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FX reserves dip to three-year low

THE COUNTRY’s foreign exchange reserves dipped in May to a fresh three-year low amid lower gold valuations and as the central bank defended the peso.
Gross international reserves (GIR) slid to $78.968 billion last month from $79.609 billion in end-April and the $82.177-billion level at end-May 2017, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Thursday.
That was the lowest level since November 2014’s $78.679 billion, as the government settled more foreign debts and as lower gold prices in the international market drove down the value of the BSP’s gold holdings to $8.197 billion from April’s $8.251 billion.
The BSP also used the reserves to temper sharp swings in peso-dollar trading as part of its “tactical intervention” to keep the currency competitive. The peso hit P52.70 per dollar in May to mark its weakest level in nearly 12 years.
That, in turn, drove up the BSP’s foreign currency holdings to $5.419 billion from $5.197 billion the previous month and $3.638 billion a year ago.
In contrast, the value of the BSP’s offshore investments — which account for bulk of the reserves — declined to $63.714 billion from $64.519 billion in April.
Reserves parked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) totalled $419.3 million as of end-May, marking a second straight month of decline from $424 million as of end-April.
Special drawing rights — the amount which the Philippines can tap in the IMF’s reserve currency basket — steadied at $1.218 billion.
The latest GIR level settled below the BSP’s $80-billion forecast for 2018, and end-2017’s actual $81.57 billion. May reserves can cover 7.7 months’ worth of import payments, which the BSP described as an “ample external liquidity buffer” for the economy.
However, this import cover ratio is the lowest since May 2009.
Still, the ratio is well above the three-month global standard.
“I think that we, among our peers in the region, still have one of the healthiest and largest international reserves,” said Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines.
“If you look at the numbers historically, it is actually dwindling and the number is decreasing. However, at 200% more than what is expected, we are still at a better position.”
The GIR level is also enough to settle the country’s short-term external debt by 5.4 times based on original maturity (outstanding external debt with original maturity of up to one year) and 3.9 times when computed in residual terms (outstanding foreign debt falling due within a year plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months).
International reserves are composed of gold, the BSP’s assets expressed in foreign currencies, country quotas with the IMF, and foreign currency deposits held by government and state-run firms. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Meralco bills to go down for a second month in June

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) has announced on Thursday a P0.1252 per kilowatt-hour (/kWh) reduction in the overall electricity rate for a typical household in June, marking the second straight month of decline.
In a statement, the power distribution utility said the lower rate was mainly because of the decrease in the generation and transmission charges amounting to P0.1556/kWh. The drop more than offset a P0.0733 per kWh increase in the feed-in tariff allowance, or FiT-All.
“This is the second consecutive month of overall rate decrease,” the listed company said.
It said the adjustment would bring down the overall rate to P9.8789/kWh from May’s P10.0041/kWh.
The lower rate is equivalent to a decrease of around P25 in the bill of a residential customer consuming 200 kWh. Corresponding bill reductions for 300 kWh, 400 kWh and 500-kWh customers are P37.56, P50.08 and P62.60, respectively.
Meralco said the lower cost of power from its power supply agreements (PSA) largely brought down the generation charge for the month.
It said from P5.0523/kWh in May, the generation charge for June will go down to P4.9828/kWh.
“The reduction is the result of a P0.4420/kWh decrease in the cost of power from PSAs, mainly due to higher dispatch of Pagbilao Unit 1 and Ilijan Unit 1 as both returned to normal operations after undergoing scheduled maintenance,” the company said in its statement.
Of Meralco’s total requirement in the May supply month, PSA purchases accounted for 45%. Payment for the generation charge by electricity users goes to the power suppliers.
However, cost of power from the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) and independent power producers (IPPs) increased by P0.1954 per kWh and P0.2266 per kWh, respectively.
“As demand for power in the Luzon grid grew by about 239 MW [megawatts], charges from the WESM increased due to higher effective rates of line rentals,” Meralco explained.
“Higher IPP charges, on the other hand, were driven by the weakening of the peso against the US dollar,” the utility said, adding that around 96% of IPP charges are dollar-denominated.
Power sourced from WESM and IPPs accounted for 15% and 40%, respectively, of Meralco’s May supply.
Meralco said that, except for the FiT-all, other charges decreased. Transmission charge to residential customers dropped by P0.0861/kWh due to lower power delivery and ancillary service charges from system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. Meralco added that, with the lower generation and transmission charges, taxes and other charges fell P0.0429/kWh.
The higher FiT-All will be reflected in consumers’ electricity bills starting this month. The FiT-All rate will go up to P0.2563/kWh, after the Energy Regulatory Commission approved an increase of P0.0733/ kWh on the previous rate. FiT-All is a pass-through charge remitted to the National Transmission Corp. Calculated annually, the FiT-All is a uniform charge applied to the kilowatt-hours billed to consumers who are supplied with electricity through the country’s distribution or transmission network. The uniform charge is paid to developers of renewable energy plants. The FiT-All scheme was designed to jump-start development of new power sources such as wind, run-of-river hydropower, solar and biomass plants. — VVS

BSP’s Monetary Board now complete

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has appointed rice expert V. Bruce J. Tolentino as a member of the central bank’s Monetary Board, filling the seat in the policy-making body that was left vacant by Valentin A. Araneta who passed away on Feb. 21.
A June 6 appointment paper which Malacañan Palace released to reporters on Thursday said Mr. Tolentino will serve the remaining period of Mr. Tolentino’s six-year term, ending July 21, 2020.
The Web site of Los Baños-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said Mr. Tolentino has been its deputy director general for Communication and Partnerships since 2012, returning to IRRI after an earlier stint as research associate in IRRI’s Social Science Division in 1980-81. In the latest capacity, he has been involved in fund-raising, communication and partnerships with donors, international and regional organizations, as well as national governments, including agriculture-related ministries and agencies. With a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Hawaii and the East West Center, and a Master’s degree in Economics from Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro, Northern Mindanao, he had also served as undersecretary at the Agriculture department between 1986 to 1993 and has worked besides on projects with nongovernment organizations and state agencies in Asia, Africa and Central America, IRRI added.
Led by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr., the seven-member Monetary Board now also counts as members Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, as well as Antonio S. Abacan, Jr.; Peter B. Favila; Felipe M. Medalla and Juan D. De Zuñiga, Jr.
Mr. Tolentino takes office at a time the BSP has embarked on policy normalization, raising benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points last May 10 — the first time monetary authorities tightened their stance in nearly four years — amid tightening global financial conditions, quickening inflation due to elevated global oil prices and higher excise taxes at home, efforts to further fortify banks’ governance as well as challenges posed by technologies such as increased use of crowdfunding and cryptocurrencies.
His appointment also comes at a time the government plans to shift to a conventional tariff system for rice from the current import quota scheme, in a bid to slash retail prices of the staple by up to P7 per kilogram and 2018 inflation — targeted at 2-4% but currently forecasted to miss that goal at 4.6% — by about 0.4 of a percentage point.
The BSP has a seat in the policy-making council of the National Food Authority, which regulates the country’s grains trading.

Exploring a heritage cuisine

By Michelle Anne P. Soliman, Reporter
While some people may be surprised by the wealth of rich heritage food that can be found just one hour away from Manila in the province of Cavite, it should not really come as a surprise since Cavite was part of the galleon trade where goods and spices were exchanged between Spain and China via the Philippines and Mexico.
The San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Center (SMPFCC) recently hosted a Proba Cavite Comida, a two-day food tour through the province that showcased dining spots reflecting its rich heritage cuisine. “The tour’s stops were carefully chosen to show that Cavite’s culinary scene has so much more to offer other than Bacoor’s famed halo-halo and Carmona’s classic binalot. Proba means tikman (try) and we want to use this tour as a way to promote the province as a great dining destination for anyone looking for food stops near Manila,” SMPFCC Culinary Services Manager Llena Tan-Arcenas was quoted as saying in a press release.
The chosen food establishments feature heritage cuisine and are popular among Caviteños, however these are not familiar to consumers in Manila. “Cavite is not known [destination] for [its] cuisine,” Ms. Arcenas told BusinessWorld in a phone interview, stating that it is about time that the province be recognized.
“Global flavors will continue to heighten but the heritage cuisines will remain in existence for a long time.”

Cavite Republic

City Hall Road, San Agustin, Trece Martires, Cavite

Cavite Republic was founded in 2002 by two-time president of the Cavite Provincial Tourism Board Andrew R. Pacumio, a “patriot of Cavite cuisine, history, and culture,” according to his son — and Cavite Republic owner — Matt Pacumio. The restaurant was put up “due to his (father’s) intense desire of putting up a historic landmark within the province.”
While the restaurant’s rustic interior — with landscape photographs on the white walls which are also adorned with hanging plants — is reminiscent of Hispanic architecture, the menu infuses heritage Cavite cuisine with modern twists.
“We try to keep the traditional flavors, then we infused different ingredients that would not totally change the dish,” the younger Mr. Pacumio told BusinessWorld, indicating that the menu consists of dishes that are 20% heirloom.
Among their specialties are paella valenciana done with a more umami style of cooking, grilled chicken sinampalukan (soured in tamarind), Cavite Express (braised jackfruit in coconut milk), pancit estacion negra (squid in pancit), and crispy dinuguang baboy (pork). For dessert, Cavite Republic offers Lihim ni Lola which was a dish inspired from their grandmother’s desire to create suman (glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and wrapped in leaves). The suman is shaped like a puto (a small muffin-shaped rice cake) with salted egg filling and topped with latik (coconut milk curds).

Bernie’s Kitchenette

843 Midtown Bldg., Molina St., Cavite City

For restaurant owner Bernadita Rojas-Fontanilla, often called Bernie, one does not have to be a trained chef to be a good cook — she wasn’t. “Preparing food is quite challenging, it is not as easy as one might think,” Ms. Fontanilla said, noting that exposure to fastfood threatens the appreciation for real cooking and this is “what drives me to put up a restaurant and serve good food.”
At the tour stop, guests were served two different kinds of pansit (noodle dishes): pansit pusit, which incorporates squid ink in its savory sauce and is topped with chicharon (pork rind), and kinchay (Chinese celery), and mangoes (completing the terno-terno [matching] concept of mixing food of the same color), and pansit puso, served with kinilaw na puso ng saging (banana heart “cooked” in vinegar). These were complemented with crispy lao-lao (fried fish), morcon (a savory meat roll), and bacalao (sautéed salt cod), a dish that is usually served on Good Friday.

The Abad heritage house


Built in the 1820s, the Abad heritage house is one of the oldest houses in Tanza. For the three Abad brothers — Moises, a doctor; Cenon, a lawyer; and Julio, a judge — the house was not not just a home, it was a clinic (for Moises), and a center for the production of patis and bagoong(fermented fish sauce and paste). The house — which is not usually open to public — is currently maintained by Sabina Abad, the daughter of Cenon Abad.
Formerly the culinary director at the Lyceum of the Philippines, chef Chris Bautista arrived at the house to demonstrate two dishes: pipian, a Spanish-inspired chicken dish similar to kare-kare (a peanut sauce-based stew); and sampalok (tamarind) leaves-flavored tinumis which looks similar to dinuguan (a stew of pork innards and blood).
Mr. Bautista said that he has observed that Filipino chefs have been wanting to push for a greater appreciation of Filipino cuisine and the renewed interest in heritage cooking.
“Back five years or 10 years ago, there was already an emergence in Filipino cooking in the [United] States,” Mr. Bautista said. However, there was a tendency to Americanize Filipino food. “Fans of Filipino cuisine want to make sure that we keep the truest form of Filipino food. We can’t do it aboard, we have to do it here.” Mr. Bautista noted that being familiar with our cuisine and knowing what tastes good and bad would help preserve its identity.

Mang Jose’s Rolling Kitchen

Beside the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite

Mimi Hernandez worked in Cambodia where she began a small food business. Shortly, after she returned to the Philippines, she continued her business ventures in Cavite to help her family after her husband left his political career.
Mang Jose’s Rolling Store — popular for its dishes cooked in a wood-burning oven known as a pugon — began as a food truck in 2017. According to Ms. Hernandez, it was named after her husband and sons who are all called “Jose.” Its specialty dishes include boneless lechon belly, inasal(barbecue), Crispy sisig (a sizzling plate of chopped pig head and liver) partnered with talong (eggplant), and their best-selling tahong (mussels).
“We give our best when it comes to food so that people will like it,” Ms. Hernandez said.

Olivia’s Coffee

059 Bukal, Amadeo, Cavite

Being the granddaughter of a coffee and rice farmer, and the daughter of a coffee farmer and store owner, Olivia Bawag Lansang, was sent to school through the fruits of coffee farming. In Bulacan, her grandfather farmed a 20-hectare coffee plantation, while her father worked on 10 hectares.
Ms. Lansang continued her family’s legacy when she opened Olivia’s Coffee in 1995 and began coffee trading, buying raw coffee beans and selling them. A year later, the business began processing coffee beans with a locally made air roasting machine. Today, the café serves coffee made with a number of coffee bean varieties — arabica, robusta, liberica, and excelsa.
Asked what makes coffee unique from other drinks, Ms. Lansang said: “Coffee is the first drink we think of when we want to keep awake. It’s more of what coffee does for your brain and energy.
“The sentimental value of family heritage is there. It’s a legacy. Anything about coffee, that’s where my interest is,” she said.

Weinstein Co. must face sexual harassment suit, judge rules

WEINSTEIN CO. must return to New York court to face a lawsuit by women who say the firm is responsible for alleged sexual misconduct by founder Harvey Weinstein, a federal judge ruled.
The bankrupt film company is no longer shielded from the lawsuit because it plans to sell all of its assets and is no longer in business, US Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath ruled. The decision could help a group of women who say they want to represent potentially “hundreds” of plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit who may have been sexually abused by Weinstein.
During the hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, the Weinstein Co. also lost its fight to keep Harvey Weinstein’s employment contract secret. That document shows that Harvey Weinstein’s actions were facilitated by the company, Jeffrey Waxman, a bankruptcy lawyer for the alleged victims, said in court. Weinstein Co. attorney Paul Zumbro declined to comment.
“Weinstein’s widespread sexual misconduct did not occur without the help of others,” lawyers for the women said in a court filing. The Weinstein Co. “is responsible for Weinstein’s sexual offenses because Weinstein acted within the scope of his employment and/or TWC ratified or concealed Weinstein’s conduct.”
“The motion granted today brings victims one step closer to the day in court we deserve, in allowing our case to move forward,” Melissa Thompson, one of the women who have sued Weinstein, said in an e-mail. “I am overwhelmingly grateful as this decision marks another important milestone toward a new standard of accountability to abuses of power.”
Weinstein Co. had objected to the suits proceeding in New York district court, saying they would distract the company from an “efficient and orderly liquidation process.” Weinstein’s attorney has said he will plead not guilty to charges of felony sex crimes by Manhattan’s district attorney.
The bankruptcy case is The Weinstein Company Holdings LLC, 18-10601, US Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington). — Bloomberg

Seungri goes solo

By Cecille Santillan-Visto
Concert Review
Seungri, Glory & TPA
June 2, midnight
Cove Manila, Okada Manila
THE PECULIARITY with male Korean pop groups is that at some point in their career, the band will go on hiatus. By force of circumstances — or more aptly, due to the mandatory military service required of able-bodied adult male Koreans — groups either go on an involuntary 24-month respite or perform as an incomplete unit or members pursue solo careers while waiting for their band to regroup.
It is no different for Seungri of the phenomenal K-pop group, Big Bang.
With Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon, lead vocalists Taeyang and Daesung, and rapper T.O.P. now serving in the Korean armed forces, the youngest member Seungri has been given the unique opportunity to embark on more solo projects.
Over the weekend, the 27-year-old Seungri showed that he can command an audience and own the stage even without the support of his sunbae (senior members). He performed to a jampacked crowd at the Cove Manila of Okada Manila, with veteran Korean DJs TPA and Glory as his back-up.
Clad in a simple white shirt with a jeepney graphic, white pants, rubber shoes, and a red cap, and without a trace of his usual heavy stage makeup, Seungri was not 1/5 of a group when he entertained his Filipino fans last Saturday. He was the main act and he mixed, sang, and danced obviously elated that he was playing to a sold-out audience. The audience members paid to see Seungri — whom they last saw in the Manila leg of Big Bang’s MADE concert in July 2015 — and the VIPs (the Big Bang fandom) did not go home disappointed.
The singer-actor, who also has a number of Korean dramas and reality shows under his belt, kicked off his performance by demonstrating his DJing skills. He received help from Glory and TPA, who are both master music mixers and talents from Seungri’s electronic music label, Natural High Records.
He spun electronic dance music, unsurprising liberally peppering his repertoire with snippets of Big Bang hits. His fans came in full force, raising Big Bang’s signature yellow light sticks as he dished out song after song from the DJ’s booth.
Cove Manila, a 9,000-square meter indoor beach club and nightclub, was Seungri’s playground for the night. VIP guests who steered clear of the mosh pit enjoyed the show from the elevated platforms or in the comfort of the exclusive cabanas which also broadcast the show live.
Although not known for his strong vocals, Seungri sang abridged versions of Big Bang hits such as “Bang, Bang, Bang” from the MADE album and “Good Boy.” He somehow made up for his relatively short vocal range by performing with gusto.
He ended his main set with “Fantastic Baby,” one of Filipino fans’ favorite Big Bang songs.
While his English is limited, he managed to update his fans on his life without Big Bang.
“My solo album is going to be out. I have 10 amazing songs for you,” he said, promising that he will return for a solo concert in Manila.
Seungri is not new to the Filipino club scene. Prior to his Cove Manila show, he also had a one-night stint in a club in Cebu. Last October, he was a guest DJ in Valkyrie, performing with label mate, 2NE1’s Dara Park.
The time off from his band allows Seungri, whose stage name literally translates to “victory,” to pursue his passions without perceived limitations. He obviously has miles to go before he can earn recognition for his DJing. But the spotlight is on him and having been largely identified as part of a blockbuster band, holding his own is itself a feat.

Julia Fordham returns to PHL this month

BRITISH singer-songwriter, Julia Fordham, best known for her songs “Love Moves in Mysterious Ways” and “Porcelain,” among others, is performing in Manila on June 22 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay City.
The concert, titled Reminiscing Concert Series: Happy Ever After, will see Ms. Fordham sing the songs which have became landmarks of her 30-year music career.
Ms. Fordham and Filipinos have had an ongoing love affair since she first performed in the country in 1994 — she has returned to perform multiple times since.
Ms. Fordham released her self-titled debut album in 1988, which reached a modest No. 20 on the UK charts while the single, “Happy Ever After,” peaked at 27 in the country’s Top 40. Both the album and the single took the top spots in Japan’s charts.
She found continued success in Japan as her succeeding albums, Porcelain (1989) and Swept (1991) also went to the top of its charts.
In 2007, she released a compilation album called Songbook — a Philippines-only release featuring previous studio recordings as well as live cuts and rare tracks.
After finishing a 15-show tour in her home country in 2013, Ms. Fordham released a tribute video for Nelson Mandela who died in the same year. The video was set to “Happy Ever After,” a song that was said to have been inspired by Mandela’s struggle through the apartheid years, his imprisonment, and presidential years.
The following year, she released her Language of Love album, a collection of cover songs given her sultry, jazzy treatment. The songs include “Moon River” from the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Blondie’s “Call Me,” Eurythmics’ “Who’s That Girl,” and Janis Ian’s “Seventeen.”
This month, Ms. Fordham is performing in Manila for a one-night show at Newport Performing Arts Theater on June 22, 8 p.m., with guests Colin Ryan and NeoColours.
Tickets — which range in price from P3,227 to P9,143 — are available at the Resorts World Manila Box Office (908-8888) and at TicketWorld (ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999). — ZBC

Pop star David Cassidy told documentary makers he lied about dementia, drinking

LOS ANGELES — Former teen idol David Cassidy did not have dementia, as he claimed before he died, and lied about giving up drinking, the singer told the makers of a documentary about him in the months before his death.
Cassidy, 67, who shot to fame in the 1970s TV show The Partridge Family, died of organ failure at age 67 in Florida in November 2017, nine months after declaring he was fighting dementia in a bid to stave off reports about odd behavior.
But in an excerpt released on Wednesday from documentary David Cassidy: The Last Session, Cassidy told producers that his problems were due to alcoholism.
“I have a liver disease,” Cassidy told one of the producers in a recorded telephone call after an emergency hospital admission in September. “There is no sign of me having dementia at this stage of my life. It was complete alcohol poisoning. The fact is, I lied about my drinking,” he added.
Cassidy, whose hits “Cherish” and “I Think I Love You,” had teen girls swooning in the 1970s, was arrested three times for drunken driving between 2010 and 2014 and ordered to rehab as part of his sentence in 2014.
Speaking of his alcoholism, Cassidy told the documentary producers, “I did it to myself, to cover up the sadness and the emptiness.”
The documentary, which was chronicling the singer’s attempts to make a comeback and cope with dementia, was filmed in the months before his death and is due to be broadcast on cable channel A&E on June 11.
Cassidy, who was married three times, left a son, Beau, and a daughter Katie.
“We, the Cassidy family, were not affiliated with the A&E documentary. All we are interested in is maintaining the legacy of the icon he was,” Beau Cassidy said in a statement on Wednesday.
Co-producer Saralena Weinfield told People magazine that the documentary makers were unsure at first what to do with the footage and the telephone recording.
“We didn’t want to exploit him. But ultimately he was honest about what killed him and we decided that his legacy would be best served if we shared that,” Weinfield told People in an interview released on Wednesday. — Reuters

Del Monte Philippines defers IPO

DEL MONTE Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) has delayed what would have been the country’s first initial public offering this year, citing the current volatility in the local stock market.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday, DMPI’s parent firm Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) said it would postpone the issuance until market conditions improve.
“Market conditions continue to be volatile and the company has been advised by its bankers and advisors that it would be in the best interest of the company and DMPI to defer the offering until such time when the market conditions improve,” DMPL said.
DMPI had expected to raise up to P13.5 billion in the share sale, with pricing originally set to be announced on Wednesday.
This marked the second time that DMPI has postponed its IPO. The company had initially targeted listing at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) last April, but was prompted to push back its issuance to give way to the stock rights offering of several lenders at the time amounting to around P110 billion.
The Philippine stock market is considered the worst performer in Southeast Asia, as the peso’s weakness and high inflation weighed on investor sentiment. The benchmark PSE index (PSEi) has plunged back to the 7,500 level after hitting a peak of 9,058 last Jan. 29.
Analysts noted the significant exit of foreign investors from the local market, with net foreign selling already at P48 billion by the end of May, almost reversing the P56-billion net purchases seen last year, according to a weekly market report by Eagle Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun.
The local unit of the canned fruit manufacturer had already secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PSE to proceed with the offering last May 24 and May 31, respectively.
The planned share sale consisted of up to 587.44 million common shares priced at a maximum of P29.88 each, allowing the company to raise up to P17.5 billion in fresh capital.
DMPI had scheduled to offer the shares to the public from June 8 to 18, with listing at the main board of the stock exchange by June 25. The company would have been the first to take its shares public this year, ahead of property developer D.M. Wenceslao & Associates, Inc. (DMWAI).
DMWAI is set to price its IPO on Friday, with the offer period set to run from June 18 to 22. The company, which is developing Aseana City in Manila, looks to list its shares at the PSE by June 29.
DMPI is an indirect subsidiary of DMPL through Del Monte Pacific Resources Ltd.’s Central American Resources, Inc. DMPI sells canned pineapple juice and juice drinks, canned pineapple and tropical mixed fruits, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and tomato ketchup. — Arra B. Francia

Movies that gave a little something extra


By Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
(Warning: The following column is brimming with spoilers about movies old and new. If you haven’t seen Deadpool 2 yet and you’re planning to see Deadpool 2, don’t get mad at me if you read this before seeing Deadpool 2.)
AS YOU’D expect with a fourth-wall-breaking, wink-at-the-viewer film such as Deadpool 2, the bonus scenes popping up during the closing credits are especially clever and self-referential.
My favorite involves Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson/Deadpool traveling back in time to dissuade Ryan Reynolds from doing the 2011 disaster that was Green Lantern.
And when I say dissuade, I mean Deadpool approaches Reynolds as the actor holds the script for Green Lantern — and he shoots Reynolds in the head.

*****

The movie is over, but wait, there’s still a bit more of the movie to come. It’s like a little cookie placed on the saucer of your after-dinner coffee.
In the Marvel Universe, the end credits bonus scene, or “stinger,” or “cookie,” has become such a staple that diehard fans stay in their seats at the end of the movie, patiently waiting for their treat.
But the cookie is not a 21st-century innovation. It goes back at least 60 years. (Some say it goes all the way back to 1903’s The Great Train Robbery, when the story ends, and the lead villain — who has just been killed — reappears and takes direct aim at the audience and fires.)
In the original Ocean’s 11 — I mean the original-original, from 1960 — after the dramatic conclusion of the story proper, we dissolve to a shot of Sammy Davis, Jr., still in character, walking down the Strip in the cold light of day as the soundtrack plays Davis singing “Eee-Oh-Eleven”:
“Show me a man without a dream, and I’ll show you a man that’s dead …”
We see the rest of the gang, as the credits start to roll, listing Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, et al. Eventually they walk past a marquee for the Sands, advertising a show starring…
Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop.
Rat Pack meta!

*****

Starting with From Russia With Love (1963), the James Bond films would feature a title card after the end credits, announcing the next adventure:
“NOT QUITE THE END
“JAMES BOND will return in the next Ian Fleming thriller, GOLDFINGER.”
The 1979 classic — yes, classic — The Muppet Movie is often credited as the film that took the end-credits cookie to the next level.
After “THE END,” we see the Muppets in a movie theater, reacting to the movie itself. It ends with Animal telling the audience to “Go home!” (Seven years later, a post-credits Ferris Bueller would echo the line, saying to the audience, “You’re still here? Go home!”)
I loved the stinger in Airplane! (1980). At the beginning of the film, pilot-turned-cabdriver Ted Striker (Robert Hays) tells a passenger, “I’ll be right back!” and then races into the airport.
We quickly forget about that passenger as the Airplane! adventure unfolds, but during the end credits, we return to the poor guy, who is still in the back of the cab and says, “Well, I’ll give him another 20 minutes, but that’s IT.”

*****

Another batch of cookies: the end-credits “blooper” sequences, featuring the actors from the comedy we’ve just seen improvising jokes and/or screwing up lines, prompting uproarious laughter from the performers and the crew.
As a rule, the less funny a comedy is, the more likely we’re going to see a blooper reel during the credits. The father of the blooper reel is stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham, who spotlighted Burt Reynolds messing up lines and cracking wise in the end-credits sequences for movies such as Smokey and the Bandit II and The Cannonball Run.
Perhaps the most tone-deaf placement of a gag reel: After the beautiful and provocative and sly and elegiac Being There (1979), with an ending that invited thoughtful and passionate debate, we were shown a scene of Peter Sellers repeatedly flubbing his lines in a scene that wasn’t in the final cut of the movie. Sellers was reportedly furious at the studio for undercutting the movie with the cheap stunt.
We’ve experienced tasty cookies in movies ranging from School of Rock to Ghost World to Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace to the Harry Potter movies to countless Pixar films to Saving Mr. Banks, but by far the most highly anticipated and most obsessively dissected cookies of the 21st century are created in the Marvel Universe.
One of my favorite Marvel cookies was the Iron Man 2 after-credits scene, set in New Mexico. Agent Coulson gets out of a car and observes a giant crater buzzing with activity.
He pulls out his phone and says, “Sir, we’ve found it.”
Zoom in on a close-up of… THOR’S HAMMER.
Too great. Sure, it’s really nothing more than glorified advertising, but still: too great. — Andrews McMeel Syndication

New MCIA terminal to service int’l flights starting on July 1

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
LAPU-LAPU CITY, MACTAN — President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday led the inauguration of the second terminal of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA), which is expected to ease congestion at the Philippines’ second busiest gateway.
The three-storey terminal covering 65,500 square meters (sq.m.) will service solely international flights starting July 1. MCIA’s Terminal 1 will be dedicated for domestic flights.
The P17.5-billion MCIA expansion was the biggest public-private partnership (PPP) project awarded by the Aquino administration. In 2014, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), a joint venture of Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure Ltd. and Megawide Construction Corp., won the contract for the project and the concession to operate and maintain MCIA for 25 years.
“As one of the finest airports in Asia, this will showcase the best of what the Philippines has to offer. The construction of the second terminal of MCIA shows that the government and private sector as partners are committed to provide people with the necessary infrastructure to be more productive and provide more meaningful lives,” Mr. Duterte said in a speech during the terminal’s inauguration.
He added that this will spur economic activity in Cebu and the Visayas region.
“Without doubt this project will result to inclusive growth in the countryside… As we look forward to a promising future for Cebu and the rest of the Visayas, I call upon MCIA and the rest of the Cebuano community to join us in developing the potential of localities,” Mr. Duterte said.
Terminal 2 will be able to accommodate eight million passengers annually, bringing MCIA’s total capacity to 12.5 million.
“For the past years, MCIA’s demand has exceeded the physical capacity of its terminal. With the addition of Terminal 2, not only will we be able to sustainably cope with the steadily increasing number of passengers, we will also be able to open Cebu to more international flights,” GMCAC President Manuel Louie B. Ferrer said.
The MCIA is the country’s second largest airport facility, servicing around 10 million passengers in 2017, well beyond its 4.5-million capacity.
To-date, the airport offers a total of 25 international destinations and 30 domestic destinations through its 26 partner airlines.
With the second terminal’s opening, GMCAC said it expects passenger traffic to reach 11.2 million this 2018, 12% higher than the year before.
GMCAC Chairman Srinivas Bommidala noted the company remains optimistic on the Philippines’ growth.
“Terminal 2 is a testament to GMR Group’s credentials as a leading global airport developer and operator. We are optimistic about the Philippines’ growth story, specifically in aviation, and look forward to contributing further to its ongoing Build, Build, Build program,” Mr. Bommidala said.
Among the features of Terminal 2 are 48 check-in counters (expandable to 72), provisions for seven passenger boarding bridges (expandable to 12), and 12 escalators and 15 elevators. There is also a parking facility that can accommodate up to 750 cars.
The terminal will also house 3,000 sq.m. of gross leasable spaces that will cater to retail and commercial establishments, including a walk-through Duty Free store.
The group tapped Hong Kong-based Integrated Design Associates to give add resort-inspired elements to the new terminal. For instance, the roof is made up of an array of glulam arches spanning 30 meters, minimizing the number of columns in the building.
British firm SSP Group, meanwhile, will manage the terminal’s food and beverage segment. This is the same group that operates some of the busiest airports in the world such as London’s Heathrow Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
GMCAC is also proposing to build a second runway for MCIA, but this is still up for review by the Department of Transportation.
The GMR-Megawide consortium earlier this year submitted a proposal to the government to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for $3 billion, going against a proposal made by a group composed of seven of the country’s largest conglomerates.

Kate Spade was under treatment for depression

NEW YORK — Designer Kate Spade, who committed suicide in New York this week, had been treated for depression and anxiety for five years, her husband said Wednesday. “She was actively seeking help for depression and anxiety over the last five years, seeing a doctor on a regular basis and taking medication for both depression and anxiety,” her husband Andy Spade said in a statement carried by The New York Times. It was a blunt rebuke to claims by the designer’s sister that Kate Spade needed mental health care but refused treatment over concerns about potentially hurting the light-hearted brand. The death of the 55-year-old star designer, whose body was found Wednesday in her Park Avenue apartment, “was not unexpected by me,” Spade’s older sister Reta Saffo told The Kansas City Star from her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Celebrity news website TMZ cited police sources as saying Spade had fallen into depression in recent weeks after her husband left her and was seeking divorce. Andy Spade said that the couple had been living apart but in the same neighborhood, caring for their 13-year-old daughter Bea. — AFP

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