BUDGET carrier Cebu Pacific is making true to its promise of developing its hub in

Cebu, as it is set to launch a new service from the Queen City of the South to China’s largest city Shanghai. Starting April 15, travelers coming from Cebu can now fly directly to Shanghai via Cebu Pacific’s six times weekly service, Cebu Pacific Vice President Candice A. Iyog said. She added this is in line with the company’s plans to expand capacity in Cebu to meet increasing demand. Lorenz S. Marasigan

NGCP’S PAMPANGA TRANSMISSION LINE ENERGIZED

THE P316-million investment of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in Pampanga was finally energized last month. The grid operator said on Monday its new Hermosa-Floridablanca 69-kiloVolt transmission line is meant to bring a more reliable transmission service to customers in the Pampanga area. The project was approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission and was included in the list of the projects declared as Energy Project of National Significance last January. Lenie Lectura

Gardenia inaugurates automated ₧1-B factory in Misamis Oriental Mindanao Bureau Chief

AGOLOAN, Misamis Oriental—Leading breadmaker Gardenia Bakeries has put into commission its biggest factory here for Mindanao worth P1 billion,

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

March 20, 2019

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

ASIA UNITED 58.1 59 58.1 58.1 58.1 58.1 50 2905 BDO UNIBANK 131.8 132 131 132.5 131 132 2693370 355610812 -112803798 BANK PH ISLANDS 87.5 87.9 86.9 88.45 86.9 87.9 1447040 127501855 -38232248.5 CHINABANK 27.3 27.4 27.7 27.7 27 27.4 127500 3477510 -383025 EAST WEST BANK 12.44 12.48 12.48 12.52 12.4 12.44 263000 3276870 -707298 METROBANK 79.55 79.9 82 82.05 79.55 79.55 3376250 270819291 -75663031 PB BANK 13.84 13.96 13.86 13.86 13.86 13.86 27400 379764 -44352 PBCOM 21.55 22.9 21.5 22.9 21.5 22.9 2200 47580 -43000 PHIL NATL BANK 59.4 59.45 59.95 60.1 59.2 59.45 366110 21803314 8573615.5 PSBANK 58.45 58.95 58.45 58.95 58.45 58.95 1300 76511 RCBC 26.45 26.5 26.45 26.75 26.45 26.45 262300 6959860 -1268545 SECURITY BANK 172.5 172.7 165 173 165 172.7 1081400 184786096 -48131153 UNION BANK 61.9 62.2 61.2 62.3 60.6 62.2 14480 892588 -412504 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.34 1.37 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.34 20000 26800 BDO LEASING 2.27 2.31 2.3 2.31 2.3 2.31 8000 18420 COL FINANCIAL 19.08 19.16 19.02 19.16 19.02 19.16 110500 2107818 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.18 4.28 4.26 4.47 4.16 4.28 94000 396120 IREMIT 1.44 1.48 1.42 1.48 1.42 1.48 7000 10060 MEDCO HLDG 0.455 0.465 0.455 0.455 0.45 0.45 70000 31550 MANULIFE 800.5 830 815 815 800 800 240 193500 32000 NTL REINSURANCE 0.95 0.96 0.98 0.98 0.96 0.96 13000 12700 PHIL STOCK EXCH 183.7 184 184.2 184.2 184 184 290 53378 SUN LIFE 1820 1840 1820 1820 1820 1820 510 928200 VANTAGE 1.14 1.17 1.15 1.16 1.15 1.16 109000 126390 INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.42 1.44 1.42 1.42 1.42 1.42 20000 28400 ABOITIZ POWER 35.1 35.4 34.5 35.4 34.5 35.4 1363800 48015595 13584515 BASIC ENERGY 0.24 0.242 0.243 0.243 0.24 0.242 310000 74480 FIRST GEN 21.5 21.65 21.7 21.7 21.3 21.65 704700 15167660 3226395 FIRST PHIL HLDG 76.2 76.6 76 78.6 76 76.5 332200 25667514 -1104893.5 MERALCO 374 374.4 374.2 377.8 373.8 374 365860 136999712 68141842 MANILA WATER 25.3 25.35 25.75 25.75 25.15 25.3 395000 10010715 7010815 PETRON 6.65 6.66 6.69 6.69 6.57 6.65 7178900 47539591 1643258 PETROENERGY 3.75 3.86 3.74 3.85 3.74 3.85 331000 1273800 PHINMA ENERGY 1.32 1.33 1.33 1.34 1.32 1.33 13444000 17952320 -7410330 PHX PETROLEUM 12.18 12.26 12.28 12.28 12.2 12.26 10600 129794 PILIPINAS SHELL 49.9 49.95 49.35 50.1 49.35 49.95 383000 19135995 -2798405 SPC POWER 6.4 6.46 6.41 6.47 6.4 6.46 19300 124599 AGRINURTURE 14.04 14.24 14.38 14.38 14.02 14.24 572200 8147194 -206904 CNTRL AZUCARERA 15.2 15.9 15.88 15.88 15.88 15.88 100 1588 CENTURY FOOD 15.6 15.98 15.5 16 15.5 15.6 118100 1865874 1733616 DEL MONTE 6.18 6.26 6.18 6.27 6.18 6.26 4700 29093 DNL INDUS 11.38 11.46 11.36 11.5 11.3 11.46 892200 10201420 2091372 EMPERADOR 7.4 7.45 7.35 7.51 7.3 7.4 170400 1250296 -903883 SMC FOODANDBEV 103 104 104 104 102.1 104 87530 9038547 -3643418 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.03 1.04 1.04 1.05 1.02 1.04 1590000 1641640 30140 GINEBRA 27.15 27.4 27.15 27.15 27.15 27.15 17400 472410 JOLLIBEE 313.4 313.6 313 315 312.8 313.6 285920 89737984 -34764542 MACAY HLDG 10.36 10.5 10.8 10.8 10.5 10.5 30100 317784 MAXS GROUP 12.3 12.34 11.98 12.5 11.98 12.36 613100 7575012 -2571904 MG HLDG 0.193 0.201 0.194 0.194 0.192 0.193 380000 73410 PEPSI COLA 1.4 1.41 1.4 1.41 1.38 1.41 6040000 8462640 -2380370 SHAKEYS PIZZA 11.92 12.02 12 12 11.88 11.92 90800 1081094 522524 ROXAS AND CO 1.79 1.8 1.8 1.81 1.8 1.8 105000 189580 RFM CORP 4.68 4.74 4.67 4.68 4.67 4.68 3000 14020 -4670 SWIFT FOODS 0.128 0.13 0.128 0.128 0.128 0.128 140000 17920 UNIV ROBINA 148 148.1 146.1 148 145.8 148 737400 108614825 18287723 VITARICH 1.62 1.63 1.64 1.65 1.62 1.63 1198000 1960270 -751419.9996 VICTORIAS 2.58 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.58 2.58 11000 28580 CONCRETE A 65.55 71.9 71.9 71.9 71.9 71.9 10 719 CEMEX HLDG 2.82 2.83 2.71 2.82 2.66 2.82 17011000 46880410 -1924250 DAVINCI CAPITAL 5.74 5.8 5.74 5.8 5.74 5.8 81700 469618 EAGLE CEMENT 15.98 16 15.82 16.02 15.82 16 2697500 43135878 36097892 EEI CORP 9.09 9.1 9.05 9.32 9.05 9.1 1889300 17397372 -1403220 HOLCIM 9.65 9.69 9.7 9.79 9.62 9.65 2357200 22,765,236( 12,578,477.9999) MEGAWIDE 20.95 21 20.85 21 20.75 21 1359800 28491170 13436690 PHINMA 8.01 8.92 8.81 8.94 8.81 8.94 6100 54404 TKC METALS 0.98 0.99 0.98 1 0.96 1 103000 100700 VULCAN INDL 1.29 1.3 1.26 1.29 1.24 1.29 1555000 1972110 CHEMPHIL 109.8 119 114.8 114.8 109.8 109.8 1560 171510 1148 CROWN ASIA 1.87 1.89 1.88 1.88 1.87 1.88 40000 75160 18800 LMG CHEMICALS 4.05 4.08 4.06 4.06 4.05 4.05 133000 538980 PRYCE CORP 5.81 5.95 5.8 5.84 5.8 5.81 21400 124264 -116130 CONCEPCION 42.05 43 43 43 43 43 1100 47300 -47300 GREENERGY 2.3 2.31 2.36 2.37 2.27 2.31 6084000 14113160 226330 INTEGRATED MICR 13.2 13.24 13.3 13.46 13.1 13.2 619700 8230714 -1206592 IONICS 1.62 1.63 1.7 1.7 1.63 1.63 237000 387310 SFA SEMICON 1.34 1.35 1.26 1.34 1.26 1.34 101000 133720 CIRTEK HLDG 29.25 29.8 29.75 29.8 29.1 29.8 205600 6112805 -1445915

HOLDING & FRIMS

MERALCO SEEKS GOVT POLICY ON E-VEHICLES

By Manuel T. Cayon

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

announcing the possible addition of pineapple to its flavor list. The fruit is widely grown in the region. The 2.5-hectare plant factory is located inside the Phividec Industrial Estate. Gardenia’s bread-making operation was acknowledged to have in-

creased interest among other investors to locate. Simplicio Umali Jr., company president, said the operation would ensure the freshest supply to shopping malls, convenience and sarisari (neighborhood variety) stores in Mindanao. The presence of the bread-making plant would ensure that in cases of emergency, such as a breakdown of the Cebu plant factory or “vice versa” or when a natural calamity strikes,

the other plant would continue to supply the bread needs of the local population, Umali added. “While both plants now ensure adequate and faster supply in the Visayas and Mindanao, each plant may support any sudden lack of supply in crisis situations,” he said. The Tagoloan factory produces 130,000 loaves and buns daily which have a shelf life of seven days. Gardenia would increase its fleet of trucks and employ 4,000 local residents. This is Gardenia’s third-largest plant outside its two plants in Laguna. A fourth factory is in Cebu. The company plans to operate this year its Pampanga factory. Current distribution serves the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, Surigao, Davao, General Santos and Kidapawan in the province of Zamboanga del Norte. “We will intensify our market penetration and saturation and eventually reach every corner of Mindanao,” Umali said. The company expects an increase of as much as 35 percent in sales this year. Last year it sold P6.6 billion. It sold only P137 million worth of products when it started 20 years ago, he added. Franklin Quijano Jr., Cagayan de Oro City administrator, said the operation of the Gardenia factory here started to invigorate the investment climate for Phividec. Aside from the Philippine sinter plant that manufactures iron products, he said companies producing other products are now operating in the area. “We now have the soft and the hard, the ball and the bread,” he said.

ABACORE CAPITAL 0.67 0.68 0.66 0.68 0.62 0.68 36012000 23875810 ASIABEST GROUP 20.5 20.55 20.4 20.8 20.1 20.5 54300 1101230 AYALA CORP 926.5 927 929 930 924 927 207430 192350190 ABOITIZ EQUITY 56.2 58 58.4 58.4 56.2 56.2 843420 47880582 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 15.72 15.74 15.48 15.74 15.42 15.72 6927800 108439434 ANSCOR 6.5 6.75 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 5870600 38158900 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.73 0.76 0.74 0.76 0.74 0.76 35000 25920 ATN HLDG A 1.36 1.37 1.36 1.38 1.36 1.37 2318000 3176240 ATN HLDG B 1.37 1.39 1.37 1.39 1.37 1.39 168000 232310 COSCO CAPITAL 7.5 7.55 7.48 7.56 7.45 7.5 2278800 17116315 DMCI HLDG 12.12 12.2 11.92 12.26 11.92 12.12 1731600 21000580 FILINVEST DEV 15.92 16.1 15.48 16.1 15.4 16.1 6127900 97762068 FJ PRINCE A 4.14 4.82 4.8 4.88 4.8 4.88 3000 14480 FORUM PACIFIC 0.222 0.239 0.239 0.239 0.224 0.225 1400000 322880 GT CAPITAL 1012 1018 1000 1018 999 1018 134720 136150012.5 HOUSE OF INV 6.26 6.47 6.47 6.51 6.47 6.48 7400 47943 JG SUMMIT 60.6 60.9 61.7 62.85 60.45 60.6 4798060 291771429.5 LODESTAR 0.53 0.55 0.56 0.56 0.52 0.53 1080000 568030 LOPEZ HLDG 5.35 5.37 5.27 5.39 5.24 5.37 3543900 18897140 LT GROUP 16.52 16.56 16 16.64 16 16.52 5071200 83227750 MABUHAY HLDG 0.56 0.57 0.56 0.57 0.56 0.57 35000 19660 METRO PAC INV 4.86 4.87 4.9 4.91 4.85 4.86 12348000 60115260 PACIFICA 0.038 0.039 0.039 0.039 0.038 0.038 14800000 564700 PRIME ORION 3.12 3.13 3.13 3.14 3.08 3.13 551000 1720100 REPUBLIC GLASS 2.55 2.67 2.55 2.55 2.55 2.55 3000 7650 SOLID GROUP 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.34 1.34 59000 79160 SYNERGY GRID 443 448 448 448 448 448 20 8960 SM INVESTMENTS 949 950 956 956 931.5 950 118770 112601045 SAN MIGUEL CORP 175 175.2 176 176 172 175 361970 63066516 SOC RESOURCES 0.75 0.79 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 4000 3000 TOP FRONTIER 275 280.8 282 282 275 281 2730 764874 WELLEX INDUS 0.24 0.245 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 300000 72000 ZEUS HLDG 0.37 0.375 0.385 0.39 0.37 0.37 26940000 10188900 PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.83 0.84 0.82 0.84 0.82 0.84 3215000 2661820 ANCHOR LAND 9.9 10.92 10.92 10.92 10.92 10.92 6600 72072 AYALA LAND 43.7 43.75 43.25 43.7 43.25 43.7 12432300 541972185 ARANETA PROP 1.95 2 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.95 2000 3900 BELLE CORP 2.38 2.39 2.4 2.41 2.36 2.39 795000 1897400 A BROWN 0.77 0.78 0.77 0.79 0.77 0.79 494000 384400 CITYLAND DEVT 0.91 0.93 0.91 0.93 0.91 0.93 13000 11850 CROWN EQUITIES 0.239 0.24 0.242 0.242 0.24 0.24 8790000 2110100 CEBU HLDG 6.43 6.6 6.22 6.63 6 6.6 63800 407511 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.39 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.36 4.4 967000 4239860 CENTURY PROP 0.51 0.52 0.52 0.53 0.51 0.52 11676000 6060450 CYBER BAY 0.385 0.39 0.385 0.385 0.385 0.385 1200000 462000 DOUBLEDRAGON 22.1 22.2 21.15 22.5 21.1 22.2 1494100 32966615 DM WENCESLAO 11.24 11.26 10.96 11.3 10.96 11.26 689800 7703342 EMPIRE EAST 0.495 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.495 0.5 1440000 719800 EVER GOTESCO 0.126 0.128 0.128 0.128 0.126 0.126 510000 65240 FILINVEST LAND 1.53 1.54 1.54 1.55 1.52 1.54 4465000 6842540 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.22 1.23 1.22 1.23 1.22 1.22 491000 601020 8990 HLDG 12.78 12.8 12.1 12.78 12.1 12.78 5494800 68453328 PHIL INFRADEV 1.89 1.9 1.88 1.9 1.86 1.89 1489000 2792390 CITY AND LAND 0.84 0.85 0.86 0.86 0.85 0.85 3000 2570 MEGAWORLD 5.57 5.58 5.57 5.62 5.56 5.57 7278200 40618716 MRC ALLIED 0.375 0.38 0.37 0.38 0.37 0.38 7740000 2890850 PHIL ESTATES 0.445 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.445 0.445 180000 80600 PRIMEX CORP 2.79 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.79 2.79 23000 64370 ROBINSONS LAND 23.5 23.75 23.2 23.9 23.2 23.5 7348300 173029145 PHIL REALTY 0.45 0.46 0.45 0.46 0.45 0.46 20000 9100 ROCKWELL 2.05 2.06 2.04 2.05 2.01 2.05 78000 159620 SHANG PROP 3.09 3.12 3.15 3.15 3.09 3.12 13000 40710 STA LUCIA LAND 1.6 1.63 1.6 1.64 1.6 1.6 2544000 4111550 SM PRIME HLDG 39.1 39.4 39.15 39.4 38.8 39.4 5588000 219350570 STARMALLS 6.8 6.9 6.74 7 6.73 6.85 333400 2271565 SUNTRUST HOME 0.75 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.79 0.79 16000 12650 PTFC REDEV CORP 45.05 47.9 46.9 47.9 46.9 47.9 400 18880 VISTA LAND 7.3 7.37 7.32 7.4 7.3 7.3 2929000 21506381 SERVICES ABS CBN 20.35 20.4 20.5 20.5 20.35 20.4 28900 590375 GMA NETWORK 5.72 5.73 5.72 5.74 5.72 5.73 265200 1518621 MANILA BULLETIN 0.58 0.59 0.56 0.59 0.55 0.59 1992000 1142790 GLOBE TELECOM 1937 1970 1972 1979 1937 1937 14330 27982200 PLDT 1152 1160 1160 1165 1152 1160 132395 153503860 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.043 0.044 0.044 0.045 0.042 0.044 23000000 996500 DFNN INC 6.83 6.9 6.95 6.95 6.84 6.9 56200 386471 IMPERIAL 1.92 2.01 1.91 2.05 1.91 1.93 27000 53670 ISLAND INFO 0.123 0.124 0.126 0.127 0.123 0.123 2700000 334780 ISM COMM 5.37 5.41 5.35 5.55 5.31 5.41 1680400 9126968 JACKSTONES 3.07 3.22 3.09 3.09 3.06 3.07 82000 251820 NOW CORP 2.5 2.51 2.59 2.59 2.44 2.5 4600000 11423740 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.41 0.415 0.415 0.415 0.41 0.41 4630000 1903500 PHILWEB 2.65 2.66 2.65 2.66 2.62 2.65 156000 413940 2GO GROUP 12.8 12.82 12.82 12.88 12.76 12.8 32800 420726 ASIAN TERMINALS 15.78 16.8 16.84 16.84 16.8 16.8 5900 99248 CEBU AIR 81 81.5 81 81.8 80.95 81 41740 3388812 CHELSEA 5.8 5.84 5.8 5.9 5.77 5.8 767200 4452343 INTL CONTAINER 121.8 122 122 122.5 121.2 122 2703910 330337605 LBC EXPRESS 15.38 15.76 15.36 15.36 15.36 15.36 2300 35328 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.89 0.9 0.89 0.9 0.89 0.9 21000 18700 MACROASIA 20.2 20.4 20.2 20.8 20.2 20.4 301700 6199690 METROALLIANCE A 1.72 1.8 1.78 1.84 1.7 1.8 233000 405660 PAL HLDG 10.26 10.3 10.4 10.4 10.18 10.3 9300 95914 HARBOR STAR 2.89 2.9 2.87 2.92 2.83 2.9 476000 1371670 ACESITE HOTEL 1.23 1.33 1.33 1.33 1.23 1.23 161000 205520 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.073 0.074 0.076 0.076 0.073 0.074 51350000 3805190 WATERFRONT 0.65 0.66 0.66 0.67 0.65 0.66 483000 317910 FAR EASTERN U 890.5 903 890.5 890.5 890.5 890.5 50 44525 IPEOPLE 10.7 10.8 10.7 10.7 10.7 10.7 1300 13910 STI HLDG 0.69 0.7 0.71 0.71 0.69 0.69 366000 256060 BERJAYA 2.78 2.81 2.78 2.88 2.78 2.81 446000 1254870 BLOOMBERRY 12.06 12.1 11.8 12.2 11.7 12.06 5796900 69937700 PACIFIC ONLINE 10.06 10.1 10.16 10.2 9.98 10.06 160200 1613364 LEISURE AND RES 3.35 3.36 3.31 3.37 3.3 3.36 162000 537290 MANILA JOCKEY 4.71 4.73 4.73 4.73 4.71 4.73 21000 99160 PH RESORTS GRP 4.72 4.75 4.76 4.78 4.72 4.75 79000 374990 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.89 0.9 0.9 0.91 0.89 0.9 1379000 1241340 TRAVELLERS 5.63 5.65 5.6 5.64 5.6 5.63 1953200 10990316 METRO RETAIL 3.16 3.19 3.21 3.25 3.15 3.2 1317000 4197280 PUREGOLD 48.2 48.5 48 48.5 48 48.5 799900 38628270 ROBINSONS RTL 78.5 78.9 80 80 78 78.5 666050 52201628.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 124.5 125 124.5 125 124.5 125 610 76214 SSI GROUP 2.38 2.39 2.41 2.41 2.37 2.38 1870000 4460460 WILCON DEPOT 15.48 15.6 15.4 15.7 15.32 15.6 790000 12220594 APC GROUP 0.405 0.425 0.41 0.425 0.405 0.425 260000 106250 EASYCALL 12.38 12.4 12 12.6 12 12.38 180500 2220732 GOLDEN BRIA 373 380 378 383 378 380 780 296566 PRMIERE HORIZON 1.15 1.16 1.1 1.16 1.09 1.16 107743000 121819270 SBS PHIL CORP 8.5 8.78 8.4 8.78 8.4 8.5 17000 147410 MINING & OIL APEX MINING 1.44 1.45 1.43 1.45 1.43 1.44 895000 1292710 ABRA MINING 0.0021 0.0022 0.0021 0.0021 0.0021 0.0021 1000000 2100 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.295 0.31 0.3 0.3 0.295 0.295 90000 26750 CENTURY PEAK 2.4 2.41 2.38 2.41 2.35 2.41 1408000 3362810 DIZON MINES 7.82 7.89 7.85 7.91 7.82 7.82 300 2358 FERRONICKEL 1.5 1.51 1.49 1.5 1.48 1.5 3322000 4932780 GEOGRACE 0.242 0.246 0.239 0.255 0.239 0.242 1880000 461390 LEPANTO A 0.118 0.122 0.118 0.119 0.118 0.118 2910000 343390 MANILA MINING A 0.008 0.0083 0.0081 0.0081 0.008 0.008 12000000 96200 MANILA MINING B 0.008 0.0084 0.0081 0.0081 0.0081 0.0081 1000000 8100 MARCVENTURES 1.09 1.11 1.09 1.1 1.09 1.1 116000 126560 NIHAO 1.03 1.06 1.06 1.1 1.02 1.06 317000 339630 NICKEL ASIA 2.55 2.58 2.6 2.6 2.52 2.55 2501000 6428700 OMICO CORP 0.58 0.62 0.57 0.58 0.57 0.58 271000 157160 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.94 0.96 0.95 0.96 0.95 0.95 269000 255570 PX MINING 3.71 3.75 3.67 3.71 3.65 3.71 500000 1832160 SEMIRARA MINING 22.7 23.2 22 23.2 22 23.2 3118500 71269935 ORNTL PETROL A 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 16500000 198000 ORNTL PETROL B 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 1300000 15600 PHILODRILL 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 1600000 19200 PHINMA PETRO 3.14 3.28 3.14 3.14 3.14 3.14 1000 3140 PXP ENERGY 13.96 14 14.08 14.1 13.96 13.96 561500 7868862

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 FGEN PREF G FPH PREF C GLO PREF P GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF PNX PREF 3A PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 2B SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H

95 465.4 100 97 975 100.7 450.8 480 880.5 886 0.98 99.5 985 998 1.31 75 76.2 71.8 74.5 72.55 72

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

19.9 5.42

1.84

-67200 -133688030 89020 8690 -107604 -884390 270400 13008240 7856 -690000 241060 4702038 20 15007771 -65279390 4080 3260 41167135 2070 -501353 -6637370 26400445 -356400 3475 42550 232359.9999 -41000 -60890 14160 42100 -419912.5 17400 110609391 504654.9997 -150800 760 29600 -5940 18880 -1474082 9074 6680 19020 -229970 -8451204 635650 -13269435 -28519122.5 62487 1473900 -955704 286 3616749.9998

-217940 -235000 -178100 12400 -675930 -832730 35552870 -938640

96 474.6 100.4 98.3 980 104.3 475.8 494.8 930 900 0.99 100 998 1020 1.78 76 76.5 73.95 74.8 73 74.35

96 474.6 100 98.4 975 100.7 451 480 880.5 891 0.98 100 998 998 1.7 75.55 76.5 71.8 74.8 72.55 74.45

96 474.6 100 98.4 980 100.7 451 480 929 900 0.98 100.1 998 998 1.71 75.55 76.5 71.8 74.8 73 74.45

96 474.6 100 98.3 975 100.6 450.8 480 880 882 0.98 100 998 998 1.7 75.5 76.5 71.8 74.8 72.55 71.6

96 474.6 100 98.3 980 100.6 450.8 480 929 900 0.98 100 998 998 1.71 75.5 76.5 71.8 74.8 73 72

70 20 6330 260 3050 3050 440 100 120 80 150000 16930 10 10000 7000 1500 200 1800 200 350 1520

6720 9492 633000 25559 2988500 306839 198360 48000 107690 71010 147000 1693080 9980 9980000 11910 113275 15300 129240 14960 25491.5 109274

12240 -

20.05 5.6

20.05 5.65

20.05 5.6

10000 128200

200500 717930

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

243090 103830.0001 -41718730 -16958139 45653460 203450 176129.9999 -2279843 3645200 1629638 12879755 -127570214 -1748817 8844938 -18071960 62600 -8960 -44099205 -28149356 -175642 -307050

1.89

1.84

1.89

3000

5620

ITALPINAS 5.1 XURPAS 1.35

5.12 1.36

5.06 1.38

5.2 1.39

5.06 1.34

5.1 1.36

204300 6288000

1042305 8544570

-3752140

FIRST METRO ETF

117.1

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS 117

117

117.1

116.4

117.1

3900

455525

21078

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Customs issues rules in filing electronic Certificates of Origin

HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has issued a memorandum order that provides the guidelines for the application, submission and processing of all electronic Certificates of Origin (e-CO) through the TradeNet.gov.ph. A BOC statement on Monday said Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero issued Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 15-2019 last week, to streamline the application of electronic Certificates of Origin from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) through the TradeNet platform. “While duties and taxes are important for the nation’s economy, as a signatory to trade agreements and in compliance [with] global trade rules and trends, the electronic processing of certificate of origin will get us in the loop of the global trade network. We should not be left behind in the

global trade trend,” Guerrero said. The guidelines are expected to make transactions at the BOC faster and easier, without prejudice to its quality and accuracy, in terms of computations for dutiable values. The CMO also aims to implement paperless transactions, and is pursuant to the protocol on the legal framework to implement the Asean Single Window (ASW) and the amended Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga) operational certification procedure. According to Guerrero, with Atiga’s goal to achieve free and faster flow of goods among the 10 membernations of the Asean, the granting of

SSS plans to make insurance mandatory for OFWs by June

HE Social Security System (SSS) said it plans to implement the mandatory overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) insurance provision under the Social Security Act (SSA) of 2018 by June. During a news briefing on Monday, SSS Chief Legal Counsel Voltaire P. Agas said the SSS is targeting to implement the provision of the SSA (Republic Act 11199) “to open up all benefits offered to OFWs.” “OFWs shall enjoy all the seven benefits under the SSS. So this is the date where we are trying to meet,” Agas said at the SSS headquarters in Quezon City. These are the sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, funeral, death and unemployment benefits. He explained that under this provision, land-based OFWs are covered by the SSS in the same manner as self-employed individuals, meaning they will shoulder both the employer and employee contribution sharing scheme temporarily as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will forge bilateral labor agreements asking employers from other countries to shoulder their respective contribution share. “As mandated by the law, the SSS, the DFA and DOLE were asked to negotiate with various countries wherein we are deploying OFWs to secure a bilateral labor agreement, wherein we would ask the employer in foreign countries to consider paying the employers share. OFWs will now enjoy the benefit like a normal employee,” Agas said. He explained that sea-based OFWs are already enjoying employee benefits as their employers’ share of contributions are being shouldered by their respective manning agencies. “Under this law, to ensure compulsory coverage, we are trying to negotiate memorandum of agreements with the DOLE, with the POEA [Philippine Overseas Employment Administration] for the collection of the SSS contribution in the same way as the OWWA [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration] on enforcing their collections for Pag-IBIG [Home Mutual Development Fund] and PhilHealth [Philippine Health Insurance Corp.],” he said. Agas said permanent migrants may still opt to continue being covered by the SSS by becoming voluntary members of the fund. SSS Acting Head for International Operations Group Joy A. Villacorta said that until such time that bilateral labor agreements with the SSS provisions are signed and enforced, land-based OFWs are covered in the same manner as self-employed. “We are expecting P13 billion in the next few years [from the OFW coverage provision],” Villacorta said.

Unemployment, maternity benefits

MEANWHILE, SSS officer in charge Aurora C. Ignacio said the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for both the unemployment and maternity benefits are still being crafted in tandem with the DOLE, the DFA and the Civil Service Commission (CSC). “The IRR or the circular for the unemployment and the maternity [provision] has not been released,” Ignacio said. “So anything that [anybody] say is still under discussion between the DOLE, the DFA and the CSC. Let’s just wait for the IRR.” Agas said the IRR for the expanded maternity benefit, as well as the unemployment provision of the law is being eyed for issuance before May 1. Last month, the SSS said the SSA will increase the life of the pension fund by 13 years to 2045 from 2032. Former SSS President and CEO Emmanuel F. Dooc said the fund’s extension until 2045 is projected on the back of the implementation of the contribution increase and adjustment in minimum and maximum salary credits under the newly signed law. Under the law, the SSS will implement a gradual increase in monthly contributions by 1 percentage point starting on the year of implementation until it reaches 15 percent in 2025. The current monthly contribution rate is at 11 percent.

zero or reduced tariff rates on certain goods originating from these countries will not only help boost the creation of an single Asean market but also help strengthen an economically integrated Asean region. The preferential tariff rate of duty is being granted to certain goods originating from an Asean memberstate, following the Atiga’s Rules of Origin and Operational Certification Procedure (OCP) and upon presentation of a document which certifies that the goods originated from the respective countries. “Our objective in implementing this measure is to facilitate the transmission of e-CO for export products and the receipt of e-CO for imported products using available technologies and international best practices, in compliance with the CMTA [Customs Modernization and Tariff Act],” he added. The Philippines was connected to the ASW through TradeNet.gov.ph, the new “National Single Window” developed and established by the Department of Finance’s Inter-Agency

Business Process Interoperability and the Department of Information and Communications Technology. TradeNet.gov.ph is the online portal where the automated licensing, permit, clearance and certification systems of trade regulatory government agencies are integrated. It was designed as the official government system for electronic exchange of data on trade between and among various Philippine government agencies on one hand, and between the Philippines and other countries on the other. The BOC said that the first stage of the testing for the TradeNet will be implemented in the Port of Manila, Manila International Container Port and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, with the testing to be reviewed per stage. Stage 1A will involve five volunteer export and importers, 1B with 20 volunteer export and importers, and stage 1C involving 25 volunteer import and exporters for a total of 50 import and exporters for the fist stage of the testing. Rea Cu

Investors continue to hedge vs shorts By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE mixed results received for the Treasury bills (T-bills) auction on Monday reflects investors continue to bet on longer-dated securities. Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said that demand for government paper, as surveyed through government securities eligible dealers (GSEDs), was skewed towards the longer-end of the curve, with rates for the 182and 364-day T-bills were lower than that of the 91-day IOU. The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Monday awarded P17.455 billion from the P20 billion on offer. “Basically, it’s just consistent with the feedback we got from our GSEDs; so the demand really is coming now from the long-end,” Sta. Ana said. “As you can see from the results of the auction; so it’s more skewed towards 182and 364-day.” The 91-day T-bill was partially awarded P3.455 billion from the P6 billion on offer with tenders reaching P6.605 billion. The average annual rate for the security was capped at 5.787 percent, which posted a slight uptick of 0.1 basis points compared to the previous auction rate of 5.786 percent. “I think, for the 91-day, they’re actually factoring in the policy adjustment if ever by

China local government debt: The bomb that doesn’t explode

HINA has embraced the idea of defaults imposing some discipline on debtors in its bond market. And some of the most troubled debtors are local governments’ financing vehicles. So an LGFV default has long seemed on the cards. But it just isn’t happening. Moody’s Investors Service thought the first one might come in 2017. Almost two years later, there have been some close calls—including with a late payment by a unit owned by Qinghai province on a dollar bond last month that caused ripples through the investment community—but no default. What it suggests is China’s leadership isn’t prepared for a borrower with a regional authority’s imprimatur to renege on its principal, triggering higher borrowing costs across a swathe of the world’s third-largest bond market. Stepping in with official assistance when needed will help local authorities sustain the development spending key to holding up national growth. The cost may be an even bigger future reckoning with bad debt. “In the longer run, someone has to pay eventually for this so-called ‘kick the can down the road’ plan—taxpayers and depositors perhaps,” said Desmond How, head of fixed income, GaoTeng Global Asset Management. Regulators may need to reverse some policies, giving LGFVs greater rein to borrow to help support economic growth, How said. Finance Minister Liu Kun said over the weekend that accelerated debt sales will help to boost domestic demand, underlining the importance of bonds as a stimulus tool. For investors willing to stomach the occasional late payment, the implicit backing for LGFVs offers some yield pickup. Luo Xianzhi, fund manager at Shanghai Tianzeng Investment Management Co., says he’s sitting on a 9-percent annualized return since he started stocking up on local securities last November. Bloomberg News

the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas], what happens in the short term in terms of would there be further easing of inflation,” Sta. Ana said. “So I think it’s really more of those factors that they are looking out now.” Last week, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno announced that the Monetary Board has kept all monetary-policy rates unchanged and retained the level of the banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) as inflation pressures eased further. The interest rate on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) facility stayed at 4.75 percent, with interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were also kept steady at 5.25 percent and 4.25 percent, respectively. Tenders for the 182-day T-bill amounted to P11.76 billion with the auction committee fully awarding the P6 billion on offer. The average rate for the security settled at 5.927 percent, posting a decrease of 6 basis points compared to the previous rate of 5.987 percent. The 364-day T-bill was awarded the full P8 billion on offer with tenders for the security amounting to P12.81 billion. The rate for the security settled at 6.044 percent, which posted a minimal 0.7-basispoint contraction compared to the previous auction rate of 6.051 percent.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

The waiting game

HERE was once a story about a chess game between two grandmasters. The first played very cautious and boring moves. The other one, who was out to play for a win, was already getting impatient on the situation of the game. Knowing he was rated higher than the other, he played aggressively in haste in order to force a win. However, unknown to him, the other player was just waiting for him to be aggressive and make a blunder. The lower-rated grandmaster won the game. The loser, still unable to accept his loss, said to the winner, “You won only because you waited for me to commit a mistake.” The winner replied. ”If that is the way to win, then wait!” Chess is actually a game of wits, nerve and patience. This is a game where one plans and strategizes where to place his pieces to minimize risk and loss while rooting for victory. A small miscalculation can spell the difference between victory and defeat. Now we have an idea why we were victorious against Spain and disastrous against the Americans in the late 19th century. Just like in chess, a winning player has the risk of losing if he mishandles his position. In the above story, it is obvious the lower-rated grandmaster was intentionally making safe moves to distract his opponent while keeping his position solid and preparing for an attack if the opportunity arises. Conclusively, there is power in waiting. In the field of personal finance, waiting has always been said to be related to procrastination. A lot of financial advisors preach about the high cost of waiting. This statement is true if the person does not do anything but wait. This reminds us of Juan Tamad lying on the ground while waiting for the apple to fall. No matter how we long wait to have a good future, for as long as there is no action on our part, that future will not be realized. It is a known fact that personal finance is 80-percent behavior and 20-percent knowledge. That explains why even if information abounds, only a few choose to execute the knowledge they acquired. There are a lot of alibis offered, and the most common is “I will think it over.” A simple reason to summarize the alibis is that all are conditioned to spend rather than to save. The majority finds happiness in immediate gratification of the income received, especially those with the Yolo mindset. One must not forget that time moves forward, and nobody can escape it. Getting old without a retirement fund is similar to playing a losing chess game. As a chess player, I applied some principles that has helped me in a winning position going into retirement: 1. Save as much as possible. When I started working in 1988, I began with the end in mind. I looked 40 years into the future and decided to save 50 percent of my paycheck. I spent the remaining amount wisely, making sure that none went to

Edmund Lao

PERSONAL FINANCE waste. It is hard to start saving, but the fear of an unknown future can propel one to have the habit to save. A lot of times, I pretended (in my mind) that whatever money is in my pocket is my last money so that I will not be tempted to withdraw from my savings account. Saving at an early age can be compared to playing cautious moves in chess at the early stage of the game. 2. List down and analyze expenses. To know where my money is going, I listed my expenses. From the list, I was able to check which expenses I can eliminate so that I can free up cash to boost my savings. In a chess game, some positions will require a player to sacrifice a piece just to gain tempo (momentum) so that he will have the advantage. 3. Invest long term and forget. When I started investing, I forget all about it. I treated investment as an expense. That way, I will not rely on it for the short term need because I invested for my long-term goal. For me to be able to meet my short-term goal, I worked overtime and did some sideline selling to boost my income. Whenever my investments gain in value, I never redeemed because I want my money to compound. A lot of people always think of monthly payout, and the problem with payout is that it prevents money from compounding. At the same time, money from payout ends being spent unwisely. In playing chess, pieces are moved forward to win. When a player is losing, his pieces retreat. A person who redeems the profit of hid longterm investment is similar to a winning chess player who commits blunder and retreats his pieces to a losing position. 4. Be protected. Later in life, I learned the value of protection. I bought myself an insurance to protect my family from financial strain should anything wrong happen to me. From a person who feared insurance agents, I became believer after I understood its value. It pays to have more than one policy when we go on from one life stage to another. Just like in a chess game, while playing for a win, it makes sense to protect the King, as well. There is no sense going for the win when the King is exposed to risks from attacks by enemy pieces. Start your financial journey as soon as you start earning income. Be financially literate. Start investing, then play the waiting game and win later. Edmund Lao is Registered Financial Planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 75th RFP program this April 2019. To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text <name><e-mail> <RFP> at 0917-9689774.

B4 Tuesday, March 26, 2019

CELEBRATE LAGUNA IN THE MOST MAGICAL WAY GRAND HYATT MANILA SERVES ‘GREEN MONDAY’ ON THE TABLE

VERY celebration must be a magical one, and so the Enchanted Kingdom offers Laguna residents a magical treat! The Anilag Festival promo entitles Laguna residents to purchase a regular-day pass at a

TARTING April guests of Grand Hyatt Manila can make their way to the grand kitchen for “Green Monday”, dec k ing out w it h sumptuous a la minute vegan buffet. Grand Hyatt Manila goes green by rolling out f lavorful pl a nt-ba sed d i shes, a one-stop platform for i n nov at ive, yet natural, food products. Green Mond ay is a movement started by Green Common, the partner and distributor to many leading global plant-based natural food brands, including the pioneering Beyond Meat. With Beyond Meat’s wildly popular Beyond Burger patties and Beyond Sausage, the chefs of Grand Hyatt Manila is ready to serve the juiciest plant-based burgers and sausages in town. Pork lovers can also look forward to the chefs serving up well-loved pork dishes with Right Treat’s all-purpose plant-based pork. “Making healthier choices easier for our guests is one thing but, [in

discounted rate—P640 on weekdays and P720 on weekends. Present your Blue Card ID or any government-issued ID with your Laguna address upon purchase to avail of the promo. Each Laguna resident can purchase a minimum of four and a maximum of 10 passes per ID, per day! This promo will run on this entire month. Tickets may be purchased at the Santa Rosa group sales office and are good on the same day. All tickets cannot be rebooked nor be used in conjunction with any other promos and discounts. Visit www.enchantedkingdom.ph for park schedules and updates.

ROBINSONS IS MERALCO LUMINARY AWARDEE

addition], serving up choices—taking your health, environmental impact and sustainability into consideration—is really going beyond just enjoying good food...We are rolling out Green Mondays first and then, gradually, introducing more plant-based choices and expanding it into our six other restaurants,” executive chef Mark Hagan says. Green Monday is only one of hotel’s environmental initiatives. The hotel has since been adopting practices, such as replacing plastic straws, collecting items that can be donated and repurposed like Nespresso cups, collecting used coffee

beans as fertilizer or encouraging guests to bring their own tumbler for their coffee in the pastry shop. Grand Hyatt Manila is home to a myriad of diverse restaurant concepts, each a pleasing journey to the palate. It hopes to support more causes with the launch of Green Monday, and eventually to its six other restaurant concepts: No. 8 China House, The Cellar, The Lounge, Pool House, Florentine, and The Peak. E-mail at manila.grand@hyatt.com for inquiries and reservations. Like Grand Hyatt Manila on Facebook and follow them on Instagram @grandhyattmanilaph.

OR uplifting Filipinos’ way of life together, Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) is honored as a Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) corporate luminary for 2018. RLC envisions to develop a community where working class Filipinos can enjoy work-life balance. This vision will soon be fulfilled through Bridgetowne. Bridgetowne lies in the heart of Pasig City and, by having living spaces where residents live near at work, Bridgetowne aims to reclaim office workers’ wasted time from commuting and advocate quality of life. Key to a project of this magnitude is power, and RLC

donated a lot where Meralco can build a dedicated substation to support the Bridgetowne project. Receiving the award on behalf of RLC is President and Chief Executive Officer Frederick Go. Established in 2011, the Meralco Luminaries is a program that honors large and small enterprises, as well as local government units whose projects with Meralco have contributed to building a progressive Philippines. In photo are Go and Executive Vice President Faraday Go with the RLC team at the Eighth Meralco Luminaries awards night.

HEAD ON TO FIRST PHILIPPINE MANUFACTURING EXPO!

HE Philippine Suppliers and Manufacturers Exhibition (PSMEx 2019), organized by The Aerospace Industries Association of the Philippines (AIAP), is ready to hold its first reverse trade event for suppliers, buyers and end-users for the Philippine manufacturing sector. This year’s PSMEx, happening from March 27 to 30 at the

World Trade Center, is centered on four major manufacturing industries, namely, aerospace, automotive, electronics and motorcycle, says Dennis Chan, president of AIAP and chairman of the PSMEx. For inquiries, e-mail Market Access and Innovations at psmexhibition@gmail.com.

MANILA DOCTORS CANCER INSTITUTE INAUGURATED, OFFERS ADVANCED PATIENT-CARE TREATMENTS

ASTER, and more innovative and comprehensive cancer care is now available at Manila Doctors Hospital’s (MDH) newly opened Cancer Institute. Once again, MDH is at the forefront of battling cancer with its first VitalBeam radiotherapy system and linear accelerator (Linac), and image-guided brachytherapy. The Cancer Institute is chaired by renowned cancer specialist Dr. Antonio Villalon; and integrates all cancer-related services within the hospital. This multidisciplinary approach involves all pertinent health-care specialists, from medical doctor, surgical oncologist, gynecologist, radiation oncologist, medical physicist, psychiatrist, spiritual counsellors, hospice care to other specialists, to complete the treatment of a cancer patient. “This is a healing not just of the body, but also of the mind and spirit,” says Dr. Teresa Sy Ortin, chairman of the Department of Radiology Oncology. “The multidisciplinary approach is activated upon consultation, and patients will be guided step by step throughout his or her treatment.”

Cancer ranks as the third leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the country today. The Cancer Institute, with its cutting-edge cancer-fighting equipment and team of specialists, has given much-needed hope to patients fighting the disease. “We always look for ways to effectively treat this disease. There is no one size fits all in cancer treatment—we [offer] personalized care and combine this with science and technology in the field. Fighting cancer is a team effort and, together, we can beat cancer,” Dr. Ortin adds. Delivering image-guided results every 10 milliseconds, the VitalBeam Linac exactly does fast-paced synchronized imaging, patient positioning, beam shaping and dose delivery. “With VitalBeam, we can select the optimal treatment for every type of cancer,” Ortin said. “This is a breakthrough that enables us to offer a wider spectrum of advanced radiotherapy treatment options to more patients. It represents a big step forward in our ability to help people fight cancer.”

COURTESY CALL Delegates of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, headed by Major General Gener P. del Rosario, were joined by officers of the Philippine International Trading Corp. in a courtesy call to the Philippine Ambassador to Spain Philippe Jones Lhuillier. The delegates flew to Madrid, Spain, to procure military supplies on February 14. At the courtesy call the ambassador highlighted the importance of further cooperation between the Spanish and Philippine government, and assure officials of the embassy’s support and assistance. Accompanying the ambassador in welcoming the delegation was Colonel Harold Anthony F. Pascua, PA, who serves as the Defense and Armed Forces Attaché of the Philippine Embassy in Madrid.

a racket or a hoop, but the traditional style is just to whack the ball with the open hand. Players, called “pelotari,” can

IAMI GARDENS, Florida—Novak Djokovic pulled a spare ball from his pocket, angrily whacked it against the backstop and then pounded his uncooperative racket into the concrete. He lost his temper, but not the match. Annoyed after squandering a second-set lead, Djokovic regrouped and beat Federico Delbonis, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, on Sunday in the third round of the Miami Open. Djokovic appeared on his way to an easy victory when he led 3-1 in the second set, but he dropped serve twice in a row. He then steadied himself to win a succession of long rallies and sweep the last five games. “We were very close in the beginning of the third set,” he said. “It could have gone a different way.” The top-ranked Djokovic is trying for his seventh title at the Miami Open, which moved this year to the Dolphins’ complex. On the women’s side, defending champion Sloane Stephens lost to Tatjana Maria, 6-3, 6-2. Venus Williams, who is a three-time Miami champion but unseeded, beat No. 14 Daria Kasatkina, 6-3, 6-1. Defending men’s champion John Isner was broken in the first game, but he held the rest of the way and hit 16 aces to beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 7-5, 7-6 (6). Isner, now 33, won the biggest title of his career in the tournament a year ago. Seeded No. 7, he’ll next face No. 19 Kyle Edmund, who beat No. 12 Milos Raonic, 6-4, 6-4.

Djokovic’s fourth-round opponent will be No. 22 Roberto Bautista Agut, who eliminated No. 15 Fabio Fognini, 6-4, 6-4. “I’m hitting the ball well,” Djokovic said. “I just need a little more consistency to hold that level of play the entire match.” Crowds on the outer courts were again large and festive, but the atmosphere in the vast stadium was more subdued, with the stands only half full for Djokovic’s match. “It’s a unique stadium in tennis,” he said. “It’s obviously different from anything we’ve experienced before. It’s not a tennis venue. We’re guests here of the Miami Dolphins.” Williams advanced to the fourth round of the tournament for the 16th time. She lost serve four times against Kasatkina but won every return game, going 8 for 8. “I’ve never had a match like that before in my life,” she said. “There’s always a time for a first. I’m returning really well.” Williams won the title in 1998, 1999

THE top-ranked Novak Djokovic is trying to snatch his seventh title at the Miami Open. AP

and 2001. She’s unseeded at Miami for the first time since 2012 but seems to be enjoying herself, smiling often—including when Kasatkina hit a shot between her legs. “I never smile on the court, and this week I’ve smiled a lot,” Williams said. “There’s a lot to smile for. That’s all I can say.” She next faces No. 2 Simona Halep, who outlasted Polona Hercog, 5-7, 7-6 (1), 6-2. “I was running like crazy for three hours,” Halep said. “If I keep doing this, I think I have a chance to be back No. 1.” A loss on Saturday by top-ranked Naomi Osaka opened the door for Halep to reclaim the top ranking if she reaches the final. AP

The Associated Press

By Doug Ferguson

ALM HARBOR, Florida—Paul Casey got the battle he expected on Sunday in the Valspar Championship. Just not from Dustin Johnson. Casey and everyone else had full attention on a Copperhead course at Innisbrook that made the final round feel more like survival than a shootout. Casey did just that, closing with a one-over 72 for a one-shot victory that made him the first back-to-back winner in the 19 years of the tournament. He rallied from five shots behind last year with a 65. This time, he became the first winner at Innisbrook with a final round over par. “It feels very different, but not any less cool,” Casey said after making par from a fairway bunker on the 18th to avoid a playoff with Jason Kokrak and Louis Oosthuizen. “That golf course is so difficult that it’s damn near impossible to have a clean round of golf and not make any mistake. But I was composed. I was very keen to play well. I made mistakes, but then, so did everybody else. I got it done, and I couldn’t be happier.” The course was so dry and fast that no one shot better than 68, and the average score of 72.143 was the second-highest average for a final round this year on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour behind rainy, windy Riviera. Kokrak (71) and Oosthuizen (69) each had a

spend an hour before a match preparing their hands. They coat their fingers and palms with a wax covering that they first heat up with a flame. Then they wrap each finger in layers of tape and some thin foam padding to reduce the risk of injury. The players bend backward like tennis players taking a serve to generate power. The impact of the ball is clearly heard in the stands. It can often be painful, making players grimace when they strike the ball incorrectly. AP

Djokovic loses temper, but not 3rd-round match

AMPLONA, Spain—Their hands protected by layers of tightly bound tape, the players take turns swatting a small, hard ball at speeds that reach 115 kilometers (71.4 miles) per hour. They are playing a match of Pelota Vasca, or “Basque Ball,” a sport popular to its native Basque region that overlaps northern Spain and southwestern France. The game is similar to squash, but played without a racket and with only three walls. The court is called a “fronton,” and players can play the ball off the front, back and the left-side wall. The right wall is missing. Pelota Vasca was traditionally played in the village square facing a church, whose façade offered a perfect wall for players to hit the ball. Now it is a professional sport played indoors with

organized tournaments in northern Spain played by individuals or doubles, where many spectators bet on the winner. As a trophy, the winner of the annual championship is awarded a large green Basque beret, called the “Txapela.” The champion is called the “Txapeldun.” The handmade ball was originally made from a small hard plastic core bound with strips of cat intestine and wool thread, with an outer layer made of dried sheep skin. Today the balls go through a more industrial process, with synthetic materials being used. Other varieties can be played with

Look Ma, all hands!

Sports share of the lead on the back nine until one mistake cost them. Oosthuizen, who hit only six greens in regulation, opted for a fairway metal from just behind the 16th green and hit it too firmly. He missed the 8-foot par putt and never caught up. “There was too much grass behind the ball,” he said. “I saw all the grass behind the ball, and I just gave it a little bit too much. I don’t think I would have chipped it any closer.” Kokrak had a good lie in trampled, dry grass near the cart path on the 18th hole, but his shot came out short of the green into a sprinkler hole. A free drop put him in a position to putt, but he was short and left, and missed the 8-foot par putt to fall one shot behind. “Played good golf all week, just not the way I wanted to finish,” Kokrak said. Behind him was Casey, in one of the bunkers that resemble a miniature version of Oakmont’s church pews, facing a key shot into the wind to an elevated green. It came out perfectly to the right of the flag, and his birdie attempt grazed the left edge of the cup and left him with one of the easiest shots he had all day. Casey finished at eight-under 276 and moved to No. 11 in the world. It was the third straight week for a European-born winner on the PGA Tour, the first time that has happened since 2010 when Justin

Rose (Memorial), Lee Westwood (St. Jude Classic) and Graeme McDowell (US Open) won in successive weeks. Nothing came easily for Johnson, who started one shot behind and failed to make a birdie putt for the first time in 31 tournaments worldwide. The last occasion was the HSBC Champions in 2017, when he lost a six-shot lead. This time, even with no birdies and two bogeys until late in the round, he was still in the mix. That ended on the par-5 14th, when Johnson was just short of the green facing a stock chip. He ran it 5 feet by the hole and missed. Casey was on the hill and lofted a pitch onto the green to 2 feet for a birdie that restored his lead. Johnson closed with a 74 and tied for sixth. “I didn’t feel like I played bad,” Johnson said. “Felt like I was swinging well, and I still feel like I’m swinging well. I still got a lot of confidence in the game but just, yeah, tough day. Tough conditions and wasn’t spot on.” Casey appeared to have the tournament in hand when he found the green about 35 feet below the hole on the par-3 17th. But he left it 5 feet short and missed the par putt, falling back into a share of the lead. Kokrak made bogey ahead of him, leaving Casey only needing par on the 18th for the victory. The biggest challenge for Casey? “Combination of myself and this golf course—the golf course providing such a stern test and myself, can I rise to that test and that challenge that it’s providing and deliver?” The tournament allowed players to choose whatever name they wanted for the caddie’s bib. Casey went with “The Champ,” and he found one positive to the week before he even collected his trophy. “I don’t have to change the caddie bib,” he said. Too late. The tournament already has “The Champ X 2” ready for him next year. PAUL CASEY and everyone else has full attention on a Copperhead course at Innisbrook that made the final round feel more like survival than a shootout. AP

BACK-TO-BACK!

| Tuesday, March 26, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

BusinessMirror

BASQUE ball player or “pelotari” Jon Albizu jumps to return the ball during a match on a Labrit court or fronton in Pamplona, Spain. With their hands protected by layers of tightly bound tape, the players take turns swatting a small, hard ball at speeds that reach 115 kilometers per hour. AP

Spo

Business

C2 Tuesday, March 26, 2019

BACK WITH VENGEANCE

7 boys, 2 girls top N’Luzon camp

EVEN boys and two girls bested more than a thousand youngsters in the North Luzon Regional Selection Camp at the Benguet State University in La Trinidad to advance to the Jr. NBA Philippines National Training Camp. Earning tickets to the nationals are Laurence Christian Batongbacal, Jushrylle Rayne de Vera, Kenneth Gabriel Duca, Zak Adlee Gumaya, Aethan Pagio, Czarlo Lorenzo Salvador and Nathaniel Tomeldan. They are joined by Jhullianna Francesca Pagteilah and Christine Nicole Venterez. Young players from Baguio City, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan and other nearby provinces joined

the weekend camp. After two days of basketball drills and exercises, the seven boys and two girls exhibited outstanding on-court skills and embodied the core values of the game. They move on to the next stage of the program—the National Training Camp—at the Don Bosco Technical Institute Makati on May 17 and 19. This year, the Jr. NBA Philippines All-Stars—composed of five boys and five girls—will compete in the first Jr. NBA Global Championship Asia Pacific Selection Camp, a weeklong camp in June that includes top youth players from North Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.

National U makes NBTC history as first back-to-back champion

AZARETH School of National University (NU) left no doubt that it is the best high-school team in the Philippines as it beat La Salle Green Hills, 95-83, for the second straight year in the Chooks-to-Go National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) League National Finals presented by SM on Sunday at SM Mall of Asia Arena. The Bullpups got the usual contributions from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines championship-winning core of Carl Tamayo, Terrence Fortea and Gerry Abadiano to be crowned national champions for high school. “We achieved them all,” NU Head

Coach Goldwin Monteverde said. “Every tournament, we really prepare hard.” Monteverde also coaxed the usual total team effort out of his boys as they counted five players in double-digits led by Tamayo who posted a 24-point, 18-rebound doubledouble en route to being hailed Finals MVP. Fortea and Cyril Gonzales also fired 23 and 14 points, respectively, while littleknown forward Reyland Torres had his own

NBA RESULTS LA Clippers 124, New York 113 Milwaukee 127, Cleveland 105 Indiana 124, Denver 88 Charlotte 115, Toronto 114 San Antonio 115, Boston 96 Golden State 121, Detroit 114 LA Lakers 111, Sacramento 106

double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds. Inand Fornilos showed the way for the Greenies with 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, while Joshua David contributed 17 points, six boards and two assists.

Top-seeded Duke nip Fall, UCF by one point

OLUMBIA, South Carolina—Zion Williamson hit a lay-up over 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall in the closing seconds and RJ Barrett’s putback provided the margin of victory as topseeded Duke held off UCF, 77-76, on Sunday to reach the Sweet 16. Aubrey Dawkins finished with 32 points for UCF, but his tip-in try for the win just missed with less than two seconds left. Williamson also had 32 points, including the lay-up over Fall with 14.4 seconds left and his team trailing 76-73. Williamson was fouled on the play by Fall and missed the free throw. But with Fall out of the game with his fifth foul, Barrett was able to snare the rebound and scored on the putback to put the Blue Devils (31-5) ahead. Ninth-seeded UCF (24-9) had a final chance,

but BJ Taylor missed a short jumper and then Dawkins’s tip attempt rolled around the rim and stayed out. Barrett finished with 16 points. Surprise starter Mamadi Diakite scored 14 points and had nine rebounds as No. 1 seed Virginia beat Oklahoma,63-51, leading nearly the entire game. The Cavaliers (31-3) led for all but three minutes of the second-round contest and cranked up its trademark, stifling defense. The Sooners (20-14) hit just four of their last 18 shots in the first half and trailed 31-22 at the break. After Kihel Clark’s putback on the first possession of the second half, Virginia’s lead never dipped below 10 again as the Cavaliers held Oklahoma to 36.5 percent shooting. Ty Jerome added 12 points and Braxton Key

STEPHEN CURRY returns to score 26 points as the Golden State Warriors beat the Detroit Pistons, while LeBron James proves he intends to go all out when he’s on the court despite the Lakers playing for crumbs. AP

Houston 113, New Orleans 90

had nine for the Cavaliers. Brady Manek and Chistian James each scored 12 for the Sooners. Kerry Blackshear had 19 points and nine rebounds as fourth-seeded Virginia Tech topped Liberty, 67-58, to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 52 years. Ahmed Hill added 14 points and Justin Robinson scored 13 to help the Hokies (25-8) beat their in-state rivals and advance to a matchup with top-seeded Duke. Darius McGhee scored 15 points to lead Liberty (29-7), which won its first tournament game ever on Friday against Mississippi State. Caleb Homesley was held to eight points on 3-for11 shooting after scoring 30 points to key the first-round upset.

AKLAND, California— Stephen Curry was back after a night off, and all was well again for the Golden State Warriors. Curry had 26 points, Klay Thompson added 24 and the Warriors rebounded a night after a blowout loss with a 121-114 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. The Warriors fell 126-91 to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, but that was with Curry resting on the bench. He came back strong against the Pistons, and Golden State also got 14 points and 11 assists from Kevin Durant. Draymond Green added 14 points and eight assists. Warriors guard Shaun Livingston, who had eight points off the bench, said having Curry on the court was of the “utmost importance for sure. He’s kind of the engine of the team. His pace and his gravity on the court, it opens up the game for all of us.” Curry said there was a sense of intensity from the start after the big loss. “Nobody felt good about that, even the guys that didn’t play,” said Curry, who had played 49 straight games before Saturday’s night off. “You could see that sense of urgency, especially in the first quarter to set the tone and try to make the game as easy as possible on ourselves for 48 minutes.” The win moved the Warriors (50-23) back into the first seed in the Western Conference by a half-game over the Nuggets (49-23). The Pistons slipped to seventh in the Eastern Conference with the loss. Blake Griffin had 24 points and eight assists to lead Detroit. Luke Kennard hit three

three-pointers and had 20 points off the bench. After being eliminated from playoff contention, there has been plenty of discussion about how the Los Angeles Lakers should use LeBron James for the rest of the season. For James, there is no debate. As long as he is physically able to play, he intends to go all out when he’s on the court. James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, Kyle Kuzma scored 21 of his 29 points in the third quarter and the Lakers ended a five-game losing streak with a 111-106 win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night in Los Angeles. “I felt I was healthy enough to go out and do something to help our team win, so I just went with my gut,” James said. “I’m happy I was able to go out and make a couple plays.” JaVale McGee had 17 points and 14 rebounds to help the Lakers win for the third time in their past 15 games. Marvin Bagley III had 25 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Kings, who trail San Antonio by 6 1/2 games for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with nine games remaining. Sacramento pulled within two points at 106-104 with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a three, but James made four free throws down the stretch.

After invoking the basketball gods in an on-court interview after the game, James said he owed it to the fans and to himself to give his best whenever possible. “If I’m on the floor, I’ve got to try to play as hard as I can or do something to affect the game and not cheat the game,” said James, who had 12 points and three assists in the fourth quarter. “So if I’m out on the floor, if I’m in uniform, then I’ve got to try to make things happen.” AP

KAI SOTTO TO TRAIN OVERSEAS K SOTTO

KAI SOTTO wants to play in the National Basketball Association.

AI SOTTO announced on Monday his preference for training overseas for him to achieve his ultimate dream: Play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Already a star dominant player in his age group, the 7-foot-2 Sotto said that he and his family has decided to pursue his NBA dream by resuming his budding career abroad. In an Instagram post, the 16-year-old Sotto said that his decision to leave the country will greatly help him become the first full-blooded Filipino to play in the NBA. “I strongly feel that leaving immediately to start my training and getting the right exposure will go a long way to help me realize my dream,” Sotto said. “I will train very hard in the next few years so that one day soon, you will be very proud of me,” he added.

PSA FORUM BACK AT NEW HOME

HE Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) resumes its regular weekly Sports Forum on Tuesday at its new home at the Amelie Hotel Manila along J. Bocobo Street in Malate. Serving as main guests are the participants in the PRUride PH 2019, the country’s largest cycling festival, along with the Philippine Rugby Football Union.

Appearing as part of PRUride PH are celebrity hosts Gretchen Ho and Kim Atienza, Go For Gold’s Edz Hualda, Ismael Gorospe and Ronnel Hualda, and Ric Rodriguez and champion rider Marcelo Felipe representing 711. Jake Letts, general manager of the Philippine Volcanoes, will discuss the Philippine Rugby youth program in the session presented

Sotto said he could achieve his dream in two to three years. By going overseas to train, Sotto has given up his two remaining seasons with the Ateneo juniors team. But he said he is dedicating his decision to the people who helped him along his young career. “I will do all I can with the guidance of my dad and mom to be the very best that I can be. This is for my future, for my family, for Batang Gilas, Gilas Pilipinas, and, above all, for the country,” he said. The teenager, however, has yet to divulge his destination although it is public knowledge that he has offers from European clubs Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Baskonia, Alba Berlin and Movistar Estudiantes. Sotto was named Most Valuable Player of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines juniors division where he averaged 25.1 points, 13.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.6 blocks for Ateneo, which finished runner-up to National University. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

by San Miguel Beer, Tapa King and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Also during the forum, winners in the recent Philippine Open photo contest held in Ilagan, Isabela, will be announced in a short awarding ceremony to be graced by Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association President Philip Ella Juico. The Forum starts at 10 a.m. PSA President Dodo Catacutan of SPIN.ph enjoins members to attend the session.

orts

sMirror

INGAPORE’S Choo Tze Huang, Gregory Foo and Marc Ong along with Canada’s Lindsey Renolds and Thailand’s Poom Saksansin and Tawan Phongpun hope to make the most of their stint in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Riviera Golf Challenge, all aiming for a top finish when the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Asia event is fired off on Wednesday in Silang, Cavite. The six are among the 16 invitees to the $100,000 championship serving as the penultimate leg of the second PGT Asia through 2018-19 put up by ICTSI with Huang and former fellow national team mainstays Foo and Ong marking their return to local turf where they fought many a battle with the local aces during their amateur days. The event also serves as prelude to the 101st Solaire Philippine Open set from April 3 to 6 at The Country Club in Laguna, making this week’s 72-hole championship at the tight, hazard-laden Langer layout crucial for the majority of the 120-player field heading to Asia’s oldest National Open at one of the country’s toughest courses. Spain’s Marcos Pastor, who topped the recent PGT Q-School at the wind-raked Splendido, is also

Lady Eagle Madayag sets record

MADAYAG

TENEO’S Maddie Madayag set a new league record in blocks against University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Wednesday while the Blue Eagles stretched their winning streak in tennis on Sunday in Season 81 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) action. Madayag broke the 11-year-old record with her 11 blocks in the Lady Eagles’19-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-22, 15-11 thriller against the Tigresses to emerge as the Collegiate Press Corps UAAP Player of the Week, making her the third Lady Eagle this season to receive the award after Kat Tolentino and Bea de Leon. The veteran middle blocker scored a career-best 23 points in the victory at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan, the seventh straight for Ateneo. Madayag made life difficult for UST’s spikers, particularly for Dimdim Pacres. She tallied her recordbreaking 11th block in the fourth set after rejecting Sisi Rondina. Madayag then stepped up on offense in the deciding fifth set as she put the Lady Eagles ahead for good, 11-10, with her trademark running attack. “I’m speechless, I don’t know what to say,” Madayag said after being informed that she had broken the record formerly held by De La Salle’s Celine Hernandez, who had nine against Adamson University in Season 70. “I just played my game, and contributed whatever I can for the team, and I just gave it my all,” the middle blocker added. Ateneo, meanwhile, gave National University (NU) its first loss in the men’s tennis, 4-1, at the Colegio de San Agustin courts in City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. The Bulldogs, however, remain on top of the standings with a 9-1 won-lost record, while the Blue Eagles, who have won six consecutive ties, rose to 8-2. Not far behind was University of Santo Tomas, which scored a 4-1 win over Adamson University to keep its twice-to-beat bonus bid alive with a 7-3 card. University of the Philippines (UP) fashioned out a 3-2 victory over De La Salle to tie defending champion University of the East at 5-5. The Lady Archers, meanwhile, formalized their entry in the women’s Finals after a five-year absence following a 4-1 conquest of the Tigresses. De La Salle raised its league’s best record to 6-1. The Lady Eagles moved in a tie with the Lady Bulldogs in second at 4-3 via a 3-2 decision over the Lady Maroons. With its fifth loss in seven ties, UST saw it reign end, while UP finished the season with a 2-6 card.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019 C3

FOREIGN ACES VIE AT RIVIERA in the fold along with American Ben Weir, Taiwanese Wang Tsung Chieh, Yang Fei Hao and Lee Chao Ha, Teegan Moore and Dean Fourie of South Africa, and Thai Kammalas Namuangruk. Former Asia’s No. 1 and Japan PGA Tour campaigner Juvic Pagunsan has also signed up for both events organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc., joining reigning PGT Order of Merit winner and defending champion Jobim Carlos as spearheads of the local challenge in the event that also features fellow top guns Jhonnel Ababa, Tony Lascuña, Clyde Mondilla and Jay Bayron.

Angelo Que, who tied for 25th in last Sunday’s Maybank Championship, is also in both the Riviera and Philippine Open rosters, further toughening up the Filipinos’ bid in the twin events marking a busy schedule for the locals and foreign bidders alike. But the Filipino aces brace for a tough encounter with the talent-laden foreign delegation boosted by PGTA leg winners David Gleeson and Damien Jordan of Australia, PGT titlist Nicolas Paez of the US, Thai stalwarts Pasavee Lertvilai, Wisut Artjanawat and Nirun Sae-ueng, PGT winner Guido van der Valk of the

Netherlands, and Americans Brett Munson and Joshua Salah. Meanwhile, the leading pros will team up with guests and officials of the event’s chief backers ICTSI, Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Empire Golf and Sports, and MY Shokai Technology Inc. in today’s (Tuesday) traditional pro-am tournament. Other local aces tipped to contend are PHL Masters champion Jerson Balasabas, PGTA CAT Open titlist James Ryan Lam and PGTA Summit Point victor Joenard Rates, and young guns Ira Alido, Keanu Jahns and Justin Quiban.

GREGORY FOO is one of the three Singaporeans who are joining the hunt.

GOPILIPINASGO PEP RALLY TODAY AT RIZAL MEMORIAL M

PHILIPPINE South East Asian Games Organizing Committee Chairman Alan Peter Cayetano (second from left) lock hands with (from left) Director General Patrick Gregorion, PT Amerta Indah Otsuka President Yoshihiro Bando and Otsuka Solar Philippines Inc. President Kohei Oyamada. NONIE REYES

PHISGOC BAGS POCARI SWEAT AS NEW PARTNER

HE Philippine South East Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) has partnered with Pocari Sweat to be the exclusive rehydration isotonic drink of the 30th South East Asian Games. Pocari Sweat, the flagship brand of Otsuka Pharmaceutical, signed up as a Gold Tier Sponsor of the Games. Phisgoc Chairman Alan Peter Cayetano welcomed Pocari Sweat to the roster of growing private partners, which have thrown in their support to guarantee the Philippine’s successful hosting of the Games.

“The continuous outpouring of support from different multinational companies boosts our confidence that we can overcome all the challenges to deliver the best SEA games ever,” Cayetano said. The partnership was signed on Monday at Taguig City’s Satellite Offices. PT Amerta Indah Otsuka President Yoshihiro Bando signed the contracts with Cayetano. Launched in the 1980s, Pocari Sweat has established its brand across Asia. Although it has been regular partner of the Asian Games, this is the first time that Pocari Sweat is supporting the SEA Games.

“We are happy to share with our partners that the preparations are in full swing and the entry of Pocari Sweat will provide a big boost to our commitment to achieve our goals and tasks,” Cayetano said. Phisgoc assured their international private partners that they will be given the best value for their sponsorship. The Phisgoc has earlier welcomed Ajinomoto, Asics, Atos, GL Events, Grand Sport, Marathon, Mikasa, Molten and Philippine Airlines to its growing list of sponsors. The Games will be broadcast in partnership with Media Pro Asia.

EMBERS of the national team will join several sports legends as well as coaches and sports officials on Tuesday when the GoPilipinasGo movement stages a pep rally and concert for Team Philippines to the 30th Southeast Asian Games. The program, which starts at 5 p.m., will also serve as grand launch of the GoPilipinasGo movement, which was created to help drumbeat the SEA Games, as well as the Philippines’s drive for the overall championship. The Philippines is hosting the SEA Games for the fourth time from November 30 to December 11 at New Clark City in Tarlac, Subic, Tagaytay City, Metro Manila, Calatagan and San Juan in La Union. The GoPilipinasGo Athletes Rallly will be held aptly at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Field, which has a rich history being the site of many victories by the national baseball and softball teams in the last century. The pep rally’s stage is set at the stadium’s left field where the names of baseball greats who belted historic homeruns on the field are seen. These include baseball immortals Babe Ruth, Charlie Gehringer and Lou Gehrig, and the Philippines’s very own, the late Filomeno “Boy” Codinera. Among the legends invited to the affair are Lydia de Vega, Elma Muros-Posadas, Bong Coo, Paeng Nepomuceno, Eric Buhain, Onyok Velasco, Roel Velasco, Akiko Thomson-Guevara, Renato Unso, Stephen Fernandez and Bea Lucero. The SEA Games was held in the country in 1981, 1991 and 2005. And some of the standouts of those editions are also expected to grace the rally. Entrance is free to the public who will not only see their favorite athletes but also top bands like Johnny Cross, Silver Box and This Band. The Philippines won the overall title only once in 2005. Also expected to attend are top officials of the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee and Philippine Sports Commission, as well as several other government agencies.

Tornadoes in crucial match; Petron eyes 12th straight win

IRONMAN CHAMPS Alveo Ironman Davao 70.3 presented by Petron pro winners Czech Radka Kahlefeldt and Markus Rolli of Germany (second and third from left, respectively) pose with Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (fourth from left) during the awards ceremony at Azuela Cove on Sunday. With them are (from left) organizing Sunrise Events Inc. General Manager Princess Galura, Alveo Land President Robert Lao and Alveo Land COO Rufino Gutierrez.

OTON tries to get out of a slump when it battles dangerous United VC in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan. Action starts at 7 p.m. with the Tornadoes hunting for a crucial win that will revive their campaign in the women’s club tournament. Petron, meanwhile, seeks its 12th consecutive win when it tangles with resurgent Generika-Ayala at 2 p.m., while Cignal and PLDT Home Fibr jockey for position in the 4:15 p.m. encounter. Petron and F2 Logistics, two of the best clubs in the country today, already bagged the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals, leaving the race for the last two incentives wide open among PLDT (7-5), Cignal (6-6) and United VC (5-5) to vie. Two-time champion Foton, meanwhile, is struggling. After winning its opening-day match over United VC, the Tornadoes suffered a string of misfortune, prompting them to replace Selime Ilyasoglu of Turkey with Milagros Collar of Spain while bringing back Dindin Manabat, who campaigned in the prestigious V.Premier League in Japan.

Still, it wasn’t effective as the Tornadoes’ slide had extended to nine games, sending them all the way to the bottom of the team standings with a 1-9 win-loss card. “We hope to finally end our losing streak. Our lone win this conference is also against them [United VC] so we hope we can do it again on Tuesday,” said Foton Coach Aaron Velez, who will bank on Collar, Courtney Felinski, Elaine Kasilag, Maika Ortiz, Shaya Adorador and Manabat for firepower. “Coming off a nine-game losing streak is really tough. It’s difficult, but we are optimistic that we can still bounce back and redeem our morale.” But United VC is also raring to bounce back after a tough loss to Generika-Ayala, 23-25, 2521, 25-19, 25-27, 12-15, last Thursday. United VC will again rely on prolific hitters Kalei Mau, Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani, who had 33 and 25 points, respectively, in their previous match. “At this point, we need to have as many wins as possible,” said Ylaya. “We’re running after the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals, so we have to be at our best every game.”

AL MENDOZA alsol47@yahoo.com

THAT’S ALL

Top 3 and best hosting ever?

BASICALLY, our preparation for the Southeast Asian Games is two-pronged. One, we target a Top 3 placing. And two, we make our hosting of the event the best ever in the history of the biennial gathering of 11 nations comprising Southeast Asia. How do we achieve a Top 3 finish? By crowding the favorites in the frenetic race to garner the most number of golds in the 56-event Games. Easier said than done, of course. But if we did it in 2005—win overall honors—why can’t it be done also this year? I mean, emerging as overall champion anew? We learned our lessons well in the 1991 SEA Games, when we finished second overall despite our being the host to the event that drew nine nations and saw the late President Cory Aquino open the two-week friendly hostilities. Traditionally, the host country wins overall honors in almost every SEA Games gathering. But not us achieving it in 1991. We miscalculated then our strategy in the women’s marathon, the 1991 Games’s last event, where we practically let Indonesia steal the gold as our bet reportedly missed a large chunk of the race’s route. That mercifully dropped us to second overall behind champion Indonesia by a mere gold medal. But the next time we hosted the SEA Games in 2005, we employed all our might, throwing everything at our rivals—including the so-called kitchen sink—to win. Our total haul of 113 gold medals that year wasn’t only the most golds ever won by any country since the Games began in 1977, it was also 26 golds more than what runner-up Thailand garnered. That was absolutely the most glowing moment in the presidency of the Philippine Olympic Committee of Peping Cojuangco, whose daughter, Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, was the country’s flag bearer for the Games. But after that, we suffered debilitating blows in the succeeding editions of the Games. Always, we were kicked out of the Top 3 as we were consistently nudged from fifth to seventh places. That is why this year, even as we host the region’s version of the Olympics for the fourth time since 1981, we treat a Top 3 mission as being like winning the overall championship already. At least this time, we are being that honest. Now if Alan Peter Cayetano’s words should prove prophetic—making this year’s SEA Games the most beautifully-staged ever—that might be worth more than amassing the most number of gold medals by the Games’s end. Needless to say, Cayetano, chief of the organizing committee, is staking his illustrious name in this gargantuan task that many dread like the bubonic plague. Good luck, Alan. THAT’S IT Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner Willie Marcial is all out in allowing PBA players to represent the country in the SEA Games. Just right. We need the best no less to ensure the gold in the nation’s favorite pastime. We can’t afford a basketball defeat in the SEA Games, as that would mean a disaster of immense proportions.... Happy birthday to Tey Sornet, who turns 60 on March 28—60 being now the new 40 in life expectancy. Cheers!

SHIFFRIN EVERYWHERE Sports BusinessMirror

| Tuesday, March 26, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

CATCH! Los Angeles Angels center fielder Brandon Marsh makes a catch on a ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers’ Omar Estevez during the eighth inning of their Major League Baseball preseason game on Sunday in Anaheim, California. AP

By Melissa Murphy

The Associated Press

EW YORK—Mikaela Shiffrin generally whizzes past mountain gates at 80 mph. She had a much harder time maneuvering through the crowd at Macy’s. The 24-year-old skier arrived in Manhattan to celebrate the end of a record-setting season, which included an unprecedented 17 World Cup wins and her third straight overall title. Lindsey Vonn won four overall titles before she retired this season at the age of 34. Shiffrin returned from the Pyrenees mountains— after a brief visit to Barcelona with her French boyfriend and skier Mathieu Faivre—for a meet and greet with fans at the watch counter at Macy’s on Thursday for sponsor Longines. “It was a little bit, where am I going?” she said with a laugh about the flagship store. Shiffrin had no such problems on the slopes this season. She is the first skier—male or female—to win World Cup discipline titles in slalom, giant slalom and super-G, plus the overall title in one season. She broke the women’s record and tied the men’s record for most slalom wins with 40. She is the youngest skier to reach 50 World Cup wins and now has 60.

ERMANY is winning again, and Croatia is struggling. The World Cup feels like a long time ago. After a year of problems off the field—and humiliation on it—the new Germany is finally starting to look like the old Germany. Grit, determination and Nico Schulz’s 90th-minute winner earned the Germans a confidence-boosting 3-2 win over the Netherlands on Sunday in a European Championship qualifier. “It’s good for the self-belief of this young team,” said Germany Coach Joachim Loew. “I can live with criticism. I know what our potential is.” Croatia looked a shadow of the resilient team, which reached the World Cup final in July as it lost 2-1 to Hungary in Budapest. Spells of confusion in the Croatian defense are likely to concern Coach Zlatko Dalic in a group where four teams look like contenders for two qualifying spots for Euro 2020. Elsewhere, Wales started with a tense win over Slovakia, while Belgium and Poland enjoyed comfortable victories.

Not bad for an American skier who at age 6 told her parents she wanted to be the best in the world. She crouched in the snow cradling the giant slalom crystal globe after clinching that title for the first time on March 17, four days after her birthday. “I’m most proud of the GS globe,” Shiffrin said. “This year, I had some breakthrough moments with giant slalom. Winning the final race was one of the more emotional moments.” She made the media rounds in New York and taught Jimmy Fallon the shuffle dance during an appearance on The Tonight Show. She will get a two-week break and spend time with her 97-year-old grandmother and settle into a new house in Colorado. Shiffrin competes mostly in Europe during the ski season and enjoys relative anonymity back in the US But that may change with the retirement of Vonn and given Shiffrin’s record wins, prize money and endorsements. She is featured in a TV commercial for Barilla with tennis star Roger Federer. Fallon called Shiffrin “the most dominant skier on the planet.” Here are more things to know about Shiffrin, whose parents were both ski racers:

TEAM EFFORT

MIKAELA SHIFFRIN knows her level of success takes a village of support, including her family, coaches, trainers and conditioning experts.

“When it comes down to race day, we don’t leave it to chance and we don’t leave it to luck,” she said. “We only have three days in between races, it’s my only block of training. They’re figuring out the logistics, do we fly here, drive there, where do we go, what’s the best conditions? Do we need to send somebody ahead of time to inject the slopes so the snow is hard enough when I arrive? They are on top of that all the time.” Three years ago, she enlisted Coach Mike Day, who she said has had a “calming effect” compared with some “very intense coaches in the past.” He’s “even-keeled” and helps “block out the noise.”

BREAKTHROUGHS

AN early season victory in December in the super-G—her first in that discipline—at Lake Louise in Canada was key to launching her successful season, Mikaela Shiffrin said. She’d had no super-G training since ski camp in Chile three months earlier. A slalom and giant slalom technical racer, her goal was to “just enjoy it” and “lay down a really good run.” She called it “the most fun I’d had in a race for a long time.” That win set the tone for a remarkable season. “I thought, if I could keep this ‘high standards, but no expectations’ kind of mindset for the rest of the season, then I think it’s going to be really good. That was a huge piece of it.” It translated into improved skiing, confidence and giant slalom turns “faster than anyone else can do.” Weather and course conditions are constant variables.

MIKAELA SHIFFRIN has a much harder time maneuvering through the crowd at Macy’s rather than skiing down slopes at 80 mph. AP

“The races I won this year, maybe I had to fight for it or maybe I just skied a lot better and I earned it. That’s a special kind of feeling. My GS is definitely on a different level.”

MOTHER LODE

HER mother, Eileen, is a coach, video analyst, hill inspector, travel companion and all-around guiding force. They thought about tapering Eileen’s travel schedule before the season, but the successes kept her on the road. “She’s family, that unconditional love,” Mikaela Shiffrin said. “She’s only there for me. It’s not like her salary rides on my success. Her happiness rides on my

Juventus breaks record for women’s club game

Role reversal: Germany wins, Croatia labors

GERMANY’S REVENGE

FACING old rivals the Netherlands for the third time in six months, Germany enjoyed its revenge. The Dutch beat Germany 3-0 in Amsterdam in October and earned a last-gasp draw in the return fixture. Those results helped to relegate Germany from the top tier of the Nations League—further embarrassment after its disastrous 2018 World Cup campaign when it failed to advance from the group stage. Schulz’s winner came just when it looked like his team had let the Dutch salvage a draw from 2-0 down in the Group C game. “We didn’t control the ball and if you can’t exert pressure the game opens up and you see that they have some amazing attackers,” Netherlands Coach Ronald Koeman said. Germany had gone six competitive games without a win since beating Sweden at the World Cup. The challenge now for Loew is to keep the momentum going—after all, the win over Sweden was seen at the time as a much-needed boost after a poor run. It proved a false dawn when Germany promptly lost to South Korea and spectacularly crashed out of the World Cup. Germany’s next opponent, Belarus, lost 2-1 to group leader Northern Ireland, which won its second straight group game with an 87th-minute goal from substitute Josh Magennis.

CROATIA CREAKING

EIGHT months after reaching the World Cup final,

GERMANY’S Nico Schulz (fourth from left) celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side’s third goal against the Netherlands. AP

Croatia is unexpectedly struggling. Croatia’s defense was at times overwhelmed by a spirited Hungary team, conceding one goal to a fine passing move masterminded by Balazs Dzsudzsak, and the other after panicky set-piece defending. Since losing the World Cup final to France, Croatia’s results have been wildly inconsistent.

A 6-0 loss to Spain in the Nations League, a 3-2 win over Spain soon after, and Thursday’s labored 2-1 win over Azerbaijan have highlighted Croatia’s moments of brilliance and its vulnerabilities after losing key players to international retirement and injury. Earlier in the same group, Daniel James’s first international goal gave Wales the lead after five minutes

happiness. I’m happiest when I’m able to ski my best.” Eileen was her study partner when Mikaela was home-schooled the last two years of high school, which allowed her to travel on the World Cup circuit during the winter at age 16 after attending Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont. “My mom is the most driven person I’ve ever known, but she’s driven about the things she cares about. So I think people often look at her and they just assume that she has pushed me. Yeah, she pushes me in the sense that she keeps me on track. My parents were always helping me be a better skier.”

against Slovakia before holding on to win 1-0. “It was a perfect start,” Wales Coach Ryan Giggs said, and he was full of praise for the 21-year-old James. “He is a talent, and when you have got that raw pace, you are a threat at any level.” Croatia, Hungary, Wales and Slovakia are level on three points in Group E. Last-placed Azerbaijan has no points. AP

URIN, Italy—A week after the world record for the highest attendance at a women’s soccer club match was set, a league record in Italy was also broken. Juventus women’s team played for the first time at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday, and a total of 39,027 people turned out to see the league leaders beat second-placed Fiorentina, 1-0. That smashed the previous record attendance for a women’s club match in Italy of 14,000 spectators. All tickets on Sunday were free. “I had goosebumps so many times,” goalscorer Sofie Pedersen said. “It was amazing to have all those people coming and cheering for us and singing the Juve song and Juve all through the game. It was amazing.” It was only Pedersen’s third goal for Juventus since joining from Spanish side Levante at the end of last year. “It’s not really often that I score, and I did it today. So that was amazing, I’ll never forget that,” the Denmark midfielder said. Defending champion Juventus extended its advantage at the top of the Serie A table to four points ahead of Fiorentina and five ahead of third-placed AC Milan. While the men’s team regularly plays in front of a sold-out Allianz Stadium, Juventus Women normally play their matches at the club’s training center in Vinovo, in a stadium with a capacity of less than 500. The match was also broadcast live in Italy by Sky, which shows at least one Serie A women’s match a week. But, with the eyes of so many upon them, Juventus and Italy captain Sara Gama conceded that neither team gave the best advert for women’s football. “I think neither team expressed their best football because there was so much heightened emotion,” the 29-year-old defender said. “I think that’s human. “Apart from anything it was a match where we were playing for the title, so they are matches which are already tense, never mind the fact we were playing in front of 39,000 people. We’re used to playing in front of a lot less.” The stadium atmosphere appeared more relaxed compared to men’s matches, with plenty of young fans in attendance. Office worker Marco Ciocchetti, 51, seized the opportunity to take his sons Dario and Oscar, aged seven and nine respectively, to their first football match—and his wife Tecla, 43, said it was the promise of a peaceful match, which prompted them to attend. A total of 60,739 people were present at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium last Sunday as the hosts lost 2-0 to Barcelona in a women’s game. In January, Athletic Bilbao said it set a European club record when 48,121 spectators attended a Spanish Cup match against Atletico Madrid at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao. The record for any women’s match was set in 1999 when 90,185 people watched the World Cup final between the United States and China at the Rose Bowl, which the US won. At the 2012 Olympic final in London, 80,203 saw the US beat Japan. AP

Living God

EAR God, You are the source of our joy and happiness. In gladness we pray: Shepherd us in love, oh God. Animate the worship, preaching and song of Your Church. Give wisdom, discernment and right judgment to Pope Francis and all entrusted with servant leadership in the Church. Heal those who have suffered physical illnesses and wrongdoings relationships, abuse, injustice or neglect. Forgive our offenses and show us the right ways of doing our daily tasks. May God bless us in mercy, fill our hearts with peace and lead us to walk in the light of Christ. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

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Tuesday, March 26, 2019

NIKO by Nahtrang

JAPANESE organizational expert Marie Kondo introduces her new line of storage boxes during a media event in New York. Kondo is sparking joy among shoppers feeling the urge to clean out their homes. But once you master the Japanese organizing expert’s novel approach to decluttering, what do you do with all the stuff you don’t want? AP

5 tips on what to do with unwanted stuff

By anne d’innOCenZiO The Associated Press

EW YORK—World-renowned tidying expert Marie Kondo is sparking joy among shoppers feeling the urge to clean out their homes. But once you master the Japanese organizing expert’s novel approach to decluttering, what do you do with all the stuff you don’t want? Charitable organizations like Goodwill have cited how Kondo’s popular Netflix series, Tidying up with Marie Kondo, has led to a surge of donations. And sites like OfferUp and thredUP also note an uptick in the number of items being sent to them for sale. Kondo recommends getting rid of items that don’t spark joy, and she calls for decluttering by category, not by location. Still, there’s a lot of angst in figuring out the right home for unwanted items. “I think we’re living in the age where people are taking the stress out of their lives so Marie Kondo comes at a perfect time,” said Wendy Liebmann, founder and CEO of WSL Strategic Retail. “But there’s a lot of stress in trying to find all these places that will take all these things.” Liebmann recommends getting rid of the easiest items first. Then, deal with the harder items to give away or sell. Here are five more rules to embrace: n BE SMART ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE SELLING. Study a variety of sites from thredUP and Poshmark to find

out what they accept, what carries the best value and any fees. Make sure to sell in-season items and only clean garments. For those who have a closet full of Chanel and Prada bags, check out luxury consignment online retailer the RealReal.com. “This is not a way to get rich. But it is a way to clean out your closet,” said James Reinhart, cofounder and CEO of thredUP.com. At thredUP, only 40 percent of received items are accepted and sold online; the rest are recycled through a third-party partner. If interested in selling secondhand items on thredUP, request a cleanout bag. Many of the sites including thredUP and RealReal list recently sold items so customers will know their worth. Many sites set the pricing based on quality, style and the available inventory. Check out selling fees, which vary. n CONSIDER APPS THAT HELP YOU SELL LOCALLY. Move over, Craigslist. A growing number of marketplace apps like LetGo and OfferUp let you sell locally the big sofa or other large item that would be too expensive to ship across the country. EBay also allows customers to post local listings. Many give the option to register with your Facebook account, helping to verify its members and make it a safer exchange. OfferUp says it’s the biggest mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers. Last year, however, it began allowing sellers to ship item across the US, widening the market of prospective buyers, says Natalie Angelillo, vice president of community at OfferUp. OfferUp allows users to create a custom profile link and lets buyers and sellers leave

Dezeenio celebrates grand launch at Greenbelt 5 DEZEENIO, the newest exciting furniture store at Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, celebrated its grand launch on Thursday. It truly is the ultimate destination for people who want to style their own spaces. Featuring a wide collection of products, the store caters to different individuals with different styles. Among its extensive range of products are top-quality furniture, statement lighting fixtures and unique home accessories. To showcase their slogan, “Your Space, Your Style,” they invited three industry known firms to design vignettes in the store using Dezeenio’s wide-ranging products. Buensalido Architects, Hurray Interior Design Group and Morfosis rose to the occasion—presenting three stylishly distinct designs on display. With this collaborative project, Dezeenio aims to inspire customers in starting and sharing their own #DezeenioStyleStory. Guests enjoyed checking the Dezeenio (www.dezeenio.com) products out and taking pictures in their favorite vignettes. Two lucky guests won home accessories to style up their space.

reviews for a particular deal. n STUDY WHAT CAN BE DONATED. You don’t want to waste time carting a big piece of furniture to only find out your local thrift store doesn’t want it. Best to call the local Salvation Army or Goodwill store to make sure they can either pick up the item or you can drop it off. Goodwill’s main web site says acceptable donations include clothing, shoes, books, small appliances and small furniture. At the beginning of the year, Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey stopped accepting book donations at their Goodwill stores but they are now accepting them again. n SCRUTINIZE DONATION BINS. Heading to a local donation bin may be convenient, but unfortunately, many items wind up supporting for-profit groups. Look for signs that spell out a clear mission statement. Also, look at what percent of sales are contributed to the charitable organization. Be wary of a donation bin without a clear mission statement. n RECYCLE ELECTRONICS. Many electronics makers and retailers offer recycling programs. Amazon allows customers to receive an Amazon.com gift card in exchange for a variety of electronic devices including Amazon devices. And, of course, there’s always that garage sale. “Check to see if your neighborhood or homeowner’s association has a designated garage sale date,” says Target Corp.’s home style expert Camille Styles. “If not, team up with a friend who may also be looking to sell some of their items.” n

AKANE by Pepe Llaudet

LIGHT EXPERTS REVEAL LIGHTING DESIGN TRENDS FOR 2019

ECOFRIENDLINESS and sustainability. Multifunctionality. Mobility. Human-centeredness. These are the key lighting design trends this year, as revealed by Landlite Philippines Corp. (LPC), a leading distributor of lighting fixtures and solutions in the country, as it gathered members of the media, industry partners, and their top clients at the sleek LuxDecor showroom in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. “We’re excited to share the latest lighting design trends for 2019,” said LPC CEO Jocelyn Li, during the “Lighting Trends and Designs 2019” event where the top lighting distributor shared with key customers and media the latest in design and technology innovation. “We would like to uplift the lighting standards of our market to a new level. We have three main priorities we focus on: quality and service, evolving trends, design and innovation and product sustainability.” During the event, LPC also presented its new brand ambassador, top host and celebrity Marc Nelson, who will appear in the company’s marketing campaigns and share news about LPC products and industry insights. Below are the key lighting trends for the year: ECO-LIGHTING. As the world becomes more conscious about the environment, particularly in the reduction of waste and the promotion of recycling, lighting products are also responding to this call. The Hook portable eco-lamp for one, designed by OiKo Design Office for Faro Barcelona, has been optimized for all stages of their life cycle, reducing the environmental impact between 30 percent and 70 percent. Free of harmful PVC, a harmful material present in most wires and plugs, the housings of The Hook portable eco-lamp are also made entirely of recycled plastic. n HUMAN-CENTRIC. Another lighting trend that is fast gaining traction is human-centric design. Proponents of this movement say that CCT shifting, which refers to the correlated color temperature of LED bulbs, can help regulate circadian rhythms, moods, visual acuity and one’s performance. To this end, Bohman&Folenius created the Inviting Light for home lighting, whose main characteristic is how the light moves to accompany you according to your different needs and moods. The head of the lamp adjusts both in its horizontal and vertical axis, while regulating light intensity, changes in color temperature and it also has a dimmable feature. Its various versions—table, wall or clip—allow for multiple locations, such as shelving units, headboards, study and work desks, as well as in the kitchen. n MULTIFUNCTIONAL. Consumers today now also seek out lighting solutions that can replace multiple pieces of equipment, in their desire for value for money as well as space-saving needs especially for those who reside in condominium units. Thus, the stylish NIKO by Nahtrang—an homage to scientist and inventor Nikolai Tesla—was borne. It is actually two objects in one: a lamp and mobile charger, with a surface on which we can charge our smartphone without cables getting in the way. With its Nordic design with dual functionality, NIKO is perfect for illuminating bedrooms and living rooms and is a good choice for hotels. n MOBILITY. Another interesting trend coming to the fore is mobility in lighting products, which is a response to those who are more outdoorsy in nature. The Take Away lamp designed by Nahtrang addresses this need, taking inspiration from lanterns coupled with the versatility of Japanese ceramic bowls: small, light, cable-free and nomadic—allowing it to be placed anywhere. Landlite took the opportunity as well to present its other range of lighting solutions: the Le Vita by Nahtrang, delicate and simple in design; the MOY by Nahtrang, a modern round light that provides a uniform illumination ideal for living rooms or busy areas; the Cometa which allows for uniform and highquality illumination with anti-glare technology; and designer lamps inspired by different world cultures, such as the Akane by Pepe Llaudet and the Aladino.

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Savannah reporter McClain is back in ‘A Beautiful Corpse’ By Oline H. Cogdill | The Associated Press

PPEALING characters and an insider’s look at ethical journalism in the midst of newspaper cutbacks lend a solid foundation to A Beautiful Corpse (Minotaur), Christi Daugherty’s second novel about Savannah reporter Harper McClain. As she did in The Echo Killing, Daugherty continues to delve deep into the persona of Harper who became a reporter because of her interest in crime, spurred by her mother’s murder when she was 12. She now uses her reporting skills to look into her mother’s still unsolved death. Harper had much respect for how the police handled her mother’s murder, and her close relationship with them gave her an insider’s view of crime investigation. That one-time in with the detectives is no more, not since Harper exposed a cop’s crimes. The police department has closed its blue ranks against her, giving her information only when mandated. Harper could use their help as she looks into the murder of law student and bartender Naomi Scott, who was shot in the early morning in

a popular tourist area. Naomi was a bright, hardworking student who was close to her father, Jerrod; her mother died when she was a child. The police soon target Naomi’s boyfriend, Wilson Shepherd, also a law student who had turned his life around after teenage indiscretions. Jerrod refuses to believe Wilson is guilty and instead offers Harper another suspect—Peyton Anderson, the son of the powerful district attorney. Peyton has a history of stalking but also seems to have a solid alibi. Determined to follow the story, Harper not only risks the ire and revenge of the district attorney, but also her job. The politician is well connected to the newspaper’s board, which wants staff cutbacks and is targeting Harper among the first. Daugherty, who started as a young adult novelist, keeps the thrilling A Beautiful Corpse churning at a quick pace, succinctly melding the newsroom culture with the murder investigation and Harper’s complicated personal life. Harper will forever seek who killed her mother. The appearance of a shadowy person who says he knows the culprit keeps this subplot working but does not overwhelm A Beautiful Corpse. It also assures that Harper will be back, and that is good news. n

Dismas Hardy returns in ‘The Rule of Law’ DISMAS HARDY and his colleagues are forced into a case with personal ramifications in John Lescroart’s latest novel, The Rule of Law (Atria). As time passes for the characters, they have to deal with both the joys and sorrows of growing older. Yet, the past is always lingering in the background waiting to cause chaos at the most inopportune moment. Dismas Hardy sees his practice expanding. His friend has lost reelection to the district attorney position and another close ally has retired from the police department. Things start to get wonky when his trusted secretary disappears. It’s completely out of character for her, and when she returns as if nothing has happened, Hardy wants answers. She says her brother has been released from prison and she’s letting him crash at her place. Then the police arrive to arrest her. A human trafficker has been killed, and

the evidence leads to her brother. Since she wasn’t seen at the time of the murder, she’s arrested as an accessory. Hardy knows she had nothing to do with this coyote’s death, so he sets out to prove it, which puts him in a fight with the new district attorney, and he has a grudge against Hardy and his colleagues. Ron Jameson has already let the power of his new office go to his head, and if he has to bend the rules a bit to get what he wants, he will. Now Hardy is in the way. Several strong themes resonate throughout this story, including corruption, immigration, and the power of love and family. Hardy wants to follow the rule of law, and his foe in the district attorney’s office will ignore it to succeed. Lescroart has crafted another wonderful legal thriller that will easily please his fans and those who aren’t familiar with his body of work. AP

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale closes another exciting chapter in Manila AFTER 255 hours nonstop, the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Manila 2019 came to a close earlier this month, with approximately 300,000 people from all walks of life coming in and out of the World Trade Center, Pasay City, to satisfy their reading needs with books that were at 50-percent to 90-percent off its recommended retail prices. “After an eventful 11 days of the sale, we have seen a tremendous change in the reading culture in Manila since our last visit. This year we saw an increase of 50,000 visitors compared to 2018. Many customers were seen shopping at all hours of the day, especially families with children who were patiently picking books as a family,” shared Andrew Yap, founder of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale. “We make books affordable and accessible to all so that everyone, especially families with children, are able to have access to quality books. Parents should instill a habit of reading for their children from young. Reading can be fun, interactive and engaging. It is all about picking the right books for your child and at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale, we always have many choices,”

Yap added. The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale hopes to inspire people to read more so they will be empowered to dream big. The founder of the sale also believes that well-read individuals will always have an added advantage wherever they go because through reading they will become a vessel of knowledge and information to those around them. While there was a change in the customer demand for children’s books this year, many customers were also seen busily picking books from the self-help and business sections. This also led to an increase in demand for nonfiction books. Staying true to making books accessible, the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale also believes in giving back to the community. This year, once again, through its Red Readerhood Programme, the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale donated 1,000 books plus an additional 5,838 books that were donated by customers during the sale to Gawad Kalinga. In total, these 6,838 books will benefit Gawad Kalinga’s communities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao with the aim to

Today’s Horoscope By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Keira Knightley, 34; Kenny Chesney, 51; Martin Short, 69; Steven Tyler, 71. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Engage in activities that will give you the insight you need to make wise decisions. Don’t take an unnecessary risk that could lead to an emotional situation that will deter you from reaching your goal. Handle finances properly and efficiently. Lower debt and save for the things that matter. Rethink your strategy to open up to new beginnings. Your lucky numbers are 5, 16, 23, 26, 31, 35, 46.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Update your skills to accommodate the changes going on at work or in your community. Being helpful will keep you in the loop, giving you more time to adjust and make the best move possible for yourself. HHHHH

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Put things in perspective. Don’t become overwhelmed with detail and pressure when you should focus on your responsibilities and what needs to be taken care of. HHH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Listen to your heart and the facts, not what others say or want to lead you to believe. Take the path that will encourage you to think positively and to fulfill your dreams. HHH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): A steady pace forward with well-thought-out plans in place will help ward off making an emotional mistake. A change will turn out better than anticipated. Don’t rely on someone else to do a job if you want it done properly. HHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Gravitate toward people who are positive, nonjudgmental and caring. Stay away from those who are unpredictable and cause chaos. Walk away from bullies, drama and those trying to turn you into someone you don’t want to be. Love who you are. HHHHH

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Live, learn and participate. Look for comfort in activities and events that bring you joy and people who share your interests. Limit expenses and walk away from temptation. Channel your energy wisely so you aren’t disappointed. HH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t leave anything to chance. Look at all your options, and introduce changes that make you happy. Don’t overspend on products that promise the impossible. Focus on inner growth, not exterior changes, and you’ll gain confidence and selfsatisfaction. HHH

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Explore new possibilities, and develop your ideas and plans. Personal changes should be kept within budget and approved by those who will be affected by your plans. A creative endeavor will turn you on to something that brings you joy. HHH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Alter your environment to better suit your needs. Making room for something you want to pursue will help you get started. Someone will make you an interesting offer, but before you agree, get what you want in writing. HHH

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Concentrate on getting things done. Put your energy to good use in order to accomplish your goals. An unusual suggestion will raise suspicion. Double-check the accuracy of the information you’ve been given before you decide to get involved. HHH

k cultivate a culture of reading and improving literacy rates. This donation further strengthens the sale’s belief that knowledge should be a right, not a privilege. Aside from just selling books, the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale also hosted several book signing sessions during the sale this year. Authors, such as Bini Bining Mia, Vicky Veloso-Barrera, Sen. Nancy Binay, Master Hanz, Ardy Roberto and Lloyd Cadena were

seen at the sale. The Book Sale was also seen supporting writer Arnold Acedera by publishing children’s book, called The Bouncing Red Ball. The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale hopes to return to cities in the Philippines such as Cebu and Davao this year. Customers can stay updated through the sale’s social-media pages to find out more about where the sale is headed to next.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If someone pushes, back away until you are ready to make a change. Work hard, avoid controversy and finish what you start. Personal gains and improvements should be your priorities. HHHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Look at the big picture before you engage in something that may not be as good for you as you are led to believe. Concentrate on the things that will bring the highest return and the people you can trust. HH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are unique, open-minded and playful. You are ambitious and proactive.

‘playback’ BY PAUL COULTER The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Disconcerted 6 Ewes have eyes for them 10 Doctor’s “Now!” 14 Tequila source 15 Pressing need? 16 Resistance units 17 Beersheba’s desert 18 Revealing sweater style 20 Stuffing seasoning 22 Hip-hop headgear 23 Samantha Bee’s network 26 More or ___ 28 Memorial Day event 31 Lebanon’s capital 33 Emcee 35 Cambridge sch. 36 Feels the same way 37 Hateful thing 39 “Bravo, matador!” 40 “Li’l ___” (classic comic) 42 “I ___ to please!” 43 Perfunctory 45 Beginning 48 Melber or Fleischer

9 Occasion for crowing? 4 50 Hesitant 51 Was almost out 53 Proactiv treats it 55 Free TV spot 56 Late 58 Eve had eyes for him 60 “Looks that way” 63 Sticky pine product 67 Masking or packing supply 68 Arguing 69 Draw with a stencil 70 Cold War initials 71 Pot tops 72 Put the whammy on DOWN 1 Ceiling spinner 2 Go gray, say 3 Make a sharp turn 4 12/24 and 12/31 5 Cheapen 6 Gets promoted 7 Circle segment 8 Atmosphere 9 Explores nosily (first word)

0 Submarine device 1 11 “Caught in the act!”...and a hint to the starred answers’ indicated parts 12 Channel that anagrams to “cam” 13 Disapproving cluck 19 Chris of The Lego Movie 21 Isn’t treated fairly (third word) 23 As yet unscheduled: Abbr. 24 Irish exclamation 25 Beef entree (second word) 27 Grease doo-wop group 29 Sliding light switches 30 Pilot’s guess, briefly 32 Atoll protector 34 Uno, in English 38 Baseball caps, e.g. 41 Luxury coupe brand 43 A golfer tries to break it 44 Dirty laundry woes 46 Dig up 47 Oolong, for one 52 “Ciao!” 54 Flings (aside) 57 Smallfoot beast 59 Insignificant

0 Rugrats dad 6 61 Alliance created in 1948: Abbr. 62 Central: Prefix 64 Wailing instrument, informally 65 Rocks, at the bar 66 Beatty of Deliverance

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

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CNN’s profile of Kellyanne Conway gets social-media blowback ‘OUR PLANET’ TO LAUNCH GLOBALLY IN APRIL DURING Sunday’s Super Bowl in the US, Netflix premiered the first trailer for the upcoming landmark natural history series Our Planet, from the creator of Planet Earth, and produced in partnership with World Wildlife Fund and narrated by Sir David Attenborough. It marked the first time a nature documentary series was featured in a National Super Bowl spot. Our Planet launches globally on Netflix on April 5. This eight-part series Our Planet, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, will explore the unique and precious wonders of our natural world from the creator of the award-winning series Planet Earth. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund, Our Planet combines stunning photography and technology with an unprecedented, never-beforefilmed look at the planet’s remaining wilderness areas and their animal inhabitants. The ambitious four-year project was filmed in 50 countries across all the continents of the world, with over 600 crew members capturing more than 3500 filming days, and will focus on the breadth of the diversity of habitats around the world, from the remote Arctic wilderness and mysterious deep oceans, to the vast landscapes of Africa and diverse jungles of South America.

BALLET Manila CEO and Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and Martin Lawrance with the Ballet Manila dancers at the successful 23rd season finale Deux.

BALLET MANILA SUCCESSFULLY ENDS 23RD SEASON WITH ‘DEUX’ BALLET Manila closed its 23rd season in spectacular fashion with its newest double header Deux, which gracefully combined classical with contemporary ballet to the tunes of Chopin and The Beatles, at the Aliw Theater, CCP Complex. The show opened with classical vignettes featuring “Les Sylphides,” where a lone danseur was seen being surrounded by his muses—white-clad sylphs or air spirits, dancing in the moonlight. While it was nonnarrative, its lingering music by Frederic Chopin and lyrical choreography by Michael Fokine evoked the illusion of ethereal weightlessness, which characterized the romantic era of ballet where technique was the focal point, especially the intricate pointe work of ballerinas. The first chapter of the show also featured other classical vignettes including “Pas de Action” and “Diane et Acteon.” The second chapter of the show featured a thrilling contemporary ballet, titled “The Winding Road,” set to the tune of The Beatles. Choreographed by Martin Lawrance, “The Winding Road” brought ballet closer to the young and old with Beatles hits, such as “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Something,” “The Long and Winding Road” and “She Loves You.” “Our 23rd performance season has been a very wonderful journey—kicking off with electrifying productions, and now we closed with the perfect double header Deux” said Ballet Manila CEO and Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. “We are very thankful for everyone’s continuous support for Ballet Manila, and we are so looking forward to see everyone again on our 24th performance season.” Ballet Manila is the Philippines’s premiere classical dance company. Under the leadership of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, the company has brought the magic of classical ballet to the farthest-flung regions of the country, as well as the important ballet capitals of the world. Ballet Manila also continuously innovates to provide its audience, clients, and business partners with a myriad shows and performance options.

By David Bauder The Associated Press

EW YORK—CNN’s Dana Bash is learning the perils of doing personality profiles in a political city that’s always on a war footing. She’s received a social-media roasting last week for featuring White House adviser Kellyanne Conway as part of her ongoing feature series, Badass Women of Washington. It was first distributed online late Wednesday, and it’s unclear how much of it has been shown on the television networks. Philippe Reines, a longtime communications adviser to Hillary Clinton, urged Bash on Twitter to “stop, just stop” and compared Conway to Joseph Goebbels, propaganda minister for Nazi Germany. Bash’s series was born two years ago, when she and coworkers wondered what Clinton’s loss to Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential election would mean for women working in Washington. Other profile subjects have included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Republican National Committee Head Ronna Romney McDaniel, California Sen. Diane Feinstein and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Some of Bash’s online critics likened the Conway profile to “putting lipstick on a pig” and said Bash was shameless for posting a soft profile on a week that Conway’s boss, Trump, had aggressively criticizing Conway’s husband. When Maggie Haberman, White House reporter for The New York Times, retweeted it as a timely story “from the great Dana Bash,” she was attacked online, too. Bash declined comment and a CNN spokesman would not immediately make anyone else available at the network to talk about it. Only Reines’s comment drew a response from the CNN Washington correspondent on social media. “I was ignoring your rants until you brought in the Holocaust,” Bash wrote. “As the granddaughter of those who barely escaped the Nazis I implore you to take a deep breath.” Replied Reines: “I know your background, Dana. Invoking it won’t shame me or spare you.” It must have felt a little familiar to Bash, whose Pelosi profile last November followed a similar outline: an interview about what it was like for a woman to work in Washington combined with a visit to where they spent their formative years. She trailed Pelosi to Baltimore’s Little Italy, buying chocolate ice cream in one of the speaker’s favorite shops; Conway showed her a childhood home in working class southern New Jersey, where she was “Blueberry Princess” one year. She was attacked for the Pelosi piece, too, only from a different side of the Internet. The conservative web site Red State wrote that the Pelosi “puff piece” signaled that CNN was preparing to do what it could to help Democrats advance their agenda. Similarly, the Media Research Center’s NewsBusters site wrote that CNN was gushing over Pelosi.

US PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump mouthpiece Kellyanne Conway

“In 2019 Americans should be ready for the tough, speak-truth-to-power CNN journalists to turn into kittens as Democrats take power in the House,” wrote Scott Whitlock for NewsBusters. It’s worth wondering whether the idea of journalists trying to show a human side of easy-tocaricature public figures is outdated in today’s angerfueled climate. “In-depth pieces, profile pieces are a helpful and insightful part of covering people in power,” said Veteran Television Executive Kate O’Brian. “However, the current era is so polarized and dealing with social media makes it more challenging to do these kind of pieces. It doesn’t make it any less important for them to be done.” The timing of Bash’s Conway piece was awkward, since it didn’t allow for a direct response to the president’s current attacks on her husband. Some consider her an unworthy subject given her job defending an administration known for making false statements. The CNN story described Conway as “relentlessly on message.” Bash said “people love to love you and people love to hate you.”

Only a week ago, CNN’s Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon revisited on the air a subject that continually vexes them: whether Conway deserves to be on the network at all. Lemon said that it’s “beneath the dignity of this network” to interview Conway. Cuomo said the public deserves the chance to hear from the person that the president puts forth to defend his interests. “If you are going to limit who you have on the show to people who only answer the questions and are truthful, you are going to be alone a lot of the time,” Cuomo said. Erik Wemple, media critic for The Washington Post, in effect took Lemon’s side in arguing that Bash’s piece on Conway was a misfire. You can do inspiring stories about the rises to power of everyone else profiled on Badass Women of Washington,” he wrote. “You cannot do likewise for Conway,” he wrote, “because there’s nothing inspiring about her role in defending presidential racism, misogyny and dishonesty. The old rules of balance, both-siderism and bipartisanship don’t work with this crew, a lesson that CNN has been slow to grasp.” n

Korean actor So Ji-sub’s ‘Hello, Manila’ tour By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco WE cried over the romantic tragedy I’m Sorry, I Love You (2004), where he played the character of Cha Moo-hyuk, a thug turned show business manager. We pitied him as the cold-hearted Kang In-wook entangled in a triangle of love in Memories of Bali (2004). He proved his versatile talent as a cold and distant Joo Joong-won in the horror-romantic comedy series The Master’s Sun (2013). On March 16, the top-tier 41-year-old Korean actor So Ji-sub flaunted the other side of him and showed the fans what he loves most—hip-hop. So Ji-sub held his first-ever fan meet in the country, called “Hello, Manila,” the last leg of his Asia Tour, at the jampacked New Frontier Theater in Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City. He also toured Taipei, China, Bangkok, Jakarta and Hong Kong. Fans were on their feet jumping for joy and screaming at the top of their lungs when So Ji-sub, clad in a spotless white suit, emerged on the stage and serenaded them with Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You.” The New Frontier Theater also echoed with laughter when host Kring Kim came onstage, and let So Ji-sub formally greet his fans and teased him as she addressed him as “sir” and oppa. During the two-hour fan meet, in a segment called “Ask Terius,” fans were able to ask for his advice. Terius was his character’s name in his latest drama Terius Behind Me, for which he won two awards at the 2018 MBC Drama Awards. He shared to a fan experiencing quarter-life crisis that, “even if I have been acting for 23 years, I still have concerns. It’s normal, don’t be pressured. It’s fine. As long as you are sure of what you want to do.”

SO JI-SUB

So Ji-sub faced a more “difficult” question, he admitted, coming from a fan who confided her feelings toward him after seeing him in a Korean drama. The fan said So Ji-sub was her ideal type that she even turned down suitors because of him.

“To meet your ideal type is really hard. So, the person you’ll be meeting will eventually be your ideal type,” he said, encouraging his fan not to turn down future suitors. He continued, “Don’t think with your head. Feel with your heart [and know] who cares for you truly and loves you sincerely.” When asked why he named his tour “Hello,” he said, “So what do people say whenever, wherever everyday is a greeting. So with that nice greeting, I want to continue our good relationship—that’s why I named it ‘Hello.’” There was a segment where he was asked questions and with every wrong answer, he got penalized. The penalties included him wearing a flower crown, angel wings and giving a morning call that the fans were able to record. Known for being generous, one lucky fan was given by the actor polaroid shots of him, plus a necklace which was especially made for the tour. The fan came all the way from California. “You can’t buy this anywhere,” he said about the necklace. As his fan meet played on, So Ji-sub asked the crowd to drop their phones and just enjoy his performance with Soul Dive. “Let’s make this memorable. I will do my very best, so please react, as well,” he said. Some fans danced in their seats while others swayed to the rhythm of the beat as So Ji-sub and Soul Dive rendered some of his popular hits, including a cover of iKON’s “Love Scenario,” “Good Night,” “Go Boy,” “aoaoa,” “So Ganzi,” “Coke Bottle Baby” and “So Love.” Right before the show ended, a message appeared onscreen that read: “It is our first time to meet and spend time together. I’m so happy and will never forget this precious moment. I’ll wait for next time to meet you all—So Ji-sub.”

Art

BusinessMirror

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

THE relief masterpiece by Jose P. Alcantara, commissioned in 1961 by Arch. Carlos Arguelles to embellish the walls of Philam Life Auditorium. Part of the work, tentatively titled as Muslims Greeting Filipino Christians, is on view at the National Museum.

CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATORS EXHIBIT FOR WOMEN’S MONTH

Following the successful run of Women and War, Filipinas Heritage Library (FHL) presents another exhibition on and by women, Peek-a-Book, on view at the Ayala Museum. Sixteen children’s book illustrators— Abi Goy, Angela Taguiang, Ara Villena, Bernadette Solina-Wolf, Beth Parrocha, Bru SimNada, Fran Alvarez, Iori Espiritu, Isabel Roxas, Jamie Bauza, Kora Dandan-Albano, Liza Flores, May Tobias-Papa, Mika Song, Pergy Acuña and Yas Doctor—will share their artistic process as individual creators and in collaboration with authors and publishers. Peek-a-Book 2019 is the second iteration of the exhibition since it launched at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2018. The exhibit will include new and additional studies, drawings and watercolor paintings. Filipino children’s books will also be made available in a reading corner, making the exhibition an ideal space for children to spend time in. The free exhibition will run until April 27. The exhibition will be supplemented by “Illustrators on Illustrators,” a Q&A with picture book illustrators; and “Illustrators at Play,” a hands-on workshop on making picture book art with Beth Parrocha, both on March 30; a joint book launch of three children’s books featuring Philippine folk songs: “Ed-eddoy,” “Kaisa-Isa Niyan” and “Pakitong-Kitong” from Tahanan Books, and May Alaga Akong Bakulaw from Adarna House on April 6; and Paano Kumain ng Kulay?, a free storytelling and art activity for kids on April 13. That same day, illustrators, writers, and publishers will gather for a panel discussion on the role of illustrations and illustrators in the process of picture book making in the Philippines. The exhibition is in keeping with FHL’s advocacy to promote the culture of reading among young Filipinos. A Filipiniana library on the sixth floor of Ayala Museum, FHL seeks to expand its collection of children’s literature and literature/visual art by women. The show is designed by Jamie Bauza and Liza Flores, with poster art by Fran Alvarez. To register to the activities and more, call (02) 759-8297.

A masterpiece saved Mid-20th century Filipino woodcarver Jose P. Alcantara was ahead of his time, but one of his works, which lined up the walls of the famed Philam Life Auditorium, had been forgotten by it. Today, his relief is out of the shadows and is on view at the National Museum. CIRCLES

CLOCKWISE: Philam Foundation Chairman Aibee Cantos, Philam Foundation President Max Ventura, National Museum Assistant Director Ana Labrador, National Museum Director Jeremy Barns and Philam Life CEO Kelvin Ang

JT NISAY

jtnisay@gmail.com

SHOWCASING FILIPINO CULTURE 13UBAY holds its

monthlong Embracing Food and Art Exhibit that features the works of renowned artist Fernando Sena (second from right), together with seven other local artists. With him at the opening are Bayen Tinga, president of Philippine Art Awards, 13UBAY’s Zaza Sarmiento, Josie Manuel, Edna Sarmiento and Engineer Edwin Soliman.

JOJO GARCIA with his artworks.

13UBAY celebrates Filipino creativity with painting exhibit EIGHT talented local artists led by renowned painter Fernando Sena have together to celebrate creativity and the indomitable Filipino spirit in an exhibit hosted by 13UBAY in Quezon City. Sena, who is best known for his still life renderings of the ubiquitous pan de sal, is joined by Bernardo Maac, Mario Villanueva, Angelito Lepalam, Agnes Batallones, Jojo Garcia, Dennis Tresvalles and Joval Kisinamalin a special, monthlong art exhibit at the restaurant, titled Embracing Filipino Food and Art. Guests at the restaurant can appreciate the artworks that range from still lifes to street scenes and abstracts, all done in vivid colors and in different forms and techniques that capture the eye and the imagination. The food and ambiance at 13UBAY make the perfect backdrop for this artistic endeavor, as the menu is composed of food that is familiar to the Filipino palate, in a setting that is homey and approachable. During the opening ceremony for Embracing Filipino Food and Art, Sena congratulated 13UBAY for the exhibit concept, saying that he hopes that will be more venues to highlight Filipino talent in visual arts. The restaurant welcomes more collaborations with local artists as it hopes to establish itself as an art hub in Quezon City while providing its guests with visual and gustatory feasts.

WO years ago, Las Vegas resident Louis Alcantara brought his son to the Philippines for a visit. He wanted the child to know his roots, to meet his grandfather. Louis is the youngest son of artist Jose P. Alcantara, a woodcarver from Manila who is considered as the last maestro of traditional wood carving. He trained in the Quiapo atelier of Isabelo Tampinco, after which he worked as a carver in the furniture shop of Gonzalo Puyat. Alcantara’s immense talent took him to numerous shows and won him several accolades here and abroad. He passed away in 2005 at age 94. When Louis decided to introduce elder Alcantara to his own son, they went to the Philam Life Auditorium along UN Avenue in Manila, the iconic performing arts venue built in 1961, famed for its near-perfect acoustics through the design of the same group behind the Sydney Opera House and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. On its walls ran a 15-meter commissioned work of Alcantara. Depicted on the epic relief are scenes representative of Filipino culture, with characters that served as stoic audience to the performances the theater housed night in and night out, including the orchestral debut of eight-year-old piano prodigy Cecil Licad in 1969. The curtain closed in the Philam Life Auditorium for the final time in 2013 following the acquisition of the building by a giant property developer, which, through the prodding of an online petition, later promised to protect its heritage. Since then, the halls of the theater remained quiet, as was the case when the two Alcantaras paid a visit. “It was dark and dusty,” Louis said. “A sliver of light managed to seep into the room, enough for my son to see his grandfather’s works for the first time.” “But for me,” he added, “that wasn’t enough.” Louis grew concerned about the state and fate of the precious artwork. He wanted more people to see the carvings, to save the masterpiece, to keep his father’s memory alive. His goals received a big boost during a recent event. The important Jose P. Alcantara woodwork has been retrieved from the theater and placed in the care of the National Musuem of Fine Arts in Manila by the Philam Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Philam Life. The initiative is part of the life-insurance company’s thrust to support nation-building through the promotion of holistic wellness. Philam Life Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Ang said that through Philam Foundation, they firmly support the role of the arts in achieving mental wellness. “We want to go beyond physical and financial wellness. It is our intention to come full circle in bringing to life our brand promise of helping

people live healthier, longer and better lives.” For the past five years, the Philam Foundation has given the National Museum an institutional grant of P5 million to supplement funding for acquisition, preservation, and restoration of artworks, as well as for the upkeep of key pieces of Philam Life’s art collection: seven Vicente Manansala paintings that were turned over in 2015, and now, the Jose Alcantara mural. Aside from the unveiling of the panel, the event also marked the renewal of another five-year institutional grant for the National Museum. A part of the Alcantara relief is on view at Gallery XVI, set against an orange wall that brings the earthy piece to life in popping contrast. The rest of the work is to be installed at a later time. Mounted now is the right side of the piece that consists of 19 panels, featuring religious narratives in a piece tentatively titled by the National Museum as Muslims Greeting Filipino Christians. Alcantara’s genius takes shape in the way he carves wood to anything he envisions with intricate realism. On one side, there’s a group of worshipers dancing around a flame that almost fends off heat; on the other is a cockfight, bettors’ mouth bawling and bird’s feathers ruffling—a multisensory engagement carved out of tree trunk. The piece is installed across another national cultural treasure, The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines, by National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco. National Museum Director Jeremy Barns said the two pieces showcasing early Filipino culture are engaged in a dialogue. He added that Alcantara was one of the giants during the 1940s and 1950s, which bridges interesting periods in the arts. “He was bursting to express something bold and edgy, something almost ahead of his time.” According to Max Ventura, Philam Foundation president, they take pride in being able to share to the public the Alcantara wood carvings and the Manansala paintings. He said the masterpieces are now available for more Filipinos to “enjoy and marvel at, and perhaps take inspiration from, as many Philam Lifers have done so through the years.” n

MUSEUM IS GLAD TO FINALLY HEAR: YES, IT’S REALLY A VAN GOGH

HARTFORD, Connecticut—A painting at a Connecticut museum that has long been thought to be by Vincent van Gogh has been authenticated as such by Dutch researchers. The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford announced on Friday that the oil painting Vase with Poppies has been verified by researchers at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam as having been painted by the Dutch artist in 1886, just after he moved to Paris. It has been in the museum’s collection since 1957. Its authenticity was called into question in 1990 by art historian and van Gogh expert Walter Feilchenfeldt, who raised concerns about many purported Van Goghs around the world, the Hartford Courant reported. The artwork was taken out of museum displays and shelved. Years later, with advances in technology and knowledge of van Gogh, the museum decided to revisit the question. It was examined initially at the Atheneum, where a digital x-ray revealed an underpainting that looked like a self-portrait, which added to confidence about its authenticity. The museum in Amsterdam analyzed the artwork’s paint, materials and style to conclude it was indeed done by van Gogh. “One can say that slowly but surely, real progress is being made in Van Gogh studies. Some of these floaters even turned out to be firmly anchored in van Gogh’s oeuvre, and Vase with Poppies, I am happy to say, is one of them,” said Louis van Tilborgh, a senior researcher at the Van Gogh Museum. The artwork fits stylistically with other floral paintings he made shortly after arriving in Paris. The Atheneum now officially has two van Goghs in its collection. The other is a self-portrait painted in 1887. Vase with Poppies will go back on display in April. “These studies have revealed just how much we still need to learn about Vincent and his growth as a painter, new to Paris and exploring new avenues for his art,” Wadsworth CEO Thomas Loughman said. AP