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It’s an even (equal) match: A fighting gay wrestler

By Joseph L. Garcia, Reporter

TO THE beat of pumping pop music, Martivo’s name appears on the screen, dressed up in rainbow shades and leopard prints. In glittery pink shorts, a coat with a pink bow, and rainbow-printed socks, Martivo steps out on the runway. Martivo isn’t a model. He’s not here to play; he’s here to fight, and he wins. He’s out, loud, and proud — and he can beat you up.

Martivo is the wrestling persona adopted by Earl Santinni Lagman for Philippine Wrestling Revolution (PWR). Martivo (or Man Doll, as he’s sometimes called) was up for an All-Out Warla match with fellow wrestler Kapitan Juan Tutan.

Martivo twerked for a bit before appearing in the wrestling ring, while a rainbow Pride flag waved behind him. He took the flag and waved it himself while perched on one of the ring’s posts, to the cheers of the crowd. As for the match itself, well: Martivo showed Kap Tutan. Several jokes about the male anatomy were thrown about, with the use of vegetables as props. Martivo eventually whacked a gourd on Kap Tutan’s head, and the various props included a pipe, Kap Tutan’s baseball bat, thumbtacks, a riding crop, and pink feathers. After a raucous match, Martivo came out as the All-Out Warla Champion, holding for himself a silver belt decorated with pink feathers.

Martivo made an appearance in the ring for a second time last Sunday with fellow champions (for different titles) Quatro and Chino Guinto, declaring, “I am now here to prove to everyone that I am the best champion that PWR has. Not just for one month but for 365 days: day-in and day-out, baby!”

FEMALE WRESTLING FAN
After the match, BusinessWorld sat down with Mr. Lagman, sweaty and chugging water and Coca-Cola. Fans approached him and asked for a photo, while thanking him profusely for a good show.

“I honestly can’t remember,” said Mr. Lagman when asked when he started to like wrestling. He does remember that the most memorable were the Diva matches for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Fans remember the names Trish Stratus and Lita, and older fans would recall the appearance of Fabulous Moolah, who became the first WWF Women’s Champion in the 1980s.

“I feel like it’s out of the norm,” he said about his fascination with female wrestling. “When you see men going at it, it’s expected. But when you see women going at it, like [doing] stuff you don’t really expect women to do… I was blown away.”

Mr. Lagman has identified as gay since he was in high school, spending years in an all-boys school. “That’s when I realized that, hey, you know what, I think am gay.”

Members of the gay community are usually stereotyped as theatrical and lovers of the performing arts. Looking at some of the elements of professional wrestling, it’s similar to a drag performance, albeit plugged with gallons of testosterone. “It’s pretty much the same thing. We play a different character. At the end of the day, you go home and take off your gear, your makeup, your whatnot, and just be the real you,” said Mr. Lagman.

Wrestling is traditionally a masculine sport — a hypermasculine sport, even — with muscle-bound men yelling in deep, guttural voices and beating each other up as in a schoolyard. Mr. Lagman injects his own camp flavor to this manly jungle, and saying, “When I started out in PWR, I honestly never felt like I was not treated equally.”

PLAYING UP THE CAMP
He came up with the character during PWR’s bootcamp, where prospective wrestlers are trained. They were all tasked to come up with a gimmicky persona, and Mr. Lagman came up first with an everyman from the audience who would take up a wrestler’s challenge from the ring. The PWR team shrugged off the idea, and Mr. Lagman came up with the Martivo persona. “I’m just going to use the real me to my advantage.”

Mr. Lagman says that he faced no discrimination at all while training with the masculine roster.

Mr. Lagman says that the Martivo persona has at least three more times as much camp in it than his real self. Unlike in other male-dominated areas, where gay men are usually told to tone it down a bit, the team urged Martivo to amp up the camp for wrestling.

“I was probably a little too manly when I started training,” he said. Martivo’s moves include the Pak! Ganewrn! chops, the Ka-Vogue Kick, and several moves that get an opponent’s face to his butt (demonstrated during his match with Kap Tutan).

SUBVERTING STEREOTYPES
There are certain expectations to be fulfilled as an athlete, that is, to make a body perform at its peak, all the time. The stereotype of gay men as weak and unathletic is subverted by Mr. Lagman, and, of course, the pressure is on him to prove the stereotype wrong; not just for him, but for his audience.

“All the time. Every single match — that’s my dilemma. I don’t want people to think that since I’m gay, I’m an inferior athlete.”

The sports world is usually dominated by cisgender heterosexual individuals, and even straight women in the sports world have to fight for a certain visibility. LGBTQ people in the athletic world, therefore, are at an even greater disadvantage when it comes to visibility and inclusion. A few players have come out: there’s Jason Collins from the NBA and David Kopay from the NFL, among a few others. Gay men in the athletic world are then seen mostly as tokens, the lone queer person on a team. Martivo is the only openly gay wrestler in PWR so far. He said, “There should be definitely be room for more. We shouldn’t be taken as tokens. I would like to think that I am as athletic as the rest of the roster.

“There’s room for you — plenty of room for us.”

Waving the Pride flag during Pride Month, on a stage surrounded by people who cheered him on, Mr. Lagman said, “Being given the platform to tell the world — or the universe rather (taking a line from Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach) — that I am for equality for everyone, ‘Love Wins’ and all that… that’s the best part.”

Asked what he feels when he’s in the ring, he said, “Oh my God. I am the proudest.”

“I want people to think that if I can do it, anybody else can. Whatever a straight man or a straight woman can do, everybody else in between can do, if not better.”

Watch out for updates in PWR’s monthly shows at https://web.facebook.com/PHWrestlingRevo/.

Converge partners with Baguio electric coop

CONVERGE ICT Solutions, Inc. is tapping a Baguio-based electric cooperative to expand its operations in the northern Luzon province.

The fiber internet provider said in a statement Tuesday it recently signed a partnership deal with Benguet Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BENECO) to reach more areas in Baguio.

“Converge ICT has always wanted to provide a faster and more reliable connection in the northern part of Luzon… It is the first electric cooperative to enter into a partnership with a company such as Converge in order to provide internet to its member-consumers,” the company said.

Converge ICT started operating in Baguio last year and has kicked off the process of expanding its presence in the area in the first half of the year.

The partnership is expected to help extend Converge ICT’s coverage in Baguio as it aims to benefit from BENECO’s expertise in laying down fiber optics in the mountainous areas of the province.

“The combined expertise of Converge ICT’s technical team and BENECO’s familiarity with the terrain made the work more manageable,” it said.

Converge ICT said its expanded services in Baguio will be available in the coming months.

“Customers in Baguio have long been waiting for an alternative internet provider that can give them a better service. Converge ICT’s partnership with BENECO is equitable…because BENECO’s electric poles are infrastructure-ready for use, which means that we can easily fast track the expansion,” Jesus C. Romero, the company’s chief operating officer, said in the statement. — Denise A. Valdez

PSBank starts offer of peso bonds

PHILIPPINE Savings Bank has started its maiden offer of fixed-rate peso bonds.

PHILIPPINE SAVINGS BANK (PSBank) is looking to raise P3 billion via two-year bonds to diversify its funding sources and expand its consumer business.

In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the thrift lending arm of the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) Group announced its maiden peso-denominated fixed-rate bond offer from July 1-17 through which it wants to raise at least P3 billion.

The two-year bonds were priced at 5.6% per annum to be paid quarterly until 2021.

The notes require a minimum investment of P500,000 and in increments of P100,000 thereafter.

The bank announced in March it will offer fixed-rate peso bonds amounting to P40 billion, which will be offered in multiple tranches.

“We have always been on the lookout for opportunities to diversify our funding sources,” PSBank President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Vicente L. Alde said in the statement.

“Given market developments, we believe that this bond issuance is properly timed to provide potential institutional and individual investors with an alternative investment to lock-in their funds at a higher rate yield and for a relatively shorter tenor.”

He added that proceeds from the fund-raising activity will be used to support the lender’s consumer business to provide innovative banking solutions and services.

The two-year bonds will be issued and listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on July 24.

Standard Chartered was tapped to be the sole arranger of the transaction. It also serves as a selling agent alongside PSBank, Metrobank and First Metro Investment Corp.

The thrift lender has been active in the capital markets recently. In January, the bank raised P8 billion via stock rights offer, selling 142.9 million common shares priced at P56 apiece during Jan. 7-11 offer period.

PSBank also raised P5 billion and P3 billion last year by offering long-term negotiable certificates of deposit an medium-term fixed rate notes, respectively.

The lender booked a P680.7-million net income in the first quarter, up 10.3% from the same period in 2018, driven by interest income growth and expense management.

Local debt watcher Philippine Ratings Services Corp. affirmed its PRS Aaa (corp.) issuer rating on PSBank last month, indicating continued growth in core interest income and strong market position.

MEANINGFUL BANKING
Meanwhile, PSBank’s parent firm Metrobank launched yesterday its “Meaningful Banking” communication campaign to signal commitment to serve the evolving needs of its clients.

“Meaningful Banking is Metrobank’s north star as we start on a transformation journey,” Metrobank President Fabian S. Dee said in a press conference Tuesday. “Even we are not yet able to serve them perfectly now, we commit to continuously improve so that we can deliver meaningful banking every step of the way.”

In the near future, Metrobank said it targets to offer new and more relevant products and services to help fulfill their clients’ needs. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

2 great LGBT travel destinations that might surprise you

At Bloomberg Pursuits, we love to travel. And we always want to make sure we’re doing it right. So we’re talking to globe-trotters in all of our luxury fields — food, wine, fashion, cars, real estate — to learn about their high-end hacks, tips, and off-the-wall experiences. These are the Distinguished Travel Hackers.

AMIT PALEY, 37, is head of the Trevor Project, a charity that focuses on at-risk LGBTQ youth. This year the group was one of the five grand marshals for New York’s Pride March, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in addition to welcoming WorldPride to America for the first time.

Before taking his current position, however, Paley logged stints as a McKinsey consultant and a journalist with the Washington Post, where his roles included working as a foreign correspondent based at the newspaper’s Baghdad bureau; his work there was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

His favorite airline is United. “They are actually a huge supporter of the Trevor Project, and they just announced nonbinary-gender booking options. So if you don’t identify as Mr. or Ms., you can identify as Mx., which is a pretty progressive thing to do,” Paley says. He flies about 150,000 miles per year, between his offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and New York; to his fiancé’s hometown of Toronto; and internationally.

Paley and his fiancé, Jonathan, live in New York City.

IN EXTREME TRAVEL SITUATIONS, THINK LOCAL.
“The most important thing I did in a war zone to keep myself safe was to surround myself with people who were local and so had a much better sense [of the situation] than I did. In Iraq, for example, there were a number of people who essentially hired mercenaries from other countries. But at the Washington Post we did not do that — all our security were local Iraqis. There is no substitute for talking to people who actually live in that community, about what their advice and tips would be. That really applies to anywhere you travel in the world.”

DON’T JUST PACK AN ADAPTER — ADD THIS GIZMO TO YOUR TRAVEL ARSENAL, TOO.
“I always try to take multiple chargers, as I have so many devices. But when I was in Iraq, I bought an office extension cord — I forget how long it was, but it felt like it was 100 yards. You could plug it in anywhere. So if you wanted to plug something in to charge it but didn’t want to leave an expensive device somewhere far away, I could use that really long cord. In a hotel context, when I was backpacking in Southeast Asia, the hostel room could meander in weird ways, and I could use that then, too.”

AS A WAR CORRESPONDENT HE UNEARTHED UNLIKELY VACATION DESTINATIONS, LIKE THIS CORNER OF IRAQ.
“I spent time in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq when I was a reporter, and it was a beautiful mountainous area that seemed a world apart from the war-ravaged parts of the country in the south. Actually, it’s relatively safe, and Erbil, for example, is an interesting city to visit. Just walking down the streets you can get a sense of the history there. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in 20 years, it’s visited as much as parts of Southeast Asia that were previously off-limits.”

IF YOU WANT TO PACK EVEN LIGHTER, BORROW ESSENTIALS FROM YOUR HOTEL.
“At the start of my time at McKinsey, I traveled an enormous amount, and I would travel sometimes to the same city every single week for months at a time. When I stayed at the same hotel, I realized they actually had things that I did not need to bring with me, that they would just loan me. For instance, at the Westin Pittsburgh, where I stayed all the time, guests can get a gym pack of shirts, shorts, and socks from the hotel.

ONE LGBTQ DESTINATION THAT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU…
“I love Venice, especially the hotel Ca’ Maria Adele. It has personal importance to me, because it’s where I got engaged to my fiancé. I planned a surprise trip, told him we were going somewhere but didn’t tell him where, then proposed in a gondola. The gondolier that we had was this very, very gruff machismo kind of gondolier, so I was a little nervous about what his reaction would be when I proposed. But he almost kind of shrieked congratulations and wanted to take a million pictures of us. He was such a sweetheart about it. And one more entry in the, you know, don’t judge a book by its cover.”

AND ANOTHER…
“Tel Aviv. My mother is Israeli, and I grew up going to Israel every summer, and to Tel Aviv all the time. But I had never heard anyone in Israel ever talk about LGBTQ people, and I was not out until the end of college. So as an out person, to come back with my fiancé and see how accepting and supportive this city is, it was really inspiring. I wish the younger version of me had known it was such a surprising beacon for LGBTQ people. Almost anywhere you go on the beach in Tel Aviv, I think, you can see them. And there are so many great bars and clubs — I love Shpagat.”

ON HIS POST-GRADUATION CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD TRIP, TWO STATES STOOD OUT — FOR VERY DIFFERENT REASONS.
“After I graduated from school, I had four or five months before I was starting my new job, so I wanted to do a big road trip across the US. The two most surprising things I learned: Utah is the most beautiful state in the union by far, bar none, which I was not expecting. The different parks all look like you’re on a different planet. And I didn’t book hotels ahead of time, just found places the night of. And that worked fine in every place, except one state, the one I would’ve least expected: North Dakota. I literally could not find a place to sleep in the entire state. At that time there was an energy boom in North Dakota, and they had seasonal workers, so they were occupying literally every room. So don’t think that because somewhere is an unpopulated area, or not a heavy tourist destination, that there aren’t other people traveling who might book up every hotel room that exists.”

WORRIED ABOUT MISSING A FLIGHT? BOOK A BACKUP SEAT.
“I used to get to the airport very, very early, but when I started taking 6 a.m. flights to Pittsburgh, that changed. I made a calculation of what the very, very latest I could arrive would be and added 15 minutes of buffer time. I’ve missed flights less times than I can count on a hand. And someone told me this tip: Every single flight they take, they always book a second flight, just in case they miss the first one. It’s expensive, he said, but he always gets to where he’s going on time. At McKinsey, too, if there was ever bad weather, we would book multiple flights in case the one we were on was canceled. If you book an expensive, refundable second seat like that, you can actually cancel it [for free] if you don’t need it. Obviously, that’s a very expensive option, and we work at a nonprofit, so we don’t do that here.” — Bloomberg

What happens when you unexpectedly buy that $20 million painting

PETER DOIG’s The Architect’s Home in the Ravine — SOTHEBY’S

JUST 15 months after Peter Doig’s The Architect’s Home in the Ravine fetched $20 million at Sotheby’s, the landscape was back on the market.

Displayed at the Gagosian booth at Art Basel with an asking price of $25 million, it was one of the most expensive works at the world’s top modern and contemporary art fair last month.

The painting, which has been sold so often one dealer calls it a “frequent flier,” last appeared at Sotheby’s in March 2018 in London, where the auction house used an increasingly common financing technique to reduce its risk. In exchange for a fee of about $1 million, client Abdallah Chatila made an irrevocable bid that ensured the work would sell. No one made a higher offer, and he ended up taking it home.

“It sold twice for the world record for the artist and I believed it would set the record for the third time,” Chatila, 44, a Geneva-based investor, said in a phone interview. “I ended up with it.”

Such outcomes have become more common in the past year as auction houses increasingly turn to third-party investors to place prearranged bids in exchange for a share of the profit from the sale. Expensive works that ended up with their backers include Andy Warhol’s Double Elvis [Ferus Type], which went for $53 million at Christie’s in May, and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Pollo Frito, bought by the guarantor for $25.7 million in November at Sotheby’s.

‘EASY MONEY’
“When the market is going up an up and up, easy money was made on guarantees,” said Thomas Danziger, a partner at Danziger, Danziger & Muro. “Now that the market is not as robust, people end up being the proud owners of the works they didn’t expect to own.”

And like the Doig landscape at Art Basel, which has been offered at auction five times since 2002, an increasing number of works are making the round trip for resale, Danziger said.

A painting of a carpet by Rudolf Stingel, which fetched about $3 million at Christie’s in Hong Kong in 2017, was listed on Sotheby’s website as part of its June 26 contemporary art sale in London. It was estimated at $1.5 million to $2.3 million.

A Christopher Wool painting, spelling the word “FOOL” in big capital letters, which was bought by a guarantor for $14.2 million at Christie’s in 2014, sold in May for $14 million at Sotheby’s.

Lower prices for resales are not uncommon.

‘ONLY BIDDER’
“If these pictures return to the market very soon, people realize that the value is not what the auction prices reflect,” Danziger said. “It’s not a competitive situation. Someone made a bet and ended up being the only bidder.”

For seasoned collectors, guarantees used to be a sure way to get a good deal. They either got the work they wanted at a slightly reduced price, or they received a fee if the painting sold to someone else.

“Guarantees are brilliant if you want to own the work,” said Gabriela Palmieri, who advises collectors, including the Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation in Miami. “Otherwise it’s not worth doing at all. Unless you really know the market of the artist, you are playing with fire.”

Chatila, who also invests in diamonds and real estate, said he’s been guaranteeing art for 10 years. “Last year, the market was slightly softer,” he said. “I ended up buying most of them.”

He said he’s selling The Architect’s Home in the Ravine to buy “another very important painting,” and still thinks he got a good deal on it. “I believe it’s worth much more,” he said. — Bloomberg

Phoenix to amend China Bank trust agreement

PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines, Inc. is asking the consent of the holders of its P1.375-billion fixed rate notes to adopt certain amendments to the trust agreement between the company and China Banking Corp., it told the stock exchange on Tuesday.

“The Proposed Amendment seeks to provide the Company with the flexibility to pursue and capture growth opportunities that will further strengthen its position as the country’s leading independent oil company,” it said.

“With the ongoing expansion of its core operations via roll-out of retail stations nationwide, coupled with the rapid growth prospects of the Company’s subsidiaries, namely PNX Petroleum Singapore Pte Ltd. and Phoenix LPG Philippines, Inc., the Proposed Amendment will allow the Company to strongly support its desired growth trajectory through the aforementioned initiatives,” it added.

Phoenix Petroleum is soliciting the consent of noteholders to amend the trust agreement dated March 16, 2018, between the company and the bank’s trust and asset management group, as trustee and the terms and conditions under which the notes were issued.

Details are set out in the consent solicitation statement that will be made available to the registered noteholders.

The period for the consent solicitation started on July 1 and will end on July 5, 2019. The company said it reserves the right to amend the terms and conditions of the consent solicitation at any time before the expiration date for any reason, including, but not limited to, extending and/or terminating the consent solicitation when the required consents have been obtained.

In March, the listed oil company disclosed that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), along with China’s CNOOC Gas and Power Group Co. Ltd. (CNOOC G&P), to jointly explore business opportunities in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) hub project.

Phoenix Petroleum had said the MoU was signed on Feb. 28, 2019 in Taguig City at the office of Department of Energy and in the presence of Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, who also chairs PNOC.

The MoU signing, which came after a series of engagement talks among the three parties, will allow them to explore and discuss business opportunities and cooperation in relation to the equity investment in Tanglawan Philippine LNG, Inc., the project entity for the LNG project.

On Tuesday, shares in Phoenix Petroleum traded lower by 0.49% to close at P12.10 each. — Victor V. Saulon

RCBC Bankard looking to issue five million cards over 10 years

By Karl Angelo N. Vidal, Reporter

THE CREDIT CARD arm of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) eyes to issue five million cards over the next 10 years, as it sees growth in the non-card debt segment.

Simon Javier A. Calasanz, RCBC Bankard Services Corp. president and chief executive officer, said the firm targets to address the “low” credit card penetration rate in the country — currently at just about four million cardholders — by tapping credit-worthy individuals yet to avail of loans.

“Based on our informal study, about 20 million Filipinos are credit-worthy, and our aim at least over the next 10 years is to issue five million credit cards to those people,” Mr. Calasanz told reporters on the sidelines of RCBC’s annual stockholders’ meeting last week.

He added that the company is looking at the growth in the non-card debt segment or those who still do not have ready access to credit.

“Those are the people we want to issue credit to because these are also the people who currently have no choice to go to the informal lending sector. The informal lending sector charges an arm and a leg in terms of interest rates.”

Mr. Calasanz is optimistic at capturing more clients from this sector even if it is deemed “risky.”

“We entered into that segment fully cognizant of the fact that delinquency might be elevated for that sector. What we did three years ago is we set our risk tolerance threshold. If it exceeds the threshold, it means our test failed, but I’m very happy we are under that risk tolerance threshold even three years into that program,” he said.

In particular, RCBC Bankard put the threshold at 12% of balance delinquency. The delinquency rate for the newly-booked accounts peaked at around seven percent which Mr. Calasanz considers as “healthy.”

“It means the risks we’re taking are fine even for these people without credit history. And because of that, we started expanding to the segment a lot more,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

RCBC Bankard’s approach veers from the strategy of the credit card industry for the past years of issuing cards to people who have existing credit.

“The market was not very credit-inclusive before. So now, even if you do not have a credit card or loan, we’ll still give you a card as long as we can assess your capacity to pay.”

As of end-2018, RCBC Bankard had issued 695,000 credit cards.

Last December, Mr. Calasanz said the company eyes to expand its base by an additional 180,000 cards to end 2019 with a card base of 875,000 by expanding its digital platform.

Mylene J. Bico, RCBC Bankard senior vice president, earlier said the credit card firm will continue to partner with other brands to sustain the growth of its card base.

Australia goes for back-to-back rate cuts, keeps option for more

AUSTRALIA executed its first back-to-back interest-rate cuts in seven years and left the door open for additional easing as policy makers attempt to support a slowing economy and try to rekindle dormant inflation.

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe lowered the key rate by a quarter-point to 1% on Tuesday as expected by money markets and most economists. He is due to address community leaders at an open-air dinner tonight in Darwin, where he is likely to flesh out his thinking on monetary policy and the agenda for the remainder of his visit to the north.

“The RBA hasn’t shut the door on more easing, but further rate cuts will be contingent upon a deviation in growth, labor market and inflation outcomes from the current set of forecasts,” said Sally Auld, a senior strategist for interest rates at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Sydney who expects the cash rate to fall to 0.5% next year. “Still, this is a more dovish statement than we have usually seen after 50 basis points of easing from the RBA in recent years.”

Lowe’s second cut comes as global trade shows more signs of deteriorating, adding to headwinds constraining domestic demand as a slide in property prices discourages household spending. The Aussie dollar gained 0.2% to 69.77 US cents as of 4:08 p.m. Sydney time as futures traders boosted bets the RBA will cut at least once more, though they aren’t confident it will move again until November.

The resumption of trade talks between the US and China and signs that home prices are beginning to stabilize may provide Lowe room to pause as he waits for his monetary stimulus to flow through the economy. Yet the governor left his options open in the event further support is needed.

“The central scenario for the Australian economy remains reasonable, with growth around trend expected,” Lowe said in his post-meeting statement. “The board will continue to monitor developments in the labor market closely and adjust monetary policy if needed to support sustainable growth in the economy and the achievement of the inflation target over time.”

At an international level, manufacturing took another knock at the end of the second quarter, signaling a worsening economic growth outlook that could force the world’s major central banks into action. Investors are pricing in a Federal Reserve rate cut this month and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says the European Central Bank will lower its deposit rate by 20 basis points and restart asset purchases in September.

“The persistent downside risks to the global economy combined with subdued inflation have led to expectations of easing of monetary policy by the major central banks,” Lowe acknowledged today. He last month warned that the likelihood of major jurisdictions easing monetary policy could limit the stimulus generated as not everyone can have a weaker currency.

PROPERTY PRICES
At home, an easing of lending rules combined with the well-flagged prospect of rate cuts may have begun to encourage buyers back into the housing market, with Sydney property prices rising for the first time in almost two years in June. Along with Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s center-right government’s surprise re-election in May — on a platform of tax cuts — the short-term prospects look brighter.

Structural problems remain: the central bank needs annual growth of more than 2.75% in order to soak up spare capacity and drive down unemployment. Lowe has been urging the re-elected government to intensify infrastructure investment and initiate a new round of economic reform to try to lift the economy’s growth potential.

He has argued that the path to lower rates was cleared somewhat by the RBA estimating the new level at which unemployment lifts inflation is about 4.5%, down from the previous 5%.

Lowe is betting that if the jobless rate grinds lower, workers will eventually be emboldened to ask for larger pay rises and price pressures will then flow through to inflation. Price growth has largely stayed below the bottom of the central bank’s target inflation range of 2-3% for the past few years.

The economy Down Under has slowed in recent quarters and is on track for its weakest fiscal year since 1991.

“Consumption growth has been subdued, weighed down by a protracted period of low income growth and declining housing prices,” Lowe said. “Today’s decision to lower the cash rate will help make further inroads into the spare capacity in the economy. It will assist with faster progress in reducing unemployment and achieve more assured progress towards the inflation target.” — Bloomberg

Phinma Energy, PPGI name new directors

PHINMA Energy Corp. and its unit Phinma Petroleum and Geothermal, Inc. (PPGI) have named new directors to take over the seats vacated by their previous owners in line with the takeover by Ayala-led AC Energy, Inc. of the listed energy companies.

Gerardo C. Ablaza, Jr., Jose Rene Gregory D. Almendras, and John Philip S. Orbeta were named directors of the Phinma Energy. Maria Corazon G. Dizon, Augusto Cesar D. Bengzon, and Jaime Urquijo Zobel de Ayala were appointed directors of PPGI.

Their appointment took effect on July 1, 2019, which was also the effective date of the resignation of the previous board members, including Ramon R. Del Rosario, Jr., who chaired both Phinma Energy and PPGI.

The corporate move follows the signing on June 25 of the deed of assignment between Philippine Investment Management (PHINMA), Inc. (PHI) and AC Energy on PHI’s rights, title and interests in the management contract with Phinma Energy.

Phinma Energy expressed its consent to the said assignment of management contract.

On Jan. 9, AC Energy announced that it had signed a “mutually strategic agreement” with Phinma Energy that gives the Ayala company a 51.48% stake in the listed firm for P3.42 billion.

Shares in Phinma Energy fell by 4.90% on Tuesday to P2.33 each, while those of PPGI rose by 0.21% to P4.68 each. — Victor V. Saulon

Arts & Culture (07/03/19)

The Strangers

GOETHE-Institut presets The Strangers.

FOUR performers from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia, in collaboration with dramaturg Julia Hesse from Germany and director Leandro Kees from Argentina, will perform a creative and contemporary take about empathy and antipathy facing cultural differences through a non-verbal theater and dance performance, entitled The Strangers, on July 8 and 9, 6 p.m., at the Black box Theatre, School of Design and Arts, De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, Malate, Manila. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. This dance production is a German-Asian collaboration initiated by the Goethe-Institut Osaka and the ricca ricca*festa Okinawa and presented by the Goethe-Institut and Japan Foundation in Manila. For more information, visit goethe.de/manila.

Biennale Philippine Pavilion curators talk

CURATORS of past Philippine Pavilions — Edson Cabalfin for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, Leandro Locsin Jr. for the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, Joselina “Yeyey” Cruz for the 2017 Venice Art Biennale, and Patrick Flores for the 2015 Venice Art Biennale — will be the featured speakers in a discussion entitled “Global View of Art Practices through Biennales” on July 17 at the Multimedia Room of the De Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD). The sharing of experiences will delve deep into the impact of the Philippine participation in these large-scale international events considering the critiques of biennales in general. Meanwhile, the Spectre of Comparison, showcased at the 2017 Philippine Pavilion at the 57th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy, will be on view at MCAD until July 20.

The MCAD will host a Filipino Sign Language Guided Tour on its on-going exhibit, and back of the house facilities with FSL interpretation, on July 19, 2:30 p.m. For inquiries and tour reservations, call 230-5100 local 3897 or e-mail at mcad@benilde.edu.ph. MCAD is located at DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts Campus, Dominga St., Malate, Manila.

Climate change art exhibit

ALIMANGO by Jimboy Santos

ROBINSONS GALLERIA host an art exhibition that features 11 artists from Malabon. Dubbed as Kulay Kapaligiran by Sining Tambobong, the exhibit is ongoing until July 15 at the Level 3, Veranda at Robinsons Galleria. Participating artists are Ernie Patricio, Lito Fernandez, Erwin Mallari, Eric Mercadol, Sen Lacson, Onio Faraon, Jimboy Santos, Happy Navarro, Val Donadillo, Allen Casacop, and Emerson Casacop. The exhibit showcases the beauty of Malabon with illustrations as to how climate change affects nature. When the climate changes in an area, people, animals and plants have to get used to these changes and alter their lifestyle.

The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale goes to Pampanga

FOR THE first time, the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale will be held in Pampanga from July 12-22. The 24-hour book sale will be held at the LausGroup Event Center in San Fernando. Visitors can expect a wide selection of brand-new English books in various genres with discounts of 50% to 90% off regular prices. Entrance is free. The sale will be bringing in best-seller titles, young adult fiction, romance, science fiction, crime thriller, business, self-help, architecture, design, cooking, children’s fiction, and activity books, among others. The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale will be introducing six new Magic Book or augmented reality (AR) titles which were not available at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Manila 2019 in February. With a total of 12 titles, some of the new titles are Cinderella, Old Macdonald, and the Wheels on The Bus. On July 11, lucky visitors can get a chance to participate in an exclusive VIP Day wherein they can get first dibs on the books, a day before the official start of the Sale. To snag tickets to this exclusive sale, visit the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale’s official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bbwbooksphilippines/ and Instagram at @bbwbooksph for contests and special announcements.

National Children’s Book Day with the CCP

THIS year’s National Children’s Book Day (NCBD) recognizes the best work of children’s book writers, illustrators, and publishers. Additionally, the event celebrates the importance of nurturing our young readers’ curiosity and imagination. The event will be held on July 16, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Little Theater Lobby of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The celebration is highlighted by the PBBY-Alcala and Salanga Awarding Ceremony at 9 a.m. in the Little Theater Lobby. This event will be recognizing the best creators and publishers in children’s literature. In addition, The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) holds the grand opening for its brand new exhibit at the same location. After lunch, the Mulat Sulat 2018 Group will launch five children’s books about LGBT rights at the Little Theater Lobby which will include storytelling and reading of excerpts. Following the launch, Pinoy Kids Read Pinoy Books hosts their Pinoy Kids Celebration. This celebration includes both storytelling and a musical performance, along with various talks. To end the day, 20 kids will go on a tour of the CCP building. The tour will include arts activities, talks, as well as showing off the most important parts of the CCP and its various exhibits. For details contact the CCP Intertextual Division at 551-5959 or 0919-317-5708.

Ballet Philippines in Mindanao, Visayas

BALLET PHILIPPINES goes on an outreach tour of the Visayas and Mindanao.

TO celebrate three milestones, the 50th Anniversary of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and Ballet Philippines (BP), and the 40th year of CCP’s Outreach programs, the CCP through its Cultural Exchange Department brings BP on an outreach tour in selected communities in Mindanao and Visayas. The outreach performances will be held on July 3, 4 p.m., at the RDR Gym in Tagum City; July 5-6, 8 p.m., at the Luce Auditorium, Silliman University in Dumaguete City; and July 9, 3 and 7 p.m., at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod City. Among the pieces to be staged are “Valse Fantasie” restaged by Adam Sage after Muñeca Aponte, “Don Quixote Grand Pas de Deux” after Petipa, “Vision of Fire” by Edna Vida, “Moon” by Kun-Yang Lin, “Sama-sama” by Ronelson Yadao, “Pasayawa Ko Day” by John Ababon, “Bungkos Suite” by Alice Reyes, and “After Whom” by Bam Damian III, and excerpts from Tales of the Manuvu also by Alice Reyes. Aside from the performances, BP, led by Associate Director Ronelson Yadao, will also conduct workshops and lecture demos in Tagum, Dumaguete, and Bacolod. A live feed of the matinee shows will also be arranged exclusively for a chosen public school or underserved local community in each site. For more information, contact the CCP Cultural Exchange Department at 832-3674 and 832-1125 locals 1708-1709.

How PSEi member stocks performed — July 2, 2019

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, July 2, 2019.

 

Budget submission to wait on House leadership struggle

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it will wait for the House of Representatives to select a new Speaker before it submits its 2020 budget proposal.

The previous timeline called for its submission a day before the State of the Nation Address on July 22. “But maybe now we’ll have to wait (because) we need to have very close coordination with Congress. So we need to wait for their leadership (to be named)” if the DBM’s efforts are not to “go to waste,” Janel B. Abuel, DBM officer-in-charge, told reporters in Pasay on Monday.

“After the new Speaker is installed… So everything is more or less crystalized. We’re going to work very fast so that as early as we can, we can submit. Iyon lang (the thing is), it’s really important to know (that) we can work with the leadership,” she added.

The Philippine economy grew 5.6% in the first quarter after the delayed passage of the 2019 budget, holding up government spending.

The budget, which was proposed at P3.757 trillion, was reduced to P3.66 trillion after President Rodrigo R. Duterte vetoed a P95.3-billion allocation for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) after signing it on April 15.

Ms. Abuel said that the DBM is confident in ultimate approval for the budget, but wants to ensure that legislators are duly consulted.

“We’re more positive now. We’re not really fearful but we’re preparing for (a delay) just in case… we don’t want to rush. We want to wait instead of submitting.”

“We want also to at least (have) coordination so that the relationship is better and that the proposed budget will be preserved as much as possible,” Ms. Abuel said.

Asked when she expects the proposed budget to be submitted, Ms. Abuel said, “Within 30 days from SONA, so we have until Aug. 21, but we will not be waiting that long.” — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

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