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Vehicle sales off to weak start across categories

VEHICLE SALES slid 15% in January from a year ago, weighed down by reductions across categories, according to data released on Monday by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association.
The latest data showed that total sales fell to 26,888 units last month from 31,645 sold in January 2018.
The passenger car sales — which accounted for about 31.56% of the industry total — stood at 8,487 units for the month, down 13.3% from the 9,790 sold a year ago.
Purchases of commercial vehicles — which accounted for around 68.44% — totaled 18,401 units in January, dropping 15.8% from the 21,855 units in the same month last year.
The month’s sales of Asian utility vehicles, a sub-segment of commercial vehicles, slumped 58.5% to 2,410 units from January 2018’s 5,811 units.
Light commercial vehicles slipped 1.2% to 15,037 units from 15,218 units in the same comparative months.
Month-on-month, car sales were down 15.8% from December 2018’s 31,945 units.
Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. continued to lead with a 42.23% market share at 11,355 vehicles sold in January, though down 14.1% from a year ago.
It was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with a share of 19.48% at 5,239 units, down 22.5%; and Nissan Philippines, Inc. with 11.53% at 3,100 units, up 55%.
Following in their wake were Honda Car Philippines, Inc.; Ford Motor Co. Philippines, Inc. and Suzuki Phil’s. Inc. with shares of 7.23% (1,943 units, down 8.6%), 6.66% (1,790 units, down 34.6%) and 4.82% (1,296 units, down 31.9%) respectively.
The industry hopes to recover with a 10% growth in sales this year.
In 2018, car sales fell for the first time in seven years, declining 16% to 357,410 units from 2017.
The acceleration of inflation rate and new auto excise taxes weighed on the industry’s growth last year. — Janina C. Lim

Gov’t moves to implement rice tariff act, projects P7-11B collection

RICE IMPORTS starting March 5 will be covered by new tariffs under a newly signed law, with the measure expected to generate at least P7 billion in its first year of implementation.
An inter-agency body led by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is drafting the IRR for Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Act that was signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Feb. 14.
The measure imposes the following tariffs: 35% for rice imports coming from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); 40% for imports within the 350,000 metric-ton minimum access volume (MAV), regardless of country; and 180% for above-MAV imports from non-ASEAN countries.
In a statement, the Department of Finance (DoF) said the government expects to raise P7-P11 billion from tariffs in the first year of the law’s implementation.
State offices involved in drawing up the IRR include the NEDA, Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Agriculture.
The DoF also clarified that the new tariff scheme will take effect March 5 — 15 days after the law was published on Monday — and not March 3 as the department had initially reported.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, however, said that the new tariffs can take effect even without the IRR in place.
“There are parts of the law that are clear up front and can be implemented earlier than the parts of the law that require an IRR to implement. The heart of the reform, which tariffies rice importation with the least government intervention, will be implemented as soon as possible to bring down rice prices for more than 100 million Filipino rice consumers,” Mr. Dominguez said in a Viber message to reporters.
Other provisions of the law, which include restructuring of the National Food Authority (NFA) to take it out of grains trading, will be covered by the IRR.
Mr. Dominguez said the NFA now has a P145-billion debt, mainly due to the agency’s practice of buying palay at a high price and then selling it at a low retail price.
In a separate statement, NEDA Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the first draft of the IRR was completed last week and presented at the NFA Council’s meeting last Monday. It will be revised and subjected to public consultations.
NEDA said the current draft carries provisions on NFA’s new mandate and the streamlining of import requirements. It also spells out details of safety nets for farmers affected by the removal of import limits via the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund provided by the law.
While the law gives a 180-day limit for crafting an IRR, Mr. Dominguez said 30 days would be “sufficient to make a plan.”
The DoF expects rice prices to drop by P2-7 per kilogram with the influx of cheap rice. In turn, the central bank estimates a 0.6 percentage point reduction in the headline inflation for 2019.
CONCERNS
One lawmaker on Tuesday cautioned against implementing the law without rules to ensure proper enforcement.
“Hindi na po pala hihintayin ang pagsagawa ng IRR (It seems the government will no longer wait for an IRR before it implements the law)…,” Butil Rep. Cecilia Leonila V. Chavez told reporters in a briefing in the House of Representatives, citing the need to make sure hefty annual allocations to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund will really be used for farmers’ benefit.
“Nakakalungkot pong isipin na sa laki ng kailangan na assistance ng magsasaka ay sinimulan sa P10 billion at in-earmark sa ahensya ng gobyerno na hindi tayo sigurado kung maaaring makapagdownload ang mga ahensya na ‘to diretso sa mga magsasaka (It’s sad to think that we cannot be sure if the P10 billion earmarked annually for this fund for the next six years will go to farmers).”
The law provides that the P10 billion will be allocated through attached agencies of the Department of Agriculture like the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), among others.
Half of the allocation will support acquisition of rice farm machineries and equipment through the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), a third will support rice seed development, propagation and promotion through the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), 10% will be for expanded rice credit assistance through LANDBANK and the Development Bank of the Philippines and the remaining 10% for rice extension services through PhilMech, PhilRice, Agricultural Training Institute and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
OVERSIGHT WATCH
Sought for comment, Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II said in a mobile phone message that “the heart of the reform, which tariffies rice importation with the least government intervention, will be implemented ASAP to bring down rice prices for more than 100 million Filipino rice consumers.”
Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told reporters on Tuesday that she will discuss with House of Representatives Agriculture committee chair Jose T. Panganiban, Jr. of the ANAC-IP partylist how the oversight committee can help in the implementation of the law.
“I will ask his ideas but I think it will be good because it’s an important bill and now we’ll make sure it’s implemented,” Ms. Arroyo said.
“So I supposed the implementation details and what to do will depend on Chairman Panganiban. I’ll talk to him because I want to see him. He’s going to chair an oversight on free irrigation sometime next week. So when he does that, I’ll ask him about it.” — Melissa Luz T. Lopez and Charmaine A. Tadalan

Performance of Select Asian Economies

Performance of Select Asian Economies

Meralco ordered to use unclaimed tax refund to lower distribution rates

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has directed Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to submit a scheme that uses customers’ unclaimed tax refund to reduce the power distribution rates, the agency said on Tuesday.
In a statement, ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Agnes VST Devanadera said it is incumbent on Meralco to inform its customers “immediately” upon the receipt of the ERC order to claim their refund. She was referring to an order released by the agency on Feb. 4, 2019.
ERC also authorized Meralco to continue with the implementation of the Supreme Court’s directive on income tax refund to eligible customers under Phase 1 to 4 until June 30, 2019.
Meralco was directed to submit within 10 days from receipt of the order an updated report on the gross and net amount of refund as of Dec. 31, 2018.
“We are now in a new regulatory regime where consumer benefit is given primal consideration. This new ERC Commission will see to it that consumers do not only get billed with just and reasonable rates but we will also ensure that they get the best value for their hard-earned money,” Ms. Devanadera said.
Aside from the refund, ERC also directed Meralco to deposit in a separate interest-bearing bank account the unclaimed amounts of the income tax refund, for transparency and easy monitoring purposes.
Meralco was also required to submit the detailed list of customers who have not yet claimed their refund within 30 days from receipt of the ERC order.
The distribution utility, which is the country’s biggest with around 6.5 million customers, was also instructed to post in all its business offices the notice and the list of names of customers who have not claimed the tax refund for their information and reference.
Ms. Devanadera said the commissioners urged distribution utilities to devise ways and means that would reduce their electricity rates with the advent of the passage of the “Murang Kuryente” legislation.
On Feb. 4, the two chambers of Congress approved on third and final reading the “Murang Kuryente” bill proposing to use the government share of the Malampaya fund as subsidy to settle obligations of the National Power Corp.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Victor V. Saulon

POPI to change name to Ayalaland Logistics

PRIME Orion Philippines, Inc. (POPI) plans to change its name to Ayalaland Logistics Holdings Corp., in line with the firm’s diversification into the property logistics sector.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday, the Ayala-led firm said its board of directors has approved the change in its corporate name. It will also change its ticker symbol on the stock exchange to ALL from POPI.
POPI will present the name change to its stockholders during its annual meeting on April 12 for approval, after which necessary requirements will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The move reflects POPI’s pivot towards the real estate logistics and industrial estate business with Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI)’s support.
ALI acquired the operator of the Tutuban Center in 2015, initially purchasing 51.36%. The company has gradually increased its stake which now stands at 63.9% as of March 2018.
The company has since acquired a majority stake in Laguna Technopark, Inc., which manages the 460-hectare Laguna Technopark in Sta. Rosa as well as the 135-hectare Cavite Technopark in the municipality of Naic.
POPI is currently developing a logistics and warehousing facility in Laguna Technopark that will offer a leasable area of more than 60,000 square meters (sq.m.) divided into 40 units with cuts of 1,200 to 1,500 sq.m.
The warehouse is seen to be completed by October 2020, although portions will be available for lease to non-Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) locators starting May.
The company has two more industrial parks in the pipeline. The first is located in Cagayan de Oro near the Laguindingan airport, where POPI will offer 42 parcels of land with cuts of 7,000 sq.m. each.
The company is looking at establishing its second industrial park in Central Luzon.
POPI has also been expanding and rehabilitating the Tutuban Center under ALI’s leadership. Tutuban Center now has a gross leasable area of 53,000 sq.m., in addition to new retail and wholesale concepts.
POPI’s net income attributable to the parent surged 122% to P189.47 million in the first nine months of 2018, driven by a 328% jump in revenues to P1.94 billion.
Shares in POPI jumped 8.58% or 23 centavos to close at P2.91 each at the stock exchange on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia

Workers at Sudan terminal strike over ICTSI deal

KHARTOUM — Workers at Port Sudan’s southern container terminal went on strike on Monday to protest against a deal with Philippine port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc (ICTSI), port employees and a union official said.
Witnesses in Port Sudan said work at the terminal had been suspended since the morning because of the strike, which was timed to coincide with a visit by the Sudanese prime minister aimed at resolving opposition to the deal.
“Today with the prime minister’s visit, all the workers in the container terminal in Port Sudan’s port carried out a full strike,” said Othman Taher, head of an opposition trade union. “They numbered 1,800 workers.”
“Our message and our demand to the government is to refuse the privatization and cancel the contract with the Philippine company to protect the country’s resources.”
On Jan. 3, ICTSI subsidiary ICTSI Middle East DMCC signed a 20-year concession deal with the Sea Ports Corporation of Sudan (SPC) to operate, manage and develop the South Port Container Terminal at Port Sudan, a disclosure from the company said.
The transfer of facilities would take place in the first quarter of this year, it said, adding that the terminal has a capacity of more than 1 million TEU, the standard unit for shipping container size.
ICTSI could not immediately be reached for comment. — Reuters

Epperson on images and their stories

By Michelle Anne P. Soliman
Reporter
IT WAS few minutes past 2 p.m. and the afternoon sunlight illuminated the high ceiling in the partly glass-enclosed living room. Dressed in a light blue shirt and jeans, American photographer Tom Epperson sat in front (instead of behind, as he usually does) of the camera. For someone who admits to being camera shy, he comfortably introduced himself in one take.
Mr. Epperson recalled his first encounter with photography — when his parents gave him a “plastic Japanese camera” with “one shutter speed.”
“I always wanted to be a photographer when I was very young. But I was kind of talked out of it by a close friend of the family. And it went on for years,” he told BusinessWorld in an interview.
Prior to pursuing his passion for photography, he worked at a Sydney-based animation company. While there, he came across a magazine article about French-born photojournalist Catherine Leroy who covered the Vietnam War. Her story inspired Mr. Epperson to take a risk.
“I had read this article about a famous journalist who covered the Vietnam War. And reading that, I thought, ‘She gave up everything in her life to go over [there] and actually put her life on the line to become a photographer.’ And I thought, if she was willing to do this, what was stopping me?”
Mr. Epperson left a 14-year career in animation and became a photo assistant for two years, prior to settling in Manila in the 1990s where he established his own studio.
“I lost a lot of things going after photography, but I don’t regret one day of it.”
WHAT MAKES A PHOTOGRAPH
As a photographer, Mr. Epperson has done commercial work for notable brands such as Nike’s Manny Pacquiao campaign; but he has “always taken art shots.”
“I didn’t seriously think about it (fine art photography) as a way to generate money and to do it full time until I stopped doing advertising. Advertising really kind of robbed me of my soul… I couldn’t put my stamp on it. So, I thought I should go back to find other work and start shooting what I like. And hopefully other people would like it as well,” he said.
He has mounted six shows since 2005, including his Frozen series which was inspired by a trip to Mongolia’s frozen lakes.
Like a missing note in music, the mystery in a photograph speaks through what is not seen. “It’s not so much [about] what you play, it’s what you don’t play. It’s what you don’t include in a song. In a song, if there’s this part where everything kind of just drops out, it leaves this void,” explained Mr. Epperson, who also plays harmonica for a Filipino blues band, The Blue Rats.
“I would imagine [the same in] sculpting. It’s what they take away from whatever they are sculpting that makes the sculpture,” he added.
“It’s what I don’t include (in the picture) because then it makes the person looking at the image wonder,” he said, citing examples of shooting a portrait with a hidden face or a close up of an outstretched hand. “It makes you think.”
For Mr. Epperson, photographs are not only about aesthetics but also stories.
“I think a lot of people go out and just take beautiful pictures without a concept in mind,” he said. “[For a] fine art photographer, he sees it in a completely different way. They try to portray something to bring awareness to something, and you do that through both their imagery and then they’ll also have a story behind it as well.”
SHOWCASING A DIFFERENT STYLE
At the upcoming Art Fair Philippines, which runs from Feb. 22 to 24, Mr. Epperson will be showing his phototgraphs in a show called Works alongside fellow photographer Denise Weldon. He will showcase a series of 12 photographs, which he describes as “playful.”
“This work was not intended. I had no agenda,” he revealed.
The photographs consist of images shot in his studio, a beach in the Philippines, and a riverbed in the US.
“The beauty about it was that I have enough work that I could have put it in the show without having to think. I already had a series of work, and I could have put that up and shown it. But I did a road trip late last year to the [United States]… I just started taking photographs for fun. And I get back to the Philippines and have a look at the new images, and I thought, this would be really interesting to show instead of what I had already,” he said.
He added that the images are a diversion from his previous photographs.
“It isn’t very moody, it isn’t dark, it’s in color, which I’m really not known for. Most of my images are black and white,” he said. “Not one of them were ever meant to see the likes of a show. It’s a very eclectic body of work.”
(Works by Denise Weldon and Tom Epperson is located at Booth 4, Level 5, of Art Fair Philippines, which runs at The Link, Ayala Center, from Feb. 22–24.)

McDonald’s PHL taps GrabFood for delivery services amid rising demand

By Arra B. Francia
Reporter
MCDONALD’S Philippines is tapping the online food delivery service of Grab Philippines in a bid to meet the rising consumer demand for quick and efficient food delivery.
Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), the exclusive franchisee of the McDonald’s brand in the Philippines, signed a contract with GrabFood on Tuesday to cement their partnership for delivery services.
Under the partnership, GrabFood will serve as GADC’s end-to-end food delivery app partner. GrabFood delivery will be available for more than 60 McDonald’s stores in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, extending more than a thousand riders under GrabFood’s platform for GADC’s use.
Both parties look to further increase the number of McDonald’s stores with GrabFood to at least 100 hubs by the end of the year.
GADC Managing Director Margot B. Torres said the company has seen double-digit growth in delivery services over the last three years, spurring the need for more riders.
“This gives us flexibility to meet that demand from our customers…And deliver the promise of bringing McDonald’s within certain minutes. (This demand) really spreads out the need for riders, which could be costly for us,” Ms. Torres said in a press conference in Taguig on Tuesday.
Grab Philippines President Brian P. Cu said this partnership is in line with the company’s goal to ramp up its food delivery business.
“With food delivery as one of our most important business focuses for 2019, we will continue to bring innovative and rewarding food experiences to our customers, while helping our partners reap the benefits of participating in the Philippines’ digital economy,” Mr. Cu said.
GrabFood Philippines Head EJ dela Vega said the partnership with McDonald’s will bring in additional revenues.
“Restaurant-partners can expect incremental orders and revenue on top of the in-store visits they receive,” Mr. Dela Vega said.
Ms. Torres said the partnership with GrabFood will complement GADC’s existing in-house delivery riders.
“With the growth, we’re very bullish about the delivery business. (There will continue to be a need to expand) our in-house delivery model. We confidently say that because that’s what we see in other markets,” Ms. Torres explained.
This is also part of GADC’s efforts to upgrade their stores with the use of technology. The company launched in October last year its first NXTGEN store, which comes with self-ordering kiosks to facilitate customer’s ordering experience. The company now has 25 NXTGEN stores in the country.

Denise Weldon: Taking a meditative pause over taking pictures

By Sam L. Marcelo
Associate Editor

White Squash Duo #1
White Squash Duo #1

AS THE golden hour approaches, sunlight enters through the large glass windows of Denise Weldon’s airy living room in Urdaneta Village. Abstract shapes made by light and shadow caper on the ceiling and slink onto walls occupied by sprays of flowers and atmospheric canvases by Betsy Westendorp, translucent photograms from Neal Oshima’s Saya Series, textured black-and-white paintings by Gus Albor, and frenetic pops of green and yellow by Keith Haring. Silhouettes made by the surrounding foliage gambol down to the white couch, and flit to the floor. Ms. Weldon, a photographer who does both commercial and fine art photography, is enamored of this afternoon dance.
“I like to pay attention to just the mundane things. I’ve always said that there is beauty in that which is alive,” said Ms. Weldon, who, along with Tom Epperson, is showing a collection of still life photographs titled Works at this year’s edition of Art Fair Philippines.
With an amateur botanist’s curiosity, Ms. Weldon captures banana blossoms (puso ng saging), Mexican turnips, luffa gourds (patola), lemons, and white squash in the manner of bodegónes and 16th-century kitchen art. Foraged throughout her travels, these horticultural specimens were photographed at different stages of growth and decay in little makeshift studios at home and abroad: a tea cabinet in her dining room bathed in the glow of a setting sun; a corner in her sister’s garage in Massachusetts lit by the headlights of a car on a cold fall night; or a kitchen table in Iceland illuminated by window light. “Every space can become a studio,” she said.
Among the finished photographs, ranging in size from a sheet of typing paper to a large poster, one also finds Ms. Weldon retreading familiar ground. There are tight shots of wrinkled, slept-in sheets similar to the work she shared in a group show at Finale Art File in 2018, only this time rendered in color — a haze of blue resembling sea and sky.
Repetition is not a symptom of a lack of imagination or inspiration for Ms. Weldon. Rather, it is granting oneself the luxury of pausing and recognizing that which draws you. “If you’ve seen something that’s caught your eye, stay with it,” she said. “Stay there for a bit more, dig a little bit more. Go around and be invited inside to see where else it might take you.”

Lemon Iceland
Lemon Iceland

This meditative pause informs Ms. Weldon’s fine art photography, which moves several stops slower than her client-driven projects. “It’s an aspect of honoring nature and paying attention to its existence. It may seem so trite but I think it’s even more important now that we’re all moving so fast,” she said. “We’re given gifts and tools to pay attention. The sun rises every day, the sun sets every day. The moon comes up, the moon sets. Those are natural rhythms — and we’re not in sync anymore with that.”
Her unhurried approach to looking runs almost counter to the Instagram-happy world of the fair, where visitors armed with mobile phones scramble for selfies and move on with nary a thought to the artwork they have demoted to mise-en-scène, mere background (it is fair to say that a few people are there because they want to be seen rather than to see).
Still, the hope is that someone will stop long enough to realize one of several things, among them that photography can be art; that it can be collected; and that it can share space with paintings, sculptures, and other media.
Works, after all, is part of Art Fair Philippines’ endeavor to expand public appreciation for photography. Ms. Weldon and Mr. Epperson are featured in ArtFairPh/Photo, a section unveiled in 2018 designed to “shine the spotlight on photography as contemporary art.”
A first-time exhibitor at the fair who is familiar with the event’s sprint-like pace, Ms. Weldon said: “I am a meditator and life-long learner, curious about many things, but most curious about our humanity and our spirituality. This aspect of learning requires study that is not necessarily in the confines of a classroom but rather in life itself… This experience in itself is like being in a studio, moving within it and steeping in that space that comes from that awareness, that mindfulness, that state of being the witness.”
(Works by Denise Weldon and Tom Epperson is located at Booth 4, Level 5, of Art Fair Philippines, which runs at The Link, Ayala Center, from Feb. 22–24.)

GE sees strong interest in battery storage

GENERAL Electric Co. (GE), the US-based multinational company, is looking to pilot an energy battery storage project in the region with a capacity of 4 megawatt (MW)-hour, while continuing to look for opportunities in renewable energy projects, its local head said.
“We’re seeing increasing interest in battery storage,” J.V. Emmanuel A. de Dios, chief executive officer of General Electric Philippines, Inc. told reporters in an informal gathering in Makati City on Tuesday.
He said the interest is across the region, including the Philippines. He also mentioned Australia as possibly among the countries piloting the project.
“We’re looking to pilot energy battery storage at 4 MW-hour. It’s containerized lithium ion… It’s 4 MW for one hour or 1 MW for four hours,” Mr. De Dios said about the stored power of the pilot project.
Aside from battery storage, Mr. De Dios said the company was also looking at hydroelectric power projects in the Philippines, specifically pumped storage.
Pumped-storage power plants store water from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher one, and releasing stored water through turbines to produce electricity.
Mr. De Dios said GE has more than 25% of the installed global hydro capacity at 320-gigawatts (GW).
On pumped storage power (PSP), GE’s equipment solutions enable start-up time from idle to full load at 60 seconds for up to 500 MW, Mr. De Dios said.
“We have the world’s largest installed base of PSP in operation and under construction equipped with GE technology at 48 GW,” he said.
Mr. De Dios said GE Philippines is generally keen on participating in renewable energy projects by providing the relevant equipment.
He previously said that GE Philippines’ push into renewable energy was in line with the looming threat of climate change, requiring sustainability to be at the forefront of concerns when it comes to servicing the country’s power needs.
“The increased generation from geothermal, hydro, and solar resources has lessened the country’s dependency on fossil fuels,” Mr. De Dios had said. “Now, more than ever, the country is open to new ideas and solutions to produce more reliable, sustainable, and affordable electricity.” — Victor V. Saulon

Lectures at Art Fair Philippines

ASIDE from the gallery shows and special exhibits, Art Fair Philippines presents ArtFairPH/Talks, a series of lectures to provide fair visitors opportunities to deepen their exposure to various topics that will enhance art appreciation. The talks will be held at the 5th floor of The Link car park, Ayala Center. Following is the schedule of talks:
Feb. 22
“The Thinking Behind the Making,” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. — A conversation among artists about their processes using their projects at Art Fair Philippines 2019 as exemplars or take-off points. Visual artist Prof. Leo Abaya of the University of the Philippines Fine Arts Department moderates the discussion featuring Ryan Villamael, Oca Villamiel, Ian Fabro, Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Olivia d’Aboville, MM Yu, and Liv Vinluan.
“Tax 101: Taxes for Artists and Creatives,” 2-4 p.m. — A discussion on taxes and related issues for individuals who create intellectual property. The participants are legal consultants in the creative industries — Anton Bengzon, Rommel Santiago, and BJ Palattao.
“Selfies and Celebrities: The Portrait from Van Gogh to Warhol,” 5-7 p.m. Since the late 19th century, artists from Vincent Van Gogh to Andy Warhol have mined the expressive potential of portraiture. The lecture is presented by art historian and curator, Dr. Kathryn Calley Galitz and also features the work of contemporary painters and photographers who similarly push the boundaries of the genre. Dr. Galitz is author of The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings. There will be a book signing from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Art Bar.
Feb. 23
“The Value of Pictures,” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Katya Guerrero, founder of photography archive LUZVIMINDA, moderates a discussion on the urgency to research Philippine photography and the different reasons why it is important. Participants in the discussion are Jay Javier of Fotofabrik, Wawi Navarroza of Thousandfold, Rachel Rillo of Silverlens, and Prof. Francis Fausto Tady of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Photography Department.
“Domènec Montserrat In Conversation With Carlomar Arcangel Daoana,” 2-4 p.m. — Domènec Montserrat, a conceptual artist from Barcelona, offers a penetrating and critical approach to the effects of architecture on community life. His exhibit titled Not Here, Not Anywhere tours Manila through the Museum of Contemporary Art Barcelona and the Ateneo Art Gallery and features installation and multimedia works giving an overview of his artistic practice for the past three decades. Mr. Montserrat uses modernist architecture and city planning as starting points to tease out issues related to the politics of urban development and its social impact on its stakeholders. Carlomar Arcangel Daoana is a poet and an art critic.
“The Art of Fernando Botero,” 5-7 p.m. Felipe Botero will be giving a talk filled with intimate insights into the renowned Colombian artist, Fernando Botero, his grandfather. He will discuss working with his grandfather, and the aesthetic convictions that underlie his grandfather’s artistic style and the evolution of his manner of painting, drawing and sculpting.
“Into the He(art) of the Art Market, A Performance Art Auction by Judy Freya Sibayan and Lyra Garcellano,” 7:30 to 9 p.m. A parody of art auctions, works by Damien Hirst, Yoko Ono, Gilbert and George, Michel Foucault, Ed Ruscha, Walid Raad, Christian Boltanski, Dayanita Singh, and Yona Friedman commissioned by Le point d’ironie, edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist and published by agnès b. into artist pages will be auctioned not for monetary bids but for other valuable things in one’s life such as “the right to breathe clean air” or “the right to protest” or “the desire to have 20K followers in IG.” There will be a Q&A after the auction. The complete set of works to be auctioned and the protocols on the auction process will be posted on @performanceartagency. Lyra Garcellano, a visual artist who presents her output as installations, paintings, moving images, comics, writing and publishing. Judy Freya Sibayan is a performance artist.
Feb. 24
“Drawing Insights,” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Prof. Ma. Victoria Herrera will be talking about Mauro “Malang” Santos, for whom drawing was a daily task and the backbone to his art process. Starting off from Malang’s collection of drawings, this session will reveal how this art form has served as a valuable means towards figuration as well as abstraction.
“Nonon Padilla and Judy Freya Sibayan In Conversation On The Art Practice of Ray Albano,” 2-4 p.m. Curator, artist and critic Ray Albano began working at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Art Museum in 1970 and was museum director until his demise in 1985. Nonon Padilla took over the directorship in 1986 developed a 10-year plan continuing Albano’s work and in his honor renamed the CCP Museum to Contemporary Art Museum of the Philippines (CAMP). Sibayan worked with Albano from 1976 to 1977 and in 1987 was appointed director of CAMP. Both were awarded the CCP 13 Artist Grant during Albano’s time and took part in exhibitions he curated. The three were friends. Padilla and Sibayan will talk on Albano’s short but prolific and remarkable life of art making.
“A Conversation on David Medalla With Adam Nankervis, Purissima Benitez-Johannot and Daniel Kupferberg,” 5-7 p.m. From a global perspective, David Medalla is probably the best known and respected artist from the Philippines, if not the region. Adam Nankervis, David Medalla’s long-time collaborator, Purissima Benitez-Johannot, co-author and editor of The Art and Life of David Medalla, and Daniel Kupferberg, archivist of The Archive Project in Berlin (of David Medalla’s works) talk about his extensive body of work — ranging from painting to performance to kinetic art to any of its exquisite combinations — for more than half a century.

Makati RTC nullifies CIC order on credit data required from insurers

A LOWER COURT nullified an order from the Credit Information Corp. (CIC) requiring insurers to submit data on premium payments, insurance contracts, and policy loans of its clients.
The Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 56 nullified the Circular Letter 2017-04 issued by the CIC in a decision dated Jan. 4, 2019, acting on the Petition for Declaratory Relief by the Philippine Life Insurance Association, Inc. (PLIA), the Insurance Commission (IC) said in a statement on Tuesday.
In the decision, the lower court declared that premium payments, insurance contracts and policy loans are not within the ambit of basic credit data required to be submitted under the Credit Information System Act (CISA).
The court added that such financial records do not pertain to a borrower’s performance on a loan, credit line, guarantee, or any other form of financial accommodation.
Basic credit data refer to positive or negative information provided by a borrower to a submitting entity or a firm that provides credit facilities.
“Taking out a policy loan may or may not reflect a need for cash by the policyholder. Availing of the same is the sole option of the policyholder as it is a benefit feature of the insurance policy granted to him by law. He may use it any which way and whenever he wants to,” the court’s decision read, citing PLIA’s arguments.
The court likewise ruled against the argument of the CIC that the submission of policy loans, premium payments and insurance contracts is not a violation of the Data Privacy Act (DPA).
“Notably, CIC cannot rely on the foregoing exemption under the DPA applicable because policy loans, premium payments and insurance contracts do not constitute basic credit data.”
Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa welcomed the court ruling, saying the IC has long been trying to explain that the aforementioned financial records are not credit data.
“The decision of the Makati RTC supports our stance that policy loans should not be treated as reportable credit transactions under the Credit Information System Act,” Mr. Funa was quoted as saying in the statement.
“[A]ll our arguments have fallen on deaf ears… The CIC dismissed all our arguments by simply invoking that the same are bereft of probative value in relation to the coverage of the CISA. It was at this instance that the PLIA was forced to elevate the issue before the court.”
Sought for comment, the CIC said it will look at “various options” after the Makati court dismissed the circular.
“We haven’t received the ruling yet but like any other court case, we have various options. We can bring it back to court through an appeal or we could go straight to the Supreme Court,” CIC President and Chief Executive Officer Jaime Casto Jose P. Garchitorena said in a phone interview.
He added that the credit information firm will also consult with the Office of the Government Corporate Council, the statutory law office of state-owned and -controlled corporations.
Mr. Garchitorena also stood firm on the CIC’s position that premium payments, insurance contracts and policy loans can be regarded as credit data.
“The law provides that we can identify types of data that may speak to the creditworthiness of an individual. One of the characteristics of payment is the regularity of the behavior,” he said.
“Similar to payment of utilities in terms of the period of the payment, any type of regular payments reflect to the capacity of the data subject…to pay an obligation,” Mr. Garchitorena added.
Enacted in 2008, Republic Act No. 9510 or the CISA mandates the establishment of a comprehensive and centralized credit information system, with CIC tasked to consolidate the data.
The law also states that submitting entities or lenders are required to provide all credit data of their borrowers in their database to the CIC.
Meanwhile, PLIA has not replied to a request for comment as of press time. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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