DUBAI — Egyptian transport tech start-up Swvl will expand into Southeast Asia next year after securing what the company said was the biggest round of funding for a tech start-up in Egypt.
Cairo-headquartered Swvl, founded in April 2017, is a bus transportation service where passengers reserve and pay their fare through the company’s mobile app.
The app uses the passenger’s location and destination to find the shortest possible journey time based on the nearest bus station that travels along fixed routes.
Swvl raised “tens of millions of dollars” in Series B funding from new and existing investors, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Mostafa Kandil told Reuters by phone.
He declined to disclose the exact amount that had been secured, but said the Series B meant the company was now valued at close to $100 million.
Swvl is planning to launch services in Manila in the first quarter next year followed by other cities in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, Kandil said.
The company is targeting to be in seven “mega cities” in emerging markets by the end of 2019, Kandil added.
“We are seeing ourselves as more of an emerging markets play and hence we want to expand beyond the Middle East,” he said.
Swvl, which is not yet profitable, has over a million users on its app traveling on over 200 routes in Cairo and Alexandria. The app handles hundreds of thousands of bookings each month and has over 1,000 buses registered.
Swvl is using part of the Series B funding to open a research and development facility in Berlin, the company said. — Reuters
ASIA UNITED Bank Corp. (AUB) booked a slightly higher net income in the first nine months of the year, boosted by strong growth in its lending business.
In a regulatory filing on Thursday, the Ng-led lender said its unaudited consolidated net profit stood at P2.3 billion in the nine months ended September, 4.5% higher than the P2.2 billion it posted in the same period last year.
This translated to a return on assets of 1.4% and return of equity of 11.2%, lower than the 1.6% and 11.6% year-ago ratios, respectively.
The bank said its bottom line was boosted by its loans and receivables at P146.1 billion, up 25% from P116.2 billion in the comparable year-ago period.
Its robust loan portfolio growth was propelled by commercial loans and other lending segments such as automobile, housing and salary loans, which all posted double-digit growth.
On the lending side, AUB and its two rural bank units — Rural Bank of Pampanga and Cavite United Rural Bank — generated P188.7 billion worth of deposits as of end-September, 19% higher than the P158.6 billion posted a year ago.
“[This was] primarily due to the increase in branches, as well as from a more intensified deposit-generation campaign for branch banking and other business segments,” AUB said.
Overall, the AUB Group’s total assets grew 18.3% to P230.3 billion as of September from P198 billion the previous year.
“Amid the continuing volatility in the financial markets and the challenging business environment, we remain confident that AUB will show accelerated growth as we cater to the needs of corporates and small and medium enterprises,” AUB President Manuel A. Gomez was quoted as saying in the statement.
The bank said it has been enhancing its electronic platforms. The lender also recently partnered with mobile payment providers to service the influx of Chinese visitors in the country.
Shares in AUB went up 15 centavos or 0.25% to close at P59.25 apiece on Thursday. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
STOCKHOLM — IKEA Group, the owner of most IKEA furniture stores worldwide, plans to cut 7,500 jobs over the next couple of years, mainly administrative staff in central support functions, it said on Wednesday.
At the same time, the group, which owns 367 IKEA stores, estimates it will create 11,500 new jobs in the period as it expands with new store formats and online, grows its service offering and invests in digital capabilities, it said in a statement.
IKEA is in a period of transformation where it is boosting its digital, delivery and other services and testing new more accessible store formats in a fast-changing retail and consumer landscape.
The expected redundancies amount to almost five percent of the company’s current workforce.
“We need to simplify the way we are organized. Over the last years … we have invested in resources in many different ways. And, to be honest, now we see that in several parts of our organization we have a bit of duplicate work,” Chief Executive Jesper Brodin told Reuters.
Brodin said expected redundancies were related to central functions and global service offices in particular, but also local service offices across markets.
“This is not geared towards the store operation or distribution units,” he said in an interview. — Reuters
FROM THAI TV actor to international big-screen sensation, Chanon Santinatornkul is now making his way to the Philippines to hold his first solo fan meeting, Breaktime!, on Nov. 30 at the SM Skydome, SM North EDSA in Quezon City. The actor first appeared on TV in 2014’s Love’s Coming, and has since starred in several TV series including a notable performance in the hit series Hormones 3. His breakthrough role in the movie Bad Genius propelled him to international stardom. Tickets are now available at http://bit.ly.BreaktimeWithChanonMVPTickets, all SM Tickets outlets nationwide, and online via www.smtickets.com. Tickets range in price from P2,500 to P6,000, and come with several fan perks.
By Noel Vera Video Review To Be or Not to Be Directed by Ernst Lubitsch (Another in a series of tributes to the lamentable closing of Filmstruck, which not only shows rare films like Robert Bresson’s The Trial of Joan of Arc, but also Hollywood classics like this one — a comedy that if anything is still relevant today)
ERNST LUBITSCH’s To Be or Not to Be opened to mixed reviews and so-so box office. A picture that poked fun at Nazism and Adolf Hitler? At a time when fascism threatened to swallow the world (Pearl Harbor happened a few months before)? Casablanca opened later that same year to better acclaim and box office; Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator opened two years earlier to good notices and business, despite being banned in parts of Europe and Latin America. This film encountered considerable resistance: Bosley Crowther in The New York Times harumphed: “To say it is callous and macabre is understating the case.”
Possibly the public (and critics’) mood was that mercurial: when Dictator came out the United States still hadn’t entered the war; Hitler was at best a looming threat in the world, wreaking havoc in faraway Europe. Casablanca never really had a problem: it had comic moments but the heroes were clearly heroic (despite a token neutrality), the Nazis hissably rotten. To Be or Not to Be is a Lubitsch comedy, but for all the lightness Lubitsch has loaded his work with considerable meaning, from the title (originally Hamlet’s soliloquy mulling over the decision to commit suicide) to an early image of Hitler standing in the streets of Warsaw, being gawked at by surrounding Poles. Is it Hitler? Or an impersonator? Is he visiting or will he be visiting this city or not? To be or not to be?
Turns out Bronski (Tom Dugan) plays Hitler in a stage production called Gestapo — he’d been challenged as to the authenticity of his makeup and in response stepped out to measure the reaction of folks on the street. So far the reaction is everything he wished until a child (of course) steps up and asks for Mr. Bronski’s autograph.
Along with the theme of appearance vs. reality is that Lubitsch standby, the persistent need for people to be corrupt and concupiscent — Warsaw may be falling down around them and the Nazis marching down its streets but the actors of this particular theater company still feel the need to snipe, backbite, and steal scenes. Joseph Tura (Jack Benny) still has to pause as Hamlet before launching into the character’s most famous soliloquy, and he still has to dramatically pause as any bad actor would in the middle of the line (“To be — or not. To be.”). His wife Maria (Carole Lombard) still has to see that handsome young fighter pilot Lt. Sobinski (Robert Stack) who — in an underhanded comment on Joseph’s acting talents — stands up to leave for Maria’s dressing room just when Joseph utters his six opening words. People must act like people, even when the world they know is about to end; it’s an axiom to Lubitsch and by extension to us — a comfort almost.
It’s this axiom — this Lubitsch’s Law if you will — that ultimately whittles the Nazis down to size. The first time we see a member of the Gestapo he’s an actor, and if you aren’t paying attention it can be a while before you realize that something’s up. The second time is more impressive: Maria sits in a hotel room (naturally a Nazi has taken a liking to her) without permission to leave and there’s a knock on the door. She answers. An imposingly tall man asks to step inside, to wait for her dinner companion (who has been called out). Tall man doesn’t do anything, just stand there, quiet as a statue. Turns out the man is Capt. Schultz (Henry Victor), assistant to Gestapo commander Col. Ehrhardt (Sig Ruman), and while Schultz doesn’t drink and doesn’t smoke (much like his dry, smokeless Fuhrer) neither does he have much wit about him, or imagination, and Tura and his wily if wilful actors set about taking advantage of the fact.
The brave thespians first have to get past Professor Siletsky (Stanley Ridges), an anomaly in Lubitsch’s films — a smooth urbane man who does drink and smoke and yet isn’t very funny beyond a light drollery sprinkled on his banter. He isn’t stupid — stupid would have been funny. When he’s called away to meet Ehrhardt (it’s his hotel room Maria is sitting in and her husband he’s actually meeting), Joseph Tura has taken the task of fooling Siletsky and somehow wheedling a crucial list of names from the man’s grasp. The joke is ultimately on Tura, as he reacts with genuine outrage to Siletsky’s confirmation that Sobinski is seeing Maria — Tura’s own jealousy has tripped him up, and Siletsky immediately senses this, uses this to his advantage.
The rest of the Nazis aren’t as dicey; if anything it’s the apparent monolithic enormity of their presence that’s the real challenge — which is how the two major themes dovetail into each other. Bronski walks into the streets of Warsaw dressed to look like Hitler; was he a threat? Not really; a child could see through him. Nazis march into Warsaw, after a thorough bombing (and Lubitsch, in a series of images, shows us the sad shattered storefronts, their visibly Polish names splintered into syllables) and a lot of troops. They put on, as the actors irrepressibly point out, a bigger better show but (as the actors also point out) still a show, still mounted by performers, and, as Tura’s theater company continually demonstrates and as Lubitsch suggests in one film after another, performers are still corrupt concupiscent human beings. Something to keep in mind when dealing with the Trump administration (or on a smaller scale the Duterte administration) — to paraphrase a famous phrase Billy Wilder hung up in his office (“How did Lubitsch do it?”): Lubitsch did it. He confronted a vulgar, murderously ugly regime with sophistication and subtlety, thrilling us and making us laugh in the process.
How Lubitsch did it is harder to define — you rarely catch him “directing.” Scenes play out in medium shot, in continuous takes, to allow the actors to set their rhythm and create momentum. The deadpan realism helps sell deceptions — the impersonated Hitler is shown so matter-of-factly we’re forced to accept him as real — and when people walk on or off the set (much as in theatrical farce) we’re prodded to think they are who they say they are even when they’re not (and in one brilliant occasion when we know they’re not who they say they are — and so do the Nazis — turns out [at least for said Nazis] they are). The story is from Melchior Lengyel, the plot developed by Edward Justus Mayer with uncredited contribution by Lubitsch, but perhaps Lubitsch’ most significant contribution is in developing the script & allowing it to unfold in an appropriately spacious visual style, to be interpreted by his carefully guided company of actors playing actors.
It’s a great theater company, admittedly eccentric, and part of the suspense is in wondering (as with Joseph) if the actors will sabotage themselves before they manage to sabotage the enemy: Robert Stack’s handsomely dim Sobinski in the Ralph Bellamy role; Tom Dugan’s Adolf (impassive save for one hilarious moment near the end, … when Adolf’s mustachioed stoneface cracks out of horrified embarrassment); Felix Bressart’s gently humane, ultimately moving Greenberg; Lionel Atwill’s blowhard Rawich (“What you are I wouldn’t eat” “How dare you call me a ham!”). Benny himself extends his vainglorious funnier-than-he-thinks-he-is persona on the big screen, attempting to utter Shakespeare’s most famous line without interruption. On the other side, Ruman’s continually sputtering Col. Ehrhardt (“So they call me Concentration Camp Ehrhardt eh?”) demonstrates Nazi foibles while still winning our sympathy, and Victor’s Schultz as Ehrhardt’s towering adjutant functions beautifully as a broad cork dartboard.
Tura’s super secret weapon of course is his wife, who is, of course, the very embodiment of Lubitsch’s Law, corrupt concupiscence personified. In her last role as Maria (she would die in a plane crash only a month before the film’s opening), Carole Lombard serves as lovely point guard for the Polish resistance — delivering messages, posing as a potential Nazi recruit, schmoozing and seducing her way up the Gestapo (who can’t resist her) all the way to the very, very top, meanwhile soothing and supporting her rightly insecure husband with impassioned endearments (“Sweetheart, darling, I love you! Don’t you know that? Don’t you feel it?”) — she’s never been and never will be so heartstopping beautiful as when she’s being deceitful. At one point she confides to Siletsky: “I once played a spy. It was a great success!” Darling you’re a glorious success — wouldn’t mind being cuckolded if you would wrap your arms around me and breathed in my ear how wonderful I was.
Auction Under the Tree: The Wish List Salcedo Auctions Nov. 24, 11 a.m. Three Salcedo Place, 121
Tordesillas St., Salcedo
Village, Makati City.
SALCEDO AUCTIONS celebrates the end of the year with fine art and collectibles at its year-end sale, Under the Tree: The Wish List. The sale offers 400 collectible pieces ranging from fine art, jewelry and timepieces to Philippine tribal art, antique furniture, rare books, prints, maps, and vintage memorabilia.
Among the artworks of different artistic styles are substantial pieces by artists such as National Artist Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera’s Sabel(1), Lao Lianben’s Zen on My Head measuring four feet on all sides, Juvenal Sanso’s Most Pleasant Blooms and Golden Passage, and Ronald Ventura’s two monochromatic hyperrealist works, Black Sheep and Seven Stars Inverted. Also featured are Ang Kiukok’s 1970s oil on canvas Table in Blue(3), a vivid surreal scape by Justin Nuyda, and a unique 1947 aquarelle (6) by Nena Saguil to commemorate the 2nd Anniversary of Philippine Independence. Making a rare appearance in the Philippine auction scene is contemporary artist Leeroy New, whose interpretation of a Christmas tree harkens back to his work’s animist roots.
Fine jewelry will also be offered such as an Art Deco style ruby and diamond parure, a Tiffany & Co. 2.03 ct heart-shaped diamond ring, F/G in color with VVS clarity, a Rolex Daytona “Sunburst” ref. 16523 (2), and an “esmalte” rosary necklace, set with mother of pearl beads.
No holiday sale is complete without exquisitely crafted furniture such as a 19th century chest of drawers with a pull out writing desk, a 19th century Sheraton altar table, a massive narra “magic” dining table, and a massive narra tambol aparador(4).
Rounding out the collection of antique pieces are rare books and documents, the star of which is a lot of 176 loose chromo-lithographed plates from the de luxe edition (limited to 500 copies) and the first illustrated edition of Father Manuel Blanco’s monumental 19th century botanical work Flora de Filipinas. For passionate vintage collectors, the sale also offers unique mintage and memorabilia such as a Philippine Y.II. countermark on 1832 Mexico 1 real (the only known Y.II. on 1832ZS OM 1 real specimen graded by the Numismatic Guarantee Corp.), a Spiderman comic cel (5) signed by the late Stan Lee, and a 1901 Model AJ Graphophone (7) produced by Columbia which remains in good working condition.
Under the Tree by Salcedo Auctions is definitely one way to make collectors’ wishes come true.
For inquiries, call 659-4094, 823-0956, 0917-894-6550 or e-mail info@salcedoauctions.com.
ANOTHER storm is coming our way. Fortunately, we seemed to have learned our lessons as government leads the way in taking the necessary steps to be ready for whatever the typhoon will bring about. Allow me to share the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) journey in disaster and climate risk management as one of the government financial institutions (GFI) in the country.
In 1989, multilateral (World Bank, Asian Development Bank) and bilateral (Japan’s Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund or OECF), Germany’s KfW, Sweden’s Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, among others) institutions found DBP as an excellent fit and partner in their country assistance strategies being a government development finance institution and at the same time tasked to be the main conduit for the official development assistance funds to the Philippines. Funders compelled DBP to prescribe to project eligibilities and conditionalities heading to sustainable development. They strongly advocated the inclusion of good governance, human rights and equity agenda, and environmental integrity in the face of climate change.
Initially building on these conditionalities, DBP marked a milestone in its environmental journey in January 2002 when it became the first Philippine bank to receive an international certification on Environmental Management System (EMS) under ISO 14001 standards. Achieving this was not easy with the stringent standards of ISO 14001. Over the years, the said system enabled DBP to successfully translate and integrate a responsible environmental strategy into practices that compels the employees to exude environmental ethics.
The bank tried another formula in ensuring minimal impact in the environment while achieving its sustainable economic growth goals. In 2014, EMS was combined with Quality Management System to entwine environmental considerations in its quality processes. In the same year, DBP’s Integrated Management System was also conferred compliant to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in both the Environmental Management System (ISO 9001:2008 Standards) and the Quality Management System (ISO 14001:2004 Standards), a first for the Philippine GFI’s.
Our environmental efforts are critical since the Philippines is considered a country at risk with natural disasters. The Asian Development Bank in its Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Assessment cites that the Philippines is one of the world’s most natural hazard-prone countries. And, it belongs to the top 20 countries likely to be most adversely affected by climate change. It further reports that 60% of our total land area is subjected to multiple hazards and 74% of our population is vulnerable to natural disasters. Verisk Maplecroft in its published report on March 4, 2015, mentions parallel findings. It accounts that eight of the 10 world cities highly exposed to natural disasters are located in the Philippines. The more than 20 typhoons hitting the country annually are compounded by risk of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and floods. Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) became a global concern when it hit the Philippines. Carrying with it wind speeds beyond 300 kilometers per hour and storm surges of more than four meters, the National Economic and Development Authority places the total damage and loss at P571.1 billion or$12.9 billion (@ $1=P44.135, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas exchange rate, 12/12/2013).
In fulfilling our dual mission of sustainability coupled with sound corporate governance, the bank integrates facets of disaster risk reduction in its processes. Our approach is both precautionary and corrective in nature, anticipating and preventing potential negative impacts. DBP’s practice in credit evaluation which incorporates environmental, technical and social concerns remains pacesetting in the Philippine banking industry.
This necessitates DBP to prescribe project eligibilities and conditionalities heading to sustainable development. It also advocated the inclusion of good governance, human rights and equity agenda as well as environmental integrity in the face of climate change. Hence, all environmental project proposals received by DBP are subject to Environmental Due Diligence processes conducted through evaluation reports and required documents for submission which includes environmental compliance certificate. This information is then included in the loan proposals to establish credit worthiness and determine its eligibility to specific overseas development funding facilities.
This brings back memories of the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). In response, DBP released the Guidelines for the Implementation of the National Rehabilitation Program for Calamity Stricken Areas within a month. This is to provide support for borrowers and non-borrowers that are adversely stricken by the said calamity. This encompasses the extension of grace period of existing loans within the allowable maximum set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, re-structuring of accounts, new or additional loans to support selected clients, and waiver of fees and condonation of penalty charges.
The DBP Circular required all marketing units to monitor its accounts falling under the category and to propose appropriate recommendation to assist the accounts. The interventions resulted to the rehabilitation/restructuring of 44 MSME accounts totaling P218.31 million, seven local government units accounts with an aggregate loan amount of P333.89 million, one water district project with loan amount of P22.08 million, three private borrowers totaling P44.5 million, and one corporate account amounting to P900 million in the affected provinces. Further, five new borrowers were financed under the DBP Rehab Program totaling P121.50 million.
Strengthening the organization to continue its operations during disasters, a bank-wide Disaster Recovery Test is annually conducted to ensure system availability, integrity and readiness of the Business Continuity Plans as well as Disaster Recovery sites. To keep up the environmental and disaster risk awareness in the bank, regular sessions for Board of Directors, Management and key junior officers are held regarding risk assessment and climate change. Briefings were conducted by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines).
DBP is only one of two Philippines banks sitting as a bonafide member of the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiatives. The bank also ensures that the projects it financed is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and complements the implementation of the Philippine government’s Environmental Impact System (Presidential Decree No. 1586).
A handful of Philippine banks incorporating disaster risk-measures in its operations are not enough to successfully influence and scale up the adoption of disaster-relevant safeguards. While we know the advantages of valuating economic, social and environmental concerns in our portfolio, and the high cost entailed in resource mobilization and relief efforts during calamities, lengthened efforts are foreseen in formulating an industry-wide banking policy.
There is still a need for regulatory framework that will embed these safeguards as part of the normal process of credit and loan recommendation of the banking sector. In the meantime, prospective borrowers, perhaps with big-ticket items are given the free hand to scout for creditors with less-stringent requirements.
Thus, we encourage a concerted movement to ensure that financial institutions implement the ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) framework in its processes.
Benel D. Lagua is Executive Vice-President at the Development Bank of the Philippines. He is an active FINEX member and a long time advocate of risk-based lending for SMEs.
NEW YORK — The Satanic Temple has settled its copyright lawsuit against Netflix Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment over their alleged misuse of its goat-headed deity statue in the series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a Warner spokesman said on Wednesday.
The settlement was amicable, and resolves a Nov. 8 lawsuit in which the Satanic Temple had sought at least $50 million of damages.
Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Bruce Lederman, a lawyer for the plaintiff, said in an e-mail, “My client will be getting proper copyright credit on episodes of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina which have already been filmed. The remainder of the settlement is subject to a confidentiality agreement.”
A Netflix spokesman referred requests for comment to Warner Bros., a unit of AT&T Inc.
The Satanic Temple, which is based in Salem, Massachusetts and also known as the United Federation of Churches LLC, describes itself as a promoter of benevolence and empathy among people rejecting tyrannical authority.
It complained that Sabrina misappropriated its statue Baphomet with Children in a manner implying that it stood for evil, and that the depiction hurt its reputation.
The first 10 episodes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina were released on Oct. 26.
Netflix distributes and Warner Bros. produces the series, which stars Kiernan Shipka as the teenage half-witch, half-human title character. The series is based on the Sabrina comic book series from Archie Comics.
The case is United Federation of Churches LLC v Netflix Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-10372. — Reuters
GRAND Leisure Corp. and StartUp Village, in cooperation with Solaire Resort & Casino, present Music and Laughter: A Tribute Show for Rico J. Puno on Nov. 23, 8 p.m., at the Theatre at Solaire. The show is headlined by singer-comics Giselle Sanchez and Marissa Sanchez who were originally set to perform with Mr. Puno in a concert on Nov. 23 before his untimely death on Oct. 30. They will be joined by Marco Sison, Nonoy Zuniga, Nanette Inventor, and Eric Nicolas, with the special participation of the singer’s children Tosca and Rox Puno. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).
Nick Joaquin parody
THE Benilde Arts and Culture Cluster’s Theater Arts Program presents Larawan ng Pilipino Bilang Artist(a), a parody of Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, done in celebration of the centenary of National Artist Nick Joaquin. Written and directed by Nonon Padilla, it features Alan Bautista, Sherry Lara, Stella Cañete-Mendoza, Mosang, Bembol Roco, and Jaime Yambao plus the Theater Arts Batch 2015. Performances are on Nov. 21 to 24, 28, 29, and Dec. 1, at 1 and 7 p.m., at the SDA Theater, DLS-CSB, 950 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila.
Mula Sa Buwan restaged
MULA SA BUWAN, an original Filipino musical written by Pat Valera (concept, book, and lyrics) and William Manzano (lyrics and music), returns for a limited run until Nov. 26 at the brand-new 800-seat Hyundai Hall in the Arete building, Ateneo de Manila University. The show will include a roster of returning and new cast members. For details, ticketing, venue map, and other updates, visit www.mulasabuwan.ph.
Waitress
ATLANTIS Theatrical Entertainment Group presents Waitress, a musical about a waitress at a diner who decides to join a pie baking contest which she hopes would give her a chance to live a new life. Performances are ongoing until Dec. 2 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City. Directed by Bobby Garcia, it stars Joanna Ampil, Bituin Escalante, and Maronne Cruz. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).
Comedy nights
COMEDY MANILA presents Funny Fridays: Endless Laughter on Nov. 23, 8:30 p.m., at the Teatrino at Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan. For tickets (P500) visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).
Rep’s Rapunzel
REPERTORY’s Theater for Young Audiences presents Rapunzel: A Very Hairy Fairy Tale until Jan. 27 at Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1, Makati. For tickets and schedules, contact TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).
Cinderella
BALLET MANILA restages Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s first full-length choreographic work, Cinderella, at the Aliw Theater on Nov. 24, 25, Dec. 1 and 2. For details visit www.balletmanila.com.ph.
Thesis dance
A THESIS production, /sa•yaw/, will be staged on Nov. 23 and 24, 1 and 7 p.m., at the DLS-CSB’s Black Box Theater at the School of Design and Arts Campus. The featured series of dance vignettes is directed and choreographed by graduating student Olivia Bugayong, an Ani ng Dangal awardee. Bugayong has won in local and international competitions such as the Philippine Dance Cup 2016, Hong Kong Challenge Cup Dance Competition (HKCCDC), and Malaysian International Ballet Grand Prix. sa•yaw will also feature two-time HKCCDC gold medalists Michael “Kul” dela Torre and Mark Aldrich Juelar, HKCCDC 2016 best performance winner Neil Casagan, and Jay Anthony “Tonjie” Mangao. The show is open to the public. DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts is at 950 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila. For tickets (P200) call 0939-215-5594 or 0905-559-7648.
Pre-Christmas sale
FESTIVAL MALL’s All-Out Shopaholic Sale has returned for a Pre-Christmas edition on Nov. 23-25, and Nov. 30-Dec. 2. The weekend mall-wide sale will feature product discounts as high as 80% off. Joining the sale are local brands like Bayo, Unica Hija, Plains & Prints, Artwork, Burrp Tees, Sperry, Geox, Complex, Converse, Pabder, Sebago, Kids Depot, Toytown, Ram’s Hobby, Chicco, Baby & Kids, Barbie, Blue Magic, and Bear Cuddler. Acme Jewelry and Stella Jewelry will offer 50%-off their items. Festival Mall is in Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
Kingly Treasures Auction
TIKBALANG by Solomon Saprid, 1970, brass, P800,000
THE PREVIEW of the Kingly Treasures Auction of Leon Gallery starts on Nov. 24 and runs up to Nov. 30, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The artworks, antiques, objets d’art and rare historical documents can be viewed at Leon Gallery, Eurovilla 1, corner Legazpi and Rufino Sts., Legazpi Village, Makati City. There are 167 lots that will all be auctioned off on Dec. 1, 2 p.m. The catalog may be accessed at www.leon-gallery.com. Among the items up for sale are Félix Resurrección Hidalgo’s 1909 painting, Sailing off the Cliffs of Étretat in Normandy; Fernando Amorsolo’s 1949 oil-on-canvas Planting Rice; Oscar Zalameda’s oil-on-canvas Sailboats; an 1978 untitled oil-on-wood painting by Cesar Legaspi; Mauro Malang Santos’ 1975 oil-on-canvas Still Life; and the 1970 Tikbalang by Solomon Saprid from the Alejandro Roces Collection. Among the rare historical documents are the “Acta de Tejeros” and the “Acta de Naik,” rediscovered in the collection of renowned scholar Epifanio delos Santos; and a mysterious telegram that summoned Heneral Antonio Luna to Cabanatuan on the day he was murdered.
Christmas at BGC
BONIFACIO Global City kicks off the Christmas Season with Pixar Playtown: Unboxing Christmas at BGC on Nov. 23, 6 p.m., at the Pixar Playtown Christmas Tree on 7th Ave. The event will feature a variety of attractions featuring characters from Disney Pixar films such as Toy Story, Cars, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc. The 50-foot Christmas Tree will be surrounded by Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and other characters and a life-size Lightning McQueen installation.
By Alexander O. Cuaycong
and Anthony L. Cuaycong
WHEN producer Souhei Niikawa and principal programmer Yoshitsuna Kobayashi set out to make Disgaea: Hour of Darkness from scratch, they had no idea that it would stand the test of time. True, they were determined to meet the objectives set forth by publisher Nippon Ishi Software; they aimed to come up with a role-playing game that both adhered to popular mechanics and pushed the envelope in terms of execution. Even as they succeeded in doing so, however, they could not have envisioned an outcome that exceeded their highest expectations.
Fast forward 15 years, and Disgaea has become a household name to those into turn-based strategy games. The series’ heady mix of cute and over-the-top action makes a lasting imprint, and exhibits a level of energy that no other in the genre has come close to mimicking. Little wonder, then, that the progenitor of the franchise remains well loved, standing the test of time and continually expanding its reach. Originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2003, it found its way to the PlayStation Portable in 2007, the Nintendo DS on 2008, and the Personal Computer in 2016, each time presenting visual and aural enhancements while keeping the gameplay and story intact. Disgaea 1 Complete is no different. As the latest iteration of the title that spawned a juggernaut franchise, it promises the nostalgia of the original alongside all subsequent tweaks and additional content. Players follow the story of the dastardly Laharl, son of the demon overlord Krichevskoy. Awakened from his two-year slumber by his loyal vassal Etna, he is shocked to find that his father has passed away, and that other demons who were once subjects of his father have now taken up arms and declared themselves the true rulers of the Netherworld. Vowing to reclaim the throne, he is compelled to team up with a wide cast of player-created and non-playable characters in order to defeat enemies that stand in his way. Among them is Flonne, an angel trainee bent on proving that even demons are capable of feeling love. Sound serious and sinister? Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, Disgaea 1 Complete is confidently lighthearted in tone, populated with quirky characters who never fail to inject humor in a narrative that presents supposedly hellish circumstances as anything but. And the whimsical treatment extends to the gameplay, which features stat lines that go way beyond the usual numbers in JRPG outings and manifest themselves in spectacular battle scenes replete with combos and special attacks.
Right off the bat, players won’t be hard-pressed to notice the colorful, cheerful tones of Disgaea 1 Complete. Its story, its animations, and its art exhibit an unrestrained energy and exuberance in its presentation, contributing to an aura of timelessness. Its overall look, while far from fancy, is rightly deemed an artistic choice rather than stemming from a programming limitation. Its seemingly simplistic spritework show a surprising amount of flair. And for all the evident blandness of the environments and backgrounds, it manages to convey a graphical elan that proves enticing even to a new generation of gamers.
Technically, Disgaea 1 Complete shines on both the PlayStation 4 and the Switch. It’s gorgeous eye candy in native resolution, putting enhanced sprites front and center with nary any frame drops on Sony’s machine and, impressively, even on Nintendo’s portable console. The vibrant soundtrack provides a perfect complement, feasting the ears with a score made even better by improvements in fidelity.
Significantly, visuals and sounds aren’t the only things that hold up for Disgaea 1 Complete. The game design still manages to entertain, in large measure because of its solid mechanics. At its heart, it’s a tactical Japanese RPG, emphasizing both the importance of proper strategizing and stat stuffing. Progress is turn-based, with players maneuvering their units around a battlefield and then defeating their opponents through the use of different attacks and skills. Some inherently do more damage, others drain life or inflict status effects, and still others shift character positions in battle.
Couple the variety of choices with the presence of Geo Panels, which emphasize tile manipulation and give players rewards based on the number of actions taken in sequence and combination, and Disgaea 1 Complete cannot but be considered deep and engaging. As with other releases in the franchise, it necessitates grinding, albeit in juxtaposition with proper strategy. In any case, it boasts of a lengthy story mode backstopped by all previously released content, including those hitherto available on the PSP and DS.
In sum, Disgaea 1 Complete is a wonderful blast from the past, with as many hours in store for those new to the series as for those who love it enough to play it anew. It may not be the best to carry the title, but it serves as a wonderful reminder of the series’ rich history and progress. Whether on the PS4 or the Switch, it shines as an outstanding remaster that proves its enduring appeal. POSTSCRIPT: Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker (PS4) — Considering that Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 has managed to sell north of three millions physical and digital copies to date, the release of a follow up title comes as no surprise. Even as the intent is to keep the gravy train going, however, Bandai Namco Entertainment evidently believes it can do so by taking a road the Naruto franchise hasn’t previously traversed. Instead of dipping into the same well by making a game with similar mechanics, it commissioned the development of one thoroughly made up of action real-time strategy elements.
Why Bandai Namco Entertainment chose to green light a dramatic shift in tone is subject to conjecture. Perhaps it didn’t want Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker to cannibalize continuing sales of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. Perhaps it thought to see if it could create a spin-off for one more profit center. In any case, it wisely chose to distinguish the already existing from the new by marketing the latter as a Boruto title. It even emphasized the distinction by tapping little-known Soleil as the developer.
Creditably, the finished product proves competent in what it delivers. In a nutshell, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker is a multiplayer online battle arena stalwart, getting players to employ characters as part of a team of four taking on any and all comers in a world tournament. There isn’t much by way of a narrative; as with all MOBA offerings, the meat is in the fighting, whether in straight-up encounters, in capture-the-flag scenarios, or in base battles.
Parenthetically, characters can be created or chosen from among a lineup of 20 familiar protagonists from the Naruto franchise. Starting from scratch is the ideal option; everything from appearances to attributes can be customized. Players can make their ninjas look as they please and wear what they want, and, most importantly, fight according to their preferences. The choice of specific skill sets yields four distinct orientations, although a team doesn’t necessarily have to be composed of one character each from the attack, defense, ranged, and heal types.
If anything, victory in Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker emanates from a willingness to experiment with style collaborations, and to do so on the fly. Meanwhile, the number of techniques at hand depends on abilities and experience, with characters able to add to it after level-ups and through focused training and assistance from masters they meet within the game. The key, of course, is to amass enough energy to unleash special and ultimate ninjutsus for maximum effect.
As a corollary, the emphasis on honing skills isn’t for fluff. Proficiency in the execution of basic and advanced attack and defensive maneuvers is required in multiplayer combat. With online matchmaking unable to group characters with others from similar levels, battles become exercises in frustration for those in the lower of 25 possible rungs. Thusly, continuous improvement away from tournament participation is crucial to progression.
Given the demands of Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker’s frenetic action, its no small feat to find the visuals rendered at 60 frames per second. The cel-shaded graphics and voice and music tracks pay homage to their source material, no doubt a plus for fans of the franchise. And while waiting times between online matches can vary, the actual battles proceed with relative smoothness.
In sum, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker is a competent offering that expands the franchise’s reach. With Bandai Namco Entertainment aiming to periodically put out more content for the title, it has planted its feet in MOBA territory with every intent to stay. And as Boruto’s presence in the source material becomes more pronounced, so does the promise of videogame licenses in his name. (7.5/10)
I have a young boss who is the son-in-law of the owner. He was appointed two months ago. During that time, he would flex his muscles by giving instructions that are either vague, illegal, or sometimes downright stupid. I love my company and I don’t have any plans of moving out. Please advise me on what to do. — Perplexed.
A preacher came to Sunday breakfast table with a small cut on his cheek. His wife asked him what had happened. He replied he was concentrating on his sermon for that morning while shaving and accidentally cut his face. His wife said: “Next time, you should concentrate on your shaving and cut your sermon.”
There are certain things you should concentrate on as an employee. First and foremost, you must have the credibility of a loyal and hardworking person with consistent above-average work performance. As a worker, your primary focus is how to top your past performance rather on concentrate on the performance of other people, including your boss.
Your credible performance must come before you can do anything. Otherwise, whatever you do and say will mean nothing to people, and much less your boss.
That’s what most people tend to forget. At times, people like you adopt a defensive approach to hide a poor track record. Therefore, before doing anything, take stock of what you’ve done to give yourself a clear identity as a loyal and hardworking person.
That way, it should be easy for your boss to hear what you’re about to do and say. But remember that having a solid track record cannot be accomplished quickly. It’s a slow process. Assuming that you have a solid track record and you want to manage your boss, then explore the following general tactics: One, learn and relearn the expectations of your boss. There are some bosses who want to be kept informed about almost everything. Many of them are detail-oriented, while others will be satisfied with a verbal report, if not a one-page summary of what you’ve done. If you have a detail-oriented boss, then be patient and do what he’s expecting you to do.
That’s typical of young managers who are new to the job. Sooner or later, he will realize his mistakes and may eventually change his management style the moment he can’t perform his own assignments. Two, offer an alternative solution to the boss’s ideas. But first, feel him out: “Sir, I think I have a better idea. Would you like to hear it?” A rational person will always be open to other ideas, even if it means abandoning his own ideas. Just the same, be diplomatic in offering a counter-proposal. If you can soften the blow, it would be easy for your boss to accept it. Last, look for ways to make your new boss look good. If you do, you will be seen as a reliable subordinate and a team player. If you can do this on a regular basis, chances are, you will be seen as reliable. To do this, go the extra mile in explaining the details of your work. This gives your boss enough reason to appreciate what you’re doing.
What is routine to you may be unfamiliar to your new boss. If you are known to fully support your boss, who can be against you? Besides, it would be difficult to go around your boss for any approvals required by higher-level managers. If this was being done in the past, avoid it at all costs. Run everything through your own boss unless he tells you what to do. Otherwise, it would be disastrous to undermine your boss’s authority.
If you succeed with these three strategies, your boss would find it difficult to act like a bully. Just the same, if he happens to argue like a bully, your best approach is to calm down. Stand your ground. Let him know that you can’t be intimidated. This works against any office bully who thinks that anyone can be easily manipulated.
Whatever happens, protect your flanks. As much as possible, document everything, including his verbal instructions, which you can record by summarizing your understanding through email or text messages.
Look for days when things are going well for your boss so you can approach him with confidence to discuss controversial topics, including your promotion or pay increase. ELBONOMICS: Never underestimate the ability of your boss to do stupid things.
5 films to see on the week of November 23 – November 29, 2018
Bad Times at the El Royale
SEVEN STRANGERS — a cleric, a soul singer, a traveling salesman, two sisters, the manager and the mysterious Billy Lee — who all have secrets, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale hotel. On one evening, all of them have a last chance at redemption before everything goes wrong. Directed by Drew Goddard, the movie stars Jeff Hughes, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, and Cynthia Erivo. Glenn Kenny of www.rogerebert.com writes, “Bad Times at the El Royale has a lot of plot. Almost enough to support its 140-minute running time. But once the threads are more or less pulled together, the movie devolves into a bloody, drawn-out standoff plot in which a preening villain struts around being appalling while the camera eats up his every move.” MTRCB Rating: R-16
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It-Ralph 2
VIDEO GAME bad guy Ralph and best friend Vanellope von Schweetz leave Litwak’s arcade to save her game, Sugar Rush. Their journey takes them into the world of the internet where they rely on Netizens for assistance to navigate around the community. Directed by Phil Johnston and Rich Moore, the animated feature features the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, and Taraji P. Henson. Rolling Stone’s David Fear writes, “Ralph Breaks the Internet is still an animated blockbuster, still a corporate product and still a continuation of a franchise, with morals about owning your glitch, finding your tribe, make new friends but keep the old etc. But it’s also a cautionary tale, albeit one with a stay-on-message hook. Maybe don’t spend so much time on the Web, folks, it warns us. Maybe try going to the movies instead.” MTRCB Rating: G
The Girl in the Spider’s Web
IN THIS film from the Millennium series, computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mickael Blomkvist reunite to tackle the illegal activities of cybercriminals and corrupt government officials. Directed by Fede Alvarez, it stars Claire Foy, Sverrir Gudnason, and Sylvia Hoeks. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 40% rating. The Atlantic’s David Sims writes, “Spider’s Web is set in a similar snow-globe version of Sweden as last year’s incompetent crime drama The Snowman, a country where everyone speaks accented English and the threat of murder constantly hangs in the air. There’s no chance for any energy or fun, which is a problem for a movie that’s trying to present itself as a secret-agent thriller.” MTRCB Rating: R-13
Recipe for Love
CHEF CALIX, who works at an upscale Filipino restaurant, comes across food blogger Val and a romance begins to brew despite starting off on the wrong foot. Directed by Jose Javier Reyes, the film stars Christian Bables, Cora Waddell, Myrtle Sarrosa, Sophie Albert, Enrico Cuenca, Agot Isidro, and Ogie Diaz. MTRCB Rating: PG
Robin Hood
WAR-HARDENED crusader Robin of Loxley and his Moorish commander revolt against the corrupt English crown. Directed by Otto Bathurst, this latest version of the story stars Taron Egerton, Eve Hewson, Jamie Foxx, and Jamie Dornan. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich writes, “Robin Hood is ridiculous from the moment it begins, though the charisma of its cast and the absurdity of its action are enough to sustain interest for a while. The first thing you have to realize about this new riff on an age-old hero is that he’s basically just Batman, minus any of the compelling backstory; par for the course in a movie where everything could be described as ‘basically just Batman, minus any of the compelling backstory.’” MTRCB Rating: PG
Sound serious and sinister? Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, Disgaea 1 Complete is confidently lighthearted in tone, populated with quirky characters who never fail to inject humor in a narrative that presents supposedly hellish circumstances as anything but. And the whimsical treatment extends to the gameplay, which features stat lines that go way beyond the usual numbers in JRPG outings and manifest themselves in spectacular battle scenes replete with combos and special attacks.
