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Da Pulis: the band for the eternal man-child

By Gideon Isidro
EVERYONE did some crazy things in their youth: made trouble for laughs, attempted to outdo their peers when it came to dangerous stunts, and went to places forbidden. Then they fondly look back on those days, and sigh, “Man, I wish I could do that again.”
Well, you can go back again — in a way — since the most outrageous man-child band in the Philippines, Da Pulis, is playing at the Pinoy Playlist Festival on Oct. 20, 10 p.m., at the BGC Arts Center.
Composed of Gabe Mercado on lead vocals, Jay Ignacio on lead guitar, Bob Guerrero on rhythm guitar, Renzo Villalon on the bass, and Rusty Isip on drums, this band will help bring listeners back to a time when they had no responsibilities, and just have a good laugh.
CHILDREN OF LAWFUL CHAOS
The music of Da Pulis finds its roots in the universal tendency of man to get into trouble as a child. Mr. Ignacio recounts some of the band members’ misadventures in their ultra conservative school: “We were trying to make trouble, but we were always smart about it. We would always go to the edge of breaking the law, but we never broke the law.”
He described one of their shenanigans, “There was a patch of grass in the center of the school, na as in, bawal ka tumapak (you were not allowed to step on it). We would get around it by creating situations were there were valid reasons to step on it: We would throw the shoes of our classmates into it, so he was forced to step on the grass to get it; or, we would create a commotion like a fake hostaging so that everyone gathered around and trampled the grass.”
They would also go to ridiculous lengths to make sure they got in line in the canteen before everyone else so they could get their favorite dishes before they would run out. “The windows of our school from the second floor was very big: it could fit a whole person. We would let down some abaca rope, and we would rappel down from the windows to the lower floors. We would rush to the canteen to get in line. A third guy would hide the abaca ropes, and we would let him in line after he went down.”
Mr. Mercado continues the narrative, “Tapos, dahil gago lang, magoorder kami ng dalawang karne, para maubusan yung mga Grade 7 (Then, just to fool around, we would order two sets of meat servings, so that there would not be enough meat for the Grade 7 students).”
This writer asks, “So if I were to describe your childhood, it was lawful chaos?” “Yes!” Mr. Mercado said enthusiastically.
MUKHANG PAA
Eventually, this mischievous spirit found its way into Mr. Mercado’s song writing in high school. Mr. Ignacio describes how Mercado conceptualized the song “Paa” (Foot), the song with the very memorable line, “mukhang paa, boyfriend mo” (your boyfriend looks like a foot), “Back then, Gabe (Mercado) had a crush on somebody. His crush then got a boyfriend. He was so broken hearted, he wrote ‘Paa.’”
When asked how he came up with the word “paa,” the habit of lawful chaos arose. “I was looking for the most insulting words that were not obscene. During the time my father worked in the ad agency, their expression for a piece of work that was not well done was that it was pinaa lang (just made by using the feet).”
After “Paa” came out in the mid 1990s, “mukhang paa” (looking like a foot) became a popular expression. So did Mr. Mercado coin the term? He replied, “I think the expression was there before, but yes, maybe so in pop culture.”
MUSIC FOR THE INNER MAN CHILD
Aside from “Paa,” Da Pulis also came up with other humerous songs throughout the years: “Pogi” (Handsome) talks about the “problems” of being a handsome man; “Tae” (Shit), on the other hand, talks about the crass subject candidly in a humorous light. “Remember M” and “Sungit Queen” were their more serious and romantics songs, but they still contain that element of mischievousness that is the band’s trademark.
When asked what kind of music Da Pulis is making, Mr. Mercado replies, “Tito Music, we’ve also been described as NerdCore.” Asked why so, he explained that it’s music for unmarried men, or men who can’t get a girlfriend, as evidenced by the jealous theme of “Paa.” And to true to life, most of the band members don’t have girlfriends or wives, except the drummer, who stereotypically would be the last in a band to get a special someone.
As self deprecating these guys are, revelling in the schadenfreude of their own misery of not having girlfriends, their music is an extension of the rambunctiousness of adolescence, and even men with wives or girlfriends can relate.
Da Pulis’ music can be described as “man-child rock” — deep inside, every man wants to be free from responsibilities from time to time, to eat chicharon or get extra rice, or swear in front of the children. Listening to their music is a great outlet for that.
The Pinoy Playlist Festival — described as a “celebration of Filipino musical talent across all genres and decades” — kicked off last Thursday to Saturday, and continues on Oct. 18 to 20. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Co-curated by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, Moy Ortiz and Noel Ferrer, the festival brings together over a hundred artists. Da Pulis will be playing on its last day, Oct. 20, 10 p.m., at the BGC Arts Center, 26th St. corner 9th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Tickets are available at TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph).

Venom wins US box office again, boosting Sony’s superhero strategy

VENOM, a character from the comic-book world of Spider-Man, topped the box office for a second weekend, breathing life into Sony Pictures’ superhero movie plans.
The surprise hit, which overcame poor reviews, collected $35.7 million in theaters in the US and Canada, ComScore Inc. estimated in an e-mail Sunday. It beat three new movies, including an Oscar favorite First Man, which landed third with $16.5 million for Universal Pictures. Thriller Bad Times at the El Royale garnered $7.2 million, and a Goosebumps sequel — also from Sony — scored $16.2 million. Warner Brothers’ A Star Is Born, with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, came in second for the weekend with $28 million.
Venom, about a symbiotic alien-human duo, is part of Sony’s plan to revive its Spider-Man-linked superhero movies. The company has been working on features from a universe of about 900 Marvel characters tied to the web slinger — a comic-book canon that the studio has licensed from Walt Disney Co.-owned Marvel Entertainment. The success of Venom, which has exceeded analysts’ expectations, gives the studio a boost as it tries to compete with the more-expansive superhero franchises at Disney and Warner Bros.
Sony Pictures, based in Culver City, California, will soon be the only major movie studio outside Disney to have Marvel superheroes at its disposal. Disney is acquiring 21st Century Fox, which had rights to certain Marvel characters such as the X-Men.
Venom was forecast to add $30 million to its haul this weekend, Box Office Pro analysts predicted. Sony said Sunday that the movie had collected $378.1 million globally.
Universal Pictures’ Oscar hopeful First Man, which was criticized by some politicians for not being patriotic enough, missed a forecast of $20 million by Box Office Pro. The film is based on the life story of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. It had a budget of $59 million, before marketing costs, according to Box Office Mojo, and has been lauded by film critics, with 90% recommending it, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong in the movie, which is based on the astronaut’s only official biography: First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen. Armstrong — cast as an introvert rather than flashy hero — persists in his ambitions as an astronaut despite grief that followed the death of his daughter and colleagues.
Sony’s other new movie was a sequel to its Goosebumps Halloween movie franchise. The film received only 32% positive reviews, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween cost $35 million to make before marketing costs and was forecast to generate $18.6 million in its debut, according to Box Office Mojo and Box Office Pro. It missed the $23.6 million opening weekend of the first installment.
In the children’s book adaptation, Jack Black returns as R.L. Stine, but the movie is primarily focused on two awkward teenagers who discover Stine’s mischievous ventriloquist dummy Slappy. They accidentally bring the doll to life, and he sets out to wreak havoc.
The other new movie of the weekend, Fox thriller Bad Times at the El Royale, missed a forecast of $8.3 million by Box Office Pro. With a budget of $32 million to make, according to Box Office Mojo, it pleased critics — with 76% giving positive reviews. Seven strangers — played by an ensemble that includes Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, and Cynthia Erivo — all end up at a rundown hotel. Each has a dark secret and attempts some kind of redemption on that night. — Bloomberg

Zalora bullish as more Filipinos shop online

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
ONLINE fashion retailer Zalora Philippines said more Filipinos are getting more accustomed to buying fashion items online, noting that its platform has grown tenfold since it was first introduced in the Philippines.
“The growth is tremendous and accelerating, in line with the overall growth with digital usage… For peak days we get up to half a billion unique visits a day… It’s grown tenfold from the first year and it continues to grow,” Zalora Philippines Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Paulo L. Campos III said in an interview on the sidelines of a private equity forum in Makati last week.
The increase in site visitors is complemented by the length of time customers spend browsing for products, which Mr. Campos said indicates a shift in customer behavior.
“We’re seeing a shift in the customer behavior, if you see the usage statistics on our app, 75% of our business is from the mobile app. And we see them visiting multiple times a day, session times are increasing. So people are really getting habituated now to shopping for fashion online,” he explained.
“Not only are our customers more engaged by spending time and buying more, but (there are) more customers overall. Visits are growing,” he added.
Zalora Philippines’ mobile app alone has already been downloaded seven million times, according to Mr. Campos.
With this, the executive said Zalora would have to strengthen its partnership with retailers to meet the demand for more products.
Zalora Philippines currently has over a thousand brands across different fashion items such as clothes, shoes, and accessories available on its website.
“We have partnerships with large companies such as SSI (Group, Inc.), Bench, Penshoppe, Golden ABC Group, Primer… These are really the ones fuelling our growth, so we’re working with them closely, it’s a big priority to meet the drastic increase in demand,” Mr. Campos said.
Zalora Philippines is also working with small to medium enterprises and entrepreneurs to help them introduce their products on the online platform. Mr. Campos noted that about 50% of their sales come from homegrown brands, presenting up and coming designers and entrepreneurs an avenue to sell their products without having to spend money for a physical store.
The company is also looking at establishing more pop-up stores across different Ayala Malls in line with its partnership with the Ayala Group. Zalora Philippines currently has two pop-up stores located in Greenbelt 5 and Glorietta where customers try out items found on the website and also pick up their online purchases.
“The plan would be to, on a case by case basis, launch new ones especially to feature new brands and new partnerships. It’s our way to highlight a certain portion of our inventory such as the exclusive brand we carry, like when Abercrombie and Fitch was first sold here in the Philippines,” Mr. Campos said.

After Night Manager hit, John Le Carre’s Little Drummer Girl heads to television

LONDON — John le Carre fans will see a new adaptation of one of his spy novels when The Little Drummer Girl hits TV screens this month but the British author said there was huge pressure in making the series after the success of hit show The Night Manager.
Le Carre’s 1983 book, previously made into a film starring Diane Keaton, is set in the 1970s and follows British actress Charlie as she is recruited by an Israeli spy master to track down a Palestinian militant.
The mini-series was made by the makers of Golden Globe-winning The Night Manager, with Le Carre’s sons once again executive producers. The author described the story as “quite different.”
“The one thing you can’t do, you can’t be a one-trick pony, you can’t repeat it. We had a massive audience (for The Night Manager),” Le Carre said at The Little Drummer Girl premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday.
“This will be a different thing… probably attract a smaller but a much more responsive audience in many ways. It’s not as accessible, it’s more thinking, it’s slower and I think more beautiful.”
Lady Macbeth actress Florence Pugh takes the role of Charlie in the series, which also stars The Shape of Water actor Michael Shannon, and Big Little Lies star Alexander Skarsgard.
“She is someone so opinionated, so loud, so sure of herself,” Pugh said of Charlie. “I loved the fact that my character wasn’t necessarily from that (spy) world… us as the audience, we watch her like we are her.”
Skarsgard plays intelligence agent Becker, who as part of the story’s Israeli spy plot also pretends to be a young Palestinian Charlie travels with across Europe.
“I hope people embrace this show as much as they did The Night Manager,” he said. — Reuters

Converge ICT to partner with KT for 3rd telco bid

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. has committed to joining the government’s bid for a new telecommunications player, with South Korean telecommunications giant KT Corp. as its partner.
“Converge ICT of Dennis Uy Pampanga announced last Friday that they are definitely joining, and they are partnering with Korea Telecom (KT). That came from them,” DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio, Jr. told reporters on Monday.
KT, the largest telecommunications company in South Korea, claimed to be the first telecom provider to introduce 5G broad-scale trial service this year.
Mr. Rio said the participation of Converge ICT will bring the total number of prospective bidders to nine, as eight foreign and local companies already purchased bid documents last week.
Excluding Converge ICT, five local players have already paid for selection documents, namely businessman Dennis A. Uy’s Udenna Corp., a consortium of Davao-based telco TierOne Communications International, Inc. and former politician Luis “Chavit” C. Singson’s LCS Group of Companies, Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T), Now Corp. affiliate Now Telecom Co., Inc. and an undisclosed company.
Three foreign firms also firmed up their interest in the bidding, namely Telenor Group from Norway, China Telecom Corp. Ltd. from China and Mobiltel Holding GmbH from Austria after buying the selection documents.
“So nine, including the announcement of Dennis Uy of Converge ICT, as of now,” Mr. Rio said.
Bidding for the third telco player will be on Nov. 7, but prospective participants may download selection documents from the website of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) anytime and pay until the morning of bidding day.
The government is expected to announce the winning third telco before Christmas.
Representatives from Converge ICT are regular attendees in third telco bidding events, despite the earlier pronouncement of its president Dennis Anthony H. Uy that the company will first prioritize its nationwide expansion for its fixed broadband.
Mr. Uy said in August it will need “quite deeper study” to venture into the mobile business, and would have to tap international players to join forces with to make it happen.
Converge ICT has earlier partnered with KT as well as US-based Tyco Electronics Subsea Communications LLC (TE SubCom) and local firm Fibernet Konstrukt Corp. for its fiber optic cable (FOC) construction project. The companies will help Converge ICT in building infrastructure for the company’s $1.8-billion nationwide expansion plan. — Denise A. Valdez

How Erwan and Nico created the ‘perfect’ workspace

By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran
WHEN celebrity entrepreneurs Erwan Heussaff and Nico Bolzico set out to build the perfect office space at Hectare One, they wanted a place that placed emphasis on collaboration and cohabitation.
What they ended up creating was the prototypical millennial workspace.
Hectare One — developed by Mundo Design + Build, a design firm and general contractor that specializes in the fit-out phase of design and construction — primarily serves as the office for the food and agriculture-related businesses under Mr. Bolzico’s LM10 Group of Companies and Mr. Heussaff’s studio for his cooking videos on his The Fat Kid Inside website.
“The whole purpose behind Hectare One from the beginning was to create a space where both Nico and my businesses could cohabitate,” Mr. Heussaff said in an interview with BusinessWorld.
“The need was a creative space where all these businesses can cohabitate and could also collaborate on certain projects. Which is why we wanted to create an open, transparent space, and a very timely new age working area that is still very functional at the same time,” he added.
Mr. Bolzico, who is married to Heussaff’s sister Solenn, said they sought to expand on his brother-in-law’s network of businesses, and create a space that will play to their strengths and inspire new ideas.
“Basically, it is like an incubator,” he said. “We have a lot of startups. We always keep it related to food and agriculture because that is our strength and that is what we want to focus on.”
Hectare One is the latest example of a new trend in office space development that does away with the traditional cubicle-format in favor of open and shared workspaces. This typical “new age” workspace is characterized by numerous communal areas, nooks, and an emphasis on collaboration and comfort, rather than privacy and function.

Hectare One 2
Erwan Heussaff and Nico Bolzico worked with Mundo Design + Build on Hectare One.

The millennial workspace is ditching the idea of compartmentalization and the conventional work-life balance, instead focusing on ways to integrate work with daily life in a holistic way.
“I think it is a case in point, we bring our dogs here, we spend maybe way too much time at the office, more than we would in our respective houses. We wanted to create a space where we can feel comfortable working and also comfortable socializing in.” Mr. Heussaff said.
Mr. Heussaff, who is married to actress Anne Curtis, said they want to have a space where they can also hold social events and invite their friends and clients.
“It’s really important for us to have that space, because both of us are dedicated to working. Somewhere where we can feel like even if we are in the office, it is not draining and it does not feel like work necessarily,” he added.
Mr. Bolzico agreed, saying the space not just allows them to accomplish their mission but also encourages people to work there.
“It’s a whole sense of belonging to the place, the whole Hectare One building plays a key role,” Mr. Bolzico said.
At the heart of Hectare One’s design is the food and agricultural aspect of the duo’s businesses. The earthy tones used in the office’s color palette drive home the look of the hectares of arable land, the image of which also gives Hectare One its name. The office’s many communal spaces are built to resemble modern living rooms rather than office lounge areas.
“I do think the office is driven more by our values rather than anything else,” Mr. Heussaff said.“First and foremost, to house our businesses, but also to give employees who work here a great working space where they feel at home, where they feel comfortable.”

Disney to release live-action Aladdin remake next May

LONDON — The street rat is back — and this time in the flesh.
Disney has announced that it is planning to release a live-action adaptation next May of its animated classic Aladdin, the ancient tale of the penniless market boy who, with a little help from a certain genie in a lamp, marries the headstrong Princess Jasmine.
The remake, shot in London and on location in Jordan, is directed by Guy Ritchie and stars Will Smith as the Genie, Mena Massoud as Aladdin, and Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine, Disney said.
One early fan is Will Smith himself, who took to Instagram to share his enthusiasm for his latest role: “LEMME OUT!! Can’t wait for y’all to see Me BLUE! :-)”, he wrote.
Disney, which released a teaser trailer on YouTube to spread the word of its new production, said the film score includes new songs as well as re-recordings of the original songs written by Alan Menken and lyricists Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. — Reuters

Top brands to open at Acienda Designer Outlet

TOP BRANDS are set to open at the country’s first international outlet mall Acienda Designer Outlet, hoping to attract shoppers with steep discounts and good deals.
In a statement, the partnership between Cathay Land, Inc. and London-based lifestyle retail developer Freeport Retail revealed the list of international brands at at Acienda ahead of its opening on Oct. 26 (Friday).
Located along Kilometer 48, Aguinaldo Highway in Silang Cavite, Acienda will feature stores such as Archive, Geox, Reef, Sunglass Haven, SSI Group’s 158 Designer’s Boulevard, Levi’s, Oakler, Just Jewels, Mango, Guess, Mossimo, The Rail, Kid’s Depot, and RSI, which carries Florsheim and Naturalizer.
The outlet will also have sports and shoe brands such as Asics, Onitsuka, Vans, Oregon Premium Outlet Store, Nike, and Skechers.
“While the hefty discounts in fashion, sportswear and jewelry will surely attract people given the current inflationary climate, eventually we hope that the perfect mix of brands and leisure amenities on site will entice many to become repeat shoppers,” Jeffrey T. Ng, president of Cathay Land, said in a statement.
Mr. Ng said the company expects more foreign brands to open at the Acienda in the next few months.
Aside from shops, Acienda will also have a French-style food and beverage section featuring Wine Bank, Pizza Warehouse, Cold Stone Creamery, and Cafe Pascucci.
“With the cool year-round weather and the regular influx of tourists that we expect to drop by on their way to or as they go down from Tagaytay City, Acienda Designer Outlet will be a fun, hip place to shop around,” Jayden Lewis, Freeport Retail head of leasing for Asia, said.
Acienda Designer Outlet is the country’s first designer outlet that is being developed by Cathay Land, the company behind South Forbes Golf City, and Freeport Retail.
Freeport Retail is a specialist developer and operator of designer outlets in the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Portugal, among many other countries. It has also partnered on outlet projects in Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, and Malaysia.
The outlet mall is located near Tagaytay City and will feature different architectural themes. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Megaworld eyes P10-B sales from 4th condo in Uptown Bonifacio

UPTOWN ARTS Residences is expected to be completed by 2024.

MEGAWORLD Corp. expects to generate P10 billion in sales from its fourth residential condominium in Uptown Bonifacio, banking on its prime location in the growing financial district in Taguig.
The listed property developer unveiled on Monday Uptown Arts Residence, a 45-storey condominium along 9th Avenue in the northern part of Fort Bonifacio.
Uptown Arts Residence will rise beside the Skytrain, the proposed monorail project of Megaworld’s sister firm, Infracorp Development, Inc. The Skytrain is set to connect Fort Bonifacio to the Guadalupe Station of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3.
The project will likewise be situated near the Kalayaan Station of the proposed Mega Manila Subway project, a 30-kilometer subway system connecting Quezon City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Uptown Arts Residence will also benefit from the construction of a bridge over Pasig River connecting Fort Bonifacio to Ortigas. This will cut travel time from Uptown Bonifacio to Ortigas to less than 10 minutes.
“Uptown Arts Residence boasts of its strategic location in the entire Fort Bonifacio. It has the fastest access to the new transport infrastructure projects, and it stands right next to Uptown’s own array of dining, shopping and entertainment establishments,” Megaworld Senior Vice-President for Sales and Marketing Noli D. Hernandez said in a statement.
Units will range from studio (up to 41.5 square meters), one-bedroom (up to 66 sq.m.), one-bedroom loft (up to 117 sq.m.), two-bedroom (up to 98.5 sq.m.), three bedroom (up to 125 sq.m.), and three-bedroom loft (up to 168 sq.m.). Each unit will have its own balcony.
All the executive and loft-type one bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units will include a maid’s room with toilet. Meanwhile, three-bedroom units will feature bath tubs in their master bedrooms.
Amenities include an infinity pool with pool deck, outdoor lounge, a day care and children’s play area, fitness center, and function room. There will be nine storeys reserved for parking across basement and podium floors.
Megaworld expects to complete Uptown Arts Residences in 2024. It will be the fourth residential building in the company’s 15.4-hectare township. The first three are One Uptown Residence, Uptown Ritz, and Uptown Parksuites.
The company booked P7.25 billion in net income attributable to the parent during the first six months of 2018, 13% higher year-on-year, as revenues also jumped 10% to P26.8 billion.
Megaworld is the property unit of tycoon Andrew L. Tan’s holding firm, Alliance Global Group, Inc. Shares in Megaworld gained 1.69% or seven centavos to close at P4.19 each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Nicole Kidman radically transforms for new drama Destroyer

LONDON — Hollywood star Nicole Kidman undergoes a dramatic makeover for new drama Destroyer, playing a tired-looking and worn out police detective with a painful history.
The Oscar winner swaps her blonde locks for a short bob and rugged style to play Erin Bell, a detective whose past continues to haunt her years after infiltrating a criminal gang undercover in an operation with devastating consequences.
“I just felt her and I felt sadness and I felt pain for her,” Kidman said at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday.
“I thought there was a restlessness and a complexity to her anger which I thought I had never seen on screen, particularly in the form of a female.”
The 51-year-old is no stranger to changing her looks for roles, such as when she played Virginia Woolf in The Hours, for which she won an Oscar.
Critics have praised her performance in Destroyer and described her appearance as “almost unrecognizable.”
“The way I look and behave in the film is the result of a lot of trauma,” Kidman said. “That’s the beauty of cinema, you use the image, you don’t always have to have the words.”
Director Karyn Kusama described Bell as a “really complicated human” dealing with regret, guilt and shame. A team of hairdressers and makeup artists worked together to transform Kidman’s looks.
“We talked a lot about sun damage and lack of sleep and drinking too much and not eating well and we landed at a very extreme version of all of that lack of self-care,” Kusama said. — Reuters

Treasury makes partial award of T-bills amid lukewarm demand

THE GOVERNMENT partially awarded the Treasury bills (T-bill) it offered on Monday, rejecting all bids for the shortest tenor amid lukewarm demand, as the market continues to price in the local inflation print for September.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) opted to make a partial award of the short-dated securities, raising just P7.001 billion out of the P15 billion it intended to borrow yesterday.
Market players offered P17.86 billion in bids, lower than the P20.1-billion worth of bids logged a week ago but still above the planned borrowing.
Broken down, the Treasury rejected all bids for the 91-day tenor even as tenders from banks amounted to P5.16 billion, slightly above the P5 billion the government offered yesterday.
Had the government proceeded with a full award, the three-month debt papers would have fetched an average rate of 5.067%, 66.3 basis points (bp) higher than the 4.404% logged the previous auction.
Meanwhile, the government awarded P3.652 billion in the 182-day securities, below the P5-billion program. This, even as the offer was oversubscribed, with tenders reaching P6.752 billion. Still, the average yield climbed 21 bps to 5.894% from the 5.684% quoted at the auction last week.
The 364-day papers were also partially awarded as the Treasury borrowed just P3.349 billion out of the P6-billion program. Bids by banks stood at P5.949 billion. The average rate for the papers went up 37.3 bps to 6.256% from the 5.883% posted last week.
At the secondary market before the auction, the three-month papers were quoted at 5.0857% while the six-month tenor fetched 5.575%. The yield on the one-year T-bill, on the other hand, was at 6.3696%.
At the market’s close, yields on the 91-day and 182-day T-bills climbed to 5.0964% and 5.5805%, respectively. Meanwhile, the 364-day papers rallied to fetch a lower rate of 6.0285%.
Following the auction, Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said the government decided to partially award the T-bills yesterday as bids from investors came in higher than expected.
“Based on our feedback from the surveys that we did and the central bank did to our [eligible dealers], they are still factoring in inflation,” Mr. Sta. Ana told reporters on Monday, saying expectations of future policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve were also considered.
Inflation picked up to 6.7% in September from the 6.4% print in August and 3% in the same month a year ago, as typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut) worsened supply issues for rice and other crops.
However, last month’s result still fell below the 6.8% estimate by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and median in a BusinessWorld poll.
The market is still pricing in inflation, with players noting the BSP may need to hike interest rates further to keep local yields competitive and quell inflation expectations.
The central bank has raised key rates by a cumulative 150 bps since May. It will hold its seventh rate-setting meeting on Nov. 15.
“There’s also some consideration on the rate hike trajectory of the Fed, as it is expected to hike again once this year and three times more next year,” Mr. Sta. Ana added.
He also noted that the BTr does not see much demand even at the shortest tenor of the curve.
“If you look at the bids, they hardly breached the amount on offer, so just about the offer side. We don’t see much demand, really — we are talking about the shortest possible [government securities],” he said.
Sought for comments, a bond trader said the auction result was expected as investors opted to stay on the sidelines.
“On the demand side, given that there’s some difficulty in terms of liquidity, we can expect [tepid demand] until the yearend,” the trader said in a phone interview.
“Unless we see a correction in the dollar-peso trading, meaning more inflows towards the peso, maybe we might not see that much demand for the T-bills.”
The Treasury is raising P270 billion form the domestic market this year through auctions of securities, offering P180 billion in T-bills and another P90 billion in Treasury bonds.
The government plans to borrow P888.23 billion this year from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which is capped at 3% of the country’s gross domestic — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Smart home tech at The Albany


THE Albany, Megaworld Corp.’s “ultra high-end” residential condominium at McKinley West, is bringing urban living to a new level by incorporating smart home technology.
Each unit at The Albany will feature a full home automation system, activated through a smart home display panel at the entrance and through a mobile app.
With the technology, residents can open, close or adjust the lighting in various parts of the house, as well as adjust the thermostat to control the ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
“This is part of our vision to integrate smart technology into all our developments. With this, we are not just able to provide a place where people can live and thrive, but we also empower future residents in our deve-lopments to enjoy other things that matter to them,” Rachelle Peñaflorida, Megaworld Vice President for Sales and Marketing, was quoted as saying in a statement.
The smart home technology can also contribute to improved energy efficiency and privacy.
The Albany’s residents will have their own private key card with access to an elevator opening directly to their foyer. Units also have their own built-in video intercom that connects to the lobby area. For the hands-free lighting system, each unit will be installed with motion sensors, particularly at the foyer and toilet.
Designed by UK-based architectural firm Broadway Malyan, The Albany is furnished with global brands like Germany’s Leicht for kitchen systems; Bosch and Gaggenau for kitchen and cooking tops; Duravit’s Philippe Starck Collection for toilet and bathroom fixtures; and Hansgrohe Axor Starck and Grohe for the luxurious toilet and bath.
A low-density, low-rise residential tower, The Albany only has 64 units with private balconies. Units range from two-bedroom (123 square meters) to four-bedroom suites (up to 349 sq. m.).
The Albany also offers three-level penthouse suites that have four bedrooms in the first two levels, a maid’s room with its own toilet and bath, five toilet and bathrooms including the master’s bedrooms with its own bathtubs, a powder room, walk-in closets, and a dining area with a 7.4-meter ceiling height.
The penthouse suites also have a roof terrace with a private pool, relaxation deck, and a grilling garden.
The Albany will have a two-level amenity deck with a wellness spa, sauna, fitness center, entertainment and game room, infinity pool with submerged lounge deck, kids’ play park, cabanas, function halls, and complimentary WiFi connectivity.It will also have four levels of parking exclusive for the residents.

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