PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is set to meet with Thai business leaders on the sidelines of the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Bangkok and invite them to do business in the Philippines, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said on Friday.
Malacañang said Mr. Duterte was scheduled to depart for Bangkok Friday afternoon to attend the ASEAN Summit — which is chaired this year by Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha —from June 22 to 23.
In a televised press briefing in Bangkok on Friday morning, Mr. Lopez said there are no deals to be signed at the summit.
“Well, the President is scheduled to meet a group of Thai businessmen, members and basically leaders of the federation of Thai industries, business chambers in Thailand as well as private companies who are in banks, food manufacturing, agriculture or agribusiness, real estate,” Mr. Lopez said.
He said the meeting will be an “open discussion that will basically allow the President to present the Philippines as a very good investment destination.”
He also noted that some of these companies are already operating in the Philippines.
“So, we are basically asking them to be more active and increase their exposures and their investments,” he said.
Mr. Lopez said the President will “assure” the Thai businessmen the “protection of their investments.”
To convince the business leaders, Mr. Lopez said the President will present to them the economic achievements of his administration, including S&P Global Ratings’ recent sovereign credit rating upgrade to BBB+ from BBB and reforms being undertaken like the “liberalization of foreign investment” policies.
He added that Mr. Duterte will also tout the country’s robust economic growth. — ALB
THE TRADE WAR between the United States and China will compel member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to fast-track negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in order to “insulate” the region from the impact of the tensions, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said on Friday.
“It’s precisely the reality right now. That’s the reality…because of this trade tension between the US and China, that compels ASEAN countries as well as the RCEP-participating countries to really fast-track the RCEP [consultations] so that, at least, in this part of the world, we will have this regional free trade agreement that can still improve the trading within the region and somehow be partially insulated from the impact of what’s going on between the US and China,” Mr. Lopez said in a televised news conference in Bangkok on Friday.
Mr. Lopez was in Bangkok to accompany President Rodrigo R. Duterte at the 34th ASEAN Summit from June 22-23.
The 10 member-states of the ASEAN have been trying to conclude negotiations on the RCEP since 2012. This formal agreement also involves free trade with Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.
In a press briefing at the Palace on Monday, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Junever Mahilum-West said there could be discussions on the RCEP during the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok.
She noted that the RCEP has been “gaining importance because of the trade friction between China and the US.”
“We hope that the RCEP would be concluded by this year. We hesitate now to say that we conclude it by the summit, you know, a definite deadline, because when we don’t meet the deadline, then you know our credibility is a little bit questioned. So by this year, we hope that the RCEP [negotiations] would be concluded,” she said.
The areas of negotiations include trade in goods and services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, and dispute settlement, among others. — Arjay L. Balinbin
THE PHILIPPINES is one of the top destinations for exported wheat, soybean cake and meal for market year (MY) 2019/2020, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report.
In its export sales report for the week ending June 13, the USDA noted that exported wheat to the Philippines for the next MY will be at 65,900 metric tons (MT). The country is second to Indonesia with 84,500 MT.
As for soybean cake and meal, the country is the top destination with 55,300 MT, followed by Mexico with 21,900 MT.
In a separate report, the agency said the importation of agricultural commodities like wheat, corn, and rice has helped ease inflation.
“Philippine inflation continued to decline in 2019, mainly because of considerable food and feed grain imports. Although inflation slightly increased to 3.2 percent in May 2019 due to food price adjustments brought about by a mild El Niño, Philippine government planners expect full year inflation to settle within the 2-4 percent target for 2019,” it said.
After peaking at 6.7% in September to October in 2018, inflation eased to 6% in November and 5.1% in December with the arrival of food and feed grain imports.
It further declined to 4.4% in January, 3.8% in February, 3.3% in March, and 3% in April before inching up to 3.2% in May.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said wheat imports in the first quarter grew 21.6% to $543.58 million; corn imports declined 45.7% to $43.09 million; and rice imports increased 165.3% to $473.47 million.
The government has implemented the Rice Tariffication law to help the rice industry by removing quantitative restrictions to imported rice and replacing it with tariffs, which will be used to improve rice production.
The USDA recently noted that the Southeast Asia is expected to be the top wheat importing region in 2018/2019 driven by demand from Philippines, due to typhoons, and Indonesia due to higher food and feed demand. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
MEGAWORLD Corp. is bullish on the growth of the Philippine economy as it commits to spend P300 billion over the next five years to expand its residential, office, retail, and hotel projects.
The listed property developer said it will roll out the programmed spending from 2020 to 2024. It set a capex of P285 billion for the 2014-2019 period. This year alone, Megaworld is set to spend P65 billion for its expansion.
“We are trying to set new targets for 2020 and beyond…It’s going to be quite aggressive given that we’re feeling very bullish with the Philippine economy right now,” Megaworld Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Andrew L. Tan said in a press briefing after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Quezon City yesterday.
About 65% of the five-year capex or P195 billion will be spent for the development of residential projects and investment properties such as offices, lifestyle malls, and hotels. The balance of 35% will be used for land acquisitions.
The company will use internally-generated funds for the capex.
Mr. Tan said they will continue with their usual track of launching two to three townships per year. The company earlier said it will have a total of 30 townships by end-2020, from its current network of 24 estates.
For its mall segment, Megaworld will introduce one major mall and about two to three community malls every year. Major malls typically cover 30,000-50,000 square meters (sq.m.) in gross floor area, while the community malls are usually sized from 10,000-15,000 sq.m.
Megaworld is also expanding its homegrown hotel brands as it looks to open Belmont Boracay, Savoy Mactan, and Grand Westside City in Parañaque. Together with sister firm Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc., Megaworld is on track to hit its target of having 12,000 hotel rooms moving forward.
The company also noted that it currently has 4,700 hectares of land bank under its portfolio. It expects to add another 2,000 hectares by 2020.
“Our existing land bank would be sufficient for the next 10 to 15 years of development,” Mr. Tan said.
The top executive said there are opportunities in areas like the Calabarzon region as Metro Manila’s population becomes densers.
“That’s why we have heavy presence in those areas and we continue to expand those areas. We feel that that will be the next wave…You’ll see new industries or new CBDs (central business districts) opening in those areas as well that’s why we’re making bets on those locations,” Mr. Tan said.
Megaworld grew its net income attributable to the parent by 16% to P3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2019, boosted by a 15% uptick in consolidated revenues to P14.9 billion.
Shares in Megaworld climbed 2.88% or 17 centavos to close at P6.07 apiece at the stock exchange on Friday.
DEL MONTE Pacific Limited (DMPL) swung to profitability in its fiscal year 2019, even as sales fell due to its divestment from its Sager Creek business in the US.
In a regulatory filing, the listed canned fruit manufacturer said net profit attributable to the parent stood at $20.32 million in the fiscal year ending April 2019, versus an attributable loss of $36.49 million in the previous year.
DMPL delivered an 11% decrease in sales to $1.95 billion, 73% of which came from its US unit Del Monte Foods, Inc. (DMFI). The company attributed the decline to “the divestiture of the Sager Creek vegetable business in September 2017, lower volume of retail branded products due to promotion reduction and distribution losses.”
The closure of the Sager Creek business was part of the company’s strategy to improve operational efficiencies and streamline operations. It also shuttered its Plymouth, Indiana tomato production facility in its fiscal year 2018. These resulted to one-off expenses worth $8.5 million.
One-off adjustments from the mentioned divestments were offset by one-off gains worth $13 million from the additional purchase of DMFI’s second lien loan worth $105.5 million at a discount from the secondary market.
Excluding the one-off items, DMPL’s recurring net income stood at $15.8 million, 32% higher than the $12 million it booked in the previous year.
“We have proactively reduced costs within our control amidst headwinds of rising tin prices. We are pleased to deliver a full year net income for DMPL, driven by our results in Asia, while we invest in transforming our US business,” DMPL Chief Executive Officer Joselito D. Campos, Jr. said in a statement.
“We are encouraged by the accelerated pace of innovation and new product launches especially in the United States, taking us into new categories and formats outside the can which is not growing.”
Meanwhile, sales in the Philippines also went down by 4.2% and 8% in peso and US dollar terms, respectively, as the firm transitioned to new distributors in a bid to enlarge and strengthen its distributor network.
“Decline in sales was further driven by unfavorable sales mix in the Philippines and higher direct promotion spending. These were partly offset by price increases implemented across several categories in line with inflation,” the company explained.
Its S&W brand in Asia and the Middle East saw a 19.6% increase in sales of fresh pineapple products in the same period.
Moving forward, the company expects to be profitable in its fiscal year 2020 on a recurring basis.
“The Group will continue to expand its existing branded business in Asia, through the Del Monte brand in the Philippines, where it is a dominant market leader,” the company said.
Shares in DMPL jumped 2.55% or 14 centavos to close at P5.64 each at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia
FILINVEST Land, Inc. (FLI) has paid off its P7-billion bonds earlier this month, it told the stock exchange on Friday.
The Gotianun-led property developer said in a disclosure that it has completed the payment of the seven-year fixed rate bonds that were issued on June 8, 2012.
The bonds, which carried an annual interest of 6.2731%, matured last June 8 and were then paid in full by June 10 through the Philippine Depository & Trust Corp.
FLI earlier said the capital raised from the issuance will be used to partially finance its capital expenditures for 2012. At the time, the company planned to launch P14.5 billion worth of residential units. It was also constructing office buildings for the outsourcing sector in Mandaluyong and Northgate Cyberzone in Alabang.
In a regulatory filing, the company said it has P24.57 billion in long term debt as of March 31, 2019. Aside from the P7-billion bonds that matured this month, FLI also has issuances that will fall due from 2020 until 2023.
FLI booked a net income attributable to the parent of P1.79 billion in the first quarter of 2019, 24% higher year on year, on the back of a 17% increase in gross revenues to P6.83 billion.
Shares in FLI slipped by a centavo or 0.58% to close at P1.72 each at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia
DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Corp. on Friday said it received the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold certification for its DoubleDragon Plaza project in Pasay City.
“DoubleDragon Plaza is designed to have a lasting positive impact on its occupants while promoting renewable clean energy. DoubleDragon upholds a strong sense of corporate social responsibility and always endeavors to build sustainable eco-friendly structures that will blend well with the community and remain productive and relevant in the next 100 years,” Edgar J. Sia II, chairman of DoubleDragon, said in a statement.
LEED is a green building certification by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
Located within DD Meridian Park, DoubleDragon Plaza has a 1,098 solar installation on its rooftop. The buildings use double-glazed glass windows, LED or natural lighting, and has three outdoor garden decks.
The first five office towers are fully leased out, and hosts 20,000 employees. This is still expected to grow to 50,000 by end of 2020, which is seen to fuel the customer base of its DoubleDragon Plaza has numerous restaurants such as Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking, Burger King, J.Co Donuts, Tim Ho Wan, Gerry’s Grill and Islas Pinas. It also has MerryMart Grocery, 7-Eleven and Ministop. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
PHILIPPINE National Bank is set to raise $750 million via 5.25-year fixed-rate senior notes to support lending growth.
The Tan-led bank said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it will return to the offshore bond market this month by issuing dollar-denominated notes to be drawn from its $2-billion medium-term note program.
The 5.25-year debt papers carry a yield of 3.391% and a coupon rate of 3.28%.
Debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service will rate the papers “Baa2,” two notches above the minimum investment grade.
PNB saw overwhelming demand, booking orders totalling $3.25 billion from 240 accounts. In terms of geographic allocation, roughly three-fourths of the notes were allocated to Asia, while the rest went to Europe.
Between June 18 and 20, the bank conducted meetings with investors in Hong Kong, Singapore and London to drum up interest.
The notes will be issued on June 27.
Proceeds of the bonds will be used to support the lender’s loan growth as it shifts its focus on the opportunity brought by the positive growth momentum of the domestic economy.
“The funds we are raising now are going to be used to help fund our growth trajectory. We are totally aligned with the Government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program and the focus on developing infrastructure around the archipelago,” PNB President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso said.
Citigroup, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint lead managers and bookrunners of the transaction.
The bank has been ramping up its fundraising activities this year. From July 3-12, PNB will raise roughly P12 billion via stock rights offer of 276.63 million common shares priced at P43.38 apiece.
PNB said proceeds of that fundraising activity will be used to fund the asset growth of the bank.
In February, the bank also issued P8.22 billion worth of long-term negotiable certificates of deposit for maturity profile extension.
PNB booked a net profit of P1.9 billion in the first quarter, up 30% from the same period last year.
Shares of the bank stood at P49 apiece on Friday, down 50 centavos or 1.01% from Thursday’s finish. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
THE PESO strengthened further against the dollar on Friday to hit a one-year high after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged.
The local unit ended the week at P51.57 versus the greenback, 7.5 centavos stronger than the P51.645-per-dollar finish on Thursday.
This was the peso’s best showing in more than a year or since it closed at P51.48 against the dollar last Feb. 9, 2018.
The peso opened the session stronger at P51.40 against the US currency. It climbed to a high of P51.395 per dollar, while its intraday low was its closing rate.
Dollars traded surged to $1.17 billion from the $829.16 million that changed hands the previous session.
Traders said the peso surged against the dollar after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) kept interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Thursday.
“We saw heavy selling in the morning session…on the back of the MB (Monetary Board) not decreasing rates [on Thursday], which triggered heavy selling of the dollar-peso overnight,” a trader said in a phone interview.
The BSP rates unchanged on expectations of steady inflation and economic growth, and as it monitors the impact of recent monetary adjustments.
At its meeting last May 9, the MB trimmed key rates by 25 basis points. Last month, the BSP also announced the phased reduction of lenders’ reserve requirement ratios to 16% for universal and commercial banks, 6% for thrift banks and 4% for rural and cooperative banks.
“The peso strengthened today after the BSP decided to keep its policy rates steady despite some earlier market expectations of a BSP policy rate cut,” another trader said on Friday.
The first trader added that the dollar recovered in the afternoon session as market participants took profits, closing the session at the local unit’s intraday low. — K.A.N. Vidal
STOCKS continued to climb on Friday as investors repositioned their portfolios following the Financial Times Stock Exchange index (FTSE) rebalancing, alongside the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) decision.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 0.41% or 33.05 points to close at 8,055.47. The broader all shares index likewise advanced 0.75% or 36.43 points to 4,927.81.
“Heavier turnover as a result of the FTSE rebalancing drove investors to realign with their respective portfolios. In addition, these same investors made timely moves after all key central banks, including our own BSP released their latest policy statements,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.
The BSP decided to keep rates steady in their June policy meeting after trading hours on Thursday, citing lower inflation and optimistic domestic growth prospects. The central bank also adjusted its inflation forecast downward to 2.7% from 2.9% in 2019 and 3% from 3.1% in 2020.
Philstocks Financial, Inc. also attributed the market’s performance to results of the latest BSP policy meeting.
“Last-minute buyers erased afternoon losses, lifting the PSEi to 8,055.47 amid steady interest rates,” the company said in a market note.
Regina Capital’s Mr. Limlingan added that sentiment was further boosted by the rally in regional stocks due to the possibility of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve next month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.94% or 249.17 points to 26,753.17, while the S&P 500 index surged 0.95% or 27.2 points to 2,954.18. The Nasdaq Composite index also firmed up 0.8% or 64.02 points to 8,051.34.
Asian stocks however failed to mirror Wall Street’s positivity due to weak manufacturing data from Japan. Nikkei 225 plunged 0.95% or 204.22 points to 21,258.64, while the Hang Seng index shed 0.27% or 76.72 points to 28,473.71. In contrast, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.50% or 14.86 points to 3,001.98.
All sectoral indices closed in positive territory back home. Financials gained 0.78% or 13.62 points to 1,756.86; services went up 0.68% or 11.55 points to 1,703.95; industrial added 0.62% or 72.39 points to 11,849.99; property rallied 0.47% or 20.01 points to 4,324.56; holding firms jumped 0.33% or 24.98 points to 7,693.30, while mining and oil was up 0.18% or 12.75 points to 7,304.10.
Turnover improved to P9.36 billion after some 752.29 million issues switched hands, compared to the previous session’s P6.74 billion.
Advancers outpaced decliners, 109 to 86, while 49 names were unchanged.
Foreign investors were net sellers for the third straight session at P143.98 million, lower than Thursday’s P588.08 million.
In its inaugural run of the Good Design Award Philippines, the Design Center of the Philippines is recognizing outstanding local objects, systems, places, and images addressing social problems to enrich the quality of human life.
“Design is an innovation enabler,” said Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez. “At a time when we face tumultuous changes on every front—from technology to economics, the environment, and our institutions—the role of design becomes increasingly critical. Thus, our efforts will not just support our design industry; it will also push design skills to develop design-driven organizations and innovative industries.”
“The most meaningful designs, creative works, and innovations are those that solve social problems, not just design for design’s sake,” he said. “We want to promote a culture of design and innovation that can serve as higher-value services that our country can be known for.”
Good Design Award Philippines is a national design excellence recognition system that aims to promote design as a key tool in developing and providing solutions to social challenges as well as strengthen the country’s global competitiveness and increase its innovative quotient. This system is in support of AmBisyon Natin 2040 through the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.
Design Center Executive Director Maria Rita O. Matute says the Good Design Award Philippines adds more value to design as a driver of economic growth and innovation. It pushes for design excellence that is impact-driven, providing design solutions that address human needs and societal challenges to protect future generations and secure a more livable society for them.
“We envision Good Design Award Philippines to be one of the platforms through which Design Center nurtures the Philippines’ culture of design excellence,” Matute explains. “Aside from
Malasakit as a PH brand of design excellence
With the creative industries, particularly the design sector, steadily emerging as a driver of national competitiveness, the Philippines’ neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region likewise invest in their respective design industries, encouraging a prolific design culture by recognizing good design across sectors.
“What the Good Design Award Philippines brings to the fore of the global design industry is the Philippines’ unique approach to design excellence,” Matute remarks. “The Philippines is a nation with innate creativity; we are malikhain by nature. But what really sets Philippine design apart is the malasakit that is embodied in our design solutions, whether it be a product, place, image or system.”
Malasakit, or closely translated in English as compassion, is the sympathetic consciousness of the distress of others and acting to alleviate it. Matute points out that the Good Design Award Philippines boldly puts this specific Philippine value as an additional pillar to the traditional parameters of good design—innovation, form, and function.
Matute cites as examples the four homegrown products and service that were recognized in Japan’s Good Design Award-ASEAN Design Selection in 2018.
Make a Difference (MAD) Travel offers social tourism tour packages that afford Aeta communities in San Felipe, Zambales sustainable living while tackling SDGs 1, 2, and 3 on No Poverty, Zero Hunger and Good Health and Well-being. Moreover, MAD Travel encourages tourists and guests to aid in their goal of planting a 3,000 hectare forest, which is in line with SDGs 13 and 15 on Climate Action and Life on Land.
Red Palm Ventures’ banana stalk wallpapers is geared towards the empowerment of women in a community in San Pablo, Laguna through livelihood, and addresses Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 on Responsible Production and Consumption through the optimal use of banana stalks.
Likewise, Bambike’s Bambino balance bike reinforces SDG 12 as well through the use of the highly abundant bamboos in their production, and SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth by providing livelihood to the Bambuilders (bamboo builders) of a Gawad Kalinga Community in Victoria, Tarlac.
Malasakit as a mark of good design
The Good Design Award Philippines has its criteria the principles of good design–innovativeness, form, and functionality—plus malasakit, which will be evaluated based on design solution’s impact on the 17 SDGs listed by the United Nations. The inclusion of malasakit in the criteria carry the Philippine value beyond simply a quality of Philippine good design; it shows how local innovations can also impact on global challenges. From a community level of compassion, Philippine design sees itself committed as well to developing solutions on a much larger perspective.
Matute expounds that perceiving Philippine design in a wider picture adds to the commitment of nurturing a culture of design excellence in the country. “By understanding that design impacts a bigger cause than one’s self or one’s community, you would naturally want to come up with the best ideas and solutions because you become responsible to a larger matter.”
The Good Design Award accepts entries from Philippine-registered enterprises, designers, and creatives from both private and public sectors with fully realized and/or executed products or systems in the design disciplines of object making (furniture, furnishing, décor; fashion accessories; mobility; and material innovation); image making (packaging, and communication); place making (architecture, and interior architecture); and service/system design.
Winners will be evaluated in a two-step screening process by a jury composed of thirteen interdisciplinary and industry-respected individuals, including the private sector representatives of the Design Advisory Council (DAC).
Winning entries can be awarded the Good Design Philippines Red and Gold Awards based on the judging criteria, while the Good Design Philippines Green Award will recognize the entry with the most impact on SDGs related to environment and sustainability. The Grand Prix for Good Design Award Philippines is the Orange Award, and it will be awarded to the design that makes the greatest impact and contribution to the attainment of the United Nations SDGs.
Entries can be submitted until 15 August 2019. For more information on Good Design Award Philippines, please visit their website here.
“EVERY country has its grand canvas… the so-called masterpiece that hangs in a hallowed hall and sums up the national identity for generations to come,” said Count Rostov, the main character in A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. If this is true, that might be Luna’s Spoliarium for this country, and your guess is as good as mine as to what that says about us as a nation. In the case of literature, we’ll have Dr. Jose Rizal’s novels, the Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo to look to, and that’s subject to your interpretations as well.
Speaking of interpretations, Noli me Tangere was adapted as an opera in 1957, with music and libretto by National Artists Felipe Padilla de Leon and Guillermo Tolentino. The opera had a run at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) last March, and will run again this weekend until June 23.
The opera is produced by J&S Productions Inc. Executive Producer Edwin Josue told BusinessWorld that they decided to produce the opera again “Because of the clamor for a rerun from the millennials. And also, the CCP. So it fit that it should be part of the pre-50th year (celebration) of the CCP.”
The rerun also lands near the birthday of National Hero and Noli author Jose Rizal, but Mr. Josue says that that was just a matter of the venue’s availability.
The production this weekend will see new artists joining the cast (such as a new Maria Clara, Mehco Manlangit). Mr. Josue also says that the set has been improved.
BusinessWorld sat through a dry run of the opera this week, and while the new LED screens for the Noli opera didn’t work quite as well at the beginning, leading to a delay, when they finally got it up and running, it looked like a pure work of art, especially in the scenes in Maria Clara’s bedroom, where magnified capiz windows and a giant vision of the Virgin Mary looms over her and highlights her despair.
The costumes are also brilliant, and Maria Clara’s costumes, especially the gown worn when fishing and her peignoir, are a study in Filipiniana frou-frou. Class, an important factor in the novel, was highlighted through the costumes — speaking of which, while the Dona Victorina role is mostly silent, she’s a presence onstage with several costume changes and geisha makeup approaching the grotesque.
As for the singing: Bianca Lopez’s Maria Clara displays a rich and refined coloratura soprano, but her voice achieves the fragility and depair needed for the character in the second act. Furthermore, she embodies pathos almost completely, and her sickly and weak movements makes her seem inhabited by the ghost of despair itself. The parts of Elias and Basilio are rousing, and the voice of that evening’s Basilio, played by Miguel Suarez, has a quality made for crying (or singing telenovela theme songs). I would argue as well that Bernadette Mamauag’s Sisa is the best singer in this production after Maria Clara, and her vocal acrobatics as she descends into madness need to be heard.
It’s a fine work, and puts the novel in better context.
It’s surprising to note that the rerun was prompted by a desire on the part of young people, and of this Mr. Josue says, “I think the purchasing power of the Filipino has improved. People have gone out and watched Broadway shows all over. Coming back to the Philippines, they’re more hungry now to see more Filipino things.”
An art exhibit titled Ang Sampung Pangarap ni Rizal, which features the artworks of the Pasig Art Club members and other guest artists, will be on display on media partner BroadwayWorld.com. Part of the proceeds will go to 10 different youth organizations and groups, which include Tanghalan Mandaluyong, Natasha Goulbourn Foundation, Soup Kitchen of Pasig, Phil-Asia Assistance Foundation, Gota de Leche, Pasig Catholic College Center for Culture and Arts, Sagip Batangpalengke, Teach Peace Build Peace Movement, San Pablo Apostol of Tondo Youth Ministry, and Hospicio de San Jose. To buy tickets, call 0915-593-4777, 0947-168-1714 or the CCP Box Office at 832-3704/06, or visit https://ticketworld.com.ph/.
