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Arts & Culture (10/23/24)

Free public lecture on paper, print, press processes

THE free public lecture “Hot Off The Press: The Language of Production” will be teaching the importance of paper selection and the pre-press and post-press processes. Set for Oct. 25 at 1 p.m., it is designed for creative entrepreneurs who want to understand different methodologies in print production and address the various challenges of translating digital to print. It is a collaboration between the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), the GA Printing company, and multimedia student group Media MAX. The facilitator will be Mercedes Cruz, business development manager of GA Printing. The workshop is free and open to the public and will be held on the 8th floor learning commons of the Benilde Design + Arts campus. Interested participants may register through forms.gle/4KTZpqgaktZ7SZhJ7.

Ayala Museum’s Project Yazz focuses on jazz

KNOWN for giving classic OPM songs unique jazz reinterpretations, Project Yazz will be holding a performance at the Ayala Museum on Oct. 26, 8 p.m., as part of the Jeepney Jazz sessions this year. Originally formed in 2017, the five-member, Quezon City-based group features Faye Yupano as the vocalist and Bergan Nunez on bass guitar. They jam regularly to develop their ongoing Filipino jazz music project. One of their original ballad compositions is “Kape,” which fans can look forward to hearing at the showcase. Tickets to show can be secured via bit.ly/fhl-JJ24S4. Rates, inclusive of food and drinks, are P1,500 for regular attendees, P1,200 for Ayala employees, and P1,000 for seniors and PWDs.

Othello to return in March 2025

DUE to popular demand, CAST’s production of Othello will be re-staged in March 2025, with tickets now available. It will run for eight performances only, all held at The Mirror Theatre Studio on the 5th floor of SJG Bldg., 8463 Kalayaan Ave., Makati City. There will be 8 p.m. performances on March 7 to 9 and 14 to 16, and 2:30 p.m. performances on March 9 and 16. The hyper-intimate staging will allow for an audience of only 100 per show, with free seating. Tickets, priced at P1,000, are available via https://bit.ly/OthelloTixForm.

Marco Polo Ortigas unveils Providence sculpture

ARTIST Angelico “Jik” Villanueva’s four-meter brass sculpture Providence can now be seen at the lobby of Marco Polo Ortigas. It was created in collaboration with ManilART’24 and the 20th Annual Sculpture Review. The piece depicts ants carrying gems on a branch, symbolizing the harmony between humanity and nature. Its location at the hotel lobby is part of a satellite exhibit celebrating National Museum and Galleries Month. Other sculptors in the exhibit, curated by Gab Loste, are Agi Pagkatipunan and Ombok Villamor. The exhibit closes on Oct. 28.

Association of Pinoyprintmakers holds exhibit at CCP

THE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) has opened On Site: Association of Pinoyprintmakers Annual Exhibition, a group exhibition exploring the complex and evolving practice of printmaking in the Philippines. Held at the Bulwagang Roberto Chabet (Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez Gallery), it features the works of senior printmakers Virgilio Aviado, Benjamin Torrado Cabrera, Fil Delacruz, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Jesus Isidro Flores, and Brenda Fajardo, among many other artists. Participating initiatives include De La Salle College of Saint Benilde Fine Arts Program, the Hanan Printmaking Group, the Linangan Artist Residency, the MARS Center for Printmaking (Philippine Women’s University), Over Inked Studio, Pasilyo Press, Rolling Paper Press, UP Cebu, and UP Baguio. The exhibit runs until Nov. 19. 

MONO8 exhibits Clarence Chun, Luis Lorenzana

THE two-person exhibition CCxLL, presented by MONO8, is currently running at the MONO8 Gallery at BLK 113, 53 Connecticut St., Greenhills, San Juan City. It presents the works of visual artists Clarence Chun and Luis Lorenzana in conversation for the first time. In Mr. Chun’s paintings, the boundaries of technique are pushed by visualizing speed and time, his multi-stage process of washing, masking, and detailing his canvases manifesting themselves in sweeping bands of color. Meanwhile, Lorenzana’s work plays upon portraiture’s historical tradition, building upon the genre by stripping down, warping, and rebuilding the sitter until they are totally abstracted. The two painters will also unveil their very first collaborative series in which their respective approaches to the same painterly queries — composition, form, technique, color — coalesce on shared canvases. The exhibit runs until Nov. 24

Music 101 with Raul Sunico in November

IN CELEBRATION of the 75th anniversary of the Far Eastern University (FEU) Auditorium, the FEU Center for the Arts is presenting Music 101: 600 Years of Music, an “informance” featuring renowned pianist Dr. Raul Sunico. He will give lecture demonstrations on music history, from the medieval to contemporary periods, on Nov. 5, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. The morning session will focus on the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical Periods. The afternoon session will revolve around the Romantic, Post Romantic, and 20th Century Periods. The event is free for all. Interested parties can register via this link: https://forms.office.com/r/jVE896xVh4.

Loboc Children’s Choir receives CCP honor

THE Loboc Children’s Choir (LCC), represented by their musical director and conductor Alma Fernando-Taldo, recently received the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining. As part of the center’s 55th anniversary, awards were given to artists or groups of artists in dance, music, theater, film and broadcast arts, literature, visual arts, architecture, and allied arts and design who have/had consistently produced outstanding works in their art form. During her acceptance speech, Ms. Fernando-Taldo said that the LCC started as a simple choir of children and for children in the small and remote town of Loboc in the province of Bohol. Founded in 1980, it was composed of children aged nine to 13 from the Loboc Central Elementary School. Over the decades, it has blossomed into one of the Philippines’ most celebrated young choral ensembles, its accolades including grand prizes at the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) in 1993, 1995, and 2001.

PHL at the 2025 Frankfurter Buchmesse

AS a culturally diverse nation of 7,641 islands, the Philippines will highlight the strength of this diversity by featuring national artists, indigenous traditions, global perspectives, and a tribute to national hero Jose Rizal in its Philippine Pavilion at the Frankfurther Buchmesse next year. It will also be a momentous year, with the country being the Guest of Honor at the book fair. Inspired by a line from Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, it will operate under the theme “The imagination peoples the air.” Patrick Flores, curator of the Philippine Pavilion, said at a press conference on Oct. 17 at the ongoing 2024 Frankfurter Buchmesse that the theme will convey the act of “imagining” as a graphic and geometric abstraction brought to life. The color scheme will reflect Rizal’s descriptions of the vivid tones of gold, blue, red, and green in the settings and characters of his book, while the typefaces will refer to letters used in the first printing of Noli around 1890. In 2025, the Philippines will double the numbers of representatives and books in the 2,000 square-meter pavilion creating a hub for dialogue and inspiration.

PPPs powering growth

FREEPIK

At the outset, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. made it clear that infrastructure was going to be a priority of his administration. Given its multiplier effects on employment, income generation, delivery of basic services, and many others, infrastructure will power the growth of our economy, for the good of all.

The Build Better More flagship program targets infrastructure investment of 5% to 6% of GDP, to be done through the evaluation, approval, and rollout of 186 infrastructure flagship projects with a combined value of P9.6 trillion, or approximately $163 billion. Infrastructure is indeed a pillar of economic growth. This is also expressed in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 (PDP).

“This government will continue to invest in job-generating infrastructure, social protection programs, health and education for all Filipinos. We will not rest on our laurels but use them to propel us forward into social and economic transformation,” the President said in a video statement uploaded on the Presidential Communications Office’s official Facebook page in August.

In itself, however, infrastructure is a broad word that encompasses a wide range of sectors. Thus, there is need to further qualify and define what kinds of infrastructure are needed in different areas of the Philippines, and how such big-ticket projects will be accomplished in order to attain their ultimate objective. For example, the PDP identifies infrastructure connectivity, limited water resources and accessibility, and high electricity prices as major challenges to the attainment of our country’s economic goals.

To address these challenges, it is good to acknowledge that the government cannot accomplish its goals on its own.

The private sector plays an essential and indispensable role in nation-building. Collaboration between the public and private sector fosters mutual trust through shared objectives. Risks are spread and mitigated, and collective benefits are realized. After all, the public and private sectors, with their complementary roles, are seen as two halves of the same whole, working together to facilitate growth and sustainable development.

The public–private partnership (PPP)-powered infrastructure opportunities are not limited to the National Capital Region, either. There remains vast room in an archipelago such as the Philippines to become infrastructure hubs. The central Visayas is one such place. This early, there have been several success stories in terms of PPPs in these crucial sectors, with infrastructure investments proving key.

One such example is the partnership with Acciona, a Spanish infrastructure company that entered our country in 2016 and which recently solidified its commitment by moving its regional headquarters from Singapore to the Philippines.

Acciona’s presence in the Philippines addresses the multiple challenges of infrastructure connectivity, renewable energy, and water resources. It is a prominent force behind the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX). It has partnered with the Cebu government to develop a $130-million solar project in Daanbantayan to meet Cebu’s electricity demands and enhance the region’s energy security. In the South of Manila, Acciona with its partners have been awarded the contract to design and construct the East Bay 2 drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) in Pakil. Drawing water from Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines, the plant aims to provide clean and healthy drinking water to two million people. Acciona’s facilities focus on advanced treatment of untreated raw water, addressing the significant lack of access to clean water among many households in the country despite abundant resources.

During a conference hosted by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines and the Stratbase ADR Institute in Cebu City earlier this month, the potential and power of investments in strategic infrastructure were central to the discussions.

Ruben Camba, managing director for Infrastructure, Southeast Asia, Acciona and the president of Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines — La Cámara, emphasized the importance of friendships, trust, and a long-term view.

Ignacio Domecq, managing director for Southeast Asia, Acciona Energia, said that they were comfortable investing in the Philippines because it has rule of law. “This place is a good example,” he said. “It’s creating a very good vantage for this country to work with the others.”

Jose Maria Ortega, Water Development director for Australia and Asia, Acciona, said it is not enough to generate water; there must also be mechanisms to distribute it efficiently. “Just as we’re bringing technology, we’re also bringing the hunger to learn what the specific needs in Cebu are so that we can create projects here.”

These milestones are in no way ends by themselves. They serve to show us that genuine collaboration is possible if both parties are earnest and have the best interests of the people in mind. A combination of strategic planning and direction, financial muscle, technical expertise, integrity, and a willingness to constantly improve the investment and regulatory environment will ensure that the planned infrastructure projects will not remain plans. They will instead become realities that would make the Philippines sustainable, competitive, and able to bring a better life to its people.

 

Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the president of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

AllHome, AllDay Marts appoint new acting presidents

BW FILE PHOTO

VILLAR-LED companies AllHome Corp. and AllDay Marts, Inc. have elected new acting presidents.

AllHome elected Frances Rosalie T. Coloma as the new acting president effective Oct. 21, replacing Benjamarie Therese N. Serrano, who died on Sept. 5, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Ms. Coloma also serves as a director in other Villar-led companies, Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. and Golden MV Holdings, Inc.

She previously served as the president and chief executive officer of AllDay Marts.

Consequently, Ms. Coloma resigned as AllHome’s treasurer and was replaced by Louella M. Fernandez.

The company also elected Dante M. Julongbayan as a director, succeeding Ms. Serrano.

In a separate disclosure, AllDay Marts elected Magdalena G. De Guzman as the acting president and chief operating officer, succeeding Jacqueline B. Cano, who stepped down due to “personal reasons.”

Ms. De Guzman, who was also appointed as a director, assumed the roles in AllDay Marts effective Oct. 21.

In 2022, she joined Villar-led Prime Asset Ventures, Inc., where she currently leads the purchasing group and the regulatory and compliance departments.

Ms. De Guzman started her real estate career as administrative head and later became operating head of Vista Land from 2001 to 2008.

She was AllHome’s merchandising head from 2015 to 2017. In 2018, she returned to Vista Land as administrative group head.

On Tuesday, AllHome shares rose by 1.35% or one centavo to 75 centavos, while AllDay Marts stocks rose by 2.07% or P0.003 to P0.148 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

PHL digital banks told to offer targeted products, boost scale to be profitable

BW FILE PHOTO

By Aaron Michael C. Sy, Reporter

PHILIPPINE digital banks need to focus on specific consumer segments and increase their scale to achieve stable profits, international management consulting firm Arthur D. Little said.

“Ultimately, let’s say we have 10 banks, and they all talk about being convenient, being customer-centric, [having a] high savings rate — I think they all end up looking the same. It’s just that the brand is a bit different. So, you need a slightly different flavor and touch point to be able to access a different pool of customers,” Arthur D. Little Partner Justin Tan said in an online interview with BusinessWorld this month.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in August approved the lifting of the moratorium on the grant of digital banking licenses, allowing four more digital banks to operate in the country starting next year.

The four additional licenses may come from either new applicants or banks seeking to convert their existing license to a digital one.

There are six licensed digital banks in the Philippines: GoTyme Bank, Tonik Digital Bank, Inc., Maya Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, UNObank, and UnionDigital Bank.

The latest BSP data showed that Philippine digital banks posted a combined net loss of P4.11 billion at end-June and had P105.37 billion in assets as of end-August.

Mr. Tan said the incoming digital banks will have to find a way to innovate their products or explore untapped consumer segments such as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), rural areas, or the younger demographic.

“If they’re able to do that and they cover a certain niche within the marketplace, potentially, yes, they can be profitable,” he said.

However, the incoming digital banks will mainly struggle with growing their depositor base to help fund loan products as the earlier established online lenders already have a significant market share, Mr. Tan said.

This could lead new players to resort to offering high savings rates to attract customers, he said.

“There’s always a race to scale for a lot of digital banks to at least build up a certain funding level in terms of deposits so that they can then, in turn, lend out to customers. But I think competing purely on price is probably just the first step. You use this as a hook product. I think there’s a difference between building their scale and using these tactics to get to the level versus moving towards profitability,” Mr. Tan said.

Still, digital lenders in the Philippines benefit from having a large untapped market compared to other countries in the region, he added.

“I think one difference potentially between the Philippines and some of these economies is that the proportion of underserved or unserved segment is actually higher, even versus Thailand or Malaysia,” Mr. Tan said. “So, I think maybe for that reason, the regulator has been pushing for some of these digital banking licenses so that the banks can reach out potentially to some of these underserved or unserved segments to be able to proliferate a little bit more basic banking services to them.”

However, these digital banks could struggle to scale up their operations as their parent firms find that getting returns on their initial investments could take longer than initially expected, he said.

“I think what we’ve seen in some other markets where the digital banks have so-called failed to some extent is that their backers or their funders don’t have that kind of patience. For example, if you’re funded by the markers or private equity firms, they want to be profitable within five years. That might not be realistic, so some of them would then have to either be acquired or close out,” Mr. Tan said.

“But for those who have been able to stay the course with a bit more patient capital, they have been able to build a more diversified customer base that is revenue generating.”

Online banks also need to focus on cybersecurity, deepening customer relationships, and building an ecosystem in their quest to be in the black, he said.

“I think the digital banks have to up their game in terms of making sure that that level of security and checks and balance are there. Otherwise, it just takes one or two incidents to basically destroy trust. Unlike traditional banks with physical channels and brand awareness, they don’t have that kind of reservoir of trust to be able to build on.”

Digital banks also have to innovate their product offerings by using data to be able to attract specific market segments, Mr. Tan added.

“I think you can’t compete with traditional banks with the same products with the same propositions. You need to diversify in terms of either the target segments that you want or being more customer-centric in terms of better leveraging data,” he said. “I think that’s important for you to be able to offer more tailored products to them.”

Digital banks could offer micro loans, investments, and micro savings products to lessen risk and increase efficiency and use digital channels to build an ecosystem to boost their market penetration, he said.

Partnering with supermarkets or telecommunication companies could also be beneficial for these banks, he added.

“Like it or not, I think there still needs to be a bit of that touch and feel. So, you can’t just exist in the cloud entirely. Having the ecosystem play, I think, is important,” Mr. Tan said.

Vatican unveils restored Apollo Belvedere, Roman marble masterpiece

MUSEIVATICANI.VA

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican Museums last week unveiled a restoration of one of the crown jewels of their collection, a 2nd century marble sculpture of the Greek god Apollo that has inspired generations of artists and poets.

Restoration experts spent years working on the Apollo Belvedere, repairing fractures in its knees and legs, cleaning the entire cream-colored statue with lasers, and installing a carbon fiber pole anchored to its base to increase stability.

“This type of restoration… is the expression of what we want the Vatican Museums to be,” said Barbara Jatta, the Museums’ director. “A balance of tradition, linguistics and study, with a gaze that looks to the future.”

The Vatican Museums, which house some of the world’s greatest Renaissance masterpieces as well as ancient Roman and Egyptian artefacts, are the Holy See’s most reliable source of income. They receive some seven million visitors a year, generating income of around $100 million.

The Apollo Belvedere was one of the first works featured in the Museums. It shows the god having just shot an arrow and is famed for its delicate musculature and lightly curled hair.

The sculpture is believed to be a Roman copy of an original Greek bronze statue. It was brought to the Vatican by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century.

The statue was removed from public exhibition in 2019, when museum staff noticed small fissures in its legs.

The structure was in an “incredibly dramatic” condition, said Guy Devreux, a curator in the Museums’ stone and marble restoration workshop.

The restoration project was paused for about two years during the pandemic, when the Museums underwent several long closures due to Italy’s lockdowns. — Reuters

GoGym to make app more interactive, eyes expansion

By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter

TECH-ENABLED fitness brand GoGym plans to expand interactive features on its mobile app by letting members track their progress and earn points, while also expanding its physical gym chain.

This will allow users to book sessions, generate quick response (QR) codes for check-in, access training videos and pause or cancel memberships within the app. 

“In the fourth quarter, we’re planning to gamify the mobile app so people start to get Go Coins or Go Points whenever they check in for a certain number of days in a week,” Felicia Mirine P. Perez, chief product officer at GoGym, told BusinessWorld in a recent video call.

“We’re currently building… the streaks and achievements and soon the leaderboards also,” she added.

Much of GoGym’s budget is dedicated to tech development, which the startup considers as its key differentiator from other gyms, eliminating the need for paperwork.

Ms. Perez said the company wants the app to become an extension of building habits and making fitness a lifestyle for its users. The app has 750 members.

GoGym has five branches, with their largest in McKinley Hill, Taguig City. The other branches are in Six NEO in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Villena, Poblacion, MyTown Los Angeles in Kalayaan, and MyStay BGC East.

“We’re optimistically hoping to build three additional gyms to bring our gyms to eight this year,” said Kristoff Augustus J. Inocentes, head of sales and marketing at GoGym, adding that the company aims to have at least 150 gyms by 2028.

Mr. Inocentes said there are no specific locations yet, but the company is considering Quezon City, Manila, Mandaluyong, and Las Piñas.

GoGym, which started in 2022 and has 4,500 active users.  It was founded by Emma Anderson and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Phillips.

“When the pandemic ended, a lot of people that I talked to, customers also, found it more motivating to go to the gym, where they see more people around,” Mr. Inocentes said. “I think they missed the interaction with other members.”

GoGym offers a regular plan for a 12-month membership for P599 a month. GoGym Plus comes at P699 a month for a year. The membership options are one-month, two months and 12 months.

Other plans include Go Train, which lets customers upgrade to a personal training program with coaches, which costs P199 to P299 per session.

“Our main goal is to provide affordable, accessible fitness for all — to offer a place where people can come as they are, no judgments, no prejudices, and just work out and achieve their fitness goals in an inclusive environment,” Mr. Inocentes said.

Who was Bitcoin’s Satoshi? I need to know and so do you

HBO

WHO IS OR WAS Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin? A recent HBO documentary names Peter Todd, with the possible assistance of Adam Back. Suffice to say the truth here remains an open question, but it is worth asking: Why does anyone care?

There is in fact a great deal at stake, certainly at the intellectual level and probably financially and politically as well. It’s only natural, and even healthy, to be curious about who could have created more than $1 trillion in market capitalization.

Presume that Satoshi has passed away, which would explain why we no longer hear from Satoshi. Hal Finney is one oft-cited Satoshi candidate, and he died in 2014. Under this scenario, Satoshi’s reputation is likely to remain intact: He or she stays mysterious and cannot do anything to disgrace Bitcoin. Satoshi’s large and valuable “origin block” of Bitcoin is less likely to be sold. It might be frozen forever, with its current value in the tens of billions of dollars.

A deceased Satoshi also means that Satoshi cannot step forward and advocate changes in the rules of Bitcoin, such as enabling the creation of more Bitcoin. That too is likely bullish for the value of Bitcoin. A living Satoshi, in contrast, might exercise considerable sway over Bitcoin users and institutions, if he or she stepped forward and suggested some rule changes.

A parallel with religion is instructive. Most of the world’s major religions are based on the teachings of dead people. That makes them easier to run compared to religions with living charismatic leaders who receive regular press coverage and are vulnerable to mistakes and gaffes. It is probably best for Bitcoin if Satoshi is no longer alive.

It also matters if Satoshi was a single person or a small team. If a single person, that might mean future innovations are more likely than generally thought: If Satoshi is a lone individual, then maybe there are more unknown geniuses out there. On the other hand, the Satoshi-as-a-team theory would mean that secrets are easier to keep than people think. If that’s the case, then maybe conspiracy theories are more true than most of us would care to admit.

According to many speculations, Satoshi came out of a movement obsessed with e-cash and e-gold mechanisms, dating to the 1980s. People from those movements who have been identified as potential Satoshi candidates include Nick Szabo, Hal Finney, Wei Dai, David Chaum, and Douglas Jackson, among others. At the time, those movements were considered failures because their products did not prove sustainable. The lesson here would be that movements do not truly and permanently fail. It is worth experimenting in unusual directions because something useful might come out of those efforts.

If Peter Todd is Satoshi, then it’s appropriate to upgrade any estimates of the ability of very young people to get things done. Todd would have been working on Bitcoin and the associated white paper as a student in his early 20s. At the same time, if the more mainstream Adam Back is involved, then maybe the takeaway is that rebellious young people should seek out older mentors on matters of process and marketing.

Whoever Satoshi may be, the fact that the origin block has not been moved raises deep questions about human motivation. Do some people just not want to be multibillionaires? What reasons might there be for not cashing in? Perhaps Satoshi died very suddenly — but even a dying Satoshi might have been expected to allocate the funds in some matter, if only to a relative or to charity. Or did Satoshi destroy the password in a fit of pique or possible self-restraint?

One of the more extreme (and to me less plausible) theories is that the CIA is Satoshi, or at least behind Satoshi. If that’s true, then the CIA is far more innovative than I thought. It is widely known for its cryptographic talent, but it is less well-known for being innovative.

Whatever the story, it is a very interesting one. Perhaps Satoshi is still alive, and correctly identifies extreme fame and wealth as something to be avoided. Someday, I am confident, we will learn who Satoshi is or was. And we will have to change our views of the world accordingly.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

CTA partially grants Royal Caribbean’s refund claim

CTA.JUDICIARY.GOV.PH

THE COURT of Tax Appeals (CTA) partially granted Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s petition for review, ordering the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to issue a tax credit certificate worth over P7 million, representing its unutilized input value-added tax (VAT) attributable to its zero-rated sales for the fourth quarter of 2018.

The cruise company originally sought over P14 million in refund, but the tax court’s Second Division said it did not provide substantial evidence with the required documentation to be allowed the full amount.

“In sum, [Royal Caribbean] has sufficiently proven its entitlement to the refund or issuance of tax credit certificate of its unutilized input VAT attributable to its zero-rated sales but only in the amount of P7,038,142.81,” Associate Justice Corazon G. Ferrer-Lopez penned in a 47-page ruling released on Oct. 15.

The petitioner filed an administrative claim for a refund of P17.1 million with the BIR but was only granted P2.3 million.

The cruise line appealed this denial to the CTA, arguing that the denied amount, which includes input VAT carried over from previous quarters, is attributable to its zero-rated sales in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Upon examining the supporting invoices and receipts for the P14.1-million claim, the tribunal determined that only around P7.04 million met the substantiation and invoicing requirements of the VAT law and regulations.

The remaining P7.1 million was disallowed for failure to meet the substantiation and invoicing requirements under the VAT law and regulation.

Specifically, the court did not grant the P7.1 million due to the missing taxpayer identification number on supporting documents, lack of separate indication of VAT on supporting documents, insertions or alterations on invoices and official receipts, discrepancies in countersignatures, and missing signatures of the issuer or authorized representatives on invoices. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Four Fed policy makers favor more interest rate cuts, but differ on pace

WIKIMEDIA.ORG

FOUR Federal Reserve policy makers on Monday expressed support for further interest rate cuts, but appeared to differ on how fast or far they believe any cuts should go.

Three of them, citing the strength of the economy and an uncertain outlook, expressed a preference for going slow, using words like “modest” and “gradual” to describe their views on the right pace for rate cuts.

The fourth, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, said she feels Fed policy is “very tight” and does not believe that a strong economy, as long as inflation continues to fall, should keep the central bank from continuing to reduce rates.

The remarks provide a small taste of what’s expected to be a broad but closed-door debate of the appropriate path for policy at the Fed’s upcoming policy meeting, on Nov. 6-7.

After Friday, US central bankers will observe a communications blackout — abstaining from any public comments on their monetary policy views — until the Fed announces its policy decision at the close of the two-day meeting on Nov. 7.

“While I support dialing back the restrictiveness of policy, my preference would be to avoid outsized moves, especially given uncertainty over the eventual destination of policy and my desire to avoid contributing to financial market volatility,” Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid told the Certified Financial Analysts Society of Kansas City, in Missouri. He said he believes rate cuts should be gradual and deliberate.   

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, speaking earlier in the day to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association in New York, made similar remarks.

“If the economy evolves as I currently expect, a strategy of gradually lowering the policy rate toward a more normal or neutral level can help manage the risks and achieve our goals,” she said.

The Fed last month cut the policy rate by a bigger-than-expected half of a percentage point, to a range of 4.75% to 5%, given cooling in both inflation and labor markets. It was the first rate cut in four years.

Fed policy makers’ economic projections published at the time showed that most thought further, and likely smaller, interest-rate reductions would be appropriate.

Since then, strong retail sales and bigger-than-expected job growth in September have boosted speculation that the Fed could cut rates even more slowly, perhaps even pausing at next month’s rate-setting meeting or the one in December.

Daly, in a webcast interview with the Wall Street Journal, gave no indication she would support a pause.

“I haven’t seen any information that would suggest we wouldn’t continue to reduce the interest rate consistent with achieving that durable expansion,” she said, when asked about the November decision. “This is a very tight interest rate for an economy that already is on the path to 2% inflation, and I don’t want to see the labor market slow further.”

The Fed, she added, should be “open-minded” to the possibility that stronger productivity growth may be allowing the economy to grow faster without pushing up inflation, allowing the central bank to continue to reduce rates.

Of the four Fed officials who spoke on Monday, Daly is the only current voter on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, though all policy makers attend meetings and voice opinions.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on Monday appeared to endorse a go-slow approach to rate cuts, repeating his call for “modest” interest rate cuts over the next “several quarters.”

He said the economy’s strength shows the eventual resting point for the policy rate — what is known as the neutral rate, where borrowing costs neither slow nor stimulate growth — may be higher than it was in the past, a point that Schmid also made.

“We want to keep the labor market strong and we want to get inflation back down to our 2% target,” Mr. Kashkari said, and the appropriate path of interest rates will “depend on the data.”

But Mr. Kashkari said that a sharp deterioration of labor markets could move him to advocate for faster cuts.

“If we saw a weakening, like real evidence that the labor market is weakening quickly, then that would tell me, as one policy maker, ‘Hey, maybe we ought to bring down our interest rate more quickly than I currently expect,’” Mr. Kashkari said in a town hall at the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce. — Reuters

Fujitsu showcases technology for practicing Japanese classical theater

CHIBA, Japan — Fujitsu is showcasing technology for analyzing human movement which it says could be used to help preserve traditional culture as Japan grapples with a shrinking population.

Visitors at a trade show near Tokyo were able to attempt movements from classical Noh theater, with their efforts captured by cameras, analyzed and compared to a model performance.

Noh theater dates back to the 14th century and involves stylized movements made by actors in masks and elaborate costumes.

“It was more easy to grasp visually than being told in words and was analyzed in a short time so it made me want to practice more,” said Takashi Ishikawa, a 46-year-old high school teacher who visited the Fujitsu booth.

Fujitsu’s technology is already being used in sport and has been employed as a tool for aiding judging of gymnastics since 2019.

“With Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population, there is a decreasing number of people to carry on traditions and techniques,” said Hidenori Fujiwara, head of the Human Digital Twin Division at Fujitsu.

“We aim to help people learn and experience human movement,” he said at the CEATEC electronics trade show held near Tokyo.

The company also showed how its technology can be used to visualize the basketball shooting technique of visitors. Its systems have been used in Pilates schools in Tokyo since August. — Reuters

Cebu farmers make Jollibee their key market

JOLLIBEE GROUP FOUNDATION

By Almira Louise S. Martinez

SMALL FARMERS from Cebu in central Philippines have boosted their income under an entrepreneurship program that lets them expand their market by supplying corporate buyers like Jollibee Foods Corp.

Ligaya Miras, cluster leader and a farmer under the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program, noted that before the partnership with the Lamac Multi-purpose Cooperative and Jollibee Group, they had a small market that dictated prices.

“Many of our goods remained unpurchased because we only knew how to market them in our area,” she told BusinessWorld in Filipino. “They were the ones who decided the price, and we didn’t get a say in it.”

Filipino farmers and fisherfolk were among the poorest in the country in 2021, with a poverty incidence of 30% and 30.06%, respectively, according to the local statistics agency.

Under a so-called agro-enterprise clustering approach program, Cebu farmers can sell their produce to companies like Jollibee, assuring them of a steady market.

Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative General Manager Ma. Elena C. Limocon said farmers who do not belong to clusters have lower incomes. “We can’t assure them of a market if they are fragmented,” she said in Filipino.

The average monthly net income of farmers under the program ranges from P20,000 to P50,000, depending on the season, Justine Lynn C. Limocon, business development manager at Lamac Cooperative, said.

This is 25% to 35% higher than the farmers’ earnings before they joined the cooperative, proof that there is money in agriculture, she said.

There are 584 farmers and 45 clusters in Cebu delivering produce to Jollibee restaurants, as well as Chowking.

Japo Vicente, senior program officer at Jollibee Group Foundation, said 23% of the requirements of the fast-food chain including onions, bell peppers, and gingers, are supplied by the farmers.

The company also buys lettuce, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, spring onion, and assorted vegetables from them.

As of July, the cooperative had delivered 42 metric tons of vegetables, and seeks to surpass last year’s record of 83 metric tons by the end of 2024, said L.A. Cruzat, foundation partnership and operations director.

Ms. Limocon said they plan to supply rice, their highest-grossing product in the area, once the Agriculture department’s rice warehouse facility becomes operational. “We will send samples to them to see if we can start supplying next year.”

The cooperative seeks to contribute at least 20% of Jollibee’s rice requirements by 2025.

Israel-Iran and the nine stages of how conflicts can escalate and get out of control

FREEPIK

Tensions are running high in the Middle East. The murderous attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 kicked off a spiral of violence in the region. That has culminated, a year later, in Israel mounting a ground invasion of Lebanon. The invasion, which Israel says aims to confront and destroy Hezbollah, follows 12 months of tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran, which have gradually escalated in intensity.

Given that Hezbollah is closely associated and supported by Iran, there is mounting concern that this conflict could become a major flashpoint in international relations. The worry is that this war might provide the spark that causes the next global conflict.

To understand how dangerous the situation could be, it’s worth looking at the theory of conflict escalation. In 1997, Austrian economist Friedrich Glasl published his nine-stage model of conflict escalation, which is generally accepted as the most sophisticated study of how conflicts can develop from disputes to all-out conflict (a step he gives the rather ominous name of “Together into the abyss”).

The first level is when a conflict is readily or easily resolved, but when a resolution is not achieved, positions on either side of the argument harden and frustration begin to mount. The next step naturally occurs when conflict parties seek to make their case, hoping to gain advantage in the court of global opinion.

Stage three of the model sees the adversaries beginning to take action. Neither side wants to yield advantage to the other, while any sense that discussion might mitigate the conflict has disappeared in mutual antagonism and mistrust. Accordingly at stage four, the conflict parties resort to an “us vs them” rhetoric in an attempt to build coalitions and attract support. Stage five, described as “loss of face,” is when one or other of the antagonists feels they have become tarnished in the eyes of the community as a whole. Reputation no longer matters as much as achieving their ends. Sometimes one side or the other commits an act that it feels has isolated it, which only serves to harden its position.

In stage six, threats or ultimatums are issued. This can lead to hostilities spiraling as the conflict parties seek credibility by putting a timescale on a threat, which in turn will heighten the pressure on both sides. This can also bind another of the warring parties to a course of action from where there is little opportunity to retreat. This facilitates the move to stage seven, where the antagonists begin to trade the first limited blows in response to the threats they have made.

In stage eight, the offensive blows intensify, with the focus on trying to injure — or even destroy — the adversary’s capacity for response or call into question the legitimacy of the other side’s leader. Often this can lead to one or another of the parties fragmenting into warring factions, making the situation increasingly uncontrollable.

As the conflict hurtles into stage nine, the threat to one or another of the parties has become existential, who are now falling “together into the abyss.” All sense of caution is abandoned as the only goal is the total annihilation of the adversary. A state of total war.

WHAT STAGE ARE WE AT?
After years of animosity and denunciation on both sides, the conflict between Israel and Iran has now progressed to the stage that both sides have exchanged limited blows against each other. Reports have linked Iran to the planning of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Tehran has recently denied having any part in the massacre. Hezbollah, which is more closely linked to the Islamic Republic, has carried out a year-long barrage of rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel. In response, Israel has now directly struck against Iran’s proxy, invading southern Lebanon to engage and attempt to destroy Hezbollah.

Both sides clearly want to demonstrate their power and influence in the region. But the stakes could rise if Iran feels an urgent need to protect its proxies. For Israel, its leaders have long argued that its very existence is at stake.

In terms of Glasl’s stages of escalation, the two countries appear to have reached stage seven, where they are launching limited blows against each other while avoiding direct confrontation. Both want to make their adversary consider whether the cost of continuing is worth the potential rewards that can be gained.

Iran’s air attacks on Israel suggest that while Iran can see that its regional position is being threatened and is still seeking to support the non-state actors in Gaza and Lebanon, the way in which they have conducted their attacks suggest that Tehran does not feel itself powerful enough to escalate further than it already has.

The only direct blows the two powers have launched against each other have been from the air. Iran has now launched two (large) barrages of rockets against Israel, one in April this year and again at the end of September. Both bombardments were announced in advance and neither has resulted in Israeli casualties.

Israel responded in April with a targeted strike against an Iranian airbase close to one of the country’s nuclear installations. It has yet to directly respond to the latest Iranian barrage, but Netanyahu has said Israel would target Iran’s military installations “based on Israel’s national security needs.”

Analysts believe that both sides — so far at least — are using these limited strikes to signal their unwillingness to escalate. But there is a great deal at stake. Iran will feel its position as a regional power threatened by Israel’s ground campaign in Lebanon. Meanwhile Israel has repeatedly declared that it is fighting for the security of its people. Neither appears to want a wider conflict – and their allies certainly wouldn’t encourage them if they did.

So it’s clear that — up to now at least — neither Israel nor Iran wants to venture any further down the road to “the abyss” as envisaged by Glasl’s nine-stage model.

THE CONVERSATION VIA REUTERS CONNECT

 

Matthew Powell is a teaching fellow in Strategic and Air Power Studies at the University of Portsmouth.

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