BusinessMirror September 27, 2019

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A broader look at today’s business Friday, September 27, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 352

n

BSP delivers another policy rate reduction

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By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday delivered on its promise to cut the country’s monetary policy rates one more time as inflation tames and growth slows in the country.

At the sixth monetary-policy meeting for the year, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno announced that the Monetary Board decided to shave off another 25 basis points

from the existing overnight reverse repurchase rate of 4.25 percent, bringing it down to 4 percent effective Friday, September 27.

T he interest rates on t he

overnight deposit and lending facilities were also reduced accordingly to 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.

“The Monetary Board’s decision

4%

New overnight reverse repurchase rate effective September 27 is based on its assessment that price pressures have eased further since the previous meeting,” Diokno said in his statement following the monetary-policy meeting.

“At the same time, the Monetary Board believes that prospects for global economic growth are likely to remain weak owing mainly to uncertainty over trade policies.

See “BSP,” A2

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REVENUE FROM TRAIN LAW UP 65% in 1ST HALF

By Cai U. Ordinario

R

@caiordinario

EVENUES collected from t he i mplement at ion of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law were 65 percent higher in 2019, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

In a statement at the Senate, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said preliminary data for the first semester of 2019 showed that TR AIN revenues reached P55.6 billion.

Dominguez said the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) exceeded their TRAIN targets by P1.8 billion and P1.7 billion, respectively. “ We are conf ident this growth will be sustained in the coming period through continuing administrative reforms and the completion of the Comprehensive Tax Reform

NEW GENERATION OF TYCOONS DOMINATES ‘FORBES’ PHL’S LIST

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

HE elite circle of the Philippines’s richest persons saw a huge reshuffle, according to a list compiled by Forbes Magazine, but the Sy siblings are still the country’s richest after their father, consistent top-notcher Henry Sy Sr., died; while the Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy made it into the rankings.

The Sy siblings make it to the list for the first time, replacing their father Henry Sr., as the country’s richest persons, a position which the late retail king held for 11 consecutive years.

The Sy siblings—Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert and Harley— have a combined net worth of $17.2 billion, stemming largely from the family’s SM Group, the country’s largest conglomerate.

Manuel Villar, the former politician-turned-businessman, is still the country’s second richest with a net worth of $6.6 billion. He is followed by John Gokongwei Jr., who retains his No. 3 spot with $5.3 billion, up from $4.4 billion; and Enrique Razon Jr., who rose one position to No. 4 at $5.1 billion, up from $3.9 billion.

See “Forbes,” A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

See “TRAIN law,” A2

Govt eyes ₧20B from fuel marking

T 1. TERESITA SY-COSON

2. MANUEL VILLAR

3. JOHN GOKONGWEI

4. ENRIQUE RAZON JR.

5. JAIME AUGUSTO ZOBEL DE AYALA

6. LUCIO TAN

7. TONY TAN CAKTIONG

8. RAMON ANG

9. ARTHUR TY

10. ANDREW TAN

Big gainer: Gotianun ONE of the biggest gainers on this year’s list is

Program that will make our tax system simpler, fairer and more efficient. In both revenue agencies, we are automating processes and strengthening control measures against slippages,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez also said that in the first eight months of 2019, total revenue collections reached P2.09 trillion. This is 9.5 percent or P182.2 billion higher than the same period last year.

He also said that P1.9 trillion or 90 percent of the government’s total revenue collection came from tax collections.

Tax collection grew 9.8 percent in the first eight months of 2019. BIR collections rose by 10.6 percent, or an additional P138.7 billion in revenues over the same period last year.

Meanwhile, BOC collections grew by 7.2 percent or a P27.7billion increase from the same period last year.

HE national government aims to collect at least P20 billion next year once the fuel marking effort is in place by January, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

During the Senate hearing of the DOF budget, Finance Undersecretary Antonette C. Tionko said the amount is half the estimated P40 billion in revenue lost to oil smuggling in the country.

“We’re hoping to collect at least, by next year, P20 billion, which is half of the estimated amount of the smuggled revenue,” Tionko said.

“That is our conservative [estimate].”

Fuel marking makes use of a unique chemical marker capable of being embedded at a molecular level in petroleum products—gasoline, diesel and kerosene—thereby See “Fuel,” A2

US 52.2620 n JAPAN 0.4850 n UK 64.5592 n HK 6.6672 n CHINA 7.3278 n SINGAPORE 37.9095 n AUSTRALIA 35.2769 n EU 57.2008 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9332 Source: BSP (26 September 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, September 27, 2019

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DOH to pitch 120 drugs for expanded cheaper-meds list

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

A

Correspondent

T least 120 drugs, addressing leading diseases and catastrophic conditions in the Philippines, are set to be recommended by the Department of Health (DOH) to the Office of the President (OP) as part of the agency’s efforts to lower prices of selected high cost medicines.

Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo said an updated list of medicines will be recommended to the OP for the imposition of maximum drug retail prices (MDRP) for drugs, pursuant to the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008 (Republic Act 9502).

T he proposed l ist of 120 drugs covers conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic lung diseases, neonatal diseases and

Pinoys. . .

Continued from A8

The Korean won has lost value to the US dollar, amid United States-China trade tensions and recent political tensions between the Republic of Korea and Japan.”

Outbound travel demand from the United States, the second world’s largest spender, remained solid in January to June, with a 7-percent increase in spending supported by a strong dollar. The US dollar appreciated 7 percent against the euro in this six-month period, based on monthly averages.

Demand from source markets in the European Union was rather mixed. Spending on international tourism by France (+8 percent) and Italy (+7 percent) was robust, though Germany (+2 percent) reported more moderate figures in view of a weaker economy. The United Kingdom saw spending grow 3 percent through March. Spain and Portugal’s spending increased in double-digits (both +10 percent), reflecting strong appetite for travel.

TRAIN law. . .

Continued from A1

Dominguez also said nontax revenues rose by 7.4 percent in the first eight months of 2019.

He traced this to the higher collections of cash dividends remitted by the GOCCs, which reached another record amount of P61.3 billion as of August of this year alone.

Dominguez described 2018 as a banner year for the DOF. This was made possible by the 56 government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) remitted dividends amounting to P51.24 billion.

The Finance chief said this is the highest amount ever collected, representing a 41-percent increase from the P36.46 billion collected in 2017.

“This includes cash and dividend contributions retained by government financial institutions to boost their capital requirements. The improved remittances speak much of the improvements in corporate governance among the GOCCs,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez said tax effort in 2018 also rose to 14.7 percent of GDP. This is the highest rate in two decades and closely matches the regional average.

He said this was largely due to the passage of the TRAIN law and efforts to continue administrative reforms in revenue agencies.

Fuel. . .

Continued from A1

enabling authorities to test, identify and distinguish fuels being sold in the market.

Tionko said the first fuel marking tests of marked products will begin by October. The DOF, she said, expects the full implementation of the program by January 2020.

“The team is in the process of working with the big refineries for installation of the automatic injec-

major cancers. The list also covers high cost treatments for chronic renal disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis which were requested by several patient organizations and medical societies for inclusion in the price reduction efforts of the government.

Domingo explained that while the general trend shows the prices of generic essential medicines have gone down in recent years, the Philippines is still paying higher prices

BSP. . .

Continued from A1

Firm domestic spending and progress on policy reforms will serve as a buffer against global headwinds.”

“Given these considerations, the Monetary Board believes that the benign inflation outlook provides room for a further reduction in the policy rate to support economic growth and reinforce market confidence,” the governor added.

Since being appointed as the BSP governor in March this year, Diokno already sat on five monetary policy setting meetings during his term, and three of those meetings yielded “rate cut” decisions.

Inflation will continue to fall

DIOKNO said the falling inflation­ in stark contrast to last year’s acceleration­allowed them to cut their rates further. The BSP has already punched in a total 75-basis-point cut for the year.

BSP Assistant Governor Edna Villa said the BSP’s inflation forecast was slightly reduced to 2.5 percent—as revealed by the governor on Wednesday. The inflation forecasts for 2020 and 2021, however, remained unchanged.

when compared internationally.

These are still sold up to four times the international reference prices whereas branded innovator products are sold up to 22 times higher, especially in private hospitals and pharmacies, he noted.

Under the maximum retail price scheme, prices of selected medicines are expected to have a mean price reduction of 56 percent from the prevailing market prices once an executive order is signed by President Duterte.

The current proposed list of drugs and medicines for price regulation was recommended by the Drug Price Advisory Council, created in August 2018, following the directive of the President to employ all possible mechanisms to make medicines affordable to Filipinos.

The advisory committee has independent technical experts from disciplines such as epidemiology, clinical medicine, economics, law, drug policy and competition policy.

Medicines were chosen on the

In the near term, Villa said inflation could continue to decelerate and breach to the low end of the target range primarily due to base effects. For 2020 and 2021, the assistant governor said they took into consideration the recovery in domestic growth and the positive adjustments as the impact of the rice tariffication tapers off.

The BSP also believes the balance of risks to the inflation outlook has shifted toward the upside for 2020, while it is seen to tilt to the downside for 2021.

“Upside risks to inflation over the near term emanate mainly from volatility in oil prices due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and from the potential impact of the African swine fever outbreak on food prices,” Diokno said.

“Meanwhile, the subdued pace of global economic activity continues to temper the inflation outlook,” he added.

Is that all for this year?

ASKED whether the BSP is done cutting rates for the year, BSP Director Dennis Lapid said their next move will depend particularly on growth prospects in and out of the country. He said they are looking at updates, particularly to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook.

The BSP official added that they are

basis of burden of disease in terms of magnitude and the severity of the conditions, high price arbitrage when compared with selected reference countries, and the presence of limited competition.

Domingo said the DOH has committed to work with all stakeholders toward a framework that will ensure improved patient access to and affordability of medicines.

Toward this end, DOH is currently exploring pooled bidding and framework contracting, central price negotiation and the creation of the outpatient drug benefit scheme under Universal Health Care, he said.

“High prices of medicines undermine the health of millions of Filipinos. Poor and middle-income families are especially vulnerable to being trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty, inequality, and debt because of the high cost of health care. We need to impose the MDRP if we want better health and societal outcomes for Filipinos,” Domingo said.

awaiting insights on the performance of the local economy so they are also waiting for the release of the third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) performance of the country.

For the reserve requirement ratio (RRR), meanwhile, Lapid said they are looking to closely monitor the data about the country’s liquidity conditions—such as the M3 and lending rates—to better understand the effect of deposit ratio cuts and plan their next move forward.

In a commentary following the meeting, Security Bank economist Robert Dan Roces shared this view, saying BSP guidance on further cuts to the RRR will be done after money supply and loan data is released in September 30, as this data tracks the complete effect of the prior 200-basis-point cut to the RRR. He also said that with the latest cut, BSP still has a significant policy space due to a 175 bps total rate hike from last year. This gives the Central Bank enough policy leeway to support the economy for the rest of 2019 and beyond, should government spending fail to revive growth.

“As we have mentioned earlier, government spending will carry the heavier burden of driving Philippine economic performance. Growth of 6 percent for the second half of 2019 is doable but increasingly challenging,” he added.

‘PHL, rest of Asean will take a hit from trade row as exports slow down’

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah

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HE trade conflict between the United States and China may be benefiting the Philippines in the short run, but the country, as with fellow Southeast Asian countries, is bound to take a stronger hit from an overall slowdown in export demand if the tariff war is protracted.

That’s why the Philippines has to take stronger action in pushing for the end of the trade conflict, according to Michael W. Michalak, senior vice president and regional managing director of the USAsean Business Council. “It is kind of hard to separate Asean from the rest of the trade figures because most of the trade figures are all put together,” he said.

“We have obviously seen an impact on trade as exports are down, and exports are down all over the world. I guess the most important thing about the conflict is that nobody wins a trade war. President Trump has said over and over again, trade wars are easy to win, [but] I don’t know on what he bases that,” Michalak said.

Based on government data, Philippine exports grew flat at 0.85 percent to $69.3 billion last year, from $68.71 billion in 2017. Shipments of electronic products, the country’s top exports, rose 4.9 percent to $38.32 billion, from $36.53 billion—although figures improved, it was lower than the semiconductor industry’s 2018 forecast of 6-percent growth.

“Even if Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia...do see an increase in foreign direct investments, an increase in piece in a smaller global pie is not sus-

AER. . .

Continued from A8

The Department of Agriculture, Social Welfare and Development, as well as the Department of Health should be up to the task,” Sta. Ana said.

Diphtheria confirmed

ON Thursday, meanwhile, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that a 10-year-old girl from Manila died of diphtheria.

Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo said the girl tested positive for the disease based on findings of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

On September 17, the girl showed symptoms of fever, sore throat, mouth sore, and difficulty of breathing. Three days later she was admitted to Santa Ana Hospital but died.

Citing records from Kahilom Health Center, DOH discovered that the girl had an incomplete vaccination history.

With this case, the DOH urged parents to

Forbes. . .

Continued from A1

ASF. . .

Continued from A8

said. “The DTI has also called for restraint on the uncoordinated and unilateral pronouncement of individual LGUs,” he added.

“A conditional ban on pork meat and processed meats is in order. There are rules governing these and these rules should be followed,” Agarrado told the BusinessMirror.

“A total and unconditional ban, unilaterally called, on the entry of pork and pork-based processed meats products to Mindanao insinuates a total distrust in the system,” Agarrado added.

Agarrado noted that concerned government authorities such as the Department of Agriculture have issued rules for movement and trade of porkbased processed meat products in the country.

“Likewise, the Department of Health’s Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has issued rules covering processed meats. The Department of Trade and Industry has called for the consumers to continue to patronize pork and processed meats as these are safe for human consumption,” he

SMC’s guarantee

tion of the marker. In the meantime, the marking is done manually now because, for the big refineries, it will have to be through their equipment and it’s automatically injected because of the volumes,” Tionko said.

Earlier, a group of oil companies expressed full support to the fuel marking program in a bid to curb smuggling and deter revenue leakages.

The Philippine Institute of Petroleum (PIP) said it has been working closely with the DOF to ensure the program’s proper and effective implementation.

Members of the PIP include Chevron Philippines Inc., Isla LPG Corp., Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., PTT Philippines Corp. and Total Philippines Corp.

The DOF consulted PIP member-companies on the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) in June. Initial visits were also conducted by the DOF, along with implementing bodies Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue, and fuel-marking provider Sicpa/SGS in several PIP-member facilities.

IN a separate statement issued on Thursday, San Miguel Foods reiterated and assured the public that its products are “safe to eat and are not affected by ASF.” “The pork ingredients in Purefoods chilled, frozen, and processed products are produced from company-controlled hog breeding, growing, and slaughtering facilities that observe the highest level of biosecurity measures and processing plants that have passed all stringent requirements of BAI and FDA,” it said.

“With regard to imported meat parts, Purefoods only uses materials that come from ASF-free countries and have passed all the Veterinary Quarantine requirements of the exporting countries,” it added.

San Miguel Foods added that its chilled

products like hot dogs, bacon and canned products like luncheon meats are cooked in high temperatures, thereby destroying harmful viruses like ASF, and making them safe for consumption by humans.

It is also important to note that ASF does not affect humans and, therefore, does not pose any risk to human health, the firm added.

“San Miguel Foods, which carries the Purefoods brand, echoes the statements of the DTI and the DA that its products are safe and should be allowed distribution in supermarkets and wet markets nationwide,”the company said.

“Purefoods also produces products that do not contain pork, which should remain available for consumers nationwide to enjoy: chicken hot dogs, nuggets, corned beef, chicken ham, and other chicken and beef-based products,”it added.

The firm added that it “will continue to cooperate with authorities as it remain fully committed to the highest standards of quality and food safety in all our products.” Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas Prior to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, the government was losing approximately P40 billion in revenues due to petroleum smuggling, according to various independent studies.

PIP said the program will address the shortfall in revenue collection provided that it is done on a level playing field.

It has consistently stressed that the program has to be implemented across all industry players in order for it to be fully effective.

Cai U. Ordinario

Mercedes Gotianun (No. 12), whose wealth surged 91 percent to $2.2 billion as shares in her Filinvest soared after posting a 31-percent increase in net income for 2018.

The Ty siblings of GT Capital— Arthur, Alfred, Alesandra and Anjanette—enter the list at ninth with a combined net worth of $2.6 billion.

They succeeded their father George Ty. The late tycoon had built GT into a major conglomerate with interests in autos, banking, insurance, power generation and real estate.

Another set of second-generation successors, the Campos siblings— Jocelyn, Joselito and Jeffrey—debut on the list at No. 23, replacing their late family matriarch Beatrice Campos. Their combined net worth of $650 million comes from the country’s pharmaceutical giant

tainable. That’s why nobody wins a trade war,” Michalak argued.

Michalak, a former US diplomat to Vietnam, may be right about this. Shipments of electronic items to China expanded 23.68 percent to $4.7 billion in 2017, from $3.8 billion in 2016, but only increased 6.17 percent to $4.99 billion last year.

The US and China have been engaged in a trade conflict for over one year now, tracing back to when US President Donald J. Trump slapped duties on washing machines and solar panels and, subsequently, increased tariffs on steel and aluminum. The past year saw the US imposing 25-percent tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports.

The tariff race between the world’s largest economies is slowing down global economy. In August the World Trade Organization projected growth of world merchandise trade will likely remain weak in the third quarter and in the months after.

The trade conflict between the world’s largest economies has recently taken Manila’s proposed freetrade agreement with Washington as a casualty. The Office of the US Trade Representative has put on hold all efforts to negotiate a trade deal with the Philippines as it settles the China situation first.

Whatever Southeast Asian economies stand to gain in the tariff war resulting from capital flight from China, this will be offset by overall slower demand for their exports, Michalak projected. As such, he advised state officials to reevaluate their statements before claiming their country will benefit from the trade conflict.

ensure that their children receive the complete dose of all recommended vaccines in their first year of life.

“We must equally protect our infants and young children from other vaccine-preventable diseases, namely, diphtheria, pertussis [or whooping cough], and tetanus through immunization,”Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque said.

Cases of diphtheria and other infectious diseases are being monitored by the Epidemiology Bureau regularly. From January 2019 to September 2019, there have been 167 cases and 40 deaths compared to 122 cases and 30 deaths cases in the same period in 2018. The reasons for the trend are being investigated.

Aside from heightened immunization, the anti-toxin for diphtheria is available in the country, through the assistance of the World Health Organization.

The DOH reminded the public that antibiotics for diphtheria, namely penicillin, erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin, are locally and commercially available.

With Claudeth M. Ciriaco

Unilab. Jocelyn, the eldest of the three, is now chairman of the company cofounded by their late father.

The Sy, Ty and Campos siblings are among the six newcomers on the list which also included three self-made entrepreneurs.

Dennis Uy made the list after net assets of his Udenna group rose 28 percent in 2018. Uy is awaiting approval for the backdoor listing of Udenna on the Philippine Stock Exchange. He ranks No. 22 on the list with a net worth of $660 million.

Delfin Wenceslao (No. 25) makes his debut with a net worth of $500 million after taking real-estate developer D.M. Wenceslao and Associates public in June 2018.

Antonio Lee Tiu, also a first-timer, is ranked No. 49 with a net worth of $135 million as shares of AgriNurture, the agri-products company he founded 22 years ago, rose steady over the past three years.

Contractualization. . .

“Considering that it is the Department of Labor and Employment which is responsible in the determination of the qualifications and approval of the registration of a legitimate job contractor, it logically follows that it should be the DOLE, and not the employer, which shall be held accountable in case an approved legitimate job contractor is subsequently found to be engaged in illegal practices,” they said.

Management should only be brought to litigation if it is found transacting services and contracts out jobs with an unregistered or unaccredited contractor, employers claimed.

Outside of that, it should be the service provider’s liability only, they added.

“Lastly, to hold a principal solidarily liable

Continued from A8

for the acts of its contractor will turn off foreign direct investors as they would not understand why the Philippines, of all countries, have to have this onerous provision,” employers said.

This proposal, among others, were transmitted by businesses to the DOLE, as the labor office crafts the Cabinet version of a measure guaranteeing workers their security of tenure. The previous SOT bill, which was passed by both houses of Congress, was vetoed in July

by President Duterte.

The President, in his veto message, said the measure could affect the efficiency and economy of the operations of firms, which could hinder businesses from expanding or hiring additional workers. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

A4

Friday, September 27, 2019

The World BusinessMirror

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

US sanctions on China tanker firms rattle global oil shipping industry

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LOBAL oil shipping was thrown into disarray after the US imposed penalties on a handful of Chinese tanker firms for continuing to carry Iranian crude after sanctions waivers lapsed in May. Four shipping companies including a unit of Cosco Shipping Corp. were charged with knowingly violating restrictions on handling and transacting Iranian petroleum, with additional sanctions placed against executives and two other companies that control the firms, according to statements from the US Treasury and State Departments.

Oil traders in Asia scrambled to respond, canceling bookings with sanctioned entities and letting provisional charters lapse as they attempted to avoid being drawn into the stand off between Washington and Tehran. The penalties bar US citizens and companies from dealing with the firms, effectively blocking them from American banks at the heart of the global financial system.

The White House’s announcement also raised uncertainty among shippers on whether cargos that have already been loaded onto the vessels of sanctioned firms would be allowed to deliver, or whether they would have to transfer their loads to unsanctioned tankers.

“The sanctions this time are more direct and will have an immediate effect on anyone chartering sanctioned tonnage,” said John Driscoll, chief strategist at JTD Energy Service Pte. “These latest moves are likely to add more inconvenience and result in higher costs. Anyone time-chartering tonnage from a sanctioned owner better have a Plan B.”

Trade war impact

THE sanctions could also complicate talks to end the US-China

trade war, which are set to resume in Washington next month. China, the world’s largest crude buyer, continues to import relatively small amounts of oil and petroleum products from Iran despite the White House blocking such purchases in May. “This is one of the largest sanctions actions the United States has taken against entities and individuals identified as transporting Iranian oil since our sanctions were reimposed in November 2018,” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a statement.

China Concord Petroleum Co., Kunlun Shipping Co., Pegasus 88 Ltd., and Cosco Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co. have been charged with knowingly violating restrictions on handling and transacting Iranian petroleum. Additional restrictions were also imposed on five executives at the companies, as well as Kunlun Holding Co. and Cosco Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co., which own or control one or more of the sanctioned entities.

The Cosco Dalian entity is 100 percent owned by Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation Co., which is a subsidiary of Cosco Shipping,

the world’s second-largest shipping company by container fleet size, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Cosco Dalian owns or operates anywhere from 20 to 50 petroleum tankers worldwide, according to estimates from industry sources. Vessel ownership can be an opaque corner of the global shipping market.

The parents and other subsidiaries of Cosco Dalian are not affected by the sanctions, the Treasury Department said. Cosco Shipping Energy halted trading in Hong Kong on Thursday after the announcement.

The companies did not immediately respond or declined to comment.

Canceled bookings

SEVERAL oil tankers owned by the Cosco Dalian unit had their bookings canceled, while others saw provisional charters fall through, according to shipbrokers and charterers who asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.

The sanctions are aimed at denying the Iranian regime critical income to engage in foreign conf licts, advance its ballistic

missile development, and fund ter ror ism a round t he world, Pompeo said. These penalties are due t o t he t r a n s p or t of I r a n i a n c r u d e oi l , a nd t he U S i s s i m i l a r l y conc e r ne d a b out t he e x p or t of I r a n i a n re f i ne d p e t rol e u m pro du c t s , he s a id .

China imported 788,000 tons of crude from Iran in August, Chinese customs data show. That compares with a monthly average of 2.4 million tons last year.

This isn’t the first time Kunlun Holding and Kunlun Shipping have been involved with Iran-related transactions. Last month, the companies were linked to several seized tankers in Singapore, after a bank sought to take over the vessels due to suspicion that their owners appeared to breach US sanctions, leading to a loan default.

In Ju ly, t he US sa nct ioned Chinese state oil trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Co., a secretive company w it h l in k s to t he Chinese m i l it a r y. T he compa ny has a histor y of taking Iranian cr ude a nd f uel, at t imes as pa r t of ba r ter dea ls for good s or ser v ices, a nd t hen sel l ing it on to ref iners in C h ina. Bloomberg News

Southeast Asia’s top travel app is getting into fintech

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R AV ELOK A , Sout hea st Asia’s largest online travel start-up, is getting into financial ser vices.

The start-up backed by Expedia Group Inc. and JD.com Inc. will issue a credit card with Indonesia’s PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk linked to its booking services. The travel app is targeting many users across the Indonesian archipelago who have little or no access to traditional banking or reliable Internet.

Founded by three engineers in 2012, Traveloka—said to be valued at around $2 billion in 2017—has expanded across Southeast Asia by making it easier for consumers to book flights and hotels within the region. It’s raised at least $500 million from investors, including Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia.

Henry Hendrawan, president of Traveloka operations, said the card was one facet of building a fintech business to complement

its travel, accommodation and lifestyle services.

“In anything we do in financial services, we will always look to go with strong partners,” Hendrawan said in an interview, adding that he expects to unveil more products and partners in the near future.

“This is a perfect example.”

With a population of more than 620 million and growing middle class, Southeast Asia is expected to see its online travel market almost triple from about $30 billion in 2018 to $78 billion in 2025, according to Google and Temasek Holdings Pte. By 2025, 57 percent of bookings will be made online, up from 34 percent in 2015.

Traveloka operates in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. Customers will be able to use its card in Indonesia and around the world for both online and offline transactions via Visa Inc.’s network. Bloomberg News

Japan welcomes US trade pact, but automakers appeal for help

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OK YO —Japanese automakers on Thursday urged the government to do more to support the industry after their government signed a trade deal with the US that kept auto tariffs unchanged.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Donald J. Trump, both attending the UN General Assembly in New York, signed a trade agreement covering agricultural, industrial and digital trade.

The Japanese auto industry has been a main target of criticism from Trump. Automakers were hoping to see tariffs eliminated, but Japan only managed to keep them at 2.5 percent and win a US promise of no more for now.

The agreement only allows Japan to delay auto tariff threats from the US but does not resolve the issue. Chances that the Trump administration will agree to their elimination are considered slim.

Negotiations began last year after Trump complained about the huge American trade deficit against Japan and threatened higher tariffs and other measures.

Hours after the signing in New York, Trade Minister Isshu Sugawara and top ministry officials invited top automakers to a meeting in Tokyo, to gain their understanding about the trade agreement.

There, Toyota Motor Cor p.

President A kio Toyoda urged government to do more for the auto industr y. “ The auto industr y already faces extremely difficult challenges amid the rising Japanese yen, the possible impact from the upcoming sales tax increase and other uncertainties,” said a grim-faced Toyoda.

“We do hope that the Japanese gover nment understands the severe situation and provide us further support to help the auto industry to strengthen its competitiveness and grow as a strategic industry,” said Toyoda, who also heads the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Sugawara said the deal would help assure free and fair trade between the nations.

“This pact would promote a free and fair trade environment in the area of autos and auto parts between Japan and the United States, and we welcome that,” he said.

Tr u mp s ou g ht a bi l ate r a l a g r e e m e nt w it h Ja p a n , t h e world ’s third-largest economy, after pulling the US out of the Tra n s -Pac i f ic Pa r t nersh ip, a Pacific-rim trade pact. AP

FACEBOOK TIGHTENS RULES ON POLITICAL ADS IN SINGAPORE BEFORE ELECTION

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AC E B O O K has introduced tighter regulations for political advertisements in Singapore that require identity and location disclosures ahead of a looming election in the city-state.

The social-media giant has come under fire in recent years for allowing the spread of misinformation and foreign interference in global elections. It’s decided to enhance ad transparency in Singapore after applying those rules in the US, the UK and Brazil, the company announced in a blog post Thursday.

Advertisers posting about social and political issues—including civil rights, immigration, crime and governance—will be required to provide a phone number, e-mail and web site if they want to publish under the names of their organizations or official Facebook pages. They will also have their ads and disclaimer information stored within Facebook Inc.’s Ad Library for seven years. “ To e n a b l e h e a l t h y d i s c o u r s e i n

Singapore, we’ve taken steps to reduce the spread of misinformation, help prevent foreign interference in elections and—more recently—to bring greater transparency and authenticity to advertising,” Facebook wrote in the post.

The regulations come as Singapore is gearing up to announce general elections, which must be held by April 2021 though the ruling par t y has called for early polls in recent c ycles. On Wednesday, Singaporean Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam questioned the a b i l i t y o f te c h co m p a n i e s to h a n d l e widespread misinformation on their own.

“I think the clear answer is no,” he said.

Government criticisms

HIS comments are the latest in a string of government criticisms leveled against socialmedia companies. Last year, the Ministry of Law called the social-media giant unreliable after it declined a request to remove a post

linking Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the city-state with 1MDB allegations.

Disillusioned by the private sector’s approach to disinformation campaigns, Shanmugam said Singapore may take matters into its own hands by introducing legislation to counter foreign attempts to influence domestic politics.

In May, Singapore took a tougher stance on misinformation after lawmakers passed a bill to combat “fake news,” a move that faced heavy criticism from rights groups who say it threatens the city-state’s free press. Tan Cheng Bock, a former ruling party member turned opposition leader, has criticized the law, saying it could be used to muzzle dissent.

Further legislation, the minister said, could specifically target the flow of funds, as well as restrict “foreign participation in the leadership of specific organizations,” Shanmugam told an academic conference.

Bloomberg News

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Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, September 27, 2019 A5

Namfrel: Legal basis needed for resetting Barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan elections

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LECTION watchdog National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) on Thursday rejected the move of Congress to postpone the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections without needed legal basis.

In a statement, Namfrel said the “necessary condition” stipulated by the Philippine Omnibus Election Code to justify a deferment is missing in this congressional move.

Under Section 5 of the Philippine Omnibus Election Code, resetting

the date of polls is justified based on the following conditions, if there is the presence of “violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, force majeure, and other analogous causes of such a nature that the holding

of a free, orderly and honest election should become impossible in any political subdivision.”

It said it is the Commission on Elections which will make this determination by conducting public hearings.

“None of these conditions exist, and no such consultations with the voting public ever took place,” Namfrel said.

Namfrel has consistently lobbied against moves to reset the date of any electoral activity since it violates the rights of voters to pick their elected

officials in a regular manner.

“Not holding elections regularly could undermine the democratic process of ensuring the citizens’ right to choose their leaders and make them accountable,” Namfrel said. Samuel P. Medenilla

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Friday, September 27, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

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editorial

This is federalism

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FEDERAL system of government is best embodied in the traditional motto of the United States of America. Adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782, that motto is E pluribus unum— Latin for “Out of many, one.”

Federal systems are created from individual states, kingdoms, or other types of government units coming together under the umbrella of a national central government. The powers granted to the US national government were specifically limited. Powers are granted to the federal government in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which include the power to coin money, to regulate commerce, to declare war, to raise and maintain armed forces, and to establish a Post Office. Further, Amendment 10 of the Constitution states that powers not given to the national government and not forbidden to the states are reserved to the states.

Therefore, federal states are given the power of taxation, spending, and the right to pass laws on issues that were not reserved for the central government and do not contradict national law.

Over the centuries all national governments have taken away a great amount of the original power of the individual states under federalism.

But the heart of a federal system is that these local units have their individual taxation and spending power.

The Philippine Supreme Court just rendered a decision increasing the internal revenue allotment of local government units (LGUs) to 40 percent of all taxes collected—from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs—starting 2022, from 30 percent of the BIR’s collection.

The initial reaction from the Department of Finance was immediate and clear. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said: “That’s going to create a fiscal problem which in our estimates, without doing anything, would drive up our deficit from the current ceiling of 3.2 percent to 4.1 percent. That is not acceptable.”

To make a federal system work, local units must have more control over their own spending. Granting a percentage of the national government revenue has been provided by law for some time.

However, the national government will always continue to need the bulk of revenues collected to fund national based programs.

But if LGUs are going to have the power to decide how public money is spent, then they must also be responsible for collecting those funds from their own residents.

Secretary Dominguez went on to say that there are some solutions. LGUs should take over the funding and administration of some national government programs. “For example, and this is just an example, the cost of the local schools. Basically, tell them, you pay for the teachers, you pay for the buildings.”

LGUs with an agricultural based economy might also take over the funding and spending for projects directly related to agriculture. The variations could go on and on.

What this legal ruling does, though, is highlight that changing to a federal system entails detailed planning and making sure that all the financial specifics are clear before any change is made.

Federalism is not only about the political aspects—such as a parliament—but the more important and critical economic aspects.

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TELLTALES

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HO was the biggest political thorn on the side of President Manuel L. Quezon during the pre-war years? Not General Emilio Aguinaldo nor Bishop Gregorio Aglipay who both ran against Quezon in the 1935 Commonwealth elections for president. Not Sergio Osmeña Sr. and Manuel A. Roxas who led the campaign for self-government and US recognition of the Philippine independence, which brought home the HareHawes-Cutting Act in 1933.

His most noteworthy political nemesis was a young political upstart from a small town in Camarines Norte that now proudly bears his name. He had the gift of gab and the power of the pen. He was awarded the Quezon Gold Medal in the UP Oratorical Contest and was the voice of the youth during the formative years of our government.

He served as the editor in chief of the Philippine Collegian and president of UP Student Council during his time. While still in high school, he had published several short stories in various national publications and won practically every writing contest while he was in UP. He cofounded the College Editors Guild and became its first president. He was the captain of the UP Debating Team whose members included Ambrocio Padilla, Arturo Tolentino

and Estanislao Fernandez who all became distinguished senators. He founded the Young Philippines Party, which counted as members Arturo Tolentino, Lorenzo Sumulong, Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand Marcos, Domocao Alonto, Jose Laurel Jr., Macapanton Abbas and many others who all became prominent figures in Philippine politics. He led the first students demonstrations before Congress to protest the insertion of a provision in the appropriations act, which granted the legislators a salary increase. He organized the Pan Malayan Movement comprising of students from the Philippines, Siam, Malay Peninsula, Dutch East Indies and Polynesia. He placed third in the 1933 Bar Examination despite his involvement in various extracurricular activities.

He campaigned for Aguinaldo

Crisis in public health

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso

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Senior Editors

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‘Wenceslao Q. Vinzons: The Hero the Nation Forgot’

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

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ROTHERS and sisters, after 19 years of the Philippines being polio-free, the Department of Health has recorded one confirmed case of polio in the province of Lanao del Sur. A second case was then recorded in Laguna. Polio was found positive in samples of water examined by DOH from the cities of Manila and Davao. One case of polio is enough for DOH to declare an epidemic of an infectious and dangerous disease, which is sad because this disease can be prevented by vaccine.

In February, an outbreak of measles was declared in certain regions.

According to DOH records, the number of cases of measles in the country reached almost 40,000, causing the death of more than 500 people.

The Philippines was one of countries with major measles outbreaks in the world. Again, this could have been avoided if the victims, particularly children, were vaccinated ahead of time.

Meanwhile, the rampant dengue epidemic continues in the country.

From January to June this year, 146,000 dengue cases have been recorded, and not less than 600 people have died. Some say this could have been averted if the vaccine Dengvaxia wasn’t politicized. But it is clear that the spread of measles and the return of polio could have been avoided if parents didn’t fear having their children vaccinated. It’s alarming to see the declining rate of children taking vaccinations because of parents fearing about the safety of their children. Sadly, vaccination

for president in the 1935 election. Quezon won by a landslide, but lost in three provinces: Cavite, Aguinaldo’s home province; Ilocos, Aglipay’s home province, and Camarines Norte, the young man’s home province. After elections, he strongly denounced massive election fraud in a political rally in Cavite. He was charged with sedition for which he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. He appealed and was acquitted by the CA. He was the Benjamin of the 1934-1935 Philippine Constitutional Convention.

He was still underage at the time of the election but the Convention decided to retain him. He was elected governor in 1940 and congressman in 1941, where in both occasions he was one of the only two oppositionists around the country to win against the administration bets. He was an oasis in the vast wasteland of Philippine politics.

Soon after the outbreak of the war, he organized our country’s first citizen army and just 10 days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Clark Airfield, his troops ambushed the advancing Japanese forces on its way to Daet. This signaled the birth of the guerilla resistance in the Philippines. Deserting USAFFE soldiers joined and reinforced his ragtag army, which also included Aeta elements who used bows and poisoned arrows to fight the invaders. They engaged the enemies in fierce battles, attacked Japanese garrisons and staged ambushes. His forces recaptured the town of Daet

from the hands of the invaders and occupied the capital town for 25 days.

The infuriated Japanese spared no resources to capture him. And the rest is history.

He and his family were eventually captured. The Japanese high command asked for his cooperation by urging his men to surrender in exchange for his freedom, but he gallantly declined. He was dead at age 31. And what a glorious death it was at the hands of the enemy who also killed his father, wife and two of his children. Their remains lie in unlocated and unmarked graves. In the words of former Speaker Jose B. Laurel Jr. who lamented his loss: “But brilliant though his record was in the council of peace, it was to shine with greater brilliance in the demanding crucible of war.”

He blazed a political trail, which is unparalleled up to now. “His brand of politics—fearless, principled and uncompromising—would awe many readers and cause them to wonder where indeed had gone politicians of his ilk.” Those were the apt words of UP President Alfredo Pascual who wrote the foreword of his only known biography. He was the voice of the future, the best and the brightest of his generation and the hope of his country. He was one of a kind and we may not see the likes of him again. His saga is chronicled in a biography written by Efren Yambot: “Wenceslao Q. Vinzons: The Hero the Nation Forgot.” Tomorrow, September 28, we will observe his 109th birth anniversary.

has become a controversial topic, with some officials even escalating the heat about the vaccine against dengue. These officials insist that Dengvaxia is the cause of deaths among children who got these vaccines despite the absence of sufficient proof.

The spread of diseases that can be prevented not only through maintaining cleanliness in our environment but also through our trust in science, instead of people who aren’t experts in the field of public health, is quite worrying.

But we are now here in this situation, and pointing fingers and passing blame without clear direction aren’t helpful at all. We are sure that the DOH is doing everything it can to take control of the situation. Our hardworking health workers continue to do their job, visiting communities and trying to convince parents to have their children vaccinated against measles and polio.

The effort of local governments to help eradicate the spread of dengue through the cleaning of areas inhabited by mosquitoes is admirable. But let this serve as a reminder that all of us have a role to play in helping prevent dreadful diseases.

If the services that ensure the health of the people are properly delivered, we may say that the government truly gives importance to the life and dignity of man, the foundation of talks in regards to public health if we use the scope of the social teachings of the Church.

The right to live comes first for an individual, and it is accompanied by the right to attain any help in maintaining his or her well-being, like having sufficient health care. If the people can acquire their rights in proper health care, we are enabled to take care of our bodies, as it is said in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.”

Brothers and sisters, apart from asserting our rights to proper health services, we all need to cooperate and do our share in helping ensure the health of all Filipinos.

Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 Ang Radyo ng Simbahan in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph and follow its Twitter and Instagram accounts @veritasph and YouTube at veritas846.ph. For your comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

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Thinking beyond a mass transit system to solve traffic

Shots of faith Tito Genova Valiente

ANNOTATIONS

Victor S. Venida, PhD

EAGLE WATCH Part Two

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LOT of discussions lately have focused on the need for an efficient and effective urban railway system for Metro Manila as a “solution” to the traffic problem. In fact, it has also been proposed for adoption in Cebu and Davao. There already are construction ongoing for the expansion of the existing elevated railway lines of Metro Manila. The extensions of LRT 1 and 2, the new lines along Commonwealth and the subway linking BGC with Ortigas and Makati business district are eagerly being anticipated.

There are, however, other factors that would be needed for an urban railway system to effectively provide mobility for urban dwellers. For one thing, anyone who uses mass transit is automatically a pedestrian, one who has to walk distances to move around. This would mean that the pedestrian sidewalks do need to be cleared of many obstructions (which was what gained the newly elected mayor of Manila a lot of fans and likes), they also need to be widened. A lot of streets have lost their sidewalks to road widening (like along Taft Avenue and stretches of Aurora Boulevard in Cubao) and to parking lots. Establishments are allowed to encroach on the sidewalk as parking for customers, and this makes walking quite inconvenient; the uneven level of parking lots and the intrusion of vehicles slow down anyone walking along these segments. If one multiplies this with the huge number of pedestrians, this would mean an even slower pace of walking and longer time moving around as one also has to

the next 50 years would need wider access stairs and more entry and exit points to the stations.

Finally, any train commuter cannot choose the stops; these are, of course, fixed. This means that for many train riders, they would also need to access to other modes of transport. In developed countries, the entrance to many train and subway stations are located near a bus stop, for several bus lines. The train rider would need to take the bus or other available modes of transport from his/ her origin to the station and from the station to the destination as the train stations could be located quite far away from the origin and destination points. This easy access to other transport modes do not seem to be available for many of the current train stations, and one wonders if this consideration has been incorporated in the design of the stations. At the LRT 2 station of Katipunan Avenue, on the south side, a rather large lot is used as the terminal for FXs and jeeps to different destinations to Marikina,

There are other factors that would be needed for an urban railway system to effectively provide mobility for urban dwellers. For one thing, anyone who uses mass transit is automatically a pedestrian, one who has to walk distances to move around. This would mean that the pedestrian sidewalks need to be cleared of many obstructions, and they also need to be widened. wait for the other people who have little choice but to tread carefully around parked vehicles, or who have to watch out for the uneven heights of the parking areas, or who have to stop to let cars park or leave. This then to a degree explains the need for many to ride on a tricycle for even short distances, and tricycles do add to the volume of vehicles on the roads.

And if one considers the growing number of commuters and people who need to travel regularly from place of residence to place of work or school, then the train stations need to improve direct access to larger and larger numbers of riders.

Unfortunately, many stations have narrow staircases and entrances, and have been designed with very few access gates. This then causes such long lines and adds on the travel time of commuters. Trains and stations, like all other constructions, can remain for decades and in many ways, the LRT 1 and 2 and MRT systems were completed when the population of Metro Manila was far less than it is now.

Whatever savings in time of travel on the trains (or the so-called linehaul time) can be negated by the long queues to enter and to exit the stations. Metro Manila is estimated to have a resident population of around 13.8 million as of 2019 and is projected to reach about 18.35 million in 2035; this does not include those in the towns and cities immediately surrounding NCR where a lot of people work inside the NCR, and the visitors to the metropolis. A train system for

San Mateo, Montalban/Rodriguez, Cainta and Antipolo. There used to be a well-managed system for riders to queue in a very orderly manner, with plastic stool chairs available for those in the long queues. The FX and jeep drivers had an association that managed this terminal and it was very convenient for commuters. Unfortunately, a year and a half ago, this was closed and the area is now filled with stalls, which are mostly empty or closed, with one or two selling food and beverage.

For the commuters, they now have to go to the edge of Aurora Boulevard and go back to the old system of running after jeeps and FXs. Or many who used to take their rides from here would rather just go to Araneta Center, Cubao, where there still is an orderly system of queues to the jeeps and FXs. One wonders if the new LRT lines and the subway have stations designed for access to other modes of transport.

Thus, for those who insist on an improved urban railway system as a solution to the so-called traffic “problem” of Metro Manila (and of other urban centers in the country), the effectiveness of rail to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads will depend on more space for pedestrian walks and lanes, and for buses, jeeps and FXs at the train stations, and more space within the stations themselves for the larger volume of riders. This would mean narrower road space all over the city. There’s the rub.

The author is a professor at the Department of Economics, Ateneo de Manila University.

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HE recently held Peñafrancia Fiesta in Naga City allowed me to see how the new media and devices could help elevate one’s notion of rituals. For those who were not in the city, there were many streaming videos of what was happening in the pilgrim city of Naga—from the land procession to the riverine pageantry.

The quality of photographs and the videos also showed how these generations have embraced and developed their skills with the new technologies. I could even see how one of my nephews began the day of the festivities from the preparation at his home, then to the crowd massing in front of the shrine.

In another generation and another time, I would have been left with limited choices. I could have stayed at home and listened to the annotations of the radio announcers. I could have watched the TV and followed the events at each juncture.

Or, I could have brought myself to a vantage point and watched the pomp and pageantry unfold. With Facebook and Messenger and many other new ways, I was going through the Peñafrancia on a more heightened sense.

There were so many photos of the two main processions that I was reveling in the angles and choices of the photographers. The drone was the almighty point-of-view: boats snaked down the river.

Would the pre-Magellanic Serpent said to be hiding deep in the Bikol River rear its head for the cameras and mobile phones?

On this fiesta, everybody became documentarians.

The Internet also enabled me very quick opportunities to share a photo. In seconds, I was “posting” photos and sharing videos. In this regard, I was very traditional first in that I tried very hard to find out who was behind the photo or the video. I would contact them and seek their permission to use their photos. But as the scenes and pictures piled up, I was buoyed up by the sensation of being in the moment, I went into a frenzy of sharing. As with any act of posting, the comments were coming in fast and furious too, as quickly as the images appeared online.

I found a photograph and labeled it “my favorite.” It showed the icon of the Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia already taken out of her carroza and being moved to the altar at the Basilica. At that point, the cortege, I imagined, had survived the jostling

and pushing as the image was removed from the barge and into the arms of the priests. The photo arrested a violent scene: a burly priest was rushing away his soutane hugging his body as he seemed to run headlong and prepare the way for the Virgin.

Behind him were other priests. Two were seen in front bearing the Virgin whose image was now standing on a small scaffold while more were guarding the rear side of the icon. The priests were all in white and around them were seminarians also in white, forming a cordon that will push the laypersons milling outside the line.

The energy of the photo urged me to comment how, in the end, the sacred guards took over and banished the laymen to the side. Immediately, a short debate ensued.

Halfway through my newfound

Friday, September 27, 2019

passion, a friend commented how he did not have the idea that the Peñafrancia was “this big.” This inspired me to be purposive in my selection of images. That comment seconded by another friend inspired me to add comments to each photo. I was annotating the fiesta. I was in the festivities of my city. There was no need to tell anyone I was somewhere else. That information was irrelevant and unnecessary. I could have been there in that crowd shouting “Viva” or I could have been by the bank of the river nervous how the return of the Virgin Mother to Her shrine would go. I was in Manila that time.

Then Elvert, one of these friends, said, “cinematic.” This was expected because this friend is a filmmaker.

He was looking at the pagoda, golden with the candles, the river throwing off blue tint against the fading sheen of the twilight. I, too, was looking at the barge and the sadness that pervaded the riverscape. It would make good cinema.

Old believers always treated the fluvial procession as a real journey home for the Virgin.

The boat in the photo was not only gliding over the river filled up by the rains that never disappointed the devotees; she was going back to her home by the River. This journey may have a different meaning from the side of the institutional Church, but for the people, this journey home is a bittersweet one. She will be away

for a year, very much like a beloved who stays away for some time, makes a visit, and leaves again.

“Do you know that women are not allowed in that boat?” I mentioned that fact casually; whereupon a chorus of “why” ensued. Even Vincent, a friend from high school asked the same question. “You didn’t know, Vincent,” my voice was even more incredulous.

I rattled off reasons, mostly developed from social-scientific perspective. Not answering the question directly, I mentioned other rituals from other cultures where women are not allowed to participate. I talked about taboos and the impurity of women not allowing them to approach sacred sites. I could have gone on and on, but I sensed an indifference to my perspective. I remember posting another photo. This was of a young man, cool and composed, as he walked over the heads of other bearers of the Virgin.

Again, the online house was divided: one half cursed the man for being vulgar and showy about his faith and another half admired him for his devotion.

If women would not question why they are not allowed to be with the Ina, the Mother in her boat on her way home, then a man walking on a sea of humans is the most credible photo of faith, love and devotion. No question about that.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

Expanded Sotto Law: Protecting journalists from legal and security threats

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RESIDENT Duterte has signed a long-awaited law expanding coverage of the so-called Sotto Law, which previously only exempted from prosecution the publisher, editors or reporters of a publication for refusing to reveal their news sources.

Republic Act 114581, which expanded the coverage of Republic Act 53, now also exempts broadcast and online journalists from having to reveal their sources for their news.

The only exemption to the “shield” law is if the topic covered by a news article deals with “security of the State,” which could be invoked by a court, the House of Representatives, the Senate or any committee of Congress.

“While the law is silent on what constitutes security of the State, we believe that we may be guided by pertinent case laws which use the clear and present danger rule to tackle the subject in relation to the constitutional concept of free press,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement.

“The President has reinforced jurisprudence on the matter which pronounces that, ‘[t]he sanctity of a

newsman’s source of information is not only intended to protect a newsman but also the source of his information. When a person transmits confidential information to a newsman, he is exercising his freedom of speech on condition of anonymity,” Panelo said.

Below is the full text of a speech delivered on Wednesday, September 25, 2019, by Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, grandson of the Sotto Law’s author, in reaction to the signing of the expanded law: “I am grateful to President Duterte for recognizing the importance of this measure. I have always been and will always be a strong advocate of the freedom of information and an avid guardian of the rights that our journalists justly deserve.

“The Philippine media will always thrive in the freedoms that our forefathers have sought and successfully won to ensure democracy in our country. Our Constitution and our laws ensure that the right of the public to fair, accurate and reliable information will never be trampled upon, and that

SOTTO

constitutional privileges enjoyed by members of the media industry will always be recognized and respected.

“The enactment of Republic Act 114581, or the Act expanding the coverage of exemptions from revealing the source of published news or information obtained in confidence by including journalists from broadcast and news agencies, is proof that

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this government will never waver from its responsibility to protect journalists from legal and security threats.

“The pertinent section of this measure states: Without prejudice to his liability under the civil and criminal laws, any publisher, owner, or duly recognized or accredited journalist, writer, reporter, contributor, opinion writer, editor, columnist, manager, media practitioner involved in the writing, editing, production and dissemination of news for mass circulation, of any print, broadcast, wire service organization or electronic mass media, including cable TV and its variants, cannot be compelled to reveal the source of any news item, report or information appearing or being reported or disseminated through said media, which was related in confidence to the abovementioned media practitioners unless the court or the House of Representatives or the Senate or any committee of Congress finds that such revelation is demanded by the security of the State.”

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Use funds for agri, health emergencies–AER

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

OCAL think tank Action for Economic Reforms (AER) said the government has the fiscal space to create supplemental budgets to address agriculture and health emergencies this year.

In a statement, AER Coordinator Filomeno Sta. Ana III said the President’s veto of P95 billion of supposed pork barrel funds in the 2019 General Appropriations Act gave the government a larger fiscal space.

Sta. Ana said there is also a Joint Senate and House Resolution calling for direct cash transfers for rice farmers as revenues from rice import tariffs are projected to go up to P15 billion.

“We appreciate the swift action on the budget and some of the

Piñol pitches, industry slams, total ban on pork from ASF-affected sites

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I N DA N AO De ve lop ment Authority Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has urged local chief executives to impose a total ban on pork and pork products from areas affected

by African swine fever (ASF) to avert the entry of the dreaded hog disease in the region.

Piñol recommended the ban after a series of consultations with stakeholders of Mindanao’s hog industry.

Piñol said the ASF threat could be addressed by prohibiting the entry of live hogs, pork and processed meat products into Mindanao.

“I call on all mayors and governors to issue an executive order to prevent entry of the African swine fever in Mindanao,” he said in a Facebook post Thursday.

Piñol said the proposed ban “should not be seen as a trade issue that impedes free flow of food but a temporary proactive action to address a serious quarantine concern.”

This, he explained, “is intended to protect the multibillion-peso hog industry which provides income and livelihood to thousands of farming families.”

The former agriculture secretary also recommended that governors

NORTHEASTERLY SURFACE WINDFLOW PREVAILING OVER NORTHERN LUZON as of 4:00 pm - September 26, 2019

and mayors issue an executive order to prohibit swill feeding in Mindanao.

Swill feeding has been identified by experts as one of the modes of transmission of the ASF virus to pigs.

Total ban scored

SOUGHT for comment, Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) Spokesman Rex Agarrado urged the MinDA to adopt sciencebased rules and regulations so as not to hamper the trade of processed meat products, which are safe and free from ASF. See “ASF,” A2

₧95B

Funds freed up from President’s veto of P95-billion supposed pork barrel for 2019, which creates fiscal space for dealing with ASF, disease oubreaks adjustments Congress has done for the 2020 budget allocation to address the needs of farmers and hog

Military checkpoints tapped for quarantine

T

HE military’s Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) has offered to expand existing security checkpoints into quarantine barriers as part of efforts to prevent the entry of African swine fever (ASF) into the region.

T he of fer was made by Eastmincom Commander Lt. Gen. Felimon Santos Jr. after Department of Agr iculture Region 11 Regiona l Director R icardo Oñate together w ith the members of the sur veillance team from the Meat Inspection Ser vice of the Bureau of A nima l Industr y and some hog raisers in Davao region v isited the headquarters of the Eastmincom.

The visit was made to seek the assistance of the military in the “ biological battle” of preventing “zoonotic and infectious diseases” from entering the region which could affect the animal industry and the region’s economy as a whole.

“Our fi xed securit y checkpoints can be used as a point of convergence in carrying out the best interest of the government and of the communities, hence, can accommodate other capabilities and be expanded or converted to a whole of government platform like that of quarantine checkpoint,” Santos said.

Lt. Col. Ezra Balagtey, Eastmincom spokesman, said security checkpoints of Task Force Davao under Col. Consolito Yecla have already been expanded into quarantine checkpoints after the city government of Davao, through the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office deployed quarantine personnel.

The quarantine personnel are being assisted by the 65 members of Task Force Davao who were also oriented on animal and meat quarantine.

During the meeting with Agriculture officials, Santos recommended that the ASF issue be cascaded to different levels of Peace and Order Councils (POCs) in order to encourage the participation of different law enforcement agencies and the crafting of local and regional plans, to include biosecurity protocols.

“Taking off from the initiative of Davao City and Task Force Davao checkpoints as a template, we are asking the concerned agencies to level the issue to the different POCs to consolidate and synchronized effort in this biological battle,” Santos said. Rene Acosta

raisers. But those funds will only be available next year,” Sta. Ana said.

“Our farmers, hog raisers and the people affected by the outbreak of preventable diseases need the support now, not next year.”

The AER said industrial policy and the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill mandates the Executive branch to put together a supplemental budget to address agriculture and health emergencies.

This, AER said, can be done by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and both

houses of Congress.

T he Philippines, in recent months, has been hit by various diseases starting with the dreaded African swine fever (ASF) which first infected hogs in Rizal.

The Department of Health (DOH) also recently monitored the reemergence of poliomyelitis and diphtheria while seeing a surge in measles and dengue cases.

“Government has to swiftly put together the numbers and the mode of implementation.

See “AER,” A2

PINOYS NOT TRAVELING, SPENDING ABROAD MUCH THESE DAYS–UNWTO

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

A

RE Filipinos slowing down on their foreign travels?

According to the latest data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) World Tourism Barometer this appears to be the case. Filipinos spent only $5.79 billion in international tourism expenditures in the first half of 2019, a 4.6-percent decrease from their spending in the same period in 2018. In local currency, Filipinos spent just P306.87 billion from January to June 2019.

The decrease in foreign travels

by Filipinos are also indicated by the slight 0.8-percent drop in passenger transport imports to $311 million in the first half of the year.

The trend has been evident since 2016, with spending on travel moving at a sluggish pace. For the full year 2018, spending grew by only 1.7 percent to $12 billion, slower than the 6.31-percent increase in travel spending to $11.8 billion in 2017.

The UNWTO data was supplied by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) based on its balance of payments statistics. International tourism expenditure is a services import, reported as “travel” in the BOP, which is an account of a country’s transactions with the rest of the world. Travel imports cover goods and services acquired from an economy by travelers for their own use during visits of less than one year in that economy for either business or personal purposes.

This includes their travel using local

transport, but excludes international transport, which is also a separate BOP account broken down into passenger, freight, and others, whether these be imports or exports.

In an interview, the Philippine Travel Agencies Association’s Ritchie Tuaño said, however, “Our members seem to be very happy with their current production. In addition, we have National Tourism Offices [NTOs] of Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and even crisis-stricken Hong Kong who reported the growth of Filipino arrivals into their respective countries. Generally, they have also noted the good spending of Filipinos.”

He added, “One more evidence of this is the road show and sales campaign of various foreign tour operators, either individually, as a consortium or as organized by their NTOs due to the lucrative Filipino market.”

Officials from the BSP’s Department of Economic Statistics failed to respond to e-mails from the BusinessM irror to explain how the travel expenditures and passenger travel data were calculated to explain the possible discrepancy.

Meanwhile, data from the World Tourism Barometer showed that China, the world’s top tourism outbound market in terms of both spending and departures, saw 81 million trips in the first half of 2019, up 14 percent over the same period last year, though spending was 4 percent lower in real terms in the first quarter.

“Among Asian markets, spending from Japan [+11 percent] was strong while the Republic of Korea spent 8 percent less in the first half of 2019.

See “Pinoys,” A2

Employers: Only service provider liable in cases of illegal contractualization

E

MPLOYERS are seeking the removal of their liability in cases where a service provider is found to be engaged in illegal contractualization. They said this practice scares off foreign investors as it is only the Philippines that has this labor rule.

In a letter to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, employers asked the labor agency to delete Section 6, Article 109, of the Labor Code of the Philippines. The provision provides that employers are to be held solidarily liable with the job contractor for any violation of labor laws.

Employers argued that any violation of a contractor should make the said contractor “solely liable for its own actions,” and that the “principal shall be free from any liability that shall arise from the shortcomings of its contractor.”

Citing Article 1311 of the Civil Code, employers said contracts should only take effect between parties, their assigns and heirs. Exception is given in cases where the rights and obligations arising from the contract are not transmissible by provision of law.

“Since the principal does not have anything to do with the contractor’s workers, the principal shall not be held liable for anything due to the workers inasmuch as it is the contractor and not the principal who is the employer of the said workers,” the employers argued.

Nowhere in the world, they said, is an employer held accountable for an act done by a third party that is completely outside of its jurisdiction and absolutely independent from its influence. If there is one third party that should be held liable, it is the DOLE, employers added.

See “Contractualization,” A2

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In the ad material of Notice of filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on September 20, 2019, the company of Mr. Fukao, Jun under SUMITOMO CORPORATION – MANILA BRANCH should have been read as SUMITOMO CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES and not as published. While in the ad material published on May 29, 2019, the name of Mr. Miao, Zichao should have been read as Mr. Zhou, Miao and not as published.

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ERC issues PAO to 1st coal-fired plant using supercritical tech

T

By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Luzon grid will soon be assured of 500 megawatts (MW) of new power-generation capacity following the issuance of the Provisional Authority to Operate (PAO) the country’s first coal-fired power plant to use supercritical technology.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) issued the PAO on September 24 to San Buenaventura Power Ltd. (SBPL), a partnership between Meralco PowerGen Corp. and New Growth BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Electricity Generating Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand.

SBPL will supply power for 20 years to the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), which is Metro Manila’s only electric distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 22 cities and 89 municipalities.

“On September 23, ERC received from NWRB [National Water Resources Board] its explanation.

ERC lost no time and, hence, on September 24 the PAO was issued to SBPL,” said ERC Chairman Agnes VST Devanadera said.

SBPL’s commercial operation

date was targeted at September 15, 2019, but was deferred due to questions raised on SBPL’s utilization of water rights. ERC said SBPL submitted incomplete requirements, the most important of which was the Conditional Water Permit. This, it added, was issued in the name of Meralco and not under the name of SBPL. “A PAO has to be issued instead of a COC [certificate of compliance] in view of the other requirements which must be submitted within a specific period of time,” said ERC. Meralco, for its part, welcomed the ERC’s issuance of a PAO. This move, said Meralco Vice President and Head of Regulatory Management Atty. Jose Ronald Valles, shows that ERC understands that power demand in Luzon is steadily increasing, and the condi-

tions show that it is in dire need of additional base load capacity.

“SBPL’s 500 MW will prove to be a significant contributor for Meralco to fulfill its mandate to provide adequate, reliable supply of electricity at the least cost,” said Valles.

SBPL’s incoming capacity will prove critical in the coming months, particularly in light of the upcoming scheduled maintenance shutdowns of Luzon’s biggest powergeneration suppliers.

Ilijan unit 1 (600 MW) is set to go on planned maintenance for 13 days on October 3 to 15, 2019, and curtail its capacity from October 16 to 18, 2019. Sual 2 (647 MW) is also slated to shutdown for 30 days from October 19 to November 17, 2019, while the San Lorenzo Module 50 (250 MW) is scheduled to go on maintenance for five days on October 26 to 30, 2019. Masinloc 2 (344 MW) will also be on scheduled outage for 35 days, beginning October 30 to December 4, 2019.

The country’s biggest natural gas facility, Malampaya, will likewise, temporarily stop supplying fuel to generation facilities on October 12 until October 15, 2019.

Malampaya supplies more than 40 percent of Meralco’s power requirement, and provides natural gas fuel for Santa Rita, San

Lorenzo, Ilijan, San Gabriel and Avion. Devanadera said the ERC is mindful of the present supply situation but advises parties to do their share in securing the necessary permits from other agencies and be more diligent in their work. They should not pass on to ERC the burden of having to divine the documents they submit, she added. Prior to the PAO issuance, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi issued a statement that the agency had manifested to ERC the importance of SBPL’s timely commissioning.

Meralco and SBPL provided NWRB with satisfactory clarifications, which NWRB accepted and accordingly withdrew its initial statements.

“We were able to provide adequate, factual answers immediately and NWRB responded also as promptly. Now, they are privy to the urgency of the power situation at hand, and hopefully gained new insights that will help them be more circumspect in their succeeding engagements within the power industry or beyond,” said Valles.

Friday, September 27, 2019

B1

AllHome sets IPO price at ₧11.50 per share

By VG Cabuag @villygc

A

LLHOME Corp., the retailer controlled by former politician turned businessman Manuel B. Villar, on Thursday set its price for its initial public offering (IPO) at P11.50 per share for a total offer size of P14.88 billion.

The price was at the lower band of its price range of between P14 and P11.50 per share.

AllHome will offer 750 million new common shares along with 375 million existing common shares currently held by All Value Holdings Corp., which has the option to offer 168.75 million more shares.

All Value is the privately held retail venture of the Villar family.

The offer shares of AllHome rep-

resent 34.5 percent of the company’s issued and outstanding capital stock, which will comprise a total of 3.75 billion shares after the maiden offering, and assuming full exercise of the overallotment option.

The AllHome IPO will run from September 30 to October 4 this year.

Proceeds from the issuance of new shares will be used by the company for capital expenditures and initial working capital for store network expansion, debt repayment and general corporate purposes.

AllHome has tapped UBS AG, Singapore Branch as sole global coordinator and joint book runner, CLSA Ltd. and Credit Suisse (Singapore) Ltd. as joint book runners, and PNB Capital and Investment Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp. as domestic underwriters.

Travellers: Most minority holders tender their shares

T

RAVELLERS International Hotel Group Inc., the gambling joint venture between businessman Andrew Tan and Malaysia’s Genting Group, on Thursday said most of the minority holders have sold their shares back to the company as its public float will fall below 2 percent when the deal is done.

In its tender offer report, a total of 1.32 billion common shares accepted the offer out of the 1.58 billion shares being held by the public.

“A total of 261,807,395 common shares form-

ing part of the existing public float were not tendered. The tendered shares are expected to be crossed on September 30, 2019. In view thereof, the resulting public float will be less than 2 percent after the crossing of shares,” it said.

The company must buy at least 838.21 million shares worth P4.61 billion for the delisting to proceed. The tendered shares will be crossed at the Philippine Stock Exchange on September 30, and Travellers’ shares will be delisted on October 15. VG Cabuag

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, September 27, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

September 26, 2019

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

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

54.05 144.9 91.35 25.15 12.04 67.2 12.8 44.5 57 116.1 26.7 197 59.05 2.03 18.5 5.15 1.22 0.435 760 0.92 179.5 1835

57.8 146 91.45 25.2 12.12 67.25 13 44.85 57.35 122 26.85 199 59.1 2.07 18.6 5.19 1.26 0.445 780 0.95 179.8 1855

57.8 143 91.3 25.3 11.98 67 12.8 43.9 57.35 121.5 27 197.9 59.95 2.02 18.66 5.17 1.22 0.445 760 0.94 179.9 1835

57.8 146.1 92.2 25.6 12.18 67.8 12.8 44.75 57.35 122 27.4 198 59.95 2.06 18.66 5.3 1.26 0.445 760 0.95 179.9 1835

57.8 142 90.55 25.1 11.98 66.65 12.8 43.9 57 121.5 26.5 193.1 59.1 2.02 18.66 5.13 1.22 0.445 760 0.94 179.5 1835

57.8 146 91.45 25.2 12.12 67.25 12.8 44.5 57 122 26.95 197 59.1 2.06 18.66 5.19 1.26 0.445 760 0.95 179.5 1835

1000 1457850 1930360 38200 288500 1744580 66000 61300 1950 1110 1400 614590 15700 5000 100 504800 19000 10000 10 152000 3600 315

57800 211326212 176349504.5 965135 3481328 117368724 844800 2715435 111657.5 135170 37445 120802070 927909.5 10260 1866 2627602 23540 4450 7600 142910 646400 578025

INDUSTRIAL

113302622 -5284655 -58340 2117414 -23413622 537310 -13455 -48301290 -0 -

ALSONS CONS ABOITIZ POWER BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG MERALCO MANILA WATER PETRON PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER VIVANT AGRINURTURE CNTRL AZUCARERA CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EMPERADOR SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT GINEBRA JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR MACAY HLDG MAXS GROUP MG HLDG PEPSI COLA SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO RFM CORP ROXAS HLDG SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CEMEX HLDG DAVINCI CAPITAL EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP HOLCIM MEGAWIDE PHINMA TKC METALS VULCAN INDL CHEMPHIL CROWN ASIA EUROMED LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL PRYCE CORP CONCEPCION GREENERGY INTEGRATED MICR IONICS SFA SEMICON CIRTEK HLDG

1.3 39.3 0.245 24.15 81.3 369 20.75 4.98 2.39 10.76 33 7.33 15.8 16 19 14.02 5.9 8.98 7.04 90 0.67 46.95 219 36 8.5 13.56 0.189 1.93 11.5 1.86 5.1 2.32 0.123 158 1.17 72.25 77.5 2.69 6.05 15.7 10.9 14.14 18.4 10.3 1.1 1.24 120 2.1 1.65 5.33 3.23 5.25 30 2.5 8.25 1.52 1.08 9.94

1.31 39.6 0.248 24.5 81.6 369.2 21.15 4.99 2.4 11 33.1 7.46 16.88 16.16 19.1 14.18 5.99 8.99 7.08 91.25 0.68 47.8 220 51.65 8.89 13.66 0.2 1.94 11.52 1.87 5.14 2.45 0.126 159.5 1.18 74.3 79.95 2.7 6.17 15.76 11 14.3 18.46 10.34 1.11 1.25 130 2.12 1.73 5.4 3.49 5.3 31.8 2.54 8.33 1.58 1.09 9.98

1.31 39.5 0.248 24.05 80.05 362 21.8 4.99 2.52 10.7 32.95 7.49 16.06 16.16 18.02 14.1 5.9 9 7.12 92 0.68 47 219 26.4 9.79 13.5 0.189 1.94 11.52 1.84 5.14 2.5 0.123 160 1.18 74 79.95 2.68 6.05 15.6 10.66 14.04 18.5 10.34 1.08 1.21 120 2.13 1.65 5.4 3.4 5.27 31.6 2.53 8.29 1.51 1.05 9.89

1.31 40 0.248 24.75 81.9 369.4 21.8 5 2.52 11 33.45 7.49 16.06 16.18 19.2 14.18 5.9 9.06 7.12 92.3 0.69 48 220.8 26.4 9.79 13.78 0.189 1.95 11.6 1.89 5.14 2.55 0.123 161 1.2 74.4 79.95 2.7 6.05 15.78 11 14.3 18.98 10.34 1.11 1.25 120 2.13 1.65 5.44 3.49 5.33 31.6 2.54 8.3 1.59 1.08 10.1

1.3 39.2 0.248 24 80.05 362 20.75 4.97 2.4 10.7 32.85 7.33 16.06 15.96 18.02 14 5.9 8.97 7.01 89.6 0.67 46.5 217.4 26.4 8.23 13.42 0.189 1.91 11.42 1.82 5.14 2.45 0.123 158 1.16 74 79.95 2.65 6.05 15.6 10.5 14 18.32 10.2 1.08 1.21 120 2.12 1.65 5.34 3.4 5.25 30 2.47 8.2 1.51 1.05 9.8

1.3 39.3 0.248 24.15 81.6 369 20.75 4.99 2.4 11 33 7.33 16.06 16.16 19 14.02 5.9 8.99 7.04 91.25 0.67 46.95 219 26.4 8.89 13.66 0.189 1.93 11.52 1.87 5.14 2.45 0.123 158 1.17 74.4 79.95 2.7 6.05 15.7 11 14.3 18.46 10.34 1.1 1.24 120 2.12 1.65 5.4 3.49 5.25 30 2.54 8.25 1.58 1.08 9.94

174000 2139500 100000 1740400 215130 159830 338300 2350000 13350000 177600 792700 22500 500 65100 10500 595000 48400 288100 2254200 279950 397000 155100 355870 200 5000 36100 70000 3676000 852600 998000 2500 47000 480000 1202470 2211000 30 30 914000 4000 596100 2312600 40800 275600 12100 170000 750000 10120 89000 2000 52500 5000 6400 168600 9195000 107700 17000 125000 320200

226220 85155685 24800 42099180 17432357.5 58887428 7127365 11726260 32812710 1930920 26148400 167378 8030 1046634 198802 8344094 285560 2589477 15928137 25371144 269150 7329435 78045556 5280 44178 490530 13230 7097300 9825352 1837440 12850 116830 59040 191824140 2603880 2228 2398.5 2457810 24200 9356950 25346200 580180 5092664 124706 186620 923620 1214400 188910 3300 281911 17090 33897 5268150 23063870 891551 26800 134400 3190429

-193720 24451690 -29082240 474203.5 8751452 -6816535 -3597230 -806039.9999 -1116674 -8068955 393858 210834 -280250 -1555855 -8927502 -17916440.5 2958470 6338890 -168096 110250 315024 -12850 4920 -72703431 -379610 971890 8623184 24529510 -296838 -1305566 1100 -8680 -118820 -3641550 3909200.0003 528234.9999 -

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

0.96 13.02 899 54.1 11.28 3.6 6.8 0.77 1.16 6.62 8.65 13.4 0.223 840.5 5.78 75.35 5.36 5.36 5.23 0.5 4.39 14.52 0.57 4.93 0.039 1.31 2.85 1.27 1007 176.8 0.88 223.8 0.226 0.245

0.97 13.2 900 54.35 11.3 3.61 7 0.78 1.18 6.65 8.69 13.48 0.238 841 5.89 75.5 5.79 5.87 5.92 0.53 4.4 14.7 0.6 4.99 0.04 1.34 3.03 1.29 1010 177 0.89 225.6 0.228 0.255

0.94 13.06 908.5 54.8 11.36 3.53 6.78 0.78 1.18 6.66 8.7 13.38 0.229 833 5.89 75.2 5.81 5.41 5.23 0.54 4.4 14.5 0.6 4.91 0.039 1.34 2.85 1.28 1014 179.9 0.88 229 0.228 0.255

0.98 13.34 909 54.8 11.5 3.6 6.78 0.78 1.19 6.68 8.75 13.5 0.229 848 5.89 75.5 5.81 5.87 5.23 0.54 4.41 14.7 0.6 5 0.039 1.34 2.85 1.28 1014 179.9 0.9 229.8 0.228 0.26

0.93 13 897.5 53.5 11.12 3.52 6.78 0.76 1.16 6.62 8.61 13.38 0.229 833 5.89 75 5.81 5.34 5.23 0.51 4.39 14.5 0.57 4.89 0.039 1.34 2.85 1.28 1002 176 0.88 224 0.228 0.24

0.97 13.04 900 54.1 11.3 3.6 6.78 0.77 1.18 6.62 8.65 13.5 0.229 841 5.89 75.5 5.81 5.87 5.23 0.53 4.4 14.7 0.6 4.94 0.039 1.34 2.85 1.28 1007 177 0.88 225.6 0.228 0.24

40130000 7300 416440 477470 24402900 7579000 200 324000 1348000 221300 4882300 300 40000 85970 83200 1231420 1000 7400 200 1385000 3991000 80700 1197000 7100000 1700000 1000 3000 50000 101285 392070 237000 2830 10000 1200000

38581990 95676 375032630 25894746 274897352 26863230 1356 249550 1574650 1471225 42217991 4036 9160 72190170 490048 92806957 5810 39637 1046 706520 17575160 1180336 689700 35114140 66300 1340 8550 64000 102054400 69823764 210100 640224 2280 291610

-661510 -23942025 -14008031.5 -135181752 4619290 -476988 -27810927 -44855205 -339853 47171530 -10078950 -583334 5900 -9747240 -24505770 -1522061 210310 19200

HOLDING & FRIMS

PROPERTY

ARTHALAND CORP 0.88 0.89 0.9 0.91 0.89 0.89 1194000 1067460 275340 ANCHOR LAND 10.08 10.58 10.08 10.08 10.08 10.08 500 5040 AYALA LAND 49.25 49.35 49.2 49.65 49.05 49.35 10941400 539507735 -35506900 ARANETA PROP 1.91 1.96 1.97 1.97 1.91 1.96 89000 170150 154710 BELLE CORP 2.09 2.12 2.1 2.1 2.09 2.09 142000 297520 -8380 A BROWN 0.93 0.94 0.86 0.93 0.84 0.93 189560000 160117050 -217470 CITYLAND DEVT 0.83 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.83 0.86 108000 91420 47040 CROWN EQUITIES 0.214 0.226 0.227 0.227 0.227 0.227 10000 2270 CEBU HLDG 6.24 6.28 6.1 6.35 6.1 6.28 229000 1441155 497219 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.75 4.76 4.77 4.77 4.7 4.75 205000 972890 -109020 CENTURY PROP 0.53 0.54 0.54 0.54 0.53 0.54 6704000 3573420 CYBER BAY 0.38 0.39 0.38 0.38 0.38 0.38 110000 41800 DOUBLEDRAGON 20.2 20.45 20 20.45 20 20.45 82500 1674080 256985.0003 DM WENCESLAO 9.55 9.83 9.6 9.83 9.55 9.83 173600 1667462 1184231 EMPIRE EAST 0.445 0.45 0.445 0.45 0.445 0.445 570000 253950 FILINVEST LAND 1.6 1.61 1.61 1.62 1.59 1.61 10726000 17261740 1826400 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.2 1.21 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 412000 494400 8990 HLDG 15.1 15.12 15.1 15.1 15.1 15.1 159900 2414490 -36240 PHIL INFRADEV 1.4 1.41 1.39 1.41 1.38 1.4 835000 1163460 419179.9999 KEPPEL PROP 4.29 4.71 4.71 4.71 4.71 4.71 21000 98910 4710 CITY AND LAND 0.72 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 1000 750 MEGAWORLD 4.77 4.79 4.74 4.87 4.7 4.79 17581000 84157380 -48679440 MRC ALLIED 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.315 0.305 0.31 2410000 739300 PHIL ESTATES 0.43 0.44 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 50000 21000 PRIMEX CORP 2.01 2.04 2.01 2.05 2 2.04 183000 369360 ROBINSONS LAND 24.5 24.85 24.6 24.8 24.15 24.5 2080100 50956800 -20991060 PHIL REALTY 0.375 0.39 0.37 0.385 0.37 0.385 250000 95450 ROCKWELL 2.32 2.37 2.39 2.39 2.37 2.37 2000 4760 STA LUCIA LAND 2.42 2.43 2.48 2.48 2.43 2.43 418000 1023460 SM PRIME HLDG 36.95 37.1 37.1 37.35 36.65 37.1 4757000 176152195 46174685 VISTAMALLS 5.68 5.88 5.65 5.89 5.65 5.68 28500 162729 SUNTRUST HOME 0.87 0.88 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87 115028000 100074360 -100050000 PTFC REDEV CORP 45.05 53 53 53 53 53 120 6360 VISTA LAND 7.66 7.75 7.7 7.75 7.63 7.75 5020600 38781835 -9000404

SERVICES ABS CBN 18.56 18.8 18.2 18.56 18.2 18.56 36100 665480 GMA NETWORK 5.22 5.24 5.24 5.25 5.22 5.22 97300 510002 MANILA BULLETIN 0.445 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45 60000 27000 GLOBE TELECOM 1850 1857 1845 1869 1827 1857 63940 118180020 -36560045 PLDT 1126 1127 1120 1130 1116 1127 48545 54552225 612760 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.046 0.047 0.047 0.047 0.047 0.047 1000000 47000 DFNN INC 5.8 6.17 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.1 27336600 166753260 -0 ISLAND INFO 0.112 0.115 0.111 0.112 0.111 0.112 270000 30180 ISM COMM 5.07 5.08 5.05 5.14 4.95 5.08 1125500 5701890 72058 NOW CORP 2.97 2.98 2.92 3.07 2.92 2.97 2459000 7358520 -6060 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.33 0.335 0.33 0.335 0.325 0.335 6280000 2087600 PHILWEB 3.04 3.05 3.03 3.05 3 3.04 629000 1898790 -27400 2GO GROUP 10 10.3 9.9 10.3 9.9 10.3 4000 41084 ASIAN TERMINALS 18.24 18.3 18.26 18.26 18.24 18.24 1900 34690 CHELSEA 6.98 6.99 6.98 7.1 6.96 6.98 518300 3627309 -1486336 CEBU AIR 92.45 94.2 92.35 94.6 92.35 92.45 150350 14147963 6854057.5 INTL CONTAINER 127 127.3 128 128.1 126.5 127 1298630 165047055 -57672616 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.9 0.94 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 301000 270900 MACROASIA 18.96 19 19 19.1 18.96 19 61900 1175602 -19000 METROALLIANCE A 1.2 1.21 1.17 1.21 1.17 1.21 8000 9480 PAL HLDG 8 8.36 8.01 8.39 8 8.36 2400 19646 800 HARBOR STAR 1.6 1.62 1.58 1.62 1.58 1.61 191000 306620 ACESITE HOTEL 1.71 1.74 1.7 1.71 1.7 1.71 92000 157090 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.056 0.057 0.058 0.058 0.055 0.057 9470000 527010 WATERFRONT 0.68 0.69 0.7 0.7 0.67 0.69 353000 241360 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.9 7.36 6.88 6.98 6.88 6.98 4500 31123 FAR EASTERN U 918 920 920 920 920 920 70 64400 IPEOPLE 9.02 9.48 9.2 9.48 9.2 9.48 1200 11068 STI HLDG 0.7 0.71 0.69 0.71 0.69 0.7 226000 158090 105000 BERJAYA 2.33 2.34 2.3 2.35 2.28 2.33 462000 1061760 BLOOMBERRY 11.5 11.54 11.32 11.58 11.3 11.5 2611000 29894356 14817986 PACIFIC ONLINE 2.79 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.76 2.79 29000 81020 -28000 LEISURE AND RES 3.05 3.08 3.06 3.1 3.05 3.08 181000 554500 MANILA JOCKEY 3.4 3.45 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 55000 187000 PH RESORTS GRP 4.81 5 4.8 5 4.79 5 19100 91652 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.72 0.73 0.73 0.74 0.72 0.73 1294000 933720 -16580 TRAVELLERS 4.88 5.4 5.42 5.42 5.42 5.42 200 1084 METRO RETAIL 2.4 2.42 2.4 2.42 2.39 2.4 224000 538820 -10 PUREGOLD 40.9 40.95 40.95 41.55 40.6 40.95 380300 15551230 -3659480 ROBINSONS RTL 77.6 79 77 79 77 79 692640 53796334 -3888091.5 PHIL SEVEN CORP 135.2 141 138.8 138.8 135.2 135.2 780 107056 104315.9999 SSI GROUP 2.78 2.79 2.69 2.8 2.69 2.79 1841000 5110720 -527240 WILCON DEPOT 16.12 16.28 16 16.28 16 16.28 245000 3963362 2236416 APC GROUP 0.68 0.69 0.72 0.73 0.68 0.69 14997000 10563140 EASYCALL 9.9 9.91 10.18 10.18 9.8 9.9 148100 1463841 GOLDEN BRIA 422.4 435 435 435 435 435 30 13050 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.55 0.56 0.54 0.56 0.51 0.56 22539000 12202940 160600 SBS PHIL CORP 9.09 9.36 9.09 9.09 9.09 9.09 5200 47268

MINING & OIL ATOK 11.26 12.02 12.04 12.04 12.04 12.04 500 6020 APEX MINING 1.19 1.2 1.14 1.19 1.14 1.19 979000 1146610 -72080.0001 ABRA MINING 0.0017 0.0018 0.0017 0.0017 0.0017 0.0017 70000000 119000 -85000 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.28 0.29 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 10000 2800 CENTURY PEAK 2.63 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.63 2.63 369000 974970 DIZON MINES 7.8 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.81 7.81 900 7092 FERRONICKEL 1.73 1.75 1.73 1.76 1.71 1.75 22467000 39323380 10636170 GEOGRACE 0.231 0.236 0.23 0.243 0.23 0.236 2200000 511730 LEPANTO A 0.106 0.108 0.107 0.108 0.105 0.108 3800000 403120 LEPANTO B 0.106 0.109 0.106 0.106 0.106 0.106 5930000 628580 -628580 MARCVENTURES 1.13 1.18 1.13 1.18 1.12 1.18 91000 103320 NIHAO 1.12 1.13 1.18 1.19 1.1 1.13 606000 676230 NICKEL ASIA 4.2 4.21 4.15 4.25 4.11 4.2 3169000 13362610 4991780 OMICO CORP 0.5 0.54 0.53 0.53 0.5 0.5 7000 3530 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.88 0.9 0.89 0.9 0.89 0.9 130000 116540 23400 PX MINING 3.8 3.83 3.82 3.83 3.79 3.8 1584000 6018620 170850 SEMIRARA MINING 22.4 22.7 22.75 22.75 22.2 22.7 1486300 33431420 -4841475 ORNTL PETROL A 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 1900000 20900 PHILODRILL 0.01 0.012 0.011 0.012 0.011 0.012 12900000 142000 PHINMA PETRO 9 9.03 8.75 9.26 8.61 9 490800 4439810 91206.9999 PXP ENERGY 12.02 12.04 11.34 12.18 11.34 12.04 595400 7054614 632638

PREFFERED

HOUSE PREF A 96.7 99.55 99.5 99.55 99.5 99.55 510 50745.5 AC PREF B1 505 510 505 511 505 511 4490 2272560 AC PREF B2 505 507 503.5 505 503.5 505 13000 6559000 ALCO PREF C 105.1 - 105 105.1 105 105.1 2320 243696 SMC FB PREF 2 993 998 998 998 998 998 10 9980 FPH PREF C 490 500 500 500 500 500 10 5000 GLO PREF P 500 505 500 500 500 500 2800 1400000 GTCAP PREF A 971 994 970 994 970 994 3910 3797740 GTCAP PREF B 990 995 990 995 990 990 310 306950 LR PREF 0.98 1 0.99 1 0.99 1 514000 509000 MWIDE PREF 101 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 101.5 600 60900 PNX PREF 3B 108 109 108.5 108.5 108.5 108.5 300 32550 32550 PCOR PREF 3A 1058 1060 1060 1060 1058 1058 600 635000 PCOR PREF 3B 1082 1085 1080 1082 1080 1082 4525 4887900 -1080000 SMC PREF 2C 77.95 78.4 78 78.5 77.9 78.5 63010 4915334 SMC PREF 2D 75.1 75.5 75.05 75.1 75.05 75.1 13840 1038717 SMC PREF 2F 76.5 77 77 77 76.5 76.5 32500 2486500 SMC PREF 2G 75.3 76 75.4 75.4 75.2 75.2 36000 2709200 SMC PREF 2I 75.6 76.6 75.5 76 75.5 75.5 103000 7778475 -

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

17.82 5.08

18 5.15

17.9 5.15

17.9 5.17

17.86 5.08

17.9 5.08

21300 50500

381218 259704

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.56

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 6.94 KEPWEALTH 10.6 XURPAS 0.94

1.65

1.58

1.58

1.56

1.56

28000

44000

-

6.95 10.7 0.95

6.73 10 0.94

6.97 10.8 0.94

6.73 10 0.92

6.95 10.6 0.94

264900 1075200 1007000

1823213 11273652 944130

-112971 -31660

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

118.2

-372288 248020

118.4

118.3

118.4

118.2

118.4

2280

269722

-

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BIR runs after six Manila-based businesses for Tax Code violations

T

By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed seven separate criminal complaints against six taxpayers for various violations of the Tax Code.

In a statement, the BIR said these companies and individuals owed the government over P4 million in unpaid taxes, a violation under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended (Tax Code).

BIR said the cases against the Manila taxpayers were filed under the BIR’s Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program.

The owner of Miguelita S. Vergel de Dios Apartments in Quiapo, Manila, Miguelita de Dios was charged for violating Section 255 in relation to Sections 253(d) and 256 of the Tax Code.

BIR said she is being sued for a total tax liability for taxable years 2011 and 2014 amounting to P1.21 million inclusive of increments.

Meanwhile, companies Loadstar

International Shipping Inc. and Loadstar Shipping Inc. along with its corporate officers, President Teodoro G. Bernardino and Treasurer Eleanore B. Gutierrez, were charged for violation of Section 255, in relation to Sections 253 (d) and 256, of the Tax Code, as amended.

BIR said Loadstar Shipping and its corporate officers, were liable to pay an estimated deficiency withholding tax liability in the amount of P940,660.59 and P412,031.85, covering taxable years 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The company Loadstar International Shipping Inc. and its responsible corporate officers were liable to pay an estimated deficiency withholding tax liability in the total amount of P838,219.57

and P191,731.91, for taxable years 2017 and 2018, respectively.

“Initial investigation showed the said respondents failed to electronically pay the corresponding taxes due thereon on various withholding tax returns [1601C and 1601E] e-Filed covering the taxable years 2017 and 2018, respectively,” BIR said.

Meanwhile, the BIR said Amelia R. Ablaza, the owner of the All Women Pawnshop in Quiapo, Manila, was charged for violation of Sections 254 and 255 of the Tax Code, as amended.

The BIR said she is charged for five counts of willful attempt to evade or defeat the payment of Monthly Percentage Tax (BIR Form 2551M) covering the periods June 30, 2015, August 31, 2015, October 31, 2017, November 30, 2017, and December 31, 2017; and, five counts of willful failure to pay Monthly Percentage Tax (BIR Form 2551M) covering the periods June 30, 2015, August 31, 2015, October 31, 2017, November 30, 2017 and December 2017.

With this, the BIR said Ablaza is being sued for her percentage deficiency tax liabilities in the total amount of P467,412.28, inclusive

of increments.

“Her failure to pay corresponding taxes due thereon on covering the said periods was confirmed by the Collection Section of Revenue District Office [RDO] 32 QuiapoSampaloc-San Miguel-Santa Mesa,” the BIR said.

BIR also said two business owners were also charged for violation of Section 237 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended, penalized under Section 264 of the Tax Code.

The two business owners were Meranjie Saludares Aldeguer of of Meranjie Camera Repair Shop and Nogjahna M. Mayaman of Hasim Cellphone Repair. Both businesses are located in Quiapo, Manila.

BIR said Revenue Region 6-Manila conducted Tax Compliance Verification Drive (TCVD) or tax mapping and found the aforesaid respondents violating laws, rules and regulations, including the use of unauthorized sales invoices and unregistered receipts.

Their business establishments were checked for the second time, but were still found issuing unauthorized sales invoices, prompting the BIR to file cases against them.

Shell plans to expand road safety initiative to other areas of NCR after Mandaluyong

P

ILIPINAS Shell has bared plans to roll out its road safety campaign to other areas in Metro Manila, following its pilot launch in Mandaluyong City early this year and tie-ups with like-minded organizations to advocate for more public-private partnerships (PPP) in making the nation’s roads safer for all.

Accidents on the road continue to be a national concern even if comprehensive laws like Republic Act 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, are in place.

It noted that a total of 116,906 accidents were recorded last year, or an increase of around 6,000 incidents from 2017, based on the Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis in 2018.

For this reason, Shell launched “BiyaHero” last Holy Week as an initiative to promote the good welfare of road users as a shared responsibility of everyone.

According to Shell Cos. in the Philippines General Manager For Health, Safety, Security

and Environment Oliver Ortega, this is the company’s pioneering effort to implement such a campaign externally with a local government unit.

“In the past, we had many projects on road safety, but mostly on where we operate, or [where] our oil refinery and depots are located. So we have them in Batangas, Davao, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, etc.,” he told reporters in a mix of English and Filipino at the sidelines of the opening of Safer Mobility and Logistics Conference and Exhibition in The Tent at Solaire in Pasay City.

“This is the first time we’re in [the] Metro and it’s, hopefully, a part where a partnership becomes strong and we get the message across stronger to all the road users,” he added.

Located in the middle of Metro Manila, Mandaluyong serves as a gateway for motorists going North to South and East to West of the metropolis. Roderick L. Abad

Airbus trade feud spurs new Trump risk for Boeing, airlines

U

S tariffs on European airplanes and luxury goods are emerging as a new threat not just for Airbus SE but for US airlines.

The risk is rising for Boeing Co. as well if the European Union seeks to retaliate.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) will authorize the US to impose tariffs on nearly $8 billion of European goods due to illegal state aid provided to Airbus, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday. The US duties, which could hit as soon as October, will target planes and aircraft parts, as well as luxury products, such as wine and leather goods, according to the US Trade Representative’s office.

The WTO decision marks an escalation in a long-running dispute that the US and EU have waged over a i rc ra f t-m a nu fac t u r i ng subsidies, and will further test trans-Atlantic relations that are already under stress from President Donald J. Trump’s “America First” strategy. The deterioration endangers the cross-border ties that Boeing, Airbus and global

airlines rely on. Airbus shares were down 0.6 percent at €120.28 at 9:17 a.m. in Paris. “I’m a little concerned because this certainly fits the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to trade,” said Richard Aboulafia, aerospace analyst with Teal Group. “Not crossing borders isn’t an option in this industry. Exports aren’t gravy in this business—they’re absolutely the lifeline.”

Wine, handbags

THE WTO award is lower than the Trump administration’s request to impose tariffs on as much as $11.2 billion worth of European exports stemming from the nearly 15-yearold dispute.

The US hasn’t finalized which goods it will hit, but the preliminary list also includes whiskey, motorcycles, leather handbags, cheese and wine. The duties may also hit products made by Europe’s producers of luxury brands—like LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Christian Dior SE and Hermes International.

MUTUAL FUNDS

September 26, 2019

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

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 254.58 2.35% -1.74% -0.62% 0.94% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.5447 10.95% 2.73% 0.9% 7.21% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 3.9569 2.51% -2.81% -1.86% 1.38% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9517 6.32% N.A. N.A. 5.63% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.8548 4.88% N.A. N.A. 4.15% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.4311 5.68% 0.02% -0.2% 2.99% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.8687 5.71% -4.21% N.A. 3.82% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 116.28 0.18% N.A. N.A. 0.1% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 51.9683 7.15% 0.24% N.A. 5.58% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. - A 539.91 6.95% -0.77% -0.37% 4.89% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.303 5.46% 0.14% 0.76% 3.91% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 38.4057 6.48% 1.06% 0.69% 4.84% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0304 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.2812 8.23% 1.01% 1.63% 6.5% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 881.67 8.27% 0.89% 1.54% 6.43% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9079 8.25% -0.19% N.A. 5.57% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.2792 7.2% 0.7% 0.84% 5.43% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0129 7.84% 0.84% N.A. 6.14% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.7079 8.15% 2.45% 2.04% 5.92% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 118.1543 8.53% 1.65% 2.57% 6.69% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B

$0.9515 -6.21% 1.06% -1.37% 2.41% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.2948 -0.78% 7.1% N.A. 17.16% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.63 -0.72% -3.45% -3.19% -1.28% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.2843 4.07% -1.25% -0.22% 3.4% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.6558 5.99% 0.32% -1.5% 4.43% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3454 3.12% N.A. N.A. 3.15% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9588 7.33% 0.76% 0.98% 6.28% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.7825 8.66% -0.45% 0.2% 7.17% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 16.9524 8.74% -0.36% 0.13% 6.57% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.1423 4.96% 0.38% 1.12% 3.53% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 3.8797 7.42% 0.47% 0.66% 6.26% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 1.0177 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 1.0064 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 1.0038 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 0.9848 7.16% 0.08% 0% 6.85% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03862 10.12% 2.31% 2.5% 9.41% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $0.9849 0.38% 1.37% -0.65% 7.79% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.7698 2.21% 5.19% 3.06% 13.94% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.1166 3.95% 3.34% N.A. 10.55% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 354.15 3.72% 2.27% 2.28% 3.11% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A,1 1.916 3.28% 0.16% 0.04% 3.06% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0841 5.16% 5.33% 5.24% 3.63% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.2039 3.9% 1.23% 1.99% 3.51% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.3336 5.24% 1.36% 1.55% 5.83% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6079 2.17% -1.25% 0.29% 2.78% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.2925 11.01% 0.58% 1.8% 9.51% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A

3.7441 8.1% 1.4% 1.63% 6.45% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9496 7.01% -0.27% N.A. 6.55% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.017 9.41% 1.98% 2.58% 9.08% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A

1.6711 9.22% 1.49% 2.15% 8.52% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $465.5 4.55% 1.83% 2.89% 3.81% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є220.44 3.45% 1.28% 1.55% 3.65% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.1992 6.96% 2.08% 2.53% 6.53% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0259 4.44% 1.05% N.A. 4.44% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7169 1.2% -2.07% 0.5% 1.58% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.101 7.01% -0.27% -1.06% 6.24% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.418 11.56% 1.69% 3.64% 11.39% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0601681 5.82% 1.92% 2.1% 5.56% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.1796 10.02% 1.02% 3.09% 10.71% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 124.65 4.04% 2.63% 2.07% 3.12% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.0224 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2381 5.58% 2.3% 1.43% 4.76% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2549 3.89% 2.8% 2.19% 2.93% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0328 2.21% N.A. N.A. 1.66% 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.).

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

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Dujiangyan: Where pandas meet MICE

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T was my first time in Dujiangyan, a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture city of Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province. Before this trip, I must admit I’ve never heard of Dujiangyan. The trip was all worth it and I have learned a lot about this ancient city, which is a jewel of a place.

The trip was in connection with the China International Meetings Development ConferenceChengdu (CIMDC-Chengdu 2019) held in Chengdu.

The event, which ran from September 5 to 7, 2019, was organized by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and its members in Chengdu; the China Meetings Industry Convention (CMIC); and the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Exposition (CMBE). I was one of five international guests and the only Filipino in the over-200 conference attendees.

On the first day of the conference, Dujiangyan officially became a member of the ICCA. Earlier, Dujiangyan had been designated as the permanent host city of the CIMDC, which was held for the first time and will be held there annually. With these affiliations, Dujiangyan is positioning itself as a destination for MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions).

Day 2 of the program was a familiarization tour of Dujiangyan where we visited three of its most

Association World Octavio Peralta famous sites: the over 2,300 years old Dujiangyan irrigation system, Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Panda Base.

The Dujiangyan irrigation system, a World Heritage site, is one of the great technological achievements of ancient China and one of the oldest “no-dam” irrigation structures still functioning today. It is billed as the “Treasure of Sichuan” and still plays a crucial role in draining off floodwater, irrigating farms and providing water resources to more than 50 cities in the province.

Mount Qingcheng is considered one of the birthplaces of Taoism, and one of the most important Taoist centers in China. The mountain entered the Unesco World Heritage list in 2000 and was featured in Kung Fu Panda movies in 2011 and 2016. Dujiangyan Panda Base, also known as China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda (CCRCGP), is the only giant panda care, disease prevention and control institute in the world.

The giant panda is a Chinese national treasure, and one of the rarest animal species in the world. They total 1,864 in China, with about 74 percent located in Sichuan province. The Dujiangyan Panda Base has 170 of them.

You may also have not heard about Dujiangyan but, from what I saw, it has great potential to be an international MICE city as it aspires to be. With MICE attendees now combining business travel with leisure time (also referred to as “bleisure”), I am certain that Dujiangyan, with its touristic sites, unique culture, culinary delights and convention facilities, is well on its way toward achieving its dream. It is only a matter of time when pandas meet MICE more often!

The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific and the CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives. The PCAAE is holding the Associations Summit 7 on November 27 and 28, 2019, at the Philippine International Convention Center, which is expected to draw over 200 association professionals here and abroad. The two-day event is supported by the Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board and the PICC. E-mail inquiries@adfiap.org for more details on AS7.

LIBACAO BORROWERS This September 21, 2019, photo shows Aklan Governor Florencio T. Miraflores, Libacao Mayor Charito I. Navarosa and LandBank of the Philippines President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo with the farmer-beneficiaries in Libacao who first availed of LandBank’s loan programs: Agnes Billones for AFFORD-ARBs, Dante Zubiaga for ACEF and Ulysses Zaldivia for RCEF, joined by LandBank Executive Vice Presidents Liduvino S. Geron and Joselito P. Gutierrez. (Top right) Libacao Development Cooperative is LandBank’s first “Agent Banking Partner” in Libacao. PHOTO COURTESY OF LANDBANK

DBP seen to enter into deal with AIIB to fund projects under ‘BBB’ program

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HE Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) could enter into a partnership with China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to finance infrastructure projects under the administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

In a statement on September 26, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said this is in line with the transformation of the DBP into the government’s infrastructure bank.

He broached this possibility during a meeting with Konstantin Limitovsky, AIIB’s senior advisor to the president and chief programming officer, who was recently in Manila.

“Working together, say with DBP, will help [AIIB] because you are too big to deal with our construction companies. Maybe funding them, getting them into some kind of joint funding or whatever structure you can, together with the DBP, to do it, or the guarantee function. So let’s look at those [possibilities],” Dominguez said during the meeting in Manila.

The DOF said AIIB’s Limitovksy said the China-led multilateral development bank would be open to this proposal given that it is one of the financing models it is currently exploring.

Limitovsky said he and some AIIB officials have already met with DBP officials, who explained to them the bank’s thrust toward development finance. According to Limitovsky, the AIIB is also studying the possibility of financing private sector-led infrastructure projects to expand its presence in the Philippines.

The DOF said the AIIB is now developing in coordination with Philippine officials a realistic pipeline of projects that the bank can undertake in the country over the next three to five years.

Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven said several water projects and at least two long-span bridge projects are now being discussed with the bank’s officials.

Joven also said the AIIB can also look at the possibility of cofinancing the Metro Rail Transit 4 Line project, with the ADB. Limitovsky said the AIIB is planning to lend out $3.5 billion this year and another $1 billion next year so that it can expand its global presence

and ramp up its loan exposure to $10 billion over the medium term.

The bank has $8 billion in loan commitments so far after only two years of operation, he said during his meeting with Dominguez.

Currently, the AIIB is financing only one project in the country, the $500 million Metro Manila Flood Management Project, which is cofinanced with the World Bank.

The project will focus on about 56 potentially critical drainage areas with an approximate land area of 11,100 hectares or over 17 percent of the total area of Metro Manila. This project will include an area with a total population of about 970,000 people or about 210,000 households.

The AIIB, which began operations in January 2016, now has 100 approved members worldwide, including the Philippines.

As a multilateral development bank, the AIIB is focused on investing in sustainable infrastructure projects.

Cai U. Ordinario

Friday, September 27, 2019 B3

Health dept, PhilHealth shortchanged by ₧28.3B

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

ENATE President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto bared last Thursday that the Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) were “shortchanged” in “sin” tax shares, collected from tobacco, alcohol and sweetened beverages.

Saying the DOH and PhilHealth should not be “begging for funds,” the senator emphasized that these two vital agencies should “automatically be getting what is due them” as provided in the TRAIN law, referring to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion.

Recto lamented that for 2020, the two agencies’ sin tax dividends are P28.3 billion short of what Republic Act (RA) 11346 guarantees, noting that “this results in severe budget anemia.”

The Senate President Pro Tempore asserted that the language of the law is “clear and concise,” pointing out that RA 11346 specifically mandated that 50 percent

of excise tax collections on sin and soda product shall be earmarked for health.

He added that the 50-percent health share shall, in turn, “be allocated and used exclusively” as follows: 80 percent to PhilHealth for Universal Health Care and 20 percent to the DOH’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) and Medical Assistance Program.

Recto recalled that in 2018, total collections from alcohol amounted to P68.8 billion; from tobacco products, P136.08 billion; and sugar sweetened beverages, P38 billion, for a total of P242.8 billion.

The senator noted t he combined D OH - Ph i l He a lt h 50 - p e rce nt

share should be P110.9 billion, net of other deductions. Following the 80-20 sharing, P88.72 billion should go to PhilHealth and P22.18 billion to DOH-HFEP and medical assistance. But he adds that under the 2020 budget, PhilHealth gets P67.3 billion, or P21.42 billion below what its share should be.

“And as for the DOH, its HFEP is earmarked P5.9 billion, and its Medical Assistance Program P9.4 billion, or P6.9 billion short of what the law guarantees,” Recto noted adding that based on the 2020 budget, the DBM owes them P28.3 billion in the total amount of sin tax collections.

“Ang batas ay pinirmahan ni Pangulong Duterte. Alam niya kaya na hindi wasto ang pagpapatupad nito?

[Is the President aware that a law he signed is not being implemented properly?]” Recto wondered “Remember, RA 11346 was sold on the seductive promise that taxes collected from sin products will be spent for health; that higher taxes on vice will be used to fund the virtues of health care.”

Recto reminded concerned officials that “government must redeem and not renege on this promissory note,” stressing that Congress is “duty-bound to rectify this mistake.”

B4 Friday, September 27, 2019

Shaking things up in Boracay

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F you’re about to book your next Boracay escapade, then make sure to check out this fresh find that is shaking things up in one of the best islands in Philippines.

Nestled in Boracay’s far less crowded Bulabog side, Aqua Boracay takes pride in its high-end rooms and suites, and function rooms.

Operational since mid April, 2019, the luxury resort delights in its recently concluded pool party series: Soak, Popsicle, and Detox.

Another hotel highlight is The Day Club, featuring renowned Chef Chele

Gonzalez’s sexy pool club menu with savory staples like Coconut Tempura, Lobster Nachos, and Grilled Shrimp Tacos. The Day Club is open from 11 AM to 8 PM daily.

But if you’re in it for the view— then their Ibiza Suite is for you. A private suite with a giant pool perfect for some sunset drinks or for a weekend party of your own.

Add luxury to their corporate experienc. Check out Aqua Boracay’s event and function packages. Spanning from mid to large scale gatherings, the resort guarantees an unmatched

experience of quality leisure and pleasure.

Visit https://www.aquaboracay. com for more information. Follow Aqua Boracay on Facebook and @ aquaboracay on Instagram.

Make reservations through reservations@aquaboracay.com.

Experience - Aquaboracay Be the talk of the island and throw the biggest private party Boracay has ever seen. Give your guests the ultimate Aqua Boracay experience with your own private pool and increase your cool status by aquaboracay.com

MSI AT 2019 ASIA FOOD EXPO. Showcasing complete solutions for industrial food packaging at the 2019 Asia Food Expo are Materials Solutions Inc. President Danny Gutierrez and Nat’l Sales Director Miguel Gutierrez. Together with them are organization development consultants Efren Arieta and Melody Rose Arieta. MSI is the primary distributor of global brands Markem Imaje, Leeson Polyurethane, PT Aica Indria, ITW Dynatec and Nine Lights & Co Korea. MSI Global Office is located at Suite 904, South Center Tower, 2206 Market Street, Madrigal Business Park, Alabang.

All-gender restrooms begin to roll out at SM Supermalls

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AKING a leap towards a more gender-inclusive community, SM Supermalls will begin to install all-gender restrooms in its malls starting with its premier malls across Metro Manila, including SM Mall of Asia, SM City North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Aura Premier, The Podium, and at SM Seaside City Cebu beginning this November.

“With inclusivity and innovation at the core of everything we do, we endeavor to create spaces where all shoppers are welcome,” said SM Supermalls COO Steven Tan. As a third home of Filipinos after work and school, SM Supermalls will continue to provide a safe community space that advocates inclusivity, equality, and respect for all regardless of gender expression, identity, or sexual orientation.

For more information, visit www.supermalls.com or check out SM’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@SMSupermalls).

FIGHT ON AGAINST PREGNANCY POLICY D OHA, Qatar—For decades, the message to women in track and field was crystal clear: get pregnant, lose sponsorship money.

A rebellion led by some of the sport’s top runners, Allyson Felix, Kara Goucher and Alysia Montano, is helping to change that.

Two months after the US women’s soccer players stated their case for equal pay, women in track and field come to their major event, the world championships in Doha, having found their footing on another important crusade—retaining full pay from their sponsorship deals after they get pregnant.

“It’s the power of the collective,” Felix said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Alysia speaking, Kara speaking, the women’s soccer team. It’s just such a pivotal time right now in women’s sports, and we’re seeing change happen.”

The six-time Olympic and 11-time world champion had a baby girl in November and will compete on the women’s relay team next week at the worlds in Doha, where she will have a new apparel sponsor, Athleta, after spending years with Nike.

Nike responded to the outcry, as well, announcing in May that it would not apply performance-related pay reductions for pregnant athletes for a consecutive period of 12 months. Then, last month, the company expanded that to 18 months—starting eight months before the due date— and pledged to include specific language about pregnancy in its contracts to reinforce the policy.

“We recognize we can do more and that there is an important opportunity for the sports industry to evolve to support female athletes,” Nike said in a statement.

The fights for women’s rights in soccer and track have taken different trajectories and centered on different issues, but both had been under way for several years before they came to a head this summer.

The members of the US women’s soccer team, with Megan Rapinoe spearheading the move, brought their long-standing struggle for equal pay to the fore during their march to the World Cup title this summer.

At issue is the difference in the collectively bargained pay structures between the US men’s and women’s teams, which for decades has left the women making less per game.

The women’s team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit in March, and in the aftermath of its victory in the World Cup, momentum has been building for a revisiting of the pay gap, including a bill in Congress that would ensure equal pay for athletes who represent the United States in global competitions.

Track and field hasn’t dealt with as many equal-pay issues, in part because men and women compete at the same time at the same venue, so there’s never been an accurate way to measure attendance and viewership for one gender over the other.

The women’s side of the sport has long produced as much talent and star power as the men: Felix, Sanya Richards-Ross, Marion Jones, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and the list goes on.

Meanwhile, USA Track and Field has established a pay system based on merit and potential that pays men and women equally.

“I understand the discrepancies in other sports, and exposure and differences in that sort of thing,” said agent Paul Doyle, who represents a number of track athletes, including hurdler Nia Ali, a mother of two. But in track and field, “this is the same exposure. Diamond League meets have just as many female events as male events. It’s as interesting a sport as the men’s sport.”

But, as the world found out this year, the conversation changes when it comes to endorsement contracts in a sport in which an increasing number of female athletes are putting careers on hold to have babies, then returning to compete at a high level.

In May, Montano, the six-time US champion who famously raced while she was eight months pregnant, broke nondisclosure agreements with Nike to produce a video describing the reality of being a woman in track and field.

“The sports industry allows for men to have a full career, and when a woman decides to have a baby, it pushes women out at their prime,” she said. “When I told [Nike] I wanted to have a baby during my career, they said, ‘Simple, we’ll just pause your contract and stop paying you.’”

Montano is five months pregnant with her third child and now has a sponsorship deal with an active wear company, Cadenshae, which has vowed to support her regardless of whether she returns to the track.

Her message led Felix and Goucher to both go public with their stories, as well.

In a New York Times opinion piece, Felix recounted how Nike “wanted to pay me 70 percent less than before.”

She eventually helped push the company to change the way it deals with pregnant athletes. When Nike revised its contracts, she celebrated.

“This means that female athletes will no longer be financially penalized for having a child,” Felix wrote on Instagram.

Goucher also participated in the op-ed, describing the pressure she felt from Nike to go back to training instead of caring for her newborn son, Colt. Despite Nike’s changes, Goucher now lists Altra as her shoe sponsor.

While Goucher and Montano will not compete in Doha this week, Felix will be there, and she won’t be the only mother on the track.

Ali, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist in the 100 hurdles, will be there. Two-time Olympic sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica is a mom. Marathoner Roberta Groner has three kids.

Joanna Hayes, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist, now coaches 20-year-old hurdler Sydney McLaughlin. Nine years ago, Hayes put her career on hold to have a baby, then “came back on a whim, just to have fun, and I ran OK.” But nearly a decade later, the issue is resonating much more widely, and not only on the track and the soccer pitch.

“We’re going to see a big difference,” Hayes said. “You hear stories about this in corporate America—so many things that women go through just to have children, and so I think it’s just great to see women standing together for a cause.” AP

Sports BusinessMirror

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| Friday, September 27, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

IN this June 26, 2014, file photo, Alysia Montano, who is 34 weeks pregnant, competes in the quarterfinals of the 800-meter event at the US outdoor track and field championships in Sacramento, California, in June 2014, as Allyson Felix holds her daughter Camryn after running the women’s 400-meter final at the US Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, last July. AP COE

Russia doping woes hound reelected IAAF president D

OHA, Qatar— With a lucrative sponsorship deal to open his second term, Sebastian Coe has one hope for the next four years leading track and field.

“Not to be dominated by Russia,” the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president said after being reelected unopposed on Wednesday. “It has been a tough four years. There is no point being naïve or coy about that.”

And the Russia doping issues are not going to be wiped from the slate soon.

The country’s ban from the IAAF for operating a systematic doping scheme was extended by the governing body’s congress just before all 203 delegates endorsed the 62-year-old Coe’s mandate for a second term.

When the world championships open in Doha on Friday, the only Russians competing will do so without

their country’s flag or uniform in the Khalifa International Stadium. One current world champion, the high jumper Mariya Lasitskene, is among the 30 Russians.

There are 11 more Russian neutral athletes competing than at the 2017 world championships in London when Russia was first excluded as the IAAF set a rigorous benchmark for punishing doping that other sports have shied away from.

But convicting more cheats could be tougher after an IAAF task force earlier this week flagged up apparent tampering in data from Moscow’s anti-doping lab, with suspicious results apparently deleted or altered—even after Russia had already been punished for earlier coverup attempts.

“We separated the clean athlete from the tainted system,” Coe said. “That again in large part has worked.

But this has to be under review.”

The tough stance taken by Coe transformed perceptions of his willingness to confront Russia’s deception after the double Olympic 1,500-meter champion faced scrutiny over whether he knew earlier about the doping corruption than previously disclosed.

“The world divides into two groups,” Coe said in the Qatari capital. “Those prepared not to look the other way and tackle the problem even if there are short-term issues in doing so...and those who wait for sports like us to do what we need to do, and then follow.”

For Coe a clean athletics also needs to be a more popular one in the post-Usain Bolt era.

“I want the next four years to be the fun bit,” said Coe, who succeeded now-disgraced Lamine Diack as IAAF president in 2015 after leading the 2012 London Olympics. “We have to grow the sport. We know we have to reach beyond the beltway of athletics fans.”

A new commercial deal with the Wanda Group

announced by Coe should help to achieve that mission, with the future of the Diamond League series safeguarded by the Chinese conglomerate gaining the title sponsorship from 2020.

The deal is worth more than $100 million over 10 years, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial details were not being disclosed.

Wanda, a global real estate and film production group, is expanding its sports backing into athletics having already signed up as a top-tier sponsor of Fifa’s World Cup through 2030.

The deal with the IAAF allows Wanda to organize a Diamond League meet in China, where there is currently a stop in Shanghai, and create a new event for the governing body in the country. That could be a street race event, the person with knowledge of the deal said.

Wanda has also gained the media rights for the Diamond League from 2025 through its Infront division, which is led by Philippe Blatter, the nephew of disgraced former Fifa President Sepp Blatter.

“It is the biggest single commercial partnership in the history of athletics,” Coe said.

IAAF election day started with the Athletics Integrity Unit suspending one of the vice presidential candidates —Ahmed Al Kamali of the United Arab Emirates—for potential violations of the code of conduct.

The IAAF elected its first female vice president, with the vote won by Ximena Restrepo, the sprinter who collected Colombia’s first Olympic medal in athletics at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

The other vice presidents are Sergei Bubka of Ukraine, Geoffrey Gardner of Norfolk Island and Prince Nawaf Bin Mohammed Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. AP

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Business

Friday, September 27, 2019

Pakistani coach regrets absence of Sri Lanka aces

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Spo

ARACHI, Pakistan—Pakistan’s Head Coach and Chief Selector Misbah-ul-Haq says Sri Lanka’s top players should have come for the limited-overs series in Pakistan after being assured of head-of-state-like security by the government.

Ten of Sri Lanka’s best players pulled out of the three-match ODI series and three Twenty20s in Pakistan due to security concerns—including ODI captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Twenty20 captain Lasith Malinga.

It is the first time since Sri Lanka’s team bus was attacked by terrorists in Lahore in 2009 that a foreign team will conduct a two-week tour of Pakistan. Major teams have avoided Pakistan since that ambush, which killed eight people and injured several players.

“Being a cricketer everyone’s life is very precious,” Misbah said on Wednesday. “We are also here, rest of the players are also here...I think they should have had considered it when the government is giving assurances.”

The current tour, which begins with the first ODI on Friday, also looked in doubt after the Sri Lankan cricket board said it had been warned by its government about a possible terrorist threat. But it finally got the go-ahead from the SLC after Pakistan’s government promised that the army would coordinate the security over the two-week long visit.

Major teams have avoided Pakistan since that 2009 attack, although the country has gradually tried to win back the confidence of the cricket world by hosting Zimbabwe, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and a World XI for limited-overs matches—all of them amid intense security—over the past four years.

And Misbah said he hopes more teams will follow Sri Lanka in conducting longer tours.

“Pakistan is not a cricketing nation which should be sidelined from cricket,” he said. “It has a rich history, we had won the T20 World Cup, we had been the No. 1 test team in the world, we had won the 50 overs World Cup. Pakistan is a big team, everyone should think about it.”

The Sri Lanka team, which arrived on Tuesday amid tight security, rested in their team hotel on Wednesday. Pakistan team’s practice session was canceled on Wednesday due to rain in this southern port city and both teams will have training session at National Stadium on Thursday. AP

T

HE International Ski Federation (FIS) has signed onto a United Nations (UN) climate-change initiative in a move some view as a welcome about-face from its president, whose comments about environmentalists alarmed leaders in the ski and snowboard community.

FIS announced Wednesday that it had joined the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and made it part of its sustainability policy.

The announcement comes seven months after the athletes’ group Protect Our Winters (POW) and the world’s largest snowboard maker called for FIS President Gian Franco Kasper’s resignation after he spoke of “so-called climate change” and said he would rather deal with dictators than environmentalists.

Kasper later apologized. On Wednesday, in a statement announcing FIS’s sign-on to the climate-change document, he said: “This is an important and clear step for FIS to play

CLIMATE ADVOCATE its role in combating climate change.”

POW said that based on a campaign it started, more than 9,000 people wrote letters to FIS demanding serious action on climate change, as well as Kasper’s resignation.

“We are encouraged to see that the FIS listened to the concerns of our community and hope this is the first step in FIS leveraging its platform to address the crisis with the urgency and seriousness it deserves,” POW Executive Director Mario Molina said.

Donna Carpenter, the co-CEO of Burton Snowboards, also applauded the move.

“It’s encouraging to see that the FIS is no longer denying climate change and has taken an initial step toward being part of the

SILVA LOSES PAN AM GOLD S ÃO PAULO—Olympic judo champion Rafaela Silva of Brazil was stripped of her Pan American Games gold medal on Wednesday after failing a doping test.

Silva was the winner of the title of the 57-kilogram category in Lima, the same category in which she triumphed at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. She can still appeal the decision.

Organizers of the Pan Am Games said in a statement that Silva and six other athletes had failed their doping tests during the competition in August.

“We have concluded the process for seven cases, which resulted in the athletes being disqualified from the Games, as well as their medals and performances forfeited and removed,” organizers said. “The results management process has been lengthy as we have ensured that the athletes’ rights have been fully respected, especially in relation to confidentiality.”

The 27-year-old Silva announced last week that she tested positive for fenoterol, a drug used to treat

asthma. The judoka blamed her frequent contact with a seven-month-old baby that suffers from asthma for the doping result.

The Brazilian is one of the favorites to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics next year.

Dominican baseball players Audry Joel Perez and Osvaldo Manuel Abreu; Brazilian cyclist Kacio Fonseca da Silva; Peruvian handball player Brian Cesar Paredes Vergara; Puerto Rican bowler Jean Francisco Perez Faure; and Colombian basketball player Narlyn Tathiana Mosquera Cordoba also failed their tests.

Organizers said the doping positives of the Brazilian cyclist and of the Puerto Rican bowler also made their teams lose a bronze and a gold medal, respectively. AP ORGANIZERS of the Pan Am Games say in a statement that Rafaela Silva and six other athletes have failed their doping tests during the competition in August.

solution,” she said.

The announcement came on the same day a UN climate panel released a report saying, among other things, that Arctic June snow cover has shrunk more than half since 1967 and Arctic sea ice in September is down almost 13 percent per decade since 1979.

That melting has corresponded with shorter winters across the globe, which profoundly affects winter athletes

who need snow and glaciers, which are also rapidly melting, for training and competitions.

Eighty sports organizations, including 14 international sports federations such as FIS, and organizing committees for the next three Olympics have signed onto the Sports for Climate Action Framework.

The document calls on signatories to promote five core principles, including reducing the overall climate impact from sports and advocating for climate action through their communications. AP

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Friday, September 27, 2019 C3

Angels get back at Perlas Spikers

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ETRO Gazz got back into the groove and downed BanKo-Perlas in emphatic fashion, 25-18, 25-18, 25-22, in a duel of top contenders in the Premier Volleyball League Season 3 Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan late Wednesday.

Not only did the victory net the Angels the second spot at 7-2 (won-lost) behind the unbeaten Creamline Cool Smashers but it also avenged their four-set setback to the Perlas Spikers in the early going of the tournament while they played practically out of form coming off a big celebration for their breakthrough Reinforced Conference title feat.

“We were then coming off a long rest following our title victory, so we struggled,” said Petro Gazz Arnold Laniog, referring to their 20-25, 25-11, 2125, 18-25 loss to the Perlas Spikers in the opening game of the season-ending conference organized by Sports Vision last August 11.

“But this time, we really came into the match

well-prepared,” he added.

Their buildup also included a weeklong stint in a Taiwan meet that further toughened the Angels, whose latest triumph was their sixth straight, a streak that could line them up for a crack at back-to-back championships in the league backed by Mikasa, Asics and KFC. Jovie Prado and Jeanette Panaga unloaded 12 hits apiece, combining for 21 of the Angels’ 44 attack points while Cherry Nunag and Jonah Sabete scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, to help anchor the Angels’ 80-minute romp.

Nunag also accounted for three of the team’s seven kill blocks.

The Angels also pounced on their rivals’ poor reception to score seven aces while yielding just one.

Dzi Gervacio fired 13 points and finished with nine digs while Nicole Tiamzon was held to just six points, the same output put in by Sue Roces for BanKo-Perlas, which slipped to fifth at 6-5.

CONE NAMES POOL FOR SEAG THE Blu Girls engage the higher-ranked New Zealand into a defensive game and prevails, 1-0, to earn a spot in the Super Round.

BLU GIRLS MAKE SEMIS OF TOKYO QUALIFIER T

HE Philippine women’s softball team engaged the higher-ranked New Zealand squad into a defensive game and prevailed, 1-0, to earn a spot in the Super Round (final four) of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Softball Asia/Oceania Qualifier on Thursday at the Shanghai Chongming Sports Training Center in China.

With the score tied at 0-0 at the bottom of the sixth inning, the Blu Girls committed back-to-back catching errors and barely missed a double play in the next play to send New Zealand’s Mareana Makea in scoring position at third base.

But pitcher Ann Antolihao struck out Hailey Breakwell to close the inning and save the day for the Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Girls.

Both teams failed to score in the

seventh inning and the International Tie Break rule for softball was applied.

In the eighth inning, outfielder Chelsea Suitos hit a single to right field that sent Sierra Lang home and gave the Philippines a 1-0 lead.

The Blu Girls continued to play well defensively at the bottom of the eighth inning and prevented the No. 11 ranked New Zealand from scoring until the final out.

“I’m more than happy that the Blu Girls were able to bounce back and win against New Zealand.

It just goes to show how talented our team is, and how determined they are at making our countrymen proud,” Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (ASAPHIL) President Jean Henri Lhuillier said.

“Let’s hope that the team continues to win

and earn that Olympic spot,” he added.

The 13th ranked Philippines finished at second place in Group B with a 2-1 win-loss record. The Blu Girls advanced to the Super Round (final four) along with Group B tormentor China and the top two teams from Group A—No. 7 ranked Australia and No. 6 Chinese Taipei.

All four teams will carry over the result of the games played against each other giving the Blu girls a 0-1 record in the Super Round.

The Philippines lost to world No. 8 China, 8-3, last Wednesday and defeated Korea, 10-1, last Tuesday.

The top team in the tournament will gain the sixth and final berth for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Japan claimed the first spot as host of the Games. USA got the second berth as the 2018

WBSC world champion followed by Italy, the Europe/ Africa Olympic qualifier winner.

The next two slots were secured by Mexico and Canada from the WBSC Softball Americas Olympic Qualifier.

New Zealand bounced back from their opening defeat by seeing off South Korea 5-1 in the group’s other game.

In Group B, Australia backed up its 5-1 win over Chinese Taipei yesterday by easing past Indonesia, 8-0, in five innings.

Chinese Taipei, the highest-ranked side at the event at number six in the world, recovered with a 7-0 win over Hong Kong, who had pipped Indonesia, 6-5.

JASON CASTRO is back for another tour of duty.

H

EAD Coach Tim Cone opted for a veteran pool predominantly laced with Barangay Ginebra players for the national team that will defend the men’s basketball gold medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in November.

Ramirez confident of Diaz’s SEAG, Tokyo Olympics bids

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HILIPPINE Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez is all positive on Hidilyn Diaz’s campaign to dominate the 30th Southeast Asian Games and qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“She’ll make it!” said Ramirez, also the chef of mission to the SEA Games as Diaz, a double-bronze medalist in the world weightlifting championships paid him a visit on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

The 28-year-old Diaz bagged bronze medals in the 55 kg division after lifting a combined weight of 214 kgs in the snatch and clean and jerk in the worlds. She needs at least two more competitions

to cement her slot in the Tokyo Olympics.

Ramirez welcomed the three-time Olympian Diaz, Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP) President Monico Puentevella and the rest of the national weightlifting team who competed in the worlds Thailand hosted in Pattaya recently.

“For me, these are gold medals,” Ramirez said, referring to the bronze Diaz brought home from Thailand.

“I would like to thank the PSC and other sponsors for their continuous support to my campaign. Now, I will continue on my mission to qualify and win gold in Tokyo, and also represent the country for the SEA Games,” said Diaz, who is

AY BAYRON overcame an early mishap with a cluster of birdies and came in one of the late flights with a four-under 68 to trail TaiwaneseAmerican Lein Benjamin by three at the start of the $100,000 Nan Pao Professional Golfers Association of Taiwan (TPGA) Open at the Nan Pao Golf Club in Tainan, Taiwan, on Thursday.

Tony Lascuña earlier stumbled at the finish but his 69, likewise, proved to be an inspiring start for the two Filipino bets, who stayed in the early mix in a day of torrid scoring where eagles flew and birdies soared despite the tight layout’s unpredictable, undulating surface.

But while Lascuña expected to churn out a fine round in hot conditions, Bayron said he was lucky to rebound from a faulty start that saw him flub a 3-footer for par on the first hole but birdied the next and Nos. 8, 9, 13 and 15 to get back into early contention in the second Philippine Golf Tour Asia event held here this year.

“I didn’t expect to shoot this card. Given a bad start and the tough greens that were so difficult to read, I considered myself just lucky enough to finish with a 68,” said Bayron, who struggled and wound up tied for 27th in the

Daan TPGA Open in Taichung last May. That put Bayron, also out to snap a two-year title spell, at joint 10th with three others, three strokes off the hot-starting Benjamin while Lascuña, who served notice of his title bid by topping the pro-am Wednesday, stood a shot farther back with eight others at 14th place.

With a four-under card after 17 holes, Lascuña earlier looked at a potential birdie off a solid drive on his closing par-5 544-yard hole on No. 9 and went for his driver again from 297 yards out. But he didn’t hit it the way he had wanted, the ball fading then finding it later on a plugged lie just before the large pond fronting the green.

He came up short on his third shot, hit it over the green on the next before drilling a fivefooter for bogey, one of two blue marks in an, otherwise, remarkable 36-33 card that dropped him to joint eighth after holding the joint No. 2 spot on the leaderboard with an 8-foot birdie on the par-3 third hole.

Red Lions repeat over Altas, stay unbeaten in 14 games

looking for her first gold medal finish in the SEA Games this November.

Ramirez assured Diaz that the PSC will support her participation in three other qualifying competitions for Tokyo 2020.

Diaz said that she is focused on her mission to win an Olympic gold medal.

Puentevella, meanwhile, bared that besides Diaz, three other weightlifters are set to qualify for Tokyo 2020.

“We are also looking at our veteran weightlifters Nestor Colonia, Elreen Ando and Kristel Macrohon to join Hidilyn in qualifying for Tokyo,” Puentevella said.

BAYRON TRAILS BY 3 IN TAIWAN J

S WORLD championships double-bronze medalist Hidilyn Diaz (center) makes a courtesy call on Team Philippines Chef de Mission William Ramirez (right), also the chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission, on Thursday with Weightlifting Association President Monico Puentevella.

Huge foreign cast vies in Black Arrow 5150

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JAY BAYRON shoots a four-under 68 in the first round.

Cone announced the list on Thursday with Gin Kings LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Art de la Cruz, Stanley Pringle and Greg Slaughter on board.

Jayson Castro returns to active duty for Gilas Pilipinas after skipping the China Fiba World Cup. He will be joined by TNT teammates RR Pogoy and Troy Rosario in the 15-man pool.

Also included were San Miguel’s Marcio Lassiter, Christian Standhardinger, Chris Ross and June Mar Fajardo, Alaska’s Vic Manuel and Phoenix’s Matthew Wright.

The team is expected to dominate the SEA Games basketball competitions scheduled from December 4 to 11.

Cone said he wanted to coach players who are familiar with his system.

“With limited practice, we don’t have a whole lot of time for a tryout and get a lot of the guys in. So we narrowed it down and tried to come up with the idea of maybe, because of the short window we have, we should go with the team I’m familiar with,” Cone said.

Cone set practices every Monday starting next week.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas also revealed the pool for the 3-on-3 team. They are Anthony Semerad, Robert Bolick, Chris Newsome, Terrence Romeo, Ian Sangalang, Mac Belo, Chris Banchero, Raymond Almazan, CJ Perez, Jason Perkins, Mo Tautuaa and Baser Amer.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

NSPIRED by the success of its inaugural run, the Black Arrow Express (BAE) 5150 Triathlon Subic Bay gears up for a bigger, more explosive staging when the second edition is held October 27, in Subic Bay. Set up over the Olympic distance of 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-km bike and 10-km run, the BAE 5150 is expected to draw again not only the top pros bracing for bigger battles but also triathletes who love to do short-distance but challenging races on a world-class race course long considered as the country’s triathlon capital.

Australia’s Mitch Robins and Guam’s Manami Iijima claimed the bragging rights as the first BAE 5150 champs when they bucked the tough field and the heat to rule their respective divisions last year.

They are expected to defend their crowns in the centerpiece pro division which offers a top

purse of $10,000, while P200,000 will be up for grabs in the Asian Elite category of the event organized by Sunrise Events Inc., now part of the Ironman Group.

Also on tap in the event, sponsored by one of the country’s top cargo movers, is the Go for Gold Sunrise Sprint, a short distance triathlon series featuring a 750-meter open-water swim, 20-km bike ride and a 5-km run put up by Go for Gold to help Filipino athletes promote excellence.

Originally set November 3, the event was moved to an earlier date to give way to the country’s preparations for the 30th Southeast Asian Games from November 30 to December 11.

Registration is ongoing with deadline set on October 13. For details, contact secretariat at bl ackarrowexpress@5150philippines.com. For pro athletes, contact preregistration@ironman.com.

AN Beda flexed its muscle in the fourth quarter and trounced University of Perpetual Help, 75-62, to remain unbeaten in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 seniors basketball tournament on Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The Red Lions—already assured of a semifinals berth—chalked up their 14th straight victory.

Donald Tankoua had 17 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, while Most Valuable Player award frontrunner Calvin Oftana also tallied 17 points that went with nine boards.

“We’re happy that we just made stops with our zone and then made our shots in the end,” San Beda Head Coach Boyet Fernandez said after the team put premium on defense in the final quarter that sent the Altas in disarray.

“We cannot win a championship with the way we played today,” Fernandez admitted. “It’s not a 46-point win, but as long as we win, that’s all that matter for me. And we’ll just learn from this.”

The Red Lions routed the Altas, 102-56, in the first round last August 16.

On Thursday, the Altas were prepared and even led, 33-31, at half time.

But urgency kicked in and the Mendiolabased squad held on and took four point lead going into the final quarter.

Tankoua, Oftana and AC Soberano engineered a 20-7 run that gave them a 70-53 cushion with 2:45 remaining.

James Canlas added 16 points for the Red Lions, while Soberano shot six of his eight points in the pivotal fourth period. Kim Aurin paced Perpetual Help with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Benedict Adamos and Jielo Razon chipped in 12 points apiece. The Altas slipped to 3-9. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

THOMAS READY FOR FRESH START Sports

By Michael Wagaman

BusinessMirror

The Associated Press

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APA, California—Justin Thomas didn’t get much rest during the four weeks between seasons. The 2017 FedEx Cup champion helped raise money for hurricane victims in the Bahamas, spent two weeks recovering from minor skin cancer surgery, then flew cross country to California to make his season debut in the Safeway Open.

With the obvious exception of the skin cancer, it was about as perfect a break as Thomas could have expected.

“It really was,” Thomas said Wednesday. “I feel very refreshed. I was excited to come here, when in past years I probably wasn’t excited to come to the first event because I was still kind of over golf. But I’m very, very ready to get this season going and feel like it could be a great year.”

Thomas got an early lead on the par72, 7,166-yard north course at Silverado Country Club while pairing with former National Football League (NFL) quarterback and current CBS analyst Tony Romo in the pro-am. The duo shot one-under 71, seven shots off the lead.

Romo will also be playing in the Safeway Open on a sponsor exemption.

Because he’s scheduled to work Sunday’s NFL game between the Vikings and Bears in Chicago, Romo will bypass his day job to play the final two rounds if he makes the cut.

Asked if he’s spending his evenings studying the Vikings and Bears or the greens at Silverado, Romo smiled. “I do both. I’ve got enough time.”

Phil Mickelson and National Basketball Association star Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors were four strokes better at five-under 67. Teams led by Corey Conners and Marc Leishman finished tied for first at eight-under 64.

Curry and Mickelson drew the biggest crowd as several hundred fans lined the fairways, many of them wearing Warriors jerseys and screaming out Curry’s name as the two-time MVP walked past.

“You saw him dropping all kinds of bombs off the tee, just hellacious bombs, deep and very accurate, certainly straighter than what I have,” Mickelson said about Curry. “He was in the fairway most of the day and played exceptional.

That’s why he’s such a good golfer and can compete at a very high level.”

Thomas is looking to get back on top.

He felt he played some of the best golf of his career in 2018-19 yet only had one win to show for it—at the BMW Championship at Medinah in August. That came the week before the season-ending Tour Championship where Thomas

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| Friday, September 27, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

entered with the overall points lead but left without a second title following a disappointing tie for third.

Eager to put that behind, Thomas heads into the Safeway Open as one of the favorites to win among a field that includes Mickelson, defending tournament champ Kevin Tway and Hall of Famer Fred Couples.

“It’s a ball-striker’s course,” Thomas said. “You have to be smart, and that’s something that I think I’ve gotten a lot better at. When you get out of position, just don’t force it. That’s when you start making bogeys.”

That Thomas chose to make his debut at the Safeway Open after skipping the tournament the previous two years seems appropriate as he tries to put the disappointment of last season behind.

In four previous trips to the picturesque course nestled at the foot of wine country in Napa Valley, the 26-year-old has had mixed results.

He placed 72nd in 2013, missed the cut the following year, placed third in 2015 and was eighth in 2016.

The Safeway Open had traditionally been the season opener after the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour went to wraparound schedule in 2013. This year it was moved back to the third stop, making it easier for Thomas to return after skipping the event the past two years.

Still, Thomas expects some rustiness after his offseason was disrupted by a skin cancer scare following a routine visit to a dermatologist. A mole on Thomas’s left calf was discovered to be in the early stages of melanoma and treatment was done quickly, putting his offseason on hold.

Thomas called it an eye-opening experience.

“They cut a pretty good-sized chunk off my leg,” said Thomas, who has a long scar to remind him.

“I couldn’t do nothing, like literally nothing, for two days. I couldn’t put in any kind of long days of practice. Then I got the stitches out [Monday].”

Tway is trying to become the second player in tournament history to win in back-to-back years after he beat Ryan Moore on the third playoff hole last season.

Tway played a practice round Tuesday when he relived the memory of winning at Silverado a year ago.

“I was like, ‘I’ll always make this putt,’” Tway said.

“It was fun relishing in the moment again.”

STEPHEN CURRY reacts after missing a birdie putt on the first green of the Silverado Resort North Course as Justin Thomas chips the ball onto the third green during the Safeway Open on Wednesday. AP

Simmons falls in love with basketball again P

HILADELPHIA—Videos of Ben Simmons making jumpers flooded social media over the summer and the All-Star point guard is ready to take his game to another level when the Philadelphia 76ers open camp next week.

“I feel like this summer I fell in love with the game again,” Simmons told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I kind of got back to who I was and having fun with the game. I felt like the past season I lost that enjoyment side of it but I feel like this summer has been huge for me. Just the work I’ve been putting in, I kinda fell in love with putting that work in again and I’ve been in the gym every day working and the results have been paying off so I’m excited for the season to start.

Simmons, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016, has helped lead the Sixers to the second round of the NBA playoffs two straight seasons after making his debut in 2017. He was the Rookie of the Year that season and an All-Star for the first time last season.

Simmons has averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists, and signed a $170 million, five-year contract extension in July.

Philadelphia is 101-58 in regular-season games when Simmons plays. He has had 22

triple-doubles in the past two seasons, tied for third most in the league with Denver’s Nikola Jokic and trailing Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (59) and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (26).

Simmons also has had 80 double-doubles over the past two seasons.

But the one knock against Simmons has been his reluctance to shoot long jumpers and threepointers. He’s zero for 18 from beyond the arc, so defenses often focus on taking away his ability to drive to the basket and dare him to shoot.

He’s up for the challenge.

“I’m ready to be who I am as a player, continue to develop, keep working,” Simmons said. “It’s a process. It takes time. Obviously, people always want to see results straightaway but that’s not how things work.”

Simmons decided to focus on improving his game instead of playing for the Australian team at the Fiba World Cup earlier this month in China.

He rediscovered his love for basketball during those long hours in the gym and admitted the criticism weighed on him at times.

“I think sometimes you kind of get too deep into it where you listen to other people which should never be the thing you do unless they’re

giving you positive feedback or trying to help you get better because there’s a lot of negativity out there,” Simmons said, pointing to various socialmedia platforms.

“It’s huge once you kind of block that out, you don’t really care, you kinda go out there feeling free. You don’t care if you miss a shot because everyone misses a shot so that’s one of the things that I think this summer I got back to how I was as a player just playing and doing what I love at a high level.”

Despite being a lightning rod for criticism in Philadelphia, Simmons says he enjoys playing in front of a passionate fan base.

“I love being in Philadelphia. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he said. “I think this is the perfect place for me. I just handle [criticism] how it comes.”

Simmons heard plenty of boos after a poor performance in Philadelphia’s first-round series opener against Brooklyn in April. He had nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists, and shot one for five from the free throw line in a loss. Afterward, Simmons said: “If you’re gonna boo, then stay on that side.”

Simmons answered with his second career playoff triple-double in Game Two, finishing

with 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as Philadelphia reeled off four straight wins. He looks back at it as a learning experience.

“I had a terrible first game and I loved it when people are tweeting me saying all these negative things because the next game I came out [and played better],” Simmons said. “It kinda fires me up a little.”

Why does he even pay attention to the critics flexing their keyboard muscles?

“It’s hard to avoid. It’s hard to not see,” Simmons said. “I’ve done a better job of not watching certain things in terms of what people are saying but that was a good example of people not giving me positive feedback and I had to respond.”

The Sixers revamped their roster in the offseason, losing Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick, and adding Al Horford and Josh Richardson, and retaining Tobias Harris to play with Simmons and fellow All-Star Joel Embiid.

“We’re locked in. We’re ready to play,” Simmons said. “We’ve been in the gym. We’ve been there early. We’re competing trying to get each other better from the rooks to the guys who are vets. I think it’s going to be an exciting year for the 76ers.” AP

BEN SIMMONS rediscovers his love for basketball during those long hours in the gym and admits the criticism weighed on him at times. AP

FACIAL FRACTURE N

EW YORK—Kyrie Irving is hurt before his Nets career even begins.

Irving sustained a left side facial fracture after being elbowed during a pickup game, and the Nets said Wednesday the All-Star point guard is listed as day to day.

Irving was hurt Tuesday in one of the final workouts before the team opens training camp. The injury came less than an hour before General Manager Sean Marks and Coach Kenny Atkinson were scheduled to address the media, and Atkinson instead skipped the press conference to accompany Irving for evaluation.

Brooklyn opens training camp on Saturday.

Irving was signed in July after two seasons in Boston. He has had to wear a mask previously during games to protect a facial fracture, including early in the 2017-2018 season after he was elbowed by former teammate Aron Baynes. AP

Your word, oh God

Y

OUR word, oh God, is a lamp for our feet and light for our path.

We call upon Your wisdom as we pray: Oh God, lead us along Your everlasting way. Animate Catholic schools and other schools of learning to model service, cultivate worship and proclaim the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Increase your Church’s zeal for environmental sustainability and just stewardship. Help us to know the shortness of life and the joy of the Gospel. Inspire us to know You more, love You most and serve You endlessly. May God show us compassion, bless us with understanding and lead us together to everlasting life, through Jesus our brother. 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

GAB FAB: NEW YORK STATE OF MIND D4

Friday, September 27, 2019

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THIS ‘JOKER’ IS WILD KNOWN for his intense and authentic performances in character-driven films, Joaquin Phoenix historically avoids tentpole roles. But Todd Phillips’s Joker script stood out to him. “I thought it was bold,” says the actor. AP

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OAQUIN PHOENIX has been climbing stairs all day. The set of Todd Phillips’s Joker—today’s location is the Shakespeare Avenue steps in the Bronx, New York—is relatively intimate for a studio movie about a timeless comic book character. Apart from the caliber of its star and filmmaker at its helm, the production is bare bones: a few lights, cameras, actors and crew. No cranes, no two-story trailers and not a green screen in sight. This is largely due to the director’s insistence on creating a different kind of comic book movie, one with an aesthetic that might shock audiences with its rarity when it hits cinemas this fall.

“I really connected to all those films from the 1970s and 1980s—whether it’s Network or Taxi Driver or Serpico—because they were character-based,” says Phillips. “And it didn’t hurt that some of the best actors of our time were in all these movies.” Actors like Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert de Niro, whom he tapped to play the role of a late-night TV host in Joker. Phillips is attempting to apply the same thinking that produced those pictures closest to his heart. “They don’t get made as often nowadays. There’s just so much noise out there, you go, ‘How do you cut through and get people to show up to a character study? Maybe they would if you did it about Joker.’”

A key to Phillips’s plan was landing the right actor to play the famed antagonist, born as Arthur Fleck, in his iteration. He and fellow screenwriter Scott Silver knew they wanted Phoenix from the beginning, even going so far as to pin a photo of the actor’s face to the wall above their computer. Still, they were skeptical about their chances of actually working with him.

Phoenix, known for his intense and authentic performances in character-driven films, historically avoids tentpole roles. But Phillips’s Joker script stood out to him. “I thought it was bold. I thought it was a challenging character for me as an actor, as well as a character that would challenge the audience and their

preconceived ideas about the Joker. I thought it was really complex.”

In the film, Arthur keeps a journal. Writing in the journal himself, Phoenix recalls, “There were a few pages where I just wrote, ‘Step after step after step.’ Over and over, line by line.” This production feels similar, in a way. One can sense the many steps artists like Phillips and Phoenix have had to climb to reach this point of creative freedom with such popular material as Joker. A nontraditional vision for a DC film, with a star whose performance reaches incredible depths.

With Phoenix attached to play Fleck, and with the aid of veteran New York City producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff, the production was ready to dive into the dark, grungy world of Phillips’s Gotham: a reality removed from any comic book canon or cinematic universe you know. “I was looking to figure out a way to make this a very real world,” says production designer Mark Friedberg. “It isn’t a magical world. It isn’t an imagined world. It’s a world we know.”

Phillips, a native of New York City, knew from the outset that he wanted to shoot almost entirely on location in his hometown. He set the story in a version of Gotham around the year 1981. The old-world architecture of weathered neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts becomes a character in itself, engulfing its antihero like a feeding beast as he slogs up the stairs once again. “A lot of movies that are shot in New York want to see the bridges and the iconic buildings that everybody knows,” says Friedberg. “We’re trying to make a unique Gotham, a dark, gritty, tough city.”

A fellow New Yorker himself, the designer draws inspiration from his childhood and the places he grew up, an environment he describes as “rough” and “dysfunctional.” Fleck feels like a prisoner in this sense, just another rat trapped in the world’s largest maze. “Todd’s idea was to set Arthur in a part of Gotham where his daily journey involves trudging up

After three Oscarnominated performances, the exceptional Joaquin Phoenix turns in his most audacious and galvanizing yet as the titular character in Joker

public stairways and through alleys. This confuses his world in a good way.”

Another key component in creating the aesthetic for Phillips’s Gotham is clothing. Costume designer Mark Bridges has Phoenix in a soggy overcoat and oversized trousers. He flops along in a large black pair of shoes, hauling them up each step like a scuba diver wearing flippers as he salvages the last few millimeters of a cigarette. There’s a subdued circuslook to it (Fleck works as a party clown) that feels both surreal and organic to the soot-soaked city he inhabits. “Ultimately, my work comes down to telling a story,” says Bridges. “So, the fact that this particular version of it grows very organically, that appealed to me...I don’t think you can go wrong when you’re

telling a story with costume that way.”

Part of the challenge in dressing the Arthur character for any given scene is the component of the actor’s weight loss. Phoenix dropped 52 pounds in preparation for the role, consigning himself to an extreme diet of little more than an apple per day in an effort to achieve his sickly, hungry frame. “I honestly don’t know how he does it,” says Bridges. “It’s part of my collaboration with him, too. How do we hide it when we want to? How do we play it up? All that hard work of reshaping his physique, how do we show that off to its best advantage?”

This theme of control can be found throughout the production of the film. There’s an emphasis on the full exploration of classical filmmaking techniques, and an obvious hesitancy toward more modern visual effects. Still, Phillips and VFX Supervisor Edwin Rivera look to utilize the technology in a way that best serves the film’s more naturalistic sensibilities.

“It’s all fairly straightforward, basically figuring out where we want the city to be part of the story,” says Rivera. “But I think the balance will always be, in this particular film, using visual effects to help create the mood, but not the subject matter, of any one scene. I want everybody to feel it but never look at it.”

Because the film takes place around the early 1980s, much of Rivera’s job involves removing buildings or structures that do not fit the period from certain shots. In addition, he’s tasked with giving Gotham a unique look, one that will help to distance it from the actual New York City that existed in 1981, without sacrificing the authentic qualities the city inherently possesses.

“It’s making things look dreary, weather-worn, tired...it’s not going to be front and center, most of the work, but I don’t think it’s any less important in creating the base for any particular scene.”

CONTINUED ON D4

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Friday, September 27, 2019

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The reason for Riesling THE right Riesling is not difficult to find, as it can be made in a wide range of styles, from the bone-dry and delicate, to the lusciously sweet and powerful.

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By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Lacey Chabert, 37; Marion Cotillard, 44; Jenna Elfman, 48; Fran Drescher, 62.

FERMENTATION

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Face facts, consider what’s best for you and make the necessary adjustments. Put everything in order and free up your time. Being free and clear of clutter, past mistakes and situations that leave you in limbo will encourage you to stop standing still and start moving in a direction that will bring you closer to the life you want to live. Your lucky numbers are 6, 13, 20, 28, 32, 38, 49.

CECILE MAURICIO

cecile.mauricio@gmail.com

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Stop procrastinating and initiate the changes you want to make. Question your current relationships and the equality and balance in your life.

Look for an opening that excites and challenges you mentally or physically. Romance is encouraged. ★★★

F

IRST, there is the bottle, long and tapered unlike the familiar wine bottle with shoulders. Then there is the low alcohol level with some examples hovering at 8 percent, giving the impression that the wine is wimpy and spineless. And then because the wines are virtually oak-free, they are deemed unfashionable, swimming against the tide of rich, buttery, toasty whites that have had time in new oak barrels. Though still bypassed in favor of the more familiar wines made from chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, Riesling is widely considered as the greatest of white-wine grapes. Here is why.

Prized for its ability to ripen and accumulate sugar without losing its naturally high acidity, Riesling comes in a wide range of styles—from bone-dry to lusciously sweet dessert wines; from light and delicate to rich and full-bodied (and sparkling Riesling, too).

Its aromatic repertoire is just as varied, reflecting its origin or its age.

Lime, apricot and green apple flavors are found in young Riesling. With age, Riesling develops toasty, honeyed flavors, and, sometimes, petrol-like aromas.

Riesling is also one of the most long-lived white wines, celebrated for its ability to mature in bottle for years and still taste incredibly fresh, thanks to its high levels of acidity.

Riesling rules in Germany, its home ground where many of the most impressive Rieslings are made in the widest of styles. It grows as well in France (notably in Alsace), Australia, Austria, northern Italy and New Zealand, with limited plantings in Canada and the United States. But wherever it is planted, Riesling maintains its perfumed aromas and naturally high acidity, while still reflecting the nuances of climate and soil.

The Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Germany— famous for its vineyards with slate soils on steep slopes by the river—produces the lightest, most ethereal Rieslings, their sweetness balanced by soaring acidity. France’s Alsace region has the

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Keep moving forward. Incorporate changes that will keep you up to speed with everything taking place in your field or the latest technology. Listen to the voice of experience and rely on past mistakes when it’s time to confront a decision. ★★★

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take pride in what you do. Don’t feel you have to appease others when doing your own thing will bring the highest return. Get along with your peers, but put your responsibilities first. A problematic partnership should be reevaluated. ★★★

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t get in someone’s way. You’ll gain more in quiet pursuit of your own personal goals. Let others do as they please, and enjoy whatever brings you the most satisfaction. ★★

e driest climate in the country, thanks to the Vosges mountains that acts as a rain shelter, allowing for warm, dry and sunny autumns, resulting in grapes with high levels of sugar ripeness. Here, Riesling is characteristically drier, less floral, higher in alcohol and more powerful than its German counterparts.

In Austria, where Riesling is made in all levels of sweetness, most wines are either dry or very sweet with mind-blowing acidity.

Washington State in the US is noted for its dry Riesling. In Australia’s cooler Clare Valley and Eden Valley regions, examples are loaded with exuberant mango, guava and lime notes underlined by subtle sweetness. New Zealand and the Finger Lakes region of New York State, USA, also produce Riesling in the

fruity, off-dry style.

Navigating through Rieslings in the wine shop or the restaurant wine list can be daunting, especially when confronted with those from Germany. Difficult as they are to read, German wine labels indicate the sweetness levels of the wines. Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese—describing sweetness in ascending order—are the most commonly encountered terms.

But whether sweet or otherwise, Riesling is also an excellent food partner. The pairing possibilities are endless, given the wine’s wide range of styles.

Learning to appreciate Riesling in all its varied styles can be a bit of a struggle, but perhaps only in finding the right style that suits your taste—and your wallet. And remember, not all Rieslings are sweet. ■

LEADING Manila-based exporter Donny’s Choice, together with Thailand’s biggest duck meat provider BR Group of Cos., has officially brought the latter finest duck brand Dalee to the Philippines.

On September 10, the brand launch gathered various celebrities, businessmen and notable media personalities and individuals at Conrad Hotel and Resorts in celebration of Duck Day Manila.

They were the first to taste the exquisitely tender and delicious duck meat Dalee is known for.

During the event, the guests were all feasting their eyes on the specialty duck menu prepared by Pinoy celebrity chefs Boy Logro, Rosebud Benitez and Gene Gonzalez as every dish fused with Filipino cuisine had a succulent pink flesh and savory fats.

Aside from the local chefs, Thai Chef Willment Leong also graced the event with his expertise in duck courses. He served

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Stop procrastinating and start doing. Use your experience, drive and knowledge to persuade others to join your cause. Surround yourself with youthful, fresh minds eager to learn and to be a part of something exciting. Personal growth and romance are featured. ★★★★

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Put your heart and soul into being successful at whatever you decide to do. If change is required, make it happen and keep moving forward.

Refuse to let anyone distract you or lead you astray.

Believe in yourself. ★★★

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A change someone makes will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Don’t fight the inevitable; embrace whatever comes your way and make the most with what you’ve got to work with. ★★★

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Impulsive decisions should be avoided. Look for other alternatives before allowing anyone to coax you into participating in something questionable. ★★★

i

Duck Day Manila marked DONNY YEUNG (center) with guests toast in celebration of Duck Day

Today’s Horoscope

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Pay attention. Someone will try to take advantage of your generosity and easygoing attitude.

Don’t wait until your anger flares up; if you don’t want to do something, say no. Do what benefits you, not someone else. Be open regarding your feelings. ★★★

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You need a change. Take a different approach to your everyday routine, and you’ll find a way to drum up more interest in what you are doing. How you approach life will make a difference in the way others treat you. ★★★★

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A steady pace forward will help you reach your destination. Focus on being and doing your best. Look for a way to improve your current financial, legal or health situation. ★★

a variety of dishes that left the guests utterly satisfied. “We are excited to bring Dalee in the Philippines and introduce new flavors and new high-quality options to Filipino cuisine. We are a nation rich with food inspired by our very own culture and

history, but we don’t shy away from fusing these traditional recipes with flavors from other countries, and Dalee’s duck meat will definitely work well with that,” says Dalee Brand Manager Jessie Contrata.

Duck Day Manila is only the beginning

of a yearly celebration as Donny’s Choice aims to make September 10 as National Duck Day in the Philippines with the official declaration of the Office of the President and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A last-minute change will encourage others to pitch in and help you reach your goal. Keep your plans simple and affordable. If someone suggests something excessive, be quick to discourage such behavior. ★★★ BIRTHDAY BABY: You are outgoing, intelligent and perceptive.

You are sensitive and laid-back.

‘3-d printing’ BY EVAN KALISH The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Experiment setting 4 Mastercard alternative 8 Gives a PG-13 to, say 13 Columbia or Brown 14 Holy ___ Empire 15 Event notification that saves a stamp 16 Ellipsis, informally 18 Pagan religion 19 Affectionate nickname 20 Slap 22 Nicki who has a feud with Cardi B 24 Astrological ram 26 Doorbell prank 29 Bacteria behind many recalls 31 Chow chow chow maker 32 Verb commonly confused with “lay” 33 Toy with an “Elevator” trick 34 December letter recipient 36 Sec 37 Prefix hidden in “wildlife conservation” 38 Founder of Pittsburgh’s state 39 “Enough!”

40 Not just a challenge 44 Really bothered 45 Twisted water out of 46 Capital north of Ho Chi Minh City 48 Removes from a hose reel 52 Pigs 54 Dramatic sound effect 56 Take responsibility for something 57 Many times 58 Superstar’s attitude problem 59 “Eek!” 60 Not prove victorious 61 Fix a rip DOWN 1 Many twist off 2 Swear 3 Tiny fraction of a modern hard drive 4 November civic duty 5 “This is SO bad for me!”

6 ___ Paulo 7 Picnic invaders 8 Loyalty program perks 9 Swedish DJ who sang “Wake Me Up”

10 11 12 14 17 21 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 34 35 36 38 39 41 42 43 47 49

Picture file?

List-shortening abbr.

Sizable body of water Spiral-shaped pasta Venus statue’s missing parts?

Molten rock “Become a member today!”

Space series genre Start of a request for an opinion Met’s DC rival Weightiness Scrutinized Warming winter drink Take care of “Surely there’s more to the story?”

Insider’s lingo Solar system octet Popular spring break destination in Mexico ___ Babies Sounds of exertion Crocodile ___ (1986 film) Worshipped figure Infamous time of March

50 51 52 53 55

Olympics sled Winter fort material Tofu base 1914-18 conflict, for short Roswell sighting

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Relationships BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, September 27, 2019

FACEBOOK JUST ADMITTED TO LISTENING IN ON YOUR CONVERSATIONS. IT’S TIME TO LEAVE. FACEBOOK has messed up yet again. In the latest among a string of high-profile data breaches and controversies, the company recently admitted to listening in on the voice calls of its users on Messenger. As reported by Bloomberg, hundreds of paid contractors were ordered by Facebook to record and transcribe private calls for the purpose of developing the network’s artificial-intelligence capabilities.

Though Facebook said that the breach of privacy only affected users who gave their permission to be listened to, there is no such stipulation in the terms and conditions people agree to when they use the app.

The massive social-media site has an embarrassing history of disrespecting its users’ privacy. Last year, it was embroiled in a public scandal after news broke that the profiles of up to 87 million people were collected by Cambridge Analytica, a company that uses personal information to sway public opinion ahead of big political campaigns. Of the 87 million, 1.1 million accounts were from the Philippines.

This case was settled in 2019, when Facebook paid a $5-billion fine to the Federal Trade Commission. This is peanuts to the company—they made $22 billion in profit just last year. Getting away with a mere slap on the wrist clearly didn’t teach Facebook any lessons. In fact, this recent scandal suggests that Facebook simply doesn’t value its users’ privacy at all.

There was also the issue of Russia tampering with the 2016 US election. Moscow reportedly used the Facebook accounts of countless Americans to formulate ads that bolstered its preferred candidate, Donald J. Trump, to the presidency. With the private data of millions exploited for the sake of political gain, the entire debacle seems like a dystopic puppet show.

So, what do we do now that Facebook has once again proved it isn’t changing any time soon? Your data is too precious, and you can’t trust a site with such a heinous track record any longer. The first step is to seriously prioritize privacy and data security in all your apps, especially in the ones you use to communicate and connect.

Luckily, there are alternatives to Facebook that don’t compromise your data. Messaging apps let you chat, call and share things outside a typical socialmedia framework. A good messaging app should have end-to-end encryption, meaning that anything you send can only be seen by you and the people you’re talking to. On Viber, for example, it’s virtually impossible for any third party to listen in on your calls or read your messages. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t—your data on Viber is, by design, restricted to your eyes only.

With the info you put online becoming less secure by the day, you can’t take any chances. The sooner you draw the line, the less regrets you’ll have in the future. AP

FACEBOOK is part of another data breach, with the company recently admitting to listening in on the voice calls of its users on Messenger.

UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (left) and young environmental activists look on as Greta Thunberg, of Sweden (right) addresses the Climate Action Summit in the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters on September 23. AP

What were you doing when you were 16?

SOMETHING LIKE LIFE

MA. STELLA F. ARNALDO

@akosistellaBM

I

WAS practically vegged out in the living room, watching Dynasty. (Or Hill Street Blues—if Papa had control of the TV. It’s no wonder crime dramas are one of my favorite genres.) That was what I was doing when I was 16.

There was just no end to Alexis Carrington’s schemes to destroy her ex-husband Blake and get a hold of his empire, even as she bitched away and wrestled with her “replacement” Krystle in the fountain, while dressed in their fabulous thick shoulder-padded power suites or glorious evening gowns.

As music videos became the norm in marketing our generation’s favorite music artists and performers, that too became part of my TV diet. There was Queen with Freddie Mercury strutting onstage in “Under Pressure,” or Kim Carnes in those huge black sunglasses singing “Bette Davis Eyes,” or Phil Collins in black and white, solo drumming/singing a haunting warning of something “In the Air Tonight,” and so much more.

Outside the home, I was a normal teenager in second year high school, grappling with algebra— bleah! That year, I was usually transferred to the front of the class beside the quiet girl, because the teacher would deem me too talkative. (It never worked of course, because I would still chat up the quiet girl.)

And it worked out to sit in front of the class, especially when we got desks that had an open shelf underneath because that was where I would keep my sandwich. Because I didn’t eat anything for breakfast before going to school—I was almost always

late despite our home being just nearby—I would sometimes get hungry before recess and needed a quick bite or two of my baon. (Spam sandwich!)

Or perhaps, I wasn’t so normal after all—I hung out at the library during my free time as a student librarian. Not because I was a nerd (nyark!), but because it was the only few rooms in Saint Theresa’s College that was air-conditoned then. Also, as a student librarian, I got first dibs on the Nancy Drew books that arrived every few months or so.

I had no worries, not many cares in the world.

In those times, we had no social media, so we relied on the Marcos-controlled dailies for news. Or the TV news, where we would only had to wait for Tony Zorilla’s eyebrow to rise for us to get that the news he was reading was all BS. So we were not preoccupied or worried about what was going on outside the four walls of our classrooms or our homes.

So when 16-year-olds like Greta Thunberg take to the mic, address members of the United Nations during their Climate Action Summit, and give them a dressing down like a parent would to a child, we stand up and take notice. And Thunberg said it so plainly and frankly: “This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean.

Yet, you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!”

How can we not agree? This is the same grief we feel in my generation, despite trying to do what is right in terms of environment protection, but our leaders will not listen. Thunberg’s speech at the UN, and all her pronouncements since she started taking off from school one day a week calling for stronger action against climate change, are grounded in sound science.

“For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear.—The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50-percent chance of staying below 1.5 degrees [Celsius], and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control,” Thunberg thundered. “Fifty percent may be acceptable to you, but those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or

the aspects of equity and climate justice. They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist,” she continued.

We only have to look at our country as proof of the impact of climate change. In 2013, Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) swept away homes, businesses and lives in many parts of the Philippines. Strangely enough, the Duterte administration failed to send any official delegation to the said summit. (Then again, not surprising. Our energy department continues to allow the construction of pollutive coal-fired thermal power plants, instead of encouraging a shift to renewableenergy sources despite the decreasing price tag on materials. “Clean coal” technology is a farce.)

On our own, we can do little things to save our planet, like for example, switching to LED bulbs, reducing our waste by composting, planting more trees, using our cars less, etc. And while our country no doubt does not compare in terms of its contribution to the overall pollution of the world compared to the developed nations like the United States, we too need to start reforming our personal habits and government policies.

There are measurable impacts on the enviroment when we implement the correct government policies. How much less CO2 will be released into the atmosphere if we use the MRT (or LRT) more instead of our cars? But of course, how can we ride this when the Department of Transportation can’t even beef up the number of trains on the MRT 3’s elevated tracks, or rehabilitate the energy infrastructure that makes the trains run? See what I mean?

There are solutions available, and government officials know them all, but most are hard-pressed to undertake these because they have other priorities (their pockets?), or choose to protect their friends’ business interests.

It’s the adults who should think of the solutions to climate change and make the effort toward reducing global warming. But when the adults behave like children and refuse to listen and do the right thing, it’s no wonder the young ones like Thunberg do the scolding. ■

Weddings in full bloom LUXURY hotel Winford Manila Resort and Casino (WMRC, www.winfordmanila. com), together with the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines (FDAP) and Michael Ruiz Events Styling, recently joined creative forces to host a unique bridal show, dubbed “Winford Weddings: In Full Bloom.”

Held last September 18, the exclusive showcase took place in WMRC’s massive ballroom. Attendees of the by-invitationonly affair were limited to VIP guests and members of the press, who were feted with the culinary expertise of Choi Garden Manila and Copa de Manila.

Delicious dessert was catered by Hearts and Bells, and overflowing drinks were courtesy of Emperador and The Bar. While traditional shows of this nature typically feature bridal couture only, In Full Bloom offered a fresh twist by presenting nuptial fashion for the groom, as well.

Top-billing the program were

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celebrity guests Alex Gonzaga and Diether Ocampo, who played the roles of blooming couple effortlessly, parading the stunning creations of FDAP members on the runway.

Both were flanked by Mutya ng Pilipinas beauties and celebrity ring bearer Jacob Lim, who formed part of their entourage for the evening.

“In Full Bloom is the theme of our showcase because like flowers in bloom, it also describes the blossoming love between two people ready to tie the knot,” said Jeffrey Evora, president and COO of WMRC. “More than that, the phrase ‘in full bloom’ can also be used to describe Winford Manila because we like to think that we too are blooming after reaching an important milestone—our second anniversary in the hospitality business earlier this year.”

Operated by the Manila Jockey Club (MJC) Investment Corp., WMRC offers luxurious accommodations and

world-class entertainment with 128 wellappointed rooms, a three-level gaming area, outdoor heated swimming pool, gym and spa, fine dining, and retail outlets.

Using In Full Bloom as a jump-off point, WMRC now actively promotes its MICE-ready capabilities—mainly in the form of the 700-seater pillarless ballroom where the event was held.

Expert celebrity feng shui master Hanz Cua recently performed a ritual at WMRC, particularly in the ballroom, pronouncing the premises auspicious for weddings.

WMRC offers comprehensive food and beverage options courtesy of its in-house banquet services team, or tenants Choi Garden Manila and Copa de Manila, with the icing on the cake—its own private helipad—at the newlyweds’ disposal should they make arrangements to be whisked away to their honeymoon by chopper at the end of the night.

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Show BusinessMirror

Friday, September 27, 2019

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New York state of mind GAB FAB JET VALLE AFTER watching Phoenix work a scene, director Todd Phillips offers: “Great actors playing great characters. To me, this is what movies are about. This is why we make movies.” WARNER BROS. PICTURES

This ‘Joker’ is wild CONTINUED FROM D1 Perhaps, the most essential factor in crafting a character study, such as Joker is the relationship between its star and director. Phillips and Phoenix seem nearly inseparable, aside from when cameras roll, and Phoenix must heave himself up the stairs once again. Seems exhausting, but the seasoned actor carries on without complaint. He and Phillips have prepared for this scene—like every other scene in the film—in an intimately collaborative way. “After we finish shooting, we’ll call each other and text for hours and talk about the next scene,” says the actor. “On the weekends we’ll meet and go over the scenes that we were shooting that week. We’ll get to set early. I just feel like we’re unified in this process.”

One scene in particular called for a heavy amount of improvisation. Phillips and Phoenix went to the set alone and spent a few hours just discovering what their protagonist should do, a process that seems to fit the pattern of artistic freedom on this production.

“Something else emerged,” says Phoenix. “It’s a turning point for the character and it was a turning point for me and Todd working together. We both got excited about it in the same way. It felt like, ‘This is totally unexpected.’”

The monitor displays a wide, upward-angle of the stairs. Cinematographer Lawrence Sher, a longtime collaborator of Phillips’s, catches Phoenix with the lens of his 65 Alexa as he makes his way up the steps yet again. The scene takes place toward the beginning of the film as a down-in-the-dumps Arthur treks the long walk home from work. A seemingly benign moment, the visual, in fact, offers a subtle insight as to what the character faces going forward. “There are a lot of tools you have as a filmmaker to paint with,” says Phillips. “Music, set design, costumes and wardrobe and makeup... locations is a big one.”

While the metaphor is, as Phillips admits, “not the most subtle,” it is this kind of visual storytelling that he believes will help separate Joker from the pack.

It’s fundamental moviemaking. Getting back to the basics. Telling a story about a character that’s larger than life and using classic tools of filmmaking to do so. It is, as the director has stated, “liberating.”

That feeling is palpable on set as Phillips calls “cut” for the final time today. As Phoenix descends, his director watches, offering one last remark: “Great actors playing great characters. To me, this is what movies are about. This is why we make movies.”

@jetvalle

I

MISS many things in my life, among them the ability to party all night and show up the next day in school or in the office as if nothing happened.

I also miss New York. I miss seeing Edu Manzano on TV, too.

Good thing that Edu will cohost the latest episodes of Metro Channel’s The Crawl featuring the city that never sleeps—New York!

The delectable trip is surely not to be missed as the charming Edu, along with Chef Margarita Fores, who was recognized as 2016’s Best Female Chef in Asia, returns to The Crawl to taste the best of The Big Apple.

From the finest all-American fare to Filipino cuisine, the tandem definitely cooked up something special for the viewers. Witness the pair’s visit to some of the city’s world-famous sights and their experiences along the bustling streets of New York, including the vibrant Times Square. For those seeking calm and some time to reflect, The Crawl: New York hosts also took the time to wind down at Central Park and the World Trade Center site.

Of course, given that New York City is the ultimate melting pot, the duo didn’t waste time feasting on a variety of cuisines fit for the ultimate food trip.

Margarita and Edu dropped by well-established and budding Filipino restaurants at the East Village of Manhattan like Jeepney Gastropub, which boasts of its diverse set of bomb cocktails like Ayala Avenue, Juice Mary Joseph and Pinay Colada, and is most famous for its original Chori Burger with double patty (half of which is longganisa).

In addition, they also savored some good-old escabeche and bone marrow salpicao at The Ugly Kitchen and the fiery spicy sisig at Mama Fina’s.

On the other hand, the food crawlers didn’t pass up the opportunity to chomp down the best eats from prominent restaurants in the Manhattan borough, such as the legendary New York hot dogs of Gray’s Papaya, one of the city’s best bagels at Russ & Daughters, and the renowned old-school American steak at Peter Luger in Brooklyn.

Dig in with Margarita and Edu on The Crawl: New York on September 27 at 10 pm, September 28 at 10 am, September 29 at 8:30 pm, September 30 at 11 am and 7 pm, October 1 at 4 pm and October 2 at 7 am.

■■■

SONGWRITING duo Gibbs voice out their bold insights on heartbreaks while triggering nostalgia with their debut single under Star Music, “No Hearts.”

Composed by Alyssa and Gabriella with their dad Janno, the retro-feels “No Hearts” is about self-worth and moving on after being played by a former lover.

It partly took inspiration from Instagram’s liking feature where you double tap a post to like it.

The bop is a feel good song with influences from 1970s dance music and modern pop.

Debuting together as Gibbs, sisters Alyssa and Gabriella Gibbs are familiar names in the lifestyle scene.

Alyssa is a print designer and entrepreneur who founded local clothing brand Neon Island. Meanwhile, Gabriella is a professional makeup artist who has practiced in Sydney and is now freelancing as an editorial and wedding makeup artist.

From the lifestyle scene, they extended their talent and gloss to the music industry. Alyssa and Gabriella grew up in a family of artists, so it was a no-brainer that they are also talented singers-songwriters who are now pursuing music.

Stream “No Hearts” on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, or watch the music video on Star Music’s YouTube Channel. ■

■ In Philippine cinemas on October 3, Joker is distributed in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures.

FOX APOLOGIZES FOR ‘DISGRACEFUL’ COMMENT ABOUT THUNBERG NEW YORK—Fox News has apologized for a guest’s “disgraceful” description of environmental activist Greta Thunberg as mentally ill but was silent Tuesday on Laura Ingraham likening her to a murderous cult of children from a Stephen King story.

The network responded swiftly to a news segment Monday where Michael Knowles of “The Daily Wire” said the 16-year-old environmentalist was a “mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the international left.” Knowles was immediately called out by a fellow guest, podcast host Chris Hahn, who said, “You’re a grown man and you’ve attacked a child.

Shame on you.” Hahn called on Knowles to immediately apologize. He didn’t and won’t get a chance again on Fox. The network later apologized to Thunberg and viewers for the comment and said it had no plans to book Knowles, who has no tie to the network, again.

A couple hours later Ingraham, one of the network’s prime-time stars, said she found some of Thunberg’s remarks before the United Nations that scolded officials for not acting on climate change to be chilling. She juxtaposed a portion of the speech with a clip from the 1984 horror film, Children of the Corn. Based on a King story, the film is about children in a Nebraska town being persuaded to kill the adults.

“I can’t wait for Stephen King’s sequel, ‘Children of the Climate,’” Ingraham said. Fox said it had no comment on Ingraham’s segment. In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Thunberg said that she takes personal criticism as proof that activists are making a difference.

“You just have to ignore them because they are just so desperately trying to remove the focus from the climate crisis to make it become something about me as an individual,” she said. “When they do that, I mean, they don’t have any arguments left.” AP

KEN CHAN meets an avid fan who is also looking forward to his new show One of the Baes

DENNIS TRILLO receives a welcome present from one of his fans

ALDEN RICHARDS sharing the love with his Thai fans

Dennis Trillo, Ken Chan, Alden Richards banner GMA dramas in Thailand GMA stars Dennis Trillo, Ken Chan and Alden Richards were in Thailand on September 19 to grace a mega showcase event by GMA Worldwide Inc. (GWI)’s Thai content partner, JKN Global Media.

The event, dubbed “Diamond Pink: The Love of Content,” featured the latest GMA dramas acquired

by JKN: My Faithful Husband, Destined To Be Yours, Destiny Rose and Meant To Be.

Dennis Trillo was the lead actor in the 2015 series My Faithful Husband, where he costarred his real-life partner Jennylyn Mercado.

Ken Chan, on the other hand, promoted Destiny Rose, where he had his breakthrough performance playing a transgender; and the romantic comedy series Meant to Be with lead actress Barbie Forteza.

As a special treat to the Thai fans during the event, Ken learned the

theme song of Destiny Rose in Thai that he performed together with JKN Global Media CEO Anne Jakrajutatip.

Meanwhile, Asia’s Multimedia Star Alden Richards represented his romantic drama Destined to Be Yours, which he bannered alongside onscreen partner Maine Mendoza in 2017.

The GMA stars, during their stay in Bangkok, bonded with their Thai fans and were warmly welcomed as soon as

they arrived in the country. They also guested in The Anne Show, a TV program hosted by JKN’s Jakrajutatip, where the Thai viewers got to know more of Dennis, Ken and Alden.

My Faithful Husband, Destined to Be Yours and Destiny Rose are currently being aired via JKN’s partner Line TV Thailand, while Meant to Be will start airing in November. The dramas, dubbed in Thai, will also air on JKN’s drama channel Dramax.

THE Crawl hosts, Edu Manzano and Chef Margarita Fores with Chef Jappy Afzelius of Tsismis NYC

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

Editor: Tet Andolong

Friday, September 27, 2019

FOTON LAUNCHES BIG ATTRUCKTION

T

HE rain poured hard, and so did Foton Motor Philippines Inc. (FMPI) with its shower of discounts and savings at Foton’s Big AtTRUCKtion held recently at the Megatent Events Venue in Libis, Quezon City.

“For this event, Foton will be showcasing the segment which our brand has been known for: TRUCKS. But we do not want this to be merely a vehicle exhibit where guests would just pass by and see how big wheelers can get. Instead, we longed to show a grand atTRUCKtion—a sight where function can both be seen and experienced, where doors to bigger opportunities can be found, and held within reach,” said FMPI Vice Chairman Kenneth Sytin.

Foton’s Biggest Truck Sale of the Year’s ribbon-cutting ceremony was headed by Sytin, Anna Dominique Sytin, Nicole Sytin, Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark De Leon, and Foton International Group Representative Eric Zhang.

“Today, we announce that we are now ready to further up the ante

in light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks with game-changing contenders—the M Series, including the Tornado M and EST-M trucks,” exclaimed FMPI Vice President for Sales and Marketing Levy Santos.

All vehicles exhibited in the two-day expo are powered by the brand’s latest technology advancement, the Blue Energy Euro 4 generation. Foton’s Blue Energy vehicles are powered by a Cummins ISF turbocharged intercooled diesel engines using an electronic highpressure Bosch common rail direct fuel injection (CRDi) system and electronic gas recirculation exhaust system with a diesel oxidation catalyst for highly improved emissions.

This technology is applied not only to its passenger vehicles, but also to its light- to heavy-duty trucks. For its outdoor display, Foton showcased the

Tornado light duty trucks with special bodies, its Wing Van lineup, Dump Truck models and Crane Truck body configurations.

“Your All-Day Logistics Partner” and “Your Cold Chain Partner” badges are also emphasized through the Tornado M5.2C F-Van and M4.2C F-Van displays, respectively. These trucks are also showcased inside along with the Gratour series composed of the eightseater MiniVan and MT MPV body configuration suitable for micro, small and medium enterprises.

Apart from the trucks, Foton’s bestselling vans also took part of the Big AtTRUCKtion. First up was the Toano executive van that became popular for its luxurious build, homey interiors,

rotating captain chairs and premium entertainment perfect for VIP shuttle services in airport and hotels. Representing the Traveller tag is its XL variant, which boasts of its extended legroom, bubble top and seating capacity of 19 pax. From a commuter van that could carry up to 15 people, the Transvan took it a notch higher with a new model, the 16-seater Transvan HR with augmented headroom similar to the Traveller. There’s also the Transvan HR ambulance, customized as a first emergency assistance responder.

Despite the gloomy weather condition during the event, guests still took the chance to test drive the trucks and experience its riding comfort and functions. Attached to light-, medium- and

heavy-duty cabs, the bodies of these trucks are classified as dropside, F-Van, dump truck and tractor head.

The Big AtTRUCKtion was also graced by Department of Transportation Usec. Mark De Leon. In his speech during the opening ceremony, de Leon extended his gratitude to Foton for continuously supporting the government’s PUV modernization program. “Salamat sa Foton,” he repeatedly said pertaining to the brand’s participation in building innovative public-utility vehicles for the development of the Philippine transportation system through the launch of the F-Jeepney, that currently holds two variants: the F24 and F29.

“Foton Philippines understands the importance of being able to move a

E1

large number of people reliably, safely, as well as with care for the environment. We are proud to be one of the anchors of this program, as we see the role of the F-Jeepney as a workhorse and multifunctional partner for the growing number of PUV operators in the country,” added Santos.

Armed with the goal to reach out to those new opportunity seekers in the provincial areas, Santos announced that Foton will be also holding a nationwide regional Big AtTRUCKtion tour in North Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Noted Santos, “Our collective hard work, through our fleet sales, financing deals, product development and growing number of trusting dealer networks have become major factors why we continue to be part of the top.

We have maintained our market share, and will consistently do our best to beat our records.”

To avail exclusive zero downpayment offers, low monthly deals, truck test drives and cash discounts up to P300,000, Foton invites all business owners, transport operators, logistics providers and families to watch out for the following schedules for the Foton’s Big AtTRUCKtion regional tours: North Luzon leg will be held on September 26 to 27 at San Fernando Town Plaza in La Union; Mindanao leg on October 9 to 10 at Kauswagan Highway in Cagayan De Oro, and Visayas leg on October 18 to 19 at SM City Cebu Event Center.

Moto

Business

E2 Friday, September 27, 2019

NEW FORD EVEREST 2.0L BI-TURBO TITANIUM+ 4X4 AT

DOUBLE BOOSTED AND Story & photos by Randy S. Peregrino

F

OUR years may have passed since its introduction, the third-generation Everest midsized sport-utility vehicle (SUV) is still rocking the segment when it comes to overall character.

Considering the significant enhancements from its predecessor in terms of styling, features and driving dynamics, the current generation Everest was, without a doubt, ahead of its time back then.

We still remember how this bold SUV impressed us in so many ways when we featured it more than three years ago.

Until recently, Ford gave the Everest the kind of solid enhancements it needed to really surpass what it had already proven. So rather than the usual aesthetics we would expect from model upgrades, the newly introduced iteration received two new and more potent powertrain options along with other advanced features.

So, for this month’s feature, we’re glad to reunite with the updated top

spec Titanium+ 4x4 model sporting the Ranger Raptor’s 2.0-liter BiTurbo powerplant and dressed in a unique Diffused Silver shade.

Unfading charisma

UP to this day, the current Everest’s breakthrough styling, inside and out, is still very much on a par with its pickup-based counterpart’s latest iterations. That front end’s slightly redesigned signature inverted trapezoidal grill still oozes.

Even those same slender headlamps fitted with projector type LED headlamps with integrated daylight running lights still emphasize that tough looking fascia. There’s really not much changes exterior-wise except for the newly designed 20inch multi-spoke alloys wrapped

in 265/50 R20 rubbers. After all, what is there to change at this time when there are better and timely upgrades to favor better performance.

Dark-themed and more robust

WHILE the dashboard’s athletic yet sophisticated layout was retained, the entire cabin received a dark motif which made it more robust compared to the previous light and creamy appearance. Even though there were not much changed inside, still the dark motif provided that stronger aura to match the bolder character. Finding the perfect driving position was still as easy thanks to the electronic multi adjustments, including the front passenger seat. The second row, likewise, is still roomy with sliding and recline 60:40 benches. When collapsed, along with the third-row benches, you got yourself a capacious cargo bay.

There are abundant supply of USB terminals and 12-volt sockets (including the one at the cargo bay). Even better, there’s a 230volt power outlet behind the center console at you own disposal.

You’ve got a gadget-friendly cabin highlighted by an 8-inch touch-operated infotainment equipped with

smartphone mirroring functions and other connectivity functions.

Even the ceiling-mounted air-con vents have a dedicated console for the rear passengers to separately control the ambient temperature.

As for the panoramic sunroof, it’s also a plus factor if you needed more natural light inside. By the way, you can go ahead and keep the fob key inside your pocket thanks to the smart key-less entry and push button ignition switch.

Bi-Turbo power

PERHAPS, the new Everest’s crème de la crème and ultimate selling point is its two new turbodiesel powertrain options. Gone are the 2.2-liter and 3.2-liter mills which were replaced with a single turbo 2.0-liter motor (4x2 variant) and a more powerful 2.0-liter Bi-Turbo engine (4x4 variant), respectively.

Since the variant we tested was motivated by the same powertrain as that of the Ranger Raptor, we already knew what to expect in terms of delivery.

By utilizing two turbos despite the smaller displacement, it became more capable to generate higher outputs versus its predecessor. So, believe us when we say that every push

yielded linear acceleration, which made surpassing really effortless.

But what really aided in achieving that undeviating power was the new mated 10-speed automatic transmission. The close gearings enabled the motor to retain within its optimum rev range as you progress.

That’s, of course, with remarkable seamless cogs. Whenever you need power, all you have to do is simply step on it. You’ll end up using the manual gear select for engine braking instead. This 2.0-liter Bi-Turbo mill certainly defied the “no replacement for displacement” statement.

Still as smooth and agile

HOW we tested the new Everest 4x4 Titanium+ was during Ford’s recently concluded media drive from Baler, Aurora, to San Fernando, La Union, coast to coast. That was a grueling more than 500-kilometer drive with series of difficult zigzags and long freeway runs. Not to mention, pushing against time, traffic and heavy downpours. Nevertheless, the entire drive was essential to really validate the new Everest’s driving dynamics.

With practically the same vehicle we featured three years ago, how the Everest behaved on the road was

pretty much the same as the recent test. It’s downright nimble for its size but feels quicker thanks to the lighter engine. Every time we tackle tight turns and bends, the fingerlight steering, as expected, provided good feedbacks, and turnings became more calculated. But on freeways, everything became smooth and blissful. For a vehicle this size, the ride leans toward comfort with manageable tire rebounds on rough paths.

Convenience with Safer Driving Experience

ASIDE from standard safety features, the new Everest is also equipped with segment-leading advanced driver assistance technologies. We were impressed with how the Lane Keeping System worked by registering light steering resistance without using the turn signals. Even the Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert really warns you of approaching vehicles. The highway drive became more relaxing with the Adaptive Cruise Control engaged.

During heavy downpours, meantime, we appreciated the Rain Sensing Wipers as the varying speeds really correspond to the amount of rain hitting the windshield. While on busy roads, the Forward Colli-

THE TRUE COST OF CONGESTION

By George Royeca

H

OW much does traffic cost? It’s P3.5 billion a day in Metro Manila alone according to a 2017 study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. That figure includes both vehicle operation costs like fuel, maintenance, and depreciation and time costs based on the value of people’s productive time spent traveling. And that’s only for anything Jica can put a peso value on.

What’s often left out are all the indirect costs of congestion that much harder to quantify, but are no less significant to people’s lives: the cost of forgone opportunities like jobs not taken or business ventures not started; the toll of commuting on people’s stress levels, mental health and general well-being; the price of strained relationships or social encounters that never blossomed.

These are the creeping realities we, as Filipinos, grapple with day to day, but, perhaps, have never really had the time to reflect on, probably because we’re already too tired from commuting.

Think about it this way: Have you ever turned down what could have been an amazing job simply because the office was located too far away? Or, perhaps, jobs beyond a certain distance are no longer even considered altogether? Or maybe you’re a business owner, and instead you’ve struggled to grow because there just aren’t enough qualified people to hire nearby?

What about the costs to your health? There’s certainly a lot of pain and misery that already goes with putting up with hours-long lines and squeezing into cramped spaces to get anywhere, but have

you considered the long-term health hazards caused by perennially heightened stress levels, or the lack of sleep that comes with spending nearly a work day’sworth of time commuting? Or how much worse you might be eating because you no longer have time to buy groceries and cook proper meals after nine hours in the office and six hours in a bus?

Just thinking about traveling to a store might already be making you anxious, whether you commute to and back (with all those groceries) or drive there and contend with parking lot hell.

Then there are your relationships. Long-distance ones are strenuous because being apart reduces the quality of your interactions. When it takes two to three hours to traverse 10 kilometers, there is an immeasurable yet very real impact on people’s relationships. Think about the mother who no longer has no time with her children because she leaves the house at 4 a.m. and gets home from work at midnight; the friends who hardly see each other anymore because they’re in opposite ends of the city; the couple whose relationship is on the rocks because they feel like they never have time for each other anymore? It sounds funny and ridiculous, but there are probably thousands of boys and girls who have written off potentially great dating prospects simply because one lived in Quezon City while the other was from Alabang.

Developing sustainable, accessible transport is difficult, especially when we’ve repeatedly failed to invest in it for decades. It is why despite its shortcomings, the gov-

ernment has my sympathy—they have inherited problems from many generations prior, and it may take years beyond this administration for us to change the state of urban transport across the country.

People can’t wait though—the fresh graduate who misses out on the right prospects today may spend the rest of his career left behind, the commuter who spent two decades trapped in traffic daily can’t undo his hypertension anymore, and the mom who never saw her kids growing up will forever have missed those precious years.

This is why we do what we do in Angkas. The government, even with its best efforts, needs all the help it can get. Where we once started Angkas partly out of frustration with the pace of things, I’ve come to realize that we can actually work with the government to plug the gaps faster. By helping to push this motorcycle taxi pilot, I believe our partnership with the government has helped push more bikers toward better training and better awareness of road safety, while giving many of our commuters a solid alternative to braving the traffic daily.

I’m no transport expert, and by no means can I plan and develop massive infrastructure project. But I know motorcycles, and where it counts, I will use that know-how to work with government to make motorcycles safe enough to ferry passengers through the congestion. Sure, we’re not perfect, but we get it right 99.997 percent of the time. And for those 99.997 percent, we’re helping power dreams, give back health and ensure relationships endure.

FUEL SALE WITH LANDERS T

HE biggest and most popular fuel sale is back! Landers Superstore, the fastest-growing membership shopping establishment in the country, will once again be having its Super Fuel Sale on September 23 to 29, giving members the exclusive opportunity to enjoy unbelievable fuel savings of up to P10 per liter!

Members can save money on fuel with the Special Fuel Coupon Discount which they can get for every minimum purchase of P3,000 at any Landers Superstore. Simply collect the coupons to avail of exclusive fuel discounts at Landers’ very own Caltex gasoline stations.

Members must present the coupons, along with membership card, at any Landers-Caltex gas station to enjoy a minimum of P10 off per liter of Platinum, P10 off per liter of Silver and P6 off per liter of Diesel fuels. The discount coupons can be used on one vehicle only. Purchases made at Landers Central, Doppio, Federal Barbers, Capital Care and Landers gas stations cannot be used to redeem fuel discount coupons.

Regular discounts of P3 off per liter of Platinum and Silver, and P2 off per liter of Diesel are still applicable for members who just wish to fuel up.

The more you shop at Landers Su-

perstore, the more fuel coupons you collect!

Visit Landers Superstore at Landers Alabang West at Daang Hari Road, Almanza Dos, Las Piñas City; Landers ArcoVia City at 1604, 99 Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue, Pasig, 1604 Metro Manila; Landers Balintawak at 1240 Edsa Balintawak, Apolonio Samson, Quezon City; Landers Otis at 1890 Paz Guazon St., Paco, Manila; or Landers Cebu at 23 Minore Park, Cardinal Rosales Avenue corner Pope John Paul II Avenue, Cebu.

For more information about Landers Superstore’s exclusive offerings, visit http://landers.ph/

oring

sMirror

Friday, September 27, 2019

D SAFER TO DRIVE sion Warning and Driver Alert systems really helped a lot to determine safe close distance on other vehicles and pedestrian. Moreover, parking a this big became easier thanks to the Rear-View Camera and Parking Sensors. What is more, the handsfree tailgate really came in handy in opening and closing the cargo bay.

All we had to do was trigger the sensor underneath the rear bumper with our foot.

Now sporting the heart of a Ranger Raptor with advanced driver assist features, the new Everest may still look closely the same styling-wise, but one thing is certain—it now performs better. These essential upgrades made by Ford may have also created a prelude to the next generation model with another breakthrough enhancements to watch out for. For now, let us take advantage of the new and more powerful engine along with several new advanced safety and convenience features that goes with it.

THUMBS UP n Powerful Bi-Turbo diesel engine n 10-speed auto transmission n n

Advanced Driver Assist features Handling and control

THUMBS DOWN n

Subtle exterior upgrades

SPECIFICATIONS

n Vehicle

Ford Everest 2.0L Bi-Turbo Titanium+ 4x4 AT n Type Midsized SUV n Engine 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder, Bi-Turbo, Direct Commonrail Injected, diesel fed n Maximum power 210hp at 3,750 rpm n Maximum torque 500 N-m at 1,750 - 2,000 rpm n Transmission 10-speed automatic with Select Shift

DIMENSIONS n Length

4,893 mm

n Width 1,862 mm n Height

1,836 mm 2,850 mm n Ground clearance 225 mm n Tire size 265 / 50 R20 n Price as tested P2.299 million n Wheelbase

WITH slightly redesigned signature inverted trapezoidal grill

E3

Motoring BusinessMirror

E4 Friday, September 27, 2019

Ty: Vehicle launches help stimulate the market

S

O, what else is new? Just before the month of September could bid goodbye, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) rolled out yet again a beautifully refined, totally retooled model—the iconic Corolla Altis. And you know what? The Corolla Altis has graduated monumentally into the hybrid platform!

This 12th-generation Corolla has a package that’s virtually second to none.

If only to stress the obv ious in this seventh vehicle launch for TMP for the year, it more than amplified, again, the company’s undisputed rank ing as the industr y leader in ter ms of the overa l l number of auto introductions for 2019.

Talk about consistency.

Previously unveiled were the new Toyota models of Rush, Avanza, Hiace, Super Grandia, the iconic Supra sports car and the Grandia Elite. The smashingly successful launches came on the heels of a

one-day conference Hyatt Manila at BGC Taguig on the hybrid and electric car technology now creating a storm worldwide since the last five years or so.

It can’t get any better than this.

“It’s about time we educated the public of what the future holds in the automotive industry,” said Jing Atienza, the brandnew TMP senior vice president, on the sidelines of the Altis hybrid launch. “The hybrid electric car phenomenon is now being keenly watched so that there is a need to massively undertake an information campaign to educate our motoring public on this.”

T he slew of Toyota model launches did not come via the spur of the moment.

“Everything that TMP does for the year had been planned and studied in time,” said Atienza.

“It takes some time, at times it takes years, before we could go full blast in unwrapping new models to the public.”

VARIANT

PRICE

COLORS AVAILABLE

1,595,000

White Pearl

1,580,000

Celestite Gray Metallic (NEW) Attitude Black Silver Metallic Red Mica Metallic

1,200,000

White Pearl

1,185,000

Celestite Gray Metallic (NEW) Attitude Black Silver Metallic Red Mica Metallic

1.8 V HV

‘Stimulate the market’

ALFRED TY, the newly inducted TMP chairman to succeed his recently departed and lamented father, Dr. George K. Ty, is upbeat and optimistic that the company’s thrust of multiple vehicle launches will do good not only for world’s No. 1 carmaker but also for the entire automotive landscape, as well.

“We won’t stop at launching new vehicles because by doing so, we continue to stimulate the market,” said Ty. “We do it not for profits alone but for the good of all stakeholders in the car world.

It is our humble way of contributing to economic growth.”

The all-new Corolla Altis lineup is headlined by a hybrid electric variant, marking the first time that the Toyota Hybrid technology is made available in a mainstream, high-volume model.

“This further boosts Toyota’s push to provide technologically advanced and sustainable mobility options to more Filipinos,” said Satoru Suzuki, the TMP president.

This new generation of the Corolla Altis is redesigned with improved performance and accentuated appeal, all the while retaining its timeless legacy.

CTEK PRO120 BATTERY CHARGER AND POWER SUPPLY NOW APPROVED

ALFRED TY

The classic model well-loved by Filipinos further elevates its image by enhancing performance, comfort and convenience, while providing peace of mind with its advanced safety features.

In line with the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, environment-friendly technology is made more accessible with the introduction of the all-new Corolla Altis 1.8V HV variant.

Competitively priced at P1.58 million, and backed by its loyal brand following and established legacy, the all-new Corolla A ltis is a perfect entr y-point for Filipino customers wanting to shift to HEV technolog y.

The new Altis

“THE 1.8V HV variant is powered by a V VT-I, four-cylinder In-Line DOHC, 16 Valve engine with 1,798cc displacement and electric motor, 121 hp total system maximum output, and 142 N-m maximum torque at 3,600 rpm. Drivers can experience a smooth and quiet ride with better fuel efficiency while the battery self-charges during the drive.

1.6 V CVT

1.6 G CVT

1,115,000

1.6 G MT

1,045,000

1.6 E MT

999,000

Three driving modes are available [Sport, Eco, Normal], giving the driver more control.

“Having been developed under the Toyota New Global Architecture [TNGA] platform, the all-new Corolla Altis has significantly improved its agility, stability and visibility.

“The 1.8V HV is the second variant in the TMP’s official lineup to feature Toyota Safety Sense [TSS] after the Hiace Super Grandia Elite, including new spins on Pre-Collision System [PCS], Lane Departure Alert [LDA], and Automatic High Beam [AHB]. “ T he reg u l a r va r i a nt s a re

C

TEK Sweden AB, a leading global brand in the care and maintenance of vehicle batteries, is pleased to announce that its PRO120 Battery Charger and Power supply is now approved by Mercedes-Benz GSP. The unit meets W 000 588 00 81 00 charger requirements as described in MercedesBenz WorkshopInformation-System (WIS).

Recognized for its ability to “charge and recharge starter batteries without disconnection from the onboard electrical system,” this revolutionary unit can deliver up to 120A of battery charge or battery support safely and efficiently—it’s also very simple to operate.

The PRO120 restores, charges and reconditions the battery using a patented multistep charging

process and is compatible with all types of 12V battery, including lithium (LiFePO4). The PRO120’s unique patent applied for Adaptive Charging mode automatically recognizes the size of the battery and selects the optimum charging settings for the fastest charge—making operation quicker and easier than ever.

In supply mode, the PRO120 delivers 120A of power, even at 13.8V, to support uninterrupted flashing and diagnostic procedures, enabling these procedures to be completed within the standard time set by Mercedes. It features market-leading Resonance Converter charging technology for rapid response to any

Super White Celestite Gray Metallic (NEW) Attitude Black Silver Metallic Red Mica Metallic Super White Attitude Black Silver Metallic Red Mica Metallic

powered by a Dual V VT-I, fourcylinder In-Line DOHC, 16-valve engine which ensures smooth acceleration, minimal noise, and better fuel efficiency. Displacement is at 1,598cc, with 121 hp maximum output, and 153 N-m maximum torque at 5,200 rpm.

“All variants have MacPherson Strut/Double Wishbone Type suspension, providing excellent handling and a more stable and comfortable ride.

PEE STOP Vehicle sales will shoot

up shortly as the Christmas season nears. No one can fight tradition—not even the traffic at Edsa. changes in power demands, so the PRO120 can meet the exact, changing current needs during flashing and diagnostic procedures.

Workshops can avoid stalling of the process and/or damage to vehicle components by using the PRO120.

Robert Briggs, director of sales and markeing, Asia Pacific CTEK, said “Our PRO120 unit is proving to be the professional workshop’s choice thanks to its safety, reliability, power and guarantee that it will help technicians to get the job done in the shortest possible time.

This approval from Mercedes is a real testament to this, and we are really proud of this recognition.”

For more information about the PRO120 from CTEK visit www.ctek.com.

KENNETH COBONPUE ON DESIGN, LIVING IN CEBU, AND DRIVING HIS FERRARI

J

UST like Ferrari, each of Kenneth Cobonpue’s creation is an iteration of his past experiences. Every Ferrari is different in design and performance (but always superior than everything else), and this is what makes the brand exciting and exhilarating.

“A classic Ferrari, like my Dino, has a raw and timeless appeal that is special. Driving it is like piloting an old F1 car. A Ferrari from the 80s is modern but still retains that old school feeling, requiring driving skills at high speeds,” said the worldrenowned industrial designer.

The design of a Ferrari, Cobonpue said, is a reflection of the aesthetic language of its time—from curvy shapes to sharp wedges and then back to a combination of both.

Cobonpue is one of the featured influencers in the Italian carmaker’s latest socialmedia campaign, which aims to put a spotlight on real-

world Ferrari owners who also embody the essence of the Ferrari Portofino model: beauty, passion, excellence, tradition and innovation, and emotions.

Set against the backdrop of Southeast Asia’s iconic cities, the campaign follows three accomplished individuals from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand as they share how Ferrari readily fuels their narrative of grit, passion and affluence. The storyline in each of the campaigns will focus on what inspire them and the values they live by. This campaign aims to highlight Ferrari’s bespoke offerings and experiences that allow the Ferrari Portofino to take centerstage.

Backed by an established heritage, the Ferrari Portofino is a powerful vehicle that features timeless qualities— engineering excellence and enduring aesthetic sensibilities— that are coupled with advances in technology and modern

functionalities of the time.

“My designs are inspired by nature and I am fond of bringing the feel of the natural environment in. I believe that design is a living process, forever transforming in response to the changing world,” Cobonpue said.

With designs that have appeared in full-length films such as Ocean’s 13 and CSI Miami, organic forms derived from plants and animals and open weaves that allow light and air to pass through have become the hallmark of his design aesthetics.

Cobonpue was basically born into the furniture industry, with a mom who had a furnituremaking workshop in their backyard. He grew up watching craftsmen create amazing pieces of work, which fascinated a young Cobonpue.

“I would make my own toys and show them to my mom, which really made her happy.

That’s when I knew I wanted to do something that would make people happy with objects that I would create that could be part of their lives,” he said.

Cobonpue is a proud Cebuano. Living there, he said, keeps him grounded. “I love that we have found this balance between industrialization and preserving our natural beauties. Seeing trees among buildings means we’re still on the right track. I hope this doesn’t go away.”

One thing in common between the Ferrari and Cobonpue’s designs is the attention to detail that is required to make their respective visions come to life— and how everything culminates to elegant masterpieces.

Cobonpue got to drive the Portofino for two days with his son in Dubai and he was impressed with the awardwinning engine that is incredibly fast but docile.