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Arts & Culture (09/11/24)

Manila International Book Fair kicks off, free for teachers

IN CELEBRATION of National Teachers’ Month (NTM), Primetrade Asia is giving teachers a free pass to the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) which runs from Sept. 11 to 15 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. There will be a lineup of talks and forums on educational tools, teaching strategies, and teacher wellness. One of these is Kawangis Komiks, which will discuss comics as an educational tool on Sept. 11, 1 p.m. Mental health advocate Amelia De Chavez Pagdanganan, also known as Lolakwentosera, will share her ideas on building a support system for teachers on Sept. 11, 2 p.m. The Gintong Aklat Awards will be held on Sept. 11, 4 p.m., by the Book Development Association of the Philippines, while the awarding of the Lampara Prize for children’s books will happen on Sept. 13, 1:30 p.m. The Council for People’s Development and Governance will host a forum for teachers who work closely with indigenous peoples on Sept. 14, 12 p.m. Finally, the National Children’s Book Awards will take place on Sept. 14, 4 p.m. To see the complete list of exclusive offers for teachers this National Teachers’ Month, visit www.facebook.com/NTMPhils.

Alliance Française holds improv night

AS PART of the exhibition Trajectories and Movements of Filipino People by the Pamana Voices of Philippine Heritage, which opened last weekend, there will be a cultural activity to further enrich visitors’ experience. An improv night titled “Doon Po Sa Amin” (Where We’re From) will take place on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Multipurpose Hall of the Alliance Française de Manille, Nicanor Garcia St., Makati City. Admission to the event is free. For more details, visit Alliance Française’s website and social media pages.

ICanServe auctions pieces from its gallery for good

THERE ARE 27 pairs of Nike Air Force 1 Triple White shoes which have been transformed into one-of-a-kind pieces by contemporary Filipino artists to make up the Icons of Hope exhibit at level two of The Brittany Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. For its 25th anniversary, the ICanServe Foundation will auction off the pieces on Sept. 14. Artists who participated include Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, Gus Albor, Arce, Max Balatbat, Plet Bolipata, Elmer Borlongan, Jinggoy Buensuceso, Carlo Calma, Katrina Cuenca, RM De Leon, Daniel dela Cruz, Monica Delgado, Tracie Anglo Dizon, Christina Dy, Manny Garibay, Toym Imao, Jose Santos III, Pam Yan Santos, Gerry Tan, Carlo Tanseco, Vien Valencia, Lydia Velasco, Ronald Ventura, Melissa Yeung Yap, and MM Yu. Proceeds will enable ICanServe to fund treatments and medical procedures for breast cancer patients, launch high-impact health literacy campaigns, invest in the training of public healthcare workers on early detection, and create breast cancer control programs, to support its mission of saving lives. To download the online catalog, registration form, and auction mechanics, visit: https://www.icanservefoundation.org/events/the-pink-room/.

Two families exhibit at ARTablado Antipolo

ARTISTS and friends Brando Limon Bati and Adler Llagas had a two-man show at ARTablado Robinsons Antipolo two years ago. This year, they return with each of their families for an unprecedented “two-family” exhibit. Dreams to Reality, which runs until Sept. 15, celebrates the creativity and connections of the two men and their wives and daughters. Mr. Bati, from Tanay, Rizal, is known for painting figures and still life using oil, pastel, colored pencils, and watercolor. Mr. Llagas, from Baras, Rizal, is a self-taught landscape artist who participates in exhibitions and paints commissioned murals. Their wives, Teresa and Lucia, were influenced by their husbands’ active art careers to go into the field. This later carried over to their daughters, Candys and Aicel. Dreams to Reality runs until Sept. 15 at ARTablado on the upper ground floor of Robinsons Antipolo.

UST Atelier holds exhibit at ArtistSpace

A GROUP exhibition titled Vision: Arcadia by the UST Atelier Alumni Association, Inc. is on view until Sept. 22 at ArtistSpace. A continuation of the group’s Vision Art Exhibition Series, the show celebrates artistic diversity and the contribution of the University of Santo Tomas’ School of Fine Arts to the Philippine art scene. The participating artists are Fil Delacruz, Richard Buxani, Marge Organo, Emman Acasio, Cristina Alsol, Juert Asejo, Paul Balan, RV Basco, Janos Delacruz, Elmer Dumlao, Summer de Guia, Anna de Leon, Noli Principe Manalang, Patrick Naval, Milmar Onal, Butch Payawal, David Requilme, Dominic Rubio, Gean  Sollestre, Melissa Villaseñor, and Meneline Wong, MD. It is a project of USTAAAI President Marissa Pe Yang, curated by Janos Delacruz. Vision: Arcadia runs until Sept. 22 at ArtistSpace, Ayala Museum Annex, Makati Ave. corner De La Rosa St., Greenbelt Park, Makati City.

Group exhibition at Imahica Art Gallery

THE GROUP exhibition and benefit show Radiance is happening from Sept. 14 to 29 at the Imahica Art Gallery, in partnership with Rotary Club Taguig West. The exhibition aims to be a display of artistic excellence and is being held in support for impoverished communities at the Tenement Elementary School and Western Bicutan National High School. The opening reception and benefit night is set for Sept. 14, 4 p.m. To register, visit https://imahica.art/rsvp/. The gallery is at 2-A Lee Gardens Commercial Center, Lee St., Wack-Wack, Mandaluyong.

Group show opening at MO_Space

ANOTHER group exhibit, titled THESE ACTS, _________, is a two-part exhibition with Act I and Act II assembling art dialogues. Using various media, it aims to expose gallery visitors to different art forms. Act I presents an immersive experience with artworks like pottery and visual art, focused on the act of looking up and outward to form an understanding of the world. Act II makes use of prints where artists look inward to form an understanding of the self. These will be on view from Sept. 14 to Oct. 13 at the Main Gallery and Gallery 2 of MO_Space. Act I will feature works by Micaela Benedicto, Gerecho Iniel Cruz, Rhaz Oriente, and Marco Rosario. Act II presents the prints of Eska Beldia, Kristen Cain, Marge Chavez, Gab Ferrer, Tish Hautea, Fara Manuel, and Gabi Nazareno. MO_Space is at the 3rd level of MOs Design, B2 Bonifacio High Street, 9th Avenue, BGC, Taguig.

Ateneo Art Gallery presents the postwar art scene

IN COMMEMORATION of the Fernando Zóbel’s birth centennial, the Ateneo Art Gallery and the Embassy of Spain are presenting A Synergy of Ventures: The Postwar Art Scene, which will open for public viewing on Sept. 16 at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University, Kalayaan Ave., Quezon City. The exhibit will run until July 12, 2025. The exhibition will focus on presenting the years immediately following the Second World War until the 1960, a pivotal period in the development of Philippine modern art. An opening reception will take place on Sept. 15, 2 p.m., at the gallery’s upper ground floor. The show’s contents come from the core collection Fernando Zóbel had donated to the Ateneo de Manila University between 1959 to 1965, along with other pieces from the current AAG Collection. It will also feature loaned works from the family of Purita Kalaw Ledesma, the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc., and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Making public money work for the people: Idleness of funds is idleness in service 

The Department of Finance (DoF), under Secretary Raphael Recto, has issued Department Circular No. 003-2024, reallocating unused funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) — in the amount of P89.9 billion — so that they could be channeled into more productive purposes.

Health is a basic, emotional issue among Filipinos, primarily because only a small segment of the population can afford excellent medical care on their own. But Secretary Recto is taking this unpopular stand because he believes this is the better option. In this, he has our support.

The DoF’s move to reallocate idle funds is in line with the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA). For example, an initial remittance of P20 billion from PhilHealth was used to settle P27.5 billion in unpaid COVID-19 allowances for frontliners, covering 5.04 million claims. Is this not a good thing? The government has now fully paid its debt to frontliners — people who sacrificed a lot to serve other people and the country during the darkest days of the pandemic — with a total of P121.3 billion disbursed.

The remaining funds will be allocated to projects in nutrition, education, agriculture, social development, and infrastructure.

According to the DoF, a cost-benefit analysis shows that funding projects through unprogrammed appropriations will boost gross domestic product growth by 0.7%, generate an additional P23 billion to P24.4 billion in revenues, and create thousands of jobs.

On the other hand, delaying projects would incur opportunity costs, and funding them through additional borrowing would raise the deficit from 5.6% to 6.4% and the debt ratio from 60.6% to 61.4%. This would lead to P12.7 billion in extra interest payments annually and could jeopardize the Philippines’ Medium-Term Fiscal Program, potentially leading to a credit rating downgrade, which would increase borrowing costs by P15 billion per year and harm economic recovery efforts.

The concern being raised by some sectors is understandable, but it is only because they have not been given details that would allay their fears.

Here are the facts: Tapping into PhilHealth’s idle funds would not impede the expansion of benefit packages for its members. The DoF clarified that this move would not disrupt PhilHealth’s daily operations or affect member contributions. Mr. Recto stated that PhilHealth is projected to have a net income of P61.18 billion by year-end. Profits have grown from P4.66 billion in 2019 to P173.46 billion in 2023. Next year, PhilHealth will receive P70 billion in government subsidies to expand its benefit packages.

PhilHealth still holds a reserve of P500 billion, which the DoF confirmed is more than sufficient to cover multi-year claims. PhilHealth will continue receiving government subsidies, and no benefits or member contributions will be reduced. In fact, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. announced in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) that PhilHealth benefits for outpatient care, serious illnesses like cancer, and children with disabilities will be increased.

According to Mr. Recto, the DoF conducted a thorough review to ensure that using excess funds from GOCCs would support economic growth and comply with legal requirements. Consultations were made with the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC). The DoF received favorable legal opinions from the OGCC and Commission on Audit (CoA).

More importantly, PhilHealth is considering an additional 30% increase in all its benefit packages, expanding its service to the people without imposing an additional burden on its members in the form of higher contributions.

This will sufficiently address calls for better coverage. “PhilHealth has shown its solvency. It does not need another rate hike to sustain its operations and services to its members, it needs efficient management of its funds,” said the President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Consul Enunina Mangio.

We take these into consideration as we remind ourselves that the budget deficit, according to the Bureau of the Treasury, remains substantial. For the first seven months of 2024, the deficit amounted to P642.8 billion, indicating an increase of 7.21% or P43.2 billion from the same period last year.

In fact, seven former Finance secretaries came out with a statement supporting the DoF’s exercise of its authority to use excess funds to finance crucial government projects in areas like health, education, social services, and infrastructure.

“We believe this move will bring substantial benefits to the Filipino people. Mobilizing these excess funds will enable important public projects that can strengthen our economy and ensure long-term gains through more jobs, higher incomes, and reduced poverty,” said ex-Secretaries Cesar Virata, Roberto de Ocampo, Jose Pardo, Alberto Romulo, Jose Isidro Camacho, Margarito Teves, and Cesar Purisima. The support of these experts says a lot about the merits of Recto’s move.

Moving forward, we should also find ways to ensure that funds are managed well and spent as programmed, especially since there is a deficit in many other areas.

This is the people’s money, anyway. We should make it work for the people.

 

Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the president of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

Maynilad completes P380-M pipeline upgrade in Manila

MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. has completed a P380-million project replacing old and undersized pipelines in Tondo and Sta. Cruz, Manila, the water solutions provider said on Tuesday.

This upgrade improves water pressure and meets the city’s higher water demand, Maynilad said in a statement.

“By replacing undersized pipes, we are also future-proofing our distribution system to handle higher consumption,” said Maynilad Chief Operating Officer Randolph T. Estrellado.

The project involved upgrading the pipe system, including the laying of 1.7 kilometers of pipelines in 21 barangays in Manila to replace decades-old pipelines.

With the project’s completion, the company said it was able to recover approximately four million liters per day of treated water that was previously lost to pipe leaks and illegal connections.

Maynilad aims to replace a total of 592 kilometers of “deteriorated pipelines” throughout its concession area within the 2023-2027 period.

For 2024, the company has allocated P4 billion for pipe replacement across the west zone.

The company serves Manila, except portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana. It also operates in Quezon City, Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, and Malabon.

It also supplies the cities of Cavite, Bacoor, and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario, all in Cavite province.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has a majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Reissued bonds fully awarded amid easing bets

BW FILE PHOTO

By Aaron Michael C. Sy, Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT on Tuesday fully awarded reissued bonds at an auction, as the average rate inched up from the note’s last sale, amid growing market confidence in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) easing cycle.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P30 billion as planned via the reissued seven-year bonds, as total bids reached P69.08 billion, well above the amount on offer.

This brought the outstanding volume for the series to P219.7 billion, the Treasury said in a statement.

The bonds, which have a remaining life of four years and eight months, were awarded at an average rate of 6.058%. Accepted yields were 5.99% to 6.075%.

The average rate of the reissued paper fell by 4.9 basis points (bps) from 6.107% on Aug. 6. Still, this was 44.2 bps lower than the 6.5% coupon rate.

However, this was 0.4 bp above the 6.054% for the same bond series and 0.8 bp higher than the 6.05% quoted for the five-year bond — the tenor closest to the remaining life of the debt — at the secondary market before Tuesday’s auction, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service (BVAL) Reference Rates data provided by the BTr.

“We continue to see investors trying to take advantage of auctions to load their positions as they grow confident on the path of the BSP’s easing cycle,” a trader said in a text message.

The Philippine central bank last month cut benchmark interest rates for the first time in almost four years amid an improving inflation and economic outlook. Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. has signaled at least one more cut before the year ends.

The Monetary Board on Aug. 15 cut its policy rate by 25 bps to 6.25% from a 17-year high of 6.5%. Board members will meet again on Oct. 17 and Dec. 19.

Bets on the BSP’s easing cycle were also bolstered by the softer-than-expected inflation data for August, Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in a Viber message.

Inflation eased to a seven-month low of 3.3% in August from 4.4% in July and 5.3% a year earlier, making the case for the central bank to cut key rates further to bolster economic growth.

This was within the BSP’s 3.2-4% forecast for the month and was well below the 3.7% median estimate of 15 analysts in a BusinessWorld poll.

In the first eight months, inflation averaged 3.6%, slightly above the BSP’s 3.4% baseline forecast but within its 2-4% annual target.

The Treasury bureau wants to raise P195 billion from the domestic market this month — P80 billion through Treasury bills and P115 billion via T-bonds.

The government borrows from local and foreign sources to help fund its budget deficit, which is capped at P1.48 trillion or 5.6% of gross domestic product for this year.

Egyptian archaeologist calls on Berlin to return Nefertiti bust

COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG

CAIRO — Prominent Egyptian archaeologist and former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass has launched a petition for the return to Egypt of the pharaonic bust of Queen Nefertiti from the Neues Museum in Berlin.

Nefertiti’s famous painted limestone bust was uncovered at Tell el-Amarna, around 300 km south of Cairo, in 1912 by a German archaeological mission, which shipped it to Berlin the following year.

Amarna was the short-lived capital of Nefertiti’s husband, the 18th dynasty Pharaoh Akhenaten, who reigned until about 1335 B.C.

Akhenaten, called the heretic king, was notorious for promoting the worship of the god Aten to the exclusion of Egypt’s other gods. His reign also introduced a radical change in Egyptian art.

In his petition launched on Saturday, Mr. Hawass asked for the return of the bust, saying it was removed from Egypt illegally after its discovery.

“We announce today that Egypt — this is the national committee, it is not a government committee — asks for the return of the bust of Nefertiti,” Mr. Hawass said.

“What I need from everyone here is to go to my website… hawasszahi.com, and you will sign, one signature, to show that you would love for this bust to come back.”

Mr. Hawass said he is not calling for the repatriation of artefacts taken out of Egypt legally. His campaign is focused on repatriating “three main beautiful objects” including the bust of Nefertiti, the Rosetta Stone, and the Dendera Zodiac.

Officials at Berlin’s Neues Museum were not immediately available for comment. — Reuters

Multi-party arbitrations in the Philippines

FREEPIK

Multi-Party Arbitration is an arbitration involving at least three parties. In the Philippines, various dispute resolution institutions categorically include in their rules of procedure provisions to govern Multi-Party Arbitrations i.e., provisions on joinder and consolidation of proceedings, and rules on the appointment and/or constitution of the arbitration tribunal. Multi-Party Arbitrations are allowed under the respective arbitration rules of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. (PDRCI) and the Philippine International Center for Conflict Resolution (PICCR).

Sections II and III of the 2021 PDRCI Arbitration Rules provide for the rules pertaining to Multiple Party Arbitration proceeding, joinder of parties, and consolidation of arbitrations.

JOINDER
A Request for Joinder shall be submitted no later than the signing of the Terms of Reference in instances where: (a) a party (to an arbitration agreement) wishes to join an additional party to the arbitration, or (b) an additional party wishes to be joined to the arbitration proceeding. The PDRCI or the constituted arbitral tribunal has the power to allow an additional party to be joined to the arbitration if there is a prima facie determination that an arbitration agreement exists and that it binds all the parties and the additional party; or all parties, including the additional party, expressly agree.

However, where an additional party is joined to the arbitration before the arbitral tribunal is constituted, all parties to the arbitration, including the additional party joined, shall decide the constitution of the arbitral tribunal. In the absence of an agreement among them, the PDRCI may revoke the appointment or confirmation of any arbitrator and proceed to appoint the new arbitrators. Where all the parties, including the additional party, expressly agree to the joinder, they also agree to accept any appointment or confirmation already made or the constitution of the arbitral tribunal.

The parties also waive any objection to the validity or enforcement of any award made by the arbitral tribunal, including the validity of its constitution, on the basis of its decision to join an additional party to the arbitration, in so far as such waiver can be validly made.

Under the 2021 PDRCI Arbitration Rules, in an arbitration with multiple parties, claims may be made by any party against any other party, subject to the pleas as to the Jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal. Further, no new claims may be made after the Terms of Reference are signed, except for allowable amendments/supplements, and/or when there is any reservation of the arbitral tribunal’s authority to clarify or refine issues in the course of the arbitral proceedings.

CONSOLIDATION
The PDRCI shall have the power, at the request of a party and after consulting with the parties and any confirmed arbitrators, to consolidate two or more arbitrations (Request for Consolidation), where: (a) the parties agree to consolidate; or (b) all the claims in the arbitrations are made under the same arbitration agreement; or (c) the claims are made under more than one arbitration agreement, a common question of law or fact arises in both or all of the arbitrations, the rights to relief claimed are in respect of, or arise out of, the same transaction or series of transactions, and the PDRCI finds the arbitration agreements to be compatible.

In deciding whether to consolidate, the PDRCI shall take into account all relevant circumstances including, but not limited to, whether one or more arbitrators have been appointed or confirmed in more than one of the arbitrations, and if so, whether the arbitrators are the same.

Where the PDRCI decides to consolidate two or more arbitrations, the arbitrations shall be consolidated into the arbitration that commenced first, unless all parties agree or PDRCI decides otherwise, taking into account the circumstances of the case.

In case of consolidation of arbitrations, the parties to all such arbitrations shall be deemed to have waived their right to designate an arbitrator. The PDRCI may revoke the appointment or confirmation of any arbitrator and proceed to appoint the arbitral tribunal of the consolidated arbitrations, without prejudice to the appointment of the same arbitrators. The consolidation of two or more arbitrations shall not affect the validity of any act done or order made by a court in support of the arbitration before it was consolidated.

However, the revocation of the appointment or confirmation of the arbitrators shall not affect: (a) the validity of acts done or orders made by the arbitral tribunal before the appointment or confirmation was revoked; (b) their entitlement to their fees and expenses; and (c) the date when any claim or defense was raised, for the purpose of applying any statute of limitations or any similar rule or provision.

Moreover, the parties waive any objection to the validity or enforcement of any award made by the arbitral tribunal on the basis of the decision to consolidate proceedings, including the validity of its constitution, insofar as such waiver can validly be made.

PICCR RULES
Articles 7, 8, 10, and related Articles of the PICCR Handbook and Arbitration Rules govern Multiple Parties and consolidation.

Where there are more than two parties to the arbitration, the arbitration shall proceed between those of the parties, including any additional parties joined, with respect to which the PICCR is prima facie satisfied that an arbitration agreement under the Rules that binds them all may exist.

A party wishing to join an additional party to the arbitration shall submit its request for arbitration against the additional party (the Request for Joinder), but no additional party may be joined after the confirmation or appointment of any arbitrator, unless all parties, including the additional party, otherwise agree. The PICCR’s Secretariat may fix a time limit for the submission of a Request for Joinder.

Same as with the PDRCI, in an arbitration with multiple parties, claims may be made by any party against any other party, and provided that no new claims may be made after the Terms of Reference are signed or approved by the PICCR without the authorization of the arbitral tribunal.

CONSOLIDATION
The PICCR may, at the request of a party, consolidate two or more arbitrations pending into a single arbitration, where: (a) the parties have agreed to consolidation; or (b) all of the claims in the arbitrations are made under the same arbitration agreement; or (c) where the claims in the arbitrations are made under more than one arbitration agreement, the arbitrations are between the same parties, the disputes in the arbitrations arise in connection with the same legal relationship, and the PICCR finds the arbitration agreements to be compatible. In deciding whether to consolidate, the PICCR may take into account any circumstances it considers to be relevant.

Similar to the proceedings in the PDRCI, when arbitrations are consolidated before the PICCR, they shall be consolidated into the arbitration that commenced first, unless otherwise agreed by all parties concerned.

Where there are multiple claimants or multiple respondents, and where the dispute is to be referred to three arbitrators, the multiple claimants, jointly, and the multiple respondents, jointly, shall nominate an arbitrator for confirmation. However, in the absence of a joint nomination and where all parties are unable to agree to a method for the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, the PICCR may appoint each member of the arbitral tribunal and shall designate one of them to act as chair. In such case, the PICCR shall be at liberty to choose any person it regards as suitable to act as arbitrator.

Incorporating rules on joinder of parties and consolidation of arbitrations under the Philippine arbitration framework may effectively save time and money, address the issue of multiplicity of suits for a common and/or related factual and legal issue/s of the same/related parties. Joining absent parties into or consolidation of arbitration proceedings will not only prevent multiple legal actions relating from the same dispute but will also mitigate the risk of inconsistent awards or findings of different arbitrators or arbitration tribunal or courts which may have jurisdiction to rule on the same issue/s of the parties involved.

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.)

 

John Frederick E. Derije is a senior associate of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), Davao Branch.

(6382) 224-0996

jederije@accralaw.com

SPNEC eyes new location for 280-MW solar project

MICHAEL WILSON-UNSPLASH

SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) is seeking a new location for its 280-megawatt (MW) solar power project in Santa Rosa, Nueva Ecija.

“We’re looking at possible replacement at the same capacity but maybe different location,” SPNEC President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel V. Rubio told reporters last week.

In a regulatory filing last month, SPNEC said that it had asked the Department of Energy (DoE) to terminate the award of the project it won during the first round of Green Energy Auction (GEA) in 2022.

Mr. Rubio said that the company’s request for termination mainly stemmed from transmission constraints.

Formerly Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., SPNEC’s primary purpose is to construct, operate, and maintain power-generating plants and related facilities for renewable energy.

“We’re drafting now actually a reply looking for a legal basis really to stand firm, but we’re willing to actually replace the capacity in other areas where we can actually evacuate the energy,” Mr. Rubio said.

He said that the company will ask the DoE if it can consider “a certain level of repricing” and that it is willing to accept “some concessions on the penalties but not the bond.”

Under the terms of reference for GEA-1, the performance bond guarantees the winning bidder’s faithful performance under the GEA program guidelines and related agreements.

Based on data from the DoE as of end-June, the solar power project is targeted for commercial operation by 2025.

SPNEC, through its subsidiary Terra Solar Philippines, Inc., is currently developing a power project consisting of a 3,500-MW solar power plant and a 4,000-megawatt-hour energy storage system.

The company recently announced the $600-million (approximately P34 billion) investment made by UK-based investment firm Actis in Terra Solar, representing 40% stake upon closing.

The first phase of the project is scheduled to be delivered by 2026, while Phase 2 is targeted for 2027.

SPNEC is controlled by the Pangilinan group through MGen Renewable Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Meralco PowerGen Corp., which is the power generation arm of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc.

Hasting Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Startup helps Filipinos turn their kilometers into pesos

INSTAGRAM.COM

By Almira Louise S. Martinez

MALAYSIA-BASED startup Carching Ventures Sdn. Bhd. has launched its service in the Philippines to help drivers earn from product ads while driving.

“It’s just doing what they’re supposed to do during the day, and they get paid by utilizing their car,” Carching Chief Operating Officer and co-founder Thalia Bondoc said in a Zoom interview last week.

Drivers in Southeast Asia including the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia face the same problems such as traffic jams and the rising cost of repairs, said Jeshua Choong, chief executive officer and co-founder of Carching.

Passive income from the Carching app could help them ease these costs, he pointed out. “They can earn passive income through advertising. We’re in the same traffic, we’re on the same road. Why can’t we earn the same money as well?”

Using the app, Filipino drivers can register for free by submitting a copy of their license and filling out the application forms.

The company, whose slogan in Malaysia is “Turning your KM into RM (Malaysian ringgit),” will then conduct a know-your-customer procedure to ensure applicants own or have permission to drive the car.

The ads, which are made of vinyl wraps, are then installed on the car body.

Drivers could earn as much as P2,000 a month once they reach their distance quota per campaign, Ms. Bondoc said.

Drivers can also pick the brands they want to advertise in their cars. “It will be like a little Tinder card — swipe left, swipe right,” Mr. Choong told Businessworld.

“The drivers become the ambassadors themselves because they are not forced to put whatever brands on the car,” he added.

Looking back at their journey, Mr. Choong said one of their clients sparked the idea of branching out in the Philippines.

“One of our biggest clients actually expanded to the Philippines and they were looking around and they can’t find a similar solution in the Philippines,” he said. This prompted Carching to assess the Philippine ad scene.

“How many hours do you get stuck on EDSA on a weekly basis?” he asked. “There are so many billboards there, media is still very traditional.”

In January, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said EDSA remained the busiest road in Metro Manila. About 400,000 cars pass through the highway daily, above its 300,000 capacity, the agency said.

Ms. Bondoc said entering the Philippine market was easy because drivers were already looking for other ways to earn, and brands were looking for more advertising avenues.

Although Carching has competitors, Mr. Choong said what sets them apart is their technology to provide the number of impressions generated during a campaign.

“We are able to track where all these vehicles go on a per-second basis,” he said. “We are able to get GPS pings of all the cars that we deploy and from there, we’ll be able to generate a heat map.”

“We also come out with our own algorithm to estimate how many cars you will pass by on different roads in Manila,” he added.

The Carching app has been downloaded about a thousand times on Google Play.

Mr. Choong said the company has given back $40,000 (P2.3 million) to their drivers in Malaysia and hopes to do the same in the Philippines.

The service is available in Metro Manila and aims to reach close to a thousand drivers by yearend, he added.

Philippine Merchandise Trade Performance (July 2024)

THE PHILIPPINES in July posted its widest trade deficit since March 2023 as imports grew at their fastest clip in three months, outpacing the uptick in exports, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday. Read the full story.

Philippine Merchandise Trade Performance (July 2024)

Dollar falls before US inflation data, debate

A bank employee counts US dollar notes in this file photo, May 16, 2016. — REUTERS

THE DOLLAR edged down on Tuesday before US inflation data and the televised US presidential debate, which could affect expectations for the interest rate outlook.

A mixed labor report on Friday failed to make a clear-cut case on whether the Federal Reserve would deliver a regular 25-basis-point (bp) rate cut or an outsized 50 bps one at its Sept. 17-18 policy meeting. Traders were waiting for Wednesday’s US consumer price index report.

Barclays strategists noted that the greenback typically weakened ahead of Fed easing cycles and tended to overestimate rate cuts during soft landings. Still, they argued, a large part of its move was probably behind us.

Investor focus will also be on the highly anticipated televised US presidential debate later on Tuesday that could weigh heavily on the November election.

Investors expect the greenback to rise in the event of a Donald Trump victory, as tariffs would prop up the currency, and higher fiscal spending would boost interest rates.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, was at 101.59, down 0.06%.

Markets are fully pricing in a 25-bp cut next week, with a 50-bps cut priced in at 30%, down from as high as 50% on Friday, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

For 2024, traders expect 110 bps of easing, up from around 100 bps from the remaining three meetings.

Fed policy makers last week signaled they are ready to kick off a series of rate cuts, with Governor Christopher Waller arguing that he could support back-to-back cuts, or bigger cuts, if the data suggest the need.

Meanwhile, the euro was last at $1.1043 after dropping nearly 0.5% on Monday.

Investors were watching Europe’s political backdrop, mentioning the stalemate in France and heightened uncertainty across the EU bloc after German regional elections.

“The resilience of the euro this year can be partly explained by the region’s current account surplus and by the market’s nonchalance regarding the budget issues faced by various EU countries such as Italy and France,” said Jane Foley, senior forex strategist at RaboBank.

“However, in the second half of the year fiscal policy will be more in focus and this could affect the single currency.”

Economists at Barclays expect political fragility to hinder fiscal adjustments in the euro area in 2024-2025.

The European Union needs massive investment if it wants to keep pace economically with rivals, former European Central Bank chief and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi said on Monday, before calling for new sources of common funding which countries led by Germany have been reluctant to agree to.

“In our view, these issues (raised by Draghi) should provide a cap on rallies on the euro/dollar going forward,” RaboBank’s Ms. Foley argued.

The spotlight though will also be on the messaging from the ECB on Thursday after the policy meeting. Traders are pricing in 63 bps of easing this year from the ECB.

The dollar was up 0.15% at 143.42 yen, creeping away from the one-month low of 141.75 touched on Friday. The greenback fell 2.7% last week against the yen.

China’s yuan eased slightly on Tuesday, but losses were capped by better-than-expected export data.

Imports, however, missed forecasts and grew just 0.5%. That follows lower-than-expected inflation data published on Monday, highlighting still weak domestic demand.

The pound rose after UK data showed robust employment growth. It was last up 0.15% at $1.3095.

In other currencies, the Australian dollar was last at $0.66659, having touched a more than three-week low of $0.66445. The New Zealand dollar last bought $0.6155, staying close to the three-week low it touched on Monday. — Reuters

Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter shut out of Country Music Award nominations

LOS ANGELES — Voters for the Country Music Awards (CMAs) snubbed superstar singer Beyonce’s album Cowboy Carter and showered singer Morgan Wallen with seven nominations on Monday.

Mr. Wallen will compete for entertainer of the year against Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton, and Lainey Wilson. Four of Wallen’s nominations came for the song “I Had Some Help,” a collaboration with Post Malone.

Winners of the CMAs will be announced at a ceremony broadcast live on ABC on Nov. 20.

In the spring, Cowboy Carter became the first album by a Black woman to land at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The single “Texas Hold ’Em” also became the first by a Black woman to claim the top spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

Beyonce had said that Cowboy Carter was born out of an experience in which she “did not feel welcomed” in the world of country music.

Experts and fans viewed the album as a reclamation and homage to an overlooked legacy of Black Americans within country music and culture. — Reuters

Pope Francis’ Asia trip is all about China

MAZUR-CATHOLICNEWS.ORG.UK

POPE FRANCIS is making an Asia-Pacific tour that’s about more than spreading the word or connecting with the devout. It is a run-through for the ultimate prize the Roman Catholic Church covets: a visit to China.

By some estimates, the world’s second-largest economy is on track to have the biggest population of Christians by 2030. The pope has been keen to engage with the Chinese Communist Party, which has historically controlled the appointment of bishops in the country, independent of the Vatican. This has led to worries of a schism, one of the many reasons the pontiff wants to unify China’s Catholics.

His overtures come despite the nation’s worsening track record on religious freedoms. Any future outreach can’t downplay these concerns, or compromise the Vatican’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan, one of the few remaining examples of recognition that the self-ruled island — which Beijing claims as its own — still has.

No pope has ever visited China, and the Holy See doesn’t have official diplomatic relations with it, despite pursuing closer ties over the last few years. The trip is being viewed as a way to engage with Beijing, but that shouldn’t discount the importance of Francis’ current tour to four Asian nations, many of which have sizeable Catholic populations: Indonesia (3%, 8 million),  Papua New Guinea  (26%, approximately 3 million), Timor-Leste (97%, 1.5  million), and Singapore — home to almost 400,000 Catholics, or 7% of the population, many ethnically Chinese — and the last leg of his historic voyage this week.

Still, China is watching very closely. The Communist Party is officially atheist, and forbids its members from having a religion. But that dogma has evolved over time and the current constitution, adopted in 1982, states that ordinary citizens enjoy “freedom of religious beliefs.”

What this means in practice, though, is that all faiths are under President Xi Jinping’s control. His Sinicization program, introduced in 2015, stipulates religious groups must adapt to socialism, by integrating their beliefs and customs with Chinese culture and political ideology. So in other words, you have the right to worship — but with Chinese characteristics.

“This is not the China of the past, there is no systematic enforcement of atheism now,” Michel Chambon, research fellow at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, told me. “The party is not interested in how you celebrate Mass. Officials just want to ensure that Catholic networks cannot be mobilized against them.”

The relationship between the church and China is complex. Religion was essentially banned during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and ’70s, but flourished in the 1980s after the country entered an era of economic reforms. Roughly 2% of Chinese adults, or about 20 million people, self-identify with Christianity, according to the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey. Protestants account for roughly 90% of those, while the remainder are mostly Catholics.

A 2022 US State Department report pointed to some 10 million to 12 million Catholics, noting that many have to practice their faith in secret, away from the scrutiny of officials. Those who refuse to join the government’s Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association or pledge allegiance to the party were harassed, detained, imprisoned, or disappeared it found.

Reaching out to the faithful is one reason behind the Vatican’s overtures to China, but it’s also about winning hearts and minds among believers divided into two groups: one under a state-controlled church, and the other that worships in “underground churches” whose bishops are not approved by Chinese authorities.

The Holy See has been fighting a battle with Beijing about who gets to appoint bishops, and in 2018 reached a compromise — candidates recognized by both would be appointed. For the Vatican, it was a way to bring more Chinese Catholics into the fold, but some high-profile figures in the Church, including the now retired Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, worried it had ceded too much power.

At the time, Zen told Bloomberg that the pontiff was too optimistic about the Chinese government, and warned closer ties “will have tragic and long-lasting effects, not only for the Church in China, but for the whole Church.” His remarks were prescient. In 2022, Zen was fined after being found guilty on a charge relating to his role in a relief fund for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests in 2019, which he denied. 

Taiwan is a pressing dilemma. The Vatican is among 12 diplomatic allies the island still has left. There are concerns these loyalties could shift, as the Holy See attempts to improve ties with Beijing. Regular meetings between Chinese clergy and their counterparts in Rome, a trend toward normalizing relations, and even discussions about setting up a “stable presence” by the Vatican in China, all point to an upgrading of that relationship.

Beijing’s efforts to switch international allegiances away from Taipei have been remarkably successful. Getting the Vatican on side would be a high-profile victory, but the Church has consistently maintained that it would never abandon Taipei. It is conceivable, given its religious authority, that it could have spiritual ties with both, and some Taiwanese have even asked the Holy See to press for “dual recognition.”

China won’t make that easy, given it’s animosity toward the island. The Vatican wants to bring all Catholics in China under its umbrella, but that cannot mean a compromise on issues of religious freedom, or a downgrading of its relationship with Taiwan. The Holy See is the island’s only diplomatic ally in Europe. A pope has never visited there, despite enjoying diplomatic ties for several decades. Casting aside Taiwan for growth in China would seriously damage the Church’s credibility as an upholder of spiritual principles.

The Vatican should be transparent about its agreements with Beijing rather than compromise to get deeper access in the country. Consistently voicing concerns about the treatment of the oppressed — a key moral value — should be part of any dialogue with the Communist Party.

As adherence to spirituality declines in the West, growth in the number of faithful will most likely come from Asia. Sacrificing principles for progress is not the way.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

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