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Meralco bills rise for 2nd month

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) announced on Monday a P0.0902 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) hike in December’s overall electricity rate to P10.1803/kWh, marking the second straight month of increase, citing a rise in generation charge from power supply contracts.
In a statement, Meralco said the “slight upward adjustment” from P10.0901/kWh in November would result in an increase of around P18 in the bill of a typical household using 200 kWh. For those consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh and 500 kWh, the corresponding increases would be P27.06, P36.08 and P45.1, respectively.
“Since April this year, electricity rates registered a net decrease of P0.37/kWh,” the distribution utility said.
It said the higher charges from power supply agreements (PSAs) and independent power producers (IPP) pulled up the generation charge.
“From P5.2725/kWh last month, generation charge for December went up to P5.3303/kWh, an increase of P0.0578/kWh,” the company said.
The utility attributed the increase largely to the rise in cost of power from PSAs by P0.5167/kWh and IPPs by P0.1783/kWh.
It said that, despite the stronger peso, these charges rose in December due to lower average plant dispatch. It cited the scheduled maintenance outage of the San Lorenzo plant’s module 50 last Oct. 28-Nov. 7 and its module 60 on Oct. 28-Nov. 8.
“The shares of PSAs and IPPs purchases to Meralco’s total requirement this month were 42% and 38%, respectively,” the company said.
In contrast, the cost of power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) went down by P1.0268/kWh due to improvement in Luzon’s power supply situation. This came at a time when demand for power in November was lower. Meralco said WESM provided 20% of its supply needs.
Meanwhile, transmission charge of residential customers went up slightly by P0.0169/ kWh, while taxes and other charges also rose by P0.0155/kWh.
“Meralco’s distribution, supply, and metering charges… have remained unchanged for 41 months, after these registered reductions in July 2015,” the company said in its press release, reiterating that it does not earn from pass-through charges such as the generation and transmission charges.
Payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers, while payment for the transmission charge goes to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
Taxes and other public policy charges, including the feed-in tariff allowance rate, are remitted to the government. — V. V. Saulon

Senate cautioned that reenacted budget could weigh on growth

THE PHILIPPINES’ gross domestic product (GDP) growth may lose 1.1-2.3 percentage points should the 2018 national budget be reenacted for the whole year in 2019, according to estimates which state economic managers submitted to the Senate on Monday.
That means that GDP may hope to grow just 4.7-5.9% next year against the government’s 7-8% target for next year, as a reenacted budget means that no new projects can be implemented.
Overall economic growth averaged 6.3% in the nine months to September against the government’s scaled-down 6.5-6.9% goal for 2018.
Lawmakers will be going on a Dec. 15-Jan. 13 Christmas break, leaving no time for the Senate to approve the P3.757-trillion proposed 2019 budget.
Under the law, the P3.767-trillion 2018 national budget will be automatically reenacted for 2019 should President Rodrigo R. Duterte fail to sign the 2019 spending plan into law by yearend.
Department of Budget and Management estimates presented during the Senate plenary session on the 2019 budget show that there will be a P219.8 billion cut in total disbursements under reenacted 2018 spending program.
It said that employment will be down by up to 600,000 jobs and that 200,000-400,000 individuals risk being be pushed into poverty.
The DBM said that most affected sectors include the construction, public administration, defense, wholesale and retail trade, land, transportation and education.
Based on the schedule released by the Senate on Nov. 25, budget interpellation will take place Dec. 5-12. The Senate targets to approve the bill on final reading on Jan. 16.
The bicameral conference committee is scheduled on Jan. 18-23 and ratification by both chambers on Jan. 29.
Congress will transmit the ratified 2019 budget to Malacañang on Feb. 7.
House of Representatives deliberations on the proposed 2019 budget were stalled for about two weeks in August over lawmakers’ opposition to the Executive’s shift to a national budget based on the limited spending capacities of departments and agencies. The chamber approved the spending plan on final reading on Nov. 20.
“I think that’s quite remote to have a reenacted budget. But you know a reenacted budget is certainly not ideal because new projects cannot be embarked upon and all projects cannot be carried forward. So we just hope that we could catch up,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters yesterday when sought for comment. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Avengers: Endgame moved up in crowded year for superheroes


WALT DISNEY CO. offered the first peek at Avengers: Endgame and moved up its release date, navigating a crowded year for superhero movies that may serve as the ultimate test of Marvel’s appeal.
The Endgame film, the fourth cinematic chapter in the tale of the universe-saving team of superheroes, is now set to debut on April 26. (It had been slated for May 3.) Another of Disney’s Marvel movies, Captain Marvel, is coming out in March, so there’s likely to be significant overlap in theaters.
Disney, its pending merger partner 21st Century Fox Inc. and Sony Corp. all have rights to various Marvel characters, and that’s added up to a flood of movies in the coming months. Sony will release Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse this month. Fox has two X-Men films coming in 2019. And Spider-Man: Far From Home, a collaboration between Disney and Sony, is slated for July.
That means a major new Marvel film debuts approximately every 40 days for the next eight months.
Disney’s Marvel Studios released a trailer on Friday for Endgame, which had been untitled until now. When we last left Iron Man, Captain America and the gang, they were reeling in defeat at the hands of Thanos, a supervillain who had eliminated half the population of the universe with a snap of his fingers. The how and why is complicated.
But what’s important is that the series is a big moneymaker for Disney. The three Avengers movies so far have grossed at least $5 billion worldwide since 2012.
And the story lines for individual Avengers are extended in the trailer. Ant-Man, for instance, reappears. (His last movie ended with him stuck in the Quantum Realm after being shrunk to microscopic size. Again, it’s complicated.)
Why is that important? Because Marvel’s non-Avenger films, and there are a lot of them, have grossed about another $12 billion. Endgame will help tie them all together.
Still, the ultimate threat for Disney’s Marvel universe may not be Thanos, but an oversaturated market. — Bloomberg

PAL, CebuPac expect better Q4

THE listed operators of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific expect to see better financial performance in the fourth quarter, as jet fuel prices have gone down.
PAL Corporate Communications Vice-President Jose E. L. Perez de Tagle said the flag carrier is aiming to trim its losses in the fourth quarter, noting the lower price of jet fuel will help achieve its goal.
“[W]e still see that the markets are growing. Our revenues are increasing… We still expect growth and we expect that to continue over the next few months and well into the year afterwards,” he told reporters in a chance interview on Monday.
PAL Holdings reported a lower net loss of P2.5 billion in the third quarter, versus a net loss of P2.95 billion a year ago, as the airline mounted additional flight frequencies and launched new routes.
Alexander G. Lao, president and CEO of Cebu Pacific subsdiary Cebgo, noted the budget carrier’s third quarter was weak due to a combination of factors — high jet fuel prices, peso depreciation, and the low season.
“But those things, we’re seeing the reverse so far in the fourth quarter… That will certainly help our bottomline, not just ourselves, but all the other airlines. Hopefully we’re able to do something positive in Q4,” Mr. Lao told reporters.
Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, swung to a loss of P518 million in the third quarter from a profit of P42 million in the same period last year, which it attributed to rising jet fuel costs and the weakening of the peso against the US dollar.
PAL and Cebu Pacific implemented a Level 3 fuel surcharge starting September, which translates to a P74 to P291 added charge on domestic flights, and P381 to P3,632 for international flights, depending on distance traveled.
Although the fuel surcharge helped Cebu Pacific recover some of its losses, Mr. Lao said the airline has to keep ticket prices in check to remain competitive in a price-sensitive market like the Philippines.
“We have to make sure we can compete. So if our competitor for example doesn’t charge fuel surcharge, sometimes you have to make adjustments in the fares just to be able to stimulate passenger demand,” Mr. Lao said.
Mr. Perez de Tagle said PAL still has to closely monitor how the market will react to another increase in fuel surcharge before implementing it.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) approved a Level 4 fuel surcharge in November, but airlines decided not to raise ticket prices.
The world price of jet fuel according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) stood at $79.94 per barrel as of Nov. 30, down 3% versus a year ago and down 19.8% versus last month. — Denise A. Valdez

Tencent poised to spin new streaming billionaires

A LAWYER, a computer scientist, and China’s third-richest person are poised to create one of the year’s biggest hits in the music industry.
Co-presidents Xie Zhenyu and Xie Guomin are on the brink of becoming billionaires as Tencent Music Entertainment Group prepares a public stock offering in New York that may value the company at $24.5 billion. Mr. Zhenyu’s fortune could be $952 million if they price at the upper end of the range provided in a prospectus, and Mr. Guomin’s $922 million.
Edmond Lococo, an external spokesman for Tencent Music, said the company declined to comment on their net worth.
This week’s IPO will give American investors the opportunity to speculate on the expanding Chinese market for music-streaming services. Tencent’s growth in China mirrors inroads by Spotify in the US, where streaming has helped music sales grow at their fastest rate since the 1990s.
Revenue at China’s largest online music entertainment platform, which counts Pony Ma’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. as its biggest shareholder, surged 152% last year to 11 billion yuan ($1.6 billion). PAG Capital Ltd. is the second-largest owner, followed by Spotify Technology SA.
Mr. Guomin, 44, worked as an attorney after he graduated from Peking University and joined Sina Corp., parent of China’s version of Twitter, in 1999. He served stints as vice president of public relations, general counsel and general manager of Sina Music. In 2012, he founded China Music Corp., or CMC, which specialized in music copyright. CMC acquired online music service provider Kuwo the following year.
Mr. Zhenyu, 43, started out as a technical engineer at China Merchants Bank in 1998 after receiving a degree in computer science from Sun-Yat Sen University. He quit that job to found SoGua Music, China’s first digital music search engine, according to the prospectus. In 2004, he set up music company Kugou, which merged with rival Kuwo a decade later. Tencent acquired a majority stake of CMC, the parent company of Kugou and Kuwo, in 2016 and renamed the combined entity Tencent Music.
The company’s platforms are becoming important vehicles for pop stars such as Katy Perry and Rihanna to reach a Chinese audience, alongside homegrown artists such as Jason Zhang and Joker Xue. — Bloomberg

BPO industry poised for rebound

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
THE Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is headed toward a resurgence in 2019, as the rise in wages in the United States coupled by the weaker peso are encouraging multinational firms to move back to the country.
This is according to real estate consultancy firm Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), which noted that companies who diversified away from the country are now realizing that local conditions are still better, even with the political risks.
“They got reminded of how difficult it is to do business in other places,” LPC Chief Executive Officer David Leechiu said in a year-end property outlook in Makati City yesterday, saying how companies went back to India, the US, Poland, Europe, Malaysia, and other markets in the past two years.
“They saw that it is still better to do business in the Philippines. The call center industry is going to keep getting more expensive…This will force many companies to come here despite all our issues.”
LPC said the BPO sector remained the largest demand driver for office spaces in 2018, taking up about 290,000 sq.m. out of the 1.16 million sq.m. in total office space demand in Metro Manila for the year.
State of the Philippine office market: 2018-2023
This however is 18% lower than the 355,000 sq.m.-take-up in 2017, and 40% lower than the 485,000-sq.m. seen in 2016.
“They’re still growing but at a significantly slower space. That’s very alarming,” Mr. Leechiu said, attributing the slowdown to the lack of office spaces accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
LPC noted that Century Properties Group, Inc.’s Century Diamond Tower — which is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year — will be the only office space with PEZA accreditation in Makati City in the next three years.
“(We recommend the government to) grant more PEZA zones. It’s so hard for them (the BPO sector) to expand when the geography’s so limited,” Mr. Leechiu said.
In addition to the lack of PEZA-accredited spaces, LPC also sees a deficit in office supply by 2021, as major business districts are now recording low vacancy rates.
The average vacancy rate in Metro Manila is currently at 6%. LPC projects vacancy to steady at 6% by the end of 2019, before falling to 5% in 2020 and to 2% by 2021. This is based on the assumption that demand stays flat at 942,000 sq.m. per year.
Lease rates for prime office spaces in Makati are expected to reach P1,600 per sq.m. in 2019 amid falling vacancy, while BGC’s rates are also seen to go as high as P1,500 per sq.m.
Outside Metro Manila, Clark Global City posted the highest office demand at 156,000 sq.m., followed by Cebu with 133,000 sq.m., Laguna with 46,000 sq.m., and Davao City with 28,000 sq.m.
“The next big property run is going to be in Clark, Cavite, Laguna, more than any other place,” Mr. Leechiu said.

State of the Philippine office market: 2018-2023

THE Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is headed toward a resurgence in 2019, as the rise in wages in the United States coupled by the weaker peso are encouraging multinational firms to move back to the country. Read the full story.
State of the Philippine office market: 2018-2023

Nominees for the 2019 Golden Globe Awards


NOMINATIONS WERE announced on Dec. 13 for the 2019 Golden Globe awards for movies and television. The Golden Globes, organized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, will be presented at a gala dinner hosted by Canadian actress Sandra Oh and US comedian Andy Samberg in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 6. Following is a list of key film and television nominations.
FILM
• Best Drama — A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, If Beale Street Could Talk, Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman
• Best Comedy or Musical — Mary Poppins Returns, Crazy Rich Asians, The Favourite, Green Book, Vice
• Best Actor, Drama — Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born; Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody; Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate; John David Washington, BlacKkKlansman; Lucas Hedges, Boy Erased
• Best Actress — Lady Gaga, A Star is Born; Glenn Close, The Wife; Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?; Nicole Kidman, Destroyer; Rosamund Pike, A Private War
• Best Actor, Comedy or Musical — Christian Bale, Vice; Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Poppins Returns; Viggo Mortensen, Green Book; Robert Redford, The Old Man and the Gun; John C. Reilly, Stan and Ollie
• Best Actress, Comedy or Musical — Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns; Olivia Colman, The Favourite; Constance Wu, Crazy Rich Asians; Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade; Charlize Theron, Tully
• Best Director — Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born; Alfonso Cuaron, Roma; Peter Farrelly, Green Book; Spike Lee, BlaKkKlansman; Adam McKay, Vice
• Best Supporting Actor — Mahershala Ali, Green Book; Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy; Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman; Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?; Sam Rockwell, Vice
• Best Supporting Actress — Amy Adams, Vice; Claire Foy, First Man; Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk; Emma Stone, The Favourite; Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
• Best Animated Film — Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Mirai
• Best Foreign Film — Capernaum, Lebanon; Girl, Belgium; Never Look Away, Germany; Roma, Mexico; Shoplifters, Japan
TELEVISION
• Best TV Drama Series — The Americans, FX; Bodyguard, Netflix; Homecoming, Amazon Prime; Killing Eve, BBC America; Pose, FX
• Best TV Comedy/Musical Series — Barry, HBO; The Good Place, NBC; Kidding, Showtime; The Kominsky Method, Netflix; The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon Prime
• Best Actor, TV Drama — Jason Bateman, Ozark; Stephen James, Homecoming; Richard Madden, Bodyguard; Billy Porter, Pose; Matthew Rhys, The Americans
• Best Actress, TV Drama — Caitriona Balfe, Outlander; Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale; Sandra Oh, Killing Eve; Julia Roberts, Homecoming; Keri Russell, The Americans
• Best Actor, TV Comedy/Musical — Bill Hader, Barry; Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method; Donald Glover, Atlanta; Jim Carrey, Kidding; Sacha Baron Cohen, Who Is America?
• Best Actress, TV Comedy/Musical — Kristen Bell, The Good Place; Candice Bergen, Murphy Brown; Alison Brie, GLOW; Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; Debra Messing, Will & Grace
• Best TV Movie or Limited Series — The Alienist, TNT; Sharp Objects, HBO; A Very English Scandal, Amazon Prime; Escape at Dannemora, Showtime; The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, FX. — Reuters

Damosa Land breaks ground for new office building in Davao City

DAVAO CITY — Damosa Land, Inc. (DLI), the property arm of the Floirendo-owned Anflo Management and Investment Corp. (ANFLOCOR), broke ground over the weekend for its new office building inside the Damosa Information Technology Park here.
DLI Vice-President Ricardo F. Lagdameo said the upcoming 15-storey Diamond Tower is designed to reflect the history of the city as well as the family business.
Mr. Lagdameo said they want to “encapsulate the history of the city and the company,” and make it an “iconic” building in Davao.
“Major cities (in the world) are characterized by iconic structures,” Mr. Lagdameo said, citing examples like the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
The Diamond Tower will showcase banana fibers in its design, highlighting ANFLOCOR’s flagship business of agricultural production and export through Tagum Agricultural Development Corp. (TADECO).
The group’s founder, the late Don Antonio O. Floirendo, was among the pioneers of the banana export industry in the 1960s.
Mr. Lagdameo, a grandson of Mr. Floirendo, said the new building will have a 1,600-square meter floor area on every floor, with two floors devoted to parking.
Another three-floor car park that can accommodate about 300 vehicles will also be built in the complex.
DLI will fund the project with part of the P1.5-billion loan it signed last month with BDO Unibank, Inc.
Mr. Lagdameo said they are targeting to have the project completed by the first quarter of 2020.
“This is something of a milestone” for the company’s history as a major contributor to Davao City’s economy, he said. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

AboitizLand making inroads into Luzon property market

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang
FOR a property developer originally based in Cebu, expanding into Luzon can be a challenge. AboitizLand, Inc., which launched projects in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac this year, is seeing encouraging signs the market has welcomed its Ajoya brand.
“No one really knew the AboitizLand brand outside of Cebu and maybe South Luzon, currently. But when we launched Ajoya… what was encouraging was… when they saw, again the two strengths that we have the masterplan and the house, ang mga verbatim na response nu’ng market is [the market’s response was] ‘Uy, parang hindi pa kami nakakakita in this price range ng ganyang product [It seems like we have not seen this product in this price range],” John A. Amon, AboitizLand vice president for customer acquisition and innovation, said in an interview with BusinessWorld on Dec. 3.
“We felt good about it because our gamble, our bet was being validated,” he added.
AboitizLand launched two Ajoya mid-market residential developments in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, and Capas, Tarlac. Last year, the Cebuano property firm launched Seafront Residences in San Juan, Batangas.
Mr. Amon said the company wanted to take advantage of the large number of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) families in Cabanatuan, and investors in Capas, which is near New Clark City.
Ajoya Capas is a 13-hectare development in Barangays Talaga and Estrada in Tarlac. House and lots at Ajoya Capas range from 45 square meters (sq.m.) to 60 sq.m., with prices between P1.8-million to P2.5-million.
At the 19-hectare Ajoya Cabanatuan in Barangay Valle Cruz, house and lots range from 60 sq.m. to 75 sq.m., and are priced between P3-million to P4.7-million.

Ajoya 2
John A. Amon, AboitizLand vice president

Both projects can accommodate 1,000 homes.
Mr. Amon said the Cebuano property firm decided to expand in northern and southern Luzon in response to the robust demand for housing in these areas.
“From a strategic perspective, the market that we are trying to capture, in general in the country, research says that there are about 12-plus-million homes that are still in demand… and a huge chunk of that is in the north,” he said.
Unlike other developers, Mr. Amon said Ajoya projects are based on the concept of “new urbanism” or “building communities for people, not vehicles and making sure that people are connected.”
“It’s also the way we design our houses… the market now especially, yearns for authenticity… As far as our philosophy is concerned, it doesn’t make sense, for example, to build Italian-inspired homes for local Filipinos. We have to look back at our history and see what is the climate, our culture, etc.,” he said, noting Ajoya homes take their cue from the architecture of the Filipino Bahay na Bato.
The property firm has seen robust take-up for the Ajoya projects, with sales exceeding targets since the launch in September.
For instance, AboitizLand targeted P150-million worth of sales in September, but generated between P200 to P220 million in sales.
“It’s not by far a number that is staggering based on our other launches, but it is actually encouraging because from a brand that had zero awareness levels in that area, to hit our numbers during launch month, and sustain that, and exceed that is quite encouraging for us,” Mr. Amon said.

Cine Europa ends this year’s run at Shangri-La Plaza, offers free lectures and screenings of 27 films


FILIPINO film historian and award-winning movie maker Nick Deocampo will be giving a series of free lectures from Dec. 12-14 at the EDSA Shangri-la Plaza’s newly opened Red Carpet cinema as part of the Cine Europa film festival which is ongoing until Dec. 16 at the mall.
Mr. Deocampo will be giving lectures on the 100th anniversary of Philippine cinema and its European influence; understanding culture through film: hidden camera for the 100 years of Philippine cinema; and the growth of regional cinema in promoting cultures.
The festival, which kicked off its 21st year on Sept. 28 in Cebu, has travelled around the country, with stops at Naga, Iloilo City, Tacloban, Puerto Princess, Leyte, and Baguio, and culminates in Metro Manila.
Cine Europa is part of the cultural diplomacy between EU and the Philippines said EU Ambassador Franz Jessen in a statement, adding that “Cine Europa is one of the most effective means for the EU to reach out to the Filipino people. It is a unique way to showcase European cultural diversity in the Philippines.”
THE FILMS
The longest running international film festival in the country, Cine Europa present 27 movies from 15 countries this year.
Austria’s Mademoiselle Paradis (2017), directed by Barbara Albert, is about a blind piano virtuoso who regains her sight at the cost of her talent, Clara Stern’s Mathias (2017) about a transgender dealing with transition, Siegfried A. Fruhauf’s Fuddy Duddy (2016) about an event much like the Big Bang which brings both order and chaos, and Jannis Lenz’ Wannabe (2017) about a young YouTuber who wants to become famous.
Belgium presents three films: Allez, Eddy! (2012), directed by Gert Embrechts, about a butcher’s son who joins a cycling race, Upstream (2016), by Marion Hansel, about two men who discover they are half-brothers; and Germaine (2011), by Frank Van Mechelen, about an 18-year-old whose life changes when workers at a local factory, including her father, decide to go on strike.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic presents Closely Watched Trains (1966) by Jiri Menzel, about an apprentice train watcher who gets seduced into join the Resistance forces during the Second World War. The film won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 1968 Academy Awards. For it’s contemporary offering, the Czech Republic presents To See the Sea (2014) by Jiri Madl, about a ten-year-old boy who receives a video camera for his birthday and uncovers a big family secret.
Denmark’s Zentropa (1991), by Lars Von Trier, focuses on a young German American who gets embroiled between the power elite and Nazi terrorists gone underground after Germany’s surrender, while The Day Will Come (2016), by Jesper W. Nielsen, tells the story of two brothers who are placed in a boy’s home where, armed with their imagination and hope, they struggle through the headmaster’s tyranny.
A Taste of Ink (2016) by Morgan Simon is one of France’s entries to this year’s film festival. It is about a singer who falls for his father’s new girlfriend. France will also present Crazy Pierrot (1965) by Jean-Luc Godard, about Pierrot and a girl named Angela leading an unorthodox life on the run.
Germany’s only entry, Windstorm and the Wild Horses (2017) by Katja von Garnier, is about a horse whisperer who wants to revive a wild horse race tradition.
Hungary enters the festival with The Exam (2011) by Peter Bergendy. Set during the country’s 1956 revolution, a national security officer is tasked to gather information and whose secrets can destroy both his career and that of his superiors.
Italy comes to Cine Europa with an Italian-Filipino collaboration called The Lease (2018), directed by Paolo Betrola. It is about a Philippine-Italian family who live in the Philippines and discover that their newly leased villa in Tagaytay is haunted.
Another Italian film, Notti di Cabiria (1957) by Federico Fellini, is about a woman who was robbed and left to drown by her boyfriend. Rescued, she decides to resume her life and find happiness.
From the Netherlands comes Winter in Wartime (2008) by Martin Koolhoven, about a teenager who is tasked to care for a British pilot which brings him to the realization that good and evil are intertwined in times of war.
Norway, the only non-EU member state to join Cine Europa this year, presents 1001 Grams (2014) by Bent Hamer, about a scientist who attends a seminar in Paris on the actual weight of a kilo and spirals into the measurement of how much a human life weighs.
Another Norwegian entry is Operation Arctic (2014) by Grethe Boe-Waal, about three sisters who end up on a deserted island and aside from surviving must figure out how to return.
Poland will present Marie Curie and the Blue Light (2016) by Marie Noelle, about the Nobel Prize winner who, after winning the prestigious prize has to deal with the death of her husband and being a widow and take care of her two daughters while continuing the work she began with her husband.
Romania’s Selfie 69 (2016) by Cristina Jacob is about three friends going through breakups who bet among themselves about who gets married first. Slovakia gets political with The Candidate (2013) by Jonas Karasek, about the background of a political campaign of a successful presidential candidate.
From Spain comes the classic Bienvenido, Mister Marshall (1953) by Luis Garcia Berlanga, about a little village getting economic aid from the US after World War II and how it welcomes the aid with much fanfare; and Hache (1997) by Adolfo Aristarain, about an Argentinian film director who does not allow himself the luxury of feeling.
Meanwhile, Sweden presents two films: A Holy Mess (2015) by Helena Bergstrom, a comedy about a modern Swedish family and their continual struggle to “do things right,” and Eternal Summer (2015) by Andreas Ohman, a road movie about a couple who travel through the breathtaking landscape of Northern Sweden.
Finally, United Kingdom presents two films: Amy (2015) by Asif Kapadia, a documentary on the life of singer Amy Winehouse; and My Generation (2017) by David Batty, with actor Michael Caine narrating his journey through 1960s London. The film was assembled by Mr. Caine over the last six years. — NPDG/ZBC

Aboitiz unit’s floating solar energy system completed by Q1

SN Aboitiz Power-Magat, Inc. expects to complete the construction of its pilot floating solar energy system on Magat dam in the first quarter of 2019 in time for the onset of the rainy season to test the project’s ability to withstand rough weather.
The success of the project would decide whether the company, which is a partnership between Aboitiz Power Corp. and SN Power of Norway, could scale up the 200-kilowatt solar farm that will be built over a 2,500-square meter area of the reservoir.
“We’re thinking of the next increment of investment. We’ve talked about 30 to 50 megawatts (MW) of floating solar,” Joseph S. Yu, president and chief executive officer, said in a briefing on Monday in Taguig City.
“This one is a pilot, so it’s pretty expensive. It’s about $300,000 for the whole pilot [project],” he said.
He said the company had secured the approval of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the dam’s owner, for the project.
“We’re hoping to have it up and running maybe March, April next year,” Mr. Yu said. “We intend to actually stress test it, so we’ll have it built just in time for the wet season to start. We’ll see if it’s a safe harbor.”
Mr. Yu said the test would include an evaluation on whether the floating solar system could withstand the flow of water during a typhoon and how much power could be generated from it.
“We’re hoping if it works then it should be pretty scalable and then that could be a venue for us to grow pretty rapidly if the market for renewable energy ever firms itself up,” he said.
“A land-based solar takes about six to eight months to build. So as long as you can iron out the transmission, any contracting… and any permitting that you need, [if] you’ve got all those three pieces in place, then you can expand fairly quickly,” Mr. Yu added.
In a statement issued during the briefing, SN Aboitiz Power quoted NIA Administrator Ricardo R. Visaya as saying that a hectare of solar field could produce a megawatt of power.
The government agency said that if 200 of the 4,500 hectares of the Magat dam reservoir will be used for water-based solar power, 200 MW will be generated and 200 hectares of agricultural land could be saved.
SN Aboitiz Power owns and operates the 360- to 380-MW Magat hydro on the border of Isabela and Ifugao provinces; the 8.5-MW Maris hydro in Isabela; the 105-MW Ambuklao hydro in Benguet; and the 140-MW Binga hydro plant in Benguet. — Victor V. Saulon

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