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10 strategies to keep children safe on the roads

By Dinna Louise C. Dayao
Second part
6. ADAPT VEHICLE DESIGN.
Some vehicle safety measures can reduce risks for children more than adults. These measures include redesigning vehicle fronts to make them more “pedestrian friendly,” equipping vehicles with cameras and audible alarms that can detect small objects missed by the rear-view mirror, and Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems which can prevent collisions between motor vehicles and children who are walking or cycling.
AEB systems use lasers, radar, or video cameras to detect moving people in the path of the vehicle. When they detect a looming collision, the systems automatically apply the brakes.
“AEB can reduce impact speeds by as much as 15 kph so reducing the severity of injury” to people on foot, says the European Transport Safety Council.
7. REDUCE DRINKING AND DRIVING.
People who drink and drive pose a major risk to children who walk, pedal bicycles, or ride motor vehicles. Ways to curb drink driving include enforcing drinking and driving laws through random breath testing, and enforcing blood alcohol limits of 0.05 grams per deciliter or less for all drivers and 0.02 grams per deciliter or less for young drivers.
Success story: A broad policy in Estonia cut the number of drink-driving deaths from 61 in 2006 to seven in 2016 — an 89% decrease. Such progress is the result of introducing in 2000 a blood alcohol limit of 0.02 grams per deciliter for all drivers.
Strict enforcement is key. Estonia has the highest drink driving enforcement levels in the European Union. The number of roadside alcohol breath tests went up from 105 in 2010 to 677 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2015.
8. REDUCE RISKS FOR YOUNG DRIVERS.
Novice drivers are involved in many road crashes globally. Effective graduated driver licensing schemes, which incorporate restrictions for new drivers before full licensing is achieved, can save the lives of many children.
Such schemes include strategies like lowering blood alcohol levels for newbie drivers, and driving with a responsible adult for a designated period of time while learning to drive.
Success story: In Lithuania, an improved training system for new drivers was launched in 2010. Tougher requirements for driver training and examination and stricter controls on driving schools were also introduced.
Thanks to the upgraded system, “The proportion of novice drivers involved in fatal collisions dropped by 41 percent over the period 2012 to 2017,” says Vidmantas Pumputis of Lithuania’s Ministry of Transport and Communications.
9. PROVIDE APPROPRIATE CARE FOR INJURED KIDS.
Key strategies include training health care providers in the physiologic differences between children and adults, and on how to meet the distinct treatment needs of children, and equipping emergency vehicles with child-sized medical equipment and supplies.
Success story: Khon Kaen Hospital is in Thailand. In 2006, data showed that about 10,000 road traffic injury patients visited its emergency room each year, of whom 4,000 were admitted.
The hospital’s managers created a multidisciplinary trauma care team to regularly review cases of road crash victims who had died in the hospital. The team assessed where care could have been better and identified simple corrective actions, such as targeted training for health care providers and monitoring protocols for severe cases.
These actions were then made part of hospital routines. The result was dramatic: Mortality rate among moderately and severely injured road crash victims was cut by almost half.
10. SUPERVISE CHILDREN AROUND ROADS.
Parents and other caregivers can ensure that kids use helmets, car seats and seat belts and abide by the rules of the road for their own safety.
Combining these strategies can bring about significant results. Among the 32 countries covered in a 2018 report by the European Transport Safety Council, Norway has the lowest child road mortality rate. In 2016, two children were killed in road crashes, adding up to the 53 recorded deaths since 2006. Over the last decade, child road deaths have decreased by around 14% yearly.
Road safety expert Michael Sorensen cites the reasons behind this impressive achievement. He notes that parents and teachers look after children when they play or walk outdoors. The speed and traffic volume have been reduced in residential areas; rules on child restraints have been intensified, and their usage rates have increased, he says.
 
This story has been produced with the help of a grant from The Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), a hosted project of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Dinna Louise C. Dayao’s road safety reporting has also been supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Maybe sports cars shouldn’t be co-developed between rival brands

The fifth-generation Toyota Supra sports coupe is officially out. A legend has returned, the Japanese automaker proudly announces. If you ask many fans of both the brand and the model, however, there is nothing legendary about this A90 version. That’s partly because the car is underpinned by a platform co-developed with BMW, but also largely because it is powered by the German car manufacturer’s 3.0-liter straight-six gasoline engine — essentially the same heart that toils under the hood of the equally new Z4 roadster.
In other words, the “purists” are accusing Toyota of simply re-badging a BMW sports car. While Toyota defenders are quick to label such critics as harsh fault-finders, the latter do have a point. Why go to a rival brand to help you create a new product that is supposed to be a flagship model — one that’s steeped in illustrious history? You could say: Well, BMW is technically not a competitor of Toyota since its positioning is more premium. Yes, but Toyota has a luxury division that stands toe-to-toe with BMW (you may have heard of Lexus).
You could then argue: Well, Toyota needed to stay true to the Supra’s rear-wheel-drive, in-line-six-cylinder-engine fabled combo, and BMW had already mastered this blueprint. But you have to ask if the new Supra’s credibility wouldn’t have been better served by a 3.5-liter V6 mill from Lexus’s RC coupe instead. I mean, is nostalgia more important than originality and independence? Toyota running to BMW to put together a new sports car is like Kevin Durant crossing over to the Golden State Warriors to win a championship. Or something like that. The achievement, if you can even call it that, is simply not as sweet or special.
Now, I get the concept of platform-sharing. Car companies do this all the time. The objective is to cut costs and save precious time in developing new vehicle models. Which is absolutely brilliant, to be honest. But platform-sharing, in my opinion, should be confined to regular passenger cars. You know. . . sedans, hatchbacks, minivans, SUVs, pickups. Sports cars — they that represent the pinnacle of motoring excitement — need to be spared from this. Sports cars are a different breed altogether. People don’t buy one for convenience — they do so for fun. They purchase a sports coupe not just to go from A to B, but to make sure that the journey is so exceptional that the destination is irrelevant.
Put another way, sports cars are personal, intimate, unique. Their buyers need to know that the car they’re buying has a soul and is legit — not the byproduct of a corporate handshake meant to improve the bottom line of the companies involved.
So, yes, I perfectly understand those who are dismissing the new Supra as a merely rebadged Bimmer. Fair point.
But here’s another interesting point: In which world would Toyota buyers complain about getting a BMW engine? In a world where Toyota’s brand is very strong, that’s where. You would think potential Supra owners might welcome the thought of having a tried-and-tested European power plant shoehorned under the hood of the Asian sports car they’re eyeing. But no, they’re upset. They want a Toyota car inside and out. They want a Toyota heart beating inside a Toyota car. Anything less is a travesty.
You might ask: But wasn’t the 86 with its Subaru engine a success? Yes, but the 86 isn’t the Supra. Plus, I don’t think automotive history will be very kind to the 86, seeing that it has had to share its identity with the BRZ. The Supra is another matter entirely. It has a solid cult following. It’s a two-door hero that makes grown men piss their pants. I don’t doubt that the new Supra is a hoot to drive. I just wish Toyota hadn’t given it Bavarian propulsion.

For the digital shopper, trust and authenticity are king

Your friend’s birthday’s coming up, so you go to your favorite online shop searching for the perfect gift, only to be greeted with a billion choices from merchants you’ve never even heard of. So instead of basking in the convenience of online shopping, you leave the site more stressed than before. Sound familiar? This scenario highlights one of the biggest problems in the age of online shopping—building trust and authenticity.
Right now, we can practically buy anything online—from clothes, to food, to even cars. But the immense convenience that online shopping offers isn’t without its set of challenges. Obviously, we cannot physically examine products, so descriptions, pictures, and reviews have become our go-to resources when it comes to deciding whether something belongs to our cart or not.
It’s a bit like looking for a relationship (bear with me on this). The first thing you notice when you meet someone might be their looks (packaging, description) and when you make the purchase and start dating you get to know them better, finding out if the product really matches the packaging. The information you’ll gather then becomes the basis of whether you stay in the relationship, or move on to the next one.
To help buyers, online platforms have implemented all sorts of online features and functions to give us as much information as possible. Not sure how a certain dress will fit? The product listing probably includes a picture of a woman wearing the dress, complete with the model’s measurements. Some shops even show videos of the products in use to help us visualize how we can use the product after purchase.
But aside from the products themselves, we also have the problem if figuring out if what we’re looking at actually even exist! We’ve all been there: We type a product on the search bar and we’re presented with tons of choices of the same item with different ratings, different prices, and different brands from different shops! The biggest challenge? Finding out which ones are legit, have fair prices, and will actually get delivered to you.

What are our options?

This is why platforms such as Argomall.com are quite refreshing. Founded in 2015 by Filipino-owned conglomerate Transnational Diversified Group, Argomall operates with a simple premise: Let’s make consumers trust us by selling only authentic products with fair prices and simplifying the buying process. Most importantly, it uses human customer service representatives instead of bots or automated responses to better serve its customers.
Building relationships with customers is a peculiar strategy in a digital world  that emphasizes scalable operations. But if we’re approaching our online purchases the way we approach building new relationships, trust and authenticity are absolutely the only way to go. After the initial purchase, we go back to a platform if we know it sells authentic items, is transparent with its pricing and promotions, and strives to build trust with its customers.
While it’s well and good that a platform is truthful about its product descriptions or terms, we often have a limited budget to work with, so price really matters. Having dozens of versions of the same item with vastly different prices (not to mention hidden charges, fake discounts, or bogus markdowns) only serve to confuse buyers, so platforms like Argomall.com streamline that process by posting a single price for each item, shipping fee included.
Does putting emphasis on trust, transparency and authenticity really the way to go in the digital age? Time will tell. But knowing what really is important to customers is a huge step towards gaining their confidence and building meaningful and reliable relationships. And sometimes, that is all that is needed.

S&P cuts PHL outlook on ‘carryover’ risks

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Senior Reporter
WEAK EXPORTS and rising costs will likely cap growth this year, S&P Global Ratings said on Monday as it slashed forecasts anew for the Philippines.
Andrew Wood, director for sovereign and international public finance ratings at S&P, said the government’s 7-8% growth goal will again be missed this 2019 as both the external and domestic environments will likely dampen prospects.
“The economy slowed last year… There’s a carryover of this. For one, on the exports side, the external conditions again might not be as supportive as they were prior to 2018. That kind of carried over to this year,” Mr. Wood said in a webcast yesterday afternoon.
“We’re going to have slightly lower credit growth probably as well, following the interest rate hikes in 2018 when the central bank looked to combat higher-than-expected inflation. That carries over too.”
S&P expects Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 6.4% this year, which is slower than the 6.6% forecast it gave in November. Still, this is faster than the 6.2% forecast for 2018 but well below the low end of the state’s target.
The economy expanded by 6.3% in 2018’s first three quarters. BusinessWorld analysts expect a same pace for the entire 2018, ahead of the release of the official report on Thursday.
On the other hand, inflation averaged 5.2% last year, breaching a 2-4% official target band.
In response, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised benchmark rates by a total of 175 basis points from May to November to rein in surging consumer prices. That pushed the key rate to 4.75%, the highest in nearly a decade.
Despite this, S&P expects the Philippines to sustain its above-six percent growth momentum given a boost from the local spending boom.
A relatively bigger fiscal deficit that will accommodate increased spending on infrastructure projects will be supportive of growth in the near term and even in the long run.
“You also have the relatively healthy domestic consumer factor, healthy labor markets and wage growth,” Mr. Wood explained.
“All of this will be supportive to a certain degree, but the factors on exports and credit side will take a bite too.”
The debt watcher expects Philippine growth to accelerate to 6.6% annually in 2020 and 2021, albeit still below the official government target.
The Philippines has kept a “BBB” rating — a notch above minimum investment grade — with a “positive” outlook from S&P since April 2018, signaling chances of a rating upgrade over the next two years. A higher credit rating vouches for an economy’s solid fiscal footing, allowing it to borrow at cheaper rates.

‘Bloody’ conference with House ahead as Senate OK’s proposed 2019 budget

By Camille A. Aguinaldo
Reporter
THE SENATE on Monday approved its version of the P3.757-trillion proposed national budget for 2019 on second and third reading in quick session and moved to form a bicameral conference panel.
But an upcoming conference with a counterpart panel of the House of Representatives could prove “bloody,” according to a vice-chairman of the Senate Finance committee, citing significant differences between the two versions.
Amendments introduced in the proposed budget, according to Finance committee Chairperson Senator Loren B. Legarda, included restoration of P16.796 billion in the Department of Health budget for the its health facilities and P4.797 billion for “human resource for health development.”
The budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways was reduced by the Senate due to the road right-of-way issues and various projects which were not part of the agency’s original submission to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The Senate has also took from unprogrammed funds to provide for the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, the P10-billion coconut farmer and industry development fund, P18 billion for implementation of the universal healthcare program, and P40 billion for the envisioned Bangsamoro autonomous region.
The House approved House Bill No. 8169, or the “General Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2019,” on third and final reading on Nov. 20. Both chambers have until Feb. 8 to reconcile and ratify the budget before Congress goes on break for the May 13 elections.
The Senate has designated Ms. Legarda, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, Senators Cynthia A. Villar, Panfilo M. Lacson, Juan Edgardo M. Angara, Nancy S. Binay-Angeles, Joseph Victor G. Ejercito and Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV as members of the chamber’s contingent to the bicameral conference committee on the measure.
Mr. Lacson, one of the Finance committee’s five vice-chairmen, expects the bicameral conference committee on the 2019 national budget to be “bloody” due to significant differences between the versions of the Senate and of the House. “The problem [in the] bicam[eral conference committee]: this is going to be a bit bloody because there’s a wide discrepancy between the Senate and House of Representatives versions,” he said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel.
Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III told reporters that the bicameral conference committee on the proposed 2019 budget will start on Tuesday, Jan. 22. “And hopefully next week, we will ratify it and it will be ready for the signature of the President,” Mr. Sotto said.
POSITIONED TO DO BATTLE
Camarines Sur 1st district Rep. Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. on Monday assumed chairmanship of the House Committee on Appropriations and passed on his position as Majority Leader to now former Deputy Speaker Fredenil H. Castro
“I am stepping down as Majority Leader to assume the chairmanship of the Committee on Appropriations,” Mr. Andaya said in a statement on the same day that the Senate approved its 2019 national budget version.
“The House leadership under Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has accepted my offer to relinquish my post and lead the contingent tasked to complete one major unfinished business left in our calendar: the passage of the 2019 national budget,” he explained.
“We are now confronted with two choices: rubber-stamping the passage of a greatly-flawed budget on time, or using more time to craft a better one purged of its in-born defects.”
Newly seated Majority Leader Castro said the leadership change had long been an agreement between him and Mr. Andaya. “It’s part of the agreement or understanding… [t]hat… was agreed long before Congressman Andaya assumed the position as majority leader.”
The leadership change comes amid investigations against Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno on alleged irregular budget practices of the Department of Budget and Management and an alleged ouster plot against Mr. Andaya.
SPEAKER’S DIRECTIVES
Ms. Arroyo herself on Monday pushed for the retention of the P20-billion increase in the P123.7-billion proposed budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for 2019.
“The House had increased the budget of DA by P20 billion upon my instruction because I noticed that since my administration, the budget for DA had dropped significantly,” she said in a statement.
Ms. Arroyo said she will direct House bicameral conference committee members to ensure the increase is retained in the final version of the 2019 national budget. “We have to make sure the increase in the DA budget is retained in the final budget because it will enable the DA to implement measures that will help farmers and increase production needed to control inflation,” she said, referring to food items’ key role in driving inflation to multi-year highs in 2018.
Ms. Arroyo said during her time as President from January 2001 to mid-2010, about six percent of the national budget was allocated for agriculture, which went down to 1.5% in the succeeding administration.
In a separate statement, issued also on Monday, Ms. Arroyo said she will also instruct the House contingent in the bicameral panel to include at least a P100-million allocation for urban poor “acquisition of titles and reblocking of individual lots for the 422-hectare NGC in Quezon City.” Residents in NGC were awarded their own lands through the Republic Act No. 9207, or the National Government Center Housing and Land Utilization Act of 2003, which Ms. Arroyo signed during her presidency. It was reported, however, that 20% of the beneficiaries have not been awarded their titles.
ONGOING PROJECTS UNAFFECTED
The Department of Budget and Management said on Monday that contracts for ongoing projects will be awarded under the reenacted budget for the first few months of this year.
“Awarding of contracts may already proceed for programs and projects that underwent early procurement if the amount needed can be covered by the funds available under a reenacted budget,” Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno was quoted as saying in a press statement.
According to Circular 09-2018 issued by the Government Procurement Policy Board, procurement covering recurring projects included in both the 2018 General Appropriations Act and 2019 National Expenditures Program “may be awarded” on the basis of the 2019 reenacted budget.
Congress failed to ratify the proposed 2019 national budget before 2018 ended, leading to automatic reenactment of last year’s spending plan. While this ensures funding for projects already under way, a re-enacted budget does not provide money for new projects that had been lined up under the new spending plan. — with Charmaine A. Tadalan and Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Southeast Asian central banks, multilateral groups ‘reassess’ crisis models

TOP monetary authorities in Southeast Asia are in the country to compare notes and discuss strategies for financial stability, marking a new regional initiative to strengthen standards and prevent future crises.
Representatives of member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are attending a regional dialogue organized by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the goal of threshing out policy proposals a decade after the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008.
An “informal” regional network was also created yesterday, led by Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus and Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo.
The IMF, World Bank, the Bank for International Settlements and the South East Asian Central Banks Research and Training Centre also took part in two-day dialogue which ends today.
‘NO LONGER… THE OLD NORMAL’
“The realization from 2008 was that we needed to re-assess our framework and our models,” BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier said in a speech during the opening ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Monday.
“Stress points in the financial market are not simply auxiliary issues. Instead, they require our direct attention.”
Back then, excessive lending gave way to massive credit defaults which in turn triggered the collapse of big banks that ultimately caused recession worldwide.
“The breadth and depth of the Global Financial Crisis make financial stability impossible to disregard. This is true even for ASEAN despite its not being a direct party to the build-up of risks and the eventual materialization of the vulnerabilities,” the central bank official said, reading remarks on behalf of BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr.
Tasks include coming up with a common understanding of financial stability, the BSP official said, as well as a change in attitude among regulators in terms of addressing market volatility.
“[T]he previous economic orthodoxy looked at financial market volatilities as being fully subsumed under the management of the macroeconomy. For as long as the macroeconomy was growing and stable, financial market imbalances were only temporary and expectation was that the market would eventually return to the normal state,” Ms. Fonacier said.
“At the very least, we can no longer afford the old normal under the previous orthodoxy. We cannot take the financial market as a passive add-on to the macroeconomy. Rather we must view it as one that can directly cause systemic risks.”
In her remarks in the same meeting, IMF Deputy Director Ratna Sahay said the dialogue seeks to come up with “forward-looking” risk assessments to mitigate future risks, while sharing tools and lessons specifically for Southeast Asia.
GLOBAL GROWTH SLOWING
In a separate development on Monday, the IMF expects an even slower global economy this year as risks continue to hound the outlook.
The IMF’s World Economic Outlook report projects global output to expand by 3.5%, slower than the 3.7% projected for 2018.
The forecast is also two percentage points lower than the previous estimates published in October.
“The further downward revision since October in part reflects carry over from softer momentum in the second half of 2018… but also weakening financial market sentiment as well as a contraction in Turkey now projected to be deeper than anticipated,” the report read.
“Risks to global growth tilt to the downside. An escalation of trade tensions beyond those already incorporated in the forecast remains a key source of risk to the outlook. Financial conditions have already tightened…”
The easing growth momentum is due to a “persistent decline” in the growth rate of advanced economies, as well as a slowdown among emerging markets due to the impact of persistent trade tensions between China and the United States.
By 2020, global growth is pegged to slightly recover to 3.6%.
Growth is seen better for the ASEAN-5 consisting of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The estimate is pegged at 5.1% this year and 5.2% in 2020, but will be tested by “difficult external conditions” as observed in recent months. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Ely and Itchyworms collaborate once more, this time in a concert

FOR ONE night, Resorts World Manila is bringing two of the most prominent names in the Philippine rock scene as it presents Ely Buendia and the Itchyworms: Greatest Hits on Feb. 9 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.
“This concert ticks [a lot of items] in our bucket list,” Jazz Nicolas, lead vocalist of Itchyworms said during a press conference on Jan. 14 at Resorts World Manila’s El Calle restaurant in Pasay City.
“It has always been our dream to play Eraserheads songs in a concert, play Eraserheads songs with Ely Buendia in a concert and play in a venue with such good sound like Newport,” he explained.
Eleandre “Ely” Buendia rose to fame as the guitarist and lead vocal of the Eraserheads band which was formed in 1989 while the members were studying in the University of the Philippines-Diliman.
The band originally included Mr. Buendia, Raimund Marasigan (drums), Marcus Adoro (lead guitar) and Buddy Zabala (bass).
Their debut album, Ultraelectromagneticpop!, featured hits like “Pare Ko,” “Toyang,” and “Ligaya.”
The band’s third studio album, Cutterpillow, spawned hits like “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” “Overdrive,” and “Huwag Mo Nang Itanong.”
Mr. Buendia left the band in 2002, but he performed in reunion concerts in 2008 and 2009.
Last year, songs from the Eraserheads catalog were used in a musical called Ang Huling El Bimbo about two friends who get back together after spending 20 years apart. The musical ran for two weeks at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.
The members of Itchyworms — Mr. Nicolas, Jugs Jugueta on rhythm guitar and vocals, Kelvin Yu on bass guitar and Chino Singson on lead guitar — said during the press conference that they had always looked up to the Eraserheads and its former lead vocalist Ely Buendia.
Itchyworms was formed in 1996 and is known for guitar-driven rock with 1960s and 1980s rock sensibilities. Some of its best known songs come from the 2006 album, Noontime Show, which featured “Akin Ka Na Lang” and “Beer.”
It won Album of the Year at the 2006 NU Rock Awards.
In 2016, the Itchyworms song “Di Na Muli” won the top prize at the PhilPop 2016.
In the same year, the band and Mr. Buendia collaborated on the song “Pariwara,” and this was followed by another collaboration in 2017 called “Lutang.”
Ely Buendia and the Itchyworms: Greatest Hits concert will be held on Feb. 9, 8 p.m., at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila in Pasay City. Tickets are available via www.ticketworld.com.ph and at the Resorts World Manila Box Office (908-8000 local 7700). Ticket prices range from P1,300 to P6,000. — Z.B. Chua

SEC upholds Calata delisting

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
THE country’s corporate regulator has upheld the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) decision to remove agribusiness firm Calata Corp. from the local bourse, due to violations of trading and disclosure rules.
In a statement issued Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) en banc affirmed the PSE’s decision on Nov. 3, 2017 that delisted Calata and imposed a perpetual ban on its Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President Joseph H. Calata from being a director of any listed company.
Officers of the agribusiness company, namely Jose Marie E. Fabella, Halmond Parker R. Ong, Melvin H. Calata, Johnny L. Uy, Edmund M. Solilapsi, and Conrado C. Zablan, will also be disqualified from becoming directors and/or executive officers of a listed firm for a period of five years following the delisting procedures.
“The other directors, although they neither illicitly-traded nor failed to disclose, may also be held liable because they bound themselves to ensure that Calata would not commit any violation of the PSE Disclosure Rules. This duty is echoed in the Listing Agreement between Calata and PSE,” according to SEC’s decision.
Sought for comment, Mr. Calata questioned the SEC’s decision and its capacity to protect the investing public.
“If SEC thinks that the public, which owns the majority share, should be punished by the alleged act of one, is it in tune with its vision that SEC is the champion of investor protection?” Mr. Calata said in a text message.
The PSE ordered the delisting of Calata back in 2017 due to its repeated violations of PSE Disclosure Rules and Delisting Rules. The bourse counted 29 distinct violations of Section 13.1 of the PSE Disclosure Rules due to the company’s failure to disclose changes in the shareholdings of its directors and principal officers.
Item C, Section 13.1 of the PSE Disclosure Rules states that directors and principal officers of a listed firm must disclose any “acquisition, disposal, or change” in their shareholdings to the PSE within five trading days.
Calata was also found to have committed 26 violations of Section 13.2 of the same rules, otherwise known as the Blackout Rule. This means that its officers or directors traded shares in Calata during a blackout period, where only they were aware of material information that may affect the firm.
Under PSE rules, company officials are not allowed to execute trades of shares in their own company up to two full trading days after the price sensitive information is disclosed.
Mr. Calata was also found to have delayed the disclosure of multiple trades of Calata shares from November 2016 to March 2017 and from April to June 2017. The first set of trades was disclosed on June 23, 2017, way beyond the required five trading days, while the second set was disclosed only on July 27, 2017.
The SEC noted that Mr. Calata himself “consistently admitted that trades were executed while they were in possession of material non-public information and that there was a failure to disclose the same to the PSE.”
Meanwhile, the SEC ruled that the PSE cannot compel the company to buy back the Calata shares held by the public, given that it does not have enough unrestricted retained earnings to conduct a tender offer.

Green Book boosts Oscar odds with big win at producers awards

IN A surprise win on Saturday, Hollywood producers named Green Book the best film of 2018, boosting its profile just days before nominations are announced for the annual Academy Awards.
The big win by Green Book at the 30th Producers Guild Awards set up the film, which stars Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen as an African-American pianist and his white driver in the early 1960s Deep South, as a major contender for next month’s Oscars.
In many past years, the Producers Guild of America (PGA) best film winners have gone on to win the best picture Oscar, Hollywood’s top prize.
The PGA’s best film had been predicted to be a contest between A Star is Born and Roma. Earlier this month Green Book won the Golden Globe as best musical or comedy.
The PGA, among the leading industry organizations representing makers of movies and TV shows, also named its best animated film which went to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, favorite documentary, won by Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and honored FX’s The Americans as the top television drama in its final season.
FX scored again when Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story won the award for limited series.
Among other honors for television productions, Amazon Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won the comedy series award and HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 prevailed as best television movie.
CNN’s Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, starring the late celebrity chef who killed himself last year, won for non-fiction television, while RuPaul’s Drag Race on VH1 took home the prize for reality competition series.
PBS’ Sesame Street, which debuted nearly 50 years ago, won for children’s program. The live entertainment/talk award went to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, while Being Serena took best sports program.
The Academy Awards will be given on Feb. 24 to producers, directors, actors and actresses by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. — Reuters

Meralco sales performance improved in 2018, says MVP

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) is likely to have performed better in 2018 than in the previous year, with 2019 further improving because of expectations of a stronger economic growth, its chairman said.
“[20]18 is higher than [20]17,” Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters about the power distribution utility’s sales performance last year.
Asked whether sales managed to grow by double digits, he said: “[It’s] difficult to say.”
“Last year was quite good in terms of sales volume. So in a way Meralco — I know the group of Al Panlilio pushes hard to get the customers on board — but in many respects it’s mainly driven by GDP (gross domestic product) growth,” Mr. Pangilinan said, referring to Alfredo S. Panlilio, Meralco’s senior vice-president who handles, among others, the expansion of the utility’s customer base.
“Energy demand is a function of GDP growth. In fact, you can calculate that roughly half of GDP growth in real terms is more or less equal to the Meralco volume growth… It has been higher than that in recent years. [When the] economy was growing quite fast, Meralco was also growing quite fast,” Mr. Pangilinan said.
In the third quarter of 2018, Meralco reported core net income of P5.84 billion, up 11.2% from P5.25 billion in the same period last year but lower than that of the second quarter as revenues slowed in part because of the cooler temperature.
Reported net income, which includes one-off items, reached P6.24 billion during the third quarter, higher by nearly 15% from P5.43 billion a year ago.
In the nine months to September, Meralco reported a core net income of P16.69 billion, higher by 8.6% from P15.37 billion a year ago. Reported profit rose 14.3% to P18.21 billion from P15.93 billion previously.
Sales volume reached 32,921 gigawatt-hours (GWh), net system input was at 34,815 GWh, while peak demand hit 7,399 megawatts registered on May 23, 2018, which compares with Luzon’s peak demand of 10,876 MW recorded on May 28, 2018.
Consolidated gross revenues reached P227.41 billion, or 6% higher compared with the previous year’s P214.39 billion.
“We’re quite optimistic about this year (2019), generally speaking. I think prospects for the economy has improved — inflation down, probably interest rates will follow, increases will be tempered,” Mr. Pangilinan said.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Victor V. Saulon

Sony’s RCA severs ties with R. Kelly after uproar

SONY CORP.’S RCA music label has scrubbed R. Kelly from its lineup after a documentary series renewed the furor surrounding allegations of criminal sexual misconduct.
As of Friday morning, R. Kelly was no longer featured on RCA’s Web site. Billboard reported that the artist and Sony had agreed to part ways in the wake of the Lifetime series Surviving R. Kelly, in which multiple women, including his ex-wife, made on-camera allegations of emotional, sexual and physical abuse.
Billboard said Mr. Kelly’s catalogue would remain with RCA. His music is still available on digital retailers and streaming services.
Representatives for Sony didn’t respond to requests for comment from Bloomberg, and R. Kelly couldn’t immediately be reached.
Once a best-selling artist, R. Kelly has been gradually isolated by the entertainment industry. Streaming services stopped promoting him last year, and artists such as Celine Dion and Lady Gaga have been removing songs where they collaborated with the singer.
Campaigners from the #MuteRKelly pressure group delivered a petition signed by some 217,000 people to Sony headquarters in New York City last week asking the record company to drop the musician.
Allegations have swirled around R. Kelly for much of his decades long career, though they seemed to have little effect on his commercial success until recent years. Multiple women have sued him for coercing them into having sex when they were under age. Parents of several other women have accused Kelly of holding their daughters against their will.
R. Kelly also attempted to marry the late R&B singer Aaliyah when she was 15 years old and he was 27.
In 2008, the singer was tried and acquitted on child pornography charges in Chicago.
Separately on Friday, a former manager for the singer turned himself into authorities in Georgia, where he was wanted on a charge of making threats against one of the families that took part in the Lifetime documentary.
The artist, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, won three Grammy Awards in 1998 for his song “I Believe I Can Fly” and has released a half-dozen albums that topped the US album charts. — Bloomberg/Reuters

Cebu Pacific receives its first A321neo from Airbus

CEBU AIR, Inc. has received its first Airbus A321neo (new engine option) out of its 32 orders from the European aircraft manufacturer.
In a statement on Monday, Airbus said Cebu Pacific’s A321neo has arrived from Hamburg, Germany and will join the carrier’s fleet of 71 planes. The new generation single-aisle A321neo is expected to support Cebu Pacific’s network expansion in Asia Pacific.
Airbus noted the Gokongwei-led carrier will soon receive five more A320neos from Dublin-based aircraft leasing firm Avolon.
Cebu Pacific also has a pending order of four ATR 72-600s that are scheduled to arrive through 2022. The new aircraft will boost the carrier’s existing fleet of 36 Airbus A320s, seven A321ceos (current engine option), eight A330s, eight ATR 72-500s and 12 ATR 72-600s.
In a separate statement, Cebu Pacific said it was able to reach last year a new milestone of flying its highest number of passengers in a single day.
Last Dec. 21, the budget carrier ferried 68,284 passengers on 414 domestic and international flights from the combined operations of Cebu Pacific and its subsidiary Cebgo.
It also said its total passengers carried during the holidays from Dec. 16 to Jan. 7 grew 7.4% to 1.391 million compared to last year.
“As passenger traffic continues to grow, we are committed to improving our service to make flying with Cebu Pacific more pleasant, safer and more efficient,” Cebu Pacific Chief Operating Officer Michael Ivan Shau said in the statement.
Cebu Air reported a P518-million loss in the first three quarters of 2018 from an attributable net income of P42 million last year, due to the rising cost of jet fuel and the weakening of the Philippine peso. — Denise A. Valdez

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