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2 Lunas and a Hidalgo


“PHILIPPINE art history is never static. It remains in constant flux,” remarked Salcedo Auctions director Richie Lerma, speaking about the emergence of three works by classic Filipino artists.
Following the sale of the boceto for the Spoliarium in September last year, Salcedo’s first auction for 2019 — Important Philippine Art including Important Philippine Furniture and Important Philippine Tribal & Ethnographic Art — on March 9, will have as its centerpieces Juan Luna’s boceto for The Death of Cleopatra, the painting of The Hunting Party, and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo’s Draped Nude, Reclining in a Forest Landscape.
THE DEATH OF CLEOPATRA
In 1887, Juan Luna was taken to Spain as an apprentice of his professor Alejo Vera. At the time of Cleopatra’s creation, Luna was enrolled at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Diego) in Madrid. Inspired by French painter Jean-Andre Rixen’s artwork of the same title (in French) from 1874, The Death of Cleopatra was Luna’s silver prize-winning entry at the Madrid Exposition in 1881. The prize came with the work’s acquisition by the Spanish government. The painting is currently part of the permanent collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
The boceto — a preliminary sketch — for The Death of Cleopatra belonged to the late Filipino art collector Dr. Eleuterio “Teyet” Pascual. According to Mr. Lerma, its inclusion in the Luna Hidalgo retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in 1988 and publication in the exhibition catalogue establish its authenticity.
“[It is] further validated by the National Museum through a Certificate of Authenticity that it issued [and] signed by National Artist [for Visual Arts] Jose Joya, then chairman of the authentication panel. The certificate’s control number is 94-1058,” Mr. Lerma wrote in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.
According to Mr. Lerma, the boceto was acquired from Dr. Pascual by the current owner in 1990, who contacted Salcedo Auctions late last year. The current owner offered Cleopatra after the successful of the sale of the Spoliarium boceto.
“The boceto is the missing art historical link between the painting, according to Prado Museum historian Carlos Navarro, influenced Luna’s 1881 award-winning work,” Mr. Lerma wrote, referring to the relationship between the pose of Luna’s Cleopatra and Rixen’s La Mort de Cleopatre.
As written in the Revelations: Important Philippine Art booklet by Salcedo Auctions, Mr. Navarro wrote in his report: “… the departed queen’s arm dangles from the edge of her bed, which is marked in contrast to the elegant placement of her arms to her side in Luna’s 1881 entry to the Madrid Exposition.”
Mr. Lerma mentioned that the boceto, unlike the two other paintings, Luna’s The Hunting Party and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo’s Draped Nude, was not among those works examined in the Art Analysis and Research in London.
THE HUNTING PARTY AND DRAPED NUDE
Luna’s The Hunting Party (1890) — which depicts two men, one on horseback and the rider’s groom, surveying a field from a hill — came from the estate of the late Doña Maria Nuñez Rodriguez (1911-1992), widow of Don Francisco Vazquez Gayoso. It specifically came from the branch of her family that formerly owned Luna’s painting España y Filipinas (1886) which is currently part of the collection of the National Gallery of Singapore. Don Goyoso inherited the paintings from his father, Don Jose Vazquez Castiñeira, then mayor of Sarria, a northern Spanish town, in the late 19th century, who is also connected to the providence of the Spoliarium bocetto.
Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo’s Draped Nude, Reclining in a Forest Landscape — a painting of a nude maiden laying on a rock with her lower half covered by a red cloth — also came from the same family.
In Salcedo Auctions’s pamphlet Revelations: Important Philippine Art is a photo of the reception area of the home of one of Doña Rodriguez’s heirs where one can see Hidalgo’s painting hung adjacent to Luna’s España y Filipinas.
The descendants of Doña Maria Nuñez Rodriguez contacted Salcedo Auctions regarding the ownership of the two other paintings at the same time that they were discussing the ownership of España y Filipinas and the Spoliarium boceto.
“They requested Salcedo Auctions to keep the [existence of the] two other paintings confidential until after the sale of the boceto for Spoliarium,” Mr. Lerma wrote.
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Mr. Lerma wrote that the laboratory report from London’s Art Analysis & Research compared the brush strokes, style, and subject matter of both paintings with other acknowledged works of the painters.
The Draped Nude was compared with the freehand sketch of a similar image in a studio setting from 1880, a work that is part of the BPI art collection.
Dr. Jilleen Nadolny, principal investigator at Art Analysis and Research, noted in her report: “The figure and the lighting are very much the same as the present painting, as is the way the forms are modelled. As seen in the cross-sections taken in the present picture (freehand sketch), the artist was working in a layered manner, building up colors and form by the super-positioning of thin layers, as well as by using thick painterly applications.”
As for The Hunting Party, pentimenti or “changes of significance in the composition or orientation of the painting” show that the painting is by Luna. It was compared to Luna’s Los Voluntarios (1896) and España y Filipinas.
Ms. Nadolny noted that “Observations using the naked eye show the riders in each piece to be very closely hewn… each one donning gun straps across their chests, the only difference being the raised arm and the bare head of the rider of The Hunting Party…”
The paintings were examined under UV light and hyperspectral imaging in order to establish the age of the paints used. Mr. Lerma wrote: “the paintings were examined not only under UV light, but also through hyperspectral imaging, which is essentially imaging the short-wave infrared whereby different color images are obtained to show details of the painting not seen by the naked eye but that reveal the artist’s brushwork, and use of pigments and their distribution,” he explained.
“The Hunting Party and Draped Nude have never been transported to the Philippines until today,” he wrote. In a subsequent interview with BusinessWorld last week at the Salcedo Auctions showroom, Mr. Lerma mentioned that both paintings arrived in the country in January this year.
THE AUCTION WEEKEND
Aside from those three paintings, the auction on March 9 includes artworks by other Filipino artists such as Bencab’s Sabel (2008), an untitled marble sculpture by Napoleon Abueva, and Philippine Folk Dances by Carlos Botong Francisco.
Also up for bid are antiques and furniture from the 19th and 20th century include a kamagong and narra tambol aparador (dresser) from the second quarter of the 19th century, a late-19th century baroque and rococo-inspired designed bishop’s chair, and an early to mid-20th century hagabi bench carved out of a single tree trunk.
On March 10, Salcedo will conduct an auction focusing on jewelry and timepieces. Its 67 lots will include a De Capricho three-strand seed pearl, cabochan ruby, diamond, sapphire and emerald necklace set in 14-karat yellow gold; a Rene Boivin 18-karat yellow gold ring and bracelet set; a Patek Philippe Cabriolet Gondolo 18-karat two-color gold square wristwatch; a Dubey & Schaldenbard “Grand Dome” Limited Edition No. 2 wristwatch (a very rare 18-karat rose gold chronograph wristwatch with an elaborately engraved skeletonized open case back); and a 39mm Rolex Daytona “F Series” produced in 2004.
The auctions will be held at the Salcedo Auctions showroom in Makati City.
The online catalogue is available at www.salcedoauctions.com. Auction pieces are on preview at the showroom at Three Salcedo Place, Makati City daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until March 8. For inquiries, e-mail info@salcedoauctions.com or call 659-4094, 823-0956, or 0917-894-6550. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Gender gap in remittance senders narrows

THE GENDER GAP among senders of remittances to the Philippines narrowed in the last four years, even as female overseas Filipino workers (OFW) tend to earn less than males, a study commissioned by WorldRemit showed.
A survey of 1,000 Filipino customers of the digital remittance company showed that the number of female OFWs who sent money home made up 35% of WorldRemit’s clients in 2018, up from just a 25% share in 2014.
In contrast, the share male OFW customers of WorldRemit shrank to 65% last year from 75% in 2014, narrowing the gender gap to 30% in 2018 from the 50% tallied in 2014.
The study also showed that despite males outnumbering females in terms of customer count, female OFWs remitted a larger amount of their income compared to their male counterparts, citing education as the most important reason for sending remittances.
However, WorldRemit did not disclose the breakdown of remittances by female workers vis-à-vis male OFWs.
“Evidence suggests that, although female migrants tend to earn less than their male counterparts, they send a higher proportion of their income home more frequently,” WorldRemit said in a statement on Tuesday.
Michael Liu, WorldRemit managing director for Asia-Pacific, said ensuring digital inclusion for financial services for Filipino women is “critically important” as families, businesses and local economies thrive when women thrive as well.
“Our data show that women play an increasingly vital role in development of The Philippines by sending money home to support education, cover healthcare costs, make investments, and more,” Mr. Liu was quoted as saying in the statement.
Of the 10 million OFWs, 55% are female, with many of them living in countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand, WorldRemit said.
Central bank data showed that money sent home by Filipinos reached a record $2.849 billion in December, up 3.9% from the inflows recorded in the same month in 2017. This brought 2018’s total inflows to $28.943 billion, up 3.1% year-on-year.
Remittances from OFWs make up about 10% of the country’s gross domestic product.
In 2018, the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Canada, Germany, and Hong Kong accounted for 79% of total flows.
WorldRemit offers digital remittance services to Filipinos located in over 50 countries, allowing customers to send funds home through its mobile application or website. It processes over 1.3 million transactions monthly to over 145 destinations, including the Philippines. — KANV

MPIC hospital unit plans to raise up to P20B in fresh capital

THE hospital unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is looking to raise P15-20 billion in fresh capital in the next two years, to support its plan of having 30 to 40 hospitals in the future.
MPIC Chief Finance Officer David J. Nicol said the parent company is evaluating whether Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings, Inc. (MPHHI) should pursue an initial public offering (IPO) or private placement to secure the funds.
“We are still looking at some idea of bringing in some external money into the hospital’s portfolio. Whether we do that with a private placement or IPO — we’re evaluating,” Mr. Nicol said in a press briefing in Makati on Tuesday.
“We could bring in somewhere between P15-20 billion,” he added.
The company has been assessing whether to proceed with an IPO as early as 2015. Mr. Nicol noted that there are advantages to an IPO, such as tax efficiencies and the amount they could raise.
“But it brings certain drawbacks in team dynamics, and the way the relationships work with the doctor partners and the hospitals. We’re examining both,” Mr. Nicol explained.
MPHHI currently has 14 hospitals offering about 3,200 beds under its network. The company targets to further increase this network to 5,000 beds.
“We are now invested in the larger hospitals. So that means we will now be acquiring smaller hospitals. Two thousand beds could mean about 15 to 20 hospitals,” MPHHI President and Chief Executive Officer Augusto P. Palisoc, Jr. said in the same briefing.
The hospitals under MPHHI’s portfolio include Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Asian Hospital, De Los Santos Medical Center, Manila Doctors Hospital, Marikina Valley Medical Center, Inc., and Dr. Jesus C. Delgado Memorial Hospital.
The company also has interest in Davao Doctors Hospital, Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod, Central Luzon Doctors Hospital in Tarlac, West Metro Medical Center in Zamboanga, Sacred Heart Hospital of Malolos, Inc. in Bulacan and St. Elizabeth Hospital, Inc. in General Santos City.
MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the group is also interested in acquiring Ortigas-based hospital The Medical City, which is currently having ownership disputes between its chief executive officer, Alfredo R.A. Bengzon, and director and treasurer, Jose Xavier B. Gonzales.
“We’re just waiting for the circumstances to unfold so we can pursue that aggressively,” Mr. Palisoc said.
MPHHI said revenues grew by 14% in 2018, following an 8% uptick in out-patient visits to 3.32 million and 11% increase in in-patient admissions to 193,824. — Arra B. Francia

Energy dep’t identifies 8 ‘ailing’ electric cooperatives; Philreca criticizes Cusi

THE Department of Energy (DoE) has reduced to eight from 17 the number of electric cooperatives that are “ailing” and have failed to provide the required services, leaving them open to a possible takeover by private entities.
“Eight ’yung lumalabas. Kinakausap namin para maayos ’yung system. Wala tayong nire-revoke (There appears to be eight. We’re talking to them to fix their system. We have not revoked [any franchise].),” Energy Undersecretary William Felix B. Fuentebella told reporters on Tuesday, about a month after the DoE secretary ordered a review of the cooperatives’ financial and technical performance.
He identified the eight as the electric cooperatives (ECs) in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Ticao, Maguindanao, Abra, Lanao del Sur and Masbate.
Mr. Fuentebella said private entities had been targeting the ailing cooperatives to have their franchises revoked, leading to a possible takeover.
“Sinasabi ni Sec. [Alfonso G. Cusi] Cusi mag-concentrate tayo sa ailing [ECs] and at the same time, paano natin maayos ’yung system kung ano ’yung best sa kanila. (Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has been saying that we should concentrate on the ailing ECs, and at the same time look at how we can fix their system and find what’s best for them.),” he said.
Mr. Fuentebella said they will submit a report to Mr. Cusi, who will then decide on the next course of action. The results of the review is expected within the first half.
Meanwhile, as the DoE pursues the review of the ECs financial and technical performance, the cooperatives called for Mr. Cusi’s resignation.
Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (Philreca), which has 121 member-ECs nationwide, claimed that Mr. Cusi is “incompetent and ignorant of the law.”
It pointed to his alleged “biases and pre-conceived negative notions against electric cooperatives; preference to private for-profit corporations; abuse of power; lack of genuine knowledge regarding rural electrification and cooperativism, and failure to recognize the success and gains of rural electrification and development not just because of the government through the National Electrification Administration (NEA) but most especially because of electric cooperatives commissioned and considered implementing arm of the government.”
Separately, NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong has called on the leaders of the cooperatives and the officials of the DoE “to engage in a dialogue and find bases of unity and work together to reconcile their respective policy positions on issues that are relevant to an industry that affects the lives of 104 million Filipinos.” — Victor V. Saulon

More int’l acts in 5th improv fest

FOR its fifth year, the biennial Manila Improv Festival will feature 58 improv acts from all over the world, performing from March 27 to March 31 at the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) Theater Center in Quezon City.
Improv is a form of theater in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted.
“This is the most international festival we’ve had yet, with special shows that celebrate and embrace the roots of the individual performers,” festival producer Gabe Mercado said in a press release.
This year’s festival will have an all-Latino show, a French show, an Indians of Singapore show, and an LGBTQ show among many other acts.
“It’s also a result of us travelling a lot. For the first time we have Latin American groups because we went to the Columbia Improv Festival,” Mr. Mercado told BusinessWorld during the launch on Feb. 20 at the PETA Theater Center.
“When we were there we realized we had so much in common with Latin American groups,” he said, noting that much like Filipinos, the Latin American groups also love having music accompany their improvisational acts.
This year’s festival will also see groups and individual performers from Israel, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Australia, the United States, Spain, and France.
“With the huge number of unscripted and unrehearsed performances, you have a whole variety: some of them are comedy, some of them are dramatic, some of them are short-form which looks like games, some of them are a long-form, and some of them are musical. So I guess the best analogy is to think about it like a music festival with different kinds of unscripted performances,” Mr. Mercado said.
The Manila Improv Festival is considered one of the major improv festivals in the world and Mr. Mercado said that Manila is a hot spot in the improvisational theater scene as “Filipinos are the best audiences,” he said, quoting foreigners who have performed in the country.
“It is a new world to play for Manila. Manila loves — everything. They love it when you sing. They love it when you emote. They love it when you are funny. They love it when you are sad. They love,” Prescott Gaylord, an improv performer from Singapore, was quoted as saying in the release.
But aside from showcasing improv talents from all over the world, Mr. Mercado said that the festival is also a way to introduce improv to new audience members who they hope will get hooked on improv.
Aside from performances, the Manila Improv Festival is also hosting workshops led by local and international performers, and a series of talks titled Huntahan which seek to create spaces not just for performance but also for necessary dialogue. Among the topics are: producing an arts festival, discrimination in the artistic community, and the improvisational traditions around the world.
The 5th Manila Improv Festival will be held from March 27 to 31 at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City. Tickets are available online via https://www.ticket2me.net/. For more information e-mail thirdworldimprov@gmail.com. — Z. B. Chua

Malaysia’s central bank holds rate, sees ‘steady’ economic growth

MALAYSIA kept its key rate unchanged on Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged on Tuesday, as expected, expressing confidence that the economy can stay on a “steady growth path” despite multiple risks.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) left the overnight policy rate at 3.25%.
At that level, it said, monetary accommodativeness “is consistent with the intended policy stance.”
All 13 economists polled by Reuters had forecast BNM would hold its benchmark rate.
BNM raised its key rate in January 2018 by 25 basis points to “normalize” monetary policy. It was the first increase since 2014, and the first rate change since July 2016’s 25 basis point cut on uncertainty surrounding Britain’s Brexit vote.
The central bank outlined continued risks from unresolved trade tensions, heightened uncertainties on the global and domestic fronts and prolonged weakness in commodity-related sectors.
“Support from the external sector is expected to soften, in tandem with the moderating global growth momentum,” it said.
Malaysia’s full-year 2018 growth was 4.7%, just below the government’s 4.8% forecast but far below 2017’s 5.9%.
The government forecasts 2019 growth of 4.9%.
CHALLENGING OUTLOOK
Malaysia reported better-than-expected export growth of 3.1% in January, but it was slower than the previous month on falling palm oil shipments.
Demand for Malaysian exports has been resilient, but the US-China trade war remains a major factor that could weigh on Malaysia’s growth, economists say.
Views on the course ahead for interest rates vary.
Julia Goh, a Malaysia-based economist with UOB Bank, said Tuesday’s statement had “a stable tone, although we sense a little bit of a dovish growth outlook” depending on how the United States-China trade dispute plays out.
Capital Economics said BNM may need to cut its rate in the third quarter as the country faces weak price pressures and a poor growth outlook.
Growth is expected to slow to 4% this year, “with weaker exports and tighter fiscal policy likely to act as the main drags on the economy,” the consultancy said in a note.
“We think it is only a matter of time before the central bank starts to loosen monetary policy.”
OCBC, in a note before Tuesday’s decision, said it sees BNM as “static for 2019, even if a preference for a more dovish policy inclination may start to emerge”.
The central bank expects inflation to be broadly stable compared to last year, dependent on global oil prices.
Full-year headline inflation rose 1.0% in 2018. The consumer price index fell 0.7% in January from a year earlier, the first decline since November 2009. — Reuters

US options markets take beating in Barclays trader’s criminal manipulation case

ALLEGATIONS OF criminal market manipulation against a Barclays Plc foreign-exchange trader were tossed in the middle of a trial by a judge, who determined that US options markets are more akin to a poker game in “the Wild West” than one governed by clearly defined rules of trust.
The judge took the rare step of shutting down the trial of Robert Bogucki before it reached a jury. The ruling in favor of the head of Barclays foreign-exchange trading in New York is a setback for US prosecutors who’ve struggled in a broader crackdown targeting individual bankers for currency market manipulation.
US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco concluded there’s no way, based on the case the government built, that jurors could conclude that London-based Barclays or Bogucki owed Hewlett-Packard Co. — whose options he was trading — a duty of trust or confidence.
“The parties bluffed and ‘BS-ed’ each other, operated as principals, looked out for their own interests, and understood the other party to be ‘posturing,’ rather than providing strictly true information,” Breyer wrote in his ruling.
Prosecutors argued that Bogucki depressed the value of Hewlett-Packard’s options by front-running, or trading for the benefit of the bank’s own books, ahead of its handling a massive unwind of similar options for HP, thereby profiting the bank at the company’s expense.
The judge’s decision to pull the plug on the prosecution reflected doubts that had been gnawing at him as the trial progressed.
“I’m having a hard time to see that the criminal law is really addressed to this sort of thing, this sort of practice, especially when the practice seems to be so, little bit, Wild West out there in terms of options trading,” Breyer said during the middle of the trial, after the jury had gone home for the day.
The US had tried to convince the jury that conversations, instant chats and emails among Bogucki and his cohorts — ranging from the ordinary to the profane — pointed to a conspiracy to manipulate the options market. One trader had been quoted in a chat with Bogucki promising to “spank the market” and “bash the sh-t out of the market.” Bogucki’s defense was that those conversations were taken out of context.
Bogucki’s lawyer argued that contracts and agreements between the two sides clearly spelled out their roles. The pre-positioning trades Barclays and Bogucki made ahead of the unwind were done to hedge against the bank’s risk exposure, he argued.
For the government, the lesson of Bogucki’s win is that traders have an advantage defending themselves because “these guys live in this industry, they know this stuff,” said Tim Crudo, a former prosecutor and white-collar defense lawyer.
“They’re much more conversant in the nuances and the practices” of the financial industries they work in, Crudo said, adding that prosecutors by comparison are “not going to know the business, the industry as well as the defendants know it.”
Breyer pointed in his ruling to a crucial distinction between Bogucki’s case and that of HSBC Holdings Plc’s Mark Johnson, who was convicted of currency rigging by a federal jury in New York in 2017 and sentenced to two years in prison. Johnson is now out on bail while he pursues an appeal.
In Bogucki’s case, there was a written agreement between Hewlett-Packard and Barclays that established the parties as principals — and not Barclays as an agent — at opposite sides of an arms-length transaction. The manager of HP’s foreign-exchange team who negotiated with Bogucki testified that he understood the contract Breyer cited as the “master agreement” governing transactions between the two sides.
Barclays previously settled lawsuits over related claims with both HP and the US Hewlett-Packard has since split into two, HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
Monday’s ruling isn’t the first blow to the Justice Department’s effort to target individual traders after the US won guilty pleas in 2015 from four banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Barclays, which had to pay a combined $2.5 billion.
Bogucki’s lawyer, Sean Hecker, hailed Monday’s ruling for showing that “the government’s attempt to rewrite the rules years after the fact runs counter to core constitutional principles of due process.”
“This is yet another failed attempt by the Department of Justice to regulate this market with ill-conceived and entirely unfounded prosecutions,” he said in an email.
Abraham Simmons, a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office in San Francisco, declined to comment. — Bloomberg

Arts & Culture (03/05/19)

Noli Me Tangere, The Opera returns

THE Philippines’ first full-length opera, National Artists Guillermo Tolentino and Felipe Padilla De Leon’s 1957 opera, Noli Me Tangere (Huwag Mo Salangin/Touch Me Not) returns to the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Main Theater from March 8 to 10. In this all-new production, about 200 actors-classical singers, classical musicians, and production crew are joining forces including Nerissa de Juan and Bianca Lopez (alternating as Maria Clara); Ivan Nery and Nomher U. Nival (Juan Crisostomo Ibarra); Allison Cervantes, Kelly Peralejo, and Bernadette Mamauag (Sisa); Joseleo Logdat (Elias); Greg Abelardo de Leon (Pilosopo Tasyo); Nil’s Flores and Ronaldo Villaruel Abarquez (Padre Damaso); Miguel Espiritu (Kapitan Tiago); Noel Comia, Jr. and Mari Yapjoco (Basilio), and Santino Juan Santiago (Crispin). It is co-directed by Jerry Sibal and Jose Jeffrey Camanag, and features the 53-piece NOLI Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Herminigildo Ranera. The opera has English supertitles. Tickets range in price from P900 to P3,500 and are available at J&S Productions, Inc. (0947-168-1714, 0915-819-3459, or 99802356), the CCP Box Office (832-3704/06), or TicketWorld (891-9999, https://ticketworld.com.ph).

Soun Hong holds solo exhibition

1335MABINI presents Soun Hong’s solo exhibition Sidescape — Objections, which opens on March 9, 6 pm. In this series, Soun Hong re-contextualizes images based on photographic references. The exhibit will be at the 1335MABINI branch at Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Chino Roces Ave. Extension, Makati.

CCP art collection book out

THE Visual Arts and Museum Division of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) has released a publication on the Visual Arts Collection of the CCP — Cultural Cache: Selected Works from the Visual Arts Collection of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Since its inauguration 50 years, the CCP has actively promoted Philippines visual arts, together with the performing arts as among its major programs. In 1985, the art collection of the Museum of Philippine Art was merged with that of the CCP Museum, which now comprises the CCP’s Visual Arts Collection. The collection has, in many ways, become a reflection of the history of the CCP as it includes works by artists who have actively contributed to its programs for almost five decades. Cultural Cache showcases these artworks, including works in various media and forms — painting, sculpture, drawing, prints, mixed media works — as well as thematic essays and write-ups on selected artists represented in the collection. For inquiries about Cultural Cache, call 832-3706, e-mail ccpsalesandpromo@gmail.com or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.

MSO Jr. does Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

THE Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra (MSJO) and Italian violinist Alessio Benvenuti perform one of the most popular pieces of classical music, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, on March 14, 6:30 p.m. at the ground floor of the Ayala Museum. Aside from the Four Seasons, the MSJO and Mr. Benvenuti will perform other Vivaldi compositions that evening. Tickets are available at the Ayala Museum Ticket Counter or through Ticketworld. Tickets range in price from P700 regular tickets (with discounts for Atala Museum Members, AGC employees, ARC Members, senior citizens and students) up to P1,000 for limited premiere tickets.

BP’s Tales of The Manuvu

IN celebration of its 40th Anniversary, the Maryknoll/Miriam College Alumni Association (MMCAA) is sponsoring a special matinee show of the restaging of one of Ballet Philippines’ (BP) most celebrated productions, the original rock opera, Tales of the Manuvu, on March 24. Choreographed and directed by National Artist for Dance and one of Miriam College’s Amazing Alumni Achiever Awardees, Alice Reyes, Tales of the Manuvu is based on the retelling of the origin myths of the Manuvu Tribe. The ballet will be staged at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. In this 2019 production, Francis de Veyra provides new musical arrangements while Loy Arcenas does the production design. Singing in the show are Ding Mercado, Shiela Valderrama, Lorenz Martinez, Poppert Bernadas, Aicelle Santos, Lara Maigue, Nar Cabico, and Reuben Laurente, along with the UP Concert Chorus and the Radioactive Sago Project. Proceeds from this benefit show will go to the Lumad Bakwit School Manobos and other Lumads, and the MMCAA’s Project MMaria (Quick Response to Emergencies) Initiative. Ticket prices range from P300 to P3,000 and are available via TicketWorld and the MMCAA office, where an exclusive 4+1 (Buy 4 get 1) 40th anniversary promo on P3,000, P2,500 and P1,500 tickets is available. For details, e-mail alumni@mc.edu.ph or call the MMCAA office at 930-6272 loc. 1187.

Women’s Month at CCP

THE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) celebrates the Women’s Month this March with film screenings, theatrical readings, and a publication fair. The Arthouse Cinema, a project under the CCP Film, Broadcast and New Media Division, will feature cinematic works by women filmmakers, and films tackling women and gender issues. To be screened is Kip Oebanda’s Liway on March 14, 2 p.m., at Tanghalang Manuel Conde. Liway, which received the Audience Choice Award and Special Jury Commendation in the Cinemalaya 2018, is based on a true story about a young boy who lives with his parents inside Camp Delgado, a makeshift prison inside a military camp for both rebels and criminals. The screening of Liway will be followed at 5 p.m. by Women in Shorts, featuring Cinemalaya’s best short films including Mater by Annemikami Pablo (2015), Pusong Bato by Martika Escobar (2015); Wawa by Anj Macalanda (2015); Pektus by Isabel Quesada (2016); Manong ng Pa-Aling by E del Mundo (2017); Lola Loleng by Che Tagyamon (2017); and Yakap by Mika Fabella and Rafael Froilan (2018). On March 28, there will be a back-to-back screenings of Anna Francesca Espiritu’s Pan de Salawal (2018) and Inna Miren Salazar Acuña and Dos Ocampo’s Ang Bagong Pamilya ni Ponching (2016). The screenings will be 2 and 5 p.m., respectively, at Tanghalang Manuel Conde. Meanwhile, in partnership with the Women Playwrights International Philippines, there will be a Readathon of Women Plays on March 15 and 16, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the CCP’s Silangan Hall. On March 16, there will be a whole day fair featuring books, zines, and artworks created by women artists and authors called the Gandang Ganda Sa Sariling Gawa (GGSSG) Zine Fair, co-organized by the Gantala Press. All events are free and open to the public. For inquiries on film screenings, call the FBNMD at 832-1125 local 1702/1704. For the Readathon on Women Plays, call the Intertextual Division at 832-1125 local 1707.

Phinma Energy unit gives up interest in exploration block

PHINMA Energy Corp. said its listed petroleum and geothermal exploration subsidiary had relinquished its participating interest in Service Contract (SC) 6 Block B, a move that was previously approved by the Department of Energy (DoE).
Phinma Energy told the stock exchange that Phinma Petroleum and Geothermal, Inc. (PPG) has given up its 14.063% participating interest in the exploration block. It said the withdrawal was cleared by the DoE on Oct. 30, 2018.
“PPG believes that the remaining prospects in the block are either uneconomic or high risk and, therefore, do not warrant further investments,” Phinma Energy said.
But the company said the unit had retained its 2.475% carried interest in the block or a non-paying interest comparable to a royalty that shares in any production revenues.
It said the retention was meant to ensure that the company would still benefit in the event of any commercial oil production in the area.
Phinma Energy gave up the service contract as it wraps up the sale of the company to the Ayalas’ AC Energy, Inc.
Meanwhile, Phinma Energy said its board of directors had approved the postponement of the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting, which its by-laws say should be held on any business day in April of each year.
The postponement is in line with the investment agreement between Phinma Corp., Phinma, Inc. and AC Energy under the terms of which the Phinma group will sell and transfer to the Ayala Corp. unit all their shares of stock in Phinma Energy constituting a majority of its issued and outstanding shares.
The company said it had been informed that on the closing of the transaction after obtaining approval of the Philippine Competition Commission, a change of management in Phinma Energy would take place.
On Tuesday, shares in Phinma Energy slipped by 1.49% to close at P1.32 each. — Victor V. Saulon

How PSEi member stocks performed — March 5, 2019

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.

 
Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — March 5, 2019.

DoTr signals readiness to consider other Sangley airport schemes

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said it is giving Cavite province until mid-2019 to lock down the financing plan for its Sangley airport proposal, signalling the department’s readiness to move forward with other proposals.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade told reporters last week that issues remain with the funding plan for the Cavite government’s $10 billion proposal — which was submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Feb. 19 — and added he will continue to consider other proposals for Sangley.
The value of the proposal and its submission to NEDA was confirmed to BusinessWorld by Cavite 7th district Rep. Jesus Crispin C. Remulla in a reply to a phone query.
“To cite the example of Sangley: If I want to use for some other purpose, should we delay because there is a pending offer? That shouldn’t be the case,” he said.
Mr. Tugade added he is giving the Cavite government a “reasonable period,” which is until middle of this year, to “come up with a decision one way or another.” Afterwards, he said he is open to consider the alternative proposal from the private sector.
Last year, Sangley Airport Infrastructure Group, Inc. (SAIG) submitted a $12-billion Philippine Sangley International Airport plan to the DoTr. This has been put on hold to prioritize the government-to-government transaction with the Cavite province.
SAIG is a consortium formed by Solar Group’s Wilson Y. Tieng and SM group’s Sy family.
Aside from evaluating the airport proposals for Sangley, Mr. Tugade said he also wants to utilize the current Air Force base for general aviation.
“I can also go ahead with my plan to transfer general aviation flights there,” he said, thereby decongesting Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In December, the DoTr announced plans to transfer general aviation flights to Sangley by the third quarter of 2019 as it continues to develop its runway and install hangars at the air base.
“I believe in the value of using Sangley. My strategy is not to wait. I’ve already told the proponent that since I’m improving the runway, if the airport project goes to them, they should involve the government. But I won’t delay the repair of the runway,” Mr. Tugade said.
In a letter to Mr. Tieng in April 2018, the DoTr said it would return to evaluating the group’s proposal if it decides to reject Cavite province’s pitch. “If for whatever reason, we decide not to push through with the Sangley Airport as a government undertaking, we will subsequently consider your submitted unsolicited proposal for evaluation and inform you accordingly of our decision,” it said. — Denise A. Valdez

Delayed 2019 budget expected in Malacañang by March 10

THE delayed 2019 budget remained untransmitted to the President well into the third month of the year, amid claims of last-minute revisions to the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) approved by Congress, though a key legislator said the legislation will be forwarded to the Palace by March 10.
Senator Panfilo M. Lacson alleged in a statement Tuesday that the GAB is being “manipulated” after both Houses of Congress ratified the measure, but House Appropriations Committee chair Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. of the 1st district of Camarines Sur said the last-minute adjustments are being undertaken to “itemize” certain lump-sum funds.
“The House is itemizing the appropriations therein, fleshing out lump-sum funds, without departing from the approved specifications of the House-Senate approved budget, and by so doing make the budget more transparent and easy to scrutinize,” Mr. Andaya said in a statement Tuesday.
“We believe that by detailing the items in the budget, by enumerating what will be funded, projects and programs, per agency and by district, will be clear and evident,” he added.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s spokesman Salvador S. Panelo on Tuesday said Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has rejected claims of last-minute changes to the budget.
“According to Speaker Arroyo, as far as she knows, whatever is approved in the (bicameral conference committee) is now the one being printed for submission to the Executive,” Mr. Panelo told reporters after his phone conversation with Ms. Arroyo.
Mr. Lacson said the “manipulations” include Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) funding of P25 million for individual legislators as opposed to P8 million each for others.
The House and the Senate ratified the budget bill on Feb. 8, but have yet to transmit the final version to the President for signing. Mr. Andaya said in a phone message that the chamber plans to transmit the 2019 GAB on “March 10.”
Minority Leader Danilo E. Suarez of the 3rd district of Quezon called legislators with reduced funding “collateral damage” of the House’s leadership struggles.
Also on Tuesday, the House Minority bloc said it will continue with ongoing investigations against former Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno after his appointment as the new governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
“There are still pending issues in the House. We have no closure,” Mr. Suarez said. “I intend to continue with the hearings, taking advantage of my remaining months in Congress.”
Mr. Lacson called the “manipulation” of the budget “brazen and illegal” as well as “a clear violation of the 1987 Constitution, which states in Article VI Section 26: “Upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereto shall be allowed.”
Asked to comment, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III on Tuesday said he was consulting with the Senate committee on finance, which is headed by Senator Loren B. Legarda, on the allegations of Mr. Lacson.
“Yes, I’m aware and I’m consulting (Senator) Loren (B. Legarda) and Ping (referring to Mr. Lacson). I think I would know what to do,” he said in a mobile phone message to reporters.
“I will not sign anything that we did not approve. You should know me better than that,” he added.
Economic managers have stressed that further delays in the passage of the 2019 national budget will hurt the country’s economic growth in the first quarter of the year and will delay the government’s big-ticket projects.
Congress’ deliberations on the 2019 national budget were delayed by allegations of “insertions” made by both chambers of Congress, which have been branded “pork barrel” in another form. — Charmaine A. Tadalan, Arjay L. Balinbin, Camille A. Aguinaldo

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