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Smart to expand LTE coverage in Palawan

THE wireless unit of PLDT, Inc., Smart Communications Inc., is ramping up its long term-evolution (LTE) network in Palawan as it sees increased tourism in the island.

The telecommunications network said in a statement Tuesday it is rolling out more cell sites and is expanding its LTE coverage in Puerto Princesa, El Nido, San Vicente and Coron this year.

“Since Smart began connecting the islands with LTE last year, and as more customers shift to mobile data and upgrade their devices to LTE, the telco recorded an increase in the number of LTE users in the province,” the company said.

The expansion of Smart in Palawan is part of the company’s bigger plan to bring its LTE technology to more locations in the Philippines.

The improved LTE network in Palawan is also expected to help businesses in the island by allowing them to bring their offers online.

“These upgrades also benefit residents, resort operators and tour operators, whose businesses continue to flourish as more tourists come to Palawan amid the improvement of connectivity and mobile data experience,” Gia C. Palafox, PLDT-Smart vice-president and head of Customer Development for the National Capital Region and Palawan, was quoted as saying.

PLDT is allocating a record P78.4 billion for capital expenditures in 2019, a huge chunk of which will be dedicated to improving its network and information technology platforms.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Denise A. Valdez

Max’s sells stake in QC hotel operator

MAX’S Group, Inc. (MGI) has completely divested from its hotel venture as part of efforts to focus on its core restaurant business.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the listed casual dining restaurant operator said it has sold its entire equity interest in Room Ventures Corp. (RVC), the owner and operator of Meranti Hotel in Quezon City.

Meranti Hotel opened in 2015 with a total of 59 rooms. The 12-storey hotel was MGI’s only venture in the hospitality business.

“Our decision to divest from Room Ventures Corp. represents another step in our efforts to make MGI more streamlined, cost effective, and focused on its core business,” MGI President and Chief Executive Officer Robert F. Trota said in a statement.

MGI has been enhancing efficiencies in its operations to improve its profitability. It is also focusing on growing its store network with the addition of 80 stores this year. The company currently has 706 branches, 59 of which are located in North America, the Middle East, and Asia.

The group’s portfolio includes Max’s Restaurant, Yellow Cab Pizza, Pancake House, Krispy Kreme and Jamba Juice, among others.

The company is also constructing a P1-billion manufacturing and distribution center in Cavite to support its future expansion.

MGI grew its net income by 17.6% in the first quarter of 2019, as the company benefited from its strategic shift to franchising and other cost stabilization efforts. Net income reached P146 million in the first three months of the year following a 4.2% rise in revenues to P3.4 billion. — Arra B. Francia

Gov’t raises P20B from 10-year Treasury bonds

THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of reissued 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bond) on offer on Tuesday amid overwhelming demand as investors positioned ahead of the first tranche of cuts in banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRR).

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P20 billion as planned from its T-bond offer yesterday after receiving tenders amounting to P65.84 billion, more than thrice the amount it wanted to offer.

The 10-year debt notes, which carry a coupon of 6.875%, fetched an average rate of 5.644%, 31 basis points lower than the 5.954% fetched when the bonds were last offered on April 11.

At the secondary market, the 10-year IOUs were quoted at 5.65% yesterday, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates.

Following the auction, Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said the BTr saw “great” results as the bond offering was thrice oversubscribed, with the rate also declining.

“This is basically positioning, I think, in anticipation of the first cut by the end of the week, so obviously there is ample liquidity in the system,” Mr. Sta. Ana told reporters yesterday.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will slash the RRR of lenders by a percentage point effective May 31 to 17% for universal and commercial banks, 7% for thrift banks, and 4% for rural and cooperative banks.

The central bank has said that a percentage point cut in big banks’ RRR will unleash P90-100 billion into the financial system, while another P22 billion is seen to be released due to a 100-basis-point cut in the reserve ratios of smaller lenders.

“They are opting to park funds in government securities. Of course we cannot deny the fact that the inflation environment is very much contained at this point. That’s where the demand is coming from,” Mr. Sta. Ana added.

Looking ahead, he added that there is “strong case” for further reductions in interest rates.

“That is what Treasurer Lea (Rosalia V. De Leon) has been saying all along, because of easing inflation, there’s injection of liquidity, so there could be some further decline in rates,” Mr. Sta. Ana noted.

Sought for comment, Robinsons Bank Corp. trader Kevin S. Palma said the market continued to show appetite for bonds as reflected in the very strong subscription.

“The strong turnout and lower average yield may be attributed to how the BSP acted with conviction with regards to the RRR and policy rates,” he said.

“The local bond market continued to shadow US Treasury yields which dropped to lowest levels since 2017 amidst the US and China dispute.”

The government plans to borrow P315 billion from the domestic market this quarter, broken down into P195 billion in Treasury bills and P120 billion in T-bonds.

It is looking to borrow some P1.189 trillion this year from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which is expected to widen to as much as 3.2% of the country’s gross domestic product. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Bayer Crop Science partners with DA office to boost hybrid rice production

BAYER CROP Science partnered with the Department of Agriculture Regional Office XII (DA-RFO XII) to implement a pilot project aimed at boosting the hybrid rice production of farmers in North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani, and Sultan Kudarat.

Under the memorandum of agreement (MoA), Bayer Crop Science and DA-RFO XII will implement the project that will use Arize Hybrid Rice seeds in over 10,000 hectares of rice farms in Mindanao.

Both parties will deploy field technicians to help the rice farmers. The farmers will also undergo rice production training through the Bayer Agri-Academy.

“This is the first-of-its-kind among our projects with the Department of Agriculture. By formalizing our partnership, we convey our commitment to join hands with the government to improve the region’s rice productivity,” Iiinas Ivan Lao, Bayer Crop Science country commercial lead, said in a statement.

According to Bayer Crop Science, the average yield of inbred rice farmers is around four metric tons, while hybrid rice seeds can potentially increase yield by six to eight metric tons. The adoption rate for hybrid rice remains low in the region.

“More than ever, we need to collaborate with the Department of Agriculture to ensure the project’s success. The support of DA-RFO XII and the local government units of the provinces involved will create a significant impact to the farming communities in the region,” Recher Ondap, head of seeds at Bayer Crop Science, said.

Mr. Ondap said the project will allow farmers to increase their yield by 20%.

Planting season will start in May or June and will end by September. At the end of the season, farmers who have harvested more than five metric tons of hybrid rice will be honored as top yielders in their areas. This would allow them to qualify for the DA’s annual Gawad Saka Awards.

Security Bank names Vohra as new president

SECURITY BANK Corp. has named its new president and chief executive officer effective next semester after its current head announced his retirement.

In a statement on Tuesday, Security Bank said its board of directors named Sanjiv Vohra as the new president and CEO of the bank effective July 1, subject to regulatory approvals.

Mr. Vohra was designated as the new bank chief as Security Bank’s current head Alfonso L. Salcedo, Jr. will be retiring from his post.

“With the appointment of Sanjiv Vohra, the bank is manifesting the institution’s commitment to professionalism and to bringing in leaders who not only understand the Philippine market but the global markets as well,” Security Bank Chairman Alberto S. Villarosa was quoted as saying in the statement.

“The banking business is truly becoming globalized and cross-border transactions, partnerships and alliances are now becoming the new normal.”

Prior to his new post, Mr. Vohra served as the managing director, head of global corporate banking (Asia and Oceania) and co-head of investment banking (Asia and Oceania) of MUFG Bank, Ltd., Security Bank’s strategic partner.

Before his MUFG stint, he also held senior leadership positions at Citibank Philippines and was its country head for eight years.

“The bank has made all the right moves in these last few years,” Mr. Vohra said. “I believe that Security Bank is in a very good position to take advantage of the growing domestic market while making the most out of the synergies available through its strategic alliances, including the partnership with MUFG.”

Incumbent president and CEO Mr. Salcedo will step down from his post after taking the helm of Security Bank from 2015 to 2019. He will remain as director of the bank and will chair its executive committee.

Sought for comment on the appointment of Mr. Vohra, Mr. Salcedo said in a text message: “Excellent choice.”

Meanwhile, Security Bank Director Rafael F. Simpao will also be retiring from his post effective June 30 and will become a senior adviser to the board. Mr. Simpao served as the company’s president and CEO from 1995 to 2004, and as its director since 1995.

Security Bank posted a net income of P2.38 billion in the first quarter of the year, up 1.5% versus year-ago level.

The bank’s shares closed at P171.10 apiece on Tuesday, dropping P2.70 or 1.55% from the previous day’s finish. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

CAAP turns over P3.5 billion in dividends to national government

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said it turned over to the national government its highest dividend in history in 2018, as it increased its net income after the installation of a Communications, Navigation, Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system last year.

In a statement Tuesday, the airport regulator said it remitted P3.5 billion in dividends to the national government in 2018, 8% higher than the P3.2 billion dividends it remitted in 2017.

CAAP said its dividend payable for 2018 was supposed to be P958.6 million, but it “reported an excess cash of P2.55 billion, and deemed it appropriate to increase the dividend payment to P3.5 billion while still maintaining its economic viability.”

In a phone interview with BusinessWorld, CAAP Spokesperson Eric B. Apolonio said the higher remittance is largely due to an increase in fees and charges that the agency collected after installing a CNS/ATM system in January last year.

He said the CNS/ATM system allowed the CAAP to monitor all aircraft movement in Philippine airspace, therefore letting it charge airlines that fly over the country but do not necessarily land on Philippine grounds.

“Mag-i-increase talaga ’yung excess cash natin dahil ’yung overfly, nade-detect na ngayon lahat. May billing and charges ’yan lahat. Dumaan ka lang sa airspace ng Philippines, you have to be billed [Our excess cash increased because we can now detect overflies. There’s billing and charges for all of those. Just pass through the airspace of the Philippines, you have to be billed],” Mr. Apolonio said.

The CNS/ATM system aims to help reduce congestion in the country’s airspace and improve air traffic management safety.

Mr. Apolonio also noted CAAP also collected higher fees and charges last year such as filing fees, parking fees, and those related to aircraft touchdown and takeoff.

“Diba ’yung air travel nag-increase. It goes without saying na ’yung airport fees, ’yung travel terminal fees, (tataas dahil) magbabayad lahat ng pasahero [Since air travel increased, it goes without saying that airport fees, travel terminal fees also rise because all passengers pay],” he said.

Total passenger traffic in 2018 grew 10% to 54.14 million from 49.18 million the year prior.

“The flying public can be assured that while we remain keen on making our airspace safe, we shall continue to be honest and judicious in our fiscal functions,” CAAP Director General Jim C. Sydiongco said.

People’s Bank of China adds liquidity as regional bank seizure ratchets up stress

THE PEOPLE’S Bank of China injected 150 billion yuan on Monday and Tuesday. — WIKIPEDIA.ORG

THE PEOPLE’S Bank of China (PBoC) is acting to increase the supply of short-term funding to banks after the seizure of a regional lender rattled domestic markets.

China’s central bank injected a net amount of 150 billion yuan ($21.7 billion) through open-market operations on Monday and Tuesday, the most since the week ended March 8. Regulators announced Friday that they will take control of Baoshang Bank Co. citing “serious” credit risks, fueling worries of failures elsewhere and driving up funding costs.

The benchmark 7-day repo rate rose further Tuesday to the highest in more than a month, in spite of the central bank’s efforts to calm interbank markets. The jitters set off by the Baoshang case also focus scrutiny on whether the central bank will cut the amount of reserves lenders need to hold sooner rather than later, as tax season, bond sales and maturing policy operations drain cash from the banking system.

“The Baoshang incident has made investors question the quality of similar assets and tightened interbank funding,” said Liu Peiqian, Asia strategist at Natwest Markets Plc in Singapore.

About 2.9 trillion yuan are due to be drained from China’s banking system between June and August, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Without rising stress in the banking system, the PBoC’s preferred course of action would be to keep extra liquidity provision to a minimum, with the government’s debt campaign and the vulnerability of the yuan in mind. A broad cut to the reserve-ratio runs the risk of sending a stronger easing signal than is warranted, depressing the currency.

Nevertheless, if markets are still unstable into June then a cut in the amount of money that some banks have to park in reserves would become a more likely way for the central bank to ease liquidity fears, Liu said.

The PBoC has increased the amount and frequency of open market operations in the wake of the Baoshang case, and it’s likely to keep injecting short-term funding if money market liquidity remains tight, said David Qu, an economist at Bloomberg Economics in Hong Kong.

“The central bank shouldn’t and can’t try to wipe out market volatility entirely,” but what it can do is just make sure there won’t be any credit crunch, he said, adding he expects the central bank to cut reserve-requirement ratios as soon as the second quarter due to the slowing economy, trade tensions and rising loan maturities. — Bloomberg

Virgin Lab Fest turns 15

HAVING staged 257 new works by young playwrights and directors since its beginning in 2005, the Virgin Labfest, an annual theater festival which focuses on unpublished, untried, and unstaged one-act plays, returns for its 15th year in June.

Virgin Labfest (VLF), which was initiated by Writer’s Bloc and Tanghalang Pilipino, will run from June 19 to July 7 at various venues in the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex.

“They (the audience) are willing to risk and [take] part in the experience, going out on a limb in terms of what kind of stories they might get,” CCP Vice-President and Artistic Director Chris Millado said at the press launch on May 22, describing the festival’s appeal to audiences.

With the theme “Titibok-tibok” (Pulsating), this year’s VLF will present 12 one-act plays which have been selected and curated from 207 manuscripts which were submitted as entries. Three plays from last year’s festival will also be revisited. There will also be staged readings.

THE PLAYS
The plays are grouped in sets which are shown successively, as are the staged readings.

The plays in Set A are Fangirl, written by Herlyn Alegre and directed by Charles Yee; Huling Hiling Ni Darling, written by Raymund Barcelon and directed by Ricardo Magno; and Isang Gabi Ang Buwan ay Hila-Hila ng Gula-Gulanit na Ulap, written by Ryan Machado and directed by Paolo O’Hara.

Set B features Unreachable Star, written by Layeta Bucoy and directed by Mara Marasigan; Anak Ka Ng, written by UZ Eliserio and directed by Maynard Manansala; and Wanted: Male Boarders, written by Rick Patriarca and directed by George De Jesus.

Set C features The Bride and The Bachelor, written by Dingdong Novenario and directed by Topper Fabregas; Surrogate, written by Dennis Teodosio and directed by Roobak Valle; and A Family Reunion, written by Anthony Kim Vergara and directed by Ian Segarra.

Set D’s lineup is composed of Ang Pag-Uulyanin ni Olivia Mendoza, written by Rolin Migyuel Obina and directed by Phil Noble; Larong Demonyo, written by Nicolas Pichay and directed by Jose Estrella; and Wala Nang Bata Dito, written by Sari Saysay and directed by Tanya Lopez.

The three revisited plays from last year’s VLF make up Set E. These are Allan Lopez’s River Lethe, directed by Chris Martinez; Carlo Vergara’s Edgar Allan Hemingway, directed by George De Jesus III; and Dustin Celestino’s Mga Eksena sa Buhay ng Kontrabida, directed by Roobak Valle.

For the featured staged readings, Sets A and B, named “Once They Were Virgins,” consist of the first works by known playwrights. Sets C and D feature new works.

Set A is made up of Jun Lana’s Rated X, directed by Dennis Marasigan, and Chris Martinez’s Freshman, directed by Kanakan Balintagos. Set B features by Liza Magtoto’s Pagsasarili, directed by Olive Nieto, and Chris Millado’s Intermedyo, directed by Baha Vergara.

Set C’s lineup is composed of Ang Pagbabalik at Paglisan, written by Karl Caminade and directed by Bong Cabrera; Multiverse, written by Juliene Mendoza and directed by Fitz Betana; and Mula Kina Cain at Abel, written by Mikaela Regis and directed by Yong Tapang.

Set D’s lineup is composed of Ang Pamabasang Impyerno ng Republika ng Pilipinas, written by Andrew Estacio and directed by Sari Saysay; Lit, written by Emmanuel Feliciano and directed by Eric Villanueva dela Cruz; and Mema, written by Joey Paras and directed by Chunchi Cabasaan.

In addition, a Playwright Fair will be held on June 29 at the CCP’s Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino Lobby where the audience may interact with playwrights and buy their works.

VLF GOES ‘EXTRA’
For the first time, the festival will travel out of Manila to explore talented playwrights and directors in other regions around the country.

The festival will be called the Extra Virgin Labfest and will carry the theme “Unang Puga” which will be held on Nov. 20 to 23 at the XU Little Theater in Cagayan de Oro’s Xavier University.

Regional festival director Hobart P. Savior said that the idea of bringing the festival to provinces was a suggestion he addressed to playwrights Rody Vera and Layeta Bucoy during a Sulat Dula workshop of Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts (XCCA).

As XCCA director at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, Mr. Savior observed that most of the plays showcased in Cagayan De Oro and nearby provinces are adaptations of western material. With the introduction of the theater festival in Mindanao, he hopes to “test the vitality of directors and also to formalize a stable of actors who could really put forward the culture of one act play or theater in Mindanao.”

Mr. Savior’s team recently gathered 10 manuscripts for evaluation but they are looking for more. The submission of entries for the Extra Virgin Labfest has been extended until June 30. Interested parties may send their plays by e-mail to Hobart Savior at hsavior@xu.edu.ph with the subject “EVLF Submission.”

VLF tickets are available at the CCP Box Office and TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999). For ticketing information, call the CCP Marketing Department at 832-3706 or 832-3704 or e-mail the Sales and Promotions Division at ccpsalesandpromo@gmail.com. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Sta. Lucia Land sets three-year capex at P20 billion

STA. LUCIA Land, Inc. (SLI) has allotted P20 billion in capital expenditures (capex) over the next three years, in a bid to expand its residential and commercial properties in the country.

In a statement Tuesday, the listed property developer said about P16 billion of the capex will be used for projects in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Batangas, Iloilo, Pangasinan, Palawan, Cebu, and Davao.

This will support its plan to launch 28 new residential and commercial projects, as well as five condominium and hotel projects that could generate up to P20 billion in reservation sales.

The company’s new residential projects in Metro Manila include Sotogrande Fairview and Acropolis Loyola in Quezon City, and Orchard Towers in Pasig City.

In Luzon, SLI will be developing Green Peak Heights Phase 3 and Sta. Lucia Residences in Rizal, Aquamira at Saddle and Rockville in Cavite, Golden Meadows Phase 2D in Laguna, Colinas Verdes Expansion in Bulacan, Woodside Garden Village in Pangasinan, and Ponte Verde de Sto. Tomas and Yanarra Seaside Residences in Batangas.

Meanwhile, its projects in Visayas and Mindanao include Metropolis in Iloilo, Valle Verde in Cebu, and Ponte Verde Phase 2 in Davao.

For the leasing segment, SLI said it will soon complete the Sta. Lucia Business Center, a six-storey office and commercial building that offers more than 14,000 square meters of gross leasable area. The project stands inside the Sta. Lucia Mall complex, and will bring the firm’s total GLA to over 150,000 sq.m.

The remaining P4 billion out of SLI’s capex will be spent for future land acquisitions.

The company earlier said it will be applying for additional credit lines with the Bank of Commerce and Maybank Philippines, Inc. at P250 million and P200 million, respectively.

SLI’s net income attributable to the parent grew 28% to P338.48 million in the first quarter of 2019, driven by a 30% uptick in gross revenues to P1.27 billion.

Shares in SLI climbed 0.53% or one centavo to close at P1.91 each at the stock exchange on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia

InLife targets P1 billion in premiums from Mindanao

INSULAR LIFE wants to triple its first-year premiums in Mindanao by end-2019.

DAVAO CITY — Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd. (InLife) is looking at tripling its first-year premiums in Mindanao by the end of this year to P1 billion from about P333 million in 2018.

“To help us reach our target, we are increasing our effort to recruit more financial advisors and agency leaders, coupled with intensified training for new and existing members of the sales force,” the company said in a statement sent to BusinessWorld, noting the economic growth in the country’s southern islands.

Last year, Mindanao recorded an overall gross regional domestic product growth of 7.1%, according to the National Economic and Development Authority.

To attract more clients, InLife said it is also improving its “product solutions by giving more options for the public to choose the best plan that would suit their personal protection needs as well as improve their financial security.”

The company has also “improved the customer’s experience by using the digital platform.”

“We have made purchasing life insurance as seamless as possible, with the use of our pioneering Automated Underwriting System which can process more than a thousand insurance applications in a day,” it said

It has installed automated systems “to give the customers, through online access, the power to retrieve information regarding their policy/ies, perform certain changes, and avail of services, 24/7, anywhere they may be. “

Aside from technological innovations, the company has also maintained physical presence in the cities of Davao, General Santos, Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro, and Ozamis.

“These buildings are proof of InLife’s commitment to Mindanao and its people,” it added.

The company currently has about 30,000 policyholders in Mindanao, representing 13% of its nationwide customer base. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

‘Paradise Found’ opens Salcedo Auction’s new space

SALCEDO Auctions will hold its inaugural auction at its new headquarters at NEX Tower along Ayala Avenue in Makati on June 1.

“We were waiting for a space like this to come up. We decided that this is the appropriate space for us,” Salcedo Auctions director Richie Lerma told BusinessWorld at the auction preview on May 25.

This weekend’s auction, called “Paradise Found,” is symbolic of finding a new space and a new place for treasured items.

“‘Paradise Found’ came from the idea that everything that is sold through the auctions are pieces of a person’s personal paradise,” Salcedo Auctions Marketing Communications Head LA Consing Lopez told BusinessWorld, discussing the auction’s theme. She added that the items are usually someone’s personal treasure, family heirloom, or a favorite piece of artwork.

The 500-square meter gallery with frontage along Ayala Avenue will function as a showroom, sale room, and exhibition space.

UP FOR AUCTION
The auction consists of 210 lots, the highlights of which include Rodel Tapaya’s painting Baston ni Kabunian, Bilang pero di Mabilang which depicts Philippine folklore and tradition (the piece won the 2011 APB Foundation Signature Art Prize in Singapore), Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo’s Rooftop in Paris (1890), Jorge Pineda’s depiction of a rice field before harvest (1929), and Lao Lianben’s Man of Few Words (2008). Also up for sale are works by Filipino artists Alfredo Esquillo, Jr., Buen Calubayan, and Jigger Cruz

Rare antique furniture including a rare 19th century all-kamagong wardrobe; an escritio with a chest of drawers made of dark kamagong and narra wood, with carabao bone inlays; a 19th century Hepplewhite-style Baliuag altar table from the collection of Rony and Nini Jorge; and a pair of late-18th century molave pillars from Bohol, are also among the auction peices. There will also be heirloom jewelry and timepieces by Patek Philippe, Breguet, IWC, and Jaeger-Lecoultre.

The “Paradise Found” auction will be held on June 1, 2 p.m., in the new showroom at the Ground D Podium Levels, NEX Tower, 786 Ayala Ave., Makati City. The online catalogue is available at www.salcedoauctions.com. The auction items are on public viewing at the Podium Level of the NEX Tower daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until May 31. For inquiries, e-mail info@salcedoauctions.com or call 659-4094, 823-0956, or 0917-894-6550. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Remember the past

By Craig Scharlin

Book Review
Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the
Battle of Manila
By James M. Scott
Published by W. W. Norton & Company
640 pages

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

— George Santayana

JAMES SCOTT’s well researched, moving and emotionally written book Rampage does a unique service for the Filipino people. Perhaps for the first time it allows them to remember and honor those who died from the horrors of the War and, specifically the battle of Manila, in a mature and nuanced way. It allows them to share this experience with the rest of the world, an experience most outsiders have had little understanding of and which Scott’s book goes a long way to finally explain. Unlike other peoples, places, cities around the world who have been able to share and memorialize the “rampages” that came down upon them during World War II, the same can not be said of the people of Manila.

One can view memorials to the fallen in many major cities that suffered during the war, documentaries and movies made, essays and books written about. There’s an old saying, “if it wasn’t written it didn’t happen.” Far too little has been written to bring notice to Filipinos and Americans and recognition shown to the city of Manila that suffered equally if not more than the others. James Scott’s book does a commendable job in bringing back those horrendous memories, in memorializing the tragic events, because once a memory is lost, it is gone forever.

But exactly why did this happen, who was responsible? These important inquiries beg for a more serious investigation. Of course the conclusions are not always black and white and it is no easy task to expose the myths of war and show the extent of suffering and loss on all sides.

It is important that what something like Scott’s book accomplishes should not have only the effect of allowing Filipinos and Americans to memorialize the tragedies of those lost during the battle of Manila, but in so doing not challenge the very reasons that it happened. That can possibly block the path to a fuller understanding and then hopefully a more positive future. If more serious questions as to why and how the events happened are not asked and attempted to be answered then Filipinos, then, like all those who don’t learn from the lessons of the past, they will only be doomed to repeat them.

To get at the question of who was responsible for the horrendous destruction of life and property in the Battle of Manila, the author, in this reader’s estimation, only starts to get at the truth. Considering the length and breadth of his work, he seems to have barely scratched the surface of a broader investigation.

The chapter heading quotes listed below from Scott’s book enumerate in mind-boggling detail horrors committed by the Japanese upon the citizens of Manila. But these accounts leave as much unanswered as they reflect on the cruelties of the Japanese. I have highlighted these chapter headings to point out areas of the story that this reader feels need to be further questioned, challenged, analyzed, and investigated.

• Chapter 16 — “The Western mind cannot grasp the realities of this awful crime. One must grope into the shadows of history to find a parallel. Genghis Khan, the Mongol Horde blazing a trail of utter destruction.” (General Headquarters, South West Pacific Area, Military Intelligence Section, General Staff)

• Chapter 17 — “Cannibals in the lowest strata of life could have pursued no crueler methods.” (Report No. 13, June 11, 1945, War Crimes Branch, Office of the Theater Judge Advocate)

• Chapter 20 — “The Japs have murdered wholesale and retail. To call them beasts would be to slander the beasts; to call them fiends would be to slander the fiends.” (John Osborn, Letter, Feb. 25, 1945)

• Chapter 23 — “There can be no doubt that once again, as in Nanking and Shanghai, the Japanese Armed Forces have shown themselves to be absolutely ruthless, barbaric and brutal.” (Lt. Col. Edmund Stone, Report, Feb. 26, 1945)

• Chapter 24 — “Nothing has seared the hatred against the Japanese in the Filipino heart more deeply than seeing our capital city converted into a funeral pyre.” (Brig. Gen. Carlos Romulo, Free Philippines, Feb. 22, 1945)

To all these chapter heading quotes I think Mark Twain stated best what we must admit, “There are many humorous things in the world: among them, the white man’s notion that he is less savage than the other savages.”

In direct reply to the question of who was ultimately responsible, Philip Vera Cruz’s quote from his memoir comes to mind: “We need the truth more than we need heroes.” And if the process of idolizing certain heroes becomes more important than knowing the truth — as much as it can ever be known — then James Scott’s Rampage will have been for naught.

Prologue — “I consider him an officer of most brilliant attainments.” (Maj. Gen. Charles T. Menoher, Efficiency Report on Douglas MacArthur, Aug. 28, 1919)

It is of interest that Scott chose this quote to start his book with. This of course is a comment about MacArthur as a young man, a student, but doesn’t really speak to his true abilities and record as a commanding officer.

And what exactly is the truth of that record? Scott hints at it but much more needs to be discussed considering the horrendous outcomes from not only MacArthur’s decisions at the end of the war to force the battle of Manila against the position of the Joint Chiefs, but also his decision at the beginning of the war to retreat to Bataan and Corregidor resulting in the greatest defeat of an American army in it’s history and a suffering for the Filipino and American forces equal to that during the battle of Manila at the end of the war.

Many of MacArthur’s highest ranking officers knew he had made fundamental mistakes and acted more out of ego than rationale. As one officer called it, “the missteps, mismanagement and indecision’s were all MacArthurs” (from Tears in the Darkness).

Epilogue, page 741: “MacArthur is still a revered figure by many in the Philippines, more than a half-century after his death in 1964 at the age of 84 and despite the criticism of some that American artillery played a large role in the city’s destruction, both in lives lost and in property ruined.”

“Douglas MacArthur bears as much responsibility as Sanji Iwabuchi for the cruel fate that was inflicted on Manila,” concluded Filipino historian Alfonso Aluit, author of By Sword and Fire.

American William Brady, who survived the Japanese occupation and the battle, agreed. “One side killed and destroyed us willfully,” he wrote, “The other side killed and destroyed us willy-nilly”

The book ends in a very revealing and moving chapter with the telling of the trial of Japanese General Yamashita. Here is a chapter heading quote and an excerpt which start to get at the reality of war and how a victor’s hubris can lead to a loss of moral standing:

Chapter 25 — “An uncurbed spirit of revenge and retribution, masked in formal legal procedure for purposes of dealing with a fallen enemy commander, can do more lasting harm than all of the atrocities giving rise to that spirit.” (Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy, Feb. 4, 1946). This quote is in reference to the war crimes trial of Japanese General Yamashita.

Epilogue, page 739 — “I think we made a hell of a mistake,” George Guy said in 1967. “His (Yamashita’s) case was a sad chapter in our military and judicial history.”

I would recommend anyone with an interest in the World War II in the Philippines read Scott’s book, but I would also suggest one read and investigate further.

For all of Scott’s accomplishments with Rampage, and there are many, it still only starts to tell the complete story, and with a better understanding of that story only then can a true healing of the wounds and memories of that War begin.

(For a book that goes much further than Scott’s in dealing with questions raised in this review, I would recommend Tears in the Darkness by Michael and Elizabeth Norman, in the telling of the story of the surrender of Bataan and the Death March at the beginning of the War.)

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