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Dutchman wins Stage 1 of Le Tour de Filipinas; Carino, Oranza bomb out

TAGAYTAY CITY — Flying Dutch Jeroen Meijers of Taiyuan Miogee Team bested all comers including top locals El Joshua Carino and Ronald Oranza in claiming Stage One victory on Friday in the 10th Le Tour de Filipinas that started and finished at the Praying Hands Monument here.

Mr. Meijers, 26, was incredible in the ascent as he methodically negotiated the steep Sampaloc Road in Talisay, Batangas, that propelled him straight to the solo general classification lead with a clocking of three hours, six minutes and 59 seconds.

It was the second podium finish for Mr. Meijers after he wound up third in Stage One of the Toir of Taiyuan in China on his way to finish third overall in that race two weeks ago.

“I was here six days and I knew the climb was going to be steep so I just took my time at the beginning before I stepped on it late,” said Mr. Meijers, who took up the sport when he was only six years old.

Checking in at second was Angus Lyons of Oliver’s Real Food Racing of Australia, who clocked 3:08:38, while 7Eleven Cliqq-Air21 by Roadbike Philippines’ Daniel Habtemichael of Eritria ended up at third in 3:09:06.

Marcelo Felipe, who skippers 7Eleven Cliqq-Air21 Roadbike Philippines, prevented an all-foreigner top 10 and finished at 10th in 3:09:25.

PGN Road Cycling Team of Indonesia’s Sandy Nur Hasan (3:09:14) and Aiman Cahyadi (3:09:21), Team Ukyo of Japan’s Kohei Yokotuka (3:09:21) and Naoya Yoshioka (3:09:23), Team Sapura Cycling of Malaysia’s Muhsin Al Redha (3:09:25) and Taiyuan Mogee’s Li Shuai (3:95:25) came in at fourth to ninth place, respectively.

Messrs. Carino and Oranza, in contrast, faltered under tremendous pressure. They both suffered cramps and failed to make the cutoff that led to their elimination.

Mr. Carino claimed he missed training in full regimen in the past four days while Mr. Oranza rued dehydration as the culprit.

“Cramps,” said a frustrated Carino.

For Mr. Oranza, the diarrhea that hit him in a race last week zapped the energy out of him.

“I haven’t fully recovered,” Oranza said in the vernacular.

The absence of Messrs. Carino and Oranza left the national team, all from the heralded Navy-Standard Insurance squad, with just three riders in the fold — Junrey Navarra, Jhon Mark Camingao and Jan Paul Morales.

Mr. Navarra, a dark horse to win in this stage being the many-time King of the Mountain winner in local races, was at 20th in 3:12:21 while Messrs. Camingao and Morales were at 24th and 25th with times of 3:15:15 and 3:15:25.

The race will resume today with the 194.9-km Stage Two, which will start in Pagbilao, Quezon, and end in Daet, Camarines Norte, with Mr. Meijers wearing the purple jersey symbolic of the general classification lead.

PHL banks maintain bullish outlook

BANK EXECUTIVES expect the industry to remain stable over the next two years due to strong economic growth prospects, with most lenders saying they will use financial technology to boost their operations.

Results of the Banking Sector Outlook Survey (BSOS) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the second semester of 2018 — whose respondents include presidents, chief executive officers or country managers of 120 banks in the country — showed that 70.2% of respondents see the banking system remaining stable over the next two years on the back of their bullish economic outlook versus 66.7% the previous semester. Meanwhile, 28.6% of the industry leaders project stronger banks.

The survey’s respondents came from 45 universal and commercial banks (including 25 foreign lenders), 55 thrift banks, and 20 rural and cooperative banks, the BSP said in the report published Thursday, versus the 114 lenders in the previous survey.

The overall response rate for the second semester survey however declined to 69% from 96.6% in the first half of 2018. The banks that responded accounted for 91.4% of the total assets of the banking system.

According to the survey, 86.1% of respondents see the economy growing from 6-7% percent within the next two years, compared to 80.8% in the previous semester.

“Despite global uncertainties and market volatilities, banks maintain their optimism on the country’s economic prospects…,” the report read.

The projected economic growth and stability of the banking system influenced 73.8% of respondents to forecast double-digit growth in assets. However, this is lower than the 80% who expected the same in the first semester of 2018.

“The growth in assets is expected to be driven by credit expansion as 81% of the banks project a double-digit growth in their loan portfolio during the BSOS for the second semester of 2018,” the report read.

In particular, 84.4% of universal and commercial bank respondents see double-digit loan growth. Meanwhile, 41.2% of thrift banks loan growth at more than 20%, which the BSP said was “the most optimistic” outlook among lenders.

Deposits are also expected to fuel asset expansion as 72.2% of respondents also project double-digit deposit growth. More than three quarters of the smaller banks are aiming for double-digit growth in their deposit liabilities, with only two-thirds of the universal and commercial lenders targeting the same.

About 92.4% of respondents also forecast double-digit net income growth in the next two years, higher than the 83.3% who had this outlook in the first semester of 2018.

Thrift banks were the most optimistic with 97% of them projecting double-digit net income growth, while 36.4% of universal and commercial banks expect their profit to expand between 10% and 15%, and 30.3% see their earnings rising more than 30%.

“The universal and commercial banks’ net income projections are significantly influenced by new foreign bank entrants that are still setting the foundation for their strong domestic presence,” the BSP said.

FINTECH, CONSUMER LOANS
Meanwhile, in terms of products or services, majority of the heads of banks said corporate and retail banking “will remain as their top most priority,” the central bank said.

The results showed 68.8% of the respondents from domestic universal and commercial banks said consumer loans will be their “primary focus” for the next to years, while 70% of large foreign banks said they prefer to lend to the manufacturing sector.

Both subsidiary and stand-alone thrift banks also said in the second semester survey that consumer loans will have the biggest share in their lending portfolios in the next two years, while wholesale and retail trade and consumer are projected to be the top two credit markets for rural and cooperative banks.

“Based on latest available data, banks’ lending activities are mainly channeled to real estate activities, wholesale and retail trade and manufacturing sector. Added focus on consumer lending indicates banks’ objective to further diversify their loan portfolio,” the BSP said.

On the other hand, according to the BSOS, the top three strategic priorities of the banks surveyed are to “grow the bank, optimize the available technology, and protect the bank.”

“Majority of the respondents believe that there is a need to grow the bank by expanding client base, by deepening customer relationships, and by developing new products. In line with the emerging market trends and evolving client needs, the rapid pace of digital technology is considerably reshaping the financial services landscape,” the central bank said.

The report said 44 out of 83 survey respondents said they will prioritize the optimization of available technology through digital operations and customer service and will leverage on financial technology (fintech) in the next two years.

Seven out of 13 or 53.8% of respondents from local universal and commercial banks that have plans to use technology said more than 10% to 25% of their banking transactions will be conducted through the use of digital technology in the next two years, while six out of 12 respondents from foreign universal and commercial lenders said more than 50% of their transactions will utilize digital means.

“Lastly, respondents underscore the need to protect the bank as one of their strategic priorities by managing reputational and operational risks, enhancing data and cybersecurity, upholding consumer protection, as well as boosting capital and liquidity ratios.”

Respondent banks also cited four risks to their operations: institutional risk, financial market risk, macroeconomic risk and technology risk. Local universal, commercial, and thrift banks said geopolitical risks can also adversely affect their business.

The top reforms cited by banks as necessary to weathering external shocks are enhancing the risk management system, strengthening client relationships, upgrading of personnel capabilities, keeping a high level of liquid assets, and increasing capitalization.

For its part, the BSP said it expects that banks will remain stable and resilient amid rapid credit growth on the back of their strong liquidity positions.

“The expanding lending operations of banks will also drive the improvements in their profits. Nonetheless, operating costs may continue to rise as banks use additional resources to expand customer base, implement system upgrades, and pursue product innovations. Adoption of technology is expected to provide a more efficient operations of banks,” the central bank said. — RJNI

DoTr says airlines agree to transfer turboprop flights to Sangley Airport

By Denise A. Valdez
Reporter

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said local airlines have agreed to operate flights that utilize turboprop planes at the Danilo Atienza (Sangley) Air Base, as the government prepares to open the airport for more flights before the year ends.

“During the meeting, airlines agreed to use Sangley Airport for general aviation, freight turboprop operations, and commercial turboprop operations as soon as the infrastructure is in place,” the DoTr said in a statement after a meeting with aviation stakeholders on Thursday.

“Additionally, general aviation users will be notified to fully relocate in a year’s time to Clark International Airport (CRK) in Pampanga and Sangley Airport to help decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA),” it added.

Cebu Pacific told BusinessWorld it had earlier this year expressed interest in using the air base in Sangley Point when it starts operating its freight turboprops.

“We formally wrote to the DoTr as early as March or April 2019 to operate cargo freighters out of Sangley,” Cebu Pacific Director for Corporate Communications Charo L. Lagamon said.

The Gokongwei-led carrier announced last year it is converting two of its ATR 72-500 passenger turboprops into freighter aircraft.

Philippines Airlines (PAL) was not able to immediately reply to questions on moving its turboprop operations to Sangley.

But in a phone call Wednesday, Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation Manuel Antonio L. Tamayo said the DoTr earlier received proposals from both Cebu Pacific and PAL regarding operating in Sangley.

“They are proposing — proposing pa lang and studying — possibility of moving some turboprop flights. Kasi right now Cebu Pacific and PAL, they operate out of Clark yung turboprop aircraft natin. They want to move some of their operations to Sangley, which will be closer to Manila,” he told BusinessWorld.

“Maybe turboprop flights for PAL Express, maybe they can move a number… I was made to understand Cebgo wants to move freighter operations, yung mga cargo nila, to Sangley. That is their proposal so far. And these are all proposals that we are studying,” he added.

But he noted the facility in Sangley could only handle some turboprop aircraft as it is still limited by the size of its runway, which is 2,300 x 45 meters.

“We keep accepting proposals like that, and we allow them to make their studies for commercial viability and feasibility study of the operations. We allow that, (for them to) come and visit to find out what can be done there,” Mr. Tamayo said.

Last Monday, President Rodrigo R. Duterte ordered the DoTr to immediately start operating the Sangley gateway for general aviation, or non-commercial flights, to help decongest NAIA.

The DoTr started 24/7 works in the gateway yesterday to expedite its completion.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade had ordered the hiring of additional manpower and acquisition of additional equipment to hasten works on the Sangley airport.

“Whatever it takes, we need to make sure that the directive of the President is delivered. Hire more manpower to work 24/7. Kailangan matapos ‘yan [It needs to be completed] on or before the timeline set by President Duterte,” Mr. Tugade was quoted in the statement as saying on Wednesday.

Gov’t to issue Marawi bonds for large-scale infrastructure projects

THE GOVERNMENT is looking to issue its planned Marawi bonds to help fund large-scale infrastructure projects covered by the second phase of the rehabilitation plan for the city, the Finance department said in a statement on Thursday.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the government will issue the bonds during the next phase of the Bangon Marawi Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Program (BMCRRP), which will involve large, “cash-intensive” infrastructure projects.

“When we start getting into the bigger expenditures, then we will be issuing the Marawi bonds,” Mr. Dominguez said was quoted as saying at a recent press briefing in the statement.

“But there has been a lot of work, especially in providing housing and water and sewage disposal facilities for the residents in that area already. So fortunately, we’ve been able to fund it from the GAA (General Appropriations Act), and when we get to the real big construction projects, that’s when we will be issuing the bonds,” Mr. Dominguez added.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the government still needs to “calibrate” the size of the Marawi bond issue based on the financing requirements for the implementation of the rehabilitation program.

Ms. De Leon added that the government is eyeing several features to make the bond issuance attractive to investors, including making the papers eligible as lenders’ alternative compliance to Republic Act (RA) No. 10000 or the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act.

“In preparation for that, we’ve also been doing some features, including the Agri-Agra eligibility that we have secured to make the bonds more attractive. In fact, there are also some structures that we are also considering to make it more attractive to retail investors,” Ms. De Leon said.

RA 10000 requires banks to set aside at least 25% of their loan portfolio to the sector, split into 10% of agrarian reform beneficiaries and 15% for farmers and fisherfolk. However, lenders have said they find it difficult to meet this credit quota and would rather pay penalties than take on the greater credit risk often attached to lending to members of these sectors.

Last year, the Department of Finance (DoF) said the Marawi bond offer may total P40-60 billion in a span of five years.

Marawi City was devastated after a five-month battle between government forces and Islamic State-inspired militants that ended in October 2017.

In November, the DoF said multilateral funding agencies and foreign governments pledged P35.1 billion in assistance for the rehabilitation of the war-torn city, covering almost half of the estimated P72.58 billion needed for the overall recovery program. The balance will be sourced locally, Mr. Dominguez earlier said.

Those that made pledges were the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the governments of China, Japan and Spain. Of the total pledges, P32.7 billion will be in the form of concessional loans, while P2.4 billion will be in grants.

The United Nations and the governments of the United States, Australia, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Spain also extended technical assistance and preparatory support for the implementation of the BMCRRP.

The P72.58-billion estimated budget, which will be spent up to 2022, includes P47.2 billion for the overall BMCRRP; P17.20 billion for the rehabilitation of the approximately 250-hectare area that was most affected; P1.25 billion for livelihood assistance projects; and some P6.9 billion in humanitarian assistance required in the early stages of the recovery program. — KESF

Oil demand growth falls as economy weakens

SINGAPORE/HOUSTON — World oil markets have undergone a U-turn, switching from supply-side risks like OPEC’s production cuts or US sanctions against producers Iran and Venezuela, analysts said, to concerns of slowing consumption amid fears of a global recession.

As a result, crude oil prices have turned a 45% price rally in the first four months of the year into a slump of more than 15% since late April.

US investment bank Goldman Sachs said on Wednesday that weakening economic growth and lower oil demand expectations were “the largest driver of the move lower over the past month” in crude oil prices.

And with the outlook dim amid trade disputes — especially the one that has led to an expanding exchange of tariffs between China and the United States — analysts have revised down their oil demand growth forecasts.

Fereidun Fesharaki, chairman of energy consultancy FGE, said the demand slowdown came amid a “general fear of an economic downturn,” and warning that if the US-China trade dispute continues, “real signs of economic recession will be seen.”

Due to the economic jitters, FGE this week revised down its global oil demand growth forecast to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.3 million bpd, in line with other recent downward corrections.

Barclays bank said this week it had revised down its economic growth outlooks for the United States, China, India and Brazil, countries that account for more than three-quarters of global oil demand growth.

The British bank also cut its oil demand growth forecast by 300,000 bpd to 1 million bpd.

“There is potential for further downside to demand, which means this will likely be the worst year for oil demand growth since 2011,” it said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said “global oil demand growth is running at the weakest rate since 2012,” although it still estimates growth to be around 1.2 million bpd for 2019.

Analysts participating in a May Reuters oil survey had their most optimistic growth forecasts at around 1.4 million bpd, as against 1.7 million bpd in a January poll.

POTENTIAL RECESSION
The heart of the stuttering demand is an economic slowdown.

Research firm TS Lombard said this week “export dependent economies in the Pacific Rim and Europe are badly hit and close to recession,” with the United States also “heading towards slower growth.”

TS Lombard warned an unresolved Sino-American trade war “has the potential to trigger a recession in 2020, if not before.”

The trade war between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies, has already hit global trade volumes and is starting to show in slowing fuel consumption.

China’s May crude oil imports fell by 8% from April to 40.23 million tonnes (9.47 million bpd), a chunk bitten out by the economic slowdown and US sanctions against Iran, one of China’s main oil suppliers.

China’s car sales fell in May to 1.91 million, down 16.4% from a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Wednesday, marking an 11th consecutive month of decline in the world’s largest vehicle market.

Slower demand growth is colliding with surging production from the United States, which the US Energy Information Administration expects to average 13.5 million bpd by the end of next year.

The United States is already the world’s biggest oil producer at 12.4 million bpd, ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia.

NOT ALL DOOM & GLOOM
Not all analysts subscribe to a doomsday scenario.

“The ‘death of demand growth’ is greatly exaggerated, despite the challenges in the global economy,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

Measures by central banks to stimulate growth, coupled with the recent slide in oil prices, could all trigger a rebound in demand, he said.

“While economic activity has recently come in below our economists’ expectations, it remains resilient, and they (the economists) don’t expect that a sharp further deceleration is likely,” said Goldman Sachs. — Reuters

The courage needed for Pride

FRANKLIN Delano Roosevelt is believed to have said: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”

Pride Month is celebrated in June, the same month in 1969 when the Stonewall riots took place, an event that would set into motion the modern pride movement. These days, Pride Month is celebrated with rainbows, parties and the promise to do more. In the early days of LGBT activism, Pride was not a party. There was a real danger to being seen and heard.

“Before Rainbows” is a series of documentaries produced by the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce, with the help of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Philippines. The series shows the lives of four early advocates of LGBT activism in the Philippines, namely Aida F. Santos-Maranan, Bishop Richard Mickley, Nick Deocampo, and Anna Leah Sarabia. The films were made by the teams of Rae Red, Cha Roque, Gio Pites, and Petersen Vargas. The films premiered on June 12, and were shown in previews at the residence of the Ambassador of the Netherlands late last month. They can be viewed on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJe9oRB1PT1hSCaapmDvGJA

(only two have been uploaded so far, and the others will be released in phases in the next week).

The film about Ms. Sarabia centers on her book, the first recognized Filipino lesbian anthology: Tibok, the Heartbeat of the Filipino Lesbian, published in 1998. The documentary about Bishop Mickley is about his arrival in the Philippines in 1991 to set up the country’s Metropolitan Community Church, which allowed LGBT members to worship and continue their relationship with religion. Bishop Mickley was also instrumental in organizing the country’s first Pride March in 1994, an event shown in the film.

The story told about Aida F. Santos-Maranan, a poet, writer, teacher, feminist, and NGO worker, shows her work in activism, especially her 1983 founding of Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan, one of the first feminist groups in the country. Finally, the documentary about film director Nick Deocampo shows clips from his early documentaries and films, some of the first to show LGBT life in the Philippines. Mr. Deocampo also organized Asia’s oldest gender-based film festival, the International Pink Film Festival.

“We think there’s a disconnect between the advocates of [the] present and LGBT advocates from generations past,” said Brian Tenorio, Chair of the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “The forerunners of LGBT advocacy in the country who faced more challenging times… do not have as many opportunities for telling their stories.

“These stories will then [be] great sources of inspiration to our younger advocates as they persevere in moving the advocacy forward.”

It is now 2019, and one still hears that transpeople can turn up dead from violence and torture, or same-sex couples can still be beaten up in a bus. But if it is dangerous now to be within the spectrum of the LGBT rainbow, it was more dangerous then when there was an utter lack of awareness of the lives led by its people.

“The times called for it: for us to be brave, for us to be courageous,” said Mr. Deocampo. “The times called for it, and we were there. We stood up and answered that call.”

For these people, there was a lot to fear, but as we referenced in the quote at the beginning, these four people made the judgment that something else was above fear. “You had to make a decision. You either do nothing, and just watch. Or you could make history for yourself,” said Ms. Sarabia. “If in times of crisis, you cannot wait for people to tell you what to do.

“Fear prevents change.” — Joseph L. Garcia

(For more information on the project, visit http://lgbtph.org/idahot2019/.)

Taiwanese company expands Laguna manufacturing facility

By Charmaine A. Tadalan, Reporter

TAIPEI — Taiwanese power supply firm AcBel Polytech, Inc. is set to expand not just its manufacturing facility in Taiwan, but also its factory in Laguna, Philippines, which is expected to be completed within the first half of 2020.

“We are expanding our Taiwan facility. We are estimating to increase at least double capacity and also in the Philippines,” AcBel Product Marketing Director Johnny Ho said during the Taitronics 2019 pre-show media tour in Taiwan, Tuesday.

AcBel, a power management solutions company, is expanding its operations, in response to increased demand from customers affected by the ongoing trade war between the United States and China.

“Right now our capacity usage are already 85%, so we only have 15% margin. It’s not enough. We are foreseeing until Q3, it’s not enough. That’s the reason why we pulled out another plan and begin developing the facility and all the setup and be ready for next year, Q1 or Q2,” Mr. Ho said.

The company’s Laguna facility largely manufactures storage devices and adapters, such as chargers. It currently employs around 1,890 workers.

With the expansion, Mr. Ho said the facility will require almost 3,000 workers.

He said the Laguna facility will also add research and development, and design units. “We are including in the expansion the design center, there will be an R&D and design center,” he added.

The AcBel official estimated the expansion in Taiwan and the Philippines will cost around NT$1.5 billion to 2 billion(P2.47 billion to 3.30 billion).

Having already established a global plant, Mr. Ho said AcBel saw an opportunity to expand amid the trade war that saw an increase in tariffs imposed on Chinese goods exported to the United States and threat of a further hike in tariffs.

“The advantage is we have facilities outside of China; because of tariff, that gave us more opportunities and there’s very few power supply company that have options, facility outside of China,” he said.

However, the company’s expansion plan will not include its manufacturing facilities in China.

AcBel will be among the participants of this year’s Taipei International Electronics show, Taitronics, which will be held from Oct. 16-18.

AcBel is one of the nine publicly listed companies under the New Kinpo Group. Its market include Lenovo, Hewlett Packard, Asus, Dell, Philips, Toshiba, among others.

TBGI ties up with Chinese firm for roll out of common towers

LISTED Transpacific Broadband Group International, Inc. (TBGI) said it is working with a China state-owned firm for the roll out of common towers for mobile network operators in the country.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday, TBGI said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese company ZPI-SOE to assist it in “pre-site acquisition to the post-construction process” of the common tower aspect of the government’s third telco project.

“The MoU entails the formulation of the Matrix of Responsibilities, Project Schedule, Contract Arrangement and Milestones of the project,” it said.

No details on ZPI-SOE were available. The company is not among the 23 firms that earlier signed an MoU with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on the rollout of common towers.

Third telecommunications player Mislatel consortium also noted it is not in talks with TBGI for the provision of common towers for its rollout. “They were not among the companies that submitted a proposal,” Mislatel Spokesperson Adel A. Tamano told BusinessWorld.

But in its disclosure, TBGI said it has submitted an initial list of 3,000 sites that may be used for common towers located in private schools in its existing client base. These schools, TBGI said, are customers availing its broadband services.

The agreement with the Chinese firm is expected to help the listed firm improve its top line by P1 billion in the next five years.

“Each tower infrastructure is estimated to cost $100,000 per site, while the site acquisition is budgeted from $7,000 to $8,000 per site,” it said. — Denise A. Valdez

Musicians lament reported loss of recordings in old Universal fire

LOS ANGELES — Several big-name musicians voiced dismay on Wednesday that some of their recordings may have been among thousands of original masters that The New York Times Magazine reported were lost in the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot fire of 2008.

The blaze, which gutted a popular “King Kong” attraction and a swath of the studio’s fabled outdoor lot, also destroyed nearly all the master recordings stored there in a Universal Music Group archive, a loss that has long gone undisclosed, the magazine reported on Tuesday.

Universal Music estimated in a confidential 2009 report that the loss encompassed about 500,000 song titles, the article said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the company called the incident “deeply unfortunate,” but said the Times story contained “numerous inaccuracies, misleading statements, contradictions and fundamental misunderstandings of the scope of the incident.”

The extent of the loss, documented in litigation and company records the article cited, was largely kept from the public eye through a concerted effort on the part of the music label, the magazine said.

Many of the artists whose own material was reported to have been destroyed expressed shock.

“Oh my Lord… this makes me sick to my stomach,” singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow wrote on Twitter, posted with a link to the article. “And shame on those involved in the coverup.”

The rock band R.E.M said in a Twitter statement that concerned fans were making inquiries. “We are trying to get good information to find out what happened, and the effect on the band’s music, if any,” the group tweeted.

Original sound recordings of many of the greatest names in popular music since the 1940s — from Louis Armstrong and Judy Garland to Tom Petty and 50 Cent — are believed to have gone up in smoke in what the article described as “the biggest disaster in the history of the music business.”

Master recordings are typically owned and controlled by the music labels for the artists in their catalog. But they are seen as vital to musicians’ legacy as they are original, one-of-a-kind recordings considered the truest representation of sounds captured in the studio.

Masters are the source material for all reproductions, including re-releases and remixes, made for distribution, whether on digital medium or vinyl.

Universal Music Group, now owned by French media conglomerate Vivendi, said the fire “never affected the availability of the commercially released music nor impacted artists’ compensation.”

The New York Times article “ignores the tens of thousands of back catalog recordings that we have already issued in recent years, including master-quality, high-resolution, audiophile versions of many records that the story claims were ‘destroyed,’” Universal Music said.

Irving Azoff, manager for the group Steely Dan, said in a statement that the musicians had “been aware of ‘missing’ original Steely Dan tapes for a long time now.”

“We’ve never been given a plausible explanation,” Azoff said. “Maybe they burned up in the big fire. In any case, it’s certainly a lost treasure.”

Krist Novoselic, a founding member of the 1990s grunge band Nirvana, responded to a fan on Twitter asking whether the Times article meant that the masters for the group’s landmark Nevermind album were gone. He wrote: “I think they are gone forever.” — Reuters

UHC law means more nurses need to stay in PHL

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said it is exploring measures to raise the salaries of nurses to address local shortages ahead of the implementation of the Universal Health care (UHC) Law.

On Thursday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III told reporters, “We are considering adjustments to of the salaries of the nurses.”

He added that DoLE is in talks with the Department of Health (DoH) regarding this issue since nurses are attracted to overseas work by the more attractive salaries offered in other countries. Mr. Bello said regulation of nurses’ salaries can only come through legislation.

On the other hand, Mr. Bello said DoLE is still looking into the possibility of slowing down the deployment of nurses after his meeting with the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA). He was informed that nurses tend to go overseas after passing the nursing board exams and rendering two years of service in the Philippines.

“We can’t say to them that they cannot just leave so for now, we think adjustment of pay is what we can do,” he said.

He added however that decision to slow down deployment of nurses “will (depend on) a governing board resolution of POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration).”

Mr. Bello has said the government must explore ways to make nurses stay since the UHC Act was signed into law on Feb. 20.

“You’re talking about universal health care… The timing (means we need to) consider adjusting the salaries so these nurses don’t leave the country,” he said. — Gillian M. Cortez

Ai-Ai’s latest comedy tackles fitting in with Millennials

OLDER PEOPLE trying fit in with millennials and eventually finding love with each other is the crux of the story of Rechie del Carmen’s comedy Feelennial which opens on June 19 in cinemas nationwide.

“When I was given the script, I found it so funny that I thought if I already found it funny in writing, what more if it was executed properly?” singer Maria Cielito “Pops” Fernandez told BusinessWorld during the press conference on June 7 at Circles Events Place in Quezon City.

This is Ms. Fernandez’s first stint as film producer under her company, DSL Productions. The film is co-produced by Cignal Entertainment, the original content division of pay TV provider, Cignal TV.

“I always liked funny and feel-good movies,” she said, explaining why she decided on a comedy as her first venture as a film producer.

Feelennal, a portmanteau of the words “feeling” and “millennial,” is supposed to describe middle-aged individuals who feel and act like millennials (those born in the 1980s to the 1990s).

“They are your adorable titos and titas (uncles and aunts) who stumble into one misadventure after another as they try to adapt to the lifestyle of the younger generation,” said a press release.

The film stars Martina Eileen “Ai-ai” delas Alas-Sibayan as Madame Bato-bato, a rich single mom who has everything she needs except the attention of her only son Nico (played by Arvic Tan) and so she tries to do the activities that her son is into. Her “feelennial” activities include online dating where she meets Chito (played by Bayani Rogacion Jr., better known as Bayani Agbayani), a bachelor who became rich after winning a lotto jackpot.

Both hate each other on sight but a series of mishaps and misadventures lead both characters into a “funny, yet thought-provoking situations on how romance and family dynamic has changed in today’s society,” said the release.

Despite being friends for many years, this is the first time that Ms. Delas Alas-Sibayan and Mr. Agbayani have performed opposite each other in a film, and Ms. Fernandez thinks that’s why they click in the film.

“At its core, [the film] is about two middle-aged people who find themselves in this world of romance in the digital age,” James C. Meneses, senior manager for content and channel marketing at Cignal TV, told BusinessWorld in the same event.

The film’s cast includes Ina Feleo, Nicole Donesa, and Sofia delas Alas, among others. Ms. Fernandez also has a cameo as do Martin Nievera and Paolo Ballesteros.

Feelennial opens on June 19 in cinemas nationwide.

Cignal TV is the pay TV subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings which has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group which it controls. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Angkas to start pilot run within the month

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

ANGKAS (DBDOYC, Inc.) is targeting to start the six-month pilot run of motorcycle taxis before the end of June, as the Department of Transportation (DoTr) tapped the ride-hailing firm to work with the government in studying the public transport alternative.

During the six-month period, Angkas said it hopes the government would pass a bill to legalize the two-wheeled vehicle as a means of public transportation.

George I. Royeca, head of regulatory and public affairs of Angkas, said in a press briefing Thursday the company is continuously conducting the retraining of its 27,000 bikers to follow the standards set by the government’s technical working group (TWG) for motorcycle taxis.

“We will have a set schedule when we can start the pilot implementation for everybody… Hopefully third week of June matapos lahat [we finish everything]. ’Yun ang ating target date [That’s our target date],” he said.

“We’re doing everything to make sure that the bikers we have are retrained properly with the conditions of the TWG,” he added.

The pilot test of motorcycle taxis in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu is being conducted upon the recommendation of the DoTr’s TWG, which set guidelines on fares, speed limit and safety gear.

Angkas has been in a tug-of-war with the government since 2017 as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, or Republic Act No. 4136, does not recognize single motorcycles to operate for public transport.

The DoTr formed the TWG in December to address recommendations to include the two-wheeled vehicle as a legal transportation mode. Mr. Royeca said Angkas is hoping a bill will be passed within the six-month period to legalize its operations.

“Even before the six-month (period) ends, we hope to refile the bill in Congress and Senate. We hope to have a very healthy dialogue (with the Congress) so that we can update them on a regular basis on the operations of the pilot program, refine the implementing rules and regulations and put that as part of the bill, whatever is deemed necessary,” Mr. Royeca said.

“Hopefully within six months, mapasa ’yung bill [the bill is passed]. Bago pa matapos ’yung pilot [Even before the pilot test ends],” he added.

Angkas Head of Operations David Brian C. Medrana noted the goal of the pilot run is to aid the Congress in legislation.

“Before, walang documents, walang numbers na sina-submit, na-approve na sa Congress. With the numbers that we will be submitting on a monthly basis, we hope the legislation can be faster,” he said.

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