Water execs told: ‘Shape up or ship out’

March 21, 2019 | 12:32 am

WATER SERVICE disruption since earlier this month in Metro Manila’s east concession zone prompted President Rodrigo R. Duterte to summon both regulatory and corporate officials overseeing the current situation to Malacañan Palace on Tuesday night where he told regulators to “shape up or ship out” and threatened termination of concessionaires’ contracts, according to statements of the Palace and parties present in the meeting.
A statement released by Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo on Wednesday said an “obviously outraged” Mr. Duterte met with officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS); Manila Water Company, Inc. that covers Metro Manila’s east zone; and of Maynilad Water Services, Inc. that takes care of the capital’s west zone.
In his remarks during the Water Philippines conference in Pasay City, Mr. Panelo told participants that Mr. Duterte engaged the officials in a 40-minute “monologue.”
“I will fire officials and I will terminate the contracts of the concessionaires and I will not listen to your explanation because this explanation can only be plain excuses,” Mr. Panelo recalled Mr. Duterte as saying, telling regulators to “shape up or ship out.”
The meeting “ended abruptly” with Mr. Duterte telling the concerned parties to submit a report on or before April 7, he added.
“He (Mr. Duterte) said he could not understand why there could be a water crisis. He was so outraged.”
In separate statements on Wednesday, Maynilad said it will submit a report to the Office of the President explaining its long-term plan to meet future water demand, while Manila Water said it is ready with contingency measures to solve faster the water shortage hitting parts of Metro Manila.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
In a press briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday, MWSS Administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco said the President did not allow regulators to speak, engaging instead in a 40-minute “homily”.
“The President did not want to listen to any presentation. He was just expressing his frustration, saying that El Niño was a certainty, it has been recurring but not much preparation was made,” Ramoncito S. Fernandez, Maynilad president and chief executive officer, told reporters at the sidelines of the Water Philippines conference.
Manila Water started imposing daily service interruptions in its area more than a week ago, as a confluence of heightened demand and reduced level at its La Mesa Dam reservoir made taps in many areas run dry for weeks. Regulators have said that the concessionaire’s failure to put a new water treatment plant into operation by end-2018, as scheduled, was largely to blame for the problem. The situation has lately improved somewhat after Manila Water was allowed to tap 101 deep wells to provide an additional 101 million liters a day (MLD) for a limited period and has been offered up to 50 MLD assistance by Maynilad as well. San Miguel Corp. has also offered delivery of 140 MLD from its Bulacan Bulk Water Supply plant via trucks to affected communities.
In a March 18 press release, Mr. Velasco noted that “concession agreements give Manila Water an allocation of 1,600 MLD for its 6 million consumers and Maynilad with 2,400 MLD for its 9 million consumers”.
“Manila Water is getting its allocation of 1,600 MLD but its requirement is now pegged at 1,750 MLD due to increase in demand in consumption and population growth. The present problem could have been averted had Manila Water’s 100 MLD Cardona Treatment Plant been operational since October 2018.”
At the House of Representatives, Ferdinand M. Dela Cruz, Manila Water president and chief executive officer, discussed the company’s contingency plans, including ones that will bring back water supply in the capital’s east zone to normal level. “We are working on an overperformance target so that we could advance the supply deficit resolution much, much earlier,” he said in his opening statement at the House.
In the same hearing, Mr. Fernandez said Maynilad was not part of the problem and has even offered solutions.
“Maynilad west zone has no shortage today. We are happy to share that to our constituents and we have offered support by way of, one, we have given 10 MLD (million liters per day) already [to Manila Water] at the La Mesa portal that came from the savings of water that we generated because we used our backwash,” he said, referring to the water being used to clean the filters that was recovered and reused.
“The second help that we have offered is that we have lent up to 11 water tankers to Manila Water for their use.”
Mr. Fernandez said the third support that Maynilad had given, which was only agreed last night between the companies and MWSS, was to install stationary water tanks to put an end to the long lines of consumers waiting for water refill in remote areas that cannot be reached by the water pressure.
“So nag-offer kami ng stationary water tanks, five of our tanks. We have offered it to Manila Water this morning para ma-deploy nila sa mga — I think there are still 11 barangays na kulang pa rin ng tubig para refill na lang nang refill ‘yung fire trucks ‘tsaka water tankers doon,” he said.
(We offered stationary water tanks, five of our tanks. We have offered them to Manila Water this morning for deployment — I think there are still 11 barangays with deficient water supply so these can be refilled continuously by fire trucks and water tankers.)
Maynilad’s offer is apart from the previously agreed cross-border water flow. The first of five water-sharing flows from its network to Manila Water’s started on Friday along West Ave., delivering 2 MLD, he said.
Mr. Fernandez said the company could hasten the flow to reach up to 50 MLD earlier than May if its second Putatan water treatment plant is activated, which it is targeting in the first week of April.
“I don’t think Maynilad is alluded to, we don’t have a problem,” he said about the threat of losing its concession contract. But he said the company is prepared to respond to Malacañang and “rehash” its existing medium-term and long-term plans.
The plan is to lessen Maynilad’s dependence on Angat dam, which supplies about 96% of Metro Manila’s water requirement.
The concessionaires source 4,000 MLD from Angat dam, with Maynilad receiving 2,400 MLD for distribution to its 9.5 million customers, while Manila Water gets 1,600 MLD for its 6.8 million customers.
“We were the first one to go to Laguna Lake. As early as 2009 we went and proceeded to build our first plant,” Mr. Fernandez said.
A third water treatment plant with a capacity of 100-150 MLD is already in the pipeline, he added.
Mr. Fernandez said the third plant’s capacity could go as high as 200 MLD “if the projections support it.” The facility can be built in three to five years, but could be fast-tracked, he added.
Manila Water’s woes began as demand in its service area exceeded its Angat dam allocation by up to 150 MLD. It has been drawing from La Mesa dam to plug the deficiency but when the reservoir reached the critical level, water provision in some parts of the east zone became short. The current water shortage started on March 6 and worsened when initial service advisories prompted consumers in unaffected areas to store water in anticipation for service degradation.
“We had programmed plans to reduce the dependence on the La Mesa reserve like taking water from the Laguna Lake through our Cardona water treatment plant, re-activation of decommissioned deep wells, developing new deep well sources but we were met with technical issues and implementation delays,” Manila Water’s Mr. Dela Cruz said during the House hearing.
“We had also planned operational adjustments including lowering of pressure, in case we cannot withdraw anymore from the La Mesa reserve. With a supply deficit of about 150 [MLD], the main idea is to spread this now more limited supply to the same customer base by reducing the pressure in the system. This was implemented days before the La Mesa level came close to the critical level of 69 meters.”
On March 14, Manila Water implemented a more widespread water interruption plan to allow its network reservoirs to refill properly and its pumping stations to stabilize, he said.
“We had to reset. The results have been encouraging beginning March 15 as we have heard from our people on the ground. From a low availability of 70% water availability in our coverage when the supply shortage happened, we have improved to more than 80% last March 15, but we have to explain what 80% means. Water availability as we define at the moment, is having about 8 to 12 hours of water reaching the ground floor of homes. As of yesterday, using this new lower standard, we have reached close to 95% water availability in our coverage area,” he added.
In a statement on Wednesday, Manila Water said the Cardona plant had started delivering the initial 24 MLD to Binangonan, Angono, Baras at Jalajala, in Rizal province. It said by end-May supply from the plant could reach 50 MLD. — Victor V. Saulon, A. L. Balinbin and C. A. Tadalan

House clears 2019 budget hurdle

March 21, 2019 | 12:31 am

THE LEGISLATIVE DEADLOCK over the P3.757-trillion national budget for 2019 appears finally headed for resolution, with the House of Representatives “physically retrieving” on Wednesday the copy it transmitted to the Senate on March 11.
“The House leadership has dispatched the Secretary General to the Senate to physically retrieve the budget books that we sent to the senators,” House Appropriations Committee Chair Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. of Camarines Sur’s 1^st district said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This is in line with the Speaker’s instruction to allow a last-ditch effort to break the budget impasse,” he explained.
Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday met with House leaders, including San Juan Rep. Ronaldo B. Zamora, whom she assigned to discuss the “proposed new version” with the Senate.
Ms. Arroyo also directed Mr. Andaya to form a three-man team to meet with Senate counterparts to address contentious allocations under the 2019 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
“We are giving ourselves five days to complete this task,” he said.
Mr. Zamora and Senator Panfilo M. Lacson on Monday said the House had agreed to recall the P3.757-trillion budget from the Senate. Mr. Andaya, however, asserted the House’s move is not an act of “withdrawing” from its earlier stance that itemizing lump sums after ratification was not illegal.
“We want to make it clear, though. We are not withdrawing or backtracking from our earlier position. We maintain that the House did nothing unconstitutional, illegal or irregular when we approved and ratified the 2019 GAB in plenary session.” He said.
“We hope that the contingents from the Senate and the House can agree to a common venue for a formal discussion on the issues and not debate on the merits of their positions through media.”
With the retrieval of the 2019 national budget by the House, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said he would have Finance committee chairperson Senator Loren B. Legarda and vice-chairperson Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson meet with the House to break the deadlock.
“I welcome the retrieval, I could have sent it back for being unfaithful to what was approved by the bicam and ratified in plenary but I did not as prudence dictates. Our Congress is bicameral. It’s very elementary,” he told reporters in a mobile phone message on Wednesday.
“I’ll ask Loren and Ping (Lacson) for a favor to sit with them.”
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri appealed to President Rodrigo R. Duterte to hold another meeting with Congress leaders. “I would appeal to Malacañang to exert pressure on our colleagues in the House of Representatives to just return to the version approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives last month,” he told reporters after a legislative hearing.
“I think there should be another meeting with the President… with the leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives.”
The Senate-House disagreement stemmed from the Senate’s allegation that P79 billion and P15 billion from the budgets of the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Health, respectively, were realigned after the Feb. 8 ratification. The House argued the changes were mere “itemization” of lump sums. Mr. Andaya on March 10 countered that the Senate itself made some P75-billion “post-bicam realignments.”
House Majority Leader Fredenil H. Castro of Capiz’s 2^nd district said in a mobile phone message that “the House of Representatives… has to take one step backward subject to the condition… that it [budget] should be stripped of lump sum appropriations”.
Just last Tuesday, Mr. Sotto raised the prospect that the government will continue to operate on a re-enacted budget until August, leaving new projects unfunded. The inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee last week slashed its 2019 gross domestic product growth forecast to 6-7% from 7-8% originally as the government operates on a reenacted budget, while the National Economic and Development Authority said separately that GDP could expand by as little as 4.2-4.9% if the new budget were enacted as late as August. — Charmaine A. Tadalan with C. A. Aguinaldo

Growth seen hinging largely on domestic demand

March 21, 2019 | 12:30 am

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES will have to rely on domestic activity to boost growth at a time of a global economic slowdown, but a foreign consultancy flagged that the current deadlock on 2019’s national budget will likely weigh on the country’s economic prospects.
Peter Lundgreen, founding chief executive officer of Lundgreen’s Capital, said the country’s growth story as well as investor interest are at risk as the 2019 national budget continues to languish before Congress.
“The biggest risk of all is actually local… The attractive Philippine growth must come from domestic demand, it’s where growth should come from,” Mr. Lundgreen said in an interview yesterday.
“They should care extremely about not disturbing domestic growth… the budget impasse is completely hopeless in that direction… There won’t be any export story as global growth is on the way down.”
Lawmakers remain at a deadlock over the details of the P3.757-trillion spending plan, with the Senate refusing to accept alleged last-minute changes the House of Representatives introduced to the ratified budget bill.
Hence, Congress has yet to submit the national government’s spending plan this year to Malacañang for President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signing into law.
The government has been operating on a re-enacted 2018 budget that leaves new programs and even some big-ticket infrastructure projects unfunded.
Last week, economic managers slashed growth targets to 6-7% this year from the original 7-8% goal, saying it will be “very difficult” to catch up with spending as they have already missed the best time to roll out infrastructure projects in the first quarter.
The Philippines grew by 6.2% in 2018 as high inflation curbed consumer spending, settling well below the state’s target.
“The story for the Philippines is domestic growth and if people start to hurt that story, then it’s simply too stupid,” Mr. Lundgreen said.
On the other hand, he cautioned against future rate cuts from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), saying that it is not the central bank’s duty to spur growth.
BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said last week that he sees room to ease policy rates as well as the “very high” reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for big banks, which markets took as dovish signals that kept the peso down.
Mr. Diokno even revealed plans to slash the RRR by one percentage point every quarter for the next four quarters.
“I don’t see a particular reason for cutting rates,” the Denmark-based investment advisor said, adding that lower inflation is a global trend and has “nothing to do” with local rate hikes in 2018.
Mr. Lundgreen added that Mr. Diokno needs to show a “firm hand” and maintain the BSP’s independence from the central government’s economic agenda.
Without the budget stalemate, he added the Philippines would have seen a “much more stable” year with a relatively high growth rate.

Megaworld increases capex for Maple Grove township in Cavite

March 21, 2019 | 12:07 am

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
TYCOON Andrew L. Tan’s Megaworld Corp. is hiking the capital spending for its 140-hectare Cavite township to P15 billion, as the company pursues more vertical projects to take advantage of strong demand in the area.
The listed property developer launched Maple Grove in General Trias, Cavite in 2017, initially allotting P10 billion for its development in the next 10 years.
“We earlier intended to have more horizontal projects in nature but we started to see demand to go vertical…so the reason why we have a heightened capex because we’re now rethinking our strategy. We are actually going for more vertical developments,” Megaworld Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Andrew L. Tan said in a press brieifing in Pasay City on Wednesday.
Mr. Tan noted that they were able to sell out 363 commercial lots inside the Maple Grove Commercial District worth about P9 billion within six months after its launch in 2017. The lots range from 360 square meters (sq.m.) to 1,008 sq.m. in size.
Megaworld Vice-President for Sales & Marketing Mary Rachelle I. Peñaflorida said buyers include business owners who plan to build their own office buildings, hotels, or other commercial establishments.
“We also have a lot of Chinese investors and a group from Binondo as well, schools, office spaces. Like some companies that want to have their station in Calabarzon area. There’s also interest in malls, hospitals, furniture. There’s a company that wants to build a showroom for automobiles,” Ms. Peñaflorida said in the same briefing.
Mr. Tan said they will soon launch a new phase that covers commercial lots for sale, given continued strong demand for the product.
Aside from commercial lots, Megaworld also launched the 17-storey One Corporate Place which offers 93 office units for sale.
Meanwhile, Ms. Peñaflorida said that there has also been strong demand for residential projects coming from locals in Cavite, Metro Manila, and other areas from the south.
The company has so far launched Maple Grove’s first residential condominium called The Verdin, which offers 140 units and stands 10 storeys tall.
Mr. Tan said they will launch more residential and office projects depending on demand.
The first project to rise in the area will be a P1.5-billion lifestyle mall spanning 24,000 square meters across two floors. The mall will feature food and beverage outlets, four cinemas, an indoor events area, and a supermarket.
“We will complete the construction of the mall within two years alongside the land development, as we expect the Maple Grove community to grow fast in the next five years,” Mr. Tan said.
Maple Grove will also house a two-hectare tree park called the Rainwater Park, its own transport hub, chapel, a bike lane, and other recreational facilities. It will also highlight sustainable features by having a landscape drip irrigation system, pocket gardens, and vertical gardens in several buildings.
Shares in Megaworld dropped 0.54% or three centavos to close at P5.57 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday.

Asian Terminals income up 16%

March 21, 2019 | 12:06 am

ASIAN TERMINALS, Inc. (ATI) reported a 15.8% increase in net income to P2.9 billion for 2018, fueled by record-high cargo volume handled at its Manila and Batangas ports.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the listed port operator said its revenues likewise jumped 15.8% to P12.3 billion last year, from the P10.6 billion posted in 2017.
ATI attributed the strong profit growth to the rise in volume of its international containerized cargoes.
Manila South Harbor and Batangas Container Terminal handled a combined 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which ATI said is the highest ever for the company.
ATI said its total throughput at the Manila South Harbor was at 1.3 million TEUs last year, 6% higher than in 2017. For the Batangas Container Terminal, volume spiked by 25% to 250,000 TEUs.
“In synergy, Manila South Harbor and Batangas Container Terminal have effectively supported government’s drive for inclusive growth within and outside Metro Manila by continuously opening direct market connectivity and delivering competitive port services to shippers based in the country’s national capital and southern Luzon regions,” the company said.
ATI said it is investing P14.7 billion over the next two years to fuel its expansion projects in the Manila and Batangas ports in anticipation of growing demand.
“(The capital investment will be used) to develop more berths and storage spaces in Manila and Batangas ports, additional container yards outside the port zones, acquire more cargo handling equipment and invest in innovations, which would redound to greater efficiencies and safer port environment for stakeholders,” the company said.
ATI expects the expansion of Batangas Container Terminal to be completed within the second quarter. This will bring the terminal’s capacity to over 450,000 TEUs annually from the current level of 350,000 TEUs.
“By end-March, ATI’s Sta. Mesa container storage facility will be able to accommodate Customs-cleared laden boxes to be followed by the opening of a new five-hectare container depot outside the Port of Manila in April,” it added. — D.A. Valdez

Have a French dinner tonight

March 21, 2019 | 12:06 am

IT’S NOT too late to make reservations for the biggest French dinner in the world. Today, March 21, 26 chefs from all over the country are joining nearly 5,000 chefs worldwide to offer a French three-course dinner all on the same day for Gout de France.
This is the fifth edition of Gout de France in the country,and the number of participating chefs and restaurants has increased from a small six to a belly-bursting 26. The participating chefs and restaurants this year are as follows:
• Jacq Tan of Apero and Duck & Buvette
• Ariel Manuel of Bistro Manuel
• Didier Derouet of Café Adriana by Hill Station (Baguio City)
• Gene Gonzalez of Café Ysabel
• Konrad Walter of The Manila Hotel’s Champagne Room
• Vicky Pacheco of Chateau 1771
• Jessie Sincioco of Chef Jessie Rockwell Club
• David Olyver Virrey of Eiffel Kubo (Malaybalay City)
• Armand Lafare of Element Boutique Hotel
• Martin Kaspar of L’Entrecôte Manila
• Bruno Tirel of L’Epicerie Gourmande
• Clément Damotte of La Mère Poulard Manila
• Richard Amado of La Vie Parisienne and La Vie in the Sky (Cebu City)
• Waya Araos-Wijangco of Gourmet Gypsy Art Café
• Robert Lilja of Maria Luisa’s Garden Room
• John Louie Gonzaga of Milagritos Restaurant of TRYP Hotel by Wyndham
• Hervé Clair of Raffles Makati’s Mirèio
• Trish Panlilio of Mulberry Door
• Glenda Maupin of Petit Bistro
• Justin Baradas of Enderun Colleges’ Restaurant 101
• Marc Aubry of Sagana French Bistro
• Jonathan Bouthiaux of Anya Resort Tagaytay’s Samira
• Cocoy Ventura of SGD Coffee Roastery
• Julien Cossé of Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila’s Spiral Manila
• Patrice Freuslon of Tauro Pintxos, Tapas, Wine Bar
• Menoy Gimenez of Tito Chef Restaurant
• Pierre Cornelis of Vatel Restaurant Manila
More cities are represented this year, such as Baguio and Malaybalay. Jean-Jacques Forte, Cultural Counsellor of the French Embassy in the Philippines said, “I think new places and new chefs are willing to participate because they believe, and I think they are right, that it will help them get better and well-known.”
The initiative started as a project of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and renowned French chef Alain Ducasse. It followed the inclusion of the “Gastronomic Meal of the French” in the UNESCO World Intangible Hritage list.
As for the increase in number of participating restaurants, Mr. Forte said, “It was that the public likes it. People like it, and the proposal is very good, to discover French gastronomy, but also together with the Filipino context… it’s a dialogue between cultures and culinary traditions.” He also points out that worldwide, the number of participating chefs have also increased, with the present 5,000 an increase from last year’s 3,500.
The increase in participating restaurants around the world might point to a continued dominance of French cuisine in the world’s collective memory, but Mr. Forte said, “I wouldn’t say ‘dominance.’ There are a lot of culinary traditions which are excellent all around the world. Maybe the specificity of French culinary tradition is in its diversity.”
Of the several chefs who presented at a launch last week at the Manila Hotel, our clear favorites were the scallops from that hotel, served with white asparagus and foie-gras sauce, and then poached egg wrapped in salmon from Sofitel, and an unassuming Coq au Vin with brandy from Mulberry Door. The menus from all the restaurants range in price from P900 to P4,950.
This year’s edition also focuses on sustainable cuisine, based on France’s commitment to fighting climate change. After all, Mr. Forte said, “Gastronomy is not just a question of taste; it’s also a question of sustainability, a question of health… and responsibility.”
For more information on the participating restaurants and their respective menus, visit http://restaurateurs.goodfrance.com/en/participating-restaurants. — Joseph L. Garcia

PAL suspends launch of New Delhi flights

March 21, 2019 | 12:05 am

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) is postponing the reopening of its direct flights from Manila to New Delhi due to the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan.
“Philippine Airlines is temporarily suspending the launch of our Manila-New Delhi-Manila service until further notice. We are constrained to take this step as news of India-Pakistan border tensions has prompted many travellers to cancel bookings and defer their travel plans,” the flag carrier said in a social media post late Tuesday.
In January, PAL announced it is reopening its Manila-New Delhi route in April, almost eight years after canceling it in 2011 due to the slim market then.
Aviation think-tank Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said in a January report the reopening of the route is more viable for PAL now, as the market linking the Philippines to India has grown twice its size over the past five years.
“India is a strategically important new market for PAL and the Philippines overall. India is the largest source market for the Philippines that does not currently have any nonstop services,” the Australia-based firm said.
Data from the Department of Tourism shows India is the Philippines’ 12^th largest market in terms of visitor volume at 92,589 during the first nine months of 2018, growing 14.63% from 80,770 in the same period in 2017.
PAL was supposed to offer four-times-weekly flights between Manila and New Delhi using its brand-new Airbus A321neo (new engine option) aircraft, which has a capacity of 244 seats.
But tensions have been high between India and Pakistan since February, started by a suicide bombing incident in the disputed state Kashmir that resulted to numerous deaths. It has since sparked an exchange of attacks between the two countries.
Passengers who may have bought tickets for the Manila-New Delhi service can choose to travel to another regional destination instead, or avail a refund. PAL said it will make a new announcement “once a new start date is finalized.” — Denise A. Valdez

Shunned by purists, hybrid wines are now ready for your glass

March 21, 2019 | 12:05 am

By Elin McCoy, Bloomberg
THANKS to a crop of renegade, pioneering wine makers making stellar wines in New York, Vermont, Minnesota, famously frigid Quebec, and even Portugal, hybrid grapes are beginning to get the respect they deserve.
For decades, snob drinkers turned up their noses at the wines made from them as too funky, going so far as to describe their taste and smell as akin to animal fur. I have to admit I was one of them.
But recently I tasted a lusciously rich, fruit-packed, amarone-style red made from frontenac grapes grown in Vermont, and a subtle, savory, zingy white from Quebec made from La Crescent. Both grapes were developed at the University of Minnesota to withstand super-cold winters yet make wines with great flavor.
“Serious interest in wines from hybrids is quite a recent phenomenon,” says master sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier, managing partner for New York bistro Racines, who has several on her list. “Thanks to a new generation of hybrids and new producers growing for quality, not quantity, tastes are changing.”
Hybrid grapes, according to Matt Clark, an assistant professor in the department of horticultural science at the University of Minnesota, are crosses between the European vine, vitis vinifera, and various native wild American species such as vitis labrusca.
They started in late 19^th century France because phylloxera, a bug that eats the roots of European grape vines, was killing off the country’s vineyards and native American roots proved resistant to it. Grafting vinifera vines onto American rootstock was a way to preserve familiar grapes like pinot noir. Eventually, in the 20^th century, planting new vineyards of hybrids was banned, with government pamphlets insisting wine from them was proven to cause madness. (Additionally, French law prohibits using hybrids in any wines with appellation names.)
Later the Eastern US embraced them because they could survive icy winters, but many of the wines had simple jelly-jar flavors unappealing to serious wine drinkers.
Now, University of Minnesota and Cornell are coming up with new, improved hybrids, with better “juice characteristics,” helped by recent DNA research. “It takes 15 to 20 years from the time we identify the parent grapes to licensing vines to be planted commercially,” says Clark of the product development. Minnesota’s latest is a white, Itasca, now in test plots around the US.
Deirdre Heekin and her husband, Caleb Barber, of La Garagista farm and winery in Vermont, who grow several hybrids organically and biodynamically, are among the new producers whose wines have made a splash in New York and London. They make as many as 15 wines, including several sparkling pét-nats. Still, prejudice against these wines remains.
“When we started in 2010, hybrids were vino non grata to buyers,” says Heekin, “so we took the varietal name off the labels and just asked sommeliers to taste.” She’s convinced the interest in Italy’s native grapes primed people for being more open to hybrids. Her wines inspired Lepeltier to start her own pét-nat project, Chepika, with hybrids, with Finger Lakes wine maker Nathan Kendall. Their first vintage was 2016.
In the Hudson Valley, Carlo DeVito, who founded Hudson-Chatham winery in 2006, has had big success with baco noir. “Typically wineries make a sweet red from it,” he says. “But I thought, What will happen if we treat it like merlot or cabernet? And it ended up great.” He now makes four different cuvées.
More hybrids are in your future. Their disease resistance, which means fewer chemicals needed in the vineyards, is one reason France approved several new ones last year. The University of Minnesota is actively working to get marquette into Germany and France.
It’s a whole new world of wine flavors, with dozens of promising hybrids. Here are my picks of those with the most potential right now.
SPARKLING
• Delaware: This native American grape, once famed for spicy sparkling wines, has a tangled past that involves vinifera. Besides the US, it’s also grown in Japan.
2017 Chepika Delaware PetNat ($28) — This refreshing, frothy pét-nat from organic Delaware grapes is clear, not cloudy, with crisp layered flavors of green apple and lemon with a mineral edge.
WHITE
• La Crescent: This University of Minnesota cold-hardy white variety is a cross of muscat and other hybrids. You find it in Quebec, Minnesota, and Vermont, and it also makes a delicious pét-nat.
2017 Pinard et Filles Frangine ($57) — This intriguing, subtle white has mineral and earth aromas and green apple flavors. It was my favorite example from the La Crescent grape.
• Traminette: Highly versatile, this cross between aromatic gewurztraminer and a French-American hybrid makes both dry and sweet wines, but the best I’ve tasted are dry. It’s like gewurz without the oily, viscous texture.
2017 Fox Run Vineyards Traminette ($15) — Fresh, bright, and delicate, this fun, refreshing Finger Lakes summer white has exotic aromas of lychee and spicy apricot flavors.
• Vidal blanc: It thrives all over Ontario (think ice wine), and is even planted in Sweden and also used to make very fruity dry whites.
2017 Inniskillin Vidal Icewine ($53, half bottle) — Honeysuckle and candied orange peel aromas and lush, sweet flavors of honey and butterscotch make this a luscious dessert wine.
• Vignoles: This cross between a white French-American hybrid and pinot noir is widely planted in the Finger Lakes and the Midwest and reminds me of a combo of riesling and sauvignon blanc. It can also make a subtle, complex late-harvest sweet wine.
2015 Keuka Lake Vineyards Gently Dry Vignoles ($17) — Brimming with aromas of white flowers, this Finger Lakes white is crisp, clean, and zingy, just the thing you want to drink at the beach.
RED
• Baco Noir: This French-American hybrid is a signature red grape in the Hudson Valley. Its flavors are like a midpoint between pinot noir and cabernet, but poorly made examples taste weedy and bitter.
2015 Hudson-Chatham Baco Noir Reserve Casscles Vineyard ($26) — The New York state winery makes several very good reds from this grape. This cuvée has complex black cherry, smoky, savory flavors, high acidity, and delicate but rich textures.
• Frontenac: Both white and red French-American hybrids are behind this University of Minnesota grape. Introduced in 1996, it’s widely planted in the Hudson Valley, Vermont, and the Midwest.
2016 La Garagista Loups-Garoux ($45) — Dark, intense, and smooth, this Vermont red is spicy, rich, and full-bodied, with a tart edge. It’s made ripasso-style like amarone, from a mix of fresh and dried grapes.
• Isabella: An older cross between vitis labrusca and some unidentified European variety, this grape can withstand tropical conditions, which is why it’s planted on Bali and in India as well as Portugal’s Azores.
2016 Azores Wine Company Isabella a Proibida ($36) — This wine has a wild, exotic character, with rich cherryish flavors, an earthy, iron tang, and salty acidity. The name is obscured on the label because the grape is officially prohibited in the European Union.
• Marquette: Introduced in 2006 by the University of Minnesota, this red is high in acidity, low in tannin, and reminds me of gamay. It’s the red hybrid that most impressed me.
2016 La Garagista Damejeanne ($45) — Bright, floral, spicy, and power-packed with fruit and flavor, this Vermont red has some gamay character but a richer personality.
2017 Pinard & Filles Frangin ($57) — This lighter-bodied, thirst-quenching Quebec blend of marquette and frontenac gris (a mutant of frontenac) has elegant sour cherry and raspberry fruit flavors.

Lazada bullish on growth of PHL market

March 21, 2019 | 12:04 am

By Zsarlene B. Chua, Reporter
LAZADA Philippines is confident of sustaining growth in the country, which has been aided in part by the declining cost of internet access and mobile devices.
“All of Southeast Asia is growing very, very fast but I think in the Philippines we have certain advantages because we are a pretty dominant [player] in the Philippines. There are not many players and so I think there’s a big opportunity,” Lazada Philippines CEO Raymond Alimurung told BusinessWorld during the company’s 7^th anniversary celebration launch on March 19 in White Space, Makati City.
Mr. Alimurung noted the Philippine market grew faster than expected in the last seven years, but there’s still a long way to go.
“I think the market is maturing in the right direction. It’s not completely mature…because there are still tens of millions of Filipinos still not shopping online,” he said.
Data from statistics portal Statista showed the number of Filipino internet users is expected to reach 75% of the population this year from the 69.6% recorded in 2018.
This year, Lazada is focusing on improving its electronic payments channels, especially its own Lazada e-wallet.
“The wallet has grown eight times since it started in terms of percent of transactions paid using the wallet, but from a small base,” Mr. Alimurung said.
Lazada e-wallet may have grown tremendously since its launch in April 2018 but Mr. Alimurung admitted that the lack of cash-in options made the growth slower than expected.
Currently, the Lazada e-wallet can be loaded over-the-counter in 7-Eleven stores, SM Bills Payment centers among others; or through online banking for Bank of the Philippine Islands and Union Bank customers, bank transfers for BDO, or through debit cards.
Mr. Alimurung said they are working to increase number of banks for the online banking options, bank transfers and wallet-to-wallet cash-ins from other e-wallets like GCash and Paymaya. Lazada Philippines is also talking with companies with rewards programs to include Lazada e-wallet.
ANNIVERSARY SALE
Lazada is holding its 7^th anniversary sale on March 27, which will include “80 million items, up to 90% discounts and 70 million vouchers,” according to a company statement.
Mr. Alimurung said Robinsons Land, Inc., will be selling condo units and town homes during the anniversary sale.
“We want to show the market that e-commerce is here to stay…that really, you can buy and sell anything on the site. I hold no illusions that people will start buying homes on the site by April, because really this is to show the [scope of the platform],” he said.
Going beyond e-commerce, Lazada will also livestream its anniversary party in Jakarta headlined by British singer Dua Lipa on its app on March 26, 8 p.m.
“The idea of us seeing the opportunity is not new, this is how e-commerce in China is — it’s very social. People initially went to e-commerce to save time but what the Alibaba Group found out is people go on e-commerce sites to kill time,” Mr. Alimurung said, noting that other Alibaba sites like Taobao and T-Mall are visited “up to seven times a day.”
He noted that the concept of “e-commerce” has shifted into “social commerce” with users treating the platform also as social media.
The introduction of a livestream option and an in-app game center (to be launched within the first half of the year) is to create “more engaged customers.”
Late last year, Lazada and Shopee introduced live quizzes and other games in the app with app credits as rewards.
“The challenge is this is so new…[so] we’re showing them (brands and sellers on Lazada) and guiding them so they’ll know how to do it,” Mr. Alimurung said.

Formjacking a growing threat due to e-commerce expansion

March 21, 2019 | 12:04 am

FORMJACKING is emerging as a huge threat in the cyber world as attackers opt for “get rich quick” schemes.
“This year, it was all about formjacking…. We managed to block 3.7 million attacks throughout the year for formjacking across all our customers. This is a significant number when we compare it to other attacks that we have,” Sherif El-Nabawi, vice president for systems engineering of Symantec Asia Pacific & Japan, said in media briefing held in Holiday Inn Makati on March 13.
The media briefing presented the Internet Security Threat Report Volume 24 for 2018 by the Symantec Corp., a California-based software company. It provides security and information management solutions for companies.
Formjacking is an attack similar to skimming, where a chip inserted in the card slot of automated teller machine gets a client’s account information. Formjacking, it involves the use of JavaScript in a website to steal credit card information and transfer it to the attacker.
“You’re going into e-commerce [site]… You put in credit card details. What the attacker only does is to put a JavaScript in that page, which basically sends a copy of the credit card details to the attacker and at the same time, your transaction goes through. As a user, I don’t see anything wrong there…and this is the largest thing we’ve seen this year,” he said.
The report also showed that there were about 4,818 websites victimized per month in 2018. The report said this form of attack is booming because of “better returns” compared to other methods like cryptojacking, which involves cyber criminals running coin-miners on target’s devices unknowingly and using their central processing unit (CPU) power to mine cryptocurrencies.
“The value of stolen credit card details on the cyber underground is probably more assured than the value of cryptocurrencies in the current climate,” Symantec said in the report.
For example, an attacker can earn at least $2 million dollars through formjacking by stealing information of at least 10 credit card accounts from each of the 4,800 websites for $45 per account, versus cryptojacking which is highly dependent on the cryptocurrency values, Symantec said.
The company noted that there is a direct relationship between cryptojacking activities and values, thus the observed downtrend in this attack, as activities associated to this kind of scheme decreased by 52% while values dropped 90% in 2018.
“That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t worry… It actually means that it’s a decrease because the groups are finding other ways to infiltrate… It’s still a threat and we’ve seen attacks based on it… It’s still a worry but there has been a decrease,” Mr. El-Nabawi said in an interview with BusinessWorld after the briefing.
It was the same case for ransomware as Symantec also noted a 20% decrease in ransomware activity in 2018.
“Up until 2017, consumers were the hardest hit by ransomware, accounting for the majority of infections. In 2017, the balance tipped towards enterprises, with the majority of infections occurring in businesses. In 2018, that shift accelerated and enterprises accounted for 81 percent of all ransomware infections. While overall ransomware infections were down, enterprise infections were up by 12 percent in 2018,” the company said in the report.
Symantec said this shift was due to enterprises being more vulnerable to attacks through e-mails as it remains as a primary tool for companies.
In addition to this, since consumers usually use mobile phones, they can back up data through cloud, while enterprises usually use Window-based computers, which are the usual targets of ransomware attackers.
Also, the Internet of things (IoT) was still one of the main entry points of attackers, with routers and cameras accounting for 90% of the infected devices. Symantec also noted that “smartphones can be the greatest spying device ever created,” with the sheer number of applications people install in these devices. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Yields on term deposits mixed ahead of BSP’s policy meeting

March 21, 2019 | 12:04 am

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
TERM DEPOSITS offered by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) saw mixed movements in yields this week, which comes a day ahead of a rate-setting meeting.
Banks put forward P65.53 billion bids for the term deposit facility (TDF) on Wednesday, posting a slight dip from the P66.349 billion demand seen a week ago.
Still, the amount surpassed the P50 billion which the central bank wanted to raise.
Appetite for the short-term papers softened from a week ago as the BSP brought back the one-month tenor, which was not offered last week to make way for the settlement of five-year retail Treasury bonds offered by the national government.
The Treasury raised P235.935 billion from the sale of five-year debt notes to the public, which were settled last week and captured cash flows.
Banks offered to place P27.254 billion under the seven-day term, inching lower from the P34.296 billion tenders received a week ago. Still, this stood well above the P20 billion which the BSP placed on the auction block.
Market players even asked for lower returns to average 4.9803% versus the 5.0214% fetched last week.
Appetite also weakened for the 14-day placements as bids went down to P22.198 billion, lower than the P32.053 billion fetched previously, although still filling the P20 billion on offer.
However, the average yield climbed to 5.1079% from last week’s 5.0975%.
Other bids were channeled back to the 28-day instruments as it shored up P16.078 billion tenders, filling the BSP’s P10-billion offer. The tenor fetched an average return of 5.0987%. Two weeks ago, the month-long papers came with a 5.1758% price tag.
The TDF has been the central bank’s primary tool to shore up excess funds in the financial system.
Through the weekly auctions, the BSP is eyeing to bring market and interbank rates closer to their desired range through the yields which they accept.
Banks have been parking more funds under the TDF since the Monetary Board voted to keep interest rates at the 4.25-5.25% range during the Feb. 7 meeting, which is also used as the benchmark for term deposit rates.
The central bank will hold its second rate-setting meeting for the year today, which will be the first to be led by new BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno.
The former Budget chief said last week that “there is room” to reduce interest rates amid declining inflation, alongside plans to cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks.
Mr. Diokno had said the 18% RRR is “very high,” and hinted at possible successive reductions worth one percentage point every quarter for the next four quarters. Every one percentage point decline in the RRR would unleash around P100 billion to the economy, which can be deployed to additional lending and will therefore reduce the cost of borrowing money.
Ten of 13 economists tapped for BusinessWorld’s poll said they expect the BSP to stay on hold on key rates, while three saw a chance for policy makers to start unwinding the 175-basis-point rate hikes unleashed last year to combat surging prices.
BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo has repeatedly said that the financial system remains liquid, with the weekly TDF surpluses proving banks continue to sit on piles of cash.

Coffee for poetry

March 21, 2019 | 12:04 am

IN CELEBRATION of World Poetry Day, the 80-year-old Kamuning Bakery and Café in Quezon City is offering coffee in exchange for original poetry in any language or dialect on March 21.
“This is the third year we’re doing this to celebrate World Poetry Day. It has become our tradition,” Wilson Lee Flores, author and owner of the bakery, said during a Pandesal Forum about World Poetry Day, yesterday.
“Whether the poem is in Spanish, English, Chinese and other local dialects, it can be exchanged for a cup of coffee tomorrow for the whole day,” Mr. Lee Flores said.
The eight-decade-old bakery (it opened in 1939) is known for its pan de sal baked using a pugon or brick oven. It currently serves Benguet Arabica Coffee.
The coffee-for-poetry offer runs from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on March 21. Customers will be given a piece of paper to write their poem on.
Aside from the World Poetry Day offer, Mr. Lee Flores announced that soon the bakery and café will host monthly literary festivals called “Pandesalita.”
The Kamuning Bakery and Café is located at 43 Judge Jimenez St. corner K-1^st St., Kamuning, Quezon City. — ZB Chua

1...11,20911,21011,211...14,238 Page 11,210 of 14,238