Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 1179

Committing to education for all

Documentary on John Gokongwei, Jr.’s advocacy for learning just the first of a 3-part tribute to the late tycoon

WHEN the Gokongwei family decided to honor their patriarch in a three-part multimedia tribute, they knew they had to start by focusing on what fueled John Gokongwei, Jr.’s philanthropic side.

As a teenager during the Second World War, he supported his family, which had lost their fortune, by peddling items along the streets of Cebu on his bicycle.

The documentary A Boy, a Bicycle, and a Legacy: Remembering John Gokongwei Jr. traces his dedication to help Filipinos further their education through the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) to the man’s humble beginnings.

The film is available to watch on YouTube.

Business journalist Lala Rimando produced the documentary, the first of three tributes lined up.

The other two are a book and a podcast, both of which will center on Mr. Gokongwei’s colorful, business-savvy journey to the top.

For Troy Bernardo, who directed the film, there was not much drama behind its making. The Gokongwei family and scholarship program recipients were all happy to talk about “Mr. John,” as he was affectionately called.

Mr. Gokongwei passed away in 2019 at the age of 93.

“The material on him that is already out there is usually technical, all business. For this documentary, we wanted to focus on the heart,” said the director at the documentary’s Aug. 15 premiere in the recently opened Opus Mall in Bridgetowne, Quezon City.

The GBF’s Iskolar ni Juan tech-voc program is a fully subsidized Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) scholarship done in partnership with Universal Robina Corp. It provides industry-standard training, work immersion, and eventual job opportunities to underprivileged high school graduates.

Interviews with family members and proponents of this program, plus snippets from a 2011 interview with Mr. Gokongwei himself, paint a picture of the conglomerate’s thrust towards nation-building.

Ms. Rimando said that the documentary was chosen to represent this side of Mr. Gokongwei because it would have “the widest reach.”

“Meanwhile, book readers are very few. It’s a very niche market, so we’re making that for students, businessmen, and people who want to learn from the man through a more detailed account of his work,” she explained. “The podcast will do that as well, but it will be more emotional and motivational.”

Both the book and the podcast are scheduled for release next year.

Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, the general manager of GBF and Mr. Gokongwei’s third child, told the press: “Most know about Mr. John’s business legacy, but few knew how important the foundation and its purpose were to him. I think we were very lucky to have grown up and lived with him.”

The documentary can be viewed for free on YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/49z5jbdr. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Up next: The Philippines’ para-athletes competing in Paris

Philippine delegates to Paris 2024 Paralympics — Philippine Sports Commission Facebook Page

The Philippines have been gaining back-to-back historic wins in the sport scene. Following yet another amazing run at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Philippines is gearing up at the next big sport event, the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

This year, at least 4,000 para-athletes are set to hit the stage at Paralympic Games from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8, also in Paris, France. With sights set of making Paralympic history, six Filipino para-athletes are representing the country in archery, athletics, swimming, and taekwondo on the global stage.

First on the list is Jerrold Pete Mangliwan, a 44-year-old wheelchair racer pro who have bagged gold and bronze medals. Living with paraplegia, he became a well-known racer in a sport that highlights power and speed, and he has been an active participant of the sport for 18 years.

Born from the province of Kalinga, Mr. Mangliwan’s para-athletic journey began when he moved to Manila. In 2009, he first started wheelchair basketball but later switched gears to para-athletics. He then eventually became one of the top wheelchair racers, eventually competing for his country in the Paralympics.

He has competed in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and won six golds medals and a silver medal at the ASEAN Para Games. He also scored a gold and silver in the 400-meter (m) and 100-m T52 races at the 2022 Asian Para Games in China, earning him a ticket to the 2024 Paralympics.

Making her Paralympic debut, talented para-athlete Cendy Asusano is representing the Philippines for the javelin throw event. Recently, she earned gold medals in the 2023 ASEAN Para Games in Cambodia, dominating women’s javelin throw events and winning bronze from the discus throw event. In addition, she came in 4th place in the Women’s Javelin Throw F54 at the World Para Athletics Championships last May in Japan.

In archery, Augustina Bantiloc, a para-athlete from Tanduan, Kalinga, has made her mark in the world of archery. At 56 years old, she’s sitting at the 25th spot for the Compound Women Open Category for archery. She currently earned a bronze medal at the Asian Continental Qualification Tournament in 2023, securing her spot at the 2024 Paralympics, making her the first Filipino para-archer who has qualified for the Paralympic Games at 55 years old.

Another name in the spotlight is Ernie Gawilan, a famous and highly-esteemed para swimmer. Born on the province of Bukidnon, Mr. Gawilan had to deal with physical challenges due to his underdeveloped legs and arms. Although his early life was marked by difficulties, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it led him to discover his talent for swimming.

His swimming journey started at the Our Lady of Victory Training Center, and then he joined a local swimming team with people with disabilities. This led to his first competition at the 2008 Philippine Olympic Festival in Cagayan De Oro, where he ranks second place. Following this, he carved out a name for himself as a swimmer and soon became a Paralympic gold medalist. He made history by being the first Filipino to win a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Para Games, dominating the men’s 200-meter individual medley; and he also competed in the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Angel Otom, another talented swimmer, is also set to make waves in the global sport scene. The quadruple gold medalist showed her skills through the 50-m backstroke (3rd place), and the 50-m butterfly (6th place) at the worlds. At just 21 years old, she has already bagged four gold medals at the 2023 ASEAN Para Games, and this year marks her first appearance at the Paralympic Games.

Also representing the Philippines in the taekwondo scene, para-athlete Allain Ganapin made history as the first Filipino to qualify for taekwondo at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Mr. Ganapin is a 26-year-old Filipino para-athlete born with an amputated arm, and hails from the city of Marikina. In his early years, he first started with basketball then shifted to taekwondo as a taekwondo coach saw his skills and potential.

He’s now the third Filipino to qualify for Asian Para Games; and as he becomes a top qualifier at the Asian Qualification Tournament in China, he is gearing up for a comeback at the 2024 Paralympics Games. — Angela Kiara S. Brillantes

PetroEnergy Q2 income climbs 27% on higher revenues

YUCHENGCO-LED PetroEnergy Resources Corp. saw its second-quarter (Q2) attributable net income climb by 27.86% to P134.2 million, driven by higher revenues.

Revenues increased by 9.9% to P789.16 million from P668.93 million, the company said in a stock exchange disclosure on Wednesday.

Broken down, electricity sales rose by 29.38% to P624.27 million; oil revenues declined by 24.41% to P139.74 million; and other revenues increased by 16.52% to P25.15 million.

Meanwhile, cost of sales climbed by 13.24% to P414.6 million from P366.14 million a year ago.

In the six months to June, PERC’s attributable net income rose by 15.19% to P319.73 million from P277.57 million the previous year.

The company’s revenues jumped by 33.76% to P1.73 billion, primarily due to the consolidation of its unit PetroWind Energy, Inc.’s financials into PetroEnergy’s.

PetroEnergy acquired a 20% stake held by EEI Power Corp. in PetroWind in 2023. It also acquired EEI Power’s 44% equity in PetroSolar Corp. and 7.5% equity in PetroGreen Energy Corp., making the latter a 75%-owned subsidiary of PERC, with the 25% balance held by Kyuden International Corp.

Electricity sales increased by 43.29% to P1.41 billion due to the consolidation of PetroWind.

Oil revenues went down by 1.42% to P279.54 million, mainly due to the higher average crude oil price of $83.62 per barrel compared with $79.70 per barrel.

Other revenues rose by 21.28% to P44.6 million.

From January to June, cost of sales increased by 37.21% to P838.68 million from P611.22 million previously.

At the local bourse on Thursday, shares in the company went up by 0.26% to close at P3.93 each. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Back-to-basics space slasher

By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter

Movie Review
Alien: Romulus
Directed by Fede Alvarez
MTRCB Rating: R-13

THE film Alien has spawned a lot of sequels over the decades. To meet the expectations of fans now used to bigger and better blockbusters paying homage to classics, director Fede Alvarez decided not to feed any ambitious concepts in order to deliver a solid space horror akin to the 1979 original.

Using tension to build atmosphere has always been the key to a good horror movie, and Alien: Romulus is proof of that.

The 2024 follow-up to the many Alien movies before it has big shoes to fill. It takes us to an abandoned, supposedly decommissioned space station. Here, young scavengers take it over to escape the harsh working conditions on a planet without sunlight.

All the tension occurs with the audience having full knowledge that the oblivious characters are about to encounter the most terrifying life form in the universe.

What’s satisfying about the horror employed in the film is that it doesn’t always resort to cheap jump scares and loud noises. The scuttling or splashing of the alien life forms around the characters keeps them — and us— unable to ever relax. The camera doesn’t quite center on the dangers in the eerie space station but captures them just on the edges of the frame. There is an impending sense of doom enhanced by the tense sound design.

Those who love Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley will find Cailee Spaeny’s Rain Carradine a serviceable female lead. With soft features and a kind voice, she at first doesn’t appear to have the grit it takes to survive a xenomorph, but having her loved ones in danger draws it out of her throughout the film.

Central to the plot is her relationship with Andy, the android-protector she grew up with and calls her brother, played by David Jonsson. He’s a stand-out here, going from childlike and dysfunctional to a conflicted robot caught in between two directives (protecting his “sister” vs. the interests of the company).

The rest of the team of scavengers are characterized pretty thinly compared to these two, the other memorable beings in the film obviously the aliens themselves. Practical effects are combined with visual effects — instead of the pure slop of computer-generated imagery that people have become sick of — to excellent effect. The xenomorphs are convincingly creepy.

It’s a fun, relentlessly thrilling ride for horror fans who miss the simplicity of the Alien franchise in its humble beginnings. A scary creature is loose on the ship, gradually killing everyone on board — it’s as straightforward as that.

Set between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), the lore that superfans can pick up on is only secondary to the slasher success, with casual viewers unaware of the little tie-ins able to enjoy the movie on its own. Almost identical elements, scenes, and shots are obviously nods to what has come before but letting all of that go and just enjoying the show is a great way to watch this.

Lower sales lead to 38% drop in AllHome’s Q2 income

VILLAR-LED home retail chain AllHome Corp. recorded a 38% decline in its net income for the second quarter, falling to P142.08 million from P229.85 million in 2023 due to lower sales.

Second-quarter sales fell by 8.3% to P2.86 billion from P3.12 billion a year ago, AllHome said in a stock exchange disclosure on Thursday.

For the first half, AllHome saw a 36% decline in net income to P282.43 million from P422.13 million in 2023.

The company said there was softer demand for hard categories such as hardware, tiles, sanitary wares, and construction materials.

On the other hand, the company saw stable performance across its soft categories such as furniture, appliances, homewares, and linens.

“Notable in AllHome’s performance is the stable contribution from its core categories — furniture and appliances, allowing us to deliver sustained value for our stakeholders,” AllHome President and Chief Executive Officer Benjamarie Therese N. Serrano said.

“We will continue to lean into the implementation of efficiency initiatives in service of our bottom line. We fully intend to run a tight ship in AllHome in service of delivering better value for our stakeholders,” she added.

Revenue during the first six months dropped by 6.9% to P5.62 billion compared with P6.04 billion the previous year.

Meanwhile, AllHome Chief Operating Officer Frances Rosalie T. Coloma said the company saw an 11% sales uptick for cooling appliances.

“These continue to offset a slower-than-expected completion of most construction activities of the AllHome market base, a factor in the lower turnover of units for the half, affecting AllHome’s offering of finishing materials, tiles, and sanitary wares,” Ms. Coloma said.

On Thursday, AllHome shares were unchanged at 68 centavos per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Peso hits 4-month high as BSP starts easing cycle

THE PESO hit a four-month high against the dollar on Thursday as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cut benchmark rates for the first time in nearly four years.

The local unit closed at P56.90 per dollar on Thursday, strengthening by 5.5 centavos from its P56.955 finish on Wednesday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

This was the peso’s best finish in four months or since its P56.808-a-dollar close on April 15.

The peso opened Thursday’s session stronger at P56.97 against the dollar. Its weakest showing was at P57.14, while its intraday best was its close of P56.90 versus the greenback.

Dollars exchanged went down to $1.33 billion on Thursday from $1.34 billion on Wednesday.

The peso appreciated against the dollar after the central bank cut benchmark interest rates, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“The Philippine peso initially depreciated by as much as 0.3% after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas slashed its key interest rate by 25 basis points (bps). However, the currency quickly recovered its losses as market participants shifted their attention to the broader economic outlook,” Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said in a Viber message.

The Monetary Board on Thursday cut benchmark interest rates for the first time since November 2020 amid expectations of easing inflation and an improving economic outlook.

The central bank reduced its target reverse repurchase rate by 25 bps to 6.25%, as expected by nine out of 16 analysts in a BusinessWorld poll conducted last week.

Prior to the cut, the BSP kept its policy rate at an over 17-year high of 6.5% since October 2023 following cumulative hikes worth 450 bps to combat inflation.

“With inflation on a target-consistent path, the current macroeconomic outlook supports a calibrated shift to a less restrictive monetary policy stance. Nonetheless, monetary authorities remain mindful of lingering upside risks to prices,” BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said at a briefing on Thursday. “Going forward, the Monetary Board will continue to take a measured approach in ensuring price stability conducive to balanced and sustainable growth of the economy and employment.”

The BSP revised its risk-adjusted inflation forecasts for 2024 to 3.3% from 3.1% previously and 2.9% for 2025 from 3.1%. It also set its risk-adjusted forecast for 2026 at 3.3%. The baseline forecasts were also adjusted to 3.4% from 3.3% for 2024, 3.1% from 3.2% for 2025, and 3.2% from 3.3% for 2026.

Meanwhile, Philippine gross domestic product expanded by 6.3% in the second quarter, faster than 5.8% in the previous quarter and 4.3% a year ago.

For Friday, Mr. Ricafort sees the peso ranging from P56.80 to P57 per dollar.

SOFT DOLLAR
The dollar was soft on Thursday after data showed US inflation was slowing, underpinning wagers that the Federal Reserve could lower borrowing costs next month, Reuters reported.

The dollar index, which measures the US unit versus six rivals, was last at 102.59, not far from the eight-month low of 102.15 it touched last week. The index is on course for its fourth straight week in the red, a run it last had in March-April 2023.

Data on Wednesday showed the consumer price index rose moderately, in line with expectations, and the annual increase in inflation slowed to below 3% for the first time since early 2021.

The figures add to the mild increase in producer prices in July, suggesting that inflation is on a downward trend, although traders are now anticipating the Fed to be not as aggressive on rate cuts as they had hoped.

Markets are now pricing in 64% chance of a 25 bps cut next month and a 36% chance of a 50 bps reduction, the CME FedWatch tool showed. Traders were evenly split at the start of the week between the two cut options following last week’s sell-off. Markets anticipate 100 bps of cuts this year from the Fed. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Alien: Romulus reignites violence in the Alien franchise

IMDB

SAN DIEGO — Pacific Rim Uprising actress Cailee Spaeny had to admit that things became bleak while filming the Disney movie Alien: Romulus, the latest installment in the popular Alien franchise, because characters were killed off regularly.

“Oh, it was always really sad when someone died, you know. Because we shot it chronologically. I think we were all getting really attached to each other,” Ms. Spaeny said.

“So, whenever a death came up, it sort of was a very emotional day,” added Ms. Spaeny, who plays the main protagonist named Rain Carradine.

Alien: Romulus, which arrives in US theaters on Aug. 16, is a standalone film that takes place between the events of the 1979 Alien movie and the 1986 Aliens film.

The science-fiction horror film follows a group of young scavengers who enter a derelict space station looking for valuables.

However, instead of finding anything profitable, they are hunted and attacked by vicious xenomorphs, which are the black antagonist aliens famously known within the Alien franchise.

Box Office Pro predicts that Alien: Romulus will have an opening of $35 million to $50 million.

Romulus director and writer Fede Alvarez was dedicated to making the aliens in the film look and feel as real as possible.

“When it comes to the xenomorph, when you have those face-to-face encounters, you know, there’s just nothing that beats the practical,” Mr. Alvarez said about making convincing extraterrestrials.

British actor Archie Renaux, who plays a scavenger named Tyler, also feels that having quality-made aliens in the film was vital.

“These animatronics are amazing. The teeth, and you can see the gums move and shatter,” he said.

Fortunately, the cast wasn’t completely terrified by the alien animatronics and costumes, as the reality of filming a fictional movie was ever present.

“Eventually, you know, you’re around them (cast members dressed as aliens) enough, you start seeing them drinking, like, a coffee,” said Isabela Merced, who plays the scavenger Kay. — Reuters

About time to delete POGOs, internet gaming

EYESTETIX STUDIO-UNSPLASH

At the heart of the recent brouhaha over the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), renamed Internet Gaming Licensees (IGL), in Bamban, Tarlac, and Porac, Pampanga is the reported use of POGOs in laundering money from illegal activities.

The Senate and the House probes are yet to conclude, but already we have seen the freezing of assets of those involved in what are believed to be illegal POGOs by the Court of Appeals upon the ex parte petition of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). AMLC announced that this freeze order “aims to prevent the dissipation of assets while the investigation and legal proceedings continue.”

Actually, the probe on POGOs should have been initiated many years ago.

As early as 2017, the Philippines’ AMLC had conducted three risk assessments related to POGOs. The first was the National Risk Assessment of that year and the next two were sectoral risk assessments. These sectoral risk assessments focused on the financial impact through the use of financial flow analysis and on the money laundering and terrorist financing aspects of POGOs.

AMLC records showed at the time that the annual flow of funds, both inflows and outflows, stood at P54 billion. On a net basis, fund flows amounted to only P7 billion. Gross inflows constituted 0.29% of the total economy and net inflows a paltry 0.04%. This little was the estimated financial impact of POGOs on the Philippine economy.

On the other hand, risk assessment of POGOs indicated several aspects of vulnerability of the local economy. There was low level of awareness of the money laundering and terrorist financing threats, and therefore some serious threats coming from these potential uses of POGO operations. AMLC also warned of the increasing number of unregulated or unsupervised service providers (SPs) and hence, the likelihood of these SPs being used as a conduit of illegal funds. There was also an observed low level of beneficial ownership identification. Regulators were in the dark on the ownership of the POGOs which have proliferated in the last 20 years. Thus, legal recourse may not prosper in case of violations of relevant laws and regulations.

In his testimony before the Senate Committee on Labor on Feb. 11, 2020, then AMLC Executive Director Mel Racela recommended, among others, the increase in the level of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) effectiveness of compliance and supervision through intensified training and workshops. He also proposed revisiting supervision of internet-based casinos and SPs by way of regulatory assessment and enforcement. Indeed, four years ago, AMLC had already recommended including SPs as covered persons within the company service provider definition under the amended AML Act of 2001.

If there are attempts to limit the coverage of the President’s directive against POGOs, it would also be wise to look at the Council’s earlier national risk assessment from 2015-2016 which rated the casino sector with a high level of risk of money laundering with its rapidly rising gross gaming revenues. What makes internet-based casinos concerning is that money winnings were remitted mostly through debit cards or wire transfers, facilitated by online gaming operators and payment solutions providers. These fin-tech-based solutions can normally bypass the banking system.

Racela’s recommendations were anchored on on-site inspection of POGOs which found the following:

1. Offices of POGOs, local gaming agents and authorized representatives were non-existent in the registered addresses provided by PAGCOR. SPs, on the other hand, did hold office since they offer gaming services including software, content streaming, and other aspects of POGO operations.

2. There were no actual local agents or authorized representatives in the Philippines. A foreign-based operator is required under current rules to appoint his local agent who would represent him in various capacities.

3. POGOs’ compliance officers could not be located and contacted through the registered addresses. SPs were even clueless on the status of their compliance.

4. POGOs have no AML-CTF compliance units.

Thus, those AMLC’s proposals for strengthening the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing were supportive of the overall regulatory framework of the banking system supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Based on the detailed assessment of the observance of the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision in the context of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) conducted on the Philippine banking system by the joint IMF-World Bank mission in June-July 2019, the BSP’s “regulatory framework is indeed broadly effective for the size and complexity of the Philippine banking system.”

However, the mission also noted that “legislative gaps continue to hinder effective supervision of banks.

Such gaps are due to, one, the bank secrecy laws, and two, the lack of power of the BSP to supervise the parent companies and their affiliates of banking groups.

Despite the amendment of the BSP charter in 2019 extending its supervisory powers over more financial entities and the impending shift to the full Basel framework, current bank secrecy laws are stone, not just sand, in the wheels. The mission raised the absolute confidentiality of bank deposits that “may not be examined, inquired or looked into by any person, including the BSP, except in defined circumstance.”

Theoretically, the link to money laundering or terrorist financing of any proceeds from illegal activities associated with POGOs cannot be established unless the regulators are granted unimpaired access to information on all accounts. Even AMLC would be in the same regulatory dilemma.

As observed by the AMLC, not all SPs are within the AML/CTF supervision. Therefore, they can be abused and exploited by criminal groups. It’s a matter of record that in 2019, local authorities closed down some 200 internet-based casinos and SPs illegally servicing online gaming operations. In fact, one of the biggest SPs around was linked to an individual and entity subject of an AML investigation involved in the infamous Bangladesh Bank heist.

The same handicap could be the reason why the Bamban and Porac POGOs have flourished without the authorities doing something about them. Various crimes have been committed by several POGOs, the Bamban outfit among them, that include human trafficking, financial scams, prostitution, torture, and lately, money laundering.

In the ongoing Senate probe, some P6.1 billion was established to have been spent to construct the POGO’s 37-building complex, inclusive of residential and commercial establishments in Bamban. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian expressed incredulity on “how the funds came in, who received them, and who dispensed them during the construction stage.”

He was also quoted saying AMLC unabashedly admitted it was clueless on the provenance and disposition of the huge amounts of money involved — P6.1 billion “is not chicken feed or something that can be nonchalantly ignored by government regulators.” Gatchalian was also doubtful mules are involved. In fact, as the broadsheets reported, “in all probability, the money was withdrawn from bank accounts in different banks in amounts below the threshold that would require a bank to report to the AMLC as a suspicious transaction.”

The issue reduces to whether the legal impediments against more effective supervision and monitoring could be mitigated by the use of the so-called algorithms used by foreign banks to monitor transactions below the suspicious threshold. Or perhaps a stronger, more intense, and more intentional monitoring of all POGOs and online gaming operations that are surprisingly bold as to even advertise their online gaming operations?

Another possibility that must be pursued by government regulators is the use of POGOs in laundering drug money. House Committee on Dangerous Drugs Chairman Robert Ace Barbers suspected a link between POGOs and drug money “because there are registered corporations whose incorporators are the same incorporators of the owner of the warehouse where P3.6 billion worth of drugs were seized in 2023.” He was referring to Empire 99’s warehouse where the prohibited drugs in Mexico, Pampanga were found, which has similar set of incorporators as one POGO.

Barbers suggested that if this link is pursued to its logical conclusion, this goes directly to businessman Michael Yang, whose brother Hong Jiang Yang, remits money to the POGO in Bamban, Tarlac.” Yang was also involved in the Pharmally anomaly at the height of the pandemic.

Herein lies the imperative of the freeze order involving former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo’s assets. Guo’s 36 accounts alone yielded a total deposit of P29 billion, excluding those of her associates. We can only imagine the repercussions of this discovery not only on the integrity of the Philippine financial system but also on state security.

Many of these POGOs are run by Chinese nationals and many lawmakers have been disturbed by these POGOs locating themselves close to military installations including naval ports and air force bases.

The other impediment to more effective discharge of BSP’s function is the limited ability to supervise the parent companies and their affiliates of banking groups. This is also related to the need to strengthen the BSP’s oversight on the assessment of ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) of banks operating in the Philippines. AMLC itself suffers from the limited ability to identify beneficial ownership which leads to greater anonymity of illegal transactors.

Against these remaining institutional handicaps of the authorities, and the more challenging aspect of execution and implementation, the SONA message of the President on the winding down of POGOs and online gambling by the end of the year could not be more urgent.

But what is this we hear from the grapevine that some POGO operators are in fact renewing their rental contracts of building and residential spaces? Time to delete them.

 

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former deputy governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was alternate executive director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

DoubleDragon Q2 profit up 15% on higher hotel revenue

LISTED DoubleDragon Corp. (DD) saw a 15% increase in its second-quarter (Q2) attributable net income to P732.73 million from P637.76 million last year, driven by higher hotel revenue.

April-to-June revenue rose by 5.6% to P2.35 billion from P2.23 billion last year, DD said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Hotel revenue surged by 44% to P209.35 million. However, rental revenue fell by 7.2% to P1.05 billion, while real estate sales dropped by 3.5% to P324.17 million. Costs and expenses rose by 11% to P1.2 billion from P1.08 billion in 2023.

For the first half, DD grew its attributable net income by 24% to P1 billion from P805.52 million in 2023.

Revenues for the first six months rose by 11.7% to P4.4 billion compared with P3.94 billion last year.

Rental revenue increased by 1% to P1.97 billion due to a combination of rental escalation and new tenants.

Real estate sales dropped by 9.2% to P571.3 million, while hotel revenues rose by 39% to P406.69 million on higher occupancy rates for hotel properties and additional hotel revenue from Hotel101-Fort.

Costs and expenses increased by 15.4% to P2.58 billion from P2.39 billion in 2023.

DD said its total assets for the first half rose by 5.6% to P191.31 billion from P181.24 billion last year.

It added that it is on track to exceed P100 billion in equity this year, after reaching P95.16 billion as of end-June.

“The company is positioned to become one of the few companies in the Philippines with total equity at the 12-digit level,” DD said.

In a separate disclosure, DD’s real estate investment trust, DDMP REIT, Inc., saw a 26.5% decline in its second-quarter net income to P396.53 million from P539.36 million last year.

April-to-June total revenue dropped by 23.7% to P506.21 million from P663.6 million the previous year.

For the first half, DDMP REIT recorded a 23% reduction in its January-to-June net income to P770.98 million from P1 billion in 2023.

Total revenue during the first six months fell by 18.2% to P994.67 million from P1.22 billion a year ago.

Rental income fell by 9.1% to P879.1 million due to expired leases, which will be replaced by incoming tenants.

On Thursday, DD shares fell by 0.19% or two centavos to P10.36 per share, while DDMP REIT stocks gained by 0.98% or one centavo to P1.03 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

BankCom posts lower profit in Q2 due to higher expenses

BANKCOM.COM.PH

BANK OF COMMERCE (BankCom) saw its net income decline by 25.74% in the second quarter due to higher expenses.

The San Miguel Corp.-led bank booked a net profit of P649.3 million in the April-to-June period, down from P874.35 million a year prior, its financial statement showed.

This brought its first-half net income to P1.42 billion, down by 10.63% from P1.59 billion a year ago.

This translated to a return on average assets of 1.23% and a return on average equity of 9.12%.

Net interest income went up by 12.91% to P2.28 billion in the second quarter from P2.02 billion a year ago.

Net interest margin was at 4.53% at end-June, up from 4.35% a year ago.

BankCom’s non-interest income amounted to P300.03 million, dropping by 46% from P560.21 million a year prior, amid a decline in income from service charges, fees and commissions and bigger trading losses.

Meanwhile, operating expenses increased by 22.74% to P1.72 billion from P1.4 billion as the bank ramped up its provisioning for credit losses by 163.13% to P73.17 million in the quarter.

This resulted in a cost-to-income ratio of 0.62%, up from 0.56% a year ago.

BankCom’s total loans expanded by 12.91% to P123.71 billion at end-June from P109.57 billion at end-2023, driven by higher corporate and consumer loans.

Its gross nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio was at 1.7% at end-June, up from 1.54% at end-2023, while its net NPL ratio stood at 0.53%, rising from 0.44%. NPL cover was at 88.02%, down from 93.21%.

On the funding side, total deposits declined by 4.58% to P177.39 billion from P185.91 billion amid higher costs and volatility in its current account, savings account (CASA) levels due to the high interest rate environment.

“Broken down, total deposits comprised of P155.20 billion CASA, P17.16 billion time deposits and P5.03 billion long-term negotiable certificate,” the bank said.

This resulted in a loan-to-deposit ratio of 75% as of June, up from 70% at end-2023.

BankCom’s total assets inched down by 0.43% to P230.68 billion at end-June from P231.67 billion at end-2023.

Total equity also dropped by 1.57% to P31.34 billion from P30.85 billion.

BankCom’s capital adequacy ratio was at 17.97%, down from 19.88% at end-2023 but still above the 10% regulatory minimum.

Its shares went down by 20 centavos or 2.82% to end at P6.90 apiece on Thursday. — A.M.C. Sy

Gena Rowlands, actress who played strong, troubled women, 94

GENA ROWLANDS in a scene from the 1984 film Love Streams. — IMDB

NEW YORK — Gena Rowlands, the acclaimed American actress, three-time Emmy winner and dual Oscar nominee for her vivid portrayals of strong, troubled women in the crime drama Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, has died at the age of 94, Entertainment Weekly reported on Wednesday, citing her son, Nick Cassavetes.

Ms. Rowlands starred in dozens of films during a career that began on stage and television in the 1950s and included award-winning roles in movies directed by her first husband, actor, writer, and director John Cassavetes.

Nick Cassavetes revealed in June that Ms. Rowlands had Alzheimer’s, like her own mother and the character she portrayed in the 2004 film The Notebook.

“She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us,” her son, who directed the film, told Entertainment Weekly.

Ms. Rowlands and Mr. Cassavetes were the golden couple of independent films in the United States in the 1970s and ’80s. Mr. Cassavetes was a pioneer in cinema verité and Ms. Rowlands was his muse.

“Independent filmmaking existed before Cassavetes, but Cassavetes, working with Rowlands, managed to make an independent cinema that borrowed from Hollywood — not in plots or styles but in actorly allure and dramatic power,” the New Yorker said in 2016.

The tall, blonde actress made 10 films with Mr. Cassavetes before his death in 1989, including the psychological drama Opening Night (1977), the marital saga Faces (1968), and 1984’s Love Streams, in which she played his sister.

“There was always a manic energy to the performances she gave in her late husband’s films, a fear of failure, a desire to love,” the awards website Golden Derby said of Ms. Rowlands.

In A Woman Under the Influence, which Mr. Cassavetes originally wrote as a play and which is considered among her best performances, Ms. Rowlands played Mabel Longhetti, a housewife struggling with mental illness.

As the tough, determined title character in Mr. Cassavetes’ 1980 film Gloria, she rescued and protected a young, orphaned boy from mobsters determined to kill him.

“Rowlands’ sublime acting is almost unprecedentedly id-driven: her beleaguered heroines operate from such deep reserves of need that can only be accessed by Rowlands, who doesn’t just claim moments but wrestles with them in order to extract even tougher layers of authenticity,” critic Matthew Eng said on the Tribeca News website in 2016.

Although she didn’t win an Oscar for either role, Ms. Rowlands received an Honorary Academy Award in 2015.

ALWAYS WANTED TO ACT
Virginia Cathryn “Gena” Rowlands was born on June 19, 1930, in Cambria, Wisconsin. Her father was a banker and politician, and her mother was an actress.

After college she moved to New York, where she studied drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and met fellow student Mr. Cassavetes.

“I always wanted to be an actress; I read so much when I was little, and it revealed to me there were other things to be. You can live a lot of lives and have a lot of fun and see a lot of things,” she told the New York Times in 2016.

Ms. Rowlands worked in regional theater and TV before making her Broadway debut in Middle of the Night in 1956. Two years later she landed her first film role in The High Cost of Loving and appeared in Mr. Cassavetes’ directorial debut film Shadows.

“It was not like working for anybody else,” she told film critic Roger Ebert about her husband in 2016. “The freedom that John gave his actors was astounding.”

Ms. Rowlands continued to work in films, including Woody Allen’s 1988 drama Another Woman, and TV following Mr. Cassavetes’ death.

She won best actress Emmys for the The Betty Ford Story (1987) and the drama Face of a Stranger (1992) and took home a best supporting trophy in a miniseries or movie for Hysterical Blindness (2002).

The independent film icon found a new audience when she returned to the big screen in 2004 as the older version of actress Rachel McAdams’ character in The Notebook.

Ms. Rowlands was married to Mr. Cassavetes from 1954 until his death. They had three children. In 2012, she wed businessman Robert Forrest.

“It’s a tricky life but it was so exciting and wonderful because you were doing what you really wanted to,” she said about acting and making independent films. — Reuters

Musk’s X reeks of failing social network syndrome

RUBAITULAZAD-UNSPLASH

THE LATE CHEF and author Anthony Bourdain used to talk of “Failing Restaurant Syndrome” — the sad stench of an eatery going under. The clientele begins to change. Staff morale drops. Bills stop being paid.

It’s “an affliction,” Bourdain wrote in Kitchen Confidential, “that causes owners to flail about looking for a quick fix, a fast masterstroke that will ‘turn things around,’ cure all their ills, reverse the already irreversible trend toward insolvency.”

I’m starting to think the same thing could be said about struggling social networks: Failing Social Network Syndrome, I guess. X, formerly Twitter, utterly reeks of it.

On Monday night, a pungent spectacle erupted when Elon Musk held a “conversation” with former President Donald Trump. This fast masterstroke, which Musk hopes will show X’s political relevancy, merely underlined how far the once-vibrant and powerful network has fallen.

First came the more than 40 minutes of technical problems, which Musk quickly but unconvincingly attributed to a cyberattack. The claim was quickly debunked by The Verge, citing internal company sources.

Once underway, Musk and Trump rambled into the night — on matters of Trump’s attempted assassination, immigration policy, and various assorted grievances. Musk himself admitted it would not be an interview, per se — hence the softball questioning and Musk’s apparent audition for a job as some kind of government budget overseer. The man who spent $44 billion buying Twitter thinks he’s the ideal person to judge unnecessary spending, apparently.

Ultimately, what we had was the owner of a prominent US social network using his platform to promote and endorse a presidential candidate — which, by the way, Musk has every right to do, though some of us remember when Republicans in Washington were screaming bloody murder about political bias on these platforms. (Democrats are now trying to point out the hypocrisy. They shouldn’t bother.)

I’ll leave further dissection of the call’s content to the fact-checkers — God help them. What’s more relevant for this column is what Monday’s conversation says about the dire state of X, which Musk bought almost two years ago.

The whiff of Failing Social Network Syndrome gets stronger by the day. Advertising revenue has fallen off a cliff; commercial deals have collapsed; and regulators are closing in with very real threats of catastrophic fines. A former Twitter executive has called for Musk’s arrest for stoking unrest in the UK. The company has skipped paying rent at its headquarters, so workers are moving into cheaper offices in San Jose. Two recent senior departures followed the flurry of talent walking out the door — while others who were unfairly fired are winning compensation. Musk’s pledge to rid the network of bots has failed. A promise that X would be a significant banking app by the end of this year has failed to even produce a launch date. His plan to turn X into an “everything app” hasn’t materialized — and never will. X is now in the full flailing about stage of Failing Social Network Syndrome, suing advertisers who followed Musk’s advice to stay off the platform.

It’s all very embarrassing. And, more to the point, utterly dull. Twitter has become a single-issue network, the home of the culture wars. I suspect Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino’s recent agreement that X was a digital “swing state” will hold true in that politicians and journalists will soon lose interest in X once the votes have been counted.

And then there is very little left: A social network needs more than politics to thrive. Twitter used to be a place that housed disparate and vibrant interest groups. They talked about politics, sure, but also TV, movies, music, books, food, sports, and technology. Businesses would respond to complaints and offer customer service. Local authorities would host Q&As and keep communities up-to-date. Meet-ups were organized, friendships were made, movements were given their oxygen.

Slowly, these constituencies are finding homes elsewhere. Just in the time for the new English football season, for instance, several prominent football journalists and blogs have migrated to Threads. BlueSky said it had seen a “surge” in users from the UK since the fallout from Musk’s claim that “civil war” was “inevitable” in the country.

These migrations may seem small, and it will take time to show up in analytics. X was never going to unravel in a day, but it is unraveling, a direct consequence of what tech commentator Casey Newton described as Musk’s “political project” — his chance to bend a public forum to his will, to gain outsized attention for his right-wing viewpoints. Some lap that up, but it’s not enough. I’m confident this presidential election will be X’s last. As Bourdain put it, “Our food, while charming to some, was unappealing to most.”

BLOOMBERG OPINION

1...1,1781,1791,180...12,605Page 1,179 of 12,605
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube