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Coca-Cola open to refranchising PHL operations

THE COCA-COLA CO. took over Coca-Cola FEMSA’s bottling operations in the Philippines. — REUTERS

By Janina C. Lim, Reporter
ATLANTA-BASED The Coca-Cola Co. said it is open to potential partners for its bottling operations in the Philippines, after Mexico’s Coca-Cola FEMSA S.A.B de C.V. exited the local market.
“As with other markets that are operated by BIG [Bottling Investments Group], Coca-Cola has no deadlines or timetables for potential refranchising. We continually evaluate potential partners,” Coca-Cola Co. Senior Director for Financial Communications Scott Leith said in an e-mail when asked by BusinessWorld if the company is considering buyers for the Philippine business.
He is confident the company’s subsidiary, Bottling Investments Group, will be able to face the challenges such as the Philippines’ excise tax on sweetened beverages.
“We know that long-term, sustainable success is built on strong fundamentals. We always face changes and challenges — whether it involves new competition or new taxes — but our company has a heritage of focusing on the decades ahead, not just the quarters ahead,” Mr. Leith said.
“With BIG’s depth of experience and solid track record in Southeast Asia, we believe they will bring significant value to the Philippines business,” he added.
Coca-Cola Co. established BIG in 2004. BIG is now present in 18 countries, six of which are Southeast Asian nations namely Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar.
Meanwhile, Mexico-based Coca-Cola FEMSA S.A.B de C.V. confirmed that the excise tax on sugar was the primary reason in its decision to exit the Philippines.
Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines has been struggling since last year after the government regulated imports of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a sweetener used by the food industry as an alternative to cane sugar.
The government, under the first package of its tax reform program, also levied a P12 tax on HFCS-sweetened drinks at the start of the year, double that of beverages using sugar.
Since then, Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines has laid off an undisclosed number of workers and has reduced volumes of some products.
“This put restrictions on sweetener imports, sugar sources in the country and soaring local pricing of sugar. Prices of sugar have been up, up to 50%,” John Santa Maria Otazua, Coca-Cola FEMSA’s chief executive officer, said during its Aug. 17 teleconference with investors. A recording of the teleconference was made available on the Coca-Cola FEMSA website.
In 2013, Coca-Cola FEMSA bought the 51% stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines — named Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI), pre-sale — from the Atlanta-based firm for $688.5 million in an all-cash transaction.
Under the deal, Coca-Cola FEMSA was given an option to purchase CCBPI’s remaining 49% stake within seven years of the deal’s close or sell the acquired majority stake back to its parent firm after six years.
Mr. Santa Maria said the firm has sought modifications on its agreement with Coca-Cola Co., but only half of the requested conditions were approved.
“We have a different view on the impact of the excise taxes and the change in the local sugar market dynamics could have in the value and profitability of the operations, elevating the uncertainty level of our original investments in this asset,” Mr. Santa Maria said.
“This was a particularly difficult decision. After more than five years of deploying our capabilities to develop this market, we have included an efficient turnaround. We achieved important milestones such as obtaining 3.5% compounded annual growth rate in volumes, 5% compounded annual growth rate in revenues historic profitability levels, EBITDA margins 12% to 16%; record investments and last year hitting all time system profit highs for the last 15 years,” he added.
Coca-Cola FEMSA invested some $650 million in its Philippine operations in the last five years.
“As always, in Coca Cola FEMSA we are internalizing potential strategic opportunities that exist without being restricted to a territory or region. So we’ll continue to evaluate opportunities in various markets that could even be in Southeast Asian countries,” Mr. Santa Maria said.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s 36th season

THE Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, under maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura, will have eight concerts for its 2018-2019 season — its 36th.
• Sept. 14, Main Theater, Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) — French pianist Monique Dupil opens the season as a soloist. Program includes Greeting Prelude (Happy Birthday), G. Rossini’s Semiramide Overture, Johann Bach’s Sinfonia in Bb, and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major.
• Oct. 12, CCP Main Theater — Violinist Lee Chin Siow is the soloist in the concert. The program includes Berlioz’ Le Corsaire Overture, M. Bruch’s Violin Concerto no. 1 op. 26 G minor, and P.I. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no. 4 op. 36, F minor.
• Nov. 15, Manila Cathedral, Intramuros, Manila — Japanese violinist Ryu Goto will perform with PPO at this special concert whose program includes Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and A. Dvorak’s Symphony no. 8 op. 88 G minor.
• Dec. 14, CCP Main Theater — Filipino violinist Joaquin Gutierrez performs with the PPO under the baton of PPO associate conductor Herminigildo G. Ranera. The program includes Mozart’s Violin Concerto, E. Humperdick’s Hansel and Gretel Prelude to Act One, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite, and Christmas music.
• Jan. 18, 2019, CCP Main Theater — Filipina pianist Hiyas Hila performs with the PPO. The program includes R. Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg Prelude, Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7 op. 92 A major, and Schumann’s Piano Concerto.
• Feb. 8, CCP Main Theater — Hungarian pianist and conductor Tamás Vásáry will lead the PPO in performing Chopin’s Andante spianato, Mozart’s Symphony no. 39 K. 543, e-flat major, and Kodaly’s Variations on a Hungarian Folk song.
• March 15, CCP Main Theater — Cellist Ray Wang performs with the PPO in a program that includes Toshiro Mayuzumi’s Bacchanale, R. Schumann’s Cello Concerto op. 129 A major, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no. 6 op. 64 E minor.
• April 12, CCP Main Theater — To conclude the season, Japanese guitarist Kiyoshi Shomura performs with the PPO in program including F. Mendelssohn’s Symphony no. 4 op. 90, A major, I. Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Guitar Concerto no. 1.

SM Retail ramping up store expansion

SM Retail, Inc. aims to grow the number of stores under its portfolio to 3,000 within the next five years, banking on the increasing spending power of Filipinos alongside the growing economy.
SM Retail Director Jorge T. Mendiola said the company is open to adding more specialty retail brands under its network when the opportunity arises.
Asked when the company targets to hit the 3,000-store mark, Mr. Mendiola told reporters on Aug. 9: “Hopefully soon, probably in the next five years or so. We’re in that mode right now for expansion.”
The retail unit of country’s richest man Henry Sy, Sr. ended the first half of the year with 2,149 stores, consisting of 61 The SM Stores, 1,304 specialty stores, 55 SM Supermarkets, 49 SM Hypermarkets, 190 Savemore stores, 49 WalterMart stores, and 441 Alfamart stores.
For this year alone, the company is set to open four The SM Stores, four SM Supermarkets, 18 Savemore stores, two SM Hypermarkets, and 76 specialty stores, according to a regulatory filing.
To accelerate expansion, the company is considering introducing more foreign brands in the country.
Mr. Mendiola cited the company’s partnership with Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo, saying this has been “fairly successful.”
Aside from Uniqlo, other specialty stores under SM Retail include Ace Hardware, Forever21, Watsons, Crate & Barrel, The Body Shop, Miniso, Toy Kingdom, Kultura, and Surplus.
“We’re always open to anything, if something comes by then we take a look at it and if we think that it will really help us then we will engage,” the SM Retail executive said.
SM Retail is getting a boost from the increased consumer spending as a result of the continued growth of the economy.
“The Philippines is a growing market, at least unemployment is down to five percent. Hopefully with more BPOs and other investments coming in, it would be lower. And of course with employment there’s spending power, and I think that’s key. And there are remittances, it’s really helping us a lot,” Mr. Mendiola said.
SM Retail’s net income went up 10% to P5.7 billion in the first six months of 2018, buoyed by the 10% increase in total sales to P145 billion. Revenues from specialty retail stores alone rose by 17% to P37.3 billion. The company attributed to increase to the expansion of new formats such as Miniso, which ended the first semester with 55 stores.
SM Retail is part of Mr. Sy’s holding firm, SM Investments Corp., which also has core interests in property and banking.
The listed conglomerate reported a nine percent profit growth to P18.1 billion in the first half of the year, driven by a 12% uptick in revenues to P204.9 billion during the period. — Arra B. Francia

Once upon a time… preserving folk tales in Benin

COTONOU, Benin — Dusk settled on Sainte-Cecile square and the oil lanterns cast a soft yellow light as a storyteller took to the stage and bound the audience with a magic spell of words.
The tale was about a naughty little girl who disobeys her parents and whistles at night — a way of summoning evil spirits.
She is attacked by fierce beasts but is saved from death thanks to the courageous intervention of her neighbor, a hunter.
Djimada, a teenage high-school student, was among those who were captivated by the centuries-old story.
“I was always told never to whistle at night but never understood why,” she said. “Now I know.”
The tiny African state of Benin is perhaps best known to the world as the cradle of voodoo.
But this is only part of a rich cultural history that includes a seam of folk tales, many of them handed down from generation to generation by walking storytellers known as “griots.”
Each year, a festival is held in Cotonou, the capital, to honor the proud tradition.
For two nights in mid-August more than 30 communities from across Benin held the event organised by a Franco-Beninese association, Memories of Africa, that is now two decades old.
Amelie Armao, a professional storyteller from France, came to steep herself in Benin’s oral treasures — an extraordinary but vanishing catalogue of spirits, talking animals, magical creatures, kings and queens, heroes and villains and witches.
“I started my career telling African stories,” Armao said. “I find them steeped with meaning, humor and philosophy.”
Like Djimada, this was the first time many people in the audience were hearing the stories, a sobering reflection of the reality that oral storytelling has been losing its cultural prestige.
Chris-Mael Tonoukouin, a private school teacher in Cotonou, came to the square to relive his childhood memories.
“In the good old days, we sat on the floor around a kerosene lamp,” said Tonoukouin.
“We were listening to our grandparents tell these funny stories between humans and animals.”
‘AFRICAN WISDOM’
Tonoukouin can be forgiven for feeling nostalgic.
The oral tradition is being lost little by little, said Raoul Atchaka, a representative of Memories of Africa.
“We must act so that the African wisdom is not forgotten in the tombs of the old people who die,” said Atchaka.
The point of the festival, whose tales are recounted in French and a local language, Fongbe, is get younger people to hear them, “and then teach their children,” he said.
To do this, the association held a storytelling contest in 2000.
More than 1,000 young people took part in the contest to help create several books containing over 1,500 stories.
Getting the stories on paper is critical for Beninese author Carmen Toudonou, who says the future of African fairy tales is not under trees but on pages of books.
“I encourage writers here to be more interested in this genre, to be able to offer our children stories through which they can identify,” Toudonou said.
“We must create African heroes to stand alongside Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood,” she said.
“Then the parents have to read to them very early to make them later lovers of beautiful stories, lovers of reading.”
Transferring this knowledge is important to preserving Africa’s heritage, said Patrice Toton, a Benin storyteller based in France.
“Storytelling is for us a perpetuation of the knowledge, languages, practises and history of peoples,” Toton said.
“It plays a role of conservation of heritage, history, knowledge and perpetuates the identity of peoples.”
He hopes that 100 years from now a child in Benin will still know not to whistle at night, when wild creatures are lurking in the dark. — AFP

San Miguel may get go signal for TPLEx extension by next month

SAN MIGUEL CORP. is the government’s private concessionaire for the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.

THE DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said it is looking to give San Miguel Corp. (SMC) by next month the original proponent status (OPS) for its proposal to extend the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx).
“Sa TPLEx malapit na kami magbigay ng OPS…. Maximum siguro is next month [We’re giving the OPS to TPLEx soon…. Maybe the maximum is next month],” DPWH Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Director Alex G. Bote told reporters on Thursday.
In February, SMC submitted to the government a P23.948-billion unsolicited proposal to build a 59.4-kilometer toll road extending the TPLEx from Rosario, La Union to San Juan, La Union.
The extension has three sections, namely Rosario to Tubao, Tubao to Naguilian, then Naguilian to San Juan.
DPWH Build, Build, Build Committee Chairperson Anna Mae Y. Lamentillo told reporters on Friday that while the proposal for the extension is still under review, they are positive the third phase of the original alignment of TPLEx will be completed by 2019.
“We’re confident that we would be able to finish or to open the entire alignment by next year,” she said.
The original alignment of the 89.31-kilometer TPLEx is divided into three segments: the stretch from Tarlac City to Rosales, Pangasinan; then from there to Urdaneta City, Pangasinan; then from there to Rosario, La Union.
Right of way acquisition and construction of a portion of the third section is on-going. The third section, which stretches from Pozorrubio in Pangasinan to Rosario in La Union, is scheduled to open in June 2019.
SMC is also the government’s private concessionaire for the TPLEx project. — Denise A. Valdez

LANDBANK books higher net profit in 2nd quarter

LAND BANK of the Philippines (LANDBANK) posted a higher net income in the second quarter of the year propelled by steady growth in its loan portfolio.
In a statement sent to reporters on Tuesday, the state-led bank said it logged a net income of P7.8 billion in the April-June period, 5.4% more than the P7.4 billion booked in the same period last year.
LANDBANK President and Chief Executive Officer Alex V. Buenaventura said the increase in its net income was boosted by steady growth in its loan portfolio.
The lender’s total loan book expanded by 27% to P758.7 billion as of end-June from P597.1 billion in the comparable year-ago period, with revenues from loans climbing 30%.
Deposits also grew 15% to P1.5 trillion from P1.3 trillion as of June last year.
Return on equity stood at 13.4%, well above the latest industry average and surpassing the levels reported by the country’s top four banks. LANDBANK’s net interest margin was also above industry average at 3.32%.
Overall, the bank’s assets rose 14% to P1.7 trillion from a year-ago level of P1.48 trillion. Its capital, on the other hand, stood at P117.4 billion.
Mr. Buenaventura said LANDBANK remains among the most profitable banks in the country.
“We are confident about continued growth for the next half of the year,” he was quoted as saying in the statement. “We work hard to maintain the bank’s sound financial position as the profits from our commercial banking operations allow us to further drive support to our priority sectors, especially farmers and fishers.”
In a recent interview, Mr. Buenaventura said the bank sees its loan portfolio growing by “more than 25%” this year supported by corporate and local government financing.
“Our loans are so positive. The credit demand based on our increase in loan portfolio versus last year is so big. It’s a record growth,” Mr. Buenaventura told BusinessWorld.
“Our loans from local government units are very, very strong. Local governments are growing and progressive,” the LANDBANK chief said.
Aside from this, corporate loans will also support the lending expansion of the bank as companies grow their businesses rapidly.
“Our corporate loans are also equally strong. As you know, corporate income is good, and they are in a very expansive mood. This will also drive our growth,” the chief executive added.
Mr. Buenaventura also said the lender is on track to hit its profit target of P16 billion for the year. If met, this will be a climb from its P14.05-billion net profit last year. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

David Hockney could become the most expensive living artist in the world

DAVID HOCKNEY, the 81-year-old British painter of saturated landscapes and portraits, could become the most expensive living artist at auction this year.
Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) is being offered for sale to auction houses by billionaire Joe Lewis, who’s seeking at least $80 million for the work, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The current highest price for a living artist is $58.4 million for Jeff Koons’s orange balloon dog.
Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips have been approached, with Christie’s the front-runner, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the consignment hasn’t been formally announced.
Lewis has built a $5.5 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The foreign currency trader has parlayed his earnings into an array of assets that include London soccer team Tottenham Hotspur, real estate and masterpieces by artists including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.
A current Tate Britain exhibition in London, All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life, includes several works from Lewis’s collection.
A representative for Lewis, the chairman and founder of Bahamas-based Tavistock Group, didn’t return e-mails or a telephone call seeking comment. Christie’s declined to comment on the work or the seller and it’s unclear whether it will be offered during October sales in London or at the semi-annual auctions in New York in November.
ICONIC IMAGE
The 1972 canvas depicts two men: One, fully clothed, stands at the edge of a swimming pool gazing down at another, who is submerged. The hilly landscape behind them was inspired by the South of France. The standing man is Peter Schlesinger, an artist and Hockney’s ex-boyfriend; Hockney was working on the painting at the time when their relationship was ending.
Recently exhibited in Hockney’s retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it was also on loan from Lewis, the work is considered one of his most iconic images. A small study for the scene fetched $2.1 million in 2016.
Lewis’s asking price is a staggering figure even though prices for Hockney’s work have surged in recent months. Sotheby’s set two auction records for Hockney during the same sale in May. The most expensive, a 1990 landscape Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica, fetched $28.5 million. Works by the artist have generated a record $66.6 million at auction this year, up more than 80% from all his auction sales in 2017, according to Artprice, an online database. — Bloomberg

SMDC prepares to build its first condominium project in Davao City

DAVAO CITY — SM Development Corp. (SMDC), the real property arm of the Henry Sy group, has started preparations for the construction of its first condominium project in the city.
Clarinda Luna-Magtulis, SMDC vice-president for marketing, said they are planning to build a residential complex of about 3,700 units, designed similar to their other “communities that are self-contained.” The project will be located within the 10-hectare SM Lanang Premier development.
“People here know city living but without losing the touch of being more relaxed,” Ms. Magtulis told BusinessWorld in an interview after the launching of their showroom last week.
Based on SMDC’s experience from other residential projects, Ms. Magtulis said the developments are usually taken up in three years. “By that time, the units are turned over to their owners immediately,” she added.
Aside from the local market, SMDC is also banking on its clientele from its Metro Manila developments since “these people might be the first to buy in this project,” Ms. Magtulis said.
SMDC, which also has a horizontal project in Pampanga and a condominium project in Bulacan, is already planning to venture in other parts of the country, including Mindanao.
“We have definite plans for other areas, but we are just waiting for the right time,” said Ms. Magtulis.
She added the company will also gauge the Mindanao market based on the reception towards the Davao project, which would mainly target middle-income buyers who are either end-users or investment purchasers.
Ms. Magtulis said when the company was just starting 12 years ago, most of the buyers were end-users, but the ratio has now become 50:50 with those who purchase for an investment.
SMDC has so far built about 30 projects and sold about 85,000 units, of which 50,000 have been turned over to the buyers. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Fixed exchange rate ‘dangerous’ for PHL economy, BSP chief says

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) will not opt to set a fixed exchange rate for the peso, with its chief calling it a “dangerous” move for the economy.
BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said the central bank remains confident that keeping a market-determined exchange rate would shield domestic players from any external shocks, or else run the risk of depleting the country’s dollar reserves just to defend the peso at a certain level.
“Part of our protection and making the economy resilient is deliberately, we are keeping our exchange rate, our peso flexibly determined by the market,” Mr. Espenilla said in a recent speech.
“Some would yearn for the day that we’d like the peso to be fixed — if we say P50, it’s always P50. But that’s a very dangerous path for a small open economy like the Philippines that is constantly being tossed and buffeted by the heavy winds of global developments.”
The peso has been trading above the P53 level against the greenback over the past few weeks, worsened by negative market sentiment towards emerging markets like the Philippines following the Turkish lira’s crisis. Turbulent relations between the United States and China — the world’s biggest economies — are likewise driving currency fluctuations.
The peso averaged P52.1623 versus the dollar from January-July, according to latest central bank data.
This compares to the government’s projection of a P50-53 peso value against the greenback this year. The peso has been described as among the worst performers in the region, having depreciated by around 6.5% so far this year.
“If we commit to something stubbornly against very strong pressures, then we will end up losing our reserves. We’ll end up borrowing more to protect a certain lifestyle,” Mr. Espenilla said.
The country’s gross international reserves slipped to $76.892 billion in July, the lowest level seen in six years as the government settled its foreign debt and as the BSP used the pile to temper sharp swings in the daily peso-dollar rate.
The BSP has been employing a “tactical” approach in managing currency swings in order to control abrupt or steep changes during trading.
“For example for businesses, if exchange rate is guaranteed, they will borrow and borrow abroad because interest rates seem to be low and that creates a path of over-indebtedness. For imports, we want to consume imported because it looks very cheap but in the end it creates deficits,” the BSP governor said.
To add, the BSP chief said exporters will also face problems expanding their operations at a fixed exchange rate regime, as they will not be able to adjust to shifting prices.
“For many good reasons, we allow the peso to move in flexible manner. And that is one of the reasons why we continue to be in stable and resilient position today,” Mr. Espenilla added.
The peso ended Monday’s trading at P53.38 per dollar, stronger than the P53.425 finish last Friday.

The music is fun in Gee Gee at Waterina


By Nickky F. P de Guzman, Reporter
THE music is queen in Gee Gee at Waterina, ang Musikal. The 11 songs, composed by Jesse Lucas, aid in the storytelling and add to the visual spectacle of the one-act play on stage.
The songs are fun and flamboyant. Upbeat songs like “Kon-si-hala,” “True Confession,” and “BFF” elicited giggles from the audience on the night that BusinessWorld watched, while melancholy songs like “Minsan Siyang Naging Akin” and “Huling Habilin” moved the audience as the leads remembered their past and shared their anxieties for the future, but without spoiling the general fun of the entire production. After all, the song and dance numbers feature an all-male ensemble who don skimpy shorts as macho dancers in one scene and then quickly change into ballgowns and blonde wigs for another scene.
Gee Gee at Waterina, ang Musikal is based on real people. Walter Dempster, Jr., better known as Waterina, had been coerced into sex servitude during the Japanese occupation (the late Comedy King Dolphy portrayed his life in the 2000 movie Markova: Comfort Gay), and much later in life Waterina he found himself living in Golden Gays, a retirement home which Pasay councilor Justo C. Justo, a.k.a. Gee Gee, put up for aging homosexual men who had no family able, or willing, to care for them.
Written by Jose Dennis Teodisio, the musical is about the two gay friends who receive a check from Dolphy as payment letting him tell their story in his movie, which was shown in the Metro Manila Film Festival. The bulk of the story revolves around Waterina’s two apprehensions: one, if the moviegoers would learn something from the movie based on his life, and, two, what to do with the paycheck.
Veteran stage actor Roeder B. Camañag is no stranger to the character of Waterina — he has played the character before and has perfected his portrayal of Waterina’s emotions, his qualms and desires, and his happiness and dreams. During the Aug. 17 performance at Arts Above Quezon City, I was made to believe that he was the real-life Waterina.
Norman Peñaflorida, meanwhile, plays Gee Gee, the gay politician who sang the funny song, “Kon-si-hala,” which literally means councilor — but with his emphasis on the last two syllables “hala,” which means to flirt, the sense of the song took a different connotation.
The play opens with Waterina, wearing an floral orange wrap-dress, looking at the mirror, admiring himself, and confirming that he is, indeed, maganda (beautiful). He is singing at the Golden Gays’ rooftop and then something downstairs catches his interest: a young man. He calls to him to come up but is ignored. After some time, Gee Gee, wearing orange jeans and a tank top, joins Waterina on the roof.
Waterina says he’ll give his money to his greatest love and the two go on to sing “Tru Lab” and reminisce about Waterina’s past lovers. To illustrate the song, one by one the ensemble members appear as: a sexy dancer, a tricycle driver, a priest, a plumber, and, lastly, an apron-clad guy whose penis (a prop) dangles in the open. Waterina’s greatest love apparently was Jumbo, who was the town’s kubrador (bet collector).
Because the musical revolves around two flamboyant gays, the jokes are the usual gay tropes we hear in comedy bars and TV shows. When discussing what happened to him during the war, Waterina describes the Japanese soldiers as sakang (bow legged), saying that if the sakang had just told him they wanted sex, he would have agreed anyway — they did not need to rape him. This is the sort of gay joke the play uses which appear funny at first, but there’s really nothing humorous about it.
Before the musical ends, Gee Gee asks his friend if he ever regretted that he chose to live as a flamboyant gay. Waterina says no and the two sing “Out and Proud” and “So What? So What!” and then the whole cast appears on stage in full make up, wigs, glittered gowns, and sky-high heels.
The one-act play closes as it opened. Waterina again sees the young man — now accompanied with another young man. Gee Gee and Waterina — giggling and giddy — call to them to come up to the roof and join them.
Gee Gee at Waterina has performances at Arts Above, West Ave., Quezon City on Aug. 25 and 26, 7 p.m. For tickets go to www.ticketworld.com.ph.
READ: Gee Gee at Waterina: More than a gay story http://www.bworldonline.com/gee-gee-at-waterina-more-than-a-gay-story/

Meralco seeks to raise power generation cost

MANILA ELECTRIC CO. has a legislative franchise to distribute electricity in the cities and municipalities of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal, and certain areas in Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Pampanga.

MANILA ELECTRIC CO. (Meralco) is asking the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for provisional authority to adjust the price of electricity in its power supply agreement (PSA) with a plant in Pagbilao after the tax reform law raised the excise tax on coal.
The rate hike application, jointly filed by Meralco and Therma Luzon, Inc., sought an increase in the power generation cost to P0.0187 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) this year, P0.0425/kWh in 2019, and P0.0667/kWh in 2020 and beyond, should the extension of their PSA is approved.
Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law raised the excise tax on domestic and imported coal starting on Jan. 1, 2018.
“Among other things, the TRAIN Law increased the excise tax on coal from P10.00/metric ton to P50.00/metric ton, effective January 1, 2018. This tax is to increase year-on-year, up to P150.00/metric ton for coal, effective January 1, 2020,” their joint application said.
Ahead of the ERC hearing on the application in September, the companies are asking for provisional authority to adjust the terms of their PSA, and for Meralco to start collecting the rate increase from its customers. The generation cost is collected by Meralco from its customers. It is then remitted to the power generation company.
Aside from the power plant’s generation cost, Meralco is also asking for its own captive generation cost at P0.0013/kWh for 2018, P0.0030/kWh for 2019 and P0.0047/kWh for 2020.
“It bears emphasis that in its Decision dated 17 December 2012, the Honorable Commission recognized the pass-through nature of fuel costs, which include the excise tax on coal,” the companies said.
Meralco said the increase in the excise tax for coal is a mandatory imposition of the TRAIN Law and will have to be included in the monthly fees chargeable to and payable by the distribution utility and consequently recoverable from its customers.
Meralco and Therma Luzon secured ERC approval for their PSA in 2012 for 350 megawatts (MW). They have a pending application to extend the contract when it ends next year. The extended contract from Dec. 26, 2019 to Dec. 25, 2022 is also sought to factor in the higher excise tax on coal.
Meralco has a legislative franchise to distribute electricity in the cities and municipalities of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal, and certain areas in Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Pampanga. It is authorized to charge its customers for their electricity consumption at the rates approved by the ERC.
Therma Luzon is the independent power producer administrator that manages and controls the contracted capacity of the 700-MW coal-fired power generating facility in Pagbilao, Quezon. — Victor V. Saulon

Peso to weaken on Fed

THE PESO may decline this week on likely hawkish US Federal Reserve minutes.

THE PESO is seen to weaken against the dollar for the rest of the week as investors expect the minutes of the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve to support further monetary policy tightening.
The local currency ended Monday’s session at P53.38 versus the greenback, 4.5 centavos stronger than the P53.425-per-dollar finish on Friday.
Land Bank of the Philippines market economist Guian Angelo S. Dumalagan said the peso might give up some of its gains as the market reopens on Wednesday due to likely hawkish minutes from the July 31-Aug. 1 Fed meeting.
“The dollar’s uptrend might continue until Thursday, as the minutes of the latest US monetary policy meeting may once again affirm views of more US rate hikes this year,” Mr. Dumalagan said in an e-mail.
The US central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee opted to leave policy rates unchanged at its last meeting. However, the Fed is widely expected to tighten its benchmark rates at its next meeting next month.
The possible recovery in US existing home sales, Mr. Dumalagan said, could further reinforce the possible hawkish tone of the Fed which will lead to the dollar’s uptick.
However, he added the dollar might move sideways with a downward bias amid positive policy meeting accounts of the European Central Bank (ECB) as well as mixed US and European economic data
“The latest policy meeting accounts may once again reiterate the ECB’s plan to end its bond buying program this year and hike its policy rates by mid-2019,” Mr. Dumalagan noted.
Meanwhile, a foreign exchange trader said the peso will likely move sideways for the rest of the week should the risk appetite among investors remain elevated due to subdued geopolitical tensions.
“The peso might trade the same way. If there’s a shift to a risk-off sentiment due to geopolitical risks, we might see the dollar-peso trading near P53.40-P53.50,” the trader said in a phone interview on Monday.
The trader added that investors are looking at the low-level talks between the United States and China later this week as well as the trade tensions between US and Russia.
China-US talks would take place in Washington on Aug. 21-22, reports suggested, just before US tariffs on Chinese exports and Beijing’s tit-for-tat action are due to take effect.
For the week, Mr. Dumalagan expects the peso to trade between P52.80 and P53.60 versus the dollar, while the trader gave a P53.30-P53.45 range. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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