BusinessMirror October 22, 2019

PHL RETIREMENT SYSTEM 4TH WORST–INDEX

By Cai U. Ordinario

T Pensioners and other clients await their turn to be served at a Social Security System office in this BusinessMirror file photo.

Despite many reforms in the SSS system geared at improving and expanding services, including an across-the-board pension increase of P2,000 for its over 2 million pensioners, the Philippines was ranked fourth lowest in a global index—where it debuted—that tracks the overall retirement climate in countries. NONOY LACZA

@caiordinario

HE Philippine retirement system ranked the 4th lowest in the 2019 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index (MMGPI).

In a statement, Mercer said the Philippines ranked 33rd out of 37 economies with an overall index score of 43.7 on the back of inadequate pension support.

The Philippines debut performance in the 11-year-old MMGPI, Mercer said, highlighted the need to increase its support, especially for poor aging individuals.

“Based on its results and ranking

in its first inclusion in the index, the Philippines can consider increasing the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and widening coverage of employees,” said Harold Tan, wealth leader, Mercer Philippines.

“It can also look into setting aside funds in the public system for the future and introducing options for retirement plan proceeds to be preserved for retirement purposes,” Tan said.

The index measures each country’s retirement system through three subindices— sustainability, adequacy and integrity.

The Philippines ranked the lowest

in terms of integrity where it had a subindex score of 34.7 and third lowest in terms of adequacy with its 39 subindex value. The country was, however, in the top 15 for sustainability, with a subindex of 55.5.

Integrity considers three broad areas of the pension system—regulation and governance; protection and communication for members; and operating costs.

Adequacy considers the benefits provided to the poor and a range of income earners. This includes design features and characteristics that enhance the efficacy of the overall retirement income system.

See “Retirement,” A2

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Tuesday, October 22, 2019 Vol. 15 No. 12

Ending safeguards probe on rice imports legal–DA

T

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday said it did not violate any laws in terminating its motu proprio safeguards investigation on rice imports after an agriculture group floated the idea that the department may face charges for its action.

The DA maintained that it chose to sideline the trade remedy after the Cabinet decided that imposing safeguard duties on rice imports would be inflationary.

Besides, the DA argued that giving cash assistance to Filipino rice farmers, who are now suffering from low

palay prices, would be the “best way” to address their present situation.

The department reacted to the statement of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (Pcafi) that the department may face lawsuits for “illegally” refusing to enforce “mandated” safeguards

against rice imports. “There is no violation. I don’t think so. It’s their own thinking. Every group or individual has their own opinion or matter,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a press briefing on Monday.

“This is how we handle this in the government. Because of the po-

“This is how we handle this in the government.

Because of the potential inflationary effects, meanwhile, that is set aside. The best way to intervene now is to give cash assistance.”—Dar

tential inflationary effects, meanwhile, that is set aside. The best way to intervene now is to give cash assistance,” Dar added.

In standing firm on the DA’s decision to terminate the safeguards, Dar argued that the “government has to see broader sense of things.”

Nonetheless, Dar pointed out that imposing safeguard duties remains to be one of the government’s tool to protect farmers and would be used at the “right time.”

See “Safeguards,” A2

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OFFICE MARKET STAYS STRONG AMID I.T.-BPM, POGO WOES–STUDY

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28

W

HILE both the outsourcing and offshore gaming sectors in the country may face challenges today, the office market has remained resilient and is expected to set another record-breaking performance by the end of 2019, according to a study.

Pronove Tai International Property Consultants’ Q3 Metro Manila Office Market Overview and Full Year Outlook report said actual leasing deals from July to September of this year aggregated to about 305,000 square meters (sq m). These include leasing and prerental transactions.

Of this demand, traditional offices accounted for 40 percent or 122,000 sq m. This was followed by information technology and

6% growth for PHL not yet impossible–expert

By Bianca Cuaresma

C

@BcuaresmaBM

HASING the lower end of the government’s economic growth target for the year is still doable, a local economist said, especially if it lets out a “double dose” of stimulus in the second half of the year.

In a recent assessment of the Philippine economy, ING Bank Manila economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said despite the dismal gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the country in the first half of the year, the second half is shaping up to be a “different story.”

“The budget delay coupled with the aftershocks from the 2018 BSP rate hike cycle weighed heavily on growth in the first six months of the year but with the tides turning for both these factors, we can expect a substantial pick-up in growth momentum going into 2020,” Mapa said.

“In order to chase 6-percent growth in 2019 and in 2020, the Philippines will be taking out the playbook from the last time global growth took a downturn: by looking to its domestic economy for growth as global headwinds swirl.

With stimulus from both the fiscal and monetary side, the Philippines recovery hinges on the double dose of stimulus to get growth back on track,” he added.

PESO exchange rates n

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Fiscal stimulus

Monetary stimulus

For the monetary side, Mapa said most of the effects of the BSP’s 175-basis-point hike in 2018 was See “Growth,” A8

See “Office market,” A2

Tokyo calls out Mla over delayed rice tariff notice

Mapa further said that if this “double dose of stimulus” kicks in on time, ING expects a 6-percent growth for 2019 on the back of early returns of a resumption in government spending and a revival of investment activity teaming up with household consumption.

For next year, Mapa forecasts a 6.4-percent expansion.

After the government failed to pass the 2019 budget earlier this year and wreaked havoc on local public spending numbers, it pledged to “catch up” on spending in the second half.

The national government reported a spending growth of 8.78 percent and disbursements hitting 92 percent of the budget as of August against the 86 percent in 2018.

“Given the administration’s resolve to ensure timely passage of the spending bill, ING expects government spending to come back online in the second half of 2019 and bounce back sharply next year, with Congress looking to extend the validity of the 2019 budget for an additional 12 months,” Mapa said.

business-process management (ITBPM) at 32 percent or 96,000 sq m; Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos), 23 percent, 71,000 sq m; and flexi-workspaces, 5 percent, 16,000 sq m.

“The third quarter proved to be an exceptionally strong period for the traditional firms with a significant 61-percent growth YoY [yearon-year] from only 76,000 sq m last year. The top 5 growing industries were banking and finance, food and beverages, insurance, government offices, and real estate,” said Monique Pronove, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Pronove Tai. She noted that the IT-BPM and Pogos, though slack a bit, continued to be among the main drivers of office demand in the country while they may be facing a setback due to policy issue.

TRAVEL EXPO Both local and foreign participants interact at the 18th Philippine Travel Expo that opened in Pasay City on Monday. Phitex is the biggest government-organized travel trade event in the country. Patterned after the Asean Tourism Forum, it hosts qualified international buyer delegates all over the world as they participate in table-top business appointments with accredited Philippine tourism suppliers. Invited foreign participants are also given a chance to experience what the country can offer as a tourism destination during pre- and post-tours, featuring key Philippine attractions and destinations. NONIE REYES

Foreign tourists outnumber Pinoys in Boracay

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

V

ISITOR arrivals in Boracay Island reached 1.6 million in the nine months to September this year, with more than half of them foreign tourists.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 6 (Western

Visayas) obtained by the BusinessMirror showed Philippine residents accounted for 729,415 of the total arrivals, while non-Philippine residents reached 820,622.

Over 44 percent of the foreign visitors in the first nine months of 2019, were from mainland China, or 363,823, making them the top source market for tourists for Boracay. They were followed by tourists

from South Korea at 303,504.

Lawmaker’s warning

This developed as a lawmaker on Sunday warned against the possible influx of tourists in Boracay in the coming months, and called on the government authorities to strictly enforce the carrying capacity of the island.

See “Tourists,” A2

OKYO has called the attention of Manila to the delay in its notification of bound rates for rice imports following its implementation of a law that removed import caps on the staple.

In its query tabled for the World Trade Organization Committee on Agriculture meeting on October 30, Japan pointed out the Philippines has yet to notify the body of its rice tariffication, seven months after it removed its quantitative restriction on rice imports.

Citing the proceedings of the last WTO-CoA meeting in June, Japan said the Philippines had committed to notify the modification of its schedule to the Committee on Market Access.

Furthermore, Japan questioned the Philippine government’s motu proprio initiation of a safeguards investigation on rice imports pending the country’s notification of its bound rates on the imported staple.

The Philippines notified the WTO on September 13 that it launched a preliminary safeguard investigation on rice imports.

Tokyo said it “would like to raise its interest in these issues and be engaged in the discussion in an appropriate forum.”

See “Tokyo,” A2

US 51.3440 n japan 0.4734 n UK 66.5007 n HK 6.5471 n CHINA 7.2510 n singapore 37.6477 n australia 35.1398 n EU 57.3102 n SAUDI arabia 13.6899 Source: BSP (21 October 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Tuesday, October 22, 2019

‘Rice prices may fall below ₧30/kg sans safeguard duty’

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

mposing safeguard duties on rice imports will put upward pressure on inflation, which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is now closely monitoring, according to a member of the Monetary Board.

V. Bruce J. Tolentino, Monetary Board member and a former Deputy Director General of the International Rice Research Institute, told the BusinessMirror that rice prices could fall below P30 per kilogram if safeguard duties will not be imposed on shipments.

Tolentino, who is also a former agricultural undersecretary for policy and planning, warned that rice prices and inflation would rise if government would impose safeguard duties. “[The price] is really based on how futures and plans and imports will respond to the safeguard duty.

Any increase in duty will increase prices, there’s no doubt about that.

A 35-percent duty is very high compared to most countries [so] in-

creasing it some more will increase domestic prices,” Tolentino said in an interview on Monday.

More expensive rice, he said, could put more pressure on wages.

This, in turn, would affect firms in the Philippines, especially factories which employ a large number of workers.

“Any kind of increase in prices will increase the cost of living [and] translate into higher wage pressures. And so the entire manufacturing sector will be affected. We’re not just talking about farmers but we are talking about everybody,” said Tolentino.

He also said imposing safeguard duty may not be good for the Philippines given the reputation of the Philippines in terms of honoring

Office market. . .

Pogo occupiers,” the top executive cited.

Development-wise, 15 new buildings were completed from July to September, adding 402,000 sq m to office stock in the metropolis.

This brought the “All Grade” segment inventory to 11.4 million sq m.

Quezon City and Taguig partook 82 percent of the total supply for the quarter, adding approximately 230,000 sq m and 101,000 sq m, accordingly.

“This has been Quezon City’s highest recorded supply in a quarter. We saw a 10-percent growth YoY in Quezon City coming from nine buildings. This alone accounted for 57 percent of the new supply in Metro Manila this quarter,” Pronove said. “Makati, Muntinlupa and the Bay Area had only one to two buildings completed while Ortigas Center and Mandaluyong had no completions.”

Makati and Taguig recorded the top rents in the city with asking prices of P1,610 and P1,340 per sq m a month, respectively. Both districts posted the highest rental growth over the year at 6 percent and 7 percent, accordingly.

“The office leasing market remained strong and we project it to reach 1.2 million sq m by the end of December 2019. This would breach last year’s record performance by 9 percent,” she said, while citing their vacancy projection at a healthy 4 percent to 5 percent rate by the end of 2019.

With this in mind, the president and CEO of Pronove Tai urged the government to back the business community’s call for ease of doing business, particularly in Quezon City where supply is abundant.

“We are also hopeful that the long awaited Real Estate Investment Trust [REITs] IRR [implementing rules and regulations] will be finally passed for more investment instruments in the Stock Exchange,” she said. “As for our clients, we advise them that diversity in their tenancy mix is important and for investors to be diligent in their property acquisitions.”

Continued from A1

The Office of the President imposed in June Administrative Order 18, a moratorium on the issuance of Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) accreditations in Metro Manila. This was part of the government’s decentralization plan to push stronger economic activity in suburban areas.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), on the other hand, announced in August that it will no longer grant licensing permits to new Pogo applicants until the yearend.

“Despite headwinds faced by the IT-BPM and Pogo occupiers, the office market showed strong demand and is on track to another record-setting year,” she said.

Pronove noted that Makati had the most leasing transactions at 28 percent or 84,000 sq m, seconded by the Bay Area, 20 percent or 60,000 sq m, characterized mostly by Pogos; and then Quezon City, 17 percent or 51,000 sq m, with IT-BPM as a main tenant.

With a healthy take-up on the office space, vacancy level decreased to 5 percent in the third quarter of this year from 6 percent the previous quarter.

Unoccupancy was still tight in the Bay Area (Pasay and Parañaque) and Makati at 0.4 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Ortigas Center had a vacancy level of 5 percent, while Muntinlupa and Taguig registered 6 percent during the period.

“Though the office vacancy decreased from 12 percent in Q2 to 11 percent in Q3, Quezon City still had the highest vacancy in Metro Manila at over roughly 150,000 sq m. This could be attributed to the slow leasing absorption for its new building completions in the past two years as it only recently opened its market to

Online lenders. . .

They have been warned that failure to appear before the commission to answer the allegations could result in a ban on their processing of personal data.

With the order, the executives of the 26 online lending firms are instructed to immediately shut down their operations and make sure their apps are no longer publicly available for download, installation and use.

Further, the NPC directed these online lending firms to stop all activities that entail processing of personal data, including those outsourced to third parties, as well those collected from the contact list of data subjects.

They are also tasked to halt the disclosure of false or unwarranted information and

Continued from A8

contracts. Tolentino said the Philippines has earned the “unfortunate” reputation of entering into contracts only to renege on these agreements later on.

The monetary official said the Philippines must ensure predictability especially when it comes to policies. He said the government needs to assure the international community that “things will not change overnight.” “[We have to be sensitive to] how the market reacts and to ensure stability. Otherwise, [our trade partners] cannot trust our word and that will always be a factor that could translate into higher prices,” said Tolentino.

Cheaper rice

He also noted that retail prices have not gone down despite the increase in purchases of imported rice. He attributed this to the possibility that rice stocks currently being sold by wholesalers and retailers are old stocks that were bought at higher prices.

“Things will normalize as long as there are no trade barriers of any kind. Sans the trade barriers, prices of Vietnam or Thailand rice should just be under P30 as long as [government] is able to withstand pressure to impose safeguard du-

Retirement. . .

Continued from A1

Sustainability includes factors such as the economic importance of the private pension system and level of funding.

This also takes into consideration the length of expected retirement, labor force participation rate of the older population, the current level of government debt and the level of real economic growth.

“By benchmarking global retirement income systems, the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index can help both the public and private sectors in the Philippines understand how they can improve the country’s retirement system and generate better outcomes for retirees,” Tan said.

Globally, the Netherlands had the highest index value (81), and has consistently held first or second position for 10 out of the past 11 MMGPI reports. Thailand had the lowest index value (39.4). For each subindex, the highest scores were Ireland for adequacy (81.5), Denmark for sustainability (82) and Finland for integrity (92.3).

The lowest scores were Thailand for adequacy (35.8), Italy for sustainability (19) and Philippines for integrity (34.7).

While the pension systems of different countries each have a unique set of circumstances,

Safeguards. . .

Continued from A1

In a statement over the weekend, Pcafi criticized the DA and the economic managers for allegedly committing an “illegal act” for the “deliberate abandonment of its poorest sector” in terminating the safeguards investigation on rice imports.

“It is explicitly indicated in Section 10 Republic Act 11203 or rice tariffication law Section 10 that in order to protect the Philippine rice industry from extreme price fluctuations, a special safeguard duty—SSG—on rice shall

Tokyo. . .

Continued from A1

employment of unduly intrusive methods of personal data processing.

The NPC is working with the National Telecommunications Commission on the next steps to be taken against the 26 online lenders and with Google LLC, operator of Google Play Store where the apps are uploaded, for its compliance with the takedown order.

In complaints submitted to the data privacy regulator, online lending firms allegedly accessed and used the contact list of their borrowers without consent. With a harvest of contact details in their hands, they reportedly informed the people in the list that they were named character references by the borrowers and, in some cases, even got demands to settle the borrowers’ loan.

“Japan has a systemic concern on the application of restrictive import measures including safeguard this time, because the Philippines has not initiated [the] necessary process to bind the tariffication. It should be immediately initiated,” Japan said.

“In this regard, Japan would like to ask the Philippines to provide a concrete time frame for the modification of the Schedule,” it added.

The Philippines’s notification of modification of the schedule to the WTO, following its rice tariffication, would indicate the bound rate that Manila will slap on imported rice.

The bound rate is the maximum tariff rate that a country could apply on an imported good or commodity. In the June WTO-CoA meeting, the Philippines explained that it has “yet to complete

ties,” said Tolentino.

Prices are also not going down as fast as expected, he said, because the shipments that have arrived in the Philippines may just be enough for the requirements of Filipinos.

Tolentino lamented that the government’s grainy data on rice consumption, which is largely based on the crude disappearance method, may be underestimating the country’s rice consumption.

He was referring to the Supply Utilization Accounts (SUA), which is one of the sources of data for rice consumption regularly released by the government.

The SUA treats rice consumption as merely residual after computing rice stocks and removing exports and waste, among others.

“This information is crucial for estimating buffer stock for emergencies and is crucial to traders as they will want to know the country’s rice stocks so they can decide on import volume,” he said.

Last year, the BusinessMirror published a Broader Look piece titled “Snapshot of rice-consumption data remains grainy as Pinoys grapple with supply, prices,” which discussed the ways by which the government estimates the country’s rice consumption.

the report makes clear there are common improvements which can be made to the challenges all regions are facing.

“Systems around the world are facing unprecedented life expectancy and rising pressure on public resources to support the health and welfare of older citizens. It’s imperative that policymakers reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of their systems to ensure stronger long-term outcomes for the retirees of the future,” said Mercer’s Dr. David Knox, the author of the study.

The Index uses the weighted average of the subindices of sustainability, adequacy and integrity to measure each retirement system against more than 40 indicators.

The 2019 Index calculates the net replacement rate, that is, the level of retirement income provided to replace the previous level of employment earnings, using a range of income levels based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data to represent a broader group of retirees.

The MMGPI, supported by the Victorian Government of Australia, is a collaborative research project between the Monash Centre for Financial Studies (MCFS)—a research center based within Monash Business School at Monash University in Melbourne—and professional services firm, Mercer. be imposed. As such it is incumbent upon government to enforce the safeguards legal mandate,” the group said.

“Although it is not their [DA and economic managers’] intention, but the argument that we should choose 105 million Filipinos as against 10 million farmers is like Hitler justifying the killing of 6 million German Jews to save the German Aryan nation,” it added.

Pcafi said the DA and economic managers are “misleading the public by claiming that implementing”safeguard measures is inflationary.

The proposed P3-billion direct cash assistance, it said, is an “insult” to rice farmers. its domestic processes in calculating the tariff equivalent of the rice QRs as this involves many government agencies.”“The Philippines will notify the modification of the Schedules to the Committee on Market Access as soon as the domestic processes on rice tariffication are completed,” it said.

Under Republic Act 11203 or the rice trade liberalization law, the calculated tariff rate equivalent shall be determined by the Tariff Commission and approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) board.

If the calculated tariff rate approved by the Neda board is lower than 180 percent, then the Philippines would notify a bound rate of 180 percent as mandated by law.

At present, the Philippines applies a 40-percent tariff on in-quota rice imports from non-Asean member-states; and a 50-percent tariff for out-quota non-Asean rice imports. Rice imports from Asean member-states are slapped with a 35-percent tariff. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Senate necrological rites set for former SP Nene Pimentel

F

ORMER and current senators will pay tribute to former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. in necrological rites at the Senate Session Hall at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23. Pimentel succumbed to lymphoma, a form of cancer, on Sunday. He was 85 years old.

Senate has been flying its flag at half-mast since Monday as a symbol of mourning.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, together with current and former senators, Senate Secretary Myra Villarica, Sergeant-At-Arms Rene Samonte, secretariat officials and employees will receive the remains of Pimentel at the foyer of the main entrance of the Senate building and escort him to the Senate Session hall.

Sotto will present a resolution to Pimentel’s family, expressing the Senate’s sympathy and condolence over the former Senate President’s passing.

Expected to deliver eulogies for the late senator are Sotto, Senator Pia Cayetano and former Senators Heherson Alvarez, Anna Dominique Coseteng, Jose Lina Jr., among others.

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is expected to accept the resolution and give his response to the eulogy.

Related story on page A9.

After the public viewing, the Senate will host an early lunch for the late senator’s family and relatives.

One of the finest politicians and statesmen in Philippine history, Pimentel was one of the opposition leaders during the Marcos regime, when he was

Tourists. . .

Continued from A1

In a news statement, Senator Nancy Binay called on the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) “to give us an update on the monitoring system it has put in place to tourist and what are their evaluation and recommendations since we expect a large stream of tourists in the next few months.”

Binay chairs the Senate Committee on Tourism, while the BIATF is chaired by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, with Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat as vice cochairmen.

A environmental study commissioned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) indicated that the island can only accommodate 19,125 tourists at any given time.

“We should have learned from our past mistakes,” said Binay in Filipino, “from the lack of enforcement of our laws, from the disregard of nature, and from the unlitourists on the island.”

She called for the strict enforcement of the daily limit on tourist arrivals, at 6,405, and the workers at 15,000 everyday, to maintain the 55,000 carrying capacity of the island.

The DOT has already pointed out, however, that for tourists, it is the 19,125-tourist cap that the BIATF enforces, not the daily arrivals limit, because there are tourists who also leave the island everyday. “The 6,405 daily arrivals carrying capacity number assumes a three-night stay,” said DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation Arturo P. Boncato Jr., when the possible breaching of the carrying capacity was brought up earlier by Boracay stakeholders. (See, “Boracay stakeholders fret over ‘breaching’ of daily arrivals cap,” in the BusinessMirror, December 17, 2018.)

Carrying capacity refers to an ecosystem’s ability to support people and other living things without having negative effects. “It also includes a limit of resources and pollution levels that can be maintained without experiencing high levels of change. If the carrying capacity is exceeded, living organisms must adapt to new levels of consumption or find alternative resources,” according to the Environmental Literary Council.

detained five times as then-mayor of Cagayan de Oro City. He was noted for his courageous but lonely battle against corruption in government, electoral fraud and foreign imperialism.

He cofounded the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and served as Senate President from 2000-2001.

As senator, he authored and sponsored landmark legislation such as the Local Government Code of 1991, the Cooperative Code, the Philippine Sports Commission Act, the Act creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the People’s SmallScale Mining Act. He also authored and cosponsored the Generic Drugs Act and the Act Establishing the Philippine Police under a Reorganized Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Pimentel ran and lost a bid for the vice presidency in 1992 when he stood as former Senator Jovito Salonga’s running mate.

Pimentel was also a proponent for federalism in the Philippines, and was a key member of the Constitutional Commission tasked by President Duterte to review the Constitution. Speaking to media on Sunday night at Pimentel’s wake at Heritage Park Taguig, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, Con-com chairman, hailed Pimentel as one of the leading lights of the commission, adding that Pimentel, despite his age, was never absent. They all turned to him for counsel every time certain members could not agree on issues, Puno added.

Butch Fernandez

Due to the six-month closure of Boracay last year, only 930,363 tourists were recorded, about 50 percent less than the 2.1-million peak reached in 2017.

In the nine months to September this year, visitors from the United States were ranked third among the top foreign markets for Boracay, at 18,567. Following at a distant fourth were visitors from Taiwan at 25,133; then at fifth were those from the United Kingdom at 9,806.

Tourists from Australia came in sixth place at 9,225; followed by Japan at 8,889; Saudi Arabia at 8,675; Russia at 8,308; and Germany at 5,464.

Meanwhile, Binay also urged the BIATF to remain vigilant and make sure establishments in Boracay are complying with environmental laws. “I hope this isn’t ningas cogon only because all the good things that have been started on the island would be wasted. We should also raise the standards of caring for the island,” she added. Ningas cogon is a Filipino idiom which describes starting something good, only to let things slide and results become shoddy later.

The senator also suggested that the BIATF and the local government of Malay town strongly consider training personnel to brief tourists on the “do’s and don’ts” on the island.

She said ground and ferry crew, drivers, boatmen, and transport staff can also be tapped since they are already strategically placed at the island’s entry points.

“This is a small matter but I think it would go a long way in making sure tourists are aware of the things that are allowed or prohibited,” Binay stressed. Recently, Romulo Puyat requested the head of Ctrip to help educate its clients on the laws, regulations and “do’s and don’ts” in the Philippines, before they travel.

Headquartered in Shanghai, Ctrip is the largest online travel agency in Asia, and accounts for a large number of Chinese tourists bookings in the Philippines. (See, “DOT urges Chinese online travel agent to keep its customers in line,” in the BusinessMirror, October 19, 2019.)

Boracay Island was closed to tourists for six months from April 26, 2019, for rehabilitation, which included the widening of its main road, fast tracking of the construction of vital infrastructure like a drainage system, recovering of wetlands, enforcing the 30-meter “no-build” zone on the main white beach, among others.

News BusinessMirror

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Your score will give you a sense of how your technology stacks up. From there, you can choose to connect with technology experts to discuss your score further.

During that session, you will learn about key areas of opportunity to improve your solutions and better understand the methodology behind the score.

It’s time for a checkup! The doctor is in!

To get access to the program and complete the Compliance Technology Health Check, you have to respond to this column and I will bring you in touch with an experienced service provider. If you act fast, you can still see your score today.

E-mail me at schumacher@eitsc.com.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Tuesday, October 22, 2019 A3

More than 9K cops meted with penalties since 2016, PNP officer in charge reveals

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

P

HILIPPINE National Police Officer in Charge Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa said on Monday that a total of 9,172 policemen, or roughly 4.7 percent, of the country’s total police force have been meted with various degree of penalties from July 2016 until September 20 this year out of administrative cases arising from their involvement in criminal activities to violations of PNP rules and regulations.

Gamboa made the disclosure as he emphasized that the PNP’s ongoing internal cleansing will be intensified, while prodding commanders to perform and deliver results, including the campaign against illegal drugs, freezing promotion in the meantime and putting senior commanders on a probationary period of three months in their current positions.

The freezing of promotion and even in designations followed the massive revamp implemented by Gamboa over the weekend affecting senior officials.

Among those penalized were 2,806 personnel dismissed from the service, 535 demoted in rank, 4,721 suspended, 762 reprimanded, 60 restricted to quarters, forfeiture of salaries for 208 and 80 withheld privileges.

Those dismissed from service included 454 personnel found guilty of involvement in illegal drugs, 352 of whom tested positive for drug use, while 102 others were involved in drug-related activities.

“Over the last nine months of 2019 alone, 2,286 personnel were slapped with similar penalties for administrative cases,” Gamboa said.

“More has yet to be done in our internal cleansing program. While we’ve dismissed and disciplined more than 9,000 of our personnel,

this punitive measure should be deliberate and persistent in seeking the help of faith-based organizations to add more volunteers to the more than 7,000 life coaches mentoring our 190,000 plus personnel on their weekly work-life sessions that are values driven,” he added.

Gamboa has admitted that the recent controversy involving the PNP, including its resigned chief, has “shaken the institution at its core.”

“Not only it has caused displeasure from our President, but [also] some doubts on our capability and resolve to serve and protect the people.

Indeed, these are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary measures not only to protect the significant gains we’ve achieved in our campaign against crime, illegal drugs and corruption, but also to bring it to its next level from the insights we’ve learned from our tumultuous experience,” he admitted.

The controversy arose from the November 29, 2013, drug bust in Mexico, Pampanga, carried out by policemen under then-Pampanga Provincial Police Director Oscar D. Albayalde wherein the policemen misreported the amount of drugs they have seized and allegedly accepted P50 million in exchange of presenting another suspect other than the target of their operation.

Three retired police officials linked Albayalde to the operation, with one of them even claiming that the now-resigned PNP chief “earned a little” out it.

Gamboa said they have already dismissed four of the 13 policemen involved in the Pampanga raid for another grave offense in Antipolo.

“Another one is facing a more serious offense and will likely be administratively dismissed if substantial evidence exists,” Gamboa said.

On Saturday, the PNP officer in

charge held his second command conference with senior officials wherein the performance evaluation of units was discussed along with the concerns raised earlier

by President Duterte on the PNP as an offshoot of the Pampanga drug raid.

“All leaders must take full responsibility in the entire implementation process of all our law-enforcement campaigns. In relation to this, I have ordered the massive revamp beginning at the national headquarters down to the regional levels. We expect fresh ideas, fresh enthusiasm and fresh resolve from commanders at all levels to carry their share of weight in our campaign against illegal drugs and internal cleansing,” he said.

“Each one will strictly be held accountable for what his or her unit does or fails to do. Beginning today, all key positions are under probation for three months. And all promotions will be on hold. And I will make sure the ax will fall where it should if these leaders will not deliver results,” Gamboa added.

Hands off

MALACAÑANG, meanwhile, said it is keeping its hand off on the decision of the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to recommend the inclusion of Albayalde in a criminal complaint for his alleged involvement in the Pampanga drug raid.

“Well, from the very start we said, if they feel that they have a case against anyone then they can file it and let the law take its course,” said Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo in a Palace briefing on Monday.

Meanwhile, Panelo also said the President supported the PNP revamp since this will bode well for the organization. With Bernadette D. Nicolas

Imee moves to fast-track farmland titles for tillers After pilot test, Neda says PhilSys enrollment took longer than expected

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

C

ONGRESS is expected to frontload passage of a law to complete long-awaited distribution of farmlands to tillers soon as lawmakers reconvene regular sessions on November 4.

In filing Senate Bill 849, Sen. Imee Marcos signaled her determination to finishtheemancipationoflandlessfarmers, a process began by her late father exPresidentFerdinandMarcos50yearsago.

The Marcos bill, to be known as the “Emancipation of Tenants Act of 2019” once enacted into law, will write-off unpaid amortizations, interest payments, penalties or surcharges from loans secured by agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

It provides that all ARBs shall be deemed as the “rightful owners of the lands awarded to them.”

Moreover, the remedial legislation also includes a provision that “all agricultural lands covered by the CARP which have not been distributed shall be distributed at no cost to qualified ARBs.” The senator recalled that her late father, former President Marcos, signed

Presidential Decree (PD) 27 ordering the emancipation of tenants from the bondage of the soil and transferring to them ownership of the land they till on October 21, 1972, one month after declaring martial law on September 21 the same year.

The Marcos martial-law era decree, also known as PD 27, broke down agricultural estates to a maximum of 7 hectares, she said, adding that this was later adopted by Republic Act 6657, otherwise known as the “Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988,” issued

by Marcos’s successor, the late President Corazon Aquino.

“However, what we witnessed is the longest land reform history. On the day of this landmark date, let us determine to complete the effort of agrarian reform and finally fulfill the long-held dream of tenants from the bondage of the soil,” Marcos said.

She suggested that in order to fulfill this dream, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) needs to address the immediate distribution of “CARPable” land to ARBs, noting that the DAR has a backlog of 621,085 hectares of agricultural land waiting to be distributed to farmer-beneficiaries. Of the said backlog, 92.6 percent, or 575,272 hect-

ares, are private agricultural land and 88.3 percent, or 585,467 hectares, are to be compensated through the Land Bank of the Philippines.

Moreover, most ARBs were only given Certificate of Land Ownership Awards, which they cannot use as collaterals for bank loans for a period of 10 years, depriving them access to the financial market.

According to Marcos, “these phenomena result in the rise of informal lending channels that circumvent the law and result in farmers paying onerous interest on production loans, leaving them with little money to spend on improving their capital stock.”

For instance, she noted that as of June 30, 2019, ARBs have to pay a total of P64.48 billion in order to acquire 1.6 million hectares of land which were acquired through the LandBank.

In addition to the P64.48 billion due to be amortized by the farmers, there is a remaining 548,467 hectares of land that will be acquired. At the prevailing land value of P200,000 per hectare, the acquisition of the remaining private lands will cost an additional P109.70 billion wherein which the whole land reform program is expected to cost P174.18 billion.

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said there is a need to shorten the registration processing time for the National ID, or Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).

The Neda statement came on the heels of the pilot test of the registration where 525 select government employees were enrolled in the Philsys. The PhilSys Policy and Coordinating Council (PSPCC), chaired by Neda, observed the registration process took longer than expected.

With this, Neda said faster movement on the establishment of data centers are needed to accommodate the anticipated increase in the number of registrants starting June 2020, when the PhilSys enrollment will be fully implemented.

“The data centers should already be in place right now, if not, at least by December so they are usable in early January 2020. We

need to act more swiftly and ensure that we will have no delays in the implementation of the National ID. We want to complete the entire process on schedule, i.e., by mid2022,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia.

In a recent meeting, the PSPCC discussed ways to further reduce the processing time so as not to make people wait too long.

Neda explained that the PhilSys registration process involves screening, demographic and biometric capturing, and printing of transaction slip.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Undersecretar y and National Statistician Dennis S. Mapa said they will be expanding the number of registrants for the November to December rounds to capture more data especially for registrants at ages 60 and above to develop better queuing strategies before the official exponential rollout by June 2020.

“We know that budget is limited

and that government procedures, rules, and regulations can be very restrictive. But it is incumbent upon us to find new ways of doing things for all of us to be efficient and to make transactions hassle-free for citizens,” Pernia added.

For card production, PSA recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Under the agreement, PSA will take charge of the database management, the accuracy of the personal information to be placed in BSP-produced blank cards, and undertaking the personalization, quality checking and distribution of the IDs. Acknowledging the complexity of implementing a secure national ID system, Pernia said it is necessary for government agencies to collaborate and help hasten the implementation of PhilSys. Pernia also urged government agencies to overcome bureaucratic red tape, saying this is precisely what the PhilSys ID wants to reduce.

Govt infrastructure spending continues to decline as of end-August–DBM data

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

P

UBLIC infrastructure spending continued to decline as of end-August due to implementation delays of ongoing programs and projects, election ban on public

works and the delay in the reenactment of the 2019 national budget.

Data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released on Monday showed a double-digit drop, or an 11.8-percent decline, on infrastructure spending.

From January to August this year,

national government disbursements for infrastructure and other capital outlays only reached P446 billion.

This is down by P59.6 billion compared to P505.6 billion recorded a year ago.

This, as total national government disbursements as of end-August grew

by 0.9 percent, or P20.7 billion yearon-year to reach P2.21 trillion.

“The uptick is credited to higher PS [personnel services] expenditures [up by P49.4 billion, or 8.2 percent], allotment to [local government units] [up by P26.5 billion, or 9.5 percent], net lending [up by P14.9

billion] and interest payments [up

by P12.0 billion, or 5.0 percent],” said the DBM in its report.

“The recorded growth for the said expense items, however, was tempered by lower infrastructure and other capital outlays [down

by P59.6 billion, or 11.8 percent],

capital transfers to LGUs [down by P23.9 billion, or 20.7 percent] and subsidy [down by P8.5 billion, or 8.0 percent] following the delays in the implementation of ongoing and new programs and projects because of the budget reenactment and election ban on public works.”

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Tuesday, October 22, 2019 A5

Bankers’ group wants members to adopt ‘sustainability’ scheme

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By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

HE Bankers Association of the Philippines is encouraging its members to adopt environmental and sustainability measures in their daily operations after BAP executives cited recent talks with several environmental and financial stakeholders.

In their recently held forum in Makati City, the BAP bared partnerships with various international associations to encourage local banks to incorporate environmental, social and governance and sustainability principles into their corporate strategy, risk management and bank operations framework.

These institutions include the German Ministry for the Environment and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, among others.

“Our country lies at the epicenter of climate change. As banks, we must find a win-win situation where

we can continue to remain profitable, despite the risks involved in sustainable financing,” BAP President Cezar P. Consing said at the forum. “We all should be part of this transformation journey of creating a resilient economy. We should make what we do profitable so it can be sustainable.”

In line with this, Consing said the BAP is building a program to assist its members in their respective sustainability journey.

While no details have been provided yet, a BAP document said the program will be managed in partnership with nongovernment group

World Wildlife Fund Inc. The BAP said they would also offer guidance to individual banks that want to integrate environmental, social and governance principles in their respective business models.

“As economically minded people, we all react to sensible measures.

What gets measured gets managed,” Consing said.

The BAP president also noted that in the past few months, sustainability has found proponents among executives of the Philippine Securities Exchange. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have introduced guidelines, frameworks, regulations and tools to encourage sustainable lending, business practices and disclosures.

“The world’s leading institutional investors are increasingly demanding publicly listed companies to operate on sustainability and ESG frameworks,” Consing said. He added that Philippine banks are “hellbent” on catching up, despite being behind their peers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in integrating environmental, social and governance and sustainability principles.

Learning the basics of push marketing and pull marketing Push marketing and pull marketing

Fitz Gerard Villafuerte

personal finance

M

ANY people go into business without much knowledge in marketing. Some actually believe that if you have a product or service that offers good value, then customers will just automatically come to their doors.

However, the reality is, having the best product or service does not always guarantee that consumers will go to your business because they will, more often than not, buy what comes first in their minds or go to where they believe they can get the best value for their money.

So if your target market does not know you, or they believe that the value of your product or service is not worth their hard-earned cash, then they’ll probably just ignore you and do their purchase somewhere else.

Thus the importance of marketing, and learning the two most basic types of it, push marketing and pull marketing, is essential in drawing an effective marketing plan for your business.

IMAGINE that you have a hamburger restaurant and a hungry couple is standing right outside your door. How will you force them to come in and have a meal?

Did you imagine yourself standing outside with them and“pushing”them to go inside? Or did you imagine yourself standing at the door and “pulling” them to come in?

In marketing, the type and direction of force you use is what defines push and pull marketing strategies.

Push marketing often comes in the form of direct advertising. It is reaching out to your consumers to create a demand for your product. Some push marketing strategies include: n television and radio commercials n billboard ads n flyer distribution n direct mail and e-mail blasts Pull marketing, on the other hand, can basically be defined as indirect advertising.

This works by enticing consumers to seek your product without you having a direct influence in their purchasing decision.

For example, if you ask me, “Where’s the best sans rival in the country?” I’d probably answer Lachi’s in Davao City. I am not the owner of Lachi’s nor did they pay me to recommend their restaurant. But somehow, they’ve managed to market their business through my recommendation.

Thus, at the most basic level, some pull

marketing strategies could include: n converting consumers into brand advocates n social media and viral marketing n search engine optimization n good public relations

Push marketing vs pull marketing

FOR a start-up business, which marketing strategy works best? I’d say either. I’ve seen new businesses successfully establish their initial market by using either push or pull marketing strategies alone.

But for long-term success, a mix of both strategies is essential in my opinion; because some customers react only to one type or the other. So balancing your push and pull marketing efforts will make sure that you maximize your reach of your target market.

And also, some marketing strategies act like a little of both types, because the boundaries of push and pull marketing is really separated by only a thin line. As always, regardless of what strategies you implement for your business, remember that successful marketing needs to be visible, consistent and persistent.

Fitz Villafuerte is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 79th RFP program this October 2019. To inquire, e-mail info@rfp.ph or text <name><e-mail> <RFP> at 0917-9689774.

Dominguez lures businesses from US for infra projects

F

INANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the Philippines is looking forward to hosting American business delegation as it noted the lack of participation of US firms in government’s infrastructure projects.

A statement quoted Dominguez in his speech during the Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) in Washington, D.C. According to the head of the Department of Finance, “a lot” of US investors have expressed their interests in supporting the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program; however, “no serious offer has come” from them.

“Our alliance of long-standing should be strengthened even more by forward-looking business partnerships,” Dominguez was quoted in the statement as saying. According to the DOF chief, some investors expressed interest in the New Clark City project in Central Luzon.

This project seeks to raise from the ground the country’s first “smart and green” metropolis. The project also expects the rapid transformation of the growth corridor between the Clark and Subic free ports.

Both Clark and Subic were used by the Americans as military bases.

Dominguez said that historical fact “should be of particular interest to US businesses.”

“This area has attracted new industries and promises to be a center of modern enterprise in the region,” he said. “The fast transformation of the growth corridor between Subic Bay and Clark should be of particular interest to US businesses.”

Dominguez purportedly said during the forum that the Duterte administration will further ramp up spending on infrastructure to 7 percent of gross domestic product by the time the President, which has been vocal against the United States,

steps down in 2022.

Dominguez was said to have cited the government’s tax-reform program as another reason for investing in the government’s infrastructure development program.

He was said to have expressed confidence “that with improved revenue collections, alongside the strong support of the Philippines’s development partners such as Japan, China and Korea, the infrastructure program will help our economy weather the headwinds created by the projected global slowdown.”

“Game-changing reforms will ensure that the continuous growth we achieve is funded equitably by the Filipino people. Our CTRP [Comprehensive Tax Reform Program] will modernize policies toward a simpler, fairer tax system while ensuring robust and recurrent revenues for the government,” Dominguez said.

Jove Moya

A6 Tuesday, October 22, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Making movies is more fun in PHL

T

his seems to be the message and marketing goal of the Department of Tourism (DOT) when it recently linked hands with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) to offer incentive packages for international filmmakers to lure them to shoot their films in the country.

The DOT and FDCP campaign—“Let’s Create Together”—offers two incentive options for foreign producers, provided they work with duly registered producers or coproducers in the country: (1) Film Location Incentive Program (FLIP), where feature films in any genre, television series, and Web content may be applied for; and (2) International Co-production Fund (ICOF), applicable for feature films in any format (live action, documentary or animation).

To qualify, the production cost must be at least P8 million ($155,000).

Upon approval, as much as P10 million ($193,000) cash rebate may be availed through FLIP or ICOF. The “Let’s Create Together” campaign, which was launched during the Busan International Film Festival this October, gives seven key reasons why the Philippines should be a premier choice for international producers: 1) Composed of more than 7,000 islands and diverse cultural wonders, the Philippines is a broad spectrum of settings for practically every story; 2) English-speaking talent and crews—blessed with a supreme English literacy, the local work force promises better understanding, teamwork and rapport; 3) One-stop shop for permits, visas, and tax-free importation—ease of doing business has never been better with integrated services, thereby saving time and energy; 4) Skilled artists and technicians—a newly instituted National Registry, a database of film professionals, provides a broad selection of film industry manpower; 5) Available and dependable equipment and facilities—smooth planning, coordination and execution of all production activities while in the country shall be ensured with the assistance of accredited Filipino line production companies; 6) Enhanced security in cities and countryside—assurance in safety is well coordinated whether they be in urban or rural areas; and 7) A location incentive that cuts your costs—a financing grant designed to optimize the potential of a film project whether it’s undergoing preproduction, production or postproduction phase.

Incidentally, a pending bill in the Senate authored by Sen. Grace Poe, called the “Philippine Film and Television Tourism Act Of 2019,” also has the same goals as the DOT-FDCP campaign.

A number of films have been shot in the Philippines, including The Bourne Legacy, which created such a huge buzz in 2012 when its Hollywood crew shot the film’s action highlights in different parts of Metro Manila, and its concluding scene in idyllic Palawan.

Other notable films that were partly shot here include Apocalypse Now, An Officer and A Gentleman, Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon, Thirteen Days and Amigo, a film about the Philippine-American War that was shot entirely in Bohol.

The popular reality-TV series, Survivor, also shot some of its past editions in the Caramoan Islands in Camarines Sur. This should be a lesson to producers of local films, TV shows and telenovelas. A lot of them want to shoot in other countries when they could very well shoot their films and TV shows here.

If the Philippines is more than good enough a location for big foreign films, why choose to shoot in other countries? We must patronize and promote our own country and local destinations.

The historical drama and forthcoming 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival entry Culion, for instance, depicts the bucolic Palawan Island in the 1940s, when it was still a secluded colony populated by people who suffered from Hansen’s disease, commonly known as leprosy.

Culion has a unique history among all the islands in the Philippines, being part of world medical history, having been the largest and best-equipped leprosarium in the world during the American colonial period.

The film seeks to erase the stigma associated with Culion (which had contained the disease in 1980 and was declared leprosy-free by the World Health Organization in 2006) and promote it as a favorable tourism destination.

There should, indeed, be a similar program of fiscal incentives for local filmmakers who make films that promote and showcase our country’s scenic locations, culture, history and heritage.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

Trusting the government John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

I

n the northeast section of Hyde Park in London, England, is a place known as the Speakers’ Corner. The park was established by Henry VIII in 1536 when he took the land from Westminster Abbey and used it as a hunting ground. It opened to the public in 1637.

A “Speakers’ Corner” is an area where open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed, and this one in Hyde Park is the most famous. In 1855, riots broke out in this area as protestors gathered in opposition to the “Sunday Trading Bill,” which forbade buying and selling on a Sunday, the only day off for working people.

Yet, there have always been limits to free speech. Police arrested individuals at the Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner for profanity. We are told that all free speech must be limited to certain spaces and “hate speech” is not acceptable. The problem is that “hate speech” can be talking in public about ideas that someone else “hates.” The definition of “speech” has become

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THE Entrepreneur

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez

there have always been protests. Not exactly. Last week, Chile erupted in riots of such power that their subway system may take years to reopen. It is the most modern in South America and runs for 140 kilometers. More than 40 of its 136 stations were virtually destroyed. And all this was over an increase in fares this year of about three US cents. Chile has a gross domestic product per capita of $15,000. By comparison, the Philippine GDP per capita is $3,000.

The pundits and other experts categorize this as part of a “populist” movement, “referring to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of “the people” rather than the elite.” Underlying that idea is that soon “the people” will come to their senses and admit the errors of their

ways. You hear that from local commentators who are very unhappy with the Hong Kong protestors and how they are ruining their local economy.

It is much more than this idea that liberal and left-wing politicians/ groups like to push about “rich versus poor.” And it is much more dangerous than economic class warfare.

We are witnessing a near-global situation of a breakdown of trust in government. Forget about the nonsense “approval” ratings. I do not expect or even want my family to “approve” of my decisions. But I need them to trust that I am making what I firmly believe are the best decisions for everyone.

You may not approve of the Duterte administration. But when 85 percent have “Big Trust” and only 4 percent have “Small/No Trust,” that is a positive for the nation. And, interestingly enough, China, India, and the Philippines have the highest trust in government. The United Kingdom, the US, France and Spain all come in at 30+ percent.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stockmarket information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

It’s time to plan and develop Mega Manila

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Publisher

very fluid as has the definition of the word “free.”

We are told that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”

But the lines are extremely blurred.

Currently, protestors in Hong Kong are apparently fighting for democracy and self determination. Currently, protestors in Barcelona are fighting for democracy and Catalan’s self determination. Strangely—or maybe not so strange—is that in the view of several Western governments, Hongkongers are “freedom fighters” and Catalonians are “terrorists.”

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that there is a rising phenomenon of protests around the world that is increasing in intensity. Some dismissed this as nonsense, along the lines that

You may not approve of the Duterte administration. But when 85 percent have “Big Trust” and only 4 percent have “Small/ No Trust,” that is a positive for the nation. And, interestingly enough, China, India, and the Philippines have the highest trust in government. The United Kingdom, the US, France and Spain all come in at 30+ percent.

M

etro Manila, or the National Capital Region (NCR), is bursting at the seams, and some studies rank it as one of the most congested urban centers in the world.

While the government and the private sector are busy undertaking major infrastructure projects in the metropolis, they will not be enough to resolve the traffic congestion in the 619-square-kilometer (sq km) urban sprawl, whose daytime population swells to over 21 million.

Various suggestions on how to resolve the Edsa traffic mess have been floated recently, including the construction of more expressways, such as the one above Edsa, adding another lane by narrowing the existing lanes or the conversion of Edsa into a one-way road.

The problem with these NCR-centric proposals is that we tend to focus on investing more in Metro Manila, when the more effective solution lies outside the metropolis. We keep on satisfying the demand of Metro Manila only to attract more people from other areas of the country, thereby contributing to further congestion.

Officially, NCR had 12.877 million residents, representing 12.7 percent of the national population of 101 million as of August 2015.

Because of the limited land area, NCR’s population density reached 20,785 persons per sq km in that year, much higher than the national average of 337 persons per square kilometer. Manila, the capital city, had a population density of 71,263 persons per sq km, reportedly the highest in the world.

Data from the Land Transportation Office show that of the 11.6 million motor vehicles registered in 2018, about 2.8 million or 24 percent were in the NCR. Based on a standard length of 6 meters and width of 2 meters for a parking space, these vehicles would require up to 34 million square meters of space.

Imagine if they were all on the road during rush hour. These exclude millions of motorcycles, tricycles and

pedicabs plying the different streets in Metro Manila, not to mention the millions of vehicles visiting from other parts of Luzon.

If transformed into a parking lot, the 23.8-km, 10-lane Edsa could only accommodate 200,000 vehicles on both sides. No wonder, the average traffic speed on Edsa is only about 15 kilometers per hour, even slower than the running speed of a marathon athlete.

I believe that a longer-term solution is necessary to address the problem. If the traffic becomes too unbearable in the NCR, the obvious correcting mechanism is to move away from the city center. This means we should spread the development and economic activities in NCR to the provinces as far as Pampanga and Tarlac in the north, and Batangas and Laguna in the south.

Let us develop Mega Manila as the new megapolis that encompasses NCR, Central Luzon and Calabarzon.

The development of New Clark City in Tarlac province is a start, and we should follow it up with more projects that will seamlessly link NCR to the growth corridors of Subic, Clark and Calabarzon.

The airport and seaport projects in Central Luzon and Calabarzon should be expanded to ease the pressure on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Port of Manila. In other words, future projects should focus on the development of

Mega Manila, not on the limited territory of NCR. It is time to build new commercial business districts (CBD) beyond Makati, Ortigas and Fort Bonifacio, and put them in Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite or Batangas, supported by modern infrastructure projects, of course.

We can also build communities around the emerging CBDs so that employees will not have to travel for hours just to get to their places of work. A daily four-hour commute is not healthy to the body and affects workers’ productivity.

It is a good thing that the Duterte administration is undertaking “Build, Build, Build” projects that will spread development to the provinces. Once completed, these rail and road projects would cut travel time between NCR and the rest of Luzon.

The private sector should contribute to this goal by putting up their headquarters in the new business districts outside the NCR. Many multinational companies currently congregate in Makati and Fort Bonifacio to the disadvantage of their employees, who cannot afford the high rental rates in these areas.

By opening more areas for development, we can unlock the full potential of Mega Manila as the major growth driver and resolve the urban congestion in NCR at the same time.

For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail. com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.

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Transfer pricing of the digital economy

Senator Nene: A profile in political courage Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

Atty. Irwin C. Nidea Jr.

Tax law for business

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hile the world is already talking about obsolescence of the arm’s length principle in transfer pricing, the Philippines is only beginning to grasp the concept and apply the same in its audit procedures. The Philippines’s transfer pricing regulations have been issued as early as 2013. But it was only on August 20, 2019, that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued RAMO 1-2019, which prescribes the guidelines that must be followed by revenue examiners in transfer pricing audit.

These BIR issuances mandate that transfer price in a related party transaction must conform with the arm’s length principle. This principle stipulates that “if the conditions in the transaction between related parties are the same as, or similar to, the conditions in transactions between independent parties that are used as comparable, the price or profit in the related transactions must be the same as, or similar to, the range of prices or profit in the transactions between the comparable independent parties”

on a computer screen, which is often used to advertise a product. We usually see this appear while we are browsing the Internet. Like any other advertisement, there is revenue derived from it. It is proposed that the country where the pop-up appears must be able share in the income.

The calculation of share in income would be based on residual profit, determined by the number of users and the revenue generated through advertising. This proposal admits that there are many variables that remain open if the residual profit

The digital economy challenges the aptness of the arm’s length principle. Digital platforms can create a significant amount of business in a country without any physical presence. This supports the emerging idea that users create value for the digital platforms that they use. Thus, it is just proper that the country where these users are located is allowed to have a share in the tax in proportion to the value that its users create.

(RR 2-2013). In other words, if a parent company buys goods from its subsidiary at P100,000, the subsidiary must sell the same goods to an unrelated party, also at P100,000.

Digital economy challenges the aptness of the arm’s length principle.

People do not transact through brick and mortar anymore. The value that is added by an affiliate in a multinational enterprise is not just measured by how big its physical presence is in a jurisdiction. Digital platforms can create a significant amount of business in a country without any physical presence. This supports the emerging idea that users create value for the digital platforms that they use. Thus, it is just proper that the country where these users are located is allowed to have a share in the tax in proportion to the value that its users create. Filipinos, for example, are among the top Facebook users, but Facebook has a limited physical presence in the Philippines. How should Facebook be taxed in the Philippines and what is the Philippines’s share in Facebook’s allocation from its global profit?

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has proposed a new paradigm that will address the perceived leaks of the arm’s length principle when applied to digital economy: 1. User Participation Proposal; 2. Marketing Intangible Proposal; and 3. Significant Economic Presence Proposal.

The User Participation proposal gives emphasis on digital presence in a country and income allocation based on the participation of digital users. It is based on the principle that value of the digital business is derived from the volume of digital users. When an entity engaged in digital transaction creates an impact in a country, then it will be treated as having a taxable presence in the said country. When a multinational enterprise that develops and maintains a digital platform, e.g., Internet search engine like Google, will not have a traditional Permanent Establishment in many countries where the digital platform is being used. But it may still be considered as creating a significant income that is derived from these countries when their citizens use it.

A typical digital transaction is “pop-up” advertisements. Pop-up is a window that appears suddenly

method is applied alone and suggests that a preagreed formula is also adopted to simplify what is the tax due to each country.

The second proposal is called Marketing Intangibles. These intangibles include buyer preference or bias because of experience in a product or buyer loyalty. They are difficult to measure. In this proposal, the market jurisdiction (where digital users are located) would be entitled to tax some or all of the “non-routine” income, while “routine” income will still be apportioned between affiliates based on existing transfer pricing principles. Routine income of marketing intangibles includes revenue derived from intellectual property; e.g., brand name, trade name. This proposal contemplates that marketing intangibles like customer loyalty are created in a market jurisdiction through the efforts of the business, regardless of size.

The problem, however, is how to determine the value of the marketing intangibles and the corresponding allocation that must be made per market jurisdiction.

The Significant Economic Presence proposal, on the other hand, contemplates that if the revenue generated from sales to residents of a country reach a certain threshold, or the number of users per year or the volume of digital transactions exceed a certain number, a formulary apportionment of income must be effected. Instead of the usual transfer pricing methods, this proposal suggests an agreed upon formula in the apportionment of income.

Digital economy is the new economy. It is the new oil. We should be able to get our true share in the income tax allocation of the likes of Google, Facebook and Amazon. This cannot be realized if we are not even serious in implementing our transfer pricing rules.

The author is a senior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of WTS Global.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at irwin.c.nideajr@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 330.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019 A7

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S a law student many decades ago, I attended a forum where some faculty members spoke before the students.

One speaker in his early 40s struck us, not just with his intensity and eloquence, but for his courage and conviction to speak out his mind against the Martial Law regime, and we were only a couple of hundred meters away from Malacañang. He admonished us to zealously guard our liberty and not to be cowed by the repressive regime that reigned in our land. I still recall his parting words, which he quoted from US Judge Learned Hand: “Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it. While it lies there, it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it.”

“Principled politician,” “fightingest mayor,” “fearless parliamentarian,” and “stalwart of democracy” are some of the appellations added to his name, and no politician has deservingly earned them as Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel Jr., as he was fondly called, had been part of our political consciousness when Filipinos were living dangerously during the Martial Law years.

He first came to our attention when he represented Misamis Oriental at the 1971 Constitutional Convention. He strongly opposed the proposed provisions in the Constitution that betrayed the people’s interests and exposed designs to perpetuate the ruling dictatorship in power. He was arrested and released shortly before the draft Con-

stitution was signed by the farmers thereof. Pimentel, along with few other delegates, refused to sign the document, which further drew the ire of the dictator.

He hardly attended our class in 1978, particularly after he joined the Laban slate led by jailed Ninoy Aquino to contest the 21 seats in Batasang Pambansa for the NCR. But we followed him in his campaign trail. When the KBL slate swept all 21 slots amid allegations of massive fraud, a dozen intrepid classmates participated in the Protest March from Welcome Rotonda organized by the opposition, with him and some of his losing party mates leading the march. Our group was forcibly dispersed in front of the UST campus, and we found out

later that he and the other leaders were arrested and incarcerated in Camp Bicutan, Taguig. And he had been in and out of jail since. While mayor of Cagayan de Oro City, he was arrested on charges of rebellion for giving P100 to an NPA commander. Again in 1985, he was arrested for his alleged role in an ambush in Cebu City.

Despite the threat to his life and security, he never wavered in his conviction to oppose tyranny and fight for our freedom. He continued to defend the oppressed and the poor.

He was very visible in street demonstrations and protest movements.

He was the founder and president of PDP-Laban, the dominant opposition political party that fought against the well-oiled political machinery of Marcos. He even won as city mayor of Cagayan de Oro City when Marcos allowed to hold the first local elections since the declaration of Martial Law on January 30, 1980, to deodorize his regime. His entire ticket swept the mayoralty and the city council race.

After Edsa, he served as the minister of the Interior and Local Government. He was first elected senator in 1987 where he authored several landmark legislations, which included the Local Government Code.

He resigned his position as Senate President when the Senate, acting as impeachment court, voted not to open the second envelope during the Estrada impeachment trial. He addressed Chief Justice Hilario Davide, who presided over the impeachment trial, and said: “Because of this development, Mr. Chief Justice, I believe that the ‘Nos’

have it. And therefore, I resign my presidency of the Senate as soon as my successor is elected.” A rare act in politics where self-interest is the name of the game. He served three Senate terms (1992, 1998 and 2004) and briefly as Senate President. He was a champion of Federalism, an advocate of local government autonomy, a nemesis of election fraud and a staunch supporter of a ban on political dynasties. He was among the Magnificent 12 Senators who voted against the extension of the Philippines-United States Bases Treaty. He ran for vice president in 1992 in tandem with Sen. Jovito Salonga under the coalition banner of LP and PDP-Laban, a perfect combination in an imperfect political world. They lost without the support of President Cory Aquino. He made a comeback but was cheated out of victory in the 1995 senate electoral contest in the infamous Dagdag-Bawas Scheme. His quixotic protest was vindicated when he was eventually declared the winner.

His political odyssey is a story about courage, integrity and incorruptibility. He had confronted risks, embraced unpopular causes, opposed unbeatable foes and fought quixotic battles. Despite the high and powerful positions he held during his, more or less, five decades as a public servant, he did not amass wealth and died poor. He did not pander to popular demand, nor took the easier path. He has been consistent and unyielding in his principles since he entered public life. He lived and died by the words of Justice Learned Hand. Senator Nene, you are a profile in political courage.

Albayalde and the rest were subjected to prejudgment of guilt Cecilio T. Arillo

database

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SN’T it unusual that the two most powerful committees of the Senate have thoroughly targeted resigned Philippine National Police chief General Oscar Albayalde for demolition for a crime that happened six years ago, or during the regime of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III?

What took the two powerful Senate committees so long to bring the issue out into the open?

What took them so long to investigate the 13 policemen and why was the probe timed on the third year of President Duterte’s term while the Yellow campaign against the President was in motion here and abroad?

Is Albayalde just a collateral target to bring down Duterte as the principal target?

Why was he and the 13 other

policemen not investigated, charged with crimes and ousted during Aquino’s time?

These are legitimate questions, and officials concerned must give credible answers, particularly those with presidential ambitions.

The crime imputed against Albayalde is about drugs, a very popular and sensitive issue that Duterte successfully eradicated, and sent to jail a member of the Senate, which made him very popular.

The powerful Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights has jurisdictions, to wit: All matters relating to the organization and administration of justice, civil courts, penitentiaries and reformatory schools; probation; impeachment proceedings against constitutional officers and other officers legally removable by impeachment; registration of land titles; immigration and naturalization; The implementation of the provisions of the Constitution on human rights; and all matters pertaining to the efficiency and reforms in the prosecution service (Rule X, Section 13 [15]).

The Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigation (Blue Ribbon) has jurisdiction on: All matters relating to, including investigation of, malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance in office by officers and employees of the government, its branches, agencies, subdivisions and instrumentalities; And implementation of the provision of the Constitution on nepo-

Saudi Aramco is the WeWork of energy

By David Fickling Bloomberg Opinion

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n paper, you could scarcely imagine two more different companies than WeWork and Saudi Aramco.

The serviced-office start-up is a notorious cash sink, while Saudi Aramco is a gusher of dollars. In retrospect, the canceled initial public offering by WeWork’s parent We Co. seems inevitable, given its $17.32 billion in net debt and negative free cash flow of $2.94 billion in the year through June. By contrast, Aramco’s $88.49 billion of free cash flow and $5.55 billion in cash net of debt suggest there’s still plenty to tempt investors.

Yet, the two abortive share sales have a core attribute in common. In both cases, powerful insider interest groups came to the process with an elevated idea of the valuation they could achieve, and backed away when reality refused to conform to their expectations.

Bankers put the Aramco sale on hold last week after it became

clear that international investors wouldn’t swallow the $2-trillion market capitalization Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman first laid out almost three-and-a-half years ago, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. A number closer to $1.5 trillion looked more viable, one of the people said, and even that reduced number was some way above the more realistic figures in the $1-trillion range calculated by my colleague Liam Denning.

If writing off the equivalent value of Tesla Inc. was disappointing for WeWork and its key investor SoftBank Group Corp., it’s no surprise that Mohammed is balking at seeing an Amazon.com Inc.-worth of value disappear at the click of a banker’s spreadsheet. Still, letting markets pass the verdict on valuation is what IPOs are meant to be about. If Mohammed ever wants to get this share sale away, he should take their skepticism as a cue for reflection, not rejection.

For one thing, valuations just

aren’t what they were when the idea of an Aramco IPO was first mooted back in early 2016. On an enterprise-value-to-Ebitda multiple, major listed independent and state-controlled oil companies are running at about a 29-percent discount to the valuations they were enjoying in April that year, when Mohammed first put a number on Aramco’s market cap. Aramco’s cash and debt holdings are nugatory next to its vast cash flows, so you can translate that into a roughly $600billion discount off the equity value it might have got at the time. Value Aramco’s $216.6 billion in Ebitda on the median multiple of the major listed national oil companies and you’re looking at a number just shy of $900 billion.

The problems are compounded by the way the IPO has been handled.

One reason the state oil companies mostly trade at a discount to independent producers is the perception that their corporate governance is caught up in politics. Aramco is hardly immune: Just last month, Khalid Al-Falih was removed from

tism; and investigation of any matter of public interest on its own initiative or brought to its attention by any member of the Senate. (Rule X, Section 13 [36]).

Headed by Sen. Richard Gordon, the two committees recommended the filing of anti-graft and antidrug charges against Albayalde and 13 of his former subordinates who allegedly tampered documents and evidence following their November 29, 2013, operation in Mexico, Pampanga.

These were serious crimes that happened six years ago during Aquino’s term. Why were they not investigated and put to jail then?

The probe on Albayalde created more questions and convoluted answers.

Worse, Albayalde and the rest were subjected to prejudgment of guilt before the Gordon Committees announced their findings to the media.

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.

the roles of Aramco chairman and Saudi Arabia’s energy minister in the space of a week. In the first role, he was replaced by Yasir Al-Rumayyan, a SoftBank director and the head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, which will become Aramco’s largest shareholder once the IPO is completed. In the latter, his place was taken by one of Prince Mohammed’s half-brothers.

Neither move suggests the sort of insulation from insider considerations that would convince shareholders to give a generous multiple to Aramco—and in terms of political risk, there’s the whole matter of a cold war with Iran, drone strikes on oil facilities, and Saudi Arabia’s position as the swing producer for the entire oil market to consider, too.

Aramco has one giant advantage over WeWork. Thanks to those enormous cash flows, there’s really no reason that it needs an IPO. Without an infusion of investor cash, WeWork may struggle to make it through the next quarter. Aramco could, in theory, keep going in its current fashion for decades.

A8 Tuesday, October 22, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

26 online lenders closed for data privacy code breaches

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

@alyasjah

HE National Privacy Commission (NPC) on Monday ordered the shutdown of 26 online lending firms for breaching the data privacy code by publicly shaming borrowers who fail to pay their dues on time.

In an order dated October 18, the NPC placed a ban on the processing of personal data against 26 online lenders charged with public

shaming of their borrowers. It said the operators of these mobile applications failed to appear before the commission to respond to al-

legations lodged by complainants, compelling the agency to issue the closure order.

Since the apps are available to the public for download, installation and use, the NPC decided to ban them for their “continuing threat to the rights and freedoms of data subjects.”

Directed to stop operations are online lending apps CashBus, Cash Flyer, Cashwarm, Cashafin, Cashaku, Cashope, Cashwhale, Credit Peso, Flash Cash, JK Quick Cash Lending, Light Kredit, Loan Motto and Moola Lending. Also instructed to cease from doing business are One Cash, Pautang peso, Pera Express, Peso Now, Peso Tree,

Peso.ph, PesoMine, Pinoy Cash, Pinoy Peso, QCash, Sell Loan, SuperCash and Utang Pesos.

“In order to preserve the rights of the complainants and to protect public interest, the commission, through its investigating officers, deems it necessary to impose a ban on the processing of personal data until the final resolution of the cases,” the order read.

The 26 online lenders are part of the 67 firms summoned by the NPC in early October, as they stand accused in data privacy complaints, but whose identities and addresses elude detection.

See “Online lenders,” A2

DOLE tightens rules for work-related permits

By Samuel P. Medenilla

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@sam_medenilla

TARTING next month, foreigners will be required to obtain a certificate of no objection (CNO) from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to apply for work-related permits or visas.

In a three-page advisory, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said the new requirement will cover all

foreigners except those belonging to the following categories: scholars, students, volunteers, and personnel of qualified International Organizations; foreign nationals exempted under Section 7 of the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) 001, Series of 2019; and foreign national required to secure Alien Employment Permit (AEP) from DOLE. He said CNO applications will be processed by their regional offices

NORTHEASTERLY SURFACE WINDFLOW PREVAILING OVER LUZON as of 4:00 pm - October 21, 2019

(DOLE RO) for a fee of P500.

“The DOLE RO shall grant or deny the issuance of the CNO within three working days after receipt and evaluation of complete documentary requirements and payment of corresponding permit,” Bello said in Department Order 205.

“The issuance of the CNO by the DOLE shall not be construed as an automatic approval of the application of the work-related permit or

visa,” he added.

The application for CNO may be denied by the DOLE RO if there is meritorious objection or information on the employment of the applicant; use fraudulent documents in the application; and derogatory information on the applicant from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.

Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Director Dominique R. Tutay said the measure aims to allow them to monitor the permits and visas issued by other government agencies.

“It’s actually meant to capture data of all foreign nationals intending to work in the Philippines, legally as expressed in the JMC,” Tutay told the BusinessMirror in an SMS. To recall, the JMC, which was signed last July, mandated DOLE to maintain a centralized database of all foreign workers in the country.

DepEd open to House review of K to 12

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OPING that its outcome will spur renewed commitment and initiatives among lawmakers, advocates and other stakeholders, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Monday it is open to the plan of the House of Representatives to review the effectiveness of the K to 12 Basic Education Program.

The statement of DepEd came after House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the Lower House is in consensus that the K to 12 Program has to be reviewed to allow DepEd to provide the status of the policies and programs, and identify its achievements and challenges since its implementation in school year 2012 to 2013.

According to DepEd, they have worked closely with Congress since the previous budget hearings to address the issues of the K to 12 Program.

“A dedicated review session will provide an appropriate venue to comprehensively discuss concerns about the Program and plot out corresponding solutions,” the DepEd said in a statement.

Likewise, the DepEd expressed hope that the review will help realize the K to 12 program’s overall goal to hone holistically developed Filipino learners with 21st-century skills.

“With an additional P650 million in the proposed 2020 budget specifically for the improvement of the 12-year basic education program, DepEd commits to coordinate and collaborate with the members of Congress in strategizing effective implementation of the Program in adherence to Republic Act 10533, or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, for the benefit of the learners,” it added.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

DUTERTE TO WITNESS EMPEROR NARUHITO’S ENTHRONEMENT

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OGETHER with other world leaders, President Duterte is set to witness today the historical enthronement of Emperor Naruhito in Japan.

Aside from the enthronement ceremony, the President is also scheduled to attend two banquets —the emperor’s banquet and the prime minister’s banquet, Malacañang said.

In May this year, the 59-year-old Naruhito ascended to the throne after Emperor Emeritus Akihito stepped down due to health concerns.

In a statement on Monday, Malacañang said it is appropriate that the President attend the ceremony given that Japan has been a special strategic partner for the country, noting that it has been its largest Official Development Assistance provider, second major trading partner, and fourth-biggest source and market for the Philippine tourism.

“The golden age of Philippines-Japan friendship has indeed started to unfold. PRRD [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte], as our Head of State, therefore believes that it is but proper to give honor to an important partner by being present at the enthronement ceremony which is considered by the Japanese to be one of their country’s most momentous events,” said Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo.

The Palace said Japan also

contributed largely to the country’s infrastructure development, with Japanese technology and expertise utilized to support the country’s first subway project inaugurated under the Duterte administration.

Japan also “generously assisted” the government in the peace and development efforts in Mindanao, including the Marawi rehabilitation.

This is the President’s fourth visit to Japan since assuming office.

During his last working visit to Tokyo in May, the Philippines had secured 26 business deals worth P288 billion, which were projected to create 82,737 jobs in the country.

“The signing of these business agreements clearly shows Japan’s vote of confidence in our President’s method of governance, as well as in our country’s economic prospects at present,” Panelo said.

Together with the President on the Japan trip is a “lean delegation,” according to the Palace.

The President is expected to be back in the country by October 24.

Other foreign dignitaries expected to attend the enthronement ceremony are Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Britain’s Prince Charles, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.

Bernadette D. Nicolas

T-bills auction: Treasury awards only ₧12B of ₧20B

By Cai U. Ordinario

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@caiordinario

HE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) awarded only P12 billion of its P20-billion offer in its latest auction for Treasury bills (T-bills).

The BTr said, however, that the auction was oversubscribed with total bids reaching P59.8 billion, more than three times the offering.

The government rejected all the bids for the 91-day T-bills worth P21.65 billion and fully awarded the 182- and 364-day debt papers.

“The 182- and 364-day T-bills fetched averages of 3.174 percent and 3.576 percent, respectively —lower than secondary market rates,” BTr said in a statement.

For the 182-day T-bills, the BTr received a total of P16.41 billion bids. The auction committee accepted P6 billion worth of bids and rejected P10.41 billion bids.

The lowest interest rate for the 182-day T-bill was at 3.13 percent, while the highest was at 3.25 percent.

In terms of the 364-day T-bills, the BTr received a total of P21.721 billion in bids. However, it only accepted P6 billion and rejected P15.721 billion.

The lowest interest rate of the 364-day T-bills reached 3.55 percent while the highest was recoded at 3.58 percent.

Earlier, Bangko Sentral ng Pili-

Growth. . .

Continued from A1

felt in 2019 due to the lag in the monetary policy’s effectivity on the real economy.

As inflation tames, the BSP recently pulled back this hiking cycle and went on to cut rates and reserve requirement ratio this year

pinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said he is open to cutting banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR).

Diokno told reporters on the sidelines of The Asset Forum in Bonifacio Global City that the BSP is still monitoring the data.

However, further RRR cuts augur well for the BSP’s plan of bringing down the RRR to single digit before he steps down from office.

Diokno said the BSP is still in the process of examining the data and still observing the overall inflation environment.

He added that the BSP is also monitoring international reports, such as the World Economic Outlook released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before deciding.

The BSP has already cut the RRR by 200 bps this year. With another 100 bps by November, the Central Bank would bring down the RRR by 300 bps this year.

This brought the RRR of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) to 15 percent, thrift banks (TBs) to 5 percent and rural banks (RBs) to 3 percent.

The latest cut is on top of the 200 basis points slash in U/KBs’ RRR, implemented in May (100 basis points), June (50 basis points) and July (50 basis points).

However, with regard to interest rates, Diokno said the Monetary Board may already be through adjusting the rates for the year. under the leadership of BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno.

For 2019, the BSP cut rates thrice to the tune of 75 basis points—a move that will help support the ailing growth of the economy.

“The timely reversal in BSP’s rate hike cycle will look to arrest the slide in our once promising investment-led growth engine of capital formation,” Mapa said.

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BusinessMirror Tuesday, October 22, 2019 A9

‘PLEASE JUST LET ME CRY’

Love, music define 59-year marriage of Nene and Bing

A PHOTOGRAPH of the late former Senate President Nene Pimentel, one of the rarest and best of Filipino statesmen, seems to look over his beloved widow as Nanay Bing Pimentel reflects at the first night of his wake. NONIE REYES

By Lourdes M. Fernandez

F

OR the 59 years they were married, the loving husband Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel Jr. had only one request to make of his wife Lourdes “Nanay Bing” each time they faced trials—which, as anyone familiar with the late political leader’s life knows, came aplenty. His request, nay, command, since the first time he was whisked away by state security forces for criticizing the dictator and martial law, was just, “don’t cry.”

Nanay Bing remembered that day well, the first of many moments she had to be brave for Nene’s sake and the family’s, because she totally embraced all that he stood for. As Cagayan de Oro’s very popular mayor, the feisty Nene had no qualms speaking his mind. He would repeatedly pay for his independence, with five detentions to boot, but each arrest only made CDO’s young lawyermayor even more determined. And each time he was put in jail, the tiny southern city’s residents would erupt in protest, marching on the streets to demand his freedom.

The charismatic leader attracted such a big following in Mindanao, and eventually the rest of the nation, that he subsequently became one of the founders of the PDP-Laban, a political party that started so small it was often the butt of jokes: people said it held its conventions inside a Volkswagen Beetle. As it turned out, PDP-Laban zoomed to national prominence as one of the pillars of the united front that eventually booted out Ferdinand Marcos in a bloodless regime change in 1986.

In 2016, one of its members would, in fact, be elected President Duterte with a commanding 16 million votes.

In all the years Nene Pimentel was in public service and the public eye, it was his wife Bing who stood as low-key sentinel. True to her promise, “I never cried” each time adversity would come, she recalled to the BusinessMirror on Sunday night, at the wake of Nene.

The former Senate President and key member of the Constitutional Commission tasked by Duterte to review the Constitution died at 5 a.m. Sunday (October 20) from

complications due to lymphoma.

While she didn’t cry during Nene’s political trials, Nanay Bing said she had to break her promise when the doctor gave the dreaded verdict recently: there was nothing much they could do for the 85-year-old leader, as cancer ravaged his body. Daughter Gwen Pimentel-Gana said her Tatay had enjoyed some remission for some time, but six months ago, the cancer came back, “with a vengeance.”

“I told myself, on hearing what the doctor said, that this time, I need to cry. And I did cry, long and hard, that day,” Nanay Bing recalled. It was then that the inspiration for what would be her latest song suddenly sprang. “Please just let me cry,” she found herself singing impromptu to her dying husband, and when she realized she was composing, yet again, another song, “I took out my cell phone and I just had to record the first part” so she could reconstruct it and put down the notes.

Love and music, Bing sighed, had defined much of their 59-year-old relationship, a partnership founded on rock-solid values that defied all political storms. “Imagine this, in just a little over six months, we would have marked our 60th wedding anniversary, and I was planning another renewal of vows [They renewed vows on their 50th at the Archbishop’s Palace in Mandaluyong City nine years ago]. I was planning to make it [their 60th] some sort of a musical,” said Nanay Bing, a CD of whose previous musical works were produced a few years ago.

With Nene gone, Bing hopes the last song she’s composing [“work in progress,” she said at the wake] could be played in time for his final journey—maybe at the necrological rites at the Senate that he served so well, or in Cagayan de Oro City, where a hero’s homecoming is being prepared.

The title of the song? The widow of Nene had a simple reply, “Please just let me cry.”

briefs FORMER M.I.L.F. FIGHTERS GET GOVT AID AT least 7,000 former Moro rebels will soon be getting livelihood and employment aid as part of the government’s ongoing peace efforts in Mindanao.

On Monday, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process signed a memorandum of agreement to include decommissioned members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Program.

It also provides qualified beneficiaries and their families access to DOLE’s Government Internship Program, Special Program for the Employment of Students, institutionalization of Public Employment Service Office and Overseas Filipino Workers Services in strategic areas.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said they have allocated P100 million for the said initiative. Samuel P. Medenilla

2-YEAR WORKERS PROBIE PERIOD PRESSED AMID criticisms, the lawmaker who is pushing to extend the probationary employment of workers from six months to two years, appealed to his colleagues to consider his proposal as “middle ground” that will address the muchcriticized “Endo,” or end of contract.

Probinsyano Ako Party-list Rep. Jose Singson said the lower chamber should allow full debate on his House Bill 4208, saying that various workers groups who initially turned down his proposal, are now its supporters.

“Some may accept this as a middle ground that will lay to rest the Endo controversy but a closer look at its provisions will show its true pro-labor color,” said Singson.

“This bill will protect workers from being fired every six months and give them a better chance to prove their worth as a regular employee,” added Singson.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

MARAWI SIEGE SURVIVORS SECURE P40M LOANS THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has extended close to P40 million in loans to more than 800 victims of the Marawi siege as part of the government’s rolling program to rebuild the Islamic town.

The DTI’s Small Business (SB) Corp. on Monday said it released a total of P38.51 million worth of loans to Marawi’s internally displaced persons, as well as to uniformed personnel who were engaged in the retrieval of the city.

The financial assistance is geared toward capacitating the beneficiaries recover from the five-month siege in 2017 that destroyed their livelihoods.

Over the past two years since the conflict ended, the SB granted loan packages, totaling P7.59 million, to at least 457 entrepreneurs based in Marawi under the government’s Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso program. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

BELLO WARNS VS. BOGUS JOBS IN SLOVENIA THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday warned aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) against possible bogus job offers for Slovenia.

This, after DOLE announced last week the Slovenia is now eyeing to open its doors to some 2,000 to 5,000 Filipino skilled and semi-skilled workers through a new bilateral labor agreement.

“We do not have job orders for Slovenia as of this moment, we are still working on it,” Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said in a news statement.

The labor chief said he has yet to even form the technical working group, which would be tasked to negotiate for the proposed bilateral labor agreement.

He noted “the crafting of the bilateral agreement will take about three months.” Samuel P. Medenilla

BILL ADOPTS OF HYBRID POLL SYSTEM

A LEADER of the House of Representatives is pushing for the passage of a measure for a hybrid election system to address the “glitches” in the country’s automated election system (AES).

In House Bill 3896, Deputy Speaker for Finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte said his proposal calls for the manual voting and counting of ballots at the precinct level and the electronic transmission and canvassing of votes by the Commission on Elections to enhance the transparency and credibility of the AES, which was first adopted in the 2010 polls. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

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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. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

B1

LRMC unveils bigger, upgraded LRT 1 Edsa Terminal Station

L

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

IGHT Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) opened on Monday the “upgraded” Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1—Edsa Terminal Station, which now sports an expanded structure, additional accessibility facilities and better interiors.

Juan F. Alfonso, the president of the company, said the terminal station was expanded through the third floor of the Mayson Department Store, addressing the “limited

space situation” in one of the busiest stations in Metro Manila.

“We want all our commuters to have the best travel experience as they discover the joys and hidden

secrets of Manila, and we are continually committed to providing comfort and convenience on the LRT 1,” he said.

Aside from this, LRMC also set up a new connecting bridge and new ticketing booths. The company also upgraded the station’s comfort rooms, improved the lighting setups and deployed a PWD ramp.

“All our efforts in this endeavor, including the further extension and modernization of the LRT 1, are made toward achieving this goal,” Alfonso said.

Since 2015, when the company took over the operations and maintenance of the oldest overhead railway system in Southeast Asia, LRMC has

spent roughly P8.7 billion to rehabilitate and improve the existing LRT 1 trains and system.

Aside from strengthening the parapets and fixing rails and trains, the company also implemented concrete repairs, sandblasting to remove corrosion, repainting and installed new collision dampers to complete the structural defect restoration works.

Alfonso added that the expansion of the station is in conjunction with the current LRT 1 Cavite Extension Project, which will link Pasay and the rest of Metro Manila to Cavite and shorten travel time.

Currently, the LRT 1 runs 520 trips per day, serving 500,000 passengers daily.

Italpinas looking to increase income this year on higher sales

By VG Cabuag @villygc

B

OUTIQUE property developer Italpinas Development Corp. said it sees an increase in its net income this year as it almost sold most of its condominium units for sale in Cagayan de Oro and Batangas.

Italpinas Chairman and CEO Romolo Nati said since 2013, its net income has been doubling every year, even if it is coming from a small base.

“We are working for that [income double] this year,” Nati said at the sidelines of the company’s stockholders’ meeting on Monday.

From a net income of P5.3 million in 2013, the company’s profits already reached P120.56 million last year.

For the six months of the year, the company’s income reached P24.47 million, or slightly higher than last year’s P23.65 million.

Nati said as of September, the company has sold more than 95 percent of its residential condominium project called Primavera City in Cagayan de Oro. The company also launched its Citta Bella at Primavera City Phase 2 and opened up residential units for sale.

It is also on its preselling stage of its Miramonti Green Residences, its

third project located in Santo Tomas in Batangas.

“To date, the combined revenues of these two condo projects has reached more than P1.45 billion,” Nati said.

The company currently only has two major projects.

Primavera City in Cagayan de Oro is a cluster of seven buildings to be developed in four phases.

Miramonti Green Residences, in the other hand, is located inside Light and Industry Science Park in Batangas, and will be developed in two phases.

The company said it has plans to form joint ventures with other companies, but it has no firm deals yet.

Meanwhile, Nati said that its preferred shares issuance is still “doable” by the end of the year.

In March, the Italpinas board approved the issuance of up to P500 million worth of preferred shares, with an overallotment of P150 million. Proceeds of which will be for land banking, working capital, business developments and acquisitions.

“We have not determined the buyers yet until we can secure an approval [from regulators]. But most of them will be institutional buyers,” he said.

China surveillance giant sees customer losses from US ban

RONALD IN MAKATI Makati Mayor Abby Binay (fourth from right) and Kenneth Yang (second from left), president of Golden Arches Development Corp. (McDonald’s Philippines), show the memorandum of

agreement they signed recently at the University of Makati for the training and hiring of senior high-school students from the city’s public schools. Under the agreement, McDonald’s will train and hire up to 1,000 SHS students in their stores in Makati. Yang has vowed to prioritize the city’s SHS graduates in hiring personnel for their stores to boost employment in the city. Also at the event were McDonald’s Philippines Senior Vice President-Human Capital Group Chona Torre (from left), Makati-Schools Division Superintendent Rita Riddle and Makati-Public Employment Services Office head Vissia Aldon.

Facebook open to currency-pegged stablecoins for Libra

T

he head of Facebook I nc .’s L ibr a proje c t said that it could use “cryptocurrencies” based on national currencies like the dollar, rather than the synthetic one it initially proposed, Reuters reported.

David Marcus, who oversees the Libra initiative for Facebook, told a banking seminar hosted by the Group of 30 in Washington that Facebook is open to looking at alternative approaches for the currency token it uses.

“We could do it differently,” he said. “Instead of having a synthetic unit...we could have a series of stablecoins: a dollar stablecoin; a euro stablecoin; a sterling pound stablecoin; etc.”

Marcus said the currencypegged stablecoins aren’t Libra’s preferred option. He said the project is still aiming for a June 2020 launch.

“We’ve always said that we wouldn’t go forward unless we have addressed all legitimate concerns and get proper regulatory approval,” Marcus told Reuters. “So it’s not entirely up to us.”

Facebook has faced growing skepticism about its digital currency project. Last week Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JP Morgan Chase and Co., called it “a neat idea that’ll never happen.” Bloomberg News

Clark is unique, ‘one-stop shop’ site for investors, workers, says CDC executive

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LARK FREEPORT— “We need to take care of Clark because it is very unique,” thus said Clark Development Corp. (CDC) Vice Chairman Benjamin P. Defensor Jr. as he underscored the role of this free port as an ideal investment and tourism hub.

During the recent Capampangan in Media (Cami) Balitaan sa Bale Balita, Defensor said that this free port is a “one-stop shop” destination for investors.

“All our locators here are updated as to requirements. Because when we talk about Clark, we are trying to make a one-stop shop. Everything you need to pay for, you can pay here—the taxes, the requirements you need if you’re working here. In short, we make it very attractive for the locators,” he said.

Defensor, former Armed Forces chief of staff, said the developments in this free port significantly contribute to the growth of Central Luzon.

“Seventy-five percent of exports of Central Luzon are provided by Clark.

That is the best proof to show that people here really enjoy progress. They follow all our laws and the regulations here in Clark. It is inland but it produces a lot of industry, it produces a lot of revenues in the Philippines,” he added.

Exports from various semiconductor and manufacturing firms in Clark total about $4.85 billion per year, which accounts for 75 percent of the total exports from the region.

Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Defensor also cited the pool of work force here as one of the factors

Defensor (center) fields questions at the recent Balitaan forum at Clark. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

for the development of the free port.

“There are about 130,000 who are working here and the people who are working here are not doing menial jobs. Many are blue-collar jobs, that’s why the progress [in Clark] is very fast,” he said.

Accordingly, Defensor highlighted this free port not only as an investment hub, but also as one of the top tourist destinations in the country.

He also urged local and foreign tourists to explore and visit this free port. While there are no beaches available in the area, this free port has a lot more to offer especially on tourismrelated industries.

Referring to travelers who are fond of visiting seashores in the country, Defensor said “Unbeach yourself and

go to Clark. That’s the way to go, because Clark has other things to offer other than the beaches.” He noted, though, that “of course, some of the best beaches are in the Philippines.”

To continuously improve tourist experience here, CDC recently improved its main roads, facilities, parks and other frequented areas here, such as the Clark Parade Grounds and the Children’s playground. This, aside from having industry leaders in hotel and restaurant business.

Currently, the free port is host to 1,123 locator-companies engaged in manufacturing, tourism, information-communication technology, logistics and aviation-related industries, among others that employ 135,114 workers.

H

angzhou H i k v i sion Digital Technology Co. warned it may lose customers in overseas markets because of its US blacklisting, underscoring the extent to which curbs on the sale of American technology may hurt the world’s largest video surveillance business.

E xec ut ives at t he C hinese camera provider, which reported profit in line with estimates, said clients may hold off on purchases while they gauge the impact of those restrictions. But the company is large enough to withstand US sanctions and develop its own technology in the longer term, they said. Its own home market remains a rich vein of revenue as the US business shrinks, a trend that may persist, Huang Fanghong, a Hikvision senior vice president, said on Saturday. Its shares gained as much as 5.4 percent Monday— the most in more than a month on an intraday basis.

Hikvision found itself in the cross-hairs of the Trump administration this month after it joined other Chinese companies—including Huawei Technologies Co.—on an entity list that prevents American firms from supplying it with components and software. The seller of video cameras used around the world in surveillance was accused of involvement in human rights violations against Muslim minorities in the far-western region of Xinjiang. On Monday, brokerages, including Citigroup and CICC, cut their projections on Hikvision’s 2020 earnings growth.

“While management says they expect the worst is over, we believe some customers may have concerns on the impact of the entity list,” Citigroup analysts wrote.

Hikvision executives say they had anticipated the action and stockpiled enough key parts to keep operations going for some time. The company has also said it didn’t foresee major impact on its business as a result of the ban.

In Huawei’s case, for instance,

some suppliers, including Intel Corp. and Micron Technology Inc., developed workaround solutions to the prohibition. Most of Hikvision’s American suppliers are continuing to do business with it, while abiding by export regulations and without the need for special licenses, according to Huang.

“We have made a great deal of preparations, from a year ahead of the ban,” Huang said. “There’s no way for us to fully discuss the impact from the entity list in 10 days. We need more time to talk to our suppliers and customers. A steady component supply is key in this process, no matter if we decide to use original materials or a replacement design.”

The US decision, which came on the eve of sensitive trade negotiations, takes President Donald J. Trump’s economic war against China in a new direction: the first time his administration has cited human rights as a reason for action. It deals a potentially heavy long-term blow against Hikvision, which has steadily switched to Chinese-made components in recent years but still relies on the likes of Intel, ON Semiconductor Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc., particularly for higher-end chips.

Still, as much as 80 percent of Hikvision’s sales are insulated from the US ban, analysts Charles Shum and Simon Chan of Bloomberg Intelligence wrote in an October 8 note.

“Hikvision’s sales may continue to rise over the next year despite the Trump administration’s decision,” they wrote. “It can also source alternative parts, though with a weaker performance, from local suppliers in the medium term.”

Hikvision reported on Friday that net income grew 17 percent to 3.81 billion yuan ($538 million) in the September quarter, while revenue grew 23 percent.

The company forecast growth of 5 percent to 20 percent in net income this year. Bloomberg News

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 21, 2019

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

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE BDO LEASING COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH

58060 92021831 57899739.5 1379095 4110532 121976841 1298 66260 426655 167502 103316 165445 17737214 440372 57140 6000 16708 1119210 97020 4000 106740 19100 203059

-560 25917251 38378225 -754990 1865874 -30500007 -83123 -57750 1480407 -271355 -

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.29 1.32 1.29 1.29 1.28 1.29 247000 317480 ABOITIZ POWER 38.9 39.5 38.5 39.5 38.5 39.5 814600 32022810 BASIC ENERGY 0.26 0.265 0.265 0.265 0.26 0.265 800000 210550 FIRST GEN 24.75 24.8 25 25 24.7 24.8 812900 20217160 FIRST PHIL HLDG 79.25 79.4 79.05 79.7 79 79.25 1399440 110561894 MERALCO 365 366.8 368 368 361.2 365 105960 38592674 19.98 20.1 20.25 20.25 19.98 20 1276200 25528668 MANILA WATER 5.09 5.1 5.06 5.1 5.05 5.09 373000 1894350 PETRON 4.04 4.29 4.03 4.29 4.03 4.29 7000 28470 PETROENERGY PHINMA ENERGY 2.85 2.86 2.85 2.89 2.8 2.85 22904000 65098050 10.88 11 11 11.08 11 11 3200 35256 PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL 33.05 33.1 33.1 33.2 33 33.1 614400 20343435 SPC POWER 7.3 7.33 7.35 7.35 7.25 7.3 90100 660680 AGRINURTURE 15.36 15.6 15.9 15.9 15.4 15.8 339500 5356216 AXELUM 4.39 4.4 4.43 4.46 4.35 4.4 2549000 11152920 BOGO MEDELLIN 91.2 104.6 90.1 104.6 90.1 104.6 250 24002 CNTRL AZUCARERA 17.5 18.22 17.22 18.22 17.22 18.22 7100 127542 CENTURY FOOD 15.48 15.54 15.98 15.98 15.44 15.54 514600 8011998 5.52 5.66 5.52 5.52 5.52 5.52 1400 7728 DEL MONTE 8.54 8.56 8.4 8.57 8.4 8.54 661700 5638899 DNL INDUS 6.99 7 6.99 7 6.98 7 498900 3492082 EMPERADOR 91.1 91.7 91.4 91.7 90.6 91.7 42490 3887802 SMC FOODANDBEV 0.68 0.69 0.7 0.73 0.68 0.68 5108000 3555650 ALLIANCE SELECT GINEBRA 47.65 48.85 48.3 48.95 46.35 47.65 40100 1935165 226 226.2 230 232.6 226.2 226.2 237180 54008124 JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR 41.05 50 50 51 50 51 70 3510 MACAY HLDG 9.85 10.36 11.2 11.5 9.62 10.38 138900 1444988 MAXS GROUP 13.2 13.44 13.6 13.6 13.08 13.2 103600 1388826 MG HLDG 0.187 0.192 0.187 0.187 0.187 0.187 20000 3740 PEPSI COLA 1.85 1.86 1.84 1.86 1.8 1.85 4734000 8702330 SHAKEYS PIZZA 11.46 11.48 11.4 11.54 11.4 11.48 68200 783922 1.98 2.02 2.02 2.07 1.97 2.02 1581000 3183600 ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP 5.14 5.15 5.09 5.14 5.09 5.14 58600 299584 2.2 2.25 2.24 2.24 2.24 2.24 3000 6720 ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS 0.122 0.127 0.121 0.127 0.121 0.127 20000 2480 159 159.4 156.5 159.7 156.5 159.4 566180 90075830 UNIV ROBINA 1.25 1.26 1.28 1.28 1.25 1.25 3083000 3898050 VITARICH VICTORIAS 2.5 2.63 2.61 2.63 2.61 2.63 421000 1107210 CONCRETE B 72.5 75 73 77 72 75 2100 152400 CEMEX HLDG 2.66 2.67 2.61 2.68 2.61 2.67 2761000 7324110 EAGLE CEMENT 15.16 15.2 15.3 15.3 15.12 15.16 21400 324202 EEI CORP 10.38 10.5 10.44 10.48 10.4 10.48 9200 96152 HOLCIM 14.86 14.88 14.8 14.86 14.76 14.86 607300 9018088 17.6 17.66 18 18.2 17.5 17.66 1393900 24701244 MEGAWIDE 9.33 9.41 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 3800 36100 PHINMA TKC METALS 1.07 1.09 1.1 1.1 1.09 1.09 54000 58870 VULCAN INDL 1.16 1.18 1.16 1.18 1.14 1.18 1646000 1893600 2.05 2.06 2.05 2.05 2.05 2.05 20000 41000 CROWN ASIA EUROMED 1.6 1.73 1.62 1.62 1.62 1.62 1000 1620 LMG CHEMICALS 5.15 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.15 5.15 45800 236950 PRYCE CORP 5.4 5.45 5.39 5.4 5.39 5.4 108400 585276 CONCEPCION 31.6 31.95 31.95 31.95 31.95 31.95 3900 124605 GREENERGY 2.53 2.54 2.47 2.54 2.47 2.54 9758000 24516880 INTEGRATED MICR 8.12 8.15 8.1 8.15 8.07 8.15 72600 586497 IONICS 1.49 1.51 1.48 1.53 1.48 1.52 21000 31840 PANASONIC 5.11 5.44 5.46 5.46 5.46 5.46 33000 180180 1.01 1.03 1.03 1.03 1 1 117000 117900 SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG 8.64 8.68 9.09 9.15 8.64 8.64 769200 6795792

22206600.0003 -687960 -109663039 10291538 1909625 -15181.9998 -8555390 -11964315 -7250 -438204 -257180 -1099640 -7727.9999 1874244 -3219202 2510346.5 959190 -14738302 -1454 3740 6780610 -220668 -1028 1270 -12688323 -235200 -133710 281614 -14672 -217312 -13803894 -141679.9997 -124605 173210.0002 36339 -510292

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

-1601590 12247415 10594971 40238492 1995380 33640 9025663 6725056 -54130 10534770 -141750 27613504.9996 -874220 681880 41040020 11340 4031952.5 11245509 -

HOLDING & FRIMS

56 147.4 95.1 24.95 12.12 70.4 12.8 20.7 43.95 58 116.6 26.25 198.3 59.2 1.15 1.94 18.52 4.8 1.24 0.4 760 0.91 176.6

0.89 12.5 855 53.5 11.8 3.75 6.6 0.7 1.13 1.15 6.63 8.92 13.38 861.5 5.64 71.55 0.485 4.32 13.56 0.59 4.89 0.038 1.41 1.26 998.5 166 0.84 2.38 217 0.221 0.222

57.5 148.9 95.5 25 12.2 70.8 13 21.25 44 58.15 130 26.8 199 59.25 1.16 2.04 18.6 4.85 1.27 0.415 770 0.92 177

0.9 12.72 860 53.6 11.82 3.76 6.89 0.71 1.14 1.16 6.64 8.96 13.4 865 5.67 71.95 0.5 4.33 13.66 0.61 4.9 0.039 1.46 1.29 1005 167 0.88 2.48 217.4 0.226 0.225

57.5 145.9 95.1 25 12.3 70.9 12.98 20.8 43.85 58.5 132 26.2 199.5 59.95 1.1 2 18.6 4.72 1.26 0.4 765 0.9 176.5

0.89 12.9 855.5 53.6 11.7 3.77 6.68 0.72 1.15 1.16 6.5 9.08 13.4 873 5.67 72.6 0.51 4.39 13.88 0.61 4.85 0.038 1.41 1.26 1001 168.3 0.86 2.41 220 0.226 0.225

57.5 148.9 95.5 25 12.3 70.95 12.98 20.8 44 58.5 132 26.5 199.5 59.95 1.16 2 18.6 4.95 1.26 0.4 765 0.91 176.6

0.91 12.9 860 53.75 11.82 3.78 6.68 0.72 1.15 1.16 6.64 9.08 13.4 875 5.67 72.6 0.51 4.39 13.88 0.61 4.9 0.038 1.47 1.26 1006 168.3 0.88 2.41 220 0.226 0.225

56 145.8 94.95 24.95 12.1 70.25 12.98 20.7 43.85 58.1 116.2 26.2 197.1 59.1 1.1 2 18.52 4.7 1.26 0.4 760 0.9 176.2

0.87 12.6 852.5 53.45 11.66 3.65 6.6 0.71 1.14 1.16 6.42 8.83 13.04 860 5.67 71.1 0.49 4.32 13.6 0.59 4.83 0.038 1.39 1.26 990.5 166 0.86 2.41 217.4 0.22 0.225

56 148.9 95.5 24.95 12.2 70.8 12.98 20.7 44 58.15 116.6 26.25 199 59.25 1.16 2 18.52 4.85 1.26 0.4 760 0.91 176.2

0.9 12.72 860 53.5 11.82 3.76 6.6 0.71 1.14 1.16 6.64 8.96 13.4 865 5.67 71.55 0.5 4.32 13.66 0.61 4.9 0.038 1.46 1.26 1005 167 0.88 2.41 217.4 0.226 0.225

1010 621980 608210 55200 336900 1727110 100 3200 9700 2880 820 6300 89220 7410 51000 3000 900 231000 77000 10000 140 21000 1150

12960000 8300 225140 1273440 5122800 2032000 17600 15000 197000 99000 1647100 7834100 57100 32930 25000 839480 4000 394000 1853800 199000 15515000 600000 637000 11000 112125 203510 10000 67000 60 870000 510000

11574620 105336 192744340 68163810.5 60182160 7603010 116388 10680 224590 114840 10829461 69921659 762904 28506510 141750 60071345 2010 1705590 25418362 119470 75801260 22800 915580 13860 112349880 34101142 8620 161470 13070 191760 114750

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.87 0.88 0.86 0.88 0.86 0.87 1067000 927270 ANCHOR LAND 9.32 10.4 9.37 10.4 9.37 10.4 5000 47159 AYALA LAND 48.85 48.9 48.65 49.05 48.6 48.85 4310600 210788950 -9027205 ARANETA PROP 1.77 1.83 1.86 1.86 1.83 1.83 240000 446070 BELLE CORP 1.99 2 2.04 2.04 1.98 2 861000 1719540 1100000 A BROWN 0.82 0.84 0.85 0.85 0.82 0.84 682000 565030 0.85 0.86 0.84 0.85 0.84 0.85 11000 9250 CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES 0.2 0.205 0.201 0.205 0.2 0.2 2540000 509980 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.5 4.54 4.65 4.69 4.49 4.49 2073000 9362170 1216900 0.57 0.58 0.59 0.6 0.57 0.58 21409000 12547110 257500 CENTURY PROP 0.48 0.485 0.48 0.51 0.475 0.48 16910000 8228200 -597400 CYBER BAY 20.3 20.6 20.45 20.8 20.2 20.6 528800 10830210 -231055 DOUBLEDRAGON DM WENCESLAO 9.6 9.7 9.55 9.82 9.55 9.7 64000 612072 -32658 EMPIRE EAST 0.435 0.445 0.43 0.445 0.43 0.445 290000 124850 -120400 EVER GOTESCO 0.121 0.122 0.122 0.122 0.122 0.122 3160000 385520 FILINVEST LAND 1.6 1.61 1.61 1.62 1.59 1.61 11098000 17756680 -2794230 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.19 1.22 1.2 1.22 1.19 1.22 179000 214460 8990 HLDG 15 15.04 15 15 15 15 893900 13408500 1.41 1.42 1.38 1.45 1.38 1.42 3675000 5227680 -486100 PHIL INFRADEV 0.73 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 20000 15000 CITY AND LAND MEGAWORLD 4.8 4.81 4.8 4.82 4.75 4.81 5103000 24475960 3513370 0.295 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.295 0.3 2120000 633150 MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES 0.415 0.44 0.415 0.44 0.415 0.44 90000 39100 PRIMEX CORP 2.03 2.05 2.05 2.07 2.03 2.05 71000 145220 ROBINSONS LAND 25.3 25.6 25.5 25.6 25.2 25.6 756300 19256145 -1205100 PHIL REALTY 0.37 0.38 0.38 0.385 0.37 0.38 280000 105900 ROCKWELL 2.29 2.3 2.27 2.29 2.25 2.29 34000 77800 SHANG PROP 3.22 3.27 3.21 3.27 3.21 3.27 13000 42360 STA LUCIA LAND 2.66 2.7 2.7 2.72 2.65 2.7 742000 1993260 307100 SM PRIME HLDG 38 38.05 38.1 38.5 38 38.05 5439100 207235020 -51983885 VISTAMALLS 5.63 5.64 5.65 5.68 5.63 5.64 55700 313987 0.92 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.92 0.92 494000 458880 SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND 7.68 7.71 7.73 7.75 7.65 7.71 4132800 31805296 -2845163

SERVICES ABS CBN 19.02 19.1 19.38 19.4 19.02 19.02 344500 6619224 GMA NETWORK 5.22 5.24 5.22 5.24 5.22 5.22 34400 179822 MANILA BULLETIN 0.41 0.415 0.415 0.415 0.415 0.415 110000 45650 MLA BRDCASTING 12.52 14.92 12.52 12.52 12.52 12.52 200 2504 GLOBE TELECOM 1886 1890 1879 1890 1867 1890 14775 27827510 4413725 PLDT 1114 1115 1110 1123 1104 1115 35225 39245845 -2575070 0.041 0.042 0.043 0.043 0.042 0.042 6100000 256800 APOLLO GLOBAL IMPERIAL 1.76 1.9 1.76 1.76 1.76 1.76 5000 8800 ISLAND INFO 0.108 0.112 0.108 0.112 0.108 0.112 220000 23800 ISM COMM 4.78 4.79 4.86 4.9 4.76 4.79 2709000 13022070 -4770 2.52 2.55 2.52 2.55 2.52 2.55 12000 30420 JACKSTONES NOW CORP 3.1 3.11 3.07 3.14 3.06 3.1 1390000 4298500 339360 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.32 0.325 0.32 0.325 0.315 0.325 3760000 1193400 15750 PHILWEB 3.07 3.11 3.15 3.19 3.06 3.11 1491000 4693640 -171300 2GO GROUP 10.2 10.4 10.1 10.48 10 10.4 29700 306348 21000 ASIAN TERMINALS 16.28 17 17 17 17 17 54100 919700 CHELSEA 6.87 6.9 6.9 6.98 6.83 6.87 724800 4988005 -70871 CEBU AIR 95.15 95.9 93 95.9 93 95.9 233310 21904434 -5709495.5 122.3 123 121.8 123.1 121.7 123 2015780 247650792 1092995 INTL CONTAINER 13.52 14.98 13.52 13.52 13.5 13.5 13500 182390 LBC EXPRESS MACROASIA 18.8 18.82 18.82 19 18.82 18.82 75900 1429388 -26548 1.11 1.15 1.11 1.11 1.11 1.11 18000 19980 METROALLIANCE A PAL HLDG 8 8.1 8.23 8.23 8.1 8.1 18400 150661 HARBOR STAR 1.61 1.65 1.68 1.68 1.61 1.65 1133000 1858770 ACESITE HOTEL 1.54 1.64 1.64 1.67 1.64 1.64 12000 19710 DISCOVERY WORLD 1.94 2.05 2.08 2.08 2.08 2.08 523000 1087840 WATERFRONT 0.68 0.69 0.66 0.69 0.66 0.69 236000 158690 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.9 6.91 6.92 6.92 6.91 6.91 2000 13830 FAR EASTERN U 900 920 920 920 920 920 50 46000 STI HLDG 0.67 0.68 0.67 0.68 0.67 0.68 4389000 2983890 -1717000 BERJAYA 2.34 2.42 2.4 2.42 2.34 2.42 106000 255240 10.58 10.6 10.64 10.7 10.58 10.6 4430000 46958296 -43295720 BLOOMBERRY 2.83 2.86 2.88 2.88 2.86 2.86 70000 201540 PACIFIC ONLINE LEISURE AND RES 2.99 3.05 3.01 3.01 3 3 88000 264020 -27000 3.35 3.4 3.4 3.42 3.38 3.42 140000 475200 -51000 MANILA JOCKEY 0.67 0.68 0.69 0.69 0.67 0.68 2034000 1383190 -13540 PREMIUM LEISURE 8.02 8.66 8.67 8.67 8.67 8.67 2000 17340 PHIL RACING ALLHOME 11.54 11.58 11.52 11.58 11.52 11.58 5720000 66100800 -29949730 METRO RETAIL 2.4 2.41 2.39 2.41 2.37 2.41 1197000 2870750 -52360 PUREGOLD 41 41.05 41.25 41.25 40.95 41 101900 4182680 -589280 ROBINSONS RTL 76.25 76.6 76.55 77 76.5 76.6 596210 45659206 8533067.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 139 144 139 144 139 139 41900 5826394 109660 SSI GROUP 2.63 2.65 2.64 2.65 2.63 2.63 1276000 3368920 -569200 16.4 16.46 16.36 16.5 16.32 16.4 4066800 66713342 16291962 WILCON DEPOT 0.56 0.57 0.58 0.59 0.56 0.56 14798000 8332890 -2581590 APC GROUP 9.03 9.22 9.24 9.24 9.03 9.03 30700 280931 EASYCALL GOLDEN BRIA 430.4 438.8 438 439 430 430.4 750 326774 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.52 1071000 556970 28080 9.02 9.25 9.02 9.02 9.02 9.02 18800 169576 SBS PHIL CORP

MINING & OIL ATOK 11.58 12.24 11.6 12.3 11.58 12.28 3700 43256 APEX MINING 1.12 1.13 1.12 1.14 1.12 1.12 340000 382300 24889.9998 ABRA MINING 0.0016 0.0017 0.0017 0.0017 0.0016 0.0016 66000000 106900 ATLAS MINING 2.5 2.58 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 7000 17500 BENGUET B 1.12 1.3 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.12 1000 1120 CENTURY PEAK 2.6 2.62 2.62 2.62 2.62 2.62 150000 393000 7.4 7.65 7.43 7.6 7.41 7.6 10200 75694 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 1.66 1.67 1.67 1.69 1.66 1.67 1183000 1975540 -158460 0.203 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.204 0.21 600000 124510 GEOGRACE LEPANTO A 0.106 0.107 0.107 0.107 0.107 0.107 80000 8560 LEPANTO B 0.106 0.109 0.109 0.11 0.109 0.109 200000 21900 MANILA MINING A 0.0093 0.0097 0.0093 0.0093 0.0093 0.0093 6000000 55800 MANILA MINING B 0.0094 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.0094 0.0094 2000000 19520 MARCVENTURES 1.13 1.17 1.14 1.17 1.14 1.17 10000 11580 NIHAO 1.02 1.03 1.06 1.06 1.01 1.02 78000 79960 NICKEL ASIA 3.77 3.78 3.88 3.96 3.78 3.78 7413000 28254140 -3737100 OMICO CORP 0.48 0.5 0.475 0.5 0.475 0.5 30000 14700 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.83 0.86 0.84 0.85 0.84 0.84 161000 135250 3.61 3.65 3.59 3.74 3.59 3.65 587000 2142870 1401990 PX MINING 22.75 22.8 22.6 22.95 22.55 22.75 189500 4319725 1475155 SEMIRARA MINING 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 9200000 105600 ORNTL PETROL A PHILODRILL 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 0.011 6500000 69600 PHINMA PETRO 9.85 9.9 10.22 10.36 9.66 9.9 2170500 21458500 -220233 12.1 12.2 12.4 12.64 12.08 12.1 1363100 16645234 -1103338 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A 98.15 99.5 98.15 99.25 98.15 99.25 1610 158166.5 AC PREF B1 497 500 502 502 500 500 8500 4255500 ALCO PREF C 101.4 105.9 101.4 101.4 101.4 101.4 500 50700 DD PREF 100.5 101 100.5 101 100.5 101 5100 512600 SMC FB PREF 2 991 996 995 995 993 993 5690 5660500 GLO PREF P 501 510 501 501 501 501 10 5010 970 993 970 970 970 970 620 601400 GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B 970 971 971 971 970 971 1540 1494870 LR PREF 0.99 1 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 510000 504900 MWIDE PREF 100.7 101 101 101 101 101 13460 1359460 PNX PREF 3B 107.5 108 108 108 108 108 80 8640 PCOR PREF 3B 1063 1078 1062 1062 1062 1062 250 265500 SMC PREF 2C 77.8 78.25 77.8 77.8 77.8 77.8 5000 389000 SMC PREF 2D 75.1 75.7 75.1 75.1 75.1 75.1 700 52570 SMC PREF 2E 75.65 76 76 76 76 76 1720 130720 SMC PREF 2H 75.4 76.5 75.1 75.1 75.1 75.1 12000 901200 SMC PREF 2I 75.6 75.7 75.7 75.7 75.7 75.7 99310 7517767 PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR

18

18.76

18.12

18.16

18

18

150100

2710896

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.51

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

ITALPINAS 6.6 KEPWEALTH 11.78 MAKATI FINANCE 2.5 XURPAS 0.89

1.59

1.54

1.6

1.5

1.6

75000

113740

-

6.7 11.8 2.79 0.9

6.83 11.64 2.79 0.9

6.9 11.86 2.79 0.9

6.6 11.22 2.79 0.89

6.6 11.78 2.79 0.9

671600 981600 1000 940000

4516789 11327134 2790 845540

37306 -22960 -

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

117.8

-2667320

118.2

118.6

118.8

117.6

118.2

2140

252695

-10660

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘Market leader’: CIMB Bank PHL hits 1-M customer goal

D

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

@lorenzmarasigan

IGITAL financial institution CIMB Bank Philippines has reached the 1-million customer milestone in just 10 months, surpassing its target consumer base for 2019, and making it the fastest-growing digital bank in the Asean.

This feat, according to CIMB Ba n k Ph i l ippi nes C EO V ijay

Manoharan, solidifies the company’s position as “a market lead-

er in digital banking both in the Philippines and in the region.”

“With over 1 million customers signing up and trusting us for their banking needs in such a short period of time, we are assured that this is what our customers have been waiting for from their banks,” he said on Monday.

Launched in January this year, the CIMB Bank Philippines app allows Filipinos to save money digitally with zero maintaining balance and a 4-percent interest rate. Its KYC process is also done digitally through “advanced” facial recognition technology.

“With our digital banking entry into the Philippine market, we want to transform banking in this country,” Manoharan said.

He added that his group is bullish about the prospects in the Philippines.

“Our projections for the coming years indicate an upward trajectory, surpassing 5 million customers in the future, as we expand to other customer segments and broaden our offerings. We look forward to serving and enabling more Filipinos and changing the way they bank in this country,” he said.

UCPB cited for its peso bond fund D

AVAO CITY—The United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) was cited as the best managed fund on its portfolio for the second consecutive year, besting a well-contested field from 16 investment houses.

The bank said its UCPB Peso Bond Fund bagged the Best Managed Fund for 2019 under the LongTerm Bond Fund using Pure Fair Value Profit and Loss Valuation (PESO-FVPL) category in the recent Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society Philippines’s Best Managed Fund of the Year Awards.

The win earned for UCPB the backto-back award, as it also went home with the recognition last year. The

award was launched only in 2016.

“It is a testament to UCPB Trust Banking Group’s commitment to deliver consistent long-term capital growth for our investors,” said UCPB First Vice President and Trust Banking Group Head Arturo I. Lipio Jr. The company said the Best Managed Fund Award “looks at longterm historical fund performance, both the risk and return aspects of the fund, and factors in the length of the investment period.”

“UCPB’s robust investment and risk management process is critical to achieving consistent growth over the investment period. This ensures we provide our clients with the best

iPhone supplier sees OLED smartphone deluge from 2021

J

apan Display Inc. (JDI), the struggling supplier of mobile screens to Apple Inc., says it has about a year before it needs to decide on whether to take a plunge on nextgeneration organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays.

While OLED panels are slimmer, more energy-efficient and offer higher contrast, JDI’s liquid crystal displays will retain a price advantage that keeps them competitive in smartphones through 2021, the company’s new Chief Executive Officer Minoru Kikuoka said in an interview.

He anticipates a more decisive shift to the new technology may occur in that time period, declining to elaborate on plans of specific customers.

When Apple launched its first OLED iPhone in 2017, it was seen as the beginning of the end for the LCD’s long reign. For Japan Display, which relies on Apple for a large portion of its revenue, that spelled trouble because the company was falling behind in the development of the new screens. But the iPhone X, which used an OLED display from Samsung Electronics Co., didn’t sell, as well as anticipated, and Apple followed up a year later with an LCD-based addition to its lineup with the iPhone XR—giving the Japanese company some breathing room.

With the smartphone market plateauing and fancier screens failing to ratchet up demand from users already content with their existing devices, value for money has once again risen in importance for people considering a new purchase, according to the CEO. “We are seeing consumers put more emphasis on affordability when it comes to their smartphone preferences,” Kikuoka said. “The industry is now gaining a new appreciation for the kind of price competitiveness

offered by the LCDs.” Apple’s 2019 phone lineup includes one LCD model—the iPhone 11, which Apple launched at a starting price $50 lower than its predecessor—and the company plans to add a second one in the first half of next year to replace the aging iPhone 8.

But the Cupertino, California-based company may still shift entirely to OLED for new phones as early as 2020. Though it will still sell a number of older LCD models, the time for Japan Display is running out.

After repeatedly pushing back mass production of its own OLED screens, JDI is finally close to having its first OLED product, Kikuoka said, declining to give further details other than to say that it won’t be a smartphone screen. A person familiar with the matter confirmed an earlier report that JDI’s first OLED will be used in the Apple Watch. Still, competing in the mobile phone arena would take billions of dollars in additional investment, money that Japan Display doesn’t have.

“There was a time when we felt the need to rush a shift to OLED,” Kikuoka said. “Without a partner who could pitch in on the capital side, we simply can’t do it.”

Constituted from the remains of numerous ailing Japanese display makers in 2012, JDI mistimed large investments in LCD capacity and found itself struggling against abler competition from South Korean and Chinese rivals. Five straight years of losses have sent it in search of a capital infusion from overseas, but the list of potential suitors has continued to dwindle. When Kikuoka took the helm in September, the company had just reached a new low, warning that if it’s not able to raise fresh capital it may face difficulties continuing its business. Bloomberg News

possible returns while efficiently managing risks,” Lipio added.

He said the UCPB Peso Bond Fund is suited for individuals who would like to establish a long-term investment plan with relatively stable returns.

The award was given at the recent Philippine Junior Finance and Investment Summit 2019 at the SMX Convention Center-Manila.

The CFA Society Philippines’s Best Managed Fund Awards has been the global standard of excellence in the investment industry since it was launched in 2016. It recognizes the excellence in managing investable funds based on their five-year, risk-adjusted returns.

mutual funds

The prestigious award was contested by a total of 89 funds from 16 investment houses.

“Our investment process employs a top-down approach which means our portfolio managers look at the macro economy first before focusing on the individual companies when making investment decisions. Our risk management processes, meanwhile, are integrated across the front, the middle, and the back office to ensure risks are understood and are managed to the fullest extent possible,” said Vice President and Investments and Portfolio Management Department Head Karen Khristine N. Jonas. Manuel T. Cayon

October 21, 2019

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 253.55 4.34% -1.81% -0.23% 0.54% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.5046 8.36% 2.45% 0.63% 4.43% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 3.8875 2.88% -3.27% -1.63% -0.4% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.9466 8.77% n.a. n.a.

5.06% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.8605 7.25% n.a. n.a.

4.85% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 5.3953 7.99% 0.14% 0.26% 2.31% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,6 0.8658 8.12% -3.84% n.a.

3.48% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 114.68 3.5% n.a. n.a.

-1.28% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 51.8443 9.76% 0.22% n.a.

5.32% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 538.97 9.64% -0.71% 0.22% 4.71% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.3035 7.11% 0.4% 1.46% 3.95% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 38.3687 8.32% 1.22% 1.35% 4.74% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,3 1.0303 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 5.2699 10.95% 1.01% 2.24% 6.27% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 879.89 10.98% 0.91% 2.18% 6.21% 0.8944 8.53% -0.63% n.a.

4% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 4.2689 9.09% 0.64% 1.48% 5.17% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 1.0107 10.53% 0.84% n.a.

5.91% United Fund, Inc. -a 3.7058 10.08% 2.44% 2.81% 5.86% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c,2 117.9716 11.26% 1.67% 3.22% 6.52% ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.9713 2.8% 2.35% -0.17% 4.54% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.3008 5.05% 7.79% n.a.

17.7% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5973 -0.67% -3.77% -3.29% -3.26% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.259 5.02% -1.39% -0.21% 2.25% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.6462 7.53% 0.67% -1.12% 4.05% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,8 0.2342 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Grepalife Balanced Fund Corporation -a 1.3442 5.25% n.a. n.a.

3.06% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.9608 9.42% 1.03% 1.33% 6.39% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.7915 11.8% -0.03% 0.58% 7.43% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 16.9834 11.28% -0.03% 0.5% 6.76% 0.46% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 2.1443 6.56% 1.41% 3.63% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.8839 9.14% 0.78% 1.15% 6.37% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d,4 1.0179 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d,4 1.0055 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d,4 1.0024 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.9844 9.29% 0.3% 0.72% 6.8% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03841 10.88% 2.38% 2.25% 8.81% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -a $0.9935 5.76% 2.13% 0.29% 8.73% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.7719 5.82% 5.71% 3.99% 14% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a $1.1089 5.25% 3.23% n.a.

9.79% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 355.13 4.05% 2.47% 2.28% 3.39% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.92 3.4% 0.16% -0.04% 3.27% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.0902 5.01% 5.25% 5.22% 3.83% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2126 4.73% 1.6% 1.98% 3.92% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.3407 5.83% 1.63% 1.52% 6.15% Grepalife Fixed Income Fund Corp. -a P 1.6088 2.31% -0.64% -0.01% 2.84% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.3219 14.84% 1.31% 1.74% 10.26% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.7448 8.47% 2.07% 1.57% 6.47% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 0.9527 9.61% 0.27% n.a.

6.9% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.04 10.58% 2.93% 2.47% 9.91% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a

1.6831 10.01% 2.38% 2.05% 9.3% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $465.97 4.52% 2.03% 2.83% 3.92% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є220.03 3.19% 1.28% 1.47% 3.46% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2023 7.28% 2.33% 2.52% 6.8% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0258 4.03% 1.06% 1.46% 4.03% Grepalife Dollar Bond Fund Corp. -a $1.7137 1.42% -1.44% 0.35% 1.39% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -a $1.0971 7.22% -0.03% -1.26% 5.87% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.4071 12.79% 2.13% 3.29% 10.89% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0602521 5.96% 2.04% 2.06% 5.71% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1711 10.24% 1.57% 2.8% 10.41% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 124.97 4.23% 2.69% 2.1% 3.38% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a,5 1.0248 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.2437 6.16% 2.41% 1.53% 5.23% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2572 3.87% 2.81% 2.22% 3.12% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0339 2.16% n.a. n.a.

1.77% a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU).

1 - Adjusted due to cash dividend issuance last January 29, 2018. 2 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last June 5, 2018. 3 Launch date is January 3, 2019.

4 - Launch date is January 28, 2019. 5 - Launch date is February 1, 2019. 6 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.).

7 - Launch date is August 1, 2019. 8 - Launch date is September 28, 2019.

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

com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

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

Chile protests, violence continue despite govt retreat on fare hike

S

ANTIAGO, Chile—Protests and violence in Chile spilled over into a new day and raged into Sunday night despite the president canceling a subway fare hike that has prompted violent demonstrations.

Officials in the Santiago region said three people died in fires at two looted supermarkets early on Sunday—among 60 Walmartowned outlets that have been vandalized, and the company said many stores did not open during the day. Five more people later were found dead in the basement of a burned warehouse and were not employees, authorities said.

At least two airlines canceled or rescheduled f lights into the capita l, af fect ing more t han 1,400 passengers on Sunday and Monday.

“We are at war with a powerful, relentless enemy that respects nothing or anyone and is willing to use violence and crime without any limits,” President Sebastián Piñera said late Sunday in an unscheduled talk from the military headquarters.

Piñera, who is facing the worst crisis of his second term as head of the South American country, announced on Saturday night that he was canceling a subway fare hike imposed two weeks ago.

The fare boost touched off major protests that included rioting that caused millions of dollars in damage to burned buses and vandalized subway stops, office buildings and stores.

After meeting with the heads of the legislature and judicial system earlier on Sunday, Piñera said they discussed solutions to the current crisis and that he aims “to reduce excessive inequalities, inequities abuses, that persist in our society.”

Jaime Quintana, president of the Senate, said that “the politica l world must ta ke responsibilit y for how we have come to this situation.”

Authorities said 10,500 soldiers and police officers were patrolling the streets in Santiago as state of emergency and curfew remained in effect for six Chilean cities, but protests continued during the day. Security forces used tear gas and jets of water to try disperse crowds.

Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick reported that 62 police officers and 11 civilians were injured in the latest disturbances and prosecutors said nearly 1,500 people had been arrested. He said late Sunday that there had been more than 70 “serious events” during the day, including more than 40 incidents of looting.

With transportation frozen, Cynthia Cordero said she had walked 20 blocks to reach a pharmacy to buy diapers, only to find it had been burned.

“They don’t have the right to do this,” she said, adding it was right to protest “against the abuses, the increases in fares, against bad education and an undignified pension, but not to destroy.”

Long lines formed at gas stations as people tr ied to fil l up for a coming workweek w ith a public transpor t system d isr upted by the destr uctive protests. Santiago’s subway, which carries an average of 2.4 million r iders on a weekday, had been shut dow n since Fr iday.

Subway system chief Louis de Grange said workers would try to have at least one line running on Monday, but he said it could take weeks or months to have the four others back in service. He said 85 stations and more than threefourths of the system had been severely damaged. AP

The World BusinessMirror

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

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Global economic headwinds seen in Japan, S. Korea’s export slump

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n the latest signs the trade war is continuing to erode the global economy, exports in Japan and South Korea have extended their declines.

The continued weakness from the two Asian bellwethers reinforces the view at the weekend meeting among global finance ministers and central bankers in Washington that more needs to be done to spur demand.

W h i le t he US a nd C h i n a ap p e a r on cou r s e for a te nt at ive d e a l a nd t he g lob a l e l e c t ron i c s s e c t o r i s s ho w i n g s o m e s i g n s of b ot t om i n g out , mo me nt u m i n g loba l t r ade i s no where to be fou nd. T h at leaves

t he world economy headed for t he w e a k e s t g ro w t h s i nce t he g lob a l f i n a nc i a l c r i s i s .

“Global trade growth looks awful,” said Rob Carnell, head of research and chief economist for Asia Pacific at ING Group NV. “Governments are being very reticent to spend fiscal credibility they’ve earned over the years on addressing cyclical problems.”

Monetar y policy-makers say t hey’re r unning out of room to cut a lready-low interest rates.

Combining government spending along w ith monetar y policy and str uctura l refor ms to juice g row t h was a ma in t heme of t he I nte r n at ion a l Monet a r y Fund and World Bank ’s annua l meet ings in Wash ing ton.

“Slower growth requires that monetary policy remains supportive, but we all recognize that it cannot do the job alone,” IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said at the meeting in Washington. “Fiscal policy must play a more active role.”

The IMF last week warned that budget chiefs in major economies “should be prepared for coordinated action in case of a severe downturn,” predicting the weakest expansion in a decade amid the US-China trade war.

Joining the meeting in Washington, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said the trade war

probably tr immed South Korea’s economic growth by 0.4 percentage points.

Slide continues

South Korea’s exports plunged 20 percent in the first 20 days of October, putting the trade-reliant nation on track for an 11th monthly decline. Japan posted a 5.2-percent drop in September shipments to extend the longest declining streak since 2016.

Japa n’s impor ts wea kened 1.5 percent. South Korea’s fell 20 percent.

“We are also concerned about further declines in imports, which demonstrates a lack of a revival in investment,” Citigroup Inc. economists Marie Kim and Jeeho Yoon wrote in a report.

Shipments of South Korean semiconductors—used in every-

thing from smartphones to computers around the world—dropped 29 percent. Exports to China, South Korea’s biggest trading partner, slid 20 percent.

T he Bank of Korea cut its key interest rate last week to m atc h a re cord low of 1. 25 percent to support the slowing economy after the countr y saw its consumer pr ices drop for the first time ever in September. The Bank of Japan plans to review the impact of the global slowdown on its own domestic economy a nd i nf l at ion l ater this month.

South Korea’s shipments to Japan dropped 21 percent, while imports plummeted 30 percent.

The two neighbors are embroiled in a trade spat linked to lingering disagreements over Japan’s colonial past. Bloomberg News

China braces for economic growth to fall below 6%

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hina’s policy-makers are preparing for two key policy meetings in the coming weeks with fresh evidence that sooner rather than later, the number for gross domestic product growth will start with a 5.

Data released on Friday showed an economy expanding at just 6.0 percent, the slowest in almost three decades, and with broad investment growth too tepid to rely on an upturn down the road.

People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang responded to the data not by hinting at much greater stimulus in the pipeline, but by reminding investors that China’s focus remains on keeping its heavy debt load under control.

Yi’s comments may set the scene for a meeting of the Politburo, the Communist Party’s top leaders, and the ensuing Fourth Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee, a broader gathering that may mull longer-term questions of economic policy. While those events could produce a shift away from the current targeted, moderate stimulus regime, there have been few signals to date of any change.

The leaders are “looking at a very long horizon,” and that approach makes the headline growth

rate—either above 6 percent or slightly below it—not that important, Yao Wei, chief China economist at Societe Generale SA in Paris, said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Washington last week. “ T he y mea su re t he pol ic y scope by looking at the overall debt, by looking at how much risk there is in shadow banking, in the housing sector and in inflation,” Yao said. “Looking at all these things, they judge they actually don’t have much scope from a long-term perspective. So they’re very careful about how to use it and when to use it.”

Growth volatility is acceptable if other targets on employment, income and environmental protection are met, according to the top economic planning agency. China is facing downward pressure and challenges, but the country is able to meet major economic targets for this year, the National Development and Reform Commission’s Spokesman Yuan Da said on Monday.

In the first three quarters of 2019, there were 10.97 million new urban jobs created, 99.7 percent of the target for the full year,

according to the Statistics Bureau.

With few major monetary policy moves in the past month, the Loan Prime Rate, a market gauge of borrowing costs, remained unchanged in October, according to a PBOC release on Monday.

In his statement to the IMF’s steering committee at the meetings, Yi said that growth had been stable this year and the “main economic indicators kept within an appropriate range.” While keeping credit growing, the bank should also pay attention to “maintaining a stabilized leverage ratio,” he said.

Yi won support for China’s approach from the IMF, which otherwise has been urging more action to support the global economy. Kenneth Kang, deputy director of the fund’s Asia and Pacific Department, said any support to prop up the Chinese economy should be “contained, calibrated to the shock, it should be temporary in nature and it should be focusing on rebalancing growth down the road.”

Stabilization signs?

Ev en though the third quarter grow th numbers came in below est imates, pol ic y-ma kers may in fact be seeing sig ns of a stabi l i zat ion, pa r t ic u l a rly if t he

nascent t rade -wa r t r uce w it h t he US hold s.

Corporate demand for longterm credit picked up in recent months, the growth of auto sales— an important part of the country’s retail sales—contracted less, and infrastructure investment stabilized at a low level. These factors are among those that have prompted economists from Citigroup Inc., Barclays Plc., Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd., and Natwest Markets Plc. to cautiously call a bottoming-out.

“The positive factors such as the trade truce, low base effect, the stabilization of manufacturing sector and pickup of infrastructure investment may give the PBOC more reason to take a wait-and-see approach,” Tommy Xie, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., wrote in a note.

To be sure, if conditions were to worsen materially from here, China still has ample room to react, with interest rates far above zero.

Before last week’s growth data, economists surveyed by Bloomberg saw full-year expansion for 2019 coming in at 6.2 percent before slowing to 5.9 percent in 2020.

For now, the early signs of stabilization give the authori-

ties a chance to debate some long-term issues at the coming meetings, such as a graying population and the merits of freer internal migration of labor. These reforms could be more important than imminent policy loosening in ensuring a steady performance of the economy in the longer term.

“There are a lot of ways that China could manage its long-term demographic problems,” Scott Kennedy, an expert on the US-China economic relationship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “There are many things they could do, from eliminating the hukou system to delaying the retirement age to permitting inward immigration.”

Some of these are likely to become the topics at the upcoming Party meetings.

“We wait for the upcoming Politburo meeting and a possible fourth Plenum for signals on the medium-term policy outlook,” Liu Peiqian, China economist at Natwest Markets Plc. “In particular we look for the Politburo’s assessment about external uncertainties and how the authorities will balance their priorities of growth, deleveraging and stability.” Bloomberg News

Brexit saga to continue in Parliament, courts

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ONDON—British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still at odds with Parliament over how to break the Brexit impasse, and the European Union is considering Johnson’s halfhear ted request for a delay to the October 31 deadline. There are things to look for in the coming days.

Johnson’s push in parliament

The prime minister has endured a string of defeats in Parliament but he hopes to turn that around with one big triumph: a majority vote in favor of his new Brexit divorce deal. The numbers are tight and there’s a chance Johnson could prevail.

A vote is possible in the coming days, with the result uncertain. He also needs to enact the enabling legislation that would give the deal legal force.

If he can do that quickly, Britain either wouldn’t need an extension or would need only a very short “technical” extension measured in weeks, not months.

If parliament rejects deal

If Johnson can’t convince Parliament to

quickly back the deal, it will be up to the EU to determine if it grants Britain another extension or sticks to the October 31 date, which would mean the risky “no-deal” Brexit that many national leaders have been trying to avoid.

The EU isn’t expec ted to reveal its answer in the coming days but an extension is seen as the preferred choice for many of the bloc’s leaders despite their growing frustration with the stalemate in Parliament.

Looming election

Johnson has tried to call a national election with the goal of getting a new Parliament that would support his Brexit strategy, but the opposition Labour Party and its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, say they won’t okay an election until a Brexit extension has been put in place. If the EU grants the extension that Johnson has requested, an election may well take place in the next few months, with Johnson campaigning on a promise to deliver Brexit and blaming Parliament for blocking it.

The House of Commons chamber is crowded by lawmakers during the Brexit debate inside parliament in London on Saturday. At the rare weekend sitting of Parliament, Prime Minister Boris Johnson implored legislators to ratify the Brexit deal he struck this week with the other 27 EU leaders.

Lawmakers voted on Saturday in favor of the “Letwin Amendment,” which seeks to avoid a no-deal Brexit on October 31. Jessica Taylor/House of Commons via AP

An election may sound as if it wo u l d b re a k t h e B re x i t l o g j a m , b u t i t i s p o s s i b l e n o c l e a r w i n n e r wo u l d e m e rg e w i t h a m a j o r i t y, s o a n e w Pa r l i a m e n t m i g h t b e j u s t a s d i v i d e d a s t h i s o n e.

Court challenge

Johnson complied with a law requiring him to seek a delay to the October 31 deadline, but he followed his request with a letter to EU officials saying he didn’t really think a delay was a good idea.

That infuriated opponents who believe he deliberately tried to frustrate the will of Parliament. Activists who have brought a case against Johnson in Scotland plan to return to court on Monday; the dispute may end up in Britain’s Supreme Court. AP

B4 Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Dulcinea tradition continues

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S a legacy brand in the Philippines, Dulcinea has enjoyed a loyal following of diners who sought the familiar taste of traditional Spanish favorites, especially its iconic Churros con Chocolate. But while generations of Filipinos have grown up with its time-honored offerings, there now rises a new and fresh crowd of diners who are looking for something more.

Embracing this challenge to appeal to a younger demographic and adapting to the changing landscape of the food

industry, Café Dulcinea was born.

It was Mars Florete III, son of Dulcinea owner, Marcelino Florete, Jr., who came up with this innovative concept for Café Dulcinea as a final requirement for his Ateneo MBA. Inspired by his brainchild, the talented Dulcinea team worked hard to put everything together. And today, after some refining and tweaking, his dream has finally come true, with Café Dulcinea at Megamall ready to serve the public.

While the classic Churros con Chocolate will still be its timeless offering, Café Dulcinea will also serve its most popular items like pastries, cream puffs, eclairs, silvanas and cakes, to name a few. For its savory food selections, there will be Salpicao (heir best seller – tasty tenderloin cubes sautéed in garlic, olive oil & spices) , Gambas Al Ajillo–(shrimp sautéed in a medley of garlic, olive oil & chili) , Tuhod y Batoc (a stew of tender and succulent beef knee and shoulder with potatoes, mushroom, red & green bell peppers) , and Paella (choice of Paella Valenciana, Paella Marinera, Paella Negra or Paella de Verduras. Café Dulcinea also offers its all-day breakfast menu.

The cozy and hip Café Dulcinea is located at the 4th level Bridgeway, SM Mega Mall. For more information, check out their FB: facebook.com/ dulcineaph or dulcineaph ; instagram: dulcinea_ph or contact them at tel no.

83522051 At Café Dulcinea opening in SM Megamall : Marcelino Florete Jr., - President and CEO, F&C Group of Companies (F&C), Susan Florete, Director and Matriarch (F&C), Marissa Florete – Gorriceta , EVP - Marketing and Merchandising & Marcelino Florete III, EVP - Audit and Finance (F&C), with members of United Print Media Group, Inc. (UPMG, Inc.), a progressive organization of print media and publication companies in the Philippines with more than 30 active member-publications.

Tudor announces Jay Chou as new brand and #borntodare campaign ambassador

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HE Tudor “Born To Dare” campaign reflects both the history of the brand and what it stands for today. Daring individuals have long chosen Tudor while achieving the extraordinary on land, ice, in the air and underwater. It also refers to the vision of Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Tudor, who manufactured Tudor watches to withstand the most extreme conditions, watches made for the most daring lifestyle indeed. It finally tells of the singular approach Tudor is known for today, having pioneered now major trends within the watchmaking industry.

Brought up in a family of teachers in Taiwan, Jay Chou was introduced to the piano at the age of four, after he demonstrated an early gift for music. He later on picked up the cello and to this day, still mentions Chopin as his favourite composer.

In 2007 Jay Chou founded his own record company, JVR Music, which pioneered crosscultural fusion of electronic music with Asian pop music. This stable of talents proved repeatedly that his approach as a producer is in perfect tune with the aspiration of the youth in most parts of Asia.

Not only does he write, compose and produce music, he is also the director of a large number of music videos, including his own.

Recognized in the directing circles, both in Asia and in the USA, as a successful ads director, he fully expresses in those short formats the vibe he feels among his fans, the deep and personal inspirations he passes on to the crowds.

In several Asian super-productions and blockbusters and in major Hollywood productions, he proved to be as much in his place on a cinema set as on stage. While assuming many different roles, including actor, director and scriptwriter, he has never abandoned his first love, music, and rose to the top of the Asian charts touring the world with every new album.

Jay Chou is also a known philanthropist

and advocate of good causes. He stepped up to provide critical support in the wake of disasters including major earthquakes in Wenchuan in 2008 and multiple earthquakes in Taiwan over the years. He is an ambassador, and a donor, to the Fubon Charity Foundation, which is dedicated to the cause dearest to him, the care and education of impoverished, distressed and disabled children. In 2016, Jay also joined WildAid in a new campaign against rhino horn, shark fin, elephant ivory and other products decimating wildlife around the world.

MURRAY IN 1ST WIN SINCE HIP SURGERY

Sports BusinessMirror

Tiger Woods will play in the made-for-television “The Challenge: Japan Skins.” AP

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| Tuesday, October 22, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Woods returning after fifth surgical procedure on knee I

NZAI CITY, Japan—Tiger Woods is returning from another surgical procedure on his left knee—his fifth on the same problem spot.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been down this road with my knee before,”Woods said Monday. “This is my fifth operation on it. I understand what it takes to come back from it. It’s been nice to have movement again, and not having it catch and lock up.”

Woods, who had arthroscopic surgery two months ago, plays the made-for-television “The Challenge: Japan Skins” event on Monday, and the Zozo Championship beginning on Thursday—the first full Professional Golfers Association Tour event in Japan.

Woods will play with Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, and Hideki Matsuyama in the skins game at the Narashino Country Club, the same venue for Zozo Championship. The course is located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of central Tokyo.

The course for next year’s Olympics is located nearby at the Kasumigaseki Country Club.

Woods said the knee troubled him all season, becoming more bothersome after he won the Masters in April.

“It progressively got worse and got to where it was affecting even reading putts,” Wood said. “You could see toward the end of the year I wasn’t getting down on my putts well.”

Woods said he had the surgery, wanting to be ready for the two events this week in Japan, followed in December by the Hero Challenge, and the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia.

“It’s been nice to be able to squat down and read putts, and start going at it full speed again,” Woods said. “It’s just been wear-and-tear over the years. It’s just been stressed out for a very long time.”

Woods repeated his interest in playing in next year’s Tokyo Olympics. But he has work to do to qualify.

“It would be an honor to represent my country in the

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RCADIA, California—A three-year-old gelding was fatally injured in the fifth race at Santa Anita on Saturday, becoming the 34th horse to die at the track since December.

According to a statement from track owner The Stronach Group, jockey Ruben Fuentes pulled up Satchel Paige at the three-eighths pole of the 6 1/2-furlong sprint. Track veterinarian Dr. Dana Stead saw that the gelding had sustained an open fracture of his left front ankle and decided to euthanize him.

Fuentes wasn’t injured in the $50,000 race featuring horses that had yet to win.

Dr. Dionne Benson, chief vet for The Stronach Group, said the gelding will undergo a required necropsy at UC Davis. She said the accident and necropsy report will be reviewed “to learn what, if anything, could have been done to prevent the accident.”

Benson said Santa Anita will work with the California Horse Racing Board to investigate the accident.

Trained by Phil D’Amato, Satchel Paige was winless in six career starts, with one second and one third-place finish. He had career earnings of $24,002.

He was bred and owned by retired luxury car dealer Nick Alexander, chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, which represents the collective interests of owners in the state and works to preserve the sport’s long-term viability.

Santa Anita is set to host the Breeders’ Cup world championships for a record 10th time on November 1 and 2. AP HORSES are led to paddocks past the Seabiscuit statue during workouts at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. AP

Olympic Games,” Wood said. “Right now I’m ninth in the world ranking and, hopefully, in the next year I can have a good year, and qualify and represent my country.”

Justin Thomas, meanwhile, pulled away from Danny Lee in the final hour and closed with a five-under 67 on Sunday to win the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges for the second time in two years in Jeju Island, South Korea.

Thomas won for the 11th time on the PGA Tour and the second time in his last four starts.

He was one shot ahead when Lee, the South Korea-born player who plays under the New Zealand flag, bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes to fall three shots behind.

They were the only two players who had a serious chance of winning. Lee closed with a 69 for his best finish in nearly a year.

Thomas finished at 20-under 268 and moves to No. 4 in the world ranking.

Hideki Matsuyama (65), US Open champion Gary Woodland (66) and Cameron Smith (69) tied for third, five shots behind.

In Shanghai, Danielle Kang played bogey-free and closed with a two-under 70 to win the Buick Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Shanghai for the second consecutive year. She had a tournament record 16-under 272.

The 27-year-old American began the day one stroke behind compatriot Jessica Korda, who shot 72 to finish one shot behind.

Kang birdied the 15th to pull two strokes ahead, but Korda responded with a birdie of her own on 17. Kang then holed a 3-foot par putt on the 18th to win her third career title.

Liu Yu of China shot a 65 to surge into a three-way tie for third with Japan’s Nasa Hataoka and LPGA rookie Kristen Gillman. It was the best finish of Gillman’s career. AP

Andy Murray cries as he bags his first Association of Tennis Professionals tour title in more than two-and-a-half years. AP

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NTWERP, Belgium—Andy Murray claimed his first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour title in more than two-and-a-half years at the European Open on Sunday in only his sixth singles tournament since returning from hip surgery in January.

The 32-year-old Murray rallied to beat fellow threetime Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the final.

The last time he lifted silverware in singles came in Dubai in March 2017, so it was no surprise that the tears quickly flowed for the British player.

“Obviously, it means a lot, the last few years have been extremely difficult, both me and Stan have had a lot of injury problems the last couple of years,” Murray said in an on-court interview broadcast by Amazon Prime.

“I just managed to hang in a bit at the end of the second set and the third set was extremely close again. I didn’t expect to be in this position so I’m very happy. This is one of the biggest wins that I’ve had

after everything so I’m very proud.”

It was their grueling French Open semifinal two years ago that exacerbated physical issues for both players.

Murray spent the next 18 months trying to find a solution to his hip problems that would enable him to live without pain, while Wawrinka underwent two knee operations.

After undergoing hip resurfacing surgery, Murray returned to the court in June playing doubles— including at Wimbledon—before moving back to singles in August.

The 34-year-old Wawrinka was looking for his first ATP title since the 2017 Geneva Open.

The crucial break of serve in the first set came in the second game, with Murray saving two break points but not a third, and his Swiss opponent served it out 6-3.

Murray looked in deep trouble when Wawrinka broke again in the third game of the second set, and the Scot had to save more break points to avoid losing a fourth game in a row.

But, having dug in, he got his reward as Wawrinka’s

WHAT’S WRONG AT THIS RACE TRACK?

serve went off the boil and his level dipped, with Murray breaking back to 3-3.

Wawrinka had two more chances at 4-4 but again Murray fought off the danger and it was Murray who then took his first set point to clinch it 6-4 and level the match.

Wawrinka stepped up again early in the third set and was twice a break ahead but once more Murray dug in, hitting back immediately both times.

Murray saved two more break points at 4-4 to leave Wawrinka serving to stay in the match. When Wawrinka blazed a forehand well off target on the first match point, it was the former top-ranked Murray celebrating a remarkable comeback.

Murray is now expected to take a break until the Davis Cup finals next month while he waits for the birth of his third child.

“I’ll have three kids under four years old. I need to get on the road so we don’t get out of control,” Murray joked. “I’m excited for the third kid. My wife’s been a huge support for getting me back on the court and making me fight to keep playing.”

In Moscow, Belinda Bencic recovered from a set down to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the Kremlin Cup final also on Sunday.

Third-seeded Bencic broke Pavlyuchenkova in the Russian’s first service game in both the second and third sets.

Bencic hit eight aces despite landing just 54 percent of her first serves.

She’s the first Swiss woman to win the Kremlin Cup since Martina Hingis in 2000.

The win capped a productive week for Bencic after she secured the last spot at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals on Saturday. By qualifying for the Moscow final, Bencic overtook Serena Williams in the points ranking for qualification for the finals in Shenzhen, China.

Bencic moves to 4-6 in career tour finals and 2-1 in 2019 after winning in Dubai in February.

In the men’s final, Andrei Rublev recorded his first ATP title since 2017 as he beat Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-0 in just one hour and three minutes.

The 22-year-old Russian is 2-2 in career finals after condemning his French opponent to his second consecutive defeat in Kremlin Cup finals after losing to Karen Khachanov last year.

Mannarino has lost eight of the nine ATP finals he’s played, the sole exception coming with a win over Jordan Thompson in Rosmalen in June.

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, meanwhile, beat former doubles partner Julia Goerges 6-4, 6-1 to win the Luxembourg Open final on Sunday.

The pair played together in doubles in 2017, but this was the first singles final between them.

Ostapenko, a former French Open champion, won her third WTA singles title and first since Seoul in 2017.

Defending champion Goerges was on a nine-match winning streak. The second-seeded German conceded her title with her third double-fault of the match. AP

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Business

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

GIMMICK DEFENSE, ANYONE? Toronto Raptors Head Coach Nick Nurse points during the first half of their preseason game against the Chicago Bulls in Toronto on Sunday. AP

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tlanta guard Kevin Huerter saw gimmick defenses throughout high school and college. Boxand-ones, triangle-and-twos and variations thereof, they weren’t exactly uncommon for opponents to try.

In the National Basketball Association (NBA), they’re a rarity.

And Huerter says the reason is simple.

“I honestly just think players are too good,” he said.

Coaches may agree. The Toronto Raptors famously and effectively slapped a box-and-one against Golden State’s Stephen Curry late in the fourth quarter of Game Two in last season’s NBA Finals, though that was in a situation where the Warriors’ other elite scorers from that team—Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson—were both out of the game at the time with injuries.

So in that situation, the gimmick seemed apropos.

But in most situations, coaches probably wouldn’t dare go with one.

“That worked when there wasn’t Kevin

Durant and Klay Thompson,” Houston Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Gimmicks are gimmicks.

You go into a game, especially with us or Golden State or any of about eight teams now in the West...you’re going to throw a gimmick to beat somebody? I’m not going to do that. I’ll trust my guys.”

Still, they’re not completely uncommon. Some teams play zone more than others now, mostly a 2-3, sometimes a 3-2. Those are fairly normal to see now, but the gimmicks aren’t forgotten.

San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich has dabbled with triangle-and-two defenses—a box-and-one is a four-player zone with one defender playing tight man-to-man, a triangleand-two is a three-player zone with two man defenders—in recent years. He opened a game in February at Utah in the gimmick. It worked for a little bit; the Spurs led, 24-19, after nine minutes, then got outscored, 106-81, the rest of the way and lost by 20.

“They were working,” Spurs guard Bryn Forbes said of the zones. “And then they didn’t work, as well.”

Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra is a fan of zone defenses, at times, and thinks those schemes will get used more this season across the league. But he shies away from the gimmick or

“junk” defenses because he thinks they can lead to either more confusion or less accountability on that end of the floor.

But he lauded Nurse for going with it—on the game’s biggest stage, no less.

“That was a really gutsy call,” Spoelstra said.

“I think it took extreme circumstances for that to even be a discussion.”

The gimmicks have advocates. Steve Dagostino, who was a Division II first-team All-American at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, and now works with high school, college and NBA players as a shooting and development coach, thinks the gimmick defense might be effective in late-game situations.

“What we saw in the NBA Finals was interesting because the gimmick defenses Nurse ran served two purposes,” Dagostino said. “First, it surprised them and changed the rhythm of the Warriors. Secondly, it allowed the Raptors to effectively choose who shot the ball for the Warriors. By playing these defenses they left open certain shooters.”

During that stretch where the Raptors had Fred VanVleet guarding Curry, plenty of Warriors—DeMarcus Cousins, Draymond Green, Quinn Cook among them—passed up open shots. The Warriors wound up winning the game, but the gimmick defense that Curry famously called “janky” after the game had left its mark.

“Moving forward, I wouldn’t be surprised

if more teams use these gimmick defenses in late-game situations or the playoffs,” Dagostino said. “The added pressure seems to benefit this style.”

New Orleans guard Jrue Holiday said trying something gimmicky makes sense in the playoffs, simply because teams are solely focused on that opponent and have a better feel on what will work.

“You’re locked into a team for at least four games and you can make adjustments that way,” Holiday said.

Before Nurse drew up the box-and-one on the fly during a late timeout in Game Two of the title series—it actually took his players a few seconds to realize he was calling for the gimmick, one that Raptors guard Kyle Lowry endorsed quickly and told teammates it would work—Curry hadn’t seen one used against him since his college days at Davidson.

“It was obviously innovative and unexpected in terms of defense,” Curry said.

Maybe the shock value alone could make it a valuable tool for coaches going forward, even in short stints. The value of a gimmick might be making the opponent think about what could be coming next.

“When one player makes a team tick, makes everything happen, you use a boxand-one to take the team out of rhythm or simply make someone else beat you,” Huerter said. “Players in the NBA for the most part are too good to do that.” AP

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino presents an official jersey to Sen. Manny Pacquiao with his name and the No. “9” inscribed. Also in photo are (from left) Philippine Football Federation President Mariano Araneta, legendary French team striker Youri Djorkaeff and Monico Puentevella

Pacquiao welcomes Fifa Chief Infantino B

OXING icon and Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao about to play football soon?

“Why not?,” said an energized Pacquiao after International Football Federation (Fifa) President Gianni Infantino and his official delegation visited him in his residence in Makati late Sunday night.

Infantino, one of the most powerful sports figures in the world leading the 211-nation Fifa, expressed his elation following his ongoing whirlwind visit to the Philippines and Asia.

Pacquiao, the only eight-division boxing legend, and Infantino immediately wasted no time in discussing sports-related projects that could elevate the sport and how it could become a perfect vehicle toward helping people around the globe.

The 49-year-old Infantino, who was reelected Fifa president this year, invited the World Boxing Association welterweight super champion Pacquiao to play in an exhibition football game featuring legends of sports.

Pacquiao, 40, expressed his willingness to give the sport a try having not played it in the past.

“If it is going to be for a good cause, then why not [play],” Pacquiao said.

amchok Tantipokhakul and Wisut Artjanawat rejoin the chase for a Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) Asia crown, eyeing no less than a second championship in the $100,000 International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Summit Point World 18 Challenge blasting off on Wednesday at the Summit Point Golf and Country Club in Lipa City, Batangas.

Tantipokhakul and Artjanawat missed last week’s CAT Open at Luisita won by Aussie Tim Stewart via playoff but are coming into this week’s event motivated by desire to emerge as the only two-leg winner at the close of the third season of Asia’s rising circuit put up by ICTSI. Tantipokhakul rallied and nipped Finland’s Teemu Putkonen by one to rule this year’s

Infantino was joined by Philippine Football Federation President Mariano Araneta and legendary French striker Youri Djorkaeff, CEO of Fifa Foundation among other members of the delegation.

Pacquiao related to the group his desire to uplift the lives of people around him and empower the masses through parallel projects presented by Fifa under Infantino’s leadership.

“This is one sport where the Filipino can excel and be also good at,” Pacquiao said.

Infantino noted the meteoric rise of the 127th ranked Philippine squad which held powerhouse China (world No. 68) to a nil-nil draw last week at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City, in its continuing bid to qualify in the November 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“I want to experience watching the World Cup,” said Pacquiao, accepting Infantino’s advanced invitation for him to watch the greatest spectacle in all sports.

Infantino and Djorkaeff presented an official jersey with Pacquiao’s name inscribed with the No. “9.”

Pacquiao, himself, gave the Fifa officials autographed souvenir shirts.

PGT Asia kickoff leg at Luisita last April while Artjanawat topped the first PGTA event abroad, also in come-from-behind fashion in Taiwan last May. But they are just but two of the hundred top guns all primed up for the 72-hole championship, including Tony Lascuña, winner of the second PGTA tournament, also in Taiwan last month, and last year’s champion Joenard Rates, who edged Janne Kaske, also of Finland, in sudden death.

Reigning PGTA Order of Merit winner Clyde Mondilla is also all geared up for a crack at the crown after falling short of his own rally in last week’s CAT Open where he battled back from six down to force a playoff, only to waver in sudden death that enabled Stewart to join the elite circuit of winners in the circuit put up to provide pros from the Philippines, Asia and other parts of the world another venue on which to play and, at the same time, complement each country’s national golf tour and the other existing regional circuits.

Jhonnel Ababa also sets out to avoid a winless campaign this year after racking up four titles in the first two seasons of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. A select number of pros test the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed layout

By Dayong J. Mendoza First of three Parts

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ROOKLYN, New York—Right after our (San Miguel Beer) victory in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup last month, I tried to renew, with success thank God, my US visa.

Immediately, I visited several National Basketball Association (NBA) facilities in America and got to meet coaches and other basketball people along the way.

But before that, the flight to San Francisco had a five-hour stopover in Hong Kong. Despite antigovernment civilian protests on the streets, local HK businessman Leo Bacala (who organized the 1st Camp and Play Hong Kong basketball clinics in 2010) braved the unrest and kept me company at the peace-laden airport, drinking a bit of San Miguel Beer while partaking of an assortment of siomai for our pulutan.

After 13 years, I am back in America.

In my last American journey, I observed the basketball program of St. John’s University in Queens, New York. I attended one New York Knicks practice with Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas then as head coach.

Today, in the city by the bay while cruising through the Interstate 580, my cousin behind the wheel of his hybrid Camry, Donald Juvida, who

works as Master Technician for Lexus/Pleasanton in San Francisco, pointed at a famous building I used to only see on TV and newspapers.

“That’s the Oracle Arena, where the Golden State Warriors play,” said Donald, the youngest son of my mother’s brother, Uncle Bonnie living in nearby Hayward with his second son, Jay. By any dint of imagination, Donald, who migrated here at 19 years of age and is now in his early 40s, is super successful with his nurse-wife, Janet, and two sons—all ensconced happily in a huge two-story house that I enjoy calling “a mansion” in suburban Lathrop.

The Oracle Arena, as everybody now knows, is no longer the Warriors’ home as Steph Curry and Golden State have moved to Chase Center, their new base in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco.

San Francisco Computer IT’s Art Villamor, my childhood buddy and basketball teammate from Pag-asa Condominium/Bliss in Quezon City, has accompanied me to the Chase Center where blue and yellow fans arrive in numbers.

It was unfortunate, though, that we were not season-ticket holders, so that we had to satisfy ourselves taking pictures of the edifice from outside the fence. From San Francisco, I took a six-hour or so flight to New York.

Over there at the Big Apple, Engineer Jojo Corpuz, the President of the Philippine Basketball Ministry of New York, gave me a rare chance to

HE national shooting team is all fired up to compete in the Asian Shooting Championships from November 2 to 11 in Doha, Qatar, where it tries to book slots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

This year’s championships will be the last Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Asia set by the International Olympic Committee

tour the Barclays Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets got instant attention with their acquisition of Kevin Durant from Golden State and Kyrie Irving from Boston.

To get to Jojo, I took the ferry from Staten Island where my first cousin Gerard Causon also lives with his wife Tere and their twins, Kristia and Jackie.

The 20-minute or so ferry-ride—for free, mind you—took me to Manhattan, passing by the famed Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island off the Atlantic Sea. Keeping me company this time was Claret Quezon City Assistant Basketball Coach Louie Bautista, who was also my navigator whenever we changed trains in the somewhat complicated New York subway.

We arrived early here in Brooklyn and checked Modell’s Sporting Goods at Flatbush Avenue where Nets items now sell like hotcakes, thanks to Durant and Irving.

Our arena site visit was led by Justin Jonas, the manager of Youth Basketball for the Nets.

Towering at 6-foot-6, Justin played college basketball. He walked us around the huge Barclays Center.

Said Justin: “I have the pleasure of enhancing experiences and creating unforgettable memories at our quality events.... The owner of the team now is Joseph Tsai.”

Tsai is a Taiwanese-Canadian businessman and an associate of the famous Jack Ma of Alibaba;

Ma is an iconic Chinese billionaire. In a recent interview, Tsai said: “I love going to basketball games. My family loves it.”

I still remember the herringbone pattern of grays of the Nets basketball flooring the first time I was here. But today, the arena was being prepared for another event.

Justin would next direct our group to the various exclusive box seats and the many choices of food stalls around the venue.

Then we moved to another basketball court below the Starbucks joint outside the arena.

“This is where the team shoot-around before their game and where we conduct our basketball programs for the youth of Brooklyn,” said Justin.

As we were about to end the tour, I noticed the big mural painting towering over the Barclays Arena. I quickly asked our group to take a picture, with the massive artwork in the background, titled: Diary of Brooklyn, measuring 10 x 70 feet by Jose Parla.

Before leaving, I set a goal for my next visit: Watch a live game of the Nets inside the Barclays Center. I am not hard to please.

n (Dayong J. Mendoza is a full-time assistant coach of multiple Philippine Basketball Association champion San Miguel Beer and a professional visual painter/artist as well, with 10 PBA titles across his name.)

Arms show intensifies campaign against illegal gun ownership

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HE Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers of the Philippines Inc. intensifies its campaign against illegal gun ownership with the 27th Afad-Defense and Sporting Arms Show from November 14 to 18 at the Megatrade Hall of the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

On the heels of the success of the show’s first stop last July at the same venue, Afad President Alaric Topacio said enthusiasts could expect better and bigger activities with more than 61 exhibitors who will showcase their best line of firearms, ammunition and paraphernalia with seminars and educational program on self-defense, responsible gun ownership, firearms safety handling, regulation policy on gun-ownership and other exciting activities.

“The PNP [Philippine National Police] together with Afad is providing a caravan to help gun owners process their gun license application and renewal, so our visitors have the luxury of faster processing

for their licensing needs while viewing the best products available,” Topacio said.

Sens. Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa and Miguel Zubiri are expected to grace the opening program at 10 a.m. Also invited are PNP top brass and representatives from other law enforcement agencies.

Topacio said Afad is putting its best foot forward as far as education in safety, security and responsible gun-ownership are concerned with yet another educational sporting arms show featuring high-quality products and accessories made locally and abroad as the group remained steadfast in the promotion of a strong regulating policy under the care of the PNP and other law enforcement agencies.

Topacio said more than 1 million Filipinos are registered gun owners who passed a series of tests and neuro-examination under the PNP’s intensive regulatory policy. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Namchok Tantipokhakul and Wisut Artjanawat are two of the players to watch in Lipa City.

SHOOTERS TARGET TOKYO 2020 SLOTS IN ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS T

A momentous visit to Barclays Center, home of Brooklyn Nets

featuring 18 of the world’s most popular golf holes in today’s (Tuesday) pro-am tournament where they will be paired with guests and officials of the event’s chief backers, including ICTSI, PLDT Enterprise, Meralco, BDO and PGT Asia official apparel Pin High.

Other PGT Asia winners in the fold are Jay Bayron, Jobim Carlos, James Ryan Lam, and Aussies David Gleeson and Damien Jordan, while beefing up the stellar international cast are Peter Stojanovski of Macedonia, Joshua Salah, Brett Munson and Lexus Keoninh of the US, Korean-American Micah Shin and Dutch Guido van der Valk.

Joining Rates, Lascuña and Mondilla as spearheads of the local challenge are Ira Alido, Michael Bibat, Keanu Jahns, Elmer Salvador, Jerson Balasabas, Reymon Jaraula, Rufino Bayron, Zanieboy Gialon and former PGT Asia leg winner Justin Quiban.

Backing Tantipokhakul and Artjanawat in the Thai contingent are Pasavee Lertvilai, Chonlatit Chuenboonngam, Sutijet Kooratapisan, Donlapatchai Niyomchon, Kammalas Namuangruk, Natthapong Niyomchon, Puk Pradittan, Wongsakorn Choowong.

(IOC) for Tokyo 2020.

The top 3 finishers in each of the shotgun, rifle and pistol events of the tournament will gain quota spots or outright qualification to Tokyo 2020.

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez is hopeful of the shooters’ chances, saying the country needs more qualifiers for Tokyo.

“We now have two Olympians in Tokyo, but we need more. That is why the PSC is supportive of all these exposures and competitions so that our athletes get big chances at making it to the ultimate competition of their careers—the Olympics,” Ramirez said.

So far, gymnast Carlos Yulo and pole vaulter EJ Obiena have clinched slots for Tokyo 2020.

Hagen Topacio bagged a silver medal in the men’s individual trap of shotgun in the

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championships in Kuwait three years ago.

The 2016 Asian Championships was also an Olympic qualifying event for the Rio Olympiad but the IOC later pulled out its recognition after organizers refused an Israeli technical official’s entry to Kuwait.

Topacio is eyeing a repeat of his silver medal feat to advance to Tokyo 2020.

The other members of the men’s trap team are Eric Ang, Carlos Carag and Jethro Dionisio.

Jeson Valdez and Amparo Acuña are also capable of podium finish in the mixed rifle event that will be played for the first time in Tokyo.

Also competing are Dennis Basila and Sean Ocampo in rifle, Michael Angelo Fernandez, Marcelo Gonzales, Shanin Gonzalez and Juliet Arellano in the pistol events.

The team is competing in shotgun’s trap, mixed rifle, bench rest light Varmint, Heavy Varmint, metallic silhouette pistol and rifle events.

Coach Tab: Sport’s about performance

hings are falling into its place for Ateneo as the Blue Eagles remain on course to winning their third straight crown unbeaten.

But American-Kiwi Coach Tab Baldwin isn’t an arrogant man.

“Sport is about performance, not about bragging about performance. So we’re very much focused on what our next performance is going to be,” Baldwin said after their 84-50 demolition of the University of the East Red Warriors last Sunday.

The Blue Eagles, once winners of the rare five-peat in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament, dictated much of the game and had little trouble beating the hapless Red Warriors.

It was very much of a resemblance of their campaign in the last two seasons where Ateneo almost blew every team on its path.

But at 12-0 won-lost and the National University and University of the Philippines as their final opponents in the eliminations, the Blue Eagles could do what it failed to accomplish

in the last two seasons—stay unbeaten and pull an outright Finals seat.

Baldwin, who was at the helm of Ateneo’s twin titles, said patience and hard work gifted them an impressive showing.

“For any team in this position, things like undefeated seasons, sweeps, they happen because you take it one step at a time, not because you make some grand statement about how good you are in front of a microphone,” he said.

Baldwin praised his players who have shown maturity.

“It’s how they groom themselves for the future because they’re all going to be important players in the future. So happy with the way we played,” he said.

“We have a week of preparation for NU then UP,” Baldwin added. “So it’s good to be where we’re at obviously, and we wanna carefully watch our upcoming opponents and potential playoff opponents now over the next two weeks.” Ramon Rafael Bonilla

CHAIR BUTCH IN FORUM

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Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers of the Philippines Inc. President Alaric Topacio (center) discusses the group’s program with treasurer Mary Jane Roxas (left) and Vice President Edwin Año Jr.

HILIPPINE Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez will be the special guest in Tuesday’s session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Amelie Hotel-Manila.

Ramirez is expected to tackle the preparations for the hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games in his capacity as Chef De Mission of Team Philippines. He will also talk on other matter in sports as head of the PSC. Joining Ramirez in the 10 a.m.

session presented by San Miguel Corp., Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. are members and officials of newly crowned Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Foundation Cup champion BRT Sumisip Basilan-Saint Clare.

The session being livestreamed via the PSA Facebook page fb.com/ PhilippineSportswritersAssociation and aired on a delayed basis over Radyo Pilipinas 2 from 1 to 2 p.m., and later at 6:30 p.m.

ROTATIONS KEY IN WORLD SERIES Sports

It’s a mound meeting that every fan can enjoy, the Houston Astros against the Washington Nationals.

BusinessMirror

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| Tuesday, October 22, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

THE Astros’ Jose Altuve (right) and starting pitcher Justin Verlander celebrate their victory over the Yankees as starter Max Scherzer throws for the Nationals. AP

Cheika out as Aussies coach after Rugby World Cup exit

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OKYO—In the immediate aftermath of a bitter Rugby World Cup quarterfinal defeat, Wallabies Coach Michael Cheika pleaded for compassion.

That’s not to be confused with a plea for leniency. He’s had enough of that.

The pugnacious former backrower followed through on his vow to stand aside if Australia didn’t win the title, confirming Sunday that he won’t seek to renew his contract.

He made it public less than 24 hours after a 40-16 loss to England, coached by his former Randwick clubmate Eddie Jones, at Oita. The 24-point margin equaled England’s record for biggest win over Australia and extended its record run to seven wins against the Wallabies since the last World Cup. Cheika was typically feisty when asked post-match about his intentions.

“Mate, I will be honest, it is a cruel, cruel world nowadays when you are asking that question two minutes after we’ve been knocked out of the World Cup,” Cheika responded in a news

conference. “And if you find it inside you, to find a little bit of compassion for people who are hurting, to just ask the more relevant questions, because I will tell you, I came here with only one thought in my mind about winning here and that thought has just disappeared now.”

Cheika said he’d inform Rugby Australia when he’d made up his mind, “they don’t need to know today. It’s not going to kill them.”

Criticism of Cheika’s tenure escalated in the wake of the loss, particularly Australia’s lag of pragmatism in attack—sticking with a running brand of rugby at all costs rather than accumulate points when offered.

A Fox Sports critic said the tactics highlighted a strategy that lacked intelligence, but not passion. Cheika’s approach to the job was divisive.

Veteran flyhalf Quade Cooper, who missed selection to the World Cup squad, wasn’t sad to see his former coach go.

“If he actually cared about Aus rugby he would have done it a while ago,” Cooper posted on Twitter.

Cheika said he carried no emotional baggage, adding that he’d left himself with no real choice.

“I had no regrets about making the call, but yes I would love to stay on,” he said. “I put my chips in earlier in the year [when] I told people ‘no win, no play.’

“I’m the type of man who is always going to back what he says, and I knew from the final whistle. But I just wanted to give it that little bit time to

cool down, talk to my people and then make it clear.”

The 52-year-old had some parting shots for the sport’s administrators, saying “It’s no secret I’ve pretty much got no relationship with the CEO.” Rugby Australia Chief Executive Raelene Castle responded in a statement Sunday describing Cheika as a “passionate and experienced coach.”

She acknowledged Cheika’s early success after being hired “at a turbulent time” in 2014 and transforming an embattled squad into World Cup finalists within 12 months and being voted coach of the year in 2015.

“He cares deeply about the Wallabies and the game of rugby, and always set out with the aim of making Wallabies fans proud of the team’s performances,” Castle said.

After a review of Australia’s performance in 2018, Rugby Australia appointed Scott Johnson and Michael O’Connor as Wallabies selectors and changed some management structures around the team.

Cheika said he found those changes “a little bit difficult at times.”

He’ll finish with 34 wins, 31 losses and two draws from 67 tests at the helm, although his record since the 2015 World Cup was 23 wins from 51 tests and Australia’s ranking slipped to No. 7.

Yet, he said he’d never actually considered he’d be leaving his post until the last 24 hours.

“That’s the way I am, I’m able to make those cutoffs around situation or the environment,” he said, “I’m able to stay focused inside of what I’m doing and then when the other situation appears I’ll deal with it then.”

“I’ve never coached as a job,” added Cheika, whose contract expires on December 31. “I’ve always coached for thrill, for the pleasure, so I haven’t really thought about what I’m doing next.”

New Zealander Dave Rennie is among the candidates expected to be in line for the job. AP The pugnacious former backrower Michael Cheika follows through on his vow to stand aside if Australia doesn’t win the title. AP

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ow this is a serious World Series throwdown.

Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke versus Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin—all of them All-Star starters, still pitching at their peak.

It’s a mound meeting that every fan can enjoy, the Houston Astros against the Washington Nationals.

Capital hill, indeed.

“We’ve got the best pitcher in the world going. And then after that, we’ve got the best pitcher in the world going, too. And then after that, we’ve got the best pitcher in the world going, too,” Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Bregman and fellow MVP candidate Anthony Rendon certainly did their parts to make this the Year of the Home Run. And José Altuve lit up Minute Maid Park with his walk-off homer to beat the Yankees in the American League (AL) Championship Series.

But the focus of this Fall Classic is right on the rotations. Houston opened as a 2-1 favorite at the Las Vegas sportsbooks.

Cole is set to throw the first pitch on Tuesday night in Houston. He led the majors with 326 strikeouts, was second to Verlander in the big leagues with 20 wins and topped the AL with a 2.50 ERA. He also is 19-0 in his last 25 starts. That includes 3-0 in the playoffs so far, allowing one earned run in 22 2/3 innings while fanning 32.

Cole was acquired by the Astros a few months after they won the 2017 World Series. He has fit in fine with his Houston teammates and also has gotten acquainted with some of the Washington aces—the teams share the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches spring training complex in Florida.

“I know a few guys in their rotation, and I’m personally excited that they’re in this position, and I’m just very excited to get in there,” Cole said late Saturday night.

“They’ve worked their tails off. I know a lot of the guys on the team, and I know how they prepare,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Like when he faces Washington’s big bopper.

“Anthony Rendon is one of the greatest hitters in the game right now,” Cole said. “There’s no real way to get him out. You just kind of hope that he misses some balls or he scorches them right at your guys, I guess.

“I’ve been watching him since I was in college. It’s very unique what he’s been able to do and he’s just a pleasure to watch play.”

The clubs saw each other back in February when they played in the exhibition opener, and Scherzer gave up a homer to the first batter of the game.

Now, eight months later, they meet for real. The 107win Astros trying to capture their second crown in three years, the wild-card Nationals making their Series debut.

“The World Series comes through Houston. I like the sound of that. I think it should be that way for many years to come,” Bregman said.

No slight to Bregman and other big hitters here: Altuve, the ALCS MVP, postseason star George Springer, and top shortstops Trea Turner and Carlos Correa. And not to overlook the young stars on this stage for the first time, rookies like Juan Soto and Yordan Álvarez.

Yet, in an era when teams search for new pitching strategies—witness the Astros’ parade of relievers in Game Six of the ALCS—the two clubs left figure to rely heavily on their starters.

Fine by Houston Manager AJ Hinch.

“Philosophically, whether it’s about the new-age opener or pulling guys third time through, most of the people that support that haven’t had Verlander or Cole on their team,” he said.

The Nationals stack up just fine, too. Consider their staff includes Aníbal Sánchez, who took a playoff no-hit bid into the eighth inning.

The Astros, who began as the National League expansion Colt .45s in 1962, led the majors in setting a franchise record for wins. Their playoff path was more of a struggle, beating wild-card Tampa Bay in the deciding Game Five of the AL Division Series and then stopping the 103-win Yankees on Altuve’s pennant-winning homer off Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning.

The Nationals, who started out as the Montreal Expos in 1969, took the reverse route.

A season after letting slugger Bryce Harper leave as a free agent, the Nats were just 19-31 in May. The slow start prompted speculation that manager Dave Martinez would be fired and management would sell off stars at the trade deadline.

Instead, the Nationals bounced back. They earned a playoff spot, eliminated the favored Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series and swept the surging St. Louis Cardinals behind NLCS MVP Howie Kendrick.

For Washington, the city gets its first World Series since the Senators played in 1933. For the Nationals, the old October question: rest or rust?

The Nationals will have a full week between games while the Astros get only two days off. A fact on this: Boston had two more days of rest last year and beat the Dodgers. But before that, the past nine champions were the clubs that had less rest.

Martinez isn’t worried.

“These guys have played unbelievably. I think they needed a break. Some guys really needed a break,” he said. “Heal their bodies a little bit.” AP

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God of Lazarus

EAR God, in Jesus You became poor so that the poor might become rich. In faith we pray: Have mercy on us, oh God. Inspire Pope Francis, bishops, and all Your Church to be a living sign of reverence for nature and love for all creation. Deepen Your Church’s commitment to fight human trafficking, to grant migrants safe working conditions and to secure protection for refugees. Grant policy-makers the wisdom to enact laws that safeguard the human dignity of every person. May God bless us and all the Church with courage, wisdom, and strength for the Gospel under the watchful care of the angels. Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

Life BusinessMirror

A CONVERTED garage project by Bunch Design in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles, California, where long clerestory windows were placed high on the walls of a small living room. Afternoon light streams through a west-facing skylight, and a stepped ceiling creates more interesting light plays. PHOTOS: AP

CIRCLES: WHERE DOES IT LEAD AND WHY DO WE GO? D4

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

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THE color Emerald Green by Farrow & Ball debuted this fall in Colour by Nature, a collection created in collaboration with London’s Natural History Museum. Rare books, including an early color guide that was used by Charles Darwin, provided inspiration.

Biophilic décor: Ways to bring the feel of nature indoors

THE colors Deep Reddish Brown, foreground, and Crimson Red, background, by Farrow & Ball also debuted this fall in Colour by Nature.

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BY KIM COOK The Associated Press

HE term “biophilia,” an affinity for the living world, was coined back in the 1980s by American biologist and author E.O. Wilson.

We have an instinctive drive to connect with nature, he said, and the more we connect, the happier we are. That’s why a walk in the woods can feel so good, or a sit on a quiet beach.

In our homes, we might try to bring the outside in with a potted tree, some herbs on the window sill, perhaps floral wallpaper or landscape art.

Some other creative ideas from innovative designers today: “When I first started reading about biophilic design and how we needed to be flooding our homes with gorgeous natural views, daylight and plants I thought, ‘Well that’s dandy, but how about people in homes and work spaces that just don’t have access to these things?’” says Phoebe Oldrey, who runs Smart Style Interiors in Tunbridge Wells, England.

“How do I, as an interior designer, give them the benefits of biophilic design? The answer came in the choice of materials we use in our designs, and natural materials is the way to go.”

In one home, she designed floating maple cabinetry inlaid with a pattern of swallows in flight.

In a dining/kitchen space with doors opening onto a leafy outdoor area, she placed a large light fixture composed of colorful glass bubbles; it’s as though a cluster of errant balloons drifted in from the backyard. And in a weekend cottage, she placed a ceiling fixture made of woven sticks over the bed,

evoking a cozy bird’s nest.

Lighting is a great way to bring a biophilic element into a room.

If you like the idea of that stick fixture, check out Serena & Lily’s Vero pendant made of wispy woven rattan twigs. All Modern has the Organique

chandelier, a freeform “nest” of rubbed bronze.

Arteriors Home has the Tilda fixture made of whitewashed wood sticks, and the Wichita floor lamp crafted of downed teak tree trunks.

Brooklyn’s Nea Studio has found a formula for treating green marine algae so it becomes firm yet malleable. Designer Nina Edwards Anker handcrafts the algae into light shades that cast a warm glow.

Anker has also created a solar chandelier made from shells and photovoltaic modules; hang the fixture in a window and it becomes a solar clock, turning on at dusk. Passing breezes make it a wind chime, too.

New technologies are giving us lighting that’s more reflective of outdoor light. Ketra offers an LED system that can be tuned so the room lighting moves from warm candlelight to a wintry Arctic sky. Nanoleaf’s light panels interlock; affix them to a wall, then operate them remotely to cycle through arrays like “sunrise” and “Northern Lights.”

If you’re renovating or building, think about adding cutouts beyond the traditional windows and sliding doors—horizontal lighting like skylights, for instance. Bo Sundius of Bunch Design in Los Angeles says the firm always thinks about how sun and light moving across rooms can be used to connect interiors to the outdoors.

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New beginnings, new successes in the Year of the Metal Rat 2020

BY GIANNA MAÑIEGO AT a recent get-together with select friends and members of media, veteran feng shui expert and practitioner Marites Allen presented a taste of her comprehensive reading of 2020, the Year of the Metal Rat. Her findings, which are broken down per sign in a series of horoscope books launched that same day, October 9 at the Novotel Manila Araneta City in Cubao, Quezon City, include the year’s outlook in terms of feng shui.

The event also saw the launch of the 2020 Marites Allen Feng Shui Almanac and Planner, the 2020 Feng Shui App, and the Frigga e-commerce web site.

According to Allen, the Year of the Earth Pig completes the previous feng shui cycle, which means all 12 signs in the Chinese zodiac—Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig—had undergone the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire and Earth) whose presence are deemed necessary to balance Nature.

This designates the Year of the Metal Rat the start of a new feng shui period.

The Year of the Metal Rat starts from January 25, 2020, and lasts until February 11, 2021. It promises to

be a fruitful and prosperous year.

Allen said the last time the Year of the Metal Rat occurred was 60 years ago.

“If you are turning 60 years old next year, then you will complete the cycle of the elements and animal signs. The last time the Year of the Metal Rat occurred was in 1960.”

The years of the Rat are: 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 and 2032.

STRONG AND LUCKY YEAR THE Year of the Metal Rat is seen as a strong, prosperous, and lucky year, and is a great year for starting projects or improving ongoing ones.

Allen picks those born under the signs of the Ox, Tiger, Dragon, Snake, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig or Boar as the lucky ones in 2020, while those born in the years of the Rat, Rabbit and Horse will not be so fortunate.

“If you are born in the Day or Year of the Horse, then you are in conflict with the Year of the Rat. Another warning that I’d like to make, because the pillar of 2020 is an Ox, is that those of you born in the Day or Year of the Sheep will be challenged.”

In terms of the Destiny Chart, which determines the direction of the Flying Stars or where the year’s

FENG shui expert Marites Allen

lucky and unlucky sectors at home or in the office lie, Allen says to pay attention to the Southeast corner for windfalls of good fortune, the Northeast sector for victory, the Northwest corner for financial wealth, the West corner for prosperity, and the Southwest sector for romance and travel opportunities. Savvy feng shui believers would do well to place various enhancers in these sectors to strengthen them. On the other hand, those who want to quell the ill winds of the year and minimize or control the damage they cause would be well advised to put cures in the unlucky sectors, namely, the East (misfortune), the South (illness), the Center (robbery or loss) and the North (arguments).

These are just the broad strokes in the Year of the Metal Rat. Those interested in a more detailed analysis are welcome to join others on November 23, again at Novotel. The whole-day event will tackle the year’s good luck enhancers, bad luck triggers, and feng shui must-haves to ensure a smooth sailing Year of the Metal Rat. Tickets to the 15th Marites Allen Philippine Feng Shui Convention on November 24 the ballrooms of Novotel Manila Araneta City are sold at Eventbrite (www.eventbrite.com/e/). More information is available at 0920-9509390, 818-8858, 736-0512, 470-7661 or maritesallenevents@gmail.com.

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Tuesday, October 22, 2019

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‘The Perfect Wife’ has intriguing plot, chilling finale Landmark compendium on educational law published

The country’s educational landscape is changing, and with these changes, we need policies that affirm not just the principles of academic freedom and equal access to education, but also laws that are crafted with educating the young Filipino learner at the center of the journey, with the community and all stakeholders contributing to the process in a collective effort.

In light of its advocacy and initiatives to introduce holistic learning methods and professional development by educating for Whole Child, REX (www.rexestore.com) recently launched a landmark work on educational law and policy-making. Titled The Education Act, the book is the country’s first and most comprehensive compendium of education policies, regulatory tools, practices and current issues that are affecting the nation as it undergoes transformations in the field of education. Released during the 40th annual run of Manila International Book Fair, the country’s largest exhibition for publishers, the book is written

by Atty. Joseph Noel M. Estrada, a family and education lawyer by practice, and a much sought-after resource speaker and advocate for education.

This is Estrada’s second book on his field of expertise, and in terms of style and the overall creative process behind its completion, the educational law expert said, “Now there’s more involvement in the whole process, and what we have here is really a collaborative process, a team of legal experts, each with their own fields of specialization, guiding me to provide not just rigor, vision and clarity to the various issues and their different facets and dimensions, but also a sense of purpose for the project,” adding that he felt grateful that he “had the pleasure of being taken good care of by a leading publishing company.”

According to the author, the book is a good material for policy-makers, in Congress or the Senate, because it provides readers with the legal information they would need to craft the education laws, and initiate educational reforms and, eventually, help in the process of national development.

S

z

By Oline H. Cogdill The Associated Press

ome couples seem to be perfect for each other, but can any relationship achieve perfection?

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Tim Scott believes that his wife, Abbie Cullen-Scott, was the perfect wife, the perfect mother and that they had the perfect marriage. And that’s what he tells her.

But this Abbie may look like his wife and possess her memories, but she isn’t human. She’s a “companion robot,” manufactured by Tim, founder of Scott Robotics based in San Francisco.

JP Delaney’s third psychological thriller, The Perfect Wife (Ballantine Books) puts—almost perfectly—a high-tech spin on the stories of Frankenstein and Pygmalion with a tinge of the Stepford wives. Delaney includes just enough technology while keeping the focus primarily on the characters.

Abbie wakes up in what seems to be a hospital, having a dream about when she and Scott became engaged. But as Scott explains, that wasn’t a dream but “an upload” and that she is a “cobot” with carefully curated “memories” that don’t include what happened to the real Abbie. But Scott gave this new Abbie an intelligence—no matter how artificial—and the ability to eventually render emotions. She’s stunned to learn that Abbie disappeared in a surfing accident five years earlier.

Tim was accused of her murder but the charges were dismissed because of a lack of evidence. While Tim tries to keep the existence of this Abbie quiet, the news gets out, igniting unwanted publicity and relaunching a police investigation.

The Perfect Wife smoothly alternates between the new Abbie’s narrative and the couple’s past, showing how the uptight Tim fell in love with this free-spirited artist. Abbie tells her story in second person, as if she’s not quite sure what she is, while their story as a couple is told by an unseen narrator.

Twenty years ago, novelist Gar Anthony Haywood abandoned private eye Aaron Gunner to focus on other characters, but now the South Central Los Angeles sleuth is back in a wrenching tale of violence, betrayal and family dysfunction.

In Good Man Gone Bad (Prospect Park Books), he simultaneously tackles two investigations. The first is helping his new love interest, defense attorney Kelley DeCharme, defend an Afghanistan war veteran who’s in prison for a murder he may not have committed.

The second is more personal: an apparent murder-suicide that took the life of Gunner’s

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, 44; Saffron Burrows, 47; Jeff Goldblum, 67; Christopher Lloyd, 81.

Happy Birthday: Look at the possibilities, not the negativity, and you will be motivated to make positive changes this year. Concentrate on participating in events and activities that move you. Strive to become the best version of yourself, and project happiness and joy to all you encounter. Make this year count. Take nothing for granted, and live in the moment. Your lucky numbers are 5, 13, 18, 20, 26, 37, 41.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): An emotional situation should not be allowed to take over.

Reflect on what has transpired and figure out a way to get along instead of making a fuss.

Professionalism, integrity and balance will help gain respect and support. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Look at your options. Time is on your side, so don’t feel pressured to act before you are ready.

Communication is the best vehicle if you want to find out exactly what you are up against. Don’t let anger take over. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Play nice, but play to win. Use your ingenuity to formulate ideas that will help you advance, but not at the expense of someone else. You are smart enough to win fair and square, and your valor will not go unnoticed.

HHHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You’ve got more going for you than you realize. Don’t fear what others think or say; trust in your ability to get things done. A change of plans will end up working in your favor. Embrace the future with optimism.

HH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Remember what’s important, and try to be patient. Personal change will be a result of what someone else decides to do. Regroup and figure out what’s best for yourself, and keep moving forward. HHH

Abbie is a compassionate character and is instantly appealing. It’s easy to forget that she’s a machine as she explores developing her emotions and feelings. At first, Tim seems like a good guy whose palpable grief led him to build a replacement. But Delaney’s subtle approach in depicting Tim’s controlling nature, his pathological obsession with work, and his neurosis about perfection add to the tension and the possibility of violence.

The intriguing plot leads to a chilling and surprising finale that perfectly caps The Perfect Wife. n

‘Good Man Gone Bad’ is dark, brooding tale

By Bruce DeSilva The Associated Press

Today’s Horoscope

cousin Del Curry and his wife while leaving their grown daughter in a coma.

Gunner, a Vietnam vet who still has flashbacks, has lurched into late middle age since he was last heard from in All the Lucky Ones Are Dead, but he can still handle himself in a scrap and is as stubbornly persistent as ever. Good thing, because at first glance both cases look impossible.

The imprisoned Afghanistan war vet, who has post-traumatic stress disorder and suffers from blackouts, allegedly killed his boss after she fired him.

He claims that he has no memory of the night of the murder, but his fingerprints are on the murder gun. Gunner thinks the case against him isn’t just strong but too strong. He suspects a frame-up.

The murder-suicide also looks open and shut, all the physical evidence indicating that Del shot the others before turning the gun on himself. But Del was Gunner’s closest friend and confidante, so he can’t bring himself to believe it.

In the end, Gunner uncovers the ugly truths about both cases, although the way the murdersuicide is resolved comforts no one—least of all, Gunner.

Like the first six books in the Aaron Gunner series, this dark, brooding tale will remind readers of classic Southern California crime novelists Philip Marlowe and Ross Macdonald. Haywood’s tight, no-frills prose is outstanding, and he does a fine job of developing the characters who inhabit Gunner’s poor side of town.

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Take a trip and visit someone you look up to or can learn from. The changes you make will attract friends and associates who value what you have to offer. Collaboration will bring the best results, as well as trusted friendships. HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Pick up the pace and take on responsibilities.

Your input will make a difference to those struggling to keep up. A change of attitude will lead to physical improvements, proper diet, exercise and the will to be your best. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t give in to unfair or manipulative tactics. Make your thoughts and plans clear. Change should begin within, not be the result of following someone who is pressuring you. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Stick close to home and spend time fixing up your space or making personal changes that will make your life better. Keep your plans a secret until you have had a chance to work out any problems. HHHHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Get in the game. Make changes that will enhance what you have to offer. Keep up with technology or the latest updates. Being current will make a difference to the way others view what you do. HH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t expect something for nothing. If someone is trying to coax you into something questionable, consider why, and don’t be afraid to pass.

Rely on what you know to be factual and the people offering options, not demands. HHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Let your mind wander and your ideas flow. The changes you make should be geared toward an efficient lifestyle. How you handle your money, responsibilities and relationships with your peers or employer will influence your reputation. HHH Birthday Baby: You are intense, sensitive and dedicated.

You are loyal and perceptive.

‘go off in a huff’ by jordan hildebrandt The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Nil 6 The Lord of the Rings, e.g.

10 Leader in Dubai 14 The Gem State 15 Clump of turf 16 ___ Lisa 17 Like a visit from Francis 18 Swanky display 19 “Dear ___ Hansen” 20 “Stay away from that window or you’ll freeze!”

23 Tavern drink 25 Word before “stars” or “the light” 26 House staffers 27 “Your trumpet is too loud without a mute!”

32 Compare (to) 33 Hammer and sickle 34 Defunct Asian country, briefly 35 Charon’s boat 36 Tourist mecca southeast of New Delhi 40 Poker chips, e.g.

41 Certain golf tourney

42 “I said, take a picture of that light wind!”

46 North African capital 47 Ipanema Beach’s city, informally 48 ___ ed (often-awkward class) 49 Complain, or a hint to 20-, 27- and 42-Across 54 Desperate request 55 Breathable clog 56 Additional 59 Boarding school since 1440 60 Give a creepy look 61 Country with many tapas bars 62 Puts on 63 Denials 64 Overly wet DOWN 1 Nil 2 Journalist ___ B. Wells 3 Portable places to work 4 Bush Secretary of Labor Elaine 5 Doesn’t express 6 Actor’s audition 7 Landed 8 One may wear black lipstick

9 Wood shaper 10 Celebrity chef Lagasse 11 Big name in watches 12 Before long 13 Raves’ counterparts 21 Prefix for “thermal” 22 Tiny amounts 23 Bill of Rights defense org.

24 ___ Miguel, youngest male Grammy winner 28 That doe 29 Tiki ___ (patio light) 30 Where running mates originated 31 Tarzan star Ron 35 In shape 36 Verb after “queue”?

37 Attends a party solo 38 Tear to the ground 39 “Don’t leave home without it” card, briefly 40 It’s in a jamb 41 Series of steps 42 Visit by yacht, say 43 Take a job 44 Eyes and ears

45 Storage container 46 Like Batman and Robin 50 Holy image 51 Thus 52 Field mouse 53 Trade show 57 Oil platform 58 “___ questions?”

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

D3

The Maleficent sequel starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning, Mistress of Evil grossed an estimated $36 million on its opening weekend in North America to become to the No. 1 film, while pulling in $117 million internationally.

Maxine Medina

Jake Cuenca

Search on for next ‘Ms. Barkadahan’ queen

MONG KOK, Hong Kong—A new queen is about to be named in the highly anticipated beauty pageant for overseas Filipinos in Hong Kong: the Ms. Barkadahan 2019, happening on November 17 at the Macpherson Stadium in Mong Kok. This is the second year that TFC is partnering with Hong Kong’s telecommunications company SmarTone Mobile Communications Ltd. in organizing the annual Ms. Barkadahan beauty pageant, which aims to empower and inspire overseas Filipinos by putting the spotlight on their success in a foreign land.

Aside from ABS-CBN Chairman Mark Lopez gracing last year’s event, 2018 Ms. Barkadahan winner Melodie Duag got an extra treat from TFC after she got to have a studio tour and watch the variety show It’s Showtime live with her family.

Meantime, this year there are 10 ladies who will vie for the Ms. Barkadahan title and bring home prizes not only for the crowned queen but also for the OFW group she has chosen.

Before they grace the Ms. Barkadahan stage on November 17, people all over the world will get to know the 10 candidates through the eyes of their loved ones in the feature stories that will be uploaded on the Ms. Barkadahan 2019 microsite (www.missbarkadahan.mytfc.com).

On the second year as well, the public will also have a hand in choosing the winner. More information about voting is available at the microsite.

Meanwhile, event goers will be in for a treat as TFC flies to Hong Kong Los Bastardos stars Jake Cuenca and Maxine Medina who will provide the night’s entertainment with performances. Also, the first 200 who will activate a TFC Load Card from the event pack will get to have a photo with Jake and Maxine.

Chris Evans and his mother Lisa Evans, director of the Concord Youth Theatre, laugh inside the theater’s new permanent home in Concord, Massachusetts. AP

‘Captain America’ Chris Evans helps dedicate youth theater CONCORD, Massachusetts—Captain America actor Chris Evans returned to his native Massachusetts this weekend to help dedicate the new home of a youth theater company where as a youngster he honed his acting skills.

Evans, wearing a Boston Red Sox hat, helped cut the ribbon Saturday at the Concord Youth Theatre’s new permanent home. Evans, who grew up in nearby Sudbury, acted in Concord Youth Theatre productions starting when he was nine years old. His mother, Lisa Evans, is the theater’s director. He said the theater was “a place to feel safe and take risks, and explore what would ultimately be my career.”

The new building has seating for more than 200. Concord Youth Theatre will debut its new space with Godspell this week. AP

Jennifer Lawrence marries art dealer Cooke Maroney NEWPORT, Rhode Island—Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence got married over the weekend in Rhode Island during a ceremony and reception studded with Hollywood stars.

The Hunger Games star tied the knot with New York art dealer Cooke Maroney on Saturday at a Newport, Rhode Island, mansion.

Lawrence’s publicist confirmed to The Associated Press that the wedding took place, but did not provide additional details. People.com reports that Emma Stone, Kris Jenner and Amy Schumer were among the 150 guests at Belcourt Castle, which is owned by Carolyn Rafaelian, owner and founder of the jewelry company Alex and Ani. The Newport Daily News reports that about 100 fans stood outside the mansion hoping to catch a glimpse of a celebrity. AP

‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ claims No. 1 over ‘Joker’

L

By Lindsey Bahr The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—The Walt Disney Co.’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil knocked Joker out of the No. 1 spot at the box office, but just barely.

Studios on Sunday say the film starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning grossed an estimated $36 million in North America and $117 million internationally in its first weekend in theaters. The first film had a much stronger domestic showing, opening to nearly $70 million domestically in 2014, and the sequel was expected to earn more stateside.

“It’s not as strong as we hoped domestically, but it’s a good start for October and we have a great window leading into Halloween,” said Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of theatrical distribution. “Most encouraging is the fact that audiences seem to be responding very positively.”

The “A” CinemaScore—in contrast to the mixed critical reviews—suggests that the film could have a longer life at the box office. Although it fell to second place after two weekends at the top, Warner Bros.’

Joker continues to hold strong at the box office. It added

$29.2 million in its third weekend in North America.

The villain origin story has grossed over $247 million domestically. Worldwide, it’s earned $737.5 million, and has already surpassed the lifetime grosses of Justice League and Suicide Squad.

Now the big question is whether the R-rated film will make it to $1 billion, but with a $55 million production budget, it’s already a massive hit for the studio and will likely also become director Todd Phillips’s highest-grossing film, too.

“It’s already in territory that nobody thought it would get to. It’s achieved a box office that is above the wildest expectations of the studio and analysts,” said Paul Dergarabedian, comScore’s senior media analyst. “Even if the box office stopped right now it’s an absolute, unqualified success.”

Third place went to another new sequel, Columbia Pictures’s Zombieland: Double Tap with $26.7 million.

The R-rated comedy comes 10 years after the original, reuniting Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Woody Harrelson with director Ruben Fleischer.

“Three films earning over $25 million, that doesn’t happen very often,” Dergarabedian noted, although the weekend is down from last year when Halloween opened to over $76 million.

In notable landmarks, Hustlers crossed $100 million domestically this weekend. It’s the second STX film to do so this year after The Upside.

And buzzy, awards-friendly indies are continuing to thrive. Parasite, which opened last weekend, added $1.2 million. This weekend, Taika Waititi’s Nazi satire Jojo Rabbit opened in five theaters with a strong $350,000, the black and white Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe mindbender The Lighthouse earned $419,764 from eight theaters, and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot grossed $93,520 from one screen this weekend.

But the year is still down 5 percent from last year.

“It was a great weekend for sequels and great

weekend for indie movies,” Dergarabedian said.

“But we’re still struggling to get ahead of last year.

We’re racing to the finish line here. We’ve only got 11 weekends left to go.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore.

Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.

1. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, $36 million ($117 million international) 2. Joker, $29.5 million ($77.8 million international) 3. Zombieland: Double Tap, $26.7 million ($5.3 million international) 4. The Addams Family, $16.1 million 5. Gemini Man, $8.5 million ($33.4 million international) 6. Abominable, $3.5 million ($9.2 million international) 7. Downton Abbey, $3.1 million ($2.5 million international) 8. Judy, $2.1 million ($1.3 million international) 9. Hustlers, $2.1 million ($3 million international) 10. It: Chapter Two, $1.5 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the US and Canada), according to comScore: 1. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, $117 million 2. Joker, $77.8 million 3. Gemini Man, $33.4 million 4. One Piece: Stampede, $21.9 million 5. The Captain, $17.8 million 6. Abominable, $9.2 million 7. My People, My Country, $8.4 million 8. Zombieland: Double Tap, $5.3 million 9. A Witness Out of the Blue, $4.6 million 10. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, $3.1 million. n

Rep’s 2020 season holds a mirror up to human life Throughout its 53-year illustrious history, Repertory Philippines has allowed audiences to see the world with new eyes. For its 83rd season, it is holding up a mirror to different experiences, highlighting stories that are both unique and familiar.

With Liesl Batucan on her first season as Rep’s artistic director, audiences can expect a new creative spirit that remains faithful to the company’s legacy while bringing it forward, as she assembles a brilliant and diverse core of creatives who will be making their debut in the Rep director’s chair; celebrated thespians who will be treading the boards for the first time; and veterans who will be making their much-awaited theater comeback.

The 2020 season opens with The New York Times’s Critic’s Pick of 2014, Stage Kiss by American playwright Sarah Ruhl, which runs from February 7 to March 1, 2020. This romantic comedy takes audiences backstage and introduces them to She and He, two stage actors who find themselves cast as lovers in a 1930s melodrama. But She and He have a romantic history together, and after sharing several

stage kisses as their characters, they unintentionally rekindle their love. Stage Kiss stars Missy Maramara, Tarek El Tayech, Andres Borromeo, Justine Narciso and Mica Pineda, among others, and is directed by Carlos Siguion-Reyna.

From March 13 to April 5, 2020, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Anna in the Tropics

by Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz comes to the Rep stage. When Juan Julian arrives in Tampa, Florida, in 1929, he unwittingly heralds change in the Cuban cigar factory where he has been employed as a lector. As he reads aloud from Leo Tolstoy’s passionate Anna Karenina, the workers soon find the story creeping into their lives and informing their decisions.

Directed by noted New York-based production designer Joey Mendoza and starring Ana Abad Santos, Jake Macapagal, Paolo O’ Hara, Brian Sy, Gab Pangilinan, Gie Onida and Madeleine Nicolas, Anna in the Tropics paints a sympathetic portrait of oppressed laborers and lovers who flout tradition, as it shows the transformative power of literature.

The other offerings in Rep’s 2020 season include the enduring favorite Rodgers and

THE 2020 season of Repertory Philippines kicks off in February with Stage Kiss, headlined by Missy Maramara and Tarek El Tayech.

Hammerstein Broadway musical Carousel, which caps off the season in May with Nikki Gil and Gian Magdangal; Snow White and the Prince in September 2020 to January 2021; and Rep Unplugged, an edgy and exciting new staging concept that is independent—or “unplugged”—from the rest of the season.

Directed by theater wunderkind Ed Lacson Jr., Rep Unplugged is alternative

theater and will be performed in unconventional performance spaces. It will be launched in June 2020 during the interim between Rep’s first three plays and its children’s production. Featuring an out-of-the-box approach and a fresh take on theater, Rep Unplugged is ready to shake things up.

For more information: 8451-1474, 09669054013 or www.repertoryphilippines.ph.

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Art

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Tuesday, October 22, 2019

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Biophilic décor: Ways to bring the feel of nature indoors CONTINUED FROM D1 In one converted garage project, long clerestory windows were placed high on the walls of a small living room. Afternoon light streams through a westfacing skylight, and a stepped ceiling creates more interesting light plays. “The house sits in the middle of a dense residential neighborhood,” says Sundius, “yet it feels airy and open.”

This fall, Farrow & Ball debuted Colour by Nature, a collection done in collaboration with London’s Natural History Museum. Rare books, including an early color guide used by Charles Darwin, provided inspiration. There’s an orange-tinged white inspired

by the breast feathers of an owl; a green evinces the emerald hue of a mallard’s neck.

Behr Paint’s 2020 color of the year is a soothing green called Back to Nature; complementary colors include Light Drizzle, Secret Meadow, Dragonfly and Bluebird.

Murals can showcase nature dramatically; they work well in family rooms, hallways or bedrooms. For something unusual, consider Flavor Paper’s Saguaro Sessions collection.

The studio’s founder, Jon Sherman, and photographer Boone Speed were inspired by a trip to Saguaro National Park to make wallpapers that showcase macro photography of gemstones and

minerals, with the crystalline structures creating unique patterns in extreme close-up.

Roche Bobois’s Bois Paradis collection from Maison Lacroix features wood cabinets and screens, and upholstered seating, printed with a woodland scene. On the case goods and tables, the pattern is in silhouette, giving them an air of mystery.

Bedding maker Buffy offers the Breeze comforter made of sustainable eucalyptus, and stitched with a wave and wind pattern inspired by the rolling hills of artist Maya Lin’s Storm King Wavefield in Orange County, New York.

Buffy’s also introduced a collection of naturally dyed sheets, with dye experts Maria Elena Pombo and

Kathy Hattori. They’ve used botanicals like walnut, gardenia, turmeric and pomegranate to gently color the textiles.

Miami-based design house Plant the Future is known for biophilic installations like “living” plant murals on building exteriors. They also clad the walls of a Florida client’s dining room in a blanket of soft green moss, and created a 3-D mural out of mushrooms for a client in Spain. They sell preserved moss circles and hearts to hang on the wall, moss letters, and a lush, cursive “I love you.”

And to bring the outdoors in via scent, Otherland has soy-based candles with scents of smoke, wood fires, grass and desert sand. ■

FLIGHT, the first solo exhibition of Christina Quisumbing Ramilo with MO_Space in BGC, is on view until November 17.

CZECHS OPEN MEMORIAL TO STUDENT WHO BURNED HIMSELF TO DEATH

PRAGUE—A new memorial is opening to a university student who burned himself to death in protest at the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Jan Palach’s childhood home in Vsetaty, north of Prague, has been turned into a chapel-like space to allow visitors to contemplate what he did for the nation. An adjacent pavilion contains a small museum.

The 20-year-old set himself on fire five months after the Warsaw Pact countries crushed liberal reforms known as the Prague Spring. He died three days later. Palach’s self-immolation shocked the country but failed to produce an immediate impact. The hard-line communist regime established after the invasion harshly persecuted dissenters.

But his action on January 16, 1969, did inspire weeklong protests two decades later, and the Velvet Revolution led

by Vaclav Havel later in 1989 that ended Czechoslovakia’s communist era. AP

Where does it lead and why do we go?

CIRCLES JT NISAY

jtnisay@gmail.com

‘I A VISITOR walks inside the newly opened memorial to Jan Palach in Vsetaty, Czech Republic. Jan Palach was a university student who burned himself to death to inspire resistance against the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.

’M fascinated by stairs,” said visual artist Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, stating the only perceptible thought in her ongoing solo exhibition that deals with nothing obvious.

Ramilo showcases in the “artist-run” gallery of MO_Space in BGC her manifold maquettes of stairs.

In one corner of the space are two made from cement, stacked on top of each other, building a base for another built from wood. Across it is a table of cement with eight more models on top and a ladder for legs below.

Scattered all around are more versions in varying shapes and materials. Veiled in the commonality of the object, however, in the everyday-ness of stairs as a basic structure encountered daily, are its complexities that transcend the temporal.

“Stairs symbolize possibilities,” the artist said.

“Where you want to go, not just physically, but the many aspects of where you want to go.”

Presenting subjects in a new light is a staple of Ramilo’s art. She considers herself as an arranger and maker of objects, stripping a subject of connotations and reorienting it with minimal adjustments to draw entirely new perceptions.

The same approach is applied with stairs in �light, Ramilo’s first solo show at MO_Space that opened over the weekend and is on view until November 17.

“A lot of the pieces here are actually the same. But when the orientation is changed, everything follows,” she said, pointing to one particular set of similar models, with one bursting in pink paint and another appearing flat in cement gray.

Ramilo also based a number of stairs from her travels and few ideas she wanted to explore, such as

the association of stairs with divinity.

In one work, the artist recreated the “feeling” of the sacred Catholic site of Scala Santa in Rome. Also called the Holy Stairs, the set of 28 steps is said to have been ascended by Jesus Christ on his way to be tried

by Pontius Pilate.

Other pieces are inspired by the temple stairs of Prambanan and Borobudur in Indonesia. Ramilo had asked why these structures always go up? Thus, she created one that goes down, just as how Puebloans accessed kivas, or underground sites of spiritual ceremonies.

“Going up supposedly takes you to the next level, but that’s not always the case,” she said. “The same goes for going down, which doesn’t always mean bad.”

Ramilo also went biblical with a take on the Tower of Babel. She researched about the structure and left out only the stairs. Peculiar to the piece is the absence of concrete steps. In its place serving as step boards is light, illuminated from within the stairs.

“I’m just toying with the many ideas of space and worship,” Ramilo said. “Something profound, something divine, from such a basic form.” ■

ATENEO LAW CLASS ’95 HONORS INTERNATIONAL HUMAN-RIGHTS LAWYER CARLOS ‘CHOCHOY’ MEDINA WITH SPONTANEOUS REALISM PORTRAIT BY CELESTE LECAROZ THE Class of 1995 of Ateneo de Manila Law School honored international humanrights lawyer Atty. Carlos “Chochoy” Medina at their Ateneo Law Alumni homecoming, titled “Paint the Town Blue,” held recently at the Makati Shangri-La Manila. The homecoming began with a Mass and general assembly and then proceeded to the program.

Ateneo Law 1995 gifted Medina, a staunch human-rights advocate in the Philippines and the Asean region, with a spontaneous realism portrait painted by Celeste Lecaroz. The artwork was unveiled at the homecoming program.

Ateneo Law Alumni Homecoming 2019 Chairman Jacob Divino said, “We would like to pay tribute to Atty. Chochoy

Medina, who was our professor at the Ateneo Law School where he taught various courses on constitutional law and human rights. The colorful portrait by Celeste Lecaroz is our simple token of gratitude for the inspiration and dedication he has shared with his students, the Filipino nation and the Asean region.”

As the moving force of the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) where he was director for more than two decades, Medina trained a new generation of human-rights lawyers and instituted a network where the poor and marginalized have access to justice.

He is also known for his work in fighting corruption, fostering the peace process and promoting human rights in the Philippines and in the Asean region.

Among his many significant contributions to the country include being vice chairman of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, coconvenor of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections, and secretary-general of the Working Group for an Asean Human Rights Mechanism, which led to the establishment of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. In 2018, the Ateneo de Manila University conferred the Parangal Lingkod Sambayan to Medina for his outstanding achievements in public service.

Medina flew from his hometown of Davao, where he is now based, to personally receive the honor and the portrait from his former students at the Ateneo Law Alumni Homecoming.

ATTY. Carlos “Chochoy” Medina (left) is the director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center, while spontaneous realism painter Celeste Lecaroz stands in front of her portrait of Medina