The business of banning aftermarket modifications

October 16, 2018 | 8:35 pm

The raging topic in Philippine motoring these days is the Land Transportation Office’s (LTO) renewed campaign against vehicle modifications. These include aftermarket wheels, tires, body kit, bumpers and LED lights. A rash of apprehensions were reported on social media last week by owners of modified SUVs. A reader even contacted me to say he knew of friends who had been stopped by the authorities before entering the North Luzon Expressway just because their vehicles had roof racks.
AutoIndustriya.com, a local motoring website, interviewed an LTO official whom they quoted as saying: “What is the purpose of these modifications? Off-roading. Therefore, they are not for the highways. You should not drive on national roads because that is dangerous. You modified [the vehicle] for a special purpose, [which is] off-road [driving]. Then why do you bring it to national roads?”
It’s a sweeping approach, apparently. It doesn’t matter if the add-on makes the vehicle perform better in adverse road conditions or bad weather — if it’s not stock, it’s prohibited.
Predictably, passionate members of the 4×4 driving community have been up in arms over this latest development. Obviously, they include owners of shops that sell and install aftermarket products, like Wheel Gallery president and CEO Sam Liuson. “I always use shoes to illustrate wheels and tires,” he wrote on Visor.ph, the motoring website I edit. “Should a mountaineer stick to leather shoes because his school or office requires him to wear them? Should a basketball player shun sneakers because his church bans their use? Do we now tell our soldiers that their boots are not allowed on the pavement?”
It’s understandable why owners of modified — many of them heavily — vehicles are upset. They’ve spent a lot of money to make their cars more powerful, tougher and better-looking.
On the other hand, the LTO is also somewhat justified in wanting to regulate aftermarket modifications. Some of these products that find their way onto private vehicles are ill-advised, if not downright unsafe. You have dazzling blinking lights, humongous bull bars or even extremely dark window tint, for example. I agree that many of these items need to be removed not only from cars but more importantly from the marketplace altogether.
What off-road driving enthusiasts are protesting is the unilateral implementation of the ban that supposedly affects all vehicle modifications. As the guys keep pointing out, most of these aftermarket products are just as good as — or often even better than — OEM (stock) parts. Also, it’s not as if we have excellent road conditions that do not require car owners to toughen up their rides. Many cars sold locally, in fact, have the most spartan of features to make their pricing appealing to a budget-conscious market. If I purchase an entry-level hatchback, why should government regulators stop me from wanting to beef it up so it could cope with Philippine driving conditions (which, according to Waze’s global survey last year, are the worst in the world)?
Here’s another interesting side to this story: On Monday, a car owner shared his car registration receipt on Facebook, showing that he had to pay P30 for changing his vehicle’s wheel size and another P100 for installing a tow hitch that doubles as a bicycle rack. So let me get this straight: The LTO says these modifications are generally unsafe, but then if you pay certain fees, they become safe and road-legal all of a sudden?
That’s not road safety, folks. That’s business — nothing more, nothing less. Now go count the number of exterior accessories you’ve attached to your car, and then prepare to pay for the right to keep them. It is what it is.

PANA and SM Supermalls bring world-renowned retail guru for one-day conference in Manila

October 16, 2018 | 2:09 pm

MANILA- In celebration of their 60 years, the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA), in partnership with SM Supermalls, is hosting a conference on October 29 at Conrad Manila, featuring Paco Underhill – a global pioneer in retail anthropology and shopper science.
Underhill is the author of three bestselling books such as Call of the Mall, What Women Want. His first book, Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, has been translated into 27 languages and has sold more copies than any other retail book in history.
He is the most sought-after resource in the field, with his insights being published in publications such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and was profiled by Malcolm Gladwell in an editorial at The New Yorker.
The conference is the first installment of PANA’s new learning series called The Brand Master Sessions, which aims to feature international gurus, to give more global learning opportunities for our local brand marketers. This is part of PANA’s commitment in its 60^th year milestone,transforming from a marketing effectiveness self-regulating body, to a champion for responsible brand building.

Decoding the Science of Shopping
In his 30-year career, Paco Underhill has established himself as one of the foremost researchers in shopper behavior. With his company Envirosell, he has surveyed thousands of retail spaces across the globe, collating data to better understand how shoppers interact with places, services, and things inside the store, and how this affect store performance.
An environmental psychologist by training, Underhill aims to make retailers understand how store design, layout, and merchandising, can either increase or decrease a shopper’s tendency to buy.
“We at PANA believe that shopper science is one of the most relevant topics to offer marketers today,” said Anna Legarda, 2018 PANA President. “While businesses spend money on advertising and marketing, there is also the reality that Filipino shoppers today are on saving mode, due to rising inflation rates. How can businesses keep track?” Legarda also cites that shoppers have become more complicated, with more product choices and sources of product information.
Expect Underhill to cover these topics, along with new research on online retailing, retail industry trends, and case studies from emerging markets. The topics to be covered are of relevance today due to the current issues like high inflation, tightening of budgets, and with Christmas shopping around the corner.
The first PANA Brand Master Sessions featuring Paco Underhill will be held on October 29 at Conrad Manila. To register, visit www.panabrandmasters.com, or contact us at events@futureproof.ph, or call +63 5348580.

Manila Water subsidiary bags franchise to service Pangasinan town

October 16, 2018 | 10:28 am

By Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
Manila Water Philippine Ventures, Inc. (MWPV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manila Water Company, Inc., set a capital expenditure of P742 million for its newly-bagged 25-year franchise to provide water services to San Fabian, Pangasinan.
In a disclosure to the stock market on Tuesday, MWPV announced it received a notice to proceed from the local government unit which granted the subsidiary a franchise to “establish, construct, operate, manage, repair, and maintain water supply system and facilities” in the municipality starting 2019.
The disclosure acknowledged Manila Water’s existing concession agreement to manage the water supply system of Calasiao, located to the southwest of San Fabian.
Under the new deal, MWPV will have an assumed billed volume of 12.6 million liters per day by the end of its 25-year franchise.
The franchise will also include the provision to handle the town’s septage management.

Gov’t eyes cuts in ‘non-infra’ spending

October 16, 2018 | 12:32 am

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Reporter
THE GOVERNMENT will cut spending on non-infrastructure items to weather the impact of billions of pesos in revenues to be foregone from the suspension of an oil excise tax hike scheduled in January and to keep the fiscal gap in check, the Finance chief told reporters on Monday.
“We will have to cancel some non-infra expenditures,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters on Monday on the sidelines of a ship commissioning ceremony at the Philippine Coast Guard headquarters in Manila, while assuring that spending on social services will also be unaffected.
“We are going to take the necessary action not to increase our deficit.”
He said economic managers will identify items to sustain funding cuts during a Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) meeting today.
The DBCC has programmed a deficit ceiling equivalent to three percent of gross domestic product this year. In 2019 it will inch up to 3.2% amid a foreseen spike in infrastructure spending, then back to three percent in the succeeding years until 2022. These programs compare to the actual 2.2% recorded in 2017.
Mr. Dominguez also noted that since oil prices will go up further and the peso will likely continue depreciation, the revenue loss may be partly recouped from higher value-added tax collections on fuel imports.
“So the total estimated foregone revenue is around P41 billion but we are still calculating how much the net revenue will be… We don’t expect the full P41 billion to be the (actual) amount,” he said.
He also noted that the DBCC will study whether the Pantawid Pasada program, a cash transfer for public utility jeepney service franchise holders affected by higher fuel taxes, will also be suspended along with the fuel excise hike. “That idea has been floating around but we will discuss that,” said Mr. Dominguez, noting that only 35% of the fuel vouchers were distributed, citing suspected irregularities in the list of beneficiaries.
Qualified parties received P5,000 this year and will get P20,515 in 2019.
Mr. Dominguez confirmed that economic managers and members of Congress had agreed on the need to suspend January’s oil tax hike under Republic Act no. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act.
The law increased fuel excise taxes by P2.5 per liter this year, and is scheduled to hike another P2 and P1.5 per liter in 2019 and 2020, respectively, totaling a P6 excise tax increment.
That law provides that the excise tax hike is automatically suspended should Dubai crude price average at least $80 per barrel this quarter.
The Department of Finance (DoF) had cited projections of such level till yearend as justification for Malacañang’s early announcement of the oil tax hike suspension.
Price of Dubai crude — used as a benchmark for Asia — rose 43% to $77.02/bbl in September from $53.86/bbl a year ago and by 6.78% from August’s $72.23/bbl. Prices averaged $82.278/bbl in the 10 trading days to Oct. 12, 50.69% more than the $54.602/bbl in last year’s comparable period.
“The first two weeks of October is already over $80 and the forward market, the futures market at the end of the year as of last week was over $80. So the market is telling us it’s going to be over $80 so we might as well announce the suspension so that people will not speculate anymore,” the Finance chief said.
“There is a chance — but it’s pretty slim — that it will not average $80.”
Mr. Dominguez also said that the DoF is still studying how the suspension can be lifted once the Dubai crude oil prices normalize. “The law is silent but I suppose that if for three months it’s lower than $80 per barrel then it can be reapplied. We will do that in the next few days,” he said.
Economists interviewed separately via e-mail said that the move to suspend the 2019 fuel excise hike should help temper price speculation.
Some also said that the 2019 mid-term elections was a key factor in the decision.
“The suspension might actually impact the market positively. If it were a non-elevated inflation environment, it might probably have a negative effect. Expect the market to have a bounce because of this particular information,” said Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc.
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr., president of Minimal Government Thinkers, a member institute of Economic Freedom Network Asia, said: “The May 2019 elections is the primary consideration of Duterte and team.”
“If they proceed with part 2 [oil excise tax hike], they will have more tax money but less votes. If they suspend it, they will have less tax money but more votes… After the elections, they will very likely proceed with part 2 hikes. This is a tax-hungry administration so it will need more tax money.”
“The 2019 elections will have inflation among its core issues. Since inflation can be partly ascribed to higher fuel prices, the 2019 elections will definitely influence the lifting of the suspension of the fuel tax. I believe the lifting of the suspension will follow a few months after the 2019 elections but not before that,” University of Asia and the Pacific economist Cid L. Terosa said.
“The DoF has to break the momentum of seemingly unstoppable inflationary expectations by shifting its stance on the fuel tax. I believe that the shift in the policy stance of DoF will upset the current upward trend of fuel prices and inflation.”
Bank of the Philippine Islands Vice-President and Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri, Jr. said: “While it is clear that implementation of the oil tax this year was not the key culprit for this year’s inflation surprise, it will probably be more difficult for policy makers to resume the planned increases in the excise taxes for 2019 and 2020… after what happened to inflation this year,” referring to headline inflation that has lately been clocking in multiyear highs this year to average five percent in the nine months to September against the central bank’s 2-4% target range for full-year 2018.
Mr. Neri said forgone revenues may also be offset when the economy accelerates. “If the economy grows fast enough in 2019 owing to the anticipated improvement in next year’s inflation print, we could see collections from existing tax laws improving fast enough to offset some of these foregone opportunities,” he said.
A Palace spokesman said on Monday that President Rodrigo R. Duterte has made up his mind to suspend the fuel excise tax hike scheduled in January, adding that Malacañang will issue a formal order on this matter.
“The fact that they made an announcement… that is a validation,” Presidential Legal Counsel and Spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said in a press briefing at the Palace when asked if Mr. Duterte had decided on the matter.
Asked whether Malacañang will issue a formal order, Mr. Panelo replied: “Certainly, yes.”
Asked separately on the likely mechanism for the oil tax hike suspension even ahead of the January trigger period, Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means committee, replied in a mobile phone message: “To be sure, Congress can pass a joint resolution to that effect.”
House Ways and Means panel Chairman Rep. Estrellita B. Suansing of Nueva Ecija’s first district did not respond to a request for comment. — with Arjay L. Balinbin

Year-to-date remittances grow despite Aug. decline

October 16, 2018 | 12:31 am

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Senior Reporter
CASH remittances slipped in August from a year ago due to lower inflows from the Middle East, the central bank said on Monday, which could signal softer household spending in the third quarter.
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) sent home $2.476 billion that month, 0.9% less than the $2.499 billion which were wired to the Philippines in August 2017, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. August inflows, however, picked up from the $2.401- billion cash remitted in July and was the biggest amount of remittances received since December’s $2.741 billion.
Around 10 million OFWs provide for their families living in the Philippines. These cash transfers fuel household spending that, in turn, contributes nearly 70% of overall economic output.
“The countries that contributed to the decline in August 2018 are the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” the central bank said in a statement.
August remittances pushed eight-month inflows to $19.057 billion, 2.5% more than the $18.595 billion received in 2017’s comparable period. This, however, is softer than the four percent growth expected by the central bank for the entire year, coming from last year’s $28.06 billion.
Land-based OFWs continued to be the biggest source of remittances at $15.1 billion, up by 2.1% from a year ago. Those working at sea also wired 3.8% more funds to $4 billion, the BSP said.
Filipinos working in the United States remained the biggest source of inflows as of August, followed by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Singapore, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines, said the marginal drop in remittances was expected given that the strong August 2017 inflows were “a bit hard to top.”
The analyst added that lower remittance inflows in August may have tempered domestic spending in the third quarter even as July inflows were 5.2% up.
“With the year-on-year decline in remittances, I expect that there will be a softness in domestic demand, but I still expect a robust Q3 growth result, stronger than previous quarter’s 6.0%,” Mr. Asuncion pointed out, referring to the slower-than-expected expansion in April-June.
“I think that our OFWs are just waiting for yearend to send remittances to their loved ones in time for the Christmas season,” he added.
Remittances usually peak in December each year as OFWs send more money in time for the Christmas season, in order to support increased spending for festivities and gifts during the holidays.
ING Bank senior economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said separately that remittances likely adjusted to mirror school year changes and possible late payments to workers, coupled with exchange rate “nuances”, contributed to the year-on-year contraction.
The peso traded weaker than the P53-per-dollar mark during the month to average P53.2735, compared to the P50.8747 rate in August last year. That means OFW families enjoyed bigger peso values for the dollars they received, putting more pesos in their pockets to spend.
“Going forward, annual and year-to-date growth rates are still seen to average around three percent,” Mr. Mapa said.

Overseas Filipinos’ cash remittances (August 2018)

October 16, 2018 | 12:31 am

CASH remittances slipped in August from a year ago due to lower inflows from the Middle East, the central bank said on Monday, which could signal softer household spending in the third quarter. Read the full story.

Emerging economies try to contain capital outflows

October 16, 2018 | 12:30 am

NUSA DUA, INDONESIA — After suffering months of capital outflows, policy makers from emerging markets attending International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank meetings in Indonesia had a message for leading economies: current monetary and trade policies risk undermining us all.
The IMF-World Bank meetings wrapping up on Sunday gave central bankers and finance ministers from around the world a chance to meet face-to-face in Indonesia, whose rupiah currency hit a new 20-year low this week.
Poorer and populous emerging markets have been particularly vulnerable to the escalating US-Sino tariff war and rate rises by the US central bank. Investors dumped assets seen as riskier, sparking painful currency plunges that have punished countries from India to recession-hit South Africa, as well as triggering crises in Turkey and Argentina.
“We are all aware that the normalization of the monetary policy in the US, combined with their fiscal policy and trade policy… are all creating a systemic impact to the whole economy in the world,” Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in an interview during the meetings in Bali.
The Federal Reserve’s nearly three-year-old tightening cycle has in part prompted a global shift in capital away from emerging markets and after three hikes this year, it foresees another December rise, three more next year, and one in 2020.
A senior Fed official in Bali said the rate rises were right for domestic policy and ensuring they were gradual and predictable was “the best solution” for minimizing unintended volatility in emerging markets.
In a bid to support the rupiah, Bank Indonesia has raised rates five times since mid-May and intervened regularly, but still the currency has lost nearly 11% this year, leaving it at the weakest levels since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said that the 150 basis point rate hikes since mid-May aimed to keep Indonesian assets attractive enough for foreigners to stay invested, but calibrating this in the current environment was hard.
“The risk premia are very difficult to incorporate because risk premia are responding to geopolitical, responding to trade tension,” Mr. Warjiyo told a panel in Bali.
‘SPILLOVER’ RISKS
Finance ministers for developing nations in the Group of 24 economies urged major economies to reform the global trading system, rather than discard it.
The G24 statement, issued on the sidelines of the Bali meetings, said all emerging markets were “adversely affected” by excessive capital flow volatility.
While many countries shared common fears, Ms. Indrawati said it was difficult to forge cooperation to counter the risks.
“It’s not really clear how the world is going to coordinate more effectively, especially when each country has their own domestic issues,” she said.
The Philippine peso has shed nearly eight percent this year and its deputy central bank governor, Diwa C. Guinigundo, said the IMF and other global institutions should advise advanced economies on the potential negative consequences of their moves.
“It’s the spillovers that we are concerned with… the spillover could have effects from one market to the other, from the financial market to the real market,” said Mr. Guinigundo.
He said while it was good for policy makers to be ahead of the curve in tightening, they should take account of the growing clout of emerging markets.
“It should also be emphasized that ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, Korea), we account for a good bulk of the world’s population and GDP.”
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde urged members at the meeting to “de-escalate” trade tensions and work on fixing global trade rules.
She also warned against adding currency to the trade conflict, saying this would hurt global growth as well as “innocent bystander” nations, including emerging markets that supply commodities to China.
Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said policy makers in developed countries should understand that if their actions hurt other countries it would have knock-on effects.
“You need me. I am a market for you, I am an opportunity for you,” Mr. Maait told Reuters. “I don’t believe there will be a winner and a loser. Either all are winners or all are losers.”
Indeed, market ructions have now cascaded through to developed markets with Wall Street seeing a six session slide until a rebound on Friday last week, amid fears over the trade war between China and the United States.
However, other than having effective monetary policies, developing markets can do little to cope with the impact of rate hikes and trade battles, said Jacob Frenkel, chairman of JPMorgan Chase International.
“When elephants fight, the grass suffers.” — Reuters

GMA casts woman in transgender role in its new afternoon drama

October 16, 2018 | 12:09 am

GMA NETWORK embarks on a journey of love and identity with its newest afternoon drama, Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko, which tells the story of a scorned wife whose rival in love is her transgender ex-husband.
The show, which starts airing on Oct. 22, stars Kris Bernal as Rachel, a simple woman who dreams of having a happy family but whose dreams are shattered when her husband, played by Jason Abalos, decides to abandon her — and their newborn daughter — and live the life of a transgender woman, Venus, played by Thea Tolentino.
But the real struggle begins for the characters when Venus returns and both she and Rachel fall in love with the balikbayan Gavin, played by Rayver Cruz.
“[We decided to cast a real female for the transgender role] to make it more believable that [the husband] has undergone sexual reassignment surgery. It’s not that we are dismissing the LGBT community, we just made the decision to make it believable,” Mark Sicat dela Cruz, the series’ director, told BusinessWorld shortly before the press conference on Oct. 8 at the GMA Network offices in Quezon City.
Mr. Dela Cruz, who helmed the network’s romantic comedy The One that Got Away, which ran from January to May, said that unlike that series — which he likened to HBO’s Sex and the City (1998-2004) — Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko is “more relatable.”
This isn’t the first time GMA created a story about a transgender character — in 2015, the network aired the show Destiny Rose, which starred Ken Chan in the title role and was all about how a transgender transitioned and the challenges she faced as she began to live her life as a woman.
Unlike Destiny Rose where Mr. Chan played both his male and transgender persona, Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko took a different route and decided to cast a biological female for the role.
“That was also the reason, to separate it from the series the network has previously done. The saga of Destiny Rose is all about the process of him accepting his gender identity, but this one involves family, this is more of a family oriented drama,” Mr. Dela Cruz said before adding that he believes the transgender community will not be upset with the series’ casting decision because “they understand the intent behind it.”
But, Mr. Dela Cruz explained, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t taken care in the portrayal of the character as he said he has asked his transgender friends about their opinions and experiences.
“I also talked to my friends who are trans because even though I’m gay, the trans experience is still different. They have a different perspective about this,” he said.
“I’m being very careful about this so we can portray it right,” he added.
Among the films he had taken cues from for this series are Beautiful Boxer (2003) by Ekachai Uekrongtham, about a kickboxer who wants to become a champion and undergo sexual reassignment, and The Danish Girl (2015) by Tom Hooper, about a man who undergoes sexual reassignment with the support of his wife.
“I studied how Eddie Redmayne moved as Lily [in The Danish Girl],” in order to guide Abalos’ portrayal. “But I don’t want to copy it because I have my own style.”
Also joining the cast of Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko are Lotlot de Leon, Jean Saburit, Ricardo Cepeda, Matthias Rhoads, Annalyn Barro, Caprice Cayetano, Maricris Garcia, and Phil Noble.
Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko starts airing on Oct. 22, from Mondays to Saturdays, after Eat Bulaga on GMA Afternoon Prime. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Da Pulis: the band for the eternal man-child

October 16, 2018 | 12:08 am

By Gideon Isidro
EVERYONE did some crazy things in their youth: made trouble for laughs, attempted to outdo their peers when it came to dangerous stunts, and went to places forbidden. Then they fondly look back on those days, and sigh, “Man, I wish I could do that again.”
Well, you can go back again — in a way — since the most outrageous man-child band in the Philippines, Da Pulis, is playing at the Pinoy Playlist Festival on Oct. 20, 10 p.m., at the BGC Arts Center.
Composed of Gabe Mercado on lead vocals, Jay Ignacio on lead guitar, Bob Guerrero on rhythm guitar, Renzo Villalon on the bass, and Rusty Isip on drums, this band will help bring listeners back to a time when they had no responsibilities, and just have a good laugh.
CHILDREN OF LAWFUL CHAOS
The music of Da Pulis finds its roots in the universal tendency of man to get into trouble as a child. Mr. Ignacio recounts some of the band members’ misadventures in their ultra conservative school: “We were trying to make trouble, but we were always smart about it. We would always go to the edge of breaking the law, but we never broke the law.”
He described one of their shenanigans, “There was a patch of grass in the center of the school, na as in, bawal ka tumapak (you were not allowed to step on it). We would get around it by creating situations were there were valid reasons to step on it: We would throw the shoes of our classmates into it, so he was forced to step on the grass to get it; or, we would create a commotion like a fake hostaging so that everyone gathered around and trampled the grass.”
They would also go to ridiculous lengths to make sure they got in line in the canteen before everyone else so they could get their favorite dishes before they would run out. “The windows of our school from the second floor was very big: it could fit a whole person. We would let down some abaca rope, and we would rappel down from the windows to the lower floors. We would rush to the canteen to get in line. A third guy would hide the abaca ropes, and we would let him in line after he went down.”
Mr. Mercado continues the narrative, “Tapos, dahil gago lang, magoorder kami ng dalawang karne, para maubusan yung mga Grade 7 (Then, just to fool around, we would order two sets of meat servings, so that there would not be enough meat for the Grade 7 students).”
This writer asks, “So if I were to describe your childhood, it was lawful chaos?” “Yes!” Mr. Mercado said enthusiastically.
MUKHANG PAA
Eventually, this mischievous spirit found its way into Mr. Mercado’s song writing in high school. Mr. Ignacio describes how Mercado conceptualized the song “Paa” (Foot), the song with the very memorable line, “mukhang paa, boyfriend mo” (your boyfriend looks like a foot), “Back then, Gabe (Mercado) had a crush on somebody. His crush then got a boyfriend. He was so broken hearted, he wrote ‘Paa.’”
When asked how he came up with the word “paa,” the habit of lawful chaos arose. “I was looking for the most insulting words that were not obscene. During the time my father worked in the ad agency, their expression for a piece of work that was not well done was that it was pinaa lang (just made by using the feet).”
After “Paa” came out in the mid 1990s, “mukhang paa” (looking like a foot) became a popular expression. So did Mr. Mercado coin the term? He replied, “I think the expression was there before, but yes, maybe so in pop culture.”
MUSIC FOR THE INNER MAN CHILD
Aside from “Paa,” Da Pulis also came up with other humerous songs throughout the years: “Pogi” (Handsome) talks about the “problems” of being a handsome man; “Tae” (Shit), on the other hand, talks about the crass subject candidly in a humorous light. “Remember M” and “Sungit Queen” were their more serious and romantics songs, but they still contain that element of mischievousness that is the band’s trademark.
When asked what kind of music Da Pulis is making, Mr. Mercado replies, “Tito Music, we’ve also been described as NerdCore.” Asked why so, he explained that it’s music for unmarried men, or men who can’t get a girlfriend, as evidenced by the jealous theme of “Paa.” And to true to life, most of the band members don’t have girlfriends or wives, except the drummer, who stereotypically would be the last in a band to get a special someone.
As self deprecating these guys are, revelling in the schadenfreude of their own misery of not having girlfriends, their music is an extension of the rambunctiousness of adolescence, and even men with wives or girlfriends can relate.
Da Pulis’ music can be described as “man-child rock” — deep inside, every man wants to be free from responsibilities from time to time, to eat chicharon or get extra rice, or swear in front of the children. Listening to their music is a great outlet for that.
The Pinoy Playlist Festival — described as a “celebration of Filipino musical talent across all genres and decades” — kicked off last Thursday to Saturday, and continues on Oct. 18 to 20. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Co-curated by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, Moy Ortiz and Noel Ferrer, the festival brings together over a hundred artists. Da Pulis will be playing on its last day, Oct. 20, 10 p.m., at the BGC Arts Center, 26^th St. corner 9^th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Tickets are available at TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph).

Venom wins US box office again, boosting Sony’s superhero strategy

October 16, 2018 | 12:07 am

VENOM, a character from the comic-book world of Spider-Man, topped the box office for a second weekend, breathing life into Sony Pictures’ superhero movie plans.
The surprise hit, which overcame poor reviews, collected $35.7 million in theaters in the US and Canada, ComScore Inc. estimated in an e-mail Sunday. It beat three new movies, including an Oscar favorite First Man, which landed third with $16.5 million for Universal Pictures. Thriller Bad Times at the El Royale garnered $7.2 million, and a Goosebumps sequel — also from Sony — scored $16.2 million. Warner Brothers’ A Star Is Born, with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, came in second for the weekend with $28 million.
Venom, about a symbiotic alien-human duo, is part of Sony’s plan to revive its Spider-Man-linked superhero movies. The company has been working on features from a universe of about 900 Marvel characters tied to the web slinger — a comic-book canon that the studio has licensed from Walt Disney Co.-owned Marvel Entertainment. The success of Venom, which has exceeded analysts’ expectations, gives the studio a boost as it tries to compete with the more-expansive superhero franchises at Disney and Warner Bros.
Sony Pictures, based in Culver City, California, will soon be the only major movie studio outside Disney to have Marvel superheroes at its disposal. Disney is acquiring 21^st Century Fox, which had rights to certain Marvel characters such as the X-Men.
Venom was forecast to add $30 million to its haul this weekend, Box Office Pro analysts predicted. Sony said Sunday that the movie had collected $378.1 million globally.
Universal Pictures’ Oscar hopeful First Man, which was criticized by some politicians for not being patriotic enough, missed a forecast of $20 million by Box Office Pro. The film is based on the life story of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. It had a budget of $59 million, before marketing costs, according to Box Office Mojo, and has been lauded by film critics, with 90% recommending it, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong in the movie, which is based on the astronaut’s only official biography: First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen. Armstrong — cast as an introvert rather than flashy hero — persists in his ambitions as an astronaut despite grief that followed the death of his daughter and colleagues.
Sony’s other new movie was a sequel to its Goosebumps Halloween movie franchise. The film received only 32% positive reviews, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween cost $35 million to make before marketing costs and was forecast to generate $18.6 million in its debut, according to Box Office Mojo and Box Office Pro. It missed the $23.6 million opening weekend of the first installment.
In the children’s book adaptation, Jack Black returns as R.L. Stine, but the movie is primarily focused on two awkward teenagers who discover Stine’s mischievous ventriloquist dummy Slappy. They accidentally bring the doll to life, and he sets out to wreak havoc.
The other new movie of the weekend, Fox thriller Bad Times at the El Royale, missed a forecast of $8.3 million by Box Office Pro. With a budget of $32 million to make, according to Box Office Mojo, it pleased critics — with 76% giving positive reviews. Seven strangers — played by an ensemble that includes Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, and Cynthia Erivo — all end up at a rundown hotel. Each has a dark secret and attempts some kind of redemption on that night. — Bloomberg

Zalora bullish as more Filipinos shop online

October 16, 2018 | 12:06 am

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
ONLINE fashion retailer Zalora Philippines said more Filipinos are getting more accustomed to buying fashion items online, noting that its platform has grown tenfold since it was first introduced in the Philippines.
“The growth is tremendous and accelerating, in line with the overall growth with digital usage… For peak days we get up to half a billion unique visits a day… It’s grown tenfold from the first year and it continues to grow,” Zalora Philippines Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Paulo L. Campos III said in an interview on the sidelines of a private equity forum in Makati last week.
The increase in site visitors is complemented by the length of time customers spend browsing for products, which Mr. Campos said indicates a shift in customer behavior.
“We’re seeing a shift in the customer behavior, if you see the usage statistics on our app, 75% of our business is from the mobile app. And we see them visiting multiple times a day, session times are increasing. So people are really getting habituated now to shopping for fashion online,” he explained.
“Not only are our customers more engaged by spending time and buying more, but (there are) more customers overall. Visits are growing,” he added.
Zalora Philippines’ mobile app alone has already been downloaded seven million times, according to Mr. Campos.
With this, the executive said Zalora would have to strengthen its partnership with retailers to meet the demand for more products.
Zalora Philippines currently has over a thousand brands across different fashion items such as clothes, shoes, and accessories available on its website.
“We have partnerships with large companies such as SSI (Group, Inc.), Bench, Penshoppe, Golden ABC Group, Primer… These are really the ones fuelling our growth, so we’re working with them closely, it’s a big priority to meet the drastic increase in demand,” Mr. Campos said.
Zalora Philippines is also working with small to medium enterprises and entrepreneurs to help them introduce their products on the online platform. Mr. Campos noted that about 50% of their sales come from homegrown brands, presenting up and coming designers and entrepreneurs an avenue to sell their products without having to spend money for a physical store.
The company is also looking at establishing more pop-up stores across different Ayala Malls in line with its partnership with the Ayala Group. Zalora Philippines currently has two pop-up stores located in Greenbelt 5 and Glorietta where customers try out items found on the website and also pick up their online purchases.
“The plan would be to, on a case by case basis, launch new ones especially to feature new brands and new partnerships. It’s our way to highlight a certain portion of our inventory such as the exclusive brand we carry, like when Abercrombie and Fitch was first sold here in the Philippines,” Mr. Campos said.

After Night Manager hit, John Le Carre’s Little Drummer Girl heads to television

October 16, 2018 | 12:06 am

LONDON — John le Carre fans will see a new adaptation of one of his spy novels when The Little Drummer Girl hits TV screens this month but the British author said there was huge pressure in making the series after the success of hit show The Night Manager.
Le Carre’s 1983 book, previously made into a film starring Diane Keaton, is set in the 1970s and follows British actress Charlie as she is recruited by an Israeli spy master to track down a Palestinian militant.
The mini-series was made by the makers of Golden Globe-winning The Night Manager, with Le Carre’s sons once again executive producers. The author described the story as “quite different.”
“The one thing you can’t do, you can’t be a one-trick pony, you can’t repeat it. We had a massive audience (for The Night Manager),” Le Carre said at The Little Drummer Girl premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday.
“This will be a different thing… probably attract a smaller but a much more responsive audience in many ways. It’s not as accessible, it’s more thinking, it’s slower and I think more beautiful.”
Lady Macbeth actress Florence Pugh takes the role of Charlie in the series, which also stars The Shape of Water actor Michael Shannon, and Big Little Lies star Alexander Skarsgard.
“She is someone so opinionated, so loud, so sure of herself,” Pugh said of Charlie. “I loved the fact that my character wasn’t necessarily from that (spy) world… us as the audience, we watch her like we are her.”
Skarsgard plays intelligence agent Becker, who as part of the story’s Israeli spy plot also pretends to be a young Palestinian Charlie travels with across Europe.
“I hope people embrace this show as much as they did The Night Manager,” he said. — Reuters

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