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Streaking Bolts draw first blood over Aces

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE Meralco Bolts continued to roll in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup, winning their seventh straight game with a 97-92 victory over the Alaska Aces in Game One of their best-of-five semifinal series on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Made their way to the playoffs via the backdoor and bucked a twice-to-win handicap in the quarterfinals, the Bolts sustained their steady solid form of late to draw first blood over the Aces in their semis series.
Import Allen Durham got things going for Meralco early in the game, leading his team to a 25-17 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The Bolts continued to hold sway in the second period, maintaining a comfortable distance of 13 points, 36-23, by the 5:04 mark of the frame.
Mike Harris tried to rally the Aces back but Meralco would keep them at bay with the latter remaining on top, 47-34, by the halftime break.
In the third quarter, the Aces came out with more spring in their game, making inroads in cutting down the Bolts’ lead to just five, 47-42, with just two minutes lapsing in the period.
Mr. Durham though would help Meralco stop the bleeding after, towing the team in re-establishing a double-digit lead, 57-47, midway into the frame.
Vic Manuel then led another uprising by Alaska as they cut their deficit to just seven points, 57-50, after two minutes.
But much like what they have done for much of the time, Meralco responded with a flurry to cut any momentum built by its opponent, taking a 72-56 cushion to the fourth period.
With the outcome of the match still open, the two teams slugged it out to begin the final quarter.
They fought to an 82-76 count, with the Bolts still on top, with four minutes left in the contest.
A triple by Chris Newsome with 3:42 to go gave Meralco more breathing space, 85-76.
Then Baser Amer added a deuce off the break a minute later to make it an 11-point lead, 87-76, for Meralco.
The Aces tried hard to rally back but no comeback would be consummated as the Bolts held on for the win.
Mr. Durham led the Bolts with 32 points, 14 rebounds and six assists with Mr. Newsome finishing with 16 points, four assists and four steals.
Mr. Amer added 14 points for Meralco.
Mr. Harris, meanwhile, had 37 points and 18 rebounds for the Aces with Chris Banchero and Mr. Manuel adding 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Game Two of the series is on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Aldridge double-double leads Spurs over Rockets

LOS ANGELES — LaMarcus Aldridge posted a double-double and paced the host San Antonio Spurs to a 96-89 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday in the first meeting this season between the Southwest Division rivals.
Aldridge finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Derrick White added 14 points and eight assists.
DeMar DeRozan and Bryn Forbes scored 13 points apiece for the Spurs, who snapped a two-game skid.
Harden led the Rockets with 25 points, but shot just 7 of 27 from the field. Eric Gordon added 23 and Clint Capela recorded a double-double (12 points, 17 boards) for the Rockets, who dropped the final two games of their five-game road trip while shooting just 33.3% (30 for 90).
RAPTORS 128, KNICKS 112
Pascal Siakam scored 14 of his career-best 23 points in the third quarter, and Toronto remained undefeated at home in blowing out New York.
The Raptors have won six in a row and are off to a franchise best 12-1 start to the season that includes a 7-0 home record. Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who shot 53.2% from the field.
The Knicks lost for the third time in four games despite 27 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. Enes Kanter added 15 points and 15 rebounds.
GRIZZLIES 112, 76ERS 106 (OT)
Mike Conley scored a season-high 32 points and Marc Gasol recorded 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to lead host Memphis to a comeback win against shorthanded Philadelphia.
The Grizzlies rallied from their largest deficit of the season — 16 points — and forced overtime when Garrett Temple’s 3-pointer tied the score at 102-all with just under 40 seconds left.
Joel Embiid recorded his league-leading 13th double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds. JJ Redick scored 20, but only four in the second half. Ben Simmons also totaled 18 points and 14 rebounds.
WARRIORS 116, NETS 100
Quinn Cook scored 19 of his 27 points in the first half in his first start in place of the injured Stephen Curry, helping host Golden State roll to victory over Brooklyn.
Kevin Durant had game-highs with 28 points with 11 assists, and Klay Thompson added 24 as the Warriors bounced back from a home loss to Milwaukee to win convincingly despite the absence of Curry and Draymond Green.
Joe Harris fired in a team-high 24 points for Brooklyn, which was playing the second half of a back-to-back that began with a dramatic 112-110 win at Denver on Friday night.
CLIPPERS 128, BUCKS 126 (OT)
Lou Williams hit a teardrop layup in traffic with less than a second remaining in overtime to give Los Angeles a signature win in beating visiting Milwaukee.
Williams, who leads the NBA in scoring off the bench, had a modest 12 points but added 10 assists as the Clippers have won three of their past four games.
Montrezl Harrell added 26 bench points and nine rebounds, while Patrick Beverley scored a season-high 21 points for the Clippers. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points with 18 rebounds and five steals for the Bucks.
PELICANS 119, SUNS 99
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 13 rebounds as shorthanded New Orleans led wire to wire in a rout over visiting Phoenix.
Davis led four Pelicans in double figures as Julius Randle scored 22 points with 15 rebounds, Jrue Holiday scored 19 with nine assists, and E’Twaun Moore added 17.
The Pelicans played without two starters as point guard Elfrid Payton and forward Nikola Mirotic both were sidelined by sprained right ankles.
T.J. Warren scored 25, rookie Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Devin Booker had 12 points for the Suns, who lost for the 10th time in 11 games.
LAKERS 101, KINGS 86
The Los Angeles Lakers have a .500 record for the first time this season after a road win against Sacramento.
LeBron James scored 25 points for Los Angeles, which has won four of five and six of nine. Tyson Chandler had a team-high 12 rebounds off the bench in his second game since joining the Lakers.
De’Aaron Fox scored 21 points to lead Sacramento. Marvin Bagley III had 13 points off the bench and Willie Cauley-Stein had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings, who had won six of eight coming in.
WIZARDS 116, HEAT 110
John Wall scored 28 points with nine assists, Jeff Green added 19 points and 10 rebounds and visiting Washington defeated Miami for its third win of the season.
Dwight Howard had 11 points and 16 rebounds and Bradley Beal finished with 18 points for the Wizards, who had lost seven of their past eight games overall and improved to 2-6 on the road.
Richardson led the Heat with 24 points and McGruder added 22. Hassan Whiteside had 15 points and 14 rebounds as Miami lost its second straight. — Reuters

San Beda Red Lions go for third straight NCAA title at MOA Arena

UP 1-0 in their best-of-three National Collegiate Athletic Association finals series, the defending champions San Beda Red Lions seek to close out the Lyceum Pirates and win their third straight title in Game Two today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Set at 4 p.m., the Lions go for a series sweep anew over the Pirates even as the latter are set to welcome back top man CJ Perez, who missed the series-opener on Nov. 6 because of league suspension for infraction he made on NCAA rules about filing application for the Philippine Basketball Association rookie draft.
Faced an undermanned opponent, San Beda did not waste much time in pounding on Lyceum last time around, going on a fast start and pretty much maintaining control the rest of the way to book the win.
The Pirates tried a last-ditch effort to salvage the game in the fourth period but the Lions just allowed them to a certain point before nipping the run on the bud to claim the victory and move a step away from sweeping Lyceum for a three-peat and 22nd NCAA title overall.
Last year, San Beda shut out top-seeded and undefeated in the finals of the country’s longest-standing collegiate league.
The Lions relied on a total team effort to claim the series-opener, 73-60.
Javee Mocon showed the way for San Beda with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Robert Bolick had 12 points and nine assists.
Clint Doliguez had 11 points and Donald Tankoua had 10 points and 16 rebounds for Lions.
While happy that they have the early series lead, San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez nonetheless highlighted that their job is not yet done and they are bracing for a determined and tougher challenge from Lyceum, more so with Perez back in harness.
“Without CJ their game plan was really affected but we only beat them by 13 points which speaks a lot of LPU,” said Mr. Fernandez in the postgame press conference following Game One.
“My players responded well today. Hopefully we can sustain it in the next game when CJ returns,” the former PBA player Fernandez added.
STAVE OFF ELIMINATION
For Lyceum, the mission order is clear — win or go home.
The Pirates remain bullish though of their chances despite going a series down and facing finals defeat even as they lamented Perez not being allowed to play in Game One.
“It could have been a different game and finals had CJ played in Game One,” said Lyceum coach Topex Robinson.
But the Pirates coach made note of his team making a game out of the opener late, something they hope to build on heading into Game Two.
“We could have just rolled over and died but we did not. We’re still in this and we’re excited for Game Two. We have a week to recover. We’ll try to see what adjustments we can make. We have to bring it on Monday and we’re excited to have CJ Perez back in our lineup,” Mr. Robinson said.
In Game One, Mike Nzeusseu led Lyceum with 16 points and 14 boards with Jaycee and Jayvee Marcelino adding 13 points each.
Prior to Game Two, top individual awards for NCAA Season 94 will be handed out, including the most valuable player plum going to Prince Eze of season hosts Perpetual Help Altas. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

World Chess Championship starts with Harrelson blunder

LONDON — World Chess Championship officials might rethink the role of ceremonial starter after Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson knocked over a king and moved the wrong pawn in a comical start to the 2018 event in London on Friday.
Norwegian title holder Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana were bemused onlookers as the US actor began their eagerly anticipated match-up by knocking over the American challenger’s king, the move that traditionally signals a concession.
Caruana had asked the “Hunger Games” and “Cheers” actor to move his pawn to start the game, only for Harrelson to hit the king and moved a different piece.
A bewildered Caruana initially appeared to accept the mistake before officials allowed the pawn to be returned. A grinning Harrelson then moved the correct pawn before quickly exiting the stage.
It was a memorable start to the €1 million ($1.2 million) contest, which organizers expect to be watched by millions around the world. The duo are scheduled to play 12 matches through November, with the winner the first to reach 6.5 points.
Carlsen, 27, has won the last three championships and is the world’s top ranked player. He became a chess grandmaster at 13.
Caruana, 26, is bidding to become the first American to win the title since the enigmatic and volatile Bobby Fischer beat Russia’s Boris Spassky at the height of the Cold War in 1972. — Reuters

MPBL race to top eight

Bataan Risers, Muntinlupa Cagers, Manila Stars, Davao Occidental Tigers, San Juan Knights, Bacoor Strikers, Makati Super Crunch and Batangas City Athletics. Halfway in the MPBL Datu Cup and these teams appeared to be locked in for a spot in the playoffs, cracking themselves in the top four of their respective divisions in the tournament put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with PBA legend Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner.
Of the eight, the Zetapro-backed Risers and the Cocolife-supported Tigers are the hottest team in the tournament.
The Jojo Lastimosa-coached Risers are riding on the crest of their 11-game winning streak and lead the tough northern division with an 11-1 win-loss record. They’ve not lost a game in nearly five months since dropping their opening game against the Robust Energy Capsule-sponsored Manila Stars.
So confident the Risers are that Lastimosa is not much concerned about peaking too early. Winning is the only thing that matters to him aside from learning.
“Of course, I have no ambition of keeping our streak forever, but what we want to value is the learning every game, win or lose,” Lastimosa said.
The Tigers, on the other hand, kept their streak going and extended it to eight in a row following their latest win over the Navotas Clutch on Saturday night. The team improved its win-loss card to 9-3, running second behind southern division leader Cagers, bankrolled by Angelis Resort, who hold a 9-2 mark.
Manila, which posted its fourth straight win just recently, is running second behind Bataan at 11-2, but Philip Cezar and his troops have been a solid force in the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league.
San Juan is not far behind, picking up its 11th win in 14 games following its latest win over Cebu as the race to the top in the northern division has become tougher for the Go-For-Gold-backed Knights, the Stars and the Risers.
Makati is also slowly but surely moving up and its three straight wins has catapulted coach Cholo Villanueva and his troops at fourth spot with a 9-4 record, but the Bulacan Kuyas-Mighty Sports are just one game behind at 8-5 and a lot of things could happen in the chase for the top spot in a game.
In the southern division, the Strikers, now being coached by Leo Isaac, are carrying an 8-5 record, but only half a game ahead of their closest pursuer, the up and coming Athletics, whose four-game winning run had put them back in business.
After struggling in the early goings of the tournament, the inaugural champion Athletics, backed by Tanduay, are now at No. 4 spot holding an 8-6 card and like the old saying goes, you cannot underestimate the heart of the champions.
There are so many intricacies that could happen in the days to come as one win could change a team’s future while a loss could dampen the chances of a squad. Only eight teams per division will advance to the playoffs and by next week, we’ll discuss the chances of the teams at the bottom portion of the standings.
 
Rey Joble is a member of the PBA Press Corps and Philippine Sportswriters Association.
reyjoble09@gmail.com

Butler out

Jimmy Butler is out. Finally. He should have been dealt soon after he met with, and made demands to, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor two months ago; he was a Top-20 player with an inflated ego who believed himself to be a franchise cornerstone, but on his terms. Instead, management let the situation drag on, with head coach Tom Thibodeau putting personal interests first and allowing the problem to worsen, to the point where All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns all but became a timid scrub and everybody else had to make like nothing was wrong for the sake of sanity.
The Timberwolves didn’t have to suffer through five straight losses and put up a 4-9 slate, a mere game out of last place in the West, to realize that getting rid of Butler was tantamount to addition by subtraction. He was openly recalcitrant; he suited up only when he felt like it and pretty much did anything he desired without regard for the repercussions. Among others, the interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols last month and the celebration of a loss with Celtics fans last week showed he was willing to stoop really, really low just to get what he wanted.
That said, the Timberwolves had better offers on the table than the veritable pile of dog poop the Sixers laid on their doorstep; it gives them a whopping $170,000 in savings, and one of the trade “assets” they got is likely to play zero minutes for them. They received superior proposals for Butler in the time they were dragging their feet, including the maximum-allowable four first-round picks from the Rockets. And don’t believe the load of crock that he had to go to the East. The real reason exposes their myopia: Thibodeau still wants to win now and keep the hot seat, and Taylor — in typical head-scratching fashion — went along.
Moving forward, the Sixers will be scary good. Their defense will be top-notch, allowing them to rub elbows with the best of the best in the league for as long as Butler’s brittle body holds up. Regardless of the strides they’ll make, however, one universal truth will remain: They won’t get close to beating the Warriors. And pundits don’t need an active imagination to envision their new acquisition’s alpha-dog persona running sophomores Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons to the ground after airballs or passed-up open three pointers.
Bottom line, though: Hoops lifers won. The Sixers are better. The Rockets are livid. The Timberwolves are, well, the Timberwolves. And the Warriors are still going to be champions. In short, it’s another crazy day in the NBA, where everything is truly fan-tastic.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Small businesses as vulnerable to website hacks as big companies

Small business owners are just as vulnerable to website security hacks as big companies, a new report found. And the risks of vulnerability go far beyond online downtime.
According to GoDaddy’s Small Business Website Security Report, a commissioned research and analysis of over 65,000 infected website cleanup requests from small business customers, due to limited budgets and knowledge of online security, small business owners fail to prioritize protection of their business websites.
What they don’t realize is that by doing this, they’re actually risking even greater financial losses.
“We refer to this as the small business website security paradox—small business owners lack the knowledge and their perceived notion of funds needed to more fully secure their website,” said Tony Perez, general manager for security of GoDaddy. “But once the website gets hacked, it can lead to significant financial loss due to its effect on business reputation.”
Once a website gets hacked or infected with malware, which are the common problems small business websites face, the effects can go beyond just downtime. Companies such as Google and Norton flag an online portal as dangerous once they detect that it has beencompromised. This action negatively affects traffic to a website and eventually can make it invisible online.
Google blacklists more than 10,000 websites a day. And getting off that blacklist is not easy.
Worse, if malware is present on a website, it can be even easier for hackers to explore its vulnerability.
Other key findings of the report reveal just how much it can affect business growth:

  • Of the 1,000 micro-businesses surveyed, nearly half reported suffering a financial loss due to hacking.
  • Three out of 10 small businesses who suffered a cyber breach reported they had to inform customers and clients.
  • It’s not enough to clean up compromised files, hackers regularly create ‘backdoors’ on a compromised website, so they can secretly re-enter a platform even after a file cleanup.
  • Malware/computer viruses and phishing are the most common types of attack & can target any aspect of a business.
  • SEO spam is also popular among hackers. Hackers go into a website’s keywords and add malicious links, and often, small business owners aren’t aware this is happening.
  • Of the 65,000 global website cleancup requests, half involved outdated software on the most commonly used platform and tools, including plug-ins on WordPress and other popular content management systems (CMS).

What can small businesses do?

Only half of businesses surveyed use a monitoring service to stay on top of their site’s security, with most relying on an effective password strategy. While it’s true that cybersecurity measures aren’t hacker-proof, it’s a good idea for small businesses to start to focus on keeping their business website better protected from potential downtime.
“Cybersecurity is not about preventing a risk. That isn’t yet possible. It’s about reducing the risk. It’s understandable that very small business operators handle a lot and it’s hard to make website security a priority. But taking even modest steps can make a difference,” Perez said.
GoDaddy recommends small business owners invest in a website security monitor service to keep an eye on any red flags or warning signs with 24/7 monitoring, deploy a website application firewall, and register with Google’s webmaster tools which alerts when there is an issue with the website before negatively impacting how it shows in search results.

The key to future-proofing your job? Study gov’t regulations.

Across various industries, today’s business leaders are those who can best adopt and adapt to the latest in technological advancements. But with the plethora of new technologies available, many firms are caught guessing where to start.
According to a new study by ASG Technologies Group, Inc., most firms take their cues not from industry leaders, but from their governments—via data regulations set by local legislators.
“The survey we did showed that compliance is one of the most important factors which allows [companies to] decide on the technology that they want to deploy,” Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific region Praveen Kumar said.
Earlier this year, the European Union implemented the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. What followed was a spike in demand among global firms for workers able to get their systems up to speed with the new standards.
Amid the rapid changes in regulations elsewhere, other countries, such the the Philippines, are lagging behind.
“You can learn from certain countries which are a little ahead in terms of [regulations],” Kumar said. “Like the anti-privacy laws—it’s already here in the Philippines, the regulatory authority and financial sector implements it. The penalties may not be as stringent but it’s there.”
Locally, ASG found that companies are eager to learn, adapt, and innovate in various industries, looking to take leadership in finding ways to automate jobs and maximize use of their data.
Despite the slow movement in regulatory changes, companies in the Philippines are still very open to adopting digital transformation in their operations, and that’s reflecting in the type of employees they’re looking to hire, Kumar said.
“Understanding how data travels is relevant in today’s world to build skills in solutions for compliance which is one of the key drivers in most IT investments today,” he said.
“[I]f you learn certain software sets which will help you implement and satisfy those regulatory requirements a lot easier, then you become an asset to the organization.”
One of the talents in high demand amid the digitization and increasing data regulation would be data scientists, currently low in local supply. Earlier this year, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) launched a new master’s program on data science and a matching R&D facility to churn out local data scientists only this year. Ateneo is also set to offer a master’s program in data science by 2019.
AIM President and Dean Jikyeong Kang said they plan to keep local talents in the Philippines tby developing more data science programs in other educational institutions, in partnership with the government.

This isn’t only important news for potential hires, but for existing employees as well. Since having a full time data scientist in a company “is a very expensive proposition”, Kumar said that most companies today have begun looking for “citizen data scientists”, or employees able to identify and process data.
“[The company has] a bunch of data scientists who are actually crunching data, analyzing, deciding the tools to be used, putting it together, and putting it forward. But you as a person, are an added volunteer who is also paid for being there,” he added.
In the near future, these sought-after skills will highlight adaptable employees as invaluable asset to the company, Kumar said.
 

From the Front Page: Third telco named, GDP growth disappoints

The local economy grew at its slowest pace in three years last quarter, clocking in at 6.1% year-on-year, slower than the 7.2% growth recorded in the same period last year. According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, the economy needs to grow by at least seven percent this quarter to hit the floor of this year’s goal.
Meanwhile, inflation hit its fastest pace in more than nine years in October, as prices of widely used goods rose another 6.7%, steady from September and surging from 3.1% a year ago. Market watchers are divided on whether inflation has peaked, though some expect fresh tightening from the central bank to further temper price expectations.
In other news, factory activity in the Philippines saw the biggest improvement in 10 months in October, keeping the country in the lead in Southeast Asia. This, fueled by “a sharp rise in demand for manufactured goods.” Vietnam and Indonesia tailed the Philippines in growth, with the rest of the ASEAN economies bringing down the regional index towards market deterioration.
The government has named its third major telco: Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. (Mislatel) — a consortium formed by China Telecommunications Corp., Dennis A. Uy’s Udenna Corp., and its subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. This came after Mislatel’s two contenders were disqualified over a lack of required documents. A final decision will arrive next week, after the selection committee completes its review of the disqualified companies’ appeals.
Regardless of next week’s result, the third telco will still face an uphill battle towards becoming a true competitor, Fitch Ratings said. They would “initially… compete aggressively on price as it strives to grab market share in an already highly saturated mobile market.” Government intervention may be needed to accelerate industry reforms to raise competition, they added.
 

Fitch cuts Philippine growth forecast

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
FITCH Solutions has downgraded its growth forecast for the Philippines anew, noting that the economy is unlikely to bounce back to a faster pace due to tighter credit conditions and waning investor appetite.
In a report, the global research firm said the Philippine economy will likely grow by just 6.2% this year, down from 6.3% previously following a slower expansion logged during the third quarter.
Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 6.1% in July-September, easing from the 6.2% climb during the second quarter to mark the slowest pace in three years.
This brought the nine-month tally to a 6.3% expansion, well below the government’s downward-revised 6.5-6.9% target.
“We believe that the Philippine economy will struggle to reverse its waning growth momentum over the coming quarters owing to tighter monetary conditions, deepening trade tensions, as well as a declining business environment,” Fitch Solutions said in a report on Friday.
The research unit said household spending will likely remain “weak” as rising interest rates, sustained elevated inflation and declining consumer confidence.
Yields have been on an uptrend following a series of tightening moves from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which has raised benchmark rates by a total of 150 basis points (bp) since May. This comes as the central bank sought to rein in inflation expectations, just as consumer prices have been trending beyond the 2-4% target band.
Inflation has averaged 5.1% during the first 10 months, marked by a nine-year peak at 6.7% tallied in September and October. In turn, Fitch Solutions expects another 25bp rate hike from the central bank before the year ends.
Authorities said private consumption growth cooled to 5.2% year-on-year in the third quarter from 5.9% during the April-June period. The Philippines has long been a consumption-driven economy.
“The rising interest rate environment is likely to dampen consumer spending,” the report read, noting that Fitch Solutions also sees another 75bp worth of rate increases next year.
“The slowdown in private consumption and investment growth was in line with our view, and we continue to expect both GDP components to perform poorly over the coming quarters.”
Growth is seen to ease further in 2019 at 6.1%, well below the state’s 7-8% goal.
Prospects may also be dimming for investments due to dampened business confidence in light of an uncertain tax environment. The research firm cited the Philippines’ slip in ranking under the World Bank’s latest Ease of Doing Business index to the 124th rank from 113th previously.
Contents of the second tax reform package, dubbed the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities bill, is also creating uncertainty for investors pending its passage in Congress.
“Risks to our growth forecasts are weighted to the downside,” the analysts said. “Deepening trade tensions between China and the US are weighing on global risk sentiment, and a faster-than-expected rate hiking cycle in the US could exacerbate a possible capital flight to safety, weighing on foreign investment further.”
Investment-led growth boosted the economy last quarter, the Department of Finance said, with its share rising to 26% of GDP from 23.6% a year ago. The agency said the passage of remaining tax reforms will maintain investment growth, together with reforms to improve the local business climate and by easing limits on foreign participation.

2 groups submit bids for Clark airport O&M

AIRPORT operators from Singapore and Indonesia have teamed up with local companies to submit on Friday competing bids for the Clark International Airport operations and maintenance (O&M) contract.
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said North Luzon Airport Consortium and X-Droid Consortium both submitted complete bids on Friday. Awarding of the contract is scheduled in December.
North Luzon Airport Consortium is composed of Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp., Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings, Inc.. Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions, Inc., and Changi Airport Philippines. Changi Airport Philippines is the local unit of the operator Singapore’s world-class Changi international airport.
Earlier this year, the government rejected the P839-billion unsolicited proposal of Filinvest and JG Summit develop the Clark airport as the DoTr wanted to bid out the gateway’s O&M instead.
On the other hand, the X-Droid Consortium is comprised of Angkasa Pura II, Globalport 900, Inc., Mazy’s Capital, Inc. and Desco, Inc. A representative of Philippines AirAsia, Inc. separately confirmed that it is part of the X-Droid consortium.
Angkasa Pura II is a state-owned operator of several airports in Indonesia, including the biggest one — the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. Mazy’s is owned by former Ambassador Alfredo M. Yao, while Globalport 900 is a listed firm led by chairman Michael L. Romero. Messrs.
The bids of the North Luzon Airport Consortium and X-Droid Consortium will now undergo a pre-qualification test by the Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC), targeted to be completed next week.
Upon completion of the pre-qualification test, the SBAC will then move to check the technical and financial bids.
The government originally scheduled the opening of bids in July and awarding of the contract in August, but SBAC Chairperson Joshua M. Bingcang said the timeline was changed upon the request of prospective bidders.
Mr. Bingcang also told reporters on Friday about nine to 10 companies originally bought bid documents to participate in the auction.
Among the buyers announced in May but did not participate are Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC); San Miguel Holdings Corp.; Prime Asset Ventures, Inc.; the Central Luzon Infrastructure Consultancy, Inc. consortium; GVK Airport Developers Ltd.; Groupe ADP and Megawide Construction Corp. with partner GMR Infrastructure Ltd. (Megawide-GMR).
In a disclosure to the stock exchange last week, MPIC said it decided not to pursue participation because of contentions in the terms.
“[W]hile MPIC expressed its interest to support the government’s Build Build Build initiative for Clark Airport, we find the current draft of the Concession Agreement extremely challenging, given the identified material risks that were not addressed. The schedule of the bid submission further made participation in the bid very difficult, considering that the final draft of the Concession Agreement was released only yesterday. For the foregoing reasons, MPIC is unlikely to submit a bid for the project,” the company said on Oct. 31.
Megawide-GMR, one of the prospective participants in the O&M bidding, also holds the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Clark airport. They are expected to finish the new terminal by 2020.
Mr. Bingcang said they want the O&M concessionaire to come in before Megawide-GMR finishes the building to avoid “interface issue” and account the insights of the would-be operator in the layout.
“We don’t want the building to be completed and then the incoming operator will say that’s not what we want. So we want them to be part of the construction stage,” he said.
The contract will allow the winner to operate and maintain both the existing passenger terminal and the new one that Megawide-GMR is currently constructing. — Denise A. Valdez

Banks required to form task force on payment systems

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has required banks and players to set up a task force to ensure that all payment systems will be compliant to global standards on digital financial data.
Memorandum M-2018-033 signed by BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. mandates all participants of the domestic payments and settlements system to set up an industry task force to organize Philippine payments.
The task force is tasked to ensure that local players are compliant with ISO 20022, which is the international standard for electronic data exchange among financial institutions. The standards are also referred to as the universal financial industry message scheme used by players worldwide.
“The TF-ISO 20022 shall be the driving force of BSP and of the Philippine financial industry in ensuring the adoption of the global ISO 20022 message standards on payments, compliant with BSP’s roadmap and timelines, and in synch with the modernization of the country’s real-time gross settlement system,” the issuance read.
Once established, the task force is expected to draft guidelines for market practice based on the ISO rulebook, including mechanisms for monitoring. The industry must also collaborate with standard-setting bodies like the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), which processes payment orders from one financial firm to another.
The task force will be co-chaired by a senior BSP official and a senior representative from the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP).
Industry officials will also sit as members of the task force from the BAP, the Chamber of Thrift Banks, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines, the Investment Houses Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Finance Association.
Third-party participants of the Philippine Payments and Settlements System (PhilPaSS) are also expected to take part in the industry-led body. These are automated teller machine network BancNet, Inc.; the Bureau of the Treasury, Philippine Clearing House Corp., the Philippine Dealings System Holdings, Inc., and other future participants.
All banks and quasi-banks have been using the PhilPaSS as their clearing platform since 2002, where they transact with fellow lenders, government offices and the central bank.
Mr. Espenilla said the Nov. 7 memorandum shall take effect “immediately.”
The BSP serves as regulator of all payment systems in the Philippines to keep track of all fund transfers across individual and corporate entities.
Separately, the central bank is also pushing for increased use of digital platforms to improve efficiency and reduce transaction costs. The central bank is targeting to raise the share of electronic payments to 20% of total transactions by 2020, coming from just one percent back in 2013.

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