Home Blog Page 11543

Homegrown artists take the stage at #GlobeWanderland

THIS YEAR’s Wanderland Music and Arts Festival will be a full day of art and music, with a lineup of international acts including Kodaline, Jhene, Aiko, FKJ, Daniel Caesar, Lauv, and Bag Riders, and local artists who are among the country’s best young musicians across different genres.

Wanderland 2018 will be held on March 10 at the Filinvest City Event Grounds in Alabang.

The local acts are:

Jess Connelly, an indie artist who got her start in 2015 by releasing music on SoundCloud, following this up in 2016 with her debut album How I Love, which put her on Spotify’s Artists to Watch for 2017. She became popular thanks to her soulful voice and R&B melodies, which stood out in songs like “Mine” and “Wait.” She has performed around the Philippines and Asia, opening for Macklemore and performing in the Wonderfruit Festival in Thailand.

Jose Villanueva III, popularly known as Quest, is a singer, rapper, and songwriter who’s known for having sung “Sige Lang,” the theme song of the basketball team Gilas Pilipinas in 2012. The song is part of the album Life of a Champion, which was awarded Album of the Year at the Awit Awards. In 2010, Quest also won Best Urban Music Video for “Back to Love” at the MYX Music Awards.

Then there is IV of Spades, known for its color-coordinated and 1970s-inspired look. The band formed in 2014 with members Zild Benitez, Badjao de Castro, Blaster Silonga, and Unique Salonga, and came to the public’s attention the following year thanks to Wanderband, a competition to find independent artists to perform at Wanderland. While it did not win, it went on to release the song “Hey Barbara” and play at the Scout Music Fest. The band is now known for its funky sound as much as its eye-catching style.

Ben&Ben is an indie folk band made up of twin brothers Paolo and Miguel Guico, who started out as started as The Benjamins (they wrote “Tinatangi” which was performed by legendary singers Bayang Barrios and Cooky Chua and was 2nd runner up at the PhilPop Music Festival in 2016) before being joined by Poch Baretto, Jam Villanueva, Agnes Reoma, Patricia Lasaten, Toni Muñoz, Andrew de Pano, and Keifer Cabugao and becoming Ben&Ben. Ben&Ben’s self-titled album was launched at a sold-out concert, with performances from Barrios and Chua, Bullet Dumas, Johnoy Danao, and Noel Cabangon, among others.

Describing itself as an “electronic soul project curated to share head bobbing tunes” is Asch, composed of Asch Catabona, Ben Ayes, Justin Ratilla, and Luke Abadiano. The band’s music is a blend of R&B, jazz, soul, and hip-hop. Known for songs like “IDK,” “Mobius,” and “Ashes to Ashes,” the band will soon launch its debut album Mobius.

Also performing are two Wanderland Wanderbattle winners: Basically Saturday Night and Carousel Casualties.

Basically Saturday Night is made up of Migie Garcia, Junoy Manalo, Faisal Tabusalla, Arvin Dale, and Jairus Paul, who brought a fan club that took over half the venue at the Wanderbattle. Their songs, “El Poder” and “Chemical Love,” are crowd favorites.

During the Wanderbattle finals, Carousel Casualties performed a medley of Khalid songs, getting the audience to sing along to “Location” and “Young, Dumb, and Broke.” The band is also known originals like “San Junipero,” “Safety,” and “Leona.”

For more information about the music festival, visit the Web site at go.globe.com.ph/Wanderland.html.

EDC profit declines 4% in 2017

ENERGY DEVELOPMENT Corp. (EDC) posted a net income of P8.8 billion in 2017, down 4% from the previous year, after the twin impact of the typhoon and earthquake that hit Leyte island, the Lopez-led company told the stock exchange.

“Our Leyte unit, which generated almost 45% of our revenues in 2016, was on track for a record year last year until it got struck by two major calamities,” said Nestor H. Vasay, EDC chief financial officer, said in a statement.

“Despite the initial shock from the earthquake last July and from Urduja last December, our team worked hard to successfully restore much-needed electricity to our countrymen in the Visayas region,” he added.

Last year’s attributable recurring net income, from 2016’s P9.2 billion, sent the company’s shares slipping by 0.18% to P5.58 each on Thursday.

EDC, which claims to be the country’s largest geothermal and wind energy company, recorded consolidated revenues of P3.3 billion, down 3% from the previous year’s P3.4 billion after the 6.5 magnitude earthquake in July 2017 and Typhoon Urduja in December 2017.

The company said that although it had been able to restore in July 40% of its pre-earthquake capacity within 10 days, and the remaining areas in the next months, its largest business unit recorded a fall in its revenues.

For EDC’s other business units, the 140-megawatt (MW) BacMan geothermal plant posted an additional P900 million in revenues because of the higher contracted volume, offsetting the lower generation volume of its 112.5-MW and 60-MW Palinpinon power plants.

The 150-MW Burgos wind farm, the country’s largest, posted its highest volume so far, up 16% last year, since it was commissioned in 2014.

Mr. Vasay said EDC had been able to fully contract its BacMan and 49.4-MW Nasulo power plants, allowing the company to cut its exposure to the electricity spot market.

He said the company had bought back nearly $90 million of its dollar bonds in 2017 to help cut its foreign exchange exposure.

“For 2018, we will continue to manage some of these key risks, and will continue to work on our power plant optimization and other efficiency programs,” Mr. Vasay said.

Despite the lower income and revenues last year, EDC said its financial position remained strong with a cash balance of P11.7 billion. It said it had maintained a comfortable gearing level with consolidated debt-to-equity level of 1.11 times and consolidated net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 2.79 times. — Victor V. Saulon

BPI looking to set up BanKo branch in ARMM, 14 others in Mindanao

VALENCIA, BUKIDNON — Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is planning to open a branch of its microfinance subsidiary BPI Direct BanKo Inc. (BanKo) within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and 14 other sites in Mindanao.

BPI Retail Banking head Joseph Albert L. Gotuaco, also the chairman and executive vice-president of BanKo, said the ARMM branch would still take time, but it would most likely be tied with the entry of other Ayala companies in the region.

“First of all, it takes time because we can’t just say ‘Hey, we want to go there’. For example, we are very interested in opening in Marawi, that’s pretty daring but siyempre (of course) we have to figure out ways, find location, and hire people,” Mr. Gotuaco said in an interview during the Feb. 27 opening of its BanKo branch in Valencia.

He added that they have to work with other companies in the Ayala Group, such as Ayala Land, Inc., which has already expressed its intent to invest in the ARMM.

In the meantime, BanKo is targeting to open 14 new branches in Mindanao within the year.

The microfinance institution currently has 19 branches in Mindanao out of its nationwide network of 103.

Data provided by BanKo indicates that there are more than 166,00 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Mindanao, the market that it aims to serve.

BanKo currently offers financing to MSMEs from a minimum of P25,000 to P300,000, with no collateral required for loans up to P100,000.

Rodolfo K. Mabiasen Jr., BanKo vice president and head of micro-enterprise loans, said they are looking to increase the no-collateral ceiling to P150,000.

“For P25,000 to P100,000, there is no collateral requirement.We intend to bring that up to P150,000 so that it is easier for those who are availing,” Mr. Mabiasen said.

BanKo has a nationwide customer base of over 10,000 self-employed micro-entrepreneurs (SEMEs), with about P550 million in loans released.

It is eyeing to expand by up to 200 branches nationwide this year to serve 20,000 more SEMEs.

“We see how the Philippine economy is growing… a lot of it is happening in provincial areas and its happening in sectors in the market that are less formal than where BPI Family Bank is today. If you want to build an organization that addresses that market, you have to create a completely different culture of an organization and that is BanKo,” Mr. Gotuaco said. — Maya M. Padillo

Ryanair nears deal with Italian pilots

ROME — Ryanair and its Italian pilots union ANPAC said on Wednesday they were close to a deal on formal recognition and working conditions in what would be a major breakthrough in the airline’s efforts to avoid strike action across Europe.

A deal in Italy would mean pilots in two of the airline’s three largest markets — Britain, Italy and Spain — would have reached provisional agreement with management.

In Ryanair’s biggest market, Britain’s BALPA union signed a recognition deal in January and Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer Peter Bellew on Tuesday said talks with the SELPA pilot union in its third biggest market in Spain were “very positive.”

“Things are really going fast. At the next meeting we may be able to sign an agreement,” ANPAC official Riccardo Canestrari told Reuters following a meeting with Ryanair management.

At a press conference in Rome, Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O‘Leary said he hoped to sign an agreement at their next meeting with the airline’s management in two weeks’ time.

The airline averted widespread strikes ahead of Christmas by announcing plans to recognize pilots’ unions for the first time in its 32-year history and is talking with unions across Europe on formal recognition.

But progress had been slow and O‘Leary has warned that the company may face strike action at Easter or the summer.

A union representing Ryanair cabin crew in Portugal this week announced it would hold three one-day strikes during the Easter holidays.

Management hopes that by reaching quick agreement with unions in its largest markets that it can avoid widespread disruption.

ANPAC’s Canestrari said that the union was negotiating a common pay scale for Ryanair pilots across Italy, its second biggest market, as well as other working conditions such as tax, paternal leave and rostering.

He said his understanding was that on completion of the agreement, the union would become the only official representative body for Ryanair pilots in Italy, replacing the airline’s Employee Representative Committees — a key demand by pilots in other jurisdictions.

The unofficial pan-European EERC body set up by pilots could have a role in pan-European questions like the transfer of pilots between jurisdictions, but primary negotiations on working conditions would take place with national unions, Canestrari said.

O‘Leary said Ryanair was also negotiating with Italy’s ANPAV flight assistants’ union and hopes to reach a deal with them too shortly. — Reuters

How to beat colorectal cancer

By Dr. Jun R. Ruiz

THE WORLD celebrates Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month this month of March. This is an awareness campaign to promote colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. CRC is the third most common cancer among Filipinos after breast and lung cancers.

Cancer screening can save lives — this strategy has been shown to reduce CRC risk by as high as 70% — but not that many people are being screened. As an advocate, I believe that now is the time to educate the general public and mobilize the health community to beat CRC.

Almost all of these cancers start as abnormal growths in the lining of the colon and rectum called polyps. These polyps grow slowly and it can take around 10 years for some polyps to develop into cancer — not all polyps progress to cancer. The removal of these polyps reduces the risk of developing cancer. One thing to consider is that polyps and early cancer usually do not cause complaints, like rectal bleeding, constipation, and abdominal pain that are experienced by patients in later stages of cancer. It is this lack of symptoms that is the danger.

RISK FACTORS FOR COLORECTAL CANCER
The factors that increase the risk for cancer in the colon and rectum are:

• age greater than 50;

• personal history of colorectal cancer or advanced polyps;

• family history of CRC; and,

• pre-existing diseases involving long-term inflammation of the colon

Age is the most common risk factor for this cancer, as 90% of these cancers occur after the age of 50. A family history of a first-degree relative with CRC increases the risk two to three-fold. The risk is especially higher when that relatives’ cancer occurred before the age of 60, or when two relatives have CRC.

There are also lifestyle factors that likely contribute to the formation of cancer in the colon and rectum. These are: cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, and, a diet high in the consumption of saturated fat and red meat, and low in fiber.

Living a healthy lifestyle by avoiding smoking, not consuming excessive alcohol, exercising regularly, and eating the right food is already a good idea as it lowers your risk for emphysema, cirrhosis of the liver, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease. In addition, all these measures can lower your risk for cancer in the colon and rectum.

GET SCREENED
In several countries, CRC screening is recommended for people starting at the age of 50. Screening at an earlier age, usually at 40, is advocated in first-degree relatives of patients with colorectal cancer, and even earlier in those with other additional risk factors.

The gold standard for CRC screening is a colonoscopy as it can detect early lesions like polyps and these can be removed during the procedure. The process involves inserting a flexible fiberoptic scope with a camera through the rectum and carefully advancing it to visualize the colon, all while the patient is under mild anesthesia. However, it is an invasive test and has the potential to cause complications like bleeding and puncturing the colon.

Some patients may not want to have an invasive test, or may find the cost of a colonoscopy prohibitive. A good screening alternative is a stool test called the Fecal Immunochemical test (FIT). FIT detects only human blood and is specific for bleeding in the colon. Persons who have a positive FIT are 12 to 40 times more likely to have cancer than those with a negative test. The test is repeated every year if the initial test is negative. If the test is positive, a colonoscopy is needed to rule out the presence of cancer.

As a gastroenterologist who advocates CRC screening, I recommend a screening colonoscopy for persons between 50 to 75 years of age who are healthy, unless the risks of the procedure is high in that patient. If the person does not want to start with a colonoscopy, I suggest using the FIT. After a discussion with his gastroenterologist, the patient can choose his preferred screening test.

A shared decision between the patient and his physician is very crucial. By undergoing either method of CRC screening, we would be able to beat colorectal cancer.

 

Dr. Jun Ruiz is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine in Gastroenterology, and a consultant at The Medical City in Pasig, Metro-Manila. He finished his Gastroenterology fellowship at the George Washington University in Washington D.C. and was an Attending at the Kaiser Permanente in California for nine years. He is the first Filipino chapter author of the best-selling medical reference The Merck Manual. He is connected with the Colorectal Unit of The Medical City.

Singer Ed Sheeran named best-selling global artist of 2017

LOS ANGELES — British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was named the world’s best-selling artist of 2017 on Monday, thanks to his album Divide and singles “Shape of You” and “Perfect.”

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said that Divide, which was released in March 2017, went multi-Platinum in 36 nations.

Sheeran’s pop ballad “Shape of You” was also the best-selling single globally of 2017 and has been certified as multi-Platinum in 32 nations, the organization said.

The IFPI said it was the first time that a recording artist has had both the best-selling album and single of the year.

Sheeran, 27, first found success in England in 2009 and 2010 by self-releasing his music online.

“Ed is truly an incredible songwriter, vocalist and performer, whose ability to tell stories and make people feel is what stands him out from the crowd,” Max Lousada, chief executive of recorded music for Sheeran’s Warner Music Group record label, said in a statement on Monday.

Sheeran, known for his ginger hair and shy demeanor, delighted fans last month by announcing his engagement to his childhood friend Cherry Seaborn, who he has known since he was 11 years old.

Canadian rapper Drake and his album More Life was named the second biggest seller globally for 2017 and the IFPI said Taylor Swift’s Reputation was third, despite being released only in November 2017. — Reuters

Your Weekend Guide (March 2, 2018)

Kinky Boots returns

ATLANTIS’ production of the musical that earned every Best Musical award including the Tony, the Grammy and London’s Olivier Award, returns with performances on March 2 to 18 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City. With music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, and directed by Bobby Garcia, Kinky Boots is about Charlie, a struggling shoe factory owner, who teams up with Lola, an entertainer to save the business. For tickets and schedules, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Comedy nights

COMEDY MANILA presents Funny Fridays: Can’t Stop Laughing at 8:30 p.m. every Friday at the Teatrino in Promenade Greenhills, San Juan. For tickets (P500) and schedules, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Silent Sky

REPERTORY PHILIPPINES presents Lauren Guderson’s Silent Sky from March 2 to 25 at the Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1, Makati City. Directed by Joy Virata, the show tells the true story of astronomer Henrietta Levitt and her discovery of galaxies in the 1920s. For tickets and schedules, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Art Fair PHL

NOW ON its sixth year, Art Fair Philippines has expanded, with 51 local and international galleries taking over the The Link, Makati City car park until March 4. The fair is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. For information and tickets, visit https://artfairphilippines.com.

Doggie Run 2018

THE PET Express Doggie 1.5/3/5K Run 2018 will be held on March 3, 5:30 a.m., at SM Mall of Asia. Doggie race kits are priced at P600 and human race kits are priced at P450. For details, visit www.facebook.com/PetExpressPH/.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang RESORTS WORLD’s production of the children’s musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, about a family and their magical car, returns to the Newport Performing Arts Theater until March 18. Tickets and schedules are available at TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

PETA’s ’Night, Mother

PETA closes its 50th season with Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer-prize winning family drama, ’Night, Mother, featuring Eugene Domingo and Sherry Lara. The show runs until March 18 at the PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. For tickets and schedules, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

Himala: Isang Musikal

AICELLE SANTOS stars as Elsa, a young woman who is looked upon as a desperate town’s savior, in Himala: Isang Musikal, based on the 1982 Ishmael Bernal film starring Nora Aunor. The show runs until March 4 at the PowerMac Center Spotlight, Circuit Lane, Circuit Makati, Makati City. For tickets, visit TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999).

OPM musial revue

ARTIST PLAYGROUND’s Playlist TRACK 2: I Remember a Boy is an original musical revue featuring OPM classic hits, about a group of friends who reunite at a café they once frequented when they were college students. While reminiscing, they unearth feelings which were once laid to rest — will this reunion allow them to rekindle old flames and begin anew? Directed by Mariella Laurel, with musical director Jesse Lucas, it will be held at Arts Above, Artist Playground, 112 West Venue Bldg., West Ave., Quezon City on March 3, 4, 10 and 11 at 7 p.m., with 3 p.m. matinees on March 3 and 10. Tickets (P1,200) are available at Ticketworld.

Spotlight on cancer

FOUR FILIPINOS die of cancer every hour, almost 100 every day. According to the Department of Health, the most common cancers among Filipino men are lung, liver, colon/rectum, prostate, stomach, and leukemia. Among Filipino women, the most common cancers are breast, cervix, lung, colon/rectum, ovary and liver.

A national health priority, cancer is the third leading cause of sickness and death in the country, exacting a heavy toll on Filipino families, the health care system, the economy, and overall national development. Experts suspect that the actual disease burden of cancer in the country is much higher than what is being reported, with many cases unreported because of the absence of national cancer registries. According to the World Health Organization, only one in five low- and middle-income countries have the necessary data to drive cancer policy.

Cancer is considered a “catastrophic disease” because the financial cost of its diagnosis and treatment far exceed the average household income of the vast majority of Filipinos. Apart from serious illness, for most Filipinos cancer can also lead to destitution. Many cancer patients in the country are diagnosed when the disease is already in its advanced stage, with poor compliance and treatment discontinuance also common. The government, through PhilHealth and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, is doing its best to help Filipino patients pay for the cost of cancer treatment.

On Feb. 4, the world marked World Cancer Day, aiming to reduce the number of preventable deaths each year by raising cancer awareness among the general public and pressing governments to take further action against the disease.

Joining the increasing call to put spotlight on cancer, the Cancer Coalition Philippines (CCPh) — a national alliance of patient groups, health care providers, and advocates dedicated to improving cancer care in the country — is urging Congress to pass an “Integrated National Cancer Control Act.” The bill aims to expand efforts to effectively manage and control all forms of cancer through increased investments for its prevention, early and accurate detection, and optimal treatment; and the adoption of an integrated, multi-disciplinary, and patient/family-centered approach.

CCPh seeks to include provisions on strengthening the country’s cancer care infrastructure and service delivery networks to cover the continuum of care; boosting the capacity of health care professionals in cancer care; strengthening regulations to ensure the safety, quality, and efficacy of medicines, biologics, and other health technologies; and institutionalizing funding and social protection mechanisms for cancer patients and their families.

Everyone can take steps to reduce cancer risk by making healthy lifestyle choices. Cancer could affect everyone, so we must all do our part in fighting this enemy disease.

 

Teodoro B. Padilla is the executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP). Medicine Cabinet is a weekly PHAP column that aims to promote awareness on public health and health care-related issues. PHAP and its member companies represent the research-based pharmaceutical and health care industry.

medicinecabinet@phap.org.ph.

Catholic school girls in trouble

By Noel Vera

Movie Review
Lady Bird
Directed by Greta Gerwin

HAVE TO admit that taking on actress-turned-filmmaker Greta Gerwig’s second feature gave me pause. Not my favorite genre (the bildungsroman) nor was it a milieu I’m familiar with (Sacramento, California) — I was tempted to throw up my hands and say “not my cup of tea!” and leave it at that.

Doesn’t help that the movie starts with a jawdropper: Christine (Saoirse Ronan) — who calls herself “Lady Bird” because that’s what teens apparently do — in a car with her mother Marion (the wonderfully wry Laurie Metcalf) listening to an audiocassette of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Almost immediately after wiping away their tears they have a violent quarrel on the subject of college (“You can’t get into those schools anyway.” “Mom!” “You can’t even pass your driver’s test.”) — so violent Christine flings herself out of the still-moving vehicle, just to get away from her relentlessly monotone mother.

Some good things here: as Gerwig herself points out in an informal interview in the NPR quiz show Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, mothers and daughters are capable of turning on an emotional dime — sniff mournfully over a passage of Steinbeck one minute, go at each other’s throat like a pair of wolverines the next, end the scene perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.

Jumping out of a moving car does ratchet up the tension in an audience. One thinks of Christine as not just emotionally volatile but physically fearless, not just able to act spontaneously but stupidly, self-destructively, in total mercy to one’s impulses.

Did Christine learn from the incident? She sports a wrist cast for most of the picture and you wait for her to swing it down hard on someone’s cranium, possibly — especially — her mother’s, to at least do something as unpredictable as in that opening scene. Expectation established, expectation dashed.

And… that’s it really. Gerwig’s debut solo feature (she had co-directed Nights and Weekends with Joe Swanberg) is a modest picture full of modest pleasures — precisely observed if not particularly probing, some poignant passages, some lovely supporting performances (arguably the entire cast is supporting, the characters they play almost exclusively seen — especially Metcalf’s memorably unyielding mother — through Christine’s eyes).

Gerwig constructs a series of vignettes — of Christine seeking social status, seeking a relationship with a boy, seeking to lose her virginity (basically most of the standard tropes found in a teenage girl comedy) — and caps the movie with a revisit to the opening conflict (the question of college) and Marion’s non-confrontation with Christine on the issue. Having written the script herself, Gerwig seems to know how to write sharp cutting dialogue, deliver a nice little punchline, sustain pace transition to the next vignette.

Maybe what’s missing is the sense of something urgent at stake — a crisis or realization or person that profoundly changes Christine’s life. We see changes — Christine does eventually rise in status, does form relationships, does (I suppose I ought to add a warning about plot twists but is there really a point?) lose her virginity — but there’s a sense of benign forces at work smoothing things over, making everything turn out pretty much all right. Even the crisis involving Marion — arguably the picture’s dramatic high — ends with a last-minute turnaround and some studious anticlimactic bridge-building between family members (the image late in the picture of Christine placing a long-distance call has the feel of an AT&T commercial).

Catholic girls gone wild; has this been attempted before on the big screen? Ida Lupino’s The Trouble with Angels — about Catholic students (led by Hayley Mills) under the watchful eye of Rosalind Russell as Mother Superior — is on the surface even more irritatingly wholesome and sitcom-ish than Gerwig’s indie production; cigarettes may be lit (and at one point cigars) but virginity is never at any moment in danger of being lost. The film (based on the novel Life with Mother Superior by June Trahey, about her experiences in a Catholic school) features the kind of narrative density and character detail that fleshes out a story far more convincingly than a series of clever vignettes. Helps that Lupino is a veteran filmmaker able to work within different genres (noir thriller, feminist drama, bildungsroman comedy) to create responses to her characters that change over the course of the narrative.

I don’t consider it mere coincidence that Lupino directed this film towards the end of her career (she’d continue directing but in television), Gerwig nearer the beginning of hers. Gerwig seems to operate under the imperative to “write (and direct) what you know,” choosing semi-autobiographical material (she’s not Catholic, but did go to a Catholic high school). Lupino took someone’s real-life experiences and (with a filmmaker’s eye developed over long experience) shaped it to deliver genuine dramatic force: in this film a life-changing decision is made, involving actual sacrifice, and you can’t help but know it.

MTRCB Rating: R-13

McDonald’s PHL franchisee to spend P2B for new stores

THE exclusive franchisee of the McDonald’s brand in the Philippines plans to spend up to P2 billion for the rollout of at least 40 new stores this year, following the double-digit growth in sales the company booked in 2017.

In a statement on Thursday, Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC) said the capital spending will also cover other growth initiatives centered on customer experience, value, and convenience.

“We are confident that our expanded presence will also spur employment in our new areas of operations. By opening more new restaurants, we will be able to generate jobs and provide world-class training for thousands of young Filipinos. We also enhance economic activity in areas where we will be present,” GADC President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth S. Yang said in a statement.

Last year, the company opened 52 new stores, piercing through new territories such as Antique, Sorsogon, Masbate, and San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. This brought the number of McDonald’s stores in the Philippines to more than 570, employing around 60,000 regular employees in the process.

The store openings pushed up the company’s system wide sales to P42.6 billion in 2017, 14% higher year on year. GADC further attributed the positive performance to innovations in its menu offerings and local store marketing activities.

The company noted that it also delivered a double-digit growth in earnings for the year, but did not disclose the actual figures. GADC previously reported that net income in 2016 stood at P1.2 billion, on the back of revenues worth P38 billion.

The chain of quick service restaurants (QSR) is also working on expanding its market share with the use of its delivery system, McDelivery, as well as on focusing on customer experience and the sustained demand for its products.

“Alongside expansion of our physical stores, we see e-commerce as another strong source of incremental business growth as our delivery service has been growing year on year. We’re proud of our gains in McDelivery as the first QSR to have an online delivery site in 2009 and an app in 2014,” Mr. Yang said.

GADC is majority owned by its founder, businessman Dr. George T. Yang, and his family. It has been a wholly-owned Filipino company since 2005. — Arra B. Francia

What to see this week

6 films to see on the week of March 2-9, 2018

Peter Rabbit

Peter Rabbit

A SEMI-ANIMATED film based on the classic children’s story, Peter Rabbit and his three sisters — Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail — like spending their days in Mr. McGregor’s vegetable garden. When one of McGregor’s relatives moves in, he’s less than thrilled to discover the family of rabbits. Directed by Will Gluck, it stars Domhnall Gleeson and Rose Byrne and features the voices of Sam Neill, Daisy Ridley, Elizabeth Debicki, Margot Robbie, and James Corden. IGN’s Simon Thompson writes, “To be honest, considering how annoying the trailers for Peter Rabbit have been, the finished product isn’t as teeth-grindingly trite as I perhaps expected. It’s a colorful rollercoaster that will entertain kids but might get less and less endearing for the adults when they likely have to watch it for the umpteenth time.”
MTRCB Rating: PG

Red Sparrow

Red Sparrow

WHEN Dominika Egorova — a devoted daughter and prima ballerina — suffers a career-ending injury, she enters Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service which trains people to use their minds and bodies as weapons. Directed by Francis Lawrence, it stars Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Shoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons, and Mary-Louise Parker. Forbes’ Scott Mendelson writes, “Red Sparrow is a grim piece of work. It is less an action thriller than a borderline erotic horror show, a cold-blooded and often vicious espionage drama that sustains itself through twists, turns and periodic bouts of uncommon onscreen cruelty.”
MTRCB Rating: R-16

The Cured

The Cured

A CURE is found after the world suffers through a plague which turns people into zombie-like cannibals. Senan, one of the formerly afflicted, is welcomed to his widowed sister-in-law’s family to start a new life. Directed by David Freyne, it stars Ellen Page, Sam Keeley, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.
MTRCB Rating: R-13

Death Wish

Death Wish

THE REMAKE of the 1974 thriller focuses on Dr. Kersey., who, after his wife and daughter are attacked in their home, decides to take matters into his own hands thanks to the police’s lack of interest in the case. Directed by Eli Roth, it stars Bruce Willis, Vincent D’ Onofrio, Elizabeth Shue, Dean Norris, Camila Morrone, Kimberly Elise, Beau Knapp.
MTRCB Rating: R-16

Amnesia Love

Amnesia Love

A GAY guy forgets his gender orientation after he is washed up on a beach suffering from amnesia. He ends up spending time at the beach with a barrio lass. Directed by Albert Langitan, it stars Paolo Ballesteros, Yam Concepcion, Vandolph Quizon, Geleen Eugenio, Lander Vera Perez, and Polo Ravalez.
MTRCB Rating: PG

Never Say Die

Never Say Die

A CHINESE body-switching comedy featuring a male UFC boxer and the female journalist who exposed his bribes. Directed by Yang Song and Zhiyu Chang, it stars Allen Ai, Yuan Zhang, Li Ma.
MTRCB Rating: PG

How competitive is the Philippines in acquiring, growing and retaining talent?