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‘Aggressive’ negative list under review

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Reporter
THE PROPOSED 11th Regular Foreign Investment Negative List, which will be more “aggressive” in opening up more economic sectors to foreign ownership or participation, is undergoing careful review to make sure it is legally sound, an economic planning official said in a recent interview.
The new list was supposed to have replaced last year the existing roster that took effect in 2015.
Asked on progress of the new list, Rosemarie G. Edillon, undersecretary for Policy and Planning at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said the document has yet to reach President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s (PRRD) desk. “The 11th RFINL is with OES (Office of the Executive Secretary) for legal review before it is endorsed for PRRD’s signature,” Ms. Edillon said in a mobile phone message last Thursday.
Ms. Edillon said that the government is making sure that the proposed liberalization of more sectors does not violate the constitution nor any other law, as the directive of the NEDA Board, led by Mr. Duterte, was to be as “aggressive as possible.”
Malacañang zeroed in on eight sectors and activities in its bid to further ease limits to foreign participation and ownership under Memorandum Order No. 16, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea on Nov. 21 last year. “To raise the Philippines’ level of competitiveness… the NEDA Board and its member agencies are hereby directed to take immediate steps to lift or ease existing restrictions on foreign participation in the following investment areas or activities,” the order read, enumerating private recruitment; practice of professions where allowing foreign participation will redound to public benefit; contracts for construction and repair of locally funded public works; public services “except activities and systems that are recognized as public utilities such as transmission and distribution of electricity, water pipeline distribution system and sewerage pipeline system”; culture, production, milling, processing and trading — except retailing — of rice and corn and acquiring these grains “and by-products”; teaching at higher education levels; as well as retail trade and domestic trade enterprises.
“There has to be some legal scrubbing; they need to very very sure,” Ms. Edillon said.
“If you ask me then we’re way past. But then, I understand that it’s better to be sure. Be aggressive, but we still want to be within the bounds of the law.”
According to the NEDA official, “drastic” additions in the new list include opening up of training centers to foreign participation, as well as the practice of professions that do not require a license. “I think the most drastic changes that we’re slightly iffy with, is with respect to opening up of training centers for higher level skills development. It doesn’t form part of our hierarchical education structure, meaning short-term courses like data analytics, programming,” she explained in a phone call interview on Monday. “Also… teaching in higher education, especially those that do not require licensure; for instance: mathematics, economics, English.”
The 10th two-year RFINL issued in 2015 had retained virtually unchanged the preceding roster of domestic activities and sectors restricted to foreign participation: licensed professions; retail; cooperatives; private security agencies; small-scale mining; utilization of marine resources; ownership, operation and management of cockpits; and manufacture, repair, stockpiling and/or distribution of nuclear weapons.
Foreigners can have limited stakes of up to 25% in private recruitment for local or overseas employment and construction and repair of locally-funded works like infrastructure and foreign-assisted projects.
Areas where foreigners can own up to 30% are: advertising; exploration, development and utilization of natural resources; private lands; public utilities; education; rice and corn administration; financing and investment companies; supplies to state-owned corporations and agencies; defense-related structures; public utility franchises; and private domestic and overseas construction contracts.
The list of industries allowing up to 40% foreign ownership include security; defense; those industries that pose a risk to health and morals, such as gambling, bath houses and massage clinics; and small-scale and medium-scale enterprises of a certain size.
‘BETTER LATE THAN NEVER’
Sought for comment, the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (AmCham) Senior Advisor John D. Forbes said in an e-mail yesterday that the group has “encouraged liberalization of the FINL for two decades.”
“Based on President’s Duterte’s MO 16, we anticipate the forthcoming FINL will represent the most serious effort yet of any administration to level the playing field for foreign investors. We look forward to its release,” Mr. Forbes said.
For European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines President Guenter Taus, release of the new negative list would be “better late than never.” At the same time, Mr. Taus welcomed the scheduled enactment on Monday evening of the Ease of Doing Business Act that will streamline regulatory processes as well as of other “existing laws in order to facilitate the entry of foreign players into the local market.”
NEDA’s Ms. Edillon said that the government will pursue amendments to other laws like the Public Service Act that will open up telecommunications and other utilities to greater foreign participation, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act that will do the same to this sector.

House mulls power for President to defer tax hike

THE HOUSE COMMITTEE on ways and means will study the option of giving President Rodrigo R. Duterte the power to suspend tax increases under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law amid concerns over elevated prices of consumer goods, the head of the panel said in a television interview on Monday.
Despite Republic Act No. 10963 already having a provision to suspend succeeding petroleum excise tax hikes triggered when global oil prices reach a certain threshold, House ways and means committee chairman Dakila Carlo E. Cua (Quirino) said that Congress may introduce more safeguards.
“Pag kulang pa ‘yan (If the safeguard under the law does not suffice), we can also legislate further enhancements. Bigyan natin yung Presidente ng kapangyarihan (We could give the President the authority) to suspend other features. Kung kailangan natin ‘yan (If we need more safeguards), why not?” Mr. Cua said yesterday in an interview with Cignal TV’s One News.
“That’s the option we’re thinking of,” he added, noting that the possibility had been discussed when TRAIN was still a bill.
“I’m open to pushing for that authorization so it can be studied and targeted.”
Offhand, he said, suspending hikes in fuel excise tax provided under the law will benefit the rich more than the poor, since the top 13 million richest households account for 50% of the petroleum consumption.
“But for me, the most important is the rollout of social benefits,” he added.
Mr. Cua said that such measure is possible, as he recalled that the administration of former president Gloria M. Macapagal-Arroyo moved to delay the coverage of fuel in the extended value-added tax program.
The concerns came as inflation clocked 4.5% in April — the fastest clip in more than five years — bringing the four-month average to 4.1%, which is above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2-4% target for full-year 2018.
That prompted the central bank last May 10 to raise benchmark interest rates for the first time in nearly four years by 25 basis points in response to elevated inflationary pressures, even as monetary authorities said price pressures should moderate in 2019.
The Department of Finance (DoF) in a separate statement yesterday has defended the TRAIN law, saying it only contributed only 0.4 of a percentage point to April’s inflation reading, and of that amount, increases in petroleum taxes only accounted for 0.2 of a percentage point.
Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua has said that high world oil prices, triggered by unexpected geopolitical and global economic developments, have been responsible for the pump price hikes, together with the peso’s sharp depreciation.
Mr. Chua said that “the DoF does not have any plans of immediately suspending the increased rates of excise taxes on petroleum products for 2018 as this is not the mechanism sanctioned by law.”
The law reads that the “scheduled increase in the excise tax on fuel… shall be suspended when the average Dubai crude oil price based on Mean of Platts Singapore for three months prior to the scheduled increase of the month reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel.”
Reuters has reported that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as top producer but non-OPEC member Russia, started withholding supplies in 2017 to tighten the market and prop up prices, which in 2016 fell to their lowest in more than a decade at less than $30 per barrel. Prices have soared since the start of the cuts last year, with Brent breaking through $80 per barrel earlier this month. But prices have been on the downtrend lately in the face of unabated US production gains and statements by Saudi Arabia and Russia that they may increase supplies.
Moreover, Mr. Chua said that the Finance department “is working closely with the lead implementing agencies of projects related to TRAIN to ensure that the mitigating measures will be delivered to the people at the soonest possible time while ensuring the least leakage.”
This year, the poorest 50% of Filipino households will receive P200 a month in state subsidies, which will increase to P300 a month in 2019 and 2020. The DoF said that the Department of Social Welfare and Development has so far released some P4.3 billion to the Land Bank of the Philippines for some 1.8 million beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, with cash transfers conditional on recipients ensuring their children go to school and avail of preventive healthcare. Another 2.6 million household beneficiaries are in the process of getting their cash subsidies in May and June. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Watchdog flags competition issues with Grab deal

THE PHILIPPINE Competition Commission (PCC) noted in a report released on Monday that Grab Holdings, Inc.’s acquisition of the Southeast Asian business of rival Uber Technologies has led to a surge in prices and deteriorating service quality.
In an executive summary of its statement of concerns, PCC’s Mergers and Acquisitions Office (MAO) found that Grab Holdings’ and MyTaxi.PH Inc.’s purchase of Uber and Uber Systems Inc. on March 25 “has resulted and will likely continue to result in substantial lessening of competition” in the ride-hailing market.
Before the transaction, Grab prices were “flat to declining,” but weeks after the sale saw “higher fares and increased frequency of surge-pricing applied.”
The findings were from the monitoring of 27,648 booking requests and mystery shopper surveys involving 1,104 rides, according to MAO’s report that was e-mailed to reporters on Monday.
“Results of the market investigation, as well as comments from the riding public on the effects of the transaction submitted to the Office, indicate that the quality of services of Grab has decreased post-Transaction in the following manner: increased driver cancellation; forced cancellation of rides; and increased waiting times,” the statement read.
“This is compounded by the loss of a competitor in Uber where trips were less likely to be cancelled due to features which mask the destination of a prospective rider until the start of a trip,” it added.
“While the Office notes that there are new entrants to the relevant market, historical data show that it would take a significant amount of time and cost for these new players to grow a driver and rider base sufficient to contest the incumbent. During such period, Grab will not be constrained by any competitor, allowing it to exercise its market power in the relevant market,” it explained.
“Therefore, the Office finds that new entrants in the relevant market are not likely to exert sufficient competitive pressure on Grab.”
This price surge came despite an increase in the supply of drivers for Grab as several Uber drivers transferred.
“Post-Transaction prices of Grab indicate that prices are increasing, while quality of service is deteriorating, to the detriment of the riding public,” the statement read further, noting that passenger surveys and interviews indicated more trip cancellations by drivers and longer waiting times.
“The Transaction results in Grab being able to profitably increase its prices given its market share as riders will not shift to other modes of public transportation,” it noted, adding that other parties’ “entry into the… market will not be timely, likely and significant such that a new entrant will not serve as a competitive constraint against Grab.”
PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a press conference at PCC’s headquarters in Pasig City that the entry of new ride-hailing companies will not be enough to revive competition in a market that is dominated by a “near monopoly.”
“‘Yung sinasabi naming substantial lessening of competition, pinatunayan dito sa report,” Mr. Balisacan said in the briefing.
“Considering that Grab now holds a near monopoly of both the driver and customer base in the relevant market, Grab can unilaterally raise its prices and reduce the quality of its services, as it experiences no sufficient competitive constraint from any other market participant,” the statement read.
Both companies were notified about MAO’s findings on May 22 and have until this Friday to comment. — Janina C. Lim

Duterte sacks OGCC head during speech

President Rodrigo R. Duterte in his speech on Monday, May 28, lashed out and sacked the head of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) for favoring a freeport locator in granting gambling permits beyond its territorial jurisdiction.
“May I call the government corporate counsel now. Are you here? Because if you are, get out.. You are fired,” Mr. Duterte said, calling out government corporate counsel Rudolf Philip B. Jurado, during his speech after signing the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 at the Palace on Monday evening.
Mr. Duterte blasted Mr. Jurado for the latter’s reported issuance of a legal opinion that said APECO can operate outside the Aurora Economic Zone as long as it was within areas controlled by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
“When [APECO is] granted a franchise to conduct gambling in a certain facility, it does not include farming out that franchise to other cities and provinces. If that’s the case, then you can ramble on, following your theory, you can ramble on to give permits beyond the shores of Luzon and you can do it in Siasi, Jolo,” Duterte said.
The office of Mr. Jurado did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. BusinessWorld also reached out to OGCC’s second-in-command, Deputy Government Corporate Counsel Elpidio J. Vega, but he had already left his office according to his secretary.
Mr. Jurado has been tasked to head the statutory law office of government-owned-and-controlled corporations (GOCCs), their subsidiaries, government financial institutions, government corporate offspring, government instruments with corporate powers and government acquired asset corporations.
Mr. Jurado is a lawyer of the pro-administration Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC). — Arjay L. Balinbin with a report from Dane Angelo M. Enerio

Boyband BTS makes K-pop history topping US album charts

SEOUL — Korean boyband phenomenon BTS has become the first K-pop group to rise to the top of the US album charts, a vivid illustration of the genre’s growing global appeal.
Known for boyish good looks, floppy haircuts, and meticulously choreographed dance moves, the septet has become one of South Korea’s best known and most lucrative musical exports.
On Sunday, they passed a new milestone — becoming the first K-pop group to top the Billboard 200 music charts which ranks albums via sales, downloads and streams.
“It’s the first No. 1 for the seven-member group, and the first K-pop album to lead the tally,” Billboard wrote in its online report detailing the latest chart ranking.
While plenty of older music listeners in the West might be asking “who?” it’s hard to underestimate the popularity of BTS and their seven stars Suga, J-Hope, Rap Monster, Jimin, V, Jungkook, and Jin.
According to one data analysis, they were they most talked about phenomenon on Twitter in 2017, with nearly double the number of mentions on the social media platform than US President Donald Trump and Canadian badboy heartthrob Justin Bieber combined.
Throw in their similarly massive appeal across the globe — they have huge social media followings in Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and parts of Latin America — and you have a truly global supergroup.
Their new album Love Yourself: Tear toppled Beerpong and Bentleys by rising hip-hop star Post Malone, whose facial tattoos are the very antithesis of BTS’ wholesome, meticulously manicured image.
While BTS sing in Korean, their style successfully fuses the catchy earworms of K-pop with hip-hop and R‘n’B.
Last year, their previous release Love Yourself: Her became the first K-pop album to make it into the top 10 US album charts, rising to number seven, and hit the number one spot on iTunes in more than 70 countries. — AFP

Film mogul Harvey Weinstein appears handcuffed in court to face rape charges

NEW YORK — Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein appeared in handcuffs in a New York court on Friday to face charges of rape and other sex crimes against two of the scores of women who have accused him of misconduct, ending his reign as a Hollywood kingpin.
Weinstein, the 66-year-old cofounder of the Miramax film studio and the Weinstein Co., intends to plead not guilty to the charges, his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse.
Prosecutors charged him with two counts of rape and one count of a criminal sexual act following a months-long investigation with the New York Police Department. They did not identify the two women, but said the crimes took place in 2004 and 2013. If convicted on the most serious charges, Weinstein could face between five and 25 years in prison.
Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 70 women, with some of the allegations dating back decades. He has denied ever having nonconsensual sex.
The accusations, first reported last year by the New York Times and the New Yorker, gave rise to the #MeToo movement, in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in business, government and entertainment of sexual misconduct.
“This defendant used his position, money and power to lure young women into situations where he was able to violate them sexually,” prosecutor Joan Illuzzi said at Weinstein’s arraignment on Friday in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Weinstein, wearing a dark jacket over a blue sweater and white open-collared shirt and dark jeans, appeared pale, and stood next to Brafman, staring into the middle distance with his mouth ajar while prosecutors described a bail agreement.
Judge Kevin McGrath ordered Weinstein released on $1-million cash bail and the case was adjourned to July 30. Weinstein surrendered his US passport and agreed to wear a monitoring device that tracks his location, confining him to the states of New York and Connecticut.
Weinstein earlier turned himself in at a lower Manhattan police station around 7:25 a.m. He carried thick books under his right arm, including biographies of Broadway musical duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and Elia Kazan, the director of A Streetcar Named Desire and other classic Hollywood films.
About 90 minutes later, Weinstein was led by officers into court in handcuffs, grimacing, with his head bowed and his books nowhere in sight.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Brafman signaled he would defend Weinstein by undermining the credibility of his client’s accusers.
A jury would not believe the women, Brafman said: “assuming we get 12 fair people who are not consumed by the movement that seems to have overtaken this case.”
SURREAL
Actress Rose McGowan, among the first to accuse Weinstein of sexual assault, said seeing images of him in handcuffs was surreal.
“I actually did not believe this day would come,” she said on NBC’s Megyn Kelly Today program. “This is a big strike into the heart of abuse of power.”
After the accusations became public, entertainment industry heavyweights distanced themselves from Weinstein. The Weinstein Co.’s board fired him, and the company filed for bankruptcy in March.
In 2017, Weinstein was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He had racked up Oscars for a string of films that helped define independent cinema in the 1990s, including Shakespeare in Love and Pulp Fiction.
Weinstein was a fixture of elite Manhattan and Los Angeles society until his accusers came forward. He sought treatment for sex addiction at a facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, the New York Times reported.
London’s Metropolitan Police and Los Angeles prosecutors have said they are reviewing accusations of sexual assault against him.
Brafman said in a May court filing that federal prosecutors in New York had opened a separate criminal investigation into the allegations.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. had been under pressure over his 2015 decision not to pursue a complaint by model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, who said Weinstein had groped her without her consent.
Vance made the decision even though he had a covert police recording of Weinstein telling Gutierrez he would not do it again. The district attorney said his decision was based on the merits of the case.
Last month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wrote a letter ordering the state attorney general to investigate how Vance and the NYPD handled sexual assault allegations, including the 2015 accusations against Weinstein.
The New York charges mark the second high-profile prosecution of a once-powerful show business personality in the #MeToo era.
A month ago, Bill Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting a onetime friend, one of dozens of women who have accused the comedian and former TV star of sexual misconduct.
Cosby’s conviction followed a mistrial last year on the same charges. In the retrial, the judge allowed five other accusers to tell similar stories of alleged abuse at his hands.
It was unclear whether New York prosecutors would seek to have other Weinstein accusers testify against him.
Other actresses who have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct include Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek. — Reuters

Weinstein attorney could face ‘impossible’ task

AFTER sexual assault charges were dropped against former International Monetary Fund chairman Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2011, his lawyer Ben Brafman assailed the accuser’s credibility, telling Reuters: “This encounter was quick, it was consensual and she was a willing participant.”
Brafman on Friday hinted he would take a similar tack defending his latest client, movie producer Harvey Weinstein. But this time Brafman, one of the New York’s most prominent defense lawyers, will make his arguments against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement, which was largely sparked by reports of his client’s sexual misconduct.
Outside the Manhattan courthouse where Weinstein, 66, was arraigned on rape and criminal sexual act charges, Brafman said that, if he cross-examined the accusers, a jury would not believe them, “assuming we get 12 fair people who are not consumed by the movement that seems to have overtaken this case.”
Weinstein has said he never had non-consensual sex with anyone, and Brafman said his client would plead not guilty to the charges by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Attacking the credibility of accusers through tough cross-examination is a common defense strategy in rape and sexual assault cases, which often boil down to “he said, she said,” according to New York lawyer Lisa Linsky.
She said the play-book had not changed in the #MeToo era, and Brafman might argue that the accusers and other women coming forward were motivated by fame or money.
In the Strauss-Kahn case, Brafman said at the time he planned to argue that the woman must be lying because she was much larger than the accused. “In a one-on-one she would probably win if this turned into a fist fight,” Brafman told Reuters in 2011. “She is not a small person.”
But a number of lawyers questioned whether Brafman would be able to cross-examine Weinstein’s accusers aggressively in the face of overwhelming public sentiment in their favor and against Weinstein.
“That is the $64,000 question,” said Gerald Lefcourt, one of Brafman’s peers among New York defense lawyers.
Lefcourt said he thought Brafman would find a way. “I think he is conscious of those considerations and will be able to strike the right tone,” said Lefcourt. “That’s what makes him a great trial lawyer.”
Shira Scheindlin, a former New York federal judge now in private practice, said the defense will become even more difficult if the judge allows testimony of women other than the accusers as evidence Weinstein had a pattern of conduct.
“If five other women have come forward, that’s going to weigh heavily on the jury,” she said, though Brafman would likely argue that such testimony would be prejudicial.
Bennett Gershman, a professor at New York’s Pace Law School, said the task for Brafman was “monumental, maybe even impossible” given the depth of public antipathy toward Weinstein.
“There is nobody like him,” said Gershman. “He is the poster boy of predatory sexual conduct. Brafman is not going to be able to dislodge that view of him.”
Gershman said he thought Brafman’s best strategy would be to stall for time and try to get the best possible plea deal, which would certainly include prison time.
But defense lawyer Roy Black said he did not think a deal would be possible.
“Given the way the flames of prejudice have been whipped up against him, anything less than life in prison will seem like a sweetheart deal,” said Black. — Reuters

Lopez-led FPH sets P22-billion capex for 2018

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor
LOPEZ-LED First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) is setting aside a budget of P22 billion for 2018, with its property development segment cornering the bulk of the capital expenditures, the company treasurer said on Monday.
“The total consolidated [capex] is about P22 billion. About more than half of that — P12 billion — is in Rockwell [Land Corp.], P8 billion in First Gen [Corp.], the rest will be in the Benpres redevelopment, the eye care and health care (businesses),” Emmanuel P. Singson, FPH senior vice-president, treasurer and chief financial officer, told reporters after the holding firm’s annual stockholders meeting.
Specifically, the eye care business, under Asian Eye Institute, would corner P100 million, while another P100 million to P200 million will be allocated for education, Mr. Singson said.
This year’s capex is lower than the P25 billion allocated last year.
“That’s because we had big investments, like San Gabriel,” Mr. Singson said, referring to the subsidiary’s 414-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant.
This year’s capex will be sourced from internally generated funds, Mr. Singson said, adding that each subsidiary would be sourcing its separate capex needs.
For FPH, the financial requirement will be small, unless the holding firm goes for the full redevelopment of its Benpres property in Pasig City.
“When we start constructing, that’s [when] the real bigger capex comes in. Hopefully, next year,” Mr. Singson said.
He said the total capex for the building alone is about P8 billion. FPH has yet to demolish the Benpres building, which used to house the offices of some of the firm’s subsidiaries. The redevelopment project is expected to require P2 billion annually for about three to four years.
This year, among the new ventures that the firm is planning to expand into are health care and education.
Francis Giles B. Puno, FPH president and chief operating officer, told stockholders that the firm is “developing new strategies to reimagine health care and wellness beyond our current investments.”
“As a company anchored on wellness in all its forms, we are excited about developing a health care platform and creating impact in that space,” he said.
Mr. Puno also said FPH recently launched First School, a senior high school program that offers vocational training for workers at the First Philippine Industrial Park in Batangas.
Joaquin E. Quintos IV, FPH senior vice-president, said the firm’s foray into education is focused on supplying the requirements of the industrial park’s locators.
“The intent as a technical vocational school is right after they graduate Grade 12, they are ready to be employed by the locators,” he said.
Asked about details on the eye care venture, Mr. Quintos said the firm would use Asian Eye Institute “as platform in the health care space.” FPH took control of Asian Eye Institute in 2017.
“Eye care is largely unserved, we’re going to have our hands full. But there will be other opportunities,” he said. “The old model of health care is hospital. We don’t believe in that. We believe the trend is to bring care to the patients.”
On Monday, shares in FPH slipped 0.39% or 25 centavos to close at P63.60 each.

Reunited A1 returns to the Philippines

BRITISH-NORWEGIAN pop group A1 is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the industry by going on a reunion tour which includes a stop in the Philippines.
The concert will be held on Oct. 21 at the Kia Theater in Quezon City.
The tour, which kicks off in Singapore a day before the Manila show, will see the band’s original lineup — Ben Adams, Mark Read, Christian Ingebrigtsen, and Paul Marazzi — sing the hits which made A1 a huge hit in the UK and Southeast Asia.
The reunion tour will also the first tour Mr. Marazzi will be doing with his bandmates after leaving the band due to personal reasons in 2002.
“We’re unbelievably excited that Paul will be joining us again and bringing the original line up of A1 together for the very first time in nearly 15 years, as we approach the 20th anniversary of when we released our first single and album Here We Come,” said the band in a press release.
“There was always an amazing dynamic and energy when the four of us performed together. So what better place to bring that magic back than to the part of the world that has always embraced us with such incredible love and support, Southeast Asia, more specifically, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore. We absolutely cannot wait to see our friends and fans over there once again and bring them a show that will remind us of all the great times we had together. It will surely be a show to remember and not to be missed,” the band added.
A1 had its first breakthrough in the UK in 1999 with a collection of hit singles from its debut album, Here We Come including “Caught in the Middle,” “Same Old Brand New You,” and a cover of the A-Ha classic, “Take on Me.”
The band also achieved huge success in the UK, Europe, and across Asia, bagging a Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 2001.
A1 has so far accumulated over 10 million record sales worldwide.
In 2002, the band members decided to go their separate ways after Mr. Marazzi left the group, but in 2009 they decided to reform (without Mr. Marazzi) with the song “Don’t Wanna Lose You Again,” which they entered to represent Norway for the 2010 Eurovision Contest. Despite losing out to Didrik Solli-Tangen’s “My Heart Is Yours,” the new single peaked at top four in the Norwegian Singles chart.
In February 2012, A1 performed with Blue and Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees in The Greatest Hits Tour, which took them to Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The band returned to the Philippines in November that same year for a benefit show for underprivileged children of Cebu.
The band returned one more time for a two-night concert in Manila and Cebu in October 2016.
The band will once again play in front of a Philippine crowd on Oct. 21 at the Kia Theater in Quezon City. Tickets will go on sale starting noon on June 1. They will be available at all TicketNet outlets. Visit Ticketnet.com.ph or call 911-5555 for more details. — ZBC

AGI gets go signal for Skytrain

INFRACORP Development, Inc. is proposing to build a monorail from MRT Guadalupe station to Fort Bonifacio. — INFRACORP

THE infrastructure arm of tycoon Andrew L. Tan’s Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI) bagged the original proponent status (OPS) for its proposed P3-billion monorail project connecting Fort Bonifacio to the Guadalupe station of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3.
In a statement issued Monday, AGI said Infracorp Development, Inc. has secured the Department of Transportation (DoTr)’s approval for the project. It will now be submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority Board’s Investment Coordination Committee for review.
As an unsolicited proposal, the project will then be subjected to Swiss challenge, which requires an invitation for other companies to make competing offers, while giving the original proponent the right to match them.
Infacorp submitted the unsolicited proposal to DoTr last October 2017. Under the agreement, the company will build the two-kilometer Skytrain at no cost to the government. The ownership title will be transferred to the government, while Infracorp will be given the sole right to operate the project.
The Skytrain will make use of automated cable-propelled monorail technology, effectively reducing the travel time from the MRT Guadalupe station to Fort Bonifacio, where Infracorp’s sister company Megaworld Corp. is developing the Uptown Bonifacio township, to five minutes. It will have a capacity of 60,000 to 100,000 passengers daily.
Infracorp noted that its proposal also includes provisions to interconnect the Skytrain with other transport hubs that it will pass through.
“We envision to connect Makati to Taguig and vice versa. These two largest business districts in the country need an efficient and fast transport system that is at par with what the other business districts in cosmopolitan cities like Tokyo and Sydney have,” Infracorp President Kevin Andrew L. Tan was quoted as saying in a statement.
With the approval of the project, the company said it is ready to start building the Skytrain which it hopes to finish within two years.
“We can start the project before the year ends and this will take us two years to complete it. By early 2021, we can open the Skytrain to the public,” Mr. Tan said.
The Skytrain is Infracorp’s first project since its incorporation last year. The company is also part of the consortium that proposed to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for around P105-106 billion.
The consortium includes Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings, Corp., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings, Inc., and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
Infracorp said it is also looking at other infrastructure projects it could participate in, mostly to provide transport solutions in Metro Manila’s key business districts as well as growth areas around the country.
The company is part of AGI, which also has investments in property development through Megaworld, gaming through Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc., liquor through Emperador, Inc., and quick service restaurants through Golden Arches Development Corp.
Shares in AGI went down eight centavos or 0.61% to close at P13.02 each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Actor Morgan Freeman apologizes

ACTOR Morgan Freeman said on Friday any suggestion he assaulted women or created an unsafe workplace is false and apologized to anyone he may have upset after media reported that women have accused him of inappropriate behavior or harassment.
The accusations against the Oscar-winning actor are the latest in a torrent against male actors, filmmakers, and agents that have roiled Hollywood since October 2017, leading in some cases to resignations and the halting of projects.
On Friday, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was charged with rape and other sex crimes.
Similar accusations have also engulfed men in US politics and business, and inspired a #MeToo social media movement by victims sharing their stories of sexual harassment or abuse.
CNN reported on Thursday that it spoke with 16 people as part of its investigation into the 80-year-old actor, some of whom also alleged inappropriate behavior by Freeman at his production company, Revelations Entertainment.
“I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye, by Thursday’s media reports,” Freeman said in a statement on Friday, a day after he initially apologized.
“But I also want to be clear: I did not create unsafe work environments. I did not assault women. I did not offer employment or advancement in exchange for sex. Any suggestion that I did so is completely false,” he added.
CNN said eight people told the network they were victims of what some labeled harassment and others called inappropriate behavior by Freeman. It said eight others told the network they witnessed the actor’s alleged misconduct.
CNN also said other sources denied having seen any questionable behavior by the actor, and that those sources described him as being professional on set and in the office.
Freeman said he is someone who feels a need to try to make women and men feel appreciated and at ease around him. As part of that, he would often try to joke with and compliment women, in what he thought was a light-hearted and humorous way, he said.
“Clearly I was not always coming across the way I intended. And that is why I apologized Thursday and will continue to apologize to anyone I might have upset, however unintentionally,” he said.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm any of the allegations.
Freeman, whose career has spanned 50 years and more than 100 movies, won a Oscar in 2005 as best supporting actor for his role as a former boxer in Million Dollar Baby. — Reuters

First Gen eyes San Miguel as partner for proposed LNG import facility

FIRST GEN Corp. is planning to invite diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. “within the year” to participate in its $1.2-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility, company officials said on Monday.
“We’re very open… especially because they’re also one of the big users of natural gas with Ilijan so their participation in an LNG import scheme would be very very welcome,” First Gen Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Federico R. Lopez told reporters.
“In fact, the LNG terminal is very subject to economies of scale, so the more that use it, the cheaper it becomes for everyone and the easier it is to bring power costs down,” he added.
Francis Giles B. Puno, First Gen president and chief operating officer, said an invitation to SMC should be firmed up soon because of the latter’s pressing need for natural gas.
“It has to be within the year… I think he (San Miguel President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang) mentioned that we have good relationship with First Gen. We also feel that we have good relationship with San Miguel,” he said.
Mr. Puno said First Gen had been in discussion with a number of parties for the LNG project.
“With respect to San Miguel obviously it’s a discussion that we would welcome as well principally because of the Ilijan asset,” he said, referring to the gas-fired plant
SMC looks after the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Ilijan power plant, which sits on a 60-acre site at Arenas Point, Barangay Ilijan, Batangas City. It was appointed in 2010 as the independent power producer administrator of the plant by state-led Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.
First Gen continues to prepare for a post-Malampaya gas era with the setting up the country’s first LNG regasification terminal to be located at its clean energy complex in Batangas City.
The listed company has a portfolio of gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 2,017 MW as of 2017. It wants to complete the LNG facility in time for the expected depletion of the Malampaya field starting in 2024.
“Ilijan will be running out of gas actually sooner than that of Santa Rita and San Lorenzo,” Mr. Puno said, comparing the company’s two gas-fired power plants to that of San Miguel’s.
He said he is aware of Mr. Ang’s flexibility either to be an owner or buyer of gas from the proposed LNG facility.
“It’s a big investment. It’s about $1.2 billion and because it is such, our view is that as long as we have a significant stake — and that could be as low as 50%, 40% — then we have the balance to give to other strategic investors,” Mr. Puno said.
The comments of the First Gen officials come after Mr. Ang said earlier this month that San Miguel was open to partnering with First Gen Corp. in any form of ownership sharing arrangement in the latter’s plan to build an LNG terminal.
He said his group and First Gen “are quite close, so there’s no problem” if either one of them takes the controlling stake.
He also said the Ilijan plant could easily be expanded by 1,800 MW to reach a capacity of 3,000, ensuring an offtaker for the imported LNG.
Imported natural gas is liquefied for ease of shipping, then regasified or reverted to its former state in the country of destination. — Victor V. Saulon

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